What I've Seen...TV Talk....
Early renewals are rolling out. The CW has already announced some of their renewals (I’m saying some because I’m holding out hope for pickups of “Hart of Dixie” and “The Tomorrow People”) now FOX has announced the renewals of “The New Girl”, “The Mindy Project”, “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” and happily “The Following” will return next season with heinous acts of violence that while grisly aren’t as disgusting and nightmarish as the murders on “Hannibal”. I still watch it but with a churning stomach.
Meanwhile “Raising Hope” has been cancelled after four seasons.
I’m hoping that “Almost Human” doesn’t suffer the same fate. The show is on the bubble. If it’s canned it would be the third Michael Ealy show that didn’t make it two seasons: “Flash Forward” and “Common Law” being the others.
I see that there is a small amount of “Almost Human” fanfiction.
I can see why
While small it seems to be more fics than “Common Law” had and the entire premise of “Common Law” was perfect fodder for slash! Two officers who are going through couples counseling. They were practically boyfriends! It was a gift.
Ealy still has a supporter in his “Common Law” costar Warren Kole.
In October of last year with their other costar Sonya Walger
*As “The Tomorrow People” and “Hart of Dixie” await their fates (join TTP on their move to Monday nights beginning next week!!), other CW shows are casting up and shooting. The “Supernatural” spinoff originally titled “Supernatural: Tribes” is now dubbed “Supernatural: Bloodlines” because that makes it better and has added the final character, a female one!
Melissa Roxburgh has been cast as Violet a member of the werewolf pack who is forced to hide her true form because of her forbidden love for family rival David (Nathaniel Buzolic)
“The Flash” is filming their pilot and set pics have popped up.
Grant with former “Flash” John Wesley Shipp
At least Gustin’s costume is better than Shipp’s
We weren’t really wondering about what was under the suit, dude.
We need a full on Flash reunion. Barry, Wally, Bart, Jay
Candice Patton who plays Iris West
~The Flash isn’t the only DC superhero coming to TV. FOX has a superhero…ally in James Gordon who will be the central character in the pilot “Gotham”.
What is “Gotham” about if you couldn’t already tell by James Gordon and the title?
"Everyone knows the name Commissioner Gordon. He is one of the crime world's greatest foes, a man whose reputation is synonymous with law and order. But what is known of Gordon's story and his rise from rookie detective to Police Commissioner? What did it take to navigate the multiple layers of corruption that secretly ruled Gotham City, the spawning ground of the world's most iconic villains? And what circumstances created them - the larger-than-life personas who would become Catwoman, The Penguin, The Riddler, Two-Face and The Joker?
'GOTHAM' is an origin story of the great DC Comics super villains and vigilantes, revealing an entirely new chapter that has never been told. From executive producer/writer Bruno Heller ('The Mentalist,' 'Rome'), 'GOTHAM' follows one cop's rise through a dangerously corrupt city teetering on the edge of evil and chronicles the birth of one of the most popular super heroes of our time.
Growing up in Gotham City's surrounding suburbs, JAMES GORDON (Ben McKenzie, 'Southland,' 'The O.C.') romanticized the city as a glamorous and exciting metropolis where his late father once served as a successful district attorney. Now, two weeks into his new job as a Gotham City detective and engaged to his beloved fiancée, BARBARA KEAN (Erin Richards, 'Open Grave,' 'Breaking In'), Gordon is living his dream - even as he hopes to restore the city back to the pure version he remembers it was as a kid.
Brave, honest and ready to prove himself, the newly-minted detective is partnered with the brash, but shrewd police legend HARVEY BULLOCK (Donal Logue, 'Sons of Anarchy,' 'Terriers,' 'Vikings,' 'Copper'), as the two stumble upon the city's highest-profile case ever: the murder of local billionaires Thomas and Martha Wayne. At the scene of the crime, Gordon meets the sole survivor: the Waynes' hauntingly intense 12-year-old son, BRUCE (David Mazouz, 'Touch'), toward whom the young detective feels an inexplicable kinship. Moved by the boy's profound loss, Gordon vows to catch the killer.
As he navigates the often-underhanded politics of Gotham's criminal justice system, Gordon will confront imposing gang boss FISH MOONEY (Jada Pinkett Smith, 'The Matrix' films, 'HawthoRNe,' 'Collateral'), and many of the characters who will become some of fiction's most renowned, enduring villains, including a teenaged SELINA KYLE/the future CATWOMAN (acting newcomer Camren Bicondova) and OSWALD COBBLEPOT/THE PENGUIN (Robin Lord Taylor, 'The Walking Dead,' 'Another Earth').
Although the crime drama will follow Gordon's turbulent and singular rise through the Gotham City police department, led by Police Captain SARAH ESSEN (Zabryna Guevara, 'Burn Notice'), it also will focus on the unlikely friendship Gordon forms with the young heir to the Wayne fortune, who is being raised by his unflappable butler, ALFRED (Sean Pertwee, 'Camelot,' 'Elementary'). It is a friendship that will last them all of their lives, playing a crucial role in helping the young boy eventually become the crusader he's destined to be.
~ With “Warehouse 13” canned, Good Twin Aaron Ashmore has picked up a new gig. Aaron is following in the footsteps in the footsteps of his baby brother Shawn…
I’m loving him and Jessica Stroup this season
by playing an officer in the ABC pilot “Agatha”. Aaron will play “Jimmy McAuliffe a handsome, good-humored and good-natured meat and potatoes guy who is a beat cop with the Philly PD and lives in the shadow of his father.”
He was also named one of Canada’s top talents.
with Erica Durance
and proud Canadian Jay Baruchel.
~Former supermodel Stephanie Seymour did a photoshoot with her two sons for Harper’s Bazaar. The shoot made people think it literally bizarre for her to do such a shoot with her sons. Some weirdos think the shoot was too provocative, especially since a few years back people questioned her PDA with her oldest son Peter Brant Jr.
I don’t get what the big deal is. It’s not porny or odd. And if they read the accompanying story for the shoot she talked about how her kids have always laid out her clothes for her in the morning, dressing her for her day and school functions. This is a play on that.
Okay, Peter Jr. What are you doing with your hands?
All of this to say “Bates Motel” is back!!!
Season Two sees more of creepy Norman, the histrionics of Norma and third-wheel Dylan.
The hell it isn’t. I’m totally on board for some Norma/Dylan wrongness.
This season also provides new cast members in Rebecca Creskoff and Michael Vartan.
*Dear heart Tom Hardy is doing many things, though we just haven’t actually seen those things just yet. Tom several films coming out: the long gestating “Mad Max” reboot, “Locke” (starring Andrew Scott and Ruth Wilson’
Wilson made the Worst Dressed List at the BAFTAs. I love this suit.
“The Drop” (originally titled “Animal Rescue” costarring the late James Gandolfini) and “Child 44”, both with his buddy Noomi Rapace.
On the “Child 44” set
On “The Drop” set
He has still yet to film the Elton John biopic “Rocket Man” and he’s in talks for several films including the Whitey Bulger flick starring Johnny Depp, the film version of “Splinter Cell”, “Cicero” in which he would play Al Capone and the poaching drama he’s producing with Leonardo DiCaprio.
The duo reunited at the BAFTAs
*Tom was there as the escort to his pal writer Kelly Marcel who was nominated for “Saving Mr. Banks”.
Knackered from taking all those pictures?
Tom isn’t just satisfied with film. He and his wifey (even if they’ve never made it to the altar) Charlotte Riley have signed on to appear in Season 2 of Cillian Murphy’s BBC period crime drama “Peaky Blinders”.
Cillian Murphy all duded up
He’s also teaming up with his father Edward to write a crime series for Sky Atlantic titled “Bluebelle”. Tom will star in the role.
He’s been modeling from BLAG magazine
Doing an advert for the charity Stand Up to Cancer
And he’s taken seriously his duties as the Ambassador for the Prince’s Trust by turning up to various events discussing the dangers of drug addiction as well as participating in events for the Royal Air Force and Royal Marines.
Looking great in general
And cuddling puppies!!!
After shedding the role of selfless, good guy Michael Bluth, Jason Bateman is returning to the smarmy, jerktastic characters he played on “Silver Spoons”, “It’s Your Move”, “Love Stinks” and “Smokin’ Aces”
He did look fetching in panties, though
In “Bad Words” Jason makes his feature film directorial debut (he has directed before being the youngest person to join the Directors Guild of America at 18 when he directed several episodes of “The Hogan Family”) as Guy Twimbly, an angry, acid tongued agitator who sets out to compete in a national Spelling Bee.
No one knows Guy’s reason for his mission, not even Jenny (Kathryn Hahn) a Blogger and Guy’s sponsor who hopes to get a story out of this endeavor.
Guy makes it to the National Quill spelling bee and attracts the attention of a lonely ten-year old competitor Chaitainya (Rohan Chand) who wants to befriend Guy.
One eye focused on winning and the other on showing Chaitainya how to have adult fun, Guy presence in the spelling bee causes chaos for the bee’s administrator and the parents.
“Bad Words” is a funny, albeit abrasive comedy that sometimes tips into the “too far” category. If it was the same humor directed at adults I wouldn’t have winced as much but this film is about Guy interacting with pre-teens and it’s a no holds barred equal opportunity offender type of humor.
Bateman as director and actor has no qualms about unlikeability. There’s not a huge push to make Guy likeable. You finally understand his mission but it still does not offer a redemption arc which is actually welcomed because big-mouthed idiotic jerks who feel that they are the smartest guy in the room like Guy exists.
Rohan Chand more than holds his own with Bateman and they make a unlikely good pairing.
The film also stars Alison Janney who is far and away from the sexy, wild character of Bonnie she plays in “Mom” and Philip Baker Hall as the originator of the National Quill Spelling Bee who is struggling to uphold its standards yet desperate for any way to get Guy out of the panel. And in a nice little turn Steve Witting who played one of Jason Bateman’s friends during the run of “Valerie”/”The Hogan Family” plays the spelling bee proctor.
Based on the book series set in the dystopic future. No, not “Hunger Games”. No, not “The Maze Runner”. “Divergent” is the film adaptation of the book of the same name by Victoria Roth.
Set in futuristic Chicago some 100 years after a war that made government split up people behind a wall into factions based personalities. There’s the Candors who are known for speaking their minds, the Erudites who value logic, the Dauntless who are the military faction that protect the wall, Amity who are known for their peacefulness and the selfless, helper of the helpless the Abnegation.
Beatrice Prior (Shailene Woodley) is born into the Abnegation faction and lives with her brother Caleb (Ansel Elgort) and parents Natalie and Andrew (Ashley Judd and Tony Goldwyn).
When the annual testing day arrives in which kids are tested to see which faction they belong to Beatrice’s test administrator Tori (Maggie Q.) alerts Beatrice that she is divergent: she possesses all of the qualities from each factor. Being divergent is a threat to the status quo as there it makes it harder for the government to control you.
Not feeling that she wants to stay in her faction Beatrice chooses to leave her family and pledge Dauntless.
Under the tutelage of Dauntless trainers the brutal, dictatorial Eric (Jai Courtney) and the tough, demanding Four (Theo James)
, Beatrice (now going by Tris) and the other transfers former Candors Christina (Zoe Kravitz) and Peter (Miles Teller), former Eurdite Will (Ben Lloyd-Hughes) and Al (Christian Madsen) fight to endure the ten week training.
If they fail out of Dauntless they will become factionless..the castoffs who are not allowed to go back to their previous factions.
Tris tries to hide her divergent status from Four and the wary leader Jeanine Matthews (Kate Winslet)
When a plan to stage a coupe against the leadership of the Abnegation is uncovered by Tris society’s motto ‘faction over blood’ is put to the test.
I liked this film better than the first “Hunger Game” mostly because it feels like a complete film (despite 80% of it being a training montage). There are two other books (“Insurgent” and “Alegiant”) and they will surely be made into films but “Divergent” isn’t open ended. If the audience comes back for the sequel it’s on the strength of the film not because it left loose ends. There’s not even an end credit scene to tease the inevitable sequel.
It has its own makeup line at Sephora. Of course there will be a sequel!
Shailene Woodley as Tris with her slightly raspy voice and straw colored hair is reminiscent of Llinday Lohan but fares better at playing an unassuming character. Tris isn’t as dynamic as Katniss Everdeen but Tris struggle with trying to define herself and find her place in the world is easy to relate to.
I saw the film with a bunch of high schoolers because Summit invited Hollywood High students since the film was playing across from the school. It played really well with its target audience. There was a girl behind me who left the film damn near giddy.
And they seemed to really like the Tris/Four relationship even though they’ve aged Four up in the film.
Because 29-year old Theo James does not look 19
At the inevitable UST scenes a boy behind me whispered, irriatedly, ‘He’s like ten years old than she is.”
The only thing I knew about Theo James before seeing this film was that he was on the short-lived CBS series “Golden Boy” taking over for the role Ryan Philippe vacated. He’s attractive enough but he’s missing that spark that makes one sexy.
Not even his British accent and being Greek gives him extra points
*Though if I can find a picture of him with a hairy chest I may rank him higher.
The cast including Mekhi Pfeiffer
*The music selection was pretty good. Junkie XL who I only discovered through the ugly baby brother Hemsworth film “Paranoia”. Turns out he’s been in the business forever and works with Hans Zimmer. Who knew? I certainly didn’t. On “Divergent” Junkie XL was the music supervisor with Zimmer doing the score. Junkie XL went with a slight electronica-ambient bent with music by Zedd and M83.
~ Find You: Zedd
~I really love Tame Impala. They’re doing what MGMT has been doing lately: employing a subsonic, low-fi psychedelic pop sound mixed with dance/club aesthetics. Tame Impala’s song “Feel Like We’re Going Backwards” was remixed for the soundtrack by Kendrick Lamar.
Backwards: Kendrick Lamar ft. Tame Impala
~I prefer the original track. Feel Like We’re Going Backwards: Tame Impala
~It sounds like there’s a saxophone playing underneath and it just makes the song have a more sturdy feel whereas most recent M83 sounds are very airy and dreamy.
I Need You: M83
The first M83 song I ever heard. It reminds me of a Snow Patrol song. Sonically M83 have grown so much.
Don’t Save Us From the Flames
The second M83 song I ever heard. The galloping drum carries this song heard at the end of the Michael B. Jordan/Dane DeHaan film “Chronicle” “This Bright Flash”
This Bright Flash
~One of the endtracks to the film. You can’t go too wrong with Snow Patrol.
I Won’t Let You Go: Snow Patrol
~HBO wants to rule the Iron Throne of merchandise with “Game of Thrones”. There’s dolls, shirts, posters and now the “Game of Thrones” mixtape. “Catch the Throne” features Common, Daddy Yankee, Wale and other rappers with their songs inspired by the show. My two favorite tracks are “Arya’s Prayer” and “King Slayer”.
Arya’s Prayer: Dominik Ortega
King Slayer: Wale
*Recently saw the Daniel Radcliffe/Dane DeHaan film “How to Kill Your Darlings” and they used this song in a really cool scene. I haven’t heard it in years. It still holds up.
Wolf Like Me-TV on the Radio
Back to “Divergent”. Surprisingly I found Jai Courtney to be really good as the ruthless Eric. I was sure I was going to hate him forever because of that let’s-just-forget- this-film-happened “Live Free and Die Hard”.
Courtney has been cast as Kyle Reese in the “Terminator” reboot “Terminator: Genesis” alongside fellow Australian Jason Clarke (word on Clarke’s casting hasn’t been announced but in an interview Jai said that he couldn’t wait to work with him and Emilia Clarke who will play Sarah Conner).
Like Jai Courtney, Miles Teller is stepping into an established franchise. Miles has been cast alongside his “That Awkward Moment” costar Michael B. Jordan, Kate Mara and Jaime Bell in the reboot of “The Fantastic Four” titled “L’il Fantastic Four”.
Okay, that’s not true.
But it is true that Teller and Jordan are stepping into the roles of Reed “Mr. Fantastic” Richards and Johnny “Human Torch” Storm.
Before they Flame On, Teller and Jordan are teaming up for a heist film written and to be directed by their “That Awkward Moment” writer/director Tom Gormican.
The deal for Gormican’s film was announced after the press for “That Awkward Moment” was done so that there wouldn’t be that …awkward moment where people questioned why Zac Efron wasn’t cast in the next film.
Sorry Zac. Three’s a crowd.
Michael and Miles tweeted this stating that women aren’t the only ones who could wear red-bottomed shoes
Unsurprisingly there were narrow minded people who didn’t take too kindly to the news that a black man was taking on the white Johnny Storm.
a sampling
Like why is Michael b Jordan in that film as Johnny???? WHEN WAS THE HUMAN TORCH EVER BLACK ? HIS SISTER IS WHITE ? WTF
New cast of #FantasticFour reboot sucks! Human Torch is now black for some PC reason. Stick to the source material and stop the nonsense!
If it's okay for a black guy to play Human Torch in the F4 reboot then I guess it's okay for a white guy to play Black Panther, right?
Seriously, you cast a black dude to play the human torch in the reboot. That's so not right!! (Not being racist, no offense)
Getting somebody Black to play Johnny Storm & somebody white to play Susan Storm is the equivalent of getting a white guy to play Malcolm X.
**Because we all know that Johnny Storm is a real person like Malcolm X. And if Hollywood cared about the actors ethnicity reflecting that of the real life characters we would’ve never had Ben Affleck as the lead in “Argo”.
But Jordan took the high road and said that the reaction was expected.
“You kinda know going into it that people are used to seeing something one way, it’s a continuity thing more than anything. People don’t like change too much. But annoyed? Eh, you just kinda accept it, it is what it is. You can’t make everybody happy. You just gotta accept that and know. I’m an actor, I have to do my job. I’m going to do my job the best I can and the way I’ve been doing it my entire life, my entire career… I don’t really let it bother me at all. I just want to go into it and do the best job I can. We’ll see what happens.”
Haters Gonna Hate on all this sexiness
But Michael B. Jordan can take comfort because now the remake of “Annie” is getting the same heat.
A Sampling
Black Annie…? No… Annie always will be and always should be a ginger! #notracist just traditional”
**I wonder if they would be okay with a black redhead. My cousin is one with freckles..the whole lot. Would that casting be acceptable?
They turned Annie black. I have no problems with black people. I have a problem with a non-ginger”
I’m not racist. ANNIE IS NOT BLACK. She is a cute little white girl with curly red hair. She does not have an Afro
And these are the nice ones. I left out the ones where Quvenzhané Wallis is called an n-word. Don’t you love this post-racial America?
Annie will be hitting theaters this Christmas.
*Back to Theo James real quick. Theo is a singer in the band Shere Kahn named after the tiger in “The Jungle Book”.
It was just announced last week that Idris Elba will voice Shere Kahn in the live action version of “The Jungle Book”.
Idris unwittingly became the focus of a meme. A man obviously breaking under the weight of Idris’ hotness posted a poem online titled “Sorry I’m Not Idris Elba”
Wow, Idris caused all kinds of damage to your self esteem
Other men stepped up to post their “I’m Sorry I’m Not Idris Elba” tweets.
What did Dris have to say about all of this?
The Veronica Mars Movie
Seven years after the short-lived UPN/WB series cancellation (it only lasted 3 seasons) the cast reunites for this partially funded by crowdfunding film.
Veronica Mars (Kristen Bell) has given up sleuthing and is now in New York, settled into a relationship with Piz (Chris Lowell)
and embarking on a career as a lawyer when her plan for an ordinary life is shook by the news that her ex-boyfriend Logan Echolls (Jason Dohring) is suspected of murdering his singer girlfriend.
Veronica returns to her hometown of Neptune for the purpose of clearing Logan’s name despite the misgivings of her private investigator father (Enrico Colantoni) who wants her out of the crime-solving business and away from the pull of Logan.
While Veronica’s life has change she has found out so has Neptune, which is now being run by the corrupt Sheriff Dan Lamb (Jerry O’Connell) who wants nothing more than to make his name by putting Logan behind bars.
Watching the film I had the feeling that you get when a friend introduces you to their friend and they have their own shorthand and you’re watching and are entertained and feel welcomed but you don’t get the full weight of what they’re talking about. There were moments where audience members gasped or awwed and I knew it was because of something from the show that had no relevance to me. It didn’t detract from the film but I wish I could have those same feelings.
I could follow the relationships in the film but I had to investment in it because it’s treated like an afterthought that new audiences would need more background on the Veronica/Logan and Veronica/Piz relationships.
The film has an exposition filled voiceover by Veronica detailing her relationships but film is a visual medium and the film would’ve done well with at least one new flashback scene apiece or flashback from the show that gives audiences a deeper understanding on her loves because no matter how much Veronica (in voiceover) equates her relationship with Logan with being a drug addict, until we see the depth of that it feels unsatisfactory.
Was this the show’s big OTP?
At a slim 104 minutes the movie could’ve taken time to explore the mystery and relationships more.
Total aside. When did Max Greenfield (who appears in the film) become so cute? I guess because his character Schmidt on “The New Girl” is so cheesy that it’s impossible to find him attractive. It’s like being sold swamp land: you’ve been snuckered! You should’ve known better. But Greenfield…his smile. He could sell ice to an Eskimo with that smile, that charming bastard.
*I saw “The Veronica Mars Movie” at the Century City mall and walking to the theater I was next to Tyler Jacob Moore (formerly of “Shameless” and “GCB”). At first I wasn’t sure if it was him so I kept looking then realized it was him and I kept looking and trying to hide my stupid grin. He was with his new girlfriend (he and Emmy Rossum split up sometime last year) and they were hugged up, laughing on their way to Gelsons with his recyclable bag. Completely cute couple: he in his cargo shorts and white basic tee and her in a olive jacket and tan boots. They looked like they were going hiking and then rock climbing or something.
Meanwhile “Raising Hope” has been cancelled after four seasons.
I’m hoping that “Almost Human” doesn’t suffer the same fate. The show is on the bubble. If it’s canned it would be the third Michael Ealy show that didn’t make it two seasons: “Flash Forward” and “Common Law” being the others.
I see that there is a small amount of “Almost Human” fanfiction.
I can see why
While small it seems to be more fics than “Common Law” had and the entire premise of “Common Law” was perfect fodder for slash! Two officers who are going through couples counseling. They were practically boyfriends! It was a gift.
Ealy still has a supporter in his “Common Law” costar Warren Kole.
In October of last year with their other costar Sonya Walger
*As “The Tomorrow People” and “Hart of Dixie” await their fates (join TTP on their move to Monday nights beginning next week!!), other CW shows are casting up and shooting. The “Supernatural” spinoff originally titled “Supernatural: Tribes” is now dubbed “Supernatural: Bloodlines” because that makes it better and has added the final character, a female one!
Melissa Roxburgh has been cast as Violet a member of the werewolf pack who is forced to hide her true form because of her forbidden love for family rival David (Nathaniel Buzolic)
“The Flash” is filming their pilot and set pics have popped up.
Grant with former “Flash” John Wesley Shipp
At least Gustin’s costume is better than Shipp’s
We weren’t really wondering about what was under the suit, dude.
We need a full on Flash reunion. Barry, Wally, Bart, Jay
Candice Patton who plays Iris West
~The Flash isn’t the only DC superhero coming to TV. FOX has a superhero…ally in James Gordon who will be the central character in the pilot “Gotham”.
What is “Gotham” about if you couldn’t already tell by James Gordon and the title?
"Everyone knows the name Commissioner Gordon. He is one of the crime world's greatest foes, a man whose reputation is synonymous with law and order. But what is known of Gordon's story and his rise from rookie detective to Police Commissioner? What did it take to navigate the multiple layers of corruption that secretly ruled Gotham City, the spawning ground of the world's most iconic villains? And what circumstances created them - the larger-than-life personas who would become Catwoman, The Penguin, The Riddler, Two-Face and The Joker?
'GOTHAM' is an origin story of the great DC Comics super villains and vigilantes, revealing an entirely new chapter that has never been told. From executive producer/writer Bruno Heller ('The Mentalist,' 'Rome'), 'GOTHAM' follows one cop's rise through a dangerously corrupt city teetering on the edge of evil and chronicles the birth of one of the most popular super heroes of our time.
Growing up in Gotham City's surrounding suburbs, JAMES GORDON (Ben McKenzie, 'Southland,' 'The O.C.') romanticized the city as a glamorous and exciting metropolis where his late father once served as a successful district attorney. Now, two weeks into his new job as a Gotham City detective and engaged to his beloved fiancée, BARBARA KEAN (Erin Richards, 'Open Grave,' 'Breaking In'), Gordon is living his dream - even as he hopes to restore the city back to the pure version he remembers it was as a kid.
Brave, honest and ready to prove himself, the newly-minted detective is partnered with the brash, but shrewd police legend HARVEY BULLOCK (Donal Logue, 'Sons of Anarchy,' 'Terriers,' 'Vikings,' 'Copper'), as the two stumble upon the city's highest-profile case ever: the murder of local billionaires Thomas and Martha Wayne. At the scene of the crime, Gordon meets the sole survivor: the Waynes' hauntingly intense 12-year-old son, BRUCE (David Mazouz, 'Touch'), toward whom the young detective feels an inexplicable kinship. Moved by the boy's profound loss, Gordon vows to catch the killer.
As he navigates the often-underhanded politics of Gotham's criminal justice system, Gordon will confront imposing gang boss FISH MOONEY (Jada Pinkett Smith, 'The Matrix' films, 'HawthoRNe,' 'Collateral'), and many of the characters who will become some of fiction's most renowned, enduring villains, including a teenaged SELINA KYLE/the future CATWOMAN (acting newcomer Camren Bicondova) and OSWALD COBBLEPOT/THE PENGUIN (Robin Lord Taylor, 'The Walking Dead,' 'Another Earth').
Although the crime drama will follow Gordon's turbulent and singular rise through the Gotham City police department, led by Police Captain SARAH ESSEN (Zabryna Guevara, 'Burn Notice'), it also will focus on the unlikely friendship Gordon forms with the young heir to the Wayne fortune, who is being raised by his unflappable butler, ALFRED (Sean Pertwee, 'Camelot,' 'Elementary'). It is a friendship that will last them all of their lives, playing a crucial role in helping the young boy eventually become the crusader he's destined to be.
~ With “Warehouse 13” canned, Good Twin Aaron Ashmore has picked up a new gig. Aaron is following in the footsteps in the footsteps of his baby brother Shawn…
I’m loving him and Jessica Stroup this season
by playing an officer in the ABC pilot “Agatha”. Aaron will play “Jimmy McAuliffe a handsome, good-humored and good-natured meat and potatoes guy who is a beat cop with the Philly PD and lives in the shadow of his father.”
He was also named one of Canada’s top talents.
with Erica Durance
and proud Canadian Jay Baruchel.
~Former supermodel Stephanie Seymour did a photoshoot with her two sons for Harper’s Bazaar. The shoot made people think it literally bizarre for her to do such a shoot with her sons. Some weirdos think the shoot was too provocative, especially since a few years back people questioned her PDA with her oldest son Peter Brant Jr.
I don’t get what the big deal is. It’s not porny or odd. And if they read the accompanying story for the shoot she talked about how her kids have always laid out her clothes for her in the morning, dressing her for her day and school functions. This is a play on that.
Okay, Peter Jr. What are you doing with your hands?
All of this to say “Bates Motel” is back!!!
Season Two sees more of creepy Norman, the histrionics of Norma and third-wheel Dylan.
The hell it isn’t. I’m totally on board for some Norma/Dylan wrongness.
This season also provides new cast members in Rebecca Creskoff and Michael Vartan.
*Dear heart Tom Hardy is doing many things, though we just haven’t actually seen those things just yet. Tom several films coming out: the long gestating “Mad Max” reboot, “Locke” (starring Andrew Scott and Ruth Wilson’
Wilson made the Worst Dressed List at the BAFTAs. I love this suit.
“The Drop” (originally titled “Animal Rescue” costarring the late James Gandolfini) and “Child 44”, both with his buddy Noomi Rapace.
On the “Child 44” set
On “The Drop” set
He has still yet to film the Elton John biopic “Rocket Man” and he’s in talks for several films including the Whitey Bulger flick starring Johnny Depp, the film version of “Splinter Cell”, “Cicero” in which he would play Al Capone and the poaching drama he’s producing with Leonardo DiCaprio.
The duo reunited at the BAFTAs
*Tom was there as the escort to his pal writer Kelly Marcel who was nominated for “Saving Mr. Banks”.
Knackered from taking all those pictures?
Tom isn’t just satisfied with film. He and his wifey (even if they’ve never made it to the altar) Charlotte Riley have signed on to appear in Season 2 of Cillian Murphy’s BBC period crime drama “Peaky Blinders”.
Cillian Murphy all duded up
He’s also teaming up with his father Edward to write a crime series for Sky Atlantic titled “Bluebelle”. Tom will star in the role.
He’s been modeling from BLAG magazine
Doing an advert for the charity Stand Up to Cancer
And he’s taken seriously his duties as the Ambassador for the Prince’s Trust by turning up to various events discussing the dangers of drug addiction as well as participating in events for the Royal Air Force and Royal Marines.
Looking great in general
And cuddling puppies!!!
After shedding the role of selfless, good guy Michael Bluth, Jason Bateman is returning to the smarmy, jerktastic characters he played on “Silver Spoons”, “It’s Your Move”, “Love Stinks” and “Smokin’ Aces”
He did look fetching in panties, though
In “Bad Words” Jason makes his feature film directorial debut (he has directed before being the youngest person to join the Directors Guild of America at 18 when he directed several episodes of “The Hogan Family”) as Guy Twimbly, an angry, acid tongued agitator who sets out to compete in a national Spelling Bee.
No one knows Guy’s reason for his mission, not even Jenny (Kathryn Hahn) a Blogger and Guy’s sponsor who hopes to get a story out of this endeavor.
Guy makes it to the National Quill spelling bee and attracts the attention of a lonely ten-year old competitor Chaitainya (Rohan Chand) who wants to befriend Guy.
One eye focused on winning and the other on showing Chaitainya how to have adult fun, Guy presence in the spelling bee causes chaos for the bee’s administrator and the parents.
“Bad Words” is a funny, albeit abrasive comedy that sometimes tips into the “too far” category. If it was the same humor directed at adults I wouldn’t have winced as much but this film is about Guy interacting with pre-teens and it’s a no holds barred equal opportunity offender type of humor.
Bateman as director and actor has no qualms about unlikeability. There’s not a huge push to make Guy likeable. You finally understand his mission but it still does not offer a redemption arc which is actually welcomed because big-mouthed idiotic jerks who feel that they are the smartest guy in the room like Guy exists.
Rohan Chand more than holds his own with Bateman and they make a unlikely good pairing.
The film also stars Alison Janney who is far and away from the sexy, wild character of Bonnie she plays in “Mom” and Philip Baker Hall as the originator of the National Quill Spelling Bee who is struggling to uphold its standards yet desperate for any way to get Guy out of the panel. And in a nice little turn Steve Witting who played one of Jason Bateman’s friends during the run of “Valerie”/”The Hogan Family” plays the spelling bee proctor.
Based on the book series set in the dystopic future. No, not “Hunger Games”. No, not “The Maze Runner”. “Divergent” is the film adaptation of the book of the same name by Victoria Roth.
Set in futuristic Chicago some 100 years after a war that made government split up people behind a wall into factions based personalities. There’s the Candors who are known for speaking their minds, the Erudites who value logic, the Dauntless who are the military faction that protect the wall, Amity who are known for their peacefulness and the selfless, helper of the helpless the Abnegation.
Beatrice Prior (Shailene Woodley) is born into the Abnegation faction and lives with her brother Caleb (Ansel Elgort) and parents Natalie and Andrew (Ashley Judd and Tony Goldwyn).
When the annual testing day arrives in which kids are tested to see which faction they belong to Beatrice’s test administrator Tori (Maggie Q.) alerts Beatrice that she is divergent: she possesses all of the qualities from each factor. Being divergent is a threat to the status quo as there it makes it harder for the government to control you.
Not feeling that she wants to stay in her faction Beatrice chooses to leave her family and pledge Dauntless.
Under the tutelage of Dauntless trainers the brutal, dictatorial Eric (Jai Courtney) and the tough, demanding Four (Theo James)
, Beatrice (now going by Tris) and the other transfers former Candors Christina (Zoe Kravitz) and Peter (Miles Teller), former Eurdite Will (Ben Lloyd-Hughes) and Al (Christian Madsen) fight to endure the ten week training.
If they fail out of Dauntless they will become factionless..the castoffs who are not allowed to go back to their previous factions.
Tris tries to hide her divergent status from Four and the wary leader Jeanine Matthews (Kate Winslet)
When a plan to stage a coupe against the leadership of the Abnegation is uncovered by Tris society’s motto ‘faction over blood’ is put to the test.
I liked this film better than the first “Hunger Game” mostly because it feels like a complete film (despite 80% of it being a training montage). There are two other books (“Insurgent” and “Alegiant”) and they will surely be made into films but “Divergent” isn’t open ended. If the audience comes back for the sequel it’s on the strength of the film not because it left loose ends. There’s not even an end credit scene to tease the inevitable sequel.
It has its own makeup line at Sephora. Of course there will be a sequel!
Shailene Woodley as Tris with her slightly raspy voice and straw colored hair is reminiscent of Llinday Lohan but fares better at playing an unassuming character. Tris isn’t as dynamic as Katniss Everdeen but Tris struggle with trying to define herself and find her place in the world is easy to relate to.
I saw the film with a bunch of high schoolers because Summit invited Hollywood High students since the film was playing across from the school. It played really well with its target audience. There was a girl behind me who left the film damn near giddy.
And they seemed to really like the Tris/Four relationship even though they’ve aged Four up in the film.
Because 29-year old Theo James does not look 19
At the inevitable UST scenes a boy behind me whispered, irriatedly, ‘He’s like ten years old than she is.”
The only thing I knew about Theo James before seeing this film was that he was on the short-lived CBS series “Golden Boy” taking over for the role Ryan Philippe vacated. He’s attractive enough but he’s missing that spark that makes one sexy.
Not even his British accent and being Greek gives him extra points
*Though if I can find a picture of him with a hairy chest I may rank him higher.
The cast including Mekhi Pfeiffer
*The music selection was pretty good. Junkie XL who I only discovered through the ugly baby brother Hemsworth film “Paranoia”. Turns out he’s been in the business forever and works with Hans Zimmer. Who knew? I certainly didn’t. On “Divergent” Junkie XL was the music supervisor with Zimmer doing the score. Junkie XL went with a slight electronica-ambient bent with music by Zedd and M83.
~ Find You: Zedd
~I really love Tame Impala. They’re doing what MGMT has been doing lately: employing a subsonic, low-fi psychedelic pop sound mixed with dance/club aesthetics. Tame Impala’s song “Feel Like We’re Going Backwards” was remixed for the soundtrack by Kendrick Lamar.
Backwards: Kendrick Lamar ft. Tame Impala
~I prefer the original track. Feel Like We’re Going Backwards: Tame Impala
~It sounds like there’s a saxophone playing underneath and it just makes the song have a more sturdy feel whereas most recent M83 sounds are very airy and dreamy.
I Need You: M83
The first M83 song I ever heard. It reminds me of a Snow Patrol song. Sonically M83 have grown so much.
Don’t Save Us From the Flames
The second M83 song I ever heard. The galloping drum carries this song heard at the end of the Michael B. Jordan/Dane DeHaan film “Chronicle” “This Bright Flash”
This Bright Flash
~One of the endtracks to the film. You can’t go too wrong with Snow Patrol.
I Won’t Let You Go: Snow Patrol
~HBO wants to rule the Iron Throne of merchandise with “Game of Thrones”. There’s dolls, shirts, posters and now the “Game of Thrones” mixtape. “Catch the Throne” features Common, Daddy Yankee, Wale and other rappers with their songs inspired by the show. My two favorite tracks are “Arya’s Prayer” and “King Slayer”.
Arya’s Prayer: Dominik Ortega
King Slayer: Wale
*Recently saw the Daniel Radcliffe/Dane DeHaan film “How to Kill Your Darlings” and they used this song in a really cool scene. I haven’t heard it in years. It still holds up.
Wolf Like Me-TV on the Radio
Back to “Divergent”. Surprisingly I found Jai Courtney to be really good as the ruthless Eric. I was sure I was going to hate him forever because of that let’s-just-forget- this-film-happened “Live Free and Die Hard”.
Courtney has been cast as Kyle Reese in the “Terminator” reboot “Terminator: Genesis” alongside fellow Australian Jason Clarke (word on Clarke’s casting hasn’t been announced but in an interview Jai said that he couldn’t wait to work with him and Emilia Clarke who will play Sarah Conner).
Like Jai Courtney, Miles Teller is stepping into an established franchise. Miles has been cast alongside his “That Awkward Moment” costar Michael B. Jordan, Kate Mara and Jaime Bell in the reboot of “The Fantastic Four” titled “L’il Fantastic Four”.
Okay, that’s not true.
But it is true that Teller and Jordan are stepping into the roles of Reed “Mr. Fantastic” Richards and Johnny “Human Torch” Storm.
Before they Flame On, Teller and Jordan are teaming up for a heist film written and to be directed by their “That Awkward Moment” writer/director Tom Gormican.
The deal for Gormican’s film was announced after the press for “That Awkward Moment” was done so that there wouldn’t be that …awkward moment where people questioned why Zac Efron wasn’t cast in the next film.
Sorry Zac. Three’s a crowd.
