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BYO Break In Summer Dog Day Dog Movies

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46 Responses to “BYO Break In Summer Dog Day Dog Movies”

  1. Stella's Boy says:

    47 Down: Uncaged. I have a super high tolerance for shark movies but I was disappointed. Setup is perfunctory, which is fine. But the shark attack fun in the caves is really repetitive and the same jump scare is used like eight times. Plus having someone die not from a shark attack is weak. There are a few suspenseful scenes and some cool shark moments, and the ending is awesome. But overall it’s only so-so. Decent matinee.

  2. movieman says:

    Had a really great time at “Blinded by the Light” this afternoon.
    It reminded me of how important Bruce Springsteen was to me in my college years.
    Springsteen had an uncanny ability to tap into the consciousness of young men of every/any stripe-permutation and make you think he was speaking directly TO YOU.
    When my Springsteen passion waned as I entered my 30s, I used to say that he was a “Young Man’s Rocker.” Which remains true.
    But “Blinded” is a gratifying reminder of my onetime “relationship” with The Boss, and how much he meant to me.
    Sure, you can pick the movie apart for overreaching, sentimentality and the occasional stereotype. But the damn thing works beautifully: it’s Chadha’s best film since “Bend it Like Beckham” (another movie you could tear apart for overreaching, etc.)
    Even the impromptu musical production numbers are charming.
    It’s clearly not making any waves theatrically, but I’m betting that it builds a formidable post-theatrical cult.

  3. leahnz says:

    i’m also a sucker for shark movies but i’d like a more real-world type with a good story not all OTT — maybe ‘crawl’ might usher in an era of b-movie killer animal flicks with a more grounded design (tho without killer BO this is probably unlikely). remember how scary like that one tigershark in ‘thunderball’ was, haha, oh simpler times

  4. Stella's Boy says:

    Other than Good Boys nothing new is doing well this weekend. Angry Birds 2 not expected to hit double-digits which is below expectations. 47 Meters Down 2 coming in below projections at around $7 million. Bernadette and Blinded by the Light only about $4 million. Not great.

  5. movieman says:

    I wonder if some of these DOA movies (like last weekend’s DOA movies) might’ve had a fighting chance if they hadn’t opened in such a cannibalistic environment.
    Even “Good Boys” would have grossed more minus the distraction of 4-5 other new movies competing for the same dwindling # of summer audience eyeballs.

    P.S.= And “Blinded by the Light” should have been platformed before going “wide.” Lots of dollars left on the table.

  6. palmtree says:

    I’m very excited to see Blinded by the Light. If it’s as good as they say, then I imagine I might remember this as the summer they came out with two excellent British South Asian led films examining a relationship with classic rock music.

  7. Bulldog68 says:

    I think Blinded by the Light just suffered from being too many musical homages too soon. Certainly the floodgates opened with Star and Rhapsody last year, but in under 12 months and within the last 8 weeks we’ve also had Rocketman and Yesterday. They should’ve waited until Oct/Nov to release this.

    And if the marketing dept had the chops maybe tie it to a release of Greatest Hits album. There would’ve been lots of earned media for something like that. I haven’t seen it but it appears the studio dropped the ball on a film that deserved more. Add this to the list that includes Brightburn and Booksmart. What is it the movies that start with B this year?

  8. movieman says:

    Along w/ “Late Night,” “Blinded” is another pricey Sundance 2019 acquisition that crash-landed when it hit theaters.
    Bulldog has a valid point about a possible music movie glut, but I still think there are enough Bruceophiles out there to have made this a sleeper hit if it had been lovingly nurtured like “Bend it Like Beckham” was 16 years ago.
    A shame.

