Category: Interviews (Page 26 of 69)

What’s all this, then? – “Monty Python: Almost The Truth – The Lawyer’s Cut”

October 22, 2009 /

If you’ve been checking in on Premium Hollywood over the course of the past few days, then you’ve probably spotted our man Bob Westal’s tributes to the 40th anniversary of Monty Python, and if you haven’t…well, they’re here, here, and here. Python fans will likely have already seen Bob’s finely-chosen clips, but if they’re new to you and made you laugh, then you really ought to be tuning into IFC’s ongoing six-part documentary about the history of the Python organization: “Monty Python: Almost the Truth – The Lawyer’s Cut.” As evidenced by the fact that there’s an Amazon link in the midst of the title, the documentary is indeed being released onto DVD on Oct. 27th, but don’t let that stop you from checking out the remaining episodes as they air on IFC. Those who aren’t obsessive types might find it a bit more Python than they can stand, but it’s definitely the comedy equivalent of “The Beatles Anthology,” leaving no stone unturned from the group’s career, showing their origins, discussing their TV series, films, and infamous live performances, and offering insights from other comedians who’ve received inspiration from the gentlemen in the Flying Circus.

It’s worth noting, by the way, that there is actually a theatrical cut of “Almost the Truth,” which comes in at a decidedly tighter run time of under two hours…and I know this because I was in attendance at the Ziegfield Theater in New York City last week when it was screened. The best bit about it, though, was that the screening was attended by John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin, not to mention the group’s female in residence, Carol Cleveland.

Oh, no, wait, that wasn’t the best bit. The real best bit was when, after the screening, the gentlemen took the stage – with Cleese carrying a cardboard stand-up of the late Graham Chapman under his arm – to answer questions which had been submitted by the audience, which you can experience for yourself below:

No, hang on: the actual, honest-to-Brian best bit was the fact that I actually got to meet the Pythons.

Well, mostly.

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Actors, Celebrities, External Entertainment, External Movies, External TV, Humor, Interviews, Movie Comedies, Movies, News, TV, TV Comedies, Video

If you don’t watch the premiere of “Community” tonight on NBC…

September 17, 2009 /

…then you’ll be missing the best new show of the fall season.

You may recall from my Fall TV Preview that I said of the pilot for “Community,” “When I watched it, I was convinced that I was watching the funniest sitcom of the new season. I was not wrong.” Now, granted, I was predisposed to like the series before I’d even put the screener of the pilot into the DVD player – I’m a fan of Joel McHale’s work (I’ve got a TiVo season pass for “The Soup”) and Chevy Chase’s work in virtually every film that he made during the ’70s and ’80s (though, to be honest, the only film he’s done since then that I still enjoy revisiting is “Memoirs of an Invisible Man”) – but it certainly didn’t hurt seeing “Daily Show” correspondent John Oliver turn up in a meaty guest role within the first few minutes, and it didn’t take long for me to fall for the ensemble as a whole.

Here’s a rundown of the characters:

* Jeff (McHale), a fast-talkin’ lawyer whose degree has been revoked
* Pierce (Chase), a man whose life experience has brought him infinite wisdom
* Abed (Danny Pudi), a pop culture junkie
* Britta (Gillian Jacobs), a 28-year-old dropout with something to prove
* Troy (Donald Glover, a former high school football star trying to find his way
* Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown), a sassy middle-aged divorcée
* Annie (Alison Brie), a high-strung perfectionist
* Señor Chang (Ken Jeong), a slightly unhinged Spanish professor

When I arrived at the TCA summer press tour, I was a man on a mission: to interview as many members of the cast of “Community” as I possibly could, so that I might do my damndest to get people to watch the series. Not that it necessarily needs my help, given the incredible promotional push that the network is putting behind the show, but, still, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen a sitcom that’s this funny and has this strong an ensemble from the word “go” (seriously, I think I’d have to go back to “NewsRadio”), and I wanted to do whatever I could to get the word out. In the end, I ended up chatting with five of show’s regulars during the tour (McHale, Pudi, Brown, Glover, and Jeong), catching up with two more by phone after making back (Jacobs and Brie).

Sadly, Chevy Chase was surrounded by hordes of my peers through his time at the tour, and attempts to secure a phoner with him prior to the run date of this piece were unsuccessful. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that we’ll be able to talk to Chevy sometime in the near future…and, y’know, don’t be afraid to drop NBC an E-mail and ask them to try and make it happen for us…but in the meantime, click here (or on the above graphic), then sit back and enjoy these conversations with the rest of the cast.

