Viola Davis to play Michelle Obama in new series

Viola Davis (“How to Get Away with Murder”, “The Help”) will be portraying Michelle Obama in “First Ladies”, a TV series set to air on the American channel Showtime.

Davis will be playing former First Lady Michelle Obama in an hour-long episode of “First Ladies”, as per CNN. Three episodes have been ordered from writer Aaron Cooley.


This anthology series will explore the personal and political lives of several First Ladies who made their mark on American history. The first season will focus on Eleanor Roosevelt, Betty Ford and Michelle Obama.

Obama has previously been portrayed in films but never in TV. She was played by Tika Sumpter in the 2016 feature “Southside With You”.

The project is produced by Showtime, Lionsgate TV together with Davis and Julius Tennon’s company, JuVee Productions. RGA/JB

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

Park Shin-hye’s past dating rumors with Lee Min-ho, Jung Yong-hwa

Rumors that Korean actors Park Shin-hye and Lee Jong-suk are dating, reported Wednesday, have prompted members of the public to highlight her previous “romances” with other stars Lee Min-ho and Jung Yong-hwa.

Park achieved her breakthrough success in the 2013 drama series “The Heirs,” as the on-screen love interest of Lee Min-ho. A year later, she acted in her second hit drama series “Pinocchio,” opposite Lee Jong-suk.

Fans swooned over the love scenes in “The Heirs” between Lee and Park. Chinese media reported in January 2014 that the two had been dating for the past two months, which Lee’s agency lambasted as “ridiculous and 300% false.”

Park’s agency also credited the “groundless rumors” to the popularity of “The Heirs” in China.

Lee Min-ho is currently in a relationship with K-pop singer Suzy, from girl group Miss A. The local news outlet that broke the story, later confirmed by both Lee and Suzy, was the same news outlet that reported Park was dating Lee Jong-suk on Wednesday.

Park and Lee have been photographed outside each other’s homes and on alleged dates, as reported by news outlet Dispatch, but both of the stars’ agencies quickly slammed the reports and insisted the two are “just close friends.”

In the early years of her career, Park also starred opposite K-pop singer Jung Yong-hwa, from boy group CNBLUE, in two drama series.

Jung played a friend who harbors feelings for Park in the romantic TV drama “You’re Beautiful” in 2009. Two years later, he played her on-screen love interest in another romantic drama series, “Heartstrings.”

Though they acted as on-screen lovers on the small screen, Park and Jung have never seriously been at the center of dating rumors.

At the 2011 press conference for “Heartstrings,” Jung said about Park, “I feel so comfortable around Park Shin-hye, she’s like a member of (his group) CNBLUE. She is very laid-back and bright — she’s one of the few celebrity friends I have.”

Park said at the same press conference, “Jung Yong-hwa and I know so much about each other, I think it would be difficult for us to start a romantic relationship.”

The actress reiterated on an entertainment program in March 2013 that she and Jung were “just good friends.” Jung said on a talk show last year that Park often attended CNBLUE concerts due to their friendship.

Park is an international Hallyu icon with a strong fan base spanning several Asian countries.

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

Henry Cavill is suave American super spy in ‘Man from U.N.C.L.E.’

Before he reprises his Superman role in the much-anticipated “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” scheduled for release in March 2016, Henry Cavill will first tackle the role of CIA super spy Napoleon Solo in Warner Bros.’ slick action-thriller “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.”

Cavill and Armie Hammer (“The Social Network”) team up in the film as, respectively, CIA operative Napoleon Solo and KGB agent Illya Kuryakin—two fierce rivals from opposing sides of the Iron Curtain who are ordered to put aside their differences and work together to subvert a global catastrophe at the height of the Cold War.

In some respects, it’s a buddy movie…apart from the fact that “they kick the living daylights out of each other as soon as they meet,” says Cavill.