    Speaking of which, read ’em and weep:

    Title Friday
    8/16
    (Estimates)
    1 GOOD BOYS
    Universal

    3,204 $8,310,000

    — / $2,594
    $8,310,000 / 1

    2 FAST & FURIOUS PRESENTS: HOBBS & SHAW
    Universal

    3,757 $3,810,000

    +89% / $1,014
    $123,411,600 / 15

    3 THE LION KING (2019)
    Buena Vista

    3,560 $3,200,000

    +63.6% / $899
    $487,407,985 / 29

    4 47 METERS DOWN: UNCAGED
    Entertainment Studios

    2,853 $3,150,000

    — / $1,104
    $3,150,000 / 1

    5 SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK
    Lionsgate

    3,135 $3,000,000

    +78.5% / $957
    $33,166,784 / 8

    6 THE ANGRY BIRDS MOVIE 2
    Sony / Columbia

    3,869 $2,750,000

    +92.6% / $711
    $8,487,146 / 4

    7 DORA AND THE LOST CITY OF GOLD
    Paramount

    3,735 $2,225,000

    +81.5% / $596
    $27,634,724 / 8

    8 ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD
    Sony / Columbia

    2,504 $2,100,000

    +59.8% / $839
    $108,848,212 / 22

    9 BLINDED BY THE LIGHT
    Warner Bros.

    2,307 $1,380,000

    — / $598
    $1,380,000 / 1

    10 THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN
    Fox

    2,765 $1,297,000

    +61.1% / $469
    $13,775,187 / 8

  9. leahnz says:

    maybe if they’d called it “wrapped up like a douche” it would’ve made more dosh

  10. movieman says:

    August 16-18, 2019
    Weekend

    1 N Good Boys Uni. $21,000,000 – 3,204 – $6,554 $21,000,000 $20 1

    2 1 Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw Uni. $14,140,000 -44.0% 3,757 -587 $3,764 $133,741,600 $200 3

    3 3 The Lion King (2019) BV $11,900,000 -41.1% 3,560 -660 $3,343 $496,107,985 – 5

    4 N The Angry Birds Movie 2 Sony $10,500,000 – 3,869 – $2,714 $16,237,146 $65 1

    5 2 Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark LGF $10,050,000 -51.9% 3,135 – $3,206 $40,216,784 $25 2

    6 N 47 Meters Down: Uncaged ENTMP $9,000,000 – 2,853 – $3,155 $9,000,000 $12 1

    7 4 Dora and the Lost City of Gold Par. $8,500,000 -51.2% 3,735 – $2,276 $33,909,724 $49 2

    8 5 Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Sony $7,600,000 -34.8% 2,504 -1,003 $3,035 $114,348,212 $90 4

    9 N Blinded By the Light WB $4,450,000 – 2,307 – $1,929 $4,450,000 – 1

    10 6 The Art of Racing in the Rain Fox $4,403,000 -45.9% 2,765 – $1,592 $16,881,187 – 2

  11. Stella's Boy says:

    Can’t wait to see Ready or Not this week. Looks like a blast. Not expecting great box office. Buzz/awareness seems low but then again that proves not a whole lot. Have literally not seen or heard a single thing about the new Jesus movie opening Friday. Not that I have any interest in it but typically I feel like I’ll see a trailer or read something about the latest faith-based endeavor. But nada. Pleased to see that B-action movie/Karate Kid writer Robert Mark Kamen penned Angel Has Fallen. Surprised that Ric Roman Waugh directed it. Guess he gave up on making gritty prison movies. He was like his own genre. We’re getting Luce here on Friday and I think it looks fantastic. Really want to see that one. Still need to see The Farewell.

  12. Sideshow Bill says:

    I’m hoping The Farewell plays around here soon. Getting annoyed

    Good Boys was…..cute. None of it should work but focusing on the naivety of the boys is where the best jokes come from. It was just a fun 90 minutes. No more no less.

  13. Stella's Boy says:

    Nothing wrong with a fun 90 minutes. I look forward to checking it out but will probably wait until Redbox or HBO.

  14. movieman says:

    Shockingly, both “The Farewell” and “Peanut Butter Falcon” are opening locally on Friday.
    Never thought that would happen.
    Remember: this is the same podunk town that didn’t open “Blinded by the Light” last weekend…and that was on 2,200 screens.
    Good thing I signed up for Regal’s “Unlimited Movies” pass-thingy last week.
    The $18-per-month fee could turn out to be a real bargain.
    Just hope they don’t screw the pooch by tinkering with the “unlimited” part like Movie Pass did.

  15. Amblinman says:

    We tried to warn JS Disney would eventually kill the thing he loves most. 🙁

  16. Hcat says:

    Amblin, was that about Spidey?

