“Wicked” Review Round-Up: Cynthia Erivo & Ariana Grande Dazzle in Mesmerizing Musical

The reviews for director Jon M. Chu’s Wicked have finally arrived, confirming what was first reported around Halloween—the first big-screen adaptation of the Broadway phenomenon is a dazzling smash. In case you’ve been kept in a chamber deep within the bowels of Emerald City, we’ll lay out the broad strokes—Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande star as Elphaba, the future Wicked Witch of the West, and Glinda, the future Glinda the Good,

Crime, Crazy Rich Rom-Coms, and More: Producer Janice Chua on Bringing Asian Stories to the World

Raised in a working-class Chinese family in Singapore, Janice Chua says, “Like every Asian person, I grew up with Hong Kong martial arts movies that inspired so much of my imagination. There was a sense of excitement and pride in those action-heavy films with crazy sound effects.”

But her world changed when she encountered Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, which “just came across as very poetic…and the way women were portrayed was very different.

Prepare to Defy Gravity: “Wicked” Will Have Sing-Along Screenings This Christmas

Talk about a Christmas miracle.

Universal will offer roughly 1,000 chances for Wicked fans to sing along during the film in special interactive screenings across North America on December 25, Variety reports. This gives all those with the pipes to sing—and the rest of us who are just excited to see the film and could use the catharsis of a public sing-along—a month to train our vocal cords as director Jon M.

“Gladiator II” Enters International Arena With a Powerful Opening Weekend

Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II burst into the international arena this past weekend with a very strong start. Scott’s sequel to his 2000 Best Picture Winner opened across 63 markets, earning a massive thumbs up from audiences and boasting an $87 million dollar start.  This makes Gladiator II Scott’s overseas debut in his long, illustrious career.

Gladiator II also conquered $7 million on IMAX across 453 screens, another formidable opening salvo.

Cameron Diaz is “Back in Action” Alongside Jamie Foxx in the Trailer for Her First Film in 11 Years

Cameron Diaz is literally Back in Action for the first time after an 11-year hiatus from acting and makes a quick case for how much a weary nation needs her comedic chops. Netflix has dropped the first trailer for the spy action comedy starring Diaz and Jamie Foxx as two of the most surprising parents of all time—they used to be spies for the CIA, and their kids are really confused at how this could be possible considering they’re not cool enough.

“Deadpool & Wolverine” Sound Designers on the Splatter-and-Slash Acoustics of a Honda Odyssey Brawl

In our last conversation about Shawn Levy’s Deadpool & Wolverine, sound designers Craig Henighan and Ryan Cole discussed the hilarious opening sequence where Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool uses Wolverine’s adamantium claws and bones to take down some Time Variance Authority goons, all set to NSYNC’s “Bye Bye Bye,” and some sound tricks to make the adamantium hits stand out. Today, they break down the savage Honda Odyssey brawl and the stunning cameo extravaganza.

Lupita Nyong’o to Star in Christopher Nolan’s Top-Secret Next Film

Lupita Nyong’o is the newest star to join Christopher Nolan’s mysterious new film for Universal Pictures.

The Hollywood Reporter scoops that Nyong’o is the latest big name to board Nolan’s next film, joining Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, and Zendaya. Of course, Nolan will direct his own script, and Universal has slated the film for a July 17, 2026, release.

Speculating what Nolan’s new film will be is part of the fun every time the writer/director starts populating his new project.

“Deadpool & Wolverine” Sound Designers on Turning Frozen Tea Towels Into Broken Bones

Three months after debuting in theaters this summer, Deadpool & Wolverine’s winning streak still wasn’t over. It eventually surpassed Barbie’s domestic gross in its 13th weekend, with director Shawn Levy’s R-rated box office juggernaut ranking as the 12th highest-grossing movie of all time, with a domestic haul of over $636M.

It has been a hectic year for Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning sound designer Craig Henighan, who not only worked on 2024’s second biggest film but also delivered Apple TV+’s two-hander dark comedy, 

“Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” Trailer Finds Tom Cruise on Last Epic Mission

Now we know the title of the 8th Mission: Impossible movie, which carries the weight of the franchise’s history and the possible final mission for Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt. Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning’s first trailer is an action epic through and through. The film’s logline reads, “Every choice has led to this.”

The trailer has many hallmarks of a classic Mission: Impossible movie: Cruise’s Hunt sprinting on foot always toward danger or the hope of saving somebody (or everybody).

A New Hope for a Fresh “Star Wars” Saga: New Trilogy to be Written & Produced by “X-Men” Alum Simon Kinberg

From the sprawling, brawling world of mutants on X-Men to the intergalactic intrigue in a galaxy far, far away—this is the path for former X-Men writer, director, and producer Simon Kinberg. Although it’s a path that Kinberg knows well.

