Tag Archives: cast

‘AHS: Freak Show’: Say hello to the freaks (Plus a very special scoop inside!)

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages–no, let’s face it, American Horror Story is not for the faint of heart. Here’s your first official look at the ensemble cast of Ryan Murphy’s latest horror story, Freak Show. Watch them come alive in a new one-minute teaser embedded after the break. Look out for Sarah Paulson’s conjoined twins, Angela Bassett’s three-breasted beauty, Michael Chiklis’ strong man, and Kathy Bates is the bearded lady. AHS: Freak Show premieres October 8 on FX. Oh, and that hashtag is German and translates to “We are all freaks.”

In addition to the teaser, jump after the break to learn about a most exciting character addition. I’ll give you a hint: the scoop comes seasoned with a dash of salt and………… Continue reading ‘AHS: Freak Show’: Say hello to the freaks (Plus a very special scoop inside!)

‘Star Wars: Episode VII’ cast revealed

At last, the cast of J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars: Episode VII has been announced and it includes many familiar faces as well as new, fresher ones. Harrison Ford (Han Solo), Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia), Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Anthony Daniels (C-3PO), Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca), and Kenny Baker (R2-D2) are all back to reprise their roles from George Lucas’ original trilogy. They are being joined by the following newcomers: John Boyega (Attack the Block), Daisy Ridley (Mr. Selfridge), Adam Driver (Girls), Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis), Andy Serkis (The Lord of the Rings), Domhnall Gleeson (About Time), and Max von Sydow (The Exorcist). Eye a candid black-and-white shot of the cast and creatives during the first table read above.

Abrams released this statement along with the announcement: “We are so excited to finally share the cast of Star Wars: Episode VII. It is both thrilling and surreal to watch the beloved original cast and these brilliant new performers come together to bring this world to life, once again. We start shooting in a couple of weeks, and everyone is doing their best to make the fans proud.”

Abrams is directing from a screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan and himself, he is executive producing Kathleen Kennedy and Bryan Burke, and original composer John Williams returns to handle the film’s score.

After the break, Abrams and Kasdan wish fans a Happy Star Wars Day from London. May the Fourth be with you!

Episode VII opens December 18, 2015.

[Via Star Wars] Continue reading ‘Star Wars: Episode VII’ cast revealed

’24: Live Another Day’ to shoot in London, trio of veterans rejoin the cast

The new season of 24 is being billed as a “thrilling international adventure” as it will take place and shoot on-location in London. Star and executive producer Kiefer Sutherland and EPs Evan Katz and Manny Coto commented on the exciting news and at the same time dropped some intel on the upcoming 12-episode event series.

24 has always had such a global sensibility,” said Sutherland. “But to be able to tell this intense 24-style story with the beauty of Europe’s history and architecture as the backdrop is going to be fascinating. Hopefully, by the time you’re finished watching an episode, you’ll feel like you’ve been there…on the edge of your seat.”

“We wanted the show’s return to be an event, and part of that was putting Jack in a very different context,” added Katz. “Four years ago, we left Jack a fugitive from justice and we’re going to pick him up four years later in London.”

“Jack is soon back on the run and it takes us into the streets of London and in places that break new ground for the show,” continued Coto. “We’ve shot in New York, Washington, Los Angeles and Cape Town — but now we’re in London and Jack’s loose on the streets of Europe, hunted by and hunting bad guys.”

And who will be joining Jack in London when 24 returns next year? Of course Mary Lynn Rajskub will reprise her role as Jack’s CTU confidante Chloe O’Brien and in some surprise casting news Kim Raver and William Devane are also coming back. Raver played Audrey Raines, a former love interest for Jack, and Devane was Audrey’s father and once United States Secretary of Defense. These two were last seen at the end of season six; Raines was in a catatonic state after her captivity with the Chinese and Heller threatens Jack that he cannot see his daughter ever again. Well, things are about to get interesting.

24: Live Another Day premieres in Spring 2014 on FOX. As previously reported, the new season will still take place over a 24-hour period but it will skip hours to make for a shorter but even more exciting ride.

