James Corden picked up Britney Spears for a lengthy Carpool Karaoke bit that featured Britney’s hits including “Toxic,” “Womanizer,” and “Oops!… I Did It Again.” Corden took the lead on most of the verses and Spears didn’t really belt anything out (in fact she often mouthed lyrics rather than singing), but she did seem to be having fun while confessing she wants more kids but definitely isn’t interested in ever getting married again.
Spears also revealed a few of the names she uses to register at hotels including Anita Dick, which she was able to say out loud without cracking up. Corden responded by saying he might start checking into hotels under, “I’m Britney…bitch.” The carpool karaoke finished up with Spears and Corden donning schoolgirl outfits for “Baby One More Time,” with Corden even wearing a wig and pigtails.
Writer/director Fede Alvarez reunites with his Evil Dead (the 2013 version) star Jane Levy for Don’t Breathe, an intense thriller that’s difficult in parts to watch—and I mean that as a compliment. Alvarez has created a home invasion horror story that busts down genre conventions by focusing on four characters who are so flawed it’s impossible to root for any one of them. In fact, Alvarez’ script is so well crafted that the audience’s allegiances will constantly shift as the film progresses toward a twisted ending that thankfully isn’t telegraphed well in advance.
Don’t Breathe is a fairly simple story on its surface. Three friends—Rocky (Levy), Money (Daniel Zovatto), and Alex (Dylan Minnette)—steal Alex’s father’s home security company keys to access houses where they know the owners won’t be at home. Alex establishes a set of rules for those home burglaries that includes a dollar amount limit on the amount that can be taken in order to limit their potential jail time if they’re caught.
Money and Rocky convince Alex to help them pull off one final big score before they take off for California. Their target: a blind Gulf War veteran (Stephen Lang) who lives alone in the only occupied house in a rundown neighborhood. The blind man has apparently received a substantial payment for the wrongful death of his only daughter, and the three partners in crime believe robbing a blind man will be easy-peasy. They quickly learn they’ve drastically underestimated their target and soon become the hunted rather than the hunters. The blind man’s other senses have been heightened to make up for the loss of his sight, and after locking the intruders in his home, the deadly game of cat and mouse is on.
Jane Levy is terrific as the woman at the center of a love triangle who so desperately wants to escape her horrible home life that she’s willing to do whatever’s necessary to get quick cash. ‘Money’ is the least likable and least developed character of the four leads. Zovatto does a good job of playing the rebellious degenerate vibe, but there’s really not much to the character.
Minnette’s Alex is the only semi-sympathetic character in the film, but even he’s not someone you can really pull for, given the fact it’s because of him the gang is able to break into homes and commit burglaries. Plus, he seems to be motivated only by unrequited love for Rocky, which is a rather lame reason to steal from a blind veteran. Lang does a superb job of playing a blind man with Daredevil-ish abilities who quickly goes into fight mode when strangers intent on stealing his wealth invade his humble home.
Alvarez uses lengthy stretches of silence to heighten the tension and draw the audience into the hunt. The criminals often shrink against walls, holding their breath, and that action will be duplicated by those seated in comfy seats in darkened theaters. Don’t Breathe doesn’t resort to gimmicky jump scares and instead methodically (and realistically) goes about upping the suspense as it builds toward a heart-pounding third act, culminating in an unexpected and near-perfect resolution.
GRADE: B+
MPAA Rating: R for terror, violence, disturbing content, and language including sexual references
Release Date: August 26, 2016
Running Time: 91 minutes
“In 66 seconds Roberto Durán changed my life,” says Ray Arcel (Robert De Niro) who’s about to come out of retirement after watching Durán box in the dramatic film, Hands of Stone.
In 1972, Arcel is drawn out of retirement when he’s approached by his friend and colleague, Carlos Eleta (Ruben Blades), to train Roberto Durán (Edgar Ramirez), a tough, cocky, and angry young man who grew up in Panama, struggling to help provide for his family by stealing and fighting. Durán, who distrusts Americans since his American father abandoned the family, is reluctant to work with Arcel. But with the encouragement of Eleta and after Arcel quickly convinces him he still has much to learn about the sport of boxing (including strategy), the two men form an unbeatable team.
