Q&A Hollywood
Q:Why do I know the guy who played Bill, Eve's boss/mentor, in the first few episodes of “Killing Eve”? He looks so familiar.
A: You may be having trouble placing him because he's a bit out of context on “Killing Eve” — David Haig is not known as a spy-action guy.
He is, however, known as a top-notch straight man, bringing a reminder of what normal people are like into worlds full of whimsical weirdos. In that sense, he's playing to type in “Killing Eve,” which also stars Sandra Oh (“Grey's Anatomy”) and Jodie Comer (“Doctor Foster: A Woman Scorned”).
If context is the issue, try picturing him standing next to Hugh Grant and you'll probably remember why you know him.
Haig's best-known roles (to North Americans, anyway) are his films with Hugh Grant, starting with the greatest one, the genre-redefining 1994 romantic comedy “Four Weddings and a Funeral.” Haig played Bernard, a character introduced as a guest at the first wedding and the groom at the second.
Eight years later, he reunited with Grant for another romcom, “Two Weeks Notice” (2002), playing Grant's unpleasant older brother. In 2016, he joined Grant yet again for the comedy “Florence Foster Jenkins,” as the titular Florence's vocal coach (who helps enable her fantasy of becoming an opera singer despite knowing she has no talent).
Q: “Home Town” is one of my favorite shows on HGTV.They just picked a town in Alabama to renovate. I would like to know the criteria for why it was chosen? My home town applied and it sure would have been wonderful to have been selected.
A: Erin and Ben Napier, hosts of HGTV's “Home
Town,” recently announced the site/subject of their new “special event” spinoff, “Home Town Takeover.” The town of Wetumpka, Alabama, population: 8,278, will get a similar treatment to what the Napiers have given to their own home town of Laurel, Mississippi, but they'll be doing the whole town at once rather than one house at a time.
Wetumpka was selected through what HGTV called a “casting call of sorts” — people across America were asked to make a case for why their town deserved a full makeover.
Just like with a casting call for actors, the producers had specific traits they needed, but they were also obviously looking for that indefinable quality that makes someone (in this case, somewhere) shine on camera.
As for the specific traits, the town needed to have no more than 40,000 residents and at least one aspect that makes it special (for example, “distinctive features like vintage period architecture, special destinations or a classic main street”).
But it seems they were also looking for community support. HGTV said one of the reasons Wetumpka was selected was because its submission “showcased the community's collective desire to champion revitalization.”
Lastly, like all good TV producers, they were looking for a story. They wanted to know “why” the town deserved an on-camera makeover.
Q: Can you tell me if the rumors about a “Wicked” movie are actually going to result in a production?
A: Well, all the talk has already resulted in “a production,” but will it be a finished production? (Probably, but I thought I'd add some suspense.)
Universal Pictures has acquired the rights to produce it, which, in the case of a wellknown property such as the Broadway musical smash “Wicked,” is probably the biggest piece.
Granted, there has been some trouble with the release date — it was originally slated for Christmas 2019 but was moved back to Christmas 2021, and now even that's been scrubbed. But even penciling in a Christmas release date is a major commitment in the film business.
Don't read too much into it no longer having a release date, though — this is due to the pandemic-related production delays that have injected uncertainty into every aspect of the business. Even semi-completed films have been taken off the schedule until things settle down a little.
“Wicked” remains pretty close to a sure thing. Most Broadway smashes tend to end up as films at some point, and this one has the added advantage of being based on an already-known property (L. Frank Baum's “The Wizard of Oz”) — that makes it something like a prequel to a reimagined version of “The Wizard of Oz,” which Hollywood is addicted to these days.