Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) prepares to confront Michael Myers (Jim Courtney) in ‘Halloween’ (Photo Credit: Ryan Green/Universal Pictures)
The original Halloween freaked out horror fans when it opened in theaters on October 27, 1978. Written and directed by John Carpenter (and co-written by Debra Hill), Halloween was made for less than half a million dollars and went on to gross $47 million during its theatrical run. The 1978 horror film was so successful that it launched a series of sequels (mostly forgettable) and made Michael Myers into a horror icon. It’s also credited as being the launchpad for decades of slasher films.
Now, 40 years later, what’s being called a direct sequel to the original film arrives in theaters. Also titled Halloween, although as a sequel Halloween 2 would make much more sense, this 2018 addition to the franchise asks fans to forget every other entry in the series other than the 1978 film. Forget that Laurie Strode (played by Jamie Lee Curtis) had a teenage son (played by Josh Hartnett) in Halloween H20. Forget every time Michael escaped from jails, hospitals, or mental institutions. Forget Halloween II, released in 1981 and also considered a direct sequel as it picked up exactly where the first film left off.
Fortunately, this erasure of all the Halloween films in between 1978 and 2018 means we can forget Halloween III: Season of the Witch ever existed. We can also slap aside any thoughts of Halloween 4 and its introduction of Danielle Harris as Jamie Lloyd, Laurie Strode’s daughter. The already-forgotten Halloween 5 continued Michael Myers’ obsession with Jamie and had the serial killer surviving being shot and falling into a mine before ultimately landing once more in police custody.
Things got truly twisted in Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers which introduced the idea that Michael Myers was being forced into killing one particular family as part of the Curse of Thorn. (That one had a young Paul Rudd playing a key role.) It didn’t make much sense and wasn’t memorable to begin with, so doing away with it isn’t much of a loss. Critics and audiences alike cursed The Curse, and it currently registers a 6% rotten score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Laurie Strode was resurrected from the dead for Halloween H20 to put an end to Michael once and for all by decapitating him. Yeah, right… Toss the events of that film, which featured Michelle Williams in a supporting role, into your mental trash can because, according to Halloween 2018, it does not exist.
Not that it matters per the new Halloween, but Laurie didn’t actually decapitate Michael and had to face him once again in 2002’s Halloween Resurrection.
Perhaps it’s because none of the Halloween sequels left lasting impressions that it’s all right to wipe the slate clean and release a direct sequel to the first film that erases four decades-worth of history between Laurie Strode and Michael Myers. Halloween (the sequel) finds Laurie Strode now a grandmother who lives down an isolated road in a fortified house that would turn any Doomsday Prepper green with envy.
Never far from a firearm, Laurie remains obsessed with Michael Myers. However, as is pointed out in one of the film’s most clever bits of writing, everyone else has moved on from worrying about that mask-wearing freak. After all, he only killed a couple of people – a tally that’s nothing compared to today’s mass shootings or serial killing sprees.
Laurie has spent 40 years preparing for the moment when Michael Myers will escape from prison and seek his revenge. She’s alienated her only child, Karen (Judy Greer), but has a decent although secretive relationship with her granddaughter, Allyson (Andi Matichak).
It’s revealed Karen was taken away by child services after spending her formative years being trained for the inevitable face-off with Michael Myers. It took a psychological toll on Karen and she’s never forgiven her mother. That explains Karen’s justified reaction to her mother’s preparation for the possibility of a slicing-and-dicing Michael on the loose being one of skepticism rather than alarm.
Michael, of course, does break out of prison and once more stalks the streets of Haddonfield on Halloween. (Why anyone thought transferring him to a different prison on that particular holiday was a great idea is never explained.) He more than doubles his original body count before he squares off against the person whose death he’s likely envisioned every single night of his 40 years of incarceration.
The Bottom Line
2018’s Halloween doesn’t hold a candle to the scares provided in the original film. There are surprisingly few jump scares over the course of the nearly two-hour running time. And unlike the first film, there’s not a single supporting player you’ll be sad to see come to a bloody end the way you were when P.J. Soles bit the dust in 1978’s Halloween.
As with most horror films, characters react in the stupidest ways possible. Laurie’s meticulously planned for this inevitability, yet all of the house’s possible safe rooms are quickly forgotten about once Michael is actually on the property.
What made the first Halloween into a horror classic was the unrelenting feeling that Michael could be around any corner, poised and ready to attack. This 2018 sequel doesn’t capture that feeling of both dread and anticipation. As the body count piles up, the shock value diminishes.
Sure, 2018’s Halloween is a better film than Halloween 2 through Halloween 8. But in setting itself up as a direct sequel, this reboot of the franchise only left itself with the 1978 original for comparison purposes. John Carpenter established the franchise with a film that still holds up and is still a Halloween holiday staple. The 2018 sequel, while decent, won’t have the same lasting impact.
There’s a scene in which the police and Michael’s psychiatrist are attempting to get people to take the situation seriously and lock their doors. The psychiatrist says something to the effect that he’s a doctor and everyone needs to go inside their homes. He’s standing with cops, yet he announces he’s a doctor and tells people to go home. Why would people listen to a doctor they don’t know telling them to go home if they’re not going to listen to actual armed law enforcement officers? I’m being nitpicky but there are too many little moments like that in the new Halloween, too many jarring instances that snapped me out of the film.
