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Showing posts with label first look. Show all posts

What are they saying about Downton?

New articles have surfaced about the next season of Downton Abbey (and all the seasons to come). It looks like we won't be Downton deprived for a long, long time.

Dame Maggie Smith may not be returning to Downton

Shirely MacLaine to be Downton's brash American Aunt (with photos!)

American Office Star is up on Downton

Sybil will certainly have a baby for season 3

The Borgias are back! The latest on season 2

48 days! That is all that's left till The Borgias return. And I'm reeling over the fact that there is almost NO information, photos, sneak peaks, anything out there. So, I've decided, that in an effort to help all other fans, I'm going to post all the info I can find below.

Trailers

Have you seen all the trailers yet, dear reader? There's some serious plot defining and costume loveliness going on in all of them. See The Borgias season 2 trailers here, and watch my favorite below:

Are you surprised all this info was flooded on youtube and you had no idea? ME TOO. While these trailers are fantastic as showing us visually the family tensions that will fill season 2, they are nothing compared to the 2 behind the scenes videos.

Juan is striving for greater ground against his brother, and we can only assume by Oakes' and Arnaud's interviews that we're going to see much more of Machiavelli's "The Prince" going on with Cesare. Didn't we all want that? I do! Cesare is a fascinating historical figure and I can't wait for more defining moments. And, for full disclosure, I can't get enough of Francois Arnaud.

And it looks like we'll get to see Lucrezia taking her seat on the papal throne. While I'm surprised with the choice of pulling out the "big guns" so early, I'm excited to see Lucrezia take some serious control of Rome. You know, this actually happened? Rodrigo had bigger battles to rage outside of Rome and he left his daughter in charge. I'm not EVEN going to talk about the hot mess that is Rodrigo's life in season 2 - it looks more like family triage than leading millions of souls.

Photos
There aren't many. Actually, I've only seen the two below so far. But I'm hoping will all the trailers that are going to air shortly, we'll get some more stock episode photos soon. These two are already lined up in the FYCD queue, so look for them there in the coming weeks.

Get ready for season 2 with a rewatch!

You know me reader, I'm all about a good rewatch. Showtime will begin airing last season in anticipation of Season 2 over the coming month. Keep an eye out to get your costume drama fix. Or...you could always just read my episode by episode review posts here ... or the PDF. I know, its not like watching showtime's first crime family, but at least everything's in order.

I hope this this has proven helpful Borgia fans - look out for more soon!

Wendy

So dear reader, I've been scavenging around for new fall fashions and music for the last 2 weeks and keep coming across this commercial:

Can it be? They are actually making a modern Peter Pan story?! Now, I'm a sucker for modern classics retold, Peter Pan being one of my tops, but I remember how horribly the Tarzan retelling went on the WB and am not necessarily hopeful. That show had a former Calvin Klein model and well-known stars filling its cast--and that didn't even save it for 1 season.

Wendy has been created by the same people who bring us The Vampire Diaries (a plus) and features relative new comers Meaghan Martin and Tyler Blackburn (which is refreshing). Now I haven't seen Pretty Little Liars...but if you're pimping your new Peter to be the next Ben Barnes, I hope he can back it up. Blackburn can, however, sing. Hence how I found out about this new webseries.

The song, I love. I've already listened to it ... a lot. And its not fair they have this great song that gets stuck in your head with semi-referential lyrics to Peter Pan. Darn you mad men! Needless to say, I'm just a little hooked to the song.

The whole plot has been kept pretty tightly under wraps. We know Wendy has a boyfriend and is forced to choose between "the boy of her dreams and her real boy"... and that's about it. This new venture (okay, for me a new venture) into webseries world comes with me being very confused, but I'm optimistic that the show might actually have something to it. And if it doesn't, its about Peter Pan: I'll be watching anyway.

