Sicario Poster

Lionsgate has released the atmospheric first teaser poster and some stills for Dennis Villeneuve's dark cartel thriller Sicario, which premieres this month at the Cannes Film Festival. "Dark" almost feels like an understatement for this pitch-black look at inter-agency cooperation in the ongoing war on drugs seen through the eyes of idealistic FBI agent Kate (Emily Blunt) on what the official synopsis describes as a "conflicting journey that descends into the intrigue, corruption and moral mayhem of the borderland drug wars." Rounding out the alphabet soup of government agencies, Josh Brolin (Inherent Vice) plays a CIA agent of dubious morality; Jeffrey Donovan (Burn Notice) plays a DEA agent; Victor Garber (Alias) plays an FBI boss; and Benecio Del Toro (Licence to Kill) plays what that official synopsis describes as "an enigmatic consultant with a questionable past" who leads the team on "a clandestine journey forcing Kate to question everything that she believes in order to survive." Villeneuve re-teams with his Prisoners D.P. Roger Deakins (Skyfall) to ensure that no matter how ugly things get for Kate, it all looks great on screen. Sicario (which means "hitman" in Mexico, according to the press release) opens in select theaters on September 18, and nationwide on September 25.

Tradecraft: Jeffrey Donovan and Josh Brolin Play Agents in Sicario

Now that his Burn Notice has been rescinded, Jeffrey Donovan is free to spy again unimpeded. But he's switching agencies. Donovan will play "a no-nonsense DEA agent" in Prisoners director Denis Villeneuve’s Sicario, according to Deadline, opposite Josh Brolin (No Country For Old Men, W.) as a maverick CIA agent. Deadline reports (in a separate story) that Brolin's CIA agent runs a task force out to bring down the kingpin of a powerful drug cartel. He recruits Emily Blunt’s (Charlie Wilson's War) character, a Tuscon SWAT officer, to help him. Benecio Del Toro (Licence To Kill) plays a mysterious character working with them to the same end. The trade reports that Donovan's Steve Forsing becomes involved "in an all-out firefight at the Juarez border while transferring a prisoner." Maximiliano Hernandez (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., The Americans) and Daniel Kaluuya (Johnny English Reborn) round out the cast.

Burn Notice to End with This Season

It's a sad but inevitable day for Burn Notice fans. The final season draws nigh. USA confirmed that this would be the last year for the popular spy series earlier this month (on Deadline), and today they've released this bittersweet image of Michael Westen and the gang walking off into the sunset. I hope the season lives up to that image! The final season of Burn Notice begins next week, on Thursday, June 6. Read my original review of the pilot, from when Burn Notice debuted in 2007, here.

Upcoming Spy DVDs: Burn Notice: Season 6

TVShowsOnDVD reports that Burn Notice: Season Six  will hit DVD on June 11... oddly not quite in time for the Season 7 premiere on June 6. Weird. The website previously reported that bonus content for the sixth season of the hit USA spy show includes deleted scenes, a gag reel, the featurette "Matt Nix Gets Burned" and an audio commentary on the episode "Shock Wave" featuring series creator Nix, director Renny Harlin and stars Jeffrey Donovan and Bruce Campbell. (The Burn Notice commentaries, like any track involving Campbell, are always entertaining.) MSRP for the 4-disc set from Fox is $49.98, but of course it will be available from Amazon for significantly less. The sixth season marked some more major changes to the series' format, and saw some cast departures. (I was personally very sorry to see the departure of Lauren Stamile as Agent Pearce.) I'm particularly excited for this season on DVD, because I was in the midst of a move when it aired and temporarily without cable, so I didn't get to see most of it. I'm looking forward to getting caught up at last!

Review: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century: 2009 Featuring Some of the 20th Century's Greatest Fictional Secret Agents

Famous fictional spies have made appearances in several recent volumes of Alan Moore's epic literary mash-up comic book series The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. James Bond got rather unfairly skewered in 2007's The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier, which also featured appearances from Hugo Drummond, George Smiley, Q, Callan's Lonely and a young Emma Peel—as well as references to Felix Leiter, John Drake and Callan's Toby Meres. Last year, Simon Templar, Jason King and the Sean Connery incarnation of 007 made cameos in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century 1969. And even more spies turn up (in more substantial roles, too) in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century: 2009, out this week!

For regular readers of this series, which began as a sort of Victorian-era Justice League teaming the likes of Mina Harker, Allan Quatermain, Dr. Jeckyll and Captain Nemo before spanning centuries to incorporate scores of other characters from fiction, film and television, part of the fun is spotting all the cameos and figuring out who certain characters (sometimes remaining nameless due to copyright regulations) are supposed to be. If you count yourself in that category, then you may wish to read no further until you've perused the book yourself, because I'm going to reveal some of the spy characters populating the latest volume. But I'm not planning to spoil any plot details.

Century: 2009, the final part of the "Century Trilogy," takes place (obviously) in 2009. In keeping with the modern Bond films, M (the nomenclature is a fixture of the series) is now a woman. In a rather delightful twist, however, we soon piece together that this elegant older woman is Emma Peel! (She even keeps a framed photo of Steed on her desk.) Em (get it?) has grown disillusioned over the years with the original James Bond (Moore's supposed take on the literary 007, whose character actually bears no resemblance to Ian Fleming's creation, even if artist Kevin O'Neill nails the physical appearance), but because of his notoriety it's suited her to continue to employ "increasingly younger stand-ins" who carry on his name and number. These stand-ins, codenamed J1 through J6, of course bear the respective likenesses of Sean Connery (the version of 007 seen in the last volume), Roger Moore (perhaps supposed to be Simon Templar himself recruited to fill the shoes of James Bond?), Timothy Dalton (in the weakest likeness), Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig (in the best likeness). Later in the story, Emma comes to the rescue in a Rolls Royce along with appropriately aged companions Tara King and Purdey! (This version of Purdey is a clever amalgamation of Purdey and Joanna Lumley's Absolutely Fabulous character Patsy.) In what reads as a very nice sort of epilogue to The Avengers, Emma explains that they're all very loyal to each other, adding, "I suppose it's that we all used to be in love with the same man." Soon enough Cathy Gale is also in the picture, but this version of Cathy also owes something to another famous Honor Blackman spy character: she "has some experience as a flight instructress" as well as some lesbian tendencies! Lesser spy cameos in the book (I mean lesser in that they don't have speaking roles) include Spooks' Harry and Ruth, 24's President David Palmer and Burn Notice's Michael Westen (by reference, anyway) and, in a particularly amusing single-panel appearance, The Prisoner himself, Number 6.

Moore is clearly fond of The Avengers, so he treats them pretty well. As I said above, the portrayal of the ladies of The Avengers is really quite moving, making this comic a must-buy for fans of that series on the eve of Steed and Emma's official return to comics in Boom!'s upcoming Steed and Mrs. Peel series. As he made abundantly clear in Black Dossier, however, Moore has no love whatsoever for James Bond, and therefore treats him rather ruthlessly. (I have to say, I was disappointed that someone who's clearly so well read and such a lover of classic adventure fiction as Moore would rely on preconceived notions about Fleming's Bond based more on trendy, ill-informed lit-crit and some of the early movie appearances than the actual novels themselves. Among the myriad slanders he levied against 007, he made the character a habitual woman-beater. Had he read Fleming's short story "The Hildebrand Rarity," Moore would know that Fleming's Bond disdains such men.) The original Bond, now in his 90s, is subjected to one final insult... but nothing so bad as in Black Dossier. In fact, I was quite amused to see a nonagenarian "Sir James" wheelchair-bound and breathing through an oxygen tank (thanks to "cirrhosis, emphysema and syphilis..." all in all a much fairer portrayal of the original Book Bond!), but still looked after by a comely nurse nonetheless.

