Fans voted Luke Bryan as the winner of the Entertainer of the Year award at the 2015 Academy of Country Music Awards held April 19th in Arlington, Texas. The ACM Awards set a new record for the highest attendance at any awards show broadcast, with 70,252 Country music fans showing up to celebrate the show’s 50th anniversary.
Miranda Lambert took home the Female Vocalist of the Year award for the sixth consecutive year while Jason Aldean captured the Male Vocalist of the Year award for the third year in a row. In addition, Lambert won the Album of the Year (Platinum) and Song of the Year (“Automatic”) awards.
50th Academy of Country Music Awards Winners:
Entertainer of the Year
Luke Bryan
Male Vocalist of the year
Jason Aldean
Female Vocalist of the year
Miranda Lambert
Vocal Duo of the year
Florida Georgia Line
Vocal Group of the year
Little Big Town
New Artist of the year
Cole Swindell
ALBUM OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company-Label(s)]
Platinum – Miranda Lambert
Producers: Chuck Ainlay, Frank Liddell, Glenn Worf
Record Label: RCA Nashville
Single Record of the Year [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company-Label(s)]
I Don’t Dance – Lee Brice
Producer: Lee Brice
Record Label: Curb Records
Song of the Year [Awarded to Songwriter(s)/Publisher(s)/Artist(s)]
Automatic – Miranda Lambert
Songwriters: Nicolle Galyon, Natalie Hemby, Miranda Lambert
Publishers: EMI Blackwood Music, Inc. (BMI), Pink Dog Publishing (BMI), Sony/ATV Tree Publishing (BMI), Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. (BMI), Wruckestrike (BMI)
Video of the Year [Awarded to Producer(s)/Director(s)/Artist(s)]
Drunk On A Plane – Dierks Bentley
Director: Wes Edwards
Producer: Clarke Gallivan
Vocal Event of the Year [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company-Label(s)]
This Is How We Roll – Florida Georgia Line Featuring Luke Bryan
Producer: Joey Moi
Record Label: Republic Nashville
Jason Blum’s Blumhouse Productions was well represented at the 2015 WonderCon, with cast members from both Unfriended and Insidious: Chapter 3 participating in Q&As with WonderCon attendees as well as interviews with the press. The filmmakers behind The Gallows were also on hand to discuss their found footage film at the Anaheim, CA event. After taking part in the panel and fielding questions from horror fans, Blum chatted with us about his upcoming slate of projects and what he looks for in scripts.
How easy was it to make the decision to have Leigh Whannell direct Insidious: Chapter 3?
“Very easy. Well, we wanted James [Wan] to direct of course. I mean, he directed the first two so we’ve got to go to James first. And James was pretty clear pretty quickly that he wasn’t going to be available. If James couldn’t do it, we all wanted Leigh to do it. So it wasn’t like Leigh lobbied or anything. We definitely all wanted that to happen.”
“Deputy So & So is much more prominent in the movie. Bughuul is back and up to more hijinx, and Deputy So & So is trying to figure out what exactly he’s doing. There’s a new family, a new drama is going on. There are five or six new kill films. We’re not done with the cut yet, so there may be five or six. The movie is very dark and disturbing, like the first movie, but with a whole new set of characters. I love it, and I think people will be really, really psyched about it.”
Were you concerned that Unfriended would be a tough sell?
“Everyone always says that when something’s new. Paranormal Activity… ‘I saw Blair Witch, I don’t know about that.’ I feel like when you try and do something new, that there are more haters than usual when you try and do something new.”
What made you believe audiences would connect with Unfriended?
“Because it’s so relatable. That’s all we do – you stare at your computer. I think it’s really hard to make staring at your computer and to make social media scary. But I think that if you do, it’s ultra scary because it’s all we all do all the time. It’s in our pocket and in our house. I think if you can make that threatening, it’s awesome. I think these guys did. I think Timur [Bekmambetov] came up with this movie that takes this and makes it scary, which is hard to do. But, it works.”
And The Gallows is also found footage?
“Yeah, not on a computer. The Gallows is found footage like Paranormal Activity or like Blair Witch.”
