Moviefone Editorial

Tag: apple-tv

  • TV Casting: Tom Hiddleston, Whoopi Goldberg, Angela Bassett and More

    Tom Hiddleston as Loki
    Loki (Tom Hiddleston) in Marvel Studios’ ‘Loki,’ exclusively on Disney+. Photo by Chuck Zlotnick. ©Marvel Studios 2021. All Rights Reserved.

    Someone apparently decided that today was TV casting news day!

    Still, there is a lot of TV casting to report, so let’s kick off with Loki’s return to the small screen. Well, actually, it’s Tom Hiddleston, who is now attached to his second Apple TV+ series following upcoming drama ‘The Essex Serpent’.

    ‘The White Darkness’ comes from another Apple veteran, ‘Pachinko’ creator Soo Hugh, who will run the show alongside ‘Strange Angel’s Mark Heyman.

    The series is inspired by the true-life account of Henry Worsley, played by Hiddleston, a devoted husband and father, a former soldier, a man of deep honor and sacrifice, but also a man deeply obsessed with adventure, manifesting in an epic journey crossing Antarctica on foot.

    Deadline’s report offers no details on when the show will start shooting, but there’s a fair chance that it’ll have to wait until after the next season of ‘Loki’ is filmed.

    Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie
    (L to R) Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in 2005’s ‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith.’

    Next up, there’s a development on the TV version of movie spy thriller ‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith’, which had been moving ahead with Donald Glover and Phoebe Waller-Bridge, at least until the latter left over creative differences.

    Now, though the actress and writer has been replaced by someone who similarly broke big by writing and starring in a show: ‘Pen15’s Maya Erskine will star opposite Glover in the story of married agents whose marriage is strained because they’re both so busy. That gets even more complicated when they discover that they’ve been contracted to eliminate each other.

    Glover announced Erskine’s casting as part of an Interview magazine article where he interviews himself. He also let slip that he’s busy writing the season finale of the Prime Video show.

    Continuing with streaming services owned by Amazon, Neil Gaiman’s adaptation of his 2005 novel ‘Anansi Boys’ is adding a wealth of cast led by Whoopi Goldberg.

    The Oscar winner, who has recently been seen reprising one of her iconic small screen characters, Guinan, on ‘Star Trek: Picard’, has signed on to play the villainous Bird Woman in the fantasy series.

    ‘Anansi Boys’ is the story of Charlie Nancy (Malachi Kirby) — sometimes known as Fat Charlie (it was his father’s nickname for him; he’s not fat) — a young man who is used to being embarrassed by his estranged father (Delroy Lindo). But when his father dies, Charlie discovers that he was Anansi: Trickster God of stories. And he learns that he has a brother. Now that brother, Spider (also played by Kirby), is entering Charlie’s life, determined to make it more interesting — but making it a lot more dangerous instead.

    Whoopi Goldberg as Guinan
    Whoopi Goldberg as Guinan of the Paramount+ original series ‘Star Trek: Picard.’ Photo: Nicole Wilder/Paramount+ ©2022 ViacomCBS. All Rights Reserved.

    Goldberg’s Bird Woman is, as her name might suggest, the God of Birds. Bird Woman is the God of Birds and a key antagonist in the series. Anyone who’s had a close encounter with a seagull knows that some birds are more dangerous than others, and Bird Woman is the most dangerous of them all. Long ago Anansi did her wrong. Now may be her chance to turn the tables.

    “I have been a fan of this book for a very long time and when Neil Gaiman told me it was being brought to the screen, I did everything I could to be part of it to help make people aware of Anansi and all his magic,” Goldberg says in a statement.

    According to Gaiman, it was a fortuitous meeting that led to Goldberg’s casting. “When I first conceived ‘Anansi Boys,’ decades ago, I imagined Whoopi Goldberg as Bird Woman,” Gaiman said. “I wasn’t able to meet her until 2018, when she interviewed me with some of the ‘Good Omens’ team at New York Comic Con. At which point she mentioned that she had just finished listening to Sir Lenny Henry’s reading of ‘Anansi Boys,’ and that it was one of her favorite books. Sometimes things feel planned and inevitable, and we are incredibly lucky. She’s going to be scary.”

    And she’s not the only mythic creature the Nancy family will have to worry about. Alongside Goldberg, the cast now includes Hakeem Kae-Kazim as Tiger, Emmanuel Ighodaro as Lion, Cecilia Noble playing Elephant, Ayanna Witter-Johnson as Snake and Don Gilet playing Monkey.

    The various animal deities all have their own reasons for disliking Anansi – they mostly hate him for his trickster behavior, though Monkey is terrified of him.

    Gaiman and co-showrunner Douglas MacKinnon (who worked alongside him on ‘Good Omens’ and its sequel series) are busy making the show in Scotland now.

