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‘iZombie’ Malcolm Goodwin Interview: Will Clive Ever Learn About Zombies?

By
Rebecca Murray
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iZombie Malcolm Goodwin and Rose McIver
Malcolm Goodwin as Clive and Rose McIver as Liv in ‘iZombie’ (Photo: Diyah Pera © 2016 The CW Network)

The cast of The CW’s iZombie claim the season two finale is a wild roller coaster ride that takes the audience to unexpected places. At the 2016 WonderCon in downtown Los Angeles, Malcolm Goodwin (‘Clive Babineaux’) talked about his reaction to receiving the script for the second season’s finale and he shared his opinion on why it is that Clive who works so closely with Rose McIver’s character, Liv, still hasn’t figured out she’s a brain-eating zombie.

Malcolm Goodwin Interview:

Is Clive ever going to figure out there are zombies?

Malcolm Goodwin: “I have the same exact question and I don’t know. I don’t know. I’m still waiting for it. I’m with the fans. I’m still waiting to find out if he’ll find out, too. I think it’s going to be fun. I think it’ll be interesting. I think it will be fun to play that and I think it will be a real world reaction, and I always say that for Clive. If he knows that zombies exist, that means there’s vampires, that means there’s werewolves, and it’s like a Pandora’s Box so we’ll see.”

Do you have a theory as to why he hasn’t figured it out yet?

Malcolm Goodwin: “Zombies? I don’t think that will be the first conclusion he’ll come to with someone who has like white hair. He does think she’s goth but I don’t think he’ll go, ‘She’s either goth or she’s a zombie.’ I don’t think he’ll jump to that conclusion. The show exists in a real world, in terms of we make so many pop culture references. He watches Game of Thrones; he’s a hardcore fan. So I think it’s equivalent to one of your colleagues saying that they’re a zombie all of a sudden. You’re like, ‘What?!’ It would just be a little weird.


In Vancouver we’ve seen people who look like Liv, dress like Liv, the exact same thing. They walk among us and we never say, ‘Hey, is that a zombie? That could be a zombie.’ But his biggest deterrent of finding out is Liv. Liv has been the biggest deterrent of him getting close to the truth. So being that he’s working with a zombie, she’s able to keep him away from it. And it’s easy to keep it away from Clive because he’s so tunnel-visioned. He’s got his eyes on just figuring out who these killers are.”

When you read the finale script, what went through your mind?

Malcolm Goodwin: “I had no idea it was going to go in the direction that it went. One thing I can give away I guess is that the last two episodes aren’t procedural. It blows up in terms of what happens. But my reaction was, ‘Let me get on my treadmill and get in shape.’ There’s some humongous stunts that happen in the last two episodes. And, they just shake things up. But I was absolutely blown away and couldn’t wait to get on set and shoot it. Like, ‘How are we going to make this happen? This is ambitious!’ But we got it done.”

Do you like doing stunts?

Malcolm Goodwin: “Yeah. When I was little growing up I loved The Fall Guy, Lee Majors. I was a hardcore fan. I used to be able to throw myself down a flight of stairs in high school just for fun. Poeple think I’m hurt and I’m like, ‘I’m good. I’m good!’ But, yeah, it’s an opportunity. Hopefully I get that opportunity to do more stunts if the situation warrants that. But, I love that. I love that. There was little things here and there that I got to do. I got a bruised butt bone where I took a bad spill on my coccyx, but it was well worth it.”

How does he rationalize Liv’s appearance when a brain she eats influences her physical appearance?

Malcolm Goodwin: “I think episode three of this season she’s wearing the sexy dresses because this is the first time she physically takes on…she’s physically transformed so she actually looks like the people I’m interrogating. Like, ‘How am I not going to say anything?’ So I talked to Rob [Thomas] and the producers and they’re like, ‘He doesn’t have time to do that. He notices it and he’s got that tunnel-visioned that he’s just going to let that happen.’ But that was the first episode and probably the only episode where she’s taken on the hardcore physical characteristics of the character that it’s undeniable. Even with the old man in the first episode, she could have worked out at the gym. She could be a little sore. I don’t know what it is. But, like I said, it’s staying true to the fact Clive is this tunnel-vision guy. He’s at work so he just cares about getting the job done.”

Are we going to learn anything significantly new about Clive before the end of this season?

Malcolm Goodwin: “I guess you get to see a little bit of Clive’s home life coming up. It was interesting to see where he lived because I’d never seen it. I was like, ‘Oh! Clive rolls like this. That’s cool.'”

Was it what you imagined it would be?

Malcolm Goodwin: “It wasn’t what I imagined it would be, but it was nice. It was very nice, pristine, clean. His home life is equivalent to his fashion style. It’s very, very clean. But it’s fun. I won’t give everything away, but it’s pretty cool when you go and see his place and the things he has on walls, the books he reads. I thought it was very, very interesting. It just tells you why he is the way he is, and why they’re so consistent with him being the character that he is which makes it fun for me to play.”

Watch the full interview with Malcolm Goodwin on iZombie season two:

‘Legends of Tomorrow’: Ciara Renée Interview on Kendra, Wings, and Crossovers

By
Rebecca Murray
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Ciara Renee and Victor Garber in Legends of Tomorrow
Ciara Renée as Kendra Saunders/Hawkgirl and Victor Garber as Professor Martin Stein in ‘Legends of Tomorrow’ (Photo by Dean Buscher © 2016 The CW Network, LLC)

The CW’s Legends of Tomorrow star Ciara Renée (Kendra/Hawkgirl) joined her co-stars Brandon Routh, Franz Drameh, and Caity Lotz at the 2016 WonderCon in Los Angeles to discuss season one of the comic book-inspired series. In addition to answering questions from fans as part of panel, Ciara Renée also sat down for interviews to chat about taking on the part of a reincarnated Egyptian Princess who can fly. DC’s Legends of Tomorrow airs on The CW on Thursdays at 8pm ET/PT and was recently renewed for season two.

