TV & Movie News

Interview: Simone Policano on Producing and Co-Starring in This is Our Home, Yale University Memories, Being on a Commercial, and Much More!

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Simone Policano is a jack of trades in the entertainment industry. She is not only an actress that appeared on Auggie and CBS’ Blue Bloods, she is also a producer and filmmaker with many titles titles credited to her name such as Final Callback, To My Son, and Go Tell Your Fathers. One of her most recent films that she produced and co-starred in is “This is Our Home” which premiered at the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival which I got a chance to see during the week. She has a passion on doing these things and it shows whether if she is on screen, or producing. I got the opportunity to speak to her as we talked about her time in Yale University, the development of the film, New York stories, and more below in this exclusive interview!

What are some of your favorite memories when you were a student at Yale University?

SP: “I would say my favorite memory was the night that I joined the sketch comedy group that I was in from my time there because, I found this incredibly special community of performers and writers and artists in general. I found that really fun community within that group. And the night we had a sort of fun induction ceremony you can say when you’re a freshman and you join the group that was just really one of my first during my freshman year and I just had this really strong artist community right off the bat which I’m very grateful for.”

What drew you into acting and when did you decide that you wanted to continue acting after you graduated from Yale?

SP: “I was born and raised in New York. So I’ve been here my whole life. And I think when you grow up in the city, you’re lucky to be around art a lot if you have access to it. I was taking acting classes from elementary school and I used to do musical theater classes and learned very quickly that I could couldn’t think of doing that. And I started taking more like street theater acting classes like kids classes and then I went to high school called Hunter College High School which Lin-Manuel Miranda went there.  He’s one of our clients. But it’s a really nerdy high school with a really great theater program. And I love that I get a ton of theater there and then I knew I wanted to go to a nerdy college with a really great theater program. So I went to Yale and I did a lot of theater there. I wasn’t a theater major, but you can do a ton. I took a lot of theater classes. And you can also do a lot of extra curricular theater. I’ve known since I was young and I’m very lucky that I had parents and a family that supported my desire to want to do that and didn’t try to talk me out of it. I just kept doing it and I kept being like ‘okay, if this doesn’t work out I’m going to I’ll figure it out’. I guess that could happen down the line. But I’ve been very lucky and I’ve had a great time doing what I’ve done so far so I have no desire to change it right now.”

Being that you are from New York City, are there any parts within the five boroughs that you have never traveled to?

SP: “Well I actually just a couple weeks ago moved to Queens! Other than that, I just really had never spent a lot of time there. I mean, my dad is from Brooklyn. My mom was born and raised in Jersey, but then moved to the city shortly after. So I spent a lot of time in Brooklyn. I wasn’t raised on the Upper West Side so I spent a lot of time there. So it’s been great to explore this new neighborhood. I would say I’ve actually spent the least time maybe probably Staten Island or the Bronx. There’s a great place called Wave Hill up in the Bronx which is a beautiful kind of like nature preserve that my family and I would go to sometimes but I haven’t spent a lot of time in the Bronx.”

You produced and co-starred in This is Our Home and I seen the film at the Brooklyn Film Festival! Tell me how did it get started and also, were you involved with the casting process?

SP: “Jeff and Omri who’s the director knew each other from film school. It was college or right before college. But they’ve been friends for a while and only had just come off doing this movie that was a comedy movie that’s on Hulu now called How to Get Girls with a bunch of people from the office and it’s a very different vibe. It’s very studio and comedy and so he was talking to Jeff a couple of years ago and he was like ‘I really want to do something different. I want to do something darker and more artsy.’ And he and his writing partner Rob basically wrote the script for Jeff and I was just such a gift to get to be that involved in the creative process and to get something from its very inception. We were very lucky in that house that the film is shot in which is basically its own territory and the film is my mother’s house in Woodstock, New York. So we just basically were there for two weeks and a lot of the crew lived there rather than be there. But it’s like we’re living in the house or shooting in the house so that makes it a lot. That cuts costs a lot and if you’re using a location that you actually own and don’t have to pay for it, that’s sort of how that came to be. As far as the casting goes, basically the other main role in the film is the kid the child actor who’s played the character who’s played by a wonderful human named Drew Beckas. And that was a really important part of the film. The casting. Child actors and working with child actors is a really interesting thing because I think people watched the first season of Stranger Things and they’re like ‘Oh my God all these kids are amazing. Must be so easy to find amazing kids.’ And it’s not. It’s hard and it’s really hit or miss with kids especially depending on how old you’re talking. And so we auditioned a bunch of which put out a casting call. I auditioned a bunch of actors around through the age or a little bit younger. Drew was just a very special kid and he just walked in the room with his energy of like I’m game to play and I’m down to do whatever and he has this childlike innocence about him that we felt was gonna be great for the film because it’s important that the kid not trying to play at the idea of the creepy kid but the more just authentically like a kid that character feels within the context of the film. So he just we just sort of fell in love with him and he was great and we got really lucky with him.”

