John Travolta is probably the most unintentionally funny actor going today. From his weird hair situations to ridiculous accents, to Nicolas Cage-esque levels of over-acting in bargain basement VOD movies, Johnny T gives us gold time and time again. And Life on The Line appears to be no different.
This is a “drama” about line workers in a storm, and it features the one-two punch of funny facial hair and silly accent from Travolta. Enjoy this second trailer:
Haunted by the electrocution death of his brother, Beau is devoted to niece Bailey and determined to see her go off to college and away from the life of linemen. Bailey has other plans, which include the strapping second-generation lineman Duncan, whom Beau despises. A deadly tempest is brewing and headed straight to their Texas town. Beau, Duncan and a legion of linemen are thrust into the eye of the storm and must face down impending disaster to keep their community connected.
Life on The Line appears to have everything a stock “dangerous career” movie needs to have: seasoned veteran, young kid in love who deserves a better career, danger, accents, goatees… and Sharon Stone? Hmm, okay.
Life on The Line opens November 18, I’m assuming at a TV near you. Like the one in your living room.
It’s 5 PM on the second day of New York Comic Con when Monkeys Fighting Robots meets Kim Coates in Magnolia Pictures’ Midtown Manhattan office. If Coates is worn down from a day of back-to-back interviews, he’s not showing it.
Best known for his role as Alexander “Tig” Trager, sergeant-at-arms of the eponymous outlaw motorcycle club in FX’s ultraviolent Hamlet-on-motorcycles drama ‘Sons of Anarchy,’ Coates now finds himself in a role on the other side of the law as Officer Downe.
Adapted from the Joe Casey and Chris Burnham comic of the same name and directed by Slipknot drummer M. Shawn Crahan (or Clown, as he’s more commonly known), ‘Officer Downe’ follows a resurrected Los Angeles police officer’s war on crime. And nothing is perhaps clearer during our conversation than the fact that Coates is pumped for its release.
“It’s on,” he says, slapping a conference room table. “Officer Downe is on.”
Over the course of our conversation, Coates gave us the details on what attracted him to the project, Clown’s direction, and whether we might see him pop up again in a certain TV spinoff.
What attracted you to the role of Officer Downe?
‘Officer Downe,’ you know, it was brought to me by my people in February of last year. I was in no rush to get back onto any TV show when ‘Sons of Anarchy’ ended, so I was saying no to every television show that was thrown my way — and a couple of movies, as well. I wasn’t in any rush. I knew things were all gonna happen when they were supposed to, doing something I wanted to do.
And this came to me and they wanted me to read it right away, and I did. It was crazy, like nothing I’d ever read before, really, in that genre of a futuristic cop who keeps dying and they keep bringing him back alive. It has vicious bad people, L.A. has turned to shit, and it’s kind of funny. And it’s a comic book, based on.
So fine, I didn’t know the comic book. I didn’t know Joe Casey. He’s famous. I didn’t know he was famous for ‘Officer Downe,’ as well. So I met the next day with nine people in a room like this, and we had Clown, Shawn Crahan, on speaker phone. He was in Berlin with Slipknot, doin’ his thing. I said to him, first thing out of my mouth, “How are you going to shoot this in 25 Days? I mean, how?” And he said, “I hope to have you as playing Downe.” So that was a pretty good thing for me to hear with everybody in the room. They obviously all wanted me because they offered it to me by the time I walked to my motorcycle that day.
I had five weeks to get into the best physical shape I’d ever been in for a movie. I did 95% of my stunts. Wait til you see this movie. It’s gonna blow your mind. I’m really proud of the crew, really proud of my co-stars. From the wardrobe, Don did such an amazing job — and Gerardo [Madrazo] shooting it. And oh my god, the stunt guys, Daniel Bernhardt and Frank, helped me get into physical shape, to fight like this cop would fight, and to figure out his internal workings.
