Diplomacy at RIFF

Diplomacy will be screened tomorrow during the Official Closing Night Presentation "HIP, HOT AND SHORT: SALUTING THE ART OF THE SHORT FILM" of the Rhode Island International Film Festival (Providence, Columbus Theatre Arts Center, 6 PM)


(Michelle Forbes as U.S. Secretary of State)

Link to HR photo: »» diplomacy03HR.jpg

Durham County 2 - Daddy Hurt Mommy?

Episode 4 of Durham County - Daddy Hurt Mommy? airs tonight, Monday, August 03. Don't miss it!

The creators of the mini-series Durham County:


Laurie Finstad Knizhnik


Adrienne Mitchell - Janis Lundman

Full Producers & Production Credits on the »» Durham County website.

Hugh Dillon in a recent interview:

"Q: Durham County – there’s something of a Twin Peaks going on here.
A: I never watched Twin Peaks. But what I find is that Durham County is hypnotic. I put this show on and it’s addictive. There’s something to be said for these filmmakers. Adrienne Mitchell’s got such an eye and such a vision. And her and [writer] Laurie [Finstad-Knizhnik] working together, they’re like Jagger/Richards. It’s fucking awesome to watch them go. And sometimes scary when all their attention turns to you. It’s a demanding trio, Adrienne, Janis [Lundman] and Laurie, the three of them because they are intellectual heavyweights.
[...]
They have an uncanny ability to distill the truth out of all the bullshit that’s happening. That’s why we’re such great allies. I’m just 100 per cent committed to these folks and their project I’d follow them anywhere.
Usually you can find fault with somebody’s motives, but not these women. And the only way for you to win is to be acquiescent. [...] Because I want to learn; I want to figure out how to get there. And so everything they say is there to help you. The writing is one thing, but the way it’s shot is so beautiful, and you got to get your head around it sometimes because the character is here but you don’t see the whole vision. And they’ve got such patience that they will explain the whole thing to you. They are just such powerful women and they got such vision. It’s exciting to be a part of it. They’re really unstoppable and they have such integrity."
Source: toromagazine.com



*********************

* Season One of DC premieres in the U.S. on Monday, September 7th on »» ION Television.
»» http://www.durhamcountysecrets.com

Will bump this post up on Monday. --chris
I've added my personal impression as a comment. --chris

* Added screencaps of episode 4 to »» our gallery.
Avoid the gallery if you haven't seen the episode. DC is a whydunit and not a whodunit, though.




A few quotes of the first part of a German review, part 2 will be published tomorrow:

Durham County: A (sur)real Nightmare

"Durham County" is silent, hard-edged and hardly bearable. The series gets under one's skin. Its disturbing images and stories are fascinating. It is the same kind of fascination encountered by the viewers of "Twin Peaks", "SE7EN" and "The Shield".
[...]
The violence of men, their secret desires, the contravention of the law and the disintegration of the lower middle-class family are common phenomena of the neighboring countries Canada and USA - although, in most cases, the U.S. entertainment industry avoids painting an honest portrayal of all these. "Entertainment", of course, is the keyword here. Can a series like "Durham County" with its opening images of the cruel murder of two schoolgirls be called "entertainment"?
But the dark fascination of these stories (or their entertainment factor, if you will) lies in the fact that as an audience we have to make a choice and form an opinion. We are constantly forced to judge what we feel, and, in particular, to ask ourselves how we feel about what we have just seen. These works tread a fine line between a documentary on the state of society, and a fictional narrative. The status of the fictional narrative serves only to forget the disturbing images, the process of displacement.
But we know that whatever is repressed, comes back and manifests itself in everyday human action.
[...]
Another fascination of "Durham County": The series does not even attempt, leave us groping in the dark (which would probably also be pointless since we ARE in the dark). We need not guess what happened or who the murderer is, [...] "Durham County" is upfront and stresses that the act of violence shown is not the most cruel thing. That is rather what's behind it: its inevitability. "

Translated by Randy

* Randy added his thoughts as comment. --chris


Original quotes (German):

