Freeform’s announced that production is officially underway on the new series Dead of Summer from Once Upon a Time series creators Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis. Horowitz, Kitsis, Ian Goldberg (Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior) and Steve Pearlman are on board to executive produce the series. Horowitz, Kitsis, and Goldberg are also the writers, and in addition Horowitz is directing episode one.
Filming’s now taking place in Vancouver on the original series starring Once Upon a Time‘s Elizabeth Mitchell and Elizabeth Lail. The cast also includes Zelda Williams (Teen Wolf), Mark Indelicato (Ugly Betty), Alberto Frezza (Charlie’s Angels), Eli Goree (The 100), Ronen Rubinstein (Orange Is the New Black), Amber Coney (Class), and Paulina Singer (Gotham).
The Dead of Summer Plot: Set in the late 1980s, school is out for the summer, and a sun-drenched season of firsts beckons the counselors at Camp Stillwater, a seemingly idyllic Midwestern summer camp, including first loves, first kisses—and first kills. Stillwater’s dark, ancient mythology awakens, and what was supposed to be a summer of fun soon turns into one of unforgettable scares and evil at every turn.
Mitchell will be playing “Deb,” the new owner of Camp Clearwater. Once a camper herself, Deb has her heart set on bringing back the magic of the summer camp she loved. She exudes authority while simultaneously presenting a warm and welcoming vibe. Behind closed doors however, Deb seems to value her control over the camp for a much darker reason.
Lail will be portraying “Amy,” a clever but nervous camp counselor who is new to Camp Clearwater. Amy is not unfamiliar with being the new girl in social situations and the pitfalls that come with it, so she tries hard to fit in with the already bonded counselors. As the others reminisce about their past summers at camp, Amy is the first to discover clues that something disturbing is going on at Camp Clearwater.
Rick Shroder, Dolly Parton, Alyvia Lind, and Jennifer Nettles (Photo by: Chris Haston / NBCUniversal)
Dolly Parton and Katy Perry will be performing a duet during the 51st Academy of Country Music Awards set for April 3, 2016. The Country music awards show marks the first time Parton, who is also this year’s Tex Ritter Award honoree, and Perry will perform live together. Per ACM, the Tex Ritter Award is given in recognition of a movie that features (or utilizes) Country music, and Parton is receiving the award for her television movie Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colors. Previous winners have included Beer For My Horses, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Country Strong, Crazy Heart, O Brother, Where Art Thou, Sweet Dreams, and Walk the Line.
NBC aired Parton’s critically acclaimed film in 2015, with 16 million viewers tuning in to watch the inspirational tale. Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colors was based on Parton’s life and featured Alyvia Alyn Lind as Dolly at age nine. Jennifer Nettles played Dolly’s mother, Ricky Schroder was Dolly’s father, and Gerald McRaney played Dolly’s grandfather.
Luke Bryan and Dierks Bentley will be co-hosting this year’s Academy Of Country Music Awards and CBS will be airing the broadcast live beginning at 8pm ET (tape-delayed on the West Coast). In addition to Parton and Perry, confirmed performers include Jason Aldean, Kelsea Ballerini, Dierks Bentley, Luke Bryan, Cam, Kenny Chesney, Eric Church, Brett Eldredge, Sam Hunt, Tim McGraw, Thomas Rhett, Chris Stapleton, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, Chris Young with Cassadee Pope and Florida Georgia Line.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus in season five of ‘Veep’ (Photo: Lacey Terrell / HBO)
HBO has released the full trailer for the comedy series Veep‘s fifth season. Julia Louis-Dreyfus returns as now-President Selina Meyer alongside Tony Hale, Anna Chlumsky, Reid Scott, Matt Walsh, Timothy C. Simons, Sufe Bradshaw, Kevin Dunn, Gary Cole, Sam Richardson, and Hugh Laurie. Season five will consist of 10 new half-hour episodes which will kick off on April 24, 2016 at 10:00pm ET/PT immediately after the return of Game of Thrones with the maybe-he-is/maybe-he-isn’t dead Jon Snow (Kit Harington).
Merritt Wever as Dr. Denise Cloyd, Christian Serratos as Rosita Espinosa, and Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon in ‘The Walking Dead’ Season 6, Episode 14 (Photo by Gene Page/AMC)
“Hey, the ones who took you and Maggie…what did they do to you?” asks Daryl (Norman Reedus). “To us, they didn’t do anything to us,” answers Carol (Melissa McBride) as episode 14 of the sixth season of AMC’s horror/drama series The Walking Dead begins.
