Pyper Braun as Alice in ‘Imaginary’ (Photo Credit: Parrish Lewis / Lionsgate)
At first glance, it would seem as if Blumhouse’s new horror movie Imaginary is just another killer doll movie along the lines of Child’s Play or Annabelle. And after a watch, that’s pretty much what it is. But with a few twists.
Imaginary is about a children’s book author/illustrator named Jessica (DeWanda Wise from Jurassic World Dominion) who moves into her childhood home with her husband, Max (The Walking Dead’s Tom Payne), and his two girls, the teenaged Taylor (Monarch’s Taegen Burns) and the younger Alice (Desperation Road’s Pyper Braun). Lonely in her new place, Alice immediately makes an imaginary friend named Chauncey who takes the form of a cute little teddy bear. But there’s more to Chauncey than meets the eye – and he has history with Jessica.
Directed by Jeff Wadlow (Fantasy Island, Truth or Dare) from a screenplay he wrote with Greg Erb and Jason Oremland (the pair who wrote Playmobil: The Movie and Monster High: The Movie), Imaginary evokes both the wonder of childhood naïveté and the horrors that can come from it. It leans heavily on a lot of the same age-old horror tropes as every other Blumhouse movie, but it also brings some freshness to the game. The uncertainty as to whether or not Chauncey is, in fact, real or whether he is just a figment of Alice’s (and, by extension, Jessica’s) imagination is a key component of the story. The plot is full of surprises, and they keep coming even after the audience thinks that they’ve got it all figured out.
It’s no wonder that Imaginary is being billed as “from the producers of Five Nights at Freddy’s and M3GAN.” It deals with much of the same subject matter. Not only does Imaginary feature the coming alive of a kid’s toy, but it also confronts dealing with grief and childhood trauma on both the child and adult side. Everyone in the movie seems to be damaged, and that’s what makes them vulnerable to Chauncey and his deviousness. Some of this damage is left unexplored, which leads to the characters feeling a bit hollow, but that’s nothing new with horror movies.
Imaginary is an engaging and compelling little movie. At least, it is until the third act. The surprises do keep coming in the later stages of the film, but they’re brought about by heavy-handed exposition delivered by the stereotypical nosey neighbor (played by Betty Buckley from the original Carrie). When the twists are provided by verbal narration instead of visual imagery, they lose most of their punch. They’re still surprising, but there’s not as much impact.
That’s not the only problem with the movie’s climax. Like many horror movies, Imaginary takes a great premise and doesn’t quite stick the landing with it. It goes from a tense exercise in childhood paranoia (“is this bear really doing all of these things?”) to a full-blown alternate universe exploration movie (borderline Insidious territory). The movie’s plot gets too big for its own good, and Waddle and company have trouble reeling it back in.
For his part, Chauncey is a fun horror movie villain. Without spoiling anything, he’s a shape-shifter – he doesn’t just stay a cute little teddy bear for the whole movie. The way that Waddle presents him is very creepy, seemingly altering the bear’s facial expressions just enough to make the viewer wonder if the cute face is changing or if it’s all “imaginary.” There’s a subtlety to Chauncey that has the potential to make children afraid of teddy bears in the same way that Poltergeist made them afraid of clown dolls.
For what it’s worth, Blumhouse will keep on pumping out horror movies regardless of any and all misfires that they have. And Imaginary isn’t quite a misfire, but it’s not a direct hit, either. In the grand scheme of things, it will be remembered at best as a blip on Blumhouse’s radar, just another title on the resume in their quest for fright-flick domination.
GRADE: C+
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for some violent content, language, and drug material
Release Date: March 8, 2024
Running Time: 1 hour 44 minutes
The affable, karate-chopping, dumpling-loving panda Po is back for his next big challenge – to find and train his replacement – in DreamWorks Animation’s Kung Fu Panda 4, the latest addition to its animated film franchise. As the film opens, Po (voiced by Jack Black) is in the middle of taking down a new big baddie from the sea and saving some residents of the Valley of Peace. After triumphantly capturing the giant sea creature, Po is once again cheered and applauded.
Returning home to help his two dads, Ping (voiced by James Hong) and Li (voiced by Bryan Cranston), with their restaurant, Po hears about a new threat to the valley. A sorceress called The Chameleon (voiced by Viola Davis), because she’s a small lizard that can shapeshift into any creature, is determined to wreak havoc on the town. Before Po can even ask questions, he’s met by Master Shifu (voiced by Dustin Hoffman) who tells him he’s now ready to take the next step on his journey. “You will advance to Spiritual Leader of the Valley of Peace,” says Shifu, and that means he must pick a successor to become the new Dragon Warrior.
