President of NBC Entertainment Jennifer Salke made the announcement, saying, “The many layers of Red Reddington and his mysterious reasons for getting into bed with the FBI seem to be fascinating to fans of this show. With great talent like James Spader and Megan Boone on board, as well our stellar executive producers and the whole cast and crew, we believe this outstanding series will continue to make NBC a big destination on Monday nights.”
The show is number one among the new dramas on NBC, ABC, CBS, and Fox this season and is averaging 12 million viewers.
In addition to Spader and Boone, the cast includes Diego Klattenhoff, Harry Lennix, Ryan Eggold and Parminder Nagra.
The Plot:
The Blacklist stars Emmy Award-winning actor James Spader as Red Reddington, a fugitive on the FBI’s Most Wanted list. Now, he’s mysteriously surrendered to the FBI and working with the feds to catch a “blacklist” of politicians, mobsters, spies and international terrorists under the condition that he speaks only to Elizabeth Keen (Boone), an FBI profiler fresh out of Quantico. Red’s true intentions have yet to be revealed.
The Simpsons fans can rejoice with the news that Fox’s Chairman of Entertainment Kevin Reilly has confirmed the animated series will indeed return for a record-setting 26th season. The Simpsons currently stands as the longest-running scripted series in history – a record not likely to ever be broken. The show, which was created by Matt Groening, has won 28 Emmy Awards and was even named by Time magazine as the “Best Show of the 20th Century.”
“For more than a quarter of a century, The Simpsons has captured the hearts and minds of fans in a way that transcends ages, languages and cultures,” stated Reilly, announcing the renewal. “This groundbreaking series is not only the longest-running scripted show in television history, it’s one of the greatest sitcoms of our time, and I’m looking forward to yet another landmark season.”
Next up for the show is its annual Halloween special: Treehouse of Horror XXIV. The Halloween episode airs on October 6, 2013 at 8pm, and here are the details as provided by Fox:
Director, screenwriter, producer and novelist Guillermo del Toro (Pacific Rim) resurrects monsters and classic characters from horror films throughout history for the opening couch gag. Then, in the first of three spine-tingling tales, Homer travels around Springfield wreaking havoc in a rhyming spoof of a popular children’s tale.
In “Dead and Shoulders” Bart is beheaded during a kite accident, his head is attached to Lisa’s body and they must live together as one. The final frightening tale, “Freaks no Geeks,” features Mr. Burns’ traveling circus, The Burnsum and Bailey Circus, which has stopped in Springfieldland in the 1930s. Trapeze artist Marge and Strong Man Homer are performers, and things go awry when circus freak Moe starts to make advances towards Marge.
Fans from all over the world (Denmark, England, Germany, etc.) came to see their favorite band, Depeche Mode, play an intimate show at the Santa Barbara Bowl in, of course, Martin Gore’s hometown of Santa Barbara. The Bowl holds around 4,500 people so this was one of those venues the fans would most definitely want to see them play at. And some fans even camped out overnight to make sure that they were right up against the barricade when the doors opened.
At around 5:15 the security got the okay to let people into the venue. Finally, after waiting under a hot sun for hours, the fans were allowed in and from that point it was on, every man, woman, and child for themselves as a wave of fans were hiking up a steep, exhausting hill just to get inside the Bowl. Some fans were getting sick; others made it with ease. Then the countdown began for when Andy Fletcher, Martin Gore, and David Gahan would hit the stage.
After Crystal Castles played an hour set and around 45 minutes or so later, the lights dimmed and the intro music began. The moment we all had been waiting for for what seemed like four years…Depeche Mode’s David, Martin, and Andy hit the stage. Dave came out spinning slowly across the stage, opening up with the first track of their latest CD release (Delta Machine), “Welcome To My World,” followed by track two, “Angel.”
They played all sorts of hits including “Black Celebration,” “Precious,” “Policy Of Truth,” “Barrel of a Gun,” and their latest single “Should Be Higher” which during the song had some great visuals filmed by Anton Corbijn. Martin came out after and sang “Child Inside” and a song they said they’d never play because for some reason they didn’t like the song… Yep, you guessed it: “But Not Tonight.” Even though it wasn’t Dave singing, it still sounded great acoustically.
Dave Gahan came back out to sing “Heaven,” “Soothe My Soul,” and a few others. During the encore, Martin Gore sang two more songs then finally ended with “Never Let Me Down Again.”
The show lasted almost two hours due to the venue’s curfew. They played a total of 19 songs – all great. Despite the technical difficulties David was having with his earpieces, the band was having a great time. Dave’s gyrating hips and struts, Martin’s jumping around, Andy’s dancing around and hip shaking (that’s right, Andy too was shaking his rump) high fives, hugs, laughing, just feeding off of each other as well as the crowd’s energy. The night was beautiful.
