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Post by MJ on Dec 15, 2012 6:29:35 GMT -6
EXPLORING LITTLE RED: RENWICK HILLANDERAs we count down the weeks to Little Red’s premiere its time to explore the origins of another main character in the series, Renwick Hillander. We got series creator M. J. Calder to tell us all about the male counterpart to the series female lead: I wanted most of Little Red’s main characters to come straight from the 'Little Red Riding Hood' story and Renwick is, essentially, my rendition of the Huntsmen or Woodcutter character, depending on the story you’re reading. While I’m all for strong female leads I do love a good partnership, and Audrey needed someone to watch out for her, to look after her without being oppressive, to be her best friend, and that person was Renwick. He’s the kind of guy who jumps in to help but doesn’t want to make a big fuss out of the fact he did. He's the unexpected hero. Renwick is the son of the town butcher and here is where the huntsman aspect to his character comes in. It’s his job to go hunt the animals that supply his family's living. He’s rarely without his bow, usually because he get’s dragged into the forest a lot by Audrey and it's useful to have around in that case. He’s a skilled archer but most importantly he’s a grounding force to Audrey’s whimsical and adventurous nature. Renwick has a rather quiet temperament. He isn’t one to go searching for trouble but he spends a lot of time with Audrey and, well, trouble seems to find them. He’s always lived in his brother’s shadow too, his brother who is well liked around the town and a natural leader. This provides some of Renwick’s motivation, that he needs to be as good as, if not better than, his brother and achieve what his brother has. Renwick is still young though, and still finding who exactly he wants to be. In time he may find he’s not cut out for following in his brother’s footsteps, or maybe he will? Perhaps he'll take over his father's work or perhaps he'll strike out on his own path? Renwick, as one of the main characters of Little Red, will have a large role to play. Like Audrey, he will take on the lead role in some of the fairytales that Little Red re-imagines, because where Audrey goes Renwick usually follows. He’s our hero character but not quite our fairytale prince- not yet anyway. And there's the scoop on Renwick Hillander. What do you think is in store for his character? Any interesting speculation? Post your comments, questions, and theories below!
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Post by MJ on Dec 11, 2012 18:25:00 GMT -6
Hit the halfway point for 'The Thin Man' and finally getting to all the creepy stuff. Can't wait to get this one finished
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Post by MJ on Dec 7, 2012 22:26:34 GMT -6
EXPLORING LITTLE RED: AUDREY WRIGHTWith Little Red set to premiere in just eight weeks time, we decided to delve into an exploration of the main characters and their roles in the twisted fairy tale world that is the setting for the series. Each week we will be releasing a new ‘Exploring Little Red’ piece, written by creator M. J. Calder, focusing on one of the main characters, and who better to start with than Little Red Riding Hood herself: Audrey Wright. When I decided I wanted to write a series about fairy tales it took me some time to figure out how I would tell it. In the end I decided to start with one fairy tale and branch out from there, introducing characters as needed but ultimately sticking with the same core group. The fairy tale that became the focus of the series is also its namesake, ‘Little Red Riding Hood’. Little Red Riding Hood has a number of iconic characters, mainly Little Red Riding Hood, Grandma, the Huntsman, and, of course, the Wolf. Audrey is the character that stemmed from Little Red Riding Hood. True to the tale, Audrey has a signature red riding cloak, wanders in forests, and has interaction with not just one, but a number of wolves, or more accurately, werewolves. Audrey is not just Little Red Riding Hood though, she’s a number of my favorite fairytale characters rolled into one. If I had to pick one other character who Audrey was strongly influenced by it would be Belle or ‘the beauty’ from Beauty and the Beast. Beauty and the Beast has always been one of my personal favorites as far as fairy tales go and when Little Red eventually gets to it’s Beauty and the Beast season Audrey will have a very big role in the story. That’s not to say Audrey won’t be a big part of every season but she can’t be the princess or the heroine every time. Sometimes Audrey or one of the other main characters will step into specific roles in a fairy tale and other times they will watch others take on those roles while still being significantly involved in the overall Little Red story. All in all it will depend on what the story calls for, but Audrey will always be there in her red riding cloak, involved and trying to get to the bottom of things. As a character, Audrey is one of those people who is naturally inquisitive, daring, and stubborn. Audrey will act on what she feels is right more often than not, relying on her heart when it comes to making the tough decisions. The fairy tale princess is often portrayed as a hapless victim in most tales but I’m trying to push past this stereotype with Audrey. Audrey is by no means a warrior, wielding a sword and shield and slashing down enemies at every turn, but she won’t cower in a corner when she knows she could be doing something - anything – to help. So there's the scoop on main character Audrey Wright. But what do you think is in store for her character? Any interesting speculation? Post your comments, questions, and theories below!
