Latest news with #TheFourSeasons'
Yahoo
19 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Loretta Swit remembered by ‘M*A*S*H' costars, including Alan Alda
In the wake of M*A*S*H star Loretta Swit's passing at the age of 87, some of her former costars have posted remembrances of the two-time Emmy winner. Alan Alda, who played Capt. Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce, celebrated Swit for her role in helping to shape "Hot Lips" into a character deeper than audiences were used to seeing on TV. More from GoldDerby Loretta Swit holds this Emmy record that may never be broken Steve Carell to star opposite Tina Fey in Netflix's 'The Four Seasons' Ahmad Jamal dead: Jazz legend and Grammy lifetime achievement winner dies at 92 "Loretta was a supremely talented actor," the 89-year-old actor posted to X. "She deserved all her 10 EMMY nominations and her 2 wins. But more than acting her part, she created it. She worked hard In showing the writing staff how they could turn the character from a one joke sexist stereotype into a real person -- with real feelings and ambitions. We celebrated the day the script came out listing her character not as Hot Lips, but as Margaret. Loretta made the most of her time here." Alda was joined by Mike Farrell, who was cast in the series for its fourth season, playing B.J. Hunnicutt. On his Instagram, Farrell posted a picture of Swit with the caption, "Loretta… 1937-2025 #mash #mash4077th #mash4077 #lorettaswit #candle #sad #sadness #memory #memories" Swit died on May 30 at the age of 87. She passed away in her New York City apartment from what officials believe were natural causes. Best of GoldDerby 'I cried a lot': Rob Delaney on the heart and humor in FX's 'Dying for Sex' — and Neighbor Guy's kick in the 'zone' TV directors roundtable: 'American Primeval,' 'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,' 'Paradise' 'Paradise' directors John Requa and Glenn Ficarra on the 'chaos' of crafting 'the world coming to an end' Click here to read the full article.
The Citizen
4 days ago
- General
- The Citizen
Embracing the humour in life's chaos
From exploding chip packets to traffic jams, life's small crises are made easier when we embrace humour in the chaos. Life is full of small battles that test our patience, dignity and, sometimes, even our will to live – like trying to open a packet of chips without it exploding all over your lap. Some people call these minor inconveniences, but let's be honest: they feel like full-blown crises in the moment. There's a universal rule in life: no matter how early you leave, traffic will still find you. It's like a jealous ex – you think you've escaped it, but suddenly it's right behind you, flashing its hazards and refusing to let go. You tell yourself to stay calm but five minutes into a standstill, you start over-analysing everything. Why is that taxi skipping the queue? ALSO READ: TV's 'The Four Seasons' makes you think Why is this bakkie in the fast lane? Meanwhile, the car next to you is pretending to be on a very important call, but you know they're just talking to themselves for entertainment. We've all been there – stuck in a painfully awkward conversation with someone you barely know, desperately searching for a way out. Person: 'So, how's work?' You: 'Oh, you know … busy.' Person: 'Yeah, same.' ALSO READ: 'Ma, are you crazy?': Helen Zille's sons react to Showmax Roast Awkward silence as you both suddenly find the ceiling very interesting. At this point, your only options are: make a weird joke that noone understands, or pretend your cellphone is ringing and make an emergency escape. There are few things in life as humbling as assembling furniture. 'You start with enthusiasm, armed with an Allen key and misplaced confidence, only to realise two hours later that you've somehow built a bookshelf that looks like abstract art. The instructions don't help either. 'Attach panel A to slot B.' Cool, except slot B does not exist and panel A is missing. By the time you're done, there are three extra screws lying around, staring at you judgmentally. ALSO READ: Rob van Vuuren brings 'Namaste Bae' to Laugh Africa Comedy Festival You pick the shortest queue at the store, feeling smug about your decision – until you realise the person ahead of you is paying with coins and has exactly one million items in the trolley. At this point, you consider abandoning your trolley and living off whatever is left in your fridge, but it is day three of surviving on mustard and half a tomato. At the end of the day, life is full of these small struggles that make us laugh, cry, and question everything. But if you can find humour in the madness, then maybe – just maybe – you're winning.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