Ciara Renée Interview:

How much fun has it been playing Kendra and what is it like physically to get into the role?

Ciara Renée: “Physically, we are doing a lot of stunts all the time. We have a great stunt team and I have an amazing stunt double. But, yeah, we’re really working constantly, rolling in the mud. When we first started it was really interesting working with the stunt team on the physicality of having a set of giant wings coming out of my back. I think at first I was like, ‘I don’t know what that is.’ But now that we keep playing with it, it’s like, ‘What would that do to your posture? What does that do to how you move around?’ And doing some of the wire work was informative too. Like, ‘What would it be like to have wings and fly of your own volition?’ You’re not in a plane, you’re not on something, you’re just flying. Yeah, it’s been really fun figuring that out.”


What sort of journey do you think she’s been on from the beginning of the season to the end of season one?

Ciara Renée: “Well, a) I think she’s getting a lot of information thrown at her about who she is. And then b) is trying to extrapolate from herself what that really means and figure out who Kendra is within the confines of these other 4,000 years-worth of lives. I think that every life there’s a new piece to her puzzle that she finds. How much do you really think you know about yourself or another person? It could take years and years and years for you to actually know everything about one person. Even though we sit with ourselves all the time and we’re in our own heads, there’s still many things about ourselves that we’re not aware. She’s had 4,000 years of discovery about all of the amazing things that she is, and then there’s different circumstances that create who she is. And so it’s a lot that she has to bring together. I also think she’s becoming more confident in being a warrior, in being a superhero, in being a protector which is something that I think she wants to do but it’s a pretty scary thing to be a) flying around, and b) risking your life every episode. I’m like, ‘Gosh, it’s hard.'”

I thought it was really interesting when you got to play her as a housewife. Was that a challenge?

Ciara Renée: “I think for Kendra it was a little bit to tone it down and not be like modern lady 2016 Kendra. But I think there was something familiar about it because she was in that lifetime. She remembers things from that time period. She did live then and even though I’d like to think there’s a piece of her that was a bit rebellious to the time period, I also think that there’s a piece of her that was really good at blending in. She needed to be good at blending in, you know? So I think there’s always this kind of push and pull of, ‘Yeah, I remember this. This is actually kind of comfortable and yet I’m actually still Kendra and Kendra hates this.'”

Is there any chance you’ll be in crossover on The Flash and maybe catch up again with Cisco?

Ciara Renée: “You know, I think it would be interesting if Cisco and Kendra met back up because I don’t think that Kendra is anywhere near the same person that she was back in Central City. I mean, literally everything in her life has changed and now she remembers all of these other things about her, about these other lives that she’s had. She’s going to be a different woman if they do meet up again.”

Watch the full interview with Ciara Renee on Legends of Tomorrow season one:

Also check out our interview with executive producer Marc Guggenheim on Legends of Tomorrow and what fans can look forward to as the season draws to a close:

Anna Kendrick, Zac Efron, Adam Devine Earn Comedy Awards at CinemaCon

By
Rebecca Murray
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Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates Poster

CinemaCon has named Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates stars Zac Efron, Anna Kendrick and Adam DeVine as the winners of this year’s CinemaCon Comedy Stars of the Year Award. Efron, Kendrick, and DeVine will receive their awards during the Big Screen Achievement Awards ceremony to be held on the final day of the National Association of Theatre Owners convention at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. This year’s convention is set to run April 11th through the 14th.

“It doesn’t get any better than being able to honor three incredibly talented comedic actors and CinemaCon delegates will be in for a great time this year when we single out Zac, Anna and Adam,” stated Mitch Neuhauser, Managing Director of CinemaCon. “With impressive careers already on the big and small screen, our 2016 Comedy Stars of the Year are sure to have audiences in stitches this summer when Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates hits our theaters.”


Fox will be releasing Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates in theaters on July 8, 2016. The comedy was directed by Jake Szymanski (7 Days in Hell) and also features Aubrey Plaza and Stephen Root.

The Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates Plot: Hard-partying brothers Mike (Adam Devine) and Dave (Zac Efron) place an online ad to find the perfect dates (Anna Kendrick, Aubrey Plaza) for their sister’s Hawaiian wedding. Hoping for a wild getaway, the boys instead find themselves outsmarted and out-partied by the uncontrollable duo.

‘Damien’ Season 1 Episode 5 Preview: Seven Curses Clips

By
Rebecca Murray
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Bradley James in Damien
Bradley James stars in A&E’s ‘Damien’ (Photo by Jan Thijs Copyright 2016)
A&E’s season one of Damien continues with episode five titled ‘Seven Curses’ airing on April 4, 2016 at 10pm ET/PT. The fifth episode finds Damien Thorn (played by Bradley James) moving closer to accepting that everything he thought he knew about himself and his family has all been a lie. In addition to James, the cast includes Barbara Hershey as Ann Rutledge, Megalyn Echikunwoke as Simone Baptiste, Omid Abtahi as Amani Golkar, David Meunier as Detective James Shay, and Scott Wilson as John Lyons.

The ‘Seven Curses’ Plot: Damien’s surprising connection with a war veteran leads him to a very dark place.

Watch two episode five clips, courtesy of A&E:

‘Damien’ Glen Mazzara and Scott Wilson Interview: It’s Going to Get Even Darker

By
Rebecca Murray
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Scott Wilson and Bradley James in Damien
Scott Wilson and Bradley James star in A&E’s ‘Damien”’ (Photo by Ben Mark Holberg
Copyright 2016)

During our interview with Damien series creator/writer/executive producer Glen Mazzara and actor Scott Wilson, Mazzara prepared us for the upcoming episodes of the A&E horror series with the warning that the episodes are going to get much darker as season one goes on. Airing on Mondays at 10pm ET/PT, Damien is a sequel to the classic horror film The Omen and centers around Damien Thorn (played by Bradley James) who is destined to be the Antichrist. With season one heading to its midpoint, Mazzara and Wilson discussed what’s in store for the addictive series while at the 2016 WonderCon in downtown Los Angeles.

