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Mary Elizabeth Winstead Digs Into John Hillcoat's 'Quarry' For Cinemax
2 hours ago
Look out HBO, AMC and Netflix, here comes...Cinemax? Yep ,that would appear to be the case as the cable company are now swinging the auteur stick around, recently bagging Steven Sodebergh's period medical drama "The Knick" and now bagging another high profile filmmaker for an equally compelling new show. Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Logan Marshall-Green and Stellan Skarsgard are slated to star in "Quarry," with John Hillcoat set to direct the pilot. So what's it all about? Based on the pulp novels by Max Allan Collins (read our review of "Quarry's Ex"), the post-Vietnam War, '70s set show will follow Max Quarry (Marshall-Green), a cold, methodical almost emotionless hitman, who takes orders from the figure known only as The Broker (Skarsgard). This is how it is in the books anyway, The Broker is a bit of mystery but it seems the show will flesh him out a bit more. »
- Kevin Jagernauth
'The Impossible' Filmmaker Juan Antonio Bayona Will Direct the First Two Episodes of Showtime's 'Penny Dreadful'
4 hours ago
"Penny Dreadful," Showtime's upcoming "psychosexual horror series" executive produced by Sam Mendes ("American Beauty") has snagged an impressive director for its first two episodes. Spanish filmmaker Juan Antonio Bayona ("The Impossible") will helm the first two of the eight installments in the season, which will begin shooting in London in the fall.Created, written and executive produced by John Logan ("Hugo," "Skyfall," "Noah"), "Penny Dreadful" weaves together the origin stories of three iconic literary characters -- Dr. Frankenstein and his creature, Dorian Gray and figures from "Dracula" -- in Victorian London. The series will be Logan and Mendes' first collaboration for the small screen (Mendes Ep'd "The Hollow Crown," a new adaptation of Shakespeare's "Henriad," for BBC last year). It will be produced by Mendes' Neal Street Productions.While disaster film "The Impossible" was certainly wrenching, Bayona also has experience directing literary-inflected...
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- Alison Willmore
Watch 'Coach' - First Film From Espn's Nine For IX Series (On Hall Of Famer Vivian Stringer)
6 hours ago
The first film that will be broadcast from Espn Films' Nine for IX series - inspired by the 40th anniversary of Title IX (a 1972 education amendment, also known as the Equal Opportunity in Education Act, which states, in part, that... no person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance). Espn Films will air a series of nine documentaries under the label, starting this summer, highlighting women in sports - all films directed by women filmmakers. Espn is kicking off the series today, June 18, with the award-winning documentary short Coach, produced by Whoopi Goldberg, which centers on Vivian Stringer, the prolific college basketball coach, who was the first to lead three different schools to the Ncaa Final Four (Cheyney University of...
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- Tambay A. Obenson
Pooch Hall Is Liev Schreiber's Half-Brother In 'Ray Donovan' - Watch Premiere Episode Now
7 hours ago
Showtime has made episode 1 of its new drama series Ray Donovan, available online for all to watch. The series stars Liev Schreiber in his first lead TV role, playing La's best professional fixer - the man called in to make the city's celebrities, superstar athletes, and business moguls' most complicated and combustible situations go away. This powerful drama unfolds when his father, Mickey Donovan, played by Jon Voight, is unexpectedly released from prison, setting off a chain of events that shakes the Donovan family to its core. Not quite Olivia Pope's story, but you get the picture. I mention this series in part because Pooch Hall (The Game) co-stars in the series. He plays Ray's brother Daryll, who is described as Mickey's illegitimate son from an affair (Mickey is played by John Voight). The Donovans have only recently learned of his existence and, aside from Ray, are embracing and welcoming him to the family. »
- Tambay A. Obenson
Watch: First Full Episode of Showtime's New Series 'Ray Donovan,' Starring Liev Schreiber and Jon Voight
7 hours ago
Showtime's new original series, "Ray Donovan," debuts on June 30 following the series finale of "Dexter." But the cabler is giving you the option of watching the first episode right now. The show stars Liev Schreiber as a fixer for L.A.'s upper class whose life is thrown into turmoil when his father (Jon Voight) is released from prison. "Southland" creator Ann Biderman is behind the new series, with Allen Coulter ("Hollywoodland," "The Sopranos") helming the pilot. Based on the first episode, does "Ray Donovan" look promising? It didn't fare so well on Entertainment Weekly's Bullseye feature in the June 21 issue ("The only thing professional fixer Ray Donovan should be repairing is his new TV show"); yet the Hollywood Reporter has given it a score of 100 on Metacritic.
