Moviefone Editorial

Tag: jason-isaacs

  • ‘Spinning Gold’ Interview: Jeremy Jordan

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    Opening in theaters on March 31st is the new movie ‘Spinning Gold,’ which tells the story of Casablanca Records founder Neil Bogart and was written and directed by his son, Timothy Scott Bogart.

    What is the plot of ‘Spinning Gold?’

    ‘Spinning Gold’ depicts the life and career of record producer and Casablanca Records founder Neil Bogart, who was credited with discovering many iconic musical acts such as Donna Summer, Kiss, and the Village People. Along with a rag tag team of young music lovers, Neil and Casablanca Records would rewrite history and change the music industry forever. The movie also examines Bogart’s own personal love triangle with wife Beth Bogart (Michelle Monaghan) and manager Joyce Biawitz (Lyndsy Fonseca).

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    Who is in the cast of ‘Spinning Gold?’

    ‘Spinning Gold’ stars Jeremy Jordan (‘Supergirl’) as Neil Bogart, Michelle Monaghan (‘Mission: Impossible III’) as Beth Bogart, Jay Pharoah (‘Top Five’) as Cecil Holmes, Dan Fogler (‘The Offer’) as Buck Reingold, Jason Isaacs (‘Mass’) as Al Bogart, Lyndsy Fonseca (‘Kick-Ass’) as Joyce Biawitz, Chris Redd (‘Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping’) as Frankie Crocker, and Sebastian Maniscalco (‘The Irishman’) as Giorgio Moroder.

    The movie also stars musicians Wiz Khalifa as George Clinton, Jason Derulo as Ron Isley of the Isley Brothers, Pink Sweat$ as Bill Withers, Tayla Parx as Donna Summer, and Ledisi as Gladys Knight.

    Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Jeremy Jordan about his work on ‘Spinning Gold,’ playing Neil Bogart, being directed by his son, the artists Casablanca Records discovered, and why Neil believed in them.

    Jeremy Jordan as Neil Bogart in 'Spinning Gold.'
    Jeremy Jordan as Neil Bogart in ‘Spinning Gold.’

    You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Jordan, Jay Pharoah, Tayla Parx, and director Timothy Scott Bogart.

    Moviefone: To begin with, how much did you know about Neil Bogart and the history of Casablanca Records before joining this project, and what did you learn about him that really helped you play this role?

    Jeremy Jordan: I knew absolutely nothing about it, to be honest with you. I knew some of the music that came out of the recording studio that they’d formed, and that was pretty much it. I really approached it from the perspective that I’m working with this guy’s family. Tim Bogart wrote and directed it, and he gave me so much incredible insight, and really allowed me to find my own way into my version of his dad without trying to be a carbon copy of this guy. It was nice because he’s not a really widely known figure, and there’s not a whole lot of video that people can be like, “Oh, you’re not doing exactly the thing.” But even so, we didn’t really focus on that in the film, even with the more famous characters. We really just got to figure out who these people are and then go from there. That was a really liberating experience. I didn’t feel like I had to do exactly this perfect impression, you know what I’m saying?

    Jeremy Jordan as Neil Bogart and Michelle Monaghan as Beth Bogart in 'Spinning Gold.'
    (L to R) Jeremy Jordan as Neil Bogart and Michelle Monaghan as Beth Bogart in ‘Spinning Gold.’

    Related Article: Superman Arrives in New ‘Supergirl’ Season 2 Teaser

    MF: Was it weird being directed by the son of the person you were playing?

    JJ: It was weird in my head, but in execution, it really wasn’t, except for every once in a while when Tim would be like, “Hey dad.” I was like, “That’s weird. Don’t do that.” But no, I really felt supported a hundred percent all the way through it. If there was ever any guidance, it was done with a really loving hand. One of the things that I was really lucky about is that Tim said one of the reasons that he chose me to play the role was that I had a lot of the essence of his father, and he allowed me to find that version of it within myself. So I never really felt like I was under a microscope or anything, so it was liberating in that way, and I didn’t have to be self-conscious.