Were there any scenes that were not included in the final cut?

SP: “No there were not. And I think that this was a big lesson with just indie filmmaking in general like you’re working on such a tight budget that every day of shooting costs money and you’re paying people per day obviously, and it’s just you have to pay the whole crew. We did not have a lot of wiggle room and it’s a lean movie. I mean, it’s a short feature because of that. I think there’s totally spaces where it would have been great if we had more time and money to flush some things out. What it meant to be really intentional about what you shoot, and preplanning so that you know you can get exactly what you need because there isn’t a lot of time to film.”

What have you learned the most while you were producing the film?

SP: “Filmmaking is such a feat. Like it is an amazing thing when anything actually gets like it is. It’s so much more extensive than I think. Our film was made on a tiny budge,t but it’s still the money that you do need to come from somewhere. And we were so lucky that basically our major source of funding we were initially going to shoot the film in Philly. And so we got an article in a newspaper in Philly talking about the film and we were contacted by Joey Fatone who was sort of our savior basically being like ‘hey I started a company I had not I guess I sold the company and now I just kind of wanted to be involved in the arts and funding the arts’. And he was like ‘I will give you money’. I don’t know how to make a movie and I don’t want any sort of creative control or creative say like make a movie and then throw my name as an honest and executive producer which is the dream. I mean that is such a dream. And he literally fell out of the sky and we are so grateful for him. But I would say one of the biggest things I learned is that it’s just it’s really hard and it’s going to cost more money than you think it is. Like every time we thought that we had spent all the money that we were going to spend on this film it’s like music licensing or you need to go back and recall or something and it just all takes money and it’s given me a really much stronger sense of appreciation anytime I watch anything because I think it’s very easy as a patron to go to film and walk out and have a lot of critiques that have a lot of things to say about it and that’s great. We should engage with art in that way but I also think that it’s just hard. It’s easy to forget that the fact that anything gets made to look like The Avengers movie it’s great. If you’re an indie film that is not attached to a studio and has a really small budget whether you like the film or not, It’s an incredible feat and it’s given me a lot more of an appreciation for it.”

The first time I remembered seeing you on television was a commercial for the local casino in Yonkers, NY. How fun was it to be on that commercial and have you ever used an actual slot machine before outside of that commercial?

SP: “Oh my God, that was amazing. It was such a such a fun time we went on to Empire City Casino in the middle of the day. But we got to set down different parts of it and just got to walk around and smile and pull a bunch of slot machine levers and just have a good time. We got this huge wheelbarrow of fake money which was awesome. And what’s cool about it was because we shot that a year and a half ago maybe. I’m not sure if I’m right on that but it was playing on a major sports networks such as ESPN and like Monday Night Football and it made headlines. I was getting texts from friends like ‘I just saw you in like a major commercial timeslot’ and then we just actually recapped it like a month ago. So it’s on now again and it’s just a crazy thing. Since then, I recieved videos of friends in bars filming the TV screens when it comes up. But during my senior year of college, We all went to Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut. And again, it was a Tuesday or something and we all dressed up super fancy and swanky just for fun. And I was like ‘I’m not going to to gamble’. And then I played one slot machine game and I won like two hundred and fifty bucks and I was like ‘Oh I got much more than what me and my friend won’.”

Do you have any future projects coming on the horizon?

SP: “I’m actually working on a reading of a new play which I’m really excited about because my foundation is in theater. And part of the reason I’m in New York and L.A. is because I want to continue doing theater. So that’s like the next thing I immediately have coming up to the play workshop next week. But I don’t really I feel very lucky. It’s been a really fruitful or happy time for me and the much of a bunch of this came out this other feature that I worked on with Richard time called Auggie just came out. So I feel very lucky like a lot of things I’ve just come out. And so right now, you know the life with an actor is okay and now I’m conditioning I’m gonna see what happens. So in terms of film and TV stuff I’m not sure right now but something will come around because that’s kind of how it works. And I’m happy to have a moment doing a theater thing while I wait to see what the next on camera thing is going to be.”

Follow me on Instagram and Twitter @julianexcalibur for more content. Contact me at julian@alternativemindz.com.

Interview: Ross Marquand on Working With Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Remembering Jesus, and Much More.

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The Walking Dead star Ross Marquand appears on the new episode “Ghosts” as Aaron and Negan are teaming up for the first time. The unlikely pairing on this episode turned out good for the better and it further explored Aaron’s ability to make sure that Negan does not slip up and to see if he can trust him. I got the chance to speak to Ross Marquand about the episode as we break it down in this exclusive interview!

This is the first time that you and Jeffery Dean Morgan had extended scenes on an episode with eachother. How did it feel for both of you to team up in this episode?

