The first photo from ‘Humans’ season 3 (Photo Credit: Colin Hutton / Kudos / Wild Mercury / Channel4 / AMC)
AMC just announced the third season of the critically acclaimed drama Humans will premiere on Tuesday, June 5, 2018 at 10pm ET/PT. The premiere date announcement was accompanied by the first official photo from the upcoming third season.
Humans is based on Lars Lundstrom’s award-winning Swedish sci-fi drama, Real Humans (Äkta människor). Lundstrom picked up the Best Screenwriter award for Real Humans at the Seoul International Drama Awards in 2013. AMC’s English-language version has been nominated for three BAFTA Awards as well as a Satellite Award.
Season three of Humans stars Mark Bonnar (Catastrophe, Apple Tree Yard), Gemma Chan (Captain Marvel, Crazy Rich Asians), Katherine Parkinson (The Honorable Woman, The IT Crowd), Tom Goodman-Hill (Mr. Selfridge, The Imitation Game), Emily Berrington (24: Live Another Day, The Inbetweeners 2), Colin Morgan (Merlin, The Fall), Ivanno Jeremiah (Black Mirror, Doctor Who), and Ruth Bradley (Grabbers, Pursuit).
Sam Vincent and Jonathan Brackley developed the series and serve as writers and executive producers. Derek Wax, Emma Kingsman-Lloyd, Lars Lundstrom and Henrik Widman also executive produce. Season three writers include Debbie O’Malley, Namsi Khan, Jonathan Harbottle, Melissa Iqbal, and Daisy Coula.
Season three will consist of eight new episodes.
The Plot:Humans provides a thrilling look at the evolution of technology and its effect on society; timely and relevant, the new season unfolds on a bigger scale than ever before. The third season is set in a parallel present and explores what happens when the lines between humans and machines are blurred.
One year after the dawn of consciousness, a decimated and oppressed Synth population fights to survive in a world that hates and fears them. In a divided Britain, Synths and humans struggle to broker an uneasy peace, but when fractures within the Synth community start to appear, all hope of stability is threatened.
Set against the maelstrom of political chaos, the ethical complexities of the dawn of a new species play out across a thrilling multi-stranded narrative. As the Synth family, Mia (Chan), Niska (Berrington) and Max (Jeremiah) continue to battle for their right to survival, Joe (Goodman-Hill) Laura (Parkinson) and their children Mattie (Lucy Carless), Toby (Theo Stevenson) and Sophie (Pixie Davies) struggle to come to terms with the cataclysmic events of last season.
Roxanne McKee, Daniel MacPherson, Trevor Eve, and Warren Brown in ‘Strike Back’ season 5 (Photo by Liam Daniel / Cinemax)
Cinemax just made Strike Back fans extremely happy. The network confirmed the popular action series has been renewed for a sixth season. The announcement came a little over a week out from the season five finale set for April 6, 2018.
Season five is airing on Fridays at 10pm ET/PT. Cinemax hasn’t announced when fans can expect a sixth season to air.
“The rebirth of Strike Back has reestablished Cinemax as a destination for adrenalized, entertaining action series,” stated Kary Antholis, President of HBO Miniseries and Cinemax Programming. “We are delighted to offer Section 20 the opportunity to continue saving the world from mayhem and destruction.”
The cast of season five includes Warren Brown, Daniel MacPherson, Roxanne McKee, Alin Sumarwata, Nina Sosanya, Don Hany, Trevor Eve, and Katherine Kelly. Strike Back is produced by Bill Shepherd and Nuala O’Leary, with Andy Harries, Sharon Hughff, Jack Lothian and MJ Bassett executive producing.
The Season 5 Plot: When fanatical terrorist Omair Idrisi escapes from Syrian authorities with plans to launch an unprecedented attack that could change the face of modern warfare, the ensuing manhunt can only be entrusted to counterterrorism’s best and brightest. Enter Section 20 — the elite, multinational, covert special ops team tasked with tracking down Idrisi and his British co-conspirator wife, Jane Lowry.
Their action-packed manhunt will take the unit across North Africa, the Middle East and Europe, from glitterati soirees to underworld cage fights, as they uncover and attempt to dismantle a vast global web of interconnected criminal and terrorist activity.
Season 5 Finale Details: With stakes at an all-time high, Section 20 heads to a remote island to retrieve a top-secret file coveted by both Ives (Trevor Eve) and the Russians. The episode was written by Jack Lothian and was directed by MJ Basse.
Jack Black returns to the “based on a popular book with weird creatures” subgenre with a starring role in The House with a Clock in Its Walls. Universal Pictures just released a new full trailer and colorful movie poster for the fantasy adventure film set in an old house with…you guessed it…a clock in its walls.
Eli Roth takes his first crack at a family-friendly film, directing from a script by Eric Kripke (creator of Supernatural). Director Roth is best known for R-rated horror fare including Cabin Fever, Hostel, The Green Inferno, and Knock Knock.
