Vikings star Travis Fimmel and History are collaborating on a new scripted anthology series. The network says Fimmel, who recently finished up his run as Ragnar Lothbrok on the popular dramatic series Vikings, will be developing the series and has already written the first episode. Fimmel will also executive produce and star as Wyatt Earp, according to the announcement.
The still untitled anthology series will focus on “the true story of Wyatt Earp, from his days in the violent Dodge City and his complex relationships with Doc Holliday and Bat Masterson, to the real story of what happened during the legendary gunfight at the OK Corral.” Moving forward, the series will tell the stories of “iconic sinners and anti-heroes throughout history.”
The project is set up with A+E Studios, Atlas Entertainment, and Imperative Entertainment. Charles Roven and Alex Gartner are on board as executive producers.
“I’ve always been fascinated with what motivates people’s transgressions and the scandalous journey into infamy,” said Fimmel. “I wanted to re-examine stories people think they know without the rose-colored glasses of Hollywood and let the audience decide for themselves if people like Wyatt Earp were sinners or victims of life circumstances. When it came time to bring this project together I knew HISTORY, A+E Studios, Atlas and Imperative would be great partners.”
“Travis is a remarkable actor and we’re honored to continue our relationship with him after his recent magnetic performance on Vikings,” stated Arturo Interian, Senior Vice President, Scripted Programming, HISTORY. “Just as Travis brought a completely fresh and unexpected approach to his character Ragnar Lothbrok, this would be an unconventional portrayal of Earp like you’ve never seen. We intend to capture the violent spirit of the great Sergio Leone films through telling the true story of criminal turned lawman.”
The CW’s Reign returns for its fourth and final season on February 10, 2017 and the network’s released a plot description along with new photos from the first episode. Season four episode one titled ‘With Friends Like These’ airing at 9pm ET/PT on February 10th was directed by Stuart Gillard from a script by Wendy Riss and Drew Lindo.
The season four cast includes Adelaide Kane as Queen Mary, Rachel Skarsten as Queen Elizabeth, Megan Fellows as Queen Catherine, Dan Jeannotte as James, and Will Kemp as Lord Darnley. Ben Geurens, Celina Sinden, Craig Parker, Spencer MacPherson, and Rose Williams also star in Reign‘s final season.
The ‘With Friends Like These’ Plot: MARY VOWS TO AVENGE LOLA’S DEATH — Queen Mary, unsure who to trust, tests her brother James to ensure his loyalty after hearing of his meeting with John Knox (Jonathan Goad). Queen Elizabeth agrees to help Lord Darnley in an attempt to sabotage the powerful suitor’s relationship with Mary.
Robin Wright and Kevin Spacey in ‘House of Cards’ season 4 (Photo by David Giesbrecht/Netflix)
Netflix smartly timed their announcement of the premiere date of House of Cards season five to coincide with the inauguration of the new U.S. president. Season five of the popular award-winnning political drama will arrive on Tuesday, May 30, 2017, with Netflix unveiling the premiere date accompanied by a 20 second teaser video featuring the American flag flying upside down outside the White House. Season five of House of Cards is led by Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright and includes Michael Kelly, Jayne Atkinson, Neve Campbell, Derek Cecil, Paul Sparks, and Joel Kinnaman.
The new season of House of Cards, created by Beau Willimon, has Melissa James Gibson and Frank Pugliese as showrunners and executive producers. Spacey, Wright, David Fincher, John Mankiewicz, Daniel Minahan, Joshua Donen, Dana Brunetti, Eric Roth, Michael Dobbs, and Andrew Davies also serve as executive producers on the Emmy Award-winning series.
The Plot: The series’s Golden Globe® winning stars Kevin Spacey (as Francis Underwood) and Robin Wright (as Claire Underwood), whose characters have always been each other’s strongest allies, show cracks in their relationship.
Michael Keaton in The Weinstein Company’s ‘The Founder’
“McDonald’s can be the new American church, and it ain’t just opened on Sundays, boys,” says Ray Kroc (Michael Keaton) to the McDonald brothers as he tries to convince them to hire him to help franchise their one fast food burger eatery in the dramatic film, The Founder, based on true events.
