Idris Elba Signs First-Look Deal With Apple
Apple has added one of Hollywood’s biggest stars to its growing roster of boldfaced names. Idris Elba and his Green Door Pictures have signed a first-look deal with Apple TV+ to develop and produce a variety of projects for the streaming service. Elba started Green Door Pictures back in 2013 in order to develop projects with a diverse cast of talent in front of and behind the camera. Elba has starred in Green Door Pictures projects,
“Star Trek: Lower Decks” Trailer Reveals Interstellar Animated Comedy
Well, this looks delightfully silly. CBS All Access revealed the first trailer for Star Trek: Lower Decks, a new animated series that tweaks the formula of the legendary franchise in more ways than one. Lower Decks is focused on the support crew of one of Starfleet’s least important ships, the U.S.S. Cerritos. Your main characters are whatever the opposite of Vulcan would be (William Shatner?).
It’s the year 2038,
Cinematographer Armando Salas on the Seductive Aesthetics of “Ozark”
The third season of Netflix’s Ozark sees Marty and Wendy Byrde (Jason Bateman and Laura Linney) dig into their life in Mississippi, where they now own one casino, and a sticking point in their marriage is the risk associated with acquiring another. With the Byrdes still laundering money for Omar Navarro (Felix Solis), the head of a Mexican cartel, and working alongside bloodthirsty lawyer Helen Pierce (Janet McTeer), the series’ third season retains the cool blue and green tones of earlier episodes but adds new aesthetic dimensions via a deeper look at the Navarro compound and flashbacks to Marty’s youth.
Javicia Leslie Makes History as the New Batwoman
When we spoke to Batwoman composer Sherri Chung, she expressed excitement over where the CW show would head in the upcoming season. Despite losing the talented Ruby Rose as Kate Kane/Batwoman, Chung was confident in the show’s approach to finding a new lead. “What I think is great is that it sounds like they’re going to treat this as Kate Kane leaving Gotham, and a new character comes in to carry the torch as Batwoman,”
How “Insecure” Editor Nena Erb Finds the Perfect Moment
“I’m not ready to go to restaurants,” Insecure editor Nena Erb told me while we were on the phone discussing her career, and, of course, life in the midst of a global pandemic. Yet for Erb, whose career has conditioned her to solitude, she’s making the most of her forced isolation by helping bring up the next generation of young editors. “I was able to work at home for about the first month of the pandemic,
A Conversation With Laverne Cox
Laverne Cox serves as the guide of director Sam Feder’s crucial new documentary Disclosure: Trans Lives on Screen. The film offers a vivid, frankly startling history of the portrayal of transgender lives on screen, and Cox (also an executive producer) captains a compelling cast of influential trans creators, cultural critics, and thinkers. They include The Matrix creator Lilly Wachowski, Pose star Mj Rodriguez,
Colin Kaepernick Signs First Look Deal With Disney
If you were to name the most influential athletes of the last decade, Colin Kaepernick must be on your list. The former San Francisco 49ers quarterback has become one of the most crucial voices in America demanding and working towards social justice. He started this journey in the public eye with a simple gesture and, perhaps more importantly, a sustained commitment thereafter in the face of injustice against himself personally. Colin Kaepernick became a known quantity to NFL fans in 2012,
How “Queer Eye” Casting Director Danielle Gervais Found the Perfect Team
Danielle Gervais had the daunting task of finding the new Fab Five when the iconic reality series Queer Eye was rebooted by Netflix for a new generation. The Emmy-winning casting director scoured America with her team to find Antoni Porowski (food and wine), Bobby Berk (interior design), Karamo Brown (culture), Jonathan Van Ness (grooming) and Tan France (fashion). Five seasons later, countless lives changed, and many tears shed in the process, Gervais reflects on how it all came together and why choosing a favorite ‘hero’ is like choosing a favorite child.
Dashaun Wesley Takes MC Duties to a New Level on HBO Max’s “Legendary”
It’s a party that’s been years in the making.
Legendary, the original HBO Max series that debuted on May 27, celebrates the “legendary” underground world of Voguing and Ball culture with a reality competition unlike any other on television. Eight houses (aka teams), mostly comprised of Black and Latino LGBTQ members, pour it all out and onto the stage in a series of challenges, showcasing everything from dancing and voguing to fashion and flair.
