Daniel Radcliffe accepts the Ultimate Scream award for "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" onstage at Spike TV's "Scream Awards 2011" pre-tape at Lincoln Center on October 14, 2011 in New York, New York. (Photo by Hal Horowitz/PictureGroup)
The Harry Potter film franchise finished up this year, leaving us Muggles without any more adventures of Harry, Ron and Hermione to look forward to. The last film of the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, sent the franchise out on a high note – winning big at the box office while also satisfying film critics and fans. And as part of a farewell to all things Harry Potter, the SCREAM Awards 2011 named the movie the ‘Ultimate Scream Award’ winner – one of six awards bestowed on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 at the annual awards show honoring sci-fi, fantasy, horror, and comic book films and TV shows.
Daniel Radcliffe couldn’t make it to LA for the show, but he did take part via satellite from New York. Check out his acceptance video, courtesy of Spike TV:
Paul Reubens and Joe Manganiello attend Spike TV's "Scream Awards 2011" on the Universal Studios Lot on October 15, 2011 in Universal City, California. (Photo by Brian To/PictureGroup)
Joe Manganiello, known to millions of True Blood fans as the hunky werewolf ‘Alcide,’ was the winner of the ‘Best Breakout Performance – Male’ Award at the SCREAM Awards 2011 which took place October 15th (airing on October 18th). Never doubt the voting power of the True Blood or Twilight fan base when it comes to getting their favorite actors awards, as Manganiello beat out a tough field that included The Walking Dead‘s Jon Bernthal, X-Men: First Class‘ Michael Fassbender, and Thor‘s Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston.
Accepting his award, Joe Manganiello thanked Alan Ball and Charlaine Harris (author of the Sookie Stackhouse books), as well as the real wolf, Thunder, who takes over once Alcide transforms.
Filming has begun on Queen Latifah and Shakim Compere’s first film from their Flavor Unit Entertainment company, the dramatic thriller Percentage. Percentage stars Cam’ron and Omar Gooding and is directed by Alex Merkin. The film also features Macy Gray, Ving Rhames, Antwan Tanner, Robert Watson and Malinda Williams.
The Plot: Two New York hustlers who are on the run from a drug deal gone bad. Ant (Cam’ron) and Carter (Gooding) move to Miami to build a new empire in the world of credit fraud. As the business grows, so does the unwanted attention from law enforcement and Miami’s most notorious criminals.
Percentage will be shot in Miami, Florida, on Flavor Unit Studios’ new sound stage.
Robert Downey Jr. accepts the 'Hero Award' at Spike TV's "Scream Awards 2011" on the Universal Studios Lot on October 15, 2011 in Universal City, California. (Photo by Phil McCarten/PictureGroup)
Colin Farrell presented Robert Downey Jr with SCREAM Awards 2011’s ‘Hero Award’ at the genre-celebrating event held Saturday, October 15th at Universal Studios (airing on October 18th), reading a special poem – R-rated of course since this is Colin Farrell we’re talking about – in Downey’s honor. Following Farrell’s introduction, Downey took to the stage amidst fireworks and dancers.
Sean Bean and Lena Headey accept the ‘Best TV Show Award’ for ‘Game of Thrones’ at Spike TV’s “Scream Awards 2011” (Photo by Phil McCarten/PictureGroup)
Easily one of the best new shows of 2011, Game of Thrones added another award to its list of honors when it was named Best TV Show at the SCREAM Awards 2011. Accepting on behalf of the show – which had fierce competition from Doctor Who, Fringe, True Blood, and The Walking Dead – were Lena Headey and Sean Bean.
HBO describes season one of Game of Thrones, based on the bestselling fantasy book series A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin, as “a sprawling drama series is set in a grounded fantasy world inhabited by ambitious men and women of both honor and ill-repute, much like our own real world.”
