Pretty in Pink With “Barbie” Production Designer Sarah Greenwood & Set Decorator Katie Spencer

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“It was trying to find a solution to what makes a toy,” says production designer Sarah Greenwood about creating the charmed sets of Barbie alongside set decorator Katie Spencer. The two have been near inseparable, having worked on over thirty projects together. Darkest Hour, Beauty and the Beast, and Anna Karenina are among their six Academy Award nominations. “It became this huge journey of discovery, and it started with us buying a Barbie Dreamhouse and playing with it.”

Like Margot Robbie, who stars in the title role (and also serves as co-producer), Greenwood and Spencer didn’t own the iconic doll growing up. The first thing they noticed was the irregular proportions between Barbie and her accessories. “If you put the doll in the Dreamhouse and she puts her hands in the air, she can touch the ceiling. She is strikingly out of scale,” says Greenwood. “It’s the same with the car. Barbie never quite fits because her legs don’t bend. We worked it out to be 23% smaller than human size for the sets. What this did is when you built it for real, you made the actors seem bigger in the house. That gives it a toy quality or what we found out Mattel calls “toyetic.” Finding what it is that makes it a toy.”

Caption: (L-r) RYAN GOSLING and MARGOT ROBBIE on the set of Warner Bros. Pictures’ “BARBIE,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Jaap Buitendijk
Caption: (L-r) RYAN GOSLING as Ken and MARGOT ROBBIE as Barbie in Warner Bros. Pictures’ “BARBIE,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Co-written and directed by Greta Gerwig (Noah Baumbach is the other co-writer), Barbie’s carefree, perfect life is turned upside down when she starts having dark thoughts about death, and more distressing, her perfectly arched feet fall flat. To find out what’s happening to her, she travels outside Barbie Land and into the real world for answers. With Ken (Ryan Gosling) in tow, she begins to discover more about herself than she could ever imagine.

Caption: (L-r) MARGOT ROBBIE and RYAN GOSLING on the set of Warner Bros. Pictures’ “BARBIE,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Atsushi Nishijiima

Barbie Land is a potpourri of pink, posh, and chic. The plastic town was constructed at Warner Bros Studios in Hertfordshire, England. The Dreamhouse, a focal point for Greenwood and Spencer, insisted on creating “their own version” of Barbie’s home.  The work was done with minimal CGI, which meant building everything with detail from scratch. Inspiration was taken from the midcentury modernism of Palm Springs, including Richard Neutra’s Kaufmann house, famously photographed by Slim Aarons.

Caption: MARGOT ROBBIE as Barbie in Warner Bros. Pictures’ “BARBIE,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures

The Dreamhouse and her neighbors’ homes like Midge, the discontinued “Pregnant Barbie” (Emerald Fennell), “President Barbie” (Issa Rae), and the played with too much “Weird Barbie” (Kate McKinnon) were fabricated from metal and finished with an open front in typical Barbie house fashion. The color palette of Barbie Land was stripped of black, white, and chrome. And playing with the toy box idea, atmosphere, fire, water, electricity, and physics were removed. If Barbie needed to get to her car, she could simply “jump” down from her second story without consequence – which she absolutely does in the movie.

Caption: (L-r) RYAN GOSLING, KATE MCKINNON and Director/Writer GRETA GERWIG on the set of Warner Bros. Pictures’ “BARBIE,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Jaap Buitendijk

Another point of intention was the blend of 3D and 2D elements. “We didn’t want you to look at the Dreamhouse and be disappointed, so it was important everything was made tangible and tactile,” says Spencer. “What’s not there speaks volumes to what is there.” Many of the objects in and around Barbie’s home were flat hand-painted decals or images like the lettering on the milk carton or the teardrop-shaped pool that’s connected to Barbie’s twirling slide. The pool was painted and then covered with multiple coats of a clear resin. “People still wouldn’t walk on it besides Margot,” Spencer points out. Bookending the Barbie Land fantasy is 250 foot long bubblegum blue skyline of the San Jacinto Mountains. The painted backdrop perfectly adds to the wonderlicous world.

Caption: MARGOT ROBBIE as Barbie in Warner Bros. Pictures’ “BARBIE,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures

When Barbie enters the real world, the Mattel corporation becomes an unexpected stop. It’s here Barbie meets a cheery Mattel CEO (Will Ferrell) and other executives in a boardroom. To bring it to life, the design is “one stop in Barbie Land and one stop in the real world.” Greenwood says, “We created a massive heart-shaped table and heart-shaped light above. And we wanted everything about Mattel until you walked into that room to be monochromatic. Everything is black and white leading up to that point.” The boardroom had its own scenic painted backdrop. “It’s everything you love about Los Angeles. The Hollywood sign, the mountains, we put the Warner Bros Tower center frame and included downtown Los Angeles, but it’s painted like the Emerald City in The Wizard of Oz. You’re creating this other-worldly idea about it,” adds Greenwood.

Another Wizard of Oz reference was placed on the road in and out of Barbie Land. “The little bricks are in the same style as the movie, and so is the rainbow,” says Spencer. “No one stopped us. It was so much fun.”  Greenwood adds, “This was an absolute dream. Greta is a poet in the way she approaches and describes things.”

Caption: (L-r) RYAN GOSLING as Ken and MARGOT ROBBIE as Barbie in Warner Bros. Pictures’ “BARBIE,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures

Barbie is in theaters now.  

 

For more on Barbie, check out these stories:

New “Barbie” Album Trailer Unveils Nicki Minaj & Ice Spice’s “Barbie World” Track & Many More

Greta Gerwig Makes History as “Barbie” Becomes Biggest Opening Weekend Ever For Female Director

The Barbenheimer Phenomenon Was Real, and Historic

Featured image: (L-r) RYAN GOSLING as Ken and MARGOT ROBBIE as Barbie in Warner Bros. Pictures’ “BARBIE,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Jaap Buitendijk

“The Marvels” Official Trailer Finds Captain Marvel Teaming Up to Fight Against Dar-Benn

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The official trailer for director Nia DaCosta’s The Marvels has landed, and it reveals a whole new universe of trouble for Carol Danvers, aka Captain Marvel (Brie Larson). After taking on the despotic Kree in the original Captain Marvel and becoming arguably the most potent superhero in the entire Marvel universe, Captain Marvel has had quite a run. She’s been not only off-world, protecting the universe in far-off realms, but she’s had to return to Earth to help out the Avengers with a pesky problem that went by the name Thanos. It’s not easy being an intergalactic superhero.

Yet her troubles are about to multiply in The Marvels, thanks to a bout of superpower entanglement that occurs when Carol faces off against a Kree revolutionary named Dar-Benn (Zawe Ashton), who is committed to destroying everything she holds dear. Their first encounter ends up making it so Carol’s superpowers become entangled with two other people, a Jersey City super-fan named Kamala Khan, aka Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani, reprising her role after her Disney+ series), and her estranged niece, Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris, reprising her role from WandaVision). Anytime one of our three superheroes uses their powers, they switch locations with each other. Now, Carol, Monica, and Kamala are going to have to figure out how to harness their bizarre trinity and band together to defeat Dar-Benn, whose powers are as immense as her desire to burn the universe to bits. 

The trailer offers some telling bits of comedy and panache, the former is now a proper Marvel house style, and the latter seems all on account of the very talented DaCosta, a director who proved in the indie Little Woods (2018) and the gripping remake of Candyman (2021) that she has talent to spare. She directs from a script by WandaVision screenwriter Megan McDonnell, Loki screenwriter Elissa Karasik, and Zeb Wells.

Also on hand are Samuel L. Jackson returning as Nick Fury (currently starring in Secret Invasion on Disney+, alongside his Captain Marvel co-star Ben Mendelsohn as his Skrull buddy Talos), Mohan Kapur as Yusuf Khan, Park Seo-joon, Caroline Simonnet, and Jessica Zhou. The Marvels will be the first Marvel Studios film since Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3  bowed on May 5, as Marvel’s Phase 5 continues apace. 

