Producer Monica Levinson on “Borat 2” & “The Trial of the Chicago 7”

Producer Monica Levinson might have been able to call 2020 a banner year were not for the fact such a sentiment would be in poor taste considering how atrocious 2020 was. Yet two of her films factored into the larger conversations we were having in ways that would have been unthinkable at the start of the year.

One of those films was Aaron Sorkin’s The Trial of the Chicago 7, 

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

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, that of middle school band teacher and jazz pianist Joe Gardner (voiced by Jamie Foxx). Daniel Lopez Muñoz has worked in such diverse roles for Pixar as a character designer for Up and Coco,

Best of 2020: The High Note Director Nisha Ganatra on the Importance of a Diverse Cast & Crew

We put together our annual “Best Of” list with an eye towards the conversations that weren’t just about our particular area of interest—how films and TV shows are made and the people who make them—but delved into broader discussions that were unavoidable in this historic, often heartbreaking year. These conversations include our chat with Laverne Cox about her role in Netflix’s Disclosure: Trans Lives on Screen,  Lovecraft Country cinematographer Michael Watson on filming during a pandemic,

The Sustainable Production Alliance: Celebrating the Green Production Guide’s 10-Year Anniversary

As issues of climate change continue to be front and center in every aspect of our lives, many areas of business and industry are investigating new ways in which they can mitigate their carbon footprint and become more engaged in policies that are centered on responsibility toward climate change.

Fortunately, the entertainment industry has been at the forefront of this issue for many years – in fact, a full decade! – and has consistently demonstrated its commitment to sustainability.

David Oyelowo & Demián Bichir on George Clooney’s Timely Sci-Fi Film “Midnight Sky”

Based on Lily Brooks-Dalton’s acclaimed novel “Good Morning, Midnight”, the new Netflix release The Midnight Sky (streaming December 23), which is directed by George Clooney, follows scientist Augustine (played by Clooney) who navigates a post-apocalyptic world alone in the Arctic, while warning away Sully (Felicity Jones) and the other astronauts returning from deep space with her. Her fellow crewmembers include partner and flight commander Adewole (David Oyelowo), astrodynamics expert Sanchez (Demián Bichir),

Costume Designer Phoenix Mellow on Modern-Day Vintage Romance in “Sylvie’s Love”

In these trying times, what’s better than the escapism of a sweeping, old-fashioned romance? Set between the late 1950s and early 1960s, the new Amazon feature Sylvie’s Love from director Eugene Ashe (Homecoming, Home Again) is a sweet and lovely epic in the style of the vintage films from which it takes its inspiration (premiering on Amazon Prime on Christmas Day). Both a love story and a coming-of-age narrative,

Branford Marsalis Gets the Blues For “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”

“Uh one. Uh two. Uh you know what to do.” That’s how the band leader cues his musicians in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. In fact, the actors portraying sidemen to Viola Davis’ title character did not really know what to do, musically. But thanks to Branford Marsalis, the actors in director George C. Wolfe’s adaptation of the August Wilson play manage to mimic the moves of veteran blues musicians with persuasive panache.

Production Designer Mark Ricker on Creating the Sumptuous “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”

During the course of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, based on the 1982 play by August Wilson, blues star Ma Rainey (Viola Davis) reveals the lengths it takes to counter the racial economic exploitation of the 1920s, while down in the practice room, her band members recount the horrors of Jim Crow. The film, directed by George C. Wolfe (The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks), which debuted on Netflix on December 18th,

Watch Christopher Nolan Break Down a High-Stakes Sequence in “Tenet”

Christopher Nolan’s Tenet is now available for digital download and on DVD. This means the mysteries at the heart of his time-inverting spy epic will begin to be unpuzzled. In a new “Anatomy of a Scene” video from the New York Times, it’s Nolan himself doing the unpuzzling.

First, some due diligence—let’s provide a brief synopsis of what Tenet‘s about. Tenet stars John David Washington as a member of an elite team that seems capable of literally inverting time in order to try and stop armageddon before it happens.

Review Round-Up: “Wonder Woman 1984” is an Adrenalin Shot of Joy

At long last, the time has just about come to see Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) in action once again—director Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman 1984 is just about here. While you’ll need to wait until Christmas Day to see the long-awaited sequel, the critics already have. To that end, we’ve put together a spoiler-free review round-up to give you a sense of what they’re saying.

