James R | On 09, Jul 2018

Robin Wright has spoken for the first time in an interview about Kevin Spacey and his departure from Netflix’s House of Cards, saying that she “didn’t know” her co-star.

The political drama went on hiatus last year, as it prepared for its sixth season, following accusations of sexual assault conducted by Spacey. Netflix also cancelled a Gore Vidal biopic set to star the actor, severing all ties with him and agreeing with the producer that House of Cards would only return without his involvement. Since then, production has resumed, with Robin Wright’s Claire Underwood leading the show for what will be its final season, joined by Diane Lane, Greg Kinnear, Michael Kelly, Jayne Atkinson, Patricia Clarkson, Constance Zimmer, Derek Cecil, Campbell Scott and Boris McGiver.

Now, as promotional activity has kicked in ahead of Season 6’s premiere this autumn, Wright has given her first interview in which she addressed the allegations surrounding Spacey.

“Do you feel like Netflix did the right thing in cutting ties [with Spacey]?” @savannahguthrie asks @RealRobinWright pic.twitter.com/nCKCec8sEd

— TODAY (@TODAYshow) July 9, 2018

“I think we were all surprised, of course, and ultimately saddened,” she told The Today Show’s Savannah Guthrie, emphasising that she was grateful that the show could be completed “as planned”.

When asked if Netflix was correct to oust Spacey, she said she “[didn’t] know how to comment on that”.

“I think at that time, the shock was so intense all over the nation for many reasons, many stories many people. I think that everybody felt it was respectful to back off,” she added.

“Kevin and I knew each other between action and cut,” she said of her co-star. “I didn’t know the man… I knew the incredible craftsman that he is. We were co-workers, we weren’t never socialized outside of work.”

She also noted that he was “never disrespectful” to her.

“That’s my personal experience. That is the only thing I feel I have the right to talk about.”

You can see pictures and a new trailer for House of Cards Season 6 here.

 

Cody Fern joins House of Cards Season 6

10th February 2018

Cody Fern has joined House of Cards for its sixth and final season.

The actor, who was born and raised in Southern Cross, may be recognised by audiences in the UK from playing Albert in the National Theatre’s production of War Horse. He’s broken through on US TV, though, with a role in Ryan Murphy’s American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace, opposite Darren Criss, Edgar Ramirez and Penelope Cruz.

Now, he’s joined House of Cards as a series regular for Season 6. There is no word yet on who he is playing, but he joins a cast that includes Diane Lane, Greg Kinnear, Michael Kelly, Jayne Atkinson, Patricia Clarkson, Constance Zimmer, Derek Cecil, Campbell Scott and Boris McGiver. They’re led, of course, by Robin Wright, who takes over from the ousted Kevin Spacey in the series’ main role, following allegations of sexual harassment and abuse. After production was halted, producers MRC and Netflix agreed they would only continue the show to a final season if Spacey was not involved in an yway.

Production resumed on the show on Thursday.

 

Diane Lane and Greg Kinnear join House of Cards as final season starts production

1st February 2018

Production has now resumed on the final season of House of Cards, and Netflix’s political drama has added two new names to the cast: Diane Lane and Greg Kinnear.

The landmark series from the studio MRC (the studio also behind the hit Netflix series Ozark) was the first original show produced for Netflix, becoming the first original online series to receive major nominations from the Primetime Emmy Awards. The series has received 53 Emmy nominations to date, with seven wins – including the first major Emmy for a streaming service for David Fincher’s win for “Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series.” House of Cards has received six Golden Globe nominations, and two wins, 11 Screen Actors Guild nominations with two wins, an AFI Award, four Writers Guild Award nominations with one win, two BAFTA nominations, four Producers Guild Award nominations, two Directors Guild Award nominations, and a Peabody Award.

All that prestige, though, was sharply undermined last year, when allegations of sexual harassment and abuse were raised against former star Kevin Spacey. Production on Season 6 was suspended and Netflix swiftly cut ties with Spacey, removing him from any Netflix production and re-centering what was announced to be House of Cards’ final season around Robin Wright’s Clare Underwood.

Wright, Lane and Kinnear join returning cast members Michael Kelly, Jayne Atkinson, Patricia Clarkson, Constance Zimmer, Derek Cecil, Campbell Scott and Boris McGiver.

 

House of Cards will resume in 2018 with Robin Wright in the lead

4th December 2017

House of Cards will officially resume production in 2018, without Kevin Spacey involved.

Netflix has confirmed that the series will end its hiatus after multiple months of suspended production, following accusations of sexual assault against Spacey. Netflix swiftly halted the show, before announcing that it would only continue the show if he was not involved. It also cancelled a Gore Vidal biopic set to star Spacey, as it cut all ties from the actor.

Now, Ted Sarandos has revealed that they have decided to continue to show, with Robin Wright’s Claire Underwood – wife of Spacey’s Frank – in the lead role.

Speaking at UBS’s Global Media and Communications Conference in New York, Sarandos said he was pleased that had reached an agreement to continue the show for the 370 people who work on the programme, as well as the 2,000 people in Baltimore, where filming takes place.

“We were really excited we could get to an agreement… for the conclusion of the show,” he told the press at the event.

Variety reports that the sixth and final season of House of Cards will consist of eight episodes, down from the 13 of previous seasons.

 

Netflix readies to resume production on House of Cards

27th November 2017

Netflix is readying to resume production on House of Cards’ final season, after cutting ties with Kevin Spacey.

Spacey, who was suspended from the show following a wave of sexual harassment allegations, was then removed from Netflix productions entirely, including a separate Gore Vidal biopic. Now, Netflix has written to the cast and crew to update them on the resumption of production, which is expected to see Claire Underwood (Robin Wright) take centre stage of the plot.

Media Rights Capital SVP of television business and legal affairs Pauline Micelli wrote to the House of Cards team, suggesting that production may resume in December, or in the near future.

Deadline obtained a copy of the letter:

Dear Cast and Crew,

As we move into the holidays, we want to express our appreciation for all of the meaningful messages of support we have received from you and want to update all of our loyal cast and crew on our progress and where things currently stand.

We continue to work with Netflix with the hope of resuming production soon. As we continue these discussions, we have determined together that the crew will be paid for an additional two week hiatus – beginning on November 27th and continuing through December 8th.

In addition to the writers, there will be a small contingency of office/accounting staff who will remain in the production office on a continuous basis. Our hope is that the entire crew will be able to reconvene when production resumes, but we want you to know that we will certainly understand if crew members need to find other work in the interim, which will prevent them from re-joining us. We sincerely appreciate all you have done.

Cast and other union members who are not actively working will be paid in accordance with applicable union guidelines through this period and we will be reaching out directly to your representatives to work through the details; we will get to everyone as quickly as possible and appreciate all of your patience here.

These last two months have tested and tried all of us in ways none of us could have foreseen. The one thing we have learned throughout this process is that this production is bigger than just one person and we could not be more proud to be associated with one of the most loyal and talented production cast and crews in this business.

We will provide an additional update by 12/8/17.

Thank you all.

 

Netflix cuts ties with Kevin Spacey

4th November 2017

Netflix is cutting all ties with Kevin Spacey, both on House of Cards and other projects, as the actor faces growing claims of sexual assault.

The streaming giant suspended its flagship political drama earlier this week, following allegations of a historical sexual advance by Kevin Spacey towards Anthony Rapp, who was 14 at the time. Executives from Netflix and producer Media Rights Capital visited the set on Monday, immediately following the accusation, and then decided to halt production on Tuesday. Since then, a growing number of people have come forward to accuse Spacey of sexual misconduct and harassment, both in his line of film and theatre work.

On Thursday, Spacey was dropped by his publicist, Staci Wolfe, while Scotland Yard announced on Friday that it is opening an investigation into an allegation of sexual assault involving a male thesp in London. Now, Netflix has confirmed that it is cutting ties with the actor altogether.

House of Cards producer Media Rights Capital suspended him on Friday evening, with Variety reporting that sources say it is legally the first step before his termination. Netflix, meanwhile, has said that it will not move forward with any version of House of Cards that includes Spacey.

