Poster for ‘Equals’ starring Nicholas Hoult and Kristen Stewart.
The sci-fi romance Equals had its U.S. premiere at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival on April 18th, and in support of its debut A24 released the full trailer online for the latest film from director Drake Doremus (Like Crazy). Equals stars Kristen Stewart (Twilight, American Ultra) and Nicholas Hoult (Warm Bodies, The X-Men franchise) along with Guy Pearce, Jacki Weaver, Kate Lyn Sheil, and Bel Powley. A24 is planning to release the film via DirecTV on May 26th followed by a July 15th theatrical release.
The Plot: Kristen Stewart and Nicholas Hoult play Nia and Silas, two people who work together in a futuristic society known as “The Collective.” A seemingly utopian world, “The Collective” has ended crime and violence by genetically eliminating all human emotions. Despite this, Nia and Silas can’t help noticing a growing attraction between them, leading them to a forbidden relationship—at first tentative, but then exploding into a passionate romance. As suspicion begins to mount among their superiors, the couple will be forced to choose between going back to the safety of the lives they have always known, or risk it all to try and pull off a daring escape.
Legendary Pictures and Universal Pictures unveiled a new trailer for the action film Warcraft based on the Blizzard Entertainment games and directed by Moon‘s Duncan Jones. Jones co-wrote the script with Charles Leavitt and Vikings‘ Travis Fimmel stars as Anduin Lothar with Toby Kebbell playing Durotan. The supporting cast includes Paula Patton, Ben Foster, Dominic Cooper, Ben Schnetzer, Rob Kazinsky and Daniel Wu in supporting roles. Warcraft will arrive in theaters on June 10, 2016 in RealD 3D and IMAX 3D.
Warcraft was produced by Charles Roven, Thomas Tull, Jon Jashni, Alex Gartner, and Stuart Fenegan. Jillian Share, Brent O’Connor, Mike Morhaime, and Paul Sams are the executive producers.
The Plot: The peaceful realm of Azeroth stands on the brink of war as its civilization faces a fearsome race of invaders: Orc warriors fleeing their dying home to colonize another. As a portal opens to connect the two worlds, one army faces destruction and the other faces extinction. From opposing sides, two heroes are set on a collision course that will decide the fate of their family, their people and their home. So begins a spectacular saga of power and sacrifice in which war has many faces, and everyone fights for something.
Jennifer Aniston and Jason Bateman at the ‘Horrible Bosses 2’ premiere (Photos by Richard Chavez / Showbiz Junkies)
Filming is now underway on the comedy movie Office Christmas Party starring Horrible Bosses co-stars Jennifer Aniston and Jason Bateman. The cast also includes Olivia Munn (soon to be seen in X-Men: Apocalypse), T.J. Miller, Kate McKinnon (one of the new Ghostbusters), Jillian Bell, Courtney B. Vance, Vanessa Bayer, Rob Corddry, Randall Park, Abbey Lee, Sam Richardson, and Jamie Chung. Josh Gordon and Will Speck (Blades of Glory) are directing from a script by Laura Solon. Gordon, Speck, Richard Vane and Beau Bauman are executive producing.
DreamWorks Pictures said filming is now taking place in Atlanta. The studio’s aiming for a December 9, 2016 theatrical release.
The Office Christmas Party Plot: In Office Christmas Party, when the CEO tries to close her hard-partying brother’s branch, he and his Chief Technical Officer must rally their co-workers and host an epic office Christmas party in an effort to impress a potential client and close a sale that will save their jobs.
Olivia Munn took to Instagram to post this new photo from the set:
Aja Naomi King and Nate Parker at the 2016 CinemaCon (Photo by Rebecca Murray)
The Birth of a Nation trailer earned loud, sustained applause from the National Association of Theatre Owners members in attendance at the 2016 CinemaCon in Vegas, and the film’s writer, director, and star Nate Parker was recognized with the Breakthrough Director of the Year award from the group. The dramatic, Sundance award-winning film will be released by Fox Searchlight in October and has already generated Oscar buzz for the first-time feature film director. And prior to taking the stage at CinemaCon’s Big Screen Achievement Awards, Parker and actress Aja Naomi King (‘Cherry’) spoke about the film and the awards talk during a small press conference.
I asked the multi-hyphenate Parker if he ever felt as though there was a time during the 27-day shoot when he wasn’t sure he could get it done. “No, and if I did feel that way I would never let anyone know,” said Parker, laughing. “The important thing with being a director is everyone looks to you for everything. They say the fish swims from the head and so every day I had to be the one who walked the fastest, that smiled the hardest, that was willing to sweat. I wore a suit on the days when I wasn’t in costume and when it was especially hot I wore a wool vest just so everyone knew that I had skin in the game. It worked. I felt like my team was always with me and I never felt like there was a hierarchy. I tried my best to make everyone feel like their opinion was important. To get through those 27 days when the schedule called for 38 initially, the only way was for everyone to work to their capacity. And, the only way people do that is if they feel appreciated.”
Asked why there seem to be quite a few films and TV shows about slavery recently, Parker said he wouldn’t classify them as “about slavery.” “I’d say that people in 2016 are more open to the truth about who we are and what our identity is. So, we can tell those stories in a way that’s unapologetic without feeling like they’re polarizing or they’re making people uncomfortable. I don’t think my film is a film about slavery. I think it’s a film about healing and liberation and resistance being an option,” explained Parker.
In response to my question as to what it was about Cherry that she latched onto, Aja Naomi King replied, “What I loved about this character was the first time we see her she looks so beaten upon and what I loved was in Nat wanting to help her it wasn’t out of some kind of attraction. It was this idea that he could no longer be complicit in the furthering of someone else’s destruction. That kind of love, that kind of desire to help human kind, it really spoke to me. With Cherry, she herself has so much fight in her and I think that’s what connects these two characters. With her dying breath she will not be subjugated. She will not submit and that is what makes them such fiery, animated people. I think that’s what connects them in their souls. I really loved that about these two people.”
Watch the full interview with Nate Parker and Aja Naomi King:
“I got you the information. Everything I did in there I did for you,” says Barbara (Erin Richards). “This doesn’t change anything,” replies Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie) who’s working freelance to unravel the conspiracy behind the murder of Bruce Wayne’s parents in season two episode 18 of Fox’s gritty comic-book inspired crime thriller series, Gotham.