Fast-forward to 1980 and, with encouragement from his wife, Felicidad (Ana de Armas), Durán trains to go up against Sugar Ray Leonard (Usher Raymond) in a battle for the WBC welterweight title. Using both the strategy he learned from Arcel and his own rude behavior and crass personality as weapons, Durán sets out to defeat Sugar Ray, a fighter who has never been beaten in the ring.
Based on a true story, Hands of Stone is a classic underdog story with a solid cast. Edgar Ramirez is very effective in portraying Duran, displaying the boxer’s drive, arrogance, and physical strength as though he feels completely at home in the ring. Unfortunately for Ramirez and for Hands of Stone, Durán is simply impossible to like or root for.
Robert De Niro delivers another strong performance as Ray Arcel, formerly the best trainer in boxing before he was forced out by the New York mob. Arcel, both in the film and in real life, returned to the ring to train Durán because he was so taken by his brute strength and raw talent. The two men have chemistry together, but it’s neither as dynamic nor as intense as it should have been. Also, the subplot of his estranged daughter suddenly re-entering Arcel’s life and putting more pressure on him feels forced.
The hurdle the film just can’t get over despite impressive performances and fast-paced, well-choreographed boxing scenes is the main character, Durán. He is an unforgiving, brutal, disrespectful, and incredibly unlikable character, and because this is an underdog story, the underdog needs to be sympathetic in at least some (even minor) respect. He’s not, and that makes it impossible for the audience to care about Durán. This is never more evident than when Durán goes up against Sugar Ray Leonard, portrayed impressively by Usher, who’s shown as the class act professional boxer that he was. The audience is actually more likely to root for Sugar Ray to knock Durán’s block off than to pull for the film’s lead character.
GRADE: C
MPAA Rating: R for language throughout and some sexuality/nudity
The first trailer’s arrived for Now We’re Talking, a comedy series from go90, distributed media platform UNINTERRUPTED, and Warner Bros.’s digital studio Blue Ribbon Content. The sports-themed comedy was created by Casual‘s Tommy Dewey and The Office‘s Tug Coker who also serve as executive producers along with Maverick Carter, Jamal Henderson, Jennifer Gore, and Nikki Kessler.
Dewey and Coker lead the cast of the short-form digital series which is set to debut on go90 (a free mobile-first video platform) on September 14, 2016.
Per the official announcement, the seven-episode series will also feature cameos from sports stars including Shawne Merriman, Arian Foster, Lance Briggs, Curt Menefee, and Plaxico Burress. In addition to Dewey and Coker, the cast includes Malcolm Barrett, Molly Ephraim, Fred Melamed, Kevin Bigley, LaMonica Garrett, and Eamon Sheehan.
The Plot: The series follows the careers of former quarterbacks Tug Tanner (Coker) and Tommy Arondall (Dewey), who now find themselves falling from the top of their NFL game to the bottom of their class in sports broadcasting school. Now We’re Talking takes a fresh, comedic approach to Tug and Tommy’s post-football relationship, with the former adversaries now forced to work together to try to find success on a new playing field.
(Edited: The trailer’s no longer available online.)
When we spoke to Jimmy Smits at the 2016 San Diego Comic Con, the 24: Legacy star had only completely the pilot episode. Filming will kick off in September on the remainder of the first season, and Fox has set 24: Legacy to debut in the prime spot following Super Bowl 2017. Smits, who’s a news junkie in real life, says current political events are fascinating to him and he’s interested to see how much of that will bleed through to the world of 24: Legacy.
Jimmy Smits Interview:
Can you talk about your character?
Jimmy Smits: “I play Senator John Donovan, aspiring for higher office let’s say. His spouse – he’s married to Miranda Otto’s character, Rebecca Ingram. Kind of a Washington power couple. As is the case with all of the 24 incarnations that you’ve had, you’ve always had the progressive female proactive characters. Miranda’s character in this incarnation of the show is the head of the CTU and with my character running for office she has had this kind of silent agreement that it’s his turn to do something, but she gets called back in as does Corey (Hawkins’) character – he gets sucked back in. And then the clock starts ticking. That’s pretty much it on my side.”