In this volume, Moore's misdirected outrage is mainly reserved for Harry Potter. Poor Harry is portrayed as something much worse than 007, and jabs at J.K. Rowling about "sloppily-defined magical principles" like "a child's idea of how [things] work" take on a definite pot-kettle quality coming from the creator of this very universe we're reading about, equally brilliant and equally flawed—especially when it comes to sloppily-defined principles. (See: the "Blazing World" in Black Dossier, a haven for fictional characters within an entire universe populated exclusively by fictional characters!) Despite these jabs, however, the jeers at Harry Potter's expense seem a bit more good-natured than those directed at James Bond. Alan Moore's primary problem with both of them, it seems, is that they're too modern for his liking, and therefore part of a declining culture that's "fallen apart... by becoming irrelevant."

I love Alan Moore's writing. He's produced some of the greatest literary works of our modern declining culture, among them Watchmen, V For Vendetta and even the aforementioned Black Dossier, every bit as brilliant as it is flawed and the true masterpiece of the League series. But he's become a grumpy old man. (Okay; perhaps he was always a grumpy old man.) His recent outrage at the idea of DC producing new comics without Moore's involvement about the characters he created in Watchmen seemed more than a little hypocritical coming from a man who's made a career out of appropriating other authors' characters (League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Lost Girls) and putting them in predicaments that almost certainly would have appalled those authors! And if he truly believes that Harry Potter represents the nadir of Western Civilization, then I suspect he's either suffering from a bout of jealousy or else he really does believe that culture of the past will always remain infinitely superior to culture of the present day. And if that's the case, then I'm not sure it's culture that's fallen apart by becoming irrelevant... or the author himself. I think there's a tendency among cultural historians and particularly pop culture historians (especially those who write blogs about it, speaking of pots and kettles) to elevate the past at the expense of the present. I'm as guilty of it as anyone; I admit that I, too, would generally prefer a spy film or TV show from the Sixties to one from this decade. However... that doesn't mean that I completely close my mind to the idea that a great one could come along again at any moment. (See: Homeland. Or Casino Royale.) I don't think anyone should ever do that. Because when you close your mind that much, that's when culture truly falls apart. Not when a woman with a ridiculously fertile imagination creates a magical world that resonates so much with an entire generation of children that her books succeed in luring them away from their consoles and back into bookstores for the first time in ages.

But I digress. Am I reading too much into this comic book? Perhaps; perhaps not. Moore's writing encourages such obsessive analysis. But at the end of the day, whatever the author's agenda, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century: 2009 still rates among the most entertaining comics I've read this year. And despite his thinly coded complaints about the state of popular culture, I believe that entertainment is still Moore's primary goal with this series. Here, he succeeds admirably, and I would recommend this book (indeed, the whole Century trilogy) to any spy fans (especially Avengers fans) or fans of classic literature and popular culture in general.

Vote For Your Favorite New Burn Notice Opening Titles

USA is conducting a poll in which fans vote for the title sequence that will accompany the upcoming sixth season of its flagship spy series Burn Notice, and today is the last day to vote. You can choose between an updated version of the classic opening (adding Coby Bell's Jesse Porter as "a down-and-out spy you met along the way," per Michael's narration) or an all-new one. I like change (well, sometimes), so I voted for the all-new opening. It's more spyish, and besides I'm sick of that old intro calling Sam (Bruce Campbell) "an old friend who used to inform on you for the FBI." That's not a great intro for Sam, and it's five seasons out of date anyway! Vote here and vote today, before it's too late! Burn Notice returns on June 14.

Upcoming Spy DVDs: Burn Notice Season 5

Fox Home Entertainment announced last week that Burn Notice: Season Five will be out on DVD on June 5. The fifth season of USA's flagship spy series was certainly an interesting one. The creators finally shook up the formula, which had honestly become a little stagnant, by having Jeffrey Donovan's formerly burnt spy Michael Westen finally rejoin the CIA... at least as a consultant. This new role opens up the scope of Michael's missions, and finds him on assignment overseas as an actual spy rather than just helping people in need in Miami. He also strikes up a somewhat uneasy partnership with his Agency handler, Agent Dani Pearce (Lauren Stamile), and finally comes face to face with the shadowy nemesis who burned him all those years ago. Overall, I thought it made for a marked improvement over the previous season for a show that's never less than thoroughly entertaining to begin with.

If a solid season alone weren't enough reason to buy this release, Fox has packed it with lots of exclusive bonus content including an extended episode, deleted scenes, a gag reel and a featurette on the memorable villains of Burn Notice featuring "unique insights from the actors who play them along with a snarky rebuttal on their deeds from [Sam Axe actor] Bruce Campbell!" As fans know already, Campbell long ago staked out his place as one of the most entertaining contributors to DVD features in the business, so any bonus content with his involvement is guaranteed to be worth a watch.

Retail is $49.98, but that price will no doubt drop on Amazon as we near the release date.

Read my exclusive interview with the fifth season's newest cast addition, Lauren Stamile (Agent Pearce), here.

Tradecraft: USA Sticks With Spies

Tradecraft: USA Sticks With Spies

Spies have done well for USA, fueling hit series like Burn Notice and Covert Affairs. It's natural, then, that the cable network keep trying with a genre that works for it. And as long as their attempts maintain the quality of those two shows, I'll keep watching! Deadline reports that USA has bought a project from Working Title Television called The Outside Man, which the trade blog describes as a "light one-hour drama that follows a former black ops specialist who gets divorced and is forced to go back to spycraft in order to support his children and the two households." Matt Johnson (Torque, Into the Blue) and John Turman (Hulk, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer) will write and executive produce the series based on their own original idea.

Exclusive Interview With Burn Notice's Lauren Stamile

Exclusive Interview With Burn Notice's Lauren Stamile

Last week I teased a lengthy interview I conducted with the newest spy on Burn Notice, Agent Pearce herself, Lauren Stamile. As promised, here is the entire transcript of that conversation, just in time for her third appearance on the show tonight. Lauren is a friend of mine, and I was thrilled when she got this part, as Burn Notice is one of my favorite shows. I'm grateful to her for taking the time to share her experiences with spy fans on the Double O Section. Lauren and I spoke on the eve of her first appearance, right before Comic-Con, and discussed everything from working with Jeffrey Donovan to the works of spy writers like Greg Rucka and John Le Carré. One of the cool side effects of playing a CIA officer is that she's become quite a spy fan via her research reading!

00 Section: What can you tell me about Kim Pearce? [When Stamile was first announced for the role, the character's name was given as Kim Pearce.] Who is this character?

Lauren Stamile: You know what? First of all, I actually think her name is different. It's Pearce [not "Pierce"], and that's generally what people call her, is Pearce, but I believe it's Dani Pearce now. At least that's what it says on the call sheet. Nobody's ever called me by my first name; it's always Pearce. But I think it was originally Kim, and now it's been changed. I think!

00: But Pearce is what we call you.

LS: Yeah.

00: Well, who is Pearce?

