“The Menu” Trailer Finds Anya Taylor-Joy & Nicholas Hoult Having a Deliciously Deadly Dinner
Imagine having an exquisitely lavish meal at a fiendishly private restaurant where the “game” is to guess what the theme of that meal was. Now imagine finding out that the theme of the meal was survival and that the dinner, painstakingly prepared over months, was an elaborate scheme to turn the diners into prey. Such is the captivating, creepy first trailer of The Menu from Succession director Mark Mylod, starring Anya Taylor-Joy, Nicholas Hoult,...
“Easter Sunday” Director Jay Chandrasekhar on Channeling the Comedy of Jo Koy
Easter Sunday marks the first starring movie role for popular stand-up comedian Jo Koy. And like his routines, the film mines laughs from his family foibles, Filipino heritage, and its unique traditions based around the title holiday. Director Jay Chandrasekhar, known for both acting in and directing the Super Trooper films, Club Dread and Beerfest, was tapped to direct. (He also appears as Koy’s agent.) In a recent conversation,...
Zazie Beetz Circling a “Joker 2” Return
It sounds like Sophie Dumond might have survived Arthur Fleck’s descent into madness in the original Joker. Or, we might be seeing a fantasy version of her.
Zazie Beetz, who played Sophie, one of Arthur Fleck’s (Joaquin Phoenix) neighbors and his eventual love interest in Joker, is being eyed for a return in the upcoming sequel, Joker: Folie à Deux. Variety has the scoop that Warner Bros. is looking at bringing Beetz back as the single mother who has a romantic relationship with Fleck in the original film...
The Late, Seriously Great Olivia Newton-John Remembered By Fellow Singers & Stars
The beloved, bountifully talented Olivia Newton-John passed away at the age of 73 on Monday. John was at her ranch in Southern California when she passed, surrounded by family and friends. Newton-John’s passing was announced by her husband, John Easterling, who cited the breast cancer diagnosis she has lived with since 1992. Newton-John has been an advocate for cancer research for years.
Newton-John was a pop icon, a movie star, portrayed the girl next door and a bad girl with equal charisma,...
“Top Gun: Maverick” Passes “Titanic” As Seventh-Highest Grossing Domestic Release Ever
Top Gun: Maverick has sunk Titanic.
Director Joseph Kosinski and star Tom Cruise’s sequel has now surpassed James Cameron’s iconic 1997 film and become the seventh-highest grossing film of all time at the domestic box office, with $662 million in sales. Cameron’s sweeping Titanic hauled in $659 million during its total run, which included re-releases. Maverick is still soaring high after its Memorial Day Weekend release and is also now the biggest film in Paramount Pictures history,...
“Bullet Train” Director David Leitch on His Breathless Brad Pitt-Led Action-Comedy
When suggesting to Bullet Train director David Leitch that he should be known as one of the “Godfathers of fight-vis,” a technique where complex fight sequences are filmed to visualize the action prior to shooting the real thing, he modestly said he’d take the credit. “Chad and I were definitely on the forefront of something that now every stunt team on the planet does.” The Chad he’s referring to is Chad Stahelski, who Leitch co-directed the original John Wick with...
Lady Gaga Releases “Joker 2” Teaser Hyping Upcoming Musical Mayhem
Earlier today, we wrote about how Joker: Folie á Deux, the sequel to Todd Phillips’ 2019 blockbuster hit Joker, is coming to a theater near you on October 4, 2024. Now, none other than Lady Gaga, who will be co-starring alongside Joaquin Phoenix as the Joker’s main squeeze and comrade-in-crime, Harley Quinn, released this jaunty little teaser on Twitter:
Joker: Folie à Deux
10.04.24 pic.twitter.com/obp7T9lBFL
— Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) August 4,...
“Joker 2” With Joaquin Phoenix & Lady Gaga Gets a 2024 Release Date
Joker: Folie á Deux is going to be laughing its way into theaters in 2024.
The sequel to Todd Phillips’ smash hit will feature Joaquin Phoenix, of course, in the title role, joined this time by none other than Lady Gaga. Joker: Folie á Deux is now set for an October 4, 2024 release date, which means it’ll bow on the five-year anniversary of the original film.
The specifics surrounding Joker: Folie á Deux are wild...
New “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” Images + Synopsis Reveal Villain Namor
A fresh batch of photos and a synopsis for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever? Yes, thank you.
Marvel Studios has released a slew of new photos for Ryan Coogler’s upcoming sequel, revealing looks at the cast as they venture into an uncertain future without their leader and king, T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman). Boseman’s tragic passing in August of 2020 meant that Coogler and the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever team had to shift their approach completely,...
“The Sea Beast” Writer/Director/Producer Chris Williams on His High Seas Animated Adventure
Chris Williams began working on The Sea Beast around four years ago, but telling an action-adventure story in animation is something he has wanted to do for a very long time. “It’s almost no exaggeration to say most of my life,” says the Academy Award-winning filmmaker (Moana, Big Hero 6, Bolt) about his latest movie, now streaming on Netflix.
Directed, co-produced, and co-written by Williams — he collaborated on the screenplay with Nell Benjamin,...
