The blog of author Dennis Cooper

Edward Furlong Day *

* (restored/expanded)

 

‘In 1991, Edward Furlong was just a 12-year old Los Angeles child who was on the brink of stardom. Terminator 2: Judgement Day was just about to be released in cinemas and revolutionise blockbusters for years to come. Furlong’s surprisingly soulful performance as John Connor, the eventual leader of the human resistance against the Terminators, was praised by many critics. Like his character, Furlong was destined for greatness.

‘Furlong’s home life wasn’t exactly the most conducive to a normal life. He didn’t know his father. His mother eventually lost control of him, resulting in an aunt and uncle suing for custody and raising him until his early teens. Perhaps more shockingly is the fact that he sued for his emancipation and won it. Why did he do that?

‘Furlong was in a relationship with a 29-year old woman who was his on-set tutor during filming of Terminator 2: Judgement Day. He was 15. She eventually became his manager, although she did little to steer his career in any meaningful way. Furlong starred in a number of critical and commercial failures, none that came close to replicating the success of Terminator 2: Judgement Day.

‘Furlong would eventually get engaged to – and split from – his manager, both personally and professionally. In 1999, she sued him for money owed to her for acting as his manager. She also claimed he was physically abusive. Throughout this time, Furlong is said to have taken hard drugs – heroin, cocaine – and was in the depths of serious alcoholism.

‘In the middle of this chaos, Furlong surprised everyone by taking off to film the family tragedy Little Odessa. On Jan. 7, he called his mother from Los Angeles International Airport to tell her he’d taken the job and was headed for New York — without her. This was the first time Furlong was on a movie set without family members, and a funny thing happened: Nothing.

‘”It was a delight to work with him. He was always emotionally present. I think he’s a very accomplished actor. And, in many ways, he was the most cooperative actor in the picture. Other than the fact that I got a Coke with Edward after shooting, I would never have known about his family,” says Odessa director James Gray, who watched the young actor hold his own with Vanessa Redgrave and Maximilian Schell. ”His role was that of someone from a troubled, broken family, and in many ways he used his background to his advantage and funneled his personal tumult into the role. At 16, he’s been forced into adulthood, and he’s handling it better than I would have.”

‘His career uptick continued in 1997 when he starred as the vulnerable, damaged younger brother to Edward Norton in American History X. The role won Furlong a nomination for Young Artist Award and the film was a critical success.

‘Furlong enjoyed a brief moment of success again with Detroit Rock City, where he starred alongside and eventually dated Natasha Lyonne, one of the stars of Orange Is The New Black. His fortunes spiralled downward again, with Furlong unable to secure any meaningful work other direct-to-DVD films.

‘His addictions prevented him from being recast as John Connor in the 2002 follow-up to Terminator 2: Judgement Day, with the role going to Nick Stahl instead. Throughout the 2000s, he was arrested several times for domestic abuse, drug addiction and various driving offences. He’s admitted publicly in court that he’s completely broke.

‘According to iMDB, Furlong’s only starred in one film in 2015 and hasn’t had a theatrically-released film in ten years. Despite this, Furlong is still believed to be a talented, if troubled actor. “I shot Ed Furlong when he wasn’t even aware that we were filming,” said one director. “He’s a very unpredictable and a brilliant actor when he wants to.”‘ — collaged

 

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Further

Edward Furlong @ IMDb
EF @ Twitter
EF page @ Facebook
THE EXTREME EDDIE SITE!!
Absolut Furlong
Edward Furlong Central
EF fan tumblr
Edward Furlong Fan Fiction Stories
‘A Look At Edward Furlong – Before And After Success’
‘The John Connor Curse: Nick Stahl, Edward Furlong and Christian Bale’
‘Edward Furlong Charged with Assaulting Girlfriend’
‘Actor Edward Furlong hides, then is arrested
‘Edward Furlong’s Lobster Tale’
‘Edward Furlong: gueule d’ange (noir)’
‘DER TIEFE FALL DES EDWARD FURLONG’
Edward Furlong – Hold On Tight (CD, Album) at Discogs
‘EDWARD FURLONG JOINS ‘STAR TREK : RENEGADES’

 

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Extras


EDWARD FURLONG Interview and Q&A;


Edward Furlong sings ‘Hold On Tight’


`Die Another Day’ Premiere


Edward Furlong singing for Detroit Rock City


Chicago Comic Con 2011 – Interview With Edward Furlong

 

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Interview

 

What have you been up to?

Well, right now I’m just getting up. I know I sound like a lazy bastard, but I had breakfast in bed, you know. I’m being kind of a lush, I guess. But lately, I’ve been being a dad, putting food on the table, doing movies once in a while. Same old, same old, nothing too exciting.

You were awesome in Terminator 2 and American History X and Little Odessa and Pecker, and then it seemed like you disappeared.

What happened? I became a crackwhore! After selling my body for crack for a couple of years… no, no, I’m just joking. [Laughs] It’s the way it goes. It’s just the way it is. It goes up and down. I still consider myself blessed enough that I can still put food on the table for my son. I still do stuff, I guess it’s just not as big as I used to get. I did just do CSI: NY – that’s probably the biggest thing lately.

You’re so good in Pecker. When that came out, I hoped you would start acting in arty indie movies and become the the sexy cute young Steve Buscemi or something.

Yeah. [Sighs] I should have been in more of John’s films and films like that. That was a valiant attempt by him to renew my filmmaking industry. It just didn’t work out. I fucked it up. That’s what I used to do. Fuck things up.

You still could.

Nah. [Long pause] I got fat and ugly. Another huge fuck up right there. [Sighs] Can you change the subject possibly?

Yeah. You were scouted to be in Terminator 2, correct? It was your first movie.

It was random. I was hanging out at the Boys and Girls Club. They had trouble finding someone in young Hollywood at the time to play John Connor, and I guess they were looking for “normal” kids. This woman came up to me at the Club and asked me if I wanted to be in a movie. She didn’t tell me what kind of movie it was, so I went [in my mind] to the worst possible thing, so I said, “Sorry, I’m not into child porn.” She laughed and said it wasn’t child porn. I went in and kept reading lines, and eventually I got the part!

