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Exclusive: Bunny Levine (Thelma), Dree Hemingway (Starlet), and Connie Shi (Law & Order) lead cast of Omi, a Jewish body possession comedy, which has wrapped filming in Los Angeles.

Making her feature directorial debut is Emily Lerer (Shameless), from a script by Adam Lebowitz-Lockard (The Shrink Next Door), who also stars as Matt, an impulsive millennial mensch who gets possessed by the spirit of his dead Yiddish grandma, Omi (Levine), after popping the question to his shiksa girlfriend, Christina (Hemingway). In order to pull off the Jewish exorcism of the century, Matt and Christina enlist the help of Rabbi Louise (Connie Shi) and friends (played by Jonathan Fishman and Dalia Rooni).

Rounding out the cast are Shane Paul McGhie (Deputy) as Troy, Brooks Wheelan (Saturday Night Live) as Brian, Tess Paras (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend) as Lauren, Morgana Shaw (Hit Man) as Ms. Walker, Paul Urcioli (Thanks For Sharing) as Boss, with Ken Lerner...

Juliet Landau, who memorably played the deliciously diabolical Drusilla over the course of six seasons on “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” and spinoff “Angel,” has launched Slayin It, a first-of-its-kind Buffy Rewatch Podcast with a cast member as your guide!

Juliet co-hosts the podcast with her Scoobies, Christopher Feinstein and Frank Bonacci.

The trio dive into each episode with nostalgia, love, laughter, fresh insights, personal behind-the-scenes stories, cast & crew interviews.

Landau previews, “Slayin’ It has everything fans love, encompassing heartfelt nostalgia. It’s also a fresh evolution; a continuation, an exploration with new content and new entertainment as well. This show takes the idea of the traditional podcast and evolves it!”

Slayin It’s countdown Bonus Episode one includes David Greenwalt

The second Countdown Bonus includes Julie Benz.

The third Countdown Bonus episode is a tribute Juliet and Deverill Weekes (husband /producing partner) put together for Todd McIntosh’s retirement (Emmy-winning Buffy makeup Department Head.

After the much-derided "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" movie debuted in 1992, creator Joss Whedon almost gave up on his original vision. The writer had conceived of "Buffy" as a way to subvert expectations by having the typically helpless blonde become the hero of her own story. Unfortunately, Whedon was beyond disappointed by the film, talking on record about how the project was taken away from him and turned into a campy comedy. In recent years, there's been renewed interest in the "Buffy" movie, which certainly differs in tone from the TV show that came to define the character in popular culture. But the movie did at least give us the first draft of Buffy Summers

After that first iteration hit theaters, Gail Berman of Sandollar Productions thought the subversive vampire slayer might make for a good TV show, and contacted Whedon thinking he'd be uninterested in revisiting "Buffy." But to her surprise,...

A new episode of The Arrow in the Head Show has just been released, and in this one hosts John “The Arrow” Fallon and Lance Vlcek are looking back at the 1990 sci-fi action sequel RoboCop 2 (watch it Here), which sees our hero RoboCop trying to get a new drug called Nuke off the streets of Detroit… and then battling a drug dealer who has been turned into a RoboCop himself. To find out what The Arrow and Lance think of RoboCop 2, check out the video embedded above.

Directed by Irvin Kershner from a screenplay by Frank Miller and Walon Green, RoboCop 2 has the following synopsis: Cyborg Detroit policeman Alex Murphy is the sole officer on duty after the police force goes on strike against evil conglomerate Omni Consumer Products and its push to foreclose on the city of Detroit. Aside from dealing with the normal level of crime,...

Howard Weitzman, the high-powered Hollywood lawyer with an A-list clientele that included O.J. Simpson and Michael Jackson, died Wednesday following a battle with cancer, a representative of his firm, Kinsella Weitzman Iser Kump & Aldisert, told TheWrap. He was 81.

Weitzman, a founding partner Kinsella Weitzman Iser Kump, represented some of the biggest names in entertainment. He was the Michael Jackson estate’s attorney during its battle with the IRS, and successfully defended automaker John DeLorean during his infamous drug trafficking trial in the 1980s.

He rose to public notoriety in the early 1990s when he initially represented O.J. Simpson after Simpson’s arrest for murder, before stepping down citing an inability to lessen his other work; he was portrayed by actor Ken Lerner in the acclaimed miniseries “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story.”

