“Napoleon” Production Designer Arthur Max and Set Decorator Elli Griff on Bringing Bonaparte’s World to Life

Ridley Scott’s Napoleon takes on the general-turned-emperor who ruled France from 1799 to 1814 and presents him (Joaquin Phoenix) as an indefatigable military strategist but also a tortured everyman obsessed with, and forever a touch spurned by, his wife and subsequent ex-wife, Joséphine (Vanessa Kirby). Running in the background of this love affair are Bonaparte’s imperial conquests, his catastrophic losses in Russia, and finally, his banishment to Elba.

Scott’s portrait highlights a more intimate side of the former emperor,

“Napoleon” Costume Designers Janty Yates & David Crossman on Designing for Coronations and Conquests

A hat is merely a hat unless it’s a Napoleon Bonaparte hat, in which case the detailing and contours need to possess star quality equal to the man who made it famous. Ridley Scott’s Napoleon (in theaters now) casts Joaquin Phoenix as the world-conquering French commander, co-starring Vanessa Kirby as his un-adoring wife Josephine, and a series of scene-stealing “bi-corn” hats designed by David Crossman. An expert in military history, Crossman previously worked on World War 1 epic 1917 and more recently designed Robert Pattinson’s superhero suit in The Batman.

“Barbie” Costume Designer Jacqueline Durran Unpacks That Eye-Popping Wardrobe

British costume designer Jacqueline Durran, unlike Greta Gerwig, barely felt any attachment to Barbie dolls during her childhood. On the other hand, she’d enjoyed a fruitful collaboration with Gerwig on Little Women, for which Durran won an Oscar. So when the writer-director invited Durran to design clothes for Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling as life-sized dolls in her feminist comedy Barbie, Durran promptly pivoted 180 degrees from Little Women‘s subdued 19th-century aesthetic and conjured a candy-colored wardrobe inspired by Mattel’s line of plastic figurines.

How “Saltburn” Production Designer Suzie Davies Imbued a Palatial Estate With Sinister Detailing

Like so many of us, production designer Suzie Davies loved Emerald Fennel’s debut, Promising Young Woman. When she heard that the actress-turned-director planned a sex-drenched thriller called Saltburn as a follow-up to her debut feature, Davies, Oscar-nominated for designing Mike Leigh’s lush period piece Mr. Turner, threw her hat in the ring. “I was like, ‘Let me get in the room with Emerald!'” she says. “My agent got me the script,

“Wish” Composer David Metzger on Getting the Stars to Align for His Heartfelt Score

The Walt Disney Company celebrates its 100th anniversary this year and, in honor of the milestone, released a new animated feature, Wish, just before Thanksgiving. Directed by Chris Buck and Fawn Veerasunthorn (both of Frozen) and written by Jennifer Lee and Allison More, Wish is set centuries ago in the magical Spanish Mediterranean island kingdom of Rosas. Until heroine Asha (Ariane DeBose) gets her bearings,

“Wish” Head of Character and Animation Avneet Kaur on Populating a Richly Diverse World

This Thanksgiving, the new animated musical comedy Wish premiered in the midst of the studio’s 100th anniversary, and the inspiration for the film can be encapsulated by “When You Wish Upon a Star,” a song made famous in Disney’s second full-length feature, 1940’s Pinocchio.

Wish takes place in the magical kingdom of Rosas, in the Iberian Peninsula, a crossroads attracting settlers from around the world.

Hit Makers Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt on Adding a Pop Punch to “Barbie” Soundtrack

Before Barbie, before producing Bruno Mars and Adele, before winning an Oscar for co-writing Lady Gaga’s duet “Shallow” for A Star Is Born, Mark Ronson made a living in New York City as a deejay pulling from his encyclopedic knowledge of musical genres from many eras. Ronson’s talents earned wide acclaim when he co-produced Amy Winehouse’s breakthrough album “Back to Black” in 2006. Since then, Ronson and his frequent collaborator Andrew Wyatt have gained a reputation as studio-savvy hitmakers in collaboration with a wide range of high-wattage talent.

“May December” Director Todd Haynes on Playing With Power in His Beguiling New Film

Beyond appreciation from critics and audiences alike for its compelling screenplay and gorgeous cinematography, Far From Heaven and Carol director Todd Haynes’s new release May December is getting awards buzz for the performances by its magnetic three leads. The film stars Haynes muse Julianne Moore, Natalie Portman, and Charles Melton as three very complicated, sometimes unlikeable characters that consistently shift the audience’s allegiances. The film is loosely based on the real-life tabloid scandal of 35-year-old teacher Mary Kay Letourneau,

“Radical” Cinematographer Mateo Londono Takes us to School in Christopher Zalla’s Moving New Film

A maverick teacher challenges the norms at an elementary school in the border town of Matamoros in northern Mexico. Such is the fact-based story that unfolds in Radical (in theaters now), led by Mexican star Eugenio Derbez (Coda, Instructions Not Included) in a film directed by Chris Zalla (Blood of My Blood).

The teacher, Sergio Juarez Correa (Derbez), aims to teach his students lessons that will help them navigate the difficult world outside the classroom,

“May December” Editor Affonso Gonçalves on Playing With Identity in Todd Haynes’ New Film

It has been a very busy year for Brazilian-American film editor Affonso Gonçalves, from last fall’s twisted psychological drama Don’t Worry Darling to this year’s doppelgänger medical chiller Dead Ringers and queer wrestling biopic Cassandro. Last week, he returned with director Todd Haynes’ quietly disturbing psychological drama May December.

