FX’s smash hit horror series American Horror Story is finally coming to Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights
For fans of Halloween and live scares, Universal Studio’s Halloween Horror Nights is as good as it gets. Held at both Universal’s Orlando and Hollywood theme parks in the United States, the annual event kicks off in mid-September. And for fans of American Horror Story like me, Universal’s recent announcement that Ryan Murphy’s horror anthology series would join this year’s lineup on both coasts provided the bloody cherry on top of a very awesome sundae.
Held until the last possible moment, the American Horror Story announcement comes after months (years) of speculation as to when Horror Nights would tackle the ratings and awards giant. The AHS house will contain scenes from three seasons of the series: Season 1’s Murder House, Season 4’s Freak Show, and Season 5’s Hotel. For those familiar with the event, the possibilities seem endless. Imagine being chased by the Rubber Man into the basement of the Murder House. Imagine the gory and grotesque freaks on display as Twisty the Murdering Clown pops out at you around every corner. Imagine the incredible set design as you attend Hotel‘s season-closing fashion show. Okay, maybe not that, but you get the idea.
Halloween Horror Nights features a combination of mostly pre-sold intellectual property and new scares. Universal spends millions of dollars assembling “houses” on its soundstages filled with actors trained to spot the weak and easy prey to scare the living shit out of them. It’s bloody, scary, great fun if you’re of the right persuasion.
In addition to American Horror Story, Universal Orlando’s lineup includes nods to Krampus, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Halloween, and The Exorcist among others. Universal Hollywood’s event will include largely the same intellectual property plus Freddy vs. Jason.
For more information on both events, please check out the Orlando and Hollywood websites.
FX hosted an Emmys event last night on the Fox lot for The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story. The event was a Q&A featuring Emmy-nominee Sarah Paulson and Marcia Clark with Ryan Murphy directing the episode.
The show was nominated for 22 Emmy Awards, ranking second only to Game of Thrones, and it is favored to take home a number of Emmys. Sarah Paulson, who has been nominated four times before, is the overwhelming favorite to take home an Emmy for her portrayal of lead prosecutor Marcia Clark.
Here are some highlights from the event:
Murphy broke the ice by asking Clark and Paulson what their favorite words were. Paulson answered, “Motherf*****.” Clark replied, “C**T.” Cue audience laughter.
Talking about her hair during the trial, Clark said, “I never did understand the obsession with the hair.”
On her reaction to finding out that this was being made, Clark said her first reaction was, “Oh God. Horrible and misery, because the trial was misery.” She added that when she found out that Ryan Murphy was behind the project, she thought that it was going to be great but painful.
Clark said she thinks about Nicole and Ron every day. “I think about the life and the children that Ron didn’t get to parent.” She added that she thinks about Nicole’s children and their life without their mother, and father.
Paulson said, to help get into character, not only did she meet with Clark after Episode 6, as Murphy had instilled the rule that the actors couldn’t meet their characters until after that episode. She also read her book and went so far as to seek out the perfume Clark wore during the trial. She ordered a bottle of Magic Noire by Lancome online.
Asked about the toughest scene to shoot, Paulson said the toughest scene to shoot was the closing argument.
Paulson said she had named the wigs she wore during shooting the series. She had the “Rick James,” “Winston,” and “Miss Perfect,” for the various styles Clark sported during the trial.
Clark on whether she sees herself as a feminist icon,”I don’t feel like an icon, I don’t think of myself as an icon. This is hopefully a benefit to all of us.” She did thank Murphy for sexism that was highlighted during the show.
Paulson and Clark were asked what shows they binge. Paulson said she binges, “Game of Thrones.” She’s also started watching Stranger Things, and added, “Long live Winona.”
Check out photos from the event below. AwardsDaily TV was there to cover the event.
Although Sarah Paulson has gathered the lioness’ share of the plaudits for her performance in The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, the show is renowned for the amount of acting talent on display. Playing Johnnie Cochran, lead defense counsel for O.J. Simpson, Courtney B. Vance also stands-out and currently favors to win a Best Actor in a Limited Series at the 2016 Emmys. I spoke to Courtney while he was spending time in Africa what preparations he made for such a role, what he made of the success, and what in his acting background prepared him for this role.
(Photo: Ray Mickshaw / FX)
At AwardsDaily TV we all published our favorite TV shows for the year, and the show [The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story] is my number one show for the year. And I mean that. So to get to talk to you is an honor.
Thank you.
How did you head towards the field of acting as you were growing up? Was it something you wanted to do? How did you get there?
