Contending at the Water Cooler

Clarence Moye, Megan McLachlan, Joey Moser

A weekly look at the entertainment landscape from The Contending.

  1. FEB 3

    Sending Up a Flare: The Water Cooler Survives ‘Send Help’ [VIDEO]

    The Water Cooler spends some time deserted with Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien for Sam Raimi’s ‘Send Help.’ Help! Clarence is deserted on a remote island–someone save him! Or, perhaps, Megan and Joey are talking about Sam Raimi’s Send Help and he’s a little under the weather. Even an S.O.S. can be dramatic. If you follow Megan on any social platform, you will notice how much she loves Raimi’s latest, which finds Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien butting heads and slaughtering boars after their plane crashes on a business trip to Bangkok. McAdams’ Linda has the survival skills, but O’Brien’s Bradley thinks he’s still in control. How does Raimi fare when giving this workplace hierarchy dark comedy his trademark bloody twists? A few new trailers dropped this week, and Joey and Megan give their instant reactions to The Devil Wears Prada 2 and Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette. Is the lighting that bad for Miranda Priestly’s return? Will the Ryan Murphy produced limited series be more in line with the quality of The People vs. OJ Simpson? We’re deeply appreciative for your shares, likes, and positive ratings on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Click here to listen to our audio podcast. Our video podcast follows below.     Podcast Music: Royalty Free Music from Tunetank.com Track: Here We Go! by cinematic alex https://tunetank.com/track/802-here-we-go/ The post Sending Up a Flare: The Water Cooler Survives ‘Send Help’ [VIDEO] appeared first on The Contending.

    59 min
  2. JAN 31

    The Great Catherine O’Hara At the Peak of ‘Schitt’s Creek’ [PODCAST]

    The Contending’s Clarence Moye returns to his original interview with the great Catherine O’Hara, gone too soon at 71. We were not ready to say “Goodbye” to Catherine O’Hara today. When a friend send the news that she’d passed, it felt like a punch to the gut. I mourned not only the great comedic performances she’d given — Best In Show, Waiting For Guffman, Beetlejuice, and her Emmy-winning work in Schitt’s Creek — but I also mourned the great performances she’d yet to give. No matter her age, O’Hara always seemed down to play, and I always imagined her bringing that same inspired lunacy straight into her 90s. But the universe had different plans for her. In 2017, I had the great fortune of speaking with Catherine O’Hara when I wrote for Awards Daily. It would emerge as one of my very favorite interviews. She was kind, she was generous, and she was very, very funny as she dove into the process of Schitt’s Creek and Moira Rose. We talked just as the comedy hit Netflix and exploded into pop culture. She and the rest of the main cast would eventually go on to win well deserved Emmys for their work. Here, in this podcast interview, O’Hara and I chat about her work on the series and her partnership with Eugene and Dan Levy. Listening to the podcast again today, I’m struck by how, at times, I wished I’d asked different questions. I wished I’d broadened our conversation to compare Moira to the great roles of her career. I wished I’d gushed a little less. Yet, she remained friendly, open, and ever in praise of the collaborative process that gave us Schitt’s Creek. So, join me in remembering this great actress: her brilliance, her razor-sharp humor, and her life. And in the words of Annie Murphy’s Alexis Rose: “Goodbye to a great actress. ”   Click here for my full podcast interview with the brilliant Catherine O’Hara or via Apple Podcasts or Spotify.   Royalty Free Music from Tunetank.com Track: Here We Go! by cinematic alex https://tunetank.com/track/802-here-we-go/    The post The Great Catherine O’Hara At the Peak of ‘Schitt’s Creek’ [PODCAST] appeared first on The Contending.

  3. JAN 13

    ‘The Copenhagen Test:’ Saul Rubinek On What Led Him To Peacock’s Acclaimed Thriller

    The Copenhagen Test co-star Saul Rubinek talks about three recent major projects, including Peacock’s acclaimed thriller. Seasoned character actor Saul Rubinek’s incredibly diverse resume boasts collaborations with some of cinema’s greatest filmmakers. He worked with Oliver Stone on Wall Street and Nixon. He co-starred in Clint Eastwood’s Oscar-winning masterpiece Unforgiven. He was also featured in Tony Scott’s True Romance, based on a screenplay by Quentin Tarantino. His career also boasts memorable turns on such long-standing television series as Frasier, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Lost, Hunters, and most recently Peacock’s The Copenhagen Test. Created by Thomas Brandon, The Copenhagen Test stars Simu Liu (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) and Melissa Barrera (Scream). Liu plays Alexander Hale, an intelligence agent whose brain is hacked which allows access to everything he sees and hears. Rubinek’s Victor Simonek, a former intelligence analyst who now runs a restaurant, mentors Alexander, but is there more to their partnership? Rubinek joined the series thanks to a lifetime of adoration for the spy thriller novels of Ian Fleming or, later, John le Carré. Rubinek considers showrunner Brandon’s work a descendant of the storytelling-focused spy novels he loved. “This piece, when I read it, I realized, ‘Oh my god, this is a grandchild of that world!’ This writer knows it and is not talking down to the audience. It is complex, interesting, and propulsive,” Rubinek explained. “The real metaphor here that Thomas Brandon is using is creating a situation that poetically, entertainingly, and very excitingly creates a situation where the ends and the means are put right up against each other. Especially on an immigrant kid who needs maybe more than anybody else to prove his loyalty to the country that has stopped giving his parents safety.” Here, in a podcast interview with The Contending, Saul Rubinek talks about much from his extensive career within theater, film, and television. He praises The Copenhagen Test show runners Thomas Brandon and Jennifer Yale for their ability to create an atmosphere of safety. He marvels at their ability to create a set that sponsored artistic freedom and risk-taking. He also calls series star Liu a “generous leader” who deeply understands the mutual support system between star and supporting cast required to create something great. Rubinek also shares several stories from his personal life, many of which he describes in his new book All in the Telling: a somewhat true story, which is now available on Amazon. He dives into his incredible past, including his introduction into theater in his Canadian childhood. He also shares perspectives on his recent critically acclaimed performance as “Saul Rubinek” (or a variation of himself) in the recent off-Broadway play Playing Shylock. Rubinek will soon re-stage this performance in Montreal. Rubinek is a gifted character actor whose performances grace many of film and television’s best creations. But, most importantly, Rubinek is a gifted storyteller with a great deal to share. Click here to listen to the full podcast with The Copenhagen Test co-star Saul Rubinek! The Copenhagen Test streams exclusively on Peacock.    Podcast Music: Royalty Free Music from Tunetank.com Track: Here We Go! by cinematic alex https://tunetank.com/track/802-here-we-go/ The post ‘The Copenhagen Test:’ Saul Rubinek On What Led Him To Peacock’s Acclaimed Thriller appeared first on The Contending.

Ratings & Reviews

4
out of 5
4 Ratings

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A weekly look at the entertainment landscape from The Contending.

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