Hamilton - The Pilot News

Transcription

Hamilton - The Pilot News
Aliens invade Washington in
P.13
‘BrainDead’
‘Animal Kingdom’ The
darker side of motherhood
P.15
‘Uncle Buck’ Mike Epps
gives character his spin P.17
‘Hamilton’
looks to steal the spotlight at
The 70th Annual Tony Awards
Starring Phillipa Soo, Renée Elise Goldsberry and
Jasmine Cephas Jones (from left), airing Sunday on CBS
folio
Connect to these shows within this magazine!
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What’s
HOT this
Week!
contents
YOURTVLINK
the story!
The 70th Annual Tony Awards
TOP STORIES
3 The 70th Annual Tony Awards
Maybe they should just call this year’s ceremony
the Hamiltonys, given how the musical megasmash “Hamilton” scored a record-breaking 16
nominations.
12-13 “BrainDead” (SERIES PREMIERE)
Going from “The Good Wife” to a saga of alien bugs
taking over Washington, D.C., isn’t exactly predictable
… but that’s just what creators and executive
producers Robert and Michelle King are doing with
the seriocomic “BrainDead,” premiering Monday on
CBS. Jay Bobbin talks with them and series star Mary
Elizabeth Winstead (“10 Cloverfield Lane”) about the
show’s timeliness and tone.
FOOD
7 ‘Big Bad BBQ Brawl’ takes meat smoking to a
new level.
REALITY
16 AFI award reaffirms John Williams as moviemusic superman.
SPORTS
18-19 “Lefty” looks for first U.S. Open title.
MOVIES
20-21 Theatrical Review, and Our top DVD
releases
IN EVERY ISSUE
22-23 Our top suggested programs to watch this
week!
Visit YourTVLINK.com
for more stories!
Our Staff
Writers: Jay Bobbin, George Dickie, John Crook
Graphic Design: Nicolle Burton
Quality Team: Michelle Wilson, Lisa Webster, Chris Browne
Page 2 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote June 12 - 18, 2016
14-15 “Animal Kingdom” (SERIES PREMIERE)
Ellen Barkin stars as the matriarch of a dysfunctional
crime family in “Animal Kingdom,” a TNT remake of
the 2010 Australian film. Co-stars Barkin and Scott
Speedman and executive producers Jonathan Lisco
and John Wells discuss making the series.
17 “Uncle Buck” (SERIES PREMIERE)
ABC takes a swing at turning a successful theatrical
movie into a series with its premiere of “Uncle Buck.”
Co-stars including Mike Epps, Nia Long and James
Lesure talk with George Dickie about the series and
their characters.
CELEBRITY
4 ‘Hotel Hell’s’ Gordon Ramsay: chef,
triathlete, fly fisherman
5 Tori Spelling faces ‘Danger’ again
6 ‘Celebrity Food Fight’ Richter can
stand the heat
8 ‘Aquarius’ star Duchovny loves the
1960s
9 Eddie Jackson trades the gridiron for
barbeque
Editor's choice
STORY
‘Hamilton’ expected to dominate
at CBS’ 70th Annual Tony
Awards presentation
By John Crook
The Broadway musical blockbuster “Hamilton,” Lin-Manuel
Miranda’s audacious and iconoclastic chronicle of the life of
Alexander Hamilton, is the odds-on favorite to prevail during
The 70th Annual Tony Awards, airing live in most markets
Sunday, June 12, on CBS.
From New York’s Beacon Theater, CBS late-night host
James Corden hosts the ceremonies, which will include
performance highlights from nominated musicals and plays.
Since it opened on Broadway last August, “Hamilton,” which
stars Renée Elise Goldsberry, Phillipa Soo and Jasmine
Cephas Jones, has become a pop-culture reference point,
shorthand for the kind of theatrical megahit everyone wants
to see but few can get tickets for. The show racked up a
record-breaking 16 Tony nominations, including best musical,
with three nods for Miranda as the title star as well as the
creator of the book, music and lyrics.
Counting Miranda, seven members of the “Hamilton” cast
are up for Tonys. Among them, the most familiar face to
many Tony viewers probably will be Goldsberry, who played
devious assistant State’s Attorney Geneva Pine on “The
Good Wife” for much of its run. In the Tony race, she’s up
for best featured actress in a musical for her performance
as Alexander Hamilton’s sister-in-law, Angelica Schuyler.
Angelica and her sister Eliza Hamilton often don’t merit even
a footnote in some history books, but the musical celebrates
their quick wit and keen intellectual curiosity.
“I think sometimes, especially with young girls, there is
an assumption of a shallowness or superficiality to their
motivations,” Goldsberry says. “These women are out looking
to be challenged by a powerful mind that would match them.
I don’t know that we have heard that story told about our
founding mothers.”
“Hamilton” has managed to reach across demographic
lines to connect with both older, more traditional Broadway
audiences and younger theatergoers who are fans of hiphop and rap, chiefly because Miranda’s score embraces
multiple styles, as musically varied as its cast is ethnically
diverse. Goldsberry says she likes to think of “Hamilton” as a
blend of opera and mix-tape.
“This score is a compilation of all the music that Lin grew up
listening to,” she explains. “There’s a lot of rap and hip-hop,
but there’s also a lot of musical theater and a lot of R&B.
S
There’s a British pop tune that harkens back to the Beatles.
There are very traditional moments, and others that sound
much more ‘forward.’ It runs the gamut in the way that our
stories can and should at this point in the world.”
The propulsive rhythms of the score keep the historical
saga moving at a brisk clip, but when the situation requires
it, Miranda also can craft a song like “It’s Quiet Uptown,” a
haunting ballad that follows a devastating personal loss for
Alexander and Eliza.
