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‘Villains’ Review: Maika Monroe And Bill Skarsgård Propel Stylized Thriller

Combining outlandish comedy humor and thriller elements can often make for an uneven blend, but “Villains” succeeds thanks to winning performances and inspired direction from Dan Berk and Robert Olsen. It all starts off with a dream of Florida . . .

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‘It Chapter Two’ Review: Stephen King’s Horror Tale Sinks With Silly Execution

Does the second half of Stephen King’s sprawling, epic horror story live up to the promise of 2017’s It? Would it sink or float? After all, “they all float down here,” right? Unfortunately, It Chapter 2 is an overlong, bloated, messy, loud, often silly movie. 

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Bill Skarsgård On Overcoming ‘It’ Fear With Pennywise Performance

It - Warner Bros. Pictures

 

Bill Skarsgård plays Pennywise in the highly anticipated feature It, and one of the joys of playing this iconic Stephen King character is that “there is no limits to this character.” With a ton of room to work with, Skarsgård admits that he had a bit of “fear” in taking on the role.

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‘Hemlock Grove’ Producer Eli Roth On Humor’s Effect on Storytelling

Hemlock Grove

Shows like Hemlock Grove, House of Cards, and Orange is the New Black is proof that Netflix is a creative powerhouse in the television medium. Streaming is gradually taking dominance over the tried and true remote control, as tablet users can touch, tap and binge watch their way through some of their favorite programs.

“Netflix is such a hot network,” says Roth, whose next film The Green Inferno comes out September 14. “They have been so wonderful. They are the place to be right now…it’s amazing how a year ago people didn’t really understand the concept of a show on Netflix but now everybody wants to get a show on there because it’s the place where you can have the most creative freedom and you can make the most cinematic television series.”

Click on the audio below to hear Roth and Famke Janssen offer up their thoughts on Netflix.

Bill Skarsgard in "Hemlock Grove" Season 2 - (Netflix, CR: Steve Wilkie)
Bill Skarsgard in “Hemlock Grove” Season 2 – (Netflix, CR: Steve Wilkie)

One of the strongest aspects of Eli Roth’s storytelling (Hostel, Cabin Fever) is his ability to mix humor amidst the horror, gore, and suspense that dominate his films (and Hemlock Grove). I asked him if there was a secret to balancing these different tones in his work, and he referenced filmmakers David Lynch (Twin Peaks, Eraserhead) and Stanley Kubrick in his answer.

Click on the media bar below to hear Eli Roth explain why humor, whether it’s found in Twin Peaks or Hemlock Grove, is an important aspect to a strong narrative.

Season 2 of Hemlock Grove, which co-stars Dougray Scott, Bill Skarsgard and Landon Liboiron,is now available for streaming on Netflix.
 

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Hemlock Grove’s Bill Skarsgard Follows Roman Into The Dark

Season two of Hemlock Grove is now available on Netflix, as the complex (and currently contentious) relationship between Roman (Bill Skarsgard) and Peter (Landon Liboiron) continues. The first episode has Peter asking Roman for $20,000 to hire an attorney for his currently in jail mother (The Conjuring’s Lili Taylor), but Peter’s request is rebuffed.

As Roman’s thirst for blood continues to grow, his moral compass will continually be challenged. Eating blood sucking leeches can only go so far, and his decision to bite into a few humans is simply an inevitability.

Landon Liboiron & Bill Skarsgard in Hemlock Grove (Netflix, CR: Brian Bowen Smith)

During the interviews, I asked Skarsgard if playing such an intense and emotionally distant character is an all consuming job. “You do carry it with you throughout the entire shoot,” said the actor. “When it was over, it was overwhelming for me. When we wrapped the season, I couldn’t really handle it. I started weeping – it was just one of those cleansing feelings to have a character that’s so intense and also protect that character all the time and vouch for him and understand him. When you do that for five or six months, you don’t have to think about that character anymore.”

Click on the media bar to hear Skarsgard talk about the acting process for Hemlock Grove, after which Landon Liboiron chimes in and brings levity to the occasion with an Inside the Actors Studio reference: