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letterboxd · 4 years ago

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In Focus: The Mummy

Dominic Corry responds on behalf of Letterboxd to an impassioned plea to bump up the average rating of the 1999 version of The Mummy—and asks: where is the next great action adventure coming from?

We recently received the following email regarding the Stephen Sommers blockbuster The Mummy:

To whom it may concern,

I am writing to you on behalf of the nation, if not the entire globe, who frankly deserve better than this after months of suffering with the Covid pandemic.

I was recently made aware that the rating of The Mummy on your platform only stands at 3.3 stars out of five. … This, as I’m sure you’re aware, is simply unacceptable. The Mummy is, as a statement of fact, the greatest film ever made. It is simply fallacious that anyone should claim otherwise, or that the rating should fail to reflect this. This oversight cannot be allowed to stand.

I have my suspicions that this rating has been falsely allocated due to people with personal axes to grind against The Mummy, most likely other directors who are simply jealous that their own artistic oeuvres will never attain the zenith of perfection, nor indeed come close to approaching the quality or the cultural influence of The Mummy. There is, quite frankly, no other explanation. The Mummy is, objectively speaking, a five-star film (… I would argue that it in fact transcends the rating sytem used by us mere mortals). It would only be proper, as a matter of urgency, to remove all fake ratings (i.e. any ratings [below] five stars) and allow The Mummy’s rating to stand, as it should, at five stars, or perhaps to replace the rating altogether with a simple banner which reads “the greatest film of all time, objectively speaking”. I look forward to this grievous error being remedied.

Best, Anwen

Which of course: no, we would never do that. But the vigor Anwen expresses in her letter impressed us (we checked: she’s real, though is mostly a Letterboxd lurker due to a busy day-job in television production, “so finding time to watch anything that isn’t The Mummy is, frankly, impossible… not that there’s ever any need to watch anything else, of course.”).

So Letterboxd put me, Stephen Sommers fan, on the job of paying homage to the last great old-school action-adventure blockbuster, a film that straddles the end of one cinematic era and the beginning of the next one. And also to ask: where’s the next great action adventure coming from?

Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz and John Hannah in ‘The Mummy’ (1999).

When you delve into the Letterboxd reviews of The Mummy, it quickly becomes clear how widely beloved the film is, 3.3 average notwithstanding. Of more concern to the less youthful among us is how quaintly it is perceived, as if it harkens back to the dawn of cinema or something. “God, I miss good old-fashioned adventure movies,” bemoans Holly-Beth. “I have so many fond memories of watching this on TV with my family countless times growing up,” recalls Jess. “A childhood classic,” notes Simon.

As alarming as it is to see such wistful nostalgia for what was a cutting-edge, special-effects-laden contemporary popcorn hit, it has been twenty-one years since the film was released, so anyone currently in their early 30s would’ve encountered the film at just the right age for it to imprint deeply in their hearts. This has helped make it a Raiders of the Lost Ark for a specific Letterboxd demographic.

Sommers took plenty of inspiration from the Indiana Jones series for his take on The Mummy (the original 1932 film, also with a 3.3 average, is famously sedate), but for ten-year-olds in 1999, it may have been their only exposure to such pulpy derring-do. And when you consider that popcorn cinema would soon be taken over by interconnected on-screen universes populated by spandex-clad superheroes, the idea that The Mummy is an old-fashioned movie is easier to comprehend.

However, for all its throwbackiness, beholding The Mummy from the perspective of 2020 reveals it to have more to say about the future of cinema than the past. 1999 was a big year for movies, often considered one of the all-time best, but the legacy of The Mummy ties it most directly to two of that year’s other biggest hits: Star Wars: Episode One—The Phantom Menace and The Matrix. These three blockbusters represented a turning point for the biggest technological advancement to hit the cinematic art-form since the introduction of sound: computer-generated imagery, aka CGI. The technique had been widely used from 1989’s The Abyss onwards, and took significant leaps forward with movies such as Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), Jurassic Park (1993) and Starship Troopers (1997), but the three 1999 films mentioned above signified a move into the era when blockbusters began to be defined by their CGI.

A year before The Mummy, Sommers had creatively utilised CGI in his criminally underrated sci-fi action thriller Deep Rising (another film that deserves a higher average Letterboxd rating, just sayin’), and he took this approach to the next level with The Mummy. While some of the CGI in The Mummy doesn’t hold up as well as the technopunk visuals presented in The Matrix, The Mummy showed how effective the technique could be in an historical setting—the expansiveness of ancient Egypt depicted in the movie is magnificent, and the iconic rendering of Imhotep’s face in the sand storm proved to be an enduringly creepy image. Not to mention those scuttling scarab beetles.

George Lucas wanted to test the boundaries of the technique with his insanely anticipated new Star Wars film after dipping his toe in the digital water with the special editions of the original trilogy. Beyond set expansions and environments, a bunch of big creatures and cool spaceships, his biggest gambit was Jar Jar Binks, a major character rendered entirely through CGI. And we all know how that turned out.

A CGI-enhanced Arnold Vosloo as Imhotep.

Sommers arguably presented a much more effective CGI character in the slowly regenerating resurrected Imhotep. Jar Jar’s design was “bigger” than the actor playing him on set, Ahmed Best. Which is to say, Jar Jar took up more space on screen than Best. But with the zombie-ish Imhotep, Sommers (ably assisted by Industrial Light & Magic, who also worked on the Star Wars films) used CGI to create negative space, an effect impossible to achieve with practical make-up—large parts of the character were missing. It was an indelible visual concept that has been recreated many times since, but Sommers pioneered its usage here, and it contributed greatly to the popcorn horror threat posed by the character.

Sommers, generally an unfairly overlooked master of fun popcorn spectacle (G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra is good, guys), deserves more credit for how he creatively utilized CGI to elevate the storytelling in The Mummy. But CGI isn’t the main reason the film works—it’s a spry, light-on-its-feet adventure that presents an iconic horror property in an entertaining and adventurous new light. And it happens to feature a ridiculously attractive cast all captured just as their pulchritudinous powers were peaking.

Meme-worthy: “My sexual orientation is the cast of ‘The Mummy’ (1999).”

A rising star at the time, Brendan Fraser was mostly known for comedic performances, and although he’d proven himself very capable with his shirt off in George of the Jungle (1997), he wasn’t necessarily at the top of anyone’s list for action-hero roles. But he is superlatively charming as dashing American adventurer Rick O’Connell. His fizzy chemistry with Weisz, playing the brilliant-but-clumsy Egyptologist Evie Carnahan, makes the film a legitimate romantic caper. The role proved to be a breakout for Weisz, then perhaps best known for playing opposite Keanu Reeves in the trouble-plagued action flop Chain Reaction, or for her supporting role in the Liv Tyler vehicle Stealing Beauty.

“90s Brendan Fraser is what Chris Pratt wishes he was,” argues Holly-Beth. “Please come back to us, Brendaddy. We need you.” begs Joshhh. “I’d like to thank Rachel Weisz for playing an integral role in my sexual awakening,” offers Sree.

Then there’s Oded Fehr as Ardeth Bey, a member of the Medjai, a sect dedicated to preventing Imhotep’s tomb from being discovered, and Patricia Velásquez as Anck-su-namun, Imhotep’s cursed lover. Both stupidly good-looking. Heck, Imhotep himself (South African Arnold Vosloo, coming across as Billy Zane’s more rugged brother), is one of the hottest horror villains in the history of cinema.