    Angela Bassett with phone
    Angela Bassett as Erika Sloane in ‘Mission: Impossible – Fallout,’ from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.

    On to Netflix next, where the casting is movie related, but we’re keeping it here since it’ll debut on the streaming service. And it’s another fantasy title, this time with Angela Bassett joining ‘Damsel’.

    The movie will star Netflix stalwart Millie Bobby Brown, who plays a princess is shocked to discover that she’ll be sacrificed to the kingdom’s sacred cave dragon, after being married to her prince charming. She must survive long enough until someone comes to save her – only no one is coming.

    Bassett will play Lady Bayford, the stepmother to Brown’s Elodie, while Juan Carlos Fresnadillo is directing from a script by Dan Mazeau.

    Heading right back around to Apple, there’s word that Andre Holland will play Black Panther leader Huey P. Newton, who was able to escape a massive, nationwide manhunt to avoid prosecution for murder with the help of Bert Schneider, the Hollywood producer behind ‘Easy Rider’, as well as a few other celebrity radicals.

    Newton ended up in Cuba and his story was told in a Playboy article by Joshuah Bearman. Now ‘Claws’ showrunner Janine Sherman Barrois is working on a six-part limited series adaptation called ‘The Big Cigar’, which has Don Cheadle amongst its producers (and serving as director for the first two episodes).

    And finally, we head to Disney+, where Lucasfilm is making history by casting an openly trans actor in one of its productions.

    Warwick Davis as Willow
    Warwick Davis in 1988’s ‘Willow.’

    In this case, Britain’s Talisa Garcia has been cast in ‘Willow’ as a queen, the mother to Tony Revolori’s character.

    The ‘Willow’ series, which is set in the same universe as the 1988 fantasy movie, follows a princess who assembles a party to join her on a quest to rescue her twin brother. Warwick Davis is reprising his role as the title character.

    And before you think this is Disney looking to generate some positive press in the wake of the “Don’t Say Gay” controversy over Florida politics, Garcia’s casting happened months ago, and the show is now in post-production for a planned launch this year.

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  • Jason Momoa Co-Creating New TV Series ‘Chief of War’

    Jason Momoa at Oscars
    Jason Momoa presents the Oscar® for Animated Short Film during the live ABC telecast of the 94th Oscars® at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood in Los Angeles, CA, on Sunday, March 27, 2022.

    Jason Momoa already has a healthy working relationship with Apple’s TV+ arm thanks to his starring role as blind warrior Baba Voss in the dystopian sci-fi series ‘See’.

    He’s looking to keep that going by co-creating and starring in a new show for the company, one that will draw from his Hawaiian heritage. Momoa is set to headline a series called ‘Chief of War’.

    Co-created by Momoa and Thomas Pa’a Sibbett, the pair will write the eight-episode initial order and serve as executive producers along with Francis Lawrence, Peter Chernin, Jenno Topping, Erik Holmberg, and Doug Jung. The latter is handling showrunner duties on the new series.

    Justin Chon, who most recently made ‘Blue Bayou’, and worked on episodes of another Apple series, multi-generational family drama ‘Pachinko’ is reportedly in negotiations to handle the first two episodes of the new show.

    ‘Chief of War’s story is largely a mystery for now, but according to Apple it will be an “epic and unprecedented telling of the unification and colonization of Hawaii from an indigenous point of view.” Which is both a topic and a focus that has been sorely lacking on screens both big and small.

    Talking to the Associated Press, Momoa describes the series as potentially the “pinnacle” of his career. “It’s my ‘Dances with Wolves’, it’s my ‘Braveheart’ he says in an interview. You can find his full statement below:

    The show also cements another working partnership for the actor – his collaboration with Pa’a Sibbett. They co-wrote the story for the upcoming movie ‘The Last Manhunt,’ with Momoa appearing onscreen in a supporting role. Momoa starred in ‘Braven’ in 2018, which was co-written by Pa’a Sibbett.

    And if you only know him as a leading man, Momoa has had some other creative experience behind the camera already, including co-writing, directing, and starring in the 2014 movie ‘Road to Paloma.’

    It’s a typically busy time for Momoa in terms of movies – he’s wrapped on superhero sequel ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’ for director James Wan and has also worked on family adventure comedy ‘Slumberland’, which sees a young girl discover a mysterious fantasy realm of dreams and nightmares, where she has to team up with an eccentric outlaw to save the day. That movie, perhaps not-so-coincidentally, is directed by ‘Chief of War’ producer Francis Lawrence.

    Momoa is also scheduled to start work this year on ‘Fast & Furious 10’, in which he’ll play a villain causing problems for Vin Diesel’s Dom Toretto and the gang.

    And in more nebulous form is his latest team up with ‘See’ Season 2 recurring villain Dave Bautista, with the pair planning a buddy comedy along the lines of ‘Lethal Weapon’ in which the actors would play brothers for a story set in Hawaii. ‘The Adam Project’s Jonathan Tropper is attached to write that movie.

