Latest news with #Agnes
Cosmopolitan
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Cosmopolitan
How Does Agnes in ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty' Differ From the Books?
The Summer I Turned Pretty's third and final season is in full swing, and while all of the characters have changed thanks to a four-year time jump, one of the most surprising shifts has been in broody Conrad Fisher—he's got a friend! Specifically, Agnes, who is quickly becoming a fan favorite. Fans of the original series will recognize her as Conrad's college fling from We'll Always Have Summer, but the Agnes in The Summer I Turned Pretty is very different from the one in the books. Agnes only appears briefly in We'll Always Have Summer, the final book in the original TSITP trilogy, but in show, she's a pretty key part of the story. And those changes, according to actor Zoé de Grand'Maison's interview with Teen Vogue, the changes in her character came directly from Jenny Han herself. 'She said, 'Take a look at the scene in the book.' I was like, 'I already have [laughs].' She said, essentially, we're gonna expand the character and dive into that friendship a little more,' she recounted. In the show, Agnes and Conrad still have a bit of a romantic past, and it's implied that Agnes wanted to have a real relationship with him and he turned her down. But she's more than an ex, she's his best friend and confidante. She's the one person Conrad can actually be honest with about his feelings for Belly, which in turn helps the audience get to know him better. 'I feel like my character's purpose is that I finally give the audience a chance to get into Conrad's head, because she's able to open him up and pull these things out of him,' Zoé said, calling Agnes his 'unpaid therapist.' Later in the interview, she went further, noting, 'We've all seen that sexy, brooding character, and in the movie or show, being that way always works out for them. I like that Jenny challenges that. He needs to grow, and it is cool that Agnes is playing a huge role in being like, 'Hey, buddy, you know, you're great and I have so much love for you, but you need to make some changes here and you need to address these feelings.''
USA Today
a day ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
'Sorry, Baby': How Eva Victor turned 'very personal' trauma into a must-see comedy
Eva Victor fell in love with acting in a high-school production of the musical 'Spring Awakening.' 'I was the tallest Wendla in the history of the world,' deadpans Victor, 31, whose lanky 5-foot-11 frame is a frequent punchline in her comedy. 'I was like, 'This is my life.' It was very formative for me. I could do the whole 'Mama Who Bore Me (Reprise)' for you right now.' The former theater kid is now a first-time filmmaker, winning a best screenplay prize at Sundance Film Festival for the beautifully tender and wryly observed 'Sorry, Baby' (in theaters nationwide July 25). The movie follows a newly tenured English professor named Agnes (Victor) as she discovers that her best friend, Lydie (Naomi Ackie), is pregnant. But while Lydie and their grad-school classmates are checking off major life milestones, Agnes is still emotionally stunted after being raped years earlier by a thesis adviser, Decker (Louis Cancelmi). Join our Watch Party! Sign up to receive USA TODAY's movie and TV recommendations right in your inbox 'It's a very personal story and I took great joy in it being narrative fiction,' says Victor, who uses they/she pronouns. 'Naomi said this thing that really stuck with me, about how trauma becomes like a stone in a river. You don't get to choose that it's put there, and a lot of the pain is trying to get rid of the stone. But that's actually not possible – it's really about figuring out how to move and grow around it.' 'Sorry, Baby' is disarmingly funny despite the serious subject matter, as Agnes finds comfort in her sheepish neighbor, Gavin (Lucas Hedges), and butts up against the clinical ways that people in power speak to her about assault. Victor, who gained prominence with their viral comedy videos during the pandemic, drew from a wide swath of cinematic influences, ranging from 'Juno' to 'Fargo' to 'Singin' in the Rain.' Victor recently chatted with USA TODAY about the film: Edited and condensed for clarity. Question: There's a moment that really moved me, when Agnes says, "I don't see myself getting older or having kids. I don't see myself at all." What does that line mean to you? Eva Victor: Agnes had this youthful lust for life and her career and her creative expression, and among the many things that were taken from her through this experience, one of them is that dreaming ability. I imagine a world where Agnes is able to dream again, but she is robbed of imagining the future and forced to confront the daily tasks of the world that were once easy and are now extremely hard to get through. I think when she says, 'I can't see myself,' she's speaking to, 'My mind is empty when I imagine what could happen next. People around me are able to see things, but right now, I can't.' So that line means a lot to me, too. Agnes and Lydie often tell each other, "Please don't die." It's a seemingly grim yet relatably heartfelt sentiment – where did that come from? I had a playwriting teacher in college that said this thing I think about all the time, which is that saying 'I love you' is wonderful, but how do these characters say 'I love you?" What is the way that they're able to communicate that in their own private language? On 'Grey's Anatomy,' Cristina and Meredith say, 'You're my person,' and in this movie, I feel like that might be Agnes and Lydie's version of it. There are many quiet scenes of characters