Director Simon McQuoid on the Elemental and Supernatural of “Mortal Kombat”
The latest iteration of Mortal Kombat, director Simon McQuoid’s debut feature, follows the development of Cole Young (Lewis Tan), a young dad and failed MMA fighter unaware of his inheritance: as a direct descendent of 17th-century Japanese fighter Hanzo Hasashi (Hiroyuki Sanada), he’s one of Earthrealm’s pre-destined champions in a violent tournament regularly held between different universes known as Mortal Kombat.
Cole is new to this world, and in writer Greg Russo’s vision,...
“The Marvels” Title Reveals Next Phase for Captain Marvel
Perhaps yesterday you saw Marvel’s truly epic Phase 4 teaser that was, in our humble opinion, as good as an argument as can be made for why seeing a movie in an actual movie theater is unimprovable. The video not only made the case for why movie theaters are such an essential part of our shared experience, but it also teased years’ worth of upcoming Marvel movies, revealing release dates and titles in what amounted to an overload of MCU information...
Maggie Simpson Stars in New Disney+ Short “The Force Awakens From Its Nap”
It’s May the 4th—better known as Star Wars Day—and Disney+ is pulling out all the stops to celebrate. In fact, Disney+ has even pulled out Maggie Simpson’s pacifier to mark the day. The littlest member of America’s most beloved family is going on an epic, galactic quest to help bring Star Wars Day in style. Disney+ had released Maggie Simpson in The Force Awakens From Its Nap, a new Simpsons/Star Wars mash-up short...
“Star Wars: The Bad Batch” Premieres on May the 4th
It’s May the 4th, better known as Star Wars Day, and Disney+ is celebrating the holiday in style. One of today’s big premieres is Disney+’s new animated series Star Wars: The Bad Batch, which follows a group of exceptional clones who take on extremely dangerous mercenary missions in an unstable galaxy. These fellas were first introduced in the animated series The Clone Wars and under the guidance of The Mandalorian director and executive producer Dave Filoni and head writer Jennifer Corbett (Star Wars Resistance)...
Marvel Teases First “Eternals” Footage in an Epic Trailer for Phase 4
“I love being with people. It’s most the incredible thing in the world. That world may change and evolve, but the one thing that will never change, we’re all part of one big family.”
So begins Marvel’s celebration of the movies via a trailer (of sorts) that combines some feel-good footage from the MCU that speaks to the heart of that quote, spoken by none other than Marvel maestro, the dearly departed Stan Lee. “We’re all part of one universe,...
“Dickinson” Visual Effects Supervisor Lotta Forssman on a Sumptuous Season Two
Dickinson wrapped up its critically acclaimed second season this past February. The show’s premise, you might conclude from its title, is that we’re getting an up-close look at one of the most notoriously private American geniuses this country has ever produced. Only Dickinson, created by Alena Smith, takes the legendary poet Emily (Hailee Steinfeld) and dismantles the legacy of her reclusiveness in favor of a look at her expansiveness as a writer, and, her very real emotions as an actual person who actually lived,...
Burkinabé Star Issaka Sawadogo on the Importance of Fighting Piracy
Telling stories has always been a way to connect with people around the world, through common narratives and shared feelings. Whether the story being told is set in Mali, Miami, or Malaysia, they reveal how much more alike we are—in our hopes and dreams, our fears and failures—than we are different. But stories are not told by themselves: they are the work of millions of people who create the films and television series we love. Conscious of protecting the rights of these workers,...
“The Falcon and The Winter Soldier” Costume Designer Michael Crow on the New Captain America
The Falcon and The Winter Soldier capped off (pun intended) its 6-episode season last Friday night in style. That style was set by a brand new look for Sam Wilson/Falcon (Anthony Mackie) who, after an arduous journey since Captain America (Chris Evans) handed him the shield at the end of Avengers: Endgame, finally accepted both the iconic shield and the role itself. The newly minted Captain America, in wings supplied by those technological wizards in Wakanda,...
Dominique Fishback Joins New “Transformers” Film Alongside Anthony Ramos
On the strength of the two leads and the director alone, the upcoming Transformers film is looking more interesting by the day. The latest casting news is that rising star Dominique Fishback, fresh from another riveting performance in Shaka King‘s masterful Judas and the Black Messiah, will join Anthony Ramos (another rising star) in director Steven Caple Jr. (Creed II)’s upcoming installment in Paramount’s profitable franchise. Fishback is the type of performer who shines no matter the subject matter or role,...
New Images Tease Dev Patel in the Long-Awaited “The Green Knight”
You’d be forgiven if you’ve forgotten that one of this summer’s most hotly anticipated films is director David Lowery’s The Green Knight. Like so many other films, The Green Knight‘s release, intended for May 29, 2020, was delayed due to the pandemic, but we are now a scant few months away from its new premiere date. It was way, way back in February of 2020—truly another lifetime ago—that A24 shared the first trailer...