“Remember when studio movies were sexy?” laments Colin McLaughlin. We do Colin, we do.

Sommers directed a somewhat bloated sequel, The Mummy Returns, in 2001, which featured the cinematic debut of one Dwayne Johnson. His character got a spin-off movie the following year (The Scorpion King), which generated a bunch of DTV sequels of its own, and is now the subject of a Johnson-produced reboot. Brendan Fraser came back for a third film in 2008, the Rob Cohen-directed The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. Weisz declined to participate, and was replaced by Maria Bello.

Despite all the follow-ups, and the enduring love for the first Sommers film, there has been a sadly significant dearth of movies along these lines in the two decades since it was released. The less said about 2017 reboot The Mummy (which was supposed to kick-off a new Universal Monster shared cinematic universe, and took a contemporary, action-heavy approach to the property), the better.

The Rock in ‘The Mummy Returns’ (2001).

For a long time, adventure films were Hollywood’s bread and butter, but they’re surprisingly thin on the ground these days. So it makes a certain amount of sense that nostalgia for the 1999 The Mummy continues to grow. You could argue that many of the superhero films that dominate multiplexes count as adventure movies, but nobody really sees them that way—they are their own genre.

There are, however, a couple of films on the horizon that could help bring back old-school cinematic adventure. One is the long-planned—and finally actually shot—adaptation of the Uncharted video-game franchise, starring Tom Holland. The games borrow a lot from the Indiana Jones films, and it’ll be interesting to see how much that manifests in the adaptation.

Then there’s Letterboxd favorite David Lowery’s forever-upcoming medieval adventure drama The Green Knight, starring Dev Patel and Alicia Vikander (who herself recently rebooted another video-game icon, Lara Croft). Plus they are still threatening to make another Indiana Jones movie, even if it no longer looks like Steven Spielberg will direct it.

While these are all exciting projects—and notwithstanding the current crisis in the multiplexes—it can’t help but feel like we may never again get a movie quite like The Mummy, with its unlikely combination of eye-popping CGI, old-fashioned adventure tropes and a once-in-a-lifetime ensemble of overflowing hotness. Long may love for it reign on Letterboxd—let’s see if we can’t get that average rating up, the old fashioned way. For Anwen.

Related content

How I Letterboxd with The Mummy fan Eve (“The first film I went out and bought memorabilia for… it was a Mummy action figure that included canopic jars”)

The Mummy (Universal) Collection

Every film featuring the Mummy (not mummies in general)

Follow Dom on Letterboxd

#the mummy #brendan fraser #stephen sommers #action adventure #fantasy adventure #action adventure film #the green knight #david lowery #dominic corry #letterboxd

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william-zabka-is-a-hottie · 4 years ago

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Reading this article, I can’t help thinking that the tone is condescending towards William. They say something like, William is as spry as he used to be.

Well I beg to differ LOL I mean I bet the author has never been in fantastic shape as Billy is then AND now. Billy still rocks and kicks ass😎😍

oh, and also, I volunteer to kiss his toe better💋

#william zabka #Johnny Lawrence #Team Johnny #The Karate Kid #Cobra Kai

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oscopelabs · 5 years ago

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Jonathan Demme’s ‘A Master Builder’ and the Elusive Magic of Bringing Stage to Screen by Tina Hassannia

Criterion’s three-film box-set of the works of Wallace Shawn and Andre Gregory—My Dinner With Andre, Uncle Vanya, and A Master Builder—features several supplements, including an interview between the theater artists and writer Fran Lebowitz. She makes a frank confession: “I don’t like watching theater.” Gregory, a man who’s spent his entire life in the theater, says he feels the same way.

Lebowitz explains that she loves to be drawn into a good film or novel, but, with the exception of Shawn’s work, she’s never experienced the same with theater. She’s not alone. While theater may not exactly be a dying art form, it was long ago upstaged by cinema and television as our de-facto entertainment, and our appreciation for it has dwindled in kind. Theater requires us to suspend disbelief that we’re watching mere make believe, more forcefully than film, which benefits from a metaphysical distance from the viewer. Why sit through 2-3 hours of physical artifice just to see actors move through the spectrum of human emotion when there are so many easier and supposedly better options?

Those lucky enough to have witnessed really good theater know this a philistine’s line of thinking, but even so, its cultural relevance is tightly bound to its usurper, cinema: film adaptations of plays are usually better known than famous productions. (Consider the populist understanding of A Streetcar Named Desire without Marlon Brando—it doesn’t exist.) But adaptations are in essence, films, not theater. Transmitting the visceral pleasures of actual theater is nigh-impossible. If you’ve ever made the mistake of watching a recorded stage performance, you know you’re missing an essential thing privy to members of the audience. No matter the quality of the performance or camerawork, filming a play cheapens the experience. Theatricality is transmogrified into an over-exaggerated mess onscreen. The chemistry unique to each performer and audience, which gives birth to an atmospheric energy that changes with every performance, is lost.

A Master Builder director Jonathan Demme tries to describe a similar sentiment in another Criterion supplement, an interview between himself, Shawn, Gregory, and critic David Edelstein. Having seen the duo’s final production of A Master Builder —which Demme calls “literally spell-binding” and “very emotionally intense”— the director chronicles in the interview his experience watching Gregory watch the play. Having finished his part as Brovik, Gregory joined the audience, but, according to Demme, appeared to subconsciously direct the performers as if through an “energy field.”

“I remember seeing his face responding to everything that was going on there and feeling the connection,” he says. Edelstein follows up with questions, as what he’s hearing sounds too “woo woo”: Were the performers looking at Gregory? Was he in their peripheral vision? … What, exactly? It’s not Demme’s fault he can’t eloquently explain the phenomenon, because words rarely do the experience of live theatre justice. It’s an inexplicable sensation that can only be experienced to be understood.

Filmmakers sometimes struggle adapting plays for the screen. Those who succeed understand the key differences between the artforms. They preserve the essence of story and drama, the play’s unique blueprint. They subtly reframe the story to be told more visually. And they honor the reality that plays are usually verbose in nature. Results have varied in quality from baffling (August: Osage County) to transcendent (Amadeus). But the outcome is usually more accomplished in the literary appreciation of theatre—say, a modern or unique interpretation of a classic text, like Orson Welles’ Macbeth—than the emulation of that woo-woo theatre magic.

And then there’s Demme. The director took on Shawn and Gregory’s third film collaboration. A Master Builder is dedicated to Louis Malle, who brought to life the actors’ long-form conversation My Dinner With Andre and their modern interpretation of Anton Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya. Demme was a perfect replacement for Malle, as they share a visual intimacy in their work. Demme also benefits from a swirling chain in his aesthetic DNA: an unparalleled gift in recording live performance that sometimes makes you feel like you’re really there, really present, inhaling the performers’ energy.

In his concert films, including the masterpiece Stop Making Sense, Demme captures both spectacle and the musicians’ shamanistic force. In Swimming in Cambodia, a kind of filmed play, for lack of a better term, it feels as if you really are watching Spalding Gray’s affecting one-man show. Demme relies on close-ups to get us as close as possible to the performer, but maintains a respectful distance. Instead of trying to direct the performers to be more naturalistic for the screen, he blends himself into their forcefield. Perhaps this is why Demme is able to transform Shawn and Gregory’s take on Henrik Ibsen’s play into something simultaneously cinematic and theatrical. The humanistic, democratic POV that Demme often brings to his work nearly elides his personal perspective, thus allowing the viewer to virtually breathe in the full depth of the performer’s space and energy.

