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Title: The Strain
Post by: Mac on May 05, 2014, 09:56:05 am
The Strain - FX - (Summer 2014)

From Guillermo del Toro

Can't believe we haven't talked about this until now.

From FX...

Quote
FX has placed a 13-episode order for the drama series The Strain from Academy Award® nominated Filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, author Chuck Hogan and writer/producer Carlton Cuse, which is based on the best-selling vampire novel trilogy of the same title written by del Toro and Hogan, it was announced today by Eric Schrier and Nick Grad, the Presidents of Original Programming for FX Networks and FX Productions.

The Strain begins production later this month in Toronto and the series is scheduled to premiere in Summer of 2014 on FX.

Schrier and Grad said, "We could not be more excited to be moving forward with Guillermo, Carlton and Chuck on The Strain. This is an epic story with stunning visuals and remarkable acting. The Strain totally reimagines and reinvents the genre."

Co-Creators, Executive Producers and Writers del Toro and Hogan co-wrote the pilot script for The Strain, which was directed by del Toro. Emmy® Award winning Writer and Producer Carlton Cuse (Lost, Bates Motel) will serve as Executive Producer/Showrunner and Writer. Gary Ungar will also serve as Executive Producer. The series is produced by FX Productions.

"The Strain books are near and dear to my heart and now, Chuck and I have the blessing of a partnership with Carlton and FX that holds great promise," said del Toro. "Working with FX has yielded an amazing experience with total creative freedom and support."

Cuse added, "Working with visionary filmmaker Guillermo del Toro and the team at FX has been a dream come true for me. Guillermo's epic, cinematic pilot for The Strain starts a chilling and compelling story that will upend everything you thought you knew about vampires."

The ensemble cast stars Corey Stoll, Mia Maestro, Sean Astin, Kevin Durand, Natalie Brown, Jonathan Hyde, Richard Sammel, Robert Maillet, Jack Kesy, Ben Hyland, and Miguel Gomez. The producers and FX Productions are recasting the role of "Professor Abraham Setrakian," which was previously held by John Hurt.

The Strain is a high concept thriller that tells the story of Dr. Ephraim Goodweather (Corey Stoll), the head of the Center for Disease Control Canary Team in New York City. He and his team are called upon to investigate a mysterious viral outbreak with hallmarks of an ancient and evil strain of vampirism. As the strain spreads, Eph, his team, and an assembly of everyday New Yorkers, wage war for the fate of humanity itself.

Writer, producer, director and novelist Guillermo del Toro has built his career on bringing fantasy and horror to vivid life. He wrote and directed the dark fairy tale Pan's Labyrinth, which garnered six Academy Award nominations, including one for del Toro for Best Writing, Original Screenplay. The film went on to win three Oscars. Named by The Hollywood Reporter as a "Master of Horror," del Toro’s other film credits include Pacific Rim, Hellboy and the upcoming Crimson Peak starring Tom Hiddleston, Charlie Hunnam and Jessica Chastain.

Award-winning author Chuck Hogan co-wrote the apocalyptic vampire trilogy The Strain with del Toro. A New York Times best-selling writer, Hogan won the Hammett Prize for Excellence in crime writing for his book Prince of Thieves: A Novel, which became the basis for the Academy Award-nominated film The Town.

Showrunner Carlton Cuse is an Emmy and Peabody Award winning writer and producer, best known for the acclaimed ABC television series Lost. He was also an Executive Producer and Creator of television series Nash Bridges and The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. In addition to writing and Executive Producing The Strain for FX, he developed and executive produces the A&E drama series, Bates Motel.

