#mccallum place

[whsprings]

if anyone has been to ERC Chicago or McCallum Place for php/res I'd love to hear what your experience was like. feel free to send an ask (anon is fine) or message me

[puppetmaker40]

All these are on MGM+ if you care to see some of David McCallum’s earlier work.

[cha0screat0r]

How does one go from a scrungly that commits crimes and has anxiety to a literal ray of sunshine on crutches to a lunatic that commits arson for fun ALL WITHIN TWO YEARS

[kimmy2364]

David McCallum as Mike Wilson in "The Secret Place" (1957) [3/3]

[jeronimoloco]

A window into a gas lit past

As well as having the power to evoke a deep sense of longing in us for places we can no longer see, old photographs can be windows into the past, and provide us with clues to life beyond what the rose-tinted lenses we often have on, have us see. This 1941 photograph, is a perfect example. Captured in colour — a rarity of photographs from those days, it was one of a large number taken by Harrison…

[tfc2211]

Play ▶ Mellow Yellow / We Gotta Get Out Of This Place - David McCallum

On The Rocks Part One (1997)

[hometoursandotherstuff]

This 1928 house is known as the Doll's House. The Swiss Chalet style home was designed by William Van Egmond as a wedding present for his daughter, and became a designated heritage property in 1983. Located in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, it has 2bds, 1ba, $299,900.

It is soooo cute! You enter and there is a large closet to the right.

The owners have painted it pure white, which masks the architectural features, but you can paint them contrasting colors to match your decor. Look at how interesting the fireplace is- I don't know if it was ever real- there's a wire in the wall, probably for electric logs.

The wood around the interesting triangular window is obliterated by the white paint.

Details of the fireplace.

I wonder what the original color of the wood was. Forget about staining it, now that the paint is on.

Look at that- a little built-in bench. Do you think that the details would look better in pastel or a dark brown or black? There's an old phone on the wall, so the bench was for sitting and talking on the phone.

Isn't the little dining area cute? Two built-in cabinets.

The kitchen is directly off the dining room, and look at the vintage door chimes.

In the vintage kitchen they painted the frame around the fridge black. I don't think I like black. Notice the small triangular window.

There's a little cupboard in the corner and maybe even a place for a small bistro table or island on wheels.

Oh, look at that, I didn't realize that the closet door is glass.

What a large primary bedroom. Very nice. More beautiful features.

Cute vintage bath. The tub looks original. Why do they like that weird beige-y color?

Little pedestal sink with an original medicine cabinet over it.

The 2nd bedroom has a surprisingly big closet.

Look at the skinny window on the stairs.

There's a closet and some shelving down in the basement.

Wow, look at the antique washing machine. It has a wringer. There's a nice workbench along the wall, too.

Outside, there's a cute fence and gate, plus a side door and the garage.

Nice evergreen tree in the yard.

Cute yard with another nice tree. 3,876 sq ft lot.

Gate for the 2 car garage. What happened to the road? Are they paving it, b/c they took away the driveway apron.

So adorable.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2812-McCallum-Ave-Regina-SK-S4S-0P9/352227873_zpid/

[david-talks-sw]

"The idea of it..."

This is obviously a reference to the ol' argument:

"The Jedi weren't bad but the Jedi Order as an institution needed to go."

So as a quick reminder I thought I'd point out:

1) George Lucas describes the Jedi's eradication as a sad thing, not something sad-but-necessary:

"[The] Jedi getting killed through the Order 66 of the clones is just done as one of those kind of inevitable pay offs in terms of getting rid of everybody, the Emperor is getting rid of all his enemies, but there’s a certain inevitability of it all and a sadness to it.  - Revenge of the Sith, Director’s Commentary, 2005

2) Out of 770 George Lucas quotes, I've never seen him refer to the Jedi Order as "an institution" once.

He does refer to the Republic itself as an institution.

"[In The Phantom Menace one of the many storylines is] the story of a young queen who's faced with the total annihilation of a people, and how she can get a sluggish political institution to pay attention to what's going on." - Premiere, 1999

He might be referring to the Senate instead of the Republic as a whole, but the point stands: he's not talking about the Jedi.

Which tracks with what Lucas defined as Dooku's reason for leaving the Order: his disenchantment with the Republic/Senate, not the Jedi themselves.

But let's go slightly further:

The Jedi Temple was designed as a place of worship that would contrast with the corporate coldness of the Senate.

