<title> 2011 August</title>

January 27, 2012

Minka Kelly gets physical on set of Charlie’s Angels

With the end of summer nearing and hurricanes still swirling all around us here in Florida, things have relatively slowed down around town. But one thing that has been pretty non-stop for months now, is the production of the Charlie’s Angels reboot!

It’s been a pleasure having the cast shooting scenes down here and keeping a Miami show authentic. [shout out to Burn Notice and The Glades as well!]

These images were taken of Minka Kelly, Ramon Rodriguez, and Annie Ilonzeh on the set of the upcoming ABC action series in Miami, Florida on Wednesday, August 31st, 2011. This has got to be one of my favorite sets of photos because of the spectacular costumes worn by the girls!

Minka wearing Wonder Woman styled cuffs? Yes…please!

That is why I miss Alias so much. It was so brilliant to see not only Sydney Bristow (Jennifer Garner) dress up and take various aliases throughout the show but also her co-stars Michael Vartan, Victor Garber, and Carl Lumbly. So these images definitely have me excited about the upcoming season.

Charlie’s Angels will premiere on Thursday, September 22, 2011, the 35th anniversary of the debut of the original show, on ABC.


Photo Cred: Pacific Coast News

Joe Manganiello has awkward meet-up with Dracula

I’m really starting to feel sorry for the cast of True Blood. Playing the role of a sexy supernatural creature on one of the hottest shows in the world must be extremely difficult to cope with. I read a story earlier declaring that Alexander Skarsgard will not be biting any fans, no matter how much they beg!

Their fan encounters must be like no other!

Alex’s co-star Joe Manganiello encountered a strange fan of his own, and it came in the shape of the most famous vampire of them all–Dracula. It looks like the upcoming star of Magic Mike hadn’t encountered a fan quite like this and he looks to have been left speechless.

Poor Joe! :(

A peek at Desperate Housewives’ final season

The final season of my biggest guilty pleasure Desperate Housewives kicks off in late September and I have my bottle of Amaretto ready. After the experiment in terror I like to call season seven I have high hopes that Marc Cherry and the rest of Team Wisteria will send my five favorite suburban seductresses off into the sunset with some dignity and grace. A healthy dose of scandal and debauchery would be nice too.

Some pics of the September 25th premiere have leaked. Don’t worry, there is nothing too spoilery here. Although I’d bet the shot of Gabby (Eva Longoria) and Bree (Marcia Cross) joining hands in the woods has something to do with that dead body Gabby was hiding in her coffee table at the end of last season. Let’s hope so! I like the idea of Renee bitching about getting dirt under her nails while digging a grave. Check out the gallery below.

 

Fringe Season 4 promo is here!

The next Fringe Friday is September 23rd and it simply cannot get here fast enough. Season four of the best show on TV premieres that day and all the heavens shall rejoice! Until then we have to amuse ourselves with lots of pudding and fantasies about what our alternate selves are like. I’ve decided mine is totally a movie star. The first episode is titled “Neither Here Nor There” so check out this kick ass promo and stuff.

Producers are keeping a tight lip about exactly what Peter Bishops role will be in the new season. Joshua Jackson has been spotted on set so we know he at least appears in some capacity, whether that be flash backs or flash forwards or flash sideways remains to be seen. Whatever they do we can be pretty sure that Olivia will do some ass-kicking.

Are you ready?

Gabriel Macht Spills “Suits” Season Finale and (gasp!) Harvey’s soft side

Well, color me charmed. Not that I wasn’t before having the opportunity to chat with the man who puts one of the most deliciously stylish badass lawyers on our TV screens each week — on USA Network’s “Suits” — but Gabriel Macht himself just makes it impossible not to love him. Very smart and attentive to questions and details in his answers, Gabriel Macht is a man after my own journalist heart. (I may blog too, but I’m still a journalist!) And boy, do I love good interviews. And no, it’s not just because Mr. Macht was so funny and cute when he heard our site’s name. (Thank you, by the way, and my eyes are heart-shaped.)

After about 45 minutes of Mr. Macht talking about what’s it like to play Harvey, what’s ahead on “Suits”, how some James Bond got on going there, and how he felt about taking on this role, I’m positively in love. I’m still team Mike and team (he who plays Mike) Patrick J. Adams, I just love Harvey that much more now. Hey, I’m a giving woman.

