The new two-minute behind-the-scenes video from Death Note focuses on how Ryuk was brought to life in the film. Death Note‘s based on the popular Japanese manga by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata and was directed by Adam Wingard (Blair Witch). Wingard discusses Ryuk in the behind-the-scenes peek, and Willem Dafoe (Spider-Man) talks about how he approached delivering the voice of the character. The cast also includes Lakeith Stanfield (Get Out), Nat Wolff (Paper Towns), Margaret Qualley (The Leftovers), Paul Nakauchi (Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End), and Shea Whigham (American Hustle).
Death Note opened in select theaters and premiered on Netflix on August 25, 2017.
The Plot:Death Note follows a high school student who comes across a supernatural notebook, realizing it holds within it a great power; if the owner inscribes someone’s name into it while picturing their face, he or she will die. Intoxicated with his new godlike abilities, the young man begins to kill those he deems unworthy of life.
Johnny Paycheck in the animated series, ‘Mike Judge Presents: Tales from the Tour Bus’ (Photo Courtesy of CINEMAX)
Cinemax has set a Friday, September 22, 2017 premiere date for the animated series, Mike Judge Presents: Tales from the Tour Bus. Judge co-created, narrates, and executive produces the series which is set in the Country music world and features interviews with bandmates, friends, and other associates of Country artists. Season one will consist of eight half-hour episodes focusing on Johnny Paycheck, Jerry Lee Lewis, George Jones, Tammy Wynette, Billy Joe Shaver, Waylon Jennings (two parts), and Blaze Foley.
Tales from the Tour Bus is a return to the animated genre for Mike Judge who created Beavis and Butt-Head and co-created King of the Hill. Richard Mullins and Dub Cornett co-created Tales from the Tour Bus and executive produce with Glen Zipper, Sean Stuart and Dub Cornett. John Frizzell (The Following, United States of Tara) composed the series’ music.
The Plot:Mike Judge Presents: Tales from the Tour Bus recounts the raucous adventures of these musicians, as told by those who knew them best. The series includes uncensored anecdotes about the exploits of these artists, brought to life by animated reenactments, woven together with live-action archival performance footage and photos.
Tales from the Tour Bus Episodes:
Episode #1: “Johnny Paycheck”
Debut: FRIDAY, SEPT. 22 (10:00-10:30 p.m. ET/PT)
In addition to selling 40 million records and producing chart-topping hits like “She’s All I Got” and “Take This Job and Shove It,” country music outlaw Johnny Paycheck became notorious for living the part. He was known for his music, grand theft auto, drug binges and stints in jail. At the height of Paycheck’s fame, he shot a man over a turtle soup recipe, which led to a high-profile trial, a prison sentence and one of his greatest hits, “Old Violin.”
Written by Mike Judge, Dub Cornett, Richard Mullins, Jeff Feuerzeig, Julien Nitzberg; directed by Mike Judge.
Episode #2: “Jerry Lee Lewis”
Debut: FRIDAY, SEPT. 29 (10:00-10:30 p.m.)
One of the pioneers of rock’n’roll, Jerry Lee Lewis also happened to be a country music singer who liked to call himself “The Killer.” He made a name for himself not just as a magnetic piano-playing singer, but also as an impulsive, gun-wielding wild man, who stoked epic rivalries with the likes of Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley. The Killer also notoriously married his 13-year-old second cousin, setting off an epic worldwide scandal.
Written by Mike Judge, Mark Monroe; directed by Mike Judge.
Episode #3: “George Jones and Tammy Wynette (Part One)”
Debut: FRIDAY, OCT. 6 (10:00-10:30 p.m.)
He was a poor boy from a bootleggers’ town in the Texas backwoods. She was a cotton-picking Mississippi girl dreaming of stardom in Nashville. Together, George Jones and Tammy Wynette became the first power couple in country music. They were perfect in the public eye, but their tumultuous relationship was punctuated by George’s alcohol-fueled escapades and his paranoia over Tammy’s romantic past. She tried to keep the marriage from turning toxic, singing “Stand By Your Man,” her greatest hit, onstage with her husband every night.
Written by Mike Judge, Mark Monroe, Jeff Feuerzeig, Julien Nitzberg; directed by Mike Judge.
Episode #4: “George Jones and Tammy Wynette (Part Two)”
Debut: FRIDAY, OCT. 13 (10:00-10:30 p.m.)