Also, the Jedi were originally designed as a more organized police force. As the script evolved, they were turned into peacekeepers, diplomats.

Mace's room was redesigned so as to not convey that the Jedi were mired in bureaucracy and protocol.

And when describing the political situation of the Prequels, Lucas doesn't blame the Jedi, but rather the corporations and Senate:

"But as often happens when wealth and power grow beyond all reasonable proportion, an evil fueled by greed arose. The massive organs of commerce mushroomed in power, the Senate became corrupt, and an ambitious named Palpatine was voted Supreme Chancellor." - Shatterpoint, Prologue, 2004

Wow, it's looking like not only is the "Jedi Order as an institution needed to go" narrative not a thing per Lucas, but

3) Lucas went out of his way to make it clear that the Jedi aren't the issue, here, the Republic/Senate is.

So how did we get this narrative?

Well, it comes from a generation of fans and Star Wars creators who were not the target audience.

You know the type. It's the kind who, when asked if they like the Prequel Trilogy, will respond that they liked...

... but not the execution.

AKA they disliked the Prequels, but then EU books and The Clone Wars came out and provided them with enough material to form a headcanon justifying why they didn't like the Jedi, despite wanting to: it's because the Jedi are meant to be disliked! Totally!

The Jedi failed as an institution is an idea that comes from authors who wanted to engage with the material (it IS Star Wars, after all) but not the narrative that George Lucas had crafted, whose work then influenced older fans who preferred the author's retconned version of the story to the original one.

The rest is history.

As Prequels producer Rick McCallum put it:

"The myth begins on paper. During preproduction, filming, and postproduction, the myth becomes visible through the work of hundreds of dedicated people. Following the film's release, the myth becomes public and the public makes it its own." - Rick McCallum, Mythmaking: Behind the Scenes of Attack of the Clones, 2002

[queenshelby]

The Fourth Season (Rewritten)

Part One: Intro

Pairing: Cillian Murphy x Reader

Warning: Religious and Anti-Religious Themes

Notes:

Being obsessed with Cillian’s post Oppenheimer image, I have decided to rewrite this story as well and make it play during the filming of “Small Things Like These”…

I hope I still get some following and promise no further re-writes! Following my break from the fandom last year, I struggled a bit with finding my style and my head was a bit all over the place, so when I started this fanfic, I wasn’t planning it out properly. I do like the premise of it though and do not want to abandon it.

I also won’t rename it as “The Fourth Season” seems quite fitting considering that “Small Things Like These” follow a character leading up to Christmas.

Background

This fic plays in 2023 and, as usual, there will be an age-gap romance as Cillian is 46 and the reader is 25. I made her a little older than usual.

The reader comes from a strictly catholic family and, as a result, her family is appalled by the fact that the reader has taken a roll in this movie as it does not put the catholic church into a very good light.

For the reader, however, this is an opportunity not only for her career but also to get away from her family for a little while which is still in turmoil after the reader had separated from her high school sweetheart and husband James McCallum.  

As for Cillian, in early 2023, he is divorced with two young children. He has been single for three years and life was good. He finished filming Oppenheimer and took some time off before embarking in this passion project of his.

Six months ago…

Cillian’s POV

It was late July and the summer heat was scorching as Cillian walked down the pier in Dalkey with a fellow actor friend Matt Damon who, just like Cillian, had invested in the movie production.

The movie was said to be produced by Tim Mielants who also accompanied Cillian and Matt on their walk, and filming was scheduled to commence just after Christmas which left just one minor issue yet to be considered.

Whilst Cillian was staring the lead role of Bill Furlong, the woman who had been casted by Tim to play Bill’s wife Eileen had just pulled out, leaving this role yet to be filled with an affordable actress.

“You could ask Emily” Matt joked, seeing that both him and Cillian were close friends with Emily Blunt, but both of them knew that Emily would not be available for this role.

“I think we should concentrate on getting someone Irish” Tim told both Matt and Cillian who, by this point, had already come up with four unsuitable candidates for Tim to choose from.

“I think Matt was joking when suggesting Emily Blunt for the role” Cillian chuckled while adjusting his sunglasses and looking towards the horizon which prompted Matt to an idea.

“You know guys, I’ve seen a play last night at the Gaiety” he said before pulling out his phone and handing it to Cillian and Tim.

