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Tag: Sam Elliott

  • Sam Elliott on His Emotional ‘Landman’ Role: How He ‘Spent a Good Part of My Time in Tears’ and Why the Part Speaks ‘Very, Very Strongly to Me’

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    SPOILER ALERT: This post contains mild spoilers from Season 2, Episode 2 of “Landman,” “Sins of the Father,” which premiered Sunday, Nov. 23, on Paramount+.

    Sam Elliott is the ultimate cowboy actor, so it’s no surprise he linked up with Taylor Sheridan and became a fixture in his constellation of shows. He first starred in a “Yellowstone” prequel, “1883,” and is now starring as T.L. Norris, the father of Billy Bob Thornton’s main character, Tommy, on the second season of “Landman.”

    Audiences first meet T.L. in more of an emotional state than the stoic actor often portrays, as he receives news that his wife has died at a memory care facility. Meanwhile, T.L. is at a separate facility, his body broken down from a life in the oil fields, and he seems to exist only to see the West Texas sunset every day.

    When asked how he was able to conjure up such intense emotion on the show, Elliott said it was a naturalistic process.

    “It’s just on the page,” he said. “I had time to think about it. I just wanted to be open to whatever comes my way. When you have that kind of material, you don’t look at a piece of material, or at least I don’t look at a piece of material, and say, ‘I’d really love to cry here,’ or, ‘Really love to make the audience cry,’ or whatever. It just has to come naturally. One of the great gifts about Taylor’s material is that it just allows that kind of emotion to flow. I spent a good part of my time in tears this entire season, so it wasn’t something I expected, but it’s just something that happened.”

    Furthermore, Elliott said he feels a deep connection to Sheridan’s storytelling that extends to the quiet life he lives with his wife, actor Katharine Ross, and their daughter, Cleo.

    “I’ve spent a good portion of my life growing up in the outdoors, and there’s something about Taylor’s material that I feel like it hinges on that in some respect. That really speaks deeply to me,” Elliott said. “It’s this man connected to the ground, what comes up out of the ground. It’s certainly not like ‘1883’ where we’re out in the elements and all that all the time, but there’s something about what I value personally. It’s like where I live. I live on the western end of Malibu. I’ve been there for 50 years with my wife and daughter. That takes me away from LA completely, and it’s a choice I’ve made. It’s probably not the smartest choice in terms of pursuing a career in the movie business.

    “I’m in the elements, and that’s the life that I chose, that Katharine and I and Cleo, all three of us, embrace,” he continued. “There’s something about this guy sitting in a wheelchair at 81 or 82 years old, however old he is, watching the sun go down. I mean, I don’t know how much more to say about it than that. There’s a reason for that. He’s drawn to that, and he talks about it in Episode 2, the light and the dust and the heat and the lack of moisture and the things we hate about that country. It hates us all day, and then it gives us this sunset. Those elements speak very, very strongly to me.”

    This interview has been edited and condensed.

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    William Earl

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  • What to Stream: ‘Freakier Friday,’ NF, ‘Landman,’ ‘Palm Royale’ and Black Ops 7

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    Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan re-teaming as the body-swapping mother and daughter duo in “Freakier Friday” and albums from 5 Seconds of Summer and the rapper NF are some of the new television, films, music and games headed to a device near you.

    Also among the streaming offerings worth your time this week, as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists: Claire Danes and Matthew Rhys team up for the new limited-series thriller “The Beast in Me,” gamers get Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 and Apple TV’s star-studded “Palm Royale” is back.

    New movies to stream from Nov. 10-16

    — Richard Linklater’s love letter to the French New Wave and the making of Jean-Luc Godard’s “Breathless,” “Nouvelle Vague,” will be streaming on Netflix on Friday, Nov. 14. In his review, Associated Press Film Writer Jake Coyle writes that, “To a remarkable degree, Linklater’s film, in French and boxed into the Academy ratio, black-and-white style of ‘Breathless,’ has fully imbibed that spirit, resurrecting one of the most hallowed eras of movies to capture an iconoclast in the making. The result is something endlessly stylish and almost absurdly uncanny.”

    — Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan re-team as the body-swapping mother and daughter duo in “Freakier Friday,” a sequel to their 2003 movie, streaming on Disney+ on Wednesday. In her review, Jocelyn Noveck writes, “The chief weakness of ‘Freakier Friday’ — an amiable, often joyful and certainly chaotic reunion — is that while it hews overly closely to the structure, storyline and even dialogue of the original, it tries too hard to up the ante. The comedy is thus a bit more manic, and the plot machinations more overwrought (or sometimes distractingly silly).”

