Entertainment

Andre Braugher: How His Deadpan Delivery Made Captain Holt Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s Beating Heart

Published

12 months ago

2023-12-13

Andre Braugher died at 61 and was responsible for some of the show’s funniest moments across its eight seasons.

The police chief at the center of the US sitcom thrived, largely thanks to Captain Raymond Holt, who provided the show’s pounding heart.

Braugher expertly depicted all of Holt’s personality elements, resulting in one of television’s most fully formed and well-rounded characters.

While the actor added heart and humor to the role, his harsh appearance and deadpan delivery endeared him to the show’s legions of fans.

“For me, Captain Holt was the best aspect of that show, bar none,”
Amon Warmann, contributing editor and columnist at Empire magazine, says. “Yes, he could be goofy, like many of the characters, but more than anyone else on the show, he brought the gravitas.”So, when it came time for a scene to hit as hard as needed, and there were several in Brooklyn Nine-Nine where that was the case, you could always count on Andre Braugher to deliver it and have it resonate with audiences.”

Braugher’s ability to keep a straight face while delivering some of the best lines of dialogue was generally applauded, but the rare instances when Captain Holt burst to life will be remembered fondly.

In season four, Holt spends the entire day building a balloon arch for another character’s wedding. Holt becomes deflated after being mocked by some of his coworkers, who think it’s not a good idea and begin popping the balloons.

How His Deadpan Delivery Made Captain Holt Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s Beating Heart

However, when Rosa, the bride-to-be, comes across the arch in his office by chance, she deems it “magnificent.” “VIN-DI-CA-TION!” shouts Holt, his face flushed with relief and excitement.

This was the scene that many people shared on social media after learning of Braugher’s death.

Captain Holt’s typically expressionless face belied a character of depth and warmth that fans grew to love.
“Holt was a man without expression but never without feeling,” commented Lester Fabiasteven Brathwaite of Entertainment Weekly.

“And he was a wonderfully complicated character, a man full of contradictions.”
He said: “Braugher’s deliciously deadpan delivery as Holt often provided some of the funniest moments throughout the show’s eight seasons, particularly when juxtaposed with the more cartoonish exploits of his cadre of kooky cops.”

Braugher delivered his lines with perfect pronunciation and grammar on all occasions. He insisted on referring to such a mystery as a “who has done this?” rather than a “whodunnit.”

In another incident, his crew realized he had been kidnapped because he used a contraction while on the phone.

How His Deadpan Delivery Made Captain Holt Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s Beating Heart

His caustic tone was frequently exactly what made a phrase humorous. In the Halloween heist episode, he only used the word “bitch” in the literal sense, referring to a female dog.

Surrounded by a fantastic ensemble cast that wonderfully riffed off each other, the straight-faced Holt found ways to show his friends and colleagues that he cared regularly.

How His Deadpan Delivery Made Captain Holt Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s Beating Heart

When Terry considers leaving the precinct in the second season, Captain Holt compels him to stay up all night digitizing files – hardly the kind of thing that would influence an employee’s attitude toward their employment.

However, Holt’s motive for compelling him to do so was so that Terry would be forced to reflect on his work memories with his colleagues, making him sentimental and ultimately prompting him to stay.
Although he may not always express his feelings and emotions on the surface, Braugher infuses his lines with comedy, intellect, and heart.

“Andre Braugher had a way of speaking like he loved every weird little clause of a sentence,” Vulture’s Kathryn Van Arendonk stated after learning of the actor’s death.
“Like his voice and gravity could hold more separate thoughts, rhythms, and linguistic turns at once than most people could ever hold.” It was a delight to listen to him.”

However, categorizing him purely as a comic actor may be doing him a disservice. He could also provide seriousness and authority, as Warmann points out, particularly in scenes like the last season when Captain Holt suspends Jake.

Andre Braugher: How His Deadpan Delivery Made Captain Holt Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s Beating Heart

“The way that conversation comes across, it’s so interesting,” Warmann said, “because Brooklyn Nine-Nine at its heart is a comedy show, but because of performers like Andre Braugher, who had a

Shakespearean background, any time there’s a big speech that needs to be made with gravitas, it could go from comedy and cut right through that and be like, ‘Oh, this is a moment’.”It clicked because you have a performer like Andre Braugher.”

Holt offers a stirring speech explaining why Jake Peralta must be suspended for five months for witness intimidation.
“Do you know what happens when cops are not punished for their mistakes?” “What happens when police are treated as a separate class of citizens above the law?” he wonders.

