American History Through Film: What to Watch the Week of the Fourth
Whether today sees you at the end of your long weekend, already looking to wind down from too much barbecue and rosé, or you hardly got a break at all, supplement your Fourth festivities with an all-American film roster. In lieu of titles touting their patriotism right in the name (Captain America, Independence Day, and that ilk), these picks turn a gimlet eye on the U.S. at distinct moments, and ask viewers to consider the complicated totality of what it means to be American...
Women Directors Made the Best Movies of the Summer
Director Patty Jenkins has been reaping breathless headlines since Wonder Woman’s premiere — having made a summer blockbuster that isn’t rote or corny, with a lead, relative newcomer Gal Gadot, who deservedly looks like the breakout star of the summer, the film has exceeded all of Warner Bros.’ box office expectations and met with critical success. Audiences are broadly into a superhero film about a woman, made by a woman, and the ripple effect of headlines continues...
Stunt Performer Annabel Wood is a Real Life Wonder Woman
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. She leaps off cliffs and castle walls, dodges speeding cars and motorcycles, and, dons prosthetics to become an ice zombie and charge into a camp prepared to do her worst...
WatchSpider-Man: Homecoming, Thor: Ragnarok & Black Panther Closely for Avengers: Infinity War Clues
In the last ten years, more than 30 films based upon Marvel comic book characters have premiered, more than five times what was produced between 1944 – when the first iteration of Captain America was released – and 2000, a span of 56 years. Though not even ten years old, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has already garnered an immense following. Beyond a mere surge in quantity, the films that have been arising out of the MCU have been smashing box office records and attracting attention unlike ever before...
Watch this Moving Star Wars: The Last Jedi & Han Solo Behind-the-Scenes Video
In 2015, Lucasfilm established a program with the BFI Film Academy to hire trainees to work on the new Star Wars films. What this means is people like Brahim Buhai, who was born in a refugee camp in north western Africa, found himself as a young man working on the Han Solo spinoff film in the video department. The trainee program was designed to give young people like Brahim the opportunity to learn filmmaking skills on-the-job,...
Early Buzz: Spider-Man: Homecoming one of Marvel’s Best
The review embargo has been lifted on Spider-Man: Homecoming, and you’ll be happy to know that critics love the film. Director Jon Watts, star Tom Holland and a lively supporting cast have delivered the Spider-Man film fans have been waiting for. Equal parts charming, goofy teen drama and riveting superhero flick, Homecoming appears to be that perfect Marvel concoction; funny, fast-moving and genuinely thrilling. Here’s a spoiler free roundup of some of the reviews:
The Hottest New Romance on Game of Thrones was Improvised
Earlier today, we shared this story about Game of Thrones showruners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss discussing the breakneck tempo (including two huge battles) that will make season seven special. In their interview with Entertainment Weekly, Benioff and Weiss also discussed another hot topic; the burgeoning love affair (we hope) between the Wilding Tormund Giantsbane (Kristoffer Hivju) and Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie) that was ignited last season. It began with a look that Tormund gave Brienne when she arrived at Castle Black in episode four...
Star Wars: The Last Jedi‘s Adam Driver Says Film Creates new Rules for Franchise
As Kylo Ren, Adam Driver is one of the central figures in the new Star Wars trilogy, embodying the petulant, powerful Sith Lord wannabe, a Darth Vader acolyte and potent user of the Dark Side of the Force. He’s also an excellent promoter, helping goose interest in a franchise that needs little help by talking about all the things he loves, and we should be excited about, in Rian Johnson’s upcoming The Last Jedi...
Watch the First Trailer for Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
Dwayne Johnson as a brawny adventurer? Yeah, we’ll buy that, but what's intriguing about Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle is that in reality, Johnson's playing a high school kid. Sony has released the first trailer for Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle trailer, which follows four teenagers who discover the ancient game of Jumanji (they’re bored during detention) and find themselves sucked into the game’s realm, where they become the games avatars, embodied by the aforementioned Johnson,...
Game of Thrones Showrunners Discuss Epic Scope and Scale of Season 7
HBO has been giving us a lot of really great behind-the-scenes intel on Game of Thrones lately. We've met Ramin Djawadi, the man behind the show's music, we've spent time with the special effects team and learned a bit about how they set fire to people (responsibly!), and we've unpacked the latest trailer for season seven, which hinted at an action-packed, quicker-than-usual pace. As this is the penultimate season of the show and,...
