AOLR Weekly Wrap-up #96

June 19, 2011 By 4 Comments

Hawaii Five-0 Updates
  • Two more countries have been added to the Around the Globe chart:
    • Norway, where H50 premiered on March 23 and airs on TV2 every Wednesday
    • Iceland, where viewers have been enjoying the show on SkjárEinn since March 7 every Monday night
  • Composer Brian Tyler won multiple awards for his film and TV projects at the annual BMI Film & TV Awards ceremony in LA on May 18. Watch this video in which he explains how he approaches composing in general and scoring Hawaii Five-0 in particular.
  • Buddy TV includes Morton Stevens’ Hawaii Five-0 signature tune among their 101 Greatest TV Theme Songs of All Time, where it ranks at #23.
  • The Summer Press Tour kicks off on July 26 and CBS’s date with the Television Critics Association is Wednesday, August 3. As the focus will be on the new shows that CBS has lined up this fall, it’s doubtful that the network will whisk any of our cast members from Hawaii to LA for an appearance, but we can certainly hope. The day’s schedule has not been announced yet, but it will very likely include a star-studded party.
  • The editors at CBS had some fun playing and the result is a video in which Tom Selleck’s mustache lays down the law on other CBS shows… Five-0 included. You can catch The Stache here.
  • Our writers sound happy to be back (and we’re certainly happy to have them back):

    Harimoto
    Yo #H50 Fans — Thanks for all of the Season 2 well wishes. You’re minds are about to be blown…

    mike_schaub
    First day at new #H50 offices! It’s like the first day of school over here. Nice to get the band back together.

    PLenkov
    Fun first day. Great team. Can’t wait to start shooting!

  • Don’t book your trip to Oahu just yet for Sunset on the Beach! Peter Lenkov initially confirmed September 10 as the date to mark in your calendar, but the tweet has since disappeared. Don’t forget that the date of SOTB is dependent on the date of the Season 2 premiere on CBS, so it’s possible that plans have changed. It is, after all, still only June.
  • Comic-Con International kicks off on July 21 in San Diego, but Hawaii Five-0 will not be present this year, according to Seat42F.
  • Scott and Dot were spotted in Malibu on June 16 – HQs here.
  • The official Season 2 one-sheet has been added to the gallery.

 

Hawaii Five-0 Articles
  • Our friends at H50Germany asked Peter Lenkov to answer some questions and of course he obliged! Read his thoughtful responses about his “dream project” and more: Interview with Peter Lenkov.
  • Adelaide’s Sunday Mail posted a nice interview with Daniel Dae Kim, who says that working on H50 feels more like pleasure than a profession: “Fun Gig Hangin’ with Hawaii Five-0 Cast“.
  • Singapore’s Today published an interview with Mark Dacascos: “Fat Boy Slim“. Thanks to H50 Undercover for this and the previous article!
  • Peter Lenkov, the big tease, has mentioned previously that we can expect to see another member added to the task force and that there will be a love interest for someone on the team.
    Spoiler Alert! Show

    To those who fear the show’s successful formula might be becoming too soapy, Peter tweeted, “Have faith.”

  • Wendie Burbridge wrote two very informative BTS posts at Five-0 Redux:
  • TV shows that are watched by an equal number of men and women are rare, but Hawaii Five-0 is one of them, writes the Herald Sun in Oz:

    “The perfect program attracts both men and women but getting that equal split is very difficult,” Nine’s Melbourne program director Len Downs says.

    Peace can be achieved by watching Merlin, Come Fly With Me, Hawaii Five-O, Border Security, Customs and Sea Patrol.

    All those shows have a near 50-50 split.

    Downs says that women make up 55 per cent of the viewing audience and watch more TV.

    “The aim is to attract a female audience but still attract men,” he says.

  • Masi Oka sounds excited at being a series regular in Season 2:

    “They were kind enough to offer me more regular work,” Oka told EW while walking the red carpet of the Super 8 premiere on Wednesday. “I don’t know yet if it I will be needed for every episode because they are writing the next season now but Dr. Max Bergman will be more involved. I guess they will need more help from the coroner. I think he got a good response from viewers so they are looking to featuring him more.

    “I’m happy because I like the show, the guys are great to work with and it’s Hawaii. Who doesn’t want to work in paradise?” Oka continued. “I hope they delve into his personal life more. Max Bergman is a nut and I’d liked to know more about who he is and what he does with his time but that is not up to me. But I think there is a lot left to develop with him. I think it is going to be a fun job. It was not hard for me to accept the offer. We start in July. I am just excited. I love the cast. I love the crew. I liked the original show but I think they have done a great job updating it.”