The little missteps and lack of interesting supporting players could be forgiven if the film was genuinely scary. Unfortunately, it’s not.
GRADE: C
MPAA Rating: R for horror violence and bloody images, language, brief drug use and nudity
The CW’s The Vampire Diaries launched the spinoff The Originals back in 2013. When The Vampire Diaries finished up its eight season run in March 2017, at least fans of the supernatural characters still had The Originals to turn to for vampire shenanigans. And now that The Originals wrapped up its five seasons in August 2018, fans of the franchise will be able to tune into the new spinoff, Legacies.
Legacies follows the adventures of Klaus Mikaelson (Joseph Morgan) and Hayley Marshall’s (Phoebe Tonkin) daughter, Hope (Danielle Rose Russell), as she handles high school life at The Salvatore Boarding School for the Young and Gifted. The Vampire Diaries series regular Matt Davis co-stars, reprising his role as Alaric Saltzman.
The first season’s cast also includes Jenny Boyd as Lizzie Saltzman, Kaylee Bryant as Josie Saltzman, and Quincy Fouse as Milton Greasley / MG. Aria Shahghasemi is Landon Kirby and Peyton Alex Smith plays Rafael Waithe.
Season one episode one is titled “This is the Part Where You Run” and airs on October 25, 2018 at 9pm ET/PT. The episode was directed by Chris Grismer from a script by Julie Plec.
The “This is the Part Where You Run” Plot: SERIES PREMIERE — Under the guidance of headmaster Alaric Saltzman (Davis), the next generation of supernatural beings at The Salvatore Boarding School for the Young and Gifted — including tri-brid Hope Mikaelson (Russell), Alaric’s twins Lizzie (Boyd) and Josie (Bryant), high-energy vampire MG (Fouse), newly-triggered werewolf Rafael (Peyton Alex Smith) and the mysterious Landon (Shahghasemi) — come of age in the most unconventional way possible, nurtured to be their best selves…in spite of their worst impulses.
The official poster’s been unveiled for the dramatic film, Outlaw King, starring Chris Pine. The period drama finds Pine playing Robert the Bruce and marks the reunion of Pine with his Hell or High Water director David Mackenzie.
Mackenzie not only directed the action drama but also wrote the script along with Bash Doran (Boardwalk Empire), James MacInnes, Mark Bomback, and playwright David Harrower. Gillian Berrie and writer/director David Mackenzie served as producers. The behind the scenes team includes director of photography Barry Ackroyd, production designer Don Burt, costume designer Jane Petrie, and editor Jake Roberts.
Outlaw King was shot in Scotland. In addition to Chris Pine (the Star Trek films, Wonder Woman), the cast includes Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Nocturnal Animals), Florence Pugh (Lady Macbeth), Tony Curran (Sons of Anarchy), Stephen Dillane (Game of Thrones), Billy Howle (Dunkirk), James Cosmo (In Darkness), and Sam Spruell (The Bastard Executioner).
Netflix has set a November 9, 2018 release date in limited theaters and on the streaming service. The film had its world premiere as the Opening Night Film at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 6th.
The Outlaw King Plot:
“Outlaw King tells the untold, true story of Robert the Bruce who transforms from defeated nobleman to outlaw hero during the oppressive occupation of medieval Scotland by Edward I of England. Despite grave consequences, Robert seizes the Scottish crown and rallies an impassioned group of men to fight back against the mighty army of the tyrannical King and his volatile son, the Prince of Wales.”
Minka Kelly plays one half of the superhero duo Hawk and Dove on DC Universe’s Titans. The new live-action series debuted on DC Universe’s new streaming service on October 12, 2018 and is based on the popular Teen Titans franchise.
Minka Kelly joined her fellow Titans stars at the 2018 New York Comic Con to discuss the first season of the dark and gritty drama. In our roundtable interview, Kelly talked about getting into the character, Dove’s fighting style, and wearing the wings.
Alan Ritchson mentioned you did a deep dive and read 80 comic books to prepare to play Dove.
Were there any particular storylines or moments that stayed with you or that helped inform the character?
Minka Kelly: “Yeah. We really stayed true to a lot of that, too. In episode 10 is Dawn and Hank, it’s their origin stories. It’s before they’re Hawk and Dove, and you get to see them when they meet. And true to the books, there’s a little resistance from Hank to her becoming Dove because it was her brother. I was so excited. I was like, ‘I read this! This is in the books! I’m so excited!’
That was a really fun episode to do. Akiva Goldsman and Geoff Johns wrote that episode and Akiva directed it. It’s beautiful. Every episode is beautiful. Each one is a little movie.
It’s just been so much fun. I’m so drawn to the world that Akiva and Geoff have been able to create, the balance between making it the most grown-up, real, raw, violent version of a superhero show you’ve ever seen while also still keeping the superhero aspect of it. I think they’ve done such a beautiful job and I feel so lucky to be on board and be able to bring this character to life for the first time.”
Hawk and Dove are a tight unit before the team meets. The Titans are known as a big family, so where do they fit within the family dynamic?
Minka Kelly: “That’s a good question. They do feel a bit isolated a lot of the time. But, there’s a history between Hawk and Dove and Robin. When they were kids they used to fight together. They were a team, so we reunite and find our way again. We flow in and out of the Titans team.”
Minka Kelly as Dove in DC Universe’s ‘Titans.’
Alan was saying the costume was pretty rough on him.
Minka Kelly: (Laughing) “Oh, is it rough on him?”
How is the costume treating you?
Minka Kelly: “His rig of wings, he’s probably got six wings which probably weighs 10 pounds. So, yeah, it’s rough on him.
Mine are about 30 pounds. We have supersuit teams that come in and will lift up and hold the weight of the wings for us. I wear a huge harness underneath my suit that can hold and distribute the weight of the wings, so I can fight with them and use them as my shield.
Yeah, it’s fun though. As soon as you put it on you’re like, ‘Wow, I’m ready to fight!’”
Speaking of those fights, did they give you a different style to learn as Dove?
Minka Kelly: “Yeah. That’s also what’s so great about this show. They’ve given each of us our own particular, specific way of fighting. So, my character’s history is she was a ballerina, she was in jiu-jitsu, and she was a gymnast. Her fights are more that of a dance.
Hawk is a brute and just blows stuff up. And, Robin has his cape and his staff. Everyone has their own specific way to do things, which I think is really cool. But it’s frustrating in the rehearsals because he gets his choreography in 10 minutes. He’s just throwing a bunch of punches. I’m like ducking and diving and dancing and throwing legs, but it’s so much fun.
Our stunt coordinators are incredible, and I have an amazing stunt double. She teaches me how to fight. I insist on doing all of it…it’s mostly her, but I do my part.”
Do you have a favorite fight moment or move?
Minka Kelly: “Yeah, my favorite so far is in episode two when Hawk uses Dove. I love it when we fight together, and he uses me and throws me around.”
Like a figure skater.
Minka Kelly: “Exactly. I think that’s so cool. When they brought that to us and they’re like, ‘This is what we’re going to do,’ I was like, ‘That’s so cool! I can’t believe this is my job!’ It’s so fun. I just thought it looked so cool.”
How was the show originally pitched to you? Did you know how dark it was going to be?
Minka Kelly: “That’s exactly what they said it would be. They said it was going to be different from any other superhero show you’ve seen. It’s going to be more real and more dark and more grounded. I think they’ve stayed pretty true to that.”
Netflix just unveiled a new official trailer for Narcos: Mexico along with the upcoming season’s poster. The two and a half minute trailer, which has a Scarface vibe to it, reveals how season one will be exploring the birth of Mexico’s drug war.
The cast of Narcos: Mexico is led by Michael Peña as Kiki Camarena, “a family man and an undercover DEA agent who garnered valuable intel through a series of informants around Félix and his newly minted Guadalajara cartel, but quickly found himself in c as he realized he had completely underestimated the sophistication of Gallardo’s system.”
Diego Luna plays Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo, “the leader of the Guadalajara cartel, one of the biggest narcos in the history of Mexico and the founder of the modern Mexican drug trade. Quiet but bold, inscrutable but sharp-minded, to all appearances he is a benevolent leader, loyal to his friends, associates, and employees…but his ambition comes before all else.”
This season will also feature Aaron Staton (Mad Men), Alejandro Edda (Fear the Walking Dead), Alfonso Dosal (Hazlo como hombre), Alyssa Diaz (The Rookie), Clark Freeman (We Go On), Ernesto Alterio (Cable Girls), and Fermín Martinez (Lady of Steel).
The cast also includes Fernanda Urrejola (Bala Loca), Gerardo Taracena (Apocalypto), Gorka Lasaosa (Brain Drain), Guillermo Villegas (Sin Nombre), Horacio Garcia Rojas (Texas Rising), Jackie Earle Haley (Watchmen), and Joaquín Cosío (Quantum of Solace).
Netflix is set to premiere Narcos: Mexico on November 16, 2018. The season is executive produced by Eric Newman, José Padilha, Doug Miro, and Carlo Bernard. Newman is the showrunner.
The Narcos: Mexico Plot:
“Shifting away from Colombia, where Narcos spent three seasons, Narcos: Mexico will explore the origins of the modern drug war by going back to its roots, beginning at a time when the Mexican trafficking world was a loose and disorganized confederation of independent growers and dealers. Witness the rise of the Guadalajara Cartel in the 1980s as Félix Gallardo (Luna) takes the helm, unifying traffickers in order to build an empire.
When DEA agent Kiki Camarena (Peña) moves his wife and young son from California to Guadalajara to take on a new post, he quickly learns that his assignment will be more challenging than he ever could have imagined. As Kiki garners intelligence on Félix and becomes more entangled in his mission, a tragic chain of events unfold, affecting the drug trade and the war against it for years to come.”
Diego Luna in Netflix’s ‘Narcos: Mexico.’A scene from Netflix’s ‘Narcos: Mexico.’Netflix’s ‘Narcos: Mexico.’
A scene from the Hinterkaifeck: Ghosts in the Attic episode of ‘Lore’ season 2 (Photo by Julie Vrabelova / Amazon)
Amazon Prime Video’s ready to give you nightmares once again with the release of season two of the creepy anthology series, Lore. Both season one and season two run six episodes, perfect for a night of binge-watching, and are inspired by stories from Aaron Mahnke’s podcast as well as new tales not currently available via the podcast.
In support of Lore‘s second season which premieres on October 19, 2018, I spoke with executive producer/showrunner Sean Crouch about what fans of the spooky series (and podcast) can expect from the six new episodes. During our interview, Crouch described the process used in selecting which stories made it into the series second season. He also talked about his personal favorites as well as changes made to the way each episode plays out in the new season.
Crouch was also an executive producer on season two of The Exorcist. Fox canceled the series after its second season, however fans haven’t given up hope the show will be resurrected on a different network or streaming service. Crouch confirmed he’s remained determined to find a way to make a third season of The Exorcist.
Which of the stories from the first season of Lore really got under your skin? Which one couldn’t you shake for a while after watching it?
Sean Crouch: “So, season one it was the lobotomy episode. I liked the style of it where it felt almost like one story without too many diversionary paths off of it. Which is why we sort of moved season two in that direction where it’s just one story that’s based on part of one of his podcasts.”
The lobotomy episode is the one that I can still remember the last scene of the guy on the floor looking at all the thank you notes. They’re all obviously written by mentally deranged, brain-damaged people because he damaged their brains. Just the idea of those things going up the nose and digging out that part of our brain…that to me is horror. It’s that David Cronenberg body horror that really bothers me. It probably bothers me more than any other type of horror.”
And from season two, which one were you most affected by?
Sean Crouch: “Season two is ‘Hinterkaifeck: Ghosts in the Attic.’ It’s the one that gets me because it’s six real people that lived less than 100 years ago that were all massacred. And, they’ve never had someone to speak for them. They haven’t had justice.
To me, it’s three different things. Part one, it’s a dysfunctional family. Part two, it’s a day in the life of Michael Myers from Halloween walking around killing everybody. But then part three is the part that I cry at. I actually get…still, even though I’ve seen it a thousand times…I still cry at the funeral when the cop walks away knowing that there’s never going to be justice for these two children and these four adults that were killed. That one still lives with me. It still really bothers me. It really bugs me that there was no justice. I think it’s pretty clear who the killer is, too, so it really bothers me that they never sort of named him.”
It’s really interesting that each of these stories in Lore could be expanded into a feature film. How difficult is it to get all that storytelling into one segment?
Sean Crouch: “That’s a great question because that is probably our biggest problem. I mean, look at ‘Hinterkaifeck.’ I wrote a feature based on it six years ago that was 130 pages. And, our script was probably 40-45 for this. That’s definitely the toughest part of, especially coming from the podcast where he has as much time as he wants and he’s able to tell all these really, really fascinating, really cool stories and go off on all these diversionary paths to say A leads to B leads to C. Where all we had time to do, at least coming into season two because of what I wanted to do, is we have time for a Twilight Zone episode. We have 30 minutes. Some of these are up to 50 minutes, but we have very little time to tell our Black Mirror episode.
Thank god, I think I have the best writers on the planet, these five other writers on the show – and the producers – who really knew how to boil down that ton of information to a really tight 35-minute storytelling process.”
Does it help that you’re working with Amazon instead of a network that will make sure you hit that 45-minute mark?
Sean Crouch: (Laughing) “42 minutes and 34 seconds. That’s the time frame. I’ve lived with that time frame for 20 years almost until this year. I love doing it because we first started out really trying to make a Twilight Zone episode, meaning 25-30 minutes. But, with Amazon it was great. Some of our episodes are 30 minutes and some of them are almost an hour.
It’s funny. I think we’re just all so brainwashed by that 42:34 that we still kind of hit it a lot of times. I think people are always like, ‘Yeah, the sweet spot is 40 to 45 minutes.’ I heard that many, many times from a lot of different people. I think it’s just going to have to be another generation that grows up and moves us away from that weird commercial timing that we’re all stuck with right now.”
Not only are you changing things up by not using narration in season two, it seems to me this second season is a more impressive production overall. What else shifted behind the scenes to make it a bigger production?
Sean Crouch: “Amazon is amazing. They’re fantastic executives who know what they’re doing. They love the show. It’s one of their crown jewels, especially in the unscripted department. They knew that they wanted to spend more money, so they’ve given us a much bigger budget in season two. When they hired me, they gave us a much bigger budget and said, ‘Go make six movies. Even if they’re only 40 minutes, go make six mini-movies. We’ll send you to Prague.’
We got great production value in Prague. But, they spent the money. They invested in quality…I hope. I hope people like it. I think it’s quality, but I’m obviously biased. But even if you don’t like my writing, it looks fantastic. Christoph Schrewe and Alice Troughton directed. The directing is fantastic, the DP. Even if you hate my writing, you can still realize that it looks great.”
I enjoyed the first season, but the second season drew me in more. The first season’s narration sometimes drew my attention away from the main story. When did the idea of ditching the narration come into play for season two?
Sean Crouch: “It was the day they hired me, basically, or the day they brought me in to pitch what my idea would be for season two. I’m a horror fan but I’m also a romantic comedy fan and a romance fan. I don’t ever want to be taken out of the emotion of a piece, whether it’s horror or romance. And season one is fantastic, but it’s a beautiful History Channel-type show. It’s great, but I was able to watch it with my kids and we were able to talk about it and learn something from it. It’s a great show, but I came in wanting to do Twilight Zone, wanting to do Black Mirror, where we just take a little piece and tell that story.
I don’t ever want the audience to be let off the hook. I want there to be constant tension. You don’t know when something’s going to happen. I think it’s what makes horror great is when you can keep people in tenterhooks the whole time.”
Right. You don’t give us very much room to breathe in the second season.
Sean Crouch: “Good. Honestly, that’s my number one goal. I wanted to come in and make a really scary show that I couldn’t watch with my children.”
And you succeeded.
Sean Crouch: “Thank you.”
With so many podcast episodes, how do you choose which ones make it to the screen in Lore?
Sean Crouch: “We hired four writers and I said, ‘Come in with two of your favorite podcasts,’ which was hard but I wanted everyone to pick two they’d be passionate about. And then a new story, too. ‘Find a story that could fit within the purview of what Aaron could do but he hasn’t done yet.’
Like I said, I have the best writers in the world so I asked for two and they bring in 20, which is a lot. So, we started with 40 or 50 on the board. That’s all we did on day one. And then we narrowed it down, narrowed it down until we had 15 that we were passionate about. And then we were just arguing with each other, which is what a writers room is basically is. It’s a bunch of idiots arguing with each other.
Then I took it to Amazon and to Gale Anne Hurd and to Brett-Patrick Jenkins at Propagate and let them decide which six we should do from there. That’s how we narrowed it down at that point. That’s why you have great producers and great executives. They can basically break up the cage match of the writers room.”
So, you basically already have a third season laid out from the ones you didn’t use for season two?
Sean Crouch: “Exactly. And not only that but we have 30 new ones that we’ve all been listening to to choose from. So, yeah, we have the nine rejected ones. I’m sure some of those will come back to life because we’re a horror show and we love zombies. And then we’ll have a whole bunch of new ones. Hopefully there is a season three. (Laughing) But I like the way you think.”
Among the ones the writers were pushing to use, were there any you figured out were simply not filmable?
Sean Crouch: “Yes. We had a few of those. We really were trying to figure out how to do the Pied Piper. That’s a really interesting story. That could be historically that he was recruiting for the Children’s Crusade when the kids went. They sent kids over in the fourth crusade and the kids went to the Holy Land.
There’s so many different stories there. But, one, we just didn’t know how to do it. Two, it’s really hard to shoot with children. And three, we didn’t know how to do it. I know I said that was one. What’s the simple story there? That was the main thing. The difference between the podcast and the show is like Elizabeth Báthory, it’s the last day and the last victim. It’s her last day on earth. What is that like? What’s that story? Pied Piper, I didn’t know what that was, what the simple story was. It’s a cool epic story; I didn’t know what the simple, human story that you have to actually connect with and feel at the end of the day was.”
You’d have to take a much longer time to tell that story to have it make sense.
Sean Crouch: “I think so. But maybe someone… Again, I’m the dumbest person in the room so maybe one of the other writers will come up with the answer, if there’s a season three. And then I’ll take all the credit because that’s what my job is.”
How involved is Aaron Mahnke in the series at this point? Does he provide input on each episode or what is his role?
Sean Crouch: “He actually came in for the first week. So, way back in January, our very first week, he came in and it was an amazing experience to have a week with him. He’s probably the number one podcast person in the world, or right up there. And to have him in there where we could say, ‘Let’s talk about the Pied Piper,’ and then we just look at him and we’d basically get a little mini podcast for 20 minutes as he talked about the Pied Piper. He talked about Hinterkaifeck. He helped us choose what we were going to do. He was integral to that process and then all along the way.
He’s in one of our episodes. He’s in ‘Mary Webster’ which is ‘Half-Hanged Mary,’ one of his podcasts. He’s in the episode; you can find him. His name is Goodman Caster, as in podcaster – which is a little Easter egg. But, yeah, he’s been helpful all along. I talked to him, I know the producers talk to him once I week. I talk to him probably every other week. He loves the show. He’s a big fan and he’s been a huge help with the transition, too, from one to two. It’s a very different show. He’s been very supportive, thank goodness.”
A scene from the Elizabeth Bathory: Mirror, Mirror episode of ‘Lore’ season 2 (Photo by Julie Vrabelova / Amazon)
Did he campaign for any particular episode?
Sean Crouch: “One of his podcasts was ‘All the Lovely Ladies’ which was Elizabeth Báthory. That was one that we knew from day one that we were going to do. He wanted it; we wanted it. I think ‘Hinterkaifeck’ is another one of those that I had in the back of my head. I’ve had it there for five years, and he came in and said he really wanted to do that. So, that one too. And then ‘Half-Hanged Mary,’ the ‘Mary Webster’ episode. He loved it and he wanted to be in that one because that one means so much to him. I think because he grew up and he lives within driving distance of Salem, Massachusetts, so it’s in his DNA.”
I have to ask a few questions about The Exorcist because I’m a big fan of that series and did episode recaps. Are you guys still shopping that around or is it totally dead at this point?
Sean Crouch: “Jeremy (Slater) and I will never let that go. We just won’t. We love it. I mean, Ben and Alfonso… The thing is, I love them so much I call them by their character names and by their real names interchangeably. Father Marcus, Father Tomas, Ben (Daniels) and Alfonso (Herrera), they are the brothers…I have three brothers…they are the brothers I’ve always wanted to write. And John Cho, I’m looking at him right now on my bookshelf. I have a picture with my family, my parents and everything, and there’s also a picture of – it’s like the last scene in episode 10 there’s a picture of Andy and his five kids and mom, Alicia Witt. I have that up on my bookshelf as well.
