“Young Mutant Power: Meet X-Men: Apocalypse’s Alexandra Shipp & Lana Condor”

“Alexandra Shipp was convinced she had no chance. Last year, when the actress auditioned for director Bryan Singer’s X-Men: Apocalypse, she thought she’d go home empty-handed. “It was stressful and scary and rough, but I was living on Top Ramen at the time so I made myself go so I could at least steal all the muffins,” she explains over iced coffee and a muffin at an L.A. café. “Desperate times.”

But the 25-year-old from Phoenix — who previously starred in Aaliyah: Princess of R&B as the late singer and appeared in last year’s Straight Outta Compton — did far more than carb-load that day. She snagged the part of Ororo Munroe, a petty thief from Cairo whose ability to manipulate the weather attracts the attention of the big baddie Apocalypse (Oscar Isaac), who brings her into his evil fold as a white-mohawked havoc-wreaker named Storm.

“I found out I got the job via Tweet. My manager and agent called me at the same time — which is either really good, really bad, or someone died — and told me to go to Bryan’s Twitter page. There it was, him welcoming the new mutants. I just stared at that for, like, 10 minutes, making sure it was me.”

Shipp still can’t quite get over that she gets to play the younger version of a character originated by Halle Berry in the first four X-Men films. “It’s so flattering to be the O.G. Halle,” Shipp says. “Someone is saying I look enough like that gorgeous woman to play a younger version? Oh my God. I love Halle. I want to know how she smells. But also, when I first moved out to L.A. at 17, my mom said, ‘Pick an actress who has the type of career that you want. Don’t do exactly what they did, but use them as a roadmap.’

For me, it was Halle, the first woman of color to win a lead female Oscar…”

http://www.refinery29.com/2016/05/111230/alexandra-shipp-lana-candor-x-men-apocalypse

“‘X-Men: The New Mutants’: Josh Boone Teases His Super-Powered Cast of Characters”

“20th Century Fox is prepping to take a deeper dive into the world of Marvel’s X-Men with writer/director Josh Boone’s upcoming superhero film, X-Men: The New Mutants. The average Joe is probably familiar with names like Wolverine, Cyclops, and Rogue thanks to the characters’ appearance in live-action films and decades worth of comic books, but I think it’s safe to say that names like Illyana Rasputin, Rahne Sinclair, and Roberto da Costa are a bit beyond the reach of all but the most dedicated Marvel comics readers.

And yet The New Mutants might just be the perfect characters for today’s socially-conscious movie-going audiences. The core team, created by Chris Claremont and artist Bob McLeod in the 80s, featured a Kentuckian, a 19-year-old Vietnamese girl, a Cheyenne illusionist, a superstrong Brazilian, and a lycanthropic Scottish girl; that’s quite the representation of the most unique demographics out there in today’s world. Add Colossus’ teleporting sister and a techno-organic alien, and Fox will have all its conceivable bases covered. Luckily, it seems like X-Men: The New Mutants will be bringing all of these characters and more to a new generation of audiences.

If Boone’s Instagram account is any indication, the New Mutants movie will feature Magik, Wolfsbane, Mirage, Cannonball, Sunspot, and perhaps the most interesting of all, Warlock. Take a look at Boone’s recent Instagram posts below and make of them what you will…”

http://collider.com/x-men-the-new-mutants-cast-characters/

“‘Empire’ is Affecting the TV Business in More Ways than You Realize”

“LAS VEGAS — During its first two seasons, a lot has been said about how Fox’s Empire has changed the face of TV. But its role in elevating the visibility of black families on television is just part of how this soapy success is making an impact.

With pilot season in full swing, network Upfronts (broadcast networks’ annual pitch to advertisers) around the corner and a host of first-year TV shows that will soon have writers rooms to staff, the so-called “Empire effect” is being felt stronger than ever across various areas of the television business — and FoxTV Group chairmen Gary Newman and Dana Walden couldn’t be prouder of that.