Glen Mazzara and Scott Wilson Interview:

Scott, how easy was it for you to say yes to reuniting with Glen?

Scott Wilson: “It just took the suggestion that he wanted me and then I just wouldn’t let it go.”

Is Damien in denial right now?

Glen Mazzara: “I think he’s doing two things at this point in the season. He’s in denial and he’s trying to find out what’s true, so there’s a bit of investigation. He’s looking for answers.”

Do you think he’ll be able to accept it once he figures out the answers?

Glen Mazzara: “Pretty soon in the show he starts to realize that he has to sooner or later deal with the supernatural element in his life. That’s coming up very quickly and you know it is about Damien is the Antichrist. He has the task of bringing about the apocalypse. That is the story we’re telling. I think he’s going kicking and screaming down into hell, so it’s a matter of making that journey as interesting and as complex and surprising as possible.”


What are some of the challenges of creating an anti-hero who people can root for even though he’s destined to do something horrible?

Glen Mazzara: “Well, you know, I think it’s about injecting humanity into a character that people expect to be evil. You know I think there’s a version of this in which there’s a very arch character. I think a lot of people are expecting that. We flipped that on its head. So it is a matter of people realizing that is still the story we’re telling. […]He’s starting to realize that there’s this dark energy around him that has a mind of its own, and Bradley James does a great job of injecting the humanity into the character and yet we have to make sure he’s always taking one step down that path.”

Is it hard to come up with new death scenes that are terrifying and realistic?

Glen Mazzara: “I think it’s a matter of keeping those deaths grounded so it feels like it’s something that could happen to anybody at some point. We had a sinkhole death in the first episode. A couple of miles away from where we filmed that in Toronto, some guy was in a car and he ended up in a sinkhole and they had to get him out through the sunroof. When we were filming the escalator death there was another girl in Toronto, she got her scarf caught in an escalator. She wasn’t hurt or anything. So, these things, these odd accidents do happen and I think it’s a matter of keeping those grounded instead of having a very elaborate 50 things have to line up. You just sort of keep it oddly grounded and it resonates because that escalator death, I’ll admit I was very surprised at how people responded to that. I just thought it was a good horror gag. But a lot of people were saying, ‘This is a fear of mine. I can’t believe you did this.’ My sister called and said, ‘Remember that time you got trapped on an escalator?’ I remember there was something and I got caught in one, and I seemed to have blocked that myself. That one struck a chord.”

Speaking of things that don’t always happen, you actually included a dog being killed and that doesn’t always happen in series TV. They tend to shy away from that.

Glen Mazzara: “I’ve killed dogs on screen before. I wrote an episode of The Shield in which Dutch choked a cat and then when PETA was – I think it was PETA or some group had listed us as the most violent show toward animals, this is on The Shield. I said, ‘I can’t talk to you right now because we’re shooting a scene in which I’m shooting a dog.’ So, I’ve done this before.

What’s interesting about that scene, if I could say, was we shot one of the Rottweilers and there was something about that detective that he was able to do that. So he kind of has his own story to play, which I think people kind of glossed over. And we didn’t really kill the dog, you know. [Laughing] It was a stunt dog.”

Are you getting any backlash from the Catholic Church?

Glen Mazzara: “Not that I know of. I think, to be honest, when I have spoken to press in particular, I think people are interested that we’re taking the theology and the Catholic Church seriously. You know, one of our writers her husband is a theologian and he called and said, ‘All of the stuff that you’re saying is actually what is in the Bible. This is how the Bible was written.’ So we spent a lot of time trying to get that right. I think as long as we’re respectful and we’re talking about real issues, I feel good about the material. Maybe that’s why we haven’t heard anything. But we’re taking it seriously. We’re not making fun of anybody.”

Were you given much of a backstory?

Scott Wilson: “He’s certainly a power broker. He knows the corridors of power and he’s going to try to control the situation, which is a pretty dangerous place to put yourself. Trying to control the devil seems to be a pretty dangerous thing. But it’s interesting to me to see how Damien is really the person who has more morality than anyone in the show right now. Don’t you think? So, it’s interesting. But [my character] and Ann Rutledge are two people who are trying to get involved and control the situation. It’ll be interesting to see how their relationship evolves.”

What can you say about the rest of the season?

Glen Mazzara: “It’s been interesting to put the show out there and see how people are responding to it. I feel that they’re, like I was saying with the escalator death or when some of these moments stick out, the show’s going to get darker. It gets really dark. We have some episodes coming up that I think are going to push the limit. It’ll be interesting to see how people are going to respond to it. I don’t think it ever gets gratuitous or anything but we go into some pretty dark territory. It’ll be interesting to see how the middle of the season plays because that stuff is really taking risks. And then the end of the season is just a freight train. It just races. I’m really, really proud of the finale. I think people will be pleased when they see how it all comes together and all of the questions people have about Damien I think will be answered. I’m excited for people to see it.”

But yet there’s still plenty of story for season two?

Glen Mazzara: [Laughing] “Oh yeah. He’s got a whole world to destroy. That’s complicated. That’ll take a few seasons. He might take it apart bit by bit but he’ll get there.”

Watch the full interview with Glen Mazzara and Scott Wilson on Damien season one:

‘Legends of Tomorrow’: Franz Drameh on Jax, the ’70s, and Victor Garber

By
Rebecca Murray
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Legends of Tomorrow Arthur Darvill, Franz Drameh and Dominic Purcell
Arthur Darvill as Rip Hunter, Franz Drameh as Jefferson “Jax” Jackson, and Dominic Purcell as Mick Rory as Heat Wave in ‘Legends of Tomorrow’ (Photo: Bettina Strauss © 2016 The CW Network, LLC.)

