Hello, Tuesday

You'll find enclosed, some honesty.

Me at Lewis Lake, Yellowstone National Park, 2024

Checking in…

Hello loves, and welcome to the inaugural issue of Under the Paperweight, my bi-weekly blog and newsletter. I’m glad you’re all here.

A bit of housekeeping, since it’s the first issue: Under the Paperweight will be updated every Tuesday and Thursday— Tuesday’s issue will always look a lot like this:

• Checking In, where I… ahem… check in.

• Songs That Should Be In Movies, where I introduce one new track from my eighteen-hour playlist of film-worthy music.

• The Movies Watched List, where you’ll get my latest movie recommendations (and occasional do-not-recommends).

• The Ant-Bullies, a journal-like story or anecdote related to my adventures with my friends.

• A Question, where I take the conversation directly to you!

Thursdays, on the other hand, will be a little different: each week, I’ll share a short story or a literary essay, accompanied by a related video on my YouTube channel!

I couldn’t be more excited to embark on this journey with you all. Thanks for tuning in, and I hope you enjoy!

You can support my work with a one-time donation: Buy Me A Coffee

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Songs That Should Be In Movies

Every week, I highlight one track from my behemoth Spotify Playlist.

This week’s song would be perfect over the opening credits to a horror movie. In fact, it almost was: Witchcraft as sung by Frank Sinatra was originally intended to underscore the opening of 2000’s ill-fated ‘Blair Witch 2: Book of Shadows’ but was ultimately cut by the studio - one of many, many executive decisions which caused director Joe Berlinger to disown the film.

But just imagine it: the camera slowly tracks along ominous imagery, bones and blood and foreshadowing galore… all while ol’ Blue Eyes croons away. Chilling.

You can follow the full playlist here.

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The Movies Watched List

I watch a lot of movies. A LOT. Here’s the highlights from the past week:

This week I watched…

• The Shawshank Redemption After years of hearing its praise and admiration, I finally sat down to watch it and was blown away. Each narrative beat feels so carefully constructed. Each defeat so crushing, and each victory so rewarding. Talk about earning your ending. ★★★★★

• Eraserhead Having only ever watched Twin Peaks, I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was a lot to David Lynch that I was missing. Eraserhead reaffirmed that for me. This movie confirmed my suspicion that film is the ideal medium for surrealism. We lost a true artist. ★★★★1/2

• Apollo 13 Jesus Christ, why had I never seen this movie before? Ron Howard is firing on all cylinders here. In a breakneck showcase of some of the most historically faithful filmmaking I’ve ever seen, Howard and co. assembled a moving, exciting, powerful testament to the value of human ingenuity. ★★★★

• The Whale I understand its critics. I understand its appraisals. The Whale is an unapologetically bleak movie, and one which I think earns its melancholy. While the trials can be unrelenting, I believe that is the point— and I find it hard to detract a film for committing so wholeheartedly to its intentions. Brendan Fraser, you are a gift to the art of acting. ★★★

• A Different Man Perhaps 2024’s best character study, this movie spends its precious opening half endearing you to a person who you subsequently learn to loath entirely. A masterclass in vulnerability and tension, A Different Man was haunting, brilliant, and so goddamn original. ★★★★

For more of Elliot’s film reviews, follow him on Letterboxd.

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The Ant-Bullies

The adventures and exploits of some ne’er-do-well 20-somethings.

From L to R: Grace, Ruby, Phin, me, and Scott back in 2022

All the greatest ensemble casts get monikers: The Goonies… The Dirty Dozen… The Rat Pack… it solidifies and canonizes the crew into something legendary and memorable. Such is the case with me and the Ant-Bullies. A botched joke in the early days of our group chat gave birth to this largely nonsensical nickname which we now use in everyday conversation to refer to each other with affection. It’s the best.

The Ant-Bullies is made up of five core members. The three roommates: Ruby, Grace and Scott, and the two siblings: myself and my younger brother Phineas. Five people is perfect for a number of reasons; it’s exactly how many folks you can cram inside a Toyota Prius without breaking any traffic laws. It perfectly divides into two and three-person conversations. Someone’s always coming back from some trip or adventure, and when the gang’s assembled, there’s never a dull moment.

I think the Ant-Bullies origin can be traced back to 2019, when Scott and I met in community college…

Scotty is like grilled cheese personified. This guy is the warmest, funniest, most down-to-earth guy I know. From the first day we met, I could see that Scott’s wry sense of humor was the beating heart that he wore on his sleeve. He’s just got that it factor— I have yet to see Scott meet somebody he couldn’t endear himself to in ten minutes or less.

It wasn’t long before I introduced Scott to my brother Phin, and that’s when things really took off. With their shared interests, the two of them quickly snowballed into a whole new friendship.

A sidebar: my brother is a madman. In any room, Phin is always the most dedicated, the most opinionated, the most passionate, the most logical person. Every. Single. Time. If there was a nuke to defuse, I’d trust him to do it. Sure, the sarcasm gets laid on a little thick sometimes, but when a guy has that much charisma he’s gotta put it somewhere, you know?

So began our three-person partnership. A partnership which would eventually blossom into a production company, two award-winning short films, and countless late nights talking nonsense— the greatest level of communication one can foster between friends.

Meanwhile, Grace and Ruby had already met each other while searching for college roommates, and they swiftly outpaced Phin, Scott and I with the closeness of their friendship; sometimes, I swear these two act more like siblings than me and my own flesh-and-blood brother do.

Grace is brilliant. Absent-minded-professor brilliant. I don’t know anybody else who attempts the sheer volume of stuff that Grace does— the workload itself would be impressive enough, if she wasn’t also succeeding at all of it. She’s patient, generous, and the brightest of old souls. It’s no wonder she and Ruby get along.

Ruby, the charming devil, is the epitome of a social butterfly. Vibrant, colorful, with the best voice in the world. There’s no party that can’t be improved by adding Ruby. Laughter is in her veins, and the delightful bombast with which she conducts her jocular personality belies the tender heart within, a heart that beats for everybody. If you couldn’t already tell, I’m madly in love with her.

When I met Grace and Ruby they were already a package deal, and amongst our college friends, we got along incredibly well. At a party, Phin met Grace, and needless to say, sparks flew. Soon after, Ruby and I began our own will-they-won’t-they, and by the time the universe finally decided they will, all five of us had coalesced into the brilliant band of bullies we are today.

“Ant-Bullies” was a failed attempt to spell out “Anti-Bullying” and the rest is history.

These days, Scott, Grace and Ruby have a house where Phin and I frequently crash, and at least once a week something absurd or wonderful is going on over there. I can’t speak for Phin, but I know we’re the lucky ones to have those other three around. At least I am. If you’re reading this, hi guys. I’m trying to be vulnerable on the internet. How am I doing?

For more Ant-Bullies, subscribe to Under the Paperweight and get weekly stories!

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A Question

Best movie you’ve watched so far this year? I’d love to hear about it. Send me an email with your one-sentence review: elliotnoelpeters@substack.com

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And that’s it! Thanks so much for reading Under the Paperweight’s inaugural edition, I’m so glad you’re here. Please consider subscribing if you haven’t already, and I’ll see you on Thursday with an essay on Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina. ♥