So, if you are dying to have a little insight into Harvey and what’s ahead on Suits, keep on reading at your own risk because…WARNING! Spoilers ahead! And they’ll cover the final episodes of “Suits”, plus a very intriguing discussion on Harvey’s past showing up (you heard it, Harvey’s, not Mike’s!).

Before we get started, I’d like to wave hi to Matt Mitovich, who was the first in line to ask spoiler-y questions of course, and who is way too awesome for me not to wave at him! Hi, Matt!

Yeah, yeah I get it, this is not entertainment hour (or, well, is it?) I must spill the goodies now. It’s back to work. On Gabriel Macht. Well that doesn’t exactly displease me. Here you go, from the man himself, the answers to your burning questions about Harvey and Suits!

Alessandra: “Is there going to be a flashback to when Harvey was working under Jessica’s wing in the next few episodes or next season? It’s been referenced many times on the show, how Harvey had to do this and that when he was working for Jessica, and it would be a great way of showing a possibly different side to Harvey. As in, showing Harvey before he was… Harvey.”

Gabriel Macht: “I don’t know if that will happen, as in an actual flashback. I do know that in tomorrow night’s episode AND in the finale you’re gonna see a few encounters with Harvey and Jessica. [Played by the ever-awesome Gina Torres. Why HELLO, Ana Espinoza! Killed anyone today? Kicked any ass to the curb for a blouse? If you didn't watch Alias, never mind, ignore this!]. Jessica sort of saw Harvey in many ways like Harvey sees Mike, so she helped him, she also put him with the district attorney played by Gary Cole to get him trial experience. She put him with the district attorney so that he could learn the ropes. You’ll see how that sort of reveals itself. I don’t know whether we’ll see a flashback, but you’ll see how they got to where they are now and you’ll see who Harvey was in essence, in some of the scenes with Gary Cole. And you’ll see guilt and it’s a situation where he rightly feels guilty.”

“Gary Cole plays a district attorney from Manhattan [Cameron Dennis is the name of Cole's character] and my SUITS -- Episode 111 -- Photo by: Christos Kalohoridis/USA Network relationship with him is that I was one of his assistants back in the day. I think, if I’m correct, Alicia [Coppola, also a guest star on the next episode of “Suits”] was also one of the assistants back with me, or anyway someone we ran into often, a colleague of some sort.

Cole’s character comes back to me to sort of try and keep a past wrongdoing behind closed doors because he is seeking re-election. He buries some evidence in regards to a certain character that you’ll meet as some point. And I (Harvey) was unaware that he was burying evidence. Gary Cole’s character was Harvey’s initial mentor, he’s Harvey’s Harvey. Like Harvey is to Mike.”

“Alicia plays someone who works at the attorney general’s office, so she’s trying to end his [Gary Cole's character] re-election and she’s trying to get me to open up about him.”

And if you thought this was all, think again, because the plot thickens as Chi McBride (another incredibly smart, funny actor I had the pleasure to talk to about HawthoRNe a few weeks ago, see the interview here) guest stars in the season finale of “Suits”.

Gabriel Macht: “Chi comes in in the last episode, he’s the interim district attorney because – not to give anything away – something happens to the present district attorney. Harvey wants to right a wrong that happened when he was with the district attorney many years ago. And the only way is to bring it up to Chi in order to make a deal. But Chi really doesn’t play by the book and makes it really difficult for Harvey to accomplish his goal. So Harvey sort of met his match there. Chi is a solid, solid guy, and a terrific actor, and I really enjoyed working with him. I think those scenes are really strong.”

Expanding on that subject, Mr. Macht revealed to all of us something that may come as a shock to a lot of viewers. Harvey DOES have a strong emotional side. Or at least he does in Macht’s mind. And, those emotions are going to show up at some point!

Gabriel Macht: “I think Harvey is very emotional. I think he’s been hurt and I think he’s been broken. So I think he just built this big armor. If you look at what he does, you’ll see that he does have emotions, but doesn’t show them. So, he stands up for people behind their back. He’ll stand up for Mike, but behind his back. He’ll stand up for Louis [Rick Hoffman's evil and yet hilarious character] even, behind his back. He thinks Jessica has had his back all along and she always will, and I think he’s able to show vulnerability with her. I don’t know if it’s something I wish more than the viewers want to see it. At some point we WILL see his emotions.”

