Feeling the Music of Fargo With Composer Jeff Russo
You would have been excused for wondering how in the world the folks behind FX's Fargo were going to take a classic Coen Brothers film and turn it into a viable television series. The challenge of adapting something beloved is hard enough when what you're adapting is a book, but to take an award winning and critically acclaimed film and turn it into a television series? That takes guts.
One of the ways in which
Questions About Game of Thrones‘ Season Five Finale
The following speculation on what really happened in the season five finale contains sundry spoilers, and was written by someone who has not read the books.
In order to prepare for Game of Thrones season finale, I re-watched “Dance of Dragons” in an effort to prepare for what we all knew was going to be a bloody finale. I stupidly hoped that by purifying myself with the pain of Princess Shireen of House Baretheon’s death,
Getting Gut-Punched by Game of Thrones “Dance of Dragons”
If you haven't watched last night's episode, read no further.
Well, the moment fans have been dreading for two seasons finally came to pass last night, and it was even worse than we feared: Stannis Baretheon gave in to Melisandre and had his lovely, doomed daughter Shireen killed. And not just killed, but burned alive. In a show that’s had it’s fair share (and other show’s fair shares, really a ton of shares here) of brutal deaths,
Revelations, Winter & the new Power Couple: Inside Game of Thrones “Hardhome”
Last night’s episode “Hardhome” might not have been the season's penultimate episode, but it played like one. Like those penultimate mindblowers Blackwater, The Red Wedding and The Battle of Castle Black before it, this third-to-last episode in season five had one extended, terrifically shot set piece that was as satisfying as it was intense. Yet before the thrilling last fifteen minutes of "Hardhome," there was plenty to enjoy.
The Queen Bey &
Details on Jurassic World, Questions About Game of Thrones & More
A few things on our minds that we'd love your feedback on, including excitement over Jurassic World, frustration with a certain awful someone on Game of Thrones, and hope for an upcoming comedy. Let us know what we've missed and what you think on the below.
Jurassic World's Indominus Rex is not only a crazy hybrid dinosaur but also a sly jab at our insatiable appetite for the next big thing.
Watch & Listen to Empire Composer Fil Eisler’s Favorite Scenes
Yesterday we published our interview with Empire composer Fil Eisler, and today we're going to take a look at two scenes Eisler chose as his favorite illustrations of what he brings to the show. Thanks to 20th Century Fox, who were kind enough to send us these clips.
Let's go through a few of your favorite scenes that you scored last season.
There’s a couple of scenes that I could use to illustrate the extremes of what the music can do.
Empire‘s Composer Fil Eisler on Scoring TV’s Best Show About Music
Empire was a big part of Fox's recent upfront presentation for reasons that are easy to parse. It was the number one series on TV, a smashing success for the network and invigorated the entire TV landscape. The upcoming season has been expanded to 18 episodes, and Fox announced that Alicia Keys, Lenny Kravitz and Chris Rock will be among the guest stars.
The appeal of Empire is obvious; the King Lear-like premise,
Is Sci-Fi Making a Comeback on Television in 2015?
Is science fiction making a comeback on television? On the big screen, it's never gone away. Even smaller projects, like Alex Garland's clever, surprisingly sexy Ex Machina have drawn great reviews and decent audiences. Then there's the giants, like Christopher Nolan's Interstellar, and if you'd allow for the many sci-fi elements that make up the Marvel Universe, then you've got both of the Avengers films (aliens,
Made in Louisiana: On Set With the Crew of NCIS: New Orleans
On a warm March day, we took a drive outside of New Orleans to Harahan, Louisiana, and found ourselves, improbably, back in New Orleans. We were standing in a courtyard off of St. Ann street between Bourbon and Royal. Directly in front of us was a large kitchen, and beyond that a high-tech command center where serious investigative work is routinely conducted. But out in the courtyard, we were marveling at the weather-beaten air conditioner, a fountain overflowing with plants,
Avengers: Age of Ultron Gets the Sesame Street Parody Treatment
A lot to enjoy in this Sesame Street parody of Marvel’s upcoming Avengers: Age of Ultron. One is imagining living in a world in which people walked around eating vegetables on the street. One of the joys of Sesame Street in general is their completely bonkers voice work—listen to how, at 37 seconds in, one of the characters pronounces the word "asparagus" for a perfect example.
