#Stars and strife movie how to#

Pepper an actress wannabe who ends up like most Hollywood starlets and resorts to using her body in order to survive. She has a vast array of voices which is helpful with the many characters we meet throughout the book and her cadence is easy to listen to. Marie Smith is the narrator of this serial, bringing all the different moods together to perfection. The two together were explosive both with words and chemistry. I loved Pepper's character as she was sorting out her life and trying to get herself into a position that would allow her to better herself on her own. I loved Dmitri's character, he had a true conscience with a lot of love and compassion even he didn't know he had.

#Stars and strife movie how to#

When the book started, I really thought it was going to be similar to The Flesh series in it's erotic fashion, but Sky Corgan has melted this couple together, shown us what it's like to have the paparazzi around you, how to deal with childhood sexual abuse, what you would do to get ahead and what caring is truly about. There are some really sweet characteristics to these two as we get to know them and the way their relationship grows is almost a slow burn. You can imagine how the two meet, but Dmitri is not your typical wham, bam, thank you ma'am kind of guy anymore. Pepper is a student trying to get by and gets a job as an escort. Dmitri is a rock star, turning actor who is trying to change his image. This book has some dark elements in it, which definitely is a big draw for me, it's one of my guilty pleasures. This cannot just be an economics lecture - nobody will watch it.A contemporary twist on the pretty woman story, Sky Corgan has given us Pepper and Dmitri. The film is not a cynical piece, Smick said, and included comedic elements through silent film-era humor and animation. WeвЂ™re ignoring them while weвЂ™re basically pointing fingers at one another.вЂќ вЂњAnd in the end, itвЂ™s counterproductive because weвЂ™re not ultimately moving ahead with the massive amounts of problems that this country has. вЂњWeвЂ™re just angry, and we lash out at all of these particular things,вЂќ Levinson said. Additionally, Smick and Levinson wanted to highlight empathy and understanding as pathways for enacting this change. The filmmakers wanted the doc to be forward-looking, offering a future that was hopeful and attuned to progress. вЂњI was not interested in just a Kumbaya film, where we all get together вЂ¦ I wanted to provide some substance in the film,вЂќ Smick said. Unlike similar documentaries about partisanship, Smick said he wanted to differentiate his story by focusing on compromise, both historically and presently. What do we do? What do we do to just move ahead in the 21st century, with some common mission?вЂќ вЂњAnd itвЂ™s not just facts and things, and this is our viewpoint, period. вЂњI think the documentary, and why I responded to it, is that it deals with the human condition, and this is where we are,вЂќ Levinson said. He said he became keenly aware of the division fomenting in the country and set a course to secure help from an established filmmaker to realize his vision. Smick has seen the Capitol up close, working in international finance in Washington D.C. вЂњAnd I got very worried about the future of our country when you see the lack of empathy, a lack of any goodwill toward each other.вЂќ вЂњThe whole country is facing a hate epidemic,вЂќ Smick said. In a conversation with Variety film awards editor Clayton Davis, Smick and executive producer Barry Levinson discussed the central message of вЂњStars and Strife,вЂќ which examines the swell of anger and hatred in American culture and partisanship through interviews with activists, elected officials and other prominent figures. вЂњHate is almost like a drug,вЂќ writer and director of the documentary вЂњStars and Strife,вЂќ David Smick said.