Michael and Miles tweeted this stating that women aren’t the only ones who could wear red-bottomed shoes
Unsurprisingly there were narrow minded people who didn’t take too kindly to the news that a black man was taking on the white Johnny Storm.
a sampling
Like why is Michael b Jordan in that film as Johnny???? WHEN WAS THE HUMAN TORCH EVER BLACK ? HIS SISTER IS WHITE ? WTF
New cast of #FantasticFour reboot sucks! Human Torch is now black for some PC reason. Stick to the source material and stop the nonsense!
If it's okay for a black guy to play Human Torch in the F4 reboot then I guess it's okay for a white guy to play Black Panther, right?
Seriously, you cast a black dude to play the human torch in the reboot. That's so not right!! (Not being racist, no offense)
Getting somebody Black to play Johnny Storm & somebody white to play Susan Storm is the equivalent of getting a white guy to play Malcolm X.
**Because we all know that Johnny Storm is a real person like Malcolm X. And if Hollywood cared about the actors ethnicity reflecting that of the real life characters we would’ve never had Ben Affleck as the lead in “Argo”.
But Jordan took the high road and said that the reaction was expected.
“You kinda know going into it that people are used to seeing something one way, it’s a continuity thing more than anything. People don’t like change too much. But annoyed? Eh, you just kinda accept it, it is what it is. You can’t make everybody happy. You just gotta accept that and know. I’m an actor, I have to do my job. I’m going to do my job the best I can and the way I’ve been doing it my entire life, my entire career… I don’t really let it bother me at all. I just want to go into it and do the best job I can. We’ll see what happens.”
Haters Gonna Hate on all this sexiness
But Michael B. Jordan can take comfort because now the remake of “Annie” is getting the same heat.
A Sampling
Black Annie…? No… Annie always will be and always should be a ginger! #notracist just traditional”
**I wonder if they would be okay with a black redhead. My cousin is one with freckles..the whole lot. Would that casting be acceptable?
They turned Annie black. I have no problems with black people. I have a problem with a non-ginger”
I’m not racist. ANNIE IS NOT BLACK. She is a cute little white girl with curly red hair. She does not have an Afro
And these are the nice ones. I left out the ones where Quvenzhané Wallis is called an n-word. Don’t you love this post-racial America?
Annie will be hitting theaters this Christmas.
*Back to Theo James real quick. Theo is a singer in the band Shere Kahn named after the tiger in “The Jungle Book”.
It was just announced last week that Idris Elba will voice Shere Kahn in the live action version of “The Jungle Book”.
Idris unwittingly became the focus of a meme. A man obviously breaking under the weight of Idris’ hotness posted a poem online titled “Sorry I’m Not Idris Elba”
Wow, Idris caused all kinds of damage to your self esteem
Other men stepped up to post their “I’m Sorry I’m Not Idris Elba” tweets.
What did Dris have to say about all of this?
The Veronica Mars Movie
Seven years after the short-lived UPN/WB series cancellation (it only lasted 3 seasons) the cast reunites for this partially funded by crowdfunding film.
Veronica Mars (Kristen Bell) has given up sleuthing and is now in New York, settled into a relationship with Piz (Chris Lowell)
and embarking on a career as a lawyer when her plan for an ordinary life is shook by the news that her ex-boyfriend Logan Echolls (Jason Dohring) is suspected of murdering his singer girlfriend.
Veronica returns to her hometown of Neptune for the purpose of clearing Logan’s name despite the misgivings of her private investigator father (Enrico Colantoni) who wants her out of the crime-solving business and away from the pull of Logan.
While Veronica’s life has change she has found out so has Neptune, which is now being run by the corrupt Sheriff Dan Lamb (Jerry O’Connell) who wants nothing more than to make his name by putting Logan behind bars.
Watching the film I had the feeling that you get when a friend introduces you to their friend and they have their own shorthand and you’re watching and are entertained and feel welcomed but you don’t get the full weight of what they’re talking about. There were moments where audience members gasped or awwed and I knew it was because of something from the show that had no relevance to me. It didn’t detract from the film but I wish I could have those same feelings.
I could follow the relationships in the film but I had to investment in it because it’s treated like an afterthought that new audiences would need more background on the Veronica/Logan and Veronica/Piz relationships.
The film has an exposition filled voiceover by Veronica detailing her relationships but film is a visual medium and the film would’ve done well with at least one new flashback scene apiece or flashback from the show that gives audiences a deeper understanding on her loves because no matter how much Veronica (in voiceover) equates her relationship with Logan with being a drug addict, until we see the depth of that it feels unsatisfactory.
Was this the show’s big OTP?
At a slim 104 minutes the movie could’ve taken time to explore the mystery and relationships more.
Total aside. When did Max Greenfield (who appears in the film) become so cute? I guess because his character Schmidt on “The New Girl” is so cheesy that it’s impossible to find him attractive. It’s like being sold swamp land: you’ve been snuckered! You should’ve known better. But Greenfield…his smile. He could sell ice to an Eskimo with that smile, that charming bastard.
*I saw “The Veronica Mars Movie” at the Century City mall and walking to the theater I was next to Tyler Jacob Moore (formerly of “Shameless” and “GCB”). At first I wasn’t sure if it was him so I kept looking then realized it was him and I kept looking and trying to hide my stupid grin. He was with his new girlfriend (he and Emmy Rossum split up sometime last year) and they were hugged up, laughing on their way to Gelsons with his recyclable bag. Completely cute couple: he in his cargo shorts and white basic tee and her in a olive jacket and tan boots. They looked like they were going hiking and then rock climbing or something.