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  • ‘Never Look Away’ Exclusive Interview: Director Lucy Lawless

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    Opening in theaters on November 15th is the new documentary ‘Never Look Away’, which was directed by actress Lucy Lawless (‘Xena: Warrior Princess’ and ‘Minions: The Rise of Gru’) and chronicles the life of New Zealand photojournalist and CNN war reporter Margaret Moth.

    Related Article: Director Chris Renaud Talks ‘Despicable Me 4’ Digital Release

    Margaret Moth appears in 'Never Look Away' by Lucy Lawless, an official selection of the World Documentary Competition at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. Photo: Courtesy of Sundance Institute.
    Margaret Moth appears in ‘Never Look Away’ by Lucy Lawless, an official selection of the World Documentary Competition at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. Photo: Courtesy of Sundance Institute.

    Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Lucy Lawless about her work on ‘Never Look Away’, learning of Margaret’s story, deciding to direct the documentary, her research, setting up the interviews, Margaret’s passion for her work, her resilience, and if Lawless will direct again.

    You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews.

    'Never Look Away' director Lucy Lawless. Photo: Courtesy of Sundance Institute.
    ‘Never Look Away’ director Lucy Lawless. Photo: Courtesy of Sundance Institute.

    Moviefone: To begin with, what was your first reaction to learning of Margaret Moth’s life story and why did you want to make this movie?

    Lucy Lawless: Well, when I got the email, it was a cold call. Everything I knew about Margaret Moth must have been from the news report of her being sniped during the seizure of Sarajevo. I got the email, and I was terrified that it was a form letter that had gone out to a thousand other people, and everybody would want to make it. So, I immediately wrote back, “Yes, I will find the money. I will produce this; I’ll make sure this gets made.” I pushed send and then I went, “Holy smokes Lucy, who are you to go making these rash promises? You’ve never done this before.” But I was already in too deep. I could not back out. I was like, “Well, it can’t kill me. Better go forward.” So, forward is my watchword now, because there is only forward, whatever adversity comes your way, you can only push forwards.

    MF: Was the idea always to make a documentary or did you consider making a narrative film and playing Margaret yourself?

    LL: Yes, we thought about that. I work with actors every day. I have done it now for 38 years. That wasn’t at the time the most exciting prospect. Plus, it takes a long time. You’d have to find the right writer and shape the story, and we’d still be in pre-production. What’s more, COVID was hitting, and I became terrified that all the people who held the information about Margaret might die. So, what did I do? I got on a plane with a buddy, and I went to America, and we started interviewing people. I’d never done it before. I did not know what I was doing, but especially with Jeff Russey, who was Margaret’s lover. He was raw because he had never examined it. He’d spent all these years in addiction and other issues, and he was extremely raw. So, we interviewed him three times and by the end he’d gone from being still enraged and bereft, to whole. In fact, Jeff passed away at Christmas and he never got to see the film, but I was the last person to talk to him, and he was laughing, He was a brilliant man. He was a good friend and maybe the most important component of the film because he gave it the emotional through line that the whole film hangs on.

    Margaret Moth appears in 'Never Look Away' by Lucy Lawless, an official selection of the World Documentary Competition at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. Photo: Courtesy of Sundance Institute.
    Margaret Moth appears in ‘Never Look Away’ by Lucy Lawless, an official selection of the World Documentary Competition at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. Photo: Courtesy of Sundance Institute.

    MF: Can you talk about the process of conducting the interviews? Was everyone open and willing to speak with you about Margaret?

    LL: No, not everybody would talk. I suspect because Margaret was not likable to everybody. She was not inclined to be agreeable. Plus, she might’ve had something called face blindness, which we don’t go into in the story because I couldn’t corroborate it. So, she could meet Anderson Cooper in the elevator and never recognize him. So, some people probably didn’t want to say what they truly thought about Margaret, but a lot of people did, and she was a spicy character, and I like that about her. I feel like our flaws are what connect us. It’s not saintliness, I’m not interested in sainthood. I think Margaret like a lot of us, feel that my sins are my own and I’m not giving them away. They’re part of my humanity.

    MF: What was your experience like interviewing journalist Christiane Amanpour?

    LL: You know, the day that we interviewed Christiane, it was the day that Russia went into Ukraine and all the journalists were pinned to their chairs. They’re so trauma bonded to conflict. They need to be there. Their colleagues are there facing danger. They need to be doing their bit. It’s their vocation. So, it was very generous. She gave us 40 minutes of her time, and every word was gold. So, I think that’s a mark of her respect for a fallen comrade. She was amazing. She said Margaret would sleep with her boots on because she had to be ready.

    Margaret Moth appears in 'Never Look Away' by Lucy Lawless, an official selection of the World Documentary Competition at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. Photo: Courtesy of Sundance Institute.
    Margaret Moth appears in ‘Never Look Away’ by Lucy Lawless, an official selection of the World Documentary Competition at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. Photo: Courtesy of Sundance Institute.

    MF: Can you talk about Margaret’s passion for being a war correspondent?

    LL: Her war would have to be the seizure of Sarajevo, the Bosnian war, because that’s where she was sniped. That was the turning point in her life. I think the Gulf Wars sort of excited her because it was a new kind of drug because she quite liked drugs. But Sarajevo in a horrifying way was the making of her because she’d lived a life of pleasure, sex, super young men and drugs but she found her redemption in war, in telling the truth and serving the truth. I think that’s critical today that here’s this war on truth. Nobody believes anything they hear anymore, but truth tellers are important. We are jailing whistleblowers as if they’re bad people, but we need to tell the truth about things otherwise, we’re a bunch of sheep going to the slaughter. So, I just want to say this is the cost of truth telling and bring some respect to these people. They need protection like never before, they’re more targeted today than ever. So, if anything comes out of this, I want it to be an acknowledgement of these people who face death repeatedly to tell the truth.

    MF: Can you talk about her resilience as a human being and her choice to go back to work after her injury?