Life in Alexandria is getting back to normal – or what amounts to normal in a zombie apocalypse. The pantry is full of food, Morgan (Lennie James) has finished building a jail which he tells Rick (Andrew Lincoln) will give them options for next time. Rosita (Christian Serratos) has taken to spending her nights in Spencer’s bed trying to bury the pain she feels over Abraham (Michael Cudlitz) walking out on her.
One day during this quiet period, Denise (Merritt Wever) asks Daryl and Rosita to go on a run with her. It seems when she was on the road before she first got to Alexandria, she saw a strip mall not too far away that had an apothecary which should have a pharmacy and medicine. Daryl tells her that he’ll go but Denise is insistent that it’s her idea and she’ll go alone if she has too. So, off the three go on a pharmacy run.
Abraham and Eugene (Josh McDermitt) are off on an adventure of their own. The two men arrive at an abandoned workshop with Abraham asking Eugene what they’re doing here and Eugene telling him that he believes he can make bullets for everyone at Alexandria. Abraham is impressed with what he calls Eugene’s “outside the box thinking” and as they start talking about informing Rick and focusing on what bullets they should make, Abraham notices a walker coming up behind Eugene. He tells Eugene he’ll take care of it but Eugene calls dibs, eager to show Abraham he’s ready and able to kill walkers. Eugene backs off to let Eugene to take down the walker which ends up turning into a death struggle between zombie and Eugene. Abraham steps in and puts the walker down which upsets Eugene and causes the two men to start insulting each other like a pair of teenagers. The verbal battle concludes with Eugene telling Abraham he’s no longer needed to keep Eugene alive. Abraham leaves Eugene alone in the workshop telling him to find his own damn way home.
Daryl, Denise, and Rosita are driving along in an old beat-up pick-up truck when they come to a downed tree roadblock. With no way to go around it with the truck, the trio set off on foot. Rosita and Denise want to follow the railroad tracks saying it should be faster, but Daryl says he’s going to stick to the road. Denise follows Daryl telling Rosita they shouldn’t split up, but Rosita keeps following the tracks. Daryl and Denise get to the strip mall with Rosita waiting for them, greeting them with, “About time.” Denise tells Rosita that she wasn’t choosing Daryl over her, which seems to fall on deaf ears. The unlikely trio make it to the apothecary and break in, looking for the pharmacy. It’s locked up but they’re able to break in, finding the shelves pretty much fully stocked. Daryl and Rosita start packing up all the drugs when they hear a noise coming from a backroom. “Sounds trapped,” says Daryl as he and Rosita continue to pack up the drugs. Denise goes to investigate and finds some children’s toys, other supplies, and a decomposed walker with a cast on its leg lying on the floor. On the walls the words “Hush” are written over and over, and Denise discovers blood and a baby’s shoe. Sickened by the sight, Denise rushes outside to wait for Daryl and Rosita to finish.
Josh McDermitt as Dr. Eugene Porter, Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon, Christian Serratos as Rosita Espinosa, and Austin Amelio as Dwight in ‘ The Walking Dead’ Season 6, Episode 14 (Photo by Gene Page/AMC)
When Daryl and Rosita meet with Denise back outside they can see she’s upset about whatever she saw and Rosita tells her they tried to tell her she wasn’t ready for this. The bonding trio head back to Alexandria but this time Daryl is up for following the train tracks back to town. On their way back Denise sees a station wagon with a walker trapped inside seated next to a cooler. She tells Daryl and Rosita there might be something in the cooler they can use but Daryl tells Denise it’s not worth the trouble. Denise, for some silly reason, feels the need to get the cooler and deal with the walker. She opens the passenger-side door of the car and tries to pull out the cooler but the walker hangs onto it and ends up on top of Denise. Daryl and Rosita rush to help her but she says she’s got it and kills the zombie. Daryl and Rosita are a bit upset with Denise and begin yelling at her about being stupid and that she risked her life for some sodas. Denise finally admits, rather loudly, to Daryl and Rosita what this trip was really all about. She invited Daryl along because he reminds her of her dead twin older brother and she feels safe with him. She invited Rosita along because for the first time in a long time Rosita is alone. Both of them give her hope because they are stronger than they know and good people. Denise is in the middle of telling Daryl and Rosita they need to wake up when she is shot in the back of the head and through the eye with an arrow. She collapses, dead, as Daryl and Rosita raise their weapons to quickly see they are outnumbered by men coming out of the woods with automatic weapons and Eugene as a prisoner. Daryl recognizes the leader of the men…it’s Dwight who stole Daryl’s crossbow and motorcycle back in episode six.