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  • Gary Oldman and Jack Lowden Talk ‘Slow Horses’

    Gary Oldman and Jack Lowden
    Gary Oldman and Jack Lowden in “Slow Horses,” now streaming on Apple TV+.

    Premiering on Apple TV+ beginning April 1st is the new spy series ‘Slow Horses,’ which is based on author Mick Herron’s novel of the same name.

    The series follows British MI5 agent River Cartwright (Jack Lowden), who after a botched mission is exiled to Slough House, which is an administrative purgatory for service agents. Cartwright and his fellow former agents now perform boring administrative tasks and work for the miserable Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman), who expects everyone to quit out of frustration.

    But soon the former agents of Slough House, or Slow Horses as they’ve been nicknamed, become entangled in a dangerous mission at London’s Regent’s Park. In addition to Lowden and Oldman, the cast also includes Olivia Cooke, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Jonathan Pryce.

    Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Gary Oldman and Jack Lowden about their work on ‘Slow Horses.

    You can read our full interview with Gary Oldman and Jack Lowden below, or watch a video of our interviews with Oldman, Lowden, Olivia Cooke, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Jonathan Pryce in the player above.

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    Moviefone: To begin with, Gary can you talk about your approach to taking this character from the page to the screen?

    Gary Oldman: Well, I was very lucky because Jackson Lamb is really created, he’s from the imagination of Mick Herron, who is the writer of the books that the series is based on. He created this world and this incredible character, and it was all there. It was all pretty much on the page. All I had to do was just follow all the signposts.

    I knew immediately when I read the book and read the scripts, I just thought I could have a lot of fun playing Jackson. I don’t particularly like him, but I do like playing him and his interaction with the characters in the piece. But a lot of the work, I must say, was done for me in the writing, because it’s very, very good writing.

    MF: Finally, Jack can you talk about your character’s journey and how he feels about being sent to Slough House?

    Jack Lowden: He goes there because he is pushed into making a mistake, given the wrong information, which only adds to his constant frustration. The fact is that he’s just in this one big, bad mood for all six episodes. So, it’s definitely not his fault. I think we were talking earlier about the fact that Jackson, his boss, knows that because he knows everything and chooses to sort of beat him with it.

    I think his career, when we meet him is probably going brilliantly well. I think it’s probably going very well. I think where he then ends up is just not something that he could foresee at all. Then it all just comes crumbling down through no fault of his own.

    Gary Oldman and Jack Lowden in car
    Gary Oldman and Jack Lowden in “Slow Horses,” now streaming on Apple TV+.

  • Harrison Ford Joins Jason Segel Comedy Series ‘Shrinking’

    Harrison Ford at Comic Con
    Actor Harrison Ford walks onstage at the Lucasfilm panel during Comic-Con International 2015 at the San Diego Convention Center on July 10, 2015 in San Diego, California. Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images.

    We’re much more used to Harrison Ford on the big screen in the likes of the ‘Indiana Jones’ and ‘Star Wars’ movies. Yet he’s now preparing to work on his first TV series regular role.

    Ford has agreed to star in ‘Shrinking,’ a new Apple TV+ comedy series that stars ‘Forgetting Sarah Marshall’s Jason Segel, who also co-created and co-writes the show.

    The 10-episode series will see Segel as a grieving therapist who starts to break the rules and tell his clients exactly what he thinks. Ignoring his training and ethics, he finds himself making huge, tumultuous changes to people’s lives… including his own.

    As for Ford, he’ll play Dr. Phil Rhodes, a down-to earth, sharp-as-a-tack “blue-collar shrink,” blunt but with an ever-present twinkle. Phil is a pioneer in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy who has built a successful practice over the years that he shares with his two young proteges, Jimmy and Gaby. Fiercely independent, Phil has recently been diagnosed with Parkinson’s, which forces him out of his comfort zone as he grapples with intrusive friends, his estranged family and his legacy.

    This marks the latest show to come from the prodigious Bill Lawrence, who has been enjoying big success thanks to ‘Ted Lasso’, which is also produced by Apple. He has several series in production or development, but an executive producer on this one alongside ‘Lasso’ writer/actor Brett Goldstein (most recognizable as the perma-scowling Roy Kent from the soccer comedy).

    ‘Shrinking’ is coming together quickly and should be in production this year.

    Jason Segel on red carpet
    Jason Segel at the Los Angeles premiere of Netflix’s ‘Windfall.’

    Next up in movie terms for Ford is the slightly anticipated fifth ‘Indiana Jones’ outing, which has raised plenty of interest (beyond the obvious given audiences’ love for Indy movies) as it marks the first time Steven Spielberg isn’t directing one of the films. Instead, James Mangold recently wrapped filming, with the likes of Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Kretschmann, Boyd Holbrook, Antonio Banderas and Toby Jones filling out the main cast.

