Olivia Wilde and Jake Johnson in 'Drinking Buddies,' a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.
Every year, amidst the heaping pile of celluloid I sort through as a film critic, there seems to be one film that makes a true emotional connection with me. Like anybody, I have cinematic preferences, and while I try to balance objectivity and subjectivity in a style that people enjoy reading, whenever that one film comes along, it turns into a review with more uses of “I” than a Roman numeral convention.
The Spectacular Now is likely going to be that movie for me this year but right on its heels is Drinking Buddies. Directed by Joe Swanberg, he’s also credited with writing it, but that’s a bit of a misnomer. He gave his cast (the primary foursome being Olivia Wilde, Jake Johnson, Anna Kendrick and Ron Livingston) the basic plot points and had them improvise their way through it. The final film was really created by their choices and in the editing room.
Even if you weren’t as familiar with Swanberg by reputation, reading that description probably leads you to figuring out that this is essentially a mumblecore film. While the production values were actually quite decent and it features some high-profile actors, this does fit into the vein of naturalism and lack of forced plot structure that have come to define the genre.
That’s not to say there’s an aimless or wandering narrative; Far from it. What Drinking Buddies delivers is a snapshot of two couples over a short course of time. Wilde and Livingston are at that make-or-break juncture and end up spending some time holidaying with Wilde’s co-worker (Johnson) and his girlfriend (Kendrick), the two of whom are attempting to find the right way to have the marriage discussion. Problems arise as everyone begins to realize that the spark of passion might lie more in each other’s significant other than within the established couples.
For all four actors, it’s some of the best acting of their careers. Wilde and Kendrick are especially impressive, not just because I’m a man (ish) and they’re stunningly beautiful women. These are characters neither have portrayed before and it shows off ranges previously kept in check for the most part by fairly stereotypical wife/girlfriend roles. Johnson and Livingston are in excellent form as well, and in a film so focused on the chemistry among its cast, their contributions are not to be taken for granted.
Surprisingly, it wasn’t until the film had ended and I took some time to sort through it all that I came to raise my esteem for the project to the level I have. This isn’t breaking new ground or setting the cinematic world on fire with anything in particular. It’s the sum of its parts that will have me coming back to watch it time and time again. The self-destruction, introspection, and indecision evident in the characters is completely identifiable to most people and it had me grinding the gears and cogs within my head long after I had left the theater.
I’m going to be interested in talking with people who have seen it as well to see if they came to the same conclusion I did about the future of the characters. In some ways, it was established, but in others, I question whether the audience is supposed to infer whether their choices will work out or if I’m just infusing far too much of myself into it all and coming away with an unintended result. I’m okay with that, it makes the experience something even more personal (kind of like how I end Say Anything right after John Cusack is done blaring Peter Gabriel’s In Your Eyes and haven’t actually watched the real ending in years now).
I hope that Drinking Buddies finds an audience. It’s actually attempting to explore the human condition. I’m constantly frustrated that the market is dominated by escapist entertainment, and while I like escapism every now and then, it’s nice when something like this comes along and asks people to stop and take stock of their own lives. Hopefully, having the cast that it does, more people will be exposed to mumblecore and look to explore more options. I’ll start you off with three recommendations: Quiet City, Douchebag, and Swanberg’s own Hannah Takes the Stairs. After seeing all three of these, you’ll either come over to my side of the street on the genre or you won’t; and it’s okay either way but keeping an open eye out for new experiences in cinema should be the goal of any true film lover.
GRADE: B+
Drinking Buddies is rated R for language throughout.
Yes, many, many “foodimals” will be munched on courtesy of Sony Pictures Animation’s Foodimoble tour. Food trucks will be hitting the road in support of the family-friendly animated film Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2, offering up the film’s “foodimals” in “healthy and tasty lunch-sized portions.”
Foodimals are a cross between food and animals, obviously, and the animated sequel includes such bizarre creatures as tacodiles, hippotatomuses, fruit cockatiels, subwhales, and watermelophants. And with the Foodimobile tour, those creations will be served up alongside ordinary carrots, pickles and celery. The tour kicks off today with two trucks heading out – one starting off in Salt Lake City and the other in Miami. The foodimals and other munchies will be given out in lunch boxes featuring the foodimal characters.
For details on the tour, visit Cloudy2FoodTrucks.com.
The Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 Plot:
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 picks up where Sony Pictures Animation’s mouth-watering comedy left off. Inventor Flint Lockwood thought he saved the world when he destroyed his most infamous invention — a machine that turned water into food causing cheeseburger rain and spaghetti tornadoes.