    LL: I think for Margaret, she had lost her beauty, which she always relished and her standing in a community, her teeth, her tongue, obviously her speech, and she did look like a monster. She always feared, do I look like a monster? She did look like a monster, and I just found that was extremely interesting. I wonder if this pitiless childhood that I later found out about two thirds of the way through the film, meant that she never developed the capacity to feel sorry for herself. That was what saved her. That became her superpower. After that, when everything else was gone, the beauty, the status, et cetera, all that was left was the job. Telling the story, the story of history, the story of the innocence, and the non-combatants of war. That’s all that mattered to her. In a funny way, there’s a weird byline of this film, which is how to die with equanimity or how to face death with poise, and it’s about how you lived. She just ate life. I think that’s how we would all like to be when we’re eventually taking that long last walk.

    Margaret Moth appears in 'Never Look Away' by Lucy Lawless, an official selection of the World Documentary Competition at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. Photo: Courtesy of Sundance Institute.
    Margaret Moth appears in ‘Never Look Away’ by Lucy Lawless, an official selection of the World Documentary Competition at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. Photo: Courtesy of Sundance Institute.

    MF: Was it difficult finding the additional archival footage you needed to complete the film?

    LL: Oh my gosh, there was so little footage. I know it feels like there’s a lot, but there’s so little. So, we made the most of what we had. Margaret had some footage from her days in the seventies as a camera person in New Zealand, and there were her photographs from a suitcase of memories that her best friend was holding. Other than that, it was a real nightmare because we went to CNN, and they were willing to be as helpful as they could. But the fact is that in those days, all news footage was recorded on beta tapes. They’re huge. At the end of the day, they would edit them in the field, send the finished package back to Atlanta, and then the tapes would either get taped over or destroyed. There was no B-roll and camera people didn’t get credited. So, there was no way to cross-reference where was Margaret? We had to go back, look at her passport, look at the press passes, and do our due diligence. Some anecdotal stories were, I knew she was at certain conflicts, but the truth is there’s a lot of other people’s work in this film. Which as a filmmaker, that’s the cost of bringing you a cogent interesting rollercoaster of a story. I had to give away on that a little.

    MF: Finally, what was it like for you directing this movie, and would you like to direct again in the future?

    LL: Oh, I want to, now I want to work with actors. Now that I’ve figured it out, now I understand editing stories and making documentaries is much harder. Because you don’t have a script, you don’t know where the story is before you’ve collected the information and done the interviews. Now that I’m set, sound design, music, these are things that I never really had so much say in before, but now I’m ready to apply that to what I know best, which is drama. Now I’m working on three projects because you need to have a lot of things going. You never know what’s going to hit, and what’s going to get financed. It’s tough these days, but I found a couple of things that I’m super excited about and I’m pressing forward with those.

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    What is the plot of ‘Never Look Back’?

    CNN camerawoman Margaret Moth fearlessly captures footage of war zones. After receiving catastrophic injuries in the crosshairs of battle, she returns to work with more courage than ever. An intimate portrait of a trailblazing female photojournalist. Features interviews with Moth’s family and friends, including CNN’s Christiane Amanpour. A Sundance film festival premiere directed by Lucy Lawless.

    Who is featured in ‘Never Look Back’?

    • Margaret Moth as Self (archival footage)
    • Christiane Amanpour as Self
    'Never Look Away' by Lucy Lawless, an official selection of the World Documentary Competition at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. Photo: Courtesy of Sundance Institute.
    ‘Never Look Away’ by Lucy Lawless, an official selection of the World Documentary Competition at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. Photo: Courtesy of Sundance Institute.

    Lucy Lawless Movies and TV Shows:

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  • Movie Review: ‘Minions: The Rise of Gru’

    'Minions: The Rise of Gru.'
    ‘Minions: The Rise of Gru.’ Photo Credit: Illumination Entertainment and Universal Pictures. © 2020 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.

    Aside from the language stew chattering of the Minions, perhaps the biggest sound to be heard from the new sequel/prequel/pre-sequel ‘Minions: The Rise of Gru’ is that of box-checking.

    This 1970s-set story aims to fill in some of the gaps of Gru (Steve Carell) and the Minions’ early days together, so of course there are references to familiar ‘Despicable Me’ touchstones.

    Intriguingly, though, figuring that everyone knows who Gru and the Minions are already, this latest Illumination offering opens not with either of them, but in an establishing sequence that introduces the big villains here. The Vicious Six, a gathering of flamboyant baddies led (initially – his betrayal in this initial scene fuels part of the plot) by Wild Knuckles (Alan Arkin), a white-haired former biker type who is on the hunt for a mysterious McGuffin known as the Zodiac Stone. He’s angling to use its mystical power to turn his team into the most powerful group in the world.

    But, following an ‘Indiana Jones’-style quest that ends successfully, his gang steals the stone and leaves him for dead, replaced by new leader Belle Bottom (Taraji P. Henson), a Cleopatra Jones-style Blaxploitation spoof, all afro hair and slick gear. The rest are an assortment of weirdos, including lobster claw-endowed Jean-Clawed (Jean-Claude Van Damme), a strongman called Stronghold (Danny Trejo), a psychotic nun named Nun-Chuck (Lucy Lawless) and Swedish roller-skating baddie named Svengeance (Dolph Lundgren). Only Belle really gets much to do on the vocal front – the others are largely one-joke affairs with celebrity voices attached.

    The Vicious 6 —(from lower left) Jean Clawed (Jean-Claude Van Damme), Svengeance (Dolph Lundgren), Belle Bottom (Taraji P. Henson), Stronghold (Danny Trejo), Nunchuck (Lucy Lawless)—address the Minions (foreground, backs to camera) in Illumination’s 'Minions: The Rise of Gru,' directed by Kyle Balda.
    The Vicious 6 —(from lower left) Jean Clawed (Jean-Claude Van Damme), Svengeance (Dolph Lundgren), Belle Bottom (Taraji P. Henson), Stronghold (Danny Trejo), Nunchuck (Lucy Lawless)—address the Minions (foreground, backs to camera) in Illumination’s ‘Minions: The Rise of Gru,’ directed by Kyle Balda. Photo Credit: Illumination Entertainment and Universal Pictures. © 2020 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.

    With a vacant spot on the Six up for grabs, young Gru is invited to apply (they think he’s a small man, not a kid) but is laughed out of their underground lair when they learn the truth. The ever-resourceful youngster, though, steals the Zodiac Stone, kicking off a plot that will rope in the Anti-Villain League, an acupuncturist who is also a kung-fu master (Michelle Yeoh) and a lot of crazed action with the Minions themselves.

