TCAs, Sundance, Movies I've Seen...
Four. More. Years!
Make it worth our while, Mr. President
~The Winter TCAs have come to a close and there wasn’t much that was revelatory that came out of it. Mark Pedowitz, President of the CW. Unlike years past, this one wasn’t attended by actors from the net’s shows but strictly an executive session.
Things announced during the session? That in April there will be a backdoor ::hee:: pilot in “The Vampire Diaries” for the potential spinoff featuring the Originals. This is good and bad news: good news because that means the Originals can stop hijacking the show and bad because who the hell wants a show about those irritating Originals? Phoebe Tonkins who is currently in an arc on TVD will be in the pilot which will feature on Klaus moving to New Orleans and meeting a human who learns about the supernatural. So “The Vampire Diaries” but set in New Orleans. Julie Plec who is shepherding the backdoor pilot has said that if the pilot does go to series it’s likely that Caroline Dries, a SV writing staff alum (she wrote “Fracture”, “Nemesis” and other good Clex eps) will become TVD showrunner.
*Pedowitz praised “Beauty and the Beast” but oddly said it was on pace with “The Secret Circle”….which was cancelled after its first season. When asked to clarify the comparison, Pedowitz explained that unlike TSC, “Beauty and the Beast” has greater growth potential especially with the romance between Cat and Vincent. Does this mean he wasn’t buying my Royal Fierceness’ romance with Brit Robertson?!!
*The CW is casting the Wonder Woman project (three days after the panel it was reported that the frontrunner is Amy Manson who had a recurring role in S3 of the UK version of “Being Human” as Daisy. The vampire who helps Mitchell fall off the blood wagon.
The rub? There’s no script just yet.
If all goes well we’ll get a Wonder Woman series, but the stop asking for Batman on the CW. Pedowitz says that the network works closely with WB to explore the existing DC universe but there are still constraints so no, no Batman.
*"Nothing's been announced yet. No determination's been made," is what Pedowitz said about SPN being picked up for a ninth season, but he praised the show for gaining back fans from the move from Friday night. From various takes on the panel it seems that SPN S9 is on its way to being a lock. I don’t care about S9 I just don’t want it to go to 10. Do S9! Go on, do a musical episode, do a body switching ep where Sam goes into Dean and tries to keep Cas from having sex with him. Go full gonzo, just don’t go to S10.
“Yeah, we get awards and still get to nail each other! Score!!”
At the TCAs Jensen caught up with his “Days of Our Lives” sibling Allison Sweeney.
*Years ago I talked to a former DOOL actor and they loved Jensen to death,like loved his dirty bathwater but hated Alison with the passion of which I hate CMM.
But the jokes on me, that fool is actually working! After being on the shelf for a while, his “Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia” will be released in February (dawnybee: Very curious. At the time he booked the role it was called “A Haunting in Georgia” after the TV special, just like “A Haunting in Connecticut”, but I guess they’re going the franchise route and keeping the story from “A Haunting in Georgia” and rolling it under the title of AhiC); he will (or maybe already has) appear in an episode of “Southland” and now this dude will costar in “A Madea Christmas” (this sounds like a joke, but it’s real life!) with Lisa Whelchel and Larry The Cable Guy.
This is what happens when you do a commerical with Diddy and Jesse Williams.
His cute puppy doesn’t deserve that jagoff as an owner
*The CW is building their brand online (they use this excuse when questions of their low ratings arise) so they’re very proud of their online shows like “Stupid Hype”, created by and starring “Hart of Dixies”s Wilson Bethel as a Vanilla Ice-esque rapper who is staging a comeback (they’ve also picked up another online project from Bethel). Pedowitz announced an animated webseries named “Gallery Mallory” which will feature Justin Hartley and Misha Collins. Keep being that boyfriend who won’t let their ex go, CW. I’m fine with it if it keeps Justin employed.
*Pedowitz was silent on the fates of my West Bev babies of “90210”. He did say that it is important for him that the network give fans “satisfactory conclusions for as many shows as possible” and that “fans deserves that sort of a gift”. The satisfactory conclusion also means a restrospective of the departing show such as what they did for “Gossip Girl”.
More CW News
*Young!Sam Winchester is blowing the CW pop-stand. Coming off of his turn in “We Bought a Zoo”, and in between his voicework as Jake in “Jake and The Never Land Pirates”, Colin Ford has just been cast in the pilot for the limited TV run adaptation of Stephen King’s “Under the Dome”.
Colin will play Joe in the series about a tale about a town being mysteriously sealed off from the rest of civilization by a transparent dome. Joe and the rest of the town has to survive the post-apocalyptic conditions this creates, but for Joe the matter is worse-his parents are outside the dome.
This is good news for Colin, but a SV alum got bad news. The pilot for Lifetime’s “The Secret Lives of Wives” is dead in the water. Callum Blue was cast to play the preacher husband of one of the wives.
Sorry Salli Richardson-Whitfield and Joe Flanigan. You won’t be spouses anymore.
*“Arrow” is turning into a “The Gates” reunion….as if anyone was asking for one. As if anyone remembers “The Gates”. “The Gates” was a short-lived ABC series about the supernatural goings on in a gated community and it starred Colton Haynes, Janina Gavankar and Paul Blackthorne: all who are on or will be appearing on “Arrow”. Blackthorne is a regular as Dinah Lance’s father,Janina will guest star in the episode “Vertigo” which features Seth Gabel (“Fringe”) as The Count, a big time drug dealer slanging a deadly drug.
He looks like Kiefer Sutherland in “The Lost Boys”
You’ll always be Jeremy Darling to me
Janina will play “McKenna Hall, a Starling City vice cop who knew Ollie pre-island” and is after The Count.