  • Hawaii Five-0 is the second-most DVR’ed show of the season, gaining an average of 3.26 million viewers per episode who watched the show on their DVR! The show also ranks in the top 10 list of biggest rating gains in the 18-49 demo. The big winner of the season is Modern Family. Read more at Zap2It.
  • The growing number of people watching TV shows on the Internet has led the networks to increase the number of ads that they show online. CBS, for instance, has doubled their online commercials compared to last year, according to The Associated Press:

    Now, as online audiences grow, networks see an opportunity to make more money. A recent episode of “Hawaii Five-O” carried six and a half minutes of ads online. That’s less than the 16 minutes on TV but double what an hour-long show carried on CBS.com a year ago.

    Online video has improved in recent years with faster Internet connections and better technology. The advances have led some people to give up on regular TV — and hefty cable bills that come with it — and watch only online.

Other Alex Updates
  • Alex is really racking up his frequent flier miles – our Aussie was spotted on a Hawaiian Airlines flight (presumably from HI) to LA on June 14, according to a tweet from a keen observer. And on June 16, Cosmopolitan revealed on twitter that they were doing a photoshoot with him for an upcoming issue. Check out the torso that we’d recognize anywhere (not to mention the prominent vein in his neck)…  :yesss: No word yet on which issue he’ll appear in, but it could be months yet as magazine content is generally planned far in advance.
  • On June 13, he apparently shopped at Pacific Home, also courtesy of Twitter.
  • Alex was included in Us Magazine’s gallery of Hot Celeb Aussies.
  • If you agree that Alex is worthy of People’s title “Sexiest Man Alive” (I’ve always found the “alive” a peculiar and moot qualifier :flunky: ), please make your opinion known on Facebook! Thanks to @handsofgold265 for getting things started!  :good2:
  • Some photos of Alex on Facebook:
    • On the Moonlight set at Echo Park for What’s Left Behind
    • Talking on his cell phone at Diamond Head Market & Grill

    Tip: click on “download” to save full-sized pics from Facebook   :wink2:

Have a wonderful week!

:surfwave:

Filed Under: Latest Headlines, Weekly Wrap-Up Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Alex O’Loughlin: InStyle’s Man of Style!

March 17, 2011 By 6 Comments

Alex proves that he is a man of style in the latest issue of InStyle! In addition to some gorgeous new photos, there is also a great Q&A in which he talks about Hawaii Five-0, Moonlight and fashion…

Steve McGarrett is a forever unsmiling badass. Is it tough to be so stoic all the time?
He’s the hardest character I’ve ever played because he is so serious. Scott Caan’s Danno is much closer to who I am; Danno is always joking and breaking balls. But our two characters definitely have a banter – especially our “carguments.”

We love the carguments! Does that bromance carry over into real life?
Scott is sharp, quick, keeps me on my toes, and lives right around the corner from me in Hawaii. And he’s been a big part of getting me into surfing. But when you spend 15 hours a day together shooting, you’re not wiping your make-up off, going, “I’ll meet you at your house, mate!”

So who does meet you at your house? McGarrett is famous for skimping on dinner dates in favor of “Barry White time” in the bedroom. Are you, um, similar?
I used to be. Don’t get me wrong, “Barry White time” is extremely important. But now I’m interested in a woman’s brain. Women are so much more intrinsically sophisticated than men. I look for a woman who’s smart, funny and doesn’t necessarily think I’m funny but understands my sense of humor enough to roll her eyes and deal with it.

Many ladies first fell in love with you as Moonlight’s vampire detective, Mick St. John. Your series debuted before Twilight madness struck. How does that feel?
I’m proud of that show. I worked really hard on it, like, 20-hour days. I didn’t have one gray hair before Moonlight! It’s funny: The pilot was originally called Twilight, but they reshot it and said, “We have to call it something else because there’s this other thing coming out using that title.”

Despite a ferocious fan campaign, Moonlight was canceled after just one season. Was that a stake through your heart?
I was sad because I’ve always been a big fan of the vampire genre. I loved Anne Rice’s portrayal of the vampire Lestat and the books she wrote 25 years ago. I’ve had a fascination with that mythology. And a fascination, therefore, with New Orleans, which is why I was just there on vacation.

