By John Carucci
NEW YORK (AP) --John le Carre's best-selling novel "The Little Drummer Girl" was released in 1983 but remains timely — and that disturbs Alexander Skarsgard.
Skarsgard and Michael Shannon star in a six-hour miniseries based on the novel, playing Israeli agents on the hunt for a Palestinian bomber. "The Little Drummer Girl" premieres Monday night on AMC.
"What's depressing is the fact that it takes place 35 years ago, but it feels more relevant today than ever," Skarsgard said. "We're in a situation where feels like we'll be having this conversation in 35 years. And it's horrific what's happening down there."
The story centers around the manipulation of a radical left-wing actress named Charlie, played by Florence Pugh, who is coerced to go undercover to help root out a terrorist named Khalil, responsible for bombing Jewish-related targets in Europe.
Shannon didn't see any ethical issues with the premise of using a thespian to a root out a terrorist. Instead, he was enthralled by the concept.
"It seems to highlight something that I find very intriguing — that there can be a difference between your identity and your true self. That you can actually present yourself to be someone entirely other than who you actually are, which I think people do a lot," Shannon said.
Korean director Chan-wook Park, best known for the 2003 classic "Old Boy," helmed all six episodes of the miniseries.
"To spend like four or five months with one of the greatest filmmakers on the planet, it's obviously such a treat for us actors," Skarsgard said.
Skarsgard, fresh off an Emmy win for the HBO series "Big Little Lies," tends to gravitate toward meatier projects, so the script length also appealed to him.
"When you have a 400-page script as opposed to 100, it's so rich. You can go so deep and you can discover," Skarsgard said. "You can really take your time and enjoy it and slowly introduce characters and conflicts."
SMPTE elects board officers, regional governors
SMPTE®,the home of media professionals, technologists, and engineers, has revealed the board officers and regional governors who will serve terms beginning in January 2025.
Three new officers--Richard Welsh as SMPTE president, Eric Gsell as SMPTE executive VP, and Polly Hickling as SMPTE Education VP--have been elected for a two-year term from Jan. 1, 2025, to Dec. 31, 2026. One SMPTE officer, Lisa Hobbs, will be continuing her service as SMPTE secretary and treasurer for another two-year term. Additionally, Raymond Yeung will be stepping into the role of standards VP on Jan. 1, 2025.
“SMPTE’s membership has spoken,” said SMPTE interim executive director Sally-Ann D’Amato. “These officers have been tasked with an important responsibility, one each of them is prepared to tackle head-on. These next two years are looking bright for SMPTE!”
In addition to the officers, 10 regional governors were elected by the Society to serve two-year 2025-2026 terms.
These include the following regional governors, re-elected to continue their service:
Asia-Pacific Region Governor
Tony Ngai, Society of Motion Imaging Ltd.
EMEA - Central & South America Region Governor
Fernando Bittencourt, FB Consultant
United Kingdom Region Governor
Chris Johns, Sky UK.
USA - Central Region Governor
William T. Hayes, Consultant
USA - Eastern Region Governor
Dover Jeanne Mundt, Riedel Communications
USA - Western Region Governor
Jeffrey F. Way, Open Drives
Also elected were four newcomers to the SMPTE Board:
Canada Region Governor
Jonathan Jobin, Grass Valley
USA - Hollywood Region Governor
Allan Schollnick, Voxx... Read More