Ivory and Gold [Velvet Goldmine]
Nov. 8th, 2005 03:17 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
chzbrgr-of-doom.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
ship_manifestoTitle: Ivory and Gold
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-syndicated.gif)
chzbrgr_of_doom
Fandom: Velvet Goldmine
Pairing: Brian Slade x Curt Wild x Arthur Stuart
Spoilers: for the movie.
Disclaimer: I do not own Velvet Goldmine or its characters.
Notes: This is dedicated to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
baka_mamushi for introducing this movie to me.
Ivory and Gold
Brian Slade x Curt Wild x Arthur Stuart
Velvet Goldmine is a “fake biography” of David Bowie and his alter-ego, Ziggy Stardust. It’s a story about music, drugs, fame and fortune, regret, and desire. It’s about love, in some of its strangest, and most beautiful, forms. It stars Ewan Mcgregor, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers and Christian Bale, in a “love triangle” that is enough to break anyone’s heart.
This movie is a lot of fun, as well as full of angst; the characters are lovable, their troubles are believable, and best of all --
All that glitters is gay!
Brian Slade
“I just happen to like boys as much as I like girls.”
Jonathan Rhys-Meyers plays Brian Slade, 70’s glam rock singer. He openly admits to the press to being bisexual, and starts a revolution, with his platform boots, glitter eye make-up, and tight pants.
“Rock and roll is a prostitute.”
Brian’s image spiraled out of ideas he picked up from various people, like Jack Fairy; the original fem rocker. One of the most profound impacts on Brian is a performance given by Curt Wild that he sees when he’s just starting out, involving glitter and nudity.
Brian starts off as a nice guy, but as his fame grows, he changes. His alter-ego, Maxwell demon, an “alien who is ultimately destroyed by his own success”, starts to take over.
Curt Wild says, “He thought he fucking was Maxwell demon, and Maxwell demon -- well, he thought he was God.”
“Nothing makes one so vain as being told one is a sinner.”
Curt Wild
As mentioned previously, the first time we catch a glimpse of Curt Wild, he’s on stage going crazy, with water, glitter, and leather pants (which quickly come off, in Ewan Mcgregor’s signature -- a nude scene!).
“You just can’t fake being gay, you know? If you’re gonna claim to be gay, you‘re gonna have to make love in gay style and most of these kids just aren’t gonna make it.
Curt has a tragic past which is narrated while he sings; when he was younger, his parents discovered him in a compromising position with his older brother, and they sent him off for electric shock treatment. They intended to “shock the gay right out of him”, but it didn’t have the desired effect. Instead, it messed with his head in a bad way. He got into drugs and the like, and formed his bad, The Rats.
“A real artist creates beautiful things, and puts nothing of his own life into them.”
Arthur Stuart
“Suddenly I was being paid to remember all the things that money, a future and a serious life made so certain I’d forget.”
Christian Bale plays Arthur Stuart, a young man who flashbacks to his even younger days, when he was confused and longing to just be himself.
Velvet Goldmine is told mainly from Arthur Stuart’s point of view. As a journalist, he is asked to do a story on something that happened twelve years ago; the fake shooting of Brian Slade. “Where is he now?” Arthur’s boss wants to know -- Arthur, however, would rather not remember.
Arthur was a big fan of Brian Slade in his youth. He was a part of the glam rock scene, and reveled in it as only a confused gay teen knows how. His parents did not approve of his likes; they approved even less of his sexuality.
Brian, Curt, and Arthur
Arthur loves Brian Slade the man, and the music. He buys his singles, reads articles about him, watches television programs about him; he even goes so far as to masturbate while listening to one of his songs and looking at picture of him kissing Curt Wild. Arthur sees Brian as an escape. He’s confused about his life, his sexuality, and his identity; Brian isn’t afraid to admit to anything, and Arthur admires that very much.
From the moment that Brian sees Curt, he wants him. He is moved by Curt’s performance, and remembers him later, when he starts to become famous. When Brian first goes to America, he asks to meet Curt Wild. It is then that he asks his manager to let Curt in on his record contract -- and Curt asks Brian to be his. They begin a bittersweet affair (affair in the traditional sense -- Brian is actually married to a woman named Mandy, but at the time, she doesn’t particularly care who he screws around with).
