Hugo Weaving in Warner Bros.’ ‘V for Vendetta’ (2006).
Preview:
A ‘V for Vendetta’ TV series is in the works at HBO.
It’ll adapt the Alan Moore comic book series, which became a film in 2006.
Pete Jackson is writing the show.
Given the perilous political climate we’re experiencing right now, it seems somehow fitting that ‘V for Vendetta’ –– a story of the fight back against a fascistic regime –– is getting another shot at screens.
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Variety reports that HBO and DC Studios are developing a new series based on the Alan Moore comics series from the 1980s, though nothing is official just yet.
DC and HBO did not comment for the trade magazine’s story, and at time of writing, we’ve yet to hear DC Studios boss James Gunn weigh in on whether this is truly happening. So, pinch of salt at the ready!
(L to R): Natalie Portman and Hugo Weaving in Warner Bros.’ ‘V for Vendetta’ (2006).
‘V for Vendetta’ began life as a comic serial written by Moore and illustrated by David Lloyd. It debuted in 1982 in the British anthology “Warrior,” with DC taking over publishing it in 1988.
The story is set in Britain in a dystopian, not-too-distant future in which the country is controlled by the fascistic Norsefire party.
An anarchist named V, known for his distinctive Guy Fawkes mask, seeks to topple the government with the help of Evey Hammond, a young woman V rescued from the country’s secret police.
Warner Bros. produced a 2006 movie adaptation starring Hugo Weaving playing V (and in some scenes, dubbing his voice over the performance of James Purefoy, who was originally cast) and Natalie Portman as Evey.
Who is working on the potential new ‘V for Vendetta’ series?
Hugo Weaving in Warner Bros.’ ‘V for Vendetta’ (2006).
Reportedly cranking out the script is Pete Jackson –– no, not the New Zealand based filmmaker famous for the ‘Lord of the Rings’ movies, instead the UK showrunner responsible for the series ‘Somewhere Boy,’ which aired in 2022.
Gary Oldman in ‘Slow Horses’ season 4 now streaming on Apple TV+.
Returning for its fourth season with one episode on September 4th, ‘Slow Horses’ continues to prove itself as one of the best series on offer via the Apple TV+ service.
In fact, Apple has clearly been so happy with the viewership of the show, and so willing to future-proof the availability of its cast, that it has been shooting two seasons at once. A fifth is already in the works, and the start of the fourth indicates that it has lost none of the unpredictable, grungy and satisfyingly British style that fans have come to enjoy.
Does ‘Slow Horses’ Season 4 succeed in its mission?
Jack Lowden in ‘Slow Horses’ season 4 now streaming on Apple TV+.
While there’s little doubt that the key to ‘Slow Horses’ appeal is Gary Oldman having the time of his life as the grubby, greasy, but incredibly sharp agent Jackson Lamb (the actor has scored a welcome first Emmy nomination for the role following Season 3), the show still doesn’t lazily rely on the performance and the character, evolving each season to embrace new personalities and expanded storylines, while maintaining what works.
For Season 4, that more-of-the-same-with-a-twist approach shows no sign of faltering, and indeed, the initial episodes –– we’ll only really discuss the first here as that’s the one landing on premiere day –– are suitably excellent.
‘Slow Horses’ Season 4: Script and Direction
(L to R) Ruth Bradley and Gary Oldman in ‘Slow Horses’ season 4 now streaming on Apple TV+.
Led by Will Smith (a writer and former stand-up with experience on Armando Iannucci’s shows, not the movie star), the series’ writing team is always on point, using Mick Herron’s novels as a starting point for the basic structure of each season and then expanding from there, but always in organic fashion.
It may not always be as action-packed as other shows (though it certainly has its moments –– witness the traumatic bomb attack that opens this season), when you have dialogue that crackles like this, you don’t need every space to be filled with someone waving a gun. And in the mouths of Oldman and the rest of the game cast, it’s always guaranteed to make you laugh or gasp… sometimes at the same time.
