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Tag: comedy

‘Reacher’s Willa Fitzgerald Talks Watergate Comedy ’18 ½’

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Now available on digital and VOD is the new Watergate scandal comedy ’18 ½,’ which was directed by Dan Mirvish (‘Between Us’).

Set in 1974, the new movie stars Willa Fitzgerald as Connie, a White House transcriber who discovers the missing 18 ½ minutes from President Nixon’s infamous tapes. Scared for her life, and unsure of what to do, Connie turns to Paul (‘The Big Short‘s John Magaro), a local newspaper reporter trying to expose the President.

In addition to Fitzgerald and Magaro, the cast also includes Richard Kind (‘Argo’), Vondie Curtis-Hall (‘Romeo + Juliet’), and the voices of Jon Cryer (‘Two and a Half Men’), Ted Raimi (‘Evil Dead II’), and Bruce Campbell (‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’).

Actress Willa Fitzgerald has appeared in such films as ‘Freak Show,’ ‘Blood Money,’ and ‘ The Goldfinch,’ as well as TV shows like ‘Gotham,’ ‘Scream,’ and ‘Billions.’

But she is probably best known for role as Roscoe Conklin on the first season of Prime Video’s hit series ‘Reacher,’ which stars Alan Ritchson.

Moviefone recently had the chance to speak with Willa Fitzgerald about making ‘18 ½,’ her knowledge of the Watergate Scandal, and working with John Magaro, as well as her experience on ‘Reacher’ and if she will return to the series in the future.

(L to R) Willa Fitzgerald in ’18 1/2.’

You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Willa Fitzgerald and John Magaro about ’18 ½.’

Moviefone: To begin with, how did you get involved with this project and what was your first reaction to this Watergate comedy?

Willa Fitzgerald: I got sent the script quite a long time before I even got the job. I had a meeting with Dan Mirvish a year before we shot it. I feel like as an actor, I’m always drawn to scripts that are contained in the way that ‘18 ½’ is. It’s very few characters, very few locations, and it reads on the page almost like a play.

I also really loved how it took the constraints of a low budget indie and made them into really interesting choices on the page for how to deal with an extended fight scene, or just a lack of a lot of supporting characters. I always find that to be a really fun challenge.

MF: How much did you know about the Watergate scandal before you did research for this movie, and in your opinion, what is it about that event that has kept Americans fascinated with it for 50 years now?

WF: I knew about Watergate, insofar as I knew about the things that I had been taught in school and the little bit extra beyond that. I think there’s just been a renewed cultural interest in Watergate. I think that’s because of the political instability in our country again. I think there’s always an inclination to look to the past to understand the present, and Watergate kind of pales in comparison to a lot of the stuff that we’re hearing about at the January 6th hearing right now. But I think that long before January 6th even happened, we were thinking about Watergate because we were thinking about what it means to have the highest office in the country suddenly under intense scrutiny.

I think what this movie does really well is that it leaves it up to the audience, what they take away from what the movie’s saying, what we’re saying as artists, and it gives the viewer this almost ‘Alice in Wonderland’ sort of romp through the imagined version of this 18 ½ minute gap. I think that’s a cool way of engaging with something that we’ve seen so much about. I mean, there’s been so many Watergate projects just in the past several years.

(L to R) John Magaro and Willa Fitzgerald in ’18 1/2.’

MF: Can you describe Connie, your approach to playing her, and what is she looking to get out of this whole situation?

WF: I love Connie. I feel like I’ve gotten the opportunity to play a lot of intelligent women, and Connie is certainly an intelligent woman. I was really interested when I was reading the script and thinking about the ways in which, as a woman in the seventies, she was confined to a certain level. She couldn’t ever quite get beyond the level of the transcriber that she was, it was kind of the top of the ladder for her as a woman at the time.

I think that there’s a lot of interesting stuff in her backstory as someone who once supported the administration, who believed in the administration, who then has this crisis of faith in the administration, reaches her own personal tipping point and then makes a radical decision. All of that backstory was really interesting to me in the actual playing of her as a character.

MF: Can you talk about Connie and Paul’s relationship and working with John Magaro?

WF: John Magaro is great. I really had a fantastic time working with John. I think that there’s this interesting constant suspicion, reevaluation, questioning of the other’s intentions in a lot of ways, and it’s just like the beginning of any romantic relationship. But then with the additional stakes of the world that those characters are occupying, it made it really fun to explore those tropes with the heightened background of the character’s worlds.

I think that one of my favorite scenes is that first scene at the diner, they’re kind of really figuring each other out and getting to know each other. I think it’s such a fun introduction to both of those characters and the ways that their minds work, which are so different.

(L to R) John Magaro and Willa Fitzgerald in ’18 1/2.’

MF: There is a fantastic fight scene at the end of the film that is presented as one continuous shot. Can you talk about how you shot that scene?

WF: I mean, we did do a lot of it in chunks. It’s a very long scene. There are tricks to a continuous shot, and you just find things that you pass over (with the camera) and then you’re suddenly in a different take, but you don’t know it. That’s the trick of stitching that together. We had limited time, we’re a small movie, so it all did move quite quickly.

I kind of love that scene because it’s so weird and I’ve never seen anything like that in a movie before. I think it’s such an interesting way of having a fight scene, which largely takes place off camera, while you’re listening to this huge delivery of information and climactic moment of what these characters have been trying to find out the whole time.

MF: What was your experience like working with director Dan Mirvish?