    — Ari Aster’s latest nightmare “Eddington” is set in a small, fictional New Mexico town during the coronavirus pandemic, which becomes a kind of microcosm for our polarized society at large with Joaquin Phoenix as the sheriff and Pedro Pascal as its mayor. In my review, I wrote that, “it is an anti-escapist symphony of masking debates, conspiracy theories, YouTube prophets, TikTok trends and third-rail topics in which no side is spared.”

    — An incurable cancer diagnoses might not be the most obvious starting place for a funny and affirming film, but that is the magic of Ryan White’s documentary “Come See Me in the Good Light,” about two poets, Andrea Gibson, who died in July, and Megan Falley, facing a difficult reality together. It will be on Apple TV on Friday, Nov. 14.

    — AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr

    New music to stream from Nov. 10-16

    — There’s nothing worse than a band without a sense of humor. Thankfully 5 Seconds of Summer are in on the joke. Their sixth studio album, “Everyone’s a Star!,” sounds like the Australian pop-rock band are having fun again, from The Prodigy-esq. “Not OK” to the self-referential and effacing “Boy Band.” Candor is their provocation now, and it sounds good — particularly after the band has spent the last few years exploring solo projects.

    — The R&B and neo soul powerhouse Summer Walker has returned with her third studio album and first in four years. “Finally Over It,” out Friday, Nov. 14, is the final chapter of her “Over It” trilogy; a release centered on transformation and autonomy. That’s evident from the dreamy throwback single, “Heart of A Woman,” in which the song’s protagonist is disappointed with her partner — but with striking self-awareness. “In love with you but can’t stand your ways,” she sings. “And I try to be strong/But how much can I take?”

    — Consider him one of the biggest artists on the planet that you may not be familiar with. NF, the musical moniker of Nate Feuerstein, emerged from the Christian rap world a modern answer to Eminem only to top the mainstream, all-genre Billboard 200 chart twice, with 2017’s “Perception” and 2019’s “The Search.” On Friday, Nov. 14, he’ll release “Fear,” a new six-track EP featuring mgk (formerly Machine Gun Kelly) and the English singer James Arthur.

    — AP Music Writer Maria Sherman

    New series to stream from Nov. 10-16

    — Apple TV’s star-studded “Palm Royale” is back just in time for a new social season. Starring Kristen Wiig, Laura Dern, Allison Janney, Leslie Bibb, Kaia Gerber, Ricky Martin AND Carol Burnett, the show is campy, colorful and fun, plus it has great costumes. Wiig plays Maxine, a woman desperate to be accepted into high society in Palm Beach, Florida, in the late 1960s. The first episode streams Wednesday and one will follow weekly into January.

    — “Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” cast member Heather Gay has written a book called “Bad Mormon” about how she went from a devout Mormon to leaving the church. Next, she’s fronting a new docuseries that delves into that too called “Surviving Mormonism with Heather Gay.” The reality TV star also speaks to others who have left the religion. All three episodes drop Wednesday on Peacock.

    — Thanks to “Homeland” and “The Americans,” Claire Danes and Matthew Rhys helped put the prestige in the term prestige TV. They grace the screen together in a new limited-series for Netflix called “The Beast in Me.” Danes plays a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer who finds a new subject in her next door neighbor, a real estate tycoon who also may or may not have killed his first wife. Howard Gordon, who worked with Danes on “Homeland,” is also the showrunner and an executive producer of “The Beast in Me.” It premieres Thursday.

    — David Duchovny and Jack Whitehall star in a new thriller on Prime Video called “Malice.” Duchovny plays Jamie, a wealthy man vacationing with his family in Greece. He hires a tutor (played by Whitehall) named Adam to work with the kids who seems likable, personable and they invite him into their world. Soon it becomes apparent that Adam’s charm is actually creepy. Something is up. As these stories go, getting rid of an interloper is never easy. All six episodes drop Friday, Nov. 14.

    — “Martin Scorsese Presents: The Saints” returns to Fox Nation on Sunday, Nov. 16 for a second season. The premiere details the story of Saint Patrick. The show is a passion project for Scorsese who executive produces, hosts, and narrates the episodes.

    — Billy Bob Thornton has struck oil in the second season of “Landman” on Paramount+. Created by Taylor Sheridan, the show is set in modern day Texas in the world of Big Oil. Sam Elliott and Andy Garcia have joined the cast and Demi Moore also returns. The show returns Sunday, Nov. 16.

