FEBRUARY 2013 / NO. 3 / £ 5.99 / $ 9.99
Tim Surette about THE CONCLUTION OF
FRINGE
INTERVIEW WITH
J.J. ABRAMS FLASHBACK: ANALYSING
SHUTTER ISLAND BRUCE I
S BACK.
AND HE
A GOOD
STILL GO
T IT.
DAY TO
DIE HAR
+
EXCLUSI
VE INTER
UPCOMING FILMS RANDOM FILM FACTS TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT THE GLYPHS FROM FRINGE OBSERVING THE OBSERVERS ANALYSING SHUTTER ISLAND
D
VIEW
LEADER: FEBRUARY 2013
IT’S ONLY AFTER WE’VE LOST EVERYTHING THAT WE’RE FREE TO DO ANYTHING.
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PUBLISHER: BAUER CONSUMER MEDIA COPYRIGHT © 2013 COMPANYNUMBER 1176085 REGISTERED OFFICE: 21 HOLBORN VIADUCT, LONDON EC1A 2DY BLUESCREEN MAGAZINE © COMPANYNUMBER 1234567 UNIT 12 BLUE LION PLACE, 237 LONG LN, LONDON SE1 CONTACTINFO: 0044 123 456 789 CONTACT@BLUESCREEN.COM 2. EDITION 2013 FEBUARY AD: MIKE JOHANSON, MIKE.JOHANSON@BLUESCREEN.COM DESIGN: IDA BERGERSEN, IDA.BERGERSEN@BLUESCREEN.COM JOURNALISTS: JOSH WINNING, TIM SURETTE, DANIEL FIENBERG, JOHN SCOTT, FOR BLUESCREEN MAGAZINE PHOTOES FROM FOX, FRINGE TELEVISION, FRINGEBLOGGERS, CINEMABLEND, ALPHACODERS.COM PRINTED: PRINTHOUSE FOR NERDS © 2013
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CONTENTS: FEBRUARY 2013
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No matter how you decide to spend the sappiest and most commercialized holiday this side of Christmas, everyone needs a break from flowers and hearts on Valentine’s Day -and this year, John McClane is coming to rescue you.
By Josh Winning
take himself very seriously,” Bruce Willis tells Total Film of his most famous cinematic creation. “Whatever confidence he has he keeps to himself, he doesn’t try to grandstand; he doesn’t need that. And that’s something that allows the audience to become interested in the guy It’s fair to say that John McClane’s and root for him and hope that he overcomes the obstacles that are getting on a bit. Twenty-five years in front of him.” after he pulverised preening baddie Returning in A Good Day To Die Hard, the fifth film in the franchise, Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) in McClane’s about to do something he’s never done before. This time, 1988’s genre-juicing Die Hard, he’s the terrorists aren’t coming to him - he’s going right to their door. That’s traded gunfire (and quips) with right, the accidental hero knows just what he’s doing, heading to Russia the likes of Jeremy Irons, Samuel when he learns that his son, Jack (Jai Courtney), is fraternising with L. Jackson and Kevin Smith. He’s dangerous criminals in Moscow. Not only does he plan to straighten survived exploding lifts, been featured things out, he sees it as a chance to patch ip his rocky relationship with in People magazine jumped off and junior. Packing The Vest overseas isn’t exactly a new concept for the on the wagon and franchise: early drafts of the Die confronted a small Hard 4.0 screenplay had McClane army of silly-accented variously taking on techie crims He’s not a big He-Man. terrorists. And he’s in Tokyo and helping his daughter He doesn’t go to the gym and get still not at all ready sink shipwreck plunderers in the super-large. He just gets it done for retirement. Caribbean. But while those ideas with the tools that he has. In a time when were ditched in favour in Thimothy his franchise name Olyphant’s slimy, cunning and - Bruce Willis has always survived arrogant cyber-crook, corruption by legions AGDTDH - which of screaming R-Pattz fans, McClane is directed by filmmaker John Moore - sticks to remains what he always was; a really its guns and whisks McClane away from dedicated try-hard. “He doesn’t the safety and control of home turf.
