HBO announced Thursday, the company has renewed the anthology series ROOM 104 for a second season after only four episodes in on the first season. The series premiered on July 28. Created by Jay and Mark Duplass, the show tells tales of the characters who pass through a single room of a typical American chain motel, ranging from comedy to drama to horror.
“We can’t remember the last time we had so much fun making something. We’re excited to go even further down the rabbit hole with this show,” said Jay and Mark Duplass in a statement.
With only 31 full season reviews in, the series is sitting at an 84% on Rotten Tomatoes.
The first season runs 12-episodes and starred Hugo Armstrong, Davie-Blue, Melonie Diaz, Jay Duplass, Veronica Falcon, Adam Foster, Ellen Geer, Keir Gilchrist, Philip Baker Hall, Sarah Hay, Poorna Jagannathan, Orlando Jones, Ethan & Gavin Kent, Amy Landecker, Konstantin Lavysh, Sameerah Luqmaan-Harris, Keta Meggett, Natalie Morgan, Ross Partridge, Karan Soni, Dendrie Taylor, Tony Todd, Will Tranfo, James Van Der Beek, Mae Whitman, and Nat Wolff.
ROOM 104 tells a story of everyday people striving for connection and meaning each week, with the tone, the characters and the era changing every time.
No casting or production schedule announcements were made for season two.
Are you a fan of ‘ROOM 104,’ do you have a favorite episode so far? Comment below.
Netflix announced Thursday morning the release of ‘Gaga: Five Foot Two’, an intimate and unfettered portrait of a year in the life of Lady Gaga. The documentary was also selected to premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival. ‘Gaga: Five Foot Two’ will hit TIFF and Netflix on the same day, September 22.
“I had a rare opportunity to create a portrait of an artist with such an open heart and mind. I feel really lucky that Gaga trusted me and my vision,” said director Chris Moukarbel.
“I’m excited for people to really get to know the woman I work with every day. She’s one of the hardest working, most genuine, and truly hilarious people in the world,” said Lady Gaga’s manager Bobby Campbell.
About ‘Gaga: Five Foot Two’: Filmmaker Chris Moukarbel (Banksy Does New York) pulls back the curtain to introduce the woman behind the performer, the costumes, the glitz and the glamour. Off-stage, in the studio, unplugged and at home, audiences get an unguarded glimpse at Gaga through a series of personal highs and lows and the culmination of a year’s emotional journey. From struggles with relationships to health issues, from finding solace in her inner circle to conquering her insecurities, Gaga: Five Foot Two navigates the divide between life as a superstar and life as an everyday woman.
The Netflix original documentary ‘Gaga: Five Foot Two’ is directed by Chris Moukarbel and produced by Heather Parry for Live Nation Productions, Bobby Campbell for Mermaid Films, and Moukarbel. The documentary is Executive Produced by Michael Rapino, Kim Ray, Lisa Nishimura, and Benjamin Cotner.
Are you excited for the Lady Gaga documentary? Comment below.
Desmin Borges plays Edgar Quintero on the FXX anti-rom-com YOU’RE THE WORST. He also plays Carlos on PREACHER and John on THE GUEST BOOK. Desmin talks about S4 of YTW, working with Michaela Watkins, the food in Albuquerque, and the “Smooth Edgar.”
Donny Cates made a splash early this year with God Country at Image Comics. By July, he was signed to an exclusive deal at Marvel, and will be taking over both Thanos and Doctor Strange in November. MFR had the chance to talk with the writer and learn a little about his plans.
Cates began by talking about how he got the Marvel gig, and how far into his series he is:
I’ve been working on Thanos for a while now. I’m actually on like the fourth issue or so, and – Dr. Strange – I’m into it a little bit as well. This is, by the way, really odd for me. This is the first interview I’ve done since I’ve done this, and so I’m I’m still in like that “don’t say anything” mode. So it’s weird for me to hear my own voice saying I’m writing Thanos out loud. I had turned in a few scripts, and you know I don’t really know what the decision on their end was to put a ring on it, but I was having a great time. I mean all my editors are great. so far I mean it’s just been fantastic.
