(Left) Actor Walton Goggins attends with ‘Fallout’ Cast and Creators at The Game Awards at Peacock Theater on December 07, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. Photo by Anna Webber/Getty Images for Prime Video. (Right) Chloë Grace Moretz attends ‘Nimona’ NY Special Screening at AMC Lincoln Square Theater on June 24, 2023 in New York City. Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for Netflix.
Preview:
Walton Goggins and Chloë Grace Moretz are aboard to star in ‘Mister’.
It’ll mark the directorial debut of Second Unit specialist and stunt coordinator Wade Eastwood.
The producers of ‘John Wick’ are backing this one.
Wade Eastwood, an accomplished stuntman, stunt coordinator and second-unit director is now making the leap to the main chair –– and filming is scheduled to kick off in Madrid next month, with ‘John Wick’ production company Thunder Road involved.
Written by Nicki Cortese and Nick Inglis, ‘Mister’ follows a man (Goggins) who wakes up in a strange house covered in blood and comes to realize his true identity while fighting off contract killers from his past — including everyone from his exes to his best friend. To get out, he teams up with his estranged daughter (Moretz) who also has ended up in the family business, but they will need to repair their relationship in order to survive.
Wade Eastwood talks the new leads
(L to R) Chloë Grace Moretz and Julianne Moore in 2013’s ‘Carrie’. Photo: Sony Pictures Releasing.
Eastwood said this about his new cast:
“From our first conversations, I knew Walton would bring an unpredictable spark you simply can’t manufacture — he’s electric. Chloë brings an incredible mix of strength, vulnerability and razor-sharp timing. Together, they make Mister exactly what we set out to create: bold, funny and completely full-throttle.”
Walton Goggins in ‘The White Lotus’ Season 3. Photo: Fabio Lovino/HBO.
Arriving on Prime Video on December 17 is the second season of ‘Fallout’ (one episode will release weekly), the wild and chaotic adaptation of the popular game title.
‘Fallout’ proved to be a hit when it premiered in April last year, and now here comes the next chapter. Can the show continue to bottle the same level of chaotic dystopia, wild dark humor and a surprising level of heart?
On the evidence of the six episodes (of eight total) provided to press to review, the answer is a mixed yes.
Showrunners Graham Wagner and Geneva Robertson-Dworet, plus the likes of creative partners Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, keep up a similar level of madness as Lucy (Ella Purnell) and the Ghoul (Walton Goggins) continue their journey through the wasteland.
The show remains an entertaining watch, though the second season still suffers from some of the issues of the first –– when the narrative focus switches from the main duo (or flashbacks to the Ghoul’s past life as movie star Cooper Howard, wrapped up in the events that led to the dystopian wasteland) –– the interest level does tend to dip.
And that’s despite fun guest turns from the likes of Kumail Nanjiani and someone who has a long ling with voice work in the games that we won’t spoil here.
Visually, the show has lost none of its blend of steampunk/‘Mad Max’-esque charm, and the production values remain high.
Purnell and Goggins continue to be the standouts of the show, the joint beating heart. Some of the new communities they meet along the way certainly entertain and Kyle MacLachlan’s Hank is also great value, experimenting on the poor schlubs at the Vault-Tec building he heads to in Vegas.
On the villainous front (not that there are strict black-and-white sides in this world), Justin Theroux is enjoyably slimy as Robert House, an iconic manipulator from the game.
‘Fallout’s blend of sly satire, raucous action (the series appears to be looking to give Prime Video stablemate ‘The Boys’ a run for its money in terms of heads exploded or otherwise damaged), continues, even if some elements feel repetitive and the storyline’s interest level dips away from the main duo.
The new season picks up in the aftermath of Season One’s epic finale and take audiences along for a journey through the wasteland of the Mojave to the post-apocalyptic city of New Vegas.
Based on one of the greatest video game series of all time, ‘Fallout’ is the story of haves and have-nots in a world in which there’s almost nothing left to have. Two hundred years after the apocalypse, the gentle denizens of luxury fallout shelters are forced to return to the irradiated hellscape their ancestors left behind — and are shocked to discover an incredibly complex, gleefully weird, and highly violent universe waiting for them.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of sitting down in-person with Walton Goggins to talk about his work on the second season of ‘Fallout’, how The Ghoul has changed since season one, what excited the actor about season 2, and if he knows Cooper Howard’s full backstory or if he likes learning about it with the audience.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Goggins, Aaron Moten, Moisés Arias, and series creator Geneva Robertson-Dworet.
MF: To begin with, how has The Ghoul changed since season one and what you were most excited about exploring with the character this season?
Walton Goggins: We pick up where we left off in season one with the Ghoul and with Cooper Howard. Season one begins on this post-apocalyptic road trip across the Mojave Desert heading to New Vegas. He’s traveling with Lucy. He’s able to see her as a human being for the first time. This is the first time he’s been around a person for any length of time and a very long time. She has a different point of view than mine. She’s an optimist. I’m a nihilist. On the other side of this, one of them will win out. Either she’ll become more like me, or I’ll become more like her. The thing that was so challenging that I found myself being resistant to was being vulnerable. It was like the inverse of what I usually get to experience. So that was interesting. You dovetail that in with Cooper Howard, and picking up with him finding out that his wife is a principal architect for the ending of the world, and him realizing that the rug was pulled out from underneath him and the world that he thought existed doesn’t exist and he is living in a world of chaos, and he has no control over it. We get to spend so much more time with Cooper this year, so you really get to see it from his point of view and how that informs The Ghoul. You understand him more predicated on Cooper’s experience.
