After Nearly Six Decades, Women Rule the Box Office Again
The names Elizabeth Taylor, Rosalind Russell and Mitzi Gaynor call to mind legendary performances, but an era of Hollywood decades in the past. Fifty-nine years to be exact. These leading ladies were the last women to star in the highest grossing domestic films of the year, until now. The top three films of 2017 all had female headliners, and they were damn good movies too.
Emma Watson kicked off the female dominated box office with her role as Belle in Beauty and the Beast raking in $504 million among American audiences.
A Seven-Foot-Tall French Contortionist is Going to Terrify us All as Slender Man
There are plenty of enduring internet myths, but perhaps none are quite as creepy as Slender Man, the towering ghoul with extremely long arms and legs who has “appeared” looming in the background of photos taken of children. Slender Man was actually created as a Photoshop contest back in 2009, but the myth went from silly/scary to truly terrifying when a pair of 12-year old girls in Wisconsin were charged with attempted homicide after they stabbed one of their friends and cited Slender Man as their inspiration.
Writer Extraordinaire Aaron Sorkin on his Directorial Debut Molly’s Game
Screenwriter Aaron Sorkin is famed for writing the words uttered by The West Wing’s imaginary president and the semi-fictionalized tech magnates of Steve Jobs and The Social Network. For his first film as a director, Sorkin scripted the dialogue of a criminal: Molly Bloom, a skier who turned to running big-money poker games after an injury ended her Olympic aspirations. Hardly a desperado, the title character of Molly’s Game is a thoughtful young woman played by Jessica Chastain.
New Black Panther Trailer Dropping Next Week
Is there a film we’re more excited about right now than Black Panther? No, probably not. Director Ryan Coogler’s upcoming Marvel movie, the first stand-alone for one of the most beloved superheroes in the Marvel canon, has long been the film of early 2018 that we’ve been counting down the days for. Black Panther will be the first of three Marvel Studios films to be released this year, and while it doesn’t get bigger than Avengers: Infinity War,
Han Solo Will Get a New Theme from John Williams in Solo
At 85 years old, legendary screen composer John Williams shows no signs of slowing down, which is a great gift to all Star Wars fans. The Star Wars main title, aka Luke’s Theme, and the Imperial March have become cultural icons and set the tone for the entire franchise. Williams’ musical genius spans multiple decades and luckily he plans to write a Han Solo theme for the new standalone film Solo.
Extreme Wealth & Ambient Threat Colors New Fifty Shades Freed Trailer
How far they’ve come, Anastasia and Christian. They began their relationship as employee and boss, but as we know that quickly changed—considerably—into a highly unusual, highly kinky romance that fueled the start of the Fifty Shades of Grey series, which has focused on the extremely fetching couple, played by Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan, as they navigated the latter’s extreme wealth and love of BDSM and the former’s ever surprisingly ability to play both submissive and dominant,
Count Olaf Wishes You a Dreadful New Year in A Series of Unfortunate Events Season 2 Teaser
You may have high hopes that 2018 will be a great year for you, but the Baudelaire orphans are in for another dismal, despicable, unfortunate year. Count Olaf has returned for season 2 of A Series of Unfortunate Events in a new teaser starring Neil Patrick Harris.
Netflix tweeted out a riddle on New Year’s Day with a hint to search for a URL hidden in song lyrics.
« There’s no happy endings,
New Footage Aired in A Wrinkle in Time’s New Year’s TV Spot
One of 2018’s most eagerly anticipated films is Ava DuVernay’s A Wrinkle in Time, adapted from Madeleine L’Engle’s beloved novel by screenwriter Jennifer Lee (Frozen, Zootopia). On New Year’s eve, Disney dropped this TV spot that features new footage of Chris Pine’s Dr. Alex Murry, the kidnapped father of our young hero Meg Murry, played by newcomer Storm Reid. The new spot focuses on family, featuring Meg’s mother, Dr.
