Last Resort's Autumn Reeser on What's to Come for Kylie Sinclair: "People Around Her are Dying"

Since the end of her time on The O.C. as the amazing Taylor Townsend, Autumn Reeser has been plenty busy with roles in series like Entourage, No Ordinary Family and Hawaii Five-0. Now she’s part of IGN’s favorite new fall TV series, Last Resort, playing Washington D.C. power player Kylie Sinclair – who finds her life turned upside down, after the submarine being used to test her new stealth technology becomes the focal point of a far-reaching conspiracy.

During my recent visit to the set of Last Resort in Hawaii, I spoke to Reeser about her new role and the dangers that Kylie faces as she moves forward.

IGN TV: You’re a few episodes into production now. What have you been learning about your character?

Autumn Reeser: Oh my goodness, I love Kylie. Kylie has this great inner conflict with wanting to do what she’s always done, which is be self-serving and serve the money, basically. That’s been her god for years. She’s ambitious, and that’s all she’s really had to worry about. She’s been good at business, and all of the sudden she’s finding herself with a moral center -- and it’s very confusing to her. She’s trying to make the right choices, and that’s such a fun conflict to play because sometimes she wants to and sometimes she doesn’t. She’s a good guy and a bad guy; she’s a little of both.

IGN: It’s a nice duality that I think the pilot establishes well, because you have that first scene with her, with her so excited about what’s happening with her tech, but then she has that switch when she goes to the Admiral and she thinks that he attacked his own daughter's sub and is so horrified. You see that she’s definitely not 100 percent coldblooded.

Reeser: Right, exactly. I think that’s what I love about that scene, is that it surprises her. Her emotions surprise her. She hasn’t needed to be moved by much in life, and all of the sudden the world is on the brink of World War III, and she’s finding it to be a distressful, uncomfortable feeling. I think the majority of us would say, “No s**t!” But Kylie hasn’t been affected by much. There’s a line where a character says to Kylie, “Nothing touches you,” and that’s been true for most of her life. Now, all of the sudden, life is dangerous for her. People around her are dying, and she’s not safe.

Autumn Reeser in a scene from this week's new Last Resort:

IGN: Yeah, I would imagine that she’s putting herself in some pretty direct harm by digging into this conspiracy.

Reeser: Yeah, there are people who are very invested in keeping the reasons that we nuked Pakistan secret.

IGN: At this point, who are you working with? This show has a very large cast, but people are in very different places.

Reeser: [I’m working with] a lot of our guest star cast. There are a couple recurring people, Darri [Ingolfsson] from the pilot and Bruce Davison. I got to work with my friend Assaf [Cohen], who came over; it was a nice treat to work with a friend. I don’t want to say who else, because I don’t want to spoil it.

IGN: At the TCA press your this summer, I think it was Shawn [Ryan] who said that you guys in D.C. will get to the island eventually. Are you hoping it’ll be your turn soon?

Reeser: Yeah, I’ve been thinking about ways that Kylie could get over there. My guess is that it wouldn’t be until Season 2 -- knock on wood. I have my theories about how she would end up over there...

IGN: Is it funny for you that you’re here on set with your co-stars, but you don’t actually have scenes with them?

Reeser: Yeah, it can be kind of strange. I can feel on the outside sometimes, but certainly the cast is so warm and wonderful. I try to see them as often as possible. Daisy [Betts] also has a young son, so we try and get them together. Jessy [Schram] and I also see quite a bit of each other.

IGN: Have your character and Jessy’s character had any interaction together?

Reeser: I don’t know what I’m allowed to say on this. I will say we do both live in the D.C. area, so that wouldn’t be out of the question…

IGN: Are Shawn [Ryan] and Karl [Gajdusek] giving you any hints as to what’s to come?

Reeser: I have a general idea of Kylie’s character arc throughout the season. I know where I wanted Kylie to start, because I have an idea of where she’s going to end this season. But it is still a surprise to me on a week-to-week basis. I’m waiting on episode 106 right now. Literally every time I get [a new script], I read the whole thing on my phone because I can’t wait until I get home to read it on my computer. People are like, “What are you doing?” I’m like, “Shh, I’m reading episode 105 -- in tiny, tiny print, but I can’t wait.” It’s exciting. They continue to keep you on the edge of your seat.

IGN: The response to the pilot has been very strong. I’m sure you knew it was high quality, but it must be nice to see that people are responding to it.

Reeser: It’s really gratifying because things don’t always end up on the screen how you imagine them in your head and how you see them on the pages. It’s amazing that anything ever does because there are so many people involved in making a film or a television show. It’s nice to see it reflected as a lot of us see it in our head.

IGN: The show has such a big, gripping concept. The only thing people wonder is, “Wow, that’s so huge! How do you sustain that in the long run?”

Reeser: Right, right. Exactly, and I wondered the same thing. I had to do some press for the show before I had read any of the other episodes [past the pilot], and I found it really difficult because people were asking me these in-depth, provoking questions and I couldn’t answer. They’d be like, “What will see on a weekly basis?” I literally answered, “I don’t know,” because I hadn’t read any of the scripts. I had wondered the same thing that a lot of the critics and audience wondered, which is how do you sustain this? What happens in the next episode? And I think the best way to think about it, now that I’ve read six episodes, is the world’s on the brink of World War III. There are a lot of stories that can come out of that. That is a very provocative position that we find ourselves in in the fabric of the show after the pilot. There you go. That’s rich soil to build a story in.

IGN: As you continue to be in contact, what does Bruce Davison's character, Admiral Shepard, make of you? He’s also trying to figure out what’s going on, and his daughter’s life is at the center of it.

Reeser: I think the Admiral and Kylie are constantly in a dance of, are you friend or foe? Are we on the same team? Are you lying? That’s the world that Kylie and the Admiral are living in. They don’t know who to trust. Nobody in this show knows who to trust, especially the people in Washington, where people in very powerful positions are very invested in keeping all of this behind closed doors. So anything or anyone that’s a threat to that finds themselves in danger.

IGN: Is it as awesome to work here in Hawaii as we all imagine it to be?

Reeser: Yes. You may now be jealous. [Laughs] No, we are completely spoiled. I wake up every day, and I am so grateful to be here. I know this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I don’t take it for granted. This is my dream job. It’s amazing. I love living here, I love it. It can be hard after you’ve lived here for awhile, I’ve heard. But so far -- and maybe it’s just the time in my life with having a small child -- it was a good time for me to leave LA, and I feel like I’m only just now processing all of these monumental changes that I’ve been through in the last three or four years - getting married, having a child. I think my life in LA is so busy and so hectic.

I’m so used to, just when I think I’ve got my feet under, something else [coming up] - You know, “I’m going to go to Vancouver for the month. Okay, great!” There’s just never any time to process. And here, there has been. I’m reading again. I don’t have cable. I feel like my mind has some breathing room, and it’s a really good thing because having a small child can be so all-consuming that you don’t have a lot of processing or thinking time. Because I have no nightlife here, I have more processing and thinking time, you know? I’ve worked it out that way. I’m an hour outside of Honolulu. Not only am I on a remote island, I’m in a remote part of the remote island -- and I like it that way! It’s good. It’s letting me focus on this job and the personal questions that this character is bringing up for me. I hope we’re on for years so that you guys can come out and visit again and again!

Last Resort airs Thursdays at 8pm ET/PT on ABC.

Source : ign[dot]com

PAX: Disney Epic Mickey 2 -- Be the Hero You Want to Be

Choice and consequence play major roles in Producer Warren Spector’s design for Epic Mickey 2. This was something downplayed in the original, having what Spector referred to in an interview at PAX as “choice and consequence light,” but with Epic Mickey 2 the goal is to put forward he and his studio’s design manifesto: playstyle matters.

“The key is asking players, ‘How do you succeed? What defines a hero? What makes Mickey a hero for you?,” said Spector, “and then the way this is exactly like every other game I’ve ever done is that I hope you have no idea what I think or what our QA department or design department thinks defines a hero, because the only thing that matters is what you think defines a hero.”

Indeed, during the short demo it became readily apparent the way that you will define what Mickey is to you. For instance you might come upon a point where you have two routes to get to the same place, one involving enemies and the other a rigorous platforming section. The combat route gives you a lot of options: you could wipe out the enemies with thinner, subdue them with paint, or even use your various abilities to distract them and sneak past. The platforming route could be a big challenge if you want to maintain the world, or you could maybe use your thinner to saw a tree in half and make an easier route.

