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TV News: ‘The Sopranos’ Star James Gandolfini Dead at 51

adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman) — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 19:44:13 -0400

CHICAGO – James Gandolfini, who gave us one of the most influential and timeless characters of all time as Tony Soprano on “The Sopranos,” has passed away at the age of 51 after suffering a heart attack on the set of a film in Italy, according to Variety.

The star of HBO’s incredible drama, for which he won three Best Actor Emmys, recently appeared in “Zero Dark Thirty” and “The Incredible Burt Wonderstone.” He was working on “Animal Rescue,” “Criminal Justice,” and “Taxi 22.” Other notable credits include “True Romance,” “Get Shorty,” “Where the Wild Things Are,” “Killing Them Softly,” and “Not Fade Away.”

James Gandolfini
Photo credit: HBO

He won acclaim in film and on stage but Gandolfini will forever be associated with the lead role in David Chase’s incredible “The Sopranos.” For that role he won three Emmys, a Golden Globe, an AFI Award, three individual Screen Actors Guild Awards, and three TCA Awards. His willingness to take on such a complex role as Tony Soprano and make a character who many would have portrayed as purely a villain before three-dimensional influenced dozens of programs and performers who would follow in his wake. He also produced a series of documentaries about war and its veterans for HBO — “Alive Day Memories: Home From Iraq” and “Wartorn: 1861-2010.” We extend our deepest condolences to his friends and family.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Blu-ray Review: Loaded Set For Last Season of ‘Falling Skies’

adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman) — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 18:06:50 -0400

CHICAGO – TNT’s “Falling Skies” isn’t quite the mega-hit that the network and Steven Spielberg hoped it would be but it has an incredibly loyal following. Recognizing that fact, Warner Bros. has put together an extensive set for the second season of the Noah Wyle sci-fi show, loaded with special features. Fans will be happy and those who may be just getting into the program, now airing its third season on TNT, may be more enticed to catch up thanks to the quality of this release.

Rating: 4.0/5.0

The second season of “Falling Skies” made it clear that this was not a program that was going to dramatically spin its wheels. It may not be as dense of a sci-fi program as, say, “Fringe” but it’s also nowhere near as slight as half the diversions on the SyFy channel. The writing treats its viewers with respect and the cast is uniformly strong, especially Wyle. The excellent HD transfers and loaded bonus material, including commentaries on four out of ten episodes by Wyle and the producers, amplify the overall quality of this release. Fans will be happy and new fans will be intrigued. What more do you want from a Blu-ray TV release?

Falling Skies: The Complete Second Season was released on Blu-ray and DVD on June 4, 2013
Photo credit: Warner Bros.

Synopsis:
It’s been nearly one year since the aliens attacked - reality has set in, and it’s a whole new world. Season two of Falling Skies follows the 2nd Massachusetts on their quest to Charleston, South Carolina to find more human survivors and fighters from the continuous alien attacks. Tom Mason (Noah Wyle) tries to keep the resistance fighters and his family in line, while new dangers and returning enemies seem to greet them at every stop.

Falling Skies is executive-produced by Steven Spielberg, along with DreamWorks Television heads Justin Falvey and Darryl Frank. Remi Aubuchon and Greg Beeman serve as co-executive producers.

Special Features:
o One Page at a Time: Writing the 2nd American Revolution
o The Skitter Evolution
o A Fan’s Perspective: Touring the Set of ~~Falling Skies~~
o Behind the Scenes Featurette
o Season 2 Animated Trailer, Created by Dark Horse Comics
o Season 3 Preview
o Audio Commentaries

“Falling Skies: The Complete Second Season” was released on DVD and Blu-ray on June 4, 2013.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Interview: Actress Katie Chang Sparkles in ‘The Bling Ring’

adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman) — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:18:23 -0400

CHICAGO – Actress Katie Chang is in the high school graduating Class of 2013. But in a sense, she has already graduated to the big time with her lead role in director Sofia Coppola’s new film, “The Bling Ring.” Chang portrays Rebecca, the leader of a gang of teenage burglars who rob the homes of celebrities, including Paris Hilton.

The young Ms. Chang has come into show business with not only Coppola credentials, but independent film credibility, as she also plays a supporting role in the upcoming “A Birder’s Guide to Everything.” The Chicago area native hails from the suburb of Winnetka, and has just graduated from New Trier Township High School.

L-R: Taissa Farmiga, Israel Broussard, Emma Watson, Katie Chang and Claire Julian are ‘The Bling Ring’
Photo credit: A24

The softer and unassuming Ms. Chang is a far cry from Rebecca, her brassy kleptomaniac character in “The Bling Ring.” HollywoodChicago.com recently interviewed her in anticipation of the film’s release nationally this Friday.

HollywoodChicago.com: How were you best able to understand the character of Rebecca, having grown up in the era of technology and overwrought celebrity worship. Which characteristics did you understand the most, and which ones were most foreign to you?

Katie Chang: What was most foreign to me was her complete obsession with celebrity culture, and her belief that it would make her life better, and also her lack of considering the consequences of her actions. But like me, at the end of the day, she’s just a simple teenage girl, who deals with as much self-consciousness and as much unhappiness as we all deal with – I am a teenage girl, so I understand that. [laughs]

HollywoodChicago.com: I get the impression you are quite opposite to that character, did that the performance that much more challenging?