As Cavill understands the quintessentially smooth Solo, “He’s not career CIA; in fact, he’s kind of anti-establishment. He acquired his skill set dealing art and antiques on the black market after sneaking his way into post-war European high society, and was so good that no one could catch him for years. It’s something he took a great deal of pride in. But eventually he was given up by a jealous girlfriend, and the CIA, seeing the value of a man like him, offered an ultimatum: go to jail or work for us. So he ended up becoming an agent, very successfully but somewhat reluctantly. It’s better than being in jail and he can still wear natty suits.”

Cavill himself calls the pairing of Solo and Kuryakin “a very odd and broken relationship,” he laughs. “It’s: ‘I hate you, but I have to work with you.’ They really don’t want to like each other, but ultimately each comes to kind of respect the other.”

For his part, Solo finds the Russian unrefined and unpredictable, “but in some ways they’re two sides of the same coin,” Cavill observes. “The differences in their personalities and methods are vast, but they’re on the same spectrum. And even though they’re in this because Solo and Kuryakin have no choice, they are always mindful that they have a mission and there are lives at stake, not to mention the destruction of the world, so they have to try to make their skills work together. It could end up that the team is greater than the sum of its parts.”

Set against the backdrop of the early 1960s, at the height of the Cold War, “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” centers on CIA agent Solo (Cavill) and KGB agent Kuryakin (Hammer). Forced to put aside longstanding hostilities, the two team up on a joint mission to stop a mysterious international criminal organization, which is bent on destabilizing the fragile balance of power through the proliferation of nuclear weapons and technology. The duo’s only lead is Gaby Teller (Vikander), the daughter of a vanished German scientist, who is the key to infiltrating the criminal organization, and they must race against time to find him and prevent a worldwide catastrophe.

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

Fox says Naya Rivera to remain on ‘Glee’

LOS ANGELES — Naya Rivera is still a Gleek.

FOX Network said in a statement to The Associated Press on Saturday that there’s no truth to rumors that Rivera had been fired from the show. Rivera plays the character Santana Lopez, a lesbian glee club member, on the popular musical drama.

‘Glee’ had its fifth-season wrap party Friday. The season finale is set to air in the U.S. on May 20.

Show co-creator Ryan Murphy has said the series’ sixth season will be its last.

It’s been a difficult year for the series’ cast and crew. Actor Cory Monteith, who had been romantically linked to actress Lea Michele, died in July 2013 of a drug overdose.

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

‘My Husband’s Lover’ accomplished much, but ended unsatisfyingly

GMA 7’s soap “My Husband’s Lover” ended last week after a successful four-month run. Moving, grueling and baffling at different points, the series expectedly ended with its manly gay characters finally getting their much-deserved happily-ever-after. But the less than grandiose resolution left this viewer unsatisfied.

The series dealt with the love triangle involving Lally (Carla Abellana), her husband Vincent (Tom Rodriguez), and his lover Eric (Dennis Trillo). In the first month or so, the characters’ bonds were sturdily established, the illicit relationship the source of much-appreciated conflict and tension.

After the revelation of the affair—which was executed rather impressively—we hoped that it would continue to explore subplots and arcs that could stem from that main plot. The show did, to an extent, but disappointingly, it didn’t always succeed in presenting other ideas as creatively.

One of the things that “My Husband’s Lover” did right was the sensitive tackling of controversial, gay-related topics.

For one, there is a clear clarification that homosexuality is not an abnormality or disease, as declared by a psychiatrist character. This fact strengthened Vincent’s acceptance of his gayness, much to the chagrin of his cure-seeking mom Elaine (Kuh Ledesma).

Another issue it expounded on is the difference between gay men and transgenders. Vincent talked to Lally about his cousin Zandro (Keempee de Leon), who dresses and identifies as a woman.

Third, it dispelled the myth that only gay men can get stricken with HIV. Vincent’s extremely homophobic dad Armando (Roi Vinzon) was diagnosed positive for the virus; he was initially shocked to discover that his affairs with women could lead to such a consequence.




It’s unique and brave in that respect, having inserted such long-established “facts” into the narrative. It was a breath of fresh air; it depicted a variety of issues positively as opposed to prior demeaning portrayals of gay people as punchlines and perverts.

The storytelling was adventurous (the camerawork, transitions and compositions were artistic) although there were times when it just got clunky.

Vincent figured in a number of iffy parts, including his abduction scene. He was forced by his father to attend military camp; the henchmen attempted to beat the gay out of him, to no avail. This long ordeal came off as stretched out and sometimes comical; Rodriguez, however, was consistent with his long-transfixed pained look through that arc and after Vincent’s failed suicide.

Forgiveness was a recurring theme. After much drama, Lally forgave Vincent and Eric; Elaine forgave her villainous hubby; Vincent forgave his dad eventually as well. The violent, gay-bashing general didn’t deserve it, but the show chose redemption over more lasting comeuppance, which felt forced.

The Tom-Dennis pairing spawned an album, “TomDen,” currently an iTunes hit. There is also a DVD collection of “MHL” episodes being released, which contain deleted scenes. Milking the show’s success is timely and perhaps fitting, but we wish the series itself had ended in grand fashion. While flawed, it was mostly a source of “alternative” entertainment, and accomplished much in so short a time. Still, “My Husband’s Lover’s” loyal viewers deserved better. Sure, it was an okay finale, but the show, without showing important glimpses or flashes of the happy repercussions, just ended.

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

'Game of Thrones' Recap: Something Winter This Way Comes

It began and ended with brutal murders, but the scariest things in this week's episode of Game of Thrones were the ones that haven't happened yet. Doomsday weapons, ominous invitations, vows of vengeance, secret plans, bad dreams – characters all over the Seven Kingdoms and beyond received serious hints that there's darkness just over the horizon and closing fast.

But despite being the most menacing episode of the season, "The Ghost in Harrenhal" – written by showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss and directed by David Petrarca – told its story through smiles and smirks. Characters' happiness with their current position showed on their faces time and time again, sometimes about a secret only they possess that puts them ahead of the game, other times reflecting an ignorance of the terrible truth they can't see coming.

The late King Renly wears the smile of a born winner, until his brother Stannis' shadowy "son" ended his march to victory – and the quite reasonable offer of alliance with Robb Stark – with a stab in the back. Littlefinger smirks at Margaery Tyrell when she tells him she'd rather be the Queen than a queen, but it's a smirk of recognition – here's someone power-hungry enough for a glutton like Littlefinger to really do business with. Theon Greyjoy grinned like the king of the world when he got a glimpse of his ship, scowled when his crew and his sister Yara laughed in his face, and turned that frown upside down yet again when he and his first mate Dagmer figured out a plan of attack with a goal far more grand than the one his hateful father Balon had in mind for his prodigal son. Ser Rodrik Cassel beamed with pride at his young lord Bran Stark's decision to send reinforcements to his beleaguered bannerman at Torrhen's Square, neither of them realizing they were walking into Theon's trap. Queen Cersei couldn't help but smirk at her brother Tyrion while denying him the information he needed about King Joffrey's secret battle plan, thrilled to finally be a step ahead of the razor wit she finds so infuriating in her little brother – though of course she has no idea her cousin and lover Ser Lancel Lannister is giving up the goods to Tyrion. Tyrion laughs it up with Bronn as a street preacher mocks the "demon monkey" who pulls Joffrey's strings, only to have the smile wiped off his face when he finds out he's the demon monkey in question. Even the humorless King Stannis allows the ghost of a smile to flit across his face after his loyal servant Ser Davos Seaworth tells him what the men are saying about Lady Melisandre's influence over him, a quiet and rueful acknowledgement that it's truer than they know. Arya Stark and her friendly neighborhood murderer Jaqen H'ghar share a knowing smile over their secret shared power of life and death, first exercised against the grinning Lannister torturer known as The Tickler. Across the sea, the smile almost never leaves Qartheen one-percenter Xaro Xhoan Daxos' face as he attempts to woo Daenerys with his rags-to-riches background and the just-plain-riches in his vault. The smile on the face(s) of his fellow aristocrat, the warlock Pyat Pree, is a shakier thing, though it's tough to say whether the warmer, handsomer Xaro has Dany's best interests at heart when he dismisses the mysterious magician. And beyond the Wall, Jon Snow allows himself his first smile of the season when he's selected to go on a vital raid with legendary ranger Qhorin Halfhand; let's see if he's still smiling when the cold and the wildlings and whatever the hell else is out there get through with him.

