And the theme entries themselves are fun. I love the consistency here with all four-letter words and each word being split the same way. Theme: Synonyms for “loop” are found at both ends of familiar phrases. Prasanna Keshava’s Universal crossword, “Encircled”-Jim P’s review I don’t love random European vowel-y rivers ( ELBE: River through Bohemia), I think Milton Friedman is a boring angle for ECON (2D), and Claude AKINS (48D) feels pretty irrelevant (actors from the sixties rarely hit for me), but no other complaints from me! IMAGINE THAT (46A: “Well, there’s a surprise!”) was a simply delightful Weintraub-esque entry and “Dance around?” for HORA was lovely. So it’s either a generational thing or that clue is pretty subtly risque. To me, GET SOME (41D: Find satisfaction, slangily) means get laid. ![]() of Pelicans” (44D) for THE NBA didn’t feel very tricky because Pelicans was capitalized. What else? The trickery of the clue “Grp. I did not immediately know LOAD (25D: Important calculation for a weightlifter) but I know that Stella is a lifter, and I love when constructors inject themselves into the puzzle. There were two other French terms in this, BETE NOIRE (1A: What’s not to like?) and AMOUR (50A: Affaire de couer). This is because that newspaper was a plot point in the (incredible!) book Red White & Royal Blue which I just read. despite knowing zero French, LE MONDE (37A: Daily in Paris). I thought the clue was far too easy / teach-y, fwiw, but glad to see it! Other no-crossings easy gets for me were KIM Possible (30A) and…. ![]() My first entry was BOX BRAIDS (17A: Black hairstyle with square-shaped sections), which I put in cackling because I just tweeted about this as a crossword entry. There’s also a confrontation, closing business from the first season, that is patently absurd.Stella Zawistowski’s SeptemNew York Times puzzle But its grim humor is apparent in its opening sequence, in which a body is disposed of … awkwardly. The show takes deep dives into its themes, especially motherhood, amid a wrongful-death investigation, toxic misogyny and the mysterious machinations of a bizarre German activist/pimp (a unique performance by David Dencik). Lee continues, “… There’s plenty of other older people saying all kinds of rubbish.” ’Cause we’re not young …’” at which Kleiman practically snorts. Lee says, “It gave us a chance to give our worldview. “Even in this crime/mystery story, we felt like we were in a place where we could be ourselves,” she says, acknowledging the unfolding mystery could hook viewers while the show took its time to develop characters and story. For this maker of prestige dramas, the move into genre TV brought a kind of freedom. Then there’s Campion, the series’ engine, still the only female winner of the Palme d’Or (for directing “The Piano”) and an Oscar winner (for writing “The Piano”). “To have such a close collaboration with another director is really rare and very special,” he says. The two would sometimes shoot scenes for each other: He cites lessons he learned from Campion, including her ability to absorb what other artists bring to moments. “It’s an authored vision,” Kleiman agrees. Once Campion and Lee selected him, she says Kleiman suggested, “‘Let’s keep this between the two of us, let’s not get a third director. The son of a Russian gold medal-winning mathematician mother, Kleiman was just 4 when “Sweetie” came out. Kleiman stepped into the co-director chair vacated when first-season collaborator Garth Davis’ (“Lion”) film work conflicted. He first collaborated with Campion on her debut feature, “Sweetie,” in 1989. ![]() Of the collaborators, Lee is the sly one, deceptively soft-spoken and deadpan. Video Q&A’s from this season’s hottest contenders » “We’ve spent our whole lives honing our personal qualities to be less offensive in the general community.” ![]() “Yeah,” says Campion, and all three laugh loosely. “And we also think it’s funny,” adds Lee. “We have a hard time not laughing, but we’re also sensitive and feel for people when they’re in horrible situations.” “We feel we have a unique contribution in that we’re both kind of absurdists,” cuts in Campion. “So there was a temptation to keep that tone of voice, that style of drama going. “The tone we came up with in the first season, which was a spontaneous thing, hit a note all over the world,” says Lee. And that’s a clue as to the show’s subtle, often missed ingredient: Sly, unexpected humor. So it’s a little unnerving that a gathering of co-creator Gerard Lee, co-creator and co-director Jane Campion and co-director Ariel Kleiman to discuss the Sundance Channel show is peppered by laughter. Most would likely agree that the crime-mystery miniseries “Top of the Lake: China Girl” can be moody to the point of grim.
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