The film begins in the 1950s with Ray Kroc, a struggling middle-aged milkshake machine salesman from Illinois, driving to San Bernardino, CA, after learning a small burger eatery ordered six of his machines. Kroc meets with the burger joint’s owners, Mac McDonald (John Carroll Lynch) and Dick McDonald (Nick Offerman), and witnesses their revolutionary “speedy” system of making food.
Proud and confident, the brothers give Kroc the tour of their small eatery and he’s awestruck by the efficiency of their workers, the taste of the burgers, and the fact that the lone burger place was extremely popular with the locals. Kroc senses a potential for big money and offers to take the brothers to dinner because he wants to hear their story.
At dinner, the brothers reveal how they ended up in the food business and how they realized in order to stand out and make a go of it, they created the speedy system where your food is ready in 30 seconds instead of 30 minutes like other burger places. Kroc is fascinated with the brothers’ story and tries to convince them to let him help them franchise it from coast to coast. Reluctant at first, the brothers decide to draw up a contract and hire Ray to franchise their local burger restaurant.
Kroc begins to work to have the brothers’ burger place, McDonald’s, open all across America. After years of struggling, almost going bankrupt and not making any profit, Kroc discovers a way to legally take the company from the brothers and turn it into the billion-dollar empire it is today.
Based on a true story, The Founder is a smart, intriguing, and engaging film with strong performances. Michael Keaton delivers another fascinating and unforgettable performance as Ray Kroc, the down-on-his-luck salesman who goes from barely being able to afford his mortgage to becoming the billionaire who revolutionized fast food burgers and put McDonald’s in every state in America. Keaton captures and brings to the screen the many sides of Kroc’s personality; his desperation and frustration trying to make a living as a salesman and Kroc’s admiration of the McDonald brothers’ burger place and the need to be a part of it. Keaton also shows perfectly how the greed and need to take the business from the brothers grows after he finds success in creating the franchise and being the face of McDonald’s. It’s truly a performance worthy of an Oscar nomination.
Nick Offerman and John Carroll Lynch deliver strong performances as the McDonald brothers, with Lynch being the talkative and likable one and Offerman being the brains behind the operation while being socially rigid. The two actors have solid chemistry together and are the tragic figures in the film.
The film’s production design is terrific, bringing back to life the look, sound, feel, and pulse that was 1950s America, perfectly capturing the cars, clothes, music, furniture, and hairstyles of the era. Also very impressive is the look and design of the original McDonald’s and the very first golden arches.
The only real problem with the film is when it steers off course and briefly focuses on Kroc’s home life – or lack thereof – with his wife, Ethel (Laura Dern), as well as the beginning of his romance with his future wife, Joan (Linda Cardellini). These uninteresting subplots are a distraction from the main story.
With a dynamic performance by Keaton, a strong script, and a provocative story, The Founder is the first must-see film of 2017.
James McAvoy delivers a riveting performance as a man with 23 personalities in Split, the latest thriller from writer/director M. Night Shyamalan. Coming off a lengthy run of critically panned movies, M. Night returns to his The Sixth Sense form with this chilling psychological horror film. Split proves Shyamalan still has entertaining stories to tell and that he can still deliver an ending with an unexpected ‘gotcha’ twist.
McAvoy plays Kevin Crumb, a man with dissociative identity disorder whose many personalities struggle for control. We catch up with him at a period in his life when the least desirable and most dangerous of his personalities has taken control. Forcing the other personalities into submission, two terrifying personalities – clean freak Dennis and matronly Miss Patricia – mind the store, so to speak, making the decisions while completely suppressing all but one of the other personalities. Hedwig, an enthusiastic nine-year old, sides with Dennis and Patricia in their quest for control of Kevin’s mind and body. Hedwig’s allowed to be the dominant personality on occasion, but he’s kept in line by Dennis and Patricia’s talk of a terrifying entity.
Free of the shackles of other personalities, Dennis kidnaps three high school students – best friends Claire (Haley Lu Richardson) and Marcia (Jessica Sula), plus outcast Casey (Anya Taylor-Joy) – and locks them up in his underground lair. Kevin’s other personalities use what little time they can manage to be in charge to send urgent emails and texts seeking help from their psychiatrist, Dr. Karen Fletcher (Betty Buckley), who begins to wonder what’s going on that has Kevin’s personalities so anxious and afraid.