“The actress in that play was good and, when I say good, I mean really good. The play was called Dark Horizon and she played a widow named Siobhan who lost her husband at sea. Her ghost then plagued her until she was driven completely mad” Matt explained while showing Cillian and Tim the video he took from last night’s performance.

“She is good. What’s her name?” Cillian asked as he watched the video with an intention of his own to go and see the play.

“Y/N McCallum, aged twenty-five, from Cork” Matt said after pulling his phone from Cillian’s hand and opening the e-pamphlet which he had saved on his screen instead.

“She might be a little too young to play a forty something year old woman” Cillian chuckled while Matt put your name into Google.

“Make-up can take care of that” Tim said before continuing to read your agency profile and anything else that popped up in his newsfeed. “The bigger problem I see now is that she is married to James McCallum and working with couples on set might get a little annoying” Tim then pointed out, causing Cillian and Matt to furrow their eyebrows.

“Who is James McCallum?” Cillian asked as he could not remember anyone by that name

“He is in charge of logistics. You would have met him on the set of Peaky Blinders last year. He is thorough when it comes to staying within budget and organising essentials for the cast, which is why I hired him for the shoot” Tim explained and Cillian remembered him.  

“Fuck, I do remember that guy. He gave me a bible after he caught on to…you know…never mind…” Cillian said, aborting his sentence but Tim already knew.

“After he caught you and Sarah making out?” he thus said, causing Cillian to swallow harshly.

“Who is Sarah?” Matt wanted to know as he was not privy to this kind of onset gossip.

“His ex” Tim explained but Cillian shook his head.

“It wasn’t like that. It was just a fling. Nothing serious” Cillian pointed out but Tim couldn’t help but make another joke about it.

“Yeah, that’s why he gave you a bible, so that you could pray for forgiveness for your sins” Tim laughed before suggesting to see the play together with Cillian that night.

Your POV

Later that night, Cillian and Tim had indeed gone to see your play and the way you performed a troubled woman like the one on stage blew them away.

They were both mesmerised by your performance and ought to speak to you when you finished, which was something that you had not expected.

“This is a little weird but there are two men here to see you” one of the theatre clerks said after barging into the change room where you and some of the other actresses were putting on your regular clothes.

“That sure is weird” you joked, seeing that you did not usually get any visitors backstage.

“One of them is Cillian Murphy” the clerk then said and your chin dropped. You have heard of him, of course. Your husband had spoken of him in the past when working on set, although he did not have the nicest things to say about him.

“The actor?” you ought to clarify nonetheless, causing the clerk to nod.

“Yes” she said. “Do you want to speak with them?” she then wanted to know and, of course, you were intrigued about what they had to say.

“Tell them I will be just a minute please” you instructed the clerk who did as you had requested and, after putting on a jumper and tying back your hair, you met with Cillian and Tim in the lobby.

Both men greeted you professionally and with a handshake before telling you that they enjoyed the play and your performance.

“Thanks. I really appreciate it” you said before asking the men whether there was anything you could help them with and, when Cillian said that there was indeed something you could him with, you looked at him with some surprise.

“Okay, what is it?” you asked with a smile while struggling to focus. His eyes were really as blue as everyone had said and he must have noticed you starring at them by now.

“Well, we’ve got a role for you in a movie” Cillian said, causing Tim to furrow his eyebrows. Cillian was clearly more confident than he was and he would have approached this a little differently to say the least.

“And you want me to audition for it?” you queried, causing Cillian to shake his head.

“No, I want you to take it. Your performance on stage today was incredible and I would love to work with you” he responded, causing your chin to drop again.

“I have never been in front of a camera before” you explained but Cillian did not seem to care.

“There is always a first time for everything” he reassured you and you felt somewhat shocked.

“Well, I feel flattered” you said before asking Tim and Cillian for a script.

“I will send it to your agent tomorrow along with all of the particulars for production” Tim said just before shaking your hand and when Cillian said that he was looking forward to working with you, you could not help but chuckle.

“I didn’t say yes yet” you informed him. 

“I know, but I like being optimistic” he winked which left you and some other girls in the lobby somewhat speechless.

To be continued…

Please comment and engage. I love getting comments and predictions pretty please!

