Occasional The Voice coach and Grammy winner Gwen Stefani will be embarking on a lengthy tour this summer. The This is What the Truth Feels Like tour will launch on July 12, 2016 in Boston, Massachusetts with stops in cities including Tampa, Detroit, Chicago, and Vegas before finishing up on October 14th at The Forum in Los Angeles. Tickets will go on sale April 22nd via LiveNation.
Grammy winner Eve will be joining Stefani on the This is What the Truth Feels Like tour. The two artists collaborated on “Rich Girl” and “Let Me Blow Ya Mind.”
Stefani’s This is What the Truth Feels Like, her third album without No Doubt, debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Top 200 chart when it dropped on March 18th. The single “Used to Love You” attained Gold status and the video for the emotionally heart-wrenching song has been watched almost 15 million times.
This Is What the Truth Feels Like 2016 Tour Dates
Tuesday, July 12, 2016 Mansfield, MA Xfinity Center
Saturday, July 16, 2016 Virginia Beach, VA Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater
Sunday, July 17, 2016 Bristow, VA Jiffy Lube Live
Tuesday, July 19, 2016 Camden, NJ BB&T Pavilion
Thursday, July 21, 2016 Wantagh, NY Nikon at Jones Beach Theater
Saturday, July 23, 2016 Charlotte, NC PNC Music Pavilion
Sunday, July 24, 2016 Raleigh, NC Walnut Creek Amphitheatre
Tuesday, July 26, 2016 Tampa, FL MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
Wednesday, July 27, 2016 West Palm Beach, FL Perfect Vodka Amphitheatre
Friday, July 29, 2016 Alpharetta, GA Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
Sunday, July 31, 2016 Noblesville, IN Klipsch Music Center
Tuesday, August 02, 2016 Detroit, MI DTE Energy Music Theatre
Thursday, August 04, 2016 Toronto, ON Molson Canadian Amphitheatre
Saturday, August 06, 2016 Chicago, IL Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
Sunday, August 07, 2016 Saint Paul, MN Xcel Energy Center
Tuesday, August 09, 2016 Cincinnati, OH Riverbend Music Center
Wednesday, August 10, 2016 St. Louis, MO Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
Friday, August 12, 2016 Kansas City, MO Sprint Center
Saturday, August 13, 2016 Dallas, TX Gexa Energy Pavilion
Sunday, August 14, 2016 Houston, TX Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
Tuesday, August 16, 2016 Austin, TX Austin360 Amphitheater
Friday, August 19, 2016 Las Vegas, NV T-Mobile Arena
Saturday, August 20, 2016 Fresno, CA Save Mart Center
Wednesday, August 24, 2016 Seattle, WA KeyArena
Thursday, August 25, 2016 Vancouver, BC Pepsi Live @ Rogers Arena
Saturday, October 8, 2016 Mountain View, CA Shoreline Amphitheatre
Saturday, October 15, 2016 Los Angeles, CA The Forum
The majority of Disney Studios’ time slot at the 2016 CinemaCon was taken up with 27 minutes of Finding Dory footage no one is allowed to write about yet followed by the full screening of Captain America: Civil War. However, before the studio introduced the footage from the much-anticipated Finding Nemo spin-off, other films on the Mouse House’s slate were discussed including Pete’s Dragon. The 2016 version of the 1977 family friendly adventure film is directed by David Lowery (Ain’t Them Bodies Saints) and stars Bryce Dallas Howard, Robert Redford, Karl Urban, Wes Bentley, and Oakes Fegley, with Disney aiming for an August 12th theatrical release.
Bryce Dallas Howard plays a forest ranger in the new Pete’s Dragon and at CinemaCon where she was honored with the Award for Excellence in Acting, Dallas Howard discussed the appeal of starring in Disney’s new take on the story of a boy and his best friend, Elliott the dragon. She also talked about her father, Ron Howard, and her career.
Watch the Bryce Dallas Howard interview:
The Plot: For years, old wood carver Mr. Meacham (Redford) has delighted local children with his tales of the fierce dragon that resides deep in the woods of the Pacific Northwest. To his daughter, Grace (Howard), who works as a forest ranger, these stories are little more than tall tales…until she meets Pete (Fegley). Pete is a mysterious 10-year-old with no family and no home who claims to live in the woods with a giant, green dragon named Elliott. And from Pete’s descriptions, Elliott seems remarkably similar to the dragon from Mr. Meacham’s stories. With the help of Natalie (Oona Laurence), an 11-year-old girl whose father Jack (Bentley) owns the local lumber mill, Grace sets out to determine where Pete came from, where he belongs, and the truth about this dragon.
Teri Reeves, Meghan Ory, and Jamie Chung in ‘Once Upon a Time’ (Photo by Jack Rowand / ABC)
Wolves and witches and flying monkeys, oh my! Once Upon a Time season five episode 18 had a little bit of everything, including a happy ending for Ruby and the return to Storybrooke by one of the gang who had been trapped in the Underworld. Toto’s dognapping, deals for magical slippers, and romance filled the episode titled ‘Ruby Slippers’ and airing on April 17, 2016. One of the better season five episodes, ‘Ruby Slippers’ threw in a few twists fans didn’t see coming.
The Recap:
The gang tries to revive Ruby after zapping her believing she was a creature out to kill Snow. Gathered around a bed in the Charming house, they try to figure out what she was doing in the Underworld and the only clue is a strip of material she had with her.
Back in Oz some time ago, Ruby (Meghan Ory) and Mulan (Jamie Chung) run through the forest. Ruby sniffs for the scent of her pack but can’t find it. Ruby tells Mulan everything she knows about Oz, which is basically that there’s a lot of singing. They decide they’re going to head back to the Enchanted Forest when suddenly an adorable little dog approaches. It’s Toto, followed close behind by Dorothy (Teri Reeves) who thinks Ruby or Mulan is a witch. Ruby explains Toto barked because he knows she’s a wolf. Unfortunately, Toto picks just then to run off through the woods and Ruby stops Dorothy from chasing after him, telling her Toto’s heading a different direction. That wolf sense of smell definitely comes in handy for hunting down lost dogs, among other things. The threesome are headed off to find Toto when the Wicked Witch’s green tornado is spotted and they run for cover.
