~Singin’ in the Rain scene that made Debbie Reynolds a star~
Debbie Reynolds — who died December 28 at age 84 — was 19 years-old when her life changed forever.
After cutting her teeth on cabaret performances and winning the Miss Burbank pageant in 1948, Reynolds landed the part of Kathy Selden in Singin’ in the Rain, the 1952 classic that would launch her career. She was to sing and dance opposite Donald O’Connor and Gene Kelly, lauded Hollywood mainstays with decades of performing experience, while she had almost none, and zero dancing experience to speak of.
Debbie Reynolds – who rose to stardom in “Singin’ in the Rain” and quickly became a staple among Hollywood royalty – died Wednesday, December 28, as a result of a stroke, just one day after her daughter Carrie Fisher passed away, according to her son Todd.
On June 12, 2016, a mass shooting terrorist attack occurred inside Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, United States, resulting in 50 deaths, including the gunman, who was killed by Orlando police after a three-hour standoff, as well as 53 additional injuries.
It was the deadliest mass shooting by a single gunman and the deadliest incident of violence against LGBT people in U.S. history and the deadliest terrorist attack in the U.S. since the September 11 attacks in 2001.
We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of ourLGBTQ family members in Orlando on Saturday night. Whatever anyone chooses to call it, this was an act of hate directed toward our beautiful open and accepting community
Who doesn’t remember the timeless story of Sleeping Beauty?
How many times did we have the story read to us as kid? How many times did we read it to our kids and grandkids? How many movies have come out about this fairy tale?
So many …. maybe countless.
I went to the movies today with my oldest, Bug. We saw this version today. It was an incredible production. The storyline, the acting, the sets, the light.
Filming took place between June and October 2012. The film was released by Walt Disney Pictures in the UK on May 28, 2014 and in the U.S. on May 30, 2014 in the Disney Digital 3D, RealD 3D, and IMAX 3D formats, as well as in conventional theaters.
An elderly woman narrates and tells the story of Maleficent as a young and powerful faerie living in The Moors, a magical realm bordering a human kingdom.
As a young girl, she meets and falls in love with a human peasant boy named Stefan, whose infatuation with Maleficent is overshadowed by his ambition to become king. As they grow older, the two drift apart until one day Stefan stops coming to see her.
Later, after Maleficent defeats the current king in battle, Stefan is tasked with killing her. Visiting her at night, Stefan drugs her but can’t bring himself to kill her. Instead he burns off her wings using iron (a lethal substance to faeries) and presents them to the king as proof she was slain.
Heartbroken by Stefan’s betrayal and the loss of her wings, Maleficent begins building a darker kingdom in the faerie realm. She takes a raven, Diaval, as her one companion and confidant, constantly shape-shifting him from man to bird and other animals.
One day, Diaval informs Maleficent that Stefan, now king, is hosting a christening for his newborn daughter, Aurora.
In retaliation for Stefan’s betrayal, Maleficent arrives uninvited and curses the baby with a sleeping curse to take effect on her 16th birthday after pricking her finger on a spinning wheel spindle. However, in an act of mercy towards the innocent child, she gives the curse an antidote in true love’s kiss.
Stefan, paranoid of Maleficent and her vengeance, has all the spinning wheels in the kingdom burned and locked away. He also sends Aurora off to live with three pixies hidden deep in the woods until the day after her 16th birthday.
Despite her initial hate for Aurora, Maleficent begins to take care of her from afar when the neglectful pixies fail to do so. When Aurora turns 15, she finally comes in contact with Maleficent, believing her to be her fairy godmother as she recalled being watched over by her all her life.
Maleficent allows Aurora to spend more time in the faerie kingdom. Realizing she has grown fond of the princess, Maleficent attempts to remove the sleeping curse but her own curse stops her.
When Aurora meets Prince Philip, the two of them are instantly attracted to each other. He tells her he is on his way to King Stefan’s castle but promises to return to see her. On the day of her 16th birthday, Aurora wants to live with Maleficent in her kingdom, which Maleficent allows in the hope that doing so will prevent the curse.
However, the pixies tell the truth about Aurora’s parentage and Maleficent’s curse. Heartbroken by the truth, Aurora runs from Maleficent back to her parents.
Stefan locks Aurora away for safe keeping until the sun sets on her birthday. However, the curse takes hold and she pricks her finger on an old spinning wheel in the dungeons.
Maleficent, having failed to protect her, sneaks into the castle with an unconscious Phillip, hoping his brief meeting with Aurora in the woods will be enough to break her curse. Phillip’s kiss fails and Maleficent apologizes to the sleeping princess, swearing no harm will come to her while she sleeps and kisses her forehead.
Aurora awakens as Maleficent’s “true love” for Aurora is that of a mother to her daughter. Aurora, upon awakening, calls Maleficent “godmother”, showing she has forgiven Maleficent, and reaffirms her wish to live with her in the faerie kingdom.
As they attempt to flee the castle, Maleficent is captured by an iron net that falls from the ceiling. The guards and Stefan, in iron armor and using iron weapons, strike and begin to kill Maleficent.
Using her last power, Maleficent transforms Diaval into a dragon and while they initially hold the upper ground, soon begin to lose. The guards encircle Maleficent and Stefan with iron shields and Stefan nearly kills Maleficent, taunting her at her lack of wings.
At that moment, Aurora frees her stolen wings from their prison and with her wings restored, Maleficent overpowers Stefan and he falls to his death. Aurora is later named queen of both the humans and faeries by Maleficent, forever unifying the two kingdoms, while Phillip looks on. The narrator then reveals her identity as an elderly Aurora.
“Maleficent,” the untold story of Disney’s most iconic villain from the 1959 classic “Sleeping Beauty,” reveals the events that hardened Maleficent’s heart and drove her to curse the baby, Aurora.
~~Lana Del Rey – Once Upon a Dream~~
~(Maleficent “Dream” Trailer)~
~~Published on Jan 26, 2014~~
Lana Del Rey’s unique reimagining of the renowned song “Once Upon A Dream” from Disney’s 1959 animated film “Sleeping Beauty“, will be featured as the end credits of the upcoming Disney film Maleficent.
It Is What It Is 