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Los Angeles Times
20 minutes ago
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
'Étoile' Stars Gideon Glick and Luke Kirby Reflect on Canceled Series, Dance Immersion, and Palladino Magic
Actors Gideon Glick and Luke Kirby of the Prime Video series 'Étoile' recently discussed the show's first season with Los Angeles Times moderator Matt Brennan. The Q&A, held on June 11 at the NeueHouse in Hollywood, covered various aspects of the series, which is set in New York City and Paris and follows two ballet companies swapping their star dancers to save their institutions. Glick and Kirby revealed they learned of the show's cancellation shortly before Glick received an award for the series. Both actors shared their introduction to the dance world for their roles; Glick, from musical theater, shadowed choreographers, while Kirby, with family ties to dance, took ballet classes, gaining appreciation for the art form's physicality and dedication. A significant part of the discussion focused on their collaboration with creators Amy Sherman-Palladino and Dan Palladino, with whom they previously worked on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Glick likened the Palladinos' writing to Steven Sondheim, noting, 'It is all there and it's so well constructed and it's psychologically potent that for an actor it's pretty much a dream.' Kirby compared it to Shakespeare, explaining, 'You don't do the text, the text does you ... things are revealed in the writing in the moment.' Glick, who also worked in the 'Étoile' writer's room, described Amy Sherman-Palladino's creative bursts as 'being struck by lightning,' with dialogue 'spitting out almost word for word.' He also shared that his character, Tobias, was specifically written for him, an experience he called 'pretty life-changing' that expanded his ambitions to include writing. The actors also reflected on filming in Paris. Glick, who is hearing impaired, found the French accents challenging but noted, 'I did feel a little isolated and I felt it really helped me stay in Tobias's mind.' Kirby described the experience as 'just great to be in Paris,' highlighting the dedication of the French crew and the 'rare gift' of working with international talent. They reminisced about shooting pivotal romantic scenes, with Glick calling it 'the most magical day of shooting.' Kirby, recalling his scene, praised his co-star Lou de Laâge: 'Lou is exceptional and I was staggered by her, always staggered by her talent.' Finally, they touched upon the show's theme of art as a form of 'insanity' or 'ecstasy.' Glick described the creative process as sometimes 'manic,' akin to the Greek word 'ecstasis,' meaning 'to leave the body.' Kirby said, 'I think it's a shame if you've never been insane ... it's a great gift to know you have that option.' They concluded by expressing profound gratitude for the collaborative and enriching experience of making 'Étoile,' with Glick stating, 'It was one of the greatest artistic experiences of my life. Everybody was extraordinary.' Kirby added, 'I think it asserted the whisper that we all have within us. And to listen to the whisper, don't shut it down.'
San Francisco Chronicle
7 hours ago
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
AP WAS THERE: 'Jaws' and the parental debates it set off
LOS ANGELES (AP) — It didn't take long for 'Jaws' to make an impression. The movie that launched the summer blockbuster season and changed how people view sharks and the ocean 50 years ago also created a dilemma for parents: Was it a movie their children could watch? To help answer that, The Associated Press went to the film's star, Roy Scheider. Legendary AP Special Correspondent Linda Deutsch interviewed Scheider and others for a story that ran on July 28, 1975, roughly a month after 'Jaws' arrived in theaters. The story is included below as it ran. ___ At a sunny hotel swimming pool, a small freckle faced boy rushes up to Roy Scheider and exclaims with delight: 'I think you played really good in 'Jaws.'' 'You see,' says Scheider as the boy runs off to swim. 