Netflix’s Jupiter’s Legacy series is heavy into the casting process, with the streaming service just announcing the first batch of confirmed cast members. Josh Duhamel (the Transformers franchise), Ben Daniels (The Exorcist, Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert), Leslie Bibb (Tag, Iron Man), Elena Kampouris (Sacred Lies), and Andrew Horton (How to Talk to Girls at Parties) have all signed on to starring roles. The series will also feature Mike Wade (For the People) and Matt Lanter (Timeless).
The dramatic series is part of Netflix’s slate of upcoming films and television series based on Mark Millar’s stories and graphic novels. Jupiter’s Legacy has Steven S. DeKnight (Spartacus) on board as showrunner and as an executive producer. Mark Millar, Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Dan McDermott, and Frank Quitely also executive produce. DeKnight will write and direct the series’ first episode.
The Plot:
Jupiter’s Legacy follows the world’s first generation of superheroes who received their powers in the 1930s. Now, in present day, they are the revered elder guard, but their superpowered children struggle to live up to the legendary feats of their parents.
The Cast and Character Descriptions:
JOSH DUHAMEL is Sheldon Sampson.
Sheldon Sampson (The Utopian) is the storied leader of the superhero team The Union. But times have changed, and he doesn’t understand the world we live in anymore. Or his own family.
BEN DANIELS is Walter Sampson.
Walter Sampson (Brain-Wave) is Sheldon’s older brother. A man of vast intellect and cunning who, unlike Sheldon, isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty. Or bloody.
LESLIE BIBB is Grace Sampson.
Grace Sampson (Lady Liberty) is Sheldon’s wife and one of the most powerful heroes on the planet. She doesn’t always agree with Sheldon, but strives to balance his ideals with the reality of the modern, often violent, world they live in.
ELENA KAMPOURIS is Chloe Sampson.
Chloe Sampson is Grace and Sheldon’s daughter. Rejecting everything her parents stand for, Chloe has forged her own hedonistic path far away from them. A path that threatens to go against everything her parents have sworn to protect.
ANDREW HORTON is Brandon Sampson.
Brandon Sampson is Grace and Sheldon’s son. In training to assume the mantle of The Utopian and become the new leader of The Union, he struggles to live up to his father’s mythic legend.
MIKE WADE is Fitz Small.
Fitz Small (The Flare) is the heart and soul of The Union. Despite suffering injuries that ended his career as a superhero, he continues to be one of the most valued members of the team. And is often the only thing holding them together in the face of an increasingly hostile world.
MATT LANTER is George Hutchence.
George Hutchence (Skyfox) was Sheldon Sampson’s closest friend and ally before turning against him and the rest of his teammates in The Union. Now considered the greatest supervillain in the world, George plots his revenge on the teammates he believes betrayed him.
CBS All Access is adding the Marc Cherry series Why Women Kill to its slate and has signed up Elementary‘s Lucy Liu to star. Cherry (Desperate Housewives, Devious Maids) created the new series and is executive producing with Brian Grazer (Empire), Francie Calfo (Empire), Michael Hanel, and Mindy Schultheis. Marc Webb’s on board to direct and executive produce.
Per CBS All Access: “Why Women Kill details the lives of three women living in three different decades: a housewife in the ‘60s, a socialite in the ‘80s and a lawyer in 2018, each dealing with infidelity in their marriages. The series will examine how the roles of women have changed, but how their reaction to betrayal… has not.”
According to the casting announcement, Emmy Award nominee Lucy Liu will play a character named Simone. Simone is described as elegant, stylish, and effervescent. She’s “the picture of urbane confidence, moving through the world as if it were a delightful movie starring herself. Smugly superior, a woman for whom appearances mean everything, she thrives on shopping and throwing parties, seemingly happily married to her indulgent husband, Karl, who thinks she is simply fabulous. However, despite nagging premonitions, Simone is devastated, her world upended, when she learns that Karl has been cheating on her.”
In addition to starring in CBS’s hit dramatic series Elementary for six seasons, Liu’s television credits include Southland, Difficult People, Ally McBeal, Cashmere Mafia, Dirty Sexy Money, Sex and the City, and Ugly Betty. She’s also directed episodes of Elementary, Luke Cage, and Graceland.
In 1999, Liu earned a Primetime Emmy Award nomination in the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series category for Ally McBeal.
Why Women Kill is being produced by Imagine Television Studios and CBS Television Studios. CBS All Access did not reveal a target premiere date or any additional casting details.