The CW’s Legends of Tomorrow star Franz Drameh (‘Jax’/’Firestorm’) promises there’s a lot of craziness to come in the final episodes of season one of the comic book-inspired series. Drameh was one of the DC’s Legends of Tomorrow cast members to make it to this year’s WonderCon in downtown Los Angeles, and in addition to participating in a Q&A with fans, Franz Drameh sat down for roundtable interviews to discuss the series which has been renewed for a second season. “There’s some very cool stuff in the Old West. We meet Jonah Hex which is crazy, which is a very fun episode,” said Drameh. “We do so much craziness I’m always like, ‘What can I say?'”

Franz Drameh Interview:

How do you think Jax has changed over the course of the season?

Franz Drameh: “I think Jax grows up quite a lot throughout the course of the season. He kind of starts to realize that the world isn’t so black and white, that there are lots of shades of grey. He kind of has to really mature and find who he is as a hero. He starts off the whole season not wanting to be a real part of the secret [group]. He’s like, ‘No, I’m not involved.’ And as the series progresses he kind of has to step up to the plate and really embrace his powers and what he’s here to do. So, yeah, he definitely matures a lot as the series comes to its conclusion.”

What has been your favorite time period to shoot in?

Franz Drameh: “I really like the ’70s just for the cool clothes and the funny clothes and the big collars and the flares and stuff. But the ’50s was cool. The future is always fun. I always like anything that’s like some future stuff. Yeah, I’d probably go with the ’70s for my favorite.”

Are there any time periods you’d like to go back to?

Franz Drameh: “I’d really like to go Medieval. I think that would be cool. That would be pretty dope. So, that’s what I’m looking for. That’s my pitch for season two. I’m like, ‘Medieval stuff, guys, come on!'”

With such a large cast do you find it’s beneficial as an actor to team up with different characters throughout the episodes?

Franz Drameh: “Yeah, it’s nice when we get to do that. You know, when you have characters who do not always necessarily interact and then they’re thrown together on a little mission, it gives me a lot of stuff to work with and find that different dynamic with the different characters and how they interact. We’re a pretty dysfunctional kind of family. We’re always kind of messing up and not doing the right thing, and at loggerheads quite a lot with different characters on the show. It’s nice getting to explore that whole kind of dynamic with the different characters that you don’t usually see together that much.”


Is there anything really interesting that you’ve learned about Jax from episode one to now? Or is there a side you’d like to explore more?

Franz Drameh: “Well, what I will tease is that we explore the whole relationship with Jax and his father. That gets explored. We kind of see a little bit more of Jax’s family life, which is interesting. We haven’t really seen that so far with Jax. I think that’s a really nice kind of side to explore and see how that affects him and why he is the way he is.”

What makes Victor Garber a good person to have to share a character with?

Franz Drameh: “He’s just so funny. He’s the funniest dude. We get on like a house on fire. We just take the piss out of each other like all day, every day. He always takes the mick out of my accent and I always imitate him. He doesn’t understand a word I say half the time.”

Because of the accent?

Franz Drameh: “Because of the accent and some of my UK slang that I’m always using. He’s like, ‘What does that even mean? Can you speak English for once?’ He’s hilarious. I love Victor.”

Is there anyone besides Victor you particularly love playing off of?

Franz Drameh: “Arthur [Darvill]. I really love it when Arthur and I have scenes. A, because he’s a Brit. It’s always good to have another fellow Brit. But he’s just a fantastic actor and every single take that he does, he switches it up. He keeps it fresh. He keeps it new. He tries new things, and I just love working with him. We’re actually really lucky that we’ve got such a great cast. Everyone is so good to work with and we all get on well, which is quite rare for everyone to get on. There’s always usually someone who’s a dick but in this one everyone’s pretty cool, which is fun.”

Watch the full interview with Franz Drameh on Legends of Tomorrow:

‘Stitchers’: Allison Scagliotti and Ritesh Rajan Interview on Season 2

By
Rebecca Murray
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Stitchers Ritesh Rajan and Allison Scagliotti
Freeform’s ‘Stitchers’ stars Ritesh Rajan as Linus and Allison Scagliotti as Camille. (Freeform/Craig Sjodin)

Allison Scagliotti has come up with a new word to describe fans of Freeform’s Stitchers. Scagliotti has dubbed them Stitchitos, a Doritos-inspired nickname. During our interview at the 2016 WonderCon in Los Angeles, Scagliotti announced the term she’s affectionately using for fans of the series but credited its creation to the lead singer of her band. Will it catch on? It’s too soon to tell, but it’s definitely catchy and kind of just rolls off your tongue. Paired up with Ritesh Rajan at WonderCon, Scagliotti and her Stitchers co-star also talked about their characters Linus and Camille and what viewers can expect from season two of the sci-fi series.

Allison Scagliotti and Ritesh Rajan Interview:

How would you describe where Linus and Camille are relationship-wise in the second season?

Allison Scagliotti: “Fractured. We don’t speak anymore.”

Ritesh Rajan: “It’s very, very ebb and flow, up and down, back and forth.”


Allison Scagliotti: “For me, it all came the fact that coming out of the finale of season one, you were dealing with a massive trauma that was way too close to home. And it made sense to me that a person like Camille would immediately gravitate to the person with the most training to make her feel safe, and that person is Fisher (played by Damon Dayoub). Does she, of course, have deep care and feelings for Linus? Absolutely. But he’s still lives at home and has been very sheltered his whole life, and Camille’s had a very different upbringing. So there’s a lack of equality in them. But, you know, there’s twists and turns. Life is messy.”

Ritesh Rajan: “There’s a lot of self-reflection for Linus, figuring out where he wants to go in terms of it’s time to become an adult. It’s time to move out and it’s time to see what’s going to happen in the future for him, both in the lab and outside the lab. I think he just takes life a little bit more seriously since this traumatic experience with Cameron. His best friend basically died so just dealing with that kind of adjustment to life.”

