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2016-36/0817/en_head.json.gz/4244

Arts & Entertainmenttelevision Reba McEntire's New Show Is Full of Gay Stuff and She Wouldn't Have It Any Other Way There's plenty of room for the gays in Reba McEntire's Malibu Country. By Diane Anderson-Minshall November 30 2012 4:00 AM EST Above: Reba and the cast She's the spitfire musician who took over Broadway, the record holder for the most Academy of Country Music Awards for top female vocalist, and the star of a new (and surprisingly gay family-friendly) ABC TV series on Friday nights. Created by Dave Stewart (one half of the Eurythmics) and costarring lesbian comic Lily Tomlin and Sara Rue, Malibu Country offers McEntire as a divorced country music singer who moves her family from Nashville to Malibu, Calif. So far, it's given us many on-screen gays and won many LGBT fans. The Advocate: Your last TV series, Reba, featured you as a strong woman finding your footing after a divorce. Malibu Country is different, of course, but it still features you as a strong divorced woman starting over. Are you drawn to those roles, or are they just drawn to you?Reba McEntire: It was just a coincidence that it was like that. Mainly, what drew me into this story was the no-nonsense sensibilities of my mother, played by Lily Tomlin. She really grabbed my attention because that’s the way I was raised. With my mama saying, "No! You cannot do that!" And children knowing their boundaries, knowing what they can and cannot do, and the parent being the leader. And there weren’t any other television shows out there like that, so I really did, I was drawn to that circumstance. There’s a great moment in the first episode with Lily Tomlin’s character, in fact. She's carefree and she’s smoking pot and all, but then there’s a great moment when she turns around and says, "Look, Reba it happened to me." It turned comedy into drama. Malibu Country creator Dave Stewart said that you and Lily together are "just fireworks."Aw. What’s it like working with Lily?Well, it’s wonderful working with Lily. She’s just so much fun. She’s down-to-earth. She’s not a diva at all. She’s not pretentious. She’s always working on honing her craft and making sure that her character comes to life and [finding out] what’s the background. She’s always studying it, and I’ve learned so much from her. Well, Dave also compares you to comedy legend Lucille Ball.That’s sweet! How does that comparison make you feel?Well, wonderful, my gosh, she’s a legend. She’s the best. She’s wonderful. I was amazed at the amount of gay-friendly content in Malibu Country. Do you think that would be different if the show were actually set in Nashville?No, no, I don’t think so. I’ve got a huge gay following, and they’ve always been very supportive, so I wouldn’t be surprised if there weren’t any difference between Nashville and LA. Your daughter on the show has a gay friend, Sage, who she makes out with on the first episode, and then a lesbian friend, Lily, who we haven’t seen yet. Will we see more of those kids?Oh, yeah, they’re definitely in the show. And Jai Rodriguez, who was in Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, shows up as a recording industry assistant who gives you some advice. Is there a chance we’ll see him become your assistant on the show — or was that a onetime thing?No, it’s not a onetime thing. Jai will definitely be a part of show. He is an incredible actor. Great in person to get to work with, and I smother him to pieces. He was doing Rent on Broadway when I was doing Annie Get Your Gun in 2001 on Broadway. It’s really funny how our paths have run parallel for so long. I was auditioning the people for his role of the assistant of the record executive, and when he came in it was just clear he was the one for the part. Jai’s incredible. Yeah, he’s in a lot of episodes. Your characters have really great chemistry together on the show. They so do, don’t they? I love the song at the end of the first episode, "The New Me." Did you cowrite that?Yes. Dave Stewart and myself and my husband-manager [Narvel Blackstock], we wrote that. Will you be singing in each episode of Malibu?Not each episode. So far, I’m in two episodes singing, and we’re just going to try to incorporate more music when it calls for it. Not just to have the music there, but when it calls for it. It’s got to be honest. When you did Reba you had to take a little bit of a musical hiatus while you worked on the show. So this kind of allows you to keep performing.Yes! And also the schedule is so that Lily and I can go do our performances on the weekend. You know, she does her comedy routine when she flies off and does her work, and I can do mine too, so this schedule of TV is just perfect for us. At one point Reba was the WB’s highest-rated show among 18-to-49-year-olds. Do you think the same audience will be tuning in for Malibu Country, or do you think it’s a whole different audience?No, I think the same audience will be — and then more. There was over 10 and a half million people watching the show Friday night [the night it premiered] so we’re thrilled with the outcome so far. And that’s tough on a Friday night too.Yeah, but I think it’s a wholesome show — it’s a family show so the family can sit in there at dinner and watch the TV show together. Last Man Standing starts us off. It’s a wonderful night of family entertainment. Malibu Country feels like one of those crossover shows that’s neither red state nor blue state. It's one of those shows everybody can watch.Yeah, we’re kind of Switzerland. [Laughs] Pages1 Tags: television, television READER COMMENTS ()

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More Chris Colfer When first-time actor Chris Colfer tried out for a role in Glee, co-creator and executive producer Ryan Murphy liked his audition so much that he created a role for him, as sensitive gay teenager Kurt Hummel. In the last year, Colfer has gone from unknown to a favorite of Glee’s large, loud cult audience, which loves his character’s superiority complex and complicated relationship with his father. Glee’s season finale airs on Fox on Tuesday, June 8 at 9 p.m. EST. Colfer and the rest of the show’s cast just returned from a stint on the road, supporting the show with a live stage production, and Colfer recently talked to The A.V. Club about taking Glee on the road, building a believable relationship with a guest star, and the perils and benefits of working with a large ensemble cast. The A.V. Club: Now that you guys are back from the tour, what’s the schedule like? Chris Colfer: Our schedule’s crazy when we’re on tour, but it’s nothing like our filming schedule. It’s very much more relaxed than our filming schedule. We basically put the tour together with about two and a half weeks of rehearsal, and it was kind of like a 9-to-5 thing. Ever since that, it’s kind of been all day, every day. AVC: Do you get some time off, or are you just pushing through? CC: Usually we would have a few hours in the morning if we didn’t have a matinee, but if we do have a matinee, it’s pretty much as soon as you wake up, you’re at the theater, then you’re at the theater all day doing matinee, then the evening performance. AVC: Do you miss having a traditional TV off-season? CC: Well, I wouldn’t know what it’s like. [Laughs.] We’ve never had time off. I’m sure I’d definitely get accustomed to it if we ever had it, but I kind of like staying busy. Not too much time to get bored. AVC: Just over a year ago, you were pretty much an unknown, and now, you’re on a top-10 TV series. How have you managed that transition without going insane? CC: That’s a good question. I struggle with that every day. [Laughs.] I don’t know. I think always staying focused and not taking things too seriously, but taking the important things seriously. Not taking yourself too seriously, that’s the important thing. And just enjoy it while it’s here, because every show ends, and we know that this time is limited, because that’s just the way it is. AVC: How would you say your life has changed the most in this past year? CC: Well, I recall spending hours and hours on my Facebook and MySpace when I was in high school, constantly refreshing the page, just hoping somebody sent me something, like a message or left a comment, or just any kind of communication with another human being. And now, I sometimes freeze my computer, because there’s so much activity on those sites. AVC: It seems like co-creator Ryan Murphy has put a lot of the personal story of his relationship with his dad into Kurt’s story. Have you sat down and talked with him about that at all? CC: Not too much. He does have a deep connection to those scenes, and when he’s describing to me what’s going to happen, or he’s directing an episode and stating what happens, you can tell it’s coming from a deeper place than just his imagination. I think because he is so connected to that relationship and had a relationship like that, that’s why it’s so valid on the show. AVC: Your scenes with Mike O’Malley [who plays Kurt’s father] have been very powerful. How do you forge such a good working relationship with someone who doesn’t appear in every episode? CC: You know, I’ve probably only met him for like, five calendar days over the course of a few weeks, so it’s great to have such good chemistry with someone you’ve literally only known for five days. But I think we both respect the material, and we know how much the material means to some of the people out there, so we just take it as seriously as we can and do our best with it. AVC: There’s been a lot of discussion about the scene in the episode “Theatricality” where Kurt comes on strong, and then Finn yells slurs at him. How did you approach the emotions of playing that scene? CC: You know, I had no idea that scene was going to be that emotional until we were in it, until we started filming it. And I think when I realized “This is going to be one of the first times on television that a father defends his gay son,” I think that’s what brought the emotion out in me, just realizing that. I mean, when Kurt does so much as a hand gesture, I hear about how important it is to so many people out there. So thinking how much this scene would help and affect people out there, that’s just what brought the emotion for me. AVC: Do you think Glee has that power to change people’s minds? CC: I think it does, and I think it has. I’ve heard from so many people that have watched the show and been influenced by it, or sometimes it changed the way they thought. There are some very powerful messages, and I think people are taking them to heart. AVC: There are a lot of scenes on the show that ride the line between funny and dramatic. Do you always know which one a scene will be before you film it? CC: I think, going back to the big scene in “Theatricality,” that’s a perfect example of something that when I read it in the script, on paper, I had no idea it was going to be what it was. So I think most of the scenes, no one really has an idea what they’re going to be until they see what the other actors are doing with it. It’s definitely an evolution onscreen, and when we’re doing it. AVC: How would you say that Kurt is the closest to you personally, and how are you the most different from him? CC: I think the emotion is real, because I’ve been through so many things that he’s been through. But we’re very different people. He’s very flamboyant and superior and uppity and into fashion, and I’m really none of those things. I wish I could walk into a room and feel superior and have my nose up at everybody, but I can’t, because I know I’m just a huge nerd, and that wouldn’t work for me. [Laughs.] I actually had no idea who designer Marc Jacobs was until the pilot, when Kurt says something about Marc Jacobs. That was the first time I’d ever heard of him. AVC: Where do you find that sense of superiority in yourself to play the role? CC: I think it’s just part of the character. When I developed what I wanted him to be, I think other people that he would be influenced by—That’s who I try to draw that out from. I feel like everyone in the fashion industry would somehow have some kind of effect on him, on his psyche, so I try to act like them and use their mannerisms. I figured he might look up to Anna Wintour, or Tim Gunn, or people with grace and power in the fashion world. AVC: Glee has a huge ensemble, so some weeks, you may have a lot to do, and other weeks, you might have next to nothing. Do you get impatient for your next big storyline? CC: No, it’s not very much impatience. Usually it’s kind of a relief when we get to come in just once during the week and say one line, because there’s so much heavy material. Sometimes you get a little—For me, what’s worse is when Ryan tells me about a great storyline that’s coming up in like five scripts, and you’re just kind of waiting to get to that point. That’s what’s worse for me, when he dangles “Oh, this is what’s going to happen,” and then you just have to wait for it. AVC: They’ve built an interesting relationship between Kurt and Mercedes. Is that something that came about because of chemistry between you two actors? CC: I think it, well, maybe both. I don’t know. Amber [Riley] and I are pretty much best friends in real life, but we weren’t best friends before Kurt and Mercedes were friends. And I think it was in the episode “Acafellas” that we get to the storyline about Mercedes liking him, and then she breaks a window in his car because she finds out he’s gay. All of that, I think, was an intended storyline from the beginning, but maybe because of the way Amber and I hang out on set, they’ve kept them best friends. I don’t know. [Laughs.] AVC: There are a lot of scenes where the kids are in the choir room. Does shooting those go pretty quickly? CC: You know, it takes the most time, because it’s the most camera angles and the most reaction shots. So every time you see a choir scene with all of us in it, it’s probably a good eight, nine hours we’ve spent filming it. AVC: How do you stay present in something like that? CC: Well, I think that I’m lucky, since I really, really just love my character, and I love just pretending to be him. I sometimes enjoy scenes where he has no lines whatsoever, because it really is no limitation, like I can just do whatever I want. And I enjoy the scenes, and I love coming up with little things, little stupid things that Kurt can do that the fans watch and find and appreciate. AVC: On the flipside, what’s your favorite thing about working with a whole bunch of actors? CC: Cast parties are a lot of fun! Because there are always so many people, and always someone to talk to, and always someone to go get lunch with, or go to crafty and load up on Skittles with. It’s kind of like all the advantages of having a big family. I’m sure Christmas this year will be great, with all of us. AVC: There are very few TV shows that could become live stage shows like Glee has. What’s it like to actually see your fans in person, as opposed to just knowing they’re out there watching the show? CC: It’s incredible. I almost feel sorry for all the TV shows that are scripted and couldn’t do that, because it’s such an experience. It’s so great to be able to perform at Radio City Music Hall. We’re just lucky. We’re lucky we’re able to sing and dance, in general, on television, let alone take it on the road and perform it live. It’s great. I wish everyone could do that. AVC: Are you primarily performing music from the show, or are you rolling out some other material? CC: For the most part, it’s just kind of our best hits from the show, but there are some unexpected skits and gags. AVC: What do you think is getting the biggest reaction from the live show? CC: I think “Bad Romance,” people love to watch, from “Theatricality,” as all our outfits are insane, and I love kind of scaring the audience a little bit, because every time we walk out there, and we’re all dressed insane, you can just see their eyes widen. I love people constantly watching my feet thinking I’m going to fall at any minute in those shoes. [Laughs.] AVC: How do you walk in those shoes? CC: I have no idea how I can walk in those shoes. I think it’s just an adrenaline thing, the power of theater, because I am wobbling all over the place when I’m backstage, but the moment I walk onstage, I’m fine. There have been some pretty close calls where I almost fell into the audience one night. Just got a little too close and couldn’t find my balance. And then a couple times, I’ve slipped a little bit on the steps coming down or going up. Thankfully, nothing’s been noticed yet, but I’m sure if I fall one night, it’ll become a YouTube sensation, so I look forward to it. AVC: What was your favorite number from the show, and what was your least favorite? CC: I think I loved doing “Rose’s Turn” the most, just because it was a really, really late night when we filmed it, and it was just me and the crew and an empty audience. I love musical numbers that take place in movies with an empty audience, because I think there’s a certain power there, so I was just on cloud nine getting to film that scene. And my least favorite was probably—oh gosh, I remember not enjoying filming “A House Is Not A Home,” because the night before, we were filming at the roller rink and I fell and sprained my wrist, so I was in a lot of pain during that number. I remember not liking that time. I liked performing the number, I just didn’t like the circumstances. [Laughs.] AVC: Do you guys ever worry about backlash? CC: Yes, but I feel like the backlash would never be from the people that mattered. The fans, I think, they love it no matter what. They love it unconditionally. And I think that backlash has been from, you know, people in the media and certain reporters. But the way I look at it is, as long as we still have our fans, we still have our fan base, those are the people we need to please. AVC: Where do you hope Kurt goes in the future? And perhaps more importantly, what do you hope he sings? CC: Oh, gosh. Well, I think eventually if we ever did Glee, season 20, I’d hope to see him as the editor as some sort of fashion magazine, hopefully Kurtain, with a ‘K’ to the get ‘Kurt’ in there. Kurtain magazine, that would be fun. And also, I would love for him to do… I don’t know. Every time I’ve come up with a suggestion, they’ve put it in the show. Everything they come up with for me is 10 times better than anything I could suggest, so I would sing anything. I never thought I’d see the day where he’d sing “Pink Houses,” so I have no idea what else is possible! TV, Glee Neil Hamburger on surviving Do-Division Street Fest

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More Filmmaker Rusty Nails on Chicago, punk rock, and being a teenager Filmmaker Rusty Nails on Chicago, punk rock, and being a teenager Kyle Ryan@Kyle_Ryan “Documentary’s wonderful because it’s so immediate, and it’s terrible because it’s so immediate… With the narrative, you’re controlling the situation; with a documentary, the situation’s controlling you.” Chicago filmmaker Rusty Nails does a little bit of everything: Though primarily a director, he’s also an actor, producer, writer, film-festival organizer, musician, and all-around workhorse. In June, Nails completed his years-in-the-making debut feature, Acne, a comical, ’50s-style B-horror movie about kids whose heads turn into giant zits. Nails has also made several music videos and has two documentaries in the works: Highway Robbery, about a 65-year-old Rockford man whose land is taken by the federal government to make a highway, and Dead On, about horror-film icon George Romero. Nails also organizes the occasional Movieside Film Festival and runs the production company New Eye Films. This weekend, Nails will debut a new horror short at the Music Box Massacre, a 24-hour horror-movie marathon Movieside is co-presenting with the famed theater. Before the event, he spoke to The A.V. Club about filming in Chicago, punk rock, and his current teenage phase. The A.V. Club: You’ve said that it can be hard to film in Chicago because moviemaking here isn’t as common as it is in New York or Los Angeles. Has that changed at all? Rusty Nails: I must have been having a bad week or something. Making films here is really easy, in that I think that there’s a great pool of actors, and as far as locations go, a lot of people are willing to let you use their spaces—stores or parks, etc. In Los Angeles or New York, I think people are a lot more weary and money-oriented about that. AVC: You’ve had a lot of luck getting people to work for free. RN: The truth of the matter is, a lot of people like films, want to be involved with films… There aren’t always films being made in which people can get paid, and there will be a number of projects that people will be really excited about participating in where they’re more than happy to not get paid. AVC: Can quality be an issue if you’re not paying? RN: I’m a big fan of rehearsal. I think everybody should be rehearsed, and you should have a good understanding of what’s going on in the scene. And even if you’re creating the scene at the moment, you should really channel your energy and just try to get everything together as much as possible. AVC: You often mention how much punk rock has influenced your work, which some people may not understand. Could you elaborate on that? RN: For me, the punk ethic is mostly about the freedom to do everything creatively. With Acne, I knew that I wanted a film that was going to be silly and ridiculous and personal and horror, sci-fi, film noir, and French New Wave. I wanted to create something that was fresh for myself, and I knew that if I sent the script out, nobody would probably want it. I also felt that if I made it, my ridiculous sense of humor would probably appeal to some people. I just didn’t really want anybody else’s influence on my film. I wanted to make it exactly the way I wanted to make it… I think that you should try to make a story as creative and ridiculous or interesting as you can, and if you can’t get permits, you should just shoot until the police come. AVC: You’re still finishing Highway Robbery. Was it difficult working in the documentary format for the first time? RN: It was extremely hard, because I’d only worked in narrative up until I started that project in 2000. For me, as a narrative person, generally it was very hard to formulate the flow of the story and the arc of it. Documentary’s wonderful because it’s so immediate, and it’s terrible because it’s so immediate. You want to be there all the time, filming as much as possible… With the narrative, you’re controlling the situation; with a documentary, the situation’s controlling you. AVC: Have you shown it yet? RN: We actually did a rough-cut screening at the Kansas International Film Festival two weeks ago, for me to interact with the audience to get an idea of what they thought was working and what wasn’t. I like to invite people to tear my work apart. After Acne came out, people felt at ease telling me whatever they felt. [Laughs.] So I think that helped me develop a thick skin, which is very important for filmmakers. You have to let everything bounce off you, but you should still listen to what people are saying—unless they’re total jerks. AVC: Is the Movieside Festival on hold for now? RN: My goal is always to be a filmmaker. Movieside is something that I love, and what’s great about it is we do it when we feel like it. But my guess is that there will be another one in spring. AVC: It was originally monthly, right? RN: It was, and it was great and overwhelming and horrible and nerve-wracking. The first one we did at Fireside Bowl in June of 2001 was immediately successful, and all of them have been successful since then. At first, Movieside was created to get tension off my back from making films, and then it was creating tension. AVC: What else is coming up? RN: I’m writing a new feature horror drama [Teenagers From Mars] that I hope to film in the near future. It’s basically using a small town in the Midwest as a microcosm of America to explore violent urges of teenagers, whatever that means. [Laughs.] AVC: You’re a fan of using teenagers in films, but you make them look intelligent. RN: They blow my mind because they’re so honest and uncompromising. I think the same holds true for older people and children, but teenagers… There’s just something very uncompromising, brutally true and beautifully open. So I’m definitely interested in teenagers. I’m interested in people in general, but at the moment, I’m sort of in my teenage phase. It’s interesting with the narratives, there have been a lot of adolescents, but with the documentaries, it’s two elderly people. AVC: The people in between just don’t matter? RN: [Laughs.] I guess so.

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Supernatural · Supernatural: “As Time Goes By” More Supernatural: “As Time Goes By” Find Shows Supernatural: “As Time Goes By” Carrie Raisler@tvanddinners Fate is a fickle mistress, especially if you’re a Winchester. Supernatural has long been interested in the ideas of fate and destiny and what that means in the face of the end of the world, even going so far as to make Dean and Sam’s entire existence a pawn in the battle between good and evil, orchestrated by the powers that be so they can one day fulfill their ultimate purpose of stopping the apocalypse. For such a heady idea, this was tossed out almost as an afterthought in the midst of the much more pressing matter of season five’s impending apocalypse, and although Mary’s hunter side of the family has been explored in great detail since that time, John’s backstory mostly remained a mystery. “As Time Goes By” takes on the task of filling in these gaps by introducing John’s father, Henry, propelled into Dean and Sam’s lives via fate’s favorite narrative trickster: time travel. The episode starts out in fairly typical Supernatural fashion, following an unknown man in 1958 Illinois, who says a tender goodnight to his son before engaging in some mysterious supernatural ritual rudely interrupted by a demon named Abaddon. A few herbs are mixed together, and incantation made, and the as-yet-unidentified man is flung from the clutches of the demon and straight into Dean and Sam’s hotel room. It was fairly difficult to avoid the pre-episode chatter surrounding the arrival of Henry Winchester, so the “big reveal” of his identity to Dean and Sam is more of a gut punch to them than the audience. Still, knowing who he was almost helps the opening sequence, as everything takes on more meaning; his conversation with John becomes more touching and tragic, his involvement with some sort of mysterious supernatural organization more intriguing. And what a mysterious supernatural organization it is: Henry (and his father, and his father before him) is a Man of Letters, a legacy entrusted to be “preceptors, beholders, chroniclers of all that which man does not understand.” They’re the erudite yin to hunters’ brute yang, entrusted to share their findings with elite hunters who then do the rest. The Winchester legacy as a hunter is what made John the perfect preordained match for Mary’s hunter background, and together their children were obviously fated to be the best of both worlds. When Henry went forward in time in a desperate attempt to find John and stop Abaddon is when everything in this destiny went sideways. Henry quickly realizes his trip forward in time is likely a one-way ticket, with Dean and Sam explaining how John always hated his father for walking out on him when he was only a boy. With Abaddon following Henry through the time portal in search of a key he’s holding—a key later revealed to be basically a supernatural skeleton key—Henry immediately sees an opportunity to go back and set everything right with John. Blessedly for my limited ability to follow complicated time travel shenanigans, Dean isn’t in a hurry to see his image start fading from the family picture, so he does what Dean does best: knocks his grandfather right out. It’s here, in the race to stop Abaddon from killing a kidnapped Sam (by bringing her what she wants most of all—Henry’s supernatural key), where the idea of fate and destiny comes full circle. If Henry goes back in time and stops things on his end, is a good father to John, and lives long enough to indoctrinate John as a Man of Letters, would Dean and Sam even exist? Would that cupid’s plan to put John and Mary together have worked? From the second Henry transported himself into that hotel room, his fate was sealed. What his journey was about most of all was accepting this fate. That’s why it’s easy to see his (admittedly nifty) double-crossing scheme with Dean coming. Henry’s job here was to meet his grandsons and deliver this key, and his acceptance of that fact in the end is what made his connection to John the most clear. Both were men who would do anything for their families, even if they were only capable of expressing it in opposite ways. For all the good about this episode—and there was a lot of good—the best thing is how absolutely steeped it is in the best parts of the show’s mythology. Although Mary is the one who died on that ceiling and whose death John spent a lifetime avenging, John is the central figure in Dean and Sam’s lives. His successes and failures as a father made them who they are as hunters and also as men. Henry was a different kind of Winchester: reserved, proper, learned, and stiff. Still, it’s easy to see their similarities, and how those similarities trickled down to the next generation. The Winchester men are men of dedication, of singular focus, driven by a purpose greater than them, even if it is ultimately their downfall. At one point Dean laments what he sees as Henry’s decision to value his Man of Letters duty over his family, but in the end Henry did exactly what John did before him, and what Dean and Sam would do for each other in a heartbeat: He died, his last act being in service to the Winchester clan. Henry’s last words are essentially the show credo, with him explaining to his grandsons that “You’re also Winchesters. As long as we’re alive, there’s always hope.” That there is indeed. Thanks to Phil for letting me take the reins this week. He’ll be back next week to evaluate what appears to be a wacky golem comedy episode, and boy, am I glad that one’s on him. Tonight’s “Then” was a lot of fun, harking back all the way to the pilot and featuring a good amount of random footage from season one. Saving people! Hunting things! Nostalgia! The demon shtick is fairly tired, but I greatly enjoyed Abaddon due to the actress’ game performance. Too bad she’s in a million little cement-cased pieces. This Man of Letters idea is very compelling. Were they implying the entire organization was wiped out, or are we going to see more of them once the boys figure out that key? Henry, on seeing he’s arrived in the year 2013: “I guess the Mayans were wrong.” “That’s the problem with you hunters. You’re all shortsighted.” “Yeah, well, at least we’re not extinct.” TV, Supernatural Supernatural: “LARP And The Real Girl” Supernatural: “Everybody Hates Hitler”

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STAGE TUBE: Michael Crawford's ULTIMATE COLLECTION Album TV Commercial November 23 4:48 PM One of the UK's biggest and most successful musical performers, Michael Crawford will feature 28 of his most acclaimed performances on his "Ultimate Collection" album. Including selections from The Phantom Of The Opera, Jesus Christ Superstar, Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Les Miserables, the CD will also feature a selection of pop songs. Watch the TV commercial below! Most recently seen on the West End stage in The Wizard of Oz, and long overdue for a Broadway return, Crawford had established himself as one of London's finest leading men long before he opened as "the Phantom" in Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera beginning one of the most widely acclaimed and memorable performances in theatre history. Few stars are as widely connected to a single role as Crawford is to "the Phantom." His Los Angeles and Broadway performances earned an astonishing catalogue of critical recognition including the Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards, and the Los Angeles Dramalogue Award and Drama Critics Award. Since leaving "Phantom" after nearly four years in the role in London, New York and Los Angeles; Crawford has become a multi-platinum recording artist and one of the worlds's most sought after concert and stage performers, playing to sold-out venues around the globe. In addition to his recent concert work, stage credits in London and on Broadway include Billy, Flowers for Algernon, Black Comedy, Dance of the Vampires and Barnum. UK / West End THEATER Like BWW UK Follow BWW UK

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SPOILER ALERT! John does NOT die at the end. He dies at about the halfway point. Or maybe it�s a third of the way in. Hold on, he might not be dead at all. Wow, if that doesn�t pique your interest, this movie�s not for you. Because even though everything about it might make total sense to screenwriter-director Don Coscarelli, many of his �explanations� about what the hell is going on in this weirdo horror-fantasy aren�t going to translate to general audiences. Then again, Coscarelli probably doesn�t care about anything labeled �general.� Since writing and directing the unabashedly odd �Phantasm� series of films, he went on to do the same, about a decade ago, with the absolutely one-of-a-kind �Bubba Ho-Tep,� an alternate universe story in which Elvis Presley (Bruce Campbell) and John F. Kennedy (Ossie Davis), spending their golden years relaxing in a nursing home, go to battle with an ancient Egyptian mummy who is preying on the souls of their fellow retirees. It�s safe to say that �John Dies at the End� is even stranger. This is a movie about people whose bodies (and souls) are being preyed on by drugs. The drug of choice here is nicknamed soy sauce, or just the sauce. John (Rob Mayes) is on the sauce, which means that his mind is way beyond the place where hallucinations exist. Or maybe he�s dead. But how can he be dead if he makes a 3 a.m. phone call to his pal Dave (Chase Williamson), asking for help with a young woman who�s afraid of her boyfriend who�s been dead for two months? To sweeten all of this, there�s the on-and-off presence of the Tony Robbins-like Dr. Marconi (character actor Clancy Brown), who has some �special powers,� and newspaper writer Arnie Blondestone (Paul Giamatti), who�s trying to put together a story about the goings-on around him. To make everything even more off the wall, we�ve got a man made out of meat parts, along with a large and very scary spider that keeps appearing at unguarded moments. We�re made to believe that steady, even-keeled, fairly unemotional Dave is going to be at the center of the story. And he is, until he accidentally injects himself with some sauce while he�s on the phone with a priest. From then on, the story is (might be) about everyone and everything � a visitor from another world, a cop, that big spider � around him. There�s no doubt that Coscarelli is a fan of films including �Naked Lunch,� �Donnie Darko,� and �Evil Dead 2,� as nods to each of them keep popping up. And he�s into the specialized genre of non-linear filmmaking. To say that this one jumps around in time and space is a perverse understatement. It�s also made clear that Coscarelli and his film have no intention of backing off from its absurdities. There�s gun violence and some dabbling in dismemberment. But some of that stuff is so over the top, it becomes funny. My best guess is that it�s about alien creatures looking for host bodies. But it would be easy to convince me that it�s just as much about dogs learning how to drive Ford Broncos. Ed Symkus covers movies for GateHouse Media. JOHN DIES AT THE ENDWritten and directed by Don CoscarelliWith Chase Williamson, Rob Mayes, Paul Giamatti, Clancy BrownRated R

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Robin Thicke, Miley Cyrus, Bruno Mars ... Who has the song of the summer? By MESFIN FEKADUAssociated Press Robin Thicke File/Charles Sykes/Invision/AP You’re listening to it on the way to the beach, or when your toes are resting in the sand. Or you’re on a crowded train without a seat, sweating as funky smells scorch from the left or right. Luckily, you’re jamming to funky summertime beats, you’re doing OK. Or maybe it’s when you’re walking your dog or you’re on a road trip with friends or family. Songs of the summer not only get you through the day, they also get you through the months before winter’s cold kills your fun vibes. We asked Robin Thicke and Icona Pop why their multiplatinum hits should be named “song of the summer.” And for Miley Cyrus, Daft Punk and Bruno Mars, who weren’t available to chat, we pulled lyrics from their anthems to defend their honor. “Blurred Lines,” Robin Thicke, featuring T.I. and Pharrell “It has a (nice) tempo, it has a sense of humor and it feels like live music instead of that synth and digital sound, which Daft Punk has (with “Get Lucky”) and (Bruno Mars’) ‘Treasure’ has,” Thicke said of his infectious, naughty jam, the longest-running song on the Billboard Hot 100 chart this year at eight weeks (and counting). “It makes you laugh, it’s soulful and it’s got an organic sound to it.” Can’t stop, won’t stop “We Can’t Stop,” Miley Cyrus “It’s our party we can do what we want to, it’s our house we can love who we want to, it’s our song we can sing if we want to, it’s my mouth I can say what I want to,” Cyrus sings on her musical coming-out anthem that was originally meant for Rihanna. She’s ready for the spotlight. Call it luck “Get Lucky,” Daft Punk, featuring Pharrell “We’ve come too far to give up who we are, so let’s raise the bar and our cups to the stars,” Pharrell sings on a disco-flavored beat that heals the soul. “The present has no ribbon, your gift keeps on giving, what is this I’m feeling, if you wanna leave I’m with it.” Sounds like a plan! A 2012 song in 2013 “I Love It,” Icona Pop, featuring Charli XCX “People get wild when they hear it and it’s like liberating and everybody can sing along to it. It’s a party song or it’s at least a song you can party to even though the message is coming out from a really hard heartbreak,” said Caroline Hjelt of the Swedish duo. “If you’re in the car on your way to something or festivals or pre-parties or out at the club, it works in so many ways.” Golden hit “Treasure,” Bruno Mars “Pretty girl, pretty girl, pretty girl, you should be smiling, a girl like you should never look so blue,” Mars sings in a matter-of-fact manner over a welcoming beat on his 11th Top 10 hit. “You’re everything I see in my dreams, I wouldn’t say that to you if it wasn’t true.” How sweet. Enlarge Miley Cyrus File Jeff Daly/Invision/AP Enlarge Thomas Bangalter (left) and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo of the group Daft Punk File/Matt Sayles/Invision/AP Thomas Bangalter (left) and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo of the group Daft Punk Enlarge Caroline Hjelt (left) and Aino Jawo of the musical group Icona Pop File/John Shearer/Invision/AP Caroline Hjelt (left) and Aino Jawo of the musical group Icona Pop Enlarge Bruno Mars File Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP Bruno Mars

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Nashville Skyline NASHVILLE SKYLINE: Dolly Parton: Never Count Her Out The Original Sister Sunshine Returns With Better Day by Chet Flippo (NASHVILLE SKYLINE is a column by CMT/CMT.com Editorial Director Chet Flippo.) She’s still the original big rock candy mountain. After a recording hiatus since 2008’s Backwoods Barbie, she returns with a sun-dappled romp through fields of dazzling musical flowers. The ever-irrepressible Dolly Parton is back with Better Day, a portfolio of feel-better, lift-yourself-up, rejoicing sermons. In a sturdy career that has spanned decades, she first appeared on the Billboard record charts in 1967 with “Dumb Blonde,” and she has charted over 100 country singles, including 25 No. 1 Billboard hits. That career involves movies, Broadway, business ventures and many awards. But for me, her shining achievement has been the founding of the Imagination Library. That worthy endeavor sends a free book every month to every enrolled child, from birth through kindergarten. Since its beginnings in 1996 in her home county in Tennessee, it has spread across the United States and now includes Canada and the United Kingdom. The most memorable thing Dolly ever said to me in an interview was, “I’m a brave little soldier,” and that still holds true today. If any show business figure ever totally invented and reinvented herself, it has been Dolly Rebecca Parton. Madonna and Lady Gaga? Forget it. They’re mere pikers compared to the original Brave Little Soldier, all tarted up like Mae West. On Better Day, in the song “Shine Like the Sun” (written for 9 to 5: The Musical), she emphatically declares: “I’m gonna shine like the sun when these clouds roll away from my door When it’s all said and done, I won’t be at your mercy no more I am taking what’s mine, I’ll be fine, I am second to none And when the losing’s all done, I’m gonna shine like the sun.” The album also shows Dolly updating her style to current music practices and viewpoints. In a typically Dolly-esque twist on the current faux outlaws’ boasts about how country they are, Dolly sings in “Country Is as Country Does”: “I can live in a mansion or a double-wide Eat sushi raw or my catfish fried Wherever I am, then that’s where I belong ‘Cause I’m quite content with who I am And if you ain’t, well, kiss my ham Country is as country does, and I’m country to the bone.” Five of the 12 tracks are recent compositions written for this project. The others come from throughout her long career and display different aspects of her musical roots. “Holding Everything,” to cite one example, sounds very much like a working precursor to “I Will Always Love You.” The song was recorded by Alabama‘s Randy Owen on his solo album One on One. A whispered lead-in intones: “My heart beats — wild and deep Every thought in my mind has your name on it Hard to breathe, I can’t speak Think of your love and just how much I want it.” And then Dolly explodes in full voice in the chorus: “When I’m touching you, I feel a sudden change When I’m kissing you, I taste the sun and rain When I look at you, I hear the angels sing And when I’m holding you … I’m holding everything” Interestingly, she wrote the song “Together You and I” while still serving as Porter Wagoner‘s female sidekick and foil on his Nashville TV show in the early 1970s. The stint forged her mettle, especially when she found the courage to walk away from the volatile Wagoner to launch her fledging solo career. When personal unpleasantness or career setbacks mar her life, she kicks out the offender in the song “Get Out and Stay Out.” She has said the power of positive thinking has saved her many times. She has transcended musical genres since then and successfully re-invented herself over and over again. She built a solid country solo identity in the 1970s, then lost much of her core country audience when she moved her career to Hollywood and began making movies and recording pop songs. But she became a genuine Hollywood star, especially in 1980’s 9 to 5. We don’t remember bumps in the road, such as the movie Rhinestone with Sylvester Stallone attempting to portray a country star. She began crafting a return to country music and won a Grammy for her collaboration with Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt on Trio. A later series of brilliant bluegrass-tinged albums harked back to her Appalachian heritage and childhood. With works such as the Grammy-winning The Grass Is Blue, she brought back many old fans and created many new ones. Country music’s Sister Sunshine marches on indefatigably, preaching an uplifting message of love and happiness and cheer and faith, along with an honest work ethic. As she sings in “The Sacrifice,” “You don’t drink the water if you don’t dig the well.” Chet Flippo Tags: Porter Wagoner, Dolly Parton, Alabama, Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt, Randy Owen Related Posts:

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Anthony Minghella: Truly, madly, deeply missedStory Highlights Minghella won numerous awards including nine Oscars for The English Patient He had just wrapped HBO's "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective's Agency" He first gained recognition in 1991 with his debut "Truly, Madly, Deeply"Next Article in Entertainment » By Stephanie Busari For CNN LONDON, England (CNN) -- With Hollywood still reeling from the untimely death of actor Heath Ledger, the news of director Anthony Minghella's passing after surgery, has sent the film industry into a tailspin. Anthony Minghella died Wednesday from a haemorrhage after surgery Minghella was not only a wildly successful director, garnering numerous awards and accolades, but was a tireless champion of filmmaking, and particularly the British film industry. He had a passion for writing and considered it essential in his role as a director. Minghella said in recent interviews that he considered himself a writer who had the good fortune to be able to direct his own work. He had been preparing for his installment of the anthology movie project "New York, I Love You" and had also just wrapped TV's "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective's Agency," which will air on the BBC in the U.K. and HBO in the U.S. He first gained international recognition in 1991 with his tour de force debut "Truly, Madly, Deeply." "Truly" was a tear-jerking drama about a bereaved woman (Juliet Stevenson), who literally wills her dead lover (Alan Rickman) back to life. The film focuses on her relationship with his ghost and is dealt with in a compassionate and sometimes humorous, manner that stopped it descending into mawkish sentimentalism. Don't Miss 'English Patient' director dead at 54 Blair, Brown cozy up in TV film The film's stunning success worldwide saw Minghella lured to Hollywood and in 1993, he agreed to direct a romantic comedy "Mr. Wonderful," starring Matt Dillon and Annabella Sciorra. Dillon schemes to get out of paying alimony to his ex-wife (Sciorra) by finding her a new husband. Though it proved popular with moviegoers, critics were less than awed, with Roger Ebert describing it as "a film for the movie going-impaired." Tellingly, it was the only film Minghella directed where he did not write or co-write the screenplay. A chastened Minghella took the experience to heart and sequestered himself away writing a screenplay from Michael Ondaatje's 1992 Booker Prize-winning novel, "The English Patient." It would take him eighteen lonely months. The result was an achingly romantic, poetic and beautifully photographed epic, far removed from the fluffy predictability of "Mr. Wonderful." Starring Ralph Fiennes and Juliet Binoche, "The English Patient" was Minghella's most commercially successful and decorated film: he won an astonishing nine Oscars including the Academy Award for best director in 1996. But it was a film that may not have seen the light of day as Minghella revealed in an interview after its release. "It was a very hard job to get someone to give us the money for this," he said. "It was a very unpromising document: a European film about a man haunted from his war-time past, good actors but no stars and a director who had little experience. "It was understandable that people in Hollywood had no faith in the film. But they were all wrong." "The English Patient" catapulted him into the front rank of global film-making. Its follow-up, "The Talented Mr. Ripley," in 1999, showed his ability to manipulate cinematic style as well as to bring out the best in A-list acting talent including Matt Damon and Gwyneth Paltrow, and Minghella's signature actor Jude Law, who has appeared in three of the director's films. Reviewer Joe Baltake of the Sacramento Bee wrote: "Anthony Minghella's terrific "The Talented Mr. Ripley" offers us the guilty seasonal pleasure of wallowing in evil in its most luxuriant form." By now, Minghella was commanding bigger and bigger budgets for his movies. In 2003, "Cold Mountain," starring Nicole Kidman and Renee Zellweger and Jude Law, was conceived on an epic scale, costing $83m (£48m), more than double the investment of his previous film. With its sweeping drama and tragic romance, it was perfect Minghella fodder. Yet, the Civil War movie received mixed reviews, although it gained an Oscar nomination for Jude Law and a best supporting actress award for Zellweger. After his customary three year hiatus between films, Minghella returned to his British roots with 2006's "Breaking and Entering," starring Law (again) as an eco-friendly London architect who has an affair with a Bosnian woman whose son broke into his office. The complicated emotional landscape charted is pure Minghella but "Breaking and Entering" never quite achieved the box office success some felt it deserved. Despite his growing reputation as a filmmaker, Minghella faced obstacles from cash-conscious studio bosses. Three of his major films started out as Hollywood projects, yet all ended up being financed by Miramax, then headed by the Weinstein brothers. In one of his last interviews, Minghella explained his sometimes fraught relationships with Hollywood to The Times newspaper: "I've never set out to make a film with Miramax. 'The English Patient' was with Fox, 'Ripley' was with Paramount and 'Cold Mountain' was with MGM. "Miramax was the one company, when these others abandoned the projects, that said: We'll do it. No studio in Hollywood wanted 'Cold Mountain.' None. No one wanted 'Ripley,' no one wanted 'The English Patient.' That tells you there isn't really an appetite for ambitious movie-making out there. "Miramax have been one of the very few companies prepared to gamble on this kind of film. Without them I would have no career." It is clear that Minghella's death leaves a gaping hole in the global film industry. On learning of his death, a devastated Nicole Kidman said: "There's really no way to put this. Anthony was a gift to the world." While Jude Law said: "He was a brilliantly talented writer and director who wrote dialogue that was a joy to speak and then put it on the screen in a way that looked effortless." Many also agree that his best work was yet to come. E-mail to a friend Share this on: Top NewsSenators 'troubled' after Rice meetingBergen: Senseless Benghazi obsession

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ONGo TO SLIDESHOW show comments Hyde Park on HudsonBy Edward Douglas ON December 5, 2012SHAREDirector Roger Michell first came to prominence when he directed Notting Hill, starring Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant, in 1999, and since then he’s gone on to direct as disparate films as Changing Lanes, Venus and Morning Glory.His new movie is Hyde Park on Hudson, a film starring Bill Murray and Laura Linney as Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his distant cousin Daisy, the two of whom bond at the President’s upstate New York mansion where he goes to relax. At the same time, the King and Queen of England, played by Sam West and Olivia Colman (The Iron Lady), are coming to visit the President at his Hyde Park estate to try to get some aid in their war with Germany which had just begun. What’s interesting about the latter part of the film, is that this is the same King and Queen played by Colin Firth and Helen Bonham Carter in Tom Hooper’s Oscar-winning The King’s Speech. Since the last time ComingSoon.net spoke to Michell was just before that movie came out, we decided to start our interview by asking about those parallels. ComingSoon.net: I remember the last time I spoke to you, which was a couple of years ago for “Morning Glory,” which was actually the same day I was doing interviews for “The King’s Speech,” so it’s interesting to see you making a movie which features the same characters. Is that a complete coincidence and had you already been thinking about doing this project back then?Michell: Yeah, we started talking about this project probably five or six years ago. This was originally before I did “Morning Glory.” In fact, this is a radio play written by Richard Nelson for the BBC, which was broadcast I think about five years ago, so we did, for the record, predate “The King’s Speech” by two, three years in terms of starting to get this film developed and getting it funded, etc. Then “The King’s Speech” came along and sort of took the world by storm, and it obviously was disquieting for us to see such a good film on such a similar subject do so well. I think we all feel now that it will work both ways for this film. In some ways, it’s bad because it looks like it’s sort of a cynical piece of opportunity, which it isn’t, because we really made this film in spite of “The King’s Speech” not because of “The King’s Speech.” In another way, I think it’s good because “The King’s Speech” lays a lot of the ground for enjoying this film, and you could easily argue that “The King’s Speech” is a brilliant trailer for “Hyde Park on Hudson.”CS: Did it actually help get this movie made?Michell: Yeah, I don’t know. I think you’d have to ask the financiers that. I mean, there were some misgivings about the huge success of “The King’s Speech,” but in other ways, I think may be it was an advantage that made people think that these characters were attractive and people were interested in them. People are still interested, it appears, in stories about the Royal Family. CS: I feel like having that movie may make it easier for Americans who may not have been familiar with King George before that.Michell: Yeah, exactly, yeah. I mean, it is a kind of prequel. One of the things we did when “The King’s Speech” was released to such acclaim and such popularity was to go back and look at our script and readjust our script on the assumption that all the characters in our story had seen “The King’s Speech” so that all the information that was contained in “The King’s Speech,” we don’t feel we have to retell in this film. There was more material in our film about the king’s speech impediment and about his attempts to his linguistic tongue-twisting exercises, etc., all of which he did at Hyde Park, but we removed those sections which seemed to be repeating the story which had already been told.CS: Were you involved with the radio play as well?Michell: No, not at all. Nor did I hear it actually.CS: Ah, so you knew it had been put on before as a radio play, but that didn’t influence you to make the movie.Michell: No, I read the script before the radio play was broadcast, but I thought it would be probably bad for me to listen to the radio play because I didn’t want to kinda stain my susceptibility to the text by hearing someone else do it. It’s a silly thing but…CS: Did Richard have the intention to do it on stage as well?Michell: I don’t think so. I don’t think it would really work on stage. I think it worked perfectly on radio because radio can shift locations as effortlessly as a movie can. The radio play is interesting, though. It has an older version of Daisy in it, so you had two Daisies, one speaking retrospectively, and one speaking in the present tense as a narrator. The only remains of that idea in our film is when Daisy shouts at the President and then says, “But I didn’t say that. All I said was this.” Actually in early drafts of the film, we played with the idea of having an older Daisy lurking around in the back of a shot making wry ironic comments on the action that was in front of her, but it felt too arched, too clever, and we removed it. CS: One of the interesting thing about your movies is that you alternate between movies set in America and England and this one gave you the chance to combine those two things. Were you at all worried about tackling something that was historical but also somewhat fictional?Michell: Yeah, you obviously do worry about this kind of thing, but it’s not a biopic. It’s the illumination of a tiny footnote, a footnote of a footnote, in a way. I suppose I found that charming about it, that it is a construction. There’s lots of conflation and lots of invention to squeeze these two stories into this one weekend. I’m keen though that it’s not taken too literally as a history lesson because its ambition is not to be “this really happened,” it’s ambition is to be “a version of this could have happened and we’re going to make a fiction about it.” I found the way in which Richard managed to collide these two stories very ingenious and very surprising and unexpected. I’ve worked a lot with Richard over the years. We worked nearly 25 years together in theater and nearly all of his plays, many anyway, certainly the plays I’ve directed by Richard, they’re all focused at some level on this strange love, hate, tense relationship between America and England, both historically and in the present. This sort of combination of adoration, envy, resentment, snobbery, one-upmanship, which seems to inform our dealings with each other, it’s really fascinating and for England in particular, it’s very much a part of the last 100 years of our history.CS: Obviously a lot of stuff that happens in the movie, the only person who would’ve been there was Daisy and FDR. Did she write a lot about that in her letters that Richard was able to take from or was it matter of figuring out from what she wrote what may have happened?Michell: Yeah, I think it’s more the latter than the former. I mean, her letters are not comprehensive in that they’re charming and they’re filled with clues to an intimacy between her and the President, but she also didn’t leave all the letters and she often removed sections from her diary. Obviously, it’s fascinating to imagine what might have been the elements that she decided to destroy in terms of her record of her relationship with the President. But the basis for the weekend is certainly there. The King and Queen did go there in July 1939, and many of the events in the film took place.CS: Since you’ve worked with Richard so much in the past, when you decided to make this movie together, was he also involved with the casting?Michell: Well, I always like to involve writers as much as possible to consult, but he was over here and I was over there, so I couldn’t consult on a similar process, but certainly casting Bill (Murray) was a big decision for all of us and a difficult thing to achieve because Bill was so hard to pin down and so hard to get a hold of. It was quite a rare thing for me, because I decided pretty early on that I didn’t really want to make the film with another actor apart from Bill. I mean, usually you have your first choice and then you have a backup or two. If the first guy didn’t want to do it, then you think, “Okay, I’ll reconfigure this in another way and I’ll do it with this guy.” I found myself feeling increasingly with this film that although I had a strong short list of outstanding American actors at the right age and the right class and the right type, that without Bill, the film would’ve become off-balance. There’s something so mischievously forgivable about Bill. I didn’t want it to turn into this sort of Dominick Strauss-Kahn story, if you follow me, or even the Bill Clinton story. Bill (Murray’s) charm carries the day, and I think FDR’s charm is very much the same thing.CS: I can’t imagine any other actor playing the role in this movie, because Bill Murray is so distinctive with what he does and how he does it and it’s a great performance from him. We’ve never really seen him play a real person before.Michell: Yeah, he doesn’t normally play someone so different from himself, and he really took the trouble to do the work and immerse himself in this, and he’s done really well. I hope he does very well out of the film, and I think he will.CS: As far as casting King George and Elizabeth, considering you had two previous versions, how did you end up with Olivia Colman and Sam West.Michell: It’s tricky. When the person who’s just played that role has won an Oscar and everybody seems to feel he owned the part, but it’s like “Hamlet.” There are lots of different versions, and I was very pleased to get those two, and they’re playing different characters as well. “The King’s Speech” is a different fiction, if you like, from our version. You just embrace the difference and you encourage the actors as they did to express themselves with particularity and I think they had fun with that and I think they’re wonderful in the film.CS: This is a very different movie than “Morning Glory” and different from “Venus” and “Changing Lanes.” Is there a common way you approach making a movie or working with the actors in rehearsal?Michell: Yeah, I do. I mean, that’s one of the few common things about all these films, is that I do like to rehearse properly. My excuse to rehearse is because that’s my background as a theater director. I find that a proper rehearsal period liberates the actor and it makes them feel able to push the boat out in a way that perhaps they wouldn’t if they were just meeting on the set or arriving on the set and making it up from there. That’s simply my way of doing it, but it’s not the only way of doing it. There are films with great performances made by directors who don’t want to rehearse or think rehearsal is actually counterproductive and it will kill spontaneity, etc. It’s sort of just a different approach, but it’s just the tradition I come out of, I guess.CS: I have to ask you about the hot dog scene, because it’s been talked about a lot. It draws very cheeky parallels to the earlier scene between Daisy and FDR, and I don’t know but that might have been a factor in getting an R-rating.Michell: (Laughs)CS: Obviously that couldn’t have been in the radio play, so can you talk about how you presented that scene to the actors?Michell: I mean, I think that’s very perceptive of you to realize that there is a kind of passion in the film and it begins and ends with a hot dog, in a way. This hot dog that ends the film is a special object. It is an object which ridiculously has so much symbolism attached to it that at the time, people did really make quite a big fuss of the fact that this king, this aristocrat, this noble, glorious king of the realm would actually put such a democratic food stock in his mouth. I think that history is made with such tiny gestures, and it is the moment in our film where all the stories conjoin. I think it’s funny and charming and strangely satisfying. The King that day really did coin the phrase “this special relationship,” this phrase which is still very much to represent the special relationship between the countries.CS: When I spoke to Laura Linney, she also mentioned that the hot dog was created in Germany, which also adds something to that scene.Michell: Exactly. It’s a bratwurst type of thing, and here it is as the kind of inspiration for what eventually becomes a war against them.CS: Is it true, you’re already preparing your next movie?Michell: Yeah, I start shooting in about three weeks. Yeah, it’s a little film by Hanif Kureishi who wrote “The Mother” and “Venus” and this is our third or fourth collaboration and it’s a film set in Paris called “Le Weekend.” It’s about a couple who go there to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary, played by Jim Broadbent and Lindsay Duncan. They explore their marriage. Their kids have now just grown up and left and they’re trying to figure out whether there’s anything left in their marriage. They meet an old college buddy of Jim’s played by Jeff Goldblum, and it’s like “Venus.” It’s a very small, funny, complicated, dark film, which I’m looking forward to.CS: How long will you be in Paris shooting that?Michell: I’m only be there for four weeks – we’re doing it quick, quick, quick.Hyde Park on Hudson opens in select cities on Friday, December 7. You can read our earlier interview with actress Laura Linney here. SHARE TWEET Show CommentsPlease enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. MoviesTVStreamingGamesTrailersDVDContact UsAdvertisePrivacy PolicyTerms of Use monitoring_string = "df292225381015080a5c6c04a6e2c2dc"AdChoicesAdChoices ComingSoon.net is a property of CraveOnline Media, LLC, an Evolve Media, LLC company. ©2016 All Rights Reserved CopyrightLooking for movie tickets?Enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing

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> Trailer > Contraband Contraband Trailer Follow Mark Wahlberg Director: Baltasar KormakurYear: 2012Genre(s): Action, Adventure Chris Farraday used to lead a life of crime but that was before he met his wife, Kate. Now, he's happily married with two children and he wouldn't change it for the world. Even his own father is impressed with how he has turned his life around.One night, while on his way home, he gets a frantic call from his wife regarding her brother, Andy. He's in hospital with serious injuries and Chris and Kate rush to his bedside. Andy reveals to his upset sister and brother in law the reason behind his injuries: he has messed up a drug deal for his harsh boss, called Tim Briggs. Now Andy has a debt to pay and it's up to Chris to help him. Chris is back to doing what he does best - running contraband. He first assembles a crew with the help of his best friend Sebastian, which isn't hard, as Chris has a reputation for being a legendary smuggler. With his team formed, they head to Panama, in the hopes of returning with millions of counterfeit bills. This will prove to be a lot harder than it sounds; Chris must do this under the watchful eyes of the ship's Captain, who is friends with Chris' father and who has his suspicions about Chris' shady dealings. Then things start to go very wrong, very quickly. With mere hours to get the cash, can Chris settle Andy's debt before Kate and their children become targets?Directed by: Baltasar KormakurStarring: Kate Beckinsale, Mark Wahlberg, Ben Foster, J.K Simmons, Giovanni Ribisi, Lukas Haas, Diego Luna, Robert Wahlberg, Caleb Landry Jones, William Lucking, Michael Beasley, Olafur Darri Olafsson Contactmusic New Movies and Trailers Rules Don't Apply Trailer Warren Beatty writes, directs and stars in the new movie Rules Don't Apply. Marla Mabrey... Snowden Trailer Edward Snowden always knew he wanted to serve his country and, as most young men... Arrival Trailer Louise Banks is a communications expert, she's spent years studying linguists and is considered the... Mechanic 2: Resurrection Trailer Arthur Bishop was once one of the most sought after 'Mechanics' (assassins) but after being... The Hollars Trailer Don and Sally Hollars' family are all grown up and they live alone. They have... Swallows and Amazons Movie Review Bold and intelligent, this dark drama is a challenging portrait of the making of an... Road Games Trailer Despite warnings, Veronique has always known the dangers of hitchhiking but reasoning with herself that... A Tale Of Love And Darkness Trailer For Natalie Portman's foray into directing, she's decided to turn Amos Oz's autobiographic book A... Little Men Trailer After the death of his father, Brian, Kathy and their son Jake move into a... Blood Father Trailer John Link hasn't been the best father, up until recently he's constantly been on the... In A Valley Of Violence Trailer Paul is a loner who travels the west with only his dog and horse for... Blair Witch Trailer Since the disappearance of their daughter, the Donahue family haven't been able to mourn the... Resident Evil 6: The Final Chapter Trailer Milla Jovich takes to the screen as the badass undead slayer, Alice, in Resident Evil... Advertisement Allied Trailer It's 1942 and the world is in the middle of a war unlike any that... Marauders Trailer When three million dollars is stolen from a bank by a team of professional bank... Blinky Bill The Movie Trailer Blinky Bill has always considered himself an explorer, the kind of Koala that's willing to... Up For Love Trailer When Alexandre finds a mobile phone he attempts to find its owner which leads him... Billionaire Ransom Trailer Kyle Hartmann has lived a privileged life, he comes from a wealthy family, lives in... Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Trailer The Galaxy is on the brink of a major war being won by dangerous rulers... Pete's Dragon Movie Review Watching this gross-out comedy, it's clear that the gifted cast and crew had a great... A Street Cat Named Bob Trailer Sometimes, fate brings people together and James was in desperate need of someone to help... Swallows And Amazons Trailer The first book in Arthur Ransome's much loved book series has been turned into a... Gleason Trailer Steve Gleason was a professional American Football player who made a name for himself playing... The Beatles: Eight Days A Week - The Touring Years Trailer In 1962 The Beatles were signed to a management deal with a local record shop... Shark Lake Trailer Sharks don't dwell in lakes so when a lake creature starts attacking people swimming in... Anthropoid Trailer Reinhard Heydrich was one of the fiercest anti-Semitic officers in the Nazi army. He authored... Advertisement

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2016-36/0817/en_head.json.gz/4651

Geraldine Somerville, Elizabeth McGovern, Janet McTeer & others. Clare Beavan, director. This 2007 BBC biopic explores the secret love life of Daphne du Maurier, author of the celebrated novel Rebecca. Based on personal letters and Margaret Forster's acclaimed biography, the film charts the story of Daphne's (Geraldine Somerville) unrequited passion for the beautiful and glamorous American heiress, Ellen Doubleday (Elizabeth McGovern), and how the play she wrote about this forbidden desire led her to a life-changing love affair with the irreverent, fun-loving actress Gertrude Lawrence (Janet McTeer). Daphne described herself as "a boy in a box," and this revealing drama shows how Daphne's incendiary love life informed her writing.

