Sumter Scene: October 8, 2022

BY GEORGE DICKIE

After attaining stardom through both drama and dance, Jenna Dewan continues to find projects that combine them.

The actress who made a name for herself in the first “Step Up” movie shows her stuff in both realms in “Let’s Get Physical,” a fact-inspired drama Lifetime debuts Saturday, Oct. 15. Also an executive producer of the film (along with spouses Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos), Dewan stars as a fitness and dance instructor who leads a double life as a madam. When her prostitution ring is revealed, others in her community wonder – and, in some cases, worry – if her clients include prominent locals. Jennifer Irwin (“The Goldbergs”) and Michael Consuelos (Mark and Kelly’s son) also appear.

“My production company made a multi-picture deal with Lifetime,” the friendly Dewan explains,

“and I was approached by Mark and Kelly about this project, which they’d had for a while. I adore them, so I was really intrigued to read this. And when I did, I thought it was really fun, but it also made me ask a lot of questions about my own judgments. This town was uprooted by the energy of this woman, and I wanted to partner with Mark and Kelly, so it all came together.”

The result, Dewan believes, fits the definition of “a Lifetime movie” perfectly: “I grew up on those. My mom and I would watch all of them, and I especially love a couple of the elements. I want a bit of escapism, but also the female side of the story that I might not have thought of before.

“Also, you want to leave with that ‘I can’t believe that was a true story’ feeling. I worked with Lifetime on (the series) ‘Witches of East End,’ and they are so wonderfully supportive of women ... and of

women branching out into other areas. Producing is something I’ve wanted to do for years.”

Pole-dancing lessons were necessary for “Let’s Get Physical” for Dewan, who notes, “I’ve done just about every type of dance, and I wanted to attempt this – and let me tell you, it was really hard. It uses muscles you usually don’t have to, and I had only two days to learn it.”

Dewan has been getting plenty of other television opportunities, including her involvement in CBS’ “Come Dance With Me” (and, before that, NBC’s “World of Dance”) and roles on ABC’s “The Rookie” and The CW’s “Superman & Lois.”

“Every job has been so different and fun lately,” she reflects, “and there is a bit of a thread. There’s always a tiny through line of dance, and I love that. It’s like a tongue-in-cheek thing now: ‘OK, how can we get Jenna dancing?”’

Steven Spielberg’s game is on with ‘Ready Player One’

Chip and Joanna in ‘Fixer Upper: The Castle’

Twins playing music’s Tegan and Sara revisit ‘High School’

Horoscopes

The luckiest signs this week: GEMINI, CANCER AND LEO ARIES

You’ll try your best to impress those around you. You’ll increase your client base to reach one of your goals at work. Don’t be afraid to move forward. If you take action, you’ll achieve success.

TAURUS

If you’re looking for the perfect job, you’ll be inspired to take the necessary steps to move in the right direction. You’ll feel imaginative, which will inspire you to create a masterpiece.

GEMINI

You may start to feel the unpleasant effects of living a sedentary lifestyle. You’ll ask your friends to get active with you and motivate you to start moving your body.

CANCER

Whether starting a new career or retiring, you’ll clearly figure out your next steps. You must create a plan to ensure your future meets your expectations and aspirations.

LEO You’ll do an apprenticeship that will propel your career forward. You’ll face new challenges that will that require patience. You’ll also be motivated to work toward your goals.

VIRGO

After much reflection, you’ll make important changes to your environment. You’ll need to thoroughly review your priorities and find a living situation that suits your needs.

LIBRA

You may feel the need to say yes to everyone. This will put a lot of pressure on you to keep your commitments. You’ll find it hard to make a decision with the right information; reflection is needed.

SCORPIO

You’ll work extra hours to improve your financial situation. You may also realize that you need to make more time for your love life.

SAGITTARIUS

You’ll be in the right place at the right time. This will allow you to stand out and make a good impression. At work, you’ll be rewarded, or at least given the recognition you deserve.