supporting Agnes, whether it's through a long hug or a sandwich. Did you ever have to resist the urge to make it "more Hollywood?" There's a part where Agnes gets lighter fluid from Gavin, and I remember writing, 'Oh, she goes to Decker's office and tries to light it on fire.' But the next day, I looked at it and was like, 'That's not what she wants.' Instead, she goes home and she's like, 'I almost did something crazy.' In moments that I wanted to indulge in more movie energy, I tried to remember what this person would actually do. Also, I wanted the world to have people in it who aren't very good at reading the room, like the doctor and the HR women. When Agnes goes to jury duty, there are a bunch of prying questions that feel very scary and make her retreat back into her hole. So I wanted it to be what felt true to me: this combination of people who are lifesaving and holding this person, and then people who are not able to see her pain. How did your experiences making videos for social media, and writing for the satire site Reductress, inform your work on this movie? The muscle of putting something into the world when no one's asking for it from you is embarrassing and necessary. I never had the experience of someone coming in like, 'You should play this!' I've always been making stuff in order to make stuff happen, so the scrappiness was helpful, like, 'Just keep working!' Also, those videos got me in the habit of watching myself and quickly making decisions about whether it was a good take for me or whether I wanted to do it again. That relationship with myself was already figured out by the time I got to set. Have you started to think about what's next? I'm going to cuddle with my cat. I've been doing so much traveling and I really have missed him. It's so funny, when I was writing 'Sorry, Baby,' the only thing I wanted was to share it with the world and open all the floodgates of my feelings. Now that that's happening, I think going back to a private space is going to be just the perfect remedy I need and we'll see what comes.
Irish Post
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Post
Brendan O'Carroll reveals what's in store as Mrs Brown's Boys returns
BRENDAN O'CARROLL has revealed what's in store as his beloved Mrs Brown's Boys returns with a new series this month. The Dubliner, who created, writes and stars in the popular sitcom, will return to our screens as family matriarch Agnes Brown next month, when the fifth series airs on BBC One. This week the Finglas native shared some insights on what viewers can expect when the Irish family return to our screens next month… What does the new series have in store for Agnes? The mini-series focuses on the continuing life in the Brown family and surrounding households in Finglas. Cathy gets involved with a podcast producer, which obviously is commandeered by Agnes, Winnie and Birdy. Granddad decides that he wants to leave the family home for a care home, Agnes of course packs his bags for him. Winnie's husband's car, which has been lying up for ten years, is pressed into action by Winnie, leading to a disastrous driving test which ends with a huge shock for the Brown family. In Foley's lounge bar, Father Damien stages his annual Finglas talent show, with some hilarious entries. All capped off with a wonderfully hilarious "trip" as Agnes is confined to a mobile chair. How do you approach writing for the show? The writing of the mini-series is much more relaxing for myself and Paddy Houlihan, who joins me as a writer. With the Christmas Specials, I have to keep it within the Christmas period (including the Christmas trees which have emerged as their own event), unlike the specials we can focus on anything, within reason. How did the ideas for the episodes this series come about? The ideas for these episodes are no different from the previous 53 episodes. Believe it or not most of the story lines are based on true events that either happened to my family or have been told to me by people about their families. Everybody has a story, and it's quite common for someone in a family to say in the middle of a family disaster, "This is like an episode of Mrs. Brown's Boys". Did you have a favourite moment filming this series? Oh yeah, Having Agnes on that mobility scooter was such fun. She goes nuts, with hilarious consequences. Also in the "Talent Show" episode I love the interaction between Agnes and Granddad. Look, in every episode there is something that stands out for me, I love being Agnes Brown and I love her family, and her neighbours like Winnie and Birdy. If you could play any other role in Mrs Brown's Boys what would it be? This is a hard one. I love being Agnes. I'm not lying when I say... I could not play any of the characters better than the actors who play them now. In particular, the likes of Cathy or Mark, without them the gags don't work. What does filming the show in front of a studio audience bring to it? Filming in front of a live audience is essential to the show. So many times, at the end of rehearsals for a particular episode, our Director, Ben Kellett will say "All this needs now is the audience" and he is so right. They follow every move, every line and add so much to our performances. We would be lost without them. What's the secret to the enduring success of the show? I honestly don't know the secret to the enduring success of Mrs. Brown's Boys, I write and perform what I think is funny and just hope that somebody somewhere watching gets a laugh out of it. That's it, and, although I sometimes try to include a "family" message along the way, essentially, it's just a bunch of actors trying to make you laugh. Mrs Brown's Boys airs on BBC One at 9.30pm on Friday, August 1.
