Moviefone Editorial

Tag: The Umbrella Academy

  • ‘Place of Bones’ Exclusive Interview: Heather Graham

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    Opening in theaters on August 23rd is the new western ‘Place of Bones’ from director Audrey Cummings (‘She Never Died’), which stars Heather Graham (‘Boogie Nights’ and ‘The Hangover’) and Tom Hopper (‘The Umbrella Academy’ and ‘Space Cadet’).

    Related Article: Emma Roberts and Tom Hopper Talk Prime Video’s ‘Space Cadet’

    Heather Graham as Pandora in the horror/thriller, 'Place of Bones', a The Avenue release. Photo courtesy of The Avenue.
    Heather Graham as Pandora in the horror/thriller, ‘Place of Bones’, a The Avenue release. Photo courtesy of The Avenue.

    Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with actress Heather Graham about her work on ‘Place of Bones’, her first reaction to the screenplay, her strong character, working with Tom Hopper, collaborating with director Audrey Cummings, making a Western and more.

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

    Heather Graham as Pandora in the horror/thriller, 'Place of Bones', a The Avenue release. Photo courtesy of The Avenue.
    Heather Graham as Pandora in the horror/thriller, ‘Place of Bones’, a The Avenue release. Photo courtesy of The Avenue.

    Moviefone: To begin with, what was your first reaction to the screenplay and why did you personally wanted to be a part of this project?

    Heather Graham: Well, when I read the script, I thought it was surprising. I didn’t know where it was going. We had a screening last night, and actually, a few of my friends said, “I really had no idea where this movie was going. I had no idea what was going to happen”. I just think it was a great character. As an actress, you want to find a juicy role, and it was fun to play this tough badass woman who’s super smart and gets to shoot bad guys with a gun. I think that you feel drawn into the story. You care about the characters. As an actress, you want an interesting role. For me, it’s doing something different where I feel like I get to play this tough badass character who can outsmart these bad guys. That was very fun.

    MF: Without giving anything away, were you surprised by the direction that the script goes in?

    HG: Yes, the ending is a super surprising ending that I was totally shocked by, but I like that, when I feel like I’ve never seen this before. It’s a different way of telling this kind of story.

    Heather Graham as Pandora in the horror/thriller, 'Place of Bones', a The Avenue release. Photo courtesy of The Avenue.
    Heather Graham as Pandora in the horror/thriller, ‘Place of Bones’, a The Avenue release. Photo courtesy of The Avenue.

    MF: Pandora is a strong, independent, and resilient character. Can you talk about your approach to playing her?

    HG: I think my character’s had a hard life, so I basically have decided I’m going to keep my daughter safe. I’m going to keep her away from the rest of society because I don’t want anything to happen to her that happened to me. This fierce independence, I love that about my character. I’m flawed but I’m also a good mom in some ways. I think I have a lot of anger and bitterness and maybe I’m protecting her too much, but at the same time, I can understand why she would do that.

    MF: Pandora has spent a long-time away from civilization, can you talk about how she feels when these strange men approach her home?

    HG: I think a lot of bad things have happened to my character and my husband died, and I think I’m just incredibly resourceful. I think I read a lot of books. I think I know how to do a lot of things, so I know how to survive in the most difficult circumstances.

    (L to R) Heather Graham as Pandora and Corin Nemec as Calhoun in the horror/thriller, 'Place of Bones', a The Avenue release. Photo courtesy of The Avenue.
    (L to R) Heather Graham as Pandora and Corin Nemec as Calhoun in the horror/thriller, ‘Place of Bones’, a The Avenue release. Photo courtesy of The Avenue.

    MF: Can you talk about the unlikely alliance that Pandora makes with Calhoun?

    HG: I think it’s an interesting relationship that we have. It’s not your typical movie relationship, but he’s likable and unlikable. He’s a good guy and a bad guy, and I think that I see who he is, and I don’t let him fool me, like he probably is a smooth talker. Even though he’s kind of a bad guy, he’s complicated and he shows up at the end being more of a good guy. I like that I don’t ever really trust him. Everybody’s really complicated in this movie, and nobody’s perfectly good except for maybe the daughter, but she’s pretty screwed up, too.

