(L to R) David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson in ‘The X-Files’. Photo: 20th Century Fox Television.
‘The X-Files’, originally created by Chris Carter, aired on Fox from 1993-2001 before being revived at the network for two more seasons in 2016 and 2018. It starred David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson as FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, who investigate cases that lean towards the paranormal and otherwise unusual.
Two movies were made based on the original show, but there’s no word yet on whether either Duchovny or Anderson will appear in any capacity. As for the new potential series’ logline? “Two highly decorated but vastly different FBI agents form an unlikely bond when they are assigned to a long-shuttered division devoted to cases involving unexplained phenomena.”
Deadwyler and Patel will be playing a new original characters –– we’re assuming at this point they’ll be the main agents.
Coogler is aboard to write and direct the pilot, but should the show go to series, ‘The Copenhagen Test’s Jennifer Yale will be overseeing it.
Coogler, an avowed fan of the supernatural, has spoken previously to Variety about his feelings for the show:
“Like my relationship with ‘Rocky’ with my dad, ‘The X-Files’ is one of those things with my mom. My mom means the world to me…so this is a big one for me. I want to do right by her and the fans. My mom has read some of the stuff I wrote for it. She’s fired up.”
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(L to R) James Cameron and Dr. Samuel Ramsey talk ‘Secrets of the Bees’.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of visiting Lightstorm Entertainment’s offices, along with other members of the press, to speak with James Cameron and Dr. Samuel Ramsey about the new docuseries ‘Secrets of the Bees’, finding the story in post-production, the special cameras utilized for the project, the science of the series, what they hope viewers learn from the show, and why nature is important to Cameron.
You can watch the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch the interview.
(L to R) James Cameron and Dr. Samuel Ramsey talk ‘Secrets of the Bees’. Photo: Jami Philbrick.
Moviefone: To begin with, Mr. Cameron, can you talk about developing the show’s narrative in the post-production process and discovering the story based on the incredible footage you were able to capture?
James Cameron: It’s a recursive effect. You go in with a rough script and you go in with experienced people who have done this kind of macro photography out in the field. It’s basically a wish list or a hope list. You go and if you get the right people on the team, you’re going to get the results that you wanted, you’re going to get the kind of mind-blowing footage that you want. But when you do discover something new, then the script changes and the edit will change. So, you put it together and you rough it in according to what your game plan was, but you also must be ready to follow a lead and write new dialogue. We find that the voiceover narration and so on and the way in which it’s structured and explained is quite fluid right through to the end of postproduction. So, the story is continuing to reveal itself to us as we go along. I mean, I’d say all documentaries are like that, but certainly natural history documentaries at this kind of scale are absolutely like that. The story’s constantly revealing itself to you as you go along, just as nature is constantly revealing itself to science as you go along. It’s kind of a parallel process.
Cinematographer Owen Carter filming the broomstick bee (Osmia bicolor) sequence in ‘Secrets of Bees’. Photo credit: National Geographic/Nadege Laici.
James, can you talk about the cutting-edge camera technology you utilized to make this series?
JC: Well, our camera team is very experienced with macro photography and have been doing it for decades. The camera technology itself wasn’t really the leap forward. It was really, how do we configure the hive environment around various other environments like tunnels and things that were done with the solo bees. But how do we get into their world? So, you know, I’m not an expert in animal photography, where you’re creating an environment that, we’ve got the best people in the world to do that. But it’s about not interfering with their behavior, making it seem natural for them but still getting the camera in a manner that’s reasonably predictable, that the bee or the animal will do that behavior right in front of the lens. When you have a little tiny area of photography, you have a very shallow depth of field, and this is always the problem with macro photography. So, it’s really about the human in the loop experience team, and these days, less than breakthroughs in the optics, per se.
A scene from ‘Secrets of Bees’. Photo credit: National Geographic.
Dr. Ramsey, from a scientific point of view, can you talk about what you learned about the world of bees from this project?