    Tayla Parx as Donna Summer and Jeremy Jordan as Neil Bogart in 'Spinning Gold.'
    (L to R) Tayla Parx as Donna Summer and Jeremy Jordan as Neil Bogart in ‘Spinning Gold.’

    MF: Finally, can you talk about the relationships Neil had with musical artists like Donna Summer and Kiss, and the way he discovered them and really believed in them when no one else would?

    JJ: He saw things before everybody else. So he saw Kiss and saw Donna Summer as this incredible thing that was going to change music. He was so far ahead that everybody just kind of thought he was crazy and nothing hit for years with both of them. But he continued to believe in them, almost to a fault. Just tenaciously throwing money at it until some people finally figured it out, or he actually figured out the best way to present them to the world. But he never gave up on them and he never faltered in his belief in them, or never really second guessed any of those decisions. He knew that he was right, and he 99% of the time was. It’s tough to find people like that, especially nowadays. Nothing like this story could ever happen today. I’ve recently tried to join the music business. I started a band and they’re like, start your own TikTok, release your first couple albums and then talk to us. There’s no sending your record tape or your demo and someone saying, “if I believe in you and I think I can make you into something, let’s do it.” If there is, then I don’t know. It’s rare. It’s cutthroat nowadays much more.

    Casey Likes as Gene Simmons, Sam Harris as Paul Stanley and Alex Gaskarth as Peter Criss performing as Kiss in 'Spinning Gold.'
    (L to R) Casey Likes as Gene Simmons, Sam Harris as Paul Stanley and Alex Gaskarth as Peter Criss performing as Kiss in ‘Spinning Gold.’

    Other Movies Similar to ‘Spinning Gold:’

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    ‘Spinning Gold’ is produced by Knightsbridge Entertainment, Boardwalk Films, and Foresight Unlimited, and scheduled for release on March 31st.

  • Lesley Manville On Playing ‘Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris’

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    Opening in theaters on July 15th is the new historical comedy-drama ‘Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris,’ which was directed by Anthony Fabian (‘Louder Than Words’).

    Set in 1950s London, a widowed cleaning lady named Ada Harris (Lesley Manville) becomes obsessed with a couture Dior dress and embarks on an adventure to Paris.

    In addition to Manville, the cast also includes Isabelle Huppert, Lambert Wilson, Alba Baptista, Lucas Bravo, and Jason Isaacs.

    Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Oscar nominated actress Lesley Manville about her work on ‘Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris.’

    Lesley Manville stars as Mrs. Harris in director Tony Fabian’s 'Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris.'
    Lesley Manville stars as Mrs. Harris in director Tony Fabian’s ‘Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris,’ a Focus Features release. Photo: Liam Daniel / © 2021 Ada Films Ltd – Harris Squared Kft.

    You can read our full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Manville, Lucas Bravo, Alba Baptista, and Jason Isaacs.

    Moviefone: To begin with, can you talk about how you prepared for this role and how you wanted to convey the character to the audience?

    Lesley Manville: Well, I sort of inherently understood her, because I grew up in a working-class household where my mum worked a bit and brought up three children. My dad worked. We didn’t have a lot, but we were okay.

    So, I understand that world. And through other jobs that I’ve done in the past, I understood the ’50s and the cultural references, the social climate of the time. Fashion is something I’ve always been interested in, myself. I see absolutely nothing wrong with saving up your pennies to get a dress of your dreams.

    Ellen Thomas stars as Violet and Lesley Manville as Mrs. Harris in director Tony Fabian’s 'Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris.'
    (L to R) Ellen Thomas stars as Violet and Lesley Manville as Mrs. Harris in director Tony Fabian’s ‘Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris,’ a Focus Features release. Photo: Dávid Lukács / © 2021 Ada Films Ltd – Harris Squared Kft.

    MF: Finally, can you talk about why Mrs. Harris wants the dress so badly? It is not just a dress to her, it symbolizes something else to her, correct?

    LM: Yeah, there is a symbolism to it, but I also think there’s this one big bit of it that is about having something beautiful in her life and appreciating it on a purely aesthetic level. So, there’s that. That doesn’t need over-analyzing.

    But you are right. It’s getting the dress and acquiring it, and getting to Paris, and achieving the goal is a sort of separate thing that’s about her, I think, forging ahead as a woman on her own.