Ross: “I love it. I don’t want to speak for Jeffrey, but I thought it was fantastic because this is the first time as you said that these two characters get a chance to really go toe to toe since the lineup or when Glenn and Abraham were killed. I think a lot of our audience members are gonna be happy to see this because they were hoping for an interaction like this for all of the characters who were in the lineup. Everyone who witnessed this horrific death wish they could have a moment with Jeffrey where they could say ‘hey Negan, you’ve done something absolutely unforgivable and I was trying my damnedest to forgive you. But what what can you do to prove to me that you’re not the same person’. I don’t think that Aaron is convinced that he is the same or has changed rather. I think he is very much convinced that this is the same person that he saw in the clearing all those years ago and it’s a moment of extreme emotional purging where Aaron feels like ‘you have never really fully answered for what you’ve done and this is my opportunity to to relate to you and tell you how much what your actions meant to me and the rest of the group'”.

Do you have any funny stories working with Jeffrey Dean Morgan on this episode?

Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan, Ross Marquand as Aaron – The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 3 – Photo Credit: Jackson Lee Davis/AMC

Ross: “I mean, it was pretty tense. He was he was such a great sport. I felt bad when I kept tripping him and knocking him down because you never want to hurt anybody. But there were a few takes where I really laid into him with a leg and I thought I’d actually hurt him reaally bad. But he would pop up and be like “Nah man, i’m fine! It’s all good. Don’t worry you use it use it”. So he was he was a of sport and we tried to keep it pretty simple and pretty quiet for that because it was such a tense scene that we didn’t want to mess with that but yeah, I really feel like he just brings such a incredible characterisation of Negan to the screen. I mean he is really good at blending that like kind of controlled, smarmy, charm with this absolutely lethal stare. And it’s uncomfortable to act with because he’s channeling this diabolical character so well and he does a phenomenal job with it and I love working with him”.

Who came up with the idea for Aaron to have a mace on his prosthetic arm and were any other weapon choices avaliable if the mace was not a choice?

Ross: “Well I don’t know for certain if it was my idea or the writers, but I was in several interviews last year with different outlets and they asked me the same question: “if you would have any different attachments for your arm what would it be?”. And I just joke and said “I got to be really cool to have like a mace on a chain like a cat of nine tails sort of thing”. And I was just joking I really didn’t think that was ever going to happen. And then this year when I had my meeting, I was informed that there was going to be a mace and I thought Oh awesome .That’s so unique and cool but that’s literally exactly what I was talking about last year. I didn’t know if word got out or it spread to the higher ranks, but I was so happy when I learned that because there is nothing more satisfying than taking off my hand and then putting on this beast of a unwieldy weapon. It’s it’s fairly heavy but it looks so cool. And I’m just so pleased with how the props department put that together”.

What is the most difficult skill you had to learn while you were one-handed?

Ross: “Scratching my back probably! (Laughs). I think it’s a trick. I mean I really had a hard time at first because all the things that you were used to doing with two hands, all of a sudden you’re having to learn with one and one of the most practical ones is just going around at lunchtime and if we have a quick turnaround it don’t always take off the arm. So just loading up all of my meal using my fake arm as a balance beam essentially from my trays and put food into my mouth. It’s a learning curve and I think it’s a wonderful challenge to have for the character and I think it’s a wonderful representation of all that he’s lost both physical and mental. Emotionally speaking from Eric, to Jesus, to Tara, every person that he’s lost is a truly felt by t this character I mean he really feels the weight of their loss. And I think losing the arm is a wonderful physical manifestation of that”. 

We see that Negan has watched over Aaron all night. Do you believe that Aaron is starting to trust Negan after everything that happened the previous night into the morning? 

Ross: “I think that they recognized that if Negan actually killed Aaron in that moment, Negan probably would have had to answer a lot of questions and that would’ve been a search party for Aaron and it probably would’ve ended really poorly for him. So I don’t know if it’s so much that Aaron trusts him anymore as these two men both know who they are. They’re not really convinced that the other one has much faith in the other, but they’ve got a nice understanding now and I think that’s where you can build forgiveness and that’s where you can build open communication after that. But at this point, I still don’t believe that Aaron trusts or forgives Negan one bit”.

You mentioned about losing some of the other characters such as Eric during All Out War, and Jesus at the graveyard in Season 9. Who do you think between those two affected Aaron the most?

Ross: “I think Eric. Eric was a long longstanding boyfriend and lover and they knew each other before the apocalypse even began. So they were arguably the longest running relationship the show has ever known. So it affected him greatly to lose Eric. I think the loss of Jesus was also affected. It’s affected them only because they formed such a camaraderie and they were they were they were such a tight unit. And then to lose him in such a horrific and surprising way, that affected them on a mental level so much more as opposed to Eric was more of an emotional level. Jesus was just such a huge shock to the system and it just came out of nowhere literally. And I think that that would be the distinction between the two”.

The sword that Aaron used on 10×01 while he was clearing the walkers, was it the same sword that Jesus used to own?