“You could be my main man.”
Brian and Curt make no efforts to conceal their relationship from the public; in fact, Brian’s manager uses it to promote them, and to further Brian’s fame. The fans love it; they can’t get enough of the couple. There is no pressure present for the two of them to split up -- they are happy together, and that’s all that should have mattered.
“The world has changed because you are made of ivory and gold. The curves of your lips rewrite history.”
Their relationship is almost sweet at first (if you can get past the orgies that happen in Brian’s dressing room), but it is doomed. The fame becomes too much for Brian, and it all goes to his head -- but that is made worse when Curt leaves. Curt’s talent begins to wane, and Brian’s manager wants him out; Brian doesn’t want that, but he also doesn’t want to lose the fame and fortune he has worked so hard for. Instead of going after Curt, he lets him walk away.
At a concert entitled “Death of Glitter”, Curt gives a moving performance; and afterwards, he meets a young man wearing earrings and eyeliner, and it seems a natural thing to have a one-night stand with him.
However, the one-night stand means more to Arthur than he admits. Years later, he still remembers it; somewhat fondly, and perhaps with some regret.
“Softly, he said, I will mangle your mind.”
What If?
Brian was upset when Curt left, but what if he’d gone after him? Would they have stayed together? Arthur was lucky that Curt was no longer with Brian -- they may never have met that night, had things not gone badly.
If Brian hadn’t become so obsessed with Maxwell Demon, he would have chosen Curt over the music, because he really did love him. Where would that have left Arthur? Perhaps he would have benefited; without that one-night stand with Curt, he might have been able to find someone and move on.
What if Brian and Curt had stayed together, and they’d both met Arthur? They were not oppposed to experimentation. The three may well have gotten along; I’d like to believe that they could have lived happily ever after, if everyone involved had taken the time to calm down and think it over.
Why?
My sister is a huge Ewan Mcgregor fan, and is determined to see every one of his movies. When she heard about Velvet Goldmine, she was immediately smitten. Both of us are rather avid yaoi/slash fans, and the idea of a gay movie with Ewan was too good to pass up. I was also intrigued. I bought the movie for her birthday, and gave it to her almost a month early, as soon as it arrived.
We watched the movie together one night, and at first, it was a little difficult to understand; some of the scenes seem a little abstract. All we really knew after that first time was that this was a really amazing movie, and that we would have to watch it again. And again.
Brian Slade and Curt Wild were a match made in Heaven; if they’d only opened their eyes to that, they would have been very, very happy. Their love is so bittersweet, and their rough breakup is enough to bring tears of frustration to anyone’s eyes; you’ll find yourself screaming at Brian to run after Curt, and screaming at Curt to stop the car and run back. You’ll find yourself feeling for Arthur; wishing him happiness, because it seems that his happy days were few and far between, and never lasted long enough.
Links
Velvet Goldmine Fanlisting
Velvet Goldmine Images
Velvet Life
Satellite of Love: Velvet Goldmine Fanfiction
Ending Words
The way this movie is put together is absolutely brilliant. The dialogue, the characters, the acting (if you’re a fan of Ewan Mcgregor, like my sister, I highly recommend it; if you’re a fan of Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, then you really can’t miss this), the music -- everything. Brian, Curt, and Arthur are characters that I will never forget.
“Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he’ll tell you the truth.”
Velvet Goldmine, a film by Todd Haynes, “to be played at maximum volume.”
Author:
chzbrgr_of_doomFandom: Velvet Goldmine
Pairing: Brian Slade x Curt Wild x Arthur Stuart
Spoilers: for the movie.
Disclaimer: I do not own Velvet Goldmine or its characters.
