(L to R) Jamie Lee Curtis and Pamela Anderson star in ‘The Last Showgirl’.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Pamela Anderson and Jamie Lee Curtis about their work on ‘The Last Showgirl’, Anderson’s first reaction to the screenplay, how she related to her character, why Curtis wanted to work with Anderson and their characters’ friendship, and working with director Gia Coppola.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Anderson, Curtis, Brenda Song, Kiernan Shipka and director Gia Coppola.
Pamela Anderson in ‘The Last Showgirl’. Photo: Roadside Attractions.
Moviefone: To begin with, Pamela, can you talk about your first reaction to the screenplay and your approach to playing Shelly? Did you relate to the character right away?
Pamela Anderson: Well, once the script finally found me through a few obstacles, I just fell in love with it. When I read it, I could hear the voice already, I could see it so clearly, I just couldn’t wait to get started. I had happy feet. I was just like; I must get started. I got to get that first scene done, what do you call it, “in the can”. Once it was there, we hit the ground running and everyone jumped in headfirst. But I was so appreciative because I’ve always dreamt of, I always wanted to do something good. I want my legacy to be something I’m proud of and I’ve always wanted to make my family and my kids proud. I remember seeing my kid’s front row when I played Roxie in ‘Chicago’ on Broadway on the opening night and when the lights came up and they were there, it was so amazing to see them proud of me. So same thing with this movie.
Jamie Lee Curtis in ‘The Last Showgirl’. Photo: Roadside Attractions.
MF: Jamie Lee, can you talk about the friendship between Annette and Shelly, and what it was like for you creating that relationship with Pamela on screen?
Jamie Lee Curtis: Instantaneous. I signed up to do the movie because Pamela was going to be in it. We’ve never met, we don’t know each other, but I knew who she was. My female friendships are incredibly important to me, and so this is just a beautiful extension of a female friendship. This is that ride-or-die bestie that have been through everything together and we don’t need to have known each other because we know each other because women know each other because we’ve all been there, we’ve all done it. So, I’m just thrilled to have been able to meet her and fall in love with her the way that we have done so on film.
Pamela Anderson in ‘The Last Showgirl’. Photo: Roadside Attractions.
MF: Jamie Lee, has the friendship between you and Pamela that you created for this movie continued after filming was completed?
JLC: Oh, absolutely. Are you kidding? That’s not fake. We may not see each other a lot. Pamela lives in Vancouver. I live in Los Angeles. We’re both working all the time now. Chances are we aren’t going to be having sleepovers, but we will now forever be in each other’s hearts for sure.
‘The Last Showgirl’ director Gia Coppola.
MF: Pamela, what was it like collaborating with director Gia Coppola on set?
PA: Oh, she’s a wonderful director. She’s very soft-spoken, but very decisive. You feel completely safe with her. Like I said, this is a new world for me, these are all new feelings that I’m savoring, and she’s such a big part of that. But she’s sneaky because she’s very kind and sweet but then when she’s on set, she has her own video monitor, and she doesn’t have everybody chiming in.
Pamela Anderson in ‘The Last Showgirl’. Photo: Roadside Attractions.
MF: Finally, Pamela, can you talk about the challenges of shooting this movie in only 18 days in Las Vegas?
PA: It was challenging, fun and exciting, and that’s how you want it. You want it to break you down and find things that you never knew existed, and it takes a challenge like that. The whole thing was just 18 days, I know movies take longer than that, but I don’t really have that experience, so I just shot eight or nine scenes a day. I needed to be ready when I got there.
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What is the plot of ‘The Last Showgirl’?
After a successful thirty-year run, a seasoned showgirl (Pamela Anderson) must plan her future after the show closes abruptly.
(Left) Jamie Lee Curtis poses backstage with the Oscar® for Actress in a Supporting Role during the live ABC telecast of the 95th Oscars® at Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 12, 2023. (Right) Angela Lansbury as Jessica Fletcher in ‘Murder, She Wrote.’ Photo courtesy of Universal Television.
Preview:
Jamie Lee Curtis is circling the lead in the ‘Murder, She Wrote’ movie.
Universal is driving the new development.
If she signs, she’d take over the role made famous by Angela Lansbury on TV.
And bestriding the genre like a colossus spanning both sides is Rian Johnson, who continues to see success with his ‘Knives Out’ franchise, which stars Daniel Craig as detective Benoit Blanc and TV’s ‘Poker Face,’ in which Natasha Lyonne plays Charlie Cole, who has the ability to know when people are lying and keeps stumbling into murder mystery situations.
Yet back in the day (by which we mean the 1980s), the 800lb gorilla of mystery on TV was ‘Murder, She Wrote,’ with Angela Lansbury starring.
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It’s a little surprising given the enduring popularity of the show (and the love for existing intellectual popularity to exploit), why it has taken this long for a movie to enter development. Yet the wheels got turning last year, when Universal began work on one, with Amy Pascal producing.
