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‘Texas Rising’ Rises on History Over Memorial Day

 Jeffrey Dean Morgan as "Deaf Smith" in 'Texas Rising' (Photo by Kevin Lynch Copyright 2015)

Jeffrey Dean Morgan as “Deaf Smith” in ‘Texas Rising’ (Photo by Kevin Lynch / Copyright 2015)

History’s announced the schedule for their upcoming event series Texas Rising starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Bill Paxton, Brendan Fraser, Ray Liotta, and Olivier Martinez. The cast of the 10-hour, five-part series also includes Thomas Jane, Christopher McDonald, Jeremy Davies, Chad Michael Murray, Max Thieriot, Robert Knepper, Rhys Coiro, Crispin Glover, Jeff Fahey, Rob Morrow, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Trevor Donovan, and Kris Kristofferson. And Texas Rising was directed by two-time Oscar nominee Roland Joffé (The Killing Fields, The Mission).

The air dates:

Monday, May 25 at 9PM ET/PT

Tuesday, May 26 at 9PM ET/PT

Monday, June 1 at 9PM ET/PT

Monday, June 8 at 9PM ET/PT

Monday, June 15 at 9PM ET/PT

The Plot:

The Alamo was not the end of the story, it was only the beginning, and Texas Rising details what followed in the fight for an independent Texas. In 1836, west of the Mississippi was considered the Wild West and the Texas frontier was viewed as hell on earth. With colliding cultures all fighting for stakes to this territory, no one was safe. But this was a time of bravery, a time to die for what you believed in and a time to stand tall against the fierce Mexican General Santa Anna and his forces. General Sam Houston, the rag tag Rangers and the legendary “Yellow Rose of Texas,” lead this story of the human will to fight for independence despite nearly insurmountable odds and to claim a piece of history for all eternity.

– Also of Interest: 10 Films Made Better Because of Bill Paxton


-By Rebecca Murray

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JD Pardo and Anna Diop Interview – ‘The Messengers’

JD Pardo and Anna Diop The Messengers Interview
JD Pardo and Anna Diop from ‘The Messengers’ at WonderCon (Photo © Richard Chavez)

The CW’s about to premiere the new sci-fi series The Messengers starring JD Pardo, Anna Diop, Shantel VanSanten, Sofia Black D’Elia, Joel Courtney, and Diogo Morgado on April 17, 2015 at 9pm ET/PT. And in support of the show’s upcoming debut, cast members made their way to the 2015 WonderCon in Anaheim to talk about what viewers can expect when they tune in. For those who haven’t yet heard of The Messengers, here’s the lengthy synopsis courtesy of The CW:

“In the white-hot sun of the New Mexico desert, scientist Vera Buckley watches in fascination as a mysterious object plummets to Earth and explodes in a blinding flash, sending out a shock wave that briefly stops Vera’s heart and panics her techie coworker, Alan Harris.

 

Vera is not the only one affected by the blast; she is instantly and mysteriously connected to four other strangers, who also collapse only to miraculously come back to life: Erin Calder, a young mother desperate to protect her 7-year-old daughter from an abusive ex-husband; Peter Moore, a troubled high school student who finally lashes out to end the constant bullying he can no longer endure; Raul Garcia, a federal agent looking to escape his undercover assignment in a violent Mexican drug cartel; and Joshua Silburn, Jr., a charismatic second-generation televangelist following in his father’s footsteps – all awaken after the blast with extraordinary gifts, from inexplicable strength to the ability to heal others.

  

Most mysterious of all is the figure known only The Man, who offers Vera the one thing she wants most in life – to be reunited with her kidnapped son – if she will help him with one morally complicated task.  That task puts Vera on a collision course with nurse Rose Arvale who, after a seemingly random act of violence left her in a coma for seven years, suddenly begins to stir.  As Joshua Jr. prophesied, the wheels of Revelation have begun to turn, and these five newly christened Angels of the Apocalypse may be the only hope for preventing the impending Rapture.”

Sitting down to chat about the show, JD Pardo explained what it was that first drew him to The Messengers.