What's the Secret to Comedic Timing? The Creators and Artisans of ‘The Four Seasons' Pull Back the Curtain
There's something very aspirational these days about being able to take a vacation during spring, summer, fall, and winter. But the creative team behind 'The Four Seasons' miniseries had some goals of their own in mind when adapting the 1981 Alan Alda film of the same title. Co-creators, writers, and executive producers Tina Fey, Tracey Wigfield, and Lang Fisher, have all been involved in legendary comedy series from '30 Rock' to 'Never Have I Ever,' but 'The Four Seasons' demanded more character-driven and even 'indie movie' focus to its visual style than your standard sitcom. ' In the shows that Tina and Tracey and I have done before, it's been really rapid fire and there's been a lot of tight coverage and I feel like when we first started talking to [cinematographer Tim Orr], we'd like to play things looser,' co-creator and director Lang Fisher told IndieWire as part of a recent USG University Panel. 'To have more cinematic composition in the shots we're doing and more movement and, you know, to have it feel more like an indie movie.' More from IndieWire Cowboys vs. Accountants: The Real World of International Production Financing | Future of Filmmaking Summit at Cannes Richard Linklater Explains Why You Need to Be a 'Cheap Hustler' to Make Indie Films | Future of Filmmaking Summit at Cannes The plot of that indie movie is, fittingly, broken up into fourths as it checks in on a set of friends, all well-to-do couples, across four different vacations. Steve Carell and Kerri Kenney-Silver's Nick and Anne go through the biggest changes, beginning with a hail mary vow renewal that the latter puts on to save their marriage; but Tina Fey and Will Forte's Kate and Jack have their own struggles about how they do (or don't) show up for each other; and Colman Domingo and Marco Calvani's Danny and Claude sometimes have very different ways of looking at the world. Co-creator and actor Tina Fey was drawn to the original movie's tone, as well as the groundedness of Alda's writing. 'It felt like you were just really with these people. I loved what we refer to as the container play rules of the original. We're only seeing them on vacation. We never see their homes. We never see them at work. We pick up clues about who they are and what they do on the vacations,' Fey said. The original cast wasn't too shabby, either, and one of the highlights of the second episode of the Netflix series is the rare Alan Alda appearance, as he shows up at the vow renewal to give a little relationship advice to the current iteration of characters before dealing with the consequences of a spicy cup of coffee. 'It was all people that you love from other things coming together. And so that was our goal as producers,' Fey said. 'Could we put together this ensemble that people go, 'Wait, I like these people from other things and now they're all together. There's something kind of fun about that.' Assembling the right team behind the camera was just as crucial. 'We want this to be a beautiful show,' Co-creator and writer Wigfield told IndieWire. 'We want the visual language of the show to be prettier, slower, cozy, [to] welcome you in. But these kinds of words are nonsense coming out of my mouth if we don't hire the right people to interpret them and make real decisions based on them.' Chief among the interpreters were cinematographer Tim Orr and production designer Sharon Lomofsky, who tried to craft each season to be very classy and elegant while also hinting at the mess each of the characters would very much like to leave behind on vacation. 'We all wanted to make it feel timeless to where the cinematography was naturalistic and grounded but still had a richness and texture that was built through the lighting and where we placed the camera and how we moved it,' Orr told IndieWire. Orr avoided handheld coverage, which might be more ungainly, and an over-reliance on the tight shot-reverse shots sitcoms often employ to make sure that each improv riff gets captured. Dolly work and wide shots, to capture a sense of environment and of the characters' relationship to each other, and to themselves, did more storytelling work. 'And that's a thing I really appreciated about this show, is that there was a fearless attitude towards it [being OK] to play it in that wide shot,' Orr said. Likewise, Lomofsky wanted the homes and vacations we see in the show to look quite classy but to always give the audience some information about the characters they wouldn't necessarily say themselves. 'It's a dance and a symphony, picking the right [color] palettes for each bedroom but making it all feel like one house,' Lomofsky told IndieWire. From an exploding pottery shed to eco-yurts on a beach resort that Lomofsky and her team constructed truly out of nothing but a mud field, the production designer had a lot of logistics to manage in her builds. But some of the groundedness that supports the comedy comes out of building in a sense of history into the vacation houses that we see, down to the smallest details. 'It was all composing different eras, in a way, because we are staying in this [vacation] house for a really long time and bringing in collections over time and family photographs, which take a lot to actually do. We had to do photo shoots to do the family photos on the wall,' Lomofsky said. 'What I'm always going for is that it looks effortless — but it's really not effortless at all.' 'The Four Seasons' is streaming on Netflix. IndieWire partnered with Universal Studio Group for USG University, a series of virtual panels celebrating the best in television art from the 2024-2025 TV season across NBC Universal's portfolio of shows. USG University (a Universal Studio Group program) is presented in partnership with Roybal Film & TV Magnet and IndieWire's Future of Filmmaking. Catch up on the latest USG University videos here. Best of IndieWire 2023 Emmy Predictions: Who Will Win at the Primetime Emmy Awards? 2023 Emmy Predictions: Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special 2023 Emmy Predictions: Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Hacks,' ‘Umbrella Academy,' ‘Four Seasons,' and More Filmmakers Invite Viewers Into Their Storytelling Process
A wide range of filmmakers gathered on the Universal lot on May 22 for IndieWire and USG University's 'Consider This' panel, an FYC event designed to showcase the art of storytelling on television from a variety of perspectives. 'A Man on the Inside' editor Sue Federman, 'Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist' showrunner and writer/executive producer Shaye Ogbonna, and 'Hacks' makeup department head Debra Schrey and hair department head Aubrey Marie joined 'The Umbrella Academy' visual effects supervisor Everett Burrell and 'The Four Seasons' art director Mailara Santana on stage to take a deep dive into their process. They spoke in front of an audience comprised of TV Academy and guild members as well as film students from Roybal Film and Television Magnet. More from IndieWire 'Hacks' Renewed for Season 5 at HBO Max 'The Americas' Creative Team Didn't Just Capture Some of the Best Sperm Whale Footage Ever, They Made a Landmark Discovery After beginning the conversation with a discussion of how they got their start in the business, the panel quickly moved to the topic of their role as cinematic storytellers. Ogbonna, who created 'Fight Night,' said that the key to getting the most out of his collaborators was recognizing them as artists and utilizing their specific talents. 'I was trained at AFI and [learned] from day one that everybody's a storyteller,' Ogbonna said. ' Some of the best ideas you might get from an editor, you might get from a DP, you might get from a prop master.' When it came time for Ogbonna to take charge of his first series as showrunner, he took that sensibility with him. 'When it was time to hire all those people, I always saw them as partners in the story,' he said. 'It's, look, here's what's on the page, here are the parameters, but let's have fun.' Ogbonna wanted to give his wardrobe, makeup, and hair departments the freedom and inspiration to recreate the early 1970s era in which the show takes place. 'We're talking about very specific cultural touchstones in a certain time. It was important that we got it right.' On 'The Four Seasons,' it was imperative that the art direction reveal something about character and give the actors tools to work with. In creating the rundown Puerto Rican resort where the vacationing middle-aged friends (played by the likes of Tina Fey and Will Forte) at the center of the series stay, Santana zeroed in on aspects that would make them uncomfortable. 'The characters were not into going down and dirty,' Santana said. 'They wanted to go to a nice hotel as usual. [Showrunner] Tina Fey was very explicit about not wanting it to be pristine.' To that end, Santana worked on making the resort seem old and uncomfortable while contrasting it with a nicer resort close by that most of the characters wish they were staying at. 