Gael García Bernal on His Showstopping Performance in “Cassandro”
Gael García Bernal has played a political revolutionary, an eccentric symphony conductor, an animated trickster, and a victim of a beach that makes you age years in hours, but he’s never made as much noise in one film as he does in Cassandro, where Bernal had to rile up crowds of thousands as the eponymous lucha libre star. Cassandro, a Texas native known outside the ring as Saúl Armendáriz, became an unlikely wrestling champion in Mexico by flaunting his flamboyance.
“Wonka” Production Designer Nathan Crowley on Creating a Chocolatier’s Whimsical World
For production designer Nathan Crowley, whose impressive list of credits includes The Dark Knight, The Greatest Showman, and First Man, creating director Paul King’s deliciously appetizing Wonka musical was an exploration of “whimsical, nostalgic, and romantic” visuals inspired by Roald Dahl’s book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. “I’m used to doing practical films, and with Wonka, we had to find the realism of Roald Dhal and what that looked like.
“American Fiction” Writer/Director Cord Jefferson on Cutting to the Heart of the Matter
Writer/director Cord Jefferson’s narrative feature debut, American Fiction, has become one of the most talked about films this awards season, and for good reason. Adapted from Percival Everett’s 2001 novel “Erasure,” the satirical drama won the audience award upon its debut at the Toronto Film Festival, with a number of subsequent fests following suit, and was recently named one of the top ten films of 2023 by the AFI.
“The Color Purple” Costume Designer Francine Jamison-Tanchuck’s Stunning Creations
There’s a famous line in Alice Walker’s 1982 novel The Color Purple that goes: “I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don’t notice it.” It’s a message that even God can become annoyed when people overlook the wonderful things he creates. One such creation is what the character of Celie represents. “She’s a beautiful flower and a beautiful person that’s being trampled on,” costume designer Francine Jamison-Tanchuck tells The Credits.
How “The Color Purple” DP Dan Laustsen Made Visual Music
Danish cinematographer Dan Laustsen has been shooting movies for forty years, earning two Oscar nominations along the way for his contributions to Guillermo del Toro’s films The Shape of Water and Nightmare Alley. Director Blitz Bazawule, on the other hand, had never made a major Hollywood motion picture before helming The Color Purple (opening Dec. 25). But together, director and cinematographer melded their talents to resounding effect to create a sumptuous-looking movie musical based on Alice Walker’s 1971 novel.
“Superman: Legacy” Update: James Gunn Teases Superman’s Costume, Miriam Shor Joins Cast
With the dual strikes now a not-so-distant memory and Hollywood back into the full swing of production, things are moving very quickly on some of the biggest productions out there. And there are few upcoming films any bigger than James Gunn’s Superman: Legacy, the first feature set to spring forth from his new-look DC Studios, which he’s running alongside co-chief Peter Safran. Last week, we learned that Nicholas Hoult was officially cast as iconic Superman villain Lex Luthor,
New “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” Trailer Focuses on Black Manta’s Brutal Mission
“Black Manta is not just driven by hate,” says star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II at the top of this new Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom featurette. “He’s driven by love; his father was killed by Aquaman, who had an opportunity to show mercy but didn’t.” As Abdul-Mateen II lays out his case for his vengeful Black Manta having more on his mind than simple payback, footage from the new film reveals the depths of his rage against Aquaman (Jason Momoa,
“Wonka” Costume Designer Lindy Hemming on Dressing the Joyous World of a Budding Chocolatier
Costume designer Lindy Hemming knows her way around both sides of the color coin, having worked on Christopher Nolan’s texturally moody Batman trilogy and the playful palette of Paul King’s Paddington movies. She reunites with King for Wonka, whimsically outfitting the candy maker’s origins in a Gene Wilder prequel that has Dune actor Timothée Chalamet playing the title character to a joyous reaction among reviewers.
Eddie Murphy Returns as Axel Foley in First “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F” Trailer
Axel’s back, so every law-abiding citizen of Beverly Hills can breathe a great sigh of relief. The criminals? Not so much.
Netflix has just dropped the trailer for Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, which has Eddie Murphy reprising one of his most beloved roles, that of the Detroit cop Axel Foley, who first followed a case from the mean streets of Motor City to the posh environs of Los Angeles’ most bougie suburb back in 1984.
