We’re just weeks away from the March 1st theatrical release of Dune: Part Two, the second half of director Denis Villeneuve’s two-part adaptation of the Frank Herbert novel Dune… and the whole time we’ve been gearing up to see this movie, one element of it that has been getting a lot of hype is the presence of sandworms. Cast member Javier Bardem said he wanted to ride a sandworm in the film, the actors said the production included “a main unit, a second unit, and a sandworm unit“, and there are tie-in popcorn buckets designed to look like sandworms. Now an extended sneak preview has made its way online, and it features a clip from the film where our hero Paul Atreides learns to ride a sandworm! You can check it out in the embed at the bottom of this article.
Scripted by Villeneuve, Eric Roth, and Jon Spaihts, Dune: Part One (watch or buy it HERE) introduced viewers to Paul Atreides (played by Timothée Chalamet), “a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding”, who must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet’s exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence – a commodity capable of unlocking humanity’s greatest potential – only those who can conquer their fear will survive. Coming to us from Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment, Dune: Part Two will explore the mythic journey of Paul Atreides as he unites with Chani and the Fremen while on a path of revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the known universe, he endeavors to prevent a terrible future only he can foresee.
Chalamet and Bardem are joined in the cast by Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Charlotte Rampling, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Josh Brolin, Florence Pugh, Austin Butler, Tim Blake Nelson, Christopher Walken, Souheila Yacoub, and Léa Seydoux.
Villeneuve is producing Dune: Part Two with Mary Parent, Cale Boyter, Tanya Lapointe, and Patrick McCormick. Spaihts serves as executive producer alongside Josh Grode, Herbert W. Gains, Brian Herbert, Byron Merritt, Kim Herbert, Thomas Tull, Richard P. Rubinstein, and John Harrison. Kevin J. Anderson is creative consultant.
Villeneuve and Spaihts wrote the screenplay for Dune: Part Two, and The Last of Us showrunner Craig Mazin has revealed that he worked on the script as well.
Are you interested in Dune: Part Two, and are you looking forward to seeing the sandworm action on the big screen? Let us know by leaving a comment below – but first, check out this preview clip:
Pachinko and After Yangdirector Kogonada is ready to begin work on his next feature, A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, and he’s bringing Academy Award nominees Margot Robbie and Colin Farrell along for the ride. The acting duo stars in Kogonada’s new project, with production by Imperative Entertainment. The endeavor boasts an original script by The Menu writer Seth Reiss, with Kogonada behind the camera.
Plot details remain a mystery, though Deadline says A Big Bold Beautiful Journey is described as “an imaginative tale of two strangers and the unbelievable journey that connects them.” Cameras roll in the Spring in California, with 30West financing the feature.
Margot Robbie’s participation in Kogonada’s film is intriguing because last month, The Suicide Squad and Barbie actress said she was considering taking a short break from acting. Robbie is concerned people are “probably getting sick of her,” and she does not want to outstay her welcome.
“This is the longest I haven’t acted on a set because we finished Barbie in October of 2022,” Robbie revealed. “So, it’s already been more than a year since I was on set as an actor, and other than Covid, that’s the first time that’s ever happened.” Robbie told Deadline in January. It would seem that enough time has ticked by for Robbie to get back in front of the cameras, and with Colin Farrell as her co-star, it’s shaping up to be one hell of a return.
Meanwhile, Colin Farrell and Kogonada worked together on 2021’s After Yang, a drama set in the near future where a family reckons with questions of love, connection, and loss after their A.I. helper unexpectedly breaks down. Farrell’s next acting gig is for the upcoming Apple TV+ series Sugar. Sugar is a contemporary, unique take on one of the most popular and significant genres in literary, motion picture, and television history: the private detective story. Colin Farrell stars as John Sugar, an American private investigator on the heels of the mysterious disappearance of Olivia Siegel, the beloved granddaughter of legendary Hollywood producer Jonathan Siegel. As Sugar tries to determine what happened to Olivia, he will also unearth Siegel’s family secrets, some very recent, others long-buried.
The series also stars Kirby, Amy Ryan, James Cromwell, Anna Gunn, Dennis Boutsikaris, Nate Corddry, Sydney Chandler, and Alex Hernandez.
What do you think about Margot Robbie and Colin Farrell teaming up for Kogonada’s next feature? Did you see After Yang? What did you think? Let us know in the comments section below.
The episode of WTF Happened to This Horror Movie? covering The Silence of the Lambs was Written by Mike Holtz, Narrated by Adam Walton, Edited by Victoria Verduzco, Produced by Andrew Hatfield and John Fallon, and Executive Produced by Berge Garabedian.