“
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DIE HARD 5 :MAINARTICLE
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rseas y ove u are r o t s e o set th rk, way y had toe fur ther ar New Yo ter e W a “ o h w t s f se to ele . becau Los Ang he fish ou ins Willis from ore like t be,” expla ne of the the me going to ys been one is a fish , you’r that’s alwa at McCla r e we go h “And y points, t - any whel e ; t ha t h e’t s tor f water r o b s t a c he doesn ou t ois a not h e ssian, that here. So t ha t ’t speak Ru r ules are rules up.” doesn what thees his ownone from k now d of mak Clane’s d illis , the he kin what Mc ding to Wand innate It’s . Accor usness keeping ff llio the octer’s rebe een key in both in chara bilit y has bting for him any Die likea nces roo film, or in ar s . audie ar ticular las t 25 ye e doesn’t . this p over the e-Man. H per -lar ge Hard not a big Hand get su the tools h “He’s o the g ym done wit e’s go t s t gets it cClan He juhe has .” r t antly, Mpr ior i ties: that os t impo ck solid the wrong M h ro being in ’s a family n wi t . r e a ma e a gif t fo ng time, h er second despit at the wro er ior -k ick uch alive . place r s t , a pos t n is ver y mamily af fair guy fi dis tinc tio esolutely f s down in That DTDH, a r e touche that sont in AG n McClan iscover s scuing a Whe cow, he deed of r e wor k ing Mos isn’ t in n ally been , and his Jack he’s ac tu r the CIA lly blown all - rcover fos t potentiasay, Jack ’a unde an has ju dless to g hs old mover. Nee sed. ,” lau his c -too -plea lationship nd-comer none tr ick y r e ussie up-a m Cr uise A o “ I t ’s ar tney, the melling T ut as Cou een pum r. ple, b las t s k Reache ferent peo n relation in Jac’re ver y dif father-so me out of . h g “They mmon wit ference coan any thin t, is co , their dif more th stretegis ships similar ities more of a is to k ind their definitely whole MO probably Jack ’s eas John’s k now, Jack ly different wher g it . You complete he’s a chip of win imself as a essence sees h ut really inck .” e guy, b e old blo d fo r c aroun ink the n of f th o s h his don’t t at having “I sed t h Does grow up? y progres ,” Willis all rs to John c ter has relas t 25 yea ly at what id a e r w a h ially t g h c over es pec l flailin much s. “He’s s til to do is , mily.” muse ight thingss to his fa en at the the r it come always be DH t akes when mily has ard, AGDT McClane If fa f Die H level as brood o n t hear t o the nex s a Russiaives . The t t in t c a a t ha t th u p ag s o b je r aps goes n e f a r i o u under we Ger man w i t h cs are son Koch, th m figure specifiSebas tioa ys phanto uch. “ I ’m even r who pla say too md ac tually . ac to orov, can’t n guy, an pologises Kom g a Russiasay! ” he a family as , playin all I can they’re a the film that’s Russians , aughter inthese t wo d “ The . I have a ompar ing tle well about c d a lit to s h e n : so it’sies .” s t p io . famil tney at temthe situat g to Jack Cour light on ns ever y tinhim for a moreorov mea protec t o “ Kom ’s there t the film. Jack par t of lar ge
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DIE HARD 5 :MAINARTICLE
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MAINARTICLE: DIE HARD 5 Komo to himrov is of en well- ; his liveli ormous im like a being.” Do ood depe por tance “ It is through- esn’t exa nds on his a d that ,” efinitely nd througc tly sound hb C o u r n ot a s t cle ad guy ne W that t h a t is cle y teases . ar - cu t as . t wo he comin ar - cu t , t to re single -min g togethe hough, is sult in ro d one ted pack s is f these hing: W he ac tio going n. inten re the fir t s t o phob n tr app Die Ha ic r in sequ cor ne g him in ds were wor ldels have or s , the su claus tro that A conside pened ubsequent so lar GDTDH c r ably - so p to this ge i t o too nt ains a much so “I for thcan’t t akek 78 days car chase “Ever ose thin any res to shoo t p y g what body has s! ” laughs onsibilit y . t w h W e o ir illis . uld b s equ own e film. Sence in t a great , bver sion of h o ig e m nex t a etime box; D c tion t o t h sometimes it goes o ie Hard u e you s s t o r y. s it seem tside the really hoot - somI t ’s jus t so s or ganic asked plea sed ething y mething other back to d to continou do. I ’m fir s t o incar natioo other ve ue to be is . Ev ne really ns of Die r sions and be as er y thing e is… that’sHard. The ls go o d a as e is jus ll there D sequ espite thethat film.”t tr ying to bet te ences call escalatin cop, Mr things froing for b g ac tion from cClane - m the woig ger and fr ans another ‘8 