CAPRICORN

You may find it hard to leave your home this week. You’re very attached to sentimental things that take up a lot of space in your home. You may finally be able to get rid of stuff you don’t need.

AQUARIUS

You’ll be outspoken and express what others are thinking. You must be authoritative in a complex and upsetting situation to reach an agreement.

PISCES

You’ll have to invest a significant amount of money in your career. You may need to buy a new vehicle to avoid breaking down or impress your clients.

New Streaming Movies & Shows

“Derry Girls”

The British comedy returns for its third and final season with hope in the Northern Ireland air that the Troubles will soon be in everyone’s past. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said of the Derry girls as the high school hardships of Erin and her friends show no signs of letting up. Saoirse-Monica Jackson, Louisa Harland and Jamie-Lee O’Donnell star. (ORIGINAL)

“Movie: Old People”

From Germany comes this horror flick about a young woman who goes back to her isolated hometown for a wedding and finds herself fighting to survive when bloodthirsty retirement home residents escape and go on a killing spree during a violent thunderstorm. Melika Foroutan, Stephan Luca and Anna Unterberger star. (ORIGINAL)

“Dog the Bounty Hunter”

Duane Chapman is the “Dog” of this unscripted series that follows him and his wife Beth, his family and associates as they pursue and capture fugitives in Hawaii and his home state of Colorado. The series aired for nine seasons on A&E Network, the first of which streams here.

“Gene Simmons Family Jewels”

This unscripted series that followed the home life of Kiss bassist Gene Simmons with his wife, actress Shannon Tweed, and their two children, Nick and Sophie, drew solid ratings for A&E Network during its 2006-13 run, but took some criticism for showing events that did not actually occur. The first two rounds stream here.

“Easy-Bake Battle: The Home Cooking Competition”

Inspired by Hasbro’s iconic Easy Bake Oven, this eight episode, half hour culinary competition series features skilled home cooks facing off and using their most ingenious kitchen hacks to prove who can make the easiest, fastest and most delicious food. Antoni Porowski is the host. (ORIGINAL)

“Movie: The Curse of Bridge Hollow”

Jeff Wadlow (“Truth or Dare,” “Fantasy Island”) directed this fantasy comedy that stars Marlon Wayans and Priah Ferguson as a man and his teenage daughter who are forced to save their town when an ancient spirit causes Halloween decorations to come to life and wreak havoc. Kelly Rowland, Lauren Lapkus and Dave Sheridan also star. (ORIGINAL)

“Movie: The Rest of Us”

Two mother/daughter duos must deal with their grief and their complicated feelings for each other when the person who ties them together dies in this 2019 drama from Aisling Chin-Yee in her feature film directorial debut. Heather Graham, Sophie Nélisse, Abigail Pniowsky and Jodi Balfour head the cast.

Q&A with Teri Hatcher

It

“Movie: This Mountain Life”

From Canada and co-writer/ director Grant Baldwin comes this 2018 documentary that chronicles the lives of various residents of British Columbia and their relationships with the province’s mountain landscape, including mother/daughter hikers, a pair of avalanche survivors, a couple living off the grid and nuns at an isolated mountain nunnery.

crazy career, when you go back and think about all the little moments ... the “Seinfeld” thing,

James Bond thing

not make too much

Never Dies”). It’s fun to review those, but I try to live in the present

about what I did or who I was before. It’s more fruitful to focus

what

can do in the moment where you are. With that said, one of the

a big James Bond fan, so much so that he has this giant coffee-table book about the Bond movies. And he brought it in for me to autograph the page about me, which I gladly did. It’s nice to know that people had joyful times out of those performances.

