Ed Harris takes Top villain role in HBOs "Westworld" reboot

[Deberg_1990]

Sweet. Loved this film when I was a kid. It's ripe for a reboot.

Doesn't sound like he's playing the Yul Brenner role though

http://insidetv.ew.com/2014/08/11/ed-harris-westworld/



Image Credit: WireImage.com
Ed Harris is coming to series TV: The Abyss and Apollo 13 actor has signed on as the Big Bad in HBO’s Westworld reboot.
The four-time Oscar nominee’s character is called The Man in Black, and is described as “the distillation of pure villainy into one man.” He joins previously cast star — and fellow series television newcomer—Anthony Hopkins, along with Evan Rachel Wood, Jeffrey Wright, and Shannon Woodward.

The Warner Bros.-produced sci-fi pilot produced by J.J Abrams, Jerry Weintraub, and Bryan Burk updates Michael Crichton’s 1973 classic film about a theme park where androids fulfill dark human desires. Harris’ description might sound like he’s playing the Yul Brynner killer-cowboy robot role, but it seems like actor Rodrigo Santoro was tapped for that part—and online production rumors suggest The Man in Black is actually a human character who sadistically abuses the androids.

Harris will soon be seen the feature film Run All Night, starring opposite Liam Neeson and Joel Kinnaman. Harris won a Golden Globe and was nominated for an Emmy for his work in HBO’s Game Change.

[listopencil]

Originally Posted by mr. tegu

Yeah, there is basically zero chance Ford is actually dead. That was surely his own host he was making. He wanted Doloris to make the choice to kill, unlike Arnold who programned her to do it. That was the difference I think he was getting at when saying Arnold didn't know what to do to help Doloris. Him as a host accomplishes this and nothing about his character suggests he would just remove himself like that as an obstacle to the board.

Also, is everyone assuming Ford created the Maeve narrative to rebel?

It's possible that Ford was just ready to die, like Arnold was. And if that was the board at the gala then it was a chance to take the board out with him. That would temporarily eliminate the two forces competing for control of the park long enough for the hosts to rebel: Operations and Management.

I think it would be fun if Elsie was able to access Arnold's old user account and she set it up (Maeve's escape) to get an asset into the outside world.

[Baby Lee]

Originally Posted by TinyEvel

Yeah his name is Ptolme Slocum. I've cast him in an Emerald Nuts Breakfast on The Go commercial and a Trulia commercial. He's great. He was also the pedo school bus driver in Preacher on AMC

Ptolme is the featured guest on Harmontown [the podcast by Dan Harmon, creator of Community and Rick and Morty].

http://www.harmontown.com/2016/12/ep...on-shark-tank/

[KChiefs1]

Originally Posted by mr. tegu

Also, is everyone assuming Ford created the Maeve narrative to rebel?

Without a doubt.





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[BWillie]

I think Ford is dead. I think there is a chance he comes back as a host, but his human form, definitely dead. Besides, Anthony Hopkins is like 83 years old. He could bit the bucket or get ill in the middle of the season and then what do they do.

Originally Posted by mr. tegu

Also, is everyone assuming Ford created the Maeve narrative to rebel?

I'm almost positive Ford's storyline had programmed Maeve to leave the park. In fact, I think her first conscious and sentient decision was to go back for her robot daughter. If you go back and look at the tablet they show before Maeve breaks it in half, it confirms this. It says something like Narrative: Escape to Mainland

[BWillie]

I hope they go 1 of 2 directions in Season 2.
1) I hope they DO NOT make all of the dead board members at the party hosts. BUT, if they do, I hope they send them back to the world to cover it up and S2 focuses on their integration into REAL society with humans and steps for them to become self aware.
2) Alternative time line to a different Westworld such as Roman World, Samurai World where Ford/Arnold were also orchestrating the hosts journey to become self aware, that would occur at roughly the same time as Westworld.

But please, no Walking Dead factions against factions crap.

[Buck]

Originally Posted by mr. tegu

Yeah, there is basically zero chance Ford is actually dead. That was surely his own host he was making. He wanted Doloris to make the choice to kill, unlike Arnold who programned her to do it. That was the difference I think he was getting at when saying Arnold didn't know what to do to help Doloris. Him as a host accomplishes this and nothing about his character suggests he would just remove himself like that as an obstacle to the board.