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Post by MJ on Dec 6, 2012 20:01:03 GMT -6
SPOILER UPDATE
Episode descriptions for episode 1.04 "Tooth and Claw" and 1.05 "Blood Moon" have been updated, completing the official episode descriptions for the whole season. Some spoilers and trivia have also been added for episodes 1.01 "The Howling", 1.02 "Waning and Waxing", and 1.04 "Tooth and Claw".
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Post by MJ on Dec 3, 2012 18:24:52 GMT -6
PRODUCTION UPDATE & PREMIERE DATE
Get excited Little Red fans because we've got some big news for you in this update!
First off, an official premiere date has been announced for the series. Feburary 1st 2013 is the date to circle on your calendar. Little Red will be airing at 8/7 central with it's pilot episode 'The Howling'.
In other news, Little Red creator MJ Calder has announced that despite the original plan to have six half hour episodes in the first season, revisions have dropped the number of episodes down to five. When asked why the sixth episode was struck from the season, MJ Calder explained that "when planning the last three episodes of the season I was finding the story seemed to drag. I was struggling to find ways to fill out the episodes and in the end the decision was made to condense those last three episodes into two". She then went on to assure that cutting the episode would not result in any huge changes and fans need not be worried. "The end result," she said, "is that the apex of the story is going to be much more action packed and exciting than what was originally planned."
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Post by MJ on Dec 3, 2012 4:22:34 GMT -6
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Post by MJ on Dec 1, 2012 21:05:07 GMT -6
So I ended up reading all the way up to episode 11 so I'm just going to make one big post with a paragraph or so to review each of the episodes XD 1x03 Acting 101It's nice to see that Paula, despite being not the best agent, is actually finding ways to further Alex and Alisha's acting career. Not to mention this is the episode where the two 'villains' of the story are introduced. My comments as far as Jordan and Angela go are probably going to echo most others when I say that they come across a bit like stock villains. They're dialogue is so incredibly cliché and I can't read any of their lines without thinking of them striking some kind of fabulous bad guy pose afterwards XD I like that Alex and Alisha now have the additional conflict of dealing with two snobby, nasty people, but I feel like Angela and Jordan would be much for satisfying for readers if they were more than just bad guy caricatures. 1x04 The Sing OffI like that in this episode we get to focus on Alisha and her talents. I also like how this is an area that Alex isn't very good in, it helps to round out the characters, showing there's some areas they'll have to work on or may never be good at and that's just like real life. This episode probably has my favourite line of the whole sequence and that is "Thank you, Alex and Justin, for that...representation of One Direction.", it really made me laugh. I do like that you add some depth to Jordan and Angela's relationship in this episode, it's a really interesting direction to take with them, though I do have some gripes with how it's handled in late episodes, which I'll get to a bit later. 1x05 ImprovI find it a little odd that Paula has a key to their apartment after only one month but, hey, maybe they're really trusting people. Michael running out with the baseball bat made me chuckle too Again, it's nice to see the variation in Alex and Alisha's skills and how they try to support and make up for each others weaknesses, it's nice to see how close they are like that. I have to admit, I was cringing when it was Alisha's turn to do the improv, so much secondhand embarrassment XD 1x06 Commercial SuccessIt's nice to see Paula come through for them as an agent in this episode, though I find it so petty of Alex to turn his nose up at the idea of doing a commercial initially XD I'm glad Alisha steps up to the plate though and decides to go it alone, it shows how much she's grown in the short time that they've been there. But, of course, Alex shows up in the end, which is nice, and I was honestly surprised by that too 1x07 JealousyI like that this episode picks up from the previous one by actually showing the end product of the commercial. And, no surprises here, Angela and Jordan are crazy jealous XD I like the introduction of Jordan and Angela's agent to the show but I think he comes across as a little too rude? Like, I get what you were going for but the way he responds to Paula has me kind of wondering if these people are really adults because when they're sniping at each other like that for really not much a reason it comes across really childish. 