Writer/Director Jared Frieder’s Long Journey to Make “Three Months” Starring Troye Sivan
Imagine what you would do if, at one of the most pivotal moments in your life, you find out you’re at risk for a life-threatening disease? Jared Frieder turned the experience into a movie. That movie, Three Months, is out today on Paramount+.
Three Months, a funny and touching coming-of-age story, tells the story of Caleb (Troye Sivan), an unruly, gay high school senior who is days away from graduation and ready to pursue his dream of becoming a photographer.
Oscar-Nominated “Dune” Editor Joe Walker on Finding Intimacy in a Sci-Fi Epic
For editor Joe Walker, cutting Dune was about finding a resonating balance between the epic nature of the story and the intimacy of the characters’ journey. When we interviewed Walker on two occasions back in October of 2021, Dune had just been released and writer/director Denis Villeneuve’s vision for a second and final part had yet to be greenlit. A lot has changed since then. Dune was both a critical and commercial smash,
“Cyrano” Screenwriter Erica Schmidt on Adapting the Iconic Love Triangle for Film
It is one of the dramatic arts’ most famous and heartbreaking love triangles: Cyrano de Bergerac, in love with Roxanne, who loves Christian and he her, aided in his pursuit by Cyrano’s eloquent written and spoken words. Edmond Rostand’s 1897 play about the brilliant wordsmith and his unrequited passion has been adapted over the past century-plus for many stages and screens.
Director Joe Wright (Atonement) is the latest filmmaker to tackle the tale with MGM’s Cyrano (in theaters on February 25),
“Uncharted” Director Ruben Fleischer on His Epic Adventure With Tom Holland
The first time we see treasure hunter Nathan Drake (Tom Holland) in his element he’s knocked unconscious. When he wakes, he realizes his foot is caught in the netting of loose airplane cargo that’s whipping in the air like a tail on a kite. The timely snag has saved his life. He murmurs one of his famous Drake-isms: “Oh, crap.”
Director Ruben Fleischer (Venom, Zombieland) is at the helm of Uncharted (in theaters February 18),
Director Sacha Jenkins on Confronting Racism in “everything’s gonna be all white”
Midway through Black History Month, Sacha Jenkins‘ documentary series everything’s gonna be all white debuted on Feb. 11 on Showtime. Introducing itself as “A tale of two Americas, one white, one not,” the three-part show offers a sprawling group portrait of Black, Native American, Korean-American, Puerto Rican, Afro-Peruvian, South Asian, and other citizens of color who go before the camera to offer their unvarnished views on racism in the United States,
“Death on the Nile” Production Designer Jim Clay Delivers Deadly Decadence
For production designer Jim Clay, details matter. In director Kenneth Branagh’s Death on the Nile, a pseudo-sequel to Murder on the Orient Express which returns sharp-witted investigator Hercule Poirot in another case of whodunit, the murder mystery transports viewers to the 1930s Egypt that entangles love and death in the most devilish ways – and may we say stylish?
“Ken is meticulous in his planning ‘cause when he gets on set he wants to give time to the actors and the performance,” Clay shares with The Credits,
“Death on the Nile” Costume Designer Paco Delgado on Killer Cruise Wear
Costume designer Paco Delgado grew up on a tiny island off the coast of West Africa, where he cultivated a vivid eye for color, shape, and texture. That aesthetic, developed at Institut del Teatre of Barcelona, has served him well. In 2011 he collaborated with the famously meticulous director Pedro Almodóvar on BAFTA Award-winning The Skin I Live In. Delgado then earned Oscar nominations for Les Miserable and The Danish Girl.
“Marry Me” Director Kat Coiro on Refueling the Rom-Com With J. Lo
February is the month of Galantine’s and Valentine’s Day, and both are the perfect time for the new musical rom-com Marry Me, which stars Jennifer Lopez, Owen Wilson, and Maluma and hits theaters and Peacock on February 11. The story begins as pop superstar Kat Valdez (Lopez) and fiancé, Latin singing sensation Bastian (Maluma), are preparing to marry onstage. The fans and everybody else on the globe are invited, as it will be live-streamed during a concert.
“Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America” Directors & Writer/Producer on Relearning American History
The documentary Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America has won numerous awards at fests across the country, including the Audience Award at the 2021 SXSW Film Festival, and boasts a 98% score on Rotten Tomatoes. The film is based on criminal defense and civil rights lawyer Jeffery Robinson’s work relearning American history and sharing knowledge that includes events and episodes either erased from in history books or never included in the first place.
“The Gilded Age” Cinematographer Manuel Billeter on Lighting Old Money & New
Set in New York in the 1880s, The Gilded Age isn’t so much a follow-up to Downton Abbey as an across-the-pond companion piece from creator Julian Fellowes. In what’s being oft-referred to as a ‘lavish epic’ up and down the internet, this new HBO series follows in the footsteps of Fellowes’ previous series, with a slickly-produced focus on all the ways the rich are not like you and me.
