Bjorn (Alexander Ludwig) and Ragnar (Travis Fimmel) in ‘Vikings’ (Photo by Jonathan Hession/HISTORY Copyright 2016)
History’s critically acclaimed dramatic series Vikings kicks off season four on Thursday, February 18, 2016 at 10pm ET/PT. Episode one of season four is titled ‘A Good Treason’ and finds Ragnar in poor shape physically and Floki in trouble for murdering Athelstan. In support of the season four premiere, History’s released new clips as well as the synopsis of ‘A Good Treason.’
‘A Good Treason’ Plot: Entry to Valhalla eludes Ragnar (Travis Fimmel) but as he lies in his sick bed in Kattegat events unfold beyond his control. Bjorn orders the arrest of Floki (Gustaf Skarsgard) for Athelstan’s murder while in Paris, Rollo (Clive Standen) betrays the last of his Viking supporters to strengthen his position in the French Court. Meanwhile, in Hedeby, Kalf announces joint Earldom with Lagertha (Katheryn Winnick), but is power-sharing Kalf’s true intention and is Lagertha actually willing to share what once was hers?
Joe Manganiello’s going from playing a hunky werewolf in True Blood and stripping in Magic Mike XXL to something much more family-friendly. Manganiello’s joined the voice cast of Sony Pictures Animation’s Smurfs: The Lost Village, the newest addition to the Smurfs film franchise. Sony Pictures Animation also announced 30 Rock‘s Jack McBrayer and Community‘s Danny Pudi have signed on to lend their voices to the upcoming Smurfs movie based on the characters created by Peyo. Smurfs: The Lost Village opens in theaters on March 31, 2017.
According to the official announcement, Manganiello will voice Hefty, a strong and super-positive Smurf who is a “loyal dynamo struggling with his hero complex.” McBrayer is playing Clumsy, a Smurf who’s “sweet, awkward and honest-to-a-fault.” Clumsy is described as forever trying his best and missing the mark. And Pudi will voice Brainy, a book smart and geek proud Smurf with limited social skills.
The trio join previously announced Smurfs: The Lost Village cast members Demi Lovato as Smurfette, Rainn Wilson as Gargamel, and Mandy Patinkin as Papa Smurf. Kelly Asbury (Gnomeo & Juliet) is directing and Raja Gosnell and Ben Waisbren are executive producing.
The Smurfs: The Lost Village Plot:
It seems to Smurfette that everyone else in the Village has a purpose – Papa Smurf (leading), Baker Smurf (baking), even Grouchy Smurf (grouching) – except for her. So what’s the only girl in the village to do? Go in search of hers, of course! When she accidentally crosses paths with a mysterious creature that takes off into the Enchanted Forest, she follows, and sets off into the uncharted and strictly forbidden woods. Joined by her brothers Brainy, Hefty and Clumsy – and with the evil wizard Gargamel shadowing their every step – Team Smurf undertakes a wild journey full of action, danger and discovery, setting them on a course that leads to the biggest mystery in Smurf history!
Tom Hiddleston as Jonathan Pine, Tom Hollander as Major Corkoran, Elizabeth Debicki as Jed Marshall, Olivia Colman as Angela Burr, and Hugh Laurie as Richard Roper in ‘The Night Manager’ (Photo Credit: Mitch Jenkins/The Ink Factory/AMC)
AMC’s showing off a new trailer for the mini-series The Night Manager starring Tom Hiddleston, Hugh Laurie, Olivia Colman, Tom Hollander, Elizabeth Debicki, and Tobias Menzies. The six-part mini-series is based on John le Carré’s bestselling novel and will premiere on Tuesday, April 19, 2016 at 10pm ET/PT. David Farr adapted the book and Susanne Bier (Things We Lost in the Fire) directed. Bier, Farr, and le Carré also served as executive producers along with Simon Cornwell, Stephen Cornwell, and Stephen Garrett.
The Plot: A contemporary interpretation of John le Carré’s espionage drama – and the first television adaptation of a le Carré novel in more than 20 years – The Night Manager will bring together love, loss and revenge in a complex story of modern criminality. The series follows former British soldier Jonathan Pine (Tom Hiddleston) who is recruited by intelligence operative Angela Burr (Olivia Colman) to infiltrate the inner circle of international businessman Richard Onslow Roper (Hugh Laurie) and detonate the unholy alliance he has ministered between the intelligence community and the secret arms trade. To get to the heart of Roper’s vast empire, Pine must withstand the suspicious interrogations of his venal chief of staff Major Corkoran (Tom Hollander) and the allure of Roper’s beautiful girlfriend Jed (Elizabeth Debicki). In his quest to do the right thing, Pine must first become a criminal himself.