    Kind of doing things that would not be expected of a woman of her class or her age. And just sort of doing it in a quiet way. She’s not being outspoken in a political sense, she’s just defying the conventions of what a woman like her is supposed to do.

    Lesley Manville stars as Mrs. Harris in director Tony Fabian’s 'Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris,'
    Lesley Manville stars as Mrs. Harris in director Tony Fabian’s ‘Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris,’ a Focus Features release. Photo: Dávid Lukács / © 2021 Ada Films Ltd – Harris Squared Kft.
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  • The 7 Best Jason Isaacs Villains

    The 7 Best Jason Isaacs Villains

    Warner Bros.

    Happy birthday to Jason Isaacs! The  British actor, who’s played some of the villains we love to hate most, turns 56 on June 6.

    He doesn’t always play bad guys — exceptions include his short-lived TV show “Awake,” his terrific British mystery series “Case Histories,” and his brief appearance in “The Tuxedo” as a stylish Bond-esque spy.

    But there’s a reason he’s played villains so often: He’s damn good at being bad.

    Here’s the rogue’s gallery of his best bad guys:

    7.  Roman Castevet, “Rosemary’s Baby” (2014)

    NBC

    Isaacs as an elegant Satan worshiper is great casting — except this wan remake of the horror classic doesn’t make enough use of his brand of menace. He’s certainly sexier than the elderly Castavet in the 1968 film, but that’s about the only improvement here.

    6. Dr. Heinrich Volmer, “A Cure for Wellness” (2016)

    20th Century Fox

    A doctor who’s both charismatic and sinister? Check and check! Isaacs gets to chew some scenery as the head of a remote “wellness center” in the Swiss Alps, that’s about anything but wellness in this creepy thriller. In another age this part would have been played by Vincent Price, for sure.

    5. Dr. Hunter Aloysius ‘Hap’ Percy, “The OA” (2016 – )

    Netflix

    Yes, this character — who kidnaps people with near-death experiences  to study them — is bad. But then again, the “Angel Hunter” is working for the greater good. Or at least he thinks he is. Here, enjoy this Reddit thread on whether he’s really evil or not.

    4. Captain Gabriel Lorca, “Star Trek: Discovery” (2017 – 2018)

    CBS

    Our reaction when it was first announced that Isaacs would be playing the new captain in this CBS All Access series: “Hurrah, finally he gets to play a good guy.” And then … well, things took a turn. A very dark turn.

    3. Captain Hook, “Peter Pan” (2003)

    Universal Pictures

    Wait, is Captain Hook supposed to be this hot? It’s kind of criminal, actually. (FWIW, Vanity Fair named him the Sexiest Captain Hook ever.  Sorry, Dustin Hoffman and Colin O’Donoghue from “Once Upon a Time.”)

    2. Lucius Malfoy, “Harry Potter” franchise (2001 – 2011)

    Warner Bros.

    For any other actor, this level of magnificent malevolence would be their finest hour as a villain. But despite the splendid smugness Isaac brings to the role, he’s not even the most evil character in the franchise. But he is the one with the most style. And the best hair.

    1. Col. William Tavington, “The Patriot” (2000)

    Columbia Pictures

    Probably most people’s first introduction to Isaacs was as the supremely villainous British officer who murders not one but two of Mel Gibson’s sons in this Revolutionary War drama. He’s the perfect blend of brutality and sophistication you need in a truly epic villain. And when he lets his hair down… mercy!

  • ‘Star Trek: Discovery’s’ Jason Isaacs Says Similarities to Other Captains Ends With “Fire Phasers’

    Star Wars Rebels” and “The OA,” where he’s specialized in playing bad guys (or at least morally complicated ones). At last, though, Isaacs’s next foray into the realm of the fantastic finally appears to place him firmly on the side of the righteous, playing a Starfleet captain in “Star Trek: Discovery.”

    However, when we meet Discovery’s Capt. Gabriel Lorca in the new “Trek” series (set roughly ten years prior to the original 1966 sci-fi series) he’ll be commanding a starship during a wartime, so it’s very possible he might not always be able to act as morally upright as some of the franchise’s more iconic ship captains, possibly warp speeding into grayer areas of conduct.