Ross: “It is and I think it’s sort of a ceremonial sword for him. Angela and I both discussed it and I said I don’t think that he would just retire that sword. I think he would use that sword especially in very very important battles not only as a way of honoring Jesus and everything that he taught Aaron, but also because it’s a way of connecting the past the future. I think he held a great deal of reverence and friendship for Jesus and that sword is a wonderful way of him continuing that tradition.

Follow me on Instagram and Twitter @julianexcalibur for more content. Contact me at julian@alternativemindz.com.

Girl on the Third Floor Comes to the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival Next Week

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Girl on the Third Floor will finally make its long awaited and anticipated New York City debut next week at the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival. Since its debut at SXSW, it has recieved a high critical praise from many outlets praising the acting, the plot, the practical special effets, and the cast.

The film stars Mixed Martial Artist and comic book writer CM Punk as he plays as Don Koch who is a lawyer as he wants to start a new life with his career and he and his pregnant wife (Trieste Kelly Dunn as Liz Koch)plans to get away from the city as he bought a new home in Chicago that is very old. Don wants to renovate the house from the ground up and does not want any help doing this. He eventually learns from his new neighbors that live near by that the house has a crazy and terrifying past and experiences the supernatural in the house.

CM Punk will make his feature film debut on this movie and I know for sure that many people and fans of him are looking forward to seeing the film on the premiere and I have to say that I cannot wait to see it as well. This film will also be the directional debut of Travis Stevens and it also has a strong cast as well featuring Sarah Brooks, Elissa Dowling, Bishop Stevens, Tonya Kay, and Marshall Bean.

Be sure to get your tickets now as the New York premiere will sell out very fast and CM Punk and Travis Stevens will also be there in person to talk about the film as well after the screening. Brooklyn Horror Film Festival takes place from October 17th until October 24th.

Follow me on Instagram and Twitter @julianexcalibur for more content. Contact me at julian@alternativemindz.com.

What Have I Learned From The Walking Dead Panel at New York Comic Con 2019

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Photo Credit: Business Insider

The Walking Dead held their annual panel this morning at New York Comic Con and the 2019 edition of the panel has given us more news about the entire universe of The Walking Dead than ever before. This panel featured the main show, and the untitled third series of the show as well. Here are my biggest positive takeaways of the entire two hour panel of The Walking Dead at New York Comic Con.

Season 11 Announcement

During the panel, showrunner Angela Kang announced to the world that the show has been renewed for an 11th season. This is excellent news and this also means that we will get new stories as well. The next season will return in the fall and to keep track on this, the 11th season will feature its 150th episode which will most likely be a monumental episode. The show made it to episode 100 on the first episode of season 8.

The Untitled Third Series Trailer and Cast

We have only known a few details of the third series since the announcement earlier this year and we finally got more news about it this week when the photos of the show was released a day before the panel. Today, we finally seen the trailer and got to know more of the cast today as Alexa Mansour, Hal Cumpston, Annet Mahnendru, Nico Tortorella, Nicolas Cantu, and Aliyah Royale took the stage to talk about their roles on the series and their love for the universe of The Walking Dead. The most interesting part of the panel is that the three-ringed emblem we have seen on the CRM helicopter group is also connected with this show and The CRM group’s logo represents three locations as well and we will finally find out more about them since one of the locations is on that show. I asked Scott Gimple about the show back at the SplitScreen Festival and at the time, they were going to begin shooting the following week. Another interesting detail we haver heard today is that the show’s Walkers are called “Empties” and they all told everyone why they are called that. The third series premise is that it is a new generation of survivors that grew up within their gaurded community and now, they begin to explore outside the community. There are also great details that we heard about how the weapons in the show will be used against the walkers, when in the timeline of the original show it will take place, and much more. The third series will debut in the spring of 2020.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIGWqFsvJ5w&t=4s


The Princess Is Coming!

This announcement caught everyone by surprise today as the news of “The Princess” Juanita Sanchez will come sooner as we thought as she will be played by Paola Lazaro on the second half of the tenth season of The Walking Dead. The Princess was first introduced on issue #171 back in 2017 and she is from Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. The story here is that Michonne, Eugene, Siddiq, and Magna was traveling to The Commonwealth and on their way, they meet her in Pittsburg. It will be interesting to see how the group will encounter her on the show. Paola has been acting since 2015 with her roles on television shows and movies such as Scenes from the Underground, Dichos, Pimp, and most recently, Lethal Weapon.

The Return of Lauren Cohan

Photo Credit: Business Insider

This news shook the world and was long awaited as we got the return of Lauren Cohan on The Walking Dead. She has not been seen since the beginning of season 9 and the entire universe never forgot about her. Maggie was mentioned a few times in season 9 that she has went with Georgie. Now that Maggie is back, how will she deal with The Whisperers. The way this was revealed is that at the near end of the panel after Danai got her standing ovation, Chris Hardwick called a female on stage that cosplayed as Negan but with a Jason mask. She appeared on stage, and then took off the mask and the crowd erupted! This was a surreal moment to see live and I am happy that I witnessed this.