No, I knew nothing abut acting. It was the furthest thing from my mind. I was raised by parents who valued education. My mother was a librarian, and my father was a manager in a supermarket. So both my older sister and I were raised to value education. We basically grew up in a library. It was a local library branch near the house.
At what moment in your career did you think “Ah this is where I wanted to be, this is what I was striving for.” Was there a point like that?
There probably was. At every stage I knew nothing about acting. I just knew as a student I would figure it all out. I knew that I wanted to start theater with each show I’ll meet different people, and I’ll figure out what to do. Of course after my second show I had so much fun. After a year at Harvard, I didn’t think of it as a career, so I was playing catch-up at that point. After I got into it I wanted to go to Canada. There was a big art scene over there at the time. I had a Plan B, which was to work a steady job, and get enough money for the summer so I could do workshops like the Shakespeare company and got into it that way.
What’s it like being married to Tina Turner? How did you meet Angela Bassett?
Ah, Tina Turner. [Laughs] We met at drama school, she was finishing up, and I was coming up to the drama school in April to try and figure out a way to pay for it after I had got accepted. After I finished talking to the finance estate officer, two students were in charge of taking me out and showing me the area, and Angela was one of those students. I met Angela. We talked about the school, read manuscripts, and we kept coming into the same circles.
So let’s talk about the show The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story. Has anyone ever bought you gloves that didn’t fit?
[Laughs] No, they haven’t.
How much did you watch of the O.J. Simpson trial? Did you follow the whole thing?
No, I followed nothing. I was a big O.J. Simpson fan. I was in shock. Back then I was shooting Mario van Peebles’ Panther, so we were there up there doing that. Everyone was very excited about that. We all gathered in the lobby of the hotel watching a game, and all of a sudden the O.J. Simpson thing came on, and everyone was like “Oh, what is this?” It was the shock, and I couldn’t watch it when they put it on the television. I knew nothing about the trial.
Exactly how did you get the part of Johnnie Cochran?
My manager and I were at my wife’s premier for American Horror Story, and we came out to the reception area and my manger saw the writers and producers. I had not heard about the O.J. project. It was a very cordial conversation at first. They said they’d put me in their minds, and when I actually met with Ryan [Murphy, producer] and Brad [Falchuck, producer]. We decided we were right for each other.
What was your interpretation based on for Johnnie Cochran since we only have the courtroom footage of him? How did you develop a sense of the real man?
You know, Robin, because I didn’t watch the trial or follow the trial I was a little intimidated by the whole process. I said to myself I felt I was not going to watch the tapes or watch all kinds off footage. I felt I would be imitating it if I watched this. I did what I needed to do to tune into him, so jumped right in. We knew we would be flying with ten episodes. We knew we would have a great time but didn’t know there would be four or five cameras on me. I didn’t have chance to read a lot of what happened, then I saw myself in the mirror, and I looked like him. I was going to make my choices in this film. I am me, I am not him – the people are great, the stories are great, the scripts are great, it was right on the money.
The scene were the cops pull Cochran over in a white neighborhood – have you ever personally experienced anything like that?
Yes, I did. It happened to me in front of my own house. My children were with me at the time. I thought I heard something, so tried to look outside the door and when I opened the door there were five police officers. They were like “Come on out. Get on your knees.” I had watched Law & Order, and all those sort of shows. I mean, we were talking midnight in all white neighborhood. I came out, got on my knees. One officer saw it was me, and they were like “Oh boy, I am so sorry Mr Vance.” It was very humbling. I was just glad my children did not wake up and see me on my knees.
Wow. So Ryan Murphy is white. Most of the screenwriters were white. Did you have any reservations about this story that is crucial to the American black experience handled by white guys?
No. John Singleton directed one of the episodes. One of the other writers is black. The stories were very, very well, thought out, and well documented. It was more about a story well told.
It was. What do you make of the amazing reception from critics and audiences for The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story? Everyone usually talks about the Drama category with the Emmys, but people are talking about the Limited Series this year.
I think we were all shocked. The furthest thing from my mind, that everyone would praise it. You know, maybe a few, we really didn’t know. We had lived through it at a certain age, and those that were young at the time, this was a new experience for them. We just wanted to make the best project we could, and we put our money were our mouths were. It was getting the best cast, best directors, best crew, best sets and locations, to make sure we have the money to get it exact. There’s like five or six lawyers scrutinizing every line, making sure everything was accurate. After that we had the marketing. People would say that they don’t want to wait to see things, they binge watch – but this was so good according to the public, people would wait for it, and watch it week by week. Talking about it by the water-coolers, all these wonderful conversations and dialogue, people talking about the issues, the white, the black. It really made a difference.