John Noble to join the cast of FOX’s ‘Sleepy Hollow’

Normally I wouldn’t report on casting updates, but this one’s real special. Actor John Noble, who famously and delicately portrayed the mad scientist licorice lover Walter Bishop for five seasons on Fringe, is boarding the new FOX drama Sleepy Hollow. On Monday the show about Ichabod Crane and the fight against the evil four horsemen of the apocalypse premiered to big ratings; 10.1 million people tuned in making it FOX’s most-watched fall drama debut in seven years. News of Noble entering the mix will surely stir the pot some more and attract more eyeballs.

Here’s what we know. Noble will appear later in the season as Henry Parrish, a kind and reclusive man who possesses supernatural powers that have the potential to help Crane. If there’s anything we know about Noble it’s that he can most certainly play “reclusive” and “kind.”

Noble joins the cast of Sleepy Hollow as a recurring guest-starring role (which will hopefully turn into a series regular part) and this occasion marks a creative reunion–Sleepy Hollow executive producers Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, and Heather Kadin all worked on Fringe as well.

Sleepy Hollow airs Monday nights at 9PM on FOX.

Rashida Jones and Rob Lowe to depart ‘Parks And Rec’ this season

This is literally the worst news for fans of NBC’s sitcom Parks And Rec: Rashida Jones and Rob Lowe are leaving the series this upcoming season. According to the show’s executive producer Mike Schur, their exit stems from no controversy; this is purely a creative decision to let them go. He released this statement to BuzzFeed explaining the situation head-on:

The news about Rob and Rashida is true — they will be leaving the show after the 13th episode of the upcoming season six. We’ve been working on their storyline (on and off) for four seasons now, and heading into this year, with the two of them contemplating parenthood, it felt like a natural time to move them into the next phase. 

We absolutely love both Rashida and Rob, and will be sad to see them go. Rashida was one of the very first people we knew we wanted in the cast, and as important as Ann is to Leslie (and vice-versa), she’ll certainly never be far from Pawnee. Rob we initially thought we could only have for six or eight episodes, and we couldn’t be happier that he will have stuck around for 75. 

They are wonderful, funny, committed actors, they’ve been a huge part of the Parks and Rec family, and we think we have a great Pawnee send-off in the works for them.

Schur shared additional details with EW: “The decision that they make that will see them transition off the show is made very early, so it’s a long fun kind of celebratory send-off. And it happens in the first episode after the premiere — the seeds start being planted. So it’s going to be a long crescendo and Leslie will go through a series of complicated highs and lows about what’s happening. For obvious reasons, it’s the main arc that plays out in the first half of the year…. They’re moving into a new phase of their lives and they have a lot of things to consider and they’re going to consider them, and then make a decision that leads to their [exit].”

So there you have it. The absolutely positive and lovable Chris Traeger and Leslie’s most ardent supporter and best friend Ann Perkins are departing Pawnee at the half-way point in season 5. The show with one of the greatest ensemble casts will carry on without them, of course, but that doesn’t mean they will be greatly missed. Try to imagine the scene where Leslie has to say goodbye to Ann, a character who’s been with the show since the shaky beginning; a tear-jerker is most definitely in the works.

Megan Mullally joins ‘Breaking In’ as the FOX series undergoes creative changes

The show that won’t die just cast a big-name star. Megan Mullally (Will & Grace) is joining the FOX comedy Breaking In as a series regular. She will play the new boss at Contra Security, overseeing the missions played out by the ragtag team of break-in experts Cam, Cash, Josh, and Melanie. Where does season 1 Contra boss Oz (Christian Slater) factor into the shakeup at the top? That plot detail is still under wraps. The addition of Mullally is part of “significant creative changes” for the show heading into season 2, according to Deadline. The source reports that “the “mission of the week” concept where members of the Contra team go out of the office on a different assignment in every episode will be scaled back as Breaking In will segue into a more office-based comedy.” The show came so close to death (twice!), so a change in the way things will play out is expected. Creators Adam F. Goldnberg and Seth Gordon did a fine job introducing the characters during the series’ seven episode debut season; let’s hope the dynamic between all of them doesn’t change too much in round two. The entire cast is expected to return when Breaking In comes back to FOX this spring, even Odette Annable who is now a series regular over at the FOX medical drama House.