WF: Dan is a veteran, he has certainly been so deeply enmeshed in the indie film scene. It’s no surprise to me that he is inventive in those ways, because necessity is the mother of invention. When you have a small film that you’re making, it’s just one constraint after the next, whether it’s what days you have availability to shoot or when you can be at a location. There’re just a million things that can go wrong and they often do, and you have to work with all of those constraints.

MF: Finally, what was the ‘Reacher’ experience like for you, and were you surprised by how many people binged the show during the pandemic?

WF: It’s a great show. I think it was really what audiences were looking for. I think it’s actually funny. I remember earlier in the pandemic, everyone was like, “No one’s going to make a pandemic show. No one is going to make something really dark.” I feel like of late, actually a lot of the shows that are on television right now are quite dark and apocalyptic. There’s a lot of resonance to our current situation in a lot of the television that’s being put out there, and a lot of the good television that’s being put out there.

I think ‘Reacher’ was kind of a real break in that stylistic genre choice that was being made. I think that’s probably why people kind of responded to it so positively, it was just like this total departure from what else was available. I mean, it was a great show to be a part of, it’s such a genre piece. At the same time, it spans so many different genres. It was just fun. I loved doing something in the action world. It was great and Alan’s wonderful.

MF: Will you be returning for season 2 of ‘Reacher?’

WF: I will not be in the next season. I can tell you that. But you never know what’s going to happen.

(L-R): Willa Fitzgerald (Roscoe Conklin), and Alan Ritchson (Jack Reacher) in Prime Video’s ‘Reacher.’ Photo: Shane Mahood. Copyright: Amazon Studios.
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July 19, 2022
Rob Zombie’s ‘The Munsters’ First Trailer

We’ve had plenty of peeks at Rob Zombie’s movie adaptation of ‘The Munsters’ 1960s TV series, as the director has been posting plenty of images and making casting announcements as work as continued on the film.

Now we have our first proper look at the movie as Zombie has put it up on YouTube.

The original show, a satire of the sort of idealized American family life chronicled in the sitcoms of the era, it ran on CBS for 2 seasons between 1964 and 1966. It followed the Transylvanian-American family who reside at 1313 Mockingbird Lane in the fictional city of Mockingbird Heights.

Though it didn’t run too long, it was rebooted in the 1990s and spawned a few TV movies.

Fred Gwynne starred as Herman, a Frankenstein’s Monster-style character, who is the breadwinner but doesn’t always make the smartest decisions. Yvonne De Carlo played his vampire wife Lily, who often sets her husband straight, while Al Lewis is Lily’s Dracula-alike father Grandpa, who longs for the good old days in Transylvania.

This unusual – but friendly – clan is completed by Butch Patrick’s Eddie, the werewolf son of Herman and Lily and the family’s niece Marilyn, played by Pat Priest, who is a regular human and considered the “ugly duckling”.

(L to R) Sheri Moon Zombie as Lily, Jeff Daniel Phillips as Herman, and Daniel Roebuck as Grandpa in director Rob Zombie’s ‘The Munsters.’ Photo courtesy of robzombie.com.

For the movie, Zombie has recruited some of his regular players, including wife Sheri Moon Zombie as Lily, Jeff Daniel Phillips as Herman and Daniel Roebuck playing Grandpa.

The cast includes Sylvester McCoy as Igor, Catherine Schell as Zoya Krupp, Jorge Garcia as Floop and Tomas Boykin as Lester.

Writer/director Zombie has also found room for some of the original cast, with Butch Patrick and Pat Priest both showing up. Horror icon Cassandra “Elvira” Peterson will also show up along with Richard Brake and Jeremy Wheeler.

It’s somewhat surprising to see Zombie – the rocker-turned-filmmaker who is more known for the gruesome likes of ‘House of 1000 Corpses’, ‘The Devil’s Rejects’ and the 2007 reboot of ‘Halloween’ going the family friend comedy horror route.

Still, he’s gone on record as saying that this is an idea he’s been chasing for 20 years, and it certainly appears from this trailer that Zombie has fully embraced the wackiness of the original series, with its campy style. He’s even given it a full-color make-over to ensure it’s even more vibrant.

This trailer promises “the greatest love story ever told” featuring some origin material of how Herman and Lily Met (looks like she once dated Nosferatu, but it didn’t work out) and riffs on the show’s opening credits to keep the story going.

Will the loose style put some people off? It’s possible and this is sure to be divisive, but we doubt Zombie will care since he’s finally gotten his passion project to screens.

‘The Munsters’ should be in theaters this September.

Rob Zombie’s ‘The Munsters’ is scheduled for release in September 2022. Photo courtesy of robzombie.com.
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July 13, 2022
Machine Gun Kelly and Mod Sun Talk ‘Good Mourning’

(L to R) Mod Sun and Colson Baker (Machine Gun Kelly) for ‘Good Mourning.’

Opening in theaters and On Demand beginning May 20th is the new comedy from musician/actor/filmmaker Colson Baker, better known as Machine Gun Kelly, entitled ‘Good Mourning.’

Written and directed by Baker and Mod Sun, the movie follows London Clash (Baker), a movie star whose world is turned upside down when he must choose between pursuing his one true love (Becky G) and landing a life-changing, starring role in a major motion picture.

In addition to Baker, Sun, and G, the movie also features Megan Fox (‘Transformers’), Pete Davidson (‘The Suicide Squad’), Dove Cameron (‘Schmigadoon!’), and Whitney Cummings (‘Studio 666’).

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Colson Baker and Mod Sun about their work on ‘Good Mourning.’
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You can read the full interview below or watch the interview by clicking on the video player above.