Collaborating on 33 hit songs and nine studio albums, George Jones and Tammy Wynette projected an image of marital bliss. Backstage, real life was more of a mess, highlighted by actual gunplay, an accusation of poisoning and ingenious disappearing acts in the name of alcohol. The marriage was ultimately sacrificed, but the music survived. Despite George’s split personalities and Tammy’s endless string of men, the two maintained an artistic partnership that stood the test of time and gave them one of their greatest hits, “Golden Rings,” about love and marriage.
Written by Mike Judge, Mark Monroe, Jeff Feuerzeig, Julien Nitzberg; directed by Mike Judge.
Rami Malek as Elliot Alderson in ‘Mr. Robot’ season 3 (Photo by Michael Parmelee / USA Network)
If you weren’t already anxiously anticipating the return of Mr. Robot, this new season three trailer will remind fans what makes this drama a must-see series. In addition to the one minute trailer, USA Network unveiled five new character posters featuring Rami Malek, Christian Slater, Carly Chaikin, Portia Doubleday, and Grace Gummer. Season three is set to premiere on Wednesday, October 11, 2017 at 10pm ET/PT.
The cast of the 10 episode season two includes Rami Malek as Elliot Alderson, Christian Slater as Mr. Robot, Portia Doubleday as Angela Moss, Carly Chaikin as Darlene, Martin Wallström as Tyrell Wellick, Grace Gummer as Dominique DiPierro, Michael Cristofer as Phillip Price, BD Wong as Whiterose, and Stephanie Corneliussen as Joanna Wellick. Sam Esmail, the series’ creator, is the writer and executive produces. Steve Golin and Chad Hamilton also serve as season two executive producers.
The Plot:Mr. Robot follows Elliot Alderson (Malek), a cyber-security engineer who, along with Mr. Robot (Slater) and fsociety, starts a revolution to change the world. Picking up immediately following the Season 2 cliffhanger, Season 3 will explore each character’s motivations and the disintegration between Elliot and Mr. Robot.
Alycia Debnam-Carey (Fear the Walking Dead, The 100), William Moseley (The Royals), and Connor Paolo (Gossip Girls) star in the horror thriller, Friend Request, which has just released a brand new trailer and poster. The creepy trailer mixes social media and the supernatural, setting up Debnam-Carey’s character as the target of a lethal curse. The cast also includes Brit Morgan, Brooke Markham, Sean Marquette, Liesl Ahlers, and Shashawnee Hall.
Friend Request was written by Simon Verhoeven, Philip Koch, and Matthew Ballen, and directed by Verhoeven. Byron Allen, Carolyn Folks, Jennifer Lucas, Chris Charalambous, Mark Borde, Richard Barner, and Chad Doher served as executive producers. Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures’ is planning a September 22, 2017 theatrical release.
The Plot: Popular college student Laura (Alycia Debnam-Carey) has tons of friends, both on Facebook and IRL. She graciously accepts social outcast Marina’s (Liesl Ahlers) online friend request, until Marina crosses the line and Laura unfriends her. To everyone’s shock, Marina takes her own life in a ritual meant to torment Laura, which appears in a video posted on Laura’s profile.
Even though it wasn’t Laura who posted the video, or other creepy content that begins appearing on her page, her Facebook friend count begins to dwindle as a result. When her real-life friends start dying mysterious, cruel deaths, Laura must figure out how to break the deadly curse before it’s too late.
The feature film adaptation of Garrard Conley’s Boy Erased has added Emmy Award winner Cherry Jones (24), Grammy Award winner Michael “Flea” Balzary of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Xavier Dolan (I Killed My Mother), Troye Sivan, Emily Hinkler (Tyler Perry’s Boo 2), Jesse LaTourette (Z Nation), David Joseph Craig (The Gift), Théodore Pellerin (It’s Only the End of the World), and Britton Sear (Vice Principals). They will be joining Oscar winners Nicole Kidman (The Hours) and Russell Crowe (Gladiator), along with Oscar nominee Lucas Hedges (Manchester by the Sea), in the dramatic film based on Garrard Conley’s memoir.
Joel Edgerton adapted Conley’s story for the screen, with Conley actively involved as a consultant “to ensure the film is an accurate adaption of his memoir,” according to Focus Features. Boy Erased is Edgerton’s second film as director following his successful directorial debut with 2015’s The Gift in which he starred alongside Rebecca Hall and Jason Bateman. Filming is expected to get underway later this year, and Focus Features is targeting a 2018 theatrical release.
Rebecca Yeldham, Ann Ruark, Kim Hodgert, and Tony Lipp are on board as executive producers. Edgerton, Kerry Kohansky-Roberts, and Steve Golin are producing.
“The Boy Erased cast is rounding out in a way I could only dream of. We have gathered an incredible ensemble of actors,” stated Edgerton.
The Plot: The film will tell the story of Jared (Hedges), the son of a Baptist pastor in a small American town, who is outed to his parents (Kidman and Crowe) at age 19. Jared is faced with an ultimatum: attend a gay conversion therapy program – or be permanently exiled and shunned by his family, friends, and faith. Boy Erased is the true story of one young man’s struggle to find himself while being forced to question every aspect of his identity.
Season 35 of CBS’s reality competition series, Survivor, will feature an NFL player, an Olympian, and a celebrity assistant, along with a firefighter, a Marine, a diversity advocate, and a social worker. The 18 castaways on Survivor‘s 35th season will initially be separated into three groups: Heroes, Healers, and Hustlers. Per CBS, “heroes are used to being heralded for their achievements, healers receive gratitude for their work and hustlers must earn respect from others.”
Emmy Award-winner Jeff Probst returns as host, guiding the action taking place on the Mamanuca Islands in Fiji. CBS has set a Wednesday, September 27, 2017 at 8pm ET/PT premiere for the new season which finds the castaways once again competing to outwit, outplay, and outlast each other in order to earn the title of Sole Survivor.
This season’s tribes will be called “Levu” (the Heroes Tribe), “Soko” (the Healers Tribe), and “Yawa’ (the Hustlers Tribe).
Survivor Season 35 Castaways:
“LEVU”- HEROES TRIBE
Alan Ball, 31
Hometown: Houston, Texas via Detroit, Mich.
NFL Player
Ben Driebergen, 34
Hometown: Boise, Id.
Marine
John “JP” Hilsabeck, 28
Hometown: Los Angeles
Firefighter
In support of its upcoming Toronto International Film Festival premiere, Professor Marston & the Wonder Women has just unveiled three new character posters. The batch of posters feature Luke Evans (Beauty and the Beast) as Dr. William Moulton Marston, Bella Heathcote (The Man in the High Castle) as Olive Byrne, and Rebecca Hall (The Gift) as Elizabeth Marston. The film’s based on a true story and was written and directed by Angela Robinson (The L Word), with Amy Redford and Terry Leonard producing.
Annapurna Pictures is targeting an October 13, 2017 theatrical release.
The Plot: In a superhero origin tale unlike any other, the film is the incredible true story of what inspired Harvard psychologist Dr. William Moulton Marston to create the iconic Wonder Woman character in the 1940’s. While Marston’s feminist superhero was criticized by censors for her ‘sexual perversity,’ he was keeping a secret that could have destroyed him.
Marston’s muses for the Wonder Woman character were his wife Elizabeth Marston and their lover Olive Byrne, two empowered women who defied convention: working with Marston on human behavior research — while building a hidden life with him that rivaled the greatest of superhero disguises.
Michelle Pfeiffer in Paramount Pictures’ ‘mother!’
The latest video clip from mother! finds Michelle Pfeiffer pressuring Jennifer Lawrence into having children. Written and directed by Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan, Requiem for a Dream), the thriller stars Oscar winners Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook) and Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men), and Oscar nominees Ed Harris (Apollo 13) and Michelle Pfeiffer (Dangerous Liaisons). Paramount Pictures is targeting a September 15, 2017 theatrical release.
Jeff Waxman, Josh Stern, and Mark Heyman executive produce, with Scott Franklin and Ari Handel producing.
The Plot: A couple’s relationship is tested when uninvited guests arrive at their home, disrupting their tranquil existence. From filmmaker Darren Aronofsky, mother! stars Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Ed Harris and Michelle Pfeiffer in this psychological thriller about love, devotion and sacrifice.
Dacre Montgomery in ‘Stranger Things’ (Photo Credit: Netflix)
Dacre Montgomery’s 2017 finds him following up a starring role in the reboot of the popular Power Rangers franchise by playing a villain in season two of one of the most binge-worthy shows on television, Netflix’s Stranger Things. The cast of Netflix’s critically acclaimed series made the trek to the 2017 San Diego Comic Con to deliver non-spoilery answers to what’s in store for the show’s much anticipated second season during a packed Q&A with fans. They also hit the red carpet to discuss season two, with Dacre Montgomery providing a little insight into his character, Billy. Season two will premiere on October 27, 2017.