Allison Scagliotti: “But don’t worry – we hook up again in episode four so you can make gifs and memes out of that. It’s all going to be fine.”

In this season you’re going to be working out with boxing bag. How is that physical training?

Allison Scagliotti: “It’s awesome. It’s something that I did on my own time over hiatus between seasons and it was something that I brought to the writers because I wanted to give Camille something to do other than be at home asking Kirsten about her day and standing around with the iPad. It was kind of a happy accident that it just sort of made sense for Camille. So now I’m punching, kicking, and talking shit.”

Does she have to re-navigate her friendship with Kirsten now that Kirsten’s having emotions?

Allison Scagliotti: “Big time. Yes, she already was treading lightly because temporal dysplasia made her act strangely. And now she’s experiencing emotions for the first time in really her adult life. She’s like a person who’s been tossed scuba gear and then shoved into the water. So she’s flailing a little bit and Camille’s on the outskirts of that going, ‘Okay…’ It manifests itself in her becoming extreme and impulsive and emotional in ways that are a bit much for Camille to bear.”

Watch the full interview with Allison Scagliotti and Ritesh Rajan on Stitchers season 2:

‘The Walking Dead’ Season Six Finale Recap and Review: Last Day on Earth

By
Kevin Finnerty
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Walking Dead Season 6 Finale
Josh McDermitt, Andrew Lincoln, Sonequa Martin-Green, and Michael Cudlitz in ‘The Walking Dead’ Season 6, Episode 16 (Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC)

“Are you comfortable leaving me in charge of Alexandria’s defenses?” asks Father Gabriel (Seth Gilliam). “Yeah,” replies Rick (Andrew Lincoln) just before he leaves with Abraham (Michael Cudlitz), Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green), Eugene (Josh McDermitt), Aaron (Ross Marquand) and Carl (Chandler Riggs) to try to get Maggie (Lauren Cohan) to the doctor in the season six finale of the AMC horror drama series, The Walking Dead.

Before getting in the RV, Carl is arguing with Enid (Katelyn Nacon), telling her she can’t come and that the Saviors are out there and he won’t let happen to her what happened to Denise. Enid realizes Carl is hoping the Saviors show up because he’s looking for a fight. She refuses to be left behind and Carl seems to give in, telling her to get a few more weapons from the closet. The second Enid goes in the closet, Carl locks her in. She bangs on the door telling him to let her out but he doesn’t answer her. “What if you don’t come back? What am I supposed to do then? How am I supposed to live with that?” asks Enid. Carl replies through the door, “Just find a way to survive somehow.”

While on the road to Hilltop Rick and the gang run into another roadblock set up by the Saviors. Rick and the group, minus Maggie who’s sleeping through most of the episode, get out of the RV and face the handful of Saviors. The Saviors tell Rick his people will have to give them their stuff and they’ll still have to kill one of the Alexandria crew, but then they’ll be allowed to drive on. Rick understandably declines the offer, asking the man doing the talking if he wants today to be the last day he’s alive. He answers no but says that’s a good question and Rick should ask that about him and his group. Rick and his comrades get back into the RV and back up to go find an alternate route to Hilltop.


Meanwhile, Morgan (Lennie James) is still out looking for Carol (Melissa McBride) and comes across a small horse that he takes with him in his search. Finally, Morgan finds a seriously wounded Carol and takes her inside a house to get her patched up. Carol is not pleased that Morgan came after her and he lets her know that Rick also came out looking for her but went back to Alexandria to get ready for the Saviors attack. Morgan tells Carol to rest and he’ll check the area to make sure they’re safe for the night and at sunrise they can head back to Alexandria. Carol says she’s not going back and tells Morgan that if she’s with her people, she’ll be forced to fight and kill for them and she can’t do that anymore. Morgan refuses to leave without her and tells her that Rick and the others need and care about her.

Back on the road, Rick and his group are not having any luck getting to Hilltop. Every road they try is blocked by Saviors and they’re forced to spend much of the episode backing up the RV. They come across another roadblock made up of walkers chained together and Rick decides to have his comrades get out with him and put down the barricade of zombies so they can get by. No sooner do they begin than shots are fired at their feet by Saviors hidden in the surrounding woods. They quickly put down enough walkers so they can drive through, but not before they notice two of the walkers are dressed like Michonne and Daryl. They continue on only to find an even bigger roadblock made up of large trucks and what looks to be a small army of Saviors. So once again Rick and the gang back up and head back.

Morgan goes off to put down a walker who’s hanging from a rope and when he returns Carol is gone. So, Morgan gets on his horse and goes off looking for her again. Carol’s making her way through a deserted town when a walker attacks and almost gets the better of her in her weakened condition. Carol is finally able to put the zombie down when she is tackled by the Savior who survived the gunfight a few days earlier and has been following her ever since. He gets up and gets the draw on Carol and shoots her in the arm. He tells her he’s going to make her suffer and he’ll kill her the way she killed his friends. Carol just lies on the ground not seeming to care about her fate. She even smiles. “What’s wrong with you?” asks the Savior, annoyed that Carol isn’t showing any signs of fear. “Nothing. Nothing’s wrong with me. I’m going to be dead,” she says with a smile and a tone of relief in her voice.

Confused and irritated, the Savior begins to walk away leaving Carol lying on the ground. “You can’t just walk away!” Carol yells after him, goading the Savior into killing her and telling him he has to choose to kill her and that life isn’t going to make it happen if he walks off. Growing more angry, the Savior turns and starts walking back to Carol with his pistol pointed at her when he hears a voice telling him to stop. It’s Morgan (WHEW) who tells the Savior he can survive this if he puts down the gun and walks away. The Savior has no intention of doing that and makes as if to kill Carol. Morgan shoots him dead with the gun Rick gave him the day they parted ways. Carol asks why Morgan did that and that’s when a new voice behind Morgan asks, “What’s happening here?” Morgan turns to find two men dressed in armor, one on a horse. Morgan tells the man that he found his horse, that he also found his friend pointing to Carol. Morgan says she’s hurt and the strangers respond with an offer to help.

