Chris Evans for Backstage Magazine - July 2020!
Before Chris Evans became Chris Evans, superhero and superstar, he made a habit of asking scene partners the question every starry-eyed artist wants to ask: “What’s your process?”
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“I’ve met some actors who are wildly self-aware, wildly self-possessed, incredibly intelligent people,” he says. “I’ve also met actors who have no idea what’s going on around them at any given moment. And both can turn in phenomenal performances. It really begs the question: What is going on in your head when you see a piece of paper with a bunch of words?”
Somewhere on the journey from acting in school plays just outside Boston to a blockbuster career in indie flicks, on Broadway, and almost a dozen appearances in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Captain America, and on to his recent impressive turn on the Apple TV+ limited series “Defending Jacob,” Evans stopped asking the question—but not because he’d settled on an answer.
“The only conclusion I can draw is that there is no formula,” he says. “I think it’s meant to be in a constant state of rebirth. It’s this organic, living thing that you have to re-examine with every character.
“Sorry if that made me sound pretentious; I’m hearing myself right now,” he adds with a groan.
Evans is too articulate about his 20-year love affair with acting and, frankly, too charming to ever come off as pretentious. In his conversation with Backstage, conducted remotely from his home in Los Angeles, he overflows with practical advice for his peers and fellow students of the craft.
Actors at the beginning of their careers could take a leaf out of Evans’ book: During the summer before his senior year of high school, he wrote to New York City casting offices about interning. “I figured I should probably have a job that brought me into contact with agents,” he remembers. While he was assisting with casting bit parts on the Michael J. Fox sitcom “Spin City,” he ended up “talking to agents every day and keeping a little book of the agents who were nice.” He then asked to read monologues for the agent who, after Evans finished school early to audition for pilot season, got him a role on 2000’s short-lived Fox comedy “Opposite Sex”—plus plenty of other auditions he did not book.
“The most useful tool I could say to an actor or to anybody is cultivate the active participation of silence in your mind, cultivate the ability to surrender to the moment.”
“Oh, god,” he says when the subject of auditioning comes up. “Ninety-five percent of the work is rejection. Those first 10 years, you’ve got to put the gloves on for every job and you’ve got to get in the ring.” For the first half of his career, Evans emerged from most auditions convinced he not only wasn’t getting the part, but that he wasn’t getting any part ever again. “When all you hear in your head is that high-pitched buzzing sound and your palms are sweating and you feel like you can’t catch your breath,” he deadpans, “that’s the opposite of trying to drop into a moment.”
But around the time that he began making a name for himself in comic book adaptations (“Fantastic Four,” “TMNT,” “The Losers,” and “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World,” all of which groomed him for his Marvel franchise debut in 2011’s “Captain America: The First Avenger”), Evans discovered his favorite actorly trick.“You pull up a script,” he says, of any favorite film or series. “You read the first scene and you make your choices as if you were going to perform this next scene. Try and map it out. Then, immediately afterward, watch the scene.
“There is nothing more eye-opening that you can possibly do as an actor than to watch the way an actor you respect dissects a scene and makes their choices,” he continues. “To stretch your acting muscle, go compare your choices to some other actors’ choices. If nothing else, you’ll be reminded of the dizziness of choice that’s available on any page of dialogue.”
It was while analyzing Jim Caviezel’s performance in the film “Angel Eyes” that Evans began relishing that kind of creative freedom. “Moments that I made a meal out of, he threw away. Moments that I threw away, he sank into the power of the pause. It was such a different dance that he created that had absolutely nothing to do with the words, but the words still fit flawlessly.”
In fact, the dialogue felt almost beside the point. “Words are really not indicative of who you are. If you, in your daily life, set up a camera and filmed a conversation with maybe you and one of your buddies, and then someone else printed it out, made a script out of it, and you revisited it in six months—A) I doubt you would be able to even play yourself properly, and B) I doubt that the words on the page would accurately encompass all the shades of who you are. I think one of the mistakes actors tend to do is believe that the words are their breadcrumbs. [But] it’s the characters and the spaces between.
Read more at Backstage!
#RHOA: Porsha Williams Body Transformation Shocks Instagram!
Porsha Williams is taking time out to cleanse her body and mind for a few days. The American television personality recently revealed that she is taking 36 hours off that will be void of eating any kind of food. According to her post on Instagram, she will only drink tea/water for those long hours.
