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In the Lion’s Den with The Romanian Dramatic Marius Iliescu

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In 1995 Marius Iliescu graduated Hyperion University, a private conservatory in Bucharest, Romania majoring in acting. Acting was a form of expression in a distressed society where life was not permitted to be free even after the anti-communist revolution of 1989, in which Iliescu took up arms. Iliescu would discover Stanislavksi’s psychological acting and approaches of physical actions, which would result in his travels throughout the European countryside (Vienna, Amsterdam, Avignon, Paris, Rome, Glasgow, Birmingham and Dublin) with the Greek play The Suppliants. The production was performed in French, a language that Iliescu speaks fluently.

In 1997, Iliescu performed the play at the Lincoln Center Festival in New York City, that moment being conclusive in his choice to continue pursuing his career in the United States. In 2005, Iliescu graduated in Dance Performance and Choreography, becoming the principal dancer with the most captivating contemporary dance company in the middle of the United States, the Detroit Dance Collective, lead by the explosive Artistic Director Barbara Selinger.

Settling in the Chicago, Iliescu would pursue acting opportunities in Hollywood where he helped launch Ave Fenix Pictures, a movie studio founded by Mexican native, Mónica Esmeralda León, that has been hailed the first Latino film studio in the American Midwest. Ave Fenix Pictures is an independent film hub with two functioning branches, León covering Chicago and Iliescu operating Los Angeles. Iliescu debuted an iconic character in the award winning and nominated independent film Adios Vaya Con Dios, an Official Selection at the Bel-Air Film Festival and Runner up for Best Audience Feature Film Award. The movie stars and is written by Zachary Laoutides, about a half Mexican and Irish gang member trying to leave the violent streets of Chicago. The Mexican Irishman soon collides into Iliescu’s character, the sadistic Olmec gang leader, Tiger De’Leon, who finds satisfaction in torturing and sexually abusing his young recruits. Although the scene was short-lived, Iliescu directed the scene with real gang members and neighborhood locals. The scene was impacting and gained exceptionally good reviews from most critics. Critics and fans soon asked the questions – who is Marius Iliescu and where can we see more of him?

We caught up with the Romanian Dramatic and asked him how, where and when…

Ave Fenix Pictures is interesting because it came out of nowhere very suddenly. It has secured itself on the independent stage with the unique film of Adios Vaya Con Dios, where everyone seemed to contribute an artistic vision. How did a film from the streets get to Hollywood?

(MI): Streets dictate cinema. You can’t fool the streets, they dictate the successes of your film and they can feel the pulse of when a movie is real, that’s when a movie is able to transcend. This is what happened on the streets of Chicago; our successes was dictated by the voice of the streets.

You gave us a memorable performance in Adios Vaya Con Dios. I heard that Zachary Laoutides was actually injured on set and you were working with real street gang members. How did you direct the scene with injury and take real people off the streets coaching them into a noteworthy piece of cinema?

(MI): Somebody’s pain can by a catalyst through which all others unite. We all have pains of all kind: physical, emotional — When an actor is in this situation you help him go through it by raising the stakes in the scene. My connection to Zach’s pain created such a depth in between our characters — the effect felt and acclaimed by public and critics alike. In Chicago’s gang worlds ‘respect’ is more valuable than gold. If on set these people feel the ‘respect’ they will give the director all their life experience without restrictions. I needed exactly that to create the authenticity of the scene and implicit, the film asked for it.

Being a guy of average stature you made Tiger De’Leon into an intimidating goliath who felt larger then life. Where did you go mentally to mold yourself into that temperament?

(MI): To me acting is a slice of life larger than life itself. Even in the most banal moments, on screen must exist an element of surprise, an unseen depth, a rhythm change… Tiger De’Leon is a bomb with delayed effect. All I had to do is to find and fire my own wicks — Tiger De’Leon belongs to a powerful cartel family, which the sky is the limit. In his cognizance, no law applies to him and the fact that he’s not holding real supremacy in Chicago makes him violent. His own malice feeds his own misery, creating a venomous circle — ancient coming to manhood traditions and physical abuse. His name says it all; what’s the use of being a Tiger and a Lion if caged with limitation in Chicago?