MF: Finally, how much of Cooper Howards’ backstory do you know at this point? Did the writers tell you his entire history, or do you learn more about the character episode to episode like the audience does?
WG: No, I think it’s changing. I mean, I have a direct pipeline to obviously the writers and to Jonah, and I’ve been invited to sit at the table and to collaborate with shows and movies for a long time now, so I get that extension, that courtesy, if you will. So, we do have those conversations and what that means, what could it mean? Then we’ll have those talks and then it might be what we talked about, or it might be something radically different. But we all are trying to go in the same direction and say something because it’s through Cooper Howard that you experience the world before the bombs dropped. The Ghoul is unique in this world and that all the other factions want to have the world look like they want it to look. The Ghoul, he wants nothing from the world. He just wants to find his family. That’s all.
The second season continues the story set in the wasteland of post-nuclear America and will introduce New Vegas, a major location from the video game ‘Fallout: New Vegas’.
Walton Goggins and Amber Midthunder will lead action thriller ‘Painter’.
‘John Wick’s Derek Kolstad wrote the script.
Stunt coordinator Garrett Warren is directing.
It appears 20th Century Studios is ready to get into the ass-kicking business.
The studio has picked up a script called ‘Painter’ from ‘John Wick’ writer Derek Kolstad that promises plenty of the action for which his work has become known.
Behind the camera, we’ll have Garrett Warren, a veteran stunt coordinator whose credits include last year’s ‘Road House’ and a couple of the ‘Avatar’ movies, making his feature directorial debut here.
Which might be why a certain Mr. James Cameron is aboard the new film as an executive producer.
‘Painter’ follows a young woman, trained from a young age, who must employ every skill in her arsenal to rescue her father after he is kidnapped. Midthunder is playing the young woman. Goggins will play the father.
It definitely would appear to fall into the basic action mold we’ve seen from a lot of films in the last decade since the likes of ‘John Wick’ and ‘Taken’ landed on screens. Hopefully, Cameron’s input –– at least, as much as he can offer given his busy ‘Avatar’ schedule –– will help to elevate it.
Where else can we see Walton Goggins and Amber Midthunder?
As for Goggins, he scored an Emmy nomination for his work on the third season of ‘The White Lotus,’ and one for playing the Ghoul in Prime Video’s game adaptation ‘Fallout.’
The actor will be back for the second season of ‘Fallout, which arrives on December 17.
Paul Walter Hauser in Samir Oliveros’ ‘The Luckiest Man in America’. Photo Credit: Courtesy of IFC Films. An IFC Films Release.
‘The Luckiest Man in America’ receives 6.5 out of 10 stars.
Opening in theaters on April 4th, ‘The Luckiest Man in America’ takes a real-life event as the basis for a comedy drama about a quiz show champ whose winning ways come into question during one fraught day filming ‘Press Your Luck.’
Paul Walter Hauser leads a considerable cast for the new movie, directed by Samir Oliveros from a script he wrote with Maggie Briggs.
Does ‘The Luckiest Man in America’ avoid the whammy?
Walton Goggins in Samir Oliveros’ ‘The Luckiest Man in America’. Photo Credit: Courtesy of IFC Films. An IFC Films Release.
While younger (well, younger-ish, the figures for the likes of Gen Z and Gen Alpha watching a legacy game show are probably not healthy) audiences know ‘Press Your Luck’ as the quiz show hosted by Elizabeth Banks, that version does sometimes call back to the history of the series, which stretches back to 1983.
This new movie charts a real-life event that happened during a taping on the show, when the most unlikely player somehow managed to get on to set as a contestant. It’s certainly a strange story, and Samir Oliveros’ take on does include some invention wrapped around the basic facts. He only had the actual episode recording to go on (which is on YouTube), so there are scenes set in the control room and before Michael Larson gets on the set that are entirely fabricated.
Yet the whole does hang together decently, the tone pretty much consistent and the ticking clock quality of the day on set giving the movie as a whole a propulsive quality. Yet it’s also burdened with a story that doesn’t quite work and despite some impressive work from a talented cast, not everything functions as it should.
Script and Direction
(L to R) Brian Geraghty and Paul Walter Hauser in Samir Oliveros’ ‘The Luckiest Man in America’. Photo Credit: Courtesy of IFC Films. An IFC Films Release.
Director Oliveros and his co-writer Briggs (who came up with the story –– at least the fictional chunks), have put plenty of work into figuring out the chaos that must have erupted between executives and other staff when Larson’s winning streak really got moving and the bosses started to suspect that he might have figured out the patterns of the board to make sure he kept winning and not land on the show’s famous “Whammy” characters, the little red cartoons who gleefully take any winnings (and ultimately banish a player from the show if they hit more than four).
All of that is clearly conveyed in the script, and while Michael Larson was obviously a real person, it’s impressive how much detail the writers have filled in about him and those who are both on stage and off it. The issue comes when the story starts to run out of steam and little and even Larson isn’t well served.