    Aiming to split its time between Gru’s young days and more Minion action (because, after all, they’ve already had their origin story), this latest piece of ‘Despicable’ filmmaking finds itself torn in two directions, even with a relatively simple story.

    Director Kyle Balda, working alongside Brad Ableson and Jonathan del Val, must wrangle a script by Matthew Fogel (who shares a story credit with ‘Minions’ writer Brian Lynch) that wants to squeeze in as much madcap misbehavior as possible, juggling the new threat and some old faces all at the same time.

    Where the strains show is in finding ways to incorporate classic ‘Despicable Me’ characters organically. Gru’s mother, of course (voiced once again by Julie Andrews in one scene) is here embracing the yoga lifestyle with her new “Guru”), while Dr. Nefario (Russell Brand), Gru’s future gadget man, is introduced working at Criminal Records, the cover store that hides the Vicious Six’s base. Naturally, he’s tinkering with gadgets in his spare time and gives Gru the first weapon that the young genius didn’t invent in his own room.

    12-year-old Gru (Steve Carell) chats up the competition as he awaits his interview to become a member of the supervillain supergroup the Vicious 6, in Illumination’s 'Minions: The Rise of Gru.'
    12-year-old Gru (Steve Carell) chats up the competition as he awaits his interview to become a member of the supervillain supergroup the Vicious 6, in Illumination’s ‘Minions: The Rise of Gru,’ directed by Kyle Balda. Photo Credit: Illumination Entertainment and Universal Pictures. © 2020 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.

    Suffering a little from prequel-itis at times (we know how the story continues, so there’s little actual peril, which is less of a concern for an animated outing aimed at the younger market), there are explanations for how Gru’s first lair was constructed, and the school life that drove him to become an isolated, scheming sort who ends up redeemed down the line.

    Carell, his voice pitched up to sound younger, is on good form as ever as Gru, even if we’re very used to the schtick by now.

    The Minions, led as ever by Kevin, Stuart, and Bob (Pierre Coffin), are joined by Otto, an endlessly chattering example of their species who has somehow remained offscreen during other adventures. With braces strapped across his teeth, he’s excitable, easily distracted and not a favorite among the Minion population, though of course he’s given a chance to redeem himself.

    Balda and his team have the most fun coming up with the usual silly situations for the Minions to find themselves in, including taking over a flight to San Francisco (which has been released as an extended trailer for the film and goes about as well as you’d expect). Otto’s explanation for how he was waylaid while bringing the Zodiac Stone back to the lair is also entertaining.

    Mindful that this will end up on heavy rotation in households with Minion-loving kids, the filmmakers have at least made a vague stab at layering in references to other movies (the ‘Indiana Jones’ opening as mentioned, plus a screening of ‘Jaws‘ and a nod to ‘Close Encounters’ among them). One plot point involving a pet rock with googly eyes could almost be interpreted as a nod to ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’, though given that this was completed last year and delayed because of the pandemic, it’s just a coincidence.

    'Minions: The Rise of Gru.'
    ‘Minions: The Rise of Gru.’ Photo Credit: Illumination Entertainment and Universal Pictures. © 2020 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.

    ‘The Rise of Gru’ is frantic and funny in fits and starts and is also the most visually polished movie in the franchise so far, maintaining the gangly humans/squat Minions aesthetic while adding in some impressively realized backdrops including San Francisco’s Chinatown and the lush, mountainous landscapes at the start.

    ‘Minions’ movies are rarely about much more than keeping the audience engaged, so don’t go looking for the sorts of deeply considered themes that ‘Turning Red’ or its ilk roll out within the animated adventure. If you’ve seen any of the two ‘Despicable Me’ movies or the first ‘Minions’, the idea of found family and accepting people for who they are run through here as they always have, but it’s nothing new.

    The Rise of Gru’ is frantic and funny in fits and starts and is also the most visually polished movie in the franchise so far, maintaining the gangly humans/squat Minions aesthetic while adding in some impressively realized backdrops including San Francisco’s Chinatown and the rocky landscapes at the start. One for the youthful core crowd, then, but diverting enough even if you don’t sleep with a stuffed Minion at night.

    ‘Minions: The Rise of Gru’ receives 3 out of 5 stars.

    'Minions: The Rise of Gru.'
    ‘Minions: The Rise of Gru.’ Photo Credit: Illumination Entertainment and Universal Pictures. © 2020 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.
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  • New Trailer for ‘Minions: The Rise of Gru’

    'Minions: The Rise of Gru.'
    ‘Minions: The Rise of Gru.’ Photo Credit: Illumination Entertainment and Universal Pictures. © 2020 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.

    Steve Carell might be a “name” and his character’s name might be in the title, but Illumination and Universal know that the chattering Minions are the real draw for audiences, who love the little yellow troublemakers.

    So, the new trailer for ‘Minions: The Rise of Gru’ naturally goes big on the pill-shaped nuisances here, for some reason at the controls (and working the aisle) of a plane. Naturally, things do not go well in a way that would probably make Tom Cruise’s Maverick cringe. Or possibly, applaud. It’s only once we’ve gotten through a whole sequence of infight madness that the trailer cuts back to Carell’s Gru and his adventures.

    Picking up a few years after ‘Minions’ (which you may recall ended with the creatures meeting Gru in his younger days) this new movie is set in the heart of the 1970s, amid a flurry of feathered hair and flared jeans. Gru is growing up in the suburbs. And he’s the biggest fan of supervillain supergroup the Vicious 6, with a plan to become evil enough to join them.

    Luckily, he gets some mayhem-making backup from his loyal followers, the Minions. Together, Kevin, Stuart, Bob, and Otto — a new Minion sporting braces and a desperate need to please — deploy their skills as they and Gru build their first lair, experiment with weapons and pull off their first missions.

    When the Vicious 6 oust their leader, legendary fighter Wild Knuckles (Alan Arkin), Gru interviews to become their newest member. It doesn’t go well (no shock there), and only gets worse after Gru outsmarts them and suddenly finds himself the mortal enemy of the apex of evil.

    On the run, Gru will turn to an unlikely source for guidance, Wild Knuckles himself, and discover that even bad guys need a little help from their friends.

