Taming the Digital Tiger: An Interview with Oscar-Winning VFX Supervisor Bill Westenhofer About his Work on Life of Pi

The Credits spoke with to visual effects guru, Bill Westenhofer about his work on the acclaimed recent release, Life of Pi. Winner of the 2008 Academy Award for Achievement in Visual Effects for The Golden Compass (also nominated in 2006 for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe), Westenhofer dished on what it was like working on Pi—from braving real storms at sea for reference points,

The Credits Presents: Up-and-Coming Filmmakers on the Festival Circuit

To the uninitiated, filmmaking resembles nothing short of magic. Actors transform into memorable characters, scripts morph into visceral stories, a movie screen becomes a window into another world. But for the men and women working just outside the cameraframe, the process of making movies is a bit more scientific.  Details are essential, timing is integral, the perfect line of dialogue is well wrought–and, often, rewritten.  Making your first film (or your second!) can be a truly rewarding experience–but not without its fair share of trials,

Film at the Vatican Without Leaving LA: How Stargate Studios’ Virtual Backlot Is Revolutionizing The Industry

On location shooting is a variable that can make or break a film or television project. It might be the difference between shooting a scene at Westminster Abbey, or at the neighborhood church. So when visual effects house Stargate Studios launched their Virtual Backlot nearly a decade ago, television shows everywhere could hardly wait to use their game-changing library of virtual backdrops. From Vegas casinos to idyllic beaches, producers could finally green-light exotically ambitious scripts,

Actor Scoot McNairy On Getting Into Character for Killing Them Softly, Argo, and Promised Land

Scoot McNairy has been hard at work on some of the most highly-anticipated film projects of the year. In the last 12 months, he’s worked on Ben Affleck’s Argo, starred alongside Brad Pitt in the upcoming release Killing Them Softly, he’s top-billed in Gus Van Sant’s Promised Land, and he’s starring in Steve McQueen’s 2013 picture, Twelve Years a Slave.

A Conversation with Price Check Director Michael Walker on Casting Parker Posey, Supermarket Secrets, and Film School

Writer-director Michael Walker made his feature filmmaking debut with the 2000 thriller Chasing Sleep, starring Jeff Daniels, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and went on to win Best Film at the Festival of Fantastic Film in Sweden.

His latest film, Price Check, is a far cry from the thriller genre, but this comedy about a middle-class family and the eccentric boss who shakes up their world is just as titillating.

From Mystic Pizza to Dinner For Schmucks: 12 Truly Awkward Dinner Scenes

Thanksgiving. A time to be thankful for your family, your friends, and the fact that most dinners don't end up devolving into anything resembling what happens in the clips we've assembled below. We combed through MovieClips.com’s archives and curated this list of 12 truly uncomfortable dinner moments, ranging from the ridiculous to the weird to downright hostile, and we give thanks to the medium of film, which has created so many memorably awful dinner scenes it makes most of our family meals seem like lessons in bonhomie.

Rock and ‘Rolling!’ MoMA Retrospective Gifts NYC Fifty Years of The Rolling Stones on Film

It’s been fifty years since The Rolling Stones first shook the world and acquainted us with the famously unrestrained hips of Mick Jagger and the brooding eye-lined stare of perpetually funny-faced guitarist Keith Richards—not to mention the milder stage antics (but no-less tantamount musical prodigy) of present and past band members Charlie Watts, Ronnie Wood, Brian Jones, Mick Taylor and Bill Wyman.

And while The Stones may have introduced many to the svelte silhouette of too-tight pants,

Disney Gets Awesomely Technical on Latest Wonder Wreck-It Ralph

To satisfy today’s sophisticated audiences, the technical demands of animation continue to grow exponentially. With the hit film Wreck-It Ralph in theaters now, The Credits takes a look at animation technology today at the studio that’s been a leader in the field for over 85 years, Walt Disney Animation Studios.

From Steamboat Willie and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to The Lion King and Tangled,

The Incredible True Story Behind The Sessions: A Conversation With Director Ben Lewin

The Sessions tells the story of Mark O’Brien, a man confined to an iron lung for most of his day and who is determined, as he nears 40, to lose his virginity. The premise could be mistaken for a potential comedy or a melodrama. It was neither. In fact, The Sessions has been the focus of serious Oscar buzz ever since reviewers across the country fell in love with it in early November.

Building Beauty: A Conversation With Sarah Greenwood, Production Designer on Anna Karenina.

