Latest news with #TheLordoftheRings:TheRingsofPower
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power' director Charlotte Brändström on Gandalf's ‘big reveal' and which scene required ‘the most prep'
Working on an expansive series like Prime Video's The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, director-producer Charlotte Brändström knew she had to "take things one by one, and build up." As she tells Gold Derby, "It's a very technical show, so you do what you always do: you go into scripts and you focus on stories and then you get into it. It doesn't feel like something absolutely huge, and at the same time, it was huge because of the scale and the different worlds and the characters. There was a lot to do." Brändström will be submitting the Season 2 finale, "Shadow and Flame," for Emmy consideration in her directing category. "Among the episodes that I directed, it was the one that was the most diverse," she explains. "It was the most big-scale and cinematic. It had big scenes, and it also had very intimate character moments. That always drives the series. Whatever scale you're working on, it's always the characters that take over at some point." More from GoldDerby Guest acting Emmy odds: See how Kaitlyn Dever, Jeffrey Wright, Martin Scorsese, Bryan Cranston, and other hopefuls stack up 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' The Swedish-French filmmaker states that the sacrifice King Durin (Peter Mullan) makes at the start of the episode is an "incredible moment" and one that "wasn't easy" to direct. While the demon creature, the Balrog, was the creation of visual effects, "At the same time, I had to direct actors in a very emotional moment, because there was the disappearance of King Durin. It was one of the most exciting moments in the whole episode for me." The confirmation that the Stranger (Daniel Weyman) is actually Gandalf takes place in the finale. "Since it's such a big moment that the audience was waiting for, I tried to make it as simple as possible when his name came up. So, not to do something too big, neither with the reaction of the actor or cinematically. I just wanted it to be a simple character moment, because it's such a big reveal, Brändström says, noting it was "a reveal that people expected." The sword fight between Sauron (Charlie Vickers) and Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) required "the most prep of everything in the episode," the director divulges. "I first had to research to find the style for the sword fight, and to make it all so personal and epic at the same time. There was no real VFX moment in the whole scene — all of the effects were done in-camera. The most complicated part was probably all of the makeup changes." Creating "tension" between the two enemies was paramount, because it was "their first confrontation in the whole season." The character that Brändström identifies with the most is Disa (Sophia Nomvete), the strong-willed wife of Prince Durin (Owain Arthur). "I love Disa because she believes in tradition," she notes. "But at the same time, she's never afraid of renewing herself, which is how I see life." "A lot of work" goes into making sure all of the characters and storylines on The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power are properly cared for. "Once you get into it, you have to prepare a lot, and then on the day, you have to leave room for some improvisation," Brändström tells us. "You need to keep the worlds apart, and you go back and forth a lot. There are obviously a lot of parallel stories, but it's not the first time I've done that." The team on the show "remains grounded" in order to ensure that author J.R.R. Tolkien's vision is respected. There are no "weird effects," and all of the magic has to "come from natural elements, like smoke and fire and dust and mud." Brändström adds, "His writing is very much about character and destiny, so it was about small character moments, and to never forget to keep it real and grounded and sincere." Also in our exclusive video interview, Brändström talks about what prop she would want to take home with her, she delves into why she loves directing genre projects so much, and she teases what she can about Season 3 of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. This article and video are presented by Prime Video. SIGN UP for Gold Derby's free newsletter with latest predictions Best of GoldDerby 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' 'American Primeval' director Peter Berg on crafting an 'adventure story' with a 'dysfunctional family' in the wild west Click here to read the full article.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
TV directors roundtable: ‘American Primeval,' ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,' ‘Paradise'
Gold Derby recently hosted a group discussion with four of the industry's leading television directors and producers. They each opened up about when the directing bug originally bit them, what potential dream projects they are hoping to make happen, and which directors they personally look up to. Joining our Meet the Experts: TV Directors roundtable panel are Peter Berg for American Primeval, Charlotte Brändström for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, and John Requa and Glenn Ficarra for Paradise. Watch the full group panel above. Click each person's name to watch an individual interview. More from GoldDerby Guest acting Emmy odds: See how Kaitlyn Dever, Jeffrey Wright, Martin Scorsese, Bryan Cranston, and other hopefuls stack up 'Paradise' directors John Requa and Glenn Ficarra on the 'chaos' of crafting 'the world coming to an end' 'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power' director Charlotte Brändström on Gandalf's 'big reveal' and which scene required 'the most prep' "I started off with documentaries, specifically wildlife," Brändström