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    The Vicious 6 is made up of a legion of famous folk, including Taraji P. Henson as Belle Bottom, Jean-Claude Van Damme as Jean Clawed, Lucy Lawless as Nunchuk, Dolph Lundgren as Svengeance and Danny Trejo as Stronghold (yes, we know that’s five — Wild Knuckles was the former sixth).

    In addition to them, the cast also includes Michelle Yeoh (as a character called Master Chow, a kung fu practicing acupuncturist) and RZA, and the returning likes of Julie Andrews (playing Gru’s mother, Marlena), Russell Brand in the part of Dr. Nefario and Pierre Coffin, who as usual voices the Minions.

    Kyle Balda, whose previous directorial career includes the first ‘Minions’, ‘Despicable Me 3’ and various short films featuring the characters, is back at the helm here, with ‘Simpsons’ veteran Dan Ableson and ‘The Secret Life of Pets 2’ Jonathan del Val as co-directors.

    The ‘Despicable Me’ franchise (which expands to five movies with this latest entry), has earned more than $3.7 billion at the worldwide box office so far, and seems likely to keep rolling for a few years yet.

    Originally scheduled for release in July 2021, ‘The Rise of Gru’ was shifted by Illumination and Universal to avoid the continued closure of cinemas due to the pandemic. Following a premiere at the Annecy animation festival in France this week, the movie will hit theaters in the States on July 1st.

    12-year-old Gru (Steve Carell) chats up the competition as he awaits his interview to become a member of the supervillain supergroup the Vicious 6, in Illumination’s 'Minions: The Rise of Gru.'
    12-year-old Gru (Steve Carell) chats up the competition as he awaits his interview to become a member of the supervillain supergroup the Vicious 6, in Illumination’s ‘Minions: The Rise of Gru,’ directed by Kyle Balda. Photo Credit: Illumination Entertainment and Universal Pictures. © 2020 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.
    The Vicious 6 —(from lower left) Jean Clawed (Jean-Claude Van Damme), Svengeance (Dolph Lundgren), Belle Bottom (Taraji P. Henson), Stronghold (Danny Trejo), Nunchuck (Lucy Lawless)—address the Minions (foreground, backs to camera) in Illumination’s 'Minions: The Rise of Gru,' directed by Kyle Balda.
    The Vicious 6 —(from lower left) Jean Clawed (Jean-Claude Van Damme), Svengeance (Dolph Lundgren), Belle Bottom (Taraji P. Henson), Stronghold (Danny Trejo), Nunchuck (Lucy Lawless)—address the Minions (foreground, backs to camera) in Illumination’s ‘Minions: The Rise of Gru,’ directed by Kyle Balda. Photo Credit: Illumination Entertainment and Universal Pictures. © 2020 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.
    'Minions: The Rise of Gru.'
    ‘Minions: The Rise of Gru.’ Photo Credit: Illumination Entertainment and Universal Pictures. © 2020 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.
    'Minions: The Rise of Gru.'
    ‘Minions: The Rise of Gru.’ Photo Credit: Illumination Entertainment and Universal Pictures. © 2020 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.
    'Minions: The Rise of Gru.'
    ‘Minions: The Rise of Gru.’ Photo Credit: Illumination Entertainment and Universal Pictures. © 2020 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.
    fyyZZE0fHG5HsQjoRBIbx6
  • Lucy Lawless talks about ‘The Spine of Night’

    Lucy Lawless talks about ‘The Spine of Night’

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    In the new animated adventure ‘The Spine of Night,’ Lucy Lawless lends her voice to Tzod, a mysterious woman caught up in a battle against a powerful evil. Lawless spoke to Moviefone about her new film.

    Moviefone: Would you mind describing your character in ‘Spine of Night’?

    Lucy Lawless: I played Tzod, a shamaness who comes from an endangered swamp land, who needs to save her homeland, well, save the swamp, and finds herself embroiled in a kind of worldwide conspiracy against the environment and health of the people and everything that we see going on around us today.

    MF: The way you describe it sounds not too far off of some of the work you’ve been doing. You were in Ecuador relatively recently?

    Lawless: Three days ago, yeah.

    MF: Is her motivation is close to your own?

    Lawless: Yeah. She’s like these indigenous people that I met actually, and they need help, and they’ve actually won. These people are brilliant, and they actually won. So they are like Tzod, and it was an honor to meet them. You’re right, there are such parallels in my real life.

    MF: How did you get involved in this to begin with?

    Lawless: Phil Gelatt and his producers got in touch with me and I took one look at it and went, oh my god, this reminds me of ‘Clutch Cargo’ when I was a child, my earliest memories of TV, right? And it was clearly this labor of love. This guy had been working for years on this, and I was like, I have to help him, this is beautiful. This is just such a cool thing. And, and it’s so uncannily… it’s strange, it’s an uncanny piece of work for many reasons. And I think it’ll catch a little bit of a wave with Gen Z. I think they might really dig this.

    MF: It’s an interesting rotoscoped animation that feels like a throwback to ‘Heavy Metal’ or ‘Fire and Ice.’

    Lawless: And even ‘Jason and the Argonauts,’ you know what I mean? So, because of the budget they had, because they were figuring it out themselves and the way they had presumably amateur actors and amateur stunt people, and what could have been an incredible negative turns out to be the cool twist, the thing it cooks it and makes it groovy, because we Hollywood actors came in after everything was done and had to re-voice somebody else’s interpretation of the lines, which is really the opposite of what we like to do. And it fits with this slightly stilted nature of the stunting as well. And again, what could have been a real negative, I think has turned into a positive because it makes the violence and the blood and the death seem more real because it doesn’t happen in the natural movie rhythm. You’re used to fights being like, bam, bam, bam, explosion! It has that kind of sing-song nature. This is not… this is just grim, relentless kind of… the death and stuff. So paradoxically, it makes the pain more real.

    Lucy Lawless voices Tzod in 'The Spine of Night'
    Lucy Lawless voices Tzod in ‘The Spine of Night’

    MF: What’s that mean for you as a performer, coming in after the fact and having to match up to what you’re seeing?

    Lawless: Well, at first you might think this is suboptimal to say the least. But because you’re doing it… you’re not doing it for the money, you’re doing it to help out and because you love it, that you know that there’s something beautiful about this experience, you just make the best of it. It’s just that uncanny… I don’t even know what the word is for it, but it’s like syncopation in music. It’s when the expected is cooked so that you’re off the beat a little bit… and yeah, I just don’t even know how to explain this.