Dwight, horribly scarred on the left side of his face, tells Rosita and Daryl – who he admits he was actually aiming for with the crossbow but missed – that he wants them to let him and his group into Alexandria. If they don’t, he will kill all three of them. Eugene, who is down on his knees with his hands tied behind his back, tells Dwight if he is so anxious to kill someone that he should kill their friend hiding behind a stack of barrels over to the side. Dwight signals for two of his men to go investigate and as everyone, including Dwight, are looking that way, Eugene turns and bites Dwight hard in his private area and doesn’t let go. Daryl and Rosita quickly pick up the weapons they were forced to drop and start firing into Dwight’s men. Eugene won’t release Dwight who’s screaming in agony and falling to the ground. Abraham fires from the woods into the men who were approaching the barrels. Eugene saw him earlier behind the barrels, giving him the idea for the distraction. Eugene is finally forced to release Dwight when he gets shot but it’s not a deadly wound. Dwight yells for his men to retreat back into the woods and he follows after them but not before taking a few shots at Daryl who he clearly hates and blames for all his misfortune. Daryl grabs his old crossbow and begins to go after Dwight but Rosita calls him back to help with Eugene. Rosita, Abraham, and Daryl carry the unconscious Eugene back to town.
Back at Alexandria, Eugene is recovering partly thanks to the medicine Denise had Daryl and Rosita get. Abraham and Eugene apologize to each other and reaffirm their friendship. After making sure Eugene’s okay, Abraham goes to see Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green) and she invites him into her house, which seems to indicate the beginning of a new relationship between the two of them. Meanwhile, Carol helps Daryl bury Denise.
Speaking of Carol, one Alexandrian is not staying in town. Carol leaves a note for Tobin (Jason Douglas) telling him that she never meant to hurt him but this is the way it has to be. She writes that they have it good at Alexandria and that once they get past this threat of the Saviors, there will be another because people will always want what they have. Carol’s letter goes on to say she loves her people but she isn’t willing to kill anymore. She can’t love anyone because if she does she’ll have to kill to protect them and she just can’t do it anymore. Her note ends asking Tobin and the rest not to come looking for her.
The Walking Dead Season 6 Episode 14 Review
Slowly paced with not one but two road stories about two supporting characters trying to prove something to themselves as well as to the people they care about, episode 14 titled “Twice as Far” is a forgettable, almost uneventful, installment of the horror/drama series until the quick but not surprising death of Denise. The episode has many – in fact, too many – moments reminiscent of under par horror movies trying to build up suspense and tension, with both Eugene and Denise making foolish and stupid decisions out in an apocalyptic world where one wrong turn can mean certain doom. The most interesting part of the episode is in the beginning and end when it focuses on Carol and the inner battle she’s dealing with after realizing she can’t kill anymore and is struggling to try to save her humanity from disappearing.
The reintroduction of Dwight, who seems to now be a member of the Saviors, is anti-climactic and uninteresting. He was a boring, at times annoying character in episode six and remains that way in this episode. Making one side of his face scarred doesn’t make him any more intriguing or menacing as a villain.
With Carol leaving Tobin, Daryl, and the rest of her people in Alexandria to be on her own and the Saviors with their leader Negan soon to make an arrival at the town, will Rick just let Carol go? Will Daryl go out on his own to look for her? Here’s hoping this is not the end of Carol’s story on The Walking Dead.
Robert Carlyle, Rachel Shelley, and Aaron Douglas in ‘Once Upon a Time’ (Photo by Jack Rowand / ABC)ABC’s Once Upon a Time season five episode 14 lived up to its title, ‘Devil’s Due,’ with the ruler of hell getting the upper-hand on The Dark One just when it appeared Rumple had everything he desired. Episode 14 also found our favorite pirate captain still unwilling to betray his friends even when told he would die in their place if he didn’t cave in to Hades’ demands. The episode left Regina, Snow, Charming, Robin, and even Emma to a lessor degree, to play supporting roles as the action concentrated on Rumple and his ex-wife, Milah, filling in more of Rumple’s backstory.
