Interview

Sound Designer

The New San Andreas Trailer Has Great Sound Design

Warner Bros. released a third trailer for their big screen action-thriller San Andreas, opening in 3D and 2D theaters on Friday, May 29. The basic storyline revealed in this 2:34 minute sneak peak is an orderly timeline of events which ends abruptly with a cataclysmic earthquake centered in the eponymous fault – then order and time are replaced by chaos and destruction. 

The graphic scenes of destruction, first of Los Angeles and then of San Francisco,

By  |  May 4, 2015

Interview

Actor

Closer Look at New Star Wars: The Force Awakens Characters Revealed

From the opening shot of what appears to be two Snowtroopers marching on the frozen plains of their secret base, Vanity Fair’s Star Wars cover shoot, including a 45-second video, is exactly what fans want on Star Wars Day. So yes, May the Fourth be with you.

Thanks to Vanity Fair, there’s some fresh news to report; revealing shots and video two of the film’s main characters—played by Adam Driver and Lupita Nyongo’o—are seen in a beautiful photo gallery (created by the legendary Annie Leibovitz) and the behind-the-scenes video they uploaded today.

By  |  May 4, 2015

Interview

Production Designer

How’d They Film That? Avengers: Age of Ultron Production Designer Explains

You might imagine when you see Avengers: Age of Ultron that nearly everything is CGI. Yet Joss Whedon, when at all possible, wanted practical effects and real sets. Much like JJ Abrams has reportedly done on the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Whedon prefers to build as much of his world “in camera” as he can.

What does “in camera” mean? It’s the question we asked production designer Charles Wood (Thor: The Dark World,

By  |  May 1, 2015

Interview

Animator

Legendary Disney Animator Glen Keane on Hand Drawing in the Digital Age

Animator Glen Keane has created some of the most timeless Disney characters of the last four decades, and some of the greatest animated heroines of our time. From his hand came Ariel from The Little Mermaid and Pocahontas, and he served as an executive producer on the 2010 hit Tangled. Keane is also credited with bringing Aladdin, the Beast from Beaty and the Beast and Tarzan to life.

By  |  April 30, 2015

Interview

Actor, Director

Nick Kroll Talks Being Mentored by Mark Duplass for Adult Beginners

Nick Kroll knew that if he wanted a meaty role in a feature film comedy, he needed to develop it himself. Fortunately, Kroll has friends and colleagues who were willing to offer advice on transitioning from TV comic — he stars in his own Kroll Show on Comedy Central and has appeared in the sitcoms The League and Parks and Recreation— to film actor, even on a low budget indie.

By  |  April 29, 2015

Interview

Actor, Director, Producer

From Robert Mugabe to Ray Liotta – That’s a Wrap at the Tribeca Film Festival

New York took center stage in the opening and closing films of the 14th annual Tribeca Film Festival, however the winning films rounded things out with stories from much further afield.

The Saturday Night Live documentary Live From New York! kicked off the proceedings, demonstrating how the landmark comedy show has both responded to the times and occasionally had a hand in shaping them over the 40 years it’s been on air.

By  |  April 28, 2015

Interview

Director, Producer

Tribeca Recap: Code Looks at the Lack of Women in Computer Science

Why is there such a dearth of women in computer science and other high-tech fields? Director/producer Robin Hauser Reynolds searches for the answers in CODE: Debugging the Gender Gap, which made its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival.

Two years ago Reynolds received a call from her daughter, who had become so discouraged by her male-dominated computer science classes at college (she was one of only two female students),

By  |  April 28, 2015

Interview

Actor, Director

Who Freaks You Out More: these Grandparents, these Aliens, or Johnny Depp?

Three new trailers with very different sources of extreme tension. So the question we pose to you today is this; who would you rather be trapped in a house with less, the grandparents from M. Night Shyamalan’s upcoming The Visit, Johnny Depp’s Whitey Bulger from the upcoming Black Mass, or whatever the hell those things are in Area 51?

Let's take a look:

The Visit

Yes,

By  |  April 28, 2015

Interview

Director, Producer, Screenwriter

Tribeca 2015: Tim Blake Nelson on Writing/Directing/Producing Anesthesia

Writer/director Tim Blake Nelson’s ensemble drama Anesthesia premiered Wednesday night at the Tribeca Film Festival. A fitting setting for the New Yorker’s latest film about the intersecting lives of erudite city-dwellers who are united by a violent crime. The film, which explores the different ways we attempt to numb our pain, was filmed on location in New York, with an impressive cast of mostly New York-based actors, including Glenn Close, Sam Waterston, Gretchen Mol,

By  |  April 27, 2015

Interview

Actor, Producer, Production Designer, Special/Visual Effects

Stormtroopers, Snoopy & a Virtual Reese Witherspoon: Highlights From the 2015 Creativity Conference

Stormtroopers, Snoopy and a one-on-one audience with Reese Witherspoon—the 2015 Creativity Conference was manna for film buffs, tech geeks and policy wonks alike. The stormtroopers, unusually accommodating, were on hand to help conference goers create the ultimate selfie (the James Bond gun barrel backdrop, where one could get their photo taken against the iconic opening montage in the opening credits to Bond films, was also pretty awesome), ditto Snoopy, who offered as many fist-bumps as he did hugs.

