How Weta Digital & Andy Serkis’s Brilliance Elevate War for the Planet of the Apes
We've written about how the performance capture technology that Andy Serkis has helped create and Weta Digital has perfected made the Planet of the Apes reboot one of the most satisfying, compelling franchise remakes of the century. Serkis plays Caesar, the new trilogy's heart and soul—a chimpanzee that has become vastly more intelligent, and verbal, after he's exposed to an experimental drug meant to battle Alzheimer's disease in-utero in 2011's Rise of the Planet of the Apes.
John Waters Interviews Sofia Coppola at the Provincetown Film Festival
Sofia Coppola is Hollywood royalty, an Oscar winner for Lost in Translation, and she has a highly-anticipated new film, The Beguiled, ready to hit theaters. But the soft-spoken director is known for being reticent in interviews.
So it’s no wonder that the Provincetown International Film Festival (PIFF) paired Coppola with renowned raconteur John Waters for a one-on-one conversation when Coppola was honored recently as the PIFF’s 2017 Filmmaker on the Edge.
Check out This Exclusive Behind-the-Scenes Clip From Nat Geo’s Genius
Last week we shared with you the story of how the hair and make-up departments working on National Geographic's Genius have transformed stars Johnny Flynn and Geoffrey Rush into the young and not-so-young Albert Einstein at the different stages of his life. Now, we've got an exclusive clip from behind-the-scenes of the show (Nat Geo’s first foray into scripted drama, by the way) that showcases the work of showrunner Ken Biller and cinematographer Mathias Herndl.
Dear White People Creator Justin Simien Talks Race and Comedy
In Netflix series Dear White People, sarcastic black radio host Samantha (Logan Browning), worn out after a long day of anti-racist activism at fictional Ivy League Winchester College, asks her best friend Joelle (Ashley Blaine Featherson) to "Say something funny and specific." Joelle obliges with a snappy one liner involving Drake and his ancient sitcom Degrassi High, propelling the show into its next scene on a buoyant comedic note.
All Eyez on Me Writers Show All Sides of Tupac Shakur
When Tupac Shakur got beaten by a couple of Oakland cops for jaywalking, Eddie Gonzalez, co-writer of the late rapper's All Eyez on Me bio-pic (opening Friday) could relate. Growing up poor in and around L.A.'s tough Compton neighborhood, Gonzalez says "I know about being harassed by police officers. You feel like don't have a voice but you want to say something, do something. That's why people connected with Tupac, and that's why I connected with him.
Genius‘s Hair & Make-up Department on Creating Einstein’s Look
Genius marks National Geographic’s first foray into scripted drama. The series, which is based on Walter Isaacson’s book Einstein: His Life and Universe and executive produced by Ron Howard and Brian Grazer, charts the rise of the disruptive physicist who changed the way we understand the universe. We chat to Fae Hammond (hair) and Davina Lamont (make-up) about the process of transforming stars Geoffrey Rush and Johnny Flynn into the wild-haired genius at the different stages of his life.
Remembering Adam West
Friday night, the world lost the original Batman, Adam West. West, 88, passed away after a short battle with leukemia.
West played the original Batman in the 1960s television series. Following his run on the show, he went on to pursue other ventures in his acting career, and was beloved for never taking himself too seriously, being kind to those both in and outside the industry, and forever making Batman a part of the American cultural landscape.
Luke Hemsworth on Playing Legendary Wild West Gunslinger in Hickok
Luke Hemsworth’s younger brothers Chris (Thor) and Liam (The Hunger Games) are known for blockbusters, and now Luke Hemsworth (Westworld) is making a name in some smaller projects. His latest is the title role in Hickok, a western about the legendary gunslinger, co-starring Kris Kristofferson and Trace Atkins. In an interview, Hemsworth explained why Wild Bill Hickok wears his gun handles facing toward the back and shared the show business advice he got from an Oscar-winning legend.
One to Watch: Dream, Girl Director Erin Bagwell
You could be excused for reading into the success of Erin Bagwell's directorial debut, the documentary Dream, Girl, and assume she's a graduate of one of the most prestigious film schools in the country. Dream, Girl focuses on more than a dozen female entrepreneurs, uncovering their unique paths, their many challenges and setbacks, and their insights into how they succeeded. Bagwell hired an all female crew, moved into an office,
Zoe Lister-Jones on her Directorial Debut Band Aid
Zoe Lister-Jones has a robust career as a comic and dramatic actress. She’s a regular on the CBS sitcom Life in Pieces and had a featured role as then-Senator Joe Biden’s assistant in HBO’s 2016 drama Confirmation about the Clarence Thomas hearings famous for the testimony from Anita Hill.
