Transformation specialists and trainers Chris Powell and his wife, Heidi, return for more “Extreme Weight Loss” (Photo: ABC/Rick Rowell)
ABC wants more Extreme Weight Loss and has renewed the series for a fifth season. The renewal comes as season four is currently airing, earning higher ratings than seasons two and three and up over 9% in adult viewers compared to last season.
Season five’s 13 two-hour episodes will air next year along with three special “Extreme Weight Loss: Love Can’t Weight” editions. In the “Love Can’t Weight” editions, Chris and Heidi Powell will lend their expertise to help three couples get ready both physically and emotionally for their weddings.
Details on Season 4:
Hit series Extreme Weight Loss, is a unique, non-competitive show about weight-loss transformations that documents the unprecedented 365-day journey of courageous, “super-obese” participants. In each of the 13 stand-alone, two-hour episodes, the participants — whose lives have become unmanageable because of their weight — will undergo a transformation not only of their bodies, but of who they are as individuals. With the proper nourishment, exercise and guidance assured by Extreme Weight Loss, they are afforded a fresh perspective.
In addition to having participants continue to work alongside transformation specialists and trainers Chris Powell and his wife, Heidi, the show is taking a unique approach in the upcoming fourth season: each participant will spend the first 90 days of the weight loss journey at the renowned University of Colorado’s Anschutz Health and Wellness Center (AHWC) in Aurora, CO. Chris & Heidi, with AHWC’s medical director Dr. Holly Wyatt, MD and associate professor of medicine at the University of Colorado, will guide these individuals to safely lose up to half their body weight, ultimately revealing an amazing metamorphosis. The Anschutz Health and Wellness Center offers some of the country’s most advanced research and science-based expertise, focusing on a comprehensive weight loss and weight-loss management approach, including fitness, nutrition and wellness services.
Matt Lauer and Bear Grylls appear on NBC News’ “Today” show — (Photo by: Peter Kramer/NBC)
Bear Grylls will be taking celebrities on wild adventures in the new NBC series Running Wild with Bear Grylls, an hour-long show premiering on July 28, 2014 at 8pm ET/PT. The six episode show will feature Channing Tatum, Zac Efron, Ben Stiller, Deion Sanders, Tom Arnold, and Tamron Hall, each of whom will get their own episode taking place over 48 jam-packed hours.
“Running Wild allows viewers to see inside the hearts and minds of these guests in a very open, honest and vulnerable way, pushing them out of their comfort zones and seeing what they are like in real life when stripped of all the benefits of celebrity,” said series creator Grylls. “Ultimately, this show is about taking these stars on the adventure of a lifetime and being alongside them when they discover something new and empowering about themselves and their world. For me, that is always a privilege.”
“Bear’s incredible spirit is absolutely contagious, not only with his celebrity partners but with the viewing audience as well,” stated Paul Telegdy, President, Alternative and Late Night Programming, NBC Entertainment. “We can’t wait to see how these epic adventures will profoundly change those who take the challenge.”
The Plot:
Each of the celebrities endure the harsh wilderness in high-octane, action-based and empowering journeys spread over six remote locations. From skydiving into the Catskill Mountains, to repelling down the cliffs of Utah and battling torrential wind and rain in Scotland, Grylls and each celebrity will have to push both their minds and bodies to the limit to successfully complete their journey.
After ending her run as the host of Chelsea Lately on E!, Chelsea Handler will be back in the talk show business with a new show set for 2016 on Netflix. According to the official announcement from Netflix, Handler’s new series will allow the comedian an unfiltered outlet to examine “topical entertainment and cultural issues.” Handler will also be conducting celebrity interviews on the new show.
Handler’s also committed to four docu-comedy specials to air in 2015. Prior to that, on October 10, 2014 Netflix will air a comedy special taped in Chicago during her “Uganda Be Kidding Me” tour.
“If I was going to continue working in this industry, I knew I had to do something outside the box to keep myself interested. I wanted to sit with the cool kids at lunch so I approached Netflix to make sure they were as cool as I thought they were, and when I confirmed my suspicions, like with any other future lover, I made my move. I’m more excited than I’ve been in awhile, and the team at Netflix is the most forward-thinking, alert group I’ve sat down with in ages. No offense to the Shahs Of Sunset,” said Chelsea.
