‘Fatal Attraction’ takes on new life with Joshua Jackson
Joshua Jackson stars in the series version of “Fatal Attraction” that premieres Sunday on Paramount+.
Joshua Jackson stars in the series version of “Fatal Attraction” that premieres Sunday on Paramount+.
By Jay Bobbin As a hit 1987 movie, “Fatal Attraction” started a national conversation on the possible price of infidelity.
The story may do that again in a Paramount+ series version that begins streaming Sunday, April 30, both re-creating and expanding upon the original premise. Joshua Jackson (“The Affair,” “Dawson’s Creek”) assumes Michael Douglas’ earlier role as Dan Gallagher, a husband, father and legal eagle hoping to become a judge ... but his plans are altered by an encounter with victims’-rights advocate Alex Forrest (Lizzy Caplan, in Glenn Close’s previous part).
A fling results while Dan’s wife Beth (Amanda Peet) is away, and though he doesn’t see it as
an ongoing situation, Alex has other ideas that eventually turn distinctly dangerous. The show alternates between extended flashbacks and an update of the central characters’ lives, now including Dan and Beth’s daughter Ellen (seen in the movie as a child) as a young adult, played by Alyssa Jirrels.
Inheriting Anne Archer’s film role, the pleasant Peet says she was “familiar” with the original “Fatal Attraction” and “loved it.”
However, she considers the series’ approach needed “for Alex’s character, and seeing things through the prism of what we know now about mental illness.
One of the biggest (changes) is the daughter, since she has some searing memories, and we lean into that storyline.”
Also a writer-producer who co-created the Netflix series “The Chair,” Peet was brought into “Fatal Attraction” by writer and executive producer Alexandra Cunningham, for whom she played convicted killer Betty Broderick in the series “Dirty John.” Ironically, Peet originally was asked to suggest other actresses to portray Beth, “and then (Cunningham) was like, ‘Why don’t you just do it?’ And I was like, ‘OK. I thought you’d never ask!’ “ Depicting parts of the story that span 15 years necessitates different looks for Peet, who notes that aspect has required “a fair amount” of time for her with the show’s hair and makeup staff. “It’s not horrible, and our amazing team got really good at making it as quick as possible.
Mostly, we tried to shoot all the scenes for one time period together (for a given episode), so that we wouldn’t have to spend a lot of extra time on the changeover.” The wife of “Game of Thrones” writer-producer David Benioff (and mother to their three children), Peet also has made such movies as “Something’s Gotta Give” and “The Whole Nine Yards” and the series “Togetherness” and “Brockmire.” She maintains that being an actress for hire again, after overseeing so many of “The Chair’s” creative elements, is “a different type of stress. But there’s nothing like rolling into the office in your sweatpants, which was what I got to do on ‘The Chair.’
FACT: EUROPEANS WERE SCARED OF EATING TOMATOES WHEN THEY WERE INTRODUCED
Scholars think Hernán Cortés brought the seeds in 1519 with the intent of
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April 30
“Movie: Bigger, Stronger, Faster”
In the style of Morgan Spurlock and Michael Moore, filmmaker Christopher Bell explores the world of performance-enhancing drugs, starting with himself and his two brothers — he no longer uses them, but they do. The film doesn’t come out strongly for or against steroid use but does make a poignant point on how necessary it seems to have become in a culture obsessed with winning.
“Algiers, America”
This five-part documentary series follows the Edna Karr High School football team, the pride of the Algiers neighborhood of New Orleans, a community fighting to stem the tide of child deaths from gun violence. It also chronicles the efforts of coach Brice Brown and the Cougars to win their fifth state championship in six years. (ORIGINAL)
Where all the top choices can be found in one place!