New Orleans is a stylish town. Did you feel like your personal fashion measured up?
I live in Hawaii now and nobody wears clothes there, but I’ve always been fashion-conscious. If you go to my house in LA, you’d say, “Oh my god, look at all this stuff!” I’ve spent a lot of money on clothes over the years because I think there’s nothing worse than a cheap suit. It’s much better to have one Prada or Thom Browne or Paul Smith in your closet, as opposed to three crappy suits.

So, what, you always have a suit on?
No! I like to mix things. I’ve got a pair of Berluti shoes – which are the greatest shoes – and I wear those with beat-up jeans and a favorite T-shirt.

Do Hawaiians recognize you when you’re not in McGarrett’s trademark Superdry cargos?
There are 900,000 people on Oahu, and it feels like 895,000 of them watch the show. Everywhere I go it’s, “You play Steve McGarrett!” The original Hawaii Five-0 was so important for the state. Today, the theme song is played on Hawaiian Airlines and is an anthem at football games. It’s important that we honestly represent this culture and the Hawaiian people, who have welcomed us. Most of my fans seem to be 65 years old, though, so I’m wondering where all the young, good-looking girls are!

In the article, Alex also compares Mick’s Moonlight look to his Five-0 physique and three of his female co-stars share some thoughts on our Aussie.

The April issue of InStyle is available in stores now, and can also be ordered by calling their customer service number 1-800-274-6800 ($5.98 per copy, no shipping & handling for the US). To fans outside the US I would recommend buying a copy on eBay.

Many thanks to Linda for the early heads-up yesterday – I can personally confirm that you have made many Alex fans happy – and I’m hugely grateful to mwj too for the wonderful scans!

:flowers:

Filed Under: Alex O'Loughlin, Hawaii Five-0, Interviews & Articles, Latest Headlines, Moonlight, Three Rivers Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

AOLR Weekly Wrap-Up #55

August 15, 2010 By 7 Comments

Hawaii Five-0 Articles & Buzz:
  • We’ll start with a great item from James Marsters’ monthly Q&A:

    Did you and Alex O’Loughlin share vampire stories on the Hawaii Five-0 set?
    No. What we shared was stunts. Alex is a certified stunt man in Australia. I’m certified for stage. So, what we shared was, “I can’t wait to get to set so these stunt men learn who we are!” (Big laugh) He and I committed robbery that day. We made the stunt guys sit down and relax, which is almost impossible. Alex is the man. He is a mountain of muscle and I’m working out like crazy because the next time I fight that guy, he’s gonna kick my ass again. Last time I fought him, I couldn’t move my arms for two days.

    If you want to revisit James’ account of  the big fight scene in the pilot with Alex, you’ll find the video here.

  • IGN UK features Hawaii Five-0 among their Fall TV’s Best Bets:

    So why are we spotlighting Hawaii Five-0? Well, for one the pilot is just a lot of fun. There’s something to be said for a well done escapist bit of entertainment – the USA network is practically built on this belief. And while Hawaii Five-0 may not be the place for serialized, intense drama, if the episodes to come follow the pilot, it will be a place for well done action with a sense of flair and excitement, which few series (Human Target being a notable exception) seem to capture these days.

    On the casting side, lead Alex O’Loughlin and Scott Caan have likable buddy cop chemistry as the new McGarrett and Dano, while Lost‘s Daniel Dae Kim and Battlestar Galactica‘s Grace Park add to the notable nerd bait factor.

  • HitFix’s Alan Sepinwall lists Hawaii Five-0 as one of the best new shows he saw at the TCAs:

    I liked the remake of the iconic ’70s cop drama more than I expected to, since it’s a vehicle for Alex O’Loughlin and my enthusiasm for him has never come close to matching that of CBS’ development team. O’Loughlin’s still pretty stiff, but Scott Caan is a lot of fun as his sidekick – so obviously strong that the producers are now suggesting it’s going to be more of a buddy show (more politely, “an ensemble”) than a star piece – Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park are good, too, and director Len Wiseman gives it the feel of a noisy but entertaining summer action movie. We’ll see if the show can keep up that style on a weekly basis, but it’s a good start.

  • BuzzSugar is quite positive too, but it doesn’t sound like they’ve checked out the numerous Comic-Con and TCA reports thoroughly:

    Where it works: The show may be a reboot, but you’d never be able to tell (other than the iconic theme song, of course); the show is fresh, fast-paced, and has an interesting hodge-podge of likable characters. O’Loughlin is a bit stiff but boy is he easy on the eyes, and his buddy chemistry with Scott Caan couldn’t be better. Of course the gorgeous scenery doesn’t hurt either.