“The Internet has disrupted many of the conventions of traditional television and together with Chelsea Handler, Netflix is looking forward to reimagining the late-night talk show for the on-demand generation, starting with the late-night part…,” added Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos. “Chelsea has built a huge following on tour, on nightly TV and through her best-selling books, and we can’t wait to introduce her breathtakingly honest and irreverent voice to our global membership.”
The first word that comes to mind when someone mentions zombies is most likely not “lovable.” But lovable zombies there most definitely are. The line that best defines this breed of zombie comes from Shaun of the Dead when the character of Dianne – an actress trying to teach her human friends how to act like a zombie – describes the undead like this: “Just look at the face: it’s vacant, with a hint of sadness. Like a drunk who’s lost a bet.” It’s that hint of sadness, that hint of humanity that reminds us they were once human, they were once us. That’s a pretty powerful notion and it’s hard not to feel connected to these reanimated corpses when you think of them as distant relatives. So here’s a list of zombie characters that will appeal to your heart even though they are still after your brains. (Please note there are some spoilers contained in the descriptions.)
1. Bub in Day of the Dead (1985)
Bub, played by actor Howard Sherman, is hands down the most endearing zombie ever to grace the screen. He turns up in the lab of George A. Romero’s Day of the Dead and immediately wins us over with his drooling charm. Romero’s films are always fueled by social commentary: Night of the Living Dead tackled racism, Dawn of the Dead consumerism, and Land of the Dead corporate America. Day of the Dead looked to vivisection, and criticized research that paid no heed to what it used as test subjects or how those subjects were treated. Bub provides the perfect argument for looking to test subjects with a little more compassion.
Dr. Logan, who has been slicing and dicing zombie “lab rats” without hesitation or conscience, is very proud of Bub. He uses Bub as an example of a potentially trainable zombie. The scientist provides items from daily life – a book, phone, tape recorder – to see if they can elicit any glimmer of recognition from Bub. And they do, like a faint but still not retrievable memory. Bub poignantly reminds us that zombies may be a terrifying threat but they were also us and some shred of humanity may still be buried inside all that decaying flesh. He lays the groundwork for the self-aware zombies that are gaining prominence now.
2. Fido in Fido (2006)
Billy Connolly plays the title role in Fido and how can you not fall in love with him? The film is essentially Lassie with a faithful zombie rather than a dog. It looks like a Technicolor TV show from the 1950s with an antiseptically clean white picket fence façade masking the ominous big brother agenda of Zomcon.
Fido becomes the loyal pet of little Timmy, and the two become fast friends. But Timmy is bothered by the prejudice Fido faces and by nagging questions about what it really means to be a zombie. Meanwhile, Timmy’s alluring mom (played by Carrie-Anne Moss) finds herself falling for the reanimated Fido and preferring him to her living husband. Connolly is long suffering and hilarious and quickly wins us over since he has to put up with so many brainless humans.
3. Ed in Shaun of the Dead (2004)
Shaun of the Dead may be the most lovable zombie movie of all time so you shouldn’t be surprised to find a huggable zombie shambling around its plot. Edgar Wright’s film serves up the perfect mix of comedy, gore, social commentary, and sheer cleverness. It also gives us Ed (Nick Frost) as the title character’s best friend and that doesn’t change – SPOILER ALERT – even after Ed dies and reanimates. Their friendship goes beyond the grave and the film ends with Shaun (Simon Pegg) heading off to the shed to play some video games with a chained-up Ed as Queen’s “You’re My Best Friend” plays on the soundtrack and carries us cheerily into the end credits. The post-apocalypse doesn’t look so bad if you can face it with a friend – living or reanimated.
4. R in Warm Bodies (2013)
In Romeo and Juliet, Mercutio damns the warring Capulets and Montagues by saying, “A plague o’ both your houses. They have made worms’ meat of me.” Maybe Shakespeare’s mention of plague and worms’ meat fired up some synapses in Jonathan Levine’s brain and prompted him to turn Romeo and Juliet into a romantic zombie comedy. So the zombies can be seen as the plague and the two houses are the humans and the worms’ meat of the living dead.
Julia (the Juliet of the story) is of the living and her Romero is R, one of the reanimated. R is one of the new breed of self-aware zombies. He narrates the story and constantly contemplates his situation with self-deprecating humor and irony. It doesn’t hurt that he’s played by the adorable and a bit emo Nicholas Hoult. His struggle to reconcile what he has become with what he vaguely remembers he used to be is both funny and poignant making him thoroughly lovable.