1x08 NewbieI can't decide if I like David or not. He seems almost too confident, you know? Like, almost cocky sometimes and it just has me erring on the side of caution when it comes to deciding if I like him or not. I did like how Jordan and Angela apparently use the same routine on every new person to try and intimidate them, though it obviously fails this time XD Halloween SpecialI love that you have a Halloween episode, I think special holiday tie in episodes are awesome. Anyway, love how Alex and Alisha have the same costumes as Jordan and Angela, didn't see that coming. Again, no surprises that those four are the last ones in the competition and that they try to trick each other into breaking character. I did find it a bit odd that they're trading very obvious insults in front of the teacher and the rest of the class? Aren't they supposed to be watching them? Wouldn't the teacher put an end to it if they were just having a go at each other the whole time? Just something that bugged me. I was kinda wishing that Angela would win though XD I don't know, I kind of like her and figured she could probably do with getting something she wants for once 1x09 MomI found it funny how it was just a stream of people coming into the apartment throughout this episode, especially that Paula was there when no one was expecting her. And David, again, not really sure what I think of him. It might just be because the webisode episodes are so short and I'm not really getting a good feel for his character just yet. Alisha's mum showing up was a surprise, I kind of forgot that she was even around until this episode XD I did find her abrupt appearance and ultimatum a bit odd though. I mean, Alisha is old enough to make her own decisions now and her mum rocking up and essentially telling her they're leaving in a month just seemed weird, though that could be because at this point we really had no backstory on her mum at all. 1x10 I'm HereI really like how you've built the relationship between Alisha and Michael in this episode. He really does feel like a father to her and I like how he ultimately leaves the decision up to her but still gives her a lot of good advice to help make the decision. I did fins the transition from that scene to Paula arriving a bit abrupt though, to go from something tender and emotional to something as crazy as Paula without some kind of way to separate the two scenes was a bit jarring. I do like how the end of this episode sets us up for episode 11 though 1x11 Dance, Dance Some more looks into Jordan and Angela's relationship which I found really interesting. Don't quite get why David and Alex wandered off to look in the teachers office. Yes, I got a little chuckle out of it but I felt like the scene didn't really serve a purpose? I also have to confess, David and Alisha's chemistry? Don't really see it. I mean, it was getting there but it all feels a bit rushed for me. I can't really sense that "the chemistry between the two is unimaginable". And end the episode with Jordan and Angela being nasty and making Alex think his best friend doesn't trust him enough to tell him her decision. I hope that gets sorted out next episode and it doesn't turn into a catalyst that will end with Alisha leaving Other notesOkay, so here I want to address some overarching things that weren't really episode specific 1. Spelling/grammar/typos: I noticed that pretty much every episode had at least a couple of typos or spelling mistakes that were really quite easy to notice. It's not that they were every other sentence but there was certainly enough that I noticed them and it bugged me. Of course, that can be easily fixed by making sure you do a thorough edit or get someone else to read over it for you 2. Dialogue and characterisation: Another of the major problems I had with the series was characterisation. A lot of the characters felt very wooden, in that they were so stereotypical it almost pained me XD It did get better as the season progressed but I felt like a lot of your supporting characters, and even your main characters sometimes, just lacked in strong characterisation. As far as advice I can give you for this the best I can offer is get to know your characters. Jordan and Angela are villains, yes, but villains just for villains sake aren't interesting. You're on the way there by showing that the relationship between them is quite abusive but you still need to flesh them out more. Think about what motivates them. Why are they interested in acting? Why is Jordan so volatile? Why does Angela stay with Jordan? If you know all this you'll find that every action your character makes suddenly has new meaning and it will come across in the writing, even if the audience never finds out the answers to those questions (though admittedly it's more fun if they do, just make sure to drip feed them the info rather than dump it on them ) Anyway, from here on in the comments are mostly just my personal likes and dislikes. 3. Paula: I'm sorry to say it Brady, but I really don't like Paula all that much! I feel that she's so over the top that I just think she's ridiculous. Mind you, I've never been a fan of over the top/slapstick-y characters and unfortunately Paula just fits that bill. I know everyone else loves her and thinks she's funny and when I started reading I was trying to see that but just- no, Paula is not the character for me. As a side effect of this I don't really see any chemistry between her and Michael either, a lot of their interactions just feel like Paula is just forcing her presence on Michael and I really don't get the hype. Sorry! XD 4. Jordan and Angela's relationship: While I really do like the idea that Jordan is an abusive boyfriend (it adds so much to the characters) I found that maybe it wasn't depicted in the best way possible for the characters and the story. I felt like when you wanted to remind us of how Jordan treats Angela it was all very obvious but then in other episodes, where they're relationship didn't play a big role in the story, that aspect was just kind of brushed off to the side until it was needed again for dramatic effect. I would have liked to see it shown as less over the top and more of a subtle undercurrent whenever we saw Angela and Jordan alone. I do hope that in the second sequence we will get to find out more about their relationship. 