[Via Deadline]

Stop-motion animation studio LAIKA is back with ‘ParaNorman’ [trailer inside]

Here’s a nice Halloween treat for us all: a teaser poster and trailer for the upcoming stop-motion animated feature ParaNorman. The movie is from Focus Features and LAIKA, the same partnership that produced 2009’s critically-acclaimed Coraline. ParaNorman is directed by Sam Fell and Chris Butler; Butler imagined and penned the original story. The voice cast includes Kodi Smit-McPhee, Casey Affleck, Anna Kendrick, John Goodman, Leslie Mann, Jeff Garlin, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Elaine Strich, Tempestt Bledsoe, Bernard Hill, and Alex Borstein. The trailer, embedded after the break, doesn’t reveal much of the plot as it includes zero dialogue, but this quick synopsis should suffice:

A misunderstood boy who can speak with the dead takes on ghosts, zombies and, worst of all, grown-ups, in order to save his town from a centuries-old curse. Norman Babcock is an outcast in his small New England town. When a horde of zombies is unleashed on the populace, Norman learns he must use his paranormal powers to make things right again. That’s not an easy task when you’re only eleven. And you’ve just been grounded. 

The movie poster and teaser trailer make ParaNorman out to be a strange, dark, and visually stunning piece of work worthy of much anticipation. It releases wide August 17, 2012 in 3D. Continue reading Stop-motion animation studio LAIKA is back with ‘ParaNorman’ [trailer inside]

Trailer: ‘Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax’

From Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment (the animation studio behind Despicable Me) comes a film adaptation of one of Dr. Seuss’ most popular children’s stories, The Lorax. Danny DeVito stars as the voice of the orange, furry Lorax and Zac Efron voices the protagonist Ted. Here’s a nice synopsis:

The 3D-CGI feature Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax is an adaptation of Dr. Seuss’ classic tale of a forest creature who shares the enduring power of hope. The animated adventure follows the journey of a boy as he searches for the one thing that will enable him to win the affection of the girl of his dreams. To find it he must discover the story of the Lorax, the grumpy yet charming creature who fights to protect his world. Danny DeVito will lend his vocal talents to the iconic title character of the Lorax, while Ed Helms will voice the enigmatic Once-ler. Also bringing their talents to the film are global superstars Zac Efron as Ted, the idealistic young boy who searches for the Lorax, and Taylor Swift as Ashley, the girl of Ted’s dreams. Rob Riggle will play financial king O’Hare, and beloved actress Betty White will portray Ted’s wise Grammy Norma.

Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax hits theatres in 3D on March 2, 2012.

Lost’s Tania Raymonde & Freddy Kruger to guest star on ‘Hawaii Five-0’

Can you believe it? Another Lost actor is returning to the Island! According to EW, Tania Raymonde (aka Alex Rousseau) will guest star in an upcoming season 2 episode of Hawaii Five-0. She will play “Trisha, a married woman caught up in a love triangle between her husband and the volleyball coach she’s sleeping with.” Raymonde joins Five-0 regular Daniel Dae Kim and new recurring guest star Terry O’Quinn in the greatest attempt to reunite the case of Lost. Glad this natural beauty is finding work post-Lost; she’s currently starring in the new MTV series Death Valley.

In related casting news, Robert Englund–the man best known for portraying Freddy Kruger in the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise–will also guest star in a Five-0 episode. And can you guess which one? That’s right–the Halloween-themed one. EW got this scoop too and they say he will play “a homeless desert storm veteran who hangs around an ancient burial site and becomes a suspect in a murder investigation.”

Hawaii Five-0 returns this Monday, September 19 at 10PM on CBS.