    Isaacs assures Moviefone that the while the new series shares many of the “Trek” series’ classic trappings, expect the similarities to end there. “This is a 21st century ‘Star Trek,’” he promises. “It’s ‘Star Trek’ not as we know it.”

    Moviefone: What’s it like to sit in the captain’s chair?

    Jason Isaacs: I don’t sit in the chair very much. I try and get out of the chair and walk around, for two reasons: one is, all the other captains sat there; two is the poor directors have got these exciting action-packed scenes where nobody moves. I feel for them, so I get up and run. I stand in front of the screen. I conduct the action like the spaceships are an orchestra and the torpedo are my violins. And I run to the different stations and talk to them.

    Have you talked to any of the franchise’s other captains?

    I’ve worked with Jonathan Frakes, who just directed, who was hilariously irreverent but actually, incredibly nuanced in his understanding of what the world was about. And I approached Patrick Stewart from behind recently, and he was mobbed by all the people, and I was just taken aback by how upright his posture was, and how often he had gone to the gym, and felt that I needed to workout before I spoke to him up front.

    Does it feel like you’ve joined this special club?

    It doesn’t, only because there’s so much to concentrate on. There’s so much drama going on in the scenes. I’m looking at the other people in my crew and trying not to get the ship blown up. I’m trying to make sure as few people as possible die, and to solve the crisis and secrets we’ve got going on.

    But only when I come to [conversations] like this am I reminded of this enormous weight and expectation, and I try and shake it off, because you couldn’t do the job otherwise.

    How is your character different from the captains we’ve known before, and what does he have in common with them?

    How were any of them similar to each other is the question. This is a 21st century “Star Trek.” It’s “Star Trek” not as we know it, it really is. First of all, it’s serialized. The episodes are different length, but it takes on much more complicated troubles and ethical dilemmas. The characters themselves have far more secrets, and far more twists and conflicted agendas than ever before. And they can delve that much deeper into their relationships with each other because it’s an unfolding story over the whole season. So in that sense, it’s completely different.

    Legacy aside, what was interesting about this character?

    Legacy aside –- well, the legacy is not what’s interesting. If I thought I was taking this job because I wanted to be like one of those other incredible people, and the series that was iconic to me in my childhood, I’d have run a million miles. And if I want to go and fire phasers, I can do a laser course with my kids.

    What was interesting is the story they had –- which I can’t tell you about, but is the kind of unfolding, deep, kind of labyrinthian story which had twists and turns, and reflected the human condition.

    We live in these very troubling times. I don’t want to make it sound serious. It’s an adventure. It’s a sci-fi adventure with complicated characters. But I don’t know how to explain the world to my children right now. There’s ugly things going on. The most powerful man in the world says it’s okay to make fun of disabled people, grab women’s crotches, makes immigrants and the children of immigrants terrified in school, and I don’t know how to explain the anarchy and chaos at the head of the world, and how we seem possibly to be edging towards war on three or four different continents.

    But one of the things I can do as a storyteller, which is not much, is be part of stories that hold up a vision for the future where we just do better. We do better as humankind, and in the sci-fi world, we do better as different species working together. That’s one of the main attractions: holding up an optimistic beacon.

    Is he a good captain?

    This is a time of war. So he’s good at war, depending on your perspective. We send people out to do our bidding and we want victories. We don’t really want to know what they do to get there sometimes. Do the ends justify the means they do if we’re not looking at the means too closely?

    This is set ten years before the original “Star Trek.” Is the ideology the same?

    [The writers and producers] are all very reverent. There’s a lot of diehard Trekkies – you can cut them open and they’ve got “Trek” DNA, being a writer. I don’t. I don’t have that. I think it’s a story told fresh with completely fresh 21st Century’s perspectives. The only way to honor Gene Roddenberry‘s legacy is to embody it, and then throw it away, and tell new stories for a new age.

    These very troubled times we live in, and the difficult dilemmas that we face, and that’s what they’ve done. And there are places, obviously, where they observe canon to do with things like uniforms, and badges, and stuff. But there are places that all the rules of storytelling are reinvented, because it’s a new audience. It’s certainly not only made for the people who have been watching it for 50 years. That would be an insane idea.

