HBO biker series to star Donal Logue
Everybody wants Donal Logue. Just one month after NBC added him to the cast of NBC’s Life, as Charlie’s new boss, now comes news that HBO has booked Donal Logue as a biker in 1%. The new pilot casts Donal as a character named Misfit, a Silicon Valley member who’s sent to Carefree, Arizona, to get one of the toughest biker clubs in the west in line. Also joining Logue in the show are W. Earl Brown (Deadwood), Timm Sharp (Undeclared), Lucy Punch (hilarious in The Class as Holly Ellenbogen), Marisa Ryan (New York Undercover) and Sonny Barger. Barger is an actual biker and has been enlisted to no doubt add realism to the project.
The concept of one percenters, by the way, refers to the conceit that 99% of all motorcycle clubs are into riding their bikes and not looking for trouble. The other one-percent are, presumably, itching for a fight. Some clubs, however, rejected the clean-cut image and adopted the “one-percenter” moniker, even going so far as to create a diamond shaped 1% patch to wear on their vests as a badge of honor.
Since this pilot is called 1%, we can expect some conflict to say the least. And since HBO did once bring us Oz, could 1% be as raw as that show? We wonder, especially with Michael Tolkin as one of the executive producers. Tolkin has always been a provocative writer, including The Rapture, Changing Lanes and The Player, on his resume. Guymon Casady and Alexander Hertzberg with co-executive produce.
Interesting and entertaining are two things Donal Logue almost always brings to his roles. On TV, he starred in The Knights of Prosperity, an ABC sitcom that deserved a better fate than it received, as well as the underrated Grounded for Life, which ran for five years. I’ve always liked Donal Logue, so I’ll be curious enough to check out 1%. Ever since I saw him in The Tao of Steve, doing the same kind of schtick that Seth Rogan has done in Knocked Up (only better), I’ve been a Donal Logue fan.
[via PopCandy]
Amber Benson Biography
Pretty blonde performer Amber Benson racked up numerous film and television credits before rising to fame on the popular supernatural series “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”. Born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, Benson moved with her family to Los Angeles at age fourteen in 1991. By 1993 she had made the first of three “Jack Reed” TV-movies, “Jack Reed: Badge of Honor”, appearing as the daughter of the titular Chicago cop in this NBC entry as well as its 1994 and 1996 follow-ups. 1993 also saw the actress make her big-screen debut with featured roles in the teen thriller “The Crush” and Steven Soderbergh’s coming-of-age drama “King of the Hill”. Her relatively small but memorable parts in these very different features helped to launch the young performer’s career.
The following year she was featured in Anthony Drazan’s period drama “Imaginary Crimes” and had a pivotal supporting role in the social satire “S.F.W.”. Playing determined, pure-hearted and somewhat wise characters seemed to come easy to Benson, who brought a palpable intelligence to her powerful performances. She essayed the charmingly innocent daughter of divorced dad Randy Quaid in “Bye Bye, Love” (1995) and guest starred on an episode of the Fox series “Partners” the following year. Though her role as ‘Stoned Girl’ in the teen comedy “Can’t Hardly Wait” was drastically cut to earn a PG-13 rating, Benson soon became a familiar presence to the film’s target audience when she began appearing on “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” (The WB) the following year. Her 1999-2001 recurring role as the good witch who becomes more than just a friend to fellow enchantress Willow (Alyson Hannigan) saw the actress taking on controversial topics and earning the esteem of the notoriously hard-to-please “Buffy” fan base. When the series moved to UPN in 2001, Benson’s role was upgraded to that of a regular.
In connection with “Buffy”, the actress sought to broaden the scope of her talents, co-writing with novelist Christopher Golden the comic book WannaBlessedBe, based on her character on the supernatural series. Back on the big screen, Benson was featured in the festival-screened, controversy-plagued “Don’s Plum” (2001; filmed 1995-96) which was barred from domestic release as per a legal agreement mandated by the film’s stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire, who allege the project was misrepresented. Taking over her own project, Benson proved a multitalented filmmaker and avid do-it-yourselfer as writer, producer, director and prime financer of “Chance” (lensed 2001), a dark comedy in which she also starred.