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- Beth Hanna
Watch: Espn Kicks Off Female-Centric Sports Doc Series 'Nine for IX' With Award-Winning Digital Short 'Coach'
7 hours ago
Espn's "Nine for IX" documentary series, a women-centric answer to "30 for 30," will air every Tuesday night on the network at 8pm Et in July and August, kicking off July 2nd with Ava DuVernay's "Venus Vs.," about tennis player Venus Williams. The rest of the schedule: "Pat Xo" (7/9), "Let Them Wear Towels" (7/16), "No Limits" (7/23), "Swoopes" (7/30), "The Diplomat" (8/6), "Runner" (8/13), "The '99ers" (8/20) and "Branded" (8/27). The films aren't only all about female sports figures, they're all directed by female filmmakers, including documentarian duos Annie Sundberg and Ricki Stern and Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady. Ahead of the TV premieres, Espn has released a "Nine for IX" short online, below. Directed by Bess Kargman ("First Position") and executive produced by Whoopi Goldberg, "Coach" is a profile of C. Vivian Stringer, one of the most prolific coaches in the history of college basketball. It won best documentary short at Tribeca earlier this year.
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- Alison Willmore
Dan Harmon Celebrates His Return to 'Community' By Insulting Season Four, Then Apologizing
8 hours ago
"Community" creator Dan Harmon's startling openness with his fans on Twitter, Tumblr and via his podcast/live show Harmontown is one of his most endearing and problematic qualities. It's allowed those who like his work a closeness and an insight into his process and mindset that's rare, and it's gotten him into trouble more than once when something he shared in an essentially public forum the kind of opinions usually only muttered between friends. Harmon was officially reinstated as showrunner of "Community" earlier this month, which meant that he had to actually watch the 13 episodes that make up season four, when he was fired and replaced by David Guarascio and Moses Port. Harmon shared his thoughts on the season on Harmontown, and while he admitted Guarascio, Port and company tried their best, he was not gentle with regard to how he felt about the results: I guess I already knew this, »
- Alison Willmore
Watch the First Episode of Showtime's New Drama 'Ray Donovan' Online Ahead of Its Premiere
9 hours ago
Showtime's new scripted series "Ray Donovan" will debut on Sunday, June 30 at 10pm after the premiere of the final season of "Dexter," but the network's offering the first episode online now -- you can watch it below. Starring Liev Schreiber in his first regular TV role alongside Jon Voight, Paula Malcomson ("Deadwood"), Eddie Marsan ("Happy-Go-Lucky"), Katherine Moennig ("The L Word") and others, the series is centered around a fixer for Los Angeles' rich and powerful whose attempt to establish a life for his family is disrupted by the release of his father from prison. The show comes from "Southland" creator Ann Biderman, with Allen Coulter ("Hollywoodland," "The Sopranos") directing the pilot.
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- Alison Willmore
New Season of Call the Midwife to Be Directed Only by Women
10 hours ago
Hurrah. How exciting. One of my favorite shows, Call the Midwife which airs on PBS here in the Us is in production on its third season in England. Turns out as they were lining up the directors for the new season they seem to have hired only women. And while there are many shows that only hire male directors (see latest stats from the DGA men directed 85% of TV shows), I don't recall a series ever having only female directors. The show is very popular and director Philippa Lowthorpe won a BAFTA for her work. It also won a Christopher Award for the Christmas episode. So next year we won't have to look at the credits of Call the Midwife to see how many women directors have been hired. We will see the names of Thea Sharrock, Juliet May, China Moo-Young and Minkie Spiro. Call the Midwife is created and »
- Melissa Silverstein
You Are What You Play With: How Sesame Street and Legos Generated a Generation
11 hours ago
For a man or woman of a certain age, it's hard to imagine a single commercial or non-profit venture having had more of an impact on one's psychological maturation than Legos or Sesame Street. Yet even today's youth might say the same thing: In 2013, we have Lego-based television shows (Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu and Legends of Chima, both on the Cartoon Network), Lego-based video games (more than forty-six so far, including sequences based on Lego Star Wars, Harry Potter, and Indiana Jones sets), and even a forthcoming feature-length film (The Lego Movie, due out in 2014 and starring the voice-acting talents of Will Ferrell, Liam Neeson, Morgan Freeman, and Will Arnett). Meanwhile, Sesame Street, now in its forty-fifth year of broadcasting, remains ubiquitous in the lives of millions of American children. In short, it would be difficult to name two cultural touchstones more worthy of being written about by pop-culture critics, »
- Seth Abramson
5 Best Bets on TV This Week: Marilyn In Her Own Words, 'Hannibal' In Its End Game
17 June 2013 2:10 PM, PDT