What is your goal of expanding Ave Fenix Pictures in California?

(MI): Filmmaking with a message; recreating a positive image of the Latino community through film. California is the perfect place to work on those goals.

Rumor has it there’s an Adios Vaya Con Dios sequel in the works. Everyone wants to see Tiger comeback, but how and when is that going to happen?

(MI): I don’t know yet (laughs)…. Paraphrasing Zachary Laoutides, it’s a personal story to him that was never fully told. There’s more story to his character Rory King and more narrative surrounding all the characters in the film. I truly believe he wants to go back and show what wasn’t used in the screenplay. The movie became art house and that’s rewarding, but there’s too much culture and depth to be satisfied. I think Tiger’s brother is not too happy about what went down, and I hear the brother looks a lot like Tiger (laughs)!

 

For more information:

Marius Iliescu: www.mariusiliescu.com

Watch Adios Vaya Con Dios on Itunes:

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Dune Part Two: The Lisan Al Gaib comes for you!

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Welcome back to our struggle for control of the known universe already in progress, the continuation of the journey of Paul Atreides from exile to Emperor, Dune Part Two

So when we last left our intrepid if dubious heroes, House Atreides had been betrayed and virtually destroyed, by a combination of House Harkonnens surprise attacks and the added treachery of Emperor Shaddam and his Sardaukar. Paul Atreides (Timothee Chalamet), the last surviving heir (so far) of House Atreides and his mother Jessica, have taken refuge on the desert planet of Arrakis amongst the indigenous Fremen, and as far as most are aware, the other remnants of House Atreides are dead as well. And here is where we catch up with everyone, as the struggle for Atreides emergence and dominance begins in earnest! 

The Emperor’s daughter Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh) is known for her many skills, but her copious note-taking and writings on the large events shaping her world come to the forefront as she takes counsel with her father amidst games of chance on their homeworld. Her life is one of luxury and privilege but alas, Irulan is a trained Bene Gesserit and is well aware that in all likelihood, she will be used as a pawn in the marriage games empires have to go through. Bet she never imagined it could be to a House everyone swore had been utterly destroyed. 

Meanwhile, on Arrakis, Paul is trying to integrate himself into the Fremen way of life, which is admittedly far different from the life he led back on the Atreides homeworld of Caladan. (If nothing else, Caladan has vast oceans.) The Fremen are fiercely independent, gloriously strong fighters, survivors who dare to ride and revere the giant sandworms that inhabit their planet that they call Shai-Hulud, and rightfully distrustful of outsiders. After all, the previous stewardship of Arrakis belonged to House Harkonnen, known for their cruelty and glee at hunting Fremen and torturing their victims, sometimes for weeks at a time. But Paul won his and Jessicas way into the Fremen by fair combat against Jamis, and if nothing else, the Fremen are firm in their beliefs of the old ways. 

Or rather, the elder Fremen are, most particularly the famed Fedaykin fighter and Naib (leader) of Sietch Tabr Stilgar (Javier Bardem) is adamant in his unshakable belief that Paul is the foretold Lisan Al Gaib, the Voice from the Outer World, that will lead the Fremen to peace and paradise. Stilgar’s steadfast belief in Paul’s potential only grows, and he manages with just that to convince a great many of the other Fremen elders. The younger generation of Fremen however, of which Paul’s beloved Chani (Zendaya) is a part, generally scoff at the legends of otherworldly prophets and Arrakis as a fabled green, wet heaven. In the beginning, Paul himself swears he doesn’t want to be the Messiah, only a Fremen fighter amongst the rest of them, hundreds of years of the Missionaria Protectiva, the Bene Gesserit practice of spreading useful religious propaganda as seeds on various planets, is working double-time against him. It doesn’t help that Paul’s mother Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) is expounding on that myth as much as she possibly can. 

