| You didn't have to be a viewer of "The Bachelorette" or "The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives" to see their fates dominate headlines this week. |
| The announcement last fall that Taylor Frankie Paul, the #MomTok influencer and star of "Mormon Wives," was headlining the new season of "The Bachelorette" was unexpected — she was set to be the first heroine who hadn't competed in the "The Bachelor" franchise. It was a move intended to capitalize on the juggernaut status of Hulu's breakout reality show — a way to maximize the reach of Disney's unscripted universe. Then reports surfaced that Paul was embroiled in a police investigation over incidents in February involving her on-again, off-again partner Dakota Mortensen. The situation intensified Thursday with the release of a disturbing video showing Paul attacking Mortensen in a separate dispute in 2023. That same day, ABC announced it was pulling the new season of the long-running dating show ahead of its Sunday launch. Meanwhile, production on Season 5 of "Mormon Wives" is paused. If you want more insight into the controversy that took the internet by storm, read our story: "We talked to 'Bachelorette' Taylor Frankie Paul. Then reality hit pause on her TV career" |
| If you'd rather escape to the windswept plains of Montana than fall down the rabbit hole of another reality TV star's sordid saga, there are more episodes of "The Madison" to help set the vibe. The Paramount+ series from Taylor Sheridan stars screen veterans Michelle Pfeiffer and Kurt Russell as Stacy and Preston Clyburn, the central couple whose aspirational romance drives this story about a grieving New York family who relocates to the Montana Madison River after being rocked by devastating tragedy. The series was originally intended as a "Yellowstone" spinoff but evolved into a standalone drama. After premiering last weekend with three episodes, the final three arrive on Saturday. Patrick J. Adams, who plays the couple's investment banker son-in-law, stopped by Guest Spot to discuss his entry into Sheridan's TV universe. |
| Also in this week's Screen Gab, our recommendations include a collection of films that pay homage to analog treasures known as VHS tapes, and a pair of British literary adaptations that'll rewind you back to the 19th century. |
| Happy watching! |
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| — Yvonne Villarreal |
Turn on |
| Recommendations from the film and TV experts at The Times |
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| Danny Griffin as Jolyon Forsyte Jr. and Tuppence Middleton as Frances Forsyte, members of the powerful family behind a prestigious stockbroking firm, in the PBS drama "Forsyte." (PBS) |
| "The Forsytes" and "The Count of Monte Cristo" (PBS) |
| Hot enough for you? What could be more refreshing than to settle down with a Sunday night doubleheader of British literary adaptations, arriving under the banner of PBS' "Masterpiece"? (I can feel the temperature dropping even as I write the words.) "The Forsytes," notably adapted as "The Forsyte Saga" at the turn of this century, comes from the novels of John Galsworthy, a multigenerational tale of stockbrokers in late Victorian England. Writer Debbie Horsfield, who adapted Winston Graham's "Poldark Cycle," adjusts the sex and sexual politics for modern tastes — which won't be everyone's, but heavy breathing in period couture does exert a reliable pull. Heading south across the Channel, "The Count of Monte Cristo," from Alexandre Dumas' 1846-66 novel, has nothing to do with the famous sandwich, but is rather an epic tale of false imprisonment and revenge served cold, with Sam Claflin as Edmond Dantès, settling scores in the guise of the eponymous Count. Bille August ("Pelle the Conqueror") directs. — Robert Lloyd |
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| Craig Wasson and Melanie Griffith in 1984's "Body Double." (Columbia Pictures) |
| "VHS Forever" collection (Criterion Channel) |
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| Used to be you could ask any Gen Xer about the black videocassettes and they'd tell you horror stories: You had to rewind them. Sometimes you had to adjust "tracking." Lately, though, zoomers have grown their own scene devoted to VHS, collecting and trading tapes and basking secondhand in the fuzzy glow. Criterion Channel gets in on the nostalgia with a series gathering all the '80s and '90s essentials. David Cronenberg's 1983 "Videodrome" — i.e., the movie that launched a thousand grad theses — is the one in which a VHS tape is inserted into James Woods' abdomen. Just as classic in its own way, Brian De Palma's "Body Double" has a scene set at the ultimate late-night generational marker, Tower Video. You also get those haunted millennial thrillers in which a mystery cassette spells doom: David Lynch's 1997 "Lost Highway" and two versions of "The Ring" (the Hollywood remake with Naomi Watts is actually scarier than the Japanese original, but you can compare for yourself). — Joshua Rothkopf |
Guest spot |
| A weekly chat with actors, writers, directors and more about what they're working on — and what they're watching |
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| Patrick J. Adams as Russell McIntosh and Elle Chapman as Paige McIntosh in "The Madison." (Emerson Miller / Paramount+) |
| In "The Madison," the sweeping drama that follows the grieving Clyburn family as they try to rebuild their lives, Patrick J. Adams battled hornets — and, in doing so, unearths some levity amid the emotional rubble. Best known for starring as Mike Ross in the legal drama "Suits," Adams plays Russell McIntosh, a young investment banker who relocates from Manhattan to Montana's Madison River following the tragic deaths of his wife's relatives. Adams brings comedic city-slicker charm to the wilderness in his portrayal of a privileged banker husband tending to the high-maintenance ways of his wife, Paige (Elle Chapman), the youngest daughter in the Clyburn clan — like when he reluctantly and poorly battled hornets after his wife was stung repeatedly trying to use a wasp-infested outhouse, all while the family's matriarch, played by Michelle Pfeiffer, tries to make sense of her future. Over email, Adams discussed what it was like working opposite Pfeiffer and how he settled into Montana life. — Y.V. |