Sponsored by:

“Luxe Listings

Sydney”

Elite agents Gavin Rubinstein, D’Leanne Lewis, Simon Cohen and Monika Tu return for the third season of this unscripted series that finds a tight Sydney real estate market getting even tighter with highly competitive auctions leaving the agents dueling for some of the most coveted properties in the world. (ORIGINAL)

“Movie: He Got Game”

Spike Lee wrote, produced and directed this 1998 sports drama that stars Denzel Washington as a convicted murder who is released on parole for a week to convince his basketball phenom son (NBA star Ray Allen) to play for the governor’s alma mater in exchange for a reduced prison sentence. Milla Jovovich, John Turturro and Rosario Dawson also star.

“A Private Affair”

From Spain comes this crime thriller series about an upper-class girl with a detective’s soul who sets out to catch the serial killer who has been terrorizing her town with the help of her butler. Aura Garrido, Jean Reno, Angela Molina and Alex Garcia head the cast.

(ORIGINAL)

“Movie: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”

Peter Jackson directed this epic-sized 2012 start to a threefilm prequel. Martin Freeman plays Bilbo Baggins, swept into a quest by dwarves to help reclaim their turf. The tale also marks Bilbo’s first meeting with Gollum, played again by Andy Serkis. Other “Lord of the Rings” returnees include Elijah Wood, Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving and Ian Holm.

“Milk Street’s Cooking School: Season 1” (Roku TV — series premiere, Oct. 28)

Chef Christopher Kimball (“America’s Test Kitchen”) brings easy, approach-able recipes to this original how-to series in which he and his team of experts seek to inspire home cooks to try new techniques, ingredients and tools that will make them more confident, excited and ultimately successful in the kitch-en.

Word

“Let the Right One In” on Showtime

Mark (Kane)

Eleanor (Kane)

Naomi (Cole)

Claire (Logan)

Matthew

(Words in parentheses not in puzzle)

(Demián) Bichir (Madison Taylor) Baez (Anika Noni) Rose (Grace) Gummer (Nick) Stahl

S L A R A S Y C S A E A R V

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E I A O D F O B A E Z S E S N O V G B O S U O S G S O S V N E P S Y S C K I T Z M B R H E W E R K T H B V Y E I E C M L O A S W E I L L R H T S M N Y C S E A C N E A C W F A M I L Y L G H R G R S E E C H L P C M J I E M T O L E I L E H M U P R L E K E V B N D A V Q M N I W R F E E P E K N I A E S T A H L A M O F l O V R K R M E G S V

A H M A T T H E W F P I R E

Twelve Family Vampire Lonely Searching

Steven Spielberg’s game is on with ‘Ready Player One’

BY JAY BOBBIN

You may find yourself so overwhelmed by “Ready Player One,” you’ll need to stay seated for a few minutes when it’s over, just to come down from it. And that makes complete sense when you know it’s a case of Steven Spielberg in charge of a video-game universe.

If there’s any question that the director still has a sense of fun as a moviemaker, the 2018 release – which TNT shows Sunday, Oct. 9, and Monday, Oct. 10 – will erase any and all doubts. His version of a novel by Ernest Cline, who also co-wrote the screenplay, defines the phrase “fast and furious” as it crams in every pop-culture reference of the preceding 30 years that it can. And then it stuffs in some more, making the picture a genuine game for those who want to identify every iconic nook and cranny here.

Tye Sheridan plays the story’s young hero, seeking escape from a grim mid-21st century by tackling a video platform called OASIS. The person who conquers all the challenges it throws forth will be the virtual-reality kingdom’s new ruler, and also win the fortune of its late cocreator (Mark Rylance, who won an Oscar for his earlier work with Spielberg on “Bridge of Spies”).

Not only does our main player have to get past perils that often reference other Spielberg films – hey, how about a T. rex for starters?

– he’s also trailed by a very human enemy, a businessman played by Ben Mendelsohn who deploys a video terror with the voice of actorcomedian T.J. Miller. Olivia Cooke, Simon Pegg and Lena Waithe (the driving force behind the Showtime series “The Chi”) also have major roles.