Do you see Unfriended or The Gallows as a way for the found footage format to get out of the corner it’s painted itself into?
“The Gallows, no. Unfriended, yes. Unfriended is different way; I don’t see Unfriended as a found footage, really. Unfriended I see as new. The Gallows is very much…and everyone’s tired of found footage, me, myself at the top of that list. We see gazillions of found footage movies, and 99% of them don’t work. This one just happens to be really, really feel real and scary and brave. But I was really skeptical even about it before I heard about it because I feel like found footage – there is less of it being done. But this one really works.”
Why does it work? What sets it apart?
“Because they did it the right way. They did it for no money. They did it with two people. I don’t think at this point, if we had produced a found footage movie if it’s not a sequel, it would be very challenging because we’re overthinking it. They are just two kids, and they just got into it. Their craft service was just Subway, and they’re really talented.”
You’ve said that the filmmakers found a way to make the found footage aspect of it plausible. Can you talk about that?
“It’s hard to do that without spoiling the movie. What I was kind of saying is that found footage, to make a scary movie in found footage is actually way harder than a traditionally shot movie because scary movies are people in jeopardy. When people are in jeopardy, they don’t hold a camera so you’re always fighting that with a found footage movie. In The Gallows, they really figured out how to make that organic so that you’re not questioning the camera all the time. I think that immediately makes the movie not scary when you’re like, ‘Why are they filming?’ And they answer that in a very clever way, but you have to see the movie.”
What’s the secret to your success in making these lower-budgeted genre films?
“Well, they’re not all successes, but we have a good track record for sure. And I think the way that we do it is very connected to making them inexpensively. And that’s not because it’s profitable because they’re inexpensive, it’s because when you don’t spend a lot of money you can do weird, creative stuff. I think the larger…especially with horror – other genres is another story, although maybe not that different – the more money that you throw at it, the more generic it gets, the more produced it gets, the more glossy it gets, and the less scary it gets. And so when you start with low budgets, you can also take risks.
Like the first Insidious I was talking about, James pitched the third act of that movie as, ‘I want to make it like a David Lynch movie,’ so The Further would be like David Lynch. If you were making that movie at a studio, the studio would be like, ‘You can’t go to The Further, you can’t make that.’ But if you make a movie for very little money, you can say, ‘Screw it. Let’s give that a shot.’ So that’s the answer to your question that by not spending a lot of money on the movies, it allows us to let directors take chances that they ordinarily would not get to take.”
Given all the projects you have going on, what is it that you look for in deciding what to move forward on?
“Scary. Like, however it can be scary. Two things: scary and different. Now that really applies to originals. Sequels obviously there’s mythology and there’s all these things that are pre-established. I try and do that, too. Obviously you want to make every movie a little different than the previous one. But on original movies I really look for what scares me and what feels new, what feels different. Like Lazarus Effect to me, that felt like a very [different film]. We haven’t seen that. It didn’t really work unfortunately, but I still really liked the movie. I like what David Gelb tried to do with the movie, and it’s a story we haven’t seen for a long time. So, that’s what I look for.”
Director Zack Snyder served up more Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice goodies with the reveal of two IMAX posters featuring the titular superheroes. The posters will be given out during today’s Batman v Superman IMAX event which will feature the film’s trailer (with new footage).
Coming to theaters on March 25, 2016, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was written by Chris Terrio from David S. Goyer’s screenplay.
The cast is led by Ben Affleck as Batman, Henry Cavill as Superman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, and Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor. Amy Adams, Laurence Fishburne, Holly Hunter, Jeremy Irons, and Diane Lane co-star, with Jason Momoa popping up as Aquaman.
The official first trailer for the second season of Disney XD’s Star Wars Rebels premiered at the Star Wars Celebration, with series co-creators Dave Filoni and Simon Kinberg joining voice cast members Freddie Prinze, Jr., Vanessa Marshall, Tiya Sircar, Steve Blum, and Taylor Gray to unveil the first look at the upcoming season. They also announced Clone Wars‘ Captain Rex, Commander Wolffe, and Gregor will be joining Star Wars Rebels for season two, and Dee Bradley Baker will be voicing all three characters.
