#appletv+

[alishasboe]

Conchita Closson in 1.08 of The Buccaneers (2023-)

[disneytva]

Central Park has been cancelled after 3 seasons at Apple TV+ according to co-creator Josh Gad over the weekend.

The series has recieved many Emmy nominations and an NAACP Image Award nomination in the Outstanding Animated Series category.

[queenmeriadoc]

Currently watching the Gorge on AppleTV+ and I have theory, spoilers ahead

So in the beginning we are told of the hollow men living in the gorge, we don’t know where they came from or what they really are, and we are also told that in the late 1940s they sent in 2400 soldiers went in and never came back.

Now my theory is that whatever is in the gorge is mutating people into the hollow men, and the people we see crawl up the sides of the gorge is actually remnants of those people who were sent in all those decades ago

Now I could be wrong because I have not seen half yet, but it’s my theory so far and I don’t want to spoil myself by going into the tags.

[savycon63]

Missing the Garvey sisters, so rewatching a few episodes of “Bad Sisters”.

[mote-historie]

The New Look, TV Series, AppleTV+

This emotionally thrilling series reveals the shocking story of how fashion icon Christian Dior (Ben Mendelsohn) and his contemporaries, including Coco Chanel (Juliette Binoche), Pierre Balmain (Thomas Poitevin), Lucien Lelong (John Malkovich) and Cristóbal Balenciaga (Nuno Lopes), navigated the horrors of World War II and launched modern fashion.

[mikethemovieguy]

Get Ready for Action: Steve McQueen's 'Blitz' Premieres on Apple TV+ This November!

[awardswatcherik]

Interview: In season 3 of 'Ted Lasso,' Phil Dunster is stepping up to the head of the class

[dailydris]

“Hijack” is coming to AppleTV+ on June 28th

[theladyfromplanetx]

(Because if you try to read the original, you'll get hit with a paywall. This article was originally published in 2021.)

By Paul Krugman

The blogger John Rogers once noted that there are two novels that can shape the lives of bookish 14-year-olds: "Atlas Shrugged" and "The Lord of the Rings". One of these novels, he asserted, is a childish fantasy that can leave you emotionally stunted; the other involves orcs.

Well I was a bookish 14-year-old, but my touchstones were two different novels:

Isaac Asimov’s “Foundation” and Frank Herbert’s “Dune.”

Many social scientists, it turns out, are science fiction readers. For example, quite a few experts on international relations who I know are fanatics about the TV version of “The Expanse.” I think it’s because good science fiction involves building imaginary worlds that are different from the world we know, but in interesting ways that relate to the attempt to understand why society is the way it is.

Anyway, that’s my excuse for devoting today’s newsletter not to the latest scary developments in politics and economics but to a much happier event: the U.S. release of a wonderful, satisfying film version of “Dune” — the first movie I’ve seen in a theater since the pandemic began.

Before I get there, however, a word about the new “Foundation” TV series, which is being released one episode a week on Apple TV.

The “Foundation” trilogy had a huge impact on my teenage self. For those who’ve never read it, it’s about social scientists who use their knowledge to save galactic civilization. I wanted to be Hari Seldon, the brilliant mathematician who leads the effort; this economics thing was as close as I could get.

“Foundation” might seem unfilmable. It mostly involves people talking, and its narrative inverts the hero-saves-the-universe theme that burns many acres of CGI every year. The story spans centuries; in each episode everything appears to be on the brink, and it seems as if only desperate efforts by the protagonists can save the day. But after each crisis, Seldon’s prerecorded hologram appears to explain to everyone what just happened and why the successful resolution was inevitable given the laws of history.

So how does the Apple TV series turn this into a visually compelling tale? It doesn’t. What it does instead is remake “Star Wars” under another name. There are indispensable heroes, mystical powers, even a Death Star. These aren’t necessarily bad things to include in a TV series, but they’re completely antithetical to the spirit of Asimov’s writing. Pretending that this series has anything to do with the “Foundation” novels is fraudulent marketing, and I’ve stopped watching.