explains about her industry beginnings. "I studied anthropology and then I went through AFI [the American Film Institute] in L.A. I started to do short films and got more and more interested in directing. I wrote and directed my first feature, [titled Stormy Summer]. It was a French drama set during the second World War, a love and betrayal story in the French residence. After I finished that, I got a prize for it and decided I didn't want to do anything else for the rest of my life." She also mentions how she's directed projects in three different languages — French, Swedish, and English. Berg has "so much respect" for Brändström for being able to "speak and direct in three languages, because you speak better English than I do," he jokes. Berg started out by directing plays in high school, but the "key moment" happened when he was acting on Chicago Hope. "The great David E. Kelley did that show back in the day, and we were doing 28 episodes a season ... I was becoming kind of TV-famous as a doctor, Billy Kronk, and people would come up to me and start talking to me like I was that character." When a stranger on an airplane showed him a "horrible, oozing rash" on her elbow, he realized his "legacy" was about to be cemented as a TV doctor. He recalls, "And that, more than anything else, motivated me to take my interest in directing to the next gear." His first movie was Very Bad Things (1998), which Kelley let him out to write and direct. "Meanwhile, Glenn and I have been spending three years on a spec," Requa laughs. "A friend of ours who's an actor is baiting us, will you please just finish the script?!" Ficarra can't get his "mind around" producing so many episodes and shows simultaneously in today's landscape, noting, "We wrote, produced, and directed [Rabbit Hole] on Paramount a couple years ago, and that is the hardest f--king job. It almost killed me. I can't imagine doing more than one show." After making Super 8 movies separately as kids, the duo "met in film school in the '80s," with Ficarra explaining, "I wanted to be a director, and John helped me become a writer." Requa chimes in, "I read Akira Kurosawa's autobiography, and on the back of the book there are 12 hints for young filmmakers, and one of them is 'read the great screenplays, master the craft of screenwriting.' I was like, 'Oh, really? I have to do that?' So, I put down my director pants and I put on my writer pants and I decided I'm gonna figure this out. It took me 20 years! And I still don't think we figured it out." Ficarra recalls, "I don't remember who said it to us. It was like, 'You guys get tired of directors f--king up your scripts. Why don't you go f--k them up on your own?' And so, OK, we did it." This article and video are presented by Netflix, Prime Video, and Disney/Hulu. SIGN UP for Gold Derby's free newsletter with latest predictions Best of GoldDerby 'Paradise' directors John Requa and Glenn Ficarra on the 'chaos' of crafting 'the world coming to an end' 'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power' director Charlotte Brändström on Gandalf's 'big reveal' and which scene required 'the most prep' 'American Primeval' director Peter Berg on crafting an 'adventure story' with a 'dysfunctional family' in the wild west Click here to read the full article.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘It's very daunting': Luke Kirby on taking the lead in ‘Étoile' after playing ‘vampire' Lenny Bruce in ‘Mrs. Maisel'
The last time we saw Luke Kirby on our screens, he was admittedly in not great shape, playing Lenny Bruce on the downward slope of his career in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Luckily, Kirby is now officially a member of the Palladino-verse — and the husband-and-wife creative team of Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino centered him in their new ballet dramedy Étoile, which debuted last month on Prime Video. Kirby stars as Jack MacMillan, the head of a New York ballet company who engages in a talent swap with a Paris troupe in a bid to revive interest in both. Naturally, hilarity, romance and plenty of dance ensue. 'I'm really happy with how people are responding to the dynamism of the story, the kinetic energy of it, how different it is from our last endeavor,' Kirby tells Gold Derby. 'And I think the biggest thing is just people saying the show grows as the episodes go on, that it does work as a big movie where things are revealed episode to episode where by the end, you have this very rich tapestry of information for these characters and this endeavor to keep their art alive.' More from GoldDerby 'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power' star Charles Edwards on his tragic death scene: 'He did single-handedly withstand Sauron' 'It keeps me on my toes': 'St. Denis Medical' star Allison Tolman on walking a fine line between zany and 'incredibly heartfelt' Creating a world for Helperbots: Dane Laffrey on the scenic design of 'Maybe Happy Ending' (exclusive images) Here, Kirby tells Gold Derby what it means to step into the spotlight, who he thinks Jack should end up with, and what he wants to see next season. Gold Derby: This may be the first show in the Palladino-verse that has a male lead. Luke Kirby: Well, you know, I'm a womanish man. What did it mean to you to have them write this part with you in mind? It's very flattering. And it's very daunting. The biggest comfort that I get from it is that alongside me, they managed to cull together this incredible group of actors to work with. The show does feel like an ensemble piece, and there is nothing better than finding a unit and becoming a kind of organism in a way where you're together rising as a company. That's the best thing that you can hope for. SEE'Étoile' cast and creators on fast-talking, mean drunks, and what they learned from 'Gilmore Girls' How much did you know about Jack's