He’s a good cop, 100%. Doesn’t have a girlfriend, doesn’t have a wife. No dogs — he’s married to his badge, and he dies on the job. Sad. Big flashback. They put him on ice. They don’t know why, but they put him on ice in the depths of LAPD. Years and years and years go by, and they figure out how to bring him back. So he’s part Robocop, part Frankenstein. He’s mostly human, but every time he wakes up from being so savagely beaten and killed by these bad guys, a little chunk of his armor’s missing. A little something’s gone. He struggles with that.
So it’s a real method piece for me, too — from the gnarly faces I would make when I was fighting, like the comic book, to finding that real human heartbeat in him when I wasn’t, it was awesome.
You said you got in the best physical shape you’ve been in, so what was the training regimen like?
I had an incredible trainer, Nancy. I won’t tell you where in L.A., but she’s amazing. Her and her husband, Albert, they worked on me every day. And I worked with Daniel, like I said, and Frank. Not every day, but every other day for sure. We trained and trained and trained so that by the time we started, we didn’t have to fool around. We knew what we were doing somehow.
They blocked out all these incredible stunt scenes with great actors. We had [Sona Eyambe as] Zen Master Flash; he speaks Mandarin, but actually with a bad English accent and subtitles. It’s like a bad Japanese B-movie from the ‘60s, so there’s different kinds of film noir stuff going on. And Clown, really, was responsible for a lot of that. He directed it, with Mark Neveldine, who co-directed. It was on. It was a crazy filming experience like nothing I’ve ever done, probably ever.
It was also Clown’s first feature film, so what was it like working with him? I’m familiar with the music videos and tour documentaries he’s directed.
He’s brilliant. He’s kooky. He’s committed. He’s not afraid to fail, which all great artists should be. He was a collaborator. We worked so well together. I would come up with ideas and he loved ‘em. He would come up with ideas and I loved ‘em. It was a big thing for him, his first big feature. I think we’re pretty proud that Magnolia bought it right away, and it’s gonna be released on Nov. 18 on video-on-demand and some select theaters around the world. So I think he’s gonna be pretty proud like I am, for sure.
I had read that he said he brought a lot of “rock and roll” to the movie, so are there any fun set stories you can share?
Probably too many that I can share, but he beats to his own drum. I know he’s a drummer, so that’s a bad analogy. He had in his mind, I’m sure, certain types of music scenarios when we were filming certain scenes, for sure.
And this is a Hard R movie, son. This ain’t for no 17-year-olds. I’m naked, it’s violent, it’s funny, it’s crazy. It’s heavy metal and bad elevator music. It opens on a nude scene with me and a girl — I’m just doing my civic duty, of course.
You mentioned method acting and some of the gnarly faces you had to make, and one of the thoughts that jumped out in my mind was the first episode of season five of ‘Sons of Anarchy,’ when your daughter is being burned alive. What sorts of things do you have to think about to really get into the right mindset to bring that kind of emotion in a film or show?
That particular first show of season 5, when Kurt Sutter told me what was gonna happen about a month before, six weeks before we started filming it was shocking to me — to Kim Coates. It was shocking to me. Then when I read the script, it was doubly shocking. Handcuffed like an animal, daughter burning right in front of him — I mean, how do you even do something like that, right? I have two daughters in real life.
So I have a therapist buddy, and whenever I have to get deep and deep and deep in a human emotion, he helps me out. ‘Officer Downe’ was — the fighting scenes weren’t tough mentally. That was comic book time. That was me getting, like you just said, I studied that comic book. I’ve studied Joe and Chris Burnham’s graphic novel. I went for that. That was not easy, but it was OK.
It’s when he wasn’t fighting. It’s when he was dealing with his own life, when he was talking to himself in the mirror. I had a twitch, and Clown came up with this. He called it a “jank,” where his neck would just kind of go out because his nervous system was just waking up again or fucking up again. Those were my internal workings. Those I never planned — I just felt, and they just happened. It’s a big part of the film, man, and I’m really glad that I got, with Joe’s writing, deep, emotionally with this guy. Because he had to have a heart. He’s not a monster. He’s not a bad cop, he’s a good cop. But he gets killed a lot in the movie.
