RED DEER ADVOCATE Friday, July 11, 2014 D03
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Subplots thicken for The Bridge BY HANK STUEVER ADVOCATE NEWS SERVICES
Photo by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
This image released by FX shows Billy Bob Thornton as Lorne Malvo in a scene from ‘Fargo.’ Thornton was nominated for an Emmy Award for best actor in a miniseries or movie on Thursday. The 66th Primetime Emmy Awards will be presented Aug. 25 at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles.
Emmy nod thrills cinematographer BY THE CANADIAN PRESS TORONTO — Alberta-born cinematographer Matthew J. Lloyd always thought he’d have to go to New York or Los Angeles to find success. But on Thursday, he landed an Emmy nomination for his work on Fargo — a moody drama shot right in his hometown of Calgary. The series is up for a whopping 18 trophies, a tally eclipsed only by leading nominee Game of Thrones, which is vying for 19. “I was really excited,” Lloyd said. “I think that everybody sort of felt like we had done something that was a little bit off the beaten path . . . It’s not something you see every day.” Based on Joel and Ethan Coen’s 1996 film, Fargo will compete for best miniseries at the Emmys, while actors Billy Bob Thornton, Martin Freeman, Colin Hanks and Allison Tolman are in the hunt for acting honours. Lloyd, 30, made a name for himself working as a cinematographer on commercials and films, including Savages and The Better Angels. When his friend (Fargo executive producer) Adam Bernstein asked him to join the Calgary shoot, Lloyd knew the show was under pressure to live up to the Oscar-winning movie. “I give a ton of credit to Adam Bernstein . . . He really saw the potential to modernize it and take the charm of the movie and attempt to update it aesthetically,” said Lloyd. “I think that had it attempted to be more of a carbon copy, or more referential, it would have competed with the things that worked really well about the movie that don’t necessarily translate into a 10-episode miniseries.” The dark tenor of Fargo — which airs on FXX Canada — is partially derived from its barren, snowcovered landscape. This “dynamic blandness” can actually be difficult to create while filming in sunny Calgary, said Lloyd. “The approach was, ‘How do you create visual intrigue while adhering to this strict look that came out of the original movie that was predicated on this endless whiteness or endless expanse, that by nature doesn’t have a lot of drama?”’ he said. “Staging a lot of scenes at night helped . . . and then figuring out how to take the sun away all day long, which is difficult.” Chad Oakes, one of the show’s Canadian producers, said he was proud to see a number of other Albertans also score nominations Thursday, including Bridget Durnford for editing and Frank Laratta and Mike Playfair for sound. Oakes won an Emmy in 2007 for Alberta-shot miniseries Broken Trail. He praised Fargo executive producer and writer Noah Hawley as well as MGM TV and FX for their vision. “The expectations were incredibly high. There was a lot of pressure. I give credit for Noah for leading the way,” he said. “I keep coming down to the look of the show, the actors and the writing, all of that coming together. It’s kind of lightning in a bottle when it works, and I feel it did. We’re so proud that
the Academy and its voters also felt the same.” Also key to the show’s success were the actors, who spent a gruelling five months filming the series during one of the coldest winters in Calgary’s history, Oakes said. “Allison Tolman is a newbie to this business and you’re going to see a lot more of her. She’s so humble and so talented,” he said of the actress who plays dogged police officer Molly Solverson. “Billy Bob, he is such a solid, great guy, as a human being and as a person. He’s kind and gentle and so courteous to the crew. Martin Freeman, Colin Hanks, Bob Odenkirk. All of these guys were just wonderful guys, not just on set but also after hours too.” Durnford, nominated for her editing role, said she took inspiration from all of the Coen brothers’ films — especially 2007 Oscar winner No Country for Old Men. “I had seen it before, but I just sort of studied it,” she said. “I just took that sort of approach. Let things breathe. Let the actors tell the story . . . That’s the Coen brothers’ thing. Nothing’s rushed. If it takes this amount of time to make a point, then we’ll take that amount of time.” Canadian casting director Jackie Lind, who also won an Emmy for Broken Trail, also landed a nomination Thursday. She was born in Saskatchewan and now lives in Vancouver, but said she loves working in Calgary. “It’s authentic, the locations are absolutely extraordinary, and also you couldn’t have gotten any luckier with all that snow that happened for Fargo. It was hard on the crew, but it’s a tremendously beautiful place to film,” she said. “The actors there are hungry. They’re not bitter and jaded. They love the opportunities. They step up to the challenge.” Lind added that Canada boasts a “tremendous pool of talent” that sometimes goes unrecognized. “I’ve always championed that. We certainly by far have some of the best talent in the world. I think we’re not recognized enough for it,” she said. “I think one of the reasons is that as soon as our Canadian actors start to do well, they leave to go to Los Angeles, and they’re considered these big, Hollywood stars.” Fargo wasn’t the only Emmy nominee with Canadian connections. Degrassi is up for Outstanding Children’s Program for the third year in a row, and Toronto-raised voice actor and two-time Emmy winner Maurice LaMarche is nominated for Futurama. Also, Canadian-born writer Moira Walley-Beckett received a nod for her work on Breaking Bad, the acclaimed AMC drama that wrapped last year. And, Barry Julien — a three-time Emmy winner and former standup comedian from Montreal — is on The Colbert Report writing team that is up for a prize in the variety series category. Regina-raised Orphan Black star Tatiana Maslany, meanwhile, was snubbed in the lead dramatic actress category for a second year, despite recently winning a Critics’ Choice Television Award for her work on the show.
IN
BRIEF ABC says Rosie O’Donnell is coming back as a host on The View NEW YORK — Rosie O’Donnell is back on The Viewfor a most unexpected second act. ABC said Thursday that O’Donnell will return to the daytime chatfest, whose couch is nearly empty with the on-air retirement of show creator Barbara Walters and impending departures of Jenny McCarthy and Sherri Shepherd. O’Donnell, the veteran comedian and daytime host, spent a combative eight months on The View, ending in 2007. She feuded with since-departed conservative co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck. O’Donnell came back as a guest on The View earlier this year.
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Most cable dramas expect us to stay sharp during the 10 or so months it takes for them to come back around with another season. Viewers have learned various tricks to jog our memories of where difficult characters and complicated plots were left hanging. It’s a good thing the Internet is flush with recaps and Wiki-style summaries to fill in the blanks. Never is this interregnum more dire than in the space between seasons 1 and 2 of an ambitious series that is still trying to find its way. That holds especially true for FX’s bordertown crime drama The Bridge, which concluded last year with an ambivalent sigh and returns Wednesday night with a far broader scope. If you were hoping for a fresh start and a leaner premise, forget it. The Bridge clearly intends to heap more work on us, not less. When last we left it, much about The Bridge was laudable — especially two fine performances from Demian Bichir and Diane Kruger as detectives investigating a murder from opposite sides of the U.S./ Mexico border crossing at El Paso, Texas. The story strayed in the middle of the season and chose some tedious detours. As it drew to a climax, Bichir’s character, Marco Ruiz, was dealt a terrible personal blow. The net result of Season 1 seemed as dry and heartless as the desert surroundings. Adapting a successful Danish/Swedish series called Bron/Broen into The Bridge, showrunner Elwood Reid and executive producer Meredith Stiehm rather artfully transplanted a Euro-noir procedural to the grit and grief of the American Southwest. For once, the context and setting of a violent drama — Ciudad Juarez and its drug wars, murder rate and disappearances — more closely matches some actual statistics. A year later, it’s difficult to remember the show’s many other entanglements, and good luck trying to keep up as Season 2 takes off in the dust. The main thread involves the murder of a cartel member whose body is found on the Texas side of the equation. Once more, El Paso detective Sonya Cross (Kruger) is asked to co-operate with Ruiz. But it’s clear that the writers consider the Sonya/ Marco dynamic to be the least of it now; no fewer than four other plots are being pursued. Let me attempt to summarize: Two newspaper reporters, Daniel and Adriana (Matthew Lillard and Emily Rios) are hunting for clues to a money-laundering operation in the Juarez/ El Paso underworld, but there’s also a subplot having to do with Adriana’s missing sister. Then there’s a subplot involving a well-guarded ranch that protects women (one woman in particular) hiding from the cartel. Also (we’ve only just begun), Franka Potente joins the cast as a psychopathic Mennonite killer who does dirty work for the cartel, as well as dirty work of her own. And, bafflingly, The Bridge retains a subplot from last season in which a wealthy widow (Annabeth Gish) is embroiled in a drug-tunnel smuggling operation; Lyle Lovett occasionally lends a menacing presence as her mysterious lawyer. Too all this we are asked to remain interested in the back story of Sonya’s off-putting social disorder that has made her permanently brusque. To the disapproval of her protective boss, Lt. Hank Wade (Ted Levine), Sonya is having a sex-only affair with a man whose brother murdered her sister years ago. And don’t forget that Marco is still dealing with his considerable grief and sinking deeper into the corruption that controls the Chihuahua State Police. What you have here is a show with a Wire -sized envy for epic sprawl and a Breaking Bad -like wish to sublimely portray repeat acts of evil. Remarkably, the writers find a slow-moving current by episodes 3 and 4, enough to capture the interest of only the most dedicated Bridge viewers and perhaps keep us moving through the season. A few problems nevertheless persist — mostly having to do with a music-video sense of surroundings (sad guitar twangs; tires on gravel roads; a nuevo-wavo, souvenir-shop idealizing of the creepy West) and a level of violence and gore that is right in line with other bloody cable dramas but often seems unnecessary and relentless. Sometimes it’s fun to get utterly lost in a drama like this; sometimes it’s better to turn around and keep driving.
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SHOWTIMES FOR FRIDAY JULY 11, 2014 TO THURSDAY JULY 17, 2014 TRANSFORMERS: AGE OF EXTINCTION (PG) (FRIGHTENING SCENES,NOT REC. FOR YOUNG CHILDREN,VIOLENCE) CLOSED CAPTIONED FRI-SUN 12:40, 4:30, 8:10; MON-THURS 4:10, 8:00 TRANSFORMERS: AGE OF EXTINCTION 3D (PG) (NOT REC. FOR YOUNG CHILDREN,FRIGHTENING SCENES,VIOLENCE) CLOSED CAPTIONED FRI,SUN 3:00, 6:40, 10:20; SAT 11:20, 3:00, 6:40, 10:20; MON-WED 2:40, 6:30, 10:15; THURS 2:40, 9:30 MALEFICENT () CLOSED CAPTIONED FRI,SUN 2:40, 5:10; SAT 12:10, 2:40, 5:10; MON-THURS 2:15, 4:45 MALEFICENT 3D () CLOSED CAPTIONED FRI-SUN 7:40; MON-THURS 7:15 DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES (PG) (FRIGHTENING SCENES,NOT REC. FOR YOUNG CHILDREN,VIOLENCE) CLOSED CAPTIONED, NO PASSES FRI-SUN 12:30, 3:40, 6:50, 10:00; MON-THURS 4:00, 7:00, 10:10 DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES 3D (PG) (VIOLENCE,FRIGHTENING SCENES,NOT REC. FOR YOUNG CHILDREN) NO PASSES FRI-SUN 1:00, 4:10, 7:20, 10:30; MON-THURS 2:20, 5:20, 8:30 HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 (PG) CLOSED CAPTIONED FRI-SUN 12:50, 3:50; MON-THURS 2:00, 4:30 HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 3D (PG) CLOSED CAPTIONED FRI-SUN 6:30, 9:10; MON-THURS 7:10, 9:50 EDGE OF TOMORROW 3D (PG) (FRIGHTENING SCENES,VIOLENCE,NOT REC. FOR YOUNG CHILDREN) CLOSED CAPTIONED FRI-SUN 10:15; MON-THURS 9:45 TAMMY (14A) (COARSE LANGUAGE) CLOSED CAPTIONED
FRI,SUN 2:50, 5:20, 8:00, 10:25; SAT 12:15, 2:50, 5:20, 8:00, 10:25; MON-THURS 2:25, 4:55, 7:30, 9:55 DELIVER US FROM EVIL (14A) (NOT RECOMMENDED FOR CHILDREN,FRIGHTENING SCENES,GORY VIOLENCE) CLOSED CAPTIONED FRI-SUN 1:50, 4:40, 7:30, 10:25; MON-WED 3:40, 6:40, 9:30; THURS 3:40 22 JUMP STREET (14A) (SUBSTANCE ABUSE,COARSE LANGUAGE) CLOSED CAPTIONED FRI-SUN 1:40, 4:20, 7:00, 9:40; MON-THURS 2:00, 4:35, 7:20, 10:05 SEX TAPE (18A) (CRUDE SEXUAL CONTENT) NO PASSES THURS 7:20, 10:00 CHEF (14A) (COARSE LANGUAGE) FRI-SUN 1:10, 4:00, 7:10, 9:55; MON-THURS 3:30, 6:20, 9:05 PLANES: FIRE & RESCUE 3D (G) NO PASSES THURS 7:00 EARTH TO ECHO (G) FRI,SUN-WED 3:10, 5:30, 7:50; SAT 12:00, 3:10, 5:30, 7:50; THURS 3:00, 5:20, 7:40 EARTH TO ECHO (G) STAR & STROLLERS SCREENING WED 1:30 THE FAULT IN OUR STARS (PG) (COARSE LANGUAGE,MATURE SUBJECT MATTER) CLOSED CAPTIONED FRI-WED 10:10 THE SMURFS 2 (G) SAT 11:00; WED 12:30 THE PURGE: ANARCHY (14A) (NOT RECOMMENDED FOR CHILDREN,COARSE LANGUAGE,VIOLENCE) NO PASSES THURS 10:00
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