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Buzz News Roundup, 4/13

BuzzSugar — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 13:30:56 -0700

Regina Spektor's latest album is headed to stores in June. - Billboard
William Hurt will join the cast of Ridley Scott's Robin Hood as William Marshall, the Earl of Pembroke. - The Hollywood Reporter
TNT won't renew Trust Me for a second season. - TV.com
It's confirmed: Zac Efron has signed on to play the title role in the planned live-action version of the '60s Hanna-Barbera cartoon show Jonny Quest. - ComingSoon
Ray Winstone, David Thewlis, and Anna Friel are set to join Keira Knightley and Colin Farrell in the crime drama London Boulevard. - Variety
Showtime has passed on the Tim Robbins drama Possible Side Effects, which may still be shopped to other networks. - TV Guide
Maggie Gyllenhaal will star opposite Emma Thompson in the Nanny McPhee sequel, titled Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang. - ComingSoon
Spoiler alert: Is George leaving Grey's Anatomy or not? - Entertainment Weekly

Glenn Close and Damages Hold Court at TCA

BuzzSugar — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 15:30:56 -0700

The first season of FX's Damages was enthralling and chilling, and from just the couple of minutes we got to glimpse Tuesday morning at the TCA press tour, the show still has its captivating qualities. The show's main cast - including two of the three new cast members, William Hurt and Timothy Olyphant - was on hand to discuss a bit of what we'll see in the coming months, and I already feel sucked back in to the Damages universe. Some of this is spoilery, so if you don't want to know anything about season two, stop here - but if you want to hear about the new characters, the evolution of Ellen, and the fate of Arthur Frobisher (well, maybe), just read more.

First things first: Ted Danson attended the Damages panel. But does that mean Frobisher is alive? Apparently, we shouldn't go that far. The show has so many flashbacks and flash-forwards that it's hard to say exactly when and in what context we'll be seeing Danson's character. (Although, it's worth noting that FX President John Landgraf said earlier in the day that Frobisher "did survive.")

Moving on, one of the biggest changes we'll see in the new season comes is the evolution of Ellen. In the clips we watched, she's bracing and in control, telling the agents she's working with that she wants to wear a wire while Patty talks to her about the Frobisher case and telling someone (who wasn't visible in the clip) that they should be terrified. "We all wanted to approach Ellen in a very different way to make her more of a warrior in season two," Rose Byrne said. "This season she's kind of made of steel a little bit more, which is really interesting to play. The first season, the audience was so much ahead of her . . . This season, it's sort of the reverse."

Ellen is also in therapy, which is where she encounters one of the show's new characters: Wes, played by Timothy Olyphant. According to executive producer Daniel Zelman, he's "a mysterious figure who comes to be a confidant of Ellen's because they've both been through similar traumas recently. What the future of their relationship will be is something for the audience to guess at and wonder."

As for the other newcomers:

William Hurt plays Daniel Purcell, a figure who enters Patty's life in trouble - though we don't know what kind of trouble - and seeking legal aid. It seemed from the clip that his story would form the basis for this season's new case.
Marcia Gay Harden, who was not present because she'd only just been cast, will play a high-powered attorney for an unspecified company who appears to be behind some equally unspecified wrongdoing.

If you're getting the sense that there are a lot of secrets, it's true - but there's also a lot that's left to be figured out. The producers emphasized several times that they liked to keep things fluid, and all of the actors mentioned that their stories could (and did) change up until the very last minute.

As for Patty Hewes, Glenn Close says Patty seems to be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder as well. "She still has a lot of very unresolved issues going on that take more energy to cover up than before," she said.

A couple of other interesting tidbits:

Here's how Close described the typical reaction she got to the show's twists and turns from her family and random strangers on the street: "Tell me what's in the box - don't tell me!" They all seemed to have a huge respect for how engaging the show can be, especially Hurt, who said he stayed up till 5 a.m. watching episodes when the idea of taking the role first came up.
About those flashbacks: The show is still going to play with time; Zelman called the flash-forwards and flashbacks "a signature of the show." But he said the producers' goal this year is to make them slightly easier to grasp this year.
Throughout the session, Damages was occasionally referred to as being like a novel, with each season telling a full story. It's interesting to think about that and try to imagine what season three will look like (since FX has already committed to it). Presumably Patty and Ellen will still be around - but will anyone else?
Danson wouldn't tell us how often Frobisher will be on the show - and he insisted that's because he doesn't know.