Shawn plays Master Builder Solness, a narcissistic aging architect who won’t allow his associates Brovik (Gregory) and his younger son Ragnar (Jeff Biehl) to build anything on their own. Tensions in Solness’ personal and professional life are a direct consequence of his tight reign over his company. Suddenly a mysterious nymph-like woman named Hilde (Lisa Joyce) visits the Solness estates, and their past history is one of many contradictions the play teasingly weaves into its narrative. Through the course of their labyrinthine conversation, the viewer understands how Solness views his selfish actions, the traumatizing effect they’ve had on his loved ones, and his deceptively innocent explanation, simply imagining his success into existence.

Ibsen’s original The Master Builder is a difficult play to mount and even more trying to comprehend, full of delightful contradictions that produce different interpretations. One understanding—supported by Shawn and Gregory’s modern adaptation—is that Hilde is an imaginary figure in Solness’ death fantasy, a chance for him to reckon with his many mistakes. Shawn and Gregory crystallize Ibsen’s ambiguous magical realism into something more obvious, turning the typically physically robust Solness, who self-deprecates about his inner “trolls,” into someone who actually resembles one. (No offense to Mr. Shawn). It’s clearly intentional. He’s on his deathbed but then suddenly dashes into a spry man upon Hilde’s introduction. Their conversations are all a dream, despite seeming real. Occasionally the film interrupts their garrulous chemistry to show a more liminal headspace that very well could be reality: we hear beeping monitors and frantic nurses trying to save the comatose Solness, but all we see are Demme’s signature mobile establishing shots of trees and the architect’s many buildings.

In A Master Builder, Demme gives the actors sufficient room to block their minimal but lustful action. The beautiful interior architecture provides an elegant and visually interesting complement to what is essentially a chamber drama, that most notoriously difficult kind of story to film. Demme toned down the actors’ acting so that it was suitable for the screen, as film tends to capture every minute facial twitch and shift in body language. But the actors retain a good portion of their theatricality, as it’s the play they’d been rehearsing and performing for many years. This is a rare feat in film adaptation: the preservation of theatre’s intensity and magic that piques curiosity in Ibsen’s strange little play.

The Master Builder thrives or dies on the dynamic between the actors who play Solness and Hilde; their immediate palpable chemistry is imperative to intrigue the viewer. So much of the play focuses on these two strangers oversharing personal details, a conversation that delves deeper and deeper into personal, vulnerable territory. It only makes sense for the viewer to know why these two people seemed “destined” to meet again, why we want to hear them speak at length, and with such intensity. The use of close-ups to capture Hilde’s wild-eyed fascination for her master builder, her hunger evident through body language, all seems outlandish for a long while until she reveals details of their shared history that Solness conveniently forgot. It sounds tedious but the pace is dramatic given the ugliness of their past. Until then, the viewer remains bewildered why a young, ambitious and confident woman would ever be so openly smitten by a troll.

Shawn and Gregory downplay an integral component of the story, however, to suit their “death fantasy” interpretation, for better or worse: in Ibsen’s original, it is pretty obvious Solness physically handled the 12-year-old Hilde in some inappropriate manner (according to her, he, all but a stranger to this child, kissed her on the mouth, called her a princess, and promised to build her a castle in ten years). It’s a conversation that is more grounded in the original and treated more lightly and ambiguously in this version. A practical, psychologically grounded interpretation of the original might conclude Hilde’s pursuit of her abuser is a trauma bond she never recovered from, with the “princess in the castle” fantasy carrying her through adolescence into young adulthood and here we are, ten years to the day, Hilde having found her master builder at last, so he can deliver on his promise.

But the film suggests a different understanding: here, Hilde is not so much a real character with baggage guiding her actions as she is a fantastical figure in Solness’ final reckoning with his id. While Ibsen appears to have written Hilde as something of a wild child (and there is symbolic value pointedly repeated in dialogue about her stay in the Solness residence’s empty “children’s rooms,” her presence also representing Solness’ guilt about his deceased children), Shawn and Gregory’s maximalist interpretation has Hilde literally wearing a childlike outfit. These outlandish aesthetic choices, while more acceptable in theatre, veer into ludicrousness in the subtler frame of the camera, but Demme’s setup elegantly frames it for magical realism—a form that some people have intuited was Ibsen’s real objective with The Master Builder.

One reason why this play remains a lesser produced work by the Norwegian playwright is its baffling complexity. Its many contradictions don’t offer any satisfying interpretation. One way to cut through the bullshit for a theater artist—especially one responsible for bringing it to the masses via film—is to hint heavily at their interpretation without directly spelling it out. That approach works best for two-dimensional, captured film. Otherwise the viewer may find A Master Builder, no matter how refined and well-filmed, an obfuscated maze to walk through. There’s just enough realism to make us question whether or not we are watching reality or a death fantasy. In either case, it’s a fascinating exploration of a narcissistic mind, and a gem of a play granted wider access through the medium of film.

#a master builder #the master builder #wallace shawn #andre gregory #jonathan demme #architecture #Louis Malle #swimming in cambodia #stop making sense #film #independent film #film writing #film essay #fran lebowitz #Oscilloscope Laboratories #O-Scope Labs #Beastie Boys #Adam Yauch #musings

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whatsnewcartoons · 6 years ago

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What’s New In 2019: The Cartoons.

PART 2:

Separated by network. All premiere dates are estimated until confirmed. Timings are in EST.

DISNEY CHANNEL:

- Amphibia (TBA): Created and executive produced by Matt Braly (Gravity Falls), Amphibia chronicles the adventures of Anne Boonchuy, a self-centered 13-year-old who is magically transported to the fictitious world of Amphibia, a rural marshland full of frog-people. With the help of an excitable young frog named Sprig, Anne will transform into a hero and discover the first true friendship of her life.

The series was announced to be greenlit for production in early 2018 and is expected to premiere later in 2019.

- The Owl House (TBA): Created and executive produced by Dana Terrace (DuckTales) is a horror-comedy series that follows Luz, a self-assured teenage human girl who accidentally stumbles upon a portal to the Demon Realm. There she befriends a rebellious witch, Eda, and an adorably tiny warrior, King. Despite not having magical abilities, Luz pursues her dream of becoming a witch by serving as Eda’s apprentice at the Owl House and ultimately finds a new family in an unlikely setting.

The series was announced at the same time as Amphibia and a Season 4 renewal of Star vs the Forces of Evil in early 2018. Similar to Amphibia, it is expected to release in late 2019.

- Vikingskool (end 2019): The series will follow a group of young would-be Viking warriors in an elite Vikingskool. Ross described the alumni as being “Like freshmen in ‘Top Gun,’ but for Vikings. ”The group will embark on a series of humorous and exciting adventures in a mystical world. At the heart of the tale are three best friends: Erik, Arnie and Ilba, each with their own unique Viking strengths and weaknesses.

The series is being produced by Ireland’s Cartoon Saloon (“The Secret of Kells,” “The Breadwinner”) and France’s Samka Productions (“Jamie’s Got Tentacles”) with post-production from Norwegian VFX company Storm Films. It’s this pedigree that prompted Ross to explain to Variety: “There is a substantial Viking history in Ireland and Northern France. As a co-production we can say it’s the only Viking show made by actual Vikings.”

The series’ 26 half-hours are scheduled for broadcast at the end of 2019.

- 101 Dalmatian Street (early 2019): Inspired by Dodie Smith’s 1956 novel and the 1961 movie, it will be based in Camden Town, London.

