CBS says filming is now underway on season five of the popular action series Hawaii Five-0. The series shoots on location in Waikiki, and, as with previous seasons, the start of production kicked off with a traditional Hawaiian blessing. Cast members Alex O’Loughlin, Daniel Dae Kim, Jorge Garcia, Taylor Wiley, Dennis Chun and Al Harrington all took part in the ceremonial blessing. And according to CBS, the show’s Hawaiian Language and Protocol Advisor Kauila Kawelo Barber officiated over the ceremony which centered around the Hawaiian word for five – ‘elima.’
The ceremony involved leis, a welcoming chant, and a closing prayer.
CBS will debut Hawaii Five-0 season five on Friday, September 26, 2014 at 9pm ET/PT.
Freddie Highmore and Vera Farmiga in “Bates Motel” on A&E. (Photo by Joseph Lederer/Copyright 2014)
The stars of A&E’s critically acclaimed Bates Motel will be attending the 2014 San Diego Comic Con to talk about all things Norman and Norma Bates. A&E has confirmed Vera Farmiga, Freddie Highmore, Olivia Cooke, and Nestor Carbonell will all be on hand to answer questions from fans at this year’s Comic Con. Also making the trek to San Diego are executive producers Carlton Cuse and Kerry Ehrin.
The panel for Bates Motel will take place on Friday, July 25th from 3:30-4:30pm in room 6A.
The Plot:
Bates Motel from Universal Television serves as a contemporary prequel to the genre-defining film Psycho giving viewers an intimate portrayal of how Norman Bates’ psyche unravels through his teenage years. Fans have access to the dark, twisted backstory of Norman Bates and how deeply intricate his relationship with his mother, Norma, truly is.
Syfy isn’t going to slip in and out of the San Diego Comic Con unnoticed. The network’s not only bringing the high-flying shark sequel Sharknado 2: The Second One to the So. Cal event, they’re also bringing along the casts of Dominion, Helix, Defiance, and Ascension.
Per the network’s official announcement, here are the details of what Syfy has planned:
THURSDAY, JULY 24th:
SHARKNADO 2: THE SECOND ONE
Panel: 7:15PM-8:15PM Room 6BCF
Get your chainsaws ready! A #Sharknado is about to hit the Big Apple. Join Sharknado 2: The Second One stars Ian Ziering (Fin Shepard), Tara Reid (April Wexler), Vivica A. Fox (Skye), Kari Wuhrer (Ellen Shepard Brody), Judah Friedlander (Bryan) and Director Anthony C. Ferrante as they take you into the eye of the social media and pop culture storm of the century. Get exclusive details on Syfy’s global blockbuster which will ravage nearly 90 countries this July.
FRIDAY, JULY 25th
DOMINION
Panel: 5:30PM-6:30PM Room 6DE
When angels wage war on humans, you can bet it’ll make for one hell of a Comic-Con panel. Join series’ stars Chris Egan (Alex Lannon), Tom Wisdom (Archangel Michael), Roxanne McKee (Claire Riesen), Alan Dale (General Riesen), Anthony Stewart Head (Senator David Whele) and Executive Producer Vaun Wilmott as they initiate you into the world of Dominion, Syfy’s all-new hit series. They’ll also share details about what goes on behind the scenes in post-apocalyptic Vega.
Get top line security clearance for behind-the scenes secrets from Syfy’s hit show Helix. Kyra Zagorsky (Dr. Julia Walker), Mark Ghanime (Major Sergio Balleseros), Jordan Hayes (Dr. Sarah Jordan), Neil Napier (Dr. Peter Farragut) and Executive Producers Ronald D. Moore and Steven Maeda give you exclusive access to Arctic Biosystems, and divulge details about what’s in store for season two when the series returns.
The explosive second season of Syfy’s groundbreaking multi-platform series Defiance has kicked into gear, and nothing is as it seems. Join Grant Bowler (Nolan), Julie Benz (Amanda Rosewater), Stephanie Leonidas (Irisa), Tony Curran (Datak Tarr), Jaime Murray (Stahma Tarr), Jesse Rath (Alak Tarr) and Executive Producer Kevin Murphy as they discuss the big changes—and huge chances—their characters have taken in this dark and daring chapter of the show.
ASCENSION
Panel: 3:15PM-4:15PM Room 6DE
In 1963, the U.S. government launched a covert space mission sending hundreds of people on a century-long voyage to find a new home for humanity. Lucky for us, three of those people were Tricia Helfer (Viondra Denninger), Brian Van Holt (Captain William Denninger) and Andrea Roth (Juliet Bryce). Join them, the rest of the cast and Executive Producer Philip Levens as they give you an exclusive look deep into space—and the mysteries that unfold there—in Syfy’s hotly anticipated event series, Ascension.