Have you been a fan of the series?
Jimmy Smits: “Oh yeah, absolutely. Not every single season, but I check in with every show. I think the great thing about this and why I was real happy to jump on board is that the visual tint of the show is so iconic. Real-time, multiple boxes…I think it’s changed the way we watch television in a lot of respects, that whole real-time thing, and has become seminal in a lot of shows that went after it. So, it’s kind of for me – and it’s appropriate that it’s called Legacy – it’s just an extension of the universe, an expansion of this kind of universe that they’ve created. A lot has changed since the episodes first aired in our world, in our real world, and I think that the writers – and a lot of the writing team that was involved in the original incarnation of the show are on board – they’re going to keep that whole (aspect).
It’s not like a reboot. We’re not saying it’s a reboot because a reboot implies it’s replacing something. It’s a whole different rejuvenation of the series in a lot of ways.”
24 was great for diversity in showing that there could be a black president before there was one, but also having a lot of diversity in the rest of the cast. Was that important to you?
Jimmy Smits: “Because the same producers in terms of the executive producers and the writers of the show, that is something that’s definitely going to continue. And if you turn around and look at the two other actors (Miranda Otto and Corey Hawkins) who are up there, you see proof of that. You see something that’s very diverse. It’s reflected in the writers room, I’m happy to say, all around, and with our crew. That’s a nice thing.”
Is the format more rigorous and exhausting than you expected?
Jimmy Smits: (Laughing) “Not for me. Corey’s the one who’s going through all of the action parts. I was just in and out for the pilot episode. It’s kind of just introducing the characters and touching on the relationships. We’ll see what happens from there.”
Carly Chaikin as Darlene in ‘Mr. Robot’ season 2 episode 8 (Photo by Michael Parmelee / USA Network)
After what initially appears to be a major success, everything starts to go wrong for fsociety in season 2, episode 8, of USA Network’s Mr. Robot. Darlene (Carly Chaikin), Mobley (Sunita Mani), and Trenton (Azhar Khan), the core of fsociety, learn about an upcoming FBI conference call as a result of their earlier hack of FBI computers.
They listen in as the FBI agents discuss the fact that they have backdoor access to every smartphone in the US which means that private citizens’ phones are under surveillance with no warrant. The agents also mention that as a result of their efforts to arrest the perpetrators of the 5/9 hack, dubbed Operation Berenstain, they have 16 suspects in the 5/9 hack under surveillance and one is dead. Darlene makes a video using the fsociety mask during which she plays the captured audio and states that “access to our lives is officially denied,” and that “we will destroy you.”
As an aside, there is a theory circulating that the word “Berenstain” in the FBI operation is significant in itself. In “The Mandela Effect,” people have a collective memory of things that never actually happened. In this case, people recall the children’s book series as Berenstein Bears, when in reality it was “Berenstain.” As it relates to this series, there are some who believe it was at one time “Berenstein,” but that we are in a parallel universe where it is now Berenstain. This would move the series into the realm of science fiction. It seems more probable that since Elliot (Rami Malek) is the embodiment of an unreliable narrator, viewers are always wondering what is reality. This questioning of the reliability of what we see extends to scenes where Elliot doesn’t appear. It is definitely an issue in this episode as Darlene does some unbelievable things.
After the fsociety video is released, Mobley becomes very agitated. He believes that they are all under FBI surveillance and that Romero is the dead one the FBI made reference to. While arguing about Mobley staying, the owner of the house they have commandeered, (the lawyer for E Corp, Susan Jacobs), returns home to find all of them there. At first, the group ties her up while they try to find something incriminating in her emails with which to blackmail her into silence. After an altercation with Trenton leads to a head wound for Susan, Darlene goes down to see her. Darlene tells Susan that she first saw her when Darlene was four and Susan laughed when E Corp was cleared of all that it had put her family through following her dad’s death. Darlene zaps her with a stun gun causing Susan to fall into the pool and drown.
