Alex O’Loughlin Talks to MTV about “Moonlight”
Moonlight: Cool yeah, and very, very hot
In the TV Guide Summer Preview issue (June 7-20), there’s a one-page article about Moonlight currently airing on the CW. We can pretend it’s the article we’re interested in, but I suspect that the hot picture of Alex O’Loughlin is probably the bigger draw.
“I love the aggressive, animalistic side of the show,” says O’Loughlin, who will star in CBS’ buzzworthy remake of Hawaii Five-0 next season. “I love the genre, the action and the masculinity of the character.”
The many passionate female fans were “awesome,” he says, “but I want my pals to think it’s cool.”
Cool, yeah, and very, very hot.
As always, a big thanks goes to alavenia for making sure I never run out of magazines! You’ll find a hi-res scan and a large version of said picture in the gallery.
[tags]alex o’loughlin, alex o’lachlan, mick st. john, moonlight, cbs[/tags]
AOLR Weekly Wrap-Up #44
This will hardly come as a surprise, but there are lots of Hawaii Five-0 updates to share 
:
- Matt Roush went through the networks’ fall lineups for Access Hollywood. “Hawaii Five-0 stands out because it’s a brand name, a classic iconic series.” View the clip on YouTube – with thanks to Deb!
- DVR Divas also invited Matt Roush to discuss the new shows with them. You can view the video or listen to the audio; they reach H50 at 13:37. I’ve also added a transcript:
“[Mike and Molly] is going to be hammocked in between Two and a Half Men and Hawaii Five 0 which is a slam dunk I suppose. Clips for that look explosive, they’ve poured a huge amount of money into that Hawaii Five-0, it’s sexy as hell and it isn’t just Alex O’Loughlin carrying the show, ’cause I don’t think he can carry a show by himself. You’ve got DDK, you’ve got Grace Park, you’ve got Scott Caan who stole those clips, and they all have charisma and I think they’re going to lift him as well and with Hawaii, the exotic locale and everybody looking wonderful, explosions… it almost has a more of an A-Team feel than the old Hawaii Five-0 feel. I think CBS has a definite hit in that one.”
- EW PopWatch is casting doubt on CBS Marketing president George Schweitzer’s claim that the Hawaii Five-0 theme song “is the most enduring theme in the history of television.” Popwatch refers to a recent article in Variety about the importance of signature tunes for remakes:
- From an upfront report at RBR.com:
The clear audience favorite was the trailer from series remake, Hawaii Five-O which had some exciting action sequences. Tassler remarked, “This is not your father’s Hawaii Five O.” Unfortunately, many of the attendees weren’t old enough to remember their father’s version of the series. Attendees were happy to learn that Daniel Dae Kim, one of the stars of ABC’s recently departed Lost, was cast in the role of Detective Chin Ho Kelly. The audience also enjoyed listening to the famous theme music. In fact, the theme music will be heavily promoted throughout the summer in advance of the series premiere.
- Here’s a third promo posted by Deb that aired on CBS for the show – it’s only 8 seconds long, so don’t blink
! - Brandy McDonnell at The Oklahoman posted another article on her blog about Alex, this time in relation to Hawaii Five-0. Upon being asked about taking on the role of Steve McGarrett, Alex responds:
“Yeah, that was a big decision for me and, I mean, it was ultimately and evidently … an offer I couldn’t turn down. And I’m really glad I took it up. So yeah, you become more realistic about what it means to sign that seven-year contract and become a little more discerning. But I feel like I’ve made the right decision.”
- According to Tim Ryan, the series will begin filming on July 15th on Oahu. It sounds like finding studio space may be a challenge for the production as ABC is still renting the Hawaii Film Studios despite the fact that Lost has long since wrapped. Tim also writes that CBS is planning a Sunset on the Beach event for the Hawaii Five-0 premiere!
- Someone had to go and do a study of the number of tweets on Twitter for the new fall shows! I haven’t done a comparison, but am just enjoying the fact that the official CBS uploads of the Hawaii Five-0 Fall Preview video on YouTube has logged over 42,000 views. The opening credits video posted by The Collider is now at over 73,000 views. The show’s popularity has risen by 231% on IMDb.
- From a cute article posted at NBC’s PopcornBiz:
But the biggest change: Detective Steve McGarrett is going to have some emotional issues, darnit!
It is 2010 after all. Men are allowed to have these things.
The character, classically played by Jack Lord, has been given to Alex O’Loughlin and he will have his own way of dealing with some Oprah-esque issues — like a tattered relationship with his sister played by Taryn Manning.
“My character was written in humanize (McGarrett),” Manning tells PopcornBiz. “I play his younger sister and she’s kind of upset at the world and wants to get closer to her brother.”
Scarily, we are talking about emotional closeness. On a cop show.
- According to the Futon Critic, however, Mary Ann McGarrett didn’t make the final cut of the pilot episode (although she could of course still be appearing in a later episode). The Futon Critic posted a first-look review in which they try hard to find fault with the pilot, but can’t quite seem to succeed!
- For another interview with Taryn Manning, check out this video on YouTube.
“We’re going to treat it as a lead character of the show,” [Schweitzer] added, including a full main-title sequence (in an era when there are few left) featuring a new recording of the theme that is “as close to the iconic, classic version as possible.”
Schweitzer believes the “Five-O” theme is not just about nostalgia but appeals to younger converts — as evidenced by the millions of hits on YouTube for multiple versions, including Brian Setzer’s live performance in Japan and various amateur renditions.
For “Five-O,” Schweitzer said CBS’ radio network will be drafted into service, playing various versions and possibly even “marathons” of “Five-O” music, which has been recorded by many artists, including Henry Mancini and a bizarre rendition by Sammy Davis Jr.
“We will do many things to market the show just based on the music alone,” Schweitzer said, citing online competitions, mashups and social media. “It’s part of the culture, so we want to make that culture work for modern media.”
The Back-up Plan updates:
- A “new” interview with Alex and Jennifer at the press junket by ViewCave.
- From a lovely review by the Express Advocate in Oz:
The chemistry with Australian actor, Alex O’Loughlin (The Oyster Farmer), is palpable, with scenes that many will relate to.
The women in the audience at the screening seemed to agree, regularly gasping in delight.
What surprised me the most was the range of emotions The Back-up Plan covered, and all with plenty of verve.
If you are looking for a romantic escapade into the world of pregnancy dilemmas, this is your movie.
- Another review worth a read posted by The Reel Reviewer:
The following predictability is the one I depend on with every ticket I buy for a romantic comedy … the ever necessary good-looking guy. His smile lights up the screen and you can grate cheese on his abs, which are displayed often. And no complaints here. However, this sort of newcomer, Alex O’Loughlin, really carried the role well. He proved to have good comic timing and likable expressions that gave me the ability to read him easily and consistently.
The Reel Reviewer considers “The Back-Up Plan” a good plan A for a predictable romantic comedy.
Three Rivers updates:
- Daemon’s TV have posted some stills from episode 10, Every Breath You Take of Alex as Andy Yablonski.
- If you don’t mind a major spoiler, check out the closing scene of episode 9 A Roll of the Dice on YouTube – with thanks to Labormieze!
- I was hoping we would have some clarification by now about the Win-Loss episode CBS is airing on June 5th. I hear it’s supposed to be the unaired pilot (the title certainly sounds familiar), but it’s puzzling because the entertainment release issued by CBS is clearly that of the first episode, i.e. Place of Life. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens!
Other items:
- Check out the CW’s promo for Moonlight on YouTube! The show premieres this Thursday at 9/8c.
- The SyFy channel is doing another Moonlight marathon on Thursday as well, showing all 16 episodes, starting at 8 AM and finishing at 4 AM on Friday.
- Sabine Atkins has been invited to attend the Donate Life Hollywood Film Festival including the cocktail party on June 11th. Of course all Donate Life Hollywood Person of the Year nominees have been invited as well, including Alex O’Loughlin. There is no guarantee that he will be present; however, if he does attend, Sabine may get the opportunity to interview him briefly. To this purpose, she is inviting fans to submit questions for Alex, preferably pertaining to his work as an ambassador for Donate Life. You are welcome to email your questions to questions@alexoloughlinfansfordonatelife.com no later than June 9th. Thanks, Sabine – we’ll keep our fingers crossed for you!
Gallery updates:
- If everything in the print publications album appears to have been updated, that’s because I had to set it up again after accidentally deleting it.