“Honestly, I think that at that time I was really looking to just do something. You spend two years doing something like Revolution and that becomes your family, the crew, the cast. It can be like a break-up. You need to get right back out there. And this script was interesting because the pilot at the beginning it wasn’t so much about angels or the apocalypse. You knew that there was this event and there was this mysterious man who landed on Earth. Characters die and are brought back to life, but even within that you get to situations that are very real, that we all kind of face.

So just because he starts hearing things, it’s not like all of a sudden he has wings and he’s like fighting people, ‘I’m an angel!’ No, he’s a fugitive, he’s trying to get away. He’s bleeding and he can die. What interested me about the script was just how human they all were. It’s like different walks of life. There’s something there for everybody. You think, ‘How are they going to pull this together?'”

Diop said it was the fact that her character, Rose, is “extraordinarily empathetic” that made her so interesting to play. “That was something that I loved to play, something that I’d like to be more of. And, also she was thrown into this leader position so she has to deal with these five strangers,” explained Diop. “She’s just thrown into this position to have to guide them. I think that was something that surprised me was just the constant having to round them up. At one point I looked at them like my kids, just constantly trying to keep them in my sight.”

Diop also revealed how her character is different than the others who’ve been affected by this mysterious event. “She is a messenger. She just, unlike any other messenger, she has the gift to understand what it is that’s going on. Throughout the season you’ll kind of see more of that,” said Diop.

So, when can viewers expect to see all of the messengers actually get together? Although neither Pardo or Diop were sure they could reveal the details, they did say that it would happen fairly quickly. Speaking quietly, both Pardo and Diop confirmed it would happen in episode two, and then jokingly scanned the press room to make sure they weren’t overheard and in trouble for saying too much.

Circling back to what drew him in in the first place, Pardo said, “It’s a great show. I think there’s going to be something there for everybody to tune into. I think you can relate. Kids are going to relate to Peter and how he’s being bullied and has to run away.”

– More The Messengers interviews: Shantel VanSanten and Craig Frank / Jon Fletcher and Joel Courtney / Diogo Morgado / Sofia Black D’Elia

Watch the full interview:




‘Top Chef’ Season 13 Plans a California Road Trip

Top Chef Season 13 Does a California Tour
‘Top Chef’ host Padma Lakshmi and head judge Tom Colicchio (Photo by: Tommy Garcia / Bravo)

Bravo’s taking Top Chef to six California cities for season 13 when filming gets underway this spring. Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Oakland, and the Greater Palm Springs are included on the Top Chef road trip, and the season is also set to include California chefs as well as California culinary stars and celebrities as guest judges.

After 12 seasons, Top Chef sits at the top of the list of the most popular cable culinary competition series.

“The entire food landscape has transformed in the 10 years since Top Chef first launched,” stated Shari Levine, Executive Vice President, Current Production, Bravo Media. “What better way to explore where it all started than to head out to California, one of the top culinary destinations in the world, for an unprecedented six-city expedition.”

“The Golden State truly is the ‘land of wine and food.’ California is the ultimate destination and viewers will see first-hand the abundance and diversity of the state’s fresh produce offerings, world-class chefs, and renowned dining experiences within our iconic cities, wine regions and agricultural communities,” added Caroline Beteta, president & CEO of Visit California.

Sam Smith, Hozier, and Nick Jonas to Perform at the Billboard Music Awards

Sam Smith, Nick Jonas, Hozier to Perform on Billboard Music Awards

The list of artists set to take the stage at the 2015 Billboard Music Awards has increased by three. dick clark productions and Billboard confirmed Sam Smith, Hozier, and Nick Jonas will perform on the 2015 Billboard Music Awards, joining previously announced performers Fall Out Boy featuring Wiz Khalifa. This year’s awards show will be held on Sunday, May 17th at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Vegas and will be broadcast live on the East Coast at 8pm (tape delayed on the West Coast) on ABC.

Handling the hosting duties this year will be Chrissy Teigen and Ludacris. Tickets to the Billboard Music Awards are now on sale at Ticketmaster.com.

Nominees are selected based on “album and digital songs sales, radio airplay, streaming, touring and social interactions on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Spotify and other popular online destinations for music.” Billboard used the tracking period beginning with March 10, 2014 and ending on March 8, 2015 to select this year’s top artists.

