Advertisement
Home Blog Page 1627

Tamara Taylor and John Boyd Interview: ‘Bones’ Final Season

By
Fred Topel
-
Bones stars John Boyd and Tamara Taylor
John Boyd, Tamara Taylor, Michaela Conlin, TJ Thyne, David Boreanaz, and Emily Deschanel, and ‘Bones’ Executive Producers Jonathan Collier and Michael at Comic-Con 2016 (Photo: Alan Hess © 2016 Fox Broadcasting)

Bones stars Tamara Taylor and John Boyd said what they’re most excited about for the upcoming 12th and final season of the Fox series is the fact that Emily Deschanel is directing the season premiere. During interviews at the 2016 San Diego Comic Con, Taylor said she believes it’s the perfect way to kick off the show’s final season and Boyd confirmed the episode will start off the last season with a bang.

Asked how it feels to actually head into the final season, Taylor admitted she has mixed emotions. “It’s interesting to know it’s official but with that said it’s kind of beautiful to be able to be present so that we can love each other, laugh, and bring as much passion and attention to what we’re doing (as possible). It’s nice to actually be given the warning ahead of time,” explained Taylor.

So, with the show heading into its final season, what are their hopes for the outcome of their characters? “For my character I think it’s pretty obvious Cam’s getting married. That’s going to be the big one. I don’t know what after that. I think that’s probably going to be enough for me,” replied Taylor.

“I think for Aubrey just to get to officiate Cam’s wedding,” joked Boyd. “I think that’s what I’d like to see, for me.”

Looking back over the seasons, both Taylor and Boyd were able to come up with what they believed they’ll take away as their characters’ most memorable moments. “I think a really memorable moment was the goodbye in Booth’s office at the end of season 10, at the end of my first season,” said Boyd. “You know, saying goodbye to this character that Aubrey had gained his trust and come in after Sweets death. That goodbye at the end of season 10…when we shot it we really didn’t know if we were going to be back or not so it was just a really, really memorable moment. Booth walking out with his bobblehead Bobby, walking out the door, and us not knowing if we were going to see him again.”

“For me, it was probably I don’t know how many seasons ago this would be..two or three…when Arastoo got poisoned,” offered Taylor. “That was kind of a big, fun episode. It was just an interesting story, interesting to get to play with Cam just being vulnerable which doesn’t happen very often.”

As for what they’re allowed to say about what fans can expect from the final season, Taylor revealed, “We’ve been given a couple of hints. Two recurring characters are going to die. So, we’ve been given a few hints. A villain from the first season is coming back. Like a big, big bad scary villain and, again, I kind of go back into the Bones history and that could be a couple of characters. They’ve given us a few hints but no idea how it’s going to end.”

“I think the writers are really going to do their best to bring back fan favorites, like Stephen Fry, Betty White… We’re just going to hope that everyone is available to come and play with us,” added Taylor.

Watch the full Tamara Taylor and John Boyd interview:

(Interview by Fred Topel. Article by Rebecca Murray.)




Kevin Durand and Miguel Gomez Interview: ‘The Strain’ Season 3

By
Rebecca Murray
-
The Strain stars Kevin Durand and Miguel Gomez
Kevin Durand and Miguel Gomez from FX’s ‘The Strain’ at Comic Con 2016 (Photo © Richard Chavez / Showbiz Junkies)

FX’s third season of the horror series The Strain debuts on August 28, 2016, promising more drama, more character development, and more vampires. For the third year in a row, FX brought the cast of The Strain to the San Diego Comic Con to promote the series which is based on the popular books by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan. Kevin Durand and Miguel Gomez who play fearless vampire hunters Fet and Gus, respectively, were paired up for roundtable interviews where they provided a few non-spoilerish details on the upcoming third season.

Kevin Durand and Miguel Gomez Interview:

Is it going to be a splintered group when we pick up season three?

Kevin Durand: “To a certain degree. I can really only speak from the perspective of my character. Once again he kind of goes off on his own and has his own plan of attack. He’s trying to take it to a different level so he can be more effective in trying to destroy the opposition which is getting more and more terrifying every day, the way that they’re multiplying. He’s trying to figure out how to do this. We all are; everyone writes our own parts of the narrative. Do they eventually all come together? (Laughing) Please tune in on Sundays to FX.”

Miguel Gomez: “That would be nice, right? My character has been by himself from day one. I’ve never actually got to work with anyone else in the cast. Maybe like a day or two with Kevin or a day or two with David (Bradley). But, you know it would be nice if they’d sort of unite.”


Does Gus still have his little army?

Miguel Gomez: “Gus always has something up his sleeve. He’s always figuring out what to do and what’s the best way to attack the Strigoi, especially after the city has taken everything that he loves. This season it’s crazy because it goes from bad to worse and he keeps losing everything that’s close to him. I think he’s getting to the point where it’s, ‘What is there left for me to fight for?’ I think he’s getting to the point where they’re stripping anything superficial or any desire he has – money and all that kind of stuff, that place where you met him – of wanting material things. He’s starting to see the real things life is about, especially when you lose everything you love, what’s really important in life. Now I think it comes down to him ready to fight or die.”

Do you think Gus believes there’s a cure that can save his mother?

Miguel Gomez: “He can’t believe that his mom is gone. He can’t come to grips with that. Because if he loses his mom, what do you have to live for? You lost your best friend, you lost your brother, and essentially he feels like it’s his fault. If he loses her, where does he go from there? And that’s where we pick up this season. He has this friend, Angel, and we’ll see what happens with that. He’s kind of like a father figure. Fet is kind of like an ally. It’s really crazy. It’s going to be an interesting season.”

Is this season more physically intense for you than the previous two seasons?

Kevin Durand: “I think what was most intense for me was just having the opportunity to delve a little deeper beyond just all of the physical action that I’m usually called upon to do, which I love. There’s a lot more of that. But, a lot of it was just kind of looking beneath the surface and knowing the guy a little bit better. Seeing things that came to fruition because of his own lack of stepping up and taking action. We kind of see a different side of him that was really a great challenge to play.

What’s great about the season is like the second season, if you read the books we have it as a strong core skeleton but there’s so much new stuff that has come about because a television show is its own live, living, breathing organism. So, some things fit the books, some things don’t. It’s evolved into its own thing and it’s exciting for us to read the scripts every week because we don’t know what’s going to happen. That’s pretty exciting.”

Miguel Gomez: “I’m always excited to see his character, the nuances that you bring to the character, this really strong vibe but at the same time really funny. That’s one of my favorite characters is Fet because he and Gus have a lot of similarities but you bring that comedy to it because it’s so real. You know what I mean? Sometimes the things that are funny are the most real things. Comedians talk about a lot of times we laugh because it’s kind of true. What’s burned in my head is the first season when you shot Sean Astin’s character out of nowhere. Boom! And then you get to the second season and this season, and now you get to see more of the vulnerable side of you with the different relationships and characters you interact with. It’s pretty cool. Fet is a really great character.”

You sound like a huge fan.

Miguel Gomez: “I am. I’m a fan. I’m a huge fan.”

Kevin Durand: “I’m your biggest fan, too.”

Miguel Gomez: (Laughing) “I’m a fan of the character – I don’t like this guy.”

Watch the full Kevin Durand and Miguel Gomez interview:





‘Dirk Gently’s Interviews: Elijah Wood, Samuel Barnett, Hannah Marks, and Jade Eshete

By
Melissa Molina
-
Dirk Gently stars Elijah Wood, Samuel Barnett and a Corgi
Elijah Wood, Samuel Barnett, and a Corgi star in ‘Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency’ (Photo Credit: BBC America)

Anyone who’s a fan of Douglas Adams’ work knows not only about his most famous novel The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy but also other stories he wrote including Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency. While Hitchhiker’s Guide got a flashy book-to-screen adaptation starring Martin Freeman and Zooey Deschanel back in 2005, Dirk Gently has bobbled in and out of television.

When the reports came in that BBC America was formally giving the green light to a Dirk Gently adapted television series, fans’ ears perked up, curious to know how this iteration of the story would fare. The BBC had previously dealt with the Dirk Gently property twice before – once through an adapted radio series and once through another television adaptation – so it’s not like this is the property’s first brush with being broadcasted in another form.

In the forefront of the new series is series executive producer and scriptwriter Max Landis, practically shouting from the rooftops at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con about what an intriguing and fun series BBC America has in store for everyone. Alongside Landis is executive producer Robert Cooper, along with the rest of the cast which includes Samuel Barnett (Penny Dreadful), Elijah Wood (Wilfred, the Lord of the Rings film franchise), Hannah Marks (Awkward) and Jade Eshete (Shades of Blue) singing the praises of the new series while participating in a panel at the Con as well as roundtable interviews.

Dirk Gently is set to premiere on October 22nd on BBC America.





‘Son of Zorn’ – Cheryl Hines, Tim Meadows and Johnny Pemberton Interview

By
Rebecca Murray
-
Tim Meadows Cheryl Hines Johnny Pemberton Zorn
‘Son of Zorn’ cast members Tim Meadows, Cheryl Hines and Johnny Pemberton at Comic Con 2016 (Photo by Scott Kirkland © 2016 Fox Broadcasting)

Fox’s new half hour comedy series Son of Zorn is set to air this fall on Sundays at 8:30pm ET/PT. The series is a mix of live-action and animation and stars Jason Sudeikis, Cheryl Hines, Tim Meadows, and Johnny Pemberton. Sudeikis lends his voice to Zorn, an animated warrior who comes from a “faraway island in the Pacific Ocean” but returns to Orange County, CA to reconnect with his son, Alan (Pemberton), and his ex-wife, Edie (Hines).