Back in the Underworld, Zelena (Rebecca Mader) holds the note from Hades (Greg Germann) and suddenly he appears. He’s actually there to warn her Ruby has arrived, and Zelena knows that means Ruby’s there to get revenge after what she did to her friend in Oz. Zelena says she’s going to leave the Underworld (she’s alive and has her own transportation) because if she stays, she’ll do something she regrets – something that will make Regina (Lana Parrilla) keep her daughter from her. Hades tries to talk her into staying, but Zelena won’t give in. Hades promises that even if she leaves, he’ll take care of Ruby.
At Gold’s Pawnshop, Belle (Emilie de Ravin) is still upset she sent Gaston to a fate worse than death instead of showing him mercy. Rumple (Robert Carlyle) reminds her he was trying to protect their child and Belle reminds him that it didn’t work because Hades found a loophole and didn’t destroy the contract. Now, she’s more determined than ever to make things right on her own without Rumple’s help.
At the Charming place, Ruby comes to and doesn’t understand how using a tracking spell to find Zelena made her wind up in the Underworld. The gang lets her know it’s because Zelena is there, too. She’s hunting her down because Zelena wanted Dorothy’s silver slippers and did something horrible to her, but Ruby doesn’t know exactly what. Ruby’s been tracking her to find out what she did to Dorothy who has disappeared without a trace. Snow (Ginnifer Goodwin) promises they’ll find out what happened. Everyone heads off to get the answers from Zelena except for David (Josh Dallas) and Hook (Colin O’Donoghue) who go make a call to Neal to let them know they’re okay.
Unfortunately, when David, Hook, and Henry (Jared Gilmore) get to the phone booth the line is long and Cruella’s at the front of it. She’s the Mayor and orders her goons to rip out the phone. David tries to convince her to stop but she replies, “Looks like chisel-chin junior will just have to go to bed without what I can imagine are terribly dull bedtime stories.” Henry wants to know if she’s doing it because he won’t write her back to life, but Cruella says Hades ordered the phones removed. There’s too much hope in the realm and Hades can’t have that.
Rebecca Mader in ‘Once Upon a Time’ (Photo by Jack Rowand / ABC)
Zelena prepares to leave, tapping her slippers together. She’s stopped by Emma (Jennifer Morrison), Regina, Ruby, and Snow who tell her she can’t go anywhere until she tells them what she did to Dorothy.
Flashback once again to Oz, and the threesome’s still searching for Toto. Zelena is suddenly there on the path and she tells them she doesn’t want to be in Oz but was banished there by Ruby’s Storybrooke friends to keep her from her baby. She needs the slippers she gave to Dorothy, but Dorothy won’t give them up. Zelena has Toto and won’t give him back unless Dorothy gives her the slippers.
In the Underworld, Regina and the gang tell Zelena they won’t let her see her baby again unless she tells them what happened to Dorothy. Zelena says even she can’t help Dorothy now because she used a sleeping curse on her, taking a page from Regina’s book. Only true love’s kiss can wake her up and Dorothy doesn’t have a true love.
Zelena and Regina are alone when Zelena offers up a deal: the silver slippers in exchange for her daughter. Regina reminds her about Dorothy’s unbreakable curse, but also tells her it’s possible for her to do a good deed now. Zelena’s not sure and Regina tells her to try. Zelena actually does try, handing over the slippers and telling Regina she hopes they’re able to wake Dorothy (but she’s not actually holding out much hope that can happen). Regina walks outside with the slippers and hands them over to Ruby, but Ruby’s still confused as to how they will help. There’s still no one to give Dorothy true love’s kiss. The only person Dorothy ever loved was her dead Aunt Em.
Back in Oz, Mulan, Ruby, and Dorothy work on a sleeping potion they can use on Zelena to free Toto. They need poppies to finish the spell, and Dorothy and Ruby set out to find them. Dorothy’s still angry and barely speaks to Ruby, but finally opens up and tells her her family tried to have her committed when she returned to Kansas after visiting Oz. Only Aunt Em believed her and shortly after that, she died but not before giving Toto to Dorothy to keep. Toto’s the only one who understands Dorothy, and Ruby tells her she also doesn’t feel like she belongs anywhere either. Ruby confesses to Dorothy that she accidentally killed her boyfriend and the town ran her out, but she’s finally made friends after ending up in Storybrooke. The only reason she’s in Oz is because she’s searching for her pack; they may be the thing that’s still missing from her life. But now she’s not sure they’re really the answer.
Back in the Underworld they find Aunt Em’s grave and it’s intact which means she’s still in the Underworld. But, that still leaves the problem of getting Aunt Em to Dorothy to give her a kiss. Snow comes up with a solution: get the blind witch to bottle a kiss from Aunt Em and Ruby will use the slippers to deliver the kiss to Dorothy in Oz. Just then Hook, David, and Henry race up and tell Snow that Hades had the phones removed. Snow gets upset and worries Hades is making a move on Storybrooke, but David says giving up hope is exactly what Hades wants to have happen. Emma wants them to go home now because Neal – and maybe Storybrooke – need them. Emma says their part of the mission in the Underworld is complete. Hook assures David and Snow the remaining members of the Storybrooke gang will find a way to defeat Hades. Then David reminds them even if that’s so, he and Snow can’t just walk out of the Underworld. Emma says they can go to Oz with Ruby using the slippers, and then when they find Dorothy they can click their way back to Storybrooke. There’s one big problem that only Regina brings up: Snow’s name is on a tombstone so she can’t leave. But…David can. He’ll have to represent the Charmings in this little side adventure.
Belle goes to Zelena and begs for help. She knows Hades loves Zelena and wants her to ask him to rip up their contract. Zelena wonders why she doesn’t ask Rumple for help, and Belle says she doesn’t trust him. Zelena says Belle’s finally seen the beast for what he is, which is similar to her situation with Hades. Zelena says, “I’m never going to get my happy ending. Not with Hades, not with my daughter, not with anyone.” Belle then has a bout of morning sickness, asking Zelena if she remembers the feeling. Zelena doesn’t because the Dark Swan sped up her pregnancy so she never experienced it, and Belle realizes she doesn’t have months to work on a solution to her Hades problem because he can speed up her pregnancy, too. Zelena, actually being kind, says there might be a way to stop him from doing that.