What has me so cautious about Wendy is its clear marketing connection. The producers of the show are Marcy's and Alloy: two large corporations ready and willing to strike at the teen market in fresh ways. You can already purchase any of the clothing featured on the show at Macy, and this blogger wonders where subtly went. Is Wendy just a shot in the dark at selling clothes and capitalizing on the fan base of the Vampire Diaries? Or do they believe "hot" boys sell girl's clothes now?

These are the sad, cynical questions a no-longer teen asks. And maybe I'm looking too hard into this. When new shows come on, I tend to be really stand-offish to them, because if I do like them from the start, it is sure to be the death of it. (Don't snicker dear reader! This is my version of baseball curses.) Shows that I start loving from the beginning either tank 2 seasons in or get canceled after 3 episodes.

Still, I'll be good and be hopeful for Wendy.

The series airs September 15th online. To find out more visit the Wendy facebook page. And you can download the new song too, which was really what I just spent 20 minutes figuring out how to get.

Immortals (the rundown MONTHS early)

Dear reader, if you haven't heard me talk about Immortals yet, its...well its because my serious Henry Cavill phase seems to have ended with the series finale of The Tudors, but never fear! Now that we have the first 2 trailers from Immortals, I feel completely capable of doing some mini-coverage. Well, some mini-debunking might be the better description if you will (that BA in history has to be good for something, right?).

The movie is directed by Tarsem Singh who filmed the beautiful "The Fall" which took FOREVER to film and even longer to be released. This is why I thought Immortals would never make it to screen. Since Tarsem is directing, we can expect some serious cinematography and some epic scene setting; this man is not know for small productions. Additionally, the producers of 300 are involved and that explains the heavy chromatic saturation in all the trailers and images (and the half naked men through out the 2 minutes of footage).

Immortals is the story of Theseus and his rise to Greek-hero status (Que Disney's "I can go the Distance" now). While this story of Theseus is not going to match the mythology, it is hoping to captalize on the popularity of Greek-hero storytelling and the success (relatively) of Clash of the Titans a few years ago (It also doesn't hurt that Cavill's been cast as the next Superman. I think quiet a few comic book fans are going to come out to see this leading-man test run). Its about as accurate as Wikipedia, but I'm just going to copy the IMDB summary for your reading pleasure:

Eons after the Gods won their mythic struggle against the Titans, a new evil threatens the land. Mad with power, King Hyperion (Mickey Rourke) has declared war against humanity. Amassing a bloodthirsty army of soldiers disfigured by his own hand, Hyperion has scorched Greece in search of the legendary Epirus Bow, a weapon of unimaginable power forged in the heavens by Ares. Only he who possesses this bow can unleash the Titans, who have been imprisoned deep within the walls of Mount Tartaros since the dawn of time and thirst for revenge. In the king's hands, the bow would rain destruction upon mankind and annihilate the Gods. But ancient law dictates the Gods must not intervene in man's conflict. They remain powerless to stop Hyperion...until a peasant named Theseus (Henry Cavill) comes forth as their only hope. Secretly chosen by Zeus, Theseus must save his people from Hyperion and his hordes. Rallying a band of fellow outsiders-including visionary priestess Phaedra (Freida Pinto) and cunning slave Stavros (Stephen Dorff)-one hero will lead the uprising, or watch his homeland fall into ruin and his Gods vanish into legend.

I'm just going to say it reader, don't judge. At first glance, HOW IS THIS MOVIE CONNECTED WITH THESEUS? The summary gives no indication we're going to see any of the Theseus mythology. And while the cast list gives me more hope, I'm not sold on our storyline just yet. I'm not saying this is a bad thing...but I'm confused. And a confused Heather just leads to ranty and sarcastic Heather. And the trailers don't help. I get not knowing a lot about the plot; I get you don't want to give too much away, but I just wish we knew a little bit more about the actual storyline and why Theseus' original mythology wasn't enough for a movie of its own. King Hyperion is a made-up villian and Theseus' quest to defeat him is even more fiction than his originial mythology. That being said, we will see a few names we recongize: someone named Lysander, and Icarus and Hercules are billed to make an apperance. Because really, we lack better knowledge about the movie, I'm going to do a quick summary of the historical/literary Theseus just for fun...and with Henry pictures, don't worry.