Sure, Sunday tends to be overcrowded with high-end TV, including "Mad Men," "True Blood," "Family Tree," and more, but what to watch the rest of the time? Every Monday, we bring you five noteworthy highlights from the other six days of the week. "Love, Marilyn": Broadcast Premiere Monday, Jun 17 at 9pm on HBO Liz Garbus' documentary about Marilyn Monroe focuses on the screen icon's interior life versus how she was perceived, interspersing her papers, journals and poems, as interpreted by actresses like Elizabeth Banks, Glenn Close, Viola Davis and Uma Thurman, with readings from what Norman Mailer, Truman Capote, Elia Kazan and Billy Wilder wrote about her. "Independent Lens": "The Revolutionary Optimists" Monday, Jun 17 at 10pm on PBS Maren Grainger-Monsen and Nicole Newnham's film looks at a Kolkata school run by former lawyer Amlan Ganguly who seeks to empower slum children to become activists to fight »
- Alison Willmore
5 Best Bets on TV This Week: Marilyn In Her Own Words, 'Hannibal' In Its End Game
17 June 2013 1:53 PM, PDT
Sure, Sunday tends to be overcrowded with high-end TV, including "Mad Men," "True Blood," "Family Tree," and more, but what to watch the rest of the time? Every Monday, we bring you five noteworthy highlights from the other six days of the week. "Love, Marilyn": Broadcast Premiere Monday, Jun 17 at 9pm on HBO Liz Garbus' documentary about Marilyn Monroe focuses on the screen icon's interior life versus how she was perceived, interspersing her papers, journals and poems, as interpreted by actresses like Elizabeth Banks, Glenn Close, Viola Davis and Uma Thurman, with readings from what Norman Mailer, Truman Capote, Elia Kazan and Billy Wilder wrote about her. "Independent Lens": "The Revolutionary Optimists" Monday, Jun 17 at 10pm on PBS Maren Grainger-Monsen and Nicole Newnham's film looks at a Kolkata school run by former lawyer Amlan Ganguly who seeks to empower slum children to become activists to fight »
- Alison Willmore
Trailer - Russell Simmons' All Def Digital Series 'B-Rock' (Obama As Butt-Kicking Superhero)
17 June 2013 12:28 PM, PDT
Russell Simmons and Awesomeness TV CEO Brian Robbins have launched a collaborative YouTube network called All Def Digital, which Simmons says will be molded into a multimedia content production empire. Amonsgt its projected offerings is a web series titled B-Rock, which is described as an outrageous, irreverent, and hilarious spin on the Obama White House, chronicling the adventures of our 44th President's super-alter ego. Leading the Free World isn't an easy task. And while diplomacy is preferred, sometimes the President needs to put down his ego-suppressing Cool cigarettes and get "gangsta," transforming into the trash-talking, butt-kicking, doorag-wearing gangsta, B-rock. No pundit, politician, or terrorist is safe from his wrath... So I suppose we don't want Barack to get angry, because we won't like him when he's angry (those who've seen the SNL skit with Dwayne Johnson as Obama will know what I'm talking about). A trailer for the upcoming new series is embedded below. »
- Tambay A. Obenson
Netflix Inks Deal With DreamWorks For New Animated Shows Including 'Turbo,' 'Shrek' & 'The Croods' Spin Offs
17 June 2013 12:11 PM, PDT
Day by day, Netflix continues to movie away from content provider to full on broadcast company, and they show no signs of slowing down. With "House Of Cards," "Hemlock Grove" and "Arrested Development" already out of their original programming gate in 2013, with "Orange Is The New Black" coming next month, the company has now inked another deal that will find even more exclusive shows on their site. We hope your local internet provider is ordering up some new servers. Netflix and DreamWorks Animation are partnering for 300 hours of material exclusive to the streaming site, and it will be a mix of old and new properties. Last year, DreamWorks bought the rights to the Classic Media catalog, which includes uh, classic characters like Casper the Friendly Ghost, Lassie, She-Ra and Mr. Magoo. On the other end of the spectrum, there are also planned spin-offs and shows "inspired" by DreamWorks success like "Shrek" and "The Croods. »
- Kevin Jagernauth
Watch: Trailer For Steven Spielberg Produced JFK TV Doc 'Letters To Jackie' Featuring All-Star Voice Cast
17 June 2013 11:26 AM, PDT
This fall will mark fifty years since November 22, 1963 -- a date that continues to haunt American history. When John F. Kennedy was assassinated, it seemed to mark an undeniable shift in the country, away from the positivity and hope that followed War War II, into a more fraught and frightened era with more wars overseas, social and political upheaval and much more. To mark the anniversary, there will undoubtedly be a ton of programming and films to choose from, and this is one of them. Produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment, "Letters To Jackie" jumps off the book of the same name by Ellen Fitzpatrick, and focuses on the more than 800,000 letters from around the world that offered support Jackie and her family in the wake of her husband's death. Directed by Bill Couturié (the monkey movie "Ed," "Last Letters Home: Voices of American Troops from the Battlefields of Iraq »
- Kevin Jagernauth
Considering An American Version Of 'Luther'... Who Would Star?
