Netflix just released a new full trailer for the original series Seven Seconds. The crime anthology series, which is set to premiere on February 23, 2018, was created by executive producer Veena Sud (The Killing). The cast is led by Regina King (American Crime), Clare-Hope Ashitey (Doctor Foster), and Russell Hornsby (Fences, Grimm).
Beau Knapp (Sand Castle), Michael Mosely (Ozark), David Lyons (Safe Haven), Raul Castillo (Special Correspondents), and Zackary Momoh (A United Kingdom) co-star in season one of the dramatic anthology series.
The Plot: In a society fraught with racial tension, sensational headlines, and an audience who would rather be entertained than informed, seven seconds can mean life or death.
In an instant, life is forever changed for Brenton Butler and his family. After a white cop accidentally hits and critically injures a black teenager, a northeastern city explodes with racial tensions, an attempted cover up and its aftermath, and the trial of the century.
Clare-Hope Ashitey portrays KJ Harper, a black assistant prosecutor assigned to the incident, with troubles of her own. She grapples with the weight of the case and what it will mean to bring justice not only for Brenton, but for the Black community. KJ works closely with the teen’s mother Latrice Butler (King) who realizes there may be more to her son than she and her husband (Hornsby) were aware of, and becomes consumed with finding out what happened.
Seven Seconds tackles the controversial issues of race relations between law enforcement, the people they serve, and the personal stories of those involved. At its core, the series goes beyond the headlines, examining the impact a tragic accident has on a community and a family’s need for answers and justice.
A scene from ‘Mary Kills People’ Season 2 (Photo Courtesy of Lifetime Copyright 2018)
Lifetime’s set a March 12, 2018 premiere date for season two of the dramatic series Mary Kills People. The network also announced they’ll be airing a Mary Kills People season one marathon kicking off on March 11th at 6pm ET/PT and running through 12am ET/PT.
The popular drama stars Caroline Dhavernas, Jay Ryan (Beauty and the Beast, Top of the Lake), and Richard Short (666 Park Avenue), with season two set to feature Rachelle Lefevre and Ian Lake in guest starring roles. Mary Kills People was created by Tara Armstrong (Private Eyes) who serves as the showrunner and executive producer. Tassie Cameron (Ten Days in the Valley, Rookie Blue), Amy Cameron (The Book of Negroes), Jocelyn Hamilton (Cardinal), and Tecca Crosby (Private Eyes), Morwyn Brebner (Rookie Blue), and Caroline Dhavernas (Hannibal) also executive produce. Kelly Makin, Norma Bailey, and David Wellington are on board as directors. Season two writers include Tara Armstrong, Tassie Cameron, Morwyn Brebner, Lara Azzopardi, and Marsha Greene.
Mary Kills People will air at 9pm ET/PT followed by the network’s award-winning drama, UnREAL, which airs at 10pm ET/PT.
The Plot: Picking up eight months after Mary (Dhavernas) and Des (Short) framed Grady (Greg Bryk) for the deaths of their patients, Des is happy to reteam with Mary following his stint in prison, but Mary questions whether she was better off fighting the good fight without him. As they dive deeper and darker into their illegal work, a mysterious woman, Olivia Bloom (Lefevre), comes to them with a deadly request, unleashing a chain of events that unfolds throughout the season.
Mary’s personal and professional lives come to a head when Ben (Ryan) returns, knee-deep in a complicated undercover case. Ben’s investigation will collide with Mary’s criminal descent, forcing Mary to decide whether to come clean once and for all.
“Should’ve gone for a steak, pal, cause it’s the last decent meal you’re getting for the next five to 10 years,” says Ralph Dibny (Hartley Sawyer) to a bank robber who Ralph’s trying to stop in season four episode 11 of The CW’s The Flash.
As the episode begins, Barry (Grant Gustin) is still in prison for the murder of Clifford DeVoe, a crime he didn’t commit, and he’s locked up in the same cell his own father spent 16 years in. There’s a riot going on in the prison and Barry, not wanting any of the guards to get hurt, uses his super-speed to end it. Of course, he does it so fast that no one can tell it was him.
In another part of town, Joe (Jesse L. Martin) is negotiating with a bank robber who’s wearing a bomb vest. At the same time, Ralph uses his stretch powers to grab the hostages and move them to safety while Joe keeps the robber distracted. Ralph, wearing his hero outfit, confronts the robber and tries to talk him down. He takes the bomb vest off him and the robber detonates the bomb, but Ralph’s able to use his abilities to absorb the blast.
At S.T.A.R Labs, Team Flash is not too happy with Ralph’s reckless and cocky attitude during the attempted robbery. Iris (Candice Patton) points out that he could’ve gotten hurt, and Caitlin (Danielle Panabaker) mentions that others outside the bank could have been injured or worse if he hadn’t been able to absorb the blast. All Ralph is concerned about is coming up with a new cool superhero name.
In the courtyard of Iron Heights, Barry’s stretching his legs when he’s tripped by an inmate and falls. The leader of the three inmate thugs tells his two buddies to pick him up. He tells Barry he splashed water on him and Barry apologizes, not wanting any trouble. The head thug is about to punch Barry when the warden comes walking up with guards and tells Barry his 1:30pm visitor is waiting to see him.
Iris visits Barry and he reassures her they can and will get through this. He asks about how everyone else is doing and she quickly brings him up to speed about Ralph and his cockiness. Barry tells Iris not to worry about it and admits to her that he used to get cocky when he first started.
In another part of the prison, Axel Walker (Devon Graye) aka The Trickster Jr. is in the medical area for eating some bad pudding. The nurse knocks out the guard and reveals herself to be Axel’s mom, Zoey Clark (Corinne Bohrer). She’s shown up to break him out of prison.
Joe meets with the warden about the escape and sees Barry mopping the floor. He asks him how Barry is doing and the warden tells Joe that Barry is a model inmate, just like his father was. Joe gets permission to talk to Barry and he quickly tells him about the case. Barry offers to speed vibrate himself out and help catch Trickster and then he’ll speed vibrate back, but Joe says no and to keep his head down and be careful.
