Mia Maestro from FX’s ‘The Strain’ at the 2015 San Diego Comic-Con (Photo by Richard Chavez / Showbiz Junkies)
FX’s compelling (and disturbing) The Strain returned for season two on July 12, 2015 at 10pm ET/PT with Corey Stoll and Mia Maestro back as researchers attempting to develop a biological weapon to fight against the epidemic. With the survival of mankind at stake, Eph (Stoll) and Nora (Maestro) have to make unethical choices, and during our 2015 San Diego Comic-Con roundtable interview Maestro talked about what fans of the series can expect from this new season.
“There’s a lot of new characters, and also the stakes are a lot higher,” explained Maestro when asked how season two expands on the set-up of season one. “Also, from a story plotline, we don’t have to explain that anymore so you can get really in-depth with the characters and all the nuances between their relationships as well.”
Maestro went on to explain that Nora and Eph will be working on a vaccine. “That’s going to be their mission for a few episodes,” offered Maestro.
This season finds Nora on her own, without the support of any family after the devastating events of season one. “She becomes this really strong fighter,” said Maestro. Mentally, she’s a bit more prepared for what she must do in order to fight the epidemic. “She knows the right thing…you saw her killing her own mother in season one, so she knows the right thing is just to not let those monsters propagate and continue as a race. She doesn’t have that struggle anymore. She knows what the right thing to do is, but you’re going to see Nora with a more human side to whatever’s happening. I think that’s what she brings to the group. She has her own humanity and she has a lot of compassion, and a lot of the characters don’t have that.”
Watch the full interview for more from Mia Maestro on The Strain season 2:
“I believe everyone deserves a shot at redemption. Do you?” asks Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas). “Absolutely. My days of breaking into places and stealing sh*t are over. What do you want me to do?” replies Scott Lang (Paul Rudd). “I want you to break into a place and steal some sh*t,” answers Pym who has just helped Scott sneak out of jail by using his old, very special suit in the science-fiction action film, Ant-Man.
Scott Lang is a talented burglar attempting to start fresh and go straight after getting out of prison. His motivation: to be a real father to his young daughter. Unfortunately, no companies are willing to hire Scott with a felony on his record. He does manage to get a job at a Baskin Robbins, but when his manager finds out about his conviction he lets him go. Desperate to make some money fast so he can get his own place (and finally get visitation rights), Scott teams up with his old buddy, Luis (Michael Pena), to pull a burglary job. Successfully getting into an old mansion where they believe the owner is away for a week, Scott is able to break into both a sealed room with a lock which can only be opened with a finger print of the owner and a very old safe. To Scott’s surprise, all that’s in the safe is an old weird-looking suit and helmet.
The next day, Scott is playing with the suit, tries it on, and shockingly ends up shrinking himself down to the size of a bug. He hears a voice inside the helmet telling him this is a test and it will be interesting to see how he does. Scott manages to avoid drowning in a bathtub – which is where he accidentally shrunk himself – fends off a rat, and finally manages to bring himself back to his normal size. It turns out that the whole heist was planned by Dr. Pym who needs Scott to help him and his daughter, Hope (Evangeline Lilly), stop Hank’s old protégé from creating a newer and deadlier version of his original suit for mass production and sell to the highest bidder. With the use of the suit Scott can shrink down in size while increasing his strength. That allows him to control ants and use them as his own little army to help in the heist. It’s up to Scott, with Pym’s mentoring and Hope’s training, to master the suit and the ants and pull off the biggest heist of his career to help save the world from certain chaos.
