Much like the mystical religions spread by its Bene Gesserit, the influences of Dunespread to every corner of the universe of science fiction. In some stories, the inspirations are woven so tightly into the fabric of the story they’re nearly impossible to pick up, maybe even for the author themself. In others, the homages to Dune are unmissable, occasionally to the point of being distracting. And then there’s Star Wars, the most blatant ripoff of all — at least, according to Frank Herbert.
The Dune author didn’t talk much about George Lucas’ landmark science fiction film before his death in 1986, but he answered a few questions about it over the years, and he always seemed at least a little annoyed at the similarities between the two stories.
The first public comments he seems to have made about the movie come from an interview with the Associated Press from 1977, the year A New Hope was released. The article is pretty straightforward shit-stirring, but it’s clear that while Herbert hadn’t yet seen the movie, he did have some thoughts about its similarities to his seminal series, which was already three books in.
Herbert starts by saying an editor for the Village Voice had called him and asked if he had seen Star Wars, and whether or not he was going to sue. It’s a strong lead-in, but apparently that’s what was top of mind of Herbert.
“I will try hard not to sue,” Herbert told the Associated Press. “I have no idea what book of mine it fits, but I suspect it may be Dune since in that I had a Princess Alia and the movie has a Princess Leia. And I hear there is a sandworm carcass and hood dwellers in the desert, just like in Dune.”
Herbert goes on to brag, rightfully, about the ubiquity of Dune, both in popular culture and even as a college textbook on subjects like “architecture, psychology, writing, English, human living, space analysis, and some I’ve forgotten.” Herbert doesn’t get too specific in this early article, but it’s clear the movie’s reported similarities to his own work didn’t sit quite right with him. And later it would be even clearer that they stuck in his craw, one way or another.
Image: Warner Bros. Pictures
Now, with decades of hindsight and years of interviews, it’s easy to see that Star Wars, particularly the first film, is an amalgamation of many genres and stories, including (but not limited to) science fiction, mythical fantasy, and the samurai movies of Akira Kurosawa. There’s also an entire expanded universe of history in the Star Wars galaxy that borrows from all over the sci-fi canon, and has helped inspire just as many future writers.
But if you consider the time when Star Wars was just one tremendously successful summer blockbuster, it’s easy to understand why Herbert might have had a bone to pick. And as the years went by, it’s clear that he thought quite a bit about the subject, enough to count the similarities between the titles.
“Lucas has never admitted that they copied a lot of Dune,and I’m not saying they did,” Herbert said in 1985, during a speaking engagement at UCLA. “I’m just saying there are 16 points of identity between the book Dune and Star Wars. Now you’ve had stat — what is it? It’s 16 times 16 times 16 times… over 1, the odds against that being coincidence? There aren’t that many stars in the universe.”
Herbert’s frustrated quote stemmed from a question about whether or not Lucas ever bought Herbert dinner — a reference to a long-standing joke of Herbert’s that even if Lucas didn’t blatantly steal his ideas to make Star Wars, he at least owes Herbert dinner for the coincidence.
But Frank Herbert was one to lose out on a war of pettiness. A year before that UCLA interview, he published Heretics of Dune, the fifth book in the series and the second to last written by him. Late in the book, which is mostly about the future of humanity after the death of The God Emperor, Herbert has a small, inconspicuous passage that certainly feels like a reference to Star Wars. He doesn’t seem to have ever said that officially, so we’ll let you judge:
In the time of the Old Empire and even under the reign of Maud’Dib, the region around the Gammu Keep had been a forest reserve, high ground rising well above the oily residue that tended to cover Harkonnen land. On this ground, the Harkonnens had grown some of the finest pilingitam, a wood of steady currency, always valued by the supremely rich. From the most ancient times, the knowledgeable had preferred to surround themselves with fine woods rather than with the mass-produced artificial materials known then as polestine, polaz, and pormabat (latterly: tine, laz, and bat). As far back as the Old Empire there had been a pejorative label for the small rich and Families Minor arising from the knowledge of the rare wood’s value. “He’s a three P-O,” they said, meaning that such a person surrounded himself with cheap copies made from déclassé substances.
In March, for the first time since 2018, Chef Paddle Battle, a ping pong competition between Chicago chefs that raises money for charity, will take place. A variety of factors, including the pandemic, wiped out the annual event held at SPIN Chicago in River North.
This year’s event, Monday, March 4, brings together 30 chefs to raise money for Culinary Care, a charity that provides restaurant meals to cancer patients and their families. The group has worked with a variety of chefs through the years to organize fundraisers. The event is open to the public, giving fans a chance to meet the chefs. Three drinks are included in the ticket price; there’s also an open bar option.
In past years, the audience has been treated to feats such as the exploits of Proxi and Sepia chef Andrew Zimmerman, who has dominated the field. Rivalries have been known to form and a new one is about to bubble up between a veteran and a rookie. It could be the next big Chicago food rivalry, on par with Lou Malnati’s versus Giordano’s or Harold’s vs. Uncle Remus.
Jake Potashnick’s Instagram handle is “notyetachef.” The Chicago native has traveled around the world cooking at restaurants and plans to open his own, Feld, soon in West Town. Potashnick has poked the bear, namely S.K.Y. and Valhalla chef Stephen Gillanders. The young chef playfully taunted his friend, claiming that he would take Gillanders down if they two were to play.
“I’m just thrilled that my crushing of Stephen can support an amazing organization like Culinary Care,” Potashnik texted.
The two donned WWE personas in a text thread over the weekend when questioned about their budding rivalry. Potashnick joked the loser would have to leave West Town.
“Unfortunately for you, Jake, a true rivalry requires a worthy adversary,” Gillanders texted to the thread. “I will crush you and your paddle. Going full Forrest Gump on you.”
Potashnick responded: “Look, I believe that Stephen is a very good ping pong player. But we’ve all heard the underground rumors of blood doping… Anything for an edge up that ol’ Gillanders.”
Gillanders responded humbly: “My genetic superiority, intelligent-yet-approachable wit, and face-melting dance moves have been a pressure point for years now amongst my competitors,” the chef writes. “While I outright refuse to provide a blood sample, I deny all allegations.”
The event, held on a Monday when many restaurants are closed, gives chefs a chance to socialize. While Potashnick jokes about starting “a lifelong death-match style ping pong rivalry” with Gillanders, he also writes that he’s grateful that chefs like Gillanders have welcomed him back home.
SPIN hosted Paddle Battles in 2017 and 2018 and its return is seen as a sign of recovery for River North and Downtown Chicago. And while Gllanders and Potashick throw gasoline on their rivalry, ping pong isn’t just about winning. Many chefs of Asian heritage take the competition as a point of pride given the sport’s popularity overseas.
For Bayan Ko chef Lawrence Letrero, the game is nostalgic. He played in college and has a lot of rust to shake off: “I haven’t played in years,” he texts. “I’m going to suck.”
Win or lose, it’s for a good cause. Kimski chef Won Kim will even DJ.
Check out the roster of chefs below.
Chef Paddle Battle at SPIN, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Monday, March 4, 344 N. State Street, tickets via Eventbrite.
Greetings, Polygon readers! Each week, we round up the most notable new releases to streaming and VOD, highlighting the biggest and best new movies for you to watch at home.
This week, American Fiction, the Oscar-nominated comedy drama starring Westworld’s Jeffrey Wright, is available to purchase on VOD. That’s not all, as Jeymes Samuel’s The Book of Clarence starring LaKeith Stanfield and the ecological drama The End We Start From starring Jodie Comer (The Last Duel) also arrive on VOD this week, along with a few other exciting releases. There’s plenty of streaming premieres as well, with Nia DaCosta’s The Marvels finally arriving on Disney Plus following its VOD release last month. Down Low, a new comedy starring Zachary Quinto and Lukas Gage, is now streaming on Netflix, while the supernatural “Dracula on a boat” horror thriller The Last Voyage of the Demeter finally docks on Paramount Plus.
In this dark comedy, Zachary Quinto (Star Trek) stars as Gary, a recently divorced and deeply closeted father who forms an unlikely friendship with young masseur (Lukas Gage). Determined to help him come out of his shell and embrace his sexuality openly, the masseur sets Gary up with a date on a hookup app, but things quickly take a turn when the two must work together to avoid going to jail for murder.
New on Disney Plus
The Marvels
Where to watch: Available to stream on Disney Plus
Photo: Laura Radford/Marvel Studios
Genre: Superhero action Run time: 1h 45m Director: Nia DaCosta Cast: Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, Iman Vellani
The 33rd film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe sees the return of Carol Danvers (Brie Larson), also known as Captain Marvel. This time around, she’s teaming up with the superpowered Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) and Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) to save the universe from the threat of a vengeful Kree leader bent on restoring her home world.
In its best moments, The Marvels just throws wonderful ideas at the screen. There’s a planet of people who only sing, a space station full of cats that blithely devour furniture and humans alike, an animated depiction of Kamala’s internal monologue — the movie can feel like a mood board assembled by an overcaffeinated Star Trek fan, with a sense of imagination suitable for reminding the audience that comic books can be cool in the moment that you’re reading them, as opposed to for what they promise in the future.
Genre: Psychological thriller Run time: 1h 58m Director: Susanna Fogel Cast: Emilia Jones, Nicholas Braun, Geraldine Viswanathan
Based on Kristen Roupenian’s viral 2017 short story for The New Yorker, Cat Person follows the story of Margot, a college sophomore who enters into a brief relationship with an older man named Robert (Nicholas Braun). Things seem okay at first, until Margot begins to question whether or not Robert is telling the whole truth about his life.
Cat Person gets it wrong so consistently, makes its points so inelegantly, and pads out the short story in such an ill-conceived way that it ends up invalidating the same concerns on which it’s built. When a cop tells the protagonist that she should stop watching murder shows, it’s not institutional indifference toward violence against women. It’s a voice of reason, as the protagonist’s own actions later prove. This is a film that includes both a therapist who appears to state the subtext as text, then vanishes, and a one-dimensional best friend of color who exists solely to drop feminist buzzwords from five years ago (Geraldine Viswanathan, who deserves better). It’s confident in its cluelessness, and not in a way that underlines that same quality in its 20-year-old heroine.
Genre: Coming-of-age drama Run time: 1h 49m Director: Laura Chinn Cast: Laura Linney, Nico Parker, Woody Harrelson
This semi-autobiographical drama follows Doris (Nico Parker), a self-conscious teenager who strikes up an unlikely friendship with an older activist (Woody Harrelson) while caring for her dying brother and navigating the pitfalls of high school.
New on Prime Video
Upgraded
Where to watch: Available to stream on Prime Video
Genre: Romantic comedy Run time: 1h 44m Director: Carlson Young Cast: Camila Mendes, Archie Renaux, Lena Olin
I know what you’re thinking and no, this is not the sequel to Leigh Whannell’s cyberpunk action thriller starring Logan Marshall-Green. This is a romantic comedy starring Camila Mendes (Riverdale) and Archie Renaux (Shadow and Bone) as Ana and Will; two strangers who meet during a first class flight to London who strike up a romance after Will mistakes Ana for his new boss. I think these wacky kids are gonna make it!
Genre: Period horror Run time: 1h 58m Director: André Øvredal Cast: Corey Hawkins, Aisling Franciosi, David Dastmalchian
Dracula’s on a boat, and guess what? He’s PISSED. This supernatural horror thriller adapts a chapter from Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel and centers on the unfortunate crew of a transatlantic merchant ship who discover an unearthly threat among their cargo. As time dwindles away, and with it their chances of survival, the crew must make a last-ditch effort to kill the creature before they reach England.
The Last Voyage of the Demeter makes very little of most of its potential assets. It’s a film with no vision, a puzzling adaptation that’s so straightforward, viewers might believe every beat comes from Stoker’s novel and not a screenplay imagining what happened between the pages. Maybe the two decades the film spent in development, being rewritten and recast, are to blame; every colorful choice seems to have been wrung out of the script. At every moment, there’s potential for Demeter to become something distinct and interesting, but the screenplay and Øvredal’s direction choose otherwise, embracing straightforward competence over any style or flair. It’s dry historical fiction, Horatio Hornblower’s Dracula.
New to rent
American Fiction
Where to watch: Available to rent on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu
Image: MGM/Amazon Studios
Genre: Comedy-drama Run time: 1h 57m Director: Cord Jefferson Cast: Jeffrey Wright, Tracee Ellis Ross, Sterling K. Brown
The Oscar-nominated debut from Cord Jefferson stars Jeffrey Wright (The Batman) as Thelonious “Monk” Ellison, a frustrated novelist living in Los Angeles who writes a scathing satire of stereotypical “Black” books, only for it to be sky-rocketed to the prestigious heights of literary acclaim. Feels like a shoe-in for fans of such movies as Putney Swope and Bamboozled.
The Book of Clarence
Where to watch: Available to rent on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu
Image: Legendary Entertainment/Moris Puccio
Genre: Historical comedy Run time: 2h 9m Director: Jeymes Samuel Cast: LaKeith Stanfield, Omar Sy, RJ Cyler, Anna Diop
Jeymes Samuel (The Harder They Fall) returns with a new film, this time a biblical comedy drama starring LaKeith Stanfield. The Book of Clarence follows the story of a down-on-his-luck man living in A.D. 33 Jerusalem who aspires to free himself from debt. His plan? Take a page out of the book of a local preacher claiming to be the son of God and proclaim himself as the Messiah, performing “miracles” in a bid for fame and glory. When Clarence’s schemes run afoul of the Romans, he’ll be faced with not only the consequences of his deception, but a choice that will shape his life and the course of history.
The End We Start From
Where to watch: Available to rent on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu
Image: Sunny/March Hera Pictures
Genre: Post-apocalyptic thriller Run time: 1h 42m Director: Mahalia Belo Cast: Ramanique Ahluwalia, Elena Bielova, Shiona Brown
Jodie Comer (The Last Duel) stars in this new thriller as a woman attempting to protect her infant child after London is submerged by flood waters. With nowhere else to turn, she will have to embark on a search for a way to raise her child and build a new home.
Cobweb
Where to watch: Available to rent on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu
Image: Anthology Studios/Samuel Goldwyn Films
Genre: Black comedy drama Run time: 2h 15m Director: Kim Jee-woon Cast: Song Kang-ho, Im Soo-jung, Oh Jung-se
Song Kang-ho (Parasite) stars in this period black comedy as Kim Ki-yeol, an obsessive director in the 1970s on the verge of completing his latest film, Cobweb. There’s just one problem: Kim’s suddenly has a change of heart and wants to completely reshoot the ending of his film in two days. He’ll have to get his confused and uncooperative cast and crew to cooperate, as well as escape the ire of Seoul’s censorship authorities.
I.S.S.
Where to watch: Available to rent on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu
Image: LD Entertainment
Genre: Sci-fi thriller Run time: 1h 35m Director: Gabriela Cowperthwaite Cast: Ariana DeBose, Chris Messina, John Gallagher Jr.
Imagine if you were an astronaut aboard the International Space Station during an apocalyptic event where the world is consumed in nuclear hellfire — what would you do? That’s what the characters in this bracing sci-fi thriller have to figure out, as a crew of American and Russian astronauts must decide whether to cooperate in the face of extinction or surrender to their nationalistic anxieties and resentment.
It’s telling that in Chicago, Fat Tuesday — the day before Lenten Season begins, this year on Tuesday, February 13 — is generally referred to as Paczki Day. Weighing in at around 400 calories each, the Polish pastries inevitably whip up excitement among fans who form long lines, sometimes in the wee hours of the morning, to snag paczki by the dozen in a wide array of classic and contemporary flavors.
Amid all the paczki pandemonium, however, lie Fat Tuesday specialties from a variety of ethnic groups that now call Chicago home. In Andersonville, the city’s historic Swedish American enclave, a lauded local pastry chef is shining a spotlight on the Scandinavian tradition of the semla, a rich yet delicate sweet roll also known as fettisdagsbulle, literally “Fat Tuesday bun.”
Pastry chef Bobby Schaffer brings fine dining style to Swedish semlor.
As in the case of many Fat Tuesday treats, modern semlor (the plural of semla) evolved significantly from their original form. Historically, semlor simply referred to bread rolls floating in warm milk, a combination also dubbed hetvagg. In an ominous anecdote, 18th-century Swedish King Adolf Fredrick is said to have died after wrapping up a hearty, boozy meal with 14 servings of the dish. Today, typical semlor are small, baked yeast buns enriched with butter and egg, flavored with cardamom, stuffed with almond paste and whipped cream, and finally, dusted with powdered sugar. Sweden’s neighboring countries feature regional variations, such as Finnish laskiaispulla and Danish and Norwegian fastelavnsboller.
Bobby Schaffer (Grace, Blue Hill at Stone Barns), has made a name for himself in the city with his contemporary takes on Swedish pastry traditions at Lost Larson, his stylish bakeries and cafes with modern minimalist Swedish vibes in Andersonville and Wicker Park. The seasonal item has a crowd of eager adherents who start peppering Schaffer with questions about availability “as soon as January hits,” he says. This year’s lineup blends old and new, juxtaposing a traditional version with playful semlor, including one stuffed with raspberry jam and topped with raspberry whipped cream and a spin on bananas foster. They’re available to walk-in customers through Monday, February 12 in both Andersonville and Wicker Park, and online pre-orders are open for pickup on Fat Tuesday in Andersonville.
Lost Larson’s team starts the process by making cardamom brioche dough.
Like paczki, semlor are an opulent treat for those about to start the Lenten season.
The dough is then left to ferment overnight.
Each semla will receive its own little brioche “hat.”
The concept of fun and funky semlor is a full-on phenomenon in Sweden, says Karin Moen Abercrombie, executive director of Andersonville’s Swedish American Museum. In Stockholm, famed 90-year-old coffeehouse Vete-Katten typically sells around 14,000 semlor ahead of Lent each year. “Today, there’s almost a competition between bakeries of who makes the best semlor,” she says.
Schaffer had his first taste of semlor in January 2018 during a trip to Stockholm with his sister ahead of Lost Larson’s debut in Andersonville. His memories of the encounter, which unfolded in a “very old-school” bakery in Sweden’s capital, are vivid: “The texture of the cream [was] so soft, and hitting that layer of almond paste gives it a chewy, unctuous texture,” he says. “It’s very satisfying to dig into one of those.”
The “hats” are back.
Schaffer scales back the sweetness of the whipped cream to balance with powdered sugar.
Back in Chicago, he had a serious task on his hands with the debut of his stylish bakery and cafe with modern minimalist Swedish vibes. The Swedish Bakery, a neighborhood icon for more than eight decades, had closed the year prior in 2017, and residents made plain their high expectations of Schaffer’s endeavor. Given his recent semlor meet cute, Schaffer was eager to introduce his version and included them on his opening menu, which happened to arrive in June.
“I was a little overly exuberant to start making them,” he says, laughing. “I was quickly scolded by [Abercrombie] that it was not semla season… I didn’t want to start by offending Swedish people.”
Abercrombie, a Swedish immigrant who has spent nearly 40 years in Chicago, doesn’t remember her first semla but does recall eating them with warm milk (a la King Fredrick, though in smaller quantities) as a girl. For her, the Swedish Bakery’s closure struck close to home. “They were the ones, for many of us, who connected us back to our home country and childhood memories.”
Each bun undergoes a little surgery.
Almond paste is a popular flavor in Swedish pastries and baked goods.
Despite its more contemporary approach, Lost Larson’s dedication to Swedish baking and pastry — as well as Schaffer’s openness to feedback from the community — have played vital roles in maintaining Swedish American culture in the city. The museum will also feature semlor in its pop-up cafe on Fat Tuesday, but for Abercrombie and Schaffer, it’s not about competition. “We all have to work together because if we don’t support each other, none of us will survive,” she says.
Bill Murray surprised folks last week at Navy Pier during an event celebrating the movie Groundhog Hog Day held on Groundhog Day, Friday, February 2. Harry Caray’s Grant DePorter put the show together, reuniting members of the 1993 movie to honor the film’s director, Chicago native Harold Ramis. Ramis was also an investor at Harry Caray’s. The event marked the 10th anniversary of his death.
Luminaries like Sen. Dick Durbin attended as did Ramis’s wife, Erica Mann Ramis. She read a letter written by President Barack Obama. DePorter arranged an elaborate set as a tribute to the movie, giving folks a reason to visit Navy Pier. The winters are slow around most Chicago restaurants, but big crowds rarely fill Navy Pier during the colder months. DePorter sold movie-themed cocktails and brought in a groundhog from Woodstock, using the same animal handler that was used in the movie. Yes, there’s a possibility that this critter, nicknamed Chicago Harry, is related to the star of the movie. In a controversial ruling, Harry did see his shadow, thus sentencing Chicagoans to six more weeks of winter. Even if 40 degrees feels tropical right now.
But as the spring-starved crowd wiped their tears, Brian Doyle-Murray — who appeared in the movie as Buster Green — joined his brother and others to a toast to Harold Ramis, raising glasses of sweet vermouth. Check out the scene in the photos below.
Chicago Harry is the groundhog’s name.
Members of the movie’s cast, plus Chicago aldermen, and Harold Ramis’s wife, Erica Mann Ramis, celebrated on February 2 at Navy Pier.
Actor Brian Doyle Murray, who played Buster in Groundhog Day, reenacts a scene from the movie.
The groundhog saw its shadow.
Sen. Dick Durbin speaks at the event.
Chicago Harry and its handler.
Harold Ramis was also an investor at Harry’s.
A group of Ghostbusters superfans also attended when they heard about Bill Murray’s involvement.
The Pokémon Company’s life-size Psyduck is back. It’s up for preorder on The Pokémon Center United States-based store, just weeks after it was restocked on the Japanese site. The Pokémon Company originally released its 31-inch Psyduck plush back in 2020, a blessing to Pokémon fans during the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. It’s been back in stock a few times before, and here it is again, with perfect timing with Netflix’s Pokémon Concierge, starring Psyduck.
Psyduck remains exactly the same as it was then, both stunning and perpetually stunned by its chronic headaches. (Psyduck is a migraine-haver’s icon.) Psyduck measures 31 inches in its Pokédex entry, making the big yellow duck true to life. The only problem is that it’s $324.99 — $45 more expensive than it was in 2020. That’s inflation for you.
The good news, though, is that you now can read user reviews to tell you how awesome owning a life-size Psyduck is:
Words cannot express how pleased I am with this massive Psyduck. Truly, massive. I’m thrilled that he finally came back in stock, and I had no qualms about purchasing him this time around. He shows up in random places around the house and it’s always a shock at first when I see him (most definitely he is using his confusion attack) but then a calmness quickly washes over me, and I feel comfort in knowing that he too, is confused all the time. Be aware that the shipping box is quite large, and says Psyduck on the outside, so don’t let him sit unattended for too long or someone else might try to capture him! He is way too rare and precious. Trust me – buy him and you will not regret it!! PS…he looks fantastic in hats.
There are actually two four star reviews out of the total 70 — the rest are top scores. The main gripe is that Psyduck is a little top heavy, so it falls over relatively easily. But for the most part, Psyduck has been worth the purchase for many Pokémon fans:
He is incredibly rotund and looks confused and distressed at all times, it’s like looking into a mirror! I couldn’t bring myself to place Psyduck on the floor so he takes up half my bed instead. A small price to pay for Psyduck to watch over me while I dream about an Appletun plush restock.
Also, Psyduck came in a box that was not discrete at all. Anyone will be able to read in big bold letters that a 31” Psyduck plush is inside so be ready to intercept the package once it is dropped off otherwise Team Rocket might steal him away.
The Pokémon Company expects to start shipping this new batch of yellow ducks in October. If you can’t wait until then but don’t care about what big Pokémon you have, a tall Lucario, big round Spheal, and massive Wailord are all in stock. In the past, The Pokémon Company’s sold big Mareeps, Slowpokes, and Gigantamax Pikachus among several other large dudes.
Crab rangoon can be a polarizing menu item, but a new crop of chefs and diners are embracing the Chinese American staple in Chicago and beyond.
The fried wonton wrappers are normally filled with some ratio of cream cheese and imitation crab, then served with some variant of duck sauce. Its origins aren’t well defined, with the most accepted narrative being it was invented in the ‘40s or ‘50s in the kitchen of Trader Vic’s, the famous Polynesian and tiki bar chain that had a Chicago outpost until 2011 in Gold Coast. There’s not a ton written about the appetizer’s origins. Most scouring the Internet will be taken to a 2019 story in Atlas Obscura.
In 2022, crab Rangoon broke through to social media thanks to a series of TikTok posts made over the years by a Rangoon superfan. The item’s name is derived from a city in Myanmar. Yangon is the largest city in the South Asian country.
Though not a prime example of gourmet cooking, a handful of chefs are dressing the item up using premium ingredients. Some may not take the Rangoon seriously, but the item is enjoying a surge in popularity. And with Lunar New Year approaching (the Year of the Dragon starts on Saturday, February 10) here’s a trio of restaurants offering their unique takes.
Lobster Rangoon from Duck InnThe Duck Inn
Kevin Hickey reveres Chicago’s Chinatown and he grew up nearby in Bridgeport. For the last nine years, the chef and owner of the Duck Inn has celebrated Lunar New Year. It’s the only time they change how they prepare the restaurant’s signature duck, prepping it Beijing-style for the holiday. Hickey reasons that many of his customers are part of the Chinese community. Up until Saturday, February 10, the Duck Inn will offer lobster-filled Rangoon. They come with a pomegranate sweet & sour and optional chili crunch.
The Rangoon Royale served at Bixi Beer in Logan Square is like the Mercedes Benz of the Rangoon circuit. Chef and owner Bo Fowler gave in to her staff’s request for the item and created a souped-up version of the appetizer. Fowler, who was also the mastermind behind Owen & Engine, does not like to skimp on premium ingredients, sourcing from some of the Midwest’s best farmers. After much experimentation, uses a thicker wonton wrapper and fills it with lobster, crawfish, lump crab meat, and snow crab. Instead of cream cheese, she whips cream by hand for a mousse-like texture. She put the item on the menu and didn’t think customers would want a $20 order of fancy crab rangoon. She was wrong, and behind the burger, it’s Bixi’s No. 2-selling item: “I didn’t think they would sell at that price, but they sold like crazy,” she says.
Perfect with one of the beers brewed on the premises, the Rangoon Royale is a permanent menu item at Bixi.
Chef Henry Cai wanted an appetizer to complement the more American items on the menu of his Chinese American restaurant, something to pair with his burger and chicken sandwiches. He dipped into the nostalgia vault for memories of growing up in America with an immigrant family, seeing kids eat Tontino Pizza Rolls and Hot Pockets, and begging his parents to buy those products for him.
In January, he unveiled the Pizza Rangoon, a superior version of what he wanted in his youth. Unlike Hot Pockets, the crusts aren’t soggy. The wonton is a better vessel, Cai says, and he stuffs it with shredded mozzarella, white onions, tomato puree, pizza sauces, a dash of five spice, and then wraps the filling with a slice of mozzarella. The latter gives the Rangoon a cheese pull worthy of an old cartoon, Cai says. The exterior is coated with Italian season and Romano cheese. This is a permanent menu item at Cai’s new South Loop restaurant.
Greetings, Polygon readers! Each week, we round up the most notable new releases to streaming and VOD, highlighting the biggest and best new movies for you to watch at home. So quiet up and listen down; no, scratch that, reverse it!
This week, Wonka, the musical fantasy starring Timothée Chalamet as the irrepressibly whimsical chocolatier, is finally available to stream on VOD. There’s other exciting new releases available to rent as well, like David Ayer’s latest action thriller The Beekeeper starring Jason Statham and Makoto Shinkai’s fantasy romance anime Suzume. There are a ton of other new movies on streaming to watch as well, like Orion and the Dark on Netflix, Freelance on Hulu, Past Lives on Paramount Plus with Showtime, and more!
Here’s everything new to watch this weekend!
New on Netflix
Orion and the Dark
Where to watch: Available to stream on Netflix
Image: DreamWorks Animation
Genre: Fantasy comedy Run time: 1h 30m Director: Sean Charmatz Cast: Jacob Tremblay, Paul Walter Hauser, Angela Bassett
Written by cerebral screenwriter-director Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich) and based on the children’s book by Emma Yarlett, this animated fantasy adventure follows the story of a child with an overactive imagination and a constant fear of the future who is befriended by the anthropomorphic personification of darkness. Together, the pair embark on an adventure to conquer Orion’s fear of the unknown and embrace the many wonders the world has to offer.
By the end, Orion and the Dark has boldly transformed into a delightfully eccentric story, taking on even more metatextual layers. But it never loses its heart: It’s still a bedtime story, a parent and child working together to assemble an ending that satisfies the both of them. Their voices combine in a convincing way, with zany, kid-fueled ideas on one hand, and the careful guiding hand of an adult on the other. But child and parent both learn something from the other, and that turns Orion and the Dark from a simple fairy tale into a beautifully bizarre ride, and finally into a movie with a message that hits deeply for both adults and kids.
The Greatest Night in Pop
Image: Netflix
Genre: Music documentary Run time: 1h 36m Director: Bao Nguyen Cast: The biggest music stars of the 1980s
A behind-the-scenes doc of the making of one of the most popular singles of all-time, The Greatest Night in Pop takes you behind the scenes of the star-studded lineup that recorded “We Are the World.”
It doesn’t quite reach the heights of documentary classics, falling short of the insight into the tortured circumstances and frustrated production of Original Cast Album: Company, or the pure musical excellence of Monterey Pop. But there’s something special about seeing these stars mingle that makes this movie a fascinating document on fame and the people behind it.
Shortcomings
Where to watch: Available to stream on Netflix
Image: Sony Picture Classics
Genre: Romance comedy Run time: 1h 32m Director: Randall Park Cast: Justin H. Min, Sherry Cola, Ally Maki
Justin H. Min (The Umbrella Academy) stars in this new comedy from actor-director Randall Park (WandaVision). Shortcomings follows the misadventures of Ben, a struggling filmmaker living in Los Angeles. When his girlfriend, Miko, moves to New York for an internship, Ben is forced to assess his lifestyle choices up to this point in order to learn to grow as both a romantic partner and a person.
New on Prime Video
Fist of the Condor
Where to watch: Available to stream on Prime Video
Image: Well Go USA Entertainment
Genre: Martial arts drama Run time: 1h 20m Director: Ernesto Díaz Espinoza Cast: Marko Zaror, Eyal Meyer, Gina Aguad
One of my (Ed. note: PV) very favorite action movies of a stacked 2023, Fist of the Condor is at once a throwback to the Shaw Brothers era of old school Hong Kong martial arts filmmaking, and a new exciting step for Chilean martial arts cinema.
At the end of the day, Fist of the Condor is the Marko Zaror show. And boy, does he deliver. The movie is at its best when it is a series of jaw-dropping fights, one after another, leaning on his incredible star power. As an actor, Zaror brings life and deep pain to the star-crossed brothers, and as a fighter and acrobat, he is unmatched. He seems to be able to alternate from raw animalistic movements to robotic, hypnotic defense (he calls it an “electrical impulse” in the movie) and balletic, gravity-defying spinning kicks that are simply poetry in motion.
Genre: Action comedy Run time: 1h 48m Director: Pierre Morel Cast: John Cena, Alison Brie, Juan Pablo Raba
Taken director Pierre Morel moves to a more comedic mode in this movie about a former Special Forces officer (John Cena) and a journalist (Alison Brie) who travel to a fictional country together to interview the nation’s dictator.
Genre: Musical comedy Run time: 1h 26m Director: Larry Charles Cast: Josh Sharp, Aaron Jackson, Nathan Lane
This musical comedy follows two longtime business rivals who inadvertently discover they are identical twin brothers separated at birth. Concocting a scheme to get their divorced parents back together, they switch places in order to orchestrate a reunion. Think The Parent Trap, but with more musical numbers, dick jokes, and Megan Thee Stallion.
Dicks takes shots at different kinds of modern movies early on, starting with other A24 movies. A24’s logo is accompanied by grandiose music, and its signature elevated horror threatens to become a tongue-in-cheek thematic inspiration when Trevor and Craig wonder whether their predicament meets the qualifications for abuse and trauma. The film’s New York-set, American Psycho-esque corporate saga is clearly filmed in Los Angeles, with the seams of several sets and stages showing in the margins, while the stock footage it uses of NYC is all distinctly anachronistic.
Genre: Romantic drama Run time: 1h 46m Director: Celine Song Cast: Greta Lee, Teo Yoo, John Magaro
Greta Lee (Sisters) and Teo Yoo (Decision to Leave) star in director Celine Song’s romantic drama debut as Nora and Hae-sung, two childhood friends who are seperated when the former emigrates from South Korea to Toronto with her family.
Reunited 12 years later, the pair find themselves unmistakably drawn together. As their respective lives and obligations pull them further and farther apart, Nora and Hae-sung must confront their feelings about the life they might have shared together had their past choices been different, and what to do with those feelings now in the present.
Song spoke with Polygon about how the film is all about “the way that life reflects upon itself,” as well as her brief foray into The Sims 4 theater production.
Genre: Documentary Run time: 1h 13m Director: D. Smith Cast: Daniella Carter, Koko Da Doll, Liyah Mitchell
The first film from Grammy-nominated producer D. Smith follows the stories of four transgender sex workers living in New York and Georgia. Shot in black and white, the film offers insight into the embattled nature of not only their profession, but the cultural fault lines of gender and identity that intersect with their daily lives.
Genre: Action adventure Run time: 1h 24m Directors: Raman Hui, Yong Duk Jhun, Paul Watling Cast: Henry Golding, Brandon Soo Hoo, Lucy Liu
Based on Laurence Yep’s 2003 novel, this action fantasy movie follows the story of Tom (Brandon Soo Hoo), a Chinese American boy living in Los Angeles who inherits the responsibility of acting as the guardian of an ancient phoenix after the passing of his grandmother. Aided by a talking tiger named Mr. Hu (Henry Golding), Tom must learn to harness his new powers in order to prevent the phoenix from falling into the wrong hands.
This documentary unpacks the storied 58-plus-year career of Dario Argento, one of the most prolific directors behind Italian “giallo” horror and the acclaimed mind behind such films as Suspiria and Tenebrae. Featuring guest appearances from the likes of Guillermo del Toro, Nicolas Winding Refn, and Gaspar Noé, Panico also follows Argento as he writes the script for a new horror film.
New on Tubi
Sri Asih
Where to watch: Available to stream on Tubi
Image: Premiere Entertainment Group
Genre: Superhero action Run time: 2h 15m Director: Upi Avianto Cast: Pevita Pearce, Ario Bayu, Christine Hakim
The second entry in Indonesia’s Bumilangit Cinematic Universe, adapting comic book stories, is finally more widely available to watch in the US. The first, Gundala, was a very fun time, and director Joko Anwar returns as co-writer on this entry, which follows a young woman who learns she is the reincarnation of a goddess.
New to rent
The Beekeeper
Where to watch: Available to rent on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu
Image: Amazon MGM Studios
Genre: Action thriller Run time: 1h 45m Director: David Ayer Cast: Jason Statham, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Bobby Naderi
Jason Statham stars in David Ayer’s latest action film as Adam Clay, a retired “Beekeeper” (see: black ops secret agent) working as an actual beekeeper in Massachusetts. When Adam’s kindly employer loses her entire life savings to a nefarious phishing operation, he embarks on a one-man mission to avenge her and bring justice to those who wronged her.
Statham is his reliable self, mixing his effortless gruff charm with his comedy chops to help sell the ridiculous lines he has to deliver. And the movie looks great — Ayer and cinematographer Gabriel Beristain cleverly infuse the visuals with a yellow/amber color palette to match the title and the vibe, often making you feel like you’re watching the movie from inside a honeycomb.
Suzume
Where to watch: Available to rent on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu
Image: CoMix Wave Films/Crunchyroll
Genre: Coming-of-age fantasy adventure Run time: 2h 2m Director: Makoto Shinkai Cast: Nanoka Hara, Hokuto Matsumura, Eri Fukatsu
Makoto Shinkai (Your Name, Weathering with You) is back with another animated fantasy romance adventure about young people struggling with supernatural forces and the general ennui of youth. When high school student Suzume crosses paths with Souta Munakata, a mysterious wanderer on a quest to seal a series of magical doors around Japan to avert disaster, she joins him on his quest in an effort to save her home.
Also, Souta is transformed into a sentient chair by a malevolent cat. It’s complicated.
Suzume is about processing trauma and finally learning to live. Even after the movie’s turning point, Suzume is still recklessly throwing herself into danger to save others. Like Your Name and Weathering With You, Shinkai’s latest sees its young heroes racing against time to stop an impending disaster. But some key differences in Suzume make the final act cinch together in a way that soars above the previous two movies. Suzume has a personal connection to the looming catastrophe, one that snugly wraps around her entire character journey. The event itself feels vast and all-encompassing, but because the movie focuses on her instead of on the action, it gives the payoff more emotional impact. And when Suzume steps up to fight her battles, it’s less about making a dramatic choice or defying all odds. She simply reframes what she’s trying to do in a way that feels more personal than most action heroes’ journeys. She doesn’t want to give her life to save the world; she just wants to stay in it.
Wonka
Where to watch: Available to rent on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu
Image: Warner Bros. Pictures
Genre: Musical fantasy Run time: 1h 56m Director: Paul King Cast: Timothée Chalamet, Calah Lane, Keegan-Michael Key
Timothée Chalamet (Dune: Part One) stars in this new musical prequel to Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory as everyone’s soon-to-be-favorite chocolatier, now simply an aspiring magician looking to break into the candy business. He’ll have to find a way to overcome the nefarious chocolate cartel and build a factory of his own if he’ll any hope of achieving his dream, though.
Normally, I consider it unfair to compare two movies like this, but as I said, I’m a huge fan. Yet more importantly, Wonka directly invokes the previous film in ways big and small, going so far as to have Chalamet’s version of the character speak in the same diction as Wilder’s, complete with a “Scratch that, reverse it” line. As this is a story about a young Willy Wonka, the film must leave a little room to get from here to there, so Chalamet is granted the space to make the character his own. But this is a version of Willy that’s too sanded-down, too approachable to be truly memorable.
For those who grew up with the Pokémon TCG, the Classic box is one of the best ways to get back into it. Normally $399.99, this collector’s box set is currently discounted to $319.99 at Amazon and Best Buy (its lowest price ever). And while the cards may bring back memories, the rest of this set takes a more mature approach to the game you remember.
In addition to vintage decks, inside the box you’ll find enough sleeves for all 180 holofoil cards, and a trio of classy leatherette deck boxes with magnetic closures. Perhaps the coolest addition to this set, however, is the collection of stackable metallic damage and status counters, which carry some serious heft and are a massive improvement over the Mancala beads that came packaged in the original set. The classic box also forgoes the usual double-sided coin in favor of a roulette-style wheel in the middle of the organizer box to determine heads or tails.
Everything is neatly organized in a folding case (with felt cutouts for your decks and damage counters), which doubles as a matte playing board with a convenient carrying handle.
Image: The Pokémon Company
While none of the cards contained in this set, except for the energy cards, are tournament-legal, the Pokémon TCG Classic collector’s box is an awesome way to show off your love for the game and elevate your experience with this childhood classic.
On a drizzly February afternoon, I arrive at a modest, three-story building a stone’s throw from Kyoto’s Kamo River. A plaque reads “PLAYING CARDS” in gold letters against a staid shade of dark green, next to a stylish double door flanked by a pair of bright-red flags. Around the entrance, the pale brick facade has a distinctive mix of 1930s-style art deco curves and linear graphic stonework; it’s clear that in this quiet, largely residential area, this establishment isn’t like its neighbors. A pair of tourists and their Japanese guide coast along on bicycles. “This is the original headquarters of the video game company Nintendo,” the guide says in English as they slow down next to me. His clients express delight — they’d never have known if he hadn’t pointed it out.
I’ve come to visit the Marufukuro, an 18-room luxury hotel housed in the former Nintendo offices that once included the apartment home of the company’s founding Yamauchi family. It opened in April 2022 after a careful renovation by Plan Do See, a well-established Japanese hospitality firm that specializes in wedding venues and historically significant projects; after winning the bid for the project, Plan Do See got iconic architect Tadao Ando to design the hotel, and the top-tier Marufukuro suite — where guests can observe Ando’s hand-signed autograph in pencil on part of a wall — can go for over $1,300 a night.
Photo: Marufukuro
The Marufukuro, despite being the birthplace of Nintendo, has no current relationship with the company — I’m repeatedly reminded about the importance of this distinction, which is funny, because Nintendo history is the main reason I was drawn here in the first place. The Yamauchi family sold its Nintendo shares back in 2014. The hotel is now owned by the No. 10 Family Office — a company created by Banjo Yamauchi in 2020 to reportedly “preserve the ‘unique creativity and pioneering mindset’ of [Nintendo’s third president] Hiroshi Yamauchi, who died in 2013, [and] to help Japan innovate.” Banjo is the biological grandson (and adopted son) of Hiroshi Yamauchi; the latter was responsible for Nintendo’s shift to video games, including its early work with experimental toys. After Hiroshi’s death, then-21-year-old Banjo received an “enormous inheritance.” By all appearances, No. 10 doesn’t have anything to do with game development — it’s an investment firm that oversaw a fortune of over 100 billion yen in 2021; family offices are typically set up to handle investments and wealth management for ultra-rich “high net worth” families, often with a focus on dynastic responsibilities. The hotel name comes from another Yamauchi card company, Marufuku, with the -ro added to denote a luxury building, and Plan Do See runs the hotel operations.
Photo: Alexis Ong
“Since 1889, [Nintendo] have been keeping the same attitude of pushing boundaries, even though they had faced management crisis and the threat of bankruptcy several times in their history,” says Banjo Yamauchi via email. “This building represents [the] tough history of Nintendo.” According to Yamauchi, the idea to convert the building was mainly for historical preservation, and many of its original architectural features, like its Showa-era-style roof, have been kept. To the north is the oldest building, where I’ll be staying for the next three nights. It began 100 years ago as a warehouse before three more additions were made, including the new Ando annex. My section of the hotel is a three-floor walkup with an old-school non-functional cage-style elevator; my red-carpeted room is large and airy with a high, partly vaulted ceiling and a checkerboard-tile balcony overlooking the river. I am delighted for the first time in years to receive a large old brass key, rather than an electronic room card. On my second morning there, I wake to a light dusting of snow.
In 1959, the company moved to a bigger location, and the whole compound sat unused and empty. Iku Hasegawa, who works at the hotel and represents Plan Do See, explains that most of the buildings were already well preserved. “There was one worker from Nintendo who would come every month to open the windows and the doors to air everything out, and make sure everything was OK,” she explains. Patrick Okada, managing director of No. 10’s business incubation office, happens to be visiting the hotel with his family during my stay, and tells me later, via email, that Nintendo “fans” visited the building during its long vacant period, taking photos and leaving signatures.
Today, its guests are a mix of Japanese regional visitors and, more recently, since Japan lifted travel restrictions around November 2022, international arrivals like myself (and according to staff, a few from the American military base in Okinawa). Some are architecture buffs who come to see Ando’s work; others are foodies keen to visit the hotel restaurant, Carta, helmed by Japanese chef Ai Hosokawa. It is around Hosokawa’s very photogenic meals (all three are provided in the room rate per day) that I get to observe fellow guests in the communal dining room: several mother-and-daughter combos, young families, quiet couples, and a small, excited friend group. During my stay, I seem to be the only foreign guest.
In learning more about the neighborhood, I begin to suspect that the Marufukuro’s presence might be the beginning of a long-term plan. “They were able to beautify the area by cleaning the river around here,” Hasegawa says. “[Gojo] is a historical area, so they wanted to make it more beautiful and for more people, especially artists, to come here.” I am told that the (very good) coffee shop around the corner, murmur coffee, occupies a building owned by one of the Yamauchi daughters (it also provides the hotel with its own Marufuku roast, stocked in each guest room). According to Hasegawa, the Marufukuro’s revitalization went hand in hand with encouraging creative interest in the neighborhood; wandering around the area yields no real sign of this intended outcome, at least not yet, given that half of the hotel’s existence has taken place under pandemic restrictions. If the Marufukuro is meant to function as a sort of historical and cultural beacon, it’s doing so in a sphere where it already has real estate influence; besides the storied past of the physical buildings, it is a business that leans toward the history and influence of the Yamauchi family more so than the modern video game company we know today.
Photo: Marufukuro
The most visibly game-related space in the hotel is its small library, curated by Banjo Yamauchi with help from Japanese book company Bach; there’s also an interactive “toy library” by artist Daito Manabe and an installation by Rhizomatiks, a creative collective that has worked on game-like projects with ex-Sega legend Tetsuya Mizuguchi. This is the only part of the hotel directly operated by the No. 10 office, and only hotel guests are allowed to use it. I was half hoping for a special archive, but this isn’t that sort of library. It’s more of an elegant reading lounge with a reflective “infinity” ceiling, inspired by Yamauchi’s love of the film Interstellar; there’s a bar where guests are welcome to make their own drinks, reinforcing the sense that we’re all in a very nice house rather than a hotel.
Unlike most libraries, the Marufukuro allows you to bring that expensive glass of whiskey into the library proper, to sit, read, and drink. It houses high-end design books that run the gamut from modernist art philosophy to Damien Hirst, interspersed with Nintendo-themed art objects commissioned by Yamauchi (think: a frosted glass Game Boy, or a Switch designed to look like an underwater relic covered in algae). There are a few historical Nintendo treats on display, like an original red-trimmed Famicom console and, to my excitement, a Light Telephone from 1971. The latter was a novelty gadget designed by Gunpei Yokoi to let people communicate through light sensors, and resembles an enormously clunky mega flashlight. I ask if we’re allowed to use the consoles on display, or if the hotel has an arsenal of Nintendo products that can be loaned to guests. Hasegawa explains that the hotel’s gaming consoles aren’t allowed in rooms, so as not to encourage gambling.
A handful of books are Nintendo-specific, including Osamu Inoue’s The Philosophy of Nintendo, and Erik Voskuil’s Before Mario, which documents obscure Nintendo toys. My favorite, though, was the companion book to the 2003 “Family Computer’’ exhibition at the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, filled with short essays, Famicom games, and interviews with Shigeru Miyamoto and copywriter Shigesato Itoi, who coined the phrase “no crying until the end” in Mother. (There’s also an interview with a young Hideo Kojima.)
Photo: Alexis Ong
My time at the Marufukuro — a pleasant luxuriation in excellent Japanese hospitality — was not the experience I’d envisioned when I’d first learned of its existence. As a vacation, it’s a niche historical landmark exuding warmth and luxury, and makes for a memorable splurge. It is easiest to describe it offhandedly as “the Nintendo hotel,” though there’s nothing outwardly Nintendo about it — more of a low-key look at the legacy of the Yamauchi family and its endeavors to use its resources to “return the inherited material and spiritual wealth to the public.” I think about the murmur coffee shop and wonder how much of the land and buildings around this neighborhood are owned by the Yamauchis. If the Marufukuro’s long-term goal is to breathe new life into the area without disrupting the residents, then openly invoking the Nintendo name would probably cultivate a louder, brasher sort of tourism that doesn’t really jibe with Plan Do See’s understated brand of hoteliering or No. 10’s purported goals of philanthropy and giving back to Japanese society.
The separation between No. 10 (and the Marufukuro) and Nintendo is understandable, since the Yamauchis sold off most of their shares in the latter nearly 10 years ago. But if there is a social responsibility angle to the former’s mission, it feels sadly in conflict with the latter’s longtime crackdowns on piracy and ROM emulation that have become bastions of game preservation in a precarious digital-only world. If No. 10 wants to adopt the Nintendo approach to innovation and excitement in its own projects, it will hopefully do so with the awareness that bringing new forms of socially minded creativity into the world should also include long-term plans to maintain these projects; in a modern context, it is impossible to discuss the impact and legacy of Nintendo — one of the most beloved entertainment brands in the world — without recognizing its failure to preserve its own work for current and future generations. Even while I’m constantly reminded that the Marufukuro and Nintendo are operationally disconnected entities, it’s hard to think of one without the other in a broader historical context — I leave wondering who will preserve Nintendo’s work in the same careful way.
Back when I was running the game for my local Dungeons & Dragons group, I would always pride myself on bringing something handmade each time we got together around the table. Maybe it was a leather-bound book filled with vintage David Sutherland illustrations of the Tomb of Horrors, or a 3D map of a few rooms from Castle Ravenloft with just the right assortment of miniatures from my collection. As a lifelong fan of D&D, Rick Perry knows that impulse well. But as production designer and creative producer on Dropout’s Dimension 20, he’s operating at a scale that’s on another level entirely.