The episode begins right where the series left off with Barbara standing outside Jim’s door and saying hi. Gordon is shocked to see her released and after checking to make sure she’s not there to try to kill him (or has any friends in the hall), lets her enter and listens to what she has to say. Barbara tries to convince Jim that she’s okay now and the monster who killed her parents and tried to kill him and Lee is gone for good. Jim is extremely doubtful but decides Barbara is telling the truth. Barbara notices the Wayne file opened on the table and recognizes the picture of a woman in the file. She offers to help Jim on his case but he declines and sends her on her way.
As she’s leaving, Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue) is heading toward Jim’s door bringing pizza and beer. He stops, stunned, when he sees Barbara. “Hi Harvey,” Barbara says with a friendly smile as she walks past him. In shock, Harvey is speechless and then fears for his partner’s well-being as he begins to shout Jim’s name and bangs on his door.
Inside the apartment, Harvey still can’t get over Barbara being released so soon by Hugo Strange. Harvey and Jim discover during their investigation that Matches Malone, the man who gunned down Thomas Wayne and his wife, was a regular contractor for “The Lady,” the woman who hired the hit squad to kill Gordon at Galavan’s Penthouse. When Gordon took down most of her best killers she had to go underground. So, Jim plans to start questioning some ex- and current hitmen and Harvey tells him to be careful. Jim responds, “Always.”
After beating some information out of a third-rate scumbag, Gordon learns that “The Lady” spends some time at a bar called Artemis. Unfortunately, it’s a bar for ladies only but Jim is in for another surprise as Barbara has shown up ready to help him. Yes, it seems the lovely ex-fiancé has been following Jim. Gordon asks Barbara why she’s doing this and why she wants to help him so badly. She tells him she was with him when he got assigned the Wayne case and that she knows how much it means to him. Not having any other cards to play, Jim reluctantly accepts Barbara’s help.
Inside the bar Barbara becomes quick pals with The Lady, telling her she’s looking for a new partner to start her own assassination agency with. Barbara tells the Lady she’s got the names and contacts but Barbara has the style, wealth, and reputation to make it a successful business. As a sign of good faith, Barbara gives up Gordon who has found a way to sneak into the bar but got caught by The Lady’s henchwoman. They take Jim to a private room where he’s tied to a chair and Barbara tells him that his obsession with this case is what is going to get him killed.
Barbara asks The Lady to tell him who the man was that hired her group to kill the Waynes so that he can die knowing the answer to the question that has plagued him for so long. The Lady says she didn’t know his real name but that he went by a nickname. (What is it about Gotham that every villain has to have a nickname?) He called himself the Philosopher. With that, Barbara delivers an electric shock to both The Lady and her henchwoman with her little electric prod and knocks them out. “See, I told you I had a plan,” says Barbara to a surprised Jim.
Outside the bar and down an alley, Barbara is searching for some kind of understanding and forgiveness from Jim. She tells Jim that when she woke from her coma the first thing she remembered was his face as he was holding on to her trying to not drop her from the window. “You looked in my eyes and saw me, not the monster I had become,” says Barbara, holding back her tears. She tells him if he could just look at her that way again she really believes she might be able to make it. Gordon responds to Barbara by telling her if she wants to be a good person it’s her choice to make and that he can’t be that for her. He ends their brief conversation by telling Barbara he can’t forgive her for trying to kill Lee.
Meanwhile at Wayne Manor, Bruce (David Mazouz), Alfred (Sean Pertwee), and Lucius Fox (Chris Chalk) are working on the information in Thomas Wayne’s old computer and come across a name in Thomas’ calendar, Karen Jennings. The date on the calendar is the day before the murder. Bruce gets the address and despite Alfred suggesting they try to learn more before going to talk to her, Bruce heads off to find her. Alfred and Bruce drive out to the country and find an old cabin with the matching address. They enter cautiously but are met with a brief attack and Alfred is badly scratched by what looks to be three very sharp blades. Bruce sees a young woman hiding in the shadows and tells her that they’re not going to hurt her and puts down his gun, and Alfred is none too pleased.
“Please, I’m Bruce Wayne. We’ve just come to talk to you and ask you a few questions,” the young man says to the girl who steps out and reveals that one of her hands is a strange bird claw.
As they talk, Bruce and Alfred discover that poor Karen (Julia Taylor Ross) was part of a secret bioengineering project at Wayne Enterprises. She tells them doctors came to her when she was in Blackgate – she killed her abusive father in self-defense but the jury didn’t believe her – and said they could fix her withered arm. She went to Pinewood to have the procedure but instead of fixing her arm, they gave her a claw. Bruce asks her if she remembers any names. She doesn’t, but she does remember the face of the man in charge. Karen also tells Bruce, who has been very soft and sensitive with her – something she’s not used to but appreciates – that his father didn’t know about Pinewood and the insane experiments they were conducting. When he found out, he shut it down and put the patients who survived in hiding.
Bruce realizes his father must have discovered the program was starting up again and tried to stop it. Bruce convinces Karen to take them to the old facility and promises her he won’t let anything happen to her.
When they get to Pinewood it’s clear no one has been there in years and that the project is not happening there. Bruce senses that Karen is hiding something and begins to ask her about it when the three get ambushed by security guards who warn them they’re on private property. They get captured by the police outside after, instead of running with Bruce and Alfred, Karen decides to fight back and kills one of the men causing Bruce to go back which delays their escape. Bruce calls Gordon to get released and good old Bullock makes it happen. Bruce, Alfred, and Jim meet to team up and work the case together, sharing the information they have found on the case with one another.
At Arkham, Dr. Hugo Strange (BD Wong) hears the news about Karen’s recent arrest and decides it would not be good for him or anyone on his staff if she talked or if anyone connected the dots about her claw arm to him. In short, it could ruin everything he’s built so he sends Mr. Freeze out after her in a new special subzero suit.
Bruce, Alfred, and Gordon join forces and together try to spring Karen as she’s being transported in the prison van to Blackgate. During the rescue, Karen reveals the truth to Bruce, that his father Thomas started Pinewood with the best intentions but that the man who ran it took advantage of Thomas and in secret went on with his horrifying experiments. Karen says Thomas did more than just place her in hiding. He took care of her and looked out for her like a real father would. The rescue is almost complete when Mr. Freeze attacks. Gordon and Alfred put up a good fight with Bruce trying to get Karen to safety, but she looks at Bruce and says that his father would be so proud of the man he’s becoming. Karen then sacrifices herself so that Bruce, Jim, and Alfred can escape from Mr. Freeze who they are no match for.
At Wayne Manor, Bruce is very upset about Karen’s death, not just because she was the only person who could identify who the Philosopher is but because he made her a promise to protect her. Lucius Fox comes in with some interesting news. He’s double-checked and cross-referenced the data he found an old photo of Thomas Wayne, his friends, and business associates who had nicknames. (Again with the nicknames!) In the photograph, Hugo Strange is identified as the Philosopher.
As the episode comes to a close the last scene is at Arkham where Patient 44 has successfully undergone the re-animation process a few hours too early. He kills a couple of scientists who are in the room with him. Strange is watching from outside and, finally, it’s shown that patient 44 is Theo Galavan as he shouts the name Azrael!
Gotham Season 2 Episode 18 Review
Dark, action-packed, and stylishly paced, episode 18 titled “Pinewood” finally reveals the secrets as well as the reason behind the murder of Bruce’s parents. It also opens the door to the mysterious past of Dr. Hugo Strange and just how truly evil this mad doctor is.
The stand-out performance in this episode goes to David Mazouz as young Bruce Wayne who, even though he is becoming tough and very smart still, hasn’t lost his humanity or his decency. The scene where he takes charge of talking to Karen and reaches her not by using threats but by appealing to her by treating her with decency, displays just how mature Bruce is becoming. Also, the scene in Wayne Manor after Karen’s death where Bruce is blaming himself for getting her killed and not keeping his word that he would keep her safe is full of sorrow and anger. This has truly been Mazouz’s season to shine.
With the revelation of Dr. Strange behind the murder of the Waynes and Mr. Freeze back on Gotham streets – along with the rebirth of Galavan – the city of Gotham is going to need Jim and its heroes more now than ever before.
The cast of A&E’s ‘Damien’ (Photo by Art Streiber Copyright 2016)
Damien series creator/executive producer Glen Mazzara isn’t sure when A&E will announce whether the series has been renewed, but he’s got a lot of story left to tell and is hoping for more seasons of being able to delve into Damien Thorn (played by Bradley James). In addition to Bradley James as the Antichrist, the series features Barbara Hershey, Scott Wilson, Omid Abtahi, and Megalyn Echikunwoke. Airing on Mondays at 10pm ET/PT, Damien season one consists of 10 one-hour episodes and Mazzara took time prior to the airing of episode seven to discuss the series which serves as a sequel to The Omen.
Glen Mazzara Interview:
I have really been enjoying this season although I find it really strange to be rooting for Damien still so far into the season.
Glen Mazzara: “You will always root for Damien.”
I was just going to ask that very question.
Glen Mazzara: “What we’ve done is we take the nice guy and we put him in a horrible situation, make him as desperate as possible, so that when he lashes out and he fights back and he starts to commit atrocities and he goes down a path that will hopefully, if we have the chance to tell the whole story, could bring about the end of the world, you’ll be rooting in the front seat the whole way, in the front row. But, let’s not forget that the Antichrist as promised in the Book of Revelation is supposed to be a savior, a messiah, and people will follow him because they love him, so all the ingredients for the entire arc are already there. I think a lot of people just think he’s supposed to be an evil tyrant right off the bat. That is not what’s promised in the Book of Revelation.”
No one would follow him.
Glen Mazzara: “Right. That’s the whole point.”
Bradley James plays the character so well, it would make it difficult to flip and stop rooting for Damien.
Glen Mazzara: “You’ll see, but the point is to make sure that the audience is always rooting for Damien and rooting for all of these characters. I know a lot of people are rooting for Ann Rutledge and John Lyons and they’re considered evil, and it’s interesting because if anything I think some people are rooting against Detective Shay, and Shay is absolutely right as to what’s going on and he’s on the force of good, so everything that you think about morality gets flipped on its head in this show.”
Were you keeping track of how people were reacting to the dream episode on Twitter?
Glen Mazzara: “First of all I want to give a shout out to our writer, Richard Hatem. Richard pitched that episode to me from start to finish in the writer’s room. I was just so confused as to what he was telling me, and then when he explained the revelation. I loved it and I just said, ‘Go write that.’ I think that was really the one script that I, in the four times I’ve been a showrunner, did not polish. I think I just gave notes to him but I did not put any pen to paper. I thought he just did such an outstanding job with that script. It was just terrific.
As far as on Twitter, when I watch the show I do watch the live Twitter feed and I will say people were freaking out, but nobody saw that twist coming as far as I know. There were three consecutive tweets on the Damien feed that people said, ‘Something’s going on, I wonder if this is real,’ but nobody mentioned the word ‘dream’ until afterwards. It was really kind of interesting because I thought there were so many tells along the way. People were really satisfied. They loved it. Sometimes that kind of episode can feel like a cheat, but because it was really an episode about showing Damien’s emotional inner state and his need for wish fulfillment and all those things that he was finally getting because we love him at this point, he was finally getting the things he wants, and then to have that ripped away and to find out that his real life is a living hell and that he’s trapped in hell, which is where we see him at the end, it was an emotional ride. So it didn’t play as just an intellectual game. It played as a real emotional tale.”
How big of a lasting effect is that dream going to have on him? He believes some of what he dreamed is actually the truth.
Glen Mazzara: “Yeah, I think what you see now is Damien realizing he has to trust his gut, that Damien realizes that certain things are a given in the world, in his world, and he can’t run from them anymore. He can’t deny them, so he has to try to take control of them or fight them or push back or what have you, but I think he realizes that he can’t trust anybody except himself. The emotions that he felt in that dream are emotions that he’s now going to take seriously and act upon, and that may or may not be the right thing to do, but that’s where he is now.”
Does that mean Simone and Amani are going to be in more danger now because he’s no longer completely sure of their motivations?
Glen Mazzara: “Yeah, I think it puts them at risk. I think anybody in Damien’s world is at risk, even if you’re on his good side. Because don’t forget, people suffer not necessarily because they are jeopardizing the Devil’s plans for Damien, but a lot of the deaths… I haven’t talked about this. Let me see if I can articulate it. A lot of the deaths are not necessarily simply eliminating threats to the larger plan. A lot of the deaths are there to force Damien to take certain actions. A lot of the deaths are there to box him in. There is a larger plan. Every death makes sense in the larger plan, but they’re not as clean as they were in the original movie. If someone was suspicious of Damien and about to expose him, they were killed and eliminated.”
If this were the movie, Detective Shay would be dead already.
Glen Mazzara: “We go much farther than that. It’s a much more complicated game.”
We haven’t seen much of Veronica (played by Melanie Scrofano), but she seems to have a lot going on behind the scenes. Are we going to find out more about her in the upcoming final season one episodes?