Teamed up in roundtable interviews to discuss the new series at the San Diego Comic-Con, Hines, Meadows, and Pemberton talked about working opposite an animated character and what viewers can expect when they tune into the comedy from executive producers Phil Lord, Chris Miller, Seth Cohen, Reed Agnew, Eli Jorné, Sally Bradford McKenna, and Eric Appel.

Cheryl Hines, Tim Meadows and Johnny Pemberton Interview:

How would you describe the series?

Tim Meadows: “The storylines are sort of based in reality, and then we have the world of Zephyria on top of those stories. They can basically go anywhere with how a problem is solved on the show. For instance, we had one episode where characters came from Zephyria that were friends of Zorn and it turned out that one of them was battling alcoholism. We don’t know that in the beginning of the show, and then it’s solved through the characters on the show. It’s hard to explain how it’s all done, but it starts off as a real grounded problem that you would see in a sitcom.”

Johnny Pemberton: “In Zephyria, anything can happen there. There’s some rules…but there’s essentially no rules with that place where he’s from. Anything can happen. Zorn can do anything, really, within reason – within some reason.”

Tim Meadows: “I think we are still figuring out the rules of how it all works. Sometimes I’ll ask, ‘Is this thing real that we’re talking about, or is this thing made up? How does this logically fit?’ And then they say, ‘Don’t overthink it,’ basically. ‘Just say the lines.'”

Fox is rich with animated shows. What would your dream cross-over be?

Johnny Pemberton: “Lisa Simpson.”

Tim Meadows: “I’d like to see my character from Bob’s Burgers cross-over to our show.”

Cheryl Hines: “I’m going to use that answer. I’d like to see that, too.”

Will we see any of your characters cross over to the animated world in the show?

Cheryl Hines: “That’s a good question. There is a moment – let’s say that.”

Johnny Pemberton: “But also, Zephyria is not a place where…you don’t become a cartoon in Zephyria.”

Cheryl Hines: “I would still be a real person.”

Johnny Pemberton: “Yeah. Like the same way Zorn is a cartoon in Orange County, the reverse principle still follows.”

Tim Meadows: “But yet he is a cartoon but he can also pick up this microphone. You know what I’m saying?”

Johnny Pemberton: “The thing about Zorn is it’s not weird that he’s a cartoon. It’s sort of like you knew someone who was from a weird country.”

Tim Meadows: (Laughing) “Like Ohio.”

Can you talk a little about the logistics of filming the series?

Cheryl Hines: “Well, logistically it’s challenging because you’re doing a scene with nobody. And, it’s also challenging because you know that Zorn is going to be animated and he takes up a certain amount of space, so you can’t really cross over into his plane when you’re acting. You have to be aware of his space and then also where he would be looking. There are times when you drive home and you think, ‘I think I just lost my mind!’ because you just did a whole scene… Sometimes if it’s just a scene with your character and Zorn, you go crazy by the end of the day.”

Johnny Pemberton: “I had a whole week once where I was hardly ever working with a real live person. One of the last shots of the day was with Cheryl and Tim. I don’t remember what it was but it was one of those things where to actually look at someone where we were communicating it was like, ‘Oh, we can actually express things with our eyes!’ I could relax.”

Cheryl Hines: “It’s a treat when you get to see someone’s eyes.”

What can you say about your character’s relationship with Zorn?

Cheryl Hines: “Well, I play Edie, Zorn’s ex-wife. I want him to have a relationship with his son although Zorn drives me crazy because he’s an idiot. He’s like the bull in the china shop. Every time you try to get him to do one tiny normal thing, it turns into he’s got his sword out and he’s beheading somebody. So, I’m just always trying to keep it connected.”

Tim Meadows: “I play Edie’s fiancé and so Zorn and I are competing for Edie’s affection. My character’s a lot more considerate and caring, almost a nerd.”

Cheryl Hines: “Almost.”

Tim Meadows: “But he’s a really likable person. But as the show evolves over the season, you see that he has his issues also. But he really loves Edie and Alan.”

Johnny Pemberton: “Alan’s relationship with Zorn is kind of contentious. There’s a lot of resentment there because his dad wasn’t there. I think it’s a pretty normal relationship with a teenage person who’s already going through enough sh*t on their own and then has to deal with trying to negotiate the relationship with their absentee father who is returning. And, also you’re a child so you don’t understand why you’re feeling the way you are so it’s hard to negotiate it.”