    The storyline for this latest adventure is under strict security for now, but you just know it’ll involve Dr. Jones getting into scrapes as he tries to retrieve an object. That movie is scheduled to land in theaters on June 30th next year.

    As opposed to Ford, Segel has largely found his groove on the small screen, appearing in shows such as ‘How I Met Your Mother’, ‘Dispatches from Elsewhere’ (which he also created) and, most recently, ‘Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty,’ in which he plays Paul Westhead.

    Film-wise, though, Segel did recently appear in Netflix title ‘Windfall’ opposite Jesse Plemons and Lily Collins and romantic drama ‘The Sky is Everywhere’ before that.

    ‘Ted Lasso’, meanwhile, recently kicked off shooting its third (and, according to the creators, final) season in the UK and should be on our screens later this year.

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  • ‘Avengers’ Veterans Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson to Reunite

    Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson.
    Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson. Photo by Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images.

    Those who were disappointed when the promised Chris Evans–Scarlett Johansson onscreen reunion in Apple’s ‘Ghosted’ didn’t happen (scheduling conflicts saw the latter drop out) can now be happy to learn that they are once more looking to team up for a new movie.

    And it’s once again (partly) down to Apple that we can look forward to more from the pair, since the company has stumped up a sizeable $100 million price tag (also known as roughly a tenth of what it earns each day) to buy the rights to new space race movie ‘Project Artemis’.

    Story details for this one are currently hovering past the range of normal vision, which is to say that all involved are keeping them quiet. All Deadline was able to learn was that it’ll feature an effort to travel beyond the grip of Earth’s gravity.

    What we do know so far is that Jason Bateman will direct the movie. Johansson’s production company These Pictures, which she runs with Jonathan Lia and Keenan Flynn, commissioned and developed the screenplay, written by Rose Gilroy, who is the daughter of writer-director Dan Gilroy and actress René Russo.

    And it’s the latest space-themed movie to bear the title – already in the development rocket science lab are ‘Artemis’, which Phil Lord and Chris Miller are looking to make based on another book by ‘The Martian’s Andy Weir, telling the story of a wiseacre young woman working on the Moon who becomes embroiled in a conspiracy.

    And then there’s er, ‘Artemis’, which has ‘Deadpool’s Tim Miller aboard to direct a “contained” thriller set in outer space. Neither of those two has exactly soared to screens yet, so this new movie could well overtake them both, especially with cast attached and a director firmly on board.

    Laura Linney and Jason Bateman
    (L to R) Laura Linney and Jason Bateman on Netflix’s ‘Ozarks.’

    It’ll mark a significant shift for Bateman too, who when he’s not acting in and overseeing Netflix’s ‘Ozark’, or a variety of movies, is best known for directing smaller projects such as ‘Bad Words’ and ‘The Family Fang’. This, by contrast, promises to be a big-budget space adventure starring two former Avengers.

    Apple, fresh from seeing Apple TV+ become the first streaming service to score an Oscar thanks to ‘CODA’s win this weekend, has been making some big moves, offering pricey deals to land well-known talent; Evans and Johansson are just two of the actors who have other projects set up there.

    There’s also ‘Argylle’, Matthew Vaughn’s new spy caper starring Henry Cavill and Apple pipping rivals to the post for a Formula 1 racing drama that has Brad Pitt in the leading man’s driver’s seat and Joseph Kosinski directing.

    And you just know that Apple won’t want to have this one sit around on the launch pad if there’s the chance of more box office or awards success in the future.

    Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson.
    (L to R) Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson in Marvel’s ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier.’

  • ‘Godzilla Vs Kong’ Sequel to Shoot in Australia

    Godzilla vs. Kong
    Godzilla and King Kong in 2021’s ‘Godzilla vs. Kong.’ Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.

    Even with the Adam Wingard-directed ‘Godzilla Vs Kong’ doing solid (if not monstrous) business at the worldwide box office with $468 million, it looked like the future for the Kaiju might be on TV, with Legendary and Apple teaming up on a potential show.

    Yet, though there has been no official announcement from either Warner Bros. or Legendary, new arrives of a sequel to that monster mash-up from, of all places, the Australian government’s agency Screen Queensland, which confirmed that an untitled new MonsterVerse movie will be shooting in the country this year.

    It’s not all that surprising that the giant beasties would be headed down under, as both ‘Kong: Skull Island’ and ‘Godzilla Vs Kong’ shot there. And there are also the tax incentives – the new movie will be granted around $17 million in total in Location Incentives from different agencies.

    “The highly skilled crews, first-rate facilities, and unique locations make filming in Australia a great experience,” says producer Eric McLeod. “The support from both the federal government as well as Queensland has always been critical to our success in achieving a high level of filmmaking and an unparalleled audience experience.”

    Nothing has yet been specified about the story for this latest movie, though Wingard has said that the Hollow Earth storyline established in ‘Godzilla Vs Kong’ offers plenty of opportunities for plots going forward. There’s a whole history of the Titans (King Kong and Godzilla are just two of them) to explore.

    Godzilla vs. Kong Poster
    Godzilla and King Kong in 2021’s ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ Photo courtesy of Warne Bros.

    Plus, there’s also a whole host of other creatures waiting in the wings (and with wings) to show their massive faces on film, so expect so more gigantic smackdowns between beasts. And let’s not forget the scheming human side of things, with the Monarch organization still out there.

    Wingard has a few projects bubbling away, including a ‘Face/Off’ sequel, so he may not return for another movie, though he’s said he’d be up for it. We’ll learn in due course who’s involved – if this thing is to shoot in 2022, a script is surely ready (hold your jokes about ‘that wasn’t the case for ‘Godzilla: King of the Monsters’.)

    As for the TV series, that’s still at a relatively early stage.

    ‘Star Trek: Enterprise’ and ‘Outcast’ veteran Chris Black is teaming up with ‘Hawkeye’ comic book writer Matt Fraction for the new show, which will follow the thunderous battle between Godzilla and the Titans that leveled San Francisco and the shocking new reality that monsters are real. The series explores one family’s journey to uncover its buried secrets and a legacy linking them to the secret organization known as Monarch.

    It’s directly connected to the movies but will – even will Apple’s deep pockets –be on a smaller scale to the massive destruction and stakes of those adventures.

    Still, it’s a good time be a Kaiju fan, as Netflix also has an anime show based on ‘Skull Island’, featuring a shipwrecked crew trying to survive the dangerous place, in the works.

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  • Anne Hathaway Talks ‘WeCrashed’

    Anne Hathaway 'WeCrashed'
    Anne Hathaway for Apple TV+’s ‘WeCrashed.’

    Premiering on Apple TV+ beginning March 18th is the new drama series ‘WeCrashed,’ which was created by Lee Eisenberg (‘Bad Teacher’) and Drew Crevello, and directed by John Requa (‘Crazy, Stupid, Love’) and Glenn Ficarra (‘Focus’).

    The series stars Oscar winner Jared Leto (‘Dallas Buyers Club’) as Adam Neumann, co-founder of WeWork, and Oscar winner Anne Hathaway (‘Les Misérables’) as his wife, Rebekah Neumann. The series follows the rise and fall of WeWork, one of the world’s most valuable startups at the time.

    In addition to Leto and Hathaway, the series also features America Ferrera (‘End of Watch’), Kyle Marvin (‘The Climb’), O.T. Fagbenie (‘Black Widow’), and Anthony Edwards (‘Top Gun’).

    Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Anne Hathaway about her work on ‘WeCrashed.’

    You can read our full interview with Anne Hathaway below, or watch a video of our interviews with Hathaway, Jared Leto and Kyle Marvin in the video player above.

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    You can read our full interview with Anne Hathaway below, or watch a video of our interviews with Hathaway, Jared Leto and Kyle Marvin in the video player above.

    Moviefone: To begin with, can you talk about your approach to portraying Rebekah Neumann in this series?

    Anne Hathaway: Well, thank you very much. It was fun. I did the same amount of work that I always do preparing a character. The fact that I had a voice recording of Rebekah and that she’s a real person definitely helped in terms of giving me an aim for what I wanted the voice to sound like. But I have to say she didn’t drop in until I met Adam Neumann, played by Jared Leto. There was something about the strength of their relationship and the love story that we were trying to tell that she came alive inside of me when her partner was there. That was really cool and felt very right for who they are.

    MF: Can you talk about the process of fleshing out the character of Rebekah Neumann’s backstory in order to figure out who she was at the time that this story takes place?

    AH: Well, I worked with an amazing researcher who I work with on different projects called Amy Hammond. I worked with Amy for the first time on ‘Les Misérables.’ Every time I get the opportunity to work with her, I find that it just raises everyone’s game on the project. She did at a lot of background information.

    Not a lot about Rebekah is known. So, I made sure I really understood her world and the world that she came up in and what would’ve been normal for her, that maybe is not the same as the way I was brought up. To understand that certain things that might seem unusual to most of us, to her, might not have been remarkable, because my goal with playing this woman was not to judge her, but to understand her.

    That research really helped me get insight into her. I also took a lot of the interviews that she gave, where she speaks very openly about her spirituality and the books that have had a huge influence on her. I made sure that I read those too.

    MF: Finally, the series really focuses on the relationship between Adam and Rebekah Neumann. Can you talk about developing the dynamic of that relationship with Jared Leto?