Durham County: Ein (sur)realer Alptraum

„Durham County“ ist leise, schonungslos und kaum auszuhalten. Die Serie geht einem unter die Haut. Ihre verstörenden Bilder und Erzählungen sind faszinierend. Es ist dieselbe Art der Faszination, die Zuschauer „Twin Peaks“, „Se7en“ oder „The Shield“ entgegenbrachten.
[...]
Die Gewaltbereitschaft von Männern, die heimlichen Begierden, das Übertreten des Gesetzes und der Zerfall der kleinbürgerlichen Familie sind gemeinsame Phänomene der Nachbarstaaten Kanada und USA - nur vermeidet es die US-Entertainmentindustrie in den allermeisten Fällen, hiervon direkte Bilder zu geben. „Entertainment“ ist hier natürlich das Schlüsselwort. Kann eine Serie wie „Durham County“ mit ihren Eröffnungsbildern vom grausamen Mord an zwei Schulmädchen „Entertainment“ sein?
Aber die dunkle Faszination solcher Erzählungen (oder deren Entertainmentfaktor, wenn man so will) besteht darin, als Zuschauer eine Wahl treffen und diese dann selbst beurteilen zu müssen. Wir werden als Zuschauer stetig gezwungen, über das, was wir fühlen, ein Urteil zu fällen bzw. uns zu fragen, wie wir das Gesehene empfinden. Solche Produkte wandern auf einem schmalen Grat zwischen Dokumentation über den Zustand der Gesellschaft und fiktionaler Erzählung. Der Status der fiktionalen Erzählung dient dabei lediglich dem Vergessen der verstörenden Bilder, dem Prozess der Verdrängung.
Aber wir wissen: was verdrängt wird, kommt um so stärker zurück und manifestiert sich im menschlichen Alltagshandeln.
[...]
Ein weiteres Faszinosum an „Durham County“: Die Serie versucht gar nicht erst, uns im Dunkeln tappen zu lassen (das wäre vermutlich auch sinnlos: denn wir SIND im Dunkeln). Wir müssen gar nicht raten, was passiert ist oder wer der Mörder ist; [...] „Durham County“ ist direkt und betont, dass der gezeigte Gewaltakt noch nicht das Grausamste ist, sondern das, was dahinter steckt: seine Unausweichlichkeit."
Source: serienjunkies.de

What is it exactly that you want, Maryann?

No fear, no limits, just Love. - Daphne

True Blood Episode 02x07 Release Me. :: Reviews - Reactions - Recaps - Quotes

Yet another episode is almost upon us. Again, eager reviews will be added as they come in:

Betrayed by Daphne, Sam finds himself in an unenviable predicament at the hands of Maryann and her wild-eyed minions. Imprisoned with Hugo in the F.O.T.S. church, Sookie uses her telepathic powers to reach out to Bill, who’s being detained at the hotel by a stubbornly obsessive Lorena. After crossing a line with the Newlins, a fearful Jason tries to sever his ties with the Fellowship of the Sun, but gets plenty of resistance from Steve and his enforcer Gabe.

In the meantime, enjoy a short interview with Michelle and Sam Trammell...



...and some related news:



During the 25th anniversary of the Television Critics Association, 200 members, that included newspaper, magazine and online TV critics across the U.S. and Canada, gathered to hand out awards to the top new television programs including Battlestar Galactica (Program of the Year) and True Blood (Outstanding New Program) amongst others.

Michelle Forbes was present along with True Blood cast members Rutina Wesley, Sam Trammell, Deborah Ann Woll, Nelsan Ellis and Alexander Skarsgard, as well as the series' creator/executive producer Alan Ball, who accepted the award.

HBO has also announced that True Blood will be going into third season which will premiere in June next year. Whether we will see more of Maryann, we do not know.

In Treatment, I have heard, is 'very likely' to continue as well.




***



I slept outside last night and I communed with my animal nature. - Maryann

Michelle Forbes was born to play this vampire drama's menacing Maryann

It may well be that Michelle Forbes, like grappa, is an intoxicating substance best enjoyed in moderate portions lest you wake up 48 hours later with no idea where (or even who) you are. She's one of the few actors who's managed to make a name for herself via guest-star runs in TV series ("24," "Battlestar Galactica," "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and "In Treatment" among them), the latest being HBO's southern vampire gothic, "True Blood." Although the exact nature of her character, Marianne, has yet to be fully explained, her cultic jones for chaos, lust and aggression suggests much to the attentive student of classical literature.