A serial killer who has excellent taste in music but happens to skin women alive. Another serial killer who eats his victims and sometimes wears their faces. A prison inmate who throws his bodily fluids in the face of passers-by and freaking BUGS. Welcome to the 1992 Academy Awards Ceremony. Wait, what? That’s right kids! Do you enjoy listening to Primus and want to see Hannibal Lecter make potato chips out of each one of your eyelids? Once upon a time, horror put on its best face; LITERALLY, and was the belle of the fanciest ball of them all. And every little girl deserves to go to the ball. Just how did our beloved little genre shed the judgment of the people to reach the tippity top of the mountain? Let’s find out together just WTF happened to 1991’s The Silence of the Lambs.
In 1981 Thomas Harris published a novel titled Red Dragon which featured an FBI profiler who must turn to an imprisoned serial killer and cannibal to capture another killer dubbed “the tooth fairy”. Though, I must admit I feel weird reducing the nuanced man known as Hannibal Lecter to the term “cannibal”. I feel like we should call him a “fancy” cannibal or something? But that just reminds me of ketchup. The book was so successful it would be adapted into a film in 1986 starring Brian Cox as the titular character, titled Manhunter. The film was met (at the time) with minimal success but that didn’t stop Thomas Harris from penning his sequel novel. You guessed it: Electric Boogaloo 2: Secret of the Ooze. Okay, you got me. The Silence of the Lambs (watch it HERE). This book was met with even more praise for Harris and was adapted as well into the movie we’re talking about today: What’s Eating Gilbert Grape. I swear, that was the last one.
Originally, The Silence of the Lambs was to be produced in part by filmmaker-friendly Orion Films and partly financed as well by the great Gene Hackman, who was set to direct and possibly star in the film as agent in charge of the Behavioral Science Unit of the FBI, Jack Crawford. Hackman was excited enough to put up $250,000 of his own money to help finance the film and writer Ted Tally was chosen to adapt the screenplay from the novel. Oddly enough, while the script was still being written, Hackman decided that the film was just too violent and that there was no way he could do it. Later that year, Hackman would build his very own steakhouse from the ground up only to realize he was a vegetarian on opening day. Orion was cool with it and refunded his money.
Executive VP of Orion at the time, Mike Medavoy told screenwriter Ted Tally (who no doubt was wearing his brown pants to work every day at this moment) “Keep writing, don’t give up and when you finish the script, we will find another director”. Medavoy reached out to his frequent collaborator and director of Married to the Mob, Jonathan Demme. It seemed like a strange match at the time with even Medavoy stating “Most people thought I was really being foolish to go with Jonathan on a picture like this, but I knew his work and I felt like he could do a really good type of thriller.” a bet that unlike most of mine this past weekend….paid off. Does anyone have a quarter I can borrow?
Demme originally declined the offer, taking a quick look at it and deciding it was just another run of the mill slasher but when encouraged to look deeper he realized the project had potential. With a director and a script in place, it was time to cast the role of Hannibal Lecter. A role so pivotal that it would have to be a performance that would eat people’s faces off. Literally. The legendary Sean Connery was reached out to but declined due to the characters’ chest hair not being shown enough. Unfortunately, that’s a lie (I think), like Hackman, the film proved to be too violent for Connery. The unfair stigma of horror movies being beneath other forms of theatrical art striking once again; little did they know this picture would be the one to break that stigma possibly more than any other before it or since. That is until the Winnie the Pooh slasher sequel releases. Then they’ll have no choice but to respect us!
Moving on, the list of actors once considered for the role of Lecter would become more intimidating than Donnie Darko’s Iowa test scores. It was a list that would feature Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro, Dennis Hoffman, Forest Whitaker, and Daniel Day Lewis. But the movie gods knew only one man was meant to play the role and finally… Anthony Hopkins came into the fold. Hopkins said of receiving the script for the first time “I thought it was a children’s story. A Bedtime story. And I knew when I read the script it was probably going to change a lot of things in my life. This is that sort of once in a lifetime script that comes along.” But Anthony! Isn’t it too violent? WHAT ABOUT THE CHILDREN? Hopkins later elaborated “I understood the man and how to play him. I knew he was the shadowy figure that lurks inside of all of us. And I don’t know why I have an instinct about those kinds of things, but I do. I’m fascinated by the shadow side of our psyches because they are also the most creative sides of us and if we deny the shadow side the dark side of our nature you live a pretty bland or destructive life because it will come out in the end in some form or another.” Well said, Anthony.
