Inherent Risk: Editor and Producer Mathilde Bonnefoy on Making Citizenfour

When documentarian Laura Poitras asked Edward Snowden why he had chosen her, out of all the potential people to disclose his information to, he replied, “I didn’t. You chose yourself.” At the time Snowden was writing to her as “citizen four,” and for months Poitras alone knew about his trove of information on the N.S.A.'s surveillance program.

Eventually, as we learn in Citizenfour, the Oscar-nominated documentary that culminated from her relationship with Snowden,

Berlinale 2015: Christian Bale & Natalie Portman Discuss Knight of Cups

Watching Terence Malick’s Knight of Cups, set in a glowing, static Los Angeles, was reminiscent of the summation of my father’s arguments against me going to college there — there’s just no there, there. Rick (Christian Bale), a peaking screenwriter, wondering how he arrived exactly where he wanted to be, wanders the city and the nearby desert, passing through condos and mansions and decadent fêtes. This metaphorical prince — he is such because the narration at the beginning of the movie tells us so —

American Sniper‘s Ben Reed on Researching his Role

American Sniper is based on the book by the late Chris Kyle, the most lethal sniper in American military history, serving four tours of duty in Iraq. The film has sparked heated debate, Twitter-feuds, and thoughtful analysis from some of the industry's best film critics, from Slate's Dana Stevens to the New Yorker's David Denby, arguing for the film's artistic merits as well as the nuances in its message,

A Q&A With Writer, Director & Actress Desiree Akhavan, New Girls Cast Member

Since her feature film debut, Appropriate Behavior, premiered at Sundance in 2014, Desiree Akhavan — the film's 30-year-old writer, director, and star — has been garnering buzz as the "Next Lena Dunham." It's a click-bait headline that grabs eyeballs, for sure, but it's also a lazy person's way of saying that she's an intelligent, funny, moral and sexual boundary-pushing, talented filmmaker who also happens to be a young woman who writes, directs and stars in her own stuff.

Julianne Moore, Co-Director Wash Westmoreland & Cast Discuss Still Alice

In Still Alice, Julianne Moore plays a linguistics professor who is shockingly diagnosed with Early Onset Alzheimer's disease. With her family (husband Alec Baldwin and grown children Kristen Stewart, Kate Bosworth and Hunter Parrish) by her side, she tries to deal with the debilitating and horrifying disease — saying at one point that she even wished she had cancer instead. Based on the novel by Lisa Genova, Alice has won critical praise,

Oscar Nominees Discuss Their Preparation – Part III

We’ve heard from nominees like directors Alejandro G. Iñárritu and Bennett Miller and actors Felicity Jones and J.K. Simmons, all discussing their preparation for tackling their subjects. Movies OnDemand put together these fantastic (and very brief) video interviews not just with the nominees, but with many of the serious contenders this year, including director Jon Stewart (Rosewater), composer Atticus Ross (Gone Girl) and actress Katherine Waterson (Inherent Vice).

Short Stuff: Animation and Live Action Oscar Nominees

One of the delicious joys of Oscar season — beyond dissecting the nominations and speculating on who will win, of course — is the opportunity to catch up on the short form nominees all in one sitting. This year marks the tenth anniversary that the shorts in each category — animation, live action, and documentary — will each be grouped together and have their own theatrical release courtesy of ShortsHD.

There’s nothing like watching the films together to get a sense of perspective and better understand the filmmakers’

Oscar Nominees Discuss Their Preparation

With the 2015 awards season in full swing, yesterday was a big day for creators and makers, both in front of and behind the camera. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced its nominees for the 2015 Oscars – to be held on February 22nd.

It has been an amazing year in film, with some of the truly finest cinematic offerings ever. ‘Movies OnDemand’ sat down with a number of this year’s nominees to discuss how they got ready for their roles,

Novel Approach: 5 Films Based on Books Premiering at Sundance

Who will break out big at Sundance this year? Which film, which director, which star will get the major viral boost from word of mouth or jury prize?

The 2014 iteration of the Park City, Utah, festival opens on January 22. As usual, there is an abundance of riches to consider beyond the big screen. There are the excellent panel discussions, for instance, which this year features a first-ever appearance by director George Lucas.

A Q&A with James Dever, Military Advisor on American Sniper

James Dever was just following orders. In 1986, Clint Eastwood arrived at Camp Pendleton, the Southern California Marine Corps base, to direct, and star in, Heartbreak Ridge. Dever, a gunnery sergeant with more than 13 years in the Corps under his belt at the time, was assigned by his Colonel to work with Eastwood — whose character, Thomas Highway, is also a gunnery sergeant.