    AH: You would think that we sat down, and we had meetings and we strategized about how to do this love story, but the truth is he’s just a really fantastic actor and it just sort of happened. He came in and I just believed everything that he was, and I was in my character as well. It was just there, there was just this chemistry that I think exists between Adam and Rebekah in real life. So, we just kind of tapped into it. Then Jared and I, we never really talked about it. There was never a strategy to it, but we just kind of kept it going, you know?

    Every once in a while, we would check in over text and I was just really grateful. It was a really positive, crazy, fun experience. Whenever we would kind of come up for air and check in with each other, it was just always, “I’m so grateful to be doing this with you. I’m having such a great time.” So, we just kind of supported Adam and Rebekah’s love by keeping it very loving between the two of us.

    ‘WeCrashed’ premieres March 18th on Apple TV+.

    Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway 'WeCrashed.'
    (L to R) Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway in Apple TV+’s ‘WeCrashed.’

  • Jared Leto Talks ‘WeCrashed’

    Jared Leto WeCrashed
    Jared Leto for Apple TV+’s ‘WeCrashed.’

    Premiering on Apple TV+ beginning March 18th is the new drama series ‘WeCrashed,’ which was created by Lee Eisenberg (‘Bad Teacher’) and Drew Crevello, and directed by John Requa (‘Crazy, Stupid, Love’) and Glenn Ficarra (‘Focus’).

    The series stars Oscar winner Jared Leto (‘Dallas Buyers Club’) as Adam Neumann, co-founder of WeWork, and Oscar winner Anne Hathaway (‘Les Misérables’) as his wife, Rebekah Neumann. The series follows the rise and fall of WeWork, one of the world’s most valuable startups at the time.

    In addition to Leto and Hathaway, the series also features America Ferrera (‘End of Watch’), Kyle Marvin (‘All Wrong’), O.T. Fagbenie (‘Black Widow’), and Anthony Edwards (‘Top Gun’).

    Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Jared Leto about his work on ‘WeCrashed.’

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    You can read our full interview with Jared Leto below, or watch a video of our interviews with Leto, Anne Hathaway and Kyle Marvin in the video player above.

    Moviefone: To begin with, is there a scene in ‘WeCrashed’ that you shot that is completely different than the way it was written in the script, that you were able to make better on the day of filming?

    Jared Leto: Well, I don’t know how brilliant it is, but the food fight wasn’t scripted at all. I think it’s in the show. There was one point we were in a boardroom meeting, and I just, for some reason, I looked over at Kyle and I just had this instinct to start throwing the food, the platters, the stuff, and that we were in such a crazy moment of abandon and energy. I looked at his face, then at the food. He looked at me, and we just started hocking the food. I think at one point there was a salami flat on his eyeball, but it was quite unexpected and fun.

    MF: Can you talk about your approach to playing Adam Neumann and how you discovered the voice for the character?

    JL: That’s a great thing about telling such a modern story. There was so much material. I was really just buried in it. So, I love that. I love the research. I love to learn. I’m fascinated by the characters that I plan and being part of this was really fun because there was so much to draw from including incredible podcasts, and a couple of books. There’s a documentary, there’s all kinds of stuff, and I was just buried in it. I also worked with a great team of Israeli people developing the accent and the voice. The voice is a really important part of who he is, who he was, and how he communicated his ideas and he interacted with people.

    I love a weird start. When I’m on set and especially on ‘WeCrashed,’ I often try to break scenes, you know? You try and fail because from those moments, you can build back together something with an enormous amount of truth and magic. So, it’s always good to start off with something quite a little broken.

    MF: Finally, when you break a scene like that, are you doing it because you want to see what you can get out of the other actor, or because you want to see what you can do differently in that moment?

    JL: It’s a very astute and smart question. Sometimes both. Sometimes if a scene’s not working, you could try that sometimes. I always just think it’s a good habit in general, but to surprise yourself is a beautiful thing, too.

    ‘WeCrashed’ premieres March 18th on Apple TV+.

    Anne Hathaway and Jared Leto in 'WeCrashed'
    (L to R) Anne Hathaway and Jared Leto in Apple TV+’s ‘WeCrashed.’

  • Mark Duplass Talks ‘Pretzel And The Puppies’

    Mark Duplass
    Mark Duplass in Apple TV+’s ‘Pretzel And The Puppies.’

    Premiering on Apple TV+ beginning February 11th is the new 3D-animated series ‘Pretzel And The Puppies,’ which is based on the beloved 1944 children’s picture book written by Margret Rey and illustrated by H.A. Rey.

    Actor and filmmaker Mark Duplass (‘The Morning Show’ and ‘Cyrus’) voices the title role, while Nasim Pedrad (‘Aladdin’), Kari Wahlgreen (‘Young Justice’), and Fred Tatasciore (‘Team America: World Police’) are also featured in the voice cast.

    Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Mark Duplass about his work on ‘Pretzel And The Puppies.’