FX is the flagship general entertainment basic cable channel of FX Networks, a business unit of 21st Century Fox. FX Networks is comprised of FX, FXM, and FXX, its newest channel, which launched in early September 2013. Launched in June of 1994, FX is carried in more than 98 million homes. The diverse schedule features a growing roster of critically acclaimed and award-winning hit dramas series, including Sons of Anarchy, Justified, The Americans and The Bridge; the miniseries American Horror Story: Coven; and the acclaimed hit comedy series Louie, and Archer. The network’s library of acquired box-office hit movies is unmatched by any ad-supported television network. FX's roster of acquired hit series includes Two and a Half Men, Anger Management and, coming in 2014, Mike & Molly.

FX Productions (FXP) produces the critically acclaimed hit comedy series It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The League, Louie, Archer, Wilfred, and Legit, and the drama series The Strain. FXP co-produces the award-winning hit drama series Sons of Anarchy and Justified, the critically acclaimed drama The Americans and the upcoming drama series The Bridge. FXP is also producing limited series and miniseries for FX and FOX.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mp8KXQkQQXM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buaHyKjGcvg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNhvrVJcBt4

Title: Re: The Strain
Post by: Chiprocks1 on May 05, 2014, 03:06:49 pm
Never heard of it till you started this thread. Looks interesting.
Title: Re: The Strain
Post by: Mac on May 28, 2014, 09:36:59 am
another trailer...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ay0oEfXGCE
Title: Re: The Strain
Post by: Mac on May 28, 2014, 09:37:25 am
and finally a trailer...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_42rx8Dm6OQ
Title: Re: The Strain
Post by: Chiprocks1 on June 30, 2014, 11:42:40 am
FX Replacing ‘The Strain’ Billboards Following Complaints (http://spinoff.comicbookresources.com/2014/06/30/fx-replacing-the-strain-billboards-following-complaints/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter)

Bunch of P*ssies!!
Title: Re: The Strain
Post by: Mac on June 30, 2014, 12:39:44 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sof9tkBDrr0
Title: Re: The Strain
Post by: Chiprocks1 on July 12, 2014, 05:25:08 am
The Pros and Cons of The Strain - IGN Conversation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xshi-_mEhJM

Seems there is more Cons than Pros. Still looking forward to the show regardless.
Title: Re: The Strain
Post by: Mac on July 13, 2014, 10:01:42 am
Interesting... I think I'm going to be be bias and give this more of a chance than the other shows. I have yet to be disappointed by Del Toro.

Bring it on
Title: Re: The Strain
Post by: Mac on July 14, 2014, 06:52:44 am
Pilot Episode (http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i266/Chiprocks1/Star%20Ratings/HTL_05star.gif) Directed by Del Toro 1 hour 40 Minutes.

I walked away from Del Toro’s The Strain very pleased and excited. From beginning to end, this new series, the Pilot episode was engaging. Typically that’s tough waters to tread because you want to grab the attention of the viewer and you want to introduce the characters. And there are some very decent characters here.

The overall feel was typical of a Del Toro film. Rich textures and colors. The sound was important too and they just nailed it. There were a couple of times, it was pretty damn scary and in some cases people are going to turn their heads away. Since this is on FX, they have some liberties they take advantage of… Visually and language.

Highly recommend. Just when you think they’ve exhausted the Vampire genre, this little nugget appears. Nothing like I’ve ever seen before.

Watch it
 

 
Title: Re: The Strain
Post by: Chiprocks1 on July 14, 2014, 07:01:27 am
I thought the Pilot episode was at least a month away. Didn't think it was upon us. I hope this is OnDemand as I want to check it out. I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that it's on Sunday nights, correct? If yes, it should take a day or so before its on...OnDemand.
Title: Re: The Strain
Post by: Mac on July 14, 2014, 07:23:58 am
Sunday Night @ 9:00 CST FX (http://www.fxnetworks.com/thestrain)
Title: Re: The Strain
Post by: Mac on July 16, 2014, 09:55:07 am

A Minute With: Guillermo del Toro on going full gore for TV


Quote
(Reuters) - Mexican film director Guillermo del Toro doesn't seem to be holding much back in his often terrifying and visually arresting movies, and yet, he says television today allows him even more freedom to create.