And Harvey’s emotions and his thinking about how he used to be, played right into that moment when Harvey decided to take Mike as his associate, according to Mr. Macht:

Gabriel Macht: “I think – besides from just saying the lines that they give me – that in many ways Mike (Patrick J. Adams) is, you know, a representation of what Harvey was when he was a kid. And he got a real shot from SUITS -- Episode 111 -- Photo by: Christos Kalohoridis/USA Network Jessica to break out of the world that he was in and get a second chance. I think there’s a huge thing to say about second chances and giving somebody a second shot. I think he’s seen Mike made a few bad decisions, but Mike’s truly a good person, he’s really bright and he deserved a second chance, and I think that’s sort of what happened with Harvey early on.

So when he saw this kid, as being a younger him, he thought this is one of the ways he can give back. I like seeing it that way, and it creates even more compassion that a lot of people feel like Harvey lacks. Thinking outside the box, the greater good, I think that’s what made Harvey do it. Not to mention he needed someone to help him and do some of his work, so he needs some kid so why not this guy? He’s tired of the Harvard graduates who come in and who are basically all like Louis, he wants someone more like him!”

Now, I’d like to introduce you all to my great question about the James Bond reference they had a couple of weeks ago on Suits (yes I’m a major James Bond fan. No, not a Daniel Craig as James Bond fan. Great guy, I just don’t like him as Bond. I’m sure you’ll all live with it.). Trouble is, we were only allowed one question each, so I didn’t get to ask it myself. But, Harvey is so Bondian in a lot of his moments on the show, and that reference to Bond girl Pussy Galore (from “Goldfinger”) just didn’t go unnoticed here! Luckily, someone else noticed and asked something similar, so I got my James Bond moment to share with all of you anyway. Isn’t that great? (What, you don’t like James Bond? Boo, hiss!). Here’s what Mr. Macht had to say when asked whether he’d play Bond if given the opportunity to do so, and how the Bond references worked on “Suits”.

Gabriel Macht: “Hey, of course! But being an American Bond, I just don’t know. There’s never been one. I worked with Daniel Craig on a BBC movie two years ago, great guy, I think he’s done a terrific job as Bond. And I also worked with Timothy Dalton many years ago. But I think that’s as close to James Bond as I will get.

I think there was a line two weeks ago where I got to put my James Bond on, and it was I think from a Roger Moore Bond and it was fun to play.”

Mr. Macht, I’d like to point out that no it wasn’t, the line was about Pussy Galore. Honor Blackman played the character in “Goldfinger”, possibly the best Bond movie ever and the one that established Sean Connery as THE James Bond! So yes, you got to work with the original James Bond’s material.

For those of you out there who are Bond mega fans like me, the dialogue was between Harvey and a woman helping him and she wanted to thank him, how can I say… that way? In public. Yeah, like that, in public.
To which Harvey said : “But then I don’t get to be James Bond”
And she countered: “What does that make me?”
Harvey replied: “Pussy Galore?”

HA! I fangirled right when it happened, because hey, that’s not as good as the original line when Sean Connery asked what the name of the woman was, but it’s still a major Bond reference and I can’t help but feel all satisfied about a show I enjoy so much having such a direct Bond reference. But, back to Mr. Macht’s reply:

“If I ever got the opportunity to play James Bond I’d do it in a heartbeat.”

I’m all for it because Mr. Macht on “Suits” really has that James Bond quality, but sorry, it has to be a Briton. And specifically, the next Bond absolutely needs to be (excuse me while I get my defibrillator, the mere mention is enough for me to just lose my senses) HENRY CAVILL. He’s the only one who is perfect for the part out there, so EON and Mr Wilson and Ms Broccoli better listen. YESTERDAY! Bond fan moment over, back to our regular programming. Swooning over Mr. Macht and wondering what Harvey is up to is now back in action.

So, what is it like to play Harvey and how did Gabriel Macht make the decision to take on a TV role after such a long time away from the small screen? Here’s what he had to say about it.

Gabriel Macht: “It’s been great to dig into Harvey’s character. I hadn’t done television for many, many years. The last series I did was “The Others” that lasted 13 epis on NBC and Steven Spielberg produced it. I just thought since he was producing “I don’t know, maybe I’ll just go and show my face.” I ended up getting it and working on it. I really liked the writing on the show, but it ended. And then I got a film, and then another film, I just started working in film and I always liked the idea of changing the character from movie to movie and I had a pretty good run with it. And then I just started to find that I was getting some great opportunities but not the best opportunities. So, I thought, there’s some terrific writing on TV so why not go back and try and do it.