Moviefone: To begin with, Colson can you talk about the process of writing this screenplay with Mod and coming up with the idea for the story?

Colson Baker: It was terrible. We stole the idea from my neighbor. I’m just kidding. I got a text from, and I wasn’t dating her yet, but from my now fiancé (Megan Fox) and I was really confused. She left to go out of town. I was kind of stuck with this text message to decode, and I went to all my friends who weren’t in relationships. They gave me terrible advice. I started spiraling even more. I was like, “I’m just going to start writing about the situation.” I texted Mod and said, “Do you want to come write this movie?” He said yes, and he came over immediately. We started writing and we didn’t leave my house for three weeks.

MF: Mod, what was it like directing with Colson and collaborating together on set?

Mod Sun: It was a great learning experience. We had worked with each other before, and I’m going to be nice and I’m going to tell the truth, he’s actually a really good actor. So, it was fun to watch, but I will never do it again. This is the last time! I’m just kidding.

Colson Baker (Machine Gun Kelly) in ‘Good Mourning.’

MF: Colson, this is the first feature film that you ever directed, what was the experience like for you?

CB: It was great. It was amazing. I’ll never do it again. I’m just being facetious. I’m just kidding. I loved it. I loved directing with Mod. Our cast was amazing. We had the most fun ever. You know, I’ll sum it all up by saying, when the movie wrapped, everyone cried. I mean everyone. I’m talking about from the crew, to the actors, to us. When I say everyone, I wasn’t meaning just me. Everyone cried!

I think because, one, everyone showed up and was like, “All right. Can these two pull this off?” Second, with the cast, we were already friends, for the most part, with a lot of the people. But then we met others through the process, who were a part of the cast, and became a part of the friendship, and then it became like a kinship.

We became really familiar, and there was a lot of riffing on the set, and a lot of unwarranted laughs that came from people’s personalities shining through and being comfortable enough to show their personality. So, I think we all kind of learned pieces of each other, because we felt so comfortable to be ourselves, and then we created this funny world. Then they yelled wrap, and it was like, “No. We don’t want this to stop.”

MF: Finally, Mod did you have fun making this movie with Colson?

MS: I had a great time, and honestly, I think our goal was, as directors, to direct energy. I think that was the big part of it, to create a world where people felt free to do whatever they wanted. I think the one thing I learned the most is, the script gets you to set. Once you’re on set, you got to let people just go off and be natural in front of the camera and do their job. That was the fun part.

(L to R) Mod Sun, Zach Villa, Gata, Colson Baker, and Pete Davison in ‘Good Mourning.’
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May 17, 2022
Billy Magnussen Talks ‘Made for Love’ Season 2

Billy Magnussen on HBO Max’s ‘Made for Love.’

Premiering April 28th on HBO Max is the second season of the hit series ‘Made for Love,’ which stars Cristin Milioti and Billy Magnussen.

Created by Alissa Nutting, Dean Bakopoulis, Patrick Somerville, and Christina Lee, and based on the novel of the same name by Nutting, the series centers on Hazel Green (Milioti), a woman who escapes a suffocating 10-year marriage from tech billionaire Byron Gogol (Magnussen), who has implanted an “emotional tracking devise” into her brain.

In addition to Milioti and Magnussen, the series also features Ray Romano, Dan Bakkedahl, Augusto Aguilera, Caleb Foote, and Norma Dumezweni.

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Billy Magnussen about his work on the second season of ‘Made for Love.’
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You can read our full interview with Billy Magnussen below or watch our interviews with Magnussen, and producers Alissa Nutting and Christina Lee in the video player above.

Moviefone: To begin with, what would you tell people that are just jumping into this series with season two to get them up to speed on the show?

Billy Magnussen: This show is complete bonkers. It uses sci-fi and dark comedy to really talk about a love story, a relationship and the struggles of two people trying to connect, and we all constantly miss. And there’s a sex doll that’s a main character. So, check it out. It’s crazy.

MF: Byron is desperately in love with Hazel, even though she does not return his love. Can you talk about why he continues to pursue her and the lengths he will go to get her back?

BM: Because I think it’s human nature. I think people do it all the time. I know it’s like a crazy sci-fi world, but the truth is I think people do that, they fall and chase people that don’t love them back. It’s a really sad story.

MF: How did you prepare to play Byron in season two?

BM: Well, those experiences of relationships and stuff like that, I think we’ve all experienced them one way or another. To get in the head of it, all the answers are in the script and I’m just playing and dreaming. I go home, while I take a shower and I’m just like, “What’s this guy do?” That’s the job. I wish there was a secret or something. I’m just playing, man.

Billy Magnussen on HBO Max’s ‘Made for Love.’

MF: Did you base the character on any real-life tech CEOs?

BM: It’s all just sucked in from everywhere and I just digest it and try to spew it back out. I don’t know. There’s no secret. I’m just trying to figure it out as I go along too.

MF: Byron makes some sinister desions throughout the series, how do you justify those choices for yourself?

BM: Every character is empathetic. No one’s a bad guy in their own story. So, you have to find someplace where it’s coming from. He’s hoping something good will come out of it. That’s the intention. That’s where you find every character I think.

MF: Can you talk about how Hazel and Byron grow together in season two?

BM: I think like any relationship, that if you don’t want to walk away from it, you try to fix it. I think that’s the attempt that’s happening. There is a barter going on within the relationship to hopefully save it. Again, I don’t think anyone’s wrong, but I think everyone has different opinions in relationships.

(L to R) Cristin Milioti and Billy Magnussen on HBO Max’s ‘Made for Love.’

MF: Can you talk about working with Cristin Milioti on this series?

BM: Oh, my God. Working with Cristen Milioti is fantastic. She’s a queen. I mean, she’s talented, smart, intelligent, beautiful, come on, it’s easy. I don’t have to do much work. I just stand there. She does it all.

MF: Finally, will we learn more about the Hub this season and what is really going on behind the scenes?

BM: The Hub? It just goes deeper and deeper and we discover the labyrinth that is the Hub. So, go see what’s behind those doors!

‘Made for Love’ season 2 premieres April 28th on HBO Max.

May 15, 2022
Rob Reiner Making ‘This is Spinal Tap’ Sequel

(L to R) Harry Shearer, Christopher Guest, and Michael McKean in ‘This Is Spinal Tap.’

‘This Is Spinal Tap’ is widely considered to be one of the funniest movies of all time. Comedians cite it as a huge influence and musicians are quick to praise it too.

The pressure, then, to make a sequel to the 1984 release must have been huge on director Rob Reiner and stars Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, and Harry Shearer, who largely improvised their way through comic chaos, undersized set designs and an ever-changing roster of drummers as England’s “loudest” band go on tour.

While all involved have resisted such ideas until, Guest, McKean and Shearer have toured from time to time. Yet with the 40th anniversary of the first movie approaching in a couple of years, Reiner and co. have come up with something, sprung partly from those real-world concerts (or the relative lack of recent gig).

The plan is to do a sequel that comes out on the 40th anniversary of the original film and I can tell you hardly a day goes by without someone saying, why don’t you do another one? For so many years, we said, ‘nah.’” Reiner tells Deadline. “It wasn’t until we came up with the right idea how to do this. You don’t want to just do it, to do it. You want to honor the first one and push it a little further with the story.”

(L to R) Rob Reiner and Christopher Guest in ‘This Is Spinal Tap.’

And that idea? “They’ve played Albert Hall, played Wembley Stadium, all over the country and in Europe,” Reiner said. “They haven’t spent any time together recently, and that became the premise. The idea was that Ian Faith, who was their manager, he passed away. Ian’s widow inherited a contract that said Spinal Tap owed them one more concert. She was basically going to sue them if they didn’t. All these years and a lot of bad blood we’ll get into, and they’re thrown back together and forced to deal with each other and play this concert.”

The band aren’t the only ones returning as Reiner, in addition to directing once more, will also grace the screen again as Marty DiBergi, the fake filmmaker who was chronicling the band’s latest tour in the mock-rock-doc. Turns out, there’s some ill will there too… “The band was upset with the first film. They thought I did a hatchet job, and this is a chance to redeem myself,” says Reiner of his character. “I am such a big fan and I felt bad they didn’t like what they saw in the first film. When I heard they might get back together, I was a visiting adjunct teacher’s helper at the Ed Wood School of Cinematic Arts. I drop everything to document this final concert.”

While returning to the world of a nailed-down comedy classic invites unwelcome comparisons and the risk of tarnished legacies, the idea of this bunch making merry, and music, again certainly appeals.

The original will be screened at the Cannes Festival next week as part of the Cinema de la Plage sidebar, and rights to distribute the sequel will be on sale. The current plan is to have the new movie in theaters on March 19th, 2024. No word yet on whether it’ll have to share the bill with a puppet show.
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May 12, 2022
Lamorne Morris and Aimee Garcia Talk ‘Woke’ Season 2

(L to R) Lamorne Morris and Aimee Garcia. Photo by: Mark Hill/Hulu.

Premiering on Hulu beginning April 8th is the second season of the popular series ‘Woke.’

The series follows Keef (Lamorne Morris), a cartoonist on the verge of mainstream success when a traumatic event gives him the ability to see and hear inanimate objects talking to him. The series blends live-action with animation.

In addition to Morris, the series also stars Aimee Garcia (‘RoboCop’), Blake Anderson (‘Neighbors’), T. Murph (‘Get Shorty’), Sasheer Zamata (‘Muppets Haunted Mansion’), and J.B. Smoove (‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’).

Moviefone recently had the opportunity to speak with Lamorne Morris and Aimee Garcia about season 2 of ‘Woke.’
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You can read the full interview with Lamorne Morris and Aimee Garcia below or watch a video of our interviews with Morris, Garcia, T. Murph and Sasheer Zamata in the player above.

Moviefone: To begin with, Lamorne can you tell us where we find Keef when season 2 begins?

Lamorne Morris: He’s probably not as woke as he thought he was. He was very surface level in the first season. Something happened to him and he talked about it. It was real to him. He dealt with it internally. He had his PTSD moments. He was talking to cartoon objects and inanimate objects.

Then in season two, it hits him that there are other people who don’t look like you that are going through other things too. Now that you have that microphone and the cameras are on you, people want you to be a voice for them, and can you? Can you be a voice for them or are you still caught up in your own issues? Then he realizes that maybe he’s not as cut out for this as he thought he was.

MF: Aimee, your character is new to the series in season 2. What’s your take on Laura?

Aimee Garcia: I think what makes this show so good, is you kind of laugh and then you squirm, and then are these people well-intentioned or are they not? Personally, I think she really does want to affect positive change. I just think that she’s a business woman that understands that sometimes you have to make deals with people that you don’t completely align with, but it will be for the greater good of helping the big picture.

It’s so funny because I usually always play a super goofy, likable character, and in this one I’m like, “Oh, is she the villain? I don’t know?” So, I think what she wants is Keef’s authentic grassroots brand, his relatability, and his charm. I mean, look no further, and the fact that people just gravitate to him.