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2016-36/0817/en_head.json.gz/4727

"Rabid Love," a classic horror film was shot in Hanston and Jetmore and the moviemakers are bringing the film to Dodge City for it's first public showing. A new film by writer/director Paul J. Porter will be screened in two Dodge City locations next month."Rabid Love," Porter's first feature film, was filmed on location in Hodgeman County last summer.Porter grew up in Iola and has fond memories of visiting his grandmother in Hanston. As he was planning his shoot, which was originally slated for New Mexico, his grandmother's house kept coming to mind."So I got on Google Street View and looked around various locations and it looked like it would work," Porter told the Globe in a phone interview last April.The story of the classic horror film is set in the year 1984 so Porter and his cousin, Lance Ziesch, who works at High Plains Publishing in Dodge City, began collecting clothing, grocery items, and even vehicles to depict the period.Porter and his crew of about 15 actors and technicians assembled in Kansas in late May and began filming.Porter's production company, Rogue Taurus Productions, has been producing short indie films for several years. While working on a master of fine arts degree in producing for film and TV at the Los Angeles campus of the New York Film Academy, Porter was required to shoot a full-length film after graduating, but he decided to get the project underway a little early.The crew worked six days a week for four weeks in Hodgeman County."We actually finished principal shooting four days early, which is pretty rare, but which was due to all the help we had from people around the area," Ziesch said.Once filming was complete, Porter took the results back to Los Angeles and began post production: editing, sound and music, marketing."They're finishing color correction and the musical score right now," Ziesch said in a phone interview Wednesday. "And the screening at the Depot will be the first public showing of the film anywhere."Homage to classic horror"Today's horror films have lost the charm and fun of the classics from my favorite period for the films — the late 70s and early 80s," Porter says in the press kit for the movie."As a young child in the 80s, the time period holds a special place in my mind as a mixture of dreams and memories. It was my intent for the look and feel of the era to come through in the setting, props, wardrobe, and most importantly, the characters of the film," he said.Porter's short synopsis of the script sums up the story: "It's the summer of 1984 when a group of recent college grads embark on one last trip to a cabin in the woods before going their separate ways into adult life. When one of them is infected with a strange virus, the friends are slowly ripped apart (literally and figuratively) and must compete with love triangles, conflicting personalities, nature and an unknown killer lurking in the woods that prevents their escape back to civilization."Ziesch was able to supply the film with authentic 1980s props borrowed from area residents.He also created a number of custom props, including Hann's Town beer, incorporating two important symbols for Hanston — the elk and wheat stalks — as well as the high school's orange and black colors."We're all looking forward to these screenings," Ziesch said.All of the cast and crew have been invited to the events, coming in from places such as Kansas City, Denver, Albuquerque and Los Angeles.Porter and his wife, Hayley Derryberry, will bring the film from Los Angeles.According to Ziesch, many Hodgeman County residents are planning to attend."There were five extras in the film and three of them were from Hodgeman County," Ziesch said.Ziesch himself was one of them, along with his father, Leo, and their friend Larry Nuss."Dad and Larry worked hard on stripping, doing body work and painting the car we used in the movie, so we wanted them to have some fun," Ziesch said.The car, a 1983 Caprice, became the Hodgeman County sheriff's car for the film.To add to the fun of the screening at the Depot, the car will be on display along with a number of other props from the film."We're going to set up a kind of red carpet for the screening and we're even looking into search lights," Ziesch said."It is an awesome movie — it looks good and the screenings will be a lot of fun," he said.For more information about Rouge Taurus and "Rabid Love," visit www.roguetaurus.com. or rabidlovemovie.com.IF YOU GOWhat: "Rabid Love" movie screeningsWhen and Where: March 16, Depot Theater Company Cash bar from 6:30 p.m., dinner at 7 p.m. movie at 8 p.m., Q&A with cast and crew at 9:30 p.m. Tickets for dinner and the show are $40. Call 225-1001 for reservations. March 17, B & B Theatres at Village Square Mall, screening at 7 p.m.

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2016-36/0817/en_head.json.gz/4738

Scott McKenzie casts his critical eye over Sony Pictures' latest money-spinner... As soon as Dan Brown’s novel started topping best seller charts around the world, it was only a matter of time until a studio snapped up the rights and turned it into a multi-million dollar blockbuster. The Da Vinci Code is probably the closest thing to a sure thing you can get in Hollywood and as expected it earned a packet at the box office and this DVD is sure to sell by the bucket-load, but when the Sony Pictures board look past the great big piles of cash in front of them, is the film they produced actually any good? Feature For those of you who haven’t seen The Da Vinci Code, read the book, sat in an office full of people who have read the book or bought the book so you could burn it, here’s the plot… When the caretaker of the Louvre is killed and his body left surrounded by a series of cryptic messages, the police call on American symbology professor Robert Langdon (played by Tom Hanks avec mullet) to decode the clues. Enter Parisian police cryptologist Sophie Neveu (Audrey Tautou) who tells him that not everything is as it seems and the pair of them are quickly thrown into a race to discover the dark secrets of Da Vinci’s work, the mysterious Catholic sect Opus Dei and the Holy Grail. With a cliff-hanger at the end of each three-page chapter, the source material is structured in a way that makes movie adaptation fairly simple. This is also one of the main reasons for the success of the novel-it’s easy to pick up and read just one more chapter, but the movie is partly a victim of the novel’s success. Screenwriter Akiva Goldsman and director Ron Howard knew that the fans wanted their movie to be as faithful an adaptation as possible and as a result the screenplay doesn’t take too many chances. It’s a commonly held opinion that in general, films based on books are never as good as the fans of the book expect. 400 pages into a 120-page screenplay is a tight fit and fans’ favourite bits nearly always get left out to keep the plot moving along to hit the two-hour target running time, but I think you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who thinks the book is significantly better than the film in the case of The Da Vinci Code. The fact of the matter is that there are no surprises and other than a few clever visual tricks to show how Langdon decodes the many clues along the way, the filmmakers have played it safe by leaving just about everything in. Maybe that’s the reason Ron Howard was given the microphone and director’s chair. Although he has made many successful and critically acclaimed films, Howard isn’t exactly Oliver Stone in the controversy or experimentation stakes. The casting director wasn’t exactly working overtime either. Other than the possible appointment of Harrison Ford (who would have insisted on creative control) as Langdon, the other members of the all-star cast were shoo-ins for their roles. Nobody does an assertive Frenchman better than Jean Reno and Tautou has an innocent charm as Neveu, even though some of her lines were the corniest on offer. Paul Bettany’s performance is incredibly intense as albino monk Silas, which is particularly powerful in his flagellation scenes but it can grate a little when he shares scenes with characters that aren’t members of Opus Dei. Unfortunately for Tom Hanks, he doesn’t have much to work with. The character of Robert Langdon is fairly thin and apart from a token phobia and learning the ‘truth’ about Jesus Christ he is pretty much the same person at the end that he was at the beginning. However, Ian McKellen’s effortless performance is incredibly enjoyable and he adds a much-needed dash of humour when everything is about to get a bit too serious. All the nit-picking in the world doesn’t really matter if you buy into the story. The Da Vinci Code is a thriller at heart and even though critics have complained that there’s a lot of talking and not much action for a summer blockbuster, this is a blockbuster for the part of your brain that enjoys a clever conspiracy theory. At the very least, I was happy just to go to the cinema this summer to watch something that wasn’t a sequel or featured computer-generated animals going on a journey. That may sound like a back-handed compliment and I guess it is, but I enjoyed reading the book and I was looking forward to seeing the movie. Yes, the filmmakers have played it safe, yes it’s too long, especially in the last half hour and yes, there’s a lot of sitting around talking while the other summer movies were blowing things up left, right and centre, but I still enjoyed The Da Vinci Code for what it is—an intriguing thriller full of twists and turns played by some of the best actors around. Video Every frame in The Da Vinci Code is expertly crafted and the whole film, from the halls of the Louvre to the flashback sequences of the Crusades, look great. As expected, the picture quality is of a very high standard with smooth lines, sharp detail in long shots and just the right amount of intentional grain in the right places. With this release split across two discs and the exclusion of a DTS track that can be found on some other releases, there is room on the disc for a high quality picture and I did not notice any signs of compression. Audio The Da Vinci Code is not one of the noisiest summer blockbusters in recent years but there is still a lot going on in the audio track and it is just as perfectly crafted as the picture. Music is playing throughout most of the film and Hans Zimmer’s impressive score is given the chance to impress without ever drowning out the dialogue, which is clean and crisp and changes appropriately to match the effects you would expect in the many different locations. Extras Sony Pictures have done it again and packed the empty space left on disc one with as many trailers as they could for upcoming DVD and cinema releases. The rest of the extras can be found on disc two, which houses ten featurettes, which are essentially one long documentary split into ten parts, some of more value than others. ‘First Day On Set With Ron Howard’ does exactly what it says on the tin, showing the director doing his first shots at the Louvre and also includes short interview clips with Howard, Tom Hanks, Dan Brown et al, which is a common theme for the rest of the featurettes. ‘Discussion with Dan Brown’ allows the novelist to talk about his creation and where he got his inspiration from. He also gives away a few details about the follow-up to The Da Vinci Code and comments on the overwhelming success of the novel and how it has changed his life. ‘Portrait Of Langdon’ is a short piece about the character and Ron Howard’s view of how Tom Hanks is ideal for the role because his ‘everyman’ persona helps to draw the audience towards a character that had previously been established to the readers of Angels and Demons, which is scheduled for a cinema release in 2008. ‘Who Is Sohpie Neveu?’ does the same for the female lead as the previous part did for Tom Hanks’ character. Dan Brown makes a point of singling out Audrey Tautou for a personal thumbs-up and there are some comments from the producers about how they decided to cast a French actress. This is a good point because lazier producers would surely have gone for Julia Roberts or some other supposedly guaranteed box office draw rather than trying for a bit of realism. Akiva Goldsman also comments on his decision to make Sophie’s emotional journey the core thread of the story. ‘Unusual Suspects’ is where the documentary starts to lose its way a little, with a bit more waffling about the decisions to cast international actors. Dan Brown states that the only character in the novel he had an actor in mind during the writing process was Jean Reno as Bezu Fache and he personally thanked him for agreeing to the role on the first day on set. I think any filmophile would have thought of Reno in this role while they were reading The Da Vinci Code. I know I did. ‘Magical Places’ takes a look at some of the impressive locations used and the filmmakers discuss the implications of filming at places like the Louvre, where they were on a very tight overnight shooting schedule and were restricted to their lighting choices. However, they were given a lot of support from the French government, even having a meeting with French president Jacques Chirac to discuss their plans. ‘Close up on the Mona Lisa’ is a few minutes of the actors and crew talking about the painting. That’s about it really. ‘Filmmaker’s Journey’ is split into two parts and is your typical 'making of' documentary with behind the scenes footage, more interviews and comments on the characters and symbolism in the film. For me, ‘Codes of The Da Vinci Code’ was the most interesting part of the whole documentary. I was ready to sum up The Da Vinci Code as a film that doesn’t reward repeat viewings because of the problem-solving nature of the story. You have to take it all in because if you miss an action or line of dialogue, you might miss a link between one scene and the next, but Dan Brown and Ron Howard have added something else into the film for those who want to dig a bit deeper. Throughout the film there are images and symbols that relate to the story and the actions of the characters. We’re given the explanations of a few of them to start us off and a warning that some of them are quite difficult to decode but I have to say it’s made me want to watch it again. ‘Music of The Da Vinci Code’ looks at Hans Zimmer’s score and includes an interview with the composer himself where he talks about his inspiration and states that he put as much into this score as he had into any other in his career. Overall Though the film didn’t court the same controversy as the novel upon its release, it was still incredibly popular and made plenty of money for the producers. To do this, the filmmakers delivered exactly what the fans were waiting for and I’m sure that anyone who had read the novel could have predicted the tone and style of the final product. This DVD release presents the film with high quality video and audio but the extra features are a little lacking, with the notable exclusion of commentaries and deleted scenes which surely means we’ll get a second, more in-depth release before the release of Angels and Demons. Amelie (UK - DVD R2) Adventures of Indiana Jones, The (US - DVD R1) National Treasure (UK - DVD R2) Review by Scott McKenzie Dolby Digital 5.1 English Ten Featurettes: First Day on the Set with Ron Howard, A Discussion with Dan Brown, A Portrait of Langdon, Who is Sophie Neveu?, Unusual Suspects, Magical Places, Close-Up on Mona Lisa, Filmmaker's Journey, The Codes of The Da Vinci Code, The Music of The Da Vinci Code Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou, Ian McKellen, Jean Reno, Paul Bettany, Alfred Molina

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2016-36/0817/en_head.json.gz/4739

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - The Cradle of Life (UK - DVD R2) Chris Gould takes another dip in the shark-infested pool that is the Tomb Raider franchise. When it comes to crossovers, comic book characters have faired infinitely better than video game characters. If you think about it for a second this really doesn’t come as a great surprise; most video game characters are disposable, with only a handful making the transition into popular culture. Lara Croft is one such character. Her first movie was, in this reviewer’s opinion, a mess, but never let it be said that I’m unwilling to give second chances. With this in mind, join me as I take a look at Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life.FilmIn this, Lara’s second big screen adventure, our intrepid adventurer is in search of the mythological artefact known as Pandora’s Box, believed by many to contain the very essence of evil. Her search begins in Greece with the discovery of the underwater ruins of Alexander the Great’s Luna Temple, where she uncovers a strange, glowing orb. Unfortunately, before Lara can claim the object, her team is ambushed by a group of Chinese mercenaries. With the orb lost and her companions murdered, Lara is left for dead in the middle of the ocean.After a timely, if somewhat implausible, rescue by her friends Hillary and Bryce, Lara returns to Croft Manor to recuperate. It is here that she is contacted by MI6, who fear that the stolen orb will allow biological weapons manufacturer and all-round sociopath, Jonathan Reiss, to locate Pandora’s Box and unleash a plague the likes of which the world has never seen. Not being one to take defeat lying down, Lara agrees to travel to China with the help of her ex-lover, Terry Sheridan, in a race against time and the forces of darkness.As with the first film there are a number of incredibly dumb moments, such as criminals that have spent the entire film trying to gun Lara down simply taking her prisoner when they finally do capture her. There are also a number of, for want of a better word, appalling CGI moments, the worst of which comes when Lara escapes the underwater temple. Our plucky heroine encounters a CGI shark that not only growls inexplicably, but also swims backwards and shakes its head after a punch in the nose! For all the negative elements there are some things of worth in this sequel. The action scenes have been beefed up somewhat from the first film, and everything is certainly bigger, if not always better. Some of the better moments include Lara and Terry racing motorcycles along the Great Wall of China, abseiling down a cliff upside-down (while shooting bad guys), pole vaulting onto a moving helicopter and jumping from the top of a Hong Kong skyscraper wearing ‘flying squirrel’ suits!VideoMy job as a reviewer is becoming increasingly difficult due to the number of top-notch transfers out there, and it’s hard to criticise visuals as appealing as those found in this excellent 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer. Detail levels remain consistently good throughout, and thankfully we’re spared the horrors of compression artefacts and edge halos (although I did spot the odd instance of aliasing). Film artefacts are also notable by their absence, while instances of excessive grain are kept to a bare minimum. Colour reproduction is excellent -- be it the gloomy depths of the ocean, the bright neon of Shanghai, or the earthen tones of Kenya – and black levels and shadow detail are also handled particularly well, although the final scenes in the petrified forest do occasionally look a little washed out. Still, this is definitely one of the best I’ve seen this year, and Paramount are to be commended.AudioThe excellent video transfer is ably backed by an impressive Dolby Digital 5.1 track that is streets ahead of the one found on the original Tomb Raider DVD (although dialogue is still a little low in the mix for my liking). The track is extremely aggressive from the outset, and the discrete surrounds are used to great effect to reinforce the action during the livelier scenes. One such example is the exciting set piece in Shanghai, in which Lara pole volts onto a moving helicopter. The scene starts innocently enough as the chopper’s rotors whirl around the soundstage, but before you know it gunfire is exploding from literally every angle! Thankfully the mix also has its share of subtleties, with some nice use of the score and environmental effects to establish mood. There are also some neat panning effects during key dialogue sequences that really give you the feeling of ‘being there’. While not ‘reference quality’, this is an excellent mix that is sure to give any home system a thorough workout.ExtrasFirst and foremost we have a commentary track from director Jan de Bont (Speed, Twister, Speed 2). Aside from a few lengthy pauses, the director goes into a great deal of detail about the film and the filmmaking process in general. The commentary is both anecdotal and technical, encompassing everything from Jolie’s attitude towards the role to de Bont’s preference for shooting anamorphic rather than Super 35. The only real problems with the commentary stem from de Bont’s accent and the cadence of his speech, which often combine to make the track difficult to understand.Seven Deleted Scenes follow, all of which come with optional director’s commentary and can be viewed either individually or collectively. The scenes, which run for a little over eleven minutes in total, are presented in non-anamorphic rough-cut form. It’s easy to see why most of the scenes were omitted, as even the alternate ending is out of character with the rest of the film.The Featurettes menu is divided into five sub-categories: Training, Vehicles and Weapons, Stunts, Visual Effects and Scoring. The Training featurette runs for a little under nine minutes and examines the rigorous preparations that the cast, or more specifically Joile, underwent to get ready for the shoot. The featurette covers everything from combat training to horse riding, and really shows Jolie’s dedication to the role. Vehicles and Weapons runs shorter at just over four minutes, but it packs a good deal of information into that relatively short space of time. We get a little info on Lara’s dual pistols, one of which has been modified to allow easier left handed firing, as well as some of her jet ski antics.Stunts runs for just over ten minutes and covers some of the outrageous action scenes, including the upside-down abseiling and the amazing ‘flying squirrel’ suits used to jump from the top of the skyscraper in Shanghai. This sequence, filmed without the use of special visual effects, is easily one of the most impressive and visually stunning stunts I’ve ever seen. The fact that the sequence was filmed without the aid of safety devices (other than the jumper’s parachutes) makes it all the more amazing.The longest featurette, Visual Effects, examines some of the computer-generated effects found throughout the movie. Among other things, I was interested to learn the opening ‘underwater’ shots are nothing of the sort. They were in fact accomplished by shooting on a dry soundstage with the aid of smoke and a little bit of CGI post-processing! We get to see the rough footage from the set side by side with the completed footage from the movie, and I have to admit to being none the wiser before watching this featurette. The final featurette is entitled Scoring, and deals, fairly obviously, with the film’s music. Running for a little under five minutes, composer Alan Silvestri takes us through the process of creating music for the film. While adequate for a film of this nature, the score isn’t particularly outstanding. Perhaps this has something to do with the fact it was written in under five weeks?Gerald Buttler’s Screen Test runs for exactly four minutes, and includes some very rough footage of Butler acting opposite Jolie as he runs through his prison scene. Music Videos for Korn’s ‘Did My Time’ and The Davey Brothers’ ‘Heart Go Faster’ are also included, along with the entire Cradle of Life website as a DVD-Rom extra.OverallWell there you have it. Cradle of Life isn’t as bad as you might think, but neither is it going to set the world alight. It’s definitely a better film than the original (which isn’t saying much), but it still suffers from bad characterisation, a weak plot and some poor computer-generated effects. The film also runs around thirty minutes too long, and although adolescent boys will probably get a kick out of Angelina in a bikini, I can’t see anyone other than die hard Tomb Raider fans taking much away from this film.Forgetting the movie for a second, the quality of DVD itself is really rather good. The video transfer -- while not quite reference quality -- is pretty damn close to perfection, and the Dolby 5.1 track is very aggressive and engaging. Throw in a fair smattering of bonus material and the package starts to look reasonably attractive. I won’t go as far as to recommend the set, purely because the film isn’t my cup of tea, but if you’re a Tomb Raider fan that happens to think differently to me this package will make an excellent addition to your collection. Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (UK - DVD R2) Dolby Digital 5.1 English, Dolby Digital 5.1 Czech Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, English, Finnish, Hungarian, Icelandic, Dutch, Norwegian, Polish, Romanian, Swedish Commentary By Director Jan De Bont, Deleted and Alternate Scenes, Featurettes, Gerard Butlers Screen Test, The Davey Brothers Heart Go Faster Music Video, Original Theatrical Web Site Archive Jan de Bont Angelina Jolie, Gerard Butler, Ciarán Hinds, Chris Barrie, Noah Taylor, Djimon Hounsou

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2016-36/0817/en_head.json.gz/4767

What is the significance of Ophelia committing suicide? Download Answers Asked on January 18, 2012 at 10:54 AM by oroes1993 William Delaney It is not clear that Ophelia actually committed suicide. She had become mentally deranged after the murder of her father by the man she loved. She accidentally fell into a stream and made no effort to save herself. Eventually her clothing became so saturated with water that they dragged her down. I believe the main significance in the death of Ophelia is simply that it is just another illustration of how Hamlet's indecisiveness and procrastination lead to the deaths of many others. If he had killed the King, then he wouldn't have killed Polonius. If he hadn't killed Polonius, he wouldn't have incurred the enmity of Laertes and the mental breakdown of Ophelia. By allowing Claudius to remain alive, he gave him an opportunity to try to have him killed by the English and later try to poison him. His mother drank the poison by mistake. The deaths of Polonius, Laertes, Ophelia, Gertrude, even of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, as well as of Hamlet himself, were all caused by Hamlet's failure to act decisively. His fecklessness was due, according to Coleridge, to the fact that he thought too much. like I think that Ophelia's death is significant on a dramatic level and a social one, as well. On a dramatic level, the state of affairs in Denmark have definitely run afoul when someone as innocent and as non-politically inclined as Ophelia has to commit suicide. Ophelia lacked much in way of political agenda and really had little in terms of of her own personal ambition present. Yet, the perverse and twisted condition of the Denmark Royal Court cannot be stopped by Ophelia's purity and innocence. Her selflessness is manipulated by those in the position of political power and representative of the human cruelty and revulsion on display in the Denmark Court. In Ophelia's death, a rather stunning statement is made as to how horrific things actually are in the kingdom. On a social level, I think that Shakespeare, whether intended or not, has made a statement about the condition of women during the time period and, perhaps, an applicable one today. Ophelia is selfless, willing to devote herself to the words of the men around her. She is loyal to her brother, loyal to her father even when he does not display the same to her, and loyal to Hamlet, who is incapable of being loyal to himself. Yet, her obedience and willingness to subjugate her own identity to those of the men around her cause her to end up committing suicide. Ophelia is an example of what happens when women's voices are sacrificed without much in way of care and reflection by men. Ophelia becomes the representation of why the assertion of women's voice is essential in a world where men are in the position of power. Her suicide is a reminder of what happens to any human being when voice is silenced and identity is not validated. Sources: http://www.enotes.com/topics/hamlet/characters

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2016-36/0817/en_head.json.gz/4933

Cut! Capitol-security issues crimp moviemakers' style By Julia Edwards A Perk for Federal VIPs: Park Service’s Mountain Getaway Graffiti Artist 'Creepytings' Is Defacing National Parks A Double Dose of Luck for the Park Service Grand Canyon Park Gets Creative to Attract Bids on Concessions Contract J. Scott Applewhite/AP file photo When Crystal Palmer became director of the Washington, D.C., Office of Motion Picture and Television Development, it was a position no one gave much attention. But 20 years later, as the architect of the Capitol considers whether to allow film crews to feature any shots of the Capitol building, Palmer has come into the spotlight. December’s omnibus bill funding the government turned the jurisdiction of Union Square -- the open area with a reflecting pool just west of the Capitol -- from the National Park Service to the architect of the Capitol, who has banned commercial filmmaking on all of his grounds. Movie producers feared the change would mean losing the last area open to them for filming with the Capitol in the background. But last month, the architect’s office announced that Union Square, a favorite location for filmmakers with its majestic Ulysses S. Grant Memorial, will remain open to commercial cameras, at least until a more formal policy is developed this spring. The announcement provided some relief for Hollywood and D.C.’s Palmer, but both are still struggling to court free-spending moviemakers who have been increasingly frustrated about restrictions on filming around the Capitol since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. What threatens the security of the Capitol is the very thing that makes moviemaking around it profitable for the District: movie crews. Shouting, hustling, standing still, eating, buying -- movie crews interrupt the normal flow on the Hill while generating revenue for the area. Palmer’s office estimates that a film crew spends as much as $500,000 a day on location, and that commercial filming in Washington brought more than $20 million into the city last year. Palmer’s job is to bring this profitable hubbub to the local economy, but her hands are tied when Congress tells the cameras where to turn. She said that the omnibus’s new limits on filming in Union Square came as a complete shock. “I don’t know what caused it,” Palmer said, “I don’t know if there’s some new threat. All you know is what you’re told. You don’t know the backstory.” Assisted by Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., Palmer initiated a series of meetings with Architect of the Capitol Stephen Ayers that led to his change of heart at the end of January. Palmer immediately sent an e-mail to film and television industry members: “We are pleased to report that the Mr. Ayers understands and appreciates the art form of film and wants to find a viable solution that works for all parties concerned.” Norton also praised the decision to continue allowing filming. “The vista of the U.S. Capitol is among America’s most iconic,” she said in a statement. “Limiting commercial films and photography, an important vehicle for telling the nation’s story, does an unintended disservice. “Most of the people of the world know us and revere our system of government largely through commercial photography and films of the Capitol, which symbolizes our democracy at work. The nation can only gain by putting our best face forward.” Palmer came to the city’s Office of Motion Picture and Television Development in the late 1980s as an undergraduate majoring in TV and film at American University, expecting to soak up as much movie experience she could in Washington before heading off to California. The previous director had followed that path, leaving Palmer as director with only three years of experience. Back then, the local film industry was just emerging. Many Washington-based scenes were shot inside Hollywood studios. Palmer said that her colleagues called Washington “Docuwood” in those days because only makers of documentaries came to shoot in the nation’s capital. What kept Palmer in D.C. during those early years was not her belief in an emerging local film industry but her own love story. In 1991, Palmer had a job offer in California, but her new husband, Harold Brazil, was running for the D.C. City Council. Convinced he would not win the seat, she went so far as to find them a new West Coast home. But, to Palmer’s surprise, Brazil won and served until 2005. Over that time, Palmer has seen D.C.’s film and television industry through booms and busts, and found federal security enforcement to be a major factor in her ability to bring producers to the District. President Reagan, a former Hollywood man himself, opened up the White House to set researchers, Palmer recalled, and allowed them to take pictures and notes for scenes they would need to recreate. And the policy stayed largely the same in the 1990s, paving the way for films and shows like The American President and West Wing. All the while Palmer was creating the rule book for on-location filming. If a crew filmed in a neighborhood, the residents had to be informed 72 hours in advance and the producers had to pay for D.C. police to secure the area. But after Sept. 11, a much stricter set of federal rules were handed down to the film office that Palmer sums up with one word: paperwork. Many crews grew frustrated with the time it took to get approval for entrance into government buildings; some workers were even denied access for reasons such as bad taxes and late child-support payments. And a bigger problem soon followed: Technology that allowed studios to recreate images of Washington like never before. Palmer blames technology more than post-Sept. 11 security for the drop in D.C.’s movie business. “People think because we’re in D.C., our phones are ringing off the hook,” Palmer said, referring to calls from production companies. “That’s not true. Crews are now able to come shoot plate [background] shots and film the rest elsewhere.” With all the security restrictions, technology enhancements, and the fact that tax incentives for moviemakers in D.C. are less than what is offered by many other cities, Palmer said she focuses on customer service to keep the producers coming. The relationships that she builds with production companies and with those making decisions about filming around the Capitol are the key.

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Comic Book Superheroes For Dummies Movies Share May 6, 2011 I’m sure you’ve seen the trailers for all the big summer movies by now, which means you’ve definitely seen the trailers for the comic book-inspired superhero flicks too and if you’re anything like me, you may be a little confused. What is that metal coffin thing and why does it make that scrawny guy so buff? When did Magneto get so young and become such a babe? What’s the big deal with Thor’s hammer? It just looks like a heavy-duty tool from my dad’s shed. Well, get ready to understand all-err…most of it. We don’t want to spoil the movies for you! To help on our quest for knowledge, I’ve enlisted the help of our resident comic book nerd/expert/knowledge bank, Daniel Hubschman, so he can answer some of these questions. Then, we can join in the excitement and anticipation for a few movies that seem a wee bit complicated and confusing to the untrained eye. Thor Thor, May 6 Full Name: Thor Odinson (alias: Dr. Donald Blake) Place of Origin: Born in Norway, raised in Asgard Special Power or Weapon: Thor’s strength, endurance and resistance to injury are greater than the vast majority of his superhuman race. A superbly skilled warrior, highly proficient in hand-to-hand combat, swordsmanship and, of course hammer throwing. His greatest asset is Mjolnir, a mythic hammer forged from uru metal which can summon the powers of the storm – namely lightening, thunder and rain. He can also use it to fly and travel to other dimensions and times. Tragedy or hardship faced: The biggest tragedy is Thor’s life was being exiled from his home by his father for disobeying his orders. This relocation changes the Thunder God in many ways, chief amongst giving him human insight thanks to his time on Earth. Additional questions: What’s so special about this hammer? What’s the big deal? Well Kelsea, Thor’s hammer isn’t just any old, around-the-Kingdom tool. Believe it or not, it has a name: Mjolnir. It’s actually one of the most powerful weapons in the Marvel multiverse, forged from Asgardian magic and might. In addition to being handy in close-combat, it allows its wielder to harness the power of Thunder which is a major offensive asset. It can also help its handler fly (something that every superhero would like to be able to do) and is a personalized item: ONLY Thor can pick it up, not because of its weight, but because it is quite literally made for the God of Thunder. So yeah, it’s kind of a big deal. Wait, so why was his hammer at the end of Iron Man 2? What does this have to do with Tony Stark? Ha ha. That’s a good question. To be frank, Thor and Iron Man don’t have much to do with one another apart from being founding members of the comic book collective known as The Avengers. Though they’ve crossed paths many times before in the funny pages, my guess is that since Thor was the next Marvel movie in line after Iron Man 2, the producers of these films felt it was necessary to get audiences amped for the next chapter in the story of The Avengers. Just another way to whet our appetites for what the studio was cooking up… Captain America: The First Avenger, July 22 Full Name: Steven (Steve) Rogers Place of Origin: New York, NY Special Power or Weapon: Aside from having the maximum amount of strength, speed, endurance and agility that a human can possess, Cap wields an invulnerable shield made from Vibranium, an unbreakable metal that allows it to be thrown like a Frisbee for offensive maneuvers while protecting its user from nearly any attack it deflects. Tragedy or hardship faced: Aside from losing his parents at a relatively early age (thankfully, not because of a car accident or crime) Rogers was physically unfit to join the Marines when he enlisted at the beginning of the US’s involvement in WWII, which upset him greatly. Additional questions: What’s going on here? He jumps into a metal sarcophagus and comes out all buff and shiny? What’s going on in there? I admit that the trailers for the film have been a bit misleading in that sense. That chamber you’re talking about isn’t some alien healing pod or superhero microwave. It’s actually a radiation containment contraption that works in conjunction with the Super Solider Serum, which was developed by Tony Stark’s father Howard at the request of the US government. The elixir is actually the catalyst for Steve Rogers’ remarkable change. It genetically enhances its user’s body, pushing it to its maximum potential, but doesn’t work on its own. That’s where the chamber comes in, bombarding the subject with highly concentrated “Vita-Rays” that trigger the metamorphosis. I tried ordering one, but S.H.I.E.L.D. hasn’t been returning my phone calls these days… He’s called the “First Avenger,” is that as in the Avengers? Yes, though calling him the “First Avenger” is a bit misleading, because Captain America was around long before the rest of the team (well, not Thor. He’s been around since long before Stan Lee). But it was his success that inspired S.H.I.E.L.D. to help create The Avengers in the first place, so I guess the moniker is fitting, especially since Cap quickly becomes the leader of the team thanks to his military strategy skills and superhuman abilities. Who is this red-faced Nazi guy? Is he a Nazi or some weird alien? I don’t remember anything like him in my history books. That’s probably because the Red Skull wasn’t really fighting the allies in the early ’40s. That is his name, by the way, The Red Skull, though he was born Johann Schmidt, son of an abusive father who blamed him for the death of his wife while she gave birth to the boy. Years later he’d join the Nazis and become one of Hilter’s most trusted — and deadly — soldiers. The Fuhrer even gave him a special uniform unlike any in The Third Reich…and it came with a horrific mask…a Red Skull mask. He is to the Nazis what Cap is to the American military…the embodiment of national morale and a universal symbol of patriotism, making him the arch-enemy of our heroic Captain. Green Lantern Green Lantern, June 17 Full Name: Hal Jordan Place of Origin: Coast City, USA Special Power or Weapon: The Green Lantern’s power ring allows him to conjure virtually anything; a baseball bat, pair of boxing gloves, bazooka, etc. His only limit is the confines of his own imagination and will. Tragedy or hardship faced: Hal lost his father Martin at a young age in a freak accident during a test flight of an experimental aircraft. That gave him the devil-may-care attitude that you’ll see Ryan Reynolds sport in the first act of the film. Additional questions: So wait, he has a green lantern or he is the green lantern? How does that work? This is going to get a bit confusing, so bear with me here. You’re right on both counts: Hal Jordan (Reynolds) is a Green Lantern, one of many intergalactic police officers patrolling the universe. But he also has a green lantern, which is like a battery charger that replenishes the cosmic energy of the power ring which gives him the ability to do virtually anything he can think of. Got it? But he’s not the only one? Heavens no. You see, long ago the Guardians of the Universe (who founded the Green Lantern Corps) divided the known universe into about 3600 sectors. Each sector is assigned a Green Lantern to defend it against extraterrestrial or domestic threats. And since the life expectancy of a Green Lantern is unfortunately short, after one expires their ring is given to another worthy candidate who takes up the mantle. Earth is located in Sector 2814 and believe it or not, HJ isn’t even the first GL in our world’s history. Nor will he be the last… Why do his eyes turn blue when he’s in the suit? Well, why does Clark Kent wear those glasses? Chew on that one for a while… Magneto and Professor X X-Men: First Class, June 3 Magneto’s Full Name: Max Eisenhardt (later changed to Erik Lensherr) Place of Origin: Unknown Special Power or Weapon: Magneto can manipulate the magnetic fields that exist naturally or artificially in the world, and control all forms of magnetism. Also, his helmet prevents those with psychic abilities, like Professor X, from getting inside his head. Tragedy or hardship faced: So much…His parents were brutally murdered by the Nazis before he was sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp where he served as a Sonderkommando, one who operated the machinery in the gas chambers and ovens, and fire pits of the camp. Later, his first daughter was killed in a blaze he was unable to rescue her from and, after slaughtering a fearful mob at the scene, his wife left him, only to die giving birth to their mutant twins months later. Professor X’s Full Name: Charles Francis Xavier Special Power or Weapon: He’s the world’s most powerful psionic, possessing unquantifiable telepathic and telekinetic abilities. Tragedy or hardship faced: Like so many superheroes, Charles lost his scientist father in a lab accident while his mother, who remarried an abusive colleague of her late husband, died sometime later. While studying in Oxford, Charles became engaged to Moira Kinross only to have the lady break off the relationship after he returned from the army. Why is this one set in the 60s? There are two reasons for First Class going back in time. The main reason is that the film, as the title suggests, focuses on Professor X’s earliest group of mutant recruits, whom he assembled as a younger man with his then-friend Erik Lensherr. This film is an origin story; not only for Charles Xavier and Magneto, but for the mutant dream team known as the X-Men as well. The second, slightly more meta justification for the setting is that it’s going back to the period in which the X-Men were created, an era in American history marked by cultural upheaval and the civil rights movement. Just as the mutants fight for their right to co-exist with humans in the new millennium, in this tumultuous decade African Americans, homosexuals and other outsiders on the fringe of society fight for their right to live without being berated by the bigots of the world. I don’t recognize some of these mutants. Why aren’t we seeing people like Cyclops or Wolverine? Quite simply, because Cyclops would’ve been a young boy at the time of these events. Remember, if the film is set in the sixties, characters like Rogue, Iceman and Colossus wouldn’t even be a twinkle in their parents’ eyes yet. As for Wolverine, well, he was probably out there somewhere in the jungles of Vietnam during this time. I thought Xavier and Magneto were enemies? When were they friends? Again, right on both counts. In comics lore, Xavier and Erik met while working in a psychiatric hospital in Israel sometime after WWII. They immediately struck up a friendship because they were constantly engaging in debates about what would happen to the world if it were facing a superhero uprising. Later, they revealed to one another their mutant abilities and decided to pool their powers to help forge a better future for all mankind. But Lensherr grew tired of the war mongering ways of Homo sapiens, eventually adopting the mentality that mutants were superior and that they would one day be the dominant species on Earth. This fundamental philosophical disagreement led Lensherr to create the Brotherhood of Mutants to wage his own war, while Xavier, knowing full well the power his old friend possessed, formed the X-Men. Share by Kelsea Stahler

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FacebookTwitterGoogle-plusRss Viola Davis At The SAG Awards: ‘Diversity Is Not A Trending Topic’ Entertainment Viola Davis At The SAG Awards: ‘Diversity Is Not A Trending Topic’ Shadae Trotman Viola Davis has been one of the main speakers about the lack of diversity in Hollywood and how it naturally spills over to the Academy Awards. This has created a trend on social media and a buzz in the news. However, Viola Davis does not want diversity to be just a “trending topic,” but rather something that should be taken seriously. Viola Davis took a look at the impact of winning the SAG award for Best Actress in a TV Show for her starring role on How to Get Away with Murder. The same role provided Davis with a win at the 2015 Golden Globe awards, which made African American history. The Screen Guild Awards had a great number of African American nominees and winners, Viola Davis being among them. Idris Elba, the British star who was a two-time winner on Saturday night, near the end of the award show make a joke while introducing a clip from Beats of No Nation, saying, “Welcome to diverse TV.” Viola, being a prominent voice on diversity in Hollywood, was expected to voice her thoughts, according to Entertainment Weekly. Davis’ statement came when she was backstage after receiving her award. “We have become a society of trending topics. Diversity is not a trending topic. It’s just not. I’ve always considered myself an actor since I got my equity card in 1988. I’ve never put any limitations on myself. I felt like I could play Chekhov, any character in Chekhov and Shakespeare in Arthur Miller, in August Wilson. I see myself as an actor. No matter what is going on in the business, I will find a way to practice my art, and all of the actors of color who I know don’t place any limitations on themselves either. So regardless of what is going on with the Academy, regardless of what is going on in Hollywood, they will find a way to be excellent. We always have and we always will.” Viola Davis went on to express that viewers should go out and support all type of shows. “I think that sometimes people feel like stories about people of color are not inclusive. They’re very much inclusive. I mean, the works of August Wilson, which really pretty much made my career, is everyone’s story. I mean, when you watch Annalise [on How to Get Away With Murder], she’s not just a black woman, she is a woman going through her life, you know? And I feel like people forget that in our business, we can’t act alone. You need the actor, you need the writer, you need the director, and finally you need the audience. So I’m just saying, plop your money down to see Race, to see Dope, to see Straight Outta Compton, to see Selma, do support directors like Ava DuVernay, Lee Daniels, Spike Lee, that their stories are just as valid and as important as anyone else. That’s more important than boycotting, is openness.” The SAG Awards had a great display of diversity, not just with Viola Davis win, but with Uzo Aduba for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series and the entire cast of Orange is The New Black for Comedy Ensemble. Idris Elba won Best Supporting Actor for Beasts of No Nation and Best Actor in a TV Movie or Miniseries for Luther. Plus, a win for Queen Latifah in Bessie. LOS ANGELES, CA – JANUARY 30: The cast of ‘Orange Is The New Black’ accept the award for Oustanding Ensemble in a Comedy Series onstage during The 22nd Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at The Shrine Auditorium on January 30, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. 25650_021 [Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Turner]Viola Davis has removed blame from the Academy, as she believes that the blame should be focused on Hollywood. Davis does not support, nor is she against boycotting the Oscars. However, Davis has said that she hopes Chris Rock will take the opportunity as host to make a statement. .@violadavis can't wait to hear what @chrisrock says during his #Oscars hosting duties. https://t.co/dRzUHKh0PN pic.twitter.com/56mBoNc2ZV — Access Hollywood (@accesshollywood) January 22, 2016 Viola Davis is an icon in the entertainment world and will continue to speak out on behalf of both colored and female actors. [Photo by Rick Polk/ Getty Images] Now Watch This: Jennifer Lawrence Tops This Year’s List Of Highest Earning Actresses Now Read This: ‘Stranger Things’ Season 2 Spoilers: Which Beloved Character Will Be Making A Comeback? Share 0 Tweet 0 Share 0 Share 0 Pin It 0 Author Shadae Trotman Tags: diversity, sag awards, Viola Davis

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Print Email Font ResizeReview: 'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes' a near-classicBy Tony Hicksthicks@bayareanewsgroup.comPosted: Related StoriesJul 9:'Apes' shows remarkable technical achievements'Dawn of the Planet of Apes': 10 more films where San Francisco takes it on the chinAll hail Andy Serkis.While one can marvel at so many things in "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes," Serkis -- who plays Caesar, the human-sympathizing, laboratory-enhanced leader of a tribe of apes inhabiting Muir Woods just north of the Golden Gate Bridge -- creates one of the most human characters seen in any 2014 film.The outstanding sequel to "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" continues to assert that this isn't your parents' -- or your grandparents' -- version of the classic story of apes and humans flipping places on the evolutionary ladder. "Rise" announced in 2011 that this was a film reboot to be taken seriously -- which was saying something, considering what a mess Mark Wahlberg's 2001 reboot of the original 1960s film franchise was. And "Dawn" is even better, boldly advancing the concept the way a sequel should, while upping the ante on the visual effects.Of course, the moviegoer must suspend disbelief at the sight of apes talking, firing machine guns (which is really cool, by the way), riding horses and generally acting like us. But that's easy, because other aspects of the film are so believable, which brings us back to Serkis' dazzling performance as an animal that's as deep, nuanced and conflicted as any human character you can imagine.In other words, after seeing this movie, some researchers may rethink using primates in experiments.Director Matt Reeves takes his time getting to the action that everyone knows is coming, and with good reason. He carefully warms the audience up to the idea that the simian virus that escaped a San Francisco lab a decade earlier is offering the Earth an alternative, nonhuman path to civilization by wiping out most humans. Only pockets of people remain, including a group holed up in post-apocalyptic San Francisco, led by the practical but determined Dreyfus (Gary Oldman).Advertisement Meanwhile, in the forests of Marin County, the primates that escaped the lab in the last film have built a society with Caesar as their leader. They hunt, they fish, they make fire and develop weapons, and they're multiplying. Led by the cautiously optimistic Malcolm (Jason Clarke), a small team of humans crosses the Golden Gate Bridge to repair a broken dam as a power source. They run into some of Caesar's troops, setting up the film's most immediate conflict: Can't we all just get along?Serkis makes Caesar into a classically sympathetic, torn-between-worlds character. His range of emotions and need to believe in species coexistence is palatable. Toby Kebbell is just as powerful as Koba, the scarred former lab ape and Caesar's right-hand primate and eventual rival (right -- I am talking up the performance of men playing computer-animated apes in a movie starring Gary Oldman). While Caesar struggles with loyalties and with making the big decisions, Koba shows the flip side -- arguably the more human side -- of the evolving apes, with his bloodthirsty ambitions (he also provides the film's only bits of humor while outsmarting a couple of useless humans). This photo released by Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation shows Andy Serkis as Caesar in a scene from the film, "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes." (AP Photo/Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation) Reeves and writers Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver and Mark Bomback strike an admirable balancing act in identifying heroes and villains. Which is to say you have good guys and bad guys on both sides. The audience isn't meant to root for apes vs. humans as much as for certain characters. It's one of the film's best qualities. Of course, a few questions remain unanswered. What's happening to the rest of the Earth? How did the apes become so advanced so fast? How does Caesar work a camcorder when I still can't even figure out how to plug mine in? But these are minor distractions in a film that's gripping from the start.The climax is more than big enough for such an epic film and could've been pulled from a "Star Wars" film -- if only apes could use lightsabers. And the way these primates are evolving, that may happen in the next chapter, which is already planned for a 2016 release. And why not? With characters this rich and an epic evolutionary clash progressing, this franchise is back in full swing.Contact Tony Hicks at Facebook.com/BayAreaNewsGroup.TonyHicks or Twitter.com/insertfoot.'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes' * * * ½Rating: PG-13 (intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, brief strong language)Cast: Andy Serkis, Gary Oldman, Jason Clarke, Keri Russell, Toby KebbellDirector: Matt ReevesRunning time: 2 hours, 10 minutesOnline extraGo to www.mercurynews.com/entertainment to see a slideshow of photos from this film, as well as a trailer.S.F. takes a few movie hitsThe reboots of "Godzilla" and "Planet of the Apes" make San Francisco look like the new Tokyo or New York ... in terms of being destroyed on film. But the City by the Bay has a long history of being crushed, invaded and shaken to pieces on film, including:"The Rock" (1996): Disgruntled soldiers steal some missiles full of nerve gas and take over Alcatraz. Sean Connery and Nicolas Cage destroy as much of the city as possible during an epic car chase."Hulk" (2003): Hulk no like military types messing with him. Hulk. Smash. San Francisco. "The Core" (2003): When a beam of solar energy gets through the Earth's failing magnetic field, what does it hit? The Golden Gate Bridge, of course."X-Men: The Last Stand" (2006): The Golden Gate is targeted yet again, as Magneto rips the bridge out of its Marin County moorings and moves Alcatraz. The showoff. "Monsters vs. Aliens" (2009): Even cartoons go after the Golden Gate."Star Trek Into Darkness" (2013): The San Francisco of the future can also be ravaged, this time by falling spaceships.-- Tony HicksPrint Email Font ResizeReturn to Top RELATED

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Divorce is never easy for anyone, but life after divorce is twice as hard especially for best friends Dave, Vic, and Donny as they prepare for weekend custody of their children. Over the course of 72 hours, the dads have their share of problems...along with their share of conflict with their ex-wives. Dave just can't make a commitment to his new girlfriend, Kim and soon finds himself taking a shine to a couple of divorcee/soccer moms. Meanwhile, Vic continues to carry a great deal of bitterness towards his ex-wife and gets a lot more grief than he bargains for when he's fixed up on the blind date from Hell. And Donny still holds a torch for his ex while he tries to relate to his moody teenage daughter, Emma, who would rather spend their "quality time" with Vic's daughter, Meg. Can these fathers -- who try to love their kids as best as they can -- survive until Sunday? Directed by Sam Weisman. Written by Gary David Goldberg and Brad Hall.

