She is Feeling THE IDEA OF YOU

Jeri Jacquin

Currently streaming on Prime Video from writer/director Michael Showafter and Amazon MGM Studios is a film about love, age and love found with THE IDEA OF YOU.

Solene (Anne Hathaway) is celebrating her 40^th birthday and trying to understand what that means in her ever-changing life. Recently divorced from Daniel (Reid Scott) who left her for a young woman, Solene has been focusing on raising daughter Izzy (Ella Rubin). Deciding to take a camping trip alone to figure things out, her plans abruptly change.

When Daniel can’t take Izzy to Cochella, Solene has to step in and make it happen. This includes a lot of VIP events and one of those is a meet and greet with the popular boy-band August Moon. Gathering up Izzy and friends, off they all go to the big event. While the kids take off to explore, Solene finds a bathroom and surprised to see a 24-year-old Hayes (Nicholas Galitzine) from August Moon.

Not realizing who he is, she is caught off guard but Hayes quickly makes it a laughable meet. They see each other again later in the concert as he learns that Solene has an art gallery. Surprising her again, he comes to the gallery and what starts out as a sale turns into time spent together with a bit of texting. When Izzy goes off to camp, Hayes invites Solene to go on a bit of a European holiday as things begin to heat up between the two.

Solene is enjoying herself so much but, there comes a moment where she realizes that problems are headed their way. They say age is nothing but a number but unfortunately, that is not always true.

Hathaway as Solene plays a woman who is dealing with a divorce based on age and all that comes with it. Raising a teenage daughter, she is focusing on that and her work so love, let alone love with a younger man doesn’t seem possible. Of course, once it becomes possible, so does the world we now live in with judgements and social media as well as home life. Hathaway gets a chance to be a sexy older woman to a young man and that’s about it. I’m not sure if this is Hathaway’s attempt at navigating into “older” characters and good on her but it seems a bit of a reach.

Galitzine as Hayes is a young man in a boy band who finds Solene attractive. Having deeper feelings, he also doesn’t realize what he is about to put her through. The life he lives is not exactly her style. Galitzine is charming and plays well opposite Hathaway but, to be honest, this isn’t a stretch of a character to play. I know that doesn’t seem fair but it’s the truth, he sings a little, talks a little and kisses a lot. That’s the extent of it.

Rubin as Izzy and Scott as Daniel both have their reasons for being difficult about their characters but I’m not buying it from either. Scott gives us a dysfunctional ex-husband who clearly doesn’t know what he wants expect he doesn’t want Solene to be happy. Rubin gives us a teenage girl who is sort of thrilled to be meeting the boy-band but doesn’t want her mother to be happy because she can’t handle the pressure at school? Not sure any of this is actually bringing me into the story.

Other cast include Jordan Aaron Hall as Zeke, Jaiden Anthony as Adrian, Raymond Cham Jr. as Oliver, Viktor White as Simon, Dakota Adan as Rory, Annie Mumolo as Tracy and Perry Mattfeld as Eva.

Amazon Prime offers television shows and original content included in its Amazon Prime subscription. Original programs such as CARNIVAL ROW, THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE, and THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL are hit shows. Coming soon is the next series with GOLIATH starring Billy Bob Thornton and it promises to another successful and intense series. For more information, please visit www.amazon.com/Amazon-Video.

The film is based on the novel by Robinne Lee The Idea of You with the screen adaptation by Jennifer Westfeldt.

Look, I see where THE IDEA OF YOU is coming from in the sense that the character Solene is a woman who doesn’t know what she’s looking for and now gets a chance to go out and have some fun. It’s all great, it’s all good – the problem is the waffling between the “I’m too old for you” and “I want to be with you” to “I’m too old for you” gave me whiplash. The story is pretty predictable but I wasn’t expecting Oscar performances either.

This is a nice rainy-day Saturday let’s-get-cuddly-on-the-sofa kind of film. There is nothing horrible about the film, it’s just that there isn’t any glue that holds it together. The film is basically a quick run through about staying away from younger men if you’re an older woman but the same doesn’t apply to older men and younger women. Same story different day. The ending is quite charming albeit, again, looking to reign in the hearts.