The history part was accurate, but it was a really good drama in its own right, almost like watching fiction. It was that good. You could forget this actually happened.
That’s true, that’s true. That is how I like to see it. That’s how good it was, could have been a fiction story. Younger folks watching who didn’t know anything about it were like “This really happened?” or “You could not write this.” This really happened: a perfect storm of celebrities, race, family, sports heroes, marketing, the corporate world, the police. All involved in this story. It was all in there: this man, and the way he was from USC [University of Southern California] to Brentwood. In this bubble, the hero, the police loved him, white people loved him. With this case everything started to get real. This was the case will be talking about for years and years and years afterwards.
Did you get to keep any of those suits? Did you get to take them home?
No, it was the eighties, nineties. I didn’t really ask. What I really wanted to do was keep the wig.
[Laughter]
Congratulations on the show, and the reception. And good luck with the Emmys and really to everyone who is nominated.
Thank you so much.
One of six Emmy-nominated actors from The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, Courtney B. Vance is in the running for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie.
The final round of Emmy voting began earlier this week (August 15th), and Television Academy members have two weeks (August 29th at 10PM PST) to complete their ballots online for the top series and program awards of the year as well as the awards within their own branch.
Unlike the Oscars, most Emmy categories are voted on by their peers: only actors vote in the acting categories, only directors vote in the directing categories, and writers vote in the writing categories. The series and program races are exceptions with all 20,000+ national members eligible to vote in the top awards if they wish.
For the second year in a row all Academy members are eligible to vote in every category within their own branch. This means that actors can vote in all 18 performance categories as well as the top series and program awards of the year. Upon voting, participating members are asked to agree to an honor system vowing to watch all of the submitted tapes for each nominee. Each branch has different rules, but generally each nominee usually submits a single episode to be judged while the top series of the year submit six episodes.
In a section of the Emmy’s website only accessible to Television Academy members, voters have access to the necessary episodes for each category to watch before making their final decisions. Those episodes have been available online since August 8th, a week before voting opened. However, there is no system in place to monitor and guarantee that every voter watches all of the necessary tapes before placing their final votes.
In the years leading up to 2015 it had been reported that anywhere from 40-100 branch members made up the peer group juries and the series/program cross-branch juries consisted of hundreds of Emmy members.
In those smaller juried years voters were also restricted to two peer-group categories per year and two program races per year, but as of 2015 all Television Academy members are allowed to vote in any category they desire to as long as they belong to that specific branch.
This year, for the first time, voters have been asked to simply vote for their favorite nominee of the year opposed to preferentially ranking the given nominees like in years past. So if a member wants to vote for Game of Thrones in the Outstanding Drama Series race they simply check off the show and move on. Before 2016, voters were asked to rank their ballots (1. Game of Thrones 2. House of Cards 3. Downton Abbey, etc), and the winner was then determined from those rankings.
The final round of Emmy voting is overseen by the company Everyone Counts (the same company used for the Oscars) and can only be completed online. After the winners are determined they will be announced at either one of the two Creative Arts Ceremonies on September 10th and 11th (broadcast in an edited version on September 17th on FXX) or on the Primetime Emmy Ceremony on September 18th (ABC).
Episode 90: This week, we take a look at Season 1 of TNT’s Animal Kingdom. Plus, we list our 2016 Emmy Wishes.
On this week’s Water Cooler Podcast, we’re taking a deeper / spoiler-filled look at TNT’s summer hit Animal Kingdom, which was recently renewed for Season 2. What does the character-driven action series ultimately offer after a well-received pilot episode? What works and what doesn’t work across the series? Plus, what chance does the series have next year during the 2017 Emmy season?
Monday, August 15, marked the start of the 2016 Emmy voting window. In a segment called, Emmy Wishes, we take a break from our weekly Emmy analysis and list those winners we’d most like to see on Emmy night. Finally, we close with the Flash Forward of what television most excites us in the upcoming week. Thanks for listening!
Lou Diamond Phillips talks about his first Emmy nomination for Crossroads of History and about working in comedy
Since his breakout role as Richie Valens in La Bamba, it’s been fascinating to watch as Lou Diamond Phillips has pivoted his career to diverse roles both in television and film. In July, Phillips received his first Emmy nomination for Outstanding Actor in Short Form Comedy or Drama Series for his role as Chieftain on The History Channel’s Crossroads of History. The honor matches his Tony nomination on Broadway for his role in The King and I. Not only is it his first Emmy nomination, but the category is also new to the Emmys. Crossroads of Historyis a show you need to be watching. It retells unknown yet factually correct moments in history with liberal doses comedy with Phillips appearing in the Columbus episode. I caught up with Phillips to discuss his first Emmy nomination, what’s in store for Longmire, and how he’s going to be singing on Disney’s Elena of Avalor.