Watch how They Recreated Sean Young’s Replicant Rachael in Blade Runner 2049
Blade Runner 2049 was one of the most arresting films of 2017, with brilliant sound design, makeup design, the incredible use of miniatures to create the sets and more. Yet one scene that has been somewhat overlooked came late in the film, when Niander Wallace (Jared Leto) attempts to convince Deckard (Harrison Ford) to reveal a secret that could change the world, one that Deckard would likely kill,
Oscar Watch: The Disaster Artist Composer on Memorializing the Best Bad Movie Ever
Nearly everyone who loves a good story dreams of making their own movie at some point in their life. Very few actually ever try it, and even fewer succeed. In 2003, Tommy Wiseau and Greg Sestero set out to make The Room, a ‘real Hollywood movie’ that is often regarded as one of the worst movies ever made. Ironically, their story has inspired one of this year’s strongest Oscar contenders. The Disaster Artist tells the story of two people who have been mocked as failures,
Two People had to Climb Into One Suit to Become The Last Jedi’s Weirdest Creature
The Last Jedi is filled with fantastic new creatures that played important roles in the film. The porgs were the first to attain wide appeal, thanks to their huge black eyes, furry little bodies and penchant for sneaking onto the Millennium Falcon. The Caretakers are an intriguing bunch, with their nun-like appearance and quiet dignity, tending to the old Jedi structures on Ahch-To. The galloping fathiers, also known as space horses, were easily the most thrilling part of the entire Canto Bight sequence,
Greta Gerwig On Moving Behind the Camera for her Solo Directorial Debut Lady Bird
*We’re sharing some of our favorite interviews of the year this week in our ‘Best of 2017’ roundup.
Fans of Greta Gerwig know her as the go-to muse of indie filmdom’s mumblecore movement and for her collaborations with such notable directors as Joe Swanberg (LOL,
Wonder Woman‘s Cinematographer on Capturing the Dynamic Essence of Diana Prince
*We’re sharing some of our favorite interviews of the year this week in our ‘Best of 2017’ roundup.
Wonder Woman was exactly who we needed, exactly when we needed her, and she reframed the landscape among a crowded superhero genre. Director Patty Jenkins and her team brought to life a leading character who could feel love, fury, compassion and power in equal parts. Diana Prince and Steve Trevor’s relationship was a romance of equals (well,
Stunt Performer Annabel Wood is a Real Life Wonder Woman
*We’re sharing some of our favorite interviews of the year this week in our ‘Best of 2017’ roundup.
When she hears the word action, Annabel Wood’s job is to take the command literally. She very often makes her living dying. All in all, Wood has died more times than she can count – and she keeps coming back from more. She’s a stunt performer, and one of the best in the business.
The Dazzling Design of Ghost in the Shell
*We’re sharing some of our favorite interviews of the year this week in our ‘Best of 2017’ roundup.
Freakish cyborgs look right at home in Scarlett Johansson’s Ghost in the Shell sci-fi epic thanks in part to three years of ingenious design work from New Zealand-based Weta Workshop. Inspired by Masamune Shirow’s visionary Manga series and 1995 anime film, co-art director Ben Hawker, who previously channeled Middle Earth critters for the Lord of the Rings trilogy,
Writer/Director Martin McDonagh on his Dark, Brilliant Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
*We’re sharing some of our favorite interviews of the year this week in our ‘Best of 2017’ roundup.
With his thrillingly raw new film Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri just released, writer/director Martin McDonagh is happy to chat about the movie,
Get Out‘s Cinematographer Reveals the Methods Behind Jordan Peele’s Brilliant Madness
*We’re sharing some of our favorite interviews of the year this week in our ‘Best of 2017’ roundup.
From the moment the first trailer for Get Out dropped, we knew this was going to be something special. We were beyond excited to see comedy genius Jordan Peele (Key & Peele) take on a horror movie and the final product exceeded all our hopes. Get Out travels from poking fun at the insecurities of race relations in America to dramatizing the terror of racism in a way that has critics becoming philosophers as they try to unpack Peele’s genius for tackling sensitive subjects with humor,
The Handmaid’s Tale DP on Using Old Lenses, Vermeer and Drones to Conjure Dystopia
*We’re sharing some of our favorite interviews of the year this week in our ‘Best of 2017’ roundup.
Liverpool-born cinematographer Colin Watkinson quit his job as a surveyor to work as an entry-level “runner” on a British soundstage, rose through the ranks to shoot Tarsem Singh’s The Fall in 2006, and on the strength of that film’s universally hailed visuals, became one of Los Angeles’ most prolific television commercial DPs.
The Real Reason Porgs Were Created in Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Outside of the main mysteries and plot intrigue surrounding The Last Jedi, the porgs were by far the most distracting new feature of the franchise. Fans lost their collective minds when the adorable space aliens were first introduced, their cries were edited together into the theme song, and they were a Halloween costume favorite. Back in November we learned a little more about their design,
Alexander Payne’s Longtime Editor On Stepping into the Directing Chair for Crash Pad
If you’ve seen Sideways, About Schmidt, The Descendants, or Nebraska, you’re likely headed to the theater this weekend to see Alexander Payne’s newest project Downsizing. You have also seen the work of longtime collaborator Kevin Tent who has been the editor on all of those movies and more. After years of collaborating with Payne, Tent stepped out on his own to direct the neurotically funny Crash Pad this year.