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Little Women (1994) as Jo March as Friedrich Bhaer Trini Alvarado as Meg March as Mrs. March Denise Dinovi Robin Swicord Photographed by Geoffrey Simpson Nicholas Beauman Based On The Book by Drama, Family, Romance Rated PG This is a surprisingly sharp and intelligent telling of Louisa May Alcott's famous story, and not the soft-edged children's movie it might appear. There's a first-rate cast, with Susan Sarandon as the mother; Winona Ryder as the tomboy, Jo; Trini Alvarado as Meg; Kirsten Dunst and Samantha Mathis as Amy, younger and older; and Claire Danes as Beth. As the girls are courted by their neighbor (Christian Bale) and his tutor (Eric Stoltz), and as Jo comes under the influence of a German professor (Gabriel Byrne), the film is true to Alcott's story about how all of life seems to stretch ahead of us when we're young, and how, through a series of choices, we choose and narrow our destiny. The very title summons up preconceptions of treacly do-gooders in a smarmy children's story, and some of the early shots in "Little Women" do little to discourage them: In one of the first frames, the four little women and their mother manage to arrange their heads within the frame with all of the spontaneity of a Kodak ad.But this is movie is not smarmy, not dogooding, and only a little treacly; before long I was beginning to remember, from many years ago, that Louisa May Alcott's Little Women was a really good novel -- one that I read with great attention.Of course, I was 11 or 12 then, but the novel seems to have grown up in the meantime -- or maybe director Gillian Armstrong finds the serious themes and refuses to simplify the story into a "family" formula. "Little Women" may be marketed for children and teenagers, but my hunch is it will be best appreciated by their parents. It's a film about how all of life seems to stretch ahead of us when we're young, and how, through a series of choices, we narrow our destiny.The story is set in Concord, Mass., and begins in 1862, in a winter when all news is dominated by the Civil War. The March family is on its own; their father has gone off to war. Times are hard, although it's hard not to smile when we find out how hard: "Firewood and lamp oil were scarce," we hear, while seeing the Marches living in what passes for poverty: a three-story colonial, decorated for a Currier and Ives print, with the cheerful family cook in the kitchen and the Marches sitting around the fire, knitting sweaters and rolling bandages.The movie doesn't go the usual route of supplying broad, obvious "establishing" scenes for each of the girls; instead, we gradually get to know them, we sense their personalities, and we see how they relate to one another. The most forcible personality in the family is the tomboy daughter Jo, played in a strong and sunny performance by Winona Ryder. She wants to be a writer, and stages family theatricals in which everyone -- even the long-suffering cat -- is expected to play a role.The others include wise Meg (Trini Alvarado) as the oldest; winsome Amy (Kirsten Dunst) as the youngest, and Beth, poor little Beth (Claire Danes), as the sickly one who survives a medical crisis but is much weakened ("Fetch some vinegar water and rags! We'll draw the fever down from her head!"). There isn't a lot of overt action in their lives, but then that's typical of the 19th century novel about women, which essentially shows them sitting endlessly in parlors, holding deep conversations about their hopes, their beliefs, their dreams and, mostly, their marriage destinies.The March girls have many other interests (their mother, played by Susan Sarandon, is what passed 130 years ago for a feminist), but young men and eligible bachelors rank high on the list. Their young neighbor is Laurie (Christian Bale), a playmate who is allowed to join their amateur theatricals as an honorary brother, and who eventually falls in love with Jo. Then there's Laurie's tutor, the pleasant Mr. Brooke (Eric Stoltz), who is much taken with Meg, but is dismissed by Jo as "dull as powder." Jo, who moves to New York and starts to write lurid Victorian melodramas with titles like The Sinner's Corpse, falls under the eye of a European scholar, Friedrich Bhaer (Gabriel Byrne), who takes her seriously enough to criticize her work. He knows she can do better -- why, she could write a novel named Little Women if she put half a mind to it. "I'm hopelessly flawed," Jo sighs.But she is not. And late in the film, when she tells Friedrich that, yes, it's all right for him to love her, Ryder's face lights up with a smile so joyful it illuminates the theater."Little Women" grew on me. At first, I was grumpy, thinking it was going to be too sweet and devout. Gradually, I saw that Gillian Armstrong (whose credits include "My Brilliant Career" and "High Tide") was taking it seriously. And then I began to appreciate the ensemble acting, with the five actresses creating the warmth and familiarity of a real family.The buried issues in the story are quite modern: How must a woman negotiate the right path between society's notions of marriage and household, and her own dreams of doing something really special, all on her own? One day, their mother tells them: "If you feel your value lies only in being merely decorative, I fear that someday you might find yourself believing that's all you really are. Time erodes all such beauty, but what it cannot diminish is the wonderful workings of your mind." Quite so. #273 March 27, 2016 by Sheila O'Malley Visual Pleasure and Voodoo Demographics: A Reflection on Women and Film by Carrie Rickey Elizabeth Taylor, a star in a category of her own, dies at 79

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On TV"Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" stars the voices of Mickey Rooney as Kris Kringle and Fred Astaire as narrator. This stop-motion Christmas classic tells the story of how a young Kris Kringle became Santa Claus. ABC 8 p.m. EST.Hot Video: Ten-year-old dances with Tampa Bay cheerleadersTrending TopicThe Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has announced the 2013 inductees. Heart, Randy Newman, Public Enemy, Rush and Donna Summer will be inducted as performers. Quincy Jones and Lou Adler will be inducted as non-performers.The news was a long time coming for the band Rush, which has been eligible for induction for 14 years. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame eligibility standards require that the group or artist must have released work at least 25 years earlier to be eligible for induction.GateHouse News Service

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Actor Mark Ruffalo said on Twitter that a standalone Hulk movie is not in the works. He later clarified and said, “Just to be totally clear. I did not say there was not going to ever be a stand alone Hulk film. I said there wasn’t one in the works now.” Ruffalo earned praise for his portrayal of the big green creature in “Avengers,” and many people have wondered when a Hulk movie franchise reboot with Ruffalo would take place. Ruffalo said the next time we’d see him as Hulk would be in “Avengers 2.” Michael Jordan is getting married again, CNN reported. The basketball legend applied for a marriage license in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Thursday. Jordan will marry Yvette Prieto. He divorced Juanita in 2006; they were married in 1989. Caught on film - skiier escapes avalanche.

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Luisa Mota Films on the playlist Perception is Wild Luisa Mota (Porto, 1984) lives and works in London and studied Fine Art and Wimbledon School of Art and in Goldsmiths, University of London. Her work develops through a wide range of media, including performance, video, photography and sculpture. She currently has a film project that runs parallel to her artistic practice, the 'Anti-House Project'. It is a project that explores the themes of her practice at large, perception, behavior and the collective unconscious. Perception is Wild (2010) is the first short film belonging to the 'Anti-House Project', an ongoing project that brings forward different archetypal figures and relationships in order to explore their behavior as character in a narrative. The video introduces the central character, a man-boy, through an unexplained sequence of events. Through a journey that secretly resonates a ritualistic procession, every visual element is a character that moulds and unbalances the initial storyline. CAMERA Ricardo Lemos SOUNDTRACK Dimitri Grimm CAST Filipe Fonseca, Catarina Coelho www.luisamota.com

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Offbeat crime procedural 'Grimm' may have happy future Silas Weir Mitchell (left) and David Giuntoli Silas Weir Mitchell (left) and David Giuntoli star in "Grimm," premiering Friday on NBC. Silas Weir Mitchell (left) and David Giuntoli star in "Grimm," premiering Friday on NBC. John CrookZap2It "Sweet Dreams" by Eurythmics underscores the show's opening moments, but it's the stuff of childhood nightmares that lies at the heart of "Grimm," the imaginative and decidedly offbeat police procedural premiering Friday, Oct. 21, on NBC.Those first scenes show the shocking attack on and (off-camera) murder of a young jogger wearing a red hooded sweatshirt in the Oregon woods, a case that draws the attention of Portland homicide detective Nick Burkhardt (David Giuntoli), whose world is about to turn upside down. His first signal that something is awry comes when he starts seeing apparent hallucinations in which the faces of some of the people around him abruptly morph into hideous, beastly parodies of humanity, a startling phenomenon that coincides with the unexpected arrival of his beloved Aunt Marie (guest star Kate Burton), who bears a heap of bad news. For starters, she's dying, which means it's time to reveal to Nick their family legacy. Like Marie, Nick is one of the last in a long line of monster hunters descended from the Brothers Grimm, who weren't mere yarn-spinners -- they were the 19th-century equivalent of criminal profilers, documenting various dangerous creatures that stalked mankind. With Marie's death fast approaching, it now falls to Nick to battle those beasties, who are vividly aware of "Grimms" like Nick. It's only after his case leads Nick to Monroe (the excellent Silas Weir Mitchell of "Prison Break"), a reformed Grimm creature himself, that the detective is able to start making sense of his new destiny."In the first several episodes, Nick is in denial," Giuntoli says of his character. "He really does not want this to be happening to him. He doesn't want his new destiny. But eventually he comes to terms with it throughout the season and really wants to make good by his aunt."He's learning about his family, about his heritage, and getting more and more comfortable in his new identity. He's able to solve these crimes now. It's a lot easier now, but he's going to suffer and pay a price in his personal life. He has had this whole new identity shift that is pulling him toward this Grimm world and away from what his life used to be."For various reasons, Nick is reluctant to share the new truth of his life with either his girlfriend, Juliette (Bitsie Tulloch), or his police partner, Hank (Russell Hornsby), which forces him, almost by default, to form a tenuous alliance with Monroe, who is no more thrilled by the prospect than Nick is."The trust has to be earned on both sides," Mitchell explains. "A mutual respect of a kind begins to percolate, because we're equivalencies to each other: When I was growing up, Nick was the big scary thing my parents told me stories about, and when he was growing up, I was the big scary thing, and each of us through our own paths have come to this place of reckoning in our own lives. Nick in particular is learning new stuff all the time about his situation, whereas I have lived in my situation and had an awareness of it, for a long time, so I am more at ease with the creature/Grimm dynamic. Certainly I've never seen (a Grimm) before and never even knew that they were really real, so despite the necessary suspicion, there is a kind of recognition there."It's that fertile, often funny relationship between this distinctly odd couple that is probably the most promising aspect of "Grimm," which was developed by executive producers David Greenwalt ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer") and Jim Kouf ("Angel") from an initial idea by Sean Hayes ("Will & Grace") and his producing partner, Todd Millner, who likewise are executive producers on the NBC series.Maybe it's partly the "Buffy/Angel" DNA at work here, but the "Grimm" pilot strikes an uncommonly self-assured blend of the light and the dark, juxtaposing genuinely creepy moments with the banter between Nick and Monroe (and kudos, by the way, to whoever was responsible for the inspired casting of the very recognizable guest star who plays the killer in the opener)."There is very much a sense of gallows humor, which is a big part of this world," Mitchell says. "If you were a creature who had spent his life feeling creature things, dark things, then you would find an ease with it in a way that a layperson might be a little shocked by. You've also got the twisted geniuses of Jim Kouf and David Greenwalt behind a lot of this stuff, and they have a great sense of humor that doesn't shy away from the dark, which is wonderful. It's a richer kind of humor, I think, and I like it. The grisly element is part of its charm in a weird way."Each episode takes a fairy tale and twists it or stands it on its head, but while the first episode very obviously is "Little Red Riding Hood," viewers may have to dig a little deeper as the series unfolds and the tales become more embedded in the personal lives of the show's main characters."You might see something called 'Thinderella,' " Greenwalt reveals. "You might be seeing 'Little Goldilocks and the Three Bears' and 'The Three Little Wolves,' a take on 'The Three Little Pigs.' All kinds of great stuff is coming down the pike. It won't be only Grimm stories. It will be fairy tales from all over the world.""We're saying that the Grimms were the profilers in Germany at their period in time," Kouf adds. "But anyone who told fairy tales was a profiler for those crimes, too." Grimm (tv program) Buffy the Vampire Slayer (tv program)

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FOR M (1930) YOU CAN The mob sets out to catch a... M (1931) Read TCM's Home Video Review on this film Synopsis: In 1930s Berlin, a series of brutal child murders is disrupting the social fabric of the city. The killer, Hans Beckert (Peter Lorre), eludes capture and taunts the police with letters to the press. The public has descended into hysteria and false accusations. Although they are searching methodically for clues, the police, headed by Inspector Lohmann (Otto Wernicke), have turned up nothing so far. The city's underworld denizens, eager to restore order and to deflect the unwelcome public attention that has fallen upon them as of late, conduct a search of their own in order to seize Beckert before he kills again. A staple of home video since practically the earliest days, Fritz Lang's masterpiece M (1931) has been available in versions of varying quality and length. Most, if not all, of them came from producer Seymour Nebenzal's 1960 re-release version, which made a number of significant changes to the original version of the film. Nebenzal's version opens with an orchestral rendition of the Edvard Grieg's "In the Hall of the Mountain King," the tune which Hans Beckert whistles obsessively throughout the film. Nebenzal also added new sound effects to fill in portions of the soundtrack that Lang had originally--and deliberately--left silent. Lastly, Nebenzal excised about ten minutes' worth of footage, including the final tableau of grieving mothers. Over the years, Enno Patalas and other film archivists have worked to restore footage cut from the film and locate the best surviving elements for each shot. The most important development in this regard was the recent discovery of the original camera negative for all but one reel of the film, enabling us to see M in a quality unimaginable until now. The film's production design strikes a perfect balance between geometric abstraction and realistic texture that seems the essence of Modernism, and the superior film elements in the new restoration make the conceptual force of the film's production design really stand out. As part of the latest restoration effort headed by Martin Koerber, the film's soundtrack has also been returned to its original specifications. If you are already familiar with the older versions, this new restoration's soundtrack will change your perspective on the film as a whole. On the one hand, the long silent stretches make the film more clearly a product of the early sound era; on the other hand, the rigor and daring with which Lang and sound engineer Adolf Jansen designed the soundtrack comes through more clearly than ever. Some of the effects, such as the chorus of newspaper vendors emerging from the terrible silence after Elsie Beckmann's murder, are truly impressive in a way I don't recall hearing before. Seeing the new version, it is clear that Lang didn't include a musical soundtrack in the usual sense partly because he regarded the entire soundtrack--that is, the dialogue and sound effects--as a musical composition in itself. Criterion's new 2-disc edition, which replaces the DVD replaces the 1998 Criterion edition of an older restoration, retains the same spine number but is in every other respect a new product. First and foremost is the new high-definition transfer, which takes advantage of the latest restoration elements and displays a degree of sharpness and richness of contrast unlike anything I have seen before for this film. Whereas the older version was transferred at the standard 1.33:1 aspect ratio, resulting in occasionally cramped compositions, the new transfer properly maintains the square-ish 1.19:1 aspect ratio of early sound films, giving the image a more perfectly balanced look overall. Considering the director Fritz Lang's and cinematographer Fritz Arno Wagner's brilliant sense of composition, this is no small matter. The sound is as clearly reproduced as possible for a film of that era. The audio commentary track consists of an engaging conversation between two noted scholars specializing in German cinema, Anton Kaes and Eric Rentschler. They make many keen observations about visual motifs in the film offering a wealth of information about the cultural and historical context. Kaes, incidentally, is the author of an excellent book on M that is part of the British Film Institute's Film Classics series. Disc Two is crammed with supplementary features. A 25-minute documentary entitled A Physical History of M provides a clear and informative account of the film's different versions. Of particular interest is the generous selection of excerpts from the French-language version, which was shot simultaneously using French actors in many key roles, and an excerpt from the notorious Nazi-era documentary The Eternal Jew, which holds up Peter Lorre's performance as an example of "degenerate" art. Lang makes a great interview subject in Conversation with Fritz Lang, a 1975 interview conducted by William Friedkin and shot by William Fraker. While biographers have since called into question Lang's account of his meeting with Goebbels, it's a fascinating, vividly detailed story that would make a great movie in itself. In a newly videotaped interview Harold Nebenzal, the son of the late producer, talks extensively about Nero Films, Nebenzal's production company, and the 1951 American remake that Nebenzal made for Columbia. In another segment Criterion presents an audio recording of 1976-1977 class sessions led by the film's editor, Paul Falkenberg, in which he discusses the rationale behind editing choices for the film and offers observations about film editing and cinema in general. Claude Chabrol's 10-minute condensed version of M, entitled M le maudit and filmed in 1982 for the French television series Cine-Parade, seems like a clever idea on paper but plays like a bad student film. Much as I like Chabrol's work on the whole, this one is eminently skippable. The disc also includes a selection of production stills and design sketches by Emil Hasler, the film's art director, as well as images from the film's original program booklet and various promotional materials. One Argentinean poster even markets M as a horror film under the title The Black Vampire, complete with haunted house imagery. Lastly, the 32-page booklet accompanying the set contains an essay by Stanley Kauffmann, the German censorship board's script for a missing scene, a 1931 statement by Lang about the film, newspaper reviews from the initial release, and a 1963 interview with Lang. When asked which of his films he considered the greatest, Fritz Lang replied M without hesitation, and I would have to agree. Metropolis, the other usual candidate, is a dazzling, if not wholly successful, combination of futuristic visuals and Victorian melodrama. M, in contrast, was and remains modern through and through, with its still-relevant vision of a serial killer, a sensationalist press, mass hysteria, and the dynamics of urban life. This is one of the essential works of the cinema, and Criterion's new edition opens up fresh perspectives even for those who are already familiar with it. For more information about M, visit the Criterion Collection. To order M, go to TCM Shopping. by James Steffen

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Jun 16, 2014 5:16PM ET Kathryn Bigelow Might Take on the Bergdahl Movie Esther Zuckerman Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Baol, the team behind Zero Dark Thirty, want to make another, probably controversial movie about recent U.S. involvement in the Middle East: the story of Bowe Bergdahl. Mike Fleming Jr. at Deadline reports that Bigelow and Bowe are in the "early stage planning" phase of the project, which they had apparently been looking into before the recent news of Bergdahl's release from the Taliban in exchange for a prisoner swap. Fleming writes: "I’m not exactly sure what form the movie will take, but I’ve heard that the filmmakers quietly have been tracking the story for several years with a possible movie in mind. " The story does seem like a perfect fit for Bigelow and Bowe, who proved with ZDT and The Hurt Locker that they are arguably the best team to document the U.S.'s involvement in the Middle East in a narrative format. But a project like this seems to be courting the same controversy that Zero Dark Thirty did, and the Bergdahl story is already a more contentious issue than the killing of Osama bin Laden. Part of what felled Zero Dark Thirty, for some, was that it seemed like Bigelow and Bowe were writing history in a journalistic manner, which became a problem when the film was criticized for its depiction of how torture factored into the hunt for bin Laden. Bigelow and Boal might have competition for the project though: Fleming also reports that Fox Searchlight has acquired Michael Hastings' Rolling Stone article about Bergdahl: America's Last Prisoner of War. esther@thewire.com Follow @ezwrites

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Voorstelling Theater The Truth Following last year’s phenomenal success of The Father by Florian Zeller (Theatre Royal Bath, Tricycle, Wyndham’s and Duke of York’s from February), the Chocolate Factory in association with Theatre Royal Bath is delighted to present the UK premiere of Zeller’s biting new play The Truth.French novelist and playwright Zeller has been awarded the prestigious Prix Interallié (for his novel The Fascination of Evil) and two Molière awards for his plays The Father and The Mother. This is the English language premiere of a new version of The Truth by Christopher Hampton (Les Liaisons Dangereuses) and is directed by Lindsay Posner (Abigail’s Party, Communicating Doors and Dinner With Saddam). Bestel tickets voor The Truth 32-36 Charing Cross RoadLondonWC2H 0DA The theatre can be seen opposite the station.

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A Doctor Who Community Heart of the TARDIS Saturday 8:00 PM on BBC America Voted up by Staff Family matters steamheaduk Season 9 as a whole has been quite revealing about the Doctor's and Master's respective families, but done in a very subtle "blink and you missed it", hidden history sort of way. So what do we really know about their families? Well we know from the original series that the Doctor had a wife/partner, and at least one child to produce one grandchild – Susan, the original “An Unearthly Child” and then seen again in “The Five Doctors”. But do we know more? Read on... Jun 25, 2016 The Hidden History of Season 9 - Part 4 We saw Part 3 bring us close to the end of the season, but probably closer than we expected. Season 9 series finale was quite unusual, three very distinct stories, but still most definitely a 3 parter. We’ve seen in the first three instalments a wealth of hidden history that Season 9 has from across the entire history of the show.Let’s see what’s bound up in the depths of the season finale. Read on… In Part 2 we got halfway through season 9 and have seen dozens of reference to both eras of the show buried in the very fabric of every episode. Not one episode has passed so far without making some reference to the history of the show. So what has the next chunk got to offer? Read on… As we saw in Part 1, Season 9 started with a veritable flood of continuity references, but you might expect that for a Dalek story, how did the rest of the season fare when dealing with new threats? This part covers from Under the Lake to The Woman Who lived - read on to find out what was beneath the surface of those few episodes. Jun 11, 2016 ‘Fringe’ star John Noble wants to be in ‘Doctor Who’ www.cultbox.co.uk May 26, 2016 The Hidden History of Season 9 - Part 1 In 2015 when we reach the 10th anniversary of the revival of Doctor Who, you might have expected there to be some big song and dance about, celebrating the new show in all its glory at the expense of the old, but it went past without being marked – or did it? Read on... Jun 04, 2016 Companions who die On the old forums we had a discussion on companions who had been killed during the show. Would Clara be on this list or on a list of companions who are dying? She did die but she is not dead but between heart beats. 1 Jun 02, 2016 Sarah Jane Smith This is where the Community format is inferior to the forum. What to do with shows that don't have a community or an off topic subject. I was ordering some Big Finish Doctor Who audio dramas from Who North America and ran across a set of Sarah Jane Smith. I think there was 5 in the set. Has anyone listen to them? And if so what did you think? 4 May 27, 2016 Its here!!! "The Underwater Menace" came today. There was no e-mail saying that it had been shipped so it was a big surprise. Episodes 1 and 2 are photographic stills and restored soundtrack. So no ]thing new here so I guess no new finds. 10 May 17, 2016 The Tenth Doctor Adventures "Robots running amok! Donna we're on!" - Donna and Ten are back and it's like they've never been away. The beauty of Doctor Who, and the secret of it's longevity is that it reinvents itself with a new lead actor every few years. So if you don't like the current version, you can wait a couple of years and try it out again. Of course this has a downside, once you find a Doctor you like, eventually they have to go. So you just get used to "your Doctor" and he's gone, never to be heard reversing the polarity again. Until recently that is... Companions who die 1 comment What does Moffat need to tie-up before he goes? See all Discussions Episode Guide Hell Bent Face the Raven The Zygon Inversion The Twelfth Doctor Clara Oswin Oswald Matt Smith (VI) The Eleventh Doctor The Tenth Doctor The Ninth Doctor "I'm the Doctor, run for your life!"A UK television staple, Doctor Who was revamped for the 21st century by the BBC, bringing the show back in 2005 after its cancellation in 1989. The Ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) came and conquered but died saving the universe and his companions from the cursed Daleks. Regenerating for the ninth time, the Tenth Doctor (David Tennant) brought more secrets and dark sides of this universe. Past, Present, Future and beyond! After regenerating to once again save the life of a trusted companion, the Doctor (Matt Smith) is now on his eleventh incarnation. With new friends Amy Pond (Karen Gillian) and Rory Williams (Arthur Darvill), a newly revamped TARDIS inside and out, the Doctor is ready for more adventures in time and space. The Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith) regenerated to become the Twelfth Doctor (Peter Capaldi).moreless

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Deadline Classic Celebrity Panel Game Show Coming Back Jul 30, 2014 A classic celebrity panel game show is readying a return to television. Writing on Deadline.com, Nellie Andreeva reports that former NBC Chairman Jeff Gaspin and FremantleMedia North America are making plans to update “To Tell the Truth.” “To Tell the Truth,” which was created by Bob Stewart and debuted in 1956, will be taken out to buyers soon, with the producers eyeing the show for a prime-time slot on broadcast TV, Andreeva writes. The show, which has gone through several versions on network TV and syndication, last aired in 2001. The original version includes a panel of four celebrities who are presented with three people claiming to have the same talent. Only one of them is speaking the truth, with the other two pretending. The celebrities ask questions to find out who is telling the truth. Gaspin, a fan of the show, is working with longtime collaborator George Moll. The pair created and produced “Behind the Music,” a popular VH1 series. The original “To Tell the Truth” Shakeup in the Cable News Ratings ESPN Suspends Analyst Stephen A. Smith Over Domestic Violence Remarks Share this Post :

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Jerry Lewis Wins an Oscar at Last Richard Corliss Sunday, Feb. 22, 2009 Alan Band / Keystone / GettyJerry Lewis in The Nutty Professor Related Jerry Lewis: Clown IconHow to Fix the Oscars: Make the Votes Public The last time Jerry Lewis appeared on the Oscars was 50 years ago, as one of the hosts of the 1959 show. In the three years since he and Dean Martin had ended their partnership as the country's all-time hottest comedy team, each had established successful a solo career: Martin as a dramatic actor in The Young Lions, Some Came Running and Rio Bravo, Lewis in the popular farces Rock-a-Bye Baby and The Geisha Boy. Each man had recorded hit singles, headlined in Vegas, guested on many TV shows. Lewis had also emceed the Oscar event twice before, with wit and dignity and without incident. (See TIME's photos: "Jerry Lewis, Clown Icon") The April 6, 1959, broadcast had moved smoothly — too smoothly, it turned out — up to the closing number: a group sing of "There's No Business Like Show Business" by dozens of the movie elite, including James Cagney, Bette Davis, Cary Grant, Rock Hudson, Doris Day, John Wayne and Elizabeth Taylor. As they concluded, someone noticed that the show had run 20 minutes short. (Implausible but true.) Cued from the wings, Lewis shouted to the group, "Another 20 times!" Some of the stars danced in couples; others wandered offstage. As the tone grew tenser, Jer announced "We're showing Three Stooges shorts to cheer up the losers." He grabbed the baton from musical director Lionel Newman and led the orchestra, ad-libbing, "We may get a bar mitzvah out of this!" The Pantages Theatre audience was already heading for the exits. (Read "How to Fix the Oscars.") NBC finally euthanized the show and filled the remaining airtime with a sports documentary on pistol shooting. Until Nixon's 18-1/2, Lewis's 20 were the minutes that lived in pop-culture infamy. Catastrophe would be one way to describe it. Another would be great live television — the spectacle of tuxedoed Hollywood pratfalling into humiliation, and handing the banana peel of blame to the one man who tried to keep the viewers entertained. But Jer must have done something right: it was the second-highest rated show in Oscar history. Tonight, after a mere five decades in the doghouse, after some 50 movies as a star and 13 as a writer-director, Lewis, 82, is being allowed back onstage. He's getting an Oscar, and, wouldn't you know, it's the wrong one. The Motion Picture Academy is giving him the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award — an honor recognizing charity work, and given more frequently to producers than to actors. Lewis's commitment as a spokesman for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, notably in the 19-hour MDA telethon he fronts each Labor Day, has certainly earned him a hearty Hollywood thank-you. But it's a minor token, almost an insult, to one of the wildest, most imaginative comic talents in any medium and, without question, the definitive showbiz ego of the mid-20th century. (See pictures of Jerry Lewis.) He surely merits one of those Life Achievement Awards the Academy passes out to distinguished film folk who never won a competitive Oscar and might die soon. (Recent honorary Oscars have gone to Robert Altman, Sidney Lumet and composer Ennio Moricone.) The slur stings any Jerry Lewis fan — especially Jerry Lewis. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Lewis explained the hurt: "Because they didn't think enough of my work. Because what I did didn't command consideration because it's slapstick, because it's lowbrow, because the Academy's always been cautious about comedy." It's a measure of his lingering impact that Hollywood is still embarrassed by the very idea of Jerry Lewis, let alone his presence. To the graybeards at the Academy, Jer is not only the demolisher of Oscar's gravitas but the unkillable specter of his first eminence, in the late '40s and '50s, as the goony kid prancing around the cool crooner. (One producer cruelly called Martin and Lewis "the organ grinder and the monkey"). He is the comic whose genius, or even the robust grosses of his movies, nobody in Hollywood took seriously. And because he was championed as an auteur in the pages of Cahiers du Cinema, Lewis's detractors have made him the derisive punch line to every joke about the French that came after postcards and before Freedom Fries. That's so small of them. Lewis deserves an armful of awards as a gifted, if problematic, creator of his '60s movie comedies — and, even more, as the idiot personality and the brilliant creative force behind Martin and Lewis. The Organ Grinder and the Monkey Comedy duos had been a staple of vaudeville (Buck and Bubbles, Gallagher and Shean, Burns and Allen) and movies; in 1942, theater exhibitors voted Bud Abbott and Lou Costello the No. 1 "star" in Hollywood. What Lewis saw in Martin, when they first teamed up in 1946, was something unique: a sexpot straight man, a perfect complement to Jer's goony girly-boy. Dean was Lewis's public enabler; by acting as the imperturbable wall against which the kid's maniacal energy kept bouncing, he translated Jer to the mainstream audience.

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Confessions of an Aca-Fan— The Official Weblog of Henry JenkinsLatest Posts The Survival of Soap Opera (Part Four): Why Fans Matter By Henry Jenkins The final section of The Survival of Soap Opera focuses on the evolution of fan community practices online, on various soap opera fan experiences/demographics, and on relations between the soap opera industry and its fans. Below, a variety of the contributors to this section answer questions about the relationships fans have with the soap operas they watch and with one another. Tom Casiello is a current member of the writing team for The Young and the Restless, a former associate head writer for One Life to Live and Days of Our Lives, and a two-time Daytime Emmy Award-winning writer with As the World Turns who has written about the genre at his blog, Damn the Man! Save the Empire. Abigail De Kosnik is an assistant professor at the University of California-Berkeley in the Berkeley Center for New Media and the Department of Theater, Dance & Performance Studies who writes on media, fandom, and copyright. As editor of the collection, she co-wrote the book’s introduction, “The Crisis of Daytime Drama and What It Means for the Future of Television.” She also wrote an essay in the collection, entitled “Soaps for Tomorrow: Media Fans Making Online Drama from Celebrity Gossip. C. Lee Harrington is professor of sociology and a Women’s Studies Program Affiliate at Miami University is co-author of the book Soap Fans and who has written on the soap opera genre since the late 1980s for publications including The Journal of Aging Studies, The Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, and Transformative Works and Cultures. As one of the book’s co-editors, she co-wrote the book’s introduction, “The Crisis of Daytime Drama and What It Means for the Future of Television.” She also co-authored a piece for the book with Denise Brothers, entitled “Constructing the Older Audience: Age and Aging in Soaps.” Roger Newcomb is the Editor-in-Chief of soap opera news site We Love Soaps, the producer of two Internet radio soap operas, and executive producer and co-writer of the film Manhattanites. His essay in the book is entitled “As the World Turns‘ Luke and Noah and Fan Activism.” Radha O’Meara is a doctoral candidate and lecturer in screen studies at the University of Melbourne, Australia, who has published her work in Screwball Television: Gilmore Girls and in the Austrian journal Metro. Her essay in the book is entitled “The ‘Missing Years’: How Local Programming Ruptured Days of Our Lives in Australia.” Julie Porter is a longtime newspaper editor and reporter who is webmaster of soap opera site talk!talk!. Her essay in the collection is entitled “Hanging on by a Common Thread.” QueenEve is the pseudonym of a career professional and soap opera fan who has moderated and/or founded several popular soap communities online. The collection features a piece based on Abigail De Kosnik’s interview with QueenEve focusing on fan activity around and against soaps. How has the relationship between U.S. soap operas and their fans evolved over time? Tom Casiello: I honestly think the relationship between the soaps and the fans hasn’t changed nearly as much as others believe. (I also think we have to be very careful not to group them all together as “the soap operas.” There are currently six U.S. daytime soaps on the air, all of which should have their own individual identity, wherin their fans expect different things from each show.) At its core, the audience still wants stories and characters they can connect with on a human level, mixed with the element of fantasy and escapism they’ve come to expect. They want to know the characters they’ve loved their whole lives, whom they’ve watched grow and evolve, are in capable, trustworthy hands…and they will continue to live on in their homes daily. While audience demograhics may shift, and trends will come and go, strong, long-term serialized storytelling with heart is all the fans have ever wanted. Roger Newcomb: Obviously, from radio soap operas to present-day television and internet soaps, the way fans view or listen to their soaps has changed tremendously. The relationship the soaps have with fans has evolved as well. Even 30 years ago, the main feedback mechanisms were snail mail and telephone feedback lines. In 2010, fans can email the shows and their networks, and many times the stars themselves. The shows also have Facebook and Twitters accounts to solicit immediate feedback from fans, and the actors themselves directly interact with fans in a more personal way through social networking. It is not clear whether this increased and immediate interaction has impacted storylines or story direction. QueenEve: I think it used to be a far more personal relationship shared between female multi-generational family members and the soap opera. Over time, with the growth of soap magazines covering more than just “the stories,” suddenly we knew about the actors playing the characters and the writers writing the show, making it a little less personal. We learned about the relationships between the actors playing the parts (marriages, divorces, and kids), entirely separate from their parts, and the experience expanded beyond one among just you, your mother, and the story. Then, with the internet, it became even less intimate and much more of a group activity with other viewers. So, what had been something between female members of a family and the soap eventually involved the actors, the writers, the media, and other viewers who may not have viewed the show and characters as you and your family did. The other side of that is that the “family” element has sort of dropped out, and it is no longer a multi-generational female experience. Some of that is the changing role of women in society, but a large part of it is that soaps have backed away from telling multi-generational female stories in search of the almighty 18-49 demo, and the audience loss has reflected that. So, I think it went from a highly personal and intimate experience to a more expansive but impersonal experience such that viewers don’t have the investment they once did. What changes have we seen in recent years in how fans of U.S. daytime dramas connect with one another? Tom Casiello: The Internet for one – for the first time in history, it’s much easier for those with the same interests to connect instantaneously, on a level playing field. Who they are in their lives, where they come from, their education – it’s irrelevant on the Web. Here, they are all equal fans, and that has not only helped organize a stronger group effort in their campaigns but also created a world of discussion to bounce their ideas and opinions off of each other in what is hopefully a moderated environment. Abigail De Kosnik: The most striking fan activity that the Web, and online communities, have brought about (in my view) is that “fans make their own fun,” as one of our contributors, Web site moderator “QueenEve,” stated. Since fans have started communicating online, they have basically produced their own virtual soap operas – spreading spoilers and dissecting upcoming plots, posting speculations about what’s going to happen next as well as (often very thoughtful) analyses of what happened recently on their favorite shows, in addition to gossiping about behind-the-scenes rumors (Which co-stars won’t work together? Why did the Exec Producer fire that actor? When is that former writer coming back to this show?). There’s also been a level of drama in the wars between fan bases that matches that of the heightened conflicts depicted on soap operas. The animosity that warring fan bases have borne toward one another has been awesome in its fierceness, and, while I don’t want to minimize the fact that some people’s feelings have probably been deeply hurt by these acrimonious exchanges, I must say that there’s an element of watching or participating in soap fans battle online that is immensely engaging and entertaining. I have taken part in some of these “bitchfests” myself (and it’s not always fans vs. other fans; it’s also fans vs. the shows or the networks or particular storylines), and I’ll always remember those impassioned campaigns as really interesting, exciting times of my life. There’s something about the dedication and commitment that soap fans have for their shows that really infused the online fan experience with an intensity that many other Internet fan groups lack. It comes, I think, from the fact that, when the Web became a big part of soap fans’ lives, many fans had already been engaged with these soap story worlds for years – in many cases, fans’ involvement predated the Internet by decades. The Web, which permits for a really wide range of discussions and actions that can be micro-interventions or can go on for months or years, almost seems like it was specifically built as a platform for soap fans, who have decades’ worth of information and insight to discuss. C. Lee Harrington: While soap viewers were among the first groups to migrate to the Net recreationally, as Nancy Baym discussed in Tune In, Log On, they were slower to create the type of user-generated content currently associated with media fandom, in part because the frequency (daily) and longevity (the average age of US soaps is 40 years) of the “primary”‘ text created less need for viewers to fill narrative gaps in between episodes or installments. Over the past few years, soap fans have become increasingly engaged in vlogs, video-sharing, fan fiction, podcasts, and mash-ups, while much of soap fans’ energy remains devoted to the ongoing daily criticism, discussion, and fan activism which takes place in online forums and the blogosphere. Roger Newcomb: Fans are connecting on social network sites like Facebook and Twitter and continue to interact on various message boards. The fans seem to be more tech-savvy these days, so the number of message boards and Facebook pages has grown by leaps and bounds. In some ways, this has splintered the online audience, with more websites and social network sites dedicated to particular actors, characters, or soap couples. We Love Soaps TV receives almost 10 percent of our hits from Twitter and, in many cases, from fans who tweet and re-tweet our features. Twitter has become the fastest way of spreading information about soaps around the web. Julie Porter: Be careful what you wish for! To me, that’s the warning label that should be placed on the desire to raise viewership at any cost. The race for ratings – and ad revenue – has had an unintended consequence along the way: a decrease of conflict in storyline. The intense competition for audience share gives soap viewers a powerful amount of clout in determining how stories are resolved – and, generally, they want favorite characters to be happy, and want to see their characters’ conflicts resolved. But is that what they really want? Accelerated storytelling satisfies the short-term viewer but weakens the long-term story. Conflict makes for anxiety, but quick resolutions make for an awfully boring soap, long-term. Once, it might have taken three years to resolve a complex story in a big reveal. That’s storytelling. But, these days, if the focus groups say to wrap it up – well, it gets wrapped up quickly, and there’s short-term satisfaction but a lot of opportunity for story and character development is lost. Faster-paced storytelling throws characters into a revolving door of reaction; the storyline rules, but deep character development is almost nil. And so the viewer who wanted a quick resolution also quickly loses interest. The willingness of networks to give focus groups and online campaigns a strong role in the decision process also leads to a bad end: It places creative control in the hands of executive management rather than writers, and fan feedback becomes the tail that wags the dog. The soap that has evolved into a marketing tool isn’t nearly as satisfying as one that does what soaps were intended to do: explore the feelings and lives of people, and their ups and downs. QueenEve: I think, in the past, you might have a discussion with a neighbor or friend about the soap or the “girls” in the dorm, but fandom was fairly generic. Now, with the internet, you have both a gathering place and a divisive means of organization. That is, people generally check in on the internet to find fans of the characters or couples they like, to the exclusion of a more general audience. It has led to “board wars” in the past, between couple fans especially. The Sonny & Brenda versus Jax & Brenda fans of the 90s on General Hospital was a good representation of that, as were the Robin & Jason fans versus the Carly & Jason fans. So, on the one hand, the internet allowed fans to find each other on the internet and connect while, on the other hand, it leads to divisive and heated fights. How do the teams who make these shows take into account the fans’ feedback and mindset, from your perspective? Abigail De Kosnik: I know for a fact that the shows do pay attention to soap fans’ feedback, to some extent. The contributors to our book who work in the soap industry verified this, and I have heard soap actors often tell fans who want to see changes on their favorite shows that they must write or call in to the network to voice their opinions. One of my e-mails to ABC, urging them to portray professional women – the female nurses, doctors, lawyers – in a more positive light on General Hospital, got quoted almost verbatim by ABC Daytime exec Brian Frons in an interview he did with one of the soap magazines back in 2003. But, on the other hand, I think many fans, and I am one of them, are frustrated by the fact that, although the Internet permits for a much greater flow of feedback from soap viewers to soaps’ producers, the shows don’t seem to be able to take effective action in response. Several of our industry contributors have told us that, with soaps, time is a huge factor in this – of course, feedback on a storyline comes in well after months of that story are written and shot – but, also, I wonder if the case of soap operas, in which we see this enormous wave of feedback going to TV shows and not that much difference being made, just illustrates the fact that television is a creative industry and, probably on any television program, whether daytime or prime time or a miniseries, the writers just can’t care too much about what the audience thinks about a particular storyline or character. I mean, Mad Men showrunner Matthew Weiner doesn’t think about what fans want, or what they’ve liked about past episodes, when he puts a new season of Mad Men together, except in the most general way (I think he once mentioned that one reason for an increase in child character Sally Draper’s air time was that many viewers relate to Sally the most, she’s their “way in” to the show, since they were about Sally’s age in Mad Men’s time period.). So, maybe the frustration of soap fans is just indicative of the fact that online participation isn’t a guarantee that “the people” can influence the power centers that much. The Web gives an illusion of what others have called “participatory democracy,” but just sending a bunch of e-mails obviously isn’t the way to change the minds of the minority who are the decision-makers. However, I do think that there are probably ways to use online connectivity to influence power centers, both in soap operas and in other arenas, like politics. And maybe soap fans can pioneer ways to use digital technologies to share feedback that really creates change, and then political fans and organizations can learn from those tactics!!! C. Lee Harrington: From what I can tell, soap opera creators have waffled back and forth on this. The production team rightfully knows a projected story arc in ways viewers do not, and there is a longstanding perspective of “trust us to tell a good story,” even when viewers are rejecting what they are seeing daily onscreen. The flip side of that is that, with the instantaneous feedback that the internet allows, production teams (or perhaps network honchos) can get too engaged with daily (or minute-by-minute) viewer reaction and respond accordingly, to the long-term detriment of the narrative. The heated debates about the usage of focus groups in…when did that start in daytime? Late 1990s?…preceded the current tension between short and long-term narrative and industry goals. Roger Newcomb: I personally think, for the most part, the fan feedback online is disregarded. When there is a huge outrage over something (like the abrupt end of the Kyle and Fish storyline on One Life to Live), the shows and networks take notice, but, even then, it doesn’t necessarily change the outcome. In general, there are so many opposing views from fans on storylines that it is difficult to know which is the majority. I’ve also directly heard from writers and producers of daytime soaps that they believe the online audience does not necessarily reflect the perspective of the total viewing audience, even when the online audience number in thousands, a greater number than a supposedly statistically sound Nielsen sample. QueenEve: From my experience, they couldn’t care less about fans’ feedback and mindset unless it feeds their agenda and own personal likes and dislikes. Occassionally, the feedback is strong enough that it can change things, but I have seen more often them using the feedback as a means not to change things but rather to force a story even more firmly down the fans’ throats. That is, if some new character is not going over with the fans but the show is highly invested, we’ll see even more of the character, and we will get overkill of stories trying to make this character more sympathetic and hearing other well loved characters “pimp” and “prop” the new character endlessly. How has the trend of an aging soap opera audience impacted the soap opera industry in the U.S.? Tom Casiello: The networks continue to look for new ways to entice younger viewers to their shows, as they’ve always felt (with good reason) that these shows survive when passed down from generation to generation. However, I do believe we are seeing the first signs of a possible shift in that thinking. Those audience members over fifty are consuming far more than their counterparts from half a century ago did. Consumers with more income in older demographics are proving to be just as valuable as younger demographics. The key is to find a way to welcome new viewers into the fold while trying not to alienate older viewers…and it’s a struggle all the soaps have faced for the last fifteen to twenty years, more so than ever as the generation gap grows wider. C. Lee Harrington: As my chapter with Denise Brothers suggests, the aging of soap opera audiences had a major impact. The age of all television viewers is going up (as the global population ages), and soap viewership is no exception to this trend. However, the core demographic remains 18-49 year old women, which means soap viewers are rapidly aging out of network priorities. This is visibilized on-screen in terms of which actors/characters are prioritized (with vets moved to window-dressing or dropped from contract to recurring status), as well as the story content itself. The older viewers and actors we spoke with for our study are keenly aware of this trend and believe the genre is suffering for it. If soaps do not respond more fully to the aging of its viewership, an older demographic that is more economically powerful than the industry apparently appreciates, the genre will be in even more trouble than it is now. Roger Newcomb:Obviously, the aging soap audience is one of the contributors to the decrease in viewers. As longtime fans have passed, they weren’t replaced by new fans of the genre. Even though the average age of soap viewers is the mid-50s, the shows have continued to focus on younger characters to a large degree. But there have been some shifts in the past year. Days of Our Lives features more over-50 contract actors today than ever in the history of the show. One Life to Live has recently shifted the focus to the veteran actors on the canvas. There seems to be a better mix between younger and older characters, and this may be due to the networks finally realizing who their audience is. QueenEve: Not at all. The shows keep trying to write for an audience that isn’t there — 18 – 34 — and are losing the “aging audience” that they simply do not value. It’s insane really, because it’s not just the soap opera audience that has aged — it’s all of society now that the baby boomers are aging. Why that audience isn’t valued is a mystery to me. What “surplus audiences” outside the target demographic should soap opera producers be paying attention to? What can they learn from these audiences? Tom Casiello: Diversity is a major issue daytime needs to address. This isn’t just a Caucasian versus African-American issue. In a perfect world, these shows would also represent Latino characters, Asian characters, Jewish characters, homosexuals/bisexuals; there’s no end to the types of characters these shows should involve in their long-term stories–while always striving to find a balance between honesty and stereotyping, walking that fine line between truth and cliche. All of these demographics can play vital roles in front-burner stories and can present just as many interesting character dilemmas as a middle-aged, Caucasian, heterosexual character can…probably with an added layer of nuance, an original perspective that puts an entirely new spin on the storyline. C. Lee Harrington: As I noted above, I believe older viewers should be repositioned from “surplus” to “core,” given demographic projections. To engage the US viewing population as fully as possible, soaps would benefit from greater diversity in characters and storytelling overall–more LBGTQ characters, more characters of color and immigrant characters, more characters of lower socio-economic classes etc. There are genre-specific risks to this, of course (I have published several articles on the generic challenges that gay and lesbian characters/stories present to daytime), but narratives that better reflect the US population as a whole may engage a wider audience. I also echo Radha O’Meara’s call below for greater attunement to audiences in other parts of the world, given the still-central role that serial narratives play in global import/export patterns. As Denise Bielby and I wrote in Global TV (2008), The Young & the Restless and The Bold & the Beautiful has been particularly smart in writing narratives for multiple geographic/cultural audiences, avoiding lengthy on-screen legal trials and certain types of humorous stories that may be perplexing to non-Americans, for example. I’m not sure the extent to which other programs are following suit, but, if not, they should. Roger Newcomb: The soaps have targeted women 18-49 and 18-34 for decades. Men make up 20-25% of the total viewing audience, but you do not see commercials for men on any of these shows. African-Americans also make up a large portion of the audience, but characterizations of African-Americans are few and far between on daytime soap operas. Gay audiences, targeted by networks like Bravo, would have been a potential goldmine for soaps, but, with the cancelation of As The World Turns, there is only one regular gay character on daytime now–Bianca on All My Children. Targeting various niche groups would seem to be a more lucrative alternative for soaps than the current one-size-fits-all model. QueenEve: I think the soaps should go back to the beginning and start writing compelling stories about characters of all ages and stop writing for the “sweeps explosions.” I think people like the soap opera genre. If they didn’t, the genre’s serial aspects would not have been adopted by primetime TV and be so successful there. It’s ironic because, as soap operas tried to be more like primetime with big explosions, fights, special effects, and adventure, they became less successful. While, as primetime became more like soap operas with ongoing stories that build throughout a season (Lost, Desperate Housewives, Grey’s Anatomy, ER, etc.) they became more successful. Daytime soaps are bleeding viewers not because the soap opera genre is dying but because it is being executed so poorly, compared with primetime TV. People want a better product. Radha O’Meara: I’m most interested in international surplus audiences for US soap operas, and my contribution to the collection was about the Australian audience for Days of Our Lives. I think that the focus on US audiences for US productions is particularly strong, commercially and critically. If producers and creators give more serious consideration to international soap audiences, they might learn from different strategies and priorities in scheduling, episode duration, and attracting niche audiences, including young people. This might help them to attract greater audiences globally and domestically. I find the strong focus on domestic distribution and audiences for US soap operas in American media studies a little troubling. Although US scholars are cognizant of international distribution and audiences, they seem to maintain a strong emphasis on the US as the principal audience. From an antipodean perspective, it seems American media studies could be more open to the implications of plural global audiences. Given that many soap operas have long histories with international audiences, there is a wealth of experience and data on which to draw. The broadcast of US soap operas in international markets can highlight the potential of alternatives for scheduling and attracting niche audiences. For example, the most popular US daytime soap opera in Australia is The Bold and the Beautiful. It is broadcast on weekdays on the Ten network in the 4.30 p.m. timeslot. This has allowed the show to garner a significant number of young viewers, who watch it after coming home from the day at primary or high school. Since loyalty to soaps can be so enduring, this early attachment can lead to a lifelong connection. I began watching the show regularly after coming home from high school several decades ago and still enjoy it. I suspect The Bold and the Beautiful‘s half-hour format is a significant part of its appeal as the highest-rated U.S. daytime soap in Australia, and indeed the world. This is a contrast to many other US daytime soaps which run for an hour, and particularly those which are screened in Australia (Days of Our Lives, The Young and the Restless, General Hospital). The half-hour format might be more appealing to Australian viewers, as Australian viewers are more accustomed to popular half-hour soaps made in Australia and Britain, such as Neighbours, Home and Away, Coronation Street, EastEnders. Throughout the long history of US soap operas, program duration has consistently expanded. Early radio and television soaps often ran for 15 minutes, including a single commercial break, but most television soaps expanded in the 1950s to half-hour and later to full hour programs. A few even tried 90 minutes daily. In today’s fast-paced world, perhaps US soaps could experiment with episodes of shorter duration. Rather than cancelling soaps with falling ratings, US producers might consider what shorter episodes could do for both international and domestic audiences. Producers and scholars should consider what makes particular soap operas popular in different regions and the implications this has for definitions of soap opera as a commercially successful genre. Soap opera in the US is much more clearly defined by US programs and by local emphasis on the scheduling and audience distinction between daytime and primetime. These distinctions are much less significant for international viewers. Many Australian soap fans follow daytime and primetime US, UK, and Australian soaps. Despite obvious differences, they often have no trouble grouping them together as soap operas, which share common family traits. In fact, Australian audiences are often unaware of the “original” features used to define programs in the US: US daytime soaps have been broadcast here at midnight, and primetime soaps have been broadcast during the day; daily soaps have been broadcast weekly or bi-weekly, and weekly soaps have been broadcast daily. This means that producers and scholars can learn more about what audiences seek in soaps by exploring broader definitions of the genre and its audiences. According to Christine Geraghty, Australian soaps have influenced British soaps to integrate more male characters, young characters, and “masculine” storylines over the past few decades (Women and Soap Opera: A Study of Prime Time Soaps, Polity 1991). Perhaps US soaps might also consider such changes. In my contribution to the collection, I wrote about an unusual rupture in soap opera broadcasting. After screening episodes of NBC daytime drama Days of Our Lives in a continuous sequence for over thirty years, in 2004, Australia’s Nine Network skipped approximately one thousand episodes. The Nine Network continued to broadcast the program daily, but most Australian viewers missed four years’ worth of episodes. An interesting tension arose from this fissure between those who understood the Australian audience as a component of a global, homogenous audience for Days of Our Lives centered on the US, and those who understood the Australian audience as a unique, local experience. Scholars and producers should both consider their positions on this tension. Similarly, this rupture of Days of our Lives for Australian audiences raised questions about the nature of soap audiences’ enduring commitment to particular programs. It highlighted how significant parts of the audience seemed to value their own history with and experience of the program more highly than a wider, communal experience. This deeply personal connection is something that producers presumably want to foster, and new distribution methods may impact on these experiences in even more divergent ways. These are some of the lessons US soap opera producers can learn from international audiences, and they may even help them maintain their domestic audiences. Filed Under: book shelf, branded entertainment, c3, Comparative Media Studies, fan culture, interviews, television Comments tax return says: December 11, 2010 at 10:24 pm I think the reason that they’re writing for 18 to 34 year olds would be more commercial. They do not value the “aging audience” because they are not conspicuous consumers, and they can’t sell the ad space. Cristina Guzmán says: December 14, 2010 at 5:13 pm Well, here in Latin America the soap operas are really famous. According with the observatory OBITEL, in Latin America we export more soap operas than any other TV show. And it’s really common to see a character promoting products from the sponsors, or saying their perception about the political situation of the country, because the producers know that it’s a way to influence the people and teach them about different situations. Most of the time there isn’t a real interaction between the fans and the producers, so the fans don’t get involved in the creation of the soap opera. But here in Mexico, the executive producers made a contest where the fan could write the final scene of the soap opera, and the winner scene would be on air as an alternative ending. But that will be all, except for comments where the executive producers don’t accept the actions of the fans. For example, the argentine soap opera “Floricienta”. This Soap Opera was a huge success in Latin America and Europe. One of the most important events in the soap opera was the death of Federico, the male character. This character died at the end of the first season in November 17 of 2004. In November 18 you could find in the Internet campaigns, fan fictions, fan arts, even funerals, for Federico. In Argentina different news paper informed about the impact of the season finale in the people. (http://www.quovadis.com.ar/telenovelas/2006/floricienta/noticias/20041118c.html) In March of 2005, the transmission of the new season started with a new male character, Maximo. This new character divided the fandom in two. You had to be a fan of Federico or Maximo, but you couldn’t support both of them. This situation created tension between the fans and most of the time ended with the fans attacking each other. This impact was so big that a lot of fan communities were forces to take a side or created special spaces for the male characters, that way the fans couldn’t attack each other. The only comments from the executive producer were that the main character of the soap opera moved on with her live and she found love with Maximo. And the fans needed to accept that and forget Federico. P.S: Sorry for my grammar, I’m not a really good writer when it comes to english. Sam_Ford says: January 1, 2011 at 8:24 pm Thanks, Cristina! We had one piece in our book, by Jaime Nasser, which looked at the relationship between Latin American telenovelas and the U.S. soap opera. It’s an interesting comparison, as U.S. soaps inspired the creation of telenovelas elsewhere, yet there are such major structural differences as well (for instance, telenovelas have a definite end point, while U.S. soap operas are purported to go on forever; and many telenovelas air in primetime, while U.S. soaps are only daytime fare and often seen as marginalized for being so). Jaime’s piece looks at how the telenovela format has been brought back into the U.S. market through primetime shows like Ugly Betty and some experiments on MyNetworkTV and faced some degree of marginalization and very little discussion from critics regarding their relationship to daytime serials that air in U.S. daytime. bradceballes says: March 14, 2011 at 9:41 pm I have to agree with what ‘the tax return’ guy/gal wrote. There are so many potential reasons why the writers are aiming at a younger crowd but the biggest of them all is the almighty dollar. That age bracket spends money. They are reachable during the time of day when soaps are played and combine that with an aging population leads me to believe soap operas are trying to build a fresher audience to increase ad revenues. queen size air bed Just my 2 cents … for what it is worth :0) crazy over purple says: April 3, 2011 at 10:26 am fans matter because they are the ones that make the soap rate! free online dating site PornoPixel says: April 10, 2011 at 5:50 pm PornoPixel is Seo Friendly and to improve backlinks, for sites that have purchased the pixels, their links are appears on the popular Social Network, Blog and Service. (with a single purchase) Start Advertising Ricky Wilson says: October 17, 2011 at 1:29 am Thanks for share about the information. exporting from the uk Maria Shriver says: November 16, 2011 at 5:24 am Global Export Import is a leading b2b export import portal. who provide global buyers, global suppliers manufactures, global tread leads, global export import companies, global exporters, importers directory. global export data| rajasthan darshan james dean says: December 7, 2011 at 5:51 am Hi dear, Online Export Import is web based export import company, it provide online data data base of manufactures,Exporters,Importers Suppliers,Buyers products and services providers. online sellers | online import export agent Spreadable Media: Creating Value and Meaning in a Networked Culture (Postmillennial Pop) Buy at Amazon (Kindle) Buy at Powells Textual Poachers: Television Fans and Participatory Culture Reading in a Participatory Culture: Remixing Moby-Dick in the English Classroom Convergence Culture Buy at Amazon (hardcover) Buy at Amazon (paperback) Buy at Powells (hardcover) Buy at Powells (paperback) The Wow Climax Fans, Bloggers and Gamers Return to top of pageCopyright © 2016 · henryjenkins theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