On the visual side of things, the show benefits from having both a more limited number of episodes per season (usually six) and one director through the whole batch, meaning that the show –– also thanks to a hefty budget from Apple –– ends up looking like a movie cut into TV-sized chunks. The environs of Slough House, the low-rent office where Lamb and co. are based, are wonderfully scruffy and evocative, in stark contrast to the polished glass and cold concrete of MI5’s main Regent’s Park HQ.
And the show uses London’s variety of landscapes and neighborhoods, plus other areas in the UK, to great effect. In Season’s 4 case, the man in charge of the show’s look is Adam Randall, who fits in well with the overall style.
‘Slow Horses’ Season 4: Performances
Oldman might rightfully score the lion’s share of the plaudits, but there is a wider ensemble all putting in great performances.
Gary Oldman as Jackson Lamb
Gary Oldman in ‘Slow Horses’ season 4 now streaming on Apple TV+.
Oldman has repeatedly said that he’s having the time of his life playing the grumpy, cynical and endlessly mucky head of Slough House, and that energy seeps out of every pore. The vanity-free performance (Lamb is frequently seen with lanky hair, grease stains and mismatched clothing), is a truly memorable one, the slovenly appearance the perfect camouflage for a truly inspired spy mind.
Jack Lowden in ‘Slow Horses’ season 4 now streaming on Apple TV+.
While he was the audience surrogate character at the start, the young agent banished to Slough House after a training mission goes wrong, River has grown into a great sidekick for Lamb, and an impressive character in his own right. And Lowden brings a superb blend of world-weariness and enthusiasm to the role.
Jonathan Pryce in ‘Slow Horses’ season 4 now streaming on Apple TV+.
Though the elder Cartwright has mostly been a supporting character in earlier seasons, it’s easy to see why Smith chose an experienced thespian like Pryce to play him; because he knew that David would become much more important down the line. And Pryce brings a potent combo of wise elder former agent and humbled aging grandfather to the part, which expands here.
Kristin Scott Thomas in ‘Slow Horses’ season 4 now streaming on Apple TV+.
Few people can do withering putdowns like Thomas, and in Taverner, she’s found the ideal outlet. A canny, ice-cold professional, she’s forever frustrated by the hapless government types she’s forced to deal with. And her endlessly watchable interactions with Oldman are often a highlight of each season.
Other notable characters
(L to R) Aimee-Ffion Edwards, Christopher Chung, Tom Brooke, Kadiff Kirwan and Rosalind Eleazar in ‘Slow Horses’ season 4 now streaming on Apple TV+.
The rest of the Slough House ensemble all get their moments in the sun, and this fourth season includes a healthy influx of new characters (since in this show, a long life expectancy is never guaranteed). Highlights of the new episodes include Joanna Scanlan (like showrunner Smith, a veteran of Armando Iannucci’s shows) as the eager-to-please Moira and Tom Brooke as JK, a mysterious and honestly weird fresh addition to the office. And not forgetting James Callis as Claude Whelan, the nervous, officious new First Desk of MI5 and a great foil for Taverner.
‘Slow Horses’ Season 4: Final Thoughts
Gary Oldman in ‘Slow Horses’ season 4 now streaming on Apple TV+.
‘Slow Horses’ creative team have said they’ll happily keep making the show as long as Apple wants them to (and Mick Herron keeps writing books to adapt, with the author up to eight and counting), and that’s welcome news.
If only more series were as consistently entertaining, and this still full of steam when their fourth seasons rolled around, the TV landscape would be in much better shape.
‘Slow Horses’ Season 4 receives 8.5 out of 10 stars.
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What’s the story of ‘Slow Horses’ Season 4?
Adapted from Mick Herron’s ‘Slow Horses’ novel ‘Spook Street’, Season 4 opens as a bomb has exploded in a shopping center in London and MI5 is racing to figure out who is responsible. Second Desk (the second-in-command of the intelligence service) Diana Taverner (Kristin Scott Thomas) must balance the demands of the investigation with effectively babysitting the nervy new First Desk (James Callis).