Po isn’t eager to retire as the protector of the valley and informs Master Shifu that Kung Fu is all he knows and he’s not ready to stop being a hero. However, Shifu insists that he work to find his inner peace and prepare to pick his replacement.
While Po is struggling with this new step, he encounters a sly, quick-witted thief – a gray fox named Zhen (voiced by Awkwafina) – attempting to steal his staff of wisdom. After capturing her, she offers to lead him to where the Chameleon is hiding so he can stop her from conquering the valley. Excited to have one last adventure and one last villain to defeat, Po takes Zhen up on her offer and the unlikely pair head out to stop the Chameleon.
Even with a strong voice cast and impressive CGI animation, Kung Fu Panda 4 is without a doubt the weakest installment in the film franchise, lacking the heart and humor of the first three films. It’s a loud and frantic film that replaces smart wit and humor with juvenile dumb jokes and slapstick. Worst yet, the film introduces nothing new and exciting to the series.
Jack Black once again impresses as the voice of Po, the Kung Fu warrior and protector of the Peaceful Valley. It’s hard to imagine anyone else ever being the voice of Po. Black has made him the goofy, kind, and lovable panda that the audience cheers on and laughs with.
Awkwafina voices Zehn, the sly fox who may or may not be a new ally to Po, and portrays her as a slick and mistrusting Artful Dodger. Unfortunately, this character isn’t that original or funny and is a terrible replacement for the Furious Five, who are missing in this adventure. Their absence is definitely felt. A big part of the success of the first three films was all the unique personalities of the five interacting with Po and eventually becoming his warrior buddies.
Missing the spirit, humor, and creativity of the earlier films, as well as some beloved key characters, Kung Fu Panda 4 is a perfect example of a film franchise running out of steam and ideas.
GRADE: C
MPAA Rating: PG for mild violence, martial arts action, scary images, and some mild rude humor
Running Time: 1 hour 34 minutes
Release Date: March 8, 2024
Directed By: Mike Mitchell and co-directed by Stephanie Ma Stine
Jay and Sam really need Isaac’s help on CBS’s Ghosts season three episode five. Directed by Trent O’Donnell from a script by Kira Kalush, episode five – “The Silent Partner” – will air on Thursday, March 14, 2024 at 8:30pm ET/PT.
Rose McIver stars as Sam, Utkarsh Ambudkar is Jay, Brandon Scott Jones is Isaac, and Richie Moriarty is Pete. Danielle Pinnock plays Alberta, Asher Grodman is Trevor, Román Zaragoza is Sasappis, Rebecca Wisocky plays Hetty, and Devan Chandler Long stars as Thorfinn.
Also, it appears we’ll be welcoming back our favorite dead hippie this season. Apparently, Flower (Sheila Carrasco) didn’t get sucked off and instead has been trapped in a well on the property for a month! Also, the ghost count was upped by one freshly deceased spirit as Carol (Caroline Aaron), Pete’s ex, choked on a donut hole and died during Sam and Jay’s annual Halloween party. Hilarity, of course, ensued.
“The Silent Partner” Plot: A big investor backs out of Sam and Jay’s restaurant, leaving them to turn to the one ghost who has money – Isaac.
Ghosts is a single-camera comedy about Samantha (Sam) and Jay, a cheerful freelance journalist and up-and-coming chef from the city, respectively, who threw both caution and money to the wind when they decided to convert Woodstone Mansion, which Sam in inherited, into a bed & breakfast – only to find it was inhabited by the many spirits of deceased residents who now call it home.
The departed souls are a close-knit, eclectic group that includes a saucy Prohibition-era lounge singer (Danielle Pinnock); a pompous 18th-century militiaman (Brandon Scott Jones); an overly upbeat ‘80s scout troop leader (Richie Moriarty); a cod-obsessed Viking explorer from 1009 (Devon Chandler Long); a slick ‘90s finance bro (Asher Grodman); a sarcastic and witty native from the 16th-century (Román Zaragoza); and a society woman and wife of a 19th-century robber baron who is Sam’s ancestor (Rebecca Wisocky), to name a few. The opening of the B&B has been a source of intrigue, anxiety and curiosity among the spirits, but they will gladly put up with the commotion as long as they can continue to interact with a living inhabitant.