Oliveros’ directing style does well mimicking the look of the series back in the day, and segues effectively between an authentic 1980s style and the feel of the behind-the-scenes areas.
Cast and Performances
(L to R) Brian Geraghty, Paul Walter Hauser, and Patti Harrison in Samir Oliveros’ ‘The Luckiest Man in America’. Photo Credit: Courtesy of IFC Films. An IFC Films Release.
Paul Walter Hauser is a big part of why the movie succeeds at all. As Larson, he’s a complicated mix of quirky loner and desperate grifter. And he’s excellent as both sides of the character –– at once loveable and weird, but always believable.
It’s a pretty perfect match for the actor’s skillset, since Hauser has bringing people like these to screens for years now, and he’s also had some experience walking the fine line when playing characters based on real-world personalities.
You’ll completely buy him as this oddball, ice cream truck-driving obsessive, whose past life is littered with money making schemes and a marriage that is seriously on the rocks.
Twitchy and nervous when it starts to appear that his appearance on the show might just be his latest scheme, Hauser is great portraying Larson.
He’s matched by David Strathairn (no stranger to a based-on-truth story himself), the veteran actor playing egotistical, calculating executive producer Bill Carruthers. He’s all strutting peacock-disguised-as-homey-man-of-the-people, who makes the decision to override his casting team to invite Larson onto the show after the potential contestant takes someone else’s audition spot.
David Strathairn in Samir Oliveros’ ‘The Luckiest Man in America’. Photo Credit: Courtesy of IFC Films. An IFC Films Release.
Strathairn is also great at portraying Carruthers’ flop sweat as Larson’s winning ways continue as he’s forced to justify the decision to those who write his paychecks.
Walton Goggins makes an impact as Peter Tomarken, the host of the show, who becomes increasingly worried for his own job and starts to improvise as Larson’s earnings rack up. Playing one of the few well-known people in the story, he brings his own flair to it, but doesn’t deviate so far from the recognizable version of Tomarken.
Shamier Anderson plays Chuck, the head of casting for the show, who buts heads with Carruthers’ over Larson’s last-minute selection. Anderson does excellent work as the character, fully channeling his frustration while keeping him relatable.
In smaller roles, we have ‘Game of Thrones’ veteran Maisie Williams as Sylvia, a fresh-faced production assistant on the show who wrangles the talent and conducts tours. She’s fine in a more limited scope. Likewise Brian Geraghty and Patti Harrison as Larson’s fellow contestants.
Finally, Haley Bennett doesn’t have too much to do as Larson’s wife, but she brings some healthy, genuine emotion to the proceedings.
Final Thoughts
Johnny Knoxville in Samir Oliveros’ ‘The Luckiest Man in America’. Photo Credit: Courtesy of IFC Films. An IFC Films Release.
Given how fascinating the real-life story of the movie is, it’s frustrating at times that it rarely feels like ‘The Luckiest Man in America’ takes full advantage of it.
Yet it’s still a well-considered take on a particular piece of quiz show history.
What is the plot of ‘The Luckiest Man in America’?
1984, Michael Larson (Paul Walter Hauser), an unemployed ice-cream truck driver from Ohio, steps onto the game show “Press Your Luck” harboring a secret: the key to endless amounts of money. But his winning streak gets threatened when the executives in the control room start to uncover his real motivations.
Who is in the cast of ‘The Luckiest Man in America’?
Opening in theaters on March 7th is the new biographic sports drama ‘Queen of the Ring’, which is based on the book of the same name and tells the inspiring true story of groundbreaking professional wrestler Mildred Burke.
Emily Bett Rickards in ‘Queen of the Ring’. Photo: Intrinsic Value Films & TV.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Emily Bett Rickards and filmmaker Ash Avildsen about their work on ‘Queen of the Ring’, developing the screenplay, Rickards’ approach to the character and learning to wrestle, how Avildsen wanted to shoot the wrestling sequences, Mildred’s complex relationship with Billy Wolfe and working with Josh Lucas, Mildred’s importance to the history of wrestling and female athletes, and if Rickards would want to be a “Babyface” or a “Heel” if she were a professional wrestler.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews.
(L to R) Emily Bett Rickards and Kamille in ‘Queen of the Ring’. Photo: Intrinsic Value Films & TV.
Moviefone: To begin with, Ash, can you talk about learning of Mildred Burke’s true story, developing the book the movie is based on into a screenplay and the themes that you wanted to explore with this film?
Ash Avildsen: I grew up a huge pro wrestling fan. I never knew about her story. I was planning on telling a fictional 80s story that had a triumphant ending because it didn’t really exist in film with pro wrestling. ‘The Wrestler’ was a masterpiece, but it was also a much darker tale. So, I called (executive producer) Jim Ross, I said, “Would you be willing to make kind of a love letter with me to all of the best 80s stories, and we bring it into a fictional world?” He goes, “Yeah, but by the way, have you ever heard of Mildred Burke?” I said, “No, who’s that?” He goes, “Read the book, ‘Queen of the Ring’, and let me know what you think.” I read it that weekend. I called him on Monday. I said, “Forget about the 80s fictional thing. We have to tell Mildred’s story.” Because I was just so enamored by it. From there we started developing the script and it’s just inspiring and unorthodox. It’s really a unique family drama in the world of period women’s pro wrestling. I just felt it was a story that I hadn’t seen before, and the fact that it was true and that it was kind of forgotten gave me my own chip on my shoulder as a fan of the world. How did we let this get forgotten about it? I just really became emotionally invested into it and then the journey began to try and get it made. Then we got lucky that Emily was interested and available because I can’t imagine anyone else. I think people are really going to love her performance.