Back on the never-ending roadtrip, Rick is getting very concerned about Maggie’s worsening condition and tries to reassure her that he will get her to Hilltop and that this isn’t the end. “I have faith in you, Rick,” answers Maggie and Rick gets even more upset seeming not to know what their next move should be. It’s Eugene who comes up with a plan that takes some real guts. He tells Rick and the others that the Saviors are blocking the roads but not the woods. He’ll drive the RV on the roads as a decoy while Rick and the others get Maggie to Hilltop on foot through the woods at night. Rick tells Eugene that the group is lucky to have him and Eugene agrees. As Rick and the group are working their way through the woods, they hear whistling and realize some of the Saviors are nearby. They begin to move quickly through the forest and are met with bright lights from vehicles as well as a searchlight. The Saviors knew exactly where in the woods Rick and his group would end up and have been waiting for them. Rick is once again face-to-face with the man he confronted earlier in the day but now that man is surrounded by so many Saviors it’s not possible to put up a fight. The Saviors take away the Alexandrians’ weapons and tell them to get down on their knees. Rick notices Eugene is there badly beaten and down on his knees as well.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan in The Walking Dead
Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan in ‘The Walking Dead’ (Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC)

This is when Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) comes out of the captured RV and finally introduces himself to Rick and the group. He also has his men pull out Daryl (Norman Reedus), Michonne (Danai Gurira), Glenn (Steven Yeun), and Rosita (Christian Serratos) from where they’ve been holding them. “I do not appreciate you killing my men. Also, when I sent my people to kill your people for killing my people, you killed more of my people. Not cool. Not cool. You have no idea how not cool that shit is, but I think you’re going to be up to speed shortly,” threatens Negan. Negan explains the new world order and tells Rick that he doesn’t want to kill them and that he wants them to work for him – and they can’t do that if they’re dead. However, one of the group must pay the ultimate price so that Rick realizes the seriousness of the situation.

Rick tries to tell Negan to stop this, but Negan shuts down Rick by threatening to kill Carl who he’s deduced is Rick’s son. Negan keeps walking back and forth pointing Lucille, his big bat wrapped with barbwire making it a very nasty and effective weapon, at Rick and his friends. He notices how terrible Maggie is looking and says maybe they should just end her suffering right now. Glenn screams no and tries to run to stop Negan but is knocked down to the ground by one of the Saviors. Negan laughs it off and says he’ll allow that behavior once, telling Glenn and the rest he understands it’s an emotional time. He reinforces that one of them has to die for all the people he’s lost but is having a hard time deciding. “I know,” Negan says as he again points his bat at Rick. “Eeny, meeny, miny, moe…” Negan has decided to use the old children’s game to decide which one of Rick’s group he’s going to beat to death. When Negan finally chooses and swings the bat down, the viewpoint of the camera is switched to that of the victim. The audience sees Negan bring down his bat only for the screen to go dark and then whoever was hit, visioned blurred, looks up at Negan through the blood we see running down the screen. “Taking it like a champ!” laughs Negan before bringing the bat down again, hard. The screen goes black. As the screen remains dark, more hits from Negan’s bat can be heard landing on their target until finally it’s quiet.

Review of The Walking Dead Season 6 Finale

Slow and tedious, episode 16 titled “Last Day on Earth,” which honestly should have been titled “Road to Boredom,” is without a doubt the most disappointing and weakest season finale since the show debuted back in 2010. Almost the entire episode is nothing more than a set-up to introduce and finally reveal the new major villain in a scene that, despite a great performance by Jeffrey Dean Morgan, just wasn’t that impressive of a payoff after all these episodes teasing the new character. The never-ending roadblocks and psychic way Negan and his Saviors seem to know Rick and the group’s every move, even when they depart the RV and travel through the woods at night, is beyond believable. It’s downright implausible and reminiscent of so many bad horror films that have the killer always popping up at just the right time to make a kill.

With one of Rick’s group beaten to death by Negan, fans of The Walking Dead who decide to stick around after this finale will unfortunately have to wait until October when the seventh season of AMC’s horror drama starts to discover which main cast member won’t be returning.

GRADE: D

The Walking Dead Season 6 Recaps: Episode 1 “First Time Again” / Episode 2 “JSS” / Episode 3 “Thank You” / Episode 4 “Here’s Not Here” / Episode 5 “Now” / Episode 6 “Always Accountable” / Episode 7 “Heads Up” / Episode 8 “Start to Finish” / Episode 9 “No Way Out” / Episode 10 “The Next World” / Episode 11 “Knots Untie” / Episode 12 “Not Tomorrow Yet” / Episode 13 “The Same Place” / Episode 14 “Twice as Far” / Episode 15 “East”

‘iZombie’: Robert Buckley on Major’s Season 2 Twist and the Finale

By
Rebecca Murray
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Robert Buckley iZombie
‘iZombie’s Robert Buckley at WonderCon 2016 (Photo by Richard Chavez / Showbiz Junkies)

Fans of The CW’s iZombie should prepare themselves for a wild season two finale. While at the 2016 WonderCon in Los Angeles, the cast and executive producers Rob Thomas and Diane Ruggiero-Wright said this season’s final two episodes are going to be game-changers. Sitting down with Robert Buckley who plays Major Lilywhite in the zombie drama/comedy, we asked him about the season two finale and how he feels about what Major’s been up to over the course of the season.

Robert Buckley Interview:

We’ve heard the season two finale described as a crowd-pleaser. Do you feel that way?