5. Carrefour in I Walked with a Zombie (1943)
Carrefour (played by Darby Jones), an impressively tall, thin, and bug-eyed voodoo created zombie, is not exactly lovable but you can’t help but embrace his character. Unlike the Romero-style zombies that die and rise because of some infection or there being no more room in hell, a voodoo zombie is in some ways creepier because it is a living person controlled by someone else. Voodoo zombies address the notion of enslavement and loss of free will, which reflect their roots in Haiti with an influence from Central and West African.
Carrefour is one of the most memorable and visually striking zombies to ever appear on the screen. Silent and blank, he causes no harm to anyone but he thoroughly mesmerizes us. He casts a spell we simply can’t shake.
6. Father McGruder in Dead Alive/Braindead (1992)
I might have to make this a family shout out. But let’s start with the character of Father McGruder (Stuart Devein) who gets to utter the delicious line, “I kick arse for the Lord” as he fights off the undead. SPOILER ALERT But that’s just moments before he’s turned into one of the living dead via a plague borne by the infamous Sumatran Rat-Monkey. This turns him into one of the zombies kept in the cellar by poor Lionel. Once Father McGruder turns into a zombie he conveniently forgets all about his vow of celibacy and gets it on with a zombie nurse, and ends up fathering a zombie baby. This family unit just makes you feel all warm and fuzzy and gooey inside.
7. Big Daddy in Land of the Dead (2005)
Okay, you might not find Big Daddy (Eugene Clark) warm and cuddly but the dawning of a revived consciousness in this zombie is something to cherish. He shows signs of grief, rage, and even compassion as he realizes the suffering and persecution of his fellow – and as of yet still unaware – zombies. You want to cheer him on as he starts to feel a revolutionary urge rising in him. And who wouldn’t when faced with the greed and larceny of Dennis Hopper’s Dick Cheney-inspired performance as a corporate land baron. Humans like him are just demanding to be eaten alive. Big Daddy also earns points for leading an underwater assault on the elite Fiddler’s Green luxury complex. The revolution will be reanimated.
8. Hare Krishna Zombie in Dawn of the Dead (1978)
Most people don’t find the Hare Krishnas that might solicit you at the mall or airport endearing but George A. Romero made this zombie Krishna quite charming. The incongruity of him shambling along with all the other zombies at the mall and mindlessly continuing to do what he did in real life provides some unexpected humor in the film. And he really is quite adorable.
9. Bill Murray in Zombieland (2009)
This is a bit of a cheat but Bill Murray, playing himself, is so sweet, funny, and tragic that you have to love him. SPOILER ALERT The cheat is that he never really gets to be a zombie in the film, he just pretends to be one as a practical joke he plays on the main character (Jesse Eisenberg) and ends up getting accidentally shot. That may not sound funny but it plays out as hilarious in the film, mainly because Murray is so good and the gag is so unexpected. As a comedian, there’s also something endearing about dying in the line of duty, just trying to get a laugh in the post apocalyptic wasteland of Hollywood.
10. Beth in Life After Beth (2014)
Life After Beth scored a hit at Sundance. It stars Aubrey Plaza and was written and directed by her real-life boyfriend Jeff Baena. She plays a character who comes back from the grave but doesn’t realize she’s dead so she keeps trying to date her grieving boyfriend (Dane DeHaan). Baena says the movie is a metaphor for breakups and for what happens when the person you broke up with tries to get back together with you. Oh, undying zombie love!
– Bonus: Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright in Land of the Dead
Uber zombie fans and ridiculously talented, Pegg and Wright not only resurrected the zombie film with their Shaun of the Dead but they scored a cameo in George A. Romero’s Land of the Dead. Seeing these geeks get a part in their idol’s film provides joy and zombie hugs all around.
Jaime Murray as Stahma Tarr in ‘Defiance’ season 2 (Photo by: Joe Pugliese/Syfy)
Jaime Murray reprises her role as the manipulative ‘Stahma Tarr’ in season two of Syfy’s hit series Defiance premiering on June 19, 2014 at 9pm ET/PT. And while viewers might label Stahma a villain, Jaime Murray refuses to view her character that way and instead sees her as someone who does whatever it takes to protect herself and her family.