Chris Geere as Jimmy Shive-Overly in ‘You’re the Worst’ (Photo Credit: Byron Cohen/Copyright 2014, FX Networks)
FX is set to debut its new comedy You’re the Worst on July 17, 2014 at 10:30pm ET/PT. The series is from writer/executive producer Stephen Falk and stars Chris Geere (The Spa), Aya Cash (The Wolf of Wall Street), Kether Donahue (The Carrie Diaries), and Desmin Borges (The Good Wife), and follows the dysfunctional romantic relationship between Cash as ‘Gretchen’ and Geere as ‘Jimmy.’ Jimmy and Gretchen are described as “two toxic, self-destructive people” who shouldn’t fall for each other but do and “attempt the impossible – a relationship.”
Leading up to the show’s premiere, I chatted with Chris Geere about what FX viewers can expect from this new comedy series.
Was it a very competitive audition for this role?
Chris Geere: “It was an amazing process, actually. I’m relatively new to auditioning for things in America and I was currently auditioning back and forth for a different show on a different network. I was the showrunner’s favorite but they’d wanted the character to be older and they were trying to convince the director, and I was sending all these different tapes back and forth from the UK to America. Then my manager got me the audition for You’re the Worst and she said, ‘They’ve been looking for this role for about six months.’
They’d only been looking for American actors. I read the script and I thought, ‘I have to do this. I have to audition for it.’ And I literally sent a tape on the Monday of one week and then I was testing in Los Angeles the following Thursday, and then two weeks later I found out I got it. It was the most amazing two weeks.”
Do you think the characters will evolve?
Chris Geere: “Oh, very much so. We’re filming the last sequences now of season one, and it leaves it very much open to whatever comes next. I think we’ve really only touched the first stage on what could happen between them all, especially as the four of them have developed now. At the beginning, it was just Jimmy and Gretchen but now you realize all four of them are as messed up as each other in their own way. Hopefully, we can explore those characters further.”
Aya Cash and Chris Geere in ‘You’re the Worst’ (Photo by Byron Cohen / FX Networks)
They start off pretty sarcastic. Are they going to remain that way?
Chris Geere: “I think sarcasm comes from a place of feeling uncomfortable or out of your depth in a way, and that’s like an instant reaction. I think as you learn a bit more about them during the season, you realize that sarcasm is just one of their tricks to avoid being hurt in a way. But, no, I think sarcasm is quite funny sometimes – especially between Jimmy and Gretchen – and I think there is a through-line of sarcasm throughout.”
Do we learn specifically how they were hurt in the past?
Chris Geere: “Yeah. I think as with all human flaws it starts with childhood and the relationships with their parents. Some episodes coming up you realize that Jimmy’s relationship with his father is one that created a lot of insecurity and bitterness on his side. And the relationship between Gretchen and her parents has forced her to pretend to become someone that her parents want her to be. So it’s that kind of rebellion that carries through the rest of the series. It’s always about what happened in their childhood.”
Are you able to improvise a lot on the show?
Chris Geere: “We don’t actually because we don’t really need to. I mean, Stephen Falk works hard on the script so that everything’s in place, and then we play around with the performance and the delivery to make sure that we get what we want. But there’s not really need for improvisation, which is quite new for us. I just finished a show in the UK which was largely based on improv. I loved doing that. It’s great, but with this I don’t think it needs any improvisation, really. Every line has been written for a reason and we just have to work out the best way of playing it.”
How did you feel about the sex scene?
Chris Geere: “Well, I think from any actor’s point of view you instantly read it and think, ‘I hope it’s not going to be awkward or embarrassing in any way.’ I think what’s really helped is that Aya and I are both married in real life, so we had instantly this mutual respect for each other as actors but also for each other’s partners as well. It became, ‘Let’s make this as believable and funny as we can.’ So with the director’s help, we explored how we could make this a different type of sex scene. It’s not meant to be sexy; it’s meant to be funny and a little bit awkward, and a little bit first time-like. I hope we achieved that.”
What can viewers expect from the first season?
Chris Geere: “I think the theme runs throughout where they find themselves in positions where couples at their stage of a relationship where what they should be meeting the parents and moving in together and all those kind of things, they struggle with it all the time. There’s a lot of great, funny moments where both of them are very much out of their depth. It’s how they deal with the fact that they don’t want to conform to relationships, yet the whole time they can’t be without each other.”
Warner Bros Pictures will be showing off four of their upcoming big movies at the San Diego Comic Con. Peter Jackson’s back with The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (formerly known as The Hobbit: There and Back Again), which is sure to have fans lining up outside Hall H for hours (if not days) in advance of its Saturday, July 26th 10am panel. WB is also planning on bringing the new Mad Max movie, Mad Max: Fury Road, to the sold-out pop culture convention. And those lucky enough to make it into Hall H will also be the first to see new footage from the Wachowskis’ Jupiter Ascending starring Channing Tatum and Mila Kunis.