Colton will appear as Roy Harper, Oliver’s sister Thea’s delinquent boyfriend who runs afoul of Papa Lance.
Colton knows that a smart black purse is a perfect cincher to an ensemble
The execs of “Arrow” are fans of cult TV and obviously knows that the best way to get a ratings boost is to fish in those genre waters. The show has had BSG’s Tamoah Pennikett in an episode and has cast “Stargate” alum Ben Browder and BSG alum James Callis (as jewel thief Dodger) and other roles.
And while they recruited Colton after his departure from “Teen Wolf”, a friend of “Arrow”s is going to “Teen Wolf”. The planet named Zelda Williams (and girlfriend of “Arrow”s Colin Donnell) which actors from “Smallville”, “Teen Wolf” and “Games of Thrones” orbit will appear in an episode of “Teen Wolf”. Colton tweeted her his support saying that she’ll be spoiled by the great cast and that he misses them.
Zelda, Colin, Colton and Colton’s friend Ally Maki
~Total aside, but something I recently found out was that Sheriff Stilinski of “Teen Wolf” is married to the now deceased Mayor Lockwood of “The Vampire Diaries”. Linden Ashby and Susan Walters have been married for 28 years. They met on the soap opera “Loving” where they played cousins.
~The other nets had their turn at the TCAs with A&E and Netflix touting their new shows “The Bates Motel”
Teaser
and Netflix’s “Hemlock Grove” which is based on Brian McGreevy's novel and executive produced by Eli Roth, who also directed the pilot. The plot involves a young girl who's murdered and left to be found near a steel mill. 17-year-old Gypsy kid Peter (Landon Liboiron of Terra Nova) and Roman (Bill Skarsgard of Anna Karenina, also brother of Alexander), the heir to an estate, are among the suspects for her death and they decide to investigate the murder to see if they can figure out what happened.
*Netflix also had a panel for the May return of “Arrested Development”
During the panel Jason Bateman suggested that people shouldn’t consider the upcoming 14 episodes as Season Four seeing as that these episodes won’t necessarily follow the storylines or answer the questions that came from the FOX run.
*Since the show ended the cast has kept busy: Tony Hale (Buster) is on Showtime’s “Veep”, Bateman’s been doing movies and runs a website with Will Arnet. Arnet besides starring in NBC’s “Up All Night” (which may get cancelled after this run seeing as they’ve done everything but turned it into a musical to try to get the ratings up) had recurring roles on “30 Rock” and David Cross’ series on IFC. Jessica Walter voices Mallory Archer on F/X’s “Archer”, Portia De Rossi almost had a series with “The Munsters”,
At the TCAs with wife Ellen Degeneres
And Michael Cera and Alia Shawkat keeps their indie cred going by starring in smaller films. Cera and Shawkat each had two films in Sundance this year. Cera with “Crystal Fairy” and “Magic Magic” and Shawkat in “Recitfy” and “May in the Summer”
May In the Summer Cast
I think she’s so beautiful. And she has a timeless style about her
Okay, you can’t win at fashion all the time.
~Yes, this was the week of “Sundance” where many films go to screen and hope that they will be snatched up from some big studio. A newcomer to film by the name of Joseph Gordon-Levitt was one of the lucky ones to get his writing/directing debut “Don Jon’s Addiction” picked up for release by Sony Pictures for $4 million. “Don Jon’s Addiction” is Gordon-Levitt’s take on dating in the age of internet porn and unrealistic expectations in the media. It stars Scarlett Johannson, Julianne Moore and Tony Danza.
*It was well received and reviewed by movie critics I follow on Twitter. Another movie that got raves was “Fruitvale” (which was bought by the Weinstein Company). Starring Michael B. Jordan and Octavia Spencer, “Fruitvale” is the true story of Oscar Grant, an Oakland, California man who was shot and killed by a BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) officer in 2008. It recounts the last 24 hours of his life on New Years Eve. (His murder was actually captured on video. Grant was stopped on New Years Eve by BART police and told to lie down on the platform; he complied and the BART police claims he was reaching for his Taser, but instead pulled his gun, killing killed Grant. Oakland erupted in riots. The case finally had to be tried in Los Angeles because they were sure the officer woudn’t get a fair trial in Oakland. He ended up only doing a year and a half stint in jail.)
“Fruitvale” cast
Why so fine, Michael B. Jordan?!
Yet another well-received film was Wentworth Miller’s writing debut “Stoker”.
The cast: Nicole Kidman, Mia Wasikowska, Matthew Goode and director Park Chan-Wook'
*Wentworth apparently didn’t attend.
The films not well received? James Franco’s two shorts: “Interior.Leather Bar” and “kink”. “Interior. Leather Bar” is a 60-minute re-approach to the 70s film “Cruising”, and stars Franco’s friend Val Lauren. The critics say that it’s 55 minutes of talking about sex and 5 minutes of actual sex (apparently a Val watches as two men have non-simulated sex.) and “kink” is a documentary about the interworkings of the website kink.com.
Another widely panned film was the film “Two Mothers” starring Naomi Watts and Robin Wright as two friends who begin affairs with the other’s son (“Twilight”s Xavier Samuel and James Frecheville). Critics say it’s campy, plain bad and you laugh at all the wrong reasons when watching it.
I swear this was taking from an old story on Nifty.com except in this story, also called “Two Mothers” the mothers were sleeping with their own sons.
Others stars there in support of films were:
Jennifer Hudson and Alicia Keys for “The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete”, as well as the Sundance Music Festival
Isiah Washington and “Everybody Hates Chris”s Tequan Richmond for “Blue Caprice”, the story of the DC beltway sniper
Friend of Christian Kane, Clayne Crawford was on hand for “Recitify”
”Kill Your Darlings” starring Daniel Radcliffe,Jack Huston and Ben Foster as Beat Generation poets Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs and the murder committed by a friend, Lucien Carr (Dane DeHaan) that bonds them.