The experience proved intoxicating. “I said to myself,

Women on the Big Screen: Eight Movies to Watch for in 2015 (Including Tina & Amy)

So we bid adieu to Tina Fey and Amy Poehler as perhaps the most charming, witty Golden Globe hosts of all time. The longtime friends and charismatic collaborators finished their three-year run last at last night’s 72nd annual Golden Globes ceremony just as they began it: sharp, topical, irreverent, and so comfortable together on stage they make everyone else comfortable (even those at the butt of their jokes). It was a great run,

A Glimpse at the 72nd Annual Golden Globes

The 72nd Annual Golden Globes air this Sunday night at 8 pm EST, with hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler returning for a third consecutive time. You know these two are going to keep it fresh.

Let’s take a look at a few of the nominees and see what we know going in.

Best Motion Picture, Drama

On the one hand, you have Richard Linklater’s Boyhood,

Taken 3 & Liam Neeson’s Long History of Bringing the Pain

Poor Bryan Mills. He's had a rough couple of years. This CIA operative had put in his time for his country and just wanted to enjoy his retirement. The Sunday paper. Slippers. Maybe a little light gardening. But then, his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) gets Taken (2008) in France. So that was bad. But then it got worse; she was taken by human sex traffickers. Oof. The thing is, if these monsters had made a list of all the people whose daughter it would be inadvisable to kidnap,

2014 in Review: Lensers, Designers, Makeup Artists & More – PART II

The end of the year brings a few reliable reactions; promises to do x, y and z more consistently in the new year, reflection on all that you accomplished (and failed at, and regretted) this past year, and 'Year in Review' lists. Yesterday we published Part I of our look back at some of the filmmakers we interviewed in 2014. On Monday, we published an interview with cinematographer Robert Yeoman, looking back on his work in Wes Anderson's 

2014 in Review: Portrait Artists, Sound Designers & More – Part I

As a wild year in film draws to a close, we’re looking back at some of the talented filmmakers we’ve had a chance to speak with, and all the ways they schooled on us how films really get made. Sound designers, construction crew managers, creature supervisors, production designers, a portrait artist (for Wes Anderson, naturally) and more (our first group of filmmakers are, admittedly, a bit more well known). Although these folks don’t really care how much attention they get,

Into the Woods‘s Creative Team on Adapting Sondheim’s Hit

Witches. Heroes. Giants. Magic. Enchantments. Curses. Love. Loss. These are familiar to any Disney movie fan. But when Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s Tony Award®-winning stage musical Into the Woods hits movie theaters on December 25, all of these concepts and worlds come together in unusual ways inside one Disney film – turning expectations on their head in the process.

For those unfamiliar with the musical, Into the Woods takes the traditional tales of Cinderella,

Six New Films Offer Six Distinct Viewing Experiences

A hobbit, Teddy Roosevelt reanimated from wax, a bumbling dad, a brilliant, irascible painter, a indefatigable child, and an inveterate gambler walk into a bar. The bartender goes, oh hey, you're all starring in films this weekend.

Terrible jokes aside, we are heading into the home stretch of the holiday season, with a slew of big films set to land on Christmas Day (Unbroken, American Sniper, Selma),

Ridley Scott’s 10 Commandments Making Exodus: Gods and Kings Part I

This holiday movie season brings us Hollywood’s next—and arguably biggest—Biblical blockbuster to date: Ridley Scott’s Exodus: Gods and Kings. Out December 12th, Scott’s rendition of the Old Testament tale chronicles the story of Moses (Christian Bale) as he leads the Hebrews to freedom in a revolution against his pseudo-brother, the vengeful Rameses (Joel Edgerton). With the help of screenwriters Steve Zallian, Adam Cooper and Bill Collage, Scott brought a film as grandiose in scale as the ancient Egyptian era itself,

Beyond Interstellar: 12 Films to Put On Your Calendar

After months and months of speculation that Christopher Nolan alone seems able to create around his films, the general public will get a chance to weigh in on his most passionate project yet, Interstellar. You’ve already heard about Interstellar. Everyone has. What we thought we’d do is give you a quick cheat sheet on some upcoming films, leading you right to Christmas day.

November 14

It’ll be a very strong week for serious film,

Piecing Together The Imitation Game

The only thing more astonishing than Alan Turing’s efforts during World War II was the way his own government treated him after. Turing was, by all measures, a war hero, and his and his team's efforts were partly responsible for saving, by some estimates, 14 million lives.

One of the fathers of computing, he led a group of linguists, scholars, chess champions and intelligence officers in an effort to crack the “unbreakable” codes of Germany’s Enigma machine.