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[TV] Wes Craven Speaks Out On The “Scream” Series

A few weeks back we were all pretty surprised when it was announced that MTV had given the greenlight to the “Scream” pilot. I mean, development talk is one thing – but a go-ahead to start production is a much bigger commitment. It was also announced that Wes Craven was in discussions to come back to direct the hour-long pilot, which Craven himself confirmed today. Although he won’t commit unless he approves of the script (which seems like a logical ask on his part).

He tweeted the following, “A lot of you have asked about the Scream TV series. It’s true I’ve been approached. My response was, it would depend on the script… If they have a great script/concept, it could be fun. If not, not.

So do a good job, whoever you are writing it. You’re probably not Kevin Williamson, or else we would know. Dimension Films will co-produce. If “Scream” receives a series order it will hit in late summer 2014. READ MORE

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[TV] Weird! “Scream” Is Headed To TV! Wes Craven In Talks To Direct

New has just hit that MTV is moving forward with an official pilot order for “Scream”, per THR. This comes after nearly a year of speculation, but now it seems all but pre-determined that this thing will actually be shot. Will we ever see it? IE, will it make it to series? My guess is yes – it’s too well known of a property for MTV to not test the waters on it (unless they find the pilot to be atrocious, but I’m guessing they won’t).

Wes Craven is in discussions to come back to direct the pilot, which will be an hour-long. It appears as though Kevin Williamson will not be returning since MTV is currently taking meetings with other writers. This also probably means the death of Scream 5.

There’s no word on if any of the original cast will be back. My guess is they certainly wouldn’t star, but we might see a cameo here and there.

Dimension Films will co-produce. If “Scream” receives a series order it will hit in late summer 2014.

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Meet the “Ash-a-Likes”! 10 Famous Character Inspired By Ashley J. Williams!

Even before Sam Raimi and company fully defined the character in Evil Dead II, Ash was always a strange hero. For much of the more seriously minded The Evil Dead, we see Ash cowering in the background while the more manly Scotty takes care of business. It’s only when Scotty finds defeat (and rape?) at the hands of some Evil Dead trees that Ash finally steps up to the plate.

That’s pretty much how he’s been ever since. We know Ash as a mouthy idiot who can dish out violence but is just as likely to talk tough and run away from it (when he’s not getting knocked around and abused like a rag doll, that is). We love Ash, but he’s not the only character of this type. There are many other Ash-a-Likes out there, some knowing ripoffs, others mere coincidences.

Head inside! READ MORE

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You Wanted An Update On, Yawn, ‘Scream 5′?

Wes Craven shares another update on Scream 5, which continues to be less likely than the already announced potential television series.

So far I have not heard anything about Scream 5 from Bob Weinstein,” franchise director Wes Craven tells AITH.

There is some talk about a television series, but I don’t think anything has moved forward on that yet. That’s what I’m hearing more than anything else from the guys at Dimension. It would be them picking up the phone and asking me if I wanted to play with them, so…

Thanks to “The Walking Dead,” small screen horror is all the rage, and thus the idea of a Scream television series makes a whole lotta sense. Until that changes, don’t expect any major developments on Scream 5 (shit, they haven’t even gotten a new Halloween off the ground yet).

And honestly, even though I’d be the first in line for a fifth Scream, I’m not jonesing for it…

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10 Worst Horror Exposition Monologues!!!

Often times, a horror film has to take a moment or two to finally explain what’s been going on the whole movie. These exposition scenes are almost always eye-rollingly long and drawn out.

Not every film can have Richard Dreyfuss show up and offer a just perfect amount of information with a great performance. Sometimes you have to listen to Tony Todd pontificate instead.

Check out some of the worst offenders after the break. READ MORE

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5 Horror Heroes That Survived Against All Odds!!!

No one takes a beating like the characters in an Evil Dead movie, so I figured that one of the ways I’d celebrate Evil Dead Month would be to take a look at 5 Horror Heroes That Survived Against All Odds!

