Nick Stagliano Returns to Directing With Noir Thriller “The Virtuoso”

Mistrust reigns and true identities are questioned when an assassin, a waitress, a deputy, a loner, and a couple cross paths in an isolated, rustic diner one evening in the moody and suspenseful thriller, The Virtuoso. The story is cloaked in mystery from the start, with the highly skilled assassin, The Virtuoso, accepting an assignment from his boss, The Mentor, with little detail about the job other than the place, time, and one puzzling clue.

Why Director Fernando Frías de la Parra’s Stunning “I’m No Longer Here” is a Must-See

When Oscar-winning filmmakers Guillermo Del Toro (The Shape of Water)  and Alfonso Cuarón (Gravity, Roma) refer to a film as “a singularity in the last decade” and “an experience of space and time,” you pay attention. The film is Fernando Frías de la Parra (Los Espookys) I’m No Longer Here, streaming on Netflix, and it tells the fictional story of Ulises (Juan Daniel García),

First “The Tomorrow War” Images Tease Amazon’s Alien Invasion Epic

The first images from director Chris McKay’s The Tomorrow War are here, teasing the big sci-fi epic and McKay’s live-action debut. The LEGO Batman Movie helmer has quite a cast at hand to help him make the transition, including Chris Pratt, who stars as a man drafted to fight in the titular future war with nothing short of the fate of humanity on his shoulders.

Pratt is no stranger to aliens,

New “In The Heights” Trailer Teases a Summer Must-See

Director John M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians) and screenwriter Quiara Alegría Hudes have adapted possibly the perfect musical to kick off summer—Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “In The Heights.” The fruits of their labor—as well as that of their talented cast and crew—are evident in the latest trailer from Warner Bros. In The Heights combines star power, singing, intricate dance choreography, and the pleasures (and pain) of a sweltering summer in New York City—all catnip to a moviegoer eager to see a big movie on a big screen as emerge from a very bad year and a half.

“Wildcat” Actor Luke Benward on Finding His Character’s Defining Trait

Luke Benward was cast in his first role when he was just five years old, as Mel Gibson’s son in We Were Soldiers. He has worked steadily ever since, from starring in How to Eat Fried Worms at age 11, to playing Danielle Macdonald’s love interest in director Anne Fletcher’s film Dumplin‘. Benward is especially fond of his work with Melissa McCarthy in Life of the Party (more on that later).

The Official Teaser for Questlove’s “Summer of Soul” Promises Riveting Doc Experience

The multi-talented Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson is making his debut as a filmmaker with Summer of Soul, immediately putting the documentary on the must-see list for this summer. The first teaser, which Questlove himself revealed during last night’s Oscars Ceremony (he was the ceremony’s musical director), gives us our first glimpse at his hybrid debut—part historical record, part music film—Summer of Soul is centered on the Harlem Cultural Festival’s six-week run in Mount Morris Park (now Marcus Garvey Park) in Harlem in 1969.

The Official Teaser for Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story” Revealed During Oscars

If you watched last night’s Oscars Ceremony, you probably caught the sizzling official teaser for Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story. There has been major buzz around the project the moment we learned Spielberg would be adapting the legendary stage musical for the big screen. The teaser gives us our most sustained look at the legendary director’s efforts, which includes a dynamic ensemble and a potent list of collaborators to bring off the long-awaited film.

Chloé Zhao Makes History at the Oscars

Director Chloé Zhao made history at the 93rd Annual Academy Awards, becoming only the second woman to ever win Best Director for Nomadland (after Kathryn Bigelow won in 2010 for The Hurt Locker) and becoming the first woman of color to win the award. Zhao, raised in China, also became the second Asian to win best director in a row, following Bong Joon Ho’s win last year for Parasite. 

Oscar-Nominee Emile Mosseri on Scoring for Family Dynamics in “Minari”

This interview is part of our ongoing Oscar series. It was originally published on January 19. Emile Mosseri is nominated for Original Score.

Dream-like piano notes accompany the Yee family as they gaze out the windows of their beat-up station wagon, on their way to a new home in rural Arkansas. Hoping to make it as a farmer, patriarch Jacob (Steven Yeun) is in the process of uprooting his wife, Monica (Yeri Han),

Oscar-Nominated Cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt on “Mank”

This interview is part of our ongoing Oscar series. It was originally published on March 31. For part II of this interview, click here.

Actors Gary Oldman and Amanda Seyfried go for their characters’ leisurely evening stroll outside San Marino’s Huntington Library, which is subbing in for William Randolph Hearst’s Hearst Castle at San Simeon.  The only thing is, it’s not night – and the actors are wearing custom-tinted contact lenses to help them avoid squinting,

Art Director Daniel Lopez Muñoz on Finding Pixar’s Oscar-Nominated “Soul”

This interview with Daniel Lopez Muñoz is part of our ongoing Oscar series. It was originally published on December 24, before the film was nominated for Best Animated Feature Film.

