Aliens invade Washington in P.13
‘BrainDead’
‘Animal Kingdom’ The
darker side of motherhood P.15
‘Uncle Buck’ Mike Epps
gives character his spin P.17
‘Hamilton’ looks to steal the spotlight at The 70th Annual Tony Awards Starring Phillipa Soo, Renée Elise Goldsberry and Jasmine Cephas Jones (from left), airing Sunday on CBS folio Connect to these shows within this magazine!
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What’s HOT this Week!
contents YOURTVLINK
the story! The 70th Annual Tony Awards
TOP STORIES
3 The 70th Annual Tony Awards Maybe they should just call this year’s ceremony the Hamiltonys, given how the musical megasmash “Hamilton” scored a record-breaking 16 nominations. 12-13 “BrainDead” (SERIES PREMIERE) Going from “The Good Wife” to a saga of alien bugs taking over Washington, D.C., isn’t exactly predictable … but that’s just what creators and executive producers Robert and Michelle King are doing with the seriocomic “BrainDead,” premiering Monday on CBS. Jay Bobbin talks with them and series star Mary Elizabeth Winstead (“10 Cloverfield Lane”) about the show’s timeliness and tone.
FOOD
7 ‘Big Bad BBQ Brawl’ takes meat smoking to a new level.
REALITY
16 AFI award reaffirms John Williams as moviemusic superman.
SPORTS
18-19 “Lefty” looks for first U.S. Open title.
MOVIES
20-21 Theatrical Review, and Our top DVD releases
IN EVERY ISSUE
22-23 Our top suggested programs to watch this week!
Visit YourTVLINK.com for more stories! Our Staff Writers: Jay Bobbin, George Dickie, John Crook Graphic Design: Nicolle Burton Quality Team: Michelle Wilson, Lisa Webster, Chris Browne
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14-15 “Animal Kingdom” (SERIES PREMIERE) Ellen Barkin stars as the matriarch of a dysfunctional crime family in “Animal Kingdom,” a TNT remake of the 2010 Australian film. Co-stars Barkin and Scott Speedman and executive producers Jonathan Lisco and John Wells discuss making the series. 17 “Uncle Buck” (SERIES PREMIERE) ABC takes a swing at turning a successful theatrical movie into a series with its premiere of “Uncle Buck.” Co-stars including Mike Epps, Nia Long and James Lesure talk with George Dickie about the series and their characters.
CELEBRITY 4 ‘Hotel Hell’s’ Gordon Ramsay: chef, triathlete, fly fisherman 5 Tori Spelling faces ‘Danger’ again 6 ‘Celebrity Food Fight’ Richter can stand the heat 8 ‘Aquarius’ star Duchovny loves the 1960s 9 Eddie Jackson trades the gridiron for barbeque
Editor's choice
STORY
‘Hamilton’ expected to dominate at CBS’ 70th Annual Tony Awards presentation By John Crook The Broadway musical blockbuster “Hamilton,” Lin-Manuel Miranda’s audacious and iconoclastic chronicle of the life of Alexander Hamilton, is the odds-on favorite to prevail during The 70th Annual Tony Awards, airing live in most markets Sunday, June 12, on CBS. From New York’s Beacon Theater, CBS late-night host James Corden hosts the ceremonies, which will include performance highlights from nominated musicals and plays. Since it opened on Broadway last August, “Hamilton,” which stars Renée Elise Goldsberry, Phillipa Soo and Jasmine Cephas Jones, has become a pop-culture reference point, shorthand for the kind of theatrical megahit everyone wants to see but few can get tickets for. The show racked up a record-breaking 16 Tony nominations, including best musical, with three nods for Miranda as the title star as well as the creator of the book, music and lyrics. Counting Miranda, seven members of the “Hamilton” cast are up for Tonys. Among them, the most familiar face to many Tony viewers probably will be Goldsberry, who played devious assistant State’s Attorney Geneva Pine on “The Good Wife” for much of its run. In the Tony race, she’s up for best featured actress in a musical for her performance as Alexander Hamilton’s sister-in-law, Angelica Schuyler. Angelica and her sister Eliza Hamilton often don’t merit even a footnote in some history books, but the musical celebrates their quick wit and keen intellectual curiosity. “I think sometimes, especially with young girls, there is an assumption of a shallowness or superficiality to their motivations,” Goldsberry says. “These women are out looking to be challenged by a powerful mind that would match them. I don’t know that we have heard that story told about our founding mothers.” “Hamilton” has managed to reach across demographic lines to connect with both older, more traditional Broadway audiences and younger theatergoers who are fans of hiphop and rap, chiefly because Miranda’s score embraces multiple styles, as musically varied as its cast is ethnically diverse. Goldsberry says she likes to think of “Hamilton” as a blend of opera and mix-tape. “This score is a compilation of all the music that Lin grew up listening to,” she explains. “There’s a lot of rap and hip-hop, but there’s also a lot of musical theater and a lot of R&B.