'Some children seem able to handle it.' Scheider, star of the smash hit film which is breaking box-office records, was reacting to a stormy issue now almost as hot as the movie itself — should children see 'Jaws'? The debate stems from the rating given to the movie — PG, meaning parental guidance suggested. Several critics and members of the movie industry have called the rating too lenient. Some use it as an example of flaws in the frequently criticized rating system. In practice, PG places no restrictions on who may see a film. Any child with the price of a movie ticket can view 'Jaws,' which climaxes with a man vomiting blood as a giant shark chews him up. Los Angeles Times critic Charles Champlin noted that the PG 'does not sufficiently warn parents that the giant shark includes children among its victims and that children are known to be particularly impressed by what happens to children on the screen.' Movie makers whose films recently were give the more restrictive 'R' rating — requiring an adult to accompany any child under 17 — have protested loudly. Some have even appealed to the rating board of the Motion Picture Association of America for a rating change. 'With some of our innocuous action pictures we've been hit with Rs,' says Paul Heller, producer of 'Enter the Dragon.' 'But here we get a picture where there's all sorts of gore and blood, where arms and legs are seen floating in the water, where a girl is seen covered by crabs on the beach, and other horrifying scenes, and it gets a PG.' Producers of the film 'Rollerball' unsuccessfully appealed their R rating after 'Jaws' was released, claiming their film's violence was far less objectionable. Universal Studios, which released 'Jaws,' has taken the unusual steps of warning in its advertisements that the film 'may be too intense for younger children.' Youngsters interviewed at a Los Angeles area beach after the movie's release expressed fears of swimming in the ocean. One 12-year-old girl confessed 'I think about it so much. I dreamed about it. It really scared me.' But Universal has no complaints about the PG rating, and, according to Rating Administration, no one may appeal a film's rating other than its producer and distributor. Scheider, who portrays the sheriff of the beach resort menaced by the killer shark, recalls that 'Jaws' was made with the intention of obtaining a PG rating. 'The picture was judiciously shot to avoid unnecessary amounts of gore,' he says, recalling that some bloody scenes were added after final footage was reviewed by the filmmakers. 'When the film was brought back to the post, the editor and director found that it was necessary to show, after an hour and a half, what the shark does. the audience demands it.' The scene of the girl covered with crabs was added later, he notes and the finale in which Robert Shaw is chewed up was embellished. 'I personally think that scene could have been modulated a bit,' says Scheider. But Jack Valenti, president of the MPAA and father of the seven-year-old rating system, defends the 'Jaws' rating. 'In the view of the rating board, 'Jaws' involved nature's violence, rather than man's violence against man,' Valenti has said. 'This is the same kind of violence as in 'Hansel and Gretel.' Children might imitate other kinds of violence, but not the kind seen in 'Jaws.'' Valenti declared that, 'If this were a man or woman committing violence as seen in 'Jaws,' it would definitely go in the R category. But it's a shark, and I don't think people will go around pretending they're a shark.' The rating controversy hasn't hurt business. Universal reports that 'Jaws' grossed an incredible $60 million in its first month and seems destined to grow richer than 'The Godfather,' the current record holder. Scheider says his own 12-year-old daughter has seen 'Jaws' twice — but only after he and his wife explained 'which things she was going to see were real and which ones were not real.' 'She was scared in many parts, but she knew it was a movie,' he says, suggesting that parents who let children see the movie explain first that 'This is going to scare you. It's going to be like a roller coaster ride.' 'Some kids understand his and some don't,' he concedes. '... I would be very careful about children under 10. If they're susceptible to nightmares, get scared easily and are impressionable, I'd say no, don't see it. If the child can handle it, fine, see it.' Scheider holds the cynical view that the rating system exists because 'most parents don't give a damn what their kids see.' But he is convinced that a child who sees 'Jaws' without guidance won't be permanently traumatized by it. 'It'll go away,' he says. 'You can live through it. Traumatic shocks in entertainment disappear. Traumatic shocks through the lack of love and ill treatment by parents and peers persist through all of life.'
Hamilton Spectator
7 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Hamilton Spectator
AP WAS THERE: ‘Jaws' and the parental debates it set off
LOS ANGELES (AP) — It didn't take long for 'Jaws' to make an impression. The movie that launched the summer blockbuster season and changed how people view sharks and the ocean 50 years ago also created a dilemma for parents: Was it a movie their children could watch? To help answer that, The Associated Press went to the film's star, Roy Scheider. Legendary AP Special Correspondent Linda Deutsch interviewed Scheider and others for a story that ran on July 28, 1975, roughly a month after 'Jaws' arrived in theaters. The story is included below as it ran. ___ At a sunny hotel swimming pool, a small freckle faced boy rushes up to Roy Scheider and exclaims with delight: 'I think you played really good in 'Jaws.'' 'You see,' says Scheider as the boy runs off to swim. 'Some children seem able to handle it.' Scheider, star of the smash hit film which is breaking box-office records, was reacting to a stormy issue now almost as hot as the movie itself — should children see 'Jaws'? The debate stems from the rating given to the movie — PG, meaning parental guidance suggested. Several critics and members of the movie industry have called the rating too lenient. Some use it as an example of flaws in the frequently criticized rating system. In practice, PG places no restrictions on who may see a film. Any child with the price of a movie ticket can view 'Jaws,' which climaxes with a man vomiting blood as a giant shark chews him up. Los Angeles Times critic Charles Champlin noted that the PG 'does not sufficiently warn parents that the giant shark includes children among its victims and that children are known to be particularly impressed by what happens to children on the screen.' Movie makers whose films recently were give the more restrictive 'R' rating — requiring an adult to accompany any child under 17 — have protested loudly. Some have even appealed to the rating board of the Motion Picture Association of America for a rating change. 'With some of our innocuous action pictures we've been hit with Rs,' says Paul Heller, producer of 'Enter the Dragon.' 'But here we get a picture where there's all sorts of gore and blood, where arms and legs are seen floating in the water, where a girl is seen covered by crabs on the beach, and other horrifying scenes, and it gets a PG.' Producers of the film 'Rollerball' unsuccessfully appealed their R rating after 'Jaws' was released, claiming their film's violence was far less objectionable. Universal Studios, which released 'Jaws,' has taken the unusual steps of warning in its advertisements that the film 'may be too intense for younger children.' Youngsters interviewed at a Los Angeles area beach after the movie's release expressed fears of swimming in the ocean. One 12-year-old girl confessed 'I think about it so much. I dreamed about it. It really scared me.' But Universal has no complaints about the PG rating, and, according to Rating Administration, no one may appeal a film's rating other than its producer and distributor. Scheider, who portrays the sheriff of the beach resort menaced by the killer shark, recalls that 'Jaws' was made with the intention of obtaining a PG rating. 'The picture was judiciously shot to avoid unnecessary amounts of gore,' he says, recalling that some bloody scenes were added after final footage was reviewed by the filmmakers. 'When the film was brought back to the post, the editor and director found that it was necessary to show, after an hour and a half, what the shark does. the audience demands it.' The scene of the girl covered with crabs was added later, he notes and the finale in which Robert Shaw is chewed up was embellished. 'I personally think that scene could have been modulated a bit,' says Scheider. But Jack Valenti, president of the MPAA and father of the seven-year-old rating system, defends the 'Jaws' rating. 'In the view of the rating board, 'Jaws' involved nature's violence, rather than man's violence against man,' Valenti has said. 'This is the same kind of violence as in 'Hansel and Gretel.' Children might imitate other kinds of violence, but not the kind seen in 'Jaws.'' Valenti declared that, 'If this were a man or woman committing violence as seen in 'Jaws,' it would definitely go in the R category. But it's a shark, and I don't think people will go around pretending they're a shark.' The rating controversy hasn't hurt business. Universal reports that 'Jaws' grossed an incredible $60 million in its first month and seems destined to grow richer than 'The Godfather,' the current record holder. Scheider says his own 12-year-old daughter has seen 'Jaws' twice — but only after he and his wife explained 'which things she was going to see were real and which ones were not real.' 'She was scared in many parts, but she knew it was a movie,' he says, suggesting that parents who let children see the movie explain first that 'This is going to scare you. It's going to be like a roller coaster ride.' 'Some kids understand his and some don't,' he concedes. '... I would be very careful about children under 10. If they're susceptible to nightmares, get scared easily and are impressionable, I'd say no, don't see it. If the child can handle it, fine, see it.' Scheider holds the cynical view that the rating system exists because 'most parents don't give a damn what their kids see.' But he is convinced that a child who sees 'Jaws' without guidance won't be permanently traumatized by it. 'It'll go away,' he says. 'You can live through it. Traumatic shocks in entertainment disappear. Traumatic shocks through the lack of love and ill treatment by parents and peers persist through all of life.'