At the Charming house, Hook tries to find answers in the storybook but can’t. Aunt Em died in Kansas and that’s all it says. David comes in and is pissed Snow can’t go home and says they should both be home with their son and shouldn’t be there. Hook thanks David for coming to save him, and David says they did it for Emma but then adds, “I guess you’ve grown on me a bit.” Hook smiles, saying, “I tend to have that effect on people.” Hook tells him to use the slippers, go with Ruby, and go home.
Back in Oz, Dorothy, and Ruby make it to the poppy field. Dorothy apologizes for calling her Wolfie and Ruby says in return she’s going to call her Kansas. There’s definitely something going on beneath the surface here, but it’s interrupted by flying monkeys sent by Zelena. Ruby changes into a wolf and Dorothy rides her to safety. They return to Mulan with the poppies and Dorothy pretends to be tired, excusing herself.
In the Underworld, Ruby, Regina, and Emma visit the blind witch to find out where Emily Brown is. She hates Auntie Em because she’s the competition as she’s running her own diner. The gang heads over there and finds Auntie Em behind the counter. They tell her they’re trying to help Dorothy and she needs to blow a kiss into the bottle to wake her up. Snow says maybe that’s Aunt Em’s unfinished business and why she’s in the Underworld. Aunt Em opens the bottle and all of a sudden she fades away, dissolving into a puddle on the floor. Of course it’s Hades’ fault and he gladly takes credit, standing up from the booth where he’s been eating lunch. He hurt her because they’re trying to help her and help Dorothy who is Zelena’s sworn enemy. “Let’s call it a teachable moment,” says Hades. Emma thinks this all means he’s afraid they’ll actually win this battle. He threatens the Underworld inhabitants that if they help the savior, they’ll wind up like Aunt Em.
Back in the not so wonderful land of Oz, Mulan says they’ll be ready to attack when the sun comes up. Ruby tells her Dorothy wanted to know what she’s been looking for, and now she thinks she’s been looking for someone like Dorothy this whole time. “I know we just met but I have never felt like this about anyone before,” says Ruby, but she’s sad because of how Dorothy looked at her when she transformed. Mulan says Dorothy might have been feeling the same thing Ruby was feeling but couldn’t put it into words. Ruby goes to tell Dorothy how she feels and finds just a scrap of material from her dress in the bed.
In the Underworld, Snow tells Ruby that she’s the one who can give Dorothy true love’s kiss. Ruby is surprised, but Snow says she can tell exactly how worried she is about Dorothy. Ruby says she’s right but she doesn’t think Dorothy feels the same way because she bailed on her in Oz. Snow says love is a funny thing and people in love hurt each other all the time. Ruby admits she’s scared and Snow says that’s a great sign. Ruby agrees to try to wake up Dorothy.
In the cemetery, Regina tells Ruby to click her heels three times while thinking about where she wants to go. Snow and David share one final hug, but then a twist is revealed. Hook crossed out Snow’s name and put David’s on the headstone which worked because it’s a life for a life. It also worked because Hades enchanted Hook’s hand to carve the markers in the first place. Hook can’t erase the names but he can change them. Snow protests, but David won’t change it back. He tells her if one of them goes home it should be her. “Go to our son. Go home. I’ll be back before you know it.” Snow and David kiss – a long, lingering kiss – and then Ruby and Snow join hands. She clicks her heels and off they go.
Zelena visits Hades and tells him she hasn’t given him a fair chance, and Hades says melted Auntie Em only because Zelena hates Dorothy. He did it just for her happiness, but Zelena has a hard time believing it. But, she decides to take that chance and they toast to Dorothy’s eternal slumber, unaware of Ruby’s trip to Oz.
In Oz, the munchkins, Mulan, and Toto are watching over Dorothy when Snow and Ruby appear. Mulan’s been waiting for Ruby to get back and Snow tells Ruby, “You can do this.” Ruby approaches Dorothy, bends over her sleeping body, and caresses her hand and hair. She then leans in for the kiss and it works! Dorothy awakens and they call each other by their nicknames. Even Toto barks his approval. Dorothy reveals she only left because she couldn’t lose Ruby to Zelena. Dorothy’s amazed Ruby came back for her and Ruby says she will always be there for her. They kiss again and there’s more than one munchkin shedding tears of joy. And in the Underworld, Henry holds the page showing the kiss and smiles. He turns the page over and writes the end of their story. Then he rushes downstairs and shows David pages of Snow back in Storybrooke holding Neal.
In Gold’s shop, Belle tells Rumple she’s found a way to stop Hades from taking her baby. She can use the sleeping curse she got from Zelena, prick her finger, and pause her pregnancy. If she’s asleep, Hades can’t take the baby and Rumple will have more time to work on destroying the contract. Rumple thinks it will make things worse because the only way for her to wake up is true love’s kiss, which means she’s forcing him to become the man she wants him to be. He says he’s not that man and Belle agrees. She says her father will wake her up and Rumple will have to do whatever it takes to get her back to her dad. She pricks her finger and falls fast asleep.
The CW’s Containment is set to premiere on April 19, 2016 at 9pm ET/PT with George Young playing CDC researcher Dr. Victor Cannerts and Trevor St. John playing an Atlanta journalist named Leo Greene. The series is executive produced by Julie Plec (The Vampire Diaries, The Originals) and David Nutter (The Flash, Arrow) and takes place during an outbreak of a deadly epidemic in Atlanta that causes the city to be put in quarantine to hopefully stop the spread of the mysterious virus.