She also shared a countdown timer that she is using to keep track of her 36 hours record and fans are loving are new commitment. The post attracted a lot of comments, where some of her fans asked to join her challenge.
An intermittent fast is a kind of fast that helps the body's immune system and has been proven to help in effective weight loss. This type of fast also helps participants to control the amount of calories they eat on other days that they're not fasting.
Specialists who carried out a research on intermittent fasting, say that anyone who is engaging in this fast, has to drink a lot of liquid, especially water. This will help to improve cognitive action in the body and avoid fatigue.
A day ago when Williams posted her fast timer, she told her fans that she would only drink tea or water for the remaining hours. She also said that she has taken this step to help reduce the stress she has been exposed to lately.
Also, Williams advised anyone willing to join her fast challenge, to confirm from a doctor that they are physically in the best position to carry out the exercise. This is to expressly avoid gaining more stress than losing it.
20 hours into the fasting process, Williams shared a progress report inform of a 'before & after collage' photo on Instagram. The candid difference between both photos is the size of her stomach in the second frame, that has drastically reduced.
When fans saw this, they were stunned by the progress. However, others began to ask some questions that Williams was all too happy to respond to immediately. Several fans wanted to know which application she used for the countdown during the fast.
A throwback photo of Porsha Williams in a net-design dress as she poses for the camera.
Others were all too excited to see proof that intermittent fasting and Williams has in one way or the other sparked up confidence in a lot of people. While everyone was enjoying what they got to see, a few others wanted to know if Williams was pregnant.
"Thought some YouTuber keeping saying you're prego?! asked a user. In turn, Williams simply said that she was not pregnant, but it seemed like the fan did not believe what she said.
" know she lying lol" the user commented again.
#MusicNews: Alicia Keys Has a New Video Perfect Way to Die!
The legendary Alicia Keys has just released the chilling video for her latest single “Perfect Way to Die” which was inspired by the social injustice in our world. The singer originally premiered the visual during the virtual BET Awards broadcast.
The video was directed by Chris Robinson and finds Keys playing her signature piano on an empty street. The video for “Perfect Way to Die” is intended to shed light on the continued unjustified killings from police brutality.
Keys released the inspirational single last month and noted at the time:
“Of course there is no perfect way to die. This phrase doesn’t even make sense but that’s what makes the title so powerful and heartbreaking because so many have died unjustly. It’s written from the point of view of the mother whose child has been murdered because of the system of racism that looks at Black life as unworthy. We all know none of these innocent lives should have been taken due to the culture of police violence.”
WATCH HERE
We are currently waiting on the new album from Alicia Keys to release sometime later this year. It has already been delayed multiple times due to the pandemic.
#HipHopNews: Jadakiss Launches ‘JADADRUNK’ Brand!
Jadakiss isn’t wasting any time in capitalizing on his successful victory in his Verzuz IG Live battle against Fabolous.
The Ignatius rapper jumped on Instagram on Thursday (July 2) to formally announce the launch of JADADRUNK, a brand coined after his joyful dance moves became the talk of social media
“This is a JadaDrunk summer!” the LOX rapper exclaimed. “Make sure you stay tuned to what’s going on here. Shoutout to all the support from the Verzuz the other night. Shoutout to Timbaland, Swizz. Shoutout to my brother Fabolous. It’s a JadaDrunk summer baby, let’s go!”
Currently, there are four t-shirts up on JADADRUNK.com. Three of the shirts are black with screen prints of Jada at various points of the battle against Fabolous. The fourth one is all black with the hashtag #CORPORATELY across the front.
Jada’s new line wasn’t the only revelation made during the all-New York Verzuz on Monday. Aside from Fabolous sharing his truth on how both Tamia and Ashanti have verses for his “Into You” hit single, Jada detailed how a Black Rob classic in “Can I Live” originally belonged to The LOX.
“That was originally a LOX song, produced by Deric ‘D-Dot’ Angelettie,” he explained. “We had a little bit of discrepancy with Bad Boy, they held on to it (which was very smart) and they gave it to [Black Rob] for his album.
He added, “It was a great album cut that should have been a single off that ‘Whoa’ album that sold a lot of records. That was a LOX song. Diddy will tell you that, Deric Angelettie will tell you that … the receptionist will tell you that.
