‘Interview With the Vampire’ Series Team on Working With Intimacy Coordinators: ‘It’s Really Important’

Joe Otterson TV Reporter The upcoming “Spiderwick Chronicles” TV series at Disney+ has cast Joy Bryant, Variety has learned exclusively. Bryant joins previously announced cast members Lyon Daniels and Noah Cottrell as well as Christian Slater. The show is based on the popular book series of the same name by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black. In the show, upon leaving New York and moving to Michigan and into their run-down ancestral home—The Spiderwick Estate—with their mother, twin brothers Jared (Daniels) and Simon Grace (Cottrell), along with their sister Mallory, find themselves pulled into an alternate, fantastical world.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterBen Kingsley is poised to reprise the role of Trevor Slattery in the upcoming Wonder Man series from Marvel Studios at Disney+, Variety has learned exclusively from sources. The show was first revealed to be in the works back in June. It will focus on the Marvel character Simon Williams, a.k.a. Wonder Man. In the comics, Williams is the son of a wealthy industrialist whose company falls on hard times due to competition from Tony Stark’s Stark Industries. Williams then accepts an offer from villain Baron Zemo that gives him ionic superpowers including super strength and durability. After fighting the Avengers several times, Wonder Man ultimately joined their ranks. Kingsley returning as Slattery lends credence to reports that the show is intended to be a Hollywood satire, as it has been established that Slattery is a failed actor and Wonder Man has been an actor and a stuntman in the comics. Exactly how Kingsley would factor into the plot of the series and how many episodes he would appear in is being kept under wraps, but sources say he will play a major role.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Michael Fishman has released a statement regarding his departure from ABC’s “The Conners” ahead of the show’s fifth season. “It has been my honor to play D.J. Conner,” Fishman said in a statement to People. “It’s every actors dream to be a series regular, especially on a groundbreaking show, where we tackle significant topics.” “While I wholeheartedly will miss Friday night tapings in front of our loyal audiences, alongside our amazing cast and crew, I am excited for the opportunities coming in the next chapter of my career,” he continued. “While I was told I would not be returning for season 5, Lanford was a valuable place to grow up, learn and develop,” Fishman concluded. “I was incredibly lucky to return home and demonstrate my expansion. As I venture into the world to build the future, I send tremendous love and success to everyone involved in production.”

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Jennifer Connelly is set to star opposite Joel Edgerton in the Apple series adaptation of the Blake Crouch novel “Dark Matter,” Variety has learned. The nine-episode series was ordered at Apple in March. It will follow Jason Dessen (Edgerton), a physicist, professor, and family man who – one night while walking home on the streets of Chicago – is abducted into an alternate version of his life. Wonder quickly turns to nightmare when he tries to return to his reality amid the multiverse of lives he could have lived. In this labyrinth of mind-bending realities, he embarks on a harrowing journey to get back to his true family and save them from the most terrifying, unbeatable foe imaginable: himself.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter “The Conners” star Michael Fishman is leaving the ABC sitcom ahead of Season 5, Variety has confirmed. Fishman played DJ Tanner in the series, reprising the role he played for 10 seasons on “Roseanne.” Exact details on how Fishman will be written out of the show are currently under wraps, but it will supposedly leave the door open for him to return. Jayden Rey, who plays DJ’s daughter Mary in the show, will also not be back as a series regular, though she will appear in a guest star role. John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf, Sara Gilbert, Lecy Goranson, Emma Kenney, Ames McNamara, Jay R. Ferguson, and Katey Sagal will all return for the new season. Fishman first began playing DJ Tanner in 1988 in the second episode of “Roseanne.” He stayed with the show throughout its first nine seasons, returning along with the rest of the original cast for the 2018 revival. He has also directed five episodes of “The Conners” since 2020, most recently directing the Season 4 episode “Messy Situation, Miscommunication and Academic Probation.”

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Colin Farrell’s upcoming Apple series “Sugar” has added five new cast members, Variety has learned. James Cromwell (“Succession,” “Babe,” “Six Feet Under”), Anna Gunn (“Breaking Bad,” “Deadwood”), Dennis Boutsikaris (“Better Call Saul,” “Mayfair Witches”), Alex Hernandez (“Invasion,” “Bloodshot”), and Lindsay Pulsipher (“The Beast,” “True Blood”) have all joined the series. Cromwell and Gunn will recur, while Boutsikaris, Hernandez, and Pulsipher will be series regulars. Along with Farrell, previously announced cast members include Kirby Howell-Baptiste and Amy Ryan. Exact plot and character details for the show remain under wraps, aside from the fact that it is described as a genre-bending contemporary take on the private detective story set in Los Angeles.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Dania Ramirez is poised to take the lead role in the upcoming Fox drama series “Alert,” Variety has learned. The show was ordered to series at the broadcast network in May as part of Fox’ s upfronts presentation to advertisers. Ramirez will star as Nikki, described as a salt-of-the-earth woman whose life was ripped apart six years ago by the disappearance of her 11-year-old son. She found her calling as the head of the Missing Person’s Unit. Her zeal and personal connection to the victims and their families infuses each and every case, and she helps others find their loved ones even as she couldn’t find her own.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterABC has given a series order to the spy drama “The Company You Keep” starring “This Is Us” alum Milo Ventimiglia, Variety has learned.The series was originally ordered to pilot as part of ABC’s 2022 pilot season slate. It will now debut at midseason on ABC in 2023.The show is based on the Korean series “My Fellow Citizens” from Korean Broadcasting System. In the American version, a night of passion leads to love between con-man Charlie (Ventimiglia) and undercover CIA officer Emma (Catherine Haena Kim), who are unknowingly on a collision course professionally.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterSteven Pasquale is set to star opposite Neve Campbell in the upcoming ABC series “Avalon,” Variety has learned.The announcement of Pasquale’s casting comes just one day after Campbell’s, with Campbell set to play the lead role in the show. It hails from co-creators David E. Kelley and Michael Connelly, with the show based on a short story that Connelly wrote.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterKirby Howell-Baptiste has signed on to star opposite Colin Farrell in the Apple series “Sugar,” Variety has learned.The project was first ordered to series in June. Exact plot and character details for the show remain under wraps, aside from the fact that it is described as a genre-bending contemporary take on the private detective story set in Los Angeles.Howell-Baptiste was most recently seen in the Netflix series adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s “The Sandman,” playing the role of Death, one of the seven Endless.

