(Left) Andrew McCarthy in ‘Less than Zero’. Photo: 20th Century Fox. (Center) Lena Headey stars in ‘Normal’. (Right) James Lance in ‘Ted Lasso’, now streaming on Apple TV.
Preview:
Lena Headey, Andrew McCarthy & James Lance have been cast in ‘Wednesday’.
The third season of the Netflix hit is shooting now.
While there is no official plotline out there yet, the second season ended with Wednesday (Jenna Ortega) heading off with her Uncle Fester (Fred Armisen) to rescue roommate and friend Enid (Emma Myers) from being trapped as an alpha werewolf.
When will ‘Wednesday’ Season 3 hit Netflix?
You’d need Wednesday’s psychic abilities to guess that at this point, but we can presume that it’ll either hit later this year or (more likely) early in 2027.
Bob Odenkirk in ‘Normal’, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.
Bob Odenkirk has been proving for a while that he’s more than just a comedian and comic actor; the depth he brought to Saul Goodman across the ‘Breaking Bad’ TV universe was key, but he also showed real action chops in the two ‘Nobody’ movies.
With ‘Normal’, he’s much more back in the latter two films’ wheelhouse, playing someone who has to confront a violent situation. But while ‘Nobody’ and its sequel certainly have some dark laughs, this latest outing raises the comic stakes and ups the deadly inventiveness.
Script and Direction
Ben Wheatley, director of ‘Normal’, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.
Based on an idea by Odenkirk and Derek Kolstad (better known for the ‘John Wick’ franchise, but also responsible for cranking out scripts for the ‘Nobody’ movies and the ‘Die Hart’ outings), ‘Normal’ certainly leans on comedy to leaven the action madness.
While most of the characters are archetypes (and some are disposable cannon fodder), there’s enough care and attention given to the setup to make you invest in the story once the bullets (and more) start flying.
Ben Wheatley, meanwhile, might be best known in the States for ‘Meg 2: The Trench’ and ‘Free Fire,’ but his UK work is deeply rooted in dark humor, and he’s certainly a good choice for this one, bringing a devilish sense of invention to the chaos.
Cast and Performances
Henry Winkler in ‘Normal’, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.
Odenkirk obviously gets the lion’s share of character work, bringing to life the troubled Ulysses Richardson, interim sheriff who quickly realizes that the quirky small town he’s been hired to protect has some very deep, dark secrets.
But around him, there are plenty of standout characters, including Henry Winkler’s cheerful, sweary Mayor Kibner, Reena Jolly and Brendan Fletcher as a seemingly criminal couple whose ambitions light the fuse on the powder keg that is the town. Also worth watching? Ryan Allen as Deputy Blaine Anderson, who has one eye on the top job in the town’s law enforcement.
Final Thoughts
Bob Odenkirk in ‘Normal’. Photo: Magnolia Pictures.
Utterly ridiculous but also a lot of fun, ‘Normal’ presents as a crossbreed of ‘Hot Fuzz’ (new lawman confronts a small locale’s dark secrets) and the ‘Final Destination’ franchise (in the sheer invention of some of its deaths).
Don’t go in expecting high art, but it’s a wild ride with plenty to enjoy.
‘Normal’ receives 72 out of 100.
(L to R) Bob Odenkirk and Jess McLeod in ‘Normal’, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.
What is the plot of ‘Normal’?
Ulysses (Bob Odenkirk) comes to the sleepy town of Normal, Minnesota to serve as the temporary sheriff after the passing of the original sheriff. A bank robbery in Normal leads Ulysses to find that a criminal underground reaches throughout the entire town.
ch6knWWu2KtWrLmDyO7zE4
Lena Headey in ‘Ballistic’. Photo: Brainstorm Media.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Lena Headey about her work on ‘Ballistic’, her first reaction to the screenplay, the grief her character is experiencing after the loss of her son, why she blames herself, preparing emotionally for the role, working with actor and director Chad Faust, and having fun destroying a car on screen.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Headey, and director Chad Faust.
Lena Headey in ‘Ballistic’. Photo: Brainstorm Media.
Moviefone: To begin with, can you talk about your first reaction to Chad Faust’s screenplay and why you wanted to be part of this project and play this character?
Lena Headey: Well, I loved his screenplay. I’ve known Chad for a million years, and he’s just a gorgeous human. I loved what he’d written. Initially, I think he’d written it as a father-son story. Then he was like, “I kind of started thinking about a mother.” So, from the jump, I was just fully in.
MF: Can you talk about the grief character is feeling after the loss of her son and was it challenging to bring that intensity to the set every day?