Glen Mazzara: “You will. You will, and that’s a type of storytelling that I’m embracing on this show because I know the audience has a lot of questions about her and about the mythology and the conspiracies and all of that stuff, and a lot of times I would hold back as a writer and as a showrunner because I would say, ‘We don’t have to spoon-feed the audience, the audience will like some mystery. The audience will go along with this as long as we pay things off by the end.’ I feel like that’s what’s important is to pay things off by the finale, that some questions are left but you want to show people that it was a tightly knit season. I think a lot of the questions about Veronica will be answered and going forward a lot of things will be set up in future seasons.”
Is there a supporting character who has become more popular with fans than you anticipated, that maybe will play a larger role in the second season because of the reaction from the audience?
Glen Mazzara: “It’s been interesting to see how people react to characters. Obviously Barbara [Hershey’s] been doing a phenomenal job and Ann is a lot of people’s favorite character. It’s been interesting, but I don’t want to give anything away by saying anything about future characters, but it is funny how people do respond emotionally to the characters. So for example in episode two Amani was talking to Simone at Kelly’s wake and people said, ‘I don’t like Amani. He’s scamming on Simone at the funeral,’ and then two episodes later he is at a job interview for Damien and he stands up for Damien about what a good guy he is and everybody says, ‘I love Amani, he’s the best. He’s the greatest friend ever.’ So it’s really kind of funny to watch how people get so invested in these characters.”
It’s also amazing you have done this whole season one pretty much up to this point with very few CGI effects. Are we going to see that remain the same way throughout the rest of the season one episodes?
Glen Mazzara: “Yes, that’s something that we are very careful to make sure that the show feels grounded in this world. If anything I think it’s like our world punctured by evil. That’s how we’ve described it here at the show. The film was a direct influence on us in that way, so I never wanted to push this into a show that has fiery portals into different layers of hell or something like that. We’ll push it once in a while. You saw the demon at the end of episode four, but then the next time we see a demon it’s a voice possessing seven wounded soldiers in episode five. So, we will push that boundary, but it’s a show that needs to feel, without sounding silly by saying this, it needs to feel realistic. I think the horror needs to feel like it’s in our world, and that’s something that we definitely draw upon the feature film, The Omen.
Do you still believe at this point that 10 episodes was the right amount of episodes for a first season?
Glen Mazzara: “I do. I don’t think we have any filler. I think we took our time introducing the characters and getting everyone on stage and then just as people got comfortable we threw them a couple curve balls with episode five and six, and then I think seven through 10 still introduce new storylines and stuff, but it just races to the finale. I am very confident that the finale will play well. I will put my entire career on that, because that finale just answers the questions. It’s exciting, it’s a thrill ride, and I think it’s one of the most exciting finales I’ve been a part of. I really love that episode. There are four [including episode seven] very good episodes, four great episodes coming on, but that finale will satisfy fans, I think.”
Was that finale exactly what you had in mind when you started working on Damien? Was that what you were shooting towards the whole time?
Glen Mazzara: “Yeah. The climactic moment for the finale was something that I conceived of before we sold the show. Yeah, it was part of my pitch as I went around town.”
So A&E hasn’t dropped any hints as to when the announcement will come?
Glen Mazzara: “I think they want to look at the entire season and I am confident that because the finale ties everything together in a way that will be satisfying to genre fans, that people will talk about the show and will probably get a boost then. And, I think people will then go back and binge watch. I think viewing habits have changed and so some people I know are catching up because they’re hearing good things about the show. But sometimes people say, ‘Well, I want to hear if the whole season comes together before I check it out,’ and I think it will be a very satisfying conclusion. Hopefully we will get a jump in numbers as people stream the show and all that stuff, so they probably want to have all their information before [announcing]. But as of now, I hope they announce soon. We’re dying to get back to work.”
I know you’ve said it before, but do you still think that five seasons is what you’d really like?
Glen Mazzara: “Yeah, I think I could do it in five seasons. I think so. If it was really going well and they wanted more, but yeah, in my mind I have a story that is probably five seasons.”
The devilishly sexy Fox series Lucifer edges closer to the end of season one with an episode titled #TeamLucifer airing on April 18, 2016. In episode 11 Lucifer (Tom Ellis) finally figured out that Detective Chloe Decker (Lauren German) is the only mortal who can actually physically hurt him. In this episode, Lucifer does his best to stay away from Chloe just in case she decides to turn on him. Episode 12 also finds Lucifer once again having to defend his reputation, this time with a bunch of posers trying to sully his ‘good’ name.
The Recap:
#TeamLucifer kicks off with a woman blindfolded. Is Lucifer ready to play? No, the “virgin” clad in white is also bound at the wrists and surrounded by people cloaked in black, hooded robes. With a cry of “Lucifer,” the leader plunges a knife into the virgin’s heart. Aww, but it’s all a game as she’s not truly dead and instead seems to be taking the ritual as foreplay. Unfortunately, her partner hasn’t let her in on the secret that he’s going to actually offer her up to the real Lucifer (which we know isn’t the real Lucifer). She breaks loose but not in time to stop the knife coming at her chest.
At the real Lucifer’s gorgeous home, Maze (Lesley-Ann Brandt) is throwing knives at her boss but they’re not having any effect. Iron doesn’t cut him so he tells Maze to try the copper, but she’s getting frustrated because she knows he realizes at this point it’s only Chloe who can do any damage. Maze offers to throw knives at Chloe, but Lucifer thinks maybe Chloe’s just a “clog in a bigger machine” and wants to keep testing for vulnerabilities. Maze, increasingly pissed off, throws a demon dagger forged in Hell at Lucifer which he catches before it can cut into his handsome face (those actually would hurt Lucifer, no matter who throws them). He inquires about what’s happening with his brother and Maze says he’s not the one weaponizing Chloe. Lucifer’s done playing around and is ready to send Amenadiel back to Heaven. As he’s leaving the room he stubs his toe and it bleeds, so apparently Italian marble can also injure the ruler of Hell. But, of course, that’s when Chloe walks in so it wasn’t the Italian marble’s fault after all.
Chloe’s mad Lucifer’s been avoiding her and he blows it off, saying, “I can’t play good cop/handsome devil cop all the time.” She’s there about a new case she can’t handle without him.
