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Thursday, October 13, 2016

Latest Movie News From Moviefone

Latest Movie News From Moviefone

Wizards Are on 'High Alert' in New 'Fantastic Beasts' Featurette

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The wizarding world in America looks like a scary one in a new "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" featurette.

The three-plus-minute video shines light on life for American witches and wizards in the 1920s, and it's clear that their struggle is real. As screenwriter and "Harry Potter" creator J.K. Rowling tell us in the featurette, "magic developed very differently" stateside. Secrecy is of the absolute utmost importance, so you can understand why it's a problem when protagonist Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) inadvertently sets magical creatures loose in New York.

Still, rounding up wild beasts looks like the least of the magical community's concerns. With all that the characters will have to tackle, it's no wonder "Fantastic Beasts" is only the first in a five-film series. Rowling is going to have her work cut out for her over the next several years.

Check out her latest exploration of the magical world in the featurette below.
"Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" hits theaters on Nov. 18.

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'Grey's Anatomy': Leah May Mean 'Sexy Stuff' for Arizona, Not Big Relationship

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ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" - Season TenIf you're ready to board the "Larizona" 'ship now that Tessa Ferrer is returning as Leah, Arizona's former love interest, you may be disappointed.

"Grey's Anatomy" star Jessica Capshaw revealed more information about her character's Season 13 romantic future, and it doesn't sound like Arizona is necessarily on the brink of a great love. While show creator Shonda Rhimes did promise new romance, it probably won't arrive overnight and may not involve Leah.

"A love interest certainly doesn't mean necessarily a huge relationship," Capshaw told TVGuide.com. "It kind of just means exactly that. I think there's an opportunity for there to be some really fun, flirty, exciting, sexy stuff that comes up for [Arizona]."

Her relationship with Leah will be interesting, whether or not it takes a romantic turn again. The two previously ended on awkward terms because Leah -- unsurprisingly -- didn't take too kindly to Arizona dumping her for Callie (Sara Ramirez). Capshaw says Leah's return will be "dramatic," but also described it as "very cool."

Other than Leah, it's not clear what other love interests could crop up, or even what exactly Arizona wants.

"I'm not really sure if it's just going to be that Arizona is the kind of person who has a bunch of little relationships, or if she's interested in being in a big relationship again," Capshaw said.

We'll find out more as the season progresses and when Leah returns in Season 13, Episode 6.

"Grey's Anatomy" airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

[via: TVGuide.com]

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Disney's Live-Action 'Lion King' Has Landed Its Screenwriter

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As many of us know by now, the circle of life is bringing us a new "Lion King" movie. That project has taken a big step forward now that its writer has been found.

Disney has tasked Jeff Nathanson with penning the screenplay for the reimagined, live-action version of "The Lion King," Deadline reports. The screenwriter is no newbie. Nathanson's writing credits include several notable projects, such as "Catch Me If You Can," "The Terminal," and the "Rush Hour" films.

For all his skill, Nathanson is still taking on a challenging job. The original "Lion King" lives large in the hearts and minds of multiple generations, so the pressure is on not to disappoint. Luckily, it's not all on him. Jon Favreau is set to direct, and he previously impressed with his live-action version of another Disney animated classic, "The Jungle Book."

We're putting our faith in Nathanson to do a great job with the singing savanna crew. Hakuna matata, after all.

[via: Deadline]

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Marvel's Kevin Feige Talks Rachel McAdams Night Nurse Rumors

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Marvel Studios Hall H PanelThere are so many fan theories surrounding the MCU that Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige doesn't have time to respond to them all, but thankfully, he does address some.

The exec has finally opened up about speculation that "Doctor Strange" character Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams) will take on her own alter ego. Some fans expect she'll become Night Nurse, a role from the comic books that involves tending to injured superheroes. It doesn't seem like a huge stretch, after all. The Night Nurse comic book series focused on three roommates who worked at a New York City Hospital, and not only was one of them was named Christine Palmer, her movie character is a doctor.

When asked about the idea, Feige gave an interesting but perhaps not altogether surprising answer: "I will say that that story line does not play into the movie," he told Entertainment Weekly.

