Calendar

December 2024
M T W T F S S
« Nov    
 1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
3031  

Archives

Categories

The Protocol Becomes Marvel-lous – April Fool

on_set_012As the phrase goes: mighty oaks grow from tiny acorns.

My post at the beginning of the week about the short film The Protocol appears to have shaken that tree.

News reached KM UK Towers over night that this little project, largely put together by a group of friends, is in the process of being developed into a new branch of the Marvel Universe.  That’s what has driven the recent resurrection of the short film.

Early in its life The Protocol was said to be a pilot for a television series.  Despite the most recent description we saw showed it returning to being a small movie, it has in fact once again become a prototype for TV.  It would sit alongside the other Marvel shows on various networks.

If you’ve watched the short video clip from The Protocol you’ll have picked up the hints that Kathryn’s character, Flair Loop as she is known,  is not ‘normal’.  She is in some way ‘other’.  A mutant perhaps.  You will also be aware that Xen Sams and Max Ryan are playing some form of agents.  Hmmm.  Marvel.  Agents.  All the clues were there.

The idea is that every episode will involve a new unknown to deal with.   The titular ‘protocol’ refers to the agreed way of dealing with this kind of situation by S.H.I.E.L.D.  A new protocol will need to be employed for each.  No doubt there’ll be plenty for which there are no written guidelines.  The squad will have to wing it on those.

In the case seen in the short film Flair Loop is harbouring the next generation of mutated human in that pregnancy bump.  It is not known exactly what that could mean for the rest of humanity.  Is this a major threat or could it be our saviour?

In the dossier passed to me another planned episode includes a new alternative energy source found in the Antarctic wastes called Polar Oil F.  Sounds great but there are hints it could be earth’s undoing, rapidly accelerating global warming rather than helping counter it as it is not a standard fossil fuel.

If the TV series comes to fruition the short film will be re-made as as feature-length episode with the original cast.  Unfortunately the tight production budget won’t stretch to a CGI ‘bump’ for Kathryn so she will have to go ‘method’ on it.  Filming will need to start in about 8 months.  Any volunteers to take one for the team?  😉

More news on this story later.

Update:  It’s later.  Yes, this is my usual yearly attempt at an April Fool spoof post.

The Protocol Returns

on_set_012Cast your mind back…  No, further than that…  Woah there!  Not that far!  Nobody needs to see that!  :-)

Where to begin with this?  The beginning sounds good.

The best part of four years ago now we first heard about The Protocol.  It was a short film made by Johnny Messner’s (Kathryn’s partner) own production company.  A then very pregnant Kathryn had a role alongside many-named Xen Sams and Max Ryan (Sex And The City 2).  Nepotism abounded as Xen’s partner was also a producer.  It looked like it involved some near future, almost sci-fi setting with Xen Sams as Agent Amanda Chase.  The images we saw were set in an interrogation room, with the tables turned on Kathryn on for a change.

For the following couple of years we’d occasionally pick up snippets of info about the project.  Mainly from Xen giving interviews in which it was mentioned.  At some point The Protocol looked to have become a small pilot for a planned TV series.  I even went to the trouble of moving what content we had in the KM UK Gallery from the movie section to the TV area!

After a couple of years the film had dropped off the radar, with its IMDb page being removed.  So much for the TV series!

Well would you Adam and Eve it!  A few weeks ago I became aware that the project might be resurrected.  A new IMDb page has appeared, with very scant information on it, other than a two person cast list (Xen and Max) and describing it as a short film again.  I’m not moving the Gallery album until I know more!

This led to tracking down a short clip (which ends abruptly) from the film which I can bring to you today.  It’s the Xen and Max show but Kathryn makes a silent showing for a few seconds.  Not a lot of acting involved unless you include acting pregnant.  And she really didn’t need to act that!  The small video (and a few screenshots from it) are now in the KM UK the Gallery.  Look at the TV screen we see in the room with Kathryn.  There are some odd images on it that I can’t make out.  Any thoughts?