Samuel Ramsey: So, the way that these kinds of things often work is that when you’re conducting science, sometimes you just don’t have the time and space to be patient. A lot of the most incredible discoveries come from patience. What Jim was just talking about, about being able to get those cameras into that space, you can’t just leave the camera there forever. The bees will cover it in propolis, and wax and you’ll never be able to see anything. You’ve got to get it in there and wait, watch, and really spend the time looking at what they’re doing and hope for the best. That can be really difficult at times in science, but it’s in these spaces where you have the resources and the team that comes along with working with National Geographic, where you can really do this incredible stuff because we’re working with people who do all of this for a living, who are the best, and the top of their field at doing this sort of stuff. So then, with the bees that were using these leaves as a way of covering up the smell from the hornets, that’s the first time that that’s ever been documented. It is incredible to watch them do something like this, and of course, all of us were blown away. We expected that they would be able to do something like that, but not specifically that because it showed that they weren’t just looking for one thing and doing something on instinct. They had the ability to think, “Well, if I can’t find this, maybe I’ll use this as an alternative and it will allow us to cover the smell so that the hornets don’t kill us.” It’s an incredible process. But what it really involves a lot of is patience, because we go there, we’re looking for something specific, but we don’t know exactly what we’re going to see. We must wait and watch and really drill down and allow for time to show us the incredible secrets of the bees.
A beekeeper holds a honey frame which has a large group of honey bees on it at the University of Colorado in ‘Secrets of Bees’. Photo credit: National Geographic/Ryan Tidman.
Dr. Ramsey, what do you hope viewers learn about bees from this series?
SR: I want people to take away from this series that bees are working hard in the background doing things that keep our entire ecosystem healthy. They don’t get enough attention and they certainly don’t get protected nearly enough. Oftentimes when we say, “Save the Bees,” we mean “Save the Bee.” We’re thinking about the one bee species that we keep inside of a box because that’s the one that’s the most precious to us and it’s the one that we know the best. But they are the canary in the coal mine for the other 20,000 species of bees out there that we don’t have as close a connection with, and we’ve been able to show in this documentary some of their secret lives that they’re living underground and inside of tubes and the kinds of ways that they’re interacting with the world. If we couldn’t show that to people, it would be easier for them to discount that those things are important. But now that we’re able to put that front and center in front of people’s eyes, we want them to take away from that that these organisms are important, that they’re incredible, and we want them to expand that phrase of “Save the Bee” back to “Save the Bees” to keep the rest of them safe, healthy, and happy.
Bumble bee passes nectar from her fore legs to hind legs in ‘Secrets of Bees’. Photo credit: National Geographic.
Mr. Cameron, what do you hope people learn from watching this series?
JC: Well, you’re opening several different areas here. So, in terms of what I think the series in general is trying to convey, and the ‘Secrets of the Bees’ is an excellent example, is a sense of wonder about the natural world, because we won’t appreciate and make space for and protect that which we don’t love and don’t care about. The way to get people to care about things is to put them into it in a way that’s accessible, that’s not scientifically off-putting. Our primary purpose is not to sound very strident warnings, but as the series has progressed, we have shifted our emphasis a little bit toward this is what is endangered, this is what we may lose. You start off with “Isn’t this amazing?” Therefore, “Isn’t this precious? Oh, and by the way, it’s at risk.” That’s the last leg of that. “What can you do personally?” We don’t get into that that much, but that’s a critical area. I think this is where, when you start the conversation, it’s important not only as documentarians but as the National Geographic in general, to have answers. I think one of the issues that we all face in a global population of eight billion people is, what can I as an individual do? I can’t influence policy, and we all think of it as a government top-down system, and it doesn’t have to be. Let me give you an example. I’m vegan, I want to say that right up front. Animal agriculture is responsible for so much deforestation and loss of habitat that impacts not only bees but all species. The way in which we do our food system with massive industrial agriculture that’s mostly monocropping is also highly deleterious to bees, so it’s not just as simple as insecticides. It’s also, the simplification of monocropping just vast fields of corn or soy or wheat versus diversified vegetables and fruits, which is really what we should be eating as the intelligent hominids on the planet. For example, as a thought experiment, if people just stopped eating meat, which you can and you’d be healthier if you did, we could re-wild more than half of the planet, more than half of the area that’s been dedicated to agriculture, could be re-wild. That would be very good for the bees and for just about every other species out there. So, we make choices as a civilization and as individuals, and those choices have consequences. I think that the way to start getting people to think of those consequences is to let them see the victims, if you will. So, if we can relate to these bees, these hardworking ladies in these hives all over the world, then we may start to make better choices.