Over at the villain’s lair, Axel and his mom are arguing. Seems she wants him to hightail it out of town with her, but he just wants to become the Trickster again and attack Central City to impress his dad who escaped two years ago and is still MIA. Axel sees highlights on the news of Ralph’s heroics and decides to target him and take down Central City’s new hero.
Axel, wearing a new, ridiculous Trickster outfit, hijacks a broadcast signal and puts himself on television. He calls out “Stretchy Man,” a nickname the press gave Ralph, and throws a red ball which is really an explosive that destroys a nearby car. Ralphs watches along with Team Flash at S.T.A.R. Labs and asks Cisco to breach him there.
Ralph confronts Trickster and takes the explosive ball blast and a shot from a weird gun with no problem. However, when Trickster shoots some pink acid at Ralph it hits his knee and burns him badly. He screams out in pain. Cisco breaches back as Vibe and blasts Trickster with an energy blast. He then grabs Ralph to make an escape through the breach.
Back at S.T.A.R. Labs, Caitlin tends to Ralph’s knee as Cisco and Harry (Tom Cavanagh) tell Ralph the acid is a special mixture that Axel came up with. If it had been a normal human with no meta powers he had hit with the acid, it would have burned right through the leg.
Back at Iron Heights, the same three inmate thugs go after Barry again but this time they’re stopped by a very large inmate named Big Sir (Bill Goldberg) who knocks them out and winks at Barry who says thanks. Later, Barry approaches Big Sir and asks him why he helped him and Sir tells Barry that his dad helped him once so he owed him.
Back at the villain’s lair, Zoey decides to help her son and is acting way more crazy and homicidal than earlier. Axel notices and asks her about it, and she admits she stopped taking her meds so she can be his partner in crime. The two come up with a new plan on how to lure out Stretchy Man to finish him off. Axel does another broadcast showing himself and Zoey as game show hosts who have two unwilling hostages to play the “Wheel of Death.” He claims that if Stretchy Man doesn’t come to save them in one hour, he’ll dump the pink acid on the poor souls.
At S.T.A.R. Labs, Ralph has quickly recovered but is still shook up and says he can’t do it. Caitlin calls him out and asks if he only wanted to play superhero when he thought he couldn’t get hurt. Ralph admits that’s the truth. He walks out but as he leaves, he gets an idea.
Ralph stretches himself through the bars in Barry’s cell and tells him he’s going to break him out. Barry asks what’s going on and Ralph reveals the news on the Trickster. Ralph figures Barry can go and do his “Flash stuff” and be back before any guards notice he’s gone. Barry asks Ralph why facing Trickster is different for him than other bad guys, and Ralph tells him about the acid attack.
“I’m not fearless like you are,” says Ralph. “Ralph, I’m not fearless. I wake up every day in this cell and I feel like there is nothing I can do to help anyone. I mean, that terrifies me. I used to be somebody who saved and now I’m just Barry Allen inmate number 3562. Having the ability to help someone but do nothing…that is a far worse death than anything Trickster has for you. But rising above that fear and saving those lives, that’s a greater life. So, rise up. I don’t think it’s a stretch for you,” says Barry.
“You really believe I can do that?” asks Ralph. “Yes, you just need to believe it yourself,” answers Barry.
It’s just the pep talk Ralph needs. He returns to S.T.A.R. Labs to tell the team he’ll face Trickster.
Thinking Ralph is sitting this one out, Cisco aka Vibe and Caitlin aka Killer Frost head to Trickster’s lair which Cisco was able to track down. They head in to save the hostages while Harry goes up on the roof where the acid is stored to find a way to neutralize it. Vibe and Frost begin to untie the hostages who it turns out are really Trickster and Zoey (aka Prank). They are able to turn the tables on our heroes and capture them with some power-reducing cuffs. (Okay, why do the bad guys in Central City have power-reducing cuffs?! First Amunet and now Trickster who just got out of prison. C’mon!)
With Frost and Cisco tied to chairs, Trickster and his mom prepare to drop acid on them. Ralph shows up in his new superhero outfit that Cisco made for him to take Trickster on. Trickster shoots more acid at him, but Ralph is able to dodge it and makes himself a human slingshot and takes Axel down. Zoey tries to release the acid and Ralph, seeing no other way to save Caitlin and Cisco, stretches himself over them, keeping his friends from being hit by the falling acid. Ralph quickly realizes that he’s not feeling any pain and the acid isn’t eating through him because Harry managed to neutralize it in time.
The following day at S.T.A.R. Labs, Ralph sees the news has renamed him “The Elongated Man” after something he said in an interview. He isn’t too fond of it, but Caitlin and the rest of the team like it so it will stick.
Back at the prison, Barry sees Big Sir being attacked by the same three thugs and goes to help. Making sure he’s out of view of the cameras, Barry uses his speed to get two of the thugs to knock themselves out by repositioning them and then takes the leader on himself. A few good punches and he’s down. Barry helps Sir up and sees he’s all right. Later, Sir tells Barry that his dad saved his life by knowing he needed surgery and making sure he got it.
Iris visits Barry again and tells him what happened with Ralph and how he saved Caitlin and Cisco. Barry’s not surprised because he knew Ralph had it in him all along. Iris begins to get upset that she can’t touch Barry. When no one is looking and out of the view of the cameras, Barry vibrates his hand through the glass to touch Iris’ hand.
In the final scene, Cisco and Ralph are at Jitters to celebrate his victory and both realize they have no money on them. A young woman pays for their coffees and starts to jabber on about passing it forward and helping your fellow man. She says bye and sits down elsewhere. Cisco asks why Ralph didn’t hit on her and he reveals he thought she was too smart for him. As they walk out, the young girl looks at them, smiling, and goes back to writing in her notebook. She’s the same young waitress who was at Barry and Iris’ wedding who told Barry to remember to say “I do.” As she writes in her notebook, the camera moves to show she’s writing the same symbols that Barry was writing on the walls when he first came out of the Speed Force.
