USA Today - 13.11.2019

USA TODAY z WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2019 z SECTION D

Getting it right

“For All Mankind” does decent job on science. 3D

Crichton doesn’t disappoint

“Andromeda Evolution” is infectious sequel. 2D

5 non-festive flicks

Holiday movies aren’t all fa-la-la. 5D

IN LIFE

JOEL KINNAMAN BY APPLE

LIFELINE

Top selling titles for week ending Nov.

10. Full list in tomorrow’s USA TODAY.


11. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Wrecking
    Ball Jeff Kinney


12. Triggered
    Donald TrumpJr.


13. Blue Moon
    Lee Child


14. The Guardians
    John Grisham


15. Keeper of the Lost Cities: Legacy
    Shannon Messenger

USA TODAY

USA TODAY Best-sellers

USA TODAY SNAPSHOTS ©

Can “Star Wars” conquer the world

of TV?

For decades the sci-fi franchise has

been one of the most reliable box office

powerhouses, and nowthe galaxy far,

far away has come to television via

bounty-hunter tale “The Mandalorian”

on Disney Plus (first episode now

streaming, eegE).

As a bombastic first entry into live-

action TV, “Mandalorian” is a bit of a

disappointment. Crafted around a

protagonist designed to be obscure (he

never removes his helmet, and even

his voice is modulated into bland even-

ness), there’s little in the way of an emo-

tional connection in the first episode (no

others were made available for review;

the second will be released Friday). Like

prequel film “Rogue One,”

“Mandalorian” captures the aesthetics

of the “Star Wars” universe without un-

derstanding its heart.

Set between the events of “Return of

the Jedi” and “The Force Awakens,”

“Mandalorian,” created by “The Lion

King” director Jon Favreau, follows a

lone bounty hunter, patterned on origi-

nal trilogy character Boba Fett, who’s

TELEVISION

‘Star Wars’ TV series

won’t rule the galaxy

‘The Mandalorian’ falls a little short of fantastic

Kelly Lawler

USA TODAY

Pedro Pascal plays the protagonist in

the Disney Plus TV series “The

Mandalorian.”

See SERIES, Page 2D FRANCOIS DUHAMEL/DISNEY PLUS VIA AP

LOS ANGELES – Matt Damonwas

willing to do whatever it took to play

fearless racing legend Carroll Shelby in

“Ford v Ferrari.”

If that meant having to undergo the

first perm of his life to re-create Shel-

by’s naturally curly hair, Damon was

going to do it. Even if it led to his first

perm emergency.

“They just fry your hair. And then

my hair kind of went a shade of red,”

Damon says at the Four Seasons Hotel,

his hair restored to its supreme

straightness. “So I had a little perm

emergency. That’s where the hair dye

came in.”

A pit crew on the set brought his

locks back to Shelby’s darker color,

though the look isn’t a perfect match.

That’s OK with Damon: The 5-foot-10

star knew he was never going to phys-

ically resemble the 6-foot-3 Shelby in

the movie (in theaters Friday).

He could, however, capture the

spirit of the man who teamed with

driver and engineer Ken Miles (Chris-

tian Bale) to design the ultimate race

car for Ford Motor, a machine that could

beat even Ferrari in the unforgiving 24-

hour Le Mans race.

“I cannot grow for the part. There are

limits to what I could do,” Damon says.

“I don’t look anything like him, and I’m

very different from him personality-

wise.”

It’s one heck of a ride watching Da-

mon and Bale team up in the real-life

underdog story – with enough heart in

the tank to win over movie fans who

don’t know the difference between Le

Mans and Lamaze (the method of child-

birth).

“I wanted to show the private side of

Carroll Shelby. That’s where I really con-

nected to him, somebody who wanted to

collaborate with other people that he

loved and respected to build something

bigger than him,” Damon says. “For Car-

roll Shelby, that was cars; for me, it’s

movies. So in that deep level, I really un-

derstood him.”

Director James Mangold says he was

intrigued to see Damon’s chemistry

with Bale in the first film pairing of two

major Hollywood luminaries. He knew

Ray McKinnon, left, Jack McCullen, Matt Damon and Christian Bale star in “Ford v Ferrari.”MERRICK MORTON/20TH CENTURY FOX

Damon endured perm

to film ‘Ford v Ferrari’

Actor was more interested in connecting with

his character to understand him on a deeper level

Bryan Alexander

USA TODAY

Matt Damon MARC ROYCE FOR USA TODAY

“I cannot grow for the part.

There are limits to what I

could do.”

Matt Damon

MOVIES

See DAMON, Page 3D

On Monday night’s episode of “Jeop-
ardy!,” contestant Dhruv Gaur put his
heart on his screen, writing “We
(heart) you Alex!” instead of a Final
Jeopardy answer. The gesture caught
host Alex Trebek, who is currently
battling stage 4 pancreatic cancer, by
surprise. The 79-year-old’s voice
cracked, noting the contestant bet
big on the sweet note. “That’s very
kind of you, thank you. It cost you
$1,995. You’re left with $5,” he said,
his voice trembling.

TREBEK, GAUR BY JEOPARDY PRODUCTIONS

MAKING WAVES
‘JEOPARDY!’ LOVE

The British comedian is back as
host for the Golden Globes for a
fifth time. The unpredictable, often-
outrageous and entirely uncontrol-
lable Gervais, 58, will take the podium
at the three-hour NBC awards tele-
cast Jan. 5, the Hollywood Foreign
Press Association announced Tues-
day. Gervais hosted the Globes for
three successive years from 2010 to
2012 and returned for a fourth time in
2016, often lampooning the organiza-
tion running the show from the stage.
“Once again, they’ve made me an
offer I can’t refuse,” Gervais said in an
HFPA release Tuesday. “But this is the
very last time I’m doing this, which
could make for a fun evening.”

GETTY IMAGES

HOW WAS YOUR DAY?
RICKY GERVAIS

Whoopi Goldbergis 64, Jimmy
Kimmelis 52, Gerard Butleris 50

IT’S YOUR BIRTHDAY
WHO’S CELEBRATING TODAY