The final trailer for Netflix’s 3 Body Problem teases that “they” are coming and reveals the discovery in the ’70s of something called the “Wow” signal. There’s a lot going on in the final trailer, yet it still manages to pull off being as vague as possible. If you haven’t read Liu Cixin’s 3 Body Problem book trilogy, the trailer will hint at what’s in store without spoiling the experience.
Game of Thrones‘ David Benioff and D.B. Weiss and True Blood‘s Alexander Woo created the series and serve as writers, showrunners, and executive producers. Netflix’s Peter Friedlander, Vice President of Scripted Series, encouraged Benioff and Weiss to read the trilogy back in 2019, and both were immediately hooked.
“Making Game of Thrones was the greatest experience of our lives. But we spent 10 solid years living in that fictional world, so we wanted something that presented a new set of challenges on every level, and this story really does. It’s still genre storytelling — but under that large umbrella, it’s about as far away as you can get from what we’d just done on Thrones. That’s where both the excitement and the fear have come from; you’re doing something new, so you need to start over,” explained Weiss. “You can’t use the template that you used before and just plug new characters and dialogue and story into it. Even the tone is different; the look of it is different. Everything about this show is different.”
Discussing adapting Cixin’s bestselling trilogy, Benioff said, “This is a genre that’s pretty well-trodden, as fantasy was before George R.R. Martin started writing Games of Thrones — there had been thousands of fantasy books about dragons and magic, but George figured out a way to make it fresh. Part of that was coming up with really strong characters.
Benioff continued, “The novels took science fiction and merged heavy, practical science with wildly imaginative spectacle, which is hard to do, but also feels new and fresh. We’re trying to do something similar with this adaptation; it’s the story of an impending threat, but it’s tethered by and centered around this core group of characters. A lot of people who said, ‘I don’t like fantasy,’ became big fans of Game of Thrones. And our hope is that we’ll get a lot of people who normally are not into science fiction to love 3 Body Problem.”
Joining Weiss, Benioff, and Woo as executive producers on the first season are Bernadette Caulfield, Rian Johnson, Ram Bergman, Nena Rodrigue, Qi Lin, Jilong Zhao, Xiaosong Gao, Lauren Ma, Brad Pitt, Jeremy Kleiner, Dede Gardner, Rosamund Pike, and Robie Uniacke. Directors include Derek Tsang, Andrew Stanton, Jeremy Podeswa, and Minkie Spiro.
The Plot: “A young woman’s fateful decision in 1960s China reverberates across space and time into the present day. When the laws of nature inexplicably unravel before their eyes, a close-knit group of brilliant scientists join forces with an unorthodox detective to confront the greatest threat in humanity’s history.”
The Cast: Bringing the adaptation to life are Jovan Adepo as Saul Durand, John Bradley as Jack Rooney, Rosalind Chao as Ye Wenjie, Liam Cunningham as Thomas Wade, and Eiza González as Auggie Salazar. Jess Hong plays Jin Cheng, Marlo Kelly is Tatiana, Alex Sharp is Will Downing, Sea Shimooka is Sophon, Zine Tseng is Young Ye Wenjie, Saamer Usmani plays Raj Varma, Benedict Wong stars as Da Shi, and Jonathan Pryce is Mike Evans.
The eight-episode season premieres on Netflix on March 21, 2024.
Maya Rudolph returns as Molly Wells, a billionaire divorcee who dedicates herself to doing good with her money, in the season two trailer for Apple TV+’s Loot. The trailer shows Molly’s all about getting in touch with herself this season, helping her friends and those in need, and reacting to the sudden appearance of Benjamin Bratt the way most single women would.
Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, Nat Faxon, Ron Funches, and Joel Kim Booster return for season two, with Bratt, Ana Gasteyer, and O-T Fagbenle guest starring. Series creators Alan Yang and Matt Hubbard write and executive produce the critically acclaimed comedy. Additional executive producers include Rudolph, Danielle Renfrew Behrens, Dave Becky of 3 Arts, and Natasha Lyonne.
Season two premieres on April 3, 2024 with the release of the first two episodes. New episodes will stream on Wednesdays.