Beck and Cage The Elephant will co-headline “The Night Running Tour” beginning on July 11, 2019 at the Sunlight Supply Amphitheater in Ridgefield, WA. The North American tour’s set to hit 28 cities including Las Vegas, Phoenix, Dallas, Indianapolis, New York, and Charlotte. “The Night Running Tour” will finish up at the Coral Sky Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach, FL, on August 30th.
Beck and Cage The Elephant will be joined on select dates by Starcrawler, Sunflower Bean, and Wild Belle. Spoon will join them on each of their 28 stops.
Tickets will go on sale on Friday, February 15th at 10am local time via LiveNation.com. $1 from every ticket sold will be donated back to each city they’re playing in to help end hunger.
BECK AND CAGE THE ELEPHANT THE NIGHT RUNNING TOUR 2019 DATES:
Thursday, July 11, 2019 – Ridgefield, WA at Sunlight Supply Amphitheater*
Saturday, July 13, 2019 – George, WA at Gorge Amphitheatre*
Tuesday, July 16, 2019 – Mountain View, CA at Shoreline Amphitheatre*
Wednesday, July 17, 2019 – Irvine, CA at FivePoint Amphitheatre*
Friday, July 19, 2019 – Las Vegas, NV at Park Theater*
Saturday, July 20, 2019 – Chula Vista, CA at North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre*
Sunday, July 21, 2019 – Phoenix, AZ at Ak-Chin Pavilion*
Tuesday, July 23, 2019 – Denver, CO at Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre*#
Friday, July 26, 2019 – Austin, TX at Austin360 Amphitheater+
Saturday, July 27, 2019 – Dallas, TX at Dos Equis Pavilion+
Sunday, July 28, 2019 – Houston, TX at The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion+
Tuesday, July 30, 2019 – St. Louis, MO at Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre+
Wednesday, July 31, 2019 – Chicago, IL at Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island+
Friday, August 02, 2019 – Cincinnati, OH at Riverbend Music Center+
Saturday, August 03, 2019 – Detroit, MI at DTE Energy Music Theatre+
Sunday, August 04, 2019 – Indianapolis, IN at Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center+
Sunday, August 11, 2019 – Toronto, ON at Budweiser Stage^
Monday, August 12, 2019 – Saratoga Springs, NY at Saratoga Performing Arts Center^
Tuesday, August 13, 2019 – Darien Center, NY at Darien Lake Amphitheater^
Thursday, August 15, 2019 – Mansfield, MA at Xfinity Center^
Friday, August 16, 2019 – Gilford, NH at Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion^
Saturday, August 17, 2019 – New York, NY at Forest Hills Stadium#
Tuesday, August 20, 2019 – Holmdel, NJ at PNC Bank Arts Center^
Wednesday, August 21, 2019 – Camden, NJ at BB&T Pavilion^
Thursday, August 22, 2019 – Columbia, MD at Merriweather Post Pavilion^
Saturday, August 24, 2019 – Raleigh, NC at Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek^
Sunday, August 25, 2019 – Charlotte, NC at PNC Music Pavilion Charlotte^
Tuesday, August 27, 2019 – Birmingham, AL at Oak Mountain Amphitheatre^
Thursday, August 29, 2019 – Tampa, FL at MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre at the FL State Fairgrounds^
Friday, August 30, 2019 – West Palm Beach, FL at Coral Sky Amphitheatre at the S. Florida Fairgrounds^
*with Starcrawler
+with Wild Belle
^with Sunflower Bean
#not a Live Nation date
Season three of This Is Us has added new members to the Pearson family. We’ve learned that Uncle Nick (Michael Angarano/Griffin Dunne) didn’t die in Vietnam, but is still alive in the present day. We’ve seen flash forwards where things don’t look great for Beth (Susan Kelechi Watson) and Randall (Sterling K. Brown).
So midway through the third season of NBC’s hit drama, the Television Critics Association visited the set of This Is Us and previewed next week’s episode (episode 13 airing February 19th). Series creator Dan Fogelman was there to answer some of our questions about where This Is Us is going. This Is Us airs Tuesday nights at 9pm ET/PT on NBC.
Will we see more of both incarnations of Uncle Nick?
Dan Fogelman: “Nicky has a gigantic part in the episode coming up. It’s basically the second half of the episode that we left on. It’s left open ended in this season a little bit. We’ve kind of fallen in love with both actors and the characters. Not only are we in love with the character and the actors, we also love what it does for Kevin’s storyline and for all the family’s storylines. Hopefully we make our way back. It’s a little bit about his recovery and what happens there.”
