Teen Wolf News 070616
- EDITOR'S NOTE: We seem to have some issue with our news pages rendering properly on your mobile device. We apologize for the inconvenience. For Android users we recommend using the Teen Wolf Wikia App - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wikia.singlewikia.teenwolf&hl=en
- iPhone users can check the app store but at last report we were still working out some issues with Apple as to our content. Again - sorry for the inconvenience.
MTV Sets “FALL” Debut
So far MTV still isn’t confirming the debut date for Teen Wolf Season 6 but they’re getting closer.
That random tweet in response to one of the literally thousands of fan inquiries about the show’s return is all they’re willing to say officially. Teen Wolf News, however, has learned why the break between seasons is so long this time around.
As we reported last week, life inside the MTV network is a bit chaotic which is part of the reason for the delay in scheduling Teen Wolf’s premiere. TWN has learned the other reason for our long wait is that the network is waiting for their new show Sweet/Vicious to be ready to air.
Teen Wolf is once again to be used as a debut buddy to draw more eyeballs to another show’s first episode. It's like when you were in kindergarten and they paired you with another kid so you didn't get lost.
You can’t blame them, placing Teen Wolf near SCREAM and Shannara Chronicles helped boost initial viewership and hype for both those shows. New shows that hit the network without the benefit of the big wolf around (Eye Candy, Finding Carter) don’t fare as well.
Sweet/Vicious stars Eliza Bennett and Taylor Dearden as they dish out punishment to campus rapists. I kid you not – that’s what this show is about. Oh, and it is kind of a comedy too.
Here’s the synopsis MTV put out –
“Princeton University student Ophelia Mayer is an edgy, hip young trouble magnet: she works in a vintage record store, sells weed on the side, and is on a first-name basis with Campus Security. Jules is a member of the posh, socially connected Tri Delta sorority -- but she has a secret identity as a masked superheroine who dishes out rough justice to campus rapists. When Ophelia learns all about Jules and her clandestine operation, she insists on playing Batgirl to -- well, to Batgirl.”
Sweet/Vicious should be wrapping up their first season shoot this week or next. Meanwhile, Teen Wolf has two Season 6 episodes ready to air or “locked” in industry parlance. They’ve still got a bit more to shoot and, since the network is waiting until “fall” to air the first 10 episodes, they can take their time doing them. Teen Wolf should be back in production for a couple weeks next month.
Linden Ashby: Teen Wolf Father Figure
Actor Linden Ashby goes into total protective-dad mode when I ask about his Teen Wolf co-star Dylan O’Brien.
O’Brien’s been absent from the public sphere since his serious accident on a movie set in March but Ashby says he’s been spending some time with his TV son since then, “I’ve seen him a lot. I love him.”
Ashby says it’ll be up to O’Brien when to break the public silence, “Dylan’s a very private person and I don’t think that it’s my place to talk about what he’s going through. If he wants to talk about what he’s going through, he’ll talk about it.”
While Ashby is just playing a dad on MTV, you can hear in his voice a genuine fatherly affection for O’Brien, the rest of Teen Wolf’s young cast and for the show itself. It's not really surprising to hear since it was, in part, a tough choice he made as a real life father that led him to Teen Wolf.
Family Man[]
Ashby’s been acting all of his adult life, straight out of college he moved to New York and landed on an ABC soap opera called Loving in 1985. There he met his wife, Teen Wolf’s Susan Walters. The pair moved to LA shortly after and their first daughter, Frances Grace, came along in 1991 followed pretty closely by her sister Savannah in 1992.
The next decade was a time of tremendous success for the young couple. They both worked steadily in TV and movies. Ashby landed a long-term gig on Melrose Place and returned to daytime soaps with a run on The Young and the Restless. He also did some memorable roles in a few big films. He was Johnny Cage in Mortal Kombat and Morgan Earp in Wyatt Earp opposite Kevin Costner.
But, as they pushed into the new century, Ashby says things in his career began to slow down a bit. “I guess around 2006 I wasn’t working as much as I wanted to,” he recalls. “I’d always told myself I don’t want to overstay my welcome at the party. I don’t want to be one of those actors who is just sort of hanging on.”
At the same time his most important role as husband and father moved into a new phase. His daughters were now teenagers and Ashby was faced with a choice. “Susan wanted to move back to Atlanta where she grew up. She didn’t want the girls to go to high school in LA. I thought ‘yeah, okay.’”
Leaving California[]
As he left Hollywood behind Ashby says he prepared himself to settle down, just be a dad and maybe even give up acting but Hollywood had other plans. “As it turned out the whole business followed us to Atlanta. It was great.”
Ashby found himself in demand more than ever as Georgia state tax incentives lured productions away from California and into his new back yard. As a veteran actor in the new “Hollywood of the South,” his career never slowed down. He landed TV movies, parts in films and a primetime ABC series called The Gates.
