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Julianna Margulies on ‘The Good Wife’ and Alicia’s Growth

By
Fred Topel
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Julianna Margulies The Good Wife
Chris Butler as Matan Brody, Julianna Margulies as Alicia Florrick, Matthew Goode as Finn Polmar and Jane Alexander as Judge Morris in ‘The Good Wife’ (Photo: Jeff Neumann © 2015 CBS Broadcasting, Inc)

Season five of CBS’s hit series The Good Wife premieres on Sunday, September 29, 2013, and series creator/executive producer Robert King offered journalists gathered for the 2013 summer Television Critics Association event in Los Angeles a sneak peek at what fans of the show can expect. “We are going on our fifth year, and our tenth episode this year will be our hundredth episode overall. And at times, it feels like we are basically the old kid on the block, looking at all of these new, relevant shows coming up. And then Anthony Weiner sends a text, and Eliot Spitzer’s madam runs against him for comptroller, and then the old vigor comes back to tell new stories, and we realize there’s so many stories to tell.”

King continued: “The stories this season are very explosive. It’s more about our team, not as much about all of the guest stars coming in. We really want to see how they all face each other. It’s basically a year about civil war. But, we do have a lot of great guest stars this year. Carrie Preston is coming back, who we love. Gary Cole is coming back for an arc, and America Ferrera, who you may not have seen since the second year. Melissa George is a new person who is coming in to work in Peter’s office; Juliet Rylance; Ben Rappaport, who is one of these rebel attorneys who are going to break off with Julianna – I mean with Alicia and Cary; and Jeffrey Tambor is coming in as a judge.”

Also on hand to discuss the show was series star Julianna Margulies who talked about her character’s growth over the years and how much she enjoys playing Alicia.

Julianna Margulies The Good Wife Interview

What do you think about the growth of Alicia over the last few years?

Julianna Margulies: “I sort of equate it to when you first meet Alicia, she’s kind of at the bottom of her emotional life and the bottom of her professional life. She’s living in a little bubble that she allowed to happen, and so it’s been such a great journey to climb out of it and discover who she is as a woman, discover who she is as a lawyer, realize that she is many more things than she allowed herself to be. So it’s a constant journey. I think she’s constantly discovering things about herself, which is a happy circumstance and, also, an incredibly frightening one for her.”

Is it fun to actually get to play that?

Julianna Margulies: “I love it. I have so much fun because I’m constantly able to grow with the character. I mean, that’s the privilege of doing television is that you get these characters and you live with them and you find out all these things about them. One of the things we’re trying to do with bringing Stockard Channing in as her mom is sort of get a glimpse into this past and who she was then, and you can kind of understand why she wouldn’t just get up and leave her husband. That’s what her mother did. I’m slowly being able to open up little tiny cracks into her past to understand why she is and who she is.”

Do you think Michael J. Fox will be returning?

Julianna Margulies: “We’re hoping. If NBC lets him and if his show ends…I think with a half-hour, they finish in March.”

He said he’s allowed to come back.

Julianna Margulies: “Oh, really? For one?”

And he said he would love to.

Julianna Margulies: “I hope so. The two of us talk about it all the time. There’s this really strange relationship between his character and Alicia in that she’s disgusted, repelled by him, and completely attracted to who he is as a person at the same time. It is the most complex, I think, relationship on TV. [Laughing] So we love playing it and I would love to have him back.”

What do you like about being able to do a show this good but have a life outside of Hollywood and kind of keeping your family on the East Coast rather than the middle of LA?

Julianna Margulies: “Well, it’s something I fought for hard. They wanted to do this show either in Vancouver or here. I’m a New Yorker and I want to bring my kid up there. My parents are there, and I want to be there for them and I want them to know their grandson, and my husband works there. It was sort of a no-brainer for me which was I love this character and this show so much, but I know doing an hour drama and 22 episodes a year means that I won’t see my family much. So if I have to live in a different place and not feel at home, then it won’t work.”

Could you have imagined how far the show would come?

Julianna Margulies: “No. You know, it’s funny. We were just talking about that in the green room is that Robert [King] wrote this show thinking it was only going to go 13 episodes, and he had all 13 planned out. But then he got the pickup and he was like, ‘Oops.’ So, no. I think we all were really surprised and it really is a luxury to get to see where she’s going to go, and I think we all feed each other. Actors feed the writers, too. If they see an actor passionate about their character, it makes them passionate to write for you. So I feel like it’s a great two-way street that we discovered.”

Do you ever offer suggestions of where you want her to go?

Julianna Margulies: “I’m still figuring that out, where I want her to go. I don’t know.”

How does Alicia feel about becoming the governor’s wife and how will having that extra power change her character this season?

Julianna Margulies: “I mean, I think you started seeing a little bit of it last year seeping in, and what I love about it is I think it really challenges her moral compass as someone who always wants to do good. But it is incredibly provocative to be in a powerful situation. I think she knows very clearly that she changed her status in her professional life by being the governor-elect’s wife and then the governor’s wife.

She’s very aware that she’s choosing a slippery slope that might not really be natural to her. And I love playing that because I think that she isn’t quite aware of this eruption that’s about to happen because of the, basically, war that she’s causing at Lockhart/Gardner. And by running away from something, I think, that she’s so emotionally and physically attracted to, she is creating mayhem which will be interesting because I don’t know how well she does in an emotional situation like that.
”

Could you talk about being as reactive as you have to be in this role? So much of this you have to do facially and not verbally. Can you just talk about four seasons’ worth of that?

Julianna Margulies: “I think it’s my own undoing, really, because in the pilot, Robert and Michelle [King] were telling me that they were cutting out lines because they loved just the silence of the facial expressions, that they conveyed more than words. So I try as best I can to convey an entire emotion within a two-second moment without using any words, and it can be tricky. But I think it’s really such a key to who Alicia is in that she internalizes so much, and it’s a great challenge.