MF: Emily, what was your first reaction to the screenplay and learning of Mildred’s story, and your approach to playing her?
Emily Bett Rickards: When I first read the script, I was immediately hooked. I had to know more about this woman. I also was so touched that the script was written with such heart as well as in this world of wrestling that I didn’t know anything about. So, to have that immediate empathy on the page is sort of what we go to the movies for and what you hope every script will have. It’s a delight when you get a gem like that. Then diving deep into her life, there was no turning back. We’re lucky enough that there’s so many photos of her, which I think are important. She wanted herself to be seen, and you can kind of see the gentrification of who she became in a sense, and who she was driving her persona to become, which as an actor is like candy. It’s just such a treat. Then, once we started filming, I don’t know, I feel like she’s here. It was like she had arrived in a sense. We very much wanted to tell this story in a way that she’d be proud of and would do her story justice. There were moments where I felt like she was with us. So yeah, it was a true honor.
(L to R) Kamille and Emily Bett Rickards in ‘Queen of the Ring’. Photo: Intrinsic Value Films & TV.
MF: Emily, can you talk about how you prepared physically for this role and was it difficult learning all the wrestling moves?
EBR: When I arrived in Louisville, I think we had about three weeks of wrestling training, wrestling rehearsals strictly, which pretty much is, get in the ring as much as possible. Learn not only choreography, but be around this wrestling world, which was everybody at OVW (Ohio Valley Wrestling) who sort of took me under their wing, shared their wrestling stories, and their love for wrestling with me, which was also helpful. It wasn’t just about what was on the mat, it was about why do we fall in love with this? Why do you personally fall in love with your persona and what that means to you and what is this performance behind the physical aspect of this stage work? Then before that, I was at home in Vancouver and I was training with my trainer Thomas Taylor, as well as Dr. Diego Botezelli, who created a workout and meal plan for me for the rest of the shoot as well as while I was away. So, it was about six months of weightlifting and eating a lot of chicken breast, having chicken at the ready and pumping weights at the ready at any chance I could get.
MF: Ash, can you talk about how professional wrestling was different back then and specifically how you wanted to shoot the wrestling sequences?
AA: So sometimes in other films, they do a great job of going tight in the ring, going handheld, and making it a bit shakier and more stressful, which is a great way of showing the intensity. With ‘Queen of the Ring’, I wanted it to be more kind of showing the beauty of the art form versus the danger of it. We obviously have moments of danger in the ring, especially when they’re having shoot matches, but it’s such a beautiful art form of storytelling and circus, and it’s like this destructive but magical ballet that they’re doing, and we wanted that to be seen. So, there’s a lot of shots where you can see it a bit more as you’d be seeing it if you were in the audience at the event. That was intentional, especially because we had actors and wrestlers that had so committed to it that we were going to be able to pull off the moves and the stunts and have them look great, which that’s kind of the big thing for the pro wrestling community. Is it going to be authentic? Do they know what they’re doing? I think we, thankfully, because of OVW and because of the actors and the stunt team and Andy Strahorn our fantastic DP, we were able to pull that off. So, we intentionally wanted to show the beauty of wrestling. Then of course, there’s certain things we had to limit for the time-period. They didn’t really start jumping off the top rope until later. So, we didn’t show any of that. We did take some creative liberties with the holds and the submissions because we felt in the present day it would be a bit easier to translate on the screen if we manipulated some of the moves a little bit but keeping the heart of the match the same. Then we have to kind of take creative liberties from the book to making a formidable screenplay and what’s going to play right. But yeah, what they were doing back then was so unheard of that we wanted to show that more than showing like, “Hey, this is really stressful.” We’re in the ring. They’re doing these moves. There’s no right or wrong. It was just a creative choice, but we wanted people to really have fun watching the matches versus getting stressed unless that was the point of it, which is what happens with the shoot matches, which is a great fight without a script.
(L to R) Emily Bett Rickards, Josh Lucas and Gavin Casalegno in ‘Queen of the Ring’. Photo: Intrinsic Value Films & TV.
MF: Emily, can you talk about Mildred’s complicated relationship with Billy Wolfe and what it was like working with Josh Lucas?
EBR: Me working with Josh is, it’s an honor. From the moment we met over Zoom to read through the first maybe five or six scenes of Billy and Mildred, I was very aware that I was in the presence of someone who was going to be able to share this experience with me. Not only that but strengthen it and deliver what was on the page. Their relationship, I think we even toned down to a certain extent from their real lives. But from that perspective, there’s abuse and manipulation and Mildred’s drive for her dream is really where she got her strength from to keep going. As a woman of the time, I think we at least show her in the light of strength and show her going after what she wants. Though she is making sacrifices for that, she is choosing to hopefully go after this dream of what she wants and for the betterment of women and women today.