Sexy daddy-to-be Jack Huston
I know he wishes he could grow that chest hair on his head
Ellen Page and Alexander Skarsgaard for “The East”
Guy Pearce for “Breathe In”
Movies I’ve Seen
~The Last Stand
I had no intention of seeing this film. I loved Arnold Schwarzenegger’s films-to this day if you want to distract me just put on “The Running Man”-but that was before he was the Governor of California. Being a sh*tty actor is one thing: there’s a lot of actors I like who don’t excel at the craft. But being a shite actor, shite husband who is a womanizer and sexual harasser,
His son with his former maid
Then you add shite Governor who screws over California nurses and teachers? That’s just too much to put up with.
But I got an email from a film coalition that my friend worked that promotes and help give training to starting out and established Asian and Pacific American filmmakers. So the organization was holding a screening and Q&A for “The Last Stand” because the director is Korean filmmaker Kim Ji-woon in his American directorial debut. Joining him for the Q&A was Daniel Freaking Henney!
Of course I RSVP’d.
The moderator, Henney, Director Kim, his translator and Knauer
Directed by Kim and written by first time screenwriter Andrew Knauer, “The Last Stand” is a fast paced action-comedy that to me is a cross between a Western and “The Cannonball Run” (the biggest comparison the film gets, Knauer said is “High Noon”).
Schwarzenegger plays Ray Owens, Sheriff of a small town and boss of a small group of officers: the young, bumbling Jerry (Zach Gilford, “The Mob Doctor”), the no-nonsense and comely Sarah (Jamie Alexander, “Thor”) and slightly less bumbling Figuerola (Luis Guzman). The unassuming police force gets drawn into FBI business when dangerous drug cartel leader Gabriel Cortez (Eduardo Noriega) escapes, taking along an FBI agent as a hostage. Knowing that he is heading for the border, FBI agent John Bannister (Forest Whitaker) and his agents Hayes (Daniel Henney) and Mitchell (John Patrick Amedori) fight to devise a way to keep
Cortez’s from crossing over and disappearing into Mexico, using Owens’ town to do so.
Owens and his force band together (recruiting their prisoner played by Rodrigo Santoro (“Lost”) and a wannabe deputy played by Johnny Knoxville (“Jackass”) to stop Noreiga’s men led by Burrell (Peter Stormare) from ushering Cortez’s through.
The film is getting good reviews. It’s lighter fare than any of Schwarzenegger’s other action films, but the writing is lacking compared to his other films. However, as light in tone and comedic it is it is a very violent film. And in this time of introspection about film violence I thought the audience wouldn’t react well to it, but the violence is a crowd pleaser.
There are no surprises to this film, I saw a lot of things coming a mile away, but it doesn’t make it less enjoyable if you’re looking for an action film to check out to. And Daniel Henney’s in it so that’s something.
~After the film the Q&A took place. Originally Jamie Alexander was due to be on panel, but I’m assuming she’s still filming “Thor 2: “The Dark World” so she couldn’t attend (she was at the premiere the night before, though). In her place the film’s writer Andrew Knauer sat on the panel.
Before the screening someone from Lionsgate (the studio behind it) introduced the cast and Daniel came in from the side and I just melted. He was wearing fingerless gloves!! And he did the dual hand finger wave to the crowd. And he looked so fit in his designer jeans and boats and a newsboy cap.
When they intro’d the cast they didn’t mention the Q&A and the credits were practically done and there were no chairs out so a lot of people left so people were looking around like, “Should we go? Is this happening?” Then finally someone came in with a mic and announced the Q&A portion.
I loved the panel not just because of Daniel, but because the filmmaker doesn’t speak English-or rather he knows very little so he works with a translator. The film was shown with Korean subtitles because the screening was held in a Korean theatre in (they even sell Korean food at the concession stand) and they show their films anyway with Korean subtitles. Through his translator Director Kim (as everyone referred to him) said that he finally understands the film thanks to the subtitles. While shooting and even seeing cuts he didn’t really understand why Forest Whitaker’s character was “acting that way” (furious, agitated).
Director Kim who has made a name for himself in Korean cinema with films that he has written and directed like “I Saw the Devil”, “The Good, The Bad, The Weird” and a “Tale of Two Sisters” brought along a good number of his staff who he has made films with over the years. He said that the studio system in Hollywood was more difficult to navigate than the language barrier. He says in Korean cinema the First Assistant Director helps the director realize his vision; they’re an extension of the director. In Hollywood they’re job is to worry about the finances: getting the shot done in time. He also wasn’t use to working with a Union film crew. He would sometimes get inspired and want to shoot longer or come up with something new and everyone would break for lunch.
Director Kim and Eduardo Noreiga
Also in Korea he made his own decisions, but on a Hollywood set he’d come up with something and then have to wait from input and/or approval from the studio and the producers before he did anything. Sometimes he’d do two shoots: one that he wanted and one that the studio/producers wanted or if he really believed in a change he’d run it past the actors and get them excited about it and they would then convince the producers that Director Kim’s way was right.
He said it would occasionally take time to convey things to the cast, but by the end a lot of them wanted to learn Korean. He said that they would watch him and his team speaking in Korean and probably thought they were talking about shots, but they were just planning lunch.
Director Kim would give these long responses but when the translator would answer them they would be fairly short so I know I was missing a lot of the elements from it.
Director Kim was asked if he drew influences from John Woo. He said he has never seen a John Woo film but drew his experiences from Hollywood films. He has never formally trained in filmmaking. When the audience applauded, impressed, he said, “Perhaps that’s something you should not applaud for. Before “The Last Stand” I was unemployed for ten years.”
