Adam B. Vary Senior Entertainment Writer If there’s an Avengers of television directors, “The Last of Us” just assembled it.
16.01.2024 - 00:39 / variety.com
Zack Sharf Digital News Director Young Mazino spoke to Variety on the Emmys red carpet about landing a highly-coveted role in HBO’s “The Last of Us” Season 2. The network announced earlier this month the “Beef” breakout is set to star in the new season as Jesse, said to be “a pillar of his community who puts everyone else’s needs before his own, sometimes at terrible cost.” He joins fellow newcomers Isabela Merced and Kaitlyn Dever opposite returning favorites Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey. Mazino says he’s set to start filming the show in two weeks.
“After the strike ended, I was able to get a meeting with the showrunners and we kind of just shopped it up. I played the video game before the meeting and we had a long talk about their process and what they’re looking for. I guess ‘Beef’ pushed me the rest of the way.
That’s the beauty of where I’m getting at now. It’s a conversation more than an audition process.” Playing “The Last of Us” before his meeting with showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann was Mazino’s first real experience with the game. He called the game “phenomenal” and confirmed that his training for Season 2 includes learning “how to ride a horse” and brushing up on his firearm training.
“I haven’t met Pedro or Bella,” he added. “I have DM’d Bella, but I haven’t had the pleasure of talking to them, but I will soon.” When asked if Ramsey gave him any advice on joining “The Last of Us” family, Mazino said, “There’s nothing I can say.” He concluded: “I am happy for me. Im so happy I can work again.” Mazino attended the Emmys as a nominee for “Beef” in the outstanding supporting actor in a limited or anthology series or movie.
Adam B. Vary Senior Entertainment Writer If there’s an Avengers of television directors, “The Last of Us” just assembled it.
EXCLUSIVE: Mark Mylod, coming off his Outstanding Drama Directing Emmy win for HBO’s Succession, is headed to another HBO drama series tipped to succeed Succession as an Emmy juggernaut, The Last Of Us.
Dakota Johnson stars in Madame Web and said that she put her trust in director S.J. Clarkson as filming it was “absolutely psychotic.”
Zack Sharf Digital News Director SPOILER ALERT: This story hints at a major cameo in the Sundance Film Festival premiere “Freaky Tales,” which debuted on opening night. Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden’s electrified the opening night of the 2024 Sundance Film Festival with “Freaky Tales,” a genre-driven anthology movie that tells four interconnected stories in 1987 Oakland, California. The movie is a return to indie filmmaking for Fleck and Boden, who made a name for themselves as the directors of indie hits like “Half Nelson” before they jumped into the Marvel Cinematic Universe with “Captain Marvel.” “It was great to come back to the indie film world in a lot of ways,” Boden said at the Variety Studio presented by Audible.
The sling was off as The Last of Us star Pedro Pascal made his way through the red carpet for the Sundance Film Festival premiere of his movie Freaky Tales on Thursday.
Gay cinema certainly has turned a corner lately, in the wake of films as varied as Cassandro, Rustin and All of Us Strangers, stories in which the lead character’s sexuality might form a crucial part of the tapestry of the drama but isn’t the be-all and end-all. Leading the vanguard for the next generation is this confident debut from 33-year-old British-Iraqi director Amrou Al-Kadhi, a frank and emotionally honest portrait of someone who falls outside society’s boxes and steadfastly refuses to conform to them. This emphasis on the positive is sometimes counterintuitive (more on that later), but, thanks to its core cast, Layla is an engaging study of love in the pronoun era.
HBO‘s The Last Of Us adaptation has ruled out the return of Bill and Frank in season two – see what he had to say below.Speaking to Deadline Hollywood at HBO’s post-Emmys party earlier this week, Mazin laid to rest actor Nick Offerman’s previous teasing that a spin-off series focusing on Bill and Frank’s relationship, which was condensed into a singular but critically acclaimed episode in season one.“It certainly has been pitched,” Offerman said after winning a Creative Arts Emmy last week. “I think we pitched a whole mini-series of a prequel of their lives before they met each other.
Pedro Pascal‘s arm sling has been the subject of a lot of online discourse lately among The Last of Us fans.
While The Last Of Us‘ main focus is Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie’s (Bella Ramsey) journey through post-apocalyptic America, the characters they meet along the way leave a major impression as evident by the seven Guest Actor/Actress In a Drama series Emmy nominations for the video game adaptation and wins in both fields for Nick Offerman and Storm Reid.
Pedro Pascal is full of jokes at the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards!
Isabela Merced has been cast in the pivotal role of Dina in The Last of Us season 2!
The 29th annual Critics Choice Awards are set for Sunday, January 14 at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica. Chelsea Handler returns to host the ceremony, which begins at 4 p.m. PT/7 p.m. ET and will air live on the East Coast and in Los Angeles on The CW.
Joe Otterson TV Reporter “The Last of Us” has found its Dina, with Isabela Merced joining Season 2 of the hit HBO series. “Dina is warm, brilliant, wild, funny, moral, dangerous and instantly lovable,” said series co-creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann.
Beef breakout star Young Mazino has joined the second season of The Last of Us on HBO!
Production on “The Last of Us” Season 2 is ramping up, and because of that, we’re starting to see HBO and co-creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann start to make casting announcements. Yesterday, we saw the most important new role, Abby, go to Kaitlyn Dever.
Joe Otterson TV Reporter “The Last of Us” Season 2 is continuing to build out its cast. Young Mazino is now the latest actor to join the hit HBO series, Variety has learned. Mazino will appear in Season 2 as Jesse, said to be “a pillar of his community who puts everyone else’s needs before his own, sometimes at terrible cost.” “Young is one of those rare actors who is immediately undeniable the moment you see him,” said series co-creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann.
Young Mazino, Emmy-nominated for his breakout role in Beef, has joined the cast of HBO‘s The Last of Us. He is one of three major additions for the upcoming second season of the post-apocalyptic drama, which is based on the video game of the same name developed by Naughty Dog for PlayStation. On the series, a co-production between HBO and Sony Pictures Television, he is joining recently cast Kaitlyn Dever.
Pedro Pascal revealed at the Golden Globes that he had injured his arm and now we know a little more about what happened.
Pedro Pascal made quite the fashion statement Sunday by showing up to the Golden Globes wearing an arm sling that matched his black ensemble.
The Last Of Us.The hit HBO series, based on the post-apocalyptic video game series of the same name, has been renewed for a second season, which is expected to start production in the spring ahead of a 2025 release.It has been announced that the Booksmart and No One Will Save You star will be taking on the role of Abby, whose character description reads: “Abby is a skilled soldier whose black-and-white view of the world is challenged as she seeks vengeance for those she loved.”Dever had been considered by fans for the lead role of Ellie, who is played by Bella Ramsay, due to her uncanny resemblance to the video game’s avatar. Dever even auditioned for the part, but due to her age, 27, she was unsuccessful.According to Deadline, showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann made a joint statement in which they said: “Our casting process for season two has been identical to season one: we look for world-class actors who embody the souls of the characters in the source material.”“Nothing matters more than talent,” they continued.