Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) is locked in a staring contest with one of Daenerys’ dragons or so it seems on the new poster for season five of HBO’s Game of Thrones based on George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire book series. At the end of season four, Tyrion was on the run, fleeing Westeros and heading to Essos. Fans of Martin’s books know this upcoming season should be an interesting one for Tyrion, and hopefully the series will have time to focus on most of his storyline from the books.
Game of Thrones season five arrives on April 12, 2015.
Jon Hamm is in the driver’s seat heading to who knows where, arm out the window holding a lit cigarette on the final poster for this last season of AMC’s Mad Men. So what does it mean and where is he going? In an interview with Vulture, Matthew Weiner explained, “It’s designed to tell you that Don is going somewhere. He could be going to work, he could be going away from work. But there is a feeling of, I hope, a little bit of a desperate drive. We see him in his car, and we see that he’s alone, and I think you just have to basically feel that there’s going to be a sense of motion.”
The final season of Mad Men kicks off on April 5, 2015 at 10pm.
The original Starz series Da Vinci’s Demons season two arrives on Blu-ray and DVD on March 3, 2015 and we’ve got two Blu-ray copies to give away courtesy of Anchor Bay Entertainment. Created by David S. Goyer (screenwriter of The Dark Knight trilogy) and starring Tom Riley as Leonardo da Vinci, the critically acclaimed series brings the past alive in a historical fantasy adventure series that explores a time period in da Vinci’s life little is known about.
The Plot:
Da Vinci’s Demons begins as Florence is thrown into chaos in the wake of the Pazzi conspiracy and Leonardo da Vinci must push the limits of his mind and body to defend the city against the forces of Rome. When the dust settles, friends are buried and rivalries enflamed. While the Medicis go to unthinkable lengths to deal with new threats, da Vinci continues on his quest to find the fabled Book of Leaves and uncover the secret history of his mother. He’ll come to realize that he has lethal competition in his quest — new enemies who may be even worse than the forces of Pope Sixtus.
Entering our Da Vinci’s Demons The Complete Second Season Blu-ray contest couldn’t be easier. All you need to do is email [email protected] with “Da Vinci’s Demons” in the subject line. Your email address will not be added to any lists.
You must be 18 years or older to enter and reside in the continental United States. Only one entry per email address will be accepted. The contest ends on March 6th, 2015 at 9pm PT. Winners will be notified on March 7, 2015.
Da Vinci’s Demons‘ Blu-ray extra features include:
– New Sets
Creating the World
A Closer Look
The Journey Begins: Season 1 Recap
Here’s a bit of interesting cast news… Dean Cain, the star of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman as Clark Kent/Superman, has signed on to the pilot episode of CBS’ Supergirl. Also joining the Supergirl ensemble is Helen Slater who played the character in the Supergirl film.
DC Comics and CBS aren’t saying who either actor will be playing in the upcoming comic book-inspired series, but that doesn’t seem to matter. Just the fact that CBS brought in Cain and Slater has put this series on many comic book fans’ must-see lists.
Cain and Slater join a cast that includes Melissa Benoist as Supergirl, Mehcad Brooks as Jimmy Olsen, Calista Flockhart as Cat Grant, David Harewood, and Chyler Leigh.
Cain’s other credits include Hit the Floor, Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23, and Las Vegas. Slater’s credits include The Young and the Restless, Smallville (as Lara-El), and voicing Talia al Ghul in Batman: The Animated Series.
ABC’s new suspense thriller Secrets and Lies premieres its 10 episode season one on March 1, 2015 at 9pm ET/PT with a special two hour episode starring Ryan Phillippe, Juliette Lewis, KaDee Strickland, Dan Fogler, Natalie Martinez, Indiana Evans, and Belle Shouse. In support of the show’s upcoming premiere, I had the chance to sit down with Ryan Phillippe at the Television Critics Association’s winter press event to find out what the audience can look forward to with Secrets and Lies.