    Tough to say what he loved most, he always seemed to love everything so very very much.

  17. Sideshow Bill says:

    No doubt Stella. I was a hell of a lot more entertained by Good Boys than the recent barely-a-Movie Annabelle.

    Spidey…I dunno. Yea it sucks for me as a MCU fan. But I’m kinda thinking the thing may have peaked. I’m not really excited for much of anything until they get X-Men and F4 going. Dr. Strange and The Eternals sound promising but I guess they needed Spidey to prop them up as they try new things.

    Matrix 4: almost zero interest. That could change. But I’m a dummy and still have no idea what was going on in those sequels

  18. amblinman says:

    “Amblin, was that about Spidey?”

    Ya. I recall post after post of “Peter” being the tentpole future Iron Man replacement yada yada.

    He was probably right, which is why Sony is being stupid.

    @Sideshow I was interested in where they go with the Hunted Spider Man arc or whatever they initiated at the end of FFH. Beyond that, sure.

    I was more interested in a Matrix reboot when they were talking about a new take with someone like Michael B Jordan as the lead. The words “a 4th Matrix is now in the works with Keanu Reeves” does not sound at all like any of that.

    Dear Hollywood: Keanu is only good as John Wick. Please don’t mistake that for anything else. This is why we have had to suffer through numerous attempts to make Chris Hemsworth happen outside of Thor.

  19. Hcat says:

    It is insane that the Matrix was 20 years ago.

    Greenlighting a 4th feels like an act of desperation. Very much a case of what do we have that’s exploitable as opposed to say the ‘how can we tell this story differently’ approach that they took with those recent Planet of the Ape movies. Matrix was a bit unique not just for its effects but it heralded the massive shift where everything from Star Wars prequels to Potter to Marvel became the hero journey which has dominated action narratives for the past two decades. But how cool will a new Matrix movie seem when almost every action movie is now a bit Matrixy?

    Couple things:

    They need a strong producer, someone to cull back their ‘EPIC’ instincts. The matrix sequels and Jupiter got so mired down with exposition and deep plotting they kept loosing momentum.

    This better not be PG 13 (but it will be)

    Time to revive the ‘Bring Back Tank’ campaign.

    As for Spidey this seems like an unforced error for Disney. They are going to make a boatload of cash off of Far From Home with no risk, and get input on another studio’s signature tentpole. It was of course a strange situation but was a pretty elegant solution to their problem. After retiring Cap and Iron Man to also lose Spider-Man over an extra $25 million seems very shortsighted.

  20. Dr Wally Rises says:

    ‘The matrix sequels and Jupiter got so mired down with exposition and deep plotting they kept loosing momentum’.

    Just to play devil’s advocate, wasn’t it widely rumored that Matrix Revolutions was widely slashed in an act of blind panic after negative fan reaction to the longeurs in Reloaded? I find it telling that Revolutions is twenty minutes shorter than the previous two movies, when the trend is for series finales to go bigger and longer. The ever-enigmatic Wachowskis would never comment of course, but I do recall Mcweeny saying something along these lines a few years ago.

    Oh, and I think everyone might be drinking the Kool-Aid over this stalled Spidey story. My guess is that this is a game of corporate brinksmanship that’s unfortunately being played out publicly. A continuation of the MCU Spidey suits all parties, and my gut instinct says that the relationship will ultimately continue.

  21. Ray Pride says:

    Lana is directing solo, and the script is by Lana and the novelists David Mitchell (“Cloud Atlas,” “Black Swan Green”) and Sasha Hemon (“Nowhere Man,” “The Lazarus Project”). Both contributed to “Sense8.”

  22. Hcat says:

    Haven’t watched Sense8. Any chance it had a tight driven narrative?

  23. Ray Pride says:

    Have you heard about the globe-straddling telepathic orgies

  24. leahnz says:

    when the ship goes down ya better be ready
    (when the ship goes down)

    silly billies thinking this is the post-matrix universe

    having said that i don’t know what to think. carrie anne moss was the mum in ‘disturbia’. i don’t know why i keep thinking about that — save us mum, make it go away. this simulation blows, reset please. you know in ‘lost in space’ when the robot flails around with its weird tube arms, “danger, danger!”…listen to the robot

  25. Christian says:

    Ray: Is that a typo, or does the scriptwriter, Aleksandar Hemon, go by Sasha? Just curious. Hadn’t heard that before.