As for those at Slough House, River Cartwright (Jack Lowden) is faced with his grandfather David’s (Jonathan Pryce) increasingly fragile mental condition, compounded by a new mystery that could threaten both their lives. Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman), meanwhile, is his same old, irascible self, happy to endlessly mock his team of exiled agents, but also fiercely loyal when it comes to protecting them.
And he’ll need to, as a face from the past has returned to cause trouble…
Who else is in the cast of ‘Slow Horses’ Season 4?
Americans Hanna (Julia Garner) and Liv (Jessica Henwick) are best friends backpacking in Australia. After they run out of money, Liv, looking for an adventure, convinces Hanna to take a temporary live-in job behind the bar of a pub called ’The Royal Hotel’ in a remote Outback mining town. Bar owner Billy (Hugo Weaving) and a host of locals give the girls a riotous introduction to Down Under drinking culture but soon Hanna and Liv find themselves trapped in an unnerving situation that grows rapidly out of their control.
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Who is in the cast of ‘The Royal Hotel’?
(L to R) Jessica Henwick and Julia Garner in ‘The Royal Hotel.’ Photo: Neon.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with director Kitty Green about her work on ‘The Royal Hotel,’ the inspiration for the movie, what she learned from making ‘The Assistant,’ reuniting with Julia Garner, casting Jessica Henwick, rehearsal time and budget, filming in Australia, and the challenges of shooting on location.
Director Kitty Green on the set of ‘The Royal Hotel.’ Photo: Neon.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch the interview.
Moviefone: To begin with, the movie was inspired by the 2016 documentary ‘Hotel Coolgardie’ by Pete Gleeson. Can you talk about getting the spark of the idea for ‘The Royal Hotel’ from that film?
Kitty Green: I mean, I guess it always takes a few things. It’s not a one thing. It’s always a few confluence of things, and I think I was on a jury, and I watched 10 documentaries, and I watched ’Hotel Coolgardie’ in amongst that 10. I hadn’t seen anything like that before. I’d seen a lot of things set in the Outback, but not through a female lens or through a woman’s perspective on a place like that. So I thought that was really interesting and felt fresh to me or it hadn’t been explored. My mother wanted me to come and make a movie in Australia so I could spend more time with her. That was the second thing, and then I met a production company that had an Australian arm, and they said, “If you ever want to do anything in Australia.” So it lined up in a way where I was like, “Oh, I’ve got this idea,” and they thought that that was interesting. I knew it was a role Julia could play, and I just had this beautiful collaboration with her through ‘The Assistant.’ So the stars aligned, and it seemed to work out.
MF: Besides reuniting with actress Julia Garner, was there anything that you took from making your last film, ‘The Assistant,’ that helped inform you while making this movie?
KG: I mean, so much, but I think the biggest thing is it’s Julia’s face. Julia’s got this really beautiful expressive face, and you can plunk her down in anywhere and just watch her react to the environment. With very little movement she can convey so much. Fear, tension, all of that rests in her perception of the events, I think. So, to me, that’s the link and something that I knew I could rely on. I wrote the script with that in mind, knowing that she could deliver. Whatever I threw at her, she could deliver.
Jessica Henwick in ‘The Royal Hotel.’ Photo: Neon.
MF: Can you talk about casting Jessica Henwick opposite Julia Garner? Why was Henwick the right actress to play Liv?
KG: So there was a few things we needed with Liv, which was someone who energetically brought something different to what Julia brought. But also, the biggest thing for me was someone that Julia and I would get along with because all of a sudden, our little duo was becoming a trio, and it was really important that the three of us just clicked, and that was what I was searching for. It feels more like searching for a relationship, looking energetically for something more than any CV. You know what I mean? It helped that she’s brilliant and was in brilliant movies, but I was really just looking for someone who would get along with us. Who felt like we could trust, and who was down to earth, and playful, and was excited about the role. I met Jessica, and within a few minutes, I knew she was right. There was something about just her energy that she’s really brilliant and serious, but also goofy and strange. It just fit. So, immediately, I thought, “Oh, yeah, the role is yours.” So, really, it worked well, and the two of them just got along so beautifully. The film rests on their chemistry as well. Somehow it’s one of those rare times where I look back on this movie, and I wouldn’t have recast anyone. I feel like everyone is who they should be, played the role they should play, and everyone seemed to deliver what they needed to. I was really excited by the cast.