Now, according to Deadline, Oscar winner Jamie Lee Curtis is close to a deal to take the lead, though the site cautions that it’s not quite locked in yet.
What’s the story of ‘Murder She Wrote’?
Angela Lansbury as Jessica Fletcher in ‘Murder, She Wrote.’ Photo courtesy of Universal Television.
For those who didn’t grow up in the 1980s or have somehow gotten this far in life not knowing the name Jessica Fletcher, ‘Murder She Wrote’ was a crime procedural drama series that kicked off on CBS in 1984.
It stars Lansbury as Fletcher, a seemingly mild-mannered crime writer who has a penchant for digging into mysteries of all kinds. Working and living primarily in the fictional town of Cabot Cove, Maine, she’s consistently underestimated by police and criminals and ends up solving many murders.
Her travels during the series –– which ran for 12 seasons –– have taken her all over the United States and abroad.
In that time, Lansbury was nominated for an Emmy every single year, and won various awards. She reprised the role in the four TV movies.
Lansbury said in the past that she’d have been open to making a comeback appearance, which would make for a fun cameo in any potential movie. But in a 2015 interview with Zap2It, she said it was no longer feasible:
“I think it would be a downer. In some way, we’d have to show her as a much older woman, and I think it’s better to maintain that picture we have in our mind’s eye of her as a vigorous person. I’m still pretty vigorous, especially in the garden, but if I wanted to transform myself back into the woman I looked like then, it would be ridiculous. And I can’t do that.”
It has since become even less feasible, as the acting legend died in 2022.
Producer Amy Pascal attends the Los Angeles Premiere of Amazon MGM Studios’ ‘Challengers’ at Regency Village Theatre on April 16, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. Photo by Eric Charbonneau/Getty Images for Amazon MGM Studios.
Amy Pascal is a former Sony chairperson who has become a powerful and influential producer via her Pascal Pictures company.
On the writing front, we have Lauren Schuker Blum and Rebecca Angelo, who got their start as reporters at the ‘Wall Street Journal’ and segued into dramatic writing on the staff of ‘Orange Is the New Black’.
They wrote last year’s GameStop share story movie ‘Dumb Money’ and have several scripts in development, including one about the GamerGate phenomenon which Pascal is also producing, and contributed writing to a new take on ‘The Wolf Man’ for Universal (though their script has since fallen by the wayside).
Where else can I see Jamie Lee Curtis?
Oscar® nominee Jamie Lee Curtis arrives on the red carpet of the 95th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 12, 2023.
Curtis is certainly enjoying a career renaissance between the return of the ‘Halloween’ franchise and particularly in ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once,’ which scored her the Best Supporting Actress Oscar last year.
She’s been winning further cinematic praise for her role in ‘The Last Showgirl,’ and on TV has been seen in the likes of ‘The Bear.’ Curtis is currently on screens in Prime Video maple syrup heist comedy drama ‘The Sticky.’
On the mystery front, she’s busy filming another Prime Video series, this one based on the Patricia Cornwell ‘Kay Scarpetta’ books, which also stars Nicole Kidman.
When will the ‘Murder She Wrote’ movie be on screens?
Universal has yet to announce anything resembling a release date for the movie –– that will likely have to wait until a director is attached and more deals are closed.
Angela Lansbury as Jessica Fletcher in ‘Murder, She Wrote.’ Photo courtesy of Universal Television.
Opening in theaters on August 9th is the new action-comedy ‘Borderlands’, which is based on the popular video game of the same name and was written and directed by Eli Roth (‘Thanksgiving’).
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with writer and director Eli Roth about his work on ‘Borderlands,’ the challenges of adapting a video game, cracking the story, the all-star cast, and making movies outside of the horror genre.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch the interview.
Moviefone: To begin with, can you talk about the challenges of adapting a video game and cracking the story for ‘Borderlands’?
Eli Roth: Well, the story, that was producer Ari Arad and Randy Pitchford, who spent a long time with different writers trying different permutations until they settled on this story, and then that’s when they came to me. So, one of the things we talked about was how do we change stuff and adapt it from a video game to a movie, but I had the game creator Randy with me there the whole time. There are certain things that you obviously want to be faithful to, like the costumes, the design, the guns, the tech. There are certain things that are beloved in the game, and we could fill the movie with Easter eggs, but obviously in casting the movie, you’re going to cast people in real life that look different than the characters in the game. So that’s the first thing. It’s a very, very violent game, but to render the universe at this scale, the studio wants to make a PG-13 movie, and I wanted to make something for the nine-year-old boy in me that if this is a movie, if you’ve never played the game before and you take kids to go see at 10 or 11-years old, they’re going to laugh their ass off and have a great time. I wanted something that was just totally bonkers, a movie that was unhinged and fun. You can just turn off your brain, grab a bucket of popcorn and have a good time.
Moviefone: Did you play the game for research, and what did you like most about the source material?