The part provides Forbes with an excellent showcase for her silken menace, and it's when she's plying Rutina Wesley's impressionable Tara with self-actualization nostrums and pyramids of tropical fruit that she attains the optimal pitch of blended threat and seduction. Forbes was born to play beautiful, evil queens; imagine the film version of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" with her -- instead of that popsicle, Tilda Swinton -- as the White Witch.
Source: Salon Arts and Entertainment Critics' Picks


She is driving them like funny little remote control aeroplanes. - Daphne

I think most of us are trying to be good human beings, so if you're like me, it's hard to reconcile all of this as non-villainous, especially when people are getting attacked. Plus, unlimited amounts of [fill in your favorite vice here] might be nice for a while, but there are consequences. Eventually, you have to rein things in and re-gain some self-control and willpower. Otherwise, the world would be a mad place to live, right?

So if, indeed, Maryann isn't a villain, we have to set aside our own beliefs of right and wrong and just enjoy True Blood for what it is. It will be interesting to see how the rest of the season plays out, and what will happen to Maryann. Part of me wants to see her go down in flames, if for no other reason than her ridiculous shaking drives me a little batty.
Source: Tv Squad

Spoiler Warning

She's immortal. - Daphne

I'm frustrated with the Maryann storyline, since it highlights the show's tendency to turn smart characters momentarily stupid. Is Tara really such a moron that she can't see how dangerous Maryann is? Because let me tell you this: If I blacked out, and my fellow waitress blacked out, and the town deputy came in screaming that everyone was at an orgy in the woods, and my weirdly witchy new mentor rolled up with bloody feet and a dead rabbit in her arms, then I might just put it together.

And Tara's smart enough to put it together, so why insist on keeping her in the dark? She deserves a story that lets her take action instead of being victimized, and her passivity is even more irritating because the writers have to ignore her well-established shrewdness in order to keep her ignorant.

Likewise, can Sam Merlotte take an action?...I appreciate getting some clear information from Daphne about Maryann...but when Daphne tells Sam the truth, why doesn't he do anything? Again, this is inconsistent with a character who is hungry to open up about himself. His perpetual inaction suggests the writers see him as a character who gets "told things," and not as a central part of the story.

That said, I don't hate these scenes. I could watch Michelle Forbes' loopy performance as Maryann all day, and that scene where she chases Sam in her Minotaur head, and he escapes by turning into an owl, literally puts me on the edge of my sofa. Bravo to director Michael Ruscio (and his editing team) for crafting such a nail-biting moment.
Source: The Huffington Post

She's like a pyro in a room full of matches. - Daphne

"Feeling sorry for things is just an excuse not to celebrate your own happiness." Add Maryann to greatest TV characters ever list
Just saw #True Blood. Wow. Great ep. This show rocks w/ the twists. Michelle Forbes is great.
wonder if Michelle Forbes had ANY idea what she was signing up for when she took the part on #trueblood.
Michelle Forbes as a Goddess... that's hardly a stretch.
I absolutely love Maryann's character on True Blood.
MaryAnn is god? That just seems blasphemous.
GOD!? GOD!? I don't like god! Not if God is Maryann
If Maryann is God, send me to hell.
I wonder "who" the bunny was maryann killed?
Source: Twitter

Durham County 2: The Fish In The Ocean

Episode 3 of Durham County The Fish In The Ocean - tonight on The Movie Network and Movie Channel.

The characters on Durham County:


(Click to enlarge)

Mike (Hugh Dillon), Pen (Michelle Forbes), Sadie (Laurence Leboeuf), Ray jr (Greyston Holt), Mark (Alex Cardillo), Jonathan (Geordi Johnson), Maddie (Cicely Austin), Audrey (Hélène Joy), Roxy (Claudia Ferri), Tom (Patrick Labbé), Glenn (Mike Dopud), Ray (Romano Orzari)

***************

Below I'm quoting two articles (translated by Randy) by Emilie Semiramoth, a journalist of the Paris based magazine 'Générique'.