That's sort of a no, but it's also not. His response only definitively tells us that Palmer won't double as Night Nurse in "Doctor Strange"; however, plans could change beyond that.

Feige admitted as much himself. "It's just as much fun for us as it is for the fans to speculate about that," he said of the character's future.

And speculate we certainly will.

"Doctor Strange" opens on Nov. 4.

[via: Entertainment Weekly]

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'Fantastic Beasts' Will Be a Five-Movie Series

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When Warner Bros. first announced that it would turn Hogwarts textbook "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" into a film, the initial plan for the "Harry Potter" spinoff was an ambitious three-movie series. But now, "Potter" author and "Fantastic Beasts" screenwriter J.K. Rowling has revealed that the franchise will be even bigger than initially anticipated.

During a fan event and Q&A in London on Thursday featuring cast members from the upcoming film, Rowling made a surprise appearance and dropped some stunning news about the continuing adventures of protagonist Newt Scamander (played by Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne): There will be a total of five films in the "Fantastic Beasts" franchise, which will no longer be a trilogy as originally planned.
"Beasts" marks Rowling's screenwriting debut, and clearly, the prolific author got the movie bug, already completing the script for "Fantastic Beasts 2." While that follow-up flick is due in theaters in 2018, it remains to be seen what the release schedule will be like for the other three films.

At Thursday's fan event, the cast and crew revealed a few clues about what audiences can expect in the sequel, with the setting shifting to a new prominent city (away from the first flick's NYC action), and an important connection to Grindlewald, the evil wizard who Dumbledore battled in the original "Potter" series. Redmayne said during the event that he felt "enormous pressure" following the success of the first franchise; looks like that pressure will continue for the foreseeable future.

"Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" hits theaters on November 18.

[via: Fantastic Beasts, The Hollywood Reporter]

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The 'Mulan' Remake Will Not Be Whitewashed, Love Interest Will Be Chinese: Report

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mulan, love interest, chinese, whitewashed, remakeNot long after Disney first revealed that it was working on a live-action remake of its animated classic "Mulan," fans demanded that the studio remain faithful to its source material, and cast only Chinese actors in the production. This week, an Asian blogger uncovered the spec script that Disney reportedly purchased for the project, which features a white male lead. Did that mean that the studio planned on whitewashing the film?

According to at least one anonymous source connected to the upcoming remake, the answer is a resounding no. Vulture did some digging and discovered that Disney did indeed purchase the script in question, written by Lauren Hynek and Elizabeth Martin, which describes Mulan's love interest as a 30-something European trader who sets his sights on the young Chinese heroine, and is the one who defeats the film's villains -- not Mulan.

The blogger, who goes by the name Angry Asian Man, was understandably upset by this plot line, and urged readers to bombard Disney with their mutual disgust at the hijacking of a Chinese woman's story by a white savior narrative. But according to the source that Vulture spoke with, that spec script was nothing more than "a jumping-off point for a new take on the story," and the film will feature storylines "from both the literary ballad of Mulan and Disney's 1998 animated film."

"Mulan is and will always be the lead character in the story, and all primary roles, including the love interest, are Chinese," the source added.

The script is currently undergoing a complete rewrite from screenwriting duo Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver ("Jurassic World"), and Disney has committed to conducting a global casting search for a Chinese actress to play Mulan. The remake is set to hit theaters on November 2, 2018.

[via: Vulture]

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'Star Wars' Production Company Fined $2 Million for Harrison Ford 'Force Awakens' Set Injury

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star wars, han solo, harrison ford, the force awakens, millennium falconThe production company behind the making of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" is facing a steep fine from the UK government in connection with the on-set accident that injured star Harrison Ford during filming.

Foodles Production Ltd, which is owned and operated by Disney and was created specifically to oversee the production of "The Force Awakens," was ordered by a UK court this week to pay £1.6 million (or just under $2 million) after pleading guilty to two violations of the country's Health and Safety at Work Act. Disney itself will not be charged in the incident.

Court proceedings uncovered additional details about the accident, which occurred in June 2014 while Ford was rehearsing a scene that took place aboard the Millennium Falcon. Ford had entered a hydraulic door that was operated by a person who did not have a clear view of the actor; when Ford turned around to exit the door, a button was accidentally pushed that closed the door on top of him, pinning him to the ground by his pelvis.