Just enjoy it for what it is and don’t listen to this older woman who would never consider dating a 24-year-old in a boy band – but hey, that’s just me.

In the end – when the last thing you expect becomes the only thing you want!

Prime Video Brings the Twists of Being EXPATS

 

Jeri Jacquin

Streaming on Prime Video from writer/director Lulu Wang based on the novel The Expatriates BY Janice Y.K. Lee comes the connected story of people who are trying to understand their lives as EXPATS.

Hong Kong is in an uproar in 2014 and in the midst of it is Margaret Woo (Nicole Kidman), husband Clarke (Brian Tee), children Philip (Bodhi del Rosario), Daisy (Tiana Gowen) and little Gus (Connor James) are living their best life. Helping with the children is Essie (Ruby Ruiz) who the Woo clan feels is part of their family.

On another floor is Hilary Starr (Sarayu Blue) and husband David (Jack Huston) who are trying to decide whether they want family. Dealing with fertility problems, it seems that perhaps it is more than that as a potential answer enters their lives through the twisted hand of fate. Also in the Starr household is housekeeper Puri (Amelyn Pardenilla) who knows more about what happens in their home than they do.

College graduate Mercy (Ji-young Yoo) is living in Hong Kong trying to find her place in the world. Working jobs as a catering server, she feels as if her life has been preordained to be a disaster because of a book she found as a child. Weaving her way through the streets of Hong Kong she tries to make the right choices but gets caught up in her own way.

Each woman discovers that happiness can be stripped away in a matter of a few text messages as their worlds come into question. The questions that arise from tragedy are what is right, what is wrong and what is fair are all in their own hands as they being to understand themselves and one another.

Kidman as Margaret is a woman who has accepted her life following husband Clarke through his career. Taking care of the household and children have become her life, but when tragedy strikes, Margaret becomes obsessive with everyone around not knowing how to handle it. Kidman character becomes unhinged that her life has been thrown in a direction she isn’t prepared for.  Tee as husband Clarke is the calming influence, his character is that of a man who loves his life, family and pretty much has a ‘water off a duck’s back’ to difficulties. Again, here is a character that now has to come face to face with a difficulty that is unimaginable. I enjoyed Tee’s performance as Clarke becomes truly raw and it hits hard.

Blue as Hilary is a force to be reckoned with and don’t plan on trying to get a word in edgewise when her mouth starts motoring. It is her Indian heritage that has steeped her into playing many faces in order to maintain a look of calm and togetherness. Even when forgiving someone, she hides her emotions with talks. Huston as David is one of the people who is caught up in the web of Hilary’s inability to control her talking when things become difficult. Not knowing what is place is in their marriage takes him on reckless path. Huston gives his character a mixture of that recklessness and unreliability to his marriage.

Yoo as Mercy is a young woman emotionally lost in a very large city. Working hard just to pay the rent, Yoo’s character believes something she was told as a young girl. It is so engrained into her psyche that she allows it to be the reason for bad choices. Yoo’s portrayal of Mercy is that of a young woman who will come to terms with life, and those who have been affected by a moment that can not be taken back. 

Pardenilla and Ruiz are the two women employed by the families to help with their households and children but they are still in the middle of everything that goes on. There is this invisible wall between their lives to the point where they even speak so openly that when Essie and Puri are with their friends who also work in households, it doesn’t take long for rumors to become confirmed fact. Essie loves the Woo family and Puri sees the possibility of success away from housework.

Other cast include Poon Pak Shing as Sam, Bonde Sham as Charly, Flora Chan as Olivia Chu, Blessing Mokgohloa as Pastor Alan Mambo, Sudha Bhuchar as Brinder, Jennifer Beveridge as Tilda, Lesley Chiang as Philena Song, Gabrielle Chan as Jing Woo, Elizabeth Ng as Shellac, Steven Chan as Detective Chang, Edmund Ng as Andrew, Rasha Goel as Geeta,

Amazon Prime offers television shows and original content included in its Amazon Prime subscription. Original programs such as CARNIVAL ROW, THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE, and THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL are hit shows. Coming soon is the next series with GOLIATH starring Billy Bob Thornton and it promises to another successful and intense series. For more information, please visit www.amazon.com/Amazon-Video.

