How “Game of Thrones” pulled off the wall battle
Between 100 and 200 extras and four weeks of filming was allotted, but director Neil Marshall says the toughest scene to pull off was “probably the mammoth. Everything else exists in some form or another. Even the giants are like 8-foot-tall actors that we film against green screen and make them bigger. But the mammoth is 100 percent CG. So you have to plan out these sequences where you have stunts and then you”re going to put this giant and mammoth there, and leave room for them. Easily the most complex effects work I”ve done on anything.” PLUS: Kit Harington and Rose Leslie talk last night”s episode, how the book was different, this was “bravura cinema-on-TV” yet a very odd episode, there was a lot of action and yet very little happened, the producers relied on spectacle because there was less important raw material, this episode needed to happen years ago, and this was the best hour of action filmmaking this year, on TV or in film.
Bryan Cranston on winning a Tony: “It”s as strong as blue crystal meth”
The former “Breaking Bad” star also joked about playing Lyndon B. Johnson in “All the Way”: It”s “like I stole something,” he quipped. “Every adult is seeking something … And I found it. I stumbled on it. And I'm the luckiest guy in the world.”
Comedian killed in crash was Tracy Morgan”s mentor
James McNair, AKA Jimmy Mack, not only worked as the former “30 Rock” star”s writer, but he shared a long history with Morgan. “He was one of the first comedians that took Tracy under his wing,” Morgan”s wife, Sabina, said of the 62-year-old Mack. “They were very close.”
“Orange is the New Black” isn”t as popular as “House of Cards,” based on illegal downloading
Season 2 of “OITNB” was illegally downloaded by 55,668 individuals, compared to 90,841 for “House of Cards” Season 2 in its first two days of release.
Shonda Rhimes tells Dartmouth grads: “My dreams can suck it”
The “Scandal” and “Grey”s Anatomy” honcho, who graduated from Dartmouth College in 1991, told graduates on Sunday: “Dreams are lovely, but they are just dreams — fleeting, ephemeral, pretty,” adding: “My dreams did not come true, but I worked very hard and ended up building an empire out of my imagination, so my dreams can suck it.”
“Veep” ends Season 3 with a “genius move”
Why that twist was perfect for the HBO comedy. PLUS: Season 3 was fantastic and consistent.
“Everwood” cast reunites without some of its biggest stars
Treat Williams and former real-life couple/TV siblings Chris Pratt and Emily VanCamp didn”t attend Saturday”s reunion at the ATX Television Festival. But much of the cast was there, including Gregory Smith a grown-up Vivien Cardone and creator Greg Berlanti. PLUS: See reunion photos.
Tony Awards was more than a “Hey, we”re just like the movies” ceremony
The Tony broadcast rolled out so many people from the movie world, it seemed to try to fool viewers into thinking the theater was like the big screen. Yet there was a subtext to the broadcast, as Neil Genzlinger points out, that showed how tough it was to put on eight live performances per week. PLUS: The best and worst moments, LL Cool J and T.I. rap “The Music Man,” Jonathan Groff paid tribute to John Travolta, Neil Patrick Harris grinded on Sting, and Hugh Jackman was terrific.
“Mulaney” star Nasim Pedrad doubts she”ll be on “SNL” next season
Pedrad has been filming both Lorne Michaels-produced shows — which film in L.A. and NYC — since December. But Pedrad doesn”t think she”ll have time to be on the “Saturday Night Live” cast for its 40th season. “I haven”t heard any official word so far, but I love this show so much,” she says.
Oxygen orders “Sisterhood of Hip Hop” reality show
The “docuseries” will focus on upcoming female emcees, or “femcees.”
“Roswell” cast reunites for 15th anniversary
Diehard “Roswell” fan Snooki from “Jersey Shore” was also in attendance at Sunday”s ATX Television Festival. PLUS: See the cast pic.
Matthew McConaughey presented ex Sandra Bullock with the “Decade of Hotness” prize at Guys Choice Awards
“What decade? I have several under my belt,” responded Bullock.
“GMA”s” Ginger Zee weds
The TV meteorologist married NBC News correspondent Ben Aaron over the weekend.
Former “Bachelorette” Emily Maynard had a secret wedding
Maynard married fiance Tyler Johnson on Saturday after telling guests that they were attending an engagement party.