Tag Archives: Netflix

Slasher: Aaron Martin and Ian Carpenter preview Flesh & Blood

There are several new faces added to the cast of the new season of Slasher. Dubbed Flesh & Blood for Season 4, the blood-soaked horror anthology series created by Aaron Martin boasts perhaps the biggest name in the genre: David Cronenberg.

The actor and director jumped at the chance to play Spencer Galloway, a manipulative businessman who gathers his family together to compete in a deadly game, with the winner to be declared sole inheritor of his fortune.

Alongside familiar Slasher faces playing different characters fighting for Spencer’s fortune are Paula Brancati, Jefferson Brown, Patrice Goodman, Sabrina Grdevich and Christopher Jacot are new faces in Rachael Crawford, Jeananne Goosen and Alex Ozerov. We spoke to creator Aaron Martin and showrunner Ian Carpenter about how the new season—kicking off Monday at 9 p.m. ET on Hollywood Suite—came about.

Ian, how did the writing room work for Slasher: Flesh & Blood?
Ian Carpenter: Aaron and I were in the writing room, and we did all of that on my porch. When we started the show, we were in the heart of [the pandemic]. One of the very first [times writing] was when I took one of the last flights around when I visited him in Vancouver to kind of gestate all of this. We did it all in person, and I don’t know of a writer that doesn’t think that’s essential. There is something about a Zoom meeting that puts pregnancy on every single second and all of this pressure for it to be loaded. Aaron and I are very productive, and I bet 50 percent of [writing] it is us being idiots and cracking jokes. I just feel so strange via Zoom.

Aaron, did you have multiple seasons in mind when Season 1 of Slasher was conceived or was it more organic?
AM: It’s been more organic. There have been ideas for locations or settings or backgrounds for seasons. Every season is a new thing and, usually, it starts with a theme or an issue. [Flesh & Blood] came about because Shaftesbury and, I think Shudder had already come on board, said we could develop it. I had just spent the Christmas holidays with my family. I love them, but by the time I was done, I wanted to kill a few of them. I think that’s when I said to Ian, ‘What if we did a family reunion where they actually get to kill each other?’ That’s how we approach every season. Season 3, Solstice, [was inspired by Justine Sacco] who tweeted something she thought was funny and was horribly offensive, and by the time she landed 12 hours later, it had blown up and ruined her life.

Because the show isn’t killings every five minutes, we need the stuff to build around, the thematic stuff and dramatic stuff is how we do that.

One of the things I love about Slasher is the dialogue is so believable. Aaron, is it difficult to write dialogue?
AM: I don’t think so. I think, in my scripts if you go back to Degrassi and definitely Being Erica, I never try to do dialogue that is cool and flippant. I write how I think people talk. And then, when I’ve finished a script I’ll go back and read it and if I’m stumbling over words or it doesn’t seem real, I’ll change it.

Ian, Adam MacDonald returned to direct Slasher: Flesh & Blood. You have known each other for years. Do you two have a shorthand, where there’s not a lot of discussions? Do you each know what the other is thinking?
IC: I’m really fortunate that Adam and I were close friends before Slasher started. Incredibly, we were both hired within weeks of each other on Solstice. This season, we felt absolute confidence in each other, what we were going to do, what we were strong at, what we needed to talk about. It is shorthand with him, just as it is shorthand with Aaron. It lets you focus on what matters, which is also important when it comes to hiring key creatives on a crew. We’re so lucky to have so many of ours come back.

Aaron, having so many cast and crew return to the Slasher family season to season must be very fulfilling.
AM: The great thing about working in Canada is that it’s a small community, and that’s great because it’s of that. I love actors and I love bringing back actors, for this show especially, because it’s a great opportunity for them to show different facets of themselves. It is a great feeling to have them respond that way, and you want them to.

Ian, what was it like to have David Cronenberg as part of the cast this season?
IC: He was amazing. He was so complimentary, so excited about the material and really saw the depth in it. He is so crucial to the story, so it was exciting to hear how he was connecting to that. And then, as much as we are this scrappy little show, David Cronenberg has said, ‘Yes, I want to be on this show.’

Slasher: Flesh & Blood airs Mondays at 9 p.m. ET on Hollywood Suite.

Images courtesy of Cole Burston.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail

Link: Don’t miss Netflix’s best horror show you’ve probably never heard of

From Paul Tassi of Forbes:

Link: Don’t miss Netflix’s best horror show you’ve probably never heard of
Slasher is a Canadian series that was picked up and branded as a Netflix original, but it has gotten little promotion for the three seasons that exist right now. What I was surprised to see was how good this series is, which was flying so under the radar I had missed it for years, even as a big horror fan. Continue reading.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail

Link: Italia Ricci to star in Netflix sci-fi series ‘The Imperfects’ From Nomadic Pictures

From Denise Petski of Deadline:

Link: Italia Ricci to star in Netflix sci-fi series ‘The Imperfects’ From Nomadic Pictures
Netflix has given a 10-episode straight-to-series order to sci-fi drama The Imperfects, starring Italia Ricci (Designated Survivor, Chasing Life), from The Order‘s Dennis Heaton, Shelley Eriksen and Nomadic Pictures. Continue reading.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail

Marblemedia’s Blown Away returns for Season 2

From a media release:

Returning for its highly-anticipated second season, marblemedia’s groundbreaking competition series, Blown Away is set to premiere January 22, 2021!