MF: As a filmmaker, can you talk about the challenges of shooting a feature film on a limited budget?
KG: I mean, mostly, I have the plan because I don’t really get the budgets to play. We shot this in 25 days, and it’s not enough time for everything. There’s so little coverage. Basically, anything you see in the movie is all we shot. There’s no additional stuff sitting on the floor somewhere. It’s really what we got.
Julia Garner in ‘The Royal Hotel.’ Photo: Neon.
MF: Did you have the luxury of rehearsal time with Julia and Jessica?
KG: The thing is about Julia’s process, and maybe it’s because she has done a lot of television before, she doesn’t like a lot of rehearsals. We discuss, a lot of discussion, but she doesn’t really like to play it out as much. We do bits and pieces of things, but it’s not something where we sit and really rehearse. A lot of what she does is from her gut instinct, and that’s why it’s fabulous and feels real and authentic because it really is in the moment. So she didn’t work that way, but they were around for a couple of weeks. I got them to tend bar at a little pub in Adelaide, and they did a bunch of stuff like that to try and get just used to the rhythms of things and how to work the space. But Hugo and Ursula, who played Bill and Carol, they love rehearsals. We spent a lot of time rehearsing with the two of them, which was great because it was wonderful, and it’s so comforting to know the scenes nailed before you even go and do it. Whereas with Julia and Jessica, it was a bit more of a highwire act, hoping it worked out. Everyone has their process, I guess, and you just figure out what works for them and what will get the best out of them, and I make it work somehow.
(L to R) Ursula Yovich and Hugo Weaving in ‘The Royal Hotel.’ Photo: Neon.
MF: What was it like returning to your home country of Australia to make this movie?
KG: I mean, pretty great. I got to work with my collaborators that I worked with in film school, essentially. So there’s something nice about that history and having knowing each other for a long time, which made us very comfortable. Australians are very easy. It’s very relaxed, probably too relaxed at times, and probably not what the girls were used to, but it’s a nice atmosphere. It was a nice energy. We cut the movie in Sydney, and Sydney is beautiful. I haven’t spent much time in Sydney. I’m from Melbourne, but it was beautiful to just be in that environment and its lovely beaches. I can’t complain.
MF: Finally, you shot specifically in a small South Austrailian town called Yatina. What were the challenges for you shooting in such a remote location?
KG: It was a nightmare. It was so hard. It was really in the middle of nowhere. It’s a town of 29 people, and we were split because there’s no towns around where we could all stay. All the crew was split over all these towns nearby, and it was just a real challenge. We had a lot of weather issues. It was always raining. It was hard. I think the girls were a bit freaked out, and so the first thing we did was send them out there. They were like, “What have we signed up for?” But it got a lot easier. That was the first two weeks, and then we were in the studio for the interiors for three weeks. I feel like everyone calmed down once we got inside. It was also freezing. We shot in winter, and it was zero degrees. It was really cold. It was just a hard few weeks. I think it all adds to the tension. People ask me about the tension, and I’m sure it comes, partly, from how hard that set was.
(Center) Hugo Weaving in ‘The Royal Hotel.’ Photo: Neon.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Ryan Kwanten about his new movie ‘Expired.’ The actor discussed his new film, reuniting with director Ivan Sen, his character, Jack’s relationship with April, and working with Jillian Nguyen and Hugo Weaving.
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You can read the full transcript below or click on the player above to watch the video of our interview with Ryan Kwanten, as well as actress Jillian Nguyen about ‘Expired.’
