Warner Bros Pictures has released the third trailer for the action adventure film The Legend of Tarzan starring Alexander Skarsgard. Directed by Harry Potter‘s David Yates, the new Tarzan movie also stars Margot Robbie as Jane, Christoph Waltz, Djimon Hounsou, John Hurt, Jim Broadbent, and Samuel L. Jackson. Adam Cozad and Craig Brewer wrote the script based on Edgar Rice Burroughs’ stories, with Yates, Susan Ekins, Nikolas Korda, Keith Goldberg, Mike Richardson and Bruce Berman executive producing. The Legend of Tarzan will open in theaters on July 1, 2016.
Skarsgard’s credits include True Blood, Generation Kill, The Diary of a Teenage Girl, The East, and What Maisie Knew.
The Plot: It has been years since the man once known as Tarzan (Skarsgård) left the jungles of Africa behind for a gentrified life as John Clayton III, Lord Greystoke, with his beloved wife, Jane (Robbie) at his side. Now, he has been invited back to the Congo to serve as a trade emissary of Parliament, unaware that he is a pawn in a deadly convergence of greed and revenge, masterminded by the Belgian, Captain Leon Rom (Waltz). But those behind the murderous plot have no idea what they are about to unleash.
“We are delighted to partner with CBS, TF1 and Global to bring Ransom to screens around the globe,” said John Morayniss, Chief Executive Officer, eOne Television. “We are especially grateful to the Wildcats team, who brought the IP on which the show is inspired, Sienna Films with whom we have a longstanding and successful relationship, and Frank Spotnitz whose talent and vast experience will ensure delivery of a top notch show.”
“The world of crisis negotiation is incredibly compelling, as demonstrated by the fascinating real-life cases Laurent Combalbert has negotiated,” said Frank Spotnitz, Big Light Productions. “Laurent has inspired a brilliant and complex character, and you can’t help but be moved seeing all the lives he’s saved around the world.”
“As CBS continues to program year round, we are always looking for series that can fit seamlessly within our schedule and connect with our viewers,” said Glenn Geller, President, CBS Entertainment. “Ransom brings a compelling new approach to a character driven crime drama with a sense of urgency and closure in each episode.”
The Plot:Ransom follows crisis and hostage negotiator Eric Beaumont (Luke Roberts), whose team is brought in to save lives when no one else can. Eric understands criminals better than they do, and uses his insight into human behaviour to resolve the most difficult kidnap and ransom cases. Despite the stakes, Eric refuses to resort to violence, even when confronted by some of the most dangerous criminals in the world. While Eric’s considerable powers of manipulation make him the best at what he does professionally, they often complicate his relationships with family, friends and colleagues. Is Eric being himself, or who he needs to be in order to get what he wants? The difference is often hard to tell. The series begins with Eric taking on Maxine Carlson, a new member of the team eager to prove herself. But a dangerous secret from Maxine’s past may pose a threat that even the great Eric Beaumont is unable to resolve.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows was down 46% from 2014’s TMNT, however it still managed to snag the top spot on the box office chart, stealing it away from X-Men: Apocalypse. Opening with $35 million domestically, TMNT 2 is following in the footsteps of recent sequels that have had a hard time cashing in on their predecessor’s popularity including Neighbors 2 and Alice Through the Looking Glass. However, the sequel has earned better reviews from critics and audiences even awarded it an A- CinemaScore so it’s probable Paramount isn’t ready to call it quits on the franchise just yet.
The weekend’s two other big releases, Me Before You and Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, finished in third and eighth place, respectively. Me Before You went after women and pulled off a surprising $18 million opening weekend which is better than anyone expected of the PG-13 rated romantic drama. The news wasn’t quite so sunny for Popstar which earned decent reviews but failed to find an audience, ringing up just $4.63 million over its first three days in release.
Jerome Flynn and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau in ‘Game of Thrones’ (Photo: Helen Sloan / HBO)
HBO’s Game of Thrones season six episode seven brought back two characters, one of whom viewers assumed was dead and one who was just missed because he’s a supporting player who hasn’t gotten in any recent screen time. The episode also introduced a new character played by Ian McShane and found the Stark siblings on the road trying to drum up support for their quest to regain Winterfell from the Boltons. And speaking of the Boltons, Ramsay was once again absent from the story. Also left out of episode seven was the gang at Meereen as well as Dany, her dragon, and the Dothrakis. Tommen was mentioned but didn’t put in an appearance, and Bran/the new Three-Eyed Raven was left out in the cold which, in retrospect, is better than what happened to his sister, Arya, in this episode.
The Recap:
The episode begins with Ian McShane showing up as a character who isn’t referred to by name. Readers of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire will recognize the character as Septon Meribald from Martin’s A Feast For Crows. Septon Meribald and his followers are busy building what could be a new place of worship, happily going about their day with the men doing the construction work and the women cooking. And yes, there he is! Sandor ‘The Hound’ Clegane is alive and kicking. Welcome back, Rory McCann. Septon Meribald asks how many men it took to take him down, and The Hound admits it was a woman who got the better of him. The Septon discusses the moment when he first stumbled upon The Hound, describing him as nearly dead, stinking to high heaven, and with a bone sticking out of his leg. The Hound says it is hate that kept him alive when he should have died, but Septon Meribald says God’s not done with him yet and that’s why he’s still alive. The Hound asks if the gods are real, why haven’t they punished him, and the Septon responds, “They have.”