Maya Rudolph and Joel Kim Booster in ‘Loot’ season 2 (Photo Credit: Apple TV+)
The Loot Season 2 Plot, Courtesy of Apple TV+:
Loot season two kicks off a year after Molly Wells (Rudolph) settles her very public divorce from tech billionaire John Novak (Adam Scott), and we find her thriving in her role as the head of her philanthropic organization, the Wells Foundation. Focused mainly on her charity work, Molly has sworn off any new relationships with men and embarks on a wellness journey. Fabulously single but not particularly independent, Molly keeps her trusty assistant Nicholas (Booster) by her side. He diligently caters to her every whim … and occasionally feeds her a kale smoothie spiked with gin.
Sofia Salinas (Rodriguez), the no-nonsense executive director of the Wells Foundation, continues to run things with compassionate efficiency, but her all-business ethos is thrown for a loop when she meets Molly’s charismatic architect friend Isaac (O-T Fagbenle). The bromance between Howard (Funches) and Nicholas also continues to flourish as they support each other in their endeavors both inside and outside the workplace.
Meanwhile, Arthur (Faxon) has moved past his feelings for Molly and has adopted a new devil-may-care attitude on life, a change encapsulated by a very lame leather bracelet. The Wells Foundation team, including Rhonda (Meagen Fay) and Ainsley (Stephanie Styles), must pull together as co-workers and friends as Molly strives to publicly live up to her promise of giving away all of her vast fortune.
The task force turns their attention to murdered indigenous women on CBS’s FBI: Most Wanted season five episode four. Directed by Jean De Segonzac from a script by Wendy West, episode four – “Hollow” – will air on Tuesday, March 12, 2024 at 10pm ET/PT.
Season five stars Dylan McDermott as Supervisory Special Agent Remy Scott, Roxy Sternberg as Special Agent Sheryll Barnes, Keisha Castle-Hughes as Special Agent Hana Gibson, Edwin Hodge as Special Agent Ray Cannon, and Shantel VanSanten as Special Agent Nina Chase.
“Hollow” Plot: The Fugitive Task Force heads upstate to assist in a search for missing and murdered Indigenous women and hunt down the serial killer responsible. Meanwhile, Barnes struggles to find time to bond with her wife.
From Emmy Award winner Dick Wolf, FBI: Most Wanted is a high-stakes drama that focuses on the Fugitive Task Force, an elite unit that relentlessly pursues and captures the notorious criminals on the Bureau’s Most Wanted list. The team’s charming but formidable leader is Supervisory Special Agent Remy Scott, who started his career in the New York FBI field office before rising through the ranks of the Bureau in Philadelphia and Las Vegas.
The team includes Special Agent Sheryll Barnes, a former NYPD detective and forensics expert who is raising two young children with her wife; Special Agent Hana Gibson, a gifted millennial computer whiz with a sharp wit and mad hacking skills; Special Agent Ray Cannon, who is a former New Orleans cop-turned-junior detective and worked Violent Crimes in Albany after following in his retired FBI agent father’s footsteps.
The newest member of the Fugitive Task Force is well-seasoned Special Agent Nina Chase who, most recently, worked assorted cases with the New York office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Originally from the Houston field office where she specialized in undercover work, Nina is a standout agent who is skilled with cars and has a penchant for driving fast. Always in the field and always on the run, FBI: Most Wanted is a weekly adrenaline shot about the thrill of the chase.
New emotions are introduced and old emotions are suppressed in the official trailer for Pixar’s Inside Out 2. The trailer was accompanied by details on the new characters joining the fun inside Riley’s head for the sequel.
Maya Hawke as Anxiety: A bundle of frazzled energy, Anxiety enthusiastically ensures Riley’s prepared for every possible negative outcome.
Ayo Edebiri as Envy: Envy may be small, but she sure knows what she wants. She’s perpetually jealous of everything everyone else has, and she’s not afraid to pine over it.
Adèle Exarchopoulos as Ennui: Ennui couldn’t care less. Bored and lethargic with a well-practiced eye-roll, Ennui adds the perfect amount of teenage apathy to Riley’s personality when she feels like it.
Paul Walter Hauser as Embarrassment: Embarrassment likes to lay low, which isn’t easy for this burly guy with a bright blush-pink complexion.
The newcomers join returning voice cast members Amy Poehler as Joy, Lewis Black as Anger, Phyllis Smith as Sadness, Diane Lane as Riley’s mom, and Kyle MacLachlan as Riley’s dad. Mindy Kaling and Bill Hader voiced Disgust and Fear in the original film, however, Liza Lapira is taking over as Disgust and Tony Hale voices Fear in the sequel.
Additional voice cast members include Lilimar, Sumayyah Nuriddin-Green, Grace Lu, Yvette Nicole Brown, Sarayu Blue, Flea, Ron Funches, Dave Goelz, and James Austin Johnson. Bobby Moynihan, Frank Oz, Paula Pell, Paula Poundstone, John Ratzenberger, Kendall Coyne Schofield, June Squibb, Kirk Thatcher and Yong Yea also lend their voices to the animated sequel.
“Disney and Pixar’s Inside Out 2 returns to the mind of newly minted teenager Riley (Kensington Tallman) just as headquarters is undergoing a sudden demolition to make room for something entirely unexpected: new Emotions! Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust, who’ve long been running a successful operation by all accounts, aren’t sure how to feel when Anxiety shows up. And it looks like she’s not alone,” reads Pixar’s synopsis.
Inside Out 2, directed by Kelsey Mann, will open in theaters on June 14, 2024.
Hulu’s unveiled the first official photos from Under the Bridge, an upcoming limited series starring Oscar nominee Lily Gladstone (Killers of the Flower Moon) and Emmy nominee Riley Keough (Daisy Jones & The Six). The eight-episode series dives into the murder of Reena Virk in 1997 as documented in Rebecca Godfrey’s Under the Bridge: The True Story of the Murder of Reena Virk, published in 2005.
The first batch of photos feature series stars Gladstone, Keough, Chloe Guidry, Izzy G, Vritika Gupta, Aiyana Goodfellow, Javon Walton, Archie Panjabi and Ezra Faroque Khan. Quinn Shephard adapted Godfrey’s book and serves as an executive producer. Additional executive producers include Keough, Gina Gammell, Samir Mehta, Liz Tigelaar, Stacey Silverman, Shephard, Tara Duncan, and author Godfrey (posthumously).
Geeta Patel directs and executive produces.
“Under the Bridge is based on acclaimed author Rebecca Godfrey’s book about the 1997 true story of fourteen-year old Reena Virk (Gupta) who went to join friends at a party and never returned home,” reads Hulu’s synopsis. “Through the eyes of Godfrey (Keough) and a local police officer (Gladstone), the series takes us into the hidden world of the young girls accused of the murder — revealing startling truths about the unlikely killer.”
Under the Bridge premieres on April l7, 2024 with the release of the first two episodes. New episodes arrive on Wednesdays.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning‘s five nominations came in the Best Action Movie, Best Actor in an Action Movie (Tom Cruise), and Best Actress in an Action Movie (Hayley Atwell, Rebecca Ferguson, and Pom Klementieff) categories.
The Critics Choice Super Awards recognize superhero, science fiction/fantasy, horror, and action films and television series, honoring the best in genres that are normally ignored by awards organizations. “The Super Awards consistently shine a bright light on the outstanding work being done in genre cinema and television,” said Sean O’Connell, CCA Director of the Super Awards. “We were blown away by the performances and craftsmanship that went into the slate of films and series recognized this year. These nominations represent the absolute best in popular culture, and we’re excited to see which winners emerge.”
Winners will be announced on Thursday, April 4, 2024.