Some people compare your character to Cersei Lannister in Game of Thrones. You’re both so calculating…
Jaime Murray: [Laughing] “I’m lucky enough to play this alien and sometimes as an actor you’re really happy when you have these impulses come up because they’re natural and they’re organic, and you want to follow them. And every now and then I’ll have a human impulse and I’ll be like, ‘Well, that’s a human impulse. Okay, how do I now make it other? How do I make it alien?’ She wouldn’t necessarily have the same motivations as a human being, and that’s kind of scary not to know.
There’s that wonderful moment in The Life of Pi when the father teaches the son that a tiger is a tiger and not to put his hand in the cage because no matter how lovely that tiger looks, it’s going to eat that hand off. She’s a little bit like that.”
Is there a particular trait of Stahma’s that you consider your favorite?
Jaime Murray: “I don’t know what my favorite trait of hers is yet. Maybe I haven’t discovered it. But I think she’s highly intelligent and she’s empathetic enough that she’s almost psychic. She knows what other people need and want, maybe even better than Kenya [played by Mia Kirshner] did. She really has an understanding of psychology and how best to use that to manipulate and get what she needs. She’s always one step ahead and that’s interesting. She’s very ‘held’. I feel as though in some ways she’s like a masked lady and one of the things I enjoyed was there were moments in the first season when the mask slips…not that many. And I’m quite excited to see maybe that mask slipping a little bit more as she gets out of that cage I was talking about. I think men do put women in a cage. It’ll be quite interesting to see what it’s like for her when she takes a step outside that.”
How would you describe Stahma Tarr? Do you view her as a villain?
Jaime Murray: “I mean it’s like the scorpion and the frog, isn’t it? The scorpion’s a scorpion, and you’re not going to be like, ‘You’re a bad scorpion.’ It’s a scorpion nonetheless and it’s going to sting you. I don’t know. I’m playing the character so I’m very biased. It’s for you to say whether she’s a villainous or a good character. For me, I can’t judge my character and play her. I have to be like the best lawyer I can be for my character, otherwise, I’ll just be a caricature. I have to think about all her motivations, whether it be protecting Alak [played by Jesse Rath] or protecting Datak [Tony Curran] from himself because he is so impulsive. He is so caught up in his own ego that he could make a rash decision that could tear down our whole family, and Stahma is much more about the long game.
But I don’t think she ever does anything… I don’t think I’ve done anything so far just because I wanted to – like, I wanted to pull the legs off of a spider. Everything I did was because I had to do it. I don’t know if that’s good or bad.”
Do you keep track of all the storylines of the characters Stahma doesn’t have to be involved with?
Jaime Murray: “You need to kind of know what’s going on. All these characters are so different. There are like seven different species, you know, so you can really delve into your own world and that was what was quite wonderful for me about this TV show. I don’t actually like watching myself as an actor. I don’t know if you’ve ever heard yourself on a recording leaving a message. You hear your voice and you’re like, ‘Ugh! Is that what I sound like?!’ Well, seeing yourself on television is like that on crack. [Laughing] But it was so great for me because it’s such an ensemble piece.
Obviously, I read the scripts; we have the read-through and then everyone goes off and does their bit. So I was able to watch it and become immersed in the drama of it. And then when I came onto the screen, I was so unrecognizable to myself that I was able to enjoy it. I really enjoyed the first season.”
20th Century Fox has just released the final trailer for the Dawn of the Planet of the Apes directed by Matt Reeves and starring Andy Serkis, Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman, Keri Russell, Toby Kebbell, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Enrique Murciano, and Kirk Acevedo. According to the new trailer, the apes are stronger because they don’t need lights, heat, and power. It doesn’t hurt that they look unstoppable riding horses and firing guns.
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes opens in theaters on July 11, 2014.
The Plot:
A growing nation of genetically evolved apes led by Caesar is threatened by a band of human survivors of the devastating virus unleashed a decade earlier. They reach a fragile peace, but it proves short-lived, as both sides are brought to the brink of a war that will determine who will emerge as Earth’s dominant species.
The cast of History’s critically acclaimed series Vikings has just expanded by three. The network just announced Kevin Durand, Lothaire Bluteau, and Morgane Polanski have signed on for roles in the third season of Vikings set to air next year. Filming will take place this summer on the series written and created by Michael Hirst.
Per the network’s official announcement, here’s the scoop on who the three new cast members will be playing:
– Lothaire Bluteau – Emperor Charles of France, a powerful man who views battling the Vikings as spiritual and earthly.
– Kevin Durand – The Wanderer, a mysterious man who is not what he seems.