And why would she do that? Survival yes, but also, Jessica is a thoroughly trained Bene Gesserit and knows of plans within plans within plans. Jessica also has many secrets of her own, and one very important one happens to be that she’s pregnant with Paul’s sister. The Bene Gesserit bodily control may be something out of legend, but even Jessica, possibly Reverend Mother Mohiam’s best and most fractious student, will have trouble with the trial the Fremen are insisting she go through to become truly one of them. The Reverend Mother equivalent of Sietch Tabr, known as their Sayyadina, is old and dying, and the Fremen have to have a Reverend Mother. Jessica tells Paul this much and explains that each culture is different in their trial to become a Reverend Mother, so she honestly doesn’t know what to expect. The reality happens to be worse than she could’ve imagined – Jessica must drink the Water of Life, a deadly poison that comes from Shai-Hulud (sort of), and come out the other side of it. And Jessica manages to do it, barely, with almost all of the consequences going to the poor fetus in her womb, the girl that will grow to become Alia Atreides, an insane legend in her own right. But for now, the unnamed fetus is awake and aware and full of the memories of generations of Bene Gesserit women that came before her – before she was even born

Paul participates in razzia raids amongst the Fremen as they work to take out the spice mining operations of the Harkonnens, immerses himself in the vastly different desert culture of his chosen people, and perhaps most importantly, his romance with his beloved Chani only grows stronger. After declaring his desire to join the fierce fighter elites amongst the Fremen known as Fedaykin, Paul is told by Stilgar that he must summon and ride one of the giant sandworms, the embodiment of Shai-Hulud where the Fremen get their terrible tooth Crysknives from. And after much sendup, in a glorious scene of blinding sand and huge monstrous killer worm-riding, Paul is triumphant and riding atop the sacred creature, his Maker hooks set properly to control the great beast, waving at great distance to his fellow Fremen as Chani looks on in bemusement. 

But that’s all external, and inside Paul is beginning to become divided on what he wants to do. As Jessica pushes the Protectiva hard amongst the women and priestesses of the Fremen, she is also pushing her son to become much larger than he ever wanted to be, if nothing else a conqueror can take revenge for the destruction of House Atreides and the death of her beloved Duke Leto. Paul may have earned his place amongst the Fremen and been given new names – Usul, meaning the strength of the base of the pillar, as his private name within the Sietch; and Muad’Dib, from the small mouse survivor of the desert, well versed in desert ways, called ‘Instructor-of-Boys’ in Fremen legend, as his open-use name – but now everyone wants Paul to be something greater, and potentially more destructive, than what he currently is. It only gets worse when Paul begins to suffer prophetic dreams, and visions when he’s awake, prodding him further to his destiny as an epic conqueror of worlds. Nothing can be done for it, Paul convinces himself that he must take the Water of Life himself, to awaken the sleeping prophet inside himself, and allow him to hopefully See a path through the future. 

The problem with that plan, is that Bene Gesserit are almost exclusively all women, and only they are supposed to know how to transmute poisons internally, along with all sorts of other “witchcraft”. But Jessica has been training Paul in forbidden Bene Gesserit ways all his life, and as much as Paul might rail and even quail against it, there is no denying his incoming destiny, crushing any resistance he may have with all the force of a giant sandworm hunting a spice blow. And even when Paul has finally given in and taken the cursed substance almost mockingly called the Water of Life, it falls to another strong and prophetic in her right female in his life, his beloved Chani, to save him from himself. But even Chani can’t stop Paul’s destructive destiny as the conqueror of the known worlds, guilty of slaying millions upon millions of people in his quest for vengeance, thinly disguised as peace. 

Over on the Harkonnen homeworld of Geidi Prime, “Beast” Rabban (Dave Bautista) is disgusted and enraged at the continuing Fremen raids against the Harkonnens on Arrakis, and terrified of what his uncle the notoriously cruel Baron Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgard), will do to him in response. The Baron’s nephew Feyd-Rautha (Austin Butler), heir apparent or na-Baron to House Harkonnen, demonstrates his blood-inborn savagery in a slaughter of the remnants of House Atreides gladiator-style, as his birthday celebration. Pleased with the spectacle, the Baron commands Feyd-Rautha to take control of the fight against this Fremen rebel known as Muad’dib, as Rabban is proving himself more and more useless. And any tool or toy that the Baron finds broken or unusable, is destroyed before being discarded. 

