From The Wrap.com:

Molly Parker, who played Alma Garret on the popular but short-lived HBO Western “Deadwood,” has joined the cast of NBC’s adaptation of John Grisham’s “The Firm,” NBC said Friday.

Parker will play Abby McDeere, wife of attorney Mitchell McDeere (who’ll be played by “The Lincoln Lawyer” star Josh Lucas).

Juliette Lewis and Callum Keith Rennie will also star in the series, which picks up 10 years after the 1993 Tom Cruise movie left off. Production for the series begins next month in Toronto.

Related:

• More about Molly Parker »
• Read about John Hawkes in Martha Marcy May Marlene »
• Learn more about the entire cast »

I like to think that the 70s and 80s were the best time to be a kid. Toys (and books) were our escape from reality, and the only limit on how much fun you could have was what you couldn’t imagine. So when making a movie about 4 children in 1975 who escape their reality by going to a place called THE PLAYROOM, what is more important than the period-specific toys that you use to populate that room?

Thanks to our Art Department gurus Robert Winn, Linda Nolan, Kay Bay and Brittany Fletcher, the playroom in THE PLAYROOM was a treasure trove of well-worn and loved vintage toys and games: Slinky, pick up sticks, Spirograph, Mille Bornes, jacks, paddle ball, hula hoops, Legos…when the cast and crew were finally allowed into the magical rompus room, we gawked, giggled and illegally touched as many of our old made-in-Taiwan friends as we could get away with before getting busted for disturbing a hot set.

I was convinced that the “adult kids” would be more nostalgically interested in the crusty old toys than our young cast of characters. But surprisingly, the 70s toys proved to hold up under the youthful modern scrutiny. Even though Ian (“Sam”) couldn’t perform a scene without his new-fangled Bionicle™ (still not sure what that is) under the couch cushion beneath him, those worn green army men had a mesmerizing effect on him. He would, with great attention to detail, set up complicated skirmishes and follow through with battle plans for the next great table top war. Jonathon (“Christian”) would forgo his iPad to draw works of art on the Etch-A-Sketch and Allie (“Janie”) got to experience what it was like to put a 45 under the needle. If only she knew what it meant to sing the “skips” on the vinyl!

Early on, someone asked why THE PLAYROOM wasn’t set in 2011. Julia would say, “Because it couldn’t happen in 2011!” The 70s man – those were different times. Kids rode their bikes in the street after school until it was too dark to see the curb and families ate dinner together every night because … well because that’s the way it was.

“Kids these days” have computers, smartphones, satellite television, the internet, xBox and facebook. Playing can mean that you are sitting completely still with only your eyes moving across an LCD. Interaction is texting your friend who is sitting beside you on the bus. Getting together happens with a comment on Facebook. The new millenium playrooms have flat screen televisions with Nickelodeon playing 24-7. It just had to be 1975. And when you see THE PLAYROOM, you will inexplicably smell your Easy Bake Oven bulb burning hot and have visions of your “Weebles wobble but they don’t fall down”.

Even if you were born a decade or two late and never took a ride on a Sit ‘n Spin or haven’t experienced the delicate magnetic tape jamming in your audio cassette recorder, you will still be a child of the 70s coasting along on your banana seat with your arms extended for flight. What were some of your favorite toys as a kid? What are some of your favorite toys now?

Related:

• See all the behind-the-scenes toy photos on Flickr »
• Read about John Hawkes in Martha Marcy May Marlene »
• Learn more about the cast »

Watch the trailer:

Watch John Hawkes talk with LA Times film critic Mark Olsen about preparing for the role and how he managed to create a compelling, evil character.

Related:

• Read John Hawkes’ bio »
• See photos of John Hawkes as Martin »
• John Hawkes in VOGUE »

More from Screenrant:

The sixth season of Showtime’s serial killer drama Dexter is in production at the moment, and casting for yet another critical character has been revealed. Molly Parker will play Lisa Marshall, sister to Travis Marshall (Colin Hanks).

Little is known about Hanks’ character, leading to speculation that he may be a villain (in so much as you can have villains for a serial killer). We do know that Hanks will appear in every episode, but the extent of Parker’s involvement is still in question. Given her late casting, she may only appear in 2-4 episodes.

Read more and stay tuned for more news about Molly and her character, Donna Cantwell, in the The Playroom.

Molly Parker as Donna Cantwell in The Playroom

Related:

• Read Molly Parker’s bio »
• See photos of Molly Parker as Donna »
• John Hawkes in VOGUE »

John Hawkes in VOGUE

The photo shoot, in the October 2011 issue of Vogue US, features Hawkes squiring away model Karen Elson and takes inspiration from Winter’s Bone, the movie that garnered Hawkes a Best Supporting Actor nomination.