That show, about a supernatural cul-de-sac populated by vampires and werewolves that also featured a very young Colton Haynes, didn’t last long so, when Jeff Davis came to Atlanta to cast his new MTV show, Ashby was available to audition.
Season of the Wolf[]
“He came in for our Atlanta casting director and read for the part,” Davis recalls. I remember seeing the tape and saying ‘Wait a second, that’s Johnny Cage.’”
Davis says he’d seen Mortal Kombat in the theater when he was in college and remembered the charm and humor Ashby brought to the role. He thought the combination was exactly what his new Teen Wolf needed. “I was intent on the show being funny, so I knew that we could use someone who could deliver a sarcastic reply, especially as the father to Stiles.”
Ashby had also worked with Teen Wolf director Russell Mulcahy on the Resident Evil franchise and he was immediately on board with Davis’ choice.
What neither of them expected was what kind of father figure Ashby would become. “We didn’t know just how much Linden and Dylan O’Brien would connect,” Davis says. “They really seemed like father and son onscreen. That connection between the actors is what inspired us to create so much (Stilinski) backstory.”
That bond was felt from the very first broadcast. Millions of fans began to think of Ashby simply as "dad."
“I’ve met some of the fans and it’s so cool,” he recalls. “You forget that this show touches people and it matters to people and it speaks to them about issues and it really matters to people. I love that.”
Season 6[]
Six years later and Ashby is still loving his Teen Wolf family both on and off set. “You know what I love? We still care. There’s not a single person in that cast or on that crew that doesn’t care anymore. We’re working a fifteen-hour day and you think to yourself that when this comes out I’m not going to care about how tired and delirious I am right now. All I’m going to care about is that we got it right and it looks great.”
Ashby is beaming with pride about Teen Wolf Season 6 which he says will debut on the network this fall. “This season, in a way, is much more complex but much simpler and it’s tons of heart. It’s smart and it’s really good storytelling. I just get tickled that we’re still doing it.”
He says he can’t wait for fans to get a first look at what they've been working on at the upcoming San Diego Comic Con on July 21. “I just saw the trailer and it is so good.”
And, like the proud papa he is, Ashby couldn’t wait to show it off, “I probably wasn’t supposed to share it but I shared it with a friend of mine who is a really good filmmaker. He said he couldn’t believe this is a show in its sixth season. When some shows would be resting on their laurels, we’ve taken it to a whole new place. He says it looks like a big feature (film). This is a guy who does big features.”
After a lifetime in the industry, tens of thousands of hours on different TV and movie sets, he says his current gig on Teen Wolf is unique, “I’m incredibly blessed to be a part of it. This kind of stuff doesn’t come along every day.”
Ashby then slips back into dad mode and adds, “That’s what I tell these kids. You don’t get it. It isn’t always like this. This is special and it’s rare. I know you can’t appreciate it right now but you’re going to look back on this when you’re older and you’re going to go ‘wow that was amazing.’”
You can see Linden Ashby in the new movie Beta Test which opens in select theaters on July 22. You can read more of this Teen Wolf News interview and find out all about his new movie at fandom.com - http://fandom.wikia.com/articles/linden-ashby-beta-test-villain-batsht-crazy
Posey Explains his New Tattoo
As TWN reported last week, Tyler Posey added a nose ring and a new tattoo during his recent visit to Canada. He explained why on his Doing It Raw podcast this week.
It turns out Posey has a strong emotional connection to his new tattoo of the iconic CN Tower in Toronto. “I used to live there when I was a kid. From 8 years old to 12, I was filming a TV show there. Those are very pivotal times as a kid. That’s kind of where you really discover yourself or, at least, begin to discover yourself.”
The show he was filming was called Doc and starred Miley’s dad Billy Ray Cyrus. Tyler explains that, while he loved doing the show, it was a major disruption to his young life.
He left his entire life behind in California so those were some lonely days for young Tyler. It was just him, his mom and his younger brother Jesse in a strange new town. “It’s one of my favorite places in the world but I didn’t have a lot of friends. I had my mom and we became best friends in those years.”
It was also during this preadolescence period that he discovered a love for tattoos mostly thanks to his favorite band Blink 182. “Tattoos were a huge part of my life as a kid. I would draw them. I would literally draw a little version of my body on a piece of paper and just cover myself with tattoos and plan them out.”
As he’s increased his body ink over the years, Posey says he’s come to really respect and enjoy the “American Traditional” style popularized during World War II by American sailors serving in the Pacific. His CN tower as well as his brother’s matching piece, are American Traditional works. “It’s a really symbolic nostalgic tattoo for me.”
As far as the nose ring is concerned, Posey says he just really wanted to get something pierced and, while he’s wearing a hoop now, he plans to get something smaller once everything heals up.
Check out Doing It Raw Episode 8 with Tyler Posey and Tyler Schnabel with special guest Jack Barakat from the band All Time Low.