The action thriller (or as WB labels it: the “cli-fi” thriller) Into the Storm will get a special fan screening at Comic Con. New Line and Village Roadshow Pictures will be presenting the film from director Steven Quale at a theater close to the San Diego Convention Center on Wednesday, July 23rd at 10pm.
Warner Bros hasn’t revealed which actors will show up to support their films, but they did confirm Peter Jackson and Mad Max: Fury Road director George Miller will be taking part in the Comic Con panels.
CBS’ primetime lineup will be represented by the new series Scorpion as well as Under the Dome and Reign at the 2014 San Diego Comic Con. All three series will host back-to-back panels on Thursday, July 24th, kicking off at 11:15am and finishing up at 2pm in Ballroom 20. During the panels, CBS plans to screen the premiere episode of the new thriller Scorpion along with providing sneak peeks at what’s in store for the remainder of season two of Under the Dome and what fans can look forward to during Reign‘s second season.
Comic Con attendees will also get to check out the superhero-inspired Scorpion art that was created just for the Con.
Here is CBS’ July 24th schedule:
UNDER THE DOME (Ballroom 20)
11:15 AM-12:00 PM Panel & Exclusive Sneak Preview – The hit summer series is back for its second season, with higher stakes and catastrophic developments that leave no one safe under the dome. The inhabitants of Chester’s Mill must decide who to rally behind as Big Jim continues to fight for the town’s trust and allegiance, all while resources dwindle and the post-apocalyptic conditions continue to intensify. There are new faces, bigger mysteries, betrayed alliances and monumental revelations about the dome, which will lead to a shocking discovery of what is behind it. Follow us on this journey back under the dome, where you can’t always believe what you see and nothing is impossible. An exclusive sneak preview at what’s to come in season 2 will be followed by a panel discussion with cast members Mike Vogel, Dean Norris, Rachelle Lefevre, Alexander Koch, Colin Ford, and Eddie Cahill with Executive Producer Neal Baer. (Check out our season 2 interview: Dean Norris and Rachelle Lefevre)
SCORPION (Ballroom 20)
12:05 PM-1:10 PM Exclusive Premiere Screening & Panel – Discover the new CBS drama coming this fall, based on the true story of Walter O’Brien, an eccentric genius with the world’s fourth-highest I.Q. who has created a company of brilliant misfits who use their mental muscle to defend the planet against complex high-tech threats of the modern age. In this high-octane thrill ride from the makers of Star Trek, Transformers, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, and The Fast and The Furious, O’Brien’s team uses their exceptional brainpower to solve the nation’s crises, while also helping each other learn how to fit in. The exclusive screening of the pilot episode will be followed by a panel discussion with the real-life Walter O’Brien and series stars Elyes Gabel, Robert Patrick, Katharine McPhee, and Executive Producers Nick Santora, Nicholas Wootton, Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci and Justin Lin. (Interview with Katharine McPhee)
REIGN (Ballroom 20)
1:15 PM – 2:00 PM Panel & Exclusive Sneak Preview – The saga of Mary, Queen of Scots continues when REIGN returns for its second season this fall. Mary and Francis will rule a nation burning with plague, famine and religious strife. Powerful lords will rise from the ashes, fears and superstitions will take terrifying forms and marriages deemed sacred will be violated, all as Mary tries to save herself and her friends, and Francis learns his true enemy might be his own family. An exclusive sneak preview at what’s to come in Season 2 will be followed by a panel discussion with cast members Adelaide Kane, Megan Follows, and Toby Regbo, along with Executive Producer Laurie McCarthy. (Adelaide Kane season 1 interview)
Outlander fans fortunate enough to have tickets to the sold-out San Diego Comic Con need to mark their calendars for Friday, July 25 at 2:15pm. That’s when Outlander author Diana Gabaldon and series executive producer Ronald D. Moore will be joining the Showtime series’ stars Caitriona Balfe, Sam Heughan, Tobias Menzies, Graham McTavish, and Lotte Verbeek for a panel in room 6A at the San Diego Convention Center.
Showtime hasn’t announced how much footage they’ll be screening during the Q&A with fans, however they will also be hosting the red carpet premiere of Outlander during Comic Con. After taking part in the panel, the cast will head to Spreckels Theaters (a few blocks from the Convention Center) for a red carpet gala event and the premiere of the series.
The Outlander Plot:
Outlander spans the genres of romance, science fiction, history, and adventure in one epic tale. It follows the story of Claire Randall (Caitriona Balfe), a married combat nurse from 1945, who is mysteriously swept back in time to 1743. Upon her arrival, she is immediately thrown into an unknown world where her life is threatened. When she is forced to marry Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan), a chivalrous and romantic young Scottish warrior, a passionate relationship is ignited and Claire’s heart is torn between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.
Danny Sapani as Sembene, Reeve Carney as Dorian Gray, Billie Piper as Brona Croft, Josh Hartnett as Ethan Chandler, Timothy Dalton as Sir Malcolm, Eva Green as Vanessa Ives, Rory Kinnear as the creature and Harry Treadaway as Dr. Victor Frankenstein in ‘Penny Dreadful’ (Photo by Jim Fiscus/SHOWTIME)
Showtime’s Penny Dreadful recently completed its eight-episode season one run and has been renewed for season two, with the network targeting a 2015 second season premiere. And given the material and the popularity of the series, it’s not that big of a shocker to learn Showtime’s bringing the Penny Dreadful cast to the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con.
Series creator John Logan will be joining Josh Hartnett, Reeve Carney, and Harry Treadaway at the sold-out geekfest on July 24th for a Q&A session with fans. Aisha Tyler will moderate the panel which will take place from 6-7pm in Ballroom 20.
In addition to the Q&A, the cast will be signing autographs during Comic Con.
Here’s the scoop on what Showtime, in partnership with Entertainment Earth, Titan Books and Bif Bang Pow!, has planned for the Penny Dreadful booth:
Fans will have access to special edition books, tarot cards, and character figurines inspired by the series. Fans can visit the Entertainment Earth Booth (#2343) to purchase a deluxe deck of tarot cards inspired by the ones used throughout the series, along with character action figures, including Ethan Chandler (Josh Hartnett) and Vanessa Ives (Eva Green). Titan Books has published special editions of the classic novels that inspired the series.
For the exclusive Penny Dreadful Collection of classic horror novels including deluxe hardcover editions of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and Oscar Wilde’s A Picture of Dorian Gray, which each contain original black and white illustrations by Martin Stiff, Louie de Martinis and Ian Bass, visit Titan’s booth #5537. In addition, the over 150,000 lanyards worn by all Comic-Con attendees will be branded by SHOWTIME and PENNY DREADFUL.
The Plot:
In Penny Dreadful, some of literature’s most famous characters – including Dr. Frankenstein, Dorian Gray, and iconic figures from the novel Dracula, all brilliantly reimagined in a whole new light – have become embroiled in Victorian London. The series stars Josh Hartnett (Black Hawk Down), Eva Green (Casino Royale), Timothy Dalton (The Living Daylights, License to Kill), Reeve Carney (Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark), Rory Kinnear (Skyfall), Harry Treadaway (The Lone Ranger), Billie Piper (Doctor Who, Secret Diary of a Call Girl) and Danny Sapani (The Bill).
An action-packed, epic space adventure, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy expands the Marvel Cinematic Universe into the cosmos, where brash adventurer Peter Quill finds himself the object of an unrelenting bounty hunt after stealing a mysterious orb coveted by Ronan, a powerful villain with ambitions that threaten the entire universe. To evade the ever-persistent Ronan, Quill is forced into an uneasy truce with a quartet of disparate misfits—Rocket, a gun-toting raccoon, Groot, a tree-like humanoid, the deadly and enigmatic Gamora and the revenge-driven Drax the Destroyer. But when Quill discovers the true power of the orb and the menace it poses to the cosmos, he must do his best to rally his ragtag rivals for a last, desperate stand—with the galaxy’s fate in the balance.
Five novelists have been named finalists in the 7th annual Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award (ABNA) contest. Each of the five writers will be awarded an Amazon publishing deal, with the grand prize winner earning a $50,000 publishing deal.
Amazon customers can now vote on who will take home the top prize. Voting is open through July 18, 2014.
“In traditional publishing paths, writers can wait years before receiving feedback from a publisher on their work,” said Terry Goodman, Editorial Lead for Lake Union Publishing and an ABNA panelist judge. “What I love about this contest is that the 10,000 entries stand shoulder-to-shoulder and are all considered for publication. We get to press fast forward and make an author’s dream come true, helping these writers break through and find an audience. And Amazon customers play a role in giving a novelist a life-changing publishing deal.”
2014 ABNA Finalists:
General Fiction: A Pledge of Silence by Flora Solomon, Southport, NC
Mystery/Thriller: The Dead Key by D.M. Pulley, Shaker Heights, OH
Romance: The Bluestocking and the Rake by Norma Darcy, Canterbury, Kent GB
Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror: The Mengele Effect by Chuck Grossart, Bellevue, NE
Young Adult Fiction: Seashell, Stork and Apple Tree by Carrie Anne Noble, Montoursville, PA
