Assignment X

Exclusive Interview: The scoop on AMERICAN HORROR STORY and TERRA NOVA

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN 06/16/2011

Stephen Lang in TERRA NOVA - Season 1 - "Pilot" | ©2011 Fox/Brook Rushton

Tim Minear is an incredibly busy writer/producer and recently wrapped executive producing the Fox series THE CHICAGO CODE. He talked to us in this exclusive interview about what he’s been doing lately, including joining the staff on FX’s upcoming AMERICAN HORROR STORY, created by GLEE’s Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk. ASSIGNMENT X: You said you were working on TERRA NOVA during the last days of the writers room at your previous project, THE CHICAGO CODE. Are you still involved with TERRA NOVA? TIM MINEAR: I am finishing up now. AX: How is that going? MINEAR: That went great. I came […]Read On »

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Exclusive Interview: Mark Ryan on THE WILDWOOD TAROT cards and book

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN 06/15/2011

Mark Ryan does all sorts of things. On stage, he was in the original London production of EVITA, first as Magaldi, then as Che and more recently, he toured with Eric Idle in ERIC IDLE EXPLOITS MONTY PYTHON. On television, he starred as the Merry Man Nasir in three seasons of HTV’s ROBIN OF SHERWOOD (the first two seasons are now out on Blu-ray from Acorn). On film, he’s been the voice of Bumblebee and Jetfire in the TRANSFORMERS movies. As a comic book writer, he created THE PILGRIM with Mike Grell. As a songwriter, he’s working on a musical […]Read On »

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Exclusive Interview: DO NOT DISTURB actor-director Eric Balfour

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN 06/14/2011

DO NOT DISTURB, currently available on VOD, is the epitome of accessible independent filmmaking, both in production technique and in content. The film is an five-segment anthology set in a hotel room, with a connective through-line starring Diva Zappa as a maid. Each segment has a different director. Mali Elfman created the premise and serves as producer. She and some of the other filmmakers appear in the movie at various points. Perhaps the most prominent acting appearance by one of the filmmakers of DO NOT DISTURB is that of Eric Balfour. L.A. native Balfour, been a professional actor for most […]Read On »

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Movie Review: SUPER 8

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN 06/13/2011

SUPER 8 movie poster | ©2011 Paramount Pictures

Rating: PG-13 Stars: Kyle Chandler, Elle Fanning, Joel Courtney, Gabriel Basso, Noah Emmerich, Ron Eldard, Riley Griffiths, Ryan Lee, Zach Mills, Glynn Turman Writer: J.J. Abrams Director: J.J. Abrams Distributor: Paramount Release Date: June 10, 2011 SUPER 8 is so uncannily like the kind of movies Steven Spielberg used to make in the late ‘70s and ‘80s that it’s easy to suppose he made this one too – except we’re now in 2011, and Spielberg hasn’t made a movie like this in a good long while. To be fair, Spielberg indeed is a producer here and SUPER 8 comes sailing […]Read On »

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TV Review: GAME OF THRONES – Season 1 – “Baelor”

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN

Lena Headey in GAME OF THRONES - Season 1 |©2011 HBO/Helen Sloan

Stars: Alfie Allen, Sean Bean, Emilia Clarke, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Peter Dinklage, Michelle Fairley, Aiden Gillen, Jack Gleeson, Iain Glen, Kit Harington, Lena Headey, Isaac Hempstead-Wright, Richard Madden, Rory McCann, Sophie Turner, Maisie Williams, Jason Momoa, John Bradley, Charles Dance Writers: David Benioff & D.B. Weiss, based on George R.R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” Director: Alan Taylor Network: HBO, Sundays @ 9 PM Airdate: June 12, 2011 Beware, those who haven’t read George R.R. Martin’s first Westeros novel and have remained otherwise unspoiled – the end of the GAME OF THRONES episode “Baelor,” may cause you to sit […]Read On »

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Exclusive Interview: Tim Minear on the end of THE CHICAGO CODE and what Season 2 might have been

