Hey, kids, welcome to the Phile for a Friday. How are you? Honestly worst purchase of 2020 was a 2020 planner. Haha. At this point it seems pretty clear that our new “coronavirus normal” isn’t going anywhere for a while. As the pandemic numbers continue to ebb and flow and the CDC asks us to continue social distancing and remain vigilant it looks like we’re going to need to make the temporary measures we all adopted to stop the spread of COVID-19 a little more permanent. With that in mind, you might as well upgrade your face mask from the random layers of fabric you had laying around the house to something a little more utility and durability than the cotton masks and cheap surgical face masks most people are wearing. The disposable surgical masks and DIY cloth face coverings (i.e. an old bandana you wore to a music festival seven years ago that you now tie around your face every time you go to the grocery store) were fine for the temporary, but the cloth masks and coffee filter-esque disposables are not a long-term solution to our face mask needs. Not to mention they’re uncomfortable and inconvenient. Enter sippyMASK, the only mask that was created with the understanding that people sort of hate having to wear these things, even though the mask use is necessary. As the creators of the sippyMASK explain on their site, “We talked about how we missed going to restaurants and bars and how difficult it would be to eat and drink while wearing masks when they reopened. Were we really going to have to take our masks off between every bite of food or sip of our drink? We looked online for a mask that would allow us to eat and drink without having to remove it, and while we found some with small slits for straws and others with mouth covers that were extremely difficult to remove, no mask worked in real life or looked like something we would want to wear. So we decided to make our own.” So, sippyMASK fabric masks are washable, reusable masks with a flap on them so that you can eat and drink while you’re out and about without the hassle of having to lift up, lower, or take off your face mask. Made from neoprene with a cotton fabric liner, the “mouth hatch” on the sippyMASK is held closed and tight with a magnet when you don’t have a beer to sip or some mozzarella sticks to snack on. No sneezes or coughs are going to blow that bad boy open. Here's a pic...
The sippyMASK comes in four colors... black, pink, blue, and grey... and has black ear loops and trim. It should be noted that while sippyMASK is the perfect coronavirus safety accessory for the average person, it is not a medical-grade mask for healthcare workers. The sippyMASK is not a medical-grade PPE. It’s great for civilian use. If you’re one of the medical professionals, frontline workers, or first responders on the front lines of the fight against the bat germs currently ravaging our world, you’ll need to wear face masks that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention deems suitable for health care professionals and other health workers. ALSO, keep the flap closed when you’re not taking a sip or having a nibble. Otherwise the whole thing is kind of pointless. But assuming you’re not out there attempting to save all of humanity from the fallout of the world’s worst run butcher shop and are instead just trying to enjoy coffee and a muffin on a café patio, sippyMASK is your go-to option. So ditch the homemade mask that’s really just a t-shirt sleeve you tore off and slide over your head every time you leave the house. Forget the questionable handmade Etsy reusable face masks. Don’t overpay on some fashion brand’s weird, pleated medical mask trying to make the wearer look pandemic chic. And quit filling landfills with the single-use disposables. Get your own face mask that’s useful, reusable, and convenient. Whether you’re in New York, Texas, or the middle of nowhere there’s just not a mask that’s going to let you dominate coronavirus life like the sippyMASK. Also remember that while wearing a face mask is a great way to curb the spread of COVID-19, it’s not the only precaution that must be taken. Practice social distancing, wash your hands, and self-isolate if you’ve come into contact with someone who has or had the coronavirus. Man, those sippyMASK fellas need to pay me for this ad.
