“Smile 2” DP Charlie Sarroff on Lighting a Curse-Afflicted Pop Star in the Big City

Life as a pop star isn’t as great as it looks, if the smiles surrounding global sensation Skye Riley (Naomi Scott) are any indicator. Smile 2, director Parker Finn’s sequel to 2022’s surprise hit Smile, demonstrates the horror of having a public psychological breakdown triggered by the triple threat of hidden trauma, the immense pressures of fame, and a deadly curse.

After an addiction-induced meltdown and a car accident that killed her boyfriend,

How “The Penguin” Production Designer Kalina Ivanov Helped Bring Gotham Back to New York City

Production designer Kalina Ivanov was destined to be part of the HBO spin-off series The Penguin from creator Lauren LeFranc, which stars Colin Farrell as the title character, Oz Cobb, reprising his role from Matt Reeves’ The Batman and remaining, once again, utterly unrecognizable.

“The very first movie I saw in the theater after Covid stopped being Covid was The Batman,

Benetone Films Co-Founder Kulthep Narula on Taking Thailand’s Film Industry to the Next Level

From Hollywood to Bollywood, Benetone Films has provided production services for over 100 feature films, TV series, and 1,000 TV commercials in over two decades. The Bangkok-based company is also a key provider for foreign productions filmed on location in Thailand. Ten projects have been approved through Thailand’s incentive scheme, including 2020’s The Forgotten Army for Amazon Studios and 2022’s Blood & Treasure season 2 for CBS Studios.

In recent years,

“Manhunt”: A Visual Journey Through Time with Graphic Designer Gina Alessi

Manhunt graphic designer Gina Alessi had a significant assignment when she was brought on board Apple TV+’s stellar limited series about the hunt for John Wilkes Booth (Anthony Boyle) in the aftermath of Abraham Lincoln’s (Hamish Linklater) assassination—among other historical recreations, Alessi was tasked with making sure Abraham Lincoln’s deathbed at the Petersen House next to the Ford Theater, down to the pattern on the blanket, was period perfect. It was not an insignificant challenge,

Following Its Predecessor’s Successful Path, “Twisters” Touches Down in Oklahoma

When the disaster thriller Twister was released in 1996, the film turned out to be one of the summer’s biggest blockbusters and the second-highest-grossing movie of the year (the first was Independence Day). Helen Hunt starred as Jo, a meteorologist who was out to revolutionize tornado alert systems through a small, censor-filled device named Dorothy, conceived by her almost ex-husband, weatherman Bill (Bill Paxton). Almost thirty years later, a sequel is on the way: Twisters,

Reimagining Korea’s Dynamic Film & TV Industry With Wow Point Executive Producer Yoomin Hailey Yang

Wow Point CEO and executive producer Yoomin Hailey Yang is blazing a trail for young female producers in the Korean film and TV industry.

After stints working with Korean broadcaster MBC and agency-producer BH Entertainment, she co-founded Wow Point with leading Korean filmmaker Yeon Sang-ho (Train To Busan, Peninsula) in 2021. The Seoul-based company has launched two series on Netflix so far this year: Parasyte: The Grey,

Lights, Camera, Action! How Tax Breaks and Funding Can Lure Film Productions to Germany

The panelists on stage at the law firm Greenberg Traurig for a discussion held in conjunction with the Motion Picture Association during the 74th Berlin International Film Festival represented a notable list of luminaries from across the film and television industry. Mediated by Greenberg Traurig Partner Laura Zentner, they were largely in agreement regarding the panel’s topic, German film funding in 2025 and beyond. The panel members emphasized that filming in Germany, from infrastructure to local talent,

“Dune: Part Two” Set for a Sandworm-Sized Opening Weekend

Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two is rumbling towards theaters this weekend with the thunderous power of a sandworm. The second part of Villeneuve’s possibly three-part epic (he’s currently working on the script for Part Three, which has yet to be confirmed, and would be based on “Dune Messiah,” Frank Herbert’s sequel to his original book) was delayed from releasing this past fall due to the actor’s strike. This has meant that with this weekend’s release,

“Drive-Away Dolls” Production Designer Yong Ok Lee on Transforming Pittsburgh Into the Whole East Coast

Ethan Coen’s solo directorial debut, Drive-Away Dolls, stars Margaret Qualley as Jamie, an unhindered Texan attached at the hip to her best friend and human hand-brake, Marian, played by Geraldine Viswanathan. The only trait these two twenty-somethings seemingly share is that they are both lesbians, but when an impromptu road trip to Tallahassee turns into a game of cat and mouse involving a couple of hired goons, Arliss (Joey Slotnick) and Flint (C.J.

Best of 2023: “Rustin” Screenwriter Julian Breece on Giving a Legend his Due

*It’s our annual “Best of the Year” look back at some of our favorite interviews from the year. 

