The streaming service has decided to finish off the show –– which just wrapped up its fourth season, enjoying solid reviews and decent ratings on December 28 –– with a reduced eight-episode order for Season 5.
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While neither the company nor executive producer Taylor Sheridan (who co-created the show with Hugh Dillon) has commented on the move, it may well be tied to the fact that Sheridan is moving his TV and movie producing interests to NBC Universal (more on that below.).
(L to R): Jeremy Renner and Edie Falco in a promotional image for ‘Mayor of Kingstown.’ Photo: Paramount+.
In season four, Mike McLusky’s (Renner) control over Kingstown is threatened as new players compete to fill the power vacuum left in the Russians’ wake, compelling him to confront the resulting gang war and stop them from swallowing the town.
Meanwhile, with those he loves in more danger than ever before, Mike must contend with a headstrong new warden to protect his own while grappling with demons from his past.
The series, despite the recent success, hasn’t been as big as some of Sheridan’s other series, so that might have been a factor.
What’s the future for Taylor Sheridan’s shows?
Kevin Costner as John Dutton III in Paramount Network’s ‘Yellowstone’ season 5. Credit: Paramount Network.
As mentioned, Sheridan who, along with his coterie of creative team members, has become a TV factory, pumping out series that, while they may not scoop many awards, have certainly cleaned up on the viewership front. Yet he recently signed a big new deal with NBCU to take his film and TV production services there.
Two points on that: he’s still contracted with Paramount on the TV front until 2029, so everything he creates until then will still be based at the company. And the existing series will remain in Paramount’s control, so there’s a chance they could be continued whether or not Sheridan has anything to do with them.
And the man is certainly prolific. Sprung from his first big hit, ‘Yellowstone,’ he has several shows either still running or on the way, with three new series, ‘The Madison’ and ‘Dutton Ranch’ on Paramount+ and the first broadcast iteration of the franchise, ‘Y: Marshals’ on CBS.
Outside of the sprawling ‘Yellowstone’-verse, there’s the likes of ‘Lioness’,‘Tulsa King’ (which has its own spin-off on the way via ‘NOLA King’ and ‘Landman.’ So Sheridan’s footprint on Paramount+ isn’t fading away anytime soon.
I walked away from watching ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ having the same reaction I did to the last two ‘Avatar’ movies. I thought it was a completely entertaining and stunningly visual theatrical experience, and I will probably never watch it again. It’s a one-time theatrical experience, not unlike an amusement park ride or seeing a concert at The Sphere, it’s extremely satisfying, but only once.
The movie is meant to be seen in 3D on the biggest screen possible surrounded by an audience, and in that way, ‘Fire and Ash’ is a huge triumph, and another cinematic extravaganza from the “King of the World” James Cameron. But, with vague characters that never grow or change, a limited plot and almost no real story to tell, I fear the movie will not hold up in repeat viewings, especially on smaller home screens, with no real substance outside of the visual spectacle.
Following the events of ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’, ‘Fire and Ash’ finds Jake (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri’s (Zoe Saldaña) family dealing with the aftermath or their son Neteyam’s (Jamie Flatters) death. With their adopted son Spider’s (Jack Champion) breathing mask running out of battery, they plan to travel back to Dr. Spellman’s (Joel David Moore) base to get a new mask but are attacked by a new, aggressive Na’vi tribe, the Mangkwan clan, also called the Ash People, led by the fiery tribe leader, Varang (Oona Chaplin).
Meanwhile, Spider’s birthfather and Jake’s sworn enemy Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang) is still in hot pursuit of Jake and his family. Soon, Quaritch makes a deal with the Mangkwan clan and teams up with Varang to wipe out Jake and his clan. Now, Jake and his family must fight Quaritch and the Mangkwan clan to save Spider, their people, and the planet from destruction.
That’s the basic plot, and let’s be honest, it’s a little thin. The visual effects and the world building that Cameron has created masks it in the first viewing, but once you take this movie out of the incredible theatrical experience, I fear the film will have nothing valuable to offer.
But it’s not just the story that is thin, there is also no real character development, and the characters are more like archetypes than real people. There are also so many characters that it’s hard to get enough time to really care about any of them. Kate Winslet’s Ronal, who was a lead in the last film is barely in this one, and even Zoe Saldaña’s Neytiri, arguably the heart of the franchise, is regulated to the background. And the two main characters of the franchise, Jake and Quaritch, now seem like characterizations of the actual characters they once played.
But at the end of the day, I guess you’re not going to an ‘Avatar’ movie for a great story or in-depth character development, you are going for the visuals and the spectacle, and in that sense, Cameron delivers a home run crafting a must-see theatrical experience. It’s kind of like eating at McDonald’s, the foods not good for you, but it tastes great going down!