With Hopkins in the fold and working on creating what would be one of the scariest human beings ever to grace a screen, the hunt for our heroine, FBI Agent Clarice Starling was also taking place. Demme had suggested Michelle Pfeiffer after working with her before, but she turned down the project due to it not having ENOUGH violence in it for her personal tastes. Just kidding. She said it was too violent as well. Weren’t you in Scarface? Did they not chop a dude up with a chainsaw in a bathtub?
All would be just fine, however. There was indeed an actress not only willing to accept the role but actively pursuing and campaigning for it. And her name was Robert Paulson. Shoot, sorry. Her name was Jodie Foster. That’s incorrect. What I meant to say was “Fresh off winning an Academy Award for Best Actress for The Accused … Jodie effin’ Foster”.
The perfect casting wouldn’t stop there, however, as the thankless role of serial killer Buffalo Bill was thankfully taken on by the great Ted Levine. Now, don’t get me wrong. We’d all have a total blast blaring some ‘Goodbye Horses’, dancing around and trying on some sweet new threads but this role came with its own dark baggage for Levine who would end up being type cast not only career-wise but sometimes in his personal life. He was so haunting and believable in the role, that he once said he “really had to sort of fight to be seen as husband, father, good person kind of thing. But still people respect me for it.” A respect that’s well deserved. That role and the infamous lines just wouldn’t have been the same without his dedicated performance to the role.
Furthermore, the character itself was the source of what may be The Silence of the Lamb’s biggest controversy of all when activist groups found themselves upset at their opinion of the films portrayal of the LGBT community which led to controversy in the community and many protests of the film. Despite both Demme and Levine being on the record stating they never saw the character as LGBT. Part of the argument was that the character simply hated himself so much he wanted to get as far away from himself as possible, which for him was in the literal skin of a woman. Levine said that he’d decided himself the character wasn’t a member of the LGBT community early in the process, saying, “The stance I took was more one of an acutely homophobic heterosexual man doing that mocking thing.”
Demme at one point also stated that “We knew it was tremendously important to not have Gumb misinterpreted by the audience as being homosexual. That would be a complete betrayal of the themes of the movie. And a disservice to gay people.” Furthermore, there’s a line in the film itself where Hannibal Lecter, while breaking down the psyche of the character for Clarice, that “Billy is not a real trans-sexual, but he thinks he is. He tries to be. He’s tried a lot of things, I expect.” Ultimately, the waters in this situation remained muddy and Demme himself expressed regret for any bad light the role shined on the community. He would go on to direct Philadelphia two years later.
Controversy aside, our script, director and main trio of cast members were complete but The Silence of the Lambs would go on to round out an absolutely astounding supporting cast that included Scott Glenn as Clarice’s boss Jack Crawford in a role based on the real-life FBI Agent John E Douglas who actually helped prep Jack Crawford for the role. In fact, the FBI were more than accommodating to the production of Silence of the Lambs, even letting them film their FBI training sequences on location in Quantico, Virginia. The FBI saw the character of Agent Starling and her portrayal by Jodie Foster as so impressive, they considered it a recruiting tool for future female agents and offered to help any way they could.
This aspect of The Silence of the Lambs was a backbone for the film from the very beginning. Throughout the film’s entirety, we are placed in the point of view of Starling. If you notice throughout, the extreme closeups of characters while speaking to Starling are looking directly at the audience. However, during Starlings close ups, she is looking slightly away to specifically put us in her point of view. Another theme of the film is just how difficult it was for her to navigate this world of the FBI as a female amongst mostly dismissive males including Anthony Heald as Dr. Frederick Chilton who was amazing in playing the epitome of a complete and total douche nozzle.
In fact, it is suspected that the character of Starling was the main draw of the initial creation of the novel to begin with. Screenwriter Ted Tally stated“I think what especially interested Tom when writing Silence of the Lambs was to try to live inside the mind of a female character. To put a woman at the center of a book and I think that was the challenge he set himself.” Which pays off in a major way as we learn not only about Starling’s past but watch her literally earn her skills and toughness as the movie unfolds. We learn to respect AND care for the character while also acknowledging the deck stacked against her. This makes the audience feel oh so vulnerable when she’s locked in the dark basement of this absolute Super-Shredder level psycho wearing night vision goggles and reaching for her hair like fake Michael Myers reaching for Laurie before getting his head chopped off.