They feel like family to me. That’s why I love that show. It was a family show that happened to have a demon in it. It had these two amazing priests. I wanted to be a priest growing up so I got to write the priest that I wanted to be, not a lot of what is happening in the Catholic Church now but sort of the fantasy priest.
But long answer long, yes, we will never let that go. Hopefully there’s a place for it. Hopefully if I can get some traction or power somewhere along the way, maybe we can get a season three back. It might be a few years away.”
Maybe Amazon?
Sean Crouch: “I know. Amazon would be perfect for it.”
I really loved that series. The writing was so sharp.
“Jeremy is an amazing writer. He’s such a great writer. So, yes, his writing’s fantastic.
Thank you for talking about Exorcist. It’s one of my huge passions. We loved it. You know, when Andy Kim got killed on the show – spoilers! – we lost Andy but then the show wrapped and so I felt like I lost Andy and John Cho. I felt like I lost these actors and the characters. It was like a double loss for me. It’s really tough. Such a great show, such a great cast, such great writing. All around it was one of those perfect moments in time where everything comes together and you get greatness and then like, you know, four people watched it.”
It had a really passionate fan base.
Sean Crouch: “The best fan base in the world. That’s why it had a season two, because of the fans. Only because of the fans. Friday night at 9, I just wish we could get more than a million. If we would have gotten two million we’d be in season three right now.”
I wish you luck in bringing it back to life.
Sean Crouch: “We will work on it. We will never let that go. I promise.”
* * * * * *
Amazon Prime Video’s Lore season one is currently streaming to subscribers. Season two will be available beginning October 19, 2018.
If you’ve caught the new CW show All American, we have some shocking news for you. Star Daniel Ezra is not American. He is British. Ezra plays Spencer James, a South Central football player recruited to play for a Beverly Hills high school. The real Spencer Paysinger is a consulting producer on All American.
Daniel Ezra spoke with reporters, in his British accent, after a Television Critics Association panel for All American over the summer. All American airs Wednesday nights at 9pm ET/PT on The CW.
How did you become an All American when you’re British?
Daniel Ezra: “No one’s more aware of the fact that I’m not American than I am. It just makes me work harder. It may be doing things like staying in the accent, carrying footballs around, spending as much time as I could in South Central L.A. and just trying to go above and beyond to make it as authentic as possible.”
Is this one of the hardest things you’ve had to do as an actor?
Daniel Ezra: “Yeah, I mean, theater is a different beast. I’m talking about Shakespeare. This is definitely up there, probably the most demanding job. Again, I’ve been blessed to have incredibly choice roles. I played a young autistic teenager which again required tons of research and tons of effort to get it right and be sensitive to the material. This has been extremely demanding but in the most fun and enjoyable ways.”
Was it a lot of time on the field at football games?
Daniel Ezra: “Yeah, I came out early for the pilot. We trained pretty much every day, myself, Michael [Evans Behling], Cody [Christian], and then I’m on a pretty strict diet and fitness program as well. My dad is a fitness coach so that was a slightly easier thing to do because obviously I know how to do that. For the pilot, I was waking up at 4am to get in the gym before we went to set.”
Does every Brit learn an American accent because they’ll need it one day?
Daniel Ezra: “The thing about the UK is our industry is a lot smaller than here. It’s usually in an actor’s best interest to at least know a passable American accent by a certain stage. The most common route for younger actors in the UK is acting school. Most acting schools have a term for a semester where they devote to the American classics. That’s where you learn American accents.”
Growing up, when did you decide you wanted to be an actor?
Daniel Ezra: “Quite late. It was actually 18. A drama teacher – I was in basketball and soccer – put me on stage very reluctantly and it was the most fun I’ve had in school, so I decided to take drama. I met an actor. He mentioned I should think about taking this seriously, and two years later I moved to London and spent three years at theater school.”
Do you find a parallel between sports and acting?
Daniel Ezra: “The entertainment industry and sports industry are synonymous in a way. Especially the way for kids wanting to get into them, they’re both extremely hard. There’s only kind of room for 0.1%. So, I know intimately what it is to be a kid with a very unrealistic dream in the same way Spencer is dreaming to get into the NFL. And to have all that background noise of people saying you need to have a backup. You need to have a fallback, you need to have this. Just being able to power through that.”
What was your fallback?
Daniel Ezra: “I didn’t have one. I was sort of on my way towards physical therapy and following my father into fitness. Once the acting and Shakespearean acting hit, that was it.”
How are your football skills now?
Daniel Ezra: “They’re okay. I’ve got to say, for me personally, the real stars of the show are the guys at Game Changing Films. They designed all the plays and they provided all the football plays. Those guys are incredible. They’re not just football players. They bring characters and emotions and stuff. I have an unbelievable stunt double by the name of Noel who we work sort of half and half and do the plays. We make the best out of it.”
Is it choreography as well?
Daniel Ezra: “Yes. We design it and me, Mike, and Cody meet usually before we shoot. We figure out what the play is and sometimes we get it right and come to set and go, ‘This is what happens and this is where you take the hit. This is the camera angle.’ Everyone wants the football to be as accurate as we possibly can, so we spend a lot of time in the field.”
Were there any accidental injuries?