Season 21 of Dimension 20, an actual play program on the streaming television service Dropout, will premiere on Jan. 10, 2024. It’s an incredible run that shows no sign of slowing down, and Perry’s work has been integral in its popularity. To celebrate his impact, Dropout has released a feature documentary titled The Legendary Rick Perry and the Art of Dimension 20. In advance of its release, Polygon sat down with the lifelong Texan, now a resident of Washington state, to discuss his work.
A miniature high school dance inside the gymnasium at Fantasy High.Image: Dropout
While world class Dungeon Masters like Brennan Lee Mulligan, Aabria Iyengar, Gabe Hicks, and Matthew Mercer lead each game at the start of each Dimension 20 season with a high-level creative direction, it’s up to Perry and his team of skilled artists to bring that vision to life in miniature on the table. That means creating hundreds of inch-tall figures from scratch using clay and sculpting tools; kitbashing dozens of scale models into fantastical landscapes to anchor the viewer in the world; and crafting dynamic, multi-tiered battle maps where skilled improv actors can chew up the set.
Just like the props you bring to your home games, it’s bait, really, that he willfully uses to draw players — and viewers — closer to the center of whatever complex story he’s trying to tell.
“Dimension 20 [requires] a massive amount of creative genesis to create a 20-episode series,” Perry said, “[one that] that takes place in a completely new world where we don’t know what color the sky is, or what food the people are eating. So there’s this massive amount of creative activity that has to start at the beginning of it, and that takes a big chunk of time.”
The documentary details how that creative work begins at his homestead on Lopez Island in San Juan County, Washington at an outdoor sink first cobbled together by his father-in-law in the 1970s. It then moves into a converted three-car garage that once held farming equipment, but is now filled with bins labeled for the miniatures they contain — a box of trolls here, bugbears in the corner. Only after weeks, sometimes months of effort on the farm with a whole team of designers do the larger pieces get crated up and shipped to Los Angeles. Often, Perry said, that’s where the real work begins.
Rick Perry (right) with his team on Lopez Island taking the original Fantasy High Dungeon Master’s screen from storage for the first time in four years.Image: Dropout
The trick, he went on, is to stay nimble — even when you’re building maps for tabletop encounters that won’t happen for weeks.
“It’s part of the DNA of Dimension 20,” Perry said, “because at the very beginning when we decided we wanted these eight battle maps that are custom, that have this mix of say high school and fantasy, it’s not like something we can just crank out really fast. We need to know ahead of time in order to make skater dwarves, and all this sort of stuff.
“That means that we have to map all that out down to every detail — as much as we can,” Perry continued. That sort of on-rails gameplay is, unfortunately, anathema to modern role-play, which emphasizes creative freedom for the Dungeon Master as well as the players at the table. It’s always a challenge, Perry said, to keep things on track. But with a miniature set that, often times, costs just as much as a full-scale one, it’s up to everyone involved to keep the trains running on time.
“That tells the Dungeon Master that these are landmarks,” Perry said. “These [scenes that we are building] are places that you have to pilot the ship through these little hoops. We try to build in as much flexibility, as much opportunity for improvisation as possible, meaning that sometimes where a battle map falls, they could switch places or we could cut one. We try not to cut one because they cost money to make. And it’s a business venture, the show, and we want all that production value to appear on screen.”
The nearly 45-minute film goes even further in its exploration of Perry and his work, delving deep into his childhood and his time spent in college as a member of a troupe of performance artists. For fans of Dimension 20, it’s a rare behind-the-scenes look at how its particular brand of storytelling comes to life. But for artists, craftspeople, or even just casual hobbyists who paint miniatures on the weekend for fun, it’s the story of a kindred spirit who has found a vital, transformative role in the creative industry.
The Legendary Rick Perry and the Art of Dimension 20 is now streaming on Dropout.
Me and my wife’s first ever attempt at a Thanksgiving meal. We’re calling it our trial run. Never made it before together normally go to other people’s houses which we still are this is just a small thing for me and my family. Hope you all have a good day.
If you’ve been waiting for a Black Friday price cut on the Xbox Series X or Series S, Best Buy, GameStop, and Target have knocked $50 off the standard price of either console, discounting the Series X to $449.99, and the Series S to $249.99. The Diablo 4 Xbox Series X bundle at Walmart and Microsoft is even cheaper at $439.99.
But before you buy, take note that some retailers have better bonuses than others. At Best Buy, the discounted Series X comes with a $50 Best Buy gift card. And, if you happen to be a member of My Best Buy Plus (a $50 annual service), you can get another $50 off the total, resulting in a final cost of just $399.99 for the console.
Target is offering a slightly sweeter deal on top of the $50 discount. If you buy any Xbox Series X that it has in stock, you’ll also get a $75 Target gift card.
Black Friday is here, and it needs no introduction, right? We’ve already gotten warmed up with heaps of early Black Friday deals, but now the main course has arrived first at Amazon and Best Buy before other retailers get fully underway at various points throughout the coming week. We’ll be updating this article frequently with new products, and as many more retailers (both online and in the real world) begin to slash prices with the hopes that you’ll do your shopping there. Who’s next? Target and Best Buy each have some new deals starting this weekend, so stay tuned.
There’s a little something for everyone below, and unsurprisingly there’s a lot more on the way next week for actual Black Friday. But in case your interests are more specific, we’ve got you covered with dedicated posts on board game deals (featuring dozens more than is listed below), and the best deals on gaming hardware like SSDs and monitors.
Take a short hike through the East Sea Road in Japan with Tokaido, a lovely little board game that’s available from Amazon for $24.76 (was $39.99).
If Age of Empires were a deck-building game, you’d have 7 Wonders. Typically available for $59.99, you can currently pick up a copy from Amazon for $40.
Descent: Legends of the Dark features a ton of unpainted miniatures, and a lengthy, interconnected campaign designed for one to four players. This massive game is usually $174.95 but is currently discounted to $87.48 at Amazon.
Azul, the beautiful tile-matching game is currently discounted to $21.70 at Amazon (was $39.99).
Assassin’s Creed Mirage for PS5 and Xbox Series X is $39.99 (was $49.99). This game recently launched, and beyond being a solid game that has a more reduced scope, it’s hard not to also love its cheaper debut price, which is considerably less than the industry average (and now, even cheaper thanks to Black Friday).
You can already get $20 off the Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Vol. 1 for every platform at Best Buy and Amazon. It costs $39.99 (was $59.99).
Lords of the Fallen (2024) is $49.99 (was $69.99) for PS5 and Xbox Series X from Best Buy.
Lies of P for PS5 and Xbox Series X is $49.99 (was $59.99) at Best Buy. This memorable game breaks the mold of being just another Soulslike title by blending the tale of Pinocchio with horror elements. Best of all, it’s fun to play, and its unique weapon system is something that fans of the subgenre should check out.
Elden Ring is $39.99 (was $59.99) for PS5 and Xbox at Best Buy. From Software’s stunning 2022 open-world title remains a must-play, especially before its anticipated “Shadow of the Erdtree” expansion arrives. Note: The Xbox version of Elden Ring costs just $24.99 at GameStop. On PS4 (which allows a free update to the PS5 version if you have a disc-based console), it’s just $19.99 at GameStop.
Remnant 2for the Xbox Series X and PS5 is $39.99 (was $49.99) at Best Buy. This tough, yet rewarding third-person shooter allows single player as well as groups of up to 3 to trove loot-filled environments.
God of War Ragnarök is $34.99 for PS5 at Best Buy and Amazon, easily sailing past the lowest price we’d seen for the game.
Fire Emblem Engage for the Switch is $34.99 (was $59.99) at Amazon. Building off the incredible Fire Emblem: Three Houses was never going to be easy, but Intelligent Systems delivered the goods in Engage, a game focused more on battle than on relationships.
The physical version of Red Dead Redemption for PS4 (also playable on PS5) is $29.99 at Best Buy (was $49.99). In case you’ve always wanted a PS4 disc copy of one of the PS3 era’s defining games, albeit with very few modern updates, you can now buy it. Since launch, Rockstar Games added a 60 frames per second mode you can turn on while playing the game on PS5.
Final Fantasy 7: Crisis Core Reunion, the reimagined version of Square Enix’s tough-to-access PSP title, is $29.99 (was $49.99) at Best Buy and Amazon. It’s available for PS4, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch. The best deal of all is at GameStop, where you can grab it for PlayStation or Xbox for $24.99.
Super Mega Baseball 4 is $19.99 (was $29.99) at Best Buy. If you like baseball even a little bit, don’t sleep on this title, even if you aren’t particularly sold on its exaggerated art style. SMB delivers baseball that’s easier to pick up and put down than the major sports titles.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is $34.99 at Best Buy and Amazon. The sequel to Jedi: Fallen Order delivers more of that good stuff in terms of combat, story, and solid character development. Remember: this game will be $30 at Walmart starting on Nov. 22, in case it’s worth it to you to save a couple bucks.
Wild Hearts is $19.99 (was $49.99) at Best Buy. In this third-person action game, which Polygon’s review described as Monster Hunter meets Death Stranding, you’re getting a huge amount of bang for your buck during Black Friday especially.
Dead Space for Xbox Series X and PS5 is $34.99 (was $69.99) at Best Buy. Note: this title is currently available on Xbox Game Pass, in case you have a subscription to that.
All Xbox consoles are $50 off. This includes Xbox Series X consoles at Best Buy, which sell for $449.99 and come with a free $50 gift card. At Target, the Series X is $449.99 and includes a $75 gift card through Nov. 18. GameStop is honoring the same deals, but without gift cards included.
Image: Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment via Polygon
PlayStation deals
At multiple retailers, you can get one of Sony’s new, slimmer PS5 consoles for $499.99 (its regular cost) that comes bundled with either Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 or Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 for no extra cost (a $69.99 value).
At multiple retailers including Best Buy, Walmart, and GameStop, you can get a Sony DualSense wireless controller for PS5 and PC for $49.99 or a little less (was $69.99, and in some cases, special edition colors were $74.99).