The good cop/devil cop team head to Hollywood and once there he won’t walk anywhere near her on the sidewalk. Lucifer uses the lame excuse that she sounds sick, but Chloe’s not buying it. They enter an empty theater and the murdered woman in white from the earlier ritual is laid out on the stage inside a pentagram. The officers roll her over and carved into her back are the words “Hail Lucifer.” Now it’s Lucifer’s turn to get upset that misguided cult nobs with “frisbees in their earlobes” would dare to blame this on him. A street preacher who had called Lucifer the devil outside the theater charges in and renews the claim that it’s all Lucifer’s fault, with Lucifer’s former would-be assassin, officer Malcolm (Kevin Rankin), escorting the preacher away from the crime scene. Malcolm gives Lucifer a wink after sending the intruder away, pretending to Chloe they’ve never met. After she leaves, Malcolm says their history didn’t need to be disclosed.
Dan (Kevin Alejandro) arrives at the crime scene and asks Chloe if they can talk sometime, but she gives him the cold shoulder. She’s definitely not putting the ‘break-up by text’ incident behind her anytime soon. Dan volunteers that he and Malcolm will check out who could have done the body modifications on the victim, Rose, after noticing she has some strange implants. Chloe agrees since she and Lucifer have to pay a visit to the victim’s father. Lucifer asks for the address, not wanting to be in the same car with the only human who can kill him.
At Rose’s dad’s house, Lucifer says he can relate to growing up with a single father like Rose did. He asks why she had implants and her dad knows nothing about it. Chloe notices scrapes on the floor and moves a bookshelf to expose a secret room. Lucifer yells, “Hello, bad guys!” and Chloe pushes him out the way. Dubbing it a creepy, evil secret room, Lucifer jokingly says he’ll decline the offering of a cut-up bloody chicken that’s on a nearby altar because of salmonella. Rose’s dad seems to have no idea this room even existed while Lucifer looks around and determines the killer was a large man who wasn’t a fan of bathing. Rose’s dad still can’t believe his daughter would be into this and he doesn’t believe she would ever sacrifice herself, which gives Lucifer the opening to announce that sometimes the people closest to you can turn on you. Meanwhile, dad’s blaming himself while Lucifer continues to throw sideways glances at Chloe as if he doesn’t want to leave his back exposed.
Back at the station, Dan’s figured out where Rose got the implants. She was with a weird guy but the girl who did the implants doesn’t remember his name until Chloe, on the phone with Dan, asks him to ask if it was Corazon. Yeah, that’s it, and the girl describes him. Chloe labels the description a “generic Satanist.” Rose brought in the subdurals to be implanted and no one knows what they mean. After hanging up, Malcolm jokes about how cute it is Dan’s trying to get back together with Chloe and Dan says it would have been easier had Malcolm not sent her a break-up text while he was knocked out.
In the underground parking lot at the police station, Amenadiel (DB Woodside) slams Malcolm against the wall and demands to know why Lucifer’s still alive and kicking. Malcolm tells him Lucifer told him Amenadiel can’t kill a human and plus he has his get out of jail free card anyway. “So, unless you’ve got a better offer, #TeamLucifer,” says Malcolm.
At the station Lucifer’s reading through the Satanists’ book and declares it not half bad even though it’s poorly written. He picks out a passage he likes and then thumbs further to find a whole chapter on sex, which of course piques his interest. Chloe meanwhile is trying to arrange Rose’s subdural implants into a word that makes sense. She comes up with “I hurl feces” but dismisses that, and all this is going on with Lucifer no closer than 10 feet away. She asks him to come closer which he does, reluctantly. Looking over her shoulder he immediately figures out what the implants spell. It’s a Latin word meaning children of the goat. If Lucifer was in a bad mood about Rose’s death in his name, he’s even more upset that Satanists keep using a goat as a symbol for Satan. “Why do they always associate me with goats? I mean, I don’t even like their cheese!” asks Lucifer, exasperated.
Chloe searches the internet for children of the goat and comes up with Church of the Dark Prince, but you have to be a member to get more info. And, of course, there’s a fee ($200!) as well as a lengthy questionnaire. Chloe takes a chance and signs in the member area using the word the implants spelled out as the password. It works and she finds out where the next meeting will be held. Lucifer notes the address and takes off, telling Chloe he’ll see her there.
Lucifer beats Chloe to the building where the meeting will be held and when she arrives she’s clearly over this whole separate cars thing Lucifer’s now into. She asks why he’s avoiding her and he says maybe she’s just not as charming as she thinks she is. [Wasn’t he supposed to be keeping on her good side after discovering she can kill him?] Before he can make it inside the building, Chloe has it figured out. She asks if it’s about that vulnerability thing and he admits it is. “I get the tiniest bit touchy-feely with you and you freak out,” says Chloe, now the exasperated one in this relationship. She only meant she could trust him and Lucifer seems to accept that.
Chloe bangs on the door and whispers Filii Hircus to the doorman, but that’s not good enough to gain entry as today’s event is a private affair. Chloe pushes Lucifer forward, asking if it’s too private for even Lucifer himself. The man guarding the door thought Lucifer was supposed to be blond and Lucifer concedes he gets that a lot. Lucifer sends Chloe back to the car to get his ID and when she turns away he flashes his red eyes at the doorman who freaks out and runs away leaving the door open for Lucifer and Chloe.
Lucifer regrets forgetting his sexy mask once inside, and then they figure out they’re witnessing a memorial. They sort of feel bad until the knives come out and the leader begins the ceremony. Once again Lucifer takes exception with these Satanists when they call out more than one devil – there’s only one Lucifer, after all. After a goofy fake Lucifer in a goat costume with horns hits his head on the wall entering the room, the real Lucifer can’t stand it any longer and walks into the room. “I’m the real Lucifer and I insist that you stop this nonsense immediately. I mean, have you heard yourselves? It’s embarrassing,” says Lucifer. He calls them misguided sheep – and goat – and asks where is the real defiance. They applaud him and he tells them they’re doing it again. They are not rebelling; they’re being sheep. They start chanting Lucifer and he smashes an alien/demon baby thing in a glass jar on the floor. He wants to know who murdered the girl. No one speaks up, but one man (the high priest) leaves the room and Chloe follows him out.
After putting down the ceremonial knife, Lucifer gets him to reveal what it is he really wants which is he wants to kill the person who killed Rose – not quite the answer Lucifer or Chloe were expecting. And after he’s done that, he wants out of this Satanist business. Now Lucifer’s a little disappointed this guy doesn’t actually believe in the devil. The high priest says all hardcore members have the implants and he didn’t want Rose to get them but she became obsessed. He also reveals it was Corazon, her boyfriend, who brought her into the group in the first place. Corazon talked about doing actual sacrifices on animals and the real knife, not the fake one they normally use in the rituals, is missing. Lucifer looks at a painting of ‘Satan’ on the wall and is disgusted while Chloe jokes that it looks just like him. “I manscape,” says Lucifer, clearly not appreciating the group’s taste in art. Chloe believes she knows why he chose the Lucifer persona: it’s all-powerful and invincible. “Not exactly,” says Lucifer. He says he didn’t choose to be the devil and she makes a comment about the devil being immortal. And then something clicks when he tells her one angel can hurt another. He grabs her back (where her wing scars would be if she had them) and she looks at him like he’s completely lost his mind.
