crash-related stories
Posted Sep 11th 2009 1:01PM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, OpEd, Casting, Reality-Free
I've checked out the first episode of season two of
Crash, which airs Sept. 18 at 10 PM ET on Starz. After a major tragedy in his life, Ben Cendars, played awesomely by Dennis Hopper, has taken some time off to get sober. No more drugs.
Somehow, I find that a difficult pill to swallow, so to speak, and I really hope he goes south again soon. No one plays the drugged out crazy guy like Dennis Hopper. His wild eyes and erratic behavior are the best parts of the show, especially as he interacts with his driver Anthony, played by Jocko Sims. Those two have one of the weirdest, most dysfunctional bromances in TV history, and I'd hate to see it messed up with Ben's sobriety.
On the plus side, Eric Roberts has joined the cast as a billionaire entrepreneur who plans to bring a pro football team to Los Angeles. My other favorite character is Kenny, played by Ross McCall. He's definitely no angel, but he seems like he wants to make things right in this episode. Let's just say it's a bit of a heartbreaker.
Anyone else a
Crash fan?
Posted Apr 30th 2009 3:01PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, OpEd, The Shield, Dexter, Reality-Free, Life on Mars
In the DVR era, I have this new problem/blessing that happens to me every year. I jump on board these shows and then just get too busy to keep up with them and they pile up and sit there on my DVR unwatched. As an example, I just finished "Chapter 5" of
John Adams last night; damn that's a good mini-series. But now that 99% of the network shows are wrapping up their seasons, I'm looking at three months of solid catch-up time.
I can also use the time to try out series I've always wanted to get into but just haven't for some reason or another; I'll use that "no time" excuse again. With more videos streaming online at Hulu (thanks ABC), seasons coming out ever faster on DVD and more vintage shows coming out the field is wide open. Of course, I'm probably taking on more than I can handle, but dammit I'm excited!
Continue reading What are you looking forward to catching up with this summer?
Posted Apr 2nd 2009 11:26AM by Kona Gallagher
Filed under: Rescue Me, Interviews, Celebrities, Reality-Free
After several high-profile movie roles in films such as
Menace II Society, Dead Presidents, and
Crash,
Larenz Tate headed to New York City for a regular gig on the FX drama,
Rescue Me. Tate plays "Black Sean," the newest probie forced to contend with Tommy Gavin and the rest of the motley crew at the firehouse.
Tate joined in season four, which had its season finale in the summer of 2007. That November, the writers' strike began, which pushed production of season five back, oh, about twenty years or so. Okay, maybe not that long, but I've moved at least twice since I watched
Rescue Me last. The series (finally) returns to FX on Tuesday, April 7.
I got to speak to Tate recently about what's in store for his character in season five, including some good dish on Sean's love life and how FX is planning on making it up to the fans who have been waiting so long for
Rescue Me to return.
Continue reading Larenz Tate: The TV Squad Interview
Posted Sep 12th 2008 10:03AM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Programming, OpEd, Pickups and Renewals, Early Looks, Reality-Free
I posted last week about
the new series Crash, premiering on Starz on Oct. 17. It's been a long time coming. I started hearing buzz about a TV series shortly after the film debuted in May, 2005, and the cast looks good (though I know some of you disagree with me).
The lineup of the ensemble drama includes
Dennis Hopper,
D.B. Sweeney,
Ross McCall,
Clare Carey, and
Luis Chavez, among others. I also appreciate the fact that
Paul Haggis and
Don Cheadle, who worked on the film, are producing the TV series. So whatever else happens, I have to think they'll keep the integrity of the film intact.
The
Crash press kit is now online, and it's interesting to watch the trailer and hark back to the movie. Some of it looks the same -- like the shot of a cop feeling up a woman -- and the racial tension is definitely in place.
Continue reading I like Dennis Hopper's character in Crash - VIDEO
Posted Sep 8th 2008 9:24AM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Programming, OpEd, Celebrities, Pickups and Renewals, Casting, Reality-Free
I've been waiting for
Crash the TV series to materialize ever since I heard about it shortly after the movie premiered in May, 2005. The
Starz/
Lionsgate series will feature 13 episodes with a different cast of characters from the film.