In addition to tattoo talk you can hear –
- Posey’s first masturbation story
- Schnabel’s scary Jamaican vacation
- Posey ignores a call from Tyler Hoechlin
- They confuse the real Dr. Spock with fictional Mr. Spock from Star Trek
- Schnabs new movie Frazier Park
- Posey talks plans for his music
- Advice for would be artists – follow your dreams but get a paying job too
Doing it Raw Episode 8 is available now at http://mixlr.com/doin-it-raw/showreel/doin-it-raw-live-episode-8
Tyler Posey: Season 6 not as Confusing
Tyler Posey says he doesn’t always understand what’s happening on his own show. “For the last two and a half seasons of Teen Wolf it’s been very confusing. (They’re) not random but they’ve just had a lot of content. Since we’re a supernatural show we dive a lot into mythology and sometimes that can get very confusing.”
The seasons he’s talking about include The Benefactor storyline and the most recent Dread Doctors plot. That one saw Posey’s Scott McCall character die at the hands of a childhood friend and then resurrect thanks to his mom. You can see how that could be confusing for him.
He says Season 6 will be a bit more straightforward. “With this season we still do the ‘Teen Wolf Thing’ and, in Teen Wolf fashion, we dive into mythology but we do it kind of at a slower pace and it’s a little less confusing which I like a lot. I'm one who gets confused during a season. Even though I know what the hell is happening and what’s going on, I’ve read the scripts, it’s still a little confusing sometimes. One thing about this season is that it is a little less confusing for the people who can’t really follow the story.”
Teen Wolf Production will return to set in August to complete the first half of the 20-episode Season 6. Those episodes should begin airing this fall.
Once they return this winter later this year to start filming the second half of the season, Posey will be in the director’s chair for one of the first three episodes they shoot.
“There’s a lot that goes into directing. I’m kind of figuring it out,” he explains. “Aside from wanting to direct from an artistic standpoint, I’m really excited to direct from like a scheduling and getting everything done (standpoint). That being said, directing is kind of random and I’m a little nervous. I don’t know how it’s going to turn out.”
Posey says his nerves are tempered because he knows the Teen Wolf production crew, most of whom he’s worked with for 6 years, won’t let him fail.
- CORRECTION: The original version of the this story mistakenly said Teen Wolf would film the second half of Season 6 "this winter." This is not correct and we regret the error.
Colton’s Closet
Colton Haynes opened up an online retail clothing store over the holiday weekend. He’s offering mostly shirts and phone cases with his face on but there is also a line of hats that say “daddy” and another shirt line emblazoned with the word “anxious.”
Despite the limited merch, Colton fans still managed to break the internet buying up all his stuff this week. The site crashed from all the activity during the first hour. It’s back now and you can check out his stuff here - https://www.coltonhaynes.com/
UPDATE Thursday 070716
All items are now sold out. Colton says restocking should come August 1.
Michael Johnston’s Movie is Apparently Awesome
I’ve not seen it but, the reviews from the LGBT community suggest Michael Johnston’s (Corey) new movie SLASH is kind of awesome.
NewNowNext says “Too often films about LGBT youth rely on cliche storylines and unrealistic dialogue. But Neil and Julia feel “true”—they smash into situations unprepared, have moments of cruelty, and make it up as they go along. There’s a selfishness in youth—especially when it comes to relationships—that (Clay) Liford conveys expertly.”
There were also decent reviews in a couple of major trade mags.
Variety - http://variety.com/2016/film/festivals/slash-review-sxsw-1201729124/
Hollywood Reporter - http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/slash-sxsw-review-877113
SLASH centers on Johnston’s character writing racy fan fiction. The movie made the rounds on the festival circuit. Its next stop, this week at OUTFEST, will serve as it’s Los Angeles Premier.
There’s no indication when the movie will be available to a wider audience but we’ll keep an eye out and let you know. In the meantime check out the trailer they put together for SXSW - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4I9alaSz6Gc
EW Cover Contest Dumb but Vote Anyway
I seriously hate these "vote for your show" BS contests that every single website runs at some point. It's all just clickbait for the various fandoms and most folks are wise to their sh*t and don't vote anyway.
After saying all that, I still urge you to vote in the most recent "vote for your show" BS contest over at Entertainment Weekly. They SAY they're going to give the cover of their fall issue to which ever show wins this poll. Of course they're NOT saying Teen Wolf would get the ENTIRE cover and they don't even guarantee we would be on the cover of the magazine they sell on the street.
Here's what their cleverly worded promise actually says, "Entertainment Weekly is asking YOU to choose who will appear on the cover of our annual Fall TV Preview issue that goes to subscribers."
So basically that means it'll be seen by the dozens of thousands of people who actually still get a physical magazine via snail mail. It doesn't mean it will be on newsstands or even make the front page of their website.
After saying all that, I still urge you to vote. It's a major publication. It's prestigious. It's great promotion for the new Season 6.
Vote Here - http://www.ew.com/special/fall-tv-cover-battle