You got to reboot one of the quintessential ‘90s franchises earlier this year and now Stranger Things is so embedded in the ‘80s. Are there any similarities or are they vastly different?
Dacre Montgomery: “I think there’s many similarities in the sense that it’s a coming of age story just like Power Rangers is. It’s about kids going through puberty, growing up, learning things, learning through failure, learning through success. And, ultimately, sort of banding together just like that film is just the same. But I wasn’t born in the ‘80s so I don’t know a lot of things about the time to stay authentic to that period. And embodying a villain as well, I play a protagonist in Power Rangers so playing the antagonist has certainly been lots of fun.”
How does Billy the antagonist fit in with these kids who are coming of age?
Dacre Montgomery: “I think he ruffles a few feathers. I think it’s like that time of life when you’re like, ‘Whoa, who is that person in my life that sort of messed with me or made me feel weird or bad?’ He’s a scary character, you know? It’s unnerving.”
Does Billy have anything to do with the Upside Down?
Dacre Montgomery: “No. But there’s a lot of sort of exposition in the season where you’ll sort of discover more.”
What should we know about Billy going in?
Dacre Montgomery: “The Duffers mentioned a lot of Jack Nicholson type stuff, so I’ll just leave you with that. I love Jack Nicholson so it’s certainly fantastic to sort of play with his kind of presence.”
Do you do a good Jack?
Dacre Montgomery: (Laughing) “I don’t know. I hope so. I hope that I can find qualities (like that) and make him my own. Somebody who is my own age and discovering myself.”
Watch the full Dacre Montgomery Stranger Things interview:
Stranger Things Season 1: A love letter to the ’80s classics that captivated a generation, Stranger Things is set in 1983 Indiana, where a young boy vanishes into thin air. As friends, family and local police search for answers, they are drawn into an extraordinary mystery involving top-secret government experiments, terrifying supernatural forces and one very strange little girl.
Stranger Things Season 2: It’s 1984 and the citizens of Hawkins, Indiana are still reeling from the horrors of the Demogorgon and the secrets of Hawkins Lab. Will Byers has been rescued from the Upside Down but a bigger, sinister entity still threatens those who survived.
Fox’s The Gifted is set in the X-Men world and stars Stephen Moyer (‘Reed Strucker’), Amy Acker (‘Caitlin Strucker’), Sean Teale (‘Eclipse’/’Marcos Diaz’), Blair Redford (‘Thunderbird’/’John Proudstar’), Natalie Alyn Lind (‘Lauren Strucker’), Percy Hynes White (‘Andy Strucker’), Jamie Chung (‘Blink’/’Clarice Fong’ aka ‘Clarice Ferguson’), Coby Bell (‘Jace Turner’), and Emma Dumont (‘Polaris’/’Lorna Dane’). Fox brought the cast to the 2017 San Diego Comic-Con to promote season one of the comic book-inspired series, which is set to premiere on October 2, 2017, with Sean Teale and Blair Redford paired up for roundtable interviews.
Teale and Redford talked about their characters, the appeal of being a part of this X-Men world, and working with X-Men veteran, Bryan Singer.
Can you talk about the social themes that are being explored on the show?
Sean Teale: “People keep on asking about why X-Men is still relevant and why it deals with civil issues, and I think the reason why is because of its conception. That was the case. Magneto and Charles Xavier were made into Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, and if that’s the way that this concept was conceived, then that’s going to emanate throughout the mythology later on. And so, in this show, we have that same thing with civil rights issues.
These people aren’t superheroes who don suits and fly magic jets and save the world, these are human beings that are persecuted for doing nothing other than being themselves which is mutants because they’ve just been bestowed this X-Gene they didn’t ask for. And so, the social issues that we’re dealing with exist on the planet already: persecution of the skin type that you have or your gender or your sexuality or your age, weight, height, anything. What nationality you are, how you speak, or if you have any disabilities.
That persecution is all relevant on our show because you don’t have a choice in those things. You don’t choose them. Maybe your weight you could choose…you could choose not to have that extra dessert. But, that’s what this show is dealing with is human beings persecuted for being nothing other than themselves and coming together and trying to fight for their rights as people. I think that’s quite relevant.”
Is the world of The Gifted similar to the world of Incorporated?