Kripke adapted John Bellairs’ bestselling children’s classic with William Sherak, Tracey Nyberg, Laeta Kalogridis, and Mark McNair executive producing. Kripke and Mythology Entertainment’s Brad Fischer (Shutter Island) and James Vanderbilt (Zodiac) served as producers.
In addition to Jack Black (Goosebumps, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle), the cast includes Cate Blanchett (Thor: Ragnarok), Owen Vaccaro (Daddy’s Home 2), Kyle MacLachlan (Twin Peaks), Colleen Camp (The Truth About Lies), Renée Elise Goldsberry (Altered Carbon), Vanessa Anne Williams (Feed the Beast), Lorenza Izzo, and Sunny Suljic (The Killing of a Sacred Deer).
Universal Pictures is targeting a September 21, 2018 theatrical release of The House with a Clock in Its Walls.
The Plot: In the tradition of Amblin classics where fantastical events occur in the most unexpected places, Jack Black and two-time Academy Award winner Cate Blanchett star in The House with a Clock in Its Walls from Amblin Entertainment. The magical adventure tells the spine-tingling tale of 10-year-old Lewis (Owen Vaccaro) who goes to live with his uncle in a creaky old house with a mysterious tick-tocking heart. But his new town’s sleepy façade jolts to life with a secret world of warlocks and witches when Lewis accidentally awakens the dead.
New poster for Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment’s ‘The House with a Clock in Its Walls.’
Tobias Menzies as James Fitzjames and Ciarán Hinds as John Franklin in ‘The Terror’ (Photo Credit: AMC)
“As a trusted friend once put it, this place wants us dead,” says Captain Francis Crozier (Jared Harris) to his friend and Captain of the other ship in the expedition, John Franklin (Ciaran Hinds). Captain Crozier warns Franklin and the other officers of the serious and deadly possibility of ice freezing most of the ocean and trapping their vessels in episode one of AMC’s dramatic series, The Terror.
Based on historical events, AMC’s new thriller tells the story of the two British explorer ships that set off in the Arctic in search of the Northwest Passage to India and China in 1846. Captain Franklin is commanding the flagship HMS Erebus with Captain Crozier in charge of the secondary ship, HMS Terror. As episode one titled “Go for Broke” begins, two members of the Royal Navy ask a local Eskimo about Captain Franklin and Crozier. The Eskimo points to Crozier’s photo and calls him Aglooka. He also repeats a message that Crozier asked him to tell anyone who came looking for him. He says, “Tell them we are dead and gone.”
Next, the episode flashes back four years and shows the two ships in the Arctic, slowly making their way but running into more and more ice. While Crozier hosts dinner for Franklin and Captain James Fitzjames (Tobias Menzies), his men are eating dinner when one young sailor begins to cough up blood. The lad is taken care of by Dr. Harry Goodsir (Paul Ready) and as he realizes that what he suffers from is lethal, the young man begs the doctor not to perform an autopsy after he’s dead. Just before he dies, the young man hallucinates an Inuit man at the foot of his bed. Before he dies, the young sailor screams at Dr. Goodsir that the native is telling them to run.
The doctor performs the autopsy but can’t find anything wrong with newly deceased sailor. Dr. Goodsir informs his superiors that it was not scurvy. Once the autopsy is complete, a few men are given the task of burying him on a nearby desolate shore. After they drop the body in the large hole they dug, the coffin’s top pops off. One of the men, Cornelius Hickey (Adam Nagaitis), doesn’t feel right about leaving it like that so he climbs down to place the cover on correctly.
There’s more trouble for the Erebus as a big piece of ice gets stuck in its propeller. Collins (Trystan Gravelle) is assigned the job of getting the ice out. As Collins goes under the water in the 1845-style diving suit, he sees the dead body of a sailor who fell overboard floating towards him eerily, almost as though it’s a ghost. When he reports later about removing the ice from the propeller, he doesn’t mention anything about seeing the dead sailor.
The next day, Erebus is able to move again and Captain Franklin is delighted he’s about to be the first person to find the Northwest Passage. Crozier and Thomas Blanky (Ian Hart), the ice master, try to make the argument that this winter is already colder than last year’s winter and the likelihood of both ships becoming trapped by the ice and the cold is great. Their concerns fall on deaf ears. Fitzjames ignores their warnings; he doesn’t like or respect Crozier or Franklin, the latter of whom he believes has become a blinded, glory-seeking, arrogant fool.
Six days later, both the Erebus and the Terror are stuck in the ice. The men try to break it up manually with dynamite but to no avail.
Episode two titled “Gore” begins in the spring of 1847. Eight months have passed and the ships are still trapped in the ice. Captain Franklin has decided to send a company of men out onto the ice, instructing them to head east and west to see if they can find a path to open water. Both groups drag a small lifeboat along with them to use in case they do in fact find the open sea.