Darlene tells Mobley and Trenton that Susan’s death was an accident and asks them to leave so that she and Cisco (Michael Drayer) can wipe down the house. Cisco and Darlene take the body to the pound where they use the crematorium there to dispose of Susan’s body. Mobley and Trenton are clearly frightened; Mobley tells Trenton that they can’t stay there in the city as the FBI, Dark Army, or police could be after them.
Meanwhile, Angela (Portia Doubleday) is at a party and performs a sad Karaoke rendition of Tears for Fears’ “Everybody Wants to Rule the World.” This is intercut with the three fsociety members trying to hack Susan Jacobs’ computer. The lyrics have meaning for Angela as well as Darlene, Mobley, and Trenton: “Welcome to your life, there’s no turning back,” and “all for freedom and for pleasure, nothing ever lasts forever.” Clearly, the fsociety members are on a dangerous path, one that Mobley now calls colossally stupid.
Angela’s goals are not clear. In the last episode, it seemed as though she had positioned herself in the Risk Management department of E Corp in order to get incriminating evidence of the corporations’ nefarious dealings. However, she takes down a man who castigates her for working at a company that “killed her mother,” saying that she is 27 years old and makes a six-figure salary at the biggest conglomerate in the world while he is a 60-year-old plumber. We know from the positive affirmation tapes that Angela listens to that she lacks self-esteem and that she takes pride in her success at E Corp. So, the lyrics, “I can’t stand this indecision, married with a lack of vision,” describes Angela’s predicament: to bring down E Corp as revenge for her mother’s death or to continue to achieve success there.
After Darlene and Cisco dispose of Susan’s body, Darlene is troubled by the fact that she murdered someone. When she wakes later at Cisco’s house, she gets on his computer while he is in the shower. She finds correspondence in Chinese from the Dark Army congratulating him for his work with the femtocell and telling him that the backdoor is in play. Angered at Cisco’s treachery, Darlene smashes his computer and when he comes out of the bathroom she slugs him with a baseball bat.
Even though it is a holiday, FBI agent Dom (Grace Gummer) has been following the trail that ultimately leads to Mobley. His hacker handle is DJ Mobley and it was listed in the handout she found at Romero’s home. She tells him that she isn’t interested in him but wants Tyrell Wellick. Mobley requests a lawyer and is released. He erases all the data on his phone and puts it in the basket of a bike messenger.
Finally, Trenton receives a message from Mobley telling her that they are burned and to meet him at the coffee shop where they first met. Mobley does not show, however.
Even without Elliot or Mr. Robot, this was a very tense and eventful episode. With the dogged Dom DiPierro on the case, things are looking very perilous for fsociety. It is now clear that the Dark Army has been using fsociety to further their aims.
Cole Sprouse took a five year break from acting following the end of The Suite Life on Deck but now he’s back with a starring role in the upcoming The CW series Riverdale. Riverdale is based on the iconic Archie comics and in the series Sprouse will be tackling the role of hamburger-loving Jughead Jones. The CW hasn’t set a premiere date yet for Riverdale, but Archie fans can expect to see it debut as a midseason replacement.
The Plot: “As a new school year begins, the town of Riverdale is reeling from the recent, tragic death of high school golden boy Jason Blossom — and nothing feels the same… Archie Andrews (K.J. Apa) is still the all-American teen, but the summer’s events made him realize that he wants to pursue a career in music — not follow in his dad’s footsteps—despite the sudden end of his forbidden relationship with Riverdale’s young music teacher, Ms. Grundy (Sarah Habel). Which means Archie doesn’t have anyone who will mentor him — certainly not singer Josie McCoy (Ashleigh Murray), who is only focused on her band, the soon-to-be-world-famous Pussycats. It’s all weighing heavily on Archie’s mind — as is his fractured friendship with budding writer and fellow classmate Jughead Jones (Cole Sprouse).