Kanye West Announces U.S. Presidential Bid On Twitter!
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - American rapper Kanye West, a vocal supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump, announced on Saturday that he would run for president in 2020 in an apparent challenge to Trump and his presumptive Democratic rival, former Vice President Joe Biden.
“We must now realize the promise of America by trusting God, unifying our vision and building our future. I am running for president of the United States,” West wrote in a Twitter post, adding an American flag emoji and the hashtag “#2020VISION”.
It was not immediately clear if West was serious about vying for the presidency four months before the Nov. 3 election or if he had filed any official paperwork to appear on state election ballots.
The deadline to add independent candidates to the ballot has not yet passed in many states.
West and his equally famous wife Kim Kardashian West have visited Trump in the White House.
At one meeting in October 2018, West delivered a rambling, profanity-laden speech in which he discussed alternative universes and his diagnosis of bipolar disorder, which he said was actually sleep deprivation.
Elon Musk, the chief executive of electric-car maker Tesla and another celebrity known for eccentric outbursts, endorsed West’s Twitter post: “You have my full support!” he wrote.
Janelle Monáe has called for an end to misogyny in rap music!
"A lot of my musical heroes and peers work are problematic in many ways"
Yesterday evening (July 3), Monáe said the amount of misogyny in rap music was “infuriating,” adding that “we need to abolish that shit too.”
Monáe said: “I really only ever wanna hear women rapping. The amount of misogyny from most of men in rap and music is infuriating. We need to abolish that shit too.
“Women (black women [in] particular) have been betrayed by the majority of men for far too long. The systems that enable Patriarchy and abusers of power are burning. Either bring gasoline or burn with them.”
She later added: “Y’all can’t wait to call women every bitch, hoe, discuss violent acts against women, etc for clout in rap, rock, and through out music history. Misogny has NEVER been okay yet it has become normalized. Women didn’t create misogny, y’all did. SO YOU DO THE WORK to ABOLISH IT.”
Recently, Monáe spoke out about how “triggering” it was to film her upcoming horror film Antebellum to Jennifer Aniston, Zendaya, Rose Byrne, Helena Bonham Carter and Reese Witherspoon during the Hollywood Reporter Drama Actress Roundtable.
In the film, the actress and singer portrays an author who is transported back in time to a reality in which she is an enslaved person.
Monáe said: “Oh, I brought all of my ancestors home with me. We were filming most of the stuff at night on a plantation, and I felt everything. There were just certain conversations even at craft services that if I heard would be triggering for me. I couldn’t even talk to my family sometimes. It was kind of unhealthy when I think back.”
Earlier this week, Monáe joined Beyoncé and Solange in calling for the US senate to end voter suppression.
Tina Knowles-Lawson – Beyoncé and Solange’s mother – penned an open letter in support of ‘The HEROES Act.’ The Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act is described in the letter as “step in the right direction toward a more inclusive democracy.”
Other people to sign the letter include Halle Berry, Jada Pinkett Smith, Whoopi Goldberg, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams. The families of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and Sandra Bland have also shown their support.
What’s The Tea☕☕☕? RuPaul Has Completely Wiped Social Media and Fans Are Confused!
Fans are concerned about his sudden disappearance and have a lot of ~theories~.
RuPaul has seemingly disappeared from social media, leaving fans confused in the process. The Drag Race host appears to have fully deleted his Twitter account, which straight-up doesn't exist anymore:
Meanwhile, all of RuPaul's Instagram posts have been deleted (or possibly archived) with the exception of one IGTV video promoting Season 12 of Drag Race:
Understandably, the IGTV post is flooded with comments from concerned fans
Meanwhile, Twitter is doing its thing—with fans speculating that RuPaul's simply taking a break from social media, or is perhaps avoiding backlash for leasing his land to fracking companies, or is maybe making a ~subtle statement~ about the premiere of Canada's Drag Race. There are also, naturally, plenty of memes:
RuPaul has yet to explain his sudden departure from the internet, but stay tuned.
Black People Boycotting America’s Got Talent Because Of Terry Crews!!
America’s Got Talent is losing its audience, especially Black viewers, MTO News has learned. And many are wondering – are they boycotting the show because of Terry Crews?.