MF: Ash, can you talk about Mildred’s importance not just to the history of wrestling but also to the history of women athletes in America?
AA: I mean, on a cultural level, just from physique, I think it was big to show that women could be muscular and fit and have definition to their bodies and be beautiful and considered sexy and glamorous because it just wasn’t, from my research up until Mildred Burke, that was not really in culture at all. She brought it into pop culture in a major way. Also showing that, you see how they must keep dealing with Billy Wolfe because there’s no other places, they can go to do what they love and keeping the audience on the ride of Mildred, even though there are things like domestic violence and repeated infidelity. Part of the thing that made me love the story so much is that you’re still rooting for this woman in such a flawed, dark world. It’s not that the movie’s going to be like some crazy hard R. We chose to tell it in a more, I think PG-13 world, mainly because I want young people to be inspired by it and be allowed to see it. But when I try to describe it to people, I say, imagine that back then you’re an actress and there’s only one studio that has female actors in movies, and that studio is controlled by a Weinstein type guy, who’s violent, and that’s the only way you can do your dream. What are you going to do? There’s no right or wrong or perfect answer. It’s a messed-up situation. But that’s how it was back then because it was illegal in a lot of places. He was the only person that was really giving the women a platform. So, you love this guy for his brilliant mind and his bravery to do it for women, but you hate him because of all his horrible flaws. That’s what really drew me to the story, because life isn’t perfect. People aren’t perfect. Chasing your dreams if you’re trying to do something like this is not easy. Same thing with acting or music or anything in entertainment. It’s a messy, confusing world where lines get blurred. So much of this story, is that’s how it was back then. But even worse, because there weren’t options to go to. It was if you want to do this, you got to deal with this complicated and dangerous man. But that was also what Emily was saying earlier. I urge everyone to read the book. The book is a lot more brutal, and we did make creative choices to keep the audience still relating to Mildred’s decisions to continue the road she was on. Because when some of the things that happened, you’re going, “Oh, forget it. Don’t go back.” But then you realize, this is the only way. So, it was a balancing act of staying true to the story, but also not having the audience just throw their hands up in the air going, “What is this woman doing?”
(Left) Emily Bett Rickards in ‘Queen of the Ring’. Photo: Intrinsic Value Films & TV.
MF: Finally, Emily, if you were a professional wrestler, would you be a “Babyface” or a “Heel’?
EBR: I think I’d want to be a heel. Everyone says heels have more fun. I would have to say that I’ve had the experience of playing Mildred, so maybe I’ll go for the heel next time around.
MF: Ash, which would you want to be?
AA:I mean, the best path, which really what started happening later in the 90s was that you become a heel, but you’re so good at being a heel, that the audience starts to love you and you transform into a face. That’s kind what happened with The Rock (Dwayne Johnson), Stone Cold (Steve Austin) and Macho Man (Randy Savage). He’s my personal favorite. Oh, (Rowdy Roddy) Piper is great, and ‘They Live’ is great. That movie was ahead of its time. I recommend everyone go see Roddy Piper in ‘They Live’. They need to re-release that movie. But heels do have more fun. It’s easier to get someone to hate you than it is to love you.
SZUYYiD8PTMoa26jx7I573
What is the plot of ‘Queen of the Ring’?
The film chronicles the life of revolutionary female wrestler, Mildred Burke.
(L to R) Jason Isaacs, Parker Posey, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Sarah Catherine Hook, and Sam Nivola in ‘The White Lotus’ Season 3. Photo: Fabio Lovino/HBO.
‘The White Lotus’ Season 3 receives 7 out of 10 stars.
Launching on HBO and streaming service Max with its first episode on February 16th, the third season of Mike White’s darkly hued comedy drama series ‘The White Lotus‘ is set at yet another location for the fictional, titular luxury resort chain, this time the lush climes of Thailand.
We’re greeted with a (mostly) new set of characters, all carrying some emotional baggage to complement their fancy suitcases. The question that must be asked, though, is the third time the charm?
(L to R) Morgana O’Reilly, Arnas Fedaravičius, Christian Friedel, Dom Hetrakul, and Lalisa Manobal in ‘The White Lotus’ Season 3. Photo: Fabio Lovino/HBO.
“Everyone who comes to Thailand, they’re either hiding from someone or looking for someone…” So says one of the characters early in the season, and so it proves true: whether that means the someone they’re after or hiding from is a faith, a stranger or themselves.
Mike White has the formula down pat for the show now, and the real issue here is that it feels like he’s just putting minor spins on ideas that have been explored before. The characters might be different, but there is the typical clash between the spoiled guests and the staff who must cater to their whims, and while it would be boring if everyone were happy and settled, the crises don’t perhaps always add up to the same level of drama as previous outings.
Script and Direction
Walton Goggins in ‘The White Lotus’ Season 3. Photo: Fabio Lovino/HBO.
White, who writes and directs every episode like an extended indie movie (albeit with the hefty budget of a prestige HBO show) brings his usual style and wit to the show, crafting another group of memorable characters.
Yet, as mentioned, they feel like versions of other seasons’ guests –– the younger ones are mostly looking for hedonistic party times, while the elders want to relax and escape their stressful lives.