The mod asked Henney got involved and he explained how he moved to Korea in 2005 to work and didn’t know any Korean (Daniel’s mom was adopted by a Caucasian family in the States) so he began buying Korean films to learn the language and his favorites were by Director Kim. He said that working in Korea he had met Director Kim many times and they discussed working together so it took Director Kim getting this film for them to collaborate. He said he was so proud to work with Director Kim and happy about the film that at the premiere he there was nothing but “snot and tears” he was so overwhelmed.
A man sitting right next to me asked a question for Daniel and I had to keep my head down and concentrate on writing because I had this stupid smile on my face thinking “He’s seeing me! He’s looking at me! I’m right here and his eyes are looking over here.” The question was about what genre does Daniel like working in best. He says he’s not afraid to admit he loves romantic comedies but he loves running and jumping and playing cops and robbers. He likes when he works where it feels that he has put in a hard day of work. He said he pulled a groin muscle on the film (which led me to grin even harder and focus on my notepad because all I could think of was how I wanted to volunteer to help massage his groin). He was asked about working with Forest Whitaker and he said he’s an intense guy when he’s in character, but when you cut he’s the most gracious and humble man. After his scenes he’s ask, “Hey, who did I do? Was that good okay?” Daniel (Laughing): “Why are you asking me? You’re the Oscar winner! ”
*When the Q&A ended people went over and began taking pictures and talking to Director Kim and Andrew. Now I just had my crappy phone and I was thinking of asking someone to email me a copy of their picture because I just wanted a clear photo of him.
My crappy phone pics
There were two women by me, friends, who kept trying to urge the other to ask him for a picture. They would get close and then hang back and someone else would jump in. Finally one of them was coming over to ask for the picture when two staffers from the theater asked people to clear the room. They were trying to be really polite about it but people kept going up and getting their picture with Daniel so the female staffer began to block people. Like step in someone’s path when they tried to get near him because they were closing the theater. And one of the friends began calling Daniel who was being led away by someone else so he began pointing and mouthing “Outside. Outside.” I go into the lobby and I didn’t know the layout of the theatre so I was thinking “How is he coming in her through that exit?” While I waited I talked to the writer, Andrew Knaeur. I congratulated him on not only making the Black List but for actually getting a film made. He said he still can’t wrap his head around it. I asked how long it took to write the script and because he was unemployed he knocked it out in seven months with only two rewrites. He did say they brought in a script doctor to write Arnold’s lines because he has a guy he normally relies on to write his stuff and that was no skin off of Andrew’s nose-he’s just happy the film was made.
Finish talking to Andrew and peek out the door and there’s Daniel outside talking to the women from inside the theater.
Here he is taking a picture with one of them. I am literally standing just outside the frame of the picture.
I get out there and other women are taking pictures and chatting it up. It was pretty cold that night and one of the women asked him if he was cold, and he burrowed his hands in his jacket pocket, but shrugged and said with this lazy drawl, “Nah, I’m goood. Tired from the premiere last night. But I’m good. How about you? (and he looked around to all of us to include it) “Are you guys cold?” They said no, I just stood there stupidly. At one point when all the pictures had been taken and he was just talking to the few people left behind he looked at me like “Hi” and waited a beat for me to do something. Anything. Couldn’t. I was frozen to the spot. Struck dumb by his beauty.
He asked if we would come back for “Shanghai Calling” when it comes out. The group said yes (one of the women, the same one who inside refused to take a picture was now chatting with him like they were buddies.) She asked him what was next for him and he said that he’ll be doing more press for “The Last Stand” and then when it came time to promote “Shanghai Calling” he’ll be traveling for that including going to the London and Korean premieres. The woman asked if he was going to New York for it and he said that he didn’t know; it’s a budgetary issue. But if the studio couldn’t fly him there he’d pay his own way.
Trailer for “Shanghai Calling”
Of course when I got home and finished kicking myself I called my best friend and recounted the tale. Even to the point of how the security guard for the theater looked at me like I was the biggest loser. I swear I sensed a slight imperceptible shaking of the head from him the fail. Being my best friend my best friend told me that I was braver than she was because she would’ve ran in the opposite direction. She always knows what to say to make me feel good about my cowardice.
Pictures so you can get the full scope of the hotness that is Daniel Henney
Daniel with Rain
Thanks Mr. and Mrs. Henney for making that hunk
Broken City
Another Black List script (2008). “Broken City” harkens back to the days when you political/crime dramas were the norm, and huge spectacle tent pole affairs were only for summer. Because of this change in the cinematic landscape and how these types of dramas are relegated to limited releases and Video On Demand, “Broken City” feels like a film festival offering, despite the big name cast and more than competent director.
“Broken City” stars Mark Wahlberg as Billy Taggert, a disgraced cop who goes into the P.I business. He is hired by the Mayor of New York, Nicholas Hostetler (Russell Crowe with the worse bronzer and political hair) who is in the midst of a re-election campaign. Worried about his chances if the news of his marital discord gets into the hands of his rival Jim Valliant (Barry Pepper) and his in it to win it campaign manager (Kyle Chandler)
, Hostetler hires Billy to find out who his wife (Catherine Zeta-Jones) is having an affair with in order to control the situation.
Billy gives Hostetler the information and realizes too late that he’s been used as a pawn in an even bigger game.
Very good film and the only thing that’s keeping it from being excellent is that it doesn’t drive home certain aspects of the characters that it should. It’s like a guitarist that is holding the threat too lightly. It could be much more of a stronger note if pressed. “Broken City” touches on subjects that are in the current political arena: unemployment, bank bailouts and lost mortgages, even gay marriage and homophobia but it’s thrown out as little more than an aside to the detriment of the script and characters. However, it’s still a very good drama and I will be seeing it again because there are some very good performances.