The high priest returns with Corazon’s application for the group but it doesn’t have anything useful other than that he used PayPal to pay the dues.
Back to the angel/demon relationship, Maze brings Amenadiel some take-out after he stood her up. He says he only had one task which was to get his brother back to Hell and he’s failed. And, he’s actually made things worse because now he’s sleeping with a demon. Maze reminds him it’s the only sex he’s ever had while she’s had a lot with men and women, but with him it’s different. They kiss and Maze breaks away to tell him if he’s not happy, he should go home. Amenadiel says he can’t because he can’t face his father as a failure. And, they get back to kissing.
Back at her place, Chloe learns Corazon’s real name and tells Lucifer he can go home. He won’t leave which has her completely confused because earlier he couldn’t stand to be near her. Warning him not to wake up Trixie, he does just that when Chloe heads to the shower. He starts peppering her with questions including whether she’s adopted or if her mom has special powers, markings, scars, etc. She doesn’t answer so he bribes her by promising chocolate cake. Trixie, ever the smart girl, demands cash instead. He hands over money and Trixie tells him her mom has a scar on her butt from being bit by the Kraken. Chloe arrives back in the room just then and reveals the Kraken in question is a Chihuahua. She sends Trixie back to bed and tells Lucifer she’s done with his freaky behavior. He asks her to remove her shirt so he can see her back. When she asks why he tells the truth. “Because I want to know if you’re an angel sent to destroy me.” Incredibly, she complies and her skin is completely smooth. She wonders if it’s about his scars and tells him not everyone is out to get him. Chloe then gets a text saying they found Corazon’s car.
Dan and Malcolm are there when Lucifer and Chloe arrive, and Lucifer greets them with a “Detective Douche, Detective Stache, what a pleasant surprise.” They find Corazon strung up from the rafters, blood still dripping with writing in red paint all over the warehouse. The paint on multiple crates spells out Morningstar and now Dan thinks Lucifer’s somehow involved because not everyone associates Morningstar with the devil. Dan tells Lucifer people might be getting killed because of his devil shtick. “Do you really think I would do these vile things? These kids were pretending to be bad but they weren’t – they were innocent,” says Lucifer. “I would never hurt them. I am not a monster.” Chloe separates them before it comes to blows, suggesting Lucifer should go home. She’s trying to protect him but he takes it the wrong way.
He wakes up his therapist Dr. Linda Martin (Rachael Harris) for a session at her office, completely flabbergasted that Chloe did this to him and that she would actually believe he could have done something as disturbing as killing those people. “I thought she knew me,” he says, obviously upset at this turn of events. He tells Dr. Linda that Chloe is the only one who makes him vulnerable, and, of course, the therapist turns it into a relationship issue. Lucifer just wants to know who’s really behind the killings, wondering if it’s his dad or his brother. He also wonders if Chloe’s part of the plan to kill him. Lucifer doesn’t want to be at anyone else’s mercy and the doctor suggests he stay away from Chloe. Lucifer realizes he doesn’t want to.
Amenadiel and Maze are in bed and she pulls out the demon blade, thinking he’s asleep. He’s not and he catches her, appearing devastated she wanted to kill him.
On the street, the preacher who recognized Lucifer as the devil confronts him again. Lucifer’s patience for his nonsense quickly wears thin, and he’s in no mood for mercy. As he grips the preacher by the throat and holds him up against a pole, Malcolm appears to calm the situation down. Who knew this Malcolm dude would turn out to be so necessary to keeping Lucifer out of trouble?
Dan and Chloe finally have it out, and Dan tells her he’ll fix things. As they’re talking Chloe sees a cufflink with a monogrammed M on the ground. After it’s checked out, there’s no DNA or fingerprints anywhere to be found on it. And to make matters worse, the video of Lucifer attacking the preacher is all over the news. That’s when Chloe notices the preacher is wearing just one cufflink and the M is actually a W for Williams. Two and two add up to Williams as the one who’s been killing the Satanists.
Meanwhile Malcolm tries to party with Lucifer but Lucifer’s in no mood. Malcolm tells him he has his back and knows he didn’t kill anyone. Malcolm admits he’s been seeing things in his head since he went to Hell and no one but Lucifer would understand. Malcolm wants a high five from his new best buddy, but Lucifer notices there’s red paint – just like from the crime scene – on his fingers. Malcolm’s been dying to tell Lucifer he did it because he’s now insane and thinks Lucifer would be impressed with the killing of the frauds. He even set it up to pin on the street preacher. It’s all for Lucifer but Lucifer says, “I’m not evil – I punish evil!” Malcolm reminds him he’s got the get out of Hell free token, but Lucifer’s now ready to play. He’s bringing Hell to Malcolm and then he’ll turn him over to Chloe. Malcolm pulls a gun but Lucifer disarms him. Just then Amenadiel barges in, yelling, “Why don’t you pick on someone your own size?!”
Amenadiel knows Maze was there to kill him on Lucifer’s orders. They argue over who caused all this chaos and then they set to work beating the crap out of each other, all while throwing their father’s name around. Amenadiel actually liked Maze and is more upset about that betrayal than anything else. During all the punching and yelling, Lucifer accuses him of using Chloe to get to him, but Amenadiel honestly has no idea what he’s talking about. Then Maze appears and tells them they both used her. She leaves two demon blades and tells them to kill each other. They don’t.
Chloe and Dan search for Lucifer, with Chloe finding him drinking at the bar. She tells him about the video that made the news and he adds that to the list of horrible things that happened today. He admits he wanted people to suffer and only wanted to be his own man on Earth. He only trusted Chloe and she can actually hurt him. As he’s talking, Chloe walks to the end of the bar and spots the dead preacher on the ground with a bullet hole in his forehead. She tells Lucifer to put his hands up as a bunch of officers arrive as her backup. Lucifer is under arrest.
