Rebecca Ferguson and Max Irons star in Starz’s The White Queen, based on Philippa Collins’ historic novel. The new perido drama will premiere on August 10, 2013.
Max Irons stars as Edward IV, Rebecca Ferguson plays Elizabeth Woodville, James Frain is Lord Warwick, Janet McTeer is Jacquetta, Amanda Hale is Margaret Beaufort, and Faye Marsay is Anne Neville. Aneurin Bernard plays Richard, Duke of York; David Oakes is George, Duke of Clarence; Juliet Aubrey is Countess of Warwick; Eleanor Tomlinson is Isabel Neville; and Frances Tomelty is Lady Beauchamp.
The cast also includes Michael Maloney as Henry Stafford, Ben Lamb as Anthony Rivers, Hugh Mitchell as Richard Welles, Simon Ginty as John Rivers, Eve Ponsenby as Mary Woodville, and Robert Pugh as Baron Rivers.
The Synopsis:The White Queen is a riveting portrayal of one of the most dramatic and turbulent times in English history. A story of love and lust, seduction and deception, betrayal and murder, it is uniquely told through the perspective of three different yet equally relentless women – Elizabeth Woodville, Margaret Beaufort and Anne Neville. In their quest for power, they will scheme, manipulate and seduce their way onto the English throne.
The year is 1464, before the Tudor dynasty ruled the country, and war has been ravaging throughout England over who is the rightful King. It is a bitter dispute between two sides of the same family, The House of York and The House of Lancaster.
The House of York’s young and handsome Edward IV is crowned King of England with the help of the master manipulator, Lord Warwick “The Kingmaker.” But when Edward falls in love with a beautiful Lancastrian commoner, Elizabeth Woodville, Warwick’s plan to control the throne comes crashing down.
A violent, high-stakes struggle ensues between Elizabeth, her most fierce adversary, Lancastrian Margaret Beaufort, and Anne Neville, the pawn in her father’s power game – each woman vying for the crown.
Stephen Moyer’s going from playing a Southern vampire possessed by a god in True Blood to Captain Von Trapp in NBC’s The Sound of Music. The musical, which already snagged Carrie Underwood as Maria, will be broadcast live on December 5, 2013. Yes, live – you read that correctly. The Sound of Music will air as a three-hour live holiday special.
For those not up on their Sound of Music trivia, here’s a description of Moyer and Underwood’s characters: “Moyer will portray decorated World War I hero Capt. Georg Von Trapp, who is the single father of seven children. Living in Austria on the cusp of World War II, the militaristic but warm-hearted Von Trapp engages a young governess, Maria, who he hires to care for his children.”
Moyer’s no stranger to musicals, most recently appearing in the Hollywood Bowl production of Chicago as lawyer Billy Flynn.
As summer comes to a close and the kids go back to school, so comes to an end the summer blockbusters in order to make way for the films hoping to get consideration for Oscars – and to cash in on the holiday movie-going public. Which means it’s time for the Fall Movie Preview. What can you expect up on the big screen this fall and holiday season? Films about a brave captain, car racers, The People’s Princess, a Demi-God, con-artists, and the return of San Diego’s favorite news anchor.
Rush – Starring Daniel Brühl, Chris Hemsworth and Olivia Wilde
Plot: Tells the story of Austrian Formula 1 champion driver Niki Lauda and the 1976 crash that almost claimed his life. Mere weeks after the accident, he got behind the wheel to challenge his British rival, James Hunt.
Outlook: With Ron Howard directing and Thor himself (Chris Hemsworth) in the title role, this could be the film to give the movies Le Mans and Grand Prix a run for their money.
The Family – Starring Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer and Tommy Lee Jones
Plot: A former Mafia man turned informant under witness protection moves his family to a quiet, sleepy French village and struggles to give up the old life and blend in.
Outlook: Sounding reminiscent of Steve Martin’s funny comedy My Blue Heaven, The Family despite it’s A-list cast looks like the comedy miss of the fall.
Prisoners – Starring Hugh Jackman, Maria Bello and Jake Gyllenhaal
Plot: A detective becomes obsessed with the case he’s investigating involving the search for two missing young girls. Meanwhile, one of the fathers of the girls becomes determined to find his little girl and turns vigilante.