As technically proficient as “Ready Player One” is (and from Spielberg, who would expect less?), it has a hurdle to get past with viewers who aren’t attuned to the virtual-reality gaming world. Of course, the younger generation is likely to eat this up, but Spielberg and his colleagues are smart enough to include a substantial dose of the heart and sincerity that have marked so many of his other ventures with all-ages appeal. For many older watchers, that should compensate a lot.

You can talk about “Ready Player One” all you want, but the most effective thing simply is to experience it. Those who can’t keep up may gripe about its constant whirlwind of sight and sound ... but for those who can, it provides an exhilarating time.

‘Easy-Bake Battle’ champions quick and easy cuisine – without the light bulbs

BY GEORGE DICKIE

Let’s just get this out of the way up front.

There were no light bulbs used to cook the comestibles on Netflix’s “Easy-Bake Battle” nor does the venerable Hasbro toy appliance make an appearance – at least not in the form that we know it.

No, the title of the culinary competition series that begins streaming its eight half hour episodes on Wednesday, Oct. 12, refers to, as the show’s release explains, cuisine “inspired by Hasbro’s iconic Easy-Bake Oven.” Translation: simple, easy, delicious meals one can make in little time and with a little outside-the-box thinking.

So expect to pick up plenty of clever kitchen hacks or shortcuts from accomplished home cooks as they vie in two rounds of competition for the chance to win $25,000 in each episode and the $100,000 grand prize at the end of the season.

The series comes from eOne, the production company owned by Hasbro, and features a whole lot of baking – and not the type of baking one might think.

“I don’t mean like cake baking,” explains executive producer Daniel Calin. “This show does both savory and sweet cooking, which I think differentiates it from a lot of the other shows you’ll see on platform and elsewhere. But in the second

round, the oven that they use to bake very cleverly in, it aesthetically represents the classic Easy-Bake Oven; it’ll be reminiscent of it.”

So there is a wall oven in the shape of the Easy-Bake Oven here. It has no special capabilities and again, no light bulbs, just an average oven in which contestants will cook their pasta, steak, seafood and dessert dishes, which are then judged by host Antoni Porowski and rotating guest judges including Kristen Kish and Jacques Torres.

And that’s where the hacks come in. If nothing else, viewers will come away with a few shortcuts and tricks that surely will make their time in the kitchen easier and more productive, just as it did for the home cooks here.

“There’s a whole world of people on YouTube and TikTok and Instagram who had started championing like an easy way of cooking that is like hack-driven and still gets you to really delicious meals,” Calin says.

“These folks are like really busy people like you and I who have complicated lives and kids and a lot of demands coming their way. So in the kitchen they’ve had to figure out how to cook more efficiently without compromising the quality of their food, so they come to the competition with their shortcuts.”

Steven Spielberg’s Top 10 Movies

BY JAY BOBBIN

“West Side Story” (2021): In his first attempt at a musical, Spielberg helped co-star Ariana DeBose attain an Oscar win with his remake of the classic that pits the Jets against the Sharks in a New York street-gang showdown.

“Lincoln” (2012): With thirdtime Oscar winner Daniel DayLewis as their principal actor, Spielberg and screenwriter Tony Kushner flesh out the person behind the presidential icon.

“Saving Private Ryan” (1998): Spielberg’s World War II drama, for which he won his second directing Oscar, opens with what remains one of the most intense battle sequences ever filmed.

“Schindler’s List” (1993): Brilliantly acted, this drama of a profiteer (Liam Neeson) bargaining for Jewish prisoners’ lives during World War II launched a new chapter of Oscar winner Spielberg’s career.

“Jurassic Park” (1993): Dinosaurs rule again at an amusement park gone amok in Spielberg’s thrilling take on the Michael Crichton novel.

“The Color Purple” (1985): The revered, intensely emotional Alice Walker novel made a fine vehicle for Spielberg and thennovice actors including Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey.