'We had to do a lot of aging,' she said. 'Once the actors got there, it was exactly what they were hoping for, because it helped them get in tune with their characters. It helps them feel like, 'I don't have to force it. I see it. It's just my environment. This is not necessarily where I want to be.'' Like 'The Four Seasons,' 'Hacks' is a character-driven comedy in which filmmaking craft goes a long way toward letting the audience know who these people are and what stage they're at in their lives. ' I need to think about, 'Does this person know how to do their hair?'' Marie said. 'Do they spend any time on it? If you look at somebody and their hair is perfectly blown out, that tells you something different than if their hair is just air dried or dirty or in a ponytail.' In the case of Ava, the young writer whose career has taken a big jump in the most recent season, Marie wanted to give a sense of the character's elevated position. 'She's gotten this new job, she has new responsibility, new money, and she's trying to put herself together,' Marie said. In previous seasons, Ava straightened her hair, but the back wouldn't be done because she couldn't see it; now she's more polished, but as Marie noted, 'She's still a little misguided.' That misguided quality extends to a hilarious episode in which Ava tries to give herself a makeover to impress an old flame who is coming on her show. She doesn't quite pull it off. 'That was really fun,' Schrey said. 'Tragic and awkward and fun. She never wears makeup, so this was a big deal, and we got to have fun with her. We called it the Sephora look.' Like 'Hacks,' 'A Man on the Inside' is a comedy series that goes to rather dramatic places; while the tone is generally quite sprightly as widower Ted Danson finds a new lease on life by becoming an undercover detective, there are also moments of genuine poignancy depicting his overwhelming sense of loss. 'That's the fun for me, to try to embrace the comedy but also the grief,' Federman said, noting that the opening of the series, in which the slow pace of Danson's life is clearly established, was one of the biggest challenges. 'That was very tricky and it was a big swing, because if you start slow, the network is very scared,' Federman said. 'They don't want anybody turning it off in the first five minutes. But [creator] Mike [Schur] was just adamant, 'This is this guy's character,' and we have to set it up because if you're invested in this, then everything else will follow. It started much longer. My first cut of the first episode was 43 minutes, and we ended up at 27 minutes.' Like Federman, Burrell feels that he's responsible for helping to maintain a show's tone through his work. ' There are a lot of in-depth talks about how to serve the story from a variety of angles,' Burrell said. 'One of them is color, which is a really big deal on 'The Umbrella Academy.' We had a lot of discussions about palettes and tone. Part of my job is helping the new directors who come on board understand the tone from other seasons.' Burrell said that the key to getting everyone on the same page is being a part of the process from beginning to end. 'Being involved early on during prep and getting scripts early is a big deal,' he said. 'If you don't get the script, you don't understand what the story is.' IndieWire partnered with Universal Studio Group for USG University, a series of virtual panels celebrating the best in television art from the 2024-2025 TV season across NBC Universal's portfolio of shows. USG University (a Universal Studio Group program) is presented in partnership with Roybal Film & TV Magnet and IndieWire's Future of Filmmaking. Catch up on the latest USG University videos here. Best of IndieWire 2023 Emmy Predictions: Who Will Win at the Primetime Emmy Awards? 2023 Emmy Predictions: Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special 2023 Emmy Predictions: Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series
Tom's Guide
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Tom's Guide
5 best Steve Carell movies to stream right now