I think she sees him as a great partner. He has no resources. She does. He’s completely grassroots. She’s a complete Silicon Valley, CEO, businesswoman. He’s totally guttural and impulsive. She is planned out, deliberate, and a shark. So, they’re polar opposite, but I think in her mind that could affect the most change because sometimes polar opposites make for the best team.

MF: Finally, Lamorne they say “you can’t please everyone,’ but Keef really seems to try to do just that. Can you talk about that?

LM: He does. I talk about how this show mirrors and imitates life in certain ways. That’s kind of how I am. That is something that I grapple with often in my personal life and it resonates through this character for sure because there’s so many things going on, and he wants to help, and he’s always pulled in different directions.

He thinks that to be an activist, you have to solve every problem. He can’t solve one problem, you know? So, you want to solve all of them all of a sudden? It’s a real and genuine thing, especially when you’re on Instagram or Twitter, and you see all these people doing these great things in communities, and we’re doing this, and we’re doing that, and it’s all these grand massive things. You go, “I want to do that too.”

It’s like, hey brother, just chill. You got to fix small stuff in your house. You got to fix small stuff around the corner from you. Let’s start there. That is activism. You know what I mean? Having a belief and figuring out how you can move on that. I think that’s what it is. It doesn’t have to be this grand thing.

Lamorne Morris in season 2 of Hulu’s ‘Woke.’ Photo by: Mark Hill/Hulu.

April 15, 2022
Dianna Agron Talks ‘As They Made Us’

(L to R) Dianna Agron and Simon Helberg in ‘As They Made Us.’

Opening in theaters and VOD/Digital on April 8th is the new comedy-drama ‘As They Made Us,’ which marks the directorial debut of ‘The Big Bang Theory’ actress Mayim Bialik.

The film stars Dianna Agron (‘Glee’) as Abigail, a single mother who is forced to care for her dying father, Eugene (Dustin Hoffman). The experience brings out hidden emotions from her troubled childhood, including her resentment towards her abusive father and over bearing mother, Barbara (Candice Bergan).

Now, with her father’s condition worsening, Abigail must locate her estranged brother Nathan (Simon Helberg), who turned his back on them years ago, in order to bring her family back together one last time.

Actress and singer Dianna Agron first gained attention for her role as Quinn Fabray on ‘Glee,’ but has also been featured on other hit TV shows like ‘Veronica Mars,’ and ‘Heroes.’ On the big screen she has appeared in such popular films as ‘Burlesque,’ ‘I Am Number Four,’ ‘The Family’ and ‘Ralph Breaks the Internet.’

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Dianna Agron about her work on ‘As They Made Us.’ The popular actress discussed her new movie, her character, playing Dustin Hoffman’s daughter, reuniting with Candice Bergan, creating a brother/sister relationship with Simon Helberg, and being directed by Mayim Bialik.
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You can read the full interview below, or watch a video of the interview in the player above.

Moviefone: To begin with, can you talk about your character Abigail, and her unusual relationship to her family?

Dianna Agron: Yeah, it’s a complex one. So, my character Abigail is kind of really enmeshed herself in all of her family’s pain and trauma and has centered herself in this world in which she takes it upon herself to try to fix so much of what is sometimes unfixable within her family structure.

What this movie really is exploring is the issues with mental health and establishing boundaries, and grief, loss, and how that moves through a family, both singularly, your singular experience, and then the group experience and what that means and what that looks like.

Moviefone: Can you talk about the experience Abigail has taking care of her dying father, and what was it like working on those scenes with the legendary Dustin Hoffman?

DA: My father’s been unwell for more years of my life than he’s been well. So, there was a lot of personal truth I was able to bring to the character. It’s very hard to witness your parent’s cognitive and physical downfall, especially when you have experienced them in whatever way you’ve experienced them and that is not something that you want to be confronted with.

Ultimately it just takes so much strength, and you deal with it as best as you can. So, I think having that experience myself, it definitely helped bring that sense to the character.

Then working with somebody like Dustin is so incredible because he is on from the moment he steps in the room. I remember our first rehearsal, we were reading through something and tears were falling from his eyes, and I just thought, I’m really going to have to bring this. We are not playing around.

I think being surrounded by such incredible actors that just really know how to draw all kinds of emotions out and surprise you in scenes is just the biggest gift. It was so wonderful to be working with Candice again. I had done a film with her about 10 years ago where she had also played my mother, so that was a really fun additional bonus in this film.

(L to R) Dianna Agron and Dustin Hoffman in ‘As They Made Us.’

MF: Since you had experience playing Candice Bergan’s daughter in another movie, was it easy to recreate that dynamic with her on this project?

DA: No, because I think 10 years is a really long time, and when I shot that other film where she played my mother, I was such a small part of that cast. So, I wouldn’t say that we had an enormous amount of time to really get into the weeds of a friendship. We were just making this indie film where everything was fast and furious. So, while I had such a great fondness for that experience and her, this movie was really our chance to get to know each other so much better.

That was the other thing that I enjoyed so much, with both Candace and Dustin, their storytelling is just the most compelling thing. You can ask them about every aspect of their career and working on specific projects. We would ask about some of the discoveries that were made along the way that really left lasting impressions in all of our minds, and all of those characters and films. So, I really relished every day that I got to go to set and ask anything that I wanted to.

MF: What was it like working with Simon Helberg on the unusual brother/sister relationship between your two characters?