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October 16 2012, 4:00 AM HKAFF Line-Up Pits Asia's Big Guns Against North Korean Unknowns Asian Editor; Hong Kong, China (@Marshy00) The Hong Kong Asian Film Festival is always one of the highlight's of the city's crowded festival calendar, crammed each year with a host of edgy, artsy and often otherwise unavailable fare from around the continent. This year proves to be no exception. The festival is set to run from 2-18 November and will open with the domestic premiere of Longman Lok and Sunny Luk's much-touted cop thriller Cold War, together with Taiwanese rom-com When A Wolf Falls In Love With A Sheep, from Hou Chi Jan. This year's closing film is the highly anticipated Pieta from Kim Ki-duk, which recently bagged four awards at the Venice International Film Festival, including the Golden Lion for Best Film (much to the chagrin of P.T. Anderson fans).There are gala presentations of Chen Kaige's Oscar hopeful, Caught In The Web and Hur Jin-ho's Chinese language remake of Dangerous Liasons, starring Zhang Zi Yi, Jang Dong-gun and Cecilia Cheung, as well as a special presentation of Kurosawa Kiyoshi's five-hour TV mini series, Penance. Other highlights include Abbas Kiarostami's Like Someone In Love, Lou Ye's Mystery, Brillante Mendoza's Captive and Sono Sion's latest, The Land of Hope.But that's just scratching the surface of this year's offerings. There's the now obligatory focus on New Taiwanese Cinema, a programme of Sono's early short films, the Director in Focus sidebar, which this year looks at the work of Liang Ying, and an entire section dedicated to the undiscovered treasures of North Korean Cinema. The Flower Girl, The Tale of Chun Hyang, A Bellflower and A Schoolgirl's Diary are surely all worth seeking out and should pique the interest of any budding fan of Asian Cinema.The full line-up, including showtimes and ticketing information can be found on the festival's official website. Suffice to say I'll be taking in as many of these as is humanly possible next month!

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JASON WILLIS A still from the short film "Catnip: Egress to Oblivion?" The seven-minute film, written and directed by Tucsonan Jason Willis, is an official selection of the 2013 Sundance FIlm Festival. Jason Willis, writer and director of "Catnip: Egress to Oblivion?" Local filmmaker makes cut at Sundance with 'Catnip' Jeffrey J. Randall Jrandall@azstarnet.com Calling Jason Willis an overnight success may be a bit misleading. At the age of 43, he has spent the better part of his adult years as a graphic artist, a musician and a practitioner of "any kind of artistic endeavor." He was a member of Tucson punk bands The Weird Lovemakers and then The Knockout Pills, both of which had moderate success, recording albums and touring. But after those bands fell apart, Willis gravitated toward filmmaking. "Technology has made it so easy to get started," WIllis said. "All you need is an iPhone and some simple software to get rolling." Willis started out making animated shorts and stop-motion films on his website (www.jasonwillis.com). Mostly Halloween-themed, they were a creative outlet and a chance to grow artistically, but were little more than a hobby. In the past year, however, his amateur filmmaking has begun to garner offers for freelance work. Most notably, it got him a job as director of a music video for The Heavy, a British soul-rock band that hired him to create the stop-motion video for "Can't Play Dead," the first single on their latest album. But, yes, it was still a shock when Willis found out that a short film he made last year landed him a slot at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. "Obviously, this is quite the shock that this is happening," Willis said. The film that got him there is called "Catnip: Egress to Oblivion?" The seven-minute short is a send-up of the ham-fisted, highly paranoid anti-drug films that are instantly familiar to almost anyone who endured adolescence in the public school system. Using psychedelic images of ecstatic cats and somber voice-over narration, the film is a sort of "Reefer Madness" aimed at felines, working under the pretense that catnip is a dangerous and addictive substance. Willis first had the idea for the film last June. "It was early June, I think, and by the 26th, I had finished it," he said. "It was so fast and easy, it almost felt like I was cheating." The film may have been partly inspired by Willis' childhood. He grew up in Lawrence, Kan., which was also the home of Centron Corp., a company that made countless industrial and educational films from 1947 up until it was sold in 1981. Some talent scouts from Centron visited Willis' school when he was 7 years old, and he wound up making his film debut in an educational short called "Halloween Safety." Willis recently tracked down a copy of the film, which was made in 1977, and posted it online. "I was in it for just a few seconds," he said, "dressed up like the Creature from the Black Lagoon." That childhood experience and a well-seasoned love of the educational film genre helped speed "Catnip" onto the screen. "I went from having the idea to writing the whole thing in what felt like five minutes," Willis said. And as fast as "Catnip: Egress to Oblivion?" was to make, success for the film came nearly as quickly. Shortly after finishing it, Willis entered the film in the First Friday Shorts competition at the Loft Cinema and won. "Tied, actually," he said. "The crowd voted by applause, and it was too close to call when it got down to the final two. We played rock-paper-scissors and I ended up winning." Willis posted the video to his website and began submitting it to festivals. Soon after, he was getting positive feedback from all corners of the Internet. And then, last November, it made the cut at the American Film Institute's 2012 AFI Festival. "We went to Los Angeles for the festival, and it was just a very strange experience," Willis said. "I had a lot of people approaching me to tell me how much they liked it. "And, to kind of illustrate how strange it was, at one point I went into the bathroom, and I looked over and Steven Spielberg was at the urinal next to me. Baseball cap and all. I just thought 'wow.' " Willis may find himself in close quarters with a few more familiar faces starting today at Sundance. His film will be screened five times over the course of the 11-day festival, accompanied by "Virtually Heroes," a new feature film that was directed by G.J. Echternkamp and produced by Roger Corman. "I'm basically like the little animated short that leads into the latest Corman film," Willis said, "which is unreal. I mean, Roger Corman? I think the world's a better place because of his work." And no matter what success comes along after Sundance, Willis will still be creating. Just like he was a year ago. Just like he has been doing for 40-some years. "There's so much good stuff still to be done," he said. Sundance at The Loft Even if you can't make it to Park City, Utah, for this year's Sundance Film Festival, you're in luck. The Loft Cinema is one of 10 independent cinemas nationwide taking part in Sundance Film Festival USA. On Jan. 31 at 7 p.m., the Loft will be screening "The Spectacular Now," just a few days after its world premiere at Sundance. Director James Ponsoldt will be present at the screening. Tickets are $15. For more information, go to www.loftcinema.org or call 795-0844. "catnip: Egress To Oblivion" The Loft Cinema Things To Do: Tucson CalendarToday's events | Add an event Most Popular in Entertainment Movie filmed in Tucson screens at Harkins Tucson Spectrum 18 Ex-Wahlburgers employees sue, claiming denied wages and tips Tucson screenwriter producing her first film at 74 Amy Schumer hospitalized in Hawaii while shooting movie Diesel says Guardians of the Galaxy to be in next 'Avengers'

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Telltale Games: The majority of The Walking Dead players try to do the right thing Stefanie Fogel August 15, 2012 6:27 AM Tags: game news, Richard Iggo, Telltale Games, The Walking Dead, The Walking Dead -- Episode 2: Starved for Help Not even a zombie apocalypse can stop people from being intrinsically good, said video game publisher and developer Telltale Games. Player choice is an important aspect of Telltale’s episodic adventure game The Walking Dead. Based on the comic book series by Robert Kirkman, it tasks players with making difficult, often morally ambiguous decisions. Yet, according to a new statistics trailer for The Walking Dead Episode 2: Starved For Help, most people try to make the “right” choice even if it means endangering themselves or others. (Warning: The rest of this article contains major spoilers for The Walking Dead) When faced with a crossbow-wielding crazy woman, 87 percent of The Walking Dead players chose to wait instead of shooting her in cold blood, according to the trailer. The majority of players (85 percent) also decided to chop off high-school teacher David’s leg to save him from approaching walkers, and most also chose to spare the life of demented dairy farmer Andy St. John (80 percent). Telltale Games senior director of marketing Richard Iggo said the development team finds the statistics fascinating. “Some of the stats we’ve seen coming back from player decisions have created a perception that even in dire times — and when faced with no-win situations where each decision is morally grey — the majority of people will try to do the ‘right’ thing if they can, even if there’s really no ‘right’ decision to be made,” Iggo told GamesBeat. “It’s fascinating because even when we offer players a decision where the apparently darker option might make sense from a purely logical point of view, they’ll often try to choose the ‘higher’ ground at personal cost even if that means being put in danger or having a relationship with another character suffer because of it.” Iggo said The Walking Dead’s game engine tracks every decision players make. Statistics for the larger story-changing choices are displayed at the end of each episode, while the video trailers offer a more in-depth look into smaller, more subtle choices that help shape series protagonist Lee Everett’s personality. “One of my favorites is where we see people stop punching Andy St. John,” Iggo said. “If you’ve seen the trailer, you’ll know that we’re almost up to 1.5 million punches on Andy. In that scene, you wail away on him until you see a wide-angle shot of the other survivors watching you including the impressionable Clementine. The camera then cuts back to a first person perspective, and you can continue to strike, but what we see is that most people stop. They realize that they’re being watched and that people are forming an opinion of them right there, and most people don’t want to be seen as a monster even in light of what the St. John family did. Most people take the higher ground, get up, walk away, and leave Andy to his fate.” One choice not covered in the statistics trailer involves a moment early in Episode 2 where the player must pass out four pieces of food among the camp’s ten hungry survivors. Unsurprisingly, the children — Clementine and Duck — were the most picked, followed by Mark. But it’s the fourth pick, the hard-as-nails curmudgeon Larry, that most surprised Telltale. “People chose to feed the guy that had been nothing but trouble since they met him, but I guess they felt sorry for him or his daughter Lilly. Or maybe they hoped that, by feeding him, he might tone down his aggression towards them and perhaps not reveal to the group what he knows about [Lee’s] past,” said Iggo. Since Larry meets a gruesome and disturbing end in Starved for Help, players will never know if their act of compassion worked. And if you thought Larry’s death was shocking, Iggo said, “You haven’t seen anything yet.” “In terms of absolute heartbreak in the episodes we’ve seen so far, [Episode 3: Long Road Ahead] takes the crown. You’re really going to have your morals tested right from the opening scenes of the episode, and since the bulk of people who play the game seem to make decisions based on what they would actually do in the situations presented to them, this episode is going to hold up a very dark mirror for a lot of people.”

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This article was published July 12, 2013 at 2:02 a.m. Venus and Serena Venus and Serena Directed by Maiken Baird and Michelle Major (PG-13, 100 minutes) Venus and Serena, a bio-pic with music by Wyclef Jean, is a sleekly packaged celebration of the remarkable lives of two sisters born 15 months apart who dominated women’s tennis for more than 10 years. Filmmakers Maiken Baird and Michelle Major, who followed the sisters for a full year, use vintage (1990s) footage and excellent access to show the then-teenage girls’ competitiveness and determination on the practice court and how their visionary (now divorced) parents Richard and Oracene Williams aided in their rise to the top of their game. Along with their winnings, success brings the Williams sisters lucrative product endorsements and turns them into trendsetters when Vogue editor Anna Wintour features them in the fashion magazine. But there are challenges as well, such as career-threatening health struggles they face during the uproarious 2011 season: Serena’s hospitalization for a potentially fatal blood clot in her lung and an autoimmune system disorder that gives Venus spells of fatigue and joint pain. The film includes appearances by Chris Rock, John McEnroe, Bill Clinton and Serena’s ex-boyfriend Common. “Devoted, protective and domineering, Richard Williams all but steals the film, his personality dimmed not a whit since the days he learned tennis from a book so he could teach his young daughters on the public courts of Compton, Calif.,” says critic Greg Evans of Bloomberg News. Upside Down (P G-1 3, 107 minutes) Is love stronger than gravity? That’s the question at the core of this bizarre sci-fi fantasy in which Adam (Jim Sturgess) and Eden (Kirsten Dunst) have been in love since they were teenagers despite living on twinned worlds - one poverty-stricken, the other wealthy and exploitative - with gravities that pull in opposite directions. After 10 years of forced separation, Adam, who’s working in a grubby factory on his depressing planet, sets out on a dangerous quest to infiltrate the corporate Transworld headquarters where Eden works in order to reconnect with his long-lost love, who unfortunately has amnesia and doesn’t remember him. “Simply put, this is one of the craziest films to come along in a while and I can confidently say that anyone who sees it will either hail it as some kind of crackpot masterpiece or dismiss it as one of the silliest … things they’ve ever seen,” says critic Peter Sobczynski in the Chicago Sun-Times. “And yet, I am often willing to overlook numbskull storytelling if the film in question is bold and stylish enough in other areas to make up for its narrative shortcomings, and this is one of those films.” Written and directed by Juan Diego Solanas. Gattaca (PG-13, 106 minutes) This 1997 sci-fi drama, now available on Blu-ray, is set in a future where the wealthy can choose the genetic makeup of their descendants, and those who are naturally born are considered inferior. In this world, defective Vincent Freeman (Ethan Hawke) yearns to be a Gattaca Corp. navigator, a job open only to those with superior genetic materials. So he arranges to assume the identity of Jerome Morrow (Jude Law), who, after being paralyzed in an accident, is willing to sell his superior genetics. You’d think his paralysis could be fixed, but don’t expect consistency and logic here. “One of the first Hollywood films about the effects of genetic engineering on human conduct, Andrew Niccol’s directing debut is an intelligent and timely sci-fi that, despite some illogical plot contrivances, is emotionally engaging almost up to the end,” says critic Emanuel Levy in Variety. With Uma Thurman and Gore Vidal. Spring Breakers (R, 92 minutes) This darkly amoral and beautifully photographed tale, the most cohesive and linear work yet from atypical director Harmony Korine, is about as far as you can get from 1960s fun-in-the-sun Where the Boys Are. It concerns three best friends who break some rules to escape their boring college dorm in order to head out on spring break in Florida. The exhilaration of freedom and endless partying is amplified when they encounter a rapper/drug dealer named Alien (James Franco, tattooed and braided and not like you’ve ever seen him before) who promises to provide them with all sorts of thrills and excitement, depending on how far they’re willing to go. It turns out there’s no limit to how far they are willing to go. Really. With Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Benson. Print Headline: HOME MOVIES Comments on: HOME MOVIES

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The Mindy Project · The Mindy Project: “Hiring And Firing” More The Mindy Project: “Hiring And Firing” Find Shows The Mindy Project: “Hiring And Firing” “Hiring And Firing” (252 Users) With its pilot episode out of the way, The Mindy Project now has a chance to have some fun with less plot-heavy episodes and figure out what kind of a show it wants to be. As you might guess from the name, “Hiring and Firing” is in a firm workplace-comedy vein, with just a little bit of romance mixed in. The second episode of a sitcom is often very shaky indeed—because there are no major plot arcs to advance and the writers are keeping their bigger, crazier concepts stored away for later in the season, the second episode can end up reiterating the themes of the pilot, in a less polished way. There’s a little of that going on here. Mindy and Danny’s (Chris Messina) workplace bickering/chemistry is re-established. Another well-known guest star pops up as a potential love interest (this time it’s Seth Meyers, instead of Ed Helms), and it’s likely we’ll never see him again, even though things are left perfectly ambiguous. But “Hiring And Firing” mostly works to build on the world of the OB/GYN office and establish Mindy as a vaguely competent, well-liked employee, since she spent so much of the pilot running around in party dresses. As an exercise in team-building, boss Marc (Stephen Tobolowsky) puts Mindy and Danny in charge of finding a new nurse, because Beverly, the current nurse (reliable crank Beth Grant), is a crazy old bat who steals vials of blood. The dashing but dim Jeremy is put in charge of getting rid of her. While Grant does a fine job with her crazy lady shtick, she’s maybe a tad over-the-top in what is otherwise a fairly laid-back episode. Sure, all of the characters in the ensemble are a little exaggerated, but the series is trying to avoid being one-note. Mindy’s a little flaky, but she’s not an airhead. Danny’s a little douchey, but he’s also a smart, professional man. One would think Tobolowsky would have free rein to get big with his character, but he’s playing Marc fairly softly, as a boss who’s happy to tolerate a moderate amount of antics but willing to put his foot down when Mindy and Danny’s fighting starts to ruin his workday. The show is also seemingly adding a new character, male nurse Morgan (Ike Barinholtz), who is on all the posters and thus, I’m going to assume, will be part of the ensemble. Even though his character’s a bit of an oddball, too—he’s an ex-con, and he’s got a weird, crazy energy that seems familiar to any fan of Eastbound & Down—Barinholtz feels like he’ll slot in well to the show’s chemistry, and it’s always good to have a big workplace ensemble to bounce jokes around. Kaling knows this full well, having cut her teeth on The Office, and I hope she gets to expand the universe a little more as the show goes on. The most fun part of “Hiring and Firing” is Mindy and Danny’s back-and-forth, even though it’s nothing we haven’t seen a million times before. As I said in my review of the pilot, I don’t mind if Kaling borrows from old rom-com tropes, and I especially don’t mind since she’s constantly owning up to it. This stuff is tried-and-tested, but if you do it right, it really works, and Kaling and Messina’s chemistry is pretty obvious. I have no idea if the show is interested in pursuing them as a possible couple in either the short term or the long term, and I don’t really care. If the writers think there’s an angle to work there, then good, I look forward to it. If not, there’s plenty of fun to be had anyway. I actually like the idea of Kaling being some 21st century Jerry Seinfeld, dating a new hot man every week who is played by some celeb she’s friends with. I can hear the complaints about it now, and I would hope Kaling would laugh them off, since it’s something we tolerate and basically expect from a male sitcom star. But a frequently single female star is still most often painted as single and desperate, and Kaling needs to stay away from that hoary old cliché. Obviously, it’s fine if Mindy is a little silly, just as long as she doesn’t get pathetic. That’s what I liked about her relationship with Jeremy in the pilot—he’s making the move on her, but she’s choosing whether to take the plunge or not, and it’s presented as more of a stress-relief thing than anything else for her. It’s not like Jeremy has the upper hand at all there. The character of Jeremy is going to need a little work, though. He’s just not cute enough to be the loveable airhead we see in this second episode, afraid to fire Beverly because he’s so bad at breaking up with ladies (or something). But all of the potential I saw in The Mindy Project’s messy pilot is still on display here, and while the workplace stuff chafed me a little in the first episode, it’s much more coherent in “Hiring and Firing.” There’s still not much for Anna Camp to do, but I imagine we’ll ping-pong between workplace episodes and more relationship-focused ones. There’s a universe to play around with here, and it’s still early days yet. Mindy’s out-loud narration on the subway was a cute joke, and a nice way to defuse the cliché of voice-overs. Mindy says it’d be weird not to talk to Danny when she runs into him on the subway. “No, weird would be, the train stops, and you get off and it’s the 1940s.” “Whoa. Then what happens?” Danny won’t believe that Mindy’s new date is an architect. “No one’s really an architect, that’s a job guys have in the movies.” Beverly is not good at covering her tracks. “You took blood samples home with you?” “No. I want to change what I said.” “Have you been smoking in here?” “No, I have not been smoking pot in here.” Beverly doesn’t get why Jeremy is wearing a wetsuit. “This is not a wetsuit, it’s skinny pants and a fitted shirt.” Mindy denies that she’s tattling. “When a hot woman does it, it's called whistle-blowing!” Mindy concocts a story where she saved Danny from a mugger. “What neighborhood was this in?” “It was by the docks.” TV, The Office, The Mindy Project, Eastbound & Down The Mindy Project: “The Mindy Project” The Mindy Project: “In The Club” Don't miss a story—follow The A.V. Club on:

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Home › Archives › Raj Kapoor is my childhood hero: Israeli filmmaker Raj Kapoor is my childhood hero: Israeli filmmaker Kolkata, Nov 11 (IANS) Indian films are a great success in Israel, especially the classics, said Israeli filmmaker Dorn Eran, for whom Raj Kapoor has been an inspiration. "Raj Kapoor is my childhood hero. I have been very influenced by his spontaneous acting, flawless direction and the subjects of his films. Realism has always dominated most of his films like 'Awara' and it has really inspired me," Eran told reporters at the 14th Kolkata Film Festival here. Eran said Israelis are very fond of Indian films. "Indian films are great hits in Israel. But we mostly watch the old classics of Indian cinema," Eran said. Having produced about 42 films in his 20-year long career, Eran said he makes films not just for his people but also for the international market. "Of course, I want to make films about my people (Israelis) till the last day of my career. But the local market in Israel is so small that I have to think internationally. After all, there is no point in making films without making any profit, especially when movies now are the best channel for corporates to merchandise their products," the 54-year-old producer-director said. Eran said producing films in Israel is quite risk-free. "Till now I have made only 10 films with government funds. For the rest, there are private investors who are interested in putting money into films as they get tax rebates if they invest in this field. Besides, if a film flops, the government refunds 50 percent of their investment," Eran said. Five of Eran's films, "Stalin's Disciples", "The Voice of Ein Harod", "God's Sandbox", "Over Dose" and "Marriage Licence" are being screened at the film fest. While "Stalin's Disciples" is a comical exploration of the 50s in the Israeli Kibutz movement, "The Voice of Ein Harod" is a tale of friendship during the political turmoil and military occupation of the country. "God's Sandbox" is a love story between a western tourist and an Arab Bedouin. "Over Dose' is based on the real life story of an young actress who dies of drug overdose - a crucial problem in Israel. "Marriage Licence" is about a married couple who seek lost passion after 20 years of marriage.

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Directors Chris Renaud and Pierre Coffin on Creative Choices and Challenges in “Despicable Me” Films 3 years ago Award Season FocusInterviews Directors Chris Renaud and Pierre Coffin on Creative Choices and Challenges in “Despicable Me” Films By C. Edwards | 01/03/2014 7:15 pm | 4 Chris Renaud (above, left) and Pierre Coffin are the directorial duo responsible for one of the biggest animated phenomenons of recent years, Illumination Entertainment’s Despicable Me franchise. And while Illumination and the film’s producer, Chris Meledandri, are based in Los Angeles, the American-born Renaud and Frenchman Coffin both work out of the Paris-based visual effects house Mac Guff, where the animation for the films is produced. They split responsibilities pretty evenly, with Renaud, a story artist who worked on Ice Age: The Meltdown and Robots for Blue Sky, supervising the story department, and animator Coffin, a Gobelins-trained veteran who has worked at Amblimation and Passion Pictures, leading the animation team. Cartoon Brew recently had the opportunity to speak with both of them about the origins of the Despicable Me franchise, its unconventional production pipeline, and their personal philosophies behind the work of directing animated films. (Spoilers follow.)PARTNER MESSAGE Cartoon Brew: While Illumination is based in Los Angeles, and the animation is produced in Paris, your storyboard team is primarily freelancers working remotely. How did this arrangement come about? Chris Renaud: When I left Blue Sky and went to Illumination, the discussion was, ‘Well, how do we do this?’ And very quickly Chris Melendandri partnered with a man named Jacques Bled (current CEO of Illumination Mac Guff) and Pierre Coffin, my directing partner with the company here in France, to get the first Despicable Me made. But we had to storyboard it first, so we looked for talent, knowing that there were great people in the United States who had a lot of experience. We had some guys who had worked on Family Guy and some that had contributed to The Simpsons, and so with a range of people we tried to build the team. As much as pitching boards is fun, I do think that sometimes it can be misleading because you are pulled in by the pitch of this very charismatic, funny storyboard artist, and then when you put the drawings into edit, you’re like, ‘My god, this doesn’t work’. So, the remote thing has been helpful in knowing if we have something that works sooner rather than later, because you can take the drawings and get a sense of what you’ve got by just flipping through them. Cartoon Brew: How much suggestion of a character’s performance do you get out of the storyboard process? Chris Renaud: There are some storyboard artists who are so good with their performance in the boards that it really helps the playability of the reels. And I do think you can get suggestions of performance out of storyboards. That said, I don’t think everybody is as good at it; it’s just like animators, some guys are good at action staging – there’s a couple of the guys that are just so funny, you really can get a suggestion of performance. One of our guys, Eric Favela, who was just nominated for an individual achievement award at the Annies for boarding, is one of those guys. So, there are some guys that can really nail that. To me, if you can get your movie working as a story reel – a bunch of crude drawings – that is such an indication you are on the right track. Cartoon Brew: How do you approach a scene once it is ready to go into production? Pierre Coffin: Every time I get an individual shot, I try to put an idea in the shot. Whether it be a directorial camera idea, staging idea or animated idea, I try to push everyone in each department to find that idea that will make us if not original, at least interesting. When I see a lot of movies, animated or real-life ones, I’m always bewildered by the lack of ideas just on simple dialogue, like: shot-countershot-shot-countershot, but I try to find an idea out of these shots like, maybe the character is saying something but is more interested in that coffee cup she’s holding. And the weight I’m putting on the animation team is to go beyond the cliché, and I’m going to cite one just because it annoys me: when you see a character who’s embarrassed rubbing his neck or rubbing his arm. You don’t want to go there; you want to go for that thing that the other guy won’t be thinking about, expressing that same idea of impatience or nervousness or agitation. You want to aim for that little human physical reaction that you’ve not seen before, but that you’ve unconsciously done that tells you that this character that you’re looking at is actually living with real emotions. Cartoon Brew: When you start seeing clichés in the work, how do you communicate that to your animation artists? Pierre Coffin: I tell them, ‘It’s crap.’ [laughter] ‘It’s a cliché. Find me something else.’ According to Renaud, the original concept for Despicable Me came from Sergio Pablos, the former Disney animator who now runs his own studio in Spain. Pablos brought the idea to Chris Meledandri, who presented it to Coffin and Renaud. However, the main character in the original pitch was a little different than the version that ended up on the screen. Pierre Coffin: When Chris Meledandri pitched me the idea of Despicable Me, the character of Gru was way meaner than he actually is in the movie. He was really evil and he became very good and I could see the arc. When we were geared towards something where the only mean deed he does was pop a kid’s balloon at the beginning of the movie, then I started having strong doubts about whether this was going to be a good movie or if people were going to pan it. It sort of off-put me in a way. But then we found ideas to make him, in his acting, evil but very charming, so I guess in the end it turned out to be a positive. Chris Renaud: Sergio’s character was gothic, although he had the trappings of other things; he sort of looked like Dracula and he had these big, hulking, ogre-like henchmen. As a departure from the original pitch, we sort of went into the world of James Bond, thinking of characters like Goldfinger and obviously the Bond-ian world of technology. In the second film, we found our groove in who the character was, but in the first one, we did have to work a little bit. There were a couple of jokes that we made that were a little too far and took us too long to recover from; there was a joke at one point that – he didn’t do it, but he suggested to his neighbor that maybe he had killed the neighbor’s dog. There was a whiff of suggestion, because he was handling a bag that was actually filled with dog poop, but the suggestion was it might be the dog’s body. You could feel it, with the test audience; you could just feel the wind being sucked out of it, so we got rid of that. Pierre Coffin: [For the sequel] they pitched me the main character falling in love and eventually marrying at the end, and I just plainly hated the idea. I don’t know if that’s my European cynical side. They said that, ‘We’ll try it out with the marriage and once we get the marriage working, we’ll try to find other ways to do it without having a marriage,’ so they did make the effort of doing it our way—Chris and mine—of trying to not have the marriage and not to have this very corny ending. So, the way I approached the wedding is very tongue-in-cheek, third degree, everything is pushed to the limit of ‘we’re making a joke out of this.’ We have this very emotional moment of the girl standing up on the table; we don’t want to break that, but all the rest is like, ‘Okay, this is not serious.’ When we did the first previews, the marriage was working very well with the public and all of our alternate endings, very objectively, didn’t work. Trying to find ideas around the big [wedding] idea that I didn’t like just made it somehow successful. Cartoon Brew: What was the decision behind turning the minions from the “ogre-like” characters in the original pitch to the versions you see in the final film? Chris Renaud: I guess it was an appeal issue for Gru. We kept finding that the sillier it was, the better it was. So the minions, as these sort of child-like, irresponsible characters sort of help Gru’s appeal. They all love him the way that children unequivocally, without question, love their parents. And so it instantly gave him some likeability because these little guys liked him. A lot our influence comes from the old Warner Bros. cartoons of the Bugs Bunny tradition. I still watch those with my kids and they’re still some of the funniest cartoons ever done. We like to think that that, as well as the design [of the minions], a lot of which was done by Eric Guillon (below), is taking advantage of what animation does best. Even though they’re not speaking any language that anyone knows, they have this kind of broad appeal. Chris Renaud: We try in our CG, even the designs, to be very graphic and very stylized, harkening back to that 2D feel. We try not to go real; both Pierre and I are very against that, to be honest. And I always say that a drawing is inherently funny and appealing, but computer animation is inherently unfunny and unappealing, because you have to pull it out of a computer. It’s so methodical; the spontaneity of a drawing is what you’re trying to land. That life and spontaneity. Cartoon Brew: Some of the budgets of other American studio films are almost two to three times what you’re working with on these films, yet the quality is just as good, if not better. How do you maintain quality on a fraction of the budget? Chris Renaud: I think at the end of the day, it boils down to time. I think it comes from working with Chris Meledandri and Janet Healy, and our writers and Pierre and I, we’re all in agreement about the movie we’re making so the movie doesn’t have an opportunity to go off in one direction and everyone’s sort of like, “Whoa!,” after three months. Everyone stays in touch with each other and we’re all sort of rowing in the same direction. And I think that, at the end of the day, that translates into the ability to make the movie in 2-2½ years from start to finish. Some of the other studio films you’re referring to, some of them have been around as long as 8-10 years and that costs. Cartoon Brew: Does that leave room for collaboration and new ideas from members of your team along the way? Chris Renaud: As a director, and this is just my personal philosophy, one of your jobs is to recognize an idea better than your own and move out of the way of that better idea. We’ll look at a scene, and we’re like, ‘We recognize that it’s doing it’s job narratively but there’s no idea behind it.’ For instance, like the scene where Gru is trying to find the PX-41 and he has that sensor on his belt buckle: the storyboard artist pitched the idea of him doing the suggestive gesturing as he’s looking in the wig shop. And we were like “Ok!,” but before we had that it was just a scene. And we always have to push ourselves to find that idea that’s going to make it unexpected and fresh and make an audience want to watch it. Pierre Coffin: I thought Despicable Me was going to fail when it came out, and when they pitched me Despicable Me 2, I thought it was going to fail also, and we’re working on the Minion movie right now, and my guess is that everybody will think that we’re doing it because we know that they are marketable, and that the movie will be a hit, but I just don’t work that way. This may sound very corny, but I don’t want to make a crappy movie. Cartoon Brew: Is thinking that the films won’t do well just a self-deprecating reaction to how immmensely successful they’ve been? Pierre Coffin: It could be. It could be self-preservation also, and it feels like it’s something that keeps me going in trying to make the movie better than what it initially is. The whole team has been working with me since DM1 and it’s harder on us just because we have the tendency to go to the same well, and we have to find ideas that we haven’t explored before. 4 Read More: chris meledandri Chris Renaud Despicable Me Despicable Me 2 Eric Favela Eric Guillon Illumination Entertainment Jacques Bled Janet Healy MacGuff Pierre Coffin Universal Studios More in Award Season Focus Go to Award Season Focus » ‘Bear Story’ and ‘Ex Machina’ Makes Animation History at the Oscars 2016 Oscar Nominations: Feature Animation Acting Analysis Radio Talk Show Host: Betting On Animation Oscar Is Only Way To Stay Invested ‘Inside Out,’ ‘Edmond,’ ‘Star Wars’ Win Animation and VFX BAFTAs WATCH: Oscar-Nominated ‘We Can’t Live Without Cosmos’ Premieres Online ‘Inside Out’ Dominates Annie Awards With 10 Wins – Complete Winners List C. Edwards More Articles We welcome thoughtful comments on articles, but please read our community guidelines before participating. All comments are moderated and will not immediately appear on the site; your patience is appreciated. Chris Sanders was quoted as saying he watched “Despicable Me” at least 10 times in appreciation of the story. The Illumination folks clearly caught lightning in a bottle with the first movie and kept it corked for the second. The question is can they keep it going? Tres Swygert I could see them do a third DM film after the Minions film. To do a fourth would be the question of the day…as well as if they could do it better than the second and third films. I really enjoyed reading the interview Amid. The honesty they brought here goes to show you that previous success alone can’t promise you for the present challenges. Always always have to push harder, and go for something unexpected and fresh. Thanks for sharing this, I really enjoyed it. Arthur F. Interesting interview, and I am pleasantly surprised by the DM films success, also in terms of animation itself. I agree it would have been nice to avoid the usual wedding, but once you have kids in the picture anyway. Gru had been cast further in the hero/athletic mold, so anything’s possible. I don’t feel showcasing the Minions on their own is required, as they raised the sidekick game level so perfectly. With limited language, their story options rely on visuality, and physical slapstick, which while nice, can be limiting, like in the example of their “cousins” the Rabbids on TV now. But I’ve got a feeling that large group dynamic and language-free world will work well in China. Previous PostPopeye and "One Piece": Two Tattoos, One Idea Next PostChina Produces Its First 3D CGI Feature: "Boonie Bears" [UPDATED] Share

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More Cast Added To Next Big Momma Movie By Doug Norrie For better or (more likely) worse, Big Momma is coming back to town. And she’s bringing along a whole new group of friends and family. According to The Hollywood Reporter, four more actors have joined the Big Momma’s House franchise. Faizon Love (Couple’s Retreat), Portia Doubleday(Youth in Revolt), Emily Rios, and Michelle Ang are joining the already-cast Brandon T. Jackson and Jennifer Lucas for the next idiotic installment of Martin Lawrence cross-dressing into a big, fat undercover motha. Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son, In this Big Momma story, the titular character and Jackson head undercover to an all-girls school to find a murderer. Hilarity ensues. Faizon Love’s character is a security guard who inexplicably develops a crush on Big Momma. Keep the laughs coming. The rest of the cast are female students at the school who become friends with Little Momma (Jackson). I’m practically doubled over already. As bad as this series is, there’s no denying its commercial viability. In fact, its critical success (0) is inversely proportional to its monetary success ($310 million worldwide). Why not chuck the drag on and go back to the big fat well? Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Sonis set to start filming this June in Atlanta. Bad Boys 3 Has A New Title That's So Dumb And Obvious It's Actually Perfect Watch This Supercut Of All Times Martin Lawrence Has Barked In Movies Bad Boys 3 Teases Its Villain, And A Replacement For Michael Bay Bad Boys 3 Announced By Martin Lawrence

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TV Smash What A Smash Actor Really Thought Of Season 2 Smash ran for a meager two season before NBC pulled the plug in 2013. One of Smash's stars, Leslie Odom Jr., just won the Tony for his role in Hamilton, elevating him to a bonafide Broadway legend. So what does he think of his time on the small screen? Smash's Megan Hilty Joins Sean Saves The World At NBC The show may be over for NBC’s Smash, but critical darling Megan Hilty already has her sites set on another role at NBC. On Friday, it was announced that Hilty will be joining the peacock network’s new comedy, Sean Saves the World, which is set to premiere this fall. Hilty will actually have a regular role in the comedy, replacing Lindsay Sloane, who played the role of Liz in the pilot. jessica rawden Watch Megan Hilty, Andrew Rannells And Laura Benanti Sing About Their TV Attempts At The Tonys Success on the Broadway stage doesn't automatically mean success on the small screen, as a number actors can attest. In fact, those actors took the stage with Neil Patrick Harris at last night's 67th Annual Tony Awards to lament their failed series. Of course, that meant singing alongside Neil Patrick Harris, which may have been a bit of musically charged lemon in some fresh wounds. Smash Series Finale Only Pulls In 2.4 Million Viewers On Sunday, NBC aired an epic 2-hour finale for Smash, which wrapped up plenty of storylines and finished out the series. Since plenty of spring programming has already finished out its run, Smash’s biggest competition was Sunday’s airing of the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Proving that NBC was right to cancel the musical drama, Smash only earned a .5 rating, while the Sprint Cup brought in a 1.9. Smash Executive Producer Talks Where Season 3 Would Have Gone On Saturday, NBC aired Smash’s Season 2 and series finale in a two-hour epic weekend event. The show scored low ratings throughout its second season, but if the ratings had been different and the cancellation had not happened for the series, executive producer Joshua Safran had big plans for Season 3. Smash Cancelled After Two Seasons When a scripted series gets moved to Saturdays, it's probably only a matter of time before it's cancelled. So we shouldn't be especially surprised that the Broadway-focused drama is among the series that won't be returning at NBC next season. While the curtain will fall for the musical series, we'll get to see how the second season ends when the finale airs later this month. Smash's Two-Hour Season Finale Will Air On A Sunday Smash’s second season has been a mess, with the network splashing the show’s sloppy plotlines onto different evenings hoping to find a slot that works. Unfortunately, while there has been no official axing of the series, yet, the ratings aren’t saying good things about the series. However, there is a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel for NBC’s musical-oriented drama: the show’s finale will air on a Sunday instead of a Saturday evening. Smash Is Moving To Saturdays, NBC Makes Other Schedule Changes Since its return for the start of its second season, Smash has been struggling in the ratings. The return of The Voice might have helped it there, but it looks like NBC has opted to move the Broadway focused drama away from Tuesday nights, placing their new dating reality show Ready For Love in the post-Voice spot. That's good news for Ready For Love, but most certainly bad news for Smash, which is being moved to Saturdays, starting next month. Smash Season 2 Watch: Episode 3, The Dramaturg I’ve been a Smash apologist, always telling myself and my friends that it might just reach the heights of that fantastic pilot. But after outings like last night’s “The Dramaturg” and the almost-laughably-bad ratings of the premiere, I’m sad to say that I’m not sure we’re ever going to see “Bombshell” as the titular Broadway smash. This season is so far making up for last season’s mistakes in small ways, but it’s missing the vital components that make it a story worth watching. Jonathan Elliott Smash Ratings Down For Season 2 Premiere Smash returned with the start of its second season on NBC last night and the numbers for the musical drama's Season 2 debut were not good. Viewership appears to have hit a new low for the series. The decrease is more drastic when compared to the series' debut, but the Season 2 premiere also fell behind the first season finale in total viewers by more than a million. Smash Season 2 Premiere Watch: On Broadway And The Fallout Well, we're back. And after a Season 1 that began with a lush and beloved pilot and descended into the most glorious of hate-watchable TV, Smash is rejiggered, with a new showrunner in Josh Safran and a cast that is streamlined and re-molded to focus on what we're supposed to love most: the high-stakes Broadway drama. So, did last night's first two hours of Season 2 deliver? Smash Season 2 Review: More Drama, More Music And More Fantastic Voices Smash is a classic example of a series that offered boatloads of potential in its pilot episode and then stumbled in its attempts to meet that potential throughout its first season. But the series is certainly not without its redeeming qualities, including an extraordinary cast with plenty of acting and musical talent to go around. Much in the way the show's featured Broadway musical Bombshell has had its struggles, so too has this series. But after watching the first two episodes of the returning musical drama, I'm hopeful that the series will find its way. Smash Season 2 Sneak Peek Unveils Some Problems Smash is about to officially return to NBC’s schedule. Fans may have gotten a taste of Season 2’s spectacle and musical numbers just a few weeks ago, when the network previewed the first half of the expansive two-hour opening episode. With the full 2-hour episode on it’s way in February, NBC has released a special clip from the second half of the episode, showing the crew scrambling for a location to perform and more from Marilyn’s writers, director, and financier. Smash Season 2 Clip Shows Tension Between Karen And... As January draws to a close, we have the February premieres to look forward to. For NBC, that includes the return of Smash for its second season. The network gave fans of the musical-drama a very big preview of the new season by releasing the first half of the two-hour Season 2 premiere online. This latest preview clip will probably make a bit more sense to those who have watched the first half of the season premiere. And since I'll be referencing something specific that happened during that first hour, consider yourselves spoiler warned! Smash Season 2 Preview: Watch The First Half Of The Premiere Episode Here As promised, NBC has made the first half of the two-hour Smash Season 2 premiere episode available for preview a few weeks ahead of the scheduled February premiere date. The Broadway-focused drama adds Jennifer Hudson for a multi-episode arc and (spoiler alert!) the first hour of the second season includes an appearance by the Oscar winner, who joins her fellow former American Idol contestant Katharine McPhee in the NBC drama. Smash Season 2 Premiere: First Hour Will Be Available To Preview Next Week Listen up, Smash fans! NBC's musical drama may be set to debut its second season in February, but the network is offering a treat for fans of the Broadway-focused series. NBC announced today that they're going to offer the first hour of Season 2's planned two-hour premiere a few weeks early, beginning next week. Smash: Season 1 [DVD Review] The brainchild of Steven Spielberg, the hour-long drama was supposed to depict the development of a Broadway musical about Marilyn Monroe from the perspective of both its creators and the actresses vying for the lead. A talented ensemble cast, including Debra Messing and Angelica Huston, converges with catchy music from the songwriting team behind Hairspray and a frank depiction of the brutal New York theatre machine. Unfortunately, in practice, the parts don't all work. Britta Hanson Smash DVD Clips Feature The Battle Of The Marilyns NBC is gearing up for Season 2 of Smash, which means it is the time of year fans get to relive some of their favorite moments on DVD. To celebrate, Universal Studios Home Entertainment has put together some of the spiciest, sexiest moments from Season 1, highlighting the two actresses vying for the role of the lovely Marilyn, and even showing us a few of Season 1’s most fun musical numbers. The 10 Best New Shows Of 2012 Include Girls, Midwives And A Scandal Every major network listens to hundreds of television pitches each year. A small percentage of those receive a script order, a small percentage of those receive a pilot order, a small percentage of those actually get picked up, and hilariously, an overwhelming majority of those are still not very good. Most new television programs barely make it the full season let alone get picked up for another go around. Fortunately, there are always a dozen or so that somehow navigate through all of those trappings and actually work. CB Staff 2013 Midseason TV Premiere Date Schedule With 2013 right around the corner, it's time to start looking ahead at the winter TV season. We've begun gathering the return and season/series premiere dates for many of the network and cable TV shows, including Community, Smash, Touch and some of the new shows (The Following, Do No Harm and Banshee). Smash Stories 1 to 20 of 76

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EMILY BLUNT (Ruthie Draper) shot to international prominence with her lead role in the multi-award-winning British movie "My Summer of Love,” from Pawel Pawlikowski. Harper's Bazaar called Emily's performance "the most impressive film debut I've seen since Kate Winslet in ‘Heavenly Creatures.'” Emily won the Most Promising Newcomer award at the 2004 Evening Standard Film Awards and was nominated in the Best Newcomer category at the 2004 British Independent Film Awards; and the film won the Best British Film award at the 2005 BAFTAs. The critically acclaimed "Gideon's Daughter,” in which Emily starred alongside Bill Nighy and Miranda Richardson, was directed by Stephen Poliakoff, and the film was broadcast on BBC One and BBC America in 2006. Emily won a Golden Globe® for Best Supporting Actress in Television at the 2007 awards for her performance. Next for Emily was the hugely popular "The Devil Wears Prada,” an adaptation of the bestselling Lauren Weisberger novel. David Frankel directs an all-star cast, including Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci. The film opened to great acclaim in the U.S. in June 2006 and exceeded all expectations, making over $125 million at the U.S. box office. The critics shared the audience's love for "The Devil Wears Prada” and for Emily—The New York Times described her as a "tour de force of smiling hostility,” the Los Angeles Times called her "scene-stealing,” the Washington Post wrote that she "delivers a comic gem” and New York Magazine reported that "the brilliant British actress Emily Blunt is a marvel at conveying the terror beneath the hauteur.” British critics were no less enthusiastic; The Observer called her "splendid,” and The Telegraph praised her performance as "terrific” and "a catty delight.” The Daily Mail wrote, "It would be unjust if Emily Blunt's supporting performance…didn't win awards. This is a terrific young actress who would grace any production.” Emily was nominated in the Breakthrough Female category at the 2006 Teen Choice Awards for her performance and was honored with the Breakthrough Award at the 2006 Movieline Young Hollywood Awards. She was also nominated in the Best Supporting Actress category at the Golden Globes® and the BAFTAs for the role. E Emily moved from New York to Canada in late 2005 to begin work on her lead role in "Wind Chill,” produced by George Clooney and Steven Soderbergh and directed by Greg Jacobs. The film was released in the U.S. in April 2007 with The Hollywood Reporter describing her as "red-hot” and the New York Post stating "rising star Blunt does a great job.” The New York Times declared, "This is Blunt's movie. The actress has a winning way with melting hauteur…expect her to carry much bigger movies before long.” In August 2006, Emily started work on "The Great Buck Howard.” Written and directed by Sean McGinly and co-starring Tom Hanks, John Malkovich and Colin Hanks, Emily plays Valerie, a self-assured publicist hired by a luckless magician trying to reinvigorate his career. Following this, Emily filmed "DAN IN REAL LIFE,” with Steve Carell, Juliette Binoche and Dane Cook. Emily went on to make "The Jane Austen Book Club.” She will star alongside Maria Bello, Frances McDormand, Kevin Zegers and Hugh Dancy as a secretive, unhappy teacher who yearns for more than life has given her. The film is released in the U.S. on September 21, 2007. Emily started shooting "Sunshine Cleaning” alongside Amy Adams and Alan Arkin in February 2007. She will also be seen in Mike Nichols' "Charlie Wilson's War” with Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Emily's next project will be the Martin Scorsese-produced biopic "The Young Victoria.” Emily plays Britain's Queen Victoria in the early stages of her life, and the film will be written by Julian Fellowes and directed by J � 2016 Touchstone Pictures Inc.�, All Rights Reserved.