| Taylor Sheridan seems to sense what it takes to make a hit TV show. What do you think he understands about the medium and the audience? |
| Truthfully, I have had almost no contact with Taylor since he called to offer me the job, so any thoughts I have on him or his superpowers in relation to the medium and audience are based solely on my time working on this set for four months and reading these scripts as they came out. I think Taylor believes that the most compelling stories are driven by putting compelling characters in complicated circumstances. He doesn't seem to be concerned with the plot. Most television shows are constructed by committee in a room and involve moving cards around on a wall until they all agree they have it "right," and then someone goes and writes the episode, and then there are notes and more notes, and eventually there is a script to shoot. As [far] as I can tell from my time on this show, Taylor's process is much simpler. He sits and writes a whole script, and we go and shoot it. I have to imagine that a big part of what audiences are responding to is that sort of singular, unfilleted quality that comes with all of his shows. |
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| You share some scenes with Michelle Pfeiffer, who plays a recent widow trying to process immense loss while figuring out what to do next. What was it like working with her? What struck you about her work ethic or her approach to a scene? |
| I could write a book about what I've learned from watching Michelle work. Most actors play one instrument, and they have a few notes they can play perfectly. Michelle is the whole orchestra, and to see her performance in "The Madison" is a symphony. I don't know how to pin any of it down. There is, of course, so much preparation. She knows the story inside out, has carefully charted the emotional arc and has so many insightful questions along the way that deepen our understanding of the scenes we share. But then there is this other, almost mystical thing that happens that goes beyond talent and preparation, and I feel like I can only describe it as presence. Michelle is so absolutely present and available to the moment when she is shooting. There is no pushing or manufacturing of anything. She just listens better than any actor I've ever worked with. And most of all, she is just a truly warm, curious and grateful person who wants the best for everyone in the room. |
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| Michelle Pfeiffer as Stacy Clyburn and Patrick J. Adams as Russell McIntosh in "The Madison." (Emerson Miller / Paramount+) |
| Russell is a wealthy investment banker married to the youngest of the Clyburn daughters, Paige (Elle Chapman). While there's heartbreak at the center of the show, you and Elle provide a lot of humor with the city-slickers-in-the-wild setup. Was it nerve-racking or freeing finding your rhythm with that when the overall story is so heavy? What's an interesting note you got from director Christina Alexandra Voros as your character did things like battle hornets in an outhouse? |
| I think finding the boundaries of what was possible was the biggest challenge with Russell. I went into this not really knowing how big I could play him. My instinct was always to swing for the fences, pick the most ridiculous silk pajamas, scream with joy while I assassinate hornets, trip over myself and drop as many things as possible — I wanted to start Russell as far from comfortable as possible, so we had somewhere to take him. And Christina really just kept fanning that flame for me. Day 1 was the scene with the hornets and having to spray them all to death. I was so nervous to take a big swing because I wasn't sure what the tone of the show was at that point. But Christina really empowered me to go for it, and ever since we have had a great shorthand. I would always go really big, and after she yelled cut I would look over and know instantly if it was a little too far. |
| What stands out from the experience of shooting in Montana? In what ways did you feel like a fish out of water, and in what ways did the setting help you disconnect from the usual bustle of set life? |
| I shot "Suits" in a decaying warehouse in North Toronto for seven years, so this was a very welcome change of pace. Montana is unspeakably beautiful, especially in the fall when we shot. And our spot there next to the Madison River became our home away from home. But there is also the difference between Patrick in Montana and Russell in Montana. Patrick could move there tomorrow, but Russell has to be terrified of every sound. He is a guy whose whose feet haven't left pavement since the day he was born, so I got to use every sound, every bug, every sudden gust of wind as a scene partner. But every day we wrapped, and I got to get back into my camp clothes and go park my campervan on a ridge overlooking the Madison River Valley and listen to the bull elk while the moon came up over the mountains. It's hard to imagine a more idyllic place to shoot a show. |
| What have you watched recently that you are recommending to everyone you know? |
| I'm bingeing "Industry" [HBO Max] at the moment and am loving it, but my newest obsession is the National Theatre at Home app. Almost every staged production at the National Theatre in London is available worldwide. Just watched Lucy Prebble's "The Effect" and was blown away by it. |
| What's your go-to "comfort watch," the movie or TV show you go back to again and again? |
| I jump between "Succession" [HBO Max] and "The Sopranos" [HBO Max]. Which is crazy, right? I need to talk to my therapist about this. |
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