The Nielsen tv ratings were released this week, and the NBC talent competition normally averages around 10 million viewers. But last week only 8 million tuned in.
And the ratings show that the majority of their audience loss were African American viewers.
So what does Terry have to do with Black people fleeing America’s Got Talent?
Over the past few weeks America’s Got Talent host Terry Crews has been a loud and staunch critic of the Black Lives Matter Movement to end systemic racism in America. He’s made statements that many feel are anti-Black.
And because of Terry’s controversial political positions, this past week AGT saw its lowest rating and viewership since its debut 14 years ago.
Even with an audience loss of 2 million viewers, America’s Got Talent was still the most watched show across all networks in its time slot.
Naomi Campbell goes nude on NYC subway for Valentino!
Supermodel Naomi Campbell dared to walk around a New York City train station in the nude, all in the name of fashion.
Campbell, 50, shared photos Saturday of herself in the buff while exploring a subway station. In one photo, she’s seen sitting in a chair while clutching a Valentino handbag. In another photo, she is seen waiting on the subway platform barefoot, holding a different Valentino purse. Finally, she shared an image of herself on the train with one more Valentino bag in her lap, tagging the fashion house in all three posts.
She also mentions that the photos went “unpublished,” meaning there’s no telling whether the shoot took place before or after the city-wide spread of COVID-19.
The images shocked fans online, not only because of her state of undress, but because the “Making the Cut” judge has been particularly cautious when it comes to avoiding the virus, wearing a full hazmat suit during a March flight from Los Angeles to New York.
“It’s not a funny time, it’s not a humorous time, I’m not doing this for laughs,” she insisted. “This is how I feel comfortable traveling if I have to travel; I’m trying to keep it to a minimum.”
Tina Knowles-Lawson Defends Daughter Beyonce Against Claims Of Cultural Appropriation; “How Do You Appropriate The Black Culture When You Are Black”!
Tina Knowles is not afraid of defending her girls against online haters. Now, the Mama Cub is coming to the defense of her daughter Beyonce against accusations of appropriating African culture for her upcoming “Black Is King,” which follows her 2019 record “The Lion King: The Gift.”
Miss Tina reposted a screenshot of a tweet on her Instagram that read: “Lmao the annoying thing about the capitalist argument with Beyonce is Lemonade, her ‘black’ album, is one of her lowest-selling albums so if we’re talking profit, she wouldn’t continue to make music highlighting blackness if it was solely for profit.” She captioned her post, “Thank you I could not have said it better. It’s really sad that the women who shout the loudest the ‘protect the black woman’ that they are the ones that are trying to tear her down. Sisters wake up!!!!”
She continued on by saying that her daughter was raised to embrace her fellow women in every way, as opposed to criticizing them.
Beyonce was taught from a little girl to lift other women up not to tear them down. She minds her own business, does not criticize anyone, Gives of her time and money, and dedicates her art to Boldly show the Royalty and beauty of our heritage and journey! Her work is to change the narrative! To show that we did not start off as slaves, but that we were kings and queens before we were forced into slavery. Don’t you want to see something that shows that! Aren’t you sick and tired Of seeing us as slaves !”
“Black Is King” pays homage to African tradition and culture in the tale of a young king on the path to self-identity.
She wrapped up the lengthy post with, “I have one question for you too that I’m confused about ‘how do you appropriate the black culture when you are black??’ She has a right to her heritage as well as anyone else in the world. Just consider young sisters i love you ❤❤ and brothers thankyou for your balance and speaking up. ❤”
Meghan Markle And Prince Harry Officially Dissolve Sussex Royal Charity!
As part of their arrangement in stepping down as senior royals, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have agreed to no longer use the Sussex Royal moniker, recently filing to dissolve their charity of the same name.
“Paperwork has been filed with Companies House and the Charity Commission to formally close the charity [Sussex Royal] down,” a source told BAZAAR.com. “The charity formally enters a period of ‘solvent liquidation.'”
Detailing the dissolution of the organization, the source added, “During this period all Trustees will step down from their roles, except for The Duke of Sussex who will formally remain as a Director and Trustee until the liquidation process is complete. The Duke and Duchess remain incredibly grateful for the support and guidance the Trustees have given during this period.
“The sole program in operation and development at the charity has been the sustainable travel and tourism initiative, Travalyst. Travalyst is now operating as an independent non-profit based in the UK, and all assets from Sussex Royal will transfer over.”
