Kathryn Morris UK

Cold Case Japan Débuts

They’re all there: Will, John, Lilly, Nick, Scotty, file boxes. But some how they look different.

The locally created Japanese version of Cold Case premièred today (22nd October 2016). Or was it yesterday? At the time of writing it is very late in the day in Tokyo. Is it now? It all makes my head ow. Speaking of which the show is being broadcast on the WOWOW TV network in Japan, the home of the American version there too.

The news of this local version being in the works broke back in April, at the time it was said that 10 episodes had been commissioned. From looking at the WOWOW website (even though I cannot read Japanese) it looks like that is still the case.

Cold Case Japan is set in the Kanagawa Prefecture. This is south of Tokyo and has a mix of topography from major cities like the capital Yokohama, to more mountainous regions, and ancient areas. The large bay and the fact that Yokohama is such a major port for the country makes it a good replacement for Philadelphia. The Prefecture gives a lot of scope for vary varied stories across all aspects of Japanese life now and, as is so important to the show, the past. The theme music is based on “Nara” by E.S. Posthumus too.

Yō Yoshida leads the cast as ‘Yuri Ishikawa’. In a lovely nod to the original ‘Yuri’ translates as Lily. ‘Ishikawa’ apparently is a combination of the words ‘stone’ and ‘river’ or ‘stream’. That sounds like Lilly Rush: a stone, with hidden undercurrents.

I hope the Japanese viewers enjoyed their new TV show as much as they enjoyed the American original. If you have seen the programme and want to tell us what you thought then please contact me or post a comment below. We’d love to hear from you.

I’ve a new ‘Global versions’ sub-section to the Cold Case area of the KM UK Gallery, kicked things off with a Japan album and put the above photo and a short promo video to it. You can see it here.

Dennis Byrd 1966 – 2016

Late last night (15th October 2016) it was announced that the former American football player Dennis Byrd had died in a car accident. Dennis had recently celebrated his 50th birthday.

Dennis was a successful player for the New York Jets in the late 1980s/early 1990s. He had a long career still ahead of him when a collision with a team-mate on the field left him with a broken neck and temporary paralysis. His prognosis was bleak, with doctors unsure if he would ever regain the use of his legs. This was November of 1992. However, at the start of the following football season he took to the field unaided as an honorary captain for the coin toss. He was never able to again play the sport he loved but his determination to overcome odds and learn to walk once more was a source of great inspiration to many.

Each year the Jets’ team players nominate a team-mate to receive a Most Inspirational Player award created and named in honour of Dennis. I’m sure the next presentation will take on particular significance now. The team retired Byrd’s shirt number 90 after his injury.

Dennis wrote a book, Rise And Walk: The Trial And Triumph Of Dennis Byrd, about his experiences. It was published in 1993. Dennis continued to work, coaching and giving talks about his recovery.

In 1994 that book was released as TV movie, with the slightly shorter title of Rise And Walk: The Dennis Byrd Story, starring Peter Berg as Dennis Byrd. Kathryn, credited as Kathy Morris, played his wife Angela. It was one of Kathryn earliest roles.

The film is something of a rarity, has never been released on DVD, and as such has never really been featured on KM UK. Hopefully we can return to it in the future in more detail but, for now, I’ve opened an album in the Gallery for the film and got things rolling with some promos, stills, and the video box cover art.

Hostage Released – October 2002 Photo Update

The news last month of a return by car maker BMW to its The Hire short film series gave me an excuse to look back at one episode.

That episode was, of course, Hostage which, of course, starred Kathryn.

The shorts were high production value publicity material and as part of that BMW Films screened them at a star-studded première event. Vanity Fair magazine were even roped in to host the screening and launch party at the ArcLight Cinema in Hollywood. Velvet rope was almost certain used.

One such star, a little studded in places, was, of course, Kathryn. It’s pre-Cold Case Kathryn looking in many ways very different from how we became so familiar with her but also so very much the same as we came to love her. The styles may change, the smiles never do

I have added 5 more smallish photos of Kathryn attending the The Hire season two première event from October 2002 to the KM UK Gallery. See them here.