“E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial” (1982): Before he phoned home, the title alien endeared himself to millions of moviegoers.

“Raiders of the Lost Ark” (1981): An iconic hero was born as Spielberg and producer George Lucas introduced adventurer Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) to the world.

“Close Encounters of the Third Kind” (1977): The aliens also prove to be friendly in Spielberg’s drama of visitors from another world.

“Jaws” (1975): It famously malfunctioned during filming, but a shark put Spielberg on the map with this still-suspenseful adaptation of Peter Benchley’s beach-clearing best-seller.

Twins playing music’s Tegan and Sara revisit ‘High School’

BY JAY BOBBIN

To play a famous set of twins, it takes another set of twins, at least in the case of “High School.”

Platinum recording artists Tegan and Sara Quin wrote a bestselling coming-ofage memoir now adapted into a Freevee series that begins streaming with four episodes Friday, Oct. 14 (with the four remaining episodes then debuting over the consequent two Fridays).

Premiered at last month’s Toronto International Film Festival, the show casts Railey and Seazynn Gilliland as the teenage Tegan and Sara, with Cobie Smulders (“How I Met Your Mother”) and Kyle Bornheimer (“Brooklyn Nine-Nine”) as their parents.

“It’s very surreal, very nerve-wracking,” the real Tegan says of dramatizing her and Sara’s lives. “We’re definitely preparing our family and friends for this next part of the journey. When we wrote our memoir a few years ago, we set out to do something that we thought was really important ... which was to tell a story about queer women, and specifically about music and coming out and adolescence, in a way that was really smart and intelligent.”

Tegan credits actress Clea DuVall – a “HighSchool” executive producer, writer and director– with making the Quin twins comfortable with translating “High School” to film: “Clea and Sara and I have been friends for a long time, and when she approached us about turning the memoir into a TV show, Sara and I just felt reassured right away that somebody who cared about us and our family and friends was at the helm.”

Railey Gilliland maintains making the series “wasn’t easy in the slightest, but getting to hang out with Tegan and Sara and getting to know them made that just slightly easier. Their stories are relatable to Seazynn and me. And we just had a lot of fun.”

Adds Seazynn Gilliland, “I think that there was a responsibility, but it was only the best kind of responsibility. I’ve never seen anything like this on screen before. When I was 15 myself, I would have loved to see something like this. I think it’s really important to show, and I was able to be the one to show that. So that was nice.”

Despite the success she and Tegan have enjoyed, Sara Quin says of early tunes they wrote and performed, “We had decided that all of the music was bad. It’s actually been the support of people around us who’ve reassured us that the music is strong enough to be a focal point on the show. I think it just sort of shows that young people can do amazing things, right even out of the gate before they’ve had years of training and experience. Sometimes, our first instinct is our best instinct.”

Couch BY JAY BOBBIN

the Depression while courting controversy by representing the defendant (Brock Peters) in a racially charged case of rape. Robert Duvall makes an impact as mysterious neighbor Boo Radley in a superb cast that also includes John Megna, Rosemary Murphy, Ruth White, William Windom and Alice Ghostley. The score by Elmer Bernstein is enormously affecting; the story has had added success in recent years as a stage play with a script by Aaron Sorkin. ›››› (Not rated: AS, V)

Chip and Joanna tackle their biggest reno yet in ‘Fixer Upper: The Castle’

BY GEORGE DICKIE

While us mere mortals might see a property’s cracked masonry, rotted floor joists and encroaching wilderness as a potential money black hole, Chip and Joanna Gaines will look at its obscured architectural charm and beauty and see a castle in the rough. And so it is that the husband-and-wife home renovation experts from Waco, Texas, took on their most ambitious project yet in an eight-episode series coming to Magnolia Network.