The Recap:
Hook (Colin O’Donoghue) refuses to choose three of his friends to stay with Hades (Greg Germann) and Hades is disappointed…and angry. Very angry. He sends Hook off to solitary confinement down the River of Lost Souls, a river that if Hook so much as touches will cause him to be lost forever.
Rumple (Robert Carlyle) goes back to his shop and finds a note from his dear old dad telling him the shop is his once again. Pan’s note says that if Rumple uses what’s in the case, they can all be a family again. Rumple gets an eyeball, drops it into a potion, and holds a crystal ball over the steam, asking it to show him Belle. He sees her back in Storybrooke and she’s having dinner. Apparently Rumple misses her so much that he drops the crystal ball, shattering it into a million pieces, and putting an end to his ability to spy on Belle.
At the Charmings’ house, the gang is preparing arrows when Rumple comes in and basically tells them they have a stupid plan. His plan is to go in alone with Emma (Jennifer Morrison) because he thinks alone they can actually get in, get Hook, and go home – and he says he needs to get back to Belle. In order for Rumple’s plan to work, he has to have the aura of a dead person to get into hell.
Flashback to Rumple and his wife, Milah, and a young Baelfire. As his parents fight, Baelfire wanders off to play and a poisonous snake bites him. He’s in bad shape and sure to die if they don’t get help fast.
Rumple locates Milah in evil Storybrooke where she’s busy helping kids cross the street. She’s shocked to see him and he tells her he’s not dead, just visiting. She’s not at all happy that he’s reentered her life but she’s intrigued when he says he has a romantic adventure for her, a chance to save the man she once loved: Killian Jones. He needs her help to retrieve Killian so they can all go home, and he’ll let her have the honor of actually saving Killian if she helps out.
Hook drifts down the river to a platform where he’s strung up by Hades and suspended over the flowing waters. Hades is pissed because Hook and his colleagues brought hope into the Underworld and Hades can’t have that. As Hook is slowly lowered toward the river, Hades says he’s going to hurt him and then collect his friends and hurt them. No one will be left to save Hook, so says Hades.
Emma meets up with Hook and Milah – Hook’s ex and Gold’s ex and Baelfire’s mom. Milah says, “You’ve been with my former lover and my son? Is that right?” It’s awkward, but Rumple says they have to make it work.
Regina (Lana Parrilla) heads to the diner where she meets up with Cruella. She needs to find the graveyard and Cruella figures out Regina can’t use her magic.
Emma, Gold, and Milah go to Emma’s old house where, strangely enough, the Gates of Hell are located through the basement door. They join hands and head through the door with Milah the Dead in the lead.
Back in time, Milah and Rumple meet up with Frederick the Healer. They need the antidote to the snake bite but the healer tells them the only way to save Baelfire is to use a potion which costs 100 pieces of gold. They don’t have the money and they leave, with Milah telling Rumple he has to go back and kill the healer in order to get the potion.
Emma, Rumple, and Milah have made it through the door and are in hell which means they’re done with Milah. Before she leaves, Emma tells her about the vision she had of Baelfire and that he’s moved on and is happy. He’s resolved what he needed to and is in a better place. Milah’s grateful for the information and volunteers to stay with them to help free Killian.
Cruella and Regina are chatting about how things work in “Underbrooke,” and Cruella has a map to the cemetery plots, explaining there are different meanings to each of the positions of the headstones.
Rumple, Milah, and Emma head down the River of Lost Souls (not the best CG water effects, I must say), but Rumple won’t exit the boat, insisting instead that he has to stay with it in order to protect their ride out of hell. Milah doesn’t trust him and stays back, too, just to make sure the boat will be there for Emma and Hook.
Back in Fairy Tale Land, Milah is trying to convince Rumple to use a dagger and kill the healer. She needs him to do something brave for once to save their son. Rumple agrees, reluctantly, and leaves the tavern to take care of the healer. Just then a drunk bumps into Milah and Killian saves her, introducing himself as Captain Killian Jones. He kisses her hand and she quickly figures out that he’s a pirate. Killian, looking extremely sexy, immediately charms her. He tells her about faraway cities and asks her if she’d like to go with him. She would love it but she has responsibilities – her child, her husband. At the word “husband,” Killian gives up but not before telling her he’s in port a lot if she ever changes her mind.
