Monday, November 19, 2018

New York Magazine's "Brain Candy," Vulture Festival LA Edition: Radical Vulnerability by Nick Kroll & Jim Carrey then Clothes Make the Man from Dirty John's Eric Bana & Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald With Colleen Atwood

By Laura Medina


After chowing down on all that adorable, cheap Halloween candy and it's Fall, Angelenos are hungry for a different type of candy, brain candy.

New York Magazine sense that.  Due to popular demand and there's a growing number of New Yorkers moving to "the New York of the West Coast,"  New York Magazine has transport their "culture vulture" festival, Vulture Festival LA, to the LA.  They made the historical Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, https://www.thehollywoodroosevelt.com/, their hub, in the heart of Hollywood.

For y'alls information, there are real born & raised Los Angelenos who are more ravenous for brain candy than East Coaster/New Yorkers, who take intellectual discussions and culture for granted.

Out of the around-the-clock, jam-packed schedule, there are two reoccurring themes: Radical Vulnerability by "Big Mouth" Nick Kroll and the emerging legend, Jim Carrey.  The other theme is "Clothes Make the Man," how costumes verbally express the characters' sub-conscious and their reality in the socio-economic level or status.



Executive Producer and playing the title, gold-digging, serial killer, character, Eric Bana admitted he was deeply disappointed when he saw his "Dirty John" costume wardrobe for the first time.

As much as he said that he, as an actor, has to study the behavior to enable to act, Eric realized how much important that Dirty John's clothes were worn-out, shabby, out of fashion, and very limited in scope and variety.  All those down-trodden qualities in Dirty John's clothes were the only things that fully reveal who he was really was, a down & out gigolo who kills once funds are depleted or if someone gets in his way.  Hence, the title character's nickname and Bravo's first scripted true-crime drama, "Dirty John," http://www.bravotv.com/dirty-john

Vulture Festival audience were in on the joke with Eric Bana, while watching the premiere episode.  Dirty John's shabby clothes and poor man behavior were a sharp contrast to his victim/Sugar Mama's wealthy cougar's clothes, decked out in head to toe Michael Kors.

Yes, clothes make a man in Bravo's "Dirty John," http://www.bravotv.com/dirty-john


Paraphasing Janie Bryant, fashion is a psychology of a character and the representation of a time, an era, a decade, and advancement in technology.

This couldn't be more true for Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald's costume designer, the highly esteemed Colleen Atwood.

From saying Hogwart's school uniforms are Medieval cloaks and robes, since that was when the school was founded to how the jackets were elongated into coats to serve as armor; and the fabrics have to be light-weight for them to move their arms and legs freely.

Johnny Depp's Gellert Grindelwald was a rock star wizard wearing traditional leather lederhosen with very tall leather black boots.  That's how he move so freely with ease.

Again, clothes make the man.



Clothes may not take main stage for "Jim Carrey, in Conversation with Jerry Saltz," http://vulturefestival.com/event-page/jim-carey-conversation-jerry-saltz/ but Jim's New York-sque all in black punk rock attire, black motorcycle jacket with black t-shirt and jeans bespoke where he is in life, right now, he's now an highly acclaimed artist with an edge.

Yes, it may be dark but he's crazy like a fox.

During his discussion about him being a painter and sculptor, he uses his demons, not dumping them, for his painting and sculpture inspirations and ideas.  So, he's putting them to good use.

Jerry Saltz called this, Radical Vulnerability.  Yes, it's open and honest enough to make some uncomfortable but Jim needs to express who he is now.

He knew his painting has become serious enough that he was cooking his meals on his painting.  Consuming yes but it's a sign this is what Jim should take seriously.

In "I Needed Color," https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2yVYtV7mPg, Jim express to his loyal fans and new found audience of what he's been doing lately.  As an open book (he also wrote a book), Jim lets viewers in on his painting and sculpturing process in his foundry/art studio.


Once he switched to becoming an illustrator, cartoonist, painter, and sculptor, Jim realized he has bigger and deeper political and sociological issues that need to be addressed because he cares for this country and African-Americans that gave his first break in his comedic acting career.

As he mentioned, if it means "losing your audience," so be it.  He found a new audience and he still has die-hard fans that still follow him, regardless what path he takes.

At the end of the discussion, the culturati swarmed him, like a rock star.


Speaking of Radical Vulnerability, Big Mouth Table Read wth Nick Kroll voicing 25 characters in his adolescent/tween/puberty comedic Netflix cartoon, "Big Mouth, expresses that adults and kids are not alone in development, physically or emotionally.

As the discussion dives deeper, Nick Kroll works with his women writer peers in how females too have the same desires and awkwardness as much as their male peers.

They constantly consult with Planned Parenthood to know what real tweens and teens feel and go thru.

For an adolescent cartoon that most deem male-oriented, Big Mouth is heavily dependent on professional women doctors and professors to fully explore adolescent development from both boys' and girls' point of view.

With Radical Vulnerability, you're not alone at Vulture Festival.










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