Chang: Opposite is a good way to put it. The things that she does, and her personality, are the type of characteristics I try to avoid. Everybody has a mean and selfish side to them, it was kind of fun to let go of the moral center and live on that side for a little bit.

HollywoodChicago.com: When you landed the role, obviously the reputation of Sofia Coppola preceded her. What preconceived notions did you have about her, and what did she do that was unexpected to you when you started the actual production?

Chang: Sofia was one of my favorite filmmakers even before I began doing the film. She’s strong, doesn’t care what people think about her films and she tells the stories she wants to tell, which is very inspiring. I was nervous to meet her, but once we got onto the set what surprised me was how calm she was. When you’re a director, controlling so many areas of the production, it seems to me so overwhelming. Yet she was so calm and collected. It could be that it’s her fourth feature film, but she was on top of everything.

HollywoodChicago.com: This was your first major motion picture. What was the best tip about the experience that you received from either someone behind the camera or someone in front of it?

Chang: On one of our first days, our Director of Photography Chris Blauvelt told me ‘you need to find the light or else you’re not going to be in the movie.’ [laughs] Apparently I was sitting as I normally would in a club scene, and we were just suppose to dance and have fun. I was sitting on the couch and drinking a pretend drink, not thinking about things like how I’m going to be seen in the film, and he noticed and told me to find the light. It was a good tip.

HollywoodChicago.com: Having had a lesson in the ‘wealth topic’ at an early age in doing this film, and because you were raised in a fairly upper middle class Chicago suburb, what sense do you have about wealth, the accumulation of stuff and the perceived attitude of teenagers who just happened to lucky enough to be born into it?

Chang: In growing up on the North Shore, I’m not immune to rich kids. I grew up in a well-off family – in the sense that we were raised to appreciate everything we had, but we weren’t deprived in our needs. But I grew up a block from Sheridan Road, and I know those kids in the big houses. I’m sure I can be lumped in with them, but doing this movie I was able to see that there is a level of entitlement that people can get, once they realize their family is well off.

HollywoodChicago.com: Would you be less likely to connect with people like that, because of your experience in this film?

Chang: Whenever I meet some one, I try now to look at their clothing and such, just connect with their personality. But yeah, this film does send a message that you should be wary of these types of personalities. You can write this film off as just a stupid movie about silly girls, but it’s important for people to allow themselves to stretch their mind around it, it’s made for an intelligent audience.

HollywoodChicago.com: What is the best advice someone ever gave you about acting and what is an example of a performance when you best used that advice?

Chang: Carol, my acting coach and manager, has told me that at the end of the day, you can’t fake any emotion that you have, you can’t fake a scenario. Whatever you’re doing in a scene, you have to bring something from your own life into it, because that’s the only way you’re going to make the connection with your character. You can’t write off that connection.

HollywoodChicago.com: When you study acting, the stage and the numerous great roles that are available to you, is there a goal of yours to play a certain classical or modern theatrical character, and why would you want to play that one in particular?

Chang: One cool thing about going to the high school that I did, is that in our English classes we’d read one or two plays a year. And what we always talked about was archetypes, or typecast characters. In knowing that, especially during auditions, I can bring these archetypes into the characters that I’m trying out for – for example, Rebecca is the ‘villain,’ a complex one like Voldemort – there’s a Harry Potter reference for you. [laughs] I really can’t name one specific character, my hope is for a variety of roles, in a variety of media.

HollywoodChicago.com: When you broke through with this role and your upcoming ‘A Birder’s Guide to Everything,’ did you get any outside advice about how to negotiate the various circumstances of the Los Angeles show business jungle?

Chang: Everybody who is representing me, they all live in New York City, and they are supportive of me going there. If you live in Los Angeles and you’re not working, it can become a toxic environment. Everybody is in the business, and everybody is trying to do the same thing. If you live in New York, you can still be close to the industry but you can have a life outside the industry. That is what everyone reminds me of, to have a life outside the industry.

HollywoodChicago.com: Have you experienced the ‘tinsel’ in Tinseltown, AKA Hollywood?

Chang: Yes, for sure in doing this film, because of its glamor. The press covering it is all glitzy and glam, and I’ve met with some really cool people. But it’s all about perspective, and I had my parents there with me, which was really helpful.

HollywoodChicago.com: Did you have a notion of ‘designer labels’ before you did this film?

Chang: When I was thirteen years old, I went through a phase when I wanted to be a fashion designer, and I was obsessed then with labels. But that lasted about six months. Now I shop at The Gap. [laughs]

HollywoodChicago.com: What is different about your upcoming feature, ‘A Birder’s Guide to Everything,’ as opposed to ‘The Bling Ring’ experience?

Katie Chang in Chicago, June 17th, 2013
Photo credit: Patrick McDonad for HollywoodChicago.com

Chang: It’s a polar opposite character, she is a very good girl. She has a good head on her shoulders, very stubborn, and won’t let anyone tell her what to do. She is a love interest, and it’s a sweet movie, about a group of kids going on a road trip to find an extinct duck, that they think has resurfaced. The road trip is like a symbol for their journey together.

HollywoodChicago.com: The girls and boys in ‘The Bling Ring’ have a very detached, almost adult-like attitude within themselves. What circumstance about being an adult are you most looking forward to, and least looking forward to, as you head to college?

Chang: Definitely the least will be having to control my own finances. My father is the smartest person I ever met, and I can’t do math, but he’s a math whiz. What I am most looking forward to is the freedom to make my own decisions, because when you grow up your parents are involved in your life and keep giving you direction so you don’t make too many mistakes. That will be the scary part of making my own decisions, the mistakes I have to learn from, because once you’re out in the world and controlling your life for the first time, it’s all part of what you’re doing.

“The Bling Ring” opens everywhere on June 21st. Featuring Katie Chang, Emma Watson, Israel Broussard, Taissa Farmiga and Leslie Mann. Written by Sofia Coppola and Nancy Jo Sales. Directed by Sofia Coppola. Rated “R”.

By PATRICK McDONALD
Senior Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
pat@hollywoodchicago.com

TV Review: TNT’s ‘Franklin & Bash’ Adds Heather Locklear

adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman) — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 11:53:22 -0400

CHICAGO – The generally-likable and amiable TNT law dramedy “Franklin & Bash” returns tonight in a slightly new iteration designed to build buzz by adding a bit of sizzle to the show. Heather Locklear joins the cast, the boys move to a beach house that allows for a lot of shirtless shots and bikini parties, and one of the guys may even have a gorgeous love interest. But it’s still the same “Franklin & Bash,” for better or worse. It’s an easy hump day program that doesn’t challenge the viewer in any way but presents a uniformly likable cast, built on the foundation of the believable friendship of its two stars. “Franklin & Bash” is one of those modestly entertaining programs that cynical viewers who like their TV dark like “Breaking Bad” or “The Walking Dead” like to dismiss but it’s perfectly entertaining escapism — enjoyable while you watch it even if it doesn’t stick with you for a minute after it ends.

Television Rating: 3.0/5.0

“Franklin & Bash” did grow by 10% in season two but it still hasn’t taken off like TNT hoped it would when it premiered. TNT really needs a hit since “The Closer” shut down and they just canceled “Monday Mornings” and “Southland.” And so it’s time for a bit of a reboot of this program. Bring in Heather Locklear! The “Melrose Place” star joins the cast as Rachel King, a new partner in the firm and someone to put the two legal man-children of the title in their place.

Franklin and Bash
Photo credit: TNT

If you’re unfamiliar, the title refers to Jared Franklin (Breckin Meyer) and Peter Bash (Mark-Paul Gosselaar), L.A.’s legal dynamic duo, a pair so infamous for their courtroom antics that one of tonight’s two premiere episodes even includes a judge who admits to being a fan of theirs. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, they get the job done. And their friendship and teamwork remain the bedrock of the show. It’s easy to believe that Gosselaar and Meyer are actually friends in real life, which makes their repartee more enjoyable.

Sadly, the writing still doesn’t quite live up to the talents of the cast, including great supporting turns from Malcolm McDowell and Reed Diamond. The first two episodes center around gimmicky cases, one involving a magician played by the great Adam Goldberg and the other about a veteran who has to jump through hoops after paperwork declares him dead. I’m not saying “Franklin & Bash” needs to have serious legal drama. However, the goofy nature of the cases often detract from the show overall. There’s a balance between believability and silly legal writing that “Franklin” often misses. You’ll roll your eyes a few times tonight.

However, it comes back to that likability. As the boys move into their new Malibu home (including a gorgeous neighbor played by Nicky Whelan) and deal with challenges presented by their new boss, there’s a nice degree of Summer escapism not unlike USA’s “Royal Pains” or A&E’s “The Glades.” These shows don’t ask much from the viewer but offer a fun seasonal getaway. And having Heather Locklear along for the ride doesn’t hurt.

“Franklin & Bash” stars Breckin Meyer, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Heather Locklear, Malcolm McDowell, Reed Diamond, Dana David, and Kumail Nanjiani. It returns to TNT on Wednesday, June 19, 2013 at 8pm CST.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

DVD Review: ‘It’s a Disaster’ Sadly Lives Up to Its Name

adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman) — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 11:25:24 -0400

CHICAGO – The summer movie season has barely begun, and I’m already sick to death of the apocalypse. It seems to have pervaded every mainstream genre, from action-packed thrillers to raunchy comedies. I’ll take a hilarious mess like “This Is the End” over grim sci-fi junk like “Oblivion” and “After Earth” any day, simply because it delivers its cautionary message with tongue-in-cheek exuberance.

What made “This Is the End” such a kick was the sight of watching beloved yet overexposed talents satirize their own media-fed personas. Their characters were all unsympathetic, but there wasn’t an instant in which the audience wasn’t in on the joke. It was rather endearing to see the men whose work played a big role in humanizing American comedy deflate the bloated vulgarity of modern celebrity culture.