    MF: Is it similar to doing the ADR that you might do for one of your own performances?

    Lawless: No, but that’s when you’re doing your own mouth with your own rhythm of talking, which has been in use since you first learned, since you were two and a half. This is somebody else’s rhythm, that’s been in them since two and a half, and also maybe a bit declamatory because they weren’t very experienced actors, I would say. And it was done years ago, when they were not the age they are today. So it’s not a polished performance that you’re matching to. And so that’s challenging, but I think it might be the saving grace.

    MF: Did it give you pause that Tzod is not all that heavily dressed?

    Lawless: Oh, so much better that a cartoon is not heavily dressed than me, myself on set! Yeah, she’s practically naked the whole time. And she’s not a nimble little fairy of a lady, she’s a heavy-set, naked bog-dweller, right? And I did have some representatives that were a bit squeamish about me playing a heavy set bog-dweller, but I was like, “Yeah, that’s so elemental!” I want to be that, I love to play characters that are unvarnished, and she is.

    MF: And she’s not sexualized at all, or hardly at all.

    Lawless: You are so right. There’s crotch shots and everything, except you can’t see anything, she is wearing this sort of layer of blue flowers, which are very important in this story. She’s not wearing anything, but there’s nothing hoochie-coochie about it. Yeah, you’re right, that was new. I like that.

    MF: I think a lot of storytellers would have the other male characters take advantage of Tzod because of how she’s dressed. This movie, almost surprisingly, never goes there.

    Lawless: You’re right. That’s another way that it cooks all the tropes. Yeah.

    MF: Is it easier to do voice-over work just in general? Or is it just a different set of muscles you’re using?

    Lawless: I do find it a little harder, actually, because when I put on the hair and the costume, that’s a large part of the character for me. You just slip into it, and you become that thing. Well, there isn’t any of that in voice work. And furthermore, the way that you use the architecture of your face to get the right quality of audio is its own little trick. So it took me a real while to learn it, especially when it’s so counter to my own accent, which is very much rolling around in the back of your mouth. It’s not very useful, but that’s a small thing to get over.

    ‘The Spine of Night’ is in theaters and on demand and digital.

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  • ‘Ash vs. Evil Dead’ Season 2: Plenty of Surprises & Easter Eggs, Say Stars

    ash williams (bruce campbell) ruby cross (lucy lawless) in "ash vs. evil dead" season 2There’s something to be said about comfort zones — even on a horror series as seemingly dedicated to discomfort as “Ash vs. Evil Dead.”

    Behind the scenes of the fright fest — a critical and ratings smash out of the gate last year for Starz, which launches its second season on Oct. 2 — the show’s star, Bruce Campbell, has been appearing on screen as lead character Ash Williams since 1981’s acclaimed indie horror/comedy “The Evil Dead,” originally made on a shoestring budget with his high school pal, director Sam Raimi, and produced by Raimi’s college roommate, Rob Tapert.

    Later in the 1990s, Tapert and Raimi produced the syndicated TV sensation “Xena: Warrior Princess,” which starred actress Lucy Lawless in the lead role — and she’d soon become Tapert’s leading lady off-screen as well: the couple married in 1998. Campbell was no stranger to the “Xena” set either, frequently recurring as the scoundrel Autolycus and directing several episodes as well.

    Professionally, the trio reunited once again to revive the cult-beloved “Evil Dead” franchise in television form, with Campbell playing an older but only incrementally wiser incarnation of Ash, Lawless entering Ash’s universe as Ruby, the mysterious vengeance-minded occultist and/or Necronomicon-authoring Dark One on Ash’s trail, and Tapert once again overseeing the supernatural mayhem. Their special blend of creative spellcraft combined to score yet another hit, prompting a return for a second season of Deadite destroying.

    With so much shared history, any two of the group can easily anticipate, finish or trump the third’s sentences, which made for a lively discussion when they joined Moviefone for a look ahead at the upcoming action, and a look back at all their behind-the-scenes adventuring together.

    Moviefone: Obviously, you guys know well how to make this kind of stuff, you’ve got a great comfort level together after all these years. What were the fun discoveries of Season 1 — the things you didn’t see coming that were a real treat for you?

    Rob Tapert: I think for Bruce and I originally, the fun discovery was we were actually going to get this made. So there was a —

    Bruce Campbell: That was more of a shocking discovery!

    Tapert: Yeah, a shocking discovery. There were a lot of hurdles to getting the show up and running.

    Lucy Lawless: Just seeing them pull it off in the first few episodes I went, “Oh my God, this really does uphold the fans’ fantasy recreation.” It’s a tall order!

    Campbell: You never know if you’re going to be able to do it. Or will they like your version of it? Are they good with a middle-aged Ash? Do they like the fact that he wears a man girdle and has dentures? Are they okay with that?

    Lawless: Yes, they are!

    Campbell: You’ve got to make sure that they’re okay with that. They seem to be fine with that. So they’ll get more of that.

    What were the lessons from Season 1 that you wanted to apply to Season 2 — and the way you wanted to throw curveballs at the audience, now that they think they know the show?

    Tapert: That’s a good question. The takeaways from Season 1 were that the audience was pretty forgiving of certain aspects of the storytelling, and they just wanted to be entertained, and they wanted to invest in the relationships a little more, so we’ve grown those going into the second season. They loved watching Ash on screen, so we put Bruce in every single frame —

    Lawless: Surprise!

    Campbell: And you surround me with young people, and that’s what you do. So they can look at all the pretty young people, and Ash can be their titular leader.

    Bruce and Lucy, so much of the first season kept the two of you apart. Is the twist we’re going to see this time that you’re going to be more in each other’s faces?

    Lawless: We’re going to get married.

    Campbell: Well, I think you’ve got to team up for the greater good sometimes. So there will be some of that aspect. Not necessarily being fishing buddies, but understanding that there’s a greater need that’s greater than her little petty problem.

    Lawless: I feel a little sexual tension there, but more with his father. It’s highly competitive.

    Campbell: Ruby — she’d let me in her pants if she had any respect for my character.

    Lawless: Sadly.

    Campbell: Currently — awkward — we’re working on that. We’ll see what happens.