ER: It’s so fun. Yes, I did play the game. I’m terrible at games, so I had to have Christy Pitchford take me through the game co-playing with her. But I love it. I love the sense of humor. Randy Pitchford and I are of the same age and have the same influences, whether it was ‘Mad Max’ or ‘Escape from New York’ or ‘Star Wars’. I love the creatures. I love the sense of insanity. I love the world. I love the detritus of the world. They’re trying to make something beautiful out of it and the trashed planet, and it made me think of ‘The Fifth Element’ and what I saw in that movie, and just the colors of that film and the Gaultier costumes that just blew my mind. So, to get to render something at that scale, I want it to feel like you took all your fluorescent pink neon clothes, put them in the dryer, sprinkled in some glitter, and then it just exploded everywhere and caught fire at the same time. So that was the idea of rendering something that didn’t look like any other movie you had seen before.
MF: Can you talk about putting together this terrific cast of actors?
ER: I had an amazing experience working with Cate and Jack on ‘The House with a Clock in Its Walls’, the kid’s movie I did with Amblin, and Cate was the first one I called. I said, “I’m making this insane kind of spaghetti western space opera, fun sci-fi video game adaptation, and I need someone to be a total badass, like Clint Eastwood in ‘The Man with No Name’ or Snake Plissken in ‘Escape from New York’,” and she’s like, “I’m in. Let’s do it.” So, Cate learned to twirl guns. She wanted to shoot, she wanted to do her own stunts. We put her in a harness, she was 100 feet in the air on wires. Then I said, “All right, what if you grab a flamethrower and you light these guys on fire?” So, Cate, she learned to do it. She’s really shooting a flamethrower in that scene. So, it was incredible. Once you have Cate, she’s actor bait. Everybody wants to act with Cate. So, I called Jack right away, said, “She’s going to be a pissed off bounty hunter, and you’re the annoying robot,” and he’s a big ‘Borderlands’ player, so he knew Claptrap, he was all in. Then Jamie Lee said she wanted to play Tannis, which was my first choice and she said yes. he’s like, “You had me at Cate Blanchett.” So, it’s great to be able to unite those screen icons in a movie, and the two of them became close friends. Everyone bonded on this movie. We were shooting in the pandemic, so there was a curfew in Budapest. We weren’t allowed out after 8:00pm, and the world of ‘Borderlands’ became our reality. So, everybody got close. We made lifelong friends on that movie, and you can feel that bond with the characters on screen.
MF: Finally, you are probably best known for making horror movies. But do you also enjoy working in other genres?
ER: I do. I love it. I’ve noticed, if I do too many horror films in a row, I start to get burnout. So, whether I switch and made my documentary ‘Fin’ about saving sharks or ‘Death Wish’, which is completely different, it’s good for me to switch it up and challenge myself creatively and learn new skills. You learn something every time, every day on set. Every shot, you’re learning something new. So, it’s great. I shot ‘Thanksgiving’ after ‘Borderlands’, so I learned how long the post-production is on ‘Borderlands’. So, it’s good for me to go back and forth, but obviously horror movies are my passion and my love. But if you do too many in a row… I never want to get tired of doing it.
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What is the plot of ‘Borderlands’?
Bounty hunter Lilith (Cate Blanchett) is hired by interstellar business mogul Atlas (Edgar Ramírez) to find his missing daughter and the soldier-for-hire, Roland (Kevin Hart), who was sent to rescue her. The mission takes Lilith back to her ruined home planet, Pandora, where she reluctantly teams with Roland, a muscleman named Krieg (Florian Munteanu), a loopy scientist named Tannis (Jamie Lee Curtis), a wisecracking robot (Jack Black), and the girl herself, Tiny Tina (Ariana Greenblatt), to battle monsters and vicious marauders while searching for a secret that could unleash unimaginable power.
A loud, clattering, off-brand mash-up of ‘Guardians of the Galaxy,’ ‘Mad Max: Fury Road,’ and other recent tentpoles, ‘Borderlands’ is based on the hugely successful first-person shooter video game franchise launched in 2009 by Gearbox Software. Fans of the game can assess how faithful the movie, mostly directed by horror auteur Eli Roth (‘Thanksgiving’), is to the game, but as a film this fails on a number of levels.
‘Borderlands’ is simply dull, thanks to a bland script and setting, cheap-looking production values, and a cast that seems terrific on paper but veers between performances that are either bored or overwrought. Filmed more than three years ago in the spring and summer of 2021, ‘Borderlands’ collected dust until Tim Miller (‘Deadpool’) came on to direct reshoots in early 2023 when Roth proved unavailable. Either way, with recent video game adaptations like ‘Fallout’ and ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ earning praise for their approach to translating their games to the screen, ‘Borderlands’ is a disappointing throwback, a film that looks and plays like it came out of the 1990s, right down to the crappy CG and the pounding heavy metal needle drops.