  26. Bulldog68 says:

    Where is JS these days?

  27. Bulldog68 says:

    If Spidey does remain with Sony, the one sure fire way that they can guarantee a quality product would be to make Spidey under a marquee director. Three names come to mind for me, Nolan, Mendes, Bigelow. If they have to break away from the MCU, then go create your own vision with a Director than can put a definitive style on it. I’d also love to see what Jordan Peele would do with a big budget, even though he said he doesn’t want to direct a film starring a white guy.

  28. Pete B says:

    “Where is JS these days?”

    JS quit the Hot Blog in a huff because we weren’t genuflecting enough to the awesome cinematic achievement that was Endgame. So now he’s terrorizing some other blog with:
    “BLUE CATS!”
    “BATMAN NEVER QUITS!”
    And other assorted IO/JS malarkey.

  29. Hcat says:

    ‘Jordan Peele would do with a big budget, even though he said he doesn’t want to direct a film starring a white guy.’

    Easy fix for that! But that’s probably a few years down the line. I was not overly impressed by Homecoming so am holding out as long as I can for Far From Home, but cleaving Spidey from the MCU could be a blessing. It can just be a movie without the extra twenty minutes of cameo’s and exposition of how it falls into the greater universe.

    Of the six spidey’s I have seen two were phenomenal (2 and Verse) two were pretty good (Raimi and Homecoming) and two were terrible (3 and Amazing). I have a ton of good will for the character, but honestly how many chances do I have to give them on it. Bond wasn’t this hit and miss until the second decade.

  30. leahnz says:

    nah what actually went down with Jf sebastian is as follows:
    he (predictably) hyperventilated and blew a gasket when there wasn’t universal praise of ‘end lame’ on the blog, and then instead of handling their shit and dealing with matters in-house a certain sperglord went and somehow privately tattled to the head nun like a whiny little narc in second grade about JS being a pooper, and then DP — heretofore gone and unheard from in these here parts for yonks — suddenly and inexplicably swoops in all paternalistic alpha-papa out of the blue like nothing ever happened to tell JS to take it down a notch, and then JS – miffed af at being narc-ed out – said adios muchachos. i pictured it a bit like the sandy b bit in ‘the heat’, flipping the double-bird on the glass door on her way out after getting the sack

    re spider-man, it’s like farmers: you have to leave the land fallow for a bit to allow it to regenerate for the next crop, otherwise the land goes stink.

  31. sam says:

    Like Movieman, Blinded By The Light reminded me of how much Bruce’s music means to me. (Until Wrecking Crew, I was buysing every new release fatihfully.) It even inspired me that we should include Because The Night in our wedding program. But back to the movie…
    Based on real life, it works as a jukebox musical. If it gets transferred to the stage it will allow the creators to avoid the trap of a porch set with a girl named Mary going in and out of the screen door.

  32. Stella's Boy says:

    Didn’t Peele also turn down the Blade reboot and say he isn’t all that interested in comic book movies or the MCU or something like that? I thought I read that somewhere.

  33. John says:

    GOOD BOYS made me laugh. Sure, it’s Superbad starring 11-year-olds, but the three boys were good actors with fully realized characters.

  34. Christian says:

    Ray: Thank you!

  35. Stella's Boy says:

    I really, really wanted to like Ready or Not more than I did. A little surprised by the universal critical acclaim it’s received. Samara Weaving is really good and Adam Brody is fun. But no one else made much of an impression. I wanted to want Grace to off these fools more than I did. The set up is pretty good and I did laugh quite a bit, but right when I expected it to kick into high gear and get really fun, it kind of fell flat. I got bored in the home stretch and the ritual shit is very dumb and goofy. I went from laughing with to laughing at it. Just didn’t find it all that satisfying. It’s OK. Nowhere near as good as You’re Next. I do like the last line.

  36. movieman says:

    SB: I liked “Ready” a bit more than you, but share some of your “Is that all there is?” sentiments.
    Also (definitely) prefer “You’re Next.”
    On the plus side, it was a fairly breezy 95 minutes.