Something that the horror genre has more than any other genre is franchises. And something that comes along with these franchises are recurring heroes, many of whom become just as important and integral to the story as the villain, whom we so enjoy watching. These are characters that we cheer for, that we quote nonstop, that we put on t-shirts and wear proudly. And some of these heroes just so happen to go through ungodly amounts of hell only to make it out the other side (relatively) unscathed.

Head inside to see who they are! READ MORE

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Quite Possibly The Funniest 25 Seconds I’ve Ever Seen On YouTube

So, I don’t really have anything against Taylor Swift. Sure, she doesn’t really write my type of music (read: I don’t listen to her at all) but at least she writes a lot of her own stuff and she can sing. For that she has my respect.

However, upon seeing this video, I knew I had to share it with you all. I’ve watched it at least 20 times and it only gets funnier and funnier. So, without ruining anything, I implore you to simply head below and have yourself a good laugh. READ MORE

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[Editorial] Why Are We So Against Romance In Horror?

Do you believe in destiny? That even the powers of time can be altered for a single purpose? That the luckiest man who walks on this earth is the one who finds… true love?” – Count Dracula (Bram Stoker’s Dracula 1992)

There was a time in horror when romance was an integral part of the story, where love and the actions that characters would take for it were what moved the plot forward. Films such as the aforementioned Bram Stoker’s Dracula spring to mind as do many of the classical Universal monster films, Cronenberg’s The Fly, Carpenter’s Big Trouble In Little China, and countless more.

With tomorrow being Valentine’s Day, I thought that I would share my thoughts on the topic of romance in horror and why it seems to have faded. READ MORE

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10 Amazing Horror Comedies!!!

Horror Comedies are by far the most difficult horror sub-genre to execute. They’re also the most likely to fail commercially. While they’re one of my favorite sub genres and I wish there were more of them, when you combine those factors it’s a miracle there aren’t even less.

And many of them are quite great! So much so that I had to strip all numbers and rankings out of this list. While I certainly like some more than others, when you get down to stuff like Gremlins and An American Werewolf In London you’re dealing with grade A classics to which assigning a number would be an insult.

Also, please note that while I love The Cabin In The Woods and Scream, I don’t consider them “comedies.” They’re both intentionally funny, but I feel like their laughs exist to provoke a very specific conversation about horror tropes, which is its own thing.

So, in no particular order, head inside for my Top 10 Horror Comedies! READ MORE

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Kevin Williamson Reveals The Original Plot Of ‘Scream 3′

I know that Scream 3 is sort of a divisive entry in that franchise. A lot of you guys dig the “Scooby gang goes to Hollywood” angle, some not so much. I actually kind of liked the movie when I first saw it in 2000, but now I can’t really get through it. Something about Kevin Smith appearing in this film – and then spoofing the series a year later in Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back – links the two films so closely in my mind that remembering either one of them activates the same pain center.

Of course there’s a ton of other stuff wrong with it too. Aside from “he was making a movie called ‘Stab’. He was stabbed.” Incoming screenwriter Ehren Kruger didn’t fully understand the franchise. The screenwriter who did understand the franchise, Kevin Williamson, was too busy to take a pass at a draft. But now, speaking to ET about his upcoming show “The Following”, he’s revealed his original concept for Part 3. One that takes a page from April Fool’s Day.

More inside… READ MORE

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5 Great Lines From Horror Movies!

What many people forget is that there are some fantastic lines in horror movies, ones that set the tone of the movie or add that deliciously creepy element that we crave. These are lines that stick with us forever, the ones that we can’t wait to hear and say along with the character. These are the lines we post as our Facebook status update, the ones that we Tweet to see who knows what we’re talking about.

So I gathered five lines that I absolutely love hearing in horror movies that I wanted to share with you below. And if you have some favorites, make sure to leave them in the comments section! I’d love to hear what lines tingle your spines! READ MORE

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Is ‘Scream 5′ The New ‘Ghostbusters 3′?