As far as Beth and Randall’s marriage, are you throwing more in their way?
Dan Fogelman: “Yes, in a way it starts with Beth’s episode. Not that it’s about Beth and Randall and their marriage, but it starts a series of events. I think the Vietnam story and Jack’s story and Jack and Rebecca story were such a big part of the front half of our season, and the back half of the season has a huge Randall and Beth component where we kind of put them in a washing machine a little bit and see which way they come out.
It’s very exciting. We have two tremendous actors who are also tremendously likable and now that people know how Jack died, I’d say the probably number one question I get in my regular life is are Randall and Beth going to make it? Are they okay? That means people are invested in their marriage and their story and that’s a good thing. They get a lot of screen time in the back half of this season and it’s very good.”
Will the flash forwards get more prominent?
Dan Fogelman: “There’s a big component of them in the back half of this season but it’s a little bit deeper into the season. There are reasons for them and things that go on that by the time we’re here hopefully a couple of years from now, everyone will go, ‘Okay, I get all of it now.'”
Will there be a cliffhanger?
Dan Fogelman: “There’s a lot of answers given this season. We’re finding a lot of pleasure in building out storylines and then answering them, and then creating new storylines. This season I think we’ll give a lot of the stuff that people have been waiting for, if not almost all.”
Are we still getting flashbacks to Rebecca and Miguel’s courtship?
Dan Fogelman: “Yes, not this season but it’s a place we want to go. That’s a slightly different time period for us and so when we enter new time periods, we do so gently so that the audience doesn’t get time period whiplash. We’re mindful of it so when Rebecca and Miguel got together was not immediately after Jack’s death, so you’re talking about a couple of years after that, some time after that. We’ve seen in 2006 him reach out for the first time and send an e-mail. So that’s a whole different time period and we just like to be careful when we go there, but we will get there. Miguel has a big part to play in the rest of the season.”
What’s your birds eye view for the series?
Dan Fogelman: “We have an unusual process in our writers room. Most shows when they finish production, right now we’re shooting our finale right now. Most shows go on break for about four or five months on hiatus. We don’t really take a hiatus. We take a month or two but we stay. And that allows us to not just get a head start on breaking the next season, but really get a head start on making sure we have the right plans for the next multiple set of seasons.
We have an endgame for this show in mind. So, what we do is we plan towards that all the time. What we’ve learned in the show is sometimes you can make one little decision that you don’t think is that important or that meaningful. It’s just a moment you like in the show. Then when you get to 14 episodes from then and you realize, ‘Oh no, I’ve pinned us in by making that decision,’ in a way that forces me to make a decision I don’t want to make. So very early on I learned that lesson of let’s not put ourselves in that position because of the way we play in time. So we map out everything.
If we’re talking about a storyline for our character in season four, we force ourselves to take it through all the way through multiple seasons to make sure we’re not painting ourselves [into a corner]. That’s why we work lots of hours and we kind of work year round to make sure we have time to do that.”
Does the aging of your child actors factor into the stories you tell?
Dan Fogelman: “We keep them all on severe hormones. No, we tried to be mindful when we cast the kids, we cast two sets of kids, right? We cast 16/17-year-olds and 10/11-year-olds. I knew that we weren’t going to make 11 seasons of this television show because that’s never been how it’s built. So by the time we get to the end of our series, our little kids should butt up against where our teenagers started. As long as we’re mindful of that, which shouldn’t be a problem for a while, we’re okay.
What’s really interesting, now our teenage kids are college kids. So we get to enter a period in their lives where they’re transitioning and those are interesting stories to tell. How they went to college and kind of reinvented themselves after their father died. Our little kids who have always been such cute little muppets as adorable kids are entering puberty and adolescence which brings with them a whole string of different stories to tell. So all that is really interesting for us. It’s not problematic yet.”
Is that by default or design?
Dan Fogelman: “Design and not staying past our welcome, because if we did we’d be screwed.”
Heart will be back on the road for the first time since 2016, kicking off their “Love Alive” summer tour on Tuesday, July 9, 2019 in St. Louis, MO, at the Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre. The rockers will put on 39 concerts during the “Love Alive” tour, stopping in cities including Cleveland, Detroit, Indianapolis, Atlanta, Dallas, and Portland. The tour will wrap up on September 9, 2019 in Los Angeles at the Hollywood Bowl.