    Thus far, what’s been your most “Star Trek”-y day on set?

    The first time I said “Energize.” The first time I said “Phasers to full.” The first time that I’m engaging with another captain. The first time that I sit in my chair and say, “Warp speed!”

    Any of those moments are iconic. Those things pass in a split second. There are interesting and new, I think, much richer relationships between the people on the ship than you’ve ever seen before. Particularly since you’ve got 15 episodes for them to go on the rollercoaster journey that you go on in times of war with your shipmates.

    Everyone’s always reminding you of the weight of the franchise and its history, but this must be a fun time in your career.

    Of course it’s fun. I’m putting on a space suit and running around and firing phasers! And the show, any piece of entertainment, no matter if it’s serious or lighthearted, should be fun to watch, in the sense that it finishes and you’re exhilarated by it.

    This one I think will start conversations and not finish them, and that’s a big difference from the old “Star Treks.” But I don’t care about the legacy. I don’t mean to sound irreverent when I say I don’t care about the diehard “Trek” fans. I only don’t care about them in the sense that I know they’re all going to watch anyway. I look forward to them having the fun of being outraged so they can sit up all night and talk about it with each other.

    “Star Trek: Discovery” premieres this week on CBS All Access.

  • 6 Things to Know Before Seeing ‘War for the Planet of the Apes’

    WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES poster“War for the Planet of the Apes” is the latest big-budget sequel to hit theaters this summer, and the third entry in the ongoing saga of man vs. ape will push the story in an even darker direction. But if you’re not sure where “War” fits into the overall “Apes” picture, we’re here to help.

    Here’s everything you need to know before heading to the theater this weekend.

    1. It’s a sequel.It can be hard to keep track of how the various “Planet of the Apes” movies fit together, given that the franchise has been rebooted more than once. “War for the Planet of the Apes” is the third entry in Fox’s latest reboot series. It builds on the groundwork established in 2011’s “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” and 2014’s “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes,” taking place roughly two years after the previous movie.

    2. Caesar is still the star.

    This sequel will, again, center on super-intelligent chimpanzee Caesar (Andy Serkis) as he attempts to lead his ape family while dealing with the ongoing threat posed by humanity. Several of Caesar’s ape friends and family will also return, including wife Cornelia (Judy Greer), son Blue Eyes (Max Lloyd-Jones), and friend/adviser Maurice (Karin Konoval).There will also be new ape villains to fill the void left by the treacherous Koba. Red (Ty Olsson) is a gorilla who once followed Koba and now sides with humanity against his ape brethren.

    3. There are new human characters.Woody Harrelson stars in Twentieth Century Fox's "War for the Planet of the Apes."“War” will continue the series’ trend of starting from scratch where its human cast is concerned. Don’t expect return appearances from James Franco‘s Will Rodman from “Rise” or Jason Clarke‘s Malcolm and his family from “Dawn.” Instead, Woody Harrelson‘s “The Colonel” is the main human character this time around. The Colonel sees humanity as being on the brink of extinction following its long war with apes, and he’ll do whatever is necessary to ensure the survival of his species.

    4. The franchise is getting darker.Sure, the previous two “Apes” movies were pretty dark, but things look to be taking an even darker turn in “War,” as the war for survival becomes more heated. The third movie will focus a great deal on Caesar’s growing sense of disillusionment as he deals with mounting casualties and comes to understand that apes are just as skilled as humans when it comes to treachery.

    5. There are classic “Apes” connections.Karin Konoval, left, and Amiah Miller in Twentieth Century Fox's "War for the Planet of the Apes."“Rise of the Planet of the Apes” featured a fun nod to the original “Apes” series in the form of a cameo for wayward astronaut George Taylor (Charlton Heston‘s character) and the doomed ship Icarus. “War” will continue to pay homage to the classic movies as it introduces two new, key characters fans will recognize. The film will feature the debut of Caesar’s youngest son, Cornelius (Devyn Dalton), and mute human refugee Nova (Amiah Miller). Maybe we’ll even see Taylor himself stop by in a future sequel. Speaking of which…

    6. There will be more sequels.It doesn’t appear that “War” will be the last film in the current “Apes” series. Fox confirmed in October 2016 that a fourth film is already in development. We assume the ending to “War” will give a better idea of where the franchise is headed, however, Fox may have to move forward with a new director, as Matt Reeves has signed on to direct “The Batman” for Warner Bros.