  37. Stella's Boy says:

    Definitely appreciate the running time. That’s a good way of putting it. I had a good enough time. It’s an easy watch. But I also felt a bit underwhelmed.

  38. movieman says:

    SB: I left when the credits started: was there an epilogue that I missed?

    SPOILER ALERT

    Half-expected a scene where she meets with a lawyer and learns that she’s inherited the entire family fortune.
    Which would have been sweet justice; not to mention a great epilogue.

  39. movieman says:

    Friday
    8/23
    (Estimates)
    1 ANGEL HAS FALLEN
    Lionsgate

    3,286 $7,900,000

    — / $2,404
    $7,900,000 / 1

    2 GOOD BOYS
    Universal

    3,353 $3,440,000

    +102% / $1,026
    $33,747,505 / 8

    3 OVERCOMER
    Sony / AFFIRM Films

    1,723 $3,030,000

    — / $1,759
    $3,030,000 / 1

    4 READY OR NOT
    Fox Searchlight

    2,855 $2,415,000

    +109.7% / $846
    $5,443,148 / 3

    5 THE LION KING (2019)
    Buena Vista

    3,300 $2,198,000

    +91.1% / $666
    $504,683,735 / 36

    6 FAST & FURIOUS PRESENTS: HOBBS & SHAW
    Universal

    3,312 $2,150,000

    +98.9% / $649
    $141,711,255 / 22

    7 SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK
    Lionsgate

    2,927 $1,700,000

    +108.5% / $581
    $46,189,202 / 15

    8 THE ANGRY BIRDS MOVIE 2
    Sony / Columbia

    3,869 $1,680,000

    +109.1% / $434
    $22,406,263 / 11

    9 ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD
    Sony / Columbia

    2,209 $1,430,000

    +81.7% / $647
    $119,617,467 / 29

  40. Stella's Boy says:

    I left then too but I love that idea.

    Damn the jesus movie is making bank. Must have effectively marketed it to the church crowd.

  41. movieman says:

    Yeah, and I never thought a third Gerard Butler “Fallen” movie would open as well as “Angel” apparently is.
    Butler’s two previous Mike Banning movies were indefensibly schlocky–not to mention culturally insensensitive to the point of seeming like ISIS recruitment videos.
    I’ll see “Angel” eventually. (Duh; what the *** don’t I see? I’ll even get around to “Overcomer” when it hits. DVD.) But I can’t fathom why anyone would pay first-run admission prices for it, especially if they’ve seen “Olympus” and/or “London.”

    Man, the original “Angry Birds” and “47 Meters” movies both seem like one-trick ponies now, don’t they?
    Both of their sequels are vastly underperforming.
    Because “Dora” did relatively OK, I was surprised that it’s already segued to the local discount house.
    Which is where I finally got around to “Stuber” last night.
    Maybe it was the mood I was in–or maybe my expectations were low–but I had a decent enough time.
    I’m almost glad it didn’t do better since it would’ve surely been spun off into a sequel or even a franchise and just
    gotten incrementally bigger, more expensive and, frankly, terrible in the whole 21st century filmmaking evolutionary process.

  42. Stella's Boy says:

    I thought the shark movie would do better. Ready or Not should be doing better too. It’s a good crowd pleaser. Seems like a lot of stuff hasn’t been marketed very well.

    I’ll see Fallen Part 3 for sure but I agree about the first two. Doesn’t the second feature the all-time classic line “go back to fuckheadistan.” Yikes.

  43. movieman says:

    SB: I’d forgotten–or maybe suppressed–memories of that “f**kheadistan” line.
    Yeah, that sounds familiar.

    Hate to keep beating this drum, but I still insist that many of the August casualties would have performed better (not necessarily “great,” but definitely better) in a less ridiculously oversaturated market for new releases.

    Only one wide release opened July 19th, July 26th and August 2nd.
    That fact continues to blow my mind, particularly with all the counterprogramming choices August releases offered.

