“Black Widow” Stunt Coordinator Rob Inch on the Art of Adrenaline

In her swan song as Russian assassin-turned-Avenger Natasha Romanoff, Scarlett Johansson fights her way through Black Widow (opening Friday) on a mission to destroy evil mastermind Dreykov (Ray Winstone) and his network of brainwashed female killers. But first, Natasha has to confront her equally ferocious kid sister Yelena, portrayed by Florence Pugh. (Some light spoilers ahead). Abandoned as children by their spy parents (David Harbour and Rachel Weisz),

“Summer of Soul” Editor on Piecing Together the Nearly Forgotten Black Woodstock

For nearly half a century, videotapes documenting the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival gathered dust in the basement of a Bronxville home. Filmed by Hal Tuchin and his four-person camera crew, the trove included goosebump-inducing performances by Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, Sly & the Family Stone, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Mahalia Jackson, Mavis Staples, B.B. King, the 5th Dimension, jazz drummer Max Roach and other masters of American music. Tuchin tried to package his work as “The Black Woodstock”

“Werewolves Within” Director Josh Ruben on His Hilarious Creature Feature

Werewolves Within invites you to the cozy town of Beverfield, Vermont, where things that go bump in the night are manifold. They might be a creature out to get you, or, they might be your neighbor, out to bother the crap out of you. Director Josh Ruben has crafted a deliciously nimble murder mystery/monster story/comedy in the comfy (if cold and often creepy) confines of this wooded would-be paradise. Based on Mishna Wolff’s script, 

Creating the Wonderful World of Disney+’s “The Mysterious Benedict Society”

They met in an improv group while students at Brown University, and joined forces as screenwriters after graduating. Some three decades later, Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi have racked up a noteworthy roster of film credits that include Destroyer, The Invitation, Ride Along and Ride Along 2, and Clash of the Titans. Their finely-tuned creative process moves from talking deeply through plot points to outlining extensively to splitting up scenes to write individually before reconvening to edit and polish — almost always while sitting in the same room,

How the “Mare of Easttown” Editor Carefully Constructed HBO’s Brilliant Murder Mystery

Easttown is filled with secrets and lies as thick as the townsfolk’s accents. These deceptions cloud the journey to uncover the truth about a tragic and twisted mystery. It soon becomes clear that only detective Mare Sheehan (Kate Winslet) has the connections and clever intuition to catch a killer. Thankfully we didn’t need our own detective notebook to track down the suspect. Mare of Easttown editor Amy Duddleston worked diligently to be sure viewers didn’t lose track of a single clue while layering the suspense.

Dressing Icons and Con Men With “Genius: Aretha” and “Better Call Saul” Costume Designer Jennifer Bryan

Costume designer Jennifer Bryan can pivot from glamour to gaudy, from an icon to a con artist, without missing a beat—or a thread. Bryan’s work can currently be seen on National Geographic’s third season of Genius, which focused on the monumental career and legacy of Aretha Franklin (Cynthia Erivo).

Bryan’s now hard at work on a very different kind of show, trading in Aretha Franklin’s shimmering dresses (and profound decency) for the gaudy,

“Doc McStuffins” Creator Chris Nee on The Future of Children’s Programming

There are few people on the planet who are in a better position to talk about what’s working, and what still needs work, in children’s programming than Doc McStuffins creator Chris Nee. Like so many great ideas, Nee came up with Doc McStuffins, a series about a six-year-old girl who is a doctor to her stuffed animals and toys, while in the shower. Yet the impetus for the beloved series was her own life and her son’s struggles with asthma.

“Lovecraft Country” Costume Designer Dayna Pink’s Many Worlds of Fashion

Creator Misha Green‘s Lovecraft Country was one of the most startling, sumptuous series of 2020, and one of the big reasons why it looked so good was the work of costume designer Dayna Pink. Designing looks for everything from shoppers on Greenwood Avenue in 1921 Tulsa to soldiers during the Korean War to the Afrofutrisim of a multidimensional world set in space, Pink’s designs were integral to the success of Lovecraft Country.

Going Pedal To The Metal With “F9” Stunt Coordinator Andy Gill

Any mention of the words “fast” and “furious” immediately brings to mind one of film’s most successful franchises. But for stunt coordinator Andy Gill, it’s another word beginning with “f” that makes these movies so special.

“Truthfully, it’s the family feeling,” says Gill during a recent Zoom interview. “Fast has become like a big family. I’ve been working with Spiro (Razatos), the second unit director, for 36 years. The people around us… probably 15 years.

Oscar-Nominated Producer Rachel Winter on Her Directorial Debut “The Space Between”

Oscar-nominated producer Rachel Winter worked for years to help get Dallas Buyers Club made, deploying a cheerful tenacity that she’s again and again in her career. The tireless Winter has made a career of finding and shepherding projects, sometimes for years, that she believes in. Or, it might be more accurate to say that Winter has gotten projects made that she herself can’t shake, that she thinks about over and over again.

