Home Entertainment WAYWARD PINES channels TWIN PEAKS, further details

WAYWARD PINES channels TWIN PEAKS, further details

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Wayward Pines

It was fairly unanimous after the first trailer for Wayward Pines that there was a definite Twin Peaks vibe to the upcoming 10-episode Fox event series. During the Fox panel presentation (via Deadline) at the TCA over the weekend co-producer and director M Night Theyweredeadallalongmalan confirmed the cult 90’s TV series as one of the inspirations for his new series which is based on the books by author Blake Crouch; himself an admitted fan of the original series. I wonder how they feel about that now, as Twin Peaks is itself returning in 2016?

This is Shymoleman’s first TV project and he seems to be enjoying the longer set-up time that a TV series offers over movies by saying:

“That is where my leaning is.  [Today the pressure is] to get to the fricking boat sinking. I love to do the dinner table scene.”

In a previous interview regarding the series he also stated that he’s learnt to be more flexible in his approach due to the rapid pace of TV production:

“I’m super precious, and probably in a very bad way, with my thrillers – no one changes a word, every shot is designed and that’s positive up to a point. Then when we were doing this, these guys move so fast. It’s unreal how fast you guys move and how much material you guys have to master. It made me less precious on the set… It loosened me up… As a filmmaker, you get a lot of bad habits creep in and you don’t realize — your posture starts slouching and you don’t realize you’re slouching until someone forces you. For me it was a great process.”

Texas Ranger

He went on to say that what attracted him to the project while reading the script was:

“I didn’t understand how any of this could make sense… as long as everybody isn’t dead, I’m in.”

Star Matt Dillon (as FBI Special Agent Ethan Burke) mentioned that the big reveal of the series would occur in the middle of the season saying, “Good old episode 5.” For some reason they wouldn’t tell us what it was though. Spoil sports. It makes sense though and works for an event series that’s planned from the beginning to have a definite ending; as people like to see how characters deal with what’s revealed. Syfy’s recent Ascension event series had a major reveal at the end of its first episode (of 3 double length episodes) that put the whole show into a different context.

When asked about the possibility of a second season Shyamanicial responded with a measured “wait to see if more story feels organic before committing” whereas co-producer Chad Hodge had a much more enthusiastic “bring it on.”

Wayward Pines has a strong cast featuring Dillon, Melissa Leo, Terrence Howard, Reed Diamond, Carla Gugino, Shannyn Sossamon, Toby Jones & Juliette Lewis. It’s due for a simultaneous release in 125 countries later in the year. Is this a show you’re interested in seeing?

Last Updated: January 19, 2015

2 Comments

  1. Twin Peaks vibe? I’m in!! 🙂 Recently watched Twin Peaks Season 1 again and it is still such a great series – so full of atmosphere and depth! Actually, it reminds me a lot of Hannibal and True Detective now…

    If they can replicate that in any form in a new series, it’ll be great. As long as this is the M Night of old (from The Sixth Sense and Signs days) and not the M Night of more recent (I’m looking at you, The Last Airbender!!).

    Reply

    • Blood Emperor Trevor

      January 19, 2015 at 13:02

      A whole bunch of the original actors are returning for the new series, so it’s looking good at the moment.

      Reply

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