And there is the standard assortment of people dealing with personal issues, from financial difficulties to a tragic secret from their past that has them simmering with vengeful anger that they’ve not shared with anyone around them, so everyone else thinks they’re just grumpy.
While the exploration of faith and religion as the big theme is new here, it’s not as fresh as it might be given how one young character explored the native traditions of Hawaii back in the first season, and again their wealthy, slightly conservative parents can’t quite understand the appeal or feeling like it’s a failure in upbringing.
Thankfully, the cast help to elevate the material.
Cast and Performances
(L to R) Carrie Coon, Michelle Monaghan and Leslie Bibb in ‘The White Lotus’ Season 3. Photo: Fabio Lovino/HBO.
Given the show’s award-winning ways, it’s not surprising that an excellent crop of actors has agreed to show up for Season 3 (and the promise of spending some time in a tropical locale, all expenses paid, doesn’t hurt either). You may find yourself, however, wishing they had fresher scripts to work from –– and there are other issues too.
Walton Goggins plays Rick Hatchett, a wealthy sort (one of those who prefers not to discuss in detail how they earned their fortune) who is traveling with younger girlfriend Chelsea (a funny and spirited type brought to life by ‘Sex Education’s Aimee Lou Wood).
Rick’s the aforementioned man on a mission, though he has not disclosed that to anyone, and Goggins plays him with appropriate snark and gruffness, and he makes for an entertaining duo with Wood.
Then we have Michelle Monaghan’s Jaclyn Lemon, a TV actress traveling with two old friends, Carrie Coon’s Laurie and Leslie Bibb’s Kate. Away for a girls’ trip on Jaclyn’s dime, you won’t be shocked when old issues rear their heads between them and the lure of an attractive young man who works at the hotel drives a wedge into a friendship that was already starting to drift apart over the years.
(L to R) Parker Posey and Jason Isaacs in ‘The White Lotus’ Season 3. Photo: Fabio Lovino/HBO.
Filling the spot of wealthy-but-troubled family there’s Jason Isaacs as Timothy Ratliff, at the resort with pill-popping wife Victoria (Parker Posey) and their brood, gym bro Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger), who has gone into financial business working for his dad, spiritual Piper (Sarah Catherine Hook) who has her own reasons for the trip and bookish Lochlan (Sam Nivola), who Saxon is looking to draw out of his shell.
While the performances are all solid, the biggest issue for that group is Isaacs attempting a Texan accent, which seems to wander around the States and occasionally sounds Australian. While the actor has done good work in the past, here the accent gets in his way.
Around them are the staff, including solid supporting turns from Tayme Thapthimthong as ambitious security officer Gaitok, who has a thing for resort worker and dancer Mook (Lalisa Manoban), whose stories will become knotted up with the guests.
And Natasha Rothwell makes a welcome return as Belinda from Season 1, who is given a little more depth here.
Final Thoughts
Patrick Schwarzenegger in ‘The White Lotus’ Season 3. Photo: Fabio Lovino/HBO.
‘The White Lotus’ knows what it needs to do each season and does it with style. If it perhaps feels a little less fresh these days, there is still enough mystery to keep you hooked and ready to spend time with these people –– no matter how annoying some of them might turn out to be.
HBO gave press the first six episodes of eight, so we can’t tell you whether the show solves its lingering background mystery as well as previous seasons, but it’ll keep you guessing.
3Xp3ggJ95wtjBgecKT1Vb3
What’s the plot of ‘The White Lotus’ Season 3
The new season of the show brings a fresh group of wealthy characters (and the return of Natasha Rothwell’s spa worker Belinda Lindsey from Season 1’s Maui resort, who is hoping to pick up some tips from the staff) traveling to the lush jungles and beaches of Thailand.
Here, some of the characters are ready to explore faith and mysticism, others are looking for some much needed bonding time and at least one has a dark hidden agenda for their trip that could have a tragic fallout.
Who is in the cast of ‘The White Lotus’ Season 3
Leslie Bibb as Kate
Carrie Coon as Laurie
Walton Goggins as Rick Hatchett
Sarah Catherine Hook as Piper Ratliff
Jason Isaacs as Timothy Ratliff
Lalisa Manobal as Mook
Michelle Monaghan as Jaclyn Lemon
Sam Nivola as Lochlan Ratliff
Lek Patravadi as Sritala
Parker Posey as Victoria Ratliff
Natasha Rothwell as Belinda Lindsey
Patrick Schwarzenegger as Saxton Ratliff
Tayme Thapthimthong as Gaitok
Aimee Lou Wood as Chelsea
‘The White Lotus’ Season 3. Photo: Fabio Lovino/HBO.
Macaulay Culkin in ‘Party Monster’. Photo: Strand Releasing.
Preview:
Macaulay Culkin is joining ‘Fallout’ Season 2.
Prime Video’s adaptation of the video game series saw success when it launched this year.
The post-apocalyptic story will continue.
Prime Video found itself with a winner on its hands –– at least critically, but according to parent company Amazon, also in terms of viewership –– this past April, via ‘Fallout,’ the quirky, post-apocalyptic thriller series drawn from Bethesda Game Studios’ wildly popular set of video games.
It debuted as one of Prime Video’s Top 3 most watched titles and earned 16 Emmy nominations for its first season, including Outstanding Drama Series.