Asian giant Hornet portait at the entrance of an Asian honeybee hive in ‘Secrets of Bees’. Photo credit: National Geographic.
Finally, Mr. Cameron, nature plays an important role in many of your films including ‘The Abyss’, ‘Titanic’, and the ‘Avatar’ franchise. Can you talk about why nature is important to you as a storyteller?
JC: I grew up living in a suburban neighborhood, but two blocks away a forest began that went for hundreds of miles. This was in Canada, so it was a rural area, and I grew up with a natural curiosity. I spent all my time out in the fields and out in the woods collecting bugs, snakes, frogs, turtles, and everything that I could get my hands on. I was reading about it and doing dissection, preservation, and drawing it all up, so I was a junior naturalist. Nobody asked me to do this, nobody told me to do it, it was just my natural curiosity. So, I know that that’s always been a driver throughout my life. Before I settled in on a career in film, I went to college to study astronomy and physics, believe it or not. So, I think curiosity is our superpower as human beings and I think science is a natural extension of that. Yes, of course we all reap the benefits in our technological world of science. But I think science in and of itself is just an amazing thing, and I have such respect for researchers and my curiosity is very broad.
‘Secrets of the Bees’ premieres on Disney+ and Hulu April 1st.
What is the plot of ‘Secrets of the Bees’?
Hosted and narrated by BAFTA and Emmy-winning National Geographic Explorer Bertie Gregory, ‘Secrets of the Bees’ uses groundbreaking filming technology to reveal the extraordinary world of bees. With the expertise of entomologist and fellow National Geographic Explorer Dr. Samuel Ramsey, the series uncovers their astonishing architecture and intelligence, unlocking their secrets and featuring never-before-filmed moments.
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(L to R) Rashida Jones and Daveed Diggs star in ‘In the Blink of an Eye’.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Rashida Jones and Daveed Diggs about their work on ‘In the Blink of an Eye’, Diggs first reaction to the script, Jones’ approach to her character, and what makes this film stand out.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Jones and Diggs, director Andrew Stanton, and screenwriter Colby Day.
Moviefone: To begin with, Daveed, can you talk about your first reaction to the screenplay and why you wanted to play this character?
Daveed Diggs: I loved the scripts. I loved how impossible it felt to make. I loved the people working on it. I loved Greg’s decisiveness about who he was in love with. It is just, “This is my person. I know this is my person. I’m so confident in that, and I’m just going to sit in that and be honest about that and believe that it’s going to work out.” There’s so much faith in him that I found aspirational.
MF: Rashida, can you talk about your approach to playing Claire and depicting her quiet moments?
Rashida Jones: I relate to the idea that all these small moments make up a big life, and that’s just the truth. Nobody can really see the scope of their life unless they’re looking back, which is why this movie’s beautiful, because you’re spending time with people as they live their lives. So, consequential looking back, but at the time, you’re just making decisions for your family and yourself that you think are right and that you hope are right, and you’re making decisions out of love, hopefully. So, it was nice. It was nice to play those as real and present without thinking about the scope of the movie and the scope of life.
MF: Finally, Daveed, what makes this film different than other movies and uniquely stand out?
DD: I think the span of time it’s attempting to take us through is unique. 40,000 years in the past to about that far in the future is a big scope. I think to have a film that’s essentially a romance, but it’s structured as a grand sweeping epic. It’s the ‘Ben-Hur’ of romances. It’s a unique thing. It was very exciting for me to be a part of.
Editorial Note: Krisily Fernstrom conducted this interview and contributed to this article.
‘In the Blink of an Eye’ premieres on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+ on February 27th.
What is the plot of ‘In the Blink of an Eye’?
Depicts three interconnected stories exploring the history of the world.