By  |  April 27, 2015

Interview

Producer, Production Designer

Go Back to the Future With the Live Stream of 3rd Annual Creativity Conference

In Back to the Future Part II, Marty McFly's trip in the DeLorean took him all the way to…October 21st, 2015. If that doesn't make you feel old, we envy you.

Today at the 3rd annual Creativity Conference, held at The Newseum in Washington. D.C., Microsoft researcher Sidhant Gupta and a former studio technology executive and indie filmmaker Howard Lukk will explore the zany, futuristic world of 2015 that Marty McFly encountered, one that revealed all sorts of surprising innovations —

By  |  April 24, 2015

Interview

Actor

From Spader to Scarlett: 5 Great Voice Performances in Sci-Fi Films

So we saw Avengers: Age of Ultron yesterday and in an effort not to disclose any spoilers, we’ll just say this; James Spader absolutely nails his voice work as the eponymous villain. Spader’s articulate, sonorous baritone is put to perfect use, and the sound design work done to enhance his voice and give it a digital sheen was outstanding. His Ultron is a witty, wired (literally), emotional artificial intelligence,

By  |  April 23, 2015

Interview

Props

The Man behind the Machines – Ted Moser, Picture Car Coordinator

Ted Moser has been one of the most knowledgeable picture car coordinators in the film business for decades. His resume includes movies that have breathtaking chases and car stunts, including Munich, Argo, The Town, Rush Hour 3 and 2 Fast 2 Furious. He’s also the founder and owner of Picture Car Warehouse, which he created after he saw the need for a picture car service that could solve the complex,

By  |  April 21, 2015

Interview

Art Director, Props

From Home Builder to World Builder, Carpenter Jason Allard’s Life in the Movies

One of the most important and most highly skilled crew jobs in Hollywood is that of the carpenter, those men and women who create the scenery and props that plunge us into the physical world of the film. “It’s construction with a twist,” says Jason Allard, a man who knows how to turn a description in a script into the reality we see on screen. Allard is a virtuoso – a construction gang boss,

By  |  April 21, 2015

Interview

Actor

CinemaCon 2015: Warner Bros.’ Mad Summer Slate

Today at CinemaCon, Warner Bros. Pictures is presenting an exclusive highlight reel of their upcoming summer slate. While technically starting in spring, the studio’s first big release will be Mad Max: Fury Road, which bows on May 15. We’ve already taken a look at the latest trailer from Fury Road, which looks relentlessly entertaining and beautifully shot.

On May 29, San Andreas, starring Dwayne Johnson as a search and rescue helicopter pilot looking to save his daughter after a magnitude 9 earthquake levels California.

By  |  April 21, 2015

Interview

Art Director

Set Designer Ricardo Guillermo on Creating Meth Labs for Breaking Bad and More

Ricardo Guillermo helped create some of the most iconic sets in recent television history as a set designer on Breaking Bad. Guillermo used his considerable skills as a set designer to help fashion Walter White’s various meth labs, Saul Goodman’s ridiculous/awesome office, Walter, Skylar and Walt Jr.'s house and many other sets on that groundbreaking show.

Guillermo is no stranger to the big screen, either, having worked on The Book of Eli,

By  |  April 20, 2015

Interview

Costume Designer

From Mockingjay to Boardwalk Empire, Seamstress Lara A. Greene Has Dressed the Best

I Make Movies – Seamstress from WhereToWatch on Vimeo.

If clothes make the man or woman, than costumes often go a long way towards making a movie, particularly in historical dramas. Costumes are a major part of setting the tone of a film or a television show; they tell us so much, even before an actor utters his or her first word. We sat down with seamstress Lara A.

By Bryan Abrams  |  April 20, 2015

Interview

Actor, Director, Producer

Which Dinosaur Would You Fear The Most in New Jurassic World Trailer?

First of all, who in their right mind would get into one of those transparent orbs and go rolling off into a huge herd of dinosaurs? Tourists, will they ever learn? Anyway, this new Jurassic World trailer gives you a bevy of dinosaurs to fear, and the morbid question that popped into our heads was; which way you rather go if you had to be eaten by a dinosaur at this completely insane theme park?

By  |  April 20, 2015

Interview

Director, Screenwriter

Alex Garland on Building Ex Machina‘s Perfect Woman

Novelist-turned-screenwriter Alex Garland knows how to create strong characters that are trapped in inhospitable and oftentimes dangerous situations.

In 28 Days Later (2002), his characters were faced with the outbreak of a disease that was turning people into zombies. In Sunshine (2007), his characters were sent on a dangerous space mission to prevent the destruction of the human race. In the remake Dredd (2012), his main character was trapped in a criminal’s lair and forced to fight through hundreds of thugs eager to end his life.

By  |  April 17, 2015

Interview

Director, Producer

Why NBA Star Serge Ibaka is the Son of the Congo

He would wake up at four in the morning to go running through the streets of Congo. He'd play as much basketball as he could, in old sneakers or barefoot, if need be. When his mom died and his dad was thrown in prison, he was kicked out of his uncle's house and lived on the streets, often sleeping in a parking lot. But Serge Ibaka never wavered in his commitment to make basketball his life. And when he did,

By  |  April 16, 2015