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| I Love A Good Ending. Or, One Spoiler After Another (Seriously, lots of spoilers in here)
September 15, 2004 by Frank Smith If you’re the type of person who doesn’t like to know how something ends before experiencing it, you’re not alone. A good plot twist, resurrected character or unexpected ending usually carries more emotional weight when you haven’t read all of the details online months in advance. Fortunately, once a show has ended, it becomes part of our cultural landscape; even if you never caught the ending or watched the show, knowing that the story has been cauterized is somehow satisfying. |
| 1990s: Freedom of choice
Networks use brand identity to compete with each other -- and cable -- for viewers. With cablers making their own forays into scripted entertainment, viewers in the 1990s were learning quickly that they didn't necessarily have to flip to the Big Four networks to enjoy a sitcom or drama -- a lesson that no broadcaster wanted its audience to master. And as the number of outlets continued to grow, cable television proved an irresistible lure, offering around-the-clock news, sports, comedy, music -- just about any niche had its own offering. To compete, the four nets began to create distinct brand identities to carve out niches in the multichannel universe. ABC aspired to be family friendly; CBS earned a reputation for appealing to older viewers (a position the network needed nearly a decade to shake); Fox gained a foothold in the ratings game by catering specifically to the young crowd; and NBC sought out urban professionals. But just when it seemed like the programming universe was crowded enough, Warner Bros. and Paramount launched TV networks in '95 and -- taking a cue from Fox -- geared their primetime offerings to an even younger audience. The WB was successful at "out-youthing" Fox by luring the coming-of-age audience with such teen-skewing series as "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Dawson's Creek." UPN looked to attract young males with "Star Trek: Voyager" and "WWF Smackdown!" And both fledgling networks reached out to the underserved black audience with sitcoms. However, despite all of the networks' fierce efforts to hang on to their viewers, broadcasters' share of the audience continued to shrink. TV watchers were embracing a world where the networks were just another choice on the onscreen program guide. Buffy the Vampire Slayer Premiere Date: March 10, 1997 Networks: The WB, UPN Prod. Companies: 20th Century Fox Television, Mutant Enemy Inc., Kuzui Enterprises, Sandollar Television Episodes: 144 Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) may have looked like a typical high school student, but she answered to a higher calling -- killing vampires hellbent on wreaking havoc on the world. Just her luck, her high school was at the epicenter of these evildoers' entrance to our world. But it did keep her busy and kept the fans of this cult series coming back for more. |
| An Interview with Amber
Amber talks about her various film, theater and writing projects in this informative interview with Marilyn from Amber Benson France. MARILYN: You have just come back from San Diego Comic-Con and Wizard Chicago. You always take time to meet your fans in conventions. You are a source of energy for most of them. Are your fans a source of energy for you? AMBER: I find that meeting people that love the show and the character (BTVS/Tara) make me feel more in touch with my own work. They get to see the finished product and the fact that they enjoy it so much makes me feel like what I'm doing is not in vain. Besides, I have the coolest fans in the whole world. I mean, honestly, I feel like there's a whole community of "friends" out there. MARILYN: Your official French site AMBER BENSON FRANCE is a year old now. Would you like to tell some words to your French fans? AMBER: Bonjour la France! Vous êtes GENIAUX! Merci pour tout. (Amer wrote in French: Hello France! You rock! Thanks for everything.) MARILYN: You have written, directed, produced and played in your first movie CHANCE, which has received the Audience Award for Best Feature at 2002 Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival. What inspired you to become an actress and a director? Where does this passion come from? AMBER: I've always loved film. Acting is fantastic, but to be able to create a whole world on celluloid is amazing. It's like taking your dreams straight from your head and projecting them onto a screen. You are a tiny God creating your own universe. Hopefully that universe translates and other people get to enjoy your stories. MARILYN: CHANCE is an intimist movie, mixing genres (comedy, drama), dichotomies and dualities. Talking to the camera, you made the spectator Chance's best friend, and the witness of her life. How did the idea of involving the audience in your movie occur to you? AMBER: I've always felt like film and theater should involve the audience. You shouldn't JUST be a spectator in a dark theatre, you should walk away changed - having experienced something that moved you in some way. Talking to the audience - breaking the fourth wall - is just an extreme way of making that point. The audience can't help but become involved when you speak to them directly. |
| New Info on Buffy Cartoon!
