 Abraham Lincoln. Vampire Hunter. The very words evoke a juxtaposition that is unexpected, if not downright bizarre. Sure, it sounds like a really absurd idea: take the life of Abraham Lincoln, often cited as the greatest US president, and throw in some nasty, bad-ass vampires. It's certainly going to be very different from the Lincoln bio-pic that Spielberg is currently working on. When I first heard about the whole premise, I completely dismissed it just on principle, but the more I hear about the upcoming film, the more it seems like it takes itself as seriously as possible, using the vampires as a device to create a very social, yet character driven feature. Yet it's an idea to which the filmmakers have fully committed. Their work is a portrait of the man and leader we've all studied and the seminal events that defined him and our nation— interwoven with the immersive, visceral action of a vampire story.
At the same time, ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER presents the Great Emancipator as the country's first superhero. Notes producer Tim Burton: "Lincoln's entire life mirrors the classic comic book superhero mythology. It's a duality: during the day he's the president of the United States; at night, a vampire hunter." That dichotomy is at the core of the Lincoln we meet in the film. "He was ordinary and extraordinary at the same time," says director Timur Bekmambetov. Adds screenwriter Seth Grahame-Smith, who adapted his best-selling novel of the same name: "Lincoln's life story is an archetypal superhero origin story. He's as close to an actual superhero as this country's ever seen. Forget about vampires. Lincoln had neither family name nor money. His mother died when he was a youngster. In fact, everybody he loved had died. With no education, and armed with just his mind, he became president and saved the nation."
These themes grabbed the attention of Burton, his fellow producer Jim Lemley, and Timur Bekmambetov. Even before Grahame-Smith had completed the novel, Burton heard the title and his mind kicked into gear. "It sounded like the kind of movie I wanted to see," Burton claims. "It felt like it could have the crazy energy of the films of my youth, which had a lot of weird mash-ups of horror movies." Lemley, who had produced with Burton and Bekmambetov the animated film "9," says that Burton's sensibilities were a perfect match for this type of material. "What Tim does so brilliantly is to take conventional imagery and stories and turn them on their heads, and examine them from an unexpected perspective."
The "vampire hunter" portion of the story offers explosive thrills, scares, and stunts, but the filmmakers never forgot that they were also presenting a portrait of a beloved figure, as well as the monumental events that shaped our nation and continue to define contemporary discourse. "Everything had to be presented in a very straightforward way," says Grahame-Smith. "We never wink at the audience; not even once. Tim Burton really supported us and protected that vision." Grahame-Smith notes that his idea for his book Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter came from an observation he made during a 2009 tour to promote his previous tome, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, another unexpected connection between disparate cultural entities. The author/screenwriter recalls: "That year marked the bicentennial of Lincoln's birth, and many of the bookstores on my promotional tour had two displays: one featured books about Lincoln's life; the other was a vampire-themed display, including the Twilight and Sookie Stackhouse books [upon which the television show "True Blood" was based]. It led me to think about combining the two subjects."
Grahame-Smith's vampires were polar opposites to the romantic figures captured in the pages of the books he saw on display. His creatures of the undead pay proper reverence to the classic tradition of vampires in the movies. "The vampires in our movie aren't romantic or funny, and they certainly don't sparkle," he notes. "Our vampires are bloodthirsty, viscious and cunning— and most frightening of all, they've become a part of the fabric of everyday life, working as blacksmiths, pharmacists, and bankers." The vampires' principal foe is one of history's most beloved figures, whom many consider our greatest president. This story covers 45 years in Abraham Lincoln's life, from 1820 to 1865, and is set in Kentucky, Illinois, and Louisiana and, of course, the nation's capital. So, who would follow in the footsteps of some of our most accomplished actors, and play the iconic leader and fearless vampire slayer? The nod went to stage actor Benjamin Walker, who coincidentally already had accrued some "presidential" experience as the lead in the play "Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson," which had a Broadway run in 2010.
"Ben brings humanity and a mischievous quality, which felt very real, to the role," says Tim Burton. Adds Jim Lemley: "Ben captures Lincoln's honesty, integrity, courage and sense of purpose." Most important to Walker was the opportunity to portray not only what made Lincoln a giant, but also a relatable human being. "What's dangerous about playing an icon is not allowing the character to be human," says the actor. "You must allow the character to be vulnerable or even silly. Luckily, Tim and Timur were open to making Abraham a flawed, funny and conflicted man."