Speaking with George Young during the 2016 WonderCon in Los Angeles, Young said he’s definitely a germaphobe now after working on Containment. “I am now, like most of the cast, like most of the people on the set. Like most of the camera crew, the lighting crew, the directors, we’ll all germaphobes,” said Young. “We were filming the pilot and we’re doing this scene with someone behind the glass and we’re in front of the glass. It’s in a hospital and one of the lighting guys sneezes. Normally, it’s okay. Normally it’s all right but because we’ve all just been introduced to our characters, just the scenario of something that could actually happen, we all freaked out. We all looked at the guy like, ‘Okay, I’m not going anywhere near this person anymore.’ So we became germaphobes.”
“Just think about the everyday things we do, shaking people’s hands – not just strangers but family,” said Young. “What happens if a virus happens and you’re not allowed to do that? Or, if you do that there are consequences – real consequences. That’s what we ask in the show and that’s why I’m curious to see what the audience answers.”
However, being a part of Containment didn’t have the same effect on Trevor St. John. St. John isn’t any more cautious or fearful about the spread of a virus than he was before taking on the role in the new The CW series. “I know it’s fiction, even though it could very well happen. They took great pains to make it realistic and considering what’s happening now, it’s an intrinsic topic,” said St. John. “Other actors are talking about becoming germaphobes but I’ve never been a germaphobe. In fact, they say now that if you want to be healthy not that you shouldn’t wash your hands but you should be exposed to the good bacteria because we’re all suffering from that lack of that microbiome, the good microbiome, so there’s actually some evidence that we shouldn’t be germaphobes.”
Young describes his character, Dr. Victor Cannerts, as the doctor caught at the Ground Zero/Patient Zero area of the virus outbreak. “He makes, very early on in the pilot, the initial call for the containment, for the quarantine. It’s all this stress of whether he’s doing the right thing. He’s the most qualified person within the contained area to do the right thing. People are looking to him and Claudia Black’s character is looking to me, she’s outside the containment area. Other people are looking for answers and I’m the one who has to come up with it. It’s a question of I have to sound like I know what I’m doing but at the same time I’m panicking. I’ve studied it; I’ve maybe experienced it to smaller degrees in my training as a doctor. But to be faced with this in the U.S. or at your doorstep is something terrifying. But, I can’t share it because you don’t want one of the leaders or somebody in there you’re depending on to suddenly freak out.”
Young added, “There’s a lot of stress and I think you’ll see that with each character, what happens to them when you put them in this pressure cooker. Whether they’re in the literal pressure cooker that is the contained area or they’re outside, it’s still stressful. What happens to them? Where does your character go? What colors do you show? What do you let slip through that in normal situations you don’t? I think that’s the unpredictability about it. You can’t bet on anything, like, ‘This character will do that. I know that this guy – I can put my finger on him.’ Really, you can’t, and you shouldn’t because you’ll get infected. [Laughing] But you can’t anyway. It’s interesting.”
St. John says his character is suffering the consequences of a previous fact-checking error when we meet him in Containment. “He’s been disgraced in the world of journalism and the blogosphere and is trying to claw his way back to the mainstream popularity. This story kind of falls in my life and I assume that it’s going to be the thing, my golden ticket back into the mainstream and so I dig deep and I befriend Lex [played by David Gyasi] and I try to get to the heart of the story and the truth.”
Watch the full interviews with George Young and Trevor St. John on Containment:
Disney’s live-action The Jungle Book not only set a new April record, it also nearly doubled pre-release box office estimates. Directed by Jon Favreau, The Jungle Book rang up the biggest April opening weekend for a PG-rated film at $103.5 million. And only Furious 7, rated PG-13, scored a better April domestic opening overall than The Jungle Book. Prior to the film’s release critics were raving about Favreau’s film based on the Rudyard Kipling story and previously brought to life by Disney in animated form back in 1967. The Jungle Book currently sits at 95% fresh on RottenTomatoes with 173 critics giving it positive reviews and only nine awarding it a ‘rotten’ rating. Audiences also embraced the dramatic movie which features incredible CGI animals, awarding it an A Cinemascore on its opening day. Adding in the international take, The Jungle Book earned nearly $300 million over its first weekend in theaters.
The Jungle Book Plot:The Jungle Book is an all-new live-action epic adventure about Mowgli (newcomer Neel Sethi), a man-cub who’s been raised by a family of wolves. But Mowgli finds he is no longer welcome in the jungle when fearsome tiger Shere Khan (voice of Idris Elba), who bears the scars of Man, promises to eliminate what he sees as a threat. Urged to abandon the only home he’s ever known, Mowgli embarks on a captivating journey of self-discovery, guided by panther-turned-stern mentor Bagheera (voice of Ben Kingsley), and the free-spirited bear Baloo (voice of Bill Murray).
Along the way, Mowgli encounters jungle creatures who don’t exactly have his best interests at heart, including Kaa (voice of Scarlett Johansson), a python whose seductive voice and gaze hypnotizes the man-cub, and the smooth-talking King Louie (voice of Christopher Walken), who tries to coerce Mowgli into giving up the secret to the elusive and deadly red flower: fire. The all-star cast also includes Lupita Nyong’o as the voice of the fiercely protective mother wolf Raksha, and Giancarlo Esposito as the voice of wolf pack’s alpha male Akela.
Gabrielle Reece hosts ‘Strong’ (Photo by: Adam Rose/NBC)
NBC’s new reality fitness competition series Strong is not about how much weight the contestants can lose. Created by Dave Broome (The Biggest Loser) and hosted by volleyball player/fitness expert Gabrielle Reece, Strong pairs up 10 women with 10 elite trainers who, over the course of 10 episodes, will transform their bodies while competing in physical challenges that will test their strength, endurance and mental stamina. The series premiered on April 14, 2016 and each episode will find one team getting eliminated on the road to crowning the season one champion.
Broome and Reece teamed up for a conference call in support of the new NBC series. Discussing what sets Strong apart from other shows Broome said that while the contestants do lose weight, this series is set apart because the focus is on getting strong.
Gabrielle Reece and Dave Broome Interview:
What makes Strong different from other health and fitness shows?
Gabrielle Reece: “I think some of the differentiating qualities in the show is first of all the fact that you have all these incredibly knowledgeable and well trained trainers but yet they’re all very different. So you’re getting exposed to various modalities of training. I think it then creates a broader appeal for people who go, ‘Well, you know what? I’m not connecting with that type of training, but that looks interesting and exciting and a way that I would like to move.’ I think you have that.