Finally some new information on the Buffy cartoon has been released. Fans of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” have been salivating for more stories since the show went off the air last year after seven seasons. But star Sarah Michelle Gellar has expressed little interest in reprising her role. Replacing her with another actress might be too jolting, but replacing her with a cartoon may be more palatable — even if a substitute performs the voice. Animation artist Eric Wight has created concept drawings for the proposed animated “Buffy” series, which is being shopped around to networks but could also turn into a DVD film. The stories would all take place during the characters’ first year together in high school — which was the first season of the series. “Going back to the high school environment, they can spend as much time as they want there,” Wight said. “Buffy” creator Joss Whedon wants “to tell all the stories that he couldn’t tell in the beginning, bigger stories with bigger monsters,” Wight added. “He didn’t want any monsters that looked like guys in suits. Here was his chance to do a dragon or do all different kinds of monsters.” The rest of the cast was willing to provide their own character voices and allow their likenesses to be transposed into cartoons. Gellar is the exception, “which is why her design always stayed in that generic cute, blond girl mold, but never came back to her exactly,” Wight said. Sometimes animation is not so free of its star, however. Wight helped develop an “Austin Powers” cartoon that fell apart when Mike Myers backed out. |
| Where have all the good writers gone?
A lot of wiriters of Buffy and Angel have found new jobs by working for other TV shows. Take look at their new working places. Jeff Bell (Joss Whedon’s co-writer on the spectacular “Angel” series finale) is now with “Alias.” Liz Craft & Sarah Fain (they scripted Hamilton’s introduction in the five-star “Underneath”) have been asked to join “The Shield.” teve DeKnight (he co-scripted the hilarious Italy-set “The Girl in Question”) is headed to “Smallville.” Ben Edlund (whose “Angel” work includes “Life of the Party” and “Time Bomb”), is aboard “Global Freqency.” Brent Fletcher, who wrote an episode of “Angel” last season titled “Soul Purpose,” has joined the “Lost” staff. Drew Goddard (DeKnight’s co-writer on “The Girl in Question”) now writes for “Alias.” Jane Espenson (“Earshot,” “The Replacement,” “I Was Made To Love You”), who worked on both “The O.C.” and “Gilmore Girls” last year, joined “Tru Calling” as part of her two-year deal with Fox. Drew Z. Greenberg (“Him,” “The Killer in Me,” “Empty Places”), who was scripting “Smallville” last season, had joined “The O.C.” David Greenwalt left “Angel,” a show he co-created, after its third season to oversee ABC’s “Miracles” and UPN’s “Jake 2.O.” After both series quickly went belly-up, he briefly returned to “Angel” to direct its brilliant Italy-set antepenultimate episode, “The Girl In Question,” but hasn’t been heard from since. Diego Gutierrez, who wrote the mental-institution episode of “Buffy” during its sixth season, has joined the “Global Frequency” staff. Rebecca Kirshner (“Help,” “Touched”), a "Freaks & Geeks" vet who was on “Las Vegas” last season, has joined “Gilmore Girls.” Tim Minear, who followed his wonderful “Angel” season-four finale with the wonderful “Wonderfalls,” is adapting a classic Robert Heinlein novel to the big screen. David Fury (“Gone,” “Lies My Parents Told Me,” “You’re Welcome,” “Power Play”) has also signed aboard “Lost.” Marti Noxon (“What’s My Line?” “The Wish,” “New Moon Rising”), who spent some time after “Buffy” developing “Still Life,” a Fox supernatural drama that saw air, will oversee “Point Pleasant,” a 2005 supernatural drama Fox has ordered for a dozen episodes. Doug Petrie ("As You Were," "End of Days"), who worked on both "Tru Calling" and an aborted "Lost in Space" series for the WB this season, is said to be taking the year off from TV next season to work on movie projects (Petrie, some will recall, wrote "Harriet the Spy" and drafted an early screenplay for "The Fantastic Four"). Mere Smith, who made her mark writing the Lightning Lass Gwen Raiden episodes during “Angel’s” fourth season, worked on “Tarzan” last season but has since moved on to “Jonny Zero,” a Fox midseason hourlong about an ex-con who fights crime. Buffiverse mastermind Joss Whedon, who wrote more “Angel” teleplays last season than ever before, is in post-production on his big-screen “Firefly” movie, “Serenity” (and remains widely rumored to be the top candidate to write and direct the third “X-Men” movie). |
