(Front Row) Deborah Ann Woll and Elden Henson in Netflix’s ‘Daredevil.’ Photo: Netflix.
Preview:
Marvel’s ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ is undergoing a creative change.
Elden Henson and Deborah Ann Woll, are according to reports, returning.
Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio are starring.
After seeding the previously Netflix-based characters of Matt Murdock (played by Charlie Cox, he’s the blind lawyer with super-sensory hearing skills who suits up as the vigilante known as Daredevil) and Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio’s Wilson Fisk, a hulking criminal overlord who is one of Daredevil’s main enemies) into the MCU via the likes of ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’, ‘Hawkeye’ and ‘She-Hulk’, Marvel was riding high on the reaction to news that the two would be the focus of their own Disney+ series.
‘Daredevil: Begin Again’ was supposed to be Marvel triumphantly proving it can take a character that has been brought to TV screens elsewhere and merge them into the wider, more directly canonical comic book-based universe. Commissioned from writers Chris Ord and Matt Corman, it was set for a mammoth 18-episode shoot and cameras started rolling back in March of last year.
Yet less than half the episodes had been filmed when the writers’ strike closed down production, and when executives got a look at the footage, they were unimpressed. Ord, Corman and the directors were let go and a new creative team, including Dario Scardapane as showrunner and ‘Loki’ Season 2 directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, was hired.
And from the sounds of a new report, fans will be even happier to learn of some returning veterans in front of the camera…
Deborah Ann Woll and Elden Henson to reprise their roles?
Deborah Ann Woll in Netflix’s ‘Daredevil.’ Photo: Netflix.
Classic characters from the ‘Daredevil’ comic books, Foggy is Matt’s legal partner, while Karen is their legal secretary/research assistant.
They had a big fan following after their appearances on the main show and (especially in Woll’s case) popping up in other ‘Defenders’ shows on the streaming service. People were disappointed when they weren’t included in the original plans for ‘Born Again’, but it would appear that Marvel has listened to its audience.
We’ll also see another Netflix character/actor, as Jon Bernthal is reprising the role of Frank Castle –– better known as tough guy vigilante The Punisher –– from his own series and his ‘Daredevil’ crossovers.
When will ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ be on screens?
Given the various delays and changes, we don’t expect the show to premiere before 2025.
(L to R) Director Ava DuVernay and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor talk ‘Origin.’
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with director Ava DuVernay and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor about their work on ‘Origin,’ the challenges of adapting the book, casting, Ellis-Taylor’s performance, and her experience working with DuVernay.
You can read our full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with DuVernay and Ellis-Taylor, as well as Jon Bernthal and Niecy Nach-Betts.
(Center) Ava DuVernay on the set of ‘Origin.’ Photo: Neon.
Moviefone: To begin with, Ava, can you talk about the challenges of adapting this book into a film, and was the key for you making the author the main character?
Ava DuVernay: Yes. Once I understood that I could have the main character of this be this swashbuckling, intellectual adventurer, known as Isabel Wilkerson, played by the great Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, the film kind of came together and came to life for me. That I could share the ideas in the book by going through this dynamic character, and that unlocked everything for me as a screenwriter.
Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor as Isabel Wilkerson in director Ava DuVernay’s ‘Origin.’ Photo: Neon.
MF: Aunjanue, can you talk about having the opportunity to play a character like this, and what were some of the aspects of the character you were excited to explore on screen?
Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor: Well, one of my first conversations with Ava was that she wanted to explore the interior life of a black woman. I was just so excited about dramatizing the mind of a black woman genius. I thought that was rare and unique, at least in the landscape of American filmmaking. I was just excited about that prospect.
(L to R) Jon Bernthal as Brett Hamilton and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor as Isabel Wilkerson in director Ava DuVernay’s ‘Origin.’ Photo: Neon.
MF: Ava, can you talk about casting and having the opportunity to work with these accomplished actors on set?