The director behind blockbuster "Pacific Rim" and dark fantasy "Pan's Labyrinth" premiered his new TV thriller series "The Strain," based on a trilogy of books he co-wrote, on the FX cable channel this week.

"The Strain" chronicles the vampirization of society through a viral outbreak and the battle by Dr Ephraim Goodweather (played by Corey Stoll of "House of Cards") as the New York City public health official trying to stop its spread.

Del Toro, 49, talked to Reuters about his fondness for television, anatomically correct gore and infusing love in tales of horror.

Q: Why did you make the move to TV?

A: I became very enamored of the long-form narrative of TV and really loved the fact that you can develop notions and characters over a long period of time. In the case of something literary like "Deadwood" or "The Wire," it feels like you are reading a piece of literature.

You have the chance to explore ideas that ... don't open and close in the space of two or three hours, like they do in a movie. And that is a unique luxury.

The content also came from the fact that we have changed the way we consume stories on TV. So now an audience has a relationship with a drama that can last several years.

Q: Did FX put any restrictions on you?

A: Noooo (laughs). I wish I had a great story to tell, but the reality was the opposite. The week before I started shooting I got a unique phone call in my career from John Landgraf (president of FX Networks) and he said ... "You can be as off-kilter as you want." I certainly tried some things in the pilot that were edgy and it all went beautifully.

I wanted the idea that you can use these vampires and creatures and that you can use love; love as a guiding force that they remember and that guides them back to destroy the family. That is a concept I was very fond of in the book and that I really was afraid of losing. I wanted to make very clear these were not young, sparkling, beautiful vampires, but parasitic entities that are no-nonsense about the way they absorb and transform their victims.

Q: How far did you feel you could go in the gore department?

A: I tried to do a very forensic approach. I didn't want to make it cinematically cool. I wanted to make it very visceral and almost down to earth. I wanted to make it anatomically correct.

(In the killing of the first victim) what you see is a very systematic destruction of the human head, and I really wanted to make that element very medically real, but not gory in the sense of pictorial splashes of blood. I didn't want to make it cool violence, I wanted to make it effecting.

Q: We know about your childhood love of vampires, but were you also fascinated by medicine?

A: My parents had two encyclopedias in the library, one was an encyclopedia of art and the other was medical, volumes of family medicine with anatomical charts, and I remain to this day incredibly anatomically curious.

Q: What does the lead character Ephraim represent to you?

A: I wanted the hero to be a very flawed hero, heroic in ways that are not just testosterone-fueled, gun-toting ways you expect from a hero in a genre movie. He (Stoll) is really good at playing flawed characters that for some reason you find irresistible.

Q: Is the second season a done deal?

A: Not yet. But we have a very spotless record in the way we have managed the series. FX is very pleased that I remained involved throughout.

If we succeed, we start as a procedural genre piece that is going to get progressively idiosyncratic and with every passing season we can go to places a normal vampire tale never goes.
Title: Re: The Strain
Post by: Chiprocks1 on July 16, 2014, 10:01:24 am
Still waiting for FX to put it up on Roku. Getting p*ssed........
Title: Re: The Strain
Post by: Mac on July 16, 2014, 12:05:17 pm
How do you find out? Just manually check? FX have a site for that kind of information?
Title: Re: The Strain
Post by: Chiprocks1 on July 16, 2014, 12:39:19 pm
Roku has all the channels. As soon as I log in, it pretty much displays all the new/ popular shows/episodes that are up.
Title: Re: The Strain
Post by: Mac on July 16, 2014, 12:50:52 pm
Oh, Now I get why you said that thing about wishing Roku had an app like TeeVee.

D'oh
Title: Re: The Strain
Post by: Chiprocks1 on July 16, 2014, 01:07:57 pm
Oh, Now I get why you said that thing about wishing Roku had an app like TeeVee.