| THE WATCHER: ANGEL season four review: FAMILY MATTERS
There's something about the fourth season of ANGEL that makes some remember it in a negative light. Yes, there is that one incredibly cringe-worthy couple in the mix, but it's a shame that one element – intensely disturbing as it may be – to overshadow a quality season of television that's worth picking up now that it’s freshly available on DVD. The primary theme of the fourth season was "family." From the Thanksgiving dream-scene that gets the season rolling to the new family created for Connor in the finale, the subject continually surfaces, including the toast that is given in both scenes ("To family." – Wesley and Angel in DEEP DOWN, and Connor in HOME). The relationship between Angel and his son is one of the primary focuses of the season. There’s the contentious relationship between former near-brothers Wesley and Gunn; that brotherly conflict also appears in the fight between Angel and Angelus. Cordelia uses her pregnancy to draw Connor into her plans, with the promise of a happy family unit touted as the reward. Families are destroyed, including the Ra-Tet and that of the Svea Priestesses. Extended family members such as Faith, Willow, and a non-evil Darla render help. Jasmine turns her followers into a giant family, one in which Connor feels accepted and loved. Most importantly, the deep, family-like bonds between the members of the group keep bringing them together. |
| Boreanaz Finds Life After 'Angel' 'Easy'
Fri, Sep 17, 2004, 09:09 AM PT LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - Now that David Boreanaz has ended his WB series "Angel," he's turning to a life of crime. The 35-year-old actor joins Henry Thomas in the indie heist film "The Hard Easy," according to The Hollywood Reporter. The project centers on Roger (Boreanaz), a shady stock trader whose losses may land him in jail, who agrees to join a team of robbers to steal from a jewelry store. The same day, lowlife gambler Paul (Thomas) also has his own plans to rob the store in order to get out of debt. Joining the two are Vera Farmiga, who plays a woman bent on avenging her father's death, and Bruce Dern, who plays an ex-military man who joins the gang. Ari Ryan will make his directorial debut on the project that will shoot in Los Angeles. Thomas, 33, is best known for playing Elliott in "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial." He recently appeared in "Gangs of New York" and "I Capture the Castle" and next joins the ensemble cast of rock dramedy "Vinyl," which begins shooting Sept. 22. Boreanaz recently completed his run as the vampire with a soul on "Angel," which spun off from creator Joss Whedon's popular "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" series. He last appeared on the big screen in the horror thriller "Valentine." |
| Marc Blucas talks about his new movie First Daughter
Find out what Marc Blucas thinks about his new movie "First Daughter" and what his plans for the future are! From Rebecca Murray Two teen TV veterans, Marc Blucas ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer") and Katie Holmes ("Dawson's Creek"), star in the romantic comedy “First Daughter,” directed by Forest Whitaker. Holmes plays the college-aged daughter of the President of the United States who wants nothing more than to lead a normal life on campus, away from the happenings in the White House. Blucas co-stars as the guy Holmes falls for before discovering things aren’t quite what they appear to be on the surface. “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” is over however loyal fans are still interested in what’s going on with actor Marc Blucas, Buffy's one-time love interest, Riley Finn. It seems that no matter how many years have passed since he co-starred on the cult series, the subject of “Buffy” invariably comes up, no matter what project he’s actually promoting. In this interview, Blucas talks about working with Katie Holmes and Forest Whitaker on “First Daughter,” and, of course, the continued support of “Buffy” fanatics. INTERVIEW