Captain Franklin visits Captain Crozier on his ship, surprising him. It seems Franklin is concerned Crozier hasn’t visited him onboard the Erebus during the winter and fears their friendship is in trouble. Crozier assures Franklin they’re still friends and that he just doesn’t like to be away from his ship for any real length of time. Franklin pushes, asking if it would help if he admitted he was wrong. Crozier assures him there isn’t a problem between them.
Not happy about how his visit went, Franklin vents to Fitzjames about Crozier. Fitzjames supports Franklin, telling him that Crozier wasn’t the first choice for this expedition. Franklin admits to him that he wasn’t either.
In a flashback scene, it’s revealed Crozier asked Franklin’s niece to marry him but she turned him down. Franklin was glad because he viewed Crozier as not truly his equal in class due to his Irish heritage. Crozier overhears the unpleasant conversation before he leaves the building.
A scene from ‘The Terror’ (Photo Credit: AMC)
Back out on the ice, the group of men who headed west – including Dr. Goodsir – finally come across some ground that’s not completely covered in ice and snow. The group drops off a note at the outpost for others to find and then heads back to the ice where they left the rowboat and provisions. When they get there, they discover the boat’s been destroyed.
Later that night, the men are huddled close together under a tent during a wind and hail storm when they hear something large growl. Believing it to be what attacked the boat and thinking it’s most likely a polar bear, the men emerge from the tent with the goal of shooting it. In the confusion and darkness, one of the men accidentally shoots an elderly Eskimo in the chest. As they’re dealing with the shock of the shooting, the thing that attacked their boat attacks again and kills Lieutenant Gore.
Back at the Erebus, the other team that went east has returned. They report they had no luck finding an opening to the ocean and worse yet, their food provisions rotted. Captain Franklin orders an early dinner for the men and waits for the return of the party from the west.
The company of men who went west return to the Erebus with the wounded Eskimo and his distraught daughter. Dr. Goodsir wants permission to try to get the bullet out and is given it by Captain Franklin. Captain Crozier is there and speaks the Eskimo’s native language so he’s able to explain to the daughter that they’re trying to save her father.
Unfortunately, the Eskimo has suffered a mortal wound and the doctor can’t save him. His daughter begs him not to go and tells him that Tuunbaq won’t listen to her, however her father dies from his wound.
Crozier has the Eskimo woman taken to the Terror while he and Fitzjames grill Dr. Goodsir about what happened on their search for open sea. Dr. Goodsir tells them he believes the Eskimo had surgery done to him before. He had marks on his body and his tongue had been cut out.
That night, Crozier speaks with the Eskimo woman and tries to convince her he only wants to help her and her people. She tells him if he really wants to help, his men and his ships need to leave. Crozier informs her the ships are stuck in the ice and can’t leave until the ice melts. The Eskimo woman tells Crozier that if he and his men don’t leave soon, they will disappear.
The Terror Episodes 1 and 2 Review:
Capturing the bitter cold and bleakness of the freezing voyage of the two doomed historical ships, AMC’s new series The Terror is a moody, suspenseful thriller with superb performances, wonderful sets, and impressive camera work. The production with its costumes, the set of the two ships, and the frozen wasteland of the arctic, brings vividly to life the bold and life-risking voyage of these men who wanted to be the first to find the mythical Northwest Passage. The audience can almost feel the icy wind and hail as it falls around the party that headed west in search of a way out of their frozen trap.
Jared Harris gives a subtle yet commanding performance as Captain Crozier, the seasoned commander who seems to know before anyone else the lethal dangers of their surroundings. A modest man but with serious conviction and knowledge of the elements, Crozier is the one leader of the voyage who could have saved not only his ship but both ships from disaster if only he’d been the man in charge.
Ciaran Hinds delivers an effective performance as Captain Franklin, the glory-seeking, pompous, and arrogant Captain in charge of the expedition who, with his refusal to listen to the experience and warnings of his second-in-command, has doomed both ships and crews to a cold and watery end.
Paul Ready is perfectly cast as Dr. Goodsir, the caring, decent, and responsible doctor on the voyage who wants nothing more than to take care of the men’s health and pitch in wherever he can to help. He is, without question, the most likable character in the series.
With the ice and cold getting worse and the warning from the Eskimo woman that if they don’t leave the ships and crew will disappear, things are sure to get much worse for the men of the HMS Erebus and the HMS Terror.
