Watching Showtime

With rumors that Showtime was going to cancel the Tudors after this second season, I was pretty sad I wouldn’t get my King Henry fix again next year. But Showtime has announced the show will be returning for a third season!

“THE TUDORS is now a fixture for us at SHOWTIME and we’re on our way to completing the entire saga of all six wives of Henry VIII,” says SHOWTIME President of Entertainment Robert Greenblatt. “We are enormously proud of this show, the extraordinary cast, and the production team that recreates the grandeur of the Renaissance year in and year out. There is nothing like this anywhere on American television.”

Shooting begins on June 16 in Ireland, and although Natalie Dormer won’t be part of the third season (her character will be minus one head and buried by that point!), I’m sure Henry will find himself someone to occupy his time with! Lots more sex and intrigue are sure to show up in the third season! I for one can’t wait for all the shots of filming show up!

With assassination plans against Anne in full swing, you’d think someone would tell the King. Instead, he and Anne are too busy trying to make a baby, now that she’s finally having sex with him. Their marriage is clearly eminent, and with it will certainly come more problems than any of them can predict. One of those unpredicted problems? The men in employ to Brandon and Boleyn are fighting over the honor of their men, and the fighting turns ugly when they draw swords. Before any of them knows what’s happened, one of Brandon’s man is killed on the very floor of the church where he sought sanctuary. At that moment, Charles Brandon walks in, but before he repays the death of his man he is stopped by the priest. And of course then Boleyn walks in, and the two exchange super-evil glances. That fight won’t end any time soon!

(more…)

For all you die-hard Jonny fans out there, your best move would be to Pittsburgh for a few weeks. Reports are coming in that filming for his latest movie “Shelter” has begun, and while the camera crews are upsetting bus lines and such (welcome to filming), Jonny’s been spotted in his downtime at such swank establishments as Dave & Busters. That’s right, Dave & Busters. A forum post on IMDB talks about seeing him there, his sporting facial hair like he does on The Tudors, and how his pecs are to die for. Too bad he’s not filming where I live!

As stills start to show up from filming (or maybe even a candid of Jonny out and about in Pittsburgh?!), I’ll post them up here. For now, just this older photo from the premiere will have to suffice.

Every day, E! Television gives a “top five” list, and Henry Cavill was featured! Check out his top five shoot locations here! (I can’t copy the movie, only link to it … sorry!)

Now that he’s been given supreme authority over the church, it’s only a matter of time before Henry and Anne are married. And now that he’s banished Katherine, I’m betting it’ll happen as soon as they have the chance. But first? A visit to France and to the King and his wife there. And what of the assassin who has been hired by the French Ambassador? In real history Anne lived beyond any potential assassination attempts, but I wonder how close they got?

(more…)

Just a few quick notes as I get ready for the second episode of The Tudors!

Elizabeth Keener (Dawn Denbo) is going to star in a new hour-long series for Here TV. She will play a lesbian FBI agent who’s sent into a small town, and strange things will most certainly take place. For more info, head to The Advocate. Oh, and check out this interview with Elizabeth on the L Word Fan Site.

In Tudors news, Peter O’Toole gave an interview with TV Guide recently. The hilarious interview can be read in full over at the TV Guide site.

And finally, here’s the last of the L Word podcasts. It’s with Pam Grier, and she talks about the fight for The Planet.

This much we know: Henry desperately wants to bed Ann Boleyn, who has him convinced she will do no such thing until she is his wife. Katherine, the king’s first wife, holds on strongly to her throne, although it will not be long before she has no choice. The king’s closest friend, Charles Brandon, has married and buried the king’s sister. This season, all these seeming loose ends will be tied up, thanks to divorce, more death, a religious Reformation, and so much more!

“If the lion knows his own strength, no man can control him.”

(more…)

With the second season premiere of The Tudors a mere hours away, it’s time for any last-minute news we can find on the internet.

• The Boston Herald’s entertainment section has an article on the series, highlighting the executive producer/writer of the series. Hirst discusses his desire to bring the Reformation to the small screen, something he did for the big screen with Elizabeth (both the first and the sequel), which he also wrote.
• Looking to see who the female hotties of the Tudors world are? Check out what Cuzoogle has to say on the matter. And with three of the ladies making their first appearances in this second season, it definitely gives the guys another reason to tune in!
• The latest rumor about Jonathan Rhys Meyers is much lighter than the last few. This time, a reporter supposedly asked the star what he does with all his money, an attempt to search out his spending habits. Meyers, ever the jokester, supposedly replied, “I’m Irish. I keep it in mattress.” Who knows how true this rumor is, either. With most Hollywood rumors, the truth usually lies far from what’s being written. Funny story if it’s true, though!
• Did you know Natalie Dormer supposedly makes an uncredited appearance in Flawless, a movie hitting theaters this weekend? Neither did I. Someone will have to go see the movie and tell me if it’s true.

Two newer interviews with Jonny have him revealing ever more of himself to the press.

Talking with Expo Say about his on-again, off-again lover Reena Hammer (who is a makeup heiress), he says she’s his polar opposite. While their love is very much on-again, he says he’s iffy about becoming a father one day, although is co-stars and directors seem to disagree.