Worth checking out are the hi-res scans from the Aussie OK! and another version of the Joanne Hawkins interview with Alex, this time in The Sunday Mail (Brisbane). - I’ve also added 27 more HQs of Alex at the LA premiere, an album with pictures from the premiere after party and HQs of Alex and Jason Dohring at the New York Comic Con in April 2008.
That’s all for now – I hope you have a great week!
Alex O’Loughlin: Raw Appeal of Aussie Export
Another great interview with Alex O’Loughlin comes our way from Down Under – this time from the HIT supplement of The Advertiser in Adelaide (May 20). A scan has been added to the gallery; the transcript follows below.
Raw Appeal of Aussie Export
The ridiculously buff Alex O’Loughlin is set to make female hearts swoon, writes Andrew Fenton
There’s a scene about midway through The Back-up Plan in which Alex O’Loughlin takes off his shirt to reveal a ludicrously muscular chest and a six-pack.
He plays Stan, a cheese-seller. And from the looks of things, Stan is the fittest cheese-seller in history.
“Cheese-sellers are pretty big, though – so I went method on this one,” laughs the Australian actor on the phone from Los Angeles, the day after the film’s premiere. He explains he was offered a physical trainer by the filmmakers – but then got a bit carried away.
“When I saw it last night, I was like: ‘Dude! You’re too fit! You shouldn’t have got that fit for that movie!”
But on the scale of things, being overly fit to play an entirely credible cheese merchant in a romantic comedy opposite Jennifer Lopez is a fairly good problem to have.
Five years ago, when the AFI-nominated actor (The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant) moved to Los Angeles, he was greeted with characteristic indifference.
“I didn’t work for the first few years, times got a bit tough and I found myself on a mate’s couch,” he says. “But then things came good.”
Now 33, his luck changed when he was cast as Detective Kevin Hiatt for a seven-episode run in The Shield. He followed that up with the family feature film August Rush and began to develop a massive female following thanks to his starring role as vampire-cum-private investigator Mick St. John in Moonlight.
Some of these female fans appear very devoted.
“I dare say,” he says. “It’s kind of weird. I really appreciate the support, it’s very validating. But they only know a version of me; they know what my face looks like and there are only a few people who really know me.”
Unfortunately for O’Loughlin though, the show never really recovered from the halt in production caused by the Hollywood writers’ strike and it wasn’t picked up for a second season.
His next show, medical drama Three Rivers, suffered a similar fate, getting the chop after just eight of 13 episodes were screened.
Little wonder he’s developed something of a nihilistic coping strategy.
“There are moments when you grab for hope, but if you grab for hope, you’re dead,” he says. “You can’t hope, it’s the nature of the world, the nature of this industry and how it works. All you’ve got is you, and so you show up, you do your best and then go home and try to forget about it.”
That probably explains why O’Loughlin is trying not to get his hopes up about his latest role as Detective Steve McGarrett in the CBS remake of Hawaii Five-0. While only a pilot has been filmed so far, the series looks very promising, coming from the writers who recently resurrected Star Trek.
He says he’s under strict instructions not to talk about it. “What I can say is that we’ve finished the pilot, it’s gone in (to CBS) and we don’t know about a pick-up yet; but it’s something I’m very excited about,” he says. “I was a bit young to be a fan of the show, but I knew it and this is a very modern take on it – it’s a really good remake.”
The vast majority of O’Loughlin’s television work has been with CBS – so it’s no surprise to see the actor headlining The Back-up Plan, which comes from CBS Films.
“Bonds of trust exist, he explains. The film is fairly high-concept – after waiting all her life to meet the right man and start a family, Zo (J.Lo) becomes pregnant through artificial insemination on the very same day she meets Mr Right (O’Loughlin). Hilarity ensues.
“You couldn’t have made this movie thirty years ago, it wouldn’t have fitted the zeitgeist; but today you can,” O’Loughlin says. “It’s about women who have their lives together but don’t have a partner and want a family – and can do it now.”
In real life, of course, Lopez got pregnant the old-fashioned way (to singer Marc Anthony) and gave birth to twins in 2008.
After having been provisionally offered the role, O’Loughlin dropped by the Lopez family home on Long Island with director Alan Poul (Six Feet Under). “I met her and Marc and the kids, and we hung out,” he says. “Then Jen and I had a ‘chemistry meeting’ with the director, Alan. Essentially what we do is find out if we get each other – are we going to have a laugh?