Ann and Nancy Wilson will be joined on the road by Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, Sheryl Crow, and Brandi Carlile. In addition, Elle King and Lucie Silvas will open select shows.
“‘Love Alive’ is a song and a sentiment that goes back a long way with us. It goes forward too. It is a hopeful, positive and universal vibe like we feel this tour will be,” explained Ann Wilson.
Both Ann and Nancy promise fans will experience something different from the normal Heart concert with the “Love Alive” tour. “It will be unlike any other Heart tour that has been. Some of the songs will be classic of course, but this tour will be a new animal,” teased Ann Wilson.
“I think the tour will spark some positive new energy as we rediscover some of our iconic songs and also some fan favorites,” added Nancy Wilson. “Calling the tour ‘Love Alive’ was something Ann and I felt instantly good about. We have always had many love-themed mottos along the way like ‘Love Rules,’ ‘Love Wins,’ ‘Love is IT’ – and of course it’s a very cool song as well.”
Tickets for the 2019 concert will go on sale Friday, February 15, 2019 at 10am local time via LiveNation.com.
HEART “LOVE ALIVE” 2019 TOUR DATES
Tue 7/9 – St. Louis, MO +& Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
Thu 7/11 – Chicago, IL +& Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
Sun 7/14 – Toronto, ON +# Budweiser Stage
Tue 7/16 – Montreal, QC +# Centre Bell
Wed 7/17 – Mansfield, MA +# Xfinity Center
Sat 7/20 – Hartford, CT +# Xfinity Theatre
Sun 7/21 – Saratoga Springs, NY +& Saratoga Performing Arts Center
Tue 7/23 – Bangor, ME +# Darling’s Waterfront Pavilion
Wed 7/24 – Gilford, NH +# Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion
Fri 7/26 – Darien Center, NY ^# Darien Lake Amphitheater
Sat 7/27 – Cincinnati, OH # Riverbend Music Center
Mon 7/29 – Bethel, NY +# Bethel Woods Center for the Arts
Tue 7/30 – Syracuse, NY +# St. Joseph’s Health Amphitheater at Lakeview
Thu 8/1 – Burgettstown, PA ^# KeyBank Pavilion
Fri 8/2 – Camden, NJ ^# BB&T Pavilion
Sun 8/4 – Cleveland, OH ^# Blossom Music Theater
Mon 8/5 – Detroit, MI ^# DTE Energy Music Pavilion
Wed 8/7 – Indianapolis, IN ^# Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center
Thu 8/8 – Nashville, TN ^# Ascend Amphitheater
Sat 8/10 – Raleigh, NC ^# Coastal Credit Union Music Park
Sun 8/11 – Virginia Beach, VA ^# Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater
Tue 8/13 – Columbia, MD ^# Merriweather Post Pavilion
Wed 8/14 – Charlotte, NC ^# PNC Music Pavilion
Fri 8/16 – West Palm Beach, FL # Coral Sky Amphitheater
Sat 8/17 – Tampa, FL ^# MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheater
Mon 8/19 – Atlanta, GA %# Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
Tue 8/20 – Birmingham, AL %# Oak Mountain Amphitheatre
Thu 8/22 – Houston, TX ^# Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
Fri 8/23 – Dallas, TX # Dos Equis Pavilion
Sun 8/25 – Albuquerque, NM ^# Isleta Amphitheater
Tue 8/27 – Chula Vista, CA ^# North Island Credit Union Amphitheater
Wed 8/28 – Phoenix, AZ ^# Ak-Chin Pavilion
Thu 8/30 – Salt Lake City, UT USANA Amphitheater
Sat 8/31 – Denver, CO ^# Pepsi Center
Tue 9/3 – Portland, OR ^# Sunlight Supply Amphitheater
Wed 9/4 – Tacoma, WA ^# Tacoma Dome
Fri 9/6 – Concord, CA ^# Concord Pavilion
Sun 9/8 – Las Vegas, NV ^ Pearl Concert Theater at Palms Casino Resort
Mon 9/9 – Hollywood, CA ^# Hollywood Bowl
+with Sheryl Crow
^with Joan Jett & the Blackhearts
&Lucie Silvas opening
#Elle King opening
%with Brandi Carlile
Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern, and Shailene Woodley in ‘Big Little Lies’ season 2 (Photo: Jennifer Clasen/HBO)
Big Little Lies won’t return until June on HBO, but there won’t be a TCA between now and June so HBO brought the cast and writer David E. Kelley for a Television Critics Association panel on Friday. They’re still pretty tight lipped about what season two will entail, especially since this is uncharted territory after Liane Moriarty’s book.
Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Shailene Woodley, Zoe Kravitz, Laura Dern and new cast member Meryl Streep joined Kelley on the panel. Get a preview of Big Little Lies season two below and look for it on HBO this summer.
1. The Monterey Five fracture pretty quickly.
Season two picks up right where the season finale left off, after the Monterey Five killed Celeste (Kidman)’s husband, Perry (Alexander Skarsgard). Now they’re all bound together telling the big little lie about how he died. That can’t last.
“When we come back, their lives, like all of our lives, seem very well put together on the surface but then the fissures and the fractures begin to emerge,” Kelley said. “There’s a big fault line that lies under all of it which is the event that happened at Trivia Night last year. Once the crevices start to widen, it escalates pretty quickly.”
Perry was abusive to Celeste, and that kind of trauma doesn’t just go away when he dies.
“We’ve talked about trauma and seen each other’s trauma, but how do we cope with it?” Witherspoon said. “How do we move on?”
Woodley, whose character Jane Chapman came to Monterey escaping abuse herself, related to the continuing PTSD.
“It feels very exciting and good for me to be able to portray a character who has had extreme trauma in her life and who now is able to work on the other end of that trauma,” Woodley said. “What does it look like once this ghost in her closet is gone? How does she cope with that and move forward in a way that’s healthy for herself and her son, while co-existing with women who maybe aren’t in the same boat as her, but moving forward are aligned or committed to standing with one another?”
2. Meryl Streep is Perry’s Mom.
Big Little Lies already had a who’s who of powerhouse female talent. Who could make it more powerful? Only Academy Award winner Meryl Streep. She joins the cast as Perry’s mother coming to investigate what happened to her son.
A clip shows Mary Louise (Streep) ask Madeline (Witherspoon) if she knows anything, but Mary Louise also says she doesn’t think Madeline would tell her the truth. So she’s onto Madeline, but Streep said she loves her daughter-in-law.
“The dynamic between Celeste and me, I do love her,” Streep said. “That’s the only thing I’ll tell you.”
Author Liane Moriarty wrote a new novella to be the basis of the second season. In creating the character of Mary Louise, she was trying to incept David E. Kelley to cast her in the show.
“She was sending a subliminal message to Meryl because she wanted her,” Kidman said. “So she wrote her character as Mary Louise. That was her message to you.”
3. Renata has friends now!
Renata (Laura Dern) was the enemy of all other mothers in Monterey even before she became suspicious of them. Renata had it out for anyone’s kids who weren’t her own. She led the charge against Jane’s son for grabbing her daughter.
After conspiring with the others to cover up Perry’s death, Renata has four BFFs now.
“It’s thrilling for Renata to have any friend,” Dern said. “I want to say how happy I was every day I had other people to talk to.”
Witherspoon marveled in Renata’s enthusiastic attempts to join the Monterey Five.
“It’s really cute to see Dern’s character so happy to have girlfriends,” Witherspoon said. “She wants to hang out and drink wine. She gives a lot of unsolicited advice.”
4. The Greek Chorus is gone.
Season one used the other gossiping parents as a sort of Greek chorus to comment on the proceedings and catch the audience up. Season two doesn’t need them anymore.
“The biggest difference for me with this one is we don’t have the Greek chorus this time,” Kelley said. “Am I allowed to say that? That fell away. That, I think, changes some of the tone of it.”
Kelley explained how he gradually gave up the chorus element by the end of season one.
“We felt last year the Greek chorus wanted to go away a little bit,” Kelley said. “Once the show intensified by show 3 or 4, you kind of wanted to live and breathe in that intensity. We pick up where we left off. Tonally it’s still a mix of comedy and drama, probably more dramatic than comedic this year than last season.”
5. Season 2 is really, really the end. Really.
The cast of Big Little Lies is happy to continue the story, and Kelley felt there was more story to tell. But he doesn’t see any more to tell after the conclusion of this season.
“It’s one and two and we like where our closure is at the end of season 2 so that will probably be it,” Kelley said.
Witherspoon reminded Kelley that he said the same thing about season one, and now they’re making a second.
“There’s no plan for it,” Kidman asserted. “I will say not to compare it to the first one, because artistically it’s a wonderful thing to take something and go okay, let’s jump off the cliff. At the same time it is its own entity and hopefully it will be taken in that way. It was made with an enormous amount of love.”