  • Jason Isaacs Is Your New ‘Star Trek’ Captain

    Jason IsaacsStar Trek: Discovery” series as its captain. The “Harry Potter” alum will play Captain Lorca, who commands the Starship Discovery, according to THR.

    Already announced for the CBS All Access series are Sonequa Martin-Green (Sasha on “The Walking Dead”) as lead lieutenant commander, James Frain as Spock’s father Sarek, Anthony Rapp (“Rent”) as a space fungus expert, and Michelle Yeoh as the captain of the Starship Shenzhou.

    Isaacs’ other sci-fi credits include “The OA,” although he’s probably best known for playing villainous Lucius Malfoy in the “Harry Potter” films.

    The latest “Star Trek” series was originally set to launch the CBS streaming service in January, but will now debut late this summer or fall, THR reports.

    One of the reasons for the delay: “Hannibal” producer Bryan Fuller stepped down as showrunner. He stays on as an executive producer.

    CBS’s Les Moonves told investors that another reason for the later release date is the amount of post-production required. “It’s important to get it right, and ‘Star Trek’ is the family jewels,” Moonves said at a recent conference.

    “There are millions and millions of Trekkies out there,” Moonves said, ignoring the preferred fandom term of “Trekkers.” “We know for a fact that the other versions of ‘Star Trek’ — there were seven other series, some of them were great and some of them were terrible — they all did really well on Netflix. That gave us great confidence that this was the right choice to put the full court press on ‘All Access.’”

  • What Movies Are Out: Fist Fight, A Cure for Wellness

    A Cure for Wellness
    A Cure for Wellness

    What Movies Are Out – Fist Fight and A Cure for Wellness

    A variety of scares await audiences at the box office this weekend, from Ice Cube‘s menacing glare in the comedy “Fist Fight” to hide-your-eyes shocks in the horror flick “A Cure for Wellness,” and Made in Hollywood has all the behind-the-screen details in this week’s episode.

    On the receiving end of much of Cube’s patented intimidation was costar Charlie Day, who wonders whether the rapper-turned-actor was born with that mean look.

    “You think he came out scowling?” Days jokes to Made in Hollywood reporter Patrick Stinson. “It was intimidating. The stuff that we had to do face-to-face, I had a hard time looking him in the eye and keeping a straight face. But he can just lock own that scowl and stare you down.”

    More movie scares come from “A Cure for Wellness,” described by star Dane DeHaan as “the kind of movie that will have a ton if different reactions. I think it’s the kind of movie that, yes, they’ll be terrified, yeah, they will go on this wild ride.”

    Director Gore Verbinski tells reporter Damaris Diaz where he finds the frights.

    “For something to be scare it has to tap into the: What is it about us? What’s a contemporary fear? Why are we vulnerable to the pharmaceutical industry?” he says.

    And if all goes according to plan, says costar Jason Isaacs, “You’ll go on a journey full of dread and creepiness and fear and surprise and shock, and by the end you’ll have one of those big experiences like a workout.”

    Now in its 12th season and airing every week in syndication across the United States, Made in Hollywood takes you to the set with directors, writers and producers, gives you an inside look at what’s new in theaters and on the home screen, and shows how special effects and tech wizards pull off their complex magic to bring the biggest blockbusters to life. Made In Hollywood is produced and distributed by Connection III Entertainment Corp.

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  • ‘A Cure for Wellness’: Gore Verbinski, Dane DeHaan Reveal First 35 Minutes of the Movie

    Dane DeHaan in A CURE FOR WELLNESS“It’s gonna f*ck you up.” That’s how director Gore Verbinski teased “A Cure for Wellness” to a theater full of press in New York City earlier this month. “We want to do what ‘Jaws’ did to a day at the beach for the health spa.”