But Flint soon learns that his invention survived and is now creating food-animals – “foodimals!” Flint and his friends embark on a dangerously delicious mission to battle hungry tacodiles, shrimpanzees, hippotatomuses, cheespiders and other foodimals to save the world – again!
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 opens in theaters on September 27, 2013.
Josh Duhamel, Cesar Millan and Fergie (Photo Courtesy of Fergie)
The Black Eyed Peas’ Fergie and actor Josh Duhamel (Scenic Route, Safe Haven) are now the proud parents of a 7 lbs. 10 oz. baby boy. Axl Jack Duhamel was born today at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles during a pre-scheduled C-section.
Fergie (38) and Josh (40) have been married since 2009, and Axl is their first child.
Josh has been singing to Fergie’s belly throughout the pregnancy, and recently Fergie told E! that her hubby’s going to be a great dad. “He’s been amazing,” said Fergie in an interview with E!. “He so nice and wonderful. He sings and talks to my belly all the time. He’s very complimentary. I’m very lucky that he’s really good to me.”
Just two days ago, the couple visited Dog Whisperer Cesar Millan in order to get their four-legged family member ready for the new arrival. Hopefully that instructional session went well and their “doggie daughter” is prepared to greet new arrival, Axl.
The original family of vampires – Klaus (Joseph Morgan), Elijah (Daniel Gillies), and Rebekah (Claire Holt) – head off to New Orleans for new adventures separate from what they’d been up to in Mystic Falls in The Vampire Diaries spin-off, The Originals. Also making the jump from Vampire Diaries to the The Originals is Phoebe Tonkin who played Hayley in eight episodes of season four of the popular The CW series.
Hayley is a werewolf who, as we pick up her story in The Originals, is pregnant with Klaus’ baby after a drunken one-night stand. And at the 2013 Television Critics Association summer press event, Tonkin talked about being a part of The CW family and her role in The Originals.
Phoebe Tonkin The Originals Interview
What has it meant for you to stay in The CW family with The Secret Circle, Vampire Diaries, and now The Originals?
Phoebe Tonkin: “I’ve been very grateful. It’s really nice. I definitely think of The CW as a family and I hope to grow old on The CW. That make such great shows.”
That’s an interesting phrase – “grow old”. I don’t think they do that on The CW.
Phoebe Tonkin: “I know. In about three years my cut-off will be done and I’ll be playing a grandmother on The CW. I’ve been really lucky. It’s so exciting to be on these shows. I’m a fan of them myself, so to be on them is really great.”
You’ve been on Vampire Diaries a while now so you’re used to the fan reaction, but are you ready for all these eyes on you now that you’re a regular on this show or does that kind of scare you at all?
Phoebe Tonkin: “No, I think that fans are so loyal to the Vampire Diaries and I just hope that they accept our show as well and they’re excited by our show. It’s nice, especially on Twitter, so nice to interact with the fans, to hear their direct reactions to things that happen on the show as it happens, which is I think great. It’s something that has happened over the last few years.”
How does The Originals have a different feel from Vampire Diaries?
Phoebe Tonkin: “I think it’s a little darker. It’s a little bit more twisted. There’s some very weird, kind of quirky things and characters that come in. I think the Vampire Diaries are still very dark, too, but it’s just a different tone. Also being in a different town like New Orleans where it’s a party town, it’s not like a small town where there’s the pub and the restaurant that you go to. This is like a town of nightlife, which I think is going to change the show a lot.”
Do you remain close to The Vampire Diaries‘ family now that you’ve branched out?
Phoebe Tonkin: “We’re all kind of close. We all live in Atlanta, so we see each other every day. Someone will be going to get coffee, or someone will be at the restaurant you walk past. It’s kind of nice. It feels like a bit of a college town because everyone sees everyone all the time. It’s nice to have a bigger group of people as opposed to a small.”
What do you guys do off set?
Phoebe Tonkin: “Go to dinner, there’s amazing restaurants in Atlanta so we just eat and be merry.”
You’re supporting a lot of causes, including green ones. Why is this important to you and which ones are you especially excited about?
Phoebe Tonkin: “From a young age, my father’s a travel agent so we traveled a lot as children. We were always aware of what was going on in different countries, especially Third World countries. When I was 18 I decided all my friends were going off to college and I decided to go to Cambodia for six weeks and volunteer. I just fell in love with the place and the people and the children. Since then I struck up a friendship and a relationship with a beautiful woman called Tara who works in the Cambodian Children’s Trust since I was about 18 or 19. I’ve been quietly supporting them, just myself, over the last few years. But now with social media, it’s such a great tool to bring awareness. We’ve been working, especially recently, to bring awareness to that charity. It’s still a very small charity.”