– Morgane Polanski – Princess Gisla, the elegant, self-possessed daughter of Emperor Charles and his most trusted advisor.
Polanski, Durand, and Bluteau will be joining returning Vikings cast members Travis Fimmel as Ragnar, Katheryn Winnick as Lagertha, Clive Standen as Rollo, Alexander Ludwig as Bjorn, Jessalyn Gilsig as Siggy, Gustaf Skarsgard as Floki, and Linus Roache as Ecbert.
The Plot:
Vikings centers on Ragnar Lothbrok, a restless warrior and family man who longs to find and conquer new lands across the seas and claim the spoils as his own. The series portrays life in the Dark Ages, a world ruled by raiders and explorers, through the eyes of Viking society.
Cameron Crowe is ready to rock again with Roadies, a new comedy pilot he’s writing and directing. Showtime’s given the green light to the Roadies pilot which has Winnie Holzman (My So-Called Life) attached as showrunner and Crowe, J.J. Abrams, and Bryan Burk executive producing. Abrams’ Bad Robot Productions is producing Roadies along with Vinyl Films and Dooley & Company Productions.
The one-hour pilot could lead to a half-hour Showtime series.
“Cameron Crowe is one of my all-time movie heroes,” said David Nevins, President, Showtime Networks Inc. “Winnie Holzman created and wrote one of my favorite TV shows ever. J.J., among many other things, is a consummate television producer. Best of all: the comedy script they’ve come up with together is brilliant, original and full of life.”
“I love that we’re finally doing Roadies,” said Crowe. “J.J. and I have been talking about it for some time. We’re fans of crews, those workers up on the rigging towers, or walking feverishly with eight phones on their belt. Those quietly devoted people live huge lives, they’re often the real keepers of the flame. So happy to also be telling these stories with SHOWTIME, and also with one of my very favorite writer-producers ever, Winnie Holzman. Let’s get this show on the road!”
Crowe’s Almost Famous, the semi-autobiographical tale of a Rolling Stone reporter shadowing a band, earned the filmmaker a Best Original Screenplay Oscar in 2001. Roadies returns him to the rock and roll world, following the “day-to-day life of a successful rock tour as seen through the eyes of music’s unsung background players – the crew members who help get the show on the road.”
“Roadies is Cameron Crowe at his most musically passionate, colorful character best,” said Abrams. “We had been talking about the series for so long, but when he actually handed me the script, it was funnier and sweeter and wilder than I had ever imagined. Showtime is the perfect home for these characters – and there is no one I’ve been hoping to work with more than the truly brilliant Winnie Holzman.”
Warner Bros Pictures has put together in one collection the best of their love stories from over the past 90 years. The Best of Warner Bros – 20 Film Collection: Romance released on April 2, 2013 is a look back at how Hollywood has handled romantic stories over the past 9 decades. Kicking off with 1938’s Jezebel, this comprehensive collection contains some of the most memorable romantic movies ever released by a major studio.
Films in this terrific collection include: Jezebel (1938) Gone with the Wind (1939) The Philadelphia Story (1940) Casablanca (1942) Mrs. Miniver (1942) Now, Voyager (1942) Annie Get Your Gun (1950) A Streetcar Named Desire: The Original Director’s Version (1951) Rebel Without a Cause (1955) Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) Splendor in the Grass (1961) Doctor Zhivago (1965) A Touch of Class (1973) A Star Is Born (1976) The Goodbye Girl (1977) The Bodyguard (1992) You’ve Got Mail (1998) Two Weeks Notice (2002) The Lake House (2006) Nights in Rodanthe (2008)
Not every DVD in the set contains bonus material but the films themselves are, for the most part, such stand-out classics that extra material isn’t really necessary. That said, the collection does include select commentary tracks, trailers, behind-the-scenes featurettes, deleted scenes and outtakes.
The Romance collection also includes a 20 page booklet with a synopsis and bits of trivia on each of the films.
Chyler Leigh as Detective Cat Sullivan and Jacky Ido as Leo Romba in ‘Taxi Brooklyn’ (Photo by: Linda Kallerus/NBC)
NBC will premiere the new series Taxi Brooklyn, based on Luc Besson’s Taxi films, on June 25, 2014 at 10pm ET/PT. The action series is executive produced by Gary Scott Thompson, Thomas Anargyros, and Edouard de Vesinne and stars Chyler Leigh as a detective determined to find out who killed her father.
