Oscar-Nominee Shaka King on Writing & Directing “Judas and the Black Messiah”

This interview is part of our ongoing Oscar series. Our conversation with Shaka King was originally published on March 30, before he was nominated for two Oscars. The film was nominated for Best Picture (the nomination includes King and producing partners Charles D. King and Ryan Coogler), and King was nominated for Best Original Screenplay along with co-writers Will Berson, Kenny & Keith Lucas.

Judas and the Black Messiah galvanized moviegoers with its fact-based story about Black Panther leader Fred Hampton,

Oscar-Nominated DP Sean Bobbitt on Framing a Historic Power Struggle in “Judas and the Black Messiah”

This interview is part of our ongoing Oscar series. Our conversation with Sean Bobbitt was first published on February 11, before he was nominated for an Oscar for Best Cinematography.

The late Fred Hampton, former chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panthers, was renowned for his skill as an orator and his work in his community, though the American government chose to mainly view the young activist as a threat.

Sony Films Will Head to Disney After Netflix Window Expires

Disney+ will soon be home to Spider-Man, and a whole lot more. In a new deal, Sony Pictures’ upcoming theatrical slate will hit Disney’s streaming and TV platforms after their PVOD windows on Netflix have ended. The deal is for Sony’s theatrical slate from 2022 to 2026, as well as a good chunk of Sony’s library. This will bring Sony’s films to Disney’s major streaming services, Disney+ and Hulu, as well as their TV networks,

Oscar-Nominee Terence Blanchard on Scoring Spike Lee’s “Da 5 Bloods”

This interview is part of our ongoing Oscar series. It was originally published on June 12, 2020. Terrence Blanchard is nominated for Original Score.

Spike Lee’s films’ timeliness speaks to his prescience, and to his fearless, decades-long willingness to examine the continued and persistent injustice experienced by Black Americans. His new film Da 5 Bloods lands in the midst of a pandemic disproportionately affecting Black,

Oscar-Nominee Alan Baumgarten on Editing Aaron Sorkin’s Rapid-Fire Dialogue in “The Trial of the Chicago 7”

This interview is part of our ongoing Oscar series. It was originally published on October 13, 2020. Baumgarten has since been nominated for an Oscar for Editing.  

For his latest feature, writer and director Aaron Sorkin shifts his political eye from the West Wing to the US government’s judicial branch. In The Trial of the Chicago 7, Sorkin revisits the drawn-out trial of a group of Vietnam War protestors,

Oscar-Nominated Screenwriter Kemp Powers on Finding Truth & Beauty in “One Night In Miami”

This interview is part of our ongoing Oscar series. The original story ran on February 2, before Kemp Powers was nominated for an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. Also worth noting—he co-directed Pixar’s Soul, which is nominated for Best Animated Feature. 

After nearly two decades as a news reporter, Kemp Powers knew a good story when he found one. Discovering that four cultural icons — heavyweight champ Cassius Clay, soon to take the name Muhammad Ali;

Industrial Light & Magic Senior Creature Artist Dane Larocque on Constructing Unforgettable Creatures

Dane Larocque hails from rural British Columbia and Alberta and grew up in what he calls a “hardcore western rodeo family.” A career in visual effects, at arguably the most prestigious VFX company on the planet, wasn’t something he grew up imagining as an option. Yet Larocque had an enduring passion for film and was the type of kid who’d pore over the special features of a DVD to see how a particular film was actually made.

Watch the First Seven Minutes of “Mortal Kombat”

For those of you who are eager to see director Simon McQuoid’s Mortal Kombat reboot, you’re in luck. HBO Max has just released the first seven minutes, which are centered on one of the most beloved characters from the video game franchise and the 1995 feature film adaptation, Scorpion. McQuoid managed a major casting coup when he landed Hiroyuki Sanada in the role. Sanada’s been stealing scenes for years now, in everything from HBO’s Westworld to his brief but potent cameo in Avengers: Endgame. 

Oscar-Nominee Yuh-jung Youn on Creating Family in “Minari”

This interview with Yuh-jung Youn is part of our ongoing Oscar series. It was originally published on February 16, before she was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.

Writer/director Lee Isaac Chung’s film Minari is about a Korean family chasing the American dream in 1980s Arkansas. Steven Yeun and Yeri Han play parents Jacob and Monica, who have brought their two kids Ann and David to live and work on a farm,

“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” Sequel Reveals New Directing Trio

The critical and commercial smash that was Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse proved that you can do some very special things with a trio of directors. Those fellas: Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman won themselves an Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film, and now they’ll be passing off the web-based baton to a new trio of helmers. Enter Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson.