In announcing the new performers, Billboard released these fun facts:

· Hozier’s smash single “Take Me To Church” hit No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent 23 weeks at No. 1 on Hot Rock Songs.

· Nick Jonas came into his own in 2014 with his successful self-titled album. The set debuted at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 and spawned his first Billboard Hot 100 top 10 with “Jealous” and top 20 follow-up “Chains.”

· Sam Smith’s debut studio album In the Lonely Hour reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and has spun off three Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hits: “Stay With Me,” “I’m Not the Only One” and “Lay Me Down.”

Complete list of the 2015 Billboard Music Awards nominees


-By Rebecca Murray

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‘Orphan Black’ Season 3 Evelyne Brochu, Kristian Bruun, and Dylan Bruce Interview

Orphan Black Season 3 Kristian Bruun, Evelyne Brochu, and Dylan Bruce Interview
Kristian Bruun, Evelyne Brochu, and Dylan Bruce from ‘Orphan Black’ at WonderCon (Photos © Richard Chavez)

Evelyne Brochu, Dylan Bruce, and Kristian Bruun joined their fellow Orphan Black cast members Maria Doyle Kennedy and Jordan Gavaris along with series co-creator/writer Graeme Manson at the 2015 WonderCon in Anaheim to discuss season three of the critically acclaimed (and highly addictive) sci-fi series. And while Brochu, Bruce, and Bruun were fun to talk to, they confessed to walking on eggshells when it came to answering questions. The list of what they were not allowed to talk about was a lengthy one according to Bruce, however there were still enough juicy tidbits divulged about season three to make any Orphan Black fan happy.

Can you clarify Delphine’s motivations?

Evelyne Brochu: “I think the fun thing about Delphine this season is that her motivations have to be hidden. She has a plan, she made a promise, she’s going to do a lot of power plays that we’re not necessarily going to understand. But I think we can trust… There’s one moment when Cosima leaves and she’s alone, and I think that there’s a lot when you’re alone is when you’re the most truthful as a human being. So I think we can trust that that’s the true feeling. I don’t think she’s happy with having to make that radical move, but I think she needs to make it. What’s going to be interesting is how does that unfold. Why does she need to make it? What’s happening? Who’s holding the strings behind her? What strings is she trying to pull making these radical moves? So it’s going to be a heartbreaking season in that sense. Sometimes when you want something you have to give something up for the good of what you’re going for.”

What else are you allowed to say about season three?

Kristian Bruun: “I can tell you that this season is the most action-packed one yet, for sure. People ask me, ‘Describe the season in one word,’ and I always say, ‘Action.’ Each season has a different feeling to it, what’s going on, how much information they know, and this season we are so chock-full of characters. We’ve got Project Leda, Project Castor, a war really is brewing. We have so many characters, so many auxiliary characters, so many clones that we explore everybody. All of our stories get deeper and more fleshed out as we discover more. We get more answers throughout the whole season. It’s so exciting. Every episode is exciting. There’s no lagging or anything like that. There’s no time for that. There’s just so much story and so many of us, and we all get our due time.”

Evelyne Brochu: “I think my word would be danger.”

Dylan Bruce: “Violent. This season’s very violent, but not excessively. It’s all violence that’s necessary to the story.”

Kristian Bruun: “Necessary roughness.”

Dylan Bruce: [Laughing] “Necessary roughness. It’s a violent season. It’s shocking, some of the stuff that happens. Truly, truly shocking.”

Kristian Bruun: “It’s a lot more emotional and raw.”

Dylan Bruce: “Oh yeah, for sure.”

Did anyone of you have that moment while reading the scripts where you just didn’t see something coming?

Dylan Bruce: “For sure.”

Kristian Bruun: “Almost every episode, because that’s the first time we get to see it is when a script comes through in our email. Usually when it does I know I have to drop everything and just start reading it right away to see what happens. Almost every episode there’s a holy sh*t moment. It’s so awesome.”

Dylan Bruce: “My favorite season – and that’s saying a lot.”

