News

Exclusive: OWN has set the lead cast for The Kings of Napa, its new drama series about the power struggle between wealthy siblings in Napa Valley. Ebonee Noel (FBI), Rance Nix (Zero Issue), Karen LeBlanc (Ransom) and Yaani King Mondschein (For All Mankind) have been tapped to star in the series from Claws executive producer/showrunner Janine Sherman Barrois, Warner Bros. Television and Harpo Films.

Created by Sherman Barrois, who serves as showrunner, The Kings of Napa is focused on a picturesque Napa Valley, California vineyard owned by the Kings, an aspirational African American family whose wealth and status lands them on the pages of design magazines and society pages. The wine business has brought the family success and acclaim, but following the patriarch’s sudden exit from the company, his three children must grapple for the reigns to the kingdom — to their own power, wealth and legacy.

Noel plays August King,...

The BBC is leading nominations for the 2020 Rockie Awards, a juried competition organized by Canada’s Banff World Media Festival to celebrate achievement in television and digital media from around the world.

The BBC was nominated for 27 Rockie Awards, followed by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation with 13 noms, Sky with eight noms, National Geographic with six noms, HBO with five noms, as well as Arte France and Finland’s Yle with four nominations each. U.K. and U.S. shows are leading the pack with 44 and 43 nominations, respectively.

The comedy series lineup includes BBC’s “Fleabag,” “Motherland,” “This Time With Alan Partridge,” as well as A24’s Ramy and Channel Four’s “This Way Up.” The non-English language comedy shows in the running include Finland’s “Almost True,” Tva’s “Boomerang” and Radio-Canada’s “Freefall,” Arte France’s “Mytho,” and Deutschland’s “Other Parents.”

Drama series nominated include Corus Entertainment’s “Departure,...

Exclusive: Chelsea Winstanley, producer of Oscar-nominated Jojo Rabbit and festival favourite What We Do In The Shadows, is launching production company This Too Shall Pass.

Based in Los Angeles and New Zealand, the new company will focus on telling “authentic stories with unique cultural perspectives” and will act as a vehicle for Winstanley’s own writing and directing projects.

Prominent on the slate is Winstanley’s writing and directing feature debut The Appeal, about a landmark legal case in New Zealand. The feature tells the story of Samoan lawyer Tiana Epati who defended a former gang member in a leading case that challenged prejudices within the criminal justice system and highlighted racial bias against the country’s Māori population.

Winstanley sees parallels in the story to Michael B Jordan and Jamie Foxx starrer Just Mercy, and calls it the “‘Poly-Brockervich’ of today with a woman at the center of the...

Oscar and Emmy winning actress Holly Hunter has joined the cast of the second season of drama series "Succession" in a recurring role.

Created by Jesse Armstrong, season 2 of "Succession" follows the Roy family as they struggle to retain control of their empire, and while the future looks increasingly uncertain, it is the past that threatens ultimately to destroy them, reports deadline.com.

Hunter will play Rhea Jarrell, the politically savvy CEO of a rival media conglomerate.

The Season 2 cast includes Brian Cox, Jeremy Strong, Hiam Abbass, Sarah Snook, Kieran Culkin, Alan Ruck, Nicholas Braun, Matthew Macfadyen, Peter Friedman, Rob Yang, J. Smith Cameron, Dagmara Dominczyk and Arian Moayed.

Hunter won the best actress Oscar for her performance in Jane Campion-directed "The Piano" and has Oscar nominations for "Broadcast News", "The Firm" and "Thirteen". She received the best actress Emmy for "The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom...

HBO’s Succession has added to its estimable ranks Academy Award, Emmy and Golden Globe winner Holly Hunter.

Premiering in August, Season 2 of one of TVLine’s Top Dramas of 2018 picks up right where its freshman run dramatically left off, with the powerful Roy family struggling to retain control of their empire, yet facing an increasingly uncertain future. But “it is the past that threatens to ultimately destroy them,” teases HBO’s synopsis.

TVLine has learned that Hunter will recur during Season 2 as Rhea Jarrell, the politically savvy CEO of a rival media conglomerate.

Hunter’s previous TV credits include HBO’s Here and Now,...

Holly Hunter is joining HBO’s “Succession.”

Hunter will recur in the second season of the drama series in the role of Rhea Jarrell, the politically savvy CEO of a rival media conglomerate. She joins returning castmembers Brian Cox, Jeremy Strong, Hiam Abbass, Sarah Snook, Kieran Culkin, Alan Ruck, Nicholas Braun, Matthew Macfadyen, Peter Friedman, Rob Yang, J. Smith Cameron, Dagmara Dominczyk, and Arian Moayed.

Hunter won the Academy Award for best actress for her performance in “The Piano.” She has also received Oscar nominations for the films “Broadcast News,” “The Firm, and “Thirteen.” On the TV side, she is known for roles in the show “Saving Grace” and in TV movies like “The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom,” “When Billie Beat Bobby,” “Things You Can Tell Just By Looking at Her,” and “Harlan County War.”

She is repped by ICM Partners, Management 360, and Ziffren Brittenham.

Oscar- and Emmy-winning actress Holly Hunter is joining the Season 2 cast of HBO’s drama series Succession in a recurring role.

Created by Jesse Armstrong (In the Loop) and executive produced by The Big Short‘s Adam McKay, Season 2 of Succession follows the Roy family as they struggle to retain control of their empire, and while the future looks increasingly uncertain, it is the past that threatens ultimately to destroy them.