About Durham County season 2:

Durham County S2 : Noir c'est noir

Our opinion. The same freezing grey screen and the sensation of suffocation, the signature of the series, returns to seize the audience and actors. In Durham, where everything is heavy and murky, everyone's life is like a burdensome rock. Mike and his dark past with Ray Prager. Audrey, his wife, has just recovered from breast cancer and has decided to divorce. And Sadie, their daughter, is still haunted by her frightening face-to-face encounter with Prager...The new season begins with an inventory of damage suffered by means of the journey into the human psyche where it is difficult to silence old daemons, especially those that bounce back after having hit rock-bottom.

Durham County has this rare talent on television to explore the worst nightmares to afflict a human being without complacency and with a 'cold in the back' realism. A simple look from Michelle Forbes is enough to set the scene, and assures the most harrowing performance. Behind her cool appearance of a brilliant legal psychologist, Dr Verrity is bitter after the drowning of her daughter and the dissolution of her marriage to the point that her mental balance can be seriously called into question. This is a little curse that hits the characters in the sad county in the Canadian province. Everything is always loose and threatens to collapse every second.
Black, dreary, horrific... but also gasping for breath and masterfully directed, Durham County is a black diamond in a raw state but it is better to be armoured before rubbing it.
French source: generique-mag.net

In addition a quote from Emilie's bio article about Michelle:

A slender figure, a dark and captivating look, Michelle Forbes is, first of all, a voice: deep, sensual, authoritarian and fascinating. In credits, like Zeljko Ivanek, she starts to become a fad where this
portrait is a form of a declaration of love for, as yet, a little known actress.
[...]
[As Susan Metcalfe] she offers an, as yet, unheard-of breath of game, mixing combativeness with vulnerability.
[...]
In the collective consciousness, the face of Cain was crystallised as the sum of anger, fear, provocation and the resolution. She succeeds in conveying sympathy without saying a word.
[...]
Forbes is mixing the most interesting projects of the past two years. In True Blood, as a dangerous and fascinating entity, who pushes hedonism to its height/limit/max, a battered woman at In Treatment, and reveals herself as particularly troubled in Durham County. But even if her stature and gaze pierce the predestined sulphide roles, Forbes does nor remain less multifaceted. Unjustly ignored by the film industry, she has exploded onto television. Her being a workaholic explains itself in that she does not like to attach herself to any project for too long. "It can be a very frustrating and annoying thing to be labeled in any part of your life," she tells thestar.com for the launch of DC. "I always want to be out of my comfort zone. I have a propensity to get bored very easily." So when will be the advent of Michelle Forbes ?
French source: generique-mag.net

Thank you, Emilie, for the permission to publish the translation.

Update :: Screencaps in the gallery

»» Gallery :: Screencaps of episode 3



Article in LE MONDE, Paris, translated by my personal hero Randy:

Durham County (Season 2) - Hatred Under the Electrical Tower

"There are places upon this Earth that corrupt, break and everyone who
lives there. A curse seems to have imposed its reign and nothing, not
even the will and courage of men can drive it away. Is this because of
the electric towers supporting high voltage buzzing over the grey and
black fields? Is it the sky that is just too low and too heavy, to the
point where affects all things? In the middle of this desolate
horizon, men and women and children continue to live, linked by hatred
and yet trying to believe in love.

The atmosphere of the Canadian series which just premiered in its
second season, is al that. This suburb, where Mike Sweeney settled
down to establish a happy family, quiet and without history. Except
that there are those damned towers, these fields as far as the eye can
see and these clouds that refuse to let the sun shine through. Here,
hope has been dispelled, like in a crime novel by Arnaldur Indridason
or Henning Mankell.

Durham County is the kind of crime series that draws its inspiration
from literature and not in already cut-out models that have been
reproduced over and over again, many of which we are familiar with.
The first season consisted of six hour-long episodes and the second
season follows the same pattern, and picks up where its predecessor
has left off. Suffice to say that these are two parts of the same
story.

Mike Sweeney belongs to the category of cops that populate the shelves
of some good libraries. Superbly played by Hugh Dillon (also on the
cast of Flashpoint), Sweeney is a hard-boiled character whose crusade
against crime does not fare well with his family. Especially if his
old tormentor and childhood enemy, and a serial killer, Ray Prager,
has moved into the neighbourhood. The violence and hatred that he
tries to confine to the outside of his home.