Well congratulations. This was your first Emmy nomination.
Yes indeed. I have to say it’s so out of left field. For me to be nominated in comedy is a bit of a head scratcher. I’m known mostly for drama, and I’m quite proud of the dramatic roles I’ve had. Longmire is going into its fifth season. I go for a day to do Crossroads of History, just to have fun, and the next thing I know I’m getting nominated for an Emmy for it. It was a surprise all around.
Are we going to be seeing you in more comedy now?
I certainly hope so. The funny thing is I’m very proud of the comedies that I have done. The Big Hit is a cult favorite. Disorganized Crime is an underseen Disney comedy way back in the day, and it certainly has its fans. I don’t look like a guy you cast in comedies, the bulk of my work wouldn’t speak to it necessarily. I love the fact that this nomination helps expand a preconception about me and open the door to do more comedy because I really do love it.
I cut my teeth in comedy, it was actually my first professional paying gig even if it was seven bucks. I did sketch comedy at this punk club back in 1980 in Fort Worth, Texas. That grew into what became known as the Front Room company at Stage West where we would do the classics such as Hamlet or Dr. Faustus at 8:00pm, and at midnight, we’d turn around and do these very raunchy sketches called The Zero Hour. Even then, I was pushing the boundaries of what my wheelhouse was.
How did you even get involved in Crossroads?
They called. I don’t even know if Elizabeth Shapiro had seen any of my work before. There were comedy shorts, and YouTube videos. There are a handful of people in Los Angeles who know that I’m funny. Not so long ago, I did Another Period with Natasha Leggero. That was a lot of fun, so maybe they caught that and thought I was perfect for this vignette about Columbus. You never know what work of yours is going to be seen when it goes out there.
I tell young acting students this, that you really need to do every job, no matter what it is, to the best of your ability and bring your A game every single time because in this day and age everything you do is out there for consumption. I 100 percent ended up doing The Night Stalker because Megan Griffiths met me at an awards ceremony where I won Best Supporting Actor for Filly Brown that introduced Gina Rodriguez.
Now, here you are nominated for the first time, in comedy, in a brand new category.
I have no expectations because this was such a surprise and I’m enjoying the ride.
Are you a historian?
I am. I was boringly good when I was in high school. History yes. I was literature minor and drama major in college. I most definitely am of the mind that we need to learn from history otherwise we are destined to make the same mistakes. A lot of the fiction I’ve been doing lately, I’m wading through Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee. I should say I’ve returned to my activist days where I espoused a lot of Native American values. I feel I need to be up on the history.
One of the things I love about Crossroads of History is that Elizabeth Shapiro came up with this brilliant idea that there were these pivotal moments that actually happened. She takes this satirical lighthearted view of them, but the truth of the matter is there’s a lot to be learned here. Had things gone a different way then maybe history would have played out differently. I loved the fact that Hitler got rejected from art school.
What would have happened if he hadn’t?
I loved 11/22/63 by Stephen King. Trying to go back to prevent Kennedy from being assassinated. You can’t change history, but you can examine it.
I read Buried My Heart At Wounded Knee. It’s a wonderful documentation and a great read. Have you read it?
I haven’t. It’s my first time. Some people like to call it revisionist history. We’re not revising the history. We’re revising the perception of it, and that’s very important because as they say, history is written by the victors. The written history will skew a certain way, but when you examine the facts and look at things from a different perspective, say perhaps a more informed and open-minded perspective, then you get a better idea of what the big picture was. We owe it to ourselves and the generations to follow. Even though Crossroads of History is a very funny and light-hearted look at history, it’s got cogent and valid points.
It was so cleverly done. It reminded me of Monty Python.
Absolutely. The beauty of it. It’s not broad. We were told to approach it as if it were a drama. [Laughs] The truth of the matter is the writing was so fantastic, all we had to do was commit to the voracity of the lines, and it comes out hilarious.
What were you doing the morning the nominations came out?
I was working. I was doing a cameo in an Independent film in Loca. Danay Garcia is the lead, and she is about to make her debut on Fear the Walking Dead. A few of my buddies are in it too, Emilio Rivera, Cuete Yeska both were in Filly Brown appear with me. It’s a gritty and tough look at Mexican cartels. There I am with my hair slicked back and an orange jump suit. You know what people expect from me these days, and I got the phone call. It was a bit of a shock and a bit out of context for what I was doing that day.
