Writer/Director Anna Kerrigan & Jillian Bell on Making the Modern-Day Western “Cowboys”
A stirring, “stay with you” drama about family, tolerance, and rescue, Cowboys centers on the disparate reactions from newly separated parents Sally and Troy (Jillian Bell and Steve Zahn) upon learning their child, Joe (newcomer Sasha Knight), is transgender. While Sally remains in denial, Troy is determined to allow Joe to live authentically and runs off with him into the wilderness of Montana, with authorities not far behind. Ann Dowd plays the detective assigned to the case,
Golden Globes 2021: Chadwick Boseman, Chloé Zhao, “Nomadland,” “The Crown” & More Win Big
Tina Fey and Amy Poehler hosted the bi-coastal, virtual 78th annual Golden Globes last night, wringing some laughs and joy out of a very unusual setup, following a very sad, unusual year.
The big winners this year included the late, great Chadwick Boseman, who was awarded for Best Actor in a Drama for his sizzling performance in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. Chloé Zhao had a major night, taking home the Best Director award (in a year that featured three female nominees in the Director category) and seeing her Nomadland win Best Motion Picture,
New “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” Teaser & Images Hype Marvel’s Next Series
The last few days have brought a lot of exciting news about Marvel’s next big Disney+ series The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, and we’ve compiled it all together for you for a little Friday feast. There’s a new, action-packed teaser. There’s a bevy of new photos. And, there’s the reaction from assorted critics who have gotten a sneak peek at the series. All of this combines into some excellent pre-release hype. If you were only marginally interested in the series,
Writer/Director Tiller Russell on his Real-Life Crime Drama “Silk Road”
Writer/director Tiller Russell was ideally suited to take on the crime thriller Silk Road. As the director of The Last Narc and Netflix’s Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer, Russell is no stranger to looking squarely at the darker corners of the human soul. For Silk Road, which was inspired by David Kushner’s Rolling Stone article “Dead End on Silk Road: Internet Crime Kingpin Ross Ulbricht’s Big Fall,”
The First Teaser for Zack Snyder’s “Army of the Dead” is Here
Most of the buzz around Zack Snyder these days has been about his upcoming Justice League refresh. Snyder’s second crack at DC’s biggest superhero film has understandably garnered a lot of attention, but he’s got another big movie coming out for Netflix, and it’s worth paying attention to. Behold, the first teaser for Snyder’s zombie flick Army of the Dead, which mashes two beloved cinematic genres into one epic—it’s a zombie heist movie.
Your Official “Spider-Man 3” Title is Here
And now we have an official title for Spider-Man 3, and it turns out, one of those fake titles we wrote about this morning was closer to the truth than we realized. Tom Holland, Jacob Batalon, and Zendaya all shared absurd titles on social media, but the one Holland offered was somewhat close to reality. So no, Spider-Man: 3 is not Spider-Man: Phone Home, but it is…
“Star Trek: Picard” Director Hanelle Culpepper Charts a Diverse Path in Hollywood
America had its eyes locked on Mars this past week as the NASA rover, Perseverance, landed on the red planet and sent color photos back to Earth. It’s an optimistic step in space exploration that may expand human understanding of the Milky Way, but things don’t rest so peacefully in the galaxy on the first season of Star Trek: Picard.
The latest critically acclaimed series in the Star Trek franchise follows a synthetic attack on Mars that set the planet ablaze and propelled former admiral Jean-Luc Picard (Sir Patrick Stewart) into retirement.
First “Spider-Man 3” Images Revealed—Along With Absurd Titles
We’ve got our first look at the still-untitled Spider-Man 3 (more on the title in a moment), revealing the dynamic trio of Peter Parker (Tom Holland), Ned Leeds (Jacob Batalon), and MJ (Zendaya). The follow-up to Spider-Man: Far From Home is set to be the biggest film in the Tom Holland-led trilogy yet.
We’ve shared all the news up to this point that has made Spider-Man 3 sound like something director Jon Watts and his writers Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers have been dreaming about for years.
“Minari” Editor Harry Yoon on Shaping the Film He Was “Born to Edit”
Minari is a moving portrait of a young family setting out on a new life in the Ozarks. It will invite you in with its photography (the work of Lachlan Milne) and production design (by Yong Ok Lee), pull at your heartstrings with its “sensitive and uplifting” score, and keep you wholly absorbed in the world of the Yis thanks to masterful editing by Harry Yoon.
Yoon spoke to us about how he approached cutting this film,
Writer/Director Jon Alston on His Impactful and Timely Short “Augustus”
Although it’s a short film, director Jon Alston’s Augustus tackles a monumental subject: human rights and the centuries-long injustice and racism faced by the Black community. Alston, a former record-setting linebacker in the NFL, served as an executive producer as well, along with the film’s writer and lead actor, Ayinde Howell.