Depeche Mode have a few shows left in the US then it’s back to Europe for the second leg of the Delta Machine Tour.
“Dr. Stone detach! You must detach! If you don’t detach that arm will carry you too far,” says astronaut Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) to bio-medical engineer Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) during a horrific accident in space in the dramatic science fiction thriller Gravity.
What should be a simple repair job, as well as Commander Kowalski’s final space mission, turns into a desperate struggle to survive when a destroyed Soviet satellite and all its debris come speeding toward the astronauts and their space shuttle, effectively destroying it. This leaves Stone, and Kowalski cut off from communications with Houston and causes them to work together to try to find a way to survive with only their space suits, oxygen – which they’re beginning to run low on – and Kowalski’s jetpack as their life raft.
Suspenseful and visually breathtaking, Gravity is a true piece of movie-making magic that needs to be seen on the big screen in 3D to appreciate its groundbreaking craftsmanship truly. Flawlessly directed by Alfonso Cuaron, the film’s pacing is tight and thrilling with the use of long takes, and the cinematography is a wonder to watch. The audience is sure to feel like they are up in space with the two astronauts struggling to find a way to survive. The fantastic use of 3D in scenes where the debris in space comes hurtling at the astronauts is sure to have the audience almost ducking their heads to avoid the space carnage.
Sandra Bullock delivers a raw, emotional, and powerful performance as Dr. Stone, a rookie in space who, on her first mission, is faced with such a horrific situation even seasoned astronauts would be terrified. It’s her strongest performance since The Blind Side.
George Clooney is perfectly cast as the veteran space cowboy Kowalski who loves his space walks and is almost sad about retiring until the accident. His strength, courage, and experience are the only hope if he and Stone are to possibly survive this deadly situation.
One weakness in the film is that the audience is only given about five to six minutes to get to know Kowalski and Stone before their nightmare in space starts. It helps that both Clooney and Bullock are well-known stars, but still, the audience isn’t given a chance to connect or begin to care about the characters, which would have heightened the suspense during the characters’ fight to survive. It’s also unfortunate that the musical score composed by Steven Price at times becomes intrusive and detracts from the action and drama in a few scenes.
Gripping and a true visual delight, Gravity is one of the best science fiction thrillers to come along in years and is also one of the best films of the year.
GRADE: A-
Gravity is rated PG-13 for intense perilous sequences, some disturbing images, and brief strong language.
Loki (Tom Hiddleston) is locked up but Thor (Chris Hemsworth) finds himself in need of his brother’s help in this new clip from the Thor sequel, Thor: The Dark World. “I know you seek vengeance as much as I do,” says Thor. “You help me escape Asgard, and I will grant it to you.” “You must be truly desperate to come to me for help,” replies an unkempt, long-haired Loki in this new clip from the Marvel Studios and Disney release.
Thor: The Dark World opens in theaters on November 8, 2013. Directed by Alan Taylor, the cast includes Stellan Skarsgard, Natalie Portman, Anthony Hopkins, Christopher Eccleston, Kat Dennings, Ray Stevenson, and Idris Elba.
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.
Breaking Bad‘s RJ Mitte will be tackling a recurring role on the ABC Family drama Switched at Birth. The series returns for season three early next year, with Mitte set to play a pre-med college student named Campbell.
Campbell, according to ABC Family, was paralyzed during a snowboarding accident and will work with Daphne (Katie Leclerc) in the free clinic.
“We are thrilled to cast such a phenomenal and unique actor as RJ. Our show is about diversity and telling stories about people from all walks of life, and when we created the part of Campbell, we knew RJ was the perfect person to embody him,” said creator/executive producer Lizzy Weiss. “The character is charismatic, funny, and a bit of a ladies’ man, and we think Breaking Bad fans will enjoy seeing Walt, Jr. in a totally different light.”
“I love Switched at Birth; it’s super exciting to work with such an awesome cast,” added Mitte.
In addition to Leclerc, the cast of Switched at Birth includes Vanessa Marano, Constance Marie, D.W. Moffett, Lea Thompson, Lucas Grabeel, and Sean Berdy.
Lady Gaga as La Camaleon poster from ‘Machete Kills’
Lady Gaga graces the big screen for the first time with Machete Kills, the action comedy from filmmaker Robert Rodriguez starring Danny Trejo in the title role. Making her feature film acting debut, Lady Gaga takes on the role of La Camaleón—a lethal lady with a keen fashion sense.
In this new trailer for the upcoming October 11, 2013 release, fans of Lady Gaga can get a sneak preview of “Aura” from her upcoming album ARTPOP (coming to stores on November 11th).