The Plot: “Ben Crawford (Phillippe) is about to go from Good Samaritan to murder suspect after he discovers the body of his neighbor’s young son, Tom Murphy, in the woods. Even as Detective Andrea Cornell (Juliette Lewis) digs for the truth in her investigation and pegs Ben as a “person of interest,” the case unfolds from Ben’s perspective — whether he is guilty or not. In trying to clear his name, it is Ben who peels back the layers of these suburbanites’ lives in their quiet cul de sac, revealing their dirty little deceptions and all-too-crowded closets overflowing with skeletons. No one is above suspicion. Ben’s family’s life, already privately in disarray, is turned upside down as he sets out on a complicated journey to prove his innocence.”
Ryan Phillippe Secrets and Lies Interview:
How hard was this particular project on you because you’re in nearly every scene?
Ryan Phillippe: “So grueling, man. I mean, it’s not something that I want to complain about because you’re an actor making a television show, but it was 15 hours a day five days a week. I was in every scene. I had no days, no scenes off. That’s physically really, really brutal. You will see me break down physically over the course of this series. From episode one to episode 10, my weight loss…it’s all very clear. I age over the course of this because of how difficult the process was physically.”
How did you handle getting so emotionally involved in the character when you knew the ultimate ending of the story?
Ryan Phillippe: “Regardless of whether or not I knew the ending, I was playing a guy who 90% of him believed he’s completely innocent. So that 10% of doubt that the audience will hopefully be wrapped up in, Ben is trying to determine. I played him as an innocent guy, regardless of how the series ends. That’s what my character believes.”
In the series Ben’s neighbors turn on him so quickly, yet he seems like a decent guy. What do you think it was about Ben that made them suspect the worst in him immediately?
Ryan Phillippe: “Well, you know, a big part of that is the snap judgments that we make and especially in relation to the way things are framed often in the media. Like the first line written about someone in reference to any sort of case is the one that usually stays with people the longest. So I think it’s a notion of the way he’s painted to look by law enforcement and by the media from the outset of the series dictates their reaction and relationship to him. I think it sort of speaks to those ideas of how judgmental a society we’ve become, and how when something is salacious, it’s kind of presented in a certain way that becomes the truth of the thing whether it is or not.”
You’ve dealt with the media so much, what advice would you give to someone in Ben’s situation? Just don’t say anything?
Ryan Phillippe: “I guess so. It’s strange because you’ll see people in these big stories and they’ll continue to go out and be public. I think I would do the exact opposite. I think I would hole up and stay indoors as long as a I could.”
Was there a particular episode that was hardest on you?
Ryan Phillippe: “Episode six. You’ll see when it comes. It’s hardcore. It’s one of the most hardcore episodes of network television I remember seeing.”
Can you talk about what it was like behind the scenes? Director Timothy Busfield said the cast was cracking up behind the scenes.
Ryan Phillippe: “They did – I didn’t. It’s not a matter of staying in character but it was so much pressure on me to deliver in each and every scene, 10 pages a day, that between scenes and between takes I was usually working for the latter part of the day. I’m not one of those who can go in and out, mood-wise. I kind of have to live and stay in the material to some extent. I’ve always admired people who can be cutting up and laughing and then go right into crying, but that’s not who I am. So, there wasn’t a lot of joking around a lot for me.”
Did you find that when you’re at home it’s difficult to get out of the character when shooting this? Were you still moody at home?
Ryan Phillippe: “A little bit. Yeah, there is some hangover in some ways. But the fact that we were on location made it so that I could shield my family and friends from that. I wasn’t coming home to my house with my kids every night; I was on location which was brutal in its own way, but it also spared them from whatever kind of mood I was in.”
On a lighter note, you’re shirtless a lot in the series. Are you working out? Is that something you had in your contract?
Ryan Phillippe: [Laughing] “No, and in fact I would have it the opposite.”