Featuring 43 cast members covering 106 speaking roles, the modern tale will focus on dalmatians Dylan and Dolly, their parents Doug and Delilah and 97 younger puppies whose names all also begin with D. Miriam Margolyes, known for her portrayal of Professor Sprout in the Harry Potter film series, will voice Bessie the Cornish Cow.American actors Josh Brener and Michaela Dietz will voice Dylan and Dolly, the eldest Dalmatian siblings. Rapper Ben Bailey Smith, also known as Doc Brown, will voice Sid Squirrel as well as Spencer Sausage Dog. The series will also feature EastEnders star Tameka Empson as Pearl Police Horse and Bethan Wright as Prunella Pug.

The series has premiered its first episode on Disney Channel Africa and is set to premiere on Disney Channel UK in January. It will premiere in the US in spring 2019.

NETFLIX:

- Pinky Malinky (January 1, 2019): Pinky Malinky is a brand-new fly-on-the-wall reality show that follows the everyday life of Pinky, an infectiously positive hot dog living in a human world. With his best friends Babs and JJ by his side, Pinky reaches for the stars in the small town of Sackenhack. Through his good spirits and sausage sensibilities, Pinky proves that a "wiener" is only one small letter away from being a "WINNER!"

Using the tropes of a mockumentary and reality show format, Pinky and his friends will talk directly to the camera and the audience to share their absurd and silly take on real life. At times, all children feel like they don't fit in and Pinky's undeniably unique point of view as a literal wiener amongst humans will allow kids to laugh at his familiar struggles and enjoy his unusual perspective on the challenges of being a school-aged kid. By always reaching for the stars, Pinky pushes himself further than anyone could imagine. Pinky and his friends' humorous experiences will also be shared across social media and Nickelodeon's digital platforms. Co-created and co-executive produced by Chris Garbutt and Rikke Asbjoern (The Amazing World of Gumball) and executive produced by Scott Kreamer (Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness), the trio are a part of the Artist Collective, an internal diverse group of experienced creators who mentor and support up-and-coming talent while also collaborating to cultivate, challenge and inspire Nickelodeon's development pipeline. Pinky Malinky will star Lucas Grabeel (Glenn Martin DDS, I Kissed A Vampire) as Pinky Malinky, Diamond White (The Haunted Hathaways) as Babs Buttman, and Nathan Kress (iCarly) as JJ Jameson. Under the deal with Netflix, Nickelodeon is producing two seasons — 59 episodes — of Pinky Malinky for the streaming service. The first season, consisting of 28 episodes is now available on Netflix.

- Tuca & Bertie (TBA): The series, which has received a 10-episode order, is an adult-oriented comedy about the friendship between two 30-year-old bird women who live in the same apartment building: Tuca (Haddish), a cocky, care-free toucan, and Bertie (Wong), an anxious, daydreaming songbird.

Both Haddish and Wong will also serve as executive producers in addition to starring. Lisa Hanawalt created the series and will serve as executive producer. Hanawalt is the production designer and producer on Netflix’s critically-acclaimed animated series “BoJack Horseman.” Raphael Bob-Waksberg, the creator of “BoJack” will also executive produce along with “BoJack” executive producers Noel Bright and Steven A. Cohen. Michael Eisner’s The Tornante Company, which produces “BoJack,” will produce. Animation is being done at Shadowmachine.

The series was announced to be in production in February 2018 and is set to release in the summer.

- Carmen Sandiego (January 18, 2019): Carmen Sandiego started as a video game in 1985 and ventured out into books, television, and comics. Children of the ‘90s have searched for Sandiego in the U.S.A., in Europe, in Space, and back in Time. The PBS animated series Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego? ran for 295 episodes between 1991 and 1995. Author John Peel wrote 10 Carmen Sandiego books in the '90s. DC Comics published four issues of a Carmen Sandiego comic starting in June 1996.

Believe it or not, after more than two decades Sandiego, a notorious crook, is still on the loose. Can she outrun the Netflix binge watchers? We’ll have see if Rodriguez has what it takes.

Insiders say that Netflix has ordered 20 episodes of the series, which aims to be as educational as it is entertaining, given the title character’s globetrotting adventures. The series is set to release on Netflix on January 18, 2019.

- Cannon Busters (March 1, 2019): Cannon Busters tells the story of a royal droid named S.A.M., who is searching for her best friend, and heir to the throne. Along the way, she’s joined by an old maintenance droid and a fugitive. The 12-episode series buy is part of Netflix’s impending wave of anime titles including Ultraman, Kengan Ashura, and season two of Aggretsuko.

Cannon Busters was created by LeSean Thomas, a storyboard artist and character designer known for his work on The Boondocks, the animated Black Dynamite series, and The Legend of Korra. Following a successful Kickstarter campaign, Netflix has bought 12 episodes, adapted from a 2003 comic of the same title.

The series was first announced at the Netflix panel at the 2018 Anime Expo and is set to release on Netflix on March 1, 2019.

- Twelve Forever (TBA): The series centers on 12-year-old Reggie, whose desire to remain a child is so powerful it creates a fantasy world in which she never has to grow up. She’s joined by her friends Todd and Esther, who visit this amazing world to live out their superhero fantasies and escape the responsibilities of impending adulthood.

Production companies behind the series are the Cartel and Puny Entertainment. In addition to Vickerman, executive producers include the Cartel’s Stan Spry and Bradford Bricken, and Puny’s Chris Hardwick and Shadi Petosky.

The original pilot was first aired on Cartoon Network in 2015 and was not picked up by the network until Netflix was announced to have picked it up for a first season in December 2017 and is set to release sometime in 2019.

So that’s the stuff you can expect from the major networks (and Netflix) in terms of animation this year. Which shows are you most excited to watch this year? Here’s to an amazing 2019 full of amazing cartoons.

For the upcoming cartoons on Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon, go check out Part 1.

#cartoons #disney #netflix #amphibia #the owl house #vikingskool #101 dalmations street #pinky malinky #tuca and bertie #carmen sandiego #cannon busters #twelve forever #2019 #premieres

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hallmark-movie-fanatics · 6 years ago

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Love Takes Flight

LOVE BREAKS THROUGH THE CLOUDS

HALLMARK CHANNEL ANNOUNCES THE WORLD PREMIERE OF ‘LOVE TAKES FLIGHT,’

A HALLMARK HALL OF FAME PRESENTATION STARRING NIKKI DELOACH AND JEFF HEPHNER, APRIL 27

STUDIO CITY, CA – Monday, March 11, 2019 – Hallmark Channel announces the 263rd installment of the revered Hallmark Hall of Fame, “Love Takes Flight,” starring Nikki DeLoach (“Reunited At Christmas,” “Truly, Madly, Sweetly”) and Jeff Hephner (“Chicago Fire,” “Chicago Med”) will have its World Premiere on the network, Saturday, April 27 (9 p.m. ET/PT, 7C). Hallmark Hall of Fame, first broadcast in December 1951, is still the longest-running and most award-winning series in the history of television.