    MF: Brielle Robillard plays your daughter, can you talk about working with her?

    HG: Yeah, she’s awesome. She’s new, she’s young. She is so good. I just watched the movie on the big screen last night for the first time, and she did such a great job and she’s so real. The whole story for me is about how much I love my daughter and want to protect her and help her to have a better life than I had.

    (L to R) Heather Graham as Pandora and Brielle Robillard as Hester in the horror/thriller, 'Place of Bones', a The Avenue release. Photo courtesy of The Avenue.
    (L to R) Heather Graham as Pandora and Brielle Robillard as Hester in the horror/thriller, ‘Place of Bones’, a The Avenue release. Photo courtesy of The Avenue.

    MF: Can you talk about preparing for the action sequences?

    HG: The gun shooting is fun. I had to do a stunt where I’m shooting at this guy and then I fall over, and they had a stunt woman there for me, but I ended up doing it myself. Then everybody clapped, and the stunt people were like, “Great.” So, I felt like I got cred with the stunt department. That was cool.

    MF: I know you only have a few scenes with him but what was it like working with Tom Hopper?

    HG: We have a big scene at the end where he’s so scary. He’s so cool. He’s so nice. He’s super cute. Him and his wife, they eat healthy. He was showing me this food that he cooks that looks amazing. He’s kind of the opposite of this character, but in the movie, he’s terrifying and horrible. The thing is, you take this guy whose so movie star handsome, and you want to like him because he’s just so handsome, but then his character is so horrible.

    Tom Hopper as Bear John in the horror/thriller, 'Place of Bones', a The Avenue release. Photo courtesy of The Avenue.
    Tom Hopper as Bear John in the horror/thriller, ‘Place of Bones’, a The Avenue release. Photo courtesy of The Avenue.

    MF: What’s Audrey Cummings like to work with as a director on set?

    HG: It’s awesome. I love working with a female director, and she’s cool. She loves genre movies, and it’s just fun. I think we both related to the Pandora character, so we had a great time together.

    MF: In general, what are you looking for from a director when you’re working on set?

    HG: I think you want to work with someone who’s supportive, who believes in you, but also helps you bring out your best work. I think Audrey really helped ground me and make me more natural and real in the movie, which I really appreciated.

    (Right) Director Audrey Cummings behind the scenes of the horror/thriller, 'Place of Bones', a The Avenue release. Photo courtesy of The Avenue.
    (Right) Director Audrey Cummings behind the scenes of the horror/thriller, ‘Place of Bones’, a The Avenue release. Photo courtesy of The Avenue.

    MF: What’s it like making a western and are you a fan of the genre?

    HG: It’s a mixture of being very beautiful, and it was freezing. It was so cold, I was dying. It was very uncomfortable. I like Westerns, but I sometimes feel like there’s not enough female energy or female characters in them, so I felt like this was exciting because it told a little bit more of a female story.

    MF: Finally, and again, without giving anything away, the film mixes the Western genre with other genres, can you talk about that?

    HG: Yeah, it’s got aspects of being a thriller, it’s got aspects of being horror, and then I feel like there’s a lot of humor in it, which I was surprised last night at the screening. A lot of people were laughing in a lot of places, so it’s kind of disturbing, but also it makes you laugh. It’s not so much horror that you can’t sleep at night because of your nightmares.

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    What is the plot of ‘Place of Bones’?

    On a remote ranch, a mother (Heather Graham) and her daughter fight for survival when a wounded outlaw (Corin Nemec) seeking refuge brings a notorious bank robber (Tom Hopper) and his ruthless gang, all desperate to reclaim a stolen fortune, right to their doorstep in this action-packed horror Western.

    Who is in the cast of ‘Place of Bones’?

