Archive for the ‘TV News’ Category
What exactly is ABC’s new show FlashForward about? Worldwide clairvoyance? Disasters? FBI agents? Kangaroos? Co-star Dominic Monaghan best described the show with two simple words.
I seem to agree with the man, the whole thing seems like a total “head f–k.”
The new show will follow the path laif out by Robert J. Sawyer in his original book, but what’s changed in the television version? We asked a few members of the cast to give us some insight into what’s ahead for the story, but no one would (or could) tell us much.
It seems FlashForward really is aiming to be the next easter-egg-heavy show with hidden tidbits everywhere, including easter eggs hidden in one character’s flash.
Dominic Monaghan is appearing on this new would-be Lost replacement, as a man named Simon. But that’s about all he’s got for us, aside from saying it’ll screw with your mind.
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“Lost” alumnus Dominic Monaghan is joining the cast of ABC’s new fall drama “FlashForward.”
Based on Robert J. Sawyer’s novel, the Joseph Fiennes-starring series chronicles the aftermath of a global event in which everyone blacks out for two minutes, 17 seconds and has mysterious visions of six months into the future.
The network confirmed Monaghan’s casting Friday at the Comic-Con pop-culture convention. There had been speculation that he would be added to the action drama ever since he was featured in the “ABC House” promotional campaign this spring, despite the fact that his character on “Lost” had drowned.
ABC has been so confident about “FlashForward,” slated to premiere Sept. 24, that it began airing promos for it during “Lost” before the show was officially picked up as a series in May.
Co-starring on the series are John Cho, Jack Davenport, Courtney B. Vance, Sonya Walger , Brian F. O’Byrne, Christine Woods, Zachary Knighton and Peyton List.
Besides the role of Charlie Pace on “Lost,” Monaghan is known for playing Hobbit Meriadoc “Merry” Brandybuck in the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy. He recently appeared in “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” and guest starred on the series “Chuck.”
ABC brought it’s anticipated fall show “FLASH FORWARD” to the 2009 Comic Con to spread the word about this unique project. Creator David S. Goyer (BATMAN BEGINS, THE DARK KNIGHT (writer)) brought cast members Joseph Fiennes, John Cho, Courtney B. Vance and a special surprise guest to give the audience a little taste of what is to come.
The show starts with introducing the characters in their daily lives. Suddenly, everyone in the world has a blackout at the same time. During the blackout, people see a glimpse of their futures in six months time. The “flash” gives people clues to what will happen in their future. The show goes on trying to make sense of peoples visions and find out if they are actually connected in a global way. Goyer assures us that they are working to the season finale date in April, and they will reveal the cause of the blackout in the season finale. Cast member Courtney B. Vance jokes that he hopes the show will go on for ” 21 seasons”. Film actor Joseph Fiennes has never starred in a television project before, but says that he was just blown away by the script and knew he had to be part of the project.
At the end of the panel, David S. Goyer brought out his “surprise” guest Dominic Monaghan (”Lost”) who plays baddie Simon on the show. Monaghan, who has always been a fan favorite and a huge draw couldn’t say much about his character. He didn’t want to give away too much of the plot and simply said “I play a character called Simon.”
British actor Jack Davenport (”SWINGTOWN”, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN) also stars in the show, which premieres on Thursday, September 24th at 8pm on ABC.
You can get more info on the show and see special blogs by cast and creators at www.redpandaresources.com.
Source (Thanks to Suzanne for the link)
Even though the flashes forward in the series only takes us as far as April 29, 2010, the creators of ABC’s FlashForward say there is a plan beyond that. They hoofed it to San Diego to get the buzz train rolling, and brought along “secret” cast addition Dominic Monaghan (Lost) to up the excitement.
At first glance, I can’t help but be reminded of Prison Break on FOX. It started off great, with a great serialized premise. The first season as we ratcheted toward that break out was intense and pretty good stuff. But then they were out and FOX renewed the show. Now what? What came next was hit-or-miss television for three more seasons.
Hopefully, producers David Goyer and Marc Guggenheim have thoroughly thought this through. They indicated that the final episode of the first season would be April 30, 2010; the “aftermath.” I’m guessing that will tie in to whatever caused the flashes in the first place. Maybe, like Lost, it will organically reinvent itself each year.
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We saw a time-travelly chunk of new ABC show FlashForward, where worldwide clairvoyance causes a global disaster. And Lost’s Dominic Monaghan made a surprise appearance. Spoilers ahead.
During the FlashForward panel, producers David S. Goyer, Marc Guggenheim and Brannon Braga debuted the first 17 minutes of their show.
Opening on a shot of Joseph Fiennes upside-down in a car (next to some oranges), and it appears as though some catastrophic event has occurred in Los Angeles. Mark Benford is just starting to navigate the wreckage of a highway full of cars when the show jumps backward in time ala J.J. Abrams.
