Tag: Exclusive Reports

EXCLUSIVE: ‘Reed’s Point’ Was Originally Part of the ‘Very Frightening Tales’ Anthology

Horror movies remain all the rage for any production no matter the budget. Reed’s Point joins the list of countless horror films, as it explores the legend surrounding the mysterious Jersey Devil and a mysterious accident. Two friends decide to return to the scene of the crime to uncover what truly happened that day and find their missing friend Kesley.

We got a chance to sit down with actress Madison Ekstrand, who plays the character of Kelsey in the film, to talk about her experience with the project, especially as she is also working with director Dale Fabrigar on his upcoming anthology series Very Frightening Tales. In the interview, she revealed that Reed’s Point was originally part of that series before becoming its own feature film.

I think Reed’s Point was originally going to be part of Very Frightening Tales, but the story was just too good to put into a short film. So, they wanted it to be a feature film.
Madison Ekstrand

She also revealed that they’ve actually started work on the anthology series of shorts before they tackled the feature film. Ekstrand offered a little insight into how different the experience was working on the film in comparison to the

I actually did the TV series and then I hopped into the feature film. It was different because in the little shorts I did, you’re more working with the director. It was me and maybe two other cast members. So, you got all this time with the director. But with Reed’s Point, you have to worry about the other people.
Madison Ekstrand

It certainly sounds like jumping from the smaller format into a full feature film was a different experience. She shared her enthusiasm for potentially working with director Fabrigar again, and perhaps there are other shorts that have the potential of growing into a larger production. You can read our review of Reed’s Point right here if you are interested to get our thoughts on the film.

April 13, 2022
EXCLUSIVE: Netflix’s Live-Action ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ Currently Casting Key Members of the Northern Water Tribe

Netflix has been quite busy with their live-action adaptations of classic animated and Anime projects. Most notably, they are currently in production on an adaptation of One Piece and Nickelodeon’s Avatar: The Last Airbender. Especially the latter has been in production since last year, as it’ll tackle one of the most populated Western animated series. Luckily, we can offer an update on the project which is currently starting to cast some key members of the Northern Water Tribe.

The series, which is currently in production under the working title Blue Dawn, is looking to cast recurring guest performers of Indigenous descent to appear in approximately two episodes. While the characters are being cast with code names, their descriptions give us hints on who exactly they are playing and confirm that they are key roles for the adaptation of the Sieg of the North storyline from Avatar: The Last Airbender‘s first season.

Let’s start off with a character by the name of “Chief Red Crow.” They are actively looking for an Indigenous actor in his 40s up to his 50s. As his name implies, he’s the leader of his tribe, and the description highlights that he’ll lead his people into a battle. He also has a daughter named “Grace” that is the most important thing to him, as he wants to make sure she is happy. The description matches the Northern Water Tribe’s Chief Arnook, especially with the mention of his daughter who is likely Princess Yue.

Yue’s code name is also once again mentioned with the character of “Henry.” Not only is the battle mentioned again, but he is highlighted as in love with Grace, while she has eyes for someone else. Henry isn’t too far away from the character of Hahn. He was a strong warrior that was arranged to marry Yue. The only difference is that the character was quite self-centered and egotistical in the original series, who was interested in Yue due to her being the chief’s daughter. He was constantly fighting Sokka, who is played by Ian Ousley, who is the “other” mentioned in the description.

The next major casting is for the role of “Brother Rain.” The character is the village’s “martial arts master” and the teacher of the village’s warriors. This description matches Pakku, who was the one to teach Aang (Gordon Cormier) how to master their waterbending techniques. There’s also a line that highlights he loves “adhering to tradition over progress” which would hint that Pakku’s storyline of only teaching male waterbenders will also have a role in the upcoming adaptation.

He’s not the only teacher in this village, as there’s also the character of “Ayana.” The description highlights her as a healer that teaches women of their tribe. The description perfectly matches Yugoda, who thought Katara (Kiawentiio) some healing techniques while she also continued to pursue Pakku to break his tradition to teach her. The castings are currently hinting that the Avatar Team’s visit to the Northern Water tribe will take place over approximately two of its eight-episode run, which is quite substantial and highlights we’ll get to see quite a bit of this cast.

