Black Sabbath guitarist Tony / SUN 9-6-26 / Loudmouth's lack, perhaps / Vegan brand with the logo of a cow wearing a fake mustache / Fandom identities often with fluffy tails and ears / Dog hybrid with thick, low-shedding fur / "Rock of Ages" or "Stand by Me" / Lincoln Laboratory operator, in brief

Constructor: John Kugelman

Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium

THEME: "Crossover Films" — picture clues depicting theoretical titles of movies whose titles have been fused together:

Theme answers:

FLASH [DANCES WITH WOLVES]

THE LIGHT[HOUSE OF GUCCI]

THE LION [KINGPIN]

BAD [BOYS DON'T CRY]

A SHOT IN [THE DARK KNIGHT]

TWELVE ANGRY [MEN IN BLACK]

Word of the Day: The Lighthouse (see 39A) —

The Lighthouse is a 2019 film directed and produced by Robert Eggers, from a screenplay he wrote with his brother Max Eggers. It stars Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson as turmoiled nineteenth-century lighthouse keepers stranded at a remote New England outpost by a violent storm. The film has defied genre categorization in media, leading to multiple interpretations from critics.

The idea of The Lighthouse originated from a script based on Edgar Allan Poe's incomplete short story "The Light-House", which was written by Max. Eggers researched for source material and developed the plot from a nineteenth-century legend of an accident at a Welsh lighthouse. The Lighthouse draws visually from photography of 1890s New England, maritime-themed French films from the 1930s, and symbolist art. Principal photography took place in Nova Scotia, Canada, beginning in April 2018 and lasting slightly over a month. It was shot in black-and-white, with a nearly-square 1.19:1 aspect ratio to express the lighthouse's vertical orientation and isolation of the characters. Mark Korven developed the film's score, evoking the sounds and mythologies of the sea.

The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on May 19, 2019, and was theatrically released in the United States by A24 on October 18, 2019. It grossed over $18 million, against an $11 million budget, and received critical acclaim, with particular praise for the direction, visuals, and performances of Dafoe and Pattinson. Among its numerous accolades, the film was nominated for Best Cinematography at the 92nd Academy Awards and the 73rd British Academy Film Awards. (wikipedia)

• • •

When a puzzle relies heavily on visual clues, I always assume it's trying to distract me from the fact that it's either bad or essentially boring. I don't think this one was either bad or boring, but the puzzle falters a bit, both because the illustrations are silly / cartoonish without being that funny, and (more annoyingly) because the movie titles are widely (widely!) varying in terms of how recognizable / iconic they are. I watch a lot of movies, but ... The Lighthouse? You want to put that on the same plane as Flashdance, Men in Black, The Dark Knight, etc.????????? The Lighthouse made ~$18M in 2019 ...  it looks like it was well regarded and got some awards show recognition, but still, how in the world can you justify putting that title in this puzzle? Also, A Shot in the Dark??? Unless you are a huge Peter Sellers fan and somehow know that that is the second installment in the Pink Panther series, I have to imagine you were either shrugging your shoulders or else confusing this movie with the much more famous / much better Audrey Hepburn / Alan Arkin movie Wait Until Dark (as I was, briefly). I'm also not entirely certain how famous House of Gucci or Kingpin are (the latter is very well known to me, but I am the right age for a '90s bowling comedy by the Farrelly brothers). Looks like House of Gucci did pretty well, but honestly, until I looked it up, I thought it was a TV movie. All the other movies are massive hits and classics, so they work fine, but when four of your ten movies are, UMM, less than legendary, that kinda makes the theme seem desperate. LOL I only realized just now that the Bad Boys in this puzzle probably refers to the Will Smith/Martin Lawrence movie (a big hit in 1995 that spawned three sequels)—before this realization, I was thinking, "Are people going to remember that? That's pretty early Sean Penn...."

[co-starring ESAI Morales!]