EXPATS is a look at these women and how one moment changes so much. The lives they are each living seemed far removed from one another yet one deep hurt reaches further than their lives. It turns the lives of everyone they come into contact with and all that glitters is not gold. Like the rest of us, they lose their way, realize what they’ve given up for their own dreams and, in some cases, do not know how to walk away.

The men, Clarke and David are a bit of second players in this large cast of women. That being said, their moments on screen are filled with emotions they aren’t “supposed” to feel being men. Tee and Huston are surrounded by what is expected of them rather than being able to speak their truths.

EXPATS brings the story of these characters in six episodes with the first two already aired on Prime. Each episode will be brought weekly until its final conclusion. This is a stunning piece of storytelling from start to finish.

In the end – we are what we survive!

He Believes in the ENCOUNTER

 

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to theatres and then to Prime Video from writer/director Michael Pearce, Joe Barton and Amazon Original Studios is the story of the ENCOUNTER.

Malik Khan (Riz Ahmed) is a veteran of the Marine Corps, and he has returned to take sons Jay (Lucian-River Chauhan) and Bobby (Aditya Geddada) on a trip. The boys soon realize their father is running from something, believing that there is an alien bug that has come to Earth. The only way to know if a person is infected is by their eyes and the only protection is bug spray.

Where Malik is really taking his two boys is a military base in Arizona where he convinces them they will be safe until a cure is found. On the road he begins to train them to survive. Keeping the boys out of site, eldest boy Jay discovers that he and his brother have been, in fact, kidnapped from their mother Piya (Janina Gavankar) and law enforcement are looking for them.

Jay also realizes that something is wrong with his father when he makes a call and talks to Hattie (Octavia Spencer) and more of the truth comes out. As the stressors become more obvious and the world begins to catch up with them, Malik must decide how he is going to handle the situation and Jay decides who his father really is.

Ahmed as Khan is a man who knows that the aliens are on Earth and causing destruction wherever they go no matter the species. Taking his sons to a safer place is his only goal and nothing is going to stop him – or no one. Ahmed gives us the performance of a man split between the war world he served and protecting his family.

Chauhan as Jay is a strong young man who believes in his father and trusts that what he is doing is right. Knowing that the trip starts off the ways he always thought it would be like, it is what comes after that is so much for a young man. Chauhan portrays his character as a young man who can not let his father down and stands firm till the end.

Geddada as Bobby is a boy who does what all boys do, be rambunctious, inquisitive, and loud. The road trip with him is not easy on Malik which puts the responsibility squarely on the shoulders of Jay, as if he does not have enough to contend with.

Spencer as Hattie wants something better for Malik and wants him to bring the boys home before things get out of hand. Spencer gives us a caring woman who wants to do her job naturally but sees Malik as more than just another man in trouble with the law.

Amazon Prime offers television shows and original content included in its Amazon Prime subscription. Original programs such as CARNIVAL ROW, THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE, and THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL are hit shows. Coming soon is the next series with GOLIATH starring Billy Bob Thornton and it promises to another successful and intense series.

ENCOUNTER has been nominated in four categories by the British Independent Film Awards for Best Actor – Riz Ahmed, Best Supporting Actor – Lucian River Chauhan, Best Music – Jed Kurzel and Best Sound – Andrew Stirk, Paul Davies, Morgan Muse, Bernard O’Reilly and Julian Howarth.

The film gives us a look at Malik’s thought process regarding the aliens, how it is spread and the only protection for human beings. He is dedicated to saving his sons and making sure no one tries to stop him. There is such a dynamic here between father and sons as the eldest has held on to a love for his father that is based on wanting things to be as he believes but the youngest has very little to go on other than Malik is his dad.

They begin to learn about each other but even that is based on a mixture of wanting to protect his sons from the past and the present and two young men who see their father as a hero. Ahmed goes in many directions with his role and each of them are strong – until this character can no longer tell lie from truth.

ENCOUNTER is a mixture of science fiction and the realities of human beings who have seen and been a part of something so traumatic that it changes their life’s perspective. Although there is a mixture of premises here that I have seen before, it does not change ENCOUNTER being an emotionally charged film.

In the end – it is in what we believe!

 

Two Sisters Collide in NOCTURNE

 

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to Prime Video is an Amazon Original from Welcome to Blumhouse and writer/director Zu Quirke and the tale of NOCTURNE.

Sisters Juliet (Sydney Sweeney) and Vivian (Madison Iseman) were once as close as two sisters could possibly be. That is until music came into their lives, both playing the piano, outgoing Vivian pulls ahead in achievements as the not-so-outgoing Juliet suffers with it in silence.

Their last year of high school brings a final music performance which is especially difficult as one of their classmates has died. As auditions open up, Vivian plays a piece that wow's the judges and Juliet decides to play the same piece of music. Vivian is clearly upset but wants Juliet to know that it won't upset her for long.

One evening as Juliet is practicing, she is distracted by a light and finds a notebook that belonged to the student who died. Becoming more and more interested in what is in the notebook, Juliet starts to change.

Almost overnight she takes on everything that she feels has slowed her down, beginning with teacher Roger (John Rothman) calling him out for his inadequacies and replacing him with teacher Mike (A.J. Tannen). She turns on her own sister to make it clear that Juliet no longer is willing to be second best. Juliet also decides its time to follow her heart and go after Max (Jacques Colimon).

Juliet's opportunity finally comes as she prepares to play for a big school audience. What she doesn't know is that the notebook has other plans for her. 

Sweeney as Juliet is a young girl who just can't seem to find her place. Feeling like she is the failure of the family, her parents try to encourage her. Making things worse is when sister Vivian gets accepted into a prestigious school for music and Juliet does not. That sets things up for the issues that are deep and scaring. Sweeney gives us a performance of a young girl in pain and looking for a way through it all. She thinks the notebook offers that!

Iseman as Vivian is the sister who is outgoing, friendly, has lots of people around her and a relationship. Winning achievements and then accepted into the school she wanted, she sees how it hurts Juliet but doesn't seem to care - until she does. The tug of war between Sweeney and Iseman is deep and these two actresses pull it off well.

Colimon as Max is living his high school life to the fullest but sees that something is happening to both the sisters. Caught up in something he doesn't understand is an understatement for sure. Colimon's performance of Max is quick and filled with regret and that's all I'm going to say.

Tannen as Mike is a teacher who is watching the twists and turns of Juliet and Vivian's relastionship. Discovering that Juliet can actually play, he encourages her in a way that left even my head tilted with question and jaw dropped with intent.

Other cast include Julie Benz as Cassie, Rodney To as Wilkins, JoNell as Ms. Gordon, Brandon Keener as David, Miles McKenna as Alexis, Asia Jackson as Abigail, Philip Wampler as Walter, Stephon Fuller as Joshua, and Ji Eun Hwang as Moira.

Amazon Prime offers television shows and original content included in its Amazon Prime subscription. Original programs such as CARNIVAL ROW, THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE, and THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL are some of their hit shows. Now, Welcome to Blumhouse is bringing their scary offerings to keep us all in the Halloween spirit. 

NOCTURNE is a suspense thriller that isn't full of gore but mainly plans to totally mess with the viewers head. Centered around high school kids, music and the rivalry of sisters (as one would expect of exceptional piano playing sisters), this scenario is ripe for a mysterious notebook to come into play and muck up the works. 

The film is slow paced to tell the story of what is real and what lives in our imagination just as much as Juliet must decide what is real and what is in her imagination. So brush up on your classic music and prepare to be mind bent a little in the process.

In the end - the great reach their potential while the mad surpass it!

Her Life is Told by THE GLORIAS

 

THE GLORIAS is available for purchase on Digital and Streaming exclusively on Prime Video starting September 30^th.

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to Digital and streaming exclusively on Prime Video from writer/director Julie Taymor and Roadside Attractions based on  her book My Life on the Road by Gloria Steinem is THE GLORIAS.

A young Gloria (Ryan Armstrong) is being raised by mother Ruth (Enid Graham) and father Leo (Timothy Hutton). Living from one money making plan to another, the family is constantly on the road. Eventually Gloria beings to understand what is happening with her parents as Ruth moves into a family home with her daughter.

Finding herself in India, Gloria (Alicia Vikander) begins to see the injustices that the women in the country endure. Returning home, she heads for New York trying to find work as a writer. Her writing jobs seem to focus more on the fashion and homemaker genre which is not something she is interested in.

Finally, a story of the working conditions of Playboy bunnies allows Gloria to do a serious piece that gets both good and bad reactions. The more articles she writes, the more she feels there are more important issues that need to be addressed and that women would welcome to read about.

Gloria (Julianne Moore) is till writing but finding herself going headfirst into the rights of women and finding other women that are like minded. Starting Ms. Magazine gets quite the reaction from the men and resounding applause from women. She knows there must be more as the ERA becomes her next focus with the help of Bella Abzug (Bette Midler), Flo Kennedy (Lorraine Toussaint) and so many more.

Friends like Wilma Mankiller (Kimberly Guerrero) of the Cherokee Nation, Gloria finds the sense of heading in the right direction with her goals of women's rights and the stereotypes and stigmas that makes the women today freer to make their own way.

But there is still so much more to do!

Moore as Gloria gives a stunning performance as a woman who is pushed on a mission to help those who need it the most - women. Moore has the perfect demeanor to play Gloria Steinem and every moment she is on the screen I want to see more and more. Gone is the brilliant red hair for the iconic middle-parted hair with equally iconic glasses. Moore brings Gloria completely to the screen and her scenes with Vikander are brilliant and I loved them.

Vikander as the younger Gloria sets the groundwork for her 'future' life and work. Through her writing and tenacity, she paved her own way in showing the discrepancies that the country turned a blind eye to. Vikander gives her time period of Gloria the discovery of how she is perceived personally and professionally and does not accept it in the slightest. The trick is discovering how to make the change that makes the loudest noise to attract those who can also be part of the change.

Hutton as Leo is a father Gloria loves but as she grows older, she experiences the effects of his inability to be a stable figure in her life. In a young girl’s life, that can all be an adventure, but as Gloria gets older there becomes a time when all of it brings a hard decision. Graham as wife Ruth was once a writer herself but became a wife and mother. After years of uncertainty and no roots, it affects Ruth to the point of being debilitated.

Midler as Abzug is funny in her own way but also right in the way she says it. Midler was actually a great choice for this role. Toussaint as Kennedy also has the lungs and belief in what Gloria and the others are trying to do. I love the way she brings swag to a role.

Guerrero as Mankiller has not only generations of issues plaguing her people of the Cherokee nation but knows it is time to make a patriarchal change for leadership. Her portrayal and friendship with the Gloria’s are something I deeply related to and enjoyed. Both Guerrero and Moore's scenes together are pure wonderful.

Other cast include Victor Slezak as Walter, Allie McCulloch as Brenda Feigen, Janelle Monae as Dorothy Hughes, Mo Plenty as Charlie Soap, Annika Pampel as Olga, charles Green as Ted White, Margo Moorer as Barbara Jordan, Bethany Geaber as Joanne Edgar, Monica Sanchez as Dolores Huerta, and Ariadne Joseph as Dr. Gloria Scott.

THE GLORIAS is a look at the life of Gloria Steinem from different ages in her life. What makes this film so unique are the conversations between the stages of her life filled with the uncertainties, questions, yet there is a comforting towards each of them with support and encouragement that I'm sure most of us wish we could do with our own era-selves.

Learning from an early age that fending for one’s self is difficult enough without the low expectations that men seem to have for the time, Steinem shares her journey. Daring to push further and further she gathered other likeminded women who saw the potential for change and did not stop until it reached the ears of the country. All of what these women did are being put to the test even today in our political climate. This is the perfect time for the film to be released.

The cast is amazing working together from the young Gloria of Ryan Armstrong, to Vikander, to Moore it is a smooth transition between them all. Even in flashbacks, director Taymor brings about a seamlessness so the story flows and hopefully right up to an Oscar.

In the end - she was part of a fight that needed winning!