The particularly slow style of photography is placed in harmony
with the perfect silences that fight over the dialogues. Falsehood and
half-confessions are unrivalled in the world of Mike Sweeney. This
duplicity reminds of that which gave life to the protagonists of the
great Jim Thompson. Durham County is a work of fiction that makes one
feel ill at ease and, at the same time, is full of tepid inspiration,
and it feels good."
Source: Le Monde Online

Durham County is bleeping fantastic. If you haven't watched it, you're
missing out and should immediately take steps to rectify the situation
Source: Toronto Star

samsned: Anyone going to watch Durham County tonight. Great show!!
Watched it last season.
theMediaChick: Durham County makes Monday so much easier to accept.
lizmarasse: Durham County is a scary show!
loather: watching the first season of durham county. these canadians are crazy!
Source: Twitter

Team Maryann, Unite and Take Over!

True Blood Episode 02x06 Hard-Hearted Hannah :: Reviews - Reactions - Recaps

Before we enter the complicated world of one Verrity on Durham County, an hour of high-calibre entertainment is in store for us tonight in the form of True Blood. According to BonTempsGossip yet another party awaits us: If you thought the last party was sweet..

The synopsis:

Sookie embarks on a dangerous mission to locate missing vampire sheriff Godric. Bill, in the meantime, is shocked when a vampire from his distant, more violent past resurfaces in Dallas. In Bon Temps, Daphne presses Sam to get comfortable in his own skin. Meanwhile, Hoyt continues his unlikely courtship of Jessica, and Jason faces difficult emotional and physical choices at the Light of Day camp. The episode directed by Michael Lehmann will also see Tara and Eggs taking a detour while on a road trip and Andy interrogating Lafayette about his disappearance.

***

I don't know how about you but I really enjoyed last night's episode. It had plenty, and I mean plenty of entertainment. I even wished I could have added my djembe-drumming skills to the fiesta. At long last the cliffhanger rested on Maryann's shoulders.



Disturbing. Sexy. Gross. Creepy. Mysterious. Musical. Scary. Funny. How a show can pack so much into one hour is beyond me.
If Maryann's so all-powerful, why doesn't she use her spells to fix the hot water heater? Just sayin'.
TV Squad

Finally the Maryann storyline is blasting into full gear.
Buddy TV

Spoilers Below

Uh-oh, the water heater is broken at Chez Stackhouse, and Maryann is kind of cranky because both her shower and her coffee are cold. It was a strange to see Michelle Forbes playing Maryann for cheap laughs; it wasn't my favorite color of this character.
TV Guide

The mystery deepens with Eggs. Was he part of some ritual sacrifice? Did Maryann make him forget? As he finds out the truth, will his allegiance to Maryann falter? We now know that Daphne is the pig and has been working for Maryann. What is their game with Sam? The creature has come back into the story as Maryann donned the mask of a bull. Is this creature part of the ritual? Kind of tired of the orgy scenes. Hopefully, the show will get to the point.
True Blood Blog



When [Daphne] lures Sam into Maryann's latest orgy---which is so powerful that even Eggs and Tara are in the black-eyed sex club---she gives new life to the season's most repetitive plot device. Now it's not just fornication: It's fornication and the horrifying sacrifice of a major character. I can't quite call this the Sucker Punch, though, because we've known Maryann was up to something awful for weeks.
The Huffington Post

I’m talking about [...] Maryann’s wildest whipped-up orgy yet, which included Tara and Eggs going at it like rabbits, but rabbits with dead-ghoul eyes. Yes, the danger is becoming more harrowing with each week, so that now one of True Blood’s pleasures is its churning suspense, so far kept under an artistic control that’s so confident on the part of Alan Ball and his directors that it hasn’t gone over the top.
But the core dangers were cliffhanger doozies. Sam is at once horrified and trapped in Maryann’s Dionysian freak-out.
EW.com

papiinmiamifl: I don't care what nobody says ... Maryann rocks on "True Blood" ... Michelle Forbes is beautiful and plays one bad bitch ...
KatkaTarasova: I wish I could make my avatar photo on here vibrate like Maryann on True Blood. Everyone who looked at my picture would start having sex.
TheMediaChick: Randomly watched an episode of True Blood while doing something else last night. It was...odd. Michelle Forbes does sinister so well.
Twitter