After being demoted to foot patrol because of her reckless driving, Detective Caitlyn ‘Cat’ Sullivan finds an unlikely partner in a taxi driver named Leo Romba (Jacky Ido). Leo, who’s illegally in the country, makes a deal to drive Cat around as she investigates cases while continuing to look for clues about her father’s murder.
Together for a conference call to discuss the new series, Chyler Leigh, Jacky Ido, and executive producer Gary Scott Thompson answered questions about the lead characters and what audiences can expect from Taxi Brooklyn.
How did this series come about?
Gary Scott Thompson: “The show is based on a series of four films which were extremely, extremely popular in Europe and around the world. It was one of Luc Besson’s projects that he wanted to turn into a TV show. So after many, many sort of incarnations, I guess, that they had tried to make it work, someone from over there [in] New York and Brooklyn – that’s kind of where it started. It sort of departs from the series. […] We’ve got a lot of twists and turns along the way that are not in the movie, so it’s just sort of a jumping-off point.”
What was the biggest challenge you faced in making the series?
Chyler Leigh: “Biggest challenge was to stop laughing all the time. I think we had such a good time that it was a little challenging for the directors to rein us back in and then take everything we were doing seriously.”
Jacky Ido: “You know, the biggest challenge as Chyler just so eloquently put it was we kept laughing all the time. The crew is amazing. We had so much fun shooting in New York City. And for me, calling all the way from France, it was just a treat every day. [It was] much more of an enjoyment than a challenge.”
Chyler, how would you describe Cat?
Chyler Leigh: “When we meet her, Cat is in a very hard place in her life and you come to understand that she’s a very kind of tough-talking but conflicted person who’s, at this point, very reckless due to what she’s been through with her family. She’s very determined. She’s very hardworking. She takes what she does very seriously, but has become a bit impassioned to find what’s going on or what happened in her past. And, at this point, has pretty much pushed everybody away in her life and is a bit disgruntled.
But you can see throughout the season that she does have that vulnerable side to her that’s to kind of keep those walls up. You see that she definitely knows how to kick some serious ass.”
How is the relationship between Cat and Leo in the beginning and how does it evolve?
Jacky Ido: “Well, the relationship is kind of tense in the beginning because, you know, she’s suspected of helping someone [in a bank heist]. So they started with like this little tension between them but also friendship that you can see developing there. And, also, they need each other because together they complete themselves or they complete each other. They kind of become like the super cop to solve all the cases.
So the relationship, in the beginning, is quite tense and then quite quickly it evolves to becoming something…sometimes you can say the ‘cat and dog’ or sister/brother kind of relationship. It’s interesting to see how it kind of evolves.”
Gary, given the fact that this is based on the four movies what are the challenges in turning a feature film franchise into a TV series? Or is it not a challenge because you have free rein as a writer for the show?
Gary Scott Thompson: “I think the biggest challenge is actually not alienating the original audience because they’re expecting one thing but when you go from one medium to the next, things don’t always translate. The movies themselves are extremely broad, and to do an hour drama that’s broad will not work on TV. You can’t be that broad. It has to really, at least, touch upon a reality base. So I think that’s the biggest problem anytime you transfer anything, whether it’s a novel or anything that you go back and forth between mediums, does not alienate the original audience and that you still have to try and get a new audience as well.”
Did Luc Besson have any hand in this at all? Did you let him see the scripts or let him have any input?
Gary Scott Thompson: “Luc has a hand in everything. He may not say he does, but he saw our cuts; he was there at the very beginning. I sat down with him here actually in L.A. when he was here at one point before we ever started shooting, to look over storyboards. And then when I was in Paris doing the editing, he was always a presence. He gives us opinions, suggestions as to what he wants and doesn’t want or what works and doesn’t work.”
How is the show different for you as an actress compared to other projects including Grey’s Anatomy?
Chyler Leigh: “Well, it is incredibly challenging in a lot of ways as far as physically challenging, it definitely pushed me further than I had been. I think just from a creative standpoint, I feel like I really hit a great stride in stepping into a character that I have never played anything like it before. You know, I’ve always kind of been the quirky, smart, witty kind of character. Then to be able to step into something like this was really exciting for me, and scary. But, you know, overall exciting.”
Jacky, how does it feel to be on a TV series?
Jacky Ido: “Actually it feels amazing because I’ve been wanting to portray a character on a TV show because it gives you much more latitude to explore the character and grow with him. So I was excited, respective of playing Leo.”