Now on to “Dune.” The book is everything “Foundation” isn’t: There’s a glittering, hierarchical society wracked by intrigue and warfare, a young hero of noble birth who may be a prophesied Messiah, a sinister but alluring sisterhood of witches, fierce desert warriors and, of course, giant worms.

And yes, it’s fun. When I was a teenager, my friends and I would engage in mock combat in which the killing blow had to be delivered slowly to penetrate your opponent’s shield — which will make sense if you read the book or watch the movie.

Now on to “Dune.” The book is everything “Foundation” isn’t: There’s a glittering, hierarchical society wracked by intrigue and warfare, a young hero of noble birth who may be a prophesied Messiah, a sinister but alluring sisterhood of witches, fierce desert warriors and, of course, giant worms.

And yes, it’s fun. When I was a teenager, my friends and I would engage in mock combat in which the killing blow had to be delivered slowly to penetrate your opponent’s shield — which will make sense if you read the book or watch the movie.

What makes “Dune” more than an ordinary space opera are two things: its subtlety and the richness of its world-building.

Thus, the Bene Gesserit derive their power not from magic but from deep self-control, awareness and understanding of human psychology. The journey of Paul Atreides is heroic but morally ambiguous; he knows that if he succeeds, war and vast slaughter will follow.

And the world Herbert created is given depth by layers of cultural references. He borrowed from Islamic and Ayurvedic traditions, from European feudalism and more — “Dune” represents cultural appropriation on a, well, interstellar scale. It’s also deeply steeped in fairly serious ecological thinking.

So why was the 1984 film a disaster? Because the director — yes, David Lynch — either didn’t grasp the subtlety and richness or decided that audiences couldn’t handle it. That is, he did to “Dune” what Apple TV has done to “Foundation.” For example, in the book there’s the “weirding way of battle,” which is about using psychology and deception to overcome foes; in Lynch’s film this was replaced with some kind of gadget.

The great thing about Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune: Part I” is that he respects the audience enough to retain the book’s spirit. He trimmed the narrative to reduce it to filmable size — and even so, his two and a half hours cover only the first half of the book — but he didn’t dumb it down. Instead, he relies on spectacle and spine-tingling action to hold our attention despite the density of the story. In so doing he made a film worthy of the source material.

I wouldn’t say that this “Dune” matches the vision I had when reading the book. It’s better. The visuals surpass my imagination — those ornithopters! The actors give the characters more depth than the book’s author previously had in my mind.

Will this labor of love sell to a mass audience (and allow Villeneuve to finish his story)? The early box office looks good, and this does seem like the kind of film people will see twice — I did — so sales may hold up longer than usual. But I guess we’ll find out.

In any case, all of us former bookish 14-year-olds finally have the “Dune” movie we always wanted to see. Sometimes, things actually do go right.

[franciya]

This is some mid, average, direct-to-video level shit, I have no desire to finish, I'm sure I got better things to do with my Saturday night

I just wonder if John Lasseter ever considered this for Pixar at all

[disneytva]

Central Park Still On Production On Recent Bento Box Interview At Emmy Magazine.

Emmy Magazine and Bento Box mentioned that Central Park is indeed currently running.

Since the Season 3 finale on November 2022 neither AppleTV+ or Disney Television Studios haven't pronounced with a potential Season 4 + Season 5 Renewal.

[elly-welearnin]

The Enfield Poltergeist Review

The Conjurng 2 was based on the happenings of the Hodgsons in Enflield London, a haunting of a poltergeist that traumatized this family.

[eurydike-on-media]

Silo on AppleTV+

With the season finale having been release on 30th of June, it is now possible to binge Silo on AppleTV+. If you enjoy themes of mystery, (found) family, post-apocalyptic society this show is up your alley. With a diverse cast of all ages and ethnicities, Silo is about an underground community, living in what they call the Silo, who cannot leave lest they wish to die of the poison air outside. Our protagonist is the Sheriff, both of them.