I love doing it because I do often think that the difference between television and film as opposed to theater is that if you just make one little look on the stage, the back row isn’t going to see it, but on film one turn of your head or just a blink of an eye is a huge gesture. And so I love trying to emote a feeling without having to speak. Of course, if it wasn’t written, I wouldn’t be able to do it, so it is the writing in that it gives me a rich palette to work from.”




Demi Lovato Discusses ‘The X Factor’ and Simon Cowell

By
Fred Topel
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Demi Lovato The X Factor Interview
Demi Lovato, Simon Cowell, Kelly Rowland and Paulina Rubio star on 'The X Factor' (Photo Credit: Nino Munoz / FOX)

Demi Lovato survived the change-over of judges on Fox’s The X Factor and is returning for her second season as a judge/mentor of up-and-coming singers. This coming season Lovato will once again be working with Simon Cowell as they try to discover the most talented singers from among thousands of auditions.

Joining the row of judges for this new season will be The X Factor newcomers Kelly Rowland and Paulina Rubio.

During the 2013 summer Television Critics Association The X Factor panel, Lovato confessed to being nervous having to answer questions in front of dozens of reporters. But she managed to get past her interview jitters to talk about returning to the popular singing competition, which will debut its third season on September 11, 2013.

Demi Lovato The X Factor Interview

You’re the one person who’s really figured out how to play with Simon in a way. What was your attitude toward Simon when you first joined the show? And what was kind of instinctive about how to interact with him?

Demi Lovato: “I’m not really sure. Last year, I came into this experience with nobody tells him, ‘No.’ And also, you know, I’m just sticking up for my country. [Laughing] He’s been in our country so many years telling Americans what they’re doing wrong and making fun of them. So, I’m just doing my part as a citizen, anyway.

But also I felt like, I guess, being 19 last year I had a naive sense of confidence. I wasn’t intimidated by him as people normally would be. And then this year, I’d done it all last year. We have such a great friendship now that it’s just that’s how we are with each other. This year, I’m not the only one that does that – and that’s what makes this season, I believe, stand out more. Because he’s up against three women that will absolutely do the same thing, so the way I like to put it is last year the banter between me and Simon times three.”

Fifth Harmony got a record contract and now they’re on Disney. Do you consider them a big success?

Demi Lovato: “I want to say, with Fifth Harmony, when I watched their music video for ‘Miss Movin’ On,’ Simon actually showed it to me…well…all of us. Because we get so involved, we put our everything into these contestants, I actually watched it and cried because I sat there and I had the chills. I thought, ‘Wow,’ even though this wasn’t my category and I didn’t… Well, we all collectively, kind of, put them together. I still felt like I was a part of it and they are going to be [big], mark my words. Put it in ink so huge because, individually, each one of them is ridiculously talented.”


You’ve had a huge hit this year. If you weren’t doing this at this point in time and hadn’t committed, might you be touring instead to promote the album and the song?

Demi Lovato: “Well, first off, this is what I would want to do, period. I was crossing my fingers that I would be asked back, and here I am. So that’s pretty cool. But I also am a really, really hard worker. Last year I was recording an album during the live shows, and during the auditions, I was actually touring. So I work nonstop. And I might have been touring, but this is actually more fulfilling to me at the moment because when you see the look in the contestants’ eyes, you see their dreams, and we are providing them with the opportunity to achieve their dreams.

That’s what’s amazing about this show is some shows may say that it’s not about creating a pop star, but we want to help these people break out in the industry, whether they win or not. And it’s been truly incredible to help, along with the rest of this panel and the entire show, fulfill dreams and be a part of that journey. I can’t tell you how incredible it is. And then not only that, but when I tell you that  when [Paulina] says that we’ve bonded, that’s almost an understatement because this is my family up here and these are my sisters.”


When you go back out and do live engagements now, does this experience charge you up that much more when you get out onstage yourself? 


Demi Lovato: “Absolutely. I believe I’m the youngest judge on any of these shows and that’s a lot of pressure to live up to. So when you are recording an album or you are touring or performing, not only do you have your fans looking at you, just hoping that you are making good music and performing, you are doing that for your fans, but then you have their parents now watching you, saying, ‘Okay. Is she worthy of being a judge on the stage?’ So every single time I go onstage or I’m recording an album, anything, I’m constantly thinking about not just the younger demographic, but the demographic that our show reaches out to all over the United States. And then, of course, fans in other countries look it up on YouTube or whatever they find it from.”





Charlie Hunnam on ‘Sons of Anarchy’, ‘Pacific Rim’, and Henry David Thoreau

By
Fred Topel
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Charlie Hunnam Sons of Anarchy Season 6 Interview
Charlie Hunnam as Jackson 'Jax' Teller in 'Sons of Anarchy' (Photo Credit: James Minchin/FX)

During the 2013 summer Television Critics Association press event, Sons of Anarchy star Charlie Hunnam – just announced to play Christian Grey in Fifty Shades of Grey – sat down with me to talk about being a part of the critically acclaimed FX series. Topics of conversation during our interview ranged from SoA to the possibility of a Pacific Rim sequel to the influence his parents had on his career choices and philosophy of life.

Charlie Hunnam Sons of Anarchy Interview:

What’s the difference between Sons of Anarchy and doing a big blockbuster?

Charlie Hunnam: “I mean, the heart of it is always the challenge is still the same to try to bring the character to life in an interesting and real way. Obviously, the challenge of Sons is the rapidity with which we shoot. Then the challenge of Pacific Rim was the lack of rapidity, the fact that we shot in 120 days. There’s a scene that Idris Elba and I do where’s it’s a basic walk-and-talk where it’s just us walking through this big room looking at all of these robots. Normally on our TV show we’d shoot that five times on a steady cam and that would be done; there would be a dynamic going between the actors. And in that, we shot it over the course of six days spanning five months. Six individual full shooting days, so we would just say, maybe, half a sentence per day over the course of five months. To put a cohesive performance together with that schedule was really a challenge.”

Five takes sounds a lot for TV.