I think you have the opportunity to see the real conversation around, first of all these women come in with the decision of, ‘Hey, this is my time. I have to make the change. I’m at this place.’ But it’s not blown out in this way that seems so theatrical. It’s just very real and I think what a lot of people are feeling which is, ’10-15 years went by and I looked up and I sort of thought whoa I need to try to get this back in check,’ but for all their different reasons.
And then the teamwork aspect, I love the fact that trainers are not just dictating to the trainees, ‘Hey, this is what you’re supposed to do and this is what you’re supposed to eat.’ There’s a collaborative feeling between them and the fact that they compete together adds another element of teamwork and the community that goes into it. For me it’s just a little different than one person telling another, ‘This is what you’re doing. You’re going to go through it.’ So there’s so much information, there’s the teamwork but then you have so much variety in the trainers and ways to get it done.”
Dave Broome: “You know, for me, in creating the show and it was a mindset of I never looked at this as just a fitness show. I looked at this as a life transformation show, and it sounds corny in a lot of ways. But, yes, of course, we are fitness-based. Yes, of course, we have elite trainers and they are contestants as well with their counterpart, their female counterparts. But the truth is this is a show unlike anything that anyone has ever seen on television. It is very fast-paced. You’re going to have to buckle yourself up and hold on. And we move…I mean we move out of the gate.
And unlike my other show, The Biggest Loser, or so many other things you’ve seen there which move at a much slower pace. You’re waiting almost snapping your fingers like, ‘Come on, let’s go, let’s go, let’s go.’ Well, this is going to be a bit different. This is going to be like […]it’s coming at you left and right. But the whole concept for the show was how do you get somebody to wake up in the morning and feel like they can take on the world? How can I kick ass? How can I be better in my job, better in my relationship, better with my husband, my wife, my children, whatever it is. And to me that was about overcoming obstacles. It’s about getting physically and mentally fit and strong.
The challenges in this show are they look like Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory minus the chocolate and all the sweets. So it is taking people and giving them the opportunity to push themselves into a place that they feel that they can where they never thought they can conquer something and they can. That’s what this show does. And it’s really different than anything you’ve ever seen, anything.”
Gabrielle Reece: “I’d like to add one more thing, Dave. I think something important that you built into the show that’s really also important is it’s sustainable. These women can go home and put this into play in their real life. And you’ll see even if the conversation isn’t about losing weight, each and every one of them had unbelievable transformations.”
Dave Broome: “Yes, the transformations are critical.”
The teams of ‘Strong’ (Photo by Chris Haston / NBC)
What was the reasoning behind the choice to only have female contestants?
Dave Broome: “They’re not female contestants; the trainers are contestants as well. Both trainer and trainees, they’re both contestants. They are teamed up together and that is a huge distinguishing point here. And the reason why we did that in this season, to have male trainers and female trainees both being contestants, goes back to what I was just mentioning. This is a challenge-based show with fitness and lifestyle woven in. In order to make it fair, you have to have really all of the same sex competing together. So all male trainers are partnered with their female trainees and they’re competing in these physical challenges together. For fairness issues, taking a male trainer versus a female trainer, no matter how great that female trainer might be, it’s most likely not going to be able to be a fair issue in a lot of those challenges. So that’s the reason why we did it because everyone are contestants in this.
It’s important to remember that the trainers are not just training their partner. They’re training themselves and they’re competing together. So that’s why we did it like that.”
Do you think the audience of this show will be mostly women or do you think it has a wider appeal?
Dave Broome: “That’s a great question. I’m going to tell you why this show has such a mass appeal. The women are going to look at our female trainees and they’re going to be inspired by them. They’re going to say, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s my mom, that’s my sister,’ whatever. They’re then going to look at the male trainers and going to go, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s pretty hot. They know what they’re doing and I want to learn from that.’ So you’re going to get that on that case.
On the male side, you’re going to look at this and guys are going to watch a show and they’re going to see (A) they’re going to watch 10 elite male trainers. And they themselves are going to get the takeaway and go, ‘Wow, that guy really knows his stuff. I want to know what he’s doing. Look how they’re training together.’
Remember, the one thing here this is not like where you’ve seen on The Biggest Loser formula where (Bob) or (Dolvett) or (Jen) is training their team. These guys are training themselves on Strong. They’re training themselves and they’re training their partner. A male viewer is going to look at this and see first from the training standpoint, they’re going to be able to relate and what to learn from the guys. And second of all the challenges and the pacing of the show is so dramatically fast, as I mentioned, that it’s going to kind of hold that male attention as well.
It’s got a little bit of everything. It’s got heart but not too soft. It’s got action but not so crazy that you’re not going to be able to have the female audience want to tune into it. It’s got a crazy and I’m telling you a crazy transformation at the end of every single episode that is jaw dropping. It’s going to be talked about every week. I know it because it’s blown me away and I’ve been doing it for a long time.”
Gabrielle Reece: “Well, as for my point of view, I’m a different type of audience then let’s say someone who would normally watch this show. And like Dave said, the challenges are so big and sexy and the fact that these teams and these individual women are taking this on, I think it attracts you in a way because you’re sort of so curious to not only see the challenge but to watch these teams perform it is so amazing.”
How did all the major players of the show came together, like Sylvester Stallone?
Dave Broome: “Sly and I had a really good, close relationship and when I was creating and developing the show we were talking and I thought […]the spirit of the show is really taking a bunch of underdogs – all of our female trainees are underdogs themselves – and this is a show about wanting to be the best version of yourself you possibly can be. That’s really what the spirit is at the end of the day. When I was talking to Sly it just came to me and I thought, ‘Here is a man who created the most iconic underdog character maybe in pulp culture history in Rocky.’ Rocky was an underdog but it came from Sly; he created it. It came from Sly being an underdog himself. You know, his story is pretty famous about how he wrote it and how he wanted to play that part and the rest is kind of history.
Sly is obviously so into fitness himself and he said if he never pursued acting, he would have been a trainer. You look at him today and he can kick my butt and just about anybody else’s I’ve seen. So it just felt like it was a great message for us so it was a very easy partnership to have for those reasons.”