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There’s a British pop tune that harkens back to the Beatles. There are very traditional moments, and others that sound much more ‘forward.’ It runs the gamut in the way that our stories can and should at this point in the world.” The propulsive rhythms of the score keep the historical saga moving at a brisk clip, but when the situation requires it, Miranda also can craft a song like “It’s Quiet Uptown,” a haunting ballad that follows a devastating personal loss for Alexander and Eliza. “It’s just so beautiful,” says Goldsberry, whose character sings most of this number. “I was so blown away by Lin’s ability to perfectly capture moments that I didn’t know how he understood so well. He’s a father now, but he wasn’t when he wrote that song. He so perfectly describes those kinds of moments in our lives, with that lyric that goes ‘There are moments that the words don’t reach.’ When I read that, I just kept thinking, ‘How are you able to do this?’ ” Goldsberry already has won a Drama Desk Award and a Lucille Lortel Award for playing Angelica, as well as a Grammy Award as a member of the principal cast on the “Hamilton” recording. Many Tony pundits consider her the favorite in her category, but she faces formidable competition from two other familiar TV faces: Jane Krakowski (“30 Rock”) in a revival of “She Loves Me” and Danielle Brooks (“Orange Is the New Black”) for a revival of “The Color Purple.” The actress chooses her words with care when asked about how much longer she plans to stay with the Broadway production or if she wants to be a part of the inevitable London transfer that will happen at some point. “We haven’t spoken about other companies in any detail,” she says. “At the moment, we are talking about what is best for the Broadway company. That’s something I am excited about being a part of, as it transitions eventually beyond the Tonys, which we have looked forward to for so long. I’m almost sure that I will stay with the show into that next stage, post its inaugural year on Broadway.”
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CELEBRITY George Dickie’s Q&A
GordonRamsay of ‘Hotel Hell’ Tuesday on Fox
You’ve run the Ironman Triathlon. Were you able to finish? I’ve done two already, yes. I did Hawaii in 2013, a 3.8-km swim, 180-km bike and a 26.2-mile marathon. So yeah, Hawaii was my first big one. How long did it take you to complete it? 13 hours. It gives me the respite. (With) the hectic and crazy lifestyle that I lead, if I don’t get that time to myself, you never find that balance. So swimming, I get to think of dishes and what’s underneath the sea and what I can do with it. On the bike, it’s an amazing time to stay in one position and just breathe and enjoy the scenery. And on the run, it’s the bit where I tend to struggle but that’s the bit where my thinking time is. It’s three areas of discipline and no one can get ahold of me. I’m in my little land of my own and it’s me time. You’re also a salmon fisherman. What’s the biggest you’ve caught? I landed a 25-pounder once in Iceland in Reykjavik, and this thing took me about 30 minutes to land. And this thing was so beautiful, I took one look at it and I thought, “My God! A 25pounder, that’s literally 20 years in the making.” I gave it the most amazing kiss and then grabbed it and put it back, sent it on its merry way. Fly rod or spincast? Oh no, spinner’s too easy. Fly. Fly, fly, fly, oh yeah. Whether it’s a doublehanded spey cast or single, it doesn’t matter. That’s where the art is. Spinning is too easy.
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CELEBRITY Jay Bobbin’s Q&A
ToriSpelling of ‘Mother, May I Sleep With Danger?’ Saturday on Lifetime As you take the mom role in a new remake 20 years later, do you consider “Mother, May I Sleep With Danger?” significant in your career? Oh, my gosh ... hands-down. It’s huge! People will always come up to me and say, “Donna Martin graduates!” (from “Beverly Hills, 90210”), but next to that, it’s “Mother, May I Sleep With Danger?” That’s, like, my entire career. For 20 years, that’s been the one that stands out to everyone. It’s so funny, because that’s the one that when I made it, I wondered what it was going to look like on my resume for the rest of time. I was like, “Ehh, no one will remember this one.” And it’s been the cult classic forever. What was your first thought upon hearing it was going to be remade? I was so excited! I’ve actually wanted to remake it for a while, and when I saw that all these reboots were happening, I thought it was TV-movies that really need a reboot. Fans always come up and say, “I’ve watched all your movies. They play them on weekends.” And I realized that they don’t make those kinds of movies the way they used to. They really need to make a comeback, and if we ever did one, this would be the one to remake. As it turned out, James Franco was the one to get it moving, as both a star and an executive producer. What do you think of his involvement? It kind of happened out of the blue. In the same sentence, I heard, “They want to remake it, and James Franco is doing it.” And I was like, “What?” It was literally the most shocking call I’ve ever gotten.
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Since the new version adds the elements of vampires and a same-sex relationship, how do you think it compares to the original? It’s an homage to the original, mainly just in title, but that’s a good thing. If you’re a hardcore fan of the first one, you’ll see the nuances in the remake – names and some scenes you’ll recognize from the first one. Apart from that, it’s a completely different take on it.
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CELEBRITY George Dickie’s Q&A
Andy RichteR
of ‘Celebrity Food Fight’ Sunday on Food Network and ‘Conan’ weeknights on TBS It used to be known as gourmet.
Who of the celebrity guests on “Celebrity Food Fight” surprised you with their knowledge of food? ... We don’t go deep with any kind of knowledge. They’re kind of like parlor games. They’re all kind of very tactile. We do a few where it’s just kind of answering questions or spelling but most of them are kind of active and physical in some ways. So we’re not questioning how many ingredients are in trout meuniere, you know? We’re just kind of making them build a burrito blindfolded. That kind of thing. ... It’s fun for me because I know a fair amount about food. I wouldn’t call myself a foodie because that’s a horrible word.