The CW’s new dramatic series Containment premieres on April 19, 2016 and in support of the show’s debut, the cast participated in a panel and interviews at the 2016 WonderCon in Los Angeles. Set in Atlanta, Containment finds the city quarantined after a deadly epidemic breaks out. Among the series’ stars is Kristen Gutoskie (Beaver Falls) who plays Katie Frank, a mom and teacher Gutoskie describes as amazing, compassionate, and strong. “She’s complex. She’s a real woman. She’s strong but she’s vulnerable. She’s broken, she’s been screwed up but she’s also really loving and nurturing,” explained Gutoskie.
Kristen Gutoskie Interview:
What can viewers expect?
“You can expect a whole lot of things. You can expect drama. It’s crisis-driven. You have a virus that breaks out in Atlanta and it’s not just any virus show. It’s a real virus; it’s something that could actually happen. You have the entire city quarantined so that people who were healthy and going to work for the day and made it outside of the quarantine area, they can’t go home – or vice versa. So, it’s humans in crisis but you have these loving relationships that are ripped apart and actually relationships that start in quarantine. You wouldn’t think at a time like this, but people’s truest colors come out. You’ll get a lot of gore. It’s horrific. It’s scary and it’ll make you a hypochondriac, but it will also make your heart beat and feel you all warm and tingly.”
Did it make you a hypochondriac?
“I already was one. I admit to that. I think it made you kind of notice things more. Like when I go to the grocery store, I have wash for my fruit now, a special wash and I wash it thoroughly. And when people sneeze you realize how easily things can travel. You definitely become a little bit more aware of things, for sure.”
There have been lots of pandemic shows. What do you think it is that appeals to people about that theme?
“I think the overarching theme of all these virus shows is really seeing humanity breakdown at the most basically animal place. You lose all of your etiquette in these crisis so to just watch how people would react…and I think we all have this fear of like, ‘When is the end coming? What’s going to happen? If it’s not going to be global warming or terrorism, is it going to be a virus?’ I think along with the virus shows you’ve seen all types of apocalyptic shows. I think it’s this fear of could it really happen and watching how humanity reacts to these situations because we all have these faces we put on. We have social constructs and you really get to see the true humanity of people whether it’s really raw and it could be hateful. I think we just want to see each other in a real place.”
Has it made you question how you would react?
“Definitely. You really can’t predict how you would react. I’d like to think I’d be this heroic, amazing person who would risk my life but you really don’t know until you’re in it. It makes you look at yourself and go, ‘Would I do what my character did? Would I be as courageous as this character? Would I be as fragile as this character?’ Some people in the show will risk other people’s lives to save their own lives. You definitely question your own humanity and your own integrity. I’d like to think I’d be a heroic person in a situation like that, but panic is a thing. When you panic you lose a lot of rational thinking and you act on impulse and on instinct. When that happens you don’t always have the control you’d like to have. So, yeah, I don’t know what I’d be like. Hopefully, I’d be strong.”
Watch the full interview with Kristen Gutoskie on Containment:
David Sandberg burst onto the scene with the critically acclaimed short film Lights Out starring his wife, Lotta Losten. The short was so effective it left viewers with the desire to sleep with the lights on. The short was a viral hit and has spawned a feature film directed by first-time helmer Sandberg and produced by Lawrence Grey and James Wan. Warner Bros Pictures will launch Lights Out in theaters on July 22, 2016, putting the horror film up against big budget summer releases.
Lights Out was one of the upcoming releases Warner Bros spotlighted during its 2016 CinemaCon presentation in Las Vegas and following the studio’s screening of the film’s trailer – which was met by enthusiastic applause – I had the opportunity to interview producer Lawrence Grey to find out more about the horror film starring Teresa Palmer and Maria Bello.
The Plot: When Rebecca (Palmer) left home, she thought she left her childhood fears behind. Growing up, she was never really sure of what was and wasn’t real when the lights went out…and now her little brother, Martin (Gabriel Bateman), is experiencing the same unexplained and terrifying events that had once tested her sanity and threatened her safety. A frightening entity with a mysterious attachment to their mother, Sophie (Bello), has reemerged. But this time, as Rebecca gets closer to unlocking the truth, there is no denying that all their lives are in danger… once the lights go out.
Lawrence Grey Lights Out Interview:
The trailer is ridiculously scary.
Lawrence Grey: “What’s awesome about this movie is that true horror fans are going to love this movie, but it’s also going to play to people that would never go see a horror film because one of the things you can tell from the tone a little bit is just how fun and playful and what a roller coaster ride it is. It’s super scary in a way that has a lot of integrity. There’s no cheap scares. Everything is very earned but there’s also this really great, real family drama in the center of it and the movie is just so much fun.”
Why did you believe David Sandberg could direct a feature film based on his short film?
Lawrence Grey: “I saw the short before it blew up to the 150 million views. It was really early and it had just kind of debuted on Reddit and was starting to get some traction. The brand of my company is very commercial movies done in an interesting, artistic way. That was exactly how that short hit me. It’s this big genius universal idea. We all know it. We’re all afraid of the dark. We all know that feeling of, ‘I saw that thing out of the corner of my eye. Is that a tree? Is that my laundry? Or is it something more sinister than that?’ There was real craft to how he did it.
The truth is I didn’t know from just the short. I reached out to him. I started talking to him. I could see that there was a real vision and a deep intelligence in that guy. Then really, the step is, we said, ‘Let’s just try to create something.’ We started putting our thoughts together for an outline. It started to really come to life in an amazing way. It started to feel like it was about someone I really knew. David felt the same thing. It was really close to our lives. We were also able to create this iconic horror monster, which is something that we haven’t seen since movies in the ’70s and ’80s. That was a really fun challenge to jump into.”
You decided to keep the monster from being seen right away, so how do you keep the audience involved when they don’t see what’s really going on? Obviously there are some moviegoers who really like to see the monster right away and others who don’t want it fed to them so quickly. How did you know when was the perfect time to show what the monster actually looks like?
Lawrence Grey: “That’s a great question. I think what you do is, what we did in the film anyway, was we decided to tease a little bit of the monster out in the opening of the film to give the audience a little bit of a taste of it to build some anticipation. Then we just had these great roles for these actors and you could feel the effect that the monster had had on them so you were almost experiencing it through that lens so it was in your consciousness as you’re watching the movie. Then, once you can feel their fear, it’s already more horrifying than this expectation. Then when she comes in, we brought the shark out later in the story and it was very effective.”
Your production company has done a psychological thriller but not a straight-out horror film. Why did you decide to delve into the genre with Lights Out?