Check out the trailer below. The Marvels lands in theaters on November 10.

For more on all things Marvel Studios, check out these stories:

“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” Streaming Date Revealed

Jennifer Garner Joining “Deadpool 3” Cast as Elektra Adds Yet More Star Power

Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine Wears Iconic Yellow Suit in “Deadpool 3” Photo

“Deadpool 3” Release Date Moved Up Six Months

Featured image: Brie Larson as Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers in Marvel Studios’ THE MARVELS. Photo by Laura Radford. © 2023 MARVEL.

New “Barbie” Album Trailer Unveils Nicki Minaj & Ice Spice’s “Barbie World” Track & Many More

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Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice’s “Barbie World,” Charli XCX’s “Speed Drive,” Sam Smith’s “Man I Am,” Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?,” and Dua Lipa’s “Dance the Night” are just some of the tracks on the Barbie album, a fittingly superstar-studded musical collaboration for Greta Gerwig’s superstar-packed film. Those are the artists featured in this brand-new Barbie trailer, which gives us a few new looks at Gerwig’s take on the iconic Matell doll, which is in theaters now after many months of growing excitement, amplified by the insanely clever marketing team.

Barbie stars Margot Robbie as the titular iconic doll, only in Gerwig and co-writer Noah Baumbach’s story, Barbie’s perfect life in Barbie Land is about to come undone. While life there, amongst a bevy of other Barbies, each with a different job (played by Issa Rae, Kate McKinnon, Alexandra Shipp, Hari Nef, Emma Mackey, and more), and Kens (Ryan Gosling, Simu Liu, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Ncuti Gatwa, Scott Evans, and more) is as smooth as plastic and trouble-free, an existential crisis leads Robbie and Gosling’s Barbie and Ken to venture out of Barbie Land and into the real world, a decidedly imperfect, downright terrifying place, in order to save their home.

By now, you likely know that all eyes have been on July 21 for months, as excitement over Gerwig’s spin on Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s biopic Oppenheimer reached such a fevered pitch it birthed a new term, “Barbenheimer,” coined to describe the film fans who are planning on seeing both movies in the theaters this weekend. The differences between these two potential blockbusters only make them more intensely appealing as a double bill. It’s safe to say, however, that you won’t find Lizzo or Tame Impala on the Oppenheimer album.

The Barbie album also includes Fifty Fity, The Kid Laroi, Pinnk Panthress, HAIM, Khalid, Karol G, and more. You can check out more about the album here.

Check out the trailer below. Barbie is in theaters now.

For more on Barbie, check out these stories:

“Barbie” Review Round-Up: Stellar Performances in a Soulful, Bananas, & Ambitious Summer Splash

Believe in Barbenheimer: “Barbie” & “Oppenheimer” Aren’t in Competition, They’re in Concert

Inside Margot Robbie’s Bold “Barbie” Pitch Meetings

Featured image: Caption: (L-r) KINGSLEY BEN-ADIR as Ken, RYAN GOSLING as Ken, MARGOT ROBBIE as Barbie, SIMU LIU as Ken, NCUTI GATWA as Ken and SCOTT EVANS as Ken in Warner Bros. Pictures’ “BARBIE,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Inside Margot Robbie’s Bold “Barbie” Pitch Meetings

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Margot Robbie’s pitch was simple and brilliant—big things happen when you pair a visionary director with a big idea. One example she used? Pairing Steven Spielberg with dinosaurs.

This was how she approached selling Barbie to studios, as Collider reveals in a recent interview with Robbie. Robbie’s not just the star of Barbie, she’s also a producer on the film, and in order to pitch the notion of a feature film about the iconic Matell doll to studio executives, she boldly said she believed Barbie could net $1 billion at the worldwide box office. But in order to do that, they needed to secure Greta Gerwig as the writer/director.

“I think my pitch in the green-light meeting was [that] the studios have prospered so much when they’re brave enough to pair a big idea with a visionary director,” Robbie told Collider. “And then I gave a series of examples like, ‘dinosaurs and [Steven] Spielberg’ – pretty much naming anything that’s been incredible and made a ton of money for the studios over the years. And I was like, ‘And now you’ve got Barbie and Greta Gerwig.’ And I think I told them that it’d make a billion dollars, which maybe I was overselling, but we had a movie to make, okay?”

Whether or not Robbie was slightly (or majorly) overselling Barbie, there’s no denying that everything that she, Gerwig, the rest of the cast and crew, and the Barbie marketing team have done has put the film in the best possible position to succeed. The rave reviews. The ingenious promotion. The rare, wonderful rise of the Barbenheimers, the film lovers uniting behind their desire to see both Barbie and the film’s chief competition this weekend, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer. All of this has resulted in Barbie tracking to become a blockbuster for Warner Bros., with a major opening weekend haul. It turns out Robbie might have the formula exactly right—visionary director + big idea = box office gold. (Of course, it’s never this simple, but it’s a great place to start.)

Once Gerwig was on board, her vision for Barbie, based on a script she co-wrote with Noah Baumbach, was precisely the kind of visionary approach Robbie wanted all along. The cast Gerwig assembled alongside Robbie, which includes Ryan Gosling as Ken, only strengthened Robbie’s contention that Barbie could really work.

Now, Barbie has finally arrived, and Robbie’s bold prediction may very well become a reality. See the film for yourself in theaters when it opens on July 21.

For more on Barbie, check out these stories:

“Barbie” Review Round-Up: Stellar Performances in a Soulful, Bananas, & Ambitious Summer Splash

Believe in Barbenheimer: “Barbie” & “Oppenheimer” Aren’t in Competition, They’re in Concert

The Brilliant “Barbie” Marketing Team Secretly Created an Actual Barbie DreamHouse

Things Get Real for Margot Robbie’s Iconic Doll in Official “Barbie” Trailer

“Barbie” Trailer Reveals Margot Robbie in Greta Gerwig’s Live-Action Look at Mattel’s Iconic Doll

Featured image: Caption: (L-r) RYAN GOSLING as Ken and MARGOT ROBBIE as Barbie in Warner Bros. Pictures’ “BARBIE,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Jaap Buitendijk

“Oppenheimer” Review Round-Up: One of the Best Biopics Ever Made

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The review embargo was officially lifted on Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, and it comes as no surprise that the film is coming in for some of the best reviews in Nolan’s career. Maybe the best. After the film premiered in Paris last week (but before the review embargo was lifted), the first reactions were often of astonishment. Fellow filmmaker Paul Schrader (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, First Reformed) went so far as to call it “The best, most important film of the century.” And now, the rest of the movie-reviewing world has seen it, and they’re just about unanimous in agreement.

Oppenheimer follows the father of the atomic bomb, J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy, lauded by every critic for his performance) and his work on the Manhattan Project, as he led the United States effort to build the bomb before the Nazis could. At three hours long and with a forgone conclusion (at least for the part of this history people know off the top of their heads), there was never any guarantee Nolan could turn his biopic into a thrilling, harrowing masterpiece. He has.

“Oppenheimer is a great achievement in formal and conceptual terms, and fully absorbing, but Nolan’s filmmaking is, crucially, in service to the history that it relates,” says Manohla Nargis, chief film critic at The New York Times.

“Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer is a kinetic thing of dark, imposing beauty that quakes with the disquieting tremors of a forever rupture in the course of human history,” writes the AP‘s Jake Coyle.

Ann Hornaday of the Washington Post writes, “[Nolan] has brought to life not just J. Robert Oppenheimer, but the still-crucial arguments he both started and tried to end. Oppenheimer boldly posits that those arguments are still worth having, in a film of magnitude, profundity and dazzling artistry.”

There’s more like this. A lot more. Let’s have a brief glance at what some other critics are saying. Oppenheimer arrives in theaters on July 21. You probably want to see it on the biggest screen possible.