‘Grimm’ Season 6: Claire Coffee Interview on Adalind’s Journey

By
Rebecca Murray
-
Grimm star Claire Coffee
Claire Coffee from ‘Grimm’ at Comic Con 2016 (Photo © Richard Chavez / Showbiz Junkies)

NBC’s Grimm will be back for a sixth season this fall, with the new season promising a showdown between #TeamGrimm and the newly elected Mayor Renard (played by Sasha Roiz). Grimmsters have spent much of the past five seasons unsure as to Adalind’s allegiances and at the 2016 San Diego Comic Con, Claire Coffee confirmed she’s now happy to be considered part of the Scooby gang.

Claire Coffee Interview:

This coming season will there be a different dynamic among the gang since things changed so much in season five?

Claire Coffee: “Yeah, definitely. Alliances are shifting, for sure. I think the beginning of the season is incredibly intense. Usually we take a season to work toward the insanity and that level of tension, but we’re starting with it this season. It’s not letting up. There’s not a lot of breathing room so far.”

How different does it feel because it’s a shorter season?

Claire Coffee: “It does feel different. I would say we’re all kind of committing to really enjoying these 13 episodes as much as possible. It feels like everything is compacted, energy-wise. We’re excited to get going.”

From season one to now, is there any way you could have ever predicted this trajectory?

Claire Coffee: “Absolutely not. No. I wouldn’t say that I had any kind of trajectory in mind – certainly not this one.”

What is your favorite thing that Adalind’s gone through throughout her journey?

Claire Coffee: “Well, what’s happened most recently is now that Diana is back, Hannah Loyd is such a fun, great girl to hang out with… She is super talented and funny and I really think that this dynamic between Adalind trying to mother this potentially bad seed/child is fun. The writing, so far there’s been a lot of funny moments.”

Is the next season going to be more action-heavy for you?

Claire Coffee: “For me, I don’t know. That’s a good question. I will say Adalind’s definitely more in the thick of it with the gang this coming season.”

Is it fun to play being actually part of the gang as opposed to being the outsider?

Claire Coffee: “Oh, it’s so fun for me because I get to hang out more with (everyone).”

Will they be delving more into the relationship triangle?

Claire Coffee: “Yes, they will be delving further into that.”

Is there anything you can drop a hint about?

Claire Coffee: “No, because I don’t know yet. We’ve only received the first three episodes, but that is at the forefront for sure.”

How do you want things to end up with Adalind?

Claire Coffee: “You know, I would prefer her to stay alive. I would prefer to end the series alive. That would be my preference. Anything beyond that is just icing on the cake.”

When you get the scripts do you still think there’s a possibility you will be dead in the script you’re reading?

Claire Coffee: “For sure! Yeah. I mean, I know they still… I was about to say they’d have to work out a few things but they don’t. They really don’t. After last season I think they’ve shown that nobody is safe.”

When the show first started did you have any idea that Adalind would become such a major part of the series?

Claire Coffee: “No. I had no idea. I didn’t know that Adalind would even last longer than an episode.”

What do you think at this point is her biggest strength and her biggest weakness?

Claire Coffee: “Well, I think Adalind’s biggest strength is her commitment to her children. She really has shown that she wants to protect her children. Her biggest weakness…Nick is a weakness, for sure. She almost got him killed that way. I guess it’s the same with her kids. She is so strong to protect her kids but if her kids are danger, then her loyalty has fallen away.”

Do you still do a lot off the set together like you used to?

Claire Coffee:“Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah, because we all live up in Portland now. Actually, I’m so glad to be getting back to work because everyone’s kind of been traveling over hiatus and now we’re back. The other girls and I, our new tradition is to go to the rose garden in Portland with rosés.”

Watch the full Claire Coffee interview:





Box Office: ‘Suicide Squad’ Breaks August Records

By
Rebecca Murray
-
Margot Robbie Suicide Squad
Margot Robbie stars in Warner Bros Pictures’ ‘Suicide Squad.’

Despite less than enthusiastic reviews, Suicide Squad smashed numerous records over its August 5-7, 2016 opening weekend. Warner Bros reports the comic book-inspired action film earned $135.1 million domestically which puts it in first place among all August releases in box office history. The movie also snagged the record for the largest grossing pre/midnight shows at $20.5 million as well as the highest domestic August box office for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, individually. Adding in the film’s international box office gross, Suicide Squad brought in $267 million over its first three days. Warner Bros also pointed out that Suicide Squad‘s opening weekend is the biggest opening weekend in the careers of writer/director David Ayers, Will Smith, Margot Robbie, and the rest of the film’s stars.


