Gloria Bell Director Sebastián Lelio on Julianne Moore’s Greatness
It was Julianne Moore who persuaded writer-director Sebastián Lelio to revisit his 2013 Chilean film Gloria for an English-language version.
“It was quite moving to listen to her talking so passionately about the story and the characters. She had a deep understanding of everything so I was quite moved by that,” says Lelio, whose 2017 film A Fantastic Woman won the best foreign language film Oscar,
Writer/Director Anthony Maras on his Harrowing Debut Hotel Mumbai
For his debut feature, Hotel Mumbai, out March 22, Anthony Maras wore many hats: director, executive producer, and co-writer. The film chronicles the siege by terrorists at the upscale Taj Hotel in Mumbai in 2008 that took the lives of more than 160 people and injured countless others.
Maras conducted months of research to pen the script, which weaves a tapestry of stories set throughout the hotel. He also assembled an outstanding ensemble cast led by Dev Patel,
Dressing Misfits, Robots & Superheroes With The Umbrella Academy‘s Costume Designer
Understandably, there’s been a lot of fan interest in the gargantuan prosthetic that Tom Harper wears for his portrayal of Luther Hargreeves, a.k.a. No. 1, in the well-received Netflix superhero series The Umbrella Academy. However, no one is emailing the show’s costume designer Christopher Hargadon about actually purchasing one. Hargadon is getting inquiries from fans asking where they can buy Luther’s mom’s outfits. The first time we meet the show’s matriarch,
Building Sets in Malawi for Chiwetel Ejiofor’s The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
Today Netflix is releasing actor Chiwetel Ejiofor’s directorial debut, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. Based on the 2009 bestselling memoir, co-written by its subject, William Kamkwamba, and Bryan Mealer, the film depicts Kamkwamba’s teenaged years in Malawi during a famine, when he successfully built a windmill irrigation system based on an old library book and using parts from a scrapyard. Prior to its Netflix release, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind premiered at Sundance in January and was screened at the Berlinale film festival.
Greta Director Neil Jordan on the Twisted Consequences of Loneliness
It’s somewhat of a cinephilic fantasy to be terrorized by Isabelle Huppert, who has made a career out of sadomasochistic affairs (The Piano Teacher), psychopathic matriarchy (Merci Pour le Chocolat), and unconventional rape revenge (Elle). It’s eerily perfect, then, that the French actress’ latest role is that of a stalker—a seemingly genial old lady named Greta who becomes increasingly attached to,
Director Karyn Kusama Goes her Own Way
Director Karyn Kusama is one of Hollywood’s boldest voices. Her films are visually arresting, emotionally taxing and riveting to the last frame. Whether it’s a pugilist drama like Girlfight or a horror film like The Invitation, Kusama’s gifts bend genres to her will.
Her most recent film, Destroyer, was the year’s most unsettling crime thriller—by a mile. Starring Nicole Kidman in another impressive,
Celebrating The Little Mermaid‘s 30th Anniversary With Ariel
Thirty years ago, The Little Mermaid initiated the second golden age of Disney animated features, with a spectacular score, including what star Jodi Benson calls the “I dream” opening number that introduces us to the title character, “Part of Your World.” The young mermaid princess sings about wanting to explore the human world. “I want to be where the people are/I want to see/want to see ’em dancin’/Walkin’ around on those/(Whad’ya call ’em?) oh – feet.”
Jodi Benson’s sweet voice brought Ariel to life,
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World‘s Creators on the Trilogy’s Epic Conclusion
Director Dean DeBlois always knew How to Train Your Dragon would be a three-part series where fans would see its main character Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) grow up and bond with a loveable dragon named Toothless. Now in its final chapter How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World illustrates how the animation has matured in complexity and detail alongside its resonating story of friendship.
“Dean had his mind set on a trilogy that would conclude with Hiccup and Toothless learning how to stand on their own feet,” says head of character animation Simon Otto.
Cold War‘s Oscar-Nominated DP Lukasz Zal on the Perspective of Love
*In the run-up to this Sunday’s Oscars telecast, we’re sharing some of our favorite interviews with nominees.
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,
Roma‘s Oscar-Nominated Production Designer on Recreating Mexico City in the 1970s
*In the run-up to this Sunday’s Oscars telecast, we’re sharing some of our favorite interviews with nominees.
