Low Winter Sun: AMC Brings a British Crime Drama to Detroit

AMC’s newest drama series, Low Winter Sun is about a cop, Frank Agnew (played by Mark Strong) who commits a crime with his colleague, Joe (Lennie James) – only for the two to then be tasked with investigating that crime, in the process attempting to make sure no one finds out they are in fact the criminals being hunted.

Low Winter Sun is a remake of a British miniseries that starred… Mark Strong. Making this a rare circumstance of an actor reprising his role in a remake, complete with a location and accent change (the original was set in Edinburgh, the remake in Detroit).

Speaking about the unusual situation today at the TCA (Television Critics Association) press tour, Strong remarked, “You don’t get that opportunity as an actor. To resurrect him 8 years later and move him from Edinburgh to Detroit was too fascinating.” That being said, given the different locations, “the cop culture is very different," adding, “Frank, he now belongs to Detroit!” Strong has a busy film career, but said ultimately, “I just couldn’t let anyone else play my part! It’s as simple as that. I’d created the guy and I wanted to take him further."

The two British actors were asked about their experiences shooting in Detroit. Strong said he was struck by people’s perceptions of the city, and being warned, “It’s an awful place and there’s nothing there for you.” But Strong said he found, “The opposite is true. It has everything!” Strong said he had discovered that Detroit had “Mansions and apocalyptic wastelands and everything in-between,” adding, “The more people told me it’s a place I didn’t want to be, the more intrigued I was” and that he felt Detroit was “a fantastic backdrop for the show.”

James said Detroit was “a little nuts. It’s the most dangerous, most exciting, most fascinating, most interesting first world city I’ve been in in my life.” He noted that on the show “ We might start with the grim and the dark, but we go to all the different areas of Detroit.”

The original Low Winter Sun was only three hours long, but the US version’s first season will be ten hours. Strong noted that executive producer Chris Mundy has created a whole new group of characters and that the first three hours interweaves elements from the original and these new additions – “and then we’re off into new territories.” Mundy said that this excited him, because once they used the original as a starting point, “It could be whatever we wanted it to be” moving forward.

This is the third AMC project in recent years Lennie James has been involved in, after The Prisoner and The Walking Dead. James said he likes how AMC approaches a simple story in a new way. He noted that in Low Winter Sun, “This isn’t a whodunit, because in the first five minutes, we know who done it. We’re not trying to solve a case, we’re trying to un-solve it.”

Asked if the way Season 1 ends allows for a Season 2, Mundy replied, with a laugh, "There sure as hell better be! Yes, there absolutely is! But it was vey important for me and the writers that this season ends.” He said there would be hints at where Season 2 could go, but stressed, “No relationship will be the same going forward.” He added that the approach was, “This is our album and next year we’ll work on our difficult second album.”

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The Breaking Bad Team Says Good-Bye

Following his trip through the floors of Comic-Con disguised in a Walter White mask, Bryan Cranston and the Breaking Bad team took the stage at this summer's TCA (Television Critics Association) press tour.

Creator/Executive producer Vince Gilligan was joined by Cranston, Aaron Paul (Jesse), Anna Gunn (Skyler), Betsy Brandt (Marie), RJ Mitte (Walt Jr.) and Bob Odenkirk (Saul) to talk about saying good-bye to this beloved, critically acclaimed and - in some ways - historic series. Dead Norris (Hank) is currently shooting Under the Dome and scheduling conflicts likely made it impossible for him to attend the event.

The panel opened with a trailer that recapped the events of the series over the past five seasons, reminding us of the tremendous journey that Walter White, his family, and what has become his partner in crime and "son," Jesse have taken.

Changes in the Characters:

Jesse was famously meant to die at the conclusion of Season 1, but when asked if there was another character who has changed or evolved in a different way than he had initially envisioned, Gilligan said that of course all of the actors have added depth and breadth and complexity to their characters, but called out Dean Norris as a example of a change he had not foreseen.