Lesley-Ann Brandt in ‘Lucifer’ season 3 episode 19 (Photo by Erik Voake / FOX)
Fox’s Lucifer season three episode 18 featured a very pissed off Maze (Lesley-Ann Brandt) who lashed out at everyone in her path, including poor little Trixie. Season three episode 19 begins with Maze tearing up Chloe’s place searching for her knife. She thinks she left it behind when she moved out in a hurry, and fortunately the missing knife isn’t one of her demon blades. As she searches Chloe’s kitchen, she tells Lucifer (Tom Ellis) she’s done with everything and wants to go back to Hell. She demands he gets his wings out and take her home, but he won’t do it. He believes that would end with someone getting hurt.
Maze reminds him he went to Hell for Pierce and when he continues to refuse, she threatens he’ll regret his decision.
Chloe (Lauren German) interrupts and says she tried to explain to Trixie why Maze hurt her feelings, and that she never asked her to move out. Maze, super angry, slams the door as she leaves. Chloe wants Lucifer to chase after Maze, but his explanation is interrupted when Pierce (Tom Welling) arrives dressed for the beach. Chloe stumbles through an explanation/lie about a beach murder she and Pierce were working on, uncomfortable with Lucifer’s questions.
When Lucifer leaves, Chloe explains she didn’t want to cross a boundary that Pierce might not want people to know about. Pierce assures her he’s fine with everyone knowing they’re seeing each other.
Meanwhile, over at Dr. Linda’s Charlotte (Tricia Helfer) is telling the doctor about her strange encounter with a sexy bald black man who called her mom. Dr. Linda (Rachael Harris) immediately realizes she’s talking about Amenadiel (DB Woodside), but she doesn’t let on she knows. Charlotte explains Amenadiel filled in the gaps in her memory, including the story about Lucifer being his stepbrother and that Amenadiel is her son. Charlotte is aware that sounds crazy and no way could it be true, yet she thinks Amenadiel believed he was telling the truth. She decides she better dig deeper into this story.
Lucifer and Chloe hit the beach for a new murder. Ella (Aimee Garcia) is already there taking pictures of the corpse, and Chloe’s forced to admit she and Pierce weren’t investigating a beach murder and that instead she and Pierce were on a date.
Ella points out a security camera and Chloe checks it out while Ella gives Lucifer a hug. She thinks he and Chloe have something special, although Chloe and Pierce would have cute babies. Lucifer tries to assure her everything’s okay.
Chloe, Lucifer, and Ella watch the tape and it seems to show Maze killed their victim, Mike. Chloe can’t believe Lucifer told Maze to blow off steam and this is how she chose to follow his suggestion.
Back at the station, Lucifer informs Chloe he can’t find Maze. Chloe doesn’t believe Maze really did this, and Lucifer explains this is his fault for not taking her home when she asked. Lucifer thinks she’s acting out.
Pierce arrives and Chloe shows him their victim’s rap sheet which lists Maze as a bounty hunter on his tail. Chloe doesn’t think Maze could have done this, and Pierce makes Chloe promise she’s okay with pursuing her ex-roommate and that it’s not a conflict.
Tom Ellis in season 3 episode 19 (Photo by Erik Voake / FOX)
Lucifer and Chloe head out in his convertible and he can’t help but bring up Chloe’s date with Pierce. He assures her she can do what she wants with her free time, although he admits he’s surprised she’s dating someone so old. Chloe cuts him off, telling him she’s not discussing it. She lets slip that she and Pierce aren’t sleeping together, and Lucifer’s slightly happier.
At the winery where Mike worked, his boss, Margo Channing (McNally Sagal), confirms they were unaware Mike had a criminal record. Margo and another supervisor reveal someone came looking for him. Lucifer describes Maze and they agree that’s who it was. Margo reveals that when they told Mike about Maze, he freaked out.
Chloe and Lucifer look through Mike’s trailer and it turns out there’s a can of Maze’s favorite coconut beverage on the counter.
Linda isn’t happy Amenadiel talked to Charlotte, informing him that now Charlotte has more questions because of what he did reveal. She wonders whether he’s doing this to help Charlotte or if he’s doing it because it’s what’s best for him.
Ella finds Pierce and Chloe holding hands and gushes even though Chloe quickly drops Pierce’s hand. Dan (Kevin Alejandro) arrives and Chloe acts uncomfortable and then relieved when Lucifer shows up and she can give up her chair next to Pierce.
Maze intrudes on their conversation about whether it’s possible she killed Mike. Maze, without prompting, admits she did it. Chloe warns Maze she can remain silent, but she wants to be locked up. She whips out her knife (the murder weapon) and asks to be arrested. She giggles as Dan puts her in cuffs.
Minutes later, Chloe tells Pierce this doesn’t feel like Maze. He asks if there’s something going on between her and Lucifer, and wonders why Lucifer gave her a necklace. That prompts her to reveal she’s never slept with Lucifer.
Chloe and Lucifer interrogate Maze, and Maze says she’s just evil and that’s why she killed Mike. Lucifer tells her once again that he’s not taking her home. She thinks prison is just like Hell so she’s fine with that, admitting again that she stabbed Mike.