    Where it doesn’t: The guys succeed in capturing their first bad guy by the end of the episode, and I assume there won’t be a ton of continuity from one episode to the next. With so many other cop dramas out there, it might be hard to get viewers addicted to a show that doesn’t require weekly viewings.

    Addressing the “stiff” comments, I wonder if people forget that Steve McGarrett is investigating his father’s recent murder in the pilot. Alex works subtly and doesn’t lay it on thick in his roles. We can’t expect everyone to appreciate him, but quite noticeably, it’s usually the men among the critics who don’t… :wink2:

  • Tim Ryan has only heard positive feedback from the crew of Hawaii Five-0:

    Crew seem to be happy – no ecstatic – about “The Five-0? experience so far…”I’m very happy, very happy,” one crew member told Reel Hawaii this week… One surprising thing several local crew said is having a few production executives “actually taking time to tell us when we do a good job,” a crew member said…”That is very rare”…

    “There’s a decidedly lack of yelling on this one,” a crew vet said… That’s saying a lot considering all the location changes and new sets required….A former Honolulu Advertiser warehouse is being used as a sound stage; the production offices are at at Gentry-Pacific on Nimitz Highway…

    He also quotes a CBS executive who says that by mid October the decision will be made whether or not to continue with the full season. That means that we will have confirmation one way or the other after the first four episodes. Going by all the interest and the positive response the reboot has generated so far, I honestly don’t think that we need to lose any sleep over the future of the show!

    Make sure you scroll down Tim’s blog so that you don’t miss the picture of Alex with two fans! Tim has also posted more behind the scenes images in an earlier blog post.

  • It’s not just the crew who are content, but also the guest actors. Here’s a wonderful comment from Duane Char on the Hawaii Actors Network:

    I also must commend the show and the star actors. I saw Alex O’Loughlin go out of his way to call over a young actor who had a speaking part that day, to sit with he and Scott as the talked…just to make this kid feel a part. I saw Grace Park eating lunch with this same actor, talking to him one-on-one. I saw Scott Caan pick up and carry his own chair from scene to scene.

    I was impressed. I’ll be honest, I don’t recall seeing that same kind of quality when I did gigs on Lost.

  • Daily Actor got to interview Daniel Dae Kim as part of a round table at Comic-Con. Although nothing essentially new was discussed, it’s still a good read and there’s also a podcast of the interview if you want to listen to Daniel’s great voice!
Hawaii Five-0 Updates:
  • H50 writers’ assistant, Mike Schaub, is now blogging on CBS’s Hawaii Five-0 site! Mike will be taking us behind the scenes in the writers room at Paramount Studios on a weekly basis and promises that:

    “… from top to bottom, every single person on staff is committed to bringing you the best possible television show we can. It’s really a labor of love for us, and we can only hope it shows.”

    As the writers’ assistant is most likely the second-most important person in the writers room, coming in close behind the showrunner  :wink2: , it’s great that he’s taking the time to do this – thank you, Mike! You can also follow Mike on Twitter – he’ll love your feedback!

  • As we approach the premiere date of September 20th, advertising for H50 is being ramped up! Here are three cool pictures you might want to check out: bus ad – billboard 1 – billboard 2.
  • There have been loads of articles about Heroes‘ hero Masi Oka joining the Hawaii Five-0 cast in the recurring role (as confirmed by J.R. Orci) of coroner George Bergman and TV Guide was the first to report it. Masi will debut in episode 104 (“Nalowale”) which starts shooting tomorrow!
  • More casting news: TV Guide also reports that comedian/actor D.L. Hughley will play the role of Skeet in episode 103 and from numerous tweets it appears that One Tree Hill’s Michael Copon plays a high school football player in 102. Hawaii comedian Augie T. is also slated to appear in one or more episodes, starting with 103 or 104, going by the date of the report in Aloha Update.
Hawaii Five-0 Theme Song Updates:
  • We’ve read before about the Hawaii Five-0 theme song being the center of a big marketing campaign this summer. New is that there will also be magazine ads with theme song sound chips, as reported by InsideBlip:

    Other facets of the campaign include oldies radio stations featuring contests where DJs will play snippets of the theme and give away trips to the Big Island, magazine ads equipped with sound chips that play the theme and a competition where college bands can enter their versions sponsored by the CBS College Sports Network. The song remains popular with marching bands, especially at the University of Hawaii, where it is the unofficial fight song.

  • Speaking of the University of Hawaii – its marching band will likely be featured in a CBS promo! The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports that CBS will be filming the band playing the theme song on September 2nd during halftime at a game:

    CBS has confirmed it plans to send its “Hawaii Five-0″ cameras to shoot the University of Hawaii band at halftime of the Warriors’ Sept. 2 game against Southern Cal. Of course, the band will play the police drama’s classic theme. George Schweitzer, president of CBS marketing, said the network wants to create promotional spots for TV and online use. “The theme is the most enduring theme in all of television,” he said last week. “And nowhere will it be more authentic than at halftime on the field of Aloha Stadium.”

    I haven’t been able to find any official videos, but did find two amateur ones on YouTube of the band playing the signature tune and they are very talented: video 1 and video 2.

  • And check out this locally produced TV promo for the San Diego area featuring the theme song on YouTube!
Other Updates:
  • The Boston Herald published an article about TV vampires and featured Mick St. John at #9 in their list of 10:

    Mick St. John, “Moonlight”: Mick (Alex O’Loughlin) refused to hunt women, children or innocent people, which makes him one of the least threatening creatures on this list – unless you were a criminal. In that case, it was best to run.

    There’s also a scan of the print edition in the gallery!

  • Last week an “official” Alex O’Loughlin Facebook account showed up in a Google alert. Please be aware that the account is not Alex’s; the reason that it has garnered so many friends is because it was set up quite a while ago. CBS has confirmed that Alex is not on Facebook and Alex himself mentioned in April that he is “not very good at blogging or Twittering or anything like that”, so it’s unlikely that he will ever join Facebook. The only genuine Alex O’Loughlin social networking account can be found on MySpace and he continues to maintain that himself.
  • TV Guide published an interesting article about television’s current top earners and it’s gratifying to see that our Alex now qualifies as one. Although studio execs are putting their foot down when it comes to over-inflated paychecks, the good news is, “If it’s a hit show, you start paying”. Go Five-0!  :yahoo:
  • If you’d like a 5×7″ copy of the Elephant Project’s picture of Alex taken at Paramount Studios on December 15th, the day he wrapped the last episode of Three Rivers, then you can order it from the Elephant Project’s store. You can check out the auction of the picture, card signed by Alex and baby elephant beanie on eBay – it ends tonight at 6:54 pm PDT and bidding is currently approaching $1,000 – which is almost double the Project’s highest auction so far!
Gallery Updates:
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AOLR Weekly Wrap-Up #49

July 4, 2010 By 5 Comments

Hawaii Five-0 Updates:

  • Tim Ryan posted that the Hawaii Five-0 production offices will open around July 6th.
  • It’s inevitable that the 2010 show will be continue to be compared with the original show until the new series finds its audience, which I hope will happen quite soon once the new Hawaii Five-0 debuts. In the unlikely event that you don’t know what some of the differences are between the two, check out TV Guide’s photo gallery Hawaii Five-0: Then and Now.
  • In addition to Canada, Australia and Germany, audiences in the UK can now also look forward to watching Hawaii Five-0 as Virgin Media Television’s Bravo channel has acquired exclusive UK pay TV, Freeview and digital rights. Bravo attracts a largely male audience and is distributed to 20 million households. WorldScreen reports that the channel will air the show in the fall as part of its prime-time schedule.
  • According to a recent Advertising Age survey, ad buyers are expecting only modest commercial ratings from the upcoming fall shows despite a 7%-10% increase in ad time. For Hawaii Five-0, a C3 rating is being projected.

    C3, the shorthand term for commercial ratings, measures the number of viewers who actually watch commercials during a selected program rather than changing channels or fast-forwarding past them with a digital video recorder. Viewers who watch ads live as they run or as many as three days after they air are included in the ratings.

    A household rating is an estimate of the size of a TV audience relative to the total universe of homes with TVs. Nielsen estimates there are 114.9 million U.S. TV households, so a single national household ratings point is equal to 1%, or 1,150,000 households.

    Based on this formula, roughly 8.33 million households are expected to stick with the commercials during an episode of Hawaii Five-0.

Hawaii Five-0 Articles & Buzz:

  • Movieline’s What to Watch Guide for the Rest of the Year includes Hawaii Five-0:

    If you remotely enjoyed any of Alex O’Loughlin’s previous stabs at CBS series, you will love the network’s Hawaii Five-O reboot.
    Yes, Alex O’Loughlin is headlining a fall series that actually has potential to last more than one season. In the high-profile, big-budget reimagining, the CBS golden boy fights crime in the 50th state alongside his wry partner, played by Scott Caan.