Kristian Bruun: “Yeah, this is the one that I’m most excited about in a sense. It’s just so exciting. Like, for us we read the script…I read it twice: when we get it in an email and then when we sit around as a cast. Before we shoot each episode we do a cast read-through. And then I forget about everything else and just focus on the scenes that I’m in because I don’t want to know, I don’t want to remember what happens because I want to experience it again.”

Dylan Bruce: “Because we’re all fans, too. I don’t like watching the episodes before they hit the air. It’s fun to watch it as it comes out.”

What was Donnie and Alison’s courtship like?

Kristian Bruun: “Well, we’re going to see that in the comic book, actually. We’re going to be exploring that in issue #3 of the Orphan Black comic book. You’re going to see Donnie and Alison how they meet and some scenes from college – from what I’ve been told. I haven’t actually read it yet. I can’t wait to. So, we’ll explore that in that mode. What you’ll see now is probably closer to what their relationship was like when they got married and everything was on point, before they were kind of fighting. In season one it was very much a bickering couple that was not connecting at all. In season two they find that at the end. So for the first time we kind of see them in like a second honeymoon mode. They’re working as a team, and Team Hendrix is a real force to be reckoned with in the suburbs. It’s fun to explore that.”

Tone-wise, then is it darker than in previous seasons?

Dylan Bruce: “Yes.”

Kristian Bruun: “Because the stakes are higher and it’s about family. On every level the show’s about family.”

Dylan Bruce: “And the Castor boys are so dangerous, too. The military side of things is pretty wild and that’s where I am. Yeah, that’s where the darkness really comes in.”

Kristian Bruun: “Everybody’s hearts are exposed.”

Evelyne Brochu: “I think just like in real life sometimes truth can be dangerous. And the closer you are to it, the closer you are to danger. So I feel like if the show’s a spiral, if it started [spiraling down], now we’re getting closer to the center. So it’s more and more fast-paced and more dangerous for all of the characters. Everyone is in danger. I think when you’re in danger, you rise up to the challenge and you react in ways that you haven’t before. And so that’s why maybe there’s a dark side that will be revealed of you that was there – that was always there, but you haven’t shown because the situation is different.”


Dylan Bruce: “I’m so excited for all of you to see this season! Seriously, it’s so good.”

Kristian Bruun: “This is getting me pumped up.”

Dylan Bruce: “Honestly, my heart’s starting to [beat faster].”

Do you have favorite clones?

Kristian Bruun: “Totally. I mean I actually haven’t seen Ari Millen’s stuff yet with the Castor clones.”

Dylan Bruce: “He’s awesome.”

Kristian Bruun: “I can’t wait to see it on screen for the first time. I’ve been on set and everything. But in terms of last season, Rachel is my favorite. She was so, so fascinating.”

Dylan Bruce: “I love [Delphine] and Cosima. I think they’re fantastic together. But for some reason I love the comedy aspect as well of Donnie and Alison. Whenever Donnie and Alison are on the screen I love it.”

Evelyne Brochu: “I’m a Cosima fan. I’ve always been. Team Cosima. I’ve got to be.”

Dylan, can you talk about Paul’s big changes from boyfriend and monitor to military man of mystery?

Dylan Bruce: “He’s in his element so he’s definitely more comfortable being himself. He kicks some serious butt this year, I’ll say that much. […]He gets to show his true colors. He’s not playing the double agent anymore. It’s really fun for me to explore the character this year and just to really dive head-first into what he’s doing in working with the Castor boys and being the Major that he is.”

Kristian Bruun: “Oh god, Major Dierden. He’s pulling rank.”

Dylan Bruce: [Laughing] “I know. I always pull rank.”

So everybody has to salute you when they come on set now?

Dylan Bruce: “Of course. I’m very Daniel Day-Lewis that way.”

Kristian Bruun: “He makes me call him Sir or Major Dierden all the time.”

Is there a clone you’d like to work with?

Kristian Bruun: “I don’t even want to answer that question. I don’t even know where to start.”

Evelyne Brochu: “I think me and Helena would have a good hair-off.”

Dylan Bruce: “I worked with Helena this year so that was like a dream come true for me.”

Kristian Bruun: “That sounds awesome.”

Dylan Bruce: “It was awesome. I shared some time with Helena.”

Did you get to dance with all of them?