WITH MARC BLUCAS (‘James’): What’s the story behind being cast in this film? What happened was, all of this I learned after the fact of course, he could have saved me a lot of stress and agony by not putting me through the audition process. I was outside. I was going to the meeting and Forest (Whitaker) was going to the meeting as well, and I parked my truck and he was about 20 feet away. We had never met before. I said, “Hey, Forest. I’m Marc. I’ll be in in a little bit.” And he kind of stopped and looked at me for a beat or two too long, and I’m like, “I was just judged right there.” And he went in. Probably three or four months after we wrapped, the casting director said he just walked into the room and said, “I just met my guy right in the parking lot.” So, yeah, he could have saved me a lot of anguish, some stress going in there. It probably wasn’t his decision alone though. Right. And obviously, I think it was at the point where they had narrowed it to seven or eight guys at that point. I think he wanted to see people with Katie [Holmes] because chemistry really isn’t something you can just wish to happen. I think it either does or it doesn’t. Did you read with her? Yeah, which kind of shows her commitment and her professionalism. That was something she probably didn’t have to be at, at that point. She wanted every guy in there to have a fair shake, and it was very easy. I think we found a cadence. I think ease is really the best word. We just found a very easy way of being with one another. Had you met her before? Socially, one time. But it was brief. I think it was when she was with Chris (Klein) at something. Were you a fan of “Dawson’s Creek” at all? I don’t have satellite or cable. I don’t really even watch television, so I can’t really say I was a die hard [fan]. But I could say that about my own show (“Buffy”) at that time, too. So, it’s not any slight to that. |
| Erie native Blucas shoots and scores as an actor
A new Marc Blucas interview has been released where he gives a complete insight in his private and actor life. Thursday, September 23, 2004 By Barbara Vancheri, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette At 6 feet 2 inches, Marc Blucas is tall for an actor, short for a professional basketball player. And especially polite for either, sincerely thanking the waitress who doesn't recognize the man who just ate a Cobb salad and soothed his sore throat with hot tea at a Downtown hotel. Blucas, who was beau Riley Finn to Sarah Michelle Gellar, TV's Buffy the vampire slayer, and is starring alongside Katie Holmes and Michael Keaton in "First Daughter," is still a Girard, Erie County, native at heart. A self-confessed square who earned good grades, excelled at basketball and doesn't drink, he grew up 15 miles southwest of Erie, the son of a school superintendent and a mother who now oversees school personnel. His parents are Walter and Mary Blucas, and he made it clear early on, "I said there will be no name changes and no surgeries." At age 32, and looking lean in brown shirt and jeans, he's not exactly in need of a Joan Rivers tune-up. His high school championship basketball team was like something out of "Hoosiers" (minus the Dennis Hopper character), down to the red and gold colors, man-to-man defense and support of the entire town where businesses closed early and hung signs, "Gone to the game." He went on to become a standout at Wake Forest University and spent a year playing in Europe for the Manchester Giants. No wonder he was perfect as the basketball hero in "Pleasantville." "I love going home," he said of Girard. "I try to get home for two weeks every summer, and this summer was the first summer I really couldn't. But I won't miss Christmas. ... Of course, I come back doing snow dances, because I want it to be miserable." He likes driving in the white stuff, shoveling it and even rescuing motorists stuck in the snow. And then he can go back to his home of seven years, Southern California, where the only snow is on a movie set. Blucas, whose credits include "The Alamo," "Sunshine State," "We Were Soldiers" and "I Capture the Castle," plays the romantic interest of Holmes' first daughter in the movie, which opens tomorrow. She is Samantha Mackenzie, whose father (Keaton) is running for re-election as she starts her freshman year. |
| Last Names of Faith and Kendra!