“It’s just so beautiful,” says Goldsberry, whose character
sings most of this number. “I was so blown away by Lin’s
ability to perfectly capture moments that I didn’t know how
he understood so well. He’s a father now, but he wasn’t
when he wrote that song. He so perfectly describes those
kinds of moments in our lives, with that lyric that goes ‘There
are moments that the words don’t reach.’ When I read that, I
just kept thinking, ‘How are you able to do this?’ ”
Goldsberry already has won a Drama Desk Award and
a Lucille Lortel Award for playing Angelica, as well as a
Grammy Award as a member of the principal cast on the
“Hamilton” recording. Many Tony pundits consider her the
favorite in her category, but she faces formidable competition
from two other familiar TV faces: Jane Krakowski (“30 Rock”)
in a revival of “She Loves Me” and Danielle Brooks (“Orange
Is the New Black”) for a revival of “The Color Purple.”
The actress chooses her words with care when asked about
how much longer she plans to stay with the Broadway
production or if she wants to be a part of the inevitable
London transfer that will happen at some point.
“We haven’t spoken about other companies in any detail,”
she says. “At the moment, we are talking about what is best
for the Broadway company. That’s something I am excited
about being a part of, as it transitions eventually beyond
the Tonys, which we have looked forward to for so long. I’m
almost sure that I will stay with the show into that next stage,
post its inaugural year on Broadway.”
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CELEBRITY
George Dickie’s Q&A
GordonRamsay
of ‘Hotel Hell’ Tuesday on Fox
You’ve run the Ironman Triathlon.
Were you able to finish?
I’ve done two already, yes. I did Hawaii
in 2013, a 3.8-km swim, 180-km bike
and a 26.2-mile marathon. So yeah,
Hawaii was my first big one.
How long did it take you to complete
it?
13 hours. It gives me the respite.
(With) the hectic and crazy lifestyle
that I lead, if I don’t get that time to
myself, you never find that balance.
So swimming, I get to think of dishes
and what’s underneath the sea and
what I can do with it. On the bike, it’s
an amazing time to stay in one position
and just breathe and enjoy the scenery.
And on the run, it’s the bit where I tend
to struggle but that’s the bit where
my thinking time is. It’s three areas of
discipline and no one can get ahold of
me. I’m in my little land of my own and
it’s me time.
You’re also a salmon fisherman.
What’s the biggest you’ve caught?
I landed a 25-pounder once in Iceland
in Reykjavik, and this thing took me
about 30 minutes to land. And this
thing was so beautiful, I took one look
at it and I thought, “My God! A 25pounder, that’s literally 20 years in the
making.” I gave it the most amazing
kiss and then grabbed it and put it
back, sent it on its merry way.
Fly rod or spincast?
Oh no, spinner’s too easy. Fly. Fly, fly,
fly, oh yeah. Whether it’s a doublehanded spey cast or single, it doesn’t
matter. That’s where the art is.
Spinning is too easy.
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CELEBRITY
Jay Bobbin’s Q&A
ToriSpelling
of ‘Mother, May I Sleep With
Danger?’ Saturday on Lifetime
As you take the mom role in a new remake 20 years
later, do you consider “Mother, May I Sleep With
Danger?” significant in your career?
Oh, my gosh ... hands-down. It’s huge! People will
always come up to me and say, “Donna Martin
graduates!” (from “Beverly Hills, 90210”), but next to
that, it’s “Mother, May I Sleep With Danger?” That’s, like,
my entire career. For 20 years, that’s been the one that
stands out to everyone.
It’s so funny, because that’s the one that when I made
it, I wondered what it was going to look like on my
resume for the rest of time. I was like, “Ehh, no one
will remember this one.” And it’s been the cult classic
forever.
What was your first thought upon hearing it was
going to be remade?
I was so excited! I’ve actually wanted to remake it for
a while, and when I saw that all these reboots were
happening, I thought it was TV-movies that really need a
reboot.
Fans always come up and say, “I’ve watched all your
movies. They play them on weekends.” And I realized
that they don’t make those kinds of movies the way they
used to. They really need to make a comeback, and if
we ever did one, this would be the one to remake.
As it turned out, James Franco was the one to get
it moving, as both a star and an executive producer.
What do you think of his involvement?
It kind of happened out of the blue. In the same
sentence, I heard, “They want to remake it, and James
Franco is doing it.” And I was like, “What?” It was literally
the most shocking call I’ve ever gotten.
Click or tap on icon for more!
Since the new version adds the elements of
vampires and a same-sex relationship, how do you
think it compares to the original?
It’s an homage to the original, mainly just in title, but
that’s a good thing. If you’re a hardcore fan of the first
one, you’ll see the nuances in the remake – names and
some scenes you’ll recognize from the first one. Apart
from that, it’s a completely different take on it.
June 12 - 18, 2016 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote Page 5
CELEBRITY
George Dickie’s Q&A
Andy
RichteR
of ‘Celebrity Food
Fight’ Sunday on
Food Network and
‘Conan’ weeknights
on TBS
It used to be known as
gourmet.
Who of the celebrity guests on
“Celebrity Food Fight” surprised you
with their knowledge of food?
... We don’t go deep with any kind of knowledge. They’re kind
of like parlor games. They’re all kind of very tactile. We do a few
where it’s just kind of answering questions or spelling but most
of them are kind of active and physical in some ways. So we’re
not questioning how many ingredients are in trout meuniere, you
know? We’re just kind of making them build a burrito blindfolded.
That kind of thing. ... It’s fun for me because I know a fair amount
about food. I wouldn’t call myself a foodie because that’s a
horrible word.
Yeah exactly, and that’s too pretentious, too.
I just know food, I am a cook, I like to cook.
