Creed Composer Ludwig Göransson Finds the Beat in Boxing

Ludwig Göransson is a Swedish composer who has scored television series, including New Girl and Community.  We spoke with Göransson about using real-life boxing sounds in his score for the new Rocky movie, Creed, co-written and directed by Ryan Coogler, and a whole lot more.

The movie is about an ambitious young boxer who is the son of Rocky’s opponent-turned friend, Apollo Creed. In an interview,...

A Wordless, Wild new Teaser for Batman v Superman

It's short and none too sweet, which is just how we'd like our Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice teaser. In just 49 seconds our titular superheroes are introduced already very much living up to that "v" in the title. Have a look, then we'll dissect this brief but strangely satisfying teaser:

• No soaring music here, just Batman (Ben Affleck), chained up alongside some fellow unfortunates in a dusty dungeon of sorts. ...

If You Can See The Hateful Eight in 70mm, You Should

Back in the day, roughly between 1952 and 1974, select films were given the "roadshow" treatment. This meant that in cities like New York, Chicago, Atlanta, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, film audiences would go see a film that would include programs, an intermission, and even musical interludes. For the really big films like Gone With the Wind, El Cid, and Ben Hur, the films were a true event, with people dressing up for their big night at the theater,...

Revenge at all Costs: Watch the New The Revenant TV Spot

Director Alejandro González Iñárritu and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki don't work on easy films. The Oscar winning filmmakers from last year's Birdman (and for Lubezki, the year before's Gravity) have teamed up once again for the survival epic The Revenant. We've written about this project a few times, and are more than a little bit excited for it's release. Shooting with only natural light, and in conditions as harsh as those depicted in the film,...

The Good Dinosaur Animator Kevin O’Hara on Visual Storytelling

What if the asteroid that killed off the dinosaurs missed the earth completely and they never became extinct? That’s the question The Good Dinosaur asks as it explores the relationship between an Apatosaurus named Arlo and his human pet/friend. We chat to Pixar animator Kevin O’Hara about how technology has changed the animation game and being inspired in the early days by a meeting with legendary Donald Duck animator Milt Neil.  

You've been in the animation game for a long time,...

Victor Frankenstein & Daniel Radcliffe’s Fun Post Potter Career

The original Frankenstein film is an unshakeable classic, and Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein occupies its own top spot in the spoof genre. This week sees the opening of the newest cinematic take on Mary Shelley’s novel, but rather than a remake, director Paul McGuigan’s Victor Frankenstein contributes a new spin by shifting its focus from the title character to Igor Strausman, the mad scientist’s more responsible assistant. Played by Daniel Radcliffe,...

Before Creed, There Was Carl Weathers’ Iconic Performance as his Father, Apollo

Reinvigorating a franchise that most would have considered down for the count, Ryan Coogler’s Creed passes the baton from Rocky Balboa to the next generation with Michael B Jordan’s Adonis Creed, son of Rocky’s amiable nemesis Apollo. This time, finding Sly back in the ring only to train the young man hell bent on restoring his father’s fearless reputation.

While Creed is obviously a finely-tuned beast of the 21st century, it’s important to know Apollo Creed’s history,...

To Infinity… And Beyond! Ranking Our Favorite Pixar’s Films

Happy Thanksgiving, readers! With Pixar’s latest The Good Dinosaur just around the corner, we’ve taken on the notoriously difficult task of ranking all 15 films from the beloved Disney animation studio known for their commitment to quality. Humbly submitting our approximation of the films from Pixar’s least inspiring low to their most impressive high, we’ll offer speculation about the upcoming sequels Finding Dory, Toy Story 4, Cars 3 and The Incredibles 2 in amongst our worst to best ranking...

Rocky: From his Humble Beginnings to Creed

It’s been nearly forty years since Rocky Balboa faced his first opponent in the ring. Now after five sequels, three Oscar wins and an onscreen legacy that would be difficult to match, the former champion returns to the big screen as a trainer in the new drama Creed. The reviews have already started pouring in—the critics love this film. To appreciate what director Ryan Coogler and Creed star Michael B...

See how They Built the Joker’s Car for Suicide Squad

A nice scoop from Fox News 13 down in Tampa Bay—they caught up with Matt McEntagart, a Tampa Bay local who builds custom cars out of his own garage from scratch. MacEntagart got a call from the team behind a little upcoming film called Suicide Squad, and was asked if he'd be able to build a nasty car for a very nasty guy, Jared Leto's Joker. In the video below, you can go under the hood of McEntagart's creation, a zombified ...

