Cicely Tyson, Vanessa Williams, Blair Underwood, and Keke Palmer are starring in Lifetime’s The Trip to Bountiful currently shooting in Atlanta, Georgia. The network’s aiming for a 2014 premiere of the TV movie based on Horton Foote’s award-winning tale of one woman’s desire to reconnect with her past.
Michael Wilson will be making his television directorial debut with The Trip to Bountiful. Bill Haber, Cicely Tyson, Hallie Foote, and Jeff Hayes are executive producing.
The Plot:
In The Trip to Bountiful, Carrie Watts (Tyson) begrudgingly lives with her busy, overprotective son, Ludie (Underwood) and her snooty daughter-in-law, Jessie Mae (Williams). No longer able to drive and forbidden to travel alone, she wishes for freedom from the confines of the house and begs her son to take her on a visit to her hometown of Bountiful. When he refuses, Mrs. Watts is undeterred and makes an escape to the local bus station, where she befriends Thelma (Palmer), a young woman traveling home. When Ludie and Jessie Mae discover she is gone, they call in law enforcement to help, but Mrs. Watts is one step ahead of them and convinces the local sheriff to help her on her journey home to Bountiful.
Colin Farrell stars in Winter’s Tale, a romantic drama targeting the Valentine’s Day 2014 audience. Written and directed by Oscar-winning screenwriter Akiva Goldsman (A Beautiful Mind), the cast also includes A Beautiful Mind stars Jennifer Connelly and Russell Crowe, as well as Jessica Brown Findlay, William Hurt, Eva Marie Saint, Ripley Sobo, and Mckayla Twiggs.
The Plot:
Set in a mythic New York City and spanning more than a century, Winter’s Tale is a story of miracles, crossed destinies, and the age-old battle between good and evil.
Jacquie Lee, Josh Logan, Matthew Schuler, Olivia Henken, and Stephanie Anne Johnson on 'The Voice' (Photo by: Tyler Golden / NBC)
The field has been narrowed to the top 12 on NBC’s season five of The Voice. America voted in two members of each team, and then it was up to the coaches to save one of their remaining singers. A few surprising choices were made, but ultimately each team looks strong enough to take this year’s title.
Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, CeeLo Green, and Christina Aguilera now have three artists each to move forward with and mentor, all in hopes of taking home bragging rights as this year’s The Voice winner.
The Voice Season 5 Top 12 Artists:
#TEAMADAM
James Wolpert – Strasburg, PA, @jamespwolpert
Tessanne Chin – Kingston, Jamaica, @Tessanne
Will Champlin – Los Angeles, CA, @willchamplin
“Jane Foster was looking for love in all the wrong places until a blast from the past came out of nowhere to sweep her off her feet.”
On the November 8, 2013 episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live, the late night host showed off a new trailer for Thor: The Dark World targeting women. With “I’m Walking on Sunshine” as the catchy trailer tune and focusing on Natalie Portman as Jane Foster and Chris Hemsworth as Thor (occasionally shirtless, always looking like the romantic hero), the new trailer promotes Thor Actually, “a romantic comedy that’s out of this world.”
Be forewarned Thor groupies and fanboys, you may not like what I’m about to say. There’s always been one fundamental flaw to Marvel’s version of the Norse God of Thunder, whether in films or the comic books: He never does anything interesting.
While I find the Norse mythology interesting, and Chris Hemsworth is a genius choice for the character, his stories just don’t do anything to excite me. There’s a certain Shakespearean intrigue that lends itself to the proceedings that made bringing Kenneth Branagh in as director on the first film a logical choice. And don’t take this the wrong way, I enjoyed Thor well enough. But the storylines available for this Avenger are just ho-hum stuff.
In this inevitable sequel, Thor has to make some amends to his main squeeze, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), for being absent for the past two years. His brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston), fresh from his apprehension at the end of The Avengers, is locked up in the dungeons. Thor’s father, Odin (Anthony Hopkins), doesn’t quite get his son’s fascination with an Earth woman. Oh, and there’s this convergence of planets that happens every 5,000 years that’s set to bring back the reign of dark elves hell-bent on destroying the universe. Guess who’s going to figure out a way to stop it?
As per my opening statements, I found the actual Thor: The Dark World plot developments to be of little consequence. This is the kind of story I invented as a child playing with action figures or Lego. However, just as he did in Thor, it’s Hiddleston that steals the show. Every scene with Loki is a bright spot and lifts the rather mundane surroundings in an almost magical fashion. This is made most evident after a long spell of Loki being absent from the movie, as he pops back up and instantly raises the energy level — right when the pacing needed a boost in the arm.
Taking over in the director’s chair is Alan Taylor. His experience directing a number of Game of Thrones episodes obviously came in handy and the look and feel of the movie are consistent with previous films in the recent string of Marvel dominance. That still didn’t make the runtime feel any shorter, as the 112 minutes feels a tad longer, but every element of the production was well executed. The costumes, the sets, the effects, and the make-up designs are all top-notch.
Thankfully, the script does make sure to inject a number of light moments, mostly with Loki. Overall, it’s fairly entertaining though if I had to pick a big-budget action film right now, I’d go with Ender’s Game over this. But who am I kidding? This is a Marvel movie, everyone will probably go and see it.
One last obligatory note. To no surprise, there are some extra scenes in the credits, both midway through and at the end. So as with every other Marvel movie, don’t be so quick to get to your car once the main story has run its course.
GRADE: B-
Thor: The Dark World opens in theaters on November 8, 2013 and is rated PG-13 for sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence, and some suggestive content.