I’ve been cooking my whole life, so it’s fun
for me ... . We basically have a commercial
restaurant behind the set preparing all these
little appetizers and the food props and stuff,
and they’re all amazingly talented people, so
you get to experience a lot of really good food
and cool ingredients. And like I said, it’s exactly
what Food Network is. I cook at home and
there’s things that they were doing there that
made me think, ‘Oh s..., I’m gonna try that at
home. I’m gonna do that to a fish, what they
just did.’ That’s the idea of the whole place.
Any chance of getting
Conan on?
I don’t know. They’ll give it some time before
they start putting the screws to me about that.
But I would imagine someone would eventually
try and make that happen.
Click or tap here for more!
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FOOD
George Dickie’s What's for Dinner
Ambrosio
makes low and slow a little
faster on ‘Big Bad BBQ
Brawl’
As a barbecue chef, food-truck maven and dyed-in-the-wool smoker,
Shannon Ambrosio has an appreciation and a respect for the Southern
tradition of smoking low and slow. But as a native New Yorker, he’d like to
speed the process up a little.
And that’s the approach he tries to impart to the Southern pit masters he
meets in his Tuesday Cooking Channel series “Big Bad BBQ Brawl.”
“I don’t do a straight smoke,” Ambrosio explains. “You know, Southern
barbecue pit smoking usually takes a really long time. You know, that’s
kind of the idea – you get to sit around, hang out and do a lot of other
stuff. But me being from New York and from Brooklyn, I had to think of a
way to speed up this process. So me being a trained classic chef – you
know, I have a degree in the culinary arts – I started incorporating a lot
of these techniques that I learned in school to develop my own style and
learn how to do this smoking process a little bit faster than what normally
is done.”
Click or tap on icon for more!
In the half-hour series that premiered last week, Ambrosio and his crew
head to locales in Texas, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia to put his Northern barbecue skills to the test against his
Southern counterparts and exhibit the expedited techniques he’s developed over years of trial and error. And he’s come
to find out they’re not necessarily interested in them.
“I don’t know necessarily that they want to know so much about what I’m doing as much as they want to know why I’m
doing it,” Ambrosio says with a laugh, “which I love because for me, a lot of the experiences I get from those people,
the pit masters from the Southern region, they’re very traditional and they’re pretty much always focused on staying with
what they’ve been doing. And me, I’m always thinking unexpectedly. I’m always thinking what could it be and how could I
make it, not so much better, but just make it different.”
What book are you currently
reading?
“I’m just finishing up ‘A Curious
Mind: The Secret to a Bigger
Life,’ Brian Grazer’s book. I really
love his philosophy on curiosity
and I guess it relates a lot to me
because I’m curious about many,
many things and that’s what
pushes me to investigate and try
things. I’m the John Dewey guy.
Practice, practice, practice then
application.
What did
you have
for dinner
last night?
“I live
the real
chef’s life
sometimes,
so last
night, let’s
be honest,
was takeout
(laughs) ... .”
What is your next project?
“First of all, I love the show
and I can’t wait to get back
on the road because traveling
and cooking and getting to
experience different cultures
and lifestyles to me is
everything. ... My next project
I’d like to work on is probably
developing more of a product
line behind what I do. Getting
the mass market to understand
barbecue my way.”
When was the last vacation
you took, where and why?
“I love to be out West. I have
friends in Wyoming and I love to
go there. A buddy of mine is a
true-to-life cowboy, breaks horses,
the whole nine yards and he’s
amazing. He’s one of he best
silversmiths in the western side of
the United States. He’s amazing
and I love to go out there and visit
with him as much as I can.”
June 12 - 18, 2016 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote Page 7
CELEBRITY
George Dickie’s Celebrity ScooP
Many a thespian has turned to waiting
tables or tending bar to support themselves
between acting gigs. David Duchovny
became an actor to pay the bills while
writing poetry and fiction.
It was the mid-1980s and Duchovny was
pursuing a Ph.D in English literature at
Yale with the idea of becoming a writer and
eventually a teacher.
“It seemed to be the most logical way to
make a living while having enough time
off to write,” explains the 55-year-old New
Yorker, who returns as LAPD detective Sam
Hodiak when Season 2 of the dark 1960s
crime thriller “Aquarius” begins Thursday,
June 16, with a two-hour, commercial free
episode on NBC.
David
Duchovny
“And then I was at Yale getting a Ph.D and
I just kind of fell into the drama department
there because I started to think about
writing plays and then I met actors. And
there’s so many productions always going
on around Yale that they never have enough
actors, so they kind of recruited me to do
a couple of small parts. And I started just
looking into what it was to write a play and
therefore I started looking into what it was
to put on a play to act in a play and just life
kind of took its own course.”
As the new season of “Aquarius” opens,
it’s 1969 and Hodiak is under investigation
for killing a suspect at a crime scene while
still on the hunt for Charles Manson (Gethin
Anthony, “Game of Thrones”), whose
followers would soon commit the Tate/
LaBianca murders.
Duchovny loves playing in the 1960s and
a character seemingly at odds with the
many social issues of the time that are still
relevant today.
Education: BA in English
literature from Princeton;
MA in English literature
from Yale
Click or tap here for more!
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“I’m playing a guy who is really not part
of that world,” he says. “I’m playing a guy
who’s the white establishment that all these
movements are taking place against. So
what I found interesting was to be a man
not of the ‘60s in this show about the ‘60s
but a guy who’s going to keep his eyes
open and, if not change, then at least
recognize that the change is coming.”
CELEBRITY
CelebritY profile
EddieJackson
- Eddie Paul Jackson Jr. was born Dec. 19, 1980 in Americus,
Ga.
- He attended Richardson (Texas) High School where he played
football and was an all-district and all-city selection as a senior
when he recorded 93 tackles. He was also lettered on the
school’s track team and was second in the state in the 110-meter
hurdles and the long jump.
- He majored in business education at Arkansas and was a top
player on the football team.