That’s the main one. But I, myself, am very green. I have a website with my best friend about health tips, with Teresa Palmer: Yourzenlife.com. That site is about eating healthy, recycling, and gardening. It’s everything that we are interested in and like talking about.”
How would you have liked The Secret Circle to have ended if you could have really wrapped it up?
Phoebe Tonkin: “Well, I think that Faye would be living in Europe somewhere and flying around causing trouble with Diana.”
You were supposed to do a sequel to Tomorrow, When the War Began, and now it’s been so many years. Even director Stuart Beattie said he doesn’t think the continuity will work, but would you still like to do a sequel?
Phoebe Tonkin: “I would love, love to be reunited with that group of actors and with Stuart as well. I saw Stuart at Comic Con actually, and unfortunately, I think probably too much time has passed. Caitlin Stasey is here today as well. It’s so funny. I love that. I hope that they continue, maybe just with a different cast because it’s such a great story. I think it deserves to be told.”
Rumors are circulating that Ian Somerhalder might be doing the Christian Grey part in Fifty Shades. What do you think of that? Do you think he’d be good in the role?
Phoebe Tonkin: [Laughing] “I don’t know. I actually started reading that book in St. Lucia and then it got rained on. I couldn’t finish the book, so I couldn’t tell you. I don’t know enough about the book to tell you, but he’s so lovely I’m sure he could play any great part.”
* * * * *
The Originals premieres on The CW on October 15, 2013 at 8pm.
Syfy’s gone a bit bananas over monkeys, 12 of them to be exact. The network’s greenlit a pilot for the dramatic series 12 Monkeys based on the 1995 film directed by Terry Gilliam. If casting moves forward as anticipated, the pilot could go into production in November.
The feature film starred Brad Pitt and Bruce Willis and was produced by Atlas Entertainment, and Atlas Entertainment is also producing the series. Charles Roven (The Dark Knight Trilogy, Man of Steel) of Atlas produced the original movie and will executive producer the series along with Richard Suckle.
The one hour pilot was written by Terry Matalas and Travis Fickett (Terra Nova).
The Plot:
Based on the classic hit film, 12 Monkeys follows the journey of a time traveler from the post-apocalyptic future who appears in present day on a mission to locate and eradicate the source of a deadly plague that will eventually decimate the human race.
What do we learn from this new behind-the-scenes video from the set of The Walking Dead? Well, that Robert Kirkman does not have becoming a professional gardener in his future plans. We also learn that the horse on the set can pretty much go where it wants to, and nobody is going to eat the pig actors housed at prison in real life, so those little guys are safe.
Check out the brand new video for the further adventures of The Walking Dead‘s creator as he tours the prison set.
The CW is set to deliver an ambitious period drama with the premiere of Reign this October. Set in the 16th century and focusing on Mary, Queen of Scots, the series is based on true events and begins with Mary’s journey to France to marry the Prince and solidify an alliance.
At the 2013 summer Television Critics Association press event, executive producer Laurie McCarthy was asked just how much the television series is bound by history and whether the show will be able to ignore some facts in order to deliver a compelling story.
“You know, the real facts of Mary, Queen of Scots’ life are so extraordinary and so dramatic and we’re coming in on the story of her life at an early stage and so she has just returned to the French court and she has a ways to go before the wedding actually takes place,” replied McCarthy. “They’ll have a ways to go as a married couple. And then, eventually, what we learn as a prophecy of young Francis’ death will we won’t shy away from that. We’ll actually embrace it at a certain point in the series.”
“It’s also TV, so it’s kind of like we can take creative license,” added Adelaide Kane who plays Mary, Queen of Scots. “It’s entertainment. It’s not The History Channel. We’re trying to make a show that people will enjoy watching and will really connect with and will find really fun. And, of course, we’re going to dramatize events and throw little curveballs in our characters’ ways and things like that, but that’s what makes it fun.”
Kane went on to discuss the era, costumes, and playing a Queen in our interview from the summer TCA event.
Adelaide Kane Reign Interview
Would you like to have lived at this time, and if not, what era appeals to you?