As you can probably gather from that paragraph, which if strung end to end would be about as long as the Wall itself, a freaking lot happened in this episode, to a lot of people. And aside from the shocking, very Game of Thrones premature death of Renly, very little actually happened to any of those people. The payoff for Bran's premonition, Tyrion's wildfire, Theon's sneak attack, Pyat Pree's invitation, Xaro's proposal, Mance Rayder's reported army of wildlings, the alliances between Littlefinger & Margaery and Brienne & Catelyn, even the remaining two murders owed to Arya by Jaqen, is all in that dark future I mentioned up front.

And yet I didn't get bored or impatient once. Game of Thrones keeps more balls in the air for more episodes at a stretch than any other show on TV, yes. But it works so well as entertainment because it's not afraid to light a few of those balls on fire while we wait, in the form of shots and lines and set pieces and moments that elicit the full Chris Farley "Remember when…? That was awesome" response.

Some of that was performance-based. Aiden Gillen and Natalie Dormer emitted ambition from their pores like a fine musk during their brief scene together as Littlefinger and Margaery. As Brienne, Gwendoline Christie managed to seem devastated by the death of her beloved Renly even while establishing the warrior woman as an absolutely terrifying killing machine, shouting in anguish with each slash and stab of self-defense against her fellow Renlyites. Her later scene with Michelle Fairley's Catelyn took me a while to come around to, but come around I did – her stiffness fit well for a person with no real place in this society, while Fairley quietly conveyed the idea that at this point Catelyn's happy to have a surrogate child to replace the one's she's lost to the enemy, the distance, or the pressures of royal command.

Speaking of those kids, how about actress Maisie Williams? As Arya, she's already found the role she was born to play just a few short years after she was actually born – holding her own in a scene with freaking Charles Dance as Tywin Lannister, then pretty much going through puberty on camera while eyeing the glorious beefcake of Joe Dempsie as Gendry, Harrenhal's sexiest shirtless slave-laborer. And kudos to the show for its gutsy script-flip of the much-quoted line from this season's trailers, "Anyone can be killed." What we'd all expected to be a declaration of badassery transforms into a fatalistic acknowledgement that her own brother could be dead at Tywin's hands any day now.

But there were visuals that will stick with me just as long, and all of them touch on the supernatural. We get our first glimpse of dragonfire, and it's adorable, but it also makes real the devastation we saw in the ruins of Harrenhal. We discover the existence of wildfire in a Raiders of the Lost Ark-style warehouse, a sort of napalm on magical steroids that Tyrion and Bronn both believe could destroy the entire city. We meet that creepy warlock Pyat Pree, who's shot to look as though he's staring right at us, and who with his pale skin, dark eyes and lips, and party-crashing doppelganger comes across like a refugee from David Lynch's Lost Highway – another major tonal disruption from the show's usual down-to-earth vibe. Most impressive of all are the astonishing vistas of the snows, mountains, and stormclouds of the lands beyond the Wall. Shot on location in Iceland, they're Led Zeppelin's "No Quarter" come to life. Winter is coming, and that's what winter looks like. Now that the season's half over, the big question – maybe the only question – for the back half is who'll be ready when the storm hits.

source: http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/news/game-of-thrones-recap-something-winter-this-way-comes-20120429