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HomeMedia Movies / FilmsDVDKal Ho Naa Ho (DVD) Kal Ho Naa Ho (DVD) Genre: Comedy / Theatrical Release: 2003 / Actors: Jaya Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan ... / DVD released 09 February, 2004 at Yash Raj Films / Features of the DVD: PAL, Subtitled, Import „ sunmeilan Sickly rom com Naina Catherine Kapur, known simply as Naina, is struggling to grow up in New York with a family who are constantly at war. Her father is dead, and she lives with her mother, Jenny, grandmother, Lajjo, brother, Shiv, and adopted sister Gia. Jenny and Lajjo hate each other, for reasons that aren't clear and Lajjo refuses to accept Gia as her granddaughter because she is adopted. On top of that, Jenny is about to lose her restaurant and therefore their livelihood. Then Aman moves across the road and everything changes. He falls for Naina and Naina for him, but there is a complication and Naina is left heart-broken. Meanwhile, Naina's best friend, Rohit, suddenly decides that he is in love with Naina - and so the love triangle begins. Will everything work out the way it should? Or is Naina's life destined to continue to be a disaster?The main reason I watched this film is because of Shahrukh Khan - I saw him not long ago in Om Shanti Om and loved his performance. Here, he plays quite a similar role as Aman. He's annoying as hell at first, talking far too much and generally appearing to be a complete know-it-all. He does soften throughout the film, however, especially when his big secret comes out, but generally, he is way over the top and his presence eventually exhausted me. He is funny, and I think he's supposed to be, but at times I just wished he would shut up for five minutes! I think the problem was that this was a real romantic role, the whole film revolves around that, and it was just too slushy for me, especially coupled with his fast talking. I appreciate that it is probably partially because I don't fully understand the culture that the film is portraying, but a love story in any language is just not for me. Of the two lead men, I preferred Saif Ali Khan, who plays Rohit, although I don't think he has been as well received in other quarters. I thought he was funny without being too over the top, although he plays a character who appears to have two screws loose. In the double acts between Aman and Rohit, and there are a number of them, I thought Rohit came off the winner. I wasn't too sure what to make of Preity Zinta as Naina. She bounced between being completely irritating and silly and overly serious. I suppose she could have easily walked straight out of a Hollywood rom com - it's just that I wasn't really expecting that. She looks great, there's no doubt about that; I'm just not sure that she's all that great an actress. Then again, I'm not convinced that the role gave her much of a chance to do much apart from look cute. Bollywood films are known for their music and dance routines, and this film is no different. They were worked into the film very well though - one took place in a disco and another in a dance class - although there was still the odd routine that involved dancing in the streets for no good reason other than Aman had fallen in love with Naina. This was partially to the tune of Pretty Woman, although with some (presumably) Hindi music worked in too. I know many people avoid Bollywood films because of the singing and dancing, but I really enjoy it - it's always so daft, but bright and fun to watch, and sometimes there isn't enough of that in film. One reason I like Asian film is that it is so colourful, and colour hits you from the moment this film begins, for all that it is set in New York. Bright splashes of red, blue, purple, yellow, green are there at every point of the story and it is gorgeous to watch. My main issue with the film is that it is just too darn romantic. Had I realised earlier on that it was going to be pure romance, I would probably have avoided it - it just isn't my thing, especially when it is this sloppy. And it really is sloppy - think Pretty Woman times about ten. The comic turns, particularly between Rohit and Aman, do help to break up the slushy bits enough to make it entertaining, but generally, it is three hours of an intense love story. It was way too sugary for me to watch all in one go - it took three sessions to finish it in the end. Once upon a time, I was a believer in love at first sight, but I'm way too cynical for that now. However, I appreciate that many people will be more than happy to have such an epic love story played out in front of them. One advantage of the story is the many threads that go on apart from the main love triangle. Naina's best friend, Sweetu, has a love affair of her own and is very funny with it. I also loved Rohit's housekeeper, who became convinced that Rohit and Aman were in love - and with good reason, she kept coming across them in bed! Then there is the Kapur family and all their ins and outs. Lajjo was a nasty old witch, but Jenny was sweet and helped keep the film from falling apart completely. It was also good to see the family come together eventually, despite all their differences. I prefer tragedy to romance any day, so this was a welcome break for me. The film is in Hindi, apart from a few sentences every now and again in English, so the subtitles are much needed. They weren't a problem to follow, despite Shahrukh Khan's amazingly fast speeches, but I definitely needed to concentrate on them more than I usually do during a subtitled film. For anyone wondering what the film title means, according to Wikipedia, it is literally Tomorrow May Not Be. The only extras that come with the DVD are the songs - basically clips from the films that show the singing and dancing. I really wanted to like this film a lot more than I did, but in the end, it was too over-dramatic for me and I found myself cringing more often than I like to. I don't mind people crying, but over and over again is not good - and that was just the men. The fact that the film was so long should have given me plenty of time to get to know and like the characters, but by the end of it, I wasn't all that bothered about what happened to them - although it is very tragic, and lovers of epic romances will love it. However, I am obviously in a minority - nearly 5,000 votes on imdb.com give it 7.7 out of ten at the time of writing. If you like a tragic love story, with a bit of humour thrown in, then give this a try, whether you're new to Bollywood films or not. If love stories aren't your thing, stick to something less tear-ridden. Three stars out of five. The DVD is available from play.com for £15.99. Classification: 12Running time: 186 minutes Comments diamond_sparkles Very un-classic love triangle The moment that a film manages to toy with my emotions, I fall hopelessly in love with it. This is exactly what happened with Kal Ho Na Ho. This Bollywood movie made me shriek with laughter, grind my teeth in anger, drop my jaw in shock, and sorrowfully cry my heart out- all in only three hours. It sounds long, but the flow was so smooth that I barely noticed time pass by. The amazing acting, storyline, and smoothness of plot really did serve as the blending ingredients that contributed towards this masterpiece. I believe that very few movies and depict the whole love triangle concept without being too patronizing or cliché- but this one has so many twists and touches of humor, as well as sadness to it that I really cannot find any other word to describe this film- except for masterpiece. Plot:Naina Catherine Kapur is a young woman full of angst: She lives with her widowed mother, annoying grandmother and her two younger siblings. Naina's father committed suicide years ago- something that really left its mark on her. She never smiles and her only friend is Rohit Patel. One day, Aman Mathur arrives in Naina's neighborhood and takes it upon himself to change their lives. He gradually manages to bring sunshine in the life of everyone around him. But gradually, Rohit secretly starts falling in love with Naina- who in turn falls for Aman. Aman takes it upon himself to help Rohit woo Naina...But he's also hiding a secret...What more can I say about Shah Rukh Khan's acting? In all my previous reviews, I kept on gushing about his flawless performances- and if he was flawless in other films, he was- if possible- even better in Kal Ho Na Ho. I was very, very impressed by how intently and precisely he infused life and emotions in the character of Aman Mathur. This actor really throws the other characters into the background. His performance and line deliveries were all extremely smooth- but what I loved the most about his general performance was the way in which he depicted his facial expressions. That was truly amazing. There are a couple of heart-wrenching films in the movies, coupled with some really striking soliloquies and Shah Rukh Khan was unsurprisingly at his top form. I really cannot imagine anyone else playing such a role, where so many different emotions had to be infused in one personality. Saif Ali Khan who plays Rohit was less striking, and much less convincing than Shah Rukh Khan. But he was also thrown out of focus due to his co-star's exceptional performance. However, his character develops a close friendship with Aman- and the two actors really shared an exceptional on-screen bond. While Saif Ali Khan does play a huge role and has his share in plot contribution, he seemed to have been included more to provide comic relief. That was truly something that he excelled at. His twisty expressions à la Jim Carrey got me laughing every time. He might not share Khan's intense screen presence but he had a charm that was all his own. Preity Zinta delivered a mixed performance as Naina Kapur. She was wonderful in the first half of the film- the broody, intense, moody girl full of angst was really well-delivered. However, her transformation to an average, next-door girl was rather feeble. Her performance seemed rather forced and stilted at times and Zinta had developed a sort of fixed, stagant facial expression that lasted until the very end of the movie. I was disappointed since I had seen other movies with her before and was expecting a great deal out of her acting. She truly wasn't up to her usual form in the last scenes of the movie. Main Cast:* Shah Rukh Khan as Aman Mathur* Saif Ali Khan as Rohit Patel * Preity Zinta as Naina Catherine Kapur* Jaya Bachan as Jennifer Kapur* Sushma Seth as Lajjo KapurDVD Extras:* Interview with Saif Ali Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta* Song track* Deleted ScenesOverall, this is a highly recommended film that has it all: Humor, sadness, suspense and great performance. Despite Zinta's rather feeble acting, I will still award five stars to this film for the sheer beauty of the plot and the amazing representation of love and friendship. Thanks for reading! Comments aadnan613 Experience one of the best films on love,friendship and death Kal Ho Naa Ho(If there's no tomorrow) is easily Karan Johar's most accomplished work as a writer. Directed by Nikhil Advani and starring Shahrukh Khan,Preity Zinta and Saif Ali Khan, it is about life,love,friendship and death.The film starts off with Aman(played by SRK) moving into a newyork Indian neighborhood where he meets Naina(Preity) and _____(Saif).Naina is a shy girl who feels Aman is an irritating neighbour who tries to get on her nerves, but infact its his company that brings a smile on her face and makes her forget the struggle she faces everyday in the family.The three of them become best of friends and Aman slowly realizes Naina loves him(he also loves her). Despite of loving each other, Aman knows that he can't be with her since he has a life altering secret which he has been hiding from everyone.The film has a very emotional string attached, but never goes away from its light and entertaining treatment. The writer and director stick to the funny scenes and larger than life portrayal and I have to say it works. It is more of a celebration of life rather than the tragedy of death which certainly takes control in the ending reels. The performances are top notch and the chemistry between all three is fantastic.This is a not a film you would want to miss, it will make u laugh and cry! Comments marsalltheway Kal Ho Naa Ho, probably one of the most trivial Bollywood films of 2003. I went to see it in the cinema, and it just hit me like a bus.With some of Bollywood’s best actors and actresses, Shah Rukh Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Preity Zinta, Jaya Bachchan, and a few surprise appearances from many recognisable faces throughout this film.A film for everybody, a comedy, a love story, a story of pain, and a story of the realities this world faces.Set in New York City, New York, USA, and appropriately filmed there throughout too, Kal Ho Naa Ho tells of Naina (Zinta), her mother Jenny (Bachchan), her grandmother Lajjo Ji (played by Sushma Seth), and her younger brother and sister.Naina, daughter to a Christian Indian and a Sikh Punjabi; is a mature business student in New York, with her good friend Rohit (Saif) a Gujarati boy living in Manhattan with his dog (also Naina) and disturbed housekeeper Kaanta Bhen.Naina is a boring so-and-so, and is never smiling, that is until when she prays for an angel to save her family, and the next day it appropriately arrives in the form of one Aman Mathur (Shah Rukh Khan). He is the nephew of Lajjo Ji’s neighbour and secret fancy, Chaddha Uncle. When Aman arrives, he brings happiness and fun back into their lives, and helps them get their lives on track, and trying to fulfil his one main aim, making Naina smile. He does everything from helping Naina’s mother cook Indian food and re-establish her café, to setting up Naina with Rohit. He helps deal with the fact that Naina’s younger sister is not her mother’s daughter, and tries to hide from everyone the fact that he has inoperable cancer with no way of getting better.As he helps their lives back on track, his is derailing…Nevertheless this film shows Shah Rukh Khan’s acting at a peak, and the accompaniment of great actors and actresses has set a trend for others to follow.And with the great directing of Karan Johar, and the superb music of Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and Javed Akhtar, as well as the well-known song from the Julia Roberts/Richard Gere classic “Pretty Woman”, this film is yet another Shah Rukh Khan hit.Kal Ho Naa Ho –Tomorrow May Never Come Comments Kitchen Stories (DVD) Kangaroo Jack (DVD) The Kid (DVD) Kind Hearts And Coronets (DVD) Kikujiro (DVD)

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Lone Ranger, The (US - DVD R1 | BD RA) Disney has some early news on the December release of The Tonto Movie... Title: Lone Ranger, The Starring: Johnny Depp Disney has sent over some official news on the home video release of Gore Verbinski's The Lone Ranger, though the info in their press release is a little vague. There are no official video or audio specs right now, but there is a list of extras. This list (which I'm reproducing below) includes notations that describe some extras as being 'Select Digital Retailers Only.' There is no further information right now on which digital retailers those include. Blooper Reel (RT 4:12) – BD, DVD & Select Digital Retailers Only Deleted Scene - BD & Select Digital Retailers Only Riding The Rails Of The Lone Ranger (RT: 10:36) – BD & Select Digital Retailers Only:For the production of the movie, director Gore Verbinski had a five mile oval track built along with multiple engines and cars. See the incredible effort that went into crafting such a detailed and important part of The Lone Ranger. Armies’s Western Road Trip (RT: 14:28) – BD & Select Digital Retailers Only:Armie Hammer (The Lone Ranger) takes viewers on a tour of the scenic locations the production shot in as we see and learn more about the amazing places he went to become The Lone Ranger. Becoming A Cowboy (RT: 8:02) – BD & Select Digital Retailers Only:Before the cast began shooting the film, they had to learn how to shoot a gun…and ride a horse. In this piece we follow the cowboy (and cowgirl) cast to boot camp, where they got a chance to experience what their characters would really be living like in the Wild West. Here is the cover art for the Blu-ray Combo Pack: Quote: Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer star in The Lone Ranger, from Jerry Bruckheimer Films and Director Gore Verbinski. It’s a wild ride of high velocity action, explosions and gunfights that brings the famed masked legend to life through brand-new eyes. The Lone Ranger (Hammer), the last of his kind, teams with Tonto (Depp), a dark and mysterious vigilante, to seek vengeance after justice has failed them. It’s a runaway train of epic surprises, as these two unlikely heroes must learn to work together before the ultimate showdown between good and evil explodes. Advertisements Comments 21st September 2013 5:58 hahahahahahahahahaha Report 21st September 2013 6:31 Ironically this is probably the most decent artwork for a Disney release in a while. Oh, how I hate those borders... ILDC Right after the Bruckheimer break-up... 21st September 2013 17:07 I actually didn't quite hate this movie, but it definitely wasn't anything great or even particularly good. It was simply "mehh". Basically, just "Pirates of the Caribbean" in the Old West, fresh with Captain Jack renamed as "Tonto". Report I didn't care for this, but how annoying are these retailer exclusives? I mean its one thing to have special packaging and maybe a bonus featurette but don't exclude features from a standard release. I mean why punish people who are willing to buy (and sometimes pay good money) your product? 23rd September 2013 0:20 I liked the movie even though they didn't need to have so much over-the-top action among other things like Tonto being the unreliable narrator. 25th September 2013 10:15 Joe N Location: Lebanon I went ahead and watched this despite the terrible press and reviews. It ended up one of the movies I enjoyed most this summer (alongside Pacific Rim, Man of Steel and The Conjuring). As for the above press release, I think it makes it clear that there are no retailer exclusive extras. It simply says that the only extra on the DVD release will be the Blooper Reel. The rest of the extras (and the Blooper Reel) will be available on the Blu-ray and the digital versions (iTunes, Amazon on Demand...) 26th September 2013 0:18 As an unabashed fan of the second and third Pirates films (to the exclusive of the other two), I looked forward to this... trainwreck of a movie. However, I refuse to pay to see this film in the theatre as I did not want to support such a property (based on all sorts of problematic ideologies and structures). I will give it a watch when it's available on Netflix or something similar. Report jantheman This was the best film I saw all summer. It had its problems, but it was nowhere near as bad as the critics made it sound. I enjoyed this more than Iron Man 3 and Man of Steel. I will definitely be picking this up.

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Blu-ray International DVDs For: Reviews » HD DVD Reviews » V for Vendetta (HD DVD) V for Vendetta (HD DVD) Warner Bros. // R // October 31, 2006 // Region 0 Review by Adam Tyner | posted November 28, 2006 | E-mail the Author Based on the graphic novel by Alan Moore and David Lloyd, V for Vendetta stars Natalie Portman as Evey, a young woman orphaned by a totalitarian British government unyielding to leftists such as her parents. Evey is aware of her political parentage but has chosen a different path for herself, toiling away anonymously in some menial capacity for the propaganda-spouting, state-run media. She faces nearly as grisly an end as her family merely for breaking curfew, but she's rescued by a masked revolutionary who calls himself V. Her savior wears a Guy Fawkes mask, and like that 17th century dissident, V plans to exact change on the 5th of November by leveling the political power centers of London. He announces that his next act of terrorism will take place exactly a year later, prompting paranoid, vindictive Chancellor Adam Sutler (John Hurt) to do everything in his considerable power to discredit and butcher him. Evey reluctantly becomes ensnared in the plot, steeled from an unremarkable twentysomething to the defiant revolutionary the media has made her out to be. The box office race has traditionally been to see which action flick is the biggest, dumbest, and most expensive, but V for Vendetta manages to be politically minded and thoughtful while remaining tremendously entertaining. A smirking sense of humor, megaton explosions, and V's operatic knifeplay keep the pacing nimble, skillfully incorporating the political angles without grinding to a screeching halt. Still, society's most daunting problems don't have easy solutions, and this film adaptation's way of side-stepping that is to strike through the graphic novel's questions and to pen less complicated ones. The V in the film isn't Alan Moore's deranged anarchist so much as a swashbuckling hero. Sure, he racks up a hefty body count, but there's never any question that V is the hero of the piece. V for Vendetta is the filmmakers' response to the course that they think this country is heading down, but especially compared to Moore's novel, the issues are exaggerated and oversimplified. Political commentary is more effective when it's suggested rather than unambiguously spelled out, and it's more compelling when there are shades of gray in between the gallant heroes and fascist villains. I'm not sure the movie's quite as smart and substantial as it thinks it is, but there's still a strong underlying intelligence in V for Vendetta, and it's a welcomed change of pace to watch an action/drama that's actually worth talking about afterwards. V for Vendetta owes much of its success to a strong cast, with Hugo Weaving in particular deserving a nod. V remains masked or is otherwise obscured for the entirety of the movie, and his trademark Guy Fawkes mask is too rigid and inflexible for any facial expressions to filter through it. The stills scattered around this review don't do him justice; Weaving manages to draw a remarkably expressive character entirely through body language and his delivery of V's hyperliterate dialogue. Natalie Portman is nearly as compelling as the movie's emotional anchor. Although her Evey has been criticized for being more confident and politically aware from the first frame of the film, I doubt Portman would be convincing as the graphic novel's naive, easily manipulated would-be prostitute. Perhaps the most sly casting choice is John Hurt as the leader of this totalitarian government, over twenty years after starring as Winston Smith in 1984, a novel and film from which V for Vendetta takes no small inspiration. To no one's great surprise, Alan Moore has disowned this adaptation of V for Vendetta, but it's by far the strongest translation of his work to film so far. Admittedly, some of the characterizations have been revised with varying but generally positive results. Moore's sprawling, densely plotted narrative had to be trimmed down to function as a two hour film, but despite the leaner storytelling and a more uplifting ending, the spirit of the work remains remarkably intact. James McTeigue's direction is rather accomplished for a first time director, and clearly he absorbed a great deal about visual flair while working on such films as Dark City and The Matrix. I walked away from V for Vendetta with two prevailing thoughts. One, I can't believe Hollywood sank somewhere in the neighborhood of a hundred million dollars into this when it's all said and done, and I mean that in the best possible way. The stereotype goes that the studios are run by beancounters and marketing teams, and V for Vendetta doesn't play it safe. It's a subversive movie with with a potentially volatile viewpoint, and even if the storytelling is somewhat black and white compared to Alan Moore's graphic novel, I'm kind of taken aback that a movie like this had been produced at all. Two, as much as I can nitpick V for Vendetta if I stop and think about it, none of those complaints hampered my enjoyment of the movie itself. Even after my third time through, I still get wrapped up in the performances and James McTeigue's keen visual eye, and the amateur film critic in me sits politely and quietly for a couple of hours. V for Vendetta may not be a great movie, but it is a thoughtful, entertaining one, and that's an accomplishment all its own. Highly Recommended. Video: This 2.39:1 high definition presentation of V for Vendetta is every bit as stunning as you'd expect from a glossy blockbuster just a few months out of theaters. The scope image is brimming with detail and is bolstered by a great deal of depth and dimensionality. McTeigue deploys a few visual tricks that work in the context of the film but don't lend the sort of 'looking out of a window' appearance some gearheads prefer, such as occasionally desaturating colors or fiddling with contrast. Film grain remains unintrusive throughout, and I was unable to spot any hiccups in the compression or authoring of this disc. Audio: V for Vendetta is one of just a handful of HD DVDs to feature lossless Dolby TrueHD audio, and particularly in the more action-oriented sequences, it sounds phenomenal. The powerful orchestral score and robust sound effects detonate from every speaker, making immersive use of the surround channels when given the opportunity. The megaton explosions set to the tune of Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture" are especially devastating, beckoning a bassy bellow from the subwoofer and highlighting the track's expansive dynamic range. V for Vendetta isn't an unrelenting assault on the senses, though; it's a film with a great many dialogue-heavy stretches, and not a single line gets lost in the occasional bombast. Detail and clarity are also a marked improvement over anything DVD has to offer. Thoroughly impressive. Other audio options include Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 tracks in English and French, and subtitles are offered in the three usual languages. Supplements: Exclusive to this HD DVD release of V for Vendetta is another of Warner's In Movie Experiences, and it's one of their stronger efforts. Director James McTeigue and stars Natalie Portman and Hugo Weaving have contributed interviews specifically for this feature, and the end result is an hour long video commentary interspersed throughout the film. Interviews with much of the rest of the cast are also provided, along with brief comments from producer Joel Silver and some of the crew, and there's surprisingly little overlap between this footage and the featurettes elsewhere on the disc. Their comments tend to be somewhat thematic, leaning more on the characters and the story than the nuts and bolts of production. Some of the notes include the differences between this adaptation and the graphic novel, particularly the revised take on Evey and how this stronger character humanizes V, the scale of the film's climax, production design so detailed that three hundred banned songs were selected by hand for V's jukebox, and the execution of the tens of thousands of tumbling dominoes. Conceptual art and some behind the scenes footage are also periodically displayed in a window on the left of the screen. The In Movie Experience is especially appreciated because for such a high-profile title, the extras on V for Vendetta are otherwise surprisingly sparse. The hour's worth of extras from the two-disc special edition DVD have been carried over to this release in standard definition, and virtually all of them are either presented in 4x3 or non-anamorphic widescreen. The meatiest of the featurettes is "Designing the Near Future", which clocks in at seventeen minutes. As you could probably guess from the name, it focuses primarily on the look of the film, such as its elaborate sets, the wardrobe, the construction of V's mask, the visual effects work, and the towering 1/7th scale 'miniatures' that were demolished for the terrorist attacks. Many production design-centric extras explain how certain creative choices were implemented, but "Designing the Near Future" also takes care to explain why these decisions were made in the first place. Very concise and well-worth a look. As Guy Fawkes isn't especially well known stateside, a series of authors on the subject introduce viewers to the 1605 Catholic scheme in the ten minute featurette "Remember, Remember: Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot". The sixteen minute "Freedom! Forever! Making V for Vendetta" is actually interested in giving viewers a peek at production and a glimpse into the thought process behind the adaptation rather than taking the shamelessly promotional path of most making-of featurettes. It does stick to the familiar framework of interviews with the key creative talent, excerpts from the film, and some behind the scenes snippets, but it's more substantial than most. The last of these four featurettes is "England Prevails! V for Vendetta and the New Wave in Comics", a fifteen minute examination of the darker, more adult work that emerged from Britain in the '80s. V for Vendetta naturally gets the lion's share of the attention, discussed by such four-color luminaries as Bill Sienkiewicz, Paul Chadwick, and V co-creator David Lloyd. Alan Moore, who's voiced total disdain for any attempt to adapt his work, is expectedly absent. "England Prevails!" tries to cover the movement as a whole, but its runtime is too brief to discuss much more than V for Vendetta, either mentioning other titles in passing or letting a camera zoom over a couple of choice panels. The 'Additional Footage' label is somewhat misleading as there aren't any deleted or extended scenes. This section consists of a pair of short clips, the first of which is a music video for Cat Power's "I Found a Reason" that condenses the two hour movie down to two minutes. The other is a, um, musical number by Natalie Portman from Saturday Night Live. You know the one. The remaining extras include an anamorphic widescreen trailer and a plug for the movie's soundtrack. Conclusion: V for Vendetta is an engaging, visually enthralling blend of political drama and a masterfully choreographed ballet of violence. Although it could be argued that the movie stumbles a bit with the delivery of its political commentary, V is nonetheless a smart, thought-provoking action movie, and any major studio effort that can get pulses racing and synapses firing simultaneously deserves a look. Highly Recommended. Find the lowest price for 'V for Vendetta (HD DVD)'

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Industry Guides Distribution GuideEquipment and Concessions GuideExhibition GuideBlue Sheets 49 UP By Eric Monder Oct 5, 2006 TweetReviewsThe New York Film Festival and other venues are proudly presenting Michael Apted's awesome cinematic effort 49 Up, which, needless to say, is light years more honest and direct than today's "reality-TV" shows and even many contemporary documentaries.Once again, we peek into the lives of Tony, Jackie, Sue, Bruce, Suzy, Paul, Simon, Nick, Andrew, John, Lynn and Neil. Some reveal how they are resigned to their professional status. (Tony had wanted to be a jockey but is now a cab driver.) Many discuss the difficulties they have had in their marriages. Others are proud of their lot. (John is an Ivy League teacher who has started a family late in life.) Still, some present more questions than answers, including the mysterious Neil, who had become homeless, then rejoined society-in parliamentary politics, no less!It was director Apted's brilliant idea to continue Seven Up from its U.K.-based Granada Television roots to what is now considered a legendary anthropological experiment. The important aspects to all the films were established in the first black-and-white piece, actually directed by Paul Almond, not Apted (who was then the researcher): the backgrounds of the schoolchildren, the balanced number of probing questions, and the combination of freeform cinéma-vérité and "talking-head" styles. One could quibble about the lack of ethnic diversity of the participants initially chosen, but the central idea provides a superb model for human-interest investigations and filmic reportage.The cleverly inserted clips from the previous films not only show the development of the subjects over 42 years but also provide a melancholic Proustian referent. The crosscutting from past to present and back is quite jolting at times, both technically and thematically. (The entire project was inspired by the Jesuit maxim, "Give me the child until he is seven and I will give you the man.")Also, the excerpts from Seven Up, 14 Up, 21 Up, 28 Up, 35 Up and 42 Up enable uninitiated viewers a chance to "catch up" with the entire series, which in no way is to diminish the impact of the earlier entries. In fact, First Run Features is now distributing all of the films as a DVD box set, which includes audio commentary by Apted on 42 Up. Viewing the collection would be more than a worthwhile commitment, though 49 Up alone is quite astonishing to behold.What is valuable and different about 49 Up is the degree and nature of the reflections. As the angry Jackie puts it to Apted, "This one maybe, maybe is the first one about us, instead of your perception of us," after discussing an embarrassing personal question he had asked her decades earlier. Suzy, on the other hand, talks in bittersweet tones about her grown children moving away ("It's like a closed chapter now, 'cause you can't bring those days back"), but she could be referring to herself and her fellow "guinea pigs." Apted is also more "present" than ever in his questioning, though he does not reflect on his own shortcomings or disappointments. If ever a film project emphasized process over results, it is 49 Up, but even those wondering about the gaps and "missing pieces" or what will happen in the future will not be disappointed by this remarkable work.

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Game Over Online ~ The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction (c) Vivendi Universal Games Tuesday, September 27th, 2005 at 05:23 PM By: Russell Garbutt The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction review As long as there have been game consoles, there have been superhero games. Gamers over a certain age may be able to recall a day when several blue and red blocks were enough to convince gamers they were controlling Superman on their Atari 2600. Those days are long gone and even when our beloved comic book heroes appear as they should in a game, it does not always translate into a wonderful gaming experience (Superman, once again, for the N64 is a perfect example of a case where everything went wrong). Through a veritable sea of hit-or-miss superhero titles comes a surefire smash in Radical Entertainment's The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction. Take one part GTA and two parts Mercenaries, and wrap it all up in a soft shell Marvel comic. Bake for two minutes in your gamma ray machine and "Voila!" instant fun! Pretty much everything the Hulk has been known for his entire comic-book life is on display here. Players can run at high speeds, bound across a city, and smash just about anything they can see. The more destruction and havok you wreak on society, the more you're rewarded for doing so. As a matter of fact, the Hulk's abilities are a bit curtailed in the beginning of the game by design. Players are rewarded with "smash points" for going ballistic on everything and everyone, which can then be used to purchase new attacks that will enable the Hulk to deliver even more destruction in even more elaborate ways. Everything in the environment can be picked up and thrown at an opponent, and some items can even be transformed into weapons of mass destruction. Grab a car and rip it in half to create giant steel gauntlets for Hulk's fists that amplify the damage caused by his punches. Buses can also be used as shields or a battering ram. You can even pick up an enemy soldier and flick him like a bug across two city blocks, or just bitch-slap him into the afterlife. Bruce Banner has taken up residence at a secluded church, with a view toward building a machine that will help him unlock the secrets of his alter ego and perhaps end the madness altogether. The church location acts as the Hulk's home base and hub of operations. From there (by choice of jump points) the Hulk chooses a destination and bounds off in search of things to smash. This is where the design becomes similar to Grand Theft Auto inasmuch as all of the game's storyline missions are "activated" by icons you'll find on the map within the area. Players can free-roam smash (which brings up the similarities to Mercenaries), take part in the story missions, or even embark on the many side-quests found littered throughout the city. The side quests, although silly at times, are a great way to rack up the smash points. The game really shines in its simplistic control and intuitive design that enables even the most casual of gamers to pick up the controller and be the Hulk. Running (and dashing), punching, throwing, climbing up buildings and charging your attacks to make more powerful attacks are all easy to pull off, and, more often than not, end up being the button (or button combo) you would hit on instinct. The main feeling conveyed by the user control and imagery in this title would be immersion. Ultimate Destruction succeeds where a lot of superhero titles fail (and fail miserably) by actually making players feel like they are the particular hero the game is about... in this case, of course, the Hulk. Players will realize this very thing the minute they hear the screams of terror from the soldiers as they pitifully try to run away from the big green menace. Graphically, the game sports adequate and intriguing visuals, even though the character and object models tend to be a little short on detail. There's nothing here that would be considered groundbreaking, but everything is well-represented on screen and the job gets done. Are the visuals overwhelmingly pretty like Ninja Gaiden? No, but they don't need to be. The main gripe with the visuals lies more in the camera than the graphics themselves. The endless motion and violent jerking about the Hulk is known for can cause a bit of motion sickness in people, particularly in the "overly brown" desert levels. Some people are more sensitive to it than others, but quite a few people have brought this up. Those with high-definition equipment can be the Hulk in 720p on the Xbox. The audio design is superb in its relentless ferocity, yet quite detailed and subtle at times as well. Naturally, everything in this title is about the smashing, crashing, and exploding, so those of you with subwoofers will find them getting quite a workout. The acting in the voiceovers is really well done, and even when the game really starts pushing its "comic book" themes you can feel the actor's commitment to their characters. None of the performances sound "phoned in" at all. This game is what most superhero games should be. There are many comic-book related items to unlock during the course of the gameplay, and this works very well as a reward for which the fans can strive. Whether you are a true fan of the Hulk or just feel that a game in which you can kill/smash/destroy everything in sight would be a great cathartic experience, you will have a great time with Dr. Bruce Banner's alter ego. Written By: Russell Garbutt

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NeNe Leakes Talks 'Real Housewives Of Atlanta' Cast Shakeup, Denies Kenya Moore Joining Show (VIDEO) NeNe Leakes, the star of Bravo’s “Real Housewives of Atlanta,” made some TV news on “The Wendy Williams Show” (weekdays on Fox). NeNe and Wendy discussed the cast shakeup for the upcoming Season 5 of the reality show. NeNe denied rumors that actress and former Miss USA Kenya Moore would be joining the cast. She also commented on the departure of Sheree Whitfield, saying, “It’s probably a good thing that she left,” and noted that she “didn’t know” if Marlo Hampton would be back. At one point in the interview, Wendy practically pleaded with NeNe to leave the franchise, asking, “Can you please leave the Atlanta 'Housewives' alone? You’ve outgrown that.” NeNe responded that the show had been a “great platform” for her career, she “loves the people at Bravo,” and confirmed that she will be a part of Season 5. NeNe is currently playing cheerleading coach Roz Washington on “Glee,” and will star as Rocky on NBC’s upcoming show “The New Normal.” TV Replay scours the vast television landscape to find the most interesting, amusing, and, on a good day, amazing moments, and delivers them right to your browser. What To Watch On TV This Week Mon., May 21: "House" "House" (8 p.m. ET on Fox) series finale The special two-hour series finale event kicks off with a one-hour retrospective special that will look back at the series and feature interviews with the stars and producers, special original content and other surprises. Then, in the series finale, directed by series creator and executive producer David Shore, treating a drug addict patient (guest star James LeGros) results in House examining his life, his future and his own personal demons. Television TV Recaps Glee Bravo Wendy Williams

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Jennifer Lawrence & David O. Russell May Reunite Again For Miracle Mop Movie Christopher Rosen Managing entertainment editor, The Huffington Post Lester Cohen via Getty Images From the files of if it ain't broke comes this story about Jennifer Lawrence and David O. Russell potentially teaming for yet another film. According to Deadline.com, Russell is negotiating to rewrite and direct a movie about Joy Mangano, the Long Island single mother of three who invented the Miracle Mop. Lawrence would play Mangano in the film, which was originally written by Annie Mumolo (who co-wrote "Bridesmaids" with Kristen Wiig). Fun with ages: Mangano graduated college in 1978 and didn't come up with the idea for the Miracle Mop until 1989; Lawrence turns 24 in August. Whether this project comes together, of course, is unclear. According to TheWrap's Jeff Sneider, Russell's publicist wouldn't confirm his involvement in the film (though Sneider wrote on Twitter that an "independent source" did confirm the story's validity). HuffPost Entertainment contacted Russell's representatives to see if they had further comment on the matter. This isn't even the first time Russell and Lawrence have almost reconnected for a third film, following in the Oscar-nominated footsteps of "Silver Linings Playbook" (for which won Lawrence an Oscar for Best Actress) and "American Hustle" (which has earned her a nomination for Best Supporting Actress). Last February, right before the Academy Awards voting deadline, The Weinstein Company announced that Russell and Lawrence would team for "The Ends of the Earth," a drama written by "Argo" screenwriter Chris Terrio. It was later revealed by The Hollywood Reporter that neither Lawrence nor Russell were attached to the film, and that TWC co-chairman Harvey Weinstein had "jumped the gun" on announcing that project, potentially with the hope of putting more attention on Lawrence on the final day of Oscar voting last year. As for where the Miracle Mop film would fit into Russell's oeuvre, the director had this to say to HuffPost Entertainment when asked what would come after "American Hustle": "It is true, you can write what you know. I have relatives from New Jersey to Long Island to Westchester to all five boroughs. This is the rhythm in my blood that I know. I like locating it [...] I think it's going to have to stay that way. I'd be interested to see what happens, but it's dialing into that world for me." For more on this project, head to Deadline.com. [via Deadline.com] Celebrity News & Photos Celebrity Photos: June 2014 Lady Gaga rocked some 80's style while leaving her apartment building in New York City on June 6. Share this slide: Pacific Coast News Jennifer Lawrence American Hustle David O. Russell Jennifer Lawrence David O. Russell

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TV News: ‘American Horror Story’ Gets Companion Series, ‘Uncle Buck’ In The Works At ABC And More TV News: ‘American Horror Story’ Gets Companion Series, ‘Uncle Buck' In The Works At ABC And More Tess Hofmann Oct 8, 2014 10:22 am Share This Article Pin It Ever the provocateur, Ryan Murphy is capitalizing on the success of “American Horror Story” and the buzz surrounding its upcoming freak-show themed season by announcing a new companion series, “American Crime Story.” The show will also be a scripted FX anthology, but will center on infamous true crimes. Take a wild guess at the first season’s subject. Yup, it’s O.J. Simpson. The first installment will be directed by Murphy from a script by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, who have some courtroom drama experience as the writers of “The People vs. Larry Flynt.” [Deadline] In other television news, cult hit “The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret,” created by and starring David Cross, will be resurrected on IFC in 2015, three years after the first two six-episode seasons officially wrapped. Cast member Sharon Horgan is confirmed for the cast, but no word yet whether Will Arnett, Spike Jonze, or Blake Harrison will return. Cross’ character, London-based American sales exec Todd Margaret, was last seen in the act of exploding nuclear bombs, and the new season apparently picks up where the last left off. [Splitsider] Also, “The Walking Dead,” the number one zombie apocalypse horror drama (and television show in general) for viewers 18-49 for the past two years, has been renewed for a sixth season, which should surprise absolutely no one. The comic-book based AMC series has continued to pull in record numbers, with its Season 4 premiere boasting the most viewers ever for a cable show, 16.1 million. AMC recently announced a companion series is in development: this show will be set in the same zombie-riddled universe, so the network obviously has a lot of confidence in the brand. Season 5 of “The Walking Dead” premieres this Sunday. [Deadline] Lastly, the John Candy comedy classic “Uncle Buck” is now being developed as a comedy at ABC. The project won’t veer too wildly from the original premise, following a man-child who is tasked with taking care of his brother’s kids and eventually becomes a responsible adult in the process. And this isn’t the first time an Uncle Buck show has been attempted. Back in 1990, CBS had their own version that ran for one season with Kevin Meaney in the title role. And as you can see from the opening credits below, the bar is set pretty low for this latest attempt. [Deadline] — additional reporting by Kevin Jagernauth This Article is related to: Television and tagged American Crime Story, Television, The Increasingly Poor Decisions Of Todd Margaret, The Walking Dead-2, TV News, Uncle Buck More From IndieWireEmmy Nonfiction Contenders: Portraits of the Artist, from Nora Ephron to Nina SimoneWhere to Watch the Best TV of 20162016 Emmy Predictions: Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or a Movie2016 Emmy Predictions: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Comments Emperor Zerg Rush May 23, 2016 1:19 am American Crime Story already sounds like a pass. One of the reasons American Horror Story kinda works as well as it does is because the absurd nature of its storylines coupled with acting from a few core players that don’t play it so serious as to make it turn into self-parody. That and, c’mon – everyone knew OJ did it, the Juice doesn’t need to be set loose in serialized form, we already had his televised trial for that crap.

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Irish actor Liam Cunningham on his 'Game of Thrones' role- VIDEO BUZZ BRADY @irishcentral March 24,2012 Dublin actor Liam Cunningham says that his experience in theatre helped him in his latest “Game of Thrones” role. "I think there is a great tradition of theatre in Europe, which involves two-hour-long plays with lots of dialogue, and I think that lends itself well to something like 'Game of Thrones,'" he told the Irish Independent.The film star revealed that he was forced to turn down a role in the first series of the hit HBO show and was delighted when the opportunity arose for the latest series. "I'd met some of the guys for a different role but because of timing and availability it didn't work out."For the second season, the producers said they liked what I had done already and asked if I would come back. I was delighted to."I'd already worked with some of the cast before such as Aidan Gillen, and with Rory McCann on 'Clash of the Titans.'"Cunningham said he was delighted to star in HBO production which is mainly filmed in Northern Ireland."The productions HBO are creating right now are some of the best television shows that have ever been made."The show is beautifully crafted, with great visuals and writing, and it's full of extraordinary characters doing extraordinary things."People who haven't seen the show might say to themselves they're not into swords and magic but 'Game of Thrones' is much more than that -- it's a drama with great characters." The show’s second season is based on ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ novel by author George R. R. Martin."Anyone that's not usually into the fantasy genre should watch 'Game of Thrones'. It's a character-driven, incredibly intense human drama, with a backdrop of fantasy that's just one small layer of what it is about," Cunningham added.Game of Thrones: Season 2 HBO GO First Look Trailer:

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London native David Jude Law slowly came up through the acting ranks like so many of his contemporaries: a stint at the National Youth Music Theatre, some work in British TV soaps, then lots of time on the stage. Things changed in the mid-�90s when he scored a Tony nomination on Broadway for �Indiscretions.� Soon after, he had a solid costarring role in his first film �Gattaca.� Law considers landing his a part in �The Talented Mr. Ripley� to be his big break, or as he puts it, �the turning point.� He�s since gone on to play an automaton in �A.I. Artificial Intelligence,� a hideously scarred lout in �Road to Perdition,� a cad in �Alfie,� a different kind of cad in �Sleuth,� the great Dr. Watson in �Sherlock Holmes� and its sequel, and a cuckolded husband in �Anna Karenina.� In the new thriller �Side Effects,� he plays a workaholic psychiatrist whose newest patient (Rooney Mara) proves to be his toughest case. Law, 40, has already finished filming �Dom Hemingway,� is midway through �The Grand Budapest Hotel,� and will star in �Henry V� on the London stage this fall. He recently spoke about himself and his profession in Los Angeles.What were your initial thoughts about how to play Dr. Banks in �Side Effects?�I wanted to make it very clear that this guy was good at what he did, and was aware of the sense of boundaries, of when and how a situation may arise for a psychiatrist and where it will impact his or her private life. But we�re also telling a story. So as an actor, at some point you have to work out where the drama is best played out. As the story dictates, his life starts to implodes, so it was important to me to have a sense of him kind of crumbling. At the same time there was a beautiful subtlety to the story, where you�re not sure whether he�s got the upper hand or whether there�s a time where you think he�s going mad.Did playing the part make you feel any differently about psychiatrists?A lot of the discussion around this film is about the abuse of medicine or perhaps relying on medicine for all the wrong reasons. Of course medicine is used for a lot of good reasons, too. I kind of left this job feeling very respectful of psychiatry as a profession.Is there a story behind the name Jude?I�m not really sure, but I believe it came from at least two sources: the book �Jude the Obscure� and the [Beatles] song.Did you go to a lot of movies as a kid?My father would take me to see �The Wild Geese,� �Rocky,� things like that. My mum would take me to see �Ladri di biciclette� and �Padre Padrone.�They introduced me to two very different styles of cinema, and I love both.How did it feel to turn 40?It was a liberating opportunity to cut off the shackles. When you�re in your 20s, you�re kind of built up to be the new it boy or the girl in the street and all that. In your 30s you�re knocked down and knocked into shape. Forty to 50 to 60 I think are exciting decades. The parts are often more meaty. The concentration is often more on your acting than who you are and what you represent. I think that�s a really exciting future, and that�s all I�ve ever really been interested in. So 40 is certainly a marker that I feel is talking me in the right direction.�Side Effects� opens on Feb. 8.Ed Symkus covers movies for GateHouse Media.