    Lawless: I get to avenge a personal slight, a personal problem I had with the original series. I don’t know — Rob probably knows. When I was 16, my first boyfriend’s friends said, “Come over and watch on VHS — we’ve got this cool ‘Evil Dead’ movie. It’s classic, it’s amazing!”

    I was so disgusted by the first five minutes with the tree rape that I stomped off and said, “The people who made this movie are sick and they ought to be in jail!” Twelve years later I was married to one of them. But this season, me and that tree have got a date.

    Are there other things from the original run that are going to be woven into the season?

    Campbell: Interesting, surprise elements, yes. How could you not? Big ones.

    You had to figure out what kind of measure in which to dole them out, I’m sure, over the course of the series.

    Tapert: Yes. This season, actually, was screaming for a couple of those things. And as much as Ash returns to his home town, we got to meet his father, the relationships that came with that family — going back to visit his father, his father had suffered a loss of their sister because of Ash, so there was a lot that allowed us to touch back into the original source material.

    Campbell: Now you realize why Ash is such a jerk, because his father is a bigger jerk.

    And in that, you scored the casting coup of the fall season with Lee Majors.

    Campbell: I agree. No question about it.

    Tell me about bringing him in, finding the right rapport with him.

    Campbell: Well, you never know if you’re going to have the rapport. We met on set. So it could have not happened. Plenty of actors have failed the chemistry test. But, in this case, I think we would have had a lot of respect for Lee because of what he did. And I think that showed. I think we try to take good care of him and not waste his time, and be appreciative. He got on board, I think he got the spirit of it, even when he was just covered in blood. He’s not one of these guys who complains.

    Lawless: Consummate professional. He’s top-notch.

    Campbell: Yeah, he’s just done this for so long. Nothing phases him. And he’s a pretty hearty son of a bitch. I mean, he’s Lee Majors. He’s a good presence to have. I just think audience members would go, “Of course that’s his dad.”

    Tapert: It was interesting because we needed somebody in that role who was larger than life, but wasn’t going to steal this show and turn it into a farce in any way, shape or form.

    Lawless: Yeah, he falls into the world.

    Campbell: Lee’s persona is: he’s the man, he’s a manly man. He’s a ladies man. He has hair on his chest. I mean, this guy’s been in the tabloids. He’s been through it. And that’s perfect, because when you see him, you go, yeah! You know his history. You know all that. He’s perfect for Ash’s father. But, you never really know if they can pull it off either, on top of it. And Lee is very entertaining in that part, because I think he accepted it, and he’s like, “Okay — let’s go for it.”

    Lawless: He can compete. He’s a competitor.

    Campbell: He’s awesome. Yeah.

    Lucy, your character, Ruby, got folded into the franchise very, very well, and very smoothly in the first season.

    Lawless: Oh-so-subtly.

    And she’s still a mystery. So are we going to learn her quirks and her backstory?

    Lawless: You’re going to learn more than you ever wanted to.

    Campbell: Much more. Ruby’s part of the gang now. Just by screen time alone, you’re going to learn more.

    Lawless: Unfortunately, she’s her own worst enemy, and we’ll see how it all works out.

    Campbell: It’s an unlikely alliance of sorts that’s hanging by a bit of a thread.

    Lawless: It’s a hanging chad of a relationship.

    Campbell: A dimpled chad.

    Tapert: Yeah. Yeah, we have fun with Ruby this season.

    Tell me about bringing your old pal Ted Raimi into the mix.

    Tapert: Ted was someone Bruce and I really wanted to get into the series at some point in time. And the writers had put this friend of Ash’s called Chet in one of the scripts. But it really wasn’t going anywhere. But I talked to Bruce and said, “Bruce, let’s try and get him in this, and then we’ll just force the writers to write for him.” Bruce agreed.

    So I called Ted and said, ‘Hey Ted, there’s like three lines in this one script, but we will push, and if you’re in there, we will make sure that we get your character serviced. Whatever screen time you get, we will do everything to make the most out of it.” So he agreed to come down playing multiple roles also, as he always does. And yeah, he filled the screen every time he was given the chance.

    Campbell: And I needed someone to wash my car on Saturdays, and Ted has been very good about that.

    Tapert: Lucy, you’ve probably worked with Ted more than anybody.

    Lawless: Yeah, I have. he’s a dream — yeah, we all wanted him down. Like, “Please, get the band back together.”

    It’s so rare, it seems, in Hollywood, to have the kind of history that you all share. You’ve gone on this journey, and not by ending up in a project that everybody’s kind of tied to a franchise but because you want to work together, because you’re friends — and family, to varying degrees. Looking back at all of that history, what does it mean to you to have had that journey together?

    Campbell: It is rare, but you don’t think about it until people point it out. I’ve been looking at Rob’s mug for coming up on 40 years now. I forget how easy it makes it, because we’ve always walked on other people’s sets, and he doesn’t know anybody. Lucy guest-stars on shows, I guest-star on shows, and you walk up and you don’t really know anybody, and those producers could be a**holes, the director could be an idiot.

    Lawless: It makes it a lot easier to sign on the dotted line [together].

    Campbell: Yeah, because you kind of know what you’re going to get. I know how Rob produces. I’ve got a sense of it. We’re well taken care of. The thing is, do these people have your back based on what you do? You know, Lucy and I can make sure that the set’s going to get shot. You get the two of us on set, it’ll get shot. Rob doesn’t have to worry about that, and then we don’t have to worry about Rob providing the background personnel and all the people, the support people, to make it happen. It’s a very complicated show.

    Lawless: You know what the difference is? It’s not always like this on other sets. But we’re part of the crew. So getting the job done, we don’t leave set, we hang around, we make sure that the day gets done. There’s no running off to call my agent.

    Campbell: You can predict that. And again, that’s another thing that’s very easy to take for granted. So thanks for reminding us every so often that it is special, it is different, it is unique. Because it’s re-presented itself, I think both of us, Rob and I, realize we don’t know how many more times this is going to go around. Let’s give it a last hurrah. If this is the last of the “Evil Deads” that are ever going to be done, we both — all of us here — want to make sure it’s memorable, and that it was worth it.

    Lawless: And it was fun!

