I didn’t like John Corben (Brian Austin Green) the first time I saw him at the season premiere of SMALLVILLE last week. Maybe it was the way he despised the Red-Blue Blur. I kept thinking Kent (or the RBB) and Corben had a prior run-in that brought about that kind of hatred. Or maybe Corben just isn’t such a nice guy.

But I felt for the guy when he almost gets killed in a freak accident. And then only way to save him was remove his heart and replace it with a kryptonite-fueled machine. Imagine how he must have felt the first time he sees his mangled body.

Well, here is that sneak peek of SMALLVILLE episode “Metallo”.

Poor guy, huh? If John Corben were some other nicer person, probably my sympathy would stay with him. But knowing how Corben turns into Metallo… well, this tragedy will only make him more vicious.

Brian Austin Green is so bad! This scene alone wins him best guest star on Smallville!

Catch the episode “Metallo” in this Friday’s edition of SMALLVILLE, at 8pm on the CW.

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[The role] got a little little bit bigger from what they expected in the first place. I’m still in the show now, which is really nice. I started at the beginning and I don’t know what the end is going to be… I always feel what my ending is – I’m going to be killed off.

 The role certainly got bigger! Ray, Dawn Olivieri and Robert Knepper has several “media episodes” in their characters’ names to be shown during the commercial break (starting with tonight’s episode) and online at NBC.

Before the interview, I thought he was going to die, because of a spoiled photo of his fight with Peter Petrelli (Milo Ventimiglia). Well, it turns out I was wrong. But the fight scene was awesome!

Apparently, Milo and Ray hit it off right away and they’re both fans of each other too.  Milo is such a really nice guy,” Ray Park begins. “but I got intimidated by him. I’m a big fan and I say oh wow I’m standing next to Milo and he had said the same thing about me.”

So when it came time to rehearse the scene, Ray and Milo “danced” (his exact words) -  “Let’s have a little dance and show the the productions. Milo was very talented and it was fun to have that with him. Milo and I worked our beat, and I did a few things. And then played around a little bit and it was like yes we’ve got this.”

It was actually really cool, right? Of course we saw the “sped-up” version on TV but you can still see how good the stunts were. Ray Park is no stranger to action-adventure movies. Before HEROES he was Darth Maul in Star Wars and Snake Eyes in G.I. Joe.

“I’m a martial artist, I know martial arts, I know the history of it, what I wanted to be, but I always loved performance as well. You know if you get to dance around and do some really cool moves with some really cool characters. I really enjoy it.”

Although HEROES currently takes up Ray’s time, he actually has a film in the works, and it’s his biggest role so far. It’s called KING OF FIGHTERS and he is the villain in the film. The film is based on a computer game from the 1990s and it’s from the same people who did the Matrix.

The film from Double Edge Entertainment is directed by Gordon Chan and also stars Sean Farris, and Maggie Q.

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And to my delight, Ray is a fan of the series. 

“I first saw HEROES a couple of years ago and I fell in love with the show and got really excited,” Ray Park starts the interview in his British accent. “I remember a couple of years ago I said to myself if I was going to do a show this would be the show that I would want to work on and now here I am working on the show. I’m a big fan of the show so I’m having a lot of fun being on it. It’s great!”

But really, all we know about Ray’s character is that he is a knife-wielding speedster. What more can he tell us about Edgar?

“He’s part of the carnival where everyone has special abilities and special powers. I have supersonic speed, a little like Daphne in Season Two, but I have acrobatics and martial arts and knife throwing thrown in.” Ray also hinted about a back-story where Edgar killed his old girlfriend, and you’ve got one scary dude.

Ray revealed that he was handpicked for his role on Heroes. The casting director Natalie Hart needed someone like Ray to play a part. And Ray’s response to them? “I’m glad you guys asked me to come in and I’m a really big fan of the show and I would be do this at the drop of a hat.” And now we have Edgar, one mean villain on the Carnival. I can tell that Ray is a real fan of the show, and he is very excited to be working with the team. He also let on that his role got a little bigger from what they expected when they first asked him in, and yet, he doesn’t exactly know where his character is headed (like everyone else says of their characters!).

“I’m really excited but at the same time it’s a little frustrating because I want to know. I started at the beginning and I don’t know what the end is going to be. I always feel what my ending is — I’m going to be killed off. I’m preparing for it and my fans say why do always say you’re going to get killed off. And I said because it always happens to me (laughter).”