- His NFL career started when was signed by the Carolina
Panthers in 2004 as an undrafted free agent out of Arkansas.
He was a cornerback, played with the Miami Dolphins and New
England Patriots, and was on the Washington Redskins practice
squad. An ACL injury near the end of the 2006 season in Miami
and a broken wrist in 2007 in New England ended his football
career.
Eddie Jackson is a former NFL player
turned celebrity chef and co-hosts “Kids
BBQ Championship” on Food Network
- In 2013, a friend entered him in Fox’s “MasterChef”
Season 4 competition as a prank, and began his culinary
journey on the big screen. He finished the contest in eighth
place. At the time of his departure, he had been on the
winning team for six different challenges, which, along with
his individual mystery box win, made him the contestant
with the second highest number of wins on the show.
- After the show, he started the Caribbean Grill food truck
in Houston, focusing on island barbecue, and he also has
a private gym, Fit Chef Studios.
- Also in 2015, he premiered his show “BBQ Blitz” on the
Food Network, where he traveled the country to pit local
BBQ bosses against each other.
- In May, he and Camila Alves became hosts of the
pint-size outdoor grilling competition, “Kids BBQ
Championship,” which will award one young champion a
$20,000 cash prize.
- He is known as the “Fit Chef”. His POV is that everyone
deserves a “cheat” day when it comes to eating.
- In 2015, he was “The Next Food Network Star” Season
11 winner.
Click or tap here for more!
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CELEBRITY
Look Who’s Talking!
“I didn’t even know
you could win a
Peabody, quite
honestly. I didn’t
know there was
an AFI (American
Film Institute)
Award, didn’t know
that you could get
on all of these
lists. It’s been
pretty incredible,
but that’s what
you hope for …
to be attached to
projects that you
feel are reaching
a certain level of
quality.” – Shiri
Appleby of
“UnREAL” on
Lifetime, about
the accolades the
series has earned
“I’ve been working
pretty consistently.
I’ve been very, very
lucky that way,
and it’s hard to
stop working when
you work a lot.”
– Kristin Kreuk
of “Beauty and
the Beast” on The
CW, about doing
the final season
of that series after
her long runs on
“Smallville” and
“Edgemont”
Page 10 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote June 12 - 18, 2016
“Oh boy, do they. That is something television
producers discovered I think the day after they
built the first cathode ray tube. They’re like,
‘I bet it would be good to give people booze
before they go on that thing.’ “ – Andy Richter,
on how cocktails loosen up the guests on
his Food Network series “Celebrity Food
Fight”
CELEBRITY
ON DVRs
“
Tori Spelling of “Mother, May I Sleep With Danger?” on
Lifetime
Here’s the thing: For me, I’m a producer at heart, whether
a show is scripted or reality. I am my father’s (legendary TV
producer Aaron Spelling) daughter; I’m always watching what
the current thing is. This coming year, I have three things that
I’m not in but I’m producing. There’s definitely a lot of reality
on my DVR now, but my guilty pleasure probably would be
‘The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.’
”
Jes Macallan of
“Mistresses” on ABC
“I’m a huge Anthony
Bourdain fan, and I
have a problem with
HGTV also. I have
a little bit of a rehab
necessity, and I love
‘Fixer Upper’; I’ve
tweeted those people
and said, ‘Why don’t
you want to be my
friend?’ They’re so
much fun.”
Mary Elizabeth Winstead of “BrainDead”
on CBS
“I record pretty much all the HBO
comedies, and a lot of Comedy Central
stuff like ‘Inside Amy Schumer.’ And I’ve
just started getting into this show called
‘Not Safe With Nikki Glaser,’ so I’m
definitely a big comedy girl. I also love
documentaries, especially true-crime
things like ‘Making a Murderer’ on Netflix.”
Jim Sturgess of
“Feed the Beast”
on AMC
“I’ve been
watching ‘Vinyl’
while I’ve been
here. I’ve been
kind of catching
up on that. I’ve
been watching
the O.J. Simpson
trial. I watched
that, which David
(Schwimmer, his
co-star) is into,
so I got really
hooked on that,
actually.”
June 12 - 18, 2016 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote Page 11
STORY
‘BrainDead’: Too dicey a
name for a political show?
Mary Elizabeth Winstead stars in “BrainDead,”
premiering Monday on CBS
Story on next page
Page 12 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote June 12 - 18, 2016
STORY
Aliens deem
Washington, D.C.,
‘BrainDead’
in CBS horror-andhumor series
By Jay Bobbin
Bringing politicians and extraterrestrials together, a new
series from the mentors of “The Good Wife” has a lot on
its mind.
Premiering Monday, June 13, creators and executive
producers Robert and Michelle King’s seriocomic CBS
show “BrainDead” couldn’t be better-timed for the
presidential campaign season ... to the degree that it
invokes the names Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton and
Bernie Sanders. However, rest assured it’s fiction as
political-family scion Laurel (played by Mary Elizabeth
Winstead, who’s also continuing to work on PBS’ “Mercy
Street”) finds a huge complication upon starting a job
in Washington, D.C.: More and more Congressmen and
others on Capitol Hill are getting “iZombie”-d by alien
bugs that target their brains.
You could insert your own joke here, but the Kings largely
have taken care of that. “It’s been strangely topical,”
Michelle says as she and her spouse chuckle knowingly,
though Robert adds “BrainDead” was sparked by “the last
government shutdown, I guess, two years ago. No one
seemed to be working off of strategy. Everybody seemed
to be working off of emotion or some magical thinking.
That the government could give up on its debt seemed
like a very odd concept, so we started with the idea of
how extremism grows from one person, and that moved
us toward the idea of a 1950s ‘Invasion of the Body
Snatchers’ kind of movie.”