Also, is everyone assuming Ford created the Maeve narrative to rebel?

There's basically zero chance he's still alive.

1. Anthony Hopkins is probably too good an actor to do more than one season, years apart.

2. There needs to be a meaningful death that we see. If they keep doing the, "GOTCHA IT WAS ACTUALLY A ROBOT" they'll lose their audience.

As for the second part of your post, I think that Ford made Maeve rebel (which means that all that unlikely ****ery she was doing with Felix/Sylvester became much more believable) because again, he knew that leaving her daughter would cause the pain that would eventually lead her to free will. Just like the other hosts.

[listopencil]

Originally Posted by Buck

There's basically zero chance he's still alive.

1. Anthony Hopkins is probably too good an actor to do more than one season, years apart.

2. There needs to be a meaningful death that we see. If they keep doing the, "GOTCHA IT WAS ACTUALLY A ROBOT" they'll lose their audience.

As for the second part of your post, I think that Ford made Maeve rebel (which means that all that unlikely ****ery she was doing with Felix/Sylvester became much more believable) because again, he knew that leaving her daughter would cause the pain that would eventually lead her to free will. Just like the other hosts.

I'd like for that host that was being made while Bernard was killing Theresa to end up being a Ford host though. Leave it open for Anthony Hopkins to pop in on the show every once in a while. In fact it would be great if they already filmed a scene to open season two with: Flash back to Bernard killing Theresa, have Hopkins walk up to the machine, host Ford climbs out of it, Anthony Hopkins gives an evil grin, fade to black. And then just leave it like that. Let everybody argue about whether Ford is still alive all season long.

[Buck]

Originally Posted by listopencil

I'd like for that host that was being made while Bernard was killing Theresa to end up being a Ford host though. Leave it open for Anthony Hopkins to pop in on the show every once in a while. In fact it would be great if they already filmed a scene to open season two with: Flash back to Bernard killing Theresa, have Hopkins walk up to the machine, host Ford climbs out of it, Anthony Hopkins gives an evil grin, fade to black. And then just leave it like that. Let everybody argue about whether Ford is still alive all season long.

I really hope not. I hope that it's either just forgotten, or not anyone that we already know.

Season 1 was a mess, production was stopped, stories changed. I'm hoping it was just there in case the writers needed to use it, but they have decided against using it now.

For how much the show sucked me in, it was very convoluted and storylines just ended abruptly.

For instance, Elsie kissed the Clementine host in the beginning, but they never really went down that path afterward.

Also Stubbs was interviewing Dolores...like wtf? He's security, it's weird that he was doing analysis like Bernard. I mean I get that Ford wanted to keep Bernard and Dolores separate from one another, but does Stubbs seem like the right guy to fill Bernard's shoes? No.

[listopencil]

Originally Posted by Buck

I really hope not. I hope that it's either just forgotten, or not anyone that we already know.

Season 1 was a mess, production was stopped, stories changed. I'm hoping it was just there in case the writers needed to use it, but they have decided against using it now.

For how much the show sucked me in, it was very convoluted and storylines just ended abruptly.

For instance, Elsie kissed the Clementine host in the beginning, but they never really went down that path afterward.

Also Stubbs was interviewing Dolores...like wtf? He's security, it's weird that he was doing analysis like Bernard. I mean I get that Ford wanted to keep Bernard and Dolores separate from one another, but does Stubbs seem like the right guy to fill Bernard's shoes? No.

I think Stubbs interviewing Dolores was just to assess her risk. I think Elsie just kissed Clementine on a whim and there wasn't supposed to be anything more to it than that. I enjoy it when they throw a bunch of stuff out there to force you to consider several possible plotlines.

[mr. tegu]

The Host in Ford's lab was someone. I doubt it was for nothing and I doubt it's for a future character we don't yet know. That wouldn't make sense because it wouldn't be necessary to show us a future unknown character multiple times. It's either a Host for Ford to get killed as himself or perhaps Ford knows how to transfer his conciousness and will transfer it to that body. The bottom line for me is that I see the conciousness of Ford, at a minimum, returning in the next season. Will it be him as himself, in a look alike host, or a different host all together? That's the question for me.

