Orlando Bloom sympathizes with Keira Knightley’s thoughts on Pirates of the Caribbean but seems to have a more positive outlook.
The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise is going through major shake-ups. As it stands, a lot is still on the plank (there’s a reason we update this article so often): Will Johnny Depp reprise Jack Sparrow or will the series sail in a new direction completely? When can we even expect Pirates 6? Who of the original cast actually wants to return? On that last one, Keira Knightley (Elizabeth Swann) seems the most hesitant…and co-star Orlando Bloom sees where she’s coming from.
Last year, Keira Knightley said that she has mixed feelings about the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, saying they gave her good opportunities but also put her in a position where she was constantly being knocked down. “It’s a funny thing when you have something that was making and breaking you at the same time. I was seen as sh*t because of them…they were the most successful films I’ll ever be a part of and they were the reason that I was taken down publicly. So they’re a very confused place in my head. The hours are insane. It’s years of your life.”
Responding to his own perspective on the Pirates of the Caribbean movies and Knightley’s stance, Orlando Bloom (Will Turner) stated, “It was such a huge moment in time that is almost like…it feels almost like another lifetime now. But it certainly was unique and, you know, I’m always grateful. But I definitely understand where Keira was coming from, and she does wonderful things…I have a lot of positive takeaways.”
That’s certainly far from an indication that we’ll ever see Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann back together again. Remember, the characters didn’t have significant roles after the third Pirates movie, At World’s End, sitting out On Stranger Tides and only having cameos in Dead Men Tell No Tales. With that – and their position as fan favorites – we do have to consider if we’ve seen the last of them, as almost seems to be the case. But really, if we could get a sixth Pirates that centers on those two, then you’ve got a packed theater.
Do you want to see Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann in the next Pirates of the Caribbean movie? Can the franchise make do without their premiere characters?
Daredevil: Born Again showrunner Dario Scardapane discusses his approach to the MCU / Disney+ show in a new interview
The nine episode first season of the Marvel series Daredevil: Born Again is scheduled to premiere on Disney+ on March 4, 2025 – and during an interview with SFX magazine, showrunner Dario Scardapane, who previously worked on Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan and the Netflix series The Punisher, said this show will be even darker than the Netflix Daredevil series it follows, with less navel-gazing and more frequent big action sequences.
Although the initial plan was to rework some elements and make Daredevil: Born Again stand separate from the Netflix Daredevil series (despite sharing some cast members), the show underwent a creative overhaul when the writers and actors strikes shut down production in 2023. Now, this series is a direct follow-up to the Netflix series, picking up five years later. Scardapane was brought in to serve as showrunner during the overhaul, and the behind-the-scenes shake-up also led to Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, the directing team who were at the helm of multiple episodes of Moon Knight and Loki season 2, being hired as directors on the show. Matt Corman and Chris Ord were previously the head writers on the show, but they were let go.
The cast of the series includes Charlie Cox, Vincent D’Onofrio, Elden Henson, Deborah Ann Woll, Jon Bernthal, Wilson Bethel, and Ayelete Zurer, reprising the roles of Matt Murdock / Daredevil, Wilson Fisk / Kingpin, Murdock’s associates Foggy Nelson and Karen Page, Frank Castle / The Punisher, Benjamin “Dex” Poindexter / Bullseye, and Vanessa Marianna Fisk. Also in the cast are Margarita Levieva as Matt Murdock’s love interest Heather Glenn, Michael Gandolfini as a character named Daniel Blade, Genneya Walton as BB Urich, Jeremy Earl as Anti-Vigilante Task Force member Cole North, and Lou Taylor Pucci, taking on an unspecified role.
