Category: Actresses (Page 133 of 258)

10 Minutes and 10 Questions with Christian Kane

February 17, 2009 /

Tonight brings the first of the two parts of the first-season finale of TNT’s “Leverage.” We’ve commented on the show in the past here on Premium Hollywood, but after a slight false start in the early days of the series, it’s become an enjoyable blend of action, drama, and comedy that allows the viewer to escape into a world where the little guy actually gets to win once in awhile. We had a chance to talk to Christian Kane, who plays the rough-and-tumble Eliot Spencer on the show, and quizzed him about how the show’s gone for him. (We also snuck in a quick “Angel” question and checked on the status of his music career, too.)

1. If you can approach “Leverage” as a viewer rather than a fan for a second, are you surprised that “Leverage” was able to find an audience? Because a lot of series are in, out, and done in just a couple of episodes, but you guys found an audience quickly.

Yeah, we did, man. Y’know, it’s always surprising to me what works and what doesn’t work. I mean, I can’t believe that some of the stuff that’s on right now is on, and I can’t believe that “Arrested Development” ever went off the air. (Laughs) But it wasn’t surprising to know the track record of the people behind it. I mean, it was Tim (Hutton)’s first series (since “Kidnapped”), and I felt comfortable with that, but also John Rogers is an unbelievable writer, and Dean Devlin has had unbelievable success in the entertainment world, so we came in with a couple of big guns pulled out, unlike maybe some of the other people. So I felt confident in that. And then I started watching, and I got more confident. But then I remembered that, with the economy the way it is and the way the entertainment business is going… (Laughs) …it got a little bit scary for awhile, y’know, because you start thinking of stuff. But then when I went back to the economy stuff, and I went, “Y’know what? In this day and age, when The Man is sticking it to everybody, I think people are really going to want to sit back on the couch and really be part of the team and watch some people go out and stick it back to The Man.”

2. The “Ocean’s Eleven” comparisons that were being thrown around in the beginning were obviously really, really apt. Do you think the series has found its own identity yet, or is it still finding it?

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Action Movies, Actors, Actresses, External Entertainment, External Movies, External TV, Interviews, Movies, TV, TV Action, TV Dramas, Video

24 7.9: We’d call the FBI snitch a weasel, but weasels mate for life

February 16, 2009 /

There are times when I think that casting agents don’t realize how much they handicap their shows. We all knew Billy Walsh was dirty, if for no other reason than the fact that he was played by the guy that played Billy Walsh on “Entourage.” Using this logic, we can also safely conclude that Ethan Kanin is dirty because he’s played by the same actor that played Warden Norton in “The Shawshank Redemption.” He also played a baddie in “Demolition Man” and, perhaps most damning, was the boat captain in “Boat Trip.” Yikes. I bet he scrubs his hands for an hour each night before he goes to bed, murmuring, “So…dirty…can’t…get…clean…”

Janice’s method of blackmailing Billy was one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen. I can’t believe he actually gave in to it. If he’s willing to cheat on his wife, then he’s willing to lie to her, so why not turn the tables on Janice by ratting her out to Dudley Do-Right for blackmail and getting her fired? The worst Janice can do at that point is tell his wife about the affair, but he can always deny it and write her off as a sore, jealous lunatic. Seems like a foolproof plan from here. As it stands, he’s exposed as a potential candidate for the server breach, but Janice’s paranoia will serve as a good smoke screen while he continues issuing APBs for the arrests of Jack and Jackie. Remember that scene where Billy used someone else’s clearance to get his wife’s plane moved to the front of the queue? Our first clue.

Famous last words for any potential Federal witness: “We’ll be able to track you from up to a mile away.” If you hear those words, you can guarantee that your saviors will wind up more than a mile away. Col. Ike earned his Ike Turner nickname this week, showing his volatile nature the moment poor Tina resisted his brilliant plan to run away together. Then he won her over with the lamest trick in the Weasel Boyfriend playbook: “Do you love me?” Ladies, if your guy ever hits you with a sucker question like that in order to get his way, run. Whatever he’s planning is not in your best interests. And who would have thought that, as we were all debating why he would choose to start a relationship with a waitress in a diner while plotting a terrorist attack, it would be because he liked her? We all thought that there had to be a reason for it, and it turned out to be the simplest reason of all. I’m guessing Tina probably reminds him of some old flame in Sangala, whom he fed to crocodiles after she told him she was pregnant or something.