Daniel Ezra: “Those guys are amazing. They’re super professional. They’re super patient with me. If I make a mistake, if I’ve got the inside leg where I’m supposed to have the outside leg, they’ll come and say, ‘Hey.’ They keep me very safe.”
Daniel Ezra: “He loves it. Again, as a fitness coach, as well as I have to take my top off a lot in this show, so I can’t embarrass him.”
Is it a great way of marrying your two worlds?
Daniel Ezra: “Absolutely. He loves the sports element. He enjoys sports as well. Again, he’s British so it’s not American football but he likes seing me play something that’s dynamic and with sport and fitness. Fitness is obviously an element to the show, so he loves that.”
Would you pick American football over soccer?
Daniel Ezra: “Ooh, that’s a good question. I don’t want to get in trouble with any of my British friends but I’m starting to fall in love with American football. Spencer promised me he’s going to take me to a game pretty soon when the season starts. I’ll have a new appreciation for it. We haven’t been sucked in just yet. Ask me at the end of the season.”
Did you have a specific training regimen?
Daniel Ezra: “Yes, so the pilot happened very fast. I only had like two weeks. When we got the show, I went into my own regimen. It’s usually 4am start. I’ll eat, I’m vegan actually, so it’s very low carb, high protein diet. A lot of weight training. We have an amazing trainer called Scott Benson who just sort of gets me and Mike ready. Monday through Friday, we train with Scott. Saturday, I rest. Sunday is my own weight training and then back to it on Monday.”
What do you use for protein?
Daniel Ezra: “At the moment out here I’m using a vegan sport blend which is a blend of protein, hemp seeds. Other than that, a lot of nuts, a lot of vegetables, seeds, legumes. I mean, L.A. is the easiest place to be vegan. There’s just vegan restaurants and places everywhere.”
What did you ask Spencer about his life?
Daniel Ezra: “I wanted to understand the relationship with his mom. That’s a big part of the show, and his little brother. So what family life was generally like, just because you want to be able to feel comfortable and natural. It’s a lot of day-to-day home life, the ins and outs of navigating Crenshaw and South Central L.A. especially during that time. How close he came to those dark elements of that world and how he sort of maneuvered that and things like this. It’s a lot of those kinds of questions.”
How much time did you spend in South Central?
Daniel Ezra: “As much time as I could. There’s such a unique vibe and energy to South Central L.A. For me, it’s not enough just to get that accent. You want to be able to joke and laugh and understand the slang and the lingo and the energy that they carry and stuff. I spend as much time as I can. 90% of the hair and makeup team were from South Central L.A.”
Did it scare you at all?
Daniel Ezra: “I know those kinds of neighborhoods. We have them back home so no, not scary. For me, I only saw the beauty in it. I understand there’s issues with those neighborhoods. That’s obviously a bigger question. For me it was just a beautiful thing to see. There’s a real sense of community there, which I love.”
Kimrie Lewis, Leighton Meester, Jake Choi, Taran Killam, and Brad Garrett star in ‘Single Parents’ (ABC / F. Scott Schafer)
ABC’s apparently pleased with the ratings the new half-hour comedy Single Parents has generated. The network just announced they’ve upped the order for the show’s first season, granting the series a full season order.
Single Parents debuted on September 26, 2018 and currently airs in the Wednesdays at 9:30pm ET/PT timeslot, immediately after Modern Family. The comedy series is ranked #2 among all new comedies in adults viewers between the ages of 18 and 49. (The Conners is currently ranked #1.) The half-hour comedy has been averaging 5.6 million viewers over its first three episodes.
The cast of season one includes Taran Killam as Will Cooper, Leighton Meester as Angie D’Amato, Kimrie Lewis as Poppy Banks, Jake Choi as Miggy Park, Marlow Barkley as Sophie Cooper, Tyler Wladis as Graham D’Amato, Devin Trey Campbell as Rory Banks, Mia Allan as Emma Fogerty, Ella Allan as Amy Fogerty and Brad Garrett as Douglas Fogerty.
Single Parents was created by JJ Philbin and Elizabeth Meriwether. Philbin and Meriwether serve as executive producers along with Katherine Pope, Erin O’Malley and Jason Winer.
The Single Parents Plot:
“This ensemble comedy follows a group of single parents as they lean on each other to help raise their 7-year-old kids and maintain some kind of personal lives outside of parenthood. The series begins when the group meets Will Cooper, a 30-something guy who’s been so focused on raising his daughter that he’s lost sight of who he is as a man. When the other single parents see just how far down the rabbit hole of PTA, parenting and princesses Will has gone, they band together to get him out in the world and make him realize that being a great parent doesn’t mean sacrificing everything about your own identity.”
MTV’s groundbreaking reality series The Real World is returning with three new seasons. MTV Studios is teaming up with Facebook Watch on the upcoming new seasons of the series, and they’re targeting a spring 2019 premiere via the new platform.
The new seasons will be set in Mexico, Thailand, and the United States. Pre-production is currently underway in each of the locations.
Details on the collaboration between MTV, Facebook Watch, and The Real World were unveiled during the MIPCOM 2018 Facebook Watch presentation. The new seasons will be co-produced by series creators Bunim/Murray Productions and MTV Studios.