"The human side is always the most important thing," Burton concurs. "And the character has to have a sense of humor because no one could survive as a vampire hunter without it." Walker, a 6'3" Juilliard-trained actor certainly had the physical stature to portray the lanky Lincoln. But could the young actor, 29 at the time, convey, physically, the Civil War-era figure whose iconic, aged visage graces our history books and currency? Bekmambetov, Burton and Lemley put Walker to the test— a screen test— during which the actor donned prosthetics that aged him to 55, and delivered one of the most renowned speeches in history, the Gettysburg Address. Walker more than impressed the filmmakers. "My reaction was, 'Oh my God, it's Abraham Lincoln delivering the Gettysburg Address!" Lemley exclaims. Looming ahead for Walker was the imperative to drop 30 pounds to achieve the requisite Lincolnesque leanness, as well as hundreds of hours of weapons training to turn him into the ultimate hunter of the undead.
Before Walker takes center stage as Abraham, we meet the character as a child. His journey begins when his mother Nancy is stricken with a disease of unknown origin— but recognizable to young Abraham as resulting from a vampire's bite. Nancy was a woman of intelligence and heart, imparting on her son the notion that, "until everyone is free, we are all slaves." Abraham never forgot those words, which came to define his views toward slavery. Nor would he ever forget the eternal evil responsible for his mother's death: a vampire (and local businessman) named Jack Barts, portrayed by Marton Csokas, against whom Abraham swears revenge. But his first attack against Barts fails, and Abraham narrowly escapes with his life. He is rescued by the charismatic Henry, a high-living and refined ladies' man. Henry, portrayed by British actor Dominic Cooper, is not interested in Abraham's simple quest for revenge. Instead, he instructs Abraham to control his rage, become stronger, and fight for the greater good of mankind. "It's a choice," Henry inevitably tells Abraham, "between doing something extraordinary or being satisfied with simple vengeance."
The combination of rich period atmosphere, a unique perspective on our 16th president, and the army of the undead he's hunting, makes for a motion picture experience like no other. For the writer who gave birth to it all, Seth Grahame-Smith, the film's release caps a journey that began with his best-selling book. A key element in capturing Lincoln's personality was making sure all of his humor came through. "He could be the life of the party, and was an exciting and entertaining man," Grahame-Smith sums up. "I think he'd love our movie."
 "The Borgias", Showtime's exquisite original series, based on the life of Pope Alexander VI ended its second season with plot points worthy of several Emmy nominations. Francois Arnaund (Cesare Borgias) plays out his storyline with such conflict and conviction. "The finale reache new stages of emotional depth," actor Francois Arnaud explained. "I think it's going to be good." Viewers will hear not just one, but two confessions in "The Confession." One involves Savonarola (Steven Berkoff), the friar of Florence who preached against Pope Alexander VI (Jeremy Irons), and the other comes from Cesare. Arnaud believes Cesare's confession lends as much drama to the finale as the murder of Juan gave last week's episode. "The killing of Juan is obviously a major event. But I think the outcome of the murder is at least as interesting as the murder itself. It's just huge," he said. "I mean, how do you tell your father that you killed your brother? It's just unimaginable. I was really happy the first time I read those two episodes actually. I think they were my favorites ever." As difficult as it is for Cesare to confess to his father that he killed Juan, Arnaud said he doesn't think Cesare has any doubts about gutting his brother. Cesare believes he did it for the good of the family, Arnaud said. "I don't think [the murder was] something that he particularly enjoyed doing, but I think Cesare has great will power. I think it's something that he focused on and I think he can control his mind into having no second thoughts. And I think that's the only way you can rule in that era, really," he said.
"I think that ultimately, there had to be a little satisfaction in killing that useless Juan," he went on, laughing. "He's wanted him out for a while now... But I think it was probably harder for him to do than he thought it would be." Juan's death scene was hard to film as well, Arnaud said, because of the great performance by Oakes. "I told him I thought he did a great job," Arnaud said. "David's been such a strong part of 'The Borgias' on and off screen, really. It's a great character, and especially in Season 2 I think he did a hell of a job with it. I wasn't killing him for real, but it's hard to imagine going back to 'The Borgias' without David there... He made it hard for a lot people to see Juan Borgia go."