Sean Teale: “The world of Incorporated was quite frightening. It was set in the future and it was grounded and realistic as possible with the projections that they made, but quite sinister and quite dark. This does have some connections to that. There are trade-offs. Some people fall afoul of the system and others do not. That will always happen in every story. But that’s where the similarities would end, I guess, because I could go on for days and I ramble – as you’ve noticed. So, that’s really where it ends and this is very different, actually.”
What was it like working with Bryan Singer on the pilot?
Blair Redford: “That was incredible. Right off the bat when I heard he was attached you know you’re getting a pillar of the X-Men franchise helming the project. We felt like we were in great hands. His instincts are incredible. He’s an encyclopedia of X-Men knowledge.
What I found amazing working with him too is that as a director he’s always cutting and editing in his head. It’s an interesting process where his understanding of the franchise and of the powers and how they all work – he’s got such a strong grasp that he’ll be shooting something and what normally might take a discussion to figure out, he’s cut the scene in his head. He’s figured out, ‘That power doesn’t quite look this way,’ or ‘it won’t cut that way.’ He’s just a good leader when it comes to making this project. Obviously, that’s why he’s a part of it.”
What was the lure of the characters you’re playing? What got you excited about them?
Sean Teale: “What got me excited was the world because the characters are sort of very much…well, they not only live in this world but are derived from this world. They’re molded and sort of poked and prodded and manipulated by the world that they live in and the circumstances that they’re in. Because of this terrifying world and these dangerous scenarios, what’s really interesting is how these people are going to react. Not only do they have this thing that they don’t know whether they control yet, they live in a world where people resent that so do they resent themselves? Why wouldn’t you want to play someone that’s trying to do one thing, trying to do good in the world when the world is trying not to do good by them? And how far can those people go before they start to jeopardize what they believe in and it starts to tear away at the threads of who they are under duress? We’ve all seen people crack and change because of that, so it was really fun to have that dynamic happen.
I think Thunderbird and Polaris and Eclipse – you’ll see throughout the series that relationship does factor in. Thunderbird has a way of thinking and it’s in my opinion a good one. Polaris has another one and Eclipse…we all get torn between the two opposing factors and that sounded really fun to play because who doesn’t want to play in these extreme situations, ordinary people in these extraordinary circumstances? That’s really fun.”
Blair Redford: “What I was drawn to about Thunderbird, I didn’t even know who I was reading for when we first auditioned. They kept it a secret. What I was drawn to was Thunderbird is obviously this guy with superhuman strength, we’ve seen that portrayed a lot in different stories. But, he has this other power of foresight. He has heightened senses and was a tracker. It kind of made him a little more well-rounded.”
Sean Teale: “He’s not just a grunt.”
Blair Redford: “Yeah. And any character I look at I try to examine what their origin story is, what their history is. I thought with Thunderbird there’s so much to delve into. I mean, he’s got this Apache background, this tracker background, he’s ex-military…there’s a lot of stuff to go off of. His brother, Warpath, there’s a lot of deep stuff to delve into. That made it interesting for me.”
There’s another X-Men series out now, Legion. Will these two series complement each other?
Sean Teale: “From what I’ve seen of Legion, it’s a very unique show on its own. So, fortunately, there won’t be the problem of clashing because it’s quite hard to clash with something unless you’re similar to it. Legion is very much its own thing in the way it’s shot. The way that it’s sort of staged is very different to how ours is. You’d hope that they do sort of complement each other. I can’t tell for sure. But one thing is that they won’t clash. I can’t imagine someone watching Legion and going, ‘Well, there’s no way The Gifted can be watchable because this is.’ That would be quite worrying and it would be a shame. (Laughing) So, don’t do that, please! We hope they complement each other.”
How does the show relate to the existing X-Men movie universe? Is The Gifted in the same universe?
Blair Redford: “Matt Nix, our creator, has given a bit of information on that. I think what he alludes to a lot is that from Days of Future Past there are actual different timelines that have sprouted up. So, keep that in mind. We can exist on our own. There’s no direct connection at the moment to Logan or to the last X-Men film that was in theaters.”
Sean Teale: “We exist in that universe but with our own lineage, I guess. There will be things that are alluded to. You’ve got Thunderbird and Blink and Polaris so you know that we’re part of this world.”
Blair Redford: “And the X-Men and the Brotherhood existed in our story.”
It’s set in 2017?
Blair Redford: “Yes, it’s set in the present day.”