You’re so busy these days, I can’t keep up, but it’s a good thing.
I have to say, a lot of these challenges being put in front of me now are some of the most exciting of my career. I feel I’m playing these roles that have depth and texture. I’m playing guys who have lived a bit and have history. I’m having a lot of fun. I’m also keeping my eyes open for things that continue to expand the resume.
Longmire has quite a following. It’s doing really well.
The fifth season starts on September 23 on Netflix. My character really benefitted from the move. We add 20 minutes, and you get a full episode on that network. On A&E we had 42 minutes, and sadly it was my character. A lot of my stuff ended up on the floor. We’ve seen the difference with Season 4, and we’ll see it with Season 5 where Henry gets his own backstory and the audience is treated to an insight into his character.
Which is great because we get to learn his backstory finally. The fans will love that.
Absolutely. We get a lot of his emotional life and what’s going on with him, and a few outstanding threads that need to be resolved. He had gone down this perhaps dangerous and slippery path of being the new Hector on the reservation, and how was that going to play out. How is that going to convolute his relationship with Walt? There are some very interesting things happening. I’m very happy that much of it is native-centric, and we’re bringing back fantastic guests.
How long did Crossroads take to shoot?
It was literally a day. They come out of the blue. I get a call from my manager who says, “There’s interest in you to do this thing next Thursday. Are you open and are you interested?” I read the script and the next thing I know, I’m on set for the day.
First of all, the script was hilarious. I will always jump at the chance to do comedy. What made it even more fun for me, was my buddy Oscar Nunez was already involved, Michael Mando from Better Call Saul was on it. Carlos Alazraqui is in it too, we both provide voices on Elena of Avalor, Disney’s first Latina princess. It’s the usual suspects and for me, it makes it fun as I get to hang out with buddies.
I have Elena of Avalor on DVR. I can’t wait to watch it. Not only is it groundbreaking for Disney, but it’s also exciting.
It is exciting, and I’m thrilled. I think it started out as a guest spot but is now this recurring villain. Being a Disney villain is second to only being a Bond villain. [Laughs]
How true. We only remember the villains.
Right? He’s not a totally despicable villain. He’s goofy and funny at times. I understand I’m going to get to sing in future episodes, so I go back to my Broadway roots a little bit.
Would you ever go back?
In a heartbeat. It was a magical experience and once again, the one time I appeared, I got nominated for a Tony Award which was wonderful and I’m incredibly grateful. I need to make sure when I go back I need to make sure it’s something completely different.
Earlier in the year, I wrote a comedy, and I’m talking to a few people about mounting an off-Broadway production of it.
Gotham lenser Crescenzo Notarile talks about filming the moody action series away from the Bat Signal in what he dubs “the Platinum Age of Television.”
Cinematographer Crescenzo Notarile, ASC, AIC, faced no small task in recreating the dark and brooding world of Batman’s Gotham City for Fox’s Gotham. It surely felt intimidating, tackling the project given the dominate visions that came before him. Every incarnation of Batman from the Day-Glo 60’s series to the luscious decay of Tim Burton’s vision seemed to take root in the imagination of that era. One of Gotham‘s most critical tests became achieving its own visual sensibility separate from previous representations.
This challenge pushed Crescenzo Notarile forward all the way to his recent cinematography Emmy nomination for Gotham Season 2’s “Azrael.”
“It was a little daunting at first, obviously because of the history and the calibre of that franchise,” Notarile said. “What got me past that… is the fact that this is pre-Batman, when Batman was a small boy. So, when I wrapped my head around that idea and that concept and that dynamic, a few knots in my gut unravelled a bit.”
Breaking into the DC world
Notarile wouldn’t have necessarily considered himself a comic book guy. Sure, he’d seen DC films before, but it wasn’t necessarily the first thing to which he gravitated. Like any consummate professional, Notarile threw himself into research, learning the stylistic lingo of the world through Batman comics and graphic novels. The education altered his own personal style and sensibilities, and Emmy took notice.
“I was not surprised, but I was very aware in a wonderful way, in an inspirational way, of all the grand compositions. The angles of the compositions. The dynamics of high angles, low angles. Acute compositions. Exaggerated compositions. Obviously, that’s a signature in the comic book world,” Notarile said. “That’s what really inspired me initially to open up my heart for this particular project and to really embrace that.”
That memorable Emmy morning
You never forget your first time. For Crescenzo Notarile, the news of his first Emmy nomination came amidst the bustle of a working set. The director approached him, eventually hugging him and telling him, “You did it.” Puzzled, it took a few moments before the reality sunk in, causing chills on the back of his neck.