M. Night Shyamalan made absolutely the right choice in casting McAvoy in the lead role. McAvoy is completely convincing in his portrayal of multiple personalities jockeying for control within one man. It’s a wildly divergent batch of characters that McAvoy throws himself into, the best of which is a fashionista named Barry who’s flamboyant and non-threatening. McAvoy’s such a chameleon that each of the personalities introduced to the audience is fully fleshed out and a complete individual. He deftly slips from character to character, going all in on each one and making it easy for the audience to differentiate who’s who.
McAvoy grabs so much of your attention that the performances of the three actresses who play the kidnapped girls, as well as the always terrific Betty Buckley, are overshadowed. Of the three kidnap victims, it’s The Witch’s Anya Taylor-Joy who stands out and who gives us someone we can root for. Taylor-Joy’s Casey quickly transforms from victim to fighter, defiantly standing up to her kidnapper even when the odds are heavily stacked against her escape.
Split has a few decent jump scares but it’s McAvoy’s performance more than any single scene that makes this horror film such a wild ride. Oh, and that ending! Shyamalan has reason to be proud of Split’s twist. I can pretty much guarantee no one will see it coming.
GRADE: B
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for disturbing thematic content and behavior, violence and some language
Jonathan Rhys Meyers – Photo By Matt Doyle/Contour by Getty Images
Jonathan Rhys Meyers (Dracula) is in final negotiations to star in Blue on Blue, a cop drama based on a true story. Jon Amiel (The Core) is attached to direct from a script by David Chisholm. (Chisholm, Edward Brehm, and Ethan Cohan have story credit.)
Filming is expected to begin in July 2017.
Jonathan Rhys Meyers’ credits include Roots, Mission Impossible III, Match Point, and Bend It Like Beckham. Blue on Blue director Jon Amiel and Rhys Meyers previously worked together on episodes of The Tudors.
Commenting on Rhys Meyers’ potential involvement, producer Lawrence Meyers of Meyers Media Group said, “Jon and I are very excited that our script has attracted such a household name to star in Blue on Blue. Jonathan is a great actor with a wide range of roles on his filmography.”
The Plot: Inspired by true events, Blue on Blue tells the story of Raymond Peele, a corrupt cop to be played by Jonathan Rhys Meyers, who uses his extensive charm and guile to ensnare an unsuspecting rookie cop in a daring web of deceit and betrayal. Peele’s ruthless ambition in the cover-up of another cop’s murder triggers a gang war that threatens to destroy the naive rookie, who will soon discover that the greatest danger to him lies within his own department.
Owen Wilson will have the honor of being the Grand Marshal at the 59th Annual Daytona 500 on February 26, 2017. Wilson was chosen to be the Grand Marshal because of his voice work as Lightning McQueen in the Disney•Pixar Cars franchise. He’s reprising the role in the upcoming Cars 3 heading to theaters on June 16, 2017.
Wilson will be delivering the “Drivers, start your engines” command that will open this year’s Daytona 500. He’ll also be participating in the pace laps as a passenger in one of the Grand Marshal cars. The Cars 3 star joins a list of past celebrity Grand Marshals that includes Gerard Butler, Vince Vaughn, John Travolta, Ben Affleck, Nicolas Cage, and Matthew McConaughey.
“Owen Wilson is one of America’s most beloved comedic actors and his voice has brought Lightning McQueen to life for millions of movie-goers over the last 10 years,” stated Daytona International Speedway President Chip Wile. “His star-power, and of course his personality, are perfect fits for ‘The Great American Race.’”
The Cars 3 Plot: Blindsided by a new generation of blazing-fast racers, the legendary Lightning McQueen is suddenly pushed out of the sport he loves. To get back in the game, he will need the help of an eager young race technician, Cruz Ramirez (voice of Cristela Alonzo), with her own plan to win, plus inspiration from the late Fabulous Hudson Hornet and a few unexpected turns. Proving that #95 isn’t through yet will test the heart of a champion on Piston Cup Racing’s biggest stage!
Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s Good Omens is being made into a six-part series. Amazon Studios announced Gaiman is adapting his book, executive producing, and will be the series’ showrunner. Caroline Skinner (Doctor Who), Chris Sussman (Fleabag), Rob Wilkins (Choosing to Die), and Rod Brown (Going Postal) are also on board as executive producers.
