Join Our Latest Virtual Film School Friday Chat on The Future of Awards
This year’s awards season will be unlike any other. This is hardly surprising considering 2020 is a year unlike any other, and the entertainment industry has had to reshuffle, rethink, and restructure itself on the fly like so many other sectors of our society. Just recently, the Emmy’s announced they’d be producing the show remotely due to COVID-19, with host Jimmy Kimmel and all of the nominees coming together virtually to deliver the show.
“Palm Springs” Costume Designer Colin Wilkes Gets Existential
Palm Springs costume designer Colin Wilkes had her work cut out for her when she came aboard director Max Barbakow’s new comedy. The film—now a record-breaker for Hulu—posits a nightmare scenario for the wedding averse; nuptials set in the sun-baked California desert town that you can never leave. At least that’s the case for Nyles (Andy Samberg) and Sarah (Cristin Milioti), who find themselves reliving the wedding day over and over again.
Ava DuVernay’s ARRAY Snags Merawi Gerima’s Drama “Residue”
Ava DuVernay’s ARRAY is putting its money where its mouth is—again. Duvernay’s ARRAY Releasing has snagged filmmaker Merawi Gerima’s poignant drama Residue, and they’ve revealed the trailer to this timely film to boot. Gerima wrote, directed, and produced Residue, which is centered on aspiring filmmaker Jay (Obinna Nwachukwu) who, upon returning to his old neighborhood in Washington, DC, finds the place hardly recognizable. It’s become one of the many communities in the country to be gentrified near completely,
Meet the Fight Coordinators Who Gave “The Old Guard” Their New Moves
Years before Wonder Woman, Black Panther, and Captain Marvel came out, Charlize Theron set the bar for female action heroes in 2005 when she starred in the sci-fi bloodbath Æon Flux. She followed that with her incredible performance as Furiosa in Mad Max: Fury Road and then as a super-spy more than willing to fight in Atomic Blonde. Now Theron returns to the fray as immortal ax-wielder Andy in The Old Guard.
Rethinking Old Age in Sergio Navarretta’s “The Cuban”
The Cuban, director Sergio Navarretta’s (Arctic Dogs) new feature out on streaming and in theaters on July 31st, melds two missives into one sweetly heartfelt film: a tribute to Afro-Cuban jazz and a reminder to cherish our elders. Opening in the cold light of a Canadian nursing home, brisk nurses attend to Luis Garcia (Oscar-winner Louis Gossett Jr.), the film’s titular star. Luis, a former jazz musician, is gripped by dementia and Alzheimer’s,
“Self Made” DP Kira Kelly on Why Black Stories Matter
Cinematographer Kira Kelly shot Ava DuVernay‘s 2016 Oscar-nominated 13th documenting how American prisons target Black men. Then she filmed miniseries Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker, named after the hair products entrepreneur who became the country’s first Black female millionaire. Most recently, she shifted into rom-com mode for an episode of Insecure, set in South L.A.
The Top 5 European Filming Regions to Visit This Summer
For many, containing the coronavirus means this will be a travel-free summer, but for many in the broader European region, travel opportunities are opening back up. With some judicious planning, there’s plenty to do, even if you can’t make it to your preferred, farthest-flung destination. Enter film tourism: though you might be stuck a bit closer to home, trips arranged around visits to real-life locations familiar from films and television offer another form of escapism,
This “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World” Reunion Table Read is a Must-Watch
Much of the news in the film and TV world has been pretty bleak as of late, so why not enjoy something that’s just absolutely and totally joyous? That, my friends, is what this Scott Pilgrim vs. The World reunion table read is—pure, undiluted happiness. Co-writer/director Edgar Wright‘s beloved 2010 flick featured a veritable smorgasbord of talent, and nearly all of them returned for this giddy virtual table read. You can watch the entire thing below.
Warner Bros. Announces New Plans to Distribute “Tenet” Non-Traditionally
As we’ve watched the United States struggle—maddeningly, tragically—with COVID-19, the news that Warner Bros. is delaying Tenet‘s theatrical release date indefinitely is sad but inevitable news. Christopher Nolan‘s latest was set to be the big blockbuster that would auger a return to some semblance of normalcy in the States, playing in theaters all across a healing country. This has been made impossible by the spread of the disease.
KiKi Layne on Her Lethal Left Hook (And More) in “The Old Guard”
With her star turn in Barry Jenkins’ If Beale Street Could Talk, KiKi Layne left a lasting impression on critics and producers alike. In director Gina Prince-Bythewood‘s The Old Guard, now streaming on Netflix, Layne shows herself to be a performer capable of handling wildly divergent roles. Her character, Nile Freeman, the youngest and newest member of a team of immortal mercenaries, is a highly trained Marine with a strong moral compass,
All Hail Beyoncé’s New “Black Is King” Trailer
We were still floating from Beyoncé dropping the surprise first trailer for Black Is King on us when Disney+ revealed a new, somehow more gorgeous trailer for the superstar’s upcoming visual album yesterday. And Black Is King really does come from Beyoncé—she wrote, directed, and executive produced this project, based on her music from her album “The Lion King: The Gift,” which she crafted for 2019’s live-action The Lion King.
