Oscar-Nominated Cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt on “Mank” – Part I

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, due to the additional bright lights director of photography Erik Messerschmidt has added to make his day-for-night photography appear correct in the final image.

Costume Designer Deborah Newhall on Dressing the Dastardly in “I Care A Lot”

Writer/director J. Blakeson’s I Care A Lot is a gleefully cynical uppercut against late-stage capitalism that is also, incredibly, a blast to watch. The con artist at its center, Rosamund Pike’s Marla Grayson, would be hard to root for if both her performance and the film itself weren’t so infectiously committed to its amorality. One of I Care A Lot‘s central themes is that the heart of capitalism isn’t healthy competition or ingenuity or hard work—it’s exploitation.

New “The Suicide Squad” TV Spots Reveal Thinker & Ratcatcher 2

We know that James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad boasts a lot of oddball characters, including a humanoid shark, so even a little bit of new information or footage is welcome. To that end, Gunn shared two new TV spots that introduce Peter Capaldi’s Thinker and reference Daniela Melchior’s Ratcatcher II. Unlike Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn or Viola Davis’s Amanda Waller, Thinker and Ratcatcher II are newcomers, and for non-comics readers,

Cinematographer Fabian Wagner on “Zack Snyder’s Justice League”

A lot of people are professing surprise at the success of Zack Snyder’s Justice League on HBO Max, not only in terms of the critical praise it’s getting, being called “operatic” or as richly imagined as Lord of the Rings, but even in the calls to continue the film’s teased sequels, and pursue a #Snyderverse on HBO Max.

As this was being written, no less than the Washington Post’s opinion pages ran a column from its culture &

Director Shaka King Breaks Down the Magic Trick Behind “Judas and the Black Messiah”

Judas and the Black Messiah opened last month and quickly galvanized moviegoers with its fact-based story about Black Panther leader Fred Hampton, whose betrayal by an FBI informant led to his 1969 death by gunfire at age 21 while sleeping in his own Chicago apartment. The film racked up six Oscar nominations including Best Picture. Director Shaka King earned a nomination for co-writing the screenplay and steered co-stars Daniel Kaluuya and Lakeith Stanfield to their own Oscar nods in the Best Supporting Actor category.

James Gunn on King Shark’s Creation in “The Suicide Squad”

When Warner Bros. revealed the trailer for writer/director James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad on Friday, one thing became immediately clear—King Shark was a star. It was immediately apparent that King Shark not only looked oddly adorable, but there also was something endearing, and familiar, about his voice. Then Gunn revealed to the world that King Shark’s voice comes from a little-known actor named Sylvester Stallone. Upon learning this, you couldn’t help think, of course. 

Sound Designer Scott Hecker on Going Big in “Zack Snyder’s Justice League”

At four hours long, HBO Max’s Zack Snyder’s Justice League, a reworked version of the 2017 film started by director Snyder but finished by Joss Whedon, differs most obviously from its predecessor in length. Those two extra hours, however, do much more than simply pile up the story, even if the overall plot remains mostly the same. In revisiting what started as his film and now has definitively ended as such,

Dwayne Johnson Reveals “Black Adam” Release Date

We now have an official release date for director Jaume Collet-Serra and Dwayne Johnson’s supersized superhero collaboration—Black Adam will hit theaters on July 29, 2022. “A disruptive and unstoppable force of a message from the man in black himself,” Johnson wrote in an Instagram post that revealed a teaser playing across multiple digital billboards in Times Square. “The hierarchy of power in the DC Universe is about to change.” It’s a pretty awesome way to reveal the release date.

“The Suicide Squad” Trailer Rallies the Troops

Writer/director James Gunn promised us The Suicide Squad trailer today, and voila, here it is. Our first proper look at Gunn’s vision for DC’s most unscrupulous antiheroes, villains, and weirdos looks as gonzo as promised. Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn, Viola Davis’s Amanda Waller, Jai Courtney’s Captain Boomerang, and Joel Kinnaman’s Rick Flag return from 2016’s Suicide Squad and are joined by a who’s who of DC’s most offbeat characters. Sure, Idris Elba’s Bloodsport is a proper antihero,

James Gunn Reveals “The Suicide Squad” Poster & Release Date, Trailer Arrives Today

The Suicide Squad writer/director James Gunn took to Twitter yesterday to inform us that the release date is official, and the first trailer for the movie is dropping soon. Soon as in today. March 26. As for the release date, The Suicide Squad will be hitting theaters and HBO Max on August 6. He also revealed the film’s new poster, which shows the entire gang all suited up and ready to go.

