Dollhouse, Firefly, Angel, Buffy : news, photos & videos

Amy Acker - "Cabin in the Woods" Movie - She will be a star in the movie

Webmaster — 2009-11-12T21:39:00Z

@megaria there's still more dhouse. And there's more of joss amy and I in cabin in the woods too - News

Amy Acker - "Happy Town" Tv Series - Promo - Good Quality Photos

Webmaster — 2009-05-22T21:49:10Z

Amy Acker - "Happy Town" Tv Series - Televisionaryblog.com Review

Webmaster — 2009-05-22T20:39:42Z

ABC made a bold statement at its upfront presentation the other day when it presented new midseason drama series as hailing "from the network that brought you Twin Peaks."

The statement rubbed me the wrong way for a number of reasons. First, it's not exactly like the executives who developed Twin Peaks even still work at ABC. Second, ABC may have brought us Twin Peaks but it just as quickly canceled David Lynch's groundbreaking drama, which aired a stunning nineteen years ago. And third, Happy Town should not be making any comparisons between itself and Twin Peaks because it is certainly no Twin Peaks.

I had the opportunity the other night to watch Happy Town's 90-minute pilot and the only similarities I could find between it and Twin Peaks were that (A) they both air on ABC and (B) they are both set in small towns where the sunny exteriors belie a secret underbelly of darkness. (Happy Town itself seems to relish the comparison, even having one character hail from Snoqualmie, Washington, where many of Twin Peaks's exterior shots were filmed.)

But while David Lynch and Mark Frost's Twin Peaks reveled in its supremely surreal weirdness and slow-burn mystery, Happy Town, from October Road creators Josh Applebaum, Andre Nemec, and Scott Rosenberg, tries way too hard to make itself different, throwing at the audience a kitchen sink's worth of bizarro plot twists, flatly quirky characters, supernatural goings-on, red herrings, secret identities, murders, kidnappings, druggings, mutilations, nefarious motives, blue doors, sigils, tattoos, stalkers, star-crossed lovers, forbidden boarding house third floors, and vigilante justice. (Not to mention "The Magic Man.") And that's just in the series' first episode alone.

It's a shame as Happy Town boasts a fantastic cast of well-known (and, in some cases, much beloved) actors but they are hampered by a ridiculous plot, insipid dialogue, and an overabundance of exposition that's about as subtle as an anvil. At its best, Happy Town comes off as a cheap knock off of Twin Peaks without that series' effortless wit, intelligence, or flair. At its worst, it's laughably bad and cartoonish.

The series' sprawling cast includes (but isn't limited to) Geoff Stults (October Road), Lauren German (Hostel : Part II), Amy Acker (Dollhouse), Dean Winters (Rescue Me), John Patrick Amedori (Gossip Girl), Linda Kash (Best in Show), Sarah Gadon (Being Erica), Jay Paulson (October Road), Robert Wisdom (The Wire), M.C. Gainey (Lost), Abraham Benrubi (ER), Peter Outerbridge (Fringe), and Sam Neill (The Tudors).

The effect is to create the feeling of community that such a small town would have but it means that several characters are given short shrift. Amy Acker in particular seems to have precious little to do and it's a shame to see her squander her considerable ability playing a one-dimensional bread factory tour guide and wife and mother here. (A single brief look between her and Dean Winters' character is the sole storyline her character warrants here.)

Happy Town's plot revolves around Haplin, a seemingly idyllic small town in Minnesota (nicknamed "Happy Town"), only just recovered after a slew of unexplained child abductions seven years earlier. The crimes were perpetrated by a man the town has nicknamed "The Magic Man," someone you could walk past in the street without knowing, and resulted in the disappearance of several local children who vanished without a trace. The only sign that they were taken was the positioning of their favorite toy in the spot where they were taken. After a period of seven years, Haplin is finally recovering from this series of tragedies but old wounds prove hard to heal and there is friction in the town over a banner displaying the faces of the children who disappeared at the town's annual Thaw Fest.

But this is almost incidental as Haplin itself is once again shaken to its core when another crime occurs : the murder of a local man who liked to watch women and who was rumored to be The Magic Man himself. He was killed by a railroad spike to the head and the town is baffled by the gruesome crime. It's a blow to Sheriff Griff Conroy (Gainey), who has overseen the town and presided over a community that boasted no major crimes since the end of The Magic Man's kidnapping spree. A blow that seems to have weakened his mind as the sheriff keeps mentioning a mystery woman named Chloe at odd moments. His son Tommy (Stults), a family man who serves as one of the deputy sheriffs, and Detective Roger Hobbes (Wisdom) are concerned... and even more so when the Sheriff locks himself in the office, rants about the Magic Man coming back now that blood has been spilled, and proceeds to chop off his own hand with an old Indian tribal axe that seems to have been ceremonially placed on his office wall for that very purpose.