Chloe asks her to describe how many times she stabbed Mike and she’s not even close.
Chloe and Lucifer agree Maze is innocent, and now they need to figure out how to spring her. While Chloe returns to get her paperwork, Charlotte corners Lucifer and asks if Amenadiel is his brother. He confirms it, so Charlotte probes for more answers. Lucifer stumbles in his explanation and says Charlotte was his stepmom. She demands more answers, believing she deserves to know the truth. He lays out the truth including the fact he’s the Devil and how and why he got rid of his real mom. Charlotte’s speechless and Lucifer tells her to ask Amenadiel if she has any follow-up questions.
Ella visits Maze in her cell, assuring her she’s there to support her – no matter what. Maze is confused by this, wondering why Ella would feel that way if she’s guilty. Maze asks for a hug and Ella complies.
Ella informs Chloe that Chloe’s prints are on the drink can and they all realize someone is framing Maze. Ella says she’s worried about Maze because Maze did something very unMaze-like: she hugged her back.
Turns out Maze stole Ella’s ID. Maze is caught while trying to snag a file, but she pretends to be Ella and hugs the cop who questions her until he’s unconscious and then escapes.
Ella’s upset Maze ruined hugging, but Lucifer wants her to go easy on her. He believes Maze is innocent and that she’s trying to prove it.
Chloe informs Pierce that Maze didn’t kill Mike and that the lab results confirm it. She thinks Maze turned herself in because she needed something specific from the file she stole. It turns out she wanted the bail bondsman’s name because he’s either the person who set her up or the one who did the killing.
Chloe and Pierce are in the middle of an embrace when Lucifer barges in. He claims it doesn’t fill him with mistrust at all and that he’s okay with it, but he’s rotten at hiding his feelings about Chloe.
Maze tracks down the bail bondsman, Barry Hill, at a bowling alley. She demands he go with her but when he tells her to stand aside and look pretty, he gets what he deserves.
Charlotte meets with Amenadiel and lets him know Lucifer told her everything. She doesn’t know if she believes him and wants Amenadiel to clear things up. She asks for her husband’s name and Amenadiel says, “God…Godfrey.” She’s freaking out but knows that it felt like she was in fact in Hell. “You can’t actually be an angel and Lucifer can’t actually be the Devil. If I believed that, then it wouldn’t mean that I’m insane,” says Charlotte.
Maze takes Barry back to his shop, telling him she’s been set up. He claims he was ordered to do it by some guy who works for Sebastian Corp. Before he can say any more, a sniper shoots him.
At this new crime scene, Ella figures out Barry was shot from across the street. Chloe points out the bowling team verified Maze was in Barry’s office with him, not across the street so he can’t be the killer.
Chloe and Lucifer believe it’s possible one of Maze’s former bounties is the one setting her up. They pull them in and one-by-one question them about their dealings with Maze. Chloe and Lucifer can’t help but laugh when one begins crying because she ate his goldfish. Another one confesses he believes Maze is a nice lady because she taught him how to make a shiv; another says she bought him a beer after attacking him. The goldfish guy cries as he says Maze doesn’t judge, and Chloe and Lucifer just can’t stop laughing.
Pierce and Dan watch from behind the glass, and Dan confirms Lucifer and Chloe are pretty much a package deal. He tells Pierce that if he were dating a woman who loved a cat, you’d accept the cat. Pierce thinks he’d just get rid of the cat.
One of Maze’s bounties says Maze set him straight about life. It turns out he worked at the winery where Mike worked, and Chloe and Lucifer figure out it’s Mike’s boss who killed him.
Maze, of course, has already put two and two together. She tosses a knife through Margo Channing’s wine glass, surprising her. Maze warns her she framed the wrong person and then chases her through wine barrels. The name “Sebastian Corp” rings a bell. Maze remembers she tracked down a drunk driver who killed a girl, and that the drunk driver had a rich mommy. It turns out that mommy is Margo.
Sebastian died in a prison fight and Margo blames Maze for putting her son there in the first place. Maze can’t believe it and as she’s about to stab Margo, one of Margo’s employees starts shooting at her to protect his boss. Lucifer stops him by bending the barrel backward before knocking him out.
Maze uses the distraction to grab Margo and hold a knife to her throat. Chloe warns her to drop the knife, but Maze calls herself a bad person and says she destroys everything. Chloe puts her gun away and tears up when she tells Maze she’s the best babysitter Trixie’s ever had, other than the rock band and the pot brownies. “What matters most is that you’re such a good friend to Trixie, to me,” says Chloe, telling her she doesn’t know what she’s going through but is willing to listen. Maze, still angry, stabs Margo in the foot, and then yells that it’s Chloe’s fault Lucifer won’t take her home.