He continued by saying how “crazy” he’s going with his scripts:
…everything I’ve pitched so far they’ve gone for, and I have just been pitching the most bananas stuff. Things that I just thought not in a million years they would ever let me do. And they’ve just been like “yeah it’s great.” So I don’t know, maybe it was just that maybe they responded to me getting in there and taking a lot of really crazy chances and trying to do some stuff that – as a Marvel fan myself – I’ve never really seen before and things that I’ve kind of wanted to do for a really long time. So I don’t know. So far so good though.
‘Doctor Strange’ #381, Cates’ first issue. Art by Gabriel Walta and Jordie Bellaire.
A major discussion in comics right now is how far writers can stretch their characters before something breaks. Peter Parker and Steve Rogers have both caused their fair share of controversy in the past year, with some fans feeling they’ve lost their essence. We asked Cates how far he could go with Doctor Strange and Thanos before they ceased to be themselves. He couldn’t say much about Strange, however, as it seems he’s going to try to test the limits on that book:
Well, OK, so on Doctor Strange, you’re not going to understand right now why I can’t really answer that question. But in October, you’ll understand. You’ll come back to this and say, “oh that’s why he was being dicey about that.” Because, you know, I don’t think it’s a secret at this point that in Doctor Strange we have a bit of a new status quo. Loki is the Sorcerer Supreme. And where we find the good doctor when my run picks up is a very unusual place. A place we’ve never seen him before. And if I were to run my mouth off right now and talk about all the things you couldn’t do with Dr. Strange, you would read that issue and go “Well you’re a liar, like you’ve just turned the apple cart upside down.”
Cates was able to elaborate on the Mad Titan, though:
I will say, on Thanos, it’s going to be a lot easier for me to answer. Thanos is a character that I’m kind of weirded out how much I connect to him and how much I kind of understand his character. I keyed into what makes him tick kind of right away. It’s like, when you read a Marvel comic book or a DC comic book on that first page is the recap page or the title page, There’s always that little blurb above the character. You know, on Spider-Man, it’s “Peter Parker got bit by a radioactive spider and now he saves the day, blah blah blah,” right? On Thanos, the little blurb above his says, “he’s constantly consumed with a thirst for power and conquest.” That’s all it says. And I was like, well that’s pretty easy. Like I get that, you know?
“Thanos Triumphant”, the start of Cates’ tenure on the book.
…what can you take away from Thanos? I mean the cool thing to me about Thanos is that, as far as bad guys in the Marvel U, no one has ever come closer to just winning than Thanos. I mean he did, right? He got the Infinity Gems and he killed half of all people in the galaxy…like, in existence right? And Thanos’ biggest bad guy is not any of the heroes. It’s Thanos. He always slips up on himself, right? And so what we’re going to be doing is imagining a world in which Thanos doesn’t trip himself up and he just does it.
Cates’ indie titles have been so popular with readers because he infuses them with his own experiences. They’re relatable. But is that easier to achieve with creator owned works? We asked him if he’s pulling from his own life for his Marvel books as well.
It’s hard not to. For me at least. There are certain themes in Thanos and Doctor Strange both that I’ll be able to speak to a lot more when the issues come out. They’re still so shrouded in mystery of what we’re doing, you know? But certainly, in both of those books, there’s big chunks of my life, big chunks of things that I’ve been through that I’ve been able to bring into it. Luckily enough, the two stories that I’ve been lucky enough to tell (so far – the ones you know about) have both kind of tapped into things that I’ve very much felt at the time.