Funny and creative, Ant-Man is surprisingly entertaining and has some true laugh out loud moments. Paul Rudd is perfect as Scott, the burglar with a heart of gold who not only wants to be a good dad to his daughter but deep down wants to be the hero she believes he already is. He brings to the role a solid mixture of humor and likability. Michael Douglas shines as Dr. Hank Pym, Scott’s mentor and creator of the original suit who fears in the wrong hands his secrets and technology spell certain doom for the world. He brings both an emotional depth and feeling to the film as well as still being as cool as ever. Evangeline Lilly, best known for her role as “Kate” in Lost, is lovely and tough as Hope, the distrustful, judgmental daughter of Hank’s who would rather be wearing the suit and doing the heist herself instead of training Scott. She and Rudd have solid chemistry as she at first beats him up in training sessions and finally, after realizing he’s in for the long haul, begins actually teaching him how to fight and command the ants.
However, the real scene-stealer in the film is Michael Pena as Luis, Scott’s best friend and the second thief with a good heart. He’s comic relief in a film which already has plenty of laughs, and he upstages everyone including Michael Douglas. His scenes during the big heist are hilarious and he raises the film up to an even higher enjoyment level.
The action and special effects are top-notch, reminiscent of the effects in the Honey I Shrunk the Kids films but improved. Ant-Man also has the most original train fight scene put up on the screen. With solid laughs, fun action scenes, and a little bit of heart, Ant-Man is a worthy addition to the Marvel movie universe and shouldn’t be missed.
Fox debuted a brief (as in only 45 seconds) teaser for The X-Files during the July 16th episode of Wayward Pines. The super short clip shows just a little of FBI Agents Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) and Fox Mulder (David Duchovny), but it should be enough to get X-Files fans excited about the return of the series. Unfortunately, we have to wait until January 24, 2016 before the new X-Files actually arrives.
The cast of the sci-fi event series also includes William B. Davis as the Smoking Man, Mitch Pileggi as Walter Skinner, and Joel McHale as news anchor Tad O’Malley. The original The X-Files debuted in 1993 and ran for nine seasons. The show earned 16 Emmys, five Golden Globes, and a Peabody Award.
Diana Gabaldon and Sam Heughan on stage during the 2015 San Diego Comic-Con ‘Outlander’ Panel
Production on the second season of Starz’ critically acclaimed Outlander series is currently underway, adapted by Ronald D. Moore from author Diana Gabaldon’s second book of the Outlander series, Dragonfly in Amber. The upcoming season finds Jamie and Claire in the French Court attempting to alter the course of history and stop the Battle of Culloden from ever taking place.
Book two of the Outlander series kicks off with an unexpected time jump, and author Diana Gabaldon talked about that during our roundtable interview at the 2015 San Diego Comic-Con. Gabaldon also discussed the show’s two lead actors – Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe – and how much she’s involved in the process of bringing her bestselling books alive on the small screen.
Diana Gabaldon Interview:
What was your reaction to the very first episode you were able to watch?
Diana Gabaldon: “Oh, I was blown away by it. I actually got to see it in the production suite with the film editor and with Ron [Moore]. They were showing me the rough cut of the first two episodes together. It was so sweet; the film editor actually cried. He said, ‘It was so great to see you see this for the first time.'”
What characteristics of Jamie and Claire from the books are you looking forward to seeing in future seasons?
Diana Gabaldon: “It’s hard to say because so much of it depends on the actor and what they can do. Sam, for instance, is a very analytical actor. He’s read the book several times and you can see him do Jamie’s little physical things, little drumming his fingers when he’s thinking and so forth, and which you pick up – those are conscious decisions. At the same time, you instantly grasp the emotional sense of Jamie. The very first time I saw him in the audition tape I saw that. I never thought they would find anyone to do that, and he did just like that. It was amazing. At the same time, there’s a certain Sam-ness. It’s very weird to be sharing joint custody with a character.
Caitriona…well, everybody’s take is completely different and it took them forever to find Claire. She just walked into that part and just handled it. Her physique doesn’t match with the book and it doesn’t matter. I’ve always said to people that it just doesn’t matter that much what an actor looks like. It’s how they act, and she just totally nailed it. Again, it’s just instinctive on her part I think.”
Book two begins in a surprising place, compared to the end of book one…
Will season two start out in the same way as Dragonfly in Amber? Brianna and Roger haven’t been cast yet and filming has begun.