For more on Oppenheimer, check out these stories:

Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” Called “Best and Most Important Film This Century” By Another Film Legend

“Oppenheimer” First Reactions: Christopher Nolan’s Historical Epic is Genuinely Mind-Blowing

Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” IMAX Film Prints Are 11 Miles Long & Weigh 600 Pounds

Featured image: Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer in OPPENHEIMER, written and directed by Christopher Nolan. Courtesy of Universal Pictures. 

“A Haunting in Venice” Trailer Finds Hercules Poirot Thrust Into a Terrifying Mystery

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Hercules Poirot is back, although the weary detective was trying to live a quiet life in Venice.

The official trailer for director/star Kenneth Branagh’s A Haunting in Venice has arrived, finding Poirot (Branagh) trying to live a quiet life in the gorgeous, water-riven Italian city. It’s All Hallow’s Eve in Venice, World War II has ended, and Poirot agrees—not happily—to attend a séance. You know what happens anytime Poirot joins a gathering, one of the guests won’t live through the night, and the ingenious detective is once again thrust into the center of a murder mystery. This time, however, rather than find himself cloistered on a train or a boat, Poirot will need to ply his trade in that ever-mysterious, hard-to-navigate city.

And who invites Poirot to this séance? Ariadne Oliver (Tina Fey), a woman who thinks herself as smart as they come, yet who can’t figure out just how the woman leading the séance is pulling off the theatrics. So, she gets Poirot to go by playing up his skills. Because she can’t spot the con—and it has to be a con, right?—she challenges Poirot to do so himself. The person leading the séance is Mrs. Reynolds (recent Oscar-winner Michelle Yeoh), and she claims she really can commune with the dead. Once the séance begins, the mysteries deepen, the shadows creep, and a dead child is seemingly brought back before the assembled guests. And then things get really interesting.

The cast, as always in a Branagh film and especially so in this franchise, boasts a bevy of excellent performers. Joining Fey and Yeoh are Kelly Reilly, Jamie Dornan, Emma Laird, and Camille Cottin. 

This is Branagh’s third film as Poirot, having directed and starred in 2017’s Murder on the Orient Express and 2022’s Death on the Nile. Michael Green (Logan) penned the script, which he adapted from Agatha Christie’s novel “Hallowe’en Party.”

Check out the trailer below. A Haunting in Venice arrives in theaters on September 15.

For more stories on 20th Century Studios, Searchlight Pictures, Marvel Studios and what’s streaming or coming to Disney+, check these out:

“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” Streaming Date Revealed

The Official “The Creator” Trailer Reveals Gareth Edwards AI-Centered Sci-Fi Epic

James Gunn’s “Superman: Legacy” Cast Shaping Up With Nathan Fillion Joining in a Key Role

Jennifer Garner Joining “Deadpool 3” Cast as Elektra Adds Yet More Star Power

Featured image: Kenneth Branagh as Hercule Poirot in 20th Century Studios’ A HAUNTING IN VENICE. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2023 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” Called “Best and Most Important Film This Century” By Another Film Legend

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Finally having your film reviewed by critics is a necessary, often harrowing part of a filmmaker’s journey, when years’ worth of work is summed up and judged in a few hundred words. It can be thrilling, it can be devastating, and it can feel to many like a necessary evil. (You wouldn’t have trouble finding filmmakers who find critics unnecessary, of course.) Yet often the most satisfying praise a filmmaker can receive comes from their contemporaries. Sure, Christopher Nolan must have been happy to survey the media landscape after Oppenheimer had its world premiere in Paris and hailed it as one of his best films. We’d bet, however, the glowing praise he received from fellow filmmaker Paul Schrader, the man who wrote Taxi Driver and Raging Bull, among others, and directed his own work like in the excellent First Reformed, felt even better.

Schrader had this to say about Nolan’s latest on Facebook: “The best, most important film of this century. If you see one film in cinemas this year, it should be Oppenheimer. I’m not a Nolan groupie, but this one blows the doors off the hinges.”

It’s not for nothing to get such love from Schrader, a man not afraid to speak his mind, as evidenced in this great, recent profile of him in the New Yorker.

Nolan’s historical epic is centered on Cillian Murphy’s portrayal of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the man who led the Manhattan Project, the United States’ mad rush to build an atomic bomb, during World War II. After the film premiered in Paris, the first reactions were uniformly gushing. “A truly spectacular achievement,” “Fearsome,” and “A character study on the grandest scale.” Here’s a brief peek.

As wonderful as it must feel to see all the hard work you, your cast, and your crew resonate so deeply with critics, to get the kind of love from a filmmaker like Schrader, somebody who has had his share of raves, as well as scathing reviews, must be especially sweet. More critics will be weighing in today, as the review embargo has been officially lifted.

Oppenheimer hits theaters on July 21.

For more on Oppenheimer, check out these stories:

“Oppenheimer” First Reactions: Christopher Nolan’s Historical Epic is Genuinely Mind-Blowing

Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” IMAX Film Prints Are 11 Miles Long & Weigh 600 Pounds

How Christopher Nolan Utilized IMAX Cameras for “Oppenheimer”

Featured image: L to R: Robert Downey Jr is Lewis Strauss and Cillian Murphy is J. Robert Oppenheimer in OPPENHEIMER, written, produced, and directed by Christopher Nolan.

“Barbie” Review Round-Up: Stellar Performances in a Soulful, Bananas, & Ambitious Summer Splash

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Writer/director Greta Gerwig said, in no uncertain terms, that the idea of making Barbie terrified her. This is precisely why she felt she had to do it. Here’s how she described her motivation on Dua Lipa’s podcast At Your Service: “It was something that was exciting because it was terrifying. It felt like vertigo, starting to write it, like: ‘Where do you even begin, and what would be the story?’ And I think it was that feeling I had, knowing that it would be really interesting terror. Usually, that’s where the best stuff is, where you’re like, ‘I am terrified of that.’ Anything where you’re like, ‘This could be a career-ender — then you’re like, ‘I should probably do it.’”

She did it, and now that the review embargo has lifted, critics are finally revealing what they think. It turns out that facing your fears and following that ‘really interesting terror’ is a great way to make a surprising, satisfying, wild summer film.

“The director wields the iconic doll like a broadsword in Barbie,” writes Tribune News Service‘s Katie Walsh, “cleaving through culture with gleeful spirit and savage humor.”

In Barbie, our titular, iconic doll (played by Margot Robbie) has an existential crisis that leads her to question her reality and ultimately leave Barbie Land alongside Ken (Ryan Gosling). It’s a fateful decision that will teach these two seemingly perfect beings what the real world is like, warts and all. So many warts, in fact, a far cry from the monotonous perfection of the fantasy life they left behind.

Let’s take a brief tour of the Barbie reviews. The film opens wide on July 21.

For more on Barbie, check out these stories:

The Brilliant “Barbie” Marketing Team Secretly Created an Actual Barbie DreamHouse

Things Get Real for Margot Robbie’s Iconic Doll in Official “Barbie” Trailer

“Barbie” Trailer Reveals Margot Robbie in Greta Gerwig’s Live-Action Look at Mattel’s Iconic Doll

Featured image: Caption: (L-r) MARGOT ROBBIE as Barbie and RYAN GOSLING as Ken and in Warner Bros. Pictures’ “BARBIE,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release. (PRESS KIT). Photo Credit: Atsushi Nishijima

Believe in Barbenheimer: “Barbie” & “Oppenheimer” Aren’t in Competition, They’re in Concert

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Barbenheimer is finally upon us.

For many film enthusiasts, July 21 has been on their calendar since it was revealed both Barbie and Oppenheimer would arrive in theaters on the same day, each with a story to tell about the search for meaning in a messy world. The simultaneous release of the two potential blockbusters by two disparate but brilliant filmmakers, Barbie’s Gerta Gerwig and Oppenheimer’s Christopher Nolan, had initially prompted a far-reaching discussion online about which one will win big at the box office. Yet for film lovers, the focus on the competition was missing the point—Barbie and Oppenheimer opening on the same day is cause for celebration, not box office prognosticating. Barbenheimer was born.