Meanwhile, girl-next-door Betty Cooper (Lili Reinhart) is anxious to see her crush Archie after being away all summer, but she’s not quite ready to reveal her true feelings to him. And Betty’s nerves – which are hardly soothed by her overbearing mother Alice (Mädchen Amick) aren’t the only thing holding her back. When a new student, Veronica Lodge (Camila Mendes), arrives in town from New York with her mother Hermione (Marisol Nichols), there’s an undeniable spark between her and Archie, even though Veronica doesn’t want to risk her new friendship with Betty by making a play for Archie. And then there’s Cheryl Blossom (Madelaine Petsch)… Riverdale’s Queen Bee is happy to stir up trouble amongst Archie, Betty, and Veronica, but Cheryl is keeping secrets of her own. What, exactly, is she hiding about the mysterious death of her twin brother, Jason? Riverdale may look like a quiet, sleepy town, but there are dangers in the shadows…”
The cast took part in the 2016 San Diego Comic Con to promote the new series and to talk about their characters during a Q&A with Comic Con attendees. They also participated in short roundtable interviews in support of the comic book-inspired series. Check out what Sprouse had to say during our brief interview at this year’s Con:
Would you say Jughead as a character is the most unlike the character from the comics?
Cole Sprouse: “He’s definitely an interesting character in this. I think the Jughead we’re closest to in this is the Mark Waid and Fiona Staples Jughead – that’s definitely the one we’re pulling from, the recent reboot of the Archie comics. But there’s also a small little narrative within the old digest in which Jughead is a sleuth, an amateur detective. He’s had a bunch of iterations, but sleuth Jughead is definitely the one we’re kind of going for in this. He’s the narrator. He’s always been an anti-authority non-conformist kind of character. That’s always been Jughead. He still has that fundamentally within the show. He’s also still sardonic and sarcastic. It will eventually reveal itself that he’s still the comic relief. But he’s the point of view character. He’s still the narrator of this film noir dialogue.
It’s going to be interesting seeing him. I know that Roberto (Aguirre-Sacasa) was firm on making Jughead kind of an outsider character, a bit of a weirdo. He’s definitely the black sheep of Riverdale. I’m excited to bring that Jughead to life.
What’s Jughead’s relationship with Archie like in the series?
Cole Sprouse: “So, Archie (played by K.J. Apa) and Jughead were clearly best friends. We wanted to give … My understanding of Jughead and Archie is that we wanted to build a narrative of repair with them where they become super solid friends. Because, one, as an actual writing trope that’s much more interesting. I know if you come into a friendship with Archie and Jughead that’s already super solid – ‘They’re the most solid best friends!’ – that’s close to the comics but it’s not as interesting to watch as a repair or some tension between Jughead and Archie. But, they are definitely going to be working on their friendship. They’re clearly best friends, even in the show still. They’re going to be working on it and that’s more interesting for people to watch.”
Jughead wasn’t near a cheeseburger in the pilot episode. Will that change as the season progresses?
Cole Sprouse: “Actually, it’s funny. He was but it was demolished on his actual plate. I don’t know if the shot showed it too much but he’s still eating quite a bit. We don’t want to beat the ‘Jughead eating a cheeseburger’ over the head for the audience members. Like, ‘Here’s seven cheeseburgers, Jughead!’ But, the remains of an eaten cheeseburger might be there. He might be ordering another, but in terms of a pyramid of cheeseburgers, I don’t know.”
(Interview by Sandy Kraisirideja. Article by Rebecca Murray.)
Phoebe Tonkin says we can expect Hayley to be in full-on protection mode when The CW’s The Originals returns for its fourth season in 2017. Tonkin and her fellow The Originals cast mates Joseph Morgan, Daniel Gillies, Charles Michael Davis, Yusuf Gatewood, and Riley Voelkel took part in a jam-packed panel at the 2016 San Diego Comic Con where they answered questions from fans. The cast also sat down for roundtable interviews in a slightly quieter room where they delved further into what’s coming up on the show’s much-anticipated fourth season. Here’s what Tonkin had to say about the upcoming season and where we will picking up with Hayley, Hope, and the Mikaelsons.
Phoebe Tonkin Interview:
How does it feel to be the last original female member of this cast?
Phoebe Tonkin: “I know. Good, but sad. I wish there was some more around. I think the season’s opening up a lot of new doors, new characters are able to come in. And obviously with the 13 episode pick up it just changes the pace of the show. It’s kind of fast this year; storylines are a little more condensed which just changes the show.”