"Logistically Hank served a limited function initially...He was everything Walter White was not, he even seemed to be loved by Walt's own son Walt Jr. more than Walt himself in that first episode. He was a bit of a mechanical construct, but you get to know Dean and he is man who is complex, who is much more than a "hail fellow well met." You can talk to him about literature, poetry - he went to Harvard. He is an interesting and deep fellow and by knowing him, it enriched my ability to write him."

"TV is a rich, organic, living, thing," said Gilligan, and essentially, if you let the people in front and behind the cameras shine, wonderful things will happen.

The End:

Gilligan was asked if he'd had a different end in mind initially, and if so what it was. "'I'm not being factitious," he responded, "I can't remember what the original intention was for Walt. I knew that we were going to take Mr.Chips and turn him into Scarface, but that leaves a lot of wiggle room. I couldn't see that far ahead, I couldn't see the forest for the tress."

"It was in broad strokes the idea of taking serialized TV and changing the character, and that hadn't been done," Cranston added. "I was aghast by that. I wanted the role, I really, really wanted the role. Coming in it was easier, when we read good scripts it lights-up the imagination. But we never discussed where it was going to end up and as it went on I never asked. The twists and turns of my character were so sharp that it wouldn't help me to know. I took the ride with the audience. And that remained till the end, about five or six days before we shot Aaron and I read the last script together, and that will be a part of a documentary on the show."

Said documentary was done by Stu Richardson, who Paul calls "British Stu," who was hired by Sony to shoot BTS supplemental material for the shows Blu-rays. For the "big ultimate end it all box set he has really outdone himself a two-hour documentary about the show, which is going to be available on Blu-ray and DVD," Gilligan said. The doc will apparently feature material beginning with the show's inception and leading all the way through to the bittersweet end.

Is This Mr. Chips?

One journalist contended that White was never really Mr. Chips and was actually, in part, always a Scarface in the making.

"It's probably not the most accurate way to describe him," Gilligan said. "Mr. Chips was much more beloved. I think he was a good teacher. He, when we saw him initially, seemed to be using visual aids, was enthusiastic and trying to impart enthusiasm, but unfortunately he was not connecting with his students. Part of that early on may have been me ladling on reasons to sympathize with him. If I was doing it now I might hit that a little less hard - that the students weren't paying attention to him. I was talking earlier and there is a good argument in the question of whether or not Walt's road to hell changed him or revealed things that were already in him. I now subscribe to latter part of that argument. It's like does stardom turn people into a creep or reveal who they really are?"

Cranston, for his part, felt that Walter White was a great teacher. "I embraced moments he could show his teaching acumen. That was his true passion besides his family. The only thing he excelled at, but there comes a time in a teacher's life that the overwhelming impact of apathy that faces them beats them down. That's where we met him. He could have been Mr. Chips twenty-years ago but now not. His emotions were calloused over by the depression, and the news of his illness allowed a volcano of emotions to erupt. When he did he wasn't prepared - and the emotions just spewed everywhere - and it got messy."

Sympathy for the Devil

One big question that came up at this panel, as it did at Comic-Con, is why the audience seems to have so much sympathy for Jesse and so little for Skyler - when really they are both complacent in Walter's crimes.

"I find it odd," Paul said. "Jesse is a drug dealer, and murderer, but for some reason you care for him and want to protect him. With Skyler, when I watch I feel for her so much, she just wants to protect family. But I guess you're rooting for bad guy, so she becomes bad guy."

"We talked about it early on because were confused about it," Gunn added. "My feeling was that people got so behind Walt and they really sided with him, so the person who stood in the way became the bad guy. Most consistently that was Skyler - Gus came in and out and other characters came in and out - but she was the one who consistently said, 'You cant just do these things and not have consequences.' She became a villain to those who were rooting for him. And also, by design, you couldn't know as much about her as you knew about Walt. If you were to sympathize with her instead of Walt it would have thrown off the balance in the show."

Is There Good Left In Them?

One of the questions the show asks is how much good or bad is in these people, "With Jesse, how the season ended he's just emptied out," Paul said. "He just wants out of the business, he wants to stay away from Walt. Walt's true colors were revealed and he's terrified of this man and wants nothing to do with him. So, he just wants to try and stay out."