Faith and Kendra never had any last name, but Joss Whedon has now created their names. The Eden studios announced: "Alex asked FOX what the surnames for Kendra and Faith were so that we could use them in the upcoming Watcher Sourcebook. FOX said Joss/Mutant Enemy never created those names. So..... FOX asked Joss/Mutant Enemy if they could create those official names for the book which will be carried into future novels, comics, etc. We got those names today Cool. George Vasilakos Zombielord Eden Studios " The names will be announced next year. |
| Charisma Speaks Out
A new Interview with Charisma Carpenter about her appearance in Charmed & about Cats and Dogs; she also gives an answer if she'd ever consider doing an Angel movie. Charisma's Back! This Sunday, Cordelia--er, Charisma Carpenter returns to the WB on Charmed, playing a demonic seer. And though it's hardly an Angel movie (sniff, sniff) at least we'll get to see our girl back in action, right? Charisma appears in this Sunday's episode, wherein Leo seeks her out while investigating Wyatt's death, and returns Oct. 10 when she gives advice to a "halfy," that is, half-demon and half-human who feels the urge to be fully evil. (We've all had such days.) "They beat me up!" she spills of her role. "They don't like what they see, and the character Leo, he totally slams me down and grabs me by the throat, and he's pissed. I always seem to deal with [people] really angry at me, so I don't know what that's about." And she'll be sporting some sexy duds. "Do you know how crazy my outfit is? Oh my god, it's so insane," she laughed. "It's so futuristic, but it's like a belly dancer with a little bit of Battlestar Galactica going on, it's so weird. The whole midriff is exposed and obviously lots of cleavage. It's very, um, seductive." When asked if she'd consider doing an Angel movie, she replies, "Nuh-huh." She says she hasn't heard any rumblings of her costars stepping in, either. "I don't know. I'm so far removed from that world at this point. I've never been approached certainly about it, so I couldn't even conjecture." Charisma's keeping her fingers crossed that her own series, Cats and Dogs, gets picked up for UPN midseason. "I could know any day now what they're doing," she explained. "UPN's fall lineup started airing this week, so I think after a couple of weeks of that lineup we should know more." The half-hour comedy would feature Charisma as an uptight lawyer who has an obsession with animals, scaring potential boyfriends away. "She can't keep a man, or she's so distracted with her outside interests with the dogs that people run from her, because they think she's weird because she's a fanatic for dogs," she gushed. If that falls through, she says she'd be happy to return to Charmed. "It doesn't seem like my character is going anywhere, you know, so there's a possibility that at some point down the road they might bring me back," she predicted. "Unless there's something more prominent going on, I'd be more than happy to have some giggles with the girls and go back." Interview by Kirstin |
| Seth Green will make Italian Job 2!
Another not unsignificant Hollywood role for Seth Green: The chances are high that he will play on Italian Job 2! Paramount Pictures is in talks to bring back The Italian Job stars Mark Wahlberg, Charlize Theron, Seth Green, Mos Def and Jason Statham for the sequel being developed by producer John Goldwyn, reports Variety. The trade says that, while the script is not finished, the goal is to start filming in late March for a November 2005 release. F. Gary Gray, who directed last year's $106 million blockbuster remake of the 1969 original, will be the first choice to helm the sequel. The sequel script is being penned by Wayne and Donna Powers, the husband-and-wife team who wrote the remake and set it in Venice and Hollywood. Primary locations in the sequel are expected to be St. Tropez, Paris and the French Alps. |
| Choose your own adventure Buffy books to appear
Two Buffy "interactive novels" are scheduled to appear next year, in new series Stake Your Destiny. "The Suicide King" by Robert Joseph Levy and "Keep Me In Mind" by Nancy Holder let the reader choose how the story progresses, and each have over a dozen different possible endings. The books, due out in March and May next year, feature cover designs based on the style of the new Buffy Animated Series. The Suicide King: The first in a new series of Buffy books which take the story back the days of Sunnydale High. The Stake Your Destiny series gives fans a chance to make Buffy's decisions and choose how the story plays out. A rash of student suicides sweeps through Sunnydale, deeply unsettling the community. But when the newly-arrived grief counsellor also ends up killing himself, Buffy and the gang suspect that something supernatural is to blame. Then one of their own begins to show signs of debilitating despondency; and soon it becomes a race against time for the Slayer to defeat an ancient entity known as The Suicide King. Keep Me In Mind: The second in the new series of Buffy books which take the story back the days of Sunnydale High. The Stake Your Destiny series gives fans a chance to make Buffy's decisions and choose how the story plays out. Nemesis Ethan Rayne returns to Sunnydale and unleashes a long-trapped sorcerer from medieval Bavaria. And if working out Ethan's true motivation while dealing with a none-too-friendly spellcaster on the loose were not enough to keep Buffy from her chemistry homework, she also finds hereself encountering a seemingly random parade of old adversaries out to settle the score. |
| ICN Gives LOST Five Stars!!
