News

Interview: Edward Bluemel of ‘A Discovery of Witches’ [SPOILERS]

Published

5 years ago

April 6, 2019

A Discovery of Witches, the hit series from SkyTV that has been exclusively streaming on Shudder and Sundance Now, will make its debut on BBC America and AMC on April 7, 2019.

Based on the All Souls Trilogy novels by author Deborah Harkness, the series imagines a world where vampires, witches, and daemons secretly live alongside humans. It’s a beautifully textured, timely story, and one that has drawn in viewers globally.

With its network premiere looming, one of the series’ many stars, British actor Edward Bluemel, sat down with iHorror to talk about the world of A Discovery of Witches and his experience in helping bring it to life.

The actor was completely over the moon about creating a role for the screen so different from anything he’d ever done before.

“In drama school, I did a lot of classical theater and my first TV role out of school was a period drama. It was all about accuracy, realism, and things like that,” he explained. “To do a fantasy is so lovely, really. It’s freeing and you’re in a world that doesn’t have those parameters. Also, playing a supernatural creature is a lot of fun.”

The supernatural creature Bluemel is referring to is Marcus Whitmore, vampiric son of Matthew Clairmont (Matthew Goode), who finds himself working for his “father” in a lab deciphering the mysteries of creature DNA.

This melding of the fantastic and scientific is just one way in which the series roots the supernatural in reality noting that each “species” differentiates by only a couple of chromosome pairs.

For his part, Bluemel loved this convergence.

“It was amazing creating this world that you can actually believe exists,” he said. “This different twist on vampires and witches makes it feel fun and fresh. I love being a vampire and a scientist.”

Marcus (Edward Bluemel) and Miriam (Alysha Hart) work together with Matthew digging into the DNA of supernatural creatures in A Discovery of Witches. (Photo by Robert Viglasky)

He was also grateful to Harkness during the audition process. He went in with no prior knowledge of the trilogy, and had no idea that he had very little in common, physically, with the Marcus on the page.

Harkness was completely taken with the young actor and his audition.

“She said, ‘I don’t care what I’ve written, that’s the spirit of the character,'” he laughed. “I gave what I thought the character should be, and they agreed with me.”

Soon, the young actor found himself surrounded by a cast of talented actors, many of whom he’d admired for years. It was Alex Kingston, however, that gave him the most pause.

Among Kingston’s many credits is the iconic series Doctor Who, and Bluemel says that while he had no nerves while filming, he did have to remind himself to put his inner fanboy to the side during the scenes he shared with her.

Moreover, working with phenomenally talented actors made him more assured in his own craft.

“As soon as I get on set, they’re so assured and confident in what they do that it actually made it easier for me,” he explained.

That confidence came in handy, especially with Marcus’s introduction in the series which different and more violent than in the novel. It was also Bluemel’s first experience seeing real stunt work performed on a set.

In the scene, Marcus is walking home with a friend, and as they part ways, the friend is hit by a car which speeds away. As he lays dying in the street, Marcus looks around and then without warning attempts to turn the friend into a vampire to save his life.

The turning goes horribly wrong and he stares in horror as his friend dies, confused and bleeding out into the street. It was a bitterly sad moment, and one that, Bluemel adds, drives home the vampire’s reality.

“You see this and it’s suddenly real. The vampires are real. They’re dangerous and they’re volatile,” he said. “It’s messy. No part of it is comfortable and it’s important for the viewer to see that.”

Bluemel’s performance in the scene and in Marcus’s subsequent altercation with Matthew is both poignant and raw. It drives home just who Marcus is and how important and complicated his relationship with his vampiric father really is.

These kind of relationships and moments elevate the series, and makes for really great television.

If you still haven’t had the chance to see A Discovery of Witches, it will premiere on both AMC and BBC America on April 7, 2019 at 9 pm ET/PT. Check your local listings for details and prepare yourself to be blown away by this magnificent world.

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News

Jake Gyllenhaal’s Thriller ‘Presumed Innocent’ Series Gets Early Release Date

Published

1 hour ago

April 26, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Jake Gyllenhaal’s limited series Presumed Innocent is dropping on AppleTV+ on June 12 instead of June 14 as originally planned. The star, whose Road House reboot has brought mixed reviews on Amazon Prime, is embracing the small screen for the first time since his appearance on Homicide: Life on the Street in 1994.