Sterling K. Brown as Randall Pearson in ‘This Is Us’ Season 3 (Photo by Ron Batzdorff / NBC)
Randall (Sterling K. Brown) was a big winner on election night in season three of NBC’s This Is Us. The city council election might come at a cost to his marriage though. In flash forwards, Randall is alone, and we’ve seen friction between Randall and Beth (Susan Kelechi Watson). For now, Randall is joining Kevin (Justin Hartley) and Kate (Chrissy Metz) in meeting their long lost uncle Nick (Griffin Dunne).
Brown was on the set of This Is Us last week when the Television Critics Association visited to see next week’s episode (episode 13 airing February 19th), featuring Beth’s backstory. Brown answered questions about what’s coming up for Randall. This Is Us airs Tuesday nights at 9pm ET/PT on NBC.
When you do the flash forwards, do you know everything it entails?
Sterling K Brown: “No, I know everything. We know how the show ends. We know what’s happening in the future. It’s kind of hard to play things in the dark. If you’re doing a play or a movie, you get to know the beginning, middle and the end. So if you have the opportunity to do the same thing on a television show, fill me in so we can collectively help craft the arc of the character.”
Nothing has been what it seems, like Jack’s death and Uncle Nicky. Is it safe to say there are some surprises about what that flash forward means?
Sterling K Brown: “Yes. Otherwise, we’d be wasting time.”
Will we go back to them this season?
Sterling K Brown: “Yeah, you will see another flash forward before the season is over.”
Some actors don’t want to know how it ends.
Sterling K Brown: “Yeah, I don’t understand that. No, honestly. To each person their own process. I don’t begrudge but coming from the theater, that’s my background. You read the whole play. It’s not like I’m just going to work on the first 10 pages and then I’m going to see what happens the next 10 pages. I work on the whole thing and that way I see. Collectively we can build that prosperity and presumption and the ruin of it all.”
Does it influence how you perform every week, knowing how it ends?
Sterling K Brown: “No, no, because there’s two different things going on. There’s an overall arc and there’s a specific objective that you’re pursuing in the moment. Sometimes one feeds into the other and sometimes they’re separate and distinct. You can do what you need to do in the moment and still recognize that that feeds into the overall thing.”
How does it feel seeing Beth get her own episode?
Sterling K Brown: “I love that woman. I’m so excited. I’ve seen this episode. She crushes it. Let me make this official without embarrassing her so she can’t hear me or anything like that. I feel like this is officially, or unofficially, I just want to state Susan Kelechi Watson needs to be nominated for Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. She needs it. Not that she needs it. Like, I need it. I need her to be recognized for the tremendous work that she’s putting in.
She’s so dope. To be her husband on screen has been such a joy. It’s so easy. We speak the same language. We went to the same grad school. We have fun with each other and we both recognize it even when it’s difficult. If you’re not having fun, people like to watch people having fun. When you see the actors enjoying themselves, for me as an audience member, I’m like, ‘Oh, these people are having fun. I want to stick around and watch them.’ And I feel like we have that with each other.
She shines in this episode. Phylicia Rashad, I don’t know if you’ve heard of her. There’s a young lady we’re introducing, a young Beth and her name is Rachel Hilson. You guys are going to be like, ‘Casting, they did it again.’ So yeah, I’m really excited for Sue, and Sue can be a tough critic on herself. So I don’t know if she’s actually watched the episode all the way through. I keep saying, ‘Sue, you need to watch the episode.’ She’s like, ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I’m gonna watch it, I’m gonna watch it.’ I think you’ll be tickled pink.”
Did this season feel different given the troubles Beth and Randall have had?
Sterling K Brown: “Well, they’ve had troubles. There have been little bitty tidbits. I think the biggest fight probably was at the bachelorette/bachelor party over how to deal with Deja. She’s out there dancing with old dudes swinging from the sky. I’m trying to take care of our daughter. It’s a problem. But it gets a little bit deeper this season.”
Does that continue the rest of this season?
Sterling K Brown: “Oh yeah. Yeah, yeah.”
People worry with the flash forwards.
Sterling K Brown: “They probably should, with reason. We’ve given them reason to have concern.”
Randall does the right thing even if it’s at the expense of his family. Where does that come from?
Sterling K Brown: “I think Randall’s eagerness to fit in, in particular in this storyline, his alienation from the black community and being able to seize an opportunity like here’s a place where I can be of help, and specifically to a large group of people of color. I think his excitement to be able to be of service to his people is a driving force in his life because there are times in which he sees himself as being a part of, and there are times in which he sees himself as being separate. I think he’s eager to always feel as if he belongs. I think being a councilman, he sees that as a perfect opportunity of belonging.”
Randall was so out of his element running for city council. How out of his element will he be doing the job?
Sterling K Brown: “Good question. It’s a good question. There’s going to be a learning curve and I’m sure he’s going to stumble, but Randall is smarter than me and is able to adapt fairly quickly. He’s not the kind of person who I foresee failing at anything that he pursues of this nature. He’ll take his lumps but Randall, all he does is win, baby. I believe he’s probably going to come out on top.”
Can he fix the community center? Can he achieve his campaign goals?
Sterling K Brown: “I’m going to say yes. I’m going to say yes. I don’t think he’s the kind of person that pays lip service without actually trying to give 110%. The question is what kind of ramifications will that have on his domestic life as well.”
What does Randall think of bringing Nick in?
Sterling K Brown: “So I think in this particular instance, it’s about supporting his brother. He sees in his brother’s heart that he kind of yearns for this connection to the past, to knowing his father. To know your father’s brother is to know your father in a way in which you didn’t know him before. So I think he supports Kev in that journey.
I think for Randall it’s like this man didn’t reach out to us and he’s sort of dealt also with his father. I think that was the big thing for him with his biological father, with William. There’s so much else going on in his life with regards to making sure Deja is well, making sure Tess who is newly out of the closet is being heard and appreciated for who she is as an individual. I think his wife is at a crossroads as well, in terms of what she wants to do with her life. So for Randall, it’s like you do what you’ve gotta do. You take care of him but I gotta go deal with some other things as well.”
Were you a jock like Kevin or a geek like Randall as a kid?
Sterling K Brown: “Yes. No, I went to a school, a college prep school in St. Louis, Missouri similar to what Randall’s school is and was one of the few raisins in the sun, if you will. Not the only but one of a few. But it was a school where the five black dudes in my class, two of us went to Stanford, one MIT, one Yale, one Harvard. It’s not like we ever said, ‘Yeah, we’re going to crush this,’ but we knew that people would be watching us. I think we just decided amongst ourselves that we’re not going to allow any sort of talks of the reason why you’re here is because of blah blah blah blah blah. No, we’re here because we deserve to be here and we can do the work.
So it was a school full of nerds, therefore no one was a nerd and everyone had to do three sports a year so it was a school full of jocks, but no one was a jock. Like, I had half of my football team trying out for West Side Story and my coach was looking at me like, ‘Brown, whatcha’ doing on my team?’ I said, ‘Yo, I just went to go to the play and they asked me to come so I let them come with me.’ So there was no stigma attached to pursuing whatever your interests were. So I was on the Scholar Quiz team and we won state. I was on student government. I was student council president so I was a dork and I was a three year varsity letterman and all that stuff. So yeah, I was all of that.”
Disney’s first TV spot for the 2019 live-action version of Aladdin revealed the first real look at Will Smith as the Genie. The one-minute teaser features new footage from the much-anticipated live-action film, ending with Will Smith‘s Genie emerging from the magic lamp and introducing himself in all his blue glory.
In addition to Will Smith, the cast includes Mena Massoud as Aladdin, Naomi Scott as Jasmine, Marwan Kenzari as Jafar, Navid Negahban as the Sultan, Nasim Pedrad as Dalia, Billy Magnussen as Prince Anders, and Numan Acar as Hakim. Guy Ritchie directed and wrote the script with John August, based on Disney’s classic animated film.
Dan Lin (The LEGO Movie) and Jonathan Eirich (Deathnote) produced, with Marc Platt (La La Land) and Kevin De La Noy (The Dark Knight Rises) executive producing. Alan Menken, who won Oscars for the animated Aladdin’s “A Whole New World” and for the film’s score, wrote the score for the new version which will feature new recordings of the animated classic’s original songs he wrote with Oscar-winning lyricists Howard Ashman (Little Shop of Horrors) and Tim Rice (The Lion King). Menken teamed up with Oscar winners Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (La La Land) on the two new songs written specifically for the live-action film.
The original animated classic opened in theaters 1992 and went on to pick up five Academy Award nominations, winning two. Ron Clements and John Musker co-directed the beloved animated film which featured the voices of Robin Williams as the Genie, Scott Weinger as Aladdin, Linda Larkin as Princess Jasmine, and Gilbert Gottfried as Iago.
Disney will open Aladdin in theaters on May 24, 2019.
