Based on Gerard Way‘s (My Chemical Romance) Comic Book Series, Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy quietly has been filming in and around Toronto since January. Set in the late ’70s, it takes place in an alternate universe where John F. Kennedy never was assassinated and centers on a team of dysfunctional superheroes who come together to solve their father’s death. They also must not let their clashing personalities get in the way and destroy everything.
The Series stars Ellen Page, Tom Hopper, Robert Sheehan, Emmy Raver-Lampman, David Castañeda and child actor Aidan Gallagher. Recent double Oscar-nominee Mary J. Blige also was added to the cast recently and we spotted her arriving on-set. Blige was last in Toronto for the TIFF ’17 Premiere of Mudbound.
Written into the Series, her character Cha Cha is said to be an unorthodox woman who can travel in time to kill targets. Filming in the City’s Dundas West area, she was spotted in a suit and bob with bangs like a Femme Fatale. She was seen with two friends/handlers enjoying a quiet pizza lunch to the sounds of Stevie Wonder at Pizza Libretto before heading back to work. One onlooker says she saw a friend scope out the restaurant before having Blige enter and she sat facing the window the entire meal.
The Set has been extremely protective of this Series, barring fans from seeing talent even out of costume. We’re really curious to see why the secrecy. Hmm…
See a quick clip of Blige:
The Umbrella Academy wraps in July 2018.
(Photo credit: S. Fernandez/Netflix/Mr. Will Wong)
At least a first look at A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS Season Two. Check out this new Trailer filled with a shack full of crabs, a tyrannical vice principal, murder, kidnapping, high fashion, unnecessary surgery, ravenous lions, and a great deal of herring.
Synopsis:
Based on the internationally best selling series of books, season two of the Netflix original series plunges further into the epic world of this darkly comedic mystery. Starring Emmy and Tony Award-winner Neil Patrick Harris, A Series of Unfortunate Events recounts the tragic tale of the Baudelaire orphans – Violet, Klaus and Sunny – and their extraordinary encounters with the devious Count Olaf who will stop at nothing to get his hands on their inheritance. Foiling his many dastardly plans and disguises, the young siblings discover clues to their parents’ mysterious death, links to a covert organization, and begin to unlock long-held family secrets.
See the Trailer:
Netflix Canada stream Season Two of A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS Friday, March 30, 2018.
(Photo/video credit: Netflix)
Many had questions about the fate of HOUSE OF CARDSÂ in its upcoming Season Six. This new Teaser gives us some insight what we can expect with Robin Wright shifting front and center!
See the Teaser:
Netflix Canada stream HOUSE OF CARDS Season Six Fall 2018.
(Photo/video credit: Netflix)
Known best for his work as Winston Bishop on New Girl, Lamorne Morris currently is in Toronto doing work on upcoming Netflix Holiday Film titled potentially, The Christmas Chronicles (formerly 12/24). The Film starring Kurt Russell and Judah Lewis, centers on two brothers who try to record Santa Claus to prove he os real, and wraps end of the month.
Morris also was seen this year in critically acclaimed Comedy, Game Night alongside Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams.
We spotted Morris on his way in to the City and he was a great sport about stopping for a Snap!
See our Snap:
(Photo/video credit: Mr. Will Wong)
If you enjoyed Netflix’s The Babysitter, you’ll have a second chance to see 15-year-old breakout star Judah Lewis in their upcoming Holiday Film, potentially-named Christmas Chronicles. The Film sees a pair of brothers planning to capture video of Santa Claus on Christmas Eve to prove he is real.
Starring alongside Kimberly Williams-Paisley (Nashville), Darby Camp (Big Little Lies) and screen legend Kurt Russell who has been seen on-set sporting a disheveled Santa look, Lewis was spotted in the Beaches filming with his Co-Stars earlier. The Film’s Santa sleigh decked-out in leather seats with a reindeer bonnet emblem was the talk of the neighbourhood!
Produced by Christopher Columbus (Home Alone) and directed by Clay Katis (The Angry Birds Movie), the Film originally was titled 12/24 and it wraps end of March. It is set to stream on Netflix in time for the Holidays in 2018.
See our Snap:
(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)
Guess what? It’s back and it’s coming aooner than you think! Season Two of SANTA CLARA DIET is set to stream on Friday, March 23, 2018 only on Netflix!
Synopsis:
In Santa Clarita Diet, Joel (Timothy Olyphant) and Sheila (Drew Barrymore) are husband and wife realtors leading vaguely discontented lives in the L.A. suburb of Santa Clarita with their teenaged daughter Abby (Liv Hewson), until Sheila goes through a dramatic change sending their lives down a road of death and destruction…but in a good way.
Picking up right where we left off, Season 2 of Santa Clarita Diet finds the Hammonds trying to adapt to Sheila’s now-advanced undead state — even though she’s desperately working to hold on to her suburban lifestyle and not be defined as just another monster. Unfortunately — while the family has become markedly better at murder — the number of missing people in Santa Clarita is starting to pile up and it’s no longer going unnoticed. Meanwhile, the Hammonds are chasing the source of the virus so they can stop it from spreading and save humanity — which seems important. Through it all, Sheila and Joel are grounded by their unconditional love for one another. Sure, being undead — or loving someone who is — isn’t always easy, but don’t all relationships have their challenges?