The new breed of fitness shows has more of a partnership going on between the trainers and their clients. Is that the next logical progression of the weight loss show?
Dave Broome: “Well for me I don’t look at Strong as a weight loss competition and I don’t even look at it as a weight loss show. It’s not. The great thing that happens from Strong is weight falls off these people. That’s because they’re exercising right. That’s like the default factor. When I created the show I sat there and I go, ‘Of course they’re going to lose weight, but I want to actually put muscle on them. I want to change their life. I want to change their mentality. How do you change someone’s mindset?’ And so, yes, I feel like to your question about the dynamic with trainers and their counterparts whereas people are not barking out, I think you’re right. Look, I’ve already done that. That’s Biggest Loser. That was Jillian Michaels from day one when we started the show. I didn’t sit there and say to her, ‘Hey listen, be a drill sergeant and just come full force on these people.’ That was who she was. That was back in 2004-2005. We’re talking 11, 12 years ago so things have changed.
I think that’s also for me and Strong, you know, I created Strong because I saw this major shift in the world of fitness. A total mental shift in the way men and women were addressing health and fitness and getting into shape. Because, you know, we’ve seen that strong is the new skinny. Or you’re looking at Spartan races or tough mother events which look like commercials for the Marines where people are going under barbed wire fences and shocking their body parts. And then I’m looking at it and I’m seeing that the fastest growing piece of all that are not men. They are women who are signing up for these things in droves. I’m looking and I’m going, ‘what’s going on here? What is happening? Where are people’s heads at?’
What I learned a couple of years ago when I started to create the show was, you know what? Women, they don’t want to be model thin. That’s unrealistic. That’s unhealthy. Look at the covers of any single magazine. Look at some of the stuff you guys put out online whether you’re printing it or putting it in digital form. It’s always now fit, strong, healthy, sexy! You know, all of those words kind of come together. I mean I rarely have seen thin, size 0, you know? So all of this shift in…and a lot of times we’re talking about it just in the physical sense but the truth is that it’s so mental. It’s so much more about where you head space is.
I think that you show me a person who is out of shape and confident, I think that they’re either fooling themselves or fooling others. Because your physical condition so much affects your mental state that they just go hand-in-hand. That’s what this show is doing.”
Vive Les Frasers!!! The name of Starz’s Outlander episode 2 in season 2 is ‘Not in Scotland Anymore,’ oh boy I’ll say! France could not be more polar opposite from Scotland, and the ruling class is THAT on steroids. All the external changes are troubling enough; while Jamie (Sam Heughan) is dealing with post-traumatic stress after his torture at the hands of Black Jack Randall (Tobias Menzies).
The episode opens with what you think is Jamie and Claire (Caitriona Balfe) finally having marital relations again, when suddenly Claire turns into Black Jack begging for more. Jamie pulls a dirk from somewhere unknown and starts stabbing him. Blood covers Jamie’s face, then Jamie wakes up in a cold sweat and breathing hard. He realizes it is a dream when Claire touches him and he actively tries NOT to recoil from her touch. He decides he will not go back to sleep so he should head downstairs to review some paperwork. Claire tries to reassure him that BJR is dead. Jamie admits he knows that, he just doesn’t know how to get him out of his head.
The next morning Claire is preparing to head out. The costumes in this episode are just astonishing. Claire steps out of her room in what is known as The Dior dress, a 1740s reversal on the 1940s version of a Dior original. The costume department, and more particularly Terry Dresbach, have outdone themselves. The 1940s took many of their fashion inspirations from 1740s France, so Terry and her team turned it right back around to create much of Claire’s wardrobe. The sets, created by Jon Gary Steele and his team, are so incredible and exact to the moment that you will not be able to keep from feeling you are back in the court of the King Louis XV of France.
Okay, enough fangirl gushing…back to Claire’s outing. As you follow Claire through the house you realize she is very much a fish out of water. Having come through World War II, and now the mud and roads of Scotland, Claire has not had the duty of running a formal household, especially complete with servants. The Lady’s maid, Suzette (Adrienne-Marie Zitt), is too cute begging for her to be more of a mess. I found myself wishing I had one of those – a daydream that most any mom has had, I’m sure. As Claire travels through the streets she contemplates her last visit during the end of WWII and the celebrations that took place at the war’s closing. She also thought of the revolution that was to come in this very same city just a few decades from where she is now.
Time passes so much quicker on the show, of course, than in the books. Many activities occurred between the timing of episode 1 (‘Through A Glass, Darkly’) and the timing of this episode. Nothing is made of Claire’s morning sickness, but the books put heavy emphasis on this daily exhaustive ritual in the cycle of bringing a baby into the world. Many other activities happen before Claire takes her first trip to the Apothecary and meets Master Raymond (Dominique Pinon). In the show, Jamie’s nightmares motivate her to seek herbs she does not have. This shop is just a feast for the eyes, even more so than how I pictured it in the books. Jon Gary Steele really did hide treasures in every corner of this room, as well as openly hangs an alligator from the ceiling. *snort*
Claire charms Master Raymond with her knowledge of herbs and ability to understand several of his tricks for the public. They take an instant liking to each other. He also lets her know that he has heard of her through the dust-up with Le Comte St. Germain (Stanley Weber). Claire fears he would be friends with Le Comte, but Master Raymond assures her that they are not friends, and thus it should mean that she and he can be.
Jamie is outside the house on a task of his own, with Murtagh (Duncan Lacroix). They are practicing swords, trying to strengthen Jamie’s hand. This was not in the books, but the book did reference to the fact that they did practice a lot and it helped to strengthen Jamie’s hand again. Murtagh gets far more time in the show than he was given in the books. My theory is because you can see more of Jamie’s encounters than just everything through Claire’s first person perspective as the book has it. I like the wider view of things, hence my pointing it out.
Murtagh always makes me laugh with his surly attitude; he is less than gentlemanly when he tells the gawkers standing nearby to go away. Murtagh wants to devise a plan to kill the Bonnie Prince outright and not mess with all this strategy and secrecy. Jamie, ever level-headed, points out the lack of logic in the plan.