Winnipeg Free Press
8 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
AP WAS THERE: ‘Jaws' and the parental debates it set off
LOS ANGELES (AP) — It didn't take long for 'Jaws' to make an impression. The movie that launched the summer blockbuster season and changed how people view sharks and the ocean 50 years ago also created a dilemma for parents: Was it a movie their children could watch? To help answer that, The Associated Press went to the film's star, Roy Scheider. Legendary AP Special Correspondent Linda Deutsch interviewed Scheider and others for a story that ran on July 28, 1975, roughly a month after 'Jaws' arrived in theaters. The story is included below as it ran. ___ At a sunny hotel swimming pool, a small freckle faced boy rushes up to Roy Scheider and exclaims with delight: 'I think you played really good in 'Jaws.'' 'You see,' says Scheider as the boy runs off to swim. 'Some children seem able to handle it.' Scheider, star of the smash hit film which is breaking box-office records, was reacting to a stormy issue now almost as hot as the movie itself — should children see 'Jaws'? The debate stems from the rating given to the movie — PG, meaning parental guidance suggested. Several critics and members of the movie industry have called the rating too lenient. Some use it as an example of flaws in the frequently criticized rating system. In practice, PG places no restrictions on who may see a film. Any child with the price of a movie ticket can view 'Jaws,' which climaxes with a man vomiting blood as a giant shark chews him up. Los Angeles Times critic Charles Champlin noted that the PG 'does not sufficiently warn parents that the giant shark includes children among its victims and that children are known to be particularly impressed by what happens to children on the screen.' Movie makers whose films recently were give the more restrictive 'R' rating — requiring an adult to accompany any child under 17 — have protested loudly. Some have even appealed to the rating board of the Motion Picture Association of America for a rating change. 'With some of our innocuous action pictures we've been hit with Rs,' says Paul Heller, producer of 'Enter the Dragon.' 'But here we get a picture where there's all sorts of gore and blood, where arms and legs are seen floating in the water, where a girl is seen covered by crabs on the beach, and other horrifying scenes, and it gets a PG.' Producers of the film 'Rollerball' unsuccessfully appealed their R rating after 'Jaws' was released, claiming their film's violence was far less objectionable. Universal Studios, which released 'Jaws,' has taken the unusual steps of warning in its advertisements that the film 'may be too intense for younger children.' Youngsters interviewed at a Los Angeles area beach after the movie's release expressed fears of swimming in the ocean. One 12-year-old girl confessed 'I think about it so much. I dreamed about it. It really scared me.' But Universal has no complaints about the PG rating, and, according to Rating Administration, no one may appeal a film's rating other than its producer and distributor. Scheider, who portrays the sheriff of the beach resort menaced by the killer shark, recalls that 'Jaws' was made with the intention of obtaining a PG rating. 'The picture was judiciously shot to avoid unnecessary amounts of gore,' he says, recalling that some bloody scenes were added after final footage was reviewed by the filmmakers. 'When the film was brought back to the post, the editor and director found that it was necessary to show, after an hour and a half, what the shark does. the audience demands it.' The scene of the girl covered with crabs was added later, he notes and the finale in which Robert Shaw is chewed up was embellished. 'I personally think that scene could have been modulated a bit,' says Scheider. But Jack Valenti, president of the MPAA and father of the seven-year-old rating system, defends the 'Jaws' rating. 'In the view of the rating board, 'Jaws' involved nature's violence, rather than man's violence against man,' Valenti has said. 'This is the same kind of violence as in 'Hansel and Gretel.' Children might imitate other kinds of violence, but not the kind seen in 'Jaws.'' Valenti declared that, 'If this were a man or woman committing violence as seen in 'Jaws,' it would definitely go in the R category. But it's a shark, and I don't think people will go around pretending they're a shark.' The rating controversy hasn't hurt business. Universal reports that 'Jaws' grossed an incredible $60 million in its first month and seems destined to grow richer than 'The Godfather,' the current record holder. Scheider says his own 12-year-old daughter has seen 'Jaws' twice — but only after he and his wife explained 'which things she was going to see were real and which ones were not real.' 'She was scared in many parts, but she knew it was a movie,' he says, suggesting that parents who let children see the movie explain first that 'This is going to scare you. It's going to be like a roller coaster ride.' 'Some kids understand his and some don't,' he concedes. '… I would be very careful about children under 10. If they're susceptible to nightmares, get scared easily and are impressionable, I'd say no, don't see it. If the child can handle it, fine, see it.' Scheider holds the cynical view that the rating system exists because 'most parents don't give a damn what their kids see.' But he is convinced that a child who sees 'Jaws' without guidance won't be permanently traumatized by it. 'It'll go away,' he says. 'You can live through it. Traumatic shocks in entertainment disappear. Traumatic shocks through the lack of love and ill treatment by parents and peers persist through all of life.'