Peter Cambor as Milo, Colson Baker as Wes, Finesse Mitchell as Harvey, Rafe Spall as Reg, Imogen Poots as Kelly Ann, Luke Wilson as Bill Hanson, Carla Gugino as Shelli Anderson and Keisha Castle-Hughes as Donna in ‘Roadies.’ (Photo: Courtesy of SHOWTIME)
Showtime’s just debuted the official trailer for Roadies, a new comedy series created by Oscar winner Cameron Crowe (Almost Famous). The trailer, which features the song ‘Hard Sun’ by Eddie Vedder, stars Luke Wilson, Carla Gugino, Imogen Poots, Rafe Spall, Keisha Castle-Hughes, Peter Cambor, Colson Baker, and Ron White.
The cast also includes Finesse Mitchell, Jacqueline Byers, Luis Guzman, Branscombe Richmond, and Tanc Sade. Crowe writes, directs and executive produces. My So-Called Life‘s Winnie Holzman is also on board as a writer and executive producer. J.J. Abrams (Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens), Bryan Burk (Lost) and Len Goldstein (Hart of Dixie) also serve as executive producers. Pearl Jam’s manager Kelly Curtis is a producer and the show’s music supervisor.
Season one of the one-hour series will consist of 10 episodes kicking off on Sunday, June 26, 2016 at 10pm ET/PT.
The Plot:Roadies gives an insider’s look at the reckless, romantic, funny, and often poignant lives of a committed group of “roadies” who live for music and the de facto family they’ve formed along the way. The series chronicles the rock world through the eyes of music’s unsung heroes and pays homage to the backstage workers who put the show on the road while touring the United States for the successful arena-level group, The Staton-House Band.
“Derek Zoolander, I’m with Interpol. I need your help,” says Valentina (Penelope Cruz) to Zoolander (Ben Stiller) who’s been lured out of retirement from modeling, along with his friend Hansel (Owen Wilson), in the comedy sequel Zoolander 2.
Someone has been murdering famous popstars/’beautiful people’ and just before they die, they take goodbye selfies and send them out on the internet posing with what looks to be one of Zoolander’s famous signature looks: Blue Steel. The newly deceased’s final pose means the world’s most famous model – as well as the dumbest – might hold the key to figuring out who is behind the killing spree that’s already taken the lives of Bruce Springsteen and Justin Bieber.
Interpol Special Agent Valentina tracks down Zoolander to convince him to help, but Zoolander, having just been humiliated at the hands of the new fashion divas, is in no mood to offer assistance. Instead, he tries to return to being a “hermit crab” living in the mountains of New Jersey. Valentina tells Zoolander if he helps her, she’ll use her resources at Interpol to help him discover the whereabouts of his estranged son.
It seems Zoolander was pronounced an unfit parent years ago when his son was small, and he lost custody of him to social services. Desperate to find his son, Zoolander agrees to Valentina’s deal, with Hansel also offering his assistance to help his friend.
Uninspired and pointless, Zoolander 2 is a painfully stupid sequel with practically no plot and even fewer laughs. This is a horrible follow-up to a film that wasn’t that popular when it came out back in 2001 but became a semi-cult hit after finding new life on video. The writing is terrible with obvious and desperate one-liners or plays on words that fall flat. Besides the short set-up described above, the film’s flimsy plot isn’t worth mentioning.
Rather than come up with a funny or interesting story, Stiller relies on too many famous cameos, including Kiefer Sutherland, Justin Bieber, and Sting, to surprise the audience and fill the void of a real plot.
Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson had some fun chemistry together in the first film but seem to be phoning it in here. The rest of the cast comes across as either there for the paycheck or perhaps because they’re paying back a favor to Stiller. It’s still early in the year, but so far Zoolander 2 is at the top of the list of the worst films of 2016.
GRADE: F
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for crude and sexual content, a scene of exaggerated violence, and brief strong language
Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson at the premiere of ‘The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story’ (Photo by Frank Micelotta/FX)
The People v. O.J. Simpson has captivated viewers all over again with the 22-year-old trial of athlete turned actor Orenthal James Simpson. It is the first in Ryan Murphy’s American Crime Story series, which just like his American Horror Story, will tackle a new crime each season.
I got to speak with The People v. O.J. Simpson and American Crime Story producers Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson before they presented a panel to the Television Critics Association. We discussed adapting Jeffrey Toobin’s book about the case and the gravity of dealing with a true life murder trial. The People v. O.J. Simpson airs Tuesdays at 10pm ET/PT on FX.
Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson Interview
There have been so many books written about this trial.
Brad Simpson: “So many books.”
What was it about Jeffrey Toobin’s?
Nina Jacobson: “Toobin’s an extraordinary author. He’s one of our favorite writers as far as journalism goes in general. It’s the thoughtful, character-based page turner that has a real point of view. It doesn’t seek to just document the trial or give you an understanding of a chronology. It pursues the story with a real perspective on what the underlying themes at play were. I think it’s really a remarkable book for that reason.”
Did you look at Marcia Clark’s book, Christopher Darden’s or even O.J.’s?
Brad Simpson: “The writers in the writers room and also Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski read every book. We had a full time researcher. This case was endlessly documented. Everybody who became involved in it wrote a book. They often have different narratives about what happened, B narratives. We read every nonfiction book. It was really important for us to consume everything that had been written about the case, but at the end of the day, the spine of Jeff’s book, his prism, what he was writing about was the story we wanted to tell.”
Nina Jacobson: “It was character based and context driven.”
Was it sobering to recreate the crime scene and the crime scene photos?
Brad Simpson: “That was probably one of the most intense moments in the shoot. We made the decision not to ever show the faces of the victims, not have actors really play them. We recreated Bundy and we had a closed set that day. We didn’t want anybody who wasn’t necessary to be there. It was chilling and it was also a good reminder that at the center of this story were two real victims, which is what got lost in the trial. It was part of the reason the victims’ families were so upset which was it became about the LAPD and race and celebrity and not about the victims. It was a really sobering day when we recreated that crime scene. And you also realize the power, how intense the murders have been, how close the murderer had been to them and how brutal those deaths were. It was haunting.”
The show really captures what a circus this whole thing was from the beginning. Was that Ryan’s take from the beginning?
Nina Jacobson: “I think there was no way you could tell the story of the O.J. trial without portraying the circus that it was. I think one of the things that was important to us was actually be mindful of the fact that it was a circus that spiraled so far away from what was at the center of it, which was the death of these two innocent people. What Fred Goldman says in episode four to Marcia Clark, which is, ‘My son is a footnote in his own murder trial.’ Remembering that at the center of it were these victims and their families was something we really tried to do, but at the same time there was no way that you could ever tell the story without capturing the circus. I actually think that what was interesting was that originally the journalists and the coverage and the talking heads and the news consumption of the story had a bigger presence in the script. It was Ryan actually who kept stripping those things down to get more and more rooted in the characters that we cared about and in their stories and in what it was like to be at the center of the circus as opposed to the circus itself.”
John Travolta as Robert Shapiro, David Schwimmer as Robert Kardashian, and Cuba Gooding, Jr. as O.J. Simpson (Copyright 2015, FX Networks)
Did you have any biases about the trial that were changed through doing the series?
Brad Simpson: “Yeah, I think that we all viewed the verdict through our own cultural lens at the time. I think that I didn’t understand why a large group of African-Americans were cheering for the verdict. With time and distance and reading, and reading Jeff’s book, part of that is the realization that if you have a different experience with the criminal justice system, you viewed the case differently. And that those cheers were more complicated than white people saw them as being.”
Is there as much of a story, or at least an epilogue, about the civil trial?
Brad Simpson: “I don’t think so. I think what happened to O.J. after this, O.J. was sort of broken. He thought he was going to go back to his life and he didn’t. He wasn’t able to. He wasn’t able to go back to being O.J. Simpson and that’s sort of the tragedy for him. He thought not guilty meant he could go back to becoming this famous celebrity that people loved and he never got that back.”
Does the series end at the verdict?
Brad Simpson: “The series concludes the day of the verdict.”
Had you ever developed this as a movie?
Brad Simpson: “No. We never thought of it as a movie. It was too big, too complicated.”