LS: Ah, Pearce is a CIA agent, and she is smart, tenacious, no-nonsense when it comes to her job... but not without a sense of humor, if that makes any sense. And I believe that it's her ability to kind of balance the gravity of what she does with a little bit of levity is kind of a testament to her intelligence. She is extremely passionate, but her mind is definitely at the helm of every operation. And I would say that when we meet her, she's kind of... Michael Westen has met his match. So she kind of has the very unique challenge of needing to be two steps ahead of the man who is ten steps ahead of everybody else. Which is a great challenge.

00: Well, yeah! Definitely. So would you call her a female version of Michael Westen, to some degree?

LS: Yes! I absolutely would. I think that her... Michael is a bit of, in Pearce's eyes, is a bit of a wild card, so she... respects him. His name is infamous in her world, so she doesn't fully trust him. And as, you know, as an agent for the CIA, she doesn't really trust anybody. But I think that, in common with Michael, she has a very strong moral compass, which is challenged—obviously—being a spy, and she respects the people that employ her and the Agency that employs her, but at the end of the day she will always go with her instinct about what is right. Which I think she does have in common with Michael. Sometimes in the field, you know, what seems to be the right thing to do can kind of butt heads with, maybe... the bureaucratic machine. Unlike Michael, though, she is not a burned spy.

00: So she's not afraid to go against CIA policy if it means doing the right thing?

LS: Exactly. I think that she... She, again, she respects it, but it is always about doing the right thing. And I think that that is something that she respects—well it's probably something that, you know, frustrates her about Michael and that she respects about Michael! You know, she has these rules and she has bosses and all that stuff.  And Michael, as anybody who loves and knows the show knows, is always doing the right thing. And that's what's so remarkable about his character.

00: So is she Michael's boss? Or is she more of an equal?

LS: When she meets Michael... I don't want to give too much away! Are you caught up on the episodes this season?

00: Ah, personally, I haven't seen the very last one. [Ed: all caught up now!] But don't worry about spoiling anything for me. I'll get caught up.

LS: [laughing] I'm not gonna ruin it! I'm gonna be careful! I just wasn't sure what you'd seen. Um, when we meet Pearce—or when Michael and Pearce meet—she is heading a case that he is involved in, basically. And she has asked him to come in, and they're going to be working on it together. So they're colleagues.

00: Oh, okay. So she actually asks for him?

LS: She asks for him.

00: Well, I think that that's a neat twist. It sounds like she's something a little different from what we've seen before. Because previous characters that come in during seasons kind of give him orders rather than asking for him, and don't necessarily want to be working with him, it seems.

LS: Right. She makes it clear that it's her case, but, you know, but that she... she knows. I mean, anybody who knows who Michael is knows how good he is at what he does, so she absolutely.... While she doesn't trust him fully, she respects him.

00: Have they worked together prior to the show? Do they have a history?

LS: No, they do not have a history. She just knows what she's researched about him. And he doesn't know her.

00: So are most of your scenes with Michael? Is he your main contact? How does Pearce fit in with the rest of the gang on Burn Notice, I guess, is what I'm asking. Do you mainly hang out with Michael?

LS: I mainly hang out with Michael. I have gotten to, on occasion, hang out with almost everybody else. And I will be meeting the only character that Pearce has yet to meet, she will meet during this episode that I'm shooting now. So, it's mainly Michael.

00: In the TV movie The Fall of Sam Axe, Sam has a sort of unfortunate run-in with the CIA. Since Pearce is coming from the CIA, does she have any bad blood with Sam for that reason?

LS: No, she doesn't have any bad blood with Sam specifically. Sam's pretty hard not to like!

00: Will you talk about the kind of research that you'd done on the CIA? Well, first of all, had you ever played a spy before?

LS: No, absolutely not. And, um, I have to, I have to first of all, I have to thank you! [laughs] Because you have been my... I have been so fortunate to know you as a friend, and as a research guide!

00: [laughing] Thank you! I'm telling you, I've always wanted to get that call! "Matt, I'm playing a spy. What should I read?" Are you kidding? I live to answer that question!

LS: Kind of like the show, how the show, I think, is so interesting—the tone of the show is so interesting, because it kind of is a big mix of action, drama, comedy and heart. So I have tried to approach my research for the show kind of from several different angles. You know, non-fiction research about spies and the CIA as well as graphic novels, more serious novels, more comedic novels... it's very interesting to me because the mind of a spy is so wildly different from the mind of an actress! Um, spies don't like to call attention to themselves, and... [laughs] actors do! And I think also, just the, the kind of lonely existence is something that's kind of interesting to me. I don't think I'd be a very good spy, and so, what's been really important to me about getting into the head of a spy is... actually I've had a lot of luck reading fiction, because a lot of the spy authors have former ties to, you know, the CIA.

00: Sure, some of my favorites do!

LS: Yeah, absolutely! Or, you know, the equivalent, in other countries. And so that has been really helpful to me. As well as, I tried to, I asked myself, if a spy were researching this job, what would they do? And the first thing I did was, well, you know, if I were a spy, I would watch every single episode of this show, which I did!

00: Mm-hm. Had you seen it before?

LS: I had seen several episodes, but not in any consecutive order. So I started from the beginning, and watched everything. And I have to say, after the first episode, it just didn't seem like work anymore! I had to keep telling myself I was working, because the show was so great! So that was extremely helpful.

00: So you're a fan now.
LS: Oh yeah! For sure. There is something so fantastically irreverent about the tone of the show. Fi can be arguing with Sam about his taste in shirts while aiming her sniper rifle at the villain who is actively attempting to kill Michael. Furthermore, there is so much going on beneath every moment in Burn Notice, so rarely does a "hello" mean just that—and "Pass me the C4" can easily be code for "I love you." That is what makes the show so interesting to watch - and so challenging, fun and, quite honestly, terrifying to be a part of. It keeps me on my toes, to say the very least. And as I'm continuing to work, I'm continuing to read books, to try to keep my head in that world. Again, because it's so foreign to me.

00: Interesting. Have you taken that approach before for parts, or is this unique to being in a spy frame of mind?

LS: I'm a big researcher; I love to research. Generally, though, I don't really have the luxury of time in order to do it. In this particular case, though, I've had time, because it's a role that is ongoing, and, I think even, specific to this role, the research has been even greater. Because, like a spy, I want to leave no stones unturned! And I feel like there's only more I can keep learning.

00: Any particular books you recommend to get into that headspace?

LS: Yeah, the first one I read was Thwarting Enemies at Home and Abroad by William R. Johnson. [Ed: An essential CIA how-to manual that actually reads like one of Michael Westen's monologues!] That was the first one. And that was fantastic. After that, um, I started reading The Spy Who Came In From the Cold, and, um, have also... I've really, really, really gotten into Greg Rucka. I've read A Gentleman's Game, and I have to tell you, I'm gonna geek out for a second, but I was really upset when I finished it because I didn't have it to look forward to reading any more! And I'm reading all the Queen and Country graphic novels. I'm almost done with the second volume, and I think there are four. And then after I finish that I'm going to go and get Private Wars. I'm reading A Handbook of Practical Spying; I'm almost done with that.

00: I haven't read that one.

LS: I'm in the middle of Blowing My Cover: My Life as a CIA Spy [by Lindsay Moran], which is interesting because it's kind of got a comedic side to it, which is great, but a completely different voice. So... let me see. I'm in the middle of about three right now.

00: That's a great way to stay in the spy zone! Do you find yourself getting paranoid while you're in a spy headspace all the time?

LS: Well, it is interesting, I do find myself... yeah, I do! And I've questioned everything that people tell me! I just think it's funny. You know, if people tell me something, my first question is, are they lying? Are they telling the truth? So it can make you a little neurotic!

