#jonathan stern

there's something so intrinsically human about the desire to create. to find purpose in every speck of paint. In every musical note. it's a tangible piece intertwined with your soul. it grows, gradually, into a clear web of her thoughts. it was real, and she didn't even know if she was just yet.

rivka liked to write for that reason alone. she felt closer to herself far more in those moments than any other. she liked to sit with her thoughts that way. it was the only way she knew who she was.

jonathan was there as well. he shouldn't have been, but his general requested he stay back. personal feelings never bode well with work.

"what are you writing about?"

he asks in a tone tinged with fatigue. it was clear he was exhausted, they all were. but this was different. in truth, rivka didn't understand why he made the effort to brighten her day when his own light lit was dimmed.

"journaling. when we land i figured it would be a good idea to document everything. for the future records."

lies lies lies. don't you get tired of lying?

he chuckles. "i always thought doctors hated writing, from all the reports they do. it seems like the least interesting part of their job."

"good thing i'm not a doctor."

it was silent. for one moment, then two. if they were both quiet enough, they could hear each other's breathing. not an ounce of oxygen wasted between them.

he leans against the wall. "how's everything going for you?"

she recited in her head.

my mother was a respected scientist. my father was a commanding astronaut. he liked watching old world sports. my mother liked--

she snapped out of her thoughts, closing her notebook. "it was your brother, wasn't it?"

jonathan sighs, which said more than any words could. rivka heard stories of the major. of his brother's untimely demise. how he was lost in a cosmic abyss, sentenced to live a noble death amongst the stars. he was gone.

he shouldn't be here. he shouldn't be here. he shouldn't be here.

"but he is," she said for her, echoing his own thoughts out loud.

jonathan looked back at her. "yes, he is."

-----

the faint wiring of the machines hummed in the background as the major continued to think. he had a tendency to tap his fingers against the wood, keeping him in line with the internal rhythm.

jonathan liked looking into her eyes. so dark they could be mistaken for two deep abyssal pools. he only saw her smile once, caring for an older patient recounting an old tale they'd never be able to relive. a shame, he could have sworn he saw her eyes glisten as her lips curled upward. a glimpse of something dangerous. yet powerful.

hope.

if he believed in a higher power, he would say that fate ended up working in his favor to satisfy his deep-seated curiosity. she was always in his orbit, but just out of reach. but in that moment, he understood what it felt like to be in the presence of celestial alignment.

at some point, his thoughts took a more selfish turn. his eyebrows furrowed at the sudden impiety that coursed through his veins. but it was a sudden rush. like his body had been thrusted back into the atmosphere.

he wondered what it would be like to savor the taste of her lips. over and over until every fiber of his being was infused with her essence. for his fingers to trail down her smooth skin, as if chiseled out of marble.

in a strange twist of fate, she became his guiding star.

Netflix Announces Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later

Let’s all promise that in ten years from today, we’ll meet again, and we’ll see what kind of people we’ve blossomed into -Ben Finally, fans can make it their beeswax to see what happens to their favorite campers and counselors ten years after the original film in a new Netflix original series Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later. The series will include eight all-new 30-minute episodes and is…

A FUTILE A STUPID GESTURE Logline: The tragic story of Doug Kenney, co-founder and editor of the National Lampoon magazine and a major force in 1970s comedy, who tragically died at a young age. Production Company(s): Principato-Young Entertainment, Darko Entertainment, Abominable Pictures Producer(s): Peter Principato, Jonathan Stern Writer(s): Michael Colton, John Aboud Director(s): David Wain Cast: Will Forte, Domhnall Gleeson, Joel McHale, John Gemberling, Thomas Lennon Details: Based on the book “A Futile and Stupid Gesture” written by Josh Karp and published by Chicago Review Press in 2006. SSN Insight: Gleeson was recently seen in Ex Machina, The Revenant, Brooklyn and Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

SPEEDY (Animated) Logline: A heist caper centered on the origin of Speedy Gonzales, “The Fastest Mouse in all Mexico”. Studio/Distributor(s): Warner Bros. Production Company(s): Rivers Edge Films, 3pas Studios Producer(s): Dylan Sellers, Ben Odell Writer(s): Hank Nelken Voice Cast: Eugenio Derbez Details: Based on the Looney Tunes cartoon. Animators Friz Freleng and Hawley Pratt introduced him in his first animated short of his own as in 1955, which went on to win the Academy Award for best short subject. SSN Insight: Eugenio Derbez was last seen in Miracles from Heaven, in theaters now. Next up is Geostorm and Aztec Warrior.

UNTITLED ARCTIC EXPEDITION PROJECT Logline: After a night of drinking in 1968, a group of guys in Minnesota set of to ride snowmobiles to the North Pole Studio/Distributor(s): Columbia Pictures Production Company(s): Temple Hill Entertainment Producer(s): Wyck Godfrey, Marty Bowen Cast: Will Ferrell Details: Based on the article “Ice Pack: An Insurance Salesman and a Doctor Walk Into a Bar, and End Up at the North Pole” written by Guy Lawson and published in The New York Times Magazine on March 17, 2016. SSN Insight: Lawson also wrote the Rolling Stone story “Arms and the Dudes,” which was turned into the Todd Phillips-directed film War Dogs, due out later this year.

“I mean, what casting director and producer wouldn’t just throw someone out of the audition room for expressing any, any animosity towards them? But he’s got such a powerful anger as a comedian that of course it shuts them down — he dominates the room. And every time he repeats the part of the monologue that he’s already done, he does it just so subtly where suddenly you realize ‘Oh, he’s just acting,’ but you can’t put your finger on it. It’s just a shade less real than when he did it the time before.”