Over at Lux, Lucifer and Amenadiel apologize to Charlotte who’s considering checking herself into a mental hospital. They want to help her move forward and so Lucifer unfurls his glorious wings. Charlotte, who thought things couldn’t get any crazier, can only stare. Finally, she chokes up and smiles realizing she’s not crazy.
Chloe finds Pierce at his motorcycle in the parking lot and wants him to know she and Lucifer are good partners and good friends. She doesn’t want to lose that. She takes off the necklace Lucifer gave her and kisses Pierce. She asks if he wants to take her home and even though Lucifer is now watching from his car, she gets on Pierce’s motorcycle and rides away.
A melancholy Lucifer sits at his piano and plays. Maze arrives and he apologizes. He pours her a drink but she refuses it, still wanting to go back to Hell. “Caring about humans always goes wrong,” says Maze, adding that she’s not the one who’s supposed to be tortured.
When she begs to be taken home, he turns her down again. He doesn’t want to lose her, too. When she asks about what he means by “too,” he explains he lost Chloe to Pierce. He just wants to know that Pierce’s intentions are pure. He assures Maze at least they’ll always have each other. Maze begins crying and says, “I’m always going to be the consolation prize for you. You only care about me when you don’t have Chloe.” She adds that no one puts her first. “None of you deserve me,” she says as she storms off.
Maze is standing in line for a bus when Pierce arrives. He knows she’s angry the people she trusts let her down and wants to work together. Even though they don’t like each other, Pierce says he can help them both get what they want.
Bill Paxton, Gloria Stuart, and Suzy Amis in ‘Titanic’ from Paramount Pictures and Twentieth Century Fox.
Gloria Stuart is best known for her role as Old Rose in the James Cameron spectacular, Titanic (1997), in which she played the older version of Kate Winslet’s romantic character, the girl in love with Leonardo DiCaprio’s Jack.
She was born in Santa Monica on July 4, 1910 as Gloria Stewart. While attending Santa Monica High School, she became interested in theater, poetry, and writing. After graduating, she attended the University of California at Berkeley to study drama. She also worked on the campus newspaper, “The Daily Californian,” and contributed articles. She changed the spelling of her last name to “Stuart.”
While in her junior year in 1930, she met and married a young sculptor named Blair Gordon Newell. They moved to the artists’ colony of Carmel, where they mingled with intriguing artists such as photographer Ansel Adams and writers Robinson Jeffers and Lincoln Steffens. These associations led to her later interests in activism.
While appearing in a play at the Carmel theater, she was invited to appear in Chekhov’s drama The Seagull at the Playbox in Pasadena. Talent scouts from Paramount Studios and Universal Pictures were in the audience, and both offered her a screen test. Because she and her husband were flat broke, she signed with Universal in 1932 because they offered her slightly more money than Paramount.
Miss Stuart was one of the original members of the Screen Actors Guild, beginning in 1933 and subsequently serving on its National Board. She was a member for more than 70 years.
Being a gorgeous blond with a lovely figure, Universal cast her in famed director James Whale’s horror film, The Old Dark House (1932) with Boris Karloff, Charles Laughton, and Melvyn Douglas. She was also the leading lady in Claude Rains’ first film, The Invisible Man (1933). She made a slew of films at Universal, but Gloria said what they put her into “wasn’t garbage, but it wasn’t first-rate, second-rate, third-rate. Maybe fourth-rate.”
Universal loaned Stuart out to Warner Bros. to appear in the James Cagney sailor epic, Here Comes the Navy in 1934. She stayed on the Warner lot for the musical Gold Diggers of 1935 with crooner Dick Powell. She and her husband divorced about this time. While on the set of the Eddie Cantor comedy Roman Scandals (1933), she met screenwriter Arthur Sheekman who wrote all the Marx Brothers comedies. They fell in love and got married in August 1934 and produced daughter Sylvia in June of 1935.
She left her Universal contract and moved over to 20th Century Fox. On the Fox lot, she starred with the box office dynamo moppet Shirley Temple in Poor Little Rich Girl (1936) and again in Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1938), also with Randolph Scott and Jack Haley. Studio mogul Darryl F. Zanuck thrust her into a variety of “B” pictures. She even co-starred with child star Jane Withers in Keep Smiling (1938), yet another potboiler. Zanuck kept casting her in such films as Time Out for Murder, Winner Take All, It Could Happen to You, and The Three Musketeers with Don Ameche and the Ritz Brothers. Nobody noticed.
After making 46 films, she found herself in less demand and retired from the screen in 1946 at age 36 to pursue her artistic endeavors. Zanuck had not renewed her contract. She became a well-known artist and book designer. She did appear in many summer stock stage plays during the mid and late 1940s. With a 30-year absence from the screen, she returned to acting on many episodic television shows in 1975. She made a cameo appearance dancing with Peter O’Toole in My Favorite Year in 1982 and appeared in several more films and television movies.
