Chris Pine - Film

 

(C) 2014 by Rych McCain, All Rights Reserved. No part of this column may be reprinted, re-posted or duplicated without written permission from Rych McCain Media/Syndication. Violation is subject to applicable laws.

 Chris Pine - Film

By Rych McCain International/Nationally Syndicated Entertainment Columnist

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Photos Courtesy Paramount Pictures

Chris Pine

Raises The Stakes In New Spy Thriller!

  

Chris Pine as Jack Ryan

Snagging a lead role in a movie franchise is a lofty career break for any actor but having lighting strike twice with a second franchise lead is a rare blessing indeed. Chris Pine is now in this coveted position with his latest movie “Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit.” Fans of this young, handsome leading man have followed his early career through films like the Denzel Washington runaway train thriller “Unstoppable,” “Just My Luck” opposite Lindsay Lohan and “Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement” opposite Anne Hathaway to name some. But the real boost to Pine’s career was his portrayal of James T. Kirk, Captain of the Federation Starship U.S.S. Enterprise in the last two “Star Trek” movies which are sure to spawn more sequels.

   Now Pine is now reprising the role of Jack Ryan, the ordinary super spy character created by master, best selling spy novelist Tom Clancy. Hollywood brought Jack Ryan to the big screen first in “The Hunt for Red October” and again in “Patriot Games,” both movie blockbusters. Now Pine brings us a young and 2014 version of the character in “Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit.” This film does not disappoint and has all of the elements of a spine tingling, action spy thriller. Obviously people are curious as to the differences for Pine as Kirk in the future and Ryan in the present. Pine explains, “The great thing about the Jack Ryan films is that the plot and the stories kind of always take center stage and I think if you’ve done your job as the actor portraying jack Ryan, you are present enough to make an impact but you kind of let the story shine. We had a great story that David Koepp came up with. Obviously with Kirk, Shatner (William) made such a deep impression that it’s a whole different thing entirely.”

   

Jack Ryan in hot pursuit

  Pine showed his daringness by doing his own stunts. He elaborates on that; “I did plenty of my own stunts. I enjoyed doing them. I think most actors do it. You get to live out boyhood fantasies and you have people making sure that you do it safely.” Like the James Bond films with many actors that have played Bond, Jack Ryan has two predecessors in Alec Baldwin (Hunt For Red October) and Harrison Ford (Patriot Games). 

(R) Ryan (Pine) is recruited by CIA Agent William Harper (Kevin Costner)

  

Ryan's lady Cathy Muller (Keira Knightley)

How does this affect how Pine approached playing his version of Ryan? He smiles, “I’ve always loved the series, I’ve always loved the spy genre, fiction and films so I just kind of well versed with the Clancy universe having watched the films growing up. And looking at the character and re-watching the films, what I most enjoyed for me was the difference in what I saw in how Alex portrayed and how Harrison portrayed the character. With Alex in “Hunt” you have this, what Alex does really well; confident, intelligent, analytical man who knows what he knows and is not afraid to say it. With Harrison, with his tweed coat and his Volkswagen Jetta, he’s the humble intellect and the classic reluctant hero. And I thought somewhere in that was kind of a great way to being looking at the character.” 

 

     Unlike the Bond films where 007 wears the latest of suits, jewelry and drives expensive sports cars, Jack Ryan is a laid back ordinary guy. What was Pine’s take on this image? He laughs, “In the beginning there was a big discussion about suits so the costume designer brought in all of these beautiful Ralph Lauren suits and very kind of banker suits that looked awesome but the image I kept going back to was Harrison Ford’s look and that to me was the character. He didn’t care about suits or fancy watches; he had a 10 dollar haircut. That’s who he is.

© 2014 Rych McCain Media/Syndication TM 

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Twitter@rychmccain and Facebook

Queen Latifah - TV

(C) 2014 by Rych McCain, All Rights Reserved. No part of this column may be reprinted, re-posted or duplicated without written permission from Rych McCain Media/Syndication. Violation is subject to applicable laws.

 Queen Latifah - TV

By Rych McCain International/Nationally Syndicated Entertainment Columnist

www.twitter.com/rychmccain and Facebook (Like Me)

Queen Latifah

Cruses Into The 2014 Season

   

Queen Latifah

  She made the highest ratings debut among new talk shows for the 2013-2014 season last year and held that position all year and is now poised to repeat the same accomplishment with the renewal of her second season for 2014. Of course we are talking none other than the ever popular Queen Latifah and the “Queen Latifah Show.” Latifah serves as not only the hostess but is also a co-executive producer through her Flavor Unit Entertainment Company in partnership with Jada Pinkett Smith and her Overbrook Productions Company and Sony Pictures Television Productions. The show is shot on the Sony Pictures lot in Culver City, CA.

Famed Living Room Set

  Did Latifah share any of her personal life victories with her audiences in the first season and how does she connect? She pauses for a second to reflect then says, “There are so many triumphs. If could be making it through a tough time in my life or making it through the loss of a loved one. I think wherever I do connect with someone; where ever I feel like I can relate to someone it can be talked about. I think I will share as it feels natural and that’s the connection to people. I feel like we have more in common then we tend to have differences. I also find the differences to be very interesting.” 

    
  

Interviewing Will Smith

Latifah has a calm but stern demeanor that keeps her pretty even keel in term of staying humble. Where does she dig to maintain that? She laughs, “I work at it. I work at trying to stay humble because it’s not like sometimes I don’t feel like saying man, I’m Queen Latifah, really, do I have to do the dishes tonight? Why do I have to do dishes? But then I think you should be lucky you have a dish to eat off of. As soon as I start to get supped up about it then God hits me with some little message. I have a lot of ways in which I try to stay humble. Number one, I’m very close to my family and my friends and they keep me real and they keep it real with me. They pat me on my back when I do a good job and smack my hand when I do badly. But never the less they love me and that’s more important to me than having a Hollywood career or having fame and making a lot of money. Having their love and respect is more important to me.”

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  Latifah also adds, “ And I’m human. I make mistakes. I’m not perfect and knowing that it’s hard for me to get too arrogant or too conceded especially knowing that I didn’t get here by myself. I’ve been very blessed and had a lot of help along the way. I have people pray with me. I don’t want to be a complainer. That’s one trait I don’t want to develop.”  Where does Latifah see her show going this sophomore season? “My personal goal for the show is to really make it a huge hit – bottom line. I just want it to be something people look forward to watching every single day. I want it to be must see TV. It has to be that kind of show that you’ve got to see. As a host, I just want to be excellent at what I do and I want to get better and better.” In addition to her hosting duties Lafiah will continue to perform as well.

© 2014 Rych McCain Media/Syndication TM 

(You DID Hear It From Me!) 

Twitter@rychmccain and Facebook