Nintendo
Switch deals
If you’re planning to buy a Nintendo Switch this holiday, and have your sights set on the standard $299.99 model, make sure you get this holiday Switch bundle that also includes Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and three months of Nintendo’s Switch Online service for no extra cost.
Are you a fan of Super Smash Bros.? On Nov. 19, Nintendo will begin to sell a new Switch OLED bundle that includes Super Smash Bros. Ultimate for no extra charge.
Alienware’s AW3423DWF gaming monitor features a curved QD-OLED screen, which provides amazing picture quality and contrast. Its fast 165 Hz refresh rate works with PC games, and it supports up to 100 Hz with consoles.
For something smaller, Asus makes a 27-inch 1440p OLED gaming monitor that typically costs $999.99. It’s on sale at B&H Photo right now for just $629.99. This product features a 240 Hz refresh rate panel.
If you have an appetite for an even wider, bigger OLED gaming monitor, Best Buy has the best price on LG’s 45-inch curved 1440p monitor. Normally $1,699.99, if you sign up for My Best Buy Plus or Total, it’ll knock $700 off the total. At $999.99, there’s never been a better price.
OK, we’re going to keep getting bigger here. Samsung’s 49-inch curved Odyssey G9 OLED gaming monitor is $999.99 (was $1,599.99) at Amazon. This model has a 240 Hz refresh rate and a very fast response time, just like the LG 45-inch UltraGear OLED above, but its slightly bigger size results in even more of a glorious desk hog.
Logitech’s G Pro X Superlight wireless gaming mouse is currently discounted to $109.99 at Amazon (was $159.99). This is one of the lightest mice on the market, making it great for people who don’t want a heavy mouse to hold back their reflexes.
The wired version of the Logitech G502 X gaming mouse is on sale for $59.99 through Amazon (was $79.99). This is a great mouse for people who want to have many buttons.
VR deals
The Black Friday deal on the Meta Quest 2 is live at GameStop, Amazon, Walmart, and at Best Buy, knocking $50 off the cost. The deal will kick on at Target on Nov. 19, and to make it sweeter, you’ll get a $50 gift card with purchase.
There’s currently no better wireless VR headset at this price point.
Best entertainment Black Friday deals
Panasonic’s UB420-K and UB820-K 4K Blu-ray players are widely regarded as some of the best models you can currently buy, and now they’re down to their lowest retail prices. The UB420-K normally costs around $250, but it’s now $197.99 at Amazon (Best Buy is selling it for $199.99).
The higher-end UB820-K is also on sale. In terms of hardware, it’s virtually identical to the 420-K model, except it can display Dolby Vision HDR in addition to other HDR supported by both models. Normally around $500, this model is $349.99 at both Amazon and Best Buy.
Through Dec. 4, Barnes & Noble is slashing prices on many Criterion Collection movies, including DVDs, Blu-rays, 4K Blu-rays, and even top-tier box sets. This semi-annual sale is the perfect time to pick up acclaimed movies from the modern era, as well as older must-see films that have been lovingly repackaged.
The 4K UHD version of the Super Mario Bros. Movie is currently available at Amazon and Best Buy for $9.99 (was $29.99). You can also pick up the Blu-ray version for the same price (was $19.99) in case you don’t have the right hardware to play 4K discs.
Own a copy of The Super Mario Bros. Movie so you can watch it as many times as you want.
The 4K Blu-ray version of James Cameron’s Titanicis $29.99 at Amazon, and it will launch on Dec. 5. This is a few dollars less than the cost at other retailers. If you want to go all out on the pricey collector’s edition, that version is $20 off at both Amazon and Best Buy.
Best Black Friday Lego deals
The Lego version of the Atari 2600 (complete with cartridges and classic wood paneling) is currently discounted to $201.73 (was $239.99).
Normally, the 1,351-piece Lego Millennium Falcon is $169.99, but Amazon has discounted this set to $135.99. The lowest price we’ve seen yet for the ship that made the Kessel run in twelve parsecs.
Yet another Star Wars Lego set available for its lowest price ever, the 474-piece version of Luke Skywalker’s X-Wing is on sale for $37.49 at Amazon (was $49.99).
The Mario, Luigi, and Peach starter courses for Lego Super Mario are currently discounted to $47.99 at Amazon (were $59.99).
This is the Lego Super Mario set you need if you want to add all of Lego and Nintendo’s exciting expansion sets at a later date. This set includes an interactive Mario figure, a Goomba figure, Bowser Jr., and a buildable course.
The summer home of the royal house of Toadstool is typically priced at $129.99, but you can currently pick up the Peach’s Castle expansion set for Lego Super Mario at Amazon for $104.99.
“David Fielding” was only paid $150 to play Zordon in 1993’s Power Rangers. He shared that he only showed up to work one day at the Power Rangers recording set, and he was never called back, Zordon was in every episode of Power Rangers in 1993.
June 23 (Reuters) – Russia urged the International Atomic Energy Agency on Friday to ensure Ukraine does not shell the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, saying it was otherwise operating safely.
Alexei Likhachev, chief executive of the Russian state nuclear energy firm Rosatom, made the comments at a meeting with IAEA chief Rafael Grossi in the Russian city of Kaliningrad, Rosatom said in a statement, after Grossi visited the plant last week.
“We expect concrete steps from the IAEA aimed at preventing strikes by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, both on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and on adjacent territory and critical infrastructure facilities,” Rosatom quoted its chief as saying in a statement.
The IAEA said this week that the power plant was “grappling with … water-related challenges” after the destruction of the Kakhovka dam emptied the vast reservoir on whose southern bank the plant sits.
It also said the military situation in the area had become increasingly tense as Kyiv began a counteroffensive against the Russian forces that have seized control of swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine.
Moscow and Kyiv have regularly accused each other of shelling Europe’s largest nuclear power station, with its six offline reactors. International efforts to establish a demilitarised zone around it have so far failed.
Ukraine this week accused Russia of planning a “terrorist” attack at the plant involving the release of radiation, while Moscow on Friday detained five people who it said were planning to smuggle radioactive caesium-137 at the request of a Ukrainian buyer in order to stage a nuclear incident.
BANGALORE, India, April 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Cannabidiol Oil (CBD Oil) Market is segmented by type (Hemp-derived, Marijuana-derived), by application (Pharmaceuticals, Food, Cosmetics, Other): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2023-2029.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the global Cannabidiol Oil (CBD Oil) market size is estimated to be worth USD 551.2 million in 2022 and is forecast to a readjusted size of USD 3213.4 million by 2029 with a CAGR of 28.3% during the forecast period 2023-2029.
Major factors driving the Growth of the Cannabidiol Oil (CBD Oil) Market
The primary factor influencing the Cannabidiol Oil Market is the increased demand for CBD for health and wellness purposes because of its therapeutic characteristics. A significant element that is anticipated to increase the manufacture of CBD-infused goods is the increased acceptance and use of products due to regulatory approvals. Additionally, key businesses in the cannabis sector and the governments of several nations are funding R&D initiatives.
According to multiple scientific investigations, CBD is a beneficial treatment for a number of neurological conditions, including epilepsy. The medicinal advantages of cannabidiol are becoming more widely known, and this has led consumers to purchase cannabidiol products regardless…
VIENNA, March 4 (Reuters) – Iran has given sweeping assurances to the U.N. nuclear watchdog that it will finally assist a long-stalled investigation into uranium particles found at undeclared sites and even re-install removed monitoring equipment, the watchdog said on Saturday.
The International Atomic Energy Agency and Iran issued a joint statement on IAEA chief Rafael Grossi’s return from a trip to Tehran just two days before a quarterly meeting of the agency’s 35-nation Board of Governors.
The statement went into little detail but the possibility of a marked improvement in relations between the two is likely to stave off a Western push for another resolution ordering Iran to cooperate, diplomats said. Iran has, however, made similar promises before that have yielded little or nothing.
“Iran expressed its readiness to … provide further information and access to address the outstanding safeguards issues,” the joint statement said. A confidential IAEA report to member states seen by Reuters said Grossi “looks forward to … prompt and full implementation of the Joint Statement”.
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Iran is supposed to provide access to information, locations and people, Grossi told a news conference at Vienna airport soon after landing, suggesting a vast improvement after years of Iranian stonewalling.
[1/2] Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi meets with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi in Tehran, Iran, March 4, 2023. Iran’s President Website/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS.
Iran would also allow the re-installation of extra monitoring equipment that had been put in place under the 2015 nuclear deal, but then removed last year as the deal unravelled in the wake of the U.S. withdrawal from the deal in 2018 under then-President Donald Trump.
Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization spokesperson Behrouz Kamalvandi, however, said Tehran had not agreed to give access to people.
“During the two days that Mr. Grossi was in Iran, the issue of access to individuals was never raised,” Kamalvandi told state news agency IRNA, adding there also has been no deal regarding putting new cameras in Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Follow-up talks in Iran between IAEA and Iranian officials aimed at hammering out the details would happen “very, very soon”, Grossi said.
Asked if all that monitoring equipment would be re-installed, Grossi replied “Yes”. When asked where it would be re-installed, however, he said only that it would be at a number of locations.
Reporting by Francois Murphy; Editing by Louise Heavens and David Holmes
BERLIN/LONDON, Feb 13 (Reuters) – A Russian scheme to grant loan payment holidays to troops fighting in Ukraine, and for banks to write off the entire debt if they are killed or maimed, has added to growing pressure for the remaining overseas lenders in Russia to leave.
Almost a year since Moscow launched what it calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine, a handful of European banks, including Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank International (RBIV.VI) and Italy’s UniCredit (CRDI.MI), are still making money in Russia.
The loan relief scheme has not only triggered criticism from Ukraine’s central bank, which said it had appealed to Raiffeisen and other banks to stop doing business in Russia, but also from investors concerned about any reputational impact.
Raiffeisen and UniCredit are both deeply embedded in the Russian financial system and are the only foreign banks on the central bank’s list of 13 “systemically important credit institutions”, underscoring their importance to Russia’s economy, which is grappling with sweeping Western sanctions.