“Netflix will not be involved with any further production of House of Cards that includes Kevin Spacey,” a spokesman for the streaming service said in a statement. “We will continue to work with MRC during this hiatus time to evaluate our path forward as it relates to the show.”

“While we continue the ongoing investigation into the serious allegations concerning Kevin Spacey’s behavior on the set of House of Cards, he has been suspended, effective immediately,” MRC said in a statement. “MRC, in partnership with Netflix, will continue to evaluate a creative path forward for the program during the hiatus.”

Indeed, Netflix is reportedly looking to develop a spin-off series based in the same House of Cards universe, focusing on a character such as Michael Kelly’s Doug Stamper. Many viewers, meanwhile, have called for Spacey’s character, Frank Underwood, to be killed off, so that the sixth and final season of the show can go ahead and instead focus on Robin Wright’s Claire Underwood.

Netflix has also cancelled its biopic, Gore, which was set to star Spacey as Gore Vidal.

 

Netflix suspends House of Cards production indefinitely

1st November 2017

Netflix has suspended production on House of Cards indefinitely, following allegations of a historical sexual advance by Kevin Spacey towards an under-age actor.

Anthony Rapp, who was 14 years old at the time of the accused harassment in 1986, spoke to Buzzfeed about the alleged incident at the weekend. Netflix announced around the same time that the upcoming sixth season of House of Cards, which stars Spacey as politician Frank Underwood, would be its last.

Executives from Netflix and producer Media Rights Capital visited the set on Monday to talk to cast and crew and “ensure that they continue to feel safe and supported”, following Rapp’s allegations. They added in a statement that they were “deeply troubled” by the news, and that Spacey was not currently scheduled to be on set.

Now, Netflix and MRC have said that production will halt on the political drama until further notice.

“MRC and Netflix have decided to suspend production on House of Cards season six, until further notice, to give us time to review the current situation and to address any concerns of our cast and crew,” the firms said in a joint statement.

 

Netflix ends House of Cards amid Kevin Spacey allegations

30t October 2017

Netflix has decided to end House of Cards with its sixth season, amid allegations of historical sexual harassment by Kevin Spacey.

The Oscar winner was accused by actor Anthony Rapp yesterday of making a sexual advance towards him in 1986, when he was 14 years old. The allegation, which was published by Buzzfeed, said that Spacey invited the minor to his apartment for a party and, at the end of the night, carried him to the bed and climbed on top of him. Spacey was 26 at the time.

“He was trying to seduce me,” said Rapp. “I don’t know if I would have used that language. But I was aware that he was trying to get with me sexually.” (You can read the full account here.)

Spacey responded by tweeting a statement that he honestly did not remember the encounter, adding: “But if I did behave then as he describes, I owe him the sincerest apology for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behaviour, and I am sorry for the feelings he describes having carried with him all these years.”

He then went on to come out publicly, saying: “I choose now to live as a gay man… I want to deal with this honestly and openly and that starts with examining my own behavior.”

Spacey’s response has been met with wide-ranging criticism for seeming to use his coming out as a way to deflect the allegation.

The accusation arrived just before Netflix announced that it will be ending House of Cards, which stars Spacey, with its upcoming sixth season. THR reports that production on Season 6 had already begun earlier this year, but that Netflix had not formally announced the show’s renewal until today. Netflix also issued the following statement:

“Media Rights Capital and Netflix are deeply troubled by last night’s news concerning Kevin Spacey. In response to last night’s revelations, executives from both of our companies arrived in Baltimore this afternoon to meet with our cast and crew to ensure that they continue to feel safe and supported. As previously scheduled, Kevin Spacey is not working on set at this time.”

Beau Willimon, the creator of House of Cards, who stepped down as showrunner before Season 5, also released a statement.

“Anthony Rapp’s story is deeply troubling,” he wrote on Twitter. “During the time I worked with Kevin Spacey on House of Cards I neither witnessed nor was aware of any inappropriate behaviour on set or off. That said, I take reports of such behaviour seriously, and this is no exception. I feel Mr. Rapp and I support his courage.”

Some fans are now calling for House of Cards to kill off Spacey’s character, Frank Underwood, and conclude the show without the actor, instead having a season solely starring Robin Wright in the lead as Frank’s wife, Claire.

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