5. Angela: Of all the characters in the show I'm going to go ahead and declare Angela as my favourite, if only because her character holds so, so much potential for being amazing. I felt like you might have dropped the ball a bit with Angela and I don't know if it was a deliberate choice of if you didn't realise who much a growth a character like her could go though. I would have loved to see Angela open up a little to Alisha in this sequence, and we did see a bit of it in the sing off, because I think it would have been really interesting to see how Alisha would have dealt with it and also how desperate for a friend Angela really is. I would love to see Angela maybe break away fro Jordan a bit, and maybe open up to someone else, because I get the feeling she isn't nearly as nasty as we think she is and that a lot of it's a show. Now I don't know if I'm hitting anywhere near the nail with this character analysis but if there's anything I'd want you to do in the second arc it's explore Angela's character some more Anyway, that's everything, I think XD Sorry for the ridiculously long review! I should hopefully read the last episode soon and will write you a review for that asap
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Post by MJ on Dec 1, 2012 5:11:57 GMT -6
Finished Act 1 of the 'The Thin Man'. 30 or so pages left to go with all the exciting parts to write coming up
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Post by MJ on Nov 30, 2012 18:32:43 GMT -6
"At the foot of a vicious mountain range sits the village Fae. This small village breeds a hearty sort of person, one who can survive the isolation, the hard work, the cold winters, and more recently, the strange occurrences..."Little Red is a series that takes the fairytales and fables from our childhood and turns them on their head to create a dark magical world. The series focuses on the characters of Audrey Wright, an adventurous young woman, and Renwick Hillander, her friend since childhood. What the pair doesn’t know is that their village sits atop a gateway of old magic and the strange situations plaguing the village are more than coincidence. The show will air like a miniseries but with multiple seasons. Each season will consist of 4-6 episodes and have an overlaying fairytale theme eg. 'Little Red Riding Hood' or 'Snow White' or 'The Princess and the Pea'.
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Post by MJ on Nov 29, 2012 19:40:32 GMT -6
Oh, I don't know if I've mentioned it before but I'm really looking forward to Bitten! It's exactly the kind of show I'd watch on tv so I can't wait to start reading it, Darrin
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Post by MJ on Nov 27, 2012 23:36:46 GMT -6
Review of 1x02 "Hollywood Trouble"I'm kinda really loving the webisode format. I means I can read and review an episode and it doesn't take me, like, two hours! But anyway, on to my review. First up, a couple of problems I had with the episode. I noticed that some of the dialogue was quite repetitive or redundant a couple of times. The example that comes to mind is when Michael says "She couldn’t find a photographer to book to take your headshots. She said they're all booked." If she can't find any photographers to book doesn't that already imply that they're all booked? it just kinda makes the dialogue clunky. The other big problem I had was couldn't Paula just book one of the photographers the week after if they were all booked for that week? Like, surely not all of them are going to be completely booked up for the next month or so XD But yeah, those were my only two major problems with it. Besides those issues I really enjoyed the episode. I like that you're focused on how much of a struggle it is for Alex and Alisha to break into the industry and that it's probably going to take them quite a while to do that. I did really enjoy Paula in this episode, I like that while she's a little bit silly and quirky she really is trying hard for Alex and Alisha. I do want to know why she hasn't been representing anyone for a while though. Is that something that ever gets addressed? It has me intrigued. It's also nice to see that Michael is protective of Alex and Alisha but, gosh, he could cut Paula some slack XD I'm looking forward to see what happens now that Paula has booked them into the LA's Teen Talent. I know sometimes I can be a little rough with my reviews (I can be really nitpicky ) but beside all that I do really enjoy Audition, If I didn't I wouldn't be coming back and reading more episodes! Anyway, expect a review for episode 3 soon, I really want to find out how the rest of Audition's first sequence plays out
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Post by MJ on Nov 27, 2012 19:21:14 GMT -6
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Post by MJ on Nov 27, 2012 19:20:48 GMT -6
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Post by MJ on Nov 27, 2012 19:18:56 GMT -6
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Post by MJ on Nov 27, 2012 0:01:01 GMT -6
SPOILER UPDATE
Episode descriptions for episode 1.02 "Waxing and Waning" and 1.03 "Wolf Hunt" have been updated. More episode descriptions and spoilers to follow in the following days.