[decafdino]

wip wednesday

another two scenes done! Thank you to @wandering-night19 for the tag. While I feel guilty that the big bang project is sort of on the back burner for now, I am super excited that I've got my groove back for my brain damage au! So excited that I decided on a whim to write in a whole scene that was not in my outline haha. Here's a snippet from that very scene:

It takes him twenty minutes to get dressed, call an uber, and arrive at the hospital. The entire time, he's spam-texting both Nancy and TK to get more details on what happened, but they've both gone radio silent. The sinking feeling from earlier is starting to feel more like an anchor travelling to the center of the earth.

It's unclear if the sight of a bedraggled man walking as fast as possible on shaky legs and a cane unsettles the man working at the front desk, but Carlos doesn't really care. He's off like a shot again the moment the guy points a finger in the direction of the hospital's emergency room.

The place is bustling with activity, but Carlos ignores it. He goes over to the first nurse he sees. "I'm looking for a TK Strand? He was admitted about an hour ago—"

"Carlos!" Nancy waves at him from around a dividing curtain. "Over here."

His knees are just about killing him from overexertion by the time he throws back the curtain to reveal his fiancé laid up in a hospital bed, in the middle of talking to one of Carlos' coworkers. There are bruises splattered across his face and arms, and a woman in scrubs is currently in the process of stitching a long— and thankfully shallow— cut along the lower left side of his torso. He's also sporting a split lip and holding an ice pack to his right eye.

TK winces as the nurse hooks more of his skin for the next suture, and Carlos is horrified to find that beneath the ice pack, TK's eye is swollen and purple. He's at TK's side in an instant, completely ignoring Nancy and Officer McCallum.

"What happened?" he asks, voice half-angry and half-terrified as he lightly cups TK's cheek.

"Hi, baby," TK says. "It's not as bad as it looks."

He lowers his voice, not willing to let him get around this. "Tyler, what the hell happened? Who did this to you?"

TK tries to shrug, then winces again when the movement pulls on his stitches and he receives a glare from the nurse. "It was a misunderstanding."

Nancy raises her eyebrows disbelievingly. "A misunderstanding that led to you getting stabbed?" she asks loudly. She turns to Carlos. "Tommy and I found him half-conscious in an alley. They took his med bag and his wallet."

The nurse finishes the stitches and wastes no time securing a bandage over the wound and dipping away from their conversation. Carlos is thankful that she can read a room, unlike Officer McCallum. "You were mugged?"

"I thought they needed medical help," TK defends. When Carlos looks at him expectantly, he elaborates, "We were responding to an apartment fire, and there was flaming debris falling everywhere. They called for help and since it was just the two of them, I thought I could handle it on my own. They didn't seem threatening at first, just scared."

"And then they cornered you in an alley and stabbed you," Carlos finishes for him.

no pressure tags: @morganaspendragonss @rmd-writes @taralaurel @alrightbuckaroo @ao3theskyisblue @strandnreyes @sanjuwrites and anyone not mentioned who wants to join (*cough cough* YOU *cough cough*)

[justforbooks]

In the 1960s, there was one actor who could justifiably claim that ladies prefer blonds. As the secret agent Illya Kuryakin in the TV series The Man from UNCLE, David McCallum, who has died aged 90, received more fan mail from young women than any other actor in MGM’s history.

With his Beatles-style haircut, his liking for black turtleneck sweaters (which created a fad among viewers nationwide), and an aloof and enigmatic air, through which he sneaked a fair amount of charm and self-amusement, McCallum made Kuryakin into a sex symbol of the period. He provided a trendy contrast to Robert Vaughn’s Napoleon Solo, his fellow spy, who went in for expensive suits and ties.

Although Solo and Kuryakin worked perfectly in tandem, their personalities were at variance, the former being urbane, easygoing and sociable, the latter more reserved, intellectual and intense.

The James Bond film craze had already taken off when The Man from UNCLE series was launched in 1964, so US audiences were used to laidback heroes and their villainous nemeses. However, it was surprising to find a hip Russian alongside the good guys of United Network Command for Law and Enforcement fighting against the evil organisation THRUSH (an acronym for Technological Hierarchy for the Removal of Undesirables and the Subjugation of Humanity), during the cold war.

McCallum, who played Illya with the slightest Russian accent and an occasional Scottish lilt, was also known recently for his long-running role from 2003 in the popular CBS crime series NCIS.