As they return home, Jamie has a letter waiting that came for him from Jared. He has arranged an introduction with the Prince himself. The catch is that Prince Charles Edward Stewart (Andrew Gower) wants to meet in a brothel. That will make things nice and complicated for Jamie since he hasn’t been able to make love to Claire in quite a long time.
I do not possess the words to accurately describe the scene inside the doors of the establishment. You can easily see Jamie and Murtagh are highly uncomfortable as the women walk around running a hand down their arm or over their shoulders. Prince Charles is drinking it all in with his eyes, as well as the decanter of wine on the table. The Madame Elise (Michele Belgrand-Hodgson) of the house walks in to welcome the nobility in the room to her establishment and says for them to also welcome THEIR WIVES. All of the men with current occupants on their laps, remove the draped lady with gasps and eager eyes searching the room. Prince Charles knows it is a joke so he begins to laugh, as does Jamie to please the Prince. The rest of the room realizes the display was a rouse and other ladies of the night come in, half-clad, to call everyone naughty and such. The Madam of the house peddles the additional commodity of the establishment, TOYS.
Once the fun has been had the Prince and Jamie get down to the discussion at hand. The Prince wants to feel out if Jamie will give him an honest answer. Jamie does tell him that the clans are not united, much less ready for a rebellion. Prince Charles is surprised to hear this, and he was noticeably dismayed by this news. Murtagh helps Prince Charles to understand that the Scottish people are simple people, so he will need to see things differently than the way other advisers have been whispering in his ear.
Prince Charles feels it is God’s will to unite the clans and be placed back on the throne. (Odd sentiment coming from a man sitting in the middle of a brothel, but that is a personal opinion.) He does realize he has to have funds, so the Prince asks Jamie to go to court and enlist the help of the Minister of Finance to the King. Further work will have to be done to stop the rebellion, the Bonnie Prince is not listening to anyone but God, so Jamie and company will have to go to the court to prevent support for the Prince’s financial needs.
Claire has a newfound friend that can help get them to the court and to the ears of those that can aid in the prevention of the rebellion. Claire’s friend, Louise de Rohan (Claire Sermone), is getting her legs waxed. She explains to Claire that she would love to introduce Lady Broch Tuarach to the court. Then she calls in Mary Hawkins (Rosie Day) to meet Claire. Mary is very shy, the exact opposite of Louise. Claire recognizes the name but doesn’t place it yet. The book readers know why Mary is so pivotal, but the show will reveal all in time. Louise tells Claire she will introduce her to the best dressmaker in Paris, she must have something spectacular when she meets the King. Then Louise spreads her legs to allow the waxing of her hairiest part. Claire stares in amazement, poor Mary looks like she will faint dead away.
Now comes the chat most of the book readers fondly call the “honeypot” discussion. In the show Claire actually gets her honeypot shaved too, in the book she only had the legs done but it upset Jamie enough just for her to have the legs done. In the show, Claire takes Jamie’s hand and moves it down her body. Of course, Jamie is nervous given his nightmares of BJR, so he looks less than ready for what she is voicelessly asking for.
As his hand reaches the area between her legs his expression changes to that of major surprise. Claire asks if Jamie would like to see what it looks like. Now there is a new line that I love… Jamie says, “It is more complicated than it looks thatched over.” *giggle-snort* You think they are going to get down to what fans have waited for, but as activities start to get hot things take a turn for the worse. Jamie starts having flashes of BJR that stop him mid-motion. Claire tells him it is okay, but Jamie is still very disturbed by it all.
A couple of weeks later the Fraser party is on their way to Versailles. Jamie and Murtagh are waiting at the bottom of the stairs as Claire comes down in the much anticipated Red Dress. At first, you think the gentlemen think she looks beautiful, but then Jamie asks her if she is “mad”. He says the iconic line that he can see down to the third rib. The fashion of the time is very low cut for women’s gowns. The idea is to catch the eye of the King and the court, but Jamie is none too happy with this approach. When you see the King’s mistress, Claire’s gown is not so daring after all.
As they enter the room an old friend of Jamie’s bursts into his arms, Annalise de Marillac (Margaux Chatelier). The look on Claire’s face is priceless. He is forced to explain how he fought a duel for her. You can feel Jamie’s embarrassment during the entire exchange. {more giggles here} Annalise whisks him away to take him to watch the dressing of the King. Murtagh grumbles that he sure “wouldn’t want to miss that.” I just love that bearded curmudgeon. They come into the presence of the King of France, Louis XV (Lionel Lingelser). In a room full of gentlemen, the King is sitting on a throne (in both senses of the term), trying to move his bowels with no luck. I just love how they start offering the King advice on how to get things moving. Our always gallant Jamie offers up that the King should start each day with a bowl of porridge. Fiber is a constipated man’s friend, little does the King know.
Out in the main room with the other guests Claire is chatting with other court Ladies when she sees Mary speaking to a young gentleman. She doesn’t know who he is but is pleased to see Mary smiling for the first time. She then excuses herself to get some air. Louise notices the Minister of Finance, Monsieur Joseph Duverney (Marc Duret), across the room and rushes over to tell him that Lady Broch Tuarach is looking for him with desires to meet him. He takes this in an entirely lecherous way, his alcohol intake helps in this perspective, and he sets out to meet up with her. Claire seeks to find a nice place to sit down and has only been at her ease for a minute when the Minister found her. He introduces himself but is rather hands-y. He kneels down at her feet. The next thing she knows he takes her foot and begins kissing it, Claire protesting all the way. {insert more giggle-snorts here} Claire finally pushes him off when he raises up to attempt to kiss at her open bodice, and he bumps into Jamie as he stumbles back. Jamie throws him off the bridge about the second Claire is trying to tell him that he is the man they came to find. A waterlogged Minster of Finance exits the lake below the bridge a bit soberer and certainly humbler in countenance.