Moviefone: To begin with, ‘Expired’ reunites you with your ‘Mystery Road’ director, Ivan Sen. Is that how you got involved with this project?
Ryan Kwanten: Yeah, you hit the nail on the head. That’s exactly what it was. The first time was on ‘Mystery Road,’ a wonderful Western Australian drama, and he did a phenomenal job with that. I only did what you’d call a cameo role in that, but Ivan and I, we hit it off like a house on fire. That was close to ten years ago, when he pitched the idea and the concept of ‘Loveland,’ which became ‘Expired.’ It felt like a good fit then, and then when it finally came to fruition a couple years ago it felt like an even better fit. Now it feels like it couldn’t be more poignant for the times, the maddening times that we’re in right now.
MF: Can you talk about your working relationship with Ivan, and why you enjoy collaborating with him so much?
RK: There’s nothing that comes close. He’s a bit of a one-man wrecking ball of sorts, because he just does it all, and it truly is for the love of the art. To give you a great example, we were shooting on the streets of Macau in Hong Kong, and this is the day before we’re about to launch our small little crew out there. Obviously, we don’t have the budget to shut off a street, or anything like that, particularly in one of the most densely populated areas in the world.
But he said, “Listen guys, if we move within the chi of this city, if we move with the energy that they are giving out, we’re going to be just a part of it, and we’ll be swallowed up by it so much so that they won’t even notice that we’re here.” With that intention and ethos behind us, we went out there, and the city itself very much became a character. I know that’s somewhat of a cliché, but this was a true example of that. So, to see Ivan out there with the camera on his shoulder, moving through the crowd just as I was, he’s a true visionary, I believe.
It was truly liberating, and I think a lot of artists could learn from that level. He doesn’t back down. That’s also what I love, it’s his vision the whole way through, and that’s such a rarity for an actor to have that level of confidence in your director and writer, to know that it’s not going to change. That there is that really strong vision behind it.
Jillian Nguyen in ‘Expired.’
MF: While the movie has science fiction elements, it is really a love story at heart. Can you talk about that?
RK: I think it’s sci-fi, it’s a romance, and it’s a thriller. What’s genuinely unique about this is that it’s very much told from the female perspective, as well as the male perspective. I don’t think a love story could be or should be about anything else. So, the fact is that it does require an equal focus between the male and female participants here. These two hardened souls are both searching for what it once was to be human, then it confronts them, and they reveal the mysteries of their existence.
She did an incredible job too, Jillian was such a really magnanimous type of a presence on set. There’s a great lyrical nature to his writing and to the words that our characters say, but I think more often than not there’s a beauty to what’s not said, and to the breaths in between the lines. That’s where someone like Jillian really comes in. With her background, she was also a migrant that came to Australia, she was the product of migrant parents, and her story is totally and utterly unique and heartwarming. She really brought a lot of her experience to this character, and it paid off, I believe.
MF: Can you talk about working with Jillian Nguyen on Jack and April’s unique relationship?
RK: It’s one of those things too where you have if the person you’re working with in this type of a movie isn’t receptive to going to those deeper and sometimes darker places within oneself, then I believe audiences in general are too smart. They can see through those cracks. So, unless you’re truly going to give a part of yourself to it, don’t do it, don’t even sign on. So, she was committed from the get-go. It’s one thing to say it, but then the moment I got on set and saw A, her level of preparation, but B, her ability to throw that preparation out of her peripheral that was the most powerful thing.
MF: To follow up on what you just said, do you feel that you gave a part of yourself to play this role?
RK: This was probably the heaviest movie I’ve ever done, without a doubt. Ivan asked me at the end of shooting, “What are you most looking forward to doing once we’re done?” I said, “To be honest, Ivan, smiling.” This is a character that’s been living not with a chip on his shoulder, but more like a boulder on his shoulder. Mystery is a tough thing to continually be trying to chase down, and I think that’s what I was constantly doing on this. That’s how I wanted to live, it was four or five weeks of some pretty intense shooting, and again, I thought the script and the story just deserved that.