As Cate Blanchett’s expository voice-over tells us at the beginning, a long-extinct alien race named the Eridians used to rule the galaxy, leaving behind some powerful artifacts hidden in secret “Vaults” throughout the cosmos that ruthless corporations like Atlas and Dahl, along with independent “Vault Hunters,” are interested in obtaining. Blanchett herself plays Lilith, a bounty hunter who is hired by Atlas himself (Edgar Ramirez) to ostensibly find his kidnapped daughter, Tina (Ariana Greenblatt). She’s gone missing on the planet Pandora (yes, same name as the planet in the ‘Avatar’ movies) along with the soldier sent to retrieve her, Roland (Kevin Hart).
Pandora also happens to be Lilith’s home world, and when she arrives there she finds it to be devastated by corporate mining and colonization efforts, with gangs of former prison laborers known as Psychos now roaming the land. She also finds Tina in short order, along with Roland, but the girl does not want to be rescued and shows her resistance by hurling explosive stuffed bunnies in Lilith’s direction. Nevertheless, Lilith, Tina, and Roland eventually team up – along with Tina’s self-styled bodyguard and former Psycho Krieg (Florian Munteanu), an eccentric scientist named Tannis (Jamie Lee Curtis), and a motormouth robot named Claptrap (voiced by Jack Black) – to block Atlas’s real agenda, which is to find a Vault hidden on Pandora and unlock the unimaginable power stored within.
The problem with ‘Borderlands,’ as with many video game adaptations, is that the movie must do a lot of world-building in a short period of time, leading to things like that voice-over narration and reams of expository dialogue. ‘Borderlands’ falls victim to this early on, mixing and matching characters from various editions of the game in a stop-and-start narrative that either comes to a crashing halt to explain its convoluted mythology or races from one frenetic action scene to another without balancing the two effectively. This leaves no room for any real character development, and while a pro like Blanchett tries hard, the cast falls into the ‘lovable band of rogues and misfits’ trope without doing anything to make it unique.
The movie is also hampered by its production values, which look cheap, constricted, and derivative despite a reported $120 million budget. Set on a world devastated by indifferent corporate colonizing, the movie looks like it was shot in perhaps two quarries made to look like junkyards (one character even asks at one point if there’s a way to escape that doesn’t involve schlepping through garbage). The post-apocalyptic wasteland has been done to death, and the fact that the Psychos resemble extras from the recent ‘Mad Max’ movies doesn’t help.
If Roth (or Miller) isn’t shooting in one of the film’s two junkyards, then they’re staging sequences in murky underground corridors and hallways that cinematographer Rogier Stoffers can’t solve. The result is an especially drab film all around. Adding to the problems, ‘Borderlands’ is rated PG-13, so Roth isn’t able to indulge his proclivities for copious amounts of blood and gore; the choppy editing suggests that much of this is being held back for a future ‘uncut’ release.
A finale laden with mediocre CGI only exacerbates the sense that this is a production where things went south pretty quickly, and the movie rapidly descends into a kind of numbing, generic rhythm that is thankfully only ameliorated by its relatively brief 100-minute runtime.
We’re not exactly sure how Cate Blanchett got roped into this, although she and Jack Black both starred in Roth’s slapdash 2018 Y/A fantasy, ‘The House with a Clock in Its Walls.’ Whatever her reasons, we’re not going to place this among the Australian actor’s finest performances. She’s good, never less than professional, but at times she doesn’t seem to know how seriously she should be taking any of it, and her CG-infused arc near the end of the film just ends up looking silly.
Jack Black has no such problems: for one thing, he’s never onscreen since he’s the voice of the R2-D2/BB-8 hybrid robot known as Claptrap, and as such gets the film’s best and funniest lines. Claptrap acts as a commentator on the action, edging close to a ‘Deadpool’-like breaking of the fourth wall (although it never happens) and offering up a stream of patter that alternates between sarcastic quips and ill-time bursts of into. But even Black’s energetic routine gets wearisome after 100 minutes or so of listening to Claptrap babble on.
We’re not sure what Jamie Lee Curtis is doing as the usually reliable actor plays Tannis as a weird combination of loopy and wearily cynical, with the two sides of her admittedly thin personality never meshing well. Kevin Hart is curiously low-energy, although he does pull off a few decent action moves, and while we dislike giving the thumbs-down to a young actor, Ariana Greenblatt (‘Barbie’) delivers an incredibly annoying, tic-laden performance as Tiny Tina, a character so poorly developed and inconsistently written that her central role in the story makes her faulty work even more grating.
We should have known we were in trouble the minute we saw Avi Arad listed as a producer on ‘Borderlands.’ While Arad was instrumental in the creation of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he was long gone by the time it became a cultural phenomenon. He’s instead continued to plunder his stake in the Sony Spider-Man Universe with lackluster misfires like the ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ and ‘Venom’ films, along with 2002’s equally forgettable adaptation of the ‘Uncharted’ video game.