Arnaud went on to say that Juan's murder was the last scene he, Oakes and Sean Harris, who plays Micheletto, shot for "World of Wonders," a lucky break since episodes are almost never shot in chronological order. "It was great that it kind of all built up to that final scene between us. When Sean and I pushed him off of the bridge, it felt like the end of something," he said. "I think he did a tremendous job with the character." Arnaud also praised the work of "The Confession" writer Guy Burt, whom he said has "captured the strongest moments of all the characters." Burt's script also completes Cesare's transformation "into what I thought he was from the very beginning," Arnaud said, "...a warrior... I couldn't believe someone had written on paper my exact thoughts for this character for the past two years," he said, laughing. "It's like if I had written it myself, you know? I was really happy. But I haven't seen the results, so I can't say it's good or not, I don't know." Arnaud certainly didn't have to fret as the finale was rather epic. As Jeremy Irons carries his son Juan [we see Juan as his father sees him... his little boy, his child]. The scene is absolutely heartbreaking as it is powerful... as no parent can ever understand the death of a child regardless of the circumstances. "The Borgias" closed its second season on a high note with yet another shocking final scene, and the episode is as riveting as the conclusion.
 The reggae/rock band Ballyhoo! will be kicking off their first full run of the Vans Warped Tour, today, June 16th in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Baltimore-based band started off their summer with a bang, performing on 311's Five-Day Caribbean Cruise and at Bamboozle Festival, with headliners the Foo Fighters and Bon Jovi. The band has been gaining momentum since signing with LAW Records for their Fall 2011 album, Daydreams, which debuted at #1 on the iTunes Reggae Charts and #4 on Amazon. MTV.com predicted that Ballyhoo! would be a band to watch this year, and this foursome has certainly been living up to the hype. Performing on Warped Tour has always been a goal for the band, ever since Ballyhoo! formed over a decade ago. Howi Spangler, lead singer and guitarist for Ballyhoo!, says, "It's an honor to be invited by Kevin Lyman on such a world famous tour. We've been trying for years to get on this tour and are excited to finally be joining the ranks!" The band teamed up with Director, Raúl Gonzo (Thom Yorke, David Lynch, Enter Shikari, Versa Emerge) to create the music video for "Last Night," which was shot in L.A. and just released on May 29th. Ballyhoo! has shared the stage with some of the biggest names in rock and reggae including 311, Slightly Stoopid, The Dirty Heads, Pepper, Authority Zero, Toots & The Maytals and Matisyahu.
Spangler has a reputation for mixing slick lyrics with his smooth but powerful voice and drummer Donald "Big D" Spangler lays out the hard-hitting beats, which are underlined by JR Gregory's funky and witty bass lines. Scott Vandrey (aka DJ Blaze) rounds it out on the turntables and keys. Ballyhoo!'s relaxed sound mixed with the band's energetic performance style has been turning heads in the rock radio scene as well. WRFF Philadelphia, DC 101 in Washington, DC, and the syndicated rock giant, Sirius Faction, have all been featuring the band's tunes in preparation for their Warped Tour debut. Please head to www.ballyhoorocks.com for more updates.
 The most popular vampire series since Dark Shadows... True Blood has returned for Season 5, and fans who were eagerly awaiting the first episode have gotten more excited [if that was at all humanly possible]. The first show of the new series, titled True Blood episode 5.01 Turn! Turn! Turn!, has been aired and has fans buzzing all over the Internet. In the first episode Sookie and Alcide are seen together talking about the return of Russell. Alcide is saying that he wants to keep Snookie safe from Russell, who is on the hunt for main character Snookie. Denis O'Hare spoke about what fans could expect from his character over the coming season, and explained who brought him back. O'Hare has said, "It's somebody who nobody knows yet. It's a surprising character. And I think you get a hint in episode two, and then a big hint shows up in episode five."
O'Hare added, "He's still vicious, he's still dangerous, he's still highly charming, but they added all this stuff to him. We get to see him fall in love!" The anticipation for the new series to kick off is hitting fever pitch on social media and social networking sites. New True Blood episode, "Turn! Turn! Turn!", was THE most talked about premiere on premium cable TV... EVER. Twitter alone generated 234,374 tweets while Facebook boasts 7,476 comments total, according to Mashable. And we know those numbers are still rising each and every day.
We cannot wait to watch Tara's transition from victim to full blown predator... which will undoubtedly have serious reprocussions for both Sookie and Layfayette [not to mention the crisis of having to live with the fact that because they both refused to let her die, she is now condemned to a life of immortality, one that Tara might not have opted for had the decision been hers]. The constant conflict on this show is the foundation for the mayhem which ensues. There are also a plethora of subtleties, i.e. Bill still wanting to help Sookie as he sensed her danger while Eric stopped him and quickly moved on to explore other options. It demonstrates Bill's selflessnes, as last season he let Eric have Sookie because he believed that it would be better for her.