DVD Rating: 1.5/5.0

The problem with Todd Berger’s ensemble face, “It’s a Disaster,” is that it requires the audience to sympathize with characters who are utterly undeserving of sympathy. These thirtysomething adolescents are so self-involved that they can hardly be bothered by the impending nuclear catastrophe cutting out their electricity and engulfing their street in a toxic haze. They’re more interested in who slept with who and how many episodes are left to watch of “The Wire.” This deadpan reaction to certain doom would be easier to take if the script were actually funny, but it’s not. Each of these people have been granted an irritating sketch of a personality and are forced to run with it for the entirety of the film’s tedious 90-minute running time. Glen (David Cross) is painfully nice. Shane (Jeff Grace) overthinks things. Lexi (Rachel Boston) doesn’t think at all. Buck (Kevin M. Brennan) only thinks with his genitals. Pete (Blaise Miller) and Emma (Erinn Hayes) are bitter about each other’s infidelity. Tracy (Julia Stiles) is perpetually at her wits’ end while Hedy (America Ferrera) suffers from emotional paralysis. It’s immensely difficult to imagine an alternate reality in which this mismatched group of companions would ever be buddies. And now, with the end times interrupting their couple’s brunch, the repellent friends have nothing to do but kill time until time itself is killed off.

It’s a Disaster was released on Blu-ray and DVD on June 4th, 2013.
Photo credit: Oscilloscope Laboratories

This is about the last group on earth anyone would ever desire to spend their last remaining moments with, as the endless bickering and moaning prompts the viewer to start rooting for their imminent demise. Only Stiles, carrying the same pained expression she sported at the dinner table in “Silver Linings Playbook,” earns a few chuckles with her droll brand of pettiness, especially when she informs a pair of routine latecomers why they can’t come inside. It’s a letdown to see Cross—so disarmingly sweet in the film’s early scenes—gradually transform into the same perverse weirdo we’ve grown accustomed to watching on “Arrested Development.” To call the ending a cop out would be inaccurate, since it implies that there was anything here to cop. Berger appears to have such a slim investment in the plight of his own characters that he doesn’t even bother to give his story an ending. So determined are these characters to continue their interminable stream of contrived banter that the movie ultimately has to terminate it for them. Rarely has a cut to black felt more like a mercy killing.

“It’s a Disaster” is presented in its 2.35:1 aspect ratio and includes a fine array of extras that thankfully include many genuine laughs. Cross is very funny on the audio commentary track, while Berger (best known to me as the star of the hilarious short, “#1 Fan: A Darkomentary”) leads a playful tour of the set in a 10-minute featurette. In an enlightening Q&A held at Comic Con, Berger joins the members of his sketch comedy group, “The Vacationeers” (namely Miller, Brennan and Grace), to discuss their rise to viral success. Three of their online shorts are included on the disc, the funniest of which features Julia Stiles as a celebrity desperate to sign autographs for uninterested bystanders (she’d feel right at home in “This Is the End”). By far the best thing about this release is Oscilloscope’s typically sublime packaging, which transforms the fold-out DVD case into a survival guide chockfull of the film’s benign running gags (such as the correct pronunciation of duct tape). This may be the most benign ensemble comedy since “Clue: The Movie.”

‘It’s a Disaster’ stars Julia Stiles, America Ferrera, Blaise Miller, Erinn Hayes, Kevin M. Brennan, Rachel Boston, Jeff Grace and David Cross. It was written and directed by Todd Berger. It was released on DVD on June 4th, 2013. It is rated R.

By MATT FAGERHOLM
Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
matt@hollywoodchicago.com

DVD Review: Fifth Season of ‘Breaking Bad’ Stuffed with Extras

adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman) — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 19:19:25 -0400

CHICAGO – Sony knows that AMC’s “Breaking Bad” has one of the most loyal fan bases in television and so have released increasingly impressive Blu-ray and DVD season sets of the Emmy Award-winning program. The latest, the first half of the fifth season that aired in Summer 2012, comes with EIGHT HOURS of special features, including an exclusive scene, deleted scenes, and star-filled commentaries on every single episode. It’s one of the most impressive TV releases of the season for arguably the best show on TV.

Rating: 5.0/5.0

Is there a more exciting TV event of Summer 2013 than the final eight episodes of “Breaking Bad”? The answer is no. There is not. Vince Gilligan and his team have been brilliantly building to this point for the last four and a half seasons, presenting the arc of an average man named Walter White who becomes a drug lord. Season four of the program, which aired in 2011, is one of the best of the last decade. It is pure dramatic perfection. Season five was cut in two to spread it out over two seasons and the first half, eight episodes in total, was stellar even if it felt a little cramped in terms of plotting. A LOT happens in these eight. Don’t worry about the low episode count. You’ll get your money’s worth.

Forget the episode number, just look at the special features. They’re stunning. Fans will likely gravitate to the exclusive scene but these kind of “spin-off” scenes to grab attention rarely deliver anything substantial. Far more interesting are the informative and entertaining commentary tracks, including so many of the major players, who clearly love talking about their passion. It’s probably your passion too.

Breaking Bad: The Fifth Season was released on Blu-ray and DVD on June 4, 2013
Photo credit: Sony

Synopsis:
Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown. Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul return in their Emmy winning roles of Walter White and Jesse Pinkman in the fifth explosive season of Breaking Bad. With Gus Fring dead, Walt’s transformation from a well-meaning family man to a ruthless drug kingpin is nearly complete. Forming a partnership with Jesse and Mike (Jonathan Banks), Walt proceeds to make a killing until the fruits of his murderous schemes are threatened by a new development in the investigation led by his relentless brother-in-law Hank (Dean Norris). Executive produced by Vince Gilligan and Mark Johnson, the fifth season charts the murderous rise of Walter White as he reaches new highs…and new lows.