But in the indie film world, Lister-Jones has thrived by creating her own roles and wearing many production hats.
Stranger Things VFX Supervisor on Making Monster Mayhem
The Duffer Brothers' Stranger Things was a critical smash for Netflix, a medley of throwback charm, real tension, ace casting and superb pacing. The setting (small town Indiana) and the era (1983) were handled with loving attention and period-perfect detail, as we followed the mysterious case of a missing child, his friends' courageous attempts to find him, and the deepening weirdness that involved government experiments, supernatural creatures and worlds, and a possibly superpowered little girl who goes by Eleven.
Game of Thrones Season 7 Featurette Focuses on Costume Designer Michele Clapton
Exactly one week ago we published our interview with Game of Thrones costume designer Michele Clapton. Now HBO has gone ahead and released this new featurette that gives you a visual tour of Clapton's brilliant work on the show, "A Story in Cloth." In the featurette, Clapton describes her influences, her passions, and how as a part of the "Blitz Kids" coming of age in post WWII England,
See how They Created Wolverine’s Claws in Action in Logan
If you had to pick a single mutant attribute as the most iconic of them all, you’d have to go with Wolverine’s adamantium claws. For 16-years we’ve watched these razor-sharp, indestructible and retractable weapons emerge from Hugh Jackman’s hands, and for most of that time, what we’ve been seeing was the work of the props department. However, when Wolvy needs to sink his claws into somebody, the visual effects team steps in, and we’ve never seen those claws put to bloodier use than we did in James Mangold’s thrilling,
The Crown‘s DP on Capturing TV’s Most Lush Period Drama
The beautifully shot and lavishly produced Netflix series The Crown has raised the bar in terms of the quality that we can expect from a television series. Cinematographer Adriano Goldman chats to The Credits about how he went about achieving this, creating intimacy in grand locations and why he approached the story as though it was fiction.
Congratulations on your work on The Crown.
Matt Smith on Playing Petulant Royalty in Netflix’s The Crown
One of television’s priciest shows to date, the first season of The Crown offers a faithfully detailed portrait of Elizabeth II’s early years as sovereign. Claire Foy plays the graceful if young queen; the difficult glory faced by her husband, Prince Philip, is portrayed equally well by the British actor Matt Smith (previously one of the doctors on Dr. Who). A lauded naval officer during World War II, Philip had to give up his career as he transitioned into being,
The Crown & Game of Thrones’ Costume Designer Michele Clapton
Costume designer Michele Clapton, who won an Emmy for her work on Game of Thrones, swapped the diabolical Lannister family for the Windsors to work on Netflix’s The Crown. We talk to Clapton about why a man’s shirt was one of the most pivotal pieces Claire Foy’s Elizabeth wore, why she hates costumes that look like costumes and how she was drawn back to Game of Thrones.
Black Mirror‘s Charlie Brooker & Annabel Jones on TV’s Most Twisted Show
British sci-fi series Black Mirror reflects with chilling plausibility myriad ways in which technology brings out the worst in human behavior — one freestanding episode at a time. Creator Charlie Brooker and producer Annabel Jones, in Los Angeles on a break from shooting the fourth season of their Netflix limited series, say they hate repeating themselves and love the anthology format. "It's lunacy but by doing each episode as a one-off 50-minute film,
Director Stephen Daldry on The Creation & Execution of Netflix’s Brilliant The Crown
Rumoured to be the most expensive television show ever produced, the first series of Netflix’s lush period drama The Crown delves deep behind the palace doors into the events around Queen Elizabeth II’s ascension to the throne. Director Stephen Daldry (The Hours, Billy Elliot), chats to The Credits about how the idea for The Crown came about, diverting from the truth,
Dead Men Tell No Tales DP on how They Made the Splashiest Pirates Film of All Time
Ever since Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) first set sail in Curse of the Black Pearl, nothing says summer like a rum soaked Caribbean cruise with a swashbuckling gang of rogue miscreants. Friday will mark the fifth time that Disney has ushered in blockbuster season with a Pirates of the Caribbean adventure. Dead Men Tell No Tales introduces the undead Captain Salazar (Javier Bardem) who has a vendetta against Jack.
Talking to Writer/Director/Star Demetri Martin About his new Film Dean—Part II
In part I of our interview with the comedian-turned-filmmaker, Demetri Martin explained how he came to make his first semi-autobiographical feature, Dean. The second part begins with Martin’s discussion of the way he incorporated aspects of his own experiences into supporting characters in his script.
"They're not based on anybody, and the story didn't happen to me. My mom sold our house years ago. I was happy about that.