Now I have even more reason to be excited, because
Tom Sizemore has
joined the series in a recurring role. He'll play Detective Adrian Cooper, whose unorthodox methods cause havoc when he investigates a police-involved shooting. Sizemore
joins Dennis Hopper in the series, with
Paul Haggis serving as executive producer.
I've had a major crush on Sizemore since he played Sgt. Vinnie Ventresca on
China Beach during the 1989-1990 season. Sure, he's had some challenging times. According to his
IMDB.com page, in February, 2005, he failed a court-ordered drug test after he was caught trying to use a prosthetic penis to fake the results. And that was the
second time he was caught trying that.
Continue reading Tom Sizemore in for Crash
Posted Jun 5th 2008 9:02PM by Kristin Sample
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, OpEd, Celebrities, Casting, Reality-Free
Dennis Hopper is set to star in the new original series
Crash, produced by Starz and Lionsgate. This is the first drama series for the network. Based on the Academy Award-winning movie,
Crash has begun filming in New Mexico and Los Angeles. Sanford Bookstaver (
Jericho,
Bones,
The O.C.) will direct the premiere episode.
According to the press release, the show "will continue to focus on an ensemble cast of characters" and "will explore the complexities of social tolerance in contemporary America by digging at the meaning of what it takes to reach the American dream." Hopper will play Ben, a veteran, maverick producer in the music biz who is looking for his last big score. Other stars include Clare Carey, Luis Chavez, Ross McCall, Jocko Sims, Brian Tee, and Arlene Tur.
Crash will come to Starz in October.
Watch your backs, HBO and Showtime! This show looks good. And Paul Haggis is on the team of executive producers. He didn't just give us
Crash. He gave us
thirtysomething and
The Black Donnellys. Don't mess with the Hag.
Posted May 30th 2008 8:22AM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, OpEd, CSI, The Shield, Grey's Anatomy, Entourage, Jericho, Casting, Private Practice, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Reality-Free
Shortly after the release of 2005's
Crash in theaters, I remember reading that a TV series based on the film was in the works. I even pitched the story to a TV trade magazine, but the editor didn't go for it. She must have guessed the show would be years in the works, and she was right.
Three years later, a TV series is finally starting to gain some steam.
The Hollywood Reporter just posted a story that
five actors have joined the cast of the series produced by Don Cheadle,
Paul Haggis (pictured), Mark R. Harris, Robert Moresco, Tom Nunan, and Bob Yari, all of whom were involved with the movie. Produced by Lionsgate, the series is anticipated to
premiere on Starz in 2009.
Here's a rundown on the actors who've just signed. It's interesting that most of these folks are not big-name actors, which I find refreshing in an era where many mega-movie stars are crossing over into TV:
Continue reading Crash gears up with cast
Posted Feb 26th 2008 10:38AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, The Shield, Cable/Satellite, Pickups and Renewals, Life
Starz, the cable network, is getting into original production and their first project will be based on the 2005 Best Picture Oscar-winning film
Crash. Glen Mazzara, whose credits include
Life, The Shield, Stand-Off and
Nash Bridges,
has been named executive producer/showrunner for the drama series. Lionsgate TV will co-produce with Starz, and they've greenlighted 13 episodes.
The controversial film, which dealt with the intersecting lives of a myriad of people living in Los Angeles in just 48 hours, centers on the character of Detective Graham Waters. Waters, a police detective, is struggling with his career, his drug addict mother and a criminal brother. The role was played by Don Cheadle (
Picket Fences), who was also one of the film's producers. He is expected to reprise the part in the Starz production and may even direct a few episodes. In addition, director/co-writer/producer Paul Haggis and others from the film are also on board for Starz.
Continue reading Starz first series will be Crash
Posted Jun 7th 2007 4:41PM by Adam Finley
Filed under: Other Drama Shows
If you wanted to get your conspiracy theory fix and are bummed out the upcoming HBO documentary on JFK will be free of such theories, than you might want to check out The Murder of Princess Diana, a TV movie that hits Lifetime this August, the ten-year anniversary of her death.
The TV movie, based on the book of the same name by Noel Botham, will focus on a supposed conspiracy that resulted in the princess' death in a car crash.
Continue reading Lifetime begins production on TV movie about death of Princess Diana
Posted Feb 26th 2007 10:05AM by Elizabeth Chan
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, NBC, Interviews, The Sopranos, The Black Donnellys
There are a lot of initial discrepancies about NBC's
The Black Donnellys from the moment you watch the show.
