Oscar Watch: Cold War‘s DP Lukasz Zal on Crafting Pawel Pawlikowski’s Latest Masterpiece

Cinematographer Lukasz Zal won the prestigious Silver Frog Award at Camerimage for his work on Pawel Pawlikowski’s Cold War, a ravishing look at a romance over the course of 30-years and several thousand miles through Europe. Zal had worked with Pawlikowski on Ida, the director’s previous masterpiece, as a cameraman (he ultimately earned himself a co-cinematographer credit). For Cold War, Zal was in command of the camera team,

Oscar Watch: Barry Jenkins on his Lyrical Adaptation of If Beale Street Could Talk

If Beale Street Could Talk has been getting awards buzz and accolades for months, and with the Golden Globes set to arrive this Sunday, Barry Jenkins second masterpiece (in a row, no less) will be one of the night’s big winners. Still hot from his 3 Oscar wins for Moonlight, Jenkins is reaffirming he’s a major force in film, with Beale Street already winning or nominated for dozens of awards,

Oscar Watch: BlacKkKlansman Hair and Makeup Designers on the Impact of Appearances

BlacKkKlansman was one of the most stirring films of the year with a chilling portrayal of hatred. In typical Spike Lee fashion, it was also funky, cool, and completely enthralling. The true story of dangerous prejudices and brave efforts to fight back was rooted in appearance. Some of the most monstrous of the characters masqueraded in a façade of normalcy.

“As far as the Klansmen, I wanted some of them to look like normal people and clean-cut,” makeup department head Martha Melendez said.

Oscar Watch: Mary Queen of Scots‘ Costume Designer Alexandra Byrne

Mary Queen of Scots is a gorgeous film to behold, with the dueling Queens looking period-perfect from head to toe. As the film’s hair and makeup artist Jenny Shircore told us, “You’ve got two queens, two powerful women, two women who have never met, who are yet influenced by each other’s beauty and power. They are jealous of each other, afraid of each other, all the way through this is the story we’re telling.

Oscar Watch: If Beale Street Could Talk’s KiKi Layne on Love, Stillness, & Working With Barry Jenkins

KiKi Layne stars as Tish Rivers in Barry Jenkins’s adaptation of the novel by James Baldwin. A beautiful love story layered in social commentary, as relevant now as it was when the novel was originally released in 1974, Layne draws the viewer in with one of the best performances of the year, making you feel her hope, her fear, her potent love and, ultimately, her resolve. A relative newcomer to feature films,

Cinematographer René Richter on Creating the Sumptuous Head Full of Honey

When director Til Schweiger and his team shot Honig im Kopf, about a family dealing with a grandparent’s onset of Alzheimer’s, his team primarily worked where the film was set: continental European countryside, plus a bit of London. Minor interior replacements subbed Germany in for Venice. When Schweiger and his crew reconvened to film an English-language remake, Head Full of Honey, the settings changed, though the locations often didn’t.

Oscar Watch: The Favourite‘s Editor on Cutting the Year’s Most Deliciously Devilish Film

Yorgos Lanthimos’s The Favourite is a delicious piece of filmmaking. Gorgeous to look at, actors having the times of their lives, and that special brand of merry malice that Lanthimos is uniquely capable of is all on the menu here. Set in the 18th-century, The Favourite revolves around Queen Anne (Olivia Colman) and rival courtiers Lady Sarah (Rachel Weisz) and Abigail (Emma Stone) who vie for her attention,

Writer David Magee on Recreating the Magic in Mary Poppins Returns

The character Mary Poppins has been as well known for a very long time. She was beloved in the pages of P.L. Travers’ eight-volume children series, and then she became something of a global sensation thanks to Disney’s 1964’s Mary Poppins. Julie Andrews made the role an icon, not just for the magical nanny’s ability to effortlessly tidy up, but to do so with her wit, vanity, and compassion ever intact. The film’s early seamless blend of live action and animation,

Oscar Watch: Roma‘s Production Designer on Recreating Mexico City in the 1970s

Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma is one of the most astonishing film experiences of the year. The word experience fits, as Cuaron and his team created a lush soundscape that’s nearly as captivating as the shimmering black-and-white cinematography. Then there’s Roma‘s exquisite design, which recreates Cuaron’s hometown of Mexico City, specifically the neighborhood of Roma where he grew up. The focus is on a middle-class family and their live-in servants,

On the Basis of Sex: Editing the Origin Story of a Real-Life Hero

Every great hero begins somewhere. Before saving the planet, superheroes often channel their gift from the gods, survive the bite or a spider, or mutate after alien radiation exposure. The hero of On the Basis of Sex, however, began her journey of toppling titans and freeing the people in a place far more ordinary. A courtroom.

“When [director] Mimi [Leder] approached me initially about the project, I also had expectations this is going to be this grand biopic of Justice Ginsburg’s life and how she got to where she is,” editor Michelle Tesoro recalled.