Tensions have been high across the United States following the protests over police brutality and racism, after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis highlighted the struggle to establish trust between law enforcement officers and their respective communities. However, for Daylan McLee, the situation he found himself in had less to do with decisions and more to do with saving a life. On a Sunday evening in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, a city 45 miles outside of Pittsburgh, 31-year-old Daylan McLee thought he felt a small earthquake, when a relative told him otherwise. A police cruiser outside his apartment had been involved in a car crash that set the patrol car in flames. McLee didn’t even think twice before he ran outside and pulled the Officer Jay Hanley from his burning car, right before the flames reached the police officer. Officer Hanley underwent surgery in a hospital in West Virginia for a serious leg injury from the crash and is already recovering, and his colleagues and family have credited McLee with saving the officer’s life. Uniontown Police Lt. Thomas Kolencik told TVstation WTAE-Pittsburgh, “Daylan actually said, ‘I’m not going to let him die.’ There’s just no words to describe, you know,” thankful for McLee’s immediate actions. McLee commented, “I don’t know what came across me, but I ripped the door open and just pulled him to safety across the street.” He said that Officer Hanley’s sister also called him to personally express her gratitude and that it never crossed his mind to hesitate help save another human being’s life, despite his previous interactions with law enforcement. “No. There is value in every human life. We are all children of God and I can’t imagine just watching anyone burn. No matter what other people have done to me, or other officers, I thought, ‘this guy deserves to make it home safely to his family.'” Back in 2018, McLee filed a lawsuit for wrongful arrest against four Pennsylvania State Police Troopers, after spending a year in jail in March 2016. In Dunbar, Pennsylvania, McLee had responded to his sister’s urgent call for a ride home from an American Legion bar, after a fight broke out. However, when McLee arrived to pick up his sister, a man in the parking lot had a gun. McLee disarmed the man and immediately threw the gun aside. However, when the state troopers arrived on the scene, one trooper fired shots, causing McLee to flee. The trooper claimed that McLee had pointed a gun at him twice, but security footage showed otherwise. The video showed McLee disarming the man and discarding the gun by tossing aside, eventually fleeing after when shots were beginning to fire. After wrongfully losing a year of his in jail, he was finally released when a jury acquitted him after seeing the security footage. But that wasn’t the last time McLee would have a run-in with law enforcement. A few months ago, McLee was at a porch gathering when officers in plain clothes and vests pulled up with guns out. Not knowing they were initially police, he started running, but stopped to put his hands behind his head when they revealed they were officers. Nevertheless, he was charged with feeling and resisting arrest, and said one of the officers kicked his face, resulting in splitting his lip. Luckily, it was caught on a security camera, which will help his plans to fight the charges. Out of everything, McLee wanted to stress forgiveness. Setting an example for his 13-year-old son, Avian, he wants to emphasize not judging people by generalizations such as the color of the skin or the career they hold, but rather holding each individual to who he or she is. He refuses to blame every police officer for all the bad interactions he’s already encountered. “We need to work on our humanity… that’s the main problem of this world. We’re stuck on how to get up or to get even, and that is not how I was raised to be. You learn, you live, you move on and I was always taught to forgive big. You can’t base every day of your life off of one interaction you have with one individual.” McLee realized that he recognized Officer Hanley three weeks prior to the crash. “I realized after, that I’d seen him. He speaks to people; he says hello; he isn’t an officer that harasses anybody. He commented to me about the heat was coming for us,” he said. McLee’s lawyer Alec Wright commented, unsurprised by his client’s eagerness, “Over the course of his life, Daylan McLee has had multiple, unjustified encounters with police officers just because of the color of his skin. Those encounters make him the perfect candidate to hate and resent the police. But, that is not Daylan… The answer is not to disregard human life; the answer is to accept it for all that it is. That is Daylan.” McLee added, “I don’t want to be called a hero. I just want to be known as an individual who is an upstanding man. No matter… what or where, just an upstanding person. And I hope [the trooper] sees this and knows he’s forgiven.” As Pennsylvania State Police are still investigating the crash, Uniontown Police have not commented on the situation.
