The Mentalist star Simon Baker has suggested that his character Patrick Jane is growing darker.

Baker told Entertainment Weekly that the genius crime-fighter is on an “interesting journey”.

“It feels to me a little bit that, here’s a guy who is likable and empathetic,” he said. “And he’s slowly turning to the dark side and [becoming] maybe less empathetic.”

The Australian star admitted that he wants to keep reinventing the Jane character as the fourth season of The Mentalist continues.

“It’s always difficult when you’re on a show that goes for more than a year or a couple of years,” he explained. “I’m always looking for things that are interesting and different that I can exploit within the character.”

He added: “If they’re able to take him into these different paths and avenues, it makes it more refreshing for me.”

Baker revealed in October that he is contracted up to a potential seventh season of the CBS drama.

“We are in our fourth year, but I think my character is unlike most characters on TV,” he said. “If I put my mind to it, I can still make the character entertaining for me to play. I can still challenge myself a little bit.”

The Mentalist continues on Thursdays at 10/9c on CBS. The show will return to Channel 5 in the UK in February.

Source

Samsung Electronics Australia today announced it will be launching a major masterbrand campaign, staring Australian actor Simon Baker, to communicate the company’s ‘Turn on Tomorrow’ brand positioning. The campaign has been initiated and briefed locally by Samsung’s Corporate Marketing team with creative developed by Leo Burnett Sydney.

“The ‘Turn on Tomorrow’ masterbrand campaign captures Samsung’s commitment to bring to market tomorrow’s technology today, with industry leading innovation that transforms how we live, featured across a range of Samsung’s products, from robotic vacuum cleaners and multi-feature refrigerators to state-of-the-art 3D televisions and new smartphones with incredible connectivity functionality,” said Jai Sanderson, Corporate Communications Manager – Corporate Marketing Division, Samsung Electronics Australia.

“Simon was the perfect choice to represent this new chapter for the Samsung brand, as supported by local research which showed him to be a match with Samsung’s brand values, making him the ideal figurehead for our brand,” added Sanderson.

The campaign is currently in development and is expected to run later this year. [SOURCE]

Samsung Electronics Australia has signed Australian actor Simon Baker of The Mentalist fame to front its new brand campaign.

The actor and the campaign will be communicating the company’s ‘Turn on Tomorrow’ brand positioning.

The locally developed campaign, set to air later this year and created by Leo Burnett, will be around Samsung’s pursuit of a better future through delivering product and service innovation. The campaign will communicate the company’s technical innovation across audio visual, IT, telecommunications and white goods categories.

Lambro Skropidis, head of corporate marketing, Samsung Electronics Australia, said: “We believe now is the right time to communicate to Australians not only our diverse product offering, but more importantly our drive to always stay one step ahead of the market and deliver genuine technological innovation that improves people’s lives.”

He added: “Simon was the perfect choice to represent this new chapter for the Samsung brand as he is excelling in his field, passionate about what he does and driven to succeed, making him the ideal figurehead for our brand.”

Baker is an Australian film and television actor who is currently the star of Channel Nine’s television series The Mentalist, and has starred in films including The Devil Wears Prada and L.A. Confidential.

The new campaign is expected later this year. [Source]

“The Mentalist” star Simon Baker and Paul Bettany are in negotiations to join the cast of “Margin Call,” an indie thriller that tackles the recent financial crisis.

Written by J.C. Chandor, who also directs, the project revolves around employees of an investment bank during a tumultuous 24-hour period during the 2008 financial collapse.

Baker will portray a ruthless, high-powered securities broker who oversees the characters played by Kevin Spacey, Stanley Tucci and Zachary Quinto and drives his colleagues to win by any means necessary.

Bettany will play a top-tier trader, unabashedly unafraid of who he is even as the crisis deepens.

Quinto is producing with Neal Dodson and Corey Moosa, his partners at Before the Door Pictures. Also aboard to produce are Joe Jenckes and Benaroya Pictures’ Michael Benaroya and Robert Ogden Barnum.

The film begins shooting next week in New York.

Baker has been nominated twice for a Golden Globe and once for an Emmy for his portrayal of private eye Patrick Jane on CBS’ hit show “Mentalist”. He appears in Michael Winterbottom’s “The Killer Inside Me,” opposite Casey Affleck, Jessica Alba and Kate Hudson, which is being released by IFC Films. He is repped by CAA and Untitled.

Bettany, repped by WME, Affirmative Entertainment and Independent Talent Group, recently wrapped “The Tourist” with Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie. He next stars as a vampire hunter in the post-apocalyptic Screen Gems flick “Priest.”