Diana Gabaldon: “Well, it actually could. They shoot things out of sequence so it doesn’t tell you anything except that they haven’t cast them yet – or at least they haven’t told you if they have.
I was not involved in a discussion of how to break the story, so to speak. They do show me the script outlines and the script. They show me the footage as they shoot and the rough episodes as they come together, which is great. But I very seldom am in the writers room discussing things. That is their job. I’m happy to contribute opinions. Sometimes I’ll read the script and be, ‘Hmmm, I understand why you did it this way but you could do it that way and get more of the original book in. Move this little piece over here.’ Sometimes they’ll do that. Nine times out of ten if I have a concern or a suggestion they’ll take it. The tenth time they’ll explain why they can’t.”
Have you ever wished you had more input into the scripts?
Diana Gabaldon: “No, you can’t. You just don’t.”
E.L. James does.
Diana Gabaldon: [Laughing] “Maybe she shouldn’t.”
There you go. Thank you. So you would never want to be that involved?
Diana Gabaldon: “No, I wouldn’t. I don’t actually think that’s a good thing, on the whole. It is an adaptation of a separate art form. What makes a good novelist is not necessarily what makes a good screenwriter or showrunner. I don’t know whether I would be good at writing a script because I haven’t done it yet. But I’m positive I would not be a good showrunner. I think it’s much better to let the experts do that. I can quibble over details. I can tell them you couldn’t do this historically or you can’t do that historically. Or, ‘Well, it really was this way but I see why you’ve done it that way. But you better change this just for a little extra accuracy.’ That can be helpful.”
Has anything that’s happened in the TV series made you want to change anything from the books?
Diana Gabaldon: “No. People do ask that all the time and I can see why but, as I say, they’re working 30 years behind where I am. There’s eight books between me and them, and I’ve written all this stuff in between.”
Do you picture Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe now when you see Jamie and Claire in your head?
Diana Gabaldon: “No, I can still see the original Jamie and Claire as they are. It’s fun though because they are totally Jamie and Claire when I’m watching the show. But I don’t have any problems with show versus book. I can easily see both images in my mind.”
Willa Fitzgerald and Amadeus Serafini in ‘Scream’ (Photo Credit: MTV)
Willa Fitzgerald’s character Emma begins season one of MTV’s Scream with a certain innocence to her, but that disappears as the body count begins adding up and it’s obvious someone is targeting her friends. Based on the Scream film franchise, MTV’s Scream centers around a group of high school friends who are being murdered by an unknown killer.
Fitzgerald’s character is described as a popular girl who’s considered the peacemaker in her group of friends. But once the killer begins reaching out with cryptic phone calls, Emma toughens up. “I think Emma starts out this season as very much an insecure, confused high schooler,” explains Fitzgerald. “She’s not quite sure of her friend group or if she’s made the right choice with who she’s friends with. Over the course of the season as the killer raises the stakes by constantly threatening her and her friends, she develops a real badass-ness. She responds to his threats and rises to them. So over the course of this season we really get to see her grow into herself and become more like Sidney Prescott who I see as an incredibly strong, confident woman. It’s exciting to see that change.”
Fitzgerald’s not only a longtime horror movie fan but also a fan of the Scream film series because of how well it pokes fun at different stereotypes. Looking back on her history of horror moving watching, Fitzgerald recalled that the first film of the genre she watched was Stephen King’s It. “I was 13 and that was a brutal introduction,” said Fitzgerald, laughing.
Fitzgerald’s co-star Amadeus Serafini (“Kieran”) is also a fan of the original Scream movies and believes his character is modeled after Billy Loomis, played by Skeet Ulrich in the original film. Scream marks Serafini’s first TV show and he’s having a good time working on the MTV series. Asked if it’s fair to describe his character as a bit of a troublemaker, Serafini replied, “I think he’s constructed as one. I think he’s also a bit heroic as displayed in the pilot, so you won’t be able to place him for a while. He toggles back and forth.”
Watch the full interviews for more on MTV’s Scream:
David Anders and Rose McIver from ‘iZombie’ at the 2015 San Diego Comic Con (Photo by Richard Chavez / Showbiz Junkies)
Immediately after our interview at the 2015 San Diego Comic-Con with the lovely Rose McIver from The CW’s iZombie, a fellow journalist turned to me and asked if I’d ever dreamed I’d be interviewing someone and asking what their favorite brain was to eat. Obviously, the answer’s no because, as far as I can determine, we are not currently in the middle of a real zombie apocalypse. Still, it was an appropriate question for the star of The CW’s breakout zom-com.
Laughing, McIver replied, “Can I tell you how weird it is after work going to the supermarket on the phone and being like, ‘Oh, this brain that I ate today…’ People look at me and it takes me a while before, ‘Right, that sounded insane.”
“I think [with] each brain there’s different perks. Sometimes it’s the skills. It’s like the things that she gets to do are really interesting,” continued McIver. “Sometimes it’s like when she was an alcoholic and exploring those tendencies much more psychologically. There are different kinds of benefits to each. I know that this season I’ve been told a couple of brains I’m having, and I got told to pick my guitar back up and how was my singing voice.”
McIver also discussed her character Liv Moore’s life prior to her transition to zombiehood. “Well I think when we first see Liv in flashbacks, we only really get a glimpse of who she was. We get told about it and we start to understand through her various relationships who she was, but to be honest, I think she was kind of boring in comparison,” offered McIver. “Things were too good in her life.”
The new Liv is a lot braver than her pre-zombie self says McIver. “She has a self-awareness and a cynicism that I find just kind of endearing and funny. And I think especially now that she’s lost loved ones in season one, we watched her realize what’s at stake and I think she’s really got a stronger will and is more courageous.”
By the end of season one, nearly everyone close to her had learned she’s a zombie. Moving forward, many of those she loves will feel betrayed including Peyton [played by Aly Michalka] and Major [played by Robert Buckley]. “It definitely lends itself to some conflict and some interesting relationship dynamics,” said McIver. “But at the same time, it must be liberating to not have that secret from people.”
Also back for season two is David Anders who plays one of the main villains in the series, Blaine DeBeers. Anders is looking forward to what’s in store for Blaine over the course of the second season. “I think your goal as an actor is to diversify your portfolio from part to part to part,” explained Anders. “Although I’ve played bad guys for most of my career, I’d like to think I’ve played different bad guys. And this second season is going to be fun for me to play with because we’re humanizing him – quite literally. We’re going to meet some of the DeBeers clan, maybe. We will find out how Blaine became Blaine.”
Watch the full interviews for more on what to expect from season two:
Martha De Laurentiis, Bryan Fuller, Hugh Dancy and Richard Armitage (Photo by Richard Chavez / Showbiz Junkies)
Unfortunately for fans of NBC’s riveting dramatic series Hannibal, the show has not found a new home after its cancellation was announced last month. Season three will be the series’ last if it doesn’t get picked up elsewhere, and executive producer Bryan Fuller is doing everything possible to try and find an outlet for Hannibal. There’s even talk of a feature film if season four turns out not to be an option.
Ruled out thus far are Netflix and Amazon, but Fuller, producer Martha De Laurentiis, and the cast – including Hugh Dancy (“Will Graham”) and Mads Mikkelsen (“Dr. Hannibal Lecter”) – are holding out hope that the show isn’t dead yet.
Also holding out hope are Fannibals who showered Dancy, De Laurentiis, Fuller, and Richard Armitage (“Francis Dolarhyde”) with love at the 2015 San Diego Comic Con. The Hannibal group was obviously moved by the tremendous show of support for the cancelled critically acclaimed series. Following the emotional Q&A with their fans, the Hannibal talent participated in a press conference to discuss the show’s status as well as what Fannibals can expect from the remainder of season three. They also talked about Clarice and weighed in on who is actually the smartest character on the show.