In addition to Travalyst, the couple is attempting to trademark new non-profit Archewell, named after 1-year-old son Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor. While their first application was rejected, sources claim, that it was “part of the normal back-and-forth of the trademarking process” and is far from a final rejection.
Legendary British Actor Earl Cameron Passes Away at 102!
Hollywood has lost one of its trailblazing pioneers. Earl Cameron has passed away on Friday (July 3) at the age of 102, his family confirmed in a statement to E! News.
“Earl Cameron CBE passed away peacefully on 03 July 2020 at his home in Kenilworth, Warwickshire, surrounded by his wife and family,” a statement read. “His family have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and respect they have received. He was a man who stood by his moral principles and was inspirational. His deep commitment to the Baha’i Faith and the oneness of humanity informed all his choices. As an artist and actor he refused to accept roles that demeaned or stereotyped the character of people of colour. He will be sadly missed.”
Earl rose to fame in the 1951 movie Pool of London, where he played a merchant sailor who falls in love with a white woman. According to The Telegraph, it was the “first major role for a Black actor in a British mainstream film.”
Earl went on to star in movies and TV shows including Thunderball, Dr. Who, The Queen, and Inception.
Our thoughts are with Earl Cameron‘s loved ones during this hard time.
Lawyer For Jeffrey Epstein’s Victims Claims Ghislaine Maxwell May Kill Herself Or ‘Be Silenced’!
A lawyer for Jeffrey Epstein’s victims predicts that Ghislaine Maxwell will likely die behind bars, the same lawyer who predicted the same fate for Epstein.
Maxwell is currently sitting in Merrimack County Jail in Boscawen, New Hampshire, before being transferred back to New York City to face federal charges for her part in Epstein’s child trafficking ring.
Spencer Kuvin told the Daily Mail that Maxwell “knows too much” and that powerful people will want to keep her silent, or she may be inclined to take her own life.
“It may be that she can’t handle the fear of what’s going to happen to her and takes matters into her own hands or there will be people who are very afraid of what she has to say,” Kuvin told the publication.
Kuvin said that his gut instinct is telling him that Maxwell will suffer the same fate as Epstein, something he predicted a year before it happened.
“I don’t think she is going to get out of jail alive. I said the same thing about Jeffrey Epstein, and people laughed at me,” Kuvin said to the Daily Mail.
Maxwell played madame for Epstein, helping Epstein entice girls as young as 14-years-old, gain their trust, and then abuse them, allegedly sometimes participating in sex acts with the girls and Epstein.
Kuvin serves as the attorney for several of Epstein’s victims who claim Epstein sexually assaulted them when they were teenagers.
Epstein was found dead in his jail cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan last August while awaiting trial for sex trafficking charges. His death was ruled suicide by hanging.
Kellyanne Conway’s Daughter Speaks Out Against Her Parents’ Views, Kellyanne Tries To Confiscate Her Phone!
Kellyanne Conway’s daughter, Claudia Conway, is rebelling against her parents’ conservative views.
The 15-year-old made headlines earlier this week after revealing her opposing views, as well as her disdain for her mom’s boss, Donald Trump. She also used her TikTok platform to support Black Lives Matter, with hopes of educating others on social justice issues.
“I know a lot of my friends are so informed, and I think they couldn’t be if it weren’t for social media, which is why I think using one’s platform for good and for the education of others is so, so important, especially in our day,” Claudia told USA Today on Tuesday.
Just days later, Claudia made headlines once more, as she used her Twitter to condemn her parents for trying to silence her.
“To Journalist: KellyannePolls and I do *not* consent to any communications between you and any of our minor children, including our daughter Claudia. So desist,” George Conway, Claudia’s father wrote, to which she responded: “You’re just mad that I’m finally getting my voice heard. Sorry, your marriage failed.”
However, Claudia’s tweets didn’t end there. In fact, the drama boiled over to Claudia’s live stream on TikTok, where her mother tried to confiscate her phone on camera
AND FINALLY FROM “THE CRAZY PEOPLE SHOPPING AT WALMART” FILES
‘DISTANCE YOURSELF’
Our modern day Robert Frost…
HAVE A GREAT WEEK AHEAD ALL!!!
EFREM
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