Modern Family has been a dream come true for Sofia Vergara. After all, what woman wouldn’t want a TV marriage to the guy who used to be Al Bundy? Seriously, though, as the show enters its 11th and final season, Vergara has been doing a lot of reflecting back on the years she’s spent on the show, and one thing that stands out for her is the fact that she felt like she was part of something special from the very moment the cast was assembled on the soundstage for the first time. (Click on the media bar below to hear Sofia Vergara)
Modern Family’s final season premiere will air next Wednesday night (9/25) on ABC.
It’s been a good few months for Bruce Springsteen fans at the local movie theater. First, there was the Springsteen-themed Blinded by the Light, which featured plenty of his music. Next, Springsteen himself has a film coming out: Western Stars, a part documentary, part performance film based on his recent album of the same name. Springsteen is also co-director of the movie, and he says the evolved a lot as it came together. (Click on the media bar below to hear Bruce Springsteen)
Thanks to the Internet, the location of the Brady Bunch home hasn’t exactly been a secret. Over the years, thousands of fans have made the pilgrimage to the San Fernando Valley to take photos of the house. If they had gone sometime during the past several months, they would have gotten a special bonus — thanks to A Very Brady Renovation, they might have seen an actual Brady during the visit! All six Brady kids — Barry Williams, Maureen McCormick, Eve Plumb, Christopher Knight, Mike Lookinland, and Susan Olsen — took part in the project, and there was actually a pretty good chance that curious fans would have seen at least one of them during their visit. When we spoke to the cast members, they shared their stories about the house and its reputation as a TV tourism spot. (Click on the media bar below)
A Very Brady Renovation airs Monday nights on HGTV.
Director Roland Emmerich knows a thing or two about directing blockbusters (Independence Day, Stargate), and in Midway he tackles World War Two with an A-list cast.
War films with a laundry list of movie stars were commonplace in Hollywood for decades, and the 1976 feature Midway starred Charlton Heston, Robert Mitchum, Henry Fonda and Toshiro Mifune.
This time out, it’s Ed Skrein, Patrick Wilson, Luke Evans, Mandy Moore, Nick Jonas, Woody Harrelson and Dennis Quaid who are front and center with this version of the Battle of Midway. The trailer looks absolutely eye catching, and hopefully this feature will be another excellent entry in Emmerich’s body of work. His last feature Independence Day: Resurgence made $389 million worldwide,.
The Colombia set Monos centers on a group of teenage soldiers who work for this collective simply known as The Organization. They are tasked with keeping a prisoner whom they call Doctora (Julianne Nicholson) safe and sound. Director/co-writer Alejandro Landes, who grew up in Colombia, had his cast and crew live out in the elements during production.
“I think you sort of have to let it all go when you arrive,” said Nicholson, who described the film as a ‘life changing’ experience. “If you expect to be comfortable, you’re going to be disappointed. But for me, and I think for all of us, living there and filming there informed everything you see on screen. If, at the end of the day, we were going to a hotel somewhere, it would be an entirely different movie.”
Click on the media bar to hear Nicholson talk about working with relatively first time actors (Moisés Arias was the only veteran actor of the bunch) during the production of Monos.
It: Chapter Two retained its top spot at the box office with a $40.7 million weekend, besting newcomer Hustlers(#2, $332 million) in the process. It was a great showing for both films, while the rest of the pack were far behind the competition. Here’s the top 10:
It: Chapter Two – Feature makes $40.7 million and to date it’s grossed over $153.8 million domestically.
Hustlers – Jennifer Lopez led feature is a hit with $33.2 million.
Angel Has Fallen – Gerard Butler’s latest collects $4.4 million and domestically it’s taken over $60 million.
Good Boys – Comedy makes $4.3 million.
The Lion King – Live action remake is still raking in the business with $3.5 million.
Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw – Action flick collects $2.7 million and it has amassed over $740 million.
Overcomer – Drama collects $2.7 million.
The Goldfinch – Film, which stars Ansel Elgort and NIcole Kidman, collects $2.6 million.
The Peanut Butter Falcon – Feel good movie, starring Shia LaBeouf and Dakota Johnson, checks in with $1.9 million.
Dora and the Lost City of Gold– Family film makes $1.85 million.
Can You Keep A Secret? marks the feature directing debut of Elise Durán, and for the romantic comedy the filmmaker enlisted an array of talented actors.
The film, based on Sophie Kinsella’s novel, centers on the relationship between Emma (Alexandra Daddario) and her boss Jack (Tyler Hoechlin), a union which started off during a fateful meeting on a plane (Emma had no idea about Jack’s identity). Kimiko Glenn and Sunita Mani co-star as Emma’s supportive roommates, with Orange is the New Black’sLaverne Cox playing Jack’s second in command.
For Durán, bringing a healthy share of improvisation was an important element of crafting the narrative.
“The most important thing about the humor in the movie is that so much of it comes from improv,” said Durán. “I love to laugh. I’m a huge fan of comedy. When I cast the movie, I wanted the actors to bring their own senses of humor to the roles. I wanted their true personalities to come out.”
Click on the media bar to hear Durán talk about collaborating with Alexandra Daddario and Tyler Hoechlin on the project:
Can You Keep A Secret? is now out in theaters and is available On Demand.
In the TV world, it’s a very, very rare thing for a spin-off of a successful show to last longer than the original show. And it’s even rarer when that spin-off goes on to become the longest-running drama series in the history of the medium. But that’s exactly what’s happened: By getting to its 21st season, Law & Order: SVU has surpassed both the original Law & Order and Gunsmoke to become television’s longest-lived drama. Mariska Hargitay is the only cast member who’s been aboard since the pilot — which, yes, was shot all the way back in the 20th Century — and she considers herself extremely fortunate to be on a show that has not only lasted so long, but has also given her a strong voice for her social advocacy campaigns. (Click on the media bar below to hear Mariska Hargitay)
The new season of Law & Order: SVU premieres Thursday, September 26 on NBC.
Even in a world that’s become increasingly desensitized to violence over the last few decades, the Rambo series has always stood out as being particularly violent. After all, the character of John Rambo is a trained warrior with a hair-trigger temper and some serious emotional issues. But, as the series gets set to come to an end with Rambo: Last Blood, Sylvester Stallone — who has starred in and co-written all five of the films — pointed out to us that while the violence may be extreme, it is never gratuitous. Whenever John Rambo draws blood, Stallone says, you can bet there’s a reason behind it, and that’s certainly the case in Last Blood. (Click on the media bar below to hear Sylvester Stallone)
Over the course of six seasons, the gritty urban drama Power has garnered a lot of fans and quite a bit of critical acclaim. The one thing it’s never gotten? Awards season consideration. When it comes to the Emmys and the Golden Globes, it’s been completely overlooked. Curtis “50 Cent” Johnson, who stars as a drug dealer on the show, certainly pulls no punches when he talks about why he thinks the show’s been snubbed. (Click on the media bar below to hear Curtis “50 Cent” Johnson)
Power, in its farewell season, airs Sunday nights on Starz.
Modern Family has been a dream come true for Sofia Vergara. After all, what woman wouldn’t want a TV marriage to the guy who used to be Al Bundy? Seriously, though, as the show enters its 11th and final season, Vergara has been doing a lot of reflecting back on the years she’s spent on the show, and one thing that stands out for her is the fact that she felt like she was part of something special from the very moment the cast was assembled on the soundstage for the first time. (Click on the media bar below to hear Sofia Vergara)