Weitzman also served high-powered Hollywood executives, among them Ron Meyer, whom Weitzman represented in negotiations...

Answers.

Three episodes in and we're already getting answers to many burning questions starting with "Who is Piper," the young girl with powers at the center of the mystery. 

On Emergence Season 1 Episode 3, we find out what Piper is . . . or, better yet, what she isn't. 

As many of us have guessed, Piper isn't human. 

This massive reveal explained why her fever wasn't responding to treatment, why doctors couldn't find a cure, and why all of her organs began shutting down at a rapid pace.  

Suspect: You can't do this. You're going to get me killed.

Jo: No, you're going to get yourself killed.

Permalink: No, you're going to get yourself killed. Added: October 08, 2019

Most importantly, it explained the terrifying glitches in her programming. 

But I'm not all convinced that she's strictly a robot.

Sure, robots have humanlike abilities, which explains why Piper was able to assimilate rather quickly but there...

The heavy roster of Specialties heading to theaters in the post-Labor Day period is ebbing a bit this weekend. Cuba Gooding, Jr. makes his debut as writer-director with thriller Bayou Caviar, in which he stars with Famke Janssen and Richard Dreyfuss in a day and date bow this weekend via Gravitas Ventures. Sundance fest debut documentary Studio 54 is the second recent theatrical feature by Matt Tyrnauer, following this summer’s Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood. Zeitgeist opens the title about the legendary New York nightclub in, of course, New York, before heading West next week. Vertical Entertainment is opening drama-thriller A Crooked Somebody directed by Trevor White and starring Rich Sommer, while Music Box is spearheading SXSW’s Finnish metal music-comedy, Heavy Trip.

A couple of studios are also giving their movies a limited start, including Javier Bardem and Penélope Cruz starrer, Loving Pablo from Universal, while...

Bayou Caviar Trailer Cuba Gooding Jr.‘s Bayou Caviar (2018) movie trailer stars Cuba Gooding Jr., Famke Janssen, Richard Dreyfuss, Lia Marie Johnson, and Ken Lerner. “Oscar winner Cuba Gooding Jr.’s directorial debut, is a thrilling story of sex, murder, and revenge set in Louisiana. A Russian gangster engages Rodney (Gooding Jr.), a [...]

Continue reading: Bayou Caviar (2018) Movie Trailer: Ex-Boxer Cuba Gooding Jr. Runs Afoul of Gangster Richard Dreyfuss...

Despite having a reputation as one of the greatest horror movies ever made, William Friedkin’s The Exorcist was never really able to find its footing as a franchise, despite the best efforts of Hollywood executives to make it happen. Each of the three sequels in the series experienced major post-production woes: Exorcist II: The Heretic was recut by director John Boorman after its premiere. Paul Schrader’s Exorcist sequel, intended to be the fourth film in the franchise, was so poorly received by studio execs that it was largely reshot and recut with director Renny Harlin at the helm, released in 2004 as Exorcist: The Beginning. Schrader’s own version came out one year later as Dominion: A Prequel to the Exorcist, making what I think is the first (and only?) time in history that two completely different versions of the same movie were released in theaters. Neither was a success.

[Note about spoilers: As with the Complete Doctor Who Reviews, the individual (and two-parter) episode reviews form part of an overview of the show as a whole, and as such, contain spoilers for events not only in the episodes in question, but also potentially those in future episodes and seasons. There may also be spoilers for the Buffy spin-off show Angel.]

Welcome to another set of complete reviews in which I attempt to prattle on about two of the most famous Joss Whedon creations: Buffy The Vampire Slayer (1997-2003) and Angel (1999-2004).

On the surface of it, a TV series franchise stemming from a so-so movie about a teenage girl who stakes vampires doesn't inspire much confidence. In 1992, the film, Buffy The Vampire Slayer pitted Kristy Swanson as the eponymous heroine against a mean old vampire king called Lothos and his motley crew of blood-sucking fiends. The movie didn't exactly set the world ablaze, staked by lukewarm reviews and moderate box office takings.

Writer Joss Whedon was nothing if not persistent though. Translating the original concept to the small screen was something of a gamble, given the tepid reactions to the preceding film. How could it possibly work?

And yet, sixteen years later, Buffy is still a huge phenomenon. Seven seasons were produced.