There are countless unsung heroes of the civil rights movement who will never get the recognition they deserve, yet it’s hard to imagine an overlooked figure more central to the cause and more courageous and capacious in spirit than Bayard Rustin. While historians are well aware of the impact Rustin had on the civil rights movement writ large and specifically the March on Washington,

“Rustin” Screenwriter Julian Breece on Giving a Legend his Due

There are countless unsung heroes of the civil rights movement who will never get the recognition they deserve, yet it’s hard to imagine an overlooked figure more central to the cause and more courageous and capacious in spirit than Bayard Rustin. While historians are well aware of the impact Rustin had on the civil rights movement writ large and specifically the March on Washington, most Americans are not.

George C. Wolfe‘s Rustin (in theaters now) offers a course correction.

Filmmaker & TV Creator Mann Robinson on Getting it Done in Georgia

Mann Robinson gets it done. The former rapped-turned-filmmaker and television creator can do it all—write, direct, produce, edit—with a tirelessness that would seem inhuman if he wasn’t so even-keeled about how he approaches his work.

“What’s allowing me to have so many things coming up?” he says when we spoke toward the end of summer, as he took a rare break to chat about his career. “First thing I do in the morning is write whatever project I may be on at the time,

How Skylight Studios Transforms Inaccessible Spaces into Inspiring Locations

What people love, fear and crave are constantly defined by their location. From first noticing the otherworldly star band the Milky Way presents in a clear night sky to reading about CERN potentially ending the world while strapped to an airline seat 10,000 feet above the earth – the location of every moment serves as a lens through which we all see the world. And all those moments stay with us.

For storytellers,

How Camera Specialist Otto Nemenz Helped Make “The Gray Man” & Trains Tomorrow’s Camera Wizards

Did you hold your breath during the heart-stopping, crystal-clear action scenes in the Netflix thriller The Gray Man? You can thank Otto Nemenz and his cameras for that. 

For over 40 years, Otto Nemenz International, Inc. in Culver City (and previously Hollywood) has provided digital cinema cameras, lenses, and accessories to motion picture productions across the country. But it’s more than just the top-notch equipment ONI provides that makes this 40+ person operation exceptional.

From “Westworld” to “Perry Mason” – Quixote is a Studio Service Company in Shining Armor

If you spot Star Trailers on the streets of Los Angeles, you may not be surprised to see the Quixote brand on the side. After all, Quixote Studios is the entertainment industry’s premier studio and equipment rental company in Los Angeles. But I bet you didn’t know those trailers are actually suits of shining armor on wheels.

Founded by Mikel Elliott and Jordan Kitaen, Quixote Studios has 24 soundstages throughout the Los Angeles area that are highly sought after by production companies and studios around the country.

Vietnam Filmmakers in Focus: In Conversation With Dr. Ngo Phuong Lan

The Vietnam Film Development Association (VFDA) was established in July 2019 as a national film commission, and its top priority was fostering international collaborations.

With that in mind, we talk to VFDA chairperson Dr. Ngo Phuong Lan, the former director of Vietnam’s Cinema Department and former head of the organizing committee of the Hanoi International Film Festival (HANIFF). She is also a film critic and an author and co-author of seven books, including “

Producer Autumn Bailey-Ford on Making Movies & Shows She Loves in Georgia

Autumn Bailey-Ford has been an independent film and TV producer working out of Georgia for the past 13 years. Originally from York, Pennsylvania, Bailey-Ford has worked her way up from production assistant—that invaluable, multifaceted job that has been the starting point to many successful film careers—to running her own studio…and co-running a second.

“I love film and TV,” Bailey-Ford says, reflecting on a career that began with her daydreaming as a little girl watching Bob Hope and Bing Cosby movies on Turner Movie Classics.

Leading Lawmakers Celebrate the Motion Picture Association’s Centennial

“We are a nation of visionaries,” Vice President Kamala Harris says at the top of her remarks about the Motion Picture Association’s centennial. The Vice President was one of nine leading lawmakers to speak about the centennial and the importance of the MPA’s work advocating on behalf of the film and television industry. “Members of the Motion Picture Association, for a century you have written the lines we will never stop quoting. You have created the images we will never forget.

Telling Stories With Singapore-Based Producer Si En Tan

Singapore-based producer Si En Tan already has an impressive resume in a relatively short career. After working as an assistant producer on Kirsten Tan’s Thai-Singapore co-production Pop Aye (2017), she went on to produce Anthony Chen’s Wet Season (2019), which won a string of awards at film festivals and the Golden Horse Awards held annually in Taiwan. Her producing credits also include Chen’s segment of the seven-part anthology film The Year Of The Everlasting Storm,

Best of 2021: “Spider-Man: No Way Home” Co-Writers Talk Villains, Peter Parker & Changing the Script

This interview is part of our highly subjective, decidedly non-comprehensive “Best of 2021” year-end list. It was originally published on December 20.

Reviewers raved, Twitter went berserk with anticipation and spoilers went (mostly) unleaked as Spider-Man: No Way Home hit theaters this past weekend, making box office history in the process. Third in the trilogy of Tom Holland-headlining Marvel films directed by Jon Watts,