Speaking with SFX magazine, Scardapane said that the creative overhaul was necessary because, while the footage that had been shot had some really strong points, “it wasn’t feeling in line with what Daredevil had been established to be.” Cox added, “There was a U-turn after the strike, where we were headed in one direction which was interesting and valid. The argument was, if we’re coming back after all these years, we don’t want to just do exactly the same thing. Marvel looked at the episodes and knew it wasn’t quite working. We shot a whole new pilot and they reorganized what we had filmed to make it feel more like the show we had shot all those years previously. Given what a Herculean task that was, it’s very impressive what they achieved.” So now, the show ties back to the Netflix series. Scardapane said, “At the very end of the Netflix show, Foggy, Karen and Matt had a dream written out on the back of a napkin. We start with that dream. It’s not a dream that needs too much explanation; three good friends go into business together.“
The showrunner did admit that he had to re-think some things so his vision for the show could fit into the overall plan for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which Daredevil has merged into through appearances in Spider-Man: No Way Home, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, and Echo. “Marvel has a master plan, and what you’re doing causes ripple effects. I would pitch stuff very early and I would hear that they had other plans. I have plenty of leeway up until I hit the larger-scale plan for the MCU. So I try to ignore some stuff [from the wider universe]. We establish a very specific Daredevil, both in terms of his dilemma, down to the suit and where we’re picking him up in his life. You can say that Daredevil is canon in the MCU, those other events [in Spider-Man and She-Hulk] happened, but some of them we are not leaning into. His one-night stand with She-Hulk may be one of those things. They’ve moved Matt through other corners of the MCU, and now he’s back in his own story. I don’t want to give anything away, but you’re going to see a character [in our show] you never thought you would, but they get folded into the story in a manner that is organic and exists in our world. New York, in the current state of the MCU, has a lot of stuff going on.“
As for how Daredevil: Born Again compares to the Netflix show, Scardapane said, “There is more fun in the moments with these characters and a lot less navel-gazing than before. The earlier show, at its best, was fantastic. At its worst, it was two characters in a room talking about what a hero is. I felt that had been done. I’m not taking swipes. I just didn’t want to hear characters grousing about their lot in life. I wanted to see them doing things.” As popular as the Netflix Daredevil is, it could be criticized for being too slow and chatty. Having worked on The Punisher for the streamer, Scardapane knows very well why it was paced the way it was. “One of our edicts [at Netflix] was, ‘Longer scenes.’ You had these long five-page scenes of characters hashing it out in order to make space between these massive action sequences. The way stuff has evolved since then, we’re able to do big action sequences at a lot more pace. I really feel that Netflix’s Daredevil, which I know in my blood, was much more noir, and this show is more New York crime story. It has elements of The Sopranos and King of New York. There’s a feeling for those classic ’90s crime tales. It has a pace and a scope that, for a lot of reasons, Netflix wasn’t able to do. They were very dark, cinematically, not necessarily story-wise, although there were some dark elements. We’re much darker. This is as far as a Disney+ show has ever gone.“
What do you think of what showrunner Dario Scardapane had to say about Daredevil: Born Again? Are you looking forward to watching this show in March? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
Amazon Prime Video’s new series explores a new adaptation of the famous David and Goliath story in eight epic episodes.
Last Updated on January 30, 2025
It’s perhaps the greatest underdog story next to Rocky. Heck, it’s used as a phrase to describe a match-up that seems so unevenly matched. The David and Goliath tale is one of the most popular stories in the Bible. It tells of a normal man who went up against the fiercest warrior in the land in the biggest size difference imaginable. Amazon’s House of David is a series that will retell the story in eight epic episodes. Three episodes will premiere on February27, with one episode weekly thereafter. The trailer has just been released.
The official description reads, “HOUSE OF DAVID tells the story of the ascent of the biblical figure, David, who eventually becomes the most renowned and celebrated king of Israel. The series follows the once-mighty King Saul as he falls victim to his own pride. At the direction of God, the prophet Samuel anoints an unlikely, outcast teenager as the new king. As Saul loses his power over his kingdom, David finds himself on a journey to discover and fulfill his destiny, navigating love, loss, and violence in the court of the very man he’s destined to replace. As one leader falls, another must rise.”
The series is based on an idea by Jon Erwin(Jesus Revolution) and directed and written by Erwin and Jon Gunn (Ordinary Angels). It stars Michael Iskander as David, who was cast following a four-month international search and is fresh off his role in the Tony Award-winning musical “Kimberly Akimbo.” The series also stars Ali Suliman (Jack Ryan, Arthur the King) as King Saul, Ayelet Zurer (Angels And Demons, Man Of Steel) as Saul’s trusted wife Queen Ahinoam, Stephen Lang (Avatar franchise, Don’t Breathe) as Samuel, and Martyn Ford (Mortal Kombat 2, The Sandman) as Goliath. Dallas Jenkins, the creator and producer-director of The Chosen, is a shareholder and special advisor to Wonder Project.
