“Blue Beetle” First Reactions: A Funny, Poignant, Exciting Film Led by a Stellar Xolo Maridueña

A heartfelt story steeped in Latin culture with charismatic characters and a ripping plot—you couldn’t ask for better first reactions from Blue Beetle, the second-to-last DC Studios film to premiere during the new tenure of James Gunn and Peter Safran, who are taking DC Studios in a brand new direction. (Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, which is due in theaters on December 20, is the last DC Studios film from the previous era.) From the tenor of these initial reactions to director Angel Manuel Soto‘s Blue Beetle, 

Historic Success of “Barbie” has Made Greta Gerwig Highest-Grossing Female Director Ever Domestically

The Barbie phenomenon has proven to be the summer’s biggest storyline. Co-writer/director Greta Gerwig’s critically acclaimed imagining of the life and world of Mattel’s iconic doll has broken box office records and made history repeatedly since its July 21 premiere. Let’s break down the numbers.

Gerwig is now the highest-grossing female director domestically, with Barbie now surpassing Frozen II, which Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck directed. Barbie has made Gerwig the highest-grossing female director of a live-action movie,

How “Sanctuary” Cinematographer Ludovica Isidori Turned a Single Room Into a Dynamic Psycho-Emotional Arena

How do you make a single location subliminally consume an entire story? That was the question Italian cinematographer Ludovica Isidori had to answer in director Zachary Wigon’s sophomore film Sanctuary.

Starring Christopher Abbott (Girls) as Hal, an heir to a luxury hotel empire, and Margaret Qualley (Maid), a dominatrix named Rebecca who is equal parts seductive, smart, and clever, Sanctuary is a slow-burn psychological thriller that reveals the intimacy of their unorthodox relationship with delicious restraint.

Emmy-Nominated Casting Director Theo Park on Fielding the Perfect Squad for “Ted Lasso”

There isn’t an Oscars category for casting directors (yet), but the Emmys have recognized the foundational importance of the people who find actors with the talent and the chemistry to create magic on screen. Without casting directors, a lot of your favorite moments onscreen would likely never have happened. 

In an interview with The Credits, two-time Emmy winner and current nominee Theo Park, nominated for her stellar work on Ted Lasso,

“Oppenheimer” Production Designer Ruth De Jong on Helping Christopher Nolan Build the Bomb

Oppenheimer is a colossal achievement. Christopher Nolan’s film is an exquisitely calibrated epic, brimming with ambition and ingenuity, appropriate for its titular protagonist, J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy), the brilliant physicist who led America’s Manhattan Project during World War II. Nolan and his crew, including production designer Ruth De Jong (Nope), reached for the stars and succeeded in their quest for a pure, tangible vision in presenting one of the most important and dangerous minds of the 20th century – the father of the atomic bomb.

“Heart of Stone” Stunt Coordinator Jo McLaren on Taking Gal Gadot to New Heights

Jo McLaren is a longtime stunt professional who has worked on a slew of hit films and TV series, lending her talents to hits as disparate as Titanic, Dr. Who, and the Sherlock Holmes, Harry Potter, and Avengers franchises. As an in-demand stunt coordinator, she has kept productions safe while creating some of the most inimitable action sequences in the business.

“Red, White, & Royal Blue” Co-Writer/Director Matthew Lopez on Crafting a Modern Love Story

First-time feature director Matthew López also co-wrote the script of Red, White, & Royal Blue, based on the popular novel by Casey McQuiston, which arrives just in time to add a dash of romance to the end of your summer. It’s a love story about Alex (Taylor Zakhar Perez), the son of the President of the United States Ellen Claremont (Uma Thurman), and Henry (Nicholas Galitzine), the grandson of the British King (Stephen Fry),

“Heart of Stone” Director Tom Harper on Accepting an Impossible Mission With Gal Gadot

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One has had success both with critics and audiences and Barbie is breaking box office records. It makes good sense, then, that Skydance, the production company behind the M:I franchise, would want to partner with global superstar Gal Gadot to create a female-fronted action film. Enter Heart of Stone, the new Netflix release that puts Gadot front and center as intelligence operative Rachel Stone,

Gal Gadot Gives Arnold Schwarzenegger a Few Key Lessons in “Heart of Stone” Promo

In case you missed the news, Arnold Schwarzenegger is Netflix’s Chief Action Officer, a role he’s been working toward, it seems, his entire life. Now, two months into the job and getting a feel for it, he’s part of a new promo for Gal Gadot’s upcoming Netflix spy thriller Heart of Stone. 

Here you’ll find Gadot bellying up to Netflix’s coffee bar only to find Schwarzenegger himself there making the fuel.

Phoebe Dynevor & Alden Ehrenreich Sizzle & Slash Through First “Fair Play” Trailer

 Netflix made its play, and now one of this past Sundance’s buzziest films is coming to the streamer this fall.

The first trailer for Chloe Domont’s romantic thriller Fair Play has arrived, revealing a look at the story of a newly engaged couple who is forced to keep their relationship a secret in their financial cutthroat world. Emily (Phoebe Dynevor) and Luke (Alden Ehrenreich) work at the hedge fund Crest Capital in entry-level positions,

“Talk To Me” Directors Danny & Michael Philippou on Crafting the Year’s Most Unsettling Horror Film

Danny and Michael Philippou do not pull their punches in their chilling feature film directorial debut Talk to Me. Having honed their craft over years making short films, the twins crafted a horror movie that screams with confidence and passion, where not a single scare seems to miss the mark. There’s a reason the powerhouse mini-major studio A24, behind some of the best horror films of the last decade, got behind these two.

“Haunted Mansion” Cinematographer Jeffrey Waldron Gathers Ghostly Delights in Frame

Directed by Justin Simien, Disney’s Haunted Mansion has an all-star cast, a funny, touching script, killer New Orleans scenery, and for a wellspring of inspiration, the Haunted Mansion ride at Disneyland, which holds particular sway over the movie’s aesthetic. The original ride veers from comedic to creepy, which for cinematographer Jeffrey Waldron (Little Fires Everywhere, The Morning Show), worked well as a starting point for designing different aesthetics for Haunted Mansion’s various astral planes. 

“Oppenheimer” IMAX Run Extended Due to Popular Demand

The Oppenheimer phenomenon continues on the biggest screens.

Due to popular demand, Christopher Nolan’s epic biopic about J. Robert Oppenheimer (played by a sensational Cillian Murphy) will stay in IMAX theaters nationwide through the end of August. Previously, Oppenheimer was scheduled to conclude its run on IMAX 70mm format on August 17, but now exhibitors will keep Nolan’s masterpiece on those colossal screens through August thanks to massive demand.

“I Am Groot” Season 2 Trailer Reveals Baby Groot’s Sweet New Adventures

For those of you mourning the end of James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, and thus, the end of watching everyone’s favorite alien tree person, Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel), grow up, good news has arrived in a small package. The trailer for season two of I Am Groot has arrived, meaning that your time enjoying the company of one of Marvel’s most beloved characters is far from over.

In Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.

“Barbie” and Greta Gerwig Make History Again

It’s a Barbie world—it’s also Greta Gerwig’s world—and we’re happy to be living in it.

Gerwig is now the first-ever solo female director to helm a billion-dollar movie, as Barbie surpassed that major milestone this past weekend. Gerwig’s gangbusters take on Mattel’s iconic doll has nabbed $459 million in North America and $572 million internationally, putting Gerwig in the exclusive billion-dollar club and making her the only solo female director in it.

“Haunted Mansion” VFX Supervisor Edwin Rivera Gives These New Ghosts a Spectral Charge

The spirits have materialized for Disney’s latest comedy adventure Haunted Mansion. Everyone’s favorite spectral residents, from the hatchet-wielding Bride to the Hatbox Ghost, are coming out of their coffins for a swinging good time. The film fleshes out the skeletal stories of the spooky spirits who haunt Disney theme parks around the world. VFX Supervisor Edwin Rivera, who hails from visual effects studio DNEG, cast the classic characters in a new light.

Fall TV Watchlist: From “Lessons in Chemistry” to “Lupin: Part 3”

A slew of new series and returning favorites are coming to you this fall in what is, admittedly, a pretty wild TV season considering the simultaneous strikes. But, playing the optimist, we’re hoping a resolution is in the offing, and we’ll all be able to watch new and returning series knowing that things will be back to normal. Hope springs eternal for the film and TV enthusiast.

Onto the upcoming fall season, which includes adaptations of bestselling novels,

“Meg 2: The Trench” Deep Dive: Jason Statham vs. Multiple Megalodons is Pure Cinema

These days, action movies are hardly lacking — you’ve got John Wick, Ethan Hunt, the Fast & Furious family, the heroes of RRR, and whoever the next James Bond will be — yet we did have one quibble; we needed more man-versus-prehistoric monster shark action. Ever since 2018’s The Meg swam into our lives, we realized there’s a certain center in our brain that seems to demand a single thing;

“Brother” Writer/Director Clement Virgo on Returning to Filmmaking With His Quietly Devastating Adaptation

Writer/director Clement Virgo followed his instincts when he returned to feature filmmaking. Since his last feature, Poor Boy’s Game (2007), Virgo has been directing TV, working more or less nonstop. He’s directed episodes of Empire, Netflix’s Dahmer- Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, and OWN’s megachurch drama Greenleaf. He was thinking about getting back into features when a friend handed him a copy of David Chariandy’s novel “Brother,”

Paramount Pictures’ Archive Team Andrea Kalas & Randall Thropp on a Few of Their Favorite Things

There is an argument to be made that there could be an investigative series starring Paramount’s senior vice president of archives Andrea Kalas and costume and prop archivist Randall Thropp. Among their myriad of responsibilities for the vast archives of one of Hollywood’s most legendary studios, Kalas and Thropp are often called upon to act as asset sleuths, uncovering iconic (and lesser known) props, costumes, and more from Paramount’s 111 history that were scattered across the globe before the archives department was created.