Notes: This is dedicated to
baka_mamushi for introducing this movie to me.Brian Slade x Curt Wild x Arthur Stuart
Velvet Goldmine is a “fake biography” of David Bowie and his alter-ego, Ziggy Stardust. It’s a story about music, drugs, fame and fortune, regret, and desire. It’s about love, in some of its strangest, and most beautiful, forms. It stars Ewan Mcgregor, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers and Christian Bale, in a “love triangle” that is enough to break anyone’s heart.
This movie is a lot of fun, as well as full of angst; the characters are lovable, their troubles are believable, and best of all --
All that glitters is gay!
Brian Slade
“I just happen to like boys as much as I like girls.”
Jonathan Rhys-Meyers plays Brian Slade, 70’s glam rock singer. He openly admits to the press to being bisexual, and starts a revolution, with his platform boots, glitter eye make-up, and tight pants.
“Rock and roll is a prostitute.”
Brian’s image spiraled out of ideas he picked up from various people, like Jack Fairy; the original fem rocker. One of the most profound impacts on Brian is a performance given by Curt Wild that he sees when he’s just starting out, involving glitter and nudity.
Brian starts off as a nice guy, but as his fame grows, he changes. His alter-ego, Maxwell demon, an “alien who is ultimately destroyed by his own success”, starts to take over.
Curt Wild says, “He thought he fucking was Maxwell demon, and Maxwell demon -- well, he thought he was God.”
“Nothing makes one so vain as being told one is a sinner.”
Curt Wild
As mentioned previously, the first time we catch a glimpse of Curt Wild, he’s on stage going crazy, with water, glitter, and leather pants (which quickly come off, in Ewan Mcgregor’s signature -- a nude scene!).
“You just can’t fake being gay, you know? If you’re gonna claim to be gay, you‘re gonna have to make love in gay style and most of these kids just aren’t gonna make it.
Curt has a tragic past which is narrated while he sings; when he was younger, his parents discovered him in a compromising position with his older brother, and they sent him off for electric shock treatment. They intended to “shock the gay right out of him”, but it didn’t have the desired effect. Instead, it messed with his head in a bad way. He got into drugs and the like, and formed his bad, The Rats.
“A real artist creates beautiful things, and puts nothing of his own life into them.”
Arthur Stuart
“Suddenly I was being paid to remember all the things that money, a future and a serious life made so certain I’d forget.”
Christian Bale plays Arthur Stuart, a young man who flashbacks to his even younger days, when he was confused and longing to just be himself.
Velvet Goldmine is told mainly from Arthur Stuart’s point of view. As a journalist, he is asked to do a story on something that happened twelve years ago; the fake shooting of Brian Slade. “Where is he now?” Arthur’s boss wants to know -- Arthur, however, would rather not remember.
Arthur was a big fan of Brian Slade in his youth. He was a part of the glam rock scene, and reveled in it as only a confused gay teen knows how. His parents did not approve of his likes; they approved even less of his sexuality.
Brian, Curt, and Arthur
Arthur loves Brian Slade the man, and the music. He buys his singles, reads articles about him, watches television programs about him; he even goes so far as to masturbate while listening to one of his songs and looking at picture of him kissing Curt Wild. Arthur sees Brian as an escape. He’s confused about his life, his sexuality, and his identity; Brian isn’t afraid to admit to anything, and Arthur admires that very much.
From the moment that Brian sees Curt, he wants him. He is moved by Curt’s performance, and remembers him later, when he starts to become famous. When Brian first goes to America, he asks to meet Curt Wild. It is then that he asks his manager to let Curt in on his record contract -- and Curt asks Brian to be his. They begin a bittersweet affair (affair in the traditional sense -- Brian is actually married to a woman named Mandy, but at the time, she doesn’t particularly care who he screws around with).
“You could be my main man.”
Brian and Curt make no efforts to conceal their relationship from the public; in fact, Brian’s manager uses it to promote them, and to further Brian’s fame. The fans love it; they can’t get enough of the couple. There is no pressure present for the two of them to split up -- they are happy together, and that’s all that should have mattered.
“The world has changed because you are made of ivory and gold. The curves of your lips rewrite history.”