News broke that Kinberg is working with Lucasfilm on a brand-new Star Wars trilogy alongside Lucasfilm studio chief Kathleen Kennedy, which will kickstart a whole new set of characters separate from the previous trilogy,

“Forrest Gump” DP Don Burgess Re-Teams with Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, and Director Bob Zemeckis on “Here”

Cinematographer Don Burgess earned an Oscar nomination and helped make an American classic when she shot Forrest Gump in 1994. He’s since re-teamed with star Tom Hanks and director Bob Zemeckis on The Polar Express, Cast Away, and Disney’s live-action remake of Pinocchio. Now, he’s the man behind the camera in Here (in theaters) which pairs Hanks and his Gump co-star Robin Wright in a story that mainly unfolds across ten decades within one New Jersey living room.

How The “Blitz” Sound Team Shook Steve McQueen’s Harrowing World War II Film

While researching Small Axe, a riveting series about the political awakening of London’s West Indian community, director Steven McQueen found a photograph of a young Black boy standing on a train platform holding a large suitcase. The stark image had the director questioning who the child was and what his story was during the London Blitz, a period in World War II when the city was bombed by Germany over eight long months.

“Venom: The Last Dance” Stunt Coordinator James Churchman on Tom Hardy, Wild Horses and Flying Kids

When he was nine years old, James M. Churchman bought his first motorcycle and started riding the backroads of his native Florida. A few years later, he became a professional stuntman, and by the late nineties, he’d invented a computerized flying system that is still in use today. In the 2000s, Churchman emerged as a go-to stunt coordinator for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, winning the 2014 Taurus World Stunt Award for staging Iron Man 3‘s 14-man free-fall spectacle.

“Here” Production Designer Ashley Lamont on Building an Entire Life in a Single Room for Tom Hanks & Robin Wright

Robert Zemeckis’ new film Here is based on an unusual concept: the entire movie takes place in one location, and the camera never moves. The living room at the center of the film is set in an early 20th-century house in New England, although as the story revisits different eras, the set also transforms into a forest and a colonial-era drive, both of which represent the same site before the house’s construction in 1907.

“The Wild Robot” Composer Kris Bowers on Accessing a Robot’s Humanity Through Music

Emmy and Oscar-winning composer Kris Bowers has become one of the go-to composers in Hollywood. Known for his work on films and TV shows like King Richard, The Color Purple, The Last Repair Shop, and Bridgerton, he has created well-known scores for a wide diversity of genres. For writer/director Chris Sanders‘ The Wild Robot, Bowers has added feature animation to his list of credits.

Warner Bros. Developing a “Game of Thrones” Film

Warner Bros. has been quietly developing a movie based on George R.R. Martin’s juggernaut fantasy series that set HBO on fire for eight seasons and has been parlayed into a successful spinoff series, House of the Dragon. The news broke late last week and marked the first time the series had been launched on the big screen. There’s already one successful spinoff series unfolding on HBO—House of the Dragon—centered on the internal strife within the powerful Hosue Targaryen and set around 172 years before the events depicted in Game of Thrones.

“Blitz” Costume Designer Jacqueline Durran Threads Through a Traumatic History in Steve McQueen’s WWII Epic

Costume designer Jacqueline Durran first dressed Saoirse Ronan in director Joe Wright’s sweeping English drama Atonement in 2007. She did so again for Wright’s action thriller Hanna and Greta Gerwig’s heartwarming period adaptation of Little Women, winning an Oscar for Gerwig’s adaptation of Louisa May Aclott’s beloved book. Durran collabs with the dazzling Irish performer for a fourth time in Steve McQueen’s wartime epic Blitz which follows Ronan as a widowed mother (Rita) trying to protect her only son George (magnificently played by eleven-year-old Elliott Heffernan) from the looming atrocities by sending him on a train far away.

“Smile 2” Horror Auteur Parker Finn on Crafting a Sequel About a Haunted Pop Star in New York

Writer/director Parker Finn has been enjoying a whirlwind victory lap in the days since his Smile 2 opened number one at the box office to become the year’s top-grossing horror film. “It’s been very surreal and exciting,” Finn told The Credits, speaking from his Los Angeles home. In fact, the past four years have unspooled for Finn with the kind of momentum young filmmakers dream about, thanks to his mastery of nightmarish scenarios.

“Wicked” First Reactions: A Dazzling Adaptation That Conjures the Magic of Movies at Their Best

The first reactions to director Jon M. Chu’s Wicked are descending upon social media like so many flying monkeys. Chu’s adaptation of the beloved Broadway musical—itself an adaptation of Gregory Maguire’s novel—is led by two powerhouse performers in Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Glinda. The first reactions are mostly raves, with folks calling it one of the very best adaptations of a Broadway hit ever, and Erivo and Grande are being hailed for knockout turns as the two future,

“Conclave” Confidential: Production Designer Suzie Davies on Recreating One of the World’s Most Secretive Events

“Hell arrives tomorrow when we bring in the cardinals,” quips the fair-minded Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes), the dean of the College of Cardinals, on the eve of the gathering to elect the new Pope. After the unexpected death of the current pontiff, it is Lawrence’s duty to oversee the titular Conclave, when over 100 cardinals from around the world gather to witness the cutthroat battle of succession steeped in tradition and secrecy.