“Almost thirty years ago, Terry Pratchett and I wrote the funniest novel we could about the end of the world, populated with angels and demons, not to mention an eleven-year-old Antichrist, witchfinders and the four horsepeople of the Apocalypse. It became many people’s favourite book. Three decades later, it’s going to make it to the screen. I can’t think of anyone we’d rather make it with than BBC Studios, and I just wish Sir Terry were alive to see it,” said Gaiman.
The apocalyptic comedy is produced by Amazon Studios, BBC Studios, Narrativia, and The Blank Corporation. Amazon Video’s targeting a 2018 premiere.
BBC Studios Head of Comedy Chris Sussman said: “Good Omens has always been one of my favourite books, and it’s hugely exciting not just to be able to bring it to life, but to do so with scripts from Neil Gaiman himself. It feels like a good time to be making a comedy about an impending global apocalypse.”
“Spanning not only the universe but also the entirety of time, Neil Gaiman has created a story that may be the largest ever told on television,” stated Joe Lewis, Head of Comedy and Drama, Amazon Studios. “We’re excited to be working with BBC Studios to bring Neil’s and Terry Pratchett’s incredible book to life and to Prime members everywhere.”
The Plot:Good Omens takes place in 2018 when the Apocalypse is near and Final Judgment is set to descend upon humanity. According to The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter Witch (the world’s only completely accurate book of prophecies), the world will end on a Saturday. Next Saturday, in fact. Just before dinner.
So the armies of Good and Evil are amassing, Atlantis is rising, and tempers are flaring. Everything appears to be going according to Divine Plan. Except Aziraphale, a somewhat fussy angel, and Crowley, a fast-living demon—both of whom have lived amongst Earth’s mortals since The Beginning and have grown rather fond of the lifestyle—are not actually looking forward to the coming war. And…someone seems to have misplaced the Antichrist.
Disney announced Grammy Award-winner Celine Dion will contribute to the Beauty and the Beast soundtrack. Dion has been tapped to sing “How Does a Moment Last Forever,” an original song written for the live-action romantic musical by Oscar winner Alan Menken (The Little Mermaid) and Oscar winner Tim Rice (The Lion King). According to Disney, the song is an “emotional ballad about holding onto life’s precious moments.”
“How Does a Moment Last Forever” will be on the film’s soundtrack CD, which will be released on March 10th, and will be sung in parts throughout the film. It will also be played during Beauty and the Beast‘s end credits.
Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson performed the Oscar and Grammy Award-winning song “Beauty and the Beast” for the original animated film and Dion’s honored to be included in the live-action version. “Being a part of the original Beauty and the Beast was such a magical experience in my life, and I’m truly honored to be a part of this film again,” said Dion.
President of Music for Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Production Mitchell Leib added, “Celine was the unanimous choice of the filmmakers and studio to perform this song. And everyone involved with the film is thrilled she agreed to be part of this new live-action adaptation.”
Beauty and the Beast was directed by Bill Condon (Dreamgirls) from a screenplay by Stephen Chbosky and Evan Spiliotopoulos. Disney’s planning a March 17, 2017 theatrical release.
The Plot: The story and characters audiences know and love come to spectacular life in the live-action adaptation of Disney’s animated classic Beauty and the Beast, a stunning, cinematic event celebrating one of the most beloved tales ever told. Beauty and the Beast is the fantastic journey of Belle, a bright, beautiful and independent young woman who is taken prisoner by a Beast in his castle. Despite her fears, she befriends the castle’s enchanted staff and learns to look beyond the Beast’s hideous exterior and realize the kind heart of the true Prince within.
The film stars Emma Watson as Belle, Dan Stevens as the Beast, Luke Evans as Gaston, and Kevin Kline as Belle’s father, Maurice. Josh Gad is LeFou, Gaston’s long-suffering aide-de-camp; Ewan McGregor is Lumière, the candelabra; Stanley Tucci is Maestro Cadenza, the harpsichord; Audra McDonald is Madame de Garderobe, the wardrobe; Gugu Mbatha-Raw is Plumette, the feather duster; Hattie Morahan is the enchantress; Nathan Mack is Chip, the teacup; Ian McKellen is Cogsworth, the mantel clock; and Emma Thompson is the teapot, Mrs. Potts.