Follow me on Instagram and Twitter @julianexcalibur for more content. Contact me at julian@alternativemindz.com.

INTERVIEW: Fear The Walking Dead’s Colby Minifie

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Colby Minifie is known for her roles on Marvel’s Jessica Jones, Amazon’s The Boys, Glee, and The Blacklist and now she is the leader of her group of horseback riders named Virginia on Fear The Walking Dead. She has so far wanted to help Morgan’s group and at the same time, had former members of her group go against her. With the season finale coming up for Fear, I got the chance to interview Colby Minifie as we talked about her role on the show and what can we expect from her in the future.

You are now on Fear The Walking Dead as Virginia. How did you react when you got the role?

Colby: I screamed of course. I officially booked it on the last day of an indie movie I was shooting and about 12 hours later I was on a plane to Austin for FEAR. So, yeah, it was a whirlwind, but the best kind of whirlwind. There’s a certain energy that kicks in at moments like that because everything you love is happening at the same time. 

Colby Minifie as Virginia – Fear the Walking Dead _ Season 5, Episode 13 – Photo Credit: Van Redin/AMC


Have you done horseback riding before you got your role, or did you already knew how to ride horses?

Colby: I rode horses as a kid with my cousins. I remember flying off a loping horse once. But I hadn’t been on a horse in over a decade when I had to ride in as Virginia. Boom, my trusty steed, is a total pro so it was a breeze. 

Virginia told Dwight that she knows that his wife is still alive. Will we find out if that is true within the next few episodes?
Colby: That’s super duper secret. 


Will we find out more of how Virginia formed her group?
Colby: That’s also super secret but I’m gonna say yes!


What was it like to work with Lennie James and Karen David on the episode? and why should Morgan and everyone else give Virginia their full trust knowing that she has killed Logan and had some of her members run away from her?


Colby: Lennie was so wonderful. Acting with him made me a better actor in many ways. Some of the scenes we have together were very emotional for me and when I looked in his eyes I always felt safe. I didn’t get to work with Karen very much on this episode but she’s a total sweetheart! And Virginia wants to help as many people as she can. But she’s also a utilitarian, so if a few people have to die for everyone else to survive and thrive, she is willing to make that sacrifice. 

Colby Minifie as Virginia, Beau Smith as Dom – Fear the Walking Dead _ Season 5, Episode 15 – Photo Credit: Van Redin/AMC

Were there any other costume ideas that were discussed before you got the cowgirl costume?

Colby: Not that I know of. Luckily, when Ian and Andrew described the character to me, I pictured something not too far from the final look that Jo Katsaras (Costume Designer) came up with. The pioneer/colonial style has a lot of history to it, which meant I could rely on the look to tell a lot of Virginia’s story. I felt so cool in that outfit. 


Any funny stories working with the cast on this episode (5×14).
Colby: I hadn’t had sugar in 2 months before I did this episode and all of a sudden I was eating jam. It was so delicious and I kept sneaking more finger-fulls throughout the scene so I could have more. And then the sugar high hit and I got giddy. 

We are close to the season finale. Without giving too much away, what can we expect from you on that episode coming up?
Colby: All I can say is it’s gonna be BIG. Virginia is a strong woman and will do anything to get her way.

Fear The Walking Dead airs every Sunday at 9:00 PM EST on AMC.

I will be livetweeting from The Walking Dead panel at New York Comic Con next week. Follow me on Instagram and Twitter @julianexcalibur for more content. Contact me at julian@alternativemindz.com.

The Walking Dead Season 10 Premiere Preview

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Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon, Melissa McBride as Carol Peletier – The Walking Dead _ Season 10 – Photo Credit: Jackson Lee Davis/AMC

AMC’s The Walking Dead will return on October 6th 2019 with their tenth season. Many television shows do not make it to ten seasons and it is safe to say that The Walking Dead has made it. Last season, we seen the departure of Andrew Lincoln and this season, we will see the departure of Danai Gurira. It is very sad to see her go, but I have hope that this season will be great just like season 9 was. I was able to see the first episode of the tenth season (Lines We Cross) and before I give my full blown review on the 6th, I would like to give my first impressions of the episode.

This episode borrows and remixes material from the comic book issues #151, #139, and #149 in many ways. You will have to figure out when those scenes will come to play, but the beginning of the episode has a cool, organized walker kill sequence. In fact, later during the episode, you will see many walkers being killed while the entire group is dealing with a major conflict that happens during the episode. What the conflict is? It is something you would have never expected to see on the first shot of the episode. You will also see how the communities interract with eachother over the radio as well. Another thing that will be showcased is how many members of the group are still affected by Alpha’s border and what she did on “The Calm Before”.