AD: Well, it was fantastic. I mean, the chemistry between Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor and Jon Bernthal was so palpable, so off the charts. As we were watching, I felt like these two people were in each other’s lives, and they would always be, whether they were physically present and had a beating heart or whether one of them would’ve passed away. The connection was so strong. That’s so much of what we needed to achieve in this, because that is the way that Isabel Wilkerson had shared that she felt, as I was researching and interviewing her over the two-year period of writing it. That connection with her husband, with Brett, was so real that we needed to have actors that conjured that. Aunjanue and Jon did. Also, Niecy Nash-Betts, the connection between Isabel and Marion, that sisterhood, that friendship, that pushing, and that protection. The actors were extraordinary. So many other folks came in to help us for a day, Nick Offerman, Audra McDonald, Vera Farmiga, Blair Underwood. It was an embarrassment of riches. It was a true delight to work with them all.
(Center) Ava DuVernay on the set of ‘Origin.’ Photo: Neon.
MF: Finally, Aunjanue, what is it like being on an Ava DuVernay set? What was the experience of collaborating with her on set like for you?
AET: Listen, what I love about Ava’s process as a director is that she wants you to experience things live and in real time. I’m laughing because walking across the intersection in New Delhi, how many directions was traffic coming from? Six, eight? A lot of cars coming at you at one time. I had to walk across the street, and that was happening in real time. There were times where the light made it easy, and the light didn’t make it easy. The camera was behind us or in front of us. I was just so exhilarated by that. It was so dangerous, but I was like, “I am a stunt woman right now.” That’s what it’s like with her. When you see those officers, those Nazi officers in that plaza, in that square, that’s real. That’s not CGI. That’s real. That’s her vision. That’s what makes her separate, singular, and apart. That’s what it’s like.
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What is the plot of ‘Origin’?
Grappling with tremendous personal tragedy, writer Isabel Wilkerson (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor) sets herself on a path of global investigation and discovery as she writes ‘Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents.’
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.
Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle in Marvel’s ‘The Punisher.’
The last time Jon Bernthal was seen on screens as vigilante Frank Castle –– better known as The Punisher –– it was in 2019, on what would become the second and final season of his titular series.
Created by Gerry Conway, John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru, Frank Castle first debuted in the pages of Marvel Comics’ The Amazing Spider-Man #129 in 1974.
The character is traditionally depicted as an Italian-American vigilante who employs murder, kidnapping, extortion, coercion, threats of violence, and torture in his campaign against criminals. Driven by the deaths of his wife and two children, who were killed by the mob for witnessing a killing in New York City’s Central Park, the Punisher wages a one-man war on crime.
What’s the history of Jon Bernthal as the Punisher?
Bernthal was originally cast as Castle for ‘Daredevil’s second season on Netflix in 2016 before spinning off to his own series in 2017, which ran for two seasons on the streaming service.
Since Marvel and Disney took back control of their TV characters, Netflix has cancelled its entire Defenders output.
In 2021, Bernthal had this to say about a potential return:
“I think if there’s any let up on that character, you do a disservice to the character, to every iteration of the character, to every comic book that’s come before, and to all of the unbelievable fans of the character,” said the actor. “This character means so much to people in the military. So like I said before, it’s not about whether you do the character; it’s about whether you can do it right, and I’m only interested in doing it right.”
Looks like he thinks they’re doing it right.
What is ‘Daredevil: Born Again’?
‘Daredevil: Born Again’ represents the next step forward for the character on the small screen after Charlie Cox returned as Matt Murdock, the blind lawyer who dons a costume and fights crime as Daredevil, for a cameo in ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ and as a recurring guest star on Disney+ series ‘She-Hulk: Attorney at Law’. Vincent D’Onofrio, who played Wilson Fisk AKA Kingpin, returned in ‘Hawkeye’ and will be the main antagonist in ‘Born Again’.
Overseen by Matt Corman and Chris Ord, the show will boast 18 episodes in its first season and starts shooting this month in New York.
Marvel and Disney have yet to confirm any official details, but the show should be on screens next year. We don’t know how many episodes will feature Bernthal, but at least we know he’ll back.
Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle in Marvel’s ‘The Punisher.’
