Movies
TV: John Hawkes Explains Why He Passed On ‘The Walking Dead’ Governor Role
John Hawkes, one of the most brilliant actors alive, IMO, was originally rumored to done the eyepatch for the role of “The Governor” in the forthcoming third season of AMC’s “The Walking Dead.” It eventually went to British star David Morrissey. But that doesn’t mean the show’s producers didn’t want Hawes for the role.
Hawkes, who is coming off a great few years having starred in Winter’s Bone, Martha Marcy May Marlene, Contagion and even “Eastbound & Down,” opened up to Movieweb as to why he passed on the role that was extended to him.
“They offered me the role, and I just felt there would be someone else who could do it better,” he tells the site. “I was flattered, and I took a look at the series. It held interest for me, but I just didn’t feel like I was the guy for it. I have to be careful of what TV shows I choose, particularly ones that have commercials in them, because it’s going to be a different kind of television show. There are going to be sponsors. No matter how good the show is, if there are commercials, it’s going to be a different show, to me. That’s just my personal feeling. Yeah, it was nice of them to ask, and it’s a good show, but, again, I just didn’t feel I was the guy. They came to me and sent me the graphic novel and the first two seasons. I took a look at them, and just didn’t feel like it was for me.”
He watched the first two seasons, no wonder he passed. Still, I have high hopes for this year’s third season as we’ll see The Governor kicking ass opposite heroine Michonne (Danai Gurira). These arcs in the Robert Kirkman comic are simply awesome.
Movies
‘Abigail’ on Track for a Better Opening Weekend Than Universal’s Previous Two Vampire Attempts
In the wake of Leigh Whannell’s Invisible Man back in 2020, Universal has been struggling to achieve further box office success with their Universal Monsters brand. Even in the early days of the pandemic, Invisible Man scared up $144 million at the worldwide box office, while last year’s Universal Monsters: Dracula movies The Last Voyage of the Demeter and Renfield didn’t even approach that number when you COMBINE their individual box office hauls.
The horror-comedy Renfield came along first in April 2023, ending its run with just $26 million. The period piece Last Voyage of the Demeter ended its own run with a mere $21 million.
But Universal is trying again with their ballerina vampire movie Abigail this weekend, the latest bloodbath directed by the filmmakers known as Radio Silence (Ready or Not, Scream).
Unlike Demeter and Renfield, the early reviews for Abigail are incredibly strong, with our own Meagan Navarro calling the film “savagely inventive in terms of its vampiric gore,” ultimately “offering a thrill ride with sharp, pointy teeth.” Read her full review here.
That early buzz – coupled with some excellent trailers – should drive Abigail to moderate box office success, the film already scaring up $1 million in Thursday previews last night. Variety notes that Abigail is currently on track to enjoy a $12 million – $15 million opening weekend, which would smash Renfield ($8 million) and Demeter’s ($6 million) opening weekends.
Working to Abigail‘s advantage is the film’s reported $28 million production budget, making it a more affordable box office bet for Universal than the two aforementioned movies.
Stay tuned for more box office reporting in the coming days.
In Abigail, “After a group of would-be criminals kidnap the 12-year-old ballerina daughter of a powerful underworld figure, all they have to do to collect a $50 million ransom is watch the girl overnight. In an isolated mansion, the captors start to dwindle, one by one, and they discover, to their mounting horror, that they’re locked inside with no normal little girl.”
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