And yet, despite the fact that the theme is only hit-or-miss for me, I do appreciate that it's at least trying to be interesting, trying to do new things, unlike so many Sundays, and it's doing so in a simple, whimsical, reasonably accessible way. I should say that my solving software couldn't really handle the visual clues. I mean, they were there, but they were sized in such a way that they wouldn't display completely, and I couldn't figure out how to remedy the situation. Still, the clues were easy enough, and I know movie titles (mostly) well enough, that the partial glimpse of the clues was generally enough for me to get the answer with only a few crosses. I actually really like the execution of both TWELVE ANGRY MEN IN BLACK and THE LION KINGPIN. Movies I know, images that work. As for FLASH DANCES WITH WOLVES ... isn't it THE FLASH? (the superhero who's depicted, I mean). Maybe people call him just plain old "Flash"? Anyway, the dancing wolves look so stupid in that clue that I can't enjoy it. And I don't really get why the crying boys are "bad." Because they have skulls on their t-shirts? Weird. There must be something I'm not getting. 

Speaking of things I'm not getting—how does [Pushing off] mean SENDING? Is this some kind of businessspeak I don't know? Gen Z-speak? I can't make it work. I know "pushing off" as a kind of personal foul in basketball, as well as a term for setting out from shore in, like, a rowboat or canoe or something. Also, maybe it means "deferring." But SENDING? You got me.

Names galore in this one. When your entire theme is proper nouns, you really start to notice when they pile up in the fill as well, but pile up they do: TAFT ANG ANYA GOETHE ELO E.L.JAMES AOKI EMMA MILO IL DIVO and, most hilariously to me, someone called IOMMI!?!?!?! I'm LOL'ing because it seems somewhat obscure (legendary Japanese director Yasujiro OZU continues to glare from the sidelines) and it looks insane and if you are a constructor, you can see how IOMMI is a total desperation move, born out of the very unfortunate placement of two themers (39A and 62A), which results in an I---I pattern that is virtually impossible to land cleanly. IAMBI? IT IS I? IRANI? IRAQI? You lock yourself into very few, very poor options right away when you position your themers this way. IOMMI is maybe the most ridiculous way I can think of to make I---I "work," largely because I have no idea who that is. This is IOMMI's debut NYTXW appearance. You don't say!!! I (sincerely) hope the Black Sabbath fans among you were thrilled to see his name. Someone should be.

Bullets:

• 58A: Dog hybrid with thick, low-shedding fur (SHIH-POO) — I find all the dog hybrid names (soooooo many now) really truly embarrassing. Just get a mutt from the dog shelter, or, like, a regular dog, like a lab or something, yeesh. Speaking of portmanteaux ... FURSONAS (85D: Fandom identities often with fluffy tails and ears). That was a toughie for me. I think I tried FUR SUITS at some point. And in case you somehow needed yet another portmanteau, there's the gratuitously portmanteau clue on FUN (85A: Word combined with "-fetti" in a portmanteau). And if, at that point, your portmanteau pouch requires even further stuffing, there's a hunk of INCOGMEATO for you to chew on (75D: Vegan brand with the logo of a cow wearing a fake mustache). If I left a portmanteau off this list, please, I beg you, don't tell me.

• 55A: "Fifty Shades of Grey" author (E.L. JAMES) — totally forgot her name and wrote in E.L. JONES :(
• 82A: Bird store supply (SEED) — makes sense, but I left that first letter blank for an awful long time, thinking it might be FEED (because of the concept of a "bird feeder"???). The "S" cross, STOP, was pretty toughly clued (82D: Sign of the cross?) (because you might see a STOP sign where roads "cross").
• 105A: Quite the head-turner? (OWL) — love it. Hurray birds, hurray this clue.

• 40D: Slangy "very" (HELLA)—so ... not HECKA, then? (see 49A from Friday)
• 22A: Noteworthy (NAMABLE) — uh ... hmm. What? I can "name" lots of things. Hardly any of them are actually "noteworthy." NAMABLE is something a wordlist barfed up.
• 76D: ___ ball (rubbery toy) (KOOSH) — once I got KOOSH, I realized I do, in fact, know what they are, but it still took me forever, largely because the only "rubbery toy" I could think of that starts with a "K" is a KONG toy (dog owners know).

[Come on, look at this buddy! Gio! So patient. Give him his Kong! Labs, man. You can keep your SHIH-POOs...]

• 120A: Follows the first rule of improv (YES-ANDS) — so we're verbing this now? I guess we're verbing this now. Can't say I love it.

• 62D: Jason Seaver or Ward Cleaver, notably (TV DAD) — Ward Cleaver was the dad on Leave it to Beaver. Jason Seaver was the dad on Growing Pains, played by Alan Thicke. 