[listopencil]

I was watching a season finale wrap up on YouTube. It's not a great video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9AwvWGjJeQ) but it made me think about Maeve's mission of 'infiltrating the mainland.' Bear with me a moment here. We know that the host technology has been around for a little over thirty five years. We know that the hosts were pretty darned complex thirty years ago. We know that Delos was trying to get the code out of the park that the current hosts are running on, presumably because the code has 'evolved' over that time frame. But what does Delos have outside of the park? We saw Samurai World in the finale-so functional hosts that exist outside of the West World environment are at least being worked on if nothing else. We have seen hosts act in an official capacity completely removed from the fantasy setting, like the girl that welcomes William. Why wouldn't hosts exist in society? The current human society is never really explained. Things are hinted at but never in any great detail. I'm starting to think that Delos (and perhaps other companies) creates androids for use in applications that have nothing to do with the park at all and that they have become an accepted part of daily life. Sort of like Planet of the Apes but with androids instead. People would be OK with West World as a vacation destination and more complex hosts would be an expensive commodity. It would make sense for Ford to create a narrative causing Maeve to spread sentience like a virus through the world's android population. And if Maeve catches on to that then it's a goal she may want to pursue if/when she gets her daughter back.

[Anyong Bluth]

Ya, but they still haven't explained the Smoke Monster? ! ? !

😤

[Anyong Bluth]

Originally Posted by Buck

There's basically zero chance he's still alive.

1. Anthony Hopkins is probably too good an actor to do more than one season, years apart.

2. There needs to be a meaningful death that we see. If they keep doing the, "GOTCHA IT WAS ACTUALLY A ROBOT" they'll lose their audience.

As for the second part of your post, I think that Ford made Maeve rebel (which means that all that unlikely ****ery she was doing with Felix/Sylvester became much more believable) because again, he knew that leaving her daughter would cause the pain that would eventually lead her to free will. Just like the other hosts.

I think he's dead but lives on no different if not more conspicuous than Arnold has left an enduring fingerprint / presence in WW.

One, the technology has evolved.
Two, he's obviously been grooming hosts, not to mention his exit plan - which he orchestrated on his own terms even if it doesn't appear that way to the general public.
Three, if Arnold was preoccupied with the transcendence of the hosts to becoming self aware; Ford is obviously preoccupied with the transcendence of man beyond simply being aware of his existence. If "these violent delights..." steered S1, then Ford is borrowing from Shakespeare again in his desire to "shuffle off his mortal coil." This coaligns with Williams obsession with the question of control and authenticity of experience. Will is the embodiment of the duality man. His better nature and carnal indulgence for which WW serves. Will is the cautionary tale of good intentions paving the way to hell.

Ford may have been able to create new life, but in order to truly become a God, man's self agreed upon superior, he can't simply be aware of death, he has to conquer it.

If Arnold was the sentient presence in the park's reality. The spark of chaos to enable evolution. Ford is aiming to take up the same mantle in the "real" / human world.

[TinyEvel]

Originally Posted by Baby Lee

Ending exactly what I was hoping when Radiohead first appeared on the player piano back in Ep2 or3!!

One of my all time faves. Pig in shit when it started rolling at the reception.

Nice tie-in, Exit Music was written for the credits of Baz Luhrman's Romeo and Juliet, the source of the season's motto 'these violent delights have violent ends.'

Jonathan Nolan/Person of Interest fans may recall a similar awakening of The Machine



And JJ Abrams isn't immune to it's charms either

Dude! The actor getting attacked by the butterflies in the Fringe clip -- pretty sure that's Ptolme Slocum: the jerky robot repair shop guy who worked with the Asian guy.

[Baby Lee]

Originally Posted by TinyEvel

Dude! The actor getting attacked by the butterflies in the Fringe clip -- pretty sure that's Ptolme Slocum: the jerky robot repair shop guy who worked with the Asian guy.

It is!! Heckuvan eye!!