But before Barbenheimer became a topic of serious discussion warranting its own Wiki page, there was the usual focus on the horse race between the two features. In an article by The Hollywood Reporter, Pamela McClintock wrote that early intel suggested Gerwig’s Barbie would reign supreme, especially considering Barbie was a single-name phenomenon long before Madonna or Oprah, the tremendous buzz around the film at this year’s CinemaCon, and the insanely clever marketing campaign. Plus, Barbie just feels like a summer film, whereas the historical epic Oppenheimer appeared to box office watchers as a film more suited to the fall, when “prestige” films typically debut. 

Then there was the distinction between the target demographics for the films. Barbie targets young moviegoers of mostly women, queer cinephiles, lovers of the phrase “girlfriend-boyfriend, as well as viewers across generations that grew up playing with the Mattel doll. Considering Barbie’s function as a quasi if dated role model, it seemed a safe bet that lots of people would be intrigued to see how Gerwig might play with Barbie’s shifting status in our culture. It didn’t hurt that she recruited Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling to play Barbie and Ken.

Caption: (L-r) MARGOT ROBBIE as Barbie and RYAN GOSLING as Ken and in Warner Bros. Pictures’ “BARBIE,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release. (PRESS KIT). Photo Credit: Atsushi Nishijima

Conversely, Oppenheimer was clearly geared towards an entirely different demo, a male-heavy contingent that would skew older. Then, of course, Oppenheimer would appeal to hardcore Nolan fans, who wouldn’t miss a new film from the consistently ambitious director, especially one about such a momentous moment in our shared human history. There’s a good reason that the legion of Nolan fans are hooked on the director’s signature style, which is amplified by the always exceptionally talented cast and crew he assembles.

Cillian Murphy is J. Robert Oppenheimer in OPPENHEIMER, written, produced, and directed by Christopher Nolan.

Yet what the Barbenheimer contingent saw right away was that these reasonable assumptions about who would “win” the weekend missed the huge crossover appeal of both Gerwig and Nolan’s efforts. Simply put, the simultaneous premieres wasn’t a horse race; it was a horse-drawn carriage to movie Nirvana. 

The Barbenheimer army saw it almost immediately and have been subtly and not so subtly saying that comparison is the thief of joy and entertainment. It turns out they might have been right all along. According to AMC, 40,000 moviegoers have already bought tickets for the double feature as of July 17. Variety has covered “Barbenheimer fever” and how it has created the cinema event of the season. The New York Times writes that forecasters believe the two films could bring in audiences on a scale we haven’t seen in years:

Film Twitter, meanwhile, has been enthusing about the double feature potential of Barbenheimer since last December.

For these film lovers, Barbenheimer offers a way to express their admiration for artistic variety and related self-expression. People see themselves in films, and the movies they watch reflect different aspects of their personalities. Having a fun, pink explosion hit theaters the same day as a deadly serious Nolan flick is holistically satisfying, as it means multifaceted viewers —of which many people self-identify as (don’t you?) — can slake their thirst for very different but very talented filmmakers telling very different kinds of stories. Don’t just take our word or the word of Film Twitter for it—Tom Cruise is a Barbenheimer Guy (even if he might not use the moniker on himself).

Greta Gerwig and Christopher Nolan have built a long filmography of both popular and striking works, each singular and consistently aspiring to take on new challenges. Gerwig has embraced the essence of womanhood throughout her career with hits Ladybird (2017) and Little Women (2019), with the latter becoming the most assured adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s iconic book. Nolan has mastered non-linear storytelling and hard-hitting action with awe-inspiring films like Memento (2000), Inception (2010), Interstellar (2014), and Tenet (2020), to say nothing of his genre-defining Dark Knight trilogy, which lent a gravitas and seriousness to superhero films. Both directors focus on vastly different stories and deploy markedly different perspectives, but their contributions are still equally needed.  

While Barbie appears to be a shiny, saturated ode to Mattel’s favorite doll, Gerwig’s re-imagining of Barbie’s hardships operates on a subconscious level. On the surface, Barbie’s life is flawless; she lives in a dreamhouse, parties with the other Barbies and Kens, wears the cutest outfits, and is an expert in every profession. Internally, however, Barbie knows that there is more to life than perfection, and when she begins questioning her reality, the idyllic world she has known begins to fall apart.  

With Ken at her side, Barbie’s decision to explore the real world implodes her sense of self. In Barbie Land, she is cherished. In our world, she is groped and demeaned. Here, she must ask herself — what does it mean to be real? Which world is worth living in, the imperfect one with bumps and bruises or the perfect, idyllic one without struggle? Gerwig has her choice of projects, and she chose to tackle Barbie for a reason—in fact, she said she was terrified of the idea, which is why she went for it.

“It was something that was exciting because it was terrifying,” Gerwig said on Dua Lipa’s podcast At Your Service. “It felt like vertigo, starting to write it, like: ‘Where do you even begin, and what would be the story?’ And I think it was that feeling I had, knowing that it would be really interesting terror. Usually, that’s where the best stuff is, where you’re like, ‘I am terrified of that.’ Anything where you’re like, ‘This could be a career-ender — then you’re like, ‘I should probably do it.’”

-Caption: (L-r) MARGOT ROBBIE as Barbie and RYAN GOSLING as Ken and in Warner Bros. Pictures’ “BARBIE,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Dale Robinette

In a similar vein, Oppenheimer plays with themes of identity, only in a historic context. The film details how one man’s personal struggle was intimately, epically connected to the fate of humanity. In the military race against the Nazis, the United States enlist the help of J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) and other researchers to develop the first atomic bomb. During the process of the bomb’s creation, Oppenheimer has to contend with two sides of his personality. On the one hand, he sees himself as the person who can lead the Allies to victory in World War Two and help the world heal. On the other hand, he must reckon with his role in creating the means for global mass destruction. As he infamously reflected after seeing the horrific power of the weapon he helped build, “Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds,” quoting the Bhagavad-Gita. 

OPPENHEIMER, written and directed by Christopher Nolan

All in all, Barbenheimer is what film lovers want and need. Whether it’s a high-energy voyage out of Barbie Land that will likely be far deeper than casual viewers (and those not fluent in Gerwig’s career) might suspect or a gut-wrenching historical drama based on true events, Barbie and Oppenheimer seek to touch audiences in their own distinct ways. But beneath their contrasting elements are complementary ones that should be recognized. From each filmmaker’s ability to pose questions about what it means to be human, the Barbenheimer craze just makes sense, and both movies deserve to be seen on the big screen on July 21.  

For more on Barbie and Oppenheimer, check out these stories:

The Brilliant “Barbie” Marketing Team Secretly Created an Actual Barbie DreamHouse

Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” IMAX Film Prints Are 11 Miles Long & Weigh 600 Pounds

Things Get Real for Margot Robbie’s Iconic Doll in Official “Barbie” Trailer

How Christopher Nolan Utilized IMAX Cameras for “Oppenheimer”

Featured image: L-r: Caption: MARGOT ROBBIE as Barbie in Warner Bros. Pictures’ “BARBIE,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures; “Oppenheimer” movie poster. Courtesy Universal Pictures.

First Look at Paramount+’s “Pet Sematary: Bloodlines” Reveals Return Trip to Ludlow, Maine

Posted on by babrams

A fresh film from the world of Stephen King is coming to Paramount+, and it’s a prequel to a story he’s called the scariest he ever wrote.

Paramount+ has revealed the first glimpse of their upcoming film, the directorial debut of screenwriter Lindsey Beer. Pet Sematary: Bloodlines is a prequel to King’s iconic “Pet Sematary” and is based on an untold chapter the prolific, oft-adapted writer wrote.

Bloodlines is centered on a young Jud Crandall (Jackson White, Tell Me Lies) and is set in 1969. Jud makes a terrible discovery buried in his hometown, one that’s connected to his family and that will keep him in Ludlow, Maine, despite his desire to leave. Jud and his friends end up forming an alliance to battle the ancient evil that has the small hamlet in its grip; if they can’t, it could obliterate everything.