LH: Here’s the thing. I think challenging is a funny word when it comes to acting. That’s why we do it because it’s challenging. It’s delightful. For me, you get a script that’s kind of expositional, that’s challenging because you must find something to drive your interest and drive your emotional investment and curiosity. When you get a script like this, it’s just exciting. You just can’t wait to go to work every day because it’s all there. I just show up, be present, be courageous and vulnerable. That’s the joy but in the most enjoyable way. I think we’re all probably tiny sadists, but there’s nothing better than walking away from a day and feeling like you gave it. You gave it in the best way, and it’s up to somebody to do what they’re going to do with it afterwards. So, sort of feeling exhausted but high is, for me, the driver, and I guess for a lot of actors.
(L to R) Jordan Kronis and Lena Headey in ‘Ballistic’. Photo: Brainstorm Media.
MF: Can you talk about why Nance blames herself for her son’s death?
LH: Obviously, the loss of a child for any parent is the living nightmare, and I think it just hits Nance on every human level. Her deep desire for it not to be anything to do with her, to find someone else to put the blame on, but she’s ultimately carrying it. As we see during the movie, her discovery of the bullet and the ammo, and the fact that she is connected to all of this, unknowingly, unwillingly, is devastating. She is looking for someone to blame until there is nobody. Until the answers are, “This is life. This is what happens. He signed up to all those things.” Which, nobody wants to hear, and ultimately, it’s about war.
MF: What was it like working with Chad Faust as both an actor and director?
LH: He’s a wonderful actor too, which pretty much always makes a great director. He’s wonderful. He’s collaborative and present and doesn’t over direct any moment. He just lets it be. Then, he’s this kind of soft backbone to hold up everything. So, it’s a wonderful pre-experimental safe place to just be.
‘Ballistic’ director Chad Faust.
MF: Was there any one direction that he gave you on set that really helped you with a scene?
LH: No. I’ve been doing this for a long time, and I’m a parent, and I also write and direct. So, we were kind of 50/50. I would bounce things off him. I think being a mother is very powerful, especially in something like this. So, all the things were just deeply instinctive. I don’t think we discussed a huge amount. He would just let me go.
MF: Finally, there is a scene in the film where you destroy an expensive sportscar with a crowbar. Was that a fun scene to shoot and did you only have one take to get it right?
LH: It was fun. I think that was half our budget, that car. So, they were like, “Don’t mess it up.” Yes, it was obviously really good fun, and much harder than it looks. Those early ’90s cars were made tougher than today’s cars.
‘Ballistic’ opens in theaters on April 17th.
What is the plot of ‘Ballistic’?
A mother (Lena Headey) who works in a munitions factory discovers her son was killed in combat from a bullet made in her own factory.
855HWoHK8ZqrwkXuETECO
(L to R) Bob Odenkirk and Lena Headey star in ‘Normal’.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Bob Odenkirk, Lena Headey and Henry Winkler about their work on ‘Normal’, developing the screenplay, the characters, working with each other, the action sequences and collaborating with director Ben Wheatley.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Odenkirk, Headey, Winkler, and Jess McLeod.
Bob Odenkirk in ‘Normal’, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.
Moviefone: To begin with, Bob, can you talk about your first reaction to writer Derek Kolstad’s pitch for this movie and what were some of the elements you helped add in the development process?
Bob Odenkirk: Well, Derek had written an outline for this story, and I liked it because it was unlike a lot of action films. It had story to it. It had character to it. It was almost like three movies in one. The first film is a mystery suspense with comedy, but it’s kind of like a Lake Wobegone town, if you know that reference from Garrison Keillor’s ‘Prairie Home Companion’. It’s a small town in Minnesota. There are funny characters in there, squabbling and being stupid. Then it turns into this action film and then it has horror elements in it in the later part of the film. So, again, unlike a lot of action stories, it had texture and it had character, and some depth to the characters. That’s just different. I mean, that’s not actually something you see in a lot of action films, outlines, or scripts.
Henry Winkler stars in ‘Normal’.
MF: Henry, what was your first reaction to the screenplay and what excited you about playing a character like this?
Henry Winkler: Okay. Bob is a friend; he and Naomi is beautiful wife. We have had pasta together. He called me up, he said, “Henry, I’m doing a movie. Would you be part of it?” I didn’t have to read the script. I just said yes. I went up to Winnipeg. I played the wonderful mayor of the town. He is the interim sheriff. Little does he know there is chaos below the surface. He said, “We’re going to have a confrontation. I’m going to put you in the most comfortable position to have that confrontation. I’m going to put you in a blizzard.” That’s how it goes.
Bob Odenkirk in ‘Normal’, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.
MF: Lena, can you talk about your character’s role in this town and how she feels about the new Sheriff?