According to Deadline, Season 2 will see ‘Home Alone’s Macaulay Culkin joining them, his role mostly a mystery but apparently someone who is a crazy genius. Which seems fitting for the mad world in which ‘Fallout’ takes place.
‘Fallout’ is the story of haves and have-nots in a world in which there’s almost nothing left to have.
Two-hundred years after the apocalypse, the gentle denizens of luxury fallout shelters are forced to return to the irradiated hellscape their ancestors left behind—and are shocked to discover an incredibly complex, gleefully weird, and highly violent universe waiting for them.
Season 2 promises to deliver more of the madness, mutants and mysteries audiences came to enjoy from the first.
Purnell plays Lucy, an optimistic Vault Dweller with an all-American, can-do spirit. Her peaceful and idealistic nature is tested when people harm her loved ones.
Aaron Moten stars as Maximus, A young soldier who hides his tragic past as he serves in a militaristic faction called Brotherhood of Steel. He believes in the nobility of the Brotherhood’s mission to bring law and order to the Wasteland — and will do anything to further their goals… until he learns some harsh truths.
Goggins steals scenes as The Ghoul. The Ghoul survives the Wasteland as a bounty hunter. He is pragmatic, ruthless, and hides a mysterious past.
MacLachlan is Hank, the Overseer of Vault 33 and Lucy’s father. He is eager to change the world for the better –– but has turned out to be not so positive…
When will Season 2 be on screens?
Given that it’s only now started shooting, we’re expecting to wait a while for this one. Hopefully it’ll be before the end of 2025.
Launching on Prime Video with all eight episodes on Thursday April 11th, ‘Fallout’ manages the tough ask of bringing a complex and sprawling video game to life in a way that will feel familiar to fans of the game and its darkly humorous style while also spinning its own tale set in that universe.
Continuing the trend for successful video game adaptations, the new show is a wild, freewheeling and well-acted ride through a landscape that feels familiar and yet has plenty of invention to spare.
With their ambitious adaptation of ‘Westworld’, Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy proved they have what it takes to bring a popular story to life in a new way. And even if that series ultimately ended up trying itself up in intellectual knots, it had a lot to say about technology, humanity and society whilst presenting some unique visions and concepts.
‘Fallout’, which never pretends to explore such high-minded ideals, is its own way smart, satirical and entertaining while also being far wilder and out there in execution. And that’s thanks primarily to show co-creators and overseers Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Graham Wagner, who really let loose when it comes to the oddball characters and creatures populating this story.
If you’re an established fan of Tim Cain’s games, then you’ll find plenty to enjoy here. And if not, you won’t be turned off.
Perhaps the smartest move that Robertson-Dworet and Wagner made is to set this TV iteration of ‘Fallout’ in its own story, borrowing concepts and some key characters from the game, but introducing us to an out-there scorched Earth primarily through the eyes of devout and plucky Vault Dweller Lucy (Ella Purnell). As with the game, we experience the craziness that lurks outside the protective doors initially in contained form when her Vault is attacked, and her father (Kyle McLachlan’s Hank) kidnapped.
It makes for a handy, organic way to provide the necessary exposition as Lucy makes her way through this terrifying, beautifully-designed world, meeting dangerous people and unusual creatures created in the centuries since America was set aflame in nuclear combat.
Lucy’s story in particular works well as a narrative focal point, but there’s also some welcome depth to the antagonist of the piece, the Ghoul, played by Walton Goggins. Looking for all the world like a cousin to Marvel’s Red Skull, he’s also a combo of grizzled gunslinger and bitter warrior. And the show digs further into his backstory in ways that we won’t spoil here.
Which is not to say Nolan in particular doesn’t have a hand in the show –– he directs the first three episodes, dictating the tone and style of the show, and here feels like a director unrestrained after the statelier, brain-fodder feel of ‘Westworld’ (for all that show’s bursts of violence). He and the creative team have crafted a truly lived-in look to the ‘Fallout’ world, with distinctive characters and intriguing plot turns.
Purnell is more than able to carry the show as Lucy, who has her preconceived notions of how the world should work quickly shattered when she ventures beyond the Vault following its breaching by raiders. It’s through her eyes that we see most of the story, and Purnell brings plenty of charisma to the part, along with a strength and steel that Lucy needs to survive.
Yet its Goggins who has the most to do here –– he’s the first character we meet in the time before the nuclear attack, his long-lived nature is explored and explained, and there are flashbacks to the man he was back then. It’s a fully-rounded role and one that the experienced character fills with gusto and his usual scuffed charm. There’s a sly humor to his present-day demeanor and some real pathos in his past.
If there is a weak link among the show’s stories, it’s perhaps in Aaron Moten’s Maximus, the young, brutalized member of the Brotherhood of Steel, an armed force dedicated to unearthing the former world one item at a time and enforcing their own mechanized brand of rough justice on the current one. While the attitude of the Brotherhood and his own rebellious reaction to it offers some fun, it’s perhaps a little more straightforward than some of the other elements and doesn’t work as well.
Which is no fault of Moten, who contributes a likeable, conflicted performance in the role. Around them is an excellent cast of supporting characters, with Michael Emerson it’s best to experience for the first time on screen, so as not to diminish its entertainment factor. Suffice to say, it’s the sort of quirky performance in which he excels.