With a script, story, and characters as poorly crafted as this, it seems almost unfair to criticize the actors and their performances as I’m sure they did their best, but here we go.
After three films, and almost 20 years of playing the character, you would hope for more from Sam Worthington. His Jake Sully is still the heroic leader, but we really know very little about the character at this point other than he wants to protect his family and the actor’s performance is one-note at best.
As previously mentioned, it was shocking to see how limited screen time Zoe Saldaña and Kate Winslet’s characters had, especially considering Saldaña was really the lead of the first film, and Winslet the lead of the second. Neither actress has enough to do in this installment, which is disappointing and a waste of the two Oscar winning actress’ talents.
However, the one standout performance of the film is from new edition Oona Chaplin, who gives a fiery performance as Mangkwan clan leader Varang. Actor Jack Champion is also quite compelling as Spider this time around, growing into the part and surprisingly having a bigger role in the story in this new installment.
While somewhat limited, legendary actress Sigourney Weaver returns as both Dr. Grace Augustine and her Avatar’s daughter, Kiri, who was also adopted by Jake and his family. Augustine may not appear on screen for long, but Kiri is a major part of the story and Weaver is excellent playing the rebellious teenage Na’vi.
Giovanni Ribisi and Edie Falco also return as members of the evil RDA military and mining operations, but like many of the other excellent actors in this film, are given very little to do other than move the plot forward with exposition.
Finally, Stephen Lang still plays Colonel Miles Quaritch like a generic villain, and while he does have some great moments with both Chaplin and Champion, the character, who technically died in the first movie, hasn’t changed at all and is still playing the same note.
While the story and character development are almost nonexistent, and the dialogue at times is laughable, director James Cameron still delivers a visually stunning and completely satisfying and entertaining theatrical experience, even if it will only work in your first viewing. ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ is worth spending money to see it in a theater, but after that, you can forget about it and will probably never revisit the film again.
‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ receives a score of 79 out of 100.
‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ opens in theaters on December 19th.
What is the plot of ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’?
A year after settling in with the Metkayina clan, Jake (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri’s (Zoe Saldaña) family grapples with grief after Neteyam’s death. They encounter a new, aggressive Na’vi tribe, the Mangkwan clan, also called the Ash People, led by the fiery tribe leader, Varang (Oona Chaplin), who has allied with Jake’s enemy, Quaritch (Stephen Lang), as the conflict on Pandora escalates to devastating consequences.
(L to R) Edie Falco, and Brian Cox in ‘The Parenting’. Photo: Courtesy of Max.
‘The Parenting’ receives 7.5 out of 10 stars.
Premiering on Max on March 13th, ‘The Parenting’ is the latest blend of horror and comedy to arrive this year –– and is one of the most successful so far.
Humorously blending the sort of possession story offered up by ‘The Exorcist’ allied with the rom-com stylings of ‘Meet the Parents,’ Craig Johnson’s movie works on both fronts, and a committed cast throw themselves into the roles.
Lisa Kudrow in ‘The Parenting’. Photo: Courtesy of Max.
Comedy and horror tend to be fairly natural bedfellows, but getting the balance right between the two can be tricky, as one can cancel out the other. ‘The Parenting’ certainly leans heavier on the comedy aspect and doesn’t feature too much that is truly terrifying, but it does a good job of weaving the genres into a cohesive whole.
Many of the jokes are uproarious and come out of character, which means this works on several levels, including some gross-out moments and authentic development for the story.
Script and Direction
(L to R) Nik Dodani, and Brandon Flynn in ‘The Parenting’. Photo: Courtesy of Max.
The movie’s script comes from Kent Sublette, who has long worked on ‘Saturday Night Live,’ and has served on the writing teams of various award shows. But while there have been complaints in recent years about a dip in comedy levels at the venerable series, ‘The Parenting’ shows no signs of such lag.
Laughs come thick and fast with this film, rooted in believable characters, while the horror aspect is also entertaining and well crafted.
Chances are you’ll guess early on what is really happening here, but that doesn’t detract from how much fun you’ll have watching the movie itself.
Edie Falco in ‘The Parenting’. Photo: Courtesy of Max.
Here, he brings character-focused skills to bear on the film, encouraging the cast to stretch themselves and bring their A-game to the various roles.
While the horror side of things is, as mentioned, less of the focus, it’s still brought to the screen in interesting fashion. The scares are well-shot and the demonic side of the story has just the right level of freakish energy.
Cast and Performances
(L to R) Lisa Kudrow and Dean Norris in ‘The Parenting’. Photo: Courtesy of Max.
If the script and direction are both winners, the charming, funny cast is equally a part of the movie’s ultimate success.
As central characters Rohan and Josh, actors Nik Dodani and Brandon Flynn share a warm chemistry as the couple who are nervously preparing to have their parents meet (while Rohan is also planning to propose to Josh, which adds an extra layer of anxiety). Their back-and-forth feels authentic, as do their heightened responses to each other’s family units.
And what family units! Rohan’s adoptive parents are the withdrawn Frank (Brian Cox) and the smart, somewhat picky Sharon (Edie Falco), who aren’t best amused by the situation they find themselves in. And that’s before the demonic angle kicks in.
Brian Cox in ‘The Parenting’. Photo: Courtesy of Max.
Falco does buttoned-down well here, playing off of everyone else and letting the comedy flow naturally. As the layers of Sharon peel, we find out what much more about her and how much she cares for her son.
As for Cox, he’s fantastic here, his buttoned-down character the first to be possessed by the demon lurking within the renovated rental house and turning him into something quite different.
Lisa Kudrow, meanwhile, leans into the kookiness of Liddy, Josh’s mother, but this is no Phoebe clone; instead she’s a good-natured person looking to have fun who becomes more and more concerned as the film goes on.
She’s well matched by Dean Norris, who is Josh’s big-hearted dad Cliff, who just wants everyone to get along, but is also prepared when the worst happens.
Parker Posey in ‘The Parenting’. Photo: Courtesy of Max.
Then there’s Vivian Bang’s Sara, the boys’ OTT best pal, who takes a panicked text from Rohan as reason to show up at the rental house and inject her particular brand of party girl attitude. But even she is more than meets the eye.
Finally, there’s Parker Posey as local eccentric Brenda, who manages the rental property and might just have more to do with the possession problem than anyone might first suspect. Posey is solid in the role, bringing a particularly offbeat energy.
And the cast as a whole are absolutely game for a laugh –– how many movies have you seen where a naked Brian Cox vomits all over another character? Or seen Edie Falco surprised on the toilet by people walking in on her?
Final Thoughts
(L to R) Brian Cox, Nik Dodani, Brandon Flynn, Edie Falco, Dean Norris, Lisa Kudrow in ‘The Parenting’. Photo: Courtesy of Max.
‘The Parenting’ is a truly entertaining mix of laughs and chills that, while you might be surprised it isn’t coming out around Halloween, should work for any movie night that needs a blend of genres.
A solid script, fine style and great casting make this one stand out. It’s not a perfect film, but it’s a really fun one.
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What’s the plot of ‘The Parenting’?
A young gay couple, Rohan and Josh (Nik Dodani and Brandon Flynn), host a weekend getaway with their respective parents in a country house rental. Things take a turn when the three couples discover the presence of a 400-year-old evil entity.
Who is in the cast of ‘The Parenting’?
Nik Dodani as Rohan
Brandon Flynn as Josh
Parker Posey as Elizabeth
Vivian Bang as Lillian
Lisa Kudrow as Lisa
Dean Norris as John
Brian Cox as Gerald
Edie Falco as Dorothy
‘The Parenting’ premieres March 13th on Max. Photo: Courtesy of Max.
List of Movies and TV Shows Directed by Craig Johnson:
On Netflix beginning May 12, ‘The Mother’ is the streaming service’s latest attempt to add to the action thriller genre, though even the mother-daughter relationship at its core and some other tweaks aren’t quite enough to overcome a rote, bland script and uninspired direction.
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What’s the story of ‘The Mother’?
12 years ago, an unnamed woman (Jennifer Lopez) is being questioned by the FBI in a safe house that soon becomes anything but.
She’s been brought in because she has connections to a couple of violent arms dealers –– Joseph Fiennes’ Adrian and Gael García Bernal’s Hector –– whose trade she helped facilitate but got out when she discovered they were also trafficking children.
Oh, and she’s pregnant with a daughter by one of them. But when the attempt to protect her goes violently wrong, she’s left with little choice but to give the newborn up to foster care and relocate to the wilds of Alaska, lest her old suitors track her or the child down and finish their vengeful mission.
But wouldn’t you know it? 12 years later, Hector does end up finding the kid (Zoe, played by Lucy Paez) and The Mother will have to employ all the sniper and other skills she picked up in the military and working with the two baddies in order to save the girl –– and herself.
Cue a cat-and-mouse chase that stretches from suburban Ohio to the harsh wilderness up north (where The Mother has something of a home field advantage despite the resources of her enemies).