Maybe you can write the script of how you die, I mused. “If I’m going to die, it’s going to be great death”

But I have a feeling he isn’t going to die in tonight’s premiere (oops! SPOILER), because Ray tells me they’re working on a back story with Sprint. (more after the cut!)

“At the moment myself, Robert and Dawn are working with Sprint and doing something for commercial breaks and webisodes.”

Now, isn’t that cool! There wasn’t much lead over the summer about who the Carnival people are.

“It’s just more of a back story on building the character and the trailers. And it sort of ties into what we have done before. There’s a lot of questions for my character. Are we headed in the right direction? We’ve been hiding, we’ve been doing this for so long. Do we want to have others involved or do we want to expose ourselves to others around? Are we on the right path? Because I’m not too sure about where we’re going.”

Aha, so that’s definitely something fans can wait for online!

“Yes, it does. I think the carnival’s gotten a lot bigger. They all expected it to be big basically, “Ray Park aka Edgar adds. “Everyone is really pumped up about what we’re doing, I mean [Robert Knepper] is a leader, he’s a leading man, he’s a phenomenal actor, and to be in his presence and have scenes with him is unbelievable.”

“Everyone is buzzing about the new season and I just realized last night, oh my goodness it’s coming out. I started to get really nervous. I’m really excited about. I’ve got to watch myself, because… and I’m liking it!”

Ray Park would be watching, wow, and we’ll be watching him ace it with the carnival. Tonight, on NBC at 8pm, HEROES returns for its fourth season with a two-hour premiere.

And tomorrow, we’ll talk about HEROES again, and Ray Park one more time for the second half of my interview. You’ll get a feel for that cool scene he had with Milo Ventimiglia. Meantime…

HEROES IS BACK!

Images: NBC/Chris Haston

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James Kyson Lee is a regular actor on HEROES better known to fans as Ando, Hiro’s one-time sidekick now partner-in-crime, when he acquired powers last year. James recently worked on an independent film titled WHITE ON RICE (review here), and that’s what I talked to him about. In that movie, you’ll see a side to James that he hasn’t shown on HEROES yet. And of course, I wanted to get juice about HEROES and tonight’s premiere for season four.

So get a load of the interview, after the cut!

James had previously worked with both Hiroshi Watanabe and director David Boyle on BIG DREAMS, LITTLE TOKYO and so the reunion on WHITE ON RICE was a perfect for them. James described the movie as all about family relationships. He says it transcends ethnicity (all the actors/characters are Asian) because the conflicts are something that families can relate to. “It can be about anyone anywhere in the US and you can still relate to it.”

The character that James played in the movie, named Tim Kim, was very smooth and quite appealing. Is James like him in any way?

“I tried to bring a little of myself in the movie. [Tim] is a worker but trying to chase his own dreams – music. I love music myself so it was great to try that in the movie. I got to work with the real Tim that the character was based on.”

James also revealed that he bought his first acoustic guitar while filming in Utah.

“I even got to play in a band, and to sing, and and that will come out in the movie.”

Since I saw a screener of the movie, I know what he’s talking about and you will see a different side of James Kyson Lee in that scene. James adds that his song is part of the soundtrack, so if you want to hear more of James’ music, watch WHITE ON RICE and buy the soundtrack.

And then of course I asked about HEROES! Since Season 4 is upon us, I wanted to hear what Ando will be doing this time around – is he running toward trouble or becoming more heroic. “Hiro and I have a new business. Hiro is getting his bucket list going and I’m trying to help him deal with his terminal illness. I may also be linked romantically to someone unexpected this season!”

Is he going to make use of his powers? James told me he will, but we’ll have to wait and see!

We definitely won’t have to wait very long now, since HEROES comes back tonight on NBC for its fourth season. At 8pm ET, we will be treated to two episodes for its premiere – “Orientation” and “Jump, Push, Pull”.

And that photo on the left? We will know exactly what James is so shocked about!

Images: Newscom; NBC/Chris Haston

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Remember Charlie? I mean who can really forget Hiro’s first love? Long after Charlie died and through most of season 1, fans still hoped that Hiro (Masi Oka) would find a way to get back to Charlie, or at least prevent Sylar from killing her. Hiro’s and Charlie’s was such a endearing tragic romance that a novel was written to save their love story.

And now that Hiro is nearing death, a bucket list and time-traveling powers will bring Charlie back to life.  Jayma Mays will reprise her role in a one-episode arc as Charlie, and Hiro will travel back in time to fulfill his last wishes. According to EOnline.com, the original plan was for Hiro to come back in time to kill Sylar (Zachary Quinto) before he kills Charlie! This obviously completely changes the story, and Hiro gets to meet Charlie at bar in Japan.