  • Virgin Media lists Hawaii Five-0 among their Ten Hot US Pilot Prospects:

    CBS’ 2010 take on the 70s classic is bang up-to-date. The cast includes Lost’s Daniel Dae Kim and The Shield’s Alex O’Loughlin, and promises to balance cutting-edge gadgetry and special effects with a nod to the past – many characters are related to, or share names with, those from original.

  • The Honolulu Star-Advertiser recently interviewed Walea Constantinau, who heads the Honolulu Film Office. One question pertaining to the new Hawaii Five-0 was raised:

    • Q: About the “Five-O” remake: I’ve heard a rumor that not very much of it will be shot here. Is that correct?

    A: To my knowledge, they are going to shoot the show here. I’m not sure how that got started, but I heard it, too.

  • An excerpt from Haute Living Magazine:

    As filming of George Clooney’s The Descendants wrapped and the popular television series Lost has ended, there is a new project underway on the island of Oahu. CBS has committed to twelve episodes of a new and improved Hawaii Five-O television series. Filming will begin July 15th on Honolulu and is scheduled to air in CBS’s fall line-up. Word on the street is that Five-O will be hiring some of the same crew and using the same facility that recently housed Clooney’s The Descendants movie production.

    As we know, the H50 production chose instead to make use of the former Honolulu Advertiser warehouse. From an article by The Honolulu Star-Advertiser:

    Whether the interior or exterior of the historic Advertiser building will be used for any scenes was not confirmed, said Erika Kauffman, local unit publicist.

    Before booking the warehouse, the network had its eye on the old CompUSA site where South Street meets Ala Moana Boulevard. The facility recently housed “The Descendants” movie production starring George Clooney, based on a book by isle writer Kaui Hemmings. Kauffman confirmed the site had been on the network’s short list.

    Erika Kauffman also shared that, “There was no local primary sound stage used for shooting the pilot.” The warehouse location that the production has selected will house a mini sound stage as well as Danny Williams’s apartment. Cue: a picture of the schematic of Danno’s place – posted by J.R. Orci. :smile:

  • In a different approach to the reviews-that-shall-not-be-called-reviews we’ve been reading lately, The Kansas City Star paired the best summer shows with upcoming fall pilots. Read how Hawaii Five-0 does in comparison with Burn Notice (a scan of this article has also been added to the gallery):

    For its remake of the popular 1970s series, CBS decided to add some “NCIS” spice to “Hawaii Five-O.” Steve McGarrett (Alex O’Loughlin) is still an ex-Navy officer running a state police unit at the governor’s behest, but now the bad guys are human traffickers and narco-terrorists rather than Chinese commies and garden-variety thugs.

    The show has an explosive opening scene, leading into the quick-cut opening credits, which make the original 1968 “Five-O” sequence seem timid by comparison (but the remake of Morton Stevens’ theme song isn’t as good as the original). The pacing of the pilot is intense and full of shoot-’em-ups.

    An action show with an international flavor, filmed in a gorgeous ocean-side locale — hey, that sounds a lot like “Burn Notice,” now in its fourth season on USA. Like the “Five-O” pilot, its first episode opened with a thrilling chase scene, as Michael (Jeffrey Donovan) eluded gun-toting criminals on motorcycles.

    But “Burn Notice” is full of light touches missing from the “Five-O” pilot. There are humorous exchanges between Michael and his co-conspirators, as well as Michael’s trademark voiceovers about spy work (“In a fight, you have to be careful not to break the little bones in your hand on someone’s face — that’s why I like bathrooms”). Also, McGarrett and his cohorts are true white hats, practically beyond reproach. Network audiences may like that, but “Burn Notice” fans like morally messy characters.

Other Updates:

  • The amusing Chicago Sun-Times article “Vampire Empire has Died, But Who Can Replace?” takes a look at what creatures can take the place of vampires, who apparently are on the way out.
  • In the LA Times article “The Unreal World: ‘Three Rivers’ Firefighter Suffers Lung Damage associate professor of Medicine Marc Siegel takes a closer look at the medical reality of Three Rivers episode Every Breath You Take.
  • With Moonlight enjoying a rerun on the CW, Ed Gross has reposted Alex O’Loughlin’s personal take on the show’s episodes at Vampires and Slayers. The same article was also featured in last year’s SFX Vampire Special, scans of which you’ll find in the gallery.
  • Locate TV posted the blog  Star Trek: Can Alex O’Loughlin make his latest big TV role stick? It’s not my kind of  article as I simply don’t like the writer’s approach. Even though some may consider it pro Alex, I think any perceived compliments are backhanded and the tone patronizing. Overall, I find it quite grating, but of course everyone should decide for themselves.