Since breaking into acting back in 1986 (and breaking out thanks to the likes of ‘Selena’ and ‘Out of Sight’), Jennifer Lopez has consistently proved to be one of the more chameleonic of music performers-turned-actors. She’s switched between frothy rom-coms (‘Maid in Manhattan’, ‘The Wedding Planner’, ‘Monster-in-Law’) and drama (‘Enough’, ‘The Boy Next Door’) and more knockabout romps such as this year’s ‘Shotgun Wedding’. And there have been the prestige stops along the way, including the well-received ‘Hustlers’ and ‘Shall We Dance’.
‘The Mother’, though, finds her looking to get into more of an action sphere (a territory she’s only occasionally trodden before), and unfortunately the results feel like a watered-down version of something like ‘Taken’.
While the idea of a tough mother taking down the villains threatening her and her child is certainly a compelling one, what actually unspools falls far short of truly entertaining.
Lopez certainly throws herself into the role, making for a convincing former military sniper and all-round bad ass who is suddenly in a situation she always wanted but never got the chance to train for: motherhood.
Similarly, Paez manages to have Zoe evolve from whiny teen to something more like the birth mother she’s never met until she gets kidnapped by one of the villains.
That’s a road the movie keeps taking, almost the distraction: how many times can it put Zoe in trouble, requiring The Mother (she really is never properly named) to step in and do her thing. Hardwick, as her main FBI contact, at least has a few scenes that offer him more than just grunting broad, heard-it-before dialogue.
The actual villain characters –– especially poor old Bernal –– are completely underserved, stock characters who see little in terms of development. Bernal’s role (which feels like it was sliced down) amounts to a brief moment at the start and then one scene in the middle of the movie. Filmmakers like to argue that they cast great actors to bring life to small roles, but with a part as tiny as Bernal’s, it would take a miracle to resuscitate it at all .
Likewise, Edie Falco, who shows up at the start to deliver some exposition and look haughty, then is never seen again. That’s not “bringing to life” a small role, that’s a giant waste of her time, and the sort of character that even back in the 1990s, ‘Austin Powers’ was making fun of.
Fiennes has a little more to chew on, Adrian handed some bigger scenes up front then treated as the main villain through the final act. He also has much more motivation for his vengeful feelings towards The Mother.
A knocked-off, less-than-thrilling impact effects the rest of the movie almost to the same degree, despite a script credited to three experienced writers (Misha Green of ‘Lovecraft Country’, ‘The Town’s Peter Craig and ‘Blood Father’s Andrea Berloff).
Aside from a couple of effective set-pieces (Lopez stalking through a darkened compound, taking out henchmen with silenced weapons, and a few moments from the big finale in Alaska), the action is largely on the average scale, lacking the sort of truly dynamic, inventive stunt work of, say, ‘Atomic Blonde’ or anything from the ‘John Wick’ series.
And indeed, with tracks from Massive Attack, Portishead and Kate Bush, the movie itself feels like a throwback to 1980s and 1990s action thrillers, for good and ill.
Given director Niki Caro’s background in indie movies, the new effort doesn’t exactly boast much of a creative sensibility that stamps it with much of an identity. It could be a hundred other movies –– Netflix itself produced ‘Lou’, which starred Allison Janney as a former CIA/military type with a particular set of skills who has to help a mother/daughter duo when they’re targeted by someone violent. That at least had the benefit of more time and effort taken with both the lead character and the others.
Final Thoughts
‘The Mother’ is being pitched as a Mother’s Day release, but unless you know that many mothers and daughters who bond over watching Liam Neeson movies or the ‘Wick’ films, this seems unlikely to have wide appeal. And even if they do, there are other, better examples out there.
Once again written and directed by groundbreaking filmmaker James Cameron, the new film picks up more than a decade after the original and sees Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and his family escaping from the return of Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang), and looking for refuge with the reef people clan of Metkayina, a water-dwelling species on Pandora.
In addition to Worthington and Lang, the film also welcomes back Zoe Saldana as Neytiri, CCH Pounder as Mo’at, and Giovanni Ribisi as Parker Selfridge, as well as Sigourney Weaver as new character Kiri, who is the daughter of Dr. Grace Augustine’s avatar.
Joining the cast are Edie Falco as General Frances Ardmore, Jermaine Clement as Dr. Ian Garvin, Cliff Curtis as Tonowari the leader of the Metkayina, and reuniting with Cameron for the first time since ‘Titanic,’ Kate Winslet as Tonowari’s wife, Ronal.