There’s no doubt Jodie Foster embodied the character of Clarice Starling and was absolutely essential in the film to succeed as it did. Then there’s the other side of that coin. Anthony Hopkins embodied Hannibal Lecter with his looks, voice and movements in a way that burns itself into your brain and leaves you in fear but absolutely captivated with his every movement. Using a voice technique somewhat inspired by Hal 9000, the vocal stylings of Truman Capote and a dash of HOLY HELL this is Satan himself and he’s staring directly at me!Hopkins absolutely transcends into an utter madman while simultaneously being the calmest man in the room.Of his portrayal Hopkins said, “They talk about him for 10 minutes before he’s seen as if he’s some babbling psychopath and I wanted to play him the opposite. You always play the opposite of what the audience expects.” Hopkins maintained eye contact with whomever he was speaking with while moving his head as little as possible and not blinking. The result is absolutely terrifying. All before we even see him eat a single nose. I would argue that it has to be in any conversation for the single greatest horror performance of all time.
As far as his look and presence, a lot of work and brilliant decision making went into that as well. Painstaking efforts were made to decide on his overalls and overall look which went from orange and yellow jumpsuits, ultimately deciding on the dark blue before Hopkins recommended, he wear all white during the escape scene because it reminded him of his fear of dentists. Same, dude *Clip of Arnold and Carl Weathers locking arm handshake in Predator*. The infamous half mask we see during his transport to keep him from getting “bitey” was created by a man named Ed Cubberly who created masks for NHL goalkeepers. The FX crew ordered the mask with the intention of painting it to their liking once it had arrived, but the paint job worked so well for that whole “I eat people” aesthetic that they decided to leave it just as it came…and history was made.
The classic scenes of Starling and Lecter going back and forth were set up using plexiglass rather than your typical prison bars to make the closeups of Lecter far more intimate than they would have been with bars between the camera lens and the audience. This also afforded a chance for Hopkins to ad lib smelling Clarice through the holes. GOD, I HATE IT WHEN PEOPLE DEEP SNIFF ME! The worst!
When I think of The Silence of the Lambs, I think of it as the horror genre’s version of Morgan Freeman walking through the library in Seven while Johann Sebastian Bach’s Suite No. 3 in D Major played over the speakers (I totally had to google that). It’s a film that just feels so refined and prestigious despite having just as much depraved and sadistic content as any other horror film. This is in part due to the people involved from the top to the bottom. Nearly every account of working on the set created by Jonathan Demme and company was a complimentary one. This culture created the environment for everyone to do their best work including the FX team which thought it would be disrespectful to use true crime photos as the movie told of Buffalo Bill’s previous crimes. They instead went through painstaking details of bringing in actors and recreating the corpses of the victims before photographing them. The moths found in the victims’ throats were even made of tootsie rolls and gummies so that if an accident occurred and they were swallowed, the actor would be safe.
All of these folks’ best efforts would pay off in the end with The Silence of the Lambs being released onto the masses on Valentine’s Day weekend of 1991 and raking in $17 million of its $20 million dollar budget back on the opening weekend alone. Then, due to word of mouth and excellent critics reviews the film would stay at #1 in the box office for a whopping FIVE weeks. The Silence of the Lambs would end up making $273 million dollars worldwide and become an international sensation. On the initial $20 million dollar budget, Producer Ron Bozman said “It was a pretty modest production. It wasn’t an attempt to go make an Academy Award winning film.” WELL SLAP ME AROUND AND CALL ME SUSAN! That’s exactly what came next….
The Silence of the Lambs arrived on Oscars’ night and took home awards for Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay AND Best Picture. Anthony Hopkins won the award for Best Actor despite having the lowest on-screen time percentage than any other before him, having been on screen for only 21% of the film. The Silence of the Lambs is now widely considered one of the greatest films of all time and produced multiple sequels and a beloved yet cancelled far too early TV show in Hannibal. Anthony Hopkins went from almost giving up on a Hollywood career to being knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for “services to the arts” and is now known as SIR Anthony Hopkins if you’re nasty. That’s what I call putting the lotion in the basket. And that is WTF happened to The Silence of the Lambs. I’d love to stay and chat but I’m having an old friend for dinner. Then I’m going to throw on some Goodbye Horses by Q Lazzarus, break out a full-sized mirror and see where the night takes me! Wait, is this mic still on?
A couple of the previous episodes of WTF Happened to This Horror Movie? can be seen below. To see more, head over to our JoBlo Horror Originals YouTube channel – and subscribe while you’re there!
Make room on your conspiracy whiteboard and grab some string and push-pins from your local craft store because The Traitors is getting a Season 3 renewal! Peacock wants more of the Alan Cumming-hosted unscripted series, which bends the brains of cast members and audiences alike with a psychological mystery. The Traitors Season 3 renewal arrives mid-way through the show’s second season.