He begs their pardon and they pleasantly oblige. As they are all standing before the fire, and the Minister is trying to dry his water-soaked wig, the King walks up behind them. He is accompanied by his mistress, Madame Nesle de la Tourelle (Kimberly Smart), wearing the long-awaited nipple dress. The designs on the dress are amazing, once you get past the fact that her breasts are exposed above the bodice with swan-designed nipple piercings. The look on Murtagh’s face is just too hilarious to describe. She gives Murtagh a look of interest, and that is the first time I have seen Murtagh give a delighted smile to any woman. Jamie is about to die of embarrassment. I have to admit I busted out laughing at this entire exchange.
Then the smirk turned to rage on Murtagh’s face as he noticed the Duke of Sandringham (Simon Callow) across the room. The paper that was to give Jamie his freedom in Scotland was given to Black Jack, and he burned it right in Jamie’s face during his torture. After a pleasant {said in all sarcasm} exchange, Claire asks Jamie to take Murtagh to have a drink with their new friend, the Minister of Finance. After they leave, Claire certainly calls the Duke out for his bad deeds. Then the aid to the Duke walks up. Claire discovers that this is none other than the younger brother to the notorious Black Jack Randall, it is Alex Randall (Laurence Dobiesz).
In the book they meet this man in a different way. He looks far more like BJR, and fans were hoping that Tobias Menzies was to play a third role in the show because of the way it is done in the book, but the show handles it differently. Jamie has not seen or met him yet, but Claire now has. Alex is a much nicer person than his elder brother, and weaker of constitution. He is repeatedly coughing and Claire offers a suggestion of an herb to sooth his throat. Alex and the Duke tell Claire that Jack Randall is not dead as Claire and Jamie thought after the escape of the prison. And Claire has no idea how she will tell Jamie that his nightmare still lives. Our poor Nighean Donn.
Amazon Studios has released the full trailer for The Neon Demon, the latest film from writer/director Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive). The dramatic film will have its premiere at the 69th Cannes Film Festival and stars Jena Malone, Keanu Reeves, Christina Hendricks, Elle Fanning, Abbey Lee, Bella Heathcote, Desmond Harrington, and Karl Glusman. The Neon Demon will open in theaters this June.
The Plot: When aspiring model Jesse moves to Los Angeles, her youth and vitality are devoured by a group of beauty-obsessed women who will take any means necessary to get what she has.
The cast of the film explained what they believe the title, The Neon Demon, actually means:
“L.A., because of all the lights.” – Elle Fanning
“Otherworldly beauty, but [also] the dark underbelly of that.” – Jena Malone
“The industry and the city. It’s glossy and shiny but it will eat you alive.” – Bella Heathcote
“There’s something about the light – you can call it artificial light, but I guess all light is artificial besides the sun – and the neon quality of it. [There’s] something about those colors that attracts and repulses at the same time. And then there’s the demon part. What is the demon within; what is the demon on the outside? Is it ego? It may be a fear of death. Or desire. It’s all sorts of fun stuff.” – Keanu Reeves
“It makes me think of speed and a bunch of lights on Sunset. And the devil.” – Desmond Harrington
“The dark underbelly of beauty and the things we would do for beauty.” – Christina Hendricks
Nate Parker in ‘The Birth of a Nation’ (Photo by Elliot Davis)Fox Searchlight won the bidding war and snatched up The Birth of a Nation for theatrical release following its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. The awards buzz has been constant since the film won Sundance’s U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic and the Audience Award: U.S. Dramatic, and now those who didn’t catch a screening at the festival can watch the two-minute teaser trailer. Written, directed by and starring Nate Parker, The Birth of a Nation features Armie Hammer, Mark Boone Jr., Colman Domingo, Aunjanue Ellis, Dwight Henry, Aja Naomi King, Esther Scott, Roger Guenveur Smith, Gabrielle Union, Penelope Ann Miller and Jackie Earle Haley. The Birth of a Nation opens in theaters on October 7, 2016.
The Plot: Set against the antebellum South, The Birth of a Nation follows Nat Turner (Nate Parker), a literate slave and preacher, whose financially strained owner, Samuel Turner (Armie Hammer), accepts an offer to use Nat’s preaching to subdue unruly slaves. As he witnesses countless atrocities – against himself and his fellow slaves – Nat orchestrates and uprising in the hopes of leading his people to freedom.
Cliff Curtis as Travis and Ruben Blades as Daniel Salazar in ‘Fear the Walking Dead’ _ Season 2 (Photo Credit: Richard Foreman / AMC)
Fear the Walking Dead kicked off its second season on April 10, 2016 and on April 15, 2016 AMC announced the show will return for a third season. Dubbed Fear the Swimming Dead following the premiere of episode one, season two’s return brought in 8.8 million viewers. Airing on Sunday nights, the prequel to The Walking Dead is now second in cable ratings following behind only the series that spawned it.
Per AMC’s announcement, season three will consist of 16 episodes and will premiere in 2017. Season two stars Kim Dickens as Madison, Cliff Curtis as Travis, Frank Dillane as Nick, Alycia Debnam-Carey as Alicia, Ruben Blades as Daniel, Mercedes Mason as Ofelia, Lorenzo James Henrie as Chris, and Colman Domingo as Strand.
“What Dave Erickson and Robert Kirkman have invented in Fear The Walking Dead is to be applauded. Watching Los Angeles crumble through the eyes of our characters and seeing each make decisions and try to figure out the rules of their new world – it’s fresh, eerie and compelling and we’re all in for the ride,” said Charlie Collier, president of AMC, SundanceTV and AMC Studios. “As Victor Strand observed, ‘The only way to survive a mad world is to embrace the madness.’ We thank the millions of fans for embracing this mad world and look forward to sailing far into the future.”
The Plot: Season one left off with Madison (Dickens), Travis (Curtis) and their extended family taking temporary shelter in Strand’s (Domingo) gated estate overlooking the Pacific Ocean. As civil unrest continues to grow and the dead take over Los Angeles, Strand prepares to escape to “Abigail,” his large yacht moored offshore. Fear the Walking Dead takes us back to the beginning of the zombie apocalypse – a time when the world was changing rapidly for reasons unknown, before anyone understood exactly what was happening, when life as everyone knew it was upended and altered in ways no one could have ever imagined.