The Suicide Squad Plot: Assemble a team of the world’s most dangerous, incarcerated Super-Villains, provide them with the most powerful arsenal at the government’s disposal, and send them off on a mission to defeat an enigmatic, insuperable entity. U.S. intelligence officer Amanda Waller has determined only a secretly convened group of disparate, despicable individuals with next to nothing to lose will do. However, once they realize they weren’t picked to succeed but chosen for their patent culpability when they inevitably fail, will the Suicide Squad resolve to die trying, or decide it’s every man for himself?

Box Office Top 10: August 5-7, 2016

  1. Suicide Squad – $135,105,000
  2. Jason Bourne – $22,710,000
  3. Bad Moms – $14,204,000
  4. The Secret Life of Pets – $11,560,000
  5. Star Trek Beyond – $10,200,000
  6. Nine Lives – $6,500,000
  7. Lights Out – $6,005,000
  8. Nerve – $4,900,000
  9. Ghostbusters – $4,800,000
  10. Ice Age: Collision Course – $4,300,000




Morena Baccarin Interview: ‘Gotham’ Season 3 and Lee’s Relationship with Jim

By
Rebecca Murray
-
Gotham cast at 2016 Comic-Con
Sean Pertwee, Ben McKenzie, Michael Chiklis, Cory Michael Smith, Chris Chalk, Erin Richards, Robin Lord Taylor, Drew Powell, Camren Bicondova, Morena Baccarin, Jessica Lucas and David Mazouz from ‘Gotham’ at Comic Con (Photo by Alan Hess © 2016 Fox Broadcasting)

Fox’s Gotham will kick off its third season on September 19, 2016 and in support of the new season the cast took part in this year’s San Diego Comic-Con. Co-stars and off-screen couple Ben McKenzie and Morena Baccarin were among the stars from the show who made it to Comic-Con to talk about the upcoming season. Baccarin and McKenzie recently welcomed a baby girl into their family, with Morena’s pregnancy and the March 2nd birth of their daughter necessitating Baccarin to take a short break from the series in season two. Back now and ready to further explore her character, Dr. Leslie Thompkins, Baccarin answered a few questions about the new season during roundtable interviews at Comic-Con.

Morena Baccarin Interview:

How soon into the season do we get to see you appear again?

Morena Baccarin: “Right away.”

You’ve been missing for a while.

Morena Baccarin: “Yes, I have. (Laughing) Well, there was a lot of stuff going on. I come in the first episode and we’re in very different places, Jim and Leslie. She’s with somebody else, which he sees right away. They’ve got a long, uphill battle, and we’ll see if they make it.”

Is it someone we’ve seen?

Morena Baccarin: “A new character. It’s Falcone’s son. I think I’m allowed to tell you all this. Nobody’s stopping me. A thunderbolt hasn’t struck me from the sky.”

You had some time off to step away from the show. What’s it been like to gear up for your big return?

Morena Baccarin: “Well, as you know I had a baby so it was really nice to be able to spend some time at home with the kids and regroup, and now I’m excited to come back into the world that I love so much. So much has happened in these characters’ lives as well so it’s nice to start fresh.”

What’s the fresh angle on her that you got to take that got you excited for this season?

Morena Baccarin: “This new love interest is going to be very interesting because we’ve only ever seen Leslie with Jim. We’ve only ever seen their love story, and now there’s something for him to work for. It’s exciting as an actor to play that conflict. He’s certainly not a choir boy, so we’ll see what happens with his life. It will not be easy. So, they’ll have something to work towards.”

How different is this new relationship and the dynamics?

Morena Baccarin: “This is just the beginning. But I think when you go through a tragic, a traumatic event, you seek somebody that is more of a caretaker or seems more level-headed or whatever. That’s what he seems to be. Of course, it’s Gotham. Things change.”

With a cast as big as this, do you get to interact with any new characters this season?

Morena Baccarin: “I hear that I will. I haven’t yet, but I will.”

What was the last year like getting to be a part of both Gotham and Deadpool?

Morena Baccarin: “I’m pinching myself every day. I don’t know how I got so lucky to be able to be in both Marvel and DC universes and have it all be successful. It’s been really fun. I can’t wait to do more.”

Have they talked to you about the Deadpool sequel? Have they given you any details?

Morena Baccarin: “No, I don’t really know exactly what’s going on. I’ve been told I will be in it. I don’t know to what capacity or what they’re planning. I’m dying to find out. Let me know what you hear!”

With so much emphasis on the male characters in the show, as a female character on the series what would you like to see happen with Leslie?

Morena Baccarin: “Last year, because she was in service of Jim and trying to right his wrongs or they were going to start a family together, she ended up I think taking more of a passive role in Gotham, in general, and just really not having her own things going on. So it would be nice to see her side of the story a little bit, which we’ll get with this new love interest and her new life.”




