“A New York Christmas Wedding” Writer/Director Otoja Abit on His Debut Feature
When we attended the Savannah Film Festival in 2018, one of the filmmakers we covered was Otoja Abit, an actor who had roles in television series (The Defenders, The Night Of) and film (Stonewall), who was in Savannah to screen his short, Jitters. The 12-minute film centered on Abit’s central character, a man undergoing some last-second concerns in the moments before his wedding.
Screenwriter Madhuri Shekar on Adapting Her Own Audio Play for Blumhouse’s “Evil Eye”
This month, Blumhouse Productions has released a collection of unsettling thrillers in partnership with Amazon Prime, just in time for Halloween. One of these films is Evil Eye, in which a romance turns dark when a mother becomes convinced her daughter’s ‘perfect’ new boyfriend has supernatural connections to her own past. The story is centered in Indian and Indian-American culture, with a cast of actors that are of Indian descent,
“Selena: The Series” Harnesses a Bevy of Latinx Talent to Tell a Legend’s Story
At a time when voices denouncing the lack of diversity in media representation resound clear across the American cultural landscape, it will be beyond thrilling to watch Netflix’s Selena: The Series. The new series is a Latinx production celebrating the life of the legendary Mexican-American singer, and its production will also put the spotlight on a bounty of talented Latinx creatives.
Born in Texas into a working-class family of Mexican and Native American heritage,
Co-Director Lisa Cortés on Voting Rights Past & Present in “All In: The Fight for Democracy”
Amazon’s recent documentary about voting rights and voter suppression, All In: The Fight for Democracy, opens to newscast audio from November 6, 2018, covering the Georgia governor’s race between Stacey Abrams and Brian Kemp. That election, which would have seen Abrams become the country’s first African-American woman governor had she been elected, became a flashpoint for a nationwide recognizance of contemporary issues surrounding the closure of polling stations, deliberate under-training of poll monitors,
Why Radha Blank’s “The Forty-Year-Old Version” Resonates
For people in their 40s, life can often feel like it’s still waiting to start. Some are struggling to figure out what’s next for them professionally, others are contemplating starting a family — and for many (especially now), the uncertainty can feel overwhelming. For Radha Blank, her 40th year was supposed to mark her arrival as a successful playwright, but life has a way of not delivering the way we want it to.
Director Angel Manuel Soto on His High-Octane HBO Max Feature “Charm City Kings”
In some ways, it’s a story that director Angel Manuel Soto knows little about. But it’s also one he knows only too well. Centered around the urban dirt bike culture in Baltimore, Maryland, Charm City Kings, making its debut on HBO Max, is a raw, coming-of-age drama based in a culture where respect is earned through stunt riding.
Take the bikes out of the equation, and it is remarkably similar to how Soto felt growing up in Puerto Rico.
“The Boys in The Band” Director Joe Mantello on Adapting Broadway’s Groundbreaking Play
Mart Crowley’s 1968 play The Boys in the Band is an undisputed milestone in gay history. Produced a year before the Stonewall rebellion, this story of an Upper East Side birthday gathering was groundbreaking, with gay men overtly representing themselves onstage, and asked to be seen as themselves, nothing more or less. This was a first. It was also a massive hit. For its 50th anniversary, producer Ryan Murphy revived the play on Broadway,
“Lovecraft Country” DP Michael Watson on Lensing HBO’s Multi-Genre Hit Series
If you’ve been watching Lovecraft Country on HBO, you’ve seen one of the most sublimely ambitious series on TV this year. Stripping the legendary horror writer H.P. Lovecraft for parts (the man was a seething racist and anti-Semite), creator Misha Green’s 9-episode series is equal parts horror, drama, sci-fi, and social commentary. Lovecraft Country is the show 2020 needed but probably didn’t deserve.
Cinematographer Michael Watson lensed four of Lovecraft‘s episodes,
HBO Max Reveals Trailer For 4-Part Docu-Series “Equal”
HBO Max has released the official trailer for Equal, their four-part docu-series chronicling the untold events leading up to the Stonewall Uprising in New York City that began on June 28, 1969, and marked a massive shift in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights. The series is narrated by Emmy, Tony, and Grammy-winning performer Billy Porter (Pose, American Horror Story: Apocalypse), and will likely introduce viewers to a wide range of LGBTQ+ leaders and visionaries for the first time—portrayed by an incredible cast.