The cast of ‘Singles Ladies’ (Photo Courtesy of VH1)
VH1’s scripted series Single Ladies will kick off its third season on January 6, 2014 at 9pm ET/PT. Executive produced by Queen Latifah, the hour-long show stars LisaRaye McCoy, Denise Vasi, Charity Shea, D.B. Woodside, Travis Winfrey, Terrell Tilford, and Harold “House” Moore. Joining the cast for season three are LeToya Luckett, Damien Dante Wayans, and Lesley-Ann Brandt.
In conjunction with the return of the series for a third season, VH1 will introduce a Singles Ladies eBook series that will bridge the gap between season two’s final episode and the start of season three. Ashley Antoinette wrote the book series which will introduce a new novella focusing on one lead character each week beginning on November 26 with April. The eBooks will sell for $3.99 via Amazon, B&N.com, and iTunes.
Details on Season Three of Single Ladies:
The premiere jumps three months ahead with a lavish wedding, leading to a new romance and new personal challenges for Raquel (Denise Vasi), April (Charity Shea), Keisha (LisaRaye McCoy) and Omar (Travis Winfrey). Raquel turns her focus to her boutique, Indulgence, and soon finds passion in an unexpected partnership. April lands the opportunity of a lifetime working for one of Atlanta’s most powerful music managers, Felicia Price (LeToya Luckett), who rules her company and the music world with an iron stiletto.
While navigating Price Management, April gets embroiled into an ongoing rivalry with her new colleague David Berenger (Damien Dante Wayans). As Keisha and Malcolm (D.B. Woodside) return to Atlanta from traveling around the world, their relationship is threatened by a sudden tragedy, a mysterious woman, Naomi Cox, (Lesley-Ann Brandt) and other unexpected secrets.
Daredevil’s heading to Netflix in a new deal struck between Disney’s Marvel and Netflix. The incredible deal will mean four live-action adventure series based on four of Marvel’s popular characters will air exclusively on Netflix.
It’s anticipated that the series will premiere in 2015 with Netflix guaranteeing there will be at least four 13 episode series that feature Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist, and Luke Cage. There will also be a Marvel’s The Defenders mini-series “that reimagines a dream team of self-sacrificing, heroic characters.”
“This deal is unparalleled in its scope and size, and reinforces our commitment to deliver Marvel’s brand, content and characters across all platforms of storytelling. Netflix offers an incredible platform for the kind of rich storytelling that is Marvel’s specialty,” said Alan Fine, President of Marvel Entertainment. “This serialized epic expands the narrative possibilities of on-demand television and gives fans the flexibility to immerse themselves how and when they want in what’s sure to be a thrilling and engaging adventure.”
“Marvel’s movies, such as Iron Man and Marvel’s The Avengers, are huge favorites on our service around the world. Like Disney, Marvel is a known and loved brand that travels,” said Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos. “With House of Cards and our other original series, we have pioneered new approaches to storytelling and to global distribution and we’re thrilled to be working with Disney and Marvel to take our brand of television to new levels with a creative project of this magnitude.”
Touchstone Pictures is releasing legendary filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki’s final theatrical film, The Wind Rises, in limited theaters on November 8, 2013 (in Japanese with English subtitles) followed by an expanded release in North America in February 2014. The Studio Ghibli animated film which just debuted a new poster has a voice cast that includes Hideaki Anno, Miori Takimoto, Hidetoshi Nishijima, Masahiko Nishimura, Stephen Alpert, Morio Kazama, Keiko Takeshita, and Mirai Shida.
The Plot:
In The Wind Rises, Jiro dreams of flying and designing beautiful airplanes, inspired by the famous Italian aeronautical designer Caproni. Nearsighted from a young age and unable to be a pilot, Jiro joins a major Japanese engineering company in 1927 and becomes one of the world’s most innovative and accomplished airplane designers.
The film chronicles much of his life, depicting key historical events, including the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, the Great Depression, the tuberculosis epidemic and Japan’s plunge into war. Jiro meets and falls in love with Nahoko, and grows and cherishes his friendship with his colleague Honjo. Writer and director Hayao Miyazaki pays tribute to engineer Jiro Horikoshi and author Tatsuo Hori in this epic tale of love, perseverance, and the challenges of living and making choices in a turbulent world.
The Weinstein Company’s Harvey Weinstein is once again battling the MPAA over a film’s rating. Philomena has been tagged with an R rating by the MPAA because it contains two scenes in which the F-word is used and the rules state you can only use one. And while Weinstein seems to relish these public battles with the ratings group, in this case it’s absolutely ridiculous that his film has been given an R rating. This is yet another instance in which the MPAA is completely out of touch with the movie-going public.
Here’s a clip of Weinstein talking about Philomena‘s R rating with the CBS This Morning crew:
Jennifer Lawrence and Francis Lawrence Catching Fire Q&A (Photo Credit: Yahoo Screen)
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire star Jennifer Lawrence and director Francis Lawrence answered questions from fans submitted via Tumblr in a chat with Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer on November 6, 2013. The fan Q&A was part of the film’s Global Fan Day and Lawrence was asked everything from who she had a crush on as a teen to what’s up with her short hair to what was the funniest moment on the set of the second Hunger Games movie.
Cicely Tyson, Vanessa Williams, Blair Underwood, and Keke Palmer are starring in Lifetime’s The Trip to Bountiful currently shooting in Atlanta, Georgia. The network’s aiming for a 2014 premiere of the TV movie based on Horton Foote’s award-winning tale of one woman’s desire to reconnect with her past.
Stumble It! 
Daredevil’s heading to Netflix in a new deal struck between Disney’s Marvel and Netflix. The incredible deal will mean four live-action adventure series based on four of Marvel’s popular characters will air exclusively on Netflix.
