Day: September 24, 2020

Stories

Daniels towers over his “Comey Rule” role

It’s a problem Jeff Daniels rarely faces – being too short for a role.
But this was a role anyone in Hollywood – well, anyone except Brad Garrett or John Salley – would fall short of. Daniels was playing James Comey, the 6-foot-8 former FBI director.
“I put two-inch lifts in my shoes,” Daniels said, “which got me to 6-foot-5 …. I could act the other three inches.”  (He’s shown here with Comey towering over Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates, played by  Holly Hunter, who’s 5-foot-2.)  
That’s part of the towering persona of someone who exudes authority. Comey confirmed that, Daniels said, during the only day he visited the set of “The Comey Rule,” the Showtime mini-series. “He said, ‘You’ve got my posture, the uprightness.’” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 24, 2020
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Sept. 26: Eddie Murphy’s triumphant return

1) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 p.m., NBC. A week before launching its new season, “SNL” reruns one of its best episodes. Eddie Murphy (shown here) had stayed away from the show (not counting an anniversary special) for 35 years. Once he returned, however, he did all of his best characters – including a brilliant “Mr. Robinson’s Neighborhood” bit in which he swiped Amazon packages in his gentrified neighborhood. He won an Emmy (his first) for best comedy guest; Lizzo is the music guest Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 24, 2020
News and Quick Comments

Documentary masters tackle the MacDonald mystery

Like many teen-ager, Marc Smerling wanted to see a horror film.
But the movie – it may have been a “Halloween” re-release, he said – was sold out. Instead, he saw “The Thin Blue Line,” Errol Morris’ distinctive documentary about a murder case.
“It blew me away,” Smerling recently told the Television Critics Association. He savored “the visual storytelling, the soft of courage it took to make something that incredible.”
Now, decades later, he’s working with that filmmaker. “A Wilderness of Error” (shown here with Dr. Jeffrey MacDonald and his wife) — debuting at 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25, on FX — is directed by Smerling; Morris wrote it, adapting his own book. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 24, 2020