So what about a potential Sookie/Alcide romance? According to the ultra-sexy Joe Manganiello who plays Alcide, "There will be interaction between Sookie and Alcide this season. I'm not going to say what that interaction is...[I get physical] in a lot of ways, not just fighting. If you've seen some of the trailer, than you can imagine [laughs]. There might be some lovin' going on." And all of us here at UPBEAT Entertainment News Syndicate are chomping at the bit to finally see these two together... the screen will definitely ignite! Manganiello also gives out a bit of perspective on Alcide's journey thus far... "He's still that good-hearted, dependable guy with great character but he was pushed to his limits last season. You're going to see a much more active, stronger version of Alcide. There is some dissension in the pack this time around: there is a group that immediately worships him as their new pack master since he murdered the former one and there is another group that doesn't think it was right or done in the ritualistic fashion."
Vampire blood makes humans act in unusual ways on True Blood, but for the first time, we'll see vamps themselves be... well, not "quite" themselves. Denis O'Hare teases that in episode 7, "...we have a really freaky scene where you see vampires behaving in ways they don't normally behave." Okay, so first the witches threatened to pull them into the sunlight, now vampires have to deal with what Denis describes as "an acid trip"? It's so hard to be a fangster these days. The "creepy" and "mind-boggling" trip continues in episode 8, directed by Stephen Moyer. "Having the opportunity to not only participate in this psychedelic vampire haze, but to also direct it, I am very thrilled."
Thus far True Blood continues to turn up the heat... but eventually... they'll be trippin' with the heat.
 The first time we see J.R. Ewing (Larry Hagman) in Dallas, which premieres at 8:00 p.m. Wednesday on TNT, he's a frail old man living in an assisted living facility following an emotional breakdown. And for anyone who was a fan of the original series, which became an American pop culture phenomenon during its 1978 to 1991 run on CBS, the natural reaction is: "Oh, no. I knew this was a mistake." Luckily, we're being set up in that scene, because by the end of this two-hour premiere episode, Hagman's J.R. is a revitalized lion in winter, ready and eager to renew his long-running family feud with brother Bobby (Patrick Duffy) over the future fortunes of the Ewing family ranch, Southfork. Given the long list of failed attempts to revisit former TV hits— for example, Charlie's Angels, Knight Rider, Bionic Woman, and Fantasy Island— it's easy to see why so many people were skeptical when executive producer Cynthia Cidre undertook this project."It just seemed natural to catch up with the Ewing family that we loved 20 years later and see where they were at this point in their lives and what had happened in the years since the show had gone off the air," Cidre says.
Jesse Metcalfe, who stars as Bobby’s adopted son Christopher Ewing and rotates top billing each week with Josh Henderson as J.R.'s son, John Ross, says he gets why so many eyebrows were raised at the news that Dallas was coming back. "I think all of us had the same question: 'Was this a good idea?" says Metcalfe, previously best known for playing Eva Longoria's young gardener/lover on Desperate Housewives. "We really didn't change the structure of the show, and the same compelling themes are in the new series: family dynamics, greed, ambition, love, loyalty, all of those things. My doubts about being a part of this project were quickly soothed after reading Cynthia's incredible script and seeing how well-defined and dynamic these characters really were."
The premiere finds the Ewing family gathering at Southfork for Christopher’s wedding to Rebecca Sutter (Julie Gonzalo) in the aftermath of a previous romantic disappointment with Elena Ramos (Jordana Brewster), who now is dating John Ross. What few people know is that John Ross and Elena have been covertly drilling on Southfork, against the express wishes of the late Ewing matriarch, Miss Ellie, and they've just hit a gusher. That news immediately rekindles the old struggle for Southfork between J.R. and Bobby. Part of the success of this new Dallas lies in the way that Cidre has devised strong storylines for young cast members Metcalfe, Henderson and Brewster while keeping returning cast members Hagman, Duffy and Linda Gray, as JR's ex-wife Sue Ellen, a vital part of the show.
Linda Gray, who brought the iconic Sue Ellen Ewing to life back in 1978, explains how the reboot will be relevant to today's audience. "I feel that we have a global audience already built in," she said. "We’ve had, for years and years and years, these wonderful followers. They have stories related to the show— they sat with grandma, all of it. They have these delicious stories that we still hear about to this day. And then I feel that because of that, and because they have the stories, they will be taken into this new expansive show where we include the young people," she continued. "I think that they'll just go right to it. They'll be excited about it. They won’t miss a beat."