The Big Bang Theory’s greatest mystery is Howard’s mother. Forever off screen, we have no clue what she looks like or what she does in her spare time outside of descriptions from Howard. All we’ve ever truly known about her is how grating that annoying voice of hers is. Having gone the last five years with nothing but that voice to go off of, it’s hard to imagine this woman ever finding a love – though she must be capable, otherwise where did Howard come from? But Mrs. Wolowitz is about to be single no more, as she will be getting a boyfriend in Season 6 and the idea of such an act will do some damage to Howard.

Fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer will recognize Principal Flutie as Mrs. Wolowitz’s new man. TVLine reported the casting of Ken Lerner as Dr. Schneider, a dentist. And just to be clear,...

Stephen Colbert is heading to "The Office."

According to EW, Colbert will guest star on the NBC sitcom as Broccoli Rob, a member of Andy's (Ed Helms) Cornell a capella group. Look for Colbert to pop up in the Halloween episode (Thurs., Oct. 25).

Colbert is just the latest "The Daily Show" veteran to pop up on "The Office." Both Helms and former "Office" boss Steve Carell are "Daily Show" veterans. Colbert's non-"Colbert Report" credits include "Strangers With Candy," "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" and voice work on "Saturday Night Live."

In other casting news ...

"The Artist" actress Missi Pyle will guest star on "1600 Penn." Pyle will play a Secret Service agent in the NBC comedy. [TV Guide]

"Greek" actor Jake McDorman will guest star on "Shameless." McDorman will play Mike, Fiona's boss. [THR]

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" actor Ken Lerner will guest on "The Big Bang Theory." Lerner will play a love interest for Mrs.

Buffy‘s former principal is romancing his way onto The Big Bang Theory.

Ken Lerner — whose character, Flutie, was memorably eaten alive by hyena-possessed students on the Vampire Slayer series — will guest-star on Season 6 of the hit CBS comedy, TVLine has learned.

Fall Preview | Exclusive Scoop on New Season of The Big Bang Theory — Plus 46 Other Shows!

The actor will play Mrs. Wolowitz’s dentist boyfriend, Dr. Schneider. And even though Howard’s mom (voiced by Carol Ann Susi) famously remains offscreen, she won’t be able to keep her nascent relationship under wraps from her son. Rather, he finds...

Whether you're an aspiring actor hoping for that first job or an actor who has worked before and wants to work more, you're polishing up your résumé and headshots and readying for that exciting time of year: pilot season.If you're anything like I was, you're feeling a combination of emotions. You're eager, scared, and optimistic. You may not know what to expect. But I'm going to give you the benefit of my years as an actor—past and present—to help you take full advantage of the promise of pilot season.Behind the ScenesHere's what's going on behind the scenes. The producers have huddled with writers and commissioned scripts. The writers have put words to page and brought projects to life. The networks have okayed the pilot scripts, and the producers are scrambling to fill the parts on dozens of sitcoms, dramas, dramedies, and whatever new genres are on the horizon.

The following is a list of Los Angeles-area stage and film acting schools, teachers, and coaches organized by category and alphabetically.Each of the entries contains the following information, if applicable: name of teacher or school; address; phone and fax numbers; email address and/or website; average number of students per class; whether beginning, intermediate, or advanced students are taught; whether auditing is permitted; whether a work/study program is offered. Descriptions of the class, school, or coaching are provided by the instructor of institution and edited by Back Stage.Schools of teacher who have been omitted may contact, in writing, Listing, c/o Back Stage, 5055 Wilshire Blvd., 6th floor, Los Angeles, CA 90036, so that we may include you in our next list.  Acting Technique/Scene StudyAARON McPherson STUDIOWest Hollywood, CA aaron@aaronmcphersonstudio.comwww.aaronmcphersonstudio.com310-918-5335Class size varies, 12 max. for auditioning class, 40 max. for scene study; day...

Tom ArdavanyLos Angeles; The Ardavany Approach, www.theapproach.netImprovisation is the art of finding your freedom within a moment. Acting in film is about creating and shaping moments for the camera. One cannot create and shape moments without freedom. So where do we get some of this freedom stuff? It's right here in the present. The present is what people who have presence command. They have cultivated their moment-to-moment existence into an energy that makes them magnetic.This improvisational condition in an artist opens the magic door to unrestricted, unabashed intercourse with the "now," allowing attention, feelings, and thoughts to naturally progress, eventually giving way to fully expressed actions and words. At that instant, life attains continuity and rhythm, leaving your audience lost in your performance.Film at its best is improvisation with an outline. The words in the script are not the limitation for your action. They serve as...