Jude Law stars in ‘The Young Pope’ (Photo by Gianni Fiorito / HBO)
HBO’s new dramatic series The Young Pope will wrap up its season one run in February 2017 with the show’s finale airing on Monday, February 13th. The Young Pope will continue the pattern of airing new episodes in the Sunday and Monday 9pm ET/PT timeslots, with four hour-long episodes set to debut in February. The 10-episode limited series was directed by Paolo Sorrentino (The Great Beauty) and stars Jude Law as Pope Pius XIII and Diane Keaton as Sister Mary. The cast also includes Silvio Orlando as Cardinal Angelo Voiello, Scott Shepherd as Cardinal Andrew Dussolier, Cécile de France as Sofia Dubois, Javier Cámara as Monsignor Bernardo Alonso Gutierrez, Ludivine Sagnier as Ester Aubry, Toni Bertorelli as Cardinal Caltanissetta, and James Cromwell as Cardinal Michael Spencer.
The Plot:The Young Pope tells the story of Lenny Belardo, aka Pius XIII, the first American Pope in history. Young and charming, his election seems to be the result of a simple yet effective media strategy on the part of the College of Cardinals. But appearances can be deceptive – above all, in the place where people have chosen the great mystery of God as the compass guiding their existence. That place is the Vatican and those people are the leaders of the Church. And Pius XIII proves to be the most mysterious and contradictory of them all. Shrewd and naïve, ironic and pedantic, primeval and cutting-edge, doubting and resolute, melancholy and ruthless, Pius XIII tries to cross the endless river of human solitude to find a God he can give to mankind. And to himself.
The Young Pope February 2017 Episodes:
Episode #7: “Seventh Episode”
Debut date: SUNDAY, FEB. 5 (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET/PT)
Concerned by negative publicity surrounding the suicide of a would-be priest, Voiello (Silvio Orlando) ponders new and familiar scenarios to take down Lenny (Jude Law). Sister Mary (Diane Keaton) struggles with her conscience as Lenny is distracted by the possibility of a family reunion. In the disturbing aftermath of a social event in Rome, Dussolier (Scott Shepherd) informs the pope he wants to return to Honduras.
Written by Paolo Sorrentino and Umberto Contarello; directed by Paolo Sorrentino.
Episode #8: “Eighth Episode”
Debut date: MONDAY, FEB. 6 (9:00-10:00 p.m.)
Lenny (Jude Law) and Sister Mary (Diane Keaton) deal with a shared loss in their own peculiar ways. Returning to the Vatican, Sofia (Cécile De France) suggests that the new pope embark on his first trip abroad: a visit to Africa in celebration of the 30th anniversary of Sister Antonia’s (Milvia Marigliano) much-heralded “Village of Goodness.” Lenny is heartened by a visit from his favorite author, and dismayed by the sudden departure of a friend.
Written by Paolo Sorrentino and Umberto Contarello; directed by Paolo Sorrentino.
Episode #9: “Ninth Episode”
Debut date: SUNDAY, FEB. 12 (9:00-10:00 p.m.)
Lenny (Jude Law) and Sister Mary (Diane Keaton) relive a momentous incident from the past as the pope faces the prospect of an unthinkable loss in the present. In New York, Gutierrez (Javier Cámara) faces daunting odds, including the threat of blackmail, in his ongoing investigation of Kurtwell (Guy Boyd), a powerful archbishop suspected of longtime sexual misconduct.
Written by Paolo Sorrentino and Umberto Contarello; directed by Paolo Sorrentino.
Episode #10: “Tenth Episode” (finale)
Debut date: MONDAY, FEB. 13 (9:00-10:05 p.m.)
Reunited with a changed Gutierrez (Javier Cámara) at the Vatican, the pope (Jude Law) considers an appropriate course of action regarding Archbishop Kurtwell (Guy Boyd). Father Tomasso (Marcello Romolo) gets a promotion, while Sister Mary (Diane Keaton) takes on a new role. The prospect of a reconciliation leads the young pope to make an unexpected change of travel plans – and policy.
Written by Paolo Sorrentino and Umberto Contarello; directed by Paolo Sorrentino.