Nina Jacobson: “Too sprawling.”
When there are those moments we all know, how did you want to portray scenes like the Bronco chase and trying on the glove?
Nina Jacobson: “We always wanted to show people the parts of the story they didn’t know. Again, that was something that Ryan was great to always focus on, which is every episode needs to have some major things that nobody else knew that we discovered through the research. All of it was available to be known, but there shouldn’t be one episode where you don’t go, ‘I had no idea that…’ So with the glove, there’s the whole context to the events leading up to trying on the glove. With the Bronco, nobody knew what was going on inside the Bronco and just how dire things were in that Bronco, or what was going on in the house and the kind of painful waiting for him to come home.”
How many seasons of American Crime Stories have you thought about cases for?
Brad Simpson: “We have multiple things in development, none of which we can talk about. What we want to do is things that have a real before and after moment, and broadly interpret the idea of crime. We’re not going to do another great trial again.”
There’s talk of Hurricane Katrina and that makes sense. It was a crime how that was handled.
Brad Simpson: “That’s what we want, things that resonate. I think what makes our show different from some other true crime is that it needs to have a bigger cultural significance. What happened needs to change our culture in some way. There needs to be a before and after to the crime.”
Is Katrina a go?
Brad Simpson: “Katrina is the next season, yeah.”
That’s a little more recent. Are there books about Katrina?
Brad Simpson: “There’s been a lot of books written about Katrina. We’re going to do the same research. We’re optioning a piece of material that we can’t announce yet. We have our same research. We’re working on it and we’re going to dive in to all the many complicated stories and narratives and tell a sprawling story about that hurricane and its aftermath.”
You just ended the Hunger Games franchise and you weren’t the first to do a two part finale. I’m wondering, how long do you think it will be before they divide each book into two films?
Nina Jacobson: “I don’t know. In the case of Hunger Games, we really felt we needed two movies to get the themes and emotional payoff of that last book. I wouldn’t have known how to do it in one. People who are entrusted with telling these stories or adapting a good book, you try to do your best by the book and make decisions which serve it.”
People accept when the last book is two movies. Since fans of books want to see every scene from the book in the movie, would they accept other parts being expanded to two movies?
Nina Jacobson: “I don’t know, I think fans of books just want people to do justice to the book that they love. They want the experience of seeing the movie to feel like the experience of reading the book, to feel the feelings that they had for the characters, for the big emotional moments. Whatever it takes to achieve that.”
Have any of the People v. O.J. cast indicated interest in coming back for the next American Crime Story?
Brad Simpson: “Yes, they have. Not to toot our own horns but they had a great time and they’ve loved the result. We’d love to have some of them back.”
American Horror Story does the repertory company but they’re playing fictional characters. Do you think it would be different having a repertory company come back and play different real life characters?
Brad Simpson: “I think it has to work for the character. For Horror Story, they can invent a character around Sarah Paulson. True life characters, you have to feel like the actor has the essence of that character you’re portraying so it’ll probably prove its own challenges. Look, I love that Ryan’s like Robert Altman. He works with a group of actors over and over again and gets the best out of them. I’d love to work with this cast again next season.”
Radha Mitchell, Lucy Fry and Kevin Bacon in ‘The Darkness’ (Photo Credit: Universal Pictures)
Wolf Creek director Greg McLean returns to the horror genre with the supernatural thriller The Darkness starring Kevin Bacon. Universal Pictures just released a creepy trailer for the horror film that’s set to open in theaters on May 13, 2016. In addition to Bacon, the cast includes Radha Mitchell, Gotham‘s David Mazouz, Lucy Fry, Matt Walsh and Once Upon a Time‘s Jennifer Morrison.
The Plot: As a family returns home from vacation at the Grand Canyon, they innocently bring home a supernatural force that preys off their own fears and vulnerabilities, threatening to destroy them from within, while consuming their lives with terrifying consequences.
Tammy Blanchard and Michiel Huisman star in ‘The Invitation’ (Courtesy of Drafthouse Films)
Drafthouse Films has released the trailer for the thriller The Invitation from director Karyn Kusama (Girlfight, Jennifer’s Body). Logan Marshall-Green, Tammy Blanchard, Michiel Huisman, Emayatzy Corinealdi, and John Carroll Lynch star, and Drafthouse is set to release the drama on April 8, 2016 in theaters and on VOD.