In hell, Killian’s suspended over the river when Emma runs in and screams his name. She has to cross a beam to get to him and as she gets closer, he gets closer to the water. She reaches him just in time and he tells her she shouldn’t be there. “You’re impossible,” he says. “And you love me for it,” Emma replies. Awww.
Back on the boat, Milah asks Rumple about his marriage and he asks her about her unfinished business. He thinks it was Killian but she says it was Baelfire and that she should have been there for him. Instead, she punished him because she hated his father. She thinks if she can do something generous, she can move on and see him again. She wants to be able to apologize for everything, and Rumple says he knows Baelfire will forgive her because Baelfire forgave him for everything. He asks that if she does see him again, he tell Baelfire hello from his dad.
Back in Fairy Tale Land, Rumple attempts to steal the potion while the healer sleeps but he makes too much noise. The healer wakes, Rumple pulls the knife on him but can’t actually go through with the act of killing him. The healer says he knows Rumple can’t kill him and asks how much his son means to him. Rumple replies, “Everything.” The healer says there’s a terrible price to pay for the potion and it’s not a price to be paid in gold, and Rumple agrees to trade anything to save his son’s life.
Rumple and Milah are still waiting at the boat when Hades appears. Rumple pulls out his dagger and Hades says he’s there to talk about a deal.
Regina and Snow (Ginnifer Goodwin) wander through the graveyard until they a headstone marked Daniel Colter. The headstone is stamped and flat, which means he’s not in the Underworld. He’s moved on and is somewhere peaceful, and Regina’s happy he’s somewhere better but sad she won’t get to see him since he was her first love. She just needed to know he’s okay.
Hades pours Rumple a glass of wine, telling him he’s quite the worthy rival – and then corrects that to ‘supplier’. He needs Rumple back up there doing his thing while the Storybrooke gang stays down in hell with Hades forever. If Rumple doesn’t sink the boat they came in on, then he’ll kill them all. If he does sink the boat, then Rumple can go home and be with Belle right away.
Back in Fairy Tale Land, Rumple brings home the potion, gives it to Baelfire, and explains what happened back at the healer’s. The deal is the healer wanted Rumple’s second-born child which they don’t have and Rumple says they never have to have. Milah’s upset that Rumple sold their future without consulting her and just then Baelfire wakes up and is fine but sleepy. Milah thanks Rumple for deciding her life for her, leaving the house and telling him she’s going to the tavern.
Rumple destroys the boat and says to Milah, “Congratulations, dearie. I’ve finally become the man you always wanted me to be. The one who takes what he needs.” He sends Milah to her death by tossing her into the river. Just then Emma and Hook appear, and Rumple makes up a story that Hades did it and killed Milah. Hook, surprised Milah was there helping them with the rescue attempt, says, “Hades has much to answer for.”
Regina and Snow walk through the center of town and hear a horse, then they see the poor thing lying hurt on the ground. It can’t stand up and Regina uses her magic to help it. Snow’s impressed Regina’s magic works and Regina says, “I’m back.”
Rumple, Hook, and Emma are back safely in the Charming house, although unfortunately without Milah. Hook says he should kill Rumple for what he did back in Storybrooke but because he helped get them out of hell, they’re even for now. Regina’s got her magic back and thinks they can do the Emma heart-split thing to get them back home, but it doesn’t work. The next scene finds the group standing in the cemetery with Hook explaining that Hades wanted him to pick three friends to stay behind. He wouldn’t but now it looks like Hades did the picking himself, carving Snow White, Regina Mills, and Emma Swan on headstones. They’re stuck there and now they can’t use Emma’s heart to return to Storybrooke.
Back in Fairy Tale Land, Rumpelstiltskin visits with the healer and the healer recognizes The Dark One from all those years ago. He still owes him a child and in order to get rid of the debt The Dark One takes the healer’s heart.
Rumple returns to hell to get Hades to send him home since he held up his part of the deal by destroying the boat and killing Milah. But not so fast says Hades, telling Rumple things have changed and he’s not sending him home today because Rumple tried to hide a crystal ball he was using to look at Belle. Hades put it back together and figured out why the image of his wife affected him so strongly. Rumple wasn’t trying to conjure Belle, he was trying to figure out where Baelfire went. Rumple asked the crystal ball to show him his child, and it turns out the crystal ball revealed Belle’s pregnant (but she doesn’t know it). Hades knows about the contract and tells Rumple the healer’s death did not nullify it. Hades has had the contract signed over to him by the healer, so now he owns Rumple’s second child. Because he can cash in the debt at any time and take the baby, Hades has forced Rumple into working for him and apparently he’s in need of a service only Rumple can provide.