Hunter will play Rhea Jarrell, the politically savvy CEO of a rival media conglomerate.

The Season 2 cast includes Brian Cox, Jeremy Strong, Hiam Abbass, Sarah Snook, Kieran Culkin, Alan Ruck, Nicholas Braun, Matthew Macfadyen, Peter Friedman, Rob Yang, J. Smith Cameron, Dagmara Dominczyk and Arian Moayed.

Succession is executive produced by Armstrong, McKay, Frank Rich, Kevin Messick, Will Ferrell, Jane Tranter, Mark Mylod and Tony Roche. Armstrong also serves as showrunner.

Hunter won a best actress Oscar for her...

Louisa Mellor Jul 1, 2016

Not every artist is happy to have their song featured in a particular TV show or film. Here are 17 times the rights were refused...

It's not only political campaigns that inspire musical artists to exercise the power of veto on the use of their songs. For reasons of finance, reputation, ego, taste and more, the following TV shows and films weren't able to secure the use of the recordings they originally sought...

Frank Sinatra – Goodfellas

This Express piece quotes an Empire Magazine interview with Martin Scorsese’s long-time editor Thelma Schoonmaker in which she relates how the original plan was to have Frank Sinatra’s original recording of My Way play over the end credits of modern gangster classic Goodfellas instead of the Sid Vicious cover that was eventually used.

“Sinatra would never let Marty use his music,” explains Schoonmaker, “which is too bad because Marty may...

Don't get Jane West started on Seth Rogen. West – the co-founder of Women Grow, a professional network for female cannabis entrepreneurs – is no fan of the monopoly that stoner bros seem to have on pop culture. You know the type: Cheech and Chong, The Dude, the guys from Friday and Mall Rats and Half Baked, and, of course, Rogen, the current cinematic standard-bearer of the bong-hitting, heavy-lidded, very male tribe. "Seth Rogen makes millions of dollars propagating the entire image of what a stoner is," West says. The problem with...

Before we get to the new releases, I wanted to remind you Amazon has all of Wes Anderson's films on sale this week, which means all the following Blu-rays, click on any of the titles for purchasing information: Bottle Rocket ($19.49) my review Rushmore ($19.99) The Royal Tenenbaums ($18.99) The Darjeeling Limited ($20.99) my review Fantastic Mr. Fox ($20.99) And with that we get to... The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (Criterion Collection) The initial DVD release of Wes Anderson's The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou was a collaboration between Criterion and Buena Vista Home Entertainment, but now it's getting an official Blu-ray and DVD release from Criterion with a new 4K transfer and a bounty of additional features: New, restored 4K digital film transfer, approved by director Wes Anderson, with 5.1 surround DTS-hd Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition Audio commentary by Anderson and cowriter Noah Baumbach This Is an Adventure, a...

Comedian and actor best known for the satirical television show Bremner, Bird and Fortune

John Fortune, who has died aged 74 after a long illness, was a distinguished member of the Oxbridge generation of brainy comedians who turned British entertainment inside out in the early 1960s, along with his friend, college contemporary and writing partner, John Bird, as well as Peter Cook, Jonathan Miller, Alan Bennett, David Frost, Eleanor Bron and John Wells.

From his earliest days on Ned Sherrin's Not So Much a Programme, More a Way of Life, the successor in 1964-65 to the satirical television magazine That Was the Week That Was, through to the comedy shows with Rory Bremner in the 1990s and beyond, he was a fixture of barely surprised indifference, with a wonderful line in deflationary, logical understatement. Tall and gangly, with a warm and ready smile but a performance default mode of aghast,...

John Fortune has died at the age of 74.

The comedian - who found fame through his TV collaborations with John Bird and Rory Bremner - died peacefully with his wife by his side earlier today (December 31).

Fortune's agent Vivienne Clore said: "It is with great sadness that I write of the death of John Fortune this morning aged 74.

"He died peacefully with his wife, Emma and dog Grizelle, at his bedside.

"A renowned satirist, early work included contributions to Peter Cook's Establishment club and more latterly his work with long-term collaborator John Bird and Rory Bremner.

"He is survived by his adored wife, Emma and three children."

Rory Bremner paid tribute to the star on Twitter, saying: "I'm so sorry to let you know that my friend John Fortune died this morning. Lovely man, dear friend, brilliant & fearless satirist."

Fortune met Bird while studying at King's College, Cambridge and...

Nigel Cole has signed on to direct Daylight Robbery.

The Made in Dagenham director will tackle Exclusive Media's action comedy, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The film will centre around a group of feisty retirees struggling to help a friend on the brink of losing their home.

They hatch a plan to rob the bank that refused to give her financial aid.

Cole will reunite with his Calendar Girls writer Tim Firth on the project.

The director's other films include Saving Grace and A Lot Like Love. Firth's writing credits include Confessions of a Shopaholic, Blackball and Kinky Boots.

Daylight Robbery is currently casting and will shoot in 2014.

The Calendar Girls' team of Nigel Cole and Tim Firth are set to reunite for the Daylight Robbery action comedy which Cole will direct, reports Variety. The film tells of a group of retired folks who are hit by the pension crisis and come up with a scheme to steal millions from a bank after the financial institution refuses to help their friend, who hangs on the edge of losing her home. Exclusive Media fully finances, and also produces Daylight Robbery in association with Playmaker Films' James Gay-Rees (The Quiet Ones). Other than Calendar Girls, Cole's credits include A Lot Like Love, Saving Grace, TV's Into the Wild and Peak Practice.