Charlie Hunnam: “Well, if you do a walk-and-talk it’s on one steady cam that normally you’d get four or five takes, but if they do coverage then it’s normally two, maybe third take if you begged for one.”

Do you have a preference as an actor?

Charlie Hunnam: “I guess somewhere in the middle. I really love the schedule of television, working that quickly and having to solve the problems. It creates an energy to it, working that quickly. But the problem I have with TV is the lack of time with the material. We’re always concentrating on one episode and then this very, very, very short, sometimes only 12-hour transition period between shooting one to the next. And the lack of rehearsal periods where it’s wonderful on the film to be able to discuss at great length themes and the intention of the overall arc and every individual scene, you just don’t have that luxury no matter how it’s constructed, the schedule of TV would never allow for that luxury. So, there’s elements of both. I think probably my ideal is a six-week movie shoot where there’s two weeks of rehearsal and then 30 shooting days.”


What kind of things inspire you these days?

Charlie Hunnam: “The same thing that’s always, just great movies. I mean, great literature and great movies. I read wonderful books and I feel so excited about storytelling.  I see great movies and I feel so excited about storytelling and movie-making and I just want to be a part of that. But this whole quest for me is to try to find some meaning to my life. I feel like I’m perpetually on the precipice of total existential crisis. Filmmaking to me feels, not in a grand way, but just for me in my life, like an important and substantial way to spend my little bit of time on this planet.”

You started really young, like around 16, right?

Charlie Hunnam: “Well actually just before my 18 birthday.”

That was a long quest.

Charlie Hunnam: “Yeah, but I’ve been on this brink of total existential crisis since I was about four years, four years old, so by the time I hit 17 I was really ready to do something about it.”

So what was it about you? What character trait made it so that you went from this real hardscrabble background to doing what you did?

Charlie Hunnam: “Well, I had very, very different experiences with my mom and my dad. My mom would have loved to have been an artist. She was a ballet dancer and her mother was the premiere portrait artist in Newcastle, our hometown. They had a flair for the arts. My mom rebelled against it when she was about 16, 17 and started going out drinking and playing the town a little bit. She met my father who was a few years older, who was a very kind of, even by that point, a notorious, well-known, well-loved face in the Newcastle scenery. He was very kind of feared and respected and also loved in equal parts. I mean, he was really a kind of serious guy when he was younger. She just got swept off her feet by him.

I feel very grateful that I had both experiences, you know? My mom taught me to be an artist and my dad taught me to be like – not that I really am like him as much as sometimes I would like to be – but he taught me what it is to be like a real, old-school type of man. My dad never called the cops in his life. If there was a problem, he went and dealt with it himself that minute, then, no matter who it was. To grow up with a father who is like a legend to me, he truly feared no man. I don’t think many men can walk out in the world and say they truly have no fear. ‘Fight eight guys at once? Come on. Let’s go.’ He was big as a building to me when I was a kid.”

Did you tap into that for Jax?

Charlie Hunnam: “I think about my dad a tremendous amount while filming Jax.”

Do you feel we’re dealing with the execution of what was begun in the pilot with the manifesto?

Charlie Hunnam: “Yeah, I think so. I think that that has always been a through-line to Kurt that’s been very important to Kurt. I think that Jax is starting to kind of manifest the destiny that was outlined in that manifesto.”

Do you think that’ll take until the end of season seven to really get there? 

Charlie Hunnam: “You know, I think that his understanding of that manifesto is evolving constantly. I think you could say that, at periods already, that he had accomplished what he thought the goal was only to realize that that wasn’t actually the goal.”

Well he never expected to join the club, did he?

Charlie Hunnam: “Yes, I think he did.”

That was part of the plan then.

Charlie Hunnam: “I think he always thought that that was going to be his life. At some point when he gained the level of maturity and sophistication to really understand his own journey, realized that it was maybe not what he had anticipated it would be. Then upon finding this manifesto, I think it really crystallized in his mind where the problems lay and then it became a process of trying to rectify those problems.”

You talked about your father’s legacy. What do you think will be your legacy to your kids?

Charlie Hunnam: “I hope to have kids. I mean,  I’m not sure if I will. I would just hope to have a similar legacy that my father left me: that they think I was a good man who did it his way and lived the life that he had imagined. I guess that’s it.”

What’s the best advice that anybody ever gave you? 

Charlie Hunnam: “I guess probably my father and my mother always told me, ‘You can do anything in this world. Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t.’ Henry David Thoreau said it a little bit more poetically. He said, ‘I’ve learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if a man advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life that he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.” I kind of live by that.”

There’s news that the international grosses of Pacific Rim might be enough to get a sequel.

Charlie Hunnam: “Oh yeah.”

Do you know what would be in store for Raleigh if that happens?

Charlie Hunnam: “No, I don’t. [Laughing] I don’t even know if he would be in it.”

You don’t think he would?

Charlie Hunnam: “I have no reason to think he wouldn’t, but I just mean that I know so little about what Guillermo would intend to do with the sequel that I don’t even know.”

What’s he going to have you playing in Crimson Peak?

Charlie Hunnam: “It’s a very, very different character. The movie is kind of a Jane Austen-style love story with a supernatural element to it. I play a very kind of shy, taciturn, stolid, nervous type of guy who is locked in an unrequited love affair with Mia [Wasikowska].”

What was your connection with Guillermo that he decided to keep you on board for his next project?

Charlie Hunnam: “I think we just really respect each other a great deal. I mean, I know I certainly respect him a huge amount going into it and that respect only grew through the process of making the movie with him. I guess he just found me to be an enjoyable guy to work with. He liked the work I was doing and he found it fun to work with me.

He turned around when we finished the movie  and said, ‘This has been one of the most enjoyable experiences I’ve had with an actor.’ I thought, to a certain degree, that was probably a little bit of hyperbole. And he said, ‘No, no,no! I’m really serious. I just love working with you and I intend to put you in as many movies in the future as I can.’ I took that as a big compliment and kind of went happily on my way. Then he called me two months later and said, ‘Okay, I just signed on to my next movie. I want you to play one of the lead roles.’ And so he was good to his words. It’s really nice. I just found it to be a big compliment and really exciting.”

