X (2022) x Pearl (2022)—or, The Virtue and Vice of Cleverness
Even background extras are good-looking, or at least inoffensively bland. No one is ugly. No one is really fat. Everyone is beautiful. And yet. . . . [n]o one is attracted to anyone else. No one is hungry for anyone else. R.S. Benedict, “ Everyone Is Beautiful And No One Is Horny ” (14 Feb. 2021) One of the things that I hold myself to, as a principle, is that you’ve got to make an effort to create a vocal silhouette, as well as the physical silhouette. . . . Accent work is not about phonetics or being accurate, to me. It’s about conjuring an atmosphere from a place which is authentic. Tom Hardy, quoted by Katcy Stephan, “ Tom Hardy on His Wild ‘Bikeriders’ Accent and Knowing ‘Furiosa’ Is ‘Special’ (Without Even Seeing It Yet) ” (17 Jun. 2024) I think something for any media, for me to . . . really enjoy it, is that it has to be earnest in some way. Like, I hate media that is like, ‘This genre is bullshit! I’m gonna reinvent it and do it better!’ And . . . no you’r...