00: Have you ever found yourself tailing someone on the street?

LS: [laughs] I have yet to do that.

00: You talk about how into the Queen and Country books you got. Do you see any similarities between Queen and Country's heroine, Tara Chace, and Pearce?

LS: I absolutely do! You know, it's very interesting... I am definitely not cool enough to be working on this show, or to be a spy! However, and that's one thing about Tara Chace. She is... I think that there are a lot of similarities between Pearce and Tara. I think that Pearce is maybe a little more, um, tightly wound. But what I think is so interesting about Tara is that she is in this man's world—or what is traditionally a man's world, I guess—but she just kicks ass anyway! That's so inspiring and so great. I think, too, looking at this project, it still is extremely intimidating to me. But when I think about Tara Chace, I think, would she be intimidated? No! So there's no place to be intimidated. It's all about being confident in what you're doing. And that, that's extremely helpful to me. Every time I start to doubt, I kind of go back to that: she wouldn't be that way; I can't be that way. If that makes any sense.

00: So she's become a personal hero to you?

LS: Absolutely.

00: You mentioned Tara kicking ass. Does Pearce kick ass? Or do you do mainly the more intellectual side of spying?

LS: Well, I have to say, most of it is intellectual, but there is one particular episode where there is some ass-kicking. And I, personally, as Lauren, am not a great ass-kicker! So I hope I pulled this off! We'll see if it actually comes across as ass-kicking, and you can let me know.

00: Did they give you a fight coach or anything?

LS: They did not, but the second I read the episode, I mean, I had to leave for Miami about two days after I got it, but I met with a kickboxing trainer, and I met with, also, a guy that teaches martial arts. I met with each of them a couple of times, and they were fantastic and, um, I just can't imagine how bad I would have been had I not met with them! [laughs]

00: They have really good editors on Burn Notice. I have a feeling you're going to look very professional!

LS: I hope so. It's something I've gotta work on, for sure!

00: Kickboxing and martial arts. What about guns? Does Pearce use guns?

LS: Yes, Pearce does use guns. And I have to say, I'm a little more confident with a gun. So that will be coming up, too.

00: Did you have any training on that?

LS: I did not, but it wasn't the first time I have had to use one. For a job.

00: "For a job." Thanks for the clarification!

LS: [laughing] Yeah, really! Absolutely.

00: I asked about the intellectual side because you had mentioned something to me early on, that one of the writers told you your part was in part inspired by George Smiley, which I found really interesting, because you're certainly not who I would picture when I think about George Smiley! So how does that figure into Pearce?
LS: Obviously Smiley in his big overcoat, and he's chubby, and he's always, he seems disheveled and not...

00: Yeah, I think Le Carré describes him as "toad-like" and he says he seems like a man who's spent a lot of money on very bad clothes.

LS: And in that way, I think physically it's a very different situation! Though I do think that vanity is not something that's part of Pearce's life. You know, I am only in the beginnings of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. John Le Carré's novels are dense and have been kind of tough for me to crack—which is definitely a sign of his creativity and intelligence and, unfortunately, I suppose, a sign of mine. [laughs] But like Smiley, Pearce has a brilliant mind and can see circumstances from so many different angles. And that mind is what enters every room first—before her choice in clothing and concern for social propriety. And her personal life... well, at this moment, it is really a non-issue—everything in her life bows in deference to her work.

00: Smiley's sort of an Everyman. He can completely blend into a crowd. He's not in any way remarkable.

LS: Absolutely. I think when you stereotypically, when you think "spy," the first thing that would come to my mind is like, you know, some seedy-looking, kind of shady person who looks suspicious, which is, you know, the worst spy in the world! You have to be as vanilla—or gray—as possible. I was reading something about how they don't even like to hire people, like women over—which would be bad for me, because I'm really tall—but they don't even like to hire women over a certain height! Or men, even. You have to be as unremarkable as possible. And that, actually, is much harder to do! Also, because the job of a spy will often require you to adopt some other persona, you know, to fit into different worlds in order to get information, you have to be, well, I guess like an actor in that way, you have to be malleable.

00: Yeah, there is certainly a connection to an actor in that respect. Definitely not in the need for attention that you talked about earlier, but in changing your personality. There's a lot of acting skills. But, you know, it's funny; what you talked about earlier, about a spy being ordinary, certainly runs counter to television casting! I am imagining that the make-up department probably isn't trying to make you look "ordinary," right?

LS: Well, I have to tell you, though, that's something that is really interesting. Especially since we shoot in Miami and there's a ton of humidity and I have really curly hair, they're going to make sure there's no frizz and, like, that my acne is covered up, but other than that, they're not trying to create some... It's not a big, makeup-y kind of situation at all. It's not a glamour thing that they're going for.

00: Not a Bond Girl kind of role.

LS: Not. At. All! There's a lot of suits. Especially when I'm working kind of behind the scenes. And I think especially because Pearce, I think, as a spy, but also as a person, is not really... She doesn't have time for that kind of stuff! You know, she's lucky if she takes a shower! (Or, she will take a shower, but that's... You know, be clean and then get work done!) Work is her main loyalty.

00: Mm-hm. So do we see a personal side of her on the show? Will we see any romantic storylines for her or anything?

LS: You know, you will find out, she's got kind of a delicate backstory, romantically, and you will find out a little bit about that, but other than that, I think, at least when we meet her, for the first several episodes, she's got a big fish to fry, and I think that her personal life is not even on her radar.

00: So what does the future hold for Pearce? Are we gonna be seeing a lot of you?

LS: Ahhhh... I don't know! I mean, I think it has yet to be determined.

00: But you're on for at least the rest of the summer season, right?

LS: Yes!

00: Well, that's exciting. So let me ask about you as an actor. Where have people seen you before?

LS: Most recently, I did a recurring role on [Season 2 of] Community, which is a comedy on NBC, and then some people may be familiar with my storyline on Grey's Anatomy. I think it was a pretty unpopular storyline. [laughs] Because I kind of came between McDreamy and Meredeth.

00: You've done that a lot! [Also on Community.] On this one you're definitely not coming between anyone?

LS: No, no, no! Definitely not! Please, please, please put that out there! When I got the wonderful call to get this job, my first question was, "Oh my God. Please tell me... please let me not be coming between Michael and Fiona, because those two are—at least their version of—happily ever after and they need to stay together!"

00: I'm glad you're not in that awkward position again.

LS: Yes. That would be very unfortunate.

00: I know you did one other show with Burn Notice creator Matt Nix...

LS: Yeah!

00: Was that how you came onto his radar?

LS: Um, I believe that's how I came onto his radar. Oh my gosh, The Good Guys! That show was so fun! Yeah, so I think that that's kind of how I came onto his radar and I am so grateful to be doing another show with him.

00: Have you worked with him directly? Is he actually on the set?

LS: I actually, I am working with him on the episode we're shooting right now. He is directing it. So I'm very fortunate.

00: What's the set like for Burn Notice? Is this a fun show, too?