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Check out another interview with Charlie Hunnam:




Monsters Inside Me Returns for More Gross Tales

By
Rebecca Murray
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Animal Planet LogoIf you have a weak stomach read no further. You’ve been warned.
 
Animal Planet’s bringing back the very gross series Monsters Inside Me on Wednesday, October 2, 2013 at 9pm, which must mean there’s a demand for a television series about parasites and other ‘monsters’ crawling around inside human bodies. I’ve never watched it (nor do I intend to), but for those of you into this sort of thing, Animal Planet has revealed what you can expect from the upcoming 10 episodes:

A parasitic or viral attack is like a tumultuous roller coaster within the body that can take terrifying – sometimes deadly – twists and turns. Host/biologist Dan Riskin provides scientific perspective throughout this 10-part series that vividly recounts the stories of people tormented by the insidious creatures that invade their bodies.

‘Parasites are everywhere and could infect any one of us,’ explains Riskin. ‘This season, MONSTERS INSIDE ME also spotlights nature’s most debilitating viruses and even shows what could happen when foreign objects are ingested or left behind after surgery.’

Parasites and viruses, which are often microscopic, have mastered the most ingenious survival strategies. Designed to devour nutrients at their hosts’ expenses, parasites cause complete chaos, often resulting in the total annihilation of our immune systems and weakening our ability to fight back. Viruses are also enduring microorganisms, able to mutate quickly and destroy the functioning of important cells. This season, the following real-life cases illustrate just how destructive parasitic and viral attacks can be and just how susceptible we are to the havoc they wreak within us:

* A healthy young yoga practitioner thinks she has a horrible case of the flu; is what’s eating her actually a flesh-eating monster?
* You thought Bubonic plague was a thing of the past? Wrong! It’s the cause of a little girl’s 107-degree fever, which sends her into septic shock and brings her to the brink of death. Does she survive the same ‘Black Death,’ which wiped out civilizations during the Middle Ages?
* Is it just in his head, or does a student actually see a worm slithering around in his eye? Find out if doctors concur with this creepy-crawly self-diagnosis.
* A woman finds her husband hallucinating in the bathtub and immediately rushes him to the hospital. Doctors make a shocking discovery that’s going to have viewers think twice about how they prepare their next meal.

This season, MONSTERS INSIDE ME highlights stories about people who are victim to bot fly larvae, West Nile virus, rabies, rat lungworms and much, much worse. The season also reveals the rare but possible consequences of negligibly washed produce and the dangers of swallowing foreign items.”

Source: Animal Planet

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Asking Alice About ‘Once Upon a Time in Wonderland’

By
Fred Topel
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Sophie Lowe Once Upon a Time in Wonderland Interview
Sophie Lowe stars in 'Once Upon a Time in Wonderland' (Photo by Jack Rowand © 2013 American Broadcasting Companies, Inc)

At the 2013 summer Television Critics Association event we learned these important facts about ABC’s Once Upon a Time in Wonderland from the show’s executive producers Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz:

– This is a post-curse Wonderland.

– The world of this show exists concurrently with Once Upon a Time‘s universe.

– Season one of Wonderland is meant to be a closed-ended story told within this first season.

– If it works, Alice will go on more adventures in future seasons.

– The producers hope to have Barbara Hershey back in flashbacks.

– This show will have its own mythology that’s not dependent upon Once Upon a Time.

– Once Upon a Time in Wonderland will have the Hookah-Smoking Caterpillar, the White Rabbit (played by John Lithgow), and the Cheshire Cat.

– The first season features a love story between Alice and the genie, Jafar (played by Naveen Andrews), from Aladdin.

– Sebastian Stan’s schedule is so full that he may not be able to play Mad Hatter this season. However, the producers say they do not intend to re-cast the character. “We are never going to have a Mad Hatter that isn’t played by Sebastian,” said Kitsis. “We are just going to keep that seat empty until he’s able to come back.”

– Describing the tone, Kitsis said, “Wonderland is like a psychedelic romance, and it is trippy, and it is weird, and it is intense. But it also has some real characters and humor and romance.”


Also answering questions about Once Upon a Time in Wonderland was the show’s Alice – actress Sophie Lowe. This is an Alice we haven’t seen before, and Lowe talked about what audiences can expect as well as her own fond memories of Alice in Wonderland.

Sophie Lowe Once Upon a Time in Wonderland Interview

This has been described as the most kick-ass Alice we’ve ever seen. How do you feel about that description?

Sophie Lowe: “That’s  spot on, actually. Yeah, she’s tough mentally and physically, and she can kick ass and look after herself.”

Do you think you’re like Alice? Are you making Alice yours?

Sophie Lowe: “I’m trying to make it mine. She’s such a woman and I feel like that’s what I’m becoming as well so I’m trying to use my own experiences within Alice because we’re growing up together. That’s what I feel like. She’s very strong and I can’t really fight like she can. [Laughing] I’m just pretending. But she inspires me as a person.”

What part of being Alice do you enjoy the most?

Sophie Lowe: “I love the fight stuff, the fight sequences. [Laughing] You know, you don’t get to do that every day – especially not in real life because that is against the law.”

Have you noticed your strength changing since you started doing fight training?

Sophie Lowe: “Yeah, I’ve training a bit trying to get a bit fitter so that I don’t get too worn out with it all. But I’m definitely getting the gist of it. I have a dancing background so it’s kind of like a dance routine – all these fighting sequences. So I feel like I’m getting better that way, but there are new things I’m learning.”

What did you get surprisingly good at and what was really tricky to learn?