Jake Gyllenhaal’s in ‘Presumed Innocent’

Presumed Innocent is being produced by David E. Kelley, J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot, and Warner Bros. It is an adaptation of Scott Turow’s 1990 film in which Harrison Ford plays a lawyer doing double duty as an investigator looking for the murderer of his colleague.

These types of sexy thrillers were popular in the ’90s and usually contained twist endings. Here’s the trailer for the original:

According to Deadline, Presumed Innocent doesn’t stray far from the source material: “…the Presumed Innocent series will explore obsession, sex, politics and the power and limits of love as the accused fights to hold his family and marriage together.”

Up next for Gyllenhaal is the Guy Ritchie action movie titled In the Grey scheduled for release in January 2025.

Presumed Innocent is an eight-episode limited series set to stream on AppleTV+ starting June 12.

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Movies

Trailer for ‘The Exorcism’ Has Russell Crowe Possessed

Published

20 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Timothy Rawles

The latest exorcism movie is about to drop this summer. It’s aptly titled The Exorcism and it stars Academy Award winner turned B-movie savant Russell Crowe. The trailer dropped today and by the looks of it, we are getting a possession movie that takes place on a movie set.

Just like this year’s recent demon-in-media-space film Late Night With the Devil, The Exorcism happens during a production. Although the former takes place on a live network talk show, the latter is on an active sound stage. Hopefully, it won’t be entirely serious and we’ll get some meta chuckles out of it.

The film will open in theaters on June 7, but since Shudder also acquired it, it probably won’t be long after that until it finds a home on the streaming service.

Crowe plays, “Anthony Miller, a troubled actor who begins to unravel while shooting a supernatural horror film. His estranged daughter, Lee (Ryan Simpkins), wonders if he’s slipping back into his past addictions or if there’s something more sinister at play. The film also stars Sam Worthington, Chloe Bailey, Adam Goldberg and David Hyde Pierce.”

Crowe did see some success in last year’s The Pope’s Exorcist mostly because his character was so over-the-top and infused with such comical hubris it bordered on parody. We will see if that is the route actor-turned-director Joshua John Miller takes with The Exorcism.

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News

Win a Stay at The Lizzie Borden House From Spirit Halloween

Published

22 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Spirit Halloween has declared that this week marks the start of spooky season and to celebrate they are offering fans a chance to stay at the Lizzie Borden House with so many perks Lizzie herself would approve.

The Lizzie Borden House in Fall River, MA is claimed to be one of the most haunted houses in America. Of course one lucky winner and up to 12 of their friends will find out if the rumors are true if they win the grand prize: A private stay in the notorious house.

“We are delighted to work with Spirit Halloween to roll out the red carpet and offer the public a chance to win a one-of-a-kind experience at the infamous Lizzie Borden House, which also includes additional haunted experiences and merchandise,” said Lance Zaal, President & Founder of US Ghost Adventures.

Fans can enter to win by following Spirit Halloween‘s Instagram and leaving a comment on the contest post from now through April 28.

The prize also includes:

An exclusive guided house tour, including insider insight around the murder, the trial, and commonly reported hauntings

A late-night ghost tour, complete with professional ghost-hunting gear

A private breakfast in the Borden family dining room

A ghost hunting starter kit with two pieces of Ghost Daddy Ghost Hunting Gear and a lesson for two at US Ghost Adventures Ghost Hunting Course

The ultimate Lizzie Borden gift package, featuring an official hatchet, the Lizzie Borden board game, Lily the Haunted Doll, and America’s Most Haunted Volume II

Winner’s choice of a Ghost Tour experience in Salem or a True Crime experience in Boston for two

“Our Halfway to Halloween celebration provides fans an exhilarating taste of what’s to come this fall and empowers them to start planning for their favorite season as early as they please,” said Steven Silverstein, CEO of Spirit Halloween. “We have cultivated an incredible following of enthusiasts who embody the Halloween lifestyle, and we’re thrilled to bring the fun back to life.”

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Spirit Halloween is also preparing for their retail haunted houses. On Thursday, August 1 their flagship store in Egg Harbor Township, NJ. will officially open to start off the season. That event usually draws in hordes of people eager to see what new merch, animatronics, and exclusive IP goods will be trending this year.