Inside your VP
1Pixar has never shied away from taking some metaphysical deep dives, from “Inside Out” and its depictions of the emotions inside a little girl’s mind to the skeletal deceased characters in “Coco” to last year’s bizarro “Onward,” with two brothers casting a spell that resurrects their dead father, but only from the waist down. Now comes the between-worlds comedy/drama “Soul,” arguably the most spiritually ambitious film in Pixar history — and one of the best movies in the studio’s legendary and ever-growing library.
PAGE 12
2
Bobbie Shelton is an advocate of workers’ rights — especially background actors. For years, the New Mexican has worked tirelessly on set with others to help make New Mexico productions shine as a background actor. Behind the scenes, she is one of the driving forces in getting the New Mexico Background Actors Bill of Rights in place along with the Background Actors Association of New Mexico. On Dec. 3, the Screen Actors Guild — American Federation of Television and Radio Artists endorsed the bill of rights. PAGE 14
3
Jon Brewer never got to meet Chuck Berry in person. But the months he spent working on the documentary about the legendary musician helped him get a better understanding of the man. Brewer’s documentary “Chuck Berry: The Original King of Rock ’N’ Roll,” is streaming on demand. The documentary takes a look at the life of the first Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, who crossed the mid-’50s racial divide armed with nothing more than his guitar, business savvy and well-crafted songs such as “Maybellene,” “Roll Over Beethoven,” “Little Queenie,” “Rock and Roll Music” and “Johnny B. Goode.”
4
Brad William Henke was familiar with Stephen King’s “The Stand” before he was cast in the new series. He also knew there was a miniseries in the 1990s. New episodes of the nine-episode series air on Thursdays on the streaming platform CBS All Access. It is adapted from the King novel of the same name, which is about the biblical aftermath of a global pandemic that kills 98% of the population, setting the stage for a clash of good versus evil. Henke plays Tom Cullen. Cullen is a mentally handicapped man from May, Oklahoma, where he lived with his mother and borderline-abusive father, Don. He loses his mother to the superflu and ends up being the last living resident of the town of May. He is the first plague survivor Nick Andros encounters after leaving Shoyo, Arkansas.