    Campbell: It wound up being worth going through all that, to bring it all back again. Because sometimes you do it and the audience goes, “Eh.” And then where are you? So we’re thankful that we’ve come back and they have accepted us. So it makes it more of a relief. Going into this season, we knew we had the job already, you know what I mean? Now it’s just keeping up expectations. Season 2: there are expectations.

    Creatively, where do you start each season? Do you kind of look at each season like a massive movie?

    Tapert: You know what, the last two seasons we’ve looked at as a season. So what is this season? How do we get through it? Now at the end of the second season, we’re looking, “Okay, what could a bigger picture be? What could two or three seasons look like? Where do we want to get to eventually?”

    Campbell: What if it all fits into a bigger puzzle?

    Tapert: Yeah. There’s a plus and minus to look for within, or “What does it all mean?” Because once you know where you’re going, it’s hard to do anything but go in that direction. You want to leave, creatively, the ability to explore different avenues, or kind of find your way in the darkness.

    Campbell: And you still can, because if you have the big picture, you always know where you’ve got to get back to. If you take a little detour, that’s fine. As long as you know where you’re going. Because if the audience gets lost, you’re doomed. They lose momentum.

    For you, Bruce, it must be interesting to evolve this character — in the tiniest of fractions of a percent.

    Campbell: Ash has dialogue, finally! Look at the first three movies. He has, like, nine lines of dialogue.

    Given that he’s still immature, but now kind of mature, is it fun to figure out the balance?

    Campbell: Now he’s verbally immature! I don’t know — I like the fact that he can speak now. Full sentences. They’re not great sentences, but they’re full sentences.

    Tapert: You know, one of the strengths of the franchise has always been Ash alone battling something unseen, or an unseen force. So Bruce has spent a great deal of time in the franchise, as a whole in the movie, fighting himself or fighting an unseen enemy.

    At least in the series as it goes on, he’s got a lot of people he can talk to. Which makes it easier acting, although every time we have him alone, nobody is better at their own fighting the unseen than Bruce. I just always marvel at how Bruce alone is a lot of fun.

    So many Easter eggs referencing your home state of Michigan in Season 1. What elements of Michigan lore are you still waiting to introduce into this series?

    Campbell: We’ve got Faygo Redpop going. That was important. We’ve introduced a new line of beer, Shemps Beer, which is important to me, because Ash would have his own beer that we can use.

    Tapert: You know, a lot of ’70s music and icons … The music is retro when it works, and we look there first, going to Michigan bands. So things that we knew …

    Campbell: There’s some good stuff. The B sides — it’s the B side of everything too. You’ve got B movies, here’s the B side. It’s a perfect match.

  • Xena Will Be Openly Lesbian in Reboot Series

    XenaXena, Warrior Princess, is coming out of the closet.

    Javier Grillo-Marxuach, the showrunner guiding the reboot of “Xena,” has indicated he intends to make the main character openly lesbian. He wrote a blog post addressing the controversial fate of a lesbian character on the CW drama “The 100,” on which he served as writer and co-executive producer:

    “I am a very different person with a very different world view than my employer on The 100 – and my work on The 100 was to use my skills to bring that vision to life. Xena will be a very different show made for very different reasons. There is no reason to bring back Xena if it is not there for the purpose of fully exploring a relationship that could only be shown subtextually in first-run syndication in the 1990s.”

    That relationship was between Xena and her sidekick, Gabrielle. Fans believed the two had romantic feelings for each other, but it was never really expressed in the syndicated series. Even Lucy Lawless thought her character was gay.

    “There was always a ‘Well, she might be or she might not be’ but when there was that drip of water passing between their lips in the very final scene, that cemented it for me,” she told Lesbian News in 2003. “Now it wasn’t just that Xena was bisexual and kinda liked her gal pal and they kind of fooled around sometimes, it was ‘Nope, they’re married, man.’”

    The “Xena” reboot is expected to air sometime later this year.

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  • Best of Late Night TV: Daniel Radcliffe’s Water War, Liam Neeson’s ‘Candy Crush’ Movie

    Jimmy Fallon suggested a new game for the family to play on Thanksgiving, preferably outdoors: “Water War,” a twist on the card game “War,” where the loser of each hand has to be doused with water. “The Tonight Show” and, well, he’s really going to need a change of underwear before that film premiere. The overall winner got to water cannon the loser. As a side note, it’s hard to get used to DanRad with that shaved head. But he does NOT look like Voldemort!

    Anthony Anderson told Jimmy Kimmel he gets mistaken for other famous people all the time — like Ruben Studdard, Ice Cube, and Cedric the Entertainer. One time, in Africa, he was mistaken for Idris Elba and he figured he “got a stroke of luck and upgraded or Idris Elba done fell the hell off.”

    Here are two interesting things to know about “Hunger Games” star Jena Malone: She had a stunt head to appear bald in the new “Hunger Games” movie, and her grandfather popularized the dollar slot machine. She didn’t even know that about her grandpa, Jimmy looked him up.
    Chiwetel Ejiofor talked to Conan O’Brien about playing paintball with his “12 Years a Slave” co-star Michael Fassbender and Fassy’s father. Apparently the game started friendly but Fassbender is a paintball fiend and he cheated. He’s ruthless! He could’ve been a good Negan on “The Walking Dead.”
    Anna Faris and Joshua Jackson were on “The Late Late Show with James Corden” and answered the acting question of what’s harder, laughing or crying? So Anna and Joshua gave some crying lessons using a special tear stick. James’s tears came out great, even if they blinded him.
    Lucy Lawless and Bruce Campbell were on “The Late Show” and Lucy said Bruce looks just like Stephen with his glasses on, so Bruce tested the theory by taking over the show. They do look a bit alike.
    Last, but not least, Stephen Colbert decided it’s only a matter of time before Activision makes a “Candy Crush” movie, starring a big name like Liam Neeson. So here’s “Candy Crush: The Movie” with Stephen and Liam Neeson. It’s too long, but props to Neeson for even doing this.
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  • 5 Things to Expect From Starz’s ‘Ash vs. Evil Dead’

    It’s been several decades since Ash vs. Evil Dead.”

    Thirty years after first stumbling across the Necronomicon and awaking something evil in the woods, the snarky, sex-crazed demon hunter is back in business. He’s much older and worse for the wear, of course, but none of that will stop him from fighting the good fight (and bedding any distressed damsel he can find).

    Moviefone screened the first few episodes of the new series, which we think may appeal to lifelong fans of the franchise and newer audiences alike.