But there are other mysteries in Haplin as well. Such as the sudden arrival of New Girl in Town Henley (German), who claims to be in Haplin after the death of her mother, who vacated there years earlier, and to open up a candle shop with her inheritance money. She's giving a room at a local boarding house where the draconian owner demands absolute quiet during mealtime as well as punctuality and tells Henley in no uncertain terms that she is not to visit the third floor. (Dun-dun-dun.) Also at the boarding house, Henley encounters a group of widows and the single male resident, a British gentleman named Merritt Grieves (Neill), who has just opened a classic movie memorabilia store in town and who introduces Henley to an old film entitled The Blue Door, which seems to rip off Twin Peaks' Killer BOB/Dwarf/Giant plot about otherworldly creatures entering man's heart through a rip between worlds. Henley, of course, isn't quite whom she claims to be but many of the townsfolk, including Merritt, seem to be keeping secrets of their own.

There's also the "Romeo and Juliet" secret romance (and, yes, the two characters actually do refer to themselves as Romeo and Juliet) between teenagers Georgia Bravin (Gadon), the daughter of a ne'er-do-well meth head, and wealthy town scion Andrew Haplin (Amedori), whose parents (including Dean Winters'John Haplin) never recovered from the disappearance of his little sister. Visiting Griff at the hospital, Georgina is seemingly drugged by a Mystery Man (referred to in the script as "Handsome Sam") in the hospital cafeteria and begins a strange hallucinatory journey that includes the transformation of the elevator into the blue door, the repetitive use of Carly Simons' song "You're So Vain," and the creepy smiles of the Mystery Man as she collapses in the vacant hospital lobby. When she awakens, she finds herself in the rundown junkyard home of local outcasts the Stiviletto Brothers. How did she get there ? What happened to her ? Why was she deposited there ? We don't know and, honestly, we really don't care.

Exhausted yet ? It's just one of the omnipresent mysteries that we're meant to be invested in but none of them are particularly original, compelling, or well-executed. The real tragedy with Happy Town is that it's nowhere near as clever or engaging as it believes itself to be and the haphazard plotting, hackneyed cliches, and painfully extensive pilot storylines demonstrate a lack of narrative editing on the part of the creators. After all, Twin Peaks took a few episodes to introduce all of its surreal and terrifying subplots before paying them off.

Ultimately, it's hard to imagine just why ABC decided to greenlight this project (based on a spec script written by the trio), even if it is as a midseason replacement that could use the down time to massively retool. My advice : stick to the highway and avoid this Happy Town.

Amy Acker - "Happy Town" Tv Series - Trailer - Watch The Video

Webmaster — 2009-05-22T20:05:05Z

Amy Acker - "Happy Town" Pilot - She joins the cast for ABC

Webmaster — 2009-02-25T19:17:18Z

In the latest round of pilot castings, Eric Christian Olsen has been tapped as the lead in ABC's untitled Ricky Blitt comedy pilot, Taylor Schilling has landed the lead in NBC's drama pilot "Mercy," and 9-year-old Dakota Goyo has been cast as the young lead on ABC's untitled Daniel Cerone drama pilot.

Additionally, Brad Henke has been cast in the Cerone pilot, Amy Acker has joined ABC's "Happy Town," and LL Cool J has closed his deal to co-star on CBS' "NCIS : Legend."

The untitled Ricky Blitt comedy, from WBTV, centers on a guy in his thirties (Olsen) who hasn't quite grown up and finds himself torn between his needy best friend and the newfound love of his life and her teen kids. Olsen ("Brothers & Sisters") is repped by UTA.

The UMS-produced "Mercy" is a comedic drama about three nurses bound together in friendship. Up-and-comer Schilling, repped by Gersh, will play the central role of Veronica Callahan, who works as nurse at Mercy Hospital after a tour in Iraq.

The Cerone project, from ABC Studios, centers on a low-level detective (Jimmy Wolk) whose genius 11-year-old brother (Goyo) helps him solve crimes. Canadian-born Goyo is repped by WMA and Thruline.

Henke will play the detective's partner and best friend.

In "Happy Town," a small-town murder mystery, Acker will play the wife of the lead, cop Tommy Conroy (Geoff Stults). She is repped by APA and Insight.

The backdoor pilot for the "NCIS" spinoff, from CBS Par, will air as a two-part episode of "NCIS" this spring.

LL Cool J will play Special Agent Sam Hanna, a former Navy SEAL who works in the undercover unit of NCIS in Los Angeles. The rapper-actor is repped by Endeavor and manager Jason Barrett.

Amy Acker - "21 and Wake Up" Movie - Poster - High Quality Photo

Webmaster — 2009-01-25T20:26:34Z

- Graphics / Movie 2010-00-00 : "21 and a Wake-Up"

Amy Acker - "21 and Wake Up" Movie - Trailer - Watch The Video

Webmaster — 2009-01-20T19:22:34Z

Happy Birthday To Amy Acker, 32 Today !

