Happy Father’s Day from PR/PR!

Russell Trahan

I know the post is supposed to be about dads, but the pic is of my mom and dad.  Well, this past November they celebrated their 50^th wedding anniversary.  I think the first time I ever heard the term ‘soul mate’ was from my mother referring to my dad, so I think he’d want a blog post of how wonderful he is and how grateful I am to acknowledge his achievement of being married for 50 years.

Amanda Tucker

Lindsay Durfee

Carter Breazeale

Well, Mr. Martin, you’ve done it. You’ve effectively given me post-traumatic stress disorder from a television show. You drained all my hope and optimism and left them dying on a dining hall floor in Westeros. And while the majority of Game of Thrones fanatics attempted to super-glue the pieces of their splintered psyches back together, I could almost hear the sinister, Mr. Burnsian cackles coming from you and your HBO cohorts as you profited from our collective heartbreak.

Since it debuted on the premium channel in 2011, Game of Thrones has taught us harsh lessons on traditional fantasy dramas, and enjoyed skyrocketing ratings and increased book sales of the A Song of Ice and Fire series as a result. Martin’s main caveat for his take on the medieval saga: honor is rewarded with cruelty, and in the game of thrones, it’s not a question of morality or personal standing: but how well you play. This isn’t your childhood fairy tale; this is Westeros, where your favorite characters are as expendable as yesterday’s meatloaf and treachery is synonymous with supremacy.

The series set the tone for this narrative with the shocking execution of the key protagonist (and marquee star, Sean Bean) in the first season’s penultimate episode. Since this grisly precedent was set, fans have come to view episode 9 with a sense of anticipatory anxiety, and the model has held true, as last season contained the stirring Battle of Blackwater Bay, and this season, well – I’m still recuperating from what took place Sunday night.

While there is absolutely a place for Prince Charmings and happy endings in film and literature, Game of Thrones is not that place. What is it about this series that has the masses clamoring for Martin’s unique brand of unbridled brutality and bleakness? We know it’s going to inevitably leave us feeling hollow, yet we take our places in the living room every week to witness it all firsthand. The answer is mould-breaking storylines that avoid the traditional pitfalls and formulaic themes that pervade the majority of novels, television and movies. The clichéd boy meets girl/boy loses girl/boy gets girl scenarios that are cloaked in predictability from the get-go, and breed a palpable feeling of ambivalence towards an entertainment industry that increasingly values ratings over an inventive and polished final product.

Game of Thrones harkens back to the days of television when soaring popularity and matchless creativity were mutually inclusive, even when they led to a post-viewing period of emotional turmoil and disorientation. It is proof that above all else, an audience desires ingenuity, and the wide spectrum of emotions that accompany it: shock, grief, rage, despair and triumph. Like strapping into a thirty-story hypercoaster with a 90-degree initial drop, viewers want to be scared out of their minds – yet enjoy every second of the ride, and breathe a satisfied sigh of relief when it’s over.

George R.R. Martin stated that he ‘wanted his viewers to hate him’ after watching this recent episode, and judging by the immediate furor on social media outlets, it appears he achieved his goal. Regardless of our shared Red Wedding hangovers, HBO’s adaptation of Martin’s novels will continue to flourish, and viewers around the globe will await the refreshing, magnificent misery that is Game of Thrones.

-Carter Breazeale

It was nearly fifty years ago that four mop-topped lads from Liverpool invaded the U.S. shores for the first time, as John Lennon famously quipped, by “taking a left at Greenland.” From the opening guitar lick of ‘Day Tripper’ to the urgent piano chords of ‘Let it Be,’ the Beatles captured the hearts and minds of the globe and secured their place as the greatest rock group in history.

Tragedy and time took their toll on the Fab Four, but Ringo and Paul have been doing their damndest to carry that weight since George’s death in 2001; and if McCartney’s performance on Saturday night is any indication, he’s perfectly content doing the heavy lifting.