Additional cast includes: Indy Lewis (Industry, King and Conqueror) as Mychal and Yali Topol Margalith (Tattooist of Auschwitz, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder (2024))as Mirab, Saul’s daughters; Ethan Kai as Jonathan (The Turkish Detective, Carnival Row 2), Saul’s son and heir apparent; Sam Otto (Snowpiercer, The State) as Eshbaal, the irreverent middle child; Oded Fehr (Star Trek, La Cocina) as Abner, Saul’s advisor; Louis Ferreira (Shogun, Breaking Bad) as Jesse, David’s father; Davood Ghadami (Eastenders, The Chelsea Detective) as Eliab, David’s eldest brother and decorated warrior in King Saul’s army; Ashraf Barhom (Tyrant, The Last Planet) as Doeg, a mysterious Edomite, and Alexander Uloom (Sari and Amira, Heera) who plays King Achish.
Good American Family, a limited series inspired by the Natalia Grace case, unveils first look images ahead of its Hulu premiere
Back in 2009, a horror film called Orphan told us the story of a married couple who adopts a 9-year-old Russian girl only to discover that she’s actually a criminal adult passing herself off as a child. The film was loosely based on the true story of Barbora Skrlova, a 30-something woman who pretended to be a 13-year-old and did some very twisted things that were very different than what we saw in Orphan. In 2012, a sad case that made it into news reports reminded people of Orphan. It was the story of Natalia Grace, a Ukrainian-born girl with dwarfism who was adopted by American parents who claimed to suspect she was much older than records said she was. The Grace case has been covered on Dr. Phil and the docu-series The Curious Case of Natalia Grace, and now the Hulu streaming service is moving forward with a Natalia Grace-inspired limited series that’s called Good American Family. The show is set to premiere on March 19th with two episodes, followed by one episode weekly, and Hulu has started promoting it by unveiling a batch of first look images, which can be seen in this article.
Good American Family stars Ellen Pompeo (Grey’s Anatomy) and Mark Duplass (Creep) as the adoptive parents, Michael and Kristine Barnett, with Dulé Hill (Suits) as Detective Brandon Drysdale, “who will serve as the investigator regarding the criminal allegations hurled against Michael and Kristine” and Sarayu Blue (Blockers) as Valika, “one of the parents at Kristine’s daycare center.” Christina Hendricks (Mad Men) and Jerod Haynes (Project Blue Book) play Cynthia and Antwon Mans, another couple that gets involved with the situation. Imogen Faith Reid, whose previous credits were stand-in and double jobs on The One and Only Ivan, The Third Day, and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, plays Natalia.
Written by Katie Robbins, the limited series consists of eight episodes. It is inspired by the true story of Michael and Kristine Barnett, a Midwestern couple that adopts what they believe is an 8-year-old girl with a rare form of dwarfism. But as they begin to raise her alongside their three biological children, they slowly start to believe she may not be who she says she is. As they question her story, they’re confronted with hard questions of their own about the lengths they’re willing to go to defend themselves, falling into a battle that’s fought in the tabloids, the courtroom, and ultimately their marriage.
Robbins and Pompeo are executive producing Good American Family alongside Sarah Sutherland, Mike Epps, Dan Spilo, Niles Kirchner, Andrew Stearn, and Laura Holstein. The show is coming our way from ABC Signature.
Are you interested in the story of Natalia Grace, and would you watch a dramatized series about it? Share your thoughts on Good American Family by leaving a comment below – but first, check out the first look images:
While Scott has a new office job, he reminisces about his time at Pawnee City Hall in the former NBC comedy show.
Adam Scott may have a new office job now, but he’s missing his time at Pawnee City Hall. The actor is currently starring in season 2 of Apple TV+’s hit show Severance. The series is only in its second season and the momentum continues to roll. Our own Alex Maidy gave season 2 a perfect 10 score when he said in his review, “The cast is exceptional, and the direction, led by Ben Stiller doing the best work of his career, improves on what came before it. This is such a rich world that has deepened what the audience knows without sacrificing any quality along the way. Each episode is full of character development that makes you care deeply about what happens to each member of the MDR team and even gives reasons to care about the antagonists as well.”
According to Deadline, Scott recently appeared on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, where they played him a clip from Parks and Rec, where his character, Ben Wyatt, attempted to make a claymation video. Scott told the host, Josh Horowitz, “I haven’t seen the show in a long time. Honestly because it makes me sad to see the show, because I miss them and I miss all the actors even though we’re constantly in touch and stuff, but I miss the time of making it.”
The cast of Parks and Rec is said to have been keeping up with each other through a text chain. This includes Amy Poehler, Retta, Rashida Jones, Aubrey Plaza, Nick Offerman, Chris Pratt, Jim O’Heir, Rob Lowe and Aziz Ansari. Scott continued to say how much he misses that era of his life, “It was a really just joyful 5 years — for me, 7 years for the show — getting to go work there every day with that group of people. We had so much fun and we’re making something that meant something to people; it meant something to us.”
Scott stated that he would be up for a reunion show if the original creators, Michael Schur and Greg Daniels, were behind it. However, he also said, “The show itself, the series finale kind of took us to the end. It jumped pretty far ahead into the future, so I’m not sure what else there is to add, but it’s entirely not up to me at all.”
About the Author
E.J. is a News Editor at JoBlo, as well as a Video Editor, Writer, and Narrator for some of the movie retrospectives on our JoBlo Originals YouTube channel, including Reel Action, Revisited and some of the Top 10 lists. He is a graduate of the film program at Missouri Western State University with concentrations in performance, writing, editing and directing.
Cinemark is bringing several popular horror movies back to theatres in February for their Love You to Death series
The Valentine’s Day-set slasher movie Heart Eyes is set to reach theatres on February 7th – but that’s not the only horror movie that Cinemark theatres will be celebrating the holiday with. The cinema chain has revealed that they’ll be running a series called “Love You to Death” from February 1st through the 5th, bringing The Silence of the Lambs, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Midsommar, the 1981 slasher classic My Bloody Valentine, and Shaun of the Dead back to the big screen!
On the Love You to Death page, Cinemark writes, “Got a bleeding heart for horror? Our lineup of frightful flicks is swoon-worthy, with plenty of tortured love—and actual torture—to satisfy the most die-hard fans.“
The Silence of the Lambs will be showing in Cinemark theatres on February 1st. Directed by Jonathan Demme from a screenplay by Ted Tally and based on a novel by Thomas Harris, the film has the following synopsis: FBI agent Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) is sent to interview imprisoned killer Dr. Hannibal “The Cannibal” Lecter (Anthony Hopkins). She hopes he might reveal information about another crazed killer known only as “Buffalo Bill” (Ted Levine), who is abducting young women, starving them, and then killing them. Lecter’s brilliant mind is intrigued by the beautiful Starling, and he begins giving her mystifying clues which could be helpful or merely a game. The terror builds as “Buffalo Bill” grabs another victim and the countdown to death begins again. Finding the madman means Starling must get inside Lecter’s mind. To stop the killer, she must enter a terrifying race against death.
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola from a screenplay by James V. Hart and based on Bram Stoker’s novel, Bram Stoker’s Dracula has the following synopsis: Count Dracula (Gary Oldman), a 15th-century prince, is condemned to live off the blood of the living for eternity. Young lawyer Jonathan Harker (Keanu Reeves) is sent to Dracula’s castle to finalize a land deal, but when the Count sees a photo of Harker’s fiancée, Mina (Winona Ryder), the spitting image of his dead wife, he imprisons him and sets off for London to track her down. This one will be showing in Cinemark theatres on February 2nd.
Writer/director Ari Aster’s Midsommar reaches Cinemark theatres on February 3rd. The synopsis: Dani (Florence Pugh) and Christian (Jack Reynor) are a young American couple with a relationship on the brink of falling apart. But after a family tragedy keeps them together, a grieving Dani invites herself to join Christian and his friends on a trip to a once-in-a-lifetime midsummer festival in a remote Swedish village. What begins as a carefree summer holiday in a land of eternal sunlight takes a sinister turn when the insular villagers invite their guests to partake in festivities that render the pastoral paradise increasingly unnerving and viscerally disturbing.
Directed by George Mihalka from a screenplay by John Beaird (and a story by Stephen Miller), My Bloody Valentine is the one I would most like to catch on the big screen. The synopsis: Twenty years ago, a tragic accident in a mine on St. Valentine’s Day took the lives of five miners. The disaster occurred while supervisors left their posts to attend the town’s annual Valentine’s Day dance. The only survivor, Harry Warden, was confined to a mental institution after the ordeal. On the disaster’s first anniversary, he returned to the town for bloody revenge. That was nineteen years ago, and memories have dimmed. Young lovers T.J. (Paul Kelman) and Sarah (Lori Hallier) and friend Axel (Neil Affleck) are among the townspeople attending another Valentine’s party. Then, a box of Valentine candy arrives, containing an ominous message and a blood-soaked heart. Before the night is over, terror will strike again and again and again… It will be showing at Cinemark theatres on February 4th.