Depending on the version you read, Theseus is either the son of Poseidon or the son of King Aegeus. The mythology of him as Aegeus' son is better documented and more universally accepted, so we're going to run with that parentage. His mother is the Princess Aethra of Troezen (hence the whole "common peasant" thing going on in the film is um...not true). When Theseus becomes of age, his mother (who has not seen Aegeus since after they conceived Theseus) takes him to a large rock and tells him he can discover who he really is if he can move it. He does, and finds a sword and sandals hidden there (which are his father's). Aethra tells him to go to the court of Athens where is father is king. Along the way Theseus fights many monsters and becomes a "hero".

Once in his father's court (I'm sure after a few years) he hears of the Minotaur eating captured Athenians on Crete and goes to kill the monster. He does, which we know, and he also begins making his womanizer reputation, which we know better. Eventually he becomes the king of Athens (a la A Midsummer Night's Dream) and rules wisely and justly through his kingdom, even though he still has serious women troubles.

Names that will confuse you during the movie

As with most big-budget movies based on Greek mythology, names and plot points are thrown around at whim. This can make any casual Greek mythology enthusiast confused. Below we'll discuss.

King Hyperion - is not real. Hyperion is the name of the first sun god who was also a Titan. I'm assuming the connection won't be touched upon. Although I would think the whole plot might make lots more sense if it was about one titan trying to free the others...just sayin'...

Phaedra - is actually the name of Theseus' second wife who was desperately in love, and sleeps, with Theseus' son (Hippolyus) by his first wife (Amazon queen!). She kills herself when a servant threatens to tell Theseus of her betrayal.

Zeus and the gods - are like they always are. Though a little less awesomely attired. Interesting fact: Zeus in The Immortals played Apollo in Clash of the Titans.

The magic bow - NOT Theseus' weapon of choice, but its pretty and glows and makes that really pretty ping sound when he uses it with magic arrows.

Lysander - I'M JUDGING. Shakespeare girl here is judging you screenwriters.

Hercules - Throughout the Theseus mythology Hercules is a strong figure. Theseus hopes to become a second Hercules and the demi-god himself saves Theseus from the Underworld and also takes him on his labor to the Amazons. I can't wait to see how he's worked in to the film.

Watch the trailers here

First Look: Neverland

There's a new Peter Pan on the way and this time, its an origin story. Finally!

I've always wondered what someone's take on a prequel Peter Pan would be, and now I finally get my question answered. By Syfy no less. And while I'm definitely...um...okay we all know Syfy makes some bad movies. Neverland though, looks like it's in the Tin Man/Alice realm and for that I am very grateful.

It's got a stellar cast and some decent CGI effects and--the best part--I don't have to pay $12.50 to see it. Totally catching this one when it airs.

Didn't Catch Upstairs Downstairs?

PBS, the wonders that they always are, has made the first episode available online for a limited time. (They also have 39 Steps up, which, if you haven't seen it, block out a 3 hour chunk and watch it too.)

Upstairs Downstairs is a revival of the 70's classic by the same name about the next generation tenants at 165 Eaton Place. Set around the turn of the century, Upstairs Downstairs will remind you of Dowton Abbey: the juxtaposition of life in service to life in elegance, the sweet and strained relationships, and, of course, beautiful houses.

With only watching the first episode, I have to say my verdict is still out. I enjoyed episode one, I thought it went rather fast, but there wasn't much of a deeper connecetion for me. Since its only three episodes long, there are interesting storylines and fabulous character moments that are quickly glossed over and moved past, which is really the biggest shame. I certainly will be watching episode two, and three though.