Did being in a movie so laden with apocalyptic undertones and Doomsday messages mess with your psyche at all?

Nah, man. I think if maybe I was a bit older when I did the movie, I might have made better decisions – like save my money. It was fun for me to make the movie, though. The hardest thing was probably growing up in the business, in the public eye. I know a lot of people my age are still trying to figure out what to do, and I consider myself lucky that I can make a living doing so
mething that I truly enjoy.

True. And there were a lot of actors in the same boat as you, and a lot of them have died. Hey, at least you survived.

So far! I’m alive today, and that’s good. I feel very blessed.

Did you follow The Crow before you starred in the fourth Crow movie?

No, not really.

Did you watch all the movies?

Yeah, I did, actually. Before I knew I was doing The Crow I saw the first one and was a pretty big fan of it. Of course, when I signed on for the fourth one, I watched the other two.

It looked like a pretty physical movie. What do you think was the toughest sequence in the film to shoot?

In terms of physicality?

Well, you can do both. You can do physicality and acting, too.

Well, physical wasn’t quite as bad, because you have stunt doubles and everything. Also, the funny part is I accidentally broke my wrist not too long before the movie, so a lot of the physical stuff was a little bit harder for me. I had to take of my cast prematurely, and that was kind of a bitch. I’ve always played real life sort of characters and this is sort of like a mystical character with him coming back for revenge, for lost love, lost life, coming back from the dead, and all of that sh*t. At first it was scary, I guess. I’d never really stepped into those shoes. And when I saw The Crow on websites and shit, I had no idea it had so many fans. So, I guess the stressful part acting-wise was just stepping into those shoes and hoping that we could do a good job with it.

In the movie, you die and come back to life. It’s a second chance, or almost an immortality. Would you ever want to be immortal?

No. I don’t think so. By the time I’m old, I’m sure I’ll have lived a full enough life. I think we’re mortal for a reason. Life gets tiring, man! I get tired, so I don’t know. Being immortal might exhaust me or make me go crazy.

If you could have any superpower, what would you want?

Oh God… I’d have a couple. I’d have the ability to just make money trees. Like make money appear. I would be able to have Angelina Jolie and Shakira just fall magically in love with me and just wanna stalk me. I’d be able to eat whatever I want without gaining any weight. There’s definitely many serious superpowers I’d like to have.

Your first movie was with James Cameron. How was working with him at the time?

It’s funny. I can kind of remember. I was so young at the time, only 13. And the amount of pot I’ve smoked in my life… [Laughs] No, Jim was great. He has this image of being a tough director, but he was very nice to me. I loved working with him. He was the first director I ever worked with, so with every director since him, he’s like the number one. I base all my other experiences on him. I cared more about working with him than I did about Arnold Schwarzenegger. I was tripping out because it was around the time he was doing Aliens and Abyss, really cool stuff for a teenage boy.

Any funny stuff you can remember from your on-set days?

I remember one time Arnold accidentally hit me with the butt end of a rifle. That’s the only thing I can remember. I don’t know. Jim Cameron used to call me “Special Ed.” [Laughs]

What about the first time you met Arnold Schwarzenegger? Do you recall that?

Barely, but I do. We were doing a read-through. I remember thinking, ‘Man, this guy wears really loud clothes.’ He was wearing a big, flowery Hawaiian shirt. I had just seen him in Predator, you know, and here he is in some bright-colored shirt.

Do you have a favorite scene from the movie, or do you cringe watching it?

I don’t watch it. I saw part of it on TV a while ago, and it was the part where I’m outside taking off on my bike, in the garage, talking to my step-parents, and my character’s like: “She’s not my mother, Todd!” in some whiny voice. I was like ‘Oh my God, change the fucking channel!” It was horrible. It’s hard enough for me to watch my more recent stuff.

I was reading that you released a single and it got really big in Japan.

Yeah.

Did you do a lot of touring then?

No, I didn’t tour. It was a huge thing out there. Definitely not my kind of music.

I haven’t heard it.

You don’t want to hear it.

Is it like pop?

It’s like me at 14, 15 singing for like 12-year old girls and stuff. It’s awful.

What’s the next thing we’re going to see you in? I have a movie coming out pretty soon, called This Is Not a Movie, directed by Olallo Rubio, and co-starring Peter Coyote.

It’s a very, very cool movie. Guns N’ Roses’ Slash did the movie score. There’s all sorts of shit in it. It’s weird and really hard to explain. It’s an apocalyptic, end-of-the-world, druggie movie with naked chicks dancing around. It makes sense once you watch it all the way through. There’s a twist to it that I can’t reveal here. It’s really good. I also have a movie called For the Love of Money coming out soon, too. James Caan is in that one. And I did a sci-fi movie. There’s a couple things on the horizon for me, so I’m looking forward to it.

 

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26 of Edward Furlong’s 73 roles

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James Cameron Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
‘Much like John Connor, The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day (a.k.a “T2”), are both the products of and creators of their time. The Terminator came from a grittier, meaner brand of R-rated, 80s action that melded bloody action with desperate measures. They’re movies that are sweaty, ugly, and gleefully violent mixed with just a bit of campiness. Move to the 90s and everything is much cleaner and glossier. It’s the decade that saw the rise of the PG-13 action film, and the vanishing of the gritty aesthetic. Even though the movie is rated-R, Terminator 2 helped set the tone for this new wave of action movies. It’s drastically different than the original, features far more visual effects, and at the time was the most expensive movie ever made (James Cameron: Wanting His Movies to Cost More than the GDP of Small Countries since 1991). T2 showed that The Terminator may have been influential in the 1980s, but the sequel was a game-changer that redefined the character, the franchise, and, the blockbuster action movie.’ — Collider


Trailer


Excerpt


“Shit” montage

 

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Mary Lambert Pet Sematary II (1992)
‘Essentially, Pet Sematary II is the embodiment of one of its resurrected victims: an emotionless husk that looks like the thing it used to represent but features none of the qualities that made people care for it in the first place. The two films are so different in tone it’s actually difficult to believe they were both directed by the same person: however, with Stephen King having nothing to do with the sequel it just goes to show the person with the pen is often more important than the person behind the camera.’ — That Was a Bit Mental