Yeah exactly, and that’s too pretentious, too. I just know food, I am a cook, I like to cook. I’ve been cooking my whole life, so it’s fun for me ... . We basically have a commercial restaurant behind the set preparing all these little appetizers and the food props and stuff, and they’re all amazingly talented people, so you get to experience a lot of really good food and cool ingredients. And like I said, it’s exactly what Food Network is. I cook at home and there’s things that they were doing there that made me think, ‘Oh s..., I’m gonna try that at home. I’m gonna do that to a fish, what they just did.’ That’s the idea of the whole place.
Any chance of getting Conan on? I don’t know. They’ll give it some time before they start putting the screws to me about that. But I would imagine someone would eventually try and make that happen.
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FOOD George Dickie’s What's for Dinner
Ambrosio makes low and slow a little faster on ‘Big Bad BBQ Brawl’
As a barbecue chef, food-truck maven and dyed-in-the-wool smoker, Shannon Ambrosio has an appreciation and a respect for the Southern tradition of smoking low and slow. But as a native New Yorker, he’d like to speed the process up a little. And that’s the approach he tries to impart to the Southern pit masters he meets in his Tuesday Cooking Channel series “Big Bad BBQ Brawl.” “I don’t do a straight smoke,” Ambrosio explains. “You know, Southern barbecue pit smoking usually takes a really long time. You know, that’s kind of the idea – you get to sit around, hang out and do a lot of other stuff. But me being from New York and from Brooklyn, I had to think of a way to speed up this process. So me being a trained classic chef – you know, I have a degree in the culinary arts – I started incorporating a lot of these techniques that I learned in school to develop my own style and learn how to do this smoking process a little bit faster than what normally is done.”
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In the half-hour series that premiered last week, Ambrosio and his crew head to locales in Texas, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia to put his Northern barbecue skills to the test against his Southern counterparts and exhibit the expedited techniques he’s developed over years of trial and error. And he’s come to find out they’re not necessarily interested in them. “I don’t know necessarily that they want to know so much about what I’m doing as much as they want to know why I’m doing it,” Ambrosio says with a laugh, “which I love because for me, a lot of the experiences I get from those people, the pit masters from the Southern region, they’re very traditional and they’re pretty much always focused on staying with what they’ve been doing. And me, I’m always thinking unexpectedly. I’m always thinking what could it be and how could I make it, not so much better, but just make it different.”
What book are you currently reading?
“I’m just finishing up ‘A Curious Mind: The Secret to a Bigger Life,’ Brian Grazer’s book. I really love his philosophy on curiosity and I guess it relates a lot to me because I’m curious about many, many things and that’s what pushes me to investigate and try things. I’m the John Dewey guy. Practice, practice, practice then application.
What did you have for dinner last night?
“I live the real chef’s life sometimes, so last night, let’s be honest, was takeout (laughs) ... .”
What is your next project?
“First of all, I love the show and I can’t wait to get back on the road because traveling and cooking and getting to experience different cultures and lifestyles to me is everything. ... My next project I’d like to work on is probably developing more of a product line behind what I do. Getting the mass market to understand barbecue my way.”
When was the last vacation you took, where and why?
“I love to be out West. I have friends in Wyoming and I love to go there. A buddy of mine is a true-to-life cowboy, breaks horses, the whole nine yards and he’s amazing. He’s one of he best silversmiths in the western side of the United States. He’s amazing and I love to go out there and visit with him as much as I can.”
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CELEBRITY George Dickie’s Celebrity ScooP Many a thespian has turned to waiting tables or tending bar to support themselves between acting gigs. David Duchovny became an actor to pay the bills while writing poetry and fiction. It was the mid-1980s and Duchovny was pursuing a Ph.D in English literature at Yale with the idea of becoming a writer and eventually a teacher. “It seemed to be the most logical way to make a living while having enough time off to write,” explains the 55-year-old New Yorker, who returns as LAPD detective Sam Hodiak when Season 2 of the dark 1960s crime thriller “Aquarius” begins Thursday, June 16, with a two-hour, commercial free episode on NBC.
David Duchovny
“And then I was at Yale getting a Ph.D and I just kind of fell into the drama department there because I started to think about writing plays and then I met actors. And there’s so many productions always going on around Yale that they never have enough actors, so they kind of recruited me to do a couple of small parts. And I started just looking into what it was to write a play and therefore I started looking into what it was to put on a play to act in a play and just life kind of took its own course.” As the new season of “Aquarius” opens, it’s 1969 and Hodiak is under investigation for killing a suspect at a crime scene while still on the hunt for Charles Manson (Gethin Anthony, “Game of Thrones”), whose followers would soon commit the Tate/ LaBianca murders. Duchovny loves playing in the 1960s and a character seemingly at odds with the many social issues of the time that are still relevant today.
Education: BA in English literature from Princeton; MA in English literature from Yale
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“I’m playing a guy who is really not part of that world,” he says. “I’m playing a guy who’s the white establishment that all these movements are taking place against. So what I found interesting was to be a man not of the ‘60s in this show about the ‘60s but a guy who’s going to keep his eyes open and, if not change, then at least recognize that the change is coming.”
CELEBRITY CelebritY profile
EddieJackson
- Eddie Paul Jackson Jr. was born Dec. 19, 1980 in Americus, Ga. - He attended Richardson (Texas) High School where he played football and was an all-district and all-city selection as a senior when he recorded 93 tackles. He was also lettered on the school’s track team and was second in the state in the 110-meter hurdles and the long jump. - He majored in business education at Arkansas and was a top player on the football team.