    Here are five spoiler-free things to expect from the Halloween premiere:

    1. Bruce Is Back and Groovier Than Ever
    Bruce Campbell isn’t just this show’s titular hero and top-billed executive producer; he’s the heart and soul of the entire “Evil Dead” franchise. So, for this new Starz series to have any chance of succeeding, he will have to knock it out of the park on a weekly basis. That’s no easy feat for any actor, let alone one who’s pushing 60 and hasn’t played an action hero in several decades.

    Thankfully (if not miraculously), Bruce pulls it off. His quips are perfectly timed and his stunts are believable – he plays the funny, fearless scoundrel to perfection. Has he aged? Sure, but that’s a large part of the show’s charm. Yes, Bruce is back and he’s groovier than ever.

    2. Perfect Blend of Horror and Humor
    Contrary to popular belief, hilarity and horror aren’t mutually exclusive. A lot of horror offerings try to be funny (and vice versa), but rarely does a film or movie succeed on both fronts. Well, “Ash vs. Evil Dead” is the exception to the rule. The show is funny -– really funny -– and it has plenty of legitimately frightening moments.

    For example, when Ash spanks a woman with his wooden hand while making puns, you’re probably going to laugh. But when she turns around and shows him her demon face (and screams “I’m coming… TO GET YOU!”), it’s genuinely creepy.

    3. Sex, Drugs, and Rock ‘n’ Roll Motif
    The world has changed since Sam Raimi made the first “Evil Dead” in 1981, but Ash most certainly has not. From the opening scenes of “Ash vs. Evil Dead,” it’s clear our atypical hero’s only motivations are getting laid, getting drunk and/or high, and doing it all to Deep Purple’s “Space Truckin.’”

    You’d think an undead invasion would bring about a shift in priorities -– especially after we learn his excessive partying might actually have caused the evil dead to return -– but you’d be wrong. Ash is and will always be Ash.

    4. Badass Women
    One way in which “Ash vs. Evil Dead” surpasses its cinematic predecessors is in its portrayal of strong women. The “Evil Dead” films were centered a demon-slaying chauvinist (however endearing), so it was smart of Starz to bring aboard a few tough females who can more than hold their own.

    There is Amanda (“Sleepy Hollow’s” Jill Marie Jones), a cop who is confronted with “deadites” early on and doesn’t hesitate to pump them full of lead; Kelly (Dana DeLorenzo), one of Ash’s ValueStop co-workers who nearly breaks his wrist after he tries hitting on her; and then there’s a mysterious woman named Ruby, played by the Warrior Princess herself, Lucy Lawless.

    5. Meta-Humor and Self-Awareness
    “Ash vs. Evil Dead” isn’t “Mad Men” or “The Wire” and doesn’t try to be. The Starz series knows it’s the sequel to a few dusty old cult films about a demon hunter with a chainsaw for a hand, and it’s never afraid to poke fun at itself.

    Whereas the heroes of most action-filled offerings are blessed with great strength or intellect, “Ash vs. Evil Dead” makes a running joke of Ash’s lack of wisdom and poor physique. He was no world-class athlete even his evil-slaying prime, after all, so it makes sense that, now, after decades of unhealthy living, he’s barely able to muster up enough stamina for sex in a bar bathroom.

    “Ash vs. Evil Dead” premieres Halloween night on Starz at 9 p.m.
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  • NBC Confirms the Rumored ‘Xena’ Reboot and Lucy Lawless Reacts

    Xena“Xena: Warrior Princess” is definitely getting a makeover!

    NBC confirmed that it is moving forward with a reboot of the cult fave fantasy action series. “Yes, we’re in the early stages of developing a new take on ‘Xena’ and we’re looking for a writer. We want to do it,” NBC Entertainment chairman Bob Greenblatt told The Hollywood Reporter.

    There’s been some back and forth on a possible new “Xena,” with original series star Lucy Lawless tweeting that all the talk was just rumor. Now, it seems plans are solidifying, as NBC develops the project with producers Robert Tapert (Lawless’s husband) and Sam Raimi.

    As THR notes, the new Xena would combine the “charisma and charm of Lawless and the smarts of ‘The Hunger Games’ Katniss,” but the exact direction of the character and series would be up to the writer.

    As for how Lawless might figure into the new series, which is targeted for 2016, Greenblatt said, “We’d love to have Lucy be a part of it — if we felt that her presence didn’t overshadow the direction we take with it. I’m not sure how she could be part of it if she wasn’t playing Xena, and I don’t know if that’s a direction we’ll ever go.”

    Lawless herself didn’t weigh in on her involvement, but did commend the fans for stoking the “Xena” fire:


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  • ‘Xena’ Stars Lucy Lawless and Renee O’Connor Had a Reunion, Fueling Our Reboot Hopes

    Xena Warrior Princess Television StillsThere’s still no official word from those involved with “Xena: Warrior Princess” about that rumored NBC reboot of the beloved fantasy series, but a new photo of the show’s two stars has only added fuel to the fire.

    Earlier this week, titular “Xena” star Lucy Lawless posted an Instagram selfie featuring her former co-star, Renee O’Connor (a.k.a. Gabrielle), captioning the pic, “Still hanging with my gal.”

    Still hanging with my gal #Reneeoconnor @reallucylawless #xena #gabrielle

    A photo posted by Lucy lawless (@reallucylawless) on


    Lawless offered no additional comment on the snap, but based on those smiling faces, we can’t help but dream up what they may have been chatting about while catching up. Perhaps how to modernize “Xena” for the millennial audience? After all, that rumored reboot was said to have been targeted at a Katniss Everdeen-loving crowd, and we can’t think of anyone who kicks as much ass as Katniss — except for Xena and Gabrielle.

    A reboot would make sense for “Xena,” too, since Lawless’s husband, Rob Tapert, has already launched a sequel series of horror franchise “The Evil Dead” on Starz, alongside creator Sam Raimi and original star Bruce Campbell — and Lawless is set to cameo, too. Tapert, Raimi, and Campbell were all involved with “Xena” at one point; if the gang is already back together, why not continue that trend with “Xena” as well?

    We’re keeping our fingers crossed for this one. Stay tuned.

    [via: Lucy Lawless]

    Photo credit: Getty Images

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