“I’m sorry Ms. Taylor, I can’t hear you over the roar of the crowd cheering my return.”

We had two great old-school “24” callbacks this week. The first is when Morris O’Brian, fresh off of his brief appearance in “Saw V,” dropped Chloe off at the FBI offices. We also got to see Morris and Chloe’s son Prescott. (Prescott? Really?) And while I love Morris, I was practically pumping my fists in the air the second I heard Old Yeller’s voice as he approached the First Daughter. Welcome back, Agent Pierce. I hope nobody shoots you this time around.

The whole end-justify-the-means aspect to Jack’s methods is clearly wearing on Jacqueline, who – gasp! – wept at the thought of what she did to Vossler’s wife and child once DDR laid some righteous guilt on her. What’s it gonna take to change DDR’s tune about Jack, especially after Chloe hilariously reminded him that he’d be wise to clean up his own backyard before pointing any fingers? You’d think the fact that Jack SAVED HER LIFE would be enough, but no, I guess Jack didn’t follow the proper channels. I can’t wait to see how the scene in next week’s episode plays out, where she’s slapping him over and over. “Can you feel that? How about that?” That scene has to end with him kissing her, right?

24, Actors, Actresses, TV, TV Action

Heroes 3.16 – I Hate People When They’re Not Polite

February 16, 2009 /

Really? They had to start the episode by reminding me about the plotline that loathe the most…?

Fair enough, let’s drive right into the Claire storyline. She’s continuing to get text messages from the mysterious rebel while lying to her mother and being shitty to her father, while HRG continues to offer up threats which are clearly pointless, since we all know that she’s going to ignore orders and do whatever she wants to do, anyway. Well, at least Zeljko is clearly pissed off about it. (We can only hope and pray that he actually acts on it.) By using another comic book store as a set piece, I couldn’t help but feel like the producers were saying, “Okay, let’s keep playing to the diehard geeks, ’cause if we lose them, we’re really screwed.” The sequences of Claire trying to save the life of Comic Book Guy were well-executed, but, again, it all came back to the issue of Claire being totally uncontrollable. If this had been a real government operation, she would’ve been imprisoned (at the very least) long ago, no matter who her father and stepfather were. And now she’s unnecessarily telling her mother what’s going on, knowing full well what effect that could have on her and, worse, leading to a touchy-feely scene at the end with Claire and HRG…? (The only redeeming moment of that sequence was having Comic Book Guy step out of the shadows.)

Dear “Heroes” producers: KILL THE CHEERLEADER, SAVE THE SHOW.

It felt a little too on-the-nose to have “Born to be Wild” playing on the stereo as Sylar set forth on his road trip with his new little buddy, Luke, but that was about my only complaint about their storyline this episode. The relationship between the two of them remains the most interesting thing about this new series, with Sylar doling out examples of his power and being flummoxed by Luke proving more fascinated than scared. The scene at the diner was also really well done, with Luke being irresponsible with his abilities and Sylar actually opening up to Luke about what he wants out of his encounter with his father. I thought sure we were going to see the end of Luke after he made the mistake of trying to be a nice guy by giving Sylar his dad’s address, but then Zeljko’s men invaded, and the end of the scene was…well, how did you feel about it? I’m sure Luke thought that Sylar had betrayed him by leaving him to be captured, but I felt like Sylar imagined that he’d given Luke a bit of a thank-you gift by not just killing him outright. In the end, of course, Sylar clearly felt like he really did owe it to Luke to save his ass, and the sequence in the paddywagon was awesome…almost as awesome as having the two of them drive off into the night to the strains of “Psycho Killer.”

