Latest news with #Shadows'
Los Angeles Times
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Saying goodbye to ‘What We Do in the Shadows': an oral history
'What We Do in the Shadows' was an unlikely success story. Rising from the coffin of a hilarious but obscure mockumentary feature about four sort-of loser vampire housemates in suburban New Zealand, the FX sitcom shifted the action to Staten Island and cast its undead ensemble as blithely murderous, petty, pansexual and often dim-witted. The result: critical acclaim and three Emmy nominations for comedy series. Now, having driven a stake through the series' heart, showrunner Paul Simms and the main ensemble — Matt Berry (Laszlo Cravensworth), Natasia Demetriou (Nadja of Antipaxos), Kayvan Novak (Nandor the Relentless), Mark Proksch (Colin Robinson, energy vampire) and Harvey Guillén (Nandor's human familiar, Guillermo) — chatted about the series' sixth and final season and the bloody, wild ride that was. Was it surprising the TV Academy would embrace a series this offbeat? Paul Simms: Going into it, I was, like, this seems really fun but not the kind of show that's ever going to get nominated for anything. The PR people get mad at me when I say that the show is stupid, but it's stupid in the best way. When we first got some Emmy nominations, that was a real surprise. I wouldn't call it stupid. I'd say it celebrates stupidity. Simms: Yes, there! That's what I should have been saying all these years. And the actors fully committed to being really stupid characters. They made incredibly bad decisions all the time, despite having hundreds of years to figure everything out. They're like the rest of us. No matter how much time you have to figure it out, you never really do. Matt Berry: It was a surprise when it cut through, but I always felt like it was a decent show. Natasia Demetriou: There were endless moments during filming where we'd look at each other like, 'I will never again be in a big-box store at 4 a.m. watching a fake Doug Jones puppet be wheeled along in a Barbie car —' Berry: '— a candle attached to its head —' Demetriou: '— and I'm dressed as a mad vampire.' Simms: It felt like what you imagined show business was going to be when you're a little kid, where someone's dressed as a monster and you're about to have a big explosion and someone fly by wires over a house, and you see a little half-Guillermo, half-sheep hybrid creature smoking a cigarette between scenes. Mark Proksch: I think a lot of TV comedy, especially these days, insults the audience by having to overexplain who each character is and why that joke is funny, and 'Shadows' never did that. Harvey Guillén: I think we were recognized for everything except the acting. If I got the nomination, it would make history as … the first queer Latino to be nominated [for] supporting role for comedy. Last year was the first year Matt got nominated, and we were ecstatic. Kayvan Novak: I wasn't ecstatic; I was furious. [Laughs] Had to ruin my f— day. Nominate my fellow actor for a best actor Emmy. I mean, Jesus Christ. Ecstatic! [Laughs] Guillén: We're still surprised if we get [acting] nominations. Novak: We had fun at the Emmys. We sat there saying, 'Please don't win. Please don't win.' [Berry did not win.] So that was a plus. We're all still on an even keel. We've all still won f— all. Will we ever see a 'Shadows' blooper reel? Simms: We really don't have many bloopers because of the way we shot, that fake-documentary style. You can be on camera at any moment, so people would absolutely stay in character through anything that happened. Demetriou: It's because we're such professional and incredible actors. That's my answer for that. Proksch: The only time we would laugh at each other is when the other person would screw up so the scene was already ruined. Demetriou: There was a lot of coughing over people's lines or saying someone's line — Kayvan would often come up with a one-liner he thought was zingy and once he'd done it a couple of times, people would start saying it before he could say it. [Laughs] 'Oh, I've got a really good one!' 