Lena Headey: I think Bob just wanted someone who would wear a pair of overalls. I love Moira. She’s kind of a little weird. She’s a little eaten by life and when Bob’s character rolls up, there’s a recognition between the two of them and suspicion. Yet, a kind of emotional deficit where they don’t discuss anything they truly like to discuss. So, they kind of skirt around like two snakes a little bit, figuring out who the other is.
(L to R) Brendan Fletcher, Bob Odenkirk and Reena Jolly in ‘Normal’, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.
MF: Bob, what is Ulysses’ reaction to meeting Moira and discovering what is really going on in this small town?
BO: She is the smartest character in town. I mean, arguably Henry Winkler’s character is very smart too, but not really. He’s just got it an antenna for things, but Moira sees Ulysses and fully grasps the danger of Ulysses, but just the way he sees the world and the details that he sees. So, they really connect and kind of right away. They’re both people who are, in the case of the character Moira, she’s a bartender, and she talks about, you know, “I spend a lot of time listening to people, and I can pick apart what they’re saying, and I can understand the subtext, essentially.” Ulysses, as you see in the movie ‘Normal’ is also somewhat removed from the world around him and is always observing on a very high level. I think that’d be a good team if they weren’t opposing forces.
(L to R) Lena Headey and Bob Odenkirk in ‘Normal’, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.
MF: Lena, what was it like working with Bob on your scenes?
LH: I was only there for a few days, and I was a little nervous because you’re going onto somebody else’s job and story and character and you’re stepping on for a few days. So, it’s always that thing of like, I hope I bring it. But Bob and Ben were both super collaborative and warm and open.
MF: Bob, what was your experience like working with Lena?
BO: I mean, one of us got a master class in acting and I think it was me. She always brings it, you can be sure of that and nobody else could have played this character, Moira, like Lena did. I mean, the depth and the texture and the smile in her performance, and the smile for the audience. They know the purpose of her character right away, which is to cut open the story and lay it bare for you.
Henry Winkler in ‘Normal’, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.
MF: Henry, you mentioned you and Bob are friends and you have some intense scenes together. What was it like for you shooting those scenes with Bob?
HW: As an actor your job is to separate the friendship and the reality of where you are, what’s going on in the world, and bring it right in to telling the story, to take the audience with you so that they have a really good time. So, that was not difficult and then when you are in a scene with him, he is so present that you literally just have a conversation with this guy, the interim sheriff, who is figuring out the real problem under the town’s energy.
Ben Wheatley, director of ‘Normal’, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.
MF: Finally, Henry, as a director yourself, what did you learn from working with director Ben Wheatley and watching the way he makes movies?
HW: First, Ben is very easygoing and he’s just this big hulk of a guy. He comes up to you and he goes, “Do you think you should bring that down a little? Do you think your energy might be a little high?” Any actor who thinks they can do it without a third eye, is a liar. You need somebody who’s got the vision, and Bob and Ben knew exactly the story they wanted to tell. My job is not just to play the mayor, but my job is to fulfill their vision.
(L to R) Bob Odenkirk and Jess McLeod in ‘Normal’, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.
What is the plot of ‘Normal’?
Ulysses (Bob Odenkirk) comes to the sleepy town of Normal, Minnesota to serve as the temporary sheriff after the passing of the original sheriff. A bank robbery in Normal leads Ulysses to find that a criminal underground reaches throughout the entire town.
The upcoming assassin thriller “Gunpowder Milkshake” has been described as a female-driven flick, but one of its few male characters will be played by an Oscar nominee.
Despite Giamatti’s high-profile presence, most of the rest ofthe film’s cast will be female, and the ensemble also includes fellow Oscar nominee Angela Bassett (“Black Panther“). The flick is being directed by Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado (Israeli film “Big Bad Wolves”), from a script they co-wrote with Ehud Lavski.
Production on “Gunpowder Milkshake” is set to begin in June in Berlin.
Lessons from “Sesame Street” aren’t just for kids — they’re even applicable to the adults battling for control of the Seven Kingdoms.
HBO released a “Game of Thrones”-themed “Sesame Street” video as part of the kids’ show’s 50th anniversary celebration campaign “Respect Brings Us Together.” The spoof teaches a lesson about respect using well-known characters — Elmo, Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey), and Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) — and a lot of fans were into it. They shared some hilarious reactions on Twitter on Thursday, including some wild fan theories, ranging from Elmo being the Night King to this clip being how the show really ends.
First, here’s the video:
And now, a selection of the tweets on the topic:
Wait til everyone finds out this clip is actually the last minute from the final episode lmao
“Game of Thrones” is in the midst of its eighth and final season. Episodes air Sunday at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO. Meanwhile, “Sesame Street” airs on the premium network, too, but on Saturdays at 9 a.m. ET/PT.