Exclusive: Exclusive Media producing with James Gay-Rees; marks start of Exclusive’s new focus on UK non-genre productions.

Calendar Girls director Nigel Cole and writer Tim Firth are reuniting on new action comedy Daylight Robbery, about a group of British retirees planning a bank heist.

Exclusive Media is producing in association with James Gay-Rees of Playmaker Films, who also worked with Exclusive’s Hammer Films on The Quiet Ones.

This film marks Exclusive’s growing focus of producing non-genre films in the UK. Exclusive’s production outfit Hammer will continue to focus on genre films, including the forthcoming shoot for The Woman In Black: Angel of Death.

Exclusive is fully financing Daylight Robbery.

The story is about a group of feisty pensioners who are hit by the financial crisis and plan to rob a bank to save one friend who is on the verge of losing her home.

Susie Figgis is serving as casting director and is...

Exclusive: Exclusive Media producing with James Gay-Rees; marks start of Exclusive’s new focus on UK non-genre productions.

Calendar Girls director Nigel Cole and writer Tim Firth are reuniting on new action comedy Daylight Robbery, about a group of British retirees planning a bank heist.

Exclusive Media is producing in association with James Gay-Rees of Playmaker Films, who also worked with Exclusive’s Hammer Films on The Quiet Ones.

This film marks Exclusive’s growing focus of producing non-genre films in the UK. Exclusive’s production outfit Hammer will continue to focus on genre films, including the forthcoming shoot for The Woman In Black: Angel of Death.

Exclusive is fully financing Daylight Robbery.

The story is about a group of feisty pensioners who are hit by the financial crisis and plan to rob a bank to save one friend who is on the verge of losing her home.

Susie Figgis is serving as casting director and is...

"The chain in those handcuffs is high-tensile steel. It'd take you ten minutes to hack through it with this. Now, if you're lucky, you could hack through your ankle in five minutes. Go." — Mel Gibson, 'Mad Max'

Greetings from the apocalypse! Hopefully this isn't the end, but I have to depart the sandblasted pages of this column for a brief sojourn across the wasteland. With a little luck, a lot of gasoline and the aid of a gangly autogyro pilot I should find my way back in a few months time, but until then enjoy this last weekend column … for now.

Friday, August 2

Pow! In Theaters

As I wrote earlier this week for Film.com, "2 Guns" will without a doubt take its place among the pantheon of extremely forgettable Denzel Washington action movies. Hell, the trailer could have been one of those parodies from the beginning of "Tropic Thunder.

Director of Calendar Girls and Made in Dagenham will bring the story of Port Isaac shanty singers to cinemas

The story of Cornish sea shanty group the Fisherman's Friends is to be made into a film. The good news will be welcomed by supporters of the band still mourning the death of singer Trevor Grills and tour manager Paul McMullen, who died in an accident at the G Live theatre venue in Guildford earlier this year.

Reading on mobile? Watch the band's video here

The film, to be directed by Nigel Cole, will chart a journey that started in a pub in Port Isaac and led to the Sunday morning slot on the main stage of Glastonbury festival in 2011. The 10-strong group of fishermen, coastguards and lifeboatmen gained a boost after DJ Johnnie Walker heard them play while on holiday in the Cornish village. A £1m record deal soon followed.

Labor Day, the latest film from writer/director Jason Reitman is now scheduled to open on Christmas Day so I thought I'd post about it on Independence Day just to continue its holiday confusions!

You may remember that I had promised to read two books that y'all voted on in that "read this before the movie comes out" and this was your second choice pick (I'll read 12 Years a Slave next). I managed to get through thise runner up on flights during my recent Scandinavian trip. Joyce Manard's "Labor Day" was an easy read, actually as the novel is slim and the story is condensed to a very short time frame. I like both of its book covers though they're vague (love and peach pies do figure in but...) and its difficult to say what they're selling but the same is arguably true of the book, which I felt ambivalent...

Doc Martin season 5

Kieran Kinsella

British TV’s best loved non-Gallifreyan doctor is back in a bumper sized boxset from Acorn Media. Doc Martin: Special Collection – Series 1 – 5 + The Movies includes the entire saga so far. It is the ideal gift for Doc Martin fans who have grown frustrated at the show’s infrequent airings on select PBS stations.

Doc Martin began life as a bit part character in the film Saving Grace. At the time, his last name was Bamford and he kept the same name for two spin-off BSkyB produced made for TV movies. Bamford was a younger, slimmer, happier, more relaxed version of the Doc Martin most of us are now familiar with. The character alterations occurred when BSkyB’s drama unit went the way of the Dodo and ITV chiefs decided to develop their own version of the show. It was decided that the Doc should...

Like a good bottle of wine, when Cougar Town is telling great jokes one after another, there’s really nothing better.

Therefore, there was Really nothing better than "Saving Grace," as Grayson found religion, Jules found a seagull and Ellie coined the cracker pocket.

Grayson not believing in a higher power, or Laurie’s a little bit of everything, fits him perfectly - and it’s rather hilarious how he's using all that time during Jules’ lengthy grace sessions: to get some alone time.

While Grayson doesn’t need to worship or believe in anything, Jules is correct in pointing out that he should support, not mock, whatever she believes in (even if it might be Mr. Beakington’s alter at this point). Cougar Town never touches upon religion, but it’s a nice note to pick up from after learning more of Chick’s ailing health battles. It’s...