The parody,
Game of Thrones Music Editor David Klotz Makes Melody of Mayhem
On the surface, it may seem like Game of Thrones, Glee and American Horror Story have little in common. The first is a mythological drama about feuding families lusting for power. The second is a musical comedy focused on the daily activities of a high school singing group, and the third is an anthological horror series.
One asset they do all have in common though is David Klotz,
Sesame Street spoofs Game of Thrones With Game of Chairs
In the land of Jesteros, no one could have seen this plot twist coming…
Sesame Street is on point once again with their parody of Game of Thrones; sorry, we mean Game of Chairs. Ned Stark, along with Grover (Bluejoy), is in charge of administering the game (musical chairs), which will crown the new king or queen. Robb Stark, Cersei Lannister, Joffrey Baratheon, and Daenerys Targaryen are all on hand to fight for the ‘Iron Throne’
SXSW 2015: Constance Zimmer on her roles in Results, House of Cards & More
You know Constance Zimmer. If her name doesn't ring a bell, her face will. You've seen her before, typically as the no-nonsense, hard working, truth-telling badass who is this close to losing her cool on some less than forthright character. Perhaps you remember her as Dana Gordon from Entourage, the young, tough studio head who could ink multimillion dollar deals and go potshot for potshot with Jeremy Piven's logorrhific Ari Gold. (Fans of Zimmer as Gordon will be pleased to know she's reprising the role in the upcoming
SXSW 2015: Sony’s Steve Mosko Talks TV
Sony Pictures Television’s president Steve Mosko recalled the reaction of some of his fellow executives when they were preparing to green light an oddball script some years ago. The story was about a high school chemistry teacher with terminal cancer turning to the production and distribution of crystal meth in order to support his family after he died. Not only was this premise completely baffling to some of Mosko’s colleagues (wait, the protagonist is going to die?
Inside The Americans Costume Shop
"I knew going in that when people heard 1980s they’d automatically think neon, big hair, shoulder pads, and I also knew that was actually not true," costume designer Jenny Gering told us when we interviewed her about her work on The Americans. "1981 looks much more like the late 70s than what people associate with the 1980s. I knew it would be fun for me to reeducate the viewer to the way that time period actually looked.
The American’s Costume Designer Jenny Gering
If you haven’t seen FX’s hit series The Americans yet, you are missing out on the one of the most relentlessly entertaining, thoughtfully produced dramas on television. What’s more, for those of you who have any memory of the 1980s, The Americans is also one of the most gorgeously shot and costumed shows on TV, at once nailing it’s era and milieu and simultaneously subverting what you think the 80s looked like.
Made in Maryland: Hanging With the Crew on the Set of Veep
It was a cold, blustery Tuesday in December when we were on the set of HBO’s Veep in downtown Baltimore. On the production front, however, It was a relatively calm day of filming by Veep standards, but a calm day on the set of this show still requires dozens of crew members to work their butts off. Whether it was Kim Bogues in craft services, costumer Constance Harris or assistant property managers Jamie Bishop and John Bert,
2014 in Review: Lensers, Designers, Makeup Artists & More – PART II
The end of the year brings a few reliable reactions; promises to do x, y and z more consistently in the new year, reflection on all that you accomplished (and failed at, and regretted) this past year, and 'Year in Review' lists. Yesterday we published Part I of our look back at some of the filmmakers we interviewed in 2014. On Monday, we published an interview with cinematographer Robert Yeoman, looking back on his work in Wes Anderson's
Director Michelle MacLaren’s a Wonder Woman
It’s time to get excited about a comic-book movie that’s not directed by Christopher Nolan or Joss Whedon, that doesn’t star or co-star or have a cameo by Robert Downey Jr., and that's not centered on a brooding dude, or a rich, conflicted dude, or a bunch of dudes with various powers. We're talking about a film that’s poised to make a household name of not one woman but two. Your excitement will be warranted,
God of the Gown: Oscar de la Renta’s Influence on Hollywood
Born in the Dominican Republic in 1932, Oscar de la Renta began his career in the 1950s, in Franco’s Spain, and by the time he passed this past Monday at his home in Kent, Connecticut at the age of 82, he was not only an fashion icon but perhaps the most beloved figure in the entire industry. His dresses were worn by first ladies in the White house, by celebrities at the Oscars, by characters in TV and film and by thousands of models on the runway.