Special Features:
o “Chicks ‘n’ Guns” - A newly produced exclusive scene starring Aaron Paul, Bob Odenkirk and Charles Baker
o Three Uncensored Episodes
o Deleted & Extended Scenes
o Gag Reel
o Behind-the-Scenes of “Chicks ‘n’ Guns”
o Cast and Crew Commentaries on Every Episode with Vince Gilligan, Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Anna Gunn, Bob Odenkirk, Jonathan Banks, Laura Fraser and More!
o “Nothing Stops This Train” Featurette
o “The Cleaner: Jonathan Banks as Mike”
o Prison Stunt Rehearsal
o “Writers’ Room Timelapse” - 12 days of breaking Episode 504, shot by Vince Gilligan and narrated by the ~~Breaking Bad~~ Writers
o Jesse Plemons & Laura Fraser Audition Footage
o Gallery 1988 Art Show
o Chris Hardwick’s All-Star Celebrity Bowling
o 19 Episodes of ~~Inside Breaking Bad~~

“Breaking Bad: The Fifth Season” stars Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Anna Gunn, Bob Odenkirk, Dean Norris, and Jonathan Banks. It was released on Blu-ray and DVD on June 4, 2013.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Interview: Reporter Jeremy Scahill on the Front Lines of ‘Dirty Wars’

adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman) — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 14:53:01 -0400

CHICAGO – The creator behind the provocative new documentary “Dirty Wars” is veteran investigative reporter Jeremy Scahill, and he is unafraid to reveal the dirt on the perpetual conflict under the heading of the war on terror. Scahill is not a stranger to controversy, and his insertion into the film’s narrative is part of the story itself.

In going behind the scenes in Afghanistan, Yemen and Somalia, Scahill uncovers some eye-opening circumstances regarding the use of force in the war on terror. The special unit that killed Osama Bin Laden – the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) – is also responsible for the killing of innocents in Afghanistan, and is a sector of the military that seems to have no accountability, either with Congress or the law.

Embedded: Jeremy Scahill (center) in ‘Dirty Wars’
Photo credit: IFC Films

The salient point the Jeremy Scahill makes in “Dirty Wars,” is that besides the war on terror having no borders, it has no rules or no end. This eliminates the United States as a so-called moral authority in waging war, and keeps expanding the potential for creating new enemies. Scahill talked to HollywoodChicago.com on June 14th, the day that “Dirty Wars” was released in Chicago.

HollywoodChicago.com: We live in a vast and diverse land mass, under one banner, working to obtain consumer goods, and generally ignoring our geopolitical wars. How do our lawmakers, branches of government and the military take advantage of this blissful ignorance in conducting these wars?

Jeremy Schahill: Look at our media culture in society right now, we live in an ‘infotainment’ atmosphere. We’re told what the ‘Real Housewives’ and reality TV stars are doing, but what’s happening with our armed forces has become a non-story. The impact of our actions are very seldom covered. Corporate sponsors of these media outlets don’t want to purchase ad time for doom-and-gloom. So we have a media culture that does a disservice to our democratic society.

On the other side of it, we have lawmakers on Capitol Hill that are totally complicit in the expanding surveillance state. They fail to ask tough questions – I don’t care what your politics are, either Democrat, Republican, liberal or conservative – we don’t have elected officials that are asking questions to those in power. Huge corporate monies influence their decisions, and we have a bankrupt media culture.

HollywoodChicago.com: What results from this?

Scahill: It’s very easy for the White House – again under any party – to do an executive power grab, because the media and Congress are ‘out to lunch’ on these issues.

HollywoodChicago.com: The perception of most Americans is that we’re ‘the good guys’ and entities like the former Communist Russia and the Muslim factions are all ‘bad guys.’ When the United States start making bad tactical decisions like the Joint Special Operation Command, what happens to our morality of ‘goodness’?

Scahill: I think we’ve lost track of our values. The last twelve years we’ve operated out of excessive fear. We’ve had laws like the Patriot Act signed because people we’re afraid, and those in power took advantage of that fear. We’re living in a moment now, in which we have a popular Democratic President who had won the Nobel Peace Prize, is a constitutional law professor by training, but who is also implementing policies that a lot of liberals would have protested had McCain won the election and done the same thing.

What I saw when I traveled around the Muslim world, is that at this point we’re creating more new enemies than we are killing terrorists. People had a lot of hope in President Obama – not just in the U.S. but in the Muslim world – that he was going to reset things. That he would back away from the idea that we’re in a perpetual state of war. The message that has been sent is that it doesn’t matter who the President is when it comes to foreign policy. American Exceptionalism is the actual policy. Although President Obama has his differences with Republicans on domestic issues, we generally have one party in this country when it comes to foreign policy.

HollywoodChicago.com: The election of Barack Obama was so overwhelmingly greeted as a positive throughout the rest of the world – so much so that as you mentioned he received the Nobel Peace Prize – which has been muddied through his actual foreign policy actions as president. Did we get a inexperienced man into office, who capitulated to the Pentagon and defense industry lobbyists, or is there a chance that he will live up to that Peace Prize with three years left?

Scahill: From my study of history, I think Barack Obama is one of the most brilliant Presidents we’ve had, just on a pure intellectual level this guy is a heavyweight. I don’t think he’s being molded on a foreign policy level by the military. I don’t, however, think he’s going to live up to that Nobel Peace Prize. He’s assured that there is going to be a perpetual state of war.