At King’s Landing, Margaery (Natalie Dormer) is busy reading The Book of The Mother when the High Sparrow stops by for a visit. Margaery’s got the text memorized and the High Sparrow’s impressed. Margaery’s back on the “I only pretended to love the poor and the needy” kick, and the High Sparrow agrees that is sometimes what happens. The High Sparrow’s purpose for the visit is to find out why she hasn’t joined her husband in their marriage bed, and Margaery says those desires no longer drive her like they used to. The High Sparrow reminds her King Tommen must have an heir or they won’t be able to continue their work. The High Sparrow is about to leave when he casually tosses out a major announcement: he fears for Lady Tyrell’s safety if she doesn’t repent.
Margaery meets with her grandmother (Diana Rigg) with the ever-watchful Septa Unella (Hannah Waddingham) close by. Lady Tyrell wants Unella to leave but of course she won’t. Margaery seems fine with Septa Unella’s hovering presence, telling her grandmother that Loris’ only hope for release from his imprisonment is to confess and repent. If he doesn’t, he’ll remain caged up. Lady Tyrell is beside herself and wants Margaery to return home immediately. Margaery tells her grandmother it’s she who should leave King’s Landing as soon as possible, squeezing her hand and passing a note as a signal that she’s faking at least part of this pious act. Lady Tyrell opens the note when she’s alone and it’s a drawing of a single rose.
Jon Snow (Kit Harington), Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner), and Tormund (Kristofer Hivju) meet with the Wildlings who are reluctant to follow Jon Snow to battle. They don’t believe his war is their war, but Tormund reminds them it’s because of Jon Snow that they’re safe. Jon tells them everyone will be coming for them if he loses at Winterfell. He tells the Wildlings he needs them with him if he’s going to win the North back. Tormund reminds them Jon Snow died for them at the hands of his Brothers and if they’re not willing to do the same for him, then they’re cowards. The giant rises, says, “Snow,” and leaves the group. That ringing endorsement prompts the rest of the Wildlings to commit to the cause. Jon asks if Tormund’s sure they’ll come, and Tormund says if they pledge to do something, they’ll do it. The Wildlings are now officially #TeamStark.
Cersei (Lena Headey) meets with Lady Tyrell and asks if she’s actually planning on leaving. Lady Tyrell blames everything on Cersei, telling her that their two houses are on the verge of collapse because of her. And, for once, Cersei accepts the full blame. “I wonder if you’re the worst person I’ve ever met?” asks Lady Tyrell. She reminds Cersei about the way she smirked when her granddaughter and grandson were put in cells. Lady Tyrell says she’s definitely leaving and Cersei should too, but Cersei won’t leave her son. Lady Tyrell rubs in the fact that Cersei’s family is gone, the people despise her, and she should leave while she can. “You’ve lost, Cersei. It’s the only joy I can find in all this misery,” says Lady Tyrell, fully enjoying seeing Cersei squirm.
Next we get to catch up with the buddy comedy team of Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and Bronn (Jeremy Flynn). They’ve been separated for too long but now they’re back leading the Lannister army to Riverrun. Jaime and Bronn have a nifty little exchange about commanding armies, and Jaime calls Bronn his right hand that he lost. Bronn stops him from completing the old Lannister saying of “a Lannnister always…” as they walk through the Frey army. They listen in as the Frey boys threaten the Blackfish with the hanging of Lord Edmure Tully (Tobias Menzies who’s been keeping busy with Outlander while Edmure’s been locked up). If he doesn’t yield the castle, Edmure dies. A Frey reminds the Blackfish that he sliced his niece’s throat ear-to-ear, but the Blackfish responds by saying, “Go on, then, cut his throat.” They don’t – just as the Blackfish expected. Up walks Jaime telling the Freys they allowed 8,000 men to approach unchallenged. The siege is now under Jaime’s command and he wants Edmure bathed as soon as possible. Bronn tells the Frey army to dig trenches, and then Jaime requests Bronn get word to the Blackfish that he wants a parley. Again we’re treated to the comedy act of Bronn and Jaime as they discuss who would win in a fight: Jaime or the Blackfish.
Sansa, Jon, and Sir Davos (Liam Cunningham) visit the young but confident Lady Lyanna Mormont who rules Bear Island. Jon Snow tells Lady Mormont he served under her uncle at Castle Black, explaining Robb Stark is gone but House Stark is not and they want House Mormont’s allegiance. Lady Mormont consults her advisors and says Jon is a Snow and Sansa is a Bolton, something Sansa immediately takes issue with, replying that she’s always been a Stark. Jon reiterates that they need to fight Ramsay Bolton but Lady Mormont wants to know why she should sacrifice another life on Bear Island for someone else’s war. Sir Davos speaks up, telling her he understands how she feels. He explains his background and that he’s here because this isn’t someone else’s war, “It’s our war.” Lyanna’s uncle made Jon his stewart because Jon had the courage to do what was right. The real war is between the living and the dead, and Mormont knew that. Davos says, “Make no mistake, my lady, the dead are coming.” Davos continues his speech, telling Lyanna a divided North won’t stand a chance against the Night King and advising they all need to fight together to get back Winterfell. House Mormont has kept faith with House Stark for 1,000 years, “We will not break faith today,” says Lady Mormont. They pledge 62 fighting men. They are not a large House but every man from Bear Island fights with the strength of 10.
Jaime rides through the troops and approaches the gates to Riverrun. Archers keep him in their sights as the drawbridge lowers. Brynden “The Blackfish” Tully (Clive Russell), surrounded by some of his men, is on the other side. He meets Jaime in the middle and asks after Sansa and Arya. Jaime admits he doesn’t have them and he’s there to get the castle back for the Freys. Hundreds will die if the Blackfish doesn’t surrender, with the Blackfish responding by saying thousands of the Lannister army will die, too. Jaime promises to spare his men if he surrenders, and the Blackfish says he’s ready to die in this castle. “You can either attack or try to starve us out,” says the Blackfish, adding that he has two years’ worth of provisions. The Blackfish only met with Jaime to get his measure, and he’s disappointed with what he sees.