In “Love Takes Flight,” Dr. Lizzie Beauman (DeLoach) is a single mother and hospital administrator determined to attract enough world-class doctors and treatment options to make her hospital successful enough to build a wing for patients’ families to be able to stay together while healing. Lizzie’s five-year old daughter, Quinn, suffers from an insulin disorder and Lizzie knows the demands on working families who have a sick loved one to care for. Lizzie has spent years doing her best construction building walls around her own expectations: no fun and no spontaneity here as the best-lived lives are created through discipline and order. But all that changes when new EMS pilot Charley Allen (Hephner) comes into Lizzie and Quinn’s lives. Charley challenges the constrictions Lizzie places on herself, especially, her fear of flying. And Charley learns something from Lizzie about the patience it takes to nurture relationships, especially between Charley and his dad whose relationship has been strained since his mom passed away. The day comes when Charley and Lizzie must come together as a team, each performing at the highest skill level to save a transplant patient. In the process, Lizzie and Charley may be able to heal themselves and their loved ones.

“Love Takes Flight” is written by Eric Brooks. The film is directed by Steven R. Monroe. Executive Producers are Stan Spry and Eric Woods. Co-Executive Producer and Unit Production Manager is Anthony Fankhauser. Lesley Demetriades produces for Seabound Productions LLC.

http://awsprxdam.crownmediadev.com.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/highRes/3102178.pdf

#love takes flight #press release #hallmark hall of fame #hallmark movies #hallmark channel #nikki deloach #barbara niven #jeff hephner

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onlyincanadayousay2 · 6 years ago

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The Maritime Edit

One of Canada’s greatest entertainers, the multi-talented, hard working, ahead of her time, brilliant Mary Walsh, the Queen of Comedy.

Early life

Walsh was born in St. John's, Newfoundland, the daughter of Mary and Leo Walsh, a merchant marine turned firefighter on commercial vessels. She's the 7th of 8 children. She is also of Irish ancestry.

Career

Walsh studied theatre in Toronto at Ryerson University but dropped out to work with the CODCO comedy troupe on a series of stage shows, which eventually evolved into a sketch comedy series. The CODCO series ran from 1987 to 1992 on CBC Television.

This Hour Has 22 Minutes

In 1992, she began to work with former co-star Rick Mercer and former CODCO co-stars Cathy Jones and Greg Thomey to create a new television series called This Hour Has 22 Minutes. The show would be a parody of the nightly news and would poke fun at Canadian and international politics. 22 Minutes received strong ratings during its earlier seasons and Walsh's character Marg Delahunty became famous for buttonholing politicians and submitting them to satirical interviews. Usually Marg Delahunty would recite a scripted piece intended to humiliate the politician, often by providing criticism and "grandmotherly" advice. Sometimes Marg appeared as "Marg, Princess Warrior", a parody of the title character of Xena: Warrior Princess portrayed by Lucy Lawless. Walsh is also noted for her comical segment chronicling the Canadian Auto Workers Union's tense blockade of the Volvo Halifax Assembly plant in 1998. In 2007, she revived Marg Delahunty for the Royal Canadian Air Farce's 300th episode. On October 24, 2011, Walsh was once again in the spotlight as she reprised the role of Marg Delahunty conducting an ambush interview of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford at his home. Ford's reaction and alleged verbal abuse directed at 911 operator made national headlines.

Other work[

Walsh's other television work included the short-run sitcoms Dooley Gardens in 1999, Hatching, Matching and Dispatching and she had a guest starring role as Miranda Cahill on the CBC television series, Republic of Doyle. She created the CBC program Mary Walsh: Open Book, a talk show about books and literature, in 2003.

Besides TV acting, she has worked on movies such as Mambo Italiano, Geraldine's Fortune, Rain, Drizzle and Fog, Buried on Sunday, The Divine Ryans, Young Triffie and Violet.

2004 saw Walsh host a segment on the CBC documentary series The Greatest Canadian, in which she championed the case for Sir Frederick Banting (the Nobel prize-winning discoverer of insulin) as the greatest Canadian who ever lived.

In June 2007, she hosted the Pride Toronto Gala & Awards ceremony.

On December 15, 2007, Walsh made national news with a story about her upcoming special, Nudity, Sexuality, Violence and Coarse Language, in which a large group of people who went and stripped naked standing next to St. John's Harbour in -11° Celsius (12.2° Fahrenheit) temperature to be filmed as a part of the show's closing. Walsh herself did not go nude.

In 2017, Walsh published her debut novel, Crying for the Moon.

Directing

Walsh made her feature directorial debut with the 2007 movie Young Triffie. She was the first Newfoundlander in six years to have a film in general release across Canada.

Personal life

Walsh has battled alcoholism. The Toronto Star reported that the end of CODCO coincided with the end of Walsh's active alcoholism, with Walsh stating "which was a damn good thing because I could have never done This Hour Has 22 Minutes if I'd been drinking."

Honours

Performing arts

She won Best Supporting Actress at the Atlantic Film Festival in 1992 for her performance in Mike Jones' Secret Nation.

On November 4, 2006, Walsh and Ed MacDonald picked up a Gemini Award for the best writing in a comedy or variety program for their work in Hatching, Matching and Dispatching.

She has won 18 Gemini Awards.

Walsh received a Governor General's Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement, Canada's highest honour in the performing arts, in 2012.

Charity and activism[

A sufferer of macular degeneration, she has served from time to time as a spokesperson for the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB).

In 1993, Walsh was chosen to deliver the prestigious Graham Spry lecture which was broadcast nationally on CBC Radio.

In 1994, Walsh addressed the United Nations Global Conference on Development in New York. She has also served as a spokesperson for Oxfam, Canada's human rights campaign, and in 2010 received Oxfam's Spirit of Change Award, in recognition of her years of dedication to eradicating poverty and ensuring public services for all.

On May 29, 1998, Mary Walsh received an Honorary Doctor of Laws from Trent University

McGill University honoured Walsh with an honorary doctorate during the November 2008 convocation ceremony. Her speech to the class of 2008 focused on political satire.

Filmography

Film[

YearTitleRoleNotes

1986 The Adventure of Faustus Bidgood Heady Nolan

1992 Secret Nation Oona Vokey

1999 New Waterford Girl Cookie Pottie

2003 Mambo Italiano Lina Paventi

2007 Young Triffie Aunt Millie BishopDirector

2009 Crackie Bride

2013 The Grand Seduction Vera

2014 How To Be Deadly Dot Power

2015 Closet Monster Allison

2016 The Inn Of Olde SadieShort Film

Television

YearTV ShowRoleNotes

1978 The Root Seller Various 6 Episodes

1986-1989 CODCO Various 35 Episodes

1993-2013 This Hour Has 22 Minutes Various 34 Episodes

1999 Dooley Gardens Marilyn Benoit 7 Episodes

2005-2006 Hatching, Matching and Dispatching

Mamie Lou Furey 9 Episodes

2010-2014 Republic of Doyle Miranda Cahill 2 Episodes

2014-2016 Sensitive Skin Sarah Thorn 2 Episodes

2018 Little Dog Tucker

Writing

YearTV ShowPositionNotes

1978 The Root Seller Writer 6 Episodes

1986-1989 CODCO Writer 35 Episodes

1998-1999 The Rosie O'Donnell Show Writer 193 Episodes

2003-2004 Mary Walsh: Open Book Writer 13 Episodes

2005-2006 Hatching, Matching and Dispatching Writer 6 Episodes

1993-2004 This Hour Has 22 Minutes Head Writer/Writer 31 Episodes

2017 Crying for the Moon: A Novel Writer

#marywalsh #themaritimeedit #maritimeedit#themaritimeeditmagazine #editmedia #editcanada #theedit

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spryfilm · 2 years ago

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Blu-ray Review: "Jesse Stone - TV Movie Series" (2005-2015)

Blu-ray Review: “Jesse Stone – TV Movie Series” (2005-2015)

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dawsey28 · 3 years ago

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Day of the Dead (TV series)

2021 ‧ Horror fiction ‧ 1 season

SYFY: October 15, 2021

• Genres: Action, Horror, Comedy

• Network: SYFY

• Premiere Date: Oct 15, 2021

• Executive producers: Jed Elinoff, Scott Thomas, Stan Spry, Jeff Holland, Drew Brown

• Starring: Keenan Tracey, Daniel Doheny, Natalie Malaika, Morgan Holmstrom, Kristy Dinsmore

“Day of the Dead is an upcoming American horror television series based on the film of same name that is set to premiere on Syfy on October 15, 2021.