Generations of fans may know Steve Carell solely as Michael Scott on 'The Office,' but he's had a long and varied career in both TV and film. A lesser actor might have gotten stuck being typecast in Michael Scott-like roles, but Carell has consistently sought out a variety of projects, from the hugely popular animated franchise 'Despicable Me' to the dark psychological thriller series 'The Patient.' While 'The Office' remains perennially popular, Carell continues to take on intriguing roles, playing a restless retiree in Tina Fey's hit Netflix series 'The Four Seasons' and a billionaire oligarch in the upcoming HBO Max movie 'Mountainhead,' from 'Succession' creator Jesse Armstrong. If you're checking out those new releases, or you just binged 'The Office' for the thousandth time, here are five great Steve Carell movies that demonstrate the depth of his talent. Carell and director Judd Apatow co-wrote the movie that proved to be a breakout hit for both of them. Carell plays Andy Stitzer, an affable but shy electronics store employee who's reached the age of 40 without ever having sex. His bro-tastic co-workers (played by Paul Rudd, Seth Rogen and Romany Malco) commit to getting him laid after discovering his secret, and the first half of the movie is filled with often hilariously raunchy humor. What makes the movie work, though, is the emotional core that Apatow brings to his best projects, treating Andy with sensitivity and sweetness, especially once he meets Trish (Catherine Keener), a kind and patient entrepreneur who's looking for a deeper connection. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. Everyone remembers Carell screaming out 'Kelly Clarkson!' during the ridiculous chest-waxing scene, but he's just as engaging to watch during the quieter moments. Rent/buy at Amazon or Apple Carell plays possibly the most grounded member of the dysfunctional Hoover clan in this heartwarming, Oscar-winning dramedy. Carell's Frank is introduced recovering from a suicide attempt, but he's otherwise remarkably clear-headed, especially compared to his high-strung sister Sheryl (Toni Collette) and her family. Because he isn't supposed to be left alone during his mental-health crisis, Frank tags along on the Hoovers' road trip to California to see 10-year-old Olive (Abigail Breslin) compete in a beauty pageant. As Frank frequently reminds people, he is the pre-eminent American scholar of author Marcel Proust, and his melancholy observations about life help him bond with Sheryl's teenage son Dwayne (Paul Dano). While everyone around him spirals out of control, Frank finds an inner calm that Carell captures with his wry, understated performance, an early indication of his dramatic range. Watch on Hulu Carell often steals the show in this Will Ferrell-led comedy, set at a San Diego TV station in the 1970s. Ferrell's boorish news anchor, Ron Burgundy, clashes with his new female co-anchor Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate), and he looks to his fellow male on-air staff for support. That includes Carell's dim-witted weatherman Brick Tamland, who is prone to non-sequiturs and generally has little idea what's going on at any time. Brick randomly asserting 'I love lamp' has become one of the most quoted lines from an extremely quotable movie, and Brick provides a sort of pure, innocent counterpoint to Ron and the other lecherous male characters. He's one of the most endearingly absurd elements in a completely absurd movie. Watch on Paramount Plus Carell landed an Oscar nomination for his first purely dramatic role, in this true-life story of eccentric millionaire and murderer John E. du Pont. Carell draws on his many oddball comedic characters to play the off-putting du Pont, who became fixated on wrestling and used his vast wealth to sponsor and train Olympic wrestlers. Mark Ruffalo (who was also nominated for an Oscar) and Channing Tatum play sibling wrestling champions Dave and Mark Schultz, who were recruited to train at du Pont's private facility. Carell makes du Pont both creepy and vulnerable, which doesn't excuse his horrific acts but does allow the audience to understand and even empathize with him slightly. That balance is difficult to pull off, and Carell manages it just as impressively as any of his goofy comedic roles. Watch on The Roku Channel Carell's Bobby Riggs is not the person audiences root for in this inspirational fact-based drama, about the 1973 tennis match between Riggs and female tennis champion Billie Jean King (Emma Stone). Even though Riggs is a sexist pig, Carell finds the humanity in the role, playing him as a desperate man who remains hungry for the spotlight more than a decade after his retirement. Riggs is also a huckster and a gambling addict, and he comes up with the idea of the exhibition match to 'prove' that men are inherently better at tennis than women. It's less about making a political point than about making Riggs some money, and in that way he's more worthy of pity than contempt. Carell conveys that inner sadness, without taking away from King's own struggle and significant achievement. Rent/buy at Amazon or Apple