Outlook: With a strong cast and what looks to be a stand-out performance by Hugh Jackman, Prisoners is sure to be one of the best dramatic films this year and might just have one or two of its cast members grabbing an Oscar nomination.
Plot: Left for dead on a wasteland planet, Riddick fights to survive against aliens who once again live and thrive in the dark.
Outlook: Yawn. It’s Pitch Black 2 only without other survivors.
Don Jon – Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Scarlett Johansson
Plot: A New Jersey guy devoted to his family, church, and friends finally meets his dream girl but his relationship with her is jeopardized by his addiction to porn.
Outlook: Written, directed and starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Don Jon is a comedy that’s unlikely to draw large masses to the theaters due to its subject matter and will most likely only have diehard Gordon-Levitt fans in the seats.
Plot: On discovering his food-storm producing machine is still working only this time creating food-animal hybrids, Flint Lockwood heads back to what used to be his home town to finally stop it.
Outlook: Some films don’t need a sequel and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs looks to be one of them.
Gravity – Starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney
Plot: A medical engineer and an astronaut work and struggle together to fight to survive after an accident leaves them adrift in space.
Outlook: Directed by Alfonso Cuaron and inspired by Ray Bradbury’s story Kaleidoscope, Gravity might just be the best space drama since Apollo 13.
Plot: The true story of Captain Richard Phillips and the 2009 hijacking by Somali pirates of the US MV Masersk Alabama.
Outlook: Look for Tom Hanks to receive another Oscar nomination for his performance as Captain Phillips.
Carrie – Starring Chloe Grace Moretz and Julianne Moore
Plot: A young, shy and troubled teenage girl discovers she has telekinetic powers and begins using them to unleash revenge against those who teased and tormented her.
Outlook: Sigh…another pointless and needless remake of a film that got it right the first time around.
The Fifth Estate – Starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Daniel Brühl
Plot: Follows the exploits of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and his quest to expose the deceptions and corruption of those in power.
Outlook: With Benedict Cumberbatch as Assange, The Fifth Estate might be the sleeper hit drama of the fall.
Plot: Focusing on the last two years of Princess Diana’s life and romance with Pakistani heart surgeon Hasnat Kahn.
Outlook: Naomi Watts is sure to be considered for an Oscar nomination for her portrayal of Princess Di.
Kill Your Darlings – Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Ben Foster and Michael C. Hall
Plot: A murder in the year 1944 draws together the great poets of the beat generation including Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs.
Outlook: This will be Daniel Radcliffe’s opportunity to shake off any remaining shackles of the Harry Potter series and prove to the moviegoing public he’s a true actor capable of portraying many different roles. If the rest of his performance is a good as the one clip from the film…than job well done Mr. Radcliffe.
NOVEMBER
Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) in THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE. Photo credit: Murray Close
Plot: Katniss and Peeta become targets of the Capital after their victory in the Hunger Games ignites a rebellion in one of the districts.
Outlook: With most of the original cast returning and the plot focusing on the beginning of the resistance instead of children fighting to the death, Catching Fire is sure to break records at the box office and possibly interest other moviegoers who were turned off by the plot of the original film.
Thor: The Dark World – Starring Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston and Natalie Portman
Plot: When Jane Foster is targeted by the warriors of the dark world Svartalfheim, Thor returns to Earth to protect her and is forced to turn to the last person he would ever want to trust or ask help from – his half-brother Loki.
Outlook: With a much darker tone than the first film, a bigger story arc, and an A-list cast, Thor: The Dark World looks be one of those rare sequels that could surpass the original film.
Ender’s Game – Starring Asa Butterfield, Harrison Ford and Ben Kingsley
Plot: 70 years after an alien war on Earth a brilliant but awkward boy is chosen to attend an advanced military school and train for a future invasion.
Outlook: Based on the worldwide best-selling novel and with what looks to be cutting edge special effects plus a strong cast, Ender’s Game might – repeat, might – just be the best science fiction film to hit the big screen in years.
Plot: Based on the true story of Jordan Belfort, from his rise to a wealthy stockbroker living the high life to his fall involving crime, corruption and the federal government.