Webmaster — 2008-12-05T20:30:32Z

Date of Birth : 5 December 1976

Location : Dallas, Texas, USA

Birth Name : Amy Louise Acker

Height : 5' 8" (1.73 m)

Mini Biography

Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, Amy Acker is the oldest of four children of Robert Acker, a lawyer, and Sandra Bruyere, a housewife, of French ancestry, and the cousin of Joel Jeffrey Acker. An acting major at Southern Methodist University, Amy acted in several college theater productions. She appeared in various roles during the fantasy segments for the popular award-winning children's TV series "Wishbone" (1995), which was filmed in Texas and consisted of Dallas theater actors. Upon graduation she worked in Wisconsin and New York before winning the role of "Fred" on "Angel" (1999). IMDb Mini Biography By : Anonymous

Spouse : James Carpinello (25 April 2003 - present) 2 children

Trivia

She studied ballet, modern dance and jazz dance for 13 years before moving onto acting. She underwent knee surgery while in high school, ending her ballet career, and she began to study acting in her sophomore year. She enrolled at Southern Methodist University in 1995 to take advantage of that school's renowned theatrical program.

1995 graduate of Lake Highlands High School.

While on "Angel" (1999), she and her co-star, J. August Richards, shared a trailer for quite some time.

Son, Jackson James Carpinello, born 22 January 2005.

Starting with the season five episode, "S.O.S.", she was promoted from guest star to series regular on "Alias" (2001), and appeared in the opening credits until the series ended.

Second child, a daughter, Ava Grace Carpinello, born 1 September 2006 in Los Angeles, weighing 7 lbs, 4 oz.

Amy Acker - "Dollhouse" Tv Series - Scifi.com Interview

Webmaster — 2008-10-20T12:36:05Z

Acker On Dollhouse Interruption

Amy Acker, co-star of Fox's upcoming Joss Whedon series Dollhouse, told SCI FI Wire that all the publicity surrounding the show's recent production break was much ado about nothing.

Last month, creator-producer-director Whedon halted production on the show in order to rework the fourth episode and get ahead on subsequent scripts. Production resumed on Sept. 25, after about two weeks off, and Fox will premiere the show as scheduled in January.

"You know, we did take a little break," Acker said in an interview earlier this month. "And I feel like it's coming back, and everyone is just excited to be there. The first show that came back was a Steve DeKnight show ; he was directing it, and it's just really, really great. I think we just kind of had that time, because it doesn't air until January."

The Fox series will explore the goings on at a facility where specially modified humans, referred to as "dolls," are programmed with temporary memories and personalities tailored to different assignments. Eliza Dushku, who played Faith in Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer, stars as Echo, a "doll" who starts to retain her memories. Acker, who played Fred/Illyria on Whedon's Angel, plays Dr. Claire Saunders, caretaker of the dolls and a woman with her own mysterious past.

"Instead of rushing to make episodes, they thought, 'Well, we've already made four, and they're all going to be done before the first one airs,'" Acker said. "So we have the luxury to take the time and make them the way they want them."

As for working with Whedon again, Acker said that all that it took was a little begging for Whedon to invite her onto the show.

"Well, you know, I'm always begging Joss to let me work with him again, and it finally paid off," Acker said. "We were out to dinner, and he was telling me all about Dollhouse. I said, 'That sounds so great.' And secretly I was like, 'Why can't I be on that ?' And he said, 'I know, I wish there were parts for you and Alexis [Denisof, also an Angel veteran,] and all these people that I like.'"

Then, two days before Whedon was to roll camera on the pilot, he called Acker. "He was like, 'Did you get the script ?'" she recalled. "I said, 'What are you talking about ?' He said, 'There's a part for you in the pilot now.' I said, 'Awesome.' So that just kind of happened. I think he sort of thought of this character later. Originally, I guess, he thought the character was going to be a 50- or 60-year-old woman, so he didn't have me in mind for it. And then he decided to switch it up, and I got lucky." Dollhouse premieres in January premiere and will air Mondays at 8 p.m. ET/PT. —Ian Spelling

Amy Acker - "Fire & Ice" Tv Movie - Scifi.com Interview

Webmaster — 2008-10-18T13:23:14Z

Amy Acker, who stars in SCI FI Channel's upcoming original movie Fire and Ice, told SCI FI Wire that she got to realize a dream.

"I have always wanted to do any sort of period piece," the Alias and Angel star said in an interview. "I love horseback riding. I got to be a tomboy princess and fight dragons."

Helmed by visual-effects-supervisor-turned-director Pitof (Catwoman), Fire and Ice stars Acker as Luisa, a daddy's-girl princess who must team up with a knight named Gabriel (300's Tom Wisdom) to save their kingdom from a menacing fire-breathing dragon.

Joining Acker—who's due next in Joss Whedon's upcoming Fox SF series Dollhouse—are such familiar genre faces as Arnold Vosloo (The Mummy) and John Rhys-Davies (the Lord of the Rings trilogy).

"I couldn't really think of anything bad about it," Acker said. "It was great, and there were good people involved and a lot of British accents. It was fun to be the only girl with this group of guys and fighting along with them and doing all of that. I hope I get to work with all of them again. Maybe they can make it into a series !"

Acker added that she welcomed the change from series television. "It was [also] a chance to do something totally different from your normal television show," she said. "The only thing that wasn't real was the dragon, but luckily they had already drawn up what he was going to look like. I haven't seen it finished, but [from] the pictures and early CG stuff they were doing it was this really cool dragon that looked different from any other dragon I'd ever seen. But it was easy to imagine it huge." Fire and Ice premieres Oct. 18 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.