Trailer


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Martin Bell American Heart (1992)
‘There are many reasons to watch Martin Bell’s American Heart (1992). A philosophical drama with Coming-of-Age nuances, the film focuses on the hardships of life by telling the story of Jack (Jeff Bridges), a recently released convict and his teenage son Nick (Edward Furlong). I did not really feel an emotional connection to any of the characters, but this did not lessen the experience. On the contrary, the distance between viewer and characters contributes to the authenticity of the film’s narrative. Most of the action is set in Seattle and we evidence the gritty daily fight of survival of its underprivileged inhabitants: drugs, violence, prostitution and robberies. A shocking, yet genuine, portrayal of the street – likely influenced by a documentary on the homeless kids of Seattle directed by Martin Bell some years prior to his work in American Heart.’ — The Sky Kid

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Excerpt

 

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John Flynn Brainscan (1994)
‘When Eddie and his legal guardians Sean Furlong and Tafoya arrived on the Brainscan set, a pitched battle began between the guardians and their charge, who, according to a draft of his contract, earned $350,000 to star in the sci-fi thriller, which opens nationwide on April 22. Tafoya said she and Eddie had three fights on the set and numerous fights off the set involving discipline — and Domac. ”’No, you can’t go visit Jackie now, you have to give your dog a bath,”’ she recalls saying. ”That’s when Eddie punched a hole in the ceiling of the trailer — over that. ‘Eddie, you just worked 12 hours. You can’t go visit Jackie; you have to go to sleep.’ ‘Get off the phone with Jackie — it’s 3 a.m.”’ Tafoya also claims she found Domac asleep in Eddie’s bed. Midway through the seven-week shoot, the moviemakers moved to resolve what they saw as a crisis. ”Sean and Nancy disrupted filmmaking,” says producer Michel Roy. ”Edward was in constant conflict with them. As a result, he had more difficulty performing his work. At one point, the group behind Brainscan, including me, decided the disruption was creating a major problem. I called Bruce Ross and said if they continued to disturb my days, you guys are going to have to pay for it.”’ — EW


the entire film

 

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James Gray Little Odessa (1994)
‘Tim Roth is an amazingly versatile actor; compare this character from Brooklyn with his Cockney thief in Pulp Fiction and his foppish con man in Rob Roy. He does what he can with his character, but the story, written and directed by James Gray, is neither a family drama nor a crime melodrama, but a series of disconnected scenes that play like exercises – some of them very good ones. Consider, for example, the kid brother. Edward Furlong is a skillful actor, but what can he do with a role that requires him to materialize uncannily at key moments, just so he can witness things it is unlikely he would even know about? Or what about the father, played by Schell, who is written as such a ham-handed heavy that he bursts through credibility? And what, given the movie’s Jewish milieu, are we to make of a closing scene in which a furnace is used as a crematorium? There is symbolism there, I’m sure, but I don’t feel like working it out, and I don’t think the movie has earned it.’ — Roger Ebert


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Excerpt

 

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Barbet Schroeder Before and After (1996)
‘In Before and After, Meryl Streep is a small-town pediatrician and Liam Neeson is a successful artist who makes big, John Chamberlainish metal sculptures. As Carolyn and Ben Ryan, they have two children and live in a rambling old house in New England. One day, their 16-year-old, played by Edward Furlong, is accused of murdering his girlfriend. Furlong’s Jacob runs away. Unsure whether his son did the deed but determined to protect him, Ben destroys potential evidence and lies to the authorities. Jacob’s younger sister, Judith (Julia Weldon), and Carolyn are appalled by Ben’s actions. Streep and Neeson are awfully good at conveying the parents’ agony and confusion, but only Weldon is permitted to tug at the audience’s hearts, in touching voice-over narration. Her character, however, is also the only member of the Ryan family who’s superfluous to the action. In Reversal of Fortune and Kiss of Death, Schroeder’s cool irony energized his material; in Before and After, it enervates the story he is trying to tell.’ — EW


Trailer


the entire film

 

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John Waters Pecker (1998)
‘If you didn’t see the movie when it came out back in 1998, the film follows 18-year-old amateur photographer Pecker (Edward Furlong) (so named because he pecks at his food, also because it’s funny) on a rags-to-riches adventure in the world of high art. Pecker is just a blue-collar kid in Baltimore, with a mom who runs a thrift shop where she offers fashion advice to the homeless, a sister (Martha Plimpton) who recruits go-go boys to dance at the local Fudge Palace, and a grandmother, Memama (Jean Schertler), who is the “pit beef” queen of Baltimore when not conducting prayer meetings with her talking statue of Mary. Pecker’s snapshots of family, friends, and laundromat-owning girlfriend (Christina Ricci) catch the eye of hip Manhattan art dealer Rorey Wheeler (Lili Taylor) who becomes fascinated with Pecker’s photos and offers him a big exhibition in the offing, followed by overnight fame as the young man becomes the new darling of New York. Soon Pecker discovers that fame has its price.’ — IFC


Trailer


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Tony Kaye American History X (1998)
‘Although American History X marked Tony Kaye’s feature film debut, he considered himself a veteran filmmaker already because of his work in commercials and videos. A decade earlier, he was already billing himself as “the greatest English director since Hitchcock.” Kaye’s initial edit of the film drew notes from New Line on how he might improve it. He spent a year recutting the film. “In that time, I found a whole new film, one that they never allowed me to finish,” he told the Guardian. New Line found the second cut even more unacceptable. At that point, film editor Jerry Greenberg and Edward Norton worked on a third cut. “I was so staggered by what [Norton] was doing to my film, and by the fact that New Line approved, that I punched the wall and broke my hand,” Kaye told the Guardian. Norton wasn’t the only star with whom Kaye had strained relations. He also had difficulty with Edward Furlong (the Terminator 2 actor, who played Danny, the younger brother whom Derek tries to keep from following in his own racist footsteps). During post-production, while he was on the phone with Furlong’s management, he stomped on a VHS cassette of the studio edit of the movie and tried to flush the pieces down the toilet.’ — moviefone.com