This is from someone who kind of liked Scream 4… I don’t need a Scream 5. Back in November I wrote up a small piece talking about how incredulous Wes Craven seemed that there would even be sufficient demand for a fifth movie. That was when Craven wrote on Twitter, “No news on ‘Scream 5′ yet. You guys really want another one?

It just seems like there’s no momentum on the project. The other day Collider asked Neve Campbell what she thought about the film’s chances and she answered, “We’ll see. I’m not sure they’re going to make it, to be honest. If that were to come up again and they were to approach me, I’d have a chat with them about it.” This is a polite way of saying she thinks this movie is in no way a priority for Dimension right now, and she’s probably right.

I think this is starting to teeter into Ghostbusters 3 territory, where a core group of people who loved the first installments of a franchise are clamoring for a new one. Of course there are some differences here (it’s been 2 years since Scream 4, not 20). But I feel like both franchises have, for different reasons, been irretrievably sucked into the vortex of diminishing returns. Too many people need Scream 5 to be too many different things. A reboot? A straight sequel? Do they kill the original cast? Do they make it found footage? There are almost too many options and with this many cooks in the kitchen it’s impossible to come up with a unifying take. Remember how Scream 4 didn’t really focus on an angle? It would just bring up a new thesis, drop it and then pick up another one? It would take a miracle to keep Scream 5 from exacerbating that issue.

Head inside for more… READ MORE

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[This Day In Horror] Wes Craven Makes Audiences ‘Scream’!

December 20, 1996.

That was the day Wes Craven’s groundbreaking Scream grabbed the attention of every teen across the Nation. By the end of its 19-week theatrical run, and an eventually re-release, Dimension Films’ slasher raked in a disgusting $100 million (it also made an estimates $70 million internationally).

Penned by Kevin Williamson, Scream featured the young, hip cast of David Arquette, Drew Barrymore, Lisa Beach, David Booth, W. Earl Brown, Courteney Cox, Neve Campbell, Skeet Ulrich, Rose McGowan, Matthew Lillard and Jamie Kennedy. It has since swamped three sequels and a forthcoming rumored television series.

In the film that supposedly used 50 gallons of blood, “A killer known as Ghostface begins killing off teenagers, and as the body count begins rising, one girl and her friends find themselves contemplating the “Rules” of horror films as they find themselves living in a real-life one.

The script was originally titled “Scary Movie,” which provided the jump point for the Wayans’ spoof franchise.

Tell us your Scream memories! READ MORE

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Wes Craven Doubts You Want ‘Scream 5′, Is He Right?

I’m in a fairly severe minority when I say that I liked Scream 4. It’s better than Scream 3 and, even if it can’t hold a candle to the first two films in the franchise, I didn’t find it boring. Of course, the hospital sequence is insanely stupid and the whole film feels out of touch, but I appreciated the point it was trying to make (even if that point got fumbled badly in places).

That being said, I really don’t need to see a Scream 5. I have no idea where they’d go with it and I really don’t see the series getting anywhere near back to the relevancy it once held. It had its time and place, and I’m fine moving on from it. And Wes Craven seems sort of shocked that some if you even want one. Earlier tonight he wrote on his Twitter, “No news on ‘Scream 5′ yet. You guys really want another one?

When I spoke to Craven last year he seemed a bit more up on the prospect of a sequel, saying that he assumed Bob Weinstein was looking for writers, but it doesn’t seem like there’s been any movement since then. Perhaps Dimension was scared off by Part 4′s paltry domestic take? It’s $38M North American gross was way lower than the $90-100M bar the franchise had grown accustomed to. Sure, it made $97M worldwide, but even that is a significant dive from its predecessors.

Personally, I don’t think the franchise can recover. What about you?

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What Your Horror Tie-In Halloween Costume Says About You…

You love horror. Naturally, you want to show that love on Halloween, the one day a year when you can dress like a psychotic killer and still look relatively normal.