He is also asserting the right of the executive branch to kill American citizens without presenting evidence or putting them on trial. He’s expanded the drone war, and he’s President when we’re learning that the NSA has unprecedented access to data, both for Americans and foreigners.

HollywoodChicago.com: How do you think this policy was formulated by the President?

Scahill: As he came into office, he is briefed by the heavyweights. One commander is Admiral William McRaven, who heads JSOC. Another is David Petraeus, who was running the wars under Bush and Cheney. There is also the Joints Chiefs of Staff and the CIA, who are telling the President that are thousands of threats every single day, and if he doesn’t approve the authority to preemptively strike back at our enemies, there will be another attack on the Homeland.

On the other side is Obama’s people like Rahm Emanuel, who at the time was only obsessed with the President’s political legacy. In that sense, Emanuel was saying ‘we can’t have an attack on the Homeland.’ They of course don’t want an attack personally, but they also don’t want it because of that legacy. The administration went aggressively after terrorist threats, and got into an area ‘pre-crime.’ wherein if anyone has a whiff of terrorism around them, we’ll take them out.

HollywoodChicago.com: How was this a change from what Obama had campaigned on?

Scahill: He didn’t want to engage in large scale troop deployment, except in the Afghanistan surge which he campaigned on, they didn’t want to stuff people in the Guantanamo prison because of the political problems for the President, so the policy became ‘pre-crime,’ like the film ‘Minority Report.’

Most liberals in America support his drone policy, because they view it as a smarter, cleaner way to wage war. But that’s part of why I made the film, to raise these questions, not to tell people what to think. I think when you check your conscience at the door, because your guy is in power, then you put partisanship over principles. For me, liberals need to wake up and realize these policies are not so different from Bush and Cheney, so what do you really believe?

HollywoodChicago.com: You insert yourself into the story of ‘Dirty Wars.’ What was behind this decision, and how do you think it adds to this story, when most journalism schools preach an opposite point of view when it comes to reporters?

Scahill: First off, the notion of objectivity is bullsh*t. it’s a fallacy. What you have as a journalist is transparency, facts and accountability with your listeners and readers. Having said that, I didn’t want to be in the movie at all as myself. We had a four hour rough cut of the film, a year before we premiered at Sundance. I was in that cut, but more as a neutral tour guide, and it rang kind of false. I’ve never been a journalist who has been the he-said-she-said type.

We brought in David Riker, who is a screenwriter and director, who primarily works in feature films. He came on board initially to do a couple weeks of consulting, to try and help us trim it down and help us with some narrative gaps. He was the one that suggested that we were making a mistake by not being honest with the viewer, by letting them into my head or taking them on my journey. I reluctantly agreed to test it out, and in the process made a totally different film.

Jeremy Scahill in Afghanistan During the Filming of ‘Dirty Wars’
Photo credit: IFC Films

HollywoodChicago.com: What did you learn about yourself in this process?

Scahill: War reporters generally don’t like to absorb everything that we’ve taken in, we move from one story to the next. In the course of writing the film – and the narration is very personal – I learned a lot about myself, and how the people I’ve met over the 15 years of doing this have affected me. I don’t like first person journalism, that’s not how I write. But what I think I’ve made is a film that is accessible to people, even if you don’t pay attention to these issues on a daily basis. We wanted to take people on a journey, and part of doing that is being honest with the audience – I’m going to let you know where I stand, and you can decide whether to trust me or go on the journey with me.

HollywoodChicago.com: Since the Bush-Cheney administration allowed for so much private industry outsourcing of military operations in the Iraq and Afghan wars – including your friends at Blackwater [Scahill’s previous exposé] – how can legislators, the courts or the American people bring down such a profitable, ruthless industry that adds so much fuel to the perpetual war?

Scahill: Edward Snowden, the whistleblower currently in the news, worked for a private company, Booz Allen, which is a private military security company. 70% of the money we spend in this country on intelligence, is used to hire private contractors. You have for-profit companies with top secret security clearances, involving hundreds of thousands of employees, who have access to top secret information. Corporations for the most part aren’t patriots, they are in for the highest bidder. When we’re outsourcing these core functions, whether it’s security, intelligence or military operations, we’re removing the most sensitive business of running a state – from the sovereign realm of elected officials to private enterprises.

There is no incentive for Congress to investigate this, they’d be killing their campaign contribution cash cow. President Obama has not ended Blackwater-type firms throughout the world, he has sought to legitimize and regulate the industries, rather that saying maybe it’s not a good idea to build up private armies with taxpayer dollars.

HollywoodChicago.com: We are coming up on the 50th anniversary of the John F. Kennedy assassination, with some theories postulating that it was a coup de tat to provide the defense industry a war in Viet Nam. How do assassinations affect the moral compass of America, whether perpetuated here or against their enemies?

Scahill: There is a long history of the U.S. engaging in political assassinations, but domestically and internationally. When the various assassination committees were intervened, both in the 1970s and the 1990s, it’s at the point when Americans woke up, seeing how out of control and unaccountable the CIA, Cointelpro and the FBI were becoming. I think today we need another one of those committees – who are we killing around the world on any given day, and what are the consequences of giving those extraordinary assassination powers to the executive branch of the government?

When the state asserts the right, particularly to assassinate its own citizens, without charging them with crimes, how then are we dealing properly with the outside terrorism threat, and how does that defines us as country? This comes from the politics of fear, as the American citizens have allowed for their basic civil liberties to be eroded because of an irrational fear of terrorism. It’s been blown out of proportion.

HollywoodChicago.com: Often Americans look fondly back to the World War II-era, when the U.S. helped win the war and established their world power as ‘good guys.’ How has that attitude become counterproductive in our current war against terror, which has no boundaries?

Jeremy Scahill in Chicago, June 14th, 2013
Photo credit: Patrick McDonad for HollywoodChicago.com

Scahill: I think people should go back and look at the Nuremberg Trials, which set an important precedent for the world as to how to get justice after a war. But today, the United States refuses to acknowledge international law, won’t ratified the International Criminal Court, because it doesn’t want it’s own personnel to be subjected to it. I think that World War II gave this perception that the United States was the preeminent moral force in the world, and that mentality has endured to this day, but at the end of that day we have to back off of this American Exceptionalism. If we are to be that ‘shining city on a hill,’ then we should subject ourselves to the same standards that we subject the rest of the world to.

HollywoodChicago.com: Your last exposé was regarding Blackwater, the outsourced corporation that provides security in Iraq and elsewhere, and has less accountability to the U.S. government. What was the backlash to your investigation, especially since Jay Leno asked if your life was in danger [on ‘Real Time with Bill Maher’] because of it?

Scahill: That is the number one question that comes up at Q&A’s for the film, ‘what was I thinking when Jay Leno asked me that?’ What I actually was thinking was, ‘F**k, my Mom is watching.’ [laughs] What is she going to think?

All reporters who do this kind of work is under some kind of pressure. I get detained every time I come back to the U.S., and I don’t blame them, because my passport says Somalia, Yemen and the like. I get pulled aside for ‘informative discussions’ with authorities all the time. My computer has been hacked, I get hostile emails, but I also know journalists that are in prisons right now. So when people tell me that I’m brave, or aren’t you nervous or afraid, I feel a bit embarrassed, because I know truly brave journalists, who don’t come back to where I live at Park Slope, Brooklyn, the land of baby strollers and lattes. Those guys are living in war zones. We’re living in a time of whistleblowers being prosecuted, journalists being targeted and an intensification of covert wars. The stakes are high now.

HollywoodChicago.com: Finally, what will be the next chapter of ‘Dirty Wars,’ especially if the more hawkish Republicans come back to executive power?

Scahill: If you look at President Obama’s speech recently at the National Defense University, I almost felt like Senator Obama was debating President Obama in that speech. This is a guy that realizes that it has gotten out of control, but the same time he is president and he has bought into this as a policy. Even though he says we can’t have perpetual war, he is building a mechanism for it to endure.

The next time a Republican comes into office, liberals will have very shaky ground to stand on to confront this, because of the support of their guy in office. You ask what the next chapter is? If there is a Republican that comes into the presidency, we’re not only going to see a continuation of the past 13 years of Bush to Obama, but we’re going to see an expansion of the programs.

HollywoodChicago.com: Is that the legacy of Obama’s foreign policy?

Scahill: On a counter-terrorism level, Obama’s legacy is that he cleaned it up for Republicans. Somewhere the neo-conservatives are thinking, ‘thank God Obama got elected and not John McCain, because he saved the day for United States militarism.’

“Dirty Wars” expanded its limited release in Chicago on June 14th. See local listings for show times and theaters. Written by Jeremy Scahill and David Riker. Directed by Rick Rowley. Not Rated.

By PATRICK McDONALD
Senior Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
pat@hollywoodchicago.com

Blu-ray Review: Collector’s Edition of Bruce Lee’s ‘Enter the Dragon’

adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman) — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 10:53:08 -0400

CHICAGO – When critics talk about the most influential films of the ’70s, they too often forget a little flick that became a phenomenon, Robert Clouse’s “Enter the Dragon,” recently released in a gorgeous box set with a new HD transfer, new special features, and new collectible items. Bruce Lee’s most beloved work still influences the Martial Arts genre today and gave birth to an entire cultural shift as cinema, particularly action films, became more influenced by Asian styles. The Blu-ray is a beauty with new special features about the making of and importance of “Dragon” that even those who have seen the flick a hundred times on cable will find enlightening.

Rating: 5.0/5.0

I love being surprised by a Blu-ray. So many of them fall into relatively predictable patterns of talking-head featurettes, deleted scenes, and a trivia-filled commentary. When a release like “Enter the Dragon” comes along and it truly enriches the film instead of just offering anecdotes or tidbits, it’s why I love the form. Archival interviews with Bruce Lee about the making of “Enter the Dragon” on featurettes like “No Way as Way” are fascinating enough but the interview subjects, including people like Sugar Ray Leonard and George Takei, also offer deep analysis of the film in unexpected ways. A perfect HD remaster, unique physical collectibles, and a beautiful box that holds it all — this is one of the best gift sets of the year.

Enter the Dragon was released on Blu-ray on June 11, 2013
Photo credit: Warner Bros.