Star Wars Rebels season two will air this fall on Mondays at 9pm ET/PT on Disney XD.
Lena Headey in ‘Game of Thrones’ season 5 episode 2 (Photo: Helen Sloan/ Courtesy of HBO)
The big news on Game of Thrones‘ second episode of season five is that Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) has arrived in Braavos. As much as we all loved last week’s season five premiere, lethal little Arya was missed. Well, she’s back, baby! And our little girl is (nearly) all grown up. We open as Arya is about to sail between the giant legs straddling the Braavos harbor. The ship’s captain tells her the tale of the Titan who would step into the sea whenever Braavos was threatened and “smash” her enemies. Arya answers with a deadpan, “It’s just a statue.” From the outset, it’s clear that Arya has changed.
The title of the episode is “The House of Black and White,” which is the home of the “Faceless Men,” the group of ninja assassins of which Arya’s benefactor, the face-changing Jaqen H’ghar (Tom Wlaschiha) was a member. Since this is the first place she goes upon her arrival in Braavos, apparently her plan is to go to Assassin School.
The needle on the record skips when the old man with the weather-beaten face in a Jedi bathrobe who answers the door, turns her away. Dejected and at a loss for what to do next, Arya tosses Jaqen H’ghar’s coin into the sea and then sits on the steps outside the house to continue to hone her kill list. It’s been whittled to four names (notably absent, The Hound, *stage whisper* because she thinks he’s already dead). Cersei is still number one with a bullet.
The Bickersons – Pod (Daniel Portman) and Brienne (Gwendolyn Christie) – are at a tavern. While eyeballing a serving wench, Pod spies Pyter Baelish (Aidan Gillen) and Sansa (Sophie Turner). Baelish has received a message and tells Sansa that his offer of marriage has been accepted. Sansa comments on the short mourning period for her Aunt Lysa. (Knowing Baelish, and the fact that we’ve just been reminded – and will be again in another minute – that he’s now Sansa’s “uncle” by marriage, I’d put money down that he wasn’t referring to his own match.)
Brienne makes her presence known and while Littlefinger insults her, she is finally able to tell Sansa about her vow to her mother. Dark Sansa takes it all in then ultimately refuses Brienne’s service. (The key is that while she listened, we could see the wheels turning. She’s justifiably wary of strangers, as Brienne points out, but she made up her own mind.) Brienne and Pod narrowly escape Littlefinger’s men. Undeterred, Brienne drags Pod after Sansa and Baelish.
Cersei (Lena Headey) received a threat from Dorne in the form of her daughter’s necklace (in a truly frightening gift box, I might add) and has another hissy fit, threatening to “burn their cities to the ground” if they harm Myrcella. Wounded Cersei is extra dangerous and Jaime (Nicolaj Coster-Waldau) sees it, perhaps for the first time. But this is new-and-improved Jaime, so he promises to go to Dorne, bring back Myrcella and “make things better.”
Semi-retired Bronn (Jerome Flynn) is attempting domesticity with Lollys Stokeworth (Elizabeth Cadwallader) who natters like a teenager and would surely drive him to smother her with a pillow inside of a month after their nuptials, especially since he isn’t even going to get to live in the cool castle he wanted, until Jaime arrives to tell him that Cersei has promised his intended to someone else. The better to tempt him with an offer of a better girl and a better castle – when they get back from their trip to Dorne, of course.
Tonight we were introduced to a couple of new faces, including one actress playing an “aged up” version of a character we’ve already, albeit briefly, met, Nell Tiger Free (is that the coolest name ever, or what?) as Myrcella Lannister, who has barely been mentioned since Tyrion had her shipped off to Dorne as the betrothed of Trystane Martell (Toby Sebastian) in season three. We got the barest of glimpses of the lovebirds in this episode, but Cersei is right to fear for her daughter’s safety now that Ellaria Sand (Indira Varma) is back in Dorne and seeking revenge for Oberyn Martell’s grisly death.