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN

Jason Clarke, Jennifer Beals and Matt Lauria in THE CHICAGO CODE - Season One | ©2010 Fox Broadcasting Co./Justin Stephens

THE CHICAGO CODE was a wonderful, unconventional police drama, created by Shawn Ryan, which ran its full thirteen-episode arc this year on Fox and then was canceled. Tim Minear, one of the show’s executive producers/writers who worked with Ryan last year on FX’s arguably even more wonderful TERRIERS, gives us an exit interview on CODE about how it worked and where it might have gone had it lasted another season. ASSIGNMENT X: How far ahead of the final episode airing did you know that CHICAGO CODE was not coming back? MINEAR: We didn’t really know officially until around the […]Read On »

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Interview: GAME OF THRONES executive producers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss on their epic HBO fantasy

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN 06/12/2011

Sean Bean and Julian Glover in GAME OF THRONES - Season 1 | ©2011 HBO/Helen Sloan

HBO’s new hit GAME OF THRONES airs the penultimate episode of its first season tonight at 9 PM. All hell appears prepared to break loose, what with eldest Stark son Robb (Richard Madden) preparing to lead troops into battle against the wealthy Lannister clan, in the hopes of freeing Robb’s imprisoned father Ned (Sean Bean), who is facing the wrath of Queen Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey). Across the Narrow Sea, the Dothraki hordes led by Khal Drogo (Jason Momoa) and his bride Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) are preparing to invade. At the northern edge of the seven kingdoms, the monstrous White […]Read On »

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Exclusive Interview: Ken Marino parties down with CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN 06/09/2011

Ken Marino and Rob Corddry in CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL - Season 3 | ©2011 Warner Bros./Darren Michaels

Adult Swim’s CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL, now in its third season, is a show of almost indescribably strange scripted comedy. Ken Marino (pronounced “Meh-REE-no”) plays Dr. Glenn Richie, one of the strange members of staff. Marino is also known to TV viewers as private detective Vinnie Van Lowe on VERONICA MARS, often stymied catering worker Ron Donald on PARTY DOWN, and Tony, single gay demon adoptive father of a human baby, on REAPER. The Long Island native is also a prolific screenwriter of comedy films. He talks with us about all of these gigs and more. ASSIGNMENT X: Do you have a […]Read On »

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Exclusive Interview: Peter Gallagher handles COVERT AFFAIRS for Season 2

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN 06/07/2011

Peter Gallagher in COVERT AFFAIRS - Season 2 | ©2011 USA Network/Frank Ockenfels

On COVERT AFFAIRS, which begins its second season tonight on USA at 10 PM, novice CIA operative Annie Walker (Piper Perabo) looks like just the gorgeous young woman next door, but she’s shown herself to be highly capable undercover. Her CIA handler is Joan Campbell (Kari Matchett), who is married to CIA Director of Clandestine Services Arthur Campbell, played by Peter Gallagher. When last season ended, higher-ups were trying to force Arthur to resign and had offered his job to Joan, making for a tricky situation, though Arthur and Joan vowed to support one another. Stay tuned to find out […]Read On »

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TV Review: GAME OF THRONES – Season 1 – “The Pointy End”

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN 06/06/2011

Sean Bean, Miltos Yeromelou, Maisie Williams in GAME OF THRONES - Season 1 | ©2011 HBO/Helen Sloan

Stars: Alfie Allen, Sean Bean, Emilia Clarke, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Peter Dinklage, Michelle Fairley, Aiden Gillen, Jack Gleeson, Iain Glen, Kit Harington, Lena Headey, Isaac Hempstead-Wright, Richard Madden, Rory McCann, Sophie Turner, Maisie Williams, Jason Momoa, John Bradley, Charles Dance Writer: George R.R. Martin, based on George R.R. Martin’s novel “A Song of Ice and Fire” Director: Dan Minahan Network: HBO, Sundays @ 9 PM Airdate: June 5, 2011 The winds of war are blowing strong, though armies are not quite clashing yet in “The Pointy End” (a sword reference), a GAME OF THRONES episode that sets up what seems to […]Read On »