With a twist in season 2, the standout series has gone global!

Ten glass artists from around the world gather in North America’s largest hot shop to push themselves to creative extremes in the quest to be named Best In Glass. In each episode, the glassblowers must impress a panel of art experts or risk being eliminated. At stake is a life changing prize that will send their careers to new heights.

Back as host for the long-awaited second season is YouTube science influencer Nickpedia and former NBC’s America’s Got Talent contestant, Nick Uhas. Glass master, Katherine Gray also returns for season 2 as the show’s resident glass evaluator. 

The Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, NY, is an esteemed partner of the series, offering the Blown Away winner a grand prize of an artist’s residency at their museum following the competition. The museum is also hosting an exhibit featuring 10 works created on the show, one by each contestant. The exhibit, Blown Away: Season 2, opens on January 22.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail

Top casino films available to watch on Netflix now

Netflix makes watching movies cheaper and more convenient than any other method that existed before it, with a small monthly fee for unlimited access to its entire library on just about any device you want. While that’s great, it has another, often overlooked advantage too.

Its collection of content is so vast that there is a selection of movies and TV shows for each genre and topic. This is partly down to the company spending a lot to acquire content from other studios and it investing heavily to create its own local content.

There are few cinemas or stores that show/sell such an extensive library due to the logistics and economics of doing so being nearly impossible.

So if you want to binge-watch some great casino films, Netflix is going to be your best bet. Especially with these great titles ready to stream.

21

Released in 2008, 21 is based on the true story of the MIT Blackjack team. A group of mostly students were taught to count cards in teams to gain an advantage over the house. After rigorous training, the team made regular trips to Las Vegas in an attempt to win big.

Card counting is a genuine technique used in blackjack. While it can improve your odds, it’s still not a guarantee of success, particularly since some casinos use additional decks to make card counting more difficult. Many online casinos like 888 Casino have even offered guides to their customers on blackjack rules and strategy. It’s only possible to count cards live, so there’s nothing to lose for online companies.

Everything goes great for the MIT team, who see a lot of success from their regular weekend trips to Las Vegas, that is, until the money creates rifts between them and they begin to betray each other.

It’s a gripping film that’ll keep you on the edge of your seat throughout.

Ocean’s Eleven

It’s almost 20 years old, but Ocean’s Eleven still holds up as a great casino movie. Set in Las Vegas, you get to see plenty of casino shots as Danny Ocean’s team of 11 people prepare and enact a daring heist to steal $160 million from three casinos.

The film, which has an impressive ensemble cast of many of the biggest names in Hollywood, including George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Andy Garcia and Matt Damon, was a huge box office hit. While it received two sequels, the first in the trilogy is by far the best.

It’s a well-balanced mix of brains and brawn, with the team using clever deception techniques to break into the vault of the casinos and get the money back out again. If you’re watching it for the first time, you’ll be surprised by some of the twists and turns in the heist as the group manage to recover from what appear to be metaphorical dead-ends.

Even if you’ve seen it before (which you probably have), Ocean’s Eleven is a great watch.

You’ll see many famous Las Vegas landmarks in Ocean’s Eleven

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels

Guy Ritchie is famous for creating gangster films and one of his first was Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. This 1998 comedy movie helped to kickstart the career of both Ritchie and former diver Jason Statham.

Like Ocean’s Eleven, the film is a heist movie with an ensemble cast that included Vinnie Jones, Sting, Steven Mackintosh and Nick Moran, each with classic British gangster nicknames like “Bacon,” “Soap,” and “the Baptist.”

Instead of the glitz and glamour of Las Vegas, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels is set in London, being filmed mostly in the city’s East End. The story revolves around a skilled card player who loses £500,000 while playing in a rigged three-card brag game (which is similar to poker) against a high-ranking criminal.

While he and his friends try to recover the money, they’re caught up in more and more ridiculous scenarios, involving a traffic warden, a van loaded with contraband, and some antique shotguns.

Mississippi Grind

Mississippi Grind is one of the newest casino films available on Netflix, having first been released in 2015. Starring Ryan Reynolds, Ben Mendelsohn and Sienna Miller, it’s a comedy film about Gerry, a poker player who travels along the Mississippi River to play in casinos and bet on horses.

Gerry is joined by Curtis, who he has invited along as his “lucky charm”. They go through ups and downs as Gerry wins and loses in different games and the pair run into people from their pasts.

After some disagreements, the two rejoin at a blackjack table where they manage to win more than a quarter of a million dollars. Before calling it quits, they head to the craps table to bet it all.

Mississippi Grind is a film with many ups and downs but will keep you engrossed throughout.

Casino Royale

Bond is one of the most famous characters from books and film, with a franchise that spans more than half a century. The 2006 Casino Royale release was the first to feature Daniel Craig as 007. The film also resets the chronology of the films, being as it is set at the start of Bond’s career with MI-6.

Bond remains as sophisticated as ever though, heading to the Casino Royale in Montenegro dressed in a tuxedo and driving his Ashton Martin. Everything goes downhill for him when he loses and he gets poisoned, and Bond has to try to use a defibrillator on himself in his car.

He’s not playing poker for fun though. Bond’s there to catch an international terrorist known as Le Chiffre, who had organised the game to recoup funds lost in a bad investment. As you’d expect from a Bond film, there’s plenty of action, including shooting and car chases.

Casino Royale is probably Daniel Craig’s best outing as 007, and it’s definitely worth a watch.Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail