“The Eyes of Tammy Faye” Screenwriter Abe Sylvia on Finding Grace in Disgrace
Tammy Faye Bakker was a larger-than-life personality, both loathed and loved. When she died in 2007 at age 65, she left behind a haunting legacy defined by the fall of the televangelical empire she built with her first husband, Jim Bakker. At closer inspection, however, she transcended the scandals and struggles she faced and was so much more than her flamboyant style and appearance.
In The Eyes of Tammy Faye, starring Jessica Chastain (who is also a producer) and Andrew Garfield as the disgraced couple,...
Vietnamese Filmmaker Tran Thi Bich Ngoc on Her Country’s Emerging Talent
Independent Vietnamese producer Tran Thi Bich Ngoc was on a shoot in Dong Nai near Ho Chi Minh City in May when the latest wave of COVID-19 hit the country hard. She has since been working from home as the production, a local TV series directed by Phan Dang Di, had to halt. Another new project, Pham Ngoc Lan’s Culi Never Cries, which was scheduled to start filming in Hanoi in July, is put on hold too...
The Official Trailer for Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story” is Here
Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story is one of the films we’re most excited about this year. How could it not be? The legendary director is taking on Stephen Sondheim and Leonard Bernstein’s original 1957 Broadway show, the first time West Side Story has graced the big screen since Robert Wise’s adaptation in 1961, which danced and sang its way to 10 Oscars. At long last, we have our first look at the film’s official trailer,...
“Eternals” Will Take Us Back Long Before Thanos Was Born
Every fresh MCU film offers both a continuation of a mega-narrative that began with 2008’s Iron Man as well as something that hasn’t been seen quite yet. Now, sure, you could argue that every Iron Man or Captain America or Thor film offers more of the same, but that’s not entirely true. Each new early entrant presented new allies and villains, fresh twists, and, owing to the Moore’s Law of tentpole filmmaking,...
Writer/Directors Aron Gaudet & Gita Pullapilly on Their Couponing Caper “Queenpins”
“Two buddy comedies for the price of one,” says Aron Gaudet about Queenpins, the quirky indie escapade set in the thrift-minded world of extreme couponing that he co-wrote and co-directed with Gita Pullapilly. Starring Kristen Bell, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Paul Walter Hauser, and Vince Vaughn, the film follows two best friends who wittingly become embroiled in a multimillion-dollar counterfeit coupon scam, and the loss prevention officer and U.S. postal inspector hot on their tails.
Queenpins,...
New “Dune” Featurette Reveals a Dream Quest for the Ages
Now that writer/director Denis Villeneuve’s Dune has made its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival and garnered rave reviews from critics, all that’s left is for the film to premiere in a theater near you on October 22. Yet Warner Bros. still has a few more fresh looks to reveal before the premiere, and the latest is captivating. The new featurette, titled “Desert Visions,” focuses on the dreams of Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet), the young noble who has a knack for envisioning things that come true...
Rian Johnson Reveals “Knives Out 2” Wraps Filming
And that’s a wrap. Writer/director Rian Johnson took to Twitter to reveal that Knives Out 2 has officially wrapped production. Johnson’s follow-up to his surprise smash-hit whodunit boasts another stellar cast, led by Daniel Craig as detective Benoit Blanc, who returns once again to try an unpuzzle a murder mystery. With this news, we can now start the countdown to seeing some actual footage.
Johnson not only shared the news about his own film but complimented the visionary French director Leos Carax while he was at it...
Director Kay Cannon on Bringing the Modern & the Funny to “Cinderella”
With her hilarious and critically acclaimed feature-directing debut Blockers, Kay Cannon expanded her renown beyond being the writer of the Pitch Perfect blockbuster franchise and writer/producer on hit shows like 30 Rock, New Girl, and Girl Boss. Cinderella, which premiered in theaters and on Prime Video this past September 3rd, is her sophomore release as director and looks like another crowd-pleasing hit. A musical that’s a decidedly modernized take on the classic fairy tale,...
“The Eyes of Tammy Faye” Review Roundup: Jessica Chastain Stuns in Heartbreaking Performance
The Eyes of Tammy Faye made its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 12, which means that now we’ve got a sense of what the critics are saying. Unsurprisingly, there is already Oscar buzz for the film’s star, Jessica Chastain, for her performance playing the famous televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker. Critics were mesmerized by Chastain’s embodiment of Tammy Faye, from the lashes to the soul, with Andrew Garfield also earning Oscar chatter for playing Tammy Faye’s deeply morally compromised husband,...
“No Time To Die” Is Officially the Longest Bond Movie Ever
It was another lifetime ago (seriously, it feels like that) when we shared the news that No Time To Die was likely going to be the longest Bond movie ever made. This was way, way back in February of 2020 before the pandemic had changed everything. Now it’s official—United Artists has told domestic exhibitors not only the date that No Time To Die tickets can go on sale (September 17), but that the film is 163-minutes long...