Tom Cruise and Hayley Atwell in ‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One’ from Paramount Pictures and Skydance
FILM NOMINATIONS FOR THE 4TH ANNUAL CRITICS CHOICE SUPER AWARDS
BEST ACTION MOVIE
Extraction 2
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
John Wick: Chapter 4
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning
Sisu
BEST ACTOR IN AN ACTION MOVIE
Tom Cruise – Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning
Chris Hemsworth – Extraction 2
Keanu Reeves – John Wick: Chapter 4
Denzel Washington – The Equalizer 3
Donnie Yen – John Wick: Chapter 4
BEST ACTRESS IN AN ACTION MOVIE
Hayley Atwell – Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning
Rebecca Ferguson – Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning
Priya Kansara – Polite Society
Pom Klementieff – Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning
Rina Sawayama – John Wick: Chapter 4
BEST SUPERHERO MOVIE*
Blue Beetle
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Nimona
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
BEST ACTOR IN A SUPERHERO MOVIE*
Bradley Cooper – Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Taron Egerton – Tetris
Michael Fassbender – The Killer
Xolo Maridueña – Blue Beetle
Shameik Moore – Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPERHERO MOVIE*
Ayo Edebiri – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
Chloë Grace Moretz – Nimona
Zoe Saldaña – Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Hailee Steinfeld – Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Iman Vellani – The Marvels
BEST HORROR MOVIE
Evil Dead Rise
M3GAN
Scream VI
Talk to Me
When Evil Lurks
BEST ACTOR IN A HORROR MOVIE
Dave Bautista – Knock at the Cabin
Tobin Bell – Saw X
Nicolas Cage – Dream Scenario
Joaquin Phoenix – Beau Is Afraid
Andrew Scott – All of Us Strangers
BEST ACTRESS IN A HORROR MOVIE
Amie Donald and Jenna Davis – M3GAN
Mia Goth – Infinity Pool
Jenna Ortega – Scream VI
Alyssa Sutherland – Evil Dead Rise
Sophie Wilde – Talk to Me
BEST SCIENCE FICTION/FANTASY MOVIE
Asteroid City
The Boy and the Heron
The Creator
Godzilla Minus One
Poor Things
BEST ACTOR IN A SCIENCE FICTION/FANTASY MOVIE
Timothée Chalamet – Wonka
Willem Dafoe – Poor Things
Ryunosuke Kamiki – Godzilla Minus One
Chris Pine – Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
Mark Ruffalo – Poor Things
BEST ACTRESS IN A SCIENCE FICTION/FANTASY MOVIE
Olivia Colman – Wonka
Kaitlyn Dever – No One Will Save You
Minami Hamabe – Godzilla Minus One
Emma Stone – Poor Things
Madeleine Yuna Voyles – The Creator
BEST VILLAIN IN A MOVIE
Godzilla – Godzilla Minus One
Chukwudi Iwuji – Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
M3GAN – M3GAN
Jason Momoa – Fast X
Alyssa Sutherland – Evil Dead Rise
BEST ACTION SERIES, LIMITED SERIES OR MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE
9-1-1
Fire Country
The Night Agent
Obliterated
Reacher
Special Ops: Lioness
Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan
Warrior
BEST ACTOR IN AN ACTION SERIES, LIMITED SERIES OR MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE
Gabriel Basso – The Night Agent
Idris Elba – Hijack
Andrew Koji – Warrior
John Krasinski – Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan
Rob Lowe – 9-1-1: Lone Star
Alan Ritchson – Reacher
BEST ACTRESS IN AN ACTION SERIES, LIMITED SERIES OR MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE
Angela Bassett – 9-1-1
Luciane Buchanan – The Night Agent
Priyanka Chopra Jonas – Citadel
Queen Latifah – The Equalizer
Zoe Saldaña – Special Ops: Lioness
Maria Sten – Reacher
BEST SUPERHERO SERIES, LIMITED SERIES OR MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE*
Ahsoka
American Born Chinese
The Flash
Gen V The Last of Us
Loki
Superman & Lois
The Walking Dead: Dead City
BEST ACTOR IN A SUPERHERO SERIES, LIMITED SERIES OR MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE*
Matt Bomer – Doom Patrol
Tom Hiddleston – Loki
Jeffrey Dean Morgan – The Walking Dead: Dead City
Pedro Pascal – The Last of Us
Ke Huy Quan – Loki
Ben Wang – American Born Chinese
BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPERHERO SERIES, LIMITED SERIES OR MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE*
Lizze Broadway – Gen V
Rosario Dawson – Ahsoka
Sophia Di Martino – Loki
Bella Ramsey – The Last of Us
Jaz Sinclair – Gen V
Michelle Yeoh – American Born Chinese
BEST HORROR SERIES, LIMITED SERIES OR MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE
The Fall of the House of Usher
Ghosts
The Last of Us
Servant
Swarm
The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon
What We Do in the Shadows
Yellowjackets
BEST ACTOR IN A HORROR SERIES, LIMITED SERIES OR MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE
Zach Gilford – The Fall of the House of Usher
Bruce Greenwood – The Fall of the House of Usher
Brandon Scott Jones – Ghosts
Jeffrey Dean Morgan – The Walking Dead: Dead City
Pedro Pascal – The Last of Us
Norman Reedus – The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon
BEST ACTRESS IN A HORROR SERIES, LIMITED SERIES OR MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE
Dominique Fishback – Swarm
Carla Gugino – The Fall of the House of Usher
Melanie Lynskey – Yellowjackets
Justina Machado – The Horror of Dolores Roach
Rose McIver – Ghosts
Bella Ramsey – The Last of Us
BEST SCIENCE FICTION / FANTASY SERIES, LIMITED SERIES OR MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE
Ahsoka
American Born Chinese
Black Mirror: Joan Is Awful
Doctor Who: 60th Anniversary Specials
For All Mankind
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters
Star Trek: Picard
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
BEST ACTOR IN A SCIENCE FICTION / FANTASY SERIES, LIMITED SERIES OR MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE
Ncuti Gatwa – Doctor Who: 60th Anniversary Specials
Jharrel Jerome – I’m a Virgo
Anson Mount – Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
Kurt Russell – Monarch: Legacy of Monsters
Todd Stashwick – Star Trek: Picard
Patrick Stewart – Star Trek: Picard
BEST ACTRESS IN A SCIENCE FICTION / FANTASY SERIES, LIMITED SERIES OR MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE
Rosario Dawson – Ahsoka
Betty Gilpin – Mrs. Davis
Celia Rose Gooding – Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
Annie Murphy – Black Mirror: Joan Is Awful
Jeri Ryan – Star Trek: Picard
Michelle Yeoh – American Born Chinese
BEST VILLAIN IN A SERIES, LIMITED SERIES OR MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE
Carla Gugino – The Fall of the House of Usher
Neil Patrick Harris – Doctor Who: 60th Anniversary Specials
Melanie Lynskey – The Last of Us
Mary McDonnell – The Fall of the House of Usher
Lars Mikkelsen – Ahsoka
Amanda Plummer – Star Trek: Picard
* Superhero categories also include Comic Book and Video Game Inspired films and television series
Prime Video’s official trailer for Fallout, based on the wildly popular video game series, opens with a dapper-looking Walton Goggins promoting nuclear fallout shelters known as Vaults. However, Goggins loses his spiffy attire as the trailer continues, transforming into The Ghoul in what’s become a post-apocalyptic hellscape known as the Wasteland.
The trailer also provides an extended look at Lucy, a naïve Vault Dweller who’s shocked to discover people are living outside of the safety of shelters, and Maximus, a member of the Brotherhood of Steel. There’s plenty of action, comedy, and chaos in the trailer, capped off by a wink at the end.
Prime Video hosted a press conference prior to the trailer’s online debut with series stars Ella Purnell (Yellowjackets) and Aaron Moten (Emancipation). They were joined executive producers/showrunners Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Graham Wagner, executive producer/director Jonathan Nolan, and executive producer Todd Howard from Bethesda Game Studios to discuss bringing the world of Fallout to life in the series, which will premiere with the release of the entire season on April 11, 2024.
Ella Purnell as Lucy in ‘Fallout’ (Photo Courtesy of Prime Video)
FALLOUT PRESS CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS:
On Adapting the Popular Video Game into a Series:
Jonathan Nolan: “I think it started, for me, with Fallout 3, which devoured about a year of my life. You know, I was an aspiring young writer at that point. It almost derailed my entire career. It’s so ludicrously playable and fun. No, I mean, seriously, the games were just incredible.
It’s such a rare thing and such an unbelievable thing – and I’ve gotten to do it twice in my career – to take something that you love and get a chance to play in that universe, to create your own version, I guess, of that universe. The first go-round for me was Batman, and this time with Fallout, a game that I absolutely love…a series of games that I absolutely loved. About five years ago, Todd and I went and had lunch together – it was a bit of a fanning-out moment for me – and just started talking about the possibilities of how you could take this incredible universe.
I mean, I think one of the things that’s so powerful about the Fallout series is that every game is a little different. Different characters, a different setting, and a different look into this extraordinary universe. And so, we came out of that lunch with a handshake deal that we were going to try to make this work.”
On Where the Series Fits into the Fallout Universe:
Graham Wagner: “It’s set in the world of Fallout, but it’s a new story that comes, sort of, after the events we’ve seen. So, the show is built on like 25 years of creativity and thinking and building. And we sort of thought the best thing to do is to continue that versus retread it, because that’s sort of what has worked with Fallout over the years. It’s traded hands, it’s changed, it’s been altered, and it’s a living thing. And yeah, we kind of felt like we ought to take a swing at trying to build a new piece on top of all of that.”