Sophie Turner, Kit Harington, Liam Cunningham, and Tim McInnerny in ‘Game of Thrones’ (Photo: Helen Sloan / HBO)
Once again we’re back with the Starks and this time they’re met with a firm no. Lord Glover isn’t about to help take back Winterfell because the Boltons helped him take back his castle from the Ironborn. Glover asks who else is fighting for the Starks and Jon lists off House Mormont and confirms the bulk of the army is made up of Wildlings. Glover can’t believe the rumors are true and declares House Glover will not fight alongside Wildlings, turning and walking away. Sansa reminds him his House is pledged to the Starks, sworn to answer when called upon. Glover says they were pledged and even followed Robb Stark, but Robb wasn’t there and instead took up with a foreign whore and got himself and those who followed him killed. “House Stark is dead,” says Glover, effectively ending the conversation.
The scene shifts to a bar where Theon (Alfie Allen) appears upset the men and his sister, Yara (Gemma Whelan), are drinking and partying with whores. He won’t drink and can’t have a woman, and his sister tries to get him to relax. She says she’ll never hurt him and Theon wants to know if their uncle is after them. Of course he is, confirms Yara, demanding Theon drink his entire cup. She’s tired of watching him cower and continues to demand he drink the ale. She wants the real Theon back, not this wimpy pretender. She promises they’ll get justice; he corrects her to say justice would be dying at Winterfell. She promises him revenge instead and that they’ll sail to Meereen and make a pact with the Dragon Queen to take back the Iron Islands. Theon, the real Theon, looks at his sister and wordlessly indicates he’s with her.
Sir Davos tells Jon and Sansa they’re camping where Stannis did and Jon says they need to march on Winterfell now, with the three Houses and the Wildlings who’ve pledged their support. Davos runs off to break up a fight while Sansa and Jon discuss whether Davos is worth listening to. Jon wants to fight now, but Sansa believes they need more men. As Jon rushes off to help Davos, Sansa sees that House Mormont has brought ravens. She pens a note and signs it with her name and seal. Who’s it to? I’m guessing she’s finally going to say yes to Petyr ‘Littlefinger’ Baelish’s offer of men to fight for the Starks.
And now we’re back where we began the episode, catching up once again with Septon Meribald who’s delivering George R.R. Martin’s famous Broken Men speech. Septon Meribald is talking to his people about how he used to be a coward who followed orders, doing wrongs to innocent people just because he was told to do so. He wasn’t even worthy of being called an animal because animals are true to their nature. He recalls cutting a young boy’s throat and how that changed everything. He can still hear that child’s mother’s scream, but now he’s just trying to bring a little goodness into the world. It’s never too late to start over, to come back, to start helping people. Just then three men on horses ride up to the group, demanding to know what they’re doing there. The men say they’re just protecting the people, then they ask about food and horses. The Hound stares them down as the leader says, “Stay safe. The night is dark and full of terrors,” before turning and riding away. The Hound tells Septon Meribald that those men were from the Brotherhood and they follow the Red God. He wants to hunt them down because he knows they’ll be back, but Meribald doesn’t think that’s necessary.
On to Braavos where Arya (Maisie Williams) walks through the port and finds a man who agrees to give her passage on his ship. They leave in two days but then she throws him a bag of coins, telling him he’ll leave at dawn instead. She walks away and is alone on a bridge watching boats float by when an old woman approaches. But no – it’s not an elderly woman at all – it’s the Waif in disguise. The Waif grabs Arya and stabs her repeatedly in the stomach. Arya leaps from the bridge, her blood spreading in the ocean while her body is underwater. Surfacing, she crawls to shore, clutching her stomach. Wet, bleeding, and in pain, no one helps her as she staggers through the crowded market.
The Hound is busy chopping wood when he hears a horse in the distance. He returns to the peaceful little group to find they’ve all been slaughtered and Septon Meribald has been hung from the chapel they were building. The Hound stares at him and then turns, grabs his axe, and walks away.
Episode nine of Outlander season two is titled for the Fraser motto, Je Suis Prest, I Am Ready. The entire episode is about just that, being ready or, more accurately, getting ready. There is a wealth of activity in this episode, and so much of it is unlike the book; I won’t dwell on the comparison. I will point out a few more interesting deviations though. The first addition of note is there is a great deal more reference to World War II. Before the episode even gets going you see a puddle and then wheels roll through the puddle. They are not wagon wheels as you might expect, they are rubber tires from an armored vehicle. I must say that I did enjoy the flashbacks for Claire because it touched on several items that, thus far, only book readers knew.
The scene begins with a gorgeous view of the Highlands again. The Scotland mountains are simply breathtaking…but I digress. The marching men…focus, focus!!! You see Claire and Jamie pick up right where the Old Fox left them. The men are on the march to the encampment. As will happen with the clans, about half of Simon Fraser’s (James Parris) forces deserted before they even got the men combined with the 30 men Jamie (Sam Heughan) pulled together from Lallybroch lands. Simon was dispatched to try to gather back in as many men as would be willing to return. A soldier is much better when they want to fight for the cause, not when they are forced to fight.