• 10D: 9-5, say (HRS) — OK, puzzle, if you insist...

Speaking of 9 to 5 ... which is to say, 9/25 ... that's the day this blog turns 20 years old. Mark your calendars! I don't know why! I have absolutely nothing planned! Just mark them!
Also on my calendar—on Thursday, September 17, at 7pm in Jersey City, NJ (just across the Hudson from Manhattan), I'm doing a little fundraising event for the world's greatest radio station, WFMU, hosted by DJ (and avid crossword solver) Evan "Funk" Davies. It's the WFMU Crossword Meet-Up! Longtime NYTXW constructor Gary Cee will also be there. We'll be sharing our WFMU-themed crosswords and talking about crosswords and generally just hanging out and having a nerdy good time, so if you're in the New York metropolitan area and have the time and inclination, please come out and say hi. More information here.

That's all for today. See you next time.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on BlueSky and Facebook and Letterboxd]
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Luxury fashion house based in Paris / SAT 9-5-26 / Cracker alternative to Ritz / Future manager's goal, for short / Toy popularized by Queen Victoria, familiarly / Apt name for a yoga instructor? / The sound that concludes "The Sound and the Fury" / What you might hear when you get someone's goat? / Tongue-in-cheek interjection akin to "Told ya..." / Stunning attraction at a winter festival, maybe

Constructor: Fritz Juhnke

Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium

THEME: none 

Word of the Day: CHLOÉ (2D: Luxury fashion house based in Paris) —

Chloé (French pronunciation: [klɔe]) is a French luxury fashion house founded in 1952 by Gaby Aghion. In 1953, Aghion joined forces with Jacques Lenoir, formally managing the business side of the brand, allowing Aghion to purely pursue the creative growth of Chloé. Its headquarters are located in Paris.

The house is owned by luxury brands holding company Richemont Group. Chloé has been worn by many celebrities, including Marion Cotillard, Sienna Miller, Madonna, January Jones, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Kirsten Dunst, Cameron Diaz, Emma Stone, Clémence Poésy and Katie Holmes.

The brand is characterized by a youthful and bohemian aesthetic, and has produced several successful fragrances. As of October 2023, Chemena Kamali is its creative director. (wikipedia)

• • •

EXCITING NEWS: Comments section functionality appears (fingers crossed) to have been restored, so please feel free to go back and say whatever you had to say about yesterday's puzzle on yesterday's post, and as for today's post, well, everything should be normal, so ... let's find out! 

• • •

OH, ME, I hate the "expression" "OH, ME" (24D: "I can't catch a break!")—it's like "AH, ME"'s much uglier cousin. No one says that. You can bin that right away. "OH, ME" is a symptom of the worst aspect of this puzzle—the pockmarked middle. Or "holey," or "bullet-ridden," if you're more violently inclined. I'm talking about the swiss cheezification of the whole middle part of the grid—just black squares Everywhere, and therefore short answers Everywhere. Garbage middle, for sure. Had a horrible time just hacking through adequate-to-regrettable short stuff. The ring road, however—all the stuff around the perimeter and through the corners—that part was really nice. So it's a real Jekyll/Hyde puzzle today, but I come out pretty solidly on the Jekyll side (Hyde Side sounds better, but unfortunately Hyde is the baddie, so ... Jekyll side). I don't really know what an ICE PALACE is, so that did nothing for me, and nobody likes MASS EMAILs, but otherwise, the corner stacks and colonnades look really nice, and the grid-spanners that tie the whole thing together (the "ring road" I was talking about—yeah, it's square, whatever), those answers are largely lovely. I say "largely" because I'm not in love with the MOMENT part of HOLLYWOOD MOMENT (3D: Incident so dramatic it feels like a movie). I guess if you used that phrase to describe ... something, I don't know what ... I would probably understand what you're saying, but the actual phrase, the one people use, the truly in-the-language phrase is HOLLYWOOD ENDING—which fit! It's also the title of a forthcoming novel by John Green. And a 2002 Woody Allen movie, but you probably don't want to hear about that. Green's title has a comma in it, I see now. That wouldn't matter for crossword purposes. Anyway, HOLLYWOOD MOMENT was a meh surprise (forced upon me when I realized that Queen Victoria's "toy" was probably a POM(eranian) (46A: Toy popularized by Queen Victoria, familiarly)). But the rest of those long answers are very nice, particularly ALL THOSE AGAINST and "AREN'T YOU SPECIAL" (though that last one kinda needs a "Well" in front of it) 