He was born in Glasgow. His parents were classical musicians; his mother, Dorothy Dorman, a cellist, his father, David McCallum, a violinist and leader of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. McCallum Jr won a scholarship to University College school in Hampstead, north London, before being accepted at Rada, where he studied from 1949 to 1951, having given up his ambition, and his parents’ wish, to play the oboe professionally.

In 1951, McCallum managed to satisfy his love for both music and the theatre by landing the position of assistant stage manager at Glyndebourne opera. However, he was called up to do his national service in West Africa. Demobbed as a lieutenant, the 19-year-old McCallum headed for the theatre, which mainly meant stage-management jobs in rep.In 1956, he half-heartedly posted off some photographs of himself to the Rank Organisation, which was scouting for young talent. The photos were seen by Clive Donner, who was casting his first feature, The Secret Place (1957), and he invited McCallum to do a reading.

“Although he was nervous, his voice was firm, and he was very good,” Donner recalled. “I sat and looked at him for a long time. He was very skinny, with a marvellous head and huge eyes. I think he was living in a bedsit in Archway at that time and had little money. We put him under contract straight away.”

Obviously under the influence of James Dean, the leather-jacketed McCallum, playing a young punk involved in a heist, does his best to express teenage angst. In Cy Endfield’s gritty thriller Hell Drivers (1957), McCallum plays Stanley Baker’s brother, on crutches as a result of a crime. In the cast, as a waitress, was 20-year-old Jill Ireland. McCallum and Ireland were to marry a few months before the film’s release. Soon after, they played young lovers in Robbery Under Arms (1957), an adventure shot mostly in Australia. At that time, the couple were often pictured together in fan magazines.

It was back to British realism with Basil Dearden’s Violent Playground (1958), in which McCallum plays a juvenile delinquent gang-leader. Despite a mite too posh an accent, he makes a vivid impression with his drawn features and mop of fair hair.

There followed several more conventional supporting roles, such as radio operators, first on the Titanic in A Night to Remember (1958), and a jumpy one in an Elstree-studio Burmese jungle in the second world war drama The Long and the Short and the Tall (1961). He was even more nervy in John Huston’s Freud (1962) as one of the first of the psychoanalyst’s patients, a young man who assaulted his father because of an incestuous love for his mother.

After appearing as a sympathetic officer in Peter Ustinov’s Billy Budd (1962), McCallum went to Germany to make John Sturges’s The Great Escape (1963), the most expensive PoW picture of them all. Among a starry cast, headed by Steve McQueen, James Garner and Charles Bronson, McCallum held his own among the Brits as Eric Ashley-Pitt – “Dispersal – who devises a way of getting rid of dirt from the digging of an escape tunnel. But more significant for him was the fact that Ireland, who was with him during the shoot, fell for Bronson. Ireland and McCallum divorced; he later married Katherine Carpenter, while Ireland married Bronson.

McCallum, who was already making his principal career on television, was given the secondary role of Kuryakin in The Man from UNCLE, but was soon granted equal billing with Vaughn after it rapidly became clear that he had a huge fanbase. Alma Cogan recorded a song called Love Ya, Illya, which became a pirate-radio hit in Britain in 1966, and as late as 1991, an Argentinian funk duo named themselves Illya Kuryaki and the Valderramas, after McCallum’s character and the Colombian football player Carlos Valderrama.

The first feature-film spin-off from the TV series, To Trap a Spy (1965), in which McCallum had a minor role, did little business. But the second one, The Spy With My Face, co-starring McCallum, really lifted off, followed by the box-office hits One of Our Spies Is Missing, One Spy Too Many and The Spy in the Green Hat (all 1966), and How to Steal the World (1968).

After The Man from UNCLE finished in 1968, McCallum continued to make guest appearances on TV until his second long-running series, the BBC’s Colditz (1972-74), in which he played Flt Lt Simon Carter, a hot-headed RAF officer who is impatient to escape.

Subsequently, McCallum appeared and disappeared as a scientist in The Invisible Man (1975-76), a US TV production, and co-starred with Joanna Lumley in ATV’s spooky sci-fi series Sapphire and Steel (1979-82) as the eponymous extra-dimensional detectives sent to Earth to monitor threats to the time-stream.

McCallum was seldom off television screens over the next three decades, making the occasional sortie into films. He also did some theatre in New York, where he and his wife had settled, notably Julius Caesar in a Central Park production (2000), playing the title role as “a senile old man, suffering from ideas of grandeur” according to the actor; and portraying the Emperor Joseph II on Broadway in Peter Hall’s revival of Amadeus (1999-2000).