The Flash Season 4 Episode 11 Review:
Funny, quirky, and uneven, season four episode 11 titled “The Elongated Knight Rises” has more of the humor that was present in the show during the first season but also gets too silly and goofy, almost becoming camp which the show has never been. The ridiculous outfits that the young Trickster and Zoey wear in the second half of the episode look like something from the 1960s Batman television series, and their mindless plot to kill Ralph simply because he’s the new hero in town is uninspired.
The switching back and forth between the comical antics of Ralph struggling to define himself as a hero and the bleak and violent life of survival in the prison with Barry makes the episode feel jerky and off balance.
The best scene in the episode is between Barry and Ralph in prison when Barry gives Ralph the much-needed pep talk to find the courage to take on Trickster and save his friends. Gustin and Sawyer have solid chemistry together and play off each other wonderfully. This scene also shows just how much Barry has improved as a mentor to an up-and-coming hero.
With Barry making a new ally in prison and the young mystery woman with her Speed Force symbols notebook keeping tabs on Team Flash, it should be interesting to see how the gang get Barry out of prison and take down the Thinker.
Warner Bros Pictures and Amazon Studios’ joint project, The Goldfinch, has just begun shooting with Nicole Kidman and Ansel Elgort in starring roles. The feature film adaptation of Donna Tartt’s award-winning bestselling novel was written by Oscar nominee Peter Straughan (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) and BAFTA Award winner John Crowley (Brooklyn) is directing.
In addition to Nicole Kidman (Big Little Lies) as Mrs. Barbour and Ansel Elgort (Baby Driver) as Thoe Decker, The Goldfinch cast includes Oakes Fegley (Pete’s Dragon) as Young Theo, Aneurin Barnard (Dunkirk) as Boris, and Finn Wolfhard (Stranger Things, It) as Young Boris. Sarah Paulson (American Crime Story, American Horror Story) is Xandra, Luke Wilson (The Royal Tenenbaums) plays Larry, and Jeffrey Wright (Westworld) is Hobie.
The cast also features Ashleigh Cummings (Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries) as Pippa, Willa Fitzgerald (Little Women) as Kitsey Barbour, Aimee Laurence (Chicago P.D.) as Young Pippa, Denis O’Hare (American Horror Story) as Lucius Reeve, Peter Jacobson (Colony) as Mr. Silver, Luke Kleintank (The Man in the High Castle) as Platt Barbour, Joey Slotnick (The Secret Life of Walter Mitty) as Dave, Robert Joy (CSI: NY) as Welty, and newcomer Ryan Foust as Andy.
Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson are producing, with Mari Jo Winkler-Ioffreda and Sue Kroll executive producing. Roger Deakins (Blade Runner 2049, Sicario) is the director of photography, K.K. Barrett (Her) is the production designer, Kasia Walicka Maimone (Bridge of Spies) is the costume designer, and Kelley Dixon (Breaking Bad) is on board as the editor.
The Goldfinch is targeting an October 11, 2019 theatrical release.
The Plot: Theodore “Theo” Decker was 13 years old when his mother was killed in a bombing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The tragedy changes the course of his life, sending him on a stirring odyssey of grief and guilt, reinvention and redemption, and even love. Through it all, he holds on to one tangible piece of hope from that terrible day…a painting of a tiny bird chained to its perch. The Goldfinch.
Katharine McPhee and MVP Most Valuable Player Judges (Photos Supplied by CBS)
Scorpion star Katharine McPhee, Maz Jobrani of Superior Donuts, and New York Giants wide receiver Brandon Marshall have signed on to judge CBS’s MVP: Most Valuable Performer special. The talent competition will feature NFL players showing off their skills that have nothing to do with football. The one-hour interactive live special will be hosted by LL Cool J and is set to air on Thursday, January 25, 2018 at 8pm ET/PT (tape delayed on the West Coast).
Sharon Osbourne (The Talk) will be on hand to help mentor the NFL players “to ensure the transition from pro athlete to star performer goes off without a hitch,” per CBS.
The MVP: Most Valuable Performer Details: During the special, NFL players will showcase their off-the-field talents, such as singing, playing instruments, dancing, and more, live from the Avalon Hollywood. Then, the three judges will draw upon their unique backgrounds in musical theater, acting, hosting and sports to evaluate their performances and each choose one player to advance to the final three. During the broadcast, viewers can vote from the final three at www.cbs.com/shows/most-valuable-performer with the MVP: Most Valuable Performer winner revealed live.
Katharine McPhee – Judge
Katharine McPhee is an accomplished actress and singer. She first burst onto the scene in 2005 on season five of “American Idol.” McPhee boasts many television and film credits, including starring as Paige Dineen in the CBS drama SCORPION. McPhee has recorded five studio albums, including her self-titled debut album, which landed at #2 on the Billboard 200 chart in 2007. Her most recent album, I Fall In Love Too Easily, on Nov. 17, 2017, went to #1 on the iTunes jazz charts and has been in the top 10 since its release. In her Café Carlyle debut, she sold out all five nights and received standing ovations and much fan praise.
Maz Jobrani – Judge
Maz Jobrani is a comedian, actor and author who currently stars at Fawz in the CBS comedy SUPERIOR DONUTS. Jobrani performs stand-up live around the world, including the Middle East where he performed in front of the king of Jordan, and at the White House in spring of 2016, where he had the privilege of introducing Michelle Obama. In addition to his television and film credits, Netflix premiered his latest comedy special, “Immigrant,” last summer, and his book I’m Not a Terrorist, But I’ve Played One on TV was a Los Angeles Times bestseller.