    Much was still unknown about the horror-thriller when the first preview debuted, except for a basic premise: Dane DeHaan, who co-leads Luc Besson’s “Valerian and The City of a Thousand Planets,” plays a young executive sent to retrieve his company’s CEO from a mysterious wellness center in the Swiss Alps. Once he arrives, it becomes impossible to leave as he begins to unravel the secrets of the unique treatment and the curious illness that seems to be holding all the patients hostage.

    More answers to the plot of this tale were revealed at the Fox Showcase event, which previewed a few of the studio’s films coming in 2017. In addition to a brand-new trailer, which you can watch for yourself below, attendees viewed the first 35 minutes of the film, which comes across as Verbinski’s take on “Shutter Island.”The film begins with the death of an executive. He’s working frantically at his desk, long after everyone else has left for home, when he clutches his chest in pain. When the feeling persists, he goes to get a drink of water, but that seems to exacerbate the symptoms and he falls to the floor — dead.

    Cut to DeHaan’s Mr. Lockhart, who himself is typing furiously away in a spreadsheet while sitting on a train heading for the Alps and bossing a subordinate on the phone. Present and past blend in flashback as the screen is peppered with striking imagery, highlighting the artistry of cinematographer Bojan Bazelli.

    Lockhart was called in by his bosses at his financial firm. Thinking he’d be congratulated on his recent success, he’s instead called out for his nefarious dealings that could put the entire company at fault. Lucky for him, he’s quick to recognize they have a bigger fish to fry: Mr. Pembroke, their CEO, fled to a wellness center and left behind a letter with a message about a sickness in all of them. Believing him to be unhinged, the executives wants Lockhart to retrieve him so they can put the blame on Pembroke, leaving a spot for him to rise in the ranks.

    As he heads closer to the center, which is deep into the wild of the Alps, we see another flash of his mother, who dies and leaves him alone without a family — meaning, there’s no one who’ll come to check up on him. Lockhart learns from his driver that the center doesn’t have a peaceful relationship with the neighboring town, which seems to view the patients as “wealthy people” who have “wealthy problems.”

    The center itself seems cultish. Verbinksi shot the scenes at a real location called Hohenzollern Castle, in Germany, which stands as a nod to Dracula’s Transylvanian lair. DeHaan further noted how the director wanted him to watch films like “The Shining,” “Rosemary’s Baby,” and “The Tenant” to get into the mood he was trying to achieve.

    The patients are much older and treating the spa as a retreat. Reality begins to blur with more bold imagery — the eye of a deer head hanging on the wall reflects DeHaan’s conversation with one of the facility’s doctors, the spiral staircases and ocular architecture play with perspective, and Lockhart falls into hallucinations as he stumbles through the steam room.

    It all seems to come back to the water. The center specializes in hydrotherapy, and even the doctors are known to consume droplets of something out of vials. When Lockhart is unable to see Pembroke upon arrival, he has his driver take him to his hotel, but along the way a deer runs out in the street and causes the car to tumble down the mountainside.

    “My arm popped out of its socket, real quick, and then popped back in,” DeHaan revealed of that scene, adding, “I just said, ‘You have to use that take.’” And Verbinski did.

    Lockhart wakes up days later in a hospital bed at the center, his leg wrapped in a cast. The head of the spa, played by Jason Isaacs, says he notified his work and they all agree he should recuperate here. There were other, more subtle clues that suggest Lockhart won’t be leaving anytime soon, but the biggest question is what’s in the water?

    After Lockhart takes a drink in his hospital room, he plucks something from the glass: it’s a small, wormy spec — and it’s moving.

    The footage, though intriguing, offers some healthy skepticism. The frame work and cinematography are both gorgeous to bold and foreboding of worse things to come, but some of the hints at what’s to come seem obvious and the resemblance in story to “Shutter Island” are difficult to ignore. At the end of the day, the presentation did it’s job: our interest is piqued.

    “A Cure for Wellness” hits theaters February 17, 2017.

  • The Best Shows That Only Lasted One Season

    Freaks and Geeks (1999 - 2000) castEveryone’s been there: You root for a freshman show, delighted by the new addition to your TV landscape, only to find that it gets mercilessly cancelled after a single season. While it hardly seems fair, not every show must go on, and some are destined to forever be one-season wonders. But before you take to Twitter to demand the return of your favorite, spend some time checking out these past shows that had a solid one-and-only year.