In 2003, his looks belying his age, McCallum began playing Dr Donald “Ducky” Mallard, chief medical examiner, in the TV series NCIS, following the cases of the fictional agents of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. His research for the part included studying pathology and sitting in on autopsies. He stayed with the show for the rest of his life, appearing in all 20 seasons up until this year. In one episode, a character asks another what Ducky looked like when he was younger. “Illya Kuryakin” comes the reply.

McCallum is survived by Katherine, their son, Peter, and daughter, Sophie, and by his sons Val and Paul from his first marriage; Jason, his third son with Ireland, died in 1989.

🔔 David Keith McCallum, actor; born 19 September 1933; died 25 September 2023

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at Just for Books…?

[nerds-yearbook]

The final film of the devisive Star Wars prequel trilogy was released on May 19, 2005. Of the first 6 Star Wars movies, Revenge of the Sith was the first Star Wars movie to be rated PG-13. It was also the first Star Wars film to not recieve a nomination of Best Visual Effects. The original cut of the movie tied directly to the end of the Genndy Tartakovsky animated Clone Wars (2003 - 2005) shorts and showed Shaak Ti (Orli Shoshan) being executed after failing to protect Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid). The animated shorts also introduced General Grievous (Matthew Wood) and explained why he had respratory problems. The title was simular to the original title of episode 6 Revenge of the Jedi (1983), which was turned to Return of the Jedi as Lucas felt revenge was not a Jedi trait. The title was changed late enough that it altered the title of Vengeance of Khan (1982) to Wrath of Khan as Star Trek producers felt Vengeance sounded too close to Revenge. Lucas finally worked in a Wookie planet battle that was originally in the script for episode 3 Star Wars A New Hope (1977) and reworked as Ewoks in Return of the Jedi. Originally, George Lucas planned to write and direct the first movie and then story and executive produce episodes 2 and 3, like he did with 5 and 6, but after the panning the first prequel got, he wrote and directed 2 and 3 himself. The movie had the key points of ending The Clone Wars, turning Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen and James Earl Jones) into Darth Vader, the fall of the Jedi and the Republic, the creation of the Empire, the revelation of the Emperor and his disfiguration, the duel between Vader and Obi Wan (Ewan McGregor) that disfigured him, the death of Padme (Natalie Portman), the birth of Luke Skywalker (Aidan Barton) and Princess Leia Organa (also Aidan Barton), Luke's adoption by Owen (Joel Edgerton) and Beru Lars (Bonnie Piesse), Leia's adoption by Bail (Jimmy Smits) and Breha (Rebecca Jackson Mendoza) Organa, Yoda's (Frank Oz) exile to Degobah and Obi Wan to Tatooine, and C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) getting his memory wiped. The movie introduced the planets Utapau, Mygeeto, Felucia, Saleucami, Kashyyk (though technically this first appeared in the Star Wars Holiday Special - 1978), and Mustafar. Action also took place on established planets Coruscant, Naboo, and Tatooine. Noteable deaths in the movie were Count Dooku (Christopher Lee), General Grievous, Padme, Agen Kolar (Tux Akindoyeni), Saesee Tiin(Kenji Oates), Kit Fitso (Ben Cooke), Mace Windu (Samuel L Jackson), Boga, Ki-Adi-Mundi (Silas Carson), Aayla Secura (Amy Allen), Plo Koon (Matt Sloan), Stass Allie (Nina Fallon), Zett Jukassa (Jett Lucas), Whie Malreaux (Coinneach Alexander), Bene (Olivia McCallum), Cin Dralling (Nick Gillard), Nank Tun, Passel Argente (Marty Wetherill), Po Nudo (Paul Nicholson), Poggle the Lesser (Richard Stride), Rune Haako (Jerome Blake), Rute Gunnay (Colin Ware), Nute Gunray (Silas Carson), Tikkes , Cat Miin, Shu Mai, San Hill, and Wat Tambor (Ben Burtt and Matthew Wood). Characters that continued on to the original trilogy were Obi-Wan Kenobi, Darth Vader, the Emperor, Yoda, C-3PO, Tarkin (Wayne Pygram), R2-D2 (Kenny Baker), Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew), Owen and Beru Lars, Mon Mothma (Genevieve O'Reilly), Luke Skywalker, and Leia Organa. Critically, Revenge of the Sith is often called the best of the prequel trilogy and was the highest domestic grossing film in year release of 2005. ("Revenge of the Sith", Star Wars Movie Event)