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Adam Rifkin Detroit Rock City (1999)
Detroit Rock City is KISS’ best merchandising move ever. Released about six years after Dazed and Confused, this movies follows four Cleveland teens on a trip to Detroit to see the greatest band in the universe: KISS. You know you’re in for an amazing time when the biggest name in the movie is Edward fucking Furlong. Edward Furlong, pre-downward spiral into drugs and irrelevancy, plays Hawk, the group’s leader. The rest of the cast includes Shannon Tweed, Sam Huntington, Nicky from Orange Is The New Black, and a few others. The movie is actually pretty funny, and while it is a giant KISSadvertisement, it’s one of the movie’s endearing qualities. You’d be hard pressed not to see some kind of KISS merchandise on screen, and in that sense, it feels like some used car salesman trying to get you to buy a bunch of shit.’ — Noisey


Trailer


Excerpt


Behind the Scenes

 

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Steve Buscemi Animal Factory (2000)
‘Steve Buscemi, with his wry and jabby hostility, is such a vivid actor that few people seem to realize he’s becoming a major filmmaker as well. In Animal Factory, the finely tuned prison drama that’s his second feature (after Trees Lounge), Buscemi displays a pinpoint humanity, reminiscent of Jonathan Demme, that lays bare the inner turmoil of everyone on screen. Ron Decker (Edward Furlong), a soft-faced 21-year-old, doesn’t belong in prison, but there he is — convicted on a marijuana charge, tossed in with men who could eat him alive. Fortunately, he wins the attentions of Earl (Willem Dafoe), a veteran con who has mastered the Machiavellian intricacies of prison society. Dafoe makes Earl a tough-nut sociopath with an oxymoronic streak of restraint. He refuses to turn Ron into his ”punk,” and the film pivots around this enigmatic grace note of civility in hell. Oddball cameo of the year: Mickey Rourke as a pumped-up drag queen who’s like Blanche DuBois crossed with Elmer Fudd.’ — EW


Trailer


Eddie Furlong Interview-Animal Factory

 

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Andrew Lauer Intermedio (2005)
‘I thought the presence of a known actor like Eddie Furlong might mean that this movie has a certain level of budget, if not quality. Neither is the case. This is a cheap movie with cheap “effects” that are eye-rolling at best, laughable at worst — the “ghosts” are guys dressed in skeleton costumes, a la Karate Kid (Plus, I’m getting sick of digital blood in horror movies.). The dialog is a ridiculous heaping of clichéd yelling (“We’re not gonna get anywhere yelling at each other like this!” and that sort of crap). The actors are no better — just a bunch of overacting, and Furlong is not immune. He’s seen better days. His hunched over, paunchy stoner body, and baggy eyes make him look increasingly like Peter Lorre.’ — Bruce LeRoy


Trailer

 

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Lance Mungia The Crow: Wicked Prayer (2005)
The Crow: Wicked Prayer is just like the first one — if the first one had been made by a room full of mean-spirited six-year-olds with a finger-paint budget of $12.00. Appealing to the lowest possible tastes, it elevates violence to new levels of pander. Well, it’s better than Crow 3. The only thing holding it together is Edward Furlong, who’s deep, passionate performance is worthy of a better package.’ — collaged


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Randall Rubin Jimmy and Judy (2006)
‘A teenage outcast road movie, Jimmy and Judy follows a of a pair of outsiders who fall in love and out of control as they travel across an American landscape dotted with hypocrisy, materialism, drugs and violence. The film focuses on the classic themes such as adolescent rebellion, love, and anger. Jimmy and Judy are a modern day Bonnie and Clyde: destructive young lovers who leave the comfort of their suburban community in rural Kentucky in search of a better life. The film is presented in the form of a video diary from the point of view of the main characters.’ — Wiki


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Micheal Bafaro The Covenant: Brotherhood of Evil (2006)
‘David Goodman is on the pick of his career as a PR executive when he suddenly loses his chance for a big promotion and, unfortunately, his sight at a street attack. Soon after a message is left on his answering machine about a doctor, named Guillermo List, who can help David to regain his eyesight and get his career back on track with only price… his soul.’ — howoldwas.com


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Uwe Boll Stoic (2009)
‘According to director Uwe Boll, Stoic centers on a true incident which occurred in Siegburg prison in 2006 where three prisoners raped, tortured and ultimately forced their cellmate to commit suicide over a period of ten hours in a series of events that began with a poker bet involving the consumption of a tube of toothpaste. The film is based on a film treatment created by Uwe Boll. The dialogue was almost entirely improvised by the actors.’ — collaged


Trailer

 

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Michel Gondry The Green Hornet (2011)
‘Just days before The Green Hornet hits theaters with expectations of a #1 bow, one of the film’s stars, Edward Furlong, is struggling to stay out of the spotlight. The former child star who launched his career in 1991 in the role of a young John Conner in Terminator 2: Judgment Day was arrested on Tuesday in Los Angeles on suspicion of violating a restraining order that requires him to stay 100 yards away from his estranged wife, Rachael Kneeland, according to the Los Angeles Times. Furlong made it to Monday’s red carpet premiere of The Green Hornet in Los Angeles, but was then taken into custody the next day during a court appearance for violating the stay-away order in December. The couple are going through an ugly divorce, and People magazine reported that in court documents Kneeland alleged that, back in September 2010, Furlong “pushed” and “bruised” her and left threatening messages claiming he would “hire people to come and beat [her] with chains and bats.” Furlong has denied the allegations, but a judge issued a three-year restraining order against the actor and ordered him to undergo counseling.’ — mtv.com