Joining White are Forrest Goodluck (The Revenant), Jack Mulhern (Mare of Easttown), Henry Thomas (The Fall of the House of Usher), Natalie Alyn Lind (The Goldbergs), and Isabella Star LaBlanc (True Detective: Night Country), alongside the legendary Pam Grier (Jackie Brown) and David Duchovny (The X-Files).

Jud Crandall was first played in Mary Lambert’s 1989 film by Fred Gwynne, then again in the 2019 remake by John Lithgow. Pet Sematary: Bloodlines arrives on Paramount+ on October 6. Now, we’ll get a chance to see the events that shaped his life as a young man and made him the reluctant, haunted historian (of sorts) to one of the most haunted towns in the entire King canon.

Check out the new images here:

Jackson White stars in PARAMOUNT+ Presents A PARAMOUNT+ ORIGINAL MOVIE In Association with PARAMOUNT PLAYERS. A di BONAVENTURA PICTURES Production “PET SEMATARY: BLOODLINES”
Isabella Star LaBlanc, left, and Forrest Goodluck star in PARAMOUNT+ Presents A PARAMOUNT+ ORIGINAL MOVIE In Association with PARAMOUNT PLAYERS. A di BONAVENTURA PICTURES Production “PET SEMATARY: BLOODLINES”
David Duchovny, left, and Jack Mulhern in PARAMOUNT+ Presents A PARAMOUNT+ ORIGINAL MOVIE In Association with PARAMOUNT PLAYERS. A di BONAVENTURA PICTURES Production “PET SEMATARY: BLOODLINES”
Henry Thomas stars in PARAMOUNT+ Presents A PARAMOUNT+ ORIGINAL MOVIE In Association with PARAMOUNT PLAYERS. A di BONAVENTURA PICTURES Production “PET SEMATARY: BLOODLINES”

For more films and series from Paramount and Paramount+, check out these stories:

How “Mission:  Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” DP Fraser Taggart Pulled Off That Insane Train Sequence

“Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” Production Designer Gary Freeman Creates an Artificially Intelligent Palace

“Mission: Impossible 7” Director Christopher McQuarrie Reveals He Considered De-Aging Tom Cruise for a Scene

“Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” Reviews: Cruise & Co. Have Done It Again

“Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies” Songwriter Justin Tranter on Capturing That ’50s Musical Magic

Featured image: On the set of PARAMOUNT+ Presents A PARAMOUNT+ ORIGINAL MOVIE In Association with PARAMOUNT PLAYERS. A di BONAVENTURA PICTURES Production “PET SEMATARY: BLOODLINES”

“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” Streaming Date Revealed

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The Guardians are coming home.

The third and final film in James Gunn’s trilogy will arrive on Disney+ on August 2. Gunn’s emotional capper gave the cosmic misfits that made him and the actors who played household names a proper sendoff. That included the character that first unlocked the door for Gunn to become a Marvel Studios director in the first place, Rocket Raccoon (voiced by Bradley Cooper), who Gunn said was the initial reason he wanted to tell the Guardians story in the first place. Vol. 3 tells the full story of how Rocket came to be a talking, weapons-loving raccoon in the first place, an emotionally harrowing backstory that ties much of the trilogy together.

As Gunn told The Hollywood Reporter in a big profile piece on him, it was Rocket who rescued him after a lackluster first meeting with Marvel. “As he was driving his Dodge Challenger back to his Studio City home, stuck in traffic on the 405, something clicked. He saw what the movie could be, with Rocket, a little-known talking raccoon from the comics that Marvel wanted to include, at its center,” Aaron Couch and Borys Kit wrote. “Where did that Raccoon come from? How did he come to be? Instead of it being something that made the movie ungrounded, it actually grounded it for me,” Gunn told them.

Vol. 3 found the whole gang, led by Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), on a crucial mission to save Rocket’s life. Gamor (Zoe Saldaña), Drax (Dave Bautista), Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel), and Mantis (Pom Klementieff) all stepped up for their furry buddy, while newcomers, like the highly evil High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji), the talking dog Cosmo (Maria Bakalova), and a character that was teased at the end of Vol 2., Adam Warlock (Will Poulter), all having crucial roles to play.

Vol. 3 bowed in theaters on May 5 and, once it arrives on Disney+ on August 2, will give Guardians lovers the chance to take in all three Volumes.

MCU enthusiasts won’t have to wait too long for the next film—director Nia DaCosta’s The Marvels, which sees the return of Brie Larson as Captain Marvel, and features Iman Vellani’s Ms. Marvel and Teyonah Parris’s Monica Rambeau, arrives on November 10.

Check out the streaming date teaser below:

For more on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3., check out these stories:

“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” Production Designer Beth Mickle on Building Rocket’s Epic Spaceship

“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” Composer John Murphy Channels Rocket’s Emotional Journey

New Batch of “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” Images & Videos Tease Rocket’s Heartbreaking Past

Featured image: Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper) in Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2023 MARVEL.

The Official “The Creator” Trailer Reveals Gareth Edwards’ AI-Centered Sci-Fi Epic

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The official trailer for co-writer and director Gareth Edwards’ The Creator has arrived. It’s our longest look yet at Edwards’ exceedingly topical film, which features a war between humanity and artificial intelligence, a classic sci-fi trope that has been given fresh relevance thanks to the recent release of the AI-backed ChatGPT and the growing concern across governments all over the world about the rise of AI. You’ve maybe read about it in major newspapers, magazines, Reddit threads, podcasts, or research papers, or perhaps you saw Tom Cruise battle a rogue AI in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One.

In Edwards’ The Creator, John David Washington stars as Joshua, an ex-special forces agent recruited to go behind enemy lines—the enemy, in this case, is an AI-controlled area—and hunt down and kill the titular creator, the architect of the AI that dropped a nuke on Los Angeles and is only just getting started wiping out humanity. The trailer reveals that once Joshua gets behind enemy lines and finds the titular creator, the all-powerful and elusive mastermind behind the nefarious AI turns out to be a child. Well, not a human child, but an AI in the form of a human-like child that Joshua will learn is not at all what it seems.

Madeline Voyles as Alphie in 20th Century Studios’ THE CREATOR. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2023 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

Joining Washington are a stellar cast, including Gemma Chan (Eternals), Ken Watanabe (Inception), Allison Janey (I, Tonya), Sturgill Simpson (Dog), and newcomer Madeleine Yuna Voyles as the child/Creator. Edwards directs from a script he co-wrote with Chris Weitz, his collaborator from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. 

Edwards told Total Film Magazine that the fact that his film focuses on artificial intelligence right after ChatGPT became a phenomenon and Tom Cruise’s latest Mission: Impossible movie focuses on a rogue AI is a “total fluke.” Here’s more:

“It was a total fluke. When we started, the Al in the movie was really an allegory for people who are different. But obviously, I love science fiction, and I think the best science fiction has meat on the bone. It’ll explore ideas. It’s usually able to explore things that other genres can’t go to in quite the same extreme. And so as soon as you start to have anything AI in your storyline, the questions that come up really quickly are super-fascinating: are they real? How would you ever know? Does it matter? What happens if you want to turn them off? Do they want to be turned off?”

Check out the trailer below. The Creator arrives in theaters on September 29:

For more stories on 20th Century Studios, Searchlight Pictures, Marvel Studios and what’s streaming or coming to Disney+, check these out:

James Gunn’s “Superman: Legacy” Cast Shaping Up With Nathan Fillion Joining in a Key Role

Jennifer Garner Joining “Deadpool 3” Cast as Elektra Adds Yet More Star Power

Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine Wears Iconic Yellow Suit in “Deadpool 3” Photo

Featured image: Ken Watanabe as Harun in 20th Century Studios’ THE CREATOR. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2023 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

“The Flash” Races Into Your Home This Week (Alongside These Other Films)

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A slew of new films are racing to stream this week. Some, like Andy Muschietti’s The Flash, you’ve no doubt heard of and perhaps seen in the theater. Others are a little less well-known but warrant your attention. If you’re trying to beat the heat and stay cool indoors this week and weekend, here are a few films to help you do that.