Recent rumors have pointed to the upcoming live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender to have a budget that is on par with projects like The Mandalorian, Marvel Studios’ various Disney+ series, and even Game of Thrones. The Siege of the North won’t be a cheap sequence to recreate, as the entire Water Tribe fights off the invasion of the Fire Nation. Plus, it’s when Aang enters his Avatar State, which will definitely be quite the visual spectacle. It’ll be interesting to see how they bring these iconic characters to live-action and who they might cast in the respective roles.

March 23, 2022
EXCLUSIVE: ‘Doom Patrol’ Season 4 to Introduce Casey Brinke

Doom Patrol might be one if not the strangest DC series that is streaming on HBO Max. The series follows an unlikely team of emotionally damaged individuals with fantastical abilities. After facing their own trauma and self-worth, we spend time with them facing off against a reality-shattering Mr. Nobody, travel through time, and turn into zombies only to kill a bunch of Were-butts. Yeah, that last sentence is real and it’s still weird to explain, but it’s part of Doom Patrol‘s charm. The series got a renewal for a fourth season during DC FanDome and we can exclusively share that one iconic comic character from the comics is finally joining.

Season 4 will introduce the character of Casey Brinke. The heroine known as Space Case had to face off against her father, who turned into the villain Torminox due to a virus. Her mother was the one to take him out by sacrificing herself leaving her daughter behind. It’s a tragic backstory for the young heroine and happens to be fictional. You see, Danny the Street, who has appeared throughout the series, actually created the comic book she lived in and gained the ability to bring her into reality. As such, she had to come to grips with her life being fiction.

The crew behind the project are actively casting a female actress between the age of 20 and 30. They are sticking to her origins as a fictional comic book character, but she will be Dorothy’s favorite superhero. The upcoming season will see her face off against her father Torminox, who may have a bigger role in the story, as she comes to the rescue when he is attacking Dorothy. Her time in the real world will also force her to grow out of making corny catchphrases and hero poses to understand what it means to feel pain and loss.

The character will be added as a major recurring guest star in Doom Patrol’s fourth season, which just recently started production. She will make a great addition to the team, especially if they are building to her arc from the comics. The last tie we saw the Doom Patrol, they were embracing their heroic side with Cliff Steele stuck in the body of a giant robot. Dorothy has left the team to join the Dead Boy Detectives. As she has the ability to bring her imaginary friends to life, she may be the one to bring Casey into reality this time around. Her addition will be an exciting prospect for comic fans, and another character questioning their own existence fits perfectly into the team.

February 25, 2022
EXCLUSIVE: ‘Fast and Furious 10’ Eyeing April Production Start

Just recently, Vin Diesel took to Instagram to tease that the production start for their first of the final two Fast and Furious films is just “minutes away.” Initially, it was going to release in January, but it’s not uncommon for productions to face some kind of delay nowadays. We can exclusively share that Fast 10 is now eyeing a production start by mid or late April in the United Kingdom.

Justin Lin’s will take on the final two films in the series back-to-back. So, technically they will jump into production on the eleventh and final entry once they wrap up on the tenth Fast and Furious entry. The film is currently still casting two roles for the film, as they are looking to cast two twin boys of the age of seven to nine years of Afro-Latino or mixed-race. It seems that they will have an essential role in the story.

The Vin Diesel-led franchise started back in 2001. What started as this story about illegal street racing turned into an action-packed thrill ride for many viewers. Now, the series includes multiple spinoffs like Netflix’s Spy Racers series or the film focused on Hobbs & Shaw. There also was the video game that was announced with a lot of hype during the Video Game Awards, but sadly couldn’t live up to expectations. While the upcoming two entries might end the Fast Saga as we know it, there is no stopping this nitro-fueled franchise from running out of gas.

February 21, 2022
EXCLUSIVE: Dick Grayson, Harper Row and Spoiler Headline the Roster of CW’s ‘Gotham Knights’

A decade after the premier of Arrow, the CW continues to expand its slate of live-action DC content. In the last decade, more than half a dozen series have made their way to the network and now production is close to beginning on the newest addition, Gotham Knights. The series just recently got a pilot order, meaning it’ll shoot its first episode before possibly being handed a series order. Since the initial report, fans have been in the dark on just who the series will follow with no details on its characters…until now.