Melanie Scrofano Interview: ‘Wynonna Earp’ Season 2

By
Rebecca Murray
-
Wynonna Earp stars Melanie Scrofano and Shamier Anderson
Melanie Scrofano and Shamier Anderson from ‘Wynonna Earp’ at Comic Con 2016 (Photo © Richard Chavez / Showbiz Junkies)

When Wynonna Earp‘s Melanie Scrofano sat down for roundtable interviews at the 2016 San Diego Comic Con, Syfy had not confirmed the popular series would return for a second season. Of course, it was assumed the show would be back or else there really wouldn’t have been any reason to bring the entire main cast to Comic Con to talk about the show and participate in interviews. And in fact following the interviews, Syfy did confirm Wynonna Earp earned a second season that will premiere in 2017. Commenting on the renewal, the series’ showrunner Emily Andras said, “I’m absolutely thrilled we have the opportunity to deliver more of our witty, female-led, kickass, diverse supernatural series to our passionate fan base around the world.”

Melanie Scrofano, the woman who leads the kickass cast, told us that she hopes Wynonna doesn’t get over all of the devastating events that took place in season one too quickly.

Melanie Scrofano Interview:

Are you ready to throw back on the leather pants and go kick ass?

Melanie Scrofano: “So your thought is I should wear leather and not ripped jeans? You think I’ve evolved? I should tell you I love the ripped jeans. The costume designer Jennier (Haffenden) and I really think that the ripped jeans is really symbolic. She’s probably had those jeans for way too many years and it just feels right when I put them on. It’s like all of a sudden, ‘I don’t give a f**k!’ So, yeah, I’m so ready. I’m so ready not to give a f**k.”

How does Wynonna move forward from the season one finale?

Melanie Scrofano: “I don’t know. I don’t want to know before we start shooting. But, like I’m a fan of not knowing things. Emily (Andras) wanted to meet at the end of the season. She’s like, ‘If we come back, what do you want to do?’ I’m like, ‘I don’t know. You tell me,’ but I know I would like to – in my perfect world – be even obviously more messed up. As you think she’s getting her sh*t together, she would be irreparably damaged from shooting her sister. She’s another loss that’s her fault. And, yes, it’s different. Yes, it’s like she had to do it this time. But she still shot her family. It’s like the numbers of people she has left to count on are dwindling. I think that she’s damaged enough that she wouldn’t go, ‘I had to do it. It’s okay.’ I think she would just self-sabotage and just go dark places. I hope that’s where it goes.”

She’s going to have to recover at some point though, right, to move forward at all?

Melanie Scrofano: “Yeah. I don’t want that to happen too fast. Of course her journey…if she’s always just going to be a mess, that’s going to get old. But, what I want to see is that she would move forward. I think she would stuff it all down, you know, and as we do in life, ‘I’ll think about it later. I’ll think about it tomorrow.’ Very Scarlett O’Hara, like, ‘I’ll think about it when I have time to deal with this.’ I think that will hopefully come back and bite her in the butt. Just one of those epic…maybe she starts to drink even more. Just things that happen in real life where we just stuff things away and just all of a sudden it just turns around and all of a sudden we’re an alcoholic.”


Is she ready for the fact her sister might be her nemesis next season?

Melanie Scrofano: “I don’t think…I mean clearly she doesn’t know. I hope we draw that out. I hope that’s a slow burn.”

She had to confront Willow in the first season but to have to confront Waverly in season two seems like it could be too much for her.

Melanie Scrofano: “That’s right. It’s that whole thing of how many family members do I have to lose? Already she probably has abandonment issues from where’s her mom? And I don’t have the answer to that. I actually don’t know. I know I’d love to explore that. But then to lose Waverly… I mean, it’s Waverly, she’s her younger sister but in a way she’s a bit of a mom in a sense of even in episode 12 and 13 she’s like, ‘I’ve got something I have to do.’ She’s taking care of everything. But for Wynonna to lose that, I don’t think Wynonna knows that Waverly’s such a strength for her.”

Why do you think there’s been such a passionate response from fans, particularly on social media?

Melanie Scrofano: “Honestly, I don’t know why it is. I know why I think it’s that way; I feel like when we’re shooting and we’re in our little bubble, we were like, ‘This is an awesome show.’ Doesn’t mean people are going to get it. Doesn’t mean it’s going to translate. We can only do our part as actors. We’re not going to edit it; I don’t know what it’s going to look like. So, as an actor you just go, ‘I hope people get it because I do.’

I do think people respond a lot to the humor and not taking itself too seriously. I know before we started somebody posted to me, ‘I can’t wait for your show to air because I’m so sick of how serious things are.’ Things are serious in our show but we’re not precious about it. It’s just like, ‘The world is going to end. Gotta do something about that!’ I think that’s refreshing. I do think it comes across and our chemistry is great.”