Harvey is a terrific character, I love the banter, I love the wit that they’ve put into the writing. So I thought, why not seize the opportunity to really dig into a character really really deep. And I thought the idea of doing TV, and then taking a break from time to time and play another character in a film was great. And it really worked out like SUITS -- Episode 112 -- Photo by: Christos Kalohoridis/USA Network that.

I admire Harvey, I really think the way he’s developing is great. I had a really interesting conversation with [“Suits” executive producer and writer] Aaron Korsh and we were talking about characters in TV and film. I’ve always treated the characters in film as in the person starts out at A and ends up in D going through B and C. You gotta see the arc of that character in film. Some of the traps that I was coming into as far as playing Harvey on the show were that I was trying to “make” the character who he is too quickly in the first few episodes. So he [Aaron] explained that characters on TV grow slower in many ways. So I thought, well that’s interesting. I’m interested in seeing how that works over the next few seasons, if we’re all doing good work and people keep responding to us and USA Network keeps the show.”

“We love working with each other and we have found the right rhythm with each other. So we’re invested. There’s a difference being like “well let’s hope the show does well and this keeps going” when you shoot the pilot and what happens after that. Shooting the finale was like “Hey we’re all really proud of what we’ve done over the last few months.”

Oh, you and us both, trust me on this one. And since this depends on us, too, we better get on it. Because we do NOT want to miss our weekly dose of Harvey and Mike now, do we? So while this is the end of our chat with Mr. Macht, whom we deeply thank for his incredible charm, intelligence and wit, and for bearing with us for almost an hour of his precious time, this better be the start of a bright and long future for “Suits”. Which means? Don’t forget to tune in for the final episodes of “Suits” on USA Network on Thursday nights at 10 p.m.! The Suits finale will air Sept. 8 on USA Network at 10 p.m.!


Photo Cred: Christos Kalohoridis/USA Network

George Clooney and Evan Rachel Wood take on the Venice Film Festival

Swinging playboy George Clooney looked dapper in a snazzy grey suit at the The Ides of March photocall held at Palazzo del Casino on Wednesday, August 31st, 2011 in Venice, Italy. Joining him were co-stars Evan Rachel Wood, Paul Giamatti, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Marisa Tomei.

Already garnering rave reviews from critics, the political thriller opened up the 68th Venice International Film Festival today.

The Ides of March, which was also directed and co-written by Clooney, is based on the play by Beau Willimon and follows the frantic last days before a heavily contested Ohio presidential primary. The up-and-coming campaign press secretary finds himself involved in a political scandal that threatens to upend his candidate’s shot at the presidency.

Look out for it in U.S. theaters on October 7th, 2011.


Photo Cred: Wire Image

Katey Sagal and Charlie Hunnam premiere ‘Sons of Anarchy’

In this day in age where reality television is all the rage, I’m grateful for shows like Sons of Anarchy that really push the envelope of storytelling every week and keep me absolutely addicted to not just the plot but also the characters.

We are only six days away from heralding the return of the FX drama and the entire cast hooked up last night to help kick-off the season the right way! Creator Kurt Sutter was joined by wife Katey Sagal, hot-boy Charlie Hunnam and his on-screen ol’ lady Maggie Siff, Ron Perlman, and the rest of the SAMCRO boys–Ryan Hurst, Theo Rossi, Tommy Flanagan, William Lucking, Kim Coates and Mark Boone Jr. at FX Network’s “Sons Of Anarchy” Season 4 Premiere on Tuesday, August 30th, 2011 in Los Angeles, California.

Guest star (and Mexican bad-ass!) Danny Trejo was also on-hand for the festivities!

The previews have me sitting on the edge of my seat with hints of inner turmoil and promises of utter bad-assness ahead! I have a feeling that this is not going to be the best season for Clay (Perlman) who is struggling with killer arthritis and the ghost of John Teller and the alleged murder plot hanging over him.

Season four promises to be another wild ride and we are in the bitch seat!

Now if only Kurt Sutter would come back to Twitter!

Tune in to the special 90-minute premiere on Tuesday, September 6th at 10:00 PM ET/PT only on FX.


Photo Cred: Wire Image