"Walt has a large resevoir of good," Cranston joked. "And he speads his joy liberally in the final 8 episodes. I think the fans will be satisfied with the ending where we hug it out." In all serisousness, he said, "In looking into this character I belive everyone is capable of good or bad. All humans are given a spectrum of emotions - the best of you can come out or the worst - given the right set of circumstances any one of us can become dangerous."

In The Writer's Room:

Gilligan does not Google Breaking Bad, and he makes this choice out of a sense of self-protection. "I found that the best way forward, and what held us in good stead, was to keep writers room as a sequestered jury room. We would sit around telling a story to ourselves. I was nervous coming to an end to this thing - how do you satisfy everyone? But I found that the more you listen to people, the more fractured your thinking becomes. We had to satisfy ourselves and I'm proud of the ending and I can't wait for everyone to see it. I hope I am not wrong to think most folks will dig the ending."

Saul Spin-Off:

On the oft-discussed Saul Goodman spin-off, Gilligan said, "It is my fervent wish that there will be a Saul Goodman spin-off. I'm not speaking for any company when I say I really hope it happens. It's for powers bigger than me to see if it can come to fruition."

"I love everything that Vince just said," Odenkirk said. "I'd love to do it do it in a second because if Vince wrote it it's going to be awesome. But also, the spin-off is having been on this show and everything good that has come from me being a part of it."

Backstory:

The panel was asked to provide a piece of backstory for their characters that had not been revealed in the show. Here are a couple of the highlights:

-- Odenkirkk said, "I think Saul's from Chicago. People from Chicago love to go to Southwest to escape the weather and they also perceive the people west of Chicago as being easy to manipulate.

-- Mitte used some of his own experience growing-up with cerebral palsy.

-- Brandt said that she thought about how Marie and Hank really wanted to have kids and they couldn't. "I would think about it every time I had a scene with Walt and Skyler's kids," the actress recalls. She would also talk to Gunn about what they assumed was a fractured childhood.

-- Gunn added that she also didn't believe that Marie and Skyler had a happy childhood. "They are like war buddies. I think Skyler had to be the mother figure, so my feeling about that was that Skyler learned to take care of things and deal with problems and put head down and get through things. She learned at young age at home."

-- Paul said that for Jesse, the character was revealed more and more as the show went on. But he was on a constant search for guidance even though he didn't want to admit it, like a father figure, and he found that in Walt. Because his parents gave up on his years ago. That also inspired his desire to want to protect kids. He wants to protect them because he didn't get that from his parents.

-- Cranston joked that it all turned for Walt on July, 4 1978 when he entered a Nathans hot-dog eating competition, where he ate 38 hot-dogs and considered becoming a professional eater versus a chemist.

The second half of Season 5 of Breaking Bad premieres on Sunday, August 11 at 9PM.

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Ben Foster in Talks to Play Lance Armstrong

Lance Armstrong's life story was built for a biopic even before his doping scandal and fall from grace -- are we sure there hasn't been a Lifetime movie done about him already? -- but now it only figures that there are four such films planned.

Stephen Frears (The Queen) is making one of those films, and X-Men's Angel, Ben Foster, is now in final talks to play Armstrong. The film will probably start production in the fall.

Elsewhere, Sony Pictures Classics will release the documentary The Armstrong Lie, while Warner Bros. has an untitled project from Side Effects scripter Scott Z. Burns and director Jay Roach (Game Change). That film, according to Deadline, involves "the life rights of Tyler Hamilton, the Olympic gold medalist, NCAA champion and Armstrong teammate on the US Postal Service Team who was menaced by Armstrong after he took to 60 Minutes to break the code of silence."

And not to be outdone, Paramount and Bad Robot's J.J. Abrams and Bryan Burk also have a film in the works about Armstrong based on the book "Cycle of Lies: The Fall of Lance Armstrong." (That's the one that Bradley Cooper was rumored to be involved with earlier this year.) It's like the Volcano/Dante's Peak of disgraced athletes!