Read all you want to know about David Furys new TV show. Here's what we said about the first two hours back in July: Lost FAQ What’s “Lost” again? ABC’s new scifi castaway adventure from “Alias” mastermind J.J. Abrams. As with “Alias,” Abrams himself wrote and directed the pilot. Didn’t Herc say “Lost” was the fall show to which he was most looking forward? Did it live up to his expectations? It exceeded them. Which were, I can tell you, enormous. Is it the fall’s best new show? Without question. Is a one-hour pilot or two? 83 minutes, which is two hours. Each hour will be aired on a different Wednesday. Earlier Coaxial reviews reminded Herc of the beloved live-action Saturday morning adventure “Land of the Lost.” Are there Sleestack? Cro-Magnon boys? Brontosauri? There’s a polar bear that doesn’t seem to belong on the South Pacific island on which the characters are stranded. There also seems to be something Kong-size lurking in the distance, but neither we nor the characters get any kind of real look at it. We just see huge chunks of forest getting stomped down. And Greg Grunberg, who cameos as the crashed plane’s pilot, is viciously snacked upon by something both colossal and unglimpsed. Any other island weirdness? There are flash rainstorms that appear and disappear way too suddenly. And something I will put in invisotext only because it is revealed at pilot’s end: The group we’re following is not the first to find itself stranded on this particular island. I remember AICN’s first “Lost” reviewer saying he stumbled across the pilot on an infomercial channel and started watching during the scene with Greg Grunberg. When does the plane’s pilot become lunch? Minute 36. How many are trapped in this land of the lost? Is it just a man and his two preteen offspring? Moments before he is eaten, Greg Grunberg learns that “at least 48” others survived the crash. 48 survivors? Do we meet all 48 in the first two hours? We don’t even see them all. Lots of figures are milling about on the beach in the background, mostly out of focus, never clearly glimpsed, waiting to come to the foreground in later installments. The two-hour pilot depicts only the survivors’ first 24 hours on the island, so we never see any kind of “town meeting” with everyone sorting out what to do. So who are the castaways? Are there movie stars, millionaires, farm girls and scientists? There are definitely tiers in terms of screen time. Tier One: * If there’s a professor on the island, it’s Jack (Matthew Fox, the eldest of the “Party of Five” kids). He’s a good-hearted young physician, and very useful in this situation. * If there’s a Mary Ann, it’s brunette Kate (newcomer Evangeline Lilly), the hottest girl on the island and the obvious female lead. She is friendly, game for adventure, and looks spectacular on the beach in her bra and panties. Tier Two: * Charlie (former hobbit Dominic Monaghan) is as close as we get to a Ginger. He plays bass in a once-famous rock band called Driveshaft and, like many on the island, harbors a dark secret. * Hurley (Jorge Garcia, whom fans of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” might remember as the plus-size drug dealer during last season’s car-pool episode) is the show’s main comic relief, a Gen-Y Gilligan whose sunny pragmatism, long curly locks and considerable girth may have been designed to remind Ain’t-It-Cool fans of a certain entertainment Web site maven. Tier Three: * Sayid (“English Patient” vet Naveen Andrews) is an affable military vet with survival skills and a history that includes combatting U.S. troops as a member of Iraq’s Republican Guard. * Sawyer (Josh Holloway, who also appeared in the “Angel” pilot five years ago) is a surly American and Sayid’s societal nemesis. We don’t find out much about him beyond the fact that he’s suspicious and obnoxious. Tier Four: * Shannon (former “Oliver Beane” regular Maggie Grace) is the island’s Cordelia Chase, a stunning bikini-clad party blonde who tans as others worry, certain against all logic that rescue is imminent. * Boone (who played the mysterious Adam Knight on “Smallville” last season) is Shannon’s far nicer and more realistic brother. * Claire (Emilie DeRaven, who was pregnant with Max Evans’ alien baby on “Roswell”) is a very pregnant girl concerned about the health of her unborn child. * Michael (Harold Perrineau Jr., the paraplegic narrator from “Oz”) is a father just becoming acquainted with his young son, * Walt (“You Got Served” star Malcolm David Kelley), who just lost his mother to cancer. * Jin (the ubiquitous Daniel Dae Kim, a semi-regular since 2001 on everything from “Angel” to “24” to “Enterprise” to “Miss Match” to “ER”) and * Sun (pretty “Iron Palm” star Yoon-jin Kim) are a pair of Korean nationals who, unable to speak English, effectively segregate themselves from the rest of the survivors. It’s unclear at pilot’s end whether the pair are siblings, cousins, lovers, co-workers or something else entirely. Tier Five: * Locke (Terry O’Quinn, whose FBI agent Kendall headed Sydney Bristow’s task force during the second season of “Alias”) is the sinister-looking codger who spends pretty much the entire episode alone at the edge of the waterline, smiling creepily at his fellow survivors. His last words in the pilot, spoken to youngster Walt, are, “Do you want to know a secret?” What’s not so great? One could quibble a bit with the show’s logic at junctures. 