With a snappy wisecrack, they are welcomed by the always warm, and typically fuzzy, Murtagh (Duncan Lacroix). He has some choice words for the men who walk into the camp, not the best of Lord Lovet’s (Clive Russell) crop. Jamie remarks that the ol’ fox kept his best men at home. Then Fergus (Romann Berrux) bursts out of the door with shouts of welcome for his Lord and Lady Broch Tuarach. Claire (Caitriona Balfe) bestows a radiant grin on the boy and a rather sizable hug. Everyone goes about getting settled in and making a place for themselves to rest before the training and preparations begin the next day. The music in this episode is such a gift in the moment, love the Highland songs and how they give incredible ambiance to the show. Bear McCreary does such an amazing job in every episode. Okay, back from fangirl land…
As Claire and Jamie come out of their quarters the next day, they are welcomed by two highly missed characters: Rupert (Grant O’Rourke) and Angus (Stephen Walters). After that last totally inappropriate kiss Angus bestowed on Claire at the end of season one, Claire heads off another such mishap. She grabs Angus by the jaw and turns his head to kiss him on the cheek. Rupert gave her a big bear hug and picks her up off the ground. Joyful reunion all around. And then who do we see but none other than Dougal MacKenzie (Graham McTavish) walking down the hill to join the gathering.
Dougal is just the same, overbearing and completely full of his own ego. This part is considerably different from the book. The circumstances in the book for Dougal joining the troops is done in a different way from the show – no spoilers so don’t ask for more details on how they are different. Dougal is so kind as to remind Jamie of the torture he experiences at the hands of the British in Wentworth. Such a compassionate man Dougal is. {You know I’m being completely sarcastic, right?} He also entertains with a fine speech about how Jamie is like a son and how proud he is that Jamie has joined the Jacobite cause. Did anyone else throw up little at all that declaration, or was that just me? Jamie bursts Dougal’s bubble a bit by telling him how much work they will need to do to get the men ready to join the Jacobite forces. Jamie is being realistic; Dougal is itching to get into battle and thinks they can handle it like a clan confrontation is always handled. You need to crawl before you can walk big man, and the walk this time is more disciplined British war. Not clan cattle raiding.
As Murtagh starts to work on the men, Claire is walking about the camp. What she sees reminds her of activities that WWII soldiers were also doing in downtimes. Some men were playing Shinty, but she saw men playing baseball. She tries to shake it off and continues to take care of preparations that the women and healers are doing about the camp. Jamie and Murtagh continue to instruct and drill the men. Dougal continues to press for joining Prince Charles (Andrew Gower), but Jamie and Murtagh both tell him that the men are not ready. Not quite Suis Prest! {I don’t know French so pardon any misapplication of the language, but you probably get my meaning.}
Then we see Claire tending to food for the men, and she has a flashback. I like that they included this one. You see an American Corporal, Grant (Billy Griffin Jr.), in WWII saying Claire’s famous line, “Jesus H. Roosevelt Christ.” Book readers knew this is where she picked that up, the WWII American soldier. Of course, what he was cussing about is different in the show versus the book. In the show he was not happy about the food; in the book, it was in the hospital. In war, I would imagine either place it would be an appropriate declaration. Back in their room, Jamie enters to see Claire sitting in front of the fire. He remarks that she has been overly quiet the past few days, very much out of the norm for our heroine. She tries to excuse it away with activities and preparations taking up her time. Jamie knows something more is going on but doesn’t press the issue.
Jamie watches Murtagh trying to drill the men the next morning and decides to fill them in on why they should focus more on their activity at hand. Jamie is fully aware of what is ahead of them. He has been in battle, been trained as a soldier in a formal army with the French, and knows what it feels like to see and hear volleys of muskets firing directly at you like a metal cloud of hail. This group of farmers and clansmen have no idea of what they are going to face and neither does Dougal, really. Jamie rallies their attention and hearts to the task at hand. Dougal pulls out the Highland charge on them, and the group scatters. Dougal knows the typical Highland skirmish; Jamie knows the formal battle stance the British will take. Jamie pulls Dougal to the side and lays down Dougal’s choices once and for all. Dougal is to either leave with his men OR he will stay and heel to Jamie’s command. As you can imagine that did not go down well, but Dougal didn’t argue the point. He just decided to take a different tack.
Dougal goes to Claire to try to get her on his side to convince Jamie to listen to him. He actually tries to threaten her in typical Dougal fashion, but Claire has had his number for a very long time. She pretty much breaks it off in his arse! She goes so far as to recount the Greek Mythology of Narcissus and how Dougal is so full of his own ego and self-worth that he cannot see anything else.
Next we see Murtagh trying to teach the men how to load and fire a musket. Highlanders typically use a hand pistol, so this is new to all of them. Jamie comes up and warns that the British can get off three shots a minute, so they will have to do better and soon. Jamie turns to notice Claire stirring a pot and remarks how out of sorts she is to Murtagh. Both men know she is not one to hold back her opinions so her quiet demeanor is worrisome, to say the least.
Next, Claire comes upon Angus messing with his feet, filthy slabs that they are, and expounds on the dangers of trench foot. Trench foot is not a term they would have heard of during this time. She flashes back and forth between Angus and a class in which she was training WWII soldiers about the same thing. It was paramount that a soldier take care of their feet in any time period. All the mud, standing water, and just plain sweat could cause a person’s flesh to melt from their bones. It could lead to losing the foot altogether. Claire barks loudly at Angus and then turns on her heels and leaves. She throws a few F-bombs out this episode too; the fine WWII nurse that she is. Claire walks out of the room and is hearing WWII around her and seeing the Highlanders in front of her. She is experiencing Post-Traumatic Stress but doesn’t realize it. She did fall through the stones about six months after WWII ended. She hasn’t even had time to deal with it and now she is thrust into another war.