How Skylight Studios Transforms Inaccessible Spaces into Inspiring Locations
What people love, fear and crave are constantly defined by their location. From first noticing the otherworldly star band the Milky Way presents in a clear night sky to reading about CERN potentially ending the world while strapped to an airline seat 10,000 feet above the earth – the location of every moment serves as a lens through which we all see the world. And all those moments stay with us.
For storytellers, this presents a treasure trove of opportunities to immediately tap into what their audience cares about,...
New “Prey” Video Connects Latest Film to Original “Predator”
“There’s something out there waiting for us, and it ain’t no man.” These are the first words we hear spoken in this new Prey featurette, but they’re not from director Dan Trachtenberg’s upcoming film. These lines were spoken during director John McTiernan’s original Predator (1987), when a team of commandos led by Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Dutch first tangled with the extra-terrestrial hunter in a Central American jungle. Now, Trachtenberg’s Prey takes us back well before the events in Predator to the Comanche Nation some 300 years ago,...
New “Bullet Train” Clip & First Reactions Hype Hilarious, Hardcore Action-Comedy Led by Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt has proven, time and time again, that his leading man looks belie an astonishing ability at playing goofy, weird, wild, and wasted. From his scene-stealing turn as the pothead Floyd in a brief sequence in True Romance to his paranoid asylum patient playing opposite Bruce Willis in 12 Monkeys to his lunatic bare-knuckled boxer in Snatch—and dozens of films between and after—Pitt has proven again and again he’s very comfortable providing off-kilter energy and some killer comedic timing...
How Camera Specialist Otto Nemenz Helped Make “The Gray Man” & Trains Tomorrow’s Camera Wizards
Did you hold your breath during the heart-stopping, crystal-clear action scenes in the Netflix thriller The Gray Man? You can thank Otto Nemenz and his cameras for that.
For over 40 years, Otto Nemenz International, Inc. in Culver City (and previously Hollywood) has provided digital cinema cameras, lenses, and accessories to motion picture productions across the country. But it’s more than just the top-notch equipment ONI provides that makes this 40+ person operation exceptional. It’s the personalized service they provide to clients,...
From “Westworld” to “Perry Mason” – Quixote is a Studio Service Company in Shining Armor
If you spot Star Trailers on the streets of Los Angeles, you may not be surprised to see the Quixote brand on the side. After all, Quixote Studios is the entertainment industry’s premier studio and equipment rental company in Los Angeles. But I bet you didn’t know those trailers are actually suits of shining armor on wheels.
Founded by Mikel Elliott and Jordan Kitaen, Quixote Studios has 24 soundstages throughout the Los Angeles area that are highly sought after by production companies and studios around the country...
How Mammal Studios Builds Magical Landscapes & Trains Technical Wizards
Creating spectacular superhero action scenes, constructing fantastical locations, visually evoking an era, or creating trippy illustrations are forms of visual effects. And they are all a key part of visual storytelling. Many viewers don’t know how these elements are created or who produces them.
The artists at Mammal Studios are a fantastic example, having woven their visual effects magic on many of the biggest blockbusters from the last decade—Black Panther, Spider-Man: No Way Home,...
Ben Affleck Returning as Batman for “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom”
My man! You can almost hear Jason Momoa, as Arthur Curry, say these words as Bruce Wayne pulls up in one of his outrageously expensive cars to help his buddy Aquaman with a new problem.
That’s right, Bruce Wayne is re-teaming with Arthur Curry in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.
Momoa has revealed that Ben Affleck is returning as Bruce Wayne/Batman for the Aquaman sequel, revealing the big news after some fans on a Warner Bros...
Juliette Binoche on Driving a Tough Road in “Paradise Highway”
For writer/director Anna Gutto’s feature debut Paradise Highway, a trucker named Sally will do whatever it takes to keep her brother Dennis (played by Frank Grillo) alive long enough so that he can get out of prison and restart his life. This means she’ll take on jobs that are hardly legal, but she believes victimless, in order to make a little extra money and placate the powers that be that hold his life, while behind bars, in their hands...
How “Nope” Production Designer Ruth De Jong Built & Bloodied the Haywood Ranch
There was a moment when writer/director Jordan Peele and production designer Ruth De Jong realized they were going to shoot Nope practically. Tucked in the Agua Dulce area of California’s Santa Clarita Valley is the Firestone Ranch, which would become the setting for the Haywood home where OJ (Daniel Kaluuya) and his sister Emerald (Keke Palmer) discover an unexpected visitor living in the sky above them.
“The property is this huge basin surrounded by these hills,...
“Nope” Editor Nicholas Monsour Dives Into the Macabre of Jordan Peele’s Sci-Fi epic
Putting together the irresistibly gripping story of writer-director Jordan Peele’s third film Nope was picture editor Nicholas Monsour, who has a shorthand with the auteur, having collaborated on Us (2019) and a number of episodes of Key and Peele.
Set in the outskirts of Hollywood, OJ Haywood (Daniel Kaluuya) and his sister Emerald (Keke Palmer) find themselves up against a mysterious entity living in the sky above their home. The editor had a tremendous amount of footage to work with,...