“Lovecraft Country” Director Cheryl Dunye on Shapeshifting & More in Episode 5
HBO’s Lovecraft Country, created by Executive Producer Misha Green, is being celebrated by viewers and critics alike. The story of two families that come together in the Jim Crow South to battle monsters and white racists in power has horrors both real and imagined, but there are many elements in the storytelling and many challenges to the characters that speak to the state of American race relations today. The misadventures of Atticus Freeman (Jonathan Majors),
Costume Designer Analucia McGorty on Creating the Looks for the Groundbreaking “POSE”
Set in the Eighties and Nineties, POSE is a dance musical that juxtaposes several versions of life and society in New York: the downtown social and literary scene, the ball culture world, and the rise of the luxury Trump-era universe. So when it comes to what everyone in the show is wearing, Costume Designer Analucia McGorty—recently Emmy-nominated for Outstanding Period Costumes—has some challenging, and extremely fun, work to do.
Director Dime Davis on Making Emmy History With “A Black Lady Sketch Show”
Last year, director Dime Davis visited California desert retreat Joshua Tree to take a break from her burgeoning career as director of Showtime drama The Chi and BET rom-com Boomerang. “I’d been trying to get my head together so I wasn’t getting back to people,” Davis recalls. But Robin Thede kept calling. The comedian had created a new sketch series for HBO and wanted Davis to direct the whole thing.
Emmy-Nominated Production Designer Monica Sotto on “Drunk History”
Let’s get the sad part out of the way; Comedy Central’s beloved Drunk History was recently canceled, after 6 glorious, inebriated, compulsively watchable seasons. Shortly before that bad bit of news was revealed, we got a chance to chat with the show’s production designer Monica Sotto, whose work on the season 6 finale “Bad Blood,” which focused on the highly infectious Typhoid Mary (narrated by Jackie Johnson) and Cleopatra’s younger sister,
How Emmy-Nominated Choreographer Jemel McWilliams Makes His Moves
When Emmy-nominated choreographer Jemel McWilliams was a first grader growing up in the D.C. area, most of his friends spent their time worshipping and talking about Michael Jordan. It was the Nineties, and Jordan and the Bulls were at peak fame level. But McWilliams had a few other idols in his sights: Sammy Davis, Jr. and Savion Glover.
“I just loved that Sammy was an actor, a singer,
Emmy-Nominated Production Designer Jason Sherwood on Designing the Oscars
At 30 years old, Emmy-winning production designer Jason Sherwood became the youngest person to ever design the Oscars for this past year’s historic ceremony. Sherwood, already a talented theater designer, nabbed his first Emmy just last year for the design of Rent Live (which was also his first foray into major TV production).
For this year’s Oscars, Sherwood and his collaborator and fellow nominee, art director Alana Billingsley,
“Becoming” Composer Kamasi Washington on Scoring Michelle Obama’s Life
As one of the most famous women in the world, we’re familiar with the broad strokes of Michelle Obama’s life, from her rarefied resume and progressive values to her playfully chic sense of fashion. Thanks to her critically-acclaimed memoir, “Becoming,” the former First Lady’s legions of fans have also gotten to know more about her early life, marriage to Barack Obama, and their eight years in the White House.
Emmy-Nominated “Watchmen” Production Designer on The Show’s Eclectic Inspirations
Not only did Watchmen top all TV rivals by earning 26 Emmy nominations; the sprawling HBO series also tackled racism in America en route to becoming arguably the most topical drama of the year. Rooted in the horrific 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre of more than 300 Black citizens, Watchmen pits fictional superhero Sister Night (Regina King) against a secret society of white supremacists Hell-bent on taking over the world.
Asia Pacific Screen Academy Filmmakers Deliver Diverse Storytelling
Over the last decade, some of the Academy members of the Asia Pacific Screen Academy have benefited from receiving grants from the MPA APSA Academy Film Fund. We asked the Chair of the Fund, Andrew Pike, to provide us with a status update on some of the recent projects and the legacy that the Fund is helping to create in the Asia Pacific region.
For 10 years now, the MPA APSA Academy Film Fund,
How Justin Simien Schools Viewers in “Dear White People”
On one hand, Dear White People creator Justin Simien was thrilled to see a 600 percent increase in viewership for his Netflix series in the wake of George Floyd’s death. On the other hand, he says, “It’s also a little bit annoying because like, ‘Where were y’all when we started this conversation with this franchise six years ago when this [racism] was just as relevant then as it is now?'”
In tracking the trials and tribulations of wise-cracking Black students at an Ivy League-level fictional school called Winchester University,
How DP Nancy Schreiber Sidesteps Voyeurism for a Naturalistic Look in “P-Valley”
If you think you’re in for a sexy, easygoing watch with P-Valley, Starz’s new series on the life and times of the employees of a Mississippi Delta strip club, expect an emotional awakening. The show’s creator, Laurence Olivier Award-winning playwright Katori Hall, first brought P-Valley to life as a critically well-received play, “Pussy Valley.” Hall’s television adaptation may be less explicitly titled, but it retains the nuance of a work fit for the stage,