Official “Luca” Trailer Reveals Pixar’s New Sea Creature Feature
Pixar is fresh off another big Best Animated Feature win at the Oscars for Soul, and now we’ve got the first official trailer for their next film, Lucas, a decidedly different kind of story. Luca imagines what a sea creature might do with the chance to be human, a fun conceit that offers the legendary animation studio a chance to tout its considerable comedic chops.
For a sea creature, the joys of being human seem limitless...
Nick Stagliano Returns to Directing With Noir Thriller “The Virtuoso”
Mistrust reigns and true identities are questioned when an assassin, a waitress, a deputy, a loner, and a couple cross paths in an isolated, rustic diner one evening in the moody and suspenseful thriller, The Virtuoso. The story is cloaked in mystery from the start, with the highly skilled assassin, The Virtuoso, accepting an assignment from his boss, The Mentor, with little detail about the job other than the place, time, and one puzzling clue. Just who the target is in that small-town eatery keeps the hitman on edge and the film’s audience guessing to the end...
Why Director Fernando Frías de la Parra’s Stunning “I’m No Longer Here” is a Must-See
When Oscar-winning filmmakers Guillermo Del Toro (The Shape of Water) and Alfonso Cuarón (Gravity, Roma) refer to a film as “a singularity in the last decade” and “an experience of space and time,” you pay attention. The film is Fernando Frías de la Parra (Los Espookys) I’m No Longer Here, streaming on Netflix, and it tells the fictional story of Ulises (Juan Daniel García),...
First “The Tomorrow War” Images Tease Amazon’s Alien Invasion Epic
The first images from director Chris McKay’s The Tomorrow War are here, teasing the big sci-fi epic and McKay’s live-action debut. The LEGO Batman Movie helmer has quite a cast at hand to help him make the transition, including Chris Pratt, who stars as a man drafted to fight in the titular future war with nothing short of the fate of humanity on his shoulders.
Pratt is no stranger to aliens, but rather than banding together with extraterrestrial misfits as he’s done in the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise,...
New “In The Heights” Trailer Teases a Summer Must-See
Director John M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians) and screenwriter Quiara Alegría Hudes have adapted possibly the perfect musical to kick off summer—Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “In The Heights.” The fruits of their labor—as well as that of their talented cast and crew—are evident in the latest trailer from Warner Bros. In The Heights combines star power, singing, intricate dance choreography, and the pleasures (and pain) of a sweltering summer in New York City—all catnip to a moviegoer eager to see a big movie on a big screen as emerge from a very bad year and a half...
“Wildcat” Actor Luke Benward on Finding His Character’s Defining Trait
Luke Benward was cast in his first role when he was just five years old, as Mel Gibson’s son in We Were Soldiers. He has worked steadily ever since, from starring in How to Eat Fried Worms at age 11, to playing Danielle Macdonald’s love interest in director Anne Fletcher’s film Dumplin‘. Benward is especially fond of his work with Melissa McCarthy in Life of the Party (more on that later)...
The Official Teaser for Questlove’s “Summer of Soul” Promises Riveting Doc Experience
The multi-talented Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson is making his debut as a filmmaker with Summer of Soul, immediately putting the documentary on the must-see list for this summer. The first teaser, which Questlove himself revealed during last night’s Oscars Ceremony (he was the ceremony’s musical director), gives us our first glimpse at his hybrid debut—part historical record, part music film—Summer of Soul is centered on the Harlem Cultural Festival’s six-week run in Mount Morris Park (now Marcus Garvey Park) in Harlem in 1969...
The Official Teaser for Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story” Revealed During Oscars
If you watched last night’s Oscars Ceremony, you probably caught the sizzling official teaser for Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story. There has been major buzz around the project the moment we learned Spielberg would be adapting the legendary stage musical for the big screen. The teaser gives us our most sustained look at the legendary director’s efforts, which includes a dynamic ensemble and a potent list of collaborators to bring off the long-awaited film...
Chloé Zhao Makes History at the Oscars
Director Chloé Zhao made history at the 93rd Annual Academy Awards, becoming only the second woman to ever win Best Director for Nomadland (after Kathryn Bigelow won in 2010 for The Hurt Locker) and becoming the first woman of color to win the award. Zhao, raised in China, also became the second Asian to win best director in a row, following Bong Joon Ho’s win last year for Parasite. It wouldn’t be the only way Zhao followed Ho’s big Oscars night,...
Oscar-Nominee Emile Mosseri on Scoring for Family Dynamics in “Minari”
This interview is part of our ongoing Oscar series. It was originally published on January 19. Emile Mosseri is nominated for Original Score.
Dream-like piano notes accompany the Yee family as they gaze out the windows of their beat-up station wagon, on their way to a new home in rural Arkansas. Hoping to make it as a farmer, patriarch Jacob (Steven Yeun) is in the process of uprooting his wife, Monica (Yeri Han), and American-born children,...