American Crime has an all-star cast led by Felicity Huffman and Timothy Hutton and comes from the high pedigree of Oscar-winning screenwriter John Ridley. When ABC brought the entire cast to the Television Critics Association, I was introduced to one of the show’s new discoveries.
Caitlin Gerard has been acting since 2010’s The Social Network, and she landed a role in the ensemble cast of American Crime. The show’s mystery is rather secretive, and we’ll find out as the show airs Thursday on ABC. Gerard told us a bit about her role and the show’s secrecy, as well as the background that led her to prime time.
Were you looking to do television? Did you do the whole pilot season thing?
Caitlin Gerard: “Yes, I did. I did. I went through the wringer. You see so many scripts and it’s kind of this flurry. When I got the script for American Crime, it was this moment of just stillness. Everything just grounded itself and I saw clarity and I was like, ‘This. Is. It.’ That was for a pre-read and I just went through 1000 auditions it felt like. I never thought I was going to get it, so I had to approach each audition each time I got called back as the last time I was going to get to be this character.
I had to fulfill what I needed from her to be able to walk away and be like, ‘That was cool. That was great. I’m happy I had this moment,’ because I just didn’t think I stood a chance.”
So how fulfilled are you now that you’ve gotten to do several episodes?
Caitlin Gerard: “Several, we did 11! We finished shooting in November, so phenomenal. It sets the bar so high for quality that it’s going to be hard to measure up to that.”
How painful has the wait been from November to people getting to see American Crime in March?
Caitlin Gerard: “God, honestly, it’s awful. I want to watch the show so badly, because I haven’t seen any episodes. I am just so eager. I want to watch it. I just want to watch the whole thing. I can’t wait.”
What did you understand about this character just from the sides you got at that first audition?
Caitlin Gerard: “I think what I saw in this person who was a drug addict, a lot of people come at it with preconceived notions, with judgments. To be honest, what I saw was this human individual who will do anything to live life to the fullest. When you want to live at the edge or at the precipice and will do anything at all costs to be at that state, there’s this want to live and to feel so fully that normal life just doesn’t cut it. So that was how I approached it. Do anything at all costs to be and to feel complete.”
How did that change over the course of 11 episodes?
Caitlin Gerard: “I would say that was the consistent theme. I told directors, because we had a circulation of different directors, I told them, ‘Please don’t share with me your judgments,’ because everyone was very judgmental about my character. I just said, ‘Please don’t come to me because I only approach her in one way which is with utter truth.’
Everything she does is based out of a truth and a humility and respect, which is very strange when you’re playing a drug addict, but that’s how I did it. I had to believe in her so fully I could never question or doubt anything she did, because then I would doubt her person.”
Is there a particular episode out of the 11 that’s really strong for you, that we should look for?
Caitlin Gerard: “Oh my gosh. I would say we started to black out the scripts for privacy reasons. They were afraid of leaking a lot of plot developments that happen. From episode seven on, all of my scenes were blacked out. So I had these scenes that no one else in the cast or crew had. People would be like, ‘What is your character doing?’ There’s a scene in episode seven. There’s a scene in episode nine. I cannot say anything about it because it will just give too much away.”
Were other actors’ scenes blacked out for you too?
Caitlin Gerard: “Yes, certain ones were. The last script, for example, was completely blacked out. No one got it except for the cast. The crew members had no idea what was happening. At one point, a crew came up to me and she was like, ‘You know, nobody knows what’s happening anymore? The only people who are able to piece it together is sound because they can listen to it. It’s like a telephone of them reporting back and it circulates around.’ Everybody was so invested emotionally. Even the crew members. Everyone put their heart and soul into this one.”
Is there some makeup involved to make you look strung out? Does it change over the 11 episodes?
Caitlin Gerard: “It does and to be honest, I wore absolutely no makeup. None whatsoever. They did a little bit of bags under my eyes at times but my process was actually incredibly physical. I showed up to work looking very much like my character. A funny little bit of information that I don’t know if it’s too much to share, but I had a really bad skin reaction and my skin broke out right before we started shooting. We actually used that. We actually let my skin breakout be a part of it. As an addict, your skin does go through that. It’s interesting. It puts you in a vulnerable position to let people see your flaws like that.”