Thanos’ constant quest for power and this notion that throughout the years he’s reached the top of the mountain and looked out and said “is this it? is this all this is going to be? I’ve gotten where I want to be and it’s not enough.” Well certainly as someone who, at the beginning of 2017, was a creator that no one cared about and then God Country came out and suddenly by June had an exclusive contract with Marvel, which is something that I’ve wanted my entire life, you know certainly those feelings of getting what you want and looking out and being like “that was faster than I thought it was going to take.” Like, what happens now? What do I want now that I have the thing that I wanted, you know?
And again I’ll be able to speak to these kind of themes and specific tones and things that I’m going to bring through once people start to read them. Thanos and Doctor Strange both have very different tones. Thanos is always going to be very big and very epic. I mean it’s hard to step in the shoes that Jim Starlin filled and not want to go as big and as brutal and as epic as possible. And then Doctor Strange, while he has all of those elements as well, this particular Doctor Strange has a very different kind of tilt to it. So I think that when you read Doctor Strange you’ll get what I’m talking about. You’ll read it and go, “OK, Donny is going through some shit here.”
Netflix released the trailer for Season Four of ‘BoJack Horseman’ Thursday afternoon and future filmmakers should take note, this is how you make a trailer.
There’s a song, a story, and punchline. Even if you don’t watch the series the trailer is engaging and makes you watch till the end.
Creator Raphael Bob-WaksbergAbout gives you the inside scoop on BoJack Horseman Season Four: Bam boom, BoJack Horseman season four synopsis, here we go. Okay, so this season is full of all the things people love about their favorite depressed talking horse. First of all, you’ve got BoJack himself, who is up to his old tricks. Then you have Princess Carolyn, who is one cool cat. While Princess Carolyn toys with the idea of starting a family, BoJack has family issues of his own. This season, on BoJack Horseman. Meanwhile, Diane and Mr. Peanutbutter have family issues of their own. You might say their marriage is “in a pit,” if you know what I mean (which you won’t, until you watch the season). Meanwhile Todd has issues of his own — as he explores his own evolving sexual identity and also in some episodes doesn’t do that. Oh! And Mr. Peanutbutter’s running for governor now; I forgot to mention that, that’s important. Also, in one episode BoJack wears a new hat! Bet you want to tune in to see that new hat, huh? Okay, I lied, there’s no new hat. I just really want you to watch the new season of BoJack Horseman!
‘BoJack Horseman’ returns to Netflix on September 8.
Are a fan of ‘BoJack Horseman,’ what is your favorite episode? Comment below.
All Richard Linklater does is make fantastic American movies, time and time again. Witness his latest, Last Flag Flying, starring Steve Carell, Bryan Cranston, and Laurence Fishburne.
Even this trailer gave me all the feels. Check it out:
In Richard Linklater’s lyrical road movie, as funny as it is heartbreaking, three aging Vietnam-era Navy vets—soft-spoken Doc (Steve Carell), unhinged and unfiltered Sal (Bryan Cranston), and quietly measured Mueller (Laurence Fishburne)—reunite to perform a sacred task: the proper burial of Doc’s only child, who has been killed in the early days of the Iraqi Invasion. As this trio of old friends makes its way up the Eastern seaboard, Linklater gives us a rich rendering of friendship, a grand mosaic of common life in the USA during the Bush era, and a striking meditation on the passage of time and the nature of truth. To put it simply, Last Flag Flying is a great movie from one of America’s finest filmmakers.
What a cast, what a director. Last Flag Flying is based on a book from Darryl Ponicsan, who also wrote The Last Detail. Both films have similar storylines, and this looks as good if not better than Hal Ashby’s 1973 film.
Last Flag Flying will premiere opening night of the New York Film Festival, and it will hit theaters November 3.
George R. R. Martin was shocked recently to learn that he didn’t watch Game of Thrones, according to EW.
A large number of media outlets reported on Wednesday that the author did not watch the television adaptation of his popular A Song of Ice and Fire series. Among these were publications of repute, such as the New York Post. One article even directly attributed the sentence “I don’t watch Game of Thrones” to Martin in its very title.