Sophie Lowe: “I’m surprisingly good at…I don’t know. Because I’m from a dancing background and a trapeze background and I do a little trampolining so all the stunts and stuff like that I absolutely love, doing wire stuff. But the tricky stuff is learning the lines quickly because you only get the script, like you get the lines a week before and you’ve got the lines and don’t get very much sleep. It’s a big schedule but I’m eating it up and loving it.”

What’s it like to work with the green screen?

Sophie Lowe: “It’s crazy. They have this picture or a board on the set to show you what it will look like, so that helps a lot because otherwise I’m just like, ‘Where am I?'”

Tell us a little bit about your history with Alice in Wonderland. There’s so many different versions. Some people get the cartoon version; some people get the series. Some people actually read the books. What was she for you?

Sophie Lowe: “Yeah, well, my mom actually she read it to me when I was a little girl, and it was a big part of my childhood. I loved it. It’s funny as well because my mom,  it’s the only book she had as a child and it’s the only book she was allowed to read. So I think that’s really strange now I get to play [Alice]. [It’s] like her childhood is coming to life in front of her as well. So it’s a big part of our family.”

Your parents are English, but you basically grew up in Australia most of your life?

Sophie Lowe: “Yeah. I moved to Australia when I was 10.”

Is Alice in Wonderland big in Australia like it is in England? Is the reason your mother grew up with it partly  because of the English culture or is Alice in Wonderland just a huge part of the culture?

Sophie Lowe: “I think it does hit home for England, but I think it’s an international story. I think everybody knows the story of Alice in Wonderland. Everyone I’ve mentioned it to in Australia, they know what I’m talking about, and everyone’s excited for it.”

A lot of people describe going to Hollywood as being like falling through the looking glass. For you, because you’ve done Australian projects and independent films, what was it like the first time you came to Hollywood to read or audition for a show? What’s it like to be involved in this huge production after doing independent films?

Sophie Lowe: “It’s surreal. It’s like my dreams have come true, basically. I’ve wanted to play a role like this and to be in a show like this. I’m very blessed to be a part of this family. But it is…it’s a crazy roller coaster.”

What were the books and stories you loved growing up?

Sophie Lowe: “I was kind of a tomboy so I loved Power Rangers and I loved Star Wars. I loved video games and I used to play Mario with my brother and all that stuff. But I also loved The Lion King. I was joking before that we should have the little lion in the show. That would be fun.”

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Once Upon a Time in Wonderland premieres on ABC on October 10, 2013 at 8pm.




Malin Akerman’s a Trophy Wife…Or at Least She Plays One on TV

By
Fred Topel
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Malin Akerman Trophy Wife
Malin Akerman stars in ‘Trophy Wife’ (Photo Credit: ABC/Craig Sjodin)

During the 2013 summer Television Critics Association press event Malin Akerman (Rock of Ages, Watchmen) admitted she wasn’t initially interested in starring in a TV series called Trophy Wife. “I literally saw the title and I said, ‘Oh, hell no, I’m not playing a trophy wife.’ But when I read it, I just thought it was so brilliant,” explained Akerman. “It is the complete opposite of a trophy wife.”

Set to premiere on Tuesday, September 24, 2013 at 9:30pm, ABC’s half-hour comedy finds Akerman playing the third wife of an older man (played by Bradley Whitford) with three kids and two ex-wives. The series is loosely based on the show’s creator Sarah Haskins’ real life.

Malin Akerman Trophy Wife Interview

If there were two words – not “trophy wife” – that described you, what might they be?

Malin Akerman: “Me in my personal life? Dorky, for sure. Dorky and happy. A happy dork.”

Is she supposed to have a Bad Teacher kind of quality to her because it sort of appeared that way when your character was acting drunk?

Malin Akerman: “No, I don’t think so. That was just sort of her trying to help her step-daughter out, as opposed to Bad Teacher where she’s just a really bad teacher.”

So it won’t be similar?

Malin Akerman: “No, it won’t. She’s trying to be a good mom, you know, essentially. But she maybe makes the wrong decisions.”

You and Bradley Whitford did a film together. Did you get any scenes together?

Malin Akerman: “We don’t have any scenes together, no. Same film but different scenes. We met on that movie.”

Is this a different comedy muscle than Childrens Hospital?

Malin Akerman: “Definitely. This is so much fun and Childrens Hospital is just go crazy and we can say any kind of word that you would like to say and in any kind of context, whereas this is just a little bit more honed in and has a little more heart and is a little more grounded, relatable. Whereas Childrens Hospital is completely unrelatable in the most amazing way possible.”

What made this the right project to come to so soon after having a child?

Malin Akerman: “Well, first of all, I’d been looking into television pilots for a couple years now and this was just a really well-written show. To be able to have this amazing cast and really great writers, it really always boils down to that: good writing. And, hey, I get to be on home base now and get to go home and tuck my baby into bed. So that’s an extra added bonus as well.”

What’s it like with a little boy?

Malin Akerman: “Oh my god, it’s awesome. I’m such a tomboy myself, so I am so excited to just play sports with him. [Laughing] I’m going to start him tomorrow at three and a half months. It’s, whatever, girl or boy, it is the most incredible experience ever.”

How is Sebastian? What are some milestones you’ve passed already?

Malin Akerman: “Really exciting stuff, guys. Like he smiles, he laughed.”

When did he smile?

Malin Akerman: “He’s smiled already. It’s the most awesome thing. It’s so stupid in the most incredible way where you’re like, ‘Oh my god, he moved a finger, did you see that?!’ Yeah, no, it’s all the great milestones: they turn over, they poop in your hands, and it’s really great right when you just changed the diaper and it goes all over you. But it’s amazing. He’s great. He’s a happy boy.”

Some of the show’s jokes could go right over your younger co-stars’ heads. How do you react?

Malin Akerman: “You know, some of our younger co-stars are way more grown up than I ever was at that age, so I think they’re pretty great. Obviously the youngest one…we just keep it at that. We don’t really explore what those things mean like ‘horn dog.'”

Does he ever ask?