Outlook: Seems all too familiar. Hello, Gordon Gecko anyone?
About Time – Starring Domhnall Gleeson and Rachel McAdams
Plot: When Tim Lake turns 21 his father lets him in on a family secret – that the men in their family have the power to travel through time. There is a catch: Tim can only change events in his own life. So Tim sets out to use his time traveling to win the heart of his dream girl Mary.
Outlook: It’s Groundhogs Day meets The Time Traveler’s Wife.
Plot: Set in the ’80s, Ron Burgundy returns to the anchor chair on New York’s first 24 hours news channel and brings his pals along with him.
Outlook: If the film has as many laughs as the 2 minute trailer, this will be the best comedy of the year.
Plot: Bilbo, Gandalf and the dwarves have successfully climbed the Misty Mountains and Bilbo now has the One Ring. Their journey continues to get the black gold away from the deadly dragon Smaug.
Outlook: This second entry in the Hobbit trilogy is sure to draw a big movie audience for the holiday season.
American Hustle – Starring Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper and Amy Adams
Plot: The story of a con artist and his partner who end up working for the FBI to turn the tables on other cons, mobsters and politicians in New Jersey.
Outlook: Based on a true story and with a great cast, American Hustle is sure to be one of the front-runners come Oscar season.
Plot: Walt Disney’s struggle to obtain the rights to make the film Mary Poppins based on the book written by the uncompromising and difficult author P.L. Travers.
OutLook: Being released in December, Saving Mr. Banks just might be the family-friendly film movie-going audiences are in the mood for this holiday season.
Because it’s Friday and because we haven’t seen a photo of a new car from Transformers 4 in a while, Paramount Pictures and Michael Bay are showing off this set photo. And that’s all we have to say about that.
Showtime’s showing off a batch of new official posters for the third season of the critically acclaimed, award-winning drama series, Homeland, premiering on September 29, 2013 at 9pm. The network’s also put out a new teaser trailer (backed by Adele singing “Lovesong”) showing a hooded and bald Brody (Damian Lewis) and a tormented and conflicted Carrie (Claire Danes).
Plus, the official plot description was also just unveiled:
“Homeland tells the story of Carrie Mathison (Danes), a CIA officer battling her own demons, who becomes convinced that the intelligence that led to the rescue of U.S. soldier, then Congressman, now fugitive, Nicholas Brody (Lewis) was a setup and may be connected to an Al Qaeda plot to be carried out on American soil.
Season three opens during the aftermath of the horrific terror attack that decimated the U.S. intelligence apparatus and prompted a global manhunt for the world’s most wanted terrorist, Nick Brody. As Carrie and Saul (Mandy Patinkin) begin to pick up the pieces of their shattered professional and personal lives, they are swept up in the political and media firestorm surrounding the terror attack and the subsequent search for Brody’s whereabouts.”
“Why would anybody do this?!” asks a horrified Drake (Joe Swanberg) when three masked killers begin attacking his family at their getaway home in the woods in the horror film You’re Next.
When Crispian Davidson (AJ Bowen) and his girlfriend Erin (Sharni Vinson) arrive at his parents’ wedding anniversary dinner, they surprise his dad who was checking the house to see if an intruder was upstairs after Crispian’s mom Aubrey (Barbara Crampton) claimed to have heard a noise. Soon the rest of the family and friends arrive to celebrate what should be a fun and memorable weekend, but as a fight begins between brothers Crispian and Drake, suddenly arrows are being fired at the family, breaking windows and sending the family into a panic.
Terrified, in shock, and not knowing what to do, the Davidsons begin to listen to Erin who seems to have all the best ideas on how to avoid and fight the masked murders currently working their way into the home on what seems to be a bloodthirsty killing spree.
Suspenseful and gory, You’re Next is an effective take on the home-invasion plot for the first half of the movie but becomes overly violent and predictable in the second half of the film. Sharni Vinson gives the film’s stand out performance as Erin the girlfriend who has incredible survival instincts and gives the killers a real fight. She’s reminiscent of heroines of earlier slasher films such as ‘Laurie’ (Jamie Lee Curtis) from Halloween or ‘Sydney’ (Neve Campbell) in Scream.