Brandon Marshall – Judge
Current New York Giants wide receiver Brandon Marshall is on his fourth year as an expert analyst on the weekly series INSIDE THE NFL on SHOWTIME. He was nominated for a 2016 Sports Emmy in the category of Outstanding Sports Personality (studio analyst) for his work on the show. Marshall and his wife, Michi, are the co-founders of PROJECT 375, a non-profit foundation that aims to raise awareness to combat the stigma surrounding mental health disorders.
Sharon Osbourne – Mentor
Sharon Osbourne serves as host of THE TALK, CBS’ Daytime Emmy Award-winning talk show. Osbourne won the Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show Hosts Daytime Emmy for the first time in 2017. In addition to her many television credits, including the cable reality series “The Osbournes,” she has returned to her role as a judge and mentor on the U.K. version of “The X Factor.” Osbourne’s career in the music industry has spanned more than 30 years. In addition to managing the career of her husband, she has managed numerous artists, such as Black Sabbath, Electric Light Orchestra, Smashing Pumpkins, Motorhead and Slade. In 1996 Osbourne created and produced Ozzfest, the biggest hard-rock touring festival in America.
The Contestants:
Brandon Williams
Baltimore Ravens Defensive Tackle
Talent: Singing
Jonathan Stewart
Caroline Panthers Running Back
Talent: Playing piano
Justin Tucker
Baltimore Ravens Placekicker
Talent: Opera singing
Alex Collins
Baltimore Ravens Running Back
Talent: Irish dancing
Kevin Zeitler
Cleveland Browns Guard
Talent: Dog tricks
Domata Peko
Denver Broncos, Nose Tackle
Talent: Playing guitar
Pacific Rim Uprising, the 2018 sequel to Pacific Rim, is heading to theaters on March 23rd and today Legendary and Universal Pictures unveiled a brand new poster. The sci-fi action film comes from director Steven S. DeKnight (Netflix’s Daredevil, STARZ’s Spartacus), taking over for Pacific Rim‘s director Guillermo del Toro who’s been busy with a lot of other projects including the Oscar nominated The Shape of Water.
Emily Carmichael, Kira Snyder, Steven S. DeKnight, and T.S. Nowlin wrote the script from a story by DeKnight and Nowlin, based on Travis Beacham’s characters.
The cast is led by Star Wars: The Last Jedi‘s John Boyega and features Scott Eastwood, Jing Tian, Cailee Spaeny, Rinko Kikuchi, Burn Gorman, Adria Arjona, and Charlie Day. Thomas Tull, Mary Parent, Jon Jashni, Cale Boyter, Guillermo del Toro, John Boyega, and Femi Oguns produced, and Eric McLeod executive produced.
The Plot: The globe-spanning conflict between otherworldly monsters of mass destruction and the human-piloted super-machines built to vanquish them was only a prelude to the all-out assault on humanity in Pacific Rim Uprising.
John Boyega stars as the rebellious Jake Pentecost, a once-promising Jaeger pilot whose legendary father gave his life to secure humanity’s victory against the monstrous “Kaiju.” Jake has since abandoned his training only to become caught up in a criminal underworld. But when an even more unstoppable threat is unleashed to tear through our cities and bring the world to its knees, he is given one last chance to live up to his father’s legacy by his estranged sister, Mako Mori (Rinko Kikuchi) — who is leading a brave new generation of pilots that have grown up in the shadow of war. As they seek justice for the fallen, their only hope is to unite together in a global uprising against the forces of extinction.
Jake is joined by gifted rival pilot Lambert (The Fate of the Furious’ Scott Eastwood) and 15-year-old Jaeger hacker Amara (newcomer Cailee Spaeny), as the heroes of the PPDC become the only family he has left. Rising up to become the most powerful defense force to ever walk the earth, they will set course for a spectacular all-new adventure on a towering scale.
Britney Spears is taking her popular Vegas show on the road. Spears just announced the “exclusive last time ever, limited tour” of her “Britney: Piece of Me” show which has played to sold out audiences at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. The upcoming tour marks the first time the “Britney: Piece of Me” show will stop in cities in Europe and the East Coast, with the 2018 tour kicking off in Washington D.C. on July 12th.
The “Britney: Piece of Me” tour will hit cities including Atlantic City, Berlin, and Dublin. The tour will wrap up on August 24th at the O2 Arena in London.
Britney Spears’ Planet Hollywood residency grossed over $140 million and sold almost 1 million tickets. Spears performed more than 250 shows during the four-year residency and earned the Best Resident Performer award from the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Britney Spears Tour Dates:
THU 7/12/18 in Washington D.C. at MGM National Harbor
FRI 7/13/18 in Washington D.C. at MGM National Harbor
SUN 7/15/18 in Uncasville, CT at Mohegan Sun
TUE 7/17/18 in Bethlehem, PA at Sands Bethlehem Events Center
THU 7/19/18 in Atlantic City, NJ at Borgata
FRI 7/20/18 in Atlantic City, NJ at Borgata
MON 7/23/18 in New York, NY at Radio City Music Hall
TUE 7/24/18 in New York, NY at Radio City Music Hall
FRI 7/27/18 in Hollywood, FL at Hard Rock
SAT 7/28/18 in Hollywood, FL at Hard Rock
SUN 7/29/18 in Hollywood, FL at Hard Rock
SAT 8/4/18 in Brighton, UK at Brighton Pride
MON 8/6/18 in Berlin, Germany at Mercedes Benz Arena
WED 8/8/18 in Skanderborg, Denmark at Smukfest
FRI 8/10/18 in Oslo, Norway at Telenor Arena
SAT 8/11/18 in Sandviken, Sweden at Goransson Arena
MON 8/13/18 in Monchengladbach, Germany at Sparkassenpark
WED 8/15/18 in Antwerp, Belgium at Sportspaleis
FRI 8/17/18 in Scarborough, UK at Open Air Theatre
SAT 8/18/18 in Manchester, UK at Manchester Arena
MON 8/20/18 in Dublin, Ireland at 3Arena
WED 8/22/18 in Glasgow, UK at SSE Hydro
FRI 8/24/18 in London, UK at O2 Arena
More on Britney Spears: “Multi-platinum, Grammy Award-winning pop icon Britney Spears is one of the most successful and celebrated entertainers in pop history with nearly 150 million records worldwide. In the U.S. alone, she has sold more than 70 million albums, singles and songs, according to Nielsen Music. Born in Mississippi and raised in Louisiana, Spears became a household name as a teenager when she released her first single “…Baby One More Time,” a Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 smash and international hit that broke sales records with more than 20 million copies sold worldwide and is currently 14x Platinum in the U.S.
Her musical career boasts countless awards and accolades, including six Billboard Music Awards and Billboard’s Millennium Award, which recognizes outstanding career achievements and influence in the music industry as well as an American Music Award and the 2011 MTV Video Vanguard Award. So far, Spears has earned a total of six No.1-debuting albums on the Billboard 200 chart and 22 top 40 hit singles on the Billboard Hot 100 — four of which went to No. 1. Spears has been nominated for eight Grammy Awards and won for Best Dance Recording in 2005.”
Andy Serkis and Tiffany Haddish had the honor of announcing the nominees for the 2018 Oscars bright and early on January 23, 2018. Celebrating the best in films from 2017, the 2018 Oscars list of nominees was topped by The Shape of Water with 13 nominations. Dunkirk scored eight nominations including Best Picture, and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri earned seven nominations including Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Actress (Frances McDormand).
The shockers included Phantom Thread‘s Lesley Manville instead of Holly Hunter in the Best Supporting Actress category, Daniel Day-Lewis in the Best Actor category, and Phantom Thread grabbed one of the nine spots in the Best Picture category as well as a director nomination. Phantom Thread earned a lot more love from the Academy than it did from any awards group or guild leading up to the Oscars. Jane didn’t earn a spot in the Best Documentary category, and it’s bizarre Martin McDonagh did not receive a Best Director nod for his fantastic work on Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.
Congratulations go to Mudbound‘s cinematographer Rachel Morrison for being the first female to earn a nomination in the Best Cinematography category. Lady Bird‘s Greta Gerwig became only the fifth female director to earn recognition in that major category. And, Oscar fav Meryl Streep’s nomination for The Post increased her record for the most nominations as a performer to 21.
The 90th Academy Awards will be held on Sunday, March 4, 2018. The awards show will air live from Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood on ABC beginning at 3:30pm PT/6:30pm ET. Jimmy Kimmel is returning to host what’s sure to be an interesting show, given the state of the world.
The 2018 Oscars – The Nominees:
Best Picture
Call Me by Your Name
Darkest Hour
Dunkirk
Get Out
Lady Bird
Phantom Thread
The Post
The Shape of Water
Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri
Directing
Dunkirk – Christopher Nolan
Get Out – Jordan Peele
Lady Bird – Greta Gerwig
Phantom Thread – Paul Thomas Anderson
The Shape of Water – Guillermo del Toro
Actor in a Leading Role
Timothée Chalamet – Call Me by Your Name
Daniel Day-Lewis – Phantom Thread
Daniel Kaluuya – Get Out
Gary Oldman – Darkest Hour
Denzel Washington – Roman J. Israel, Esq.
Actor in a Supporting Role
Willem Dafoe – The Florida Project
Woody Harrelson – Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri
Richard Jenkins – The Shape of Water
Christopher Plummer – All the Money in the World
Sam Rockwell – Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri
Actress in a Leading Role
Sally Hawkins – The Shape of Water
Frances McDormand – Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri
Margot Robbie – I, Tonya
Saoirse Ronan – Lady Bird
Meryl Streep – The Post
Actress in a Supporting Role
Mary J. Blige – Mudbound
Allison Janney – I, Tonya
Lesley Manville – Phantom Thread
Laurie Metcalf – Lady Bird
Octavia Spencer – The Shape of Water
Animated Feature Film
The Boss Baby
The Breadwinner
Coco
Ferdinand
Loving Vincent
Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
Call Me by Your Name – Screenplay by James Ivory
The Disaster Artist – Screenplay by Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber
Logan – Screenplay by Scott Frank & James Mangold and Michael Green; Story by James Mangold
Molly’s Game – Written for the screen by Aaron Sorkin
Mudbound – Screenplay by Virgil Williams and Dee Rees
Writing (Original Screenplay)
The Big Sick – Written by Emily V. Gordon & Kumail Nanjiani
Get Out – Written by Jordan Peele
Lady Bird – Written by Greta Gerwig
The Shape of Water – Screenplay by Guillermo del Toro & Vanessa Taylor; Story by Guillermo del Toro
Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri – Written by Martin McDonagh
Cinematography
Blade Runner 2049 – Roger A. Deakins
Darkest Hour – Bruno Delbonnel
Dunkirk – Hoyte van Hoytema
Mudbound – Rachel Morrison
The Shape of Water – Dan Laustsen
Costume Design
Beauty and the Beast – Jacqueline Durran
Darkest Hour – Jacqueline Durran
Phantom Thread – Mark Bridges
The Shape of Water – Luis Sequeira
Victoria & Abdul – Consolata Boyle
Documentary (Feature)
Abacus: Small Enough to Jail
Faces Places
Icarus
Last Men in Aleppo
Strong Island
Documentary (Short Subject)
Edith+Eddie
Heaven Is a Traffic Jam on the 405
Heroin(e)
Knife Skills
Traffic Stop
Film Editing
Baby Driver – Paul Machliss and Jonathan Amos
Dunkirk – Lee Smith
I, Tonya – Tatiana S. Riegel
The Shape of Water – Sidney Wolinsky
Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri – Jon Gregory
Foreign Language Film
A Fantastic Woman – Chile
The Insult – Lebanon
Loveless – Russia
On Body and Soul – Hungary
The Square – Sweden
Makeup and Hairstyling
Darkest Hour – Kazuhiro Tsuji, David Malinowski and Lucy Sibbick
Victoria & Abdul – Daniel Phillips and Lou Sheppard
Wonder – Arjen Tuiten
Music (Original Score)
Dunkirk – Hans Zimmer
Phantom Thread – Jonny Greenwood
The Shape of Water – Alexandre Desplat
Star Wars: The Last Jedi – John Williams
Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri – Carter Burwell
Music (Original Song)
Mighty River – from Mudbound; Music and Lyric by Mary J. Blige, Raphael Saadiq and Taura Stinson
Mystery Of Love – from Call Me by Your Name; Music and Lyric by Sufjan Stevens
Remember Me – from Coco; Music and Lyric by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez
Stand Up For Something – from Marshall; Music by Diane Warren; Lyric by Lonnie R. Lynn and Diane Warren
This Is Me – from The Greatest Showman; Music and Lyric by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul
Production Design
Beauty and the Beast – Production Design: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
Blade Runner 2049 – Production Design: Dennis Gassner; Set Decoration: Alessandra Querzola
Darkest Hour – Production Design: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
Dunkirk – Production Design: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Gary Fettis
The Shape of Water – Production Design: Paul Denham Austerberry; Set Decoration: Shane Vieau and Jeff Melvin
Short Film (Animated)
Dear Basketball
Garden Party
Lou
Negative Space
Revolting Rhymes
Short Film (Live Action)
DeKalb Elementary
The Eleven O’Clock
My Nephew Emmett
The Silent Child
Watu Wote/All of Us
Sound Editing
Baby Driver – Julian Slater
Blade Runner 2049 – Mark Mangini and Theo Green
Dunkirk – Richard King and Alex Gibson
The Shape of Water – Nathan Robitaille and Nelson Ferreira
Star Wars: The Last Jedi – Matthew Wood and Ren Klyce
Sound Mixing
Baby Driver – Julian Slater, Tim Cavagin and Mary H. Ellis
Blade Runner 2049 – Ron Bartlett, Doug Hemphill and Mac Ruth
Dunkirk – Mark Weingarten, Gregg Landaker and Gary A. Rizzo
The Shape of Water – Christian Cooke, Brad Zoern and Glen Gauthier
Star Wars: The Last Jedi – David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Stuart Wilson
Visual Effects
Blade Runner 2049 – John Nelson, Gerd Nefzer, Paul Lambert and Richard R. Hoover
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 – Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Jonathan Fawkner and Dan Sudick
Kong: Skull Island – Stephen Rosenbaum, Jeff White, Scott Benza and Mike Meinardus
Star Wars: The Last Jedi – Ben Morris, Mike Mulholland, Neal Scanlan and Chris Corbould
War for the Planet of the Apes – Joe Letteri, Daniel Barrett, Dan Lemmon and Joel Whist
ABC’s Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season five episode nine looks to be incredibly intense. Titled “Best Laid Plans,” season five’s fifth episode was directed by George Kitson from a script by Garry A. Brown. “Best Laid Plans” will air on Friday, January 26, 2018 at 9pm ET/PT.
The season five cast includes Clark Gregg as Agent Phil Coulson, Ming-Na Wen as Agent Melinda May, Chloe Bennet as Daisy Johnson, Iain De Caestecker as Agent Leo Fitz, Elizabeth Henstridge as Agent Jemma Simmons, Henry Simmons as Agent Alphonso “Mack” MacKenzie, and Natalia Cordova-Buckley as Elena “Yo-Yo” Rodriguez.
Episode nine’s guest cast includes Jeff Ward as Deke, Eve Harlow as Tess, Dominic Rains as Kasius, Florence Faivre as Sinara, Joel Stoffer as Enoch, Coy Stewart as Flint, Michael McGrady as Voss, James Harvey Ward as Gunner, Tunisha Hubbard as Ava, Luke Massey as Hek-Sel and Graham Outerbridge as Doyle. The comic book-inspired series is produced by Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon, Maurissa Tancharoen, Jeph Loeb, and Jeffrey Bell.
The “Best Laid Plans” Plot: Mack, Yo-Yo and Flint fight to keep everyone alive by starting a revolution against the Kree.
Ming-Na Wen and Clark Gregg in ‘Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ season 5 episode 9 (ABC/Eric McCandless)Chloe Bennet in ‘Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ season 5 episode 9 (Photo by Eric McCandless / ABC)Clark Gregg and Chloe Bennet in ‘Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ season 5 episode 9 (ABC/Eric McCandless)Iain De Caestecker in ‘Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ season 5 episode 9 (ABC/Eric McCandless)Clark Gregg in ‘Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ season 5 episode 9 (ABC/Eric McCandless)Joel Stoffer in ‘Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ season 5 episode 9 (ABC/Eric McCandless)
Lauren German and Tom Ellis in ‘Lucifer’ season 3 episode 12 (Photo Credit: Fox)
Fox’s Lucifer season three episode 12 begins with Lucifer (Tom Ellis) and Marcus Pierce/Cain (Tom Welling) bonding over alcohol, with Cain confessing he was behind Lucifer’s kidnapping that resulted in the sexy Devil waking up in the desert and discovering his wings had returned. However, he didn’t have anything to do with the return of the wings and the loss of Lucifer’s devil face. Cain also confesses to being sad he had to take out his right-hand man, and doesn’t care if Lucifer doesn’t believe him.
Lucifer threatens to tell everyone who Marcus really is, but Cain reminds him no one even believes he’s the Devil so good luck with that.
Over at Chloe and Maze’s place, Maze (Lesley-Ann Brandt) is in trouble for testing her knife-throwing skills by using Trixie’s door as a target. Chloe (Lauren German) can’t believe Maze has been using Trixie’s artwork to cover up knife holes all over the walls, but it turns out that’s not really what has Chloe all upset. She’s pissed Lucifer betrayed her and kidnapped a prisoner, but Maze sets her straight. “You have to understand, Chloe. You are never going to change Lucifer. He is who he is,” explains Maze.