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Trending topicThe track list for "The Great Gatsby," directed by Baz Luhrman and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire and Carey Mulligan, was released yesterday, CNN reports. As Jay-Z is producing the moive's soundtrack, it's not surprising that both the rapper and his wife have songs listed. Beyonce's cover of Amy Winehouse's "Back to Black" can be heard in the first part of a recently released trailer for the movie. Also on the track list are Florence + The Machine, Lana del Rey, Gotye and will.i.am.On TVMabel and Dipper both want a newly discovered room in the Shack, which has carpet with magical body-swapping powers on tonight's episode of "Gravity Falls," somewhat cleverly titled "Carpet Diem." Disney 9 p.m. EST.Hot video: Halle Berry is pregnant with second childGateHouse News Service

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Studios go direct to fans for social-media boostBy SANDY COHEN AP Entertainment WriterUpdated: 05/02/2013 10:33:31 AM EDTLOS ANGELES—Sometimes you just can't wait for Comic-Con—whether you're a fan or a filmmaker. With the summer movie season now beginning in early May ("Iron Man 3" opens Friday), studios are co-opting the July pop-culture convention's model of stoking interest in anticipated films by bringing sneak-peeks of new material directly to super fans, who then, it is hoped, spread their enthusiasm via word-of-mouth and social media. For "Star Trek: Into Darkness," which opens May 17, Paramount shared early photos and videos with Trekkies devoted enough to download an iPhone or Android app. Other aspiring blockbusters, including Disney's "The Lone Ranger" and Sony's "Elysium," were subjects of their own individual Comic-Con-style events recently: Studios invited fans to local theaters, where they heard directly from the films' stars and were the first to see the action-packed trailers and other select scenes. Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer took questions from fans at "The Lone Ranger" event in Las Vegas in a segment streamed live online. Matt Damon and "District 9" writer-director Neill Blomkamp participated in the "Elyisum" showcase, held simultaneously in theaters in Los Angeles and Berlin. Only those who regularly follow the films online find out about such special events.Advertisement Studios value the approach because it allows them to reward devoted fans while building early buzz for their films. It also circumvents, in a way, the more traditional method of staging promotional events for entertainment media and then depending on those outlets to spread the news to fans. There are no better ambassadors to get word-of-mouth going," said Marc Weinstock, Sony's co-president of worldwide marketing. "Movies are such a viral thing." Asad Ayaz, senior vice president of marketing for Disney, said one aim of "The Lone Ranger" Las Vegas event last month was to generate as much international interest as possible in the film's trailer, which made its public debut there. Fans from as far away as China submitted questions for Depp, Hammer, director Gore Verbinski and producer Jerry Bruckheimer via Twitter during the online broadcast. One wanted to know what other characters Depp wants to play. "Carol Channing," the actor said. "I mean that. She's fantastic... Another guy that I would love to do the life story of is Don Rickles, which I don't know if he's well-known in China." Such starry mini-screenings can help raise a film's social-media profile in the crowded summer marketplace, Ayaz said. "When we did our event for 'The Lone Ranger,' 'Lone Ranger' was trending on Twitter worldwide and in the U.S. for several hours during and after the event, and that's because of fans tweeting," he said. "It's all about getting eyeballs on our trailer and getting people to see this amazing film, so the social-media aspect just makes it. It's a giant halo and it spreads the word." "The Lone Ranger" opens July 3. Weinstock said the positive Twitter response to the "Elysium" event was just what the studio had hoped for. The film's writer-director, though, confessed that he'd rather keep its content under wraps until the movie opens in August, but that's not the way the marketplace works. "I try to show as little as I can," Blomkamp told reporters after the fan screening. "The thing is, if you're a responsible, functioning filmmaker in the 21st century, you can't spend $100 million and then try to behave as though you're going to wrap it under a blanket... Rationally, I understand that people have to get to know about the film and word has to get out there. Personally, I don't really like it." Not all film marketing experts are sold on the ultimate value of fan events. Ben Carlson, president of market tracking firm Fizziology, believes the biggest social-media boost still comes from online trailer releases. "As soon as you put a good trailer out, it almost immediately becomes a trending topic on Twitter," he said, adding that in-person showcases like those held by Disney and Sony don't have the same social media impact. "It's more for the influential film bloggers. It does some nice heavy-lifting there," he said. "I don't think the mainstream moviegoer who might be in Kansas City or Memphis or Helena, Mont., is going to necessarily be paying attention to what's happening at an event with a few thousand people, but they will read about it on Ain't It Cool News." Carlson said the trailer for another anticipated summer release, Guillermo del Toro's "Pacific Rim," premiered for a group of fans before making its online debut, and it was the latter that resulted in a palpable Twitter bump. "Instantly thousands and thousands of people were talking about it, and that's without any kind of special push to it at all," he said. "People just love the content." Still, in a hyper-saturated media world, there's something about being the first to see something really cool, never mind seeing movie stars like Depp and Damon in person. Disney's Ayaz said he expects the studio to hold fan-focused events for future "tent pole" releases such as "Thor," "Captain America" and "Maleficent." Sony previously held an event for "The Amazing Spider-Man," and is releasing the sequel next year. "People are more distracted than ever before and they have a lot of different mediums to get access to our content, and what is more basic and more powerful than having a live event where you have your creative (people)—the actual filmmakers and the actors and the talent from your film—directly answering questions and showing their work to the fans?" Ayaz said. "It's a basic idea but it's still one of the most powerful ideas when you've got the goods and you've got a really good movie." ——— Follow AP Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen on Twitter: www.twitter.com/APSandy. ——— Online: The Lone Ranger: http://disney.go.com/the-lone-ranger/ Elysium: http://www.itsbetterupthere.com/site/ Star Trek: Into Darkness: http://www.startrekmovie.com/ Pacific Rim: http://www.pacificrimmovie.net/Print Email Font ResizeReturn to Top Welcome to your discussion forum: Sign in with a Disqus account or your social networking account for your comment to be posted immediately, provided it meets the guidelines. (READ HOW.)

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The serial killer thriller WRITTEN IN BLOOD looks at a pair of murders that snowball into a revelation of hidden secrets and further crimes. Detective John Traveller (Peter Coyote) is tried and convicted of the murder of his wife and her lover, but his partner Matt Ransom believes there's something out of place in the case. Looking for clues, Ransom discovers a number of possible suspects, only to have them eliminated, as it appears that someone is killing off John's enemies one by one. But who would be doing such a thing and why? As John assists him in the investigation from his prison cell, it slowly becomes clear to Ransom that not everything is as it seems, in both the case and in the police department itself.Read More... Peter Coyote, Peter Cohon, Michael T. Weiss, Maureen Flannigan, Steve Rankin, Dan Gauthier, Gwen McGee, Nancy Valen, Jennifer Jostyn Starring: Peter Coyote, Peter Cohon, Michael T. Weiss Directors: John Terlesky

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Submit TipsSend FeedbackTerms of ServicePrivacy PolicyDaniel Craig and Sam Mendes Give "Skyfall" a Classic Bond UpdateThe star and the director revitalize the 007 format one more time. By Scott Huver Top Stories 1VideoRelive the Fantastic Finishes of Rio 20162VideoFrom Belly-Flops to Nose Picks: Funniest Moments From Rio3VideoSam Kendricks Hears National Anthem and Stops Mid-attempt4VideoBolt Gets 9th Olympic Gold; U.S. DQ'd in Men's 4x100m RelaySponsored Don’t Let Chronic Pain Dictate Your Life NEWSLETTERS Receive the latest movies updates in your inboxPrivacy policy | More NewslettersDaniel Craig as James Bond in "Skyfall"With “Skyfall” already being touted as the James Bond film for anyone who’s ever loved a James Bond film, current 007 Daniel Craig and director Sam Mendes sit down to discuss how how they tried to find ways to freshen up the Bond trappings.With the franchise already invigorated for the 21st Century with Craig’s gritty debut in 2008’s “Casino Royale,” the pair faced a new challenge when crafting Bond's latest adventure: how to subtly pay homage to the five decades of espionage and assignations that paved the way for “Skyfall” without returning to the over-the-top of pastiche that the films previous to Craig had become known for.Javier Bardem Is Proud Of "Skyfall"Javier Bardem chats about his "uncomfortable" hair in "Skyfall." Also, he talks about the long process of developing his character. Plus, does he like playing the villain? Lastly, he says it's a "great honor" to be a part of the James Bond legacy. (Published Tuesday, March 4, 2014)On a return of some of the more lighthearted elements of 007’s world, while still retaining the intense reality established in the last two films:Daniel Craig: The thing is I just felt that given the great opportunity to do ‘Casino Royale,’ which the conceit was that we’re discovering the character, that we couldn’t just cram in the old gags. It would’ve felt wrong and I was not trying to copy anybody who’d come before. They did it so well and I didn’t want to be that person. I wanted to be me in this, but it’s always been a plan. It’s always been somewhere we’ve wanted to get to and to try to put them back into the movie in an original, fresh way was just the only issue and the thing Sam and I spoke at length about, because we wanted to make a Bond movie. Eventually a Bond movie is a Bond movie because of those things."Skyfall"Daniel Craig returns as James Bond in the latest 007 thriller, in which his place of work and his boss, M (Judi Dench), come under attack. (Published Monday, Dec. 16, 2013)Sam Mendes: This is really worth saying: we couldn’t have made this movie without ‘Casino Royale.’ What the producers and Martin Campbell did so brilliantly in that film was bring everything back down to sea level and take away pastiche and the assumption that there were going to be those moments. Now we’re able to reintroduce them with a sense of fun and mischief. Daniel can’t say this but he has earned it, actually. He’s earned it by telling those stories again up to this point. Now I think an audience is delighted when they reappear, hopefully.On the principal pleasures of this particular James Bond film:Craig: The thing that stays with me most is not really any particular thing but the fact is walking onto the set with the cast that we had and Sam at the helm and a crew who you did pay good money for, but they were wall there and everybody was excited and enthusiastic about making this film. That enthusiasm was infectious. That really for me is my abiding memory…It was romantic and frustrating. It’s seven months of filming so it’s like making four movies at the same time. There’s a second unit going on, there’s the main unit. We’re shooting action sequences, we’re shooting dialogue sequences, underwater sequences. There’s nothing like it. It’s a real privilege and an honor just to be around that.Mendes: I wanted to have a huge challenge and there was no question, they don’t come much bigger than Bond in terms of scale and expectation. I wanted to wake myself up, try something completely new. I also wanted to come back to England to make a movie – I’d never made a move in England, bizarrely, despite the fact that I’m English. And I wanted to work with Daniel and Judi Dench again, who I hadn’t worked with for a while. So all of those things – it just felt like the right thing at the right time. On Bond’s enhanced interaction in the field with his boss M, played by Judi Dench:Craig: It was about time she did some work because she normally just sits in an office on the phone shouting at people! No, she’s an extraordinary woman and actress, just wonderful to be with. When Judi walks into the room, she lights the room up. It’s incredible: she’s got such an energy about life and she loves doing what she does. I’ve been a fan of her all my life so to get the chance to work with her and play with her, because that’s what she likes doing. She likes playing on set. She takes her job very, very seriously but laughs all the time. On the enduring potency of the Bond franchise:Craig: To me it’s a very easy answer. It’s retaining what it always had. It’s making movies for the audience, putting it all on the screen and this family [producers and half-siblings Barbara Broccili and Michael G. Wilson] is the reason for it…I get a huge kick out of doing this, and I can see doing another film. The whole point of this is they take such a chunk out of your life. I’m contracted to two, by the way, which is fairly common.Mendes: You watch these little mini documentaries about the making of the movies and sometimes, even though you’ve been involved in them yourself, you learn some things, actually. There was an interview with Michael and he said ‘The old adage “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is a recipe for disaster.” I thought he was going to say ‘”If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is true.’ The truth is he’s right, but it takes a hell of a courageous person – or two people – to know that actually what you’ve got to do is keep changing it and not making it the same. I think that has been ultimately the reason it’s regenerated so brilliantly: taking the risk on somebody like Daniel, taking the risk to take away everything in order to rebuild it and that’s why it endures – because it’s not the same. Every Bond is different and every generation needs a different Bond, and it’s been able to move with the times. Now it’s hopefully set up, we’d like to think, for another 50 years and to a whole other generation of people. Published at 12:27 PM EST on Nov 8, 2012 Leave Comments NewsWeatherInvestigationsEntertainmentTrafficContact UsConnect With UsFCC Independent Programming ReportFCC News and Information Programming ReportNBC Non-Profit News Partnership ReportsWCAU Public Inspection File21st Century SolutionsSend FeedbackTerms of servicePrivacy policyAdChoices

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Miss 'Jersey Shore' already? Try 'Mob Wives' (watch the trailer) Anthony Venutolo | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com on March 25, 2011 at 7:09 PM, updated January 24, 2012 at 11:53 PM VH1VH1's "Mob Wives" is a series that follows the lives of four women at a crossroads who attempt to pick up the pieces and carry on while their husbands or fathers do time for mafia-related activities. So the 'Jersey Shore' finale ended with a whimper and the new season debut of Bravo's "Real Housewives of New Jersey" is still a couple of months away. We have a void. If you need your East Coast reality fix, you may want to check out VH1's "Mob Wives." After watching the teaser trailer you have to admit the show has train wreck written all over it -- and we mean that in the best kind of cheestastic mozzarella way. Developed by Jennifer Graziano and executive produced by Harvey and Bob Weinstein of The Weinstein Company, the show is a series that follows the lives of four women at a crossroads. According to the official press release, "Mob Wives" will be "a real look at what it's like to be born into or married to the mob." The Staten Island women struggle with their identities, families and futures as they struggle to maintain the lifestyle before their house of cards came crumbling down. It debuts Sunday, April 17 on VH1. Mob Wives |Full Episodes |Reality Shows |TV Shows Listen to the latest episode of our TV podcast

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Oscar 2012: Sean Young arrested outside the Governors Ball: Favorite people View full sizeThe Associated Press/2011Sean Young wants an apology.The co-star of movies with Fordand Costner demands an apology Since starring – with Harrison Ford and Kevin Costner, respectively – in 1987's "Blade Runner" and "No Way Out," things have steadily gone downhill for actress Sean Young, who even went into rehab for drinking problems in 2008. Sunday night, outside the Governors Ball after the Academy Awards, they got even worse. Young was taking photos of herself with some of the celebrities waiting to get into the ball – there's one with Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, another with Sandra Bullock – when she was placed under citizens' arrest by a member of the security team at the event and booked for battery. "I was just standing by the little line (outside the Governors Ball)," Young told People magazine. "I wasn't bothering anybody." Young says she was there to take pictures with party guests for her Facebook page. "They said, 'No, you have to leave,' " Young says. "I started to leave and (the guard) grabbed my arm and he started pulling me. And I turned around and I was pulling my arm away – and I struck him." Young told X17 Online that footage from the night will exonerate her. View full sizeThe Associated PressSacha Baron CohenRyan Seacrest says Cohen's redcarpet stunt not all the surprising Ryan Seacrest didn't know what was coming when he interviewed Sacha Baron Cohen, who was definitely in character for his upcoming movie, "The Dictator." But he wasn't all that shocked when the actor dumped what were allegedly the ashes of Kim Jong-il ("I'm sure it was pancake mix," Seacrest says) on him during a Oscars red carpet interview. "I was surprised, but not surprised," Seacrest said during his radio show Monday morning. But he also admitted, "I definitely did not know he was going to do that." After agreeing to do the interview, "in the back of my head I'm thinking, this guy isn't coming as The Dictator to not do something. To what extent, I don't know." But as their chat progressed, Seacrest began to feel a sense of unease. "You know in your gut, you feel like, this is going too normally. It just seemed like, he didn't put all that on to just answer a couple questions in character," he says. And then, of course, came the ashes, which weren't the fashion disaster for Seacrest they could have been. "My mom told me when I was a mini red carpet reporter, 'You always want to have two jackets. You never know what's going to happen. You never know what you're going to spill on yourself and you want to be red carpet-ready at all times. That's your job.' So I had another jacket." Uma Thurman to have childwith financier boyfriend Uma Thurman is expecting her first child with financier Arpad Busson. The 41-year-old actress, who has two children (Maya, 13 and Levon, 10) with ex-husband Ethan Hawke, and Buson have been dating since 2007 (with a brief split in 2009). View/Post Comments TV & Movies News Events in Oregon

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There's something about 'Harry' | February 3, 2012 | Palo Alto Weekly | Palo Alto Online | http://paloaltoonline.com/print/story/print/2012/02/03/theres-something-about-harry Arts & Entertainment - February 3, 2012 There's something about 'Harry' Straight-talking Truman charms, inspires in one-man show by Karla Kane Subscribe for unlimited accessRead FAQBeing in the audience of Palo Alto Players' production of "Give 'em Hell, Harry" is akin to spending the evening with a kindly uncle as he reminisces about his eventful life, sharing rambling anecdotes sprinkled with wisdom and humor. That is, of course, if said uncle was also the leader of the free world. In the case of this one-man play written by Samuel Gallu, the jovial, avuncular narrator is no run-of-the-mill Midwestern gramps. He's former U.S. President Harry S. Truman, and mixed amongst his shrewd commentary and mother-in-law jokes are tales of giving the OK to drop the atom bomb(s) on Japan, run-ins with the KKK, leading the nation through the shadowy Korean War, defending the little guy from Wall Street greed and much more. It's the story of a self-proclaimed average Joe from the heartland who came to represent the best of America. Truman grew up a farm boy in Missouri and worked a variety of clerical jobs before serving as a U.S. Army officer in World War I. After returning from France and marrying his childhood sweetheart, the formidable future First Lady Bess Wallace (affectionately referred to as "Boss"), he had a brief career as a haberdasher before going into politics as a staunch Democrat, rising to the U.S. Senate. To his surprise, he was selected to be Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president in 1944. Only a few months into 1945, Roosevelt died, leaving Truman to ascend as World War II was drawing to a close. Surprising political pundits once again in 1948, he defeated Republican Tom Dewey to earn a second term in office. Truman, at least as portrayed in this play, is the opposite of what comes to mind when most people these days hear the word "politician": straightforward, honest to a fault, plainspoken and humble. He's a man who loathes phoniness, corruption and inequality; a man who fights for the liberty of regular folk and for the preservation of common sense, bipartisanship and pragmatism. Though "Give 'em Hell, Harry" first premiered in 1975, in the wake of the Watergate scandal, the content resonates just as strongly today. Concerns about big banks and Wall Street screwing over the working and middle classes are proven not to be new concerns, as Truman rails against such corruption in the 1930s. The idealized Harry of Gallu's play is someone to root for, and learn from. Throughout the course of the play he recounts his battles with racists, snobs, McCarthy and others — several times drawing enthusiastic cheers from the Lucie Stern Theatre crowd at a recent performance. Palo Alto real-estate developer and veteran actor Peter Vilkin plays the 33rd president with the voice and every-man demeanor of Jimmy Stewart, but full of confidence (never swagger) and a penchant for salty swear words. His Truman is friendly, warm and unabashedly dedicated to serving his state, then his nation, to the best of his abilities without suffering delusions of grandeur or losing touch with his roots. Vilkin leads audience members on an autobiographical tour of Truman's life, punctuated by wonderful excerpts from his crackling speeches and letters. In one piece of correspondence, the president colorfully attacks a newspaper reporter who gave a poor review to his beloved daughter Margaret Truman's musical concert, stating: "Some day I hope to meet you. When that happens you'll need a new nose, a lot of beefsteak for black eyes, and perhaps a supporter below!" In other, more serious vignettes, Vilkin reenacts Truman's stirring speeches from the Senate floor and one from his famous "Whistlestop" campaign tour across the country by train. The timeline drifts in and out of chronology, which is true to the stream-of-conciousness style and tone of the show. Sometimes Truman flashes back to his early years; sometimes he flashes forward to after his time as president. It's a hodgepodge of a character study that generally works very well. Though Vilkin is the only actor, and often speaks directly to the audience, other figures play invisible roles (such as ex-President Herbert Hoover), as Vilkin engages them in one-sided conversations. It is much to his credit that Vilkin is able to keep audiences interested for what must be a vocally taxing hour and 45 minutes of gabbing. Due to the simple nature of the show, the staging and costume needs are not elaborate, but props are used throughout to good effect to visually underscore the scenes Vilkin flashes back upon. Whether or not the real Harry Truman was as likable and wholeheartedly decent as portrayed on stage (Hiroshima and Nagasaki notwithstanding), the Truman character in the play proves a true American treasure. Vilkin was rewarded with a standing ovation at the end of the performance I attended, and I got the feeling the hearty applause was meant not only in praise of Vilkin's excellent performance but also in honor of the one-of-a-kind president he so joyfully brings to life. What: "Give 'em Hell, Harry," a Samuel Gallu play presented by Palo Alto Players Where: Lucie Stern Theatre, 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto When: Remaining performances are this Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2:30. Cost: Tickets are $29, with discounts available for students, seniors and groups of 12 or more. Info: Go to http://paplayers.org or call 650-329-0891.

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Casting News Watch: Sentinels Will Appear In ‘X-Men: Days Of Future Past’ Damn … the news that X-Men fans have been waiting for ever since the mutant superhero team made their debut on the big screen has finally come. Today we learn OFFICIALLY that the infamous Sentinels created by Trask Industries will FINALLY be introduced to the X-Men movie universe when X-Men: Days of Future Past opens in theaters next year. A promo website, promo video and photos have been released and today we get to see what the Sentinels will look like “in real life”. Additionally, we get our first look at actor Peter Dinklage in character as Bolivar Trask. Click the embed above to watch the promo video then click below to get your first look at Dinklage as the villainous Trask. X-Men fans are getting the Sentinels. Twentieth Century Fox has launched a website for Trask Industries, the company behind the giant Sentinel robots that threaten to annihilate the X-Men and other mutants in the Marvel comicbooks. The robots will be featured in “X-Men Days of Future Past.” Fans of the superheroes have long wanted the Sentinels to appear in Fox’s film franchise and will finally get their wish in the seventh film, out May 23, 2014. Fox promoted Trask Industries at Comic-Con this month, giving away promotional posters featuring the robots and other items featuring Trask Industries. A mention of Trask Industries and foreboding warning of the Sentinels also appears at the end of “The Wolverine,” out in theaters now. Erm, yes, so do stay until after the credits to see the extra scene at the end of The Wolverine. Now the studio has launched an elaborate website for Trask-Industries.com to give more background on the company and history of the Sentinel program, headed by Bolivar Trask, played by Peter Dinklage in the film. According to the website: “In 1973, Trask Industries introduced the first Sentinel production model, the Mark I. Bolivar Trask’s groundbreaking research in AI, robotics and autonomous ballistic systems laid the foundation for the world’s most capable anti-mutant defense system. Since the program’s inception, we’ve continued to advance our founder’s cause through eight additional generational upgrades and enhancements. As we celebrate five decades of achievement, we also bid farewell to regular production of the Mark I and shift our efforts to full-time manufacturing of the Mark X — our first complete overhaul of the Sentinel line. These highly anticipated units will combine next-generation nanotechnology and bioweapon breakthroughs, promising an even brighter future for the human race.” This fictional Trask website features some neat photos of Sentinels inserted into real life events, like the inauguration of Ronald Regan as president (which you can see above). I can’t even tell you how excited I am about this news. The Sentinels have always been heavily featured in the X-Men cartoons but it’s taken THIS LONG for the robots to make it into the movies. Days of Future Past promises to be an amazing film, thus far … I am loving EVERYTHING ABOUT IT. I didn’t think it was possible but Days of Future Past might actually turn out better than X-Men: First Class did. Wow. 0 'X-Men: Days of Future Past', Peter Dinklage 1 Comment ← Previous postLindsay Lohan Reportedly Wants To Stay In Rehab A Bit Longer Next post →Watch: Kristen Stewart Tells Photog, 'You Don't Deserve To Breath The Same Air I Do' You may also like The Cast Of ‘Game Of Thrones’ Invaded San Francisco For The Show’s Season 5 Premiere Peter Dinklage Rocked A Pretty Wicked Mullet In His High School Yearbook Photo Movie Review: ‘X-Men: Days Of Future Past’ blaqfury As soon as I saw the title I shouted FINALLY!!! I feel like we’ve been waiting for sentinels F.O.R.E.V.E.R.! I have no idea how I’m going to wait another 10 months. Everything about this is ahhhh-some!

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“A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder” Moves to Broadway The play, which received rave reviews at Hartford Stage last fall, debuted at the Walter Kerr Theatre on November 17 to critical acclaim. Hartford, CT (PRWEB) "A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder" is a Hartford Stage original production. Set in Edwardian England, the musical follows the story of Monty Navarro, who grew up in the working and middle class suburb of Clapham, but aspires to a higher standard of living. Monty learns after his mother’s death that he is a member of the noble D’Ysquith family and could become the next Earl of Highhurst. The only problem is that eight other family members are in line before him to inherit the title. Monty decides to remedy the situation by killing them all, one by one. He must also juggle his relationships with two women – his fiancée, who also happens to be his cousin, and his mistress. The play, which is directed by Darko Tresnjak, features Bryce Pinkham in the role of Monty and Jefferson Mays portraying the roles of all eight doomed members of the D’Ysquith family. Mays also played the D’Ysquith family when the play was performed at Hartford Stage. The book was written by Robert L. Freedman, and the music was written by Steven Lutvak, who described the play as “Downton Abbey with murder, but funny.” The pair collaborated on the witty lyrics. "Gentleman's Guide" is the first mainstage Hartford Stage musical since the world premiere of "The Gershwin's Fascinating Rhythm" in the 1996-1997 season. Freedman and Lutvak met in New York University’s Graduate Program for Writing in Theater in 1981. They studied under such well-known names as Leonard Bernstein, Arthur Laurents, Jule Styne, Stephen Sondheim, Betty Comden, Adolph Green, and Jonathan Tunick. After graduating, the two went their separate ways. Lutvak found success as a singer/songwriter in New York, performing his creations at venues including Carnegie Hall and the Algonquin. He also wrote the title theme for the film “Mad Hat Ballroom” and wrote several other hit musicals, including “Almost September,” which won eight Bay Area Critics’ Circle Awards and seven Dramalogue Awards, and “Esmeralda,” which was awarded a New American Works Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. Freedman traveled to Los Angeles, where he worked on the ABC mini-series “Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows,” for which he was nominated for an Emmy and Writers Guild Award. He won the Writers Guild Award for HBO’s “A Deadly Secret” and was nominated for the award for “Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella.” The two eventually reconnected and collaborated on “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder.” The play was developed in part at the 2006 Sundance Institute Theater Lab at the Sundance Resort and had later support through an initiative with the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The play is based on the Roy Horniman novel Israel Rank: The Autobiography of a Criminal. The play debuted at Hartford Stage on October, 11, 2012 and was hailed as an immediate success for the local theater. In addition, Lutvak and Freedman created Campaign of the Century, which was performed at the New York Musical Theatre Festival and the Chicago Humanities Festival. The play won the California Musical Theater Competition from the Beverly Hills Theater Guild. Charles MacNaughton Hartford Stage +1 860-520-7248

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# A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Here Mini Reviews (February 2007) The Italian, Comeback Season, The Lives of Others, Hannibal Rising, Music and Lyrics, Zoom, State's Evidence The Italian (February 1/07) Set entirely in Russia, The Italian follows a parentless little boy named Vanya (Kolya Spiridonov) as he embarks on a perilous journey to track down his birth mother. The film's opening hour, however, details Vanya's Dickensian existence within a shoddy orphanage - where he must contend with several quirky figures, including a sinister adoption broker (Maria Kuznetsova), a surprisingly helpful fellow resident (Polina Vorobieva), and a corrupt headmaster (Yuri Itskov). Though there's a palpable sense of gritty authenticity contained within The Italian's early scenes, the relentlessly downbeat atmosphere - coupled with the inclusion of more characters than one can easily keep track of - makes it awfully hard to actually care about Vanya's plight. That being said, the film does pick up once the boy leaves the institution - to the extent that The Italian ultimately becomes quite a compelling and genuinely moving piece of work. It doesn't hurt that Spiridonov reveals himself to be a surprisingly charismatic and natural performer, and there's consequently little doubt that Vanya slowly-but-surely morphs into a figure worth rooting for. out of Comeback Season (February 4/07) Though it possesses all the complexity of a typical movie-of-the-week, Comeback Season remains an affable piece of work that's generally elevated by the above average performances. Filmmaker Bruce McCulloch has infused the proceedings with a distinctly conventional sensibility, ensuring that most viewers will have little difficulty in predicting exactly what's to occur over the movie's admittedly brisk running time. The storyline - which finds two disparate characters (Ray Liotta's Walter and Shaun Sipos' Skylar) forced to bunk together after they each hit rock bottom - has been peppered with a whole host of wacky subplots and asides, though most such moments tend to fall flat (something that's particularly true of a recurring bit involving an off-the-wall bank manager). The increasingly syrupy and far-from-subtle vibe is tempered by Liotta and Sipos' better-than-expected work, with Sipos turning in a surprisingly effective performance (which, given that most of his screentime is spent opposite Liotta, is certainly no small feat). out of The Lives of Others (February 7/07) Sporadically interesting but primarily dull, The Lives of Others revolves around several characters as they attempt to navigate the treacherous and thoroughly paranoid waters of the former East Berlin - with the emphasis placed on a loyal Stasi agent (Ulrich Muhe) and the hapless playwright (Sebastian Koch) he's assigned to watch. While there's certainly no denying the effectiveness of Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's stylish yet understated direction - it's hard to believe this is only his first movie - The Lives of Others is ultimately undone by the glacial pace with which the filmmaker has infused the proceedings. The inclusion of a few genuinely suspenseful sequences notwithstanding, there's just nothing here to capture (and sustain) the viewer's interest; von Donnersmarck spends an egregious amount of time on expository matters, with the end result a film that often feels as though it's all build-up and no pay-off. And although things start to pick up in the confrontational third act, the film's positive attributes - including a pair of superb performances from Muhe and Koch - are consistently undermined by the unreasonably overlong running time and leaden atmosphere. out of Hannibal Rising (February 8/07) A prequel to Thomas Harris' previous Hannibal Lecter adventures, Hannibal Rising charts the infamous sociopath's traumatic childhood and murderous beginnings - with the bulk of the film devoted to young Lecter's efforts to get even with the men who killed his beloved sister. The film, much like Harris' novel, suffers from a bloated midsection in which nothing of overt interest occurs, with the emphasis placed almost entirely on Lecter's tumultuous progression from adolescence to adulthood. It certainly doesn't help that Gaspard Ulliel - as Lecter - proves to be a distinctly unconvincing replacement for forebearers Anthony Hopkins and Brian Cox, as the actor offers up a series of smirks and Kubrickian stares in lieu of an actual performance. That being said, the film improves substantially once Hannibal embarks on his mission of revenge - with the whole thing morphing into a brutal actioner along the lines of Death Wish and Man on Fire (a vibe that's undoubtedly enhanced by Rhys Ifans' superb turn as the smug and flat-out evil central villain). Hannibal Rising is, ultimately, a slightly more effective piece of work than Harris' overwrought novel - if only because it doesn't take quite as long to get through. out of Music and Lyrics (February 11/07) Music and Lyrics casts Hugh Grant as Alex Fletcher, an '80s pop star who receives a second chance at fame after a Britney Spears-esque superstar (played by Haley Bennett) asks him to write a song for her. Problems ensue after Alex's initial attempts at penning the ditty fall flat, though things start to look up once Alex encounters an offbeat young woman (Drew Barrymore's Sophie) with a natural gift for songwriting. Written and directed by Marc Lawrence, Music and Lyrics isn't even remotely as much fun as its premise might have indicated - something that's due almost entirely to the inert and oddly slow-paced vibe that's been hard-wired into it by Lawrence. Lawrence's penchant for taking mildly interesting characters and shoe-horning them into thoroughly uninteresting situations has never been more evident, and although Grant and Barrymore share a palpable sense of chemistry with one another, there's simply nothing propelling the story forward. The end result is a film that's intermittently amusing but mostly dull, and one can't help but marvel at the lack of both comedic and romantic elements within Lawrence's screenplay (ie an effective romcom this is not). out of Zoom: Academy for Superheroes (February 15/07) Much maligned but basically entertaining, Zoom: Academy for Superheroes casts Tim Allen as Jack Shepard - a washed-up former superhero who finds his services needed after his evil brother emerges from a 30-year sabbatical. Assisted by a clumsy scientist (Courteney Cox), Jack reluctantly sets out to train four youngsters (including Spencer Breslin's Tucker Williams and Kate Mara's Summer Jones) with preternatural abilities in the proper use of their powers. While there's certainly no denying that Zoom: Academy for Superheroes has been infused with more than a few unreasonably puerile jokes and gags, the film does benefit substantially from Allen's funny, expectedly charismatic performance - which, along with with quirky supporting turns from folks like Rip Torn, Chevy Chase, and Thomas F. Wilson, generally ensures that the whole thing remains surprisingly watchable throughout. That being said, one can't help but lament Jack's egregiously predictable character arc and the inclusion of a few eye-rollingly sentimental moments (all of which are accompanied by laughably corny pop songs). And while it's easy enough to see why it received torrents of negative reviews upon its initial release, Zoom: Academy for Superheroes - viewed on the small screen - essentially comes off as a light-hearted and mindlessly engaging time-waster. out of State's Evidence (February 18/07) Although it boasts a surprisingly effective opening half hour, State's Evidence quickly degenerates into an exploitative mess that has little to offer in terms of authenticity or plausibility. Douglas Smith stars as Scott, an average high schooler who - having made the decision to kill himself - starts documenting his every move with a video camera and subsequently (and inadvertantly) winds up convincing his closest friends to also commit suicide. It's at that point that the movie starts to go off the rails, as the viewer is asked to accept that four reasonably normal teens would - with barely a hint of prodding - spontaneously decide to end their respective lives. Screenwriter Mark Brown has similarly infused the proceedings with a whole host of implausible elements, including - but not limited to - an absurd subplot in which Kris Lemche's Patrick attempts to stand up to a laughably over-the-top bully. Brown's efforts at rationalizing the antisocial behavoir of his characters ultimately comes off as superficial and trite, although that's certainly preferable to the ridiculously preachy vibe that dominates the film's third act. The performances are a mixed bag, with only a few of the actors able to convincingly step into the shoes of these uniformly screwed up teens (only Lemche is able to make any kind of positive impact). In the end, there's little doubt that State's Evidence would've worked a whole lot better as a short - though it's just as clear that director Benjamin Louis does hold a certain amount of promise (he just needs better material to work with, unquestionably). out of © David Nusair

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Stop Making Sense (1984) Documentary, Music Rated No rating The overwelming impression throughout "Stop Making Sense" is of enormous energy, of life being lived at a joyous high. And it's not the frenetic, jangled-nerves energy of a rock band that's wired; it's the high spirits and good health we associate with artists like Bruce Springsteen. There are a lot of reasons to see concert films, but the only ones that usually get mentioned are the music and the cinematography. This time the actual physical impact of the film is just as exhilarating: Watching the Talking Heads in concert is a little like rock 'n' roll crossed with "Jane Fonda's Workout." The movie was shot during two live performances of the Talking Heads, a New York rock band that centers on the remarkable talent of its lead singer, David Byrne. Like David Bowie, his stage presence shows the influence of mime, and some of his best effects in "Stop Making Sense" are achieved with outsize costumes and hand-held lights that create shadow plays on the screen behind him. Given all the showmanship that will develop later during the film, the opening sequences are a low key, almost anti-concert throwaway. Byrne walks on a bare stage with a ghetto-blaster in his hand, puts it down on the stage, turns it on and sings along with "Psycho Killer." Eventually he is joined onstage by Tina Weymouth on bass. Then stagehands wander out from the wings and begin to assemble a platform for drummer Chris Frantz. Gear is moved into place. Electrical cables are attached. The backup singers, Edna Holt and Lynn Mabry, appear. And the concert inexorably picks up tempo.The music of the Talking Heads draws from many sources, in addition to traditional rock 'n' roll. You can hear the echoes, in Byrne's voice, of one of his heroes, country singer Hank Williams. In the music itself, there are elements of reggae and of gospel, especially in the driving repetitions of single phrases that end some of the songs. What is particularly delightful is that the Talking Heads are musical: For people who have passed over that invisible divide into the age group when rock sounds like noise, the Heads will sound like music.The film is good to look at. The director is Jonathan Demme ("Melvin and Howard"), making his first concert film, and essentially using the visuals of the Talking Heads rather than creating his own. Instead of the standard phony cutaways to the audience (phony because, nine times out of ten, the audience members are not actually reacting to the moment in the music that we're hearing), Demme keeps his cameras trained on the stage. And when Byrne and company use the stage-level lights to create a shadow play behind them, the result is surprisingly more effective than you might imagine: It's a live show with elements of "Metropolis."But the film's peak moments come through Byrne's simple physical presence. He jogs in place with his sidemen; he runs around the stage; he seems so happy to be alive and making music. Like Springsteen and Prince, he serves as a reminder of how sour and weary and strung-out many rock bands have become. Starting with Mick Jagger, rock concerts have become, for the performers, as much sporting events as musical and theatrical performances. STOP MAKING SENSE understands that with great exuberance. The best greatest movies ever list Desert island DVDs (Matt's & mine & yours) Scorsese and music as storytelling: Shine a Light

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For about two decades, there wasn�t anyone much bigger in Hollywood than Arnold Schwarzenegger. Although to be fair, the hits in his resume � the �Conan� films, the �Terminator� films, �Twins,� �True Lies� � were accompanied by some real duds � �Last Action Hero� and �Jingle all the Way.� But the Austrian muscleman persevered, becoming an international box office star. Then, in 2003, he left acting for politics, with a two-term run as governor of California, which ended in 2011. He made one cameo, in �The Expendables,� during his time in office. But his new film, �The Last Stand,� in which he plays a small-town sheriff trying to hold off a small army of bad guys, marks his return to leading man status. Last week in Los Angeles, he spoke about acting, politics and what kind of shape he�s in.Why did you leave acting, and why did you return to it?When I got into the governorship in 2003 I said I would only run the state for seven years, and then I would be back in the movie business. So now I�m back again. The only thing is that when you�ve left the movie business for seven years, it�s kind of scary to come back because you don�t know if you�ll be accepted. So I was very pleasantly surprise when I did the cameo in �The Expendables� that there was such a positive reaction to my appearance, and that there was an even bigger reaction when I did the second one.You look great. How do you feel about aging and doing action scenes?I�m no different than you. We all go through the same traumas. We look in the mirror and see what happened (laughs). But the great thing is that if you work out every day, you stay in shape. This movie required a lot of stunts and action and physical work. The director was a fanatic about seeing as much as possible done by me and the other actors, unless it got really dangerous. We all practiced and rehearsed our stunts, but when you�re 65 it�s different than when you�re 35.First you were a bodybuilder, and you�ve always done at least some stunts. Does it hurt to get up in the morning?I feel good right now, but I think that when you lift as many tons of weights as I have, inevitably there�s wear and tear, and you have injuries. When you do stunts you have your share of injuries there, and I�ve been stitched up in movies and had broken or dislocated shoulders. I�ve had a lot of surgeries and a lot of things that had to be fixed on my body. But the medical technology has really advanced, and I�m sitting here today and can do everything.What is your strategy going forward in making films?A lot of it has to do with timing. I would have chosen to do another �Conan� first if it would have been ready. And that will probably be ready later this year. The same thing with �Triplets,� a sequel to �Twins.� I�ve been trying to get that made for 10 years. Now the new leadership at Universal sees the value of it, so they�ve hired writers and are going full blast ahead. I would say in general, decisions are based on what movie would be interesting for people to see, what does the audience out there want to see me do. That�s how I make decisions.�The Last Stand� opens on Jan. 18.Ed Symkus is a movie writer for GateHouse Media.

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Sify.comNewsInternationalSwift to star in sitcom Swift to star in sitcom Los Angeles, March 29 (IANS) Singer Taylor Swift will reportedly star in television show "New Girl". Swift, 23, will be seen in scenes with Zooey Deschanel's character Jess as season two draws to a close. The star will be on the set next week to shoot her part, according to Entertainment Weekly. Taylor will play a character called Elaine as an important guest at Jess' best friend Cece's wedding. This is not the first time that the singer will be seen acting. She has been part of 2010 movie "Valentine's Day", in which she had teamed up with Taylor Lautner.

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The Fleet's In When Dorothy Lamour learned in 1941 that she'd been cast in The Fleet's In (1942), she was thrilled. As a child, she had loved the original 1928 Clara Bow version so much that she'd been suspended from school after skipping class to see it. Now that she was to star in a remake, she figured she had a good excuse to watch it again - and again and again! She lied to Paramount that she'd never seen the original, and, she later wrote, "for one solid week I told them to screen it for me whenever I had a free moment. Over and over I made them run that one courtroom scene where Clara wears a black satin dress with a feather boa and chews gum like mad. The story was changed somewhat in the remake, but I made up my mind that was how I'd do it, too." The Fleet's In is not, in fact, merely a remake of the 1928 film. It's based equally on a 1933 play entitled Sailor, Beware!, which itself had already been made into a 1936 film, Lady Be Careful, and would be adapted again in 1952 as the Jerry Lewis/Dean Martin vehicle Sailor Beware. This 1942 version stands as a tuneful, silly-yet-wonderful piece of wartime escapism. It was shot in September and October 1941 and opened in theaters in March 1942, a different world for Americans. Now that the country was at war, a rousing and energetic film with sailor characters seemed made to order. Equally appealing was a fun cast including William Holden, Dorothy Lamour, Eddie Bracken and Betty Hutton as well as the Jimmy Dorsey big band and a bunch of swell new Johnny Mercer songs including the soon-to-be standard "Tangerine." "I don't know why I called it 'Tangerine,'" Mercer said years later, "except that it had a kind of Latin flavor, the melody." That melody had been composed by Victor Schertzinger, who collaborated with Mercer on all the film's songs and also directed the movie itself. Mercer had never worked with Schertzinger before but enjoyed the collaboration. "He gave you a tune on a lead sheet, and whatever you brought in pleased him," Mercer recalled. "As they say, a doll to work with." The Fleet's In did a lot for Mercer's career. His songs were so successful that they caused his ASCAP ranking to be raised from A to AA - meaning that Mercer would now receive royalties at the same level as top songwriters like Cole Porter and Irving Berlin. Certainly another song that helped him achieve this is "Arthur Murray Taught Me Dancing in a Hurry," in which one verse goes: Arthur Murray then advised me not to worry/I'd come out all right/To my way of thinkin'/It came out stinkin'/I don't know my left foot from my right. (In a PR move when The Fleet's In came out, the real Arthur Murray offered Mercer and his wife free dance lessons.) The song was performed by 21-year-old Betty Hutton, making her feature film debut, and it helped make her a star. "That was a big hit song," Hutton later said. "Johnny Mercer, who's the greatest songwriter of all time, wrote the score. But I don't think that alone did it. The role was funny." One critic of the time wrote of Hutton: "Her facial grimaces, body twists and man-pummeling gymnastics take wonderfully to the screen." But Hutton's physical wildness made it very difficult for her to hit her marks. As she later said: "I don't know from walking in and looking down and all that jazz. They said to me, 'This is a long shot. Take it easy on the medium shots a little more. Close up, really go.' I don't know from that jazz. Every time I came out I was 'on.' I wanted to be great." Director Victor Schertzinger complained to producer Buddy DeSylva that he couldn't hold Hutton in the frame. "I didn't hire her to stay on the spot," DeSylva replied. "I hired her because she is wild." The problem was solved when DeSylva set up three cameras to film Hutton in one take. As he said: "I only want one take from her because she gives it her all and she will not repeat it... I want the instant reaction she feels." Buddy DeSylva, incidentally, was a producer and songwriter who was extremely influential in guiding Hutton's career at Paramount. He was very protective of her on The Fleet's In when problems arose - so much so that rumors grew that they were having an affair. Dorothy Lamour later wrote charmingly about William Holden on this picture: "I was very pleased that Bill Holden was assigned to be my leading man. Bill is not only charming, talented and handsome, but also has a great sense of humor. Nobody knew how much he was going to need it; at the beginning everything went so well that none of us could have imagined all the troubles that were to follow. "Bill used to make up his own lyrics to the picture's title song. As written, the lyrics went like this: Hey, rookie, you'd better hide your cookie, 'cause the fleet's in. Various Holden versions included Hey, mister, you'd better hide your sister, or Hey, brother, you'd better hide your mother, or Hey, rookie, you'd better hide your nookie - and those were just the printable ones." Since he'd recently had an appendectomy, Holden had been advised by his doctor not to strain himself. For one early scene, he had to carry Lamour up a long flight of stairs. Holden later recalled, "I picked her up and climbed up seven steps before I felt the strain. Without thinking, I asked, 'How the hell much do you weigh?'" "Cut!" yelled director Schertzinger. "You are aware, Mr. Holden, that we recorded that?" In the end the scene was shot in little pieces, with doubles used for the long shots. The New York Times said of The Fleet's In: "[It] will not cause any riots. Shore patrols need not be doubled in Times Square." But the review also declared the picture to be "a lively farce...full of pep. The late Victor Schertzinger was a master at musical comedy patch-work, and all he needed was the bare frame of a story in which to toss together a flashy crazy quilt." Sadly, Schertzinger died in his sleep during production. "It was a shock because he hadn't even been ill," Lamour recalled. Assistant director Hal Walker took over and finished the film. The first shot on the first day after Schertzinger died was of Lamour lip-synching to a pre-recorded song, "I Remember You." It was, Lamour wrote, "pretty heavy stuff to sing after you've lost a friend, but I really thought I could do it... After I finished the first shot, Hal Walker yelled 'Cut,' but the tape kept on running. Then over the sound system came Victor's voice, 'That was wonderful, Dorothy. You're just beautiful.' That was his comment when I had pre-recorded the song. The shock waves could be felt around the set. My eyes filled with tears, and I ran to my dressing room. Hal was furious with the sound man, but he honestly hadn't known that Schertzinger's voice was on the track." When Lamour did the next take, the same thing happened, and they finished the number in bits and pieces so that the track wouldn't run to the end. Later, Lamour decided that "perhaps Victor wanted to reassure me. It was fate that his voice came back from the grave twice that day. We threw ourselves into making a picture that we hoped would have made him proud, and I think we succeeded." Director: Victor Schertzinger Screenplay: Walter DeLeon, Sid Silvers, Ralph Spence; Kenyon Nicholson, Charles Robinson (play); Monte Brice, J. Walter Ruben (short story) Cinematography: William C. Mellor Art Direction: Hans Dreier, Ernst Fegte Music: Leo Shuken, Victor Young (both uncredited) Film Editing: Paul Weatherwax Cast: Dorothy Lamour (The Countess), William Holden (Casey Kirby), Eddie Bracken (Barney Waters), Betty Hutton (Bessie Day), Cass Daley (Cissie), Gil Lamb (Spike), Leif Erickson (Jake), Jimmy Dorsey (Himself, Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra Leader), Bob Eberly (Himself, Dorsey Band Vocalist), Helen O'Connell (Herself - Dorsey Band Vocalist) BW-93m. by Jeremy Arnold Gene Arceri, Rocking Horse: A Personal Biography of Betty Hutton Philip Furia, Skylark: The Life and Times of Johnny Mercer Dorothy Lamour, My Side of the Road VIEW TCMDb ENTRY Johnny Mercer Introduction Johnny Mercer: The Dream's On Me Featured Films Garden of the Moon EXPAND COMPLETE MOVIE LINE-UP Old Man Rhythm Second Chorus Ready, Willing and Able You'll Find Out You Can't Run Away From It The Americanization of Emily Road House The Belle of New York COLLAPSE COMPLETE MOVIE LINE-UP ADVERTISEMENT Also Playing on TCM Dean Martin - 8/31 12 Movies TCM celebrates the King of Cool with a 24-hour lineup including Some Came Running (1958), The Silencers (1966), Bells Are Ringing...more Jean Simmons - 8/30 Charles Boyer - 8/29 Jean Arthur - 8/28 James Garner - 8/27 Boris Karloff - 8/26 Van Johnson - 8/25 Constance Cummings - 8/24 Brigitte Bardot - 8/23 Robert Montgomery - 8/22 TCM Shopping Howard Keel and Jane Powell are rapturous... more info Busby Berkeley, the musical staging genius... more info Originally released in 1940. Directed by... more info A college grad who plans to put his... more info

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And Then There Were None on Blu-ray Agatha Christie's murder story And Then There Were None, aka Ten Little Indians, is by this point so well known -- and has been adapted, referenced and spoofed so many times on stage, screen, television, radio and even a video game -- that its return to DVD in its first, best and most famous film version, the 1945 edition directed by Rene Clair, is welcome indeed. With so many iterations through the years, the story of ten people isolated on an island, with each murdered in a way that matches the lyrics of an old nursery rhyme, has also been presented with different endings and solutions -- not to mention various titles. Agatha Christie's tale was originally published as an English novel in 1939 under the title Ten Little Niggers (after the British version of the nursery rhyme). For the American publication in 1940 (following a Saturday Evening Post serialization in 1939), this was changed to And Then There Were None. In 1943, Christie adapted her yarn into a West End play and changed the ending to be slightly more upbeat. On Broadway, this was staged in 1944 under the title Ten Little Indians (the American title of the nursery jingle). Hollywood came calling early. In 1941, RKO acquired the screen rights, eventually selling them to two theatrical producers, who in turn entered into a partnership with young independent producer Samuel Bronston (who later produced epics like King of Kings [1961] and El Cid [1961]). Bronston hired director Rene Clair and screenwriter Dudley Nichols, and arranged distribution through United Artists, but after a legal falling-out with his partners, he was off the project and replaced by another producer, Harry Popkin. Popkin retained Nichols' script and Clair as director, but arranged new distribution through 20th Century-Fox. A topnotch, multi-star cast was assembled -- including Barry Fitzgerald, Walter Huston, Louie Hayward, Judith Anderson, June Duprez, Roland Young and C. Aubrey Smith -- and filming got underway. The result was a truly entertaining, lightly macabre, beautifully written and directed mystery, and it has held up well. The most impressive thing about And Then There Were None is how cinematic it feels. While it's true that the screen credits say the script is based on Christie's novel, the ending comes from her stage version, and the entire concept of ten people trapped in one space trying to puzzle through a mystery primarily via dialogue is at heart a theatrical conceit. Yet Nichols' script finds fluid ways of moving the action fairly constantly to different locations around the house or on the island, and director Clair uses ingenious methods of breaking up the space cinematically in scenes that do linger in one specific space. For example, if several people are gathered in a room or hallway for several minutes, talking, Clair will use deft editing to create tension or humor and make the scene feel anything but stagy. This is very tricky business, as Clair is not cutting on action so much as using editing to create action, and turning theatrical space into cinematic space. Even though the film is not technically adapted from a play, it is still a model of how to make such an adaptation and should be studied by any filmmaker doing so today. And throughout, Clair brings his trademark lightness of touch to a story that is, on paper, rather gruesome. He's even unafraid to use direct address, a theatrical convention if there ever was one. But for the two or three scenes in which he does use it, it comes off as a wink to the audience, as if to remind us that this really is a theatrical-like experience and not to take it all too seriously and just enjoy ourselves. (It's also a reminder that we are being asked to try and solve this mystery ourselves.) It's a quality that meshes well with the overall tone of the picture. In the years after its release, And Then There Were None fell into the public domain, and it has been released onto DVD by various distributors. It hasn't looked pristine in a very long time, and this new release, on DVD and Blu-ray from VCI Entertainment, is no exception. This is sad news, since VCI is touting this on its artwork as "Newly Restored!" It may be newly restored, but it certainly hasn't been restored to anything resembling immaculate condition. There is graininess, unsteadiness, and most of all a general softness to the image, which looks like it may have been sourced from a 16mm print. While not a terrible transfer, the hope created by the "newly restored" verbiage on the box cover makes this a disappointing one. VCI is generally a reliable company that puts out good versions of hard-to-see classics and public domain titles, so this is an anomaly for them. But all that being said, this version is still watchable, with decent sound, and the strength of the movie itself eventually outweighs the less-than-perfect print quality, so this release is still recommended. Ten strangers are invited to a lavish estate on an island. Through a recording, their mysterious host accuses each of his 'guests' of murder and proceeds to exact 'justice'. The tension mounts...A top cast of veteran performers bring the intricate twist of the plot to life.

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Who should win the best picture Oscar? In the last of our form guides, our critics assess the nine films in contention for the Academy's biggest prize. Karl Quinn Best supporting actor Best supporting actress Best actor Best actress Full movies coverage There's the battle against slavery in Lincoln and Django, the inevitable approach of death in Zero Dark Thirty, Les Miserables and Amour, the exotic in Beasts of the Southern Wild and Life of Pi, the funny side of family, love and mental illness in The Silver Linings Playbook and the maddest instance imaginable of the American can-do attitude in Argo. Wildly different films in conception and delivery, and unsurprisingly our critics have some wildly different views of their relative merits. The nominees for best film (clockwise, from top right): Amour, Argo, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Django Unchained, Les Miserables, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Silver Linings Playbook and Zero Dark Thirty. Zero Dark Thirty Kathryn Bigelow's intense drama about the hunt for Osama Bin Laden has divided critics, with some accusing it of being pro-torture while others have praised its unflinching look at the cost, as well as the benefit, of the “war on terror”. Either way, few are unmoved.Certainly very few have called it boring. As Craig Mathieson puts it, the film is “157 minutes long and not even a second is wasted. Astounding.”For Jake Wilson, Bigelow's film is “the most haunting of the nominees. It's conflicted rather than neutral – we're meant to be thrilled and troubled at the same time. It's also a cagey character study about a woman trapped inside a machine.” Sandra Hall admires the film for its “audacity in treating some big political questions with an uncompromising seriousness you don't often see in mainstream American film-making”.This “fascinatingly difficult, visceral, conflicted film”, as Philippa Hawker puts it, is, in Ed Gibbs' view, “thought-provoking”. It is testament to her skill as a filmmaker, he adds, that the film “neither shies from the ugly realities of torture, nor panders to a domestic agenda”.It is, says Paul Byrnes, “a serious, thoughtful, open and disturbing film about what was lost and gained in the hunt for, and killing of, Osama bin Laden”.What some people have taken as a lack of sensibility Byrnes sees as its greatest virtue. “The leftist critics want an open denunciation of torture; the right wants no doubts about the methods and outcomes,” Byrnes wrote in his review. “The film offers no comfort to either extreme.”Beasts of the Southern Wild Philippa Hawker thinks of Benh Zeitlin's southern ramble as “a haunting combination of quotidian detail and fantasy, a resilient child's experience of chaos”; in Craig Mathieson's view it is “an ambitious, messy movie that was held aloft by the relationship between child and parent as their world comes to an end”. But Jake Wilson just doesn't understand why some people fell for its magical realist leanings. “Zeitlin has an obnoxious kind of facility, but it's basically an old-fashioned idyll about poor black people and their joyous independence from civilisation,” he says.On the other side of the fence is Ed Gibbs, who says the film “raised the bar ever higher for everything that followed in 2012”. Gibbs adds that its “essential message of environmental awareness and community spirit rings true, in an uplifting, inspiring journey of hope against all odds”.Paul Byrnes is a fan, too. “It is harsh, poetic, tinged with fantasy and vernacular speech that's sometimes hard to understand,” he wrote, but once you click into its rhythm it is “beautiful, moving and memorable”. It is, he concluded, “an astonishingly sensual film, violent in weather and emotion, but completely memorable”.Silver Linings Playbook David O. Russell's film about family, love and mental illness is an intensely personal project, with he and star Robert DeNiro having in common children with mental health issues. In Ed Gibbs' view, that lends the project “an assured focus and a joie de vivre that recognises and celebrates the importance of the family unit without resorting to mawkish sentiment”. Craig Mathieson praises the film's willingness to “flail and fight and exhaust the audience instead of stroking them to easy satisfaction”, and Jake Wilson judges it “unpretentiously funny and tender, especially when it becomes a study of a community of battlers rather than a lone hero”. Sandra Hall, though, suggests that while Russell has “delivered a great actor's picture”, his empathy with his characters makes for a slightly unpleasant experience: “Such is Russell's eagerness to put you right inside their heads,” she wrote in her review of the movie, “that he leaves you with an acute case of claustrophobia.”Lincoln Paul Byrnes judges Steven Spielberg's tale about the efforts of the fabled American president to end both slavery and a bloody civil war as one of his finest moments. “Everything about the film is classy, considered and sober,” he wrote in his review. “The film is superbly constructed as political theatre. This is a film about the worth of politics, not the disappointment of it. That is a radical approach in our times, when cynicism about the political process is so rife. Lincoln is a superb illustration of why politics matters.”Sandra Hall praises the film's seriousness of intent, too, but while conceding it's “an intelligent film on several levels”, Jake Wilson finds Spielberg's manipulation of every aspect of the story discomfiting. “It's like having a conductor wave a baton at you while you watch,” he says. In the end, he adds, “it's a comforting bedtime story about how the end justifies the means”.The film is “heavy on dialogue and detail, albeit with some glaring oversights on accuracy”, says Ed Gibbs, who adds that it's “typically long and reverential”.Life of Pi With its unashamed embrace of CGI and magical realism, Ang Lee's adaptation of the “unfilmable” book by Yann Martel was always going to divide critics, if not audiences. Though Lee is, in Jake Wilson's view, “one of the best directors in mainstream cinema”, there's something “irredeemably phony” about the film, which Wilson dismisses as “pseudo-spiritual uplift designed to give the illusion of thought”.On the other side of the fence is Sandra Hall, for whom the film is the best of this year's contenders – “funny, spectacular and thoughtful without being po-faced about the story's religious aspects” – and Ed Gibbs, who calls it “sumptuous”. “Though it's topped and tailed with a needless syrupy coating,” he says, “at its core lies a beautifully rich metaphor for how we interact with each other, and the world in which we live.”Django Unchained It's bloody, it's knowingly derivative and it's wildly historically inaccurate. What's not to love about Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained?The answer for Jake Wilson is the lack of development of his female lead. “Tarantino has a thrillingly tactless way with hot-button topics, and we all know he's brilliant with actors, but I wish Kerry Washington's character was more developed,” he says. “How does she feel about her husband turning into a hardboiled killer?”Philippa Hawker says Django is “a wild, gleeful, thought-provoking movie in which Tarantino holds up a bloodstained funhouse mirror to America's past”, and Ed Gibbs thinks critics of the film, such as Spike Lee, who are riled by its take on slavery “are missing the point. This is bold, inventive storytelling that takes a stand.”Paul Byrnes thinks Django Unchained “may be Quentin Tarantino's most violent film yet, and his most meaningful”. Yes it's violent, unbearably so at times, he wrote in his review, “but what should a film about slavery be like?” Ultimately, Byrnes wrote, the film is “an extraordinary achievement – as disturbing as it is audacious, as brutal as it is beautiful. It's another alternative history, a fantasy. Would that it were not based on so much awful truth.”Argo Ben Affleck's based-on-fact (give or take) story about an audacious American rescue mission may have firmed as a likely big winner at the ceremony (though not for Affleck himself, who has been overlooked in the best director category), but our critics are less impressed.Jake Wilson describes Affleck as “a beginner next to Spielberg”, and says the film is a “shrewdly calculated historical fairy-tale about the can-do American spirit”. Much of it, though, feels “second-hand”.For Sandra Hall, Argo is “a lot of fun and a great political adventure” but she finds in it a somewhat unsettling “whiff of old-fashioned triumphalism”.Ed Gibbs is more positive, finding it “a revelation, a joyful dig at the absurdist nature of Hollywood, and a timely reminder of sorts of a truly bizarre mission that could have so easily failed”.Les Miserables It may have earned nominations for its stars Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway, and it doesn't stint on the tragedy, but Les Miserables has left our hard-nosed judges unmoved. “Victor Hugo was one of the masters of melodrama, but this film is all climaxes – the plot has no chance to breathe,” says Jake Wilson. “The songs are uninspired and even the better actors get lost in the sound and fury.”For Ed Gibbs, Tom Hooper's film is “grand and unashamedly earnest” but ultimately it feels “overly simplistic” despite some “admittedly strong performances”.Amour Austrian veteran Michael Haneke doesn't do easy viewing, and his portrait of a loving couple struggling with the wife's mental and physical descent is as unsettling as it is real. It is, says Philippa Hawker, “an austerely observed portrait of mortality, age and degeneration, coolly unsentimental and painful to watch”.The director “has a way of narrowing the focus of a film till it reaches a point of maximum intensity” says Jake Wilson, “but I can't tell if he likes his characters, or even believes in them”.In Ed Gibbs' view, this reflection on love and death “is breathtaking in its intensity and simplicity, and surprisingly warm and engaging”. It is, he concludes, “Haneke's most personal and compassionate film to date”.Paul Byrnes agrees, describing it as “a film of infinite compassion”. There's no suspense in it, he says – “the first scene shows us where the story will end – but “it is hard to overstate how beautiful and terrible this film becomes”.The critics: Jake Wilson and Philippa Hawker review films for The Age, Sandra Hall and Paul Byrnes for The Sydney Morning Herald, and Craig Mathieson and Ed Gibbs for The Sunday Age and The Sun-Herald.

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Hell Plaza Oktoberfest III Jahnke - Main Page 1988 (2009) - MGM/Fox Released on Blu-ray on September 15th, 2009 Also available on DVD In the rogues' gallery of 80s movie maniacs, Chucky is something of an anomaly. To date, he's only appeared in five movies, which by horror standards is a model of restraint. Despite their consistently low budgets, none of them have gone direct to video (not even Pinhead can make that claim). The franchise has endured by embracing the inherent absurdity of its premise: a doll possessed by the spirit of a serial killer. But while Chucky never seems to get the respect enjoyed by Jason, Freddy or Michael, the original is still fondly remembered by those who first stumbled upon it as a child. While Child's Play is a bit less jokey than the series would eventually become, the tone for the series is still established early on. Little Andy (Alex Vincent) receives a Good Guy doll for his birthday, unaware that it holds the spirit of serial killer Charles Lee Ray (franchise MVP Brad Dourif, appearing on screen for the only time in the series). When his babysitter plunges out the window, Andy tries to explain that Chucky is alive. But for some weird reason, both his mom (Catherine Hicks) and the investigating cop (Chris Sarandon) think he's crazy. Child's Play isn't a particularly distinguished movie but it is an effective one. Virtually all kids can relate to the fear of a doll that comes to murderous life. Remember the Talky Tina episode of The Twilight Zone or the killer clown from Poltergeist? Sure you do. Besides the vocal work of Dourif, what makes Child's Play work is the doll itself created by Kevin Yagher. Chucky is a fantastic creation and the fact that he's so hideously ugly makes perfect sense to those of us who remember those deformed Cabbage Patch Kids back in the 80s. Tom Holland's direction seamlessly blends Yagher's puppet with long shots of little person Ed Gale in Chucky. The illusion works surprisingly well, even without the crutch of CGI to back it up. Child's Play makes its high-definition debut with a transfer that looks pretty darn good. It's bright and fairly detailed, although if you already have the 20th Anniversary DVD, it's not such a world of difference that you need to rush out and pick this up. The audio isn't quite as impressive. The music and effects sound terrific but dialogue levels are weirdly inconsistent. The disc is packed with extras, including two audio commentaries (one by Alex Vincent, Catherine Hicks and Kevin Yagher, the other by producer David Kirschner and writer Don Mancini). You also get a few scenes with commentary by Chucky himself (Brad Dourif in character) and these are about as silly as you'd expect. Evil Comes in Small Packages is a compelling three-part documentary on the making of the film, although it's disappointing that director Tom Holland doesn't contribute any new interview material. Yagher's work is spotlighted in the featurette Chucky: Building a Nightmare and also plays a pivotal role in the vintage featurette Introducing Chucky. A Monster Convention offers a few Qs and As from a reunion panel featuring Vincent, Hicks and Sarandon at the 2007 Monster Mania convention. You also get the original trailer, a photo gallery and a few Easter eggs. All of these extras are from the 20th anniversary DVD, which is also thrown in for good measure. Unlike Misery, however, the extras appear on both the Blu-ray and the DVD. This being the case, I'm not entirely sure what use the DVD is but it's here if you need it. The Chucky movies have had their ups and downs but I've always found them to be consistently entertaining. Child's Play 3 is the only entry I have absolutely no use for. The original should absolutely be a part of every horror fan's video library and the 20th Anniversary DVD already might be in yours. If it is, I'd suggest giving the Blu-ray a pass. You already have all the extras and the technical upgrade isn't really worth it. If not, get out there and set up a playdate with Chucky. Film Rating: B Video (1-20): 14 Audio (1-20): 12 Extras: A- Adam Jahnke ajahnke@thedigitalbits.com designed for 1024 x 768 resolution, using 16M colors and .gif 89a animation. © 1997-2015 The Digital Bits, Inc., All Rights Reserved. billhunt@thedigitalbits.com

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Serious New Role For Vince Vaughn July 12, 2006 6:10 am. Known for humorous roles, Vince Vaughn might be taking on a part with a little more weight in the near future. Director Paul Haggis wants to appoint the actor to his hot-button political drama Against All Enemies, the film version of Richard Clarke's Washington memoir. No offer has been made to the Wedding Crashers star as of yet, as Columbia Pictures is still fine-tuning the film's budget, but the director has had discussions with Vaughn about filling the role of the FBI's John O'Neill. Interestingly, Sean Penn, who recently cast Vaughn in his drama Into the Wild, has been widely reported to be on board to play Clarke. The film chronicles how the Bush administration handled the al-Qaida threat both before and after the September 11 terrorist attacks. The former U.S. terrorism czar's story offers an insider's account of the nation's security apparatus and the maneuvers of Washington power brokers. Haggis, a longtime writer whose directorial debut was last year's Oscar-winning Crash, is supervising scribe James Vanderbilt as he pens the second draft of the screenplay based on the 2004 book. Vaughn is currently onscreen opposite fiancee Jennifer Aniston in The Break-Up, which has earned more than $114 million domestically to date. Follow Vince Vaughn? Vince Vaughn Biography Vince Vaughn is a funny actor that really got attention for dating Jennifer Aniston. But he's starred in comedies such as Old School, as... Edit Delete Vince Vaughn Vince Vaughn Wants Guns in Schools True Detective Season 2 Trailer: Colin Farrell's Mustache FTW! Colin Farrell and Vince Vaughn to Star in True Detective Season 2! Vince Vaughn Photos Stars Vince Vaughn Serious New Role For Vince Vaughn

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Although we like to think of ourselves as the architects of our own destinies, many times the choices others make for us do more to define us than we care to admit. We're forced to solve problems we didn't cause, and we're called to rise to meet challenges we never asked for.This is the dilemma faced by Kal-El, better known as "Superman" in classic comic book lore. Born on a dying planet called Krypton, Kal-El is placed in a ship that is sent to the planet Earth. His parents hope that by sending their infant son to another planet, he'll be saved from the catastrophic destruction of Krypton and continue their race. Though baby Kal-El is found by a loving farm family in Kansas (and is renamed "Clark Kent"), life isn't easy. Earth's climate is different from Krypton, and as a result, Kent has gained superpowers. He has to decide whether to hide these powers and try to live as a normal human, or use his powers to save people. It's a difficult choice, especially since he doesn't know whether the people of Earth will ultimately accept or reject a being like him. He didn't choose to be a hero, but he may be forced to become one.Although most superhero fans are already familiar with Superman's origin story, director Zack Snyder gives us a new, grittier perspective on the legend with his film "Man of Steel," released June 14. One of the summer's most anticipated films and also one of its biggest gambles, "Man of Steel" needed to be a success in order to launch DC Comics and Warner Bros. superhero mash-up movie about the Justice League. "Man of Steel" opened to an impressive $129 million over the weekend, and it's a darkly epic reboot that should give DC Comics the push it needs to make the Justice League movie finally happen."Man of Steel" begins with an extended prologue on the planet Krypton, then spends the rest of the film following Kent (Henry Cavill) on his journey to become Superman. Kent has been working a series of odd jobs, drifting from place to place and having a hard time fitting in. He meets a reporter named Lois Lane (Amy Adams) who is investigating a mystery object found buried in ice. The object is actually a ship from Krypton, a discovery that escalates into a war involving the people of Earth and General Zod (Michael Shannon), the enemy of Kent's father Jor-El. There's no doubt the world needs Superman — but is it really ready to accept him?Warner Bros. made a smart choice to bring in Christopher Nolan, who famously rebooted Batman, to serve as a producer and writer for the movie. It's easy to see his influence throughout the film, and I think the film is better for it. Like Nolan's "Batman Begins," "Man of Steel" relies heavily on flashbacks. Although this keeps viewers on their toes, the audience is rewarded in the end with a portrait of how Kent becomes the man he is.I liked the extended opening sequence on the planet Krypton; it gives the film a definite space opera flavor, and I'm glad Snyder chose to emphasize the science fiction aspects of the story. The visuals are impressive and you don't even need to see it in 3D to feel as though you really are a part of the action. I also loved Hans Zimmer's score, especially Superman's main theme, which ranks among the best pieces of movie music Zimmer has composed.Russell Crowe brings a nice sense of gravity and nobility to his role as Jor-El, Superman's father, and Henry Cavill strikes just the right tone as Clark Kent, a man who feels the weight of his destiny but is still reluctant to embrace it. Kevin Costner also gives a strong performance as Superman's adoptive father Jonathan Kent. Jonathan Kent has to help his son grapple with the issue of when he should reveal his superpowers to the people of Earth. And even though Michael Shannon was receiving quite a bit of buzz before the film's release for his role as General Zod, I think German actress Antje Traue actually steals the show as his icy second-in-command, Faora-Ul.The film definitely is a darker take on Superman than we've seen before — a fact that has generated some discussion and debate amongst fans — but I think this is the tone they had to take in our post 9/11 world. Superhero films are popular now because people are drawn to the concept of a hero who is capable of swooping in at the last possible second and saving the world from a seemingly unconquerable evil. It's a powerful — and comforting — symbol. However, on the flip side, people also don't want those superheroes to be too perfect or too flawless. That squeaky-clean concept perhaps doesn't resonate as much in a world where war offers us more and more ethical dilemmas. Soldiers are given seconds to decide whether the person walking towards them is a suicide bomber, and who's bad and who's good isn't always clear. We appreciate superheroes who are conflicted and who struggle to come to grips with the responsibility that accompanies their powers.In the sequel, I would like to see more screen time and character development for Amy Adams' character, Lois Lane, as well as more involvement for the Daily Planet. I'm also very curious to see how DC Comics responds to the success of "Man of Steel." I've heard they may try to fast-track a "Man of Steel" sequel for 2014 and the Justice League movie for 2015, but I hope they end up taking their time and don't rush the process. It would be great to see Christopher Nolan as the producer on several more origin stories, such as Wonder Woman.While "Star Trek: Into Darkness" remains my favorite movie of the summer so far, "Man of Steel" — even with a few flaws — accomplishes exactly what it needed to for DC Comics: making audiences excited about Superman again.So, what did you think? Did you like the darker take on the Superman story? What do you hope to see in the sequel? xxxxxxxxxxxxx

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Star Trek: The Exhibition Contest Winners Announced FandomJuly 30, 2009 Nimoy Friend Pens Children’s Book About Actor Home Fandom Thursday, July 30th, 2009 A couple, who met several years ago at a Star Trek convention, will be married on the USS Enterprise Bridge inside Star Trek: The Exhibition after winning a contest offered by the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. As reported by The Examiner, Brad Siegel and Kate Erwin are the lucky couple who have won the wedding package from the Franklin Institute, after receiving the most votes online. The prize for the lucky couple will consist of the wedding, a four-hour reception, wedding cake, champagne and several nights accommodation at a local hotel. Brad and Kate met three years ago at a Star Trek convention in Chicago. “Our relationship continued after returning home, and in March of 2008, Brad proposed to me on stage at a Star Trek convention in New Jersey,” explained Kate. “…when we learned of the opportunity being offered at The Franklin Institute, we were ecstatic,” said Kate. “Nothing would make us happier than to be able to pledge our lives to each other in the Star Trek universe, among our family, friends, and fellow Star Trek fans.” To read more, head to the articles located here and here. contest, Star Trek: The Exhibition Author Vegas Con: Three Spocks Shatner Twits Palin (Again) Abrams On Directing Star Trek XI

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Broadway Review - The Glass Menagerie Tools Craig Thornton Oct 29, 2013 at 1:54 PM EDT Oct 30, 2013 at 8:10 AM EDT One of the hottest tickets on Broadway this fall is the American Repertory Theatre’s production of Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie. A production that originated in Boston earlier this year, it has received unanimously great reviews. The Glass Menagerie was originally produced in Chicago in 1944 and quickly gained notoriety that brought it to Broadway. The Glass Menagerie was Williams’ first big hit. The original production starred Laurette Taylor as Amanda Wingfield in a performance that is heralded as one of the greatest ever on the American Stage. Many great American actresses have tackled this iconic Williams role since. They include such formidable thespians as Gertrude Lawrence, Katharine Hepburn, Joanne Woodward, Maureen Stapleton and Jessica Lange. But none of them have conjured up the idolatry language of the late Ms. Taylor, until now. The great Cherry Jones seems to have finally broken the Amanda Wingfield glass ceiling established so long ago. Ms. Jones gives a spectacular, flawless and unforgettable performance as Amanda in this stunning new production directed by John Tiffany. It is difficult to describe the complexity, humanity and vulnerability of her portrayal. As with all Williams’ women there is an element of theatricality and “largeness” to Amanda’s personality. It is a role that is often played as a shrill harpy. Actresses make the mistake of being over the top when playing Amanda. They come across as totally deluded, angry, relentlessly domineering, or a helpless victim. This is not the case with Ms. Jones, who makes Amanda a living breathing dignified woman, who despite her desperation and disappointments never becomes pitiable. It is a tour-de-force. Zachary Quinto, the new Mr. Spock in the current Star Trek movies, plays Tom Wingfield, the restless son, whose dreams of a writing life or any kind of life are slowly disappearing in his grueling, tedious job at a shoe factory. He must work to support his mother and disabled sister Laura (Celia Keenan-Bolger) because his father was a telephone man who fell in love with long distance and left sixteen years ago. Quinto has received mostly glowing reviews, but there are some people who are definitely picking at his performance. His accent seems the bane of contention for many, while others feel he isn’t able to carry off the poetry of Williams’ dialogue, especially in the gorgeously written monologues. I think Quinto is very good and I like what he has brought to the role: passion, vulnerability, warmth, and a fluid and relaxed body language that convincingly convey that Tom knows intimately and cares about his mother and sister a great deal. Sometimes Tom is played aloof, bitter and too much of a narrator who isn’t really part of the story. Quinto’s scenes with Jones are especially well played. An actress of her caliber will naturally bring out the best in other actors, and their relationship feels real; full of humor, tension and familial loyalty. Celia Keenan-Bolger has the difficult role of Laura, the delicate and painfully shy disabled daughter. An archetypical Williams’ character Laura is so overwhelmed by the world that it is painful for her to just interact with anyone but her mother and brother. A failure at everything she has tried, including business school, Laura lives in a lonely, fantasy world of her glass animal collection and Vitrola. Bolger gives a compassionate, controlled performance. She uses her body language effectively, as if it is a physical manifestation of her inner stunted emotionalism. Brian J. Smith gives a credible and warm performance as the gentleman caller, a part that sometimes is a throw-away role. Smith, like the rest of the talented cast members, brings undeniable humanity and realism to a role in a play that announces at the very beginning at that isn’t realistic at all. Smith is charming and so likeable that you understand why Laura and Amanda feel this might be Laura’s last chance. But like all Williams’ characters he is flawed and hasn’t exactly gotten what he wants out of life either. This somehow makes his folly while dealing with Laura not only believable, but forgivable. This Glass Menagerie now playing on Broadway at the Booth Theatre is a powerful theatrical experience. Everything works together in Tiffany’s interpretation; the gorgeous, “suspended” set by Bob Crowley and the exquisite lighting design by Natasha Katz enhance his vision perfectly. This is Williams’ most intimate play and the artists involved in this minimalist production understand this. Frequently called a memory play, this Menagerie is like a dream: personal, evocative and powerful. In my twenty years of reviewing theater, I have seen many bad productions of Williams’ masterpieces, thankfully and gleefully, I say, this is not one of them. This is one of the best I have ever seen. Next Article The Exorcist Comes To Fox Most Popular The Exorcist Comes To Fox Academy of Country Music Honorees Shaw Festival Recap A Grand Time in the Rapids Dolly Parton to be honored Thursday, August 25, 2016

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Asa Lovechild Jennifer Hudson Gives Wowing Performance At The Oscars She can sing circles around anyone, in her sleep. As a matter of fact, Jennifer Hudson doesn’t really have to sing full out to make an impact on an audience. Last night at the 85th Annual Academy Awards, Jennifer Hudson, proved once again why she was the best choice for the Best Actress Award ,in 2006. Her performance in Dreamgirls also won her a Golden Globe Award, BAFTA Award, an NAACP Image Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. The theme of the Oscars this year was a tribute to the best musicals in film and Hudson did not disappoint. Standing center stage in a Kufmafranco crystal gown, the Weight Watchers spokesperson sang performed a gut-wrenching rendition of , “ And I Am Telling You” , that prompted a standing ovation from the crowd. Throughout her career, Hudson has managed to stay consistent and prove all of the naysayers wrong. Simon Cowell allegedly told the singer that she would not go very far unless she lost the access weight. Read Original Article At Naturally Moi Related Items:black news, career, celebrities, children, facebook, film, GED, Jennifer Hudson, NAACP, New York City, petition, Simon Cowell, story, year

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This month on The Screening Room Ray Harryhausen's visual trickery laid the foundation for modern special effects STORY HIGHLIGHTSRay Harryhausen's visual trickery laid the foundation for modern effectsHarryhausen crafted original "Clash of the Titans'" stop-motion animation sequencesPost-production company Framestone crafted the CGI effects on the 2010 remake RELATED TOPICS 3-D Movies (CNN) -- On this month's edition of The Screening Room, Myleene Klass tackles giant scorpions, evades the Kraken and flies away on Pegasus the winged horse as we focus on the world of special effects. We speak to Ray Harryhausen, whose visual trickery laid the foundation for modern effects and served as an inspiration to an entire generation of filmmakers including James Cameron, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. Considered one of the great pioneers of stop-motion animation, Harryhausen is best remembered for his films "Jason and the Argonauts" and the original "Clash of the Titans." Working primarily on his own, Harryhausen meticulously crafted the animated sequences one frame at a time. Meanwhile, the 2010 remake of "Clash of the Titans" required a much larger-scale collaboration. The Screening Room visits one of the key players in the process -- Academy Award-winning post-production company Framestore -- responsible for some of the film's impressive CGI creatures. We talk to the director, cast and crew who loved the original film but wanted to make their own mark on the mythological movie. Gemma Arterton, Mads Mikkelsen and Hollywood's number one action hero Sam Worthington join Myleene Klass in The Screening Room -- where movies come to life. AMC orders drama pilots from 'Breaking Bad,' 'Nikita' producers Halle Berry battles ex again over daughter Gallery: Stars vent about their gigs

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It’s The End(s) of The World As We Know It: Did Pop Culture Cause Mayan Apocalypse Panic? What part did movies, TV shows and comic books play in making people believe in those crackpot prophecies? By Graeme McMillan @graememDec. 19, 2012 Share Everett Email The ancient Mayan calendar runs out tomorrow morning, and some true believers are anticipating the end of time at 8AM. ‘If it ends, it ends,’ tryp guru Terence McKenna — whose fractal timewave graph also predicts the apocalypse — told TNN. It’s the sort of thing we thought went out of fashion years ago. But for some people, it seems, the apocalypse just never knows when to stop. It was from those words, written 15 years ago, that I discovered that the end of the world had been forecast for this Friday, December 21, 2012. It’s likely that I wasn’t alone; the dialogue, spoken by some heard-but-unseen news anchor from the then-futuristic year 2012 in the sixth issue of the second volume of Grant Morrison’s The Invisibles, was one of the first instances of the conspiracy theories that declare December 21, 2012, as the official date of the apocalypse breaking out of the paranoid fringe and into popular culture. Published in May 1997, it may, in fact, have been the very first to reference the Mayans and self-styled psychedelic shaman Terence McKenna agreeing on the date, as if the mix of ancient prophecy and modern science was enough to lend the idea some credibility amongst the skeptical. As everyone is, by now, well aware, it was far from the last. Not that that one reference made the 2012 apocalypse common knowledge to the world singlehandedly. After all, The Invisibles — which ran from 1994 through 2000 and served as one of the main inspirations behind The Matrix — was a comic book in an age when that medium remained somewhat fringe itself. (Morrison’s mention may have inspired rock band Incubus to add a 2012 reference to “A Certain Shade of Green” on its 1997 album S.C.I.E.N.C.E., reportedly recorded just after the issue had been released, however). It would take another five years for the idea of a 2012 end of days to truly hit the mainstream consciousness—and it would do so, fittingly enough, through what may be the most paranoid and conspiracy-laden TV show ever to grace the cover of TV Guide: Fox’s The X-Files. In “The Truth,” the two-part story that closed out the nine-year run of the series, paranoid FBI agents Mulder and Scully are told very plainly by the Cigarette Smoking Man (Remember him? Such memories!) that December 21, 2012, was exactly when the series’ long-running alien threat would arrive on Earth, heralding an end to life as we know it. The prospect of an alien invasion may not have been exactly the shift in consciousness that the Mayans promised or McKenna’s mathematically proven apocalypse (although, as Sacha Dedesche points out in “The 2012 Phenomenon,” the X-Files‘ promised invasion does bring “a number of essential ingredients of the 2012 phenomenon [together] at once: conspiracy theory, extraterrestrial intelligence, ancient calendars and prophecies related to the year 2012”) but, like the truth, the date was now out there—an estimated 7.5 percent of America’s households watched “The Truth,” and now they knew just when the world was going to end. (MORE: Mayan Apocalypse Film Festival – 21 Films for Our Final 21 Days) From that point on, the 2012 date became fodder for the sort of faux-“reality” reporting that periodically wonders about the existence of Bigfoot or whether the Illuminati are actually manipulating the world. The History Channel produced multiple shows that “investigated” the possibility of the world ending in 2012, including 2006’s End of Days and Last Days on Earth, 2007’s Seven Signs of the Apocalypse and Nostradamus 2012 in 2008. The Discovery Channel also decided to get in on the act in 2009 with the soberly titled 2012 Apocalypse, a one-hour special that looked into the possibility of solar storms, earthquakes, volcano eruptions and the reversal of the magnetic poles of the planet all happening during a one-year span—just in case you were concerned. To be fair, by that time, you really might have been concerned. In 2009, the notion that the world would end — by natural disaster, a cosmic awakening, the Rapture, or any combination of the three — was everywhere thanks to Roland Emmerich. Not content with bringing a breathless panic and action movie sensibility to the dangers of climate change in 2004’s The Day After Tomorrow, Emmerich turned his attentions to bigger issues with his follow-up, which went by the simple name of 2012. In Emmerich’s film, the Earth’s core starts to overheat, and the viewer discovers that the rich and powerful of the world have not only known about this for some time, but also prepared an escape plan that would leave them alive as untold millions perished. Classic disaster movie stuff, perhaps, but with one new twist: The movie’s promotion accidentally convinced people that it was based on fact. The first trailer for 2012, you see, was a cascade of images of natural disasters intercut with text that asked — in upper case type, for emphasis — “HOW WOULD THE GOVERNMENTS OF OUR PLANET PREPARE SIX BILLION PEOPLE FOR THE END OF THE WORLD?” before answering its own question: “THEY WOULDN’T. FIND OUT THE TRUTH: GOOGLE SEARCH: 2012.” The problem with that type of tease, of course, is that you couldn’t predict what such a Google search would turn up, as The Guardian‘s film critic Anna Pickard pointed out at the time: “The first few hits are links to anxious tin-hat conspiracy sites where people earnestly discuss the impending end of the world and what possible connection that might have to giant lizards. Then there are a couple of links pointing to this very same teaser. Then there was finally something about the film itself,” she wrote. “Hoping that your film will always be top of the pile when anyone types in four digits — an upcoming year in which, let’s face it, quite a lot of things could be happening — is trust indeed.” Perhaps hoping to learn from its mistakes, the next round of promotion for the movie centered around a fictional scientific research think tank, the Institute for Human Continuity, which encouraged visitors to enter a lottery that could allow them to escape the world’s destruction via a specially constructed Ark, while simultaneously offering faux “science” to explain why the world was, indeed, careering towards imminent destruction. Unfortunately for the movie’s producers, not everyone realized it was a joke, leading to NASA receiving more than a thousand requests for more information about the planet’s upcoming destruction. “I’ve even had cases of teenagers writing to me saying they are contemplating suicide because they don’t want to see the world end,” NASA scientist Dr. David Morrison said in response. (MORE: Cinematic Visions of the Apocalypse) Faced with an increasing number of requests for more information about our apparently impending doom, Morrison — who hosts the interactive “Ask an Astrophysicist” feature on NASA’s website — went on to create a special webpage debunking 2012 apocalypse mythology. NASA currently even has a “Beyond 2012: Why The World Won’t End” FAQ page on its site in which multiple scientists patiently explain why we really, really aren’t speeding towards extinction. Fittingly, perhaps, 2012 the movie turned out to be the peak of popular culture’s obsession with 2012 as apocalyptic scenario. Although the idea still appeared from time to time — Luis G. Abbadie’s 2010 novel 2012: El Código Secreto del Necronomicón, for example, sees the author mixing Lovecraftian mythos with the familiar end of the world scenarios, while Jay Sean and Nicki Minaj tried to reassure us with their 2010 song “2012 (It Ain’t The End)” — apocalyptic themes slowly grew less and less popular until fading away almost entirely by the time the real 2012 rolled around, with the exception of reruns of rabble-rousing History Channel documentaries (even there, the date of the apocalypse has entirely been pushed back by a century or so). Chalk it up, perhaps, to others trying to avoid the mild panic (and scientific backlash) the movie had accidentally incited, or perhaps the realization that the actual 2012 was just a little too close for comfort. I suspect that the slow end of 2012 hysteria in storytelling comes down to something far simpler: Maybe familiarity with the idea had finally bred contempt—or, worse yet, boredom. After all, how many times can you really show the same end of the world scenario before your audience yawns and asks what else you have? When it comes to popular culture’s take on what happens on December 21, 2012, things have somewhat unexpectedly turned out just as Morrison’s fake news anchor predicted 15 years ago: it went out of fashion years ago. Here’s hoping that the rest of Morrison’s prophesized events for December 21 turn out to be as off-base as that off-handed comment was on the nose.

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("Dragonslayer" is also a: user.) by Xamot Tue Sep 12 2000 at 21:36:53 This interesting Fantasy movie from 1981 was directed by Matthew Robbins. It was written by Hal Barwood and Matthew Robins. The cast includes Peter MacNicol, Caitlin Clarke, Ralph Richardson, John Hallam, Peter Eyre, Albert Salmi, Sydney Bromley, Cloe Salaman, Roger Kemp and more. In the Dark Ages, Magic was a weapon. Love a mystery. Adventure was everywhere... And Dragons were real. A small medieval land is plagued by one of that last dragons. All the real dragonslayers are dead. The King has made a pact with the dragon where the dragon will not destroy the kingdom if a virgin is sacrificed at regular intervals (I don't remember if it was yearly or seasonally). The virgin is selected by random in a raffle like process, where all the virgins of the land are supposed to have their name on a lot. The serfs suspect the Kings daughter and other daughters of the rich do not actually have lots in the raffle. They are getting fed up with their daughters being sacrificed and go in search of the great wizard Ulrich. Ulrich is very old, but agrees to kill the dragon. He begins the journey to the kingdom along with his servant and apprentice, but dies in route. The apprentice vows to keep the wizards promise and slay the dragon himself. Forget Dragonheart and other dragon movies, this is the best. Maybe the special effects are a little dated, but they did an awesome job with what they had. And the story is great. It is classic fairy-tale. Dark, ominous, a man against the odds, virgin sacrifices, magic, a monster. What more could you want? One of my all time favorite movies. Page category: « Movies kthejoker Watched in 2008 » by Velox Wed Nov 21 2001 at 15:25:58 This film, and its surprisingly well-done novelization, tell a coming-of-age story set against a background of great historical change; one of the reasons it works as well as it does is that the background is very well realized, and if one ignores the fantasy elements, surprisingly accurate historically. Dragonslayer appears to be set in the late 5th century CE, in the period after the collapse of Roman authority in England. This was a period of vast and inexorable change - as the Romano-British system of government disintegrated, the Saxons - first brought in as mercenaries to fight the encroaching Picts and Irish - swept across the English countryside, before finally being turned back at the Battle of Mount Baden. At the same time, Christianity spread rapidly throughout the region, driven by a strengthening monastic movement. It was during this period that the legends of King Arthur appear to have been born ("Arthur" was probably a war leader instrumental in turning back the Saxon armies,) and that Romano-British civilization gave way to the new Christian, Anglo-Saxon order. The authors of Dragonslayer appear to have done their homework; it's more obvious if you read the novellization, but it's there in the film as well. The characters have an interesting mix of old British names - Ulrich, Malkin, Greil - and "new" Christian/Roman names - Valerian, Simon, and the main character Galen. Smatterings of Latin show up throughout: all of Ulrich's and Galen's incantations, and Simon's magical lance - Sicarius Dragorum, which translates roughly to 'Dragonslayer,' of course. In the novelization, Simon recounts recalls seeing the fall of a Roman garrison during his youth; the last of the Roman soldiers stood amongst the ruins, howling a battle-cry as the locals closed in for the kill. Simon says that he decided to give the lance an "old" Latin name in honor of that lone legionary's bravery. This and other little flourishes do a good job of suggesting the fall of an older order and the transition to a new one. The political trappings of the story are relatively authentic, too. As the central Roman government collapsed, local war chiefs rose and declared themselves king; numerous battles eventually consolidated rulership under a high king, but for a long time local lords were the sum total of government. Dragonslayer's authority figure is Casiodorus Rex; he's taken a Roman name and title (as the princes of Europe were wont to do - everyone wanted to assume the mantle of Roman rulership), but is obviously mainly a local authority with a band of lackeys to back him up. Who else would care about the fate of so small a town as Urland? One of the strongest trends of the period was the swift ascendancy of Christianity, and the theme is very noticeable throughout Dragonslayer. An itinerant priest named Jacopus is in town at the beginning of the story; he's incinerated by the dragon Vermithrax (the name is Latin for "worm of Thrace,") but the townspeople continue to ponder the madman's words, and increasingly identify with the Christian faith. Simon gives Valerian a cross when he sends her away from Urland for safety, saying that "it can't hurt," and that the tides of history are clearly flowing in its favor. Indeed, by the end of the story, a new priest has arisen in the village and even Simon is baptised, stoically surrendering to the inevitable currents of change. The story continually emphasizes the fact that Ulrich and Vermithrax are the last of their kind, and indeed they become symbols of the old world - in destroying one another, they bring the period to a close. In a particularly telling scene, the newly-minted Christian congregation and Casiodorus reach the dragon's corpse at the same time, and both claim credit for its destruction. In much the same way, church and state would vie for supremacy and control of the old Roman political order across Europe for centuries. All in all, Dragonslayer does an excellent job of capturing and utilizing the darkness of an uncertain time. The fading Roman cultural influences, the obvious weakness of a feeble king who nevertheless holds the common folk under his power through force of arms, the continuous references to the crumbling and enfeebled ways of the past, and the mournful inevitability with which Simon treats the Christian fervor that subsumes the beloved traditions of the ancient world - all provide a very strong background to Galen's coming-of-age story. All of it, combined with some rather brilliant cinematography - brooding forests, ancient, decaying fortresses, and the humble hominess of Urland - produce a cohesive and compelling atmosphere. Dragonslayer is a tale about growing up while the world around you falls apart and changes forever; by building the story on truly solid fundamentals, its creators have imbued it with meaning beyond what one would expect, and produced a surprisingly moving whole. If you're into that kind of thing, I'd heartily recommend it; you won't be disappointed. Vermithrax Pejorative Dragonslicer Slashdot Troll's Greatest Hits History of Mesopotamian Dragons Gold, Scales, and Pages naked and petrified The High King Magic Sword Industrial Light and Magic Illuyankas Jazy Begins to Dance The Dragon of the North red snow Hal Barwood

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Unexplained Confidential: Paranormal and Science Fiction Nostalgia06/23/2016Unexplained Confidential : Psychic Phenomenon06/22/2016The Twilight Zone (season four episodes)06/21/2016 Home | Film Reviews | Film Review: The Tunnel (2011) Film Review: The Tunnel (2011) Killion 07/23/2011 Film Reviews Natasha is a journalist who is searching for a big story and she finds just that when she starts investigating an abandoned project by the city of Sydney. It appears that the city was attempting to use the abandoned train tunnels under the city to build water recycling plants in order to solve the cities water crisis. After viewing a YouTube video Natasha becomes interested in learning exactly what happened to the project and very soon she finds herself face to face with exactly what caused the project to be abandoned. “There’s virtually a whole other city beneath us.” See “The Tunnel” Trailer! Directed by: Carlo Cedesma Starring: Bel Delia, Andy Rodoreda, Steve Davis and Luke Arnold Carlo Ledesma’s The Tunnel is yet another one of those “found footage” that seem to be popping up everywhere as of late. The difference with The Tunnel is that it honestly builds itself up like a real documentary where some of the characters are being interviewed between footage of the group’s trip into the tunnels and security footage from all over the city. The use of these interviews actually make The Tunnel seem very realistic and make the film quite enjoyable. Natasha is a young journalist who is investigating a “dead” story. It seems several months ago the city of Sydney was making a big deal about using the abandoned train tunnels beneath the city for a water recycling plant in order to put an end to the cities water crisis. There was talk about the homeless possibly being eradicated from their homes and several other things but for some reason the story just dried up and seemed to vanish. It is only after Natasha views a YouTube video where two graffiti artists are attacked by something unseen in the darkness that her interest is truly peaked and she puts together a group of four to go into the tunnels to find her big story. Natasha’s group consists of her camera man Steve, an audio guy who goes by the name Tangles and a man named Pete. Carlo Ledesma sets up each of these characters introductions by showing footage from a birthday party. It should also be noted that only Steve and Natasha are the ones being interviewed so it is obvious from the beginning that something bad is going to happen to Pete and Tangles. The group does not get any permits so it is actually illegal for the group to go into the tunnels to film and even after attempting to bribe a security guard they are sent on their own way. The group decides to break into the tunnels and it is only a matter of time before the viewer is thrown into a claustrophobic world of fear and darkness. Ledesma seems to embrace the tunnels themselves which are quite a great set piece for setting up all of the scares and atmosphere. Once the group is inside of the tunnels the only lighting is from the group itself so things are hidden in the shadows and noises are heard, this is a film that you want to watch definitely with the lights off and the volume on high! There really isn’t much of a gore score for those who watch The Tunnel and a lot of the film is mostly the group running away from an enemy that seems to be hunting them much like a lion in the wild. The monster in question is never really seen clearly since the group usually is running from it once it comes on screen, nor is it ever answered what exactly it is. The group gets lost while fleeing the creature however and that is when the real fun begins to happen. Much like another found footage film you may have heard of called The Blair Witch Project the group begins to argue with each other as to if they should keep filming. In fact fans of Blair Witch are going to see a lot of similarities especially when an angry Steve forces the camera on the Natasha who refuses to give up her story. It is obvious Carlo Ledesma’s influences yet The Tunnel doesn’t come off as a hack job instead it wears its influences and comes across as something new entirely. The Tunnel is definitely recommended to those who enjoy some good scares and some atmosphere; however I do feel that the whole “found footage” subgenre is starting to be played out over the last few years. The subgenre does have its fans however and they are going to eat this one up, if this is your first venture into the subgenre it definitely will not disappoint. Those however who do not enjoy films of this ilk really aren’t going to enjoy The Tunnel, in fact I can already hear them complaining about camera work and lighting and feeling dizzy….so you either like it or you don’t, however The Tunnel is an enjoyable ride and the whole presentation is quite realistic. The Tunnel (2011) Andy Rodoreda Bel Delia Carlo Cedesma Luke Arnold Steve Davis The Tunnel 2011-07-23 Killion Tags Andy Rodoreda Bel Delia Carlo Cedesma Luke Arnold Steve Davis The Tunnel Previous Film Review: The Crypt (2009) Next Film Review: No Time for Fear (2009) Film Review: Love of My Life (2013) Film Review: Black Water (2007) The Tunnel: Dead End (2014) Christmas Slay (2014) Love of my Life (2014) Trailer: The Tunnel (2011) Official

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The Wrong Man Watch on Amazon Even though Henry Fonda and Vera Miles are the stars, this somber 1957 black-and-white drama, shot in and around New York City, is the closest Alfred Hitchcock ever came to making an art film. It's based on the true story of a bass player working at the Stork Club who was falsely arrested for holding up a liquor store because of his physical resemblance to the guilty party, which led to a series of grim mishaps that culminated in his wife going insane. This is a highly personal and even religious expression of Hitchcock concerning the vicissitudes of fate, predicated on his lifelong fear that anyone can be wrongly accused of a crime and placed behind bars. The result, as Hitchcock himself warns in a prologue, isn't a “Hitchcock picture” in the usual sense, but it's still one of his most potent and memorable works from the 50s, his richest period. With Anthony Quayle, Harold J. Stone, and Nehemiah Persoff. Director: Alfred Hitchcock Writer: Angus MacPhail Producer: Herbert Coleman and Alfred Hitchcock Cast: Henry Fonda, Vera Miles, Anthony Quayle, Harold J. Stone, Esther Minciotti, Charles Cooper, Nehemiah Persoff, Laurinda Barrett, Norma Connolly and Doreen Lang Sorry there are no upcoming showtimes for The Wrong Man

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The Great Gatsby (1974) Sam Waterston, Robert Redford, Mia Farrow; d. Jack Clayton; D In my younger and more vunerable reviewing years, I had a theory about watching films that I shall never forget: Whenever you are watching a movie, especially remakes, adaptions, and sequels, I always said, just remember to watch each movie as its own and compare it later. In concequence, I have often found gold in movies that I, at first, dimissed unfairly because of comparison to other movies or books. Only the 1974 version of The Great Gatsby, a movie adapted from F. Scott Fitzgerald's wonderful book , is exempt from my reaction - that, and The Godfather Part III. Gatsby, a movie that was an awful adaption of a novel for which I have undeniable love. No - not everyone can top Fitzgerald, not even I, so I'll stop trying and get down to the nitty gritty. I can't for the life of me figure out why this is the most popular of the Great Gatsby movie adaptions. It is a horrible film and a horrible adaption of a book that I love unconditionally. The filmmakers must have assumed that since they were adapting a literary classic, all they would have to do was lift huge chunks of dialouge from the novel and accompany it with great cinematography and camerawork, lavish costumes, gorgeous sets, and the hottest lead actors you could find. Since The Great Gatsby was such a well-written novel, lifting the dialouge from it would most certainly guarentee a great script, right? However, I could lift dialouge from 1984, hire the best director, actors, and cinematographer that money could buy, and still make a bad movie with a bad script. It's not what words and events you take from the book that matter, it's what you do with them. And with The Great Gatsby, Francis Ford Coppola, Jack Clatyon, and the rest of the cast and crew did nothing. This adaption of the novel is a hollow shell of a film in glossy wrapping, an adaption that merely skims off the top of the novel instead of reaching into the depths of it and coming back up with gold. There was a great deal of complexity, depth, and even voilence of the plot and characters of The Great Gatsby that was looked over by the filmmakers who were more interested in making a glossy "literary classic" film without any bite. They even glossed over the time period in which the story takes place, the Fitzgerald-coined Jazz Age. The parties at Gatsby's house seem like textbook versions of party life in the Roaring Twenties with equally textbook versions of the songs played during that time, and it's hard to believe that anyone could be having fun at such parties. Anyone, that is, who isn't a characture, thus making it believable that the one-dementional charactures who pollute the film would be having a blast at these parties. The biggest dissapointment was the lack of depth in the character of Jay Gatsby, who is played lifelessly by Robert Redford. In the novel there is no wonder as to why Gatsby captures Nick's imagination and subsequently becomes "exempt" from Nick's "scorn" for the rich. Gatsby is a charismatic but mysterious character who seems to be different from the other rich characters, and a puzzle just waiting to be solved. From the instant Nick mentions Gatsby I was interested in learning more about him. Who is he, what does he do, where did he come from, why is he so rich, and why is he so great? The more I read, the more interesting he became. His entrance into the novel is mysterious, as Nick sees him from across the lawn, "embracing" loneliness in the dark, it seems, and then dissapearing. He becomes even more interesting as Nick gathers second-hand information about Gatsby through other characters who are probably just passing along gossip, and later when Nick finally meets Gatsby in person and becomes friends with him, and even more so when Gatsby reveals his obsession and desire to recreate the romance between he and Nick's cousin, Daisy Buchanan. Gatsby in the movie is as interesting as a pile of dirt, and the only reason why I even remotely paid attention to him was because, let's face it, Robert Redford just looked too darned attractive in this movie. After figuring out that Gatsby was criminaly underwritten, and Redford's performance would be even more so illegal, I decided there was no other choice for me but to just pay attention to his looks. The movie tries too hard to make Gatsby "great" that instead of a character the audience gets a statue. He's just a stiff figure surrounded by grand sets and costumes and accompanied by some of the worst movie music ever to be played on anybody's sound system. Many people think that Redford "captured" Gatsby but Redford was as successful as capturing Gatsby as he was groping whatever he was trying to get in that campy and theatrical gesture he gives at the begenning of the film. I found it hard to believe that he was in love with anybody or that he was even a human being because his performance was so wooden. The only geniune expression in his performance comes from his eyes, which is a pretty good acheivement. However, call me crazy, but aren't you also supposed to act with your voice and the rest of your body...? The other performances also are as bad. Sam Waterston's problem is not that he "looked too old" to play Nick but that he just sat there for two hours and twenty minutes just looking like a lost puppy dog. Mia Farrow as Daisy is somewhat better but her faux-Southern accent that seems worthy of a Chipette gets annoying. Her performance isn't flat but it certainly is a characture. Bruce Dern, who I have seen in better roles, plays his character like he's confused half of the time. The only remotely good performances come from Lois Chiles and Scott Wilson as Jordan Baker and George Wilson. Chiles doesn't try to make something grand out of her flat character and plays it cool, while Wilson was given one of the novel's meatiest roles with the sympathetic George Wilson. The only positive things I can think of for this film was the cinematography, camerawork, costumes and sets. But the bottom line is that the novel is much better than the book. Don't waste your time even thinking about seeing the movie unless you're forced to. � Vert A Go Go Reviews 2001

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Land of the Lost (1974–1977) is a children’s television series created by David Gerrold (of Star Trek: “The Trouble With Tribbles” fame) and produced by Sid and Marty Krofft, who co-developed the series with Allan Foshko. During its original run, it was broadcast on the NBC television network. However, it also aired in daily syndication in the early 1980s as part of the “Krofft Superstars” package. In 1985, it returned to late Saturday mornings on CBS as a replacement for the canceled Pryor’s Place – also a Krofft production. It was later shown in reruns on the Sci Fi Channel in the 1990s. It has since become a cult classic and is now available on DVD. Krofft Productions remade the series in 1991, also titled Land of the Lost, and a big budget film adaptation was released in 2009. 70's // 80's // Actor // Actress // Funny // NBC // Photo // TV Show The Golden Girls is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris, which originally aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992. Starring Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty, the show centers on four older women sharing a home in Miami, Florida. The Golden Girls received critical acclaim throughout most of its run and won several awards, including the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series twice. It also won three Golden Globe Awards for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy. All four stars each received an Emmy Award throughout the series’ run and had multiple nominations. The series also ranked among the top ten highest-rated programs for six out of its seven seasons. Click here to watch the intro » Memory Glands is a humor and entertainment blog in the Three Ring Blogs Network. Memory Glands posts funny photos and funny videos daily that consist of television shows, foods, drinks, toys, games, movies and other cool stuff of the past. Other members of the Three Ring Blogs Network are People of Walmart, Girls In Yoga Pants, Forever Alone, Daily Viral Stuff, Wedding Unveils, Neighbor Shame, Full of Your Selfies, Damn That Looks Good, Jaw Drops, Freaks of Fast Food, the Proud Parents and more.