“It breeds distrust in the community, which means people won’t cooperate with our investigations, testify, or even call us when they’re in danger.” It makes them fear us more than criminals or gangsters. It causes people to regard us as the adversary, which leads to further conflict and distrust.”

It’s worth mentioning, however, that Holt would occasionally fall victim to gay stereotypes, either in jest or to make a point.

In one episode, he tries to get Terry to ride a motorcycle, but Terry refuses since bikes are “death machines.” Instead, he advises Holt to do so.

“Are you saying that my life is less important because I don’t conform to society’s heteronormative, child-centric ideals?” inquires the self-aware police captain.

“Are you really playing the gay card right now?” Terry reacts. “Yas, queen,” Captain Holt says. Rare occasions like this demonstrated Holt’s ability to use humor and snark when warranted.

Few argue that the figure was both creative and influential. “Andre himself was a big factor in that,” Warmann says, “playing.

Captain Holt is a person first, with real ambitions, real desires, a real sort of want to make change for the better, and that’s the sort of thing that comes across long before they start talking about gayness or blackness in any explicit manner.”

And they eventually do it in various episodes because that is a part of who Captain Holt is, but it doesn’t define him in the way it could in other series and other media.”

“That’s partly why Captain Holt resonates with everyone on some level, not just the black man or the gay man,” he concludes, “because he’s a person first.” He’s played that manner and written that way, so the word “groundbreaking” is accurate. I hope more media will study that and draw cues from it because we will have better art.

SOURCE – (BBC)

Entertainment

Gladiator II Rakes in $87 Million in Weekend Debut

Published

5 days ago

2024-11-18

Geoff Brown

Despite not playing in theaters in the United States, Canada, and China until this coming Friday, Gladiator II earned $87 million over the weekend, which is the best foreign opening for a Ridley Scott film to date.

Last week, the picture premiered in 63 countries, including the UK, and grossed $11.4 million from 722 theatres. Particularly impressive was its performance in France, where it raised $10.3 million from 729 outlets.

But this one is a little weaker compared to February’s smash hit sequel, Dune: Part Two, which grossed $97 million worldwide in its opening weekend. At the same time, Deadpool & Wolverine made $233 million for Disney, while Inside Out 2 for Pixar grossed $140 million.

The Fall Guy, an action comedy starring Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, earned $36.7 million in its opening weekend worldwide, while Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga earned $30 million.

Last Monday, King Charles III attended a screening of Gladiator II in London, capping off a weeks-long worldwide press tour for the film’s cast and production. A Mexican biscuit brand, Rome’s public transportation system, and a German bank VR are just a few multinational brands it has teamed up with to boost its visibility.

In Australia, dessert merchant Oliver Brown offered a special edition of pistachio-heavy puds and drinks dubbed the Emperor’s Collection. The Gladiator II salted caramel latte is available at French Coffee Shop, a business in Paris.

After poor statistics for Venom: The Last Dance and The Rock’s comedy Red One, which premiered worldwide last week, fans hope that Scott’s delayed sequel can lift the global box office for the last month and a half of the year.

Some are predicting a Barbenheimer-style struggle for the top spot in the US box office when Gladiator II and the highly anticipated musical Wicked premiere on the same day, even though double-bill events are unlikely to be very popular.

Gladiator Star Russell Crowe Honored in Rome

Gladiator Star Russell Crowe Honored in Rome

Entertainment

Blizzard’s Remastered Versions Of Warcraft 1 And 2 Are Now Available On PCs.

Published

2 weeks ago

2024-11-13

Salman Ahmad

Image credit: Blizzard Entertainment

(VOR News) – It has been said by Blizzard that it does not intend to remake Warcraft 1 and 2 since the company believes that these games are “just not that fun any longer.”

When the corporation first made this declaration, it has been almost exactly eight years since it was delivered.

However, the firm has only recently made the news that it will be doing precisely that, and as part of the celebrations for Warcraft’s 30th anniversary, both of the remastered versions are now available to play. The celebrations did not start until today.

The public first played Warcraft in 1994.

This game played a significant role in Blizzard’s rise to the top of the competition. In the year that followed, Warcraft 2 was hastily created in order to suit the requirements of the burgeoning fanbase that the first Warcraft had established.

Additionally, the company has just disclosed that they will be remastering the games, and these remasters will contain a variety of additions to the traditional real-time strategic action that is included in the games.