Later that night Jamie is brought a batch of new recruits from Dougal. Dougal just does NOT get it. This is Jamie’s command, not his. Jamie asks them if they want to stay, explains the dangers such as being hung for treason if the cause fails, and (as you would expect) they turn and leave for home again, not to mention these men are NOT of clan MacKenzie. It’s simply Dougal trying to continue to force his will in the situation. Jamie then has to make Dougal get the point that it is Jamie’s command! He orders Dougal to oversee sentry duty from that point forward. He and his men are to be accountable for it. The next morning, Jamie has to punish the two men on sentry duty that let Dougal into the camp with all the other men in tow. Discipline has to be adhered to strictly and at all times. Both the sentries get six lashes with a strap for the oversight. He makes a display of it in front of the rest of the men to prove the point; this is what you will face if you do not follow orders.
Later that day while the men were at target practice again, Claire is walking behind them and starts to panic. She walks faster and faster, even lays down her basket, and eventually leans on a wagon of hay nearby. All of a sudden she hits the ground, and the scene goes to her riding in a jeep with the American Corporal. The jeep suddenly takes heavy fire and they crash. She wakes to see the Germans coming down the road. She is forced to hide all night after she sees the soldier she was with gunned down by the Germans. The Germans then fire on the jeep and make it explode. She is rescued the next day by Americans but is in shock, curled up in a ball on the ground.
The scene comes back to Jamie kneeling over her as the rescuing soldier had just been doing. Jamie gets her up off the ground eventually. She finally tells him about the jeep and the soldiers being killed right in front of her. She felt cowardly hiding and not going to help. Jamie points out that if she had she would have been killed too. She admits she knows that, and she tried to just close the night out of her mind. The war preparations have forced it back again. Jamie says he will have her taken to Lallybroch, but Claire resoundingly refuses to go. She has to stay and help; she will not be helpless and alone again. The PTSD that Claire is living in the show, to me, is a tool to help rush through many chapters the book had around her involvement in WWII. She never really had those symptoms in the book, but it makes sense for the show because you have to get into her head quickly.
Later that night as Jamie is out in back of the building he and Claire are staying in, Jamie is almost assassinated from behind by a fairly young lad. He is a British soldier, so that means Dougal’s men failed as sentries. Jamie breaks the boy’s arm in the attempt of cutting his throat. And, the interrogation begins. His name is William Grey (Oscar Kennedy) and he admits he was drawn to the area by the fires. He got close enough to see “Red Jamie” and took the opportunity to strike down a man the British have already put out notice is a danger. Jamie works to get information out of the boy, but he refuses to answer the questions put to him.
Claire enters this little scene just as Jamie is about to burn the boy’s face with a heated dirk blade. She makes out like she is captive of these Highlanders and if he would let the boy go free she would give herself to him. Jamie picks up quickly on the ploy to make the boy talk without harming him. The book had it as Jamie’s idea. An honorable soldier would not stand idly by and watch a filthy Scot ravage an English Lady. Jamie wrestles around with Claire a bit, pulls up her skirt {way too high for a hubby to do in front of his men}, and Claire gives him a nice knee in the groin for it. Way to almost give up the game, Jamie! He uttered ‘Sassenach’ under his breath when she kneed him…giggle-snort. He pins Claire against something and the boy finally relents to the demand for information. Jamie has two of his men hold Claire so as to keep up the ruse until they find out what they need to know.
The boy does spill all he knows: the count of soldiers, cannons, cavalry, and position of their encampment. Jamie gave the boy back his life {so to speak, tying him to a tree a mile from the British camp constitutes giving him back}, so the boy says he has a life-debt to repay someday if they ever meet again. Jamie has to punish those who made the mistake that let the boy into the camp. You would think it would be Dougal or his men that Jamie punished, but no. Jamie admits it was his fires that drew the boy to the camp, so he takes six lashes for the fires from the strap and then a dozen more for carelessness. All the men look around in bewilderment. Jamie is showing what a true leader does. He is not above admitting a mistake and taking the punishment for it. Poor Murtagh, his own godfather, had to do the honors.
The men prepare to make a commando raid on the British camp. Dougal strolls in, sword in hand, and is ready to get into some fun. Jamie says that he will remain and perform his ordered sentry duty along with his men. Not happy but agreeing nonetheless, Dougal and his men turn and head back to their posts as sentries of the camp. Jamie, Murtagh, and several other men go to the British camp. They take the pins out of the wagon wheels and take the wheels themselves from beneath the cannons. They can’t take the cannons with them, but the Highlanders have made sure that the British cannot either. They have a nice large bonfire of the wheels.
Jamie bursts in on a sleeping Claire and throws the string of pins on the bed. He admits they went on the raid and that she better be getting dressed before the British come looking for their wheels. Jamie thanks Claire for her selflessness in tricking the boy to give up the information. In the book that scene played much more harshly on Claire. Jamie even ripped her bodice to expose her chest to his men and the boy in order to induce the boy to speak. In the book that was another reason for some of the lashes on his back, but the fire reason was the same in both places.
Now looking much more like a unified force, the camp marches to join their kinsmen with Prince Charles. Jamie gives Dougal the honor of announcing their arrival at the camp to His Majesty Prince Charles. Je Suis Prest! Tulach Ard!!!
Adam Nimoy’s documentary For the Love of Spock has been picked up for distribution by Gravitas Ventures. The documentary directed by Adam Nimoy premiered at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival and provides an inside look at the life of beloved Star Trek actor Leonard Nimoy. Timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the iconic sci-fi TV series, For the Love of Spock will be opening in theaters and available on demand beginning September 9th.