arc when you first signed on? With Amy and Dan, I don't really ask questions. I mean, it's funny with television. If you're not in the writers' room, you have to be selective as an actor as to when you make suggestions or even ask questions. Obviously, there's important things to know, but the biggest thing that I find helps me is that it relates to real life in that you don't know what's coming. And so just putting your faith in that, the unknown and then being richly surprised every time a new episode comes out is kind of a great adventure. How much research did you have to do? How familiar were you with the ballet world? I would say, in an adjacent orbit. I started studying theater in high school, and I really became quite passionate about it after ninth grade. I really felt compelled by this world and decided as a teenager that it was a world that I could endeavor into. I didn't know if I had talent; all I knew is that everybody I met told me it was going to be really hard. I put this room in my mind where I would have a hot plate and some ramen noodles and a cot. And I said, I'll be good with that. … And then my cousin was studying ballet, and so we were kind of like two trains running side by side in our endeavors. So I was familiar with just how much dedication was required and how competitive, the heartbreak that comes with injury, and rejection and everything else. But this was a wholly new big education. Is it harder to play Jack or Lenny Bruce? Is it easier to invent somebody? With Lenny, all I had to do was open the window at night and then invite the vampire in. I really got to get out of the way at a certain point, something was really happening where it was just time travel and I got to smoke cigarettes. With Jack, it felt like it was more coming out of the mud. It felt a little closer to home in some ways. I'd say I spent more time with Jack in his boyhood than I did with Lenny. I really feel like I understand Jack's childhood in a way that is representative of the man he is today. With both of those characters, I do feel a drive that I do think is similar to that vision of a door closing. Lenny clearly felt that something needed to get done quickly, and I do feel like Jack has the same sensation. It's not that the wolves are at the door per se, but that there's something of a purpose that he needs, a job needs to get done that he needs to do. And if he doesn't do it, Rome will fall. SEE'Étoile' star Gideon Glick: 'I've made a career out of playing strange, interesting people' Did you invent your own backstory for him, or did you have conversations with Amy and Dan about him? We didn't have a lot of conversations about it. It's funny how with them, there's something about the way they are working in the way that a lot of things kind of match up. Maybe we talked a little bit about Jack's father and his influence in the city and where did he go to school, little things like that. But I was amazed as the season progressed and I would get these scripts where we'd be with my mom and my uncle and they would talk about me as a kid, where there were things that were coming alive in the script that had resonated with the work that I had done in kind of imagining this guy's upbringing. It's just, what do they call it, synchronicity! It just sort of happens. That does happen when a group works together the way that Amy and Dan work. I do think that that bleeds out into the whole crew. And I think that synchronicity does just start to bubble up in a really kind of pure and beautiful way. Yes, it serves them well that they have actors and crew that they've worked together for so many years. Even though the characters may be different from show to show, they know how to write to you and you know how to perform to them. As an actor, I think the biggest thing is just finding a way to get out of your own way. Their work is athletic, especially when Amy's directing. A lot of the time it is like a dance. It requires great precision and specificity. As long as you arrive ready to mark that and have as much work done prior to showing up, you can find a rhythm that makes the day feel very heightened and smooth. I don't mean easy, because it's not easy, but just kind of rising to the occasion, because they're aspirational. It's like ballet, what they do. So what's your take on the love triangle between Jack, Cheyenne (Lou de Laage) and Genevieve (Charlotte Gainsbourg)? Who do you think should Jack end up with? I have very strong feelings about this, but I do not know that they're for anybody to know but myself. I will say this — I feel like both of those relationships feel so authentic and I feel that the respect and affection that Jack has with both Cheyenne and Genevieve and the relationship that Genevieve and Cheyenne have together are lifeblood friendships so they're obviously really rolling the dice when things get more intimate. But, you know, it's the ballet! There's no great surprise that this is happening. Is Crispin (Simon Callow) going to pay for the wedding? That's the more important question! And should there be a season two, what would you like to see for Jack and the show overall? I'd like to meet at least one of Jack's ex-wives. I think that would be interesting. Jack does mention having a horse. I'd like to see the horse at least, or maybe even see Jack on the horse. I mean, this me just dropping wishes in the wishing well at this point! Best of GoldDerby 'I do think that I burned down the cabin': How 'Yellowjackets' star Steven Krueger pulled off Coach Ben's mental and physical decline 'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power' star Charles Edwards on his tragic death scene: 'He did single-handedly withstand Sauron' 'It keeps me on my toes': 'St. Denis Medical' star Allison Tolman on walking a fine line between zany and 'incredibly heartfelt' Click here to read the full article.