Sir Paul ripped through a marathon three-hour set, impressive for a musician of any age – let alone 70 – that spanned the catalogue of his career, from Beatles standards like ‘Lovely Rita’ to Wings classics such as ‘Live and Let Die.’ As he played hit after hit, it became increasingly apparent that not only was I witnessing a terrific performance, but a living legend still at the top of his game. McCartney is one of the last true trailblazers that defined music as we understand it today, and in a celebrity environment that’s prone to quick flameouts, that kind of longevity is the exception – not the rule.

Which got me thinking.

What is it about certain individuals that give them that enduring edge to withstand the test of time? Is it something intrinsically wired within the strands of their DNA that turns them into a special breed of ageless super humans?

There’s no Ray Bradbury sci-fi storyline here, the formula is simple enough: create a quality product and constantly refine, rehearse and commit yourself to it.

No one could’ve predicted that when McCartney and Co. emerged from their humble beginnings playing smoky clubs in Hamburg that they would transform the musical landscape forever. Nor could anyone have predicted the Beatles’ evolution from the radio-friendly Rickenbacker strums of ‘Love Me Do’ to the complex psychedelic meanderings of ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.’ Change is inevitable throughout any longstanding career; retaining your audience boils down to consistent execution of your craft, regardless of any thematic or structural shift.

What Paul McCartney embodies is nearly sixty years of professionalism, tireless effort and superb songwriting. The vast array of this accumulated skillset was on display Saturday evening, when not a single soul could remain seated or resist belting out the anthemic chorus of ‘Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da.’ McCartney is the perfect illustration of career longevity, and a sparkling testament to the possibilities that abound when you create something organic, original and impassioned.

-Carter Breazeale

As is tradition around the office, here are a few pictures of the PR/PR Moms!

Russell Trahan

I know the post is supposed to be about moms, but the pic is of my mom and dad.  Well, this past November they celebrated their 50^th wedding anniversary.  I think the first time I ever heard the term ‘soul mate’ was from my mother referring to my dad, so I think she’d want a blog post of how wonderful she is and how grateful I am to acknowledge her achievement of being married for 50 years.

Amanda Tucker

Lindsay Durfee

Carter Breazeale

Reese Witherspoon better consult her legally blonde attorney’s handbook to make sure the ‘do you know who I am’ defense is admissible in court. Witherspoon was still making headlines last week as the dash-cam footage of her drunken meltdown was released, tarnishing the squeaky-clean, “America’s Sweetheart’ image she’s crafted over the course of her career. Embarking on the requisite morning talk-show apology tour, Reese was forced to repeatedly relive a night of too many cold ones, and apologize and accept responsibility for her actions.

With the same level of decorum in which David Letterman handled his cheating scandal a few years back, Reese owned up to her mistake, and wholeheartedly admitted that she was in the wrong. Everyone has had a moment of weakness where they lose their cool; add alcohol into the equation and it typically results in an overreaction, a pounding headache the next morning and a bad case of behavioral buyer’s remorse.

Witherspoon’s Atlanta incident will amount to little more than a mere blemish on her sterling career, but her immediate transition into damage-control mode speaks volumes about how detrimental outbursts like hers can be. One ill-advised move and your reputation is in jeopardy and you’re scrambling to contain the fallout. Reese’s utterance of the caustically cliché ‘do you know who I am?’ phrase certainly knocks her down a few pegs, but not enough to adversely affect her career long-term.            Fortunately, Americans have proven time and time again that they’re willing to forgive and (mostly) forget, especially if you hold yourself accountable for your conduct.

Where Reese doesn’t get a mulligan is in the fact that she’s a celebrity, and spends enough time in the public eye to know that everyone has a camera, and everything will end up in the news. In the day of handlers, publicists and chauffeurs, I fail to comprehend how celebrities still find themselves in handcuffs or on tabloid covers on a daily basis.

Maybe it’s sour grapes, or maybe it’s my inability to afford anyone leeway when they have the world in their wallets, but I have little sympathy for superstars in legal hot water. When you have dedicated employees on your payroll whose main functionality is making sure you’re on the news for the right reasons, there is no excuse for stumbling around Peachtree Street, smelling like appletinis and yelling at police officers. Reese has absolutely learned a valuable lesson in this situation, about the perils of using your celebrity to try and trump legality, and how quick you can be condemned in the court of public opinion.

-Carter Breazeale