The initial stage of these enhancements to the development process consists of a new collection of hand-drawn pictures that may be toggled on and off in real time. The artistic style of the originals has been said to be completely captured by these photos, according to the assertions made.

Specifically, Blizzard has implemented “modern controls” for Warcraft 1, which include the option to move with a right click, the ability to pick bounding boxes, and a faster progression rate.

These features are all present in the Warcraft game.

The alterations that have been made include these, however they are not the only ones. It is important to note that these changes have been introduced in addition to the user interface and user experience enhancements that have been implemented throughout both games.

Tool tips, health bars, mission decision screens, and increased unit selection are some of the enhancements that have been introduced in this version of the game. As an additional feature, the multiplayer mode that was included in the first version of Warcraft 2 is still included in the remastered version of the game.

As an additional point of interest, each and every one of the legacy custom maps is entirely compatible with the new edition and may be played in the same capacity.

Despite the fact that there is currently no information regarding whether or not Warcraft 1 Remastered and Warcraft 2 Remastered will eventually be made available on other markets, both of these remastered versions of the game are currently available for purchase on Battle.net for personal computers at prices of $9.99 and $14.99, respectively.

Both of these versions of the game are remastered versions of the original game. A Battle Chest bundle is also available for purchase, and it can be purchased for the price of $39.99. All of the titles that have been remastered are included in this bundle, in addition to Blizzard’s Warcraft 3: Reforged, which has been met with a considerable deal of criticism.

Blizzard has been making continual efforts to improve the game ever since it was first made available to the public in the year 2020.

This is despite the fact that the game was met with poor reviews practically immediately after it was released. An entirely new upgrade, version 2.0, is currently being made available to all gamers without delay.

One of the numerous enhancements to the quality of life that are included in this is “much, much more,” in addition to a wide range of options for personalizing the hockey experience within the game and a new ladder.

In addition to the high-definition versions of all of the older Warcraft assets, these upgrades also include new environments and lighting, a redesigned user interface, and a variety of other enhancements.

SOURCE: EG

Entertainment

Yellowstone Season 5 Part 2 Returns Without Kevin Costner

Published

2 weeks ago

2024-11-11

Geoff Brown

Yellowstone is finally returning for the second half of its fifth season without Kevin Costner

Yellowstone will finally return for the second half of its fifth season. We have a lot to speak about, such as recalling what is going on in this program, Kevin Costner’s departure, and whether or not season 5, part 2, will truly end Yellowstone.

Season 5 Part 1 ended on a cliffhanger—we could be in for a full-fledged Dutton family civil war—and we’ve been waiting for nearly two years.

A quick recap: nothing changes from how this program usually goes, except it’s a little more intense. Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) despised Jamie Dutton. Jamie Dutton (Wes Bentley) despised Beth Dutton.

That has always been the case since childhood trauma, but now things have escalated. Their father, John Dutton (Kevin Costner), is now Montana’s Governor, and Jamie, who should be his top legal thinker, is played by a group of local businessmen known as Market Equities.

Anyway, Jamie and Beth are attempting to kill each other, and John appears to be leaning toward Beth’s side.

Given Kevin Costner’s public exit from the program, part 2 of season 5 will be especially noteworthy. Long story short, he departed to make his Horizon films and never returned.

So, how will Yellowstone pick up the tale without John? That much is unknown, which adds to the season’s appeal!

Of course, our other characters continue to do what they do. Rip (Cole Hauser) is doing his Rip thing. Kayce (Luke Grimes) oversees the ranch. His wife, Monica (Kelsey Asbille), is still grieving the loss of their unborn son.

But we do have some high stakes to pick up—and they will begin on Sunday, November 10th, whether Kevin Costner appears on screen or not.

Another twist: While we believed season 5 would conclude the Yellowstone story, part 2 is in the works.

There have also been suggestions that Yellowstone could return for a sixth season, starring Cole Hauser and Kelly Reilly as Rip and Beth. Hmm, certainly!

Yellowstone’s fifth season, part 2, will air each episode of the truncated half-season on Sunday nights at 8:00 PM EST.

The episodes will then be shown on linear TV, Hulu with Live TV, or the Paramount Network website and app for those with a cable subscription. The premiere will also re-air on CBS at 10:00 p.m. EST.

Yellowstone season 5, part 2, will consist of six episodes, the first of which is currently accessible to watch and stream. That implies the series might end with five more episodes of Western family drama.