Given two recent examples, Marvel must be exploring some technology to stop actors saying much of anything about their movies and TV shows at all. Perhaps they could call it the Tom Holland Technique.
Still, spoilers about projects that actually exist is one thing, but the company has now had to face performers who have roles in past projects announcing future work that isn’t yet official.
Take Rosario Dawson, who played Claire Temple – a version of the Marvel character Night Nurse – on ‘Daredevil’ and various other ‘Defenders’ Marvel/Netflix series including ‘Jessica Jones’ and ‘Luke Cage’, took to the stage at Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo this weekend.
And that excited Dawson, since ‘The Punisher’ was one of the few shows she never got the chance to appear on, and she loves Bernthal.
Sadly for her, and for fans of the characters, it appears she had some bad intel and was indulging in some wishful thinking. Dawson walked back her comments on Twitter this morning:
I can’t be trusted…! Getting intel from fans during signings is iffy apparently. My bad. I get excited. Confirmation is key when you’re told what you want to hear…
While we’re sure Team Marvel has at least discussed the return of Bernthal’s character, we doubt Kevin Feige and co. are all that happy with actors making announcements, especially given how secretive the studio tends to be about its new movies and shows.
Which brings us to Patton Oswalt, nerd favorite and regular genre actor, who made his MCU debut (after, of course co-writing, producing and voicing a MODOK animated series) as Pip the troll in a post-credit scene for ‘Eternals’ opposite Harry Styles as Eros/Starfox.
Appearing on ‘The Today Show’ last week, Oswalt told the hosts and audience the following: “They have announced there’s going to be an Eternals sequel. Chloé Zhao is going to direct it. So, hopefully there will be more adventures of Starfox and Pip” (See the full video via Today Show’s TikTok account.)
Of course, Marvel has made no such announcement as of yet – even in its big Comic-Con presentation, ‘Eternals’ did not feature. It’s not to say Feige and his team aren’t considering more ‘Eternals’ action but given the muted reaction to the movie and its box office results, it hasn’t seemed to be a big priority for the company.
We doubt Oswalt is in big trouble, though we’re sure someone from Marvel has at least said something to him.
Right now, on the TV front, the return of Cox’s Matt Murdock and Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin is official, on a show called ‘Daredevil: Born Again’. And the previous shows are available properly on Disney+. As for the future of ‘The Punisher’? We’d be thrilled to see the return of Jon Bernthal as Castle, and only too happy if Rosario Dawson shows up to interact with him.
As for ‘Eternals’? Let’s wait and see, shall we?
(L to R) Don Lee, Angelina Jolie, Richard Madden, Salma Hayek, Gemma Chan, and Lia McHugh in Marvel Studios’ ‘Eternals.’
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(L to R) Demi Singleton as Serena Williams, Saniyya Sidney as Venus Williams and Will Smith as Richard Williams in ‘King Richard’
Opening in theaters on November 19th is the new biopic ‘King Richard,’ which chronicles the life of Richard Williams, father of tennis legends Venus and Serena. The film stars Oscar-nominee Will Smith in the title role and follows his character’s journey to make his two youngest daughters the greatest tennis players of all-time. Directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green (‘Monsters and Men’), the movie also features Jon Bernthal (‘The Punisher’), Tony Goldwyn (‘Scandal’), Dylan McDermott (‘Olympus Has Fallen’), Aunjanue Ellis (‘The Help’), and Saniyya Sidney (‘Hidden Figures’) and Demi Singleton (‘Godfather of Harlem’) as Venus and Serena, respectively. The result is an inspiring feel-good movie with an Oscar-level performance from Smith, and excellent supporting turns from Ellis, Sidney and Singleton.
The film begins in Los Angeles in the early 1990s and shows Richard Williams (Smith) hustling to get tennis balls to practice with for his two youngest girls, Venus (Sidney) and Serena (Singleton), who he believes are preordained to be the greatest tennis players of all-time. Living in Compton and working several jobs to make ends meet, Richard and his wife Oracene (Ellis) have a strict plan to take their girls to the top of the tennis world, which up to this point has been dominated by white, upper-class players. Practicing on dangerous community park courts at night will only take the girls so far, and the Williams realize that in order to go the distance, the girls will need professional training.