It’s one thing for Epic Mickey 2 to give you multiple ways to get through the story, to play it your way, but what makes it special to Spector is that it records and responds to your previous actions -- something he should be familiar with considering he helped create the original Deus Ex games. Major choices will present themselves throughout the story, such as one moment during the demo where Mickey and Oswald had to choose to either subdue a bunch of enemies with paint or destroy them with thinner. The toons in town wanted them destroyed, but a ghost named Ian appealed to Mickey and Oswald for mercy. Destroy them and the toons in town will help you out. But Ian? Well, that'll be the last you'll hear from him (sparing the nasty enemies will net you a friend that will come back time and again). The point is to make your choices really matter, but without telling you in some sort of Karmatic system that you're doing the right thing. No matter what you'll be getting the good ending since, after all, you are Mickey Mouse, but it's the bits and pieces of the ending that'll change. Spector likens it to the ending of Star Wars: A New Hope, where Luke Skywalker appears with a number of other important characters. No matter what you'll be earning medals, but as for who will be standing on stage with you? That's for you to decide with your actions.

Choices are being monitored, even the ones that are less obvious than the obvious moral dilemmas and those involving multiple characters. Take for instance if you're the type of Mickey who constantly uses thinner to wipe out your enemies and cut out portions of the environment. In this case Epic Mickey 2 will intuitively start throwing more enemies at you because the game's trying to respond to what you are showing you like to do. Even the music starts to respond to your actions, with players who use a lot of paint and play more passively experiencing flutes and a more full soundtrack, while players who use thinner will experience a less lighthearted soundtrack with fewer instruments. The thinking is this, if you're cutting out portions of your visual landscape, why not have the soundtrack respond and present a lessened audio landscape as well? Most people won't even notice this in all likelihood, but it's an awesome bit of flavor that could make your choices stand out a bit more in Epic Mickey 2.

Another aspect of being the hero you want to be involves using your imagination in unprecedented ways. Mickey and Oswald have a number of tools at their disposal, such as an anvil you can use to smack enemies or a TV you can call down to distract them with cartoons. "It's all about you deciding how to use your tools in the context of our little simulation to accomplish things I hope the designers never even intended," said Spector, at which point his QA tester showed me how internally they use the TV and anvil combination to create an impromptu two-step platform to reach places they otherwise wouldn't. "Oh my god," Spector uttered, launching into a whole tirade about how players used explosives in Deus Ex to climb out of the game world. He isn't embarrassed by people figuring out how to break his game, he embraces it. "Stuff that's a bug for most developers is gold for Junction Point," said Spector, "People have already done things that are impossible in this game...and that's great."

"If gamers can really wrap their minds around playing a mouse for 20 hours...the kinds of choices you're making are different, and the kinds of consequences and tone are different from Deus Ex, but the gameplay? If Deus Ex fans don't see the gameplay depth in this game, then they're not paying attention," said Spector. The hope is that Epic Mickey 2 won't simply be perceived as a children's game, but a game for everyone. Something you can play as an adult and enjoy the way so many of us do with Sonic or Mario, and now on our platform of choice since, unlike the first game, it's expanding beyond the Wii market. Whether or not it succeeds in this regard we'll just have to wait and see when Epic Mickey 2 releases November 18th.

Anthony Gallegos is an Editor on IGN's PC team and doesn't believe something cute has to be only for children. You can follow him on Twitter and on IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

Bond Actors Reprising Roles in 007 Legends

Activision has announced that several original Bond voice actors will reprise their roles in upcoming Bond game 007 Legends. Daniel Craig will once again provide his voice and likeness as James Bond, and he’ll be joined by Richard Kiel reprising his role as Jaws from Moonraker and Michael Lonsdale once again playing Hugo Drax.

In addition, Naomie Harris and Rory Kinnear will voice their characters from upcoming Bond film Skyfall, with Harris playing Eve and Kinnear playing MI6 chief of staff Bill Tanner. Beyond the game’s voice cast, Bruce Feirstein -- writer of The World Is Not Enough, Tomorrow Never Dies and GoldenEye -- wrote 007 Legends’ script, while composer David Arnold (Die Another Day, Tomorrow Never Dies) contributed to the soundtrack.

007 Legends tells the story of six different Bond films, letting you play through six missions that cover five classic films as well as the upcoming Skyfall. Activision has confirmed two of the classic Bond films included so far: Moonraker and On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.

007 Legends will launch on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 this fall, around the same time that Skyfall will hit theaters. For an extended look at the 23rd Bond film, check out our Skyfall set visit from earlier this year.

Andrew Goldfarb is IGN’s associate news editor. Keep up with pictures of the latest food he’s been eating by following him on Twitter or IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com