“Could I offer one piece of serious advice?…Start thinking now about you want your legacy to be.” Having made peace with The Queen, Tony Blair (Michael Sheen once more) now contends with President Bill and First Lady Hillary Clinton (Dennis Quaid and Hope Davis respectively) in this brief teaser for Richard Loncraine’s The Special Relationship, written by Peter Morgan. (This is the fifth Morgan/Sheen collaboration after The Deal, The Queen, Frost/Nixon, and The Damned United.) With this, Treme, The Pacific, Song of Ice and Fire, and Boardwalk Empire, the reasons for re-subscribing to HBO seem to be mounting.
Tag: Television
The Thespian, the Fantasist, and the Siren.
“[T]here isn’t any such thing as a bad day. Yes, bad things happen. But any day that I’m still here, able to feel and think and share things with people, then how could that possibly be a bad day?” Lynn Redgrave, 1943-2010
“‘He’s going to be remembered as the most renowned fantasy illustrator of the 20th Century,’ Pistella said.” Frank Frazetta, 1928-2010.
“‘The whole thing that made me a star was the war,’ Ms. Horne said in the 1990 interview. ‘Of course the black guys couldn’t put Betty Grable’s picture in their footlockers. But they could put mine.” Lena Horne, 1917-2010.
I See Dead People.
I haven’t been keeping up on this lately, but casting has been filling out for Frank Darabont’s adaptation of Robert Kirkman’s zombie-epic The Walking Dead, starting this October on AMC. Joining the shamble are Andrew Lincoln (as Rick Grimes), Sarah Wayne Callies (Lori), Jon Bernthal (Shane), Jeffrey DeMunn (likely Dale), Steven Yuen (Glenn) and, the most recognizable face, Laurie Holden — nee X-Files‘ Maria Covarrubias — as Andrea.
In very related news, please do keep in mind that May is Zombie Awareness Month. “Supporters of Zombie Awareness Month wear a gray ribbon to signify the undead shadows that lurk behind our modern light of day. From May 1 through May 31, Zombie Research Society Members and friends take this small step to acknowledge the coming danger.” Awareness!
So, What Have You Got For Me This Time?
Update: Still a mite campy for my tastes, but you can see good, creepy ideas by Moffat — the secret room, the floating eyeball, Prisoner Zero’s disguises — all over the show. And Matt Smith is certifiably great — The guy was born to play the Doctor. I’m definitely looking forward to this season.
An Encore (Already) for Simon’s Nola.
“I can’t think of another show that is more emblematic of what we aspire to be as a network than TREME…We are thrilled that the press has recognized the profound artistry and intelligence of this show and are eager to see where David and Eric take us in a second season.” Looka! I haven’t yet boarded the Treme train which left the station this past Sunday — no Home Box Office ’round these parts just yet. Nonetheless, HBO has already ordered up a second season, and I can’t wait to catch up.
A Double-Cross Summer.
In the wake of this weekend’s Clash of the Titans reboot (which, btw, is not doing so hot, review-wise), several new summer trailers with a common theme: In probably the most promising of the lot, CIA badass Angelina Jolie has to go rogue for God and Country in the second trailer for Phillip Noyce’s Salt, also with Chiwetel Ejiofor, Liev Schreiber, and Andre Braugher. (I was sorta expecting a No Way Out ending at first, but after this, ten bucks says Schreiber’s the mole.)
Elsewhere, Liam Neeson et al love it when a TV reboot comes together in trailer #2 for Joe Carnahan’s The A-Team, also with Jessica Biel, Patrick Wilson, Bradley Cooper, Sharlto Copley, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, and Gerald McRaney. Eh, still on the fence about this one — I’ll probably end up seeing it despite myself.
And not to be confused with this squad or the equally double-crossed Losers, Sylvester Stallone leads a team of action stars and 80’s has-beens in search of an easy paycheck in the new trailer for The Expendables, with Jason Statham, Jet Li, Mickey Rourke, Steve Austin, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, Terry Crews, and, briefly, Bruce Willis and Governor Schwarzenegger. Lordy, that looks all kinds of terrible.
Update: Speaking of looking terrible, a restricted trailer for Jorma Taccone’s MacGruber, i.e. Will Forte’s SNL take on MacGyver, is also making the rounds. Along for the ride are Val Kilmer, Ryan Phillippe, Powers Boothe, Maya Rudolph, and the venerable Kristen Wiig, who hopefully gets funnier material elsewhere in the film than she does here.
Dr. Watson: One Hoopy Frood.
“I’m so proud of this particular group of programs,’ says ‘Masterpiece’ executive producer Rebecca Eaton. ‘These three series say everything about what ‘Masterpiece’ aims to be: iconic, rich with wonderful actors, witty, literate, and timeless. I can’t wait to see them all.'” Along with Upstairs, Downstairs and a take on the Aurelio Zen novels, Sherlock Holmes will get a 21st century revamp for BBC’s Masterpiece Theater, starring Benedict Cumberbatch (of Atonement, although I don’t remember him) as the eponymous detective and Martin Freeman (i.e. the original Tim and most recent Arthur Dent) as Dr. Watson. In addition, new Who guru Steven Moffat is co-producing. (Via Dangerous Meta and cdogzilla.)
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?
“The pilot is about a bunch of intersecting lives in the world of horse racing,” Milch told Daily Variety. “It’s a subject which has engaged and some might say has compelled me for 50 years. I’ve joked that if I just can make $25 million on this show, I’ll be even on research expenses.” This might be interesting — Deadwood‘s David Milch and Michael Mann are coming together for Luck, a new 1-hour pilot for HBO.
Sure, Milch’s John from Cincinnati basically went off the rails and was close to unwatchable. Still, with this, Tom McCarthy’s A Game of Thrones, and David Simon’s Treme on the docket, I might actually re-up for HBO one of these days.
“Trust me. I’m a Doctor.”
Well, given the whole regeneration thing, it had to happen at some point: In the year 2010, I’m now older than the Doctor. As David Tennant bids his US farewell tonight (reports are it’s another badly overstuffed Russell Davies number, but we’ll see), the era of Eleventh Doctor Matt Smith kicks off with this BBC teaser.
Hmmm…Seems alright so far — sort of a cross between Tennant and Peter Davison. In any case, I have faith in new showrunner Stephen Moffatt. Speaking of which, it looks like Alex Kingston is back, and Carey Mulligan may have to take a break from megastardom to help the Doctor with those stone angels again.
Update: The new trailer, frame-by-frame.
Like a Cake Shop without any Cakes.
“We’ve noticed the less we say about the future of the show, the more people want to talk about it, so in an effort to reverse this trend we are today announcing that we won’t be returning for a 3rd season. We’re very proud of the two seasons we made and we like the way the show ended.” Bret? Jemaine? Murray? Alas, nobody’s present: The Kiwi powers-that-be have pulled the plug on a Flight of the Conchords Season 3 (although they will remain, in real, non-HBO life, the bane of the novelty music paparazzi.) Ah well, it was a good run.