Speaking of Oberyn, we finally met his older brother, the Prince of Dorne, Doran Martell (Alexander Siddig). YAY! Apparently, he’s nothing like book Doran. I don’t care. Ellaria is still beyond pissed about the manner of her playmate’s death, demanding that big bro do something about it or she’s going to send Myrcella back to Cersei one piece at a time. He’s obviously a much cooler head, since he reminds her that his brother died in a “trial by combat” so his hands are tied. Ellaria sneers that the country and “the snakes,” Oberyn’s three illegitimate daughters, want to avenge him. Doran tells her to chill. “We don’t mutilate little girls.”
Emilia Clarke in ‘Game of Thrones’ (Photo: Macall B. Polay / HBO)
Back in Mereen, Grey Worm (Jacob Anderson) and Daario Naharis (Michiel Huisman) find the Son of the Harpy who killed GW’s friend The White Rat at the brothel last week. Ser Barristan Selmy (Ian McElhinney) counsels Dany with history lessons, recounting the last days of her father, The Mad King, warning her to temper her justice with mercy. She agrees to give the traitor a fair trial.
New allies Tyrion and Varys (I know everyone loves Tyrion, but he and Varys are quickly becoming my favorite part of this new season) are on the road to Mereen…well actually to Volantis which leads to Mereen…riding in a covered wagon. Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) is still trying to drink himself to death a la Nicolas Cage in Leaving Las Vegas. He’s feeling guilty about Shae, and tells Varys (Conleth Hill) that she wanted him to take her away from King’s Landing but he didn’t because he liked feeling powerful. Varys wants him to get over it already and explains that he is looking for a ruler, and that despite the fact that he had no title, Tyrion was “quite good” at the job.
Tyrion has cabin fever and wants to go for a walk. Varys tells him it’s not safe. Tyrion asks, “How many dwarves are there in the world? Is Cersei going to kill them all?” Cut to the severed head of a dwarf plonked onto a table. “Not him,” says Cersei before telling her henchmen to redouble their efforts.
Cersei is acting as surrogate Hand of the King, which doesn’t sit well with the other members of the Small Council. When challenged, she flatters and bribes them with promotions. Except for her uncle Kevan Lannister (Ian Gilder), Tywin’s brother, who’s having none of it, nor her, and he exits stage left on his way back to Casterly Rock.
Sourpuss Stannis Baratheon’s sweet, disfigured daughter, Shireen (Kerry Ingraham), is teaching Gilly (Hannah Murray) how to read. Gilly asks about her face and Shireen tells her the affliction is called Grey Scale. Gilly apparently had two sisters who died of it. Stannis’ Queen, the equally sourpussed Selyse (Tara Fitzgerald), stomps in and warns Shireen to stay away from the Wildlings.
As predicted, Stannis the Grumpy is not happy with Jon Snow (Kit Harington) for showing mercy to Mance Rayder, but wants something from Jon: the allegiance of the North. In return he offers Jon what he’s always wanted…the Stark name.
The Night’s Watch is about to vote for new a Lord High Commander. Everyone expects the nasty Maester, Ser Allisar Thorne, to win. Sam very eloquently nominates Jon. Samwell Tarly (John Bradley) will never be a good fighter, but he’s found his voice. Jon ties with Thorne. Maester Aemon (Peter Vaughan) casts the deciding vote for Jon. Allisar Thorne will not go gently (The preview of next week that you can find below would seem to bear that out.)
Arya is sharpening Needle by decapitating pigeons. She’s stopped by ruffians who want to take it from her. While she fearlessly threatens them, they run away at the sight of the same wrinkled old man, who peels away his face to reveal…Jaqun H’gar! Except his name is No One and that is who “the girl must become.” Arya follows him into the House of Black and White.