If you are a born and raised New Yorker, you might find it initially hard to relate to the creators insistence on piecing together different but real geographical areas and their claim that it's one fictional neighborhood, unlike other shows using a New York backdrop such as
The Sopranos,
Law and Order or even
Sex and the City. If you are Canadian, you might be even more confused by the creators choice of the title,
which until recently has been a famous historical reference to one of the most gruesome murders in Canadian history.
Bobby Moresco and Paul Haggis, the Oscar winning team behind
Crash and the creators of
The Black Donnellys implore you to throw pre-conceived notions out the window when you watch the premiere Monday night and want to remind us that although the show is heavily based on their personal experiences growing up in New York City's Hell Kitchen, the story and places are indeed fictional and should feel timeless.
Continue reading Who are The Black Donnellys?
Posted Feb 1st 2007 8:31AM by Anna Johns
Filed under: Prison Break, Celebrities
Prison Break actor Lane Garrison will likely be charged with felony vehicular manslaughter for an accident that killed a 17-year old girl
last month. Beverly Hills police say that Garrison was high on cocaine and drunk when he slammed his SUV into a tree, killing his teen-age passenger. Two other 15-year old girls in the car were injured. Police say Garrison's blood-alcohol level that night was .20 percent, more than twice the legal limit, and they found a number of empty alcohol containers in his SUV.
Garrison, 26, played "Tweener" on
Prison Break, but his character was killed off earlier this season. If convicted, he could face up to ten years in actual prison.
Posted Jan 31st 2007 2:27PM by Anna Johns
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Video, The Daily Show, Comedy Central
After his
plug for Vista interview with Jon Stewart on
The Daily Show on Monday night, Bill Gates practically sprinted off the set and out of the studio... before the director had a chance to cut to commercial. I interpreted it as his uber-geekiness/social handicap kicking in. I mean, this guy doesn't do talk shows or even watch talk shows! He's too smart for such things.
Well, I was wrong.
Last night on
The Daily Show, Jon Stewart showed what really happened. I should've known. Video is after the jump:
[Via
Digg]
Continue reading Why Bill Gates left The Daily Show so quickly - VIDEO
Posted Mar 28th 2006 10:44AM by Anna Johns
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, NBC, Talent, Law and Order
Ludacris, the rapper-turned-actor who did
a remarkable job in the Oscar-winning movie
Crash and in
Hustle and Flow, will appear on a new episode
of
Law & Order: SVU tonight. As
Adam mentioned last month, he'll
play Det. Tutuola's (Ice-T) nephew, who has a secret that gets exposed when Tutuola's son is accused of homicide.
Said Ludacris, "There was no way I could turn down this amazing opportunity. The character was so rich and
the storyline so complex, that I knew it was something I had to do." I'm sold.
SVU airs at 10
pm ET tonight on NBC.
Posted Mar 18th 2006 1:19PM by Anna Johns
Filed under: Showtime, Programming, Huff
In conjunction with the season two
premiere of
Huff, a Hank Azaria comedy, Showtime is going to be free for one whole weekend. Showtime is
calling the promotion "It's All For You", and it's going to be free from Friday, March 31 through Monday,
April 3. Along with Huff, Showtime will also premiere the Academy award winning movie,
Crash, that weekend, as
well as some boxing and the digitally remastered classic,
Liza with a Z. The free weekend wraps up with the
season premiere of
Penn & Teller's Bullsh*t!.
Posted Mar 17th 2006 10:32AM by Anna Johns
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, NBC, Programming
While the upfronts are still a few weeks away, NBC has
placed early orders for two
new dramas,
Kidnapped and
The Black Donnellys.
Kidnapped stars Dana Delany and Timothy
Hutton as parents whose son is abducted. The show is in the same style as FOX's
Prison Break, where it's meant
to stretch out only one season. It will be told from three views: the family, the FBI agents, and the kidnappers.
Perhaps
Crash's win at the Academy awards solidified
NBC's love for
The
Black Donnellys. It is written and created by
Crash screenwriters Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco.
The
Black Donnellys is about four Irish-American brothers involved in the Irish mob.
Each drama received a
13-episode order from NBC.
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