Adelaide Kane: “You know what? I would not like to have lived in this time. I like my civil liberties a little bit too much to want to live in the 1500s. I think that we live in extremely exciting times now. I wouldn’t want to live in any other time period. I very much enjoy being able to earn my own money and buy my own clothes and support myself and be independent and have an education. It has been very difficult for women throughout the ages and we’re not quite as close to true gender equality as I would like, but it’s a vast improvement on anything else, so I wouldn’t want to live in any other time.”
Do you like the costumes?
Adelaide Kane: “The costumes are amazing. Meredith, our wardrobe head, is quite an exceptional woman and she’s got some amazing stuff lined up for us this season. We have some McQueen, we have some Brian Atwood, we have Sergio Rossi. I’m wearing stilettos every day. It’s fantastic. My only gripe is stilettos after 14 hours can be quite painful!”
Did they have stilettos back then?
Adelaide Kane: [Laughing] “I mean, come on, of course not! We’re taking creative license and the show, I think, will be quite a beacon of hope to show high fashion. I’m really excited for it.”
Speaking of fashion, what’s it been like putting all these costumes on?
Adelaide Kane: “It’s been fantastic. I’m really excited. I would never have the opportunity to wear the kind of gowns that I get to wear or even the shoes. I can’t afford that! It’s been really, really quite fantastic, and it’s opened my eyes a little bit to the fashion world. I’ve always been interested in fashion but it’s never been a passion of mine until I started on this show. We have some really interesting, fun stylistic elements coming in, like some makeup and hair. We have some amazing little pieces and headbands that twist in the hair and braiding, and hopefully that’ll catch on fashion-wise.”
When you dress as yourself, do you feel yourself being inspired by Mary at all when you pick out your clothes in the morning?
Adelaide: “I’ve certainly been branching out, fashion-wise. I’ve certainly been influenced by her wardrobe. I’m wearing more dresses, as you see. Usually, I’m a jeans and T-shirts kind of girl. I’ve been wearing heels more often. I’ve been taking far more care of my appearance. I’ve been even holding myself a little differently and being more aware of myself as a woman and being less slumpy and slouchy and not thinking about it. I’m taking more care with my hair and my makeup and I think that’s a good thing. I feel far more feminine now in playing her than I did before.”
This is an interesting area to explore in terms of gender and expectations during that time period.
Adelaide Kane: “It is. The gender politics are really interesting, and I hope we delve more into that as the series goes on. It allows for a lot of interesting debate, I think.
Having a female monarch, having a female as a primary ruler was unusual and actually caused a lot of civil unrest in both England and Scotland because the patriarchal society they had back then didn’t believe that women were intellectually capable of ruling a country or even managing their own lives, having jobs, managing their own money. Women really were property, as much as say a particularly intelligent dog was a piece of property, and you clap when it does tricks.
But it was just ridiculous which makes me furious, but it’s very interesting that those women, those queens, those powerful women weren’t queens based on merit, they were born into it. If they’d had an older brother or if they had been married… In Elizabeth’s case in particular she was a power monger and didn’t want to share her power, which is why she never married. It’s purely by chance they had the power they had. And even then, even being supreme monarch ordained by God et cetera et cetera, they were still so crippled by their sex and by their gender.
It’s incredible that they could even accomplish what they accomplished with their male-dominated governments beating them into the ground. I don’t know how they got anything done. They were remarkable women.”
How tall are you?
Adelaide Kane: “I’m 5 foot 4. I am very short! The stilettos help.”
How tall was Mary?
Adelaide Kane: “Mary was 5’11. She was an extremely statuesque woman. She was very tall.”
Was that very rare for the time?
Adelaide Kane: “Extremely rare. In those days, you didn’t know about nutrition and because they were eating seasonally, they didn’t have out-of-season produce. They didn’t have that kind of nutrition available. As a result, people in that time were actually much shorter than modern-day people because their bones didn’t grow quite as large as ours did. They didn’t have appropriate amounts of calcium. They didn’t have the iron. They didn’t have the zinc required for strong, healthy bones, and they didn’t live very long either.
You would die of disease or in childbirth by the time you were 40. That’s why they married so young. The lifespan was much shorter and they had to live out the fullness of their lives in maybe 40 years, and 50 was a ripe old age at that time. That’s very, very unusual for her to be so tall. I would be tall in those times!”
Do you think it influenced her rise to power and her ability to govern?
Adelaide Kane: “I think it certainly helped. I know when I put on heels and I’m a good 5 inches taller, I certainly feel more empowered. I feel more powerful. Being taller certainly helps in your carriage and your confidence, absolutely.”