John Hawkes in VOGUE

See the full spread or buy the issue on newstands.

When scheduling a low budget movie like The Playroom, you have real restrictions on the amount of time you can spend on each scene. Capitalizing on every minute – from lighting to prop resets to the number of times you move the camera – is key to achieving the highest production value AND allowing the actors the maximum time possible to hone their performances.

Scene 55: In Progress

Let’s say you have an 85 page script and you decide that you want to shoot the film in 22 days, you have to figure out a way to shoot roughly 4 pages of script a day. Now if there are only two people in a room talking for most of the script, you are probably in pretty good shape. But what happens when you have kids on a roof (a REAL roof) or four adults fighting? Or say six actors sitting around a table having dinner? Then you had better paint your face and get ready to do your war dance.

Scene 55: The Dinner

Let’s talk about Scene 55, a six-and-a-half page family dinner scene with all six actors sitting around the dining table, having breakfast for dinner. We decided that in this particular situation – kids, food and lots of nuanced performances – that we would shoot with two cameras to maximize our chances of capturing every possible angle we would want in editing. It’s a mind-numbing feat to not only figure out all of the coverage that the editor will need for a six-page scene, but also organize those shots into an easily achievable list. When you add in the variables of kids with curfews, a large mirror on one wall, bacon, eggs and glasses of milk that have to be reset after every shot, an uncovered patio door that has to reveal night-time outside, it becomes a heady game of Jenga.

The key in making a good (as opposed to bad) shot list is to minimize repeat set-ups if possible. You never want to go back and relight (redress, reprop, re-everything) a previous set-up because you forgot to get a single or an over-the-shoulder while you were there. I have seen so much wasted time on film sets over the years because no one was minding the shot list. The crew and the actors all notice these mistakes, because it requires them to work doubly hard to recreate what they had three set-ups ago. [I once overheard, in a production shuttle that was taking crew from the set back to basecamp on a multi-million dollar television pilot, the UPM saying to the dog-tired crew after a crazy 16-hour day, “The director likes ‘organic shots’. You know what ‘organic’ means? It means ‘I don’t know what the hell I’m going to shoot’!” The crew laughed and agreed that it was a very disorganized shoot – the kiss of death.]

This is where the AD can shine – by keeping things moving along and getting the work done in a reasonable amount of time. On the other hand, the Director depends on the AD to help achieve his or her cinematic goals – never leave a shot behind. Many people think that the AD only cares about her precious schedule, but I can’t tell you how many times as an AD that I have said, “Are you sure you don’t want to grab that other shot while we are here?” Because just sticking to a schedule won’t make a better movie. The AD is doing her job when she successfully serves both gods, delivering a well-shot film without killing the crew or decimating the budget.

Scene 55: The Dinner (end)

Want to see more photos? Browse stills and behind-the-scenes photos »

John Hawkes in The Playroom

Because he was shooting Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion at the same time that he was shooting The Playroom, you have the unique opportunity to preview his look (hint: mustache and soul patch) and see a brilliant actor at work.  Contagion opens tomorrow, Friday, September 9!

Watch the terrifying trailer for Contagion (you can spot Hawkes at the very end):

We’re so excited that Hysteria is showing as a Gala Presentation at this year’s Toronto Film Festival. Watch the trailer:

Get more info on the film at Toronto Film Festival website»

I succumbed to the buzz a few weeks ago and threw down fourteen of my hard-earned dollars to see Super 8 at the IMAX theatre. I spent fourteen dollars!  This may be why streaming Netflix is such a beautiful invention.  But you can’t really duplicate the J.J. Abrams IMAX experience at home. I had that post-concert shell-shocked vibration for a couple of hours after I left.  And while most people get up when the credits roll, I stick around to the bitter end – mostly to annoy Jody, but also to marvel at the hundreds of people it takes to make a feature film. Almost any non-film-industry lay person is familiar with a DP (Director of Photography) or a Costume Designer.  But how many times have I been asked what a “Gaffer” does? Or better yet, what the heck is a “Best Boy” – and for those who know Cheryl Clarson, why isn’t she a “Best Girl”? If you consider yourself a savvy film-goer, you probably already know that a Stunt Double makes Shia LaBoeuf look good on the high fall and you may even know that the Special Effects Department is responsible for those crazy explosions.  But can you tell me what an Assistant Director does?  Do you know who Abby Singer was?  And as a related bonus question, what is the martini shot? [See below for answers.]  The title Assistant Director is a bit of a misnomer.  The Assistant Director (AD) does everything from the big stuff – scheduling the entire film, to the smaller stuff – deciding what that Background Actor is going to do on the school bus. In my experience, a really good AD has the left and right brain synergy – the whimsical artist and the puzzle-solving organizer. A really bad AD can at best make everyone crazy and at worst, sink the ship.