“A Small Light”
“Sweet Tooth”
The actioner about a half-human/halfdeer boy returns for its sophomore round and finds Gus (Christian Convery) and his fellow hybrids held captive by the Last Men in order to find a cure for the Sick. To save his friends, Gus must find new strength as he uncovers the origins of The Great Crumble. Nonso Anozie, Adeel Akhtar and Dania Ramirez also star. (ORIGINAL)
“Class of ‘09: Season 1” (Hulu — series premiere, May 10)
(May 2)
This new series follows 20-something Miep Gies, who hid her boss Otto Frank and his family from the Nazis during World War II. For two years, Miep, her husband and others helped watch over Otto, his family and four others in the secret annex. Miep found Anne’s diary and kept it safe so Otto, the only one of the eight who survived, could later share it with the world.
April 30
Sunday
6:55 a.m. ESPN Formula 1 Racing Azerbaijan Grand Prix. (Live)
8 a.m. MSG 2023 Mutua Madrid Open Tennis ATP/ WTA Third Round. (Live)
9 a.m. USA Premier League Soccer Fulham vs. Manchester City. (Live)
11:30 a.m. USA Premier League Soccer Liverpool vs. Tottenham Hotspur.
(Live)
12 p.m. MSG College
Softball Loyola-Chicago at Fordham. (Live)
WGRZ-2 WICU-12 USFL Football Pittsburgh Maulers vs. Philadelphia Stars. (Live)
12:30 p.m. ESPN College
Softball LSU at Alabama.
(Live)
1 p.m. ESPN2 College
Softball Tennessee at Arkansas. (Live)
GOLF PGA Tour Golf Mexico Open at Vidanta, Final Round. (Live)
WKBW-7 NBA Basketball Playoffs: Teams TBA. (Live)
WPIX-11 LIV Golf League Singapore, Day 3. (Live)
1:30 p.m. ATTPT MLB Baseball Pittsburgh Pirates at Washington Nationals.
(Live)
SNY MLB Baseball Atlanta Braves at New York Mets.
(Live)
2 p.m. FS1 NASCAR Cup Series Wurth 400. (Live)
3 p.m. ESPN XFL Football North Division
Championship: Teams TBA.
(Live)
ESPN2 College Baseball Florida State at Notre Dame.
(Live)
GOLF PGA Tour
Champions Golf Insperity Invitational, Final Round.
(Live)
MSG Major League
Rugby Rugby New York
Ironworkers at New England Free Jacks. (Live)
WIVB-4 WSEE-35 PGA Tour Golf Mexico Open at Vidanta, Final Round. (Live)
3:30 p.m. WGRZ-2 WICU-12 IndyCar Racing Children’s Of Alabama Indy Grand Prix. (Live) WKBW-7 NBA Basketball Playoffs: Teams TBA. (Live)
4 p.m. WNYW-5 WUTV-29 USFL Football New Jersey Generals
6:30 p.m. SNY MLB Baseball New York Mets at Detroit Tigers. (Live) 7 p.m. TBS MLB Baseball Toronto Blue Jays at Boston Red Sox. (Live)
7:30 p.m. TNT NBA Basketball Playoffs: Teams TBA. (Live)
8 p.m. ESPN NHL Hockey Second Round: Teams TBA. (Live) 10 p.m. FS1 CONCACAF Champions League Soccer Los Angeles FC vs. Philadelphia Union. (Live) TNT NBA Basketball Playoffs: Teams TBA. (Live) 10:30 p.m. ESPN NHL Hockey Second Round: Teams TBA. (Live) WedneSday
3 p.m. USA Premier League Soccer Manchester City vs. West Ham United. (Live)
4 p.m. GOLF Golf 2023 PGA Professional Championship, Final Round. (Live)
6:30 p.m. SNY MLB Baseball New York Mets at Detroit Tigers. (Live)
It wasn’t that long ago that Brandon Nimmo was looked upon in some corners as a fourth outfielder. Critics argued that his .260 batting average and below grade defense in center field made him nothing but a back-up with a big grin.
But with an adjustment in positioning in 2022 and the growing realization that leadoff hitters with pop and a lifetime onbase percentage of .385 don’t grow on trees, Nimmo became an attractive commodity on last winter’s free agent market. The New York Mets ponied up, resigning him to an eight-year, $162 million contract.
And now it’s time for the affable Wyoming native to live up to it. He was solid in his walk year in ‘22, batting .274 with 16 home runs, 71 walks, 102 runs scored, an on-base percentage of .367 and an OPS of an even .800.
