SXSW 2017: California Dreams Blurs the Line Between Doc & Narrative

California Dreams is a bizarre study of five Southern Californians trying to make it in Hollywood. The film features Cory Zacharia who has hopes of becoming an actor, but seems unaware that he’s already the lead in the film. Billed as a documentary, the movie has some hallucinatory moments like a running gag of Cory being chased by a Dog the Bounty Hunter impersonator and collecting twenty-dollar bills that fall from the sky in a field just when he needs them.

SXSW2017: Austin Production La Barracuda Has Real Bite

Shot and filmed in Austin by local filmmakers Jason Cortlund and Julia Halperin, La Barracuda was a hometown darling at SXSW. The suspense drama stars Texas native Allison Tolman (Fargo) as Merle, the tone-deaf daughter of a country music legend. When a mysterious woman appears and introduces herself as Merle’s half sister, Sinaloa (Sophie Reid), tensions flare. Everyone in the family has their suspicions of her true intentions that range from selfish to sinister.

SXSW 2017: Talking with The Transfiguration Filmmakers About the Vampire Thriller

The Transfiguration is a gritty urban vampire story that ditches the typical startling horror vibe of monster movies for the shock of a realistic bloodthirsty killer. Adding to the film’s discomfort is the innocence and confusion of the quiet teenage predator. Raised by his older brother, Milo (Eric Ruffin) is lonely and doesn’t seem to be able to comprehend the consequences of his actions. When fellow angst ridden teen Sophie (Chloe Levine) takes an interest in him,

SXSW 2017: Mommy Dead and Dearest Documents an Unbelievable True Story

Mommy Dead and Dearest is a chilling thriller with countless twists that draws you in immediately and doesn’t let go. When Dee Dee Blanchard was found stabbed to death and her critically ill and disabled daughter Gypsy Rose goes missing, an entire Midwest town feared for her safety. Days later, Gypsy is found in Wisconsin, mentally sound, healthy, and able to walk. The plot might sound like a James Patterson novel, but Mommy Dead and Dearest is a documentary and the wild tale is true.

Director Olivier Assayas on Tailoring Personal Shopper for Kristen Stewart

French director Olivier Assayas may have tailored Personal Shopper to its star, Kristen Stewart, but Assayas doesn’t take credit for Stewart’s career boom in acclaimed indies like Kelly Reichardt’s Certain Women and in more mainstream fare such as Woody Allen’s Cafe Society and Ang Lee’s Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, all released in 2016.

“I was the right person at the right time,”

SXSW 2017: Talking with The Hero Director Brett Haley

SXSW darling The Hero was a tender exploration of love, loneliness, and typecasting. The story follows former western star Lee Hayden (Sam Elliott) who spent his life overshadowed by that one big role. When a cancer diagnosis strikes, he struggles to define his legacy and connect with people who knew the man better than the myth.

There’s possibly no actor who understands the frustrations of being stereotyped better than Sam Elliott.

Director Danny Boyle Talks T2 Trainspotting

There’s no lack of sex, drugs and rock ‘n’roll in T2 Trainspotting. The long-awaited sequel to director Danny Boyle’s darkly comic and stylized ode to youthful anarchy and heroin addiction that shook the cinematic landscape in 1996 lands in U.S. theaters on Friday. The Scottish gang of four as well as the actors who brought them to life are all back – Ewan McGregor’s scampish Rent Boy, Jonny Lee Miller as con man Sick Boy,

SXSW 2017: The Strange Ones Directors Play With Your Perceptions

Christopher Radcliff and Lauren Wolkstein’s feature-length debut The Strange Ones is a slow burning, twisted coming-of-age story co-starring Alex Pettyfer and 14 year old James Freedson-Jackson, who won SXSW’s Special Jury Prize for breakthrough performance. He’s immensely deserving of the accolade, delivering a performance of almost unnerving poise for a 14-year-old actor. It had begun its life as a short six years ago.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K86nhhNV058

The feature film opens with two brothers on the run.