[Via EW 1, 2]

FX ready to tell ‘American Horror Story’ (poster & teaser inside)

Earlier this summer FX picked up a 13-episode order for its next original drama series. American Horror Story comes from Nip/Tuck creator Ryan Murphy and his Nip/Tuck and Glee collaborator Brad Falchuk. Deadline reports: “Described as a psychosexual thriller, [the show] centers on a therapist and his wife who, dealing with the aftermath of the husband’s adultery, move along with their kids into a new house that seems to know all about their fears and plays on them.” Now check out this all star cast extracted from a press release:

American Horror Story revolves around The Harmons, a family of three who move from Boston to Los Angeles as a means to reconcile past anguish. The All Star cast features Dylan McDermott (The Practice) as “Ben Harmon,” a psychiatrist; Connie Britton (Friday Night Lights) as “Vivien Harmon,” Ben’s wife; Taissa Farmiga as “Violet,” the Harmon’s teenage daughter; Jessica Lange (Tootsie, Blue Sky, Grey Gardens) in her first-ever regular series TV role as “Constance,” the Harmon’s neighbor; Evan Peters (One Tree Hill) as “Tate Langdon,” one of Ben’s patients; and Denis O’Hare (The Good Wife) as “Larry Harvey.” Guest stars for the series include Frances Conroy (Six Feet Under) and Alexandra Breckenridge (Dirt) as the Harmon’s housekeepers; and Jamie Brewer as Constance’s daughter.

AHS promises to be an extremely chilling TV series with intention to genuinely frighten audiences. Murphy describes it as a “feel-bad” show, as opposed to his “feel-good” show Glee. He and Falchuk were inspired by classic horror films Rosemary’s Baby and Don’t Look Now. Industry members who have seen the pilot were spooked and amazed by its originality.

Says FX president John Landgraf: “We’re thrilled to welcome Ryan and Brad back to their original home. They have shown an uncanny ability to bring original series to the air unlike any that have come before, and to reconcile ’wildly entertaining’ with the ’creatively ambitious.’ Once again, American Horror Story is a wholly unique and original take on its genre with richly drawn characters. The ability to put together a cast of stars such as Dylan McDermott, Connie Britton, Denis O’Hare, Frances Conroy and Oscar-winner Jessica Lange speaks to the quality of the writing and storytelling. This series is going to blow audiences back in their seats, and we can’t wait to have it on our air.”

Others who have seen the pilot say that it’s filled to the brim with character and plot development. One critic says, “The first episode has more stuff crammed into it than some shows have in their first season.” This may not be such a great thing because viewers typically don’t like to get suffocated by too much in the very beginning. At the TCAs, Murphy admitted that pilot “has like eight cliffhangers” but he went on to reassure potential viewers that he has “an obligation to the audience in the next two [episodes] to explain a lot of those things that are set up.”

Over the summer FX has been running a super creepy yet intriguing marketing campaign to amp anticipation for the series. Short commercials featuring AHS “clues” can be screened at this YouTube channel. This week the cable network finally released a standard teaser clip featuring the main cast in the haunted (?) mansion. What’s up with Denis O’Hare vanishing up in flames and who’s that stalker-ish man (?) in the black latex suit grabbing at Connie Britton? This same question can be asked about the bizarre poster pasted above. The teaser video is after the break.

I will certainly give this show a try, and I think you should too. I trust Murphy and Falchuk’s creative vision and so I expect AHS will find its groove at some point during its first season run. The cast is stacked and the intrigue is there. Tune in to see what American Horror Story is all about when it premieres October 5 at 10PM on FX.

[Via FX; Deadline 1, 2] Continue reading FX ready to tell ‘American Horror Story’ (poster & teaser inside)

Trailer: A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas

After trekking to White Castle and busting out of Guantanamo Bay, Harold & Kumar are ready to take on the holiday season in A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas. And they’re going to do it in style: the third flick in the stoner franchise is 3D. Here’s the setup:

After years of growing apart, Harold Lee and Kumar Patel have replaced each other with new friends and are preparing for their respective Yuletide celebrations. But when a mysterious package mistakenly arrives at Kumar’s door on Christmas Eve, his attempt to redirect it to Harold’s house ends with the “high grade” contents — and Harold’s father-in-law’s prize Christmas tree — going up in smoke. With his in-laws out of the house for the day, Harold decides to cover his tracks, rather than come clean. Reluctantly embarking on another ill-advised journey with Kumar through New York City, their search for the perfect replacement tree takes them through party heaven — and almost blows Christmas Eve sky high.