17 June 2013 11:22 AM, PDT
Has American television ever seen a character like John Luther - as played by Idris Elba in the hit BBC One series, Luther? The genius, emotionally-impulsive detective tormented by humanity's darker side, complicatedly-drawn and incisively brought to life on screen by Mr Elba. I can't think of anything close to what Luther brings - what those of us who are fans of the series (especially here in the USA), really appreciate about it, since that kind of a complex character in a detective series like Luther, is painfully lacking on American television, and has been for a long time. And we have to look across the pond for him. Granted, Luther wasn't originally scripted as a black man. Luther could've been any race, color, ethnicity, etc. Idris just happens to be black, and his *blackness* doesn't really have any influence on the individual story strands of the series, and each »
- Tambay A. Obenson
DreamWorks Animation Will Premiere New Original TV Series Based on Its Characters on Netflix
17 June 2013 10:28 AM, PDT
DreamWorks Animation is getting into the TV business with Netflix. Netflix announced today that it will be teaming up with DreamWorks for a multi-year deal to premiere web-original series from the company behind the "Shrek," "Madagascar," "Kung Fu Panda" and "How to Train Your Dragon" franchises on the streaming service. It's the largest deal for original first-run content in Netflix history, and also marks DreamWorks Animation's big venture into bringing the characters from its films to the TV medium (as well as ones from the Classic Media library it acquired, which includes "Casper the Friendly Ghost," "Lassie," "Rocky & Bullwinkle," "The Lone Ranger" and more). The initiative is part of DreamWorks' effort to expand television production and distribution worldwide, and will include over 300 hours of new programming, with the first series stated to air in 2014. Read More: DreamWorks is Partnering With Netflix on the Streaming Site's First Original...
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- Madeline Raynor
Is 'Mad Men' Recent Addition Bob Benson Just a Newer Version of Don Draper?
17 June 2013 9:03 AM, PDT
The article below contains spoilers for "The Quality of Mercy," the June 16th, 2013 episode of "Mad Men." Turns out, Bob Benson (James Wolk) is not a spy or a journalist tasked to infiltrate and tease out the dark secrets of Sterling Cooper & Draper. He's a fraud. "The Quality of Mercy," directed by Phil Abraham and written by Andre and Maria Jacquemetton, was an episode stacked with grandmaster-worthy manipulative feats and feints in the office and the domestic sphere, one that outed Sterling Cooper & Partners' relentlessly smiley new addition as a man who'd lied about his past, his education and his former employment, who's from West Virginia and previously spent three years as a "manservant to a senior VP" before showing up at Sc&P with a shiny, fabricated resume and some serious ambition. He may not really be 28 years old -- he may not actually be named Bob Benson. That sounds. »
- Alison Willmore
Oprah's Black Actress Special w/ Alfre Woodard, Viola Davis, Phylicia Rashad, Gabrielle Union
17 June 2013 8:10 AM, PDT
Immediately prior to Own network's broadcast premiere of Bill Duke's and D. Channsin Berry's documentary, Dark Girls, which is set for Sunday, June 23rd, at 10pm Et, Oprah will sit down for an in-depth conversation with 4 black actresses: Alfre Woodard, Viola Davis, Phylicia Rashad and Gabrielle Union. The hour-long episode of Oprah's Next Chapter, will air at 9pm, on June 23rd, and will be immediately followed by Dark Girls. Look for the iconic actresses to open up about the challenges, criticism and competition they face as African American women in the entertainment industry. Watch a preview:
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- Tambay A. Obenson
A 'Press Release' From Peggy Olson Presents the New Logo and Brand for 'Mad Men' Agency Sterling Cooper & Partners
17 June 2013 6:07 AM, PDT
The end of "For Immediate Release," episode six of the current season of "Mad Men," found a none-too-pleased Peggy Olson (Elisabeth Moss) tasked with writing up a press release announcing the surprise merger between Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce and Cutler Gleason and Chaough. AMC's now put out another "press release" from Peggy in conjunction with last night's episode, one displaying the new Sterling Cooper & Partners logo with quotes from the senior partners. Don's (Jon Hamm) is particularly choice, if not all that tonally appropriate for a corporate memo: "'A name can mean a new beginning, a chance to see yourself as you would dream to be, and to leave the baggage you have accumulated over the years behind,' said Sc&P partner Don Draper. 'At least that’s been my observation.'" Yeah, yeah, Don, go pour yourself a drink and gaze out the window moodily -- your Dick »
- Alison Willmore
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