‘Fallout’ should serve as both a way into the story for those who’ve never played the game and a worthy extension of the world for those who have completed the various releases and have a Vault Boy Funko Pop giving them a thumbs-up from their desk.
We’ve seen any number of post-apocalyptic stories through the years, and if this borrows some common tropes and visuals, it has more than enough tweaks and humor to keep it feeling unique and often laugh out loud funny –– when it’s not being gruesome. But it’s always compelling and can stand proudly among the better adaptations of game content.
The show depicts the aftermath of an apocalyptic nuclear exchange in an alternate history where advances in nuclear technology after WWII led to the emergence of a retrofuturistic society and a subsequent resource war. The survivors took refuge in fallout bunkers known as Vaults, built to preserve humanity in the event of nuclear annihilation. Two centuries later, a young woman (Ella Purnell), a descendant of the original “Vault Dwellers” from one of many Vaults, leaves behind the only life she has ever known to venture out into the dangerously hostile and savage Wasteland of a devastated Los Angeles.
(L to R) Ella Purnell and Aaron Moten talk ‘Fallout.’
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Ella Purnell and Aaron Moten about their work on ‘Fallout’, their first reaction to the screenplay, their knowledge of the game, their characters, and the world that Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy have created.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Purnell, Moten, Kyle MacLachlan, Michael Emerson, executive producer and director Jonathan Nolan, and executive producers and writers Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Graham Wagner.
Moviefone: To begin with, Ella, what was your first reaction to the screenplay and what were some of the aspects of your character that you were excited to explore on screen?
Ella Purnell: I remember it perfectly. I was sitting on the couch. I was ill, and every five pages I’d be like, “Wait, this is really cool.” I just kept going and kept going. I was absolutely blown away by the level of detail. I knew of the games, but I wasn’t familiar, I hadn’t played them at that point, so I wasn’t familiar with the tone. I got that from the script. I got the dark comedy, I got the balance of the humor with the heavy post-apocalyptic, and the fifties/sixties retro-futuristic style was so exciting to me. More than anything, it was the character. She, I just thought was so funny and direct, and I really loved her attitudes, which is partly a product of her upbringing and her environment, and partly just who she is. You know when you really want to watch a show that you should really try to be in the show.
MF: Aaron, how familiar were you with the game and what was your reaction to this incredible world that Jonathan Nolan and the writers have created?
Aaron Moten: I mean, I knew of ‘Fallout’, right? I was not of my friend group that got into playing ‘Fallout’ but I played other games at the time. Here’s this weird full circle moment where it’s like the world is telling me, “Hey, we’ll give you a chance now in real time to roam through these worlds.” I mean, it is incredibly detailed and it’s so dense, and that’s what makes it fun, especially as an actor to get to really feel like this is your playground for the day. It got so exciting where we would be looking at scripts and when we’d be talking on set about like, “Oh man, I can’t wait to see what they come up with for this setup. And where are we going to be for such and such scene?” It just was so thrilling, honestly, as an actor to get to live in this world.
MF: Ella, can you talk about Lucy’s journey and what she discovers about herself and the world around her after she leaves the vault?
EP: It’s a great question. What I like about Lucy is there’s so much more to her than what you see, and I think people will underestimate her, and I’m excited to show them what she’s capable of. She’s obviously incredibly naive and innocent. She grew up in a vault underground being drip-fed propaganda from a corporation her entire life. She’s the daughter of the overseer. She’s essentially the president’s daughter. She has a role and a duty and a belief that that is what she was bred and is going to do. I think people don’t know who they are sometimes until they’re put in a certain situation, a challenging situation. Only then do you really know what you’re made of. That for her is absolutely going to the Wasteland. I mean, she really goes through it. It’s tough for her, and she just has this bravery that emerges that I don’t think she even knew she had inside her. It comes from this inherent belief, and choosing to continue to believe that humans have inherent goodness inside them, no matter how evil and lawless they may appear to be on the Wasteland.
MF: Finally, Aaron, can you talk about Maximus’s role in the Brotherhood of Steel, and does he begin to question what he’s fighting for?
AM: Absolutely. I think, that’s one of these things that the characters have a lot of differences, between these three main characters, but they have similarities, and they have these touchstones of moments that they kind of separately share. I agree with until Maximus is put into certain situations, it’s a discovery of what do I really feel about something? I know that the Brotherhood is a harsh reality, and even being born and raised in the Wasteland would be a harsh reality. It’s a tough existence for Maximus and everything I think has been a bit of a struggle for him. So, survival being an important thing for all these characters, I think he’s trying to look out for himself at times but is he making a noble pursuit and it’s about rising-up, gaining power and fighting off his own devils because of that.
The show depicts the aftermath of an apocalyptic nuclear exchange in an alternate history where advances in nuclear technology after WWII led to the emergence of a retrofuturistic society and a subsequent resource war. The survivors took refuge in fallout bunkers known as Vaults, built to preserve humanity in the event of nuclear annihilation. Two centuries later, a young woman (Ella Purnell), a descendant of the original “Vault Dwellers” from one of many Vaults, leaves behind the only life she has ever known to venture out into the dangerously hostile and savage Wasteland of a devastated Los Angeles.