Synopsis:
Over three decades following his untimely death, Bruce Lee remains the movies’ supreme martial arts star. His masterful final film, Enter The Dragon, stands the test of time as the most beloved martial arts epic in film history. This box office hit takes Lee to the island fortress of criminal warlord Han, whose martial arts academy covers up opium smuggling and prostitution activities. To avenge the death of his sister, Lee infiltrates the stronghold and enters Han’s brutal tournament-a breathtaking visual feast of competitions fusing skills in karate, judo, tae kwon do, tai chi chuan and hapkido, staged by Lee himself. What a kick!

Special Features:
o Never Before Released Production Art
o Embroidered Dragon Patch
o Motion Lenticular
o No Way As Way
o The Return Of Han’s Island
o Wing Chun: The Art That Introduced King Fu To Bruce Lee
o Commentary By Paul Heller
o Blood And Steel: The Making Of Enter The Dragon
o Bruce Lee: In His Own Words
o Linda Lee Cadwell Interview Gallery
o Location: Hong Kong With Enter The Dragon
o Backyard Workout With Bruce
o The Curse Of The Dragon

“Enter the Dragon” stars Bruce Lee and John Saxon. It was directed by Robert Clouse and released on Blu-ray on June 11, 2013.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Blu-ray Review: ‘Jack the Giant Slayer’ Crushes Entertainment with Spectacle

adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman) — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 10:16:15 -0400

CHICAGO – Every element of “Jack the Giant Slayer,” released today on Blu-ray and DVD, feels like a subpar version of something done better in a superior film. There’s the epic scope and final siege of a “Lord of the Rings” film. There’s the reimagined fairy tale not unlike “Alice in Wonderland” or “Oz the Great and Powerful.” And there’s the over-reliance on CGI like so many failed blockbusters.

Rating: 2.0/5.0

Director Bryan Singer finds the visual awe in some of his set pieces and none of the performances are bad by any stretch. It’s just that the film never taps into that magical fantasy vein that it needed to in order to feel like more than a hollow Hollywood exercise. It’s a film that jumps on a trend more than feels creatively vital in any way. Even little ones, who can’t see it because of the truly boneheaded decision to release it PG-13, will be bored. It’s not awful but it may be the most forgettable movie this expensive ever made.

The charming Nicholas Hoult plays Jack, the farmhand caught in an epic battle for the safety of mankind when a beanstalk exposes Earth to a giant-filled world in the sky. “Jack the Giant Slayer” is SO heavily reliant on special effects that it starts to feel like a cartoon (and will, as all CGI films do, age horrendously). The special features offer some insight into the making of the project, although even they are frustrating in their organization, compiled into an interactive beanstalk menu under the banner “Become a Giant Slayer.” No thanks.

Jack the Giant Slayer was released on Blu-ray and DVD on June 18, 2013
Photo credit: Warner Bros.

Synopsis:
The epic fantasy tale explodes across the screen in this superb new interpretation that recounts the heroic adventures of an ordinary young farmhand who battles a face of bloodthirsty giants to save a kingdom and its beloved princess from harm.

Special Features:
o Become a Giant Slayer: With Nicholas Hoult As Your Guide Along With Essential Videos You’ll Embark On An Adventure Up The Monstrous Beanstalk On The Way To Becoming A Heroic Giant Slayer
o Deleted Scenes
o Gag Reel

“Jack the Giant Slayer” stars Nicholas Hoult, Eleanor Tomlinson, Stanley Tucci, Ian McShane, Bill Nighy, and Ewan McGregor. It was directed by Bryan Singer and released on Blu-ray and DVD on June 18, 2013.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Film Review: Another View of Energy Future in ‘Pandora’s Promise’

adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman) — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 17:44:39 -0400

CHICAGO – Who are we to believe any more? On one side is a corporate information media, desperately trying to sell soap in between their boardroom agendas. On the other, is the massive and barely sourced repository called the internet. Between those two is the documentary “Pandora’s Promise.”

Rating: 3.5/5.0

Distributed by CNN FIlms (yes, that CNN), the film is a pro-nuclear energy screed, an opposing view that pretty much goes against years of “No Nukes” protests, meltdowns like Three Mile Island and Homer Simpson. It does its job in an entertaining way, trotting out the notable experts and counterpointing the naysayers. It is rather suspicious that the “Danger” sign is automatically put up every time nuclear energy is discussed, and the film does rationally provide a reasonable opposing argument, BUT, going back to the corporate information media, who are we suppose to believe?

The provocative title “Pandora’s Promise” refers to what was left in that box of mythology, which was hope. So the premise is the hope of nuclear energy – cleaner, more renewable and able to function in remote areas – will provide vital electrical power. This is the next challenge of the developing world, delivering the civilizing effects of electrical power to parts of the world that don’t have it, while keeping up with the energy consumption of mass populations.

Serving up a parade of mostly environmental experts and nuclear scientists, the documentary provides the advantages of a nuclear power future, and proves the safety of the science very effectively. The electric grid is collapsing from the strain of a necessity for more power, plus with wind and solar energy still creating a huge manufacturing footprint, perhaps everything nuclear is the energy solution again.

“Pandora’s Promise” continued its limited release in Chicago on June 14th. See local listings for theaters and show times. Written and directed by Robert Stone. Not rated.

Continue reading for Patrick McDonald’s full review of “Pandora’s Promise”

Three Mile Island in ‘Pandora’s Promise’
Photo credit: CNN Films

Continue reading for Patrick McDonald’s full review of “Pandora’s Promise”