The documentary raised nearly $663,000 during its Kickstarter campaign, setting a new record for the most-funded documentary. Commenting on the film’s pick up by Gravitas and its opening release date, Adam Nimoy stated, “I’m very excited about the world wide release of this film which celebrates the life of my father Leonard Nimoy and his most iconic role. Gravitas approached us early on during production of For The Love Of Spock and their enthusiasm and commitment to this project was evident from the start.”
“It’s no secret that Star Trek is internationally beloved and has shown the world both on screen and off what it truly means to be a global community,” added Nolan Gallagher, Founder & CEO of Gravitas Ventures. “We are honored to be collaborating with Adam Nimoy and look forward to bringing this film to audiences everywhere during a monumental year in the Star Trek timeline.”
The Plot: The highly anticipated documentary is not only a tribute to the titular character and the actor who portrayed him but also serves as an homage to the dedicated fans who have adored and respected him for decades. For The Love Of Spock celebrates the upcoming 50th Anniversary of Star Trek through a personal, intimate look at the life and career of Leonard Nimoy – and his alter ego Mr. Spock – as told by his son, Adam Nimoy, featuring never-before-seen home videos and family photos. Zachary Quinto, William Shatner, George Takei, J.J. Abrams, Simon Pegg, Zoe Saldana, Jim Parsons and more join in the celebration revealing why the world holds both Leonard Nimoy and his iconic character so dear and how Star Trek still affects the globe 50 years after it’s origin.
The X-Files‘ Gillian Anderson has signed on to play Media, the mouthpiece for the New Gods, in Starz and FremantleMedia North America’s American Gods. The series is based on Neil Gaiman’s fantasy novel and was adapted for television by Hannibal‘s Bryan Fuller and Heroes‘ Michael Green. Fuller and Green are the series’ showrunners and will executive produce along with Gaiman, Craig Cegielski, Stefanie Berk, and David Slade. Slade’s also involved as the director of multiple episodes. Anderson joins a cast that includes Ricky Whittle, Ian McShane, Emily Browning, Sean Harris, Yetide Badaki, Bruce Langley, Crispin Glover, Jonathan Tucker, Cloris Leachman, Peter Stormare, and Chris Obi.
Anderson’s character Media is described as the New Gods’ “public face and sales representative, by taking the form of various iconic celebrities. She lives off the attention and worship that people give to screens-to their laptops, their TVs, to their iPhones in their hands while they watch their TVs. Ever the perky spokesperson, and always in control, she spins stories in whatever direction best suits her.”
The Plot:American Gods posits a war brewing between old and new gods: the traditional gods of mythological roots from around the world steadily losing believers to an upstart pantheon of gods reflecting society’s modern love of money, technology, media, celebrity and drugs. Its protagonist, Shadow Moon, is an ex-con who becomes bodyguard and traveling partner to Mr. Wednesday, a conman but in reality one of the older gods, on a cross-country mission to gather his forces in preparation to battle the new deities.
The three best buds that make up The Lonely Island—Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer–have risen to comedy prominence over the past fifteen years by spreading their irreverent, in-jokey brand of humor via their groundbreaking series of SNL digital shorts, singable tunes that spoofed whatever musical trend the trio found funny at the time.
Millennials will likely never stop quoting dorm-room classics like “I’m On a Boat,” “Dick in a Box” and “Lazy Sunday,” and now fans of the trio can find them goofing around on the big screen. Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping strings together the group’s signature parody-pop tunes into a Spinal Tap-style mockumentary that mimics the slick aesthetics of the lionizing, puff-piece “popumentaries” so often made about today’s young music icons.
Samberg stars as Conner4Real, a pop-rap superstar whose celebrity has long outgrown the boy band he originally broke onto the scene with, The Style Boyz. Schaffer and Taccone play Conner’s former bandmates in addition to handling co-directing duties.
At a roundtable interview, we sat down with the three Lonely Island members to talk about the movie, which hits theaters this weekend.
You guys have said that the movie took seven months to edit.
Jorma Taccone: “Seven and a half, yeah.”
What kinds of things come and go through the editing process?
Akiva Schaffer: “Any time we did a talking head interview, like when we sit down with Usher, we’d talk for, like, 30 minutes to an hour and go over everything that happens in the movie and kind of get what Usher’s take would be on it. We’d feed [him] jokes and say, ‘At this point in the movie, Conner’s album isn’t doing good and you don’t like his album,’ and then Usher would improvise and say in his own words, ‘Man, I really feel like Conner’s not doing well,’ or something like that. So there’s hours of that stuff to go through, and we had to choose what to go in.”
Andy Samberg: “Also, full musical performances that we didn’t use that are going to end up on the extras and the songs are on the soundtrack. And full chunks of storylines. You’ll see it when the DVD comes out if you care enough to check it out. [laughs] There were, like, whole sequences that we lifted that we really loved.”
Jorma Taccone: “We had to cut out some really great performances from people that we love, too, like Dave Franco, our friend Ryan Phillippe…we had to cut out Ed Sheeran. Akon’s not in the movie, and he’s on a whole song. We had to make some hard decisions.”
Andy Samberg: “From the beginning, we were looking at movies ‘in the genre,’ and they all seem to keep it tight, the successful ones. The Christopher Guest company ones, the Sacha Baron Cohen ones or eve Jackass, stuff like that. We were bent on keeping it under 90 minutes, and the cost of that was cutting some babies that we love.”
Test screenings are a huge part of that, right?
Jorma Taccone: “Yeah. It’s really helpful. You could look at that cynically or in a corporate way, but it’s just watching it with an audience and learning what works, what doesn’t work, what’s slow, what feels boring. You want it to be as entertaining as possible while still telling a good story.”