Back in Mereen, Mossador (Reece Noi) has taken the law into his own hands and killed the traitor. Dany has him arrested, meaning to make an example of him. “The law is the law.” The crowd, which moments before had been yelling “Myhsa!” (mother), now cries for mercy. She does not give it. Immediately, the crowd begins to hiss and then throw stones as Dany is whisked away. Alone in her room pondering what the hell just happened and what she’s going to do next, Drogon briefly returns to his Mama. She reaches out to him and since he didn’t try to torch or eat her, I guess they have a moment. Then he flies off into the night…and is gone. Dun dun dun…
A few memorable from Game of Thrones season five episode two:
“Ready the horses.” – Brienne
“We’ve only got one.” – Pod
“Get some more!” – Brienne
“Must we spend the entire journey discussing the futility of
everything?” – Varys
“You’re right, no point.” – Tyrion
“People like you and me are never really satisfied inside
the box.” – Varys
“We don’t mutilate little girls…not while I rule.” – Doran Martell
“How long will that be?” – Ellaria Sand
Meet you back here next week for a recap of Season five episode three titled “High Sparrow.” Looks like we have, among a lot of other things, the return of Roose Bolton and Theon Greyjoy to look forward to.
20th Century Fox followed up the leaked Fantastic Four trailer by unleashing official version which shows the first real footage of Doctor Doom (played by Toby Kebbell). The new trailer also shows the Four being transformed into Mr. Fantastic (Miles Teller), The Invisible Woman (Kate Mara), The Thing (Jamie Bell), and The Human Torch (Michael B. Jordan).
Directed by Josh Trank, this reboot of the Fantastic Four franchise is set for release on August 7, 2015.
Fantastic Four, a contemporary re-imagining of Marvel’s original and longest-running superhero team, centers on four young outsiders who teleport to an alternate and dangerous universe, which alters their physical form in shocking ways. Their lives irrevocably upended, the team must learn to harness their daunting new abilities and work together to save Earth from a former friend turned enemy.
Tonight is Girls Night and the trial of the 18th Century all rolled into one! Our beloved Sassenach (Caitriona Balfe) is in a pretty difficult situation in Outlander season one episode 11, mainly because she did what Jamie (Sam Heughan) said NOT to do and went to Geillis’ (Lotte Verbeek) house. But in her defense she can’t help wanting to go to people that need help, the nurse instinct ye ken? She underestimated Laoghaire (Nell Hudson) and the links she would go to get Jamie.
This episode starts with the Lasses being thrown down into the thieves’ hole. What a lovely place this is! Just full of comfy rocks, mud, and RATS!!! The Lasses have a lovely little chat about the fact that Geillis killed her husband, and that Laoghaire set them up. Then a rather round man comes to drop a half-torn bit of bread down to the Lasses. Claire tries to tell him that she is the wife of the nephew of the Laird. Enter the wise-cracking guardsman who says, “And I’m King Arthur!” Nice try but no dice in getting out of that hole tonight.
Geillis doesn’t know that Dougal (Graham McTavish) and Jamie were sent away. Geillis thinks Dougal will come for them, but Claire makes her understand that both their knights in shining armor are nowhere nearby. They are on their own. They settle down for the night to sleep. In the morning they get taken to the court to start the witch trial. The Lasses are walked past a platform being built as a place to burn them. How kind of them to plan ahead before the trial even started!
Enter the knight in a long waistcoat instead of armor, Ned Gowan (Bill Paterson). Such a smart and caring man, but he stepped into a den of vipers this day. He gallantly tried to get the trial dismissed, to no avail. But he did manage to be allowed to stand as the Lasses’ lawyer so they could have some defense before the blood-thirsty crowd. Enter the line of witnesses providing various arguments. As a person in the current century we know that none of what is being said is witchcraft, but in that time so very many things were considered evil that the list of accusations is very damning to them both.
At various points Ned does poke holes in the situations. He is a very accomplished lawyer indeed and is able to turn much of the arguments around. Though, he can’t redirect all issues. Enter the issue of Claire going to the fairy hill and trying to save the sick baby just a few days before. Ned does manage to lessen this blow a bit, but Claire just can’t keep her mouth shut. The Lasses are taken back to the hole. Geillis admits to Claire in the hole that she is in favor of the Jacobite cause and that is what drew her and Dougal together. Claire quotes the line from a bit of American history by Nathan Hale, “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.”