Bingo!
Title: Re: The Strain
Post by: Chiprocks1 on July 28, 2014, 07:36:31 am
Night Zero
(http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i266/Chiprocks1/Star%20Ratings/HTL_05star.gif)



I'm a couple of weeks late to the show through no fault of my own. I blame Time Warner for not getting this up on OnDemand in a timely fashion. The on uptick to it is that I already have the 2nd episode up to watch. So, I'll be all caught up. As for the Pilot episode, everything that Mac said, I agree with. I really wasn't sure what to expect story-wise. I'm more of the mindset of let it play out and seeing what sticks and what doesn't. Pretty much everything stuck here. It looks amazing. I really like the cast. Having Sean Astin and Mía Maestro is a bonus. While watching the end credits, I was caught off guard that Kevin Durand was in this. But who? I did not see him ANYWHERE in the episode. WTF! Didn't expect to see Lance Henriksen attached to this either. What the hell happened to Francis Capra? He's gotten HUGE!!! Yikes!
Title: Re: The Strain
Post by: Mac on July 28, 2014, 07:45:05 am
Quote
I was caught off guard that Kevin Durand was in this. But who? I did not see him ANYWHERE in the episode.

Vasiliy Fet (http://www.fxnetworks.com/thestrain/cast/vasiliyfet) He's the best exterminator for the NYC Bureau of Pest Contro

"The character of Vasiliy Fet was originally created with regular del Toro collaborator Ron Perlman in mind."
Title: Re: The Strain
Post by: Mac on July 28, 2014, 07:47:40 am
I'm enjoying the show, but the last two episodes, I'm falling asleep. Not because of the show... because of me. It's late and too damn comfortable.

Oh, and on a side note. I just realized I'm watching two shows in a row (The Last Ship, then The Strain) that both deal with virus's so to speak. The concerns are similar and virus agents are the stars.
Title: Re: The Strain
Post by: Chiprocks1 on July 28, 2014, 05:58:17 pm
The Strain - Guillermo del Toro on the Vampire Hierarchy - Comic Con 2014

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYPIS05VADo&index=2&list=WL
Title: Re: The Strain
Post by: Chiprocks1 on August 02, 2014, 05:10:39 am
The Box
(http://i.imgur.com/PavQhZ0.gif)


Solid follow up to the Pilot. There wasn't the huge letdown that comes after watching a kick ass premiere episode. As for the little girl, she creeps me the f*ck out. Kinda expected what she eventually does to her father. Curious to see where they are going to take the little girl. Will she be wreakin havoc? As for the cast, I know it's only 2 episodes in, but I was expecting a lot more of Sean Astin. I'm getting the feeling that he's not going to be around much longer and that they will kill him off, especially since he has ties to the 'bag guys'. That Old Guy (the one that knows everything) reminds me a lot of Whistler from Blade.
Title: Re: The Strain
Post by: Chiprocks1 on August 02, 2014, 06:22:25 am
Gone Smooth
(http://i.imgur.com/SW1TShG.gif)


Ha. Now the title of the episode makes perfect sense. So, Goth-Rocker is suffering from a severe case of Ken-Barbie-itis. Sucks to be him. Get it? Sucks? Oh, never mind! Anyway, we do get a little back story into Sean's character and why he essentially made a deal with the 'Devil'....to save his Wife who is suffering from a disease herself. Maybe he will be sticking around for the duration. As for Kevin's character, is he a Cop or an Exterminator? Or both? So, I just thought of something. There are four "survivors". Are they suppose to represent the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse to bring on the End of Days? Or is this just a coincidence the writers settled on the number four?
Title: Re: The Strain
Post by: Chiprocks1 on August 08, 2014, 08:39:05 am
It's Not For Everyone
(http://i.imgur.com/SW1TShG.gif)




I'm glad they didn't drag it out and keep the 3 leads in the dark about what is happening. That much was said at the end of the previous episode. But in this one, they literally had to cut up the body to see just what is happening which then of course leads to them tracking down others that are infected. They are in a way Vampire Hunters now, even if they don't know it yet. So Sean's character is banished from the team and Mia's character is still trying to wrap her head around with what is going on. It's only a matter of time before the team gets back together for the greater good. As for that Wife....I take it that she is basically going to keep her 'Vampire-Husband' as a "pet on a leash" out in the shed. I had thought that she would have called the CDC once she discovered that her husband killed the family dog. But as soon as the neighbor basically admitted to hurting their dog earlier, I knew that she was going to feed him to her husband. Now THAT's a Wife!!! Ack!!
Title: Re: The Strain
Post by: Chiprocks1 on August 15, 2014, 07:57:46 am
Runaways
(http://i.imgur.com/SW1TShG.gif)



This episode was damn short. When it ended, I was like "that's it?". I swear it seemed like it was a half hour at most. It was a good episode, but it was lacking somewhat. I did however like the flashback scenes to the concentration camp and seeing that the Monster was around even back then. But that too seemed lacking. They should have fleshed it out more, unless their intent is to keep coming back in later episodes to fill in the back story.
Title: Re: The Strain
Post by: Mac on August 15, 2014, 09:11:00 am
I see ya gave it 4 stars anyway.  :P

I liked it. Good pacing and I noticed how the spread is ramping up.
Title: Re: The Strain
Post by: Chiprocks1 on August 15, 2014, 10:12:32 am
To give it a 3 would do the episode a disservice. In spite of feeling short changed on a couple of things, it was still worthy of 4 Stars for sure.
Title: Re: The Strain
Post by: Chiprocks1 on August 20, 2014, 06:02:33 am
Occultation
(http://i.imgur.com/SfhcoSn.gif)


The episode wasn't bad or anything, but it was damn slow and at times boring. It's a set up episode where not much really happens other than showing some vampires feeding here and there. My guess is that the next episode will kick up a notch now that it's getting closer to nightfall, which will see the city overrun by vampires. So, 2/3 of the team is back together again. Still unclear why Sean Astin's character is still doing errands for the 'German Vampire' guy. He knows he is the bad guy and he knows that he is responsible for the outbreak. So, I ask again, why the f*ck is he still working for him? He's gotta know that he can't save his wife now.
Title: Re: The Strain
Post by: Mac on August 20, 2014, 02:43:49 pm
I take him for a very submissive guy.

Note: By the way, The Strain renewed for the next season.




Ya
Title: Re: The Strain
Post by: Chiprocks1 on September 02, 2014, 11:45:28 am
For Services Rendered
(http://i.imgur.com/SW1TShG.gif)


A nice pick up from last weeks 'slow' episode. I like the back-story involving Abraham Setrakian and Thomas Eichorst. It's a pretty good reveal in that we find out that Abe is the one that carved the Box and the fact that the back story takes place in a Concentration camp makes it even more interesting. I find it kind of ironic that in Raiders of the Lost Ark, the Nazi's are in pursuit of a Holy relic in the form of the 10 Commandments and in The Strain, they are harboring pure evil. Nice twist at the end with the revelation that a "Vampire"-Soldier is also hunting it's own kind. I'm guessing he is a form of Vampire, if not 100%.
Title: Re: The Strain
Post by: Mac on September 02, 2014, 12:47:41 pm
Your gonna love the next episode... Creatures of the Night.
Title: Re: The Strain
Post by: Chiprocks1 on September 02, 2014, 12:55:07 pm
You mean this (http://pennycan.createaforum.com/music/kiss-(the-replacement-lineup)-discography/msg2683/#msg2683)? I already do!!!  ;D
Title: Re: The Strain
Post by: Mac on September 02, 2014, 12:58:29 pm
Yea... NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You do know there's other musical groups out there... right?
Title: Re: The Strain
Post by: Chiprocks1 on September 02, 2014, 12:59:16 pm
You do know there's other musical groups out there... right?

Says you motherf*cker!  ;D
Title: Re: The Strain
Post by: Mac on September 02, 2014, 01:01:25 pm
Hey, hey, hey

Can you hear this? Well let me turn it up for ya
Title: Re: The Strain
Post by: Chiprocks1 on September 02, 2014, 01:03:31 pm
LOUDER!
Title: Re: The Strain
Post by: Mac on September 02, 2014, 01:27:58 pm
It goes to 11... ya ready... my bi tch?
Title: Re: The Strain
Post by: Chiprocks1 on September 07, 2014, 07:47:11 am
Creatures of the Night
(http://i.imgur.com/cTZ9poD.gif)


Creatures of the Night is exactly what it sounds like. The Vampires are out and they are looking for winning scratch-off lotto tickets!  ;D This was the episode I have been patiently waiting for. If you are a fan of TWD, then you are sure to enjoy this one as it's basically the same plot. Lone survivors, trapped in a building with a swarm of 'Undead' closing in on them and time running out. Best episode yet. With that out of the way, I absolutely knew that Sean Astin's character was toast. I knew once Kevin Durand's character joined ranks with them that they would immediately turn around and thin the heard and Sean's character was the most logical. I knew that even after they did emergency surgery on him that he was still infected and would meet his fate. It sucks they killed him off as I'm  a fan of the actor. But, it's what the story calls for and they needed to set up the ground rules that no one is safe on the show. NO ONE!!
Title: Re: The Strain
Post by: Mac on September 07, 2014, 02:54:59 pm
Yea, while expected... it still was sudden and shocking.
Title: Re: The Strain
Post by: Chiprocks1 on September 17, 2014, 09:04:37 pm
The Disappeared
(http://i.imgur.com/SW1TShG.gif)




This show is still in its infancy, and yet it felt very odd that Sean Astin is gone. Sucks that this is permanent. Sigh. Anyway, solid episode. I'm most interested in  Abraham's story, especially his time in the concentration camp. When they showed Abe's hands in present day, my initial reaction was "poor David Bradley, he's got some serious arthritis". I still think those are in fact his hands, but they were able to work it into the story by showing how Abe got his hands crushed back in 1944 by The Master. The Blond chick is annoying me. So, she has come face to face with vampires and knows that all of New York is infected and the first thing she does is whine about her roommate stealing her laptop? I think there are bigger priorities at the moment, don't cha think?
Title: Re: The Strain
Post by: Chiprocks1 on September 20, 2014, 06:35:06 am
Loved Ones
(http://i.imgur.com/SW1TShG.gif)



So, let me get this right....if you are nicked, cut or feed on by the tentacle tongue thingy, you turn into a bottom feeding Vampire, but if a single worm enters you, you become something more than a bottom feeder? I was surprised that they actually turned the mother into whatever she is now. But I was more surprised that they actually showed her feeding on the kid. Solid episode.
Title: Re: The Strain
Post by: Mac on September 20, 2014, 05:15:35 pm
Del Toro has no problems of using kids in unspeakable situations.
Title: Re: The Strain
Post by: Chiprocks1 on September 24, 2014, 07:16:18 am
The Third Rail
(http://i.imgur.com/SfhcoSn.gif)


I like that the story has gone underground into the Master's Lair, but overall I felt the episode was just meh. Really didn't much of anything for the whole hour and even the confrontation with the Master was somewhat of a letdown. So, that little kid looks like he will start morphing into Carl from TWD as evidence by his 'stabbing' tendency at the end of the episode. It was inevitable.
Title: Re: The Strain
Post by: Mac on September 24, 2014, 09:32:08 am
I found this episode to be one of the more intense. The whole claustrophobic tunnel, the master, the Hispanic guys mom. You know, he's going to change in attitude.

I just found it absorbing.

I believe on more episode and the final? for this season? until next spring?
Title: Re: The Strain
Post by: Mac on February 16, 2015, 04:45:37 pm
Dayum on this too, as far as season 2 this summer?

Good Gawd... This is not working for me.