During the time jump, what has Hayley been up to?
Phoebe Tonkin: “I don’t know. I would love to think that she wasn’t just spending 24 hours a day thinking and looking for cures for the Mikaelsons. I would think that maybe she did some fun things with her daughter and went on a holiday or something. She probably didn’t. But you know I think she’s still bonding and getting to know her kid. I think what’s going to be really fun to play is this new character as Hope and what kind of a little girl she is. She may be a little bit like Klaus. Has she got a little bit of a dark side? She is his daughter. I think that’s going to be fun to explore.”
Is she still thinking about all the people in her life who have died?
Phoebe Tonkin: “I think five years have passed so I think it’s enough time. I think she still thinks about the people that she lost but I also think that time has moved on. She also has her kid now and her kid is her sole priority.”
It’s possible Klaus will come back into the picture fairly quickly. How will the reunion be between Hayley and Klaus?
Phoebe Tonkin: “You know, I think she’s been thinking about them for the last five years. I think it’s going to be very weird to see them all again. I think a lot of time has passed and things have changed, but I think he’s going to be really emotional to see that he missed so much of his daughter’s life. I’m sure that would be really hard to leave your daughter when she’s a baby and then come back when she’s a little (girl). She’s like a walking, talking little girl.”
Do you think Hope will take a more important role in the series this season?
Phoebe Tonkin: “Yeah, definitely. I think now that she is seven, she is her own character. She’s got her own storylines. She’s got her own interests and her own maybe, as I said, dark side to her. I think she’s a very powerful witch. She may be a bit of an ally to Freya (Riley Voelkel). She may be able to help Freya with witchcraft and things like that. So, yeah, it’s going to be really interesting.”
Hope’s a werewolf-witch-vampire hybrid. How does Hope balance all of these supernatural traits she has?
Phoebe Tonkin: “I don’t know. We haven’t seen that yet. I would love to see like a little puppy wolf and then like a big wolf running around the woods. That would be really cute.”
Hayley is pretty bad-ass in her own right. Will we see that side of her initially in season four or will she be in straight protection mode for her daughter?
Phoebe Tonkin: “I think it’s probably straight protection mode. You know, she’s never had family and now she does. I think her daughter is the only thing that she loves, the only thing she cares about, and I think she’d do anything to protect Hope.”
Does this mean we’ll see a more mellow side of Hayley?
Phoebe Tonkin: “Yeah. I just think that the world has changed for Hayley now. She’s alone, just her and her daughter. Yeah, I think it’s kind of mellowed – she hasn’t been on a mission in five years. I’m sure when she’s finally able to save them, she will be able to resume some sort of level of normalcy maybe with her daughter.”
What would be the first thing she wants to tell Elijah when she sees him again?
(Daniel Gillies slips into a seat next to her and asks the same question.)
Phoebe Tonkin: “What would be the first thing I’d say to you?” (Daniel teases what he’d say.) […]”Do they have carbs in hell?”
Daniel Gillies: “Wow, wow, wow.”
Phoebe Tonkin: “I can only say that because you’re so fit now. You’re so fit.”
Daniel Gillies: “That’s not what she meant.”
What would Elijah tell Hayley?
Daniel Gillies: “Something kinder than what she said to me. That’s so rude!”
Phoebe Tonkin: “Carbs are good! When were carbs labeled as a bad thing?”
Daniel Gillies: “That’s a terrible way to dig yourself out of this ditch.”
Phoebe Tonkin: “Really?”
Daniel Gillies: “Doesn’t she look gorgeous today? And can we see your shoes? I want to show you (her shoes).”
(Phoebe lifts her leg up above the edge of the table to show off her shoes – it’s on the video below.)
Watch the Phoebe Tonkin interview:
(Interview by Carrie Chavez. Article by Rebecca Murray.)
Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars as Edward Snowden in writer/director Oliver Stone’s Snowden, coming to theaters on September 16, 2016. The new clip features Gordon-Levitt as Snowden acing an aptitude test given as part of the CIA recruitment process. Snowden also stars Rhys Ifans, Shailene Woodley, Melissa Leo, Zachary Quinto, Tom Wilkinson, Nicolas Cage, Scott Eastwood, Joely Richardson, Timothy Olyphant, and Ben Schnetzer.