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    You can read the full transcript of our interview with Mark Duplass below or watch the video of the interview in the player above.

    Moviefone: To begin with, were you familiar with the source material before you signed on to this project?

    Mark Duplass: So, I was very familiar with ‘Curious George‘ and I had read this book when I was little. I don’t know where it came from, but it ended up in our library. But honestly, I had totally forgotten about it. As I’ve talked to people, they’ve had a very similar experience where they say, “’Pretzel and the Puppies,’ I don’t know what that is.” Then they see the book and it is a recall from somewhere in their childhood.

    MF: When you received the offer to be Pretzel, what was your reaction?

    MD: I haven’t really done a lot of voiceover at work. I play a voice on the show ‘Big Mouth,’ which is very different from this content. But I watched a lot of children’s shows as a dad, and my girls are now older. I sort of missed it. You know? I missed that early morning snuggle as much as I was exhausted and filling myself with coffee at the time.

    The second thing that really drew me into this show is that it is a really cute, funny show about the longest dog in the world, his five puppies and his relationship with his wife, Greta. But there’s this really sweet community aspect to this show, which I hadn’t seen in a lot of the younger kid shows or family-oriented shows, which is how do I be a good citizen? How do I be a good member of the community at large? We spend so much time as life gets hard trying to sustain ourselves and our own family unit. But I like that this extended beyond that and it felt fresh.

    MF: The series takes place in a world where humans do not exist, can you talk about that?

    MD: Yes. They are living in the city of Muttgomery, which is a small town. I like that as well. It’s very immersive in that way and real sweet.

    Pretzel teaching pups
    Mark Duplass voices Pretzel in Apple TV+’s ‘Pretzel And The Puppies.’

    MF: Pretzel is a very modern dad. What was it like to play a character like that?

    MD: He is a modern dad. You know? He’s a stay-at-home dad, and it’s certainly not the first time we’ve seen that portrayed on television, but there’s an element of the way that he parents his kids that I really appreciate. I wish I had watched this before I parented my kids because he gets them out into the world, and they find themselves in these little conundrums and little situations, and he really lets his kids lead and try to figure out what the solutions can be as opposed to being a didactic dad or saying, “This is how you do it.”

    Because we all feel the pressure to teach our kids, but the model in which Pretzel teaches his kids is very gentle, very open, and lets them explore and make mistakes. He just supports them, and if they get too far out of bounds, he guides them back in. I think it’s a nice way to parent.

    MF: Not only does Pretzel teach his children good lessons, but he does it in a fun way. Can you talk about that?

    MD: Yes. And I want to be clear to all other stay-at-home dads. Don’t feel the pressure to be as fun and patient as Pretzel because listen, he’s a dog, he’s a character. He’s perfect. But if you can get like halfway there and then be grumpy the other 50% of the time, you’re doing great.

    MF: Can you talk about how you approached creating the voice for Pretzel?

    MD: It’s a collaboration with the group and in particular with (show creator) Steve Altiere, who really is one of the leaders of this show. They showed me some sketches and they gave me some key words that they felt were fun for Pretzel. He’s fun, he’s bouncy, and he is a little jazzy.

    I sort of ingested those and really tried to stay close to home for me and my natural voice but give it some of those more heightened qualities that not only work for animation, but I feel work in particular for a kid’s show. So, it was really that and I tried not to make it too cartoonish and keep it somewhat natural because that’s just more of my preference.

    MF: Can you talk about recording your performance at home during the pandemic?

    MD: Yes. I recorded the entire show pretty much with my back inside of my closet, often with a blanket over my head for sound muffling and protection through an internet connection just like this with my kids in the other room. I haven’t even met some of my other cast members yet. So, it was a really wild experience. It was really fun. It was a really fun thing to do during the pandemic. There wasn’t a lot of production that could be done. So, this one was very practical because it was all remote.

    Pretzel and his pups
    Mark Duplass as Pretzel in Apple TV+’s ‘Pretzel And The Puppies.’

  • Apple TV+ Series ‘Suspicion’ Exclusive Interviews

    (L to R) Kunal Nayyar, Elizabeth Henstridge and Tom Rhys Harries Promoting ‘Suspicion,' which premieres on Apple TV+ February 4th.
    (L to R) Kunal Nayyar, Elizabeth Henstridge and Tom Rhys Harries Promoting ‘Suspicion,’ which premieres on Apple TV+ February 4th.

    Premiering February 4th on Apple TV+ is the new series ‘Suspicion,’ which is based on the Israeli series, ‘False Flag.’ The series follows five people whose lives are turned upside down after London police identify them as suspects in the kidnapping and disappearance of an American media mogul’s son.