 The Dolls' new album is to be their 12th studio release and features the band's own brand of comic punk rock that has generated them a dedicated fan-base across the World. Centered around frontman Olga, he has never fallen short of providing the guitar-widdling madness that graces each and every record as well as his lyrical input The new album features 13 of the band's latest cuts including alliterated highlights such as 'Dirty Doreen', 'Sciatica Sucks' as well as 'Decca's Drinking Dilemma'.
The Toy Dolls formed as a quartet featuring vocalist Pete "Zulu" Robson, guitarist; Michael Algar also known as Olga (born September 21st, 1962, South Shields, England) drummer; Colin "Mr. Scott" Scott; and bassist Phillip "Flip" Dugdale. After just a few gigs, Zulu left to form his own band and was replaced by Paul "Hud" Hudson on vocals for one concert. After Hud's departure, the Toy Dolls became a trio, with guitarist Olga assuming permanent vocal duties. Scott left the band in 1980 and was replaced by Dean James for four months over the summer of 1980. James later returned to the band from 1985 to 1988 as bassist. Flip left in 1983, marking the beginning of a revolving door of drummers and bassists that would characterise the Toy Dolls line-up over the years (with Olga as the mainstay and only original member). In 1984, Zulu returned to the line-up as bassist/backing vocalist, but departed again less than a year later.
They were initially grouped with the Oi! scene, and have also been classified as punk pathetique. One reason they are associated with Oi! is that they were championed by Garry Bushell, who was very involved with Oi! bands such as Angelic Upstarts (whom The Toy Dolls later supported on their first national tour). In 1980, a Sunderland businessman financed the Toy Dolls' debut single, "Tommy Kowey's Car" with "She Goes To Fino's" on the B-side. The single quickly sold out its initial pressing of 500 copies, but the band could not afford to press any more, making the single a collectors' item. Around the time the band signed to Volume, Olga moved to Newton Hall, in north Durham, which led to the song "Livin' on Newton Hall".
For Christmas 1982, they released their punk rendition of "Nellie the Elephant", a classic children's song, which hit #1 in the UK Indie Chart. In 1983, they released their debut album Dig That Groove Baby. In 1984, their re-issue of "Nellie the Elephant" reached #4 in the UK Singles Chart and stayed in the chart for 14 weeks.[1] Their 1985 album, A Far Out Disc, reached #71 in the UK Albums Chart. Since then, the band has continued to release albums and to tour widely, mainly across continental Europe, South America and Japan. After a gap of 14 years since their last gig in Britain, 2007 saw a string of UK dates taking in cities from Glasgow to London, including a triumphant "homecoming" for a sold-out show at Durham University. The band released a best of album, Ten Years of Toy Dolls. 1993 saw the popular live song "I'm a Telly Addict" on the album Absurd-Ditties. In 1997 the band released One More Megabyte, which features references to computers, mainly in the lyrics of its title track, and in tracks like the outro track. A popular cover of Ricky Martin's Livin' da Vida Loca made its way onto Anniversary Anthems in 2000. The band's 2004 album Our Last Album? fooled fans in the aniticipation up to its release that it was the band's last album. The outro track on the album stated that it wasn't.
To celebrate the band's 25th anniversary in 2004, the official biography, The Toy Dolls: From Fulwell to Fukuoka, was published by Ardra Press. In 2011, the band is scheduled to release its twelfth studio album. The bands 30th anniversary in October 2009 saw the band receiving a whole load of special congratulation messages to their official website from a varied selection of musicians including Baz Warne from The Stranglers, TV Smith from The Adverts Jake Burns Stiff Little Fingers & NOFX manager Kent Jamieson. The Toy Dolls live shows consist of synchronized choreography, timed moves, dances and jumps and spinning guitars.
 Just as I wept during the most moving storyline of the "Desperate Housewives" finale— the death of crusty, fearless, tell-it-like-it-is Karen McCluskey— tears fell Saturday upon learning the actress who portrayed her also had passed away. Less than three weeks after nosy neighbor Mrs. McCluskey succumbed to lung cancer on the series finale of "Desperate Housewives," Kathryn Joosten— the actress who won two Emmy Awards for portraying the television character— has died of the same disease at 72. Joosten, who was also known for playing the president's secretary in the TV series "The West Wing," died Saturday at her Westlake Village home, said her daughter-in-law, Jeremy Joosten. Because Joosten was an advocate for lung-cancer awareness and research, she agreed to the plot turn on "Housewives" that mirrored her off-screen life. "This will allow the public to much more comfortably talk about lung cancer," Joosten told The New York Post in February.