Amazon Prime's Original Series UPLOAD

Creator, executive producer and director Greg Daniels
Andy Allo
Robbie Arnell
Kevin Bigley
Allegra Edwards
Zainab Johnson
Moderator Cherlynn Low


A futuristic series where you can upload and become a digital self in the afterlife as Nathan ends up in Lakeview. The world has changed such as no cell phones, and other apps. The idea came from Greg Daniels time as a writer on SNL.

The idea of tech is what UPLOAD is about, tell about the idea?

Greg: This is not a lot like my original idea. The idea came to me from an ad for CD players. I'm a very old comedy writer. The original idea came when you can a gramophone without a wax cylinder. I didn't start this version until 2014 and I was able to include the big tech companies. The last time I did a panel for Comic Con I was doing a panel called People of Earth and people asked me what I was doing there. I told them it was a sci-fi project, well, this is that sci-fi project. It's mostly high-tech companies that merge with fast food and that's what is happening in the future. The show is very much about unfairness because we, as human beings, create our own heaven and it's for profit and not supernatural for this show. It has all the greedy downsides and someone like Nora is struggling to pay for uploads for her dad and wealthy people might not necessarily deserve it, but they are there. I remember reading in a business book that when they make printer, they only make one kind of printer and it’s the fastest one but you have to have others for different price points. So, the slower printers are the fast printer with a chip that slows them down. That's the spirit behind it.

Talking about corporate greed, when Nathan says "it's code"…?

Robbie: I never thought about that and now I am. The big thing for me when I was reading that line for the first time and the hundredth time is about how fair it is about the incoming inequality. It's not heaven, its built by corporations and the parts of life are involved in it. He starts off a bit of a shallow douchebag, but you see a different side of him when he sees the 2 gigs and people don't have it as well off as he is.

Greg: There is a line that he says later "I'm a piece of software in a machine but you are a piece of software run by a computer made of meat". I think he might be aware that personality and who you are is like code.

Robbie: He talks a little about the soul and the idea of going to heaven - whether it be real heaven or digital heaven. I love that conversation.

Greg: In a nutshell it’s a show about meat, it’s all about meat.

Nora and Nathan's character, talk about their roles and complexity?

Andy: Isn't that the best thing when you are dating someone, and you shape them into someone that is perfect for you? That is great, I had a hand in creating Nathan. I also get to see all his memories and there is a scene with my dad where he asks if the reason, I like dead Nathan so much is because you've seen his memories. That's partly true. Nora gets a chance to know Nathan first and make judgements. She gets to know Nathan from his point of view.

Robbie: I think one of the really nice things about the Nora and Nathan relationship is because it’s not supposed to work. There is no pressure and we are able to become friends and there shouldn't be a romantic side of things, but you can't deny the chemistry sharing so many experiences. Nathan at the beginning is pretty shallow and self-centered and then this happens, and he thinks his world is over and then he meets Nora. She has real problems and working her butt off to save her father and there is a perspective shift in Nathan. I think Greg is so good at creating these relationships that feel so real because there are what people go through in life in their own relationships.

What about Nathan's real-life girlfriend?

Allegra: I think that the thing that is so fun that we explore in the show is the modern long-distance relationship. There are choices I can make on his behalf with a push of a button and that's all it takes to change his day or make his week worse. In that respect yes there is an abuse of power going on there. I think what made it authentic and close to home as a long-distance relationship. The miscommunication and trying to stay on the same page and trying to stay connected, I think that's the human element that people resonate with because they've experienced it. We are thinking a lot more about long distance relationships because of what is going on.

Robbie: Allegra gets to act a certain way on the show, but she is so kind and sweet in real life. Being in the middle of the love triangle I'm very lucky because I have to pretend I don't like her but she is really so sweet.

Allegra: I think it takes a certain level of adventurous spirit to wiggle into a hug suit. I think it's better than putting it into practice. It's difficult to hear and that was one of the most fun but difficult parts of shooting that scene. I had a layer underneath and then foam and then a scuba suit and then goggles and then a skull cap. No, I don't think I could go the distance but then again, we want to be with the ones you love.

Kevin: I have one.

Zainab: No, you have to own the hug suit to use the hug suit but rent one, no, no, no.