Malin Akerman: “What’s funny is actually in the pilot, when Michaela Watkins’ character says, ‘We’re going to euthanise him,’ and he goes, ‘What’s euthanise?’ That was a true question. That was not scripted and we just kept it because it was so real and so great. He’s so wonderful because he hasn’t done anything before this, except for a school play. He’s just natural. He’s so not coached and beautiful and that’s what we love about the show too. We wanted to keep it as grounded as possible and find the comedy in these crazy situations, so he’s brilliant at that.”

Starring in a television series and being a mom, what are you learning about yourself?

Malin Akerman: “We’re just about to start shooting so actually at the end of this week on Friday we start shooting, so I don’t know yet. This will be the first time ever being a mom and working, so I’m a little bit nervous. I’m a little bit anxious. But, I’m excited. I’ve got a really good supportive husband as well, so we’ll figure it out. We’ll see what I’m capable of and what I’m not capable of. We’ll see if I get fired. I hope not.”

What do you love about your character? What kind of made you believe this is the person you wanted to play for a while?

Malin Akerman:“I think just the fact that she’s real in who she is, and that her and Bradley Whitford’s characters, they really do love each other and she really does want to be a part of his family. It’s not just a vapid, sort of, this girl who’s coming in and just tramping around in this family’s life. She really just wants to be a part of them.

We really made sure that all of these characters are super grounded. I always, personally, love watching comedy that is grounded. So we wanted to make sure that every character is real, relatable, fun, just kind of cool. I just think she’s very well written.”

Growing up a tomboy, is that why physical comedy seems to come easier for you?

Malin Akerman:“I think so. I have scars all over my body from climbing trees and riding bikes with the boys. It’s just been a part of my life. I’m not very feminine. I try.”

When did you figure out you were funny?

Malin Akerman:“When I got cast in comedies and I thought, ‘Yeah, this is going to work. All right, this is cool.'”

Like from Entourage on?

Malin Akerman: “From The Comeback was when. That was a really good one.”

Do you enjoy doing physical comedy?

Malin Akerman:“Physical comedy is actually where I feel the most comfortable, absolutely. I’m a little bit clumsy in real life, and a little bit of a goofball, so it works out well.”

How was Burning Love? Was that a real fun thing to do?

Malin Akerman: “Oh guys, come on. That’s the best thing ever. I loved that kind of stuff; making fun of those [shows] because you watch The Bachelor and you go, ‘Is this for real? Are these people for real? They can’t be.’ And it’s just some of the things that were said in Burning Love are really what people say on The Bachelor, but you say it in a comedic way and you go, ‘This can’t be what people actually do and say.'”

You haven’t been on the first two Childrens Hospitals. Are you still on this season?

Malin Akerman: “I know. Yeah, I’m coming. Just six episodes this season.”

When are we going to see you?

Malin Akerman: “I don’t know, I don’t know the order of where we’re at because we film everything so… It’s such a crazy shooting schedule.”

What crazy stuff do you get to do at the Japanese hospital?

Malin Akerman: “Oh, my goodness, so many great moments. I give birth. I give birth to we’ll see what comes out of me. But it’ll be some really great, great moments. Seriously, I mean great guest stars as well.”




Andy Samberg on ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ and Playing a Cop

By
Fred Topel
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Brooklyn Nine Nine Cast
Chelsea Peretti, Stephanie Beatriz, Terry Crews, Andy Samberg, Andre Braugher, Melissa Fumero and Joe Lo Truglio star in ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ (Photo © 2013 Fox Broadcasting Co.)

Andy Samberg (SNL) is back on television with the Fox half-hour comedy Brooklyn Nine-Nine premiering September 17, 2013 at 8:30pm. The new series stars Samberg as a hotshot detective and Andre Braugher as the new Captain out to prove himself. The cast also includes Terry Crews, Melissa Fumero, Joe Lo Truglio, Stephanie Beatriz, and Chelsea Peretti.

Samberg sat down to chat about this new series at the 2013 summer Television Critics Association event in Los Angeles, describing his character and providing a little insight into what viewers who tune in to the single-camera comedy series can expect.

Andy Samberg Brooklyn Nine-Nine Interview

So does the fact that this character is a good cop give you license to be even sillier than if you were a goofball?

Andy Samberg: “Absolutely. I mean, that’s something that Mike [Schur] and Dan [Goor], and I talked about a lot. He’s basically like a hotshot detective like it comes easier to him than it does for a lot of the others, so it makes him cocky enough to sort of screw around constantly and slack off a lot. That kind of is the core dynamic of the show. Andre’s character is trying to get him to be the total package and sort of live up to his potential.”

I thought of Ace Ventura, who is actually quite a good detective.

Andy Samberg: “Yes.”

And he’s even sillier.

Andy Samberg: “He’s an incredible detective. I talked with Akiva [Schaffer] about that all the time, about how the secret about Ace Ventura is that it’s a really good detective story.  If  you replaced all the elements, like the dolphin and Ray Finkle and all stuff, with like a murder and like menacing characters, the way that he puts it together…the crime and the clues and like when he goes into the crime scenes acting like a maniac, but then he points out that the soundproof glass, you know, ‘You would’ve heard gunshots.’ You’re like, ‘Oh, he leaves that room kind of drop the mike fashion because it actually was good detective work.’ So, yeah, I encourage that comparison.”

Have you ever been arrested?

Andy Samberg: “I’ve never been arrested. [Laughing] I’ve had my information taken, there’s a story there. I grew up in Berkeley, so there was definitely a lot of like, ‘Oh, look out for the cops.’ But yeah, I like the cops.”

Did you shadow any cops for this role at all?

Andy Samberg: “No, we haven’t gotten me on the shooting range or meeting with former cops.”

Do you want to do a ride along?

Andy Samberg: “Yeah, sure. I think it’s definitely on the books. I’m going to do it at some point.”

Just how serious is this guy or how much of a goof is he?

