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Netflix renews Hemlock Grove for a second season
Netflix's first foray into the horror genre seems to have gone well, as the company announced it's renewing Hemlock Grove for a second season. The 10 episode run will debut next year, presumably after fellow Netflix Originals Lilyhammer (later this year) and House of Cards (currently in production) make their second run through the gauntlet. Hemlock Grove didn't receive the same level of critical praise as other series Netflix has premiered, but executive producer Eli Roth called worldwide fan response "phenomenal" and season one "just a warm up." So let us know -- did you enjoy it enough that you're looking for more (and, will presumably hang onto that Netflix subscription)?
Netflix's latest original series 'Hemlock Grove' is available for streaming
Netflix's original content assault continues today with the debut of Hemlock Grove, a "supernatural" series directed by Eli Roth. This series takes place in a small Pennsylvania town which has suddenly come down with a bad case of werewolf attacks. Previous releases Lilyhammer and House of Cards chased viewers interested in quirky foreign humor and political drama, respectively, so this series represents a bit of a shift. Later this year, the streaming service will debut Orange is the New Black from Weeds creator Jenji Kohan and the second season of Lilyhammer. Cards is also due for a second season, and sci-fi fans have Sense8 to look forward to in 2014. We'll see if its data-based approach to picking series has found another quality option in Hemlock Grove, however early reviews suggest that may not be the case for all viewers. Hitfix's Alan Sepinwall referred to it as a "streakbuster" between Cards and the upcoming season of Arrested Development, and a New York Times evaluation of the first few eps notes "it barely gets around to telling its story." Of course, it may just be targeted to viewers with different priorities, who will appreciate its style more than they did, and the company's algorithms are just waiting to dig those people out of the crowd. Whatever the case, with Netflix's characteristic all-episodes-at-once release schedule you can power through all 13 episodes and find out for yourself right now.
James Cameron, Piranha 3D actor Eli Roth speak up in support of 3D conversions
After Clash of the Titans and Avatar: The Last Airbender, we're leery of any movies rocking the converted-to-3D tag, but a few directors (not coincidentally, ones with 3D productions in the making they'd likely appreciate us buying tickets to see) claim the process itself isn't the problem. Among other comments (including discussing the upcoming return of Avatar to theaters exclusively in 3D, sequels and a new 3D flick on the way from Guillermo del Toro) with MarketSaw, our friend Jimmy C said "[Titans] showed a fundamental lack of knowledge about stereo space, in addition to the shoddy work that comes from rushing." Of course, we'll have to wait to see what the converted version of Titanic looks like, currently undergoing a process taking between 8-12 months. Eli Roth is in Piranha 3D, which debuts next weekend and is also a film that was filmed in 2D and converted in post, but he claims it's different from M Knight's flick because they planned ahead: "You can shoot digital 3-D and it looks great, or you can shoot film and convert and it looks great - but only if you planned to do it that way from the start...With Piranha 3D, the very title of the film is Piranha 3D," he continues. "It was written that way and photographed to be converted. This means that when you're setting up a shot, next to the camera is a technical adviser from the 3D company who tells you exactly what light won't work for the 3D, how far the subject has to be from the lens if you want it to look good when it pops out of the camera, etc...It's not easy and it's not instant and when it's a last minute rushed decision we can see it immediately. But to associate Piranha 3D, a film which spent years planning this, months shooting it with the technicians on set checking the convertibility of every shot, and so far 8 months working on the conversion, is not fair." Check Bloody-Disgusting for the rest of his comments, and listen to Cameron in his own words on MarketSaw -- we'll see how audiences and critics react over the coming weeks and months.