PREMISE

Six strangers try to survive the first 24 hours of an undead invasion.

Inspired by the zombie universe of George A. Romero, ‘Day of the Dead’ takes place in a small town where an ordinary day takes a terrifying turn when the dead begin to rise. Townspeople Mayor Bowman is up for reelection, Jai is hours away from his wedding, Luke has a party to attend, Lauren is going to lead a funeral, McDermott has a mystery to solve, and Cam has a lawn to mow. This ode to Romero's flesh-eaters is a reminder that sometimes all it takes to bring people together is a horde of hungry zombies trying to rip them apart.”

Trailer: https://youtu.be/yjn74Z4bXgY

…

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jmsa1287 · 7 years ago

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Surprise! Despite Trump Talk, the 'Roseanne' Reboot is Actually Good

hi i wrote about the rebooted “Roseanne,” which is p dang good.

As Peak TV moves into its yet-untitled new era, the industry is inching closer to reflecting the state of the modern blockbuster era in film: to get a project greenlit, it has to be based on existing intellectual property. (Just this month we got a rebooted "Tomb Raider" with Alicia Vikander that no one asked for.)

With more shows on the air than ever before, competing with not only each other but with streaming services that offer libraries of programs, television producers are looking to the past to bring back old shows for a new audience. This TV reboot phase has been going on for awhile now, with "Twin Peaks," "Gilmore Girls" and even "Queer Eye" and "American Idol" returning to the small screen after spending various amounts of time off the air. One show that recently caused waves when it returned was "Will & Grace," which became a big hit for NBC. And rightfully so. What made the comedy special during its revival run is that it felt like it had never ended - its cast and crew fell right into that show's beats and rhythms as if no time had passed.

The same goes for "Roseanne," which returns to ABC for its 10th season on Tuesday after ending in 1997. The Connor family may be 20 years older but the actors who play them are as spry and nimble as they were when the original series debuted in 1988.

Like "Will & Grace," the sitcom is fully aware of today's political climate. But unlike "Will & Grace," "Roseanne" does not have the same left-leaning political bent. The show's star Roseanne Barr has been vocal about her support for President Donald Trump and her views are loud and clear as she plays Roseanne Connor, a Make America Great Again hat-wearing Trump backer. "Roseanne" did not return to cash in on your nostalgia, however. The show has a lot on its mind and has a lot to say about the state of America in 2018.

To get exposition out of the way, "Roseanne" completely erases the final few seasons of its original run in which the Connors won the lottery, Roseanne became a writer, and her husband Dan (the excellent John Goodman) died. In its first new episode, Roseanne wakes up in bed, telling Dan, who is wearing a CPAP mask, "I thought you were dead! You looked happy. I thought maybe you moved on." ("Will & Grace" pulled a similar stunt, ignoring the show's series finale and winking at the decision in its premiere revival episode.) Once "Roseanne" resets itself, audiences are re-introduced to the Connors, including the brainy Darlene (Sara Gilbert), who has moved back home with her two kids. Roseanne and Dan's other daughter Becky (Lecy Goranson) is a widow and waitress, never escaping her hometown of Lanford, Illinois. Their son D.J. (Michael Fishman), a military veteran with a daughter and a wife who is currently serving in Syria, also pops up in the three episodes provided for review.

In its first new episode in over 20 years called "Twenty Years to Life," "Roseanne" sets the stage: whether you backed Trump or (reluctantly) supported Hillary Clinton, the 2016 presidential election divided families and continues to divide them. It's been three months since Roseanne spoke with her sister Jackie (played by the wonderful, recently Oscar-nominated actress Laurie Metcalf), a former police officer turned pussy-hat-wearing caricature of the left. When we first see Jackie, she calls Roseanne "deplorable" while wearing a "nasty woman" shirt.

The pro-Trump talk may be a major turn off to some viewers - and that's fair. But "Roseanne" isn't just a showcase for conservative blue-collar workers of America. Like its original run, "Roseanne" explores Middle American life - families living paycheck-to-paycheck. Though it wasn't an especially directly political show in its run during the 80s and 90s, the new "Roseanne" takes on hot-button issues with surprising tact and empathy. Gender identity, health insurance, the opioid crisis, job security and more all impact the Connors in 2018.

In the second episode, "Dressed to Impress," the best of the three, Darlene's son Mark (Ames McNamara) is a free-spirited nine year old, who dresses in girls clothes, like sparkly skirts and colorful leggings. It wasn't a problem when he lived in Chicago but things are different in the new small town of Lanford. His clothing choices also split the Connors - Darlene doesn't think it's a big deal but Dan is concerned for his wellbeing and wants like him to dress in traditional boys clothes. But it's Roseanne who highlights the episode. Before taking Mark to his first day at his new school, Roseanne has a sit-down with her grandson on that iconic sofa and blanket.

"I'm going to ask you something kind of adult but you're growing up and I think you can handle it," she tells Mark. "Do you feel like you're a boy or a girl?"

"A boy," Mark responds.

"Well, you answered that pretty quick," Roseanne says. "I thought it was going to be more complicated. So what's up with the girls clothes?"

After Mark explains that his clothing choices make him "feel like me," his grandmother doesn't mince her words: "Here's the thing: you got to pick your fights in life. How important is this to you?"

"It's important," Mark answers.

"OK. Well, you know it's going to be rough on you in school, right? But we'll back you up," Roseanne says, giving Mark a huge hug.

Barr and her on-screen alter-ego Roseanne Connor are outspoken and brash women who aren't afraid to share what is on their minds, giving an urgency of sorts as to why new episodes of "Roseanne" should exist. (I am still not sure why we need new episodes of "Murphy Brown" but time will tell with that sitcom's revival.) The comedy may not be a complete reinvention like Netflix's "One Day at a Time," as it still suffers from network sitcom stiffness, but "Roseanne" offers a richness and has left-leaning ideals at its heart - even if it appears to be a conservative program on the surface. "Roseanne" shows promise that it can reach the heights it did 30 years ago. Even if its star wants to Keep America Great.

#roseanne #tv #roseanne barr

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actionfigureinsider · 4 years ago

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Anna Camp, Keith David, Ashley Laurence, Josh McDermitt & Adam Pally Set to Star in Episodes Directed by Series Showrunner Greg Nicotero

NEW YORK, NY – September 10, 2020 – Shudder, AMC Networks’ premium streaming service for horror, thriller and the supernatural, today announced the start of production on the highly-anticipated second season of its hit series Creepshow in Atlanta, Georgia. The anthology series, which shattered all Shudder records when it debuted last October, is executive produced by showrunner Greg Nicotero (The Walking Dead) and based on George A. Romero’s iconic 1982 movie. The six-episode second season will premiere exclusively on Shudder in 2021. The show is following all safety guidelines and protocols in accordance with SAG-AFTRA, DGA, IATSE, TEAMSTERS, CDC and state and local guidance.