Lena Headey isn’t leaving violence and action behind when “Game of Thrones” ends.
The actress has joined the upcoming assassin thriller “Gunpowder Milkshake,” Deadline reports. She’ll co-star in the film, joining an ensemble cast that also includes Karen Gillan (“Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle”). The cast is meant to be “multi-generational” and female-driven, according to a THR report in early January.
“Gunpowder Milkshake” will be directed by Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado, who penned the script with Ehud Lavski. The film comes from Studiocanal and The Picture Company, with Andrew Rona and Alex Heineman serving as producers. Meanwhile, Didier Lupfer, Ron Halpren, and Shana Eddy will executive produce.
Plot details haven’t been revealed, so it’s unclear whether Headey will be a good guy, a bad guy, or something in between. Thanks to “Game of Thrones,” we definitely know she can pull off calculating and merciless, so we’ll be interested to see if she does it again, or if she shows a softer side.
Headey stars in the final season of “Game of Thrones,” due out in April, as well as the upcoming film “Fighting with My Family.” Her previous movie credits include roles in “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies,” “300: Rise of an Empire,” and “The Purge,” among others.
Lena Headey — aka Queen Cersei Lannister — shared her story while struggling in the wild on “Running Wild With Bear Grylls.” Bear and Lena started talking about filming the final “Game of Thrones” Season 8 and doing all the press junkets.
Bear asked how she is with the press, and Lena laughed that she’s “horrible” with it all:
“Yeah, you have to do these things for all the awards and everything where loads of people interview you. I went in and was seven months pregnant, and [there was] a whole room of journalists, and this guy stood up and he said, ‘Uh I just want to say that you’re really disappointing in real life.’ And he went, ‘Is that your real hair?’ And I went ‘Yeah’ and he said, ‘The wig is much better. I like you as a blonde.’ I was like, ‘OK.’ I was just crushed. How is that all right to say?”
Bear Grylls called that “unbelievable,” and (jokingly) threatened to drag the guy across the mountain by rope.
HBO
Seriously. The Lannisters need to send their regards to whoever hurt Lena Headey like that.
Lena is beautiful with any hair color, pregnant or not pregnant. But even if you don’t find her attractive, why the heck would you announce it during a press tour? Talk about unprofessional.
Anyway, that part of the interview comes around the 4-minute mark of this video, which is Lannister gold from start to finish:
“Game of Thrones” Season 8 — with Cersei still currently on the Iron Throne — arrives on HBO in the first half of 2019.
Yet another actress has come forward with a tale of an uncomfortable encounter with alleged sexual predator Game of Thrones” star Lena Headey adding her voice to the ever-growing chorus of complaints about the producer. And according to the actress, his bad behavior wasn’t just a one-time thing.
In a series of tweets posted on Tuesday, Headey detailed two bizarre and inappropriate encounters she had with Weinstein early in her career. The first came during the Venice Film Festival in 2005, where she was promoting her film “The Brothers Grimm,” which was produced by Weinstein’s former company, Mirimax.
According to the actress, the producer asked her to join him for a stroll along the water and made a suggestive gesture, indicating that the two should share a romantic moment. Headey says she immediately “laughed it off,” joking that “it’d be like kissing my dad.” But the actress added, “I was never in any other Mirimax film.”
Fast-forward to a few years later in Los Angeles, and Headey’s story gets a bit grimmer. The actress said she met Weinstein for breakfast, and what she assumed was a professional meeting. The producer then suggested that they head up to his hotel room, where he said he had a script for her. It was then, Headey said, that “the energy shifted, my whole body went into high alert,” and she told him “nothing is going to happen.”
“He was silent after I spoke, furious,” the actress wrote. “We got out of the lift and walked to his room. His hand was on my back, he was marching me forward, not a word, I felt completely powerless.”
As luck would have it, Weinstein’s key card wouldn’t work, and the producer walked her back down to the lobby, she said, “grabbing and holding tightly to the back of my arm” the entire time. He called for a car, and when Headey got in, he allegedly whispered, “Don’t tell anyone about this, not your manager, not your agent.”
Headey is the latest in a string of dozens of women who have publicly accused Weinstein of sexual harassment and assault, stretching back almost three decades. She joins the ranks of actresses including Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie, Ashley Judd, Kate Beckinsale, Cara Delevingne, and Rose McGowan. Weinstein has denied any non-consensual sexual acts.
Yet another actress has come forward with a tale of an uncomfortable encounter with alleged sexual predator Game of Thrones” star