(Left) Director Ryan Cooler at the New York Premiere of ‘Sinners’. Photo: Warner Bros. (Center) David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson in ‘The X-Files’. Photo: 20th Century Fox Television. (Right) Danielle Deadwyler in ‘Parallel.’ Photo: Vertical Entertainment.
Preview:
Danielle Deadwyler will star in the new ‘X-Files’ series.
Ryan Coogler is writing the pilot and will direct it.
Jennifer Yale will be showrunner.
We’ve known for a while that ‘Black Panther’ and ‘Sinners’ director Ryan Coogler has been developing a rebooted take on cult supernatural show ‘The X-Files’ for Hulu. The show has now taken a step forward with a pilot order.
(L to R) David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson in 1998’s ‘The X-Files’. Photo: 20th Century Fox.
‘The X-Files’, originally created by Chris Carter, aired on Fox from 1993-2001 before being revived at the network for two more seasons in 2016 and 2018. It starred David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson as FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, who investigate cases that lean towards the paranormal and otherwise unusual.
Two movies were made based on the original show, but there’s no word yet on whether either Duchovny or Anderson will appear in any capacity. As for the new potential series’ logline? “Two highly decorated but vastly different FBI agents form an unlikely bond when they are assigned to a long-shuttered division devoted to cases involving unexplained phenomena.”
We don’t yet know exactly how Deadwyler’s character will fit in, but we can assume she’s one of the agents.
“Like my relationship with ‘Rocky’ with my dad, ‘The X-Files’ is one of those things with my mom. My mom means the world to me…so this is a big one for me. I want to do right by her and the fans. My mom has read some of the stuff I wrote for it. She’s fired up.”
Coogler is aboard to write and direct the pilot, but should the show go to series, ‘The Copenhagen Test’s Jennifer Yale will be overseeing it.
Where else can we see Danielle Deadwyler?
Danielle Deadwyler in ’40 Acres’, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.
Upcoming on the small screen, she’ll appear in the new season of ‘Euphoria’ and Steve Carell series ‘Rooster’. Movie-wise, she’s attached to drama ‘The Street’ and has worked on crime comedy ‘The Chaperones’.
‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ director Ryan Coogler.
Sterling K. Brown plays Agent Xavier Collins in ‘Paradise’ Season 2. Photo: Disney/Ser Baffo.
Arriving on Hulu on February 23 with three episodes (with five more to follow once weekly) is the second season of ‘Paradise’, the thriller series from ‘This is Us’ creator Dan Fogelman that keeps audiences guessing.
Shailene Woodley plays Annie in ‘Paradise’ Season 2. Photo: Disney/Ser Baffo.
Talking about ‘Paradise’ is a dicey prospect for any reviewer, since it is predicated on a giant, twisty premise. But if you’re here reading a review of Season 2, we have to assume you’ve seen the first season (if not, go and watch it!) so I can talk about the fact that it revolves around an underground community that is designed to keep a limited population safe after an Earth-shattering environmental incident.
The first run of episodes was full of twists and turns, and the second keeps the pace up, even if much about the community has been revealed. But the best idea here was to send Brown’s Xavier Collins on a hunt for his wife, who has survived the cataclysmic events elsewhere, opening things up to new avenues.
Script and Direction
Krys Marshall plays Agent Nicole Robinson in ‘Paradise’ Season 2. Photo: Disney/Ser Baffo.
Dan Fogelman, no stranger to both narrative rug pulls and tugging on the emotional heart strings, has here managed to keep the story of ‘Paradise’ moving even after the revelations of last year. The expanded plotline is worthwhile, even if it sometimes dilutes the overall effectiveness.
Filmmaking duo Glenn Ficarra and John Requa are the primary directors for the series, and working alongside a couple of others, they keep ‘Paradise’ looking good, with the visual palette of the post-apocalyptic outside world just as impactful as those inside the show’s usual community.
Cast and Performances
Julianne Nicholson plays Samantha Redmond in ‘Paradise’ Season 2. Photo: Disney/Ser Baffo.
It’s no accident that Fogelman chose to work with Sterling K. Brown again after helping him break out with ‘This is Us.’ Here, Brown gets plenty of chances to showcase his considerable acting chops, bringing lots of layers to Secret Service officer Xavier Collins.