As for the characters itself, Daryl and Carol had the best interactions of the episode and I am still happy that Daryl is talking much more now and is willing to become a leader too. Also to note, Daryl is trying to learn sign language when he talks to Connie and you will get a laugh out of that scene. Judith and Rick Jr also have a nice interaction and it is very heartwarming to see. Negan is also in this episode, and he is still not very well liked, but one member of the group wants to know more about him. You will also see new characters as well on the episode and one of them, is from the comics and his role from the comics has been changed on the show. Another great thing about the episode is Rosita’s baby and you will see the cute baby in this episode. There are also sad parts of the episode too and most of them are memories of Rick Grimes, Carl Grimes, Jesus and Eric. The way it is brought up though, I do not want to add here as I want the viewer to have that emotional feeling as much as I did. Daryl is not the only one taking upon a leadership role as Michonne is doing it too more confidently than ever before.

The end of the episode will have everyone talking and I know for sure, that everyone in the community of The Walking Dead wanted to see a certain showdown. It does not happen yet however, but it seems like it is starting to be built up. Overall, this season premiere is miles better than the season 9 premiere and it is jam packed with action, tension, storytelling, and also, fun to watch.

Be sure to check out my full review of the episode on October 5th and I will also livetweet from The Walking Dead panel at New York Comic Con next week. Follow me on Instagram and Twitter @julianexcalibur for more content. Contact me at julian@alternativemindz.com.

Interview: Robbie Jones Talks American Dreamer, Titans, and a Crazy Uber Story

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Robbie Jones will not only appear on the second season of DC’s Titans, but he also co-stars along with Jim Gaffigan in the upcoming american crime film American Dreamer. Today, I got to sit down with Robbie Jones to talk about the film along with his love for Spiderman, his memories in college, and much more in this exclusive interview.

If you were to look back on yourself 10 years ago or a little more, what would you tell yourself if acting was not the path you would take?

Robbie: 10 years ago I was still acting. But before then, I was playing basketball professionally and I always thought that was something that I was going to be doing. I thought I expected to be in the NBA one day, So That was pretty much my plan. And then, the Lord blessed me with this career and I’ve just been doing this ever since. So I I’m just grateful to be a part of this this whole world of acting.

Do you have any brothers or sisters? and what are your fondest memories when you were in the University of California?

Robbie: I have a half sister and she lives in Virginia. And as far as UOC goes, I feel like it was just the people that I met and the people that I was able to interact with along with the friends that I made. I had a great time there. It is a beautiful campus and basketball of course, was great. But I feel like the relationships that I built while I was there and the things that I learned were you know, priceless.

You also appear on the second season of Titans. On the trailer, You are the one to take out Starfire. Tell me how did that come to be?

Robbie: There was a lot of fun. We went out there and we filmed in Toronto and my character’s name is Tamaranean. he’s a past love interest of Starfire who’s basically trying to get her to come back and take her back. She’s not willing to come back that easily. Believe me. I really liked all the interactions that I had with Starfire. She’s played by Anna Diop. And she is she’s fantastic and I had a great experience with her and I feel like we have some really good chemistry so I don’t want to give too much away, but I just had a great time with her.

What comic books did you like reading when you were growing up?

Robbie: I actually was really into Spider-Man and the Marvel Universe when I was growing up. I like to draw and you know, do things like that so I was really big on Spider-Man and Venom. I really like it like that. But yeah those are my main because they had this really crazy dynamic between Spider-Man and Venom and I just loved that whole storyline and I used to like to draw both. So it was fun to draw those characters because they were so awesome and relatable. You know, it was fun and I think that is missing in today’s world of comics from the big publishers.

I have watched you play villians on different movies and television shows and one of them was Confessions of a Marriage Counselor. Do you like playing as a antagonist than the protagionist more? and your memories working with Tyler Perry?

Robbie: Being a villain is always really fun because they do stuff that I would never do in real life. So I get a chance to say that crazy stuff I would never say or do mean awful things to people that I would never do in real life. So it’s fun to play act. I mean, I’m never really play acting, but it’s fun to live out those kind of fantasies of like doing like the bad stuff. But I really enjoy both honestly being a good guy is always fun too. I wish I had more funnier stories, but we had such an intense shoot. We shot the whole movie in sixteen days and we were working kind of like Fast and Furious. So it wasn’t a whole lot of time for too much craziness. But he (Tyler Perry) would come to the set every now and then in full Madea like voice and be directing us with the video voice. He would dress up and he would be in character with the whole voice trying to get us ready to go. He’s a great guy.

You are starring in American Dreamer. What will be your role on the film? Also, there are horrible situations that happen when it comes to lyft and Uber drivers in real life. Once you got the call to play your character, Did you research any of those recent horrifying situations? And How did the shooting of the film go for you?

