Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Names and faces
■ Actress Michelle Rodriguez is threatening to leave The Fast and the Furious franchise unless its female characters are treated differently. Rodriguez wrote on Instagram on Tuesday that she hopes filmmakers decide “to show some love to the women of the franchise” in its next installment. If not, she says, she “just might have to say goodbye.” F.
Gary Gray directed the eighth film in the series, The Fate of the Furious” and is defending the treatment of women in that movie. He tells Business Insider that he “thought the combination of female characters was pretty strong.” Gray notes that Charlize Theron played the antagonist in the film and Helen Mirren made a cameo. The ninth film in the franchise is due out in 2019.
■ Rob Lowe said he thought he was going to be killed during an encounter with a Bigfoot creature while filming his new A&E documentary series. Lowe told Entertainment Weekly that the encounter took place in the Ozark Mountains, which stretch through Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. Lowe said he and his sons were camping there to investigate a Bigfoot-like creature known to locals as a “wood ape” during a shoot for The Lowe Files when something began to approach their camp. Lowe said he was lying on the ground thinking he was going to be killed. He added that he’s “fully aware” that the story makes him sound like “a crazy, Hollywood kook.” The Lowe Files follows the actor and sons Matthew and John Owen as they explore mysterious phenomena across the country.
■ The House star Jason Mantzoukas is Greek but has played everything from Middle Eastern to Hispanic characters in his time in Hollywood. He says that at a certain point he decided he wasn’t going to audition for any more parts that required a Middle Eastern accent. Mantzoukas’ olive complexion proved to be a challenge for the actor in getting parts early in his career. He says one casting agent told him he was too ethnic looking to get leading roles and yet his appearance wasn’t right to be cast as the ethnic best friend. The 44-year-old says he doesn’t regret the roles he did; he also says there were a lot that he turned down. He frequently guest-appears on podcasts, saying, “I feel like I’m playing the villain of podcasts, the heel of podcasts,” he said. “I like antagonizing the audience, poking at them.” This person and his unique look has affected, and sometimes limited, the kind of roles he’s offered. “I get offered a lot of scumbags, lots of ‘weird uncle at the wedding,’ lots of creepy massage guys. But listen, I’ve done that to myself,” he said. The House starring Will Ferrell and Amy Poehler is in theaters today.