'What is it?' And he'd tell us, then Matt would say it. [Suddenly reproachful] There was a lot of that nasty, nasty sort of behavior. Berry: I did that to him quite a few times, and he always took that like a gentleman. Guillén: Kayvan is the funniest person I've ever met and literally the only person who makes me break on set. I'm really a stickler, but he would be [singing in bombastic pop-crooner style] 'The Greatest Actor in the World!' [laughs] — he would sing that, and that alone would make me break. What was your favorite episode? Simms: I loved Jackie Daytona ['On the Run'] and the way we follow one character and it turns into a completely different documentary that's almost like 'Harlan County, USA' or something. Sarah Naftalis wrote one about them going to the casino, going to Atlantic City, that was one of my favorites. Berry: Mine would be a season. I think we reached our zenith in Season 4. When you look back at Season 4, it's like a greatest hits. There's just so many great episodes there. So that would be my choice. Proksch: The dinner party episode with Tash [Demetriou], the last season, we had so much fun doing that one. Matt and I got to work a lot together [largely because of a bizarre plot in which Colin is reborn as a baby vampire and Laszlo raises him]; that was always fun because our characters were so different from each other, yet there was some sort of connection, whether they would admit it or not. Demetriou: I would definitely agree with Matt; I thought Season 4 was so fun. I got to have a nightclub, seeing all the vampires in the nightclub, turning the nightclub into a wedding — that was such a spectacle and so funny and stupid. The short-lived Colin-as-a-teenager was unbelievable. And I loved the singing episode where Colin managed me and Matt, and we were the human music group. Novak: 'The Casino' is my favorite episode. I'd say any scene with Harvey, really. They always surprised me because it was always quite emotional and intense and really rewarding. Harvey's such a great actor, I always felt like, 'Got to be good in this one.' Guillén: We really had a great time when Mark Hamill joined us [in 'On the Run'], and Haley Joel Osment. Haley was really a trouper. Mark Hamill's kids got him into the show, and he tweeted about how loves the show; Kayvan and Mark were really big 'Star Wars' fans. The characters were actual monsters … who were petty and foolish yet somehow relatable. Novak: The fact that this group of degenerates, these bloodsucking, mass-murdering vampires and wannabe vampires, [could be] so lovable is amazing. It transcended all normal rules of engagement. There's no virtue signaling going on. Demetriou: It's rare and refreshing to be able to play a bunch of a— because, let's face it, we are all a—. We're all fools. It was very fun and liberating to play people who know that they're evil, and I think that's endlessly funny, and that violence, timed right, can be hilarious. There was an episode that we did this fake home improvement show, and these two really happy, chipper guys, the Sklar Brothers, are presenting, and they walk through the door like, 'Welcome!' and within seconds, I kill one of them. That made me laugh so much. And … dead. Berry: We didn't apply any caution. I think once you start doing that, you have a lot less colors to play with. And because these were vampires … the comedy could be as free and as filthy as you wanted because these people didn't have to adhere to [morality] because they weren't from the here and now. You cheated death in the finale, with three different endings, including that 'Newhart' reference. Simms: Bob Newhart was my favorite comedian of all time. He said [in Parade magazine] that he and his wife watched 'What We Do in the Shadows.' I was very excited. Guillén: I loved our 'Newhart' ending … in a weird way, [Guillermo and Nandor] ended up together. Novak: I think it satisfied a lot of the 'Nandermo' fans, even though they didn't get to see a full-on sex scene. A lot of the fan art used to be them kissing and fondling each other in Nandor's room. Now it's them kissing and fondling each other whilst fighting crime. They captured a lot of hearts, those two. Demetriou: I was sobbing for most of those [alternate endings] because we filmed that episode last … us singing 'We'll Meet Again' around the piano. Novak: We became a big happy family and that was very wonderful to experience. We laughed a lot, man. A lot. Demetriou: My dad has dementia and he still remembers the show. He wears my Nadja T-shirt all the time and doesn't really know what it is anymore, but to me that's the most special thing in the world, that he absolutely loved it and thought it was hilarious. Guillén: I want to say thank you to the fans for watching all these years and making us feel so loved. Novak: And thank you, FX, for picking up the tab.
Irish Daily Star
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Daily Star
The one role Liam Neeson refused to reprise one last time - and the sad reason why
When it comes to playing comic book villains, Liam Neeson fans have already singled out their favorite that the Irishman has embodied. Unfortunately for them, the Hollywood superstar was forced to rule out playing one of his favorite characters for one last time. Neeson first played Ra's al Ghul in 2005's Batman Begins movie . Even though the character was stripped of his comic book immortality and commanded the League of 'Shadows' instead of 'Assassins,' it was still an excellent interpretation of one of the greatest villains in comic history. Taken star Neeson returned as the character in a brief vision for 2012's The Dark Knight Rises, and always spoke fondly of his time as 'The Demon's Head.' When IGN asked him if he'd heard about Ra's turning up in Arrow, he surprised fans by said no one had contacted him about the role, but he'd return "in a heartbeat, if it came my way, yeah. Very much so." Read More Related Articles Jenna Bush Hager announces major career move in heartfelt statement Read More Related Articles Yellowstone's Kelly Reilly moves on from series as she joins new detective drama CW president Mark Pedowitz acted on this straight away. He told Buzzfeed: "We quickly went to him, just on the off-chance that he had the time to do it." The one role Liam Neeson will not be returning to in popular movie. (Image: Getty Images) Unfortunately, Neeson's schedule wouldn't allow him to commit to a ten-episode stint on a network show, so he politely refused the part. It ultimately went to Australian actor Matt Nable, who later reprised the part for an episode of the spinoff show Legends of Tomorrow. Ra's al Ghul is an immortal eco-terrorist who commanded the fearsome and mysterious League of Assassins. It is by far not the only role the Taken actor wished he could reprise. Liam has opened up about another role he wishes he should have ticked off his list. Speaking of reprising the role of Michael Collins for a sequel, Liam, 72, lamented to Collider : "I'm just too old, but I would love to go back to Michael Collins." It's hardly surprising Liam is so fond of the role - it earned him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Drama as the title character in Neil Jordan's 1996 biopic Michael Collins. He won critical acclaim for his part in the movie, playing the figure who became a leading light in the Irish battle for independence against Britain in the early 20th century. For the latest local news and features on Irish America, visit our homepage here .
Arab News
20-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Arab News
Europe games industry on edge as ‘Assassin's Creed' hits shelves
PARIS: Thursday's release of action-adventure epic 'Assassin's Creed Shadows' marks a make-or-break moment not just for struggling French games heavyweight Ubisoft, but for the entire European gaming ecosystem. With its almost 18,000 employees and global footprint, Ubisoft has nevertheless suffered one setback after another in recent years with disappointing releases, a dwindling stock price, harassment allegations against former bosses and repeated strikes. The company is falling back on its longtime major money-spinner 'Assassin's Creed' to pull it from the doldrums, this time with an episode set in medieval Japan. 'I've never seen things this way' as the whole European industry looks to Ubisoft, Midcap Partners analyst Charles-Louis Planade told AFP ahead of the launch. More than 17 Ubisoft studios employing hundreds have poured five years of work into 'Shadows,' with an estimated budget running into hundreds of millions of euros. Early reviews have been positive, with the game receiving a 'generally favorable' score of 81/100 on review aggregation site Metacritic. That was one point higher than 'Valhalla,' the 2020 release that has so far been the high point of the series' profitability. The latest instalment 'looks better and plays better than nearly any other entry in Ubisoft's 18-year-old series,' American games journalist Stephen Totilo wrote on his website Game File. Meanwhile, gaming site IGN's review of 'Shadows' said it 'sharpens and refines (the series') edge without fully reforging it.' 'Shadows' was partly developed at Ubisoft's studio in Quebec City, Canada. The artistic director of Ubisoft-Quebec, Thierry Dansereau, told AFP at a launch event in the city that the company's 'developers did everything they could to create the best game possible.' A lack of major changes to the game's mechanics could risk 'leaving some players worn out,' said Julien Pillot, an economist specializing in the cultural industries. He suggested that Ubisoft's recent underwhelming releases 'may be a sign that audiences are falling out of love with its games.' Nevertheless, Planade said that 'everyone is crossing their fingers for this release to be a huge success.' He said a poor sales showing could provoke a knock-on effect across the entire industry, noting that in France alone, Ubisoft accounts for almost one-third of the country's 15,000 jobs in games development In a social media post, Ubisoft said the release appeared to be a success. 'It's not even 4PM here in Canada and Assassin's Creed Shadows has already passed 1 million players!' the company said on X. Many budding creators pass through Ubisoft after completing their training, while former employees have founded new studios in France and around the world. The company in 2023 launched a cost-cutting drive including studio closures and almost 2,000 layoffs. The belt-tightening did not save Ubisoft from judgment on financial markets, with the stock falling from more than 100 euros ($109 at today's rates) 10 years ago to its all-time low of 9.01 euros in September. Ubisoft shares had fallen almost 5.6 percent on Wednesday to trade at 12.60 euros by the time markets closed, despite the good early reviews for 'Shadows.' Even before release of the hoped-for blockbuster, Ubisoft said it was 'actively exploring various strategic and capitalistic options' for its future. Early rumors suggested that could involve going private with help from Chinese tech giant Tencent, a major investor that holds 10 percent of Ubisoft. More recently, multiple outlets have reported that the group could sell off much of its games catalogue to focus on its core titles. 'Every option is on the table' for Ubisoft's future, Planade said, with commercial success for 'Shadows' likely to strengthen Ubisoft's hand in the negotiations.