Gallery Updates:

  • The July 1st German edition of OK! celebrates HRH’s… well… hotness with a two-page spread and thanks to Silke and Fever, there are some excellent HQ scans to share! Ladies, you rock!
  • I added some rare stills from Oyster Farmer and replaced pic #8 with an HQ version.
  • Donate Life recently uploaded a set of pictures from the Film Festival and six of Alex have been added to the gallery. You can view the entire set on Flickr.

Happy 4th of July to my friends in the US! And I hope everyone has a safe and productive week ahead of them!

Filed Under: Weekly Wrap-Up Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

AOLR Weekly Wrap-Up #46

June 13, 2010 By 1 Comment

Hawaii Five-0 updates:

  • The New York Post published a great article on remaking old TV series with input from various program executives:

    • “The challenge is greater when you reboot a show,” says David Stapf, president of CBS Television Studios. “It better be pretty good, because you are putting it up against something that was great.

    “What you don’t want is: ‘It’s good, but it’s not as good as the original.’ ”

    “People’s preconceived notion is not to like it just because it’s a remake,” says Sherman [the CW's executive vice president of drama development]. ” ‘We’ve seen it already, we loved the first one. How are we ever going to love the second one?’

    “We have to fight that a lot.”

    About Hawaii Five-0:

    Unlike [Stapf's] previous series “90210″ and “Melrose,” which he admits relied too much on nostalgia, he’s treating “Hawaii Five-O” as if “we’re doing a show that no one’s ever heard of . . . our mantra going into this is that it’s a show that can completely stand alone.”

  • Some new talent has been recruited to join the Hawaii Five-0 extended team:
    • Deadline Hollywood reports that Brad Turner is now on board as co-executive producer/director; he joins the production from 24, where he was producer-director for the last four seasons.
    • Wayne Harada writes that Erika Kauffman has been hired as unit publicist for the series. According to the Star Advertiser (the recently merged Honolulu Star Bulletin and Honolulu Advertiser), this is a big deal as having a local unit publicist is akin to “having a pass to the board room.”
    • Rick – a.k.a. Magnum P.I. Set Decorator – who worked on the pilot in March, is happy to report that he starts work as the H50 set decorator this coming week! Rick writes:

      “You will, however, learn more about Steve McGarrett and Danny Williams in the pilot than you learned in the 12 years of the original 5-0 and some of the best dialogue I’ve ever read in a television script. Of course the sets will be so wonderful, you may not notice what the actors are saying! (guess I’d better say lol in case anyone else reads this)”

  • For some pilot spoilers (nothing drastic and most of it you’ll probably already know), check out Dontkillspike’s LJ.
  • The Hollywood Reporter published an article about the shows expected to make an appearance at the upcoming San Diego Comic-Con:

    In the case of “Five-0,” there’s a few factors that make the show more Comic-Con friendly than one might expect. It’s remake of the 1970s series, plus CBS’ tentpole new title for the fall and boasts heavy amounts of action. But what best lures Comic-Con fans to a new show is the panelists, and “Five-0” has former “Battlestar” vet Grace Park and ex-”Lost” co-star Daniel Dae Kim, as well as “Star Trek” producers Alex Kutrzman and Roberto Orci.

    Although Grace Park’s and Daniel Dae Kim’s names have come up as Comic-Con attendees in one or two blogs, nothing official has been published yet. As the con is still a little under six weeks away, anything can happen between now and then to the lineup.

  • Hawaii’s MidWeek Magazine is featuring Daniel Dae Kim as their cover story. Alex will undoubtedly be in good company as Daniel sounds like a great guy! DDK shares some of his expectations of H50:

    “I think one of the nicest things about Hawaii Five-0 is that we’ll be able to showcase Hawaii. As much as LOST did for the Islands, the one thing it wasn’t able to do was show off the people and the culture. I’m sure the producers of Five-0 are looking forward to that opportunity. I know I certainly am.”

    “My character is going to be riding a motorcycle. I’ve ridden casually and I’ve ridden dirt bikes when I was younger, so I had some experience, but this is the first time I’ve ever been licensed.”

    “I know how much this project (Hawaii Five-0) means to the people of Hawaii, and I will do what I can to be mindful of that. Whether it means hiring as many local actors and crew as we can, or just making sure the people and culture are represented with respect, taking care of Hawaii will definitely be a priority for me.