Let’s get you caught up on where we are in the franchise,

“Wonder Woman 1984” Opening Scene Available For Your Viewing Pleasure

Let’s go back to Themyscira, shall we? Warner Bros. and HBO Max have made Wonder Woman 1984‘s opening scene available a little more than a week before director Patty Jenkins’ film hits theaters and streams on HBO Max on Christmas Day. Now if you’re the type that would rather watch the opening minutes when you can, you know, watch the rest of the film immediately after, we get that. However, if you want to whet your appetite just before you can settle in for the full meal,

“Tenet” Available Online and DVD Today – Watch Opening Scene Here

If there were one movie that best encapsulated this awful year, at least in terms of the entertainment world, it was Christopher Nolan’s Tenet. In a normal year, a Nolan film is a major cinematic event. His ambitious, often mind-melting epics are designed and shot to be seen in the theater. Their release dates are something movie lovers mark on their calendars, and tickets are snapped up the moment they become available online.

Netflix Reveals Trailer Stanley Nelson’s new Doc “Crack: Cocaine, Corruption, & Conspiracy”

You couldn’t ask for a better filmmaker to untangle the lies, distortions, and heartbreak of the crack epidemic of the 1980s than Stanley Nelson. The award-winning filmmaker behind Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool, The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution, Freedom Riders, and The Black Press: Soldiers Without Swords is the director of Netflix’s new Crack: Cocaine, Corruption & Conspiracy. A new trailer gives us our first glimpse at Nelson’s latest deep-dive,

DP Bryce Fortner on Recreating the 1970s in the Propulsive Crime Drama “I’m Your Woman”

Director Julie Hart’s new thriller, I’m Your Woman, turns its attention to a figure usually overlooked in 1970s crime dramas: the housewife. Jean (Rachel Brosnahan) seems incapable and alone, dispassionately aware but otherwise innocent of her husband Eddie’s (Bill Heck) nebulous involvement in some kind of organized crime. When Eddie heads out for the night and doesn’t come back, leaving Jean with a mysterious baby boy she’s mutely accepted as their own,

Anthony Mackie is an Android on a Mission in “Outside the Wire”

In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Anthony Mackie plays Sam Wilson, better known as Falcon, a heroic soldier endowed with superhuman ability thanks to technology—including, of course, a pair of wings. So Mackie is well-suited to continue the process of man melding with machine in Netflix’s upcoming Outside the Wire. In the first trailer, you’ll see that Mackie is a straight-up android with a very serious skill set. One can’t help but wonder how Outside the Wire‘s android might stack up against Mackie’s titular superhero in Falcon and the Winter Soldier. 

The Most Exciting Films and Series Coming From Disney & Marvel

Disney’s Investor Day presentation was probably the biggest reveal of exciting projects since 2019’s San Diego Comic-Con. There was just an absolute deluge of news, and so much of it was thrilling. On the Marvel side of the coin, we got our first look at Loki, our first look at The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and the bittersweet news that Marvel will not recast Chadwick Boseman’s role in Black Panther II. 

Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa Will Not Be Recast in “Black Panther II”

Yesterday was Disney’s big investor presentation, which revealed a huge bounty of entertainment news, including all things Marvel Studios-related. One of the most bittersweet things to come from the presentation was that T’Challa, better known as Black Panther, will not be recast in Black Panther II in the wake of the late, great Chadwick Boseman’s death. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige shared the news, which makes perfect sense and is not terribly surprising,

Bob Odenkirk is “Nobody” in First Trailer for Ilya Naishuller’s Film

There are few actors as reliably likable, no matter what kind of lowlife they might be playing, then Bob Odenkirk. In Breaking Bad, a series that was not only one of the best of the century but was bursting with great performances, Odenkirk still stood out as the scruples-free lawyer Saul Goodman. The performance was so good that AMC and Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan spun the character off for his own,

Jo Ellen Pellman & Ariana DeBose on Finding Love & Acceptance in Ryan Murphy’s “The Prom”

Helmed by Ryan Murphy, the ebullient musical dramedy The Prom is bringing some much-needed holiday cheer to our December. Meryl Streep, James Corden, Nicole Kidman, and Andrew Rannells play four fading Broadway performers who reach for relevance again by championing a newsworthy cause in small-town Indiana. Queer teen Emma (newcomer Jo Ellen Pellman) wants to take her girlfriend Alyssa Greene (Ariana DeBose) to the high school prom,

“Wonder Woman 1984” IMAX Featurette Puts Focus on Epic Action

Two days ago we shared this big batch of new Wonder Woman 1984 photos that Warner Bros. released. In this haul were a bunch of shots of the Amazon Games, the highly competitive—and incredibly dangerous—triathlon held on Wonder Woman’s mystical home island of Themyscira. Now IMAX has revealed a new featurette that puts the focus on director Patty Jenkins’ commitment to capturing some of the film’s action set pieces, including those Amazon Games sequences,