Andy Samberg: “He’s extremely serious when it comes to solving crimes. It’s his passion. We sort of likened it with a lot of sports analogies where it’s like you know the guy who is just born to play. He really gets a thrill from being good at it and catching the bad guys. You know, he thinks of it in those very plain terms.”

But with the bureacracy he gets a little bored?

Andy Samberg: “Yeah. It’s like a kid in a classroom that’s smarter than everyone else and goofs off and gets kicked out. But then at the end of the year, the teacher’s like, ‘You’re my best student, but you’ve got to focus and stop taking away from everybody else and be a team player because you’re being selfish and squandering your talent.'”

How close did you ever come to becoming a cop? When you were a kid, did you dress up as a cop for Halloween?

Andy Samberg: [Laughing “I would say zero percent close. It’s never been a dream of mine. In fact, when we were shooting the pilot…I told my friends this story and it made me laugh… while we were shooting the pilot, all day long I was playing a detective and then as I was driving home, I was on the freeway and a cop drove by, and I was like, ‘Oh shit!'”

Were you the class clown or the class comedian?

Andy Samberg: “It was kind of both. I mean, I got kicked out of class a lot for not being able to keep my mouth shut.”

Can you talk about Andre Braugher and finding that right dynamic? Was he the first person that you thought of for the role? How did that pairing come about?

Andy Samberg: “Well, when we were casting, we were talking about a bunch of names and [Mike and Dan] were like, ‘What do you think of Andre Braugher?’ And I was like, ‘That would be incredible.’ I love the movie Glory, so I’ve kind of been a Braugherhead since Glory, which he reminds me constantly was his first job.

But, I’ve been loving it. You know, the scenes we’ve shot where it’s just he and I and that dynamic is so easy for me to play, because he’s so grounded and has so much gravitas that when I’m sort of goofing around – I like to describe it as like a poodle kind of yepping around a giant. It just makes everything you do funnier, because he’s making it feel more real.”

One of the producers said this isn’t Police Squad but there do seem to be some elements of Police Squad, don’t you think?

Andy Samberg: “Yes, although Police Squad has like almost a surreal element to it. You know that Zucker Brothers tradition, that is not in this. Like, there’s nothing happening on our show that is genuinely outside the realm of reality, and I think that’s the distinction. But yes in terms of like being in a police precinct and there being things that we’re hoping people laugh at.”

Do you miss SNL and will you go back to host this year?

Andy Samberg: “Oh my goodness. I’ll go back to host any time they want me to. That’s not something that the host decides. That’s something Lorne decides. But, yeah, I miss it every day.”

What do you miss most about it?

Andy Samberg: “I mean, the most is just all my friends who are still there and just that sort of environment of camaraderie and the intensity of coming up with something, you know, that you’ll come up with on a Thursday or Friday to be on television on Saturday. That rush.”

Does Justin Timberlake call you up and say, “Let’s do a video,” and then you just do it?

Andy Samberg: “I’ve only done videos with Justin when he’s hosted. But he did call me to come do the live sketch when he hosted this year, yeah.”

I saw some “Dick in a Box” cosplay at Comic-Con. Does that make you proud?

Andy Samberg: “Absolutely. That’s the best. If you crack Comic-Con, you’re doing something right.”

It looks like SNL is about reinvent itself with a lot of the cast members pursuing different things now.

Andy Samberg: “Yeah.”

Is that good for the show, do you think, when you kind of have like a little bit of an exit of the talent that’s been there for a while?

Andy Samberg: “I think it is, yeah. I mean, traditionally, if you look back on it, any time there’s been sort of a…I don’t want to call it an exodus but when there’s been a large group that goes out and a large group that comes in, it attempts to reinvent itself and sort of find a new tone. I mean, that certainly, I’d like to think was the case when my generation I came in with [Jason] Sudeikis and [Kristen] Wiig and [Bill] Hader and Colin Jost who’s now head writer with Seth.”




It’s Here! The Downton Abbey Season 4 Trailer Has Arrived!

By
Rebecca Murray
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There’s so much going on in this first trailer for season four of the critically acclaimed dramatic series Downton Abbey that it’s necessary to watch it repeatedly, and even then it’s nearly impossible to grasp all that’s going on in this teaser for the upcoming season. Season 4 debuts on PBS on January 5, 2014 and in case you haven’t been keeping track, here’s a recap of the new cast members:
 
– Paul Giamatti joins Downton Abbey series for the season 4 finale playing Cora’s maverick, playboy brother Harold;
 
– Tom Cullen as Lord Gillingham, an old family friend of the Crawleys who visits the family as a guest for a house party;
 
– Nigel Harman as Green, a valet;
 
– Dame Harriet Walter as Lady Shackleton, an old friend of the Dowager;
 
– Joanna David in a guest role as the Duchess of Yeovil;
 
– Julian Ovenden as aristocrat Charles Blake;
 
– Dame Kiri Te Kanawa as a guest who sings in the house;
 
– And Gary Carr as a jazz singer named Jack Ross.
 
Watch the trailer:
 

 
– Interview with Michelle Dockery on Downton Abbey Season 4
 

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Rebel Wilson Talks About ‘Super Fun Night’

By
Fred Topel
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Super Fun Night Rebel Wilson Interview
Liza Lapira, Lauren Ash and Rebel Wilson in 'Super Fun Night' (Photo Credit: ABC/Colleen Hayes)

Moviegoers can’t seem to get enough of Rebel Wilson (Pitch Perfect, Bridesmaids), and now she’s heading to the small screen as the creator, co-executive producer and star of Super Fun Night. Premiering on ABC on Wednesday, October 2, 2013 at 9:30pm, the new comedy series centers around three BFFs/roomies – Wilson, Liza Lapira, and Lauren Ash – who decide to venture outside of their comfort zones and expand their social lives (and maybe even date).

At the 2013 Summer Television Critics Association, Wilson provided a peek behind the scenes at how the show came about and what those who tune in can expect from the half-hour comedy.