“I think my chest expanded maybe twice its size with proudness,” Notarile said. “I looked over my shoulder, and there were a lot of my crew members just looking on. They apparently knew as well, and they all smiled and clapped. It was a nice feeling.”
Notarile will compete against some heavy competition in Game of Thrones, Homeland, House of Cards, Downton Abbey, The Man in the High Castle, and Bates Motel. Given the category’s whopping seven nominations, television cinematography seems to be thriving in what Notarile has coined “the Platinum Age of Television.” Each series offers gorgeous, challenging visuals. Sure, the equipment gets better each year, but there’s more to it than that, according to Notarile.
“You still need a heart, mind, and soul to do what we do,” Notarile said. “All [the technology] is secondary. What’s primary is being a storyteller… You still have to tell the story.”
And this talent for brilliant storytelling could carry Crescenzo Notarile all the way to the podium on Emmy night. Check out our full interview with Notarile below or by subscribing to the Water Cooler Podcast on iTunes.
Grease: Live! director Tommy Kail talks to ADTV about his Emmy nomination for Fox and Paramount TV’s smash hit
Tommy Kail followed up his Tony Award win with an Emmy nomination for the musical ratings juggernaut, Grease: Live! from Fox and Paramount TV. Clarence and Joey chatted with Kail about his successful season and what he plans to do next now that Hamilton made a killing at the Tonys.
Even though he’s been at the helm of two very large and different theatrical experiences, it’s very easy to chat with Tommy Kail. He speaks with an openness that only suggests a very collaborative environment on set, and that surely is responsible for his two highly successful directorial efforts.
Broadway’s Biggest Night
When asked about the Tony Awards ceremony, Kail compared it to a big theatrical party, and he commented on the strength of the entire Broadway season.
“It was a really robust season. There was some sort of perceptible shift that I hope continues. There seemed to be a lot of new voices, a lot of new artists, a lot of new people that hadn’t thought that Broadway was for them,” Kail said. “It showed that the tent was big. It felt like a big theatrical prom.”
Director Turned Audience Member
When he was asked if he had a particular moment that he loved watching, we talked about Keke Palmer’s quick change and about other projects. He seemed most grateful, however, about giving his cast and crew a chance to thank the audience back.
“I was really excited to have a curtain call. I loved the opportunity to kind of just throw this party at the end,” Kail said. “That ending finale moment was very satisfying.”
Returning to Hamilton
After September’s Emmy ceremonies, Kail plans to direct two more productions of the historical Lin-Manuel Miranda musical.
“I will be in New York City rehearsing the show for five weeks with a brand new company of actors, and then we go to Chicago in September. Our first performance is September 27th, and then we open October 19th. I’ll be Chicago for that month. I am in the process of casting our San Francisco/LA company right now.”
Have a listen to our full interview with Grease: Live!‘s Tommy Kail below or by subscribing to the Water Cooler Podcast on iTunes!
Daredevil‘s Philip Silvera talks about his Emmy-nominated stunt coordination
Philip Silvera makes one thing very clear when he discusses Daredevil‘s fight sequences. He’s not there just to stage a fight between two characters. He is very clear that his “action design” is there to push the story forward and help further develop the emotional arc of the characters. Best known for his stunning Season 1 Daredevil hallway fight sequence, Silvera shockingly missed out on a nomination during last year’s Emmy cycle. Like any great fighter, though, he picked himself up, moved on, and came back bigger and better than ever. His Season 2 stairwell action sequence makes the hallway look like an average day at a daycare.
Philip Silvera faces some stiff competition in the Outstanding Stunt Coordination For A Drama Series, Limited Series Or Movie category, including what even he admits is fantastic work in Game of Throne‘s “Battle of the Bastards.” Still, when you look at Daredevil‘s extravagant stunt choreography, it’s clear that the series lives on a completely different playing field. They’re such an integral portion of the series that it’s near impossible to imagine Daredevil without them. That’s the intensity, professionalism, and dedication Philip Silvera brings to the critically acclaimed series.
I know next to nothing about martial arts aside from what I’ve seen in films and on television, including both seasons of Daredevil. How do you approach choreographing these amazing fight sequences?
I think the most important thing is that we are designing for the characters and each specific character has a different style. So, we want to make sure that when we are designing any type of action sequence whether its a fight scene or a driving scene it’s relative to who these people are and pushing the story forward. That’s our biggest thing. When you look at Daredevil, he pays homage to his boxer father, but he spent very little time with him growing up. He spent a lot of time with Stick (Scott Glenn) grown up who is a world-class martial artist and an assassin, but Matt doesn’t believe in those things. So, when he gets a little tired, you see him fall back on the boxing, but he also has the acrobatic sense to him. We try and make sure that we tell those things the right way so that it’s not too martial-arty, not too tricky, it’s just the right balance for him.
