The Secret Sun: Brendan, the Dying/Rising Fraser

This time of year was once dedicated to the so-called dying/rising gods like Attis and Adonis (and in some cases, Osiris-Dionysus), so seeing March 17 was the start of the Bacchanalia, let's look at our own version of the archetype.

Starting with Encino Man in 1992, Brendan Fraser was a major Nineties star, with his bankability reaching a peak in 1999 with The Mummy. His athletic build and aw-shucks demeanor also made him a favorite of Hollywood's Velvet Mafia.

Maybe too much of a favorite: Fraser claimed that he was seen as fresh meat and fair game by the ravenous power brokers of Tinseltown, ultimately leading to a now-famous scandal.

Brendan ultimately retreated from the public eye in the 2000s, later alleging that he had been groped by former HFPA (Hollywood Foreign Press Association)
President Philip Berk (in 2003). Philip denied the allegations, and said he only touched Brendan as a joke.

Speaking in 2022, Brendan said that this is what derailed everything for him, saying: "It was causing me emotional distress; it was causing me personal distress.” He also noted that there is a "system in place that is about power," and up until that point, he "had played by the rules."

Of course, Hollywood declared itself innocent, then tried to get Fraser to be a good boy and play along:

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association commissioned an internal investigation, which concluded that while "Berk inappropriately touched Mr. Fraser, the evidence supports that it was intended to be taken as a joke and not as a sexual advance.”

Officials asked Fraser to sign a joint statement about the matter but would not share the complete findings with him. Several publications and social media users inferred that Fraser was blacklisted from Hollywood because of his accusation against Berk...

Now, I can't say for sure what really happened there. But I can say for sure than you don't need to be a conspiranoid to sense that there was something else going on behind the scenes. Especially when you read this part of the story:

After returning to acting with The Whale in 2022, Fraser declined to attend the 2023 Golden Globe Awards ceremony due to a lack of reconciliation or apology regarding his assault accusations.

For an actor on the comeback trail, that was an extremely big deal. There's a lot more to this story, it's just we may not ever know what that is.

MONKEY SHINES

The Dying/Rising Fraser is familiar to OG Sunners. From 2008:

Brendan Fraser seems to be the symbolic counterpoint to the real-life dramas of Elizabeth Fraser: his eternally resurrecting Osiris to her eternally mourning Isis.

In the above clip from 2001's Monkeybone, Fraser plays a comatose cartoonist named Stu Miley who descends into the underworld after a car accident on a rain soaked street highly reminiscent of Osiris' journey to death on the Nile -- or Jeff Buckley's journey to death on the Mississsippi.

There Fraser meets Miss Kitty, played by Marilyn Manson's former squeeze (and TV witch) Rose McGowan.

The Bast-resonating Kitty is decked out not only with an ankh, but a revealing top decorated with the falcon form of Horus and his Sun Disk. Extremely strange attire in the context of the story, but a perfect foreshadowing of Stu's resurrection.

Of course, Rose McGowan has her own high-frequency Frasenator aspects, including her musical career.

And as fate would have it, Brendan Fraser is returning to Egypt along with Rachel Weisz for a new Mummy sequel, planned for a 5/19/28 release, giving us a very Hoaglandian 19.5 resonation.

Fire up the AOL, Gladys! Bust out the ol' zip drive! The good old days are back again!

Don't forget that Rachel Weisz played twins Angela and Isabel (Elizabeth) in Constantine, based on the character that made its debut in Alan Moore's Swamp Thing comics, which were a major inspiration for Annihilation, as discussed in the recent livestream.

There's also this little synchro-chain, giving us the requisite Samantha links.

Which is probably an opportune time to let you know the first interview with the Sibyl since 2012 hits the stands in the UK today. Can't wait to read it; the timing could not possibly be more exquisite, given current world events.