From “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters” to “Bullet Train,” Producer Georgina Pope Has Her Eyes on Japan
Georgina Pope has been the go-to producer for overseas projects shooting in Japan for decades. She’s navigated the country’s cultural, logistical, and technical landscape and film industry to help bring a panoply of projects to fruition. As head of production at Twenty First City in Tokyo, her list of credits includes Earthquake Bird, Bullet Train, Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins, Kumiko the Treasure Hunter,
“Rebel Moon” Sound Editors on Creating Different Sonic Worlds for Zack Snyder
Part one of director Zach Snyder’s Netflix space epic, Rebel Moon — A Child of Fire, opens on a quaint farming community on a peaceful moon called Veldt. Hard at work in the fields, Kora (Sofia Boutella) is clearly not of this community of self-styled Luddites, and the evil Imperium she’s escaping soon catches up with her. A massive ship alights above Veldt’s rolling fields, dropping Atticus Noble (Ed Skrein) and a band of soldiers onto the moon to commandeer the farmers’ grain stores and disturb their bucolic way of life forever.
Maddie Ziegler and Emily Hampshire On Finding Their Voices in “Fitting In”
Being a teenage girl is hard. Being a teenage girl with a rare reproductive disorder is a nightmare.
Fitting In (originally titled Bloody Hell) is a semi-autobiographical account of writer/director Molly McGlynn’s own Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH) diagnosis. MRKH Syndrome is a rare congenital disorder that is characterized by an underdeveloped vagina and uterus, making it difficult to perform vaginally penetrative sex and impossible to become pregnant or carry a child.
The Fittingly Frankenstein Creations of “Poor Things” Poster Designer Vasilis Marmatakis
“The movie’s poster is usually the first thing you see, so it should create an anticipation to see the film,” said Vasilis Marmatakis, the Greek graphic designer and illustrator behind the alluring poster art for Poor Things, a feminist riff on the Frankenstein legend that is up for 11 Oscars, including Best Picture. “It’s an entry point.”
In the age of social media and star contracts, which specify their face appear front and center on promotional materials,
“The Peasants” Co-Director/Writer Hugh Welchman on Hand Painting Real Life Hardships Into Animated Magic
Creating any animated feature film is an awesome commitment of time, talent, and resources. But the animated films of the Poland-based husband-and-wife directing team of Hugh Welchman (who is British) and D.K. Welchman (who is Polish) go well beyond the common description of “labor of love.” For their groundbreaking debut in 2017, the Oscar-nominated animated feature Loving Vincent, the team used a hand-painted animation technique to bring the paintings of Vincent Van Gogh to life.
Producer Tran Thi Bich Ngoc on Fighting Piracy, Championing Filmmakers, and Vietnam’s Huge Potential
Tran Thi Bich Ngoc is an established Vietnamese film producer with a long track record of success and an eye for great stories. Among her latest projects are Bui Thac Chuyen’s Glorious Ashes, Vietnam’s submission to the 2024 Academy Awards for the best international feature film category.
In 2022, the rural drama received its world premiere as the first Vietnamese film selected for the main competition of the Tokyo International Film Festival.
Jake Johnson on his Diabolically Fun Directorial Debut “Self Reliance”
Would you watch a reality show where someone is actively being hunted for a million-dollar prize? Morally, the answer is no. In Jake Johnson’s directorial debut, Self Reliance (streaming on Hulu), he believes the answer is yes. The concept for Johnson’s new film is one he developed years ago after watching a Japanese reality show (Susunu! Denpa Shōnen) where contestants were placed in bizarre situations and filmed.
“And then in the middle of the night,
“The Color Purple” Hair Department Head Lawrence Davis on Capturing Iconic Characters in Flux
Director Blitz Bazawule’s The Color Purple, which builds on the legacy of Alice Walker’s original 1982 novel, Steven Spielberg’s 1985 drama, and the more recent Broadway musical, had the second-highest domestic opening of all time for a film released on Christmas day.
Celebrating resilience in the face of trauma, racism, and tragedy, The Color Purple follows Celie Harris (Fantasia Barrino), a woman who faces many years of difficulty in her search for belonging and happiness.
“Mean Girls” Costume Designer Tom Broecker on Dressing the Plastics as Gen Z
The movie based on the musical based on the 2004 movie Mean Girls is here, with Angourie Rice taking Lindsey Lohan’s place as Cady, the homeschooled teenager plunged into the catty horror of American public high school social politics. Written by Tina Fey and directed by Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr., in this musical Gen Z update, everyone has smartphones now, but the movie stays true to the original’s most beloved beats.
“True Detective: Night Country” Writer/Director Issa López Delivers a Chilling New Season
Issa López loves to challenge herself. The writer/director, best known for the mystical 2017 feature Tigers Are Not Afraid, believes your comfort zone is the last place to find stories worth telling.
“If you’re not terrified, you’re not doing it right,” López says during a recent Zoom interview. “There are massive fears that you face as a filmmaker. You need to just do it. With the right team, you can go out and do anything.”
Perhaps nothing proves this better than True Detective: Night Country,
“The Zone of Interest” Sound Designer Johnnie Burn on Creating the Soundscape From Hell
Writer/director Jonathan Glazer does not shy away from a challenge. He has created indelible sequences that are essentially mindworms, burrowing deep into your consciousness. One of his most beloved films, his 2013 masterpiece Under the Skin, was chock full of them. If you had to choose just one, perhaps it would be the wordless scene that takes place on a Scottish beach after Scarlett Johansson’s nameless protagonist (she’s an alien who seduces men throughout Scotland,
How “The Book of Clarence” Hair and Makeup Head Siân Richards Turned LaKeith Stanfield into Twins
Set during one of the most influential human events ever, The Book of Clarence honors a deeply personal family rift. As the disciples of Christ spread a message of peace and brotherhood, one of their own siblings grapples with skepticism and resentment. LaKeith Stanfield devotedly portrayed both the wayward Clarence and his twin, the apostle Thomas. To aid the actor in developing two characters, hair and makeup head, Siân Richards crafted distinct looks that reflected each man’s journey.
“Mean Girls” Directors Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr. Bring the Plastics Into the iPhone Age
The Plastics are back! Co-directed by Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr. – the wife and husband team behind Hulu’s Quarter Life Poetry – the remake of Mean Girls (in theaters now) is a hilarious—and very pink—update for the social media age. Twenty years later, the core theme from screenwriter Tina Fey, who wrote the original film, the Broadway play, and this adaptation of the musical, is still very much intact.
“Lift” Costume Designer Antoinette Messam on Finding Fresh Looks for Kevin Hart’s Heist Film
In director F. Gary Gray’s new heist movie, Lift, now streaming on Netflix, Kevin Hart plays Cyrus, a blue chip art thief backed by an international crew with a penchant for “freeing” work, from Van Gogh paintings to trendy NFTs. After a showy sleight of hand in Venice, Interpol agent Abby (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) almost has Cyrus pinned, but a bigger threat than missing artwork offers him a shot at redemption. Cyrus and his crew are tasked with heisting a pallet of gold before it reaches Leviathan,
“The Book of Clarence” Director Jeymes Samuel Brings Humanity to the Biblical Epic
Hollywood has long recognized the cinematic appeal of Bible stories as both ancient and eternal. Battles between good and evil play out on an epic scale, but The Book of Clarence looks beyond the page to spotlight everyday citizens whose lives were upended by Jesus’ journey. The film’s writer and director, Jeymes Samuel, aimed to widen the lens of the gospels and give some perspective to those just outside Christ’s circle.
Emmy-Nominated “Succession” Editor Ken Eluto on Cutting the Roy Family Down to Size
HBO’s glorious tragicomedy Succession went on for four riveting seasons and finished at a creative zenith. The acerbic squabbling and venomous backstabbing amongst the narcissistic Roy family — led by savage patriarch and leader of the media giant, Waystar Royco, Logan Roy (Brian Cox) — culminated with the end game promised in the series title playing out in a most unexpected way. In the final season of creator/showrunner Jesse Armstrong’s powerhouse family drama,
“Maestro “ Production Designer Kevin Thompson on Building the Bernstein’s Lives From Concert Halls to Connecticut
Bradley Cooper’s Maestro follows the arc of Leonard Bernstein’s career, but his rise from a lucky break at Carnegie Hall to becoming a household name as a composer and conductor is secondary in the film to the development of his relationship with his actress wife, Felicia Montealegre. The couple had three children and split their time between the Upper West Side Manhattan, where they eventually settled in an apartment in the Dakota, and a country home in Fairfield,
“Maestro” Sound Mixer Steven Morrow on Recreating Mahler’s “Resurrection” at the Ely Cathedral
Bradley Cooper knew Maestro was going to be the next film he directed before the proverbial ink dried on A Star Is Born (2018), his feature debut, which he starred in alongside Lady Gaga about a troubled musician’s relationship with alcohol. The adaptation, deservingly so, went on to be nominated for eight Academy Awards and won Best Original Song for “Shallow.” This time, the multi-hyphenated actor trades in a guitar for a baton to embody Leonard Bernstein,
“Ferrari” Production Designer Maria Djurkovic on Building Enzo Ferrari’s World in Michael Mann’s Racing Epic
Ferrari raced into theaters this past Christmas, and the bright red color of the iconic racing cars featured in the film seemed perfectly timed for its holiday release. Based on the 1991 nonfiction book “Enzo Ferrari: The Man, The Car, The Races, The Machine,” and helmed by celebrated four-time Oscar nominee Michael Mann, Ferrari centers on the summer of 1957, a very difficult time for Enzo Ferrari (Adam Driver).
“The Color Purple” Composer Kris Bowers on Creating a Melodic Symphony Fit for Celie’s Journey
Composer Kris Bowers didn’t have to read the script before saying yes to Blitz Bazawule’s emotionally captivating version of The Color Purple. He was already a fan of his work, particularly the director’s debut, The Burial of Kojo, and Beyoncé’s visual album Black is King.
For this collaboration, early discussions focused on “being innovative musically” and connecting themes to one of the two dozen plus songs featured in the heartfelt musical that sees actor Fantasia Barrino playing the role of Celie,