With Jon Bernthal’s character, the Punisher, he is tactically trained and has a different mindset when he approaches a battle and how he enters it. He’s proficient with a gun. He’s proficient with hand-to-hand combat, but he doesn’t mind killing. It helps alleviate the pain for him at times. So, I think we keep all of those things very close to how we approach the action and push the story forward.
Would you even use the term “choreography” when describing what you do? It is almost like a perverse dance between the two characters when they engage in a fight sequence.
Right, yeah, you can absolutely use the word choreography. I tend to use the word “action design” because it’s the overall story that we’re pushing forward, but choreography is a great way to describe it.
The single scene I most remember from Daredevil Season 1 was that fantastic hallway fight sequence. Was there a sense of apprehension going into Season 2 that you had to top that?
[Laughs] There is a feeling that I didn’t want to travel down the same path for sure. Especially with doing another one-shot. That was relative to that story, and I think Doug [Petrie] and Marco [Ramirez], our showrunners, had a great vision for not topping it but doing something different. And I think we did. We did something very different with that Episode 3 sequence where we start in the hallway, which is very similar to what we did in Season 1, but then we take it down a staircase. Their idea and concept for it was a descent into Hell, and he’s fighting to hold onto the character that he is and not cross that line, which I thought was genius because if you see every time we get deeper into the staircase, the stakes are raised.
He’s been riding a line and almost getting to that point where he’s crossing it. In that episode, Jon Bernthal’s character the Punisher talks to him about that and tells him, “You’re one bad day away from becoming me.” So, I think that sequence had a totally different feeling to it. It was him fighting to hold onto who he was. The challenge of it for us, though, logistically speaking was in Season 1 we did it on a set with an overhead track. This time, we had to figure out how to do it on an actual location moving through a hallway and down a staircase, and I think that was our other challenge, which he achieve I’d like to think.
Is that your personal favorite Season 2 sequence? The stairwell sequence?
I have a few favorites. It’s hard to pick which one you like the most. Every sequence is special in its own way, and it’s difficult to pick which one you like more. If I had to, I think I love the opening sequence between Punisher and Daredevil in Episode 1. It’s the coming together of these two iconic characters. I love the scene that we just talked about where they’re heading down the staircase in Episode 3. I love the scene in the jail where we see Frank Castle become more and more the Punisher character and his interaction with the Kingpin. And then the most iconic thing we get to see throughout the season is Daredevil throwing his baton for the first time, which again I thought what better way to show Daredevil’s evolution to becoming who he is. That was a fan-favorite moment for me.
How do you work with the creative team to orchestrate the fight sequences? Where do you get engaged into the overall process?
Again, this is a TV show, so we have very fast turnover. As soon as we get the scripts, we go into meetings and we start discussing right away… we’re just kind of running with the ideas. For me its easy because I understand the background of the characters because I’m a fan. I get to bring that to the table.
You’ve been able to work with a lot of Marvel properties in your career looking at your resume.
I’ve been very fortunate to do that, I have.
So you were a Marvel fan before this?
I’ve been a comic book fan my entire life, so yes, I’m a huge Marvel fan as well.
So you’re basically living the dream.
I am. I absolutely am.
I’d read somewhere that you consider “the Black Widow” move “one of the most overused moves for females.” Did you make a conscious effort to avoid that when working out fighting styles for Elektra?
Well, I made a conscious effort to avoid using it, but it does end up in the show and doesn’t work out her way. There’s a scene in Episode 10 where she’s fighting in the airplane hanger where she tries that move, and she fails miserably. So, I just wanted to show another side of it where it actually doesn’t work out.
Is that where [Elektra] flies across the airplane wing?
Correct. And gets slammed right back down on top of the wing.
So, what’s next for you in terms of the Marvel projects? Are you working on things like Iron Fist or The Defenders?
No, that’s going to be a whole other creative team and action coordinators, and I can’t wait to see what they do. For me right now, I just finished working with Steve DeKnight on Pacific Rim 2 for a little bit, and now I’m starting to prep Deadpool 2.
Congratulations on your Emmy nomination this year, of course. Looking back at last year’s nominees, I was surprised to see Daredevil Season 2 garnered you your first nomination. What does the Emmy experience mean to you?
It’s a huge honor for me. Number one, I’m nominated with peers I’ve looked up to for many, many years and who have inspired me. I’m very grateful that people like our work and are excited about it. Working on this series is a great honor and a privilege, and it’s very fulfilling that people agree with that and enjoy the work we’re putting out.