Do you think the idea of “regal” comes from being tall?
Adelaide Kane: “Well yes, actually interestingly enough royalty and nobility did tend to be a little taller because they had better nutrition because they could afford better food.”
How do you like working in Toronto?
Adelaide Kane: “Toronto is wonderful. I really like walking everywhere because I’m really lazy. I don’t like going to the gym, so if I’m walking around I’ll just be like, ‘Okay, instead of catching the bus, I’ll walk the extra mile and then I don’t have to go to the gym.’ I’m really enjoying Toronto. We’re all downtown. We’re all in the heart of it, lots of great cafés and shops. It’s wonderful.”
Where are the castles in Toronto?
Adelaide Kane: [Laughing] “There are no castles in Toronto. The castle is in the studio.”
You had a big hit this summer with The Purge. Could you believe how big that was?
Adelaide Kane: “No, that really took me by surprise. I always had a lot of faith in that movie and it was such fun to shoot, and I was remarkably lucky that they cast me in that. But it did take me by surprise. Everybody really reacted very strongly to it and it was good fun! It was a good film. I was really happy with how it turned out.”
Can you do a sequel?
Adelaide Kane: “I can’t, scheduling-wise. I heard a rumor that there’s a sequel in the works but I’m unavailable so I think they’re going to recast.”
I’m sorry, but I didn’t keep up with Teen Wolf. Are you still alive?
Adelaide Kane: “I am still alive at the moment, yes. I’m certainly alive on Teen Wolf right now.”
Has it been discussed whether or not you could do both shows?
Adelaide Kane: “I did want to maybe do a couple of episodes to wrap up my character on the show. Unfortunately, scheduling won’t allow for it, which is a shame, but I have absolute faith that Jeff will wrap up my character with his usual grace and aplomb and manic amazing writing.”
Do they shoot at the same time?
Adelaide Kane: “They do unfortunately, yes.”
* * * *
Reign premieres on The CW on Thursday, October 17, 2013 at 9pm.
You can never have too much of Chris Hemsworth or Tom Hiddleston, right? Marvel certainly doesn’t think so as they’re showing off two gorgeous new posters from Thor: The Dark World featuring Thor (Hemsworth) and Loki (Hiddleston).
Coming to theaters November 8, 2013, the Thor sequel also features Natalie Portman, Christopher Eccleston, Jaimie Alexander, Ray Stevenson, Kat Dennings, Idris Elba, and Anthony Hopkins.
The Plot:
Marvel’s Thor: The Dark World continues the big-screen adventures of Thor, the Mighty Avenger, as he battles to save Earth and all the Nine Realms from a shadowy enemy that predates the universe itself. In the aftermath of Marvel’s Thor and Marvel’s The Avengers, Thor fights to restore order across the cosmos…but an ancient race led by the vengeful Malekith returns to plunge the universe back into darkness.
Faced with an enemy that even Odin and Asgard cannot withstand, Thor must embark on his most perilous and personal journey yet, one that will reunite him with Jane Foster and force him to sacrifice everything to save us all.
Michelle Dockery from 'Downton Abbey' at the Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour (Photo Courtesy of Rahoul Ghose/PBS)
Masterpiece executive producer Rebecca Eaton was pleased to report to those gathered at the Television Critics Association press event that season three of Downton Abbey was watched by more than 24 million people (all of whom probably screamed at their sets at the demise of a certain popular character). The show’s the highest-rated drama in PBS history and shows no signs of slowing down, earning 12 Emmy nominations this year in acting categories as well as in the competitive Outstanding Dramatic Series category.
Season four opens with the house still in “deep mourning” over the death of Matthew, with Eaton explaining the upcoming season will cover the time period from February 1922 to the spring/summer of 1923. “The roaring ’20s are upon us. There are some new characters, some old favorites,” offered Eaton before introducing the show’s executive producer Gareth Neame and stars Michelle Dockery (‘Lady Mary’), Laura Carmichael (‘Lady Edith’), Joanne Froggatt (‘Anna Bates’), Phyllis Logan (‘Mrs. Hughes’), and Sophie McShera (‘Daisy Mason’) to discuss the addictive dramatic series.
With big changes in store for her character in particular, Michelle Dockery answered some Lady Mary questions without giving away any major spoilers:
Mary has a new love interest this season, played by Tom Cullen. Can you tell us a little bit about that relationship?