DA: I think it’s interesting. I have a brother and we are incredibly close, and yet there are times, just be it work, life, et cetera, where we will go surprisingly a few weeks without talking to each other. Those few weeks sometimes feel like a year depending on what is going on in our worlds. I think kind of pulling from that aspect of having my own sibling that I care so much about, we are so different, and how we move and pass each other in our own life experiences, that was helpful.

Then Simon’s just such an incredible actor and we really, I think, trusted each other. I mean, speaking from my own experience, I really trusted him. So, I was so pleased to always play and see what that felt like. That friction always felt so monumental when it was there. The love felt so palpable when it was there.

There’s one scene in particular that I think is one of the hardest scenes. It was one of the hardest scenes to shoot in the movie and one of the ones I’m most proud of, and it’s the scene with Simon. I have such love for this whole team and that experience. It was really rewarding.

(L to R) Simon Helberg, Candice Bergan, Dustin Hoffman, Mayim Bialik, and Dianna Agron on the set of ‘As They Made Us.’

MF: Finally, can you talk about working with director Mayim Bialik and watching her execute her vision for this film?

DA: We first met on a Zoom meeting, and she was very generous with her own personal stories and why this movie meant so much to her. We both shared in that way very deeply, and very quickly. That is just how she is. She comes to set and while she knew everything that she wanted to achieve in every scene, she’s very open and can really help you understand everything that needs to be achieved in those scenes and what was very meaningful to her.

There were also moments that I really loved where we would set up the camera in a wider shot, and there was not going to be any cutting between the scene. In that sense, those experiences and those moments felt much more like stage work, which is incredible because you think, okay, I’m bringing this bag of tricks. I know what my character wants in the scene. I know what they’re trying to achieve. I know where the emotional core has to hit from.

Then you really have to focus and access all those things and know that that take that you just shot might be the one take that’s used in that moment, and that’s really thrilling. I loved that she added that aspect of filmmaking into our project.
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April 6, 2022
Trailer for Judd Apatow’s Showbiz Satire ‘The Bubble’

(L to R) Iris Apatow, Pedro Pascal, and Leslie Mann in ‘The Bubble.’ Photo Credit: Laura Radford/Netflix © 2021

Given that it spread quickly around social media and beyond, you’ll probably have seen the trailer for Netflix’s ‘Cliff Beasts 6’, which landed on Wednesday much to general amusement and some small confusion.

It was, as most people quickly twigged, a meta first look at Judd Apatow’s new movie, ‘The Bubble’, which takes as its basic concept the idea of a group of actors and filmmakers trying to make the best of it in a quarantine hotel while shooting the aforementioned dino-laden blockbuster.

Loosely based on what they’d heard from the cast of ‘Jurassic World: Dominion’ and other movie crews who had had to quarantine while making a movie, Apatow and ‘South Park’ veteran Pam Brady whipped up the story of the cast of ‘Cliff Beasts 6’, who must contend not just with greenscreen work, clashing egos, crazy film executives and long hours, but also being cooped up – albeit in luxurious style – while the production continues.

Naturally, tempers begin to fray, illness (though apparently it’s the “good virus” influenza) spreads and people are either plotting an escape or hooking up like rabbits.

The cast for the movie includes Karen Gillan, Pedro Pascal, David Duchovny, Leslie Man, Iris Apatow, Keegan-Michael Key, Maria Bakalova, Fred Armisen, Rob Delaney, Peter Serafinowicz and Kate McKinnon.
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From the look and tone of the trailer, the feel here is a little like TV’s ‘The White Lotus’ crossed with classic Hollywood takedown ‘The Player’ – a bunch of privileged (or desperate) people come into contact with the staff at the hotel, and the latter soon comes to hate the former.

There’s the fact that the studio behind the fake movie is struggling and really needs this latest ‘Cliff Beasts’ to be a hit, while many of the cast seem to be over it and ready to check out – literally trying to escape from a world that has become all about masks, nasal swab tests, zones for cast and crew and, in the words of Harry Trevaldwyn’s crew member Gunther, replacing physical touch with “making sweet eyes at each other” (he’s also part of a gag where he starts to resemble Benedict Cumberbatch through some deepfake technology – or in the movie’s case, some drugged up actors).

It’s a different milieu for Apatow, who has usually made movies about people trying cope with life changes or aging through more down-to-earth life experiences, but he’s spent enough time on film sets to know of what he speaks, and he’s certainly got the comedy touch.

Satires like this exist already, though (we already discussed ‘The Player’ as a classic example, and you have the likes of ‘America’s Sweethearts’, so ‘The Bubble’ will need to go some to find new things to say beyond “movie-making is madness” and “actors are demanding”. Still, the pandemic angle has promise for comedy fodder, and there’s a solid cast involved who clearly threw themselves into the roles.

Oh, and in addition to the trailer, there’s also a featurette about ‘Cliff Beasts’ to clue you into the “history” of this “franchise” and the “making” of the current “movie”.

‘The Bubble’ will arrive on Netflix on April 1. As for ‘Cliff Beasts 6?’ That all depends on how much fake footage they shot…

(L to R) Vir Das, Keegan-Michael Key, Pedro Pascal, Karen Gillan, Leslie Mann, David Duchovny, and Iris Apatow in Netflix’s ‘The Bubble.’
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March 4, 2022
Movie Review: ‘Studio 666’

(L to R) Pat Smear, Nate Mendel, Rami Jaffee, Chris Shiflett, Dave Grohl, and Taylor Hawkins in ‘Studio 666,’ an Open Road Films release. Photo Courtesy of Open Road Films.