Talk to Senior Editor Scott Collura on Twitter at @ScottIGN, on IGN at scottcollura and on Facebook.

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The Return of the Rising Sun

Japan, despite housing a game development industry that single-handedly reinvigorated console gaming with the introduction of the NES and then blasted it into the mainstream with the original PlayStation, has fallen on hard times. While many of the developers responsible for some of the franchises that define gaming – including Mario, Zelda, Sonic the Hedgehog, Final Fantasy, Devil May Cry, Castlevania, Street Fighter, and Metal Gear Solid – are Japanese, it’s difficult to deny that the HD era has proven to be an agonizingly difficult transition for the Land of the Rising Sun.

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The reasons for the shift from consoles to portables are varied and diverse...

During the last several years, we saw a large number of Japanese developers quickly return to the relative safety of the tablet, smartphone, and dedicated handheld markets after dabbling in HD development, and we saw the output of other developers – like Sony’s Team ICO – dry up completely as they struggled for years with crafting tools to adequately and efficiently handle the creation of HD content. The reasons for the shift from consoles to portables are varied and diverse – ranging from inadequate staffing and the resistance to licensing existing middleware tools, to the top-down, creator-focused team structure that tends to be more common overseas – but the results were the same: an entire generation of gaming built around safe, marketable AAA Western franchises on consoles with many smaller Japanese games being forcefully pushed to the side.

Fortunately, if the current crop of software is any indication, Japan is looking to come back to the West in a big way. The country once responsible for crafting experiences to keep console gaming fresh and new might just be able to pull it off one more time.

Potent Portables

It wasn’t always this way. While the introduction of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 created an opportunity for a wide variety of titles from Japan like Devil May Cry 4, Resident Evil 5, Lost Odyssey, Blue Dragon, Valkyria Chronicles, Star Ocean: The Last Hope, and Metal Gear Solid 4, many did not generate the economic splash that was necessary given the challenges of new technology and increased development costs. Because of this, many of Japan’s best-known development studios and publishers became notorious for spending the last few years firmly entrenched in the vibrant portable market overseas, developing titles that oftentimes failed to reach Western shores (including Final Fantasy: Type 0 and Monster Hunter Portable 3rd).

This matter was purely economic. The explosion of Japanese sales experienced by both the PSP and original DS – courtesy of major phenomena like Monster Hunter and Dragon Quest – kept plenty of companies raking in the yen without a need to expand beyond the reliable Japanese user base, and oftentimes localizing titles on platforms without a significant install base in the West was deemed too risky. Some franchises, such as the aforementioned Valkyria Chronicles, segued their sequels to PSP for sales reasons, much to the chagrin of Western fans, lessening (or, in some cases, even negating) these titles’ chances of localization for worldwide release.

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This matter was purely economic.

The dearth of third-party franchises on HD consoles over the past few years wasn't lost on gamers or developers on either side of the Pacific. Veteran developer Keiji Inafune has gone on record numerous times concerning the state of the Japanese gaming industry, and while he admits that Japanese developers are certainly becoming “aware of the problem”, he feels there is still a lot more progress to be made before his confidence in the market returns.

Fortunately, though, it’s not all bad news. If the games on display at recent industry events such as E3 are any indication, the trend is finally beginning to change. Starting later this summer and heading well into next year, North America and Europe will be flooded with a veritable tsunami of high-quality Japanese console titles spanning many genres, many of which are shaping up to be refreshing, alternative experiences to the typical AAA action blockbusters launching this fall.

Tales of Localizations

This year has been very, very good to fans of a certain neglected Namco Bandai franchise. Fans begged, pleaded, and clamored for the domestic releases of the series’ many titles following 2008’s Tales of Vesperia through social media and organized campaigns, but for years received nothing but radio silence from Namco Bandai in return. Following the support fans showed for the domestic release of Tales of Graces f last year and the surprising sales success of Ni no Kuni earlier this year, however, Namco moved forward with announcing localizations for not one, not two, but three different entries in the Tales franchise for the PS3.

“

This year has been very, very good to fans of a certain neglected Namco Bandai franchise.