~I Leave You With
After getting a perm Clark wished that he had the power of invisibility
Make it worth our while, Mr. President
~The Winter TCAs have come to a close and there wasn’t much that was revelatory that came out of it. Mark Pedowitz, President of the CW. Unlike years past, this one wasn’t attended by actors from the net’s shows but strictly an executive session.
Things announced during the session? That in April there will be a backdoor ::hee:: pilot in “The Vampire Diaries” for the potential spinoff featuring the Originals. This is good and bad news: good news because that means the Originals can stop hijacking the show and bad because who the hell wants a show about those irritating Originals? Phoebe Tonkins who is currently in an arc on TVD will be in the pilot which will feature on Klaus moving to New Orleans and meeting a human who learns about the supernatural. So “The Vampire Diaries” but set in New Orleans. Julie Plec who is shepherding the backdoor pilot has said that if the pilot does go to series it’s likely that Caroline Dries, a SV writing staff alum (she wrote “Fracture”, “Nemesis” and other good Clex eps) will become TVD showrunner.
*Pedowitz praised “Beauty and the Beast” but oddly said it was on pace with “The Secret Circle”….which was cancelled after its first season. When asked to clarify the comparison, Pedowitz explained that unlike TSC, “Beauty and the Beast” has greater growth potential especially with the romance between Cat and Vincent. Does this mean he wasn’t buying my Royal Fierceness’ romance with Brit Robertson?!!
*The CW is casting the Wonder Woman project (three days after the panel it was reported that the frontrunner is Amy Manson who had a recurring role in S3 of the UK version of “Being Human” as Daisy. The vampire who helps Mitchell fall off the blood wagon.
The rub? There’s no script just yet.
If all goes well we’ll get a Wonder Woman series, but the stop asking for Batman on the CW. Pedowitz says that the network works closely with WB to explore the existing DC universe but there are still constraints so no, no Batman.
*"Nothing's been announced yet. No determination's been made," is what Pedowitz said about SPN being picked up for a ninth season, but he praised the show for gaining back fans from the move from Friday night. From various takes on the panel it seems that SPN S9 is on its way to being a lock. I don’t care about S9 I just don’t want it to go to 10. Do S9! Go on, do a musical episode, do a body switching ep where Sam goes into Dean and tries to keep Cas from having sex with him. Go full gonzo, just don’t go to S10.
“Yeah, we get awards and still get to nail each other! Score!!”
At the TCAs Jensen caught up with his “Days of Our Lives” sibling Allison Sweeney.
*Years ago I talked to a former DOOL actor and they loved Jensen to death,like loved his dirty bathwater but hated Alison with the passion of which I hate CMM.
But the jokes on me, that fool is actually working! After being on the shelf for a while, his “Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia” will be released in February (dawnybee: Very curious. At the time he booked the role it was called “A Haunting in Georgia” after the TV special, just like “A Haunting in Connecticut”, but I guess they’re going the franchise route and keeping the story from “A Haunting in Georgia” and rolling it under the title of AhiC); he will (or maybe already has) appear in an episode of “Southland” and now this dude will costar in “A Madea Christmas” (this sounds like a joke, but it’s real life!) with Lisa Whelchel and Larry The Cable Guy.
This is what happens when you do a commerical with Diddy and Jesse Williams.
His cute puppy doesn’t deserve that jagoff as an owner
*The CW is building their brand online (they use this excuse when questions of their low ratings arise) so they’re very proud of their online shows like “Stupid Hype”, created by and starring “Hart of Dixies”s Wilson Bethel as a Vanilla Ice-esque rapper who is staging a comeback (they’ve also picked up another online project from Bethel). Pedowitz announced an animated webseries named “Gallery Mallory” which will feature Justin Hartley and Misha Collins. Keep being that boyfriend who won’t let their ex go, CW. I’m fine with it if it keeps Justin employed.
*Pedowitz was silent on the fates of my West Bev babies of “90210”. He did say that it is important for him that the network give fans “satisfactory conclusions for as many shows as possible” and that “fans deserves that sort of a gift”. The satisfactory conclusion also means a restrospective of the departing show such as what they did for “Gossip Girl”.
More CW News
*Young!Sam Winchester is blowing the CW pop-stand. Coming off of his turn in “We Bought a Zoo”, and in between his voicework as Jake in “Jake and The Never Land Pirates”, Colin Ford has just been cast in the pilot for the limited TV run adaptation of Stephen King’s “Under the Dome”.
Colin will play Joe in the series about a tale about a town being mysteriously sealed off from the rest of civilization by a transparent dome. Joe and the rest of the town has to survive the post-apocalyptic conditions this creates, but for Joe the matter is worse-his parents are outside the dome.
This is good news for Colin, but a SV alum got bad news. The pilot for Lifetime’s “The Secret Lives of Wives” is dead in the water. Callum Blue was cast to play the preacher husband of one of the wives.
Sorry Salli Richardson-Whitfield and Joe Flanigan. You won’t be spouses anymore.
*“Arrow” is turning into a “The Gates” reunion….as if anyone was asking for one. As if anyone remembers “The Gates”. “The Gates” was a short-lived ABC series about the supernatural goings on in a gated community and it starred Colton Haynes, Janina Gavankar and Paul Blackthorne: all who are on or will be appearing on “Arrow”. Blackthorne is a regular as Dinah Lance’s father,Janina will guest star in the episode “Vertigo” which features Seth Gabel (“Fringe”) as The Count, a big time drug dealer slanging a deadly drug.
He looks like Kiefer Sutherland in “The Lost Boys”
You’ll always be Jeremy Darling to me
Janina will play “McKenna Hall, a Starling City vice cop who knew Ollie pre-island” and is after The Count.
Colton will appear as Roy Harper, Oliver’s sister Thea’s delinquent boyfriend who runs afoul of Papa Lance.