From there, the story is jumpy and cuts from one character to another too fast, introducing us to no less than seven potentially important characters in the first 10 minutes.
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The casting of Dominic Monaghan offers the strongest evidence yet that ABC sees “FlashForward” as the next “Lost.”
The “Lost” alum was officially unveiled Friday as an addition to the cast of the Alphabet’s fantasy drama during the Comic-Con sesh on the show, which has a large ensemble anchored by Joseph Fiennes. Producers didn’t offer much in the way of specifics on Monaghan’s character other than to say his name is Simon. He’ll join the show early on in its run but does not appear in the pilot.
Monaghan’s surprise appearance at the “FlashForward” sesh was, needless to say, enthusiastically received by the Comic-Con crowd. Monaghan’s “Lost” character, Charlie Pace, died at the end of the show’s third season, but he remains a fan fave.
Gabrielle Union is also signing on to the show in a recurring role. She’ll play a criminal defense attorney who becomes involved romantically with one the core characters.
“FlashForward” is ABC’s biggest drama bet for the fall. Series revolves around the aftermath of a mysterious event when everyone in the world blacks out and is given a glimpse of their future. Others in the ensemble include Courtney B. Vance, John Cho, Jack Davenport and another “Lost” vet, Sonya Walger.
ABC Studios skein is exec produced by David S. Goyer, Brannon Braga, Marc Guggenheim and Jessika Borsiczky Goyer. Goyer and Braga penned the pilot.
Dominic Monaghan was the (not so) surprise guest at the FlashForward panel today, confirming the news we reported several weeks ago – that the Lost star was part of the cast of the upcoming ABC series, about a worldwide phenomena that causes every person to black out for over two minutes, only to awaken with visions of the future.
Monaghan joined series creators David Goyer and Brannon Braga, executive producer Marc Guggenheim and cast members Joseph Fiennes (Shakespeare in Love), John Cho (Star Trek), Christine Woods and Courtney B. Vance. While he only appeared at the very end of the panel, after a clip of his entrance on the show was shown, the audience erupted in cheers and were clearly excited to see the former (and future?) Charlie Pace once more appearing on TV.
Goyer joked that Monaghan’s role was, “The worst kept secret in Hollywood.” Said Monaghan about his character, “My name is Simon. I guess that’s about all I can tell you guys.”
Goyer noted they’d planned Monaghan’s role before the pilot, saying he was a “game changer, who f**ks up a lot of things.”
As for the video footage shown, the panel began with a screening of the first two acts of the pilot, which show the initial occurrence and how the main characters are all in very different situations when it occurs – some quite precarious. Since we’ve actually seen the entire FlashForward pilot, we recommend you check out Matt Fowler’s earlier write up on it [click here] to see our thoughts.
After those clips, the creators were immediately asked what the deal was with the kangaroo – a surreal moment in which Joseph Fiennes, running through chaos, sees a loose kangaroo on the streets. All Goyer would say is, “The kangaroo will be back!”
Goyer stressed that there definitely is a long-term plan for the show, noting that it was not only important to the creators, but to the network “in a post-Lost world.” Braga said he was excited by the “human element” of the show, and how what these people might see of their future could be “Something bizarre – [like] yourself in prison. How does that come to be or not to be? Do you prevent it? Do you pursue it?”
When asked if they had an exact amount of seasons they felt the show should go for, Vance interjected with what became a very funny running joke, saying that the show should be “like Rawhide. 21 seasons.”
The footage shown at the end of the panel showed further glimpses at where the show goes, as Joseph Fiennes’s FBI agent Mark tells his boss about the vision he saw of himself working on the investigation into the incident – which causes him to indeed be given that very job. Dominic Monaghan was only seen entering a room and introducing himself – but as stated, that was more than enough for the appreciative crowd.
So what exactly was Charlie Pace doing on that promo for ABC? He’s died in Lost ways back, so unless they decide to revive him (pretty much like what they’re doing to Emilie de Ravin, or so it seems), that appearance on the network’s fall promo, alongside Grey’s Anatomy’s Patrick Dempsey, Cougar Town’s Courteney Cox and Modern Family’s Ed O’Neill, would be pretty weird. Or a stunt decision. But it can’t be there for nothing, right?
Well, turns out Dominic Monaghan isn’t returning to Lost, which will air its final season next year. But, it was confirmed that he is returning to ABC, in a brand new series. Suddenly, the world lit up with questions. Which one? There are lots of new shows on that network, right? Well, if you’ll listen to the folks at IGN, they might have an answer: Flash Forward.
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Various sources are reporting that Dom will be starring in a new show on ABC. It’s still very hush hush right now, but once the name of the show and premise are released, we’ll update with details. For now, here’s a fun little promo spot that recently aired featuring Dom, Courteney Cox Arquette, Ed O’Neill and Patrick Dempsey.