Express Tribune
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
The Wheel of Time canceled after 3 seasons by Prime Video
Prime Video has officially canceled The Wheel of Time after three seasons. The high-budget fantasy series, adapted from the bestselling novels by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson, will not be returning for Season 4. The decision follows over a month of internal discussions after the Season 3 finale aired on April 17, 2025. Despite being praised as the show's best season creatively—with a 97% score on Rotten Tomatoes—Season 3 reportedly failed to meet global viewership expectations relative to its cost. The series, co-produced by Sony Pictures Television and Amazon MGM Studios, was one of Prime Video's most expensive productions. While The Wheel of Time topped streaming charts in multiple countries, it dropped out of Nielsen's U.S. Top 10 Originals list after three weeks, unlike its previous seasons. Launched in 2021, The Wheel of Time was initially one of Prime Video's biggest series debuts and helped establish the platform in the fantasy genre, later joined by The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. The show stars Rosamund Pike as Moiraine Damodred alongside a large ensemble cast including Daniel Henney, Josha Stradowski, and Zoë Robins. Sources say the Season 3 finale was designed to provide closure in anticipation of a potential cancellation. Despite the cancellation, Prime Video and Sony TV will continue their Emmy campaign for the third season. Showrunner Rafe Judkins and producers have been credited with improving the series each season, both creatively and critically. However, even strong reviews and loyal fans weren't enough to offset rising costs in today's competitive streaming landscape.
Economic Times
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Economic Times
No season 4? Here's everything we know about why The Wheel of Time is cancelled
The Wheel of Time debuted in November 2021 and quickly gained attention. Season 2 dropped in September 2023, followed by Season 3 in March 2025. The show starred Rosamund Pike as the powerful Aes Sedai, Moiraine Damodred, and featured a diverse ensemble cast including Daniel Henney, Josha Stradowski, Zoë Robins, and Madeleine Madden. (Image source: Amazon Prime Video) Fantasy fans are in for a shock as Amazon Prime Video has cancelled The Wheel of Time after just three seasons. The news comes only a month after the Season 3 finale aired in April series, based on the bestselling novels by Robert Jordan (and later Brandon Sanderson), was once hailed as Amazon's next big fantasy hit after The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. But despite a promising start, viewership declined sharply in its latest Wheel of Time debuted in November 2021 and quickly gained attention. Season 2 dropped in September 2023, followed by Season 3 in March 2025. The show starred Rosamund Pike as the powerful Aes Sedai, Moiraine Damodred, and featured a diverse ensemble cast including Daniel Henney, Josha Stradowski, Zoë Robins, and Madeleine Madden. Reports suggest that while the show maintained strong creative support, the numbers simply didn't justify its high production costs. Season 3 in particular struggled to hold audience interest. The show dropped out of Nielsen's Top 10 streaming originals just three weeks into its run, an alarming sign compared to earlier seasons, which held strong throughout their Video has made no official statement yet, but insiders say financial concerns played a major role in the decision. The fantasy series was among Amazon's more expensive productions with its massive world-building, visual effects, and large ensemble news leaves fans without closure on many storylines. The original Wheel of Time book series spans 14 volumes and a prequel, meaning the show only scratched the surface of its source material. Some viewers are now calling for another studio to pick it up or for the story to be completed in film now, all three seasons remain available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video. While the series may be over, its complex world of prophecy, magic, and battle will continue to live on in the books and the hearts of its fans. Season 4 of The Wheel of Time has been officially canceled by Prime Video. The series will conclude with season 3, and there are currently no plans to continue the show beyond series improves with each season, boasting strong world-building and visuals; many viewers find it increasingly engaging, especially from season 2 renowned for its epic scope, detailed world, unique magic system, and large cast, with the books achieving bestseller status and critical it's a hit—recently, it was the #1 most-watched Prime Video show in 23 countries, and season 3 has received its highest audience scores yet.
