Fixations Issue No. 2
Josh O'Connor, Christmas, and Actors on Actors
Just diving straight into this one. Lots of work and lots of birthdays lately and ahead, grateful to have a source of income and friends to celebrate. I’ve been running on a sleep deficit for the last week, and then worked an unplanned double across two barista jobs on the day I started my period, so my mind and energy have been in reserve mode. 🫠
Constant Fixation
However, I will quickly shout out that my crush on Josh O’Connor has exponentially grown in the last week. I already addressed the Wake Up Dead Man slutty neck tattoo in my previous post, but then the official Knives Out account literally made an edit dedicated to his character’s slutty neck tattoo, which extended my crush and extra week as I remixed my content with said edit.
Then, as a promo for Wake Up Dead Man, Josh hosted Saturday Night Live with his equally slutty male earring, which made me as feral as Ashley Padilla in that performative male stripper sketch. Remembering that he is still a fantastic actor above all, I finally watched God’s Own Country and La Chimera. In both films, Josh O’Connor plays a dirty, sad boy, and fully cemented him as a hot rodent boyfriend I have loved since Emma. and The Crown.
Main Fixation - Christmas
I am not a big Christmas person. I don’t seek out Christmas activities, media, or decor, I don’t like the overconsumption that capitalistic societies promote with the holiday, and I firmly believe that Christmas music should be played only after Thanksgiving Day in the USA (thank you, verified Christmas people, Matt Rogers and Kelly Clarkson).
My memories of Christmas (and Thanksgiving, for that matter) are filled with stress and frustration as the eldest daughter of a parent with impulsive planning tendencies, being recruited to help with no consultation, sent off to the grocery store in a hurry for unaccounted-for cans of sides, or tasked to secure a Honey Baked Ham with a coupon and a prayer. Holidays were my on-call hell. One Christmas, when I still lived by myself, I had COVID, and I was never so selfishly happy to spend it alone, while still getting leftovers and all of my presents delivered to me, admittedly, by my concerned mother. This may seem hyperbolic and hypocritical coming from someone with ADHD (actually diagnosed, currently unmedicated), but when poor planning happens year after year, my pattern recognition gets exhausted!
Anyway, as Gr*nchy as I’m sounding, I really enjoy the holidays if someone else plans it! I am an enthusiastic guest, (w)holly (get it, Christmas?), grateful to participate. Because of a few someone elses, I got to watch a movie and look at holiday lights. I watched the new Jingle Bell Heist on Netflix and drank hot chocolate, which I loved because if a movie has at least three things I like (in this instance): Olivia Holt (a perfect Dagger)/a cast of actors I like, a heist, and London, I’m going to have a good time. It also had a surprise fourth thing that would make me like anything it’s in: MAGIC. Or at least sleigh(t) of hand (get it??). I basically got a second Now You See Me, Now You Don’t this year.
Then, on another night, I went to look at the Christmas lights on Balboa Island with a newer friend, ferrying over, sharing trauma stories, drinking pinot noir from a water bottle, and enjoying treats at the classic, original banana stand.
Once again, very grateful to other people for planning and including me in their plans. And that, for me, is the real Christmas spirit. Every day, my heart is growing just half a size bigger.
Now, I don’t hate everything about Christmas. Here are some of the campy, tolerable Christmas things I revisit each year:
Eggnog, as is
The Family Stone (ultimate family dysfunction, R.I.P. Diane Keaton)
Honorable mentions if I’m feeling extra festive: Four Christmases (also about family dysfunction) and Love Actually (no explanation needed)
Original pop Christmas songs: “Last Christmas” by WHAM!, “All I Want For Christmas Is You” by Mariah Carey, “The Greatest Time of Year” by Aly & AJ, but the number one is…
“Santa Tell Me” by Ariana Grande, but more specifically, the Gawker headline/article about it
Fixation 2 - Actors on Actors
I’m a big sucker for a good cast (as I mention above). If I like a cast well enough, there’s a good chance I’ll like it because to me, they are my favorite dolls playing together in different random stories. Variety’s 23rd season of the interview series is currently releasing/airing/streaming(?). It does my favorite thing as a part of my own interview research: find connections between actors and their past roles/co-stars, projects, themes, etc.
This interview series is so satisfying because it’s obviously part film promotion for awards seasons, but where else can actors come together so neutrally to discuss all these different projects than a trade magazine outlet? How else do you get the stars of the box office meme crossover of Barbenheimer to actually talk about the impact of these in-theater experiences outside of red carpet comments? Shoutout SNL for making a holiday-themed sketch for it with “Characters on Characters”.
I find the pairings so ticklish this year - like two musical nerds like Jonathan Bailey and David Corenswet discussing levitated kisses (I think David’s question was largely misunderstood by people who lack critical thinking or perspective), or Dwayne Johnson thanking Brendan Fraser for giving him a chance to break through with The Mummy franchise, Stellan and Alexander Skarsgård being so dry and Swedish, and or Michael B. Jordan and Jesse Plemons reminiscing about their twinkier days on Friday Night Lights?? Or Teyana Taylor saying “not me tho” about people who misunderstood who “Frankenstein” was referring to. God bless.
Thanks for reading! x