SXSW 2017: Mark Weber’s Genre-Defying Stunner Flesh and Blood

In his label-defying fourth film as director, actor/writer/director Mark Weber (Green Room, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World) has delivered a subtly powerful shot to the heart with Flesh and Blood. Calling the film “reality cinema,” Weber has turned the camera on his mother, Cheri Honkala, his half-brother Guillermo Santos, and himself, turning his unconventional upbringing and tight-knit, highly atypical family into a moving portrait of a uniquely American story. In fact,

SXSW 2017: Karen Skloss on her Mind-Bending Prom Thriller The Honor Farm

Prom. For some kids, it’s the night of their young lives. For most everybody else, it’s kind of a let down, a bunch of hype for what turns out to be a fairly forgettable dance, rented tuxedos and dresses you’ll never wear again, and the realization that riding around in the back of a limo can be a nauseous affair. For the characters in writer/director Karen Skloss’s The Honor Farm, however, prom is the beginning to a trippy,

Chatting With Beauty and the Beast Director Bill Condon

Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, which opens this week, is  a many-splendored thing. The studio’s latest supersized live-action 3-D rendering of an animated classic is a digitally gilded feast for the eyes. It’s also a family blockbuster  that provides Emma Watson with her best acting showcase since the Harry Potter franchise. And this brand-name fairy tale about a romance that blossoms between spirited bibliophile Belle and a rage-filled prince turned into a hulking creature by a curse is poised to become a box-office record breaker if pre-sales and trailer views are any indication.

Celebrating Reel Women: Directors

From gripping films like The Hurt Locker and Selma to groundbreaking documentaries like 13th and Blackfish, to horror films like XX and The Invitation (their contribution to the genre is staggering), women in film are consistently leading the industry in new and refreshing directions. 

Our Complete 2017 Oscars Coverage

And here it is, the complete guide to our 2017 Oscars coverage. Our annual "Know Your Nominee" series once again looks at every category, giving you the information you need to conquer your Oscars pool.

Know Your 2017 Oscar Nominees: Director

We’ve gone big for our Oscars coverage this year. Our annual "Know Your Nominee" series once again looks at every category, giving you the information you need to conquer your Oscars pool. Learn more about the nominees for Lead Actor, Foreign Language Film, Costume Designers, Documentary Short, Editing, Live Action Short, Actress in a Supporting Role, 

Berlinale 2017: Chavela is a Potent, Timely Portrait of a Nearly Forgotten Icon

The tale of a hard-drinking, androdgynous-outfitted, wild singer and musician debuted at the Berlinale on Friday, and it was hardly the stuff of aging white male rocker biopic dreams. Far better, Chavela, from directors Catherine Gund and Danesha Kyi, is a moving documentary of the life of Chavela Vargas, an icon of 20th century Latin music.

Born Isabel Vargas Lizano in Costa Rica in 1919, Chavela left for Mexico as a teenager to pursue a musical career and escape a stifling small-town childhood that never accepted her latent homesexuality.

XX & the new Female Voices of Modern Horror

For about as long as the genre’s been around, women have played a large part in traditional horror storytelling. Whether it’s the virginal Mina in Tod Browning’s Dracula, beset by the hypnotic forces of the titular vamp, the tough as nails Sally Hardesty in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre or Rosemary, the helpless young mother at the center of Roman Polanski’s iconic demonic tale.

American Fable‘s Writer/Director Anne Hamilton on her Gothic Fever Dream

American Fable, which is available today, is an American gothic style fairy tale set against the farm crisis of the Reagan era that manages, without overt effort, to speak directly to today’s anxieties. The heroine of the story is Gitty (Peyton Kennedy), a soulful, intelligent young girl who finds herself in a major predicament when her father, pushed to the brink financially, makes a desperate decision that could spell doom for the entire family.

Oscar Watch: Why Ted Melfi Passed on Spider-Man: Homecoming to direct Hidden Figures

Before he became an award-winning TV commercial director, before he lured Bill Murray out of semi-retirement to star in his St. Vincent film, before he earned Oscar nominations for co-writing and producing this year's most popular Best Picture nominee Hidden Figures, Ted Melfi launched his creative journey in unlikely fashion by serving as child sports columnist for the M.A.F.I.A. Bulletin Board.

Melfi's volatile father,

How Lion Director Guided a Child to Inspire Two Oscar-Nominated Adults

For a man whose previous experience draws largely from award-winning TV commercials, Australian director Garth Davis demonstrates a remarkable touch with actors in his feature film debut Lion. For the Academy Award Best Picture nominee, Davis not only steered Dev Patel and Nicole Kidman to Oscar-nominated star turns; he also coaxed a deeply moving performance from a seven-year old boy with no previous acting experience.

In the fact-based movie,

The Path Creator Jessica Goldberg on Finding Religion

If you haven't watched Hulu's The Path, now's your time to catch up before the second season begins tonight. The show, created by Jessica Goldberg, is a rarity for TV: a twisting, intriguing deep dive into the pitfalls of belief, the difficulties of marriage, and the risks of zealotry. 

The story follows Eddie Lane (Breaking Bad's Aaron Paul), who lives in upstate New York with his wife Sarah (Michelle Monaghan) and their two children,