The next morning the men come for the women again, back to the court, and the first witness this time is Laoghaire. She turns on the tears and the charm. Who knew she was so deceptive? Maybe Jamie should have let her get a ‘good hiding’, as Jamie puts it, for a hard whipping back in the second episode at Castle Leoch. Then, enter the theatrics of Father Bain. He turns the situation around and makes the crowd feel sorry for him, and thus turning the example from episode three around on Claire for saving Thomas Baxter’s life.
Ned is given permission to take the women into a side room to talk for a few minutes. He has to propose a new strategy; he can only see a way to save one. Claire has to turn on Geillis to save her own skin. Geillis knows that Claire is hiding something. Claire alludes to the mistake of going through the stones without openly saying it to her.
Geillis knows she is done for and will burn. Claire has the opportunity to save her own skin by renouncing Geillis but she doesn’t do it. She sticks by her friend. They are both then pronounced witches and condemned to burn. They have a second and Geillis says “1968” to Claire. Claire begins to spout off at that moment and upsets the court when she sees them tackle Ned to the ground. Our gal sure doesn’t hold her peace. They open her bodice and whip her several times. ENTER JAMIE FRASER!!!! He pushes them all back and is holding them at bay with his sword and dirk.
Geillis sees there is no way for her and Claire both to get out of this, but she can at least save Claire. She sacrifices herself and shouts out that she confesses while showing the mark on her arm to prove it. We know that was a vaccination scare for Small Pox, what they see is a witch’s mark. Claire then realizes Geillis is from the 20th Century, too. Jamie pulls her away as Geillis tears her bodice to show the child she carries and completes her show with screams while professing the child was Satan’s. They carry her up the hill to the platform and the pole waiting. Jamie gets Claire away.
Jamie has her in the forest now and is trying to tend the stripes on her back. He sits down and asks her to give him honesty and promises to give it in return. Claire agrees to this, that she will give him honesty. He then asks her if she is in fact a witch. He mentions the mark on her arm like that of Geillis, the same mark that Geillis said was the Devil’s mark. Now she has to spill the entire thing, she can’t have him thinking she is evil! She has held this information alone, afraid to tell anyone because she knows they would think she was fully NUTS. She admits to EVERYTHING! That she is a nurse, that she is from the future, that she is married to Frank (Tobias Menzies).
To Jamie’s very great credit, he listens and believes her. He can’t fully take everything in yet, but he believes her. There are moments when blind love is a good thing. Though, he does admit that it would have been easier to believe if she had only been a witch.
He trusts what she is saying about all of it. He realizes that when she ran off that she was headed back to the stones. He is upset with himself now because he realizes that she was trying to go home, and he whipped her for it. She tells him about the fall of the Scottish army at Culloden, and all the history she knew. They travel for a while, and Jamie tells Claire more of Lallybroch. They camp and that night Jamie is lying next to Claire watching her sleep. It is so sweet when men do that when they are in love. It is not sweet when they have a creepy vibe, but of course that is not our Jamie!!
Jamie loves her so much but he is a man after all, so he can’t help but touch her while she is sleeping. He REALLY knows how to wake a woman up. In the last episode, he wakes her with the butterfly kisses between the thighs, and this time with a roaming hand. She begs to have him inside her, but he says he wants to watch her reactions. He is such a tease! He comes so close but won’t kiss her fully, either. So mean, but a good kind of mean! {kegel tingles for everyone; dear friend @beulahcrusoe gave me that..lol}
The next morning she is washing by the creek and he asks her if she wants to go home. She thinks he means to Lallybroch. But Jamie tells her to climb the hill near where they were camped. At the top, she can see Craigh Na Dun a bit away on the next hill. She is surprised to say the least. He admits he brought her back so she could go home. That walk between the two hills would have been torture for me to do. Torn between her husbands, Jamie and Frank, and I would think it was terrible for Jamie as well fully expecting to lose her forever. Jamie walks over and touches the stone but nothing happens. He asks Claire what she did and she demonstrated that she just walked toward them. The sounds in the stones started and she was almost gone. Jamie was afraid and pulled her from going. He apologizes and tells her to go. Okay, the tears are flowing just like they did when I read this part of the book. He told her to go and didn’t see it as a decision at all. She would be safer on the other side.