“I’ve never been happier to get behind the camera as I am today,” said Nicotero. “After missing our shoot date in March by just over 48 hours, season 2 of Creepshow hits the ground running as cameras begin to roll. The cast and crew have a level of excitement and enthusiasm I’ve never seen before and it’s inspiring. So many of us in the entertainment industry have been waiting for the day we can begin to do what we do best—to have some fun together creating new worlds, new adventures and new thrills.”

“Season one was a monster hit for us, setting viewership records across the board while becoming the best-reviewed new horror series of 2019,” said Craig Engler, Shudder’s General Manager. “For season 2, Greg Nicotero and his team have outdone themselves with bigger and bolder stories, new incredible creature designs, and clever twists that truly live up to the show’s tagline, ‘The Most Fun You’ll Have Being Scared’.”

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Anna Camp

Keith David (Photo by Ryan Miller/Capture Imaging)

Josh McDermitt (Photo Credit: Michael Becker)

Shudder also revealed initial details about four of this season’s segments, which will be directed by Greg Nicotero. Anna Camp (Pitch Perfect) and Adam Pally (The Mindy Project) will star in “Shapeshifters Anonymous” Parts 1 and 2, written by Greg Nicotero, based on a short story by J.A. Konrath (Last Call) about an unlucky soul who finds himself in need of a werewolf support group; Keith David (The Thing), Ashley Laurence (Hellraiser) and Josh McDermitt (The Walking Dead) will star in “Pesticide,” written by Frank Dietz (I Hate Kids), in which an exterminator makes an infernal bargain; and “Model Kid,” written by returning Creepshow writer John Esposito (season one’s “Night of the Paw”), is about a 12-year-old monster fan who turns to hand-built model kits to escape his unhappy reality. Additional titles, casting and directors will be announced soon.

In its first season, Creepshow smashed records for Shudder in number of viewers, new subscriber sign-ups and total minutes streamed to become the most watched program in Shudder history, followed by a successful run on AMC. The show was a hit with critics as well as fans as one of 2019’s best-reviewed new genre series, with a 97% Fresh rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes®. The inaugural season starred David Arquette, Adrienne Barbeau, Tobin Bell, Big Boi, Jeffrey Combs, Kid Cudi, Bruce Davison, Giancarlo Esposito, Dana Gould, Tricia Helfer and DJ Qualls and featured adaptations of stories by Stephen King, Joe Hill, Joe R. Lansdale, Josh Malerman and others.

Shudder’s Creepshow is produced by the Cartel with Monster Agency Productions, Taurus Entertainment, and Striker Entertainment: Stan Spry, Jeff Holland, and Eric Woods are executive producers and Geoff Silverman and Anthony Fankhauser are co-executive producers for the Cartel; Greg Nicotero and Brian Witten are executive producers and Julia Hobgood is a co-executive producer for Monster Agency Productions; Robert Dudelson, James Dudelson and Jordan Kizwani are executive producers for Taurus Entertainment; Russell Binder is executive producer and Marc Mostman co-executive producer for Striker Entertainment.

ABOUT SHUDDER

AMC Networks’ Shudder is a premium streaming video service, super-serving members with the best selection in genre entertainment, covering horror, thrillers and the supernatural. Shudder’s expanding library of film, TV series, and originals is available on most streaming devices in the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland, Germany, Australia and New Zealand. For a 7-day, risk-free trial, visit www.shudder.com.

ABOUT THE CARTEL

Founded in 2011 and run by partners Stan Spry, Jeff Holland, Evan Corday, Geoff Silverman, Bradford Bricken and Eric Woods, The Cartel is a feature film and television production, management, and financing company representing top-tier showrunners, show creators, writers, directors, producers and production companies in film, TV and new media. The Cartel has also been involved in more than 90 movie and television productions since inception, including the hit series Creepshow for Shudder, the animated series Twelve Forever for Netflix, and the upcoming Day of the Dead for Syfy. The Cartel previously produced the series Ties That Bind for Up TV, and A Place in the Sun for Discovery as well as several recent feature films, including Switched for Christmas, Jeepers Creepers 3, Christmas Connection, Love at the Shore, Sun Sand and Romance, Love at First Glance, and Wrong Nanny, to name a few. In 2013 The Cartel purchased and renovated Tamarind Lithography Studios, which is their Los Angeles headquarters, as well as a full-service production and post-production complex. The Cartel also has offices in London, England, New York, NY and Winnipeg, Manitoba.

www.CartelHQ.com

ABOUT MONSTER AGENCY PRODUCTIONS

Monster Agency Productions is Greg Nicotero’s production company with Head of Television & Film Brian Witten and producer Julia Hobgood.

SHUDDER ANNOUNCES START OF PRODUCTION ON CREEPSHOW SEASON TWO Anna Camp, Keith David, Ashley Laurence, Josh McDermitt & Adam Pally Set to Star in Episodes Directed by Series Showrunner Greg Nicotero…

#Creepshow #horror #Shudder #TV

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aion-rsa · 6 years ago

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Strange Times: TBS to Develop Sci-Fi Series from Blink-182's Tom DeLonge

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Strange Times, a paranormal series from Blink-182's Tom DeLonge, is in development at TBS.

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Joseph Baxter

Dec 10, 2018

TBS

While the pop culture public knows Tom DeLonge as a contemporary rock star co-founder of Blink-182 and later as the vocalist for modern post-punk supergroup Angels & Aiwaves, it appears that he’ll soon trade his duties onstage for one behind the scenes of a television series adaptation of his recent turn as a fiction author with franchise Strange Times.

Strange Times is now in development over at TBS as a television series. The project – following the supernatural exploits of a group of young skateboarders – will adapt the franchise of novels and graphic novels by DeLonge, notably represented by the 2015 graphic novel, Strange Times: The Curse of Superstition Mountain, and Strange Times: The Ghost in the Girl, the October 2016-released YA book that DeLonge co-wrote with Geoff Herbach. The would-be TBS series will be written/executive produced by newcomer Aaron Karo. DeLonge is onboard as an executive producer, joined in that capacity by The Cartel’s Stan Spry and Jeff Holland and Strike Entertainment’s Russell Binder.

As DeLonge tells Variety, the TV plans represent the culmination of a nearly a decade’s worth of planning, hinting of multimedia crossover potential. He explains:

“This is a dream I’ve had for over 10 years and it’s finally a reality. All the stories and themes I work on are meant to be shared through multiple mediums and on different platforms — film, TV, books, music and so on. Strange Times began as an interactive website where people shared weird, paranormal stories — a lot of them with credible evidence. That helped inspire the story behind the graphic novel and also a prose novel that I published. This is exactly what my company To The Stars Academy of Arts and Science does. We hope to create something that could be described as sort of a ‘science fiction Disney,’ where our entertainment franchises are worlds that are inspired and informed by our own next-generation science division.”

DeLonge also hints of a classic punk-rock/new-wave-oriented soundtrack for the series, naming bands like The Descendents, The Queers, and Bad Religion, along with New Order, Depeche Mode and The Cure. Additionally, when asked of an ideal theme song, DeLonge names “Suburban Home,” the classic cut from The Descendents’ 1982 album, “Milo Goes to College.”

