Amigo

New TV appearance: Gary Unmarried season finale

Some television news.

Garret will appear in the season 2 finale of Gary Unmarried, the CBS sitcom with Jay Mohr and Paula Marshall. He will play Goose McNair, Gary’s divorce lawyer who (I think) has been referenced throughout the series as the guy who got his degree online and went touring with David Hasselhoff during the proceedings (anyone watching?) The show airs Wednesdays at 8:30/7:30c on CBS.

In the meantime, here is another blog to watch while Baryo is in production. One fine nose portrait right here.

Also, people on Twitter will remember this picture from a few weeks back. Well, the MMA Heat episode is up (no region restrictions) and it includes an interview with the man. Link: http://www.ibnsports.com/mmaheat/

And watch out for some older clips later this week.

Baryo updates

Just a quick note to say that Baryo started filming the other day. You can follow updates on the Baryo production blog or, if you’re on Twitter, you can follow me there to be alerted whenever they post an update. (I fed their blog to Twitterfeed the other week, so it automatically tweets every new post.)

Other than that, two new interviews with Chris Cooper showed up online in the last few days. The first one was with the local Inquirer:

How did you prepare for your role here?

John provided me with a very thick academic account of the Philippine-American War. He also gives actors a two-page biography [of their] characters. It’s a great starting point.

What did you learn about your character?

My character is disgusted by [another character’s] interest in architecture in the Philippines. In real life, I’m a great fan of architecture. [Inquirer]

And he also briefly talked about his character in Baryo at Sundance, where he was promoting The Company Men with Tommy Lee Jones. It’s 14:50 minutes in and if you don’t want to be spoiled about The Company Men, skip everything between 14:00 and 14:50.

More details about Baryo

Manila Bulletin has an interview with Joel Torre, a Filipino actor who will play a character named Rafael in Baryo, while the local Inquirer talked to director John Sayles.

Joel is in the thick of preparations for his on-and-off-screen participation in American independent filmmaker John Sayles’ historical war drama, “Baryo,” which will start its six-week shoot in Bohol on Feb. 2. (…)

Baryo,” says Joel, is set during the Philippine-American War that took place from 1899 to 1902 and imparts different points of view – that of the colonizers, the rebels, and the civilians caught in the crossfire. It also touches on the roots of American imperialism.

“It’s an obscure part of our history that needs to be told,” the Bacolod native, who broke into the biz via Peque Gallaga’s 1982 war epic, “Oro, Plata, Mata,” tells Manila Bulletin Entertainment Online in an interview, adding that the movie will surely raise questions.

Joel says “Baryo” may stir controversy especially since Sayles, whose original screenplays for 1993’s “Passion Fish” and 1997’s “Lone Star” had both been nominated for Oscars, is known to tackle political and social issues in his films. (…)

Joining Joel onscreen are foreign actors headed by Sayles regular Chris Cooper, Oscar best supporting actor for 2002’s “Adaptation,” who will play an American colonel.

Garret Dillahunt, notably of “No Country for Old Men,” is also in the movie along with other US-based actors including Fil-Am Arthur Acuna.

Joel informs us that another Sayles regular, David Strathairn, whose performance in 2005’s “Good Night, and Good Luck” earned him an Oscar nomination for best actor, was supposed to be in “Baryo” as well, but schedule conflict prevented him from doing so.

Ronnie Lazaro, Pen Medina, John Arcilla, Joe Gruta, Bodjie Pascua, Spanky Manikan, Rio Locsin, Irma Adlawan, and some local Bohol talents round up the cast.

Baryo” is set for a U.S. release later this year. [Manila Bulletin]

And from the other article:

“In my readings, I stumbled on the Philippine-American War, which is hardly tackled in history books. I saw parallels between the Philippines and Vietnam and the other wars we’ve been in,” Sayles recounted.

He immersed himself in historical documents from that era, he said, including diaries of American soldiers, Nick Joaquin’s books and Jose Rizal’s novels in original Spanish.

Three years later, he came up with his own novel. “I’ve yet to find a publisher for the novel, but when I focused on the script, it took me only a month to write it,” said Sayles.

The English script was translated to Tagalog by local screenwriter Jose F. Lacaba.

Filming “Baryo” can be a mighty challenge, Sayles admitted. After sifting through tons of material, he must recreate history in organic detail—the sound of coughing motorbikes and crowing roosters, notwithstanding.