Lawrence Grey: “My things has always been supporting great film making. It doesn’t matter about the genre. I, as an executive, I worked on 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later, Drag Me To Hell, The Hills Have Eyes. Every one of those films was really a bet on Sam Raimi, on Danny Boyle. I felt very similarly with David, that he was someone who had that big world view, had this talent, but needed the support to be able to help him make a great movie. But as I was saying earlier, the idea, the brand of the company is big commercial movies done in the most artistic way and that’s exactly what we look for across genres. For example, we’re doing a spy movie. From 50,000 feet it’s like a Kingsman kind of film, but it’s about the true origin story of MI6. It’s the most interesting, historical, artistic version about the birth of the modern spy.”
Has that ever been done?
Lawrence Grey: “It’s never been done.
I didn’t think so. Why has it taken so long to do that story?
Lawrence Grey: “I think part of it is that around the time that we were building this, MI6 declassified a bunch of documents so we were able to get some of the true historical data that wasn’t available before. Lights Out is very much in keeping with that sort of brand.”
How big was the budget on Lights Out, if you don’t mind saying a ballpark figure?
Lawrence Grey: “It was around $5 million. To put that in context, Lights Out is the only original, non-branded, non-sequel movie of the entire film slate of the summer. Of every single studio. This is a $5 million movie going up against Star Trek and Ice Age on that date, but all the behemoths of the summer.”
How does that feel as a producer to have your film released among the summer’s big tentpoles?
Lawrence Grey: “It’s kind of staggering. It’s really a testament to how good the film is. This movie would not be where it was if it wasn’t all in execution. We have nothing else other than that the movie is great.”
You’ve got a terrific cast led by Teresa Palmer and Maria Bello. Can you talk about having them o board?
Lawrence Grey: “Sure. This is one of those projects where we got our first choice for everything. When I first saw the short, my idea for a writer was this guy Eric Heisserer. I was on the phone with David and he’s like, ‘You’re not going to believe this. I live in Sweden. I don’t know anybody, but I read the Hollywood scripts and that guy’s my favorite writer. Could we really get him?’ Then I went to Eric and Eric’s like, ‘You don’t even need to pitch it to me. I’ve already sent the short to all of my friends. I’m in.’
Then it was the same thing with James [Wan] who gets hit on every day to do this kind of thing. It was the same thing with Teresa and Maria. James was the first one that brought up, ‘What do you think of Teresa Palmer for this?’ They’re both Australian. I was like, ‘God, you think we could get her?’ He’s like, ‘Who knows? She’s never done something like this.’ It was important for us to have actors that you normally see in dramatic films and they’re virgin to the genre. Teresa fell in love, Maria fell in love. This was just as a producer, you just feel blessed.”
It really gives the film some weight. Even if you didn’t know the short or anything else about it, you’d see those two names and be intrigued.
Lawrence Grey: “There’s a scene early on in the film where Teresa and Maria have a fight. The movie’s terrific until that point. At that moment, there’s this incredible, real, dramatic scene that feels like it could be in an Oscar Film. Then all of a sudden the audience just settles in and they’re like, ‘Oh, we’re in for that kind of movie.’ One of the incredible things was we had our preview and there were 26 people in the focus group. They said, ‘How many people thought the movie was excellent?’ Every hand went up. The guy says, ‘What was it? It’s so scary, right?’ They were like, ‘Yeah, but that isn’t the main thing. It’s the performances. It’s the characters.’ They like took a double take and they were like, ‘There probably isn’t a horror film made in 30 years where a test audience would say that.’ We knew something was right about all that.”
How closely did you work with James Wan?
Lawrence Grey: “James is amazing because he thinks about the big picture stuff very early. He got us into design of the monster very early because he knows how hard that is to get right. He was already thinking about mythology in a really deep way early on. It’s also one of those movies where if you don’t lock arms and all get together and work as a team, you’re never going to win with something like this. He’s really good because he was a young filmmaker not so long ago. He’s really good at saying, ‘Here’s what I would do. Here’s some things to think about, but I know this isn’t my film I’m directing. This is your film and, David, you should do it in your own way.'”
With a $5 million budget, was it all practical effects?
Lawrence Grey: “This was one of the big decisions early on. We’re all lovers of authentic horror films. You’re seeing a lot today of things done with a lot of CG. It just feels false to us. Even though it was a much riskier, more herculean task to do it, we all decided to keep the movie completely practical from a monster standpoint. Remember, our director, his background is visual effects, and he’s saying this.
We took real pain-staking effort to get that right, to do it authentic. It takes more time, but we ended up casting this amazing woman who is a professional dancer, contortionist, moves and has a physical appearance like no one you’ve seen, so that already made it seem surreal. Then we created a suit for her with Matthew Mungle, who doesn’t mostly do horror films. He mostly does dramatic films like Mrs. Doubtfire; he created that suit. He made it feel incredibly real. Then we decided to use a lot of tricks of light and dark and to stay in the real world.”
Did it scare you when you saw the actress in the suit on the set?
Lawrence Grey: “It’s so scary every time I would see her on set. It took a couple weeks till you start to feel, ‘Okay, I know that’s not real.'”
And this is going to launch a franchise?
Lawrence Grey: “The audience decides that. We hope we’ve made a really good film and we hope that the audience responds to it. It really is a film for them. We’ve just got our fingers crossed.”
There’s more story to be told, isn’t there?
Lawrence Grey: “Oh yeah. The film, we went very deep into these characters in the mythology so we know them in a pretty profound way, honestly. I think all of us, if we were afforded the opportunity, we could probably tell quite a few stories about them.”
Oscar nominee Naomi Watts (The Impossible, 21 Grams) has signed on to star in Netflix’s Gypsy. Gypsy is described as a psychological thriller and Watts will take on the lead role in the 10 one-hour episodes that will make up season one. Per the network’s official announcement, Gypsy will premiere in 2017.
The original series comes from executive producers Liza Chasin (The Theory of Everything) and Lisa Rubin (I Was Here). Rubin is also writing the series which is produced by Universal Television and Working Title. Watts, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, and Andrew Stearn are on board as executive producers, with Fifty Shades of Grey‘s Sam Taylor-Johnson directing episodes one and two.
Gypsy will follow Jean Holloway, played by Watts. Holloway is a “therapist who begins to develop dangerous and intimate relationships with the people in her patients’ lives.”
Watts can currently be seen in the dramatic film Demolition opposite Jake Gyllenhaal. She also recently finished work on The Book of Henry with Sarah Silverman and Room‘s Jacob Tremblay, and is now shooting the new Twin Peaks series. Watts is also committed to starring in The Glass Castle for Short Term 12 filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton. Cretton’s reuniting with his Short Term 12 star Brie Larson for the dramatic film based on Jeannette Walls’ memoir.