The latest trailer for the epic adventure film Pan sets up the story and shows off new action scenes with Hugh Jackman, Garrett Hedlund, Levi Miller, and Rooney Mara. The studio makes a point of reminding audiences that it was behind the Harry Potter films in the new trailer, a visually stunning two-minute video titled “Adventure.”
Directed by Joe Wright, the Pan cast also includes Taejoo Na, Nonso Anozie, Kathy Burke, Kurt Egyiawan, Lewis MacDougall, Leni Zieglmeier, Jack Charles, and Amanda Seyfried.
The Plot: Peter (Levi Miller) is a mischievous 12-year-old boy with an irrepressible rebellious streak, but in the bleak London orphanage where he has lived his whole life those qualities do not exactly fly. Then one incredible night, Peter is whisked away from the orphanage and spirited off to a fantastical world of pirates, warriors and fairies called Neverland. There, he finds amazing adventures and fights life-or-death battles while trying to uncover the secret of his mother, who left him at the orphanage so long ago, and his rightful place in this magical land.
Teamed with the warrior Tiger Lily (Rooney Mara) and a new friend named James Hook (Garrett Hedlund), Peter must defeat the ruthless pirate Blackbeard (Hugh Jackman) to save Neverland and discover his true destiny—to become the hero who will forever be known as Peter Pan.
Denis Leary says he’s known musicians like the ones featured in his new FX comedy Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll his entire life, and some of those artists have now been in rock bands for the last 30 years. “I was backstage a lot and got to witness a lot of the crazy egomaniacal behavior, and I wanted to do a half-hour [show],” said Leary during the press roundtables at the 2015 San Diego Comic-Con. “I thought this would be a new way to go and I’d probably have a blast doing it.”
Leary returns to series television with Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll debuting on July 16, 2015 at 10pm ET/PT. Leary not only stars in the series as an aging rocker who’s desperate to be famous but also created the show, wrote the episodes, and even penned the music sung by the fictional band, The Heathens. In addition to Leary, the series stars Elizabeth Gillies as his talented daughter.
Asked who influenced his character, Leary replied, “For me, there’s a couple of guys I know who never made it. They were pretty bitter about it for a long time. So I based it a little bit on those guys. They still look like rock stars. They walk around the Lower East Side of Brooklyn…you know, when you’re not a rock star but you look like Keith Richards and you’re walking around with that outfit, you look kind of crazy. I love the idea of a guy walking around with this outdated look. That’s the most fun part of the show for me is like my relationship with her because I look so ridiculous half the time. And, to me it’ll be interesting to watch him have to learn from her how to behave as a dad, how to dress.”
“That’ll be a funny episode – me dressing you like a dad,” added Gillies. “In dad clothes? Oh no!”
Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll begins with Leary discovering he has a grown daughter (played by Gillies) who’s actually more musically talented than he is. “It starts off pretty one-note and then it takes on about a thousand other notes. We get invested and the relationship becomes really complicated. But it’s funny too. We tear each other apart,” explained Gillies. “We mentor each other in a weird way. I parent you [to Leary] even though you’re my father. You do teach me about rock and roll, but I don’t have all the issues that you have. I’m clean and sober. I never did anything. He’s obviously the opposite of that. But I definitely feel like Ava and I run the show. We run that sh*t.”
“I’m a huge Rolling Stones fan, obviously a huge fan of Keith Richards and Mick Jagger. I’ve always found it interesting Keith Richards raised such normal kids. He’s been married for 30 years now. He’s a grandfather at this point. It’s really interesting to look at that guy and to see him from that side of it. So, I think that if the show gets to go on and continue it’s going to be really interesting what I’m going to learn from her and vice versa. But there’s clearly the biggest lesson he’s got to learn – which he kind of learns by the end of season one – it starts to become clear to himself that he’s never going to become famous.
