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Showtime Picks Up William H. Macy’s Shameless

Krystal Clark — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 00:25:18 +0000

It appears that the movie business ain’t what it used to be because so many talented actors are jumping to the small screen for steady work. The latest thespian to hop on the TV bandwagon is William H. Macy, who will star in the new Showtime series “Shameless,” which is a ripoff of a long running British series of the same name.

Showtime has picked up 12 episodes of the series that will center on an alcoholic father who’s the head of a working class Chicago family. Macy will play the drunk in question and Emmy Rossum will star as his eldest daughter who tries to take care of him and her 5 siblings. Allison Janney formerly of “The West Wing” will also be on board in a supporting role but no specifics have been given regarding her character.

It’s going to be difficult to take Macy seriously as a lush who rarely bathes and dresses like a woodsman but that’s the joy of being an actor. You get to take on personas that are nothing like your own and make magic happen. We’re also excited to see Rossum get more work because her last major role was in that horrible, horrible Dragonball movie and she needs to gain redemption for that. It was wrong Emmy, just WRONG!

Production on “Shameless” is scheduled to begin this summer but no official air date has been announced.

What do you think about the cast of Shameless? Are you interested in seeing the American remake?

Source: Zap2it, AP

Dare: Movie Review

Kara Stanford-Jones — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:12:07 +0000

It’s time for director Adam Salky and writer David Brind film debut, Dare starring Emmy Rossum and Zach Gilford. The film casts a fresh light on the typical high school drama by exposing a new side of stereotypical high school figures. Much in the spirit of The Breakfast Club (only not as classic) the hot guy, awkward gay kid who hasn’t discovered his sexuality, and the over-achieving drama girl all have something in common!

Check out the review below…

The Players

Director: Adam Salky
Writer/Co-Producer: David Brind
Producers: Mary Jane Skalski and Jason Orans
Cast: Emmy Rossum, Zach Gilford, Ashley Springer, Ana Gasteyer, Alan Cumming, Sandra Bernhard

The Plot

The movie follows the lives of three very different students as they are about to finish their senior year of high school. When Johnny (Zach Gilford) is kicked off the soccer team for smoking, he is forced to take a drama class and is paired up in a scene with the overachiever, Alexa (Emmy Rossum). After an emotional conversation with a former student and theater actor, Grant (Alan Cumming), Alexa realizes that she needs to shake things up in her life and take a few risks. All three begin to break out of their shells and learn more about themselves.

The Good

Solid cast: The casting for this film was spot on, all the actors did a nice job with their respective roles. The casting director did an especially well casting the adult roles; Ana Gasteyer, Alan Cumming, and Sandra Bernhard who all did a wonderful job as the voices of reason for the teenagers. There were a few standouts, namely, Alan Cumming as the one successful drama student that came out of the high school. He was absolutely amazing and funny job as the pompous theater actor who managed to become successful. It was funto see Ana Gasteyer in a dramatic role because she totally nailed the therapist/mother role.
Interesting story: Technically the film fits into the “high-school” genre of film, but it really goes beyond the typical beer, parties, and football. The study of the teenage mind and all the emotions that one experiences at that age was really remarkably spot on. While watching it, at first, it seemed overdone; your first response is, “Oh come one! Teenagers don’t do that sort of shit!” Then you realize you actually did, and if you didn’t, you definitely thought about it. It nicely touched on all of the common emotions that people experience no matter how much money you have, how good your home life is, or how many friends you have.
The use of sexuality: The sex in the film seemed to add to a greater understanding of the characters. In the film, both Alexa and Ben are both engaging in sexual acts for the first time. Now this could be simply a personal interpretation, and be totally off the mark, but the use of sexuality wasn’t to make it “edgier” but to emphasize the undiscovered power that comes along with one’s sexuality. Once you get past the uncomfortable sex scenes (and there aren’t that many) it becomes apparent that it is in there for a compelling reason.

The Bad

The “teenagers”: Zach Gilford, Emmy Rossum, and Ashley Springer all did a great job with their characters, but it is a little annoying when you have actors in their mid-twenties playing the role of 17-year-olds.
Ben and Johnny relationship: The story of Ben discovering and exploring his sexuality was interesting, but his relationship with Johnny was a little too convoluted for my taste. It is a little hard to believe that a girl like Alexa would be continue being friends with Ben after learning that he engaged in a few sexual acts with Johnny. It would seem natural for her to be really upset with Ben and, at least for a little while, stop talking with Ben. Instead, she continues being friends with Ben, and dating Johnny. It felt a little forced and unrealistic. However, it did lead to some
The music: The music choices were pretty interesting and eclectic. However, they were moments that are not subtly mixed in, and it was distracting and jarring at times. It really could have added to the film, but it just wasn’t utilized properly.

Overall

It felt as though this film had a lot of potential, and for the most part lived up to that, but there was just something missing. The concept for the story was very interesting and showed a great deal of thought and depth for each character, but it was a little bit of a stretch for Alexa and Ben to both have a sexual relationship with Johnny, and not have some major fallout. It just felt like there was a little bit missing from each character to adequately tell a story such as this.

Rating: 6/10

Photo Gallery

Dare is rated R and opens in New York and Los Angeles on November 13

Watch the trailer below…

Official Dare Trailer

Krystal Clark — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 00:02:33 +0000

If you’re in the mood for a coming of age film that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, Dare isn’t the movie for you. Definitely not a film for the Disney crowd, Dare is a dark comedy by director Adam Salky that takes on some of the most taboo subject matter centering on teens. The film stars Emmy Rossum, Zach Gilford, and Ashley Springer as a threesome (in more ways than one) who engage in risky activity, while dealing with the pressures of adolescence.

Take a look at the trailer for Dare…

Here’s a brief synopsis of the film courtesy of Screendaily:

Split into three sections, Dare traces the lives of three high school students. Alexa (Rossum) is tired of being pigeonholed as the good girl and decides to sex up her image. Alexa’s best friend Ben (Ashley Springer) is beginning to wonder if he might be gay. Johnny (Zach Gilford) is the class heartthrob who attracts both Alexa and Ben because of his bad-boy persona. Alexa and Johnny begin a sexual relationship, but soon Ben’s interest in Johnny complicates that romance.

The film was picked up by Image Entertainment after its run at this year’s Sundance, and is scheduled for a November 13th release. As if being a teenager wasn’t complicated enough, this film throws in every trick in the book to make Dare stand out among the rest.

What do you think of the trailer for Dare?

ScreenCrave.com » emmy rossum

Showtime Picks Up William H. Macy’s Shameless

Related Posts

Dare: Movie Review

The Players

The Plot

The Good

The Bad

Overall

Rating: 6/10

Photo Gallery

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Official Dare Trailer

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