The Plot: Academy Award®-winning director Oliver Stone, who brought Platoon, Born on the Fourth of July, Wall Street and JFK to the big screen, tackles the most important and fascinating true story of the 21st century. Snowden, the politically-charged, pulse-pounding thriller starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Shailene Woodley, reveals the incredible untold personal story of Edward Snowden, the polarizing figure who exposed shocking illegal surveillance activities by the NSA and became one of the most wanted men in the world. He is considered a hero by some, and a traitor by others. No matter which you believe, the epic story of why he did it, who he left behind, and how he pulled it off makes for one of the most compelling films of the year.
The CW’s The 100 cast once again made the trip down to San Diego for the annual Comic Con, with cast members including Eliza Taylor, Henry Ian Cusick, Marie Avgeropoulos, and Lindsey Morgan showing up at the sold-out convention to talk about the popular sci-fi series. Season three was a real roller coaster ride, and season four doesn’t look to be any easier for all of the surviving The 100 characters.
In addition to a jam-packed Q&A with fans, The 100 cast also took part in roundtable interviews to discuss the events of season three and what we can look forward to with season four. Cusick, who’s quick to laugh, even told us about conversations he had with Michael Beach (‘Charles Pike’) about the similarities between what was going on in season three and what’s happening during America’s current presidential race.
Henry Ian Cusick Interview:
What did you think about your character’s arc last season?
Henry Ian Cusick: “My storyline last year, I liked it. I really enjoyed working with Michael Beach a lot, the Pike storyline. I thought that was kind of an interesting storyline. People said, ‘That could never happen.’ Well, it’s happening. It’s happening now in America. I thought that was cool that they intentionally or unintentionally there was a parallel between that and what’s happening now.
For me, I really enjoyed my season last year. I enjoy working with everyone, but I think it was largely from working with Michael Beach. I loved working with him. He’s a good guy.
[…]He was such a lovely guy. And you know what? He was so passionate about his character. We would have chats about it. I’d say, ‘You’re Trump,’ and he’d go, ‘No! No, but listen…!’ He was fun.”
Did those conversations really go on where you compared him to what’s going on now politically?
Henry Ian Cusick: “Yeah, lightheartedly. We would mess with each other a lot. (Laughing) Why? What do you think we talk about? How’s my hair? How do I look?”
Who is going to be Chancellor now?
Henry Ian Cusick: “Well, Pike was the Chancellor so that’s a vacuum that needs to be filled. I don’t even know who has that pin. That pin’s been moved around so many times. I’m surprised it hasn’t been lost. So that’s something that needs to be filled and that’s kind of addressed in episode one of season four. There’s a power vacuum that needs to be filled there and also in Polis. There’s no leader in Polis.”
How was it doing the more physical scenes last year?
Henry Ian Cusick: “Being crucified you mean? (Laughing) I’ve done that before. That was easy. It was okay. The good thing about TV is we work fast. If that was a movie I’d be up there for days and weeks. On TV it’s like, ‘We have to shoot now, go. Get him up. Let’s do the next scene.’ It’s not too long.”
How was it playing that inner struggle over whether to take the chip?
Henry Ian Cusick: “Yeah, I liked that scene. That was cool. Our show is so plot-driven, so doing a bit more character stuff is a good opportunity. That’s what we want as actors. We want that challenge.”
Are you surprised Kane’s still alive at this point?
Henry Ian Cusick: “Yes and no. I have a contract. (Laughing) I have bills. But, yes. He has no real connection with anyone. Abby (played by Paige Turco) has Clarke. Jaha (Isaiah Washington) had Wells. And then the rest are all connected in some way. Kane was sort of floating free and I think that’s why I kind of latched on to the idea that Bellamy (Bob Morley) could be my son. I needed a hook there. And now I’ve got Abby so there’s a connection. But, yeah, he could have been (killed off). What was he doing? Yes, he could have easily been killed a while ago.”