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Olallo Rubio This Is Not a Movie (2011)
‘Edward Furlong vehicle This is Not a Movie tragically lives up to its title, failing utterly at having a plot, being remotely entertaining, or making any valid points about anything at all. On the upside, it has an original soundtrack from Slash of Guns ‘n’ Roses (if you’re into that), and there’s a scene where faceless chicks in American flag underwear shake their asses for five minutes in a room full of lights and confetti. Also, there’s this other scene where Edward Furlong throws his arms up in the air and screams “I NEED P*SSY!” for no real reason, while wearing a cowboy hat. Other than that, the movie is boring and worthless. I’m pretty forgiving of low-budget movies that lack coherence or entertainment value – it can be a tough grind getting a film finished on time, working under severe budget constraints without sufficient resources. This is Not a Movie, however, is so wanktastically self-congratulatory about its inability to function as a narrative that it inspires only annoyance and disdain, seeming blithely convinced that its preschooler-at-mealtime refusal to conform to traditional rules about storytelling and characterization makes it automatically transcendent and artistically relevant.’ — Crave


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Justin Thomas Ostensen Below Zero (2011)
Below Zero last made headlines in 2010 when cameras on the production were just getting rolling. Nearly two years later, we’re receiving the first stills released for the film. The story is said to be “based on true events,” but let’s be clear, the “true events” were not ripped from the headlines. Rather, the screenwriter put herself into the same situation the movie’s protagonist finds himself in. A bit gimmicky, but if it inspires interest in the film, so be it. So, what are the “true events”? A screenwriter – played by Edward Furlong – locks himself in a meat locker to complete a script. There, he faces his own demons. Silly.’ — Shock Til You Drop


Trailer

 

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Ellie Kanner For the Love of Money (2012)
‘Thesp-turned-scribe Jenna Mattison shows an immediate willingness to leave no verbal cliche unturned, filling the early passages with such opening-voiceover banalities as “A wise man once said,” “Times were simple back then” and “We didn’t have a lot, but we had each other.” Izak (Cody Longo in a fright wig) and his best friend/cousin, Yoni (Jonathan Lipnicki), are carefree teens in 1973 Tel Aviv whose fun in the sun is terminated by a dustup with vicious thug Tommy (Edward Furlong). To avoid reprisals, the entire family packs up and moves to Los Angeles, save Yoni’s black-sheep sibling, Levi (Oded Fehr), left cooling his heels in prison after a bank robbery. There’s a miniseries’ worth of narrative complication here. But For the Love of Money is so compressed, there’s no time for character development, stranding good actors with bad dialogue and zero chemistry. Nor does director Ellie Kanner-Zuckerman exhibit any feel for the pulp style and violent setpieces the material cries for. The most the pic can manage in living up to its own obvious reference points (Goodfellas, Casino, Scarface, etc.) is to predictably paper the soundtrack with period-evoking oldies from Three Dog Night to A Flock of Seagulls.’ — Variety


Trailer

 

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Nicholas Gyeney Matt’s Chance (2013)
‘”You know, when it comes to Eddie, today it seems to be popular to first think of him as that actor who’s in and out of trouble with the law,” begins the firm’s director. “But when it comes to his acting abilities, as well as his work ethics, Eddie is extremely respectful and professional. Every time I yelled action, Eddie would LEAP into a zone that is difficult to describe. He would nail deliveries with ease, and his performance has elevated Matt’s Chance into a complex character journey that I’m very proud of. I will step out on a limb and say that his performance in our dark comedy was one of his very best, and his current circumstances in life only build on the tension and humanity of his work in the film.”‘ — collaged


Trailer


Behind the scenes

 

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Uwe Boll Bailout: The Age of Greed (2013)
‘This film isn’t unequivocally horrible. Early desire to set up the serious circumstances surrounding Wall Street’s fleecing of the American public and the regular Joe victims finding their lives spiraling out of control proves effective until eventually languishing in Boll’s overwrought montages of silent emotion. I felt for Jim (Dominic Purcell) and his wife Rosie’s (Erin Karpluk) plight, understanding the pressures of unavoidable illness and the yearning to hope love can truly conquer all. Finally receiving a clean bill of health where her tumors were involved, a few months of hormone treatment promise the green light on pregnancy and building a family. But happy thoughts soon disappear when their insurance cap is hit, their life savings are lost courtesy of faulty investments, and a sixty grand bill for owed interest on their shares is drawn.’ — jared mobarak


the entire film


The Making of ‘Bailout: The Age of Greed’

 

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Aidan Belizaire The Zombie King (2013)
‘Samuel Peters (Edward Furlong) lost his mind when he lost his wife and made a deal with the dark god Kalfu (Corey Feldman) to bring her back, but in order to do so he had to unleash a plague of the risen dead first, and a small group of those that survived this onslaught aim to end the dabbling necromancer’s plans. Unless it’s a warning about the dangers of doing too many drugs in your teenage years, it’s probably time the cinematic world retires Corey Feldman and Edward Furlong. The guys have already been through enough and it’s not doing them any favors to keep throwing them into films just for the lookyloos like myself who will watch only because train wrecks are hard to turn away from.’ — Undead Review


the entire film

 

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Ajai Stitch (2013)
‘Edward Furlong and Shawna Waldron are a troubled young couple coping with the untimely death of their daughter. Aided by a spiritual counselor buddy and his girlfriend, their foursome rents a remote house in the desert where they stage a grief cleansing ritual. The weird thing is, no one can remember planning the trip or exactly how they made it to the middle of nowhere in the first place. “Stitch” is either a decent movie felled by too much ambition and tremendously bad visual effects, or it is a bad movie modestly elevated by decent performances from a capable cast. Whichever is the case, the only common descriptors in those two possibilities are the words “decent” and “bad,” indicating that “Stitch” is not worth recommending no matter what.’ — Culture Crypt


Trailer

 

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Péter Engert Aftermath (2014)
‘An often tedious but clammily atmospheric end-of-the-world thriller set in the wake of a nuclear holocaust.’ — Variety


Trailer

 

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Mark Atkins Left to Die (2017)
‘The story is a bunch of people wake-up on a strange island & later find out their all being harvested by black market organ thiefs, a good idea but mostly it’s too cheesy because of the terrible acting from the supporting cast such as a pointless role for “Edward Furlong” it’s terrible, we also have “Darryl Hannah” who is actually ok in a tiny role, theres also “Michael Copon” who is horrendous as an actor here!!! There’s a tiny pointless embarrassing tid bit for veteran B-movie star “Michael pare”, there’s British bad guy “Vinnie Jones” who just does the same in every role, there’s “Daz Crawford” another horrendous actor, there’s also “Jason London” who is just about ok as a silly villain, there’s also a very old looking “David Keith” as a Doctor who looks fed-up in his tiny part & then there’s the sister of “Billie”, “Kat” played by “Christa Campbell” who is just ok in her tiny role. It just feels like a massive waste of a big cast of B-movie stars!!!’ — lukem-52760