to bor row rd-wear y too o chise - de 0s-spawn a phr ase alway ld for this finitely isn ed ac tion watc s been ju shit . Die ’t get ting been hing him b s t a s mu Hard has hair lin about ob us t boot ch abou t when e recede ser ving Wy as it has ou t t other ‘80 . And in illis’ own mess he big gu s icon are a decade ageist age is cleans once m break ing when r it com : Holly woore, the es to a o Willis ction d ain’t heroe fac t t himself s. over hat you c has appla and it the cour san watch uded the afr aid ’s an issu e of the him aging said t of addr e the fr an five films over o any 30 - essing. “ If chise isn’t , going the nex t year - old a you had 57 an to have five year c tor,’ OK that d make fi to age fr s , you’r e , failed had been ve films foom 30 to wor k hor r ibly. me I wo r us…’ I done ed,” WilliIt jus t wou uld have f of 27 five film s admit s ldn’t have life m year s , w s over th . “ Having am a oving for hat you e cour se s r t he w age o ard and ee is my f 30, w 31, 4 0 here I W , 57… older hen it co ” dar ke doesn’ t mes to D ac tio r, though necessar ie Hard into en heroes . W her ily mean , (c h e c ver -bleak are sur fin ea s other Chr is k ou t D er, blacker g a vogue AGDT tian Bale’s aniel Cr a ter r itor y gr it t y DH walk s Batman, ig’s Bond ir re thr ills a a fine lin Bour ne… , “ I thinverence. nd tonguee bet wee ), -in- ch n the f k this film eek like a r anchise; fi t s r igh n i t t ’s a in li n en ot h e r w o four,” film com t gonna f ith eel C o u r pa r e d t n ey t a ssur o t he es .
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“ T ha t s t y le wa s J ohn the a ; he r eally Moore’s and udience r wanted shooting lot o we did a ight into t to br ing wa s f messy f lot of ha he ac tion desig li t , the w r ames . T ndheld, a I t do ned, wer ay the sh he way it of gloes definit e t ailor e ot s wer e light a omy feel ely have d to that of th nd kept o to it , bu that k ind . they ese char a n its feet t it’s kept balan handle sit c ter s and by nature ce uatio ns . T the way De .” here’s towa spite Willi a dis tin rd playing s’ gung-h o g a a u s t is o t tu mo itude hed m ew be pr ur s s till pe ac tion ge hat more e r n p s t is p le ma t t ha t e d to in fu n Cour tur e Die take over Jack could , H f t r “ I dun ney’s no ard ins om Joh n t mentno, there’s t so sure. allment s . io b e n e s f a n ch n r um of t imaginise’ thing his ‘ t ake our s and It wo e doing , and I r e over the been uld be ha one witho ally can’ t never done be rd to gr as ut B r uce . p fo r e , .” so ne. B u t it’s Ko c h v e , se e n r say an e up w all five Diex p er t ha h v in a H t g n ow “ Die ard fi H m os t doub ard is B r u of us alrealms , sums t c d Die H about th e Willis, y k new is imp ard with at . It’s all a there’s no : o b ossib le.” u t John M out him. cClan e
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DIE HARD 5 :MAINARTICLE
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STAR TR In theatreEK INTO DAR K N s from M ay 2013 ESS THE WO In theatre LVER INE s from Ju ly 2013 A F T ER E A R T H In theatre s from Ju ne 2013 G ANGS T E In theatre R SQUAD s from Jan uary 2013 T he Hob b it : THE DES In theatreOL ATION OF SMA s from De cember 2 UG 013 IRON MA In theatre N 3 s from Ap ril 2013 PAR K ER In theatre s from Jan uary 2013 DE AD M A N D OW In theatre s from M N arch 2013 H U MMIN In theatre GB IR D s from Ma rch 2013 FAST & F U R IO US In theatre s from M 6 ay 2013 SNITCH In theatre s from Fe bruary 20 13 OB LIVIO N In theatre s from Ap ril 2013 MAN OF S T E E L In theatre s from Ju ne 2013 Fo r w w w.blu more visit: escreen-m ag.com
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MAINARTICLE: FRINGE
Tim Surette about
THE CONCLUTIO
FRING Fringe is gone. Gone! Forever. This will likely be the last bit I write about the show, but we’ll be talking about it as long as we have functioning mouths that haven’t been closed over by some toxic gas. Written by Tim Surette
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ON OF
GE When Fringe was announced in 2008, comparisons to The X-Files weren’t just appropriate, they nailed it. At that point, all we really knew about the show was that a few weirdos would team up to solve unexplained cases that normal FBI spooks weren’t smart enough to handle. But throughout its fiveseason run, Fringe distinguished itself from its main influence to be something much, much more than poking gross things with a stick. And the show ditched comparisons to The X-Files by using its greatest trait: Its ability to adapt.