    (L to R) Corin Nemec as Calhoun and Heather Graham as Pandora in the horror/thriller, 'Place of Bones', a The Avenue release. Photo courtesy of The Avenue.
    (L to R) Corin Nemec as Calhoun and Heather Graham as Pandora in the horror/thriller, ‘Place of Bones’, a The Avenue release. Photo courtesy of The Avenue.

    List of Heather Graham Movies:

    Buy Tickets: ‘Place of Bones’ Movie Showtimes

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  • ‘The Umbrella Academy’ Season 4 Cast Interviews

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    Premiering on Netflix August 8th is the fourth and final season of the popular superhero series ‘The Umbrella Academy’, which stars Elliot Page (‘Juno’), Tom Hopper (‘Space Cadet’), David Castañeda (‘End of Watch’), Emmy Raver-Lampman (‘The Beekeeper’), Robert Sheehan (‘Mortal Engines’), Aidan Gallagher (‘Modern Family’), Justin H. Min (‘After Yang’), Ritu Arya (‘Polite Society’), and Colm Feore (‘Thor’).

    Related Article: Emma Roberts and Tom Hopper Talk Prime Video’s ‘Space Cadet’

    Tom Hopper and Aidan Gallagher star in Netflix's 'The Umbrella Academy' season 4.
    (L to R) Tom Hopper and Aidan Gallagher star in Netflix’s ‘The Umbrella Academy’ season 4.

    Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Tom Hopper and Aidan Gallagher about their work on ‘The Umbrella Academy’ season 4, their reaction to the final scripts and if they met their expectations, what the show has meant to them personally, what they’ll miss most about the series, and working with showrunner Steve Blackman.

    You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Hopper, Gallagher, Robert Sheehan, Justin H. Min, Ritu Arya, and showrunner Steve Blackman.

    Emmy Raver-Lampman as Allison Hargreeves, Elliot Page as Viktor Hargreeves, Tom Hopper as Luther Hargreeves in 'The Umbrella Academy'.
    (L to R) Emmy Raver-Lampman as Allison Hargreeves, Elliot Page as Viktor Hargreeves, Tom Hopper as Luther Hargreeves in ‘The Umbrella Academy’. Photo: Christos Kalohoridis/Netflix © 2024.

    Moviefone: To begin with, Tom, what was your first reaction to the screenplays for the final season and did they meet your expectations?

    Tom Hopper: I thought the screenplays of the season, just what I recognized straight off the bat, they were funnier. There was across the board, they were much more comedic and fun, but then they never lost what the deeper meaning of what the show is all about, which is the family and their struggles. It’s through those themes that is why it’s so great as a show. But I loved it, and my concern really was that we were going to be able to tell this story in 6 episodes instead of 10 to really finish it off, but I thought Steve Blackman did a great job at sculpting it.

    MF: Aidan, what was your reaction to the final screenplays and the direction your character would take this season?

    Aidan Gallagher: Well, we don’t receive them all at once. As we’re shooting, we’ll get further and further episodes, but there is a pitch meeting where they’ll talk about arcs, so at least you know where you’re going, and you can lay the foundation for your path. But that kind of makes it better as a viewer because by the time you get around to watching the show, a lot of it feels like a new thing to you, and you don’t know what the sets look like or how the performances are edited. By the time everyone’s done their bit in collaborating, you’re left with something you didn’t expect, which is wonderful. The screenplays specifically of just reading the scripts, I was incredibly happy for the arc that Five goes on this year. I thought it was a universal thing and just an interesting place to find and leave the character.

    Aidan Gallagher as Number Five in 'The Umbrella Academy'.
    Aidan Gallagher as Number Five in ‘The Umbrella Academy’. Photo: Courtesy of Netflix © 2024.

    MF: Aidan, how much were you told about your character’s arc before you started shooting season 4?

    AG: When we’re approaching a new season, there is a pitch meeting of what we’re told is going to happen on a story arc level, but we don’t know everyone else’s bits. We just know our own character arc. So, there’s a day-to-day thing of you arrive on set with the crew and try and make the best of the scene, and it is only as good as everybody else around you, and we have incredible production and cast, and every day I just try not to bring that down and try and maintain the bar of excellence.