As networks — including Fox — begin laying the groundwork for fall, the pair, joined by Bryshere Grey and executive producer Ilene Chaiken, highlighted some of the ways they’re seeing the true impact of the groundbreaking series two years into its run during a panel at the National Association of Broadcasters conference, taking place in Las Vegas this week.

Highlighting the importance of diversity behind the scenes

The discussion about diversity behind the scenes is not a new one — study after disappointing study have pointed out the problems behind the scenes for years — but what shows likeEmpire have gone on to prove is that well-rounded, diverse characters can only hit the page when there’s a room of diverse voices to make them come to life.

“I think Empire was so important to the television business and a push into programming that more fairly represents the viewing audience,” Walden said. “I will say, though, I just fundamentally believe … diversity starts behind the camera.”

Empire, she said, is a prime example, pointing to executive producers Lee Daniels and Danny Strong.

By ordering shows with diverse behind-the-scenes teams, Walden said she and Newman can avoid the pitfalls that come with trying to meet a diversity “mandate” or “retrofitting a project to check boxes…”

http://mashable.com/2016/04/19/empire-nab-advertising/#boL04N_fB5qL

“The Rise of the Black Superhero”

“Superheroes have stood astride the American pop-culture landscape for eight decades, but racial diversity has largely been left in the margins. So while we have had black superheroes for much of that time now, in the movie adaptations their roles have often been secondary. That’s why 2016 feels like a watershed year.

May’s “Captain America: Civil War” is the first mainstream movie to co-star three black superheroes: War Machine (played by Don Cheadle), the Falcon (Anthony Mackie) and the Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman). That same month, “X-Men: Apocalypse” will spotlight Storm (Alexandra Shipp); and in August, DC Comics’ “Suicide Squad” will be led by Viola Davis and Will Smith.

The quintessentially American art form that is superhero comics is embracing fictive worlds that look like America itself. And in 2016, black capes matter.

Here is a primer of 16 notable black characters from comic book history who have received, or likely should soon receive, live-action iterations.

1966

BLACK PANTHER

POWERS: Superior intellect, suit laced with super-strong metal vibranium, expert combat skills

Arguably the most important and well-known black superhero of all time, T’Challa the Black Panther made his Marvel debut in a Fantastic Four comic in 1966. What excited black comic fans, in part, was the fact that Black Panther, who didn’t have superpowers, could take on the Fantastic Four and win.

1967

CATWOMAN

POWERS: Stealthy master thief, highly acrobatic, trained in martial arts, deadly with a bullwhip

In the campy Batman TV show of the ’60s, Eartha Kitt’s performance as Catwoman in 1967 is one of the earliest instances of a black performer in a comic-book role. She went up against Adam West’s Batman in her own unique style — not nearly as sexually suggestive or romantic as Julie Newmar’s Catwoman, perhaps because of the social climate. But as a villain she was just as formidable…”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/entertainment/black-superheroes/

“‘Simpsons’ Character Smithers Comes Out as Gay in New Episode”

“After 27 seasons of not-so-subtle hints on The Simpsons, longtime Springfield resident Waylon Smithers Jr. will finally come out and reveal to viewers he is gay in an episode inspired by a Simpsons writer’s relationship with his gay son.

In the episode, titled “The Burns Cage” and set to premiere Sunday, Smithers finally comes to terms that his unrequited love for his boss C. Montgomery Burns will never be reciprocated, so Homer Simpson goes in search of a better match for his supervisor. “We didn’t really want to have that big moment of ‘I’m out,’ you know?” Simpsons writer Rob LaZebnik told the New York Post. “Instead, just have it be a big embrace — like everyone knows it.”

LaZebnik’s son Johnny came out while still in high school. “I am a Midwestern guy, so I don’t tend to wear my emotions on my sleeve, but I thought, ‘What better way to tell my son I love him than to write a cartoon about it?'” LaZebnik said, adding that he originally pitched Smithers’ coming out storyline to producers three seasons ago…”

 http://www.rollingstone.com/tv/news/simpsons-character-smithers-to-come-out-as-gay-in-new-episode-20160402

“New Mutants: It’s The Perfect Time For This X-Men Spinoff”

“This week we got another major update for the X-Men movie universe with news that Gambit starring Channing Tatum would finally enter productionthis fall with director Doug Liman still attached to direct. With Gambitseemingly back on track, Deadpool 2 confirmed, and new release datesalready set for unannounced X-Men movies, studio Twentieth Century Fox is quickly adjusting and planning out their key superhero tentpoles.