LS: The set, and I would say honestly, the last time I had this much fun on a set was on The Good Guys. Which was also a Matt Nix show, like we said. The set is fantastic. It's fun, and it's extremely supportive. On the first day, Jeffrey Donovan, who plays Michael Westen (who is a rock star, like Michael Westen but minus the ego!), he came up to me and he said, "Welcome;" he said, "please remember that this is your set now, too." He just, from the beginning, that's kind of how everybody is! They're so beyond welcoming, helping me, kind of catching me up on how the world of Burn Notice works, and making me feel very at home in a city I don't live in. Like when I was watching the episodes, I keep having to tell myself I'm working, because it's so much fun it doesn't feel like it, and I keep telling myself that in some strange way, I deserve to be here, and I cannot believe that! Like I said before, I'm definitely not cool enough to be on this show, but everybody makes me feel like I am! The whole experience has been extraordinary.

00: One final thing I have to know is... do you ever get to eat yogurt with Michael Westen?

LS: I do! [laughs] Let me tell you, I have to tell you, finally, in my last episode and the episode that I'm working on now, when I saw—oh my God, I get to eat yogurt!—I think that was one of my happiest days. I felt like I was part of the club.

00: Thank you, Lauren. I can't wait to see you on the show!

Teaser: Exclusive Interview With Burn Notice's Lauren Stamile Coming Soon

Last week I had a fairly epic conversation with the newest spy on Burn Notice, Agent Pearce herself, Lauren Stamile (who just happens to be a friend of mine). I've been endeavoring to transcribe it ever since. However, it's taking a while. But I do hope to have the whole interview up before her next appearance, next week. In the meantime, here's a brief taste sure to appeal to spy fans in particular!

00 Section: What can you tell me about Kim Pearce? [When Stamile was first announced for the role, the character's name was given as Kim Pearce.] Who is this character?

Lauren Stamile: You know what? First of all, I actually think her name is different. It's Pearce, and that's generally what people call her, is Pearce, but I believe it's Dani Pearce now. At least that's what it says on the call sheet. Nobody's ever called me by my first name; it's always Pearce. But I think it was originally Kim, and now it's been changed.

00: So Pearce is a CIA agent. How do you approach playing a spy?

LS: I've tried to approach my research for the show kind of from several different angles. You know, non-fiction research about spies and the CIA as well as graphic novels, more serious novels, more comedic novels.... It's very interesting to me because the mind of a spy is so wildly different from the mind of an actress! Spies don't like to call attention to themselves, and... [laughs] actors do!

00: I never thought of it that way!

LS: And I think also, just the, the kind of lonely existence is something that's kind of interesting to me. I don't think I'd be a very good spy, and so, what's been really important to me about getting into the head of a spy is, actually, I've had a lot of luck reading fiction, because a lot of the spy authors have former ties to, you know, the CIA.

00: Sure, some of my favorites do.

LS: Yeah, absolutely! Or, you know, the equivalent, in other countries. And so that has been really helpful to me.

00: Any particular books you recommend to get into that headspace?

LS: Yeah, the first one I read was that book you gave me, Thwarting Enemies at Home and Abroad. [Ed: William Johnson's great non-fiction guide to counterintelligence techniques that actually reads like one of Michael Westen's "how to" monologues.] That was the first one. And that was fantastic. After that, um, I started reading The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, and, um, have also... I've really, really, really gotten into Greg Rucka. I've read A Gentleman's Game, and I have to tell you, I'm gonna geek out for a second, but I was really upset when I finished it because I didn't have it to look forward to reading any more! And I'm reading all the Queen and Country graphic novels. I'm almost done with the second volume, and I think there are four. And then after I finish that I'm going to go and get Private Wars. I'm reading A Handbook of Practical Spying [published by the International Spy Museum]; I'm almost done with that.

00: I've actually never read that one.

LS: I'm in the middle of Blowing My Cover: My Life as a CIA Spy [by Lindsay Moran], which is interesting because it's kind of got a comedic side to it, which is great, but a completely different voice.  So... let me see. I'm in the middle of about three right now.

00: That's certainly a great way to stay in... in the spy zone. Do you find yourself getting paranoid while you're in a spy headspace all the time?

LS: Well, it's interesting, I do find myself... yeah, I do! And I've questioned everything that people tell me! I just think it's funny. You know, if people tell me something, my first question is, are they lying?

00: Have you ever found yourself tailing someone on the street?

LS: [Laughs.] I have yet to do that.

Read the entire interview with Agent Pearce here.

The Spy's Guide to Comic-Con 2011

Here we are again: San Diego Comic-Con International starts tomorrow! And it's packed with spy-related programming this year, right from the very beginning. Here's information on panels spy fans might want to attend, pasted from the official schedule on the official site. (I'd say that the Archer panel was the highlight last year, and would strongly recommend fans of the show to attend that one this time!)

Thursday, July 21

10:00-11:00 Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe— For fans of USA's hit series Burn Notice who've always wanted to know what happened before Sam Axe (Bruce Campbell) teamed up with Michael Weston and Fiona, Comic-Con attendees are invited inside the USA made-for-TV movie Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe, debuting on DVD exclusively at Comic-Con! The Burn Notice prequel chronicles what turned out to be the last military mission of former U.S. Navy SEAL Lieutenant Commander Axe and the expedition that took him from the jungles of Colombia to sunny Miami Beach. Go one-on-one with Bruce Campbell, star of Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe, and Burn Notice creator, writer, and executive producer, Matt Nix. Ballroom 20

11:15-12:15 Covert Affairs— For the first time, TV's sexiest spy show, USA Network's Covert Affairs, comes to Comic-Con! Spend some time with stars Piper Perabo (Annie Walker), Christopher Gorham (Auggie Anderson), Sendhil Ramamurthy(Jai Wilcox), Kari Matchett (Joan Campbell), Anne Dudek (Danielle), and Peter Gallagher (Arthur Campbell). Executive producers Doug Liman, Chris Ord, Matt Corman, and Dave Bartis also join the panel, moderated by the one-and-only Oded Fehr. Fans will get an insider's look into the action-packed world of Covert Affairs. Besides having questions answered about the exciting current season, fans will view exclusive video content featuring a sneak peek at upcoming episodes. There will also be surprise giveaways for audience members! Ballroom 20

4:00-5:00 Archer Screening and Q&A— This animated half-hour comedy revolves around the spy agency known as the International Secret Intelligence Service (ISIS) and the lives of its self-involved employees. Series creator Adam Reed (Sealab 2021,Frisky Dingo) and the show's voice-over actors discuss their daunting and enigmatic work of espionage, reconnaissance missions, and undercover surveillances -- which are all actually unmitigated occasions for the ISIS staff to undermine, sabotage, and betray each other for personal gains and prosperity. Panelists include H. Jon Benjamin (Bob's Burgers, Jon Benjamin Has a Van) as the highly skilled yet incredibly vain master spy Sterling Archer; Aisha Tyler (Talk Soup, CSI) as fellow agent provocateur Lana Kane; Chris Parnell (Saturday Night Live, 30 Rock) as the easily intimidated comptroller of ISIS, Cyril Figgis; Judy Greer (Mad Love, Arrested Development) as the loquacious secretary, Cheryl/Carol; Amber Nash (Frisky Dingo,Aqua Teen Hunger Force) as the discordant director of human resources for ISIS, Pam Poovey; and George Coe (Funny People, Curb Your Enthusiasm) as Sterling's elderly and always-exploited butler, Woodhouse. Indigo Ballroom, Hilton San Diego Bayfront

5:30-7:30 Showtime : Tired of Ordinary Television?— This year at Comic-Con, Showtime saves! The casts and creative forces behind Dexter and Shameless give sneak peeks into the new seasons. And be the first to see an exclusive look at the new Showtime original series Homeland.

Dexter -- See the exclusive world premiere of the new season's trailer, then moderator Ralph Garman (KROQ entertainment reporter) will preside over a revealing interview and Q&A session with the stars and executive producers, including Michael C. Hall (star/executive producer), C. S. Lee (Masuka), David Zayas (Batista) , guest star Colin Hanks (Peter Jackson's King Kong, Roswell), and more. Also appearing are executive producers John Goldwyn, Sara Colleton, Scott Buck, and Manny Coto.

Shameless -- Come party with the cast and creative team behind the hottest new Showtime original series, Shameless. If you thought your family was dysfunctional, wait 'til you meet the Gallaghers. Get the inside scoop on what's in store for the new season as Mike Schneider (TV Guide Los Angeles bureau chief) leads an interview and Q&A with stars William H. Macy (Fargo, Jurassic Park III) and Emmy Rossum (Day After Tomorrow, Dragon Ball: Evolution ), plus more, along with executive producer John Wells (West Wing, ER, Southland).

Homeland -- This fall, the war on terror comes home in the new Showtime original series Homeland from executive producers/writers Howard Gordon (24, The X-Files) and Alex Gansa (24, The X-Files, Numb3rs), starring Claire Danes (Terminator 3), Damian Lewis (Band of Brothers, Life), Mandy Patinkin (The Princess Bride, Criminal Minds), and Morena Baccarin (V, Firefly). Comic-Con favorite Morena Baccarinwill make a special appearance to introduce exclusive footage fromHomeland. Ballroom 20

6:00-7:00 Road to Stumptown— Meet Greg Rucka (Gotham Central) and Matthew Southworth (Spider-Man: The Grim Hunt), the Eisner-nominated creative team behind the innovative new crime title Stumptown. Moderated by comics scholar ProfessorBen Saunders. Room 7AB

8:00-11:00 Hall H and Ballroom 20 Thursday Panel Playback— Didn't get into either Hall H or Ballroom 20 today? We feel your pain! In this three-hour block, Comic-Con rebroadcasts some of the day's popular panels from those two giant rooms. Best of all, those in attendance will get to vote on what they want to see. It's democracy at its finest and it's a second chance to see these panels. (Please note: these playbacks will include only the panel discussions. None of the film clips or footage shown at the live events will be shown.) Room 25ABC [This is a cool new feature of Comic-Con this year. I'll only list it once, but every night you can see the panels from Hall H and Ballroom 20, often impossible to get into, rebroadcast at the end of the day. I like it!]

Friday, July 22

10:00-11:00 Torchwood: Miracle Day— John Barrowman (Doctor Who) and Eve Myles (Doctor Who) join cast members Mekhi Phifer (ER), Bill Pullman (Independence Day), Alexa Havins (All My Children), and Lauren Ambrose (Six Feet Under), along with writer Jane Espenson (Battlestar Galactica), to discuss the fourth installment of the hit BBC Worldwide show, a Starz Originals co-production, currently airing Friday nights at 10 ET/PT on Starz. Ballroom 20

11:00-12:00 Page One— The opening page of a comic sets up everything that comes after it, for good or ill. Carla Speed McNeil (Finder), Jen Van Meter (Hopeless Savages), Greg Rucka (Stumptown), and moderator Douglas Wolk discuss great first pages of comics and the way they can instantly pull their audience in and establish the tone and themes of a story. Room 32AB

11:45-12:30 Adult Swim: The Venture Bros.— Show creators Jackson Publick andDoc Hammer will screen an early premiere of The Venture Bros. Special -- From the Ladle to the Grave: The Story of Shallow Gravy -- a 15-minute documentary-style animated special (premiering August 28 on Adult Swim), discuss their original series, and answer questions. The panel also features James Urbaniak (Dr. Venture). Indigo Ballroom, Hilton San Diego Bayfront

12:15-1:15 Relativity Media: Raven and Haywire— Two fantastic films from Relativity Media debut in this Hall H presentation.

Raven -- The film is a gritty thriller in which Edgar Allan Poe joins forces with a young Baltimore detective to hunt down a mad serial killer who's using Poe's own works as the basis for a string of brutal murders. Raven stars John Cusack as Edgar Allan Poe, Luke Evans, and Alice Eve and is directed by James McTeigue.

Haywire -- An electrifying tale of espionage and betrayal. A female covert ops specialist who works in the deadly world of international operatives strikes back after discovering she's been double-crossed by someone close to her in the agency. Mixed martial arts superstar Gina Carano makes her feature film -- and Comic-Con -- debut, starring and performing her own high-adrenaline stunts. Also appearing is director Stephen Soderbergh. Hall H

1:00-2:00 Comics Arts Conference Session #7: Focus on David Lloyd— Comic-Con special guest David Lloyd (V for Vendetta, Kickback [James Bond 007: Shattered Helix]) discusses the nature of sequential art and the methods of its production, considering his own methods, and how those methods have changed over time, as well as the creation of comics more generally in various genres and national and historical traditions. He will also look at the teaching of sequential art, both to practitioners and to audiences, discussing his time at the London Cartoon Centre and the Cartoon Classroom project. Kathleen McClancy (Wake Forest University) moderates. Room 26AB

2:30-3:15 Adult Swim: Black Dynamite— Creators and voice talent from the new animated series offer a sneak peek at the show and answer questions. Executive producer Carl Jones (The Boondocks) and director Scott Sanders (Black Dynamite) appear, in addition to writer and star Michael Jai White, voice actors Tommy Davidsonand Kym Whitley, and writer/voice actor Byron Minns, all of whom also starred in the live-action feature film Black Dynamite. The 2009 movie is an outrageous action comedy/spoof that follows ex-CIA agent and full-time ladies' man Black Dynamite, who's out to avenge the death of his brother against kung-fu masters, drug-dealing pimps, and The Man. The Black Dynamite animated series further chronicles the exploits of Black Dynamite and his crew. Indigo Ballroom, Hilton San Diego Bayfront

Saturday, July 22

10:00-10:45 Chuck Screening and Q&A— Comic-Con fan-favorite Chuck returns with a bang for its farewell panel to celebrate its fifth and final season. Executive producer and co-creator Chris Fedak, along with series stars Zachary Levi (Alvin and the Chipmunks), Yvonne Strahovski (upcoming My Mother's Curse), Joshua Gomez (Without a Trace), Ryan McPartlin, Mark Christopher Lawrence (The Pursuit of Happyness), Vik Sahay (Good Will Hunting), Scott Krinsky (The O.C.) with Sarah Lancaster (The Good Doctor), and Adam Baldwin (Serenity), offer a Q&A with fans and an unforgettable video presentation. Produced by Fake Empire, Wonderland Sound and Vision in association with Warner Bros. Television, Chuck airs Friday at 8:00 ET/PT on NBC, and Chuck: The Complete Fourth Season will be released on Blu-ray and DVD this fall. Ballroom 20

10:00-11:00 Motion Picture and Television Production Designers— In collaboration with a highly skilled art department, the production designer lays out the designs that will guide a small army of decorators, carpenters, sculptors, painters, and artisans of all sorts, to bring into existence those fantastic worlds that fire everyone's imagination. Panelists include moderator John Muto (Terminator 2:3D), Cece DeStefano (Alias), Jim Bissell (Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol), Edward Thomas(Torchwood, Dr. Who), and Greg Melton (The Walking Dead). Room 25ABC