Robert Buckley: “I feel like that’s an undersell. Like, it’s such an understatement. Yeah, entirely. I thought last week’s episode was a crowd-pleaser. I enjoyed it. My mom and dad enjoyed it. Three makes a crowd. But the finale, listen, it takes us eight business days to shoot an episode and we had to stretch to 10 days doing 14 hour days using literally every minute to get the episode. It’s huge in scope. I had heard zero feedback until just a couple of minutes ago when Rob Thomas got here and he was so giddy. He pulled me and Malcolm [Goodwin] aside and said, ‘I’ve got to tell you guys if you thought last year’s was big, this thing puts it to shame.’ He’s like, ‘By the second act, it’s like an action movie.’ It’s big. I’m still bruised.”

Is there a story you can tell behind the bruise?

Robert Buckley: “It happened from a zombie. [Glancing over his shoulder at David Anders.] That, or I tripped at craft services and hit it on a hard pretzel. Who knows?”


How much do enjoy the action scenes?

Robert Buckley: “A ton. I’m very much an eight-year-old at heart so any time I hear that, like the season one finale where there’s this huge shoot-out and Major gets a shotgun and a grenade, I was elated. And then this year, there’s been some fun action to do and the finale doesn’t stop. It’s wall-to-wall. We got to do a lot of roughhousing.”

Did you anticipate Major’s arc for this season because he’s really changed from season one to season two?

Robert Buckley: “No, I didn’t. And I was actually kept in the dark to a pretty good degree actually in terms of what all was happening. I knew in a very, very broad stroke basically just that Major wasn’t killing these people. But that’s sort of kind of almost implicitly you understand that because it goes against his code at his very most being. And if that’s the case, then we’ve completely changed the character because that is his whole thing is that that’s not what he would do.

So, outside of that I didn’t know was he freezing them, what was happening. But I like it because to me watching a happy person have things go their way is pretty boring television. We don’t watch reality shows because people are making good choices and not yelling at their friends, you know? So I liked when I heard where they were going with it. My only thing is I was curious how long it would take before the internet starts to turn because it was a while before there was that reveal. It looked like he was killing people and tearing these families apart so I was curious to see if the sort of love affair with, ‘Oh, sweet Major,’ is going to go away.”

Did you have to defend him a lot online?

Robert Buckley: “No, because I really couldn’t without like really, really kind of tipping my hand. It would be like, ‘Hey, just trust me guys. It’s not as bad as you think.’ It’s like, ‘Okay, they’re obviously not dead.'”

Would you say the finale is a game-changer in the way you’re going to tell the stories moving forward? Are you going to move away from the procedurals?

Robert Buckley: “That’s a great question and I really can’t give you a very informed answer because I don’t know what they have in store. But going off of the script, it’s a game-changer certainly in several ways. In the procedural aspect, I don’t know if it’s going to be a game-changer there. But in the relations between the characters and the dynamics of those relationships, absolutely. Big changes.”

How relieved were you to get the third season?

Robert Buckley: “Huge. It’s such a gift. First of all, employment’s great. But that’s not it at all. This show is so much fun to work on and our writers room is our greatest strength so I can’t wait to see what they come up with, especially after the place we’re left at the end of the second season. I can’t wait to see how they decide to make a world out of that and what that world looks like.

I think you can kind of see in the group dynamic that everyone enjoys each other’s company. We have a really, really great crew. I know it sounds so cliché but I’ve always said I love acting because I’m my favorite version of myself when I’m on set. I like being around creative people. I’m just very happy. And on this set in particular, there’s no bad apple. Everyone is just very grateful and happy to be there. We’re very, very fortunate to have this job, so I was beyond excited. And the fact I wasn’t fired because that was immediately my first question. I’m not even going to lie. I’m like, ‘We got it? That’s great. I’m still around, right?’ I was very happy to hear that.”

How safe is everyone?

Robert Buckley: “We’re getting a little Game of Thrones-y here. You know, I probably shouldn’t say it but at least one player in this is not going to make it out of season two. That’s about as much as I [can say]. I’m not going to say which group I’m referring to, but someone in the mix is going down.”

Watch the full interview with Robert Buckle on iZombie season 2:

‘Shadowhunters’ Emeraude Toubia, Alberto Rosende Interview: Playing Izzy and Simon

By
Rebecca Murray
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Shadowhunters' Alberto Rosende and Emeraude Toubia at WonderCon
Alberto Rosende and Emeraude Toubia from ‘Shadowhunters’ at WonderCon (Photo © Richard Chavez / Showbiz Junkies)

The cast of Freeform’s Shadowhunters was a big draw at the 2016 WonderCon held for the first time in downtown Los Angeles. Series stars Katherine McNamara (Clary Fray), Dominic Sherwood (Jace Wayland), Alberto Rosende (Simon), Emeraude Toubia (Isabelle Lightwood), Matthew Daddario (Alec Lightwood), Isaiah Mustafa (Luke Garroway), and Harry Shum Jr. (Magnus Bane) participated in a lively Q&A with fans and also took part in roundtable interviews to discuss the popular series which has earned a season two renewal. Shadowhunters is based on Cassandra Clare’s bestselling The Mortal Instruments and in our interview with Alberto Rosende and Emeraude Toubia, they talked about meeting with the author and how they’ve approached the roles of Simon and Isabelle.

Alberto Rosende and Emeraude Toubia Interview:

How difficult is it to do the action scenes in high heels and tight costumes?

Emeraude Toubia: “I don’t really think about it when I have them on because if I start to think about it, it’s really going to mess with my mind. Like, ‘I can’t do this,’ and, ‘I can’t do that.’ But I just get into character and Izzy can do anything and everything, so that’s what I do. I don’t think about how much my feet hurt. I don’t think about how uncomfortable it is. I just think about doing it because I know how much fans love this character. She’s kind of like a superhero. She has special powers and she has to do it. She does what she has to do.”

There’s a weight on your shoulders taking on characters that fans love and feel like they know. How does that feel as an actor taking that on?

