Charlie Hunnam is way more than his scrappy biker character of Jax Teller on FX’s “Sons of Anarchy.” He’s written a screenplay on Vlad the Impaler, a 15th century badass whose penchant for brutality and night-fighting struck fear in the heart of the Ottoman Empire and gave his outnumbered forces an advantage on their home battlefield. He was also the inspiration for Bram Stoker’s “Dracula.”
 Hunnam’s screenplay for “Vlad” will be produced by Brad Pitt’s Plan B and Summit Entertainment, the studio behind the “Twilight” series. But Hunnam says there will be no vampires in this project.
The actor became fascinated with Vlad a national hero of Romania, when he spent five months traveling the country during downtime filming 2003’s “Cold Mountain.” Anthony Mandler is in line to helm the film.
When Entertainment Weekly asked Hunnam if he was going for a “300” vibe with the script, he replied, “My hope when writing it was for the end result to be more ‘Braveheart’ than ‘300,’ and I think that as it’s evolved, we’ve got a pretty good mixture of both. I labor a little bit more over the history than ‘300’ did. I was really interested in the reality of how this man turned into the myth, and because of some of his behaviors, it’s actually very easy to weave that mythology in, in a true way. As a writer, you have your idea of what it’s going to be, and now I have to release it. It’s Mandler’s film. But I have a lot of faith in him, and I like him tremendously as a human being, so I feel in safe hands turning my baby over to him.”
Read the full interview here.
Fresh on the heels of the hugely successful Twilight franchise, Summit Entertainment is working on a movie about the most famous vampire of all time, Dracula, aka Vlad the Impaler.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film is called Vlad, written by 29-year-old British actor Charlie Hunnam (pictured).
Brad Pitt will produce alongside Dede Gardner via the duo’s Plan B Entertainment production company. Brad has a bit of experience with vampires himself, having starred in 1994′s Interview With the Vampire.
Set to direct the film is music video master Anthony Mandler, who has worked with Rihanna on a dozen of her videos including her latest “Russian Roulette.”
– Alan Sepinwall – NJ Star Ledger
There’s been a lot of talk lately about how setting an end date can be a shot in the arm to a drama series. “Lost,” “The Shield” and “Battlestar Galactica” all took major upswings in quality after their creators were allowed to start planning toward a specific finish. When you don’t have to worry about being on the air past a certain date, you can take greater risks, not worry about maintaining the status quo — or, in some cases, about keeping characters alive — and the stakes feel higher, the drama richer.
FX’s “Sons of Anarchy” has somehow reached that higher gear without having the finish line anywhere in sight. It’s in only its second season, one of the most successful scripted shows on cable (it made headlines a few weeks ago for finishing ahead of Jay Leno in the 18-to-49 demographic), and FX no doubt wants to keep it on the air for a long, long time. (The cable channel, which tends to be conservative about renewals, has yet to formally order a third season.)
But “Sons” creator Kurt Sutter (a Jersey guy and former “Shield” writer) doesn’t seem to be worrying about the long-term right now. Conflicts are brewing in the show’s world of bikers and cops and meth dealers that many dramas would be afraid to get to for years, if ever. Each episode feels as if it could end with the characters all drawing their guns and shooting each other (including the ones who are allegedly friends and/or family), and the tension and sense of dread somehow builds week after week after week. It’s one of the best dramas on television (neck and neck with “Mad Men” in many weeks) and seems to get better and better.
I would call tomorrow night’s extra-long episode (it’ll run in a 90-minute time slot, albeit with only 55 minutes of content, so brace yourself for some long commercial breaks) a new creative peak, except that I’ve seen the episode the week after, and in many ways, it’s even more intense.
We’ve reached a point in the season where Jax Teller (Charlie Hunnam), crown prince of the Sons of Anarchy motorcycle club, has gotten fed up with the Sons and all the drama around them. He knows that the club’s president (and Jax’s stepfather) Clay Morrow (Ron Perlman) tried to have Jax’s best friend, Opie (Ryan Hurst), killed and accidentally murdered Opie’s wife instead, and he has to swallow that information because it would only lead to more violence and heartbreak. So Clay goes unpunished, and Jax’s attempts to wrest control of the club from him have only made things worse — and, to Jax’s disbelief, turned an ignorant Opie into Clay’s closest ally. And this civil war has come at a time when the club is under siege from a group of white separatists (whose leader is played by an ironically cast but quietly effective Adam Arkin) who want to take over the Sons’ gun-running operation.
So as tomorrow’s episode has begun, Jax has decided to cut the cord with the club and “go nomad.” Only matters get even more complicated with the arrival of the club’s former gun supplier from True IRA, Jimmy O (Titus Welliver from “Deadwood”), a vicious man who wants back in with the club and will use a personal hold over club member Chibs (Tommy Flanagan) to get his way.
There’s an epic feel to the proceedings, and that’s even before Jax’s indomitable mother, Gemma (Katey Sagal, who’s been doing Emmy-worthy work all season), hears what her son is planning and tries to stop him.