When you finish, I’ll be very surprised if you don’t run straight to your TiVo and order yourself up a season pass for “Community.” It’s that good. I swear. And if you don’t believe me, here’s proof:

Finally, check out Chopard, one of the most recognized watch and jewelry brands in the world.

Actors, Actresses, Celebrities, External Entertainment, External TV, Fall TV Preview, Interviews, News, Pilots, TCA Press Tour, TV, TV Cartoons

Amanda Tapping finds “Sanctuary” — but leaves her “Stargate” open

September 14, 2009 /

For all the cool TV/Web hybrids that broadband technology has hinted at, the history of entertainment crossing over from the Web to the boob tube is actually fairly short and grim. (Anyone remember the “quarterlife” TV series? No? Didn’t think so.) But there’s an exception to every rule, and so far, that exception is “Sanctuary,” the Web series-turned-Syfy Network hit. With the first season of “Sanctuary” arriving on DVD, Bullz-Eye’s Will Harris thought now would be a great time to talk to one of the show’s stars, Amanda Tapping.

With time served in the “Stargate” universe — Tapping debuted with the original “SG-1” series cast in 1997, and has stayed with her character ever since, bringing her over to “Stargate: Atlantis” — she’s definitely got the geek cred to draw an audience with the Syfy crowd, not to mention enough mojo to help make a Web phenomenon. And attracting all those eyeballs is what helped “Sanctuary” make the jump from monitor to screen so successfully. As Tapping tells us:

We made this kick-ass web series for a lot of money, and that was great, and we got a huge number of eyeballs watching it. 3 or 4 million people ended up watching the web series, I think, which created a huge amount of buzz. But we ultimately ran out of money, and we went, ‘Uh-oh, this is cool, but what now?’ But because of all the buzz we got, television networks started calling us, saying, ‘You know, it may not work on the web, but what about doing it as a TV series?

But even though “Sanctuary” is finding success, that doesn’t mean Tapping is done with “Stargate” — in fact, as she makes clear in the interview, she’s planning on popping up in “Stargate: Universe” soon. To read more about plans for her character — and for the second season of “Sanctuary” — click on the above image or follow this link!

Actresses, External TV, Interviews

Sam Trammell talks “True Blood”

September 11, 2009 /

If you’re a regular reader of Premium Hollywood’s “True Blood” blog (and I’m pretty sure there are at least three or four of you out there), then you already know that, when I was out in California for the TCA Press Tour, I had a chance to mingle with some of the members of the show’s cast after the series took home the TCA’s award for Outstanding New Program. Not everyone from the cast was present, and you can imagine that the ones who were there had a tendency to be surrounded by critics doubling as fans, but as the evening progressed and various folks departed the festivities, at least one man stuck it out for the long haul: Sam Trammell, a.k.a. the resident shape-shifter of Bon Temps, Louisiana. My wife and I ended up chatting with him for an extended period, and though we actually talked more about music – he’s a big Psychedelic Furs fan – than we did the show that had brought him to the function, I was able to set up a proper interview when I made it back to Virginia.

In other words, I had…

Now, if you’re going to play a shapeshifter, then you’ve quickly got to get over any issues of modesty that you may have. Fortunately, when it comes to getting naked, Trammell is a professional, having done theater work which necessitated the wearing of limited amounts of clothing, but that doesn’t make it any easier.

You know, the thing is, most of the time when people have to get naked, it’s for a sex scene or it’s post-coital, and they’re in a bedroom and it’s kind of a closed set. But with Sam, it always seems to be because he’s turning back into himself from being an animal, so I’m always outside. Like, way out. Like, out for everybody to see. There’s no way you can close the set, really, and it’s just…it’s bizarre. I just feel very vulnerable, standing around naked. But with HBO, of course, before you even sign up, they’re, like, ‘Are you willing to take your clothes off? Because this is HBO.’ And, of course, I’m, like, ‘I’ll do anything to be on the show.’

Sam’s not just one of the stars of “True Blood.” He’s also a fan…although there have been moments during Season 2 which have even been a little rough for him to watch.

That heart soufflé was pretty intense. Also, when Jane Bodehouse cut her finger off, that was pretty hardcore, too. That whole scene was really weird. And the guy sitting in the sink…? Really creepy. I know there’s some other stuff, too, that I’m not thinking about. and I know there’s some stuff coming up in the finale that’s really harsh and shocking. Yeah, there’ll be a little gore in the last one, too.

To read more of the interview — including lots more “True Blood” talk, as well as his thoughts on being eaten in “Alien vs. Predator: Requiem” and having appeared in “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” — click on the image above or follow this link!

Actors, External Entertainment, External TV, Interviews, News, True Blood, TV Action, TV Dramas, TV Sci-Fi

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