(CNN)Amanda Seyfried has described coming under pressure to appear in nude scenes when she was just 19 years old and starting out in show business. Seyfried, who has been nominated for an Emmy for her portrayal of disgraced entrepreneur Elizabeth Holmes, was discussing the progression of her career in a wide-ranging interview with Porter.

Thanks to the #MeToo movement (and, to a certain extent, the COVID-19 pandemic), intimacy coordinators on movie and TV sets are the entertainment industry’s new normal. So, what do actors think about this development?  Sean Bean‘s recent comments that ICs “spoil the spontaneity” of sex scenes unleashed a backlash from various actresses.

Elizabeth Meriwether is no stranger to success. She wasn’t even 30 when she created “New Girl,” one of the seminal comedy shows of the past 15 years.

Sorry Sean Bean, Emma Thompson begs to differ.

Sean Bean has received criticism from Hollywood actresses for his recent comments about intimacy coordinators.In an interview with The Times, the Game Of Thrones and Snowpiercer star suggested that these specialists, who have become common place on film and TV sets since the rise of the #MeToo movement, would “spoil the spontaneity” of sex scenes.“It would inhibit me more because it’s drawing attention to things,” said Bean of having an intimacy coordinator in the room. “Somebody saying, ‘Do this, put your hands there, while you touch his thing…”He added: “I think the natural way lovers behave would be ruined by someone bringing it right down to a technical exercise.”Bean also said of his Snowpiercer cost-star Lena Hall, with whom he filmed an unaired sex scene: “This one had a musical cabaret background, so she was up for anything.”Hall was one of the first actresses to respond to Bean’s comments, writing in a tweet: “Just because I am in theatre (not cabaret, but I do perform them every once in a while) does not mean that I am up for anything.

Sean Bean is in some hot water after his comment to The Sunday Times that intimacy coordinators “ruin” and “spoil the spontaneity” of sex scenes in movies and TV shows. Now, Bean’s “Snowpiercer” costar Lena Hall has some comments of her own to clarify what the actor said about an intimate scene they had together in the show’s latest season that involved a mango.

Zack Sharf Amanda Seyfried told Porter magazine that she purposely let herself be uncomfortable on film sets earlier in her career because she felt it was the only way to keep her job.The publication noted that the Emmy and Oscar nominee “wishes she could be coming up now, in an era where intimacy coordinators are an on-set requirement and actors are in a better position to speak up.” Seyfried said she emerged “pretty unscathed” from her early days as an actor in Hollywood, but she does look back in shock.“Being 19, walking around without my underwear on – like, are you kidding me? How did I let that happen?” Seyfried said. “Oh, I know why: I was 19 and I didn’t want to upset anybody and I wanted to keep my job.

The Times, the Snowpiercer actor opened up about his feelings on the matter, while also sharing some of his on-set experiences.“It would inhibit me more because it’s drawing attention to things,” said Bean of having an intimacy coordinator in the room.“Somebody saying, ‘Do this, put your hands there, while you touch his thing…”He continued: “I think the natural way lovers behave would be ruined by someone bringing it right down to a technical exercise.”For contrast, Bean spoke of his experiences filming the explicit 1993 adaptation of Lady Chatterly’s Lover, in which he starred alongside Joely Richardson.“Lady Chatterly was spontaneous,” he said. “It was a joy.

K.J. Yossman Sean Bean’s “Snowpiercer” co-star Lena Hall has responded to his remarks that intimacy coordinators “spoil the spontaneity” of a sex scene.Bean made the comments to the U.K.’s Times Magazine in an interview to promote his latest BBC series, “Marriage.” “I think the natural way lovers behave would be ruined by someone bringing it right down to a technical exercise,” he told the magazine, adding that Hall, with whom he’d had a number of intimate and nude scenes in “Snowpiercer,” “was up for anything” because of her “musical cabaret background.”Bean is best known for his turns as Ned Stark in “Game of Thrones” and Boromir in The Lord of the Rings trilogy while Hall has starred in numerous Broadway productions, including shows such as “Kinky Boots” and “Cats” as well as making on-screen appearances in shows including “Girls” and “All My Children.” In response to Variety’s article covering Bean’s comments, Hall posted an eight-part Twitter thread in which she said: “Just because I am in theater (not cabaret, but I do perform them every once in a while) does not mean that I am up for anything.