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The Hindu
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
Seth Rogen's The Studio and its ambitious usage of the ‘oner'
In a promotional behind-the-scenes interview conducted on the sets of the Apple TV+ comedy series The Studio (co-developed by and starring Seth Rogen), actress Kathryn Hahn says, 'Seth (Rogen) and Evan (Goldberg) had this really ambitious plan to shoot most of the show as 'oners', y'know, one-shots, long uninterrupted takes with no cuts. As an actor, it makes everything more challenging but also more beautiful because with every scene you feel like you're in a play.' Rogen plays the lead character Matt Remick, a perpetually hassled studio head. He is genuinely in love with the movies but tries to balance that impulse with the bottom line-driven demands of his corporate paymasters. The show has been universally acclaimed not only for its satire but also, as Hahn points out, the ambitious usage of 'oners'. Essentially, Rogen and Co. have expanded the scope of the Aaron Sorkin-esque 'walk-and-talk' sequences popularised by 2000s TV mainstays such as The West Wing, Scrubs and Boston Legal (all 'workplace stories' like The Studio). The walk-and-talk typically takes place in a narrow corridor (at the hospital, law firm, etc.) and focuses on the lead characters. As they walk towards the camera, other characters flit in and out of the frame. The Studio executes the same idea, only the camera isn't right in the leads' faces, like it would be in a classic 'walk-and-talk' 20 years ago. The camera is equally interested in showing us the world around Matt and whoever he is talking to in a scene, weaving and bobbing in and out of the characters' immediate vicinity. After all, a movie set is a more colourful workplace than a hospital or a law firm or, well, the White House. The Studio's oners utilise this rather well, all the way through the show's 10 episodes. The second episode, in fact, is called 'The Oner', and follows Matt as he attempts to help Sarah Polley (playing herself) shoot a oner for her (fictional) film in the show. In the here and now The oner has, historically speaking, been a point of prestige for filmmakers and actors, a show of strength that underlines the technical skills of everybody involved. Alfred Hitchcock's Rope (1948) is considered one of the first major films to deploy the oner. In those days, a single reel of film was only capable of carrying around 20 minutes of footage. Four reels, four oners — Hitchcock used lighting and editing tricks to make it look like the film consisted of four long takes. The story follows two friends who kill a mutual acquaintance and then host a dinner party with the corpse hidden in the house. The oners elevate the sense of tension the audience feels, watching two murderers trying to get away with it, while the corpse rests right under their noses. Orson Welles' A Touch of Evil (1958) famously begins with a oner, where we see an unidentified man placing a bomb inside a car. Martin Scorsese takes the audience on a oner-trip through the Copacabana nightclub in his mob classic Goodfellas (1990) (Scorsese, incidentally, plays a tragicomic version of himself in the first episode of The Studio). Robert Altman, John Woo, Alfonso Cuaron et al — in every era, major filmmakers have used the oner to emphasise the 'here and now' nature of specific scenes, or just as a showcase for technical virtuosity. The last decade of oners, however, has been inspired by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's Birdman (2014) — the film has been shot and edited in such a way that all of it looks like one big oner, a 110-minute shot if you will. Leading up to 'Adolescence' Other than The Studio, there have been two TV shows this decade that have used the oner in inventive, formally ambitious ways. The first is the Marvel TV show Daredevil (2015), where the first season features several hand-to-hand combat scenes shot as oners. The pick of the lot is a hallway fight scene where Daredevil/ Matt Murdoch rescues a kidnapped child after fighting his way through a corridor jampacked with goons — the lighting is inspired from a famous scene in Park Chan-wook's Oldboy (2003), where the protagonist beats up a corridor full of goons with a hammer. The second TV innovator in this context is the recent, excellent British miniseries Adolescence, about a 13-year-old boy arrested following the murder of a girl from his school. Each of the four episodes of Adolescence is shot like a oner — no editing tricks this time, just a single uninterrupted take. There's a 12 Angry Men-like unreliable narrator edge to the drama in Adolescence, and at their best, the long takes amplify the audience's unease. I love the first and second episodes' usage of the one-shot but also feel that by the time the fourth episode winds down, the novelty value of the device wanes. Oners are great when done expertly, but because of the technical task at hand, creators run the risk of focusing too much on shot-mechanics and too little on the narrative. Thankfully, The Studio understands this only too well and takes care not to use its signature device indiscriminately, or without a clear purpose. The writer and journalist is working on his first book of non-fiction.
New York Post
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
William Shatner makes planetary plea to Trump, Elon Musk: Make Pluto great again
To boldly go where we were not too long ago. Legendary actor William Shatner wants President Trump to restore Pluto to greatness as scientists claim to have found a 'new' ninth planet. 'So there's a 10th planet that was found in our solar system?' 'Star Trek's' Captain Kirk, 94, wrote on X. 'I suggest that we get Trump to name it and while he is at it; restore Pluto as a planet and put an end to the union's tyranny of the cosmos,' wrote the two-time Emmy Award winner. The 'Boston Legal' star then suggested his fans recruit X owner Elon Musk to 'get the President to sign one of those Executive thingies to make Pluto a planet again.' 5 The 'Star Trek' star implored X owner Elon Musk to 'get the President to sign one of those Executive thingies to make Pluto a planet again.' Getty Images for One Drop 5 William Shatner/X Some repliers expressed doubt that the President of the United States had jurisdiction in matters of the stars — but Shatner suggested the final frontier of Trump's authority has yet to be explored. 'Says who? He renamed a Gulf and the Astronomer who discovered Pluto was American. Seems like America has jurisdiction on things outside its borders,' Shatner wrote, adding the expressionless emoji. The 'Rocket Man' singer was riled by a new study that claimed to have discovered a far-off and entirely theoretical celestial body that some believe qualifies as the 'ninth' planet in our dear solar system. 5 President Donald Trump changed 'The Gulf of Mexico' to 'The Gulf of America' earlier this year. REUTERS 5 A detailed view of Pluto, constructed from multiple NASA Hubble Space Telescope photographs taken from 2002 to 2003 and released in 2010. REUTERS He slammed the 'corrupt nerds on a power trip' at the International Astronomical Union who were exercising a 'tyranny of the cosmos' — portending to name any new planet discovered by scientists and voting to demote Pluto in 2006. Shatner believes they have no basis for their authority and could be trumped by the president. 'BTW why do they need a union?' Shatner asked in one in his X threads. 'It's not like anyone would care if they went on strike. Maybe it's to prevent bullying?' 5 Space-X CEO Elon Musk was recruited by the original Captain James T. Kirk to bend Trump's ear toward Pluto. Getty Images The now-dwarf planet was first discovered in 1930 by Clyde W. Tombaugh, an Illinois native, at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. Outside of his extensive travels through the cosmos as captain of the USS Enterprise, Shatner has more recent space experience — taking the inaugural trip on billionaire Jeff Bezos' 'Blue Origin' in 2021. 'The covering of blue, this blanket, this comforter of blue we have around us. We think, 'Oh, that's blue sky,' and all of a sudden you shoot through it and you whip the sheet off you and you're looking into blackness, into black nothingness,' Shatner told reporters outside the craft.