    — Alicia Rancilio

    New video games to play from Nov. 10-16

    — The Call of Duty team behind the Black Ops subseries delivered a chapter last year — but they’re already back with Call of Duty: Black Ops 7. The new installment of the bestselling first-person shooter franchise moves to 2035 and a world “on the brink of chaos.” (What else is new?) Publisher Activision is promising a “reality-shattering” experience that dives into “into the deepest corners of the human psyche.” Beyond that storyline there are also 16 multiplayer maps and the ever-popular zombie mode, in which you and your friends get to blast away at relentless hordes of the undead. Lock and load Friday, Nov. 14, on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S or PC.

    — Lumines Arise is the latest head trip from Enhance Games, the studio behind puzzlers like Tetris Effect, Rez Infinite and Humanity. The basic challenge is simple enough: Multicolored 2×2 blocks drift down the screen, and you need to arrange them to form single-color squares. Completed squares vanish unless you apply the “burst” mechanic, which lets you build ever-larger squares and rack up bigger scores. It’s all accompanied by hallucinatory graphics and thumping electronic music, and you can plug in a virtual reality headset if you really want to feel like you’re at a rave. Pick up the groove Tuesday on PlayStation 5 or PC.

    — Lou Kesten

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  • Sam Elliott on ‘1883’ and achieving his best at 78: ‘There’s not going to be a better one’

    Sam Elliott on ‘1883’ and achieving his best at 78: ‘There’s not going to be a better one’

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    In Taylor Sheridan’s interconnected “Yellowstone” TV shows, Sam Elliott is proud to be No. 1. His prequel “1883” was the first “Yellowstone” spinoff.

    “I’m glad I was there at the beginning and not three or four or five shows down the line,” said Elliott, who played Shea Brennan, a guide tasked with helping Tim McGraw, Faith Hill and Isabel May’s characters migrate west to settle land. The role earned him a Screen Actors Guild award earlier this year.

    “1883,” which debuted in 2021 exclusively on the Paramount+ streaming service, tells the beginning of the “Yellowstone” saga about Kevin Costner’s John Dutton, who is the patriarch of a powerful rancher family in Montana. “1883′s” 10-episodes are now airing Sundays on the Paramount Network, giving more people a chance to watch.

    Prior to joining “1883,” Elliott had watched a little bit of “Yellowstone” because his sister is a big fan.

    “I just watched a half an hour with her one day, and it reminded me of ‘Dallas,’” he said.

    “I’ve watched more of it since we shot ’1883,′ mostly out of curiosity,” he said. “I truly feel that Taylor is brilliant as a writer, but it’s another thing maintaining the quality over the long haul.”

    Costner’s “Yellowstone” will end in November, but the other spinoffs, including season two of “1923” and a sequel set to debut in December, will continue.

    Filming “1883” wasn’t easy. The weather was extreme — with heat in Texas and then freezing temperatures in Montana.

    “It made it more of a challenge but it brought an authenticity to it,” said Elliott. “What was it like for the people who were on those wagon trains going to Oregon back in the day?”

    Then there was the homesickness, which Elliott describes as “the hardest thing about this show for me personally. It was a killer… It’s hard on relationships. You can’t live a relationship long distance.” (Elliott is married to actor Katharine Ross.) “And I had gone through some health issues and surgeries just before we started. It was tough for me to get going.”

    Elliott is very familiar with playing tough, salt of the earth characters like cowboys. He starred in the movie “Tombstone” and TV movies including “The Quick and the Dead” and “The Shadow Riders.”

    He thinks Westerns have a relatability that captures the audience. “I’ve always thought there were three classic struggles in Westerns. It’s man against man, man against nature and man against himself. There’s a lot of people who can feel or understand that.

    Elliott was especially fond of working with May and LaMonica Garrett. Of May he says, “Isabelle is just stunning. … I was so taken with her. I mean, she’s just she’s a lovely girl for starters and she’s just brilliant. I’m eager to see where her career is going to take her.”

    Garrett played Thomas, a frontiersman who helps Shea on the trail. Thomas and Shea form a bond throughout the series. “Nothing ever entered into it (with their characters) that spoke of race. It was just these two brothers that cared for each other,” said Elliott. “LaMonica and I hit it off right away.”

    When filming wrapped, Elliott kept a badge his character wore in all of his scenes.

    “The prop man gave it to me on the last day,” he said. “I was wearing my own spurs. I always wear my own spurs.”

    Elliott recently started rewatching the series on Paramount Network and said “I know that at this point in my life, there’s not going to be a better one that’s going to come along than this. I feel like on some level, if I quit right now, I will have done what I set out to do when I was 9 years old wanting to be an actor. I’m spoiled.”

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    Follow Alicia Rancilio at https://www.twitter.com/aliciar

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