How the Confined Spaces in “Greyhound” Added Authentic Intensity
In Greyhound, Tom Hanks is a naval captain of a US destroyer that spends three days in the North Atlantic trying to protect a fleet of merchant vessels from a pack of preying U-boats. The script, written by Hanks, is a fictional account that draws inspiration from C.S. Forester’s book “The Good Sheperd” and unravels like a game of chess with life and death consequences.
Directed by Aaron Schneider and lensed by cinematographer Shelly Johnson,
Netflix’s “Project Power” Trailer Starring Jamie Foxx & Joseph Gordon-Levitt is Scorching
Last Friday, Netflix released director Gina Prince-Bythewood‘s critically acclaimed new film The Old Guard, about a team of immortal beings trying their level best to keep humanity from destroying itself. Good luck with that. (The film is awesome). Now, the streaming giant has revealed the first trailer for Project Power, a different kind of superhero story, starring Jamie Foxx, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Dominique Fishback in a film from directors Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman.
“Tenet” Runtime Revealed
Christopher Nolan‘s movies have always been robust. His last theatrical release, the brilliant World War II drama Dunkirk, was a very brisk 1 hour and 46 minutes long. Yet before that nearly wordless masterpiece, Nolan released his cosmic epic Interstellar in 2014 at a whopping 2 hours and 49 minutes. Before that, it was his trilogy capping The Dark Knight Rises in 2012,
“Palm Springs” Breaks Hulu’s Record For Biggest Opening Weekend
A little less than a month ago we shared the trailer for Palm Springs, the Sundance darling from director Max Barbakow, starring Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti. Their romantic comedy broke a Sundance sales record when it sold to Hulu and Neon for $17.5 million this past January. It looks as if the investment was worth it; Hulu confirmed to IndieWire that Palm Springs broke the streaming platform’s record for opening weekend views.
The Uncut Version of Hitchcock’s “Psycho” Coming to U.S. for First Time
Perhaps now isn’t exactly the right time to spend hours with Alfred Hitchcock, considering our reality has enough tension, anxiety, and dread? Or, maybe you’re one of those people who actually find solace in scary movies, which offer a chance to safely experience tension, anxiety, and dread within the comfort of your own sanitized home and in two dimensions? If you’re in the latter category, Universal Home Entertainment has some good news for you in the form of a brand new box set—The Alfred Hitchcock Classics Collection—which offers viewers in the United States their first-ever chance to see Hitchcock’s uncut version of Psycho.
The Directors of “Mucho Mucho Amor” Give Latino Legend Walter Mercado his Due
Described as equal parts Liberace, Norma Desmond, and Oprah, the wildly popular, gender-bending Puerto Rican TV astrologer Walter Mercado was so larger than life that only a documentary could do him justice. The filmmakers behind Netflix’s Mucho Mucho Amor: The Legend of Walter Mercado, like millions of Latinx viewers around the globe, grew up watching Mercado deliver daily horoscopes on TV. Wearing his trademark bejeweled capes, Mercado’s flamboyance coupled with upbeat astrological predictions helped make him a beloved cultural icon.
Director Gina Prince-Bythewood on her Netflix Epic The Old Guard
The Old Guard, premiering today on Netflix, is a completely engrossing female-fronted action film that just might blow the doors off your summer. Helmed by director Gina Prince-Bythewood, it also marks the milestone of the first major superhero film directed by a Black woman. Prince-Bythewood, who first made her name as writer/director of the classic Love & Basketball, has become one of the most thoroughly interesting directors working in Hollywood.
The First “Halloween Kills” Teaser Reveals Laurie Strode’s Endless Nightmare
Well, the good news is we’ve got a brand new glimpse of the upcoming Halloween Kills, the next installment in the legendary franchise from co-writer/director David Gordon Green and writers Danny McBride and Scott Teems. The not so good news is we won’t be seeing Halloween Kills this Halloween. Universal has announced that the sequel to Green’s smashing 2018 hit Halloween will be delayed a full year,
Filmmaker Courtney Jamison Tells a Winning Story During Quarantine
Filmmaker Courtney Jamison entered a contest set up by Women In Film LA, ReFrame and IMDbPro called CURBSIDE SHORTS Two-Minute Film Challenge. The challenge invited “female and non-binary filmmakers from North America to create and submit for free a short film inspired by life while sheltering in place.” Jamison, originally from Richmond, Virginia, had been sheltering in place in Los Angeles for months. She entered the contest with four friends.
“I saw the announcement on Deadline,