[ncisfranchise-source]

The prequel bug has finally bitten the NCIS franchise—and it might be the best thing the series has done in years. NCIS: Origins is an upcoming prequel series in the popular crime drama universe, looking back at the early career of Special Agent Gibbs (Mark Harmon) in his early days as a member of the NIS, the precursor organization to NCIS. While prequels can often be divisive among fans, the decision to look back at Gibbs’ younger days has incredible potential for revitalizing the entire franchise.

Set in 1991, NCIS: Origins explores the early career of Leroy Jethro Gibbs, a new agent at the NCIS Camp Pendleton office. The series delves into Gibbs' formative years under the mentorship of Special Agent Mike Franks. The prequel provides insights into Gibbs' background following the tragic loss of his wife and daughter.Release DateOctober 14, 2024CastMark Harmon , Austin Stowell , Robert Taylor , Patrick Fischler , Kyle Schmid , Diany Rodriguez , Tyla Abercrumbie , Mariel MolinoMain GenreCrimeSeasons1

'NCIS: Origins' Is a Prequel to the Popular Crime Series

NCIS: Origins takes place in 1991, following a young Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Austin Stowell) in his early career as a special agent for the Naval Investigative Service (NIS), the precursor to the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) that audiences are far more familiar with. The series sees Gibbs working with Special Agent Mike Franks (Kyle Schmid) based in Camp Pendleton, exploring their student-mentor relationship decades before their interactions on NCIS, and years before Gibbs moves to the DMV. NCIS: Origins takes place shortly after the tragic death of Gibbs' wife and child, one of the most intense and transformational experiences in the character's life. Still dealing with the raw grief and trauma from the deaths, Stowell's portrayal of the beloved character will be seen through a more emotional and vulnerable perspective — a stark, but welcome, contrast from the more stoic and stalwart version of Gibbs that audiences are familiar with.

With such an early setting in the expansive NCIS universe, it's interesting to note that NCIS: Origins even takes place before JAG, the original series that started the entire NCIS franchise. NCIS had its backdoor pilot on JAG, first introducing the world to fan favorites like Gibbs, Abby (Pauley Perette), and Ducky (David McCallum). While it’s unlikely that Rabb (David James Elliot) and Mac (Catherine Bell) will make appearances in the new show, the upcoming series has plenty of opportunities to pay homage to all the series that came before it. However, just as with any NCIS spin-off, the new cast of characters set to be introduced will be sure to bring their own distinct personalities and traits that make them just as memorable as any other team in the shared TV universe.

'NCIS: Origins' '90s Setting Keeps the Franchise Fresh

Not only does the setting of NCIS: Origins provide a fresh perspective on a familiar character, it will also entirely shake up the investigative process for the crime show. Though NCIS doesn't necessarily push the envelope of science fiction with its approach to technology, it's nonetheless kept up with the modernization and digitization of the world around it. Throughout its many years on air, the technology used by their special agents has remained cutting edge, featuring pinpoint facial recognition and otherwordly computational software. While it's not the central focus of the show, modern-day technology serves as an integral factor in how the NCIS team solves their mysteries, with characters like Abby Sciuto using the pinnacle of forensic analysis in nearly every episode.

However, the lack of technology in the 90s presents an entirely different landscape for the younger Jethro Gibbs. Without the same tools available, NCIS: Origins' setting presents a unique set of challenges and intriguing plot points that separate it from other series in the franchise. The solution to its mysteries has to be solved analog rather than digital, forcing the writers to innovate in ways that the franchise hasn't seen in years. While the '90s may not seem that distant in the past, the fledgling NCIS team will still have to solve their crimes in drastically different ways from the modern series. Even with access to military equipment (which tends to be the most advanced of its time), the writing team has plenty of new angles through which to explore their naval investigations.

Not only will this restriction create more intriguing plotlines, but it will also serve to frame Gibbs in the context of his entire career. By the time NCIS starts, Gibbs is a renowned and respected agent, with years of experience that make him a capable, reliable leader. However, the earlier setting of NCIS: Origins means that a novice Gibbs must make a name for himself in a field with limited resources and experience, making for a far grittier and more hands-on approach to crime solving than in recent seasons of the series.

