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Press/Audio: WandaVision fan theories, and why Kathryn Hahn ‘was gonna be so angry’ if anyone else sang ‘Agatha All Along’

The WandaVision cast and creative team are the first guests on the new season of The Awardist podcast, where EW’s Kristen Baldwin and Gerrad Hall kick things off with a look at the Limited Series race.

EW: The history books are closed on this year’s Oscars, so Hollywood — and EW with it — is opening a new one focused on this September’s Emmys.

That means a new season of EW’s The Awardist podcast is now underway, kicking off with the cast and creative team behind the blockbuster equivalent of a TV series: WandaVision. The first Marvel television show on Disney+, which debuted in January, is one of the many limited series in contention this year, and we’re breaking down that category as well as lead actor and actress in a limited series/TV movie. In addition to WandaVision’s Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany, stars including Hugh Grant (The Undoing), Kate Winslet (Mare of Easttown), Anya Taylor-Joy (The Queen’s Gambit), Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton), and Michaela Coel (I May Destroy You) are among those vying for a nomination come July 13.

In the case of WandaVision, traditional superhero fare is turned on its head with a story that focused on Wanda’s (Olsen) grief following the death of her beloved Vision (Bettany). But here, she uses her immense powers to manufacture a town and home where Vision is actually alive, and they’re living an idyllic life via the world of comfort-TV shows like those she grew up watching as a child in Sokovia. Add to it Teyonah Parris as S.W.O.R.D. agent Monica Rambeau, and Kathryn Hahn, who plays nosy neighbor Agnes/powerful witch Agatha Harkness, and the stakes are raised by people who are trying to stop Wanda — for reasons both good and bad.

The four actors, along with series head writer/EP Jac Schaeffer and director/EP Matt Shakman, joined The Awardist podcast, where they talked about audience reaction, fan theories, and memes, tackling grief in a profound but entertaining way, and watching Hahn top the iTunes chart with “Agatha All Along” (and besting Justin Bieber in the process). They also reveal their favorites moments from the nine episodes — some of which may surprise you.

You can listen to the full episode of The Awardist below.

Edit: Added the video –

Filed under: Audio, Interviews, Marvel, Press, WandaVision

May 13 2021

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Press: How Benedict Cumberbatch’s Dr. Strange Almost Appeared in ‘WandaVision’

Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige explains why a planned Dr. Strange appearance would’ve “taken away from Wanda”

ROLLING STONE: The story of WandaVision‘s main character, Wanda Maximoff, a.k.a. the Scarlet Witch (played by Elizabeth Olsen), is set to continue in 2022’s Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, but the two projects were almost linked much more directly. As Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige reveals in Rolling Stone‘s upcoming, extensive oral history of WandaVision, Marvel struck a deal with Benedict Cumberbatch to appear in the final episode of the show as Dr. Strange. But late in the process, they wrote him out.

“Some people might say, ‘Oh, it would’ve been so cool to see Dr. Strange,’” says Feige. “But it would have taken away from Wanda, which is what we didn’t want to do. We didn’t want the end of the show to be commoditized to go to the next movie — here’s the white guy, ‘Let me show you how power works.’” That meant the Dr. Strange movie, too, had to be rewritten. In the end, Feige says, Marvel’s process is “a wonderful combination of very dedicated coordination, and chaos. Chaos magic.” At one point, back when Dr. Strange was supposed to be part of the story, the in-universe commercials were going to be messages from Strange to Wanda, and there was also talk of having Cumberbatch appear in one of the ads, head writer Jac Schaeffer says.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth Olsen is pushing back on criticism that Wanda got off too easy by flying away without punishment after she forced an entire town of people into her sitcom fantasy world. “She had to get away before the people who have to hold her accountable got there,” she says. “And where she went is a place that no one could find her. Because she knows that she is going to be held accountable, and I think she has a tremendous amount of guilt.”

Our oral history, which tells the entire story behind the making of one of the year’s best TV shows, will also include interviews with Paul Bettany, Kathryn Hahn, Teyonnah Parris, Randall Park, Kat Dennings, and many more.

Filed under: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Marvel, Press, WandaVision

May 04 2021

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Video: Marvel Studios Celebrates the Movies

Filed under: Avengers: Age of Ultron, Avengers: Endgame, Avengers: Infinity War, Captain America: Civil War, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Marvel, Videos, WandaVision

May 03 2021

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Press: Elizabeth Olsen to Star in HBO Max Limited Series

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: WandaVision star Elizabeth Olsen is headed to HBO Max for her next TV project.

Olsen will topline Love and Death, a limited series about a notorious murder in Texas in 1980. The series from Lionsgate Television counts David E. Kelley, Nicole Kidman and director Lesli Linka Glatter among its producing team.

Olsen will play Candy Montgomery, who was convicted of murdering her neighbor and friend, Betty Gore, with an ax.

“This is a gripping story about the frustrations and desires of two women in a small town that culminates in a terrible act of violence,” said HBO Max head of original content Sarah Aubrey. “We are thrilled to be partnering with David, Lesli, Nicole, and Per [Saari] and incredibly fortunate to have Elizabeth at the center of our story to bring out all the layers of Candy that make this story so unforgettable.”

Love and Death is the second project about the Montgomery-Gore case to attract a high-profile star. Elisabeth Moss is attached to star in Candy, a limited series that’s in development at Universal Studio Group’s UCP from The Act’s Robin Veith and Nick Antosca.

Love and Death is based on the book Evidence of Love: A True Story of Passion and Death in the Suburbs by John Bloom and Jim Atkinson and a two-part Texas Monthly series by the same authors, “Love & Death in Silicon Prairie.”

“We cannot imagine a more perfect artist to play the leading role of Candy than Elizabeth Olsen,” said Lionsgate TV Group chairman Kevin Beggs. “Her talent, charisma and energy can bewitch audiences like no other. We’re proud to be collaborating with a world-class creative team of Lesli, David and Nicole on this thrilling and intriguing series and to bring another exciting premium property to our partners at HBO Max.”

The project will reunite Big Little Lies and The Undoing’s Kelley, Kidman and Saari. Kelley executive produces via his David E. Kelley Productions along with Kidman and Saari for Blossom Films; Emmy winner Glatter (Homeland); Scott Brown and Megan Creydt for Texas Monthly; and Matthew Tinker, Michael Klick and Helen Verno.

Olsen is repped by Gersh, Brillstein Entertainment Partners and Sloane Offer; Kelley by CAA and attorney Michael Gendler; Kidman by CAA, Media Talent Group and Jackoway Austen; Glatter by CAA, Anonymous Content and Lichter Grossman; and Texas Monthly by CAA.

Filed under: Casting News, Love and Death

May 03 2021

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