Cougar Town Season 4, Episode 11 ‘Saving Grace’

Directed by Michael McDonald

Written by Blake McCormick

Airs Tuesday nights at 10pm (Et) on TBS

There have been a few episodes this season where Cougar Town‘s reached a bit to create marital drama between the two couples at the heart of the show (although the same would apply to Laurie and Travis at times, as well). ‘Saving Grace’ is definitely one of those episodes, presenting us with a number of story lines and rushing through them for mostly unsatisfying conclusions. When Cougar Town dips into the sappy well it can be hit or miss, as the last few scenes of the episode show.

Things begin in kind of an odd place: Grayson and Jules have a disagreement over faith, a topic I’d rather most comedies just avoided. Both to its benefit and its disadvantage, ‘Saving Grace’ doesn’t really dig into this idea too far.

This Berlin flew by! A good overview is that of Screen Daily and if we're lucky, you can read it here without subscribing. My own activities flowed from two sources:

1) Education: I taught and led tours of the market for Berlinale's Talent Campus Meet the Experts, for Deutsche Welle Akademie Film Festival Workshop, and for Ina Sup, a TV, film and new media school based in France and linked to the French National Audiovisual Institute (Ina). This is the most rewarding work, seeing what talent is coming up in our world, seeing ideas take hold as the students learn about the market.

2) Our Consulting: Another pillar of our company, aside from blogging and professional education, is strategic planning with filmmakers. This Berlinale was very intense and very energizing for my partner Peter Belsito and me, with Beyond the Moonwalk having found a berth for international sales representation with Steve Arroyave's Arrow Entertainment and a U.S. distribution commitment, and more actively involving, with Donna Deitch's The Catcher, where a series of meetings with top German and Canadian producers and sales agents gave the project the momentum of a race horse bound for first place!

What follows are my impressions of various other Berlin events as they passed by -- ever so quickly -- but still with enough eye-catching power to capture my attention in the first place.

I was happy to see Jeff Lipsky and Adopt Films' co-managing executive Tim Grady cleaning up with 3 acquisitions; no time to waste anymore as the third Bingham Ray memorial pointed out to those who have the mind to realize the message. Sister (L'enfant d'en haut) by Ursula Maier (Isa: Memento, Swiss rights with FilmCoopi), I hear is A+, Paolo and Vittorio Taviani's Caesar Must Die (Cesare deve morire) (Isa: Rai Trade) won the Golden Bear, and Chris Petzold's Barbara, all in Competition.

American indie works-in-progress have been granted a second chance to screen for European indie distributors (EuropaDistribution) at the upcoming Paris Film Festival in June. I have been invited to be on the jury of "U.S. in Progress" and am thrilled at the prospect. I was honored to have been invited to be on the jury in Wroclaw at the American Film Festival in November as well, for the first edition of this chance for U.S. filmmakers to win post-production and cash prizes. This is where the film Now, Forager was picked up by fledgling international sales agent, the only international sales agent in Poland, New Europe Sales founded by Jan Naszewski [jnaszewski At gmail.com] and Anja Sosic [anja At NewEuropeFilmSales.com]. The film went on to screen at Rotterdam Film Festival. Even hotter news will be forthcoming from Moma and The New York Film Society's New Directors/ New Films about one of the films at the Aff's "U.S. in Progress". If you missed it in Poland you will be able to see it in New York this April!

I was lucky to see two films during the market and after the market closed, this last Saturday and Sunday, when I caught some more films I was unable to see earlier due to my "real" work. Of the films I saw here in Berlin, here are my unique :) comments for what they're worth.

Children of Srikandi (Panorama) is a very personal account by a female filmmaker collective in Indonesia on what it means to be a lesbian in their society. The sweet intimacy of the film overrides its non-professional veneer (the "filmmakers" were all non-professionals). In fact, this could serve as a template for other non-professionals who want to tell their stories. Schools come to mind as possible candidates for this sort of filmmaking, as does my own pet project, The Literacy Project. The Indonesian contingent here in Berlin was interesting and sociable as they met their audience and fans. They were hosted by Berlin based producers Laura Coppens who is a doctorate student in ethnological studies in Zurich and Angelika Levi, doc filmmaker (My Life, Part 2 about growing up Jewish in Berlin).

Bergman & Magnani: The War of the Volcanos. This invitation-only work in progress with Wide House uses a unique way to show the emotion filled and the biggest jet-set love scandal of all times, the story of Roberto Rossellini, Anna Magnani and Ingrid Bergman as Rosellini and the volcanic Anna Magnani ended their relationship after making Volcano (1950) and the married Ingrid Bergman and Rossellini began theirs with the filming of Stromboli (1950), the name of the second volcano on this Aeolian Island which has been in almost continuous eruption for 2,000 years. The visuals of their stories are illustrated entirely with the scenes from movies starring them as they enact the real life emotions and the commentary of the doc. I am most interested to see how well this technique succeeds.

Paolo and Vittorio Taviani's Caesar Must Die (Isa: Rai Trade) is a moving illustration of the transformative power of art as hardened criminals in an Italian prison rehearse and perform Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. The the 80 + year old Brothers Taviani deserve recognition for their artistic excellence. I can't argue with Mike Leigh and the jury's judgement except that on my emotional meter, Rebelle (War Witch) was the real winner.

Rebelle (War Witch) by Kim Nguyen (Isa: Films Distribution) should have won the Golden Bear. The Silver Bear for Best Actress was awarded to Rachel Mwanza, but this film is so deeply moving on the most primal levels, maintaining its African roots while touching our most sensitive emotions of parents, love, rape, pregnancy and infants as they are experienced by a female child soldier from ages 12 to 14. It should also win Best Foreign Language Film in next year's Academy Awards. Produced by the industry vets Marie-Claude Poulin and Pierre Even, it is yet another feather in the cap of the the Canadian film industry.