Hostage To History

A few days ago it was announced that the American arm of the German car giant BMW will be hiring South African Neill Blomkamp (District 9) to create a new short film for them.

So what I hear you ask? (actually I can’t, but that’s the web’s fault).

BMW of North America have initiated this project to mark the 15th anniversary of the release of a series of short films called The Hire used to promote the then-new Z4 sports car.

So what I hear you ask? Again (OK, pushy much?).

In amongst the big name writers, directors and actors in the original eight short films was a certain Kathryn Morris. She starred in one titled Hostage.

Although a set of screencaps from Hostage have been in the KM UK Gallery for many years I think I’ve managed to never really post about it. This seems like the perfect excuse to correct that.

The basic premise of each of the films is a man known only as ‘The Driver’, played by Clive Owen (Inside Man), being a sort of James Bond character required to perform a mission. As these are essentially adverts for a car the task entails some form of car chase or race against time.

In Hostage, which was part of the second season released in 2002, Clive starts off delivering a suitcase of money to ‘The Kidnapper’ (Maury Chaykin, Dances With Wolves) in return for the release of our titular hostage, that’d be Kathryn. The presence of an FBI SWAT team shows Clive is acting in league with the authorities, all though his exact role is not clear. Maury wants revenge on Linda Delacroix, a successful business woman, but things take a turn when he rejects the $5m ransom and gives a clue to where Linda is being held captive before attempting to kill himself.

Our hero races, in the BMW sports car remember, to rescue our damsel in distress. He arrives just in time, performs a feat of daring do, and as a reward gets handsy Linda’s chest, lays a few smackers on her, and then touches up her neck. You may, however, see it as attempting to revive an unconscious drowning victim with mouth-to-mouth and checking her pulse. Each to their own

After a towelling off and a change of clothes Linda visits her not-quite-dead incarcerator (geddit? ‘in car’, never mind) in hospital. One quick whisper in his ear from those over made-up lips and he’s a stiff, or he will be soon enough.

Linda wasn’t such an innocent victim after all…

There’s a few plot holes but the film is only 8 minutes long and it has to cram a lot in.

Clive is said to be getting back behind the wheel in the new short but it is highly unlikely Kathryn will be involved, though it would be interesting to see what became of Linda. She’s quite the femme fatale.

Does Linda remind you of anyone? A Rita Dunne from the film Paycheck perhaps? You’d have good reason to think that because only a year after Hostage was… err… released, the Ben Affleck starer Paycheck came out. In it Kathryn plays the very similar looking and equally ‘innocent’ Rita. Famous Hong Kong film director John Woo made both. It just shows why actors, even after reaching the heights of fame, make short films, often with little known directors, writers and producers. They get to experience working with new people and it can lead to big things later.

To mark the news of a new film short being made in the series I have added a brand new comprehensive set of full HD (1080p) screencaps of Kathryn in Hostage to the KM UK Gallery. It’s not summer any more but we’ll include this under the ‘Summer Of HD’ banner, as it is close enough and an HD upgrade.

In case you haven’t seen the film I’ve also included a small copy of the video in its entirety, so you can see the images in context. And there’s a DVD box cover art image too. Enjoy.

Colony S01E09 – Zero Day Full HD Screencaps

Tomorrow is ‘zero day’ for Colony season 1 being released on DVD in America. To celebrate this event KM UK has been running a short special Summer Of HD series of posts based around the show. The first two parts are here and here. This is the last of this set.

Episode nine of the ten was ‘zero day’ for Kathryn’s character Charlotte Burgess. She’d enacted punishment on Maddie (Amanda Righetti, The Mentalist) for a perceived breaking of her rules regarding certain… things… involving Mr Burgess. Maddie’s smart though and cleverly gets herself back on Charlotte’s good side, whilst simultaneously setting the scene for bringing her down a peg or twenty.

It did not end well for Charlotte, not that we know exactly what happened so the door is still open for her return come season 2 next year. It was Kathryn’s last appearance in the season.

So, we need to make the most of the 129 new Full HD (1080p) screencaps now added to the Gallery.