Through your work, we’ve discovered that Justin Timberlake kind of has a knack for…
Jorma Taccone: “…singing!” [laughs]
Andy Samberg: “It’s almost like he’s a great singer!”
Who’s a celebrity who was unexpectedly really funny?
Jorma Taccone: “I would say, for this movie, Mariah Carey really surprised me for how much she got the joke and how funny she was on camera.”
Akiva Schaffer: “Nas was another one just because he’s such a respected MC, forever. Seal!”
Andy Samberg: “Seal killed it. We talked about doing a crazy, public proposal scene. [Akiva] just jotted it down and I was like, ‘Oh, so Seal is in it.'” [laughs]
Jorma Taccone: “He just picked it out of nowhere. And then it had to be him.”
Andy Samberg: “I was like, ‘We gotta get Seal on the phone,’ and we did. He was in the studio recording his album and I was like, ‘Did you see the pages?’ and he was like, ‘Yeah, I’m just so focused on my record…’ I was like, ‘Just come do it! We love you!’ and he just showed up and nailed it. It was fun hanging out with him.”
Were there any challenges in expanding from TV to film?
Andy Samberg: “You get to play with character arcs a lot more. You can tell a much more nuanced story. In a digital short, you’re basically trying to get as many laughs as possible, as fast as possible. It generally has a…classic sketch structure, whereas with the movie, we were able to be like, what is the actual mentality of these characters? What’s their history? You have time to actually explore that stuff, which in a lot of ways is really helpful for comedy. When an audience keys into the characters and what they’re thinking, it allows you to get jokes. It’s the same in a TV show when you start getting multiple laughs because the audience just knows the characters really well.”
Jorma Taccone: “With a feature, you have more opportunity to get rolling laughs that go from one scene to the next if you’re doing your job correctly. That was always enjoyable to me.”
The list of cameos in this movie is amazing. How easy or difficult was it to get some of these names?
Andy Samberg: “Some of them were easy because we’d worked with them before. For example, we just emailed Adam Levine. Some of them were trickier. We had to go through reps for some of them. We’d get on the phone with them, or Judd [Apatow] would. Judd was like, ‘Hey, Ringo’s going to come do it!’ and we were like, ‘Holy shit! That’s amazing! Thanks, Judd!’ It was varying degrees of that, and then there were things like Nas where it’s like, holy shit, he’s actually here. He’s like, a legendary dude we came up listening to. Generally, people don’t show up unless they’re into it, so we have a real luxury in that. It’s generally folks who want to be like, ‘I’m funny! I have a sense of humor! I want to fuck with my image and do interesting things! What jokes do you have for me? What can I add to it?’ That’s part of the reason why the shoot was really exciting. Almost every day there was somebody who’d come to set. The crew was like, ‘This movie’s awesome!'” [laughs]
You guys have said that a lot of the jokes in your songs started out as in-jokes between you three, and I imagine the joke isn’t as funny to you after you put it out there. I also imagine fans quote these jokes to you all the time in public. Is that awkward?
Andy Samberg: “It becomes a different relationship [with the joke]. They’re no longer jokes to us. The best feeling we could have as people who make comedy is when people tell us, ‘Me and my friends quote such and such song all the time,’ or ‘We quote Hot Rod all the time,’ because that was us. When we watch comedy we love…we were those dudes who memorized stuff, would quote In Living Color to each other, quote Billy Madison to each other. It’s kind of like, we find the joke funny when we’re writing it, like it when we’re performing it, are very satisfied when people laugh at it, and then we just sort of let them go.”
Jorma Taccone: “And occasionally, when we’re messing with each other, we’ll sarcastically say lines from our songs back to each other. Like, ‘I’m on a boat, right? So cool. So funny. You remember?'” [laughs]
Andy Samberg: “I think that’ll read in print.” [laughs]
Jorma Taccone: “Use a sarcastic font.”
Why not play yourselves in the movie and make it about The Lonely Island?
Andy Samberg: “Like a Curb Your Enthusiasm version or something?”
Right.
Jorma Taccone: “Because you want to play characters. We’re not playing ourselves–Andy’s not a dick in real life, or a dipshit.” [laughs]
Andy Samberg: “We could do a heightened version of ourselves like Larry David does, and we talked about it, but we ultimately decided that it was a bigger idea to do characters. It’s easier to convince an audience that Conner4Real is a big popstar than be like, fake-rapper comedy outfit The Lonely Island is super successful. It would be a smaller scale, and we wanted to go bigger.”
Why end Conner’s story on a happy note rather than follow his tragic descent?
Akiva Schaffer: “We don’t hate pop stars. We wouldn’t have taken joy in seeing a pop star totally destroyed in the end. We respect pop stars. I feel like the movie is sort of about that. It’s not just bashing pop culture and pop stars. We don’t feel so negative that we’d have them eat shit the whole way.”
Jorma Taccone: “What you get from watching those puff-piece documentaries is that these people are really talented.”
You guys have been traveling, getting a bunch of questions and sometimes the same kinds of questions. Is there one question you wish would go away?
Andy Samberg: “None of them are that annoying. The one thing I’ll say we didn’t anticipate was how much people would latch onto the Bieber of it all. When we went into making this, we weren’t like, ‘Let’s make a movie about Justin Bieber.’ We were like, ‘Let’s make a movie about pop music and pop culture that we can make songs for.’ We have a few direct references to Bieber…”
Jorma Taccone: “And some of those have made it to the trailer.”
Andy Samberg: “I think because of the trailer and the title, it has on the surface seemed more about him than we intended or wanted. We’ve been doing a lot of reassuring people that we like Justin Bieber. We didn’t do it gunning for him, or something.”