When thrice Oscar-nominated production designer Sarah Greenwood signed on to Joe Wright’s adaptation of Anna Karenina, she had complete trust in her longtime collaborator—but both had a nagging yet unspoken concern about how they would turn Karenina into something more than a straightforward period adaptation like the two had done on Pride & Prejudice and Atonement. Coming fresh off of 2011’s Hanna,

Q&A With Chris Carter, Writer and Creator of The X-Files

Chris Carter is a television legend. As the creative mastermind behind the iconic, 90s-defining supernatural television thriller The X-Files, he has nourished a generation with truly out-of-this world entertainment. Part metaphysical suspense, sci-fi epic, and well-wrought drama, The X-Files won over TV-viewing audiences with its unique plot lines, imaginative subject matter, and seemingly effortless execution. And the show's expertly nuanced protagonists, FBI special agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully,

Making Waves: Meet Scott Anderson, Visual Effects Supervisor and The Man Behind The Mavericks in Chasing Mavericks

Scott Anderson has provided expertise on films such as Steven Spielberg’s The Adventures of Tintin, and through his company Digital Sandbox, a visual effects company, has worked on a bevy of films.  Anderson and his team were brought on board (pun intended) to help directors Curtis Hanson and Michael Apted make the surf scenes in Chasing Mavericks look so realistic that even the legendary surfers who were stunt doubles and stunt performers on the film would be pleased.

Behind-the-Scenes at the Austin Film Festival

The Credits recently traveled to the Austin Film Festival—a truly unique festival dedicated to the art of screenwriting. The week long event combines extraordinary films with dynamic and engaging discussions, Q&As, and expert panels. Screenwriting icons like Eric Roth, Chris Carter, Paul Feig, and David Chase shared tricks of the trade with festival-goers through workshops, live script readings, and intimate interviews. And A-list actors like Billy Bob Thornton and James Franco were on the scene to promote their latest movies and to shed insight into their creative processes.

The Lore of Lincoln…and Daniel Day-Lewis: Two Larger-Than-Life Personas Intersect in Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln

For a president whose face appears on the five dollar bill and who has starred in countless elementary school plays, book reports, and dreaded pop quizzes, Americans just can’t seem to figure out Abraham Lincoln.  Blame his larger-than-life stature, his well-worn anecdotes, or the truly bizarre myths that continue to circulate nearly 200 years after his death, but at least one uncontestable fact still stands: Abraham Lincoln is the ultimate American legend, and that the mere mention of his name is a fable unto itself only proves it.

Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, and Sam Mendes Make Skyfall an Instant Classic, While Taschen Releases the Epic “The James Bond Archives”

James Bond returns with a vengeance in Skyfall, and this superb 23rd entry in the legendary movie series is a smashingly successful tribute to the iconic British spy, who’s celebrating his 50th year in movies. After rebooting the 007 franchise with Daniel Craig as the new Bond in Casino Royale (2006), not only one of the best films in the series but one of the best films of that year,

Sound Supervisor Scott Gershin on His Job As An ‘Audio Photographer’

The Credits recently chatted with Sound Supervisor Scott Gershin at Soundelux Studios about his work on some of the most iconic movies in recent memory. Among his credits? The Doors, The Last of the Mohicans, Gladiator, Kill Bill: Volume 1, American Beauty, and Braveheart–and that hardly scratches the surface. Gershin has contributed to the scores of several award-winning movies and has worked on over 100 features.

President Obama, Governor Romney or President-Elect Samuel L. Jackson? Our Presidential Movie Survey Results Are In.

If you can draw conclusions about your fellow Americans by who they vote for, imagine how much you can know about them by what presidential movies they like, which actors portraying presidents they prefer, and who should be moderating our debates.  

We conducted a survey of 501 voters and found that Hollywood is still coming up far short on creating memorable female presidents, Samuel L. Jackson would make a good (zombie) war-time president,

36 Chambers of Cult: RZA Nails It With Roth and Tarantino-Presents Film, The Man With The Iron Fists

There is, arguably, no other group more defining of the 1990s counter-culture hip-hop wave that took America by storm than the Wu-Tang Clan. (For admittedly paltry proof, I can personally attest to wearing at least 3 copies of 36 Chambers bare in my stickered Discman.) But unlike other hip hop groups that settled their sights on fast money, easy women, and gang lore, the Wu-Tang Clan had a much more dynamic infatuation: kung-fu.

A Man of Many Worlds: From Munich to Forrest Gump, A Conversation With Writer Eric Roth

The Credits recently traveled to the Austin Film Festival, the first fest to boast a unique devotion to the craft of screenwriting. And who better to teach us the tricks of the trade than legendary scriptwriter, Eric Roth? As the writer of movies like Forrest Gump, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Munich, The Good Shepard, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Ali, and most recently, the television show Luck,

Meet A Maker (Halloween Edition): Legendary Makeup Artist Steve LaPorte

The Credits recently chatted with iconic makeup artist Steve LaPorte, who has worked on memorable films and television shows like Terminator 2, Lost, The X-Files and the upcoming picture, Oz: The Great and Powerful (and so many more.) But perhaps most impressively, LaPorte won an Oscar for his character-defining makeup work on Beetlejuice. In this intimate interview, Steve LaPorte discusses how he broke into the film makeup business after a short stint in clown school,