- His NFL career started when was signed by the Carolina Panthers in 2004 as an undrafted free agent out of Arkansas. He was a cornerback, played with the Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots, and was on the Washington Redskins practice squad. An ACL injury near the end of the 2006 season in Miami and a broken wrist in 2007 in New England ended his football career.
Eddie Jackson is a former NFL player turned celebrity chef and co-hosts “Kids BBQ Championship” on Food Network - In 2013, a friend entered him in Fox’s “MasterChef” Season 4 competition as a prank, and began his culinary journey on the big screen. He finished the contest in eighth place. At the time of his departure, he had been on the winning team for six different challenges, which, along with his individual mystery box win, made him the contestant with the second highest number of wins on the show. - After the show, he started the Caribbean Grill food truck in Houston, focusing on island barbecue, and he also has a private gym, Fit Chef Studios.
- Also in 2015, he premiered his show “BBQ Blitz” on the Food Network, where he traveled the country to pit local BBQ bosses against each other. - In May, he and Camila Alves became hosts of the pint-size outdoor grilling competition, “Kids BBQ Championship,” which will award one young champion a $20,000 cash prize. - He is known as the “Fit Chef”. His POV is that everyone deserves a “cheat” day when it comes to eating.
- In 2015, he was “The Next Food Network Star” Season 11 winner.
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CELEBRITY
Look Who’s Talking! “I didn’t even know you could win a Peabody, quite honestly. I didn’t know there was an AFI (American Film Institute) Award, didn’t know that you could get on all of these lists. It’s been pretty incredible, but that’s what you hope for … to be attached to projects that you feel are reaching a certain level of quality.” – Shiri Appleby of “UnREAL” on Lifetime, about the accolades the series has earned
“I’ve been working pretty consistently. I’ve been very, very lucky that way, and it’s hard to stop working when you work a lot.” – Kristin Kreuk of “Beauty and the Beast” on The CW, about doing the final season of that series after her long runs on “Smallville” and “Edgemont”
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“Oh boy, do they. That is something television producers discovered I think the day after they built the first cathode ray tube. They’re like, ‘I bet it would be good to give people booze before they go on that thing.’ “ – Andy Richter, on how cocktails loosen up the guests on his Food Network series “Celebrity Food Fight”
CELEBRITY
ON DVRs
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Tori Spelling of “Mother, May I Sleep With Danger?” on Lifetime Here’s the thing: For me, I’m a producer at heart, whether a show is scripted or reality. I am my father’s (legendary TV producer Aaron Spelling) daughter; I’m always watching what the current thing is. This coming year, I have three things that I’m not in but I’m producing. There’s definitely a lot of reality on my DVR now, but my guilty pleasure probably would be ‘The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.’
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Jes Macallan of “Mistresses” on ABC “I’m a huge Anthony Bourdain fan, and I have a problem with HGTV also. I have a little bit of a rehab necessity, and I love ‘Fixer Upper’; I’ve tweeted those people and said, ‘Why don’t you want to be my friend?’ They’re so much fun.”
Mary Elizabeth Winstead of “BrainDead” on CBS “I record pretty much all the HBO comedies, and a lot of Comedy Central stuff like ‘Inside Amy Schumer.’ And I’ve just started getting into this show called ‘Not Safe With Nikki Glaser,’ so I’m definitely a big comedy girl. I also love documentaries, especially true-crime things like ‘Making a Murderer’ on Netflix.”
Jim Sturgess of “Feed the Beast” on AMC “I’ve been watching ‘Vinyl’ while I’ve been here. I’ve been kind of catching up on that. I’ve been watching the O.J. Simpson trial. I watched that, which David (Schwimmer, his co-star) is into, so I got really hooked on that, actually.”
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STORY
‘BrainDead’: Too dicey a name for a political show?
Mary Elizabeth Winstead stars in “BrainDead,” premiering Monday on CBS Story on next page
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STORY
Aliens deem Washington, D.C., ‘BrainDead’ in CBS horror-andhumor series By Jay Bobbin Bringing politicians and extraterrestrials together, a new series from the mentors of “The Good Wife” has a lot on its mind. Premiering Monday, June 13, creators and executive producers Robert and Michelle King’s seriocomic CBS show “BrainDead” couldn’t be better-timed for the presidential campaign season ... to the degree that it invokes the names Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. However, rest assured it’s fiction as political-family scion Laurel (played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead, who’s also continuing to work on PBS’ “Mercy Street”) finds a huge complication upon starting a job in Washington, D.C.: More and more Congressmen and others on Capitol Hill are getting “iZombie”-d by alien bugs that target their brains. You could insert your own joke here, but the Kings largely have taken care of that. “It’s been strangely topical,” Michelle says as she and her spouse chuckle knowingly, though Robert adds “BrainDead” was sparked by “the last government shutdown, I guess, two years ago. No one seemed to be working off of strategy. Everybody seemed to be working off of emotion or some magical thinking. That the government could give up on its debt seemed like a very odd concept, so we started with the idea of how extremism grows from one person, and that moved us toward the idea of a 1950s ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers’ kind of movie.” Indeed, Michelle King notes she and Robert “didn’t want to do a straight-on political story, because that could become earnest. We wanted to have more fun with it, and that (science-fiction) genre seemed like the way to do it.” Citing such humorists as Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, Robert says the ultimate aim with “BrainDead” is to appeal to “people who aren’t really drawn to political subject matter, but would be if there were a hybrid.”