So how do you make that real? You make it real because it’s a comic book, it’s fictional. But the actors — and trust me, all my co-stars are fuckin’ brilliant in this movie — still have to make it real in the situation, and I did.
What’s it like going from playing an outlaw like Tig for seven seasons to playing a good cop in ‘Officer Downe?’
It’s great. I’m an actor first, right? I say this to anyone who wants to listen, but for ‘Sons of Anarchy,’ that transgender and Tig, Walton Goggins and Kim Coates — that was uncomfortable, but it was beautiful. It was a beautiful, beautiful, magnificent, Kurt Sutter-esque, FX going to the world, “Yeah! Fuck yeah! Show that to the world! How ‘bout that? We need a lot of love in this world right now.”
That same “uncomfortable but championing good acting and emotion,” I always look for that. So to be given Officer Downe, which as you just said, if Tig’s over here, he’s over there — yet it’s a comic book and it’s really fictionalized. ‘Sons of Anarchy’ was obviously fictionalized, too. We’d all be in prison by the second show of season one, so everyone fuck off, OK? It was made up — but a good story, right? Kurt Sutter wrote a great, brilliant story.
‘Officer Downe’ was exactly what I’d been looking for — something so completely different. That’s the kind of actor I am. I don’t wanna do anything the same. I never have.
Do you think you might pop up as Tig again in the Mayans spinoff?
No. I mean, never say never, but I wish them all the luck in the world. Tommy (Flanagan) and myself are the only two leads to survive. And D.L. (David Labrava), as well. D.L. was in the pilot, and he became a lead by the end. I was so proud of him and his work. But yeah, I don’t think about it. I’ll always have Sons in my heart. I’ll never forget it. I’m glad it’s over. We all needed to move on. It became really, really violent in the end — like, I think, stupidly violent. I don’t know what was going on.
But to be in that show and be pulled along by Kurt Sutter on his ship, and John Landgraf. And the love for that show around the world is evident and palpable, and I feel it every time I walk the street. And I wish them all the luck in the world. I know that Sons was magic in a bottle, it really was, so I wish them well.
Ant-Man and The Wasp is set to arrive in theaters in July, 2018, but with the interest in seeing The Wasp join the ever-expanding roster of Marvel characters for Avengers: Infinity War I and II, but the news has already been released that she will not apart of the first film. Ant-man actress Evangeline Lilly has stated, according to Cinemablend, that there is one and only reason that the Ant-Man character will not be a part of the big event.
“There’s an Avengers series coming out. It’s a two-parter. The Wasp won’t be in the first part, she’ll be in the second part, because they really want to preserve that reveal for Ant-Man And The Wasp.”
Avengers: Infinity Wars Part I will be released two months prior to Ant-man and The Wasp.
Ant-Man, The Wasp, and likely Marvel Comics fans in general, should be excited by this news. Granted, many probably would have liked to see The Wasp show up alongside Ant-Man in a massive Marvel Comics film, as many others like young Spider-Man and Black Panther did, but each film is an island unto themselves. Ant-Man and every Marvel film has its own writers and directors, so it seems they have some say in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The Wasp will most likely continue to play a big role in the Ant-Man sector of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and obviously some of the rest, but the Infinity War films are already teeming with characters. Too many characters would invariably push the main Avengers team to the forefront, and all the additive characters to the background with varying degrees of lesser and lesser screen time.
The amount of screen time The Wasp or Ant-Man will receive is still unknown, but hopefully for fans, it will be plentiful. Especially so for The Wasp, as this will be her big Marvel Cinematic Universe debut.
All trailers and images have been removed from the internet
An unofficial trailer from Sony Pictures’ ‘The Dark Tower’ has hit the internet Monday morning.
According to Comic Book Movie, the first footage from The Dark Tower was supposed to premiere at Entertainment Weekly’s “Popfest” at the end of the month, but after the Taiwanese division of Sony Pictures uploaded an unfinished version of the international trailer for the movie to their channel, , it’s now doing the rounds across the web.