Alberto Rosende: “I know at first we were all felt the pressure of coming into a series that had such an established fandom and had such an established world. Already an incarnation of each of our characters have happened in a movie, but we couldn’t really concern ourselves with what the masses wanted because then we would lose what we really needed to look for and that was finding each of those characters within ourselves. And that was the best we could do, and hopefully that was going to be good enough. And, thankfully, it seems as though the fans seem very supportive of our choices and who we’ve brought to the screen. We feel really lucky that because of the fans, we got a season two.”

Emeraude Toubia: “I love the fact that the fans from the books – they don’t know what’s going to happen next so they’re intrigued about everything that’s happening. I love that. It’s like going on an adventure with your favorite characters in an alternate universe. I think it’s so cool. And as a fan of Star Wars or all these things, I love to see all these different things that happen with my favorite characters.”


There was a great episode with the alternate universe. Can you talk about filming that?

Alberto Rosende: “For Simon, I kept Simon the same. I made him more confident. It was interesting to be in a world where Simon’s first preoccupation wasn’t Clary. But other than that I wanted to make it known that Simon’s the same guy no matter what world he’s in.”

Emeraude Toubia: “Izzy changed a bit. She’s still intelligent. She still knows what she wants, but let’s just say she doesn’t know how to fight as well. She has a black eye. I love the fact that she gets nervous around Simon. In the real world it’s the other way around. It’s the opposite. It seemed like fans liked this universe. I loved it so I hope we get to see more of this universe.”

Have they given you a heads up about season two as far as what you can expect?

Alberto Rosende: “At this point we’re on the same side as the fans. We’re like, ‘All right, come on – tell us! Come on, we need to know what we’re doing.’ But we know that it’s going to be very exciting. The way that they want to build the story, it seems like they’re really going to open it up and have a lot of fun. That’s what we’re here for. I’m excited.”

Open it up as in…?

Alberto Rosende: “As a book fan we know that the second book…everything leads up to the third book, right? And then it starts over again in the fourth through sixth. So we’ve kind of started that trajectory and then in the end of the season which you’ll see, really kind of to me ramps it up. And then I’m really excited to see where they take us in season two because of where we go. It’s very exciting.”

What’s been your favorite fan reaction?

Alberto Rosende: “When Emeraude and I both were announced, I received a Facebook message from a girl from Argentina who wrote me a long thing how she’d always dreamed of being an actress and how for the first time in her life she feels like her dreams could come true because she saw Emeraude and I – Latin people – get roles that were written for Americans. And it was the first time that it didn’t say, ‘Izzy: Latina, this and this.’ It didn’t define her; it was just part of who she was. And the same thing with Simon. That was the best part to know that because of us other kids feel that their dreams are now able to be accomplished.”

Emeraude Toubia: “And especially right now with everything that’s going on with the Latinos and what people are talking about, I think it’s a huge responsibility to do a great job. To be good role models and to leave the door open for people that want to continue the acting path or any other career that they want to accomplish.”

Alberto Rosende: “Through hard work in anything, you can do it.”

Emeraude Toubia: “Hard work, dedication, passion, preparing yourself.”

It must have been really touching to receive that message.

Alberto Rosende: “Oh, I cried. Yeah, I mean, I never understood that. I think that was the first time I got the glimpse of the responsibility we now have. I had just come out of school and social media wasn’t a thing for me, and to have that and know that, ‘Oh my goodness, this many people are going to look to me as someone to say what do I do in this situation? What did he do? What do I say or how do I feel? How do I go about becoming an adult?’ We’re all still learning, you know? Just as I have people to look up to, hopefully I can be the same for people after me. They can then take on the torch as is their job when they get there.”

Were you both able to talk to Cassandra Clare?

Emeraude Toubia: “Yes. I was the first person she met on set!”

Alberto Rosende: “I was the third.”

Was there anything in particular she told you that really helped you get into your characters?

Emeraude Toubia: “What I love about Cassandra is that she never came in and told us anything. She just wanted to meet us, wanted to thank us, and basically left the door open for us to ask anything. She never came in and said, ‘You’re Izzy and you’re going to have to do this.’ No.”

Alberto Rosende: “She gave us her baby, essentially. She was like, ‘Hey, look, I made this for you guys but this is yours now.'”

Emeraude Toubia: “She did say, ‘Anything you guys need I’m here.’ So she basically was just very motherly to us. I think we’re like her babies.”

Alberto Rosende: “It’s very cool. Also, like I was watching her…we all went to dinner when she was in town. I looked at her and I saw her while we were all talking, she looked at every character and I saw her like nod. She looked at Dom [Sherwood] and she’s like, ‘That’s Jace.’ She looked at Emeraude and she’s like, ‘That’s Izzy.’ You could tell that there was a part of her that was sad to let go but also part that was proud of the people that she was trusting with her story. We take that responsibility very seriously.”

Emeraude Toubia: “It’s really nice, I’m assuming for her, that so many people love her books and they love her characters and she can continue growing her stories and making more. How many books does she have now? Eight or nine?”

Alberto Rosende: “As a fan you know you get sucked in. Like, I want to read this next series. Lady Midnight, I got it early and I was so happy.”

The scene where you realize you’re turning into a vampire is so moving. How did you approach that?

Alberto Rosende: “At that moment I’m glad I read the books because I feel like I wouldn’t have understood Simon. The hardest thing for him that we see in book two is when he can no longer say the name of God and he wants to pray but he can’t. Remember that? To me, that was that moment in the graveyard where he lost everything that he used to be. So it was the loss of innocence, essentially. It was that first moment where you realize, ‘Oh, I’m in this alone,’ and it’s a very scary place. I feel like some people go through it in a different way, but Simon unfortunately got it in a way where his life was changed completely. It was very hard.”

Watch the full interview with Alberto Rosende and Emeraude Toubia on Shadowhunters:

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