The setup for The Traitors is quite genius. The series finds a group of reality stars and celebrities playing a murder mystery game in a castle in the Scottish Highlands. With instructions from the always-fabulous Alan Cumming, the group must work together on a wealth of missions to establish a prize fund worth up to a total of $250,000. While some contestants are Faithful, others are Traitors, aiming to eliminate the Faithful and steal the prize for themselves. Under the cloak of night, the Traitors murder the Faithful one at a time while the Faithful attempt to expose the Traitors and exile them from the contest. If the Faithful expel all the Traitors, or vice versa, the surviving group takes the pot.
The Traitors isn’t just popular; it’s also an awards darling. The show recently won an Emmy for Outstanding Casting for a Reality Program, with stars like Kate Chastain (Below Deck, Project Runway, Discretion Advised), Larsa Pippen (The Real Housewives of Miami, Entertainment Tonight), Maksim Chmerkovskiy (General Hospital, Why Women Kill, Byrd and the Bees), and John Bercow (Inside the Commons, South at Six) leading the charge.
Alan Cumming, whose widely distributed fragrance “Cumming” is a real thing, is a brilliant actor who’s starred in projects like Goldeneye, X2: X-Men United, Everything I Ever Wanted to Tell My Daughter About Men, and the musical series Schmigadoon!
Are you excited about The Traitors getting a Season 3 renewal? If you were on the show, would you prefer to act as a member of the Faithful or as a Traitor? How long would you last on a backstabbing series such as this? Is $250,000 enough of a prize to enter a perpetual state of paranoia until the game concludes? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
Regarding Pedro Pascal’s involvement with Marvel’s forthcoming Fantastic Four film, the stretchy cat could be out of the bag! According to SAG-AFTRA, Pascal plays the patriarch of Marvel’s first family, Reed Richard, in the superhero spectacle, with production soon to begin. The reveal comes from a career retrospective organized and presented by SAG-AFTRA, saying Pascal “recently wrapped production on Ridley Scott’s highly anticipated Gladiator 2 and will soon begin production on Marvel Studios’ Fantastic Four.” SAG-AFTRA redacted the bit about Pascal’s involvement with Marvel Studios’ Fantastic Four, but only after eagle-eyed fans spotted the post.
While we’re still waiting for an official confirmation from Marvel, the SAG-AFTRA gaff lends credence to the long-whispered rumors about Pascal suiting up as Mr. Fanstastic.
Rumors about who will star in Marvel’s latest attempt to reboot the Fantastic Four have circulated since the project’s confirmation. Pascal was long-rumored to play Reed, with Vanessa Kirby (Mission Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, The Crown, Pieces of a Woman) widely rumored to play Susan Storm Richards. Meanwhile, watercooler whispers imply Joesph Quinn (Stranger Things) is playing Johnny Storm (Human Torch), with Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Bear, The Punisher, John Adams) playing Ben Grimm (The Thing). Other hearsay suggests Javier Bardem (No Country For Old Men, Skyfall, Biutiful) could play the world-eating villain Galactus in the anticipated superhero epic, with Anya Taylor-Joy (The Queen’s Gambit, Furiosa, Last Night in Soho) possibly playing a gender-swapped version of the Silver Surfer, aka Juno.
Hopefully, Marvel plans to officially announce the cast for Fantastic Four sooner rather than later because some fans feel the will-they-won’t-they casting dance for this movie is long out of hand. Maybe after Marvel drops a trailer for Deadpool 3 during the Super Bowl, they can concentrate on announcing details for Fantastic Four. Let’s go, Marvel!
What do you think about SAG-AFTRA possibly confirming Pedro Pascal’s role as Reed Richards in Fantastic Four? Is The Last of Us and Game of Thrones star a fantastic fit for one of the most intelligent characters in the Marvel Universe? Is there someone else you’d rather see in the role? Let us know in the comments section below.
PLOT: Set in Japan in the year 1600 at the dawn of a century-defining civil war, Lord Yoshii Toranaga is fighting for his life as his enemies on the Council of Regents unite against him. When a mysterious European ship is found marooned in a nearby fishing village, its English pilot, John Blackthorne, comes bearing secrets that could help Toranaga tip the scales of power and devastate the formidable influence of Blackthorne’s own enemies — the Jesuit priests and Portuguese merchants. Toranaga’s and Blackthorne’s fates become inextricably tied to their translator, Toda Mariko, a mysterious Christian noblewoman and the last of a disgraced line. While serving her lord amidst this fraught political landscape, Mariko must reconcile her newfound companionship with Blackthorne, her commitment to the faith that saved her and her duty to her late father.
