Showtime posted the first trailer for its original series The United States of Tara, starring Toni Collette and developed by EW columnist Diablo Cody.
Damn, I’ve missed me some Toni Collette. The last film I saw her in was Evening, which is technically a lie because I think I’d dozed off before she even got on-screen. In Tara, she’ll play a mom with dissociative identity disorder alongside Sex and the City’s John Corbett, whom I keep expecting to get down on one knee and either propose to Sarah Jessica Parker or whittle something clever into a custom-made bench. Sidenote: Is it just me, or does the voiceover guy heard here do about 70% of all voiceover work now? I’m beginning to suspect he’s computer-generated. I’ll look into this. PopWatch investigates!
Anyhow…you know the drill…United States of Tara…check out the clip…share your thoughts below.
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I like the premise, and it appears to be well-acted. Random obso’s from the trailer:
-Toni Collette’s Australian? How did this information pass me by?
-LOVE the ‘edgy’ cinematography. Diablo Cody IS the pinup girl arm tat. John Corbett IS wild hand gestures. That is ALL you need to know about these people.
Interesting idea – I hope they can keep it edgy, and not swing into Banal Sitcom-Land where, you know, wackiness ensues. Dennis, you obviously weren’t introduced to Toni Collette through “Muriel’s Wedding.” She does a pretty mean US accent, huh? And the “edgy” cinematography just got on my nerves. Diablo may BE her tattoo, but is Toni Collette her cardigan? I don’t think so.
the show looks interesting, yes, but it won’t get me to order showtime. does she dress up in a different outfit everytime she has a different personality? or is that just something the show has done to let the audience know which personality we’re getting?
Yeah, well, that guy who used to do all the movie trailer / promo voice-overs died earlier this year. So this guy seems to have taken over all his business.
As for this show, it’s an interesting premise. But I dunno. Diablo Cody’s an amazingly overrated (sorry, EW) writer, all about the cliches and look-how-cool-this-sounds quotes and conversations. (I think her Oscar for Juno is going to look pretty embarrassing down the road, when people look at it without all the hype.) But it looks partly toned-down, and partly the right premise for her style, so yeah, I hope it does well. Boy, with Dexter, Californication, the L Word, The Tudors, Weeds – Showtime’s certainly the place for interesting TV. (Dexter is hands-down the best show on TV in my book.)
Matt: Don’t be sorry, you’re absolutely right. Anything that has Diablo Cody’s name on it gets a fail in my book; I don’t read her column either. “Honest to blog”? Please.
i would watch this even if diablo didn’t write it. granted, it might not be as funny or polarizing, but hello! this looks AWESOME.
I am a-fear’d of all the metaphorical winking that her scripts could be riddled with. Isn’t this quippy and clever? Don’t you love how snappy I am? Although I still have faith, mind you.
I’ll give ANYTHING attached to Diablo Cody a look-see. And to top it off…I love Toni!
Eh. I’m not really impressed. I adore Toni Collette, but this preview just didn’t do it for me. I think I would have liked it better had we not heard from the actors/diablo cody. I want to judge it for itself.
Didn’t love Juno, really. Don’t particularly like Diablo Cody (partly out of Minnesota defensiveness — nothing wrong with us, Diablo!). But, because I love Toni Collette no matter what she’s in, I’m willing to give this a chance. She’ll always be Muriel to me…
I’m curious. I’ll probably check out the pilot.
Love Diablo! Love Toni! Heck, I even kinda dig John Corbett:)
I’ll definitely check out the pilot and take it from there.
My apologies, EW, but I really don’t understand the love everyone has for Diablo Cody. I won’t be watching.
If the show is as well produced as this promo piece, I’ll be hooked!
No joke – the voiceover is my father. Who complains all the time that he’s not the “hot” voiceover guy anymore, so you probably made his day.
When does this start??
http://thelittlestwinslow.wordpress.com/
Hey Amy, who IS your dad? I’m a commercial producer and know who almost all the voice guys are… but I’ve never known who he was, other than the “Voice of Showtime” for many years.
The voice over guy is Bill St. James. He’s not only the voice of Showtime, he does movie trailers, commercials, radio and the voice over for most of the promos for the past two Olympics broadcasts.
this ‘treatment’ is based upon someone with dissociative identity disorder. . which arises from severe childhood abuse. … edgy enough? come on. .. are you all so self absorbed and dying for entertainment that you dont care what the premis is. .. where’s the humor in this….
Doesn’t anyone understand the serious nature of dissociative identity disorder?! The fact that Spielberg supports this is disgusting.
I’ll be watching- my wife has DID (notice I did NOT say my wife SUFFERS from it…) and we understand the best way to create visibility and dialogue about something is through sensitivity and a little humor. I have high hopes for it- DID has been in the closet way too long.
Those concerned with the show’s treatment of DID need not be concerned. A close friend works on the show and this person told me that the show is taking pains to work very closely with the DID community in addition to some top professionals in the field. Spielberg knows his name can be met with harsh criticism… he’s no dummy… he’ll do everything in his power to make sure this show holds up to scrutiny. And it’s funny, but not at the expense of DID. I, for one, am looking forward to subsequent episodes (I only saw parts of the pilot… looks amazing… Diablo has eschewed her Diablo-ness for the most part…) And Toni C is, as always, awe inspiring.
Being a person who has been diagnosed with and lives with MPD/DID I find the whole concept for this show disgusting and disturbing. Obviously, despite what they claim that have NO input from people suffering from the disorder. I despair each time I see this commerical and wish there were something we could do to stop this travesty.
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Kim… Again, not having to deal with the day to day strain of DID, I can say that I am very close to someone involved in a creative capacity on this show and they told me that every care was taken to assure that the creators of the show were in very close contact with DID professionals. As a medical professional myself, I was at first concerned with the depiction of DID, but my friend put me at ease. Apparently, there are more than one doctor who serve as technical advisors on the show and each and every script is given great scrutiny by this team. In addition, the creators are in very close with actual DID patients, and the DID community en masse. So, while I understand your concerns, having seen large chunks of the pilot episode, I would advise you to hold your criticism… Commericals and promos are what they are… often misleading and usually off base. The show is very sympathetic. This is no “Me, Myself & Irene”.
watched it, enjoyed it, wish i had showtime. hopefully it ends up on Hulu at some point and i’ll get to see where they take it.
Again it is another mark up for sensationalizing and distorting Dissociative Identity Disorder. Just chalk this one up to another Hollywood fabrication of psychology for idiots. Yeah it is a dark comedy… great. …. Just talk to the population of adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse and let them tell you how funny and hilarious this disorder is. Not to mention the amount of these cases in which Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Unipolar Depression with high incidences of suicidal ideation, Dissociation Identity Disorder is a coping mechanism developed in childhood for survival. The mental anguish and suffering that accompanies this disorder are horrific, painful and harmful to sufferers. And how will this further magnify and distort public opinion this already highly misunderstood condition. Most people that suffer from this do not continually act out in the manner that Diablo Cody writes. Obviously, she couldn’t give a damn about how people are perceived with this disorder.
I watched the preview for this show on Youtube. I think its appalling and adds insult to injury for all those who suffer from this devistating illness. Personallly, I don’t own a t.v., everthing on it is crap to begin with, but this show goes beyond the pale. For those of you who suffer from this illness, I suggest you contact the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill and find out what kind of action you can take to have this show removed from the air. You might also want to contact the ADL and inquire about filing a class action law siut for emotional damages, they help every other disenfrachised group so why not you to. Its not enough to just frett and wine about the problem, DO something!
LOOOOOOOOOOVE IT!! I cannot wait to learn more about her….and the others.