They say goodbye and he walks away. As the saying goes, if you love them you will let them go. She is left to her internal battle, is it Jamie or is it Frank? At length she has made her choice. If they love you they will find their way back. Clearly, she loved Frank but loves Jamie a bit more. There is that one person in the world, and once you find them you know it. Nothing explains it either. She wakes Jamie, with visible tears on his cheek {heart breaks for the tears}, to ask him to take her home to Lallybroch. Shock transitions into joy, and they embrace. Roll credits and everyone grab your courage; the ride is just beginning…
This episode was very much like the book except for a few of the items. They camped at a nearby hill close to Craigh Na Dun instead of going back to the cabin that was in the end of the first episode when Claire went through the stones the first time. They also made Claire realize right away that Geillis was from the future like her instead of it taking a little bit of time for her to piece that together after the trial. Last episode, “By the Pricking of My Thumbs,” was considerably different than the path the book took. That’s what is so amazing about this show. They deviate from the book in ways that are transparent to the story and yet still manage to find their way back to the book’s portrayal of the tale. This is the very reason the readers enjoy the show as much as the books.
Robert Sheehan (The Mortal Instruments, Killing Bono), Dev Patel, and Zoe Kravitz star in the WellGoUSA dramedy The Road Within in theaters on April 17, 2015 (and also available on VOD). The film marks the directorial debut of Gren Wells who also wrote the script which follows three residents of a treatment center – one with Tourette Syndrome (Sheehan), one who’s anorexic (Kravitz), and one who suffers from OCD (Patel) – as they embark on a bizarre, life-changing road trip.
Kicking off our phone interview, Sheehan serenaded me with a few lines from Lionel Richie’s “Hello” before getting down to the business of discussing the challenges of playing someone with Tourette’s and his experience working on The Road Within.
Robert Sheehan Interview
What did you know about Tourette’s before you took on the role?
“Not very much, Rebecca, at all in the grand scheme of things. I was aware of the existence of Tourette Syndrome. I’d seen a few films portray it. I might have seen the documentary called Strange Behaviours which, if you’re curious, is well worth a look. Yeah, I didn’t really know much about it and it was nice to have this avenue to explore it.”
In talking to people who have Tourette’s, what did you pick up that helped you play the character that you didn’t get just from the script?
“I think one of the main things I noticed was the nature of physical tics and indeed vocal tics, which are called Coprolalia, which is that they’re not always that explosive. My first instinct was to [overdo them] and go over-the-top with the portrayal of the physical Tourette Syndrome, where in fact they can be done at a very conversational level. I sort of had to reprogram myself just a little bit, just to kind of not overdo it. I think I jumped in two feet first. We had a Tourette’s consultant, Jaxon Kramer, whose main job it was on set was to sort of bring me down in certain scenes, you know what I mean?”
How did you develop the physical mannerisms?
“They were developed over a period of time. I needed to come up with ones that felt natural in my own body, for whatever reasons. That was really good fun, actually, to just kind of come up with my own random tics. How could one movement feel more natural than another? Who knows? That was kind of fun exploring that.”
You not only had to do the physical tics but you also had to do an American accent while trying to connect with this character who the audience has to connect with. Was there something about him you could relate to that helped you get into the character?
“I think he was there very early on for me, or certainly a strong feeling very early on of who he was. And then it was trying to jump the hurdle of getting the Tourette’s under the skin so I could go back to focusing on him. I felt a strong instinct for the character straight off the page.”
Did having the director also be the writer help on this particular film?
“I think so, yeah, and how free she was. She was very, very free. Once I felt very comfortable with the Tourette Syndrome, I was free to orchestrate that whatever way I felt which, in the script, for clarity reasons, was written in a sentence. Gwen had written it in however way she heard it and if didn’t feel right for me I was… Essentially I reorganized the Tourette Syndrome for the character which was because it had to come from inside me. So, stuff like that we were very, very collaborative and she was really free and open with.”
When you say “reorganized” do you mean the tics would come out at different times than were originally scripted?
“Yes. And it was a constant re-imagination of where’s the tic going to come from. It kind of came down to a science, really, of just finding those moments piece by piece. It was from going through the script with a fine-toothed comb philosophy, pouring over it multiple times.”
This must have been a physically exhausting role. Was it hard to get the energy up for it every day?
“It really wasn’t. It really wasn’t for some reason. I think the energy that was sort of bopping around my body when was really beneficial to just having energy all day. It seems like that kind of nervous energy woke me up in the morning and kept me awake right throughout the day. I actually had no problem with exhaustion or anything. It was quite the opposite of what I thought it was going to be. That was great. But, I did have a bit of a problem sleeping just because I had to turn it off at the end of the day. You kind of sat in bed kicking yourself, like, ‘Oh, calm down now.'”
Was it a short shoot?
“It was, I suppose, in the grand scheme. It was like 25 days I think. But we went across a tremendous amount of locations. It was a logistical nightmare.”
I loved the chemistry between you, Dev Patel, and Zoe Kravitz and in fact, would like to see a sequel so we can learn more about each character.
“Yeah!”
Let’s campaign for it now.
“Dev and Zoe were lovely. It’s interesting because we were all suitably terrified and it was nice to be in a room and get it wrong together. We could figure stuff out. I’d get frustrated, and we’d go through a whole cacophony of sh*t before we came to a point where we were all feeling comfortable. We all had our own battles so it was nice to be together. It felt like a little family. I think it was a nice dynamic that we ended up with, with myself and Dev screaming and hooting and whooping, and Zoe’s energy very much dampening us two. It was a nice dynamic.”
You said you were terrified. Were you really terrified going into this role?
“Yeah, I was. I think that was one of the reasons why I was motivated to do as much preparation as I possibly could. Sometimes the temptation is to just wait until you’re in a room with the other actors and just see what happens. But that wasn’t what happened with this and it was because I was just terrified of misrepresenting people with Tourette Syndrome. It would be a really f*cked up thing to have a movie that’s there forever and has a dishonest portrayal, so that was my greatest fear.”
What has been the reaction to the film of people who have Tourette Syndrome?
“Actually, it’s been really positive. Very positive, thank God. It’s been really nice. We’ve had a lovely bit of feedback from Tim Howard who’s a goalkeeper for the US. He has Tourette Syndrome and he’s completely focused on sports when he’s playing, but then he has Tourette’s. He’s suffered with it all of his life. He wrote this lovely, good review of how the film shows people with these kinds of disabilities can show courage and go out and live full lives, and not let the disability conquer you. It was sort of that flavor of feedback that was really fantastic to get.”
“Tell me, do you bleed?” asks Batman (Ben Affleck) looking up into the rainy sky at a hovering Superman (Henry Cavill). As Superman slams to the ground, Batman answers his own question by stating, “You will.”
Director Zack Snyder just unveiled the Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice official teaser trailer via Twitter calling it the “NotPirated #NotBlurry edition, with Warner Bros also officially showing off the trailer on YouTube. The official release follows the pirated blurry cellphone version that showed up online yesterday and was almost immediately taken down. The first real look at the clash between the two caped superheroes is dark and intense, and what it lacks in action it makes up for in foreboding atmosphere.
Warner Bros Pictures will release Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice in theaters on March 25, 2016.
Director Colin Trevorrow debuted the new poster for Jurassic World via Twitter, with the poster featuring a sneak peek at an Indominus Rex. And Bryce Dallas Howard. We know Bryce Dallas Howard…but what’s an Indominus Rex? Here’s the details on this genetically created dinosaur, according to Jurassic World‘s official website:
– The name means Fierce or Untamable King
– 40 foot long
– Closely resembles a T Rex
– Also resembles an Abelisaur
– Horns above the eyes
– Genetic material hybridized from Carnotaurus, Majungasaurus, Rugops, and Giganotosaurus
– Roar reaches 140-160db
– Running speed is 30 mph
In addition to Indominus Rex and Bryce Dallas Howard, the Jurassic World cast includes Chris Pratt, Ty Simpkins, Nick Robinson, Irrfan Khan, Vincent D’Onofrio, Jake Johnson, Omar Sy, BD Wong, and Judy Greer. Jurassic World opens in theaters on June 12, 2015.