Wynonna is such an inspiration. What were some of your female character inspirations growing up?

Melanie Scrofano: “Nobody jumps out at me, to be honest, in terms of famous people or characters. I read a lot so I guess I absorbed inspiration that way. A lot of the people who inspired me were like girls…I was not a cool person. Well, I was but nobody knew it and so I would draw inspiration from people at school that I looked up to. There were older girls who, maybe because I was bullied and things, girls who took me under their wings. They were my heroes.”

What is it that draws Wynonna to Dolls and Doc Holliday?

Melanie Scrofano: “I think Dolls is a strength that she doesn’t have. He’s so together. I love that about him. Even Shamier (Anderson) as a person on set you’re just like, ‘Shamier, I need help with this.’ [Shamier leans in to hear what Melanie’s saying about him.] And he’s there. He has that strength of character. I think Doc has the wisdom of the years and gives her that perspective that she needs. He knew Wyatt so he’s able to remind her who she is in a way that nobody else can do. I’ve never thought about that actually; I just thought about that right now, which is pretty great. And, they’re both hot.”

Watch the full Melanie Scrofano interview:





Christian Slater Interview: ‘Mr. Robot’ Season 2

By
Fred Topel
-
Mr. Robot star Christian Slater
Christian Slater from ‘Mr Robot’ at Comic Con 2016 (Photo © Richard Chavez / Showbiz Junkies)

The second season of USA Network’s Mr. Robot proves the show isn’t resting on its laurels. Season two is equally as intense and entertaining as the show’s award-winning first season, and at the 2016 San Diego Comic Con the show’s cast answered questions from fans of the series during a packed panel. They also sat down for roundtable interviews, with Christian Slater discussing his approach to playing Mr. Robot and how the character has evolved from season one to season two.

Christian Slater Interview:

How does it feel to portray somebody’s emotional baggage in their imagination?

Christian Slater: “It’s unusual. It’s definitely unusual. After we did season one episode nine I had many questions about where the character was going to go. Sam (Esmail) was still writing the characters from week to week. We didn’t know what was going to happen. This season we had the opportunity – or Sam had the opportunity – to work with all the writers and write every script. So, then over the course of two days we sat down and read through with the whole cast and everybody so we were all on the same page together. So, that just was remarkably helpful knowing where we were going and what direction and what each of our character arcs were going to be.

But, yeah, playing somebody’s emotional baggage… I mean, the character I think initially was this manifestation of somebody that Elliot truly loved and needed him to sort of lead him and guide him along this path. As long as Elliot’s moving in that particular direction, we’re fine. As soon as he starts to put up barriers and walls and things like that taking us off course, I’m not going to be happy about it.”


What has it been like playing that relationship more antagonistic this season?

Christian Slater: “You know, it’s difficult. First of all because I really love Rami (Malek). But, I like the dynamic of us now. I think they’re all very well thought out and thoroughly detailed. Sam has put a great deal of thought and care and time into really getting to the bottom of this relationship and understanding it as fully as you possibly can. So I’m just excited for it to continue to unfold. I’m also excited for the opportunity the character’s developing a personality of his own, not just this idealized vision of what he manifested his father to be or what he would have liked hm to have been had he lived. The character’s really starting to exercise his own will in a lot of situations and scenarios. That’s a lot of fun. It’s a real power struggle between the two of us.”

Does being a part of this show make you more aware of the use of technology?

Christian Slater: “Yeah, definitely, certainly. I didn’t know really anything. You just don’t think about the dangers of the internet. But, yeah, certainly doing a show like this raised all of our levels of awareness. This whole hacking universe is extraordinarily powerful. We’ve seen it already bring down corporations to their knees. It’s no joke. It’s the real deal and something that we need to really take very seriously. I don’t know where we’re going in the next few years. I don’t want to be making a documentary here; it’s a TV show. Hopefully it will raise people’s awareness levels enough they will start to actually incorporate a lot of these security protocols that are available.”

Watch the Christian Slater interview:

(Interview by Fred Topel. Article by Rebecca Murray.)

‘Suicide Squad’ Movie Review: Watch the Trailers, Skip the Film

By
Rebecca Murray
-
Suicide Squad Cast Movie Review
JAY HERNANDEZ as Diablo, JAI COURTNEY as Boomerang, ADEWALE AKINNUOYE-AGBAJE as Killer Croc, MARGOT ROBBIE as Harley Quinn, WILL SMITH as Deadshot, JOEL KINNAMAN as Rick Flag and KAREN FUKUHARA as Katana in Warner Bros. Pictures’ action adventure “SUICIDE SQUAD” (Photo © 2016 Warner Bros Entertainment)

You bought into the promises made by the trailers, didn’t you? It’s okay to admit you watched the Suicide Squad trailers and thought finally there’s a film set in the DC Comics universe that’s figured out how to work in humor the way Marvel has with films such as Deadpool and Guardians of the Galaxy. Join the ‘Fooled by a Trailer’ club; you’re among friends here and it’s okay to confess to lowering your guard and believing what a trailer was selling. It happens to the best of us.