Revenge has become my new guilty pleasure, and with each new episode the new ABC drama reels me in even further. Episode 5, debuting on October 19th, promises some real thrills as Emily (Emily VanCamp) continues her plan to get revenge on everyone who betrayed her father.
Victoria’s more vulnerable side shows through when lingering feelings of guilt over her involvement in David Clarke’s demise and an unforgivable rift with her daughter become too much to bear. Lydia returns with a vendetta against Emily and the Graysons that will soon come back to haunt her. Now wise to his father’s transgressions and a duplicitous betrayal by his friend, Tyler, Daniel decides to make a major life change.
Charlotte and Declan find themselves in an unlikely predicament together.
Katey Sagal and Ron Perlman in 'Sons of Anarchy' - CR: James Minchin III / FX
Sons of Anarchy‘s fourth season ratings are the best yet for the drama series, which made FX’s decision to give the go-ahead for a 13 episode fifth season pretty much a no-brainer. According to FX, Sons of Anarchy is the #1 scripted drama on basic cable as well as being the highest-rated series ever on FX. Season four has been drawing in an average of 5.8 million viewers, with 3.9 million of those in the Adults 18-49 demographic.
Sons of Anarchy‘s fourth season premiere holds the record as the most-watched program in FX’s history.
John Landgraf, President and General Manager, FX Networks made the announcement, stating, “Everyone at FX is very grateful to Kurt Sutter, his many writing, directing and producing collaborators and his masterful cast for making such a compelling and beautifully crafted show. It is no small challenge to bring the themes of a great, ancient play like Hamlet into a wholly original television setting and to tell this complex story in a way that is both riveting and accessible to a broad audience. The fans know how beautifully SOA meets this challenge, and we thank them for their loyal and passionate viewership.”
Filming just wrapped on the fourth season, with seven more episodes still to air.
Justin Bieber 'Under the Mistletoe' - PRNewsFoto/The Island Def Jam Music Group
Justin Bieber’s rendition of the classic holiday tune “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town” will play over the end credits of the family-friendly animated film, Arthur Christmas. Sony Pictures Animation and Columbia Pictures also announced today that the music video for “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town” will debut in theaters showing Arthur Christmas. The video for the song, which is off Bieber’s upcoming Under the Mistletoe album, will feature footage from Aardman Animation’s Arthur Christmas.
The first single from Under the Mistletoe, “Mistletoe,” will be used in Arthur Christmas‘ TV spots.
Arthur Christmas, featuring the voices of James McAvoy, Hugh Laurie, and Jim Broadbent, will hit theaters on November 23, 2011. Justin Bieber’s Under the Mistletoe drops on November 1st.
In the press release announcing Justin Bieber’s involvement with Arthur Christmas, Lia Vollack, President, Worldwide Music for Sony Pictures, stated, “It was important to us to have a song that connected with the film’s themes – and you couldn’t ask for a better match than ‘Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town’ – but our choice was about much more than that. We saw an opportunity to give our moviegoers a tremendous added value with a brand-new music video premiering in theaters. We had a great experience working with Justin on The Karate Kid, so we’re thrilled to be working with him again and premiering his new video with our movie – it’s a perfect fit for our movie’s core audience.”
Source: Columbia Pictures; Sony Pictures Animation – October 17, 2011
Jon Bernthal, Andrew Lincoln and Sarah Wayne Callies in 'The Walking Dead' - Photo Credit: Matthew Welch/AMC
Reviewed by Kevin Finnerty
“Hey, look, I don’t need all the answers. Just a nudge, some sign.” That’s Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) talking to God in the form of a life-size crucifix above the altar in an abandoned church in the second season opener of the apocalyptic horror drama, The Walking Dead.
