A Q&A Screening for SANTA CLARITA DIET...

One week ago today, I went to the Landmark Theatres in west Los Angeles to attend a screening for two episodes of the Netflix web series Santa Clarita Diet. What a very funny and twisted show! If you love dark comedy, then you definitely need to check this out. Afterwards, a Q&A session was held with main stars Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant...as well as series creator Victor Fresco (who wrote for the 1980s TV sitcom ALF. Remember ALF?). Very interesting panel.

Here are some pics that I took during the Q&A. I apologize for the blurriness of these photos... I used my smartphone to take 'em instead of a digital still camera—which I intend to bring when I go back to The Landmark this Saturday (June 23) to attend a Q&A by another well-known actress! Won't reveal who it is till after the event takes place. Happy Summer Solstice!







EDIT (June 24): The well-known actress who I'm referring to in the last paragraph above is none other than Natalie Portman herself! She did a Q&A for a documentary that she co-produced and narrated, titled Eating Animals. Click on this link to read my brief review of it.

All You Need Is LOVE...

Earlier today, I went back to the Landmark Theatres in west Los Angeles to watch an episode of Judd Apatow's Netflix comedy Love. Three of the main cast members—Paul Rust, Gillian Jacobs and Claudia O'Doherty—were on-hand to speak about Season 1 of the show, and of course, answer audience questions afterwards. The episode that was shown was actually my favorite from last season. Won't type a full plot synopsis here, but it's about Gus Cruikshank (Rust) intentionally bombing a dinner date that he and Bertie (O'Doherty) were on after Gus accidentally receives a not-so-flattering text from Bertie (who rushed to a restroom at the restaurant just to type it) that she intended to send to her roommate Mickey Dobbs (Jacobs) instead. (What was that text about? Gus isn't "second-date" material.) Hilarity ensues...with Gus and Bertie discussing non-first-date-worthy topics ranging from climate change being a corporate invention and Santa Claus being created by Coca-Cola, to Bertie making a blunt declaration that she has no interest in going out with "blacks, Hispanics and Asians" through the dating app Tinder. Oh, and she's a 9/11 "truther." Mickey, meanwhile, is at home rearranging the furniture to take her mind off of her alcohol addiction while simultaneously (and enjoyably) texting Gus and Bertie about how horribly their date is going.



Lots of interesting tidbits came from the Q&A after the screening, such as Gus' last name unwittingly being taken from a cat in Harry Potter (it's spelled 'Crookshank' in J.K. Rowling's novels instead of Cruikshank), and that working on Love was Gillian Jacobs' first time in many years that she filmed out on location. (Her previous show, the NBC/Yahoo Screen comedy Community, was mostly filmed inside a soundstage at Paramount Studios in Hollywood.) Claudia O'Doherty first worked with Judd Apatow on the Amy Schumer flick Trainwreck, and spent time before that acting in British TV shows such as BBC Comedy Feeds. (Actually, I IMDb'ed that last part... All that O'Doherty mentioned was that she worked in London before landing roles on American TV shows and movies.) Oh, and Rust thinks that Jacobs is such a fantastic actress that he was even mesmerized by the way she texted on her phone during tonight's episode. Gillian was amused that her thumbs are so awesome.



All-in-all, I can't wait till Season 2 of Love premieres early next year. I'm looking forward to seeing where Gus and Mickey's relationship goes after the Season 1 finale, and what will be the next raunchy thing Bertie says through her innocent smile and pleasant demeanor. Bertie is literally the sweetest character on the show, and yet the things she says in a nonchalant manner would make one think if Bertie has a sex tape that was filmed in Australia floating somewhere on the Web. Focus group moderator by day, fluffer by night. I'll leave it at that. The amazing Milana Vayntrub played Gus' evil girlfriend Natalie in Season 1's first two episodes... We'll see if Natalie makes an appearance next year! [Milana was doing a stand-up comedy gig at the Hollywood Improv around the time the screening was held (she mentioned it on Twitter), in case you were wondering.] Carry on.

But Where's Friggin' Todd?...

A few hours ago, I went to a Q&A screening for The Last Man on Earth at Landmark Theatres in west Los Angeles. The Season 2 finale was shown, with stars Will Forte, Kristen Schaal, Mary Steenburgen, January Jones and Cleopatra Coleman appearing on stage afterwards to discuss the FOX TV comedy and what's in store for Season 3, as well as to answer questions by the audience. Will Forte and Kristen Schaal stole the show, with Schaal cracking people up at one point by mentioning that she doesn't want to knit in any episode of The Last Man on Earth (Forte suggested that Schaal will do a lot of knitting in Season 3). Jones for the most part sounded like she didn't want to be there (there was a long awkward moment where Jones kept responding with "umm" when asked about the development of her character, Melissa Shart, throughout Season 2), though I can't recall if it was she, Steenburgen or Coleman who made a funny comment about Christian Slater doing a Season 3 cameo as one of the mysterious folks who arrive off the shores of Malibu (where Forte's character Phil Miller and company are currently living in the show) in the final scene of the Season 2 finale. One of the ladies joked about wanting to stare at Slater's butt during the scene...despite the fact the dude would be decked out in a blue hazmat suit.



Overall, it was an entertaining screening—though I wonder why Mel Rodriguez (who plays "friggin' Todd;" not his character's real nickname) didn't appear for the Q&A panel. Oh well. This screening was held to promote The Last Man on Earth as the Emmy Awards approach on September 18. Here's hoping that the show nabs a trophy or three... Don't know for which categories, but yea.

(A final tidbit from the Q&A: Will Forte was once roommates with Val Kilmer.)

Photos of the Day: The '24: Live Another Day' Q&A Screening...

Last Thursday, I drove down to the Landmark Theatres in west Los Angeles to attend a special screening of the hit FOX TV show 24: Live Another Day. After the screening ended, there was a Q&A session featuring the show's two main stars, Kiefer Sutherland (who played Jack Bauer) and Mary Lynn Rajskub (who portrayed Chloe O'Brian)! They obviously talked about what it was like to work on Live Another Day as well as the show's eight previous seasons (though Rajskub joined the show in 'Day 3'). The bombshell that was dropped during the Q&A, however, was that Sutherland doesn't intend to return as Jack Bauer should there be another season (or a spin-off series)...except maybe for a cameo. To quote Kiefer, "There are only so many bad days a guy can have" without it "turning into a Mad comic." That's unfortunate to hear, but it's all good. I'm just glad that I had the opportunity to see the ass-kicking Jack Bauer and his trusty sidekick Chloe in person! Carry on.






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