REVIEW: Forty-four years ago, during the heyday of the network television mini-series, NBC broadcast a nine-hour adaptation of James Clavell’s epic Shogun. Spread over five nights, Shogun was notable as the first network event to be filmed entirely in Japan as well as the first network production to use the word piss, to show urination, to show a beheading, to show men in fundoshi (traditional Japanese undergarments), female breast nudity, and discussion of pederasty and seppuku. Led by Richard Chamberlain as John Blackthorne, Shogun stayed true to Clavell’s desire to show the perspective of Westerners in feudal Japan, even going as far as to not show subtitles for the Japanese dialogue. In the decades since NBC’s Shogun debuted, the popular format of the mini-series has given way to the almost identically structured limited series. With a larger budget and the guidance of actor Hiroyuki Sanada, the new version of Shogun is a far grander take on the source material with a nuanced balance of Japanese culture as viewed by an outsider from Europe.
Shogun opens in an era after the death of the leader of Japan, leaving the various daimyo (feudal lords) in control. Expected to share power until the child heir of the late leader comes of age, a line is drawn definitively between Lord Yoshii Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada) and the other four daimyo. With a war brewing, the series is further complicated by the arrival of John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis), a British pilot in charge of a Dutch sailing ship. The vessel was searching for the mysterious land of Japan which, up until their arrival, was a secret known only to the Portuguese. The divide between Catholics and Protestants further complicates the presence of the outsiders to Japan who find themselves already at odds with the feuding lords. Blackthorne, the main character in the 1980 version of the series, here is a major presence but never comes across as a white savior stereotype. Far from the conventions that bogged down the 1980 version, this take on Shogun is a meticulous look at the converging stories of multiple characters including Toranaga, Blackthorne, and the mysterious Lady Toda Mariko (Monarch: Legacy of Monsters‘ Anna Sawai), a disgraced Japanese woman who fluently speaks English and her native tongue as well as being a convert to Christianity. The connection between Mariko and Blackthorne is integral to the story and drives the ten-episode series.
Other significant characters in the series include Tadanobu Asano as Yabushige. Asano is best known as Hogun in the first three Thor films and is the most recognizable actor in the supporting cast aside from a minor turn by Nestor Carbonell (The Dark Knight). The rest of the cast is comprised of veteran Japanese actors who are never forced to act in English. Shogun is almost entirely acted in Japanese with Blackthorne having translators explain in English until he learns the tongue of his captors and eventual compatriots. The arc of Shogun follows Blackthorne as he quickly becomes close to the brewing war between the daimyo, taking sides in the conflict and learning the ways of the Japanese people. It is a strong story of honor and respect, but one that does not hide from the more brutal sides of Japanese culture in the seventeenth century. Shogun is brutal, especially in the early episodes, as much as it is beautiful in giving this era a balanced perspective that will appeal to audiences on both sides of the Pacific. That being said, this is a heavily dialogue-driven series, so paying attention from the outset is a requirement, but that focus is rewarded.
Clocking in at 589 minutes (as compared to the 1980 version at 547 minutes), Shogun has few series it can be compared against. Aside from the AppleTV+ series Pachinko, which looked at early-20th century Japan and Korea, I cannot recall another production that has blended a Hollywood production on this scale performed almost entirely in a language other than English. With period-specific sets and costumes, Shogun is a blend of period drama with bloody violence while never taking for granted the realism this story needs to deliver its narrative. There are battle sequences that are stunning to watch as well as a fair amount of nudity. Airing on FX and Hulu, Shogun benefits from the leeway that marquee series are afforded which also elevates this to be on par with productions from HBO, Netflix, and more. At no point does Shogun feel cheaply executed or poorly acted. This is by far one of the best-produced series I have seen in years that does not rely on CGI monsters or genre conventions. This is a solid drama with a stocked cast of excellent performances.
Created by Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks, Shogun is both more faithful to the James Clavell novel and better than the source material. Kondo, in her debut as a screenwriter and producer, partnered with her husband Marks who has found success writing Disney’s live-action The Jungle Book as well as the story for Top Gun: Maverick. Both writers took the novel as a structural basis but deepened the accuracy of the Japanese culture of the period. Many of these characters are based on actual historical figures and should give any fan of this series plenty of material to research should they want to learn more. FX has also put together a podcast to accompany the series which is fascinating in its own right. The script also allows for the team of filmmakers to lushly deliver this tale, unlike any other Japanese-set series I have seen. The diverse filmmaking team is led by Frederick E.O. Toye, a veteran helmer of series including Watchmen, The Boys, and The Walking Dead. Toye directed four episodes, Jonathan Van Tulleken helmed two, Charlotte Brandstrom one episode, and Takeshi Fukunaga, Hiromi Kamata, and Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour took a chapter each. The global team of directors and writers has blown me away with this story in every way.