‘Borderlands’ fits neatly into that filmography as a generic, soulless sci-fi actioner that really lacks any sort of distinctive personality or creative spark (a quick online search reveals that fans of the game are also disgruntled with what they’ve seen of the movie via trailers and clips). And while Eli Roth is no one’s idea of a great filmmaker, he’s out of his element here and unable to deploy the deliberately sleazy horror/exploitation tropes that at least make films like ‘Hostel’ and ‘The Green Inferno’ identifiable as his. ‘Borderlands’ is simply product, manufactured to cash in on a successful property without any understanding of what makes that property popular or why it should appeal to non-gamers.
‘Borderlands’ receives 2.5 out of 10 stars.
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What is the plot of ‘Borderlands’?
Bounty hunter Lilith (Cate Blanchett) is hired by interstellar business mogul Atlas (Edgar Ramírez) to find his missing daughter and the soldier-for-hire, Roland (Kevin Hart), who was sent to rescue her. The mission takes Lilith back to her ruined home planet, Pandora, where she reluctantly teams with Roland, a muscleman named Krieg (Florian Munteanu), a loopy scientist named Tannis (Jamie Lee Curtis), a wisecracking robot (Jack Black), and the girl herself, Tiny Tina (Ariana Greenblatt), to battle monsters and vicious marauders while searching for a secret that could unleash unimaginable power.
Jeremy Allen White in ‘The Bear.’ Photo: Courtesy of FX.
Arriving on FX with its entire third season of 10 episodes on June 26th, ‘The Bear’ marks the return of one of the most highly acclaimed (and awarded) shows in recent history. But that praise appears to have gone to the heads of the series’ showrunners, as the new season is an exercise in overworked stylistic flourishes and undercooked plotting.
Liza Colon-Zayas in ‘The Bear.’ Photo: Courtesy of FX.
Cooking at the level portrayed –– endlessly –– in ‘The Bear’ requires careful development, endless tweaking and the ideal mix of ingredients, fire and time. Yet while the first two seasons of the show exhibited plenty of all three, the new run of episodes finds itself in a repetitive, style-over-substance loop.
One or two episodes break free of the spiral and feel fresher than the others (particularly this year’s flashback to how Liza Colón-Zayas’ Tina came to work at The Original Beef, the sandwich joint that main character chef Jeremy Allen White’s Carmen ‘Carmy’ Berzatto replaced with his fine-dining effort), but overall the feeling is of a team taking the wrong lessons from all that success.
Script and Direction
Ayo Edebiri in ‘The Bear.’ Photo: Courtesy of FX.
Co-showrunners Christopher Storer and Joanna Calo lean into their worst impulses on the writing front, often sacrificing an engaging ongoing story for long sequences of characters preparing food set to music. The true pressure and tension only really comes out here and there, and episodes such as “Next” (which chronicles a month of tricky nights at the restaurant) do help that.
When the show takes its foot off the pedal and allows the emotion to seep back in, it also works to some level, though the whole is most certainly less than the sum of its parts.
Jeremy Allen White in ‘The Bear.’ Photo: Courtesy of FX.
Storer also directs the lion’s share of the episodes, and his sensibility is turned up to honestly annoyingly indulgent levels, like a chef spinning a grill’s controls to its highest setting. The first episode in particular is a moody dive into Carmy’s head, but it rarely illuminates anything new about the character, simply re-treading well-walked emotional paths. We already know he had revelatory moments in his past work with some of the best chefs, and that he was endlessly bullied by most recent boss Chef David (Joel McHale). While those moments do at least set up a clash with the taunting tyrant in the season finale, it remains more frustrating than entertaining.
One true highlight from both a writing and directing front is “Napkins” the episode as mentioned above focused on Tina’s past. Show co-star Ayo Edebiri steps up for that one, and delivers a relatable, nuanced outing that hinges on superb work from both Colón-Zayas and Jon Bernthal as Carmy’s brother Michael.
Performances
Lionel Boyce in ‘The Bear.’ Photo: Courtesy of FX.
It’s in the cast where the show remains redoubtable. Even when the creators are going off on flights of fancy, you can rely on the actors to do their best in keeping things grounded.
Jeremy Allen White as Carmen ‘Carmy’ Berzatto
Jeremy Allen White in ‘The Bear.’ Photo: Courtesy of FX.
When the show ventures inside Carmy’s head, it suffers, yet White is still able to find real emotion, even as he’s often left with scenes where he’s pouting like a fish on the plate while more interesting things happen elsewhere.
Ayo Edebiri as Sydney Adamu
Ayo Edebiri in ‘The Bear.’ Photo: Courtesy of FX.
Syd overtakes Carmy in the compelling stakes this season, and Edebiri is more than up to the challenge. While her business partner wallows, she’s making moves, considering whether to accept a chunk of the restaurant or head to potentially greener pastures.
Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Richard ‘Richie’ Jerimovich
Ebon Moss-Bachrach in ‘The Bear.’ Photo: Courtesy of FX.