The then-71-year-old actor suffered a fractured fibula and tibula and a dislocated ankle, and prosecutors argued that the immense pressure from the hydraulic door -- which they described as "a blunt guillotine" -- was "capable of killing one or possibly two people." Production on "The Force Awakens" was shut down for several weeks while Ford recuperated, and the actor was reportedly given an undisclosed compensation settlement from Foodles for his injuries.

In a statement following the judge's ruling, Foodles said, "The safety of our cast and crew was always a top priority and we deeply regret this unfortunate on-set accident."

[via: Daily Mail]

Photo credit: Disney

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Michael Cudlitz: Worry More About What's AFTER 'The Walking Dead' Season 7 Premiere

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Michael Cudlitz (Abraham Ford) would like to remind everyone that there are 16 episodes to "The Walking Dead" Season 7 and the premiere is just a taste of what's ahead.

Since everything past the premiere is one giant spoiler, fans have been given few teases beyond that. Sometimes we'll see flashes of Morgan and Carol and the Kingdom, bits of Negan in Alexandria, and just a hint of Tara and Heath on their supply run. But it's mostly "Who did Negan kill?" and the cast and crew talking about how the cliffhanger wait will be worth it, even if the first episode is brutal and a downer, etc.

But whoever dies in the premiere, the show must go on. Cudlitz would like more focus on that fact; here's part of his conversation with Entertainment Weekly:

How would you describe what's in store for us?
I find it interesting that what seems to be lost in all these discussions — we talk about the loss in the show and where these journeys are taking all these characters —I think it's interesting how little is being discussed, almost like nothing, about what happens after this episode. Because there is so much stuff that goes down after this first episode and the continuation through this next season that it's going to make people's heads spin. I mean, it's like, trust me, your least concern at this moment should be the season opener.

Heads will spin! Abraham is in Negan's lineup, and many fans are worried for him. However, in either some spin or genuine hope for what's ahead, Cudlitz talked to PopSugar about how TWD changed his character's story from the death Abraham had in the comic book to .... whatever happens in his future. Here's part of his conversation with Pop Sugar:

In the comics, your character dies in the same way that Dr. Denise did, with an arrow through the eye. Do you know if there was a specific reason why the writers switched the characters up?

Well, [Robert] Kirkman was never happy with the death Abraham had in the graphic novels. He always said it was sort of a last-minute decision and that he regretted how he took him out. I think transferring that specific death of the crossbow arrow through the eye to Denise was sort of an Easter egg for the audience who follow the graphic novels. [...] Her death spurs on a whole bunch of other stuff, and then the audience knows that Abraham will continue for a while now. Now we get to see what a world with Negan and Abraham both in it will be like. That's something we don't see in the graphic novels. So a lot of cool stuff happens. For me, knowing that his potential death had come and gone, it was a moment to go, "Oh cool, they really aren't going to stick with what the graphic novel does." As a fan of both the novel and the show, it was cool.

Now that we know Abraham is likely going to be around for a while, what would you say is the most exciting thing about playing that character?

He's just so much fun! I've been very fortunate in my career to have done a lot of different characters on a lot of different projects, but this is the most consistent fun that I've had. I can't wait to get the script each week to see what thing is going to come out of this dude's mouth next. I love it.

They are assuming Abraham is likely to be around for a while, but it's not like the actors can really say what happens. Remember how Lawrence Gilliard Jr. apologized after Bob died, because he had to lie to fans about his fate? That's the job.

"The Walking Dead" Season 7 starts with "The Day Will Come When You Won't Be" on Sunday, October 23 at 9 p.m. on AMC.

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Nerdcore Hip-Hop Fans Slam Alex Trebek for 'Losers' Joke

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"Jeopardy!" & IBM Man V. Machine Press ConferenceWhat is "Revenge of the Nerds"? That's what "Jeopardy!" host Alex Trebek is facing after casually dissing all nerdcore hip-hop fans on last night's show.

We should be focusing on raising up Susan Cole as the coolest legislative librarian of all time. She ended up slaying everyone last night, winning $22,600 -- and even Trebek said her game was "beautifully played." But before all that, she took one for the team during the usual get-to-know-the-contestants segment.