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Actors, Actresses, External Entertainment, External TV, Heroes, TV, TV Action, TV Dramas, TV Sci-Fi

‘Til Death: The Complete Second Season

February 16, 2009 /

When I think of Fox’s “‘Til Death,” I always think of Philip Baker Hall. When he and I discussed how his series, “The Loop,” never had a fighting chance with its second season, Hall groused about how Fox head Peter Ligouri threw all his energy into keeping “‘Til Death” on the air, “in spite of the fact that its numbers are among the lowest in the history of TV. He’s just pushed the hell out of that show, he just can’t stop talking about how great it is and how funny it is, and he can’t stop pouring money into it. He can’t stop taking whole sections of the newspaper as ads! But the fact is that the numbers are really bad…and he’s still pushing it!” Perhaps these comments from Mr. Hall colored my opinion as I sat down to watch “‘Til Death: The Complete Second Season,” but after screening the set, I was left wondering why Ligouri has battled so hard to keep the series on the air. It’s not bad, but it’s certainly not worth waging a war to save.

When Season 2 of the series begins, the premise has not changed appreciably: Eddie and Joy Stark (Brad Garrett and Joely Fisher) are a long-married couple who live next door to Jeff and Steph Woodcock (Eddie Kaye Thomas and Kat Foster), a pair of newlyweds. In addition to the various lessons about marriage that the naive Woodcocks learn from the jaded Starks, Eddie and Jeff both work at the same high school, though the only time their employment really comes into play is when Jeff gets a temporary promotion to principal and suspends Eddie for a few days for inappropriate behavior. In what can only be viewed as a desperate attempt to figure out how to bring new viewers into the show, the halfway point of the season finds the show adding a new character: Kenny Westchester (J.B. Smoove), a recent divorcee who, due to some clerical error, is selected as Eddie’s “little brother” when he joins a “Big Brother” program. Married couples will certainly recognize a lot of their more cynical moments in the adventures of the Starks, but the problem with “‘Til Death” has always been its interest in going unnecessarily lowbrow, and that remains the primary issue. You’ll laugh, to be sure, but at least half the time, you’ll feel guilty about it.

Click to buy “‘Til Death: The Complete Second Season”

Actors, Actresses, External Entertainment, External TV, Reviews, TV, TV Comedies, TV DVD Quicktakes, TV DVDs

Greetings to the New Show: “Eastbound and Down”

February 15, 2009 /

I’ve never actually seen “The Foot Fist Way,” the motion picture which really served to bring Danny McBride to prominence (he wrote and starred in the film), but when a review written by someone whose opinion you trust opens with the lines, “The first 30 minutes of ‘The Foot Fist Way’ are as intolerable as anything released in the last ten years,” it’s the kind of sentiment that keeps a movie from working its way up the hierarchy of your Netflix queue. I have, however, seen and loved “Tropic Thunder,” and I’ve heard a lot of good things about “Pineapple Express,” so I do still have a certain degree of respect for Mr. McBride. Therefore, when I heard that he was going to be starring in a new series for HBO that would be executive-produced by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay, the duo who have brought us “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy,” “Talledega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby,” and “Stepbrothers,” there was every reason to believe that the combination would prove to be a successful one.

“Eastbound and Down” certainly starts promisingly, with a flashback laying out the career of Kenny Powers, a major-league baseball player who has seen the highest heights one can reach in the sport, including cover stories for every magazine from Highlights to Cat Fancy to American Woodworker. “Everyone wanted a piece of my shit,” says Powers, in a voiceover, describing himself as a man with “an arm like a fucking cannon.” Unfortunately, as with so many athletes who get a taste of glory and then dive headlong into the trough, Powers’ ego expands to a size far larger than his home state of North Carolina. He begins to blame his failures on his team, so he leaves Atlanta, becomes a free agent, and starts a career freefall which seems him moving from New York (“You mean Jew York?”), Baltimore and San Francisco (“I gotta tell ya, I thought the blacks in Baltimore were bad, but it turns out they’re nothing compared to these fags they got in San Francisco”), Boston, and Seattle.

Seattle, however, proved too much for the man, and after proving directly responsible for the team’s devastating loss against Los Angeles, things fade to black for Powers, and after a caption which reads, “Several shitty years later,” he find that he’s now out of baseball and has carried his remaining belongings back home to the state known as North Kakalaki to work as a middle-school substitute teacher…and it’s at this point that feelings about “Eastbound and Down” will begin to vary wildly.

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Actors, Actresses, External Entertainment, External TV, Pilots, TV, TV Comedies

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