Rebel Wilson Super Fun Night Interview

Does the series include scenes that are based on your own experiences?

Rebel Wilson: “Yeah. I mean, the original concept of the show is I used to do this thing with my sister Liberty called ‘Friday Night Fun Night,’ which was basically she worked at a candy factory at the time, and she would just bring home the off-cuts from the candy factory. We’d sit at home just on the couch eating and watching DVDs. I started to think maybe there’s more fun than this, even though at that time I did think that was really fun. And so I kind of strategically tried to go out into the world and force myself into these social situations, and then that’s where all the true stories come from in the show.”

There’s a scene in which a bouncer uses the term “eye broccoli”. Where did that come from?

Rebel Wilson: “I said, ‘What’s the opposite of eye candy?’  because I love candy and it’s broccoli. So I just thought the bouncer of the club turns us away because, he says, ‘We can’t have eye broccoli hogging up the line.'”

How did you grow the bond with your co-stars to make the friendship feel believable?

Rebel Wilson: “We did that thing on the first day where we had to get naked and jump around. That was John [Riggi]’s idea.

Lauren and I went to the baseball the other day because I’d never been to see a professional match. […]It was a hundred degree heat. We got given free T-Shirts so we kind of put them on our heads to protect ourselves. I drank two things of soda that were that big each, and then we’re like  sitting there in direct sunlight for two hours. And then we tried to stand up, and I almost spewed because I got sunstroke.”

Was it your idea to do an American accent? People find your real accent adorable.

Rebel Wilson: [Laughing] “Really? [In an American accent] I mean, my American accent is really, really good. I started out in the theater as an actress doing all different characters of all different accents and, really, when I first came to America, was doing movies, I thought I would be playing American all the time. It was just weird how it worked out that I played more international characters and Australian a lot. So when I had the opportunity to do this TV show in America, the concept was three girls who lived in Manhattan who had known each other since they were 13, 14 years of age so I just really thought that I had to make this character American.”

Given that the girls are pretty geeky, are Star Trek and Star Wars and all of that something that you enjoy referencing? After the pilot episode, will we see those references in future episodes?

Rebel Wilson: “Well, we actually created a fake show within the show called Murna Princess Warrior that we’re – all of our characters – are fans of and that you’ll see more in the show, which is a sci-fi starring a female warrior-type character. And, yeah, there is a bit of geekdom and certainly I think Kevin [Bishop]’s character, even though he’s very cute, that he does have that little geeky side.”

What’s the balance between diffusing some things that might be cruel that are sent in your direction and avoiding making the character so sort of trod upon that it’s difficult to have fun with her?

Rebel Wilson: [Executive Producer John] Riggi and I have been in the writers’ room now for how long? Six or seven weeks. I’m always pitching the saddest storylines, like, where I get punched in the face. But the purpose of the show to me is to really inspire girls who don’t think they’re cool and popular or pretty and all that, to get out there and that they can have fun and exciting lives too. And so I think in order to do that, you need to present a very realistic version of what it’s like to be a girl who looks like me and is not the coolest. And that often involves, you know, Kimmie gets broken up with by one dude because he says, ‘You’re too fat. I don’t like it anymore,’ and stuff like that. So there is some very sad storylines coming down the pipe, but I think we have to present that so that and then we present the wins for my character, which are awesome. It’s far more gratifying, I think.”

In a town like Hollywood where you’re never perfect enough no matter what you do or what you say, can you talk a little bit about your journey in this town and still being where you are right now with the confidence and the self-awareness that you have?

Rebel Wilson: “Okay, my agents are here today and I think when I first came to America and the second day here, I went into William Morris Endeavor and I had a meeting and I’m like, ‘Yeah, I’m from Australia and I do comedy and stuff.’ And I think that one of the reasons they signed me is because I wasn’t like any other girl here. I don’t know why that is. Maybe girls don’t get encouraged. The ones who get encouraged to move to Hollywood are like they’re the prettiest ones in their hometown of Iowa or something and they get encouraged to move here. Whereas me, where I come from in the western suburbs of Sydney, no one ever thought professional actors would come from there. Even my own family was like, ‘No one would want you on a show,’ and so I came here.

But then what I found is that even though it was hard to get that first job and I was going into auditions for really big directors and, I think, nailing it – I think crushing it, being brilliant – but nobody was willing to cast me until the geniuses of Judd Apatow and Paul Feig. I was in there just improvising so hard that they couldn’t ignore it. And I didn’t get the role that I went for, which was the role that Melissa McCarthy got, but they just liked me so much that they added me in. It took people who have the power to say yes to pull the trigger for me here in America. And since then I think it’s been easier because I’m not like anybody else out there, really, with my skills and abilities and looks. And so now I think it’s easier because I’m more distinctive.”

It seems like a single-cam series gives you a lot more leeway to improvise when you’re not in front of a studio audience. How much of the pilot and how much going forward do you feel like is just improvising?

Rebel Wilson: “Usually, movies, my stuff is, like, 80% improvised. I think in the pilot, because pilots go through such development, it was about only about 20% improvised. But I deliberately chose a cast, like, Lauren’s from Second City. Kev’s had such a vast improv. And then, Lisa, nothing. [Laughing] No improv experience, but she looks good.

And then our replacement nemesis coming in is a very good friend of mine, Kate Jenkinson from Australia, and we improvise a lot – if you ever check out the Australian series Thank God You’re Here which is 100% improvised. We were on a sketch show together, Kate and I and Jason Gann who does Wilfred, so we’ve been improvising together for years and years. I really wanted to bring what I do in the movies into TV, that really spontaneous, improvised stuff, so every single scene we’ll also be doing improvised versions.”

Viral Video: The Dark Notebook Rises

By
Rebecca Murray
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What happens when you mash-up The Dark Knight Rises and The Notebook? Well, you get a bizarre video in which Batman keeps wanting Bane to tell him he’s a bird. Check out The Dark Notebook Rises created by Mark Petro and Tom Ross:
 

 

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