Once again Pixar tackles the subjects of the meaning of life, fearlessness in the face of change, synchronicity, and inspiration in their new film Soul. It’s the first time, however, that they have centered the story on a Black man,

Oscar-Nominated Editor Mikkel E.G. Nielsen on Giving “Sound of Metal” its Rhythm

This interview is part of our ongoing Oscar series. It was originally published on April 13.

Excitement was running high. The team behind Sound of Metal, Darius Marder’s offbeat drama about a punk rock drummer (Riz Ahmed) who faces life-changing decisions after losing his hearing, was gathered together via Zoom to watch the Oscar nomination announcements. Mikkel E.G. Nielsen, the film’s editor, was settled in front of his computer at his home in Copenhagen when the unthinkable happened.

Oscar-Nominated Costume Designer Trish Summerville on Diving Into Hollywood’s Past in “Mank”

This interview is part of our ongoing Oscar series. It was originally published on January 25, since then, Summerville has been nominated for Best Costume Design. 

David Fincher’s black and white epic, Mank, revisits the storied Hollywood era of the late 1930s when Orson Welles was writing what would go down in history as one of the best films of all time, Citizen Kane. But did he write it alone or with the help of Herman Mankiewicz,

Oscar Nominees Mia Neal & Sergio Lopez-Rivera on the Hair & Makeup of “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”

This interview is part of our ongoing Oscar series. It was originally published on March 17.

I got a chance to speak to hair department head Mia Neal and makeup artist Sergio Lopez-Rivera about their work in George C. Wolfe’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom before the Oscar nominations were announced. Tasked with, among other challenges, turning Oscar-nominee Viola Davis into the real-life Ma was no easy feat,

Oscar-Nominated Makeup Department Head Gigi Williams on “Mank”

This interview is part of our ongoing Oscar series. It was originally published on March 23. 

David Fincher‘s Mank is the most Oscar-nominated film of the year, amassing ten, thanks to the beauty and brilliance of its black-and-white execution. One of those nominations belongs to makeup department head Gigi Williams, a veteran who picks her work based on her belief in the director. In Fincher, she was collaborating with one of the most precise filmmakers in the business,

Editor Gabriel Rhodes on Cutting the Oscar-Nominated Doc “Time”

This interview is part of our ongoing Oscar series. It was originally published on April 14.

“I never thought a film could be made with such a minimal amount of information,” says editor Gabriel Rhodes. But not only was it made; it currently has an Oscar nomination for best feature-length documentary.

The film in question is called, simply, Time. Coming from director/artist Garrett Bradley,

Oscar-Nominee Shaka King on Writing & Directing “Judas and the Black Messiah”

This interview is part of our ongoing Oscar series. Our conversation with Shaka King was originally published on March 30, before he was nominated for two Oscars. The film was nominated for Best Picture (the nomination includes King and producing partners Charles D. King and Ryan Coogler), and King was nominated for Best Original Screenplay along with co-writers Will Berson, Kenny & Keith Lucas.

Judas and the Black Messiah galvanized moviegoers with its fact-based story about Black Panther leader Fred Hampton,

Oscar-Nominated DP Sean Bobbitt on Framing a Historic Power Struggle in “Judas and the Black Messiah”

This interview is part of our ongoing Oscar series. Our conversation with Sean Bobbitt was first published on February 11, before he was nominated for an Oscar for Best Cinematography.

The late Fred Hampton, former chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panthers, was renowned for his skill as an orator and his work in his community, though the American government chose to mainly view the young activist as a threat.

Sony Films Will Head to Disney After Netflix Window Expires

Disney+ will soon be home to Spider-Man, and a whole lot more. In a new deal, Sony Pictures’ upcoming theatrical slate will hit Disney’s streaming and TV platforms after their PVOD windows on Netflix have ended. The deal is for Sony’s theatrical slate from 2022 to 2026, as well as a good chunk of Sony’s library. This will bring Sony’s films to Disney’s major streaming services, Disney+ and Hulu, as well as their TV networks,

Oscar-Nominee Terence Blanchard on Scoring Spike Lee’s “Da 5 Bloods”

This interview is part of our ongoing Oscar series. It was originally published on June 12, 2020. Terrence Blanchard is nominated for Original Score.

Spike Lee’s films’ timeliness speaks to his prescience, and to his fearless, decades-long willingness to examine the continued and persistent injustice experienced by Black Americans. His new film Da 5 Bloods lands in the midst of a pandemic disproportionately affecting Black,