    “If our show is done right, Hawaii will be a big reason for its success.”

    You can follow Daniel on Twitter. He can also be found on Facebook and has an official website.

  • I never thought I’d write this, but here’s a cute post on Deadline Hollywood: Like Father, Like Son – is this the Next Generation Television Stars?
  • From an update from Taryn Manning on her blog:

    “As for Hawaii 5-0, I was privileged enough to view the hush-hush pilot and can promise you it is breathtakingly beautiful. I’ll be on your screens in the second episode so get ready :) Working with the cast, especially Scott Caan and Alex O’Loughlin, was wonderful as they are all brilliant actors. I should be leaving on a jet plane for paradise in the near future and am excited for the times to come.”

The latest on The Back-up Plan:

  • The Back-up Plan will be released on DVD and Blu-ray in the UK on September 20th and is now available for pre-order at Amazon UK!
  • No release date has been published yet for the US, but Amazon is now accepting pre-orders for both the DVD and the Blu-ray.
  • Philadelphia Inquirer film critic Carrie Rickey published an entertaining post titled “Abs-urd“ about how “chiseled, manscaped and moisturized abs have become the male counterpart of an actress’s topless scene” in movies:

    I thought the trend had crested in 2009. Last year’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine was effectively an abs showdown between Hugh Jackman  and Ryan Reynolds. Reynolds’ abs nearly eclipsed his performance in last year’s The Proposal. Then came Taylor Lautner and his 10-pack in Twilight: New Moon. But 2010 looks to be similarly abs-urd. Wahlberg’s shirtlessness is a running gag in Date Night. This week Alex O’Loughlin and his abs upstage J-Lo and her assets in The Back-Up Plan. While watching O’Loughlin, I couldn’t help but notice that he has hair above his pecs and is shaven below, all the better to see the abdominal definition. Made me nostalgic for the chest hair on Burt Reynolds and Alec Baldwin.

  • A box office update: according to Box Office Mojo, the movie has grossed $56.6M worldwide so far. Unless I’m mistaken, The Back-up Plan still has to open in: Colombia, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia, Ecuador, Romania, Belgium, Chile, Denmark, Peru, Portugal, Bulgaria, Central America, Finland, Norway, Taiwan, Malaysia, Sweden, Thailand, Brazil and lastly, on July 29th in New Zealand.

Other updates:

  • It appears that although Sabine Atkins did get to meet Alex on Friday night at the Donate Life Hollywood VIP reception/cocktail party, there was no time for their interview as Alex’s car service was unable to pick him up in time. I’m sure he must have hated to have arrived late and disappoint Sabine, but from all the reports so far, she is nevertheless absolutely thrilled to have met him! Sabine will be posting more about the event on her organ donation blog soon, but meanwhile, check out the other snippets (and pictures) on Facebook!
  • Tierney Bricker, who writes for E!, was also present at the Donate Life Hollywood event on Friday and did get to interview Alex, so keep an eye out for it on Kristin Dos Santos’s blog!
  • If you still can’t get enough of Alex (and what sane woman with a :heart: can?), here’s a collection of Alex soundbites posted by Entertonement.
  • A couple of polls – they don’t always need to have a higher purpose to be fun:
  • You’ll be seeing some changes to the website in the course of the coming week! It’s being moved to a more stable framework and you can expect to see layout modifications and cosmetic tweaks. All the better to showcase our favorite Aussie with! :heart2:
  • Posted by Deb on YouTube: Three Rivers promo for Every Breath You Take – next Saturday’s episode!
  • There’s a recently posted TV Guide Mega Buzz video on YouTube with “scoop” on Alex. The information is a little dated, but you can just enjoy the opportunity to catch a glimpse of Doc Andy, Lt.Cmdr. Steve and Mick St. John in one segment! (There’s also a Hulu version of this video doing the rounds that is not viewable by international fans – this YouTube version is!)

Gallery updates:

  • HQs from the Donate Life Hollywood Film Festival reception are now available!
  • I’ve replaced all the MQs in the 2007 Summer TCA press tour album, added some more images and as the pics were big enough, I’ve also done some crops of Alex.
  • The MQs of the September 2004 photos taken of Alex at the Toronto International Film Festival have also been replaced with HQs. The resolution was such that I was able to make a couple of nice crops of a very hairy Alex!
  • Also added is an album with five beautiful HQs from Alex’s January rooftop photoshoot in Sydney – much, much better than just scans from the articles!

Have a great week, everyone!

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