Dylan Bruce: “I wish because I kind of have moves. We were talking about doing a dance-off, right?”

Kristian Bruun: “He doesn’t have moves. He says he has moves.”

Dylan Bruce: “I’m like Zoolander – I can’t turn left.”

Kristian Bruun: “But his blue steel is amazing.”

– BBC America’s Orphan Black season three premieres on April 18, 2015 at 9pm ET/PT –

– More Orphan Black Interviews: Graeme Manson / Maria Doyle Kennedy and Jordan Gavaris

Watch the full interview:

Rose Byrne is CinemaCon’s Female Star of the Year

Rose Byrne Earns Female Star of the Year Award
Melissa McCarthy infiltrates an arms dealing ring led by Rose Byrne in ‘Spy.’ (Photo © 2015 Twentieth Century Fox)

CinemaCon just announced Rose Byrne has earned their Female Star of the Year Award which she’ll pick up during the Big Screen Achievement Awards on April 23, 2015 at Caesars Palace in Vegas. Byrne has a starring role in Fox’s Spy coming out soon as well as the indie film Adult Beginners. She’s also reprising her role as Moira MacTaggert in X-Men: Apocalypse and her role as Kelly Radner in Neighbors 2.

“A remarkably talented actress who has shown she can draw audiences in with both her comedic timing and remarkable dramatic talent, Rose Byrne is slated to take over the big screen this year with her upcoming role in Spy,” stated Mitch Neuhauser, Managing Director of CinemaCon. “We are thrilled that we will have the opportunity to showcase Byrne’s talent with a screening of her upcoming film Spy and honored to be able to present her with this year’s ‘CinemaCon Female Star of the Year Award.’”

Byrne’s credits also include Bridesmaids, Damages, Annie, The Turning, The Place Beyond the Pines, Insidious, Get Him to the Greek, and 28 Weeks Later.

The Plot of Spy:

Susan Cooper (Melissa McCarthy) is an unassuming, deskbound CIA analyst, and the unsung hero behind the Agency’s most dangerous missions. But when her partner (Jude Law) falls off the grid and another top agent (Jason Statham) is compromised, she volunteers to go deep undercover to infiltrate the world of a deadly arms dealer, and prevent a global disaster.




‘The Flash’ Season 1 Episode 18 Preview: “All Star Team Up”

The Flash All Star Team Up Preview
Tom Cavanagh as Harrison Wells, Carlos Valdes as Cisco Ramon, Emily Bett Rickards as Felicity Smoak, and Grant Gustin as Barry Allen in ‘The Flash’ (Photo: Cate Cameron © 2015 The CW Network, LLC)

Barry needs help from a few friends in the 18th episode of season one of The Flash titled “All Star Team Up.” Premiering on April 14, 2015 at 8pm ET/PT on The CW, “All Star Team Up” finds Ray Palmer and Felicity Smoak visiting the S.T.A.R. Labs crew. Directed by Kevin Tancharoen, episode 18 was written by Grainne Godfree and Kai Yu Wu.

The “All Star Team Up” Plot:

Barry (Grant Gustin) is surprised when Felicity Smoak (guest star Emily Bett Rickards) arrives from Starling City along with her boyfriend, Ray Palmer (guest star Brandon Routh), who flies in as the Atom. They’ve come to visit S.T.A.R. Labs as Ray needs help with his suit. Their timing turns out to be fortuitous because it’s all hands on deck after a meta human named Brie Larvin (guest star Emily Kinney) unleashes hundreds of robotic bees to attack and kill her former co-workers, including Dr. Tina McGee (guest star Amanda Pays).

A group dinner with Barry, Felicity, Ray, Iris (Candice Patton) and Eddie (Rick Cosnett) turns into a disaster.

Watch the video:

And because they can, The CW’s put together this three minute “Superhero Fight Club” video that’s a must-see for Arrow and The Flash fans:




‘Avengers’ Cast Plays Family Feud: Americas vs The Mans

Avengers Cast Plays Family Feud
Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr, Jimmy Kimmel, and Chris Hemsworth play Family Feud (Photo © 2015 American Broadcasting Companies, Inc)

The cast of Avengers: Age of Ultron showed up to chat about the second Avengers movie on Jimmy Kimmel Live and, of course, while there they played a variety of games including Family Feud. With Jimmy Kimmel as host, The Americas (Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, and Jeremy Renner) took on The Mans (Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson, and Chris Hemsworth) in a very competitive game that had the teams guessing the worst place for Hulk to transform and the most common activities in movie theaters (other than actually watching a movie).