Mary Elizabeth Winstead No stranger to horror and suspense, with film credits that have included “Final Destination 3” and the recent “10 Cloverfield Lane” (which arrives on DVD and Blu-ray the day after “BrainDead” debuts) plus the earlier CBS series “Wolf Lake,” Winstead acknowledges she’s “comfortable” in the genre. “I think that might be why a script like this isn’t so scary to me. Some actors might say, ‘Oh, gosh, this is strange. I don’t know how I’m going to understand this.’ For me, it was exciting to jump into something like this. I like getting to do something that blends a lot of genres and tones, because you get to play all your cards.” Tony Shalhoub (“Monk”), Aaron Tveit (“Grease: Live”) and Danny Pino (“Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”) also star in “BrainDead” with the friendly Winstead, who reasons that “we all feel a little bit overwhelmed by what’s happening right now politically, in one way or another. I think the idea that people are losing their heads is something most of us can agree with, regardless of where you stand on all the issues. Everyone involved in this project, we’ve just been kind of shaking our heads over how strangely close to reality some of the scenes are. Though it’s seemingly so absurd and over-the-top, a lot of the time, it isn’t.” Robert King mentions “Scandal” – whose inspiration, former presidential aide turned crisis manager Judy Smith, is the co-executive producer of “BrainDead” – and “The West Wing” as set-the-bar examples of politically driven series, “so important to that genre. It’s very hard to do a version of that and not feel (those shows have) done it better. We thought we would go in (to CBS) and they would laugh us out of the room, so we were pleased by how excited they were.”
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STORY
The family that robs together Scott Speedman stars in “Animal Kingdom,” premiering Tuesday on TNT Story on next page Page 14 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote June 12 - 18, 2016
Barkin relishes dark matriarch role in TNT’s
STORY
‘Animal Kingdom’
Calif. “Because, I mean, my generation of actors, we were more exploring the positive side of mothers. And when I was younger, you never came across a dark mother in a movie or a television show. So, yeah, maybe it’s as a generation of actresses get older ... you have this pool of talent: What do you do with them?
By George Dickie In some ways, Janine “Smurf” Cody is your typical American mother. Divorced and living in the Los Angeles suburb of Oceanside, she loves her sons almost to the point of smothering and would die for them if she had to. And if they give her cause, she still knows how to put her adult boys in their place. But there is another side, a darker side to Smurf. As played by Emmy winner Ellen Barkin (“Before Women Had Wings,” “This Boy’s Life”) in the TNT drama series “Animal Kingdom,” premiering Tuesday, June 14, she’s also head of a family crime enterprise that specializes in armed robbery, and her boys are the trigger men. They include Baz (Scott Speedman, “Felicity,” “Underworld”), Smurf’s relatively level-headed adopted son and second in command; Pope (Shawn Hatosy, “Southland,” “Reckless”), her disturbed eldest son who is just out of prison; Craig (Ben Robson, “Vikings,” “Dracula: The Dark Prince”), her hyperactive middle son with a drug problem; and her youngest, Deran (Jake Weary, “Pretty Little Liars,” “It Follows”), a troubled and suspicious kid. Into this world comes 17-year-old grandson Joshua “J” Cody (Finn Cole, “Peaky Blinders”), who gets a front-row seat to his relatives’ nefarious activities when he moves in after his mother dies of a heroin overdose. And what he sees is an intense and complicated woman who rules over her adult sons with an almost incestuous love. And that danger is ahead. “For me, it’s about the dark side of exploring motherhood,” Barkin told a recent gathering of TV critics in Pasadena,
“And I also think it’s interesting to explore,” she continues. “We’re all kind of very used to the idea of the perfect mother and let’s all be great mothers and that pressure. And let’s see what happens if you divert it a little and if it’s a more complicated character.” The series is inspired by the award-winning 2010 Australian film that made a star of Jacki Weaver in the role of Smurf. But Barkin and executive producers John Wells and Jonathan Lisco say the feature merely served as a template for the series and the storylines will be fresh. “The series itself (is) not a heist a week or a crime a week story,” Wells says. “It’s about the tension that exists within the family and the competition for the place that you serve in the family. It’s really about that basic sort of sibling rivalry about when the mother or the matriarch in the family is able to use her affections and her attentions in such a way as to continue the tension between the children, the grown children, about who belongs and who doesn’t belong at what moment and who does she favor and not favor at what moment.” “We talk about the show as a family show internally ...,” he continues, “but it is an exploration of the dynamics that happen in a lot of families.”