The Plot: The tension is palpable when Will (Marshall-Green) shows up to his ex-wife Eden (Blanchard) and new husband, David’s (Huisman) dinner party. The pair’s tragic past haunts an equally spooky present: Amid Eden’s suspicious behavior and her mysterious house guests, Will becomes convinced that his invitation was extended with a hidden agenda. Unfolding over one dark evening in the Hollywood Hills, The Invitation blurs layers of mounting paranoia, mystery, and horror until both Will-and the audience-are unsure what threats are real or imagined.
Paramount Pictures is teaming up with Revolution Studios, Roth Kirschenbaum Films, and Vin Diesel’s One Race Films on the action sequel xXx: The Return of Xander Cage. The next entry in the xXx franchise has Vin Diesel back as Xander Cage with D.J. Caruso (Eagle Eye, Disturbia) set to direct.
“We are extremely pleased to be working with Vin, Samantha, Joe, Kirsch and Paramount to bring this fan-favorite franchise back to the screen,” stated executive producer Revolution CEO Vince Totino. “xXx is one of the jewels in Revolution’s rich library of commercially successful and acclaimed films, and now with Vin on board, a great script and director D.J. Caruso on hand, we are poised to deliver a worthy successor.”
“It’s great to be reteaming with Vin and Revolution on a long-anticipated sequel to this highly entertaining film,” added producer Joe Roth. “Kirsch and I are looking forward to collaborating with Vince and Scott on this project and we’re all excited to be able to bring the fans what they’ve been asking for.”
Filming will take place in Toronto and at Lantica Media’s Pinewood Dominican Republic Studios.
xXx directed by Rob Cohen and starring Vin Diesel was released in 2002 and pulled in $277+ million in theaters. xXx: State of the Union followed in 2005 with Ice Cube in the lead role. The sequel didn’t come close to the first film’s box office numbers, ringing up just $71+ million during its theatrical run.
The xXx: The Return of Xander Cage Plot:
The third explosive chapter of the blockbuster franchise that redefined the spy thriller finds extreme athlete turned government operative Xander Cage (Diesel) coming out of self-imposed exile and on a collision course with deadly alpha warrior Xiang and his team in a race to recover a sinister and seemingly unstoppable weapon known as Pandora’s Box. Recruiting an all-new group of thrill-seeking cohorts, Xander finds himself enmeshed in a deadly conspiracy that points to collusion at the highest levels of world governments.
Disney XD will premiere the new animated series LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures this summer, as just announced by the network. The series will feature familiar Star Wars characters as well as introduce brand new heroes and villains. Bill Motz and Bob Roth (Penguins of Madagascar) developed the animated series and will executive produce along with Torsten Jacobson and Jill Wilfert. Carrie Beck, Jason Cosler, Jake Blais and John McCormack are on board as producers.
“We are very excited to launch for the first time a TV series with Disney XD,” said Jill Wilfert, vice president, licensing & entertainment at the LEGO Group. “The creative team behind The Freemaker Adventures is extremely talented, and the series is a great testament to our longstanding and successful partnership with Lucasfilm and Disney. The show masterfully combines the rich heritage of storytelling, great characters, action and adventure in a galaxy far, far away with the creativity, imagination and humor that only LEGO Star Wars can deliver. We are sure fans young and old are going to love the show.”
“With The Freemaker Adventures we are thrilled to bring all new stories to life that could only be realized in the LEGO Star Wars universe,” said Carrie Beck, vice president, animation development at Lucasfilm. “We are embarking on an unprecedented collaboration that will allow us to extend the narrative experience of the Star Wars saga with the same playful spirit that’s always made LEGO Star Wars so much fun to watch. We are so thankful to have such great partners in the LEGO Group, Disney XD and series developers Bill Motz and Bob Roth.”
The LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures Plot:
Told in the whimsically-charged style that audiences have come to expect from LEGO Star Wars entertainment, the series stars the Freemakers, a family of scavengers who build and sell starships from the scoured debris of space battles strewn throughout the galaxy. When their youngest discovers a natural connection with the Force through an ancient artifact – the Kyber Saber – his world is turned upside down, and he and his family are thrown into an epic struggle against the Empire to restore peace and freedom to the galaxy. Throughout their adventures, the Freemakers explore new worlds, meet new and familiar characters, and learn the true value of what it means to be a family.