“American Fiction” Star Jeffrey Wright Authors a New Chapter in a Stellar Career
Jeffrey Wright has found a great role as Monk Ellison in writer/director Cord Jefferson’s American Fiction. The story is based on a 2001 novel called “Erasure” by Percival Everett and centers on a professor and writer fed up with the way the literary world limits how Blackness is portrayed in pop culture. In response, Monk writes a blatantly stereotypical novel full of gangs, thugs, and criminals using a pseudonym. To his shock,
James Gunn Confirms Nicholas Hoult Will be Lex Luthor in “Superman: Legacy”
Not only did James Gunn confirm that Nicholas Hoult will be playing Lex Luthor in his upcoming, new DC Studios era-defining Superman: Legacy, but that Hoult would be unlike any Luthor to come before him.
The new co-chief of DC Studios shared an image of himself and Hoult on Threads, which Gunn revealed was taken during a celebratory dinner after Hoult’s official casting as the iconic Superman villain.
New “Dune: Part Two” Images Unleash Austin Butler’s Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen
The third trailer for Dune: Part Two revealed the most in-depth, riveting look yet at Denis Villeneuve’s long-awaited sequel. Along with the trailer, Warner Bros. also released a slew of new images from the film, giving us a clearer picture of the sweeping sci-fi epic Villeneuve and his team have built.
When we spoke to Dune: Part One and Two co-writer Jon Spaihts a year ago,
A New “Dune: Part Two” Trailer Brings the War to Arrakis
A new trailer for Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two has dropped, boasting brand new footage in the most captivating look yet at the long-awaited sequel. This latest trailer is centered primarily on the relationship between Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) and Chani (Zendaya), which has blossomed into a romance since we last left them in the Arrakis desert at the conclusion of Dune: Part One. Their love anchors them in an otherwise chaotic,
“Saltburn” Cinematographer Linus Sandgren on Creating a Fluid Painting for Emerald Fennell
The comic drama Saltburn from director Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman) is as beautiful as it is macabre. It’s 2006, and Oliver (Barry Keoghan), an awkward, lonely student at Oxford, finds his place within the scenic confines of his university by becoming friends with Felix (Jacob Elordi), who is everything Oliver is not — handsome, charming, and rich. Felix invites Oliver to spend the summer at Saltburn,
New “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” Extended Version Trailer Arrives Ahead of Streaming Debut
A new trailer for Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour has taken the stage, revealing a final, fresh look at Swift’s world-conquering tour before it arrives on streaming on December 13. The new trailer offers a glimpse at the Extended Version of the concert film, which boasts three song performances that weren’t included in the film’s original theatrical run—”Wildest Dreams,” “The Archer,” and “Long Live.”
Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour runs a hearty two hours and 48 minutes (now longer,
Golden Globe Nominations Revealed With “Barbie” and “Succession” Leading the Pack
The Golden Globes nominations have been announced, with Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Jesse Armstrong’s Succession leading the pack in film and TV, respectively, with nine noms each.
Barbie‘s release date twin and other half of the Barbenheimer phenomenon, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, came in a very close second, with eight nominations, followed by Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon and Yorgos Lanthimos’
“Poor Things” Production Designers Shona Heath and James Price on Going Gleefully Mad for Director Yorgos Lanthimos
When we first meet Bella Baxer, she’s a bit unusual. Not in a physical sense. All her arms and legs are accounted for, and playing the character is Academy Award winner Emma Stone so that you can be the judge of her beauty. But something about Bella is off. Turns out, she’s the creation of Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe), a renowned London scientist who reincarnated her adult body with the brain of a child.
How “Leave the World Behind” Production Designer Anastasia White Built a House for the End of the World
Leave the World Behind has five main characters. Four are human, and the other is the house where they find themselves holed up together as an apocalyptic event rages outside.
In the acclaimed 2020 novel by Rumaan Alam, the house has colorful interiors and a white picket fence. Not anymore. Sam Esmail, who wrote and directed the film, got Alam’s approval to use something more foreboding, according to production designer Anastasia White.
“Barbie,” “Wonka,” “Poor Things,” and “Rebel Moon” Among Oscar Visual Effects Finalists
An iconic doll comes to life, a ribald story of a young woman resurrected, and a genius chocolatier’s life as a young man are among three of the subjects of the films that have been notified they’re finalists for the Visual Effects Oscar.
Barbie, Poor Things, and Wonka are the titles we’re talking about above, and they join 17 other films as they head into the next round of Oscar voting,
“Poor Things” Costume Designer Holly Waddington on Bringing Yorgos Langthimos’ Ecstatic Vision to Life
Before costume designer Holly Waddington got started on Poor Things, Yorgos Lanthimos gave her a visual reference: inflatable pants. The futuristic-seeming trousers made by London College of Fashion graduate Harikrishnan buck the movie’s late-19th-century setting, which encouraged Waddington to ignore the norms of time and space. No material would be too anachronistic, no fit too audacious. “I designed a whole series of things based on this idea of inflation and compression,”