    Created by Rob Williams (‘The Victim’), the series stars Kunal Nayyar (‘The Big Bang Theory’), Elizabeth Henstridge (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), Tom Rhys Harries (‘The Gentlemen’), Georgina Campbell (‘Black Mirror’), Elyes Gabel (A Most Violent Year), Noah Emmerich (‘The Americans’), and Uma Thurman (‘Pulp Fiction’).

    Moviefone recently had the opportunity to speak with actors Kunal Nayyar, Elizabeth Henstridge, Tom Rhys Harries, and Noah Emmerich about their work on ‘Suspicion.’

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    You can read the full transcript of our interview with Kunal Nayyar, Elizabeth Henstridge, and Tom Rhys Harries below, or watch all the interviews in the video played above.

    Moviefone: To begin with, Elizabeth, can you talk about the incident that brings these five strangers together in the series?

    Elizabeth Henstridge: Well, I was in this show called ‘Suspicion,’ where Uma Thurman plays a corporate PR strategist. She’s a very powerful woman who has just been named US ambassador to the UK. Her son has been kidnapped. We play British citizens that happen to be in New York on the day that Leo was kidnapped. Then we are accused of this crime, or at least suspects of this crime.

    So we kind of follow how that unfolds for Uma Thurman’s character, Catherine Newman. You see the impact it has on our lives and the lengths that you go to, to try to clear your name and how difficult that is when the truth is being blasted all over social media, which might not be your truth. It’s hard to know who to believe in and what is the truth.

    MF: Kunal, the show deals with the theme of trust. Can you talk about the level of trust between these five strangers when they first meet?

    Kunal Nayyar: It’s difficult, again, to speak about these things without giving spoilers away. But obviously as you see these characters and the journey that they’re on, I think that the level of trust switches, it’s not so black and white. I think it’s a gray area. I think all we know is that they need each other.

    They definitely need each other to accomplish whatever it is that they’re trying to accomplish, whether it’s clearing their name or actually trying to get the job done, we don’t necessarily know. So I think the level of trust shifts every episode, and I think for the audience perception, it’ll be impossible for them to tell who trusts who, who’s done what, and who’s responsible for the end game.

    MF: The series also deals with the themes of technology and surveillance, and how we deal with them in our modern society. Tom, can you talk about how those themes affect these five strangers?

    Tom Rhys Harries: Well, yeah. The surveillance and the social media and our digital footprint paper trail, it’s become sort of so interwoven with how we lead our day-to-day lives and very quickly. If you’d have told someone 20 years ago that most of us would be kicking about with a piece of tech that’s worth however much it’s worth in your pocket, I think people wouldn’t have believed it. Also, the amount of information that we have access to. That comes with really difficult questions that we have to ask as a society.

    I think it’s important for us to be asking these big questions, particularly for a younger generation, because I don’t think we’ve quite cracked it yet on how to manage surveillance, the ethical issues and moral issues of all of that. I think what I really dig about the show is that it’s asking a lot of big questions about these very current themes that are prevalent in society and it feels very timely. That this show is coming out when it is coming up.

    MF: Another theme in the series is truth. Kunal, can you talk about that and how your character really learns the truth about himself?

    KN: Look, it’s a very good question, really. I think you have to be lost to be able to be found, and I think that’s what we see in this character. He’s definitely lost and because he’s lost, he finds purpose in something that you don’t know if it’s good, you don’t know if it’s bad, and that’s the beauty of this show.

    Even when you figure out what happens and who did it and how it happens, you still don’t necessarily leave feeling like, “Oh, that was the right thing to do.” Or, “that was the wrong thing to do.” That kind of narrative, that kind of perception is going to be very individual and very individualistic.

    MF: Elizabeth, ‘Suspicion’ could easily have been done as a movie, but it would have had to be condensed for time. What has it been like for you to do it as a series and have more time to develop your characters?

    EH: Oh, it’s brilliant. I love TV for that reason. That you can explore big themes and then also things where you can discover so much about your character. Aadesh faces the truth or finds the truth out as we go, but as an actor that’s just such a gift to be given all that time with his character and to go through such extreme circumstances.

    I think it suits itself perfect to a mini-series in that we’d lose so much at being a movie, but then with it being eight episodes, it’s a very intense week in these people’s lives. I think that it keeps the suspense and it keeps the pace and, hopefully week-to-week, people are going to be shocked.

    KN: That’s why we were talking about how much we love the fact that it’s a show like this. A show like this, it’s perfect that it’s coming out one week (at a time). I mean, except for the initial two episodes. I think that is going to really lend to the stakes.

    (L to R) Tom Rhys Harries, Kunal Nayyar, Georgina Campbell, and Elizabeth Henstridge in ‘Suspicion,' which premieres on Apple TV+ February 4th.
    (L to R) Tom Rhys Harries, Kunal Nayyar, Georgina Campbell, and Elizabeth Henstridge in ‘Suspicion,’ which premieres on Apple TV+ February 4th.