Julianne Nicholson remains superb as the calculating tech billionaire Samantha “Sinatra” Redmond who conceived of the bunker, while in-Paradise highlights include Krys Marshall as dedicated officer Robinson and Nicole Brydon Bloom as the psychopathic Jane.
Woodley, meanwhile, enjoys her own storyline as survivor Annie, who made it through the environmental chaos holed up in Graceland.
Final Thoughts
Sarah Shahi plays Dr. Gabriela Torabi in ‘Paradise’ Season 2. Photo: Disney/Ser Baffo.
‘Paradise’s first season was a series of mystery box reveals, and while elements of that remain in the second, the focus is also on the emotional stakes for the characters, letting some accomplished actors revel in solidly written scripts.
‘Paradise’ Season 2 receives 71 out of 100.
Nicole Brydon Bloom plays Jane Driscoll in ‘Paradise’ Season 2. Photo: Disney/Ser Baffo.
What’s the plot of ‘Paradise’ Season 2?
A shocking murder turns the serene community of Paradise on its head. Kicking off a high-stakes investigation that uncovered secrets that some hoped would stay hidden.
And in Season 2, the world expands yet further as both Sterling K. Brown’s Xavier Collins and the story venture beyond Paradise’s borders.
Who stars in ‘Paradise’?
Sterling K. Brown as Xavier Collins
James Marsden as President Cal Bradford
Nicole Brydon Bloom as Jane Driscoll
Julianne Nicholson as Samantha Redmond
Sarah Shahi as Dr. Gabriela Torabi
Shailene Woodley as Annie
Thomas Doherty as Link
Sterling K. Brown plays Agent Xavier Collins in ‘Paradise’ Season 2. Photo: Disney/Ser Baffo.
On Hulu from October 22 is ‘The Hand That Rocks the Cradle,’ a remake of the 1992 thriller that preyed upon the worries of parents and concerns about letting strangers into the family home.
It would appear that few films these days are safe from the remake treatment, but cult thrillers from the 1990s (even ones with the likes of Curtis Hanson at the helm) would seem to be fair game to receive a fresh coat of 2020s paint.
Yet in switching things up for ‘The Hand That Rocks the Cradle’, the filmmaking team haven’t exactly found the right gear.
Writer Micah Bloomberg takes the basic concept of Amanda Silver’s 1992 story –– a wealthy family dealing with issues hires a young woman as a nanny for their children, only for things to take a psychologically scary turn –– and has filled it with a few different, updated ideas, including themes of mental health and paranoia.
Yet in changing the focus of the film, he has also somehow drained it of tension or real entertainment value, leading to this coming off as a cheap-and-cheerless knock-off of the original.
Director Michelle Garza Cervera, meanwhile, who has horror experience on her resume, never quite overcomes the lackluster bones of the film, wasting committed performances that also are stymied by the words on the page and some chemistry problems.
Both Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Maika Monroe have succeeded in this genre before –– and Monroe has been in some excellent horrors –– but ‘Cradle’ simply wastes what they have to offer.
It doesn’t help that no one in the film really connects with anyone else, leaving them feeling truly like characters going through the plot motions rather than believable humans, while certain plot twists are telegraphed with all the subtlety of a baseball bat to the head.
What’s the story of ‘The Hand That Rocks the Cradle’?
Mary Elizabeth Winstead stars as Caitlin Morales, an upscale suburban mom who brings a new nanny, Polly Murphy (Maika Monroe), into her home, only to discover she is not the person she claims to be.
Who is in the cast of ‘The Hand That Rocks the Cradle’?
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Maika Monroe about their work on 2025’s ‘The Hand That Rocks the Cradle’, their first reactions to the screenplay, their approach to their characters, and working with director Michelle Garza Cervera.
(L to R) Maika Monroe and Mary Elizabeth Winstead star in Hulu’s ‘The Hand That Rocks the Cradle’.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Winstead, Monroe, and Michelle Garza Cervera.
Moviefone: To begin with, Mary, were you a fan of the original movie, and what was your first reaction to the screenplay for this new updated version?