1) Many, upon seeing the plane’s wreckage, may wonder how so many people survived such a horrific disaster. 2) Since one survivor is left with a giant hunk of shrapnel jutting out of his chest, does it really make sense for the only surviving doctor to wander off on a search mission? 3) Why is everyone so sure that a pair of found handcuffs signifies that there’s a fugitive among the survivors? The cuffs could be somebody’s sex toy, or could have fallen from the belt of a sky marshal, right? Finally, and this may be because my particular copy of the pilot may be a little muddy, it’s difficult to make out the unseen monsters’ distant wake. What’s great? The characters, the action, the mysteries, the pacing, the comedy, the many grisly mishaps, the special effects, the twist endings. The huge and unprecedented number of crash survivors, which should make for some fascinating drama as this strange new society is forged. The three harrowing, and I mean harrowing, planebound flashbacks, which should give many a frequent flyer nightmares for years. The cast generally, and Garcia’s repeated use of the noun “dude” in particular. The many fascinating loose ends, so certain to leave audiences craving more (just as the loose ends left by the “Alias” pilot did three years ago). |
| International Release Dates for the Grudge!
We have a very detailed list of release dates all over the world for the new Sarah movie. See when your cinema will show it! Australia - November 18, 2004 Hong Kong - October 29, 2004 Italy - November 26, 2004 Japan - February 19, 2005 Malaysia - October 28, 2004 New Zealand - February 10, 2005 Norway - January 7, 2005 Singapore - November 11, 2004 South Korea - November 2004 Taiwan - November 5 or 12, 2004 UK and Ireland - November 5, 2004 |
| Sarah Heads To Southland
Sarah:"'OK, it's about a boy and this imaginary bunny?" Sarah Michelle Gellar told SCI FI Wire that her next film looks likely to be Southland Tales, which was written and will be directed by Donnie Darko auteur Richard Kelly. "I had seen Donnie Darko, and I thought Richard Kelly was pretty much a genius," Gellar said in an interview while promoting her upcoming horror film, The Grudge. "We met and he told me this idea he had for his follow-up film." Gellar added that she took the role based on the original ideas in the script. "I pretty much would have said yes blindly, but it was just such a great character, and he just had so many great ideas that it was something I was definitely interested in doing. It's impossible to explain, really. If someone hadn't seen Donnie Darko, or didn't know anything about it, could you imagine trying to describe it? 'OK, it's about a boy and this imaginary bunny?' Richard Kelly's movies are so abstract that they're somewhat difficult to pigeonhole. But Southland Tales is basically [set] over a Fourth of July weekend during an election year, and it's about the chaos in the future [in 2008], and what happens to Hollywood. It's sort of a biting comment on our tabloid society. Does that work?" Gellar said that the film doesn't have the same kind of SF and fantasy elements as Donnie Darko, but it's still a work in progress. "Not as much as Donnie Darko. There are no imaginary talking bunnies, at least not yet. There may be talking bunnies by the time we film it." Southland Tales will be released in 2005. |
| Gellar Animated About Happily
Sarah Michelle Gellar told SCI FI Wire that providing the voice of the lead character in the upcoming animated feature Happily N'Ever After was a dream come true. "That's sort of a little love project that I've been working on for a couple of years," Gellar said in an interview while promoting her upcoming supernatural thriller, The Grudge. "I love children's stories. I collect children's books." Gellar will provide the voice of Cinderella in a twist on the traditional fairy tale. Gellar's husband, Freddie Prinze Jr., will also voice a role in the film. "It's basically what happens when all the children's stories sort of get combined and get messed up," she said. "I play Cinderella, and every little girl wants to be Cinderella. So I've finally gotten my chance. Freddie is also doing a voice for it. We recorded a little bit one day together, but most of it we recorded separately." In addition to Gellar and Prinze, those providing voices for Happily N'Ever After include Sigourney Weaver, George Carlin, Andy Dick, Wallace Shawn and Patrick Warbuton. The film, which is still in production, will be released in 2005. |
| Buffy Cartoon for Sale!