Chyler, did you cut your hair after Grey’s or specifically for this show?
Chyler Leigh: “The short hair…you know, I cut my hair about a month after Grey’s sort of as my own symbolic moment of moving forward and just trying something that I’ve wanted to try forever and never really had the guts to do it. Now I had some free time to be able to explore and I did. Boy, I chopped a lot of hair off. I love it.”
Gary Scott Thompson: “And then I chopped more of her hair off.”
Chyler Leigh: “He did. Yes.”
Gary, you wanted it short for this role?
Gary Scott Thompson: “I did. It made sense to the character. I wanted her to be so far from Lexie as well because the characters, they’re different. I wanted her to actually feel typically different from Lexie and so she could just go because it’s very physical. She was doing a lot of running and shooting and driving and sending her all through the streets of New York. So it’s a very, very different character than Lexie.”
How did you initially find out about the series and these characters?
Jacky Ido: “I was contacted by Luc Besson and he told me about the project, that they were going to shoot a TV show in New York, so I was really excited about this. And later on we met with Gary and we had auditions. That’s how I came on the project.”
Chyler Leigh: “And for myself, I got a phone call from my manager who knows Gary very well and had been approached by Gary about coming on board and just getting myself into the project. I read it and it scared the life out of me. And, I loved it. So, you know, after that it was a conversation with Gary kind of just going over everything and talking about this kind of series and what it would involve. That was sort of it, sort of went from there. It all happened very, very quickly.”
Who’s the better driver in real life?
Chyler Leigh: “Hands down, that’s me.”
Jacky Ido: “That would be Chyler. I give it to her. She’s a crazy driver compared to me. I’m a grandfather with a wheel.”
Chyler, you said that she’s kick-ass and the character is really challenging. Can you talk about preparing yourself both physically and mentally to take on this character?
Chyler Leigh: “Well, you know, as I mentioned it all happened very quickly. It was only a matter of weeks before actually signing on to the project and then filming. So I had luckily, you know, been keeping active and whatnot. I had a good basis. But just stepping into something that’s physically challenging as this, I mean, obviously, when you walk into a project like this because, obviously, you have stunt people that come in and help do the things that we can’t if it’s from an insurance standpoint or just physically can’t do, that’s what they’re there for. And so, luckily, they have brought on a girl who’s fantastic, who stepped in in a lot ways for me when needed. So from a physical standpoint, there wasn’t a whole lot of time beforehand to prepare. But I feel like we caught up pretty quickly, went to actually filming.
From a mental standpoint, I think just given what we do, it’s a very schizophrenic business. We just have to kind of jump from one person to the next, different personalities. And so for me, it was just trying to get my mind in the game of playing something different but also tapping into areas of my own life that maybe I don’t exercise often, which is that aggression. I’m a very easy-going person that’s just sort of fun-loving and whatnot so I tried to bring those aspects into the character that was already rooted in a, I want to say, darker place. But I guess that would be the easiest way of explaining it.”
Jacky, you have a successful international film career. What inspired you to make the change now to doing an American television comedy?
Jacky Ido: “My answer would be very simple: it’s Leo Romba. The character was just so amazing when I first got this script [and] started reading about him. I couldn’t take my eyes off the page. In so many aspects of it, he’s like me. I love his sense of humor; he’s a life-loving guy. And to be able to portray someone who loves life to this extent. Also, someone who had experienced being a viewer in Europe but growing up in Europe watching television, American cop shows that were dubbed in French, and then being projected in that kind of universe that was a stereotypical – the characters, the archetype you find in the cop shows, that’s a dream for us, of French viewers being in the middle – in the midst of that and taking part in solving those cases. So it was something that I couldn’t just stay away from. It was something that I really wanted to do.”
Did you get to do any actual driving in your role?
Jacky Ido: “Very little. I had a stunt driver doubling for me who’s amazing. He’s like Michael Jordan with a wheel. He’s incredible. So, yes, I took a lot of pleasure just standing on the side and watching him perform some of my stunts.”
Chyler Leigh: “I tried to take on as much as they would let me. I wasn’t allowed very much. So no, again, same thing. I had wonderful stunt people that were working with us and took over the wheel. But I tried to get away with as much as I possibly could. I think I scared people a few times, which was really my ultimate goal. I feel like I hit that very well.”
Stumble It! 