An hour into Suicide Squad I wanted to have a serious talk with whoever cut the trailers. The movie teased in those videos is definitely not the final cut shown in theaters. I’ve had this film at the top of my summer must-see list since that first promotional trailer arrived last year at Comic Con because, even though I absolutely should have known better, I bought into it hook, line, and sinker. Maybe I was still riding high after the sheer lunacy of Deadpool. Maybe it was just that I assumed after Batman v Superman it couldn’t get any worse. The powers that be at Warner Bros want to see DC’s Justice League succeed which meant that Suicide Squad was tasked with wiping away the bad taste left lingering following the debacle that was Batman v Superman (one of the most tedious and joyless superhero films to ever hit the big screen). Unfortunately, if Suicide Squad is indicative of what’s to come with Justice League, the DC Comics film world is in deep, deep trouble.


The first hour or so of Suicide Squad is spent setting up the supervillains who make up the squad. It also establishes Viola Davis as Amanda Waller, a government official pulling the strings and introduces Joel Kinnaman as Colonel Rick Flag, the military officer who’s charged with overseeing the squad by constantly threatening them with death. The squad itself is made up of Will Smith as Deadshot, an assassin who never, ever misses unless he means to; Jai Courtney as Boomerang, a crazy dude named after his weapon of choice; and a nearly unrecognizable Jay Hernandez as El Diablo, the tattooed fire-conjuror with a disturbing past. Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje plays Killer Croc, a villain whose talent is the ability to swim like a crocodile. (If he has any other ability, it’s not shown in the film.) Adam Beach shows up briefly as Slipknot, a villain who seems incredibly out of place among the other psychos. And Margot Robbie, the only reason to watch the film, is Harley Quinn, a former psychologist who went wacko after falling for The Joker (played by Jared Leto) who’s part of the story but not part of the Suicide Squad.

Also not technically part of the squad but a key player in the plot is archaeologist June Moone played by a horribly miscast Cara Delevingne. June’s possessed by a super powerful witch known as the Enchantress. Amanda Waller has the Enchantress’ heart locked up in a box, which is the only reason the government can control her. June’s heart is possessed in a less creepy way by Rick Flag. And while we’re on the subject of the June and Rick relationship, the 13 year age difference in actors is not only noticeable but doesn’t make any sense. A more mature actress in the role may have made the Enchantress character less angsty and more ruthless.

So, once the team’s together their big mission is to rescue someone important from a skyscraper while the Enchantress, who has managed to get loose and free her demon brother, is whipping up some sort of bizarre lightning/thundercloud-ish machine (which looks nothing like a machine but is constantly referred to as a ‘machine’) that will wipe out humanity. Why? Because people no longer worship her. Awww, poor thing. The more important question though is who thought it was a good idea to make this character, who comes across as scary as a petulant teen, the main villain in a mega-budget comic book-inspired action film? Once Suicide Squad introduces Enchantress doing a weird wobbly dance while whipping up her storm cloud weapon/machine, the film pretty much just goes to hell in a handbasket.

Suicide Squad’s tone is all over the place and every single funny moment in the film has already been revealed/ruined in the trailers and TV spots. The villain is surprisingly lame, the CG is nothing special, and with the exception of Robbie’s Harley Quinn, Suicide Squad fails to make a case for ever wanting to spend time – or money – watching any member of this ensemble again. And, look, Jared Leto’s a fine actor but he’s no Jack Nicholson or Heath Ledger. Plus, what’s the reason behind The Joker’s silver teeth? Suicide Squad also seems handcuffed by its PG-13 rating, especially when you take into consideration the fact Deadpool went with an R-rating and did just fine at the box office.

Justice League is going to have a tough row to hoe to win over audiences following Batman v Superman and now Suicide Squad. A trip back to the drawing board needs to happen and someone higher up is going to have to take a good hard look at what it is audiences actually want to throw their support – and their dollars – behind before Justice League debuts. The old saying, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me,” applies to the two most recent Warner Bros/DC Comics offerings. We can only hope that the other old adage, “The third time is the charm,” holds true for Justice League.

GRADE: D+

MPAA Rating: PG – 13 for sequences of violence and action throughout, disturbing behavior, suggestive content and language

Running Time: 123 minutes

Directed By: David Ayer

Release Date: August 5, 2016




1...1,6261,6271,628...3,085Page 1,627 of 3,085

Trending

All Rights Reserved – Showbiz Junkies 2020