How the Entertainment Industry is Advancing Artificial Intelligence

The 69th Berlinale’s tag line this year is “the personal is political.” Within that scheme, where does artificial intelligence fall? Last Friday, the MPAA and the entertainment law firm Morrison & Foerster tried to answer that question, hosting a panel on technological innovation in the film industry, with a particular focus on AI. The eight panelists came from a variety of backgrounds: a lead representative from the US independent film industry, the communications head of a German digital society research institute,

By Susannah Edelbaum  |  February 15, 2019

Interview

Production Designer

Black Panther‘s Oscar-Nominated Production Designer Hannah Beachler Builds a new Nation

*In the run-up to this Sunday’s Oscars telecast, we’re sharing some of our favorite interviews with nominees. 

Everyone on the set of Black Panther had the weight of being a trailblazer. Realizing Wakanda for the screen meant reclaiming a painful history, honoring a rich heritage, and imagining the hope of the future right now. It also has the potential to confirm the demand for more diverse storytelling.

By Kelle Long  |  February 15, 2019

Interview

A Star is Born’s Oscar-Nominated Sound Mixer on Capturing Brilliance Up-Close

*In the run-up to this Sunday’s Oscars telecast, we’re sharing some of our favorite interviews with nominees.

Warner Bros.’ A Star is Born, the fourth version of the film and Bradley Cooper’s first time directing, has earned a hero’s welcome as the best iteration yet of the tale of love, talent, and the price of fame. Lady Gaga stars as Ally, a struggling musician with powerhouse pipes,

By Susannah Edelbaum  |  February 15, 2019

Interview

Sound Designer

A Quiet Place‘s Oscar-Nominated Sound Designers on Triggering our Brain’s Reptilian Fear Response

*In the run-up to this Sunday’s Oscars telecast, we’re sharing some of our favorite interviews with nominees. 

Supervising sound editors Erik Aadahl and Ethan Van Der Ryn had the unusual challenge of applying their expertise to a film that would be so quiet, it had the word in its title. John Krasinski’s thrilling, chilling A Quiet Place was predicated on a brilliant idea; alien monsters have turned the planet into one giant Amtrak quiet car.

By Bryan Abrams  |  February 15, 2019
Netflix’s NSFW Love, Death + Robots Trailer is Gleefully Insane

Se7en, Gone Girl and The Social Network director David Fincher and Deadpool‘s Tim Miller are working together? Yes. They’re working together on a sci-fi anthology series for Netflix called Love, Death + Robots? Yes again. The show will include sentient dairy products and garbage monsters? Yes and yes. In what has to be one of the more exciting pairings of talent and genre in a long time,

By Bryan Abrams  |  February 14, 2019
Rian Johnson Confirms his Star Wars Trilogy is Happening

This is why you don’t publish unsubstantiated rumors. It is also why you don’t then repeat said rumors without checking the sourcing. Yesterday, a website by the name of SuperBroMovies claimed that Star Wars: The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson was no longer creating a new Star Wars trilogy. Their post has since been deleted. A bunch of outlets picked up this rumor, however, so the story ultimately went wide.

By Bryan Abrams  |  February 14, 2019
Alita: Battle Angel is Here to Challenge You

The casual audience-goer who might assume Alita: Battle Angel is a by-the-book female empowerment fare would be sorely mistaken. Alita is not in the same realm of female-protagonist led superhero movies like Patty Jenkins’ juggernaut Wonder Woman. Alita promises to be a different kind of narrative altogether.

A Different Kind of Superhero

Rather than providing audiences with a normalized baseline human point of view – for example,

By Amanda M. Courtney  |  February 14, 2019
Octavia Spencer Goes off the Deep End in MA Trailer

It is said there is nothing easier than taking candy from a baby. If you watch the new MA trailer, however, you’ll find there is nothing easier than giving teenagers booze. That is what makes them easy targets for a diabolic plot to lure them in and torture them.

Is there no limit to Octavia Spencer’s range? She is one of the most universally beloved actresses in America,

By Kelle Long  |  February 14, 2019
Anna and Elsa Return in First Frozen 2 Trailer

The world-beating, kid-enthralling global hit Frozen bowed an astonishing six years ago in 2013. Finally, Anna and Elsa are back in Frozen 2. Millions of patient Frozen fans can feast their eyes on the first official trailer.

The last bit of information we shared about the follow-up to one of the biggest hits in history was this awesome Chinese poster for the upcoming film.

By Bryan Abrams  |  February 13, 2019
Brie Larson Proves She’s as Strong as Captain Marvel Herself

It is no coincidence that Brie Larson was chosen to play Captain Marvel. The Kree warrior can fly through space unaided, throw a photon blast, and take out the bad guys single handed. All in all, she’s the most powerful being the MCU. New footage suggests that Larson may also be the strongest member of the cast.

The actress shared a video of one of the more impressive exercises in her workout routine.