I enjoyed moving from corner to corner by slinging those longer answers across the grid. Kinda sorta wanted to try "ALL THOSE ASSHOLES" at 17A: Nay sayers (ALL THOSE AGAINST), but it wouldn't fit. Also, the key to that clue is that "Nay" and "sayers" are separate words. Clue is referring to those who literally, formally say (vote) "Nay." Clever. I am trying not to think about the upcoming GENERAL ELECTIONs, but that doesn't mean that's not a solid phrase. SCHMOOZED over "WHOA THERE!" gives the NW a nice chatty energy, and STEAL HOME over SHAKE ON IT gives the puzzle a confident finality. Really puts an exclamation mark on the whole shebang. 

I had some lucky and unlucky moments today. Started great with KEY / SWANK as my opening 1-2 punch. Nice to get the opening letters of all those longer answers up top right off the bat. NOLTE was a gimme, and at that point I got so hopped up on early success that I ... well, I got over my skis a little. Off the final "T," I decided that an [Apt name for a yoga instructor?] would be ... BENT! In my (very reluctant) defense, BENGT is a Swedish man's name. I think that is possibly what I was thinking of. But as soon as I wrote it in, it looked ... bad. And almost immediately I realized "oh, no, it's probably just MATT." Other mistakes (besides BENT and HOLLYWOOD ENDING)—off the "L," I wrote in IDLY instead of TALL at 20A: One way to stand; off the "-AL-," I wrote in SALE instead of CALL at 53A: Stock market option; off the "-ON," I wrote in MOON instead of LION at 47A: ___ dance (Lunar New Year tradition); and finally, I tried to let someone IN to the elevator, not ON (61A: Held the elevator door for, say (LET ON)). Typical Saturday blunders.

Bullets:

• 52D: The sound that concludes "The Sound and the Fury" (LONG "E") — me: "There's a sound? Is it ... a furious sound? 'AARGH!'?" No, it is the sound of the "y" in "Fury." A letteral clue! Tricky.
• 41D: Like the 18th Amendment, nowadays (NULL) — uh, true, but also true that the 18th Amendment has been NULL since the 21st Amendment was ratified in 1933, which is not exactly "nowadays." Weirdish example of NULLness.
• 21A: Hang time, for short? (SESH) — SESH is always an ew from me, and it's particularly an ew when what is seemingly being referred to is the cringy phrase "hang SESH" (which just means a period of hanging out together / socializing" ... although apparently SESH can mean that all on its own ... can you all just please stop saying SESH, or saying it near me, anyway? Thanks. The cutesiness, the desperate attempt to sound "young" ... it burns ...

• 7D: Cracker alternative to Ritz (ZESTA) — Crosswords' favorite cracker! Which is to say, no one's favorite cracker. "They're out of Ritz." "Well, just get whatever then." "[pulls box off shelf] [squints] ZESTA?" "[Sigh], Sure." Hang on—ZESTAs are saltine crackers!? How are those an alternative to Ritz. That's like ... an entirely different species of cracker. Really gotta be desperate to accept ZESTA as an alternative to Ritz? Everyone knows the only Ritz alternative is Hi Ho (sadly discontinued sometime last decade). RIP Sunshine Biscuit, Hi Ho's parent company (which also, fittingly, owned Hydrox, the Oreo "alternative"). Keebler bought Sunshine in 1996. Our Cracker History Lesson has concluded for the day.

That's all, see you next time.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

P.S. gonna go see a bunch of actual HOLLYWOOD MOMENTs today when I go see Double Indemnity (1944), which is somehow (!) screening at my local Regal cinema. They're also showing Dolly in Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982) on Monday, so we're going to that, too. Love the idea that my play-the-hits local multiplex is slowly morphing into a rep theater. It'll never get all the way there, but their retro screenings this weekend alone are kind of astonishing. Wrath of Khan! Steel Magnolias! Right alongside Coyote vs. Acme (which I will see, eventually). I'm into it.

["I wonder if you wonder"]

[Follow Rex Parker on BlueSky and Facebook and Letterboxd]
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