Disney, the greatest company to work for in the world, is doing their part to make sure we all stay united equal as one. Disney has decided to change the Splash Mountain ride at its Disneyland park in California and Magic Kingdom park in Florida, so it’s no longer based on a movie that the company now acknowledges is offensive. The ride, which is famous for its 5-story drop in a long boat that drenches park Guests, was inspired by the animated sequences in the 1946 movie Song of the South. The film famously won an Oscar for its song "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah." The movie follows a young boy visiting his grandmothers’ plantation after the Civil War. Several people have criticized its deception of black people and its romanticized view of the era. The company stated several designers have been working since last year to “re-theme” the park ride as a bayou-inspired tribute to the loving 2009 animated film The Princess and the Frog. The Disney film features Tiana, who is Disney’s first black princess. More than 20,000 people had signed an online petition on Change.org pleading the company to change the ride’s theme to The Princess and the Frog. The ride is said to include the story after “the final kiss” in the movie, and will join Princess Tiana and her adorable trumpet-playing alligator Louis on a “musical adventure.” It will feature music from the film as they prepare for their Mardi Gras performance. Disneyland Resort public relations director Michael Ramirez released a statement on the company’s website, reading, “With this longstanding history of updating attractions and adding new magic, the re-theming of Splash Mountain is of particular importance today. The new concept is inclusive... one that all of our Guests can connect with and be inspired by, and it speaks to the diversity of the millions of people who visit our parks each year.” The changes come after their have been several calls from park-goers asking Disney to overhaul the ride amid the Black Lives Matter protest occurring in the U.S. since the deaths of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. The protests have also spurred conversation and introspection in Hollywood in regard to the depiction of race in popular culture. Films such as Gone With the Wind and TV episodes that include the use of blackface have all been re-evaluated and pulled. Last year, Bob Iger, Disney chair, stated Song of the South would not be streaming on their new streaming service Disney+ nor would it be available for purchase. Iger stated, “I’ve felt as long as I’ve been CEO that Song of the South... even with a disclaimer... was just not appropriate in today’s world. It’s just hard, given the depictions in some of those films, to bring them out today without in some form or another offending people, so we’ve decided not to do that.” Carmen Smith, who is the creative development and inclusive strategies executive for Walt Disney Imagineering, stated she was “incredibly proud” to see the new ride and the makeover at the theme parks, saying it was important for their guests to be able to see themselves in the experiences that Disney creates.
Well, it looks like the IRS has explaining to do. Apparently more than one million dead people received coronavirus stimulus checks this year, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office. The independent nonpartisan Congressional agency revealed that the stimulus payments, which were sent to 1.1 million people, totaling up to $1.4 billion. The U.S. Treasury Department officials stated that the late March CARES Act mandated that they distribute the money as quickly as possible. The shocking revelations follow anecdotal reports of people who have passed away getting stimulus checks and comes as Congress is considering new coronavirus package which may include more direct payments. The CARES Act sought to help Americans with the economic devastation of COVID-19 by sending checks of up to $1,200 to taxpayers, with an extra $500 per dependent child. Individuals making up to $75,000 a year received a personal check (or a direct deposit) for $1,200 and couples making up to $150,000 and filing a joint tax return received a combined $2,400. The payment decreased for those who make more than $75,000, with an income cap of $99,000 per individual or $198,000 for couples. The bill also gave a “federal boost” of $600 per week to unemployment insurance. According to a GAO report, the Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department didn’t decide to cut off the dead until May, after 72 percent of the payments were issued. The report noted, “Treasury and IRS, in consultation with counsel, determined that a person is not entitled to receive a payment if he or she is deceased as of the date the payment is to be paid.” Stimulus checks went to Americans who filed 2018 or 2019 tax returns, most of it transferred electronically into bank accounts. The report notes that the IRS had posted on a website that stimulus money sent to dead people should be returned, but that “IRS does not currently plan to take additional steps to notify eligible recipients on how to return payments.” GAO noted is that Congress should consider allowing the Treasury Department to have access to all Social Security death records, just like the IRS has access to death records kept by the Social Security Administration, to make sure the dead don’t receive any more checks. The watchdog agency also said the IRS should highly consider more cost-effective options for notifying eligible recipients on how to return the set of payments, which the IRS agreed to do. This week, President Donald Trump stated in an interview that he supported issuing another round of stimulus checks, as part of a “ very generous bill.” House Democrats also supported the idea of approving a bill in May that would authorize more checks. The IRS provided the following instructions for returning an economic impact payment, also known at EIP, that was sent to a person who is deceased. If the payment was a paper check and it hasn’t been cashed write “Void” in the endorsement section on the back of the check. Mail the voided Treasury check immediately to the appropriate IRS location for your state. Do not staple, bend, or paper clip the check. Include a note stating the reason for returning the check. If the payment was a paper check and you have cashed it, or if the payment was a direct deposit submit a personal check, money order, etc., immediately to the appropriate IRS location for your state. Write on the check/money order made payable to “U.S. Treasury” and write “2020EIP,” and the taxpayer identification number (Social Security number, or individual taxpayer identification number) of the recipient of the check. Include a brief explanation of the reason for returning the EIP. If you would like to return a paper check, you can visit IRS.Gov to see what mailing addresses you should use based on the state you live in.
CEC Entertainment, Chuck E. Cheese's parent company, has filed for bankruptcy citing the loss of business due to COVID-19 as the main cause. Unfortunately, Chuck E. Cheese isn't exactly known for its fine dining which makes the solution of to-go orders and delivery difficult. The chain famous for its pizza, games, tokens, and creepy animatronic band sometimes gets a bad reputation for also being something of a germ-infested playground for infection as ball pits, tubes, and arcade games are all touched (and vomited on) by multiple children every night. While closed due to coronavirus, Chuck E. Cheese tried to re-brand as Pasqually's Pizza, assuming that nobody would want the Chuck E. Cheese experience strictly for the pizza and salad bar. However, people were onto them...
Still, nobody wants to see Chuck E. Cheese fail as many people hold fond childhood memories of the pizza palace of tokens and Whac-a-Mole managed by a teenager in an ill-fitting, sweaty rat costume. Good luck, Chuck!
As the Black Lives Matter movement inspires actions around the world, many churches and other insitutions with prime sign real estate are using their platform to voice their support. Like
St. John's Church in D.C.
People are standing up for the safety and dignity of black people whether or not its popular in their town. Anti-racist demonstrators are hosting their own protests in small towns and cities. While they may be the only people standing, they're not standing alone. Like this lady in Enterprise, Alabama...
The Black Lives Matter protests following the murder of George Floyd has brought forth a wave of activism, both substantive and performative. Some celebrities likely freaked out their publicists with their poorly-received posts. Emma Watson edited the #BlackoutTuesday black square to have a white border, so it wouldn't compromise the aesthetic of her Instagram grid.
If I had a TARDIS I would go see the Hoover Dam. But knowing my luck I'd see the back of it before it was filled with water.
Man, now that Chuck E. Cheese is really closing Chuck sure is having a rough time...
That's so sad. Now from the home office in Port Jefferson, New York, here is...
5. Hi, welcome to Chuck E. Cheese. Everything is visibly dirty and our mascot is a rat, eat some pizza near a sneezing child. Come on down for some rat pizza at our child casino.
4. BREAKING... Trump has confirmed his next rally at the Chuck E. Cheese in Tupelo, Mississippi and hoping he can sell it out.
3. Chuck E. Cheese just went bankrupt, we gonna have nothing left by 2021.
2. I can't believe Chuck E. Cheese is going bankrupt before I even get a chance in the ticket blaster.
And the number one reaction about Chuck E. Cheese filing for bankruptcy is...
1. "I'm going to miss Chuck E. Cheese," said no one on their right mind.
If you spot the Mindphuck let me know. Okay, you know I live in Florida, right? Well, she odd shit happens in this state...
Why do doctors go to medical school when they can just Google stuff? Okay, let's take a love look at Port Jeff, shall we?
Looks like a nice day, some people are walking their dogs.
If you swap the spinach for beer, then any episode of "Popeye" becomes a bitter story of a raging alcoholic, right down to the speech impediment and tendency to fight people who he believes are trying to steal “his girl.”
