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Damnèd Screamvens

@thehighsign.bsky.social

57K followers 2.5K following 4.4K posts

Film critic at Slate; co-host of the Slate Culture Gabfest podcast; repped by the Cheney Agency; member NYFCC. Camera Man, my book on Buster Keaton, is out: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Camera-Man/Dana-Stevens/9781501134203

www.simonandschuster.com

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Damnèd Screamvens @thehighsign.bsky.social · 1d

If I Had Legs I'd Kick You, with Rose Byrne as the wildly dysfunctional mother of a chronically ill child, has been described as "Uncut Gems for motherhood," & like that film, Mary Bronstein's psychological thriller isn't afraid to go there--but where exactly _does_ it go? slate.com/culture/2025...

She’s One of the Best Actresses in Comedy. Her Intense New Movie Might Make Her an Oscar Nominee.

The Sundance breakout had my audience sweating—and squealing with delight.

slate.com

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Damnèd Screamvens @thehighsign.bsky.social · 41m

I'm tagging in @matthewdessem.bsky.social because he knows from such things.

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Reposted by Damnèd Screamvens

Nitish Pahwa @nitishpahwa.com · 3h

this was before my time but Slate once did a whole tribute week to Stevie Wonder with delightful entries from @aishaharris.bsky.social, @matoswk.bsky.social, @samadams.bsky.social, @thehighsign.bsky.social, and @sethstevenson.bsky.social among many others slate.com/culture/wond...

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Damnèd Screamvens @thehighsign.bsky.social · 15h

Already saw & reposted, but thanks for flagging 💔

Damnèd Screamvens @thehighsign.bsky.social · 16h

Putting into clear words what I pace around mumbling incoherently to myself all day!

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Reposted by Damnèd Screamvens

Matt Prigge @mattprigge.bsky.social · 19h

One of her finest line readings

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Damnèd Screamvens @thehighsign.bsky.social · 19h

The "recent incident" is that a professor who teaches, I am not kidding you, the history of 20th-century antifascist movements has had to flee the country with his family because of death threats. thehill.com/homenews/edu...

thehill.com

Reposted by Damnèd Screamvens

priscilla page @priscillapage.bsky.social · 19h

Diane Keaton in her Manhattan apartment with Buster, an Abyssinian, photographed by Jill Krementz in 1977

black & white photograph of young Diane Keaton smiling and standing next to a white refrigerator in a barren-looking kitchen. her cat Buster is crouched on top of the fridge playing with/swatting her hair in the upper right hand corner. she's wearing a long skinny white scarf with a dot-grid pattern, a high-neck white blouse with an ascot/kerchief around the neck, and a black blazer/skirt or blazer dress over what looks like a vest

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Damnèd Screamvens @thehighsign.bsky.social · 19h

This may sound crazy but I've always thought they seized on this term--which so obviously, when you understand it, makes _them_ the bad guys--because it sounds like a foreign word, maybe something from Spanish or (gasp) Arabic, & they can trick low-info ppl into thinking it's like "Hamas" or "Isis."

Ify Nwadiwe @ifycomedy.com · 22h

I think we really should stop using antifa and just fully say anti-fascist and get them saying they are against anti fascism. Using antifa is giving them some distance and I genuinely think some of their base don’t even know that’s what it stands for.

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Damnèd Screamvens @thehighsign.bsky.social · 1d

One of the most underrated adult dramas of the 80s. Love Shoot the Moon so much.

James Sanford @jamessanford.bsky.social · 1d

If you’ve never seen #DianeKeaton in SHOOT THE MOON, you’re missing out. An absolutely powerhouse performance that hits an astonishing range of notes. I promise, you’ll think of her every single time you hear “If I Fell.”

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Damnèd Screamvens @thehighsign.bsky.social · 1d

In the original Broadway cast of Hair, 1968 (photo by Richard Avedon)

B & W photo of Diane Keaton with the original cast of Hair. She has her hands to her face and a startled, somewhat bleary expression, as if she's emerging from a daze.

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Damnèd Screamvens @thehighsign.bsky.social · 1d

What would the ending of The Godfather be without her face?

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Damnèd Screamvens @thehighsign.bsky.social · 1d

The characters & performances of the kids are amazing too.

Damnèd Screamvens @thehighsign.bsky.social · 1d

I haven't seen Crimes of the Heart since it came out & I barely remember it. Maybe I will rewatch this weekend.

Damnèd Screamvens @thehighsign.bsky.social · 1d

I LOVE Shoot the Moon. A mysteriously underrated 80s classic.

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Damnèd Screamvens @thehighsign.bsky.social · 1d

Had to scroll past that fast because it was making me cry again.

Damnèd Screamvens @thehighsign.bsky.social · 1d

Aaaah I remember this cover--I kept the magazine for a long time because her presence in the corner so delighted me.

Tom Reagan’s Hat @rufustsuperfly.bsky.social · 1d

RIP Diane Keaton
My favourite picture of her where everyone else is giving it their best Blue Steel & she looks like she’s just wandered in off the street looking super cool.
She was allowed to wear her own clothes & her wonderful personality shines out.
What a unique talent & human being.

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Damnèd Screamvens @thehighsign.bsky.social · 1d

I just saw a photo someone posted of her & started to cry, not just tearing up but real sobbing. She was so much a part of my formative movie world. And you're right, she always had this quality of being adventurous in her style & career choices & just being herself. I can't stand that she's gone.

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Damnèd Screamvens @thehighsign.bsky.social · 1d

I swear that 3/4 of the reason I live in NYC as an adult is Annie Hall. I had the poster on my wall. I saw Reds in the theater probably 5 times the year it came out and owned the soundtrack. Diane Keaton was my dream alter ego as a teen.

Gremliny Nussboo @emilynussbaum.bsky.social · 1d

Oh man, I loved Diane Keaton— Annie Hall had such a huge influence on me as a teen, everything about her style & her energy, the clothes she wore & the way she talked! She just felt like such a model of New York City intellectual life, jittery & adventurous & original

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Damnèd Screamvens @thehighsign.bsky.social · 1d

I don't want to get into what kind of person Barron may be--he's a still a kid & he drew a terrible card in the parent lottery. But my point is that handing a giant social-media company to a college sophomore to run is, regardless of that person's background, an absolutely idiotic & terrible idea.

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Damnèd Screamvens @thehighsign.bsky.social · 1d

Please keep making them & posting. I need my Jeremy salads!

Damnèd Screamvens @thehighsign.bsky.social · 1d

Barron Trump is one month younger than my kid, and (w/o getting into the vast differences in their respective upbringings & beliefs systems) the idea of putting her in charge of anything, much less a massive global platform, is ludicrous. A 19-year-old in their third semester of college is a child.

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Damnèd Screamvens @thehighsign.bsky.social · 1d

I actually ... don't really like Frownland. & don't unreservedly love If I Had Legs either, though I admire things about it. But they have carved out their own niche for sure.

Damnèd Screamvens @thehighsign.bsky.social · 1d

If you've seen his movie Frownland you will know that they definitely qualify as the Gomez & Morticia Addams of cinema!

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Damnèd Screamvens @thehighsign.bsky.social · 1d

She’s One of the Best Actresses in Comedy. Her Intense New Movie Might Make Her an Oscar Nominee.

The Sundance breakout had my audience sweating—and squealing with delight.

slate.com

2 1 25

Damnèd Screamvens @thehighsign.bsky.social · 1d

Now to call the carpenter & get him to fashion a US flag shelf

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