Michelle Dockery: [Laughing] “She actually has more than one love interest… Well, he’s an old family friend who she’s known since the girls were children and they haven’t seen him since she was tiny. And, yeah, she’s kind of slowly, throughout the series, coming back to real life. And of course it’s important for her to eventually move on, so he is a potential love interest, yes.”
What was your reaction when you first learned that Dan Stevens was leaving the show? Was your first reaction, “Oh, Lady Mary’s going to get to do lots of interesting things that I never expected,” or was your first reaction, “Oh, crap?”
Michelle Dockery: “My first reaction was ‘Oh, crap. What is going to happen?’ because I thought, you know, ‘Where can the story go now?’ We’ve spent all this time having this on/off, will they/won’t they relationship, and then suddenly it was coming to an end. So initially I was concerned about what would happen. But I think that, as much as it was sad to see Dan go, the same as it was to see Jessica go, it opens up an opportunity for Julian [Fellowes] to write a new chapter and something quite different, not only for Mary, but the knock-on effect it has for other characters. So yeah, initially I was concerned but now I’m not because it’s a great series, and it’s a very different series to what it could have been.”
Given what tends to happen to Lady Mary’s lovers, wouldn’t most men in the town be a little wary?
Michelle Dockery: “The new actors coming into the show as suitors are really brave because God knows what can happen. I’m pretty sure that Richard Carlisle is somewhere dead and we don’t even know about it.”
How does the idea of being a single mother shape up for Mary this upcoming season?
Michelle Dockery: “She was never going to be a very maternal mother. But also, she’s within that type or within the aristocracy they didn’t really see their kids very much. There’s a nanny and eventually there will be a governess looking after baby George. So, you don’t see much interaction between the baby and Mary. And, actually, to begin with it’s hard to relate. It’s hard to bond with the baby because, of course, she’s going through the grief. She looks at him and she sees Matthew. So, yeah, it’s a slow process, I think, with motherhood for Mary.”
Do you follow any of the fan communities on Twitter and Tumblr? Have you had any memorable encounters with fans in real life?
Michelle Dockery: “I’ve had moments of thinking maybe I should maybe I should go on Twitter, you know? Maybe it’s this thing that I’m not…I’ve been shy about [it] and maybe I should do it. And it turns out that Lady Mary’s Eyebrows have beaten me to it. I can’t believe it. There’s an actual page called ‘Lady Mary’s Eyesbrows.'”
You’ve said you will stay with the show through its entirety. Do you still stand by that statement?
Michelle Dockery: “What’s wonderful about the show is that it’s opened doors for all of us. I mean, so many of the cast are off doing other things in between. Dan is obviously doing brilliantly since he left the show, but we can do other things in between. And as far as we know, we are all doing series five next year, and beyond that we really don’t know. That’s in the hands of Julian and our producers. So, we’ll see. I think so long as the core cast remain. I think, if other actors start leaving, I think that would be a worry. I think it’s been fine so far, but so long as it remains as an ensemble, which, essentially, that is what the show is, we’ll see.”
Is this the year of girl power?
Michelle Dockery: [Laughing] “That’s who we haven’t cast, one of the Spice Girls.”
Mary and Tom seem to have some things in common. Can you talk about that? Might they be spending some time together, and what does that mean?
Michelle Dockery: “Yeah. We are aware that there are suspicions about Tom and Mary’s relationship, but they are very much friends and he is her brother-in-law still. I think they become close because of what they’ve both been through, having lost a partner. And, also, Mary becomes far more involved in the running of the estate with Tom, so we do have a lot of scenes together. But, romantically, I don’t think it’s going anywhere. I hope not. [Laughing] It’s very inappropriate.”
Saoirse Ronan’s featured prominently on the new poster for How I Live Now directed by Kevin Macdonald and co-starring Tom Holland, Anna Chancellor, George McKay and Corey Johnson. Magnolia Pictures is releasing the dramatic film in theaters in October after its world premiere at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival in September.
The Plot:
Set in the near-future UK, Ronan plays Daisy, an American teenager sent to stay with relatives in the English countryside. Initially withdrawn and alienated, she begins to warm up to her charming surroundings, and strikes up a romance with the handsome Edmund (George MacKay). But on the fringes of their idyllic summer days are tense news reports of an escalating conflict in Europe. As the UK falls into a violent, chaotic military state, Daisy finds herself hiding and fighting to survive.
Syfy’s gone a bit bananas over monkeys, 12 of them to be exact. The network’s greenlit a pilot for the dramatic series 12 Monkeys based on the 1995 film directed by Terry Gilliam. If casting moves forward as anticipated, the pilot could go into production in November.
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