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Their role in supporting the Russian economy at a critical time for President Vladimir Putin has prompted some investors to go public with their misgivings.
“Companies should be very careful,” said Kiran Aziz, of Norwegian pension fund KLP, cautioning of a major risk that the banks could be used to “in other ways finance the war”. KLP funds hold shares in both Raiffeisen and UniCredit.
At the time the payment holiday law was going through parliament in September, Vyacheslav Volodin, the influential speaker of the lower house, made clear its importance to Russia.
“Soldiers and officers ensure the security of our country and we must be sure that they will be taken care of,” he said.
Eric Christian Pederson of Nordea Asset Management, which has more than 300 billion euros ($320 billion) under management, said he too was concerned about Raiffeisen and UniCredit’s Russian presence and had raised this with them.
The requirement that the banks grant payment holidays to soldiers “illustrates the dangers of operating in jurisdictions where companies can … be forced into actions that go directly against their corporate values,” he added.
“We feel that it is right for companies to withdraw from Russia, given its unprovoked attack on Ukraine,” said Pederson. Refinitiv data shows Nordea owns shares in UniCredit.
Banks restructured a total of 167,600 loans for military personnel or their family members, worth more than 800 million euros, between Sept. 21 and the end of last year, Russian central bank data shows.
Raiffeisen said that only 0.2% of its Russian loans are affected by the “government-imposed loan moratorium”, a sum it described as “negligible”. The bank has a total of almost 9 billion euros of loans in Russia, where it has been for more than 25 years, including to companies.
It made a net profit of roughly 3.8 billion euros last year, thanks in large part to a 2 billion euro plus profit from its Russia business.
UniCredit, which entered the Russian market almost 20 years ago when it acquired an Austrian bank, said that the rule was “mandatory under the federal law … for all banks”, declining to say how many of its loans had been forgiven.
The Italian bank added that its business in Russia was focused on companies rather than individuals. Of UniCredit’s more than 20 billion euro total revenue last year, Russia accounted for more than 1 billion euros.
But despite an initial sharp fall, UniCredit’s shares are now significantly higher than before Russia moved its troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24 last year, while Raiffeisen’s, with a more limited free float, have not recovered.
“Any profiteering on the ongoing war is not acceptable or aligned with our view of responsible investments,” said a spokesperson for Swedbank Robur, one of Scandinavia’s top investors, adding that reputational risk was a worry.
Swedbank Robur said it has stakes in both banks, but did not disclose figures.
Larger institutional investors, including France’s Amundi and Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, which advocates responsible investing, declined to comment when asked for their views.
WINDOW CLOSING?
Some foreign banks have made relatively quick exits.
France’s Societe Generale (SOGN.PA) severed its Russia ties in May by selling Rosbank (ROSB.MM) to businessman Vladimir Potanin’s Interros Group.
But the continued presence of two of Europe’s biggest banks is attracting the attention of regulators at the European Central Bank (ECB), one person familiar with the matter said.
Andrea Enria, the ECB’s chief supervisor, said the window to quit was “closing a bit” because Russian authorities were taking a more “hostile” approach. But he also voiced support for any bank wanting to reduce their business there or leave.
Raiffeisen and UniCredit confirmed they were in discussions about Russia with the ECB.
UniCredit said it kept the ECB “fully and regularly up to date on our strategy of orderly de-risking our exposure to Russia”.
But with money still to be made, Raiffeisen saw profit from its business in Russia more than triple last year.
Meanwhile, Russian savers lodged more than 20 billion euros with the bank, which offers a place to deposit funds with fewer sanctions risks.
This means there is no great impetus for banks to leave Russia, despite regulatory pressure.
And in Austria, which has close historical and economic ties to eastern Europe and Russia, politicians are largely silent on Raiffeisen’s continuing Russian presence, which in recent months prompted protests outside its headquarters.
Johann Strobl, Raiffeisen’s CEO, has said he is examining options for the Russian business, although points out that any move is complicated, having earlier said that the bank is not “a sausage stand” that could be closed overnight.
For some the question is more about morality than money.
Heinrich Schaller, head of RBI’s third largest shareholder Raiffeisenlandesbank Oberoesterreich and deputy chairman of Raiffeisen, is among those to have aired doubts about staying.
“Of course it is a question of morals,” he said recently. “No doubt about it.”
Whatever shareholders may say, a decree by Putin is likely to make getting out of Russia difficult. It banned investors from so-called unfriendly countries from selling shares in banks, unless the Russian President grants an exemption.
($1 = 0.9376 euros)
Additional reporting by Alexandra Schwarz-Goerlich in Vienna and Tom Sims in Frankfurt; Writing by John O’Donnell; Editing by Alexander Smith
Wagner Group spearheaded assault on Ukraine’s Soledar
Mercenary chief, in PR push, claims credit for Wagner
Success hailed by some, played down by others
LONDON, Jan 13 (Reuters) – In the twilight of the Soviet Union, Yevgeny Prigozhin was languishing in prison for theft. Now as the founder of Russia’s most powerful mercenary group, he is vying for Vladimir Putin’s favour by claiming a rare battlefield win in Ukraine.
His aim is to leverage the success that Wagner Group, his mercenary outfit, had this week in pushing Ukrainian forces out of the salt mining town of Soledar, a move that revives Russian plans to seize more of eastern Ukraine after multiple defeats.
Russia claimed victory on Friday but Ukraine said its troops were still fighting in the town. Reuters could not immediately verify the situation.
Prigozhin, 61, who is sanctioned in the West and casts himself as a ruthless patriot, had posed in combat gear with his men in a salt mine beneath Soledar and said they were fighting alone, an assertion initially contradicted by defence officials.
The Kremlin on Thursday spoke of the “absolutely heroic selfless actions” of those fighting in Soledar. The defence ministry on Friday attributed victory to its airborne units, missile forces and “artillery of a grouping of Russian forces”.
Prigozhin said Russian officials were not giving his forces due credit.
“They constantly try to steal victory from the Wagner PMC (private military company) and talk about the presence of other unknown people just to belittle Wagner’s merits,” he complained.
The defence ministry responded hours later with a new statement “to clarify” the situation which acknowledged that Wagner fighters, whose actions it hailed as “courageous and selfless,” had been the ones to storm the town.
Some commentators have said Prigozhin could one day be made defence minister, but it is not fully clear how much influence the businessman from St Petersburg has gained with Putin, who tends to balance factions with a strategy of divide and rule.
‘A NEW HERO’
Prominent Putin supporters, some with access to the Russian leader, have contrasted Prigozhin’s progress with what they say has been a less impressive performance by the regular military.
Sergei Markov, a former Kremlin adviser, has hailed the shaven-headed mercenary chief as “a new hero.”
“Prigozhin has flaws too. But I won’t tell you about them. Because Prigozhin and Wagner are now Russia’s national treasure. They are becoming a symbol of victory,” Markov wrote on his blog, saying they should be given more resources by the state.
Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of the state-controlled RT channel and close to the Kremlin, thanked Prigozhin for Soledar.
Abbas Gallyamov, a former Kremlin speech writer, suggested on his blog that Prigozhin was manoeuvring in case Putin removed Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, 67, his long-standing ally.
Prigozhin has played down the idea he is seeking official elevation in the past, while not emphatically ruling it out. His press service, and the Kremlin, did not immediately reply to requests for fresh comment.
Putin has said Wagner does not represent the state and is not breaking Russian law and has the right to work and promote its business interests anywhere in the world.
One of the military bloggers who help shape Russians’ view of the conflict likened Prigozhin to a Roman centurion licensed to operate above and outside the law to achieve Putin’s goals.
“A couple more successful Wagner operations and online votes proposing Prigozhin for Minister of Defence will cease to be fantasy,” said Zhivov Z.
Yet Igor Girkin, a Russian nationalist and former Federal Security Service officer who helped launch the original Donbas war in 2014 and is under U.S. sanctions, has said Prigozhin is careless with the lives of his men. He has also said capturing Soledar and nearby Bakhmut would not be militarily significant.
Prigozhin, nicknamed “Putin’s Chef” by Western media because he once ran a floating restaurant in St Petersburg where Putin ate, has plenty to gain or lose.
He has his own future to consider at a time of tumult as well as the commercial interests of Wagner, which Russian officials say has military and mining contracts in Africa and is active in Syria. He also has a vast catering company serving state entities, as well as troll farms and media outlets.
“In essence, he is a private businessman who is highly dependent on how his relations with the authorities are structured. This is a very vulnerable position,” said Tatiana Stanovaya, founder of the R.Politik analysis firm.
The attendance on a Wagner training course this month of the governor of Russia’s Kursk region bordering Ukraine looked like another way for Prigozhin to enhance his connections, she said.
‘UNSPECIFIED SAFEGUARDS’
Russia has allowed Prigozhin to recruit tens of thousands of convicts from its prisons for Wagner, which U.S. officials say is a 50,000-strong force, and let him equip them with tanks, aircraft and missile defence systems.
It has also stood by while he flung sometimes profane criticism at the top brass, although some Western military analysts suggested the appointment of the most senior general to lead the war in Ukraine was designed to balance his influence.
Before Russia’s invasion, something Moscow calls “a special military operation”, Prigozhin had denied his Wagner connection. In September, he said he had founded the mercenary group in 2014.
Despite its sometimes publicly strained ties with the Russian defence ministry, some Western military analysts suspect Wagner is closely affiliated with it.
Leonid Nevzlin, an Israel-based former executive at oil major Yukos which he says was illegally appropriated by the Russian state, something it denies, said this week there was a risk Wagner could throw off Kremlin control.
One source close to the Russian authorities, who declined to be named because they were not authorised to speak to the media, said the Kremlin viewed Prigozhin as a useful operator but maintained unspecified safeguards over leaders of armed groups.
“There is a ceiling (of growth) and mechanisms in place,” said the source, who declined to provide more details.
Reporting by Andrew Osborn; editing by Philippa Fletcher
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