Here's how it played out:

Alex Trebek: "Your favorite type of music is something I've never heard of, but it doesn't sound like fun."

Susan: "I think it's very fun. It's called nerdcore hip-hop."

Trebek: "Nerdcore hip-hop?"

Susan: "It's people who identify as nerdy rapping about the things they love: video games, science fiction, having a hard time meeting romantic partners. You know. It's really catchy and fun."

Trebek: "Losers, in other words?"

SAVAGE! Some fans just laughed, but other proud nerds fought back in the best way possible -- through nerdcore hip-hop.

Here's a response from Megan Ran to "know-it-all, condescending blowhard" Trebek:


"Suck it, Trebek!" At least Susan is now welcome at all of his shows.

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'Dancing With the Stars' Wants Billy Bush for Spring 2017 Season: Report

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NBC News' Billy Bush And Jeff Rossen In Conversation For SiriusXM's TODAY Show RadioBecause of course. Ryan Lochte is still competing on the current "Dancing With the Stars" Season 23, and ABC reportedly hopes for a similar controversial casting coup to land Billy Bush next spring.

An "insider" told Page Six that DWTS has already started courting the (soon-to-be former?) "Today" show star for Season 24, which premieres in the spring of 2017. "It comes in March," the source said. "That's far enough away. Everybody goes on to do the apology tour. It's ironic there is Ryan Lochte on, who he started this controversy with when he started with 'Today.'"

This summer, Billy Bush got into a tiff with Al Roker over Ryan Lochte, after Bush started to defend the Olympian -- who had lied to Bush in his initial interview -- and Roker shut that down. Then the infamous 2005 tapes came out, with Billy Bush laughing on the "Access Hollywood" bus as Donald Trump confessed to lewd behavior.

Bush only recently left "Access" for "Today," but while on "Access" he regularly interviewed DWTS pairs during the seasons. So it wouldn't be out of his element to join the show, even if many DWTS fans are tired of damage control castings. (Not only do DWTS stars get the support of the DWTS crew, pros, and fans, they each get six-figure paychecks just for signing on.) Why can't we just get more positive castings -- like Alek Skarlatos, Bindi Irwin, and J.R. Martinez?

Of course, if ABC and DWTS really want to court controversy they could throw money at Donald Trump to try to get him to dance next spring ... if he isn't busy as POTUS.

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Bryan Cranston Explains Why He Was Once a Murder Suspect

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MPTF Celebrates 95th Anniversary With "Hollywood's Night Under The Stars" - Red CarpetHe is the danger!

Bryan Cranston lived his own version of How To Get Away With Murder. He's now promoting his book, "A Life in Parts," which includes a pretty gruesome story he's told before and shared in great detail last night on "The Tonight Show."

Jimmy Fallon asked the "Breaking Bad" alum about the time he and his brother were both real-life murder suspects. Cranston explained that he and his bro had taken a two-year motorcycle ride across the country in the 1970s. One time in Daytona Beach, to pick up some extra money, they got waiter jobs at a Polynesian restaurant called the Hawaiian Inn. The head chef was a guy named Peter Wong. That's where things got messy. As Cranston explained...

"Peter was a good chef and a horrible person. He was the first person I ever met who I just realized 'Oh my god, I hate this guy!' I don't think I ever hated someone before Peter Wong. ... He was miserable and mean, he would shout and yell at you. So during the waiter meetings before every night, we'd have a little food and they'd tell us what to push on the menu, and we'd all talk about how each one of us would kill Peter Wong, if we had the opportunity. So I said, I'm just thinking that I would slice him up, nice tender slices, something like that."

You can probably see where this is going.

"So we're joking around this whole thing. Well, the season comes to an end, my brother and I hop on our motorcycles and we take off again to go up north. And policemen come into the Hawaiian Inn and gather everybody who's left of the staff, and they say, 'We'd like to ask you about Peter Wong.' Everybody's wondering what's going on. 'Has anybody ever talked about hurting or killing Peter Wong?' All the waiters are like 'Yeah, all of us.' They said, 'Anybody who is no longer here who talked about killing Peter?' 'Well, the Cranston brothers.' 'When did they leave?' 'Well, they left about a week ago on their motorcycles.' 'That fits the timeline.' Because Peter was murdered and they were looking for us."

They put an APB out on the brothers and everything. Could've been its own movie. (Where was the local chemistry teacher at the time?)
Cranston and Fallon also played a more fun game called "Cranst-In or Cranst-Out" to describe what they like: Want more stuff like this? Like us on Facebook.

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James Gunn: 'Guardians of the Galaxy 2' Will Crush the Bechdel Test

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Marvel's Guardians Of The Galaxy..L to R: Drax (Dave Bautista), Groot (Voiced by Vin Diesel), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), and Star-Lord/Peter Quill (Chris Pratt)..Ph: Film Frame..?Marvel 2014"Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" director James Gunn doesn't care if you call him a Social Justice Warrior or any other name as long as you call him a good writer. He made a point on International Day of the Girl to say that his next Marvel movie will not follow the token female path, and will not only pass but run over and crush the Bechdel Test.

The Bechdel Test, named after cartoonist Alison Bechdel, asks if a work of fiction features at least two women who talk to each other about something other than a man. (Sometimes the "test" includes whether the characters are also given names.) It's amazing how many films can't pass that simple test. But Gunn promised that "Guardians 2" won't be like them -- or just present generic "strong" women -- because that's lazy, boring writing and he has higher ambitions than that.

Here's part of his Facebook post:

"... Now I know, in these weird times, just for writing this, I will be accused of being an SJW or 'having an agenda'. Who knows. You can categorize it however you want. But in truth I DO have an agenda, and that is telling FULL and TRUTHFUL stories, where ALL the characters are deeply realized. As a person I am a man; as a writer, I need to be everyone. Only in this way will our art and our entertainment adequately express life and inspire all of us. I am sick of stories where there are a bunch of fully realized male characters and one female character, whose primary characteristic is simply being 'the girl' or the personality-less object of some man's affections.

I'm not sick of this because I'm politically correct – those of you who know me know I am far from that – but because it's boring, and it's b.s. Likewise, I don't think only making female characters 'strong' is a fix either - you see her all the time these days, the perfect female warrior, who is a reaction to the stories of the past, but who is equally as boring and one-dimensional.

Great male characters, from Michael Corleone to Marty McFly to Han Solo to the Joker, are never perfect and never one-dimensional. They are sometimes heroic and sometimes villainous and often deeply flawed. But they always reflect the fullness of the world around us. I do not think that is true of the majority of female characters in films.

I have done my best, as a male writer, with varying degrees of success, to bring female characters and female stories to the forefront. Whether they're protagonists like Ana in Dawn of the Dead or Starla in Slither, comedy relief like Deadly Girl, Nightbird, and Power Chick in The Specials, or the insane, scene-stealing roles usually reserved for men, like Libby in SUPER.

And I can't wait for you all to see Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, with Gamora, Nebula, and Mantis in action, where we not only pass the Bechdel test, but run over it and back up over it again and again in an eighteen-wheeler truck, and where their stories and the men's stories don't come at the expense of each other, but are interwoven in a way to strengthen and optimize all of them..."


He's a good egg. Zoe Saldana returns from Vol. 1 as Gamora, with Karen Gillan as Nebula, and Pom Klementieff as Mantis. Also, Elizabeth Debicki is playing Ayesha, and we have our eyes on her character to make waves as well. Of course there are dudes in the movie, too, and one of them is called Star-Lord, played by the inimitable Chris Pratt. He said the "Guardians" sequel would be the biggest spectacle movie of all time. So Vol. 2 now has several big promises to keep.

"Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" opens May 5, 2017.

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New 'Rogue One' Trailer Has Daddy Issues and Darth Vader

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The second official trailer for "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" starts with a flashback of young Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) and her father Galen Erso (Mads Mikkelsen):

Galen: "Jyn, whatever I do, I do it to protect you. Do you understand?"
Jyn: "I understand."

That sets us up for the rest of the action-packed trailer, which shows Galen as "critical to the development of a super-weapon" and shows more of Ben Mendelsohn's Orson Krennic, who is tasked with the completion of the Death Star.

