Page 2 - 2016TVTimes April 17

2 April 17 - 23, 2016
El Dorado News-Times
By Jacqueline Spendlove
TV Media
If “Game of Thrones” has taught us anything, it’s that some stories just can’t be told in two hours, so don’t even tryit.Thesedays,TVisthemediumyou turn to if you want to do a book justice in its translation to screen.
and espionage as he’s tasked with infil- trating the inner circle of international arms dealer Richard Roper, played by Golden Globe winner Hugh Laurie.
Hollander, “Rev.”), Roper’s right-hand man and “fixer.” He’s fiercely loyal to Roper and doesn’t trust Pine in the slightest, and his determination to expose the spy as a fraud proves a con- stant challenge for the protagonist.
blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo role. Additionally, his son, Simon Cornwell, is one of the show’s executive produc- ers. So if nothing else, the material is in good hands.
Indeed, the show has been ex- tremelywellreceived,withThe Huffington Post and others calling it “James Bond for the small screen.” It might just mean even bigger things for Hiddleston’s future as well, with the actor’s name being bandied about as apotentialtoplaythenext007onthe big screen.
In the meantime, however, love for “The Night Manager” has been strong
enough to warrant murmurings of a potential second season. Nothing’s confirmed, but le Carré is reportedly involved in discussions to that effect with the BBC, as a second season would require him to write new mate- rialthatwouldallowtheseriestoex- tend beyond the scope of his original work.
For now, though, it remains to be seen whether the series will enjoy the same success with North American audiencesasithasacrossthepond. Tune in when “The Night Manager” makes its U.S. debut Tuesday, April 19, on AMC.
By the book
John le Carré’s best-selling spy novel comes to AMC
English actor Laurie has had a long
and often comedic career in film and
television,butAmericanaudiences Moralambiguityplaysabigpartin
may best recognize him as the curmud- geonly and acerbic Dr. Gregory House in “House.” He dons his not-such-a-nice- guy hat again as Roper, who’s described as “the worst man in the world,” despitehischarm,philanthropyand good breeding. His one weakness is his son, and in saving the boy’s life, Pine earns Roper’s trust and a place in the home Roper currently shares with his willowy lover, Jed Marshall (Elizabeth
the story, as Pine must essentially be- come a criminal himself in order to get the job done.
Two big-screen attempts at John
le Carré’s “The Night Manager” have
failed to get off the ground, but the new
six-partTVminiserieshasbeenahuge
hit across the pond. By all accounts, the
British espionage drama, adapted from
the 1993 novel, is more than deserving
of the longer format needed to flesh
out its story and characters. Now, North
American audiences can get a taste of
the juicy spy series. “The Night Man-
ager”issettodebutTuesday,April19, There’salotPine hisownchestandwherePine
Debicki, “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.,” 2015).
“Because Roper gives his monstros- ity and the evil things he does a kind oflogic,aglamor,therearemoments when Pine teeters on the brink of the dark side, when you wonder which way he will go,” Laurie told Stuff. “The audi- ence has to judge for themselves where Pine and Roper come close to crossing the line in opposite directions — where Roper might plunge the dagger into
has to contend with as he feigns his way into the
might become the very thing he set out to destroy.”
Laurie knows what he’s 10millionviewers,andhasreceived criminalunder- talkingabout.Alongtime
on AMC.
Airing on BBC One in the U.K., the se-
ries premiered in February to more than
heaps of praise in reviews. Le Carré’s best-selling novel — his first post-Cold War work —
has been updated with a present-day setting and
boasts a fantastic cast, most of whom you’ll probably recognize.
Tom Hiddleston, best known for playing Loki in the Thor and Aveng-
ers movies, leads
the cast of “The
Night Manager”
as former British soldier Jonathan
Pine. Following service in Iraq, Pine retreated into a soli- tary life as a nighttime hotel manager, but everything changes when he’s approached by Angela Burr (Ol- ivia Colman, “Broad- church”), who runs a London enforcement agency. Pine soon finds himself drawn into a world of crime
Tom Hiddleston and Elizabeth Debicki as seen in “The Night Manager”
world, not the least of which is Maj. Lance Corkoran (Tom
admirer of le Carré, he’s been a huge fan of the book
for more than 20 years, and has long desired to be
involved in bringing the story to the screen.
Of course, in this type of project, there’s always the
risk that diehard fans of the book
will decry any devia- tions from the source material, but showrun-
ners have handled these inevitable changes well.
“We did depart from the novel in some ways,” direc- tor Susanne Bier told Radio Times, “but we assured David Cornwell [le Carré’s real name]
that these changes would be viable and would still follow his
important goal — to hold true to the sub- stance of the original
story.”
For his part, the
author has had a solid involvement with the project — besides a
cover story
video releases
The Revenant
When a group of Arikara Native Americans attacks a crew of fur trap- pers in the American frontier, Capt. Henry (Gleeson) orders the survivors to retreat down river in their boat. Their guide, an experienced outdoors- man named Hugh Glass (DiCaprio), recommends that they abandon the boat and set out for their fort on foot to try to evade another attack. But when he’s mauled by a massive bear, Glass hovers on the edge of death, and fellow trapper John Fitzgerald (Hardy) argues for ending his life and moving on without him, something that Henry refuses to do.With the Arikara convinced that the trappers have kidnapped the chief’s daughter, Henry ultimately relents, leaving Glass and Fitzgerald, and setting off a chain of events that will almost certainly end in death.
Director:Alejandro González Iñárritu. Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Domhnall Gleeson. 2015. 156 min. Adventure.
Norm of the North
When humans start moving into
the Arctic, all of the animals begin
to panic. One polar bear, Norm (Schneider), travels to New York City with his three lemming pals to try
to reclaim his homeland from the corporation taking over. The big busi- ness loves him, though, and he soon becomes their mascot. Norm loves his newfound fame, but after learn- ing the company is spearheading the displacement of his friends, he must decide between the big city and his home.
Director: Trevor Wall. Stars: Rob Sch- neider, Ken Jeong, Bill Nighy. 2016. 90 min. Animation.
Leonardo DiCaprio stars in “The Revenant”