Now, there’s a reason most TV show-runners don’t go all-in on their storytelling this soon. Sutter is steering all the characters to places from which he might not be able to bring them back, and assuming FX does plan on many more seasons, that could be a big problem.
But right here, right now, “Sons of Anarchy” is 100 percent riveting. Enjoy it now, and worry about later seasons if and when we get there.
Via Michael Starr @ NY Post
‘Sons of Anarchy,” the hardcore series about a gun-running motorcycle club, is starting to leave tire tracks all over the competition.
Without a lot of fanfare, “Sons,” now in its second season on cable channel FX, is outdrawing nearly all the competition Tuesdays at 10 p.m. — even NBC’s Jay Leno (in adults 18-49).
It’s averaging 4 million viewers each week, making it one of the top-rated shows on cable — and the surprise hit of the season.
“Sons,” in fact, is one of the rarest phenomenons on TV — a genuine word-of-mouth hit.
“It has a strong voice and a hot look, two elements that resonate on TV,” says Todd Gold, who covers pop culture for TV site fancast.com. “It provides an intense look into a sexy subculture.”
“Sons” is about members of the close-knit Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club, Redwood Original — nicknamed SAMCRO — who more or less run the town of Charming, Calif. (even the cops fear them).
The show’s central figure is young Jax (Charlie Hunnam), who questions the club’s code and wants to ease SAMCRO into the mainstream.
The gang makes its money mostly by dealing illegal guns — but they have a strong internal code that has made fans compare the show to “The Sopranos,” another show about bad guys you can root for.
“There’s a sense of danger, and the illicit, that has an allure,” says Gold. “It’s the kind of show you watch and then want to talk about the next day at work.
“And people have always been curious about motorcycle gangs.”
“Sons” creator Kurt Sutter has watched while his show — which debuted last year to solid reviews but not much buzz — has picked up a growing number of loyal and vocal viewers since it returned for a second season in early September.
“What I love is how committed the fans are,” says Sutter, who’s married to the show’s co-star, Katey Sagal. “I get notes on Twitter and on my blog . . . [the fans] are plugged in and really invested in it and I think that can’t help but get people to tune in.
“And this was the perfect storm for us,” he says. “FX really spent the dough and did a really fabulous job promoting it . . . When people tuned in, there was enough going on that they decided to come back.”
Sutter acknowledges the “Sopranos” comparisons — while at the same time distancing his show from that series.
“Our show is much more of an ensemble piece . . . just by the nature of outlaw clubs . . . ‘The Sopranos’ was really Tony and everyone else in his orbit,” Sutter says.
“I think what really appeals to a lot of viewers is ['Sons' '] sense of camaraderie about a band of guys — and their dedication, commitment and love for each other.”
Via TVGuide
Sons of Anarchy star Charlie Hunnam made a major sacrifice for the second season of the FX drama: He lost a tooth.
“I’m sure it was worth it, but I’ve got a thing about my teeth,” the English actor tells TVGuide.com with a laugh. “My mum was really psychotic when I was growing up about taking care of our teeth. I don’t have a single filling; I’ve never had anything done to my teeth, so it was kind of a bummer.”
The jaw-jacking scene won’t hit TV screens until the middle of this season, but it comes as the tension between Hunnam’s character, Jax, and SAMCRO leader Clay (Ron Perlman) reaches fever pitch. Hunnam says Jax tries to avoid a physical altercation for as long as he can. “Jax tries to play an intellectual game with Clay rather than going in, guns blazing,” he says. “But as his efforts get thwarted, his frustrations rise, and it all kind of comes to a head in a very violent fashion.”
Jax is still frustrated by the Season 1 murder of Donna, the wife of his best friend, Opie (Ryan Hurst). Donna died in a hit Clay ordered on Opie, but Jax keeps quiet for the sake of the club — much as he did when he helped Opie kill a Mayan gang member on whom Clay pinned Donna’s murder in the Season 2 premiere.
“Jax felt some remorse, but at the same time, they are at war with the Mayans,” Hunnam says. “There have been many casualties over the years at the hands of the Mayans, and this guy was a bad man, a gangster. He wasn’t an innocent man — he was just innocent of that particular crime. I think Jax toiled with that, but his allegiance is to the club, and whatever needs to be done to protect his brothers is what’s going to get done.”
…read more
Kurt Sutter recently took to his blog to express his appreciation to everyone who helped SOA pull in its record numbers for the start of season 02 – keep reading for the details or visit his blog here
We made a little cable TV history last night, kids. The specifics are in the official press release issued by the network below. FX and Fox 21 did an outstanding job promoting the show and getting the word out. The promos, the aerial banners, the billboards — it was all brilliant. But this exceptional number is because all of you spread the word and made the effort to tune in. I am truly humbled by this showing.
I’ve watched the fanbase of this show grow steadily over the past year. It’s been an amazing experience. As a storyteller, you live with these characters, these fantasies in your head. They are very real and very personal to me. To share them with an audience is as terrifying as it is exhilarating — the artist’s paradox. To see everyone embrace these people, this world and invest in it, is unbelievably gratifying. I thank you for taking this ride with me and I promise to continue to tell stories from depth of my blackened soul.
I love all you m*therf*ckers.
ks
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