Thanks to a friendly source, we’ve been able to put together a pretty good picture of the show’s core characters, the Bat Family. The series is currently looking to cast several series regulars ahead of an April start of production in Toronto.

Most notably, Gotham Knights is looking for an actor, 18 or older, to fill the role of a series regular that fits the bill of Dick Grayson, the first Robin and adopted son of Bruce Wayne.
Described as “athletic” and “sensitive”, the character remains resilient despite being vulnerable following the murder of his parents and subsequent adoption by Wayne.

Interestingly enough, it looks like Grayson won’t be the only former Robin on the show. It seems as though Grayson will be joined by Stephanie Brown, aka Spoiler, a genius-level hacker whose father, a DC villain called Cluemaster, raised her on a “steady diet of brain teasers and puzzles.” Gothman Knight is searching for an 18-year old actress to portray the “sarcastic and smart” character.

We can also deduce that Harper Row, aka Bluebird, is set to join Grayson on the team. The studio is searching for a female to play a “blue-haired bisexual” character who has taken to the streets to escape her abusive home life. Her brother, Cullen, also looks to be joining the series with the studio searching for a transgender actor who identifies as male for the role.

Gotham Knights will also feature “a quick-witted British attache” who sounds like she could be Julia Pennyworth, daughter of Alfred Pennyworth. In the comics, Julia came into the picture after her father was disabled following an attack from Hush. Following in her father’s footsteps, she helped the Bat Family coordinate their efforts.

Probably the most startling character headed for Gotham Knights is one described as the daughter of “the most dangerous man in Gotham.” First thoughts are that the series is going to introduce “Joker’s daugher”, Duela Dent, who claimed to be the daughter of the Joker and also claimed to be the daughter of about every villain in Gotham.

The CW is also searching for a handful of other series regulars, including one that could be Lucius Fox’s daughter, Tiffany, to join the team in addition to the already exciting number of characters listed here, many of whom will be making their live-action debut. There’s also room for plenty of guest stars and supporting members of the cast. Hopefully, with the scheduled start of production right around the corner, casting will start to trickle out soon.

February 11, 2022
EXCLUSIVE: Alan Coulter to Helm Sylvester Stallone’s ‘Kansas City’

Paramount Plus continues to be a major player in the streaming wars with hits like Yellowstone, its prequel 1883, The Mayor of Kingstown and Picard all puling in good numbers and positive buzz. Three of those four series were written by Taylor Sheridan, who has been tapped by the studio to develop what looks to be another big time series, Kansas City. Set to star Sylvester Stallone, Kansas City follows an NYC mobster who relocates to Missouri, where he’ll have to restart his life after serving 25-year prison sentence.

The show will be co-written by Terence Winter, who served as a writer on Boardwalk Empire and The Sopranos, and we can now add that Allen Coulter. who worked with Winter on both series, is on board to direct. The series, which will film in New York City and in Oklahoma, is rounding out the cast now ahead of a March start of production. Stallone’s Balboa Productions is among the production companies backing the show and Stallone will also serve as an executive producer.

January 19, 2022
EXCLUSIVE: Robert Downey Jr.-Led Series ‘The Sympathizer’ Eyeing June Production Start

We were all surprised when it was announced that Robert Downey Jr.’s next major project was an HBO series adapting The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen. Park Chan-wook was attached to direct the series, which explores the tale of a Vietnamese communist spy during the end of the Vietnam War, as he is exiled to the United States. While not much has been reported since the announcement, we can exclusively reveal that the series is being developed with multiple seasons in mind.

The production is still actively casting its co-lead to tar opposite Downey Jr. and is currently scheduled to begin a nearly year-long production this June. The project is actively casting actresses and actors with a Vietnamese background to ensure the authenticity of the project. As such, they will also film parts of the project in Vietnam and Los Angeles once they get the cameras rolling.

It’s great to see the production focus on the book’s cultural background and shoot on location in Vietnam, which generally also helps boost the local economy. The production will also have a predominant Vietnamese cast with Oldboy director Chan-wook also acting as a co-showrunner alongside Don McKellar. HBO, A24, and rhombus Media are producing in association with Cinetic Medi and Moho Film.