First up for the West is the 15th Anniversary installment of the franchise, Tales of Xillia, which will be hitting North American shores on August 6th. With a slightly more mature look and story, a graphical upgrade, and a brand new battle system focusing on linking party members together for cooperative attacks, this Tale is shaping up to be one to remember. This will be followed in 2014 by its sequel, Tales of Xillia 2, and a bundled HD re-release of the fan-favorite Tales of Symphonia and psuedo-sequel Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World. With so many titles on the horizon, the next few months look to be busy ones indeed for Tales fans.

Fighting It Out

Fighting fans won’t be left out of the fun, either. The niche fighting series BlazBlue is also getting a brand new update in the form of BlazBlue: Chronophantasma, which sports seven new characters, a fresh set of stages, and loads of the character balancing and tweaking that developer Arc System Works is well-known for. While the game has been playable in Japanese arcades for some time, the home version will be landing on PS3 early next year with exclusive content not included in the original arcade release.

BlazBlue isn’t the only fighter getting an update over the next few months. At this month’s EVO 2013 World Finals tournament, Capcom stunned the crowd as it blew the lid off a brand new title in the Street Fighter series. The new title, christened Ultra Street Fighter IV, is scheduled to launch early next year on PS3, Xbox 360, and PC with five new characters, six new stages, multiple balancing tweaks for each character, and loads of new modes in tow. According to Matt Dahlgren and Peter “Combofiend” Rosas of Capcom, fan feedback was the major driving force behind the creation of this brand new entry in the Street Fighter saga. World warriors, be excited!

Reinventing the Classics

One of the companies hit hardest by the HD transition is none other than Final Fantasy publisher Square Enix. While the company did foresee difficulties with the added cost and complexity of HD development at the start of the generation – even licensing Unreal Engine 3 in an attempt to solve the problem – egregious English to Japanese translation errors in engine documentation and numerous support issues made the middleware transition exceptionally painful for the company. These difficulties motivated Square Enix to begin development on its own internal middleware tailored to its development pipeline: the White Engine.

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If it wasn’t for the acquisition of Eidos... [Square Enix] may not have survived at all.

Unfortunately, development of the White Engine was anything but smooth, churning through far more time and resources than originally anticipated. With development costs skyrocketing and few major game releases to boost the bottom line, the disastrous launch of the original half-baked Final Fantasy XIV MMO in 2010 was enough to bring the entire company to its knees. If it wasn’t for the acquisition of Eidos and the subsequent output of critically-acclaimed, Western-centric titles like Tomb Raider, Sleeping Dogs, and Deus Ex: Human Revolution, the Japanese gaming giant may not have survived at all.

Fortunately, this year seems to mark a major turnaround for the company’s internal studio output, beginning with the launch of a much-improved version of Final Fantasy XIV in August on PS3 and PC and continuing into the fall with the North American releases of both Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD Remix and Final Fantasy X|X2 HD Remaster on PS3 (with the latter also coming to Vita).

Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD Remix launched earlier this year in Japan to solid reviews. In addition to reworked and enhanced versions of Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix and Kingdom Hearts re: Chain of Memories, the collection is also set to include hours of new voiced dialogue retelling the story of 358/2 Days. While new information regarding release timing for Final Fantasy X|X2 HD Remaster has been difficult to come by, the collection will contain international content that will be available for the first time in North America.

The largest story coming out of Square Enix, though, is most certainly the announcement of Final Fantasy XV and Kingdom Hearts III for next-generation consoles, two eagerly-anticipated games we still know precious little about.

The Rest of the Bunch

Are you hungry for something a little goofier? Always a late-generation darling, NIS America has you covered. The company continues to support the PS3 with a barrage of uniquely charming (yet divisive) entries in the JRPG, strategy RPG, and roguelike genres. This year’s batch includes not only the recently released (and widely panned) JRPG Time and Eternity, but also a full-fledged sequel to the original Disgaea titled Disgaea D2: A Brighter Darkness and a brand new roguelike in the form of The Guided Fate Paradox. NIS is also bringing two Japanese Vita games -- DanganRonpa: Trigger Happy Havoc and Demon Gaze -- to the west in 2014.

