Interview

Director, Screenwriter

New Teaser Hints at Opening Shot of Star Wars: Episode VIII

Principal photography officially began on Star Wars: Episode VIII at Pinewood Studios in London on February 15, 2016. The teaser announcing this news had one very interesting reveal—either this could be one of the opening shots of Episode VIII, or, writer/director Rian Johnson was on set for the very final shot of The Force AwakensConsidering The Force Awakens was very much J.J.

By  |  February 16, 2016

Interview

Actor, Director

Jesus Returns (Again) to the Big Screen in Risen

Another year, another dramatic Bible rendering. The latest in a pantheon of Jesus film depictions, the movie Risen opens on February 19, dramatizing Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection. The action is seen through the eyes of some of the bad guy Roman non-believers, Clavius (Ralph Fiennes) and his assistant, Lucius (Tom Felton), who are tasked with finding out where exactly Jesus disappeared to after crucifixion. More action than spiritual reflection, many red paludamentums are angrily swung around during the sturm and drang that ensues in the hunt for Christ’s body.

By  |  February 12, 2016

Interview

Director, Screenwriter

Talking to Writer-Director Tobias Lindholm About his Oscar-Nominated A War

The third big-screen collaboration between Danish writer-director Tobias Lindholm and actor Pilou Asbaek, A War follows a company commander through the horrors of Afghanistan and back to Denmark, where he's put on trial for alleged war crimes. The movie, an Oscar nominee for best foreign-language film, has a semi-improvisational style and features mostly nonprofessional performers. Lindholm's two previous movies, R and A Hijacking,

By  |  February 12, 2016

Interview

Director, Screenwriter

Warner Bros. Names Ryan Coogler First Creative Talent Ambassador

Ryan Coogler's young career continues to move in interesting directions. The writer-director burst onto the scene in 2013 with Fruitvale Stationa Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award winner at Sundance. This past year, he co-wrote and directed Creed, again teaming up with Fruitvale star Michael B. Jordan as the titular son of Apollo Creed, who goes on to become a protegé of Rocky Balboa.

By  |  February 11, 2016

Interview

Actor, Director, Screenwriter

How Deadpool’s Tight Budget Helped Create a New Kind of Marvel Film

To understand how we ended up with the wisecracking, dirty-talking, unapologetically murderous Deadpool we already know and love- thanks to an aggressive marketing campaign- we have to go back to the origin story of this origin story.

The project had been kicking around at Fox for more than a decade when in July, 2014, two minutes of test footage was leaked on the web, portraying a very different kind of superhero.

By  |  February 10, 2016

Interview

Actor, Director

The Jungle Book Super Bowl Breakthrough Spot Now Online

Did you catch the cool "breakthrough" Super Bowl spot for The Jungle Book? If you missed it, Walt Disney Pictures has brought it online, and it does a great job of furthering interest in director Jon Favreau’s upcoming live-action take on Rudyard Kipling’s classic tale. It's a pretty nifty fit to create a 3D feel to a teaser that's actually not. Check it out here. What's more, there's also a new full-length trailer,

By  |  February 9, 2016

Interview

Actor, Director

Super Bowl 50: Jason Bourne is Back

The team behind Bourne 5 has kept the film as mysterious as the skills the titular hero woke up having in the very first movie. The return of Matt Damon to the title role, along with The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum director Paul Greengrass, meant that whatever the film was going to be,

By  |  February 8, 2016

Interview

Director

Director Tim Miller Talks What Makes Deadpool Special in new IMAX Featurette

Deadpool will finally deliver all the quips, banter and NSFW bon mots we've been enjoying in tiny bites as a full scale, feature length meal on Friday, February 12. Director Tim Miller, who has been attached to the project since 2009, explains in this new featurette why Deadpool is the perfect Marvel hero for right now. And this being an IMAX featurette, Miller also explains why the film’s best seen on the biggest of big screens.

By  |  February 4, 2016

Interview

Actor, Director

The New International Trailer for Gods of Egypt is Deliciously Over the Top

Director Alex Proyas's Gods of Egypt is one of those films that seems to revel in its' own absurdity. And we don't mean that pejoratively. Proyas is an ambitious director, as his work on Dark City, I, Robot and Knowing proves. The man clearly loves the weird and wild side of storytelling, and has infused his sci-fi narratives with genuine passion.

By  |  February 3, 2016

Interview

Director

DreamWorks Kung Fu Panda 3’s Chinese Version a 1st for Studio

For the first time DreamWorks Animation has created two versions of a film – one especially for the Chinese market. Kung Fu Panda 3 is the first release from the Shanghai-based Oriental DreamWorks, which worked closely with the Californian team. The film’s characters are animated so that their speech is in sync with both English and Mandarin.

The franchise has been embraced by China – the first Kung Fu Panda grossed $26 million in 2008,

By  |  February 2, 2016

Interview

Actor, Director, Screenwriter

Boba Fett! Code Names! The Rogue One Rumor Mill is Alive & Well

What you already know about Rogue One: A Star Wars Storythe next addition in Disney's Star Wars canon, is probably pretty limited. You know it's the first film in Disney's upcoming release schedule that's not a part of the Skywalker saga trilogy, to which The Force Awakens was the first, and you know it's about the band of rebels who stole the plans for the Death Star, which were eventually uploaded to R2D2 and set the events of the very first 

By  |  February 2, 2016

Interview

Actor, Director, Screenwriter

Watch the new Batman v Superman International Trailer

With the premiere date drawing ever closer (March 25, folks), Warner Bros. Pictures has been releasing a slew of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice trailers and TV spots. The latest is a new international trailer, which keeps the dialogue to a minimum and the mayhem at full throttle.

By now you know that the premise of Batman v Superman is right there in the title; Gotham City's winged vigilante (Ben Affleck) takes on Metropolis's alien savior (Henry Cavill) in a battle for the ages.

By  |  February 2, 2016

Interview

Actor, Director, Screenwriter

Watch This Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Featurette

"The job we have to do is to make it seem natural and kind have to ignore your own sense of wonder watching it," says actress Katherine Waterston about her work in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find ThemThe highly secretive and hugely exciting project is the first screenplay penned by J.K. Rowling herself, and will transport Harry Potter fans back into the wizarding world, only one that takes place an ocean away from Hogwart's,

By  |  February 1, 2016

Interview

Director

Deadpool Director’s Cut to be “Even More Raw”

Deadpool opens wide on February 12, finally bringing the Merch with the Mouth (Ryan Reynolds) and the much hyped R-rating to the big screen. For fans clamoring for a Marvel movie that's geared towards the 18 + crowd, the latest news is sure to delight; there will be a much raunchier director's cut available.

Screencrush reports that director Tim Miller has said the director's cut will be "that's going to be even more raw,

By  |  February 1, 2016

Interview

Director

10 Incredible Hidden Details in Star Wars: The Force Awakens Revealed

Even if people weren't going to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens multiple times (and they are), it would have gone on to become a record-shattering box office smash regardless. Yet what many of those folks who keep going back are doing is scrutinizing every last little detail, able to concentrate on things going on in the far reaches of the screen without worrying about following a plot they already know so well. It's during these repeat viewing experiences that 

By  |  February 1, 2016

Interview

Actor, Director

Nate Parker’s The Birth of a Nation Sweeps Top Two Prizes at Sundance

Nate Parker is, officially now, your king of Sundance, 2016.

The festival's a wrap, and this past Saturday night, the awards for feature filmmaking were given, including the two biggest, The Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award. As was evident from the standing ovation writer, director, producer and star Parker received before his The Birth of a Nation even played, he and his film were the odds on favorites to be the big winners once the festival ended—the jury didn't disappoint. 

By  |  February 1, 2016

Interview

Director

Zack Snyder’s Candid Talk With Christopher Nolan About Making Batman Bad

In their upcoming Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice issue, Empire has some intriguing insights from director Zack Snyder, specifically about seeking Christopher Nolan's blessing about his plans for Batman. Nolan was an executive producer on Man of Steel, which is when Snyder approached him about his intentions to turn Batman against Superman in a battle royale—one in which, Empire's John Nugent writes,

By  |  January 28, 2016

Interview

Actor, Director, Screenwriter

Sundance 2016: Review Roundup, Part IV

Welcome back. You’ve already read parts I, II and III of our Sundance film review roundup. 

Let's begin with Whit Stillman's Jane Austen adaptation, Love & Friendship. While you might be thinking, another Austen adaptation, keep in mind Stillman is the man who brought you Metropolitan and Last Days of Disco, and is uniquely suited to bring out Austen's biting humor,

By  |  January 28, 2016

Interview

Director

Another Absurd Cameo Revealed in Star Wars: The Force Awakens

As we wrote on Tuesday, there has been an endless cascade of reveals of secret cameos in Star Wars: The Force AwakensPerhaps the best is Daniel Craig's turn as the initially petulant Stormtrooper keeping an eye on a captured Rey. You remember that scene, right? The one where Rey tries out her Obi-Wan Kenobi skills? Obi-Wan famously told a Stormtrooper in the first Star Wars

By  |  January 28, 2016

Interview

Actor, Director

Sundance 2016: Review Roundup, Part III

We’re back with part III of our Sundance film review roundup. You can read parts I and II to catch up on all the films we've looked at thus far.

“Meet the She-Wolves of Wall Street,” writes Variety’s Guy Lodge about Meera Menon’s sophomore feature, Equity. Menon’s “refreshingly female-skewed financial thriller proves that the women of Wall Street can be just as cold-heartedly corrupt as the boys.”

By  |  January 27, 2016