11:30-12:30 Spotlight on Steranko— Comic-Con special guest Steranko, the Eisner Hall of Fame-winning writer/illustrator/filmmaker/escape artist, presents a provocative forum featuring his work on Captain America, X-Men, Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., The Shadow, Indiana Jones and more, including a new series of Batman covers and his groundbreaking graphic novel Red Tide. Moderator J. David Spurlock promises to reveal a new storm of secrets from the Steranko bag of tricks. Room 5AB

1:30-2:30 Spotlight on Peter Kuper— From MAD to World War 3 Illustrated, Comic-Con special guest Peter Kuper (Spy vs. Spy) has for three decades been blowing up spies and politicians and creating graphic novels ranging from Franz Kafka adaptations to autobiographies that would scare Kafka. Get an inside look at how he comes up with Spy vs. Spy ideas and his other idiotic projects! Room 8

5:00-6:00 Charlie's Angels— The cast and creative team from Sony TV's highly anticipated action-packed series Charlie's Angels for ABC -- Annie Ilonzeh (General Hospital), Minka Kelly (Parenthood, Friday Night Lights), Rachael Taylor (Grey's Anatomy), Ramon Rodriguez (The Wire, Daybreak) and executive producers Alfred Gough (Smallville) and Miles Millar (Smallville) come to Comic-Con to discuss their new series. The series is also executive-produced by Drew Barrymore (Charlie's Angels movies), Leonard Goldberg (the original Charlie's Angels), Nancy Juvonen (Charlie's Angels movies), and Marcos Siega (Vampire Diaries, Dexter). Join the cast & producers for a dynamic discussion and Q&A session about what's in store for viewers this fall! Indigo Ballroom, Hilton San Diego Bayfront

6:00-6:45 Nikita Screening and Q&A— Nikita returns to Comic-Con with series starsMaggie Q (Mission: Impossible 3), Shane West (ER), Lyndsy Fonseca (Kick-Ass), and executive producer Craig Silverstein (Bones) for its latest mission: to unveil an exclusive video presentation and reveal classified information from the highly anticipated second season that finds Nikita and Michael on the run with a black box containing the government's darkest secrets. Leading the hunt for them is Alex...and she knows all of Nikita's tricks. What will the Comic-Con Q&A reveal? From Wonderland Sound and Vision in association with Warner Bros. Television, Nikita airs Fridays at 8/7c on The CW. Nikita: The Complete First Season will be released on Blu-ray and DVD on August 30. Room 6BCF

6:45-7:30 Person of Interest Pilot Screening and Q&A— A peerless creative team is behind this new white-knuckle action series -- including creator/executive producer Jonathan Nolan (The Dark Knight) and showrunner/executive producer Greg Plageman (Cold Case) -- about an ex-CIA agent, presumed dead, who partners with a mysterious billionaire to prevent violent crimes in New York City. Join these producers plus stars Jim Caviezel (The Thin Red Line), Michael Emerson (Lost), andTaraji P. Henson (Academy Award nominee, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) for an inside look at one of the most anticipated new shows of the fall season, including an exclusive screening of the pilot episode and Q&A. From Bonanza Productions Inc. in association with Bad Robot Productions and Warner Bros. Television, Person of Interest will air Thursdays at 9/8c on CBS. Room 6BCF

7:30-8:30 The Art of the Hollywood Movie Poster— Who are the talented artists Hollywood has tapped for the creation of some of the best movie posters in recent history? Leslie Combemale (film art expert and owner, ArtInsights Animation and Film Art Gallery) moderates a panel of artists who have worked on hundreds of movie posters and movie campaigns, including Andrea Alvin (Batman Returns, Batman Forever, Pinocchio poster artist, wife and artistic partner of late cinema art legend John Alvin), Matthew Peak (Nightmare on Elm Street poster artist, son of famed movie poster artist Bob Peak), Steve Chorney (Labyrinth, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, Star Trek), James Goodridge (Inglorious Basterds, Harry Potter), and Lawrence Noble (The Empire Strikes Back 10th Anniversary, Time After Time, Flash Gordon). They will relay stories of the creation of some well-recognized and most appreciated movie posters, discuss the current atmosphere of the world of cinema art, and offer suggestions for artists who wish to take up the craft. This panel will include a short Q&A. Room 8

Sunday, July 24

Not much spy programming on Sunday, as far as I can tell. Take the time to stroll around the dealer floor and find some James Bond posters or Nick Fury back issues! Or check out that cool Doctor Who panel. That's where I'll be Sunday afternoon...

First Photo of Burn Notice's Agent Pearce in Action

Read my interview with Agent Pearce herself, Lauren Stamile, here.

TV.com has unveiled the first photo I've seen of Michael Westen's newest CIA contact, Agent Kim Pearce, played by Lauren Stamile. Pictured here with Bruce Campbell as Sam Axe, Pearce debuts in this season's sixth episode and will likely stick around for some time to come. I'll post an exclusive interview with Stamile in a few weeks. (UPDATE: Now you can read that interview here.)

Tradecraft: Charisma Carpenter To Appear On Burn Notice

Tradecraft: Charisma Carpenter To Appear On Burn Notice

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and Veronica Mars alumnus Charisma Carpenter will guest star on the eleventh episode of this season of Burn Notice. The trade reports that Carpenter, whose character as Jason Statham's ex in The Expendables (review here) provoked that movie's best fight, will play Nicki, "a high-maintenance trophy wife who isn’t afraid to speak her mind. Her husband, a bioweapons engineer, turns out to be someone the Russians aren’t high up on." I've always been a fan, so I'm excited to see Cordelia Chase turn up on Burn Notice, which is off to a great start in this far more espionage-focused fifth season. As previously reported, Lauren Stamile joins the series in a recurring role starting with the sixth episode. Stay tuned for an exclusive interview with Lauren around that time.

Burn Notice Comes to Comics!

USA Today (via Comic Book Resources) reports that USA has partnered with DC comics to produce a Burn Notice graphic novel.  However, it can't be bought in comic book stores.  (Damn.)  Rather, it's an online, interactive graphic novel.  The 12-chapter serial, "A New Day," can be read on USA's website and Facebook.  According to the paper, "Issues of the graphic novel will include games, ciphers, 'peelaways' revealing steps of the art process, exclusive video and more."  The network views the comic as "a unique extension of the ongoing Burn Notice mythology," and as such the project is being overseen by show creator Matt Nix. According to CBR, series scribe Ryan Johnson and script coordinator Peter Laylaynis penned the comic, which is drawn by Tony Shasteen. I'm not sure if it will be possible depending on the levels of interactivity, but I hope this ends up in a printed format as well one day.  Burn Notice lends itself so well to comics that I'd love to see DC do a full series. 

Season 5 kicked off last night on USA.

Reminder: Burn Notice Returns Tonight

The new season of Burn Notice kicks off tonight, June 23, at 9:00 on USA. As previously reported, Lauren Stamile joins the cast in the sixth episode as Michael's new CIA contact, Kim Pearce, described as a female Michael Westen.

New Spy DVDs Out Today: Burn Notice, Leverage and Bond

It's quite a day for fun retro cable spy (or spy-ish) shows!  Today sees new season releases for both USA's Saint-like Burn Notice and TNT's Mission: Impossible-like Leverage. 