"Rogue One" follows Jyn as she joins the Rebellion to steal the plans for the Death Star, in a standalone story set just before the events of the first Star Wars film, 1977's "A New Hope."

The trailer shows us flashes of Darth Vader, but he doesn't exactly have a starring role. Instead, the action is the real star, along with inspiring speeches from Jyn about hope, with Forest Whitaker's Saw Gerrera going full save the cheerleader/save the world to yell, "Save the rebellion, save the dream!"

Watch the trailer:
"Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" opens December 16, 2016.

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Billy Bob Thornton Is Down-and-Out and Seeking Justice in 'Goliath'

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Billy Bob Thornton Portrait SessionWith his captivating, awards-gathering turn as ice-cold contract killer Lorne Malvo in the first season of "Fargo," Billy Bob Thornton instantly became one of TV's biggest stars, but he's about to play the little guy -- or, at least, the humbled former big guy brought low -- taking on a corporate behemoth in Amazon's new series, "Goliath."

The actor (and Academy Award-winning filmmaker) takes on the role of rumpled attorney Billy McBride for the new David E. Kelley-created series -- which drops all 10 episodes on Oct. 14 -- a formerly high-powered legal ace now taking meetings in his favorite Oceanside watering hole across the way from his no-frills hotel residence.

The role is an about face from the amoral, self-possessed Malvo, and an ideal fit for Thornton, who's seen his share of highs and lows throughout his career, as he revealed when Moviefone joined him in a small press roundtable.

What was the first thing that hooked you on this project? What was the thing about it that, after "Fargo," made you say, "I think I want to do another TV show"?

Billy Bob Thornton: Well, "Fargo" was such a great experience. There's no independent film business anymore. If you're going to do it, you've got to do it for Amazon, or Netflix, or whatever. So it's either do big studio movies, which are mainly sort of video game kind of movies, or cartoons for kids -- which have their value; I'm all for them. But I'm not the first guy they call for that.

So the kind of movies that I made are now being made on premium cable, so you look around to see what's out there. This offer came to me, and I always wanted to play a lawyer, especially one with a sense of justice that's not exactly like what the legal system generally likes. Also, I like to play characters that are kind of down and out, trying to claw their way back. Been there myself.

How do you bring the originality to that type of character, which can sometimes be a trope? How do you make that kind of fresh when you're approaching it?

You do it by having a bunch of scenes that maybe aren't so related to that, and when you have the opportunity to make a scene different, you speak up. You say, "Hey, what if we did this instead?" So, at least with the stuff that I was involved in, every day we tried to make sure that we weren't doing just a standard TV scene or something. The other folks, I can't just go change their stuff. It's not my show. But at least in terms of my stuff, I try to, if I saw an opportunity to do something that maybe raise the bar a little bit, I would try to do it.

But it inherently, while it may be a story we've seen certain aspects of before, it's so timely right now to have the sort of David and Goliath story, because we're so all concerned right now with corporate stuff and governmental things. People against the system. So I think it's timely in that way.

In a way, it reminded me of a modern day "Rockford Files."

Oh yeah.

Where it's fun to see him down and out.

Yeah, exactly.

And then see him turn things around. Did you kind of get that feeling?

Absolutely. I didn't think in the beginning, but then I remember I was doing a scene on the boat with the Marquez brothers. I was doing a scene down there, and it was kind of like a combination of like "Columbo" and "Rockford" because it's like, "Hang on a second. Let me ask you a question ..." Because I am kind of a regular guy doing it. It's not like the lawyer you normally see in the button-down suits all the time. I drive that beat-up car that I love. So there are real similarities to those things, and I loved those shows when I was growing up. I still watch them. So it's nice to have one that's a modern-day show, but has some aspects of the shows that we loved seeing. So that was one of the things.

Had you ever played a lawyer before?

I did. I played in "The Judge," with Robert Downey and [Robert] Duvall, but that was more as a cameo. So I didn't get to do it much, but I liked it. When I did that it was like, "Wow. Yeah. I'd like to do this for a little longer."