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Accused strike violator was subject to a 'flawed' and 'improper' discipline process, WGA trial chair says
A chair of a trial committee of the Writers Guild of America West has called out the union's handling of disciplinary proceedings against one member accused of flouting the union's rules during the 2023 strike. In a four-page letter , Jill Goldsmith, a former public defender from Cook County, conveyed profound concerns over the process behind the board's decision to expel one writer, saying it was not 'fair and proper,' according to a copy of the letter reviewed by The Times. "I agreed to serve my Guild as a Trial Committee member, when I was assured of fairness in the process,' Goldsmith wrote, adding that 'If we are to impose the most extreme punishment of expulsion, the process cannot be the flawed one that occurred.' In her Feb. 24 letter to the WGAW board, Goldsmith said that the board had repudiated the unanimous findings of the trial committee, and questioned whether the committee's impartial legal counsel unfairly influenced the proceeding's outcome. As such, she wrote that she 'must respectfully withdraw, because "I believe something happened during the process that was improper.' Read more: Writers' strike: What happened, how it ended and its impact on Hollywood Goldsmith's name was redacted from a copy of the letter viewed by the Times. However, a person with knowledge of the proceedings who was not authorized to comment publicly confirmed that it was written by the trial committee chair who was identified in documents as Goldsmith, a guild member and who is credited with having written for such shows as 'Boston Legal' and 'Ally McBeal.' Goldsmith declined to comment on the letter. The Writers Guild of America West also declined to comment on the specific claims of the letter, but in a statement the union said that four members have appealed their discipline to the membership, who will vote on the matter this week. "This is an internal union matter and WGAW members can view relevant documents on the members-only section of the Guild's website," the statement said. "The Board of Directors is the only body involved in the process that is elected by the membership and the WGAW Constitution gives it the responsibility for determining the level of discipline when a member is found guilty by a trial committee." Goldsmith oversaw the trial of Roma Roth, an executive producer on the CW series 'Sullivan's Crossing' and 'Virgin River' on Netflix, according to proceeding documents. The board expelled Roth for allegedly writing during the strike for a non-signatory company. In her letter to the board, Goldsmith said that while she agreed that Roth had 'crossed the line from producing to writing,' a violation of the guild's strike rules, she objected to the process that led to the recommendation for her expulsion, after the committee had originally proposed Roth be given a five year suspension. Read more: WGA bans writers from joining Martin Scorsese, Randall Emmett film project According to her letter, prior to their deliberations, the committee asked the committee's legal advisor for "clarity" on the the possible punishments that could be meted out. Specifically, the committee asked to be provided with a slate of those punishments given to writers in the past — anonymously — in order to 'assess proportionality and fairness in how punishments were addressed,' only to be told the committee was 'not allowed to know that information,' she wrote. According to her appeal statement to the WGAW, a copy of which was viewed by The Times, Roth said she was found was "not guilty" of violating strike rules and "did not work for a struck company," adding that 'Sullivan's Crossing' was an independently financed Canadian series. She called her expulsion 'excessive and disproportionate.' 'The Board found me guilty of violating Article X of the Constitution, Working Rule 8 ('WR8'), i.e. working without a waiver. A violation that according to the Working Rules should be subject to a fine, NOT expulsion,' wrote Roth, a member of the WGA and the Writers Guild of Canada. In her appeal documents, Roth called her disciplinary hearing 'unfair' and 'improper,' and outlined numerous instances that she says demonstrate violations of due process. Roth cast doubt on the materials the guild submitted, including a partially obscured photo of the writer's room that was provided as 'evidence' that she was violating the rules about working during a strike. She said the room included her identical twin sister who was one of several Writers Guild Canada writers enlisted to work on the show. Goldsmith's letter echoed some of the assertions made by other disciplined writers, whose punishments range from public censure to suspensions to prohibitions from acting as volunteer captains; with the most drastic being expulsion. They have appealed the decisions. Julie Bush, a consulting producer on AppleTV+'s 'Manhunt,' is among those seeking to overturn her disciplinary action. The board suspended Bush from the guild until 2026 and she was barred from holding 'non-elected guild office' after being found guilty of violating Working Rule 8 and writing for a non-signatory company during the strike. The trial committee had recommended that she be prohibited from serving as a guild captain for three years and censured privately. Bush, who said she is a staunch union supporter, called the proceedings a 'kangaroo court,' particularly as the information she said that was used against her was based on information she provided a guild attorney while seeking assistance. 'If this were a real court, it would be like if your defense lawyer takes off their defense lawyer hat and puts on his prosecutor hat and says 'surprise, we got you' with all this confidential information that you just turned over,' Bush told The Times. 'My particular case is a nuanced matter of contract law," she added. "It should never have been brought to trial, much less, this big humiliation in the press. I cannot believe that we've gotten to this point.' Sign up for our Wide Shot newsletter to get the latest entertainment business news, analysis and insights. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