Indeed, Michelle King notes she and Robert “didn’t want
to do a straight-on political story, because that could
become earnest. We wanted to have more fun with it,
and that (science-fiction) genre seemed like the way to
do it.” Citing such humorists as Jon Stewart and Stephen
Colbert, Robert says the ultimate aim with “BrainDead”
is to appeal to “people who aren’t really drawn to political
subject matter, but would be if there were a hybrid.”
Mary Elizabeth Winstead
No stranger to horror and suspense, with film credits that
have included “Final Destination 3” and the recent “10
Cloverfield Lane” (which arrives on DVD and Blu-ray the
day after “BrainDead” debuts) plus the earlier CBS series
“Wolf Lake,” Winstead acknowledges she’s “comfortable”
in the genre. “I think that might be why a script like this
isn’t so scary to me. Some actors might say, ‘Oh, gosh,
this is strange. I don’t know how I’m going to understand
this.’ For me, it was exciting to jump into something like
this. I like getting to do something that blends a lot of
genres and tones, because you get to play all your cards.”
Tony Shalhoub (“Monk”), Aaron Tveit (“Grease: Live”)
and Danny Pino (“Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”)
also star in “BrainDead” with the friendly Winstead, who
reasons that “we all feel a little bit overwhelmed by what’s
happening right now politically, in one way or another.
I think the idea that people are losing their heads is
something most of us can agree with, regardless of
where you stand on all the issues. Everyone involved in
this project, we’ve just been kind of shaking our heads
over how strangely close to reality some of the scenes
are. Though it’s seemingly so absurd and over-the-top, a
lot of the time, it isn’t.”
Robert King mentions “Scandal” – whose inspiration,
former presidential aide turned crisis manager Judy
Smith, is the co-executive producer of “BrainDead” – and
“The West Wing” as set-the-bar examples of politically
driven series, “so important to that genre. It’s very hard to
do a version of that and not feel (those shows have) done
it better. We thought we would go in (to CBS) and they
would laugh us out of the room, so we were pleased by
how excited they were.”
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STORY
The family that
robs together
Scott Speedman stars in “Animal Kingdom,”
premiering Tuesday on TNT
Story on next page
Page 14 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote June 12 - 18, 2016
Barkin relishes dark matriarch role in TNT’s
STORY
‘Animal Kingdom’
Calif. “Because, I mean, my generation of actors, we
were more exploring the positive side of mothers. And
when I was younger, you never came across a dark
mother in a movie or a television show. So, yeah, maybe
it’s as a generation of actresses get older ... you have
this pool of talent: What do you do with them?
By George Dickie
In some ways, Janine “Smurf” Cody is your typical
American mother.
Divorced and living in the Los Angeles suburb of
Oceanside, she loves her sons almost to the point of
smothering and would die for them if she had to. And if
they give her cause, she still knows how to put her adult
boys in their place.
But there is another side, a darker side to Smurf. As
played by Emmy winner Ellen Barkin (“Before Women Had
Wings,” “This Boy’s Life”) in the TNT drama series “Animal
Kingdom,” premiering Tuesday, June 14, she’s also head
of a family crime enterprise that specializes in armed
robbery, and her boys are the trigger men.
They include Baz (Scott Speedman, “Felicity,”
“Underworld”), Smurf’s relatively level-headed adopted
son and second in command; Pope (Shawn Hatosy,
“Southland,” “Reckless”), her disturbed eldest son who is
just out of prison; Craig (Ben Robson, “Vikings,” “Dracula:
The Dark Prince”), her hyperactive middle son with a drug
problem; and her youngest, Deran (Jake Weary, “Pretty
Little Liars,” “It Follows”), a troubled and suspicious kid.
Into this world comes 17-year-old grandson Joshua “J”
Cody (Finn Cole, “Peaky Blinders”), who gets a front-row
seat to his relatives’ nefarious activities when he moves in
after his mother dies of a heroin overdose. And what he
sees is an intense and complicated woman who rules over
her adult sons with an almost incestuous love. And that
danger is ahead.
“For me, it’s about the dark side of exploring motherhood,”
Barkin told a recent gathering of TV critics in Pasadena,
“And I also think it’s interesting to explore,” she
continues. “We’re all kind of very used to the idea of the
perfect mother and let’s all be great mothers and that
pressure. And let’s see what happens if you divert it a
little and if it’s a more complicated character.”
The series is inspired by the award-winning 2010
Australian film that made a star of Jacki Weaver in the
role of Smurf. But Barkin and executive producers John
Wells and Jonathan Lisco say the feature merely served
as a template for the series and the storylines will be
fresh.
“The series itself (is) not a heist a week or a crime a
week story,” Wells says. “It’s about the tension that exists
within the family and the competition for the place that
you serve in the family. It’s really about that basic sort of
sibling rivalry about when the mother or the matriarch in
the family is able to use her affections and her attentions
in such a way as to continue the tension between the
children, the grown children, about who belongs and
who doesn’t belong at what moment and who does she
favor and not favor at what moment.”
“We talk about the show as a family show internally ...,”
he continues, “but it is an exploration of the dynamics
that happen in a lot of families.”
Click or tap on icon for more!
June 12 - 18, 2016 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote Page 15
STORY
Movie-music master John
Williams receives AFI’s
top individual honor
in a TNT special airing Wednesday
By Jay Bobbin
The American Film Institute Life Achievement Award has
been presented to actors and directors, but never before
to a composer.
If that’s going to happen for the first time, John Williams
is the ideal recipient.
One of the most prolific and honored makers of movie
music adds another major accolade as AFI gives its
annual salute to an individual talent Wednesday, June
15, on TNT. (The event will have been taped the previous
week at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre.) Appropriately, his
frequent collaborator Steven Spielberg – the 1995 AFI
honoree – will present the award, with fellow participants
George Lucas and J.J. Abrams among other directors
Williams has worked with.