    MF: Tom, what has it meant to you to be part of this series and work with this cast?

    TH: From day one it’s been a real gift for me personally and as an actor. I think if you get one gig like this your entire career where it hits all the boxes like this one has, then I think you’re very lucky. I feel very fortunate. It ticks the box in terms of success, the fun we have on the show, how it comes across, the whole shebang, and the friendships you’ve made. We really created a family environment on this and became so tight as people on and off camera. So, it’s been such an amazing journey.

    Robert Sheehan as Klaus Hargreeves, Emmy Raver-Lampman as Allison Hargreeves, Tom Hopper as Luther Hargreeves, Justin H. Min as Ben Hargreeves, Aidan Gallagher as Number Five, Elliot Page as Viktor Hargreeves, David Castañeda as Diego Hargreeves, Ritu Arya as Lila Pitts in 'The Umbrella Academy'.
    (L to R) Robert Sheehan as Klaus Hargreeves, Emmy Raver-Lampman as Allison Hargreeves, Tom Hopper as Luther Hargreeves, Justin H. Min as Ben Hargreeves, Aidan Gallagher as Number Five, Elliot Page as Viktor Hargreeves, David Castañeda as Diego Hargreeves, Ritu Arya as Lila Pitts in ‘The Umbrella Academy’. Photo: Christos Kalohoridis/Netflix © 2024.

    MF: Aidan, what will you miss about working on this show?

    AG: The experience of getting to work on this show over the course of from 13-years-old to, I think I was maybe 19 or 20 when we left off shooting, but it’s a big chunk of your life. I learned a lot. I get to work with some incredible people. It’s a hard thing to sum up, but I’m going to miss the specific way that that all felt. Everything in life has its own colors that come together to make the way that you feel and your own perspective of it, and I’m never going to get that exact combination again. So, I’m just trying to appreciate it while it’s fading away.

    MF: Finally, Tom, what was it like working with showrunner Steve Blackman on this series and watching him execute his unique vision for the show?

    TH: Steve’s just been the best. He’s become a very close friend as well. His ability to collaborate and give us freedom as actors has been, I think one of the best things about the experience really. We’ve been able to play and really find these guys ourselves and bring ourselves to these roles. He’s given us that license. But he’s very good. He’s so talented at sculpting out a show and giving us the best material to work with. As I said at the beginning, it’s truly a gift, what he’s created for us here. I’m very grateful to Steve for the opportunity to come and play this role and get to play with these guys.

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    What is the plot of ‘The Umbrella Academy’ Season 4?

    The Hargreeves siblings (Elliot Page, Tom Hopper, David Castañeda, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Robert Sheehan, Aidan Gallagher, and Justin H. Min) have scattered after the climactic showdown at the Hotel Oblivion led to a complete reset of their timeline. Stripped of their powers, each is left to fend for themselves and find a new normal — with wildly varying degrees of success. Yet the trappings of their uncanny new world prove too hard to ignore for very long. Their father Reginald (Colm Feore), alive and well, has stepped out of the shadows and into the public eye, overseeing a powerful and nefarious business empire. A mysterious association known as The Keepers holds clandestine meetings believing the reality, they’re living in is a lie and a great reckoning is coming. As these strange new forces conspire around them, the Umbrella Academy must come together one last time — and risk upsetting the shaky peace they’ve all endured so much to secure — to finally set things right.

    Who is in the cast of ‘The Umbrella Academy’ Season 4?

    • Elliot Page as Viktor Hargreeves
    • Tom Hopper as Luther Hargreeves
    • David Castañeda as Diego Hargreeves
    • Emmy Raver-Lampman as Allison Hargreeves
    • Robert Sheehan as Klaus Hargreeves
    • Aidan Gallagher as Five Hargreeves
    • Justin H. Min as Ben Hargreeves
    • Ritu Arya as Lila Pitts
    • Colm Feore as Sir Reginald Hargreeves
    • Nick Offerman as Dr. Gene Thibodeau
    • Megan Mullally as Dr. Jean Thibodeau
    • David Cross as Sy Grossman
    Elliot Page as Viktor Hargreeves, Emmy Raver-Lampman as Allison Hargreeves, Aidan Gallagher as Number Five, Robert Sheehan as Klaus Hargreeves, David Castañeda as Diego Hargreeves, Justin H. Min as Ben Hargreeves, Ritu Arya as Lila Pitts in 'The Umbrella Academy'.
    (L to R) Elliot Page as Viktor Hargreeves, Emmy Raver-Lampman as Allison Hargreeves, Aidan Gallagher as Number Five, Robert Sheehan as Klaus Hargreeves, David Castañeda as Diego Hargreeves, Justin H. Min as Ben Hargreeves, Ritu Arya as Lila Pitts in ‘The Umbrella Academy’. Photo: Courtesy of Netflix © 2024.

    Other superhero TV Shows:

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  • ‘Umbrella Academy’ Renewed for Season 2 by Netflix

    ‘Umbrella Academy’ Renewed for Season 2 by Netflix

    The Umbrella Academy trailer still
    Netflix/YouTube

    “The Umbrella Academy” is officially returning for Season 2.

    Netflix announced it has ordered a 10-episode second season of superhero drama based on the Dark Horse Comics created by Gerard Way. Production will begin this summer.

    Ellen Page (Vanya), Tom Hopper (Luther), David Castañeda (Diego), Emmy Raver-Lampman (Allison), Robert Sheehan (Klaus), Aidan Gallagher (Number Five), and Justin Min (Ben) are set to reprise their roles.

    It’s unknown if time-traveling assassins Hazel (Cameron Britton) and Cha-Cha (Mary J. Blige) will be back. Blige had a one-year deal on the show.

    Season 1 ended on a major cliffhanger, which could upend the entire structure of the show.

    [SPOILERS HEAD]

    In the finale, Number Five used his time-traveling abilities to save his siblings from the world-ending apocalypse. It seemed that they reverted to their adolescent bodies.

    Way has written three comic books and has plans for five more. And though the show hasn’t followed the books’ timelines and plots exactly thus far, showrunner Steve Blackman told The Hollywood Reporter, “The idea is not to deviate too much.”

    “We want to stay on course with what the comics are doing, and having that plan ahead of time allows us to set some things up now for later seasons, things that you’ll see and later be like, ‘Oh, I get that now, they did that for this reason.’ That’s what we’re thinking ahead to.”

  • ‘The Umbrella Academy’ Trailer: Super-Dysfunctional Superheroes Try to Save the World

    ‘The Umbrella Academy’ Trailer: Super-Dysfunctional Superheroes Try to Save the World

    The Umbrella Academy trailer still
    Netflix/YouTube

    An unconventional and dysfunctional family of superheroes bands together in “The Umbrella Academy.”

    The upcoming Netflix series starring Ellen Page and Mary J. Blige debuts soon, and the streamer has unveiled the official trailer. It introduces viewers to outlandish superheroes who share an unusual backstory. As we see in the preview, they were adopted as children after being born to women who gave birth after showing no signs of pregnancy the day before.

    The six siblings’ lives aren’t exactly together, nor are they a lovey-dovey family. However, circumstances reunite them and keep them together. With the apocalypse looming, they have to team up and work toward a solution.

    Watch the trailer below.

    “The Umbrella Academy” cast also includes Aidan Gallagher, Tom Hopper, Cameron Britton, David Castrañeda, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Robert Sheehan, Colm Feore, Adam Godley, John Magaro, Ashley Madekwe, and Kate Walsh. It is based on Gerald Way and Gabriel Bá’s comic book series of the same name. Way and Bá serve as executive producers alongside Jeff F. King, Mike Richardson, Keith Goldberg, and showrunner Steve Blackman. The series is produced by Universal Cable Productions for Netflix.

    “The Umbrella Academy” hits Netflix on Feb. 15.