The most challenging aspect of the lung-cancer story arc, she said in another interview, was "working with the producers to make sure the material was true and accurate. They have been wonderful about that. "Secondly, I joke about this being a practice session, but there is a cathartic aspect to it," Joosten said in February. Last fall, she called herself a "two-time lung cancer survivor" in a first-person account of the disease that she wrote about for the Los Angeles Times. "My first was in 2001 and my second was in 2009, two completely different lung cancers, one on each side. I am the only 'celebrity' to be public about my lung cancer. So far, I am a cancer survivor, but cancer will be with me for the rest of my life, be it as a nodule, tumor or cell someplace, or in my fears and anxieties," she wrote. "Therefore I've decided that I am 'living with cancer."
On "Housewives" and "The West Wing," Joosten was known for making the most of her sometimes limited scenes, "delivering withering one-liners in her crazy/wise style," The Times said last year. She had played Karen McCluskey on the hit ABC show since 2005. Felicity Huffman, one of her "Housewives" costars, wrote Saturday on her Twitter account: "She was an amazing woman and a wonderful actress." Born December 20th, 1939, in Chicago, Joosten did not begin to pursue her "childhood dream" of acting until she was 42. She will always be in our hearts and minds as she lives on in syndication. And "Desperate Housewives" would never have been the same without her to pull us, along with the characters, back to reality. We had hoped the show would have made it to a 10th season... but now... we are fully aware that "Desperate Housewives" left the airwaves at precisely the right time... perhaps in honor of Mrs. McClusky, who instinctively knew when it was time to finally leave the party.
 If you haven't been watching Showtime's Epic Original Series, The Borgias, then you're avoiding the brilliance that places history into a dark and manipulative game. The Borgias were an actually family. The name Borgia is synonymous with the corruption, nepotism, and greed that were rife in Renaissance Italy. The powerful, voracious Rodrigo Borgia, better known to history as Pope Alexander VI, was the central figure of the dynasty. The Borgias is a complex, unvarnished portrait of one of history's most intriguing and infamous dynastic families. Oscar(r)-winning actor Jeremy Irons returns in his Golden Globe(r)-nominated role as the cunning, manipulative patriarch of the Borgia family who ascends to the highest circles of power within Renaissance-era Italy to become Pope Alexander VI. Seeking to consolidate his power, Alexander enlists his family to take an oath of revenge on the great noble houses that dared to stand against him, causing his Papacy to face political turmoil once again. But Alexander's real problems lie with his children, all of whom are growing up and defying his authority. Lucrezia forges an unlikely alliance between Vanozza and Giulia, and together they plot to battle Vatican corruption. The sibling rivalry between Cesare and Juan will soon turn to hatred as their father's unwavering favoritism toward Juan triggers Cesare to engage his dark side. Elsewhere in Rome, Alexander's old enemy Della Rovere has entered the city incognito and conspires to assassinate him. The story of the family's dramatic rise from its Spanish roots to the highest position in Italian society is an absorbing tale.
While rats, disease and poverty festered outside the Vatican walls, the infamous Rodrigo Borgia and his notorious family ruthlessly held power through the Papal throne during the turbulent Bacchanalian decadence of 15th century Rome. They ruled via intimidation and violence, crushing their enemies and fomenting fear, division, and revulsion among anyone who would dare challenge their power. They were the original "one percent." But as season two of the SHOWTIME hit drama series The Borgias unfolds, the greatest existential threat to Alexander's Papacy may not come from foreign adversaries or ambitious political operatives, but may linger within his own brood. His inevitable fall from power could come from the duplicitous deeds of his most trusted inner circle— his family. "The Pope has insisted that there be no family rivalry," says the Academy Award®-winning series star Jeremy Irons. "He knows rightly that if the family is to be powerful, it has to be powerful because it's united."
Filmed entirely on location in Budapest, Hungary, the series stars Oscar® winner Jeremy Irons, in his Golden Globe®-nominated role as Pope Alexander VI, a Spanish outsider whose political cunning and ruthless ambition elevated him past his rivals. "The first year, I felt the need to lay out the historical tableau with a great amount of clarity," says executive producer, writer and director Neil Jordan. "So when we came to the second season, it was like, suddenly you've got all these characters, and you can let them rip. It was a lot of fun." The Academy Award®-winning Jordan penned five scripts this season, then handed the reins to executive producer David Leland to write four, and Guy Burt (Kingdom) to write one. Jordan (Byzantium) directed episodes 1 and 2; Jon Amiel (Creation) directed episodes 3 and 4; Kari Skogland (Endgame) directed episodes 5 and 7; John Maybury (Edge of Love) directed episodes 6 and 8; and Leland (Band of Brothers) served as director for the final two episodes.