By Kelle Long  |  February 13, 2019

Interview

Producer

Berlin Station‘s Executive Producer on Making TV for Troubled Times

On one of the very few scripted television dramas to reflect the current global political climate, the covert C.I.A. operatives of Epix’s Berlin Station have found themselves mired in complex situations wrought by any number of familiar cranks and villains—internal whistle-blowers, far-right political parties, Russian thugs, mysterious hackers, and the list goes on. In depicting the inner workings of a fictionalized Berlin C.I.A. office, spy novelist Olen Steinhauer’s first television series works hard to examine the moral gray area of international espionage,

By Susannah Edelbaum  |  February 13, 2019
First Trailer for Danny Boyle’s Yesterday Re-Writes Beatles History

I have had this thought experiment so many times and now wish I had put pen to paper. What if you were the only person in the world who knew the greatest songs ever written? Would it matter if you didn’t actually write them?

The latest from director Danny Boyle appears to be a refreshing and charming new love story about becoming the biggest star in the world via someone else’s creativity. We all wish we were John,

By Kelle Long  |  February 12, 2019
The Wilsons Face Deadly Doppelgängers in New Us TV Spot

The trailers for Us just get crazier and crazier. Jordan Peele knows how to drill straight to the heart of terror.

For Get Out it was a fate worse than death. Can anyone honestly drink out of a teacup again without fearing they’ll be pulled into The Sunken Place? The body snatching while still sentient horror made us afraid of something we didn’t even know to be scared of until he wrote it.

By Kelle Long  |  February 12, 2019
R2-D2 Wraps Filming on set of Star Wars: Episode IX

While production is still underway for J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars: Episode IX, one key character has shot its final scene. Emphasis on it, of course, as R2-D2 cannot credibly be given a gender. Yet the most iconic droid in history is played by actor Jimmy Vee, who took over the part for the late, great Kenny Baker. Vee recently confirmed on Twitter that he had completed his work on the film.

By Bryan Abrams  |  February 12, 2019
New Shazam! Footage & Featurette Reveal a Truly Happy Superhero

Recently, Warner Bros. invited some assorted journalists to have a peek at some extended footage of Shazam! The good news? Those outlets are reporting that, from what they’ve seen, the film appears to be as genuinely fun-loving and joyous as one would hope. The reason one would hope for such a tone is that director David F. Sandberg’s Shazam! is the story of a boy-turned-superhero (played by Zachary Levi),

By The Credits  |  February 12, 2019
Watch Game of Thrones Fans Create a Cersei Pancake & More

The theme song played perfectly on a violin. A young woman dressed up as Daenerys Targaryen eating what appears to be a heart. Another woman’s painstaking recreation of King’s Landing, by hand, with paper. The theme song again—this time on electric guitar. A lovingly handcrafted dragon. An impressive depiction of Cersei Lannister—via pancake. These are some of the tributes Game of Thrones fans have created for their favorite show, all captured in this minute-long video and released by HBO on their official Game of Thrones YouTube page.

By The Credits  |  February 12, 2019
Into the Spider-Verse‘s Shameik Moore Had Auditioned to Play Lando

Shameik Moore is now on everyone’s mind after playing Miles Morales in Sony’s CGI-animated film, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Although he’d had leading roles in the 2015 Sundance drama Dope and Netflix series The Get Down, it was the animated adventure’s success that catapulted Moore into the spotlight. The film has been nominated for an Oscar, no less.

In becoming the first Spider-Man of color,

By Jessy Diamba  |  February 11, 2019
Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman Will Feature a De-Aged Cast for the 1st Half

Netflix has attracted its fair share of big-name directors in recent years. In fact, with Alfonso Cuaron’s Roma, the streaming service and full fledged production studio nabbed their first-ever Oscar-nominated film for best picture. You can be assured it won’t be their last. Enter Martin Scorsese, one of the most iconic living directors, and his upcoming film The Irishman, which Netflix will release this year.

Scorsese’s The Irishman is arguably the most hotly anticipated gangster drama in years.

By Bryan Abrams  |  February 11, 2019
New Captain Marvel TV Spot Revels in Carol Danver’s Grit

“I’m kinda done with you telling me what I can’t do.” The newest TV spot for Captain Marvel aired during the Grammy Awards, and it was a fitting glimpse at the grit of Marvel’s newest superhero on a night that women ruled the Grammy’s stage. You do not want to mess with Carol Danvers.

Disney decided to roll out this latest look at the world’s last hope (and Thanos’ worst nightmare?) on a big night for television audiences.

By Jessy Diamba  |  February 11, 2019

Interview

Director

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’s Oscar-Nominated Directors on Being Bold

Directors Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman asked themselves a question: how could they tell a story and be as wild and bold as they could adapting a comic book to the big screen that hadn’t been seen before. Enter Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Now the three are Oscar-nominated directors, and their film has become a critical and commercial smash hit.

The coming of age story from Sony Pictures Animation follows Miles Morales (Shameik Moore),

By Daron James  |  February 11, 2019