Like co-creator J.J. Abrams’ previous series Lost, each season of Fringe was its own creature with its own unique traits, for better and worse. But it would be some time before we knew exactly what we had on our hands. In order to be as audiencefriendly as it could be at the start. Season 1 was an anthology of the standalone cases designed to bring in eyeballs and not easily upset viewers who like their television neat and tidy. Hardly novel. Serial aspects crept in, the longer the season ran, but nothing is much
bigger than what the other procedurals on network television were doing. This was Fringe at its safest and most boring; and hardly indicative of what the show was capable of. It wasn’t until the very end of Season 1 that Fringe began to show its hand, then taking the procedural-happy hitchhikers it’d picked up on an entirely different
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ride and perking the ears of sci-fi nerds. I remember when the show introduced the idea of parallel universes, and I’m pretty sure I peed my pants in excitement and prayed the show would go where I hoped it would go. And it did. But seeing a potential long life to the series, Season 2 teased the alternate universe (fore me, Olivia flying out of the taxi in the Season 2 premiere was a turning point for the series) more often than visiting it, and in Season 3 Fringe went full-on bonkers, which is exactly what we were all hoping for. Oh my god, Season 3. Everything came together brilliantly for Fringe in Season 3, which remains one of the best seasons of television, sci-fi or otherwise, that I’ve had the privilege of covering since I’ve been in this business. The back-and-forth between the two universes opened up so many possibilities, but showrunners Jeff Pinkner and J.H. Wyman made a great call when they used this new concept to focus on the romantic relationship between Peter and Olivia. It was a will-they-won’t-they scenario that had no rules because there was no precedent for it on television, unless I missed the episode of Moonlighting where Maddie was cloned and her new carbon copy started a relationship with David. The addition of the second universe and then a second Olivia brought Fringe into its very own Age of Philosophy, and with its
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w s n o i t a r e n d e e g w e o r w u t e “fu s and b e i r se were” we
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FRINGE :MAINARTICLE
e h t m a e r t s l l i w t like s u j d
unanswerable brain-scramblers was being asked weekly. Could you also love a copy of a person you already love, especially when the copy doesn’t have the same hang-ups as the original? How much do one’s experiences shape a person, and how much of a person is always embedded in their consistent core? Dirty blonde or redhead? Season 3 was layered, man. So many new aspects were smooshed together that the show could’ve easily buckled under its own weight. But it was a unique storytelling device that glued everything together and was the real hero of the season: The concept of the “Mythalone” took the series to new creative heights. Many Season 3 episodes were telling a standalone story and working on the season’s mythology, and thematically they resonated with each other. If an episode was about some creep who ripped out the hearts of his victims, it came back around when Peter had his heart crushed by Olivia. If an episode was about Fauxlivia learning about an unexpected pregnancy, the case involved parasites eating someone from the inside. And Fringe, with its out-there ideas, needed this sort of anchor. I don’t know if it made it harder to write the show, creating weekly cases that reflected the set path of the mythology, but it certainly made it a lot more fun to watch.