Julia Dyer and Samantha Hollingsworth

Thankfully, The Playroom had a wonderful AD staff – lead by the energetic and passionate Samantha Hollingsworth.  I asked her to write, in her own words, about her experience as an AD – both on The Playroom and out in the film world:

An AD’s chief responsibility is to schedule the movie and run the set.  Running the set is a lot of pressure, especially with very professional and talented actors like John Hawkes and Molly Parker – whose experience means they have a certain level of expectation for a feature film set.  Not to get all control freaky (but that is just how us AD types are) there is something hugely rewarding about running the set. When the 1st AD says, “Roll camera!” something crazy happens, THE CAMERA ACTUALLY ROLLS! But with that reward comes great responsibility – you have to KNOW when it’s time to roll the camera! You have to watch 20 (and sometimes 50 or 100) people work and know their rhythms – understand how long it takes to touch up that makeup, reset that ashtray, refill a glass of scotch, roll the dolly back to one, change a lens.  You have to be the maestro who knows when to lift your conductor’s wand and effortlessly lead the orchestra through a difficult piece. If you turn your head to make a joke, or blow your nose, or let your eyes wander to Monday’s prelim, you may wait a beat too long and allow the masses to wander off in disarray or leave enough time for the DP to set yet another light. It’s a crazy and wonderful balancing act that takes a keen eye and a psychologist’s head. As someone that is not completely jaded by this job yet, having the respect and command of the crew is a truly amazing accomplishment.

The lovely and photogenic Chris Dufau, assistant director.

Lucky for me, I had a great staff to prop me up and keep things rolling.  Chris Dufau could often be found on the porch of the production office/basecamp chain smoking, and who could blame him? The Assistant Director Department is also responsible for managing the actors – primarily getting them ready for set – easing them into their mornings, scheduling their transportation back to their hotels at night and everything that comes in between.  Chris is a true pro at managing the talent. He’s not afraid to use the now famous (and potentially trademarked) “Hover Hand” to gently motivate an actor from hair & makeup to wardrobe.  He was a big brother to our cast of kids, but he was also the aspirin to my heart attack. Whenever I would work myself up into a tizzy, he would be there to offer calming words and a laugh.

And there isn’t enough praise or gratitude that I could heap on the MVP of our department, Mickel Picco. She managed to balance two big jobs while simultaneously supervising, entertaining and wrangling our kids. She was a miracle!

Mickel Picco on the set of The Playroom

Speaking of “The Kids”, we had our hands full with our lovely cast of youthful exuberance. How do you deal with the young actors?  You feed and water them. You listen to their problems. You get them medicine when they don’t feel well. You gently instruct them when they go astray. You sometimes give them the evil eye when they get too loud (we lovingly referred to it as “noise torture”). Although, generally speaking, I’m not a “kid person”, I really grew to love our kids and their families.

I’m truly grateful for the opportunity to work on “The Playroom”. Even though each film has its share of challenges and triumphs, what resonates after the camera is put to bed is the relationships that are forged by walking through the ring of fire together. I’m proud of this film, and of all the people that worked on it.

On movie sets all around the world, late in the day when it’s getting close to wrap, you will hear the AD say the words, “This is the Abby.” She is referring to the next-to-the last camera set-up for the day. This set-up was named in honor of Abby Singer, who worked in Hollywood as an AD in the late 50s and early 60s. Abby was famous for saying, “This shot and one more.”  The importance of having a name for this set-up is so that the crew can begin to put up equipment that is not working and preparing for the wrap-out at the end of a shoot day. The last camera set-up for the day is called the “Martini Shot”. No one on a movie set says, “Martini Shot” but what we do say is “Martini’s Up” or “This is the Martini”. The crew then circulates the news that the Martini is up, which means that we are on the last shot of the day.

Abby Singer & Tim Conway / Photo courtesy of Abby Singer

I have heard two different versions of how it got its name.  One, because the next shot will be in a glass. Two, because a Hollywood director back in the day would ask for his martini to be standing by when they got to the last shot of the day.

The Playroom is now in the magical thick of post-production, which serves as a perfect time for reflection on our 22 days of laughter, anxiety, exuberance and danger that was PRODUCTION. The producers made this little video to capture the energy, excitement and exhaustion of filming The Playroom.