Fraternal strife boils over. Sexual proclivities of the Pope blossom. Women unite in a new display of power. Borgia enemies multiply. As season one ended, the Pope’s beloved daughter Lucrezia had just given birth, and the family celebrated together. Almost like a happy new beginning. Almost. "All of the characters are going to darken this season," says Jordan. The cunning Cesare, engages his dark side, becoming more like The Prince Machiavelli wrote about; the profligate Juan is ostracized by his family and turns murderous; and the increasingly independent Lucrezia refuses to be a pawn in her family's continued quest for power. Meanwhile, the Pope faces unrelenting struggles: The French return with a vengeance, having been tricked into invading a plague-infested Naples in season one. Various Italian clans plot his demise. The devious antagonist Cardinal Della Revere trains an assassin; while in Florence the puritanical Friar Savonarola's grip on power tightens and the Borgia fortunes, deposited with the Medici Bank, are jeopardized.
Cesare begrudgingly continues serving as Cardinal per his father's edict and coveting Juan’s job as head of the Papal Army, which suffers a humiliating defeat this season. Juan's erratic and violent behavior has become a threat to the Borgia throne and the Pope senses the dangerous discord. Though competition rages between brothers, when it comes to the Pope's affection, Juan wins hands down, much to the chagrin of an increasingly cynical Cesare, who is fast becoming the "dark horse" his sibling always knew him to be. "He's not looking for his father's love as much as he did in the first season," says Francois Arnaud. "He's not even looking for his father's approval anymore. He just kind of decides to go rogue, and more often than not, knows that his ideas are just better."
As the season opens, Lucrezia is now mother to a love child, having survived a disastrous marriage to Giovanni Sforza, who betrayed her family politically, and violated her personally as a wife. Says actress Holliday Grainger, "I think family members expect Lucrezia to sit back and resign herself to marriage, to being bullied by her brother. But she doesn't. She stands up for herself, and says, 'eah, I'm a woman, but I'm a strong woman." Though Lucrezia's innocence of season one has faded, she's not quite the monster as depicted in history books— which were often written by Borgia enemies. "Those who vilified her, without exception, were all men," says Zoltan Rihmer, Papal consultant. "That speaks for itself." In another interesting twist taken from the history books, known as in loco parentis ("in place of a parent"), Pope Alexander places Lucrezia on the throne while he leaves Rome on business, a very taboo act during those times. But it wasn't just the Papal stint that emboldens Lucrezia this season. When Juan crosses her, we learn that she too is capable of dark deeds, a Borgia trait she shares with Cesare.
Amidst the dramas of torture, warfare, and turbulent times surrounding the Borgia Papacy, at the central core is the family. "What I love about The Borgias is that it's a huge, epic tale of wars, and power, and God, and faith, and poverty, and riches," says Joanne Whalley. "But at the center of that, it's a family. It humanizes everything." Says Irons, "An audience will always be engaged by the human condition. Battles are great, political movements are great— they give tension, and they're interesting to watch... But certainly what I care about, as an audience, are people. How they interact. And I think what we're seeing is how this pretty wild family is dealing with one other. How each character is developing, getting stronger or weaker. And it's them we watch, and them, hopefully, we love, in a strange way."
In Noid, a tiny hamlet situated to the south west of Bath, some of the most dangerous and ill sounding beats and riffs are being created by four wolf like personalities. The Heavy started out ripping and chopping beats from the likes of Bo Diddley, Little Walter and The Parliaments and fusing them with their now patented brand of high grade dirt. Guitar riffs that intoxicate, bass lines that reverberate around your head like a King Jammy dream and vocals that will challenge any of the genres they decide to take on. The Heavy continually cross genres as they as a unit are proud to be completely musically schizophrenic. From country to rhythm and blues, garage punk to rock and roll, Studio one to the slums of shaolin, you'll inevitably discover that The Heavy are indeed like a pack of artistic chemists with the way that genres get cooked up, blended, stirred and then mixed, to create their own unique style of rock and roll.
The album Great Vengeance and Furious Fire released on Counter Records in late 2007 generated a great deal of interest with songs like That kind of man, Girl, Set me free, Coleen and Dignity, firmly laying foundations for the house of dirt that they are building at present. There is no other band that sound as raw as The Sonics while holding soul in a headlock and frequently wrestling rock to the ground with the weight of Mr 808 as tag team partner. Listen, then try and tell Louis different.
You will not experience another band like this... So dirty. So much weight. So much energy and laced with a soul that you just don't hear anymore...The Heavy have indeed created a monster. The music is enthralling as it takes you on a journey on which you will never be certain... about the destination. The basis of The Heavy sound is a combination of the pronounced backbeat of hip-hop with late-60s soul.Tracks like "How You Like Me Now" and "Love Like That" sound a lot like a few instrumentals on Amy Winehouse's Back to Black. You will enbrace The Heavy's inherent understanding of what it takes to endure this world... and all of the "supernatural" worlds as well.
The band was asked to record a cover of the song "And When I Die" for the fourth season finale of True Blood. The soundtrack for the third season of HBO vampire drama True Blood was eventually nominated for Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media at the 54th Annual GRAMMY Award. In our opinion, this was the BEST track on the CD. Unlike Blood Sweat and Tears' version of the song, The Heavy takes it to the core of what it means to die.The track also appeared on the third True Blood soundtrack. "Who Needs The Sunshine?" and was featured in the penultimate episode of the fourth series of Being Human, "Making History". We are predicting great things for this band.
Toadies are kicking off the new year right by announcing plans to release the first of two new EPs as well as a jaunt across the country opening for Social Distortion starting in April. The EP, entitled PLAY.ROCK.MUSIC. to be released May 8th was recorded at The Bubble in Austin and produced by Chris "Frenchie" Smith. The writing of the EP was hot off the heels of last year’s Dia De Los Toadies (The 4th annual!) The festival last year was the most successful yet— two days and the strongest Texas line up they've ever had including The Sword, Black Angels and Ume. The 5th Dia De Los Toadies is slated for Labor Day Weekend later this year. Front man Vaden Todd Lewis on the new songs "It was fun experimenting with some new sounds and variations for this EP. This is some of the strangest and catchiest stuff I've ever written." Guitarist Clark Vogeler elaborates on the EP "I'm anxious for people to hear the new tunes. The new EP definitely still sounds like Toadies, but the way Todd writes and the way we play has continued to evolve.
The lyrics that Todd wrote for this record are some of his best while the overall delivery vocally and musically show more teeth than usual. This is also the first time that we've had Doni Blair play bass on a record and he's just a machine, so I think this record sounds more like a band than the previous couple. He goes on to talk about a collaboration with The Honeybear Horns brass section on the EP” "I love the horns that The Honeybear Horns brought to Rattler's Revival. I was worried that it might sound out-of-step with what we do, but we were all pleased to hear that horns sound right at home in the mix. I can't wait for those guys to join us live at some point." Drummer Mark Reznicek adds "The new stuff might be the most rockin' set since Rubberneck."
"There's a certain uneasiness to the Toadies," says Vaden Todd Lewis, succinctly and accurately describing his band— quite a trick. The Texas band is, at its core, just a raw, commanding rock band. Imagine an ebony sphere with a corona that radiates impossibly darker, and a brilliant circular sliver of light around that. It's nebulous, but strangely distinct— and, shall we say incorrect. Or, as Lewis says, "wrong."
"Things are done a little askew [in the Toadies]," he says, searching for the right words. "There's just something wrong with it that's just really cool...and unique in a slightly uncomfortable way."
This sick, twisted essence was first exemplified on the band's 1994 debut, Rubberneck (Interscope). An intense, swirling vortex of guitar rock built around Lewis's "wrong" songs— like the smash single Possum Kingdom, subject to as much speculation as what's in the Pulp Fiction briefcase, it rocketed to platinum status on the strength of that and two other singles, Tyler and Away. Its success was due to the Toadies' organic sound and all encompassing style.
Upon the EPs release the Toadies will take their show out on the road, hand picked to open for Social Distortion. "The Toadies haven't toured as opener in over 15 years. I couldn't think of a better better band to tour with (short of ZZ Top or AC/DC). I'm looking forward to playing some of these bigger venues we haven't played before and hitting a few cities in Canada that I've never been to. It will be interesting to play 45 minute sets compared to the 90 minutes we usually do. It will be like get in, rock them hard, then get out, all by 10:00!" —Guitarist Clark Vogeler
With lots of new news to announce, Toadies have had a change of plans regarding their upcoming release PLAY.ROCK.MUSIC, originally slated as an EP release for May. The band will now release a full length with the same title on July 31st via Kirtland Records. The change stemmed from the vibe during the recording session says vocalist Vaden Todd Lewis: "The plan was just to record some demos with (producer) Frenchie Smith. It went so well we decided to compile the songs into an EP. But then we were having such a good time, we decided to keep the ball rolling and make a full-length record. A lot of this material was written on the fly in the studio. It was a very exciting and scary process."
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