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The idea that each season was built on a new concept inherently makes each season only as good as its concept, and that’s where Season 4 tumbled from the peak of Season 3. Peter was “erased” in Season 4 and didn’t even show up for a good many episodes outside of being an odd flickering apparition. It was a daring move, but it was one that didn’t entirely pay off. Some fans were outright PISSED, and I see their point. See, (at least) half of what made Fringe so good was its characters and their relationships with each other. We’d watched them grow from strangers into a tight-knit group that only had each other. Think about Season 1 Olivia. She was guarded, cold, joyless, and not so “quick to smile,” as Peter put it. Those characteristics put many viewers off both her and the show early on, but I like to believe that her behavior was intentional all along. We saw her become someone entirely new, someone warm, someone who would finally smile, and there is no doubt that the reason it happened is that she spent time with Walter and Peter. The same can be said about Walter, whose manic moments were softened as his relationship with Peter grew stronger, and then his eccentricity turned into patriarchal love. Don’t get me wrong, he was still a freakshow, but an adorable freakshow. By resetting things with a whole new and
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timeline and the new versions of Olivia and Walter, Season 4 took the relationships we’d watched grow for three years and erased them. Given their concept, Pinkner and Wyman asked all the right questions in an attempt to replicate much of the success of Season 3, and many times that worked. But most television audiences feel that character relationships are sacred ground and shouldn’t be messed with so suddenly, and then Season 4 was never able to fully overcome its “erasures,” despite some fantastic moments. A lot of the philosophy still remained, and some standout episodes (“One Night in October,” “And Those We’ve Left Behind”) kept the show alive in Season 4. But without the concrete relationships established over the previous 60-plus episodes, the show felt more hollow than it’d been before. Which brings us to Season 5, and the series’ biggest reboot to date. Building on the post-apocalyptic “What if?” scenario of Season 4’s “Letters of Transit,” Season 5, the series’ last, jumped into the future and transformed Fringe entirely from an emotional near-future procedural into an epic sci-fi action movie. On its own, it was watchable with shining moments. But compared to what the show was before, I’d call it a mess. Even though Season 4
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was decided shortened to only 13 episodes, things did start off slow and laborious as Walter’s scavenger hunt had us chasing items for a reason unknown to us. Peter had a dalliance with the Observer technology. Walter wanted to be relobotomized. And Olivia never had much to do at all. Though a clear goal was set (kill the Observers!), several core tenets of Fringe’s past were dead and gone. There was no alternate universe (well there was, we just didn’t go there until very late), no philosophy, no lingering questions that kept us awake at night and remained until the next episode, and the emotional territory revolved around a new character (the daughter Etta, a metaphorical and physical product of Peter and Olivia’s love) who’d just been introduced. But the final episodes of Fringe salvaged plenty; they were at the service to the fans, giving us one last visit to the alternate universe and strumming the emotional chords one last time. The show may have started off as a show about three unique people who solved strange cases, but in the end it was about a
father and his son, a couple, family, and the enormous sacrifices we’re willing to make for the people we love. Fringe is gone. Gone! Forever. This will likely be the last bit I write about the show, but we’ll be talking about it as long as we have functioning mouths that haven’t been closed over by some toxic gas. And I’ll talk about it reverently because even though it wasn’t perfect, its greatest accomplishments were unlike anything I’d ever seen and affected me on so many levels. Toward the end the ratings may not have been what we would have liked, but future generations will stream the series and be wowed just like we were. And in some alternate universe, Fringe definitely got the recognition it deserved.
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OBSERVERVING OBSERVERS
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THE The Observers have been recorded at numerous events and locations throughout time and space. History is littered with their presence.
Observers are evolved humans from the future. In an attempt to study their evolution, they utilize the technology of their time period (which allows them to travel through time and space). Quite literally, they exist “outside� of time. They are from one possible future. In this future, the world is damaged beyond repair and unsustainable. Their endgame was to rise to a position of totalitarian power, which they assumed in 2015. Observers are humans that were created in 2167. The Observers are stoic, calm, and monotone. Observers are very pale, bald, lack eyebrows, and wear black suits, usually accompanied by black fedoras. Scientists in Oslo, Norway were experimenting with the human brain in 2167. They discovered that they could remove areas of the brain that stimulated aggression and other negative emotions and replace them with rational thought. However, over time, areas
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of good emotions, like love and anger, were removed in favor of higher intelligence. Over the course of many years, Observers populated the Earth, and were grown in tanks using the DNA of designated donors, causing there to be no necessity for females. Progenies were grown at accelerated rates. However, every so often, progenies would become mutated. These anomalies had their aging process halted and were scheduled for extermination. By the year 2609, the Observers had ruined the planet. To rectify this, a plan was put into place that involved going back in time and taking the planet from modern-day humans. The first wave of Observers were the scientists. They were told that their job was to study evolution of the Observers by witnessing key moments in history. The then twelve members of the
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science team were not told about plans for Invasion. They were just needed to alter the timeline in favor of their own evolution. The superior observers must have known that one of them would cause Peter Bishop to live and prevent an alternate future using the machine. Observers were given codenames, each corresponding to a month in the year. Due to their close proximity, they even began to develop some emotional responses, which they swore to never tell to their superiors.
INTERVIEW: JJ. ABRAMS
G N I W E I V R E T S IN AM
R B A . JJ
ed, but d u l c n co is now s t c e j ro many p to do. s i t h f o a lot lk abou One a s t a o h t l l r i t s ge talents dual he is ea ringe. y n a m ll sche n with on of F the ma Despite his fu the concluti
By Daniel Fienberg
You probably know this already, but it’s worth a reminder: J.J. Abrams is a busy guy. In addition to working in post on his upcoming “Star Trek” sequel, Abrams’ Bad Robot TV shingle has a busy roster that has made him a surprisingly regular presence at the Television Critics Association press tour this week, popping up to panel NBC’s “Revolution” and dropping by FOX’s TCA party to support the end of “Fringe.” J.J. Abrams was one of the three original creators of “Fringe,” along with Bob Orci and Alex Kurtzman, and he has remained a strongly interested creative force through the five-season run which will be wrapping up on January 18. His schedule is definitely a bit cramed, but I got a quick two-onone chat with Abrams on Tuesday night, talking for five minutes about the conclusion of “Fringe” and his reflections on the sci-fi drama’s 100-episode run.
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Are you happy with the way “Fringe” is ending? “Very much so. Obviously it’s a bittersweet thing, but the fact that we’ve gotten this far is so crazy to me, that the network did allow the show to survive as long as it did, I don’t know when that’s happened before, really...” “The thing that’s so crazy is that every other network would be like, “No...” And we got to 100 episodes. The story got to end in a way that I think was appropriate for the story, the series. So I’m sad to see it go, but I can’t believe we got here.” Do you ever look back at the pilot you made and reflect on the journey? “Oh yeah.”
And when you started with that pilot, how much of where we ended up do you think you had in your mind? “We knew alternate universes. We knew The Observers. We knew, even when Walter first sees Peter at the institution and he checks his eyes, we knew what was going on and why. But what we didn’t know was sort of... Everything. We didn’t know how crazy and wild and big it would go. We didn’t, of course, know the jump forward in the fifth season. We didn’t know some of the details of the Cortexiphan stuff with Olivia,
S
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INTERVIEW: JJ. ABRAMS
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d n e o t t o g s y a r w o t k s n i e h h t I “T t a h t y e a h t w in a priate for o r p p a ” y r sto
but we knew there was something she had gone through. You always have the best idea at the time and you think, “That’s kinda where we’re gonna go” and the closer you get to doing it, the better idea comes up and you go, “Oh my God, what about that?” So it’s always a leap of faith a little bit.” Is there anything you introduced and had to leave behind that you sort of miss? “When we first started the show, we sor t of saw it like a kind of “Twilight Zone”-y, “X Files” kinda crazy weird-thing-of-the-week and even though we kinda did it up to some degree, we ended up sorta shifting really into more of a kinda soap opera about these characters, which I kind of loved. I don’t regret leaving that sorta style or kinda template behind. I think it’s actually far better not to do that, but that was one thing that changed a little bit.”
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INTERVIEW: JJ.ABRAMS
“We didn’t quite realize how serialized we were gonna get. The intention was not to be that serialized, but once the show sorta proved to be like that, it’s got this audience and this is what it wants to be, I think it was the right move.” and scary... I also loved things like There were many surreal moments that monster bursting out of the that went on during the run of the bathroom on the airplane, stuff that show. Were there any that really just made me like, “I’m so happy just kinda made you giggle that I get to be part of a show where you got away with them? that happens.” “Well, I mean, just the idea of There were the three of you Walter going back for Peter, what who created the show, but then I loved about it was, I thought it you very quickly found the right was as beautiful and emotional a people to run it from there. How story as like any you’d see in a important was that? medical show or a legal show, but it was f***ing alternate universes “Well, you know, Alex, Bob and and a father who was desperate, I came up with the show and then who against his wife’s wishes was they were very busy doing “Transgoing to another universe to swap formers” and all their things and out a boy? It was so nuts, but it so I brought in Jeff (Pinkner), with was so sweet and so emotional whom I’d worked on “Alias” and and for me, it was like one example “Lost” and then we brought in Joel of kinda the epitome of what the (Wyman) who we were actually show, at its best was, which is a developing something else with. It really emotional heart-breaking and took us six or seven episodes, but big-hearted show about love, but what was great was once Jeff and it was in the context of like the Joel found their rhythm, it was like, weirdest crap you’ve ever seen “Oh, yeah yeah yeah. That’s the show.” and some of the most grotesque
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“What was great about it was they also embraced wholly the six or so episodes leading up to it where there was the rapid aging and the people in amber and all these weird stuff that like we had ideas, but they incorporated them wholly into the mythology of the series so it was kinda a beautiful way of like establishing the proper rhythm, but not being like, “Forget those first six.” They did the opposite. They were like, “No, no, no. Those first six were important.” So when you watch the show you go, “Oh! Episode 5, that wasn’t just...” And that, to me, was something I thought was brilliant.
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U O Y D I D
. . . W O KN
over of Mad W ... Gary Jules’ c as #1 single tm s ri h C K U a - later couldn’t get y ll e K rd a h ic R hen replacement w t choice, U2’s MLK. to his firs RKO (2001 DONNIE DA
DIE HARD (1988) The Nakatomi building is actually the Fox Plaza, the studio’s recently-built headquarters. So, more or less, John McTiernan and Bruce Willis are basically destroying their bosses’ new home. TAXI DRIVER (1976) Robert De Niro’s most iconic moment as We - “You talkin’ to me?” - was improvised from a single line in Paul Schrader’s screenplay, which says: Bickle speaks to himself in the mirror.
THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1980) The FX bods at Industrial Light & Magic had fun at George Lucas’ expense by including random objects into the asteroid field, including a potato and a shoe.
THE SHINING (1980) The number of the spooky room in Stephen King’s novel - 217 - was changed in the film to 237 at the request of the Timberline Lodge in Oregon, which provided the exteriors for the Overlook Hotel and was worried nobody would want to stay in its actual Room 217.
PSYCHO (1960) Screenwriter Joseph Stefano was obsessed with showing a flushing toilet on film for the first time, but Alfred Hitchcock would only allow it if there was a reason in the script - hence the scene where Marion Crane needs to destroy written evidence of her theft.
THE GODFATHER (1972) Although popular myth suggests that Marlon Brando padded his cheeks with cotton wool to play Vito Corleone, he did so only for the audition. Before the actual filming began, he had a mouthpiece specially created by a dentist.
JAWS (1975) During a set visit, George Lucas put his head in Bruce The Shark’s mouth and Steven Spielberg closed the jaws. The prank backfired when the prop malfunctioned and Lucas got stuck.
THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939) Buddy Ebsen, the original Tin Man, had to abandon the part after being hospitalised. The cause, a reaction to the aluminium powder in his make-up.
E.T. THE EXTRA TERRESTRIAL (1982) Terrified by the new threat of piracy, Universal had the video cassettes made from green plastic. It obviously worked, as the release broke home entertainment records.
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RANDOM FILM FACTS
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World inute - was a last-m the rights
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