(L to R) Ryan Kwanten and Hugo Weaving in ‘Expired.’
MF: Finally, this is not the first movie that you have appeared in with Hugo Weaving, but it does mark the first time you’ve shared scenes with him on screen. What was it like for you to finally have an opportunity to work with the celebrated Australian actor?
RK: Exactly. I’d been in a film with him but hadn’t had the fortuitous pleasure of working with him. I mean, you’ve met heroes in your line of work, as have I. Look, more often than not it’s not that you’re disappointed, it’s just that it’s hard to have them live up to the pedestal you keep them on. He not only lived up to it, but then, for me, he levitated. He, aside from just being an actor that I just couldn’t help but keep my eyes on, even when I’m acting with him. He was just one of the more generous people I’ve ever met in my life, and curious.
To give you an example, we were shooting a day’s worth of stuff in Macau, just outside of Hong Kong. He wasn’t supposed to be working that day, yet he showed up in full costume ready to just do anything in case Ivan wanted to use him. So, he got the ferry across, and he was willing to swing a boom, it didn’t matter. Of course, having an iconic actor like Hugo show up, Ivan was smart enough to use him in that, but it gives you an example of just how far and how much he’s willing to give. I was like a voyeur watching him half the time, seeing him on the ferry just looking out, being amazed at the city skyline, whatever it was. It was just constant curiosity.
Considering how much it changed the face of blockbuster movies and the science fiction genre, it’s bizarre to think “The Matrix” is turning 20 years old. Time to down the red pill and learn some interesting facts about the making of this modern classic.
1. The Wachowskis originally approached Will Smith in 1996 to star as Neo. Smith has since admitted he turned down the role because he didn’t understand the script and opted to star in “Wild Wild West” instead.
2. In addition to Smith, the Wachowskis also approached Val Kilmer to play Morpheus.
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3. The principal cast and crew members were required to read several philosophy books before seeing the screenplay, including Jean Baudrillard’s “Simulacra and Simulation.” That book can be seen on display in Thomas Anderson’s apartment early in the film.
4. “The Matrix” wasn’t officially greenlit by WB until well into pre-production. It was only after hiring artists Steve Skroce and comic book legend Geoff Darrow to storyboard the film and visualize the mind-bending action scenes that executives signed off on the project.
5. There’s a reason Neo’s fighting style in the first movie features far fewer kicking moves than in the sequels. Keanu Reeves was recovering from neck surgery during pre-production and didn’t have full use of his legs.
6. Both Hugo Weaving and Carrie-Anne Moss were injured during filming. Moss refused to tell anyone about her ankle injury for fear of losing the role.
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7. The scenes where Neo first wakes up from his captivity in The Matrix were filmed last, as Reeves had to loose approximately 15 pounds and shave his head to achieve the necessary emaciated look for his character.
8. Neo’s criminal record folder lists his birthplace as being “Capital City, USA.” While never overtly revealed in the films, the world simulated within the Matrix consists of a single, giant metropolis called Mega City.
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9. Switch actress Belinda McCrory revealed that her character was originally intended to be played by a male actor in the real world and a female actress in the Matrix. This is one reason why the film has come to be viewed as an allegory for transgender identity.
10. Even Neo might have been a woman had things worked out differently. Reeves’ “Speed” costar Sandra Bullock was approached to star in the film early on.
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11. The Wachowskis cast numerous sets of twins as background extras for the “Woman in Red” sequence, as a subtle way of showing a computer program using recycled information.
12. “The Matrix” is often compared to 1998’s “Dark City” in both story and visual style. As it turns out, many sets from “Dark City” were recycled for use in “The Matrix.”
13. The main character in the DC Comics series “The Sandman” is also named Morpheus. The Wachowskis specifically instructed Laurence Fishburne to model his performance on that wise, inscrutable Morpheus.
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14. This is the only film in the series where Neo uses guns.
15. “The Matrix” takes place over the course of 19 months. This is indicated by the timestamps of the phone traces seen in the beginning and end of the movie.