“Halston” Costume Designer Jeriana San Juan on Channeling a Fashion Icon

Starring Ewan McGregor and produced by Ryan Murphy, the Netflix miniseries series Halston charts the rise and fall of the iconic American fashion designer, by way of the glitzy, glamorous, and cocaine-addled Studio 54-era New York. We talk to costume designer Jeriana San Juan about getting into Halston’s head to create the pivotal pieces and teaching Ewan McGregor the tricks of the trade.      

Halston’s director Daniel Minahan said recently the show “lives and dies by the clothing and the costumes.” How did you go about meeting that challenge? 

“Lovecraft Country” Production Designer Kalina Ivanov on Melding History & Fantasy

Production designer Kalina Ivanov‘s work on Misha Green‘s Lovecraft Country was one of world-building and resurrecting. The world-building—which included creating more than 162 sets, challenged Ivanov and her team to create haunted houses, a Korean hanok home to a mythical creature, and a pirate ship (to name a few). For the resurrection portion of her work, Ivanov recreated Tulsa’s Greenwood district, known as “Black Wall Street,” the site of the 1921 Tulsa race massacre,

“12 Mighty Orphans” Costume Designer Goes Deep on Football Helmets & Fedoras

As underdog sports dramas go, it’s hard to improve on the fact-based 12 Mighty Orphans, which tracks a team of scrawny teenagers living in a Fort Worth orphanage as they progress from dead-last in their league to the 1938 state finals under the leadership of Coach Rusty Russell (Luke Wilson). Football fans might marvel at the antique charm of the players’ homemade uniforms while vintage fashion buffs can savor a cavalcade of period-perfect hats worn by Wilson,

“In The Heights” Supervising Sound Editor On Capturing a Musical City’s Magic

In The Heights is, in all ways, an epic collaboration. Director Jon M. Chu‘s adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Tony Award-winning musical, written by original playwright Quiara Alegria Hudes, summoned musicians, choreographers, and a vast team of filmmakers to pull off. It’s never easy to adapt something that was already massively successful in its original form, nor is it easy to make a compelling, modern musical. Throw a pandemic into the middle of it and you’ve cranked up your difficulty setting to eleven.

The Limitless World of Fashion Created by the “Bridgerton” Costume Designers

As we were all distancing ourselves from one another over the past year, Bridgerton burst into our homes with a voyeuristic view of steamy couples getting very, very close. The most indulgent fantasy of the series, however, was imagining the pleasure of putting on a magnificent Regency ensemble and actually having somewhere to go.

We have costume designers Ellen Mirojnick and John Glaser to thank for those scrumptious fashion treats.

“Star Trek: Discovery” Costume Designer Gersha Phillips on the Future of Fashion

Costume designer Gersha Phillips has been part of building the world of CBS Studios’ Star Trek: Discovery since the beginning, garnering acclaim for her futuristic and creative designs used on the show over its 3 seasons. The 3rd season in particular represented major costume challenges, as the Discovery crew gets propelled through time to almost a thousand years in the future. Phillips and her costume department were more than up to the task,

“Cruella” Sound Editor Mark Stoeckinger on Getting 1970s England Right

Whether it’s her bohemian attic lair, Liberty’s department store, or her job at an insufferable couture designer’s immaculate atelier, young Cruella, née Estella (Emma Stone) divides her time between very particular environments in 1970s England. She and her pals, Jasper (Joel Fry) and Horace (Paul Walter Hauser), are roommates, professional delinquents, and dog-lovers. A terrier and a chihuahua assist them in their lives of petty crime and everyone seems to get along in the free spirit of communal living funded by pickpocketing,

Cinematographer Alice Brooks on Lighting the Real Heights of “In the Heights”

In the Heights, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s pre-Hamilton musical transformed into a film by screenwriter Quiara Alegría Hudes and director Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians) is set over a handful of days at the height of summer in Washington Heights. The action is centered on two would-be couples, Usnavi (Anthony Ramos) and Vanessa (Melissa Barrera), and Benny (Corey Hawkins) and Nina (Leslie Grace). Usnavi, an orphan and bodega owner who dreams of life in the Dominican Republic,

“In The Heights” Executive Music Producer Bill Sherman on Marshaling Many Musical Styles

Zooming in from his studio in his basement, executive music producer Bill Sherman was a week away from the end of a very long—but joyous—journey. Sherman was one of the main players responsible for everything you hear in director Jon M. Chu‘s In The Heights, an adaptation of the play that Sherman himself helped create, alongside his former roommate Lin-Manuel Miranda, and playwright (and screenwriter of the movie) Quiara Alegría Hudes,

“In The Heights” Director Jon M. Chu on Capturing a Neighborhood’s Magic

Director Jon M. Chu had to become “a complete listener” to bring the story of the largely Latinx community of In the Heights to life. In an interview, Chu talked about the connections he felt between his Chinese heritage and the characters in the film. He also brought the exuberance that made his previous films, like Crazy Rich Asians and Step Up 2, so vibrant.

How did you focus on the specifics of the Latinx culture for the film?