In 1997 she was “rediscovered” by director James Cameron for the part of Old Rose in Titanic. It became the highest-grossing film ever produced (until Cameron’s Avatar). For her part in Titanic, Stuart received the Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild and Academy Award® nominations.
Gloria Stuart is now known to a whole new era of movie fans. She attributed her long life to love. “If you’re full of love, admiration, appreciation of the beautiful things there are in this life, you have it made, really. And I have it made,” she once said.
Ms. Stuart lived until September 26, 2010, still beautiful at 100 years.
Amazon Studios has given the go-ahead to a dramatic miniseries based on the life of Hernan Cortes. Amazon announced Javier Bardem, Oscar winner for his role in No Country for Old Men, will star as explorer Hernan Cortes in the four-hour miniseries, Cortes.
Three-time Oscar winner Steven Spielberg (Saving Private Ryan, Schindler’s List) and Amblin Television are backing the project, with Spielberg executive producing along with series creator Steven Zaillian. Zaillian, the Oscar-winning writer of Schindler’s List, is writing the miniseries which is based on the screenplay by Dalton Trumbo. Cortes star Javier Bardem is also executive producing along with Emmy winner Darryl Frank (The Americans) and Emmy nominee Justin Falvey (The Americans).
“It is a privilege to tell this epic story — one that is full of drama and conflict within this huge, historical spectacle where two distant civilizations clash at the height of their reign,” said Javier Bardem. “The best and worst of human nature came to life in all its light and darkness. As an actor, there is no better challenge than to serve such a unique project that I have been passionate about for years, and I am thrilled to be working with this dream team of Steven Spielberg, Steven Zaillian and Amazon.”
“Cortes’ epic discoveries shaped the world as we know it today, and through the minds of Amblin, Steven Spielberg, Steve Zaillian and Javier Bardem, we will bring Prime Video members on an exhilarating journey,” stated Sharon Yguado, Head of Scripted Series, Amazon Studios. “There are few moments in history that shape an entire culture such as Cortes’ story, and this series will be one filled with drama and adventure.”
“We are so pleased that Amazon has given us the opportunity to bring this exciting 500-year-old story to Prime Video members worldwide. It is a part of history that had such a significant impact and largely influenced modern day civilizations. With Javier as Cortes, we have the perfect star for this role, and we can’t wait to get started,” said Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey, co-heads of Amblin Television.
The Plot:Cortes reveals the legendary conqueror, Hernan Cortes, who led a rebellious expedition to the heart of King Montezuma II’s Aztec empire, connecting two civilizations for the first time and changing the course of history.
Steven Soderbergh attends the AFI FEST Presented By Audi secret screening Of ‘Haywire’ (Photo by Jason Merritt / Getty Images for Relativity Media)
Starz is teaming up with Gregg Araki, director of Kaboom and Mysterious Skin, on a new half-hour series titled Now Apocalypse. The comedy series was created by Araki and will be executive produced by Araki, Steven Soderbergh, and Gregory Jacobs (Magic Mike XXL, Red Oaks).
Per Starz’ official announcement, the first season will consist of 10 episodes.
Now Apocalypse is described as a “sexy, vibrant and fast-moving series.” Starz’ press release also drops in a mention of aliens. Araki is set to co-write and direct season one, with Karley Sciortino co-writing. He’s currently busy in the casting process, and Starz has not yet announced a targeted premiere date.
“Gregg brings an incredibly unique and adventurous story to the Starz brand and we cannot wait for the world to meet the bold, sexy and fun characters of Now Apocalypse,” stated Carmi Zlotnik, President of Programming for Starz. “It’s exciting to bring diverse and compelling storytelling to the screen as part of Starz’s ongoing programming strategy to provide premium content to reach underserved audiences.”
“If this isn’t the craziest thing I’ve ever read, it’s tied for first,” said Oscar and Emmy Award-winning executive producer Steven Soderbergh (Logan Lucky, The Girlfriend Experience). “We will not be responsible for people’s heads splitting in half when they see it.”
The Plot: This surreal, coming-of-age comedy series follows Ulysses and his friends Carly, Ford and Severine, who are on various quests pursing love, sex and fame. Now Apocalypse explores identity, sexuality and artistry, while navigating the strange and oftentimes bewildering city of Los Angeles. Between sexual and romantic dating app adventures, Ulysses grows increasingly troubled as foreboding premonitory dreams make him wonder – is some kind of dark and monstrous conspiracy going on, or is he just smoking too much weed?
Bobby Berk, Karamo Brown, Antoni Porowski, Jonathan Van Ness, and Tan France star in ‘Queer Eye’ (Photo by Gavin Bond / Netflix)
Netflix has announced a slew of season two renewal orders for their unscripted programming slate. Netflix has given Dope, Drug Lords, Nailed It!, Queer Eye, and The Toys That Made Us second season orders, as just announced by Vice President of Content Bela Bajaria.