Pierce Brosnan Joins Dwayne Johnson in “Black Adam” as DC Hero Dr. Fate

Yesterday we wrote about how the great Helen Mirren was joining Shazam! Fury of the Gods. In that piece, we mentioned how Shazam’s most formidable rival, Black Adam, has his own movie in the works starring Dwayne Johnson. Black Adam is due to start filming in a matter of days. Now, Pierce Brosnan’s inclusion in Black Adam marks another heralded actor joining the DC extended universe, stepping into the role of Dr.

Future Critics: Kyle Perez on Canadian Filmmakers & Loving the Classics

In the third installment of our Future Critics series, we raise the age range a touch but we sure don’t the passion for film on display. We’ve been schooled on composers by East Coaster Benji Cherukuri, given a crash course in the importance of female filmmakers from West Coaster Elisa Monagas, and now we head north to learn what inspires Canadian film lover, film world employee—and film and TV influencer (more on that in a second)—Kyle Perez. 

“Stowaway” Trailer Reveals Netflix’s Mission to Mars Drama

Director Joe Penna’s upcoming film Stowaway presents an intriguing central dilemma—what do you do when a spaceship on a two-year mission to Mars with precisely enough oxygen for three people finds itself having to account for a fourth? This problem is what animates Penna’s new film, and he’s assembled a great cast to tease out its implications. Anna Kendrick, Daniel Dae Kim, Toni Collette, and Shamier Anderson star, working from a script from Penna and Ryan Morrison,

Helen Mirren Joins “Shazam!” Sequel as the Villain Hespera

The Shazam! sequel just landed one of the best in the business. The Oscar-winning and all-around powerhouse performer Helen Mirren will be playing the villain Hespera in Shazam! Fury of the Gods. Poor Billy Batson won’t know what hit him.

Mirren joins another Shazam! newcomer, Rachel Zegler, who is fresh off starring in Steven Spielberg’s upcoming West Side Story, and early word is Mirren and Zegler will be playing sisters.

“Black Widow” Will Premiere in Theaters & on Disney+ Premiere Access Simultaneously

We now have a clear picture of how Disney will be approaching their release schedule this year. The headline news is that Disney has decided to release Marvel Studios hotly anticipated Black Widow in theaters and on Disney+ Premiere Access simultaneously. If you opt to watch director Cate Shortland’s film about Scarlett Johansson’s super-spy and former Avenger Natasha Romanoff at home, you’ll have to part with $30 to do so, the same price point for its recent releases Mulan and Raya and the Last Dragon.

“Promising Young Woman” Writer/Director Emerald Fennell Will Pen “Zatanna” For DC Films

Emerald Fennell is having a very good start to her week and a very good year, period. The talented actress, writer, and director just nabbed the WGA Award for original screenplay this past Sunday night for her feature Promising Young Woman, which also garnered five Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay. Then came Monday, March 22, when Deadline revealed that Fennell will be penning the DC movie Zatanna for Warner Bros.

“The Mitchells vs. The Machines” Brings Tech-Anarchy to Netflix This April

The Mitchells vs. The. Machines has the kind of A-list cast and top-flight pedigree you like to see in your animated comedies. Hailing from the folks who brought you a little film called Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, the new feature focuses on the titular Mitchell family, trying to connect to each other in a world that wants them to connect to everything but each other. Sound familiar? Only the Mitchell’s battle against omnipresent technology is even more dire than our own—in their world,

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

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, and in Mank, working off a script from his father Jack Fincher,

A New “Making The Snyder Cut” Video Reveals How This Epic Came to Be

By now you’ve seen Zack Snyder’s Justice League—if not, you’re going to want to step away from this Mother Box (JL joke!). If you did take in the Snyder Cut, you’re probably still parsing all the implications the film raised for the DCEU, and all the new stuff Snyder included in the film. The Anti-Life equation! The Martian Manhunter! Steppenwolf’s fealty, and fear, of Darkseid! And of course,

Early Reactions to “Godzilla vs. Kong” Revel in the Monster Melee

If you’re going to make a movie called Godzilla vs. Kong, you know the most important thing to do is get the title fight right. It sounds as if director Adam Wingard succeeded in that first and most crucial respect. It almost goes without saying that in almost all of these mega-monster movies, the human characters are often filler (and also very often a snack for the titans). It’s hard to share the screen with someone forty,