LeMonde
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- LeMonde
In 'Sorry, Baby,' actor and director Eva Victor puts herself center stage with a fragmented portrait of a young woman grappling with trauma
Le Monde's verdict – Must See Sorry, Baby, Eva Victor's first feature-length film, is told in fragments, with Victor also in the lead role. The pivotal scene unfolds at the heart of the second half, with Agnes entering a house during the day, framed in a wide shot. The viewer, however, remains at the door as hours pass on screen until night falls. The literature student finally emerges, slightly disoriented, as the camera follows her from behind across the campus. Haggard, she returns to her car. We follow her entire drive face-on, with Agnes's panicked face partially obscured in the shadows. Something happened in that house, though the film neither shows nor names it explicitly; instead, it delves deeply into the repercussions. By the time Sorry, Baby begins, this traumatic event has already occurred years before. Addressing the complex subject of trauma, the film moves through a chronology divided into sections, where past, present and future appear out of order. How does one depict an upheaval that alters the most intimate parts of oneself beneath the surface? Victor chooses to stick closely to her character's perceptions and sensations. For Agnes, everything becomes both near and far at once; some scenes stretch out, while others end abruptly with sharp ellipses. In places, the film takes on a circular quality, playing with echoes, as if trauma intensified the sense of repetition.
Irish Independent
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
‘I honestly don't know the secret' – Brendan O'Carroll on enduring success of ‘Mrs Brown's Boys' as new series kicks off next week
The long-running comedy returns to RTÉ One for a sixth season next week as Agnes Brown attempts to manage her dysfunctional family in a rapidly modernising world. Among the folly in the first episode will be Agnes's implausible new-found stardom after she hijacks daughter Cathy's podcast, while Grandad announces plans to move himself out of the house and into a care home. Viewers will also see Agnes take on the role of driving instructor for her best friend Winnie, with predictable consequences. Fourteen years after it was first broadcast, the show is still going strong, but O'Carroll himself is stuck for an explanation as to why. Believe it or not, most of the storylines are based on true events 'I honestly don't know the secret to the enduring success of Mrs Brown's Boys,' he said. ' I write and perform what I think is funny and just hope that somebody somewhere watching gets a laugh out of it.' However, O'Carroll (69) said his dramatised anecdotes rarely stray too far from his lived experiences. 'The ideas for these episodes are no different from the previous 53 episodes,' he said. 'Believe it or not, most of the storylines are based on true events that either happened to my family or have been told to me by people about their families. 'Everybody has a story, and it's quite common for someone in a family to say in the middle of a family disaster, 'This is like an episode of Mrs Brown's Boys'.' O'Carroll has previously said the creation of Agnes was inspired by his own mother, Maureen, whose sharp wit and no-nonsense attitude working on the stalls on Dublin's Moore Street greatly informed the character's formulation. I love being Agnes The idea was conceived by O'Carroll in 1992 when he set up a theatre company with family members and decided to tour the country performing stage plays. Having begun writing the show in its televised format in 2011, he has made the role his own. ADVERTISEMENT 'I love being Agnes. I'm not lying when I say I could not play any of the characters better than the actors who play them now,' he said. The show owes its authentic appeal in part to its filming in front of a live studio audience, a feature O'Carroll describes as 'essential'. 'So many times, at the end of rehearsals for a particular episode, our director Ben Kellett will say, 'All this needs now is the audience' and he is so right,' he said. 'They follow every move, every line and add so much to our performances. We would be lost without them.' The first Christmas special aired in the UK was well received by the British public, with the BBC production boasting 8.24 million views in spite of negative reviews by the country's entertainment critics.