The Bottom Line:
It’s great to have Hook back in the fold as a member of the gang of heroes stuck in the Underworld. Fans have missed his contribution to the story and have missed his interactions with Emma and Regina in particular. Episode 14 found Rumple forced into admitting Hades has the upper-hand after learning Belle’s going to have a baby, establishing a continuing relationship between The Dark One and the ruler of hell. And overall the episode did a decent job of moving everything along, although the moment Emma actually physically saved Hook seemed almost anti-climatic given all the build up. Still, season five episode 14 performed as it needed to in order to reunite the Storybrooke group and confirm Rumple’s still only ever considered with his own interests. It wasn’t one of the season’s best, but it was one of the season’s more important episodes, revealing much about Rumple while leaving the Storybrooke gang still in need of a way out of the Underworld.
Blake Lively (The Age of Adalind) plays a woman terrorized by a shark in the thriller The Shallows, with the first trailer and poster arriving just in time to convince people to stay out of the ocean as the weather heats up. Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra (Orphan, Non-Stop) from a script by Anthony Jaswinski, the cast of the stranded-close-to-shore thriller also includes Óscar Jaenada. Sony Pictures is releasing The Shallows in theaters on June 24, 2016.
The Plot: In the thriller The Shallows, Nancy (Blake Lively) is surfing alone on a secluded beach when she is attacked by a great white shark and stranded just a short distance from shore. Though she is only 200 yards from her survival, getting there proves the ultimate contest of wills. It’s Jaws for a new generation.
Shailene Woodley as Tris in ‘The Divergent Series: Allegiant’ (Photo Credit: Lionsgate)
Lionsgate executives opted to follow in the footsteps of other young adult adaptations, splitting the final book of the Divergent franchise into two films which, in hindsight, looks like the wrong decision. Given Allegiant – Part 1‘s box office take, it was probably wiser to finish up the film franchise and move on. The final book in Veronica Roth’s Divergent franchise was the least well received by fans of the series, and The Divergent Series: Allegiant – Part 1 claimed the smallest opening weekend of the films. Allegiant‘s domestic box office take was off 44% from the second film of the series, ringing up just $29 million compared to Insurgent‘s $52.2 million. Divergent posted the top domestic opening weekend of the franchise, kicking off the film series starring Shailene Woodley and Theo James with a $54 million weekend in 2014.
Allegiant‘s lower-than-expected box office numbers left the #1 spot open for Zootopia to repeat. Domestically, Disney’s critically acclaimed animated comedy has now collected $201.8 million. Overall, Zootopia‘s box office total is hovering near $592 million.
Allegiant – Part 1 Plot: After the earth-shattering revelations of Insurgent, Tris must escape with Four and go beyond the wall enclosing Chicago. For the first time ever, they will leave the only city and family they have ever known. Once outside, old discoveries are quickly rendered meaningless with the revelation of shocking new truths. Tris and Four must quickly decide who they can trust as a ruthless battle ignites beyond the walls of Chicago which threatens all of humanity. In order to survive, Tris will be forced to make impossible choices about courage, allegiance, sacrifice and love.
Stephen Moyer, Helen Hunt and Richard Dreyfuss to star in ‘Shots Fired’ (Photos Courtesy of Fox)
Fox announced Stephen Moyer (True Blood, The Bastard Executioner), Helen Hunt (Mad About You), and Richard Dreyfuss (Madoff) have signed on to star in Shots Fired, an event series set to air later this year. The threesome join previously announced cast members Sanaa Lathan and Stephan James in the drama series from co-writers and executive producers Gina Prince-Bythewood and Reggie Rock Bythewood.
Gina Prince-Bythewood is also directing, and Brian Grazer and Francie Calfo are on board as executive producers.
Per Fox’s official announcement, Hunt is signed on through season one.
Details on Shots Fired, Courtesy of Fox:Shots Fired stars Sanaa Lathan as an expert investigator who digs into the cases, alongside Stephan James as a special prosecutor sent to the town by the Department of Justice. The pair must navigate the media attention, public debate and the social unrest that comes with such volatile cases, as they seek justice before the divided town erupts.