Three of the former Boston Pops Orchestra conductor’s
five Oscars have been for teamings with Spielberg
(“Jaws,” “E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial” and “Schindler’s
List”), but his career was well under way by the time he
first scored a Spielberg flm, “The Sugarland Express”
(1974). Here are several of our favorite Williams credits
for other moviemakers.
“How to Steal a Million” (1966): The composer was
known as “Johnny Williams” when he supplied the
whimsical melodies for this art-theft comedy teaming
Audrey Hepburn and Peter O’Toole as the stylish and
very attractive thieves.
“Fitzwilly” (1967): Another “Johnny Williams” credit, this
Dick Van Dyke comedy also required sprightly music for
its tale of a butler who organized his fellow employees
into a robbery gang to maintain the lifestyle of their toogenerous employer (Edith Evans).
“The Cowboys” (1972): Western tradition merges with
coming-of-age themes, musically and in the storytelling,
in this John Wayne offering about youngsters enlisted to
help a rancher on a grueling cattle drive.
Page 16 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote June 12 - 18, 2016
“The Poseidon Adventure” (1972): The first of several
disaster movies Williams would score (also including
“Earthquake” and “The Towering Inferno”) is both
majestic and ominous in its music, as the Irwin Allen
production forces an overturned ocean liner’s survivors
to climb ever upward inside the ship in the hope of being
rescued.
“Cinderella Liberty” (1973): A variety of styles, partially
involving songwriter Paul Williams, marked Williams’
work on this intimate drama. Our favorite theme from
it is heard when James Caan makes Marsha Mason’s
acquaintance as they shoot pool.
“Star Wars” (1977): Well, of course. Williams became
an icon to many moviegoers – and has remained so
– through his themes for George Lucas’ now-legendary
saga that gave the world Luke Skywalker, Han Solo,
Chewbacca, R2-D2, Darth Vader, etc., etc.
“Superman” (1978): Helping viewers to believe a man
could fly was Williams’ truly soaring score that not only
captured the largesse of Krypton and Metropolis, but also
the simplicity of Smallville.
“The Accidental Tourist” (1988): The melancholy spirit
of novelist Anne Tyler’s novel is captured beautifully by
Williams in weaving the story of a lost spirit, a travel-book
writer (William Hurt) who needs to find his way.
“Presumed Innocent” (1990): Helping greatly in adapting
Scott Turow’s best-seller, a piano-reliant Williams mirrors
the quiet, isolated desperation of a murder suspect
(Harrison Ford).
“Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” (2001): Williams
again set the pace for a film franchise by translating
the optimism and true magic of writer J.K. Rowling’s
Hogwarts School students into melodies.
Click or tap on icon for more!
STORY
ABC’s
‘Uncle
Buck’
puts new
spins on
a beloved
character
Click or tap on icon for more!
By George Dickie
CBS once tried to turn the 1989 hit theatrical comedy
“Uncle Buck” into a TV series with no success. This week,
ABC takes a stab at reimagining the former John Candy
vehicle with an all-black cast.
The half-hour sitcom, premiering Tuesday, June 14, puts
Mike Epps (“Bessie,” “Survivor’s Remorse”) in the title role
of Buck Russell, a charismatic bachelor long on charm but
short on responsible behavior. When his brother and sisterin-law Will (James Lesure, “Las Vegas,” “Men at Work”) and
Alexis (Nia Long, “Alfie,” “Third Watch”) move to town and
need help with their children Tia, Miles and Maizy (Iman
Benson, Sayeed Shahidi, Aalyrah Caldwell), Buck steps up
and gives it everything he’s got – regardless of whether they
want it.
But it turns out that Buck’s street smarts and unconventional
perspective have their advantages when it comes to child
rearing and keeping the young ones in line, although it
will take more than that if he is to earn the respect of his
skeptical family.
“We always thought that it was kind of a selfish man
learning how to not be selfish,” executive producer Steven
Cragg explains to a recent gathering of TV critics in
Pasadena, Calif. “So actually, it was a little different than the
John Candy thing. We think of ‘Uncle Buck’ as having kind
of a selfishness about him, but that being with his family is
helping him learn how to not be selfish. But I ask you, are
there people in your life who are relatives and they don’t
change over and over, and you keep hanging out with them
and trying to help them over and over again?”
“So no matter what he does, he has a really good heart, and
really does take care of these kids,” Cragg continues. “And
I think the love for these children, which is an amazing part
of what we discovered through doing this, is mind blowing,
because this is a gentleman who really does care for these
kids, and really wants to protect them. And that’s a huge,
huge, you know, liability factor, I think.”
Buck may be smooth talker and a hustler but he’s no
lazy slob, as was Candy’s character in the movie. That
is by design, say the producers, lest they play into any
stereotypes.
Ultimately, the cast and producers agree, this is a story about
family and its love for one another, a universal theme that
cuts across racial, religious and ethnic lines.
“... The core of everything, society, you know, starts with the
family, and that is what it’s about,” Lesure says. “It’s different
than just this one individual. ... We drop in on a family that
loves each other and is trying to figure out how to live
together. And we do it in different ways, and I like to think that
we do it in a comedic way, in a real way.”
“Believe it or not, there is an ‘Uncle Buck’ in every race,” Epps
adds. “There is an Asian Uncle Buck, the white Uncle Buck.
... We got an Indian, Taj Mahal Uncle Buck. And so ‘Uncle
Buck’ is speaking for all the Uncle Bucks of the world.”
June 12 - 18, 2016 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote Page 17
S
SPORTS
Story on next page
PhilMickelson
Full Name: Philip Alfred Mickelson
Born: June 16, 1970
Birthplace: San Diego, Calif.
