It has been a while since we updated the blog and since then the JO-related news has been busy. Ms. Ormond currently has two projects out. First is the Australian film "Ladies in Black," playing in theaters
II. "Forever" is a comedic TV series starring Maya Rudolph and Fred Armisen currently playing on Amazon Prime.
What, you may be asking, is "Forever" about? Rolling Stone has you covered. Beware, though, the article contains spoilers to the show's many mysteries. Best to just watch the trailer and then go into the show completely unawares of where it will be taking you.
III. "Gold Digger" looks to me like it might be one of the most interesting projects Ms. Ormond has done in a while.
Broadwayworld describes the BBC One six-part mini-series as being "about a woman falling in love with a much younger man and the effect it has on her already damaged family," co-starring Ben Barnes (Westworld, The Punisher).
IV. Julia also appeared in a video speaking at the Skoll World Forum, powerfully describing her "Aha! Moments: When I Changed Course."
She also took part in a discussion presented by the USC Price Athenian Society entitled "Ending Trafficking: A Discussion on Human Rights."
"Howards End" premiered today in the UK. The Starz/BBC 4-part mini-series will air in the U.S. early next year. The trailer for the mini-series dropped a few days ago and contains a brief line of dialogue from Julia Ormond, playing a scene with series star Hayley Atwell.
The BBC website contains more footage from the adaptation of E.M. Forster's classic novel.
II. Julia will be appear in a new Australian film called "Ladies in Black." It is based on a bestselling novel by Madeleine St John. IMDB describes the film as follows:
"Ladies in Black is set in Sydney in the summer of 1959, against the backdrop of Australia's cultural awakening, breakdown of class structures, and liberation of women. It tells the coming-of-age story of suburban schoolgirl Lisa, who while waiting for her final high school exam results with dreams of going to the University of Sydney, takes a summer job at a large department store. Here she works side-by-side with a group of saleswomen who open her eyes to a world beyond her sheltered existence, and foster her metamorphosis."
"Ormond will play a Slovenian emigre who’s the manager of the high-fashion floor. Other cast members include Rachael Taylor as Fay Baines, Alison McGirr, Vincent Perez, Ryan Corr, Susie Porter, and Shane Jacobson."
III. True Sioux Hope Foundation, an organization dedicated to "assisting the Oglala Lakota Sioux Native Americans from the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota," recently held its second annual True Sioux Hope Gala. The non-profit "reached out to donors including Donna and Dick Pickup, Tim and Stephanie Busch, Linda and Burton Young, Leroy and Kelly Breinholt, Cheryl and John Joliffe, Marilyn Robinson and Julia Ormond to build local interest and bring in financial backing."
IV. Are you still disappointed that Lifetime cancelled "The Witches of East End" on a cliffhanger? This may be the consolations you're looking for:
"On Tuesday, Summer on East End: Triple Moon, the young adult spinoff novel series by Witches of East End author Melissa de la Cruz, arrives in bookstores, and with it comes “Mirror Souls,” a short story conclusion to the TV series."
This story is an old one at this point but I missed it the first time around. If you missed it, too, and are a fan of the tv series, pick up the book!
V. "Remember," the sci-fi thriller starring Peter Dinklage, Martin Donovan, Anton Yelchin and Julia Ormond will become available on blu-ray on November 28th. Julia is all over the trailer (yay!!!). This one looks like it could be really good.
Julia Ormond has joined Hayley Atwell, Matthew Macfadyen, Tracey Ullman and Philippa Coulthard for a BBC/Starz four-part mini-series production of Howards End, based on the classic E.M. Forster . Yes. You heard that right. Julia Ormond - and - Hayley Atwell... in the same mini-series! You may recall that the novel was also adapted into a very popular 1992 Merchant-Ivory film starring Emma Thompson and Anthony Hopkins. Filming has wrapped
"Howards End tells the story of two couples caught in a swirling landscape of social and class divisions in turn-of-the-century England. Playground is executive producing in association with City Entertainment and KippSter Entertainment. Kenneth Lonergan is penning the adaptation, directed by Hettie Macdonald.
It focuses on Margaret Schlegel (Atwell), an intelligent, idealistic, bohemian young woman who is courted by the older Henry Wilcox (Macfadyen), a self-made conservative businessman, after his wife Ruth Wilcox (Ormond) dies unexpectedly. Meanwhile, Margaret’s passionate and capricious younger sister Helen Schlegel (Coulthard) takes up the cause of Leonard Bast (Quinn), a young bank clerk who falls on hard times at work and at home with his partner Jacky (Eleazar). In the absence of their parents, who have died, the sisters’ loving but interfering Aunt Juley (Ullman) tries to keep the young ladies and their brother Tibby (Lawther) on the straight and narrow."
II. Rememory, Julia's new SF drama, co-starring Peter Dinklage and the late Anton Yelchin premiered at the Sundance Film Festival to mixed reviews. Entertainment Weekly has a plot description and clip from the film (featuring Dinklage):
The first season (10-episode) episodes of Syfy's INCORPORATE concluded to generally positive reviews. The author of this Vanity Fair article is clearly a fan!