In “Fixer Upper: The Castle,” debuting Friday, Oct. 14, the duo apply their skill, imagination and vision to what is known as the Cottonland Castle, an abandoned century-old castle in Waco that had changed hands numerous times and had fallen into disrepair before Chip bought it in 2019.

It was the kind of project Chip had been dreaming of. He had admired the three-story structure for 20 years and made bids on it whenever it was listed for sale but it always went to someone else. Joanna, however, had her reservations. She looked at the dilapidated edifice and saw dollar signs. She also thought it could be

haunted. But after years of listening to her husband wax on about the place and his ideas, she began to view it through his eyes and a purchase was made.

To say it needed a lot of work is an understatement. Nearly every square inch of the 6,700-squarefoot building was restored, including its four bedrooms, three and a half baths, seven fireplaces, a turret, a card room in the basement, mahogany woodwork throughout and a 10-foot-tall, 400-pound, solid-oak front door.

The original design was modeled after a small castle on the Rhine River in Germany and Chip’s vision was in essence a 21st century version of that, blending the past and present with beauty, functionality, charm and sophistication.

The Gaineses have always had a love of homes with historical significance and this is certainly no exception. As for its present, Cottonland Castle is open for touring through Oct. 27. Beyond that, the home will eventually be put up for sale. While no price was available, Zillow and Trulia list its value at $1,161,400.

“TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD”

A genuinely classic drama marks its 60th anniversary by debuting in the 4K Ultra HD format.

In director Robert Mulligan’s version of the novel by Harper Lee – who adapted it for the screen – Gregory Peck earned an Oscar as Atticus Finch, a noble Southern attorney raising his children (Mary Badham, Phillip Alford) during

“THE GODFATHER”

After the entire trilogy was issued on 4K Ultra HD earlier this year to mark the first film’s 50th anniversary, the original, Oscar-winning drama – widely deemed one of the greatest movies ever made – gets a separate release in the format. Novelist Mario Puzo wrote the script with director Francis Ford Coppola, tracing the reign of the Corleone crime family led by

patriarch Vito (Marlon Brando). His sons Michael, Sonny and Fredo (Al Pacino, James Caan, John Cazale) are of very different temperaments that become even more pronounced as a war between underworld gangs looms. Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire (Coppola’s sister), Richard Conte, John Marley, Abe Vigoda, Richard Castellano, Sterling Hayden, Al Lettieri and Al Martino also are in the first-rate cast.

AS, P, V)

“HALLELUJAH: LEONARD COHEN, A JOURNEY, A SONG”

One of the most moving –and most performed – of contemporary songs provides the framework for this portrait of its influential composer, who saw it go from something that initially didn’t grab many record executives’ interest to a widely celebrated music staple. Versions by John Cale and Jeff Buckley increased the

tune’s impact and fame ... and here, Bob Dylan, Judy Collins, Brandi Carlile, Eric Church and Rufus Wainwright are among others involved in the tracing of its history and Cohen’s career overall. Rare material from the Cohen archives, visual as well as musical, is integrated throughout the narrative.

AS, P)

on Blu-ray, Digital and On Demand)

“UNIVERSAL CLASSIC MONSTERS: ICONS OF HORROR COLLECTION, VOL. 2”

Following an earlier 4K Ultra HD set that included such genre milestones as “Dracula” and “Frankenstein” (which, incidentally, now are becoming available as separate discs), this second edition in the series combines four more terror titles from the Universal Pictures vaults. Showcased this time:

Bride of Frankenstein,” with Boris Karloff and Colin Clive back in their roles from

the original “Frankenstein”; “Creature From the Black Lagoon,” featuring Julie Adams as the prime target of the title monster; “The Mummy,” another Karloffstarring classic; and “Phantom of the Opera,” casting Claude Rains as the disfigured musician who haunts the Paris Opera House. Various special features such as documentaries, audio commentaries and theatrical trailers are included.

(Not rated: AS, V)

Coming Home Soon

“BULLET

“E.T.:

EXTRA-