Dieter Kosslick observed that with 15 Competition titles confirmed at the time Screen International interviewed him, “both thematically and geographically, we have many films coming this year from Asia, and particularly China and Indonesia. There is also an interesting focus on France this year, beginning with the opening film Farewell My Queen (Les adieux a la reine) (Isa: Elle Driver) and going through all of the festival’s sections. Moreover, we have two French jury members [Francois Ozon and Charlotte Gainsbourg] in the International Jury.“ Eight titles selected to date have German majority or minority participation, so German filmmakers and (co-)producers will again enjoy a record presence in the Competition on a par with 2011’s tally of eight films involving German directors or German production partners." He also notes Competition films' trending toward "times of upheaval and new departures... with many films coming from Africa and Arab countries". My observation of the 23 Competition films finally selected is that the nostalgic look back at European aristocracy and top social tiers (A Royal Affair, Bel Ami, Farewell My Queen) and its mores stands in stark contrast to today's upheavals of families and children (Childish Games, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Postcards from the Zoo, Just the Wind, Mercy, Shadow Dancer, Sister, Rebelle, Home for the Weekend, Jayne Mansfield's Car, Coming Home). Seven other films continue the theme of social upheavals: Tey - which deal with childhood memories of Senegal experienced by an American, Captive about Phillipine hostages, Barbara an Eastern German looking to move to the West, Caesar Must Die about prisoners finding art in their sequestered lives, Flying Swords of Dragon Gate about upheavel during the Ming Dynasty, White Deer Plain about upheavel towards the end of Imperial China, The Flowers of War about the upheavel of China by the Japanese in World War II. The exceptions, Tabu and Meteora, deal with love, the Saving Grace.

Two major disappointments were Steven Soderberg's Haywire (Isa: Mandate) and Stephen Elliott's Cherry. Both about women, they left me puzzled with what the plot was about. Pretty, well done and negligible.

This Berlin Diary Part 2 will continue after I work on my new and soon-to-be launched website! I have spent an entire day on this blog and I still have much more to write!

“Written by Craig Ferguson.” There’s a credit you don’t see so often these days, though he has crafted scripts before, working on the likes of The Big Tease and Saving Grace. But while he’s largely penned comedy in the past, Ferguson has switched tracks into thriller territory for Last Man Out, which has Pierce Brosnan attached to star.Adapted by Ferguson and Ted Mulkerin from Stuart Neville’s revenge-thriller tome The Twelve, Last Man Out follows a former Ira hit man who is released from prison after 20 years.Haunted by his crime and the memory of the people he killed, he decides he can find no peace until he brings down vengeance on the people who ordered those murders on behalf of the victims. What is it with assassins growing consciences these days?Terry Loan is cranking the cameras, although while the project is being sold at Berlin’s film market,...

Marking its official entry into developing long-form event series, Fox Broadcasting Company announced today that it has inked development deals for two large-scale drama projects: "Wayward Pines," from M. Night Shyamalan ( The Sixth Sense , Unbreakable ) and FX Productions; and "Blood Brothers," from Bruce C. McKenna ("Band of Brothers," "The Pacific"), Gary Randall ("The Glades," "Saving Grace"), Timothy Scott Bogart ("Majors & Minors," "Touched"), Boardwalk Entertainment Group and Fox Television Studios. Fox will order its first event series pilot(s) later this year with plans to debut its first long-form event series in 2014. "With top-notch auspices and feature-quality production plans,...

Every week on The L.A. Complex another character is dealing with a battle.

Whether it's Raquel's inner struggle to accept how she's perceived or Kaldrick's constant battle within himself to tear down who he really is, the idea of tonight's episode ("Choose Your Battles") resonates with each character's inner and external struggles. 

This installment, like so many others in this series, is particularly well-structured, opening with Kal getting out of bed in just his underwear and suiting up to become Kaldrick King, the rapper. It looked like work for him... because it was. He has to strap on his identity daily and it's wearing on him, especially when he's constantly challenged to defend it, this week by Infinite Jest and the press, since he needs to make some appearances to reassure the public the King is not dead, but very much alive and rapping.

But nothing is ever easy, and Tariq haunts Kaldrick's every move,...

On tonight’s episode of The L.A. Complex, "The Contract," every character had to face facts. The road to success in Los Angeles is paved with scandal, false value systems and judgment.

It actually is how you play the game - and whether you win or lose is of the utmost importance because everyone wants to be on top and there’s not a lot of room for error.

What I love about this show is just how high the stakes are. Everyone’s livelihood is dependent on making their chosen careers work for them. That’s why “The Lux” is an important setting. These aren’t nice apartments, even though for the sake of television, that pool looks pretty great. It’s gritty. This series is gritty. Nothing is easy and nothing gets handed to characters, unless it’s with a twist and unless what’s being handed to the character,...

On TV this Tuesday: Deadliest Catch pulls up its nets, White Collar’s Neal keeps Peter on the trail of a very elusive criminal, Glee Project learns “the show must go on” and The Godfather Legacy hopes that your first child is a masculine child. As a supplement to TVLine’s original features, linked within, here are nine programs to look out for tonight.

8 pm Deadliest Catch (Discovery) | Season 8 of the fish-for-your-life unscripted drama is drawing to a close, but no need to get crabby: After the two-hour finale, in which a veteran deckhand makes a terrible mistake, stick around...