No word yet on whether the series will be picked up for a second season but Bustle lists the reasons why it should be!
Wait -- what's that, you say? Oh... right. Incorporated been cancelled. ::sigh::
IV. Tour de Pharmacy, the star-studded HBO mockumentary about doping in the world of professional cycling, had its first trailer released. Considering its colossal cast I wonder if this will be a blink-or-you'll-miss-her role for Julia. That will probably apply to most of the actors credited in the trailer. The movie premiers on July 8th.
Julia Ormond is celebrating a birthday! I'm sure all of her fans wish her a very happy birthday today. Incorporated is half-way through its first season and the reviews have been generally positive. It's certainly been my favorite project Ms. Ormond has been involved with in recent years. The SyFy Channel series is very much worth checking out if you haven't already.
I. Variety review: “Incorporated is an energetic and watchable science-fiction thriller that posits that a climate apocalypse will be followed by a swift division of survivors into haves and have-nots — all by the year 2074. Right now, that date feels like a somewhat optimistic estimate."
As you can imagine, Julia has been doing a lot of interviews and press for the show over the past few months. A very small sample can be found below:
II.Rememorywill premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 25th. The festival synopsis describes the film as follows:
"Famed scientific pioneer Gordon Dunn (Martin Donovan) is mysteriously found dead shortly after the unveiling of his latest and most groundbreaking achievement—a device that can extract, record, and play a person’s unfiltered memories. After his death, Gordon’s reclusive wife, Carolyn (Julia Ormond), recedes into her own private world until a mysterious man (Peter Dinklage) knocks at her door, claiming to be a past acquaintance. With questionable motives, he steals the machine in an attempt to unravel his own personal demons, launching an exploration into a troublesome past filled with guilt, grief, and betrayal.
Through the glass of the mind’s eye, director/co-writer Mark Palansky steadily introduces pieces of an intricate puzzle that don’t always fit, leading us down a winding path where our human consciousness often defines reality. Rememory is a striking and uniquely stylized portrait of loss and recovery, reminding us that we are nothing more than the memories we keep."
III. Julia Ormond, in her role as the founder & president of ASSET (Advancing Systemic Solutions to End Enslavement and Trafficking), was involved in a lengthy discussion, which took place on November 15, 2016, entitled LET'S END HUMAN TRAFFICKING: MODERN-DAY SLAVERY IN AMERICA:
The new SyFy channel drama Incorporated is almost here. The official web page and Twitter account ( @IncSyfy ) are chock full of intriguing goodies including this great sneak peek clip with Julia Ormond featured front and center. I already suspect that this will become one of my all-time favorite Julia performances. I love what I am seeing so far. Premiere is set for the Fall.
II. Julia will be appear in Andy Samberg HBO cycling mockumentary Tour de Pharmacy. The film will also star Orlando Bloom, Will Forte, Dolph Lundgren, John Cena, Daveed Diggs, Phylicia Rashad, Mike Tyson and Nathan Fielder. The film is described as a follow-up to Samberg's tennis mockumentary 7 Days in Hell. You can read more about the project on ScreenCrush.
III. An interview with Hank Mann, the production designer on Rememory (release date Spring 2017). According to the article on EIN News: "Rememory revolves around Sam Bloom (Peter Dinklage) and Carolyn Dunn (Julia Ormand) as they try to get to the bottom of the mysterious death of Carolyn's husband, Gordon Dunn(Martin Donovan). An ingenious professor who was preparing to unveil an innovative new invention capable of recording and playing a person's memory, Dunn's invention may just hold the answers to his sudden death." I find it a fascinating window into the look and feel of the upcoming film. I'm really looking forward to this one. The late Anton Yelchin also stars.
The first trailer for the upcoming SyFy Channel series Incorporated (starring Sean Teale, Julia Ormond, Dennis Haysbert, and David Hewlett) is here. It looks extremely promising to me!
II. Peter Dinklage and director Mark Palansky are asking for your memories. The film Rememory, as described by IndieWire "centers on Dinklage’s character, Sam Boom, who tries to solve the murder of an inventor who created a machine that extracts and records memories in their so-called purest state. Julia Ormond, Anton Yelchin, Henry Ian Cusick and Martin Donovan will also star in the mystery thriller." Julia will play the deceased inventor's widow. On the official website, Dinklage and Palansky ask that you share videos that can be selected to be included in the actual film.
III. Julia Ormond appears in three harrowing advertisements for the Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking (CAST). More information can be found on the organization's web site, which is:
Julia Ormond to star with Peter Dinklage in Rememory. Julia is set to play the widow of a scientist whose invention - a device that records people's memories - she uses to attempt to discover truth about his mysterious death. Dinklage (Game of Thrones) will reportedly play a friend who helps her on her search for the facts. Filming begins (or has begun) this month in Vancouver (no confirmation on whether or not Vancouver will be playing itself!)
The SyFy Channel has picked up the pilot of the Ben Affleck and Matt Damon produced "futurist thriller" Incorporated for a full season! Earlier articles suggested that Julia would be playing the series lead. The below article suggests that might not be the case but more information should be forthcoming over the next few months.