Writer/Producer Max Borenstein Delves Into the Human Cost of 9/11 in “Worth”
This September marks the 20th anniversary of 9/11. While many of the events that transpired that day have been captured on film, one lesser-known account of the tragedy just made its cinematic bow on Netflix. Worth chronicles the story of Kenneth Feinberg, the attorney charged with overseeing the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund and, in so doing, putting a monetary value on the lives that were lost or suffered serious health issues as a result of the attack...
“The Matrix Resurrections” Trailer is a Dazzling Head Trip
“I’ve had dreams that aren’t just dreams.”
This is how the first trailer for The Matrix Resurrections begins, with Thomas (Keanu Reeves) speaking to a shrink (played by Neil Patrick Harris) about his experiences—which he’s clearly forgotten—years ago. “Am I crazy?” Thomas asks him, and although he’s told “we don’t use that word in here,” you get the feeling neither Thomas nor the shrink really believes he’s sane.
Thus, our long wait for actual footage from director Lana Wachowski’s return to the franchise that she and her sister Lilly began in 1999 is here...
“The Sopranos” Prequel “The Many Saints of Newark” Reveals New Trailer
If you were a fan of David Chase’s mesmerizing HBO juggernaut The Sopranos (and if you’re not, you’ve got some homework to do), then you’re going to find a lot to love in the second trailer for The Many Saints of Newark. But if even if you were coming at this fresh and didn’t know to laugh when baby Christopher is presented at the end of the trailer, crying at the sight of a young Tony Soprano (played by the late James Gandolfini’s son,...
Vietnamese Filmmaker Le Binh Giang on His New Film “Who Created Human Beings” and Vietnam’s Growing Film Industry
Despite strict travel restrictions imposed against the ongoing pandemic, Vietnamese director Le Binh Giang made it in-person to Switzerland’s Locarno Film Festival. He traveled from Vietnam, along with his Vietnamese producer Le Quynh Anh, to present his latest project Who Created Human Beings at the festival’s international co-production platform Open Doors Hub, which ran from August 6-10.
The new project, which touches on local sensitive issues such as abortion and religion, follows a policeman who is caught in a moral conflict when his pregnant girlfriend wants to get married,...
Twisting the Natural Hair of “Candyman” from Art Chic to Dark Terror
Can having great hair protect you from a monster in the mirror who cuts down his victims at the mention of his name a mere five times? There’s evidence in the new Candyman that it can. Department head hairstylist Jessi Dean stepped elegantly into the glossy art world of Anthony McCoy (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) and Brianna Cartwright (Teyonah Parris). The killer begins as a mere myth, but hair and terror intertwine as the rumors prove true and the slayings mount...
Breaking Down the Somber, Thrilling Final Trailer For “No Time To Die”
Last week, the final trailer for Daniel Craig’s final turn as James Bond was released, revealing the most sustained look at writer/director Cary Joji Fukunaga’s long-awaited film. The trailer makes it clear that No Time To Die will function as the final say in this iteration of the venerable spy, played with a pugnacious, lonely charm by Craig since Martin Campbell’s 2006 film Casino Royale when he memorably didn’t care whether his martini was shaken or stirred...
“The Matrix Resurrections” Teaser—With 180,000 Potential Unique Videos—Revealed
Will you take the red pill? Of course you will. Warner Bros. has revealed the first 180,000 teasers (you read that right) for The Matrix Resurrections, with the full trailer coming Thursday. The teasers are available on the film’s just-launched website, WhatIsTheMatrix.com. In just one of the teasers we got after selecting the red pill, we get voice over from Yahya Abdul-Mateen II’s character, who we know, thanks to the footage shared during CinemaCon,...
“Dune” Review Roundup: A Majestic, Astonishingly Vivid Epic Made for the Big Screen
Writer/director Denis Villeneuve’s hotly-anticipated Dune made its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival this past Friday, where it received a seven-minute standing ovation. Villeneuve’s sci-fi epic, based on Frank Herbert’s iconic 1965 book, has been on our radar since we first learned he was taking on Herbert’s notoriously dense tome. It was always going to be an immensely challenging adaptation, but one that Villeneuve, fresh off back-to-back sci-fi knockouts with Arrival and Blade Runner: 2049 was ideally suited to take on...
Jason Momoa Reveals New Stealth Suit For “Aquaman 2”
You just had to know that Aquaman would be getting some fresh duds for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. Momoa shared the new look on Instagram, where he posed side-by-side shots of the previous suit and his new “stealth suit,” and you’ll notice some big changes.
The first thing you’ll note is the suit’s new color, which eschews the first film’s shimmering green and orange hues to go a bit darker, relying on blacks and blues...
Best of Summer: The Luminous Final Trailer For Chloé Zhao’s “Eternals”
We’re including the final trailer for Chloé Zhao’s “Eternals” in our “Best of Summer” recap because, well, it’s Chloé Zhao and it’s her first Marvel film.
And now we finally have our first really good look at Chloé Zhao‘s Eternals. Marvel Studios has just released the final trailer for Zhao’s first MCU film, and it’s unsurprising that it looks ravishing—Zhao has made her name, in part, by creating films that are rich in visual splendor as they are in character depth and nuance...