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STORY
Movie-music master John Williams receives AFI’s top individual honor in a TNT special airing Wednesday By Jay Bobbin The American Film Institute Life Achievement Award has been presented to actors and directors, but never before to a composer. If that’s going to happen for the first time, John Williams is the ideal recipient. One of the most prolific and honored makers of movie music adds another major accolade as AFI gives its annual salute to an individual talent Wednesday, June 15, on TNT. (The event will have been taped the previous week at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre.) Appropriately, his frequent collaborator Steven Spielberg – the 1995 AFI honoree – will present the award, with fellow participants George Lucas and J.J. Abrams among other directors Williams has worked with. Three of the former Boston Pops Orchestra conductor’s five Oscars have been for teamings with Spielberg (“Jaws,” “E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial” and “Schindler’s List”), but his career was well under way by the time he first scored a Spielberg flm, “The Sugarland Express” (1974). Here are several of our favorite Williams credits for other moviemakers. “How to Steal a Million” (1966): The composer was known as “Johnny Williams” when he supplied the whimsical melodies for this art-theft comedy teaming Audrey Hepburn and Peter O’Toole as the stylish and very attractive thieves. “Fitzwilly” (1967): Another “Johnny Williams” credit, this Dick Van Dyke comedy also required sprightly music for its tale of a butler who organized his fellow employees into a robbery gang to maintain the lifestyle of their toogenerous employer (Edith Evans). “The Cowboys” (1972): Western tradition merges with coming-of-age themes, musically and in the storytelling, in this John Wayne offering about youngsters enlisted to help a rancher on a grueling cattle drive.
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“The Poseidon Adventure” (1972): The first of several disaster movies Williams would score (also including “Earthquake” and “The Towering Inferno”) is both majestic and ominous in its music, as the Irwin Allen production forces an overturned ocean liner’s survivors to climb ever upward inside the ship in the hope of being rescued. “Cinderella Liberty” (1973): A variety of styles, partially involving songwriter Paul Williams, marked Williams’ work on this intimate drama. Our favorite theme from it is heard when James Caan makes Marsha Mason’s acquaintance as they shoot pool. “Star Wars” (1977): Well, of course. Williams became an icon to many moviegoers – and has remained so – through his themes for George Lucas’ now-legendary saga that gave the world Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Chewbacca, R2-D2, Darth Vader, etc., etc. “Superman” (1978): Helping viewers to believe a man could fly was Williams’ truly soaring score that not only captured the largesse of Krypton and Metropolis, but also the simplicity of Smallville. “The Accidental Tourist” (1988): The melancholy spirit of novelist Anne Tyler’s novel is captured beautifully by Williams in weaving the story of a lost spirit, a travel-book writer (William Hurt) who needs to find his way. “Presumed Innocent” (1990): Helping greatly in adapting Scott Turow’s best-seller, a piano-reliant Williams mirrors the quiet, isolated desperation of a murder suspect (Harrison Ford). “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” (2001): Williams again set the pace for a film franchise by translating the optimism and true magic of writer J.K. Rowling’s Hogwarts School students into melodies.
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STORY
ABC’s ‘Uncle Buck’ puts new spins on a beloved character Click or tap on icon for more! By George Dickie CBS once tried to turn the 1989 hit theatrical comedy “Uncle Buck” into a TV series with no success. This week, ABC takes a stab at reimagining the former John Candy vehicle with an all-black cast. The half-hour sitcom, premiering Tuesday, June 14, puts Mike Epps (“Bessie,” “Survivor’s Remorse”) in the title role of Buck Russell, a charismatic bachelor long on charm but short on responsible behavior. When his brother and sisterin-law Will (James Lesure, “Las Vegas,” “Men at Work”) and Alexis (Nia Long, “Alfie,” “Third Watch”) move to town and need help with their children Tia, Miles and Maizy (Iman Benson, Sayeed Shahidi, Aalyrah Caldwell), Buck steps up and gives it everything he’s got – regardless of whether they want it. But it turns out that Buck’s street smarts and unconventional perspective have their advantages when it comes to child rearing and keeping the young ones in line, although it will take more than that if he is to earn the respect of his skeptical family. “We always thought that it was kind of a selfish man learning how to not be selfish,” executive producer Steven Cragg explains to a recent gathering of TV critics in Pasadena, Calif. “So actually, it was a little different than the John Candy thing. We think of ‘Uncle Buck’ as having kind of a selfishness about him, but that being with his family is helping him learn how to not be selfish. But I ask you, are there people in your life who are relatives and they don’t
change over and over, and you keep hanging out with them and trying to help them over and over again?” “So no matter what he does, he has a really good heart, and really does take care of these kids,” Cragg continues. “And I think the love for these children, which is an amazing part of what we discovered through doing this, is mind blowing, because this is a gentleman who really does care for these kids, and really wants to protect them. And that’s a huge, huge, you know, liability factor, I think.” Buck may be smooth talker and a hustler but he’s no lazy slob, as was Candy’s character in the movie. That is by design, say the producers, lest they play into any stereotypes. Ultimately, the cast and producers agree, this is a story about family and its love for one another, a universal theme that cuts across racial, religious and ethnic lines. “... The core of everything, society, you know, starts with the family, and that is what it’s about,” Lesure says. “It’s different than just this one individual. ... We drop in on a family that loves each other and is trying to figure out how to live together. And we do it in different ways, and I like to think that we do it in a comedic way, in a real way.” “Believe it or not, there is an ‘Uncle Buck’ in every race,” Epps adds. “There is an Asian Uncle Buck, the white Uncle Buck. ... We got an Indian, Taj Mahal Uncle Buck. And so ‘Uncle Buck’ is speaking for all the Uncle Bucks of the world.” June 12 - 18, 2016 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote Page 17
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SPORTS
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PhilMickelson Full Name: Philip Alfred Mickelson Born: June 16, 1970 Birthplace: San Diego, Calif. Height/Weight: 6-foot, 3-inches/200-pounds Swing: Left Page 18 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote June 12 - 18, 2016
PGA Tour Wins: 42 Honors & Achievements: Masters winner, 2004, 2006, 2010; Open Championship winner, 2013, PGA Championship winner: 2005; ninth alltime in career wins
SPORTS
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By Dan Ladd Phil Mickelson has won every major tournament in golf, except the U.S. Open, which airs Thursday, June 16, through Sunday, June 19 on Fox. For the first time since 2007 the tournament will be played at the Oakmont Country Club in Western Pennsylvania, which will host the U.S. Open for a record ninth time. Among his five major victories, including three Masters, the U.S. Open is not on Mickelson’s (also known as “Lefty”) trophy list. He’s either tied or placed second six times, most recently in 2013 when he and Jason Day both fell two strokes short of Justin Rose, who would capture his own first major title. Mickelson, who has made headlines as of late over his stock market activities, has had a stellar career. His 42 PGA Tour wins currently rank him ninth all-time and he was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2012. Lefty turned pro in 1992 but was often in the shadow of Tiger Woods, especially where majors were concerned. Then in 2004 he earned the green jacket by winning The Masters and would secure major victories again in 2005 and 2006, as well as 2010 and 2013.