After rejections from some of the best coaches in the game, who simply dismiss Venus and Serena based on their skin color and financial situation, Richard refuses to give up and eventually convinces Wimbledon champion John McEnroe’s coach, Paul Cohen (Goldwyn), to train the girls. He realizes right away how special they are but can only take one of them on as his student and chooses Venus because she is older. Cohen takes Venus on the junior circuit, where she dominates, but he bumps heads with Richard when he decides Venus will not compete again until she goes pro. Eventually, Richard convinces legendary Tennis coach Rick Massi (Bernthal) to take Venus under his wing, and the Williams family moves to Florida, so she can train full time. Meanwhile, felling left-out but still supporting her sister, Serena begins training with her mother, who “fixes” her serve.
The drama escalates as both Venus and Rick try to convince Richard that she is ready to go pro. On the verge of her first big professional win, Nike offers her a 3-million-dollar contract, which she declines, wanting the world to see how good she is before she takes the money, which does end up working to her advantage in the end. But, on the eve of Venus becoming the #1 ranked tennis player in the world, Serena is feeling left-out again, when her father finally lets her in on his ultimate plan. He tells her that while he always knew Venus would “open the door,” he believes that someday Serena will become the greatest to ever play the game, which of course, is exactly what happened.
While I loved the movie, and found it to be both touching and inspirational, I have to get one thing off my chest first. The concept that the two greatest tennis players in the history of the game would be supporting characters in their own story is problematic. While Richard is the lead character, I’m happy to say that Will Smith’s performance, as good as it is, does not over-shadow the importance of Venus and Serena’s own story. But it’s important to note that both Venus and Serena Williams are producers on the film and signed off on it, likely as a love letter to their late dad. That’s important because they clearly wanted this story told, putting the focus on their father’s sacrifices for their success, rather than their own personal triumphs.
On that level the film definitely works, but it also does not shy away from showing Richard warts and all, as the character can be insensitive and overbearing at times, and as the film demonstrates, also had several other children from other relationships that he tried to hide from Oracene and the rest of his family. Richard Williams was not a perfect person, and I appreciate that the filmmakers and Smith included that, rather than depicting him as a saint. But what is clear from the film and Smith’s performance is how much Richard loved and believed in his girls, even when no one else would, and how he fought tirelessly for their chance at success.
Will Smith has previously been nominated twice for Best Actor Academy Awards. First for 2002’s ‘Ali,’ for which I think he should have won, and secondly for 2007’s ‘The Pursuit of Happiness.’ Will Smith will receive an Oscar nomination for his performance in ‘King Richard,’ and in a fairly weak year for leading men, he likely will win, both because his performance is a career achievement, and also for the overall body of his work. And don’t think that love for the Williams sisters and their achievements won’t also play a part in his ultimately winning the award, if that does come to pass. The performance is a breakthrough for Smith, playing a well-intended but flawed character, and he does it with all the charm and charisma we expect from the “Artist formerly known as the Fresh Prince.”
I also want to mention Jon Bernthal and Tony Goldwyn, who are both great and give really fun performances as Venus and Serena’s coaches, Rick Massi and Paul Cohen, respectively. But please don’t overlook the truly fantastic supporting performances from the female members of the cast, especially Aunjanue Ellis, Saniyya Sidney and Demi Singleton. As Richard’s wife, Oracene, Ellis is brilliant and completely holds her own against Smith. In fact, the veteran actress got some of the biggest reactions in the movie from the audience at the screening I attended and will likely earn herself a Best Supporting nomination as well.
But as good as Smith and Ellis are, the film simply would not work if the actresses playing Venus and Serena were not completely believable, both as well-known characters and tennis players. Sidney and Singleton are both equally wonderful in their roles and bring their characters completely alive in a very vulnerable way, which could have been a real challenge for the young actresses seeing how famous the characters they are playing are. While I would love to have seen more of their characters’ points of view in the film, I understand that the focus was on Richard, and Sidney and Singleton’s performances compliment Smith’s.
Directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green (‘Monsters and Men’), the film is not perfect, and ended on a bit of a down note for essentially a sports film. However, since we know about the real-life success both Venus and Serena will go on to achieve in the sport, I understand why the movie concluded as it did. In the end, ‘King Richard’ isn’t about tennis, and in a way it’s not even about the Williams sisters, it’s about a man’s resilience and his commitment to his family and their dreams. With an inspiring story, and powerhouse performances by Smith and the rest of the cast, ‘King Richard’ is truly a feel-good movie that will resonate with audiences over the holiday season and may even produce some Oscar nominations during award season too.
Michael Gandolfini and Alessandro Nivola in ‘The Many Saints of Newark’
Michael Gandolfini talks about how he joined the movie, and Vera Farmiga and Jon Bernthal talk about whether they’d watched the TV series.
Moviefone: You guys play members of the Soprano family. I’m going to start with you, Michael, you are playing a young Tony Soprano was a role made iconic by your father. When they asked you to do this role, what went through your mind?
Michael Gandolfini: Well, it wasn’t like a phone call of like, you have the role, do you want it, yes or no? Which was very helpful. It was like a slow burn, they want you to audition. And at first I was really hesitant, but I thought I’m not really in a position to not audition and go up in front of Douglas Aibel who is a great casting director and get used to it. So-
Vera Farmiga: You had to work for it! You guys are earnest!
Gandolfini: Yeah, that was my first audition. And then I had a second, and then I had a third. So it was like three months of convincing myself. Okay, I have a point of view, I have an idea of how I can do this differently and like sort of… By the end, I’d fallen in love with this Tony and had a real kind of excitement to play him.
MF: Oh my God. If that had been me, I feel like by the end of it, I would’ve been like, what if I didn’t get the role after going by?
Gandolfini: I had nightmares of like, David sitting behind. I had an actual… I remember having nightmares of like talking to David and being like, what are you going to tell? What are we…? Actually, this is crazy, but I had a dream, I remember it was David looking at me, and I was in the audition. I was doing it. And I looked down, and my hands are my dad’s hands.
Farmiga: Oh, wow.
Gandolfini: And I woke up, and I was like, that’s such a Soprano dream. Like it’s just such a yeah. Yeah.
MF: Is it true, Michael, that you hadn’t seen ‘The Sopranos’ prior to getting the role, you then binged it, right?
Gandolfini: That’s true.
MF: So then, Vera and John, had you seen ‘The Sopranos’ before?
Farmiga: I had not.
Jon Bernthal: I had.
MF: You had?
Bernthal: I very much have.
MF: So then, Vera, did you do a binge as well?
Farmiga: I did, but after accepting the role. Because my decision was based on who my compadres were going to be, and the strength of the words on the written page as a whole, as a film, what the film was about, toxic masculinity, depression, American Dream, blah, blah, blah, blah. I knew that it was a good standalone film. I didn’t know how it tied into the original and I didn’t… and so yeah, after I grounded, and I knew what I was in for, I was petrified. Yes.
MF: And real quick, John, can you tell me a little bit about the character that you play for those who don’t know?
Bernthal: Sure. I play Johnny Boy, Tony’s dad, Livia’s husband. He’s a character that very much lives in flashbacks and I think in lore in the show. It’s somebody the people talk about a lot and this sort of larger than life character. So I think he kind of pops up in the movie here and there. And I think this sort of job for me and what I tried to hook into was a guy who has this huge reputation and has this huge sort of life and this energy about him. But deep inside I think that there’s something very different going on than I think what, sort of, comes across. And that was an interesting challenge for me. Yeah.
Alessandro Nivola, Leslie Odom Jr., and Michela de Rossi talk about playing characters in the Moltisanti family.
Moviefone: I want each of you to tell me about the characters you play, for those of you who don’t know, but we’ll kick it off with Leslie.