Colton knows that a smart black purse is a perfect cincher to an ensemble
The execs of “Arrow” are fans of cult TV and obviously knows that the best way to get a ratings boost is to fish in those genre waters. The show has had BSG’s Tamoah Pennikett in an episode and has cast “Stargate” alum Ben Browder and BSG alum James Callis (as jewel thief Dodger) and other roles.
And while they recruited Colton after his departure from “Teen Wolf”, a friend of “Arrow”s is going to “Teen Wolf”. The planet named Zelda Williams (and girlfriend of “Arrow”s Colin Donnell) which actors from “Smallville”, “Teen Wolf” and “Games of Thrones” orbit will appear in an episode of “Teen Wolf”. Colton tweeted her his support saying that she’ll be spoiled by the great cast and that he misses them.
Zelda, Colin, Colton and Colton’s friend Ally Maki
~Total aside, but something I recently found out was that Sheriff Stilinski of “Teen Wolf” is married to the now deceased Mayor Lockwood of “The Vampire Diaries”. Linden Ashby and Susan Walters have been married for 28 years. They met on the soap opera “Loving” where they played cousins.
~The other nets had their turn at the TCAs with A&E and Netflix touting their new shows “The Bates Motel”
Teaser
Click to viewand Netflix’s “Hemlock Grove” which is based on Brian McGreevy's novel and executive produced by Eli Roth, who also directed the pilot. The plot involves a young girl who's murdered and left to be found near a steel mill. 17-year-old Gypsy kid Peter (Landon Liboiron of Terra Nova) and Roman (Bill Skarsgard of Anna Karenina, also brother of Alexander), the heir to an estate, are among the suspects for her death and they decide to investigate the murder to see if they can figure out what happened.
*Netflix also had a panel for the May return of “Arrested Development”
During the panel Jason Bateman suggested that people shouldn’t consider the upcoming 14 episodes as Season Four seeing as that these episodes won’t necessarily follow the storylines or answer the questions that came from the FOX run.
*Since the show ended the cast has kept busy: Tony Hale (Buster) is on Showtime’s “Veep”, Bateman’s been doing movies and runs a website with Will Arnet. Arnet besides starring in NBC’s “Up All Night” (which may get cancelled after this run seeing as they’ve done everything but turned it into a musical to try to get the ratings up) had recurring roles on “30 Rock” and David Cross’ series on IFC. Jessica Walter voices Mallory Archer on F/X’s “Archer”, Portia De Rossi almost had a series with “The Munsters”,
At the TCAs with wife Ellen Degeneres
And Michael Cera and Alia Shawkat keeps their indie cred going by starring in smaller films. Cera and Shawkat each had two films in Sundance this year. Cera with “Crystal Fairy” and “Magic Magic” and Shawkat in “Recitfy” and “May in the Summer”
May In the Summer Cast
I think she’s so beautiful. And she has a timeless style about her
Okay, you can’t win at fashion all the time.
~Yes, this was the week of “Sundance” where many films go to screen and hope that they will be snatched up from some big studio. A newcomer to film by the name of Joseph Gordon-Levitt was one of the lucky ones to get his writing/directing debut “Don Jon’s Addiction” picked up for release by Sony Pictures for $4 million. “Don Jon’s Addiction” is Gordon-Levitt’s take on dating in the age of internet porn and unrealistic expectations in the media. It stars Scarlett Johannson, Julianne Moore and Tony Danza.
*It was well received and reviewed by movie critics I follow on Twitter. Another movie that got raves was “Fruitvale” (which was bought by the Weinstein Company). Starring Michael B. Jordan and Octavia Spencer, “Fruitvale” is the true story of Oscar Grant, an Oakland, California man who was shot and killed by a BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) officer in 2008. It recounts the last 24 hours of his life on New Years Eve. (His murder was actually captured on video. Grant was stopped on New Years Eve by BART police and told to lie down on the platform; he complied and the BART police claims he was reaching for his Taser, but instead pulled his gun, killing killed Grant. Oakland erupted in riots. The case finally had to be tried in Los Angeles because they were sure the officer woudn’t get a fair trial in Oakland. He ended up only doing a year and a half stint in jail.)
“Fruitvale” cast
Why so fine, Michael B. Jordan?!
Yet another well-received film was Wentworth Miller’s writing debut “Stoker”.
The cast: Nicole Kidman, Mia Wasikowska, Matthew Goode and director Park Chan-Wook'
*Wentworth apparently didn’t attend.
The films not well received? James Franco’s two shorts: “Interior.Leather Bar” and “kink”. “Interior. Leather Bar” is a 60-minute re-approach to the 70s film “Cruising”, and stars Franco’s friend Val Lauren. The critics say that it’s 55 minutes of talking about sex and 5 minutes of actual sex (apparently a Val watches as two men have non-simulated sex.) and “kink” is a documentary about the interworkings of the website kink.com.
Another widely panned film was the film “Two Mothers” starring Naomi Watts and Robin Wright as two friends who begin affairs with the other’s son (“Twilight”s Xavier Samuel and James Frecheville). Critics say it’s campy, plain bad and you laugh at all the wrong reasons when watching it.
I swear this was taking from an old story on Nifty.com except in this story, also called “Two Mothers” the mothers were sleeping with their own sons.
Others stars there in support of films were:
Jennifer Hudson and Alicia Keys for “The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete”, as well as the Sundance Music Festival
Isiah Washington and “Everybody Hates Chris”s Tequan Richmond for “Blue Caprice”, the story of the DC beltway sniper
Friend of Christian Kane, Clayne Crawford was on hand for “Recitify”
”Kill Your Darlings” starring Daniel Radcliffe,Jack Huston and Ben Foster as Beat Generation poets Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs and the murder committed by a friend, Lucien Carr (Dane DeHaan) that bonds them.