Mary Elizabeth Winstead: I hadn’t seen the original film, but I had a real awareness of it, and I was aware of what spoke to in terms of the genre and the feeling of it. So, it conjured up certain images and ideas in my mind when I heard the title. I think when I read the script, I was blown away by what felt to me like a modern telling of it, even though I hadn’t seen the original, I could sense that this was a very updated version just by the approach that it was taking. It felt very empathetic towards these female characters, both my character and Maika’s character in a way that was unusual to see from any genre film from years past. So that was exciting to me to know that we were going to be doing something that was likely bringing it forward and in some way. When I went to look back at the original film, I was just reading about it, and I could see that the plot was very different. So that allowed me to go, I’m going to leave that over here. We’ll do our thing and let it kind of stand on its own.
MF: Maika, were you a fan of the original, and can you talk about your approach to playing this complex character?
Maika Monroe: I had seen the original a while back, and yes, it’s one of those movies you don’t forget. When I was told about this project and a remake, I was like, “I don’t know. What do you do with that?” I read the script, and I was just blown away by both these female characters that are so complex. It’s such a grounded story. I feel like this version is much more grounded and I think people can relate or put themselves in maybe both of our shoes. After reading it, I was like, “I must play Polly. I must do this”. I knew it would be a challenge. I knew it would be hard and something very different from anything I’ve ever done. But I had an absolute blast. I loved it and I love Polly. I fell in love with her an it was great.
MF: Mary, can you talk about Caitlyn and Polly’s relationship and creating that on set with Maika?
MEW: It was amazing because Maika is so talented and made it so easy. I think every day coming into set, I never knew what she was going to do or how she was going to be approaching it, or how much she was going to reveal to me or not. So, that was always exciting to be able to go into the scene and be in it with her and be very free in that sense of like, “Okay, this is this is what I’m kind of feeling and grappling with and let’s see what she throws at me in terms of where that’s going to take me.” So as an actor, that’s just fun. It’s so exciting to be able to live in that space and this whole film felt like that. We all had our characters, and we knew who they were, and we were able to step on set and live amongst each other and play out the scenes and let them be what they were. That’s just so fun as an actor. I loved every minute of it.
‘The Hand That Rocks the Cradle’ director Michelle Garza Cervera.
MF: Finally, Maika, what was it like for you collaborating with director Michelle Garza Cervera on set?
MM: Michelle’s incredible, genuinely one of my favorite directors I’ve ever worked with. She was very precise. She knew exactly what she wanted but was incredibly collaborative and was open to all our ideas and trying it in a different way and that was the perfect recipe. I just feel like she’s born to direct, and I think her career is going to be massive and incredible. I cannot wait to see what she does next.
‘The Hand That Rocks the Cradle’ premieres on Hulu October 22nd.
What is the plot of ‘The Hand That Rocks the Cradle’?
Suburban couple Caitlin and Miguel Morales hire seemingly sweet Polly to take care of their newborn baby. But Polly’s true motives have little to do with singing lullabies — much to the horror of the couple.
Who is in the cast of ‘The Hand That Rocks the Cradle’?
Premiering on Hulu October 15th is the new miniseries ‘Murdaugh: Death in the Family‘, which is based on the true story that was featured in Mandy Matney’s ‘Murdaugh Murders Podcast’.
(L to R) Patricia Arquette and Jason Clarke star in ‘Murdaugh: Death in the Family’.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Patricia Arquette and Jason Clarke about their work on ‘Murdaugh: Death in the Family’, the true story it is based on, their research into their characters, and their first reactions to the screenplays.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Arquette and Clarke, Brittany Snow, Johnny Berchtold, Will Harrison, Mandy Matney, Michael D. Fuller and Erin Lee Carr.
Patricia Arquette in ‘Murdaugh: Death in the Family’. Photo: Disney/Daniel Delgado Jr.
Moviefone: To begin with, Patricia, what was your first reaction to the screenplays for the series and the true story that it is based on, and what were some of the aspects of Maggie’s character that you were excited to explore on screen and bring to light?