How the “Moonfall” VFX Team Tapped Physics to Destroy the Earth
Don’t look up! The moon is on a collision course with Earth. Filmmaker Roland Emmerich, who brought us Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow, and 2012, returns with another global disaster movie in Moonfall (premiering February 4) that has a colossal twist. This time it’s up to NASA executive Jo Fowler (Halle Berry), astronaut Brian Harper (Patrick Wilson), and conspiracy theorist K.C.
“Peacemaker” Composer Kevin Kiner About Harnessing The Power of Hair Bands
Even as complicated and thick-headed as is his character may be, with every new episode, John Cena is worming his way into our hearts as Christopher Smith in writer/director James Gunn’s Peacemaker. In its first season on HBO Max, the show picks up where The Suicide Squad left off, expanding on Smith’s character, revealing his tragic backstory, and introducing viewers to a team that includes characters both old and new.
“Station Eleven” Cinematographer Christian Sprenger on Threading Timelines & Revealing Humanity
It was two days after Christmas when I texted cinematographer Christian Sprenger to ask if he’d be interested in talking about Station Eleven, the critically acclaimed limited series created for television by Patrick Somerville (Maniac, The Leftovers) on HBO Max. I had just finished watching the pilot episode “Wheel of Fire,” which he photographed alongside director Hiro Murai, and the visual aesthetics were astoundingly refreshing.
Adapted from the book by Emily St.
Sundance 2022: “Master” Cinematographer Charlotte Hornsby on the Fest’s Breakout Horror Film
Writer and director Mariama Diallo brings atmospheric horror to the world of academia in her directorial debut Master, which just premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. The film stars Regina Hall as professor Gail Bishop, who has recently been made the first Black woman to hold the position of residence hall ‘Master’ at a prestigious fictional university called Ancaster. Both she and a fresh, optimistic Black student Jasmine (Zoe Moore) begin to feel a menacing supernatural presence.
“No Time To Die” Editor Tom Cross on Cutting to the Chase
No Time To Die gave us an appropriately epic sendoff for Daniel Craig’s final mission as James Bond. With ripping action rooted in Bond’s emotional journey, unusual for this franchise until Craig became 007, No Time To Die manages to be a breathless, nearly three-hour-long sprint towards the most bittersweet ending in Bond film history. From the riveting opening scene, a flashback that reveals the connection between Madeline Swann (Léa Seydoux) and the film’s villain,
“Drive My Car” Director Ryûsuke Hamaguchi on His Moving Portrait of Life’s Twists & Turns
One of the most intriguing cinematic journeys of 2021 emanates from Japan and is aptly named Drive My Car.
A mesmerizing sojourn that exactingly unfolds over a three-hour running time, the film follows acclaimed actor and theatre director Yûsuke Kafuku (Hidetoshi Nishijima), beginning with his unorthodox marriage to Oto (Reika Kirishima), before segueing to a stage production he is directing of Anton Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya. The latter brings him together with Misaki Watari (Tôko Miura),
Costume Designer Justine Seymour on Subtle Power on Display in “Women of the Movement”
After his 1955 murder, Emmett Till’s death became a galvanizing event for the burgeoning Civil Rights movement. The mutilated 14-year-old was given an open casket funeral at the behest of his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, who wished the world to see what Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam had done to her son. Lynched while on holiday to visit family in Money, Mississippi, after being falsely accused of whistling at a white woman, Carolyn Bryant, (Emmett had a stutter,
How the “Scream” Team Created The Best Film in the Franchise Since The Original
How do you create the fifth film in a beloved slasher franchise that’s both a nod to everything that’s come before, a clever meta-commentary on horror films and toxic fandom, and something that’s entirely your own? This was one of the questions we put to Scream directors Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and their producing partner and the third member of their Radio Silence triumvirate, Chad Villella. The trio has once again brought the same passion that imbued their last outing,
“West Side Story” Music Supervisor Matt Sullivan on The Cast, Spielberg, and Capturing Magic
When we interviewed West Side Story‘s music producer David Newman, he made clear not only how massive of an effort was required to pull off Steven Spielberg’s masterpiece musical, but how personal it all felt. “There were hundreds of us involved in it, and I loved it. It just was a completely pure feeling,” Newman told us. “We were all just doing it for the love of it. That is the feeling I get with this movie.
“Ray Donovan: The Movie” Writer/Director David Hollander Gets Inside the Anti-Hero’s Head One Last Time
When Ray Donovan debuted on Showtime in 2013, Liev Schreiber introduced the character as a brooding fixer who uses a baseball bat to make problems go away for shallow celebrities and sleazy Hollywood moguls. But over the course of seven seasons, the one thing Donovan could never fix was his own broken family, headed by the charming but awful con artist father Mickey (Jon Voight).
In February 2020, Showtime dumped the series without warning.