It looks like there’s some good news ahead of us, Americans. With people losing jobs and coronavirus cases popping up across the country, President Donald Trump stated in an interview that there will allegedly be a second round of stimulus payments to Americans. Speaking with Joe St. George, National Political Editor & Washington Correspondent for Scripps, he stated, “We will be doing another stimulus package. It will be very good. It will be very generous.” Despite the good news, President Trump offered very few details of when the stimulus check (or package) is said to be expected. When asked about how much the payment may be, the president stated, “you’ll find out about it. You’ll find out.” He did note that he thought the relief funds would receive a bipartisan report and could be announced over the next couple of weeks. A White House official allegedly told NBC News that no decision has been made yet, but a second stimulus payment is part of something that the U.S. economic team is studying closely. In late March, President Donald Trump signed a stimulus package into law that included a one-time payment of $1,200 to any eligible American. As the virus has spread very quickly throughout the last month since the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES Act) Act was passed, many Americans were left wondering if a second check or prepaid debit card will arrive as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. One proposal that is currently on the table is the HEROES Act, which is a $3 trillion bill that includes $275 billion for healthcare and testing worker hazard pay, and a trillion dollars for local and state government. The HEROES Act was passed by House Democrats back in May and would offer another around $1,200 check to American children and adults. The Act also expands the number of people who are eligible to receive government aid, by including older teenagers and college students. The payment would be capped at $6,000 per household. The second stimulus check comes after a high number of laid-off workers were seeking unemployment benefits, with the number barley falling last week to 1.5 million due to small businesses reopening. The government stated the number was down from a peak of nearly 7 million back in March, marking an 11th straight weekly drop. But, the number is still more than twice the record high that existed before the virus. The total number of people receiving jobless aid is said to be at 20.5 million.
The 130th book to be pheatured in the Phile's Book Club is...
Robert De Niro, Sr. will not be on the Phile as he has passed away... but his son, Robert De Niro will be on the Phile a week from today... next Friday. That's so cool, right?
A henpecked man got tired of his wife constantly picking on him, so he started playing poker on Friday nights with his buddies just to get some relief. After he came home she'd start right in on him again. After several weeks went by, he came home early one Friday night about 9:30. His wife asked him how come he was home early. He told her, "You need to pack your bags and go to Herb's house, I lost you to him in the card game tonight." His wife became furious and started to give him hell. She said, "Just how could you do such a thing!?" He replied, "It was the hardest thing I ever done... I had to fold with four aces."
Today's guest is an an American filmmaker. He is best known for his horror films, all of which he directed, wrote, and edited, including Absentia, Oculus, Hush, Before I Wake, Ouija: Origin of Evil , Gerald’s Game, and his latest Doctor Sleep which is now available on Blu-ray. Please welcome to the Phile... Mike Flanagan.
Me: Hello, Mike, welcome to the Phile. How are you?
Mike: Hi, thanks sp much for having me.
Me: Of course. So, I have tell you I did not see Doctor Sleep, I don't like scary movies. I did see The Shining though but on cable years and years ago. When did you see The Shining for the first time?
Mike: Well, I was way too young to see The Shining as it turns out. But I could't resist it, Jason. When someone tells you you're too young to see it it'll mess you up I shouldn't see it. But they were right. It messed me up. I was in 5th grade when I saw it, I was at a friends house and I was terrified and petrified of that film. But it stayed with me for my whole life. I revisited that movie over and over and over again because I never seen anything like it. I still haven't.
Me: Okay, for the few that never saw The Shining, can you tell them what the movie is about?
Mike: It's about a family called the Torrance's who are taking care of this secluded hotel in the Rocky Mountains. It's shut down for the winter and their little boy Danny has a social psychic power called the Shining. To cut a long story short, Danny's dad played by Jack Nicholson just loses his mind and tries to kill his entire family. But, plot spoiler here, I hope everyone had seen The Shining, Danny and his mother escape.
Me: The Shining is such a huge popular horror film with cult status, Mike. Why did you want you to make this next "chapter"?