“Cousin” as he’s always known –– though he’s really just a family friend of Carmy’s late brother who is so close to the clan he’s considered part of it –– is, like, Syd, a highlight of the show. Yet even Ebon Moss-Bachrach gets less to do this year, his storyline rarely as compelling as his arc from last season. Still, when he’s handed emotionally deep work such as scenes with ex-wife Tiffany (Gillian Jacobs), he shines.
Other Notable Cast and Cameos
Abby Elliott in ‘The Bear.’ Photo: Courtesy of FX.
Around Carmy, Syd and Richie, there are great performances on display from the likes of Colón-Zayas, Abby Elliott (as Carmy’s sister Nat, who gives birth in one of the other standout episodes) and Lionel Boyce as pastry chef Marcus, who channels his grief at losing his mother into his work. If we’re honest, we’d rather spend more time with their entertaining stories than endless rehashes of Carmy’s issues.
On the actor cameo front, we won’t spoil some of the more delightful surprises, but they all make impacts with relatively small roles. The likes of Bernthal, Olivia Coleman and Jamie Lee Curtis all make welcome returns. Yet the real issue comes via the parade of famous culinary types who are sprinkled across several episodes. The finale in particular leans so much on them that they become less a welcome ingredient and more filler for an episode that looks to fill a 10-gallon pot with a single gallon of story.
Final Thoughts
Ebon Moss-Bachrach in ‘The Bear.’ Photo: Courtesy of FX.
It is a little ironic that a show which has received such good reviews, and which partially bases its driving narrative on the potential for a negative one to be handed down to the titular restaurant dives into the overly experimental side of its presentation, often at the expense of the more fulfilling emotional story beats.
There are only so many artfully crafted montages one can sit through while waiting for something nourishing on a narrative level. A great soundtrack can’t distract from the feeling that you’re watching re-heated emotional themes.
‘The Bear’ Season 3 receives 6 out of 10 stars.
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What’s the story of ‘The Bear’ Season 3?
‘The Bear’s third season picks up shortly after the events of the Season 2 finale, in which friends and family night, one of the soft launches of the eponymous restaurant, turns into a fraught nightmare for the staff, as obsessed head chef Carmen ‘Carmy’ Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White) has an emotional meltdown while trapped in the kitchen’s walk-in freezer, leaving others to pick up his slack.
In the aftermath of that, several characters are either deciding what the future truly holds for them (such as Ayo Edebiri’s Sydney Adamu, who mulls Carmy’s offer to become a full partner in the business at the same time she receives an attractive alternative option) or deal with their own dysfunctional family issues.
Carmy, meanwhile, remains as exhaustingly focused as ever, looking to set impossibly high standards for himself and those around him, while fretting the first review of his fledgling venture.
Who else is in ‘The Bear’ Season 3?
The cast of ‘The Bear’ also includes Matty Matheson and Edwin Lee Gibson, with a sprinkling of cameos including the returning likes of Will Poulter.
Matty Matheson in ‘The Bear.’ Photo: Courtesy of FX.
Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan are filming the ‘Freaky Friday’ sequel.
Mark Harmon and Chad Michael Murray are back for the new movie.
The story takes place years after the 2003 original.
After years of talk about the possibility, we learned in April that Disney was officially making a sequel to 2003’s body swap comedy ‘Freaky Friday’, which starred Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan as a mother and daughter who are dealing with drama in their lives and magically end up in each other’s bodies, learning to appreciate the other’s point of view and struggles along the way.
Things have moved on apace with the studio publishing the first photograph of Curtis and Lohan behind the scenes as production began on the sequel, which will see a number of actors returning alongside them from the original and a new crop of young performers joining the cast.
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What is the story of ‘Freaky Friday’ so far?
(L to R) Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan in ‘Freaky Friday’. Photo: Buena Vista Pictures.
The ‘Freaky’ phenomenon all started with a book. In this case, it’s the 1972 tome by Mary Rogers, which sees a mother and her daughter swapping bodies.
It was first adapted into a movie that hit theaters in 1976, starring Barbara Harris as the mother and Jodie Foster as the daughter.
The 2003 version, directed by Mark Waters, had Curtis and Lohan as the latest iteration, playing Tess and Anna Coleman. Like its predecessor, it tried to bring the core concept of living life in another person’s shoes into modern settings.
What’s the plot of the ‘Freaky Friday’ sequel?
(L to R) Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan. Photo: Jamie Lee Curtis’ Instagram account.
Jordan Weiss wrote the script, which offers a multigenerational twist on the tale.
The new movie picks up years after Tess (Curtis) and Anna (Lohan) endured an identity crisis. Anna now has a daughter of her own and a soon-to-be stepdaughter. As they navigate the myriad challenges that come when two families merge, Tess and Anna discover that lightning might indeed strike twice.
(L to R) Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan in ‘Freaky Friday’. Photo: Buena Vista Pictures.
Preview:
Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan are returning for the ‘Freaky Friday’ sequel.