But then you have to maintain that for the rest of the show.
Caitlin Gerard: “Well, then it started to fade and so they had to fill it in. But at the same time, my character goes through a process of cleaning up to a degree so it was kind of crazy how it worked with the development of the character. My body was doing a lot of the work. It was great. My poor body, but…”
What is your background and training?
Caitlin Gerard: “My major was creative writing at UCLA. I worked with a private coach. I had taken theater classes at UCLA. I had taken other classes but the theater community is a very loud space and it overwhelmed me. I’m much more intimate. So I found a coach that I’ve been working with for a few years and we did one on one work gearing up to this pilot. After the pilot was done and I didn’t know whether the show was going to get picked up, I just took the notes from John Ridley and I went to her.
I said, ‘We’re going to meet twice a week. I don’t know if the show is getting picked up but we’re going to meet twice a week and if it gets picked up, great. Then we’ve done a lot of the work. And if it doesn’t, then we’ve got some great practice under my belt and I’ll apply it to something else.'”
Now that you’re a working actor, how is it similar or different to what you expected?
Caitlin Gerard: “You know, I resisted it a lot. I went to school for creative writing and I honestly wanted nothing to do with the industry. But it kept coming at me from the strangest, oddest angles. One day I kind of threw my hands up and just thought, ‘You know what? I just have to try this. I can’t keep saying no.’ I did commercials. That’s how I paid for school. It was my livelihood. As far as taking a profession seriously and even believing that I could, it was really my younger sister who ran into a manager.
I was going to school, I was not planning on acting and my sister said, ‘You need to represent my sister.’ She was 16 and he met with me because he was blown away by this 16-year-old who goes, ‘I understand how the industry works. Here’s my information. If you’re willing to meet with her, I’ll put the two of you in contact.’ And she walked away and he was so intrigued that he called me out of curiosity. That’s how it started.”
WGN America’s Salem returns on April 5, 2015 with a new season that, as the freaky new posters proclaim, is all about a “witch war.” Mary Sibley (played by Janet Montgomery) will once again lead the witches of 17th-century Salem as they face the repercussions of completing the Grand Rite.
The Plot [Courtesy of WGN America]:
In the first season, Captain John Alden returned home after seven years at war only to discover that his true love, Mary, wed his old (and wealthy) nemesis George Sibley. During his years on the battlefield, Mary has emerged as a true power broker in a Puritan town fully immersed in witch panic.
Throughout a fiery first season, filled with wicked deceit and shocking revelations, John and Mary found themselves navigating a supernatural world where paranoia, revenge, evil and hysteria reign. Ultimately, John risks his life for Mary, even after learning that she is the ruling witch of Salem who is at the center of all the mayhem plaguing the embattled village.
In Salem season two, the Grand Rite triggered at the end of last season is now underway and death is in the air. In order to bring her plan to completion, Mary must not only control Captain John Alden and the citizens of Salem, but also those lurking in the shadows who seek the power she wields.
Universal Pictures has put out the first official photo from Jem and the Holograms directed by Jon M Chu and produced by Chu, Jason Blum, Scooter Braun, Bennett Schneir, Brian Goldner, and Stephen Davis. The cast of the big screen musical adventure based on the Hasbro TV series includes Aubrey Peeples, Stefanie Scott, Aurora Perrineau, Hayley Kiyoko, Ryan Guzman, Molly Ringwald and Juliette Lewis.
In addition to releasing the first photo, the studio also released the official synopsis:
“As a small-town girl catapults from underground video sensation to global superstar, she and her three sisters begin a one-in-a-million journey of discovering that some talents are too special to keep hidden. In Universal Pictures’ Jem and the Holograms, four aspiring musicians will take the world by storm when they see that the key to creating your own destiny lies in finding your own voice.”