Watch the video:

‘Unfriended’ Renee Olstead, Jacob Wysocki, and Courtney Halverson Interview

Unfriended Renee Olstead, Jacob Wysocki, Courtney Halverson Interview
The cast, writer, and executive producer of ‘Unfriended’ at WonderCon (Photo © Richard Chavez)

Courtney Halverson says that after working on Universal Pictures’ Unfriended she’s now completely paranoid about what she puts online either via Twitter, Facebook, or other social media outlets. “I’m terrified of it now. I assume that nothing I post on the internet is safe anymore. It’s really caused me to think about everything.”

After shooting lengthy takes (including one that’s 85 minutes long) while in separate rooms in a house, all while having to react to scary situations and being filmed at their computer screens, the Unfriended stars had a reason to be leery of social media. And don’t even get Halverson’s Unfriended co-stars Renee Olstead and Jacob Wysocki started talking about Skype. Their opinions have drastically changed since shooting this horror film directed by Leo Gabriadze from a script by Nelson Greaves. “The call sound is so jarring to me. Call me on the phone. Don’t Skype me, please!” said Wysocki at the 2015 WonderCon in Anaheim, CA.

“One reason why I think this movie is so authentically scary is I think a lot of us have experienced that negativity [online], and I think the idea that that could manifest into a monster is a lot more believable now,” said Olstead, discussing the premise and how it will connect with audiences who are used to sharing their lives online.

Given that the movie was shot in such an unorthodox manner, the cast had to constantly be on their feet and ready to improv their actions and reactions. “In a lot of ways, we shot it live,” said Halverson. “Not, obviously, the entire film but a good majority of it. We’re sitting in these rooms by ourselves with these computers really doing it more like a play. These takes go on for like 20, 30 minutes of just exploring different things each take. No two takes were the same, really.”

And Olstead says that one of the most rewarding aspects of Unfriended was being able to create a lot of the chaos. “We were our own cinematographers. We had a camera that was strapped to a computer, so we got to create the shaking and movement, and kind of reflecting where the characters are with our choices. That was a lot of fun.”

Unfriended Movie Review
Blaire (SHELLEY HENNIG), Mitch (MOSES STORM), Jess (RENEE OLSTEAD), Adam (WILL PELTZ) and Ken (JACOB WYSOCKI) in Universal Pictures’ ‘Unfriended’ (Photo © 2015 Universal Studios)

Asked if worrying about acting, worrying about shooting their own scenes, and not really knowing what was going on with their co-stars in other rooms of the house got a little confusing, Olstead admitted that she used to trip over the cables all the time. “There’s several face-plants that didn’t make the cut.”

“We’re in charge of the start and the end of the scene because they gave us these cups to put over the lens. We’re using these red Solo cups and basically, they’re like, ‘Action,’ and you pull the cup off of the lens,” said Halverson.

Wysocki said that each of the actors actually had cardboard slates with masking tape over the end. “And you had to put the number on it yourself,” added Halverson.

Although they had a script and they knew specific points they needed to make throughout the film, director Gabriadze would switch up things to keep the cast on their feet. “For me, we ended up having this fight scene halfway through the film. It’s between myself and [Olstead’s character] Jess, and what they did with it is while they were filming it, we had our director in our ears just giving us little things that they wanted us to do,” said Halverson. “They would give me a little bit more to work with like, ‘Really call her out on this,’ or, ‘Pick a fight with her.’ It would completely change the scene because they could push the film in any direction that way.”

“They also showed us a lot of videos, too. I remember originally when we first had this fight that was brought to us we’re like, ‘Is this realistic?’ ‘Do kids do this?’ So they’re like, ‘Let’s show you some stuff.’ They had all this footage that they found online that people have posted from their Skype conversations and recorded it of these girls just going at it and threatening to fight each other, cut each other. Ridiculous stuff that I didn’t think was realistic but apparently, this is like a very, very real thing,” said Olstead.