Height/Weight: 6-foot, 3-inches/200-pounds
Swing: Left
Page 18 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote June 12 - 18, 2016
PGA Tour Wins: 42
Honors & Achievements: Masters winner,
2004, 2006, 2010; Open Championship winner,
2013, PGA Championship winner: 2005; ninth alltime in career wins
SPORTS
S
By Dan Ladd
Phil Mickelson has won every
major tournament in golf,
except the U.S. Open, which
airs Thursday, June 16, through
Sunday, June 19 on Fox. For
the first time since 2007 the
tournament will be played at
the Oakmont Country Club in
Western Pennsylvania, which
will host the U.S. Open for a
record ninth time.
Among his five major victories,
including three Masters, the
U.S. Open is not on Mickelson’s
(also known as “Lefty”) trophy
list. He’s either tied or placed
second six times, most recently
in 2013 when he and Jason Day
both fell two strokes short of
Justin Rose, who would capture
his own first major title.
Mickelson, who has made
headlines as of late over his
stock market activities, has
had a stellar career. His 42
PGA Tour wins currently rank
him ninth all-time and he was
elected to the World Golf Hall
of Fame in 2012. Lefty turned
pro in 1992 but was often in
the shadow of Tiger Woods,
especially where majors were
concerned. Then in 2004 he
earned the green jacket by
winning The Masters and would
secure major victories again in
2005 and 2006, as well as 2010
and 2013.
PhilMickelson
Mickelson hasn’t won a
PGA event since his Open
Championship title in 2013.
After a few good runs in majors
in 2014 and 2015 he took on a
new swing coach for 2016 and
at press time his best finish this
season was second place at the
AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in
February.
June 12 - 18, 2016 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote Page 19
MOVIES
JAY BOBBIN's Theatrical movie review
‘Money Monster’
pays off for Clooney and Roberts
Our Take
“Money Monster”
is a movie with a
message, but it’s
also a movie that
lets some very big
stars do what they
do best.
That’s especially
true for George
Clooney as a
financial guru who
gives his views
and predictions
through a TV
show – think of a
more charismatic
Jim Cramer, the
often bombastic
CNBC personality.
Julia Roberts
plays Clooney’s
quick-on-her-feet
producer, and it’s
fun to watch them
play a different
relationship than
they had in the
“Ocean’s” crime
capers (and as the joke-loving friends they’re known to
be in real life).
The fun is tempered, though, by an unwelcome visitor
to the studio: someone who followed one of the Clooney
character’s tips and lost all his savings ... and now wants
answers and vengeance. He’s played by a perfectly
intense Jack O’Connell, who made “Unbroken” for
director Angelina Jolie.
Actually, he and the others – also including “The Affair’s”
Dominic West and “Outlander’s” Caitriona Balfe – are
working for another actress turned director here: Jodie
Foster, and she does a solid job in keeping the drama
tense and tight, since the movie runs just a little more
than 90 minutes. In fact, this picture is a bit reminiscent
of her own “Inside
Man,” which she
made for Spike
Lee.
Another star of
“Money Monster”
is Matthew
Libatique, the
director of
photography,
who faces the
huge challenge of
keeping the movie
visually compelling
in limited space.
The bulk of
“Money Monster”
unfolds within the
studio, so it’s the
same task that
has befallen the
makers of such
movies as “Talk
Radio.” Close
Pictured: George Clooney
confines are
where the action
is here, and the
cameras do a
good job of staying on the move to support that.
The biggest drawback to “Money Monster” is that its
theme isn’t exactly earth-shattering, We’ve heard it
before and with greater depth, so it really falls to the
actors and Foster to sell it as best they can. To their
credit, they manage that pretty well ... and frankly, it
would be a surprise if they didn’t. Let’s face it, we’re
talking George Clooney and Julia Roberts here.
Indeed, you can look at “Money Monster” as a film that
has things to say, but it’s equally proper to look at it just
as a well-crafted piece of entertainment. And that, it is.
Page 20 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote June 12 - 18, 2016
MOVIES
This Week’s Top New DVD Releases we couldn’t wait to share!
THE
M
MUST SEE LIST
1
BY JAY BOBBIN
“LONDON HAS FALLEN”
Any viewer of “Olympus Has Fallen” can expect the sequel won’t be a
quiet and sedate affair ... and indeed, the follow-up matches the frantic
action of the original as the U.S. president and his Secret Service man
(returnees Aaron Eckhart and Gerard Butler) are among terrorists’
targets again. This time, they’re overseas with other world leaders for
the funeral of England’s prime minister when mayhem erupts, forcing
them to trust their own instincts – and an MI6 agent (Charlotte Riley)
– to make their way through the devastation and stay alive. Morgan
Freeman, Angela Bassett and Melissa Leo also are back from the first
film. DVD extras: two “making-of” documentaries. (Rated R)
Pictured: Aaron Eckhart
2
“10 CLOVERFIELD LANE”
Sort of a prequel to the sleeper
horror hit “Cloverfield,” this effectivewith-a-small-cast melodrama actually
was conceived as its own separate
project, then retooled to fit the
franchise. Mary Elizabeth Winstead
– of PBS’ “Mercy Street” and the new
CBS series “BrainDead” – plays a
car-accident victim who becomes a
prisoner of a survivalist (the reliableas-always John Goodman), who
already has someone else (John
Gallagher Jr., “The Newsroom”)
present. The homeowner warns of
major danger outside his doors, but
she debates whether to trust him. With
J.J. Abrams among its producers, the
film also involves Bradley Cooper in a
creative way (spoiler withheld).
(Rated PG-13)
3“45 YEARS”
Charlotte Rampling was
an Oscar nominee for directorscreenwriter Andrew Haigh’s (HBO’s
“Looking”) intriguing drama, in
which she stars with fellow acting
veteran Tom Courtenay as a couple
whose 45th wedding anniversary is
upset by startling news. The body
of the husband’s long-ago lover
has been found, preserved in a
glacier ... prompting the couple to
re-examine how they’ve spent their
lives, both separately and together.