Robbie: No I really didn’t. I really just tried to take this situation as a real situation that was just kind of happening in the moment as opposed to like “how could this really happen if this happened in real life?”. I kind of like the the way we shot it. We just met everyone the day before we started shooting, and then we just started shooting the very next day. So I was just like when everyone in the fire at the same time so I think we were able to have some real organic moments because everyone was really interacting on a very fresh basis. And my character’s name is Max and he is a low level drug dealer who has a girlfriend and a son that he would do anything in the world for the support. And he’s just really determined father trying to make a living for his family. But the good part about this character and way it was written, is that you see he’s not just a stereotype and he’s not just a cookie cutter type of character. There’s a lot more to him and you can really see that he’s a bit. I want to set I want to say a product of his environment but he’s he’s kind of been dealt this hand and he’s trying to do the best that he can and this temporary situation just to get his family out of this situation. And it’s kind of a motivation behind everything he’s doing. But he doesn’t really want to be doing what he’s doing. It was right in the fire all day.

How was it like working with Jim and having him drive for most of the film?

Robbie: Jim it is a great guy and I joked that he was a terrible driver (Laughs) he was trying to hurt us. Then, he’ll tell you himself he doesn’t even drive here in New York. But he’s from New York. So he never drives and then, he wears glasses in real life. And his character in the movie does not so he could barely see. It was terrifying but also very fun.

Since this film is based around the current scene of Uber and Lyft, do you have any cab stories?

Robbie: I feel like some drivers tried to kill me lately just the other day around really. I’m dead serious! It was earlier this week and I was coming from a meeting and the driver was trying to keep trying to strike up a conversation and I was clearly busy and I was being cordial and nice and giving short answers, but she was upset that I didn’t want to talk to her. So she said “Fine, you got to talk” and turned up the radio super loud and floored it did like 90 miles per hour for the whole rest of the ride. No clinging on for dear life in the backseat. And I don’t want to further upset this person. I don’t say anything and I’m just like one star review.

Follow me on Instagram and Twitter @julianexcalibur for more content. Contact me at julian@alternativemindz.com.

Fear The Walking Dead Season 5, Episode 14 “Today and Tomorrow” Recap

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Karen David as Grace – Fear the Walking Dead _ Season 5, Episode 14 – Photo Credit: Van Redin/AMC

Who is ready to hear about “looking forward to the future” in this episode because there was a lot of that said during the episode. The future will either look bright or grim for some of the characters and with only two more episodes left for the season, it seems like the future is uncertain for a few of the characters. Here is my recap of “Today and Tomorrow”

Althea continued her interview with Morgan as he talks about his wife and their first date. He also talked about his son as his son loved comics and baseball. He even made him a Father’s Day card at one point as well. After we are shown those clips of his interviews, We see that Morgan was watching his interviews as he and Althea were far from range from everyone else. Morgan still wanted to make those boxes and drop them off on the road. Althea noticed that someone stolen one of their gas tanks. She finds the theif and Morgan convinced him to lower his knife. As the back and forth continued, the sounds of horses are near as Virginia’s group arrive. They all hide in the car and Althea records the horsemen. Althea then reached for the gas tank top outside the car and was almost caught, Althea asks the man about the group and Morgan told him that he can help him, but the man replied by saying that her group said the same thing. Grace was listening to an audiobook while she is adjusting a solar panel. Daniel mentioned to her that they are running out of room in the truck and Daniel wants to look in the record shop and collect records. Grace also gave word to Daniel that they lost the oilfield.

Al then attempted to interview the thief and we now find out that his name is Tom. He is from Paradise Ridge (along with Virginia’s group) and he gave his backstory of how they blamed him for the fall of his community. He also says that his sister is a hostage. The horsemen return to Paradise Ridge and killed a walker and more are coming towards the gate. This place is an apartment complex or a motel. Morgan and Al debate about going inside to save Tom’s sister and they do that later that night. One of Virginia’s men killed a walker and that gave Morgan and Al a chance to sneak inside the community to save her since the gate was open. Al brings up the CRM group briefly as well. As Daniel and Grace was killing walkers by their truck, one was about to devour Daniel, but that did not happen. Some of the walkers even stepped over the records and broken them too. Morgan and Al enters different apartments to look for Tom’s sister and Morgan is drawn into the walkler that is locked in a closet. Al also records the whiteboard at the same time. Morgan knocks down the walker to the concrete floor and moments later, the same walker pushes Al into the pool. Althea struggled to kill the walker undreground and Morgan saved her and killed the walker. As they both rise from the water, the lights turn on and Virginia and her group captures the both of them.

Maggie Grace as Althea, Lennie James as Morgan Jones – Fear the Walking Dead _ Season 5, Episode 14 – Photo Credit: Van Redin/AMC

In the morning, Althea and Morgan talk about the current sistuation as she thinks that Virginia will kill them. Virginia meets them and offers them jam. Virginia tells them that she seen their tapes and told Morgan to talk to Ms. Fifer about his mental state. Althea asks Virginia if her group has helicopters and Virginia told them that she does not which seems like that they have zero connection to CRM. As Morgan and Althea leave, Virginia gives them back their belongings and she even had one of her woodsmen fix Morgan’s staff. They both killed two walkers as they left. Grace and Daniel talked about the music records and Daniel wanted to get them for Charlie to listen to. They also talked about what changed them as a person. Grace wants to teach Charlie to play the guitar as she also did a song as well. Tom apologized to Morgan and Al and Morgan assured him that he is not giving up. Althea then continued her interview with Morgan as Al is also convinced that they have no connection to CRM. Daniel then radios Morgan and told him that Grace is feeling worse than before. Grace hopesw that she sees Morgan and does not think that there is any time left as she believes that she is going to die soon. She thanks Daniel as the episode ends.