Shogun is instantly a masterpiece and supplants the 1980 version of the story. This series is beautiful, powerful, stirring, and engrossing and gives the great Hiroyuki Sanada a long-awaited lead role for a global audience. Everything about Shogun works as long as you are willing to invest in the story. Like any great story of warriors, knights, or soldiers, Shogun embraces the factions brought to battle and shows the cost of war in equal measure with its power. This is a story that has no equal on the small screen and is going to invigorate interest in tales set in an era foreign to many. I would caution that if you are unfamiliar with the source material or the previous version, go into this story fresh. Shogun brings back the excitement and energy of the old-school event series for a new generation. This is a great story and a great series.
A couple days ago, Neon announced that they will be releasing the horror film Cuckoo, which stars Hunter Schafer (Euphoria), in just a few months, on May 3rd. Now Deadline reports that Schafer has signed on to star in another genre project, the psychological horror thriller Palette, where she’ll be sharing the screen with Noomi Rapace (Prometheus).
The screenplay for Palette landed on the Black List last year, the Black List being an annual survey of the most-liked screenplays that are bouncing around in the system but haven’t been produced yet. Now this one is going into production with writer Zach Strauss at the helm. This will be the first feature directing credit for Strauss, who has also written Spike Lee’s upcoming film Da Understudy and episodes of the Frankie Shaw Showtime series SMILF.
Palette will see Schafer taking on the role of Dolly, a woman suffering from extreme synesthesia, a rare condition through which she is able to hear colors. She is recruited into a secretive, cult-like industry of color design, where she discovers the dark reality of what it takes to make the world’s greatest hues. Rapace’s character is “the company’s enigmatic executive Latrice”. Frankie Shaw is also in the cast and will be playing Sidney, “Dolly’s cutthroat rival.”
Strauss provided the following statement: “I feel beyond lucky to be making this dark and twisted movie with a truly exceptional cast and with such incredible partners in Anton, I know we’re going to create something really special.“
Producer John Zois noted that Strauss has written a “compelling and completely distinctive” screenplay, and went on to say, “We are putting together a team that will bring the stunning visuals of the story to the screen. Hunter and Noomi are truly perfect for our two leads and I cannot wait to see them bring these rich and unique characters to life. We could not be more excited about this film.“
Zois is producing Palette with Sebastien Raybaud for Anton, while Shaw and Strauss produce for Uncle Pete Productions. Ryan Christians is also a producer on the project. Schafer serves as an executive producer alongside Brandt Wrightsman of Anton and Ross Dinerstein of Campfire Studios. Anton will be presenting a sizzle reel to potential buyers at the European Film Market. CAA Media Finance and Verve Ventures co-rep the film’s US rights with Anton.
Are you interested in seeing Hunter Schafer, Noomi Rapace, and Frankie Shaw in a psychological horror thriller? Share your thoughts on Palette by leaving a comment below.
Video games have always had a hit-or-miss relationship with adaptations. For every fantastic movie or series, there are countless mediocre cahs-grabs that pad studio IP and disappoint fans. But, most of those lackluster productions seem to be a thing of the past as we have entered a wonderful era of quality video game series and films. Two years ago, the long-awaited live-action take on Halo arrived on Paramount+ with Pablo Schreiber in the lead as Master Chief. The series was good enough to warrant a renewal but with a new showrunner brought in to pull the story in a new direction. The result is the far superior second season of Halo, premiering this week (read our review HERE).
The second season of Halo follows the events of the first which found the war between ONI/USMC and Covenant ramping up. Master Chief and his Silver Team encountered Makee (Charlie Murphy) and a slew of enemies they had to combat while also learning the truth of who and what they are from the duplicitous Dr. Halsey (Natascha McElhonne). This year, things have changed as Halsey is replaced by James Ackerson (Joseph Morgan), the Covenant widens its attacks, and the fate of Dr. Halsey is revealed. With new characters and returning favorites, there is more action in this new season of Halo along with better character development for everyone in the ensemble.
I recently chatted with the cast and crew of Halo’s second season. New showrunner David Wiener talked about taking the foundation of the first season and broadening the story this year. Microsoft game honcho Kiki Wolfkill discussed what makes Halo as a television series so unique compared to the best-selling video games. Joseph Morgan discussed joining the cast as a character whose true intentions are hard to fathom while Bokeem Woodbine talked about what is different about playing Soren compared to other roles in his career. I also spoke with star Pablo Schreiber about how playing Master Chief this season differed from last time around. Check out the full interviews in the embed above.
The second season of Halo premieres on February 8th on Paramount+.