The Deepest Breath

Streaming date: July 18

Platform: Netflix

This gorgeously shot film looks at the story of a champion free diver and expert safety diver whose lives converge in one of the most dangerous pursuits there is. Written and directed by Laura McGann, The Deepest Breath will make you fully appreciate the tremendous skill and courage that goes into free-diving, something the majority of people on this planet will never, and probably could never, attempt.

Till

Streaming date: July 18

Platform: Amazon Prime

Co-writer and director Chinoyne Chukwu’s Till explores one of the most brutal, transformative murders in American history and the aftermath of what happened when Emmett Till (Jalyn Hall)’s mother Mamie Till-Mobley (an incredible Danielle Deadwyler) vows to expose the racism that ungirded the fatal attack on her son. It’s a deeply painful film but also absolutely crucial viewing — its potency is only amplified by the assured direction of Chukwu and the stellar performances of Deadwyler and the rest of the cast.

The Flash

Streaming date: Tuesday, July 18.

Platform: VOD.

Sure, The Flash might not have lived up to its box-office expectations, but this emotional, multiverse mega-movie packs a lot of punch and includes Michael Keaton reprising his role as Batman. The film also introduces Sasha Calle’s Supergirl and features a bevy of big-time action sequences that help you take your mind off the temperature.

They Cloned Tyrone

Streaming date: July 21

Platform: Netflix

This throwback film features John Boyega, Teyonah Parris, and Jamie Foxx in a pulpy mystery caper in which this trio takes on the government after uncovering a seriously bizarre conspiracy. Juel Taylor (Creed II) directs from a script he wrote alongside Tony Rettenmaier.

Stephen Curry: Underrated

Streaming date: July 21

Platform: Apple TV+

One of the greatest players in NBA history and one of the most consistently fun to watch is getting the deep-dive documentary treatment he so richly deserves. After premiering at Sundance, director Peter Nicks’ doc comes to Apple TV, revealing how Curry was far from a sure thing coming out of the small college Davidson, himself an undersized, scrappy shooter who has gone on to become a four-time NBA champion, two-time NBA MVP, and nine-time All-Star, and the all-time three-point leader in NBA history.

Mother May I

Streaming date: July 21

Platform: VPD

Writer/director Laurence Vannicelli looks at what happens when Anya (Holland Roden), in an attempt to help her finance Emmet (Kyle Gallner) get over his mother’s death, convinces him to take mushrooms in order to process his grieving and help him move on. Instead, Anya starts acting like Emmett’s mother, which she continues to do long after the drug’s effects have worn off. Is it a game or something more serious? Does Emmett’s mother really possess his financé?

Featured image: Caption: (L-R) EZRA MILLER as The Flash, MICHAEL KEATON as Batman and EZRA MILLER as The Flash in Warner Bros. Pictures’ action adventure “THE FLASH,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures/™ & © DC Comics

How “Bel-Air” Costume Designer Queensylvia Akuchie Brought an African influence into Season 2

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Culture was costume designer Queensylvia Akuchie’s (Long Slow Exhale, Grand Crew) inspiration behind creating the bespoke wardrobe in Bel-Air Season 2, a series that refreshes the beloved Fresh Prince of Bel-Air sitcom of the early ‘90s with a whole new cast.

“Connecting the culture of the roots and background of each character was immensely important to me,” Akuchie shares with The Credits. “Everyone’s journey displayed triumph and blossoming into new versions of themselves. I wanted to make sure we were able to visually communicate that with the costumes.”

The Peacock series reunites the Banks family – Phillip (Adrian Holmes), Hilary (Coco Jones), Carlton (Olly Sholotan), Vivian (Cassandra Freeman), and Ashley (Akira Akbar) – centered on the now iconic East-to-West coast move of Will Smith (Jabari Banks), the West Philadelphian sent to live with the Banks family in their gated community. Will’s a far way from West Philly.  Like its ‘90s counterpart, Bel-Air examines race, culture, and the black experience through a dramatic, culturally specific lens. The costumes parallel the shift in tone.

“One of the biggest hurdles coming onto the show was being able to incorporate all of your ideas,” says Akuchie. “For season two, we find bold prints, colors, patterns, and textures that we often do not see on camera. I wanted to normalize African jewelry, African prints, bold colors, textures, and fabrics. I wanted a world where we all feel connected to where we’re from and to showcase that through the Banks, an influential black family.”

In designing the costumes, Akuchie chose brands and designers that fit the narrative. “We are not always given the freedom to do so, but thankfully our producers, showrunners, and cast trusted us every step of the way.” Below, Akuchie details her approach to the characters and how Africa influenced the costumes.

 

With season two, there’s an evolution in the style of costumes. How did you want to approach this next chapter in the show after taking over as costume designer? 

My overall inspiration and evolution for season two was culture driven. Beyond the beautiful fashion that we were able to execute this season, it was important to us to give a platform for new brands, new designers, and collaborating with artists of color. Being a Nigerian American, I started this journey with a goal and drive to work with designers in and outside of the diaspora. We sourced some beautiful pieces from all over Africa. I wanted to give an opportunity to those who I sometimes will not have the opportunity to showcase their craftsmanship and artistry. I worked with many designers outside of the United States, some of which were in the UK and West Africa.

BEL-AIR — “Under Pressure” Episode 207 — Pictured: (l-r) Coco Jones as Hilary, Cassandra Freeman as Vivian — (Photo by: PEACOCK)

Who did you work with to achieve this vision?

We also worked closely collaborating with local Los Angeles fashion designers. At the same time, sticking to the core of who the main character Will Smith is and where he is from. I wanted to give an opportunity to many Philadelphia brands that, again, wouldn’t have the opportunity to showcase still work otherwise as well.

How did you want further to define the style of Will (Jabari Banks)? 

How I would want to further define some of the characters’ looks for season three would be emerging more into the Bel-Air aesthetic. Characters like Will will now envelope what it means to be a Bel-Air resident. We’ll see him being more conscious and intentional about his environment and his new surroundings that he settled into. 

BEL-AIR — “Don’t Look Back” Episode 210 — Pictured: (l-r) Akira Akbar as Ashley, Cassandra Freeman as Vivian, Olly Sholotan as Carlton, Jabari Banks as Will, Adrian Holmes as Philip — (Photo by: PEACOCK)

In terms of collaborating with the cast, how has it grown over the season?

Working with the cast was impeccable. Initially, the onset of building the character starts room just conversations and creating mood boards. This is where we collaborate about ideas, thoughts, and colors in the overall character. From there, this is where I take the approach of designing.

The standouts in the costumes are the vivid colors and the bespoke fits. We also love how you create a modern-day spin on ‘80s and ‘90s fashion. What is your approach to creating those looks? 

My main focal point for designing Bel-Air season two was incorporating color and culture. I wanted to make sure I kept true to who each character was and also bridge the gap from the original characters to now. As the amazing writing has similarities, you’ll find that some of the characters have a sense of the original characters, which allows us to use and feature ‘80s and ‘90s styles. One character that we do that with a lot is Hilary. You can totally see the influence of the original Hilary and the current Hilary of Bel-Air. My approach to modernizing the looks was implementing different silhouettes, patterns, and shapes. 

BEL-AIR — “Don’t Look Back” Episode 210 — Pictured: (l-r) Cassandra Freeman as Vivian, Coco Jones as Hilary, Adrian Holmes as Philip — (Photo by: PEACOCK)

One thing you do exceptionally well is the subtle wardrobe nods that connect to the original show. Is there a guiding light that makes you say “yes”?  

While I do incorporate subtle nods from the original show, it’s very intentional. I would say the guiding light would be the story, the energy, and where the character is going. Almost like the right place, right time.   

Outside the main cast, there are also a number of supporting characters and extras. While it’s important for the leads to stand out, how do you approach costumes for the rest of the characters?