Power Suit and Aaron Moten (Maximus) in ‘Fallout’ (Photo Courtesy of Prime Video)
On Playing Lucy, Maximus, and The Ghoul:
Ella Purnell: “Lucy is a Vault Dweller, and what excited me about playing her was that she is so innocent and so naïve and obviously very privileged as well. […]It was exciting for me to start in that place. You know, she’s essentially a newborn baby. She hasn’t had any real-life experiences. All she knows is what she was taught and what she’s read in books that she has in the Vault. It’s limited. And then you put her on the Wasteland, and, you know, what happens? What happens with that? That’s really exciting for me to start in.”
Aaron Moten: “I play Maximus. He’s part of the Brotherhood of Steel. I guess, yeah, what excited me was a little bit of what Ella’s talking about. It’s like, you know, that starting place, and where you go from there. A person who’s lived in the Wasteland for his entire life and he has to have a certain type of moral ambiguity that is forced upon him, I think, living in the world that he lives in and where you go from there. How you hold on to what is your unique, pure self, and how that changes, and how you discover what it is that you want.”
(Walton Goggins wasn’t able to join the press conference live but did record a video discussing his character.)
Walton Goggins: “The Ghoul is, in some ways, the poet Virgil in Dante’s Inferno. He’s the guide, if you will, through this irradiated hellscape that we find ourselves in in this post-apocalyptic world. He is a bounty hunter – an iconic bounty hunter. He is pragmatic, he is ruthless, he has his own set of moral codes, and he has a wicked sense of humor. (Laughing) Much like me.
No, he’s a very, very, very complicated guy, and to understand him, you have to understand the person that he was before the war. He had a name. His name was Cooper Howard, and he was a vastly different person than the ghoul that you’ve seen so far.
Over the course of the show, through his experience back in the world before the nuclear fallout, you will understand how the world was. And he is the bridge between both these worlds. And I hope you enjoy it.”
Walton Goggins as The Ghoul (Photo Courtesy of Prime Video)
On Creating the World of Fallout:
Jonathan Nolan: “We talked a lot about the power armor. The tone was a big thing. I think the tone was maybe the most challenging and the most intimidating thing for me. But working with Geneva and Graham, you knew that we were going to be in a really good place with that incredibly ambitious story.
On a technical level, the scope of the world and the power armor, in particular, was one of those things you go, ‘Oh, how on earth are we going to do that?’ But we got there.”
On Fallout’s Tone and the Series’ Themes:
Geneva Robertson-Dworet: “I think it’s not just the incredible tone, which is, as people have talked about, this unbelievable blend of action and comedy and just weirdness. But I think it’s, you know, these incredibly prescient themes, factionalism being maybe the most obvious. When you play the game Fallout, you go from settlement to settlement or from faction to faction. And that was something that we were really excited to manifest with our heroes. You know, Ella being the Vault Dweller, Aaron being the Brotherhood of Steel member, and Walton being sort of the character that nobody really cares about – the ghouls in the Wasteland. But in a way that makes them, of course, the most empathetic.”
Jonathan Nolan: “I think you also have a moment that we’re in right now in which the world, you know, it seems to be evermore frightening and dour. And so, an opportunity for us to work on a show that gets to look that in the eye, right, and we get to talk about the end of the world, but to do it with a sense of humor. I think, honestly, there’s a thread of optimism woven into the show as well, that I think for us is a bit of expiation to be able to work on this every day.”
Ella Purnell as Lucy in ‘Fallout’ (Photo Courtesy of Prime Video)
On Life on the Fallout Set:
Aaron Moten: “Every day on set was a new, fun challenge. And it’s super exciting as an actor, I think, to get the opportunity to show up to work to do outrageous things. You know, I think we spend a lot of time doing things that are normal or there’s a mundaneality to them. You know what I mean? And we spend a lot of time doing that at work. So, to get to trudge around the Wasteland with the power armor by my side is an experience in itself. And getting to see our stunt performer, Adam, in the full garb, and seeing the seas of people and crew on sets part for him…you know, that practical realness to it is really exciting.”
Ella Purnell: “Honestly, exactly what Aaron said. It was so much fun working on this show. Every shoot is hard. Not every shoot is fun, and this one was just so fun for an actor. No two days were the same. Every prop, every costume, every location, every set was just bonkers.
And, you know, one of the joys of working with Jonah is he loves to do everything as much as he can for real. So, you’re not working with that much greenscreen or dudes in green leotards. You get to really work with practicals. And that you don’t have to imagine so much. It’s real, and you can really do it. And [it was] just like a kid in a candy store, honestly. So much fun.”