But beware what costume you choose.

Each character says something about you as a person which you might not feel comfortable sharing with the rest of the world. Here are just ten costumes and the secrets about you they could reveal. READ MORE

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Hey Guys! What’s Your Favorite Slasher Movie?

While I love all the permeations of horror to varying degrees (supernatural, hauntings, werewolves, zombies, J-horror etc…), slashers are probably my favorite sub-genre. While I can occasionally get myself in the headspace of being frightened by a poltergeist or work up enough suspension of disbelief to get on-edge during a zombie film, slashers require me to do a lot less mental projection in order to go along for the ride.

Why? Because I’m afraid of real people chasing me through the woods with knives. While it’s of course an extremely unlikely event, it’s still something of a possibility. I consider home-invasion films a branch of the slasher genre for this very reason. The reason I lock my door every night? I’m taking an active step (or empty gesture) against someone entering my home and dismantling me. It’s a far bigger concern to me than my residence being built on an ancient burial ground (though I’ll let you know if that changes the next time I move).

I also think I love slashers the most because of the nostalgia factor. They remind me of simpler times. The fact that they’re typically in rural settings holds them in stark contrast to my daily life in the city. Many of them are downright relaxing and comforting to watch in the moments when someone isn’t getting killed. Of course this is part of the point – something evil infiltrating something idyllic. It also doesn’t hurt that the 80′s were the heyday of the slasher film (obviously Scream aren’t Halloween rural or from the 80′s. But they exude a charming small town optimism that I like). I know many people who considered that era a dark time, but its cinematic depiction in these films is positively utopian compared to our current reality. Plus, there’s usually sex. That always helps.

To that end I ask, “what’s your favorite slasher film?” Mine changes daily, actually. I know that when I did my Friday The 13th Rankings I pegged Part 6 as my favorite entry in the franchise. Oddly enough I feel that Jason Lives doesn’t feel like much of a slasher to me tonally. So I’m going to keep it in the family, but go with Friday The 13th Part 2 as my favorite slasher under the criteria discussed above. Again, this changes all the time. Halloween is obviously a much, much MUCH better film, but I’m in a rural mood today.

What about you? Does your favorite slasher change day-to-day like mine does? Or is it consistently your favorite?

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Take The Expanded Ultimate Horror Challenge!!! How Do You Rank Now?

We have heard your cries! MANY of you felt that the The Ultimate Horror Challenge wasn’t comprehensive enough! So we included an additional 20 films that round it out a bit more. Many of these are from your suggestions! But this still isn’t a list of every horror movie ever made. And it still doesn’t contain every major work of every horror auteur (there’s still no John Carpenter’s They Live or Wes Craven’s The Last House On The Left).

The next update will be the Ultimate Horror Challenge: Final Edition – where we take your best new suggestions and use them to get up to 101 films that every horror fan should see! So in addition to your ranking, let us know which films should make the cut! Should newer fan favorites like Frozen or The Devil’s Rejects be included? Should we go back and pick up a few more old-school slashers? You’re shaping the Final 20! Discuss and vote and I’ll tally it up!

There are now 81 Films listed below the jump. Each film you’ve seen earns you 1 Point. Count out how many you’ve seen and let us know which category you fall into!

1-10 Points: Soccer Mom

11-20 Points: Mildly Adventurous

21-30 Points: Casual Fan

31-40 Points: Enthusiast

41-50 Points: Hardcore

51-60 Points: Unstable

61-70 Points: Need Meds

71-80 Points: Psychopath

81 Points: Special Circle Of Hell

Head inside to take the challenge! The films are listed in no particular order. This is NOT a ranking! READ MORE

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Take The Ultimate Horror Challenge!!! What’s Your Score?

This isn’t a list of every horror movie ever made. Nor does it contain every major work of every horror auteur (you’ll notice we didn’t include John Carpenter’s They Live or Wes Craven’s The Last House On The Left). Rather, this is a compendium of films that we feel – in one way or another – are essential viewing for every horror fan. Some are mainstream (Poltergeist), some aren’t (Cannibal Holocaust). It’s a broad sampling of key films from the genre.

But you don’t have to be a horror die-hard to take the challenge! If you’re comfortable being a “Soccer Mom”, simply clock how many of these you have (or haven’t) seen and let us know! There are 61 Films listed below the jump. Each film you’ve seen earns you 1 Point. Count out how many you’ve seen and let us know which category you fall into. You can give us your specific count in the comments or yell at us for the films we’ve left out!! The categories are:

1-10 Points: Soccer Mom

11-20 Points: Mildly Adventurous

21-30 Points: Casual Fan

31-40 Points: Hardcore

41-50 Points: Unstable

51-60 Points: Psychopath

61 Points: Special Circle Of Hell

Head inside to take the challenge! The films are listed in no particular order. This is NOT a ranking! READ MORE

[Book Review] ‘Life Lessons from Slasher Films’

For those smarty-pants who approach their horror entertainment from an academic perspective, Life Lessons from Slasher Films was released this month by Scarecrow Books, a highbrow publishing line specializing in reference works and college textbooks (and priced accordingly). Rather than attempt to compile an all-inclusive slasher-pedia like the recent Slasher Movie Book, author Jessica Robinson contrasts and compares a handful of staples from the sub-genre: Friday the 13th, Halloween, Black Christmas, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Psycho, Nightmare on Elm Street, and Scream. Drawing parallels and spinning theories, Robinson (who has penned a couple of fiction titles under the alias “Pembroke Sinclair”) draws some shrewd connections between the films, even as she occasionally stretches the boundaries of logic. Life Lessons from Slasher Films is a well-conceived think-piece, but I took some umbrage with a few of Robinson’s assertions. Some of you die-hard slasher hounds may feel the same way. The full review follows. READ MORE

TV: How Is The “Scream” TV Series Going To Work?

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I’m not sure how this is going to work. The original entries in the Scream series skewered the horror tropes of their time – along with the tropes of sequels and trilogies in general – with varying degrees of success. Now we’re getting word that there will indeed be a “Scream” TV series. It’ll be on MTV, which seems like a good fit, but what exactly will they be deconstructing? Scream 4 kind of left a lot on the table but I’m not sure any of the pieces that could be picked up are especially well suited for television. Who knows though? I could be wrong.

Per TV Line, “MTV is developing a weekly series based on the Scream film franchise, sources confirm to TVLine exclusively. Former MTV execs Tony DiSanto and Liz Gateley, who are shepherding the project under their DiGa production shingle, are on the hunt for a writer to pen the pilot. It’s unclear what role, if any, Scream auteurs Kevin Williamson and Wes Craven will have in the potential series.

In regard to that last sentence, I’m not sure either Williamson or Craven will be back. Of course I could be wrong, but I get the picture that Williamson has been burned by this franchise quite a bit.

What about you? Would you watch a “Scream” TV series? And what does this mean for Scream 5?

Dear Filmmakers: Subvert A Genre All You Want, But You Have To Respect It First.

 Dear Filmmakers: Subvert A Genre All You Want, But You Have To Respect It First.

A little while ago I tossed up an article about the sale of Black Rock at Sundance. In fact, it should be the piece right below this one.

Right after doing so I saw that Devin Faraci, one of my favorite critics, had already filed his review of the film over at Badass Digest so I headed over there to check it out. You can do the same by clicking here.

Now I’m gonna state in bold letters that I have not seen Black Rock. For all I know it could become my favorite movie of 2012. I don’t always agree with Devin (maybe 70% of the time), but he’s one of a handful of about 5 or 6 critics whose reviews are my “go-tos” when I’m deciding what films to spend my time or money on as a consumer (I don’t always see everything for free, especially non-horror stuff). Whether or not I ultimately agree with his take on something, he’s got a knack for thoroughly explaining the reasoning behind his reactions that’s in a language I can relate to.