How Welcome to Marwen‘s VFX Supervisor Transformed Steve Carrell into a Plastic Action Figure

Kevin Baillie was barbecuing in the backyard of his San Francisco home one afternoon in 2013 when he got a call from Robert Zemeckis. “Bob said ‘I’ve got this crazy script I want to send you so you can tell me what you think,” Baillie recalls. Five years and 64 million computer-processing hours later, Baillie completed his contributions to the mind-warping movie that is indeed, pretty crazy even by Hollywood spectacle standards. The challenge put forth in Zemeckis’

How James Baldwin Inspired If Beale Street Could Talk Costume Designer Caroline Eselin-Schaefer

In the beginning was the word, as set down by James Baldwin in his 1974 novel “If Beale Street Could Talk.” The movie adaptation from Moonlight auteur Barry Jenkins and his team drew on Baldwin’s text when it came to visualizing this story for the big screen. Costume designer Caroline Eselin-Schaefer says, “James Baldwin gave us so many cues, we wanted to honor him as much as we could.” The story follows pregnant 19-year old Harlem native Tish Rivers (Kiki Layne),

Mary Poppins Returns‘ VFX Supervisor on Bad Weather, Mary’s Magical Entrance & More

English weather wreaked havoc on best-laid plans when it came to staging outdoor sequences for Mary Poppins Returns. Director Rob Marshall expected London’s usual overcast skies to accompany Mary Poppins’ descent from the heavens early in the movie. Instead, Mother Nature delivered a perfect sunny day. The UK-based visual effects supervisor Matt Johnson recalls, “It’s supposed to be all wind and clouds but suddenly London had a massive heat wave and we got a clear blue sky.”

Costume Designer Sandy Powell’s Magic Touch on Mary Poppins Returns

Three-time Oscar-winning costume designer Sandy Powell came to the production of Mary Poppins Returns with fond memories of the 1964 original, which was the first film she ever saw as a child. She was excited to be a part of creating the look of this new incarnation of the beloved nanny, especially the iconic arrival costume. She spoke to The Credits about the challenges and joys of working on one of the most anticipated films of the year.

Singing Camels & Talking Ceramics: Inside Mary Poppins Returns‘ Sound Design

There is a special type of person who could tell you what it sounds like to dance inside of a ceramic bowl. They could also describe what a singing camel sounds like under a big top circus tent. These people would just as readily know the kind of musical rhythm attributed to a bicyclist dashing through the streets of London. Those who are endowed with this ability are the master sound artists crafting the musical fantasy event of the year.

Filmmakers Bring Personal Stakes to Movies About Teen Addicts

Heroin kills and meth destroys, now more than ever. Hollywood has long dramatized the perils of adult drug addiction in films like Frank Sinatra’s The Man With the Golden Arm, Al Pacino’s breakout The Panic in Needle Park, Gus VanSant’s bleak Drug Store Cowboy, and the gonzo Trainspotting. But in the face of a 10 percent uptick in drug-related suicides in America last year according to a recent study,

Director Anne Fletcher on Bringing Dumplin’ From Book to Screen

Shot outside of Atlanta over 30 days, with superstars Jennifer Aniston and Dolly Parton lending their respective acting and musical talents, director Anne Fletcher’s Dumplin’ mists your eyes and makes you laugh in equal, heartfelt measure. The independent movie, based on the YA novel of the same name, follows plus-size teenager Willowdean (Danielle Macdonald) as she signs up for her small Texas town’s beauty pageant, ostensibly to make a statement. What ensues is a life-changing experience for “Will” as well as many of her fellow contestants,

Off With Their Wigs! Mary Queen of Scots‘s Hair & Makeup Genius Jenny Shircore

This holiday season we’ve been graced with not one but two incredible examples of hair and makeup mastery. The first came in Yorgos Lanthimos’ hilarious The Favourite, which captures the lunacy at court (and in the bedroom) of Queen Anne (a sensational Olivia Colman), who close friend Lady Sarah (Rachel Weisz) goes to war, so to speak, with a new servant Abigail (Emma Stone) over the queen’s affection.

Exclusive: Anime Auteur Talks About the Child Heroes of Mirai

GKIDS has produced six Oscar-nominated animated pictures since 2015 and its latest effort, Mirai, is shaping up to be another Academy contender. Created by Japanese auteur Mamoru Hosoda for Studio Chizu, the anime feature follows adorable four-year-old Kum, who resents the arrival of his equally adorable baby sister. Time traveling adventures ensue when Kum magically meets up with a future version of his sister after she’s become a fun-loving teenager.

How Head Full of Honey Production Designer Isabel von Forster Creates a Beautiful Trip

A grandfather is losing his memory to Alzheimer’s, and the family member with the most patience and understanding for his gentle if frustrated, increasingly addled ways, is a child. It was the premise of actor-turned-director Til Schweiger’s 2014 German hit, Honig im Kopf, and four years later, he revisits the universal concept for Anglophone audiences in the homonymous Head Full of Honey.

Nick Nolte revives the role of Amadeus (in the original: Amandus,