The film plays from the point of view of Frederick Douglass, the noted abolitionist who escaped slavery. As Douglass suffers from nightmares depicting the death of his son,
Daniel Kaluuya on Honoring Fred Hampton’s Legacy in “Judas and the Black Messiah”
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.
“A lot of times it surprises me,” Kaluuya said. “I was driving around LA and I saw myself on a poster and I was like, ‘Oh sh*t!’ I thought I was just acting and I’m on a poster!
How the DP & Production Designer Behind “The United States vs. Billie Holiday” Met the Moment
It’s not often there’s a Golden Globe nomination for an African American actress playing a famous blues or jazz singer. This year, there are two of them.
One is for Viola Davis, going chop-to-chop with the late, great Chadwick Boseman in the Netflix adaptation of August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, playing the titular character. The other is for singer and actress Andra Day,
“Black is King” Producer Jason Baum on Beyoncé & the World of Visual Albums
Black is King, Beyoncé’s 2020 musical film that doubled as a visual companion to The Lion King, was lauded as dazzling, seductive, and, well, regal. Directed in tandem by Beyoncé and the directors Ibra Ake, Blitz the Ambassador, Emmanuel Adjei, and Kwasi Fordjour, the visual album dropped on Disney+ with very little fanfare, typical of the star’s preferred announcement style, or lack thereof.
Filmmaker Noah Hutton on his Slyly Scorching Feature Debut “Lapsis”
Writer/director Noah Hutton was due to make his narrative feature debut with his sci-fi film Lapsis at SXSW in March of 2020. You know how that turned out. Nearly a year later, Hutton’s slyly lacerating debut is now available on Virtual Cinema, VOD, and Digital. His low-budget feature debut is an impressive feat of world-building, cinematic wit, and a darkly funny critique of late-stage capitalism, specifically corporate greed and the exploitation of workers.
Director Fran Kranz & Editor Yang-Hua Hu on Their Heartbreaking Film “Mass”
Mass, which recently premiered to much acclaim at Sundance, is the screenwriting and directorial debut of actor Fran Kranz. It’s a tense, claustrophobic, dialogue-driven film that explores the long-term aftermath of a school shooting, and essentially takes place in one room. Its success rests heavily on the shoulders of the cast, and Jason Isaacs, Martha Plimpton, Reed Birney, and Ann Dowd, who form the quartet at the center of the story,
James Gunn Reveals “Peacemaker” Set Photos
Now our main image doesn’t come from James Gunn’s upcoming HBO Max series Peacemaker. No—the featured shot is from a little movie that introduces Peacemaker (John Cena) that we haven’t gotten a chance to see yet, Gunn’s The Suicide Squad. Yet even though the film hasn’t premiered, Gunn, Cena, and their fellow cast and crew members are already working on the spinoff in Vancouver. Folks, it looks like they’re having a bit of a good time,
You’re Going to Want to “Get Over Here!” for First “Mortal Kombat” Trailer
Hold onto your winter hats, ladies and gentlemen, because Warner Bros. has revealed the red-band trailer for the live-action reboot of Mortal Kombat. The film, adapted from the iconic video game, will be making its theatrical debut on the same day it premieres on HBO Max, and from this first glimpse, it looks like it’s going to be a wild ride.
The film was directed by Simon McQuoid from a script by Greg Russo and Wonder Woman 1984 scribe Dave Callaham.
Ava DuVernay Launches Crucial New Database to Diversify Film & TV Crews
When is Ava DuVernay not pushing the entertainment industry to become more inclusive? The answer is never. The powerhouse director/producer is launching a new venture in collaboration with major studios, streaming platforms, and producers to help diversify film and TV crew members. The new database tool, called ARRAY CREW, launches today and is part of DuVernay’s nonprofit organization ARRAY Alliance. The tool is aimed to help bridge a gap that has long stymied talented filmmakers—how to get their names in front of producers and production companies when they don’t already have established relationships with the insular entertainment community.
From “Black Panther” to “Jeopardy,” Stunt Coordinator & Actor Zee James Hits Her Mark
Zee James is an actress, a stuntwoman and stunt coordinator, and a background performer in movies and on television, ranging from Black Panther and Dolemite is My Name to Bosch and Everybody Hates Chris. She has even demonstrated an entire category of Jeopardy! clues about martial arts. James spoke to us about taking advantage of opportunities that might not be exactly what she planned,
Composer Jongnic Bontemps on Scoring America’s Past, Present, and Future
Jongnic “JB” Bontemps knows how to turn emotions into a musical composition, whether it’s for a character in a narrative or a historical figure in a documentary. Composing on narrative features, documentaries, shorts, and video games, Bontemps can speak to his collaborators in whatever narrative language they need. For Creed II, he provided director Steven Caple Jr. with additional music worthy of the film’s fighting spirit. For the doc United Skates, Bontemps threaded hip-hop through the story of America’s underground roller rink subculture as it was on the verge of being erased.