The movie is based on the first ‘Dark Tower’ novel by Stephen King, ‘The Gunslinger.’ There are eight books in the series.
The Gunslinger (1982)
The Drawing of the Three (1987)
The Waste Lands (1991)
Wizard and Glass (1997)
Wolves of the Calla (2003)
Song of Susannah (2004)
The Dark Tower (2004)
The Wind Through the Keyhole (2012)
“The opening chapter in the epic ‘Dark Tower’ series. Roland Deschain, the last gunslinger, in a world where time has moved on, pursues his nemesis, The Man in Black (Matthew McConaughey), across a desert. Roland’s ultimate goal is the Dark Tower, the nexus of all universes. This mysterious icon’s power is failing, threatening everything in existence.”
‘The Dark Tower’ is written and directed by Nikolaj Arcel and stars Idris Elba, Katheryn Winnick, Matthew McConaughey, Abbey Lee, and Jackie Earle Haley. The film is slated for release on February 17, 2017.
2017 Will Be A Bold & Epic Year In Film. What Are The Most Hotly Anticipated Movies?
Let’s face it: movies in 2016 sucked! 2017 really needs to step it up and bring some big hits. With DC, Disney, Marvel, and tons of other companies releasing movies, this could be the perfect way to make up for one of the worst years in film history.
But out of all the projects announced, what movies are fans looking forward to most? Below is a collection of the most hyped and talked about pieces of 2017.
Honorable Mentions:
– ‘Resident Evil: The Final Chapter‘
– ‘Kong: Skull Island‘
– ‘Baywatch‘
– ‘Fast 8‘
– ‘It‘
10. ‘Dunkirk’
– Little is known about the upcoming Christopher Nolan movie. It’s a World War 2 drama and will be centered around the ‘Dunkirk‘ evacuation. The film will also be shot on IMAX 65 mm film stock so you better believe this will have that wonderful Nolan scope. His films are spectacles, and you can expect this to be to.
9. ‘Power Rangers’
-It is almost unbelievable a niche 90’s TV show has this staying power. The ‘Power Rangers‘ recently blew up social media with trailers and posters. Their teasers are grabbing the attention of older fans and a newer generation. Still can’t believe that Bryan Cranston will play the Ranger’s leader Zordon.
8. ‘Beauty and the Beast’
-Disney doesn’t have much lined up next year other than a needless ‘Cars 3‘. But ‘Beauty and the Beast‘ starring Emma Watson could be a major hit. After a mediocre live-action Cinderella, I think this will succeed with a stronger cast and clearer focus. We’ve seen a sneak-peek of Beast, we just need to see him in action.
7. ‘Alien: Covenant’
-After vaguely returning to the Alien franchise with ‘Prometheus‘, 2017 is when Ridley Scott gives us what we’ve been craving. We get full on Xenomorphs! It’s sad that Neill Blomkamp’s Alien project was put on hold because of ‘Alien: Covenant‘ but Scott seems to have big plans for this insane world. Don’t let us down!
6. ‘Blade Runner 2049’
-If Harrison Ford wasn’t returning as Deckard, I believe there would be almost no hype for this. That’s not the case and ‘Blade Runner 2049‘ is one of the most anticipated 2017 movies. The sequel to Ridley Scott’s 1982 film is almost too late to work but with how amazing filmmaking can be, I believe this will be stunning.
5. ‘Justice League’
-In 2016, ‘Batman v Superman‘ didn’t connect. It was one of the most polarizing films of the year. Seems like ‘Justice League‘ is the first step in making up for their “mistakes”. Zack Snyder and brand overlord Geoff Johns have promised a more uplifting film and the first trailer really showcases a new side to the DCEU.
4. ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2’
– The Marvel Cinematic Universe usually has a few major films a year. They have a collaboration with Sony and then this follow up to their surprise 2014 hit. ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2‘ will be upping the ante and showing more of the obscure team we all now love. Will we find out who Starlord’s dad is?
3. ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’
-‘Spider-Man: Homecoming‘ has a lot to live up to. After stealing scenes in ‘Captain America: Civil War‘, Spidey swings into his first solo project since the rather terrible ‘Amazing Spider-Man 2‘. The franchise has potential but never fully connects with viewers. I think Tom Holland and his Spider-Man will finally work!
2. ‘Wonder Woman’
– With almost 3 million more views than the ‘Justice League‘ trailer on Youtube, somehow ‘Wonder Woman‘ has became the most hyped superhero film of 2017. Like Spider-Man in ‘Civil War‘, Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman stole the show in ‘Batman V Superman‘. The first trailer makes her film look like an World War I epic.
1. ‘Star Wars: Episode VIII’
– Almost by default, ‘Star Wars Episode 8‘ tops the list. After the massive comeback that was ‘The Force Awakens‘, fans are even more rabid than before. There is so many questions to be answered with a lot story to tell. The hopes & hype are at an all time high for the franchise and this is their moment.
FX released a teaser trailer during San Diego Comic-Con in July. It features Haller in a one-on-one session with The Interrogator (Hamish Linklater) inter-cut with various visions he has. Watch that video below.
The series is a Marvel TV and 20th Century Fox co-production. Fox owns the rights to X-Men/mutants, while Disney owns Marvel.
Aubrey Plaza, Rachel Keller, Katie Aselton, Jeremie Harris and Bill Irwin also star.
During a New York Comic Con panel for Underworld: Blood Wars, Kate Beckinsale hinted that a Blade-related project is in the works.
Beckinsale, who plays Selene in the vampire versus werewolves franchise, was asked about a possible crossover with Eric Brooks.
“No. We had that idea. No. They’re [Marvel] busy. They’re doing something with Blade.”
The last time Marvel’s vampire hunter appeared on the big screen was 2004’s Blade: Trinity. Marvel Studios reacquired the film rights in 2012.
Rumors have swirled about possible projects ever since.
There were reports that Marvel had met with Wesley Snipes to discuss a possible Blade 4. There was also speculation that the next Blade film would focus on Eric Brooks’ daughter, Fallen Grey.
Earlier this year, another rumor claimed the character would be getting a Netflix series. Snipes later tweeted, “Balls in Marvels court…”
After stone masks which cause people to become vampires, scarves made of beetle intestines, and dogs having the power to control sand you’d think nothing would be surprising when it came to this anime. This is not true, as the series now reveals Nu Mikitakazo Nshi, a being who insists he is an alien. He has to be an alien. Afterall he isn’t able to see Josuke’s Stand yet has the ability to shapeshift his body. What other explanation could there be?
Highway Go Go, Part 1
Deciding to put the issue with Mikitaka (previously known as Nu Mikitakazo Nshi) to rest for a bit, despite not giving it any type of proper or definitive answer, the series instead focuses back on Kira. What has the murder been doing with his new identity? Trying his best to hide it by making sure he gives nothing away to who he really is. He’s shown doing all he can to work on changing his handwriting to look just like the man he took over. It goes to show just how detailed his train of thought is.
He also isn’t the most disturbed individual in the house. Looking past Kira’s new wife, who seems to be enjoying the change in personality her husband has undergone, his new son seems just as messed up. The boy apparently has the entire house wired for surveillance which really brings up a lot of questions. Why did he do this? Is this for protection or does he want to watch his parents all the time? It’s hard to tell but it seems like there won’t be any answer which will not be disturbing here.
With Josuke and Rohan now fighting against the new Stand known as Highway Go Go, it looks like they will have their hands full for a while. Hopefully it won’t result in either of them checking out early. Who can tell at this point.
Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable is streaming on Crunchyroll.
Everyone has a favorite actor. Clearly, there are only a finite amount of roles to go around, and your favorite actor can’t always appear in everything you watch. Given that there are plenty of underrated actors who don’t get the roles or love they deserve. Some actors seem to just drop off the face of the earth. Whatever happened to Michael Beihn? I’ve drawn up a list of eight actors who deserve more attention, others include Richard Brooks and Jason Ritter.
One: Jimmy Bennett
Jimmy Bennett is one of the more skilled young actors out there, and yet you never seem to hear about him. His only starring role was No Ordinary Family, but he’s played numerous memorable bit parts, such as the young Kirk at the beginning of Star Trek. His best recent supporting role recently was mass murderer Alfie Rentman, the initial villain at the start of Murder In The First season 2.
Two: Sarah Carter
Sarah Carter, despite some bad early roles, is known for her performance as the wonderfully badass biker Maggie May on TNT’s Falling Skies. A character who was arguably one of the most compelling of the entire series. She also gave one the better dramatic performances on Falling Skies. Carter is clearly a capable action lead.
Three: Wentworth Miller
Wentworth Miller’s career seemed to be on the rebound with his performance as Leonard Snart in the first season of The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow, but since he was killed off that rebound now unclear. Prison Break is a cult hit and Miller’s acting was one of the driving forces of the show’s success. Despite expectations he was a good Chris Redfield in Resident Evil Afterlife.
Four: Jesse McCartney
Jesse McCartney is mostly known from his early pop star status, but he has been playing supporting TV roles lately along with voice acting for Young Justice and Kingdom Hearts. His most recent minor role was as a sadistic villain on Fear The Walking Dead.
Five: Cary Elwes
Cary Elwes, like Michael Beihn, had great success as an action star in the 80s and 90s but he has since appeared to drop off the face of the earth. The only noteworthy role he’s had since than was his well-acted foray into horror with Saw. He doesn’t even to get roles geared towards his own nostalgia value as the star of The Princess Bride and Robin Hood Men in Tights.
Six: Rupert Grint
Rupert Grint, like most of the cast of Harry Potter, seems to have disappeared. As an 11-year-old he was good enough to make main cast, he gave good performance over the 10 years of the franchise. Clearly Grint is an A-list talent, and he has the credentials and aura of an action star.
Seven: Summer Glau
Summer Glau has the impressive distinction of playing more than one cult sci-fi character, and has appeared in several other popular series of the years. After Terminator SCC, the length and importance of her roles plummeted. That said her performances are compelling and fun to watch.
Eight: Nick Stahl
Terminator 3 was a lackluster movie. Nick Stahl isn’t a lackluster actor despite his lack of a career. He’s given several well-acted diverse performances in film and TV. His versions of John Connor and Yellow Bastard were on point and memorable.
I purposefully made a random list from off the top of my head to make the point that so many actors go unnoticed and under the radar.
Who else would you put on this list? Comment below.
This episode begins with Mikazauki once again showing himself to be a monster on the battlefield and rightfully earning his nickname of “The Devil of Tekkadan.” Sadly he still has a long way to go when it comes to dealing with other people, especially Kudelia. Despite the fact he was the one who kissed her in the previous season, it takes another character suggestion for him to get off his butt and talk with her alone. Still, it’s always good to see him back in action.
A bit more is revealed about Hash. It turns out he has a bitter hatred for Mikazuki because what happened with a character he saw as a brother. Hash’s not brother joined up to be a soldier but his body rejected the Alaya-Vijnana interface system. It not only made it so he couldn’t pilot a mobile worker but also paralyzed him from the waist down. As always, the Gundam series makes it a point to showcase the atrocities of war and how not every horror is committed in battle.
The rest of the episode is really just set up for the what will be coming in the rest of the season. The Dawn Horizon Corps. are going to be sticking around for a while and will pose a major threat for team. The new masked character, a Gundam series staple is also revealed but his name, personality, and any hint towards whom he may actually be isn’t. It doesn’t appear to be Todo Micronen using the secret identity of Montag as he is instead preferring to sit behind a desk and micromanage the events instead. Still, he does seem like the type of control freak who would want to make sure things got done properly so there is a good chance it is indeed him. Only time will tell.
Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphan Season 2 is streaming on Daisuki.