SEGA also recently surprised Western fans of Japanese pop sensation Hatsune Miku with an announcement of a localized release for Hatsune Miku Project Diva F, a challenging, arcade-based rhythm game featuring many of the most popular vocaloid tunes.

Into the Future

Many of the titles so far discussed are being built for current-gen consoles, meaning that some third-party Japanese studios may not be quite ready to throw all of their weight behind the two brand new, unproven platforms launching later this year. With Xbox One not even scheduled to release in Japan until 2014, perhaps it isn’t all that surprising many publishers in the East (as well as the West) are choosing instead to largely hedge their bets on existing current-gen install bases.

Is this wise? With software sales declining quarter over quarter, are these brand new current-gen games and HD remixes destined for an immediate one-way trip to the bargain bin? That’s a difficult question to answer, but as proven by recent releases like The Last of Us, there’s still room for good software to be successful on current-gen platforms.

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For the first time in a long time, there are tons of reasons to be excited about Japanese gaming.

While some would argue that developers and publishers should drop the PS3 and Xbox 360 like a bad habit the second the PS4 and Xbox One hit the market this fall, a healthy current-gen console market will most certainly make for a smoother transition into next-gen for casual gamers.

Also, for those few teams in Japan still cutting their teeth on HD console development, the long tail of current-gen coupled with direct sale opportunities through marketplaces like PlayStation Network will give them plenty of time to hone their skills while preparing to develop for the next generation. While many gamers are certainly ready, willing, and able to dive into next-generation content right now, there are plenty of people that will be seeking fulfilling experiences on current-gen hardware both this year and in the future.

For the first time in a long time, there are tons of reasons to be excited about Japanese gaming. Whether a fan of action, strategy, fighting, or RPG, Japanese studios will be delivering something for everyone during the holiday season and into next spring. Despite early challenges with hardware and truckloads of Japan-only portable releases, Japan’s developers are finally returning to console gaming en masse. With the enthusiasm I’ve seen from developers about the direction the market is headed, things are only looking up from here. With tons of current-gen titles being prepped for market and brand new next-gen experiences waiting in the wings, Japan is looking to fire on all cylinders this year and beyond.

Welcome back, Japan. We’ve missed you.

Michael Migliacio is a software engineer by day, freelance gaming journalist by night, and Japanese gaming enthusiast 24/7. When he's not covering the eSports scene as a Staff Writer for Evil Geniuses, he can be found on IGN as angstygaijin or on Twitter @angstygaijin.

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AMC Orders Two New Series: Revolutionary War Spy Drama Halt & Catch Fire and 1980s Computer-Centric Turn

As we go into the final episodes of Breaking Bad, and with Mad Men set to end next year, AMC announced at the TCA (Television Critics Association) press tour that they’ve picked up two new projects to series. Both are period pieces, though set in very different eras and worlds.

Turn is set during the Revolutionary War, centering on a group of young spies who were integral to the war, and comes from Craig Silverstein, who is wrapping up work on Nikita, which he created for The CW.

The other project, Halt & Catch Fire, is set in the early 1980s and is about the rise of the personal computer industry. Lee Pace (Pushing Daisies, The Hobbit and the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy) is among the stars.

“The simultaneous greenlights today are the first in network history and underscore AMC’s growth and commitment to original scripted programming,” said Joel Stillerman, AMC’s EVP of original programming, production and digital content. “Each of these projects takes the audience into a unique world through compelling characters told with an original voice. We are so fortunate to be working with such exceptional talent on these series and can’t wait to bring them to viewers.”

Below are the official network descriptions for both series:

Set in the early 1980s, “Halt & Catch Fire” dramatizes the personal computing boom through the eyes of a visionary, an engineer and a prodigy whose innovations directly confront the corporate behemoths of the time. Their personal and professional partnerships are challenged by greed and ego while charting the changing culture in Texas' Silicon Prairie. From AMC Studios, “Halt & Catch Fire” is created by Chris Cantwell and Chris Rogers from a pilot directed by Juan Campanella (The Secret In Their Eyes). Jonathan Lisco has joined the series as showrunner and Mark Johnson (“Breaking Bad,” “Rectify,” Diner, Rain Man) and Melissa Bernstein (“Breaking Bad” and “Rectify”) from Gran Via Productions also serve as executive producers. The series stars Lee Pace (Lincoln, “Pushing Daisies”) as Joe McMillan, Scoot McNairy (Argo) as Gordan Clark, Mackenzie Rio Davis (Smashed) as Cameron Howe, Kerry Bishe (Argo, Red State) as Donna Clark, Toby Huss (Cowboys & Aliens) as John Bosworth and David Wilson Barnes (The Bourne Legacy, “You Don’t Know Jack”) as Dave Butler.

Based on the book “Washington’s Spies,” written by Alexander Rose, “Turn” is set in the summer of 1778 and tells the story of New York farmer, Abe Woodhull, who bands together with a group of childhood friends to form The Culper Ring, an unlikely group of spies who turn the tide in America’s fight for independence. “Turn,” also from AMC Studios, was developed and written by Craig Silverstein (“Nikita”) who also serves as series showrunner. The pilot was directed by Rupert Wyatt (Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes). Barry Josephson (“Bones,” Enchanted) from Josephson Entertainment is executive producer. The series stars Jamie Bell (Billy Elliot, King Kong, The Adventures of Tintin) as Abraham Woodhull, Kevin McNally (Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides) as Judge Richard Woodhull, Burn Gorman (The Dark Knight Rises) as Major Hewlett, Daniel Henshall (The Snowtown Murders) as Caleb, Seth Numrich (“The Good Wife”) as Ben Talmadge, Angus MacFadyen (Braveheart) as Robert Rogers, JJ Feild (Captain America: The First Avenger) as Major John Andre, Meegan Warner as Mary Woodhull and Heather Lind (“Boardwalk Empire”) as Anna Strong.

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Stanley Kubrick Hated The Wizard of Oz

Everyone loves The Wizard of Oz, right? The classic 1939 fantasy musical starring Judy Garland based on L. Frank Baum's novel has been a lasting part of pop culture for decades, but one of cinema's greatest directors is said to have loathed the film: The Shining and Doctor Strangelove's Stanley Kubrick, who would have been 85-years-old today.

As Indiewire points out, "according to his daughter, Katharina, 'he hated The Wizard of Oz.'" No particular reason is cited in the story for Kubrick's disdain for the movie.

And yet Kubrick loved White Men Can't Jump. Click here for the movies you'll likely be surprised to find out the late Full Metal Jacket and 2001 helmer did enjoy.

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The Clone Wars: Season 5 Blu-ray, Complete Series Coming This Fall

Announced earlier today at Star Wars Celebration Europe, Star Wars: The Clone Wars - The Complete Season 5 will release on October 15, 2013 on Blu-ray (2-disc) and DVD (3-disc). The collection includes all 20 episodes, two as director's cuts never seen on TV, with more than three hours of extras including cast and crew interviews, deleted/alternate scenes and featurettes.

But that's not all. In addition to the Season 5 release, StarWars.com unveiled Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Seasons 1-5 Collector's Edition, also available on October 15, 2013 on Blu-ray (14-disc) and DVD (19-disc). Featuring brand new collectible packaging, this box set comes with all 108 episodes from the series, as well as an exclusive 54-page Art of The Clone Wars booklet that showcases concept art from all five seasons, with many images never before published.

Sadly, the Collector's Edition does not appear to include the "bonus content" episodes yet to be released from the uncompleted Season 6; fans will have to keep waiting for a release announcement of that material.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars - The Complete Season 5 will retail for $59.97 on Blu-ray, $49.98 on DVD. Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Seasons 1-5 Collector's Edition, meanwhile, will sell for $149.99 on Blu-ray, $119.98 on DVD.

Max Nicholson is a writer for IGN, and he desperately seeks your approval. Show him some love by following @Max_Nicholson on Twitter, or MaxNicholson on IGN.

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