Trailer

 

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Scott Goldberg The Forest Hills (2023)
The Forest Hills follows Rico (Chiko Mendez), a man who is tormented by nightmarish visions after enduring head trauma while hiking in the Catskills. Edward Furlong plays the role of Billy, a man who influences Rico to believe that he can become a werewolf. And we hear Furlong transforms into a werewolf in the movie. The movie is perhaps most noteworthy as Shelley Duvall’s return to acting after a 20-year hiatus.’ — Bloody Disgusting


Trailer


‘The Forest Hills’: Edward Furlong Interview 2023

 

 

*

p.s. Hey. ** jay, Hi. How was learning to shoot? A friend took me to a shooting range in my teens, but the violent pull of the gun when it fired was so annoying I never tried again. Yeah, I think my characters are really interested in being original or trying to be. I have heard, I guess an inordinate number of times, of people finding my work through some guy they hooked up with, and more often than not some very unpleasant guy they hooked up with. Pure coincidence, I say. Ha ha. Thank you for saying that. I get a bit shy and flummoxed by compliments, but it means a lot deep down. Weekend, how was it? ** _Black_Acrylic, Oh, yeah, I just read about that auction sale. It’s just mind boggling what people pay for a painting with a big name attached. During the long process of trying to raise money to make our new film, we approached a couple of art collectors who buy art at that high level to see if they’d donate a little, and both of them said, Sorry, cash flow problems. Oh my god, that’s so horrible about your friend. Jesus. But obviously it’s great that you two have reconnected. Wow. ** Jack Skelley, Jackzzzz. (as in jazz, not as in zzzz). Sounds really fun: the thing, the event. I didn’t end up seeing ‘PofA’ yesterday, long story. Soon, though. No, I met Chris L at a gay bar, which is strange because I rarely ever have gone to gay bars. In fact I was with David Trinidad when I met Chris, and we were having a drink to celebrate the publication of ‘My Mark’. Look forward to you holding that up tonight (my time). Of course I remember seeing Prince at Flippers. What an amazing stroke of luck that was, eh? ** Dominik, Hi!!! Cool. Yes, we hope not, and, honestly, I don’t think it’s even possible that anyone could be as miserable as the first one. I didn’t see ‘PotA’ yet. Coming soon. Love didn’t find me a Japanese restaurant, but it directed me to an already known and great vegan restaurant thereabouts: Potager du Marais. Vegan stroganoff: yums. Love remembering the time I was sitting the passenger seat of a car driving along Sunset Boulevard and I looked to my right and there was Eddie Furlong driving the car right next to ours and no sooner had I recognised him than he turned his head and spit out his window and his loogie landed right on my face, G. ** Tosh Berman, I like the look of Fitzcarraldo books too. I … don’t think I could stomach watching that YouTube video you mentioned, and, yeah, why, or, rather, why not? ** Otto, Howdy, Otto! Cool, thanks. Ah, ‘Shady Lane’, yes, that’s a sticky song. In fact you just planted it in my head, which is fine, no worries. It’s true about their lyrics: ‘Blind date with the chancer/ We had oysters and dry lancers …’ The mental grab there is almost evil. I often get stuck on ‘What about the voice of Geddy Lee / How does he sing so high / Do you think that he speaks like an ordinary guy / “I know him, and he does” / Well, you’re my factchecking cuz.’ ** Harper, Yep, yep, totally agree about covers. I’m so sorry about your day, and the dog walking thing not panning out. Of course I agree with you. It’s easy to say, ‘queer, so what’, but the world views everything through the filter of generalising and/or collectivising, and we’re under that viewpoint’s ugly, stupid power. In that case unification through shared identity particulars is necessary and valuable. I don’t know. I’m really sorry you’re having to go through that. Of course you’ll sort it, I just hope the world cooperates as fully as can be with your sorting. I send you as much power the internet can transfer. ** PL, Hello, there! Lovely to see you! You went to Rio thing. Super cool. I totally would have gone. I’ve never seen her live, and it seems like something one should do. I have some friends who are seeing Taylor Swift live in Paris tonight, and I zero interest in her, but I did think, Wow, I should have tried to go that just so I’d know. Anyway, awesome that you were there and saw her. The aerial shots of the crowd/concert looked amazing. Cool, thank you, I’ll look at your instagram this weekend. I’m not on instagram, so I’ll only be able to look at the thumbnails, but that’s a lot better than nothing. Oh, wait, never mind, you gave that behance link, and I can look at things in their totality there. Great! I haven’t seen ‘Baby Reindeer’ or ‘Challengers’. I am curious about the former given all of the social media waxing about it. It’s nice to talk with you again, yes. Doing nothing can be interesting. I like slow, uneventful things. xo. ** Steve, Thanks. No, it’s hard to tell what that impact will be. My guess is they’ll sort it in time. The big question here is what the impact will be of the to-be-announced so-called ‘List of Ten’. I assume you’ve heard about that. Didn’t see ‘PotA’ yet. Weekend is my Zoom book/film club tonight and maybe seeing ‘PotA’ and some film related shit we have to deal with and, oh, Eurovision, of course. Let me know what Prismatic Ground holds out at its best. Or maybe I’ll find out myself, actually. ** Justin D, Thanks, pal. Me too: beauty in damage. That’s one of my guiding lights, I even think. Good luck unrolling your bf’s eyes. Oh, I just told Steve what I think I’m going to do over the weekend. We’ll see what pans out. What about you? You must have at least one plan that’s putting glitter in your eyes? ** Uday, Nice Mann quote there. Yay, you’re chipper again. I can even tell. Don’t let boys rob your power. I’ve only read ‘The Red and the Black’ by Stendhal, I’m embarrassed to say. I’ll find ‘De L’Amour.’ ** Jamie F, Hi, Jamie. Proud if our association can add any luster to your bio. It’s really hard not to generalise. Sometimes you’re in a rush to make some point and your brain gets lazy, but I always to catch myself and give myself a symbolic slap upside the head, at least. ‘shy bairns get nowt’: nice. Oh, sure, like I think I said, show me whatever you want/can, but feel sure about it to some degree first, or at least that’s what makes my decisions. Melbourne reminded quite a bit of LA, for some reason. Parts of LA are glamorous, and parts are just kind of whatever visually. But there is no place like it anywhere, so I recommend you explore it sometime. With someone who knows it, and with someone who has a car. Otherwise it’s pretty difficult to figure out and probably like. There are a lot of crazy Americans, and I mean a lot. I’m sure there are a fair number of crazy French people, but, because my French is terrible, I usually can’t tell. You have swell weekend too. Did anything extraordinary sneak into those days? ** Brightpath, Hi. It’s weird, I thought ‘I should find a Burroughs piece’ while I was looking for bullet altered things, and then I just totally forgot. So, he should have been there, certainly. ** Oscar 🌀, Hey, hey, Oscar & spiral. Morning’s been okay, just lots of coffee and a few cigarettes and doing this so far. I’m happy you loved the post, thank you, thank you. No, I don’t think we got the Northern Lights. I don’t know for sure, but nobody was talking about it. Nice that you got a trace of them. I’ve only seen them full on once in Iceland. Seriously trippy. It’s actually warm enough here for an iced coffee today, so I’m going to have my first of the season, thanks to your kind suggestion. And possibly a stint in a cinema. Did you have weekend goals that were accomplished, or, dare I hope, exceeded? ** Okay. For whatever reason I decided to restore and expand an old blog post focused on the grimly top heavy oeuvre of poor, appealing actor Edward Furlong. Fun and sadness and even a bit of greatness: it’s got it all up there if you’re in the mood. See you on Monday.

13 Comments

  1. jay

    Learning to shoot was great, actually! I know what you mean about the kick, it is quite a jolt.

    Yes, I do see that about your characters being original/not exclusively gay.

    Actually, I got introduced to your books by a pretty lovely guy I hooked up with, who noticed I was maybe a little off in some regards. Honestly, I think you’d be surprised by how diverse your readership is!

  2. Jamie F

    Hi Dennis 👋

    I remember watching Terminator 2 with my dad when I was very young, and I have a vivd recollection of being thrilled by it. That’s actually one of the few fond memories I have of my dad growing up, but it reminds me he’s a multifaceted man. This post just rekindled that for me, so thank you.

    I’m glad we have the same need to be somewhat ‘certain’ when it comes to sharing our work, I’m obviously in good company with that mindset.

    I’ll keep your tips for visiting LA. You’ve just reignited my desire to go!! I know you’re originally from California. I’ll need to make friends over there, easier said than done, haha!

    I’m almost certain there are plenty of crazy people in every culture / nationality. I know the French have a reputation for being arrogant but I really haven’t experienced much of that. I have a different experience based on an encounter I had years ago in Paris when I was doing the cliche romantic getaway thing. I was somewhere near the Palais-Royale(?) I think, with a huge map open probably upside down and looking like the perfect, clueless tourist. And this guy approaches and asks (in English) where I’m headed and if I need directions and points me on my way, and I forgot to say ‘merci’ but it made me happy. So I actually think of the French as being very nice because of that one helpful guy, haha. Shout out to him. I can’t imagine that happening in London for some reason, but maybe I’m biased.

    Do you mean did anything extraordinary happen to me this weekend? I’ll assume that, sorry if I’m being dumb… Hmm, well, this is not very exciting but I did get my first ‘paycheck’ from Medium for ‘engaging’ readers on their site, haha. A modest amount let’s say, but this is the first time I’ve ever been paid for my writing, so it feels like an important milestone. Like, I don’t write because I want money — obviously, worst way ever to make money — I do it for creative purposes, but I feel like being paid sort of legitimises things, if that makes sense? So yeah. Other than that, I’ve got some horror movies queued up this weekend, I love horror films and haven’t seen any in ages, haha.

    Can I ask you a question? Something I’ve been thinking about with regards to my latest story. You don’t have to answer, though I think you are uniquely qualified. Well, do you ever feel like the content of your work ‘reveals’ too many personal things about you, like personal thoughts and feelings and stuff? Especially with people you know ‘in real life’ reading your work and then thinking they have some insight into you? Or does your work ever make you feel exposed and vulnerable? If so, how do you deal with it? Do you just accept it as part of the process and try not to care? Am I just sensitive and you’ve actually never felt this way!? (Okay, that was lots of questions, sorry.)

    Another super long comment from me! Yikes.

    Jamie F

  3. Dominik

    Hi!!

    I quite suddenly slipped into an Edward Furlong rabbit hole a few weeks ago. I guess it’s time to go back, haha. Thank you for reviving this post!

    I’ve never had vegan stroganoff, but I looked up a few recipes and photos, and I could definitely go for some right now.

    Oh, no. I mean… I mean, yeah, no. I wouldn’t want Edward Furlong to spit on my face. Even as his young self. … Was he? Young? When it happened?

    Love not forgetting two beers in the freezer overnight, Od.

  4. Bill

    I really enjoyed American History X, Pecker (a strange date, ha), also saw Animal Factory. I’m glad to see Ed Furlong has been able to keep working, but what a sad story.

    Finally saw Sebastian Silva’s Crystal Fairy and the Magical Cactus. Could be tighter, but the first hour was pretty hilarious. Not as impressive as Silva’s later Rotting in the Sun, but still worthwhile.

    Dennis, in case you didn’t know, a new Gastr del Sol will be out soon (just previously unavailable archival material, but still):
    https://gastrdelsol.bandcamp.com/album/we-have-dozens-of-titles

    Bill

  5. Steve

    Did you conduct the above interview with Furlong?

    Has Mediapart set a date for the release of the “list of 10”? When I googled it, I quickly found people gossiping about who may be on it. I’m troubled by the current tendency to treat sexual misconduct as titilating gossip, which you can see everywhere from the Kendrick/Drake beef to some of the responses to BABY REINDEER. With a new documentary on Kevin Spacey coming out, we’re in for more of the same, in place of actual justice.

    I saw Tsai Ming-liang’s ABIDING NOWHERE today – the tenth film in the walker series, and the first one shot in the U.S. (It was funded by the Smithsonian’s museum of Asian art, and several scenes were filmed there.) Out of the shorts streamed by Prismatic Ground’s website, I liked Adam Pirot’s DAU: AUNCUT (MOVING ALONG IMAGE), about the director’s discovery of a Ukrainian man with a tattoo of his grandfather’s face, and Michel Khleifi’s 1985 MA’LOUL CELEBRATES ITS OWN DESTRUCTION.

  6. PL

    Hi, D! Excited to hear your thoughts on my drawings. I have zero interest in Taylor either, for me, she’s like the Disney of the Pop singers but without the whole golden age of Walt’s work. I get why she’s famous, but the shouldn’t be. By the way, any news from your film? Well, my uneventful days were filled with texts of a local alternative group that smokes weed all thay and complains about everything. One seems a little obsessed with me, but it’s okay, and another one is cute, but I don’t know if he likes guys. But he did said that “Deeper and Deeper” is his favourite Madonna song, which is not so popular. By the way, what’s yours? I’m curious. Anyways, there’s also this girl I’m interested in and she always talks to me but when I did asked her out she invented some excuse, that I don’t get. Maybe she’s okay with me being obsessed with her too. Lovely to talk to you again!

  7. _Black_Acrylic

    Ed Furlong definitely had it, whatever it might be, and however briefly. His turn in T2 Left arm indelible impression on me growing up.

    My show is online here via Tak Tent Radio! Play Therapy v2.0 is back to take you somewhere new. Where is this place, and when is it? The answer is, it doesn’t make any difference. Because the old saying happens to be true. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, in this year or a hundred years hence. On this planet or wherever there is human life, perhaps out amongst the stars.

  8. Dee Kilroy

    ah, animal factory. classic. still need to add that one to my collection. skipped brainscan for decades, then finally caught it during the covid lockdown. solid enough for what it was. furlong was pretty solid in it. shame about the script…

  9. Harper

    Hey Dennis. I’ve been trying to unwind today. All I can say about everything that’s been going on is that I’ve put in effort to resolve it all. I’ve applied for jobs and I’m no longer having any of my ejaculate preserved because I don’t want kids and the process takes too much of my time and energy. I’ve found some possible tenants for my place, so I’m calming down a bit. I’ve done all I can do for now so I’m trying to calm down a bit.
    Anyway, I’ve been reading this book ‘Lord of Dark Places’ by Hal Bennett. It’s crazy but I’m really liking it. I’m about two thirds of the way through. It’s about a guy who’s father started a fake religion that was a front to pimp him out for both men and women. He grows up to believe that his dick is the most important thing on the planet, and goes through various disturbing and intense scenarios in the process.
    Here are some quotes:

    ‘Then one day, Joe woke up and decided to cut his dick off, he was just that disgusted with himself, man! He’d been here in the North for five years, and he hadn’t done a damn thing but fuck and get sucked!’

    ‘Then he went to bed and drew up into a tight ball, carrying his groin as close to his mouth as he could; but he still couldn’t suck his peter. Shit. He thought that being sucked was the most beautiful thing in the world. And he couldn’t even do it to himself. Man. It made him pretty fucking suspicious of God, that’s what it did. If a dog could suck his own peter, why couldn’t a man?’

    Have you read it? Hope you’re well, anyhow. Also, did you see Eurovision? I felt bad not boycotting it but boycotts are mostly useless if you’re not actually giving someone your money, it’s mostly performative. I’m very far left but get annoyed when progressives try to stop people from enjoying things. I couldn’t go a year without Eurovision. They did the weird CGI ABBA thing. It cheered me up a bit, but there was no act this year that I was particularly entertained by.

  10. Justin D

    Hey, Dennis. Edward Furlong always stuck me as a rather complex person. Your encounter with him, or rather, his spit, is quite the story. Did he realize he had done it? My weekend was alright. Got some work done. Finished ‘Baby Reindeer’. Started reading ‘New Millenium Boyz’, but abandoned it after about 40 pages. I just couldn’t get into the writing style, or maybe, the lack thereof. Maybe I just wasn’t in the right mood. Curious if you ever associate songs with books/films. Not ones that are mentioned or used within them. It’s a bit of a habit of mine. For example, Cemeteries’ ‘Summer Smoke’ is the song I associate with ‘Period’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gobMO8Z3Q58

  11. Darby🦦

    Hey bud. My roommate clogged the toilet last night and is in the bathroom (like 2 feet away from my door, mind you) standing with their obedient ex, who’s trying to get the rag out of the hole with his bare hands, all while she pettishly scolds him. Its been all day haha.

    How was ur week? Oh Frankie is a girl, so its “she,” ya goose! 🦆

    Oh you did poetry workshops? That was a class or…..? Im intrigued! I really need to sharpen my writing skills. Did u meet cool people? <—–
    There's a phlebotomy club at Cape fear and if that's not a euphemism for "secret vampire club" then I want to know what it is they do haha.
    🦦🌊🤝🌊🐧

    • Darby

      Sorry for all the emojis. That’s very unprofessional of me.

  12. Uday

    Edward Furlong from Pecker! Fond memories of curling up under a blanket and being wowed by movies from John Waters et al in middle school/junior high. My parents used to lock my little library to try to get me to sleep but that just got me into cinema and when they got my computer away the insomnia persisted with just boredom but at least they tried! Gosh, some of the posts you put up make me worry that being messed up when you’re a kid/teen is something you can’t properly bounce back from. Which I hope isn’t the case. We had graduation today and because I’m a member of our “secret” literary society I got to help out which was nice but also there were so many farewells. But that’s ok because we’ve got phones. For now. There’s this kid (odd to call him a kid when we’re the same age but he’s a grade below me so it feels like it) who’s slowly convincing me to reduce my online presence, even though it’s helped me acquire at least a veneer of erudition while I try to build the real thing up.

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