Much has changed over the last year for Fox’s plans with rewrites and director-dropouts on Gambit, Hugh Jackman’s announcement that he’s only doing one more Wolverine movie, the success of Deadpool, and the failure of Fantastic Four. And as a result, new properties are being explored including that of a film based on the New Mutants.

New Mutants ran as an ongoing series throughout the ’80s until it transformed into Rob Liefeld’s (creator of Deadpool) mega popular X-Force in 1991, and a movie based on the property was namedropped by X-Men franchise producer Lauren Shuler Donner in 2009. Now that Fox is banking heavily on their Marvel licenses with comic book movie dominating Hollywood, last summer the studio officially announced the project with Josh Boone (The Fault In Our Stars) set to direct and co-writing the script with Knate Gwaltney (of Jackass fame).

“Josh Boone and his writing partner are working on the script. They’re doing a really nice job of it, and it’s a really cool one, because in many ways, like Deadpool was so different from the mainline X-Men movies, New Mutants… It’s maybe not as different as Deadpool, but it has its own unique, original voice to it.”

“That’s the fun for me, working in the X-Men universe, creating these sort of standalone movies that have a different vibe to them. And New Mutants has more of a YA [Young Adult] vibe to it.”

For fans of the films the bigger question might then be about which characters will be on the team’s roster.

“There’s a very deep bench. There’s a long, long list of names, and I’ll tell you some of the names on that list I don’t even know. That’s how deep it goes…”

http://screenrant.com/new-mutants-characters/

“FX’S X-Men-Based “Legion” Adds Amber Midthunder to Cast”

“Deadline has learned that FX’s “Legion” pilot has added one more name to its cast: Amber Midthunder. Deadline describes Midthunder’s character, whose name is Kerry, as “a woman of action with a childlike sense of wonder. A true savant, Kerry has lived a sheltered, but never dull life.”

The pilot comes from “Fargo” showrunner Noah Hawley and will star “Downton Abbey’s” Dan Stevens as David Haller, the son of Charles Xavier and a man with mental illness and haunted by voices in his head.

“Legion” will also star Aubrey Plaza, Jean Smart, Jeremie Harris and Rachel Keller.

“Like the rest of the previously announced characters, Midthunder’s Kerry does not appear to have been based on any character from the X-Men comics. “Legion” is in development at cable network FX, with Hawley on board as a producer.

“Since he was a teenager, David has struggled with mental illness. Diagnosed as schizophrenic, David has been in and out of psychiatric hospitals for years. But after a strange encounter with a fellow patient, he’s confronted with the possibility that the voices he hears and the visions he sees might be real.”

http://www.comicbookresources.com/article/fxs-x-men-based-legion-adds-amber-midthunder-cast

“‘X-Men: Apocalypse’ Set Pic Teases Storm’s Origins”

“X-Men: Apocalypse isn’t just reintroducing fan-favorite characters like Storm and Cyclops; if a new behind-the-scenes photo shared by director Bryan Singer is anything to go by, it’s also bringing along some of those characters’ comic book mythology — and maybe a little more.

An image posted on Instagram Tuesday by Singer showed the director in a set surrounded by rubble with the caption, “Tip toeing through ruined #Cairo #1983.” While the date is a misnomer for those looking for comic book meaning — X-Men: Apocalypse takes place in the 1980s, making that a contemporary reference, rather than a historic one — the inclusion of Cairo is something likely to make fans of Storm very excited.

In Marvel’s Uncanny X-Men comic book series, that city was established as the place where Storm was first discovered by Professor Xavier, when she was living as a street thief, some years before she became a member of the X-Men. It’s also the city that she returns to on more than one occasion while on hiatus from the team; in many ways, it’s her home away from home — somewhat unusually for a character born in the U.S. to American and Kenyan parents.