First up, from Fox Home Entertainment comes Burn Notice: Season Four... in which the great Bruce Campbell (Sam Axe) finally makes the front cover for the first time!  (Along with the also-deserving Sharon Gless.)  Like Season Three, this release is DVD-only; there's no Blu-ray.  (Likely this decision is due to the abysmal reviews received by the high-def BD transfer of the second season, the only one issued on that format.)  Bonus features on this set include "never-before-seen bonus footage such as 'Sam Axe's Guide to Ladies and Libations,' 'Burn Notice Roasts White Collar', 'White Collar Roasts Burn Notice,' audio commentaries, a behind-the-scenes stunt featurette, a gag reel and tons of deleted scenes!" Retail for the 4-disc set is $49.98, but of course it's much less than that right now on Amazon: just $29.99. The spin-off telefilm starring Campbell that followed the fourth season, Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe, is not included on this set, but will be available on its own on DVD and Blu-ray on July 26.

Read my review of Burn Notice: Season One here.

Also out today, from Paramount, is TNT's very entertaining Leverage: The 3rd Season. The four-disc set of this lighthearted, latter-day Mission: Impossible includes audio commentaries on all 16 episodes, a gag reel, deleted scenes, and the behind-the-scenes featurettes "On Set with Colton & Aboud: The New Writers of Leverage," "Inside the Leverage Writers' Room" and "Leverage: What Does a Producer Do?" I'm surprised last year's Comic-Con panel isn't included, but that's a pretty generous batch of extras nonetheless. SRP is $39.99, but Amazon's got it for $26.99 at the moment.

Read my review of Leverage: The 1st Season here.

In addition to those shows, Fox and MGM are also slipping in another James Bond release today.  The Sean Connery Collection: Volume 2 assembles Connery's fourth, fifth and sixth Bond films together in one slim, convenient and attractive DVD-size case. It's not a 3-disc set, though; this is a 6-disc set, as it includes both discs of each of the Special Edition DVDs of Thunderball, You Only Live Twice and Diamonds Are Forever.  So you get those three movies (in breathtaking Lowery restorations), plus all the bonus material from the original Special Edition releases in one low-priced set.  Retail is $24.98, but Amazon has The Sean Connery Collection: Volume 2 for just $19.99.  It seems highly unlikely that anyone reading this blog wouldn't have these movies yet, but if you don't (and you haven't made the Blu-ray plunge), then this is a good way to buy them.  I wonder why it took them this long to release Region 1 Bond collections by actor?  It just makes sense!  (Except that such a release strategy would presumably end up excluding some of the very best films in the series, those starring George Lazenby and Timothy Dalton.)  I have no idea if there are any plans for Roger Moore collections, but as the "Volume 2" would seem to signify, this Connery set is a follow-up to The Sean Connery Collection: Volume 1, which snuck out under the radar (unnoticed by me, anyway) back in January and includes (naturally) Dr. No, From Russia With Love and Goldfinger. Now if only MGM would get around to putting out the rest of the Bond titles on Blu-ray...  I want On Her Majesty's Secret Service and The Spy Who Loved Me in high-def!  (And all the others, too, of course.)

Gavin Rossdale to Appear on Burn Notice

In other USA casting news, EW reports that former Bush frontman and current Mr. Gwen Stefani Gavin Rossdale will appear on Burn Notice this season as a wealthy villain.  I hope he has a gadget suitcase that sprouts razorblades.  It's not Rossdale's first foray into television; he previousy guest-starred on a 2009 episode of Criminal Minds. Additionally, 24 and NCIS veteran Davad Dayan Fisher (he plays a CIA operative on NCIS) will appear in the same episode as a ruthless mercenary. 

Upcoming Spy DVDs: More Info On The Fall of Sam Axe

Fox has officially announced the Burn Notice spin-off TV movie, The Fall of Sam Axe, for release on DVD and Blu-ray on July 26.  If you're experiencing déjà vu, that's because the studio let the cat out of the bag early in a press release last month about series creator Matt Nix signing a new overall deal.  Now they've issued another press release specifically about the Bruce Campbell prequel, which depicts Sam's final mission as a Navy SEAL prior to the events of the TV show.  According to TV Shows On DVD, Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe will be available both on DVD and Blu-ray.  (So far only the second season of the show has been issued in the high-def format.)  Both releases contain an extended cut of the telefilm running 108 minutes and including scenes not seen on the USA television broadcast.  Extras include an audio commentary (participants TBA, but you'd have to assume Bruce Campbell, as he is the King of the Audio Commentary, and hope for director Jeffrey Donovan as well), a featurette called "The Fall of Jeffrey Donovan" (presumably about series star Donovan's move behind the camera), deleted scenes and a gag reel.  July 26?  Hm, that's right after the San Diego Comic Con, where The Fall of Sam Axe was first announced last year.  And if there's anything besides DVD audio commentaries that Bruce Campbell is the king of, it's Comic Con.  (Hail to the King, baby.)  I'd say there's a good bet that this DVD will be heavily promoted at this year's con, and possibly even offered for sale early.  Fox Home Entertainment has a history of offering limited edition DVDs early at Comic Con, including Futurama and Dollhouse.  If I hear anything official along those lines, I'll keep you posted...

Lauren Stamile Handed a Burn Notice

Lauren Stamile, who made a memorable impression last summer with her guest appearance on Matt Nix's other show, The Good Guys, will join Nix's Burn Notice this season in a major role.  Stamile is probably best known for her recurring roles on Community (as Joel McHale's love interest, Professor Slater) and Gray's Anatomy (as Rose, the "other woman" who dared to come between the show's heroine and "Doctor McDreamy").  On Burn Notice, TVLine's Michael Ausiello reports that Stamile will play Kim Pearce, "a brilliant, unpredictable and formidable" CIA operative sent by the Agency to investigate the murder of another agent. "She leans on Michael Westen (Jeffrey Donovan) to help her find the killer, only to learn that Michael himself may be involved." Interestingly, Stamile co-starred (playing Kate Jackson) with another former Burn Notice actress, Tricia Helfer (as Farrah Fawcett), in the 2004 TV movie Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Charlie's Angels. (Now they need only find a role for Christina Chambers to collect all the fake Angels!)

Personally, I have to say, I'm thrilled to report this particular news item, because Lauren is a friend of mine and I think she'll make a wonderful addition to the Burn Notice gang. Stay tuned, because I have a feeling I just might be able to finagle an exclusive interview with her around the time her episodes start to air... [Update: Now you can read that interview here.]

As previously reported, after debuting in the last season's finale, The Tailor of Panama's Dylan Baker will also recur this season on Burn Notice. The new season begins June 23 on USA.

Upcoming Spy DVDs: The Fall of Sam Axe

Judging from a Deadline story about Burn Notice creator Matt Nix signing a new (and very lucrative) overall deal with Fox TV Studios, Fox has announced the DVD of last night's Burn Notice spinoff telefilm amidst a press release about the deal.  According to the trade blog, Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe will hit DVD on July 26. As previously reported, Burn Notice: Season 4 comes out June 7.  Since this is just a mention in another press release, there is no word yet on extras or Blu-ray prospects. But I'm hopeful that, since they're releasing this one on its own as opposed to lumping it in with the eventual Season 5 DVDs, that we'll get a healthy assortment of bonus material.  It would make sense given Bruce Cambell's DVD-hungry fanbase.  (I don't think any title has ever had as many different DVD releases as Campbell's Sam Raimi collaborations The Evil Dead or Army of Darkness!)  Personally, I've got my fingers crossed for a commentary with Campbell and director Jeffrey Donovan at the very least.  I loved the telefilm, by the way, and would love to see more of these prequels about either Sam or Michael prior to their Burn Notice adventures.  If you can't wait until late July, The Fall of Sam Axe is currently available to view on Amazon Instant Video and Instant Video HD.