Kristin quips that this plan could still change. Thing is, killing Sylar changes everything, in a much bigger way than just simply bringing Charlie back to life. So I think the final script will be different. Still, it would be great for Hiro (and the countless fans!) to get some closure with his long-lost love. There’s no information yet when Mays guest-stars in HEROES: REDEMPTION so we’ll keep an eye out for more leads on this story line.

Meantime, you can catch Jayma Mays singing her heart with glee as a quirky germaphobe teacher on the new Fox series GLEE, which will premiere this Wednesday September 9 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

Image: Newscom

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Well now that comedian Seth Rogen is playing the lead role in this remake, and Cameron Diaz – who also has a comedic streak – plays his leading lady-secretary, the new GREEN HORNET movie might become more interesting. And definitely funnier.

As the casting goes, Britt Reid (Seth Rogen) is a debonair (see – can you picture Rogen as debonair?!) young owner/publisher of The Daily Sentinel, and who fights crime by night as The Green Hornet. Cameron Diaz stars as Reid’s assistant Lenore Case, and Jay Chou as faithful valet kung-fu expert Kato. And don’t forget the Hornet’s well-armed cadillac, the “Black Beauty”. Nicolas Cage also stars as villain Mr. X. Set Rogen and Evan Goldberg scripted the film that’s directed by  Michel Gondry

Filming has begun for GREEN HORNET and there’s plenty of photos after the cut, of Seth Rogen and Cameron Diaz on set, plus a mask valet that could be Jay Chou or his stand-in. Unfortunately, a stunt man got injured in a scene involving the Black Beauty.

There are also photos that hint as spoilers, so take heed.

Images: Bauer-Griffin

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EW.com reports that Kreuk will join “CHUCK” for multiple episodes as Hannah, who got laid off from a glamorous publishing job and ends up working at the Buy More. Chuck first meets Hannah on a flight from Paris so the script could go that he offers a job opening to her. Or she suddenly shows up at Buy More applying for it (which makes her a likely candidate for a counter-spy!) Chuck and Hannah end up having feelings for one another, which is interesting because Sarah will fall for Superman.

And now it looks like Morgan and Chuck might compete for Hannah’s attention!

Earlier this year, Kristin Kreuk landed the leading role for “Streetfighter: Legend of Chun Li” and I enjoyed watching her play an action-oriented role after the drama of SMALLVILLE. Hopefully, Kristin gets to expand her acting chops (no pun intended) with more guest and lead roles in the future.

Image: INF

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According to Zap2It, Rohm will be playing a character named Lauren Gilmore but that’s about all the information there is right now. She’s appearing in the eight episode so that won’t be until sometime in November. Hopefully by then we’ll get more leads into her character.

I remember watching her play the good lawyer in “Law & Order” but I would think her new role on “HEROES” would be something different from being on the right side of the law. But that’s just a hunch.

Later this week, fans can watch Rohm guest star in “90210”.

Image: Pacific Coast News

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According to an exclusive from EW’s Ausiello, Brandon Routh will be joining the NBC spy comedy in a multi-arc episode this season. Routh’s character will be the mysterious new leader of Operation Bartowski, and becomes Chuck’s new mentor, and both will be going after Sarah’s affection.

Now of course I report this because of Brandon’s ties to Superman, and he’ll be playing someone entirely different than his superhero character. It will be interesting to see Routh stretch his acting muscles again. But I’m also a fan of CHUCK (plus, it used to air before HEROES) so I’ll be following the first four episodes!

Can we wait until March 2010?

Image: Pacific Coast News

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When season eight began last year without Michael Rosenbaum, I had doubts that Smallville would survive. It just felt so weird not to have Luthor in Clark Kent’s life. But Tess Mercer (Cassidy Freeman) lived up to her role as the female Luthor and so many other things happened in Kent’s life that by mid-season 2008 we didn’t miss Luthor so much.

BUT… Michael Rosenbaum is still the best villain on television (IMHO) and his take on Luthor is unparalleled. So it’s really no surprise that Smallville executive producer Brian Peterson wants him back. Says he to Michael Ausiello’s question - 

“We would love to have him back. But there’s no movement on that.”

What? What are they waiting for! This is the same thing they said last year. Smallville execs, please create “some movement” in that direction.

C’mon Smallville fans, let’s let Michael Rosenbaum and Brian Peterson know what we think.

Image: Newscom

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