Categories
Preview Text Reviews TV Review

TV Review: In Plain Sight

In Plain Sight is the newest member of the family of the USA “Characters Welcome” family. It is a very welcome addition, and is an intriguing and fun show to watch!

The show centers on Mary Shannon (Mary McCormick), a US Marshall working with the Federal Witness Protection Program (WITSEC). She is a feisty, independent agent who wants to handle her cases in her own way – and lets nothing or no one stand in her way. She is extremely dedicated to her job and the people she protects, almost to the exclusion of everything else in her life.

The supporting characters include those people who are close to Mary (or try to be). Mary’s flaky unemployed mom, Jinx (Lesley Ann Warren) lives with her. Her slacker sister Brandi (Nichole Hiltz) has just arrived for a seemingly endless visit (bringing with her secrets of her own). Mary is the “adult” in the household and takes care of her mother and sister as if they were her witnesses. Raphael (Cristian de la Fuente) is her boyfriend who Mary rarely sees and seems to use only for sex and to do her errands (mostly involving her sister). Her WITSEC partner is Marshall (Frederick Weller), who tends to “get” her more than most of the other people in her life. Stan (Paul Ben-Victor) is her boss at WITSEC and just may be nursing a little crush on Mary.

The show is set up in a “case-of-the-week” style with Mary being assigned a new witness or a problem arising with a previously placed witness in each episode. In the pilot, Mary is called in to investigate the murder of the son of a mob informant that was previously placed in witness protection. She had previously placed this family, and she feels responsible for the safety of the family – and to find the killer. In the second episode, Mary is the only protection for a little boy placed in her care after witnessing his mother’s murder by his own father and his drug king-pin bosses. In another episode, Mary and Marshall work together to place a girl and her family in witness protection after she witnesses a murder by a notorious gang member. The girl’s father is extremely reluctant to leave his posh lifestyle and acclaimed career and begin a new anonymous lifestyle regardless of the danger to his family, and it is up to Mary and Marshall to make him understand why their protection is necessary.

I would definitely recommend In Plain Sight to anyone who is a fan of the current line of USA drama series or the crime and investigation genre.

In Plain Sight premieres Sunday, June 1 at 10pm/9c on USA Network.

Categories
News On The Lot

News Briefs

/Film reports that it seems more Rocky films may be possible. During a presentation at Cannes, MGM chairperson Mary Parent said that the company is entertaining the idea of the possibility of making more Rocky films saying that she believes Rocky Balboa may have some more fight in him.

Fraggle Rock Moving forward. Corey Edwards, writer for the screenplay for The Weinstein Co’s upcoming Fraggle Rock movie, has completed almost 50-pages of his first draft which is based upon a 17-page studio approved outline. “[The outline] is the product of many meetings with the Henson and Weinstein folks, and has every little story beat we could think of,” Edwards wrote in his blog. “The outline has been picked at, beat up, and shot at for any major problems. So now I have the freedom to lock myself in my laboratory and create, knowing that I am working from a road map that everyone has signed off on.”

After Tuesday’s box office returns Indiana Jones & The Kingdom of The Crystal Skull will be close to $160M for 6 days.

Smaller actors unions are starting to push for a deal with the studios while the larger Screen Actors Guild waits to restart its stalled talks with the studios. The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists was early Wednesday in its second late night of talks with the producers after negotiating through the Memorial Day weekend.

After an off hand remark by Sharon Stone at Cannes indicating that the earth quake in China was the result of karma, many Chinese theaters are now refusing to show her movies.

Variety reports that the One Club will be presenting the the first annual One Show Entertainment Awards on Oct. 7. The award will acknowledge achievements by brands in entertainment with categories to include feature film, commercial and online gaming.

Google and Viacom still going at it over YouTube. In a quote from papers submitted to a U.S. District Court in Manhattan on Friday, Google said that YouTube “goes far beyond its legal obligations in assisting content owners to protect their works.” Google is claiming that the Viacom’s $1 billion lawsuit over YouTube’s video sharing threatens how hundreds of millions of people exchange information on the Internet. This was in response to a recently amended complaint by Viacom that alleges that the Internet has led to “an explosion of copyright infringement” by YouTube and others. The ongoing legal battle has intensified since Viacom filed the lawsuit last year, saying that it was owed damages for the unauthorized viewing of programming from its networks.

Sources:
/Film
FantasyMoguls.com
Yahoo! News
Cinema Blend
Variety

Categories
News

Oscar Winner Sydney Pollack Dies At 73

Entertainment Times Online reports that Oscar winning driector Sydney Pollack died Monday afternoon at his home after succumbing to stomach cancer. He was 73.

He was born Sydney Irwin Pollack in Lafayette, Indiana to Rebecca and David Pollack, Jewish immigrants from Russia.

Pollack studied with Sanford Meisner at The Neighborhood Playhouse in New York City and later taught acting there for 5 years before embarking on his own acting career. His directing career began in TV in the 1960s with episodes of The Fugitive and Alfred Hitchcock Presents. He won the Academy Award for Directing for Out of Africa (1985). Pollack also received nominations for Best Director Oscars for They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? and Tootsie.

Thanks in part to an active feud with actor Dustin Hoffman during the filming of Tootsie, Pollack began to appear in character roles in films such as A Civil Action, Changing Lanes, and Eyes Wide Shut, as well as in several of his own films including Random Hearts and The Interpreter. He would also appear in Woody Allen’s Husbands and Wives as a lawyer undergoing a midlife crisis, and as a doctor in Robert Zemeckis’ Death Becomes Her. He had a recurring guest role on the NBC sitcom Will & Grace as Will Truman’s (Eric McCormack) father, George Truman. In 2007 Pollack had guest appearances on both the The Sopranos and Entourage. His last film appearance was as Patrick Dempsey’s father in the 2008 comedy Made of Honor.

Pollack was married to Claire Griswold, from 1958 until his death. The couple had three children: Rachel, Rebecca, and Steven Pollack. Steven died in a plane crash in 1993.

Sources:
Wikipedia
Entertainment Times Online

Categories
News

Tolkien Crusades Against "Hobbit"

 

Entertainment Times online reports that 83 year old Christopher Tolkien is calling for “one last crusade” against Warner Bros who he says owes him more than $150 million.

In a 1969 deal made to settle family tax debts, Christopher signed away the film rights to his father’s works to New Line Cinema in exchange for a 7.5% share of the take. New Line had reported a $3 billion worldwide gross for the trilogy but in February of this year New Line was absorbed by its parent company Time Warner due to a string of failed releases capped by the stunning domestic losses from The Golden Compass. Warner Bros has refused to comment.

The 83 year old Tolkien is scheduled to appear in court on June 6, and will be asking to terminate all film rights to The Hobbit. June 6 is the same day that Sir Ian McKellan and Andy Serkis are expected to announce their return to the franchise.

The Hobbit set to be released in 2010.

Sources:
Digital Spy
Box Office Mojo
Stuff.co.nz
411 mania
Entertainment Times Online
/Film
Wikipedia