Director Chiaki Kon on Her Netflix Anime Feature “The Way Of The Househusband”
A new Japanese anime series The Way Of The Househusband will premiere on Netflix globally on April 8. The five-episode series follows Tatsu, once a legendary yakuza nicknamed The Immortal Dragon, who is determined to become a devoted stay-at-home husband, diligently handling all the daily chores for his wife Miku, a busy career woman. But his newfound domestic bliss is soon interrupted when friends and foes from the past come back into his lives.
“French Exit” Director Azazel Jacobs on Loving His Wicked, Witty Central Character
Director Azazel Jacobs‘ French Exit won’t, on first blush, seem like a feel-good movie. Its protagonist, Frances Price (Michelle Pfeiffer), is a ferociously acerbic fading socialite who more or less doesn’t want to live anymore. Based on Jacobs’ friend and collaborator Patrick DeWitt’s novel (and adapted by DeWitt himself), there seems no earthly reason why anyone, in the year 2021, would feel affectionate towards a privileged woman lamenting her third act turn towards insolvency by savaging everyone in her path.
Makeup Department Head Matiki Anoff on Capturing the 1920s Aesthetic in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
Makeup department head Matiki Anoff had her work cut out for her with Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. Director George C. Wolfe’s adaptation of August Wilson’s play revolves around Viola Davis’s hard-charging blues singer Ma, and the tensions that boil over between her and her ambitious horn player Levee (the late Chadwick Boseman), as well as the white management running their recording session.
Like her colleagues, makeup artist Sergio Lopez-Rivera and hair department head Mia Neal,
New “Black Widow” Images Tease Villain Taskmaster
Who is Taskmaster? This is the question that’s been on the minds of folks who glimpsed the masked mercenary in the first Black Widow trailer. Now, thanks to that record-breaking third trailer, and a new photo drop, Marvel has given us a little bit more of a glimpse of who we think will be the film’s big bad.
In the comics, Taskmaster is Tony Masters, a man who possesses “photographic reflexes,”
New “Black Widow” Trailer Hits 70 Million + Viewers In 24 Hours
In case you happened to miss Marvel’s new Black Widow trailer, which dropped this past Saturday, we’ve got you covered. We’d like to say you’re not alone, but, you did miss out on two minutes’ worth of Black Widow goodness that some 70 million-plus other viewers watched in the first 24 hours. This is the third trailer for director Cate Shortland’s upcoming film, and it surpassed the previous trailer by more than 13 million views.
New “Mortal Kombat” Video Invites You To “Meet the Kast”
If you’re not already up to speed on Warner Bros. reboot of Mortal Kombat (the original 1995 film was directed by Paul W. S. Anderson), this new video will help you figure out who’s who in what promises to be a gnarly, fun update to the franchise. Director Simon McQuoid’s film, adapted from the iconic video game, will be making its theatrical debut on the same day it premieres on HBO Max on April 23.
New “Loki” Trailer Revels in Time-Traveling Mischief
For all you Loki fans out there—and just about every MCU aficionado counts—Marvel has just released the official trailer for Loki, and you’re going to be quite pleased. Tom Hiddleston’s mischievous antihero, the yin to Thor’s yang, highlights this freewheeling, time-traveling trailer. With this longer look at Loki, it’s now clear just how wonderfully different Marvel’s first three series are from each other. WandaVision was a deceptively deep comedy/drama,
Leap With LeBron Into First Trailer For “Space Jam: A New Legacy”
The King has arrived…only his throne shall be animated. We’re talking, of course, about LeBron James in the first official trailer for Space Jam: A New Legacy, which finds the NBA legend mixing it up with some legendary Looney Tunes characters, led by a legend in his own right, Bugs Bunny. Director Malcolm D. Lee’s film follows in the Air Jordans of Joe Pytka’s 1996 original, which starred the then reigning king of the NBA,
“Godzilla vs. Kong” Smashes Pandemic-Era Box Office Record
You can credit good timing, the enduring appeal of watching cinema’s biggest monsters on the big screen, and a solid job by director Adam Wingard and his cast and crew for the box office success of Godzilla vs. Kong. The two ferocious titans smashed their way to a pandemic-era box office record, and have ignited hope in the process that the film’s success might signal a return to audiences flocking back to theaters.
Watch The Entire Joker Scene in “Zack Snyder’s Justice League”
We’ve interviewed Justice League‘s sound designer and cinematographer, we’ve written more than a dozen pieces on the film’s long, winding road to its HBO Max release, and now we share what could be a fitting coda to the entire Justice League experience. At long last, the entire Joker scene starring Jared Leto, provided by Zack Snyder himself.