    ‘Enlisted’ (2014)

    Military comedies are often a tough sell for audiences — they can be hard to relate to, and they’re often forced to create humor within the grim context of war. “Enlisted” approached this challenge by creating an ensemble comedy about the soldiers charged with supporting military families at home: The show’s “Rear Detachment Unit” was a hilarious, military version of “MAS*H” and “Community,” “Enlisted” was stuffed to the gills with laugh-out-loud side characters who nearly stole the show each episode. But ultimately, “Enlisted” stood out because of its heart. The show focused on a soldier returning from combat, dealing with his complicated relationships with his brothers, and his difficulty coming home. Adept at both quick humor and emotional depth, “Enlisted” was discharged way before its time.

    ‘Lucky Louie’ (2006)

    Years before Louie,” he had another semi-autobiographical show, “Lucky Louie,” where he also played an exaggerated version of himself, this time at an earlier stage in his life (and, weirdly, as a mechanic instead of a comic). The similarities end there, though — “Lucky Louie” was a straightforward sitcom, filmed in front of a live studio audience, and it primarily depicted the struggles he faced raising his first daughter while living in poverty. The show featured a lot of the same players as “Louie,” including Pamela Adlon and Jim Norton (as well as a very young Emma Stone), and the half-hour plots, while funny, were laced with a surprising level of vulgarity. Although it was probably doomed from the start — HBO has never been a great home for sitcoms, and network TV would never have allowed “Lucky Louie” on the air — it remains required viewing for fans of the comic.

    ‘Wonderfalls’ (2004)

    “Wonderfalls” was witty, odd, delightful, and slightly surreal — exactly what you’d expect from show creator Dead Like Me” and “Pushing Daisies”). The show followed burnout Jaye Tyler (Caroline Dhavernas), a young gift-shop worker content to complain about life, who suddenly finds the tchotchkes at her job are talking to her, urging her to do odd yet meaningful things. Part rom-com, part foray into Magical Realism, “Wonderfalls” became more compelling as it got weirder — getting viewers to care as much about the mystery of the show as they did about Jaye’s love life. While criminally underappreciated, “Wonderfalls” maintains a cult following to this day, and is well worth a binge.

    ‘The Muppets’ (2015)

    When “30 Rock” first aired, a lot of people noted that it felt like a live-action version of the original 1970s “The Muppet Show” — the backstage hijinks of a variety show’s wacky cast and crew. Given the similarities in the characters — let’s face it, The Office,” following the gang as they produced a fictional late-night talk show — and it ended up feeling like a modern version of “30 Rock.” Oddly enough, the new show worked, giving more depth to newer characters like Pepe the Prawn and Bobo the Bear, and even breathing new life into the will-they-or-won’t-they relationship between Kermit and Miss Piggy. Unfortunately, the show was too adult for kids and not unique enough for adults, and ultimately was given the ax by ABC after 16 episodes. Nonetheless, “The Muppets” remains a solid entry in the history of everyone’s favorite group of oddball puppets.

    ‘Awake’ (2012)

    “Awake” was both a crime procedural and a concept-driven sci-fi show, and it managed to be great at both. Detective Michael Britten (Jason Isaacs) was a man whose life was torn apart by a deadly car accident involving his wife and son. But after recovering, Britten finds himself living two lives — one in which only his wife is still alive, and one in which only his son has survived. Each time he wakes up, he finds himself switching between realities, unsure of which is real, and at the same time being forced to solve crimes in both. Although “Awake” never got to blossom into a full-blown mystery, in a single season it managed to create compelling characters and a clever take on the crime-of-the-week genre. Also, unlike many one-season wonders, the season finale is a satisfying final chapter.

    ‘Freaks and Geeks’ (1999)

    “90210” — they were the awkward and insecure kids that everyone could actually relate to, living mundane, if entertaining, lives. While the show practically demanded a second season (as did its fans after the final episodes were never originally broadcast), you’ll have to settle for just the single season.

    Sources

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