Kristen Sheridan (his August Rush director) had this to say: “”He had such an emotional response to the idea of playing a father.”

When talking The Tudors, however, Meyers is not so ambivilant. “I like growing older,” he muses, sitting in his trailer at Dublin’s Ard¬more Studios, puffing on a Marlboro Light. “I just turned 30, and it does inform the way I play Henry, who is much more mature and less erratic. I’ve changed over the past year.”

It’s good that he’s bringing more maturity to the role, as the Henry he’s playing now is supposed to be entering middle age!

• There’s some potential news about the third season of Dexter surfacing. Not sure how true it is, as the writers have just gotten down to the business of writing episodes, but at least it gives us one person’s take on what might happen. (Film Rotation)
• Salon.com has a review of The Tudors up on its site. Head on over there to read their take on all the sex and intrigue.
• Admiring Natalie Dormer has tons of videos up from the second season of The Tudors. Don’t click through to them if you don’t want to see spoilers, but I think that even the most naive viewer knows that Anne’s life isn’t long and happy!
• I love to read Paul’s reviews of shows, and his review of the season finale of The L Word didin’t disappoint! (Infinite Regress)

ETA: As I’ve stated already in this post, I DO NOT believe this rumor is true. I am simply making others aware that such a thing is being said. I did not link to anything that’s stating the rumor because unless it becomes substantiated evidence, I will not give people the impression I think it deserves further pause.

HOWEVER.  It is something that is being passed around the internet, and as someone who updates on all things surrounding Showtime, I felt it was my job to put it up here.

So, the newest news to hit the internet surrounding Jonathan Rhys Meyers isn’t near as good as the premiere of The Tudors. It would seem Jonny boy has been having some inappropriate conversations with former co-star Freddie Highmore. The link I’ve found is on a personal blog, and I can’t find the story in People, so I’m not sure how true this is.

Apparently, Freddie Highmore’s parents have cut off all communications between Freddie and Jonny after they found some chat messages the two had shared. What those messages said, no one knows. But it was enough to refuse to allow their son to communicate with the star any further. The pair had grown close during filming, with Jonny gifting Freddie his first guitar.

I’m choosing not to believe this story until I can find the information on People or some other site like it. Even then I might not believe it. For all the things JRM has been and done, I can’t imagine him being inappropriate with a child in ANY WAY.

A little bit late, but here’s the segment from The View with Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Natalie Dormer.

• There’s finally a release date for the second season of Dexter to DVD. It’s officially available for purchase on August 19 … such a long time to wait, but it lets those catching up with the first season on CBS get on the same level as all of us older Dexter fans before the third season.
• The New York Times has an article previewing the second season of The Tudors, reminding us all why we love it so (the costumes! the sets! the sex scenes!)
• I love love love these shots of the extras on the set of The Tudors, listening to their IPods and rocking their cell phones. Hilarious!

It’s just hours away (less than?) from the season finale of The L Word, so stick around as I’ll be recapping it shortly!

• Women’s Wear Daily profiles Tracey Ullman in an article about the “hazards” of comedy. Juxtaposing Ullman’s seemingly normal life to that of many famous male comedians, they discuss her 20+ year marriage to the same man, her ability to live in LA without succumbing to the traps and pitfalls. A great article! (Women’s Wear Daily)
• The Shane/Cherie romp that signaled the official end of Shane’s relationship with Carmen (even if Carmen didn’t know it yet) made the list of TV Guide’s top ten small screen hot scenes, coming in at number 10. While the list was full of “traditional” sexy scenes, it was bookended with a lesbian romp and a vampire-love fight-fest (Buffy/Spike). Good for TV Guide! (Cinema Blend)
• Are you a Natalie Dormer nut? Well, if you create a piece of fan art with her as the subject, you can enter to win a poster of the beauty! (Admiring Natalie Dormer)

• Henry Cavill has joined the cast of an untitled Woody Allen film, beginning production in Queens. Also in the film is Evan Rahel Wood, whose mother in the film attempts to set her up with Cavill’s character. It’ll be good to see him step back into a “leading man” role, after all this time spent playing second to King Henry. (Hollywood Reporter)
• Looks like Henry Cavill made OK Magazine’s “Today We’re Loving” feature! It’s about time others started to notice his hotness! (Ok Magazine)
• Trent over at Pink Is The New Blog had his say on the new season of The Tudors as well, focusing in on Natalie Dormer’s account of the last episode of the season. Otherwise known as the one where Anne loses her head. (Pink Is The New Blog)
• The United States of Tara just keeps rolling on with more big celeb names to add to it’s script, and it’s not even a signed show yet! It looks like John Corbett (Aidan from Sex and The City) has signed up to plays the husband opposite Toni Collete’s wifem, and will have to battle some pretty hilarious (and serious) drama in the show. Here’s hoping the pilot gets picked up, because with all the press it’s getting, it’d be a shame to see it fizzle out. Production on the show begins in April, so hopefully we’ll see at least the pilot by June or July. (Hollywood Reporter)