A Chat About Netflix’s “Disclosure” and Trans Representation on Screen
We have something very special planned for tonight, folks. As part of our ongoing Pride Month coverage, the Motion Picture Association has teamed up with Netflix for our next installment of our Film School Friday series. We’re really excited for tonight’s conversation with leading transgender and LGBTQ+ creators of Netflix’s groundbreaking documentary Disclosure. Our panelists are Disclosure‘s director Sam Feder (you can read our interview with Sam here),
Foundation Trailer Reveals Apple TV+’s Hugely Ambitious Sci-Fi Epic
If you’re a fairly new streaming service and you’re prepared to go all-in on an epic sci-fi series, you could hardly pick better source material than legendary sci-fi author Isaac Asimov’s “Foundation” series. In fact, many consider it the greatest work of science fiction ever produced. This is precisely what Apple TV+ has done, and the first trailer for their adaptation reveals a hugely ambitious new show with excellent performers and the kind of big-budget production design and visual effects we now want and expect from our television series.
#blackAF Costume Designer Michelle Cole on Re-Teaming With Kenya Barris
The creator of the hugely successful sitcom Black-ish, and its spin-offs Grown-ish and Mixed-ish, chose to step in front of the camera for #blackAF. The mockumentary series is Kenya Barris’ first project for Netflix. Based on his own life, Barris plays himself, alongside Rashida Jones as his wife Joya, in the show, which is now streaming. He’s an extremely wealthy TV showrunner with six kids,
Watch Regina King & Damon Lindelof’s Peabody Award Acceptance Speech for Watchmen
HBO received four Peabody Awards this year, which tied it for the most of any cable network or streaming platform. The awards went to three of their very best series—Chernobyl, Succession, and Watchmen—and the documentary True Justice: Bryan Stevenson’s Fight for Equality. For Watchmen, one of 2019’s best shows, period (remember 2019?), creator Damon Lindelof and his star Regina King accepted the award in a charming video from their homes that we’ve embedded below for your viewing pleasure.
HBO Reveals the Trailer for Bully. Coward. Victim. The Story of Roy Cohn
HBO has revealed the first look at Director Ivy Meeropol’s Bully. Coward. Victim. The Story of Roy Cohn, which focuses on the infamously callous, cruel attorney and hails from a director whose life was impacted by Cohn’s relentless drive for power at all costs. Meerpol’s grandparents were Jules and Ethel Rosenberg, who were convicted of spying on behalf of the Soviet Union and were ultimately put to death at Sing Sing Correction Facility in New York in 1953.
Arielle Kilker On Assembling a Largely Female Crew to Create Her Netflix Series Cheer
Arielle Kilker brings pretty much everything she’s learned in her career to bear in her Netflix‘s Cheer, the series she co-created, co-directed, edited, and produced. That includes the Emmy-nominated work she put in as editor on Chef’s Table and a supervising editor on the Peabody nominated Last Chance U. She’s also edited and written crime docuseries on projects for MSNBC, A&E, and PBS. For Cheer,
The Trailer For HBO’s Lovecraft Country Reveals a Series That’s Sadly Perfectly Timed
We all can see with our own eyes what’s happening in America right now. In the middle of a global pandemic that has devastated the world and the country, taking the lives of more than 100,000 Americans and disproportionately affecting Black, Hispanic, Latino and Indigenous communities, we are also witnessing protests against police brutality in the wake of the murder of George Floyd by members of the Minneapolis Police Department. In the entertainment industry,
Josh Gad & Kristen Bell on Their New Animated Musical Series Central Park
Before he was an adorable singing snowman named Olaf, Josh Gad was a Tony-nominated Broadway star (“The Book of Mormon”) and before that, he was a devoted fan of old-fashioned Broadway musicals, you know, the kind that begin with a big “I wish” song and use the music to reveal character and move the story along. He was also a fan of New York’s Central Park. And the animated TV series Bob’s Burgers.
Join us For Our Second Film School Friday Event Featuring Creators From Insecure, Batwoman & More
Join us today for our second Film School Friday event at 2 pm ET, which will feature leading Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) creators and continues our coverage of AAPI Heritage Month. Today’s virtual panel features creators from HBO’s Insecure, Netflix’s Never Have I Ever, The CW’s Batwoman, and more. Your host is John Gibson, the Motion Picture Association’s Vice President for External and Multicultural Affairs.
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia Makes TV History With Season 15 Renewal
There is some good news to savor on this otherwise bleak post-holiday Tuesday; FX has renewed It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia for its 15th season, breaking The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet‘s record as the longest-running live-action comedy ever. Of course the gang made TV history!
FX’s gleefully insane, inane, and yet oh-so-brilliantly written and performed stalwart has somehow, miraculously, remained funny and charming for all of these years.
Living With Michael Jordan (And More) In These Strange Times
Listen, we got the memo about social distancing. Really. But the houseguests are really starting to proliferate, and I’ve run out of courtesy masks.
Let me tell you who’s over right now. Michael Jordan, Phil Jackson, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, that’s who. Man are they yuge. And you know who was also recently over? Doron Kavillio, the most dynamic counter-terrorist agent I’ve ever met.