You know the story. It’s played out many times before, although not with Me Before You’s exact ending. Even if you haven’t read the book, just one viewing of the trailer lets you know everything you need to know about Me Before You before you buy a ticket. You can safely assume from the trailers and clips it’s a tearjerker centering on a mismatched couple who will, over the course of two hours, go from irritating the heck out of each other to discovering they’re soulmates. Been there, done that. There’s nothing new to see here, right? Not so fast.
What you might not have been able to discern from the trailers is the genuine chemistry between Emilia Clarke as the optimistic, in over her head Lou and Sam Claflin as Will Traynor, a handsome, wealthy businessman/extreme sports kind of guy whose life was tragically altered in the blink of an eye.
The romantic drama is based on the bestselling novel by Jojo Moyes who adapted the story for the screen, which should help fans of the book get past the “Hollywood always screws it up” hurdle. The story follows Louisa ‘Lou’ Clark (Emilia Clarke) who, after losing the steady job she depended on to help her parents pay the rent, goes through a series of employment misfires before landing a gig helping Will. Lou has a kooky fashion sense, preferring mismatched outfits consisting of crazy leotards and interesting knitted sweaters to any sort of normal work attire. Will’s initially thrown off not only by Lou’s daily selection of bizarre apparel but also by her perky personality and lack of a filter. She says what’s on her mind and that’s not something Will has experienced much of since the accident that shattered his body. Lou hasn’t had any training in assisting a person with disabilities, but she’s a fairly quick study, and with the help of Will’s nurse, Nathan (Stephen Peacocke), she manages to get by when it comes to handling medical issues.
As the days go by, what began as an awkward, almost adversarial relationship transforms into something deeper than a working relationship – and deeper than just a friendship. Lou and Will benefit equally from their time spent together, with Lou developing a new sense of purpose and Will discovering his smile again. But, there’s a reason this one’s labeled a tearjerker…
Clarke and Claflin elevate the material which, although adapted by Moyes, barely scratches the surface of the book. Supporting characters from the book did not make the leap to the screen, and relationships that don’t directly involve either Lou or Will are either lightly touched upon or completely neglected. There’s also a surprising lack of urgency in Lou’s actions in the film that was present (and crucial) in the book after the major plot twist is revealed. And as a fellow critic and book fan pointed out immediately after the screening, the film makes it clear what the answer to the pivotal question will be, while the book did a better job of teasing the decision and toying with the reader’s emotions.
Janet McTeer and Charles Dance are terrific as Will’s parents, and Matthew Lewis (best known as Neville Longbottom in the Harry Potter films) is not nearly as obnoxious as Lou’s exercise obsessed boyfriend as the character was in Moyes’ book. Peacocke’s also fine as Nathan, Will’s caretaker/nurse/friend, although the character is purely one-dimensional in the movie.
But, obviously, Me Before You depends on Emilia Clarke and Sam Claflin’s performances to draw you into the story, and both deliver first-rate performances. Clarke, in particular, is a joy to watch as she nails the quirky, optimistic character while avoiding going overboard on the perkiness. Claflin’s forced into delivering a much more restrained performance and it’s a nice counter-balance to Clarke’s effervescent Lou.
I’d advise you to bring tissues and wear waterproof mascara to Me Before You, and to keep in mind the book and movie are separate creatures. Put aside what you know about the characters from the book and let the film stand on its own. Romantic tearjerkers are few and far between, and you’re not likely to find many better than Me Before You in theaters this year.
GRADE: B
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for thematic elements and some suggestive material
Shiri Appleby and Constance Zimmer star in Season 2 of ‘UnREAL ‘ (Photo by James Dittiger / Lifetime)
Lifetime has confirmed that the award-winning series UnREAL will be sticking around for a third season. The renewal order was announced just a few days prior to the premiere of the show’s second season. UnREAL season two will debut on June 6, 2016 at 10pm ET/PT with Constance Zimmer, Shiri Appleby, Craig Bierko, Josh Kelly, Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman, and B.J. Britt in starring roles. The critically acclaimed drama was created by Sarah Gertrude Shapiro and Marti Noxon, with Noxon, Shapiro, Carol Barbee, Robert M. Sertner, Sally DeSipio, Stacy Rukeyser, Peter O’Fallon and Adam Kane executive producing.
Season three will consist of 10 episodes premiering in 2017.
“UnREAL is that rare series that redefines a network,” stated Liz Gateley, Executive Vice President and Head of Programming for Lifetime. “It not only reflects culture, but pushes culture forward by creating television’s first female antihero. The overwhelming fan and critical reaction set the bar incredibly high, but the writers and executive producing team, coupled with the outstanding performances by Shiri Appleby and Constance Zimmer, have taken the second season to even greater creative heights. We are thrilled about the new ground we will break with season three while continuing our work with the incredible A+E Studios as we together build Lifetime’s Fempire.”
The Season 2 Plot: Set against the backdrop of the hit dating competition show Everlasting, Season 2 of UnREAL is led by flawed heroine Rachel Goldberg (Appleby), who returns as supervising producer, renowned for her skills manipulating her relationships with, and among, the contestants to get the vital dramatic and outrageous footage that the program’s dispassionate executive producer, Quinn King (Zimmer), demands. What ensues once again is an eye-opening look at what happens in the outrageous world of unscripted television, where being a contestant can be vicious and being a producer is a whole other reality.
Returning as series regulars are Craig Bierko as Everlasting’s creator, Chet, who is on a quest to reclaim his full power on set; Josh Kelly as Jeremy, Everlasting’s director of photography; and Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman as Jay, a field producer whose ambitions run far beyond the show. Everlasting’s new suitor Darius Hill, an All-American football star, will be played by B.J. Britt.