Joker’s appearance in Snyder’s impassioned,
“Concrete Cowboy” Director Ricky Staub Saddles Up in Feature Debut
Westerns have a long and prominent role in cinematic history. The genre tends to conjure images of white hat vigilantes wrangling wild stallions in wide-open plains, but Concrete Cowboy (premiering April 2 on Netflix) starring Idris Elba will challenge all of your preconceived notions. The real-life men who inspire the film ride horseback at the Fletcher Street Stables through the middle of inner-city Philadelphia.
Writer/director Ricky Staub took note of the unusual riders years ago.
Find The Crazy One in New “The Suicide Squad” Trailer
It was only last week when The Suicide Squad’s first trailer made us re-appreciate Steely Dan’s deathless song “Dirty Work,” and now the gang’s back with another fresh look. This trailer, unlike the red band version we got last week, is almost suitable for work. It also comes with a few brand new moments and the same looniness that has folks so excited for writer/director James Gunn’s first dip into the DC universe.
Composer Keefus Ciancia Releases Two-Volume Soundtrack for HBO Max’s “Made For Love”
Composer Keefus Ciancia is no stranger to dark material. In 2019 Ciancia won a BAFTA for Best Television Soundtrack for his work on Phoebe Waller-Bridge‘s deliciously diabolical Killing Eve and was nominated for an Emmy for his work on season three of HBO’s True Detective. Now, Ciancia is the composer behind another twisty HBO Max series, Made For Love, based on Alissa Nutting’s novel (she executive produces and writes on the series).
Oscar-Nominated Cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt on “Mank” – Part II
As mentioned in part I of our interview, director David Fincher and cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt didn’t want to spend the entirety of Mank trying to make it appear as if Citizen Kane DP Gregg Toland had shot it, “But there were things that we wanted to embrace holistically – like deep focus – where it made sense to do so,” the Messerschmidt explains. “It was never an ‘Oh, great,
Oscar-Nominated Cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt on “Mank” – Part I
Actors Gary Oldman and Amanda Seyfried go for their characters’ leisurely evening stroll outside San Marino’s Huntington Library, which is subbing in for William Randolph Hearst’s Hearst Castle at San Simeon. The only thing is, it’s not night – and the actors are wearing custom-tinted contact lenses to help them avoid squinting, due to the additional bright lights director of photography Erik Messerschmidt has added to make his day-for-night photography appear correct in the final image.
Costume Designer Deborah Newhall on Dressing the Dastardly in “I Care A Lot”
Writer/director J. Blakeson’s I Care A Lot is a gleefully cynical uppercut against late-stage capitalism that is also, incredibly, a blast to watch. The con artist at its center, Rosamund Pike’s Marla Grayson, would be hard to root for if both her performance and the film itself weren’t so infectiously committed to its amorality. One of I Care A Lot‘s central themes is that the heart of capitalism isn’t healthy competition or ingenuity or hard work—it’s exploitation.
New “The Suicide Squad” TV Spots Reveal Thinker & Ratcatcher 2
We know that James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad boasts a lot of oddball characters, including a humanoid shark, so even a little bit of new information or footage is welcome. To that end, Gunn shared two new TV spots that introduce Peter Capaldi’s Thinker and reference Daniela Melchior’s Ratcatcher II. Unlike Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn or Viola Davis’s Amanda Waller, Thinker and Ratcatcher II are newcomers, and for non-comics readers,
Cinematographer Fabian Wagner on “Zack Snyder’s Justice League”
A lot of people are professing surprise at the success of Zack Snyder’s Justice League on HBO Max, not only in terms of the critical praise it’s getting, being called “operatic” or as richly imagined as Lord of the Rings, but even in the calls to continue the film’s teased sequels, and pursue a #Snyderverse on HBO Max.
As this was being written, no less than the Washington Post’s opinion pages ran a column from its culture &
Director Shaka King Breaks Down the Magic Trick Behind “Judas and the Black Messiah”
Judas and the Black Messiah opened last month and quickly galvanized moviegoers with its fact-based story about Black Panther leader Fred Hampton, whose betrayal by an FBI informant led to his 1969 death by gunfire at age 21 while sleeping in his own Chicago apartment. The film racked up six Oscar nominations including Best Picture. Director Shaka King earned a nomination for co-writing the screenplay and steered co-stars Daniel Kaluuya and Lakeith Stanfield to their own Oscar nods in the Best Supporting Actor category.
The Full “Obi-Wan Kenobi” Cast Revealed
The full cast of Disney+’s upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi has been revealed, and it boasts some well-known stars and some up-and-coming talent. The long-gestating series is really ramping up, which will catch up with the Jedi master 10 years after he bested Annakin Skywalker in a lightsaber duel in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith.
We’ve known for a while now that Hayden Christensen would be reprising his role of Annakin Skywalker,