Eight stars from the four major broadcast networks – ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC – join together in new public service announcement that encourages viewers to tune in to an unprecedented week of television, October 19 -25, as part of EIF’s iParticipate national initiative to promote service and volunteering.

Simon Baker (CBS’ The Mentalist), Emily Deschanel (FOX’s Bones), Eva Longoria Parker(ABC’s Desperate Housewives), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (CBS’ The New Adventures of Old Christine), Masi Oka (NBC’s Heroes), Michael Strahan (FOX’s Brothers), Kate Walsh (ABC’s Private Practice), and Rainn Wilson (NBC’s The Office) are featured in the 30-second spot, which reinforces that great change begins with small choices and one decision to change leads to others. The spot ends by encouraging people to tune-in starting October 19 to find out how the networks are participating. The PSA was produced by filmmaker Jesse Dylan, with his agency FreeForm. It begins airing the week of September 28 on all four broadcast networks.

EIF is mobilizing the entire entertainment community around the ground-breaking, multi-year iParticipate campaign, which promotes a new way of thinking about service and seeks to persuade millions more Americans to volunteer regularly. As a centerpiece, the major broadcast networks and others will spotlight service through scripted programming, segments and PSAs with inspirational messages and storylines about volunteerism. More than 60 shows have signed up to participate. [Source]

Simon’s going to be on David Letterman on Wednesday so make sure you set your DVRs!

Yesterday, we dished our fantasy Emmy nominations in the Lead Actor/Actress in a Comedy divisions. Today, however, it’s time to cue up the violins and hit the “mood lighting” button, because we’re talking about the corresponding nominees in the Drama categories. (Not to worry, we’ll get to our fave supporting actors on Thursday and Friday.)

So look. I know some of you are probably scoffing at the folly of this exercise, thinking to yourselves, “What’s the point? The nods are — as uzh — going to go to James Spader, Hugh Laurie, Holly Hunter, and Mariska Hargitay (even though SVU has gone completely off the rails).” But with Emmy opening up room for a sixth nominee in its main races, maybe there’s cause for a little optimism, for the belief that heretofore brilliant-but-unheralded performances might make the Academy of Television Arts and Science’ grade. (Of course, if your ideal candidates don’t get recognized, they might wind up with a nomination in EW.com’s second annual EWwy Awards.) So check out Gold Derby’s list of front-runners in the men’s and women’s lead drama races, then tell us who you’d like to see get his/her name called on July 16. In the meantime, here are four folks I’m rooting for:

Mary McDonnell, Battlestar Galactica: Seriously, Emmy, THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE. McDonnell’s been revelatory for four seasons of BSG, and her final episodes showcased some of her finest work, as her Laura Roslin convincingly shifted from flirtatious lover to defiant cancer patient to resurgent fleet heroine. Failure to recognize her genius would be like calling Bill Gates a small business owner or saying Michael Phelps is just an okay swimmer. (Okay, so those are frakked up examples, but you know what else is frakked up? The inevitability of another McDonnell snub!)

Edward James Olmos, Battlestar Galactica: Can you imagine one of the best SciFi dramas in recent TV history without Olmos’ stoic-but-tender performance? Yeah, me neither. If McDonnell gets her due, so should this dude. So say we all? So say we all!

Regina King, Southland: Maybe her role is too subtle for Emmy voters, but with a single facial expression, the 227 vet Ray star can deliver the equivalent of 1,000 lines of dialog. Witness that rush of maternal love when her Det. Lydia Adams cradles an abandoned baby, or the ferocious lioness who’s unleashed when gang members descend on her house to try to gun down a young witness, or even the weary singleton who strains to smile her way through another doomed lunch date. Is there anything King can’t do? (And don’t answer me by asking, “Win over fusty Emmy voters?”)

Simon Baker, The Mentalist: Yes, his CBS crime procedural is a breezy trifle, but is there any TV star who’s more enjoyable to watch than Baker? His Patrick Jane may not pack the gravitas of characters in more Important Series, but damned if I didn’t find myself completely submerged in his world for an hour every Tuesday night last season.

All right, PopWatchers…you’ve got my list of Emmy longshots in the Lead Actor/Actress Drama catgeories, now it’s time to head to the message boards and share yours (along with your reasons why). Ready, set, argue!

source:  http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2009/07/emmy-regina-king-edward-james-olmos.html

CBS has announced its fall premiere dates for the 2009-10 season and, because this is CBS we’re talking about, it’s the most orderly of any announced schedule to date.

All but two of CBS’ shows — returning and new — will premiere between Monday, Sept. 21 and Sunday, Sept. 27. And — wouldn’t you know it? — CBS’ premiere dates coincide with the official start of the Nielsen season.

