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Hugh Hugh Hugh!
MaineWriter:
From Variety:
Viva, Laughlin
(Series -- CBS, Thurs. Oct. 18, 10 p.m.)
Filmed in Los Angeles by BBC Worldwide Prods. and Seed Prods. in association with CBS Paramount Network Television and Sony Pictures Television. Executive producers, Hugh Jackman, John Palermo, Paul Telegdy, Peter Bowker, Tyler Bensinger, Steve DeKnight, Gabriele Muccino; producer, Lynn Raynor; director, Muccino; writer, Lowry.
Ripley Holden - Lloyd Owen
Natalie Holden - Madchen Amick
Peter Carlyle - Eric Winter
Marcus - DB Woodside
Jonesey - P.J. Byrne
Cheyenne Holden - Ellen Woglom
Jack Holden - Carter Jenkins
Nicky Fontana - Hugh Jackman
Bunny - Melanie Griffith
By BRIAN LOWRY
Fortunately for CBS, most of its audience hasn't seen "Viva, Blackpool" and thus won't realize how pallid this Americanized version is by comparison. Using karaoke-style renditions of popular songs as characters sing along with the artists, the BBC show was a musical/murder mystery/family drama, cleverly unfolding over six weeks. In adapting those basic elements, the producers here fail to fully commit to the musical component, unimaginatively staging numbers that simply involve an evolution of the Aaron Sorkin-Thomas Schlamme walk-and-talk model to walk-and-sing. Credit CBS for finally attempting something more ambitious than "CSI: Laughlin," but alas, the applause ends there.
Hugh Jackman is among the project's exec producers, and while his cameo in the revised pilot (a recurring role) provides a jolt of star power, the net effect helps underscore only how charisma-challenged the show's regular leading man, Lloyd Owen, turns out to be.
Owen plays Ripley Holden, who has cashed in a successful chain of retail stores to fulfill his dream of opening a casino in Laughlin, Nevada, sauntering through the still-unfinished venue to the jaunty strains of Elvis Presley's "Viva, Las Vegas."
Ripley's best-laid plans, however, quickly start to unravel, as a major investor withdraws his money, only to turn up dead. Now Ripley's vulnerable not only to the takeover schemes of a ruthless casino mogul (Jackman) but under investigation by a young cop (Eric Winter), who decides that cozying up to Ripley's wife Natalie (Madchen Amick) might be his best (or at least best-looking) avenue into solving the case.
Showcasing his credentials as a song-and-dance man, Jackman splashily makes his entrance to the Rolling Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil," but even the modest choreography in that sequence feels slightly flat. Then again, that scene represents a significant improvement over the other lackluster numbers -- a half-assed pas de deux between Ripley and the dead man's widow (Melanie Griffith) set to Blondie's "One Way or Another," and another stroll through the casino to Bachman-Turner Overdrive's "Let It Ride" -- which do little to take advantage of those high-energy tunes.
Where "Blackpool" completely embraced the giddy fantasy of these scenes, yielding a kind of infectious quality, "Laughlin" goes through the motions with one foot on the floor. Nor does the pilot, written by Bob Lowry ("Huff," and no, we're not related), make much use of the Holden kids -- teenager Jack ("Surface's" Carter Jenkins) or college student Cheyenne (Ellen Woglom), who's dating her much older professor.
Much has been made of CBS departing from its tried-and-true crime formula by developing "Laughlin," the upcoming "Swingtown" and to a lesser degree "Cane," but initially, the network has placed this bet while still playing it safe -- as if somebody suddenly remembered "Cop Rock" and panicked midway through the process.
"Viva, Laughlin" is receiving a Thursday preview before taking up residence Sundays at 8 -- a potentially fertile plot of real estate where CBS was wise to take a shot. If only the show itself exhibited the same gambler's mentality.
Camera, Steve Mason; editor, Hughes Winborne; music, John Nordstrom; music supervisor, Maureen Crowe; production designer, Mark Hutman; casting, Tim Payne. Running Time: 60 MIN.
Read the full article at:
http://www.variety.com/story.asp?l=story&r=VE1117935080&c=32
MaineWriter:
from an Australian newspaper:
Band to the Stars
Warringah Brass is claiming a new title for itself - "Warringah, Band to the Stars."
SYDNEY's glitterati lined up last Saturday to say Happy Birthday, Hugh Jackman.
Hollywood star Hugh Jackman swapped the dusty outback locations of his new epic, Australia, for civilised Point Piper, hosting an intimate bash to celebrate his 39th birthday at the exclusive waterfront mansion Altona.
A special performance by Warringah Concert Brass delighted the star studded guest list.
WCB played ‘Malaguana’ and ‘I still call Australia home’.
A highlight of the evening was a fireworks display with the band playing the theme from Star Wars.
His Australia co-star Nicole Kidman, in a short black dress, arrived clutching a bunch of flowers.
Among guests arriving from 7.30pm were Baz Luhrmann and Lachlan and Sarah Murdoch.
Former Australian cricket captain Steve Waugh and wife Lynette carried a special birthday gift: a pair of used Test cricket gloves wrapped in gold paper.
Since returning to make Baz Luhrmann's epic, Jackman and wife Deborra-lee Furness have been staying at Altona, paying $35,000 a week in rent.
Earlier in the year, WCB combined with Sutherland Shire Brass to play for the Australian premiere of “Rocky Balboa” with Sylvester Stallone in attendance.
MaineWriter:
from USA Today:
Hugh Jackman in a whirl from 'Australia' to 'Laughlin'
By Bill Keveney, USA TODAY
Hugh Jackman's new TV project is an intercontinental effort.
While filming Australia in Australia, the movie star has been as involved as he can be as an executive producer of CBS' Viva Laughlin, a mystery drama mixed with music, based on the English series Viva Blackpool.
"I have a mountain high of DVDs of dailies. I watch every (one) that comes," says Jackman, 39, speaking by phone from Australia.
With producing partner John Palermo, he helped adapt Blackpool and has taken part in casting, story development and other duties, often via phone and e-mail. He will appear in Thursday's premiere (10 ET/PT, before moving to Sunday, 8 p.m. ET/PT) and at least three more episodes.
Jackman plays Nicky Fontana, a villainous casino mogul and "mortal enemy" of Ripley Holden (Lloyd Owen), a blend of family man and rogue who wants to open a casino in Laughlin, Nev.
Ripley, facing the demands of his wife (Mädchen Amick) and two teens, must battle Nicky and his right-hand man (DB Woodside) and fend off a murder investigation. Ripley is "a bit of a Barnum character but he also … is somewhat of a Tony Soprano," Jackman says.
The native Australian, who won a Tony for the Broadway musical The Boy From Oz, makes a dramatic entry, landing on a roof via helicopter and strutting through a casino singing The Rolling Stones' Sympathy for the Devil.
Singing makes Laughlin stand out from other shows, but Jackman, echoing the CBS line, says it's not a musical. "I'm even nervous to say it's a musical drama. It sets up so many judgments. Immediately, a lot of people go, 'Ugh, musical? I'm not into musicals.' It's a drama. I think the musical element is going to be something that is delicious to people, but the show will live or die by the drama."
He rejects references to the series Cop Rock, a legendary 1990 failure that featured singing, and prefers to point to the success of Chicago, Moulin Rouge and Hairspray. Because Laughlin features pop hits, he believes viewers will develop a comfort level.
Growing up, Jackman liked musicals, "but I wouldn't say I was obsessed with them." He participated while attending a boys' school because it was a chance to meet girls. He was just out of drama school looking for a job when he got a role in a musical. Today, if he feels passion for a musical, he gets involved.
With his musical experience, Jackman says he has tried to give support and suggestions to the cast, which includes Melanie Griffith, Eric Winter, P.J. Byrne, Ellen Woglom and Carter Jenkins. Some are new to the form, but Owen, Jackman says, is a natural. "He's got a phenomenal voice. He's kind of got a Richard Burton quality."
While working on Australia, Jackman is getting musical advice from the film's director, Baz Luhrmann, who also wrote and directed Nicole Kidman in Moulin Rouge. "Baz has been very helpful. He reinvented the art form."
In Australia, a drama set in the northern part of the country on the cusp of World War II, Jackman's ranch worker and Kidman's English aristocrat are on a cattle drive when they experience the bombing of Darwin, Australia, by Japanese forces. He says it's bigger than any other film shot in Australia.
"It's probably the role of a lifetime for me, this feast of a movie. It's Gone With the Wind and Out of Africa and The African Queen for me," he says.
It also allows Jackman the comforts of home, where he lives with his wife and two children. He will be in Australia and New Zealand for the filming of Wolverine, in which he reprises his role from the X-Men movies. In the meantime, moviegoers will be able to see him in The Tourist, which may have a new title when it hits screens in 2008.
His commitment to musical entertainment will continue with Carousel, a film remake of the Broadway musical and movie that he has in development.
He says there will be an audience for that, just as he does for Laughlin.
"When it's done right, it works," he says. Laughlin "is a show that will take people by surprise."
belbbmfan:
Wow, he's a busy man, isn't he? Thank you for keeping us posted about Hugh Leslie.
--- Quote from: MaineWriter on October 17, 2007, 08:09:25 am ---In Australia, a drama set in the northern part of the country on the cusp of World War II, Jackman's ranch worker and Kidman's English aristocrat are on a cattle drive when they experience the bombing of Darwin, Australia, by Japanese forces. He says it's bigger than any other film shot in Australia.
"It's probably the role of a lifetime for me, this feast of a movie. It's Gone With the Wind and Out of Africa and The African Queen for me," he says.
--- End quote ---
I have high expectactions for this movie. Can't wait to see it.
MaineWriter:
from Viva Laughlin! I recorded the show to watch...sometime...
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