The three masked killers are at first very intimidating and scary but when one of them gets attacked by Erin and unmasked, the fear factor drops considerably. The film also takes a drastic turn in its tone and action a little more than halfway through, going from a horror film to a dark comedy. Unfortunately, it falls short of succeeding with the tonal shift.
With over-the top gore and scares that ultimately lose their steam midway through, You’re Next is a small budget horror film that gets lost amongst all the blood and carnage.
GRADE: C-
You’re Next opens in theaters on August 23, 2013 and is rated R for strong bloody violence, language and some sexuality/nudity.
The Coen Brothers’ entry into this year’s awards race is showing off a brand new trailer. Inside Llewyn Davis, written and directed by Joel & Ethan Coen, is being released by CBS Films on December 6, 2013 – the heart of the awards season. The cast is led by Oscar Isaac (Drive), playing a folk singer, with Carey Mulligan, John Goodman, Garrett Hedlund, and Justin Timberlake co-starring.
The Plot:
Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaac) is at a crossroads. Guitar in tow, huddled against the unforgiving New York winter, he is struggling to make it as a musician against seemingly insurmountable obstacles—some of them of his own making. Living at the mercy of both friends and strangers, scaring up what work he can find, Llewyn’s misadventures take him from the baskethouses of the Village to an empty Chicago club — on an odyssey to audition for a music mogul — and back again.
“Steven Gould is one of the shining lights in contemporary science fiction, and I’ve long admired the worlds and characters he’s created in his books and stories,” explained Cameron. “We’re very fortunate to have Steven bring his formidable talents to the Avatar universe. He is already working closely with me and the screenwriters to flesh out the expanding world of Avatar.”
Lightstorm Entertainment’s President of Franchise Development Kathy Franklin said, “The novels are just one example of our commitment to our fans to extend the world of Avatar, in this instance in partnership with Twentieth Century Fox Consumer Products.”
As for the films, Cameron, Josh Friedman, Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver, and Shane Salerno are working on the screenplays for Avatar 2, 3, and 4. Filming’s expected to begin next year, with Cameron shooting the movies back-to-back.
Avatar 2 will be released in December 2016 followed by Avatar 3 in December 2017 and Avatar 4 in 2018.
Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Barbara Walters, Sherri Shepherd, and Elisabeth Hasselbeck on 'The View' (ABC/ Donna Svennevik)
Ex-The View cohost Elisabeth Hasselbeck will be part of the Fox & Friends morning show beginning on Monday, September 16, 2013 at 6am. The new Fox & Friends co-host will be making her debut on a redesigned set, joining current hosts Steve Doocy and Brian Kilmeade, who’ve been on the show since it premiered way back in 1998.
The Fox morning show features celebrity interviews, interviews with politicians, and musical performances.
Hasselbeck announced her departure from The View in July after spending 10 years on that talk show, opting out in order to take over the Fox & Friends co-hosting spot formerly held by Gretchen Carlson. And Jenny McCarthy was named as the new The Voice co-host after Hasselbeck vacated the role.
Discovery Channel is teaming up with Lionsgate to develop a mini-series based on John Jakes’ bestselling North and South trilogy. Jakes will be involved as an executive producer on the mini-series, however, there’s no official word yet on who will adapt the books or direct the limited-run series.
Per the official announcement:
“North and South will tell the epic story of two families – the Hazard family, northern factory owners from Pennsylvania, and the Main family, southern plantation owners. The story begins when lead characters George Hazard and Orry Main meet as young men at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. The Hazard and the Main families become close, brought together in bonds of friendship and affection that neither jealousy nor violence can shatter.
At a time when great technological advancements were made and social and political groups worked for anti-slavery legislation as well as women’s equality, the economic foundation of the country began to rapidly change. Spanning three generations and chronicling the lives and loves of two great family dynasties, North and South shows the vastly different ways of life for the Main and Hazard families which threaten to drive them apart, fracture marriages, and poison sibling relationships. They are put to the ultimate test as fathers, sons, brothers, and friends fight each other on the battlefields of the deadliest war America has ever seen.”
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