Washington Post
18-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
‘Assassin's Creed Shadows' is a luscious, uneven open-world experience
With one of the most luscious, naturalistic worlds ever committed to video games, 'Assassin's Creed Shadows' is an easy recommend, even if so much of the game is uneven. The long-running series finally goes to Japan, and this entry's choice to star two characters was met with lots of controversy, some of it in good faith and some of it racist nonsense. Paired with the woman ninja Naoe, Ubisoft's latest game, which releases March 20, costars Yasuke, a rare historical figure taking the lead in this historical fantasy series. Yasuke is documented as Japan's first Black samurai, under Nobunaga Oda, the notorious 16th-century Japanese feudal lord. Ubisoft's approach was to split gameplay mechanics between two people. Playing as Naoe means playing the best stealth game Ubisoft has made in more than a decade, thanks to a long list of skills and tools like ropes and immensely satisfying, lovingly animated parkour movement. Playing as Yasuke, however, means playing a good-enough samurai game that pales in comparison to the experience Naoe offers. Yasuke's focus is on the battle system, the weakest link of 'Shadows.' Combat has rarely been the high point of any game in this series. In 'Shadows,' it feels weighty and consequential with visceral, dramatic sprays of blood and body parts. That adds gravitas to Yasuke's battles, but after several hours, the fights are weighed down by a repetition that would sink other games in the series. Many of the game's areas are 'level gated.' This means the player may find themselves in outmatched fights against higher-level enemies who can take a lot of damage, and the battles are reduced to smacking people with your massive sword dozens of times, hardly an immersive experience. Yasuke's brutality is fun in bursts but feels limited when compared with Naoe's abilities. Yasuke feels powerful, but 'Shadows' enters a now-crowded market full of powerful samurai action with little to distinguish itself. Play as Naoe and switch on the option for guaranteed deaths in assassinations for this game's true delights. She slinks through the game's incredible locations that include castles that scrape the sky and a floating fortress anchored in the stunningly re-created Lake Biwa, located northeast of Kyoto, where much of the game centers. There aren't many games today where you can boost up a ninja with a grappling hook to scramble over lovingly detailed Japanese timber architecture. She can blow out candles, crawl under tight floorboards and disappear into the ceiling shadows. Suddenly this game feels like a triumphant return of the gameplay in Ubisoft's dormant and sorely missed Splinter Cell stealth series. All of these options are absent for Yasuke, who crashes around in large, loud armor. Yasuke's experience isn't a total loss. There is a quiet thrill in walking around as a living legend as this game's detailed crowd systems respond accordingly with people leering and gawking believably, often in awe. More importantly, Yasuke's story is the game's main narrative pull: There's a mysterious reason Yasuke was called to Japan, one that pertains to the series' larger story about the foundations of humanity. Although Naoe has the stronger gameplay, Yasuke has the more compelling narrative. Assassin's Creed games also function as virtual tourism, and for this purpose Yasuke is an excellent player surrogate. Much of his story is told through flashbacks, a normally tricky storytelling mechanic that works here to draw out a satisfying arc from humble, well-intentioned foreigner to legendary samurai. It's also an intimate, warm tale of cultural appreciation. That process is slow, but it ends with a more worldly, considerate person. It also helps that Japanese culture is well represented, with exact pronunciations from a convincing English-language cast of Japanese performers. The game allows the player to almost completely ignore playing as one character or the other, only occasionally forcing engagement for certain storylines. 