“These series are indicative of what we’re trying to accomplish for Netflix unscripted: working with world-class producers to create the best unscripted shows on television,” said Bajaria. “These series elevate the genre with innovative takes on familiar formats. They deliver immersive and nuanced stories. They elicit so many emotions from viewers, from tears of laughter to tears of joy – and that’s just Queer Eye.”
Queer Eye is produced by Scout Productions and ITV Entertainment, with David Collins, Rob Eric, Michael Williams, Jen Lane, David George, David Eilenberg, Adam Sher, and Jordana Hochman executive producing.
Per Netflix, the “new Fab Five forges relationships with men and women from a wide array of backgrounds and beliefs often contrary to their own, touching on everything from LGBTQ rights and social commentary to how to make the best farm-to-table guacamole and more. The new Fab Five returns for season two: Antoni Porowski (Food & Wine), Bobby Berk (Interior Design), Karamo Brown (Culture), Jonathan Van Ness (Grooming) and Tan France (Fashion).”
Nailed It! is hosted by Nicole Byer and Jacques Torres and produced by the Magical Elves. Dan Cutforth, Jane Lipsitz, Casey Kriley, Kip Madsen, and Gayle Gawlowski are the series’ executive producers. Nailed It! is a half-hour competition series in which amateur bakers square off against professional bakers “to see if they can recreate beautiful baked goods with no experience.”
The docu-series Dope will kick off its second season on April 20, 2018. Wall to Wall Media Ltd. produces and Jeremy Dear and Chris Lent are on board as executive producers. The official synopsis: Dope is a “docu-series filmed from the perspective of dealers, users and the police, this vivid series features a bracing look at the war on drugs.”
Drug Lords comes from executive producers Michael Welsh and Jim Lindsay, producer Chris Boulding, head of production Elaine Morris, and head of international programs Ian Russell. Drug Lords focuses on “history’s most notorious kingpins, their terrifying enforcers, and the men and women who’ve sworn to bring them down.”
The Toys That Made Us will return for season two with Brian Volk-Weiss, Tom Stern, Cisco Henson, Anne Carkeet, and Edwin Zane as executive producers. The series’ plot: “The minds behind history’s most-iconic toy franchises discuss the rise – and sometimes fall – of their billion dollar creations. Season one followed Barbie, G.I. Joe and other franchises.”
Brie Larson gets hands-on help from Brigadier General Jeannie Leavitt, 57th Wing Commander (right), on a recent trip to Nellis Air Force Base to research her character, Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel, for Marvel Studios’ ‘Captain Marvel.’
Production on Marvel Studios’ Captain Marvel is officially underway in Los Angeles. The comic book-inspired superhero film stars Brie Larson in the titular role and is written and directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck (Half Nelson, Mississippi Grind). Meg LeFauve (Inside Out, The Good Dinosaur), Nicole Perlman (Guardians of the Galaxy), Geneva Robertson-Dworet (Tomb Raider, Sherlock Holmes 3), Liz Flahive (Glow) and Carly Mensch (Glow) also wrote the screenplay.
In addition to Brie Larson (Room, Kong: Skull Island), the Captain Marvel cast includes Samuel L. Jackson (Avengers: Age of Ultron), Ben Mendelsohn (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Ready Player One), Djimon Hounsou (Guardians of the Galaxy), Lee Pace (The Book of Henry, Guardians of the Galaxy), Lashana Lynch (Brotherhood, Fast Girls), Gemma Chan (Humans, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them), Algenis Perez Soto (Sambá, Sugar), Rune Temte (Eddie The Eagle, The Last Kingdom), McKenna Grace (I, Tonya, Gifted), Clark Gregg (Live by Night, The Avengers), and Jude Law (Spy, The Grand Budapest Hotel).
Filming’s expected to take place in LA, Fresno, New Orleans, and Baton Rouge. Marvel and Disney are targeting a March 8, 2019 theatrical release.
Kevin Feige produces and Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Jonathan Schwartz, Patty Whitcher and Stan Lee serve as executive producers. The behind-the-scenes team includes director of photography Ben Davis (Doctor Strange), production designer Andy Nicholson (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom), costume designer Sanja Hays (The Fate of the Furious), editors Elliot Graham (Molly’s Game) and Debbie Berman (Black Panther), visual effects supervisor Christopher Townsend (Avengers: Age of Ultron), stunt coordinator Jim Churchman (Doctor Strange, Ant-Man) and special effects supervisor Dan Sudick (Avengers: Infinity War, Black Panther).
The Plot: The story follows Carol Danvers as she becomes one of the universe’s most powerful heroes when Earth is caught in the middle of a galactic war between two alien races. Set in the 1990s, Captain Marvel is an all-new adventure from a previously unseen period in the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