And, the crime scene setting for this episode is the beach. The wealthy residents of the neighborhood are upset transients are trespassing on their beach and can’t believe one must have committed murder. Dan (Kevin Alejandro) fills Chloe in on the victim who happens to be Manny ‘The Moondog’ Taylor, a pro surfer. Dan admits he’s surfing again and is really impressed with the dead guy’s talent.
Ella (Aimee Garcia) determines a surf leash was used to choke their victim. But, it wasn’t Manny’s leash. Just then Lucifer shows up, and he can’t believe Chloe didn’t call him about their new case. Of course, the conversation quickly turns to his needs and he reveals he needs her help figuring out why someone he describes as clever and cunning is lying to him.
Chloe’s flabbergasted that Lucifer came to the murder scene to get her help and, after getting herself under control, she shoos Lucifer away. She’s going to take on this case without him. She advises him to go be with the person he loves most…himself.
Lucifer pays a visit to Dr. Linda (Rachael Harris) and reveals the scoop on Cain. He’s upset Chloe won’t help him figure out what’s up with Pierce, and Linda tells him to for once look at things from Chloe’s side. He just betrayed her trust, and Linda suggests he think about the relationship from Chloe’s perspective. “So, what your saying is I need to make it all about her for a change?” asks Lucifer. He thinks he’s nailed it because if he makes it all about her, she’ll in turn make it about him.
Over at the station, Chloe shows Charlotte (Tricia Helfer) and Ella a video of ‘Dangerous’ Doug Libby threatening Manny one week before Manny’s murder. Charlotte says it’s not enough to prove a murder, and Chloe wants to know if Ella could match Manny’s wound to Doug’s leash. Ella, who’s acting extremely uncharacteristically subdued, says she can.
After Chloe leaves, Ella finally breaks down. Choking back tears, she confesses to Charlotte that Pierce yelled at her for talking too much. It really affected her, and now she’s trying to talk less. Charlotte tells Ella to push through and not do what men tell her to do. (Excellent advice, Charlotte!) Ella needs to grow a thicker skin and stand up for herself.
Chloe’s surprised to find Pierce packing up his office. He explains he put in for a transfer and Chloe wonders if it has to do with the Sinnerman. She suggests he think about it more before leaving, but he says it’s done and tells her not to make a big deal about it.
Meanwhile, Amenadiel (DB Woodside) visits a doctor because he has itchy eyes, a sore throat, and a fever, and it turns out he has chlamydia. Amenadiel doesn’t believe that’s possible, but the doctor assures him he just needs to take antibiotics to clear it up. The doctor also suggests Amenadiel not sleep with any more prostitutes and he needs to call everyone he slept with so they can be tested. (Oh no, Dr. Linda’s on that list!)
Lucifer surprises Chloe while she’s at a surf competition where she hopes to get a hold of Doug’s leash. Attempting to be helpful, Lucifer informs her he’s decided he needs to prioritize her in their friendship. He’s also decided this particular day will be all about her, calling it Detective Day. He even figured out how to get her close to ‘Dangerous’ Doug Libby. He’s signed her up to compete and whips out a tiny bikini she can wear while talking to Doug. She says no to the bikini but yes to the competitor’s pass.
Chloe acts like she’s super impressed and tells Doug she’s a huge fan. She claims Lucifer, who’s lurking over her shoulder, is just a sponsor and makes him leave, then she invites Doug to a rad little beach in Malibu. Chloe checks out Doug’s board and then she spots a ding and asks if he hit something. Of course, that’s when her name’s announced and her picture’s put up on the screen, blowing her cover since it says Detective Decker and the photo shows her in uniform.
Doug takes off running but Lucifer stops him, proclaiming he did it because he’s helping out on Detective Day.
Back at the station, Lucifer reminds Chloe he’s there just for her. Chloe’s too smart to fall for Lucifer’s game and tells him she knows he’s only helping her so she’ll help him with his problem. She also lets him know his Detective Day plan is not working.
Doug’s taken to the interrogation room where he admits right off the bat that he did it, but he didn’t realize he was dead. He then explains he was on a wave, a seal came out of nowhere, and he hit it. It wouldn’t stop barking and blood was everywhere. Chloe and Dan can’t believe Doug thinks he was brought in for killing a seal and when they show him Manny’s photo, Doug is surprised to learn Manny’s dead, too.
Elsewhere in the station, Charlotte gives Pierce a hard time, asking if he takes his coffee dark and bitter like his soul. She wants to know if he always treats his subordinates so horribly and then tells him Ella did not deserve to have her spirit crushed by his harsh treatment.
Leaving the seal-killing Doug in the interrogation room, Chloe doesn’t even stop and passes right by Lucifer. Chloe’s swift departure means Dan is left to answer Lucifer’s questions about how to not annoy Chloe. Dan suggests he should be thoughtful, but not get in her face.
Maze and Linda do a little bonding, with Maze showing off one of her knives. Linda’s a little freaked out until Maze explains she’s giving it to her as a gift. Maze thinks Linda deserves it for how she handled the Amenadiel thing. However, before Linda can explain she and Amenadiel are seeing each other, Amenadiel calls Maze. After she quickly hangs up, Maze tells Linda Amenadiel’s whining about having chlamydia. Linda spits out her wine.
Back at the station, Chloe tells Dan the blood on Doug’s board was indeed seal blood. Dan’s learned a Huntington surf gang called the Orcas have been using surf leashes to choke people to scare them off their beaches. They haven’t killed anyone yet, but that could have changed.
Chloe comes up with the idea to have Dan surf on the Orcas’ beach. She and Pierce watch from a surveillance van as Dan sees members of the surf gang, but not their leader, Wild Child. Finally, Chloe and Pierce spot Wild Child who turns out to be a woman. Chloe warns Dan the Orcas don’t do anything without Wild Child’s instructions, and Dan assures her he knows how to piss off a woman.
Lucifer’s hanging out at Chloe’s desk and has a chat on the phone with Maze trying to figure out how he can make things up to Chloe. He needs to be thoughtful, but Maze isn’t helpful. When a stack of paperwork arrives on Chloe’s desk, Lucifer figures out how to help his partner. He decides to clean up her desk, water her plant with alcohol, and organize all the files that arrived with helpful labels like “Boring Crimes” and “Obvious Killers.” Labels complete, he doesn’t know what to do next.
Lucifer bothers Ella and she tests out Charlotte’s advice. She yells at him to scrub her test tubes and to smile while he’s doing it. Just as quickly she apologizes because this isn’t her. She reveals Pierce is leaving and Lucifer is stunned by that bit of news.
Dan is busy catching waves and cutting off Orcas, including Wild Child. Back in the van, Pierce says he’s going to miss making fun of Dan. Chloe stumbles through a rough explanation that they’re all going to miss their new boss, suggesting again that he doesn’t have to go.
Lucifer arrives and he’s not about to let Pierce leave until they finish their talk. Chloe’s forced out of the van but not before she reminds them to keep an eye on Dan.
Lucifer demands answers and Cain has his own demand: he wants Lucifer to do his Jedi mind trick. Cain reveals his biggest desire is to die. He came to LA not because of Lucifer, but because of Chloe. Cain explains he’s lived on Earth for thousands of years and it’s been like being in Hell. (Remember, it was his file cabinet with folders on celestial beings that we saw in an earlier episode.) He was shocked when he learned Chloe could make the Devil bleed. He thought maybe she could kill him, but he had to kidnap Lucifer first to get him out of the way. Sprouting wings and returning early screwed up Cain’s plan.
Cain changed things up and told the shooter at the ranch he was coming, hoping he’d get shot while in Chloe’s presence. Lucifer’s pissed the detective was in danger, and Cain goes on to explain that his plan didn’t work and being close to Chloe isn’t enough to help him die. Cain convinces Lucifer he doesn’t know why everything – the wings, the devil face, and Chloe – happened to him.
Wild Child and the Orcas approach Dan and Wild Child punches him in the face. He says, “surf’s up” which is supposed to bring Chloe and Pierce running, but nothing happens. Wild Child grabs a leash and Dan asks if that’s what she did to Moondog.
Pierce is too busy talking to Lucifer to pay attention to what’s going on with Dan on the beach. Lucifer can’t figure out what caused his wings to reappear, and Chloe interrupts to say she lost Dan’s audio. They check out the video feed and there’s blood on the beach, but no Dan. They race out to the cliff and see Dan, Wild Child, and the Orcas participating in a paddle-out ceremony in Moondog’s memory.
Dan admits he thought they killed him because of the surf leash strangulation and the Orcas’ tags on the walls. Wild Child claims they don’t go near the private beaches and didn’t kill Moondog.
Lauren German and Tom Ellis in ‘Lucifer’ season 3 episode 12 (Photo Credit: Fox)
Once more to the station we go and Dan is sure the Orcas didn’t kill Moondog. They arrive at Chloe’s desk and Lucifer proudly shows off his neatly labeled and color-coded crime files. Dan backs away quickly as Chloe appears as though she’s about to explode. Maybe the shirtless in bed computer background photo of himself he’s installed on Chloe’s desktop was a step too far…
Chloe reminds him he hurt her and says she’s never going to help him with his investigation, but he tells her he doesn’t need help with that anymore. When she asks why he’s still there, Lucifer replies, “Because this case matters to you, therefore it matters to me. We’re partners, Detective.”
Chloe lets him off the hook, but can’t believe he’s got folders for “Hot Suspects” and one that’s just “Graffiti.” However, it appears Lucifer once again unwittingly broke a case. The graffiti folder contains photos of the private beach signs put up where Moondog’s body was found. California doesn’t have private beaches, and Chloe narrows down their suspect to the resident who spoke to Dan earlier and had been cited for putting up the private beach signs.
To test her theory, Chloe and Lucifer set up beach chairs outside the resident’s house. The suspect, Justine (Kate Beahan), immediately confronts them, asking if they saw the private property signs. Chloe’s using one to fan herself and Justine threatens to call the police. Too late as they’re already looking through her house as she talks to Chloe and Lucifer on the beach.
The police find the leash used to strangle Manny. She finally admits it and says Manny was just a means to an end. She wanted everyone to stay away from her beach. Lucifer appears to have had an epiphany and leaves Chloe alone on the beach without any warning or explanation.
Dr. Linda and Amenadiel meet for dinner and Linda admits she doesn’t want to sneak around. Neither does Amenadiel apparently as he wants to go public with their relationship. Linda thinks they shouldn’t be together at all, and then they get into a discussion about chlamydia. His doctor calls during the discussion and admits he was wrong, Amenadiel doesn’t have chlamydia.
Linda thinks if she dates Amenadiel it means she’s a bad friend to Maze. She does really like him, and Amenadiel really likes her. They kiss, not realizing Maze is watching from another table.
Marcus Pierce is about to leave the station but stops in at Ella’s office before exiting. She gives him a piece of her mind, calling him rude and unprofessional. She asks for an apology and he agrees, saying he was in a bad place and took it out on her. She offers a hug and he accepts. Ella smiles and says, “You’re going to miss me.”
Lucifer pulls up just as Pierce is about to start his motorcycle. He’s finally figured out why his dad returned his wings. The wings aren’t about Lucifer, they’re about Cain. Lucifer believes God wanted to stop Cain from defying him and used him to do it. The return of the wings ruined Cain’s kidnapping plan, and Lucifer’s figured out this all means he was actually just a means to an end – like the dead surfer was for the rich resident.
“My dad screwed us both, but perhaps there’s a way for us to screw him back,” says Lucifer. Lucifer thinks if he kills Cain, it will screw God. Lucifer swears he’ll figure out a way to kill Cain if he stays in LA. He offers Cain a deal with the Devil. They shake on it, and Cain smiles.