'Shadows' makes it easy to ignore the parts you dislike, which makes this an easy recommend. But it makes me feel uneasy to praise this game for its uneven gameplay direction by allowing the audience to pretend as if it doesn't exist. I would've loved if the game allowed the characters to swap roles, much like the series has always done. The split here feels ambitious, yet doesn't quite work. Still, 'Shadows' is a stunning open world, the most beautiful ever crafted by Ubisoft, the publishing house that helped pioneer the formula. Not since Rockstar's 'Red Dead Redemption 2' in 2018 has a game looked more natural. It's no small feat that this game looks both better than and distinctive from Sony's gorgeous 'Ghost of Tsushima' in 2020, which had a more deliberate, painterly color psychology. 'Shadows' aims for photorealism, and it's clear the game's many delays helped create a sturdier visual experience. As a publisher, Ubisoft is in the headlines for financial woes and potential corporate overhauls. The narrative is that it all depends on the success of 'Shadows.' It's hard to tell whether this would be an audience-expanding entry in the series, particularly since it still relies on the 'go here, assassinate them' quest formula that is recreated endlessly in this game's repetitive structure. But at the very least, 'Shadows' is a brawny, beautiful reminder that Ubisoft, even in its experimental stumbles, remains a master of the open-world genre.
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
We asked two parkour athletes to rate the realism of Assassin's Creed's acrobatics, and a surprising 'crime against parkour' might actually be one of the most realistic things they saw
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. I think the Assassin's Creed games are how I first learned about parkour, which would probably be nails on a chalkboard to Toby Segar and Benj Cave, two actual parkour athletes with team Storror in the UK. We asked Toby and Benj to judge Assassin's Creed's take on the sport in the latest episode of our new video series, Reality Check. The two clearly have an affinity for the series, but took it to task in the realism department. I was surprised to learn just how effective the games' hay bale-cushioned leaps of faith might be in real life—up to eight stories with perfect execution, by Toby's reckoning—but the iconic sky high jumps of Assassin's Creed would result in "a perfect assassin's outline in the floor underneath the actual cart." Something I really appreciated were all the little details Toby and Benj caught that just never would have occurred to me to question, like how fast the upcoming Shadows' Naoe can sprint across a tightrope or, indeed, how Mirage's Basim can do a one-story landing onto a rope and not just bounce off or slip into the streets below. The thing Toby deemed "a hate crime against parkour" might actually be one of the most realistic moves they observed, though. In a clip from Shadows' previews, they saw big guy samurai Yasuke clamber up a ledge by swinging his leg up and putting his weight on his knee to mantle it. This move, an "alpine knee," is apparently a parkour 101 no-no. Given the sensitive nature and biomechanics of your knee, you're just never supposed to put your weight onto it like that when practicing parkour. But this actually fits really well with Yasuke, who's your less agile, brute force tank character in Shadows, as opposed to the more nimble Naoe. It makes sense that he'd be alpine knee-level bad at parkour, especially when he's clanking around in 40 or so pounds of lamellar armor. Ubisoft's animators might have specifically selected the move to say "This guy's got a Dex score of eight at best." Above the feasibility and physics of individual maneuvers, Benj pointed out that the biggest fictions in Assassin's Creed are probably the protagonists' iron endurance and flawless execution even after hours of rooftop antics, as well as their constant improvisation when real parkour is carefully planned ahead of time. You can follow Toby, Benj and Storror on Instagram, while the team is also working on its own parkour sim of the same name, set to release in early access at the end of March on Steam. Meanwhile, you can follow PC Gamer on YouTube to catch future episodes of Reality Check, as well as our video reviews and other non text-based content of a PC gaming persuasion. Our previous episodes of Reality Check include a paleontologist's take on Monster Hunter monsters and a psychologist's assessment of drama in The Sims. 2025 games: This year's upcoming releasesBest PC games: Our all-time favoritesFree PC games: Freebie festBest FPS games: Finest gunplayBest RPGs: Grand adventuresBest co-op games: Better together