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Post by MJ on Nov 26, 2012 21:56:23 GMT -6
REVIEW: 1.01 "Out of Sight (Part 1)"So, MJ, I read this a while back, but never gave you a review. But now, I've re-read the pilot, because I totally forgot what happened (go me!) and decided to actually leave you a review this time! Soooo, let's get on wit dis! So, the whole plot. Awesome. It reads a "police show", with the murder at the beginning and the detectives spend the episode attempting to uncover the murderer, but it also has that mystery element of the big bad main demon (forgot his name... sorry! XD), because it feels like he'll be the big-bady of the season. But, yeah, props on having it both ways! Love it! Thanks for taking the time to read it (twice ) and review! I wasn't expecting any reviews for EoV until episode 4 eventually came out so this was a nice surprise Yeah, EoV kind of covers a lot of genres (I'd go so far as to call it a supernatural/crime/mystery/sci-fi) a while the episodes flow like a police/crime show there is a big mystery element that underlies everything. I think you're referring to Vincent as the big-bad demon? (I can't remember if he's actually named in the pilot) But yes, he'll be a recurring character, however, there's more to his story than just being the villain this season but you'll have to wait a little while to find that out She's the only person at the moment in the Barton DCIU branch with Sensitive abilities, yes, but there are other people who are Sensitives. Each one has a different range of 'sensitivity' though, so some people have stronger or more evident abilities than others. Tori's abilities specifically will be looked at in more detail later in the first season and those episodes will hopefully explain more about it all You won't have to wait long. Episode five will focus on Cassie and you'll get to see her in a rather dangerous situation then! A couple of people have commented on that, and I think it's because we're so used to seeing bosses stereotyped as being mean and nasty. Nora can be tough when she has to be, but what hasn't been addressed just yet in the series (well, maybe in episode 3 a little) is that it's very much the DCIU against the rest of the world. Nora would rather be a little lenient and earn the respect of the people that work under her so they can be the most effective team possible and be the hard-ass boss who demoralises her team and leaves them not very enthused about their job. The DCIU works hard to remain a respected branch of law enforcement and they can only do that by appearing as a united front Thank you so much for the awesome review! I really hope you get a chance to at least read 'Out of Sight Part 2' because it wraps up the pilot nicely and I'd love to see what you think of the other main character next to Tori, Shayne Grey
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Post by MJ on Nov 26, 2012 20:27:51 GMT -6
Review of 1x01 'We Have Arrived'So, I read this a couple of days ago but am only now getting around to reviewing it Anyway, I really like the concept of Audition, it's so different from anything else on the VPN at the moment and that's really cool. For a first episode I think 'We Have Arrived' is pretty solid but probably not the best it could be. Some things like the way the characters act/speak is a little bit off but I've read reviews of later episodes that suggests this is probably more to do with you getting used to the show and how you want it to work more than anything. I like all the characters we were introduced to in this first episode, though I won't make any calls on favourites or anything until I've read a little more of the series, which I am planning to do! Some of the descriptions for the later episodes look really interesting and I can't wait to get into some of the meatier episodes of the first sequence So, summing up, a pretty solid first episode with an intriguing set of characters which has me eager to read more. Hopefully I'll get around to reviewing all of them but even if I don't I'll definitely be reading them all
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Post by MJ on Nov 26, 2012 4:50:09 GMT -6
If you want to, go for it. I'm finalising the episode plans for season 1 so the board should start being updated with spoilers and such soon
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