“MTV’s The Real World helped to define a generation and created a new genre of television with a simple yet powerful idea of connecting people from wildly divergent backgrounds to find common ground on the issues that often divided them,” stated Chris McCarthy, President of MTV. “By partnering with Facebook Watch and BMP, we have the opportunity to impact culture and create a new genre of television all over again, while engaging the next generation of content consumers around the world.”
The three The Real World seasons will “introduce interactive social and community features that empower fans to shape the action and connect across mobile, desktop and Facebook’s TV app,” per MTV.
Additional details on the show’s Facebook Watch integration were also announced during the presentation:
“The social conversation on Facebook Watch will power the audience experience in the new seasons of MTV’s The Real World. The Facebook community will have the ability to vote one housemate onto the show prior to air, and there will be unique opportunities for fans to connect with the cast through Facebook Live, Premieres, and Watch Party. Facebook Watch will also release daily drops of scenes from forthcoming episodes leading into the weekly half-hour premiere. Additional social elements will be introduced prior to launch and throughout the seasons.”
DC Universe’s Titans star Ryan Potter has more in common with his character Beast Boy than you’d think. During our interview at the New York Comic Con, Potter explained how Teen Titans, and Beast Boy in particular, played an important role in his life after he came to America from Japan.
DC Universe’s first season of Titans premiered on October 12, 2018. In addition to Potter as Gar Logan/Beast Boy, the cast includes Brenton Thwaites as Dick Grayson/Robin, Anna Diop as Kory Anders/Starfire, Teagan Croft as Rachel Roth/Raven, Minka Kelly as Dawn Granger/Dove, and Alan Ritchson as Hank Hall/Hawk.
Beast Boy is such a fan favorite character. Were you already a fan or did you dive deep into the comics?
Ryan Potter: “I was. When I moved from Japan to America, Teen Titans was actually the first animated series that I not found relatable but was similar in style – the animation style – to what I watched back home. Teen Titans was really the first animated show I fell in love with. Beast Boy in particular, the way he assimilates to humanity because he’s green, because he’s in exile or a reject or whatever you want to say, his use of pop culture and I guess pop culture knowledge to integrate into humanity and to make friends, I used that as a model to when I didn’t speak English. Like, when my English was rough I used pop culture and toys and music and movies to be able to relate to other kids at school.
Yeah, I mean it’s a full circle, man. Beast Boy’s been a part of my life since I was seven. So, yeah.”
What was it like then to suddenly become Beast Boy and get that role?
Ryan Potter: “It’s frickin’ bizarre. I feel like I’m dreaming. This doesn’t feel real at all. It’s fun but it’s also a bummer sometimes because you almost want to be the animal. Like, you want to tell yourself, ‘Yeah, I’m Beast Boy. Cool, yeah.’ And then you go and they’re like, ‘Okay, so we’re doing the tiger transformation.’ You’re like, ‘I can’t actually do that. So, CGI please.’”
What do you think about the CGI tiger?
Ryan Potter: “To be 100% honest, when I first saw it I was little disappointed. But since then they’ve done multiple passes and I’m really happy with how it’s looking, especially for a first episode of a first season.
Whenever you watch television…I think viewers are becoming smarter. The production value of everything just increases over time and to have the tiger look the way it does straight off the bat, I think it’s a testament to how much effort they’re trying to put into the series and especially attention to detail. They could have just focused on Robin and the suit, but they took the time in making sure the green of the tiger was right. The transformation of the tiger looks anatomically correct. The amount of work they put into it is wild.”
Ryan Potter stars as Beast Boy in ‘Titans’ (Photo Courtesy of DC Universe)
It’s a very dark show but Beast Boy often has lent humor to it. Is that going to happen throughout Titans?
Ryan Potter: “It will be. I think the only way that Beast Boy is grounded in this series is I guess the physical comedy that was a fan favorite in the Teen Titans animated series, there’s only so much I can do. I can’t physically turn into a cat and make a cat face to react to something. So, a lot of the humor is just Beast Boy’s genuine heart in contrast to how dark the world is.
Episode one you see me very briefly. Episode three I start to integrate in. People will see how every character is introduced and the relationships between each one. It’s a slow burn but watching it it’s worth it because you’re waiting for these characters to show up on screen. You’re like, ‘I’m liking everything so far so where’s my favorite character?’ Throughout the series there are more and more characters introduced. So, yeah, I can’t wait for everyone to see Beast Boy.”
Which episode are you most excited for fans to see?
Ryan Potter: “I am a huge fan of John Fawcett and he directed “The Doom Patrol” episode. That episode to me is closer to the tone of the Teen Titans that everybody knows. It’s a little bit more humorous but still there is the grounded dark reality of everything. But, it is a little more vibrant and colorful. The characters are quirky and you’re meeting these family members. That is by far my favorite episode simply because I’m in it. No! (Laughing) But in all seriousness, I think it’s the first time we get to see the Titans kind of in action.”
When you were researching the comics did you wind up with any favorite Beast Boy stories that stuck out in your mind?
Ryan Potter: “I actually made this hat. When the Titans go camping, Gar makes shirts and hats for everybody. Starfire wears it unbeknownst to what it says and the arrow and all that. That is Beast Boy. He’s just trying to make people smile and laugh the entire time. There’s a level of narcissism that Beast Boy has that I try and maintain. Beast Boy was an actor. He had a short-lived acting career that not many people know about.” (The video shows Potter putting on the hat Gar made for the camping outing.)