The Plot:
A thrilling and vibrant live-action adaptation of Disney’s animated classic, Aladdin is the exciting tale of the charming street rat Aladdin, the courageous and self-determined Princess Jasmine and the Genie who may be the key to their future.
Aladdin (Mena Massoud) meets the larger-than-life blue Genie (Will Smith) in Disney’s live-action adaptation ‘Aladdin’ (Photo Courtesy of Disney)
Disney’s released a brand new trailer for the live-action version of Dumbo, set to hit theaters on March 29, 2019. The latest trailer finds Dumbo high on a pedestal above the roaring crowd. The ringmaster introduces the act and Dumbo soars around the big top, wowing the customers.
Directed by Tim Burton, the new take on the classic orphan elephant tale features a cast that includes Colin Farrell as Holt Farrier, a former circus star who finds himself caring for an elephant who can fly. Danny DeVito plays Max Medeci, the owner of the struggling Medici Bros. Circus who hopes a baby elephant will turn things around. Michael Keaton is V.A. Vandevere, an entrepreneur and proprietor behind a state-of-the-art amusement utopia called Dreamland. Eva Green stars as Colette Marchant, an accomplished aerialist who never dreamed she’d one day be soaring with a flying elephant.
Alan Arkin, Finley Hobbins, Nico Parker, Roshan Seth, Deobia Oparei, Joseph Gatt, and Sharon Rooney also star in the reimagined flying elephant film.
Two-time Oscar nominee Burton (Frankenweenie, The Corpse Bride) directed from a screenplay by Ehren Kruger (Ophelia, Dream House). Justin Springer, Ehren Kruger, Katterli Frauenfelder, and Derek Frey produced, with Nigel Gostelow executive producing.
The Plot:
Circus owner Max Medici (DeVito) enlists former star Holt Farrier (Colin Farrell) and his children Milly (Parker) and Joe (Hobbins) to care for a newborn elephant whose oversized ears make him a laughingstock in an already struggling circus. But when they discover that Dumbo can fly, the circus makes an incredible comeback, attracting persuasive entrepreneur V.A. Vandevere (Keaton), who recruits the peculiar pachyderm for his newest, larger-than-life entertainment venture, Dreamland.
Dumbo soars to new heights alongside a charming and spectacular aerial artist, Colette Marchant (Green), until Holt learns that beneath its shiny veneer, Dreamland is full of dark secrets.
History’s Knights Templar drama Knightfall will kick off its second season on March 25, 2019. Season two starring Tom Cullen (Downton Abbey) will air on Mondays at 10pm ET/PT.
In addition to announcing the season two premiere date, History released the first trailer for the upcoming season. The trailer features new cast member Mark Hamill (the Star Wars franchise) who’s joined the series as Talus. Talus is described as “a battle-hardened Knight Templar veteran and initiate master who is tasked with preparing the next generation of men to proudly wear the iconic red cross on their chests and become ‘God’s Executioners.'”
Season two consists of eight episodes.
Returning cast members include Ed Stoppard (The Crown) as King Philip IV of France, Pádraic Delaney (The Wind That Shakes the Barley) as Gawain, Simon Merrells (Spartacus) as Tancrede, Julian Ovenden (Downton Abbey) as William DeNogaret, and Jim Carter (Downton Abbey) as Pope Boniface VIII. Joining the drama for season two are Genevieve Gaunt (The Royals) as Princess Isabella, Tom Forbes (The Bastard Executioner) as Prince Louis, and Clementine Nicholson (Underworld: Blood Wars) as Margaret, Princess of Burgundy.
Knightfall was created by Don Handfield (Kill the Messenger) and Richard Rayner (L.A. Without A Map). Handfield and Rayner serve as executive producers with Jeremy Renner, Josh Appelbaum, André Nemec, Jeff Pinkner, Scott Rosenberg, Cyrus Voris, Ethan Reiff, Rick Jacobson, Barry Jossen, and Arturo Interian. Executive producer Aaron Helbing (Spartacus: War of the Damned) is the showrunner.
The Season 2 Plot:
Knightfall goes inside the medieval politics and warfare of the Knights Templar, the most powerful, wealthy and mysterious military order of the Middle Ages. The series goes deep into the clandestine world of this legendary brotherhood of warrior monks to learn who these knights were, how they lived, and what they died believing. With the historical and ruthless downfall of the Templar Order on the horizon, season two focuses on themes such as power, redemption, revenge, betrayal, family, and ultimately an epic war between church and state.