So I was surprised to come across a couple lines in his piece on Black Rock that echoed something that’s been on my mind for sometime in regard to genre and people who think they’re slumming in it.

Hit the jump to see what I’m talking about. READ MORE

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[Interview] Wes Craven Talks ‘Scream 4′ Blu-ray, Teens, Technology, Violence, and a Smidgen of ‘Scream 5′!

After seeing and reading countless interviews with Wes Craven, I can’t say that I’m surprised that he’s as genial, soft-spoken and erudite as he is. The way his more professorial qualities subvert (but don’t diminish) his status as one of the all-time horror greats is well known at this point. Still, I was more than a little apprehensive about speaking with him this morning. After all, this is the guy who gave us A Nightmare On Elm Street (along with Dream Warriors), The Hills Have Eyes, Shocker, The People Under The Stairs and of course the original Scream trilogy.

Reaching Craven on the East Coast by phone to speak about the upcoming Blu-ray/DVD release of Scream 4, I found him every bit as thoughtful, polite and engaged as I expected. Sometimes interview subjects are pleasantly surprising. In Craven’s case I simply knew I was going to be speaking with someone who not only loves their craft, but is articulate about it as well. He did not disappoint.

Obviously focussing on Scream 4, we spoke about how technology is affecting the current generation, the casting process, why the fourth film is significantly more violent than the third and much more. There’s even a potential tidbit about Scream 5 waiting for you if you get to the end.

Hit the jump to check it out!

Craven92711 [Interview] Wes Craven Talks Scream 4 Blu ray, Teens, Technology, Violence, and a Smidgen of Scream 5!

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Random Awesome: ‘Alien’ Wedding Cake, Cats and ‘Scream 4′ Gore

While 99% of my time is spent finding and reporting horror news, occasionally I’ll come across something genre related that I can’t wait to share with you dear readers. (Or sometimes what I find isn’t really “news worthy,” but cool nonetheless.) Such the case with these little nuggets of awesome. (All four of these news bites feature video or images, so you’ll be checking inside for the goods.)

The coolest thing I came across this week is an “H.R. Giger/Alien” wedding cake from Jet City Cakes in Kirkland, WA. It’s bursting with delightfulness! Though, when looking at it, I just can’t help but think of the dancing alien in Spaceballs

Here’s a segue for yah: Speaking of Alien, something incredibly stupid, but going viral, is footage from a horror fan who filmed his cat watching the Alien franchise. The video’s creator describes the cat as “enjoying” the films, but this cat looks freaked the f*ck out.

The boys over at Figure reports that Diamond Select Toys has announced the upcoming release of two new Ghostbusters statues. The first is 100 feet of angry marshmallow shrunk down to a more manageable collectible size of 7-inches. The “Ghostbusters Stay-Puft Statue” will include a light-up feature to add a pleasing glow to your collection at night. Look it this July priced at SRP of $69.99. Joining “Stay-Puft” in October will be a 7″ “Statue of Liberty.” This iconic symbol of freedom and “Ghostbusters II” ghoul-stomping vehicle also lights-up and will retail for a SRP of $69.99. But seriously, who wants to remember that? “Higher and highhhhhherrrrr.”

Another fun news brief are a slew of new never-before-seen photos from Scream 4, which come courtesy of Scream-Trilogy. They declare the images as “stunning”, I’d say they’re more intriguing (especially the pic of Sidney in the wake of a bloody massacre).

 Random Awesome: Alien Wedding Cake, Cats and Scream 4 Gore

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More on Those ‘Scream 4′ Changes…

Leading up to its April 15 release, Dimension Films had director Wes Craven retooling his Scream 4. Going through various rewrites and additional photography, there was a lot that didn’t make it to theaters (as displayed in various imagery and trailers).

Inside you’ll find a list of changes from our scooper who attended the first ever test screening. While there’s no too much to report, many of the sequences were there hanging right in front of our faces….
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