Watch the Painstaking Craftsmanship Poured Into Anomalisa

When we saw Anomalisa at the Middleburg Film Festival this past October, we were blown away. Written by Oscar-winner Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) and directed by Kaufman and Duke Johnson, the stop-motion animation was as gorgeously detailed as any we'd ever seen before, and the bittersweet story (this being Kaufman, after all) of a successful but troubled customer service expert, coalesced into a film that stuck with you for hours,...

Creed Composer Ludwig Göransson Finds the Beat in Boxing

Ludwig Göransson is a Swedish composer who has scored television series, including New Girl and Community.  We spoke with Göransson about using real-life boxing sounds in his score for the new Rocky movie, Creed, co-written and directed by Ryan Coogler, and a whole lot more.

The movie is about an ambitious young boxer who is the son of Rocky’s opponent-turned friend, Apollo Creed. In an interview,...

A Wordless, Wild new Teaser for Batman v Superman

It's short and none too sweet, which is just how we'd like our Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice teaser. In just 49 seconds our titular superheroes are introduced already very much living up to that "v" in the title. Have a look, then we'll dissect this brief but strangely satisfying teaser:

• No soaring music here, just Batman (Ben Affleck), chained up alongside some fellow unfortunates in a dusty dungeon of sorts. ...

If You Can See The Hateful Eight in 70mm, You Should

Back in the day, roughly between 1952 and 1974, select films were given the "roadshow" treatment. This meant that in cities like New York, Chicago, Atlanta, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, film audiences would go see a film that would include programs, an intermission, and even musical interludes. For the really big films like Gone With the Wind, El Cid, and Ben Hur, the films were a true event, with people dressing up for their big night at the theater,...

Revenge at all Costs: Watch the New The Revenant TV Spot

Director Alejandro González Iñárritu and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki don't work on easy films. The Oscar winning filmmakers from last year's Birdman (and for Lubezki, the year before's Gravity) have teamed up once again for the survival epic The Revenant. We've written about this project a few times, and are more than a little bit excited for it's release. Shooting with only natural light, and in conditions as harsh as those depicted in the film,...

Kylo Ren Featured in Dark New Star Wars: The Force Awakens Teaser

The latest Star Wars: The Force Awakens teaser features the film's main villain (or at least the one we've seen the most of), Kylo Ren, in without a doubt the darkest teaser yet. There's a few new shots, some new dialogue, and a link between the still unseen Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis, heard here in voice over) and Adam Driver's Ren. Have a watch, then we'll hit a few of the new shots below:

• First,...

The Good Dinosaur Animator Kevin O’Hara on Visual Storytelling

What if the asteroid that killed off the dinosaurs missed the earth completely and they never became extinct? That’s the question The Good Dinosaur asks as it explores the relationship between an Apatosaurus named Arlo and his human pet/friend. We chat to Pixar animator Kevin O’Hara about how technology has changed the animation game and being inspired in the early days by a meeting with legendary Donald Duck animator Milt Neil.  

You've been in the animation game for a long time,...

Victor Frankenstein & Daniel Radcliffe’s Fun Post Potter Career

The original Frankenstein film is an unshakeable classic, and Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein occupies its own top spot in the spoof genre. This week sees the opening of the newest cinematic take on Mary Shelley’s novel, but rather than a remake, director Paul McGuigan’s Victor Frankenstein contributes a new spin by shifting its focus from the title character to Igor Strausman, the mad scientist’s more responsible assistant. Played by Daniel Radcliffe,...

Before Creed, There Was Carl Weathers’ Iconic Performance as his Father, Apollo

Reinvigorating a franchise that most would have considered down for the count, Ryan Coogler’s Creed passes the baton from Rocky Balboa to the next generation with Michael B Jordan’s Adonis Creed, son of Rocky’s amiable nemesis Apollo. This time, finding Sly back in the ring only to train the young man hell bent on restoring his father’s fearless reputation.

While Creed is obviously a finely-tuned beast of the 21st century, it’s important to know Apollo Creed’s history,...

To Infinity… And Beyond! Ranking Our Favorite Pixar’s Films

Happy Thanksgiving, readers! With Pixar’s latest The Good Dinosaur just around the corner, we’ve taken on the notoriously difficult task of ranking all 15 films from the beloved Disney animation studio known for their commitment to quality. Humbly submitting our approximation of the films from Pixar’s least inspiring low to their most impressive high, we’ll offer speculation about the upcoming sequels Finding Dory, Toy Story 4, Cars 3 and The Incredibles 2 in amongst our worst to best ranking...