Opening in theaters on February 13th is the new horror comedy from the rock band the Foo Fighters called ‘Studio 666.’ The movie follows the band as they move into a haunted house to record their new album, and stars frontman Dave Grohl, drummer Taylor Hawkins, guitarist Pat Smear, guitarist Chris Shiflett, bassist Nate Mendel, and keyboardist Rami Jaffee as themselves.

The cast also includes Whitney Cummings (‘2 Broke Girls’), Will Forte (‘Nebraska), Jeff Garlin (‘Curb Your Enthusiasm), Leslie Grossman (‘American Horror Story’), and Slayer guitarist Kerry King. The result is a purposely cheesy horror comedy that is super entertaining to watch for both fans of the genre as well as fans of the Foo Fighters, and features fun performances from Grohl and the rest of the band.

Directed by B. J. McDonnell, ‘Studio 666’ begins with a flashback to decades ago, and introduces us to a haunted house in Los Angeles, where a band is completing their new album. But, when the lead singer is possessed by a demon, he kills all his bandmates in a brutal murder. Years later, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted band Foo Fighters are discussing where they will record their new album and Dave Grohl suggests a mansion in Encino, which just happens to be the same house from the prologue.

However, once the band moves in, they soon learn about the mansion’s unusual history when Grohl becomes possessed by a demon. The musician becomes obsessed with finishing the 45-minute-long song that the previous band which occupied that house was unable to complete. As Grohl’s behavior becomes more and more uncontrollable, the band begin to suspect something is wrong and investigate. But, will they discover the truth too late to save their friend … and their own lives?

(L to R) Nate Mendel, Taylor Hawkins, Chris Shiflett, Dave Grohl, Pat Smear, and Rami Jaffee in ‘Studio 666,’ an Open Road Films release. Photo Courtesy of Open Road Films.

To begin with, you really can’t take ‘Studio 666’ too seriously. While it’s not exactly great filmmaking, it is a really well made and funny little horror comedy. On the surface, combining the Foo Fighters with the horror comedy genre may seem like an idea out of left field, but if you’ve ever watched one of their music videos, you’d know that this is actually right up their alley. Foo Fighters have always been a fun band, full of personality, and this movie was a perfect vehicle for them as the horror/comedy situation is wonderfully suited to their sensibilities as performers.

While the band plays themselves, it’s certainly an exaggerated version of themselves. Grohl, Smear and Hawkins are arguably the best-known members of the group, so their characters were pretty close to what you’d expect (until Grohl becomes possessed). Since Chris Shiflett, Nate Mendel, and Rami Jaffee are the least public members of the band, it allowed the script to have more fun with their characters. Shiflett plays his role as an instigator and a tough guy, while Jaffee is depicted as a sexed-up stoner, and Mendel as a quiet genius. Smear and Hawkins continue their public personas, with Smear as the group’s elder statesman and Hawkins as the surfer-styled “cool guy” in the band.

But what comes across is that all of the Foo Fighters were willing to commit to the project and have fun. Grohl has the hardest role in the film, playing himself, and then playing himself possessed by a demon. He’s at his best when he is just playing himself, but there is something fun about watching the drummer from Nirvana acting like a demon has possessed him. Grohl and the entire band give really fun performances that work in the context of the movie.

Dave Grohl in ‘Studio 666,’ an Open Road Films release. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Andrew Stuart/Open Road Films.

The film is really about the Foo Fighters, so the other members of the cast are not all that important, but I did think Leslie Grossman gave a strong performance as the band’s real-estate agent. Whitney Cummings has nice chemistry in her scenes with Jaffee, while Will Forte adds comedic flair in his sequence with Grohl. However, Jeff Garlin is too over-the-top, even for this movie, as the band’s record producer. The comedian seems to be pushing too hard in his scenes, and even indicates his character’s true intentions too early in the film.

Director B. J. McDonnell does a good job with the material, never taking it too seriously, and letting the band be the real star of the film. I’m not really a fan of horror, but I do like horror comedies like ‘Evil Dead II’ and ‘Army of Darkness,’ and ‘Studio 666’ is definitely in that wheelhouse. But I’m a huge fan of the Foo Fighters, and for me, they were really the winning ingredient in this project.

There is a long tradition of rock bands starring in their own movies, both good and bad. For every ‘A Hard Day’s Night,’ there is a ‘Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park,’ and I’d like to say that ‘Studio 666’ falls somewhere in between. In the end, ‘Studio 666’ is what it was meant to be, which is a fun, genre-blend starring the Foo Fighters, one of the greatest rock bands of all time. That is exactly what it is, no more, no less.

‘Studio 666’ receives 4 out of 5 stars.
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February 26, 2022
‘Reno 911! Defunded’ Exclusive Interviews

(L to R) Wendi McLendon-Covey, Joe Lo Truglio, Kerri Kenney-Silver, Thomas Lennon, Niecy Nash, Cedric Yarbrough, and Robert Ben Garant in the Roku Channel’s ‘Reno 911! Defunded.’

Premiering on the Roku Channel beginning February 25th is the ‘Reno 911!’ revival series, ‘Reno 911! Defunded.’ The series will serve as the eighth season of the show, which originally ran on Comedy Central from 2003-2009, and then on Quibi in 2020.

The series will once again feature the original cast reprising their roles including Thomas Lennon as Lieutenant Jim Dangle, Robert Ben Garant as Deputy Travis Junior, Kerri Kenney-Silver as Deputy Trudy Wiegel, Wendi McLendon-Covey as Deputy Clementine Johnson, Niecy Nash as Deputy Raineesha Williams, Cedric Yarbrough as Deputy Sven Jones, and Joe Lo Truglio as Deputy Frank Salvatore Rizzo.