The L.A. Complex hasn't been generating overly impressive ratings on The CW, but Cassie Steele is aiming to change that.

In my interview with the actress, she did her best to improve interest in the show, telling television fans why they ought to tune in:

“Boobs! There are boobs! It’s funny and there’s a lot of sex. It’s hilariously sexual.”

The L.A. Complex Promo: "The Contract"

What can fans look forward to on tonight's installment of this wildly underrated primetime soap opera? Problems on the set of Saving Grace for Steel's Abby, the actress said.

"It’s going to get complicated when she gets work... as it always does.”

Things get complicated at work, but what about Abby’s relationship with Nick?

“Nick is neurotic and anxious and Abby is a little all over the place. They even each other out, but they don’t have a...

Three words: Watch. This. Show. 

"Vacancy" is an appropriate title for the season two premiere of The L.A. Complex, considering that no matter how each character tries for success, they somehow come up empty either emotionally, monetarily or physically. 

The episode starts with an establishing montage of some of where our favorite characters have left off. Nick and Abby happily enjoy one another in the bedroom while Connor walks out of his newly burnt house in a state of disbelief and numbness. Raquel is also not willing to believe what she sees in front of her: a multitude of positive pregnancy tests yielding the exact opposite result that she desires. 

While the whole "Oops, I'm pregnant" plus "Who's the daddy" storylines can be overplayed, I buy Raquel's anguish over her pregnancy, especially because she manages to sabotage every relationship she's been in just by being who she is.

As Raquel...

Liam Neeson is back as international badass Bryan Mills in a brand-new trailer for the hotly-awaited 'Taken' sequel.

By Josh Wigler

Liam Neeson in "Taken 2"

Photo:

Liam Neeson has a very particular set of skills. Skills that make him a nightmare for people like you — unless you're a fan of ex-cia operatives who remain unreasonably badass in their golden years. In that case, Neeson is something of a dream come true.The Oscar nominee remains in perfectly hardcore form in the first official trailer for "Taken 2," the sequel to the 2008 action flick that kick-started a surprising new phase in Neeson's career. Since his turn as former spy Bryan Mills in the Luc Besson-produced thriller, Neeson has become the go-to guy for older-man-kicks-so-much-ass action movies like "The A-Team," "Unknown" and "The Grey." But it's "Taken" that remains the decisive favorite for Neeson fans, and seeing him...

Liam Neeson is back as international badass Bryan Mills in a brand-new trailer for the hotly-awaited 'Taken' sequel.

By Josh Wigler

Liam Neeson has a very particular set of skills. Skills that make him a nightmare for people like you — unless you're a fan of ex-cia operatives who remain unreasonably badass in their golden years. In that case, Neeson is something of a dream come true.The Oscar nominee remains in perfectly hardcore form in the first official trailer for "Taken 2," the sequel to the 2008 action flick that kick-started a surprising new phase in Neeson's career. Since his turn as former spy Bryan Mills in the Luc Besson-produced thriller, Neeson has become the go-to guy for older-man-kicks-so-much-ass action movies like "The A-Team," "Unknown" and "The Grey." But it's "Taken" that remains the decisive favorite for Neeson fans, and seeing him run around in that particular world...

A classic 1960s working-class drama translates beautifully into a comedy of contemporary British Asian family life

All in Good Time is a touching, likable comedy of life in Lancashire's Hindu community. Though this aspect is little publicised, it's closely based on Bill Naughton's 1965 play of the same title.

Born in Ireland and raised in Bolton, Naughton emerged as a novelist and playwright in the late 50s in the wave of northern working-class writers like Shelagh Delaney, Keith Waterhouse, Alan Sillitoe, David Storey and Stan Barstow. But having been born in 1910 and worked for years as a coal-bagger, cotton-loom operator and lorry driver, Naughton belonged to an earlier generation and was altogether less chippy, aggressive, and self-consciously political about his background.

He enjoyed considerable success in the theatre and had three of his plays filmed, though his most enduringly popular work, the film version of Alfie, completely misrepresented Naughton's radio play,...

Bad Girls pilot ordered by NBC ER, Southland, Saving Grace and The West Wing executive producer John Wells' Bad Girls is being penned by Nancy Pimenthal of Shameless (also exec. produced by Wells). Variety reports that the prison drama Bad Girls is based on a British series following women in a federal prison, including inmates as well as staff members. Shed Media also produces and Pimental is on as an executive producer alongside Andrew Stearn and Wells. with Wells and Andrew Stearn. Film-wise, Wells produced The Good Thief, White Oleander, and the more recent, and enjoyable The Company Men...

Bad Girls pilot ordered by NBC ER, Southland, Saving Grace and The West Wing executive producer John Wells' Bad Girls is being penned by Nancy Pimenthal of Shameless (also exec. produced by Wells). Variety reports that the prison drama Bad Girls is based on a British series following women in a federal prison, including inmates as well as staff members. Shed Media also produces and Pimental is on as an executive producer alongside Andrew Stearn and Wells. with Wells and Andrew Stearn. Film-wise, Wells produced The Good Thief, White Oleander, and the more recent, and enjoyable The Company Men...

Bad Girls pilot ordered by NBC ER, Southland, Saving Grace and The West Wing executive producer John Wells' Bad Girls is being penned by Nancy Pimenthal of Shameless (also exec. produced by Wells). Variety reports that the prison drama Bad Girls is based on a British series following women in a federal prison, including inmates as well as staff members. Shed Media also produces and Pimental is on as an executive producer alongside Andrew Stearn and Wells. with Wells and Andrew Stearn. Film-wise, Wells produced The Good Thief, White Oleander, and the more recent, and enjoyable The Company Men...