“Our production designer, Rodel Cruz, is building a village on the edge of a rice field,” he related.

Although he is bringing in American actors (like DJ Qualls and Garret Dillahunt) to play the occupying army, Sayles will work with homegrown talents like Joel Torre, Ronnie Lazaro, Irma Adlawan, Spanky Manikan, Rio Locsin, John Arcilla, among other actors. [Inquirer]

In other news, The Road is on the short list for the best makeup Oscar. (The final list of nominations will be announced on February 2.)

2009 in review

Okay, it’s the last day of the year and this blog will be a year old tomorrow, so I am posting a recap of everything that’s happened in 2009.

Hope everyone has a great time tonight and a fantastic year ahead.

See you in 2010!

_________________________________________________________________________________

The year started with Terminator promo and press tours. The show returned with the last nine episodes in the Friday slot in mid-February.

garret dillahunt,john henry,terminator,the sarah connor chronicles

Later that month, Garret was spotted filming Winter’s Bone in Missouri. The film will premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in late January. If anyone plans on going, the Sundance screening schedule is here.

The Last House on the Left opened on March 13. The reviews ranged from excellent to free branding campaign and the film made it to several lists of best horrors of the year. In October, it won a Reaper Award for Best Theatrical Release in 2009.

garret dillahunt,krug,last house on the left

Toward the end of the month, Garret played his fifth character on T:SCC, the Skynet virus from the future. Previous four were George Laszlo, Cromartie, the Beastwizard and John Henry.

In late March, the first pictures from Burning Bright appeared online. Burning Bright was later renamed to Ravenous and it still awaits theatrical release. In November, it was screened at the AFM. The first reviews were pretty positive.

garret dillahunt,burning bright,ravenous

In early April, Water Pills had its U.S. premiere at the Florida Film Festival. Jasmine Jessica Anthony walked away with a grand jury award for best performance.

garret dillahunt,water pills

Also in April, two series finales aired two days apart. Garret snuffed the TV crew and gave Damian Lewis his final headache in Life on April 8. Life season two was released on DVD on August 25.

garret dillahunt,roman nevikov,life

The Terminator finale aired on April 10. Despite cancellation, the show made it to #8 on the list of  the Top 10 Most Pirated Shows in 2009. Last year, it was the only new show among the top 10, at #4.

garret dillahunt,terminator

In the meantime, Garret joined Delroy Lindo and Roslyn Ruff in Things of Dry Hours, a play by Naomi Wallace about communists in 1930s Alabama. Rehearsals started on April 21.

garret dillahunt,theatre,things of dry hours,delroy lindo

The first trailer for The Road hit the web on May 15.

garret dillahunt,gang member,the road

On May 18, Fox announced that they would not be picking up Terminator for a third season. Even though there has been talk of a possible TV/DVD movie, Terminator rights are currently up for grabs and in limbo until February 2010.

On May 20, Garret appeared in the season finale of Criminal Minds.

garret dillahunt,criminal minds,mason turner

Two days later, Things of Dry Hours went into previews at the New York Theatre Workshop. The show premiered on June 8 and ran through June 28. Critics liked the cast, but were divided on the writing.

garret dillahunt,things of dry hours,delroy lindo,roslyn ruff

At some point over the spring/summer, Garret was cast in Madeleine Stowe’s Unbound Captives, an independent western epic with Hugh Jackman, Rachel Weisz and Robert Pattinson. If they get financing in time, the film will go into production in March (at the earliest).

In late July and early August, Garret filmed two TV guest appearances,  on CSI and Lie to Me, and a short film, One Night Only.

Garret Dillahunt, Tim Roth, Lie to Me

The Last House on the Left was released on DVD in mid-August.

garret dillahunt,last house on the left,krug

Later that month, Garret was spotted filming the season three finale of Burn Notice. The episode will air in March 2010.

garret dillahunt,burn notice,john mahoney

The trailer for One Night Only was released on September 2.

garret dillahunt,one night only

On September 3, The Road had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival. Ten days later, it was screened in Toronto.

Terminator: The Complete Season Two was released on DVD on September 22.

On September 24, the CSI season 10 premiere aired. “Family Affair” is one of the five hours of television nominated for an ASC (American Society of Cinematographers) Award this year.

garret dillahunt,csi,family affair

Speaking of CSI, in a fine display of Terminator fanboyism, the last episode before the break, Better off Dead, had a bunch of people stealing Cromartie’s music and killing each other. Also, a killer described as a Terminator.