Lawyers and actors have a real similar job. A lawyer's trying to put on a show for the jury. They're coming up with their character, or telling their witness how to act, or whatever. Acting as a director for their witnesses. If you've seen the O.J. [Simpson] stuff, the ESPN documentary, you see exactly how much coaching goes into preparing folks. So in the movie business, we're trying to sell our story to an audience. I think in that sense, they're very similar.

Lawyers have to be good actors. There's no doubt about it. But, fortunately, actors don't have to be good lawyers in real life.

You have good lawyers.

You try to!

His regular hangout is one of my very favorite places in Santa Monica, Chez Jay on Ocean Avenue.

Oh, I know, right? I used to hang out there.

Much of the series takes place in that geographic territory in Los Angeles, that very specific Santa Monica locale, and it feels very specific. What was intriguing to you about doing that and having that kind of specific backdrop?

Well, I used to hang out at Chez Jay. I remember other actor friends of mine who really frequented the place. I guess when I first moved to L.A. 36 years ago, Santa Monica was like this sort of paradise that you'd always heard about or whatever, and it's famous. There's the pier and the Boardwalk and all that kind of stuff. So I guess I remember it that way.

Now, I've lived here most of my life. It's like, I go down to Santa Monica now, I'm used to it. But you can see the look on people's faces who aren't from here, how cool they think it is to be down there. So to have a place in a touristy area like Chez Jay, which really is just a dive, it's cool to have a place there where locals like to hangout. As opposed to say some restaurant where mainly tourists go to.

When this project came to you, did you consider coming in as a producer?

I don't like it when I'm the smartest guy in the room. I'd rather be the dumbest guy in the room. I like to go to work and be just an actor, just go do my job and go home. So being a producer to me doesn't really appeal to me much.

As a director, when I direct my own stuff, I direct it mainly as self defense. It's like, I write a script, and then why would I give it to this guy? I already know what it's supposed to be. That's the only reason I direct, frankly, and I don't do it very often. And I think these days, the kind of movies that I want to make as a director are probably passé at this point. All the stuff I write is based on Southern literature. I'm not sure there's an audience for that.

Would you want to do a TV show, though, yourself, as the principal creative force?

I've actually come up with a couple that we're talking to some people about. I can see doing that. I wouldn't want to be a guy who was there on a daily basis, in, like, a writers' room doing that. I'm not -- otherwise I'd just go back to the sawmill, you know what I mean? Like I used to. I mean, I got out of the sawmill so I could do something that changes all the time. You know what I mean?

What prompted your move to L.A. 36 years ago?

Buddy of mine was coming out here, wanted to be a screenwriter. I was in music, mostly. I came out here to see if maybe I could get in a band out here, because the band I was in at the time had broken up.

I was in [a ZZ Top cover band] at one point, yeah -- late '70s, about '79, I guess -- we did it for a couple years. Because I was in a band that sounded a lot like them, and one of their guys that used to work for them said, "How'd you like to be the ZZ Top tribute act?" They didn't have those back then -- we were one of the first ones. We said, "I don't know. What do we get out of it?" Guy saw us at a club in Houston -- he said, "How much are you making?" I think it was like $300. He said, "How'd you like to make $1,500?" We said, "We'd like that very much."

So I just came out here with him, with my buddy. We met a guy out here -- we didn't know anybody, and I met this one guy who [knew] my writing partner, Tom Epperson, who I came out here with -- he and I wrote several scripts together; we were neighbors back home.

He had some loose connection to this one guy here was an actor -- I think he knew his mom or something. He said, "Hey, I'm in an acting class. You ought to come and try it out. Tom says you were in drama class in high school." I said, "Yeah, but I only did that so I could maybe get a decent grade in something. And there were girls in there." I went to the guy's acting class, and one thing led to the next.

Any particular takeaway you want people to get out of "Goliath"?

I hope people start to really understand that we don't live in a fair society. That what is legal and what is fair sometimes are two different things. I hope we get that out of it.

Any chance we'll see you on "Fargo" again?

I don't think so -- I mean, unless they make it into a ghost story! If they do, I'd be happy to go back. Yeah. I love doing that, I've got to tell you. I had so much fun doing that show. The crew and the cast were so great. I think Noah [Hawley] wrote a terrific series.

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