They have developed a shorthand after working with Haynes on six projects — including the Oscar-nominated Carol and the Emmy-winning Mildred Pierce.

“May December” Screenwriter Samy Burch Unpacks the Unspoken in Todd Haynes’ New Film

May December (in select theaters now), which probes the interior lives of three enigmas aswirl in their own isolating truths, might be 2023’s most debatable movie. Rarely does anyone in Todd Haynes’ film say what they actually mean, and although it remains playful and accessible, an intriguing inscrutability hovers around the central characters. 

Gracie Atherton-Yoo (Julianne Moore), a steely circus freak within her upper-middle-class Georgia community, has convinced herself that she is not liable for the liaison she had with a teenage boy while working at a pet store.

“Rustin” Producers Tonia Davis and Bruce Cohen on the Urgent Message of Bayard Rustin’s Life

In director George C Wolfe’s follow-up to his critically acclaimed powerhouse Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, he shines a light on the long-overlooked civil rights luminary Bayard Rustin. Rustin was one of the lead architects of the March on Washington but was also a gay Black man who was out and proud in the 1960s. Although he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously by President Barack Obama in 2013, too few people know his importance to American history.

“The Killer” Cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt on Re-Teaming With David Fincher

David Fincher’s lean, mean The Killer is a film stripped down to its bare essentials, much like the work of its titular assassin. Based on a French graphic novel and adapted by Andrew Kevin Walker (Se7en), Fincher’s adaptation tells the story of an unnamed killer (Michael Fassbender) and the strict, self-imposed protocols of his trade. It’s the rules of the process that concern the titular character, not moral dilemmas,

“The Last of Us” Concept Illustrator & Designer Pouya Moayedi on Imagining a Deadly Green World

HBO’s brilliant The Last of Us is, inarguably, the most successful video game adaptation in TV history. The series is based on the critically acclaimed video game of the same name, which was created by Neil Druckmann and Naughty Dog, and when it bowed at the beginning of this year (adapted by Druckmann and Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin), it was an immediate sensation. Here was a slow-burn, character-focused zombie show that felt utterly different from any in the genre.

“The Holdovers” Screenwriter David Hemingson on His Tetchy Yet Tender Tale of Chosen Family

The Holdovers (in theaters now) has the potential to become a holiday classic. It’s a movie that delves into themes of depression, loneliness, loss, and regret. Yet this bittersweet concoction has a tremendous if subtle, undercurrent of tenderness. Friendship and love are given their due, adding a touch of sweetness to Alexander Payne’s new film.

Screenwriter David Hemingson tells the story of the embittered professor Paul Hunham (Paul Giamatti), who possesses the quick wit and quiet depression of a stand-up comedian.

How Cate Adams’ Costume Design Helped David Fincher’s “The Killer” Disappear

The coldest assassin is the kind you don’t see coming. In a lineup of globe-trotting sharpshooters from the movies,  The Killer (Michael Fassbender) may be the most difficult to identify. On a crowded city street, he could be anyone—and that is by design. Costume designer Cate Adams developed the style for director David Fincher’s vision of a dangerous character you would hardly ever notice.

“Basically, he wears clothes that he can just find anywhere.

Steven Soderbergh and Co-Director/Editor Jon Kane on Godfrey Reggio’s Ravishing New Film “Once Within a Time”

Filmmaker Godfrey Reggio, whose groundbreaking Koyaanisqatsi (1982) remains influential and much admired, didn’t travel to Boston for the November 3 screening at the Coolidge Corner Theatre of his new film and his first in a decade, Once Within a Time. But executive producer Steven Soderbergh and co-director and editor Jon Kane happily channeled the 83-year-old Reggio’s animated, eccentric spirit in a lively post-film conversation (which this writer moderated) before an enthusiastic crowd that cheered Reggio’s avant-garde fairy tale released in theaters this week from Oscilloscope Laboratories.

Cinematographer Oliver Curtis on Bringing Intimacy and Opulence to “The Buccaneers”

With director Susanna White’s The Buccaneers, an adaptation of Edith Wharton’s unfinished final novel set in the 1870s, Apple TV+ adds a period drama with a modern spin to its lineup. If any 19th-century chronicler of the era’s mannerisms can withstand a contemporary update, it’s Wharton, whose insight into upper-class idiosyncrasies on both sides of the pond ring true, even set to a modern soundtrack and present-day dialogue as is the case here.

“Rustin” Screenwriter Julian Breece on Giving a Legend his Due

There are countless unsung heroes of the civil rights movement who will never get the recognition they deserve, yet it’s hard to imagine an overlooked figure more central to the cause and more courageous and capacious in spirit than Bayard Rustin. While historians are well aware of the impact Rustin had on the civil rights movement writ large and specifically the March on Washington, most Americans are not.

George C. Wolfe‘s Rustin (in theaters now) offers a course correction.

How “Lessons in Chemistry” DP Zachary Galler Created a Show-Within-a-Show

In writer Susannah Grant’s adaption of the novel Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus, currently airing on Apple TV+, Brie Larson plays a budding chemist, Elizabeth Zott, thwarted in her work by her male colleagues who put politics and patriarchy above credible scientific achievement. Shut out of any hope of a chemistry career despite her brilliance, Elizabeth falls into a television career. It’s the early 1950s, and cooking shows are still relatively new,