Industrial Light & Magic’s Ed Kramer Discusses What It Takes To Work in CGI

Ed Kramer is interested in “historically significant moments” for computer-generated imagery (CGI) in the movie industry. It’s no wonder this has become his passion, since as a computer graphics artist or supervisor he has been a part of many of them —from the seamless blend of real and computer generated water in The Perfect Storm to the dynamic cloth simulation of Jar Jar Binks.

Kramer worked at Lucasfilm's Industrial Light + Magic (ILM) for 12 years as Senior Technical Director...

Talking to Carol’s Producers About Their 11-Year Labor of Love

The most lusciously romantic film of the year is Carol, directed by Todd Haynes. It is based on a semiautobiographical novel by Patricia Highsmith, also author of The Talented Mr. Ripley and Strangers on a Train. She wrote Carol under a pseudonym because it was the story of a lesbian romance. Nearly 40 years after its 1952 publication, she revealed that she was the author. 

In an interview, the film’s producers,...

Want to be an Ape in the War for the Planet of the Apes Film? Here’s How…

This new teaser for the upcoming War for the Planet of the Apes shows director Matt Reeves and performance capture legend and star Andy Serkis asking you if you'd like to be an ape in the upcoming film. Serkis stars as Ceasar, the leader of the ape army, and for the motivated fan, you can enlist in Caesar's campaign and get yourself flown to set to actually play an ape in the film. Details on how to do that,...

Chatting With Brooklyn’s Breakout Star Saoirse Ronan

Saoirse Ronan, breakout star of Brooklyn, and Eilis Lacey, the character she plays in the film, share more in common than just being young Irish women. Ronan, 21, remembers the insecurity of finding herself completely on her own for the first time.

“In the scene in the diner, [Eilis] has her change ready to go because she’s not used to this. I did that. I still do that. I go to Tesco’s supermarket and I have my money ready because I get anxious about it,”...

Sandy Powell & Judy Becker on the Costumes & Sets Behind 1950’s Period Wonder Carol

Carol, a beautiful adaption of Patricia Highsmith’s novel The Price of Salt, about the evolution and dissolution of a relationship between two women in New York in the early 1950’s, opens today. Cate Blanchett stars as the title character, a lovely housewife in a convenient marriage (Kyle Chandler is Blanchett’s cuckolded husband) who embarks on a relationship with a younger store clerk, Therese (Rooney Mara). The film was directed by Todd Haynes and shot on a tight budget,...

The Real Locations Used to Bring The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 to Life

To bring the Capitol to life in the final installment of The Hunger Games, director Francis Lawrence and production designer Philip Messina knew they needed to up the ante and look beyond Atlanta, where much of the production had previously taken place. They found locations in France and Germany that provided the unique combination of both futuristic and historic backdrops necessary to create the wartime metropolis that serves as the setting for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay: Part 2...

The Districts, the Capitol & Peeta Mellark: The Hunger Games Primer You Need

“Start simple, start with what you know is true. My name is Katniss Everdeen, I live in District 12. I was in the Hunger Games, I escaped. Peeta was left behind.” So begins The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1, the precursor to the upcoming final installment in the wildly successful franchise following the driven and intense Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) as she battles the powers in the Capitol, run by the fear mongering President Snow. A lot has happened for Katniss since she first stepped foot in the Hunger Games ring years ago,...

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2‘s Production Designer on Creating the Capitol

Translating descriptions in a book to physical places for a movie is a tall challenge, one that risks leaving faithful readers disappointed. Production designer Philip Messina performed that translation four times in a row for Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games series, culminating with The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2.

The movie takes place as the rebel forces, including heroine Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), storm the Capitol and seek to kill its leader,...

How Quentin Tarantino Protege Zoe Bell Traded Stunts For Acting

It’s not easy to switch from movie “staff” to acting, and Zoe Bell credits being “deluded” or at least “clueless” for her move from stuntwoman to actress. Quentin Tarantino deserves some credit, too. After working with Bell as Uma Thurman’s stunt double in Kill Bill, he went on to cast her in 2007’s Death Proof, her first acting role and one she took reluctantly. This year, Bell is the star of Camino,...

From Winter’s Bone to Hunger Games: Jennifer Lawrence’s Rise to Fame

Though it’s become increasingly difficult to think of a time in which Jennifer Lawrence wasn’t a household name, it's been only five years since Winter’s Bone kickstarted her meteoric rise to fame, but that certainly wasn’t Jennifer Lawrence’s first role for the screen. Beginning her career nearly 10 years ago in small or low profile parts on television and film, the Kentucky-born actress moved to Los Angeles at the age of 14 and has been acting ever since. ...