Hopefully this is a sign of bigger things to come from The Protocol.

clip_001_007 clip_001_014 clip_001

The Coin Holds Courts In France

concours_de_courts_456x208The Coin, the short film by Fabien Martorell that stars Christopher Lloyd and Kathryn, is roughly one fifth (1/5) the length of a single episode of Cold Case.

There were 156 episodes of Cold Case meaning you could watch The Coin nearly 800 times in the duration of a still imaginary Cold Case boxset.

Despite that disparity I’ve managed to post just less than half as often about this small film project compared to CBS’s long-running TV drama.  Admittedly this site came into existence towards the end of CC‘s run.

Amazingly I’m still given occasional reasons for report on The Coin‘s progress.  Now in the latest.

Yesterday Fabien evening let it be known that his mini-epic has been selected for another film festival.  This time it is the Concours de Courts held in Toulouse in south western France.

The screening is due to take place at the Université Toulouse 1 Capitole, apparently one of the oldest universities in France, on Thursday the 23rd of March at 7pm.

Find out more about event on the Concours de Courts website HERE.

US Roommate Becomes British Lodger

the_lodger_uk_dvd_cover_001It only seems like days since the last DVD delay.  That time was only a few weeks ago.  This was is more like two years.

For some reason, best known to the gods of the movie distribution industry, the film we original came to know as 2Br/1Ba (short for 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom) and was finally released as Roommate Wanted, has now been released in the UK as The Lodger.

It is not as though roommate is a specifically American term and the name required an English translation.  It looks like Frontline Home Entertainment have decided to try and re-brand the film as a horror film, rather than the dark comedy it really is.  As you can see from the DVD artwork on the right they’ve ramped up the ‘here’s Johnny!’ factor.

A large copy of the artwork (see right), along with other lots of other 2Br/1Ba / Roommate Wanted / The Lodger related material, can be found in the Gallery.  Check out the second version of the DVD box graphics I found.  It is clearly an earlier version with the most obvious difference being the position of the woman’s head in the gap.  Can you spot the mistake?

The film’s gallery pages include the amazing on set video message that Kathryn record espescially for us here at KM UK.  Full details HERE.

The Lodger is available from Amazon UK HERE and a review by Phil Wheat at the Nerdly website can be found HERE.

Kathryn’s In A Reverie – Update

Awoogah! Awoogah!

Actual news news!!!

The business known as show news website Deadline is reporting that Kathryn has signed up to take a role in a new NBC network pilot called Reverie.

Reverie is a vehicle for Sarah Shahi (Person Of Interest) and is centred around the topical idea of virtual reality software.  Apparently the software is causing significant issues for users and Sarah’s Mara behavioural expert and ex-detective is brought in to investigate.

Kathryn’s role is as a Department Of Defense official called Monica Shaw.  Not surprisingly the military are very interested in such technology, especially if it is having psychological effects on those that have experienced it.  If it can be weaponised, they’ll do it.

At present this is just a pilot, an initial episode that is used to showcase the project to the network heads to make a decision of whether to turn it into a series.  As such it is currently classified on IMDb as a TV movie.  We saw the same with the Surgeon General show that Kathryn was involved in a few years ago.  That one didn’t get past the pilot stage.

This early part of the year is very much ‘pilot season’.  Projects have got through the selection process and a few are being put into production as a first episode test.  Those lucky few that become series, likely to start broadcasting in the autumn, would start filming in the summer.  The pilot could be shown as episode 1, or it could be re-worked/filmed if changes are made.

Dennis Haysbert (24), Jessica Lu (Awkward.), and Sendhil Ramamurthy (Heroes) have already joined the cast.  Amblin Television, owned by Steven Spielberg who Kathryn worked with in A.I. and Minority Report, is producing the show created by Mickey Fisher (Extent).

More news on Reverie when we hear it.

Update (25 Feb 2017):  Johnny Messner (Kathryn’s partner) has posted his congratulations to Kathryn in his own inimitable style on Instagram and Twitter.  It goes thusly:

Congrats my honnneeee !!! You just took the whole show up 10000 notches !! You are by far one of the most talented actors I know and a even better momma !!! 😍😍😍😍 I love you for that – link

Page 15 of 75««101415162030»»