06-05-2025
- Los Angeles Times
Accused strike violator was subject to a 'flawed' and 'improper' discipline process, WGA trial chair says
A chair of a trial committee of the Writers Guild of America West has called out the union's handling of disciplinary proceedings against one member accused of flouting the union's rules during the 2023 strike. In a four-page letter , Jill Goldsmith, a former public defender from Cook County, conveyed profound concerns over the process behind the board's decision to expel one writer, saying it was not 'fair and proper,' according to a copy of the letter reviewed by The Times. 'I agreed to serve my Guild as a Trial Committee member, when I was assured of fairness in the process,' Goldsmith wrote, adding that 'If we are to impose the most extreme punishment of expulsion, the process cannot be the flawed one that occurred.' In her Feb. 24 letter to the WGAW board, Goldsmith said that the board had repudiated the unanimous findings of the trial committee, and questioned whether the committee's impartial legal counsel unfairly influenced the proceeding's outcome. As such, she wrote that she 'must respectfully withdraw, because 'I believe something happened during the process that was improper.' Goldsmith's name was redacted from a copy of the letter viewed by the Times. However, a person with knowledge of the proceedings who was not authorized to comment publicly confirmed that it was written by the trial committee chair who was identified in documents as Goldsmith, a guild member and who is credited with having written for such shows as 'Boston Legal' and 'Ally McBeal.' Goldsmith declined to comment on the letter. The Writers Guild of America West also declined to comment on the specific claims of the letter, but in a statement the union said that four members have appealed their discipline to the membership, who will vote on the matter this week. 'This is an internal union matter and WGAW members can view relevant documents on the members-only section of the Guild's website,' the statement said. 'The Board of Directors is the only body involved in the process that is elected by the membership and the WGAW Constitution gives it the responsibility for determining the level of discipline when a member is found guilty by a trial committee.' Goldsmith oversaw the trial of Roma Roth, an executive producer on the CW series 'Sullivan's Crossing' and 'Virgin River' on Netflix, according to proceeding documents. The board expelled Roth for allegedly writing during the strike for a non-signatory company. In her letter to the board, Goldsmith said that while she agreed that Roth had 'crossed the line from producing to writing,' a violation of the guild's strike rules, she objected to the process that led to the recommendation for her expulsion, after the committee had originally proposed Roth be given a five year suspension. According to her letter, prior to their deliberations, the committee asked the committee's legal advisor for 'clarity' on the the possible punishments that could be meted out. Specifically, the committee asked to be provided with a slate of those punishments given to writers in the past — anonymously — in order to 'assess proportionality and fairness in how punishments were addressed,' only to be told the committee was 'not allowed to know that information,' she wrote. According to her appeal statement to the WGAW, a copy of which was viewed by The Times, Roth said she was found was 'not guilty' of violating strike rules and 'did not work for a struck company,' adding that 'Sullivan's Crossing' was an independently financed Canadian series. She called her expulsion 'excessive and disproportionate.' 'The Board found me guilty of violating Article X of the Constitution, Working Rule 8 ('WR8'), i.e. working without a waiver. A violation that according to the Working Rules should be subject to a fine, NOT expulsion,' wrote Roth, a member of the WGA and the Writers Guild of Canada. In her appeal documents, Roth called her disciplinary hearing 'unfair' and 'improper,' and outlined numerous instances that she says demonstrate violations of due process. Roth cast doubt on the materials the guild submitted, including a partially obscured photo of the writer's room that was provided as 'evidence' that she was violating the rules about working during a strike. She said the room included her identical twin sister who was one of several Writers Guild Canada writers enlisted to work on the show. Goldsmith's letter echoed some of the assertions made by other disciplined writers, whose punishments range from public censure to suspensions to prohibitions from acting as volunteer captains; with the most drastic being expulsion. They have appealed the decisions. Julie Bush, a consulting producer on AppleTV+'s 'Manhunt,' is among those seeking to overturn her disciplinary action. The board suspended Bush from the guild until 2026 and she was barred from holding 'non-elected guild office' after being found guilty of violating Working Rule 8 and writing for a non-signatory company during the strike. The trial committee had recommended that she be prohibited from serving as a guild captain for three years and censured privately. Bush, who said she is a staunch union supporter, called the proceedings a 'kangaroo court,' particularly as the information she said that was used against her was based on information she provided a guild attorney while seeking assistance. 'If this were a real court, it would be like if your defense lawyer takes off their defense lawyer hat and puts on his prosecutor hat and says 'surprise, we got you' with all this confidential information that you just turned over,' Bush told The Times. 'My particular case is a nuanced matter of contract law,' she added. 'It should never have been brought to trial, much less, this big humiliation in the press. I cannot believe that we've gotten to this point.'
Fox News
23-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Fox News
William Shatner celebrates 94th birthday with charity work, trip to Las Vegas
William Shatner knows it's better to give than to receive … and that Las Vegas is a lot of fun. The "Star Trek" alum plans to celebrate his 94th birthday on Saturday by volunteering – as he has for the last 35 years – at his charity. "For the last many years, I have celebrated my birthday by working on a very successful charity called The Hollywood Charity Horse Show," the 94-year-old revealed to People magazine. "We have been doing it for 35 years and raised millions of dollars for children and veterans." Shatner started the charity in 1990 after watching handicapped children doing horse therapy. "Shatner sat, deeply affected by what he had seen, saying 'You can't watch these kids without knowing you have to help, somehow,'" the charity said on its website. The charity added, "On one special Saturday evening each year, William Shatner brings together world-class reining horses and riders in breathtaking slides and spins as they compete for top honors in their respective classes," with all the proceeds going to charity. As well as his charity work, the "Boston Legal" actor also plans to head to Sin City with his family. "My family is taking me to Las Vegas for dinner and a show, and then back to Los Angeles," he told People. "It's going to be a family experience in that wonderful, entertaining city. I'm really looking forward to it." Shatner shared his advice for staying young last year on his 93rd birthday, telling People, "Just staying engaged in life, to stay curious. But the luck has a lot to do with it in your health." "Your life's energy, the soul energy of your body is a product of health," he told People. "If you're sick, you can't be energetic. You're dying. So my luck has been, I've been healthy all my life." Shatner was born in Montreal, Canada on March 22, 1931. And he hasn't slowed down much. Shatner became the oldest person to go into space in 2021 at 90 when he was invited to ride on Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin New Shepard rocket. That record was beat just three years later when 90-year-old former Air Force test pilot Ed Dwight flew on a Blue Origin Rocket. "What I experienced was not so much the flight into space, but my observation," Shatner told Fox News Digital at the time. "Everybody knows we live on a small rock and that up to 12,500 feet oxygen is there. And after that, as you go higher, you get into a dead zone. So there's the Karman line is 50 miles up. Oxygen is two miles up. We live on a small rock. I saw the beginning of the curvature of the Earth." He added, "If I followed through, I could make a circle of this rock we live on. We are so negligible. We are so nothing. We are this small rock and this negligible solar system which is beside a mediocre star in a galaxy that is barely larger." He also shared his gratitude on his social media on Saturday to everyone who wished him well on his day. "As I begin my 95th journey around the sun today I want to take a minute to thank everyone for the birthday wishes!" he wrote. "I am overwhelmed at the amount of love I have received. My best, Bill." Shatner received well-wishes from a number of celebrities, including astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson who wrote on X: "Happy Birthday William Shatner. Today, completing 94 trips around the Sun. Congratulations on your 55-billion mile journey." Morgan Fairchild wrote: "Bill! Have a very Happy Birthday and I am sending you much live and good wishes! Hope it's a fabulous day!" Shatner hosts Fox Nation's "Aliens Among Us."