January 19, 2022
EXCLUSIVE: Live-Action ‘One Piece’s First Season No Longer Ten Episodes

There’s been a lot of speculation surrounding the upcoming live-action adaptation of One Piece. When the project first picked up momentum in 2020, a message by series creator Eiichiro Oda was released finally offering an update. Sadly, COVID has postponed the project by quite some time, but we finally got a casting confirmation in November for the main members of the Straw Hats. In the initial announcement by Oda, it was announced that the series will run for ten episodes in its first season. However, we can exclusively share that the episode count has changed.

It seems that at some point in its pre-production the episode count has been reduced from 10 to 8 episodes for its premiere season. That is a similar length to Netflix’s recent release, The Witcher. Currently, it seems the show is eyeing a potential start in spring or in the summer of this year. Of course, that has been constantly changing and Omicron concerns may also influence it with rumors of other productions closing down. The recent cancelation of Cowboy Bebop – another production by Tomorrow Studios – by Netflix after only one season might seem like a potential factor, as these are high-budget projects with high expectations of return for Netflix, but highly doubt it as it could’ve already been something that was decided before that show even aired.

The first season will cover the East Blue saga from the original manga series, which ran for 100 chapters. What is noteworthy about this saga is that it mainly focused on smaller arcs where Luffy gathered his initial crew before heading out into the Grand Line, meaning there are quite a few separate storylines that’ll be intertwined into this season. In that case, two fewer episodes could be a sign of tighter pacing and a stronger overlap between these arcs. Eight episodes have worked well for some series like The Witcher, Stranger Things, and more, so a slightly shorter season could work in One Piece‘s favor.

January 13, 2022
EXCLUSIVE: ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Season 5 Eyeing to Start Production Next Month

There has been quite a lot of anticipation for any news surrounding Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale. Its creator Bruce Miller has teased a lot more twists for the coming season, but even after its quick renewal, there was some uncertainty about when it could be expected. This is especially noticeable with rumors hinting at it potentially being the culmination of the entire series that started in 2017, as it may be it’s last. We can exclusively share that the upcoming fifth season is already readying up to start production in early February.

The first episode of Season 5 is currently set to film in Toronto, Canada with Elisabeth Moss, the show’s main star who brought the character of June Osborne to life, will take over directing duties. Series creator Bruce Miller wrote the script for the episode. She has previously directed the third episode of the last season titled “The Crossing”. Not just that, she also directed the eighth and ninth episodes “Testimony” and “Progress” before Liz Garbus took over for the finale.

The story is an adaptation of Margaret Atwood‘s famous novel that explored a dystopian future where a second Civil War led to women becoming child-bearing slaves. The fifth season will follow the aftermath of the actions Moss‘ June takes during the finale of the fourth season, and it’s not going to be an easy road ahead.

January 7, 2022
EXCLUSIVE: Davis Guggenheim Directing a ‘Drunk History’-Inspired Michael J. Fox Documentary

Michael J. Fox has built quite the legacy in Hollywood. Many fondly remember his work on projects like Family Ties, Back to the Future, Spin City, and many more. He recently even appeared in series like The Good Wife and had his own series title The Michael J. Fox Show. It hasn’t been easy for the actor since he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. He became a strong advocate and his foundation has helped fund research into the disease since 2000. Such a history is worth telling, and we can exclusively share that director Davis Guggenheim is going to adapt a project based on the retired actor’s life.

It won’t be your everyday documentary, as the director is adding a new spin. Instead of recreating his life or simply retelling it through archival footage, the project will be inspired by Drunk History. As such, various actors will dramatize different times in the actor’s life. The inspirations of the previously mentioned show lie in how some scenes will be without dialog under narration and lip-sync. It’s currently eyeing a production start in February of 2022.

The casting process is currently underway and it’s a promising concept to take a different approach with a documentary on someone’s life. Guggenheim has worked on projects ranging from An Inconvenient Truth, Inside Bill’s Brain: Decoding Bill Gates, to Waiting for “Superman”. He also has quite a bit of experience in television, such as NYPD Blue, ER, Alias, and Deadwood. It’ll be interesting to see how this project comes to life and retells his life story.

December 13, 2021