And if there was ever a moment when a jump scare was needed, Wysocki said behind the scenes they weren’t afraid of resorting to rattling windows or slamming doors to set the actors on edge. “They slapped windows and s*it like that. They would go up to the side of the house and pound on the windows and try to get a jump out of you. Stuff like that, just little tricks.”

So, is Unfriended the next logical step forward in the found footage horror genre? Halverson believes it is. “With Blair Witch Project and things like that with a handheld camera, kids don’t really do that anymore. They’re online; they’re on their phones so I think this is the easiest way to plug into their real world and bring it to their screens.”





Diogo Morgado Interview – ‘The Messengers’ and Good vs Evil

Diogo Morgado Interview - The Messengers
Diogo Morgado stars in The CW’s ‘The Messengers’

Diogo Morgado’s character is simply known as The Man in The CW’s new series, The Messengers, but there’s nothing simple about the role. The Man’s duplicitous, manipulative, and someone you should fear, but Morgado’s actually found a lot to like about this character he’s playing in the sci-fi/horror series premiering on April 17, 2015 at 9pm ET/PT.

“What I like the most about my character is he’s feeding off of people’s weaknesses,” explained Morgado while at the 2015 WonderCon in Anaheim, CA. “Let’s say that The Man could be your best friend, and when I say ‘best friend’ it’s like sometimes our true best friend’s the one that tells us stuff about ourself that we don’t like to hear sometimes. They point out that you’re doing this and this wrong. Or, sometimes, it just raises a question.

Like, ‘What would you do if this and this and this happened?’ As an audience, it would be like, ‘He’s right.’ He’s just raising the question so why would that affect anything? But, it does. That’s the subtle way to manipulate the situation, just like a lawyer would do in court. What I like about this version is that there’s not the [mustache-twirling] evil one.”

As to why his character goes by The Man and not the Devil, Morgado said, “It’s the fact that it’s real. He could be anyone. That’s why he’s The Man and not the Devil. What he represents is actually more important than what it is.”

Diogo Morgado from The Messengers
Diogo Morgado (Photo © Richard Chavez)

So, who is The Man’s main nemesis and what can we expect from this first season of The Messengers? “Well, there’s going to be a lot of twists. I would say the first part of the season you will be 100% sure that you know what’s going on. Like, 100% sure. Even I as I was reading was like, ‘I know what this is.’ And then there’s this huge twist. The biggest twist is the fact that the perspective of good and evil shifts. So, what you thought was wrong, is right. What you thought was right is completely wrong. It’s interesting to see my character in this,” said Morgado.

Morgado continued: “Another thing that I like about the show is that there’s no good and evil, there’s no right and wrong. It’s only circumstances. We are all product of our own circumstances. You could be an assassin. You could be a killer if you were pushed into something like that. Let’s say your whole family gets killed – you become someone different than your nature. So, like I said, what I like about this show is that it doesn’t separate clearly everything that is good. We are all the real fruit or the product of our circumstances. That being said, you’re going to have a clear idea of what his goal is in terms of the opposite – the good – and then it changes completely. You as the audience are like, ‘What should I believe in?’ And it’s really interesting.”

Morgado knows the character and his motivations, but he’s not about to give away any spoilers as to what he’s up to this season. However, he did further describe what The Man is all about. “We can say that he’s the Devil in terms of what they’re using from the Book of Revelation, but for this story he’s The Man. And when I say The Man, he acts and behaves and exclusively out of our own human fears and weaknesses,” revealed Morgado.

“He doesn’t have any special power; he doesn’t do like a voodoo thing and controls your mind. Never. There’s a free will all the time. He only uses human resources. There’s no superpower that allows him to control or manipulate, because he’s not allowed to interfere. That being said, as for the other type of tricks that he uses – like, human stuff – human resources, that is going to be revealed as we go.”

– More The Messengers interviews: Shantel VanSanten and Craig Frank / Jon Fletcher and Joel Courtney / JD Pardo and Anna Diop / Sofia Black D’Elia

Watch the interview:





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