On October 13, Oliver Sherman, an independent drama with Molly Parker and Donal Logue, went into production in North Bay. The film will most likely premiere at the Toronto Film Festival in September 2010, but Canadians might get an early screening in the spring.

garret dillahunt,oliver sherman

On October 21st, Garret appeared on Lie to Me.

garret dillahunt,lie to me,honey

And two days later, on Law & Order: SVU.

garret dillahunt,mariska hargitay,svu

The Road finally saw its U.S. premiere at AFI fest in early November. On Thanksgiving, it got a limited release. Even though the film has been vastly overlooked in the early awards season, the reviews were mostly positive and it scored a few acting nods (Viggo Mortensen, Robert Duvall, Kodi Smit-McPhee) from several critics’ societies (Broadcast Film Critics, Utah Film Critics, St. Louis Film Critics).

Garret Dillahunt,Gang Member,The Road

On November 13, Garret appeared on White Collar.

garret dillahunt,white collar

And the next day, One Night Only had its premiere in New York.

garret dillahunt,one night only

In November, Garret was cast in two new projects. The comedy pilot Keep Hope Alive, with Martha Plimpton, Cloris Leachman and Lucas Neff, was filmed earlier this month. If it gets picked up, it will be aired in the 2010/11 season.

The other project, John Sayles’ film Baryo, starts shooting in February in the Philippines. The crew is already there, building the set and preparing for the shoot. You can follow the updates on the new production blog, at johnsaylesbaryo.blogspot.com.

And that about wraps it up. If 2010 is even half as eventful, it will be another excellent year.

Updates: Winter’s Bone, The Road, Baryo, Keep Hope Alive, Water Pills

The Sundance Film Festival has released the lineup for 2010. Winter’s Bone is one of the films that will be screened in the U.S. Dramatic Competition program.

Winter’s Bone (Director: Debra Granik; Screenwriters: Debra Granik and Anne Rosellini)—An unflinching Ozark Mountain girl hacks through dangerous social terrain as she hunts down her drug-dealing father while trying to keep her family intact. Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, John Hawkes, Dale Dickey, Garret Dillahunt, Kevin Breznahan. World Premiere.

The shorts lineup will be announced on Monday, December 7. One Night Only should be among the contenders.

The UK trailer for The Road has appeared online at Guardian.co.uk. The film opens in the UK in January.

And speaking of, The Road has been nominated for a Golden Satellite award, Best Art Direction category.

Best Art Direction
Terry Gilliam, Dave Warren and Anastasia Masaro, “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus”
Nathan Crowley, Patrick Lumb and William Ladd Skinner, “Public Enemies”
Eddy Wong, “Red Cliff”
Chris Kennedy, “The Road”
Ian Philips and Dan Bishop, “A Single Man”
Barry Chusid and Elizabeth Wilcox, “2012” [Indiewire.com]

Baryo went into pre-production in November. The team is already on location in the Philippines. They set up a blog, The Baryo Film Project, so that’s the place to look for updates. Filming doesn’t start till February.

The Hollywood Reporter had a brief announcement about Garret joining Keep Hope Alive the other day.

Garret Dillahunt has landed a co-starring role on Greg Garcia’s comedy pilot for Fox, “Keep Hope Alive.”

The show centers on Jimmy (Lucas Neff), a 25-year-old man raising an infant with the help of his quirky family after the mother of the baby, with whom he had a one-night stand, ends up on death row.

Dillahunt will play Jimmy’s dysfunctional father and boss, who is not thrilled to find himself a grandfather and worries that the baby might carry her mom’s homicidal gene.

“Hope” marks Dillahunt’s return to Fox, where he co-starred on the drama series “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.” He also co-starred on the big screen in “No Country for Old Men.” [via Reuters]

Last week, they were looking for a couple of teens to play the young Garret and Martha Plimpton. [JaxObserver.com]

And finally, some footage from Water Pills has emerged on Justin Mitchell’s site. He was the director of photography on the film. You can see the clip here. Credit goes to Winona-Ryder.org for finding it.

Garret Dillahunt in Water Pills

OK, one more. Burn Notice will return a week earlier than originally announced, on Thursday, January 21 at 10/9c. This means that the season three finale will air some time in early March, as expected.