While the series has stirred conflict amongst fans of the source material for years, this is not the case.* When EW reached out to Martin, he claimed that this information was utterly false, and attributed the misconception to poor translations of an interview he gave while attending a convention in Russia. He did, however, express that his trip abroad had caused him to fall behind on the show.
*(Admittedly, as a huge fan of A Song of Ice and Fire, the author of this article finds the show far more palatable when considered to be a work of fan fiction rather than an adaptation. As a show, it mostly succeeds, but without much of the intelligence, subtlety, or general masterful storytelling and genre revision which are hallmarks of the original material. Game of Thrones is simultaneously great television and a truly terrible adaptation.)
There have been rumors that Martin is displeased with Game of Thrones for some time, and while it is likely true that he is not thrilled that the show is telling his story before he gets to (in a very simplified, if different, way), when one considers how frequently he surrounds himself with the cast, crew, and creators of the show, it becomes apparent that this is false. Would Martin run the show differently? That is almost certain. But to paint a picture of an author boycotting an adaptation of his own work, as many publications have done, is to twist his words (or mistranslations of his words) into something with no resemblance to the truth.
The way the media has treated George R. R. Martin has been extremely unfair, and publications of alleged repute, such as the New York Post, should be held to a higher standard.
Another month down and only a third left of 2016 is left. This means it’s once again time to look at all the new titles which are coming to the Netflix. These are all the titles a geek needs to see to keep their nerd cred strong.
10The Magic School Bus Rides Again (September 29th)
The educational program of your childhood is back again. A entire new generation will able able to watch as Miss Frizzle takes her students on insane adventures on a bus which has the ability to transform. Admit it. You all wished your own school bus could do it.
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What titles are you looking forward watching on Netflix in September? Leave a comment below and let us know.
If there was a Titans character that needed extra attention when it came to casting, it would be Starfire. This character is so perfect, yet so off, all at the same time. Plus, Starfire and Dick Grayson had a very powerful relationship as they were almost married in the comic books.
Greg Berlanti, Akiva Goldsman, Geoff Johns, Sarah Schechter, and Warner Bros TV found their Starfire Wednesday night with the announcement that Anna Diop landed the role, according to Deadline.
Anna Diop / Starfire
‘Titans follows a group of young soon-to-be Super Heroes recruited from every corner of the DC Universe. In this action-packed series, Dick Grayson emerges from the shadows to become the leader of a fearless band of new heroes, including Starfire, Raven, Beast Boy, and many others.’
‘Titans’ will be written by Akiva Goldsman, Geoff Johns, and Greg Berlanti. The cast so far; Teagan Croft as Raven and Anna Diop as Starfire.
Twenty years ago, Joseph Weber became the Black Hammer. Ten years ago, Lucy Weber lost her father when he defeated Anti-God, saving Spiral City and the world. Two years ago, Lucy started looking for him. And she found more than she ever expected.
Writing
This issue takes the focus away from the heroes stuck in a prison they cannot escape from and instead shines a light on the outside world. The viewpoint is of Lucy, the daughter of Black Hammer and the life she lives without her father around. It’s sad to watch her grow up without him but offers genuine emotions with moments anyone can relate to, like having an awkward conversation with your remaining parent about the one who is not around.
The last part of the issue is where writer Jeff Lemire really shines. Lucy finds herself getting the some of the answers she has been desperate for but this is where things get flipped around. You have to read the issue to experience it but needless to say it’s not where you’d expect the issue to go in the end.
Artwork
The artwork by David Rubin offers a bit of a mixbag. The color work throughout is fantastic and really helps sell the mood. The facial expressions seem a bit inconsistent but it’s starting to seem like this is intentional because its suppose to showcase the different emotions each of the characters are going through in the moment. It’s powerful to say the least so maybe this is just a nitpick.
Conclusion
If you have been hearing good things about Black Hammer and are looking for a good starting point to the series, then look no further than issue 12. It feels like a great place for first timers and makes you want to read more and learn more about what is happening with these characters.
