Interview

Director

Hot off Get Out, Warner Bros. Looking at Jordan Peele to Helm Akira

Jordan Peele is on fire. The co-creator of Key & Peele, one of the most influential sketch comedy shows of all time, is coming off his blockbuster smash Get Out, his directorial debut, no less, which is a commercial and critical hit. Get Out has already grossed over $150 million and has generated extraordinary amounts of buzz, as well as serious think pieces on Peele’s ability to dissect racism in ways no other filmmaker has done.

By  |  March 30, 2017

Interview

Director, Screenwriter

Director Oz Perkins Takes It Slow in The Blackcoat’s Daughter Shocker

Oz Perkins wrote and directed The Blackcoat's Daughter (opening in theaters and On Demand March 31) determined to create a  slow-burn horror film in the classic mold. The story: two teenagers (Kiernan Shipka of Mad Men and British actress Lucy Boynton) go mad when they're abandoned at their devil-infested prep school over winter break. Separately, a depressed young woman (Emma Roberts) treks through the night on a mysterious mission her own.

By  |  March 30, 2017

Interview

Director, Screenwriter

Joe Swanberg Gambles on Jake Johnson’s Poker Hand in Win It All

Director Joe Swanberg never played a game of cards in his life, but he totally relates to the poker player at the heart of his new movie Win It All (opening April 7 on Netflix). "As an independent filmmaker I feel like a gambler all the time," he says. "Especially as someone who puts my own money into my own movies, I really know that feeling of taking a big risk and not knowing what's going to happen."

By  |  March 29, 2017

Interview

Director, Producer

The Boss Baby‘s Director & Producer Talk Baldwin, Childhood, Dr. Seuss

Director Tom McGrath (the Madagascar movies) admits that his very funny and heartwarming new animated film, The Boss Baby is both a tribute and apology to his older brother. It is the story of a seven-year-old named Tim whose blissful life is turned upside down by the arrival of a baby brother. As Tim’s parents dote on the new arrival, they somehow never notice that the baby has a suit and tie,

By  |  March 28, 2017

Interview

Actor, Director

SXSW 2017: Bill Pullman & Director Jared Moshe on the Making of The Ballad of Lefty Brown

The Ballad of Lefty Brown was an audience favorite at SXSW for its classic western style and fresh storytelling. Bill Pullman (Independence Day) played the title role, but it was a character that diverged from the leading man parts that he is famous for. As the sidekick to Senator Johnson (Peter Fonda) in 1889 Montana, Lefty learns a difficult lesson when the brutal west doesn’t always honor honesty and loyalty as he’s come to believe it would.

By  |  March 20, 2017

Interview

Director

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.

By  |  March 20, 2017

Interview

Actor, Director, Screenwriter

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.

By  |  March 20, 2017

Interview

Cinematographer, Director

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,

By  |  March 19, 2017

Interview

Director

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.

By  |  March 17, 2017

Interview

Director

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,”

By  |  March 17, 2017

Interview

Director

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.

By  |  March 16, 2017

Interview

Director

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,

By  |  March 16, 2017

Interview

Director, Screenwriter

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.

By  |  March 15, 2017

Interview

Actor, Director, Screenwriter

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,

By  |  March 15, 2017

Interview

Director, Screenwriter

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,

By  |  March 14, 2017

Interview

Director

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.

By  |  March 14, 2017

Interview

Director

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. 

By  |  March 10, 2017

Interview

Actor, Cinematographer, Composer, Costume Designer, Director, Editor, Hair/Makeup, Production Designer, Screenwriter, Sound Designer, Special/Visual Effects

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.

By  |  February 24, 2017

Interview

Director

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 ActorForeign Language FilmCostume DesignersDocumentary ShortEditingLive Action ShortActress in a Supporting Role

By  |  February 23, 2017

Interview

Director

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.

By  |  February 22, 2017