Also joining the cast for the sequel are Jamie Flatters and Britain Dalton as Jake and Neytiri’s sons, Neteyam and Lo’ak, respectively. Trinity Bliss plays Jake and Neytiri’s daughter Tuk, while Bailey Bass and Filip Geljo play Tonowari and Ronal’s children, Reya and Aonung, respectively. Finally, Jack Champion joins the cast as Spider, the long lost son of Miles Quaritch.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of traveling to London to sit down in-person with Oscar-winning director James Cameron and Oscar-winning actress Kate Winslet to talk about the work on ‘Avatar: The Way of Water.’
The filmmaker discussed the sequel, the challenges of making it, how the technology has changed since the original, and his plans for more sequels, while Winslet talked about reuniting with Cameron, joining the sequel, and learning to hold her breathe.
Kate Winslet stars in director James Cameron’s ‘Avatar: The Way of Water.’
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Cameron, Winslet, Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, Jack Champion, Trinity Jo-Li Bliss, Jamie Flatters, and Bailey Bass.
MF: To begin with, Kate, what was it like for you to reunite with James Cameron for the first time since ‘Titanic’ on ‘Avatar: The Way of Water?’
Kate Winslet: Yeah, very long time ago. Yeah, it’s 26 years ago. It was amazing and absolutely incredible. The script was always going to be phenomenal because it’s ‘Avatar.’ Again, for Jim, it’s a world he created. He writes for women in a way that is extraordinary.
He always creates strong, not just female characters, but female leaders, women who are powerful mothers who lead with integrity. So, I just appreciated being asked. I was excited to jump in. I absolutely loved every minute of it. It was a wonderful experience.
MF: Director James Cameron has said that he knew he wanted to do a sequel to ‘Avatar’ pretty quickly after finishing the original. When did he ask you to be involved in the sequel?
KW: It was I guess quite a long time. He first mentioned something to me almost in passing back in 2014 or 2015. I guess it was around that time. I had seen him for an event in LA and he said, “Oh, we have to get you big and blue sometime.” I said, “Oh yeah, I’d love that.” The seed was sown.
Then in late 2017 was when he actually called and said, “I really do want to send you this script.” He described Ronal to me as being a female warrior goddess, and leader of a clan. I just thought, my God, if it really is that, this could be extraordinary.
I read the script and loved it, and was particularly taken by not only the elements of family and motherhood, but also this added physical challenge of learning how to free dive and breath hold, which I was just so excited by and not remotely daunted by. I had no fear around the idea of any of that. I just loved learning something new in my 40s.
It’s so funny, when you are young, you think you’ve learned all of the new things that you could learn, and as an adult, we close our minds off to the possibility of learning something new. So, to be in a situation that provided this wonderful opportunity for me was just amazing.
MF: I understand that you broke a record on set because you were able to hold your breath for seven minutes and 12 seconds, is that correct?
KW: Seven minutes and 14 seconds. You have to oxygenate your body, and there’s a whole breathing sequence that you do, and it’s quite a considerable process. It’s not to be tried at home and you cannot do it by yourself. Actually, that’s a very important safety thing.
You really mustn’t do it alone because what happens is when people surface from having held their breath, there’s a particular breathing sequence that you need to do the minute you hit the surface. If you don’t do that, you could be in danger of blacking out, and that’s when people run into trouble. That was the thing I learned, first of all, which we all did, was the safety. Once you know what you’re doing, it certainly makes things a lot easier.
I just loved the whole process. It was amazing. Yeah, seven minutes, 14 seconds. I was incredibly proud of myself and really determined that I was going to do it, I was going to do a big breath hold that day. I had my heart set on it. I even said to my husband, “Don’t come to work today to watch because I just don’t want the pressure of you being there.”
But actually, he was there. He snuck in and he actually videoed the last part of my breath hold. We got it on camera, me surfacing and going, “Am I dead? What happened?” Straight away, I’m like, “How long was that?” It’s pretty cool!
Director James Cameron for ‘Avatar: The Way of Water.’
Moviefone: Mr. Cameron, can you talk about the performance capture suits you used for this film, and have they changed at all from the ones you used on the original?
James Cameron: The suits were the same. We improved the head rigs a bit. I mean, we improved everything. It was all a prototype when we did it on ‘Avatar.’ We didn’t know it was going to work and then we found out it worked pretty well, so then we improved it all. But the process is the same. It’s just there’s no real camera, there’s no set. It’s just a pure interaction between the actors. They love it and I love it.
I don’t have to get distracted by the lighting and the camera work, and the Dolly track and the steady cam stuff. I can just work directly with the actors. I had returning cast, obviously, Sigourney, Sam and Zoe, but I also had this whole new cast with these kids, these newcomers. It was just a joy to go to work every day. Not a joy necessarily always during the day when you’re solving problems and that sort of thing. But we really enjoyed it.