If anybody in the family is, or the band, it’s going to be her. So the idea of her getting more fame and him being in a room with her while somebody else famous is in it is always going to be funny. Like, if she’s hanging out with David Bowie in a recording studio, what Johnny’s going to do to blow that up and piss off David Bowie…even though he’s like the biggest David Bowie fan in the world…is always going to be funny to me,” said Leary.
Elaine Hendrix plays Ava in the series, Johnny’s longtime companion and The Heathens backup singer. Leary hasn’t told her who her character is modeled after, but she believes Ava was probably inspired by women who hung out with Leary’s musician friends. “The way he’s described it to me is that she’s sort of a compilation of a few people. But the real genius with Leary, at least as a fellow actor, is that he comes to the table with all these ideas and then he’s willing to let them go,” said Hendrix. “It became a very collaborative process. Certainly as we go along it becomes even more and more collaborative, which is an actor’s dream.”
John Corbett co-stars as Flash, lead guitarist of The Heathens. Corbett was sporting a Johnny Rock T-shirt with cutoff sleeves and a vest while at Comic-Con and seemed to be having a blast channeling his inner rock star. “I’m an old guy – I’m 54 – so to be walking around in cutoff T-shirts is a little stupid,” said Corbett, laughing. “But at the same time, it’s like, ‘Why not, man?! The show is called Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll!'”
Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll is incredibly smart and funny, and Corbett loves getting the scripts from Leary who he labels a “mad genius.” “He’s got a lot of past to draw on. He’s hung out with every strange comic and musician that we know for the last 30 years, and he’s musical himself,” said Corbett. “Denis writes all the music for the show. He plays piano, he plays guitar, and he sings, so he’s got that little sack over here. I’m impressed. Totally impressed.”
The Plot:
Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll centers on “Johnny Rock” (Denis Leary), lead singer of a legendary early 90’s New York band called The Heathens. Known for living up to their name, the band partied so long and so hard that even Keith Richards thought they needed to slow things down. The Heathens were on the brink of becoming famous for their kickass live shows and the release of their highly anticipated first album. Until they broke up. The same day the album dropped. Because lead guitarist Flash (John Corbett) found Johnny in bed with his wife. So the band became legendary for all the wrong reasons – like self-destructing sooner than any group in rock-n-roll history.
25 years later, the only thing bigger than Johnny’s ego is his prostate. The drugs he really needs now aren’t cocaine and marijuana – they’re Crestor, Cymbalta and Cialis. He’s out of work, out of money and out of show business options. That’s when a massively talented young singer named Gigi (Elizabeth Gillies) shows up – with a burning desire to be famous, a throwback appreciation for The Heathens’ only album, and a stack of cash big enough to bring the whole band back into the studio. Only this time, SHE’S the lead singer and Johnny’s just a behind-the-scenes songwriter. John Ales, Bobby Kelly and Elaine Hendrix round out the rest of this dysfunctional rock-n-roll family. The race is on to see who gets famous first – and for what reason.
The cast of FX’s ‘Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll’ at Comic Con (Photo by Richard Chavez / Showbiz Junkies)
A new red band (aka ‘restricted’) clip has arrived for the horror comedy Cooties starring Elijah Wood, Rainn Wilson, and Alison Pill. The new clip finds a group of teachers attempting to keep from being bit by a student, and unfortunately, a woman gets trapped in a locker with the infected student and no one has the key.
The cast also includes Jack McBrayer, Leigh Whannell, Nasim Pedrad, Ian Brennan and Jorgé Garcia. Jonathan Milott and Cary Murnion directed from a screenplay by Saw‘s Leigh Whannell and Glee‘s Ian Brennan. Lionsgate Premiere will be releasing Cooties in theaters and on demand on September 18, 2015.
The Plot:
When a cafeteria food virus turns elementary school children into killer zombies, a group of misfit teachers must band together to escape the playground carnage. The film stars Elijah Wood, Rainn Wilson, and Alison Pill as teachers who fight to survive the mayhem while hilariously bickering in an uncomfortable love triangle on the worst Monday of their lives.