Has it really been another year? The first of what is the second decade of the 21st Century. Boy does time sure fly fast when you're having fun (or not paying attention, or drinking too much or just dim-witted, etc...). From all of us here at Latino Review.Com, we wish all of our readers Happy Holidays and New Year! Whatever holiday you choose to celebrate, whatever religion you choose to follow or don't, we thank you all for continuing to support us along the years, through thick and thin. Remember, this is not only a time of celebration, but of giving. And as they say, “it is better to give than to receive”. Sounds like a bunch of hokey b.s., but believe me, experience has taught me it is true. We've given you up-to-the-minute news, film reviews and exclusive scoops and you've given us your time with incredible readership.

Disney Pixar released the trailer for the upcoming animated film “Brave.” The film will be voiced by Kelly Macdonald (“No Country for Old Men,” “Boardwalk Empire”), Emma Thompson (“Sense and Sensibility,” “Love Actually”), Kevin McKidd (“Trainspotting,” “Dog Soldiers”), Julie Walters (“Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” “Gnomeo & Juliet”), Bill Connelly (“The Boondock Saints,” “Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events”), Craig Ferguson (“Saving Grace,” “Doc Martin”) and Robbie Coltrane (“Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” “The World Is Not Enough”). Here is the synopsis: “Brave” is set in the mystical Scottish Highlands, where Merida is the princess of a kingdom ruled by King Fergus (Connolly) and Queen Elinor (Thompson). An unruly daughter and an accomplished archer, Merida (Macdonald) one day defies a sacred custom of the land and inadvertently brings turmoil to the kingdom. In an attempt to set things right, Merida seeks out an eccentric old...

Empire Online has several stills from the next Pixar Animation project “Brave.” These same stills were seen at the D23 Convention in Anaheim last August. The still shows the protagonist Merida and the three Scottish fathers of the Merida’s suitors. The film will be voiced by Kelly Macdonald (“No Country for Old Men,” “Boardwalk Empire”), Emma Thompson (“Sense and Sensibility,” “Love Actually”), Kevin McKidd (“Trainspotting,” “Dog Soldiers”), Julie Walters (“Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” “Gnomeo & Juliet”), Bill Connelly (“The Boondock Saints,” “Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events”), Craig Ferguson (“Saving Grace,” “Doc Martin”) and Robbie Coltrane (“Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” “The World Is Not Enough”). Here is the synopsis: “Brave” is set in the mystical Scottish Highlands, where Merida is the princess of a kingdom ruled by King Fergus (Connolly) and Queen Elinor (Thompson). An unruly daughter and an accomplished archer, Merida...

Toronto is a hub of film festivals here in Canada. Apart from Tiff, After Dark, Hot Docs and Tjff, we also cover the imagineNATIVE Festival each year. The fest recently announced their line up which includes World Premieres, International Award-Winners & Buffy Sainte-Marie. Here is the press release.

Visit www.imagineNATIVE.org for the full Festival line-up.

The Festival officially kicks off at 12:00pm on Wednesday, October 19 with its Welcome Gathering presented by the Thunderbird Centre at the Native Canadian Centre of Toronto (16 Spadina Road). Free and open to the public, the reception features traditional Indigenous performances, including Tribal Vision, a family dance troupe from Six Nations, a welcoming song from Rosary Spence, craft vendors, food, and a welcome address from imagineNATIVE in a casual, fun atmosphere.

imagineNATIVE’s Opening Night screening presented by Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (Aptn) features the Canadian Premiere of Andrew Okpeaha MacLean’s internationally-celebrated dramatic...

Premiering this week exclusively on Dailymotion is Ben and Burman, a new web series from actor/producer Ben Giroux (Bones, Psych) and his longtime frenemy and Second City’s Scott Burman. The story highlights the pair’s height deficiencies and their Odd Couple cohabitation, which, I’m told, kinda sorta emulates their real life friendship. “We became known as best friends who also hated each other,” said Giroux. “I'm a neat-freak who appreciates order and hygiene. Burman is a slob who appreciates chaos at all times. Together, people started referring to us as a modern-day Odd Couple. Striking up a unique friendship and creating a style of comedy Giroux describes as “if The Three Stooges had sex with South Park,” Giroux and Burman produced the twelve episode series. Then they teamed up with Gary Randall’s Grand Productions (Saving Grace, The Glades). The partnership had definite benefits, as the duo...

Doc Martin, which will soon be coming out with a fifth series, has an amazing story behind it, one which many of the show's U.S. fans probably don't know. Spun off from a non-integral character in the 2000 film Saving Grace, Doc Martin first went on to television movies which focused on Martin Clunes' character, who was then not quite so brash, and was suffering from a cheating wife, rather than a fear of blood.

In Saving Grace, Doc Martin is simply the local doctor, and rather a fun-loving one at that. The first Doc Martin movie introduces us to Dr. Martin Bamford, a London obstetrician who soon learns that his wife is having affairs with at least his three best friends. He ventures to Port Isaac (the same actual location in all three incarnations, later to be known as Portwenn) to get away from his life. He takes up with a lobster fisherman,...

British actress Brenda Blethyn has donated the Swarovski crystal handbag she held on the red carpet for the Golden Globes – where she was nominated for the film Saving Grace – to a great new celebrity charity auction.

The handbag comes with a small mirror and a picture of Brenda Blethyn holding the handbag on the red carpet. There is a small hand-written label signed by Brenda Blethyn with a short explanation about the bag.