PhilMickelson
Mickelson hasn’t won a PGA event since his Open Championship title in 2013. After a few good runs in majors in 2014 and 2015 he took on a new swing coach for 2016 and at press time his best finish this season was second place at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February. June 12 - 18, 2016 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote Page 19
MOVIES
JAY BOBBIN's Theatrical movie review
‘Money Monster’
pays off for Clooney and Roberts Our Take “Money Monster” is a movie with a message, but it’s also a movie that lets some very big stars do what they do best. That’s especially true for George Clooney as a financial guru who gives his views and predictions through a TV show – think of a more charismatic Jim Cramer, the often bombastic CNBC personality. Julia Roberts plays Clooney’s quick-on-her-feet producer, and it’s fun to watch them play a different relationship than they had in the “Ocean’s” crime capers (and as the joke-loving friends they’re known to be in real life). The fun is tempered, though, by an unwelcome visitor to the studio: someone who followed one of the Clooney character’s tips and lost all his savings ... and now wants answers and vengeance. He’s played by a perfectly intense Jack O’Connell, who made “Unbroken” for director Angelina Jolie. Actually, he and the others – also including “The Affair’s” Dominic West and “Outlander’s” Caitriona Balfe – are working for another actress turned director here: Jodie Foster, and she does a solid job in keeping the drama tense and tight, since the movie runs just a little more than 90 minutes. In fact, this picture is a bit reminiscent
of her own “Inside Man,” which she made for Spike Lee. Another star of “Money Monster” is Matthew Libatique, the director of photography, who faces the huge challenge of keeping the movie visually compelling in limited space. The bulk of “Money Monster” unfolds within the studio, so it’s the same task that has befallen the makers of such movies as “Talk Radio.” Close Pictured: George Clooney confines are where the action is here, and the cameras do a good job of staying on the move to support that. The biggest drawback to “Money Monster” is that its theme isn’t exactly earth-shattering, We’ve heard it before and with greater depth, so it really falls to the actors and Foster to sell it as best they can. To their credit, they manage that pretty well ... and frankly, it would be a surprise if they didn’t. Let’s face it, we’re talking George Clooney and Julia Roberts here. Indeed, you can look at “Money Monster” as a film that has things to say, but it’s equally proper to look at it just as a well-crafted piece of entertainment. And that, it is.
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MOVIES
This Week’s Top New DVD Releases we couldn’t wait to share! THE
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MUST SEE LIST
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BY JAY BOBBIN
“LONDON HAS FALLEN”
Any viewer of “Olympus Has Fallen” can expect the sequel won’t be a quiet and sedate affair ... and indeed, the follow-up matches the frantic action of the original as the U.S. president and his Secret Service man (returnees Aaron Eckhart and Gerard Butler) are among terrorists’ targets again. This time, they’re overseas with other world leaders for the funeral of England’s prime minister when mayhem erupts, forcing them to trust their own instincts – and an MI6 agent (Charlotte Riley) – to make their way through the devastation and stay alive. Morgan Freeman, Angela Bassett and Melissa Leo also are back from the first film. DVD extras: two “making-of” documentaries. (Rated R)
Pictured: Aaron Eckhart
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“10 CLOVERFIELD LANE”
Sort of a prequel to the sleeper horror hit “Cloverfield,” this effectivewith-a-small-cast melodrama actually was conceived as its own separate project, then retooled to fit the franchise. Mary Elizabeth Winstead – of PBS’ “Mercy Street” and the new CBS series “BrainDead” – plays a car-accident victim who becomes a prisoner of a survivalist (the reliableas-always John Goodman), who already has someone else (John Gallagher Jr., “The Newsroom”) present. The homeowner warns of major danger outside his doors, but she debates whether to trust him. With J.J. Abrams among its producers, the film also involves Bradley Cooper in a creative way (spoiler withheld). (Rated PG-13)
3“45 YEARS”
Charlotte Rampling was an Oscar nominee for directorscreenwriter Andrew Haigh’s (HBO’s “Looking”) intriguing drama, in which she stars with fellow acting veteran Tom Courtenay as a couple whose 45th wedding anniversary is upset by startling news. The body of the husband’s long-ago lover has been found, preserved in a glacier ... prompting the couple to re-examine how they’ve spent their lives, both separately and together. Though the adaptation of David Constantine short story does have other actors, including Geraldine James, the heavy lifting clearly is on Rampling and Courtenay – and they expectedly achieve it beautifully (Rated R)
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“THE X-FILES: THE EVENT SERIES”