As part of that comic book tale, another important part of X-Men mythology is introduced: the Shadow King, a telepath as powerful as Xavier who would go on to become a major recurring villain for the team some years later. While it’s likely that Oscar Isaac’s Apocalypse is the villain responsible for the rubble Singer is walking through in the picture, what are the possibilities that the director could visit Cairo and not drop in a tease of the Shadow King for a future movie … ?

https://www.yahoo.com/movies/s/x-men-apocalypse-set-pic-teases-storms-origins-001537136.html

“Olivia Munn Elaborates On Psylocke’s Psy-Blade & History In X-Men: Apocalypse”

“During an X-Men: Apocalypse set visit, Olivia Munn (Ride Along 2, Mortdecai) discussed Psylocke’s costume, personality, psionic blade and which of her mutant powers we won’t see in the film.

When Munn saw concept art of the costume she’d be wearing in the film, she told herself that she needed to work out more because it was so form-fitting and she wanted the color changed to match her comic book counterpart,” Munn told JoBlo. “I think my first thought was it has to be purple, because we were going up against time and making it. It was black at first…The latex is in black and all the armor is in black and it’s just easier, but I was like, ‘You got to make it purple.’ That was kind of my first thought when I saw myself in the costume.”

Psylocke is telepathic and telekinetic, but in the film you won’t see her utilizing her telepathic abilities. “In the movie, we see her being a telekinetic,” Munn shared. “We don’t see her being telepathic. It’s a decision because this is the first time we’ve really been able to see the character of Psylocke and have her really, truly exist in the movie.”

During filming, we saw Munn honing her sword skills and she’ll need them as Psylocke will be switching between a real sword and her psionic blade…”

https://www.yahoo.com/movies/olivia-munn-elaborates-psylockes-psy-205609911.html

“Gillian Anderson: I Was Offered Half Duchovny’s Pay for ‘The X-Files’ Revival”

““I don’t knoooow if I handled it gracefully,” she says between self-deprecating laughter (her infectiously goofy laugh has its own special place in X-Files history as a notorious instigator of crew-wide giggle fits). “I just remember yelling at people a few times, which I don’t normally do. It was pretty stressful back then. The pressure was humongous for the show. It wasn’t popular yet, it was costing a lot of money, we were shooting ridiculous hours. Twenty-four episodes [a season] and there was barely enough time to change clothes before having to get back to set to say another six paragraphs of medical jargon. It was a lot.”

By the show’s fourth season, however, Anderson had struck gold, taking home both an Emmy and a Golden Globe for her work as the breathtakingly brilliant scientist. Scully had become a shoulder-padded feminist icon at a time when few women like her were lead characters on TV. She was fearless, complex, and minced words for no one. Her story arcs carried weight equal to Mulder’s. And, despite her petite size, Scully was never intimidated by men.

But while Scully asserted her authority at every turn, Anderson found herself fighting just to stand on (literal) equal ground with her male co-star. The studio initially required Anderson to stand a few feet behind her male partner on camera, careful never to step side-by-side with him. And it took three years before Anderson finally closed the wage gap between her pay and Duchovny’s, having become fed up with accepting less than “equal pay for equal work.”

“I can only imagine that at the beginning, they wanted me to be the sidekick,” Anderson says of Fox’s curious no-equal-footing rule. “Or that, somehow, maybe it was enough of a change just to see a woman having this kind of intellectual repartee with a man on camera, and surely the audience couldn’t deal with actually seeing them walk side by side!”

She laughs again, this time at the absurdity of the notion of Dana Scully as anyone’s mere sidekick. “I have such a knee-jerk reaction to that stuff, a very short tolerance for that shit,” she says acidly. “I don’t know how long it lasted or if it changed because I eventually said, ‘Fuck no! No!’ I don’t remember somebody saying, ‘OK, now you get to walk alongside him.’ But I imagine it had more to do with my intolerance and spunk than it being an allowance that was made…”

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/01/22/gillian-anderson-i-was-offered-half-duchovny-s-pay-for-the-x-files-revival.html