After a brief halt in production, AMC was able to secure “significant agreements” with the SAG-AFTRA actors union that allowed them to continue filming Interview with the Vampire season 2 during the SAG strike last year, keeping the show on track for its 2024 premiere… and now we know exactly when that premiere is going to happen. Entertainment Weekly reports that Interview with the Vampire season 2 is set to begin airing on AMC on Sunday, May 12th.
Anne Rice’s novel Interview with the Vampire centers on the vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac as he relates the story of his life to a reporter, in particular how he was turned into a vampire and then mentored by Lestat de Lioncourt. Season 2 of the TV series will pick up in the year 2022, with vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac recounting his life story to journalist Daniel Molloy after the bloody events in New Orleans in 1940 when Louis and teen vampire Claudia tried to kill Lestat de Lioncourt. The adventure continues as Louis and Claudia escape to Europe on a quest to discover Old World Vampires and the Theatre Des Vampires in Paris, and it’s there that Louis meets vampire Armand. Louis and Armand’s love affair will prove to have devastating consequences both in the past and in the future.
Executive producer Mark Johnson has previously said that Interview with the Vampire season 2 takes place in the 1790s, 1940s, 1970s, and 2023.
The new season stars Sam Reid as the vampire Lestat; Jacob Anderson as Lestat’s companion Louis de Pointe du Lac; Assad Zaman as Rashid, Louis’ companion in present day; Kalyne Coleman as Louis’ sister Grace; Christian Robinson as Levi, an upstanding Baptist who has won Grace’s heart; and Eric Bogosian as Daniel Molloy, an investigative journalist nearing the end of his career who’s given a second chance at the interview of a lifetime. For season 2, Ben Daniels (Foundation) joins the cast as the vampire Santiago. And while Bailey Bass played the vampire Claudia in the first season, Delainey Hayles takes over the role in the new season.
Guest stars include David Costabile (Suits) as Leonard, “a seasoned TV personality who has a run-in with Molloy”; Roxane Duran (Riviera) as Madeleine, and Bally Gill (Slow Horses) as “Real Rashid.”
Alan Taylor, who directed the Sopranos prequel The Many Saints of Newark, executive produces Interview with the Vampire and directed the first two episodes of the show. Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul producer Mark Johnson is overseeing the building of AMC’s Vampire Chronicles franchise. Rolin Jones, co-creator and showrunner on the first season of the HBO series Perry Mason, is the creator, showrunner, and writer of the Interview with the Vampire series. Jones and Johnson executive produce the show alongside Taylor. Anne Rice’s son Christopher Rice is also on board as executive producer, and Rice receives an executive producer credit as well.
What did you think of the first season of Interview with the Vampire? Will you be tuning in when season 2 premiers in May? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
Earlier this week, it was reported that Taylor Sheridan’s new Yellowstone spin-off is currently undergoing negotiations that could keep some of the popular stars from the original series from reprising their roles. However, all the behind-the-scenes drama will not deter the hitmaker from concentrating on his future projects. It was announced this week that Landman, Sheridan’s new show that he created along with Christian Wallace, has started production. The series is headlined by Billy Bob Thornton, but The Hollywood Reporter has now revealed that Demi Moore is set to join the cast.
Demi Moore is currently starring in the new FX drama, Feud: Capote vs The Swans. She will be continuing her TV run in Landman as Cami, the “wife to one of the most powerful oil men in Texas and a friend of Tommy Norris (Thornton).” The official description for the series reads, “Set in the proverbial boomtowns of West Texas, Landman is a modern-day tale of fortune-seeking in the world of oil rigs. Based on the notable 11-part podcast Boomtown, the series is an upstairs/downstairs story of roughnecks and wildcat billionaires fueling a boom so big, it’s reshaping our climate, our economy and our geopolitics.”
Landman also stars Ali Larter of The Last Victim, Michelle Randolph, from Sheridan’s other series 1923, Jacob Lofland, who can be seen in the upcoming sequel to Todd Phillips’ Joker, Kayla Wallace, seen in When Calls the Heart, James Jordan, who also worked on Yellowstone, Mark Collie, from Nashville and Paulina Chávez, whose credits include The Expanding Universe of Ashley Garcia.
The production started in and around Fort Worth, Texas. Landman is produced by MTV Entertainment Studios, 101 Studios and Sheridan’s Bosque Ranch Productions. Moore joins the impressive list of veteran actors who star in Sheridan’s shows, including Kevin Costner, Sylvester Stallone, Harrison Ford, Helen Mirren and Nicole Kidman. Michelle Pfeiffer is also being courted for the Yellowstone sequel show.