If the truth is still out there, it’s up to Mulder and Scully (David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson) to reunite and uncover it. Their search through the supernatural continues in this six-episode continuation of the original show, guided again by creator-producer Chris Carter and a number of the first series’ other writers and producers. Mitch Pileggi, William B. Davis and Annabeth Gish are among additional familiar faces who return ... but expectedly, there’s special pleasure in seeing Duchovny and Anderson back in their iconic roles. DVD extras: three “making-of” documentaries; audio commentary on selected episodes by cast and crew members; deleted and extended scenes; outtakes. (Not Rated)
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FAVORITE SHOWS
Hope Davis stars in “Wayward Pines”
Mary McDonnell stars in “Major Crimes”
SUNDAY 8:30 p.m. on FOX Brooklyn Nine-Nine In “Beverly Hills Cop,” Eddie Murphy’s Axel Foley tells his boss he’s going “deep, deep, deep undercover” — and that’s also what Jake (Andy Samberg) does in “The Oolong Slayer.” Pursuing a killer, Jake disappears into the case as much as possible, with Holt’s (Andre Braugher) knowledge. Rosa and Amy (Stephanie Beatriz, Melissa Fumero) run up against an old enemy. Terry (Terry Crews) becomes overly occupied with a new interest.
Anthony Anderson hosts “To Tell the Truth”
Melissa Fumero stars in “Brooklyn Nine-Nine”
MONDAY 10 p.m. on TNT Major Crimes With the prospect of a sixth season still somewhat in doubt, this police procedural launches a 13-episode Season 5, which finds Sharon (Mary McDonnell) guiding adopted son Rusty (Graham Patrick Martin) through college while deciding where her romance with Lt. Andy Flynn (Tony Denison) is heading. In the season opener, “Present Tense,’ the squad probes the case of a teenage girl who vanished while volunteering at a homeless shelter. Buzz (Phillip P. Keene) opens the cold case file on the murder of his father and uncle. Season Premiere New
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TUESDAY 8 p.m. on ABC To Tell the Truth One of several classic game shows being revived by ABC this summer begins its run, with Anthony Anderson spending his hiatus from “blackish” as both the host and an executive producer here. The format still has several people claiming to be the individual in question, with a panel having to determine who indeed is telling the truth. Notable among the guessers: tireless genre veteran Betty White. NeNe Leakes, the NBA’s Jalen Rose and guest panelists also participate. New
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FAVORITE SHOWS WEDNESDAY 9 p.m. on FOX Wayward Pines Xander (Josh Helman) finds his way back into the town in the new episode “Exit Strategy,” and someone potentially helpful comes along with him. Rebecca and Megan (Nimrat Kaur, Hope Davis) clash over what’s expected of a young woman (guest star Emily Tremblay). Theo (Jason Patric) warns CJ (Djimon Hounsou) against seeking what lies beyond the fence. Shannyn Sossamon and Tim Griffin return in their roles from the show’s first season. Tom Stevens also stars. New THURSDAY 9 p.m. on NBC Aquarius After his return to “The X-Files,” another David Duchovny series is back with a two-hour Season 2 premiere, and one of the longer subtitles of late: “I’m So Tired/ Happiness Is a Warm Gun/Why Don’t We Do It in the Road.” In the late 1960s, police detective Sam Hodiak (Duchovny) follows up on photos he’s sent of missing young women, but Charles Manson (Gethin Anthony) also remains a concern for him. Charmain (Claire Holt) gambles with her safety on a drug case. Season Premiere New 9 p.m. on FOX Home Free Mike Holmes (“Holmes on Homes”) is well-known for his homerenovation expertise, and as this competition series along those lines starts its second season with “Tebow Time,” he has a notable new co-host: Tim Tebow, the former NFL star and Heisman Trophy winner. They oversee and advise couples who work on refurbishing houses, each in the hope of winning their own dream residence. They face, and have to succeed at, various challenges in the course of the quest. Season Premiere New
FRIDAY 9:01 p.m. on ABC What Would You Do? It’s time for more people to be put to the title test of determining how to react to an apparent crisis, while hidden cameras capture their responses, as host John Quinones returns with another season of this series. Only when he appears do the subjects realize the situations have been staged, and there’s interest to be had not only in what they do, but in how they reflect afterward on their actions — or inaction — once they know what’s really going on. Season Premiere New
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SATURDAY 11:30 p.m. on FOX The Grinder The Sandersons make new friends (guest stars Nat Faxon and Alexie Gilmore) in “Little Mitchard No More,” but Stewart (Fred Savage) worries the couple is around only to bask in Dean’s (Rob Lowe) fame. Dean is befuddled that his celebrity status seems to have no effect on Claire (Natalie Morales). Mary Elizabeth Ellis and William Devane also star.
John Quinones hosts “What Would You Do?”
Rob Lowe stars in “The Grinder”
Mike Holmes (left) and Tim Tebow co-host “Home Free”
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