One of the biggest observations from last year’s crop of Emmy winners was the fact that every supporting actor winner seemed to be riding the coattails of a Series win: Tony Hale in Veep, Peter Dinklage in Game of Thrones, and Bill Murray in Olive Kitteridge. None of them had the best tapes of the category, but after voting was opened up to the entire branch tapes didn’t seem to matter so much. Voters instead seemed to gravitate towards likable actors on their favorite programs without paying attention to their material throughout the year.
Game of Thrones and Veep are right on track to win the top awards of the night for the second year in a row, but both Dinklage and Hale have some surprising competition – their own costars. Actors used to benefit from competing against their costars because of the ranked voting system, which is how the Modern Family cast kept on winning. Now that the winner is determined by a simple popular vote it may be harder for people like Tony Hale and Matt Walsh or Peter Dinklage and Kit Harington to compete against each other.
If voters continue down this path will the Television Academy tweak the rules once again to level the playing field? They haven’t been afraid to in the past and that’s one of the things that makes the television academy much more interesting than the AMPAS. And if they don’t tweak the rules? Then we may never see another win like Merritt Wever ever again.
Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Only three men have won this supporting race over the past six years. They all came from the major contenders in the comedy race, and if Veep’s popularity growing even stronger is any indicator Tony Hale will have an easy time winning his third Emmy in four years. Last year, Tony Hale didn’t really have the material to win but beat out Tituss Burgess in a breakout role strictly on goodwill. Just like last year, voters are going to see his name on the ballot and check him off without thinking twice unless they instead gravitate towards his costar Matt Walsh. His nomination was one of the biggest surprises of the year, and fans of Veep might want to spread the wealth although it’s more likely that they’ll split the vote than Walsh upsetting.
Keegan-Michael Key is incredibly likable. He can be seen on a lot of shows throughout the year and even starred in a relative hit with Keanu. Because of all this he might be the dark horse of the race this year. Key & Peele has been nominated for 15 Emmys over the past four years and the most telling hint at the show’s strength among actors was a surprise SAG ensemble nomination earlier this year. The show is so popular that I would have him as the frontrunner right now if it weren’t for the fact that sketch comedy actors are never able to win in the acting races (except for guest roles). If there is any year for that curse to be broken it’s 2016.
Two months ago Tituss Burgess seemed like he could easily be the dark horse of the race, but after Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt completely underperformed in acting nominations this year I have a feeling voters weren’t a fan of the second season. Tituss didn’t have anything as striking as Peeno Noir this year, but he did have some moments that voters should pay attention to: the subway scene with his estranged wife, his boyfriend coming out to his family, and even his questionably offensive one-man play. Ty Burrell is a two time winner and Andre Braugher is a perennial nominee but neither performer nor their show has the momentum to win this year. One of the actors screwed over the most by the new voting rules is Louie Anderson who probably has a winning tape, but Baskets isn’t popular enough to gain the attention of a majority of voters.
Current Ranking
Tony Hale, Veep
Keegan-Michael Key, Key & Peele
Matt Walsh, Veep
Tituss Burgess, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Louie Anderson, Baskets
Ty Burrell, Modern Family
Andre Braugher, Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Peter Dinklage had nothing to do last season, but he won anyways, proving that when Emmy voters like you they really really like you. He surprisingly won when Game of Thrones had their most successful night yet at the Emmys and now with the show even stronger creatively he seems poised to win a third Emmy. As popular as Dinklage is, he hasn’t had the standout year that Kit Harington had. His domination of the headlines started in the Season 5 finale and continued nonstop throughout the year, including a surprise hilarious performance in the ADTV favorite 7 Days in Hell. Unfortunately for Kit, the Emmys have been known to snub handsome young actors, and a lot of voters might dismiss him because of that.
Christian Slater was primed to be the dark horse contender after Critics Choice and Golden Globe wins and beat out the Game of Thrones men until voters surprisingly left him out. The rest of the category is filled with slightly underwhelming nominees including Michael Kelly and Ben Mendelsohn who were interesting contenders last year but weren’t able to overcome Game of Thrones goodwill and don’t have the material this year to gain any momentum. After years of snubbing him for a win, voters have the chance to award Jonathan Banks, but Better Call Saul might be old news compared to the other nominees.
As boring of an option as he seems, Jon Voight might have the best chance at upsetting one of the Game of Thrones men. Ray Donovan clearly has the support within the academy and with Showtime airing the new season during the voting season the veteran actor could easily become the biggest headscratcher of the night.