The Plot:
Machete Kills is an action-packed thrill ride about the adventures of legendary secret agent Machete Cortez (Danny Trejo). In his latest mission, Machete is recruited by the U.S. President (Carlos Estevez) to stop a crazed global terrorist (Mel Gibson) from starting a nuclear war. With a bounty on his head, Machete faces death at every turn from an all-star cast of deadly assassins.
Breaking all the rules, visionary director Robert Rodriguez leads this star-studded ensemble on one of the wildest adventures to save the world ever captured on film!
The cast also includes Michelle Rodriguez, Sofia Vergara, Amber Heard, Antonio Banderas, Jessica Alba, Demián Bichir, Alexa Vega, Vanessa Hudgens, Cuba Gooding, Jr., William Sadler, and Marko Zaror.
Piper Perabo as Annie Walker in 'Covert Affairs' (Photo by: Ian Watson/USA Network)
With an average viewership of 4 million, it probably wasn’t that difficult for USA to decide to renew Covert Affairs for a fifth season. The spy drama, which was one of the top 10 scripted cable shows this summer, will return on October 17, 2013 at 10pm and finish up season four on November 21st.
Covert Affairs was created by writers and executive producers Matt Corman and Chris Ordis. Doug Liman, David Bartis, Gene Klei, Stephen Kay, and Sean Ryerson also executive produce.
“No other series on television travels the globe to tell a story like Covert Affairs, and we are pleased to bring it back for another season” said Chris McCumber, President of USA Network. “With its intricate storytelling, diverse characters and authentic locations, the series continues to be a cornerstone in our line-up of USA’s original signature dramas.”
The Plot:
The critically-acclaimed spy drama series stars Golden Globe-nominated Piper Perabo as Annie Walker, a young CIA operative whose exceptional linguistic skills and killer instinct make her invaluable to the Agency. As the fourth season continues, we find an emboldened Annie Walker emerging from the life she once knew.
Now, she’s a spy operating off the grid without ties to her agency or the support of her beloved handler, Auggie (Christopher Gorham – he’ll direct episode 414). Annie knows that tying Henry Wilcox (Gregory Itzin) to the disastrous attack in Copenhagen is the best way to bring him down and that’s exactly what she aims to do.
Oscar-winner Halle Berry will star in and co-executive produce Extant, a serialized drama from CBS Television Studios and Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Television. Spielberg, Greg Walker, Mickey Fisher, Brooklyn Weaver, Justin Falvey, and Darryl Frank will executive produce, and Fisher wrote the script for the series which will be airing next summer.
“There’s only one Halle Berry and we are incredibly honored that she has chosen Extant to expand her illustrious career,” said Steven Spielberg. “As she does with everything she touches, she will bring a deep authenticity to her role and I very much look forward to working with her.”
“I’m always on the lookout for amazing roles and when you see material that contains this strong of auspices, nuance, and complexity it compels me to run toward it no matter the medium. For five months a year, I’ll get to live with and play this incredibly intelligent and vulnerable woman, and for the remainder of the year, I’ll continue to look for other roles that move me as deeply as this one,” said Halle Berry. “I’ve found amazing partners in CBS’s Nina Tassler and Les Moonves, and the incredible Steven Spielberg, along with his Amblin production team, whose vision and creativity in storytelling is unparalleled.”
Halle Berry will next be seen on the big screen reprising her role as ‘Storm’ in X-Men: Days of Future Past.
The Plot: In a thrilling drama, Berry will play an astronaut who returns home from a year-long solo mission in space and tries to reconnect with her husband and son in their everyday life. Her experiences in space and home lead to events that ultimately will change the course of human history.
Christian Bale teams up with Crazy Heart writer/director Scott Cooper for the dramatic thriller Out of the Furnace, coming to theaters on December 6, 2013 and now showing off a new poster and trailer. Will it be on the short list of films heading for Oscar glory? It’s too early to tell as it hasn’t screened yet (it’s slated to premiere at the AFI Fest in November), but it has a solid pedigree and could garner some awards attention.
In addition to Bale, the cast includes Woody Harrelson, Casey Affleck, Forest Whitaker, Willem Dafoe, Zoë Saldana, and Sam Shepard.
The Plot:
Russell Baze (Bale) has a rough life: he works a dead-end blue-collar job at the local steel mill by day, and cares for his terminally ill father by night. When Russell’s brother Rodney (Affleck) returns home from serving time in Iraq, he gets lured into one of the most ruthless crime rings in the Northeast and mysteriously disappears. The police fail to crack the case, so – with nothing left to lose – Russell takes matters into his own hands, putting his life on the line to seek justice for his brother.
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