  44. movieman says:

    August 23-25, 2019
    Weekend

    1 N Angel has Fallen LGF $21,250,000 – 3,286 – $6,467 $21,250,000 $40 1

    2 1 Good Boys Uni. $11,750,000 -45.1% 3,353 +149 $3,504 $42,057,505 $20 2

    3 N Overcomer Affirm $8,200,000 – 1,723 – $4,759 $8,200,000 $5 1

    4 3 The Lion King (2019) BV $8,150,000 -33.9% 3,300 -260 $2,470 $510,635,735 – 6

    5 2 Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw Uni. $8,140,000 -42.6% 3,312 -445 $2,458 $147,701,255 $200 4

    6 N Ready or Not FoxS $7,550,000 – 2,855 – $2,644 $10,578,148 – 1

    7 4 The Angry Birds Movie 2 Sony $6,365,000 -38.5% 3,869 – $1,645 $27,091,263 $65 2

    8 5 Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark LGF $6,000,000 -40.0% 2,927 -208 $2,050 $50,489,202 $25 3

    9 6 Dora and the Lost City of Gold Par. $5,200,000 -39.3% 2,843 -892 $1,829 $43,099,953 $49 3

    10 8 Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Sony $5,000,000 -34.9% 2,209 -295 $2,263 $123,187,467 $90 5

  45. movieman says:

    Really enjoyed “Peanut Butter Falcon.”
    Reminded me of a ’70s Demme movie in a lot of ways: which is a very good thing.
    Shia is fantastic.
    If this makes sense, he inhabits his body (and owns his presence) like few actors working today.
    Does anyone remember why Shia went from critics’ darling/fan favorite to persona non grata?
    Was it something in his personal life, or too many “Transformers” movies?
    Dakota Johnson is wonderful, too.

The Hot Blog

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It shows how out of it I was in trying to be in it, acknowledging that I was out of it to myself, and then thinking, “Okay, how do I stop being out of it? Well, I get some legitimate illogical narrative ideas” — some novel, you know?

So I decided on three writers that I might be able to option their material and get some producer, or myself as producer, and then get some writer to do a screenplay on it, and maybe make a movie.

And so the three projects were “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep,” “Naked Lunch” and a collection of Bukowski. Which, in 1975, forget it — I mean, that was nuts. Hollywood would not touch any of that, but I was looking for something commercial, and I thought that all of these things were coming.

There would be no Blade Runner if there was no Ray Bradbury. I couldn’t find Philip K. Dick. His agent didn’t even know where he was. And so I gave up.

I was walking down the street and I ran into Bradbury — he directed a play that I was going to do as an actor, so we know each other, but he yelled “hi” — and I’d forgot who he was.

So at my girlfriend Barbara Hershey’s urging — I was with her at that moment — she said, “Talk to him! That guy really wants to talk to you,” and I said “No, fuck him,” and keep walking.

But then I did, and then I realized who it was, and I thought, “Wait, he’s in that realm, maybe he knows Philip K. Dick.” I said, “You know a guy named—” “Yeah, sure — you want his phone number?”

My friend paid my rent for a year while I wrote, because it turned out we couldn’t get a writer. My friends kept on me about, well, if you can’t get a writer, then you write.”
~ Hampton Fancher

“That was the most disappointing thing to me in how this thing was played. Is that I’m on the phone with you now, after all that’s been said, and the fundamental distinction between what James is dealing with in these other cases is not actually brought to the fore. The fundamental difference is that James Franco didn’t seek to use his position to have sex with anyone. There’s not a case of that. He wasn’t using his position or status to try to solicit a sexual favor from anyone. If he had — if that were what the accusation involved — the show would not have gone on. We would have folded up shop and we would have not completed the show. Because then it would have been the same as Harvey Weinstein, or Les Moonves, or any of these cases that are fundamental to this new paradigm. Did you not notice that? Why did you not notice that? Is that not something notable to say, journalistically? Because nobody could find the voice to say it. I’m not just being rhetorical. Why is it that you and the other critics, none of you could find the voice to say, “You know, it’s not this, it’s that”? Because — let me go on and speak further to this. If you go back to the L.A. Times piece, that’s what it lacked. That’s what they were not able to deliver. The one example in the five that involved an issue of a sexual act was between James and a woman he was dating, who he was not working with. There was no professional dynamic in any capacity.

~ David Simon