Leslie Odom Jr: I play Harold McBrayer and I work for the family. And fans of the show, you’ll know what I mean.
MF: Very big. It’s like a secret.
Michela de Rossi: I am Michela de Rossi and I play Giuseppina Bruno, which is the negative one.
Alessandro Nivola: She’s my stepmother, and then my mistress.
MF: That’s not weird at all.
Nivola: No, no nothing Oedipal going on, I promise. I am Alessandro Nivola and I play Dickie Moltisanti, who was the father of Christopher Moltisanti in the show, famously played by Michael Imperioli, brilliantly. He was a mentor figure to Tony Soprano when Tony was a kid growing up who didn’t really have his parents very present. And this was the guy who took a real interest in him, for better and for worse.
MF: The Sopranos was one of the greatest TV series of all time. So many fans. And I was interested to learn that Michael Gandolfini, James’ son, had never seen ‘The Sopranos,’ even though James was his dad. Had you guys watched ‘The Sopranos’ prior to?
Nivola: None of us.
MF: Really? So then did, did you guys do binges like he did?
Odom: Yeah, I did. I did over the pandemic, like so many people. I watched it from top to bottom and you know, I get it.
de Rossi: I watched it, the whole thing, when I got the role before shooting.
Nivola: Yeah. I guess I watched the first season of it in the two weeks that I was asked to prepare these five auditions scenes to tape and send in. So I’ve seen all three season in that time. And then when I was offered the job, I watched the rest.
MF: I have moments when I watched the movie where I just felt chills because there are those little Easter eggs that pay homage to the original series. But what was it like for you guys being on set with James Gandolfini’s actual son?
Odom: I mean, it was for all these people, David included, Al included, it was more than just a TV show. You know, it’s years of their life. It changed their lives. Michael tells stories about being a little kid and taking naps in Tony and Carmella’s bed. So anyway, there’s a spiritual thing happening there too. I just felt like we just all wanted to support him and just make sure he was all right and felt loved.
Nivola: Or have him support us and tell us that we were okay. Because he surely was an authority, even though he wouldn’t claim he was.
MF: And actually, Alessandro, would you mind describing the relationship between your character and the young Tony Soprano?
Nivola: Yeah, Dickie hasn’t had a child of his own and he as the movie begins, he’s in his forties, and in Italian American culture, having a child is like a sign of manhood. And so he was really, I think, upset about that. And he latched on to Tony as a kind of surrogate son, as a surrogate father. And I think he really loves him and believes in him in a way that no one else in the world of the movie does. And yet he’s a totally hopeless role model for him and keeps flailing around every time he tries to give him discipline or send him on some path other than outside the life of crime. And one of the tragedies of the film is the fact that he wants to do that and can’t figure out how.
Director Alan Taylor talks about returning to the world of ‘The Sopranos.’
Moviefone: In 2007, you won the Emmy for Outstanding Director for Drama for ‘The Sopranos.’ Here we are 14 years later, you’ve now directed the prequel film. Where did the journey for this movie start for you?
Alan Taylor: Wow. Okay, boy, you’ve got your dates and facts down. I sort of feel I grew up on Sopranos. I was not that long out of film school when I first entered that show in the first season. And then over the course of it, I learned a lot from the actors and from David Chase’s writing. So it sort of felt like home to me in a way. So when David called and said he had a script, it felt very good. Partly because in my career had gone various places, and I’d done a couple of big movies where I didn’t really feel I was home and getting a chance to go back to this world felt very right. Felt like a return to a landscape I knew and a voice that I knew. And so it was a chance to sort of take my movie life and my TV life and bring them together.
MF: Right. So when you first read that screenplay, how did you envision ‘The Many Saints of Newark’?
Taylor: Well, as soon as you read it, you hear that same voice, different characters. Dicky never appears in the show, but he is the main guy in our movie, but it’s the same voice. And that’s the main thing. It’s the same ideas, the same questions that never get quite answered. The same themes that are driving it. The same sense of humor, the same relationship to violence. So to me, it was like, yes, we’re back in the world. And then there was work going on in the script. It kept evolving during the period where we were casting and building it. David was adding things that I think really helped shape it until very late in the game. But from the first read it was, oh yes, I remember this voice.