Grace’s song is the highlight of the episode for me as her voice brightened the mood for me and took me out of the dark, walker killing moments for a short time. That was a great scene and I would like to hear more of Karen David’s music now as she is very talented. With that out of the way, I liked this episode mostly because it reminded me of a Metal Gear mission to sneak in a base and save someone. Morgan’s continued backstory will also keep my attention too as he is a great character. The theme of this episode is to hope for a good future and that was showcased very well with everyone’s curiosity about what is to come with each of them.

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AEW To Make Their New York Comic Con Debut

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Fresh out of All Out, All Elite Wrestling is set to make their New York Comic Con debut this month with their own panel. TNT released the information today with their plans of their lineup for the week of NYCC and AEW is one of them from what you can see below.

All Elite Wrestling on TNT with Chris Jericho, Jon Moxley, Brandi Rhodes and more


Friday, October 4 from 4:15pm to 5:15pm at the Javits Center in Room 1A10

All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is giving fans a new wrestling experience for the first time in 20 years. AEW is about more than wrestling. It’s a movement fueled by fans, offering fun, gripping and authentic athletic matches every week. AEW’s diverse roster of world-class wrestlers is poised to bring a new spirit, freshness and energy to wrestling. Join Chris Jericho, Jon Moxley, Brandi Rhodes, Awesome Kong (Kia Stevens), Nyla Rose and Jungle Boy (Jack Perry) for a ringside view of the revolution on TNT, which premieres live on Wednesday, October 2 from 8:00pm to 10:00pm ET.

About TNT

TNT, a WarnerMedia Entertainment brand, is basic cable’s #1 network in primetime among young adults and is home to some of television’s most popular slate of original series, including The Alienist, Animal Kingdom, Claws, I Am the Night and the upcoming sequel The Alienist: The Angel of Darkness. TNT’s forthcoming, premium unscripted series include Shaq Life and the live, multiplatform event Chasing the Cure. TNT also presents popular shows such as Bones and Castle; primetime specials and sports coverage, including the NBA and NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championships and the forthcoming, professional wrestling league All Elite Wrestling (AEW).

IT: Chapter 2 Review: The Balloons Are Still In The Air

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When IT was released in 2017, I was excited and the hype was at an all time high since this movie had everyone talking and calling it far superior than the 1990 television movie. All of those statements I agree with since I felt the same way and I was looking forward to the sequel. Unfortunately, the sequel did not leave me wanting to see it ever again after watching it. Here are my thoughts of IT Chapter 2.

Almost 30 years passed after the demise of Pennywise, He returns to try to ruin the lives of the Loser’s Club. The entire club besides Mike have moved on from their past and wanted to forget that it all happened. Mike brought them all together once again to end “it” for good so that way, they never have to look back on their traumatic experience that lingers on them only because Mike remembers it more than they do. They all group together to finally take Pennywise out once and for good!

Pennywise is the star of the film and the final battle with his final form as the giant spider gave me a jump scare. Be prepared because the final battle will be over 20 minutes. Penniwise also killed 5 people on screen with gruesome deaths. In fact, the developers were not holding back with Pennywise at all in this film as he is more scarier than before so be on alert when you see him on screen this time around. As far as the adult versions of the Loser’s Club, I was curious for a while about who would play as them and the results of their delivery can vary from person to person. Mike, Bill, and Beverly were my favorites of the adult group. Also, Beverly’s backstory was the most intriguing of the entire group in my opinion.

Although there were a few good moments in the film that I enjoyed such as the mirror house maze sequence, the dinner table conversation while they were reading fortunes, seamlessly transitioning between the past and present, and some scary moments, it was a bit of a letdown as the plot was very messy from the second act of the film until the finish. Also, three hours for a horror film should NOT happen or be the norm because it will be too tiring for anyone to even care to be scared anymore. I will also praise the CGI effects and even all of the characters are spotlighted with their own development as you will never feel that any one of them are just filler characters. Even Pennywise got his own backstory which was cool too. Another thing I would like to note is that the child actors played far better than the adult actors on the screen as the adult actors made the tension of horror go way down when they appeared on most of the movie. But the entire cast as a whole were great. As far as this movie’s connection to the Stephen King novel of the same name, Chapter 2 best represents the novel more than ever.

Overall, a decent film and if you have 3 hours to spare, check it out!

Follow me on Instagram and Twitter @julianexcalibur for more content. Contact me at julian@alternativemindz.com.