“Godfather of Harlem” Production Designer Patrick Howe on Handling History in Season 3
The story of gangster Bumpy Johnson (Forest Whitaker) continues to unfold with the third season of Godfather of Harlem, from creators Chris Brancato and Paul Eckstein. This prequel series to Ridley Scott‘s 2007 feature American Gangster, starring Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe, cleverly intertwines a kinetic group of characters in a period crime drama well worth watching.
This season, Bumpy faces no shortage of challenges—the CIA,
“Fatal Attraction” Production Designer Nina Ruscio on Creating Design With an Edge
The famed 1987 film Fatal Attraction, starring Michael Douglas and Glenn Close, made its way to the small screen with Joshua Jackson and Lizzy Caplan as the unfaithful couple tearing each other’s lives apart. Reinvigorated by Alexandra Cunningham (Physical), the psychological thriller unravels over eight gripping episodes, taking place 15 years after Dan (Jackson) is paroled from prison for the murder of Alex (Caplan). The story dips between the past and present as Dan tries to prove his innocence and reconnect with his family and wife,
“Beef” Production Designer Grace Yun on Mixing Real & Surreal Into a Simmering Style
Beef creator Lee Sung Jin (Dave, Undone), who goes by Sonny Lee, reached out to production designer Grace Yun (Past Lives, Ramy, Hereditary) to share his vision of the series that pins Danny Cho (Steven Yeun), a failing contractor, and Amy Lau (Ali Wong), a self-made entrepreneur, against one other following a heated parking lot altercation. “I was impressed from the start,
How “Stranger Things” Editor Dean Zimmerman Cut Eddie’s Epic Guitar Solo & That Wild Season 4 Finale
“Divide and conquer while keeping our heads above water was how we approached episode nine,” says editor Dean Zimmerman, who has been on the juggernaut Netflix series Stranger Things since the beginning. Season four sees its beloved characters continue their fight against Vecna, a mind-controlling arch-villain wreaking havoc on the town of Hawkins.
It was the biggest, boldest season of the series yet, and Zimmerman was a key component in keeping the epic finale as tight as a snare drum.
Provincetown International Film Festival Honors the Great Billy Porter
The irrepressible Billy Porter, actor, singer, and style maven, fit in perfectly with the quirky but sophisticated vibe of the Provincetown International Film Festival, which celebrated its 25th year June 14-18.
The Emmy, Tony, and Grammy award winner was this year’s Excellence in Acting Honoree at PIFF. Audiences also got an early look at his latest film, director Bill Oliver’s indie drama Our Son. Porter and Luke Evans portray husbands going through a divorce and fighting over the custody of their 8-year-old son.
“Swagger” Creator Reggie Rock Bythewood on Soaring to New Narrative Heights in Season 2
When looking for their next favorite series, fans of engaging drama—bonus points if you’re a lover of basketball—should look no further than creator and director Reggie Rock Bythewood’s series Swagger, which just premiered its second season on Apple TV+.
Based on the youth basketball experience of NBA superstar Kevin Durant, the story is centered around the Maryland-based team “Swagger DMV,” coached by Ike Edwards (O’Shea Jackson Jr.), a man committed to making both great ballers and world citizens of his team,
How the “Wednesday” VFX Supervisor Created Thing, Nevermore, and More
The “mysterious and spooky” Addams Family gets revitalized in Tim Burton’s hit series Wednesday, which stars Jenna Ortega as the emotionally reserved child, complete with pigtails, black attire, and a deadpan affect that suggests this youngster is the oldest of souls.
The story, from creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, is directed by Tim Burton and charters Wednesday to Nevermore Academy – a school her parents Morticia (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and (Gomez (Luis Guzmán) attended 25 years before.
“What We Do in the Shadows” Costume Designer Laura Montgomery on Dressing Vampires in Flux
The undead roommates of What We Do in the Shadows embarked on journeys of rebirth in season 4 – some more literally than others – that included remodeling, reincarnating, and remarrying. All these new endeavors gave Emmy-winning costume designer Laura Montgomery an opportunity to redefine the rules of vampire fashion.
For hundreds of years, Nadja (Natasia Demetriou), Laszlo (Matt Berry), and Nandor (Kayvan Novak) have been sporting outfits from the eras they’ve loved experiencing the most.
“Atlanta” and “P-Valley” Costume Designer Tiffany Hasbourne’s Singular Style
Costume designer Tiffany Hasbourne began her journey as a stylist to some of the biggest names in music, including Missy Elliott, 50 Cent, French Montana, and Busta Rhymes. She got the attention of gatekeepers in Hollywood by styling the cast of High School Musical, and then rose to prominence by designing costumes for shows like Shooter, Raising Dion, and Ballers. It was her work on Ballers that got her the gig on Atlanta,
It’s Magic vs. Larry in “Winning Time” Season 2 Teaser
“My friends, the future of sports is purple and gold.”
This is how Lakers owner Jerry Buss (John C. Reilly) greets us in the opening seconds of Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty‘s season 2 teaser, but there’s another team from the other side of the country that would suggest the future of sports is green and white.