Though the adaptation of David
Constantine short story does have
other actors, including Geraldine
James, the heavy lifting clearly is on
Rampling and Courtenay – and they
expectedly achieve it beautifully
(Rated R)
4
“THE X-FILES: THE EVENT
SERIES”
If the truth is still out there, it’s up to
Mulder and Scully (David Duchovny,
Gillian Anderson) to reunite and uncover
it. Their search through the supernatural
continues in this six-episode
continuation of the original show, guided
again by creator-producer Chris Carter
and a number of the first series’ other
writers and producers. Mitch Pileggi,
William B. Davis and Annabeth Gish
are among additional familiar faces who
return ... but expectedly, there’s special
pleasure in seeing Duchovny and
Anderson back in their iconic roles. DVD
extras: three “making-of” documentaries;
audio commentary on selected episodes
by cast and crew members; deleted and
extended scenes; outtakes.
(Not Rated)
June 12 - 18, 2016 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote Page 21
S
FAVORITE SHOWS
Hope Davis stars in
“Wayward Pines”
Mary McDonnell stars in
“Major Crimes”
SUNDAY
8:30 p.m. on FOX
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
In “Beverly Hills Cop,” Eddie Murphy’s
Axel Foley tells his boss he’s going
“deep, deep, deep undercover” — and
that’s also what Jake (Andy Samberg)
does in “The Oolong Slayer.” Pursuing
a killer, Jake disappears into the
case as much as possible, with Holt’s
(Andre Braugher) knowledge. Rosa
and Amy (Stephanie Beatriz, Melissa
Fumero) run up against an old enemy.
Terry (Terry Crews) becomes overly
occupied with a new interest.
Anthony Anderson hosts
“To Tell the Truth”
Melissa Fumero stars in
“Brooklyn Nine-Nine”
MONDAY
10 p.m. on TNT
Major Crimes
With the prospect of a sixth season
still somewhat in doubt, this police
procedural launches a 13-episode
Season 5, which finds Sharon (Mary
McDonnell) guiding adopted son
Rusty (Graham Patrick Martin) through
college while deciding where her
romance with Lt. Andy Flynn (Tony
Denison) is heading. In the season
opener, “Present Tense,’ the squad
probes the case of a teenage girl
who vanished while volunteering at
a homeless shelter. Buzz (Phillip P.
Keene) opens the cold case file on
the murder of his father and uncle.
Season Premiere New
Page 22 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote June 12 - 18, 2016
TUESDAY
8 p.m. on ABC
To Tell the Truth
One of several classic game shows
being revived by ABC this summer
begins its run, with Anthony Anderson
spending his hiatus from “blackish”
as both the host and an executive
producer here. The format still has
several people claiming to be the
individual in question, with a panel
having to determine who indeed is
telling the truth. Notable among the
guessers: tireless genre veteran
Betty White. NeNe Leakes, the NBA’s
Jalen Rose and guest panelists also
participate. New
continued on next page
FAVORITE SHOWS
WEDNESDAY
9 p.m. on FOX
Wayward Pines
Xander (Josh Helman) finds his
way back into the town in the
new episode “Exit Strategy,” and
someone potentially helpful comes
along with him. Rebecca and
Megan (Nimrat Kaur, Hope Davis)
clash over what’s expected of a
young woman (guest star Emily
Tremblay). Theo (Jason Patric)
warns CJ (Djimon Hounsou) against
seeking what lies beyond the fence.
Shannyn Sossamon and Tim Griffin
return in their roles from the show’s
first season. Tom Stevens also stars.
New
THURSDAY
9 p.m. on NBC
Aquarius
After his return to “The X-Files,”
another David Duchovny series
is back with a two-hour Season 2
premiere, and one of the longer
subtitles of late: “I’m So Tired/
Happiness Is a Warm Gun/Why
Don’t We Do It in the Road.” In
the late 1960s, police detective
Sam Hodiak (Duchovny) follows
up on photos he’s sent of missing
young women, but Charles Manson
(Gethin Anthony) also remains a
concern for him. Charmain (Claire
Holt) gambles with her safety on a
drug case. Season Premiere New
9 p.m. on FOX
Home Free
Mike Holmes (“Holmes on Homes”)
is well-known for his homerenovation expertise, and as this
competition series along those
lines starts its second season with
“Tebow Time,” he has a notable new
co-host: Tim Tebow, the former NFL
star and Heisman Trophy winner.
They oversee and advise couples
who work on refurbishing houses,
each in the hope of winning their
own dream residence. They face,
and have to succeed at, various
challenges in the course of the
quest. Season Premiere New
FRIDAY
9:01 p.m. on ABC
What Would You Do?
It’s time for more people to be put to
the title test of determining how to react
to an apparent crisis, while hidden
cameras capture their responses,
as host John Quinones returns with
another season of this series. Only
when he appears do the subjects
realize the situations have been staged,
and there’s interest to be had not only
in what they do, but in how they reflect
afterward on their actions — or inaction
— once they know what’s really going
on. Season Premiere New
S
SATURDAY
11:30 p.m. on FOX
The Grinder
The Sandersons make new friends
(guest stars Nat Faxon and Alexie
Gilmore) in “Little Mitchard No More,”
but Stewart (Fred Savage) worries the
couple is around only to bask in Dean’s
(Rob Lowe) fame. Dean is befuddled
that his celebrity status seems to have
no effect on Claire (Natalie Morales).
Mary Elizabeth Ellis and William
Devane also star.
John Quinones hosts “What
Would You Do?”
Rob Lowe stars in
“The Grinder”
Mike Holmes (left) and Tim Tebow
co-host “Home Free”
June 12 - 18, 2016 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote Page 23