As the legend of Muad’dib grows off Arrakis and circulates among the Imperial worlds, the Emperor grinds his teeth in frustration and the Bene Gesserit, led by Reverend Mother Mohiam (Charlotte Rampling) as the Emperor’s Truthsayer, begin pushing forward their plots and machinations. Lady Margot Fenring (Lea Seydoux), a criminally underused character in this respect, demonstrates her willingness to be a pawn in Bene Gesserit machinations, but never forget, strong Bene Gesserit women have been breaking their own rules for generations. Just look at what Jessica did. 

As the raids and rebellion on Arrakis continue, both the Emperor and the Baron become more and more desperate, sending in mercenaries and smugglers in the hopes they might have more luck. And aboard one of those smuggler’s vessels happens to be an old hand at being a smuggler himself, the warrior troubadour with the scarred face given him by “Beast” Rabban himself, Gurney Halleck (Josh Brolin). Reunited with his beloved Duke’s only son, Gurney finds himself swept up in the legend of Muad’dib in the making along with everyone else, though at least from Gurney’s point of view, Paul is using the messianic angle to take revenge for House Atreides. 

Finally, in an act of what could be considered the ultimate in arrogance, Emperor Shaddam Corrino himself comes to Arrakis, along with Princess Irulan and many others of his Court, the Baron, and Feyd-Rautha in tow as well, to crush this upstart Muad’dib and his Fremen warriors. Sadly for all that the powerhouse actor Christopher Walken plays him, Emperor Shaddam Corrino is shown as a doddering old man, cowed in the face of Muad’dib’s overwhelming vitality and growing-ever-stronger legend. And there is where we will end the review, for the final confrontation between all key players in the Known Universe is full of spoilers and derivations from the original opus of Frank Herbert’s novel Dune

For those of you who stuck around long enough to get to the end, after all, Dune Part Two is almost three hours long itself, if you are fans of the original novel and the zany Lynchian masterpiece that was the first Dune film, you may be disappointed or even angered at the changes made to the story for the climactic end scenes. Director Villenuve has an eye for making grand epic scenes like Paul’s sandworm ride but can be a bit scattered when it comes to piecing the story together with all the key players needing to be involved in a way that can be understood by any layman. Dune in any form is a rich, vast universe of storytelling, and even an almost three-hour-long sequel simply can’t cover every last bit that’s in the novels. But if nothing else, the film is an overwhelming feast for the eyes and should bring a whole new legion of fans to the many worlds contained within Dune

If you want to dive further into the Dune-iverse, do yourself a favor and read the Dune prequel books written by Herbert Jr. and Kevin J. Anderson. Until then, dive into the sands of Arrakis along with Shai-Hulud and scream vengeance to the skies with Paul Muad’dib Atreides in Dune Part Two, in theaters now! 

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The 8 Episode Series Tries To Encompass A Lot Leaving Fans In A Cliffhanger.

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The 2010 “Avatar: The Last Airbender” movie by M. Night Shyamalan faced criticism for its deviations from the beloved animated series. The film struggled with pacing, casting, and a lackluster script, disappointing fans who cherished the source material. In contrast, the 2024 Netflix series has generated positive buzz for its commitment to diverse casting, adherence to the original storyline, and improved character development. The series seems poised to capture the essence of the animated show, offering a fresh and faithful adaptation that resonates with both new and existing fans.

Even though the Netflix series comes closer to the core ideals of the animated series, I feel it lacks heart. Many scenes barely scratch the surface of the relationships between the characters and the push-and-pull relationship between Aang and Zuko. I will admit the CG versions of Momo and Appa are just so gosh darn cute.

The 8 episode series tries to encompass a lot leaving fans in a cliffhanger. It’s worth a watch and I am hanging on for the next season to be announced.

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