MF: The look of the sequel is incredible and is even more spectacular than the original. Looking forward to ‘Avatar 3,’ ‘Avatar 4,’ and even possibly ‘Avatar 5,’ with technology constantly improving, what do you expect those film’s will look like in the future?
JC: I think over time we’ll shift from the novelty value of being in the world. We can assume that. You walk in, you sit down, you can assume it’ll be immersive because that’s our baseline. It’s really about, how much do I care about these characters, and where’s this story taking me? Where’s this journey taking me?
I mean, we’re always going to try to bring in wonders, awesome moments, amazing vistas and all that sort of thing, but we’re also shifting our focus to the story of the characters and the emotion, which I think is healthy. Because it shouldn’t just be about pretty pictures. The immersive stuff, we know how to do that so they’ll all be like that.
MF: Were you already planning for this sequel when you made the original?
JC: Not really. No. The only thing was that when the studio wanted to take out the scene where Grace (Sigourney Weaver) dies and I said, “You can’t take that out. We need that scene. It’s very important. It’s very important for the sequel.” I hadn’t even written the story yet, but I knew that there was a connection there.
They wanted to take it out and ultimately it just turned into a big headbutting contest, and I won. So, it’s in (the original), therefore we have this movie, at least the Kiri character, comes out of that part of the story.
MF: Are there scenes in ‘Avatar: The Way Of Water’ that you kept in because you needed them for the next three installments?
JC: Oh yeah. Like I said, it’s all written out so we know exactly.
MF: Finally, have you already shot everything you need for ‘Avatar 3?’
JC: ‘Avatar 3’s done. I mean, the movie’s not done, but the capture, all the work with the actors is done. So, dramatically it’s all set in stone. We have to go through the process of making it look real and immersive, and all that sort of thing. That’ll take a couple years.
Then part of ‘Avatar 4’ is not done, but the script is done, and part of ‘Avatar 4’ has been shot. Because we had to finish with these kids because they’re not going to be kids. In fact, they’re not kids now.
Jack’s 6 ft 8″ or whatever. He was 12 when I cast him. Trinity Bliss, she’s such a sweet girl. She was seven when I cast her, and she’s now 13 and about two feet taller. So, we had to bottle that lightning while we had it through the first part of movie 4. And then there’s a big time jump, and then we see all the characters six years later.
So, then everybody will be the right age for the continuation of the story. I didn’t want to get caught in that ‘Stranger Things’ thing where they’re still in high school but they look 25. I like ‘Stranger Things,’ don’t get me wrong. It’s fine and I go with it that they’re still teenagers.
‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ opens in theaters on December 16th. Photo courtesy of the movie’s Twitter account.
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Edie Falco has just booked a ticket to Pandora. The Emmy-winning actress is joining the cast of James Cameron’s “Avatar” sequels.
Filming has already begun on the sequels, which will kick off with “Avatar 2,” slated to open Dec. 18, 2020.
Falco will play General Ardmore, a commander overseeing the interest of the RDA, the mega corporation with exclusive rights to Pandora and any off-Earth locations.
Edie Falco is one of the greats – I can't wait to watch her kick some ass on the big screen. https://t.co/f9i8PmKcE5
Details of the sequels’ plots remain unknown. But the end of the 2009 flagship film, Jake (Worthington) and Neytiri (Saldana) help the Na’vi rebel against the RDA and drive them from the planet. With Falco’s casting, it seems likely the RDA will return to attempt to take back what they consider theirs.
After “Avatar 2,” “Avatar 3” is slated for Dec. 17, 2021; “Avatar 4” on Dec. 20, 2024; and finally “Avatar 5” on Dec. 19, 2025.
The grass is always greener on the other side, but in reality, that other yard is even more depressing, as Ben Mendelsohn learns in the trailer for “The Land of Steady Habits.”
The Netflix movie directed by Nicole Holofcener (“Enough Said”) stars Mendelsohn as a man whose attempts to improve his life end up doing the opposite. He retires from his job in finance and leaves his wife (Edie Falco) in the hopes that it will renew his lust for life. However, he’s quickly faced with the startling reality of his choices.
He befriends a drug-addicted teen and veers down path of reckless and of deeply regrettable behavior, causing him to question who he is as a father and person.
“The Land of Steady Habits” is set to premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 12 and will begin streaming on Netflix on Sept. 14.
After playing the matriarch of one of TV’s most beloved crime families and a nurse who dabbled in criminal behavior, Edie Falco‘s arguing for justice for two of the 1990s’ most notorious murder suspects – on screen and off.
“Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders” takes creator Dick Wolf’s venerable ripped-from-the-headlines TV franchise into actual non-fiction territory, exploring the infamous shotgun shooting deaths of Hollywood executive Jose Menendez and his wife Kitty in their Beverly Hills home at the hands of their two sons, Lyle and Eric Menendez. Falco portrays the brothers’ protective, courtroom-shrewd and media savvy attorney Leslie Abrahamson, who introduced the controversial “abuse excuse” defense, which posited that the brothers were driven to murder their parents after years of emotional and sexual abuse.
It’s a stance that, upon close inspection, resonated with Falco as she dug into the research to help bring the trial to life on television, and one that ultimately –- as she explained to a small group of press during NBC’s press day for the Television Critics Association last month –- changed the way she looked at the much-publicized case.
Leslie Abrahamson was a very polarizing figure at the time. What was your take on her after studying who she was in real life and who she was in the media depiction?
Edie Falco: Well, she was polarizing in that she was not at all interested in giving the sound bites that people wanted. That she really was really unpopular for representing boys who looked like monsters, because of what the media was being fed.
Leslie had a sort of mothering effect on the boys, which was unusual given the tragedy they were involved in. What was interesting about figuring out how to bring that to life?
Well, I’m a mother, and this is an awful thing for kids to go through -– or anyone to go through. Of course the crime is one thing, but being on trial and just the niggling questions into their past and the unkindness by the opposing team. I think it’s important to help these people show up with their best selves. And she took that seriously.
Did you do a lot of research, or watch tapes of her in action in court?
Yeah, there was a ton of stuff out there. Even though this took place pre-YouTube, there’s a ton of information on her, yes.
What did you admire about her as a professional?
That she took her job seriously, and she didn’t always have to believe that her clients were innocent. It was irrelevant to her. Her job was to prove them innocent until proven guilty. And she took it very seriously, and I respect that. It was not about how other people perceived her or how they perceived her clients. It’s that she was going to at least make sure that according to the law they were given a fair shake, and I respect that.
She was also great in front of the media.
Yes, yes, she was, I think she sort of enjoyed it and she became friends with them, and she knew their names and she knew how to ask for some space when she needed it. I think she knew how to befriend them so that she didn’t make them an enemy, because that would have been disastrous.
How closely did you follow the case at the time it was happening?
It was all in the background. It was, also, I didn’t have the interest in it that I have now, and I didn’t realize that the main people who watch these things are women. And I’m very curious what that’s about. That’s another discussion, but anyway, I’m among them, the fans of this crime genre.
It was peripheral, like the O.J. [Simpson] case was. It was always on, there were a million things to pay attention to at the time, media-wise. So it was always on, and you heard the verdict. And I made the exact same assumption that everybody else did: two bratty kids from Beverly Hills who wanted money, and it really made me think how much we are what we are fed.
Has this project made you reconsider those initial preconceptions?
All of them. Everything. Things are not what they appear.
What was your own life like during the early 90s, when this was going on?
I was making a movie. I remember… yeah, I was on a beach making a movie when this verdict went down. So I was already working in my low-budget movie world.
You sport a fantastic looking wig. How do you feel about it?
How do you know it’s a wig? I’m just saying! Well, we’re very early on in this, but I have to say, I do kind of love the wig, and have my own little relationship going on there. But it was also the hair I wanted at that age and could never get.
Was there more pressure on you when you’re playing a real person – especially a person that’s still living?
Yeah, the pressure is self-induced, if I decide it’s more pressure than it is – but I’ve decided it isn’t. That she’s about what she did, and that remains my sole focus, really.
Do you ever carry parts of your characters with you at the end of a project?
Nope, I’m done. It took a lot of years of working to recognize that it doesn’t help me to carry it home and really get that it makes it worse. I have real kids and they make absolutely sure that they are the center of my attention when I get done with work.
You’ve set such a high bar for yourself with the roles that you’ve played. When you go looking for the next thing, is it tricky to balance between wanting to keep to that standard and just wanting to work?
It is complicated, but there is no intellectual program. I will know when I read it. And maybe some day, if I really want to work, maybe my standards are different. I don’t really know. But it all plays in when I read something: If my heart is racing, it’s where I’ll be next.
What was the gut reaction when you read this, that first overwhelming feeling?
Well, that there was so much about this and about those boys that I didn’t know, that made me realize that we are a product of what we are fed from the second we’re born, and to the same degree, what I was fed about this case turned out to be inaccurate and certainly incomplete.
And I like the idea that people can shake up their beliefs about something and can change. I think that’s the mark of a healthy human and this might be an opportunity for other people to recognize that in themselves as well.
So is it safe to say that you’re convinced about the abuse defense?