Sexy daddy-to-be Jack Huston
I know he wishes he could grow that chest hair on his head
Ellen Page and Alexander Skarsgaard for “The East”
Guy Pearce for “Breathe In”
Movies I’ve Seen
~The Last Stand
I had no intention of seeing this film. I loved Arnold Schwarzenegger’s films-to this day if you want to distract me just put on “The Running Man”-but that was before he was the Governor of California. Being a sh*tty actor is one thing: there’s a lot of actors I like who don’t excel at the craft. But being a shite actor, shite husband who is a womanizer and sexual harasser,
His son with his former maid
Then you add shite Governor who screws over California nurses and teachers? That’s just too much to put up with.
But I got an email from a film coalition that my friend worked that promotes and help give training to starting out and established Asian and Pacific American filmmakers. So the organization was holding a screening and Q&A for “The Last Stand” because the director is Korean filmmaker Kim Ji-woon in his American directorial debut. Joining him for the Q&A was Daniel Freaking Henney!
Of course I RSVP’d.
The moderator, Henney, Director Kim, his translator and Knauer
Directed by Kim and written by first time screenwriter Andrew Knauer, “The Last Stand” is a fast paced action-comedy that to me is a cross between a Western and “The Cannonball Run” (the biggest comparison the film gets, Knauer said is “High Noon”).
Schwarzenegger plays Ray Owens, Sheriff of a small town and boss of a small group of officers: the young, bumbling Jerry (Zach Gilford, “The Mob Doctor”), the no-nonsense and comely Sarah (Jamie Alexander, “Thor”) and slightly less bumbling Figuerola (Luis Guzman). The unassuming police force gets drawn into FBI business when dangerous drug cartel leader Gabriel Cortez (Eduardo Noriega) escapes, taking along an FBI agent as a hostage. Knowing that he is heading for the border, FBI agent John Bannister (Forest Whitaker) and his agents Hayes (Daniel Henney) and Mitchell (John Patrick Amedori) fight to devise a way to keep
Cortez’s from crossing over and disappearing into Mexico, using Owens’ town to do so.
Owens and his force band together (recruiting their prisoner played by Rodrigo Santoro (“Lost”) and a wannabe deputy played by Johnny Knoxville (“Jackass”) to stop Noreiga’s men led by Burrell (Peter Stormare) from ushering Cortez’s through.
The film is getting good reviews. It’s lighter fare than any of Schwarzenegger’s other action films, but the writing is lacking compared to his other films. However, as light in tone and comedic it is it is a very violent film. And in this time of introspection about film violence I thought the audience wouldn’t react well to it, but the violence is a crowd pleaser.
There are no surprises to this film, I saw a lot of things coming a mile away, but it doesn’t make it less enjoyable if you’re looking for an action film to check out to. And Daniel Henney’s in it so that’s something.
~After the film the Q&A took place. Originally Jamie Alexander was due to be on panel, but I’m assuming she’s still filming “Thor 2: “The Dark World” so she couldn’t attend (she was at the premiere the night before, though). In her place the film’s writer Andrew Knauer sat on the panel.
Before the screening someone from Lionsgate (the studio behind it) introduced the cast and Daniel came in from the side and I just melted. He was wearing fingerless gloves!! And he did the dual hand finger wave to the crowd. And he looked so fit in his designer jeans and boats and a newsboy cap.
When they intro’d the cast they didn’t mention the Q&A and the credits were practically done and there were no chairs out so a lot of people left so people were looking around like, “Should we go? Is this happening?” Then finally someone came in with a mic and announced the Q&A portion.
I loved the panel not just because of Daniel, but because the filmmaker doesn’t speak English-or rather he knows very little so he works with a translator. The film was shown with Korean subtitles because the screening was held in a Korean theatre in (they even sell Korean food at the concession stand) and they show their films anyway with Korean subtitles. Through his translator Director Kim (as everyone referred to him) said that he finally understands the film thanks to the subtitles. While shooting and even seeing cuts he didn’t really understand why Forest Whitaker’s character was “acting that way” (furious, agitated).
Director Kim who has made a name for himself in Korean cinema with films that he has written and directed like “I Saw the Devil”, “The Good, The Bad, The Weird” and a “Tale of Two Sisters” brought along a good number of his staff who he has made films with over the years. He said that the studio system in Hollywood was more difficult to navigate than the language barrier. He says in Korean cinema the First Assistant Director helps the director realize his vision; they’re an extension of the director. In Hollywood they’re job is to worry about the finances: getting the shot done in time. He also wasn’t use to working with a Union film crew. He would sometimes get inspired and want to shoot longer or come up with something new and everyone would break for lunch.
Director Kim and Eduardo Noreiga
Also in Korea he made his own decisions, but on a Hollywood set he’d come up with something and then have to wait from input and/or approval from the studio and the producers before he did anything. Sometimes he’d do two shoots: one that he wanted and one that the studio/producers wanted or if he really believed in a change he’d run it past the actors and get them excited about it and they would then convince the producers that Director Kim’s way was right.
He said it would occasionally take time to convey things to the cast, but by the end a lot of them wanted to learn Korean. He said that they would watch him and his team speaking in Korean and probably thought they were talking about shots, but they were just planning lunch.
Director Kim would give these long responses but when the translator would answer them they would be fairly short so I know I was missing a lot of the elements from it.
Director Kim was asked if he drew influences from John Woo. He said he has never seen a John Woo film but drew his experiences from Hollywood films. He has never formally trained in filmmaking. When the audience applauded, impressed, he said, “Perhaps that’s something you should not applaud for. Before “The Last Stand” I was unemployed for ten years.”
The mod asked Henney got involved and he explained how he moved to Korea in 2005 to work and didn’t know any Korean (Daniel’s mom was adopted by a Caucasian family in the States) so he began buying Korean films to learn the language and his favorites were by Director Kim. He said that working in Korea he had met Director Kim many times and they discussed working together so it took Director Kim getting this film for them to collaborate. He said he was so proud to work with Director Kim and happy about the film that at the premiere he there was nothing but “snot and tears” he was so overwhelmed.
A man sitting right next to me asked a question for Daniel and I had to keep my head down and concentrate on writing because I had this stupid smile on my face thinking “He’s seeing me! He’s looking at me! I’m right here and his eyes are looking over here.” The question was about what genre does Daniel like working in best. He says he’s not afraid to admit he loves romantic comedies but he loves running and jumping and playing cops and robbers. He likes when he works where it feels that he has put in a hard day of work. He said he pulled a groin muscle on the film (which led me to grin even harder and focus on my notepad because all I could think of was how I wanted to volunteer to help massage his groin). He was asked about working with Forest Whitaker and he said he’s an intense guy when he’s in character, but when you cut he’s the most gracious and humble man. After his scenes he’s ask, “Hey, who did I do? Was that good okay?” Daniel (Laughing): “Why are you asking me? You’re the Oscar winner! ”
*When the Q&A ended people went over and began taking pictures and talking to Director Kim and Andrew. Now I just had my crappy phone and I was thinking of asking someone to email me a copy of their picture because I just wanted a clear photo of him.
My crappy phone pics
There were two women by me, friends, who kept trying to urge the other to ask him for a picture. They would get close and then hang back and someone else would jump in. Finally one of them was coming over to ask for the picture when two staffers from the theater asked people to clear the room. They were trying to be really polite about it but people kept going up and getting their picture with Daniel so the female staffer began to block people. Like step in someone’s path when they tried to get near him because they were closing the theater. And one of the friends began calling Daniel who was being led away by someone else so he began pointing and mouthing “Outside. Outside.” I go into the lobby and I didn’t know the layout of the theatre so I was thinking “How is he coming in her through that exit?” While I waited I talked to the writer, Andrew Knaeur. I congratulated him on not only making the Black List but for actually getting a film made. He said he still can’t wrap his head around it. I asked how long it took to write the script and because he was unemployed he knocked it out in seven months with only two rewrites. He did say they brought in a script doctor to write Arnold’s lines because he has a guy he normally relies on to write his stuff and that was no skin off of Andrew’s nose-he’s just happy the film was made.
Finish talking to Andrew and peek out the door and there’s Daniel outside talking to the women from inside the theater.
Here he is taking a picture with one of them. I am literally standing just outside the frame of the picture.
I get out there and other women are taking pictures and chatting it up. It was pretty cold that night and one of the women asked him if he was cold, and he burrowed his hands in his jacket pocket, but shrugged and said with this lazy drawl, “Nah, I’m goood. Tired from the premiere last night. But I’m good. How about you? (and he looked around to all of us to include it) “Are you guys cold?” They said no, I just stood there stupidly. At one point when all the pictures had been taken and he was just talking to the few people left behind he looked at me like “Hi” and waited a beat for me to do something. Anything. Couldn’t. I was frozen to the spot. Struck dumb by his beauty.
He asked if we would come back for “Shanghai Calling” when it comes out. The group said yes (one of the women, the same one who inside refused to take a picture was now chatting with him like they were buddies.) She asked him what was next for him and he said that he’ll be doing more press for “The Last Stand” and then when it came time to promote “Shanghai Calling” he’ll be traveling for that including going to the London and Korean premieres. The woman asked if he was going to New York for it and he said that he didn’t know; it’s a budgetary issue. But if the studio couldn’t fly him there he’d pay his own way.
Trailer for “Shanghai Calling”
Of course when I got home and finished kicking myself I called my best friend and recounted the tale. Even to the point of how the security guard for the theater looked at me like I was the biggest loser. I swear I sensed a slight imperceptible shaking of the head from him the fail. Being my best friend my best friend told me that I was braver than she was because she would’ve ran in the opposite direction. She always knows what to say to make me feel good about my cowardice.
Pictures so you can get the full scope of the hotness that is Daniel Henney
Daniel with Rain
Thanks Mr. and Mrs. Henney for making that hunk
Broken City
Another Black List script (2008). “Broken City” harkens back to the days when you political/crime dramas were the norm, and huge spectacle tent pole affairs were only for summer. Because of this change in the cinematic landscape and how these types of dramas are relegated to limited releases and Video On Demand, “Broken City” feels like a film festival offering, despite the big name cast and more than competent director.
“Broken City” stars Mark Wahlberg as Billy Taggert, a disgraced cop who goes into the P.I business. He is hired by the Mayor of New York, Nicholas Hostetler (Russell Crowe with the worse bronzer and political hair) who is in the midst of a re-election campaign. Worried about his chances if the news of his marital discord gets into the hands of his rival Jim Valliant (Barry Pepper) and his in it to win it campaign manager (Kyle Chandler)
, Hostetler hires Billy to find out who his wife (Catherine Zeta-Jones) is having an affair with in order to control the situation.
Billy gives Hostetler the information and realizes too late that he’s been used as a pawn in an even bigger game.
Very good film and the only thing that’s keeping it from being excellent is that it doesn’t drive home certain aspects of the characters that it should. It’s like a guitarist that is holding the threat too lightly. It could be much more of a stronger note if pressed. “Broken City” touches on subjects that are in the current political arena: unemployment, bank bailouts and lost mortgages, even gay marriage and homophobia but it’s thrown out as little more than an aside to the detriment of the script and characters. However, it’s still a very good drama and I will be seeing it again because there are some very good performances.
~I Leave You With
After getting a perm Clark wished that he had the power of invisibility