MF: For major ‘Sopranos’ fans. What do you think that they will love most about this film?
Taylor: I think there’s little things that I guess people refer to as Easter eggs that will play for them, moments that will probably get a laugh and stuff like that. But there’s a big emotional connection to the show. If you know the relationship between… Our movie is very much about fathers and sons and if you know the relationship between our main character, Dickie’s son, Christopher, and his relationship to Tony, there’s a really rich resonance in this movie because here we see that character being born, and I was the director who finished him in the show. So there’s a real echo between the movie and what it’s setting up and how darkly it goes for these characters later on.
MF: I will say the main last shot gave me chills.
Taylor: Good.
MF: And I felt, okay, now I need to now start the whole series from this point.
Taylor: Yeah. I’m pretty curious to people who watch the series and now watch the movie, how they will respond to things. Also, people who are seeing the movie first and then seeing the series for the first time. It’d be interesting to see how those two… I do think they speak to each other, but it’s a very different experience depending on what order you get them in, probably.
MF: Of course. I have to ask you about working with Michael Gandolfini, who is of course the son of James Gandolfini, who originally played Tony Soprano. What was it like having him on set?
Taylor: Delightful. First of all, he’s like this sweet, sensitive, thoughtful, generous, warm guy. So that helps. But I think we all knew that we were asking a tremendous amount of him to go into this dark world his father had sort of defined. And having lost his father to go back there. We had a dinner right before we started shooting where Michael stood up and said, I want to thank everybody here for giving me a chance to say hello to my dad again and goodbye again. And there wasn’t a dry eye in the house, but I think from that moment on, everyone sort of gathered around him, the cast, but also the crew. And he was sort of the beating heart of the movie. He’s not the main character, but he was sort of, it felt like a family thing.
Dakota Fanning stars as the title character Viena and joins co-stars Zoë Kravitz, Evan Rachel Wood and Jon Bernthal in this story about a groupie in the 80s.
From the official synopsis…
Viena, a beautiful, young roadie, travels with the Fantomes, an edgy post-punk band, as they tour through America in the 1980s. What starts out as a wild ride of concerts and parties quickly descends into an alcohol and drug induced haze. Viena finds herself trapped in a dangerous love triangle between a good natured roadie and an unbalanced band member, as she is forced to find her own means of survival-no matter the cost.
‘Viena and the Fantomes’ will be available at home, on digital, and on demand June 30th!
The first trailer for the James Mangold-directed “Ford v. Ferrari” is here and it’s got all the speed, machismo and explosions you might hope for. For an Oscar-caliber-type movie, that is.
Matt Damon plays visionary American car designer Carroll Shelby, who is approached by Ford exec Lee Iacocca (Jon Bernthal) to build a car that can beat Italian racing legend Enzo Ferrrari’s cars at Le Mans in France in 1966.
Christian Bale is hotheaded British driver Ken Miles, who isn’t exactly on board the project at first. If you ever wanted to see a movie where Bale punches Damon in the face, here you go.
Borrowing a page from Martin Scorsese, the trailer is scored to The Rolling Stones classic “Gimme Shelter” (which, by the way, is from 1969).
Great lines include Tracy Letts (as Henry Ford II) telling Damon “Go to war,” and Damon announcing, “We’re gonna make history.”
The film is based on Michael Koryta’s 2014 novel of the same name. Its a thriller that centers on a 14-year-old boy (Finn Little) who witnesses a terrible murder. He’s given a new identity and put in a wilderness skills program for troubled teens to keep him safe, but the killers, the deadly Blackwell Brothers, are determined to hunt him down. Sheridan wrote the script and will direct.
“Those Who Wish Me Dead” comes from BRON Studios and Film Rites, with producers Aaron L. Gilbert of BRON and Garrett Basch and Steve Zaillian of Film Rites. Creative Wealth Media’s Jason Cloth is on board to executive produce.