But arguably his most memorable moment of the season came on defense. In the Mets’ home game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Aug. 31, Nimmo’s leap at the fence to haul in a would-be Justin Turner home run preserved an important victory against a possible playoff opponent and caused the Citi Field faithful to erupt in hysterics. Caught up in the moment, Nimmo thrust his fist in the air, his smile wider than ever. As 2023 gets going, it seems the only thing that might hold Nimmo back is injury. He missed significant time in 2019 and 2021 but the Mets are betting his full 2022 campaign will be more representative of his reliability going forward.
Full name: Brandon Tate Nimmo
Birth date: March 27, 1993
Birthplace: Cheyenne, Wyo.
Height/weight: 6 feet, 3 inches/206 pounds
Teams: New York Mets (2016-present)
Position: Center fielder
Bats/throws: Left/right
No.: 9
Honors and achievements:
National League triples leader (2022; career stats – .269 average with 63 homers, 213 RBIs, 335
Saturday
7:30 a.m. GOLF DP World Tour Golf DS Automobiles Italian Open, Third Round. (Live)
10 a.m. ESPN2 Women’s College Beach Volleyball
Solution is on page 6.
“Lifeboat” (1944) Co-written by novelist John Steinbeck, Alfred Hitchcock’s excellent melodrama loads the title craft with survivors of a ship that was targeted and sunk by a U-boat ... with one of the U-boat’s crew members also on the lifeboat.
“The Caine Mutiny” (1954) Though a good chunk of this drama takes place in a courtroom, a sizable amount of it also unfolds at sea, where said mutiny occurs –and Humphrey Bogart is chillingly great as Captain Queeg.
“The Old Man and the Sea” (1958)
It’s basically Spencer Tracy and the ocean in this adaptation of the Ernest Hemingway novel.
“The Last Voyage” (1960) For this massively tense melodrama (which Turner Classic Movies shows Wednesday, May 3),
Miami Grand Prix, Practice 1. (Live)
5:55 p.m. ESPN2 Formula 1 Racing Miami Grand Prix, Practice 2. (Live)
6 p.m. GOLF LPGA Tour Golf Hanwa LIFEPLUS International Crown, Second Round. (Live)
7 p.m. ESPN2 College Softball Oklahoma at Oklahoma State. (Live) SNY MLB Baseball Colorado Rockies at New York Mets. (Live) TNT NHL Hockey Second Round: Teams TBA. (Live)
7:30 p.m. ESPN NBA Basketball Conference Semifinal: Teams TBA. (Live)
9:30 p.m. TNT NHL Hockey Second Round: Teams TBA. (Live)
10 p.m. ESPN NBA Basketball Conference Semifinal: Teams TBA. (Live) ESPN2 NBA Basketball NBA in Stephen A.’s World, Conference Semifinal: Teams TBA. (Live)
2:30 a.m. FS1 AFL Premiership Football Gold Coast Suns vs. Melbourne Demons. (Live)
FS1 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Heart Of America 200, Qualifying.
WICU-12 Horse Racing Kentucky Derby Prep Races. (Live)
director Andrew L. Stone actually seemed to sink a ship, with Robert Stack playing a passenger trying to get his trapped wife (Dorothy Malone) off the vessel in time. And trust us, it turns out to be the nick of time.
“Mutiny on the Bounty” (1962) Color and the widescreen process do much for this remake of the classic story, here starring Marlon Brando and Trevor Howard.
“Ship of Fools” (1965) Director Stanley Kramer’s version of Katherine Anne Porter’s novel offers a great cast – including Vivien Leigh, Lee Marvin, Simone Signoret, George Segal and standout Michael Dunn – in the story of a boatload of passengers headed for Germany before World War II.
“The Poseidon Adventure” (1972)
The film that really kicked off the disaster-movie craze of the ‘70s, producer Irwin
runs, an on-base percentage of .385 and OPS of .827 Did you know: Nimmo never played high school baseball as Wyoming is one of three states that do not offer it; he did, however, star in American Legion ball
Allen’s thriller bonds a group of passengers to climb upward to hoped-for rescue after their ship is overturned by a massive tidal wave.