“It’s like when you go to the pub and you meet someone, you work that out pretty quickly: You’re like, ‘Yeah, nah, I don’t want to have another beer with you’, or, ‘Let’s hang out’. It was just like that.”
[tags]alex o’loughlin, alex o’lachlan, the back-up plan, cbs films, steve mcgarrett, hawaii five-0, hawaii five-o, hawaii 5-0, cbs[/tags]
AOLR Weekly Wrap-up #41
Let’s start off with Hawaii Five-0 for a change – the buzz continues:
- According to The Hollywood Reporter, “‘Hawaii Five-O’ remains the most likely drama to receive a series order.’
- Nellie Andreeva at Deadline Hollywood blogs that “Fun procedurals are in fashion with CBS’ Hawaii Five-O…”
- Alex O’Loughlin also gets a mention in tomorrow’s Herald Sun back home in Oz:
[THR] added CBS was also most likely to pick up the remake of Hawaii Five-0 starring Aussie actor Alex O’Loughlin, who recently got a career boost starring opposite Jennifer Lopez in The Back-up Plan.
With Lost drawing to a close this month, Daniel Dae Kim has been busy giving interviews. There are two videos and an article worth checking out because Hawaii Five-0 is mentioned:
- The Honolulu Advertiser
- The Show Girl – Daniel answers a fan question
- CNN SciTechBlog – Daniel talks about life after Lost
The latest on The Back-up Plan:
- LoveFilm.com posted an interview with Alan Poul, in which The Back-up Plan director talks about the importance of casting the right leading man:
We spent a long time looking for Stan. It’s especially difficult, because the movie belongs more to Zoe. I knew from the moment when I read the script that if we didn’t cast Stan correctly, the movie would collapse because Stan would seem like a wimp and a loser. So we looked very hard all around and Alex has that combination of qualities of a kind of effortless masculinity that doesn’t take itself too seriously and he also, I think, has enough charisma that he can hold the screen with Jennifer. Once you cast that role, an awful lot of the movie is determined.
- A Scripps Howard interview with Alex at GoErie.com – no new content, but worth a read nevertheless: “Alex O’Loughlin’s in Demand for Films, TV Shows“
- And EDGE interview with Alex: “Alex O’Loughlin: More Than Just a Pretty Face (and a Hot Bod)“
- Alex was also interviewed by IndieLondon, where we learn what may lie ahead for him:
“I think I’ll end up directing one day as well. I don’t feel as though I’m really ready at the moment but I love the process of filmmaking and I love the process of storytelling… I always have and I want to be involved with all of it on a deeper level.”
- Australia’s Sunday Mail State Edition published a small article today about Alex based on his recent comment about how awful it is to film sex scenes.
- The UAE’s Gulf News printed an article on May 4th in which Jennifer Lopez shares her thoughts on various topics. She had some nice things to say about our Aussie:
“He was great for the character, because he has a little bit of that kind of cocky charming attitude that Stan has. He knew how to transmit the feeling that she was the one, but at the same time have confidence and even a bit of arrogance.
“Alex reminds me a bit of myself when I started – with that vivaciousness that is so pleasant to be around. It was his first romantic comedy and there was a freshness about him that was great. Alex is a good guy; but he also has a bit of an edge, which is something I like.
“I loved working with him and he is very good at what he does.”
Other items:
- Donate Life has a previously undiscovered album on Flickr with pictures of Alex at the Emmy Gifting Suite taken on September 18, 2009 – thanks to Silke for the heads up! There are a total of eight photos; make sure you click on “all sizes” and then select the size that you’d like to view.
- Lime Photo posted some images of Alex from a recent photoshoot… Take care when viewing, because these pics are HOT! Thanks to Elemental for finding these.
- The London premiere and the LA premiere galleries have been updated – they now contain only HQ pictures; more will be added soon and I’m also expecting various sets of interesting new old pictures of Alex as well!
- Here’s another video of Alex signing autographs in New York City on April 14th – thanks to Mariposa for the find!
- Starting June 3rd, the CW will be airing repeats of Moonlight this summer. The episodes will be broadcast at 9 pm ET, after repeats of The Vampire Diaries.
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