Thousands of tissues and Twitter feeds coated in teen & tween tears have been shed over the announcement that Zayn Malik will be leaving One Direction, taking the band down to four members.
In his statement, he announced that he was leaving to pursue a normal life: "I am leaving because I want to be a normal 22 year-old who is able to relax and have some private time out of the spotlight.”
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Zayn, I sincerely hope that’s true. While the cynic in me who read accounts of your partying and knows you are affianced to someone in another band leads me to believe you’re going to continue in that lifestyle, just not as a pawed-and-clawed boy band member…the optimist in me wants to believe you might be one of the smart ones.
Celebrity and its accompanying fortunes and experiences are truly the modern lottery. So many young people harbour modern soda-fountain discovery dreams (except the dream is now being a contestant on singing shows) that offer a golden ticket. But some celebs seem to have a secret plan, a get-out-of-tabloids-free card: knowing that if you hit it big, just that once, you don’t ever have to do it again. And you are free to write your own story if you do want to do it again.
You know the people: Julia Roberts choosing to live on a ranch in New Mexico (she still seems to get the parts she wants). Beloved Brits who stay across the pond and show up in an American film every now and again. Even Nicole Kidman pulling up stakes to go live in Nashville with Keith Urban probably got a very different life than her first go around with Tom Cruise in L.A. And Meryl - you never see Meryl in the tabloids, and she lives right in their neck of the woods. The cool, fun and funny Emma Stone and Jennifer Lawrence, who meet the "press" on their own terms.
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The courage to ignore critics, “the rules” and “the way it is” define a lot of great people, and some of them are even celebrities. These are the famous folk I would like my children to emulate - hell, they’re people I’d emulate (just gotta finish that first novel). It’s a quiet form of wisdom to realize that if you’ve won, you simply get up from that blackjack table and walk away.
Zayn, I hope you have some caring and smart people around you who saved your money. I hope you buy a remote property somewhere that makes you happy, and that you can live there for a little while or a long while until you want to sell it and go be happy somewhere else. I hope that you pursue other art forms, or doghouse building, or architecture — whatever moves your creative spirit and suits your definition of a normal life.
And I wouldn’t take Simon Cowell’s calls.
Image Source: WikiCommons
Finally, movie studios have figured out a way to get us back to the theatre: show old movies we loved when we were growing up!
For the bargain price of a movie ticket and the 950% margin on theatre snacks, you can deeply immerse yourself in all the nostalgia of what is now a very bygone age and enjoy films that, in their original release, could never be interrupted by a beeping cell phone…because there weren’t any! Can you really recreate an authentic experience from your youth? Is it worth your money, your afternoon, and maybe even paying a sitter to try?
It depends on what you’re looking for and how much of a cinemast you are, but there are a couple of high-profile options to choose from coming soon to a theatre near you:
You’re singing it right now, aren’t you? Go ahead, I’ll wait.
This one is celebrating its Golden Anniversary and is being re-released in theatres for a limited time. I’ll admit when I heard about this, my first response was “SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY!” My mother would repeatedly regale us with the original running engagement of the Sound of Music at a Winnipeg theatre when she was growing up: seven years. Seven. This one is well worth the three hours (an actual intermission, how cute!). Take your kids, take the girls, take yourself and hide out for three hours. If you have never seen it before, don’t just consider it. Consider it your duty to see this movie.
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Adjust the bifocals - it has been 30 years since we found out what really happens in Saturday detention. Culturally, it would appear, at least for the moment, that the Geek have inherited the Earth, which is a real vindication for all of my people, although it still weirds me out that Anthony Michael Hall turned out like this:
This one is the mega-ticket to a trip down memory lane for those of us who are a certain age, and the film is amazingly timeless (yes, the super-fashionable Claire is looking a tad dated in her off-the-shoulder blouse). Take your teen - times may change, but John Hughes’ singular understanding of what it’s really like growing up doesn’t.
Almost all of the re-releases are now in digital format, and the idea that you are settling in with your popcorn to “enjoy an actual print of an old movie, flapping projector reels and all, is just that - an idea. While there might not be any pops, hisses, strangely distorted audio or hairs moving across the screen, you are still sharing the experience with those who enjoyed the film before you. It’s just now enhanced for the digital age.
Image Source: Universal Pictures
Let it go,
Let it gooooooooo,
Let the money rain down from the sky-ee-eye!
The Support Group For Victims of Disney's 'Frozen'
Not quite the lyrics your five year-old has been singing for the last year and a half, but Disney broke the (somewhat expected) official news that Frozen will be getting the sequel treatment in the near future. There’s no confirmed word on plot yet, but it looks like the original cast is all back on board, and Disney-Pixar animation head John Lasseter was quoted at the announcement saying “We’re taking you back to Arendelle. We are so excited about that.”
A return to Arendelle is good news for the Frozen fan set (do they have an official name yet? Ice heads?Anna-lytes? Elsa Worshippers?) and excellent news for Disney’s bottom line, as well the bottomless supply of Frozen merchandise, which continues to multiply like a Magwai exposed to water. We will see that white-blond braid and goofy snowman face on runners into the JK class of 2020.
Frozen is not undeserving of the love it’s getting. The sisters’ storyline really choked me up, so much so that when our family went to see it, and the toddler was restless, I just pushed at hubs to “go get him” and stayed in the story, napkin ready to catch my inevitable weeping. The original songs, while possibly just the tiniest bit burnt out at the moment, are beautiful, moving musical theatre. The movie is as unstoppable as a greased sled for reasons, people.
The 'Saggy Boob' Version Of 'Let It Go'
Since the sequel is only in the development stage right now, you can get your Frozen fix at Disney’s new live-action Cinderella, now in theatres, which features “Frozen Fever,” an animated short about celebrations for Anna’s birthday. If you just can’t wait, there’s a “making of” feature up on YouTube:
Still not enough? An adaptation for the stage is also in the works, with songwriters Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez working on additional songs. If you build your ice palace now, you just might be the first in line for tickets.
Image Source: YouTube
This version of "Let It Go" is for the Moms
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