Video of Descendents - Suburban Home

News of the Strange Times TBS TV prospects arrive nearly two years after reports of DeLonge’s initial live-action plans to direct a feature film based off the book series. DeLonge had even co-written a screenplay with Ben Kull, with whom he previously collaborated, directing the 2014 animated short Poet Anderson: The Dream Walker. That offering is currently one of two of DeLonge’s directorial credits, with the other being the 2002 music video for “I Feel So” for (Blink-182 side project) Box Car Racer. However, there's no word yet on whether DeLonge will direct on the TV series.

The Strange Times franchise focuses on a group of middle-school-aged skater snoopers in San Diego. While each one deals with uniquely demented home lives, it seems that they’re regularly put in the paths of various supernatural phenomenon. In the case of novel, The Ghost in the Girl, the group – consisting of introverted tortured former overachiever Charlie, slacker skater kids Mouse and Mattheson and the bullied, heavy-set Riley – are thrust into a paranormal investigation after a ghost girl seemingly stalks Charlie, carrying potential connections to his family, notably the officially-redacted fate of his M.I.A. military father. As DeLonge mused back in February 2017 of this close-to-home story:

“I grew up in Southern California as a disaffected young skateboarder who broke the occasional law or five, and I was always dreaming about the world around me, obsessively looking for the more unusual and imaginative experiences that life has to offer. That’s the inspiration behind Strange Times, which is about the tribe of broken youth and the restless spirit that inspired me to form Blink-182 and seek out adventure."

With Netflix streaming serial smash Stranger Things having seemingly awakened a widespread desire for 1980’-style adventures along the lines of The Goonies and The Monster Squad, DeLonge’s Strange Times TV series will likely look to capture the same earnest, irreverent, cynicism-free fun while painting a portrait of youths based on his own So-Cal upbringing. Indeed, with his Strange Times franchise predating the arrival of the Stranger Things phenomenon, it’s somewhat serendipitous that the industry could be headed in the direction of his creation.

The Stranger Things parallels are hardly lost on DeLonge, who, when asked if he wishes to see similar franchise growth for Strange Times, states:

"Absolutely, I don’t like working on one-offs. One reason I created To The Stars was to be able to build dynamic and rich worlds for everyone — whether you’re visual and prefer graphic novels and film or an avid reader who likes to pore over every detail and imagine the world on your own."

We’ll keep you updated on TBS’s Strange Times as news becomes available.

Joseph Baxter is a contributor for Den of Geek and Syfy Wire. You can find his work here. Follow him on Twitter @josbaxter.

from Books https://ift.tt/2QnWJOe

#aion-rsa #Books

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funtubeweb · 6 years ago

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This Week on NFB.ca: Leave Reality Behind and Enjoy 3 NFB Fiction Films

This week on NFB.ca we featured a small selection of films from our collection of fiction. The NFB has developed a world-wide reputation for its award-winning documentaries and animation, but we’ve also got some stellar dramas in our vaults.

These three films present a good cross-section of our offering. With Drylanders being our very first fiction film, and The Company of Strangers showing how we experimented with the genre. Finally, One Man is a great example of one of straightforward fictional dramas. Enjoy!

Drylanders

The NFB’s first-ever fiction film has an interesting story behind it. It was originally conceived as a 3-part documentary on farming and irrigation in the Prairies. After the CBC rejected that proposal, and another, the decision was made to reframe the film as a fictional feature. That’s how we ended up with this epic drama about a family who leaves Eastern Canada to stake their future in the Prairies.

oehttps://https://ift.tt/2o9ti1R

The Company of Strangers

This feature-length drama from 1990 is one of our most-beloved films. It follows the story of 8 elderly women forced to survive on their wits, memories, and some creative cuisine when their bus breaks down in the wilderness. It’s fiction, but it’s like the precursor to reality television, featuring non-professional actors and unscripted dialogue. But this is a heart-warming story of friendship and teamwork rather than a backstabbing saga of conspiracies and alliances.

oehttps://https://ift.tt/2GQqZbL

One Man

This film from the late 1970s comes to us from the late Robin Spry, who was at the time well-known for his documentary Action: The October Crisis of 1970. In this fiction film, reporter Jason Brady finds himself up against Big Business and caught in an impossible situation: Does he risk his job and his marriage in an attempt to bring down the system?

oehttps://https://ift.tt/2FqFbvL

The post This Week on NFB.ca: Leave Reality Behind and Enjoy 3 NFB Fiction Films appeared first on NFB Blog.

This Week on NFB.ca: Leave Reality Behind and Enjoy 3 NFB Fiction Films posted first on http://film-streamingsweb.blogspot.com

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daviskoefoed15-blog · 6 years ago

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onlyincanadayousay2 · 8 years ago

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Mary Cynthia Walsh, CM (born May 13, 1952) is a Canadian actress, comedian and social activist. A sufferer of macular degeneration, she has served from time to time as a spokesperson for the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB).

Early life

Walsh was born in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, the daughter of Mary and Leo Walsh, a merchant marine turned fireman on commercial vessels. She is of Irish ancestry.

Career

Walsh studied theatre in Toronto at Ryerson University but dropped out to work with the CODCO comedy troupe on a series of stage shows, which eventually evolved into a sketch comedy series.[4] The CODCO series ran from 1987 to 1992 on CBC Television.

This Hour Has 22 Minutes

In 1992, she began to work with former co-star Rick Mercer and former CODCO co-stars Cathy Jones and Greg Thomey to create a new television series called This Hour Has 22 Minutes. The show would be a parody of the nightly news and would poke fun at Canadian and international politics. 22 Minutes received strong ratings during its earlier seasons and Walsh's character Marg Delahunty became famous for buttonholing politicians and submitting them to satirical interviews. Usually Marg Delahunty would recite a scripted piece intended to humiliate the politician, often by providing criticism and "grandmotherly" advice. Sometimes Marg appeared as "Marg, Princess Warrior", a parody of the title character of Xena: Warrior Princess portrayed by Lucy Lawless. Walsh is also noted for her comical segment chronicling the Canadian Auto Workers Union's tense blockade of the Volvo Halifax Assembly plant in 1998. In 2007 she revived Marg Delahunty for the Royal Canadian Air Farce's 300th episode, filmed in Toronto in March. On October 24, 2011, Walsh was once again in the spotlight as she reprised the role of Marg Delahunty conducting an ambush interview of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford at his home. Ford's reaction and alleged verbal abuse directed at 911 operator made national headlines.

Besides TV acting, she has worked on movies such as Mambo Italiano, Geraldine's Fortune, Rain, Drizzle and Fog, Buried on Sunday, The Divine Ryans, Young Triffie and Violet.

Directing

Walsh made her feature directorial debut with the 2007 movie Young Triffie. She was the first Newfoundlander in six years to have a film in general release across Canada.

Other work

In June 2007, she hosted the Pride Toronto Gala & Awards ceremony.

Honours

Performing arts

She won Best Supporting Actress at the Atlantic Film Festival in 1992 for her performance in Mike Jones' Secret Nation.

On November 4, 2006, Walsh and Ed MacDonald picked up a Gemini Award for the best writing in a comedy or variety program for their work in Hatching, Matching and Dispatching.

She has won 18 Gemini Awards.

Walsh received a Governor General's Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement, Canada's highest honour in the performing arts, in 2012.

Charity and activism

In 1993, Walsh was chosen to deliver the prestigious Graham Spry lecture which was broadcast nationally on CBC Radio.

On May 29, 1998, Mary Walsh received an Honorary Doctor of Laws from Trent University

McGill University honoured Walsh with an honorary doctorate during the November 2008 convocation ceremony. Her speech to the class of 2008 focused on political satire.

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