According to Buffy writer David Fury the Animated Series of Buffy is trying to find a network home. But the series will definetly happen! According to Fury, they're still trying to find a home for the show - which takes place in Buffy's highschool years - but the Showtime network has been rumoured. Moviehole has also heard that if that doesn't happen - and even if it does - that the "Buffy" cartoons may find a home on DVD, be it in an episode chain or movie-length animated feature. Within the next twelve months we should be seeing some inked-up Slayer action. |
| New Smg Interview!
Sarah Michelle Gellar talks to Horror.com about the Grudge, Japan and her life. A very long and interesting interview with our slayer. In the ghostly horror film set for a late October 2004 release, Sarah Michelle Gellar (of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” fame) plays Karen, an exchange student studying social work in Japan who agrees to cover for a nurse who didn’t show up for work (KaDee Strickland). When she enters the assigned home, Karen discovers an elderly woman who is lost in a catatonic state while the rest of the house appears deserted and disheveled. As she is tending to the stricken old lady, Karen hears ominous scratching sounds from upstairs. When she investigates, she is faced with a supernatural horror more frightening than she could ever imagine. One of the things that makes The Grudge unique is that it is a remake of popular Japanese film, called Ju-On: The Grudge, and is directed by Takashi Shimizu, the same writer/director of the original. Sarah talked to Horror.com about acting in another horror film and what it was like to work in Asia for the first time, with a director who did not speak very much English. What do you think since you've shot the movie and actually had a chance to see the original Ju-On? It was really important, to all of us there -- specifically I think Jason [Behr, so-star], myself and Shimizu -- to preserve the spirit of the original. I got to take one person with me to see this very, very, very rough screening. When I say rough, some it was actually storyboards. I'm talking very rough. And my friend was so genuinely freaking freaked out, she said to me afterwards, "You know what that was like? I feel like I just saw a Japanese film and I didn't need the subtitles. I understood." To me, that was the biggest compliment anybody could bring. The whole reason for doing this was to be part of something different. This is the first time a Japanese film has been remade for an American audiences, using the original Japanese director. There is an honor and a pride that comes with that, and a pressure. So I truly think we achieved that -- yes, there are going to be some things that are a little more American just because it is made for American and European audiences. But the spirit and the heart and the soul, I think is truly Japanese. What are the challenges of working with a director that doesn't speak much, if any, English? It's very difficult to make a lunch order. [laughs] It's not as challenging as you would think it would be. I don't know you guys but we're having a conversation and hopefully communicating fairly well, and you'd think it would be difficult when you don't have the words to rely on but you wind up connecting on this different level. You look so intently. You know, sometimes you have a tendency when you're talking to drift, but you have to go like this [stares] because you really need to get the essence of what someone is saying. You look for body language, or lilts in voices, and because of that it's kind of like a deeper connection. Raja Gosnell, who directed both Scooby movies, used to have this joke with me that my humor was so sort of sardonic that he never knew if I was kidding or serious. And sometimes I wouldn't tell him just to see if he would figure it out. And in like 2 weeks, Shimizu, I would say something totally deadpan and he'd start laughing. Not necessarily knowing what I said, but understanding that it was my way of making a joke. So it wasn't as complicated. I think what was more complicated than necessarily the English language vs. Japanese language, was the cultural differences. Americans are very gregarious. You know, we touch people when we're talking, even if we don’t know them. We speak much more intimately, and you know, the Japanese don't do that. I remember in the beginning it was constantly a struggle because Shimizu would want to know what Karen and Doug (Jason and my couple) would always talk closer together and touch more than the married couple. We tried to explain to him, "That's like America!" He didn't understand that and we'd have to constantly explain that you know, "This is the American way." It was sort of like meeting halfway. So I think that was probably your bigger barrier, but not really a problem. What's a typical jokester thing that you would do to somebody? I’m from New York, I make kind of somewhat maybe lewd, at times -- maybe some would say dirty -- jokes. But in jest. |