See the announement:
More here.
(Photo/video credit: Netflix)
By David Baldwin for Mr. Will Wong
In 2015, we were blown away by Ex Machina from Screenwriter and first-time Director Alex Garland. The Film was nominated for Best Original Screenplay at the Academy Awards and won Best Visual Effects. Zip-forward three years, and Garland has delivered another mind-blowing piece of Science Fiction in Annihiliation. Garland was present for the first Canadian screening of the highly-anticipated Film at TIFF Bell Lightbox tonight, followed by a Q&A with TIFF’s Artistic Director Cameron Bailey.
The Film centers around Lena (Natalie Portman), a Biologist who joins a team of scientists and researchers who venture into a classified area known as “The Shimmer” to uncover its secrets. The less you know about the plot of Annihilation, the better. But suffice it to say, Garland’s Film will leave you breathless and begging to discuss each and every twist.
On the subject of casting, Garland said each actor was cast traditionally and “kind of pushed against each other in a good way. They had very different energies.” He praised the Ensemble, along with those behind-the-scenes he referred to as the “Collective”. After Garland writes his Screenplays, he hands them off to his Production Designers and other members of his crew – some of which he has been working with for 20 years! – and they help shape the Film from the ground up through “conversations”.
“It’s an abstract Novel,” Garland said when asked about adapting the first chapter in Jeff VanderMeer’s Southern Reach Trilogy. He “tried to do an adaptation of what it’s like to read the Book”, and explained that the Screenplay was written more as a “memory of the Book” as opposed to a direct adaptation. Without spoiling too much, Garland suggests “The Film is about self-destruction,” and that by playing within the realm of Genre Filmmaking, he was given a “free gift in what you can subvert,” allowing the Film to take on multiple tones, styles and genres.
Garland spoke at length about his take on Auteurism (he prefers working as a team), how he writes female versus male characters (he writes them the same way), and his feelings on adapting the rest of VanderMeer’s Trilogy (sequels are “not my scene”), but received the biggest audience response when he asked if his friend Rob was in the audience. He had never met the Toronto native, but the two have been playing PS4 games online for a number of years. Garland invited his gaming buddy out for a drink after the Q&A, much to the delight of the audience.
While it was a fun and enlightening event, the last question of the night finally addressed the elephant in the room – Netflix. Annihiliation’s distributor Paramount Pictues recently sold international streaming rights to the Company, and will only give the Film a traditional theatrical release in the US, Canada and China. All other foreign territories will see the Film released exclusively on Netflix (much like the surprise post Super Bowl release of Paramount’s The Cloverfield Paradox). “I don’t have a problem with the small screen at all,” Garland said, noting his next project was an 8-part Series for FX. But he added, “This Film was designed for theatres. The immersive experience that we collectively hope happens at the end is not going to happen on a laptop.”
We’ll have more on Annihilation in our review next week, but for our Toronto and Montreal fans, be sure to enter our contest now to win passes to an Advanced Scteening of the Film here.
Paramount Pictures Canada release ANNIHILIATION on Friday, February 23, 2018.
(Photo credit: David Baldwin)
Cheers, Queers!
In this new First Look, the original Fab 5 from groundbreaking Series QUEER EYE meet the new Fab 5 from the Series Reboot and talk about the impact of the Series and its legacy.
See the Chat:
Netflix Canada stream QUEER EYE Wednesday, February 7, 2018.
(Photo/video credit: Netflix)
We’ve missed us some Letterman!
In case you didn’t know, the late night TV legend has a new Series on Netflix called MY NEXT GUEST NEEDS NO INTRODUCTION. The second episode features none other than George Clooney and Letterman gets him to open-up about how he met whom would become his wife, Amal! Other topics include his childhood and rise to fame.
See the Clip:
MY NEXT GUEST NEEDS NO INTRODUCTION streams Friday, February 9 at 12:01AM PT on Netflix.
(Photo/video credit: Netflix)
How long does it take to bury the truth?
We love Regina King and this is exactly the type of role we’ve been waiting to see her in. SEVEN SECONDS looks absolutely gripping and you must see this new Trailer for the Netflix Original Series.
Synopsis:
In an instant, life is forever changed for Brenton Butler and his family. After a white cop accidentally hits and critically injures a black teenager, a northeastern city explodes with racial tensions, an attempted cover up and its aftermath, and the trial of the century. From creator and executive producer, Veena Sud (The Killing) comes Seven Seconds – a thrilling new anthological crime drama that explores the human stories behind the headlines.
The series stars two-time Emmy winner Regina King (American Crime) alongside breakout British actress Clare-Hope Ashitey (Doctor Foster), Russell Hornsby (Fences), Beau Knapp (Sand Castle), Michael Mosley (Ozark), David Lyons (Safe Haven), Raul Castillo (Special Correspondents), Zackary Momoh (A United Kingdom), Nadia Alexander (Blame)Â and Coley Speaks (Circle).
See the Trailer:
SEVEN SECONDS streams on Netflix Friday February 23, 2018.
(Photo/video credit: Netflix)
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