The first season explored Magic Johnson’s (Quincy Isaiah) arrival in Los Angeles as Buss,
“Arnold” DP Logan Schneider on Shooting Schwarzenegger
What more can be said about Arnold Schwarzenegger that hasn’t already been said? Plenty, as it turns out. Arnold, the three-part documentary (streaming now on Netflix), includes loads of archival footage, plus interviews with famous collaborators like Jamie Lee Curtis and James Cameron, but the core story comes directly from the world-famous bodybuilder-turned-movie star-turned-California governor. Filming intermittently over two years mainly at Schwarzenegger’s Brentwood home, director Lesley Chilcott and cinematographer Logan Schneider also visited the Austrian village where Schwarzenegger grew up.
“The Witcher” Season 3 Trailer Finds Geralt at the Center of a Storm
Is Geralt (Henry Cavill) getting soft? Hardly, but the indomitable force at the center of The Witcher is definitely becoming more emotionally attached to Ciri (Freya Allan), the young princess he’s been entrusted to keep safe through the perilous journeys depicted thus far. The official trailer for season 3 finds Geralt, Ciri, and Yennefer (Anya Chalotra) once again being hunted by all manner of beasts, both supernatural and of the human variety, as they travel to the fortress of Aretuza where,
“Never Have I Ever” Star Maitreyi Ramakrishnan on the Final Season & Devi’s Send Off
“I’m dealing with cramps.”
That’s the first thing 21-year-old Maitreyi Ramakrishnan tells me when she hops on our Zoom. It’s wholly indicative of her character — an actress plucked out of obscurity at 17, grounded, down-to-earth, unapologetically herself no matter the circumstance.
It’s something she says she’s never had to think about — being herself in the public eye.
“When I first got the role and then, like, the Deadline article came out,
New “Secret Invasion” Teaser Finds Nick Fury in a World of Trouble
“An invasion is here, Rhodey,” says Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) to James Rhodes (Don Cheadle), at the top of this new Secret Invasion teaser. “Except we can’t even tell who the invaders are.”
Marvel Studios’ upcoming series is now just two weeks away, and Nick Fury is going to be short on allies and long on enemies. The problem is those enemies will be wearing the faces of allies,
“Poker Face” Editor Shaheed Qaasim on Cutting Rian Johnson’s Ambitiously Clever Crime Drama
In the Peacock murder mystery series Poker Face, star Natasha Lyonne drifts across the country as Charlie Cale, an itinerant human lie detector who unexpectedly solves a new homicide each week. No single Poker Face story is like any other. And provoked by malice, rage, or envy, neither are the murders. “We really treated each episode as its own independent movie,” explained editor Shaheed Qaasim (Modern Family,
“The Other Two” Cinematographer / Director Charlie Gruet on the Show’s Signature Absurdity
Millennials have been the target of some harsh criticism from all sides, but no other generation has become technologically obsolete quite so quickly. Older generations think we’re whizzes on the computer, but there’s a difference between spending your middle school years figuring out how to instant message your crush and being trained to write code. Yet, going viral over a certain (very young) age almost seems more shameful than being irrelevant. This displacement is brilliantly captured in the comedy series The Other Two,
Kim Cattrall Returning as Samantha Jones in “And Just Like That” Season 2 Finale
She’s baaaaaaack.
The world of Sex and the City has been made whole again, at least for a single scene. Variety has learned that Kim Cattrall will return as Samantha Jones in the season 2 finale of And Just Like That, the Sex and the City revival that airs on Max.
Yet don’t expect Cattrall’s Samantha to become a major part of the crew again,
“American Born Chinese” Production Design Team Cindy Chao & Michele Yu’s Dazzling Details
It’s rare enough to see a production design team and rarer still to see a team of two female Asian American designers, but Cindy Chao and Michele Yu have been collaborating together successfully on both the large and small screens for over a decade. Recently they got a Primetime Emmy nomination for their work on A Black Lady Sketch Show, and now their new project, American Born Chinese, has arrived on Disney+ boasting rave reviews.
“Mrs. Davis” Director Owen Harris on Pitting a Nun vs. Artificial Intelligence in Peacock’s Potent New Series
A marauding nun married to Jesus takes on an omniscient artificial intelligence in Mrs. Davis, Peacock’s irreverent new thriller set across the globe. Simone (Betty Gilpin) makes a deal with Mrs. Davis, the ubiquitous AI, wherein should she succeed in a quest to find and destroy the Holy Grail, Mrs. Davis, whom Simone believes killed her father, will self-destruct. After linking back up with her wealthy failed rodeo rider ex-boyfriend Wiley (Jake McDorman),
King for a Day: Inside the Brilliant, Brutal “Succession” Series Finale
“I love you, and I can’t f**king stomach you.” This sentiment, expressed by Shivon Roy (Sarah Snook) to her older brother Kendall (Jeremy Strong), captures the essence of the Roy children’s pain and confusion and the seed of the self-destruction that they’ve tended, with varying degrees of attention, ever since they were old enough to understand just how messed up their family was. Shiv delivered these lines in the climactic final moments of Jesse Armstrong’s pitch-perfect series,