Mike: Well, I think it all had to do with the book that's Stephen King wrote. He waited a really long time, he waited decades to come back to that story. But in 2013 he published a book called Doctor Sleep and as a life long Stephen King fan I ran out and grabbed it. I had no idea what it'll be like but it was amazing. It was this incredible story about little Danny Torrance but now as an adult still dealing with this post traumatic childhood that he had. He's wrestling with alcoholism like his father and has a really violent temper like his dad. What kind of amazed me about it was this new story that he came up with in the way that the Shining was an allegory for his own issues with alcoholism. He has a fear of what it could do to his family. This was him exploring recovery and sobriety. I think what's next about it is in the decades that had passed since he wrote The Shining Stephen King has gotten sober. His kids have grown up and are about the age he was when he was dealing with this. So in a lot of ways it doesn't feel like a sequel to The Shining, but a descendant of The Shining. It was like the other side of the same coin. So I thought it was this beautiful new story, this lovely look back at the demons of his youth. And when those demons inhabit a place it's iconic at the Overlook Hotel. What an incredible playground for a horror fan.
Me: So, when you decided you wanted to direct Doctor Sleep how did you feel?
Mike: I was totally terrified. Every day. That's only just now starting to relax just because there's nothing left for me to do.
Me: Well, you have this interview to plug the Blu-ray and a few more things I am guessing. Haha.
Mike: Yeah, all I have to do now is explain myself. I could do that.
Me: So, you got to meet Stanley Kubrick and Stephen King... how was that?
Mike: It's been unreal. The whole experience of it. If I was to go back and tell me as a kid that any of this would happen I wouldn't believe it. It's been one of the most crazy kind of fanboy moments my whole entire life.
Me: So, what was the craziest thing about this while process to you?
Mike: I got to watch this movie with Stephen King.
Me: What? What was that like?
Mike: I got to sit next to him and show him the finished movie, which was terrifying because I know how he so famously feels about The Shining. If he had turned around afterward and said, "What did you do? What did you do to my characters and my book?" I don't know if I ever would have recovered from that.
Me: Was that the first time meeting him?
Mike: Prior to that I had to go to him and say to him I want to make this adaptation of his novel. But at the same time I want to honor or bring in influences of Stanley Kubrick... a movie he hated.
Me: So, why would you want to bring those Kubrick influences to the movie?
Mike: I had this bizarre experience when I read the book, I had grown up so much with the Kubrick film. when I read Doctor Sleep all the images were in my head, whether I wanted them at all were all Kubrick's.
Me: So, how did you convince Mr. King?
Mike: That's the point I had to make to him, the Kubrick film, the masterpiece that it is, has infiltrated the imagination of so many people. That when we talk about the Overlook Hotel or we talk about the Torrance family unavoidably that's the language that we're speaking in. He was initially reluctant to go back to that because he has some strong feelings about it. But one of the things I wanted to say was "what if while we celebrate the cinematic legacy of Kubrick, what about if we could also at the same time go back into the original novel of The Shining, what about if we could give you some of the things that he didn't. What if we while we acknowledge and kind of revel in the legacy of Kubrick we also gibe you the elements of The Shining you never got from him."
Me: What were those elements?
Mike: I don't want to spoil them in case some people haven't seen the film yet.
Me: Good point. Is there a lot of things though?
Mike: Yeah, there are a lot of things, especially about the arc of Jack Torrance. And King writing about Jack, what he could do to his family metaphorically. With his alcoholism he had a sympathy for Jack Torrance and Jack's original arc in the book is redemption and sacrifice. Where in the Kubrick film Jack is never looking back, he's crazy. I agree with King, I always felt that Jack was always going to kill his family. From the very beginning he's off balance and the Overlook just kind of lit his fuse but the fire was already there. A lot of that redemptive arc was something that I can pull back in and give to Danny, give to his son. That felt really, really neat.
Me: I am thinking that as The Shining is loved by so many people not only did you have to win Stephen King over but the fans of the film, right?
Mike: That was always this paralyzing fear for me that even if I really did please Stephen King, which I really wanted to do there's also the Kubrick side of it. His fans and the Kubrick estate could have the opposite reaction. They could hate this movie. That was just unbelievably stressful. But at the end of he day I had this amazing experience as a fan, not only did King love the movie but the Kubrick estate loved the movie. At that point I could finally breathe again. Those are the two most important reviews the movie would ever get so I can at least try and get some sleep.
Me: How much did the Kubrick estate and Stephen King say about the film at the beginning of the project? Was there a lot of talks?