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Gabriel Bologna Son of actor Joseph Bologna and actress Renée Taylor. A renowned pizza chef. He has cooked for such celebrities as James Caviezel, Michael Moore, Kevin Spacey, Bo Derek, and Barbra Streisand in the garden of his family's Beverly Hills estate where there is a two story brick Neapolitan pizza oven. Gabriel is the protégée of director John Frankenheimer whose untimely death prevented him from directing a script about the American Revolution that the two of them, for many years, had worked on together. Ex-wife Athena Stensland is the niece of late actress Inger Stevens.

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Thieves Like Us Bowie, a youthful convicted murderer, and bank robbers Chicamaw and T-Dub escape from a Mississippi chain gang in the 1930s. They hole up with a gas station attendant and continue robbing banks. Bowie, who is injured in an auto accident, takes refuge with the daughter of the gas station attendant, Keechie. They become romantically involved but their relationship is strained by Bowie's refusal to turn his back on crime. The film is based on the novel Thieves Like Us by Edward Anderson. The novel is also the source material for the 1949 film They Live by Night, directed by Nicholas Ray.

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Skyfall: Craig Hails Latest James Bond Movie James Bond actor Daniel Craig gives Sky News his thoughts on the 23rd 007 film, Skyfall, as it has its premiere in London. Video: Skyfall Stars Say Bond Is Special Royalty and stars have appeared on the red carpet for the most hotly anticipated film of the year - the latest James Bond outing Skyfall. Daniel Craig reprises the role of 007 for the third time in the 23rd movie in the official series, which comes 50 years after the first Bond film, Dr. No starring Sir Sean Connery.The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall joined stars including Dame Judi Dench, Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Berenice Marloh and Ben Whishaw for the world premiere at the Royal Albert Hall in London.The royal couple arrived on the red carpet to Bond's famous theme music and were greeted by Skyfall's producers Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli before they were introduced to the cast. Naomie Harris and Daniel Craig pose for photographers The Prince hailed Bond as "the most famous secret service agent of all time". At his request, proceeds from the screening will benefit charities that support members of the intelligence services.Skyfall is the first Bond film to be directed by Oscar-winner Sam Mendes, who promised fans the latest effort would be an "epic".Sky's entertainment correspondent Lucy Cotter caught up with Craig on the red carpet, where she asked him how he felt about the movie, which has been hailed as "the best Bond film ever".He said: "You just try and make the best movie you can... and we've had some good response. Now it's up to the audience to make their decisions about it." Naomie Harris says she's a "Bond woman, not a Bond girl" Asked about the latest gadgets in the film, Craig explained: "Well, we've just got the best team in the world... a wonderful creative team."On director Mendes he enthused: "I just thought he was the man for the job, plain and simple. He allowed me to relax, allowed me to get on with my job. It was just a pleasure to have him. He's done an amazing job."And asked if he was enjoying being Bond, he said: "You can't not enjoy this."Craig also revealed something of his relationship with Dench, his on-screen boss M, saying: "It's about mothers and sons." Berenice Marloh joins Craig on the red carpet He was also full of praise for No Country For Old Men star Bardem, who plays the film's baddie, saying: "He's created one of the best Bond villains there is, I think." Dench, who revealed she had yet to see the film, told Sky M bossed Bond around all the time, jokingly saying her character "is appalling isn't she?".Describing the script as "wonderful", Dench said the enthusiasm over the film "has been just lovely, that's been really lovely".She, too, was full of praise for Mendes, saying he was a "terrific film director ... thrilling to work with".She agreed Craig was also special to work with, as was Bardem, joking: "How spoilt can you be?"Dench told how different it was working on a Bond film to any other, saying producers Broccoli and Wilson "make you feel very, very welcome". Past Bond girls were invited: Eunice Gayson (L) and Shirley Eaton "They make you feel part of the franchise and the family," she added.Asked for her opinion on how the Bond franchise had been going so long, she mused: "Isn't he just very British? Isn't he a hero that we love ... and a daredevil, all those stunts and things? I think it's lovely - and exciting."Mendes told Sky that working on a Bond film was special because of "the scale of it... what it means to everybody else, how excited people are"."You feel like you're looking after something that's public property. You have to look after it properly."He explained: "I just wanted to make a film that I would love to see. I also wanted to channel my inner 13-year-old boy, see if I could get back in touch with him again."Harris, who insists she is playing "a Bond woman, not a Bond girl", told Sky: "It's a dream come true. I grew up loving Bond, so it just feels amazing to me to be part of this."

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RssFollowers New York Asian Film Festival to get instant updates about 'New York Asian Film Festival' on your MyPage. Meet other similar minded people. Its Free! Description: The New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF) was first held in 2002, growing out of the previous year's New York Korean Film Festival (which had, in turn, grown out of two year's of presenting Hong Kong retrospective film festivals). Programmed and operated by Subway Cinema, the festival generally features contemporary premieres and classic titles from Eastern Asia and Southeast Asia (particularly Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, China, and Thailand), though South Asian cinema has also been represented via films from India and Pakistan. Genres favored by the festival tend toward Horror film, Gangster/Crime, Martial Arts, and Action.Until 2007, the festival was held annually at the Anthology Film Archives and/or The ImaginAsian, usually around the end of June and early July. In 2007, the festival moved to the IFC Center and Japan Society, and in 2010, the Lincoln Center became the festival's primary home, though select screenings are also still held at the Japan Society, IFC Center, and Anthology Film Archives. The festival is famous among locals for its prize giveaways and eccentric movie introductions.Starting in 2008, in addition to the Audience Award, the festival also handed out a... Read More

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Search ShakespeareMag with Google Meet Will Archive Notes and Teaching Hamlet Cinna from Julias Ceasar Crime and Punishment King Lear Midsummer's Night's Dream Twelfth Night 10 Things I Hate About You Mary Ellen Dakin Teaching Shakespeare Shakespearean Theatre Companies in the UK 1623 Theatre Company Abbey Shakespeare Company Bournemouth Shakespeare Players Brentwood Shakespeare Company Cambridge Shakespeare Festival Creation Theatre Chiltern Shakespeare Company EUSA Shakespeare Company Farnham Shakespeare Company Guildford Shakespeare Company Millfield Arts Centre Northern Broadsides Theatre Company Octagon Theatre Pitlochry Festival Theatre Royal Shakespeare Company Shakespeare's Globe Theatre Stamford Shakespeare Company Theatre Royal The Castle Players Tobacco Factory Theatre Cambridge Shakespeare Festival The Cambridge Shakespeare Festival brings the worlds created by William Shakespeare to life in the stunning gardens and open spaces of the University of Cambridge. The festival runs each year during summer months. It offers festivalgoer's and theatre enthusiasts a picturesque and historic setting to enjoy Shakespeare and experience Cambridge. Past performances at the festival have included The Comedy of Errors, Antony and Cleopatra, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, and Much Ado About Nothing. About the Cambridge Shakespeare Festival The Cambridge Shakespeare Festival attracts over 25,000 visitors during eight weeks each summer. Productions are performed in full period costume and feature live Elizabethan music, remaining true to the words and time of Shakespeare. The festival also provides opportunities visitors to enjoy a picnic before taking in a play, or venture through the centre of Cambridge and spend time in one of the community's pubs and restaurants at the end of a performance. The Cambridge Shakespeare Festival is also an opportunity for visitors and theatergoers to experience multiple works by Shakespeare. Held each year in July and August, the festival typically includes multiple performances of eight different plays by Shakespeare. In 2012, plays included Julius Caesar, The Tempest, The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Taming of the Shrew, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Twelfth Night, King Lear, and As You Like It. Each play is staged in private gardens of Cambridge University. Founded in 1988, the Cambridge Shakespeare Festival is organised by the Festival Company. Brought to life by Artistic Director David Crilly, the theatre company was first established in Oxford. The Festival Company also organises a variety of educational events and programmes around the Cambridge Shakespeare Festival. Events include workshops with actors and directors, as well as lectures and talks held prior to and during the festival. The Cambridge Shakespeare Festival is hosted in venues across the city. With the central box office located at Wheeler Street in Cambridge, most theatre venues are within a short walk from the box office and other festival locations. All venues feature on-site parking or are located close to car parks and on-street parking. Performances are staged in outdoor venues, including private gardens and an open-air amphitheatre. All venues include unassigned seating for approximately 200 spectators, as well as an adjacent picnic area for spectators to view plays from lawns. Many of University of Cambridge's colleges play host to the Cambridge Shakespeare Festival. All performances are hosted by Cambridge's colleges, including Kings, Robinson, Trinity, Downing, Griton and St. John's. Robinson College is a short walk from the city centre and features a purpose-built amphitheatre for the festival. Festival performances are also put on in the Fellows' Garden at Trinity College, Downing College on Regent Street in the heart of Cambridge, the Scholar's Garden at St. John's College, and the Fellows' Garden at King's College. Productions are also held at the stunning Woodlands Court at Griton College, which is situated approximately one mile from the city centre and easily accessible by car, bus or taxi. Contact Information The Cambridge Shakespeare Festival may be reached on 07955 218824. Enquiries for further information about the festival and productions may also be directed by email to mail@cambridgeshakespeare.com. To contact festival organisers by post, send letters to: The Cambridge Shakespeare Festival 2 Bridewell Road CB1 9EW and ShakespeareMag.com recommends ShakespeareMag.com © ShakespeareMag.com - All Rights Reserved 2013 - 2016 Home About Feedback Privacy

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Desktop view Never Let Me Go Mark Romanek Mark Romanek’s portrayal of Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go is a delicate and subtle piece of cinema. Set over three decades, the film follows Kathy (Carey Mulligan), Ruth (Keira Knightley) and Tommy (Andrew Garfield) from their childhood at the legendary Hailsham boarding school into adulthood. There is something quintessentially English about this film and Romanek’s beautiful locations pay homage to England; from the rustic rurality of The Cottages, where the children spend their late adolescence, to the sweeping, wind-blustered coastal shots. But in this quiet and gentle England, where illness no longer defeats and cancer isn’t a threat, there is a price to be paid. Tommy, Kathy and Ruth’s journey towards their inevitable fate is poignant and skillfully handled, particularly by Garfield, whose awkward tenderness as the adorable Tommy is a joy to behold. Never Let Me Go is a quietly devastating film, stylish and carefully crafted with a subtle and sophisticated colour palette. Hugely compassionate, the film draws you in to the children’s innocent, sheltered and fragile world and then breaks your heart. The Tin Drum To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Günter Grass’ gloriously unforgettable novel, The Tin Drum, Breon Mitchell presents a new translation of this classic. Review of Burning, Cutting, Nailing, Skarstedt Gallery The title of this exhibition at Skarstedt Gallery suggests a trichotomy of violence and destruction. The works present a wilful reforming of the canvas through burning, cutting and nailing. Sonic Youth In this newly released recording of a 1985 Sonic Youth gig, the haunting vibrancy is more than audible. It’s easy to hear this and lose your mind to the dingy images of the Chicago music venue. Liberty: British Colour Pattern Referred to by Oscar Wilde as “the chosen resort of the artistic shopper”, Liberty has maintained its creative relevance for more than a century. Crystal Fighters’ second album is so blissfully executed that its infectious rhythms are bound to induce partying in a cave, field, beach or just about anywhere. Breaking New Ground A look back at one of Britain’s most successful production companies, as it celebrates its 10th anniversary. Mark Herbert tells us more about what it takes to move ahead in the industry.

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Bill Murray visited The Willcox last fall Actor Bill Murray was in Aiken last fall and made a stop at The Willcox. Murray didn’t stay the night but took a tour of the hotel and spent some time in the Roosevelt suite. Though it wasn’t clear at the time, it was later determined that Murray was interested in the suite and the hotel’s history because of his role in the new film, “Hyde Park on Hudson” in which he plays 32nd U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The room is named after the president who spent some time at the hotel. Roosevelt would enter through the rear of the hotel from a railcar that pulled up right behind the building. Murray has been acting since the early 1970s and continues to star in a variety of movies. He is known for being part of the original “Saturday Night Live” cast, as well as acting in a long list of films including “Caddyshack” and “Groundhog Day.” Willcox owners Shannon and Geoff Ellis said Murray was a very nice individual and it was a pleasure meeting him. The Willcox again named Best Hotel by Travel + Leisure

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Vampire Diaries Boss on a Bloody Midseason Finale, Repercussions, the Sire Bond and More! What's a Mystic Falls party without a little bloody destruction and death?On the midseason finale of The Vampire Diaries, evil Original Klaus (Joseph Morgan) struck again, this time taking out Tyler's army of hybrids, but also more importantly, his mom. "Klaus is a survivalist; when you betray him, you get beat down," Julie Plec told TVGuide.com. "When he feels backed up against a wall or mistreated or abused he lashes out in the most dramatic way possible."Duos who should do it!So what are the major repercussions of Tyler's failed plan and Mayor Lockwood's death? And how will the love triangle between Stefan, Elena and Damon proceed when the show returns? Keep reading to learn more.What are the major consequences of killing Carol Lockwood (Susan Walters)?Julie Plec: The first repercussion is that the town is short a mayor. When we come back we'll meet the man who's been chosen to be the interim mayor of Mystic Falls, Rudy Hopkins, who we'll quickly learn is Bonnie's dad. He's been caught up to speed and filling in the blanks of information that he knew or didn't know over the years so now he's playing both the role of concerned mayor for the town and concerned father for his daughter.How will Bonnie react to him coming to town?Plec: Like any teenager would handle a parent coming back into her life and trying to boss her around.Is Tyler now screwed since Klaus found out he was trying to kill him?Plec: Tyler has definitely been marked by Klaus, and that's something that will play out over the next few episodes -- the repercussions of Tyler's move against Klaus.For a minute I thought Klaus couldn't be that evil and perhaps didn't want to be.Plec: The thing that has always defined Klaus and how he acts and what he does is three things. No. 1 is that he's a survivalist; when you betray him, you get beat down. No. 2 is power, which originates from his unstable upbringing and childhood in which his own parents wanted him dead. [And No. 3] he was a guy who frankly was not loved by his parents and hates himself for still wanting the life where he can trust people and love people. You see glimpses of that in how he deals with Caroline and how he deals with his siblings, but as we've also seen when he feels backed up against a wall or mistreated or abused he lashes out in the most dramatic way possible.Where is Stefan's head at when the show returns?Plec: When we come back, he has not been handling it well and the episode that we return to definitely draws the dagger in deeper, so to speak. He's got a lot to deal with emotionally and he has a lot of decisions to make about how he's going to deal with what he feels is a terrible, terrible betrayal from his brother, a profound disappointment and the loss of his girl.Who's the sexiest Vampire Diaries star?Damon told Elena to leave, so is the sire bond over?Plec: It's not that she lost her sire bond, it's that he used the sire bond to tell her to go away so if you're not around someone you can't exactly be sired by them. In the next episode we'll get to see what life is like for both of them when they're apart, how difficult it is for each of them and how strong their resolve is to stay away from each other.And is Jeremy's hatred towards Elena really gone?Plec: It's not done and over with. It's just easier for him. They've reconnected on an emotional level and he's found coping mechanisms that he can use. His curse in life is that he's hard-wired to want people like her dead so that's not just going to go away, but it's going to allow them to stand together as brother and sister and try to fight it.Does this mean there will be more Jeremy and bulging biceps scenes?Plec: They've only just begun.Catch up on more news, photos and videos from The Vampire Diaries What will we learn about Shane and Silas in the new episodes?Plec: When we get back there's a run of five episodes that is our Silas chapter and it brings everything to a head as far as those things are concerned. Could Silas perhaps be the next big villain on the show should he be unburied?Plec: He's definitely someone who is going to be representing a lot of fear and tension for the rest of the season.Looking back at the first part of Season 4, what's been your favorite story to tell?Plec: I enjoyed being able to take Damon's character to the next level. This is a guy who short of after not being chosen said, "Screw it. I am who I am," and then out of that came this discovery that Elena loves him for who he is without him trying to be somebody different. The relief that came attached to that and the beauty was so short-lived when he realized he couldn't 100 percent trust that it was real. It's really good stuff for this character who has been rejected and denied so many times to taste this happiness, but we'll see if it turns into infallible happiness, if it's real and can stay real.View original Vampire Diaries Boss on a Bloody Midseason Finale, Repercussions, the Sire Bond and More! at TVGuide.comOther Links From TVGuide.com Joseph MorganSusan WaltersThe Vampire DiariesJulie Plec

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David Duchovny Quotes - Page 4 I don't know how anybody gets better at anything aside from doing it. Anybody, Aside, I don't like watching people work if they're making art. I don't make decisions based on money. I don't think I'd ever be cruel to an animal. I don't think of myself as a TV actor. I think of myself as a film, television and Off-Off-Off-Off Broadway actor. I don't want to know what happens in any movie that I go to see. I drive an electric car. I enjoy comedy and I hope that people enjoy watching me do it. I envisioned that as my life: staying in academia to make a living and then taking summers off to write my novels. I feel like I came to acting late in a way. I had a fear that I'd be typecast, but I don't really have that fear anymore. Anymore, I love animals and I love working with them because they don't lie. I love the Lower East Side. I never thought about the actors on television or film, like what kind of life they had. I never, ever, ever cook. And I would never eat anything I might cook. I think of myself as more of a comic person. I don't know about a comic actor. I think people are always trying to demystify whatever acting is, so they want to know what your method is. I think Polanski's an amazing director. I wouldn't succeed at musical theater. Succeed, I'd love to direct more. I'll instinctively know that I identify with a character. I'm very proud of my Scottish blood. If my work was good enough, I would never have to do publicity. In high school and college, I was an athlete. In the U.S., oddly, we have images of men as arrogant and aggressive. Arrogant, It's always like you write a poem when you can't really say what you're trying to say.

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Annie - Broadway An all-new production of one of the most acclaimed musicals of the past 35 years! Tony Winner Katie Finneran Excited to Play 'Deliciously Evil' Miss Hannigan in Broadway Revival of Annie May 25, 2012 - 7:34PM Katie Finneran Katie Finneran will complain about 'Little Girls' in 'Annie.' Two-time Tony winner Katie Finneran will return to Broadway as tyrannical orphanage head Miss Hannigan in the upcoming revival of Annie. Directed by James Lapine, the musical begins previews at the Palace Theatre on October 3, with opening night set for November 8. “Miss Hannigan is one of the great musical comedy roles and I cannot wait to play her, in all of her deliciously evil glory,” Finneran said in a statement. “I played Hannigan in my parents’ living room when I was eight years old and the chance to play her in this new Broadway production is a dream come true.” Finneran received Tony Awards for Promises, Promises and Noises Off. Her other Broadway credits include Mauritius, Cabaret, The Iceman Cometh, Proposals, The Heiress, My Favorite Year, In the Summer House and Two Shakesperean Actors. She recently starred on the FOX series I Hate My Teenage Daughter. Her other TV credits include Wonderfalls, Damages and Bram and Alice. Inspired by the famous comic strip Little Orphan Annie, Annie first opened on Broadway on April 21, 1977. The musical played 2,377 performances before closing on January 2, 1983. The show, which follows a young Depression era orphan who goes to temporarily live with the rich and famous Daddy Warbucks, won the Tony Award for Best Musical. Dorothy Loudon also earned a Tony for her performance as Miss Hannigan. The show features music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin and a book by Thomas Meehan. In addition to Finneran, the cast will feature Lilla Crawford as Annie, Emily Rosenfeld as Molly, Tyrah Skye Odoms as Kate, Junah Jang as Tessie, Georgi James as Pepper, Madi Rae DiPietro as July and Taylor Richardson as Duffy. Jaidyn Young will serve as the standby for Annie, Pepper, Duffy and July. See Also: News | Katie Finneran | Annie

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Click Here for More Articles on LEGALLY BLONDE BWW Interviews: Alex Gaumond, Emmett In LEGALLY BLONDE! by Carrie Dunn Hi Alex! I have to say, I've seen this show several times and you've been on all the time - I've seen understudies for all the other leads, but you've always been on! Yeah, I've been very lucky with illnesses - I've had three days off sick and I've had my holiday, but apart from that I've been on since the start of the run. Wow - so you've not picked up any bugs at the stage door with all the people you meet then? No! I think our fans are a pretty healthy bunch! Legally Blonde is really popular with a big passionate fanbase, and of course you came in from We Will Rock You too. Yes, they're both huge shows and they're opening up musical theatre to a whole new audience. And you've been in Legally Blonde for over a year now. The show has gone through several cast changes but you're still here - so you're not bored yet?! Definitely not! It's a great part and a great show. It's a proper sing, though... Yes, I really get to let rip - at the end of Chip On My Shoulder I've got a really high note that wasn't in the original Broadway production; during rehearsal the MD asked me if I could get higher than it's written and I gave it a go, and it's still in now, so it's nice to have put my stamp on the song even if it's only for a couple of seconds! As a big fan of the show I've seen Sheridan Smith and Amy Lennox play Elle opposite you - Amy seemed to play her much younger and cuter, and Sheridan's personality made her seem older. Do you adjust your portrayal of Emmett according to who you're playing alongside? No, not really - Amy definitely played her younger, because she is younger, but I didn't make my character younger to go alongside that, although the energy is different according to who you're working with. And now you have a new Elle - Susan McFadden. What's her Elle like? Fantastic. She has the key ingredient for Elle - she's bubbly, she embraces life, and she doesn't think of how things will be perceived. With Sheridan came the whole territory of her TV work, and you had an audience that thought they knew her as a person. Susan doesn't have so much of that, so she has to work harder to gain people's affection, but it's great because by the end they love her. They're all brilliant at the part - it's a pleasure to play with all of them. I'm finding it hard to imagine Susan as Elle because I loved her Serena so much! (Susan played Elle's sorority sister Serena in the original cast.) Yeah! It's a very different role! I suppose with Serena she's clearly a California girl, so you can see how that would translate, but come see it! I shall! So are you in for another year? I'm here until April-ish, and we'll see what happens in the next few weeks... OK, so we'll watch this space. You've been doing your own cabaret gigs recently, haven't you? Yes! I'm trying to pursue the music. I write, and I started off as a piano player when I was young before moving into singing and training as an actor. Musical theatre is great and I love it and it's certainly going well for me, but I'm writing for a potential album and I'd love to get a record deal. I did my first-ever solo concert at LauderDale House, and we're hoping to do another one in spring. This time, I hope to have more of a band - LauderDale House is more acoustic and I had to choose material to suit that environment, so this time perhaps it'll be pop- or rock-based. How do you go about devising a setlist? I had SO much fun. I had to eliminate anything that wasn't acoustic, but I didn't want to just do musical theatre. I love Michael Buble, I got in some jazz standards, and I threw in a little French song for good measure. This next one, I love devising something with an arc, mixing it with humour, and making sure I'm not just doing big songs without light and shade. It's quite tricky. So I start out with a load of songs and narrow it down, and try to find a personal connection with everything. And the album - will that be your own stuff or some standards? I imagine I'll do some covers and then some self-written stuff, and some original songs by other people. The only thing I want is to do something I'm proud of. I don't want something for the sake of having an album. Whenever I do a cover, I try to do a different interpretation. I've never wanted a carbon copy. I want it all to make sense within the realm of who I am. Alex Gaumond plays Emmett in Legally Blonde at the Savoy Theatre. Carrie is the UK editor-in-chief for BroadwayWorld. After spending her formative years reading books and ending up with a Masters degree in English literature from BWW Review: JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR, Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, 21 July 2016 BWW Interview: Chad Beguelin - Book Writer and Additional Lyricist For ALADDIN! BWW Interview: David Langham, New Thenardier in LES MISERABLES! Exclusive: Victoria Hamilton-Barritt Talks About Joining Kerry Ellis In MURDER BALLAD! BWW Interview: Stuart Ward Of THE GO-BETWEEN! BWW Interview: Gemma Sutton Of THE GO-BETWEEN! BWW TV: Nicholas Afoa Of THE LION KING BWW TV: Madden And James In ROMEO AND JULIET

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The Dead Pool: Deluxe Edition Clint Eastwood, Patricia Clarkson, Liam Neeson, Jim Carrey & others. Buddy Van Horn, director. cutout DVD Widescreen In this fifth and final episode of the Dirty Harry series, from 1988, Clint Eastwood finds himself on a "death list" of celebrity victims in a cynical�and possibly murderous�wager made by an avant-garde film director (Liam Neeson) and his crew. An unusually strong supporting cast includes, in addition to the young Neeson, Patricia Clarkson in her first major film role as Callahan's love interest, Jim Carrey (credited as James Carrey) in the small role of drug-addled heavy metal musician Johnny Squares, and uncredited cameos by Guns 'n' Roses' Slash, Izzy Stradlin, and Axl Rose. This special deluxe edition includes commentary by producer David Valdes and cinematographer Jack N. Green and a documentary about the entire Dirty Harry series.

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2016-36/0817/en_head.json.gz/11184

- DePauw University Film by Peter Ohs '05 to Premiere at Full Frame Festival This Week Tigers in Sixth at Illinois Wesleyan Tenth-ranked Tigers Sweep Manchester Judith Edstrom '70 and Mary Leonard '70 Continue 175th Anniversary Distinguished Alumni Lecture Series Wednesday Former VP Dan Quayle '69 to Give Commencement Address at Syracuse U College of Law I Send You This Place, a feature-length documentary film made by Peter Ohs, a 2005 graduate of DePauw University, and his wife, Andrea Sisson, will premiere April 13 at at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival in Durham, North Carolina. Filmed last year in Iceland, "It's about the power of thoughts, the importance of surroundings, the strength of intuition, the value of creativity, and the relevance of nature," according to Ohs, who was a computer science major and Information Technology Associate at DePauw. "It connects the nature of the human mind to the nature of Iceland in order to better understand mental health." Learn more here or at the film's website. A music video directed by Ohs, a three-time regional Emmy® Award-winner, was named one of 2010's "50 Best" by NME. You'll find details in this previous story.

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2016-36/0817/en_head.json.gz/11185

Justin Jordan '03 Honored at Hollywood Black Film Festival Tigers Collect 20th Win after Blanking Allegheny Wednesday Concert Marks '100 Years After the Riot at The Rite of Spring' DePauw Aiming for Third Straight Win Prof. John Dittmer to Offer 'Reflections on John F. Kennedy and Civil Rights' at Southwest Minnesota State Mommy Uncensored, a web series which is directed, shot and edited by 2003 DePauw University graduate Justin Jordan, "won the First Place Web Series Jury Award at this year’s Hollywood Black Film Festival (Oct. 2 through Oct. 6)," reports Frost Illustrated. Currently in production on its third season, the series is a collaboration between Jordan and his wife, Charity. "The series follows the journey of Karen Wright, a working woman turned stay-at-home mom, as she struggles to find balance between motherhood, marriage and the manic moments intrinsic to both," according to the Fort Wayne, Indiana newspaper. "Based on parenting taboos and real-life experiences, the show has become an instant hit with mothers and dads everywhere." "Charity had a bold and progressive vision," says Justin Jordan, who majored in computer science at DePauw. "She wanted to create opportunity and empower filmmakers, so every episode of season two had a female director." "We are gearing up to pitch the series to networks," adds Charity Jordan. "We are reviving the Cosby era of family TV for younger, urban generations."

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2016-36/0817/en_head.json.gz/11191

Share on Facebook Winter 2009 LESLIE MOONVES Content Creator Leslie Moonves, president and chief executive officer of CBS, talks about the challenges of the Internet and why network television is indispensable. 1. How do you see the role of the director changing in television? Clearly the director-producer has become a much more important function. Now in episodic television a number of shows have a director who's not only doing normal directing but is also really setting the tone and the vision for a whole show. So you have a really strong, solid hand in keeping the continuity going, and I think to have that sort of eye around all the time has served television extremely well. And I think the director's role clearly becomes more and more important in episodic television. I remember a day when a director would deliver a rough cut and then disappear on to his next assignment. I really appreciate the continuity and ability of the director to have a much more important role in the whole process. 2. You've said that the wave of the future is getting as much distribution as possible on the Internet. How can CBS and online distributors profit from Web content? The future of Web content obviously will involve a certain amount of streaming of the actual series, but that's not where we look for the majority of the growth. We look for it out of clips, out of off-shoots, out of other potential places—content that isn't necessarily just cannibalistic to what's on the networks. For all of us in the creative community, technology is the big question mark. Is it a friend or an enemy? We're viewing it as a friend. We think the world clearly still needs and wants network television. But by the same token, an awful lot of entertainment and information is coming over the Internet and we want to be all things to all people. So the more places we can have our content available and the more readily it's available, the better it is for us. 3. How does that turn into revenue? Well, we acquired CNET about four or five months ago and we are now one of the top ten Internet companies in the world. Our job now is to monetize it, i.e., sell this content, be it scripted programming or technology or news or sports or games. And look, we are an advertising company. Seventy percent of our revenues are in advertising. We believe in advertising. Obviously now is a tough time for those companies that are advertising-based, but that will come back. Therefore, it's really, key to get many eyeballs on the Internet like you do for the network or you do in a movie theater, and hopefully be able to sell them accordingly. 4. Do you see the model for network broadcast television continuing as it is today? Absolutely. When you look at what I like to call event programming—and that doesn't mean it can't be episodic—and you look at what the Super Bowl does or CSI or American Idol or Desperate Housewives or what "24" does, there's no place on earth you can get 25-30 million people joining together for a shared experience. And I think as the Internet grows—and it will—it's still important to realize the network is where you get the best bang for your buck. It's where you can open a movie, it's where you can open a product, it's where you can really open up the widest net possible to get everybody. It's important to realize that oftentimes products are really hard to pinpoint to a demographic. So there's still an advantage to having a show that's watched by an 18-year-old as well as a 60-year-old. You don't know what is going to work [for that product], but the wider the net, the better your prospects. 5. What do you think about the prospect of ad-supported Internet streaming? We're doing it right now. We have what's called the CBS Audience Network, whereby we stream a number of our television shows to over 300 different websites. We sell advertising to go out among them. Now, it's still a rather small piece of our revenue. It's something we see growing and something we are experimenting with and going out there with in the future. But once again, it's important that our content be as readily available as people want it. 6. If the Internet is not just for the regurgitation of content, how do you see that evolving? We don't think it's just for, or even principally, for streaming of episodes. Yes, that will be part of it. But we view it in relation to content that is attached to the networks, that is an extension of our news, our sports, new material on technology or business. And when it comes to entertainment, certainly clips are worthwhile for promotional and many other reasons. The chat rooms give people who are fans of, say, Two and a Half Men the ability to get information about actors or directors who are involved with their favorite shows or movies. In other words, ancillary ways of increasing the experience that you have with television or a movie theater that makes that experience deeper, richer, and longer-lasting. And that makes them more loyal fans to that content. 7. Do you see Web-based series expanding, and can content creators make money in this arena? Once again, this is an area that's still in its infancy. We've only done it a couple of times, frankly, from kids out of a garage. You know, give me thirteen, three-minute episodes for $25,000. Obviously, we view the Web as a great future laboratory for both young people starting out and established people who want to try out different things that may be cost-prohibitive on a network. And ultimately I think there's a real opportunity that a Web-based show could develop into something for the network or exist very successfully on the Web. It's an area that is so young and we know so little about what its prospects are that it's really a great experiment. It's something we're watching very carefully because right now there's no revenue behind it, but it's something that clearly will be significant in the future. 8. What impact do you see the present financial crisis having on the network and the industry as a whole? Obviously, advertising is very affected by what's going on today and, by definition, that does affect revenues coming in to the major media companies and leads them to be more conservative about how they produce shows and keep costs down. There's a lot more belt-tightening and there's a lot more examination of how we produce our content. Our local businesses are being affected greatly, the national businesses not quite as much. But as revenues do go down—and they are going down—costs by definition have to go down, and it's a time where everybody has to realize, okay, we're going through a tough time, let's look at our industry as a whole and how we can continue to thrive in a tougher economic climate. 9. It's been suggested that lower-rated shows might get renewed rather than risking the cost of new programming. Is there any truth to that? Look, launching a show is always a very tough thing to do. So we are firm believers that patience can be a virtue if you believe in the creativity of the show, and I think this economy might cause people to be a bit more patient, which can be a good thing. 10. You've said that the content today is as great as it's ever been, that this is another golden age of television. Do you still feel that way? No question about it. When you look across the top networks and top cable networks, I think you could point to the terrific work being done by all four networks, and by Showtime, HBO, A&E, and a number of the cable networks. I think there's never been a time in the history of television where there's more great things being done. Creatively, I think our universe is in very, very good shape. Question and answer sessions with prominent figures outside the Guild about current creative and business issues. See more articles from 10 Questions The New YouTube Susanne Daniels YouTube Global Head of Original Content Susanne Daniels is developing new programming for subscribers. Will the famously free service now challenge other SVOD platforms? Jay D. Roth In his 20 years as national executive director, Jay D. Roth has helped navigate the challenges of a rapidly changing industry. As the DGA celebrates its 80th anniversary, he ruminates on the past and future of the Guild. What's Next for Netflix? Ted Sarandos After changing the way people watch television, Netflix is moving into features in a big way. Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos talks about the future of the company—and the industry. Hiring diverse directors makes 'good business sense': BET CEO Debra L. Lee, chairman and CEO of BET Networks, says with audiences for television becoming more diverse, so should directors—and the talent is already out there. It's Not TV... Michael Lombardo HBO president of programming Michael Lombardo reflects on the industry’s changing business model and how directors have contributed to the new wave of quality television. Independent State of Mind Nancy Utley and Stephen Gilula Fox Searchlight Co-Presidents Nancy Utley and Stephen Gilula talk about the challenges of the marketplace and making movies with a vision. Jon Feltheimer Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer is not pining for the way the business used to be. Instead, he’s energized by the prospects of new content, new markets, and new media. View the Winter 2009 Issue Hollywood on the Hudson Richard Koszarski The Rutgers film professor's richly detailed history is a New Yorker's passionate and unabashedly city-proud reclamation of film production in NYC, a ceaselessly eye-opening work of Gotham-based cultural anthropology and archeology. Winter 2009 The Bond Makers Directing James Bond For 47 years and 22 films, James Bond has escaped countless close calls thanks to the deft hand of its directors. We caught up with the eight surviving filmmakers to find out how they've kept 007 alive all these years. Directing Reality TV Tony Croll and his team capture the hectic life of America's Next Top Model where anything can happen next—and usually does. Miracle Workers UPMs At Work UPMs have to deal with the financial realities of a production while helping the director execute his vision. It's a tough job, but someone has to do it. A Life in Pictures Roman Polanski Roman Polanski's life has had more drama than a Shakespearean tragedy. But in his nearly 50-year career as a director, he has created some of the most unsettling images and haunting films ever made. Kinetic Camera Kathryn Bigelow Kathryn Bigelow has always been a director with a lot of energy. In her new war film, The Hurt Locker, she takes her high-wire intensity to new heights. Life on the Internet Webisodes Directors are having fun creating content for the web-but are they making any money? Five Guild members relate their experiences.

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2016-36/0817/en_head.json.gz/11224

For: Reviews » DVD Video Reviews » Scorpion King Scorpion King Universal // PG-13 // October 1, 2002 Review by Aaron Beierle | posted August 27, 2002 | E-mail the Author WWF star The Rock will be a big action star and might eventually branch out to other genres. That occured to me while watching the wrestler's new action picture, "The Scorpion King". It also occured to me as the movie went forward that I hope that he'll eventually be presented with better material than this uninspired film, which takes occasionally from other films before it. "The Scorpion King" is a prequel of sorts to the "Mummy" series, the second of which introduced us to "The Scorpion King", a character who was presented as the villian. This character was also played by the Rock, although half of his performance was ruined by some completely terrible CGI that covered him. This film really doesn't show how this character gets to the point of the character in the second "Mummy" picture, but that doesn't seem to be a concern. This film has The Rock starring as Mathayus, an ancient assassin who is hired by a group of villagers to kill the sorceress of Memnon (Kelly Hu), as she is part of the reason why the powerful Memnon (Steven Brand) is conquering the lands, since she can forsee the result of any battle. Of course, it's only a matter of time before Mathayus gathers together an army of his own, including warrior Balthazar (Michael Clarke Duncan), an inept thief (Grant Heslov), a wisecracking kid and the previously mentioned sorceress, to take on Memnon. I appreciated, at first, the way that "The Scorpion King" fully embraces its own ridiculousness, not treating it as too "wink wink", but taking it all pretty seriously. The Rock isn't given the best material to work with, but he's got fairly sharp comedic timing for the film's few attempts at comedic relief and he can also easily handle the film's many battle sequences. The film's special effects are also not particularly special. While the "Mummy" sequel suffered from too many CGI effects that either were terrible or pretty good, "The Scorpion King" only has a handful of sequences that offer rather lackluster CGI. While I appreciate a more old-school action film that doesn't get buried under a mass of computer effects, this film didn't seem to have much of a "scope" or "epic feel", either. There's also a point in this film where I began to lose interest. The film does provide a solid quantity of action sequences, but there are also sequences that don't seem very inspired and a couple of moments that seemed ripped off from the "Indiana Jones" movies and the "Mummy" pictures. The film doesn't offer a strong villain, either, as Brand doesn't make Memnon anything beyond ordinary. Overall, "The Scorpion King" shows that The Rock has screen presence and can do well in a picture, but he is capable of handling better material than this. The film was never boring, but I never really found much of a reason to care, either. I expected a bit more, considering that "Mummy" director/writer Stephen Sommers was one of the writers, while Chuck Russell ("Eraser") directed. I'm not quite sure where this whole franchise is headed next, but hopefully everyone can regroup and provide something fresh and enjoyable that provides a better balance between old-school primitive battles and new-school effects. It's better than "The Mummy Returns", but a little less fun and swift than the first "Mummy" film. VIDEO: "The Scorpion King" is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen by Universal. While this is occasionally a dark picture, John Leonetti (director Russell's "The Mask")'s cinematography actually looked better to me on this DVD release than it did when I saw the film theatrically. Sharpness and detail remained superb throughout the bright, daylight sequences, but also looked equally impressive during the night scenes. The near-complete lack of the usual concerns made the presentation even more noteworthy. Edge enhancement was not seen throughout the film, making for a smooth, natural and "film-like" appearance. Aside from a speck or two, print flaws were not seen and no pixelation was spotted. The film's color palette, which is usually on the subdued side, looked a little richer on the DVD edition than I remember it appearing theatrically. Black level on the DVD remained especially strong, while flesh tones appeared accurate and natural. A terrific effort from Universal. SOUND: "The Scorpion King" is presented by Universal in Dolby Digital 5.1. Surprisingly, no DTS option is offered. Still, this is likely a soundtrack that will please any action fan, as the surrounds are often going full-throttle throughout the picture with various sound effects flying around the listening space. There's also some nice moments with slighter, more subtle ambience in the surrounds. Audio quality was very good, as the rock/metal score sounded powerful and dialogue/sound effects remained clear and natural. As one would expect from a film like this one, low bass is often awfully powerful, as well. MENUS: Lively animated menus, complete with the score in the background and animated transitions between the main & sub-menus. Commentaries: "The Scorpion King" DVD includes two audio commentaries: one with star The Rock and the other with director Chuck Russell. The commentary with the Rock does include some additional video footage of the star recording the commentary for some scenes. However, instead of doing this feature as a "multi-angle" one (see Universal's "Mallrats" DVD with it's video clips of the audio commentary), it's another instance where the user must click when an icon is on-screen. Director Chuck Russell provided an excellent commentary for New Line's DVD of "The Mask" (with Jim Carrey). His commentary on that film provided intelligent analysis of the film's production and even some good laughs on occasion. Browsing through Russell's commentary on "The Scorpion King" reveals an almost equally enjoyable chat. Here, the director talks in-depth about working with the Rock on his first starring feature, as well as many of the major and minor production issues the movie faced. Even when praising the film's stars, Russell thankfully manages to offer some depth and insight about the performances behind the praise for the stars. What I didn't like about the commentary was the fact that Russell occasionally simply states what's happening on-screen. While did happen a little more than infrequently, it didn't ruin the commentary. The Rock's commentary is a little more of a mixed bag; while the star certainly seems very energetic about the opportunity to discuss the movie, there's quite a few passages of silence. Also, for all of the moments where the Rock has some very funny stories about the production, there's also points where he simply talks about what's going on in the movie or how great everyone was. Outtakes: Although there's only three minutes worth of goofs shown, most of these are very funny. Alternate Versions of Key Scenes: This feature offers viewers the chance to watch alternate versions of several of the film's scenes. These versions can be watched within the movie via an icon feature or separately by choosing the option in the Special Features menu. All of the scenes are in Dolby Digital 5.1 On-Location: Universal's "On Location" documentaries can either be excellent or rather dull. This one unfortunately falls into the second catagory, as it really is far more promotional than informative. Starting off with what looks like an extended trailer for the movie, the majority of the 14-minute documentary is largely focused on interviews with the cast and crew, who talk mainly about the characters and story that DVD viewers have just seen and not much else. Featurettes: Five short featurettes are offered, each running a few minutes: "Anicent World Production Design", where the film's production designer discusses his tasks on the film; "Preparing the Fight", a look at the film's fight choreography; "The Rock and Michael Clarke Duncan", where the two discuss working together; "Working With Animals", where the director and others talk about the film's animal extras and "Special Effects", which offers two featurettes that break down how effects were used in two scenes ("Cobras" and "Fire Ants"). Also: Godsmack, "I Stand Alone" music video; text notes about a possible real "Scorpion King"; the film's theatrical trailer; cast/crew bios; trailers for Universal's upcoming "The Hulk" (teaser trailer/5.1 audio) and Steven Spielberg's upcoming TV miniseries "Taken"; production notes and DVD-ROM features including Universal's "Total Axess" online-based feature, which is apparently not available until the DVD's release date. Final Thoughts: "The Scorpion King" is cheesy, unoriginal, mindless and often pretty silly, but it does manage some fun performances and moments of solid action. Universal's DVD presentation offers excellent audio/video quality and a strong helping of supplements. Recommended for fans of the film, while action fans who didn't see the film in theaters may want to check it out as a rental. Other Reviews: Todd Siechen

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2016-36/0817/en_head.json.gz/11395

GB.Net News Archive ~ GB.Net News By Category Morgan and Butler Talk Watchmen Category: Watchmen/Tales of the Black Freighter News Article Date: December 8, 2007 | Publication: SuperHeroHype.com | Author: Heather Newgen Source: SuperHeroHype.com Posted by: maryp Zack Snyder's take on Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' graphic novel Watchmen is still over a year away, but at the L.A. junket for the upcoming Warner Bros. romantic comedy P.S. I Love You, ComingSoon.net/Superhero Hype! had a chance to sit down with actors Jeffrey Dean Morgan ("Grey's Anatomy") and Gerard Butler (you might remember him from another comic movie earlier this year), who play Hilary Swank's love interests. We made sure to ask them about their roles in Snyder's upcoming movie, or in Butler's case, whether he might have a role or not. Morgan was sporting a mustache for his role as the masked vigilante The Comedian, and he told us how that production has been going. "It's good. It's crazy. It's unlike anything I've ever been a part of and it's such a departure for me from anything I've done recently. They guy I'm playing is a little short on the moral end so it's rough. He doesn't have any; he has no morals. There's days that are rough. It's a stretch sometimes." Despite the Comedian's lack of morals, he's not the bad guy of the film. "Oddly enough, he's a superhero, but he does horrible things. For some reason, in reading the novel, you don't hate this guy even though he does things that are unmentionable. They are horrendous things. My job is to kind of make that translate, so as a viewer you end up not making excuses to like him, but you don't hate him like you should for doing the things that he does. It's a tough one. It's hard." "I'm nervous as hell," he said about the movie, knowing how much anticipation there is for Snyder's next big film. "We're still filming and there's pressure. It's beyond anything I've ever been a part of that's for sure." A bit later we spoke to Gerard Butler, who commented on Zack's desire to film the graphic novel's concurrent pirate comic book story as something specifically for the DVD. "I know they were talking about that and at one point that part was cut from the film because of budget," Butler told us, "but then they were talking about it again so I don't know. They are right in the middle of the main body of the film and at this point I'm not sure. But even a tiny little thing I would do for Zack Snyder. He's my boy." Watchmen is scheduled to open on March 6, 2009. You can see more with the actors from P.S. I Love You over on ComingSoon.net before its opening on December 21.

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2016-36/0817/en_head.json.gz/11481

The outlandish new face of Robert Webb COMMERCIAL FEATURE Robert Webb is perhaps best known for playing Jeremy Usborne, or Jez, in popular sitcom Peep Show. Throughout the shows eight series’,Jez became notorious for his unusual way of seeing the world, leading to some of the most TV comedy’s most memorable quotes. If you haven’t seen Peep Show, the programme allows the audience to hear the character’s thoughts. In the latest episode – aired just after Christmas – Jez mused, “Good old fate. It does the hard work so you don't have to. Or am I thinking of flash?” An insightful example of the character’s twisted worldview. The latest role to be taken on by Robert Webb is Maurice Wigglethorpe-Throom; imagine something along the lines of Jez’s aristocratic uncle on LSD. The fictional founder and CEO of comparethemarket.com, Wigglethorpe-Throom is passionate about the benefit of comparing products online, as seen here in this exclusive video – a spin-off from the television ad campaign. Wigglethorpe-Throom is essentially an exaggeration of Jez’s character traits, combined with the wardrobe of the price comparison website’s previous brand ambassador Alexander Orlov, the world-famous meerkat. This fusion creates a comedy monster that dresses in crushed red velvet and has a predilection for elaborate analogies and antiquated phraseology. The video leaves you feeling sorry for the long-suffering butler but somehow manages to do what it sets out to do: instil an understanding of why it is import to compare energy providers with comparethemarket.com – even if the metaphor they use does leave a foul taste in the mouth.

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