I always like to approach my shows as a whole. Everyone is important, from the supporting cast to the background actors. Everyone plays an exceptional part in making the overall vision come to life. For Bel-Air season two, I wanted to make sure everyone looked exceptional. Taking the time to build closets for recurring actors was very important, and also pre-fitting all of our background actors was important to the overall look of the show.

BEL-AIR — “Under Pressure” Episode 207 — Pictured: (l-r) Jabari Banks as Will, Olly Sholotan as Carlton, Adrian Holmes as Philip — (Photo by: PEACOCK)

Fashion trends repeat in our culture. Is there a trend you wish would make a comeback (or go away)? 

An era in fashion that I adore is the ‘70s. We recently had the ‘70s make a comeback a few years ago, and in which it’s still lingering for some designers. However, I feel the ‘70s era should just be timeless and stay forever. 

Is there any advice you can give to those looking to get into the industry? 

Stay the course, practice your craft as much as possible, network as much as you can, and when you walk into a room, share your value. You will always have a seat at the table. 

 

For more on Universal Pictures, Peacock, and Focus Features projects, check out these stories:

“Oppenheimer” First Reactions: Christopher Nolan’s Historical Epic is Genuinely Mind-Blowing

Ethan Coen’s “Drive-Away Dolls” Trailer Finds Margaret Qualley & Geraldine Viswanathan Hitting the Road

“Poker Face” Editor Shaheed Qaasim on Cutting Rian Johnson’s Ambitiously Clever Crime Drama

 

 Featured image: BEL-AIR — “Excellence Is Everywhere” Episode 205 — Pictured: (l-r) Jordan L. Jones as Jazz, Olly Sholotan as Carlton, Jabari Banks as Will, Adrian Holmes as Philip — (Photo by: Greg Gayne/PEACOCK)

How “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” DP Fraser Taggart Pulled Off That Insane Train Sequence

Posted on by babrams

Editors’ Note: This story contains mild spoilers.

The action in Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One rolls out like a conveyor belt of delicious candy, leaving you wanting more. And director Christopher McQuarrie delivers those highs again and again. The global affair treks from Abu Dhabi for a swirling desert shootout and on to Rome for a goosebumps-inducing car chase, in, of course, an adorable yellow FIAT. It then lands in Norway for that epic, very real motorcycle stunt that everyone, including your mother, is talking about. Tom Cruise repeated the death-defying stunt that has him jumping off a 4,000-foot cliff into a ravine before opening a parachute to land atop a moving train seven times. Yes, seven. If the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences is still wondering why it should award an Oscar for stunts, these are seven reasons to make this a reality.

Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.
Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.
Tom Cruise plays Ethan Hunt in Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning – Part One from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.

The story that ignites this edge-of-your-seat thrill ride is a tale of high-stakes espionage reminiscent of the very first Mission Impossible (1996). McQuarrie even puts in his own version of the infamous bridge scene from the original film that sees Jim Phelps (Jon Voigt) fake his own death—this time with different results. The twisty plot has Ethan Hunt (Cruise) in search of a key that unlocks the power of an artificial intelligence that’s gone rogue. Seemingly everyone Hunt crosses paths with also wants it, including Grace (Hayley Atwell), a master thief, former MI6 intelligence officer Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) from Rogue Nation, a new deadly adversary in Gabriel (Esai Morales), The White Widow (Vanessa Kirby), and Kittridge (Henry Czerny), who is now acting CIA director.

Tom Cruise and Rebecca Ferguson in Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning – Part One from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.

Lensing Dead Reckoning Part One was cinematographer Fraser Taggart, who shot Rogue Nation and Fallout as the 2nd unit cinematographer. (Part Two is in production with Taggart on board.) “When I was growing up, which is a long time ago now, movies gave you escapism. They took me to different places in the world, and I adored that as a kid,” says Taggart. “We very much wanted to make this movie feel the same way. To give the audience that escapism to other countries.”

Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.

Taggart furnished each location with a distinct look. In Abu Dhabi, he referenced Lawrence of Arabia. Rome brought a rich color palette and higher contrast. In Norway, a slightly cooler aesthetic. It’s here where a climactic action-packed train sequence unfolds. This is a sequence that manages to contain the very soul of the franchise—Ethan Hunt pushed to his absolute limits, which, it turns out, are incredibly flexible. Whatever it takes, Hunt will adapt and stretch himself to the challenge.

Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.
Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.

In preparation for actual shooting days, the team found a location in England to practice. Taggart researched and tested all the camera angles and shots that would be used to record the action, whether it was a drone, helicopter, or mounted camera. In capturing a fight sequence between Ethan and Gabriel atop the speeding train, handheld cameras were used to give it “energy and life” but in a controlled way.

The biggest “oh my” moment is when the train runs out of track and is about to fall hundreds of feet below into a quarry. Ethan and Grace (Hayley Atwell) are in the train car that’s about to go over and have to climb up to save themselves. Practical train cars were built and placed on huge hydraulic rigs constructed by the special effects department. These rigs could lift the carriage around 80 feet into the air and tilt it 30 degrees. “The scene has the train moving like a caterpillar whereas the weight goes over into the falling edge, it lifts the carriage behind and slams it down in a sort of zero-g moment,” explains Taggart. “All the physical effects were quite incredible.”

Tom Cruise and Hayley Atwell in Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.

Stunt doubles rehearsed the sequence first to choreograph the precise action before Cruise and Atwell stepped in. “Hayley amazed me the first time she did the run with Tom,” says Taggart. “We’re on safety wires, but we are 80 feet in the air with them. She and Tom have to trust everyone around them. She went for it on the first take, and it was brilliant.”

When the train finally does fall over, production physically crashed a train on location in England. “We dropped a real carriage, so that’s all used in the movie,” says Taggart. “For me, you want to feel like you’re on the train with them. You want to feel like another character in the movie stuck on the train. It’s a very important part of these movies. It’s a challenge, but it works very well.” 

 

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One is in theaters now.

For more on Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, check out these stories:

“Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” Production Designer Gary Freeman Creates an Artificially Intelligent Palace

“Mission: Impossible 7” Director Christopher McQuarrie Reveals He Considered De-Aging Tom Cruise for a Scene

“Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” Reviews: Cruise & Co. Have Done It Again

Featured image: Esai Morales and Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.

“Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” Production Designer Gary Freeman Creates an Artificially Intelligent Palace

Posted on by babrams

The bespoke work of production designer Gary Freeman on Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One might be overlooked by most moviegoers. A few of the reasons might be because of a then 60-year-old Tom Cruise out stunting himself yet again or the scene-stealing performances by Hayley Atwell as a wily thief and Pom Klementieff as a deliciously evil mercenary. Yet Freeman’s work insinuates itself in the action, his designs are intrinsic to the chaos as well as to the lusciousness of the foreign locations. They immerse you in the unraveling story rather than pulling your focus away. Lucky for us, Freeman has been at it for some time with stops as an art director on films as harrowing and disparate as Alfonso Cuarón’s nearly flawless Children of Men (2006) and Kenneth Branagh’s live-action Cinderella (2015). He then made the jump to production design for Maleficent (2014), Allied (2016), and Last Christmas (2019).

However, the point here is to put the focus squarely on his work and celebrate the subliminal. One such sequence in this witty, relentlessly inventive jaunt from co-writer and director Christopher McQuarrie (Rogue Nation, Fallout) takes place in Venice, Italy. To be specific, at Doge’s Palace, a sprawling 14th-century landmark built with a Venetian gothic flair.  

Doge’s Palace. Courtesy Paramount Pictures.

To set the scene, it’s the party of parties that makes Michael Rubin’s annual bash look a bit meh. Ethan Hunt (Cruise) has already accepted his mission to find a key that may or may not control a powerful form of artificial intelligence dubbed The Entity. Everyone – friend and foe – wants this key, and it’s at this point all the players involved meet at Doge’s Palace for a quaint little chat about who’s going to die for it.