Moviefone recently had a chance to speak with Thomas Lennon, Robert Ben Garant, and Kerri Kenney about their work on ‘Reno 911! Defunded.’
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You can read the full transcript of our interview below or watch the video in the player above.

Moviefone: To begin with, there were 11 years between season 6 and season 7, when the show moved from Comedy Central to Quibi. What was it like to return to these characters after such a long break between seasons?

Kerri Kenney-Silver: I think we were afraid at first. Like, is this going to work? This has been a big break. But then we quickly realized, oh, that’s right, this genius cast has only gone out in the world and gotten bigger, and stronger, and better. We came back, put on the same outfits and within five seconds, we were back. We started the show 20 years ago in the year 2000. So, we had been doing this. This was in our DNA. It was quick, and it was such a joy.

Robert Ben Garant: It’s crazy. It’s been a long time and it’s all improv. So, it’s a lot to rely on your cast to do. We have some jokes for them, but mostly everybody is creating their own dialogue in every situation. So, if people had been rusty or if the chemistry wasn’t there, we wouldn’t have anything at all. That very first day after coming back, it had been more than 10 years and Wendy and Kerri were just in it. The biggest problem is people laughing and that’s a great. So, it was great. It was very scary until it happened. As soon as we took off, it was a total blast.

MF: The series is completely improvised, so when other actors come on the show, how do you explain to them exactly what you need them to do to make the scenes work?

RBG: It would depend. Because sometimes, like Michael Ian Black, we tell him he’s trying to sell us body parts, illegal organs. Then we don’t really know what he’s going to say or the character he’s going to play. We didn’t really know the look he was going to do until we saw him on set.

Then at the other end of the spectrum, Jamie Lee Curtis reached out to us and said she wanted to be in short shorts like Tom and with an eye patch. That’s all we knew. She came in and started bossing us around. So, it really is improv. Like we have a structure sometimes, but with Jamie Lee Curtis, we didn’t have anything. She came in and just started yelling at us and making Kerri go under the table.

KKS: Generally, with guest stars we’ll ask them like, what do you want to wear? Who are you? Who do you want to have in the scene with you? Do you need an explosion? Is there any, and then it’s improv.

(L to R) Wendi McLendon-Covey, Kerri Kenney-Silver, and Thomas Lennon in the Roku Channel’s ‘Reno 911! Defunded.’

MF: Thomas, is there any subject that is off limits?

Thomas Lennon: As far as I can tell, it doesn’t seem like there is. Like on paper, there’s an astonishing number of inappropriate things that no TV show could or should talk about that we sort of do very casually.

RBG: We made the decision, because it was a big decision, no COVID. We talked about it, like are the background people wearing masks? Are we going to do any of that? And we just said, “No, this is a universe where that’s not existent.” We also made the decision, no Trump. So, we had Weird Al Yankovic play Ted Nugent. So, any of our political energy went to that.

KKS: We weren’t doing those things because they were taboo. We didn’t want to date a season. We wanted you to be able to watch years from now. But also, we wanted people to have a break from that. It felt like everything was about COVID. Like, who wants to look at masks anymore? Who wants to hear about Trump right now? So, that was really the reason. It wasn’t because like, oh, that’s too hot a button.

MF: What can fans of the original series expect from ‘Reno 911! Defunded?’

TL: We got sort of lucky in that the police were in the headlines every day, all day. So, if you’re in the business of writing a comedy show about cops, they just kept giving us three by five cards to put up on the wall of` more crazy stuff. But I mean, it didn’t really change the kind of stuff we do, but some stuff got a little specific.

There’s way more material we started doing about Karens and the idea of Karens, that became a big thing. Then also, one of our running jokes was to see who would say what our lowest salary was. If you watch episodes of ‘Reno 911!,’ the cops are always like, “Well, I made almost $9,000 last year.” We never had a lot of money, but I think we took it really far with this season.

RBG: I was playing to our strengths. I mean, we have always talked about how we don’t have enough money. We’ve always talked about how everybody hates this. We’ve always talked about how we are under trained. I think the one thing that you’ll notice is that it was actually really lucky because it was COVID, so we couldn’t have guest stars. But this last season is more about cops than it is about perps.

I think that’s twofold, one because there was COVID and we couldn’t really have that many guest stars, but also there was so much subject material just about police trying to get through their day without toilet paper. There’re all these new rules, and you got to take away our tank. It was a lot of us playing to our strengths with material that was fresh in everybody’s mind. We didn’t have to pretend we were good at something, which was a relief. I don’t know what we would’ve done.

KKS: We had never done before the concept of a riot. That was so big in the news at that very second. So, that was sort of tailor made for us being locked together in a space, like what happens when there’s a riot outside the station?

TL: Well speaking of, that was another thing that is one of the trailers for ‘Reno 911! Defunded’ is Kerri and I just improvised a PSA about please be nice to us. That sort of became part of the trailer. Us just crying in our riot gear saying, “Please, please be nice to police officers, please.”

‘Reno 911! Defunded’ premieres on the Roku Channel on February 25th.

(L to R) Wendi McLendon-Covey, Joe Lo Truglio, Kerri Kenney-Silver, Thomas Lennon, Niecy Nash, Cedric Yarbrough, and Robert Ben Garant in the Roku Channel’s ‘Reno 911! Defunded.’

February 25, 2022