During the Television Critics Association winter press event I had the chance to briefly chat with Felicity Huffman about her new TV series, American Crime. The ABC series comes from Oscar-winning screenwriter John Ridley (12 Years a Slave) and will premiere on March 5, 2015 at 10pm ET/PT.
The Plot: “Following the home invasion murder of Matt Skokie – a war vet – and an assault on his wife Gwen, four suspects are brought into custody: Tony Gutiérrez, an impressionable teen who got in way over his head even under the watchful eye of his dedicated and hard-working father, Alonzo Gutiérrez. Hector Tontz, a young man who has lived life on the fringes of society and has made bad decisions just to survive. Carter Nix and Aubry Taylor, two incredibly lost souls whose addiction to drugs and to one another has become destructive and paralyzing.
Though the suspects fit a profile, they and their situations are far more complicated than anyone would have initially believed… As is true for the victims themselves. As Russ and Barb Skokie – divorced and estranged – arrive to both bury their son Matt, and seek a measure of justice for his killing, they discover their son may have been far from an innocent bystander in his own murder.
Told from the points of view of all those involved, this new drama examines preconceptions on faith, family, gender, race, class, and other aspects of our social experience with an approach and perspectives historically underserved in media.”
Felicity Huffman Interview:
This is definitely darker than Desperate Housewives. Were you looking for something darker?
Felicity Huffman: “Yes, I was looking for something different. I think it’s hard for the audience when they’ve lived with a character for eight years to then soon suddenly see them in a completely different venue. All you do is go, ‘Oh, there’s Lynette being a nurse.’ Or, ‘There’s Lynette being a policewoman.’ So I was looking for something very, very different.”
What was the initial appeal of American Crime?
Felicity Huffman: “What appealed to me is the writing. It always starts with the script.”
Is it hard for you to read something like this and want to do it, knowing that you’re going to be so emotional throughout the series?
Felicity Huffman: “Yes, when the stakes are higher it can be more difficult. This took…I had to wake up in that particular character, in that particular place and stay there the whole time. I did. Yes, it’s challenging. It was a dark place to live in.”
How was it to have your kids visit when you had to continuously go to such a dark place?
Felicity Huffman: “It was hard. I needed to stay in that dark place so thankfully when they came I wasn’t working for those days. Because otherwise I’m not a lot of fun, I have to say.”
Can you talk about working with Timothy Hutton?
Felicity Huffman: “I loved working with Timothy. It was one of the Christmas presents of this whole thing. We flew in, we were going to rehearse the next day and I was sitting there working on my lines and he walked in. We were just instantly pals. I adore him and like any great actor, he raises the level of your play.”
Were there ever any conversations about you popping up as a guest on your husband’s show Shameless?
Felicity Huffman: “Oh wouldn’t that be great?! We talked about it. I would like to go incognito so people would never know it’s me. I’d be so in costume or in heavy-duty makeup that people wouldn’t know.”
You also have a couple of movies coming out including Stealing Cars. Who do you play in that?
Felicity Huffman: “In Stealing Cars I play a mother and my friend Rachel Winter produced that. She did Dallas Buyers Club. I think I did two days on that.”
Charlie Cox is featured front and center on the new poster for season one of Marvel’s Daredevil. Netflix also released a motion poster along with the artwork for the series that’s set to debut on April 10, 2015. All 13 episodes of the Marvel and Netflix series will be available for binge-watching at 12:01am PT.
In addition to Charlie Cox, the Daredevil cast features Rosario Dawson, Vincent D’Onofrio, Deborah Ann Woll, Elden Henson, Scott Glenn, Bob Gunton, Toby Leonard Moore, Vondie Curtis Hall, and Ayelet Zurer.
The Plot:
Meet Matt Murdock. Blinded as a boy but imbued with extraordinary senses, Matt fights injustice by day as a respected lawyer and by night as the masked vigilante known as Daredevil in Hell’s Kitchen, New York. He’ll do anything to make his city a better place, but at what price?