Shaun of the Dead has the following synopsis: Shaun (Simon Pegg) is a 30-something loser with a dull, easy existence. When he’s not working at the electronics store, he lives with his slovenly best friend, Ed (Nick Frost), in a small flat on the outskirts of London. The only unpredictable element in his life is his girlfriend, Liz (Kate Ashfield), who wishes desperately for Shaun to grow up and be a man. When the town is inexplicably overrun with zombies, Shaun must rise to the occasion and protect both Liz and his mother (Penelope Wilton). Edgar Wright directed the film, which will be showing at Cinemark theatres on February 5th, from a script he wrote with Pegg.
What do you think of Cinemark’s “Love You to Death” series? Will you be catching any of these movies on the big screen? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
Thanks to An American Werewolf in London and The Howling, I’ve always deeply loved werewolves. Yet, sometimes, a movie will just connect to the viewer in a shockingly deep way. An unexpected way. Leigh Whannell‘s Wolf Man did just that for me. While I’ve certainly seen some of the reviews that did not sing the movie’s praise, there is something about this very personal and frankly pretty sad film that worked for me. Ultimately, something about the tortured Blake was nothing like I’d expected, and the rather heartbreaking performance from Christopher Abbott resonated.
I’ve enjoyed all of Leigh Whannell’s directorial work. Even his turn in the director’s chair for Insidious: Chapter 3 brought some chills for me. Having been at this site for many years, I find it a fantastic experience interviewing Mr. Whannell. He’s always been incredibly kind to JoBlo and is one of the nicest fellows you’d ever run into. While we spoke with the filmmaker earlier, which you can see below, it was nice to get the chance to dig deeper into the feature and the connection that cinema can have with those sitting in the darkness.
Besides getting rather deep and personal with Wolf Man in this extended conversation, he opened up about his other films. The conversation led to other cool avenues, including my curiosity about returning to Invisible Man or Upgrade territory. Leigh is an incredibly gracious and talented filmmaker who always makes himself available and open for an excellent conversation. In other words, he’s a great guy!
Dynamite Entertainment is celebrating their 20th anniversary with the comic book mini-series Red Sonja vs. the Army of Darkness
Founded in 2004, the comic book publishing company Dynamite Entertainment got started with a comic book continuation of Sam Raimi’s 1992 horror comedy classic Army of Darkness. Soon after, they started publishing a book that starred the popular sword-and-sorcery character Red Sonja. Over the years, Dynamite has sent a lot of Army of Darkness crossover comics into the world, having hero Ash Williams cross paths with the likes of Herbert West, Re-Animator; Darkman, the Marvel Zombies, Xena: Warrior Princess, the characters from Hack/Slash, Vampirella, KISS, and Elvis Presley (from Bubba Ho-Tep), among others. Now, to celebrate the company’s 20th anniversary, Dynamite is having Ash and Red Sonja team up for the crossover comic book mini-series Red Sonja vs. The Army of Darkness!
SuperHeroHype reports that Red Sonja vs. The Army of Darkness will find wise-cracking Deadite slayer Ashley “Ash” J. Williams hurled through time and space. This time, however, Ash winds up in the Hyborian Age at the same time as the evil wizard Kulan Gath gets his hands on the Necronomicon. Ash is soon coupled with Kulan Gath’s nemesis, the She-Devil With a Sword. However, the two hot-tempered heroes may kill each other before the Deadites and Kulan Gath can manage it.
Hack/Slash creator Tim Seeley, who has previous Army of Darkness experience, is writing the crossover, with Jim Terry (Alice Cooper vs. Chaos!) providing the artwork. Seeley said, “I’ve been obsessed with Army of Darkness since I saw the movie way back in 1992. In fact, the first Hack/Slash story began life as a pitch to get the rights for AoD for comics! Having Red Sonja teamed with Ash, a character I know really well, lets me really emphasize her badass feminist qualities, as Ash is an often befuddled sexist idiot.” Flickering Myth provided another Seeley quote: “What I’d like to do here is use the Army of Darkness dark magic stuff and infuse it into Sonja’s Hyborian age, so we can do a modernized take on those earliest Thomas/Jones/Throne/Buscema comics. Gritty, dark sword and sorcery, full of weird monsters and grim morality tales – the difference being that Sonja is now weighed down by Ash who is, as always, kind of a moron who ruins things and is totally enamored with Sonja.“
Four covers have been created for the first issue of the mini-series, which is set to reach store shelves in April. Those can be seen at the bottom of this article. To see some unlettered pages from the book, click over to SuperHeroHype.