Photos courtesy of FX and Source

The Incredible Hulk: Most Improved But Not the Best

BuzzSugar — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 06:30:47 -0700

Bringing Marvel's Hulk to the big screen is a challenging undertaking. For one thing, the idea of the Hulk is just funny: when a guy loses his temper he morphs into a giant green monster who smashes things. Plus, that green monster in ripped-up pants is just cartoonish, any way you slice it. You can always update Iron Man's suit with sleeker corners and more abilities or give Batman cooler gadgets, but how do you make a green monster-man something today's audience will take seriously?

So, given these obstacles, and the fact that Ang Lee did everyone a favor by demonstrating what not to do if you want the fanboys to show up, the most recent incarnation of The Incredible Hulk is pretty much a success. All things considered, the CGI looks great, there is plenty of action to keep hearts pounding, and Ed Norton and Liv Tyler turn in wonderful performances with the lines they have. That said, it's no Iron Man and I'm about 99.9% sure once The Dark Knight hits theaters we may all forget this movie even happened.

To find out why this Incredible Hulk will be remembered as the superhero movie that gave us something to do between Iron Man and Dark Knight, read more.

First of all, it's worth the ticket price alone to see Ed Norton with this much screen time. Despite the fact that he isn't given much material to work with and not a minute is spent on character development, he still manages to convey the emotional toll that spontaneous, out-of-control monster transformation can take on a person. I was also pleasantly surprised by the chemistry Norton and Tyler have together.

Taking a cue from the movie itself, I'm not going to waste time on plot, and you just kind of accept certain things about each of the characters. For example, Norton's Bruce Banner is very concerned with the weapons General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross (played by a superbly chilly William Hurt) will create with the science behind whatever turns Bruce into the Hulk. I'm not sure where Bruce's initial concern comes from, nor do I understand what motivates Thunderbolt's obsession. But right when this started to bother me, the movie kicked into high gear with lots of action sequences and scary CGI and I forgot what I was puzzling over before.

It's in this way that the pendulum swings just a bit too far in the other direction from Lee's film. Sure, it can be boring to spend too much time building up the sad events that lead to the Hulk's creation. But when you nearly banish all dialogue and scenes that include a little humanity, you end up with a fun ride that lacks a heart (despite the cast's best efforts to inject one). So, while I laughed (it has some genuinely witty moments) and clung to my chair (Poor Hulk! Stop shooting at him!) I didn't leave with the emotional connection I had with Iron Man.

In any other year a B+ superhero movie would be something to get excited about. But 2008 is shaping up to be the summer of the superhero - and everyone else is bringing their A-game.

To see the trailer and more clips from The Incredible Hulk, visit movies.iVillage.com

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Buzz News Roundup, 6/13

BuzzSugar — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 13:23:57 -0700

Don Herbert, best known as TV's "Mr. Wizard," has died, the New York Times reports.
After the whole Silver Surfer silver dollars thing, the newest Fantastic Four promotional stunt has made its way to the London Eye, London's observation wheel, Variety reports.
According to Hollywood Reporter, Greg Kinnear and Maura Tierney have joined the already awesome cast of Tina Fey and Amy Poehler's comedy Baby Mama.
Want to catch up on "Jericho" after that whole nut fiasco? Repeats from the show's first season will air on Fridays starting July 6, the Futon Critic reports.
T-Pain beat out Rhianna and Paul McCartney for No. 1 on the Billboard charts.
Endeavor, the talent agency representing Paris Hilton, has dropped her, Variety says.
William Hurt has been added to the cast of The Incredible Hulk, playing Gen. Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross, says the Hollywood Reporter.
USA Today figures out what's happened to the past winners of "Last Comic Standing."

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What Do You Think About the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama?

BuzzSugar — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 19:32:08 -0700

Michael Emerson is taking home the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama for Lost! He beat out Christian Clemenson, William Hurt, Aaron Paul, William Shatner, and John Slattery.

I am so excited he finally got the recognition after so many amazing seasons as Ben. What do you think about this win?

Vote on all my Emmy Awards polls here!