Bill Records/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images
Much like Texas, it seems like reboots are also forever.
According to Variety, Universal Television is working on bringing back the high school football drama Friday Night Lights with a new storyline and characters.
The original Friday Night Lights show ran from 2006 to 2011 and centered around the fictional Dillon Panthers high school football team in West Texas. It was inspired by the 1990 book of the same name and its 2004 film adaptation, both of which were about the real-life Permian High School Panthers of Odessa, Texas.
The show starred Kyle Chandler as Eric Taylor, coach of the Dillon Panthers and, in later seasons, the school's crosstown rivals, the East Dillon Lions. Connie Britton, who also starred in the FNL film, played Eric's wife and Dillon High faculty member, Tami Taylor.
Among those who portrayed the players and students were Zach Gilford, Taylor Kitsch, Scott Porter, Minka Kelly, Gaius Charles and Adrianne Palicki, as well as Michael B. Jordan and Jesse Plemons in early breakout roles.
The new Disney+ short film An Almost Christmas Story is inspired by the true story of an owl who was found inside the Rockefeller Christmas tree in New York City. In this version, the owl can talk, and his adventure is narrated by John C. Reilly.
In taking on the role, Reilly, who also performs four songs in the short, tells ABC Audio he was inspired by the late Burl Ives' Snowman narrator character in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
"I thought, 'I've learned so much music from Burl Ives, wouldn't it be cool to, like, step into his shoes?'" says Reilly, who also stars in a stage production called Mister Romantic. "Or at least perform a role that was similar to what he's done in the past."
An Almost Christmas Story also hearkens back to the look of those classic holiday specials in its animation style, though it was made digitally instead of with traditional stop-motion. Still, Reilly wanted to get a stop-motion figure of his character made, even though he laughs he was "hoping it would look less like me."
"I was like, 'But will you please still make mine?'" Reilly says. "Then [director] David Lowery's like, 'Yeah! Totally, we should still make yours!' So I'm gonna have to ask Disney where that thing is."
As for the film itself, you can expect a heartwarming tale and some adorable animals, which Reilly feels might bring some comfort amid stressful times, personal or otherwise.
"Somehow I think [the film] really does meet the moment for the way people are feeling right now in the world," Reilly says. "So I'm happy to spread a little love and a little empathy with this."
Can’t lose? ?’Friday Night Light?s’? reboot reportedly in the works
Posted/updated on:
November 15, 2024 at
3:07 pm
Bill Records/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images
Much like Texas, it seems like reboots are also forever.
According to Variety, Universal Television is working on bringing back the high school football drama Friday Night Lights with a new storyline and characters.
The original Friday Night Lights show ran from 2006 to 2011 and centered around the fictional Dillon Panthers high school football team in West Texas. It was inspired by the 1990 book of the same name and its 2004 film adaptation, both of which were about the real-life Permian High School Panthers of Odessa, Texas.
The show starred Kyle Chandler as Eric Taylor, coach of the Dillon Panthers and, in later seasons, the school's crosstown rivals, the East Dillon Lions. Connie Britton, who also starred in the FNL film, played Eric's wife and Dillon High faculty member, Tami Taylor.
Among those who portrayed the players and students were Zach Gilford, Taylor Kitsch, Scott Porter, Minka Kelly, Gaius Charles and Adrianne Palicki, as well as Michael B. Jordan and Jesse Plemons in early breakout roles.
John C. Reilly hopes “An Almost Christmas Story” short film will ‘spread a little love and a little empathy’
Posted/updated on:
November 15, 2024 at
1:41 pm
Disney
The new Disney+ short film An Almost Christmas Story is inspired by the true story of an owl who was found inside the Rockefeller Christmas tree in New York City. In this version, the owl can talk, and his adventure is narrated by John C. Reilly.
In taking on the role, Reilly, who also performs four songs in the short, tells ABC Audio he was inspired by the late Burl Ives' Snowman narrator character in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
"I thought, 'I've learned so much music from Burl Ives, wouldn't it be cool to, like, step into his shoes?'" says Reilly, who also stars in a stage production called Mister Romantic. "Or at least perform a role that was similar to what he's done in the past."
An Almost Christmas Story also hearkens back to the look of those classic holiday specials in its animation style, though it was made digitally instead of with traditional stop-motion. Still, Reilly wanted to get a stop-motion figure of his character made, even though he laughs he was "hoping it would look less like me."
"I was like, 'But will you please still make mine?'" Reilly says. "Then [director] David Lowery's like, 'Yeah! Totally, we should still make yours!' So I'm gonna have to ask Disney where that thing is."
As for the film itself, you can expect a heartwarming tale and some adorable animals, which Reilly feels might bring some comfort amid stressful times, personal or otherwise.
"Somehow I think [the film] really does meet the moment for the way people are feeling right now in the world," Reilly says. "So I'm happy to spread a little love and a little empathy with this."