The two are drawn into further political intrigue when they find their investigation manipulated by the politically fierce Governor Eamons (Hunt), who prides herself on not being a typical politician. As the first female and Democrat governor in the state, she is in a tough re-election fight, and the national media attention on the recent shootings in her state is making it tougher.
Dreyfuss will play Arlen Cox, a real estate mogul and owner of a privatized prison who is intricately involved in the shootings. Moyer will play Officer Breeland, a seasoned veteran in the town’s Sheriff’s Department, who gets caught in the middle of the investigation. Aisha Hinds will play Pastor Janae James, an activist who is seduced by the spotlight. Tristan Wilds will play Officer Belk, who finds himself under investigation for a shooting, and tries to protect his family from the spotlight.
David Schwimmer and Jim Sturgess in ‘Feed the Beast’ (Photo Credit: AMC)
AMC’s released the first two photos from the upcoming dramatic series Feed the Beast starring Jim Sturgess and David Schwimmer. The series will make its debut on AMC in May 2016, with season one consisting of 10 one-hour episodes executive produced by showrunner Clyde Phillips, Henrik Ruben Genz, Malene Blenkov, and Piv Bernth.
In addition to Sturgess and Schwimmer, the cast of Feed the Beast includes Michael Gladis (Mad Men), Lorenza Izzo (The Green Inferno), Christine Adams (Batman Begins), John Doman (The Affair), and Elijah Jacob (Spot On).
“David and Jim are each incredibly talented actors whose careers span theater, film and television. But more importantly, they both possess an inherent honesty and vulnerability in their craft which are essential in the flawed characters of Tommy and Dion,” said Clyde Phillips, executive producer and showrunner. “Their grasp of the story, and their respective characters’ journeys, is something I’m very eager to dive into with them.”
The Plot:Feed the Beast tells the story of Tommy (Schwimmer) and Dion (Sturgess) who are like brothers. With all the love – and all the complications – that comes with it. Dion can’t stay out of trouble. Tommy can’t move past it. For two friends on the brink of losing everything, a dusty pipe dream of opening up an upscale restaurant in their hometown of the Bronx is all they have left to turn their lives around.
Michael Gladis plays Patrick Woichik, aka The Tooth Fairy, the soft spoken, brutally intimidating local mobster with a penchant for pulling teeth. Lorenza Izzo is Pilar Herrera, a woman who meets Tommy in a grief group, and is desperately searching for true love. Christine Adams takes on the role of Tommy’s late wife Rie Moran. John Doman is Tommy’s father Aidan Moran, a shrewd and ruthless businessman and unapologetic racist. And Elijah Jacob will play Tommy’s ten year old son TJ Moran.
Jim Sturgess and David Schwimmer in a scene from AMC’s ‘Feed the Beast.’
Director Gia Coppola (Palo Alto) has signed up two-time Oscar nominee Naomi Watts (Birdman, 21 Grams) and two-time Oscar winner Jessica Lange (Frances, Blue Sky) to star in the dramatic film The Secret Life of the Lonely Doll. The film is based on Jean Nathan’s book and will be adapted for the screen by Merritt Johnson (Temple Grandin, In Treatment). The production is set up at Indigenous Media, the media company created by Jon Avnet, Rodrigo Garcia and Jake Avnet. Bruce Cohen (Silver Linings Playbook, American Beauty) and Jason Weinberg (Ray Donovan, Margin Call) are on board as producers.
“Rodrigo and I have been fans of and have worked with Merritt, Jessica and Naomi before,” said Jon Avnet. “Jean Nathan’s unique piece is a great vehicle for a reunion and chance for Gia Coppola to make a very distinctive film.”
Naomi Watts has The Divergent Series: Allegiant – Part 1, The Bleeder, and The Book of Henry coming to theaters in 2016. Jessica Lange earned rave reviews for four seasons of work on the horror anthology series, American Horror Story, and she recently wrapped up work on the action comedy Wild Oats with Demi Moore and Shirley MacLaine.
The Plot:The Secret Life of the Lonely Doll is the story of Dare Wright, whose best-selling children’s book The Lonely Doll made her a household name in the 1950’s. Forty years later, journalist Jean Nathan in her search for the out-of-print book series, found Wright living in a public hospital in Queens, New York. Nathan’s book pieces together Wright’s bizarre life of glamour and isolation, and her struggle to escape her painful childhood through her art.