Patricia Arquette: I was excited about this story just because it was such a nightmare, your family’s supposed to keep you safe. Here’s this guy who was this bastion of the community and this legal family with all this history and to see it reveal itself and to watch him lie. Then I started doing a lot of research and he lied about this, he lied about that, he stole this, he betrayed this way, he did that. Then looking up personality disorders, pathological people, eternal victims, charming people, I just thought that the other side is the codependent. The other side is the person who’s supporting everybody. “I support my husband. I support my kids. That’s what I do”. That’s a very dangerous personality trait, because you can get taken by somebody like this. But also, I liked in it that it was a family story, and you could feel their love, their history together. Jason, you know, he’s got to drive this whole thing. He’s this hustler who is constantly covering everything and he came in ready to go.
Jason Clarke in ‘Murdaugh: Death in the Family’. Photo: Disney/Daniel Delgado Jr.
MF: Jason, were you aware of the true story the series is based on before you were cast, and how did you research into the case help inform your approach to playing Alex?
Jason Clarke: Well, it’s everything. It’s all you’ve got, isn’t it, really? It’s everything and you either pick it up or you don’t. I read everything. I listened to everything. The Audible books, I listened to it a lot before I watched it. I started eating to put on the weight as I’m playing a 265-pound redheaded man from South Carolina who loves the Gamecocks. So, I watch the Gamecocks! You know, I did a lot. I tried to do as much as I could, but it was terrifying. You know, everybody from Australia to France, the places that I was in between, and America, knew this thing, if not back to front, and were obsessed with it, or knew of it and were horrified by it or intrigued by it, or couldn’t help leaning into it. It was a massive undertaking, but what I felt interesting was that this man had deceived so many people. Hindsight was easy where you go, “Oh, he’s a bad man.” But to pull the wool over so many decent, lovely people’s eyes in a community, he had to be gregarious and fun, loving and generous, and that was what I was interested in showing. Because for me, on the human side of it, that just shows how much destruction and pain he wrought, if you could show everything that he had in his hands that he decided to destroy.
(L to R) Patricia Arquette and Jason Clarke in ‘Murdaugh: Death in the Family’. Photo: Disney/Daniel Delgado Jr.
MF: Finally, Patricia, was there anything you learned from your research into the Murdaugh family that helped you to understand these characters and their actions?
PA: It’s weird because on one hand, these people know what they’re doing, and sometimes they delight in getting away with things. But on the other hand, there is almost a part of themselves that really doesn’t admit to themselves they’re doing any of this. Like, “Well, I just invested your money. I was going to pay you back and you were going to get interest. You were going to make more money, man. You don’t know anything about that”. So, it’s like they’re conning themselves at the same time they’re conning you, which is just so confusing, honestly.
(L to R) Mina Sundwall, Will Harrison, Jason Clarke, Patricia Arquette, and Will Harrison in ‘Murdaugh: Death in the Family’. Photo: Disney/Daniel Delgado Jr.
What is the story of ‘Murdaugh: Death in the Family’?
Maggie (Patricia Arquette) and Alex (Jason Clarke) enjoy a lavish life of privilege as members of one of South Carolina’s most powerful legal dynasties. But when their son Paul (Johnny Berchtold) is involved in a deadly boat crash, the family is faced with a test unlike any they’ve ever encountered. As details come to light and new challenges emerge, the family’s connections to several mysterious deaths raise questions which threaten everything Maggie and Alex hold dear.
Who is in the cast of ‘Murdaugh: Death in the Family’?
The ‘Very Young Frankenstein’ series is going to pilot.
Zach Galifianakis, Cary Elwes, Kumail Nanjiani and more are in the cast.
It’ll be a prequel to Mel Brooks’ ‘Young Frankenstein’.
We learned back in July that, following the ‘Spaceballs’ sequel movie news, another Mel Brooks movie was getting the follow-up treatment. Or in this case, a TV prequel. ‘Young Frankenstein’ is the Brooks project in question and the new show is ‘Very Young Frankenstein.’
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While we already knew that Taika Waititi is involved (to direct the pilot) alongside two writers from the ‘What We Do in the Shadows’ TV spin-off, Stefani Robinson and Garrett Basch, the cast has also been revealed.
(L to R) Teri Garr, Gene Wilder, Madeline Kahn, and Marty Feldman in ‘Young Frankenstein’. Photo: 20th Century-Fox.