Robbie: I would be the first to try the hug suit and then everyone else can use it.

One of the lines is 'you have to believe it's real or you will go insane' as you tell Nathan, tell us about it?

Kevin: I don't know if Luke deserves something better, Luke is like a hamster that really digs his cage and instead of just accepting it as is, is trying to get creative with it and find certain ways he can enjoy it all the more. You have Allegra and Andy and Robbie, and they have these existential themes and problems and Luke is just the opposite. He is completely rejecting the deeper thought to figure out ways to have earthly pleasures beyond Earth. He has a darker back story and if I can compare him to an animal like a shark that if stops and thinks about it…

Greg: Half shark - half hamster!

Kevin: That would make great fan art and an awesome tattoo. I think Luke if he starts to consider how depressing his life is or how depressing his life is he might implode. It's like quarantine and who hasn't picked up sourdough rolls, everyone is trying to distract themselves from the world tumbling around on them. Trying to figure it out one day at a time, trying to figure out where in my cage is a different corner that I haven't fully explored full of detail or a game.

Talk about Alisha's character.

Zainab: My character has one foot in and out of both worlds. I think that Alisha is kind of thankful for Luke, yes Luke gets on Alisha's nerves but sometimes you are at the jobs where it gets mundane an what allows the job to be interesting is that you lose yourself in helping your friend, like Nora. I think Alisha kind of needs Luke a bit.

Kevin: What animal combination would Alisha to go against Luke's shark-hamsters.

Zainab: I think Alisha would be a tiger-bear.

Kevin: That's not fair, I already gifted you my animals and you pick two formidable beasts that would destroy me.

Zainab: The purpose of this is for me to always defeat you.

Andy: There is a scene in the breakroom where we are talking about Nathan and you tell me to figure it out and I tell you the same. You say, 'no, I work at…' listing five other jobs.

Zainab: I'd like to see how she got those jobs and the reasons for those jobs.

Andy: For Nora it's like this is her job for Alisha it’s one of her jobs.

Zainab: Nora is very transparent and Alisha, I don't know what her life is like, it might be chaotic, but no one knows. Nora lets it be known that this is all I have.

What's your favorite piece of tech in the show?

Zainab: I want printed food; I don't want to cook food anymore.

Greg: I want extra fat cartridges in my printer.

Kevin: That can't be good. I know my printer’s sucks so the food would be bad.

Allegra: I could go for a self-driving car now and then. I don't want the ethical questions but there are days.

Robbie: I love the memory parlor. It's one of the most fantastical things in the show. Just being able to live any memory from any time is really sweet and beautiful and something that was off beat from the rest of the show. Not necessarily used that way in the show.

Greg: I have been working on the show for so long and the memory parlor is cool because you can press enhance and the memories are sharper.

Would you UPLOAD?

Robbie: I think I've spent time thinking about this since the show. I look at uploading as the in between because you can still jump in the torrent and still die. Nathan is young and has family and friends and wants to continue in some version of this life.

Greg: Yes, that's how I look at it too. When it's an option it will be normalized like a medical treatment to keep persisting in the lives of your family when your body is failing. I think when you are a little kid it is so inconceivable that your consciousness wouldn't be around so when you go through life and the body changes you realize that maybe your consciousness is the most important in life. I don't know whether that's enough but it’s an option.

Kevin: If the wealthy have everything and removing the fear of death from them isn't going to make them better people. I don't know. Also, fear of death removed from society entirely also screws with the grieving process and already do it in social media. It's already pretty creepy.

Zainab: I think continuing the consciousness is pretty cool, but I don't trust corporations to do the right thing. It's like when you go to a restaurant and you have to say to please give me a real egg. I can't say the name of the restaurant

(They all yell TEXT ME!)

Andy: I would upload, I love it, I'm there. It's the chance to do all the things I didn't do on Earth.

Zainab: Every upload doesn't end up in Lakeview.

Season Two, are there answers?

Greg: I kept listening and hearing things that are coming up in season two. We are right in the middle of writing it so I don't want to get into too may specifics but I think there is going to be a lot more of new tech and we are going to see Nora and Nathan change Lakeview some. A lot of stuff coming up.