Los Angeles Times
10 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
With ‘The Rehearsal,' Nathan Fielder needs his own Emmy category
Yes, Tom Cruise will soon own an Oscar. But has he ever flown a Boeing 737 with 150 passengers on board? I'm Glenn Whipp, columnist for the Los Angeles Times and host of The Envelope newsletter, here to explain why Nathan Fielder should be the Top Gun of this Emmy season. The second season of Nathan Fielder's brilliantly bonkers 'The Rehearsal' opens inside a commercial jet cockpit where the plane's captain and first officer are having a tense exchange as they prepare to land at a fogged-in runway. The first officer suggests they're off course. The captain disagrees but is soon proved wrong as the plane crashes. We see the pilots slumped in the cockpit, dead. Then the camera pans to Fielder, surveying the fiery aftermath, a disaster he just re-created in a simulator on a soundstage. With that prelude, it may seem strange to tell you that I laughed out loud as many times watching 'The Rehearsal' as I did any other TV series this season. Not during the simulated disasters, of course, which Fielder used to illustrate what he believes to be biggest issue in airline travel today — pilots failing to communicate during a crisis. So, yes, 'The Rehearsal' is about airline safety. Mostly. But Fielder is a master of misdirection. There is no way you can predict where he'll direct his premise, and I found myself delighting in utter surprise at the tangents he took in 'The Rehearsal' this season. An alternate biopic of pilot Chesley 'Sully' Sullenberger, with Fielder playing Sully from diapered baby to the Evanescence-loving hero landing in the Hudson River? Yes! Re-creating the German subsidiary of Paramount+ as a Nazi headquarters? OK! Vacuuming up air from San Jose to help train a cloned dog in Los Angeles while he attempts to understand how the nature-vs.-nurture dynamic might play out in human behavior? Ummmmm ... sure. We'll go with it! With Fielder's incisive mind, the detours are everything. Even the destination this season came as a jolt. Yes, it involves that Boeing 737 I mentioned in the intro, and, no, I'm not going to elaborate because I still feel like not enough people have watched 'The Rehearsal.' The series' first two seasons are available on HBO, as are all four seasons of Fielder's Comedy Central docuseries 'Nathan for You,' which had Fielder 'helping' small-business owners improve their sales. (Example: Pitching a Santa Clarita liquor store owner that he should sell booze to minors but just not let them take it home until they turned 21.) The humor in 'The Rehearsal' can be just as outrageous as 'Nathan for You,' but the overall tone is more thoughtful, as it also explores loneliness and the masks we all wear at times to hide our alienation. For the Emmys, HBO has submitted 'The Rehearsal' in the comedy categories. Where else would they put it? But the show is so singular that I wonder if even its fans in the Television Academy will remember to vote for it. They should. It's funny, insightful, occasionally terrifying, utterly unforgettable. And I hope Isabella Henao, the winner of the series' reality show competition, goes places. She sure can sing! Meanwhile, that other pilot, Tom Cruise, will finally receive an Oscar, an honorary one, in November at the Governors Awards, alongside production designer Wynn Thomas and choreographer and actor Debbie Allen. Dolly Parton, singer, actor and beloved icon, will be given the annual Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award for her charitable work. Cruise has been nominated for three acting Oscars over the years — for playing Marine Corps Sgt. Ron Kovic in Oliver Stone's 1989 antiwar movie 'Born on the Fourth of July,' the sports agent who had Renée Zellweger at hello in Cameron Crowe's 1996 classic 'Jerry Maguire' and the chauvinistic motivational speaker in Paul Thomas Anderson's 1999 opus 'Magnolia.' Cruise was also nominated as a producer for 2022's dad cinema favorite 'Top Gun: Maverick.' Cruise should have won the supporting actor Oscar for 'Magnolia,' a ferocious turn in which he harnessed his strutting brashness to play an odious character hiding a deep well of pain. It came the same year as his star turn opposite then-wife Nicole Kidman in 'Eyes Wide Shut.' Not a bad double feature! Instead, Michael Caine won for 'Cider House Rules' during an Oscar era in which there was seemingly no prize Harvey Weinstein couldn't land. It wasn't even Caine's first Oscar; he had already won for 'Hannah and Her Sisters.' Cruise has devoted himself to commercial action movies, mostly of the 'Mission: Impossible' variety, for the past two decades. He did recently complete filming a comedy with director Alejandro González Iñárritu, scheduled for release next year. It'd be funny if Cruise wins a competitive Oscar after picking up an honorary one. It happened with Paul Newman, Cruise's co-star in 'The Color of Money.'