Josh Brolin Reveals First Look at X-Force Leader Cable in Deadpool 2 Photo
Ryan Reynolds isn’t the only member of the Deadpool 2 cast who can take to Instagram to whet our appetites about the film. Yesterday Reynolds shared this photo of him, in full Deadpool kit, and Hunt for the Wilderpeople breakout star Julian Dennison on the set, and now co-star Josh Brolin is joining the fun. Brolin is playing Cable, the time-traveling leader of the X-Force, the adult son of the X-Men's Scott Summers (Cyclops)...
Hunt for the Wilderpeople‘s Julian Dennison is in Deadpool 2
Julian Dennison was phenomenal as Ricky Baker in Taika Waititi’s glorious ode to his native New Zealand Hunt for the Wilderpeople, which stood out in crowded field of great films last year. As a foster child who finally finds a warm home, only to see a tragedy upend his newfound sense of family and security. So he and Uncle Hec (Sam Neil, a beloved Kiwi) went on the run in the bush, triggering a national manhunt and making them brand new outlaws...
The Greatest Showman Trailer Showcases All-Star Cast in Promising new Musical
There might be no business like show business, but without P.T. Barnum there would be no show business. It is Barnum’s beloved rags-to-riches tale that is celebrated in the upcoming film The Greatest Showman, directed by up-and-comer Michael Gracey. Part biography, part grand-scale musical, the film will feature original musical numbers by celebrated songwriting/composing duo Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, known for their work with La La Land and the new Broadway hit Dear Evan Hansen...
War for the Planet of the Apes Director Matt Reeves on his Vision for The Batman
We've been writing a lot about Matt Reeves' War for the Planet of the Apes, which is getting some of the best reviews of any summer blockbuster not named Wonder Woman in recent memory. What you might not be aware of is Reeves will be directing Warner Bros. stand-alone Batman film, The Batman, which is just now in the early days of the project. As we wrote back on May 1,...
Steven Soderbergh Returns to Feature Filmmaking With Logan Lucky
After Steven Soderbergh announced that he was going to retire from filmmaking and transition into painting by his 50th birthday, here's a snapshop of some of what he has done: He directed Cinemax’s The Knick for two season (sensational, gruesome), helped Spike Jonze edit his award-winning feature Her, executive produced an adaptation of his film The Girlfriend Experience for Starz, is working on an HBO series titled Mosaic (which will allow the audience to interact with the story),...
How Taboo’s DP Conjured Painterly Tableaux of 19th Century London
When cinematographer Mark Patten got hired to shoot Tom Hardy's moody 19th century period thriller Taboo, he immediately invited Danish director Kristoffer Nyholm to check out British masterpieces at London museums. "I took Krisotoffer to see landscape paintings by William J. Turner, who was painting the Thames at the time of our story," Patten recalls. "We wanted to understand the way the light looks and start with that knowledge about the river because it gives so much life to Tom Hardy's character...
Watch the First Trailer for Cannes Mind-Blower Good Time, Starring an Unforgettable Robert Pattinson
We've already written about our fondness for A24, the indie studio founded in 2012 that has gone on to produce some of the most compelling films of the last five plus years. In their latest, Josh and Ben Sadfie's Good Time, A24's committment to auteurs and their original visions is once again on display. Starring Robert Pattinson in what many critics are calling a game changer of a performance, Good Time ...
Deadpool 2 has Officially Begun Filming
Ryan Reynolds has confirmed that production on Deadpool 2 has officially begun. Your creatives behind-the-scenes include John Wick and Atomic Blonde director David Leitch, cinematographer Johnthan Sela, and writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick. We just happened to have interviewed Sela, Reese and Wernick in the past, and can attest to their immense skills. The Cabin in the Woods and The Martian ...
Spider-Man Swings into Starbucks to Pick Up a Cold Brew
Gone are the days of movie promotion being limited to red carpet screenings. Publicity teams are now going above and beyond to surprise fans with interactive experiences. Crews are building elaborate setups to create these pranks where unsuspecting movie goers are getting up close with onscreen characters. Last year’s The Conjuring 2 terrified audiences with a spooky surprise (and a hilarious ending.)
Now Sony has released a clip of Spider-Man swinging into Starbucks to pick up his cold brew...
Meet Ramin Djawadi, the Man Behind The Music of Game of Thrones
The last time we checked in with Game of Thrones, we were unpacking the epic second trailer for season seven, and we were going behind-the-scenes with the special effects team to meet the folks who put the fire in Drogon's breath. Today, we're taking a look—and a listen—to the composer who gives the show its signature sound—Ramin Djawadi. HBO has released a new "Inside Game of Thrones" that highlights Djawadi's work, and it's a pleasure to watch him he pluck away the theme song on his guitar. ...