What’s galvanizing about Freeman’s work in the sequence is that The Entity has symbolically devoured the palace and, if you will, acts as the life form of artificial intelligence. Essentially, the entire building is the living version of The Entity. To pull this off, production shot on location and combined a set build for the plot-driving dialog. “We wanted it to have a feeling of horror about it,” says Freeman in creating the mood. “But on the flip side, we wanted to embrace the glamor, color, and beauty of Venice.”

Tom Cruise and Rebecca Ferguson in Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning – Part One from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.

Freeman started out by projection mapping the entirety of Doge’s Palace. The process involves scanning the surface of an object, in this case, the massive landmark, where you can then overlay video, graphics, etc., giving the impression that they are painted on. Exterior shots were drowned in a prism of pinks, purples, and blues, with candles lining entryways. Once Ethan makes his way inside, Freeman and set decorator Raffaella Giovannetti let the location “speak for itself,” electing to cover smaller areas to motivate the scene. But the bigger trick was recreating the interior of the palace as a set build.

“We only had limited time to work there because it’s such a prolific monument,” notes Freeman. “We would prep for two hours in the evening before shooting the rest of the night. And because of the way Chris and Tom like to work, we had to build a safe set for them on a stage.”

Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning – Part One from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.

Freeman tells The Credits that despite being a big-budget movie, the art department had limited resources and needed to be “clever” about their builds. The interior set was created using polystyrene and covered in a silver material that allowed McQuarrie and cinematographer Fraser Taggart to light everything using any color of their choosing. “Chris likes it when we give him options so he can make changes on the day,” says Freeman. “I decided to make the set silver, so if they did light it with red, green, or blue, then the set would be red, green, or blue.”

Hayley Atwell, Pom Klementieff, Vanessa Kirby and Christopher McQuarrie on the set of Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.

The Entity is crawling throughout the building. Its life form is projected onto different screens, almost like a music visualizer but creepier. The eerie effect is completely practical. “I found a company in Istanbul called Ouchhh that creates digital artwork that adapts to its surrounding atmosphere. It’s a type of artificial intelligent artwork,” says Freeman. “I contacted them and asked if, instead of it being a learning piece of artwork if they could rewrite it so it could be a repeatable piece of artwork to give us continuity in our coverage. Chris loved the idea as it felt like the room was being controlled by The Entity.” Punctuating the imagery of villainous AI was an acidy bluish-green hue. Each screen The Entity was projected onto [a surface] it gave off a ghostly quality because of the gray reflective material of the screens.

Pom Klementieff in Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.

The underlying task for Freeman was keeping epic scale between practical location and set build. “It’s always about convincing the audience that they are at the location even though we might be on a soundstage in London. We built everything as financially large as we could, so it felt like the two worlds were the same,” he says. “It would have felt contradicted if it went from Doge’s Palace to this affordable, detailed set. We forged detail for scale, and for me, that’s always the mantra.”

Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One is in theaters now. 

 

For more on Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, check out these stories:

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Mission: Must Watchable – 10 of the Biggest Remaining Summer Films

New “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” Images Include Closer Look at Tom Cruise’s Craziest Stunt

Why Tom Cruise’s “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” Motorcycle Stunt Was Filmed Day One

Featured image: Tom Cruise and Rebecca Ferguson in Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning – Part One from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.

 

“Mission: Impossible 7” Director Christopher McQuarrie Reveals He Considered De-Aging Tom Cruise for a Scene

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While you might consider Tom Cruise essentially ageless, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One co-writer/director Christopher McQuarrie admits he considered de-aging the ageless superstar for a scene.

McQuarrie was talking to Total Film about the seventh installment in the venerable franchise and revealed that he had a certain sequence in mind that would have required a younger version of Cruise’s Ethan Hunt.

“Originally, there had been a whole sequence at the beginning of the movie that was going to take place in 1989,” McQuarrie said. “We talked about it as a cold open, we talked about it as flashbacks in the movie, we looked at de-aging.”

The reason that McQuarrie ultimately decided against it was that despite the technology’s vast improvement, there was one thing he couldn’t shake about it.

“One of the big things about [the de-aging] I was looking at while researching, I kept saying, ‘Boy, this de-aging is really good,’ or, ‘This de-aging is not so good.’ Never did I find myself actually following the story.”

Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie on the set of Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.

Then, when McQuarrie actually went through the process of testing the de-aging technology out on his longtime collaborator, he found himself too mesmerized by it. “I was so distracted by how an actor that I had known for however long was now suddenly this young person.,” he told Total Film.

We just saw a younger Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny after VFX artists de-aged Indy by nearly 40 years for the opening sequence. Ford’s not alone. Brad Pitt did it. Joe Pesci and Robert DeNiro did it. Samuel Jackson and Will Smith did it, too.

So, while there will be no younger Cruise in Dead Reckoning Part One, the research process opened the doors for a potential peak at a younger Cruise on a future project, McQuarrie said.

“In researching that [technology], I cracked the code – I think – on how best to approach it,” McQuarrie told Total Film. “By then, we had kind of moved away from it. We may still play with it. We never say never.”

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One is in theaters now.

For more on Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, check out these stories:

“Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” Reviews: Cruise & Co. Have Done It Again

Mission: Must Watchable – 10 of the Biggest Remaining Summer Films

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Why Tom Cruise’s “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” Motorcycle Stunt Was Filmed Day One

Featured image: Tom Cruise and Hayley Atwell in Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.

“Lakota Nation vs. United States” Director Jesse Short Bull & Editor Laura Tomaselli Bring a Profound Injustice to Life

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Director Jesse Short Bull knew he’d found the right collaborator in editor Laura Tomaselli when he watched her early cut of Lakota Nation vs. United States, their documentary about the Lakota’s ongoing quest to reclaim the Black Hills of South Dakota, sacred land that was stolen by the government in violation of the Black Hills treaty of 1868.

“Laura cut an amazing scene with a ‘50s western where a man and woman are in a wagon signing about the Black Hills and why ‘the Indians fight so hard for their land,’” recalled Short Bull. “For someone who grew up far from Lakota country, she gets it, and she can see beyond the things we get hung up on in day-to-day life [such as] native versus non-native; Lakota versus non-Lakota. Laura could see it, and I knew from that moment.”

The use of familiar Hollywood clips featuring heroic white settlers and villainous Indians is jarring in the documentary since it exposes an often hidden, long, and shocking history of government-sanctioned betrayals, deception, and brutal massacres. “My mother’s generation watched Gunsmoke and Shane and spaghetti westerns. Some people have no clue about indigenous history,” Short Bull said. The use of Hollywood film clips “showed me how effective our film could be beyond education and entertainment. It has the potential to register with people on the deepest levels. It’s something people recognize deep in their psyche, but we turn it on itself and show people what was really going on though they didn’t realize it at the time.”

A Scene from Jesse Short Bull & Laura Tomaselli’s LAKOTA NATION VS. UNITED STATES. Courtesy of IFC Films. An IFC Films release.

Lakota Nation vs. United States, which won best documentary in June at the Provincetown International Film Festival, opens in New York on July 14 before expanding to additional cities on July 21. Short Bull and Tomaselli, who co-directed the film, wanted a textured approach to a story that blends past and present and juxtaposes truth and myth.

“We didn’t want people to feel blame; it wasn’t about ‘how dare you.’ We wanted to get around the walls people have up that [tells them that] this doesn’t matter to them,” said Tomaselli, whose credits include editing the documentary MLK/FBI. By weaving the personal testimonies of Lakota activists with clips from movies such as The Searchers and Calamity Jane, “We thought we would get around the walls and get people thinking that of course this matters, even to non-indigenous people, that we uphold the policies we made,” Tomaselli said.

A Scene from Jesse Short Bull & Laura Tomaselli’s LAKOTA NATION VS. UNITED STATES. Courtesy of IFC Films. An IFC Films release.

The narration by Oglala Lakota poet Layli Long Soldier, winner of the National Books Critics Circle award and a finalist for the National Book Award, is the heart of the film as her poetry gives voice to the land itself.

“We can’t interview the Black Hills. And it was paramount to try to capture the Black