Nisha Ganatra will direct the movie.
Disney is producing this new follow-up.
It has been talked about, rumored and seemingly in development for years, but there is finally actual, concrete news to report about a sequel to ‘Freaky Friday’.
(L to R) Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis in ‘Freaky Friday’. Photo: Buena Vista Pictures.
If you’re not really aware of the ‘Freaky’ phenomenon, it all started with a book. In this case, it’s the 1972 tome by Mary Rogers, which sees a mother and her daughter swapping bodies.
It was first adapted into a movie that hit theaters in 1976, starring Barbara Harris as the mother and Jodie Foster as the daughter.
The 2003 version, directed by Mark Waters, had Curtis and Lohan as the latest iteration, playing Tess and Anna Coleman. Like its predecessor, it tried to bring the core concept of living life in another person’s shoes into modern settings.
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What’s the Plot of the ‘Freaky Friday’ Sequel?
(L to R) Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan in ‘Freaky Friday’. Photo: Buena Vista Pictures.
The Hollywood Reporter’s story has few details on what the new film will be about. Jordan Weiss, who created the series ‘Dollface’ has written the script, which will see the actors playing an updated age (i.e. Lohan is obviously no longer a teenager) and there is a multigenerational aspect to the narrative.
Nisha Ganatra will direct the movie. She’s a veteran of shows including ‘And Just Like That’ and ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ and has made films including ‘Late Night’ and ‘The High Note’.
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‘Freaky Friday’: The Stars Talk
(L to R) Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan. Photo: Jamie Lee Curtis’ Instagram account.
While both Curtis and Lohan have addressed the issue of teaming back up, they expressed their hopes for an on-screen reunion:
“As I went around the world with ‘Halloween Ends’, people wanted to know if there was going to be another ‘Freaky Friday’. Something really touched a chord. When I came back, I called my friends at Disney and said, ‘It feels like there’s a movie to be made.’”
And this was Lohan’s statement at the time:
“We’re leaving it in the hands that be. We would only make something that people would absolutely adore.”
It’s not like Lohan hasn’t been training for this –– her most recent movie, the Netflix rom-com ‘Irish Wish’ features a ‘Freaky Friday’-style story about a woman who swaps places with her friend, who is getting married.
When will the ‘Freaky Friday’ sequel arrive in theaters?
The movie has yet to confirm a release date, but if it shoots this year, it could be in theaters in 2025, or it might be a Disney+ release.
Jamie Lee Curtis poses backstage with the Oscar® for Actress in a Supporting Role during the live ABC telecast of the 95th Oscars® at Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 12, 2023.
Matthew McConaughey in ‘The Gentlemen.’ Photo: STX films.
Preview:
Matthew McConaughey is in talks for ‘The Lost Bus’.
Paul Greengrass is considering directing.
Jamie Lee Curtis developed the project based on a real-life story.
It’s been a couple of years since we’ve seen Matthew McConaughey on our screens (that would be in Guy Ritchie’s 2019 movie ‘The Gentlemen’, though he reprised his voice role as ambitious koala Buster Moon in 2021’s ‘Sing 2’), but if Apple and Blumhouse have their way, he’ll be back.
According to Deadline, he’s locking in a deal to star in ‘The Lost Bus’, a new based-on-truth thriller that is headed our way from Blumhouse and Apple Original Films. But despite the Blumhouse company being involved, this isn’t a horror film –– unless you hate fire, perhaps (which is far from the most illogical fear).
Instead, this will draw from a real life act of bravery by two ordinary people in an extraordinary situation.
Matthew McConaughey in ‘Killer Joe.’ Photo: LD Entertainment.
The movie will chart the efforts heroic bus driver Kevin McKay and school teacher Mary Ludwig, who helped navigate a bus full of children through the deadly wildfire as the town of Paradise is caught in the destruction and chaos. The fire destroyed most of the mountain town and killed 85.
‘Out Of The Furnace’s Brad Ingelsby adapted the script from Lizzie Johnson’s book ‘Paradise: One Town’s Struggle to Survive an American Wildfire’, which chronicled the deadly incident.
Who is behind ‘The Lost Bus’?
Jamie Lee Curtis poses backstage with the Oscar® for Actress in a Supporting Role during the live ABC telecast of the 95th Oscars® at Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 12, 2023.
The new movie has been a passion project for Jamie Lee Curtis since 2022, after hearing Johnson talk about the book in an NPR interview. She investigated the rights and set it up with Blumhouse, where her Comet Pictures company has a first-look deal.
He was interested, but forward momentum last year was stymied by the writers and actors’ strikes that shut down development and potential shooting.
Matthew McConaughey in ‘Dallas Buyers Club.’ Photo: Focus Features.
Now though, with McConaughey negotiating to star (Deadline isn’t clear on whether Curtis will appear in the film, though she could conceivably play Mary Ludwig as well as producing) and Greengrass considering making this his next film, this one looks set to speed up quickly, especially since Apple is looking to back the movie.