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,
The Favourite‘s Oscar-Nominated Production Designer Re-Makes History
*In the run-up to this Sunday’s Oscars telecast, we’re sharing some of our favorite interviews with nominees.
England’s Queen Anne, who only reigned from 1707 to 1714, is hardly the most notable female British sovereign, but to watch her played by Olivia Colman in director Yorgos Lanthimos’s The Favourite, one might wonder why this the first we’re hearing of her in so long. True to history,
Getting Inspired With Black Panther‘s Oscar-Nominated Costume Designer Ruth E. Carter
*In the run-up to this Sunday’s Oscars telecast, we’re sharing some of our favorite interviews with nominees.
Part of Black Panther costume designer Ruth E. Carter‘s many responsibilities included steeping the characters of the fictional world of Wakanda in a wardrobe that spoke to the real Africa, while retaining the mythic quality that the reclusive, technologically advanced nation required. We saw this in her work on the bald,
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’s Oscar-Nominated Directors on Being Bold
*In the run-up to this Sunday’s Oscars telecast, we’re sharing some of our favorite interviews with nominees.
Directors Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman asked themselves a question: how could they tell a story and be as wild and bold as they could adapting a comic book to the big screen that hadn’t been seen before. Enter Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Now the three are Oscar-nominated directors,
How BlacKkKlansman‘s Oscar-Nominated Composer Channeled Jimi Hendrix
*In the run-up to this Sunday’s Oscars telecast, we’re sharing some of our favorite interviews with nominees.
Terence Blanchard landed on this year’s Best Original Score Oscar shortlist by crafting the stirring score for Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman. Based on a true story and set in 1971, the movie casts John David Washington as Ron Stallworth, a black cop who infiltrates the Ku Klux Klan with his Jewish colleague (Adam Driver) by impersonating a white supremacist over the phone.
Black Panther’s Oscar-Nominated Composer on his Global Collaboration
The minute Ludwig Göransson finished reading an early draft of Black Panther sent to him by director Ryan Coogler, the Swedish-born composer knew exactly what he needed to do. “I called up Ryan and said ‘I have to go to Africa,'” recalls Göransson, who is now reaping the benefits of his due diligence. Additional to the Best Score Emmy he won, Göransson is also vying for an Academy Award this Sunday for his Black Panther music.
Roma’s Oscar-Nominated Sound Team on Making a Music-Free Film
Water sloshes in a rooftop laundry tub, a faucet runs, and the strains of a tinny radio shift to the quiet chatter of a family at home. Alfonso Caurón’s Roma depicts the daily life of Cleo (Yalitza Aparicio), an indigenous maid in a white, middle-class Mexico City household, an employee who gradually emerges as a seventh member of the family for whom she works. Cuarón punctuates her days, shepherding four children out of bed,
Off With Their Wigs! Mary Queen of Scots‘s Hair & Makeup Genius Jenny Shircore
*In the run-up to this Sunday’s Oscars telecast, we’re sharing some of our favorite interviews with nominees.
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,
The Favourite‘s Oscar-Nominated DP on Creating one of the Year’s Most Ravishing Films
*In the run-up to this Sunday’s Oscars telecast, we’re sharing some of our favorite interviews with nominees.
Before The Favourite came his way, Robbie Ryan had never worked with Yorgos Lanthimos, but he did admire the Greek director’s offbeat art house films Dogtooth and Killing of a Sacred Deer. So when Lanthimos invited Ryan to shoot his 18th-century black comedy about Queen Anne (Olivia Colman) and rival courtiers (Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone),
Oscar-Nominated Costume Designer Sandy Powell’s Magic Touch on Mary Poppins Returns
*In the run-up to this Sunday’s Oscars telecast, we’re sharing some of our favorite interviews with nominees.
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,
Avengers: Infinity War‘s Oscar-Nominated VFX Supervisor Talks Thanos
*In the run-up to this Sunday’s Oscars telecast, we’re sharing some of our favorite interviews with nominees.
Avengers: Infinity War, one of the biggest movies in history, found its CGI footing through the collective efforts of 11 different VFX outfits. Visual effects supervisor Kelly Port succinctly sums up the focus for his team at the Los Angeles-based Digital Domain company. Port says, “Basically, all the super depressing scenes were us.”