It wasn’t that long ago when we interviewed Kemp Powers,

Michael Keaton’s Return as Batman Confirmed for “The Flash”

Way back in January we first heard the reports that Michael Keaton would be reprising his role as Batman. The news came from an in-depth interview that DC Films president Walter Hamada gave to the New York Times, explaining how Keaton, Ben Affleck, and current Batman Robert Pattinson would all portray Gotham’s greatest hero in films set in parallel worlds. Now The Wrap has confirmed at the Keaton portion of those initial reports,

Marvel Reveals First Teaser for “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings”

Marvel’s first Asian superhero is here. Behold the first teaser for director Destin Daniel Cretton’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings has arrived, and it’s flat-out thrilling. The teaser comes out just in time for star Simu Liu’s birthday, and it’s hard to imagine a better birthday present for the soon-to-be newest addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Liu plays the titular Shang-Chi, a young man who was raised by his father Wenwu (Tony Leung) to be all but invincible.

Director Hanelle Culpepper on Filming Fights & Making History in “Kung Fu”

Directing a series pilot has a huge impact on the viability of the show, putting tremendous pressure on the director. It’s pressure Hanelle Culpepper can handle, exemplified by the ratings and stellar reviews of her award-winning work on last year’s Star Trek: Picard. On The CW’s Kung Fu, she was chosen by showrunner Christina M. Kim to direct the first two episodes of a series making history as the first hour-long drama featuring a predominantly Asian-American cast.

Oscar-Nominee Daniel Kaluuya on Honoring Fred Hampton’s Legacy in “Judas and the Black Messiah”

This interview with Daniel Kaluuya is part of our ongoing Oscar series. It was originally published on February 23, before Kaluuya was nominated, alongside co-star Lakeith Stanfield, for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.

Daniel Kaluuya is such a comedian it’s hard to imagine he’s made a career out of acting in some of the most profound dramas of the past five years—a fact that he too, seems to frequently forget.

Vietnamese Filmmaker Duong Dieu Linh on a Filmmaker’s Life During the Pandemic

Before the coronavirus pandemic hit, Vietnamese filmmaker Duong Dieu Linh enjoyed a very promising start for her feature debut project Don’t Cry, Butterflies (previously known as Man Hunting), which saw her busy globetrotting from Asia to North America and Europe for film festivals and events.

In March 2019, her project won the competition at the Script to Screen workshop, organized by MPA, Asia Pacific Screen Awards,

Director Marian De Pontes on her Horizon Award-Winning Film “Etana”

For director Marian De Pontes‘ Horizon Award-winning short film Etana, the South African native did not choose an easy subject. De Pontes, who earned her MFA in film production from Chapman University, and her BA with Honors in Film Production from the University of The Witwatersrand in South Africa, was inspired by a New York Times article on child soldiers in South Sudan. Etana is a potent epic-in-miniature, focusing on the title character (played by Vivian Nweze) and her attempt to flee her forced servitude in an army that deploys children soldiers.

“Aquaman 2” Adds “Game of Thrones” Villain Pilou Asbaek

Recall that the first time you probably took notice of Jason Momoa, it was when he was playing the ferocious yet deeply affecting Khal Drogo in season one of Game of Thrones. Many seasons after Drogo was gone and Momoa was off becoming Aquaman, Pilou Asbaek was bursting onto the scene in Westeros as the absolutely awful, sorta irresistible Euron Greyjoy. Euron was a murdering, Cersei-loving, Theon torturing sociopath, and now, the talented Asbaek will be joining Momoa in James Wan’s Aquaman 2, 

Mads Mikkelsen to Join Harrison Ford in “Indiana Jones 5”

It was only a week ago when we were talking about how it’s probably time to start getting excited about Indiana Jones 5. This news only strengthens that point. Mads Mikkelsen has been cast alongside Harrison Ford and Phoebe Waller-Bridge in the upcoming installment of Indy, adding major gravitas to director James Mangold’s film.

The Ford v Ferrari and Logan director has now plucked two of the more intriguing performers around to surround Ford.

“The Underground Railroad” Drops a Moving New Trailer

A fresh look at one of 2021’s most eagerly anticipated series has arrived. Amazon has revealed a new trailer for writer/director Barry Jenkins’ The Underground Railroad.  Jenkins has been giving us glimpses of his 10-episode limited series, each one more beautiful and beguiling than the last. Beautiful and beguiling isn’t the worst way to describe Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel from which Jenkins’ series is adapted,

Horizon Award Winner Shira Baron on The Importance of Listening

For a young filmmaker casting about for a story, sometimes the subject is standing right in front of you, even calling out to you. That was the case for Shira Baron, a recent recipient of the Horizon Award, whose short De Sol a Sol won for Best Documentary Short. Baron’s film follows entrepreneurs Ricardo and Abraham, ice cream cart peddlers who have been working on Chicago’s northern shore for 20 years. Baron, currently enrolled in the University of Michigan’s Film,