Brooks’ 1974 horror-comedy starred Gene Wilder (who co-wrote the screenplay with the director) as Frederick Frankenstein, grandson of mad scientist Victor Frankenstein –– the younger Frankenstein pronounces the family name as “Fronkensteen,” to distinguish himself from his ancestor, whose unorthodox experiments have brought the American scientist shame.
When Frederick inherits his grandfather’s Transylvania castle, he wants to prove Victor was not insane. Alongside Igor (pronounced as “Eye-gore”), whose grandfather assisted Victor in the lab, the pair attempts to save the muddied Frankenstein name by creating their own monster. What could go wrong?
Gene Wilder in ‘Young Frankenstein’. Photo: 20th Century-Fox.
There are no details as to how the new show will spin off from the movie, but the title suggests turning the clock back to the earlier days of Frederick. Perhaps a college comedy?
None of the freshly–announced cast have character descriptions, so we’ll have to wait for further details –– but Elwes is listed as the star of this one.
When will ‘Very Young Frankenstein’ be on our screens?
The show right now is just a pilot for FX and Hulu, so it’ll need to score a pickup if it’s to go to series. Audiences (and Brooks’ accountant) are no doubt crossing their fingers.
(L to R) Marty Feldman, Cloris Leachman, Gene Wilder, and Teri Garr in ‘Young Frankenstein’. Photo: 20th Century-Fox.
Director Fede Álvarez at the San Diego Comic-Con 2024 ‘Alien: Romulus’ panel. Photo: Disney.
Preview:
Director Fede Álvarez is stepping away from the ‘Alien: Romulus’ sequel.
But he will produce the movie with franchise overseer Ridley Scott.
The hunt is on for a new director.
The ‘Alien’ franchise is enjoying a real resurgence of late –– ‘Alien: Earth’ is getting good reviews and solid viewing figures on Hulu, while last year’s ‘Alien: Romulus’ did more than $350 million at the worldwide box office.
You might think, then, that ‘Romulus’ co-writer/director Fede Álvarez would be eager to jump back in for the sequel to that movie. Yet despite previously indicating so, and talking up kicking off pre-production, he’s now stepping away, moving to simply produce the next outing.
“We just finished the script, actually, for a sequel for ‘Romulus’. But I’m gonna pass the torch on this one as director. I’m going to produce it, with Ridley Scott, we’re gonna produce it together and we’re right now trying to find a new filmmaker to come in. I think that’s usually what has happened, except for Ridley, filmmakers come, you make one and you pass the baton to the next one. But we wrote the story because we really love what we started with ‘Romulus’ and we want to continue the story. We love the story and now we just want to find a director that really wants to go for the jugular.”
‘Romulus’ was the story of a group of young space colonists who are looking for a way off the mining colony moon they call home.
While scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station, they come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe.
As for the sequel’s story, those details are being kept inside a Facehugger’s egg for now. But talking to The Hollywood Reporter in October last year, 20th Century Studios boss Steve Asbell had this to say:
“We know there’s going to be aliens. We know there’s going to be great horror set pieces. But I fell in love with both of them [Álvarez and co-writer Rodo Sayagues, who have crafted the story for the next movie] and I want to see what their story is.”
What else is Fede Álvarez working on?
(Right) Director Fede Álvarez at the San Diego Comic-Con 2024 ‘Alien: Romulus’ panel. Photo: Disney.
Álvarez is one of those filmmakers who always has something in development. Right now, he has the likes of video game adaptation ‘Dante’s Inferno’ bubbling away alongside ‘Incognito’, about a super-villain in the witness protection programme.
He admitted to TooFab that he had something in mind to make next, but is keeping specifics close to his chest:
“I want to work on a personal project that me and my co-writer, we’ve been keeping on the back burner for a while and we feel it’s the right time to go and work on an original. But I can’t tell you anything about it.”
Spoilsport!
When will the ‘Alien: Romulus’ sequel be on screens?
Since it’s now in a holding pattern awaiting a new director, don’t expect to learn a release date for the currently untitled sequel until a team is in place.