Read more...

The International Association of Media Tie-In Writers presented their 2011 Scribe Awards during Friday’s Comic-Con International Acitivities. The winners announced by co-found Max Allan Collins are:

Best General Original Novel: Saving Grace: Tough Love by Nancy Holder

Best Speculative Original Novel: Warhammer: Bloodborn: Ulrika the Vampire by Nathan Long

Best Adaptation: The Wolfman by Jonathan Maberry

Best Young Adult Novel: Dungeons & Dragons: Aldwyn’s Academy by Nathan Meyer

This is the second time Long has won a Scribe for his work in the Warhammer franchise.

Also, the Iamtw gave their Faust Award to Peter David, naming him a Grandmaster, following in the footsteps of Alan Dean Foster, Keith DeCandido, and William Johnston. David was grilled by Collins for a lively discussion in front of a packed room.

Walt Disney Pictures released a couple of clips from the upcoming animation “Winnie the Pooh.” The voice cast included Jim Cummings (“The Lion King,” “Shrek”), Craig Ferguson (“Saving Grace,” “Doc Martin”), Tom Kenny (“SpongeBob SquarePants,” “Meet the Robinsons”), Travis Oates (“Arena,” “Turning Point: Fall of Liberty”), Bud Luckey (“Toy Story,” “Monsters, Inc.”), Jack Boulter, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Wyatt Hall and Huell Howser (“California’s Gold”). The narrator is John Cleese (“Monty Python and the Holy Grail”). Here is the official Disney synopsis: Walt Disney Animation Studios returns to the Hundred Acre Wood with “Winnie the Pooh.” Featuring the timeless charm, wit and whimsy of the original short films, this all-new movie reunites audiences with the philosophical “bear of very little brain” and friends Tigger, Rabbit, Piglet, Owl, Kanga, Roo—and last, but certainly not least, Eeyore, who has lost his tail. “Ever have one of those days where you just can’t win,...

Netflix has revolutionized the home movie experience for fans of film with its instant streaming technology. Netflix Nuggets is my way of spreading the word about independent, classic and foreign films being made available by Netflix for instant streaming. Important Note: There may be some films that do not become available on the specified dates. This is merely a report of the most accurate release dates I can find, but is not directly confirmed by Netflix themselves.

American: The Bill Hicks Story (2010)

Streaming Available: 06/29/2011

Synopsis: Since his tragic death from cancer at age 32, comedian Bill Hicks’s legend and stature have only grown, and this unique documentary tells his story, blending live footage, interviews and animation to fill in the details of a life cut short. A comic’s comic and unflagging critic of hypocrisy and cultural emptiness, Hicks was one of a kind, a Lenny Bruce for the late 20th century,...

The con is back on, as TNT’s Leverage uncorks its fourth season this Sunday at 9/8c. When last we tuned in, Nate the Mastermind (played by Timothy Hutton), Sophie the Grifter (Gina Bellman), Hardison the Hacker (Aldis Hodge), Eliot the Hitter (Christian Kane) and Parker the Thief (Beth Riesgraf) had overcome assorted obstacles – including perceived betrayals and Mia members – to at long last arrive at a place of team spirit. But sure enough, a puppet master-like entity is about to steal that confidence out from under the gang, setting up what Hutton calls the best batch of episodes yet.

As Ally Walker was in the midst of her run as Agent Stahl, Worst Woman In The History Of The World, on FX's "Sons of Anarachy," I had more than a few moments when I paused and looked forward to what the "Profiler" star would do next.   I wondered if TNT would shape a "Closer"/"Saving Grace"-style vehicle around her, or if Showtime might let her topline or co-star in one of its tragicomedies or even if CBS could build her something "Good Wife"-esque. My thought was that I respect Ally Walker and like her and as much as I relished...

Reviewer: James van Maanen

Rating (out of 5): ***½

With Saving Grace, Calendar Girls and now Made In Dagenham, director Nigel Cole proves that, with decent writing and a good cast, he can give us smart, topical, mainstream movies that will fill up American art cinemas -- at least briefly -- after which they will find their way to healthy ancillary profits. Cole's work gets better, film after film, and Dagenham is his strongest yet. This is a movie with a message that could hardly be more timely [see: Wisconsin]. Cole, and his team – including writer William Ivory, actress Sally Hawkins and an exceptionally fine ensemble, each of whom captures his/her character in delightful and very specific fashion -- takes us back to pre-Thatcher England, to an important piece of labor (and Labour Party) history and turn it into rabble-rousing life, even if that life is sometimes a tad too convenient.

Pixar revealed a few concept art for “Brave” to Entertainment Weekly. “Brave” will be Pixar’s first animation for the company with a female protagonist and a first film co-directed by a woman. Entertainment Weekly also reported actress Reese Witherspoon (“Walk the Line,” “Legally Blonde”) will no longer voice the main heroine, Scottish princess Merida, due to scheduling conflicts. The character will now be voiced by Scottish actress Kelly Macdonald (“No Country for Old Men,” “Boardwalk Empire”). “Brave” was supposed to be credited as the first female director for a Pixar film when it was originally titled “The Bear and the Bow.” However, director Brenda Chapman (“Prince of Egypt”) was replaced by animated video shorts director Mark Andrews (“Violet,” “One Man Band”) during the production. Since Chapman initiated the project, Pixar decided to Chapman and Andrews as co-directors of the project. The film will also be voiced by Emma Thompson (“Sense and Sensibility,...