Mike: There was a lot on the very beginning just to get everything approved. In particular of the Kubrick estate we were asking for things like access to some of the footage, accessible to his plans and production design elements. Once the train had kind of left the station ire as clear we were making the film and both camps were offering their support. Everybody stayed away, no one wanted to interfere. That's how Stephen King approaches all of his adaptations. He says "the book is the book, I want the movie to be yours." He explained to me later the reason that he does that other than he just doesn't want to influence someone how to make it, either way it goes he wins If the movie's great they'll say of course it's great, it's based on a great book. If the movie's terrible they'd day the book is better. So he wins. So I really didn't have any interference with anybody.
Me: That's great for you, right?
Mike: Well, on one had I don't have this interference but on the other hand I knew Stephen King was going to see the movie right away. And as Kubrick learned if he doesn't like what we did he's not shy about it. That was where that stress was coming from.
Me: So, a lot of people I know love the Netflix series "The Haunting of Hill House." I know my son loved it. Once again I didn't see it, as it's in the horror genre. If I wanted to look at something scary I'd just look in the mirror. Hahahaha. Is there a similarity between the series and Doctor Sleep or even The Shining?
Mike: Yeah, there's children involved.
Me: What are the challenged with working with children? If my kid was in a horror film I don't think I could watch it. One of my best friends is in a horror film called Finger and I can't watch that.
Mike: Well, I got to work with a lot of young actors now and the challenges are mostly about their schedule. I was worried about early in my career how do I get kids to go there from an acting point of view but that has turned out now to not really be an issue because kids are so good at make-believing. Kids can honestly transport themselves in their imaginations in a way that I think we forget how to do when we grow up. The biggest challenge for me is they can only work six hours a day or seven hours a day so we kind have to race through their material. The kids in general have been one of the best parts of my job. In the case of the "Haunting" we had so many of them. We had this huge pile of kids. It turned out the kids weren't the ones to sorry about, they had a great time, they were never afraid of anything going on on the set or anything like that. The grown-ups are the challenge.
Me: What is the deal with us grown-ups and our imaginations and able to play make-believe? Haha.
Mike: They need a lot more runway to get there.
Me: Hmmm. Does he affect them more as adults in terms of the subject matter? Do they get disturbed? Is their depression on set?
Mike: Yes. Yes there is. I think as grown-ups we let more of that in. I think kids have a natural kind of firewall to a lot of that interference. Whereas as grown-ups we're carrying around all this baggage with us so it really comes to bear.
Me: Where does your love of horror come from?
Mike: I have a theory actually of why we actually do this to ourselves. This is what I think, the first feeling that most of us feel as human beings I think is fear. Like it's something that connects all of us when we are kids. We all know what it's like to be scared of the dark and to be scared of our environment. It's one of the very first emotions we have to process and we don't really know where to put it. But the great thing about a horror movie is it's a place where we as an individuals and as a society can out all of our anxiety and all of our fears and we get to be scared. We get to confront them just a little bit where those lights that they turned off when they left us in there came back on. Its this very therapeutic thing in that we teach ourselves how to be brave in these tiny little increments. Just long enough to make it through this scene or this movie or this book. That way it's exercise in courage for us as people and as a society. But these days in particular there's so much to be afraid of. There's so much anxiety in the world that I think we need the horror genre. I think we always needed it, we need the horror genre because it can give that gift to us. It can make us incrementally a little bit braver.
Me: Not me. I'ma wuss, pussy and wimp. Whatever you think.
Mike: Everyone is different. But give it a try.
Me: That's big NOPE. Mike, thanks for being on the Phile. Please come back when your next film comes out. Stay well.
Mike: Thank you, Jason.
That about does it for this entry of the Phile. Thanks to Mike Flanagan for a great interview. The Phile will be back on Monday with DJ and musician Deadmau5. Spread the word, not the turd... or virus. Don't let snakes and alligators bite you. Bye, love you, bye.
I don't want you, cook my bread, I don't want you, make my bed, I don't want your money too, I just want to make love to you. - Willie Dixon
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