The two exceptions are “Survivor: Samoa” and “Three Rivers.” The long-running reality hit’s 19th installment will premiere on Thursday, Sept. 17, one week ahead of the Thursday premieres for “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” and “The Mentalist.” The organ transplant drama “Three Rivers,” featuring the return of “Moonlight” star Alex O’Loughlin, will premiere on Sunday, Oct. 4, allowing the 15th installment of “The Amazing Race” to have two-hour launch on Sunday, Sept. 27.

Because CBS is proud of the longevity of much of its schedule (including “60 Minutes” starting its 42nd season), it included original premiere dates for all shows in the network press release.

The full premiere list:

Thursday, Sept. 17
8:00-9:00 p.m. ET “Survivor: Samoa” (19th Installment Premiere)

Monday, Sept. 21
8:00-8:30 p.m. ET “How I Met Your Mother” (5th Season Premiere, OAD 9/19/05)
8:30-9:00 p.m. ET “Accidentally on Purpose” (Series Debut)
9:00-9:30 p.m. ET “Two and a Half Men” (7th Season Premiere, OAD 9/22/03)
9:30-10:00 p.m. ET “The Big Bang Theory” (3rd Season Premiere, OAD 9/24/07)
10:00-11:00 p.m. ET “CSI: Miami” (8th Season Premiere, OAD 9/23/02)

Tuesday, Sept. 22
8:00-9:00 p.m. ET “NCIS” (7th Season Premiere, OAD 9/12/03)
9:00-10:00 p.m. ET “NCIS: Los Angeles” (Series Debut)
10:00-11:00 p.m. ET “The Good Wife” (Series Debut)

Wednesday, Sept. 23
8:00-8:30 p.m. ET “The New Adventures of Old Christine” (5th Season Premiere, OAD 3/13/06)
8:30-9:00 p.m. ET “Gary Unmarried” (2nd Season Premiere, OAD 9/14/08)
9:00-10:00 p.m. ET “Criminal Minds” (5th Season Premiere, OAD 9/22/05)
10:00-11:00 p.m. ET “CSI: NY” (6th Season Premiere, OAD 9/22/04)

Thursday, Sept. 24
9:00-10:00 p.m. ET “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” (10th Season Premiere, OAD 10/6/00)
10:00-11:00 p.m. ET “The Mentalist” (2nd Season Premiere, OAD 9/23/08)

Friday, Sept. 25
8:00-9:00 p.m. ET “Ghost Whisperer” (5th Season Premiere, OAD 9/23/05)
9:00-10:00 p.m. ET “Medium” (Network Debut, OAD 1/23/05)
10:00-11:00 p.m. ET “Numb3rs” (6th Season Premiere, OAD 1/21/05)

Saturday, Sept. 26
8:00-9:00 p.m. ET Procedural repeats
9:00-10:00 p.m. ET Procedural repeats
10:00-11:00 p.m. ET “48 Hours Mystery” (Season Premiere)

Sunday, Sept. 27
7:00-8:00 p.m. ET “60 Minutes” (42nd Season Premiere)
8:00-10:00 p.m. ET “The Amazing Race” (15th Edition Premiere)
10:00-11:00 p.m. ET “Cold Case” (7th Season Premiere, OAD 9/23/03)

Sunday, Oct. 4
9:00-10:00 p.m. ET “Three Rivers”(Series Debut)

THE Mentalist star Simon Baker was in good company at game two of the NBA Finals series in Los Angeles yesterday.

Baker and his son Harry sat courtside for the match between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Orlando Magic, with the Aussie star chatting to movie heavyweight Leonardo DiCaprio at half-time.

Other celebrities catching the action courtside included singer Rihanna, actors Zac Efron, Jack Nicholson and Mark Wahlberg, and musicians Sean “Diddy” Combs, will.i.am of The Black Eyed Peas, and Maroon 5′s Adam Levine.

Baker’s next project is The Killer Inside Me starring Kate Hudson, Jessica Alba and Casey Affleck.

Thanks to The Mentalist, he has become one of the most popular TV stars in the US.

An online viewer poll recently voted the crime drama as the best new show of 2009, and named it as having the sexiest cast.

Gone are the days when being a leading man on television meant being the most likable guy onscreen. TV actors now get to show their skills with dark, complex characters — even on broadcast network shows. The Hollywood Reporter’s Ray Richmond and Matthew Belloni gathered six fine examples of TV’s new actor elite — Simon Baker (CBS’ “The Mentalist”), Bryan Cranston (AMC’s “Breaking Bad”), Laurence Fishburne (CBS’ “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”), Michael C. Hall (Showtime’s “Dexter”), Denis Leary (FX’s “Rescue Me”) and Bill Paxton (HBO’s “Big Love”) — to discus the grind of series work and the good fun in playing bad guys.

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