Traveling along a desolate highway, Rick and his wife, Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies), his best friend, Shane (Jon Bernthal), and the rest of the survivors are trying to determine what should be their next move when Dale’s (Jeffrey DeMunn) RV overheats and breaks down. The gang spreads out and begins to search the stranded cars and trucks filled with corpses for water and supplies, with Dale being the lookout for hungry zombies. Not long after Shane discovers a delivery truck full of fresh water and it looks as though the group should be on their way soon, both Dale and Rick spot a herd of zombies walking their way. Terrified, the group quickly hides under the cars – except for Dale who remains on top of the RV lying down on its roof and Andrea (Laurie Holden) who’s still sitting in the RV unaware of the army of zombies until they are already walking by.
The zombies are almost past the group when one of the walking dead sees little Sophia (Madison Lintz) hiding under a car and goes after her. She manages to barely escape his grasp and runs into the woods with two zombies chasing her. Rick rushes out after her and after finally cutting her off, carries her to a hidden spot by a stream, placing her into a small hole and telling her to stay put while he leads the two zombies away. However, once Rick has disposed of the two flesh-eaters, he returns to the hole to discover Sophia is gone. Rick goes back to the highway, thinking she might have returned to the group, only to find her mother frantic with worry and no sign of Sophia. So the group begins a search for the little girl hoping to find her before they are forced to leave to avoid any more zombie encounters.
The Walking Dead is a horror/soap opera that has excellent special effects and a strong cast. Andrew Lincoln is solid as Rick, the leader of the survivors who struggles to stay strong for the group but privately questions his own decisions and courage. Jon Bernthal is at times a bit heavy-handed with his performance as Shane, Rick’s best friend who while Rick was in a coma for 6 months during the uprising of the zombies saved and began an affair with Rick’s wife, Lori. Seasoned character actor Jeffery DeMunn is one of the casting highlights in the series as Dale Horvath, the retired, profound, observant, elder handy man in the group. Dale’s one goal is to keep the group together and alive for as long as he can.
The superb make-up on the actors portraying the zombies is first-rate, and the zombie animatronics are worthy of an Emmy. Be warned: this show is not for the squeamish due to all the gory special effects and zombie attacks.
There are a few weaknesses in The Walking Dead season two, episode one (“What Lies Ahead”) that prevent it from being a truly suspenseful, engaging episode of the series. The first is with the pacing which at times slows to a crawl and has characters discussing and debating issues which would normally be shelved for a safer and quieter time. The first half of the episode has tight pacing with tense and suspenseful scenes on the highway. The band of survivors hide from the zombies while a few battle some of the undead. During the second half, however, the writers seem to forget about the urgency to find the little missing girl by having the characters take way too many breaks and by having personal conversations about leaving the group, who should have firearms, etc. The three way love triangle between Rick, Lori and Shane feels old and tired as well, as does the dialogue between Lori and Shane. It’s during these scenes that the horror/thriller series turns into a melodramatic soap opera and all suspense and tension vanishes.
Scary and extremely gory, The Walking Dead is an uneven, at times gripping zombie thriller which steals, or if you prefer “borrows,” plot lines and scenes from other big screen zombie films and effectively recreates them for the small screen. If the viewer is a fan of the genre, he or she will find it very entertaining. If not, make sure to quickly change the channel before the zombies attack.
GRADE: B-
The Walking Dead season two episode one premiered on October 16, 2011 on AMC.
This weekend New York Comic Con attendees were treated to an appearance by a few of the cast members of The Avengers (Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Tom Hiddleston, Cobie Smulders, and Clark Gregg) as well as new footage from the 2012 star-studded, superhero-packed action film. And in this backstage interview courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures and Marvel, Tom Hiddleston talks about being a part of The Avengers and working with actors he admires.
The Plot: Marvel’s The Avengers is the Super Hero team up of a lifetime, featuring iconic Marvel Super Heroes Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye and Black Widow. When an unexpected enemy emerges that threatens global safety and security, Nick Fury, Director of the international peacekeeping agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D., finds himself in need of a team to pull the world back from the brink of disaster. Spanning the globe, a daring recruitment effort begins.