“Jaws” (1975) The trio (Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss) that pursues a great white shark surely will “need a bigger boat.”
“Das Boot” (1981) Filmmaker Wolfgang Petersen’s intense drama follows a German U-boat crew on a dangerous mission.
“Titanic” (1997) Well, of course.
Though it incorporates fictionalized elements, director James Cameron’s Oscar-winning take on the disaster is the most visually stunning one to date, and it cemented the stardom of Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet.
Adam Beverly Barry Geoff
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(Hayley) Orrantia (Sean) Giambrone (Wendi) McLendon-Covey (Troy) Gentile (Sam) Lerner
(Series) Finale Sitcom Eighties Family (Movie) Parodies
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Adam Beverly Barry Geoff
Solution is on page 11.
(Hayley) Orrantia (Sean) Giambrone (Wendi) McLendon-Covey (Troy) Gentile (Sam) Lerner
Q: How is it stepping into the mindset of a character whose world suddenly doesn’t make sense?
(Series) Finale Sitcom Eighties Family (Movie) Parodies
A: It’s hard. It’s really hard because it’s hard to imagine. But I think for Bailey in each episode, she comes in with a question like what if this is the answer, what if this is the answer? I think she’s searching for answers all the time (about her father’s disappearance) and she’s trying to grasp onto anything that will stay still for long enough. So I think throughout the show stepping into that mindset, it was so about her anxiety of being in the unknown. It’s not even a fear of the unknown, it’s being in it and that is where the anxiety is coming from.
BY GEORGE DICKIEQ: So was there a coming down from this character when filming wrapped?
“The Great: Season 3” (Hulu — season premiere, May 12) Picking up after the events of the Season 2 finale, the 10-episode third round of this original black comedy sees Catherine and Peter (Elle Fanning, Nicholas Hoult) trying to make their marriage work, readying for a visit from the U.S. ambassador that tests her diplomatic skills and coping with taunting visions of his father that try his sanity.
OF THE LAST THING HE TOLD ME ON APPLE TV+
Q: How is it stepping into the mindset of a character whose world suddenly doesn’t make sense?
A: You know, it’s so strange. It was really hard to say goodbye to her. I really became so close with the story and the characters and I’ve never worked on something that took that long to film, so we were really in it for such a long time. And then just recently, I was at work and someone called out “Bailey!” And I looked up and I was like, “Yes?” But they weren’t talking to me, obviously; they were talking to someone who’s actually called Bailey. But I was still – I don’t know, that name was still living somewhere in my brain as an identifier for me. I was ready, I was like “Yes?” So I thought that I’d kind of let her go but maybe I haven’t. Maybe there’s still some of that left.
A: It’s hard. It’s really hard because it’s hard to imagine. But I think for Bailey in each episode, she comes in with a question like what if this is the answer, what if this is the answer? I think she’s searching for answers all the time (about her father’s disappearance) and she’s trying to grasp onto anything that will stay still for long enough. So I think throughout the show stepping into that mindset, it was so about her anxiety of being in the unknown. It’s not even a fear of the unknown, it’s being in it and that is where the anxiety is coming from.
Q: So was there a coming down from this character when filming wrapped?
A: You know, it’s so strange. It was really hard to say goodbye to her. I really became so close with the story and the characters and I’ve never worked on something that took that long to film, so we were really in it for such a long time. And then just recently, I was at work and someone called out “Bailey!” And I looked up and I was like, “Yes?” But they weren’t talking to me, obviously; they were talking to someone who’s actually
Bailey. But I was still – I don’t know, that name was still living somewhere in my brain as an identifier for me. I was ready, I was like “Yes?” So I thought that I’d kind of let her go but maybe I haven’t. Maybe there’s still some of that left.
diplomatic skills and coping with taunting visions of his father that try his sanity.
Solution is on page 11.
The identity of the featured celebrity is found within the answers in the puzzle. In order to take the TV Challenge, unscramble the letters noted 2 x 3” ad