David Krumholtz and Eddie Kaye Thomas reprise their roles as Goldstein and Rosenberg, and of course Neil Patrick Harris is back playing an outlandish version of himself. Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg, directors and writers of the first two movies, penned the script and Todd Strauss Schulson was brought on to direct.

The trailer hints at so much we can look forward to: Harold wields a shotgun and shoots Santa out of the sky; NPH makes it into heaven and greets Jesus with this line: “you’re one of those”; he also gets a musical number; the stoners take a trip in claymation form; the fact that the movie is in 3D is acknowledged head-on by MADtv alum Bobby Lee; and hot women. Plus there’s bound to be a smorgasbord of memorable cameos; according to IMDb you can expect Danny Trejo, Thomas Lennon, Patton Oswalt, and Elias Koteas to show up at some point. Maria (Paula Garcés), Harold’s love interest from White Castle, is also expected to make a return.

Thankfully you won’t have to wait much longer; A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas hits theatres November 4.

Correction: Lea Michele, Chris Colfer, Cory Monteith are NOT leaving ‘Glee’, spin-off plans halted

It’s time to make a Glee about-face. Shortly after Glee co-creator Ryan Murphy told The Hollywood Reporter that the show’s stars Lea Michele, Chris Colfer, and Cory Monteith would not be returning to the FOX musical comedy for season 4, fellow co-creator Brad Falchuk set things straight at Comic Con: “Here’s the exact thing: [Rachel, Kurt and Finn] are seniors, so they’re graduating, but because they’re graduating that doesn’t mean they’re leaving the show. If you have Lea Michele under contract, you don’t say, ‘We’re gonna let you go.’” He added, “It was never our plan or our intention to let them go. They are not done with the show after this season.”

So the three of them will be back for season 4! Now why did Murphy say that they wouldn’t come back? What’s up with the co-creator contradiction? In a post-Comic Con interview with Deadline, Murphy revealed that he was indeed investigating a spin-off starring the three actors. He was hoping that the Glee trio would graduate from McKinley High and move to New York City (an idea planted in the season 2 finale) to explore their career in the arts. In fact, Murphy went so far as calling the Juliard School to make it a backdrop for the new show. However, things started to fall apart when one or more of the actors became resistant about moving to a different city to shoot the show. And as of now, spinoff plans have halted. In Murphy’s own words:

We’re not talking about it, we’re not pitching it. We’re not doing anything for the next several months except for this third season. I would prefer and I know Brad would prefer and I think the actors will prefer to roll up our sleeves and do a really good season and if there is a spin-off, talk about it in April. Could we do a spin-off? To be quite honest with you, maybe. Some of the actors that we discussed doing spin-offs do not want to do a spin-off. It’s hard to do a spin-off on a show where an actor says no. And if there’s no spin-off, then we’ll announce that there’s not. But as of now, I can tell you I’m not working on it.

It all break down like this: Rachel, Kurt, and Finn are graduating at the end of season 3. They will be back for season 4 (and potentially seasons 5, 6, and 7 since they all signed seven-year contracts). What role they will play in that season is still to be determined. And a spin-off series might happen sometime after season 3. Gleeks, you can relax now.

While we’re at it, let’s put a neat little bow on the Chord Overstreet story. Falchuk spilled that Overstreet (who played Sam Evans) was offered a deal to return for ten episodes next season with the possibility of becoming a series regular in the same way Harry Shum Jr. (Mike Chang) and Darren Criss (Blaine) worked their way from guest star to regular status. In the end Overstreeet declined the offer. “We wanted him back because we like Chord personally and had some good stories planned for him and with Mercedes,” revealed Falchuk. “He decided he would have opportunities elsewhere that he would like to pursue, and we can’t force him to work, so we wished him well.” It has been confirmed that Overstreet will not return for any episodes next season. So long, Trouty Mouth.

[Via EW; TVLine; Deadline]