The director is also attached to adapt T.J. Newman’s book ‘Drowning’ (about passengers and crew trapped in a crashed, sinking plane), but from the looks of this, he’s planning to make ‘The Lost Bus’ a priority before he moves on to the plane film.
Actors Woody Harrelson (L) and Matthew McConaughey speak onstage at the 66th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards held at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on August 25, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. Photo by Lester Cohen/WireImage.
(Far Left) James L. Brooks. (Center Left) Emma Mackey in Netflix’s ‘Sex Education.’ (Center Right) Oscar® nominee Jamie Lee Curtis arrives on the red carpet of the 95th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 12, 2023. (Far Right) (L to R) Woody Harrelson as Marcus in director Bobby Farrelly’s ‘Champions,’ a Focus Features release. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Focus Features.
Preview:
James L. Brooks is working on a new movie, dramedy ‘Ella McCay’.
Albert Brooks, Jamie Lee Curtis and Ayo Edebiri are among the cast.
The film will follow a young politician juggling family and work issues.
You can imagine, then, the excitement at the news that Brooks is gearing up to get back behind the camera himself, and he’s gathering an exciting, eclectic cast for the new project, titled ‘Ella McCay’.
What’s the story of James L. Brooks’ new film?
Director, producer, and screenwriter James L. Brooks.
According to Deadline, the new movie, ‘Ella McCay’ follows an idealistic young politician who juggles familial issues and a challenging work life while preparing to take over the job of her mentor, the state’s longtime incumbent governor.
Who is in line to star in James L. Brooks’ new film?
Ayo Edebiri from ‘The Bear.’ Photo courtesy of FX.
Director, producer, and screenwriter James L. Brooks.
20th Century Studios, which has produced a lot of Brooks’ previous work, has jumped at the chance to be back in business with him.
Here’s what 20th Century Studios president Steve Asbell had to say about the new movie:
“As one of the most empathetic dramatists of our time, James Brooks has set the bar across film and television for decades. From ‘Broadcast News’ to ‘The Simpsons,’ Jim is also a foundational element in the bedrock of 20th, and we couldn’t be more proud to support him in his long awaited return to the director’s chair.”
When will James L. Brooks’ new film be in theaters?
Since this one hasn’t even started shooting yet, there is no word of a release date. But depending on when production kicks off, it could be in theaters later next year or in 2025.
Jamie Lee Curtis poses backstage with the Oscar® for Actress in a Supporting Role during the live ABC telecast of the 95th Oscars® at Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 12, 2023.
Jeremy Allen White in ‘The Bear.’ Photo: Courtesy of FX.
Preview
‘The Bear’ has been a big success for FX
FX and Hulu have renewed the show for a third season.
Production should hopefully start once the actors can return to work.
One of the clear breakout hits of 2022 was ‘The Bear’, which starred Jeremy Allen White as Carmen ‘Carmy’ Berzatto, a trained chef struggling to adapt to life running his family’s chaotic Chicago sandwich joint.
It drew a big audience, was even bigger in Season 2 and saw and plenty of buzz, with awards following for both its cast and the show.
No surprise, then, at the news that FX and Hulu are renewing the series for a third season.
What’s the story of ‘The Bear’?
Jeremy Allen White in ‘The Bear.’ Photo: Courtesy of FX.
The first season follows Carmy (White), a young chef from the fine-dining world who comes home to Chicago to run his family sandwich shop after his brother’s suicide. Carmy must balance the realities of small-business ownership, his strong-willed and recalcitrant kitchen staff and his strained familial relationships, all while grappling with the impact of his brother’s death.
Season two follows the gang as they transform their grimy sandwich joint into a next-level spot. As they stripped the restaurant down to its bones, the crew undertook transformational journeys of their own, each forced to confront the past and reckon with who they want to be in the future.
And in a casting coup alongside Curtis, a flashback episode of Season 2 also featured Bob Odenkirk, while Will Poulter and Olivia Colman appeared in other episodes.
‘The Bear’ has been so successful because it blends the chaos and tension involved in the culinary world with some well-crafted character comedy and some delicious looking food items with every detail painstakingly researched.
Executive talks ‘The Bear’ renewal
Jeremy Allen White in ‘The Bear.’ Photo: Courtesy of FX.
Here’s what FX president Nick Grad had to say on the news:
“‘The Bear’, which wowed audiences in its first season only to achieve even greater heights in season two, has become a cultural phenomenon. We’re so proud to partner with Christopher Storer, Joanna Calo, Josh Senior, and the rest of the creative team, as well as the brilliant cast led by Jeremy Allen White, Ayo Edebiri and Ebon Moss-Bachrach. What they and the crew have done is truly remarkable, and we and our partners at Hulu join fans in looking forward to the next chapter in the story of ‘The Bear’”.
Jeremy Allen White in ‘The Bear.’ Photo: Courtesy of FX.