Will you be reading Red Sonja vs. The Army of Darkness? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
The Ryan Coogler / Michael B. Jordan horror film Sinners, which reaches theatres in April, has unveiled a full trailer
Last year, it was revealed that frequent collaborators Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan – who have worked on Fruitvale Station, Creed, Black Panther, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever together as director and cast member, and have other collaborations that Coogler didn’t direct – had been developing a new project in secret. Coogler has written the script for this project, which is called Sinners and has been described as both a genre picture and a period piece. The project is set up at Warner Bros., has a budget of around $90 million, and is scheduled for a theatrical release on April 18, 2025 (having moved back from a previously announced March release date). With that date swiftly approaching, a full trailer has arrived online and can be seen in the embed above.
Yesterday, Warner Bros. teased the Sinners trailer debut by sharing this clip:
Directed by Coogler with Jordan playing dual roles, Sinners has the following official synopsis: Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers (Jordan) return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back. “You keep dancing with the devil, one day he’s gonna follow you home.”
This project is being kept so tightly under wraps that when it was looking for a studio to call home, “executives and buyers were forced to make the pilgrimage to the Beverly Hills offices of WME, the agency that represents Coogler and Jordan, in order to take a gander on the script and get details.”
Coogler (who is also developing a reboot of the TV series The X-Files) is producing the film with Proximity Media partners Zinzi Coogler and Sev Ohanian. Rebecca Cho serves as executive producer alongside Will Greenfield and two-time Oscar-winning composer Ludwig Goransson (who won his first Oscar for his work on Coogler’s Black Panther and his second for Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer).
Jordan is joined in the cast by Jack O’Connell (Unbroken), Delroy Lindo (Get Shorty), Wunmi Mosaku (Loki), Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit), Omar Benson Miller (CSI: Miami), Jayme Lawson (The Batman), Lola Kirke (Mozart in the Jungle), and Li Jun Li (The Exorcist TV series).
What did you think of the full trailer for Sinners? Are you looking forward to seeing this movie? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
Kevin Kline takes to the stage for American Classic, a new comedy series on MGM+ about a Broadway actor returning to his hometown stage.
Last Updated on January 30, 2025
William Shakespeare once said, “All the world’s a stage,” but for Kevin Kline, the stage is a way of life, and his love for theater is vast. MGM+ announced today an eight-episode series order for American Classic, a half-hour comedy series from o-creators Michael Hoffman (Soapdish, Restoration, The Last Station) and Bob Martin (The Prom, Slings and Arrows). American Classic stars Kevin Sline (A Fish Called Wanda, Fierce Creatures, Bob’s Burgers) as Richard Bean and Jon Tenney (The Closer, Scandal) as Jon Bean. Hoffman directs the series, with production kicking into high gear later this year in New Jersey.
Here’s an official description of American Classic courtesy of MGM+:
“American Classic centers on Broadway star and notorious narcissist Richard Bean, played by Kline, who suffers a spectacular public meltdown and returns to his hometown and the family-run theater where he first became aware of his own brilliance. When he arrives, he is shocked to discover that his father, the former artistic director, has lost a step and that the once-respected theater, now run by his brother Jon, played by Tenney, and his wife (now the town’s mayor) has become, by necessity, a low-rent dinner theater serving roast beef and murder mysteries. He decides to save the town, the theater, and the world by presenting a great American classic on the dinner theater stage, directed by and starring, of course, Richard Bean.”
“MGM+ is television for movie lovers—classic Hollywood storytelling through a contemporary lens. American Classic, with its sophisticated wit, adult characters, and unique cast, is an exciting addition to that brand,” said Michael Wright, head of MGM+. “In the capable hands of Michael Hoffman and Bob Martin, alongside stage and screen legend Kevin Kline, American Classic is a hilariously funny and deeply poignant comedy, and we can’t wait to share it with our MGM+ audience.”
“The two of us have been shaped from childhood by our love of the theater and those magical creatures that inhabit it: true actors,” said Hoffman and Martin. “To get to tell a story with new friends and longtime collaborators, among them that grand man of the theater, Kevin Kline (who happens also to be one of the world’s supreme comic talents), and a story about art, community, and family… for us, that’s about as good as it gets.”
I’ve never been to a dinner theater before, but I saw the band Woods at Monkey Town (now closed). The band played at the center of the room, surrounded by projection screens showing psychedelic images. The staff brought us fancy drinks, steak, and sauteed veggies while the band played an incredible set. I wonder if Kevin Kline’s American Classic character has a similar setup in mind to bring his hometown theater back to form.
What do you think about the American Classic concept? Have you ever attended a dinner theater? Let us know in the comments section below.