The story first detours through the eyes of Sheriff Holston Becker who has an ideal life: a good career, a smart wife whom he loves dearly, and permission to have a child. Our first episode concludes with our first sheriff in a very different place. What I will share is that their legal structure is laid out in something called the Pact. There is one law above all others that is always upheld: If someone asks to go outside, they must go outside.

Our second Sheriff, Juliette Nichols, replaces Holston soon into the season. She is intense, hard-headed and intelligent. Her curiosity becomes a driving factor for the rest of the season, setting her on a path to learn more about their underground home and possibly the world beyond it as well. She is surrounded by themes of family, courage to the point of recklessness and social class. The Silo they live in is 144 floors, and the Upper, Mids and Down Deep have some tension despite each providing crucial skills and products.

General take-aways: strong female characters, complicated family relations, love is present across multiple storylines and the soundtrack does a wonderful job keeping you on the edge of your seat.

[thyarqade]

[denimbex1986]

“I don’t remember ever not thinking I was going to be an actor,” says Cush Jumbo. We’re meeting to talk about her new role in Shakespeare’s legendary psychological drama, Macbeth, in which she will star opposite David Tennant. Has she always wanted to act, I ask? “This is just what I do – I’m not that good at anything else.”

When it comes to Jumbo, “good” is an understatement. The star of The Good Wife has played many formidable stage roles, appearing in Phyllida Lloyd’s groundbreaking, all-female version of Julius Caesar at the Donmar Warehouse in 2012, She Stoops to Conquer in the same year at the Olivier Theatre, and opposite Hugh Jackman in The River on Broadway – to name a few. A personal favourite for me was her star turn as the titular role in Hamlet at the Young Vic two years ago, which stopped me in my tracks.

But it was when Jumbo decided to not just act but create – writing and starring in Josephine and I, a play about the jazz sensation, political activist and international icon Josephine Baker, in 2015 – that she garnered real, critical acclaim. Josephine and I catapulted Jumbo towards scoring the iconic, whip-smart female role she has now undertaken: Lady Macbeth.

Despite being offered the role several times, Jumbo didn’t feel the set-up was right – until now. “One of the biggest things I’ve learnt over the last 10 years is: don’t play opposite a man, if you’re not sure whether that man is going to mess with your mental health,” she tells me. But the right timing, the safety net of acting opposite Tennant (a close friend) and the vision of director Max Webster has been a magic combination, giving her the confidence to take on this venerated role.

In this production, Webster has chosen to put the marriage at the centre. “He believes Macbeth is a play about a couple suffering with psychosis after losing a child,” says Jumbo. In order to create a sense of intimacy, the production employs the use of headphones, through which the audience experiences binaural technology that creates an intense and unnerving 3D sound world. I’m excited to see how this technique might help to amplify the sense of inner monologue that Shakespeare is so good at creating.

Lady Macbeth and Jumbo are alike in one sense, at least: they both want to be heard. You could call this serendipity, but Jumbo thinks of it more as destiny: “It’s quite amazing how the universe gives you things when you need them,” she says. Jumbo’s ambition with her performance is to change perspectives of this much-maligned anti-heroine. “Her name has been dragged through the mud,” she explains. “If she were male, she would’ve been seen as a flawed hero.” She’s determined to give Lady Macbeth’s character new meaning, and to prove her as one of Shakespeare’s smartest creations.

Jumbo is looking forward to a busy period, Macbeth aside. She has demonstrated her entrepreneurial spirit with Criminal Record, an eight-episode crime thriller that she pitched, co-executively produced and will star in, which will debut on Apple TV+ in January 2024. It’s an exciting time for the actor – and there’s no doubt that, both on stage and screen, Jumbo is one to watch.'

[haveyouheardofthisshow]