Mark Harmon Is an Executive Producer of 'NCIS: Origins'

While it can be daunting to explore the beginnings of NCIS after decades of successful television, NCIS: Origins has done its job of sating audience hesitation. Though he likely won't be returning to NCIS anytime soon(a departure that the series is still feeling the effects of), Mark Harmon is one of the executive producers at the helm of the show, giving the seasoned actor considerable input on the portrayal of the younger Gibbs. And though he's handed off the baton to Stowell, Harmon still gets a chance to reprise his role as the series' narrator. His involvement all but guarantees that the iconic character’s spirit remains intact; an especially important consideration considering Gibbs is arguably the most important character in the entire NCIS franchise, not just his own individual series. While audiences may miss Gibbs on NCIS, loyal fans of the franchise await in eager anticipation for the character's return in NCIS: Origins, set to premiere on October 14 on CBS.

[cha0screat0r]

Lol

[kimmy2364]

David McCallum as Mike Wilson in "The Secret Place" (1957) [2/3]

[rockifresa]

English interview

English interview

Hayden Christensen Reflects On The Star Wars Prequels: ‘Those Movies Have Held Up Well’ – Exclusive

Talk about pressure. There are few villains in cinema as iconic as Darth Vader – recognisable from the briefest glimpse of his distinctive helmet, or the merest mechanical hiss of his respirator. So when Hayden Christensen signed on to play Anakin Skywalker in the Star Wars prequels, he took on a formidable task: presenting the man behind the mask. Across Episode II – Attack Of The Clones and Episode III – Revenge Of The Sith, Christensen showed us how exactly how the galaxy’s brightest hope turned from the light and plunged into total darkness – and through that time, his own Star Wars experience was a mix of light and dark too. After weathering years of criticism, he’s now been wholeheartedly embraced by the fandom.

Speaking to Empire in a major new interview – and original photo shoot – for our 25th anniversary celebration of the prequel trilogy, Christensen opened up on his time in the galaxy far, far away. “It’s been a remarkable experience. And just a very heartwarming one,” he tells Empire. “The journey that I’ve been on with Star Wars over the last 20 plus years... it’s been a wild ride, and where we’re at now is really meaningful to me.” While the backlash against the prequels was difficult to take, he’s pleased to see how beloved all three films are today. “I think that those movies have held up well over time,” he says. “It feels like vindication for the work that we did. Everyone that worked on those movies thought that we were part of something special. We all wanted to do our very best work, and we cared a lot about it. And so to see the response from the fans now, it’s very cool.”

That response includes excitement from younger fans – who are always thrilled to meet the man who… well, murdered all the Jedi younglings in Revenge Of The Sith. “There was a lot of talk about us doing that scene, and I love that George did it. It was a bold move. And it’s shocking,” the actor says. “Kids seem to forget about that scene when they meet me! There’s not any fear or intimidation. They’re just excited to meet Anakin.”

Having ridden out the stormy reception to the prequels – and returned to the Star Wars galaxy in recent years for appearances in Obi-Wan Kenobi and Ahsoka – Christensen reflected on the advice that he would give to his younger self before stepping into Attack Of The Clones. “Even though I was a bit overwhelmed, I was also a confident young man, and I wanted to make my mark. But I guess if I were to have some advice for me during that general time in my life, it would be: ‘Patience’,” he decides. “Because my journey with the character and with Star Wars has at times been a bumpy one... but I’m in a good place with it now. And so that’s why I say patience.” In 2024, there’s undoubtedly balance to the Force.

Read Empire’s full Hayden Christensen interview – and see more images from the shoot – in the Star Wars prequels 25th anniversary issue. Also inside the magazine, we speak to Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Liam Neeson, Ian McDiarmid, Samuel L. Jackson, Brian Blessed, and more about starring in the films; we revisit iconic sequences with producer Rick McCallum, stunt co-ordinator Nick Gillard, and concept designer Iain McCaig, breaking down the Podrace, the Geonosis arena battle, and the Mustafar duel; we get a closer look at rarely-seen concept art from across the trilogy; we speak to designer Ellen Lee Moon on the story behind her legendary Phantom Menace poster, and much, much more. It’s the ultimate look back at the trilogy that changed everything.