Their relationship is almost sweet at first (if you can get past the orgies that happen in Brian’s dressing room), but it is doomed. The fame becomes too much for Brian, and it all goes to his head -- but that is made worse when Curt leaves. Curt’s talent begins to wane, and Brian’s manager wants him out; Brian doesn’t want that, but he also doesn’t want to lose the fame and fortune he has worked so hard for. Instead of going after Curt, he lets him walk away.
At a concert entitled “Death of Glitter”, Curt gives a moving performance; and afterwards, he meets a young man wearing earrings and eyeliner, and it seems a natural thing to have a one-night stand with him.
However, the one-night stand means more to Arthur than he admits. Years later, he still remembers it; somewhat fondly, and perhaps with some regret.
“Softly, he said, I will mangle your mind.”
What If?
Brian was upset when Curt left, but what if he’d gone after him? Would they have stayed together? Arthur was lucky that Curt was no longer with Brian -- they may never have met that night, had things not gone badly.
If Brian hadn’t become so obsessed with Maxwell Demon, he would have chosen Curt over the music, because he really did love him. Where would that have left Arthur? Perhaps he would have benefited; without that one-night stand with Curt, he might have been able to find someone and move on.
What if Brian and Curt had stayed together, and they’d both met Arthur? They were not oppposed to experimentation. The three may well have gotten along; I’d like to believe that they could have lived happily ever after, if everyone involved had taken the time to calm down and think it over.
Why?
My sister is a huge Ewan Mcgregor fan, and is determined to see every one of his movies. When she heard about Velvet Goldmine, she was immediately smitten. Both of us are rather avid yaoi/slash fans, and the idea of a gay movie with Ewan was too good to pass up. I was also intrigued. I bought the movie for her birthday, and gave it to her almost a month early, as soon as it arrived.
We watched the movie together one night, and at first, it was a little difficult to understand; some of the scenes seem a little abstract. All we really knew after that first time was that this was a really amazing movie, and that we would have to watch it again. And again.
Brian Slade and Curt Wild were a match made in Heaven; if they’d only opened their eyes to that, they would have been very, very happy. Their love is so bittersweet, and their rough breakup is enough to bring tears of frustration to anyone’s eyes; you’ll find yourself screaming at Brian to run after Curt, and screaming at Curt to stop the car and run back. You’ll find yourself feeling for Arthur; wishing him happiness, because it seems that his happy days were few and far between, and never lasted long enough.
Links
Velvet Goldmine Fanlisting
Velvet Goldmine Images
Velvet Life
Satellite of Love: Velvet Goldmine Fanfiction
Ending Words
The way this movie is put together is absolutely brilliant. The dialogue, the characters, the acting (if you’re a fan of Ewan Mcgregor, like my sister, I highly recommend it; if you’re a fan of Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, then you really can’t miss this), the music -- everything. Brian, Curt, and Arthur are characters that I will never forget.
“Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he’ll tell you the truth.”
Velvet Goldmine, a film by Todd Haynes, “to be played at maximum volume.”
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2005-11-08 09:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-11-09 12:25 am (UTC)http://satellite.shriftweb.org/
no subject
Date: 2005-11-08 11:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-11-09 12:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-11-09 11:28 am (UTC)has the only version of the script transcribed online and 'owns' the
http://www.velvetdemon.com is a great site too
thanks for posting!
no subject
Date: 2005-11-09 09:12 pm (UTC)here's a couple of links for those of you interested:
kimberlite's work (http://www.ravenswing.com/kimberlite/vg.html) - brian/curt, curt/arthur, brian/curt/arthur
alex's fic (http://creed207.tripod.com/alex/#VG) - brian/curt
silkn1's work (http://www.livejournal.com/users/silkn1/) - brian/curt, arthur/jack fairy - AU
has a lot of velvet goldmine fic (http://p078.ezboard.com/fjrmfansitemessageboardfrm4) - it's a jonathan rhys meyers forum and you have to register to have access
i haven't been active in the VG fandom in a long time, but i remember loving the linked work, especially silkn1's.
no subject
Date: 2005-11-12 07:31 am (UTC)(And FANFIC! yay!)