There’s no question. And you’ll see. I mean, this stuff was just not made known, was just not made available. And there are two guys, like real men my age now, sitting in jail. I mean, it’s one thing when it’s a story that’s made up by Dick Wolf and his writers. They are two real men. They went through this and now are sitting in jail for the rest of their lives.
Is legal jargon easier than medical jargon of “Nurse Jackie?”
They’re both challenging, unless you put in the eight years of schooling. But, you know, that’s my job.
“Nurse Jackie” ended last night after seven seasons on Showtime. What happened? Your call.
*Spoilers ahead*
The series finale showed addict Jackie continuing her spiral, snorting several lines of heroin, collapsing and looking like she might die — as Zoey (Merritt Wever) stroked her hair and told her she’s “good.” So here’s the big question for showrunner Clyde Phillips: Did Jackie die? Here’s what he told The Hollywood Reporter:
It is left to the viewers to figure out. One of the reasons why there’s a question is because Edie Falco is so brilliant. Imagine lying on the floor in them middle of 60 people with a camera in your face and giving just enough of an eye flutter and just enough of a move of her lips that you think, “Maybe!” But you don’t know. I personally think she’s alive. Others don’t. We had a long conversation with the network about it and one of the things we wanted to do was to keep the conversation going after the show ends with a good and healthy debate because this is really a show about the affects of a ferocious disease — drug addiction — on an otherwise healthy person.”
One of our ambitions has always been to have people understand the ferocity of the disease she has, and to have compassion. If Jackie had cancer, everybody would be completely compassionate. This disease she has causes her to hurt other people because it’s such a narcissistic disease. All she cares about is her next hit.”
Phillips told Variety the team went into the finale with a different ending in mind: They originally planned to have Jackie appear to die after a fire breaks out in the ER. Jackie was going to head into the flames to save the heroin addict handcuffed to a hospital bed in the basement. But this version does seem more honest to Jackie, and it shows her as the last person treated at All Saints Hospital.
What did you think of the finale, and do you love or hate when TV shows have ambiguous endings?
If you’re like us and value your sleep, you probably nodded off into your Ambien dreamland before the party started on post-prime time TV. Don’t worry; we’ve got you covered. Here’s the best of what happened last night on late night.
Nick Offerman, Ellie Kemper, and Thomas Middleditch were on “The Late Late Show with James Corden” Monday night, and they seemed to have a lot of fun — when not being traumatized by having to nuzzle a snake (Nick) and a sumo wrestler (Ellie). Here they discuss — and demonstrate — who is the best fake smoker: And here’s the fun — but scary — game called “Nuzzle Waaa?” where everyone had to be blindfolded and then nuzzle something and be the first to shout out what it was. James and Ellie were partners opposite Nick and Thomas. What’s worse — the snake or the sumo guy? The sumo guy seemed to enjoy it, like he was being lightly tickled. Not sure how the snake felt. We know how Ellie felt, since she looked like she wanted to bolt! Now watch them in “Talking Mentalist” when they’re supposed to be talking about “The Mentalist” but they showed a “CSI” show instead: Over on “The Tonight Show,” Jimmy Fallon raced around the studio in mini motorcycles with Triple Crown winning American Pharoah jockey Victor Espinoza. It’s kind of hilarious that Victor went the wrong way and Jimmy had to wait for him so Victor could win and be declared the first Quadruple Crown Race winner. “Seinfeld” powerhouses Larry David and Jason Alexander were also on “The Tonight Show.” They discussed being on Broadway, and shattering box office records. Larry brought up how he never saw Jimmy backstage. They debated the merits of backstage chit-chat. Fallon kind of overdoes it in front of these two, but he’s a gusher.Jimmy also did some screengrabs, sent in from fans: Edie Falco was on “Late Night with Seth Meyers.” She has a big finale coming up (for “Nurse Jackie”), which is her second big finale after “The Sopranos,” and she discussed how random people come up to her all the time to say “What the hell was that?!” and she knows they’re talking about the “Sopranos” finale.
George Wallace was also on Seth’s show and discussed his epic road trip with “best friend” Jerry Seinfeld. Tim Robbins was on “Conan” and he talked about the recent prison escapes, which were called “Shawshank”-like. Because of the movie, whenever people escape from jail, some people seem to want Tim to comment. He also discussed political power, in reference to his new HBO show “The Brink.” Marc Maron was also on “Conan,” talking about not masturbating in the shower during a drought, as the “unspoken cause” to help the environment, and his increasingly hipster neighborhood.
“Nurse Jackie” ended last night after seven seasons on Showtime. What happened? Your call.
If you’re like us and value your sleep, you probably nodded off into your Ambien dreamland before the party started on post-prime time TV. Don’t worry; we’ve got you covered. Here’s the best of what happened last night on late night.