The First Captain America: Civil War Trailer is a Superhero Brawl

The first trailer for Captain America: Civil War debuted during Jimmy Kimmel last night (in the midst of his Star Wars week, giving Disney a nice one-two marketing punch) and it begins exactly where the teaser during Ant-Man's credit sequence left us, with Cap (Chris Evans) and Falcon (Anthony Mackie) interrogating the Winter Soldier, Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan). Only it quickly escalates into a colossal clash between superheroes in what looks to continue Captain America's hold as the most emotional of Marvel's many running franchises. ...

Rocky: From his Humble Beginnings to Creed

It’s been nearly forty years since Rocky Balboa faced his first opponent in the ring. Now after five sequels, three Oscar wins and an onscreen legacy that would be difficult to match, the former champion returns to the big screen as a trainer in the new drama Creed. The reviews have already started pouring in—the critics love this film. To appreciate what director Ryan Coogler and Creed star Michael B...

See how They Built the Joker’s Car for Suicide Squad

A nice scoop from Fox News 13 down in Tampa Bay—they caught up with Matt McEntagart, a Tampa Bay local who builds custom cars out of his own garage from scratch. MacEntagart got a call from the team behind a little upcoming film called Suicide Squad, and was asked if he'd be able to build a nasty car for a very nasty guy, Jared Leto's Joker. In the video below, you can go under the hood of McEntagart's creation, a zombified ...

Industrial Light & Magic’s Ed Kramer Discusses What It Takes To Work in CGI

Ed Kramer is interested in “historically significant moments” for computer-generated imagery (CGI) in the movie industry. It’s no wonder this has become his passion, since as a computer graphics artist or supervisor he has been a part of many of them —from the seamless blend of real and computer generated water in The Perfect Storm to the dynamic cloth simulation of Jar Jar Binks.

Kramer worked at Lucasfilm's Industrial Light + Magic (ILM) for 12 years as Senior Technical Director...

Talking to Carol’s Producers About Their 11-Year Labor of Love

The most lusciously romantic film of the year is Carol, directed by Todd Haynes. It is based on a semiautobiographical novel by Patricia Highsmith, also author of The Talented Mr. Ripley and Strangers on a Train. She wrote Carol under a pseudonym because it was the story of a lesbian romance. Nearly 40 years after its 1952 publication, she revealed that she was the author. 

In an interview, the film’s producers,...

Want to be an Ape in the War for the Planet of the Apes Film? Here’s How…

This new teaser for the upcoming War for the Planet of the Apes shows director Matt Reeves and performance capture legend and star Andy Serkis asking you if you'd like to be an ape in the upcoming film. Serkis stars as Ceasar, the leader of the ape army, and for the motivated fan, you can enlist in Caesar's campaign and get yourself flown to set to actually play an ape in the film. Details on how to do that,...

New Star Wars: The Force Awakens Clip: “You Can’t Out Run Them”

In the first official Star Wars: The Force Awakens clip, we see Finn (John Boyega), Rey (Daisy Ridley) and BB-8 running (and rolling) from an attack by First Order TIE Fighters. It's a brief but telling sequence, giving us the rogue Stormtrooper Finn shouting "We can't out run them!" to a resourceful, defiant Rey. It showcases both our heroine's pluck and our hero's first-hand knowledge of just how potent and relentless his former comrades are. 

Check out the clip and see just how well Rey's escape plan goes...

This New Star Wars: The Force Awakens Clip Shows Wild Stormtroopers Salute

As we said last week, there is simply no telling how many new teasers will be released for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. While we've come to expect to be surprised by the seemingly endless run of new images from the film, this latest teaser includes a totally wild, wait-did-I-really-see-that moment—we'll let you watch before we discuss. It happens at the 22 second mark.

Yeah, that definitely looks like those Stormtroopers are giving a Nazi-like salute,...

The Art of More Composer Talks Scoring Sony Crackle’s First Hour-Long Drama

Sony Crackle’s first hour-long original drama The Art of More, set in the high stakes world of a fine art auction house, stars Dennis Quaid, Christian Cooke and Kate Bosworth. We talk to Canadian composer Mario Sevigny about the advantages of being a self-taught musician and the joys of scoring a character’s double life.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MunDKTnEoH0

You're a self-taught musician. How does that affect the way you approach scoring work?

In fact,...

Chatting With Brooklyn’s Breakout Star Saoirse Ronan

Saoirse Ronan, breakout star of Brooklyn, and Eilis Lacey, the character she plays in the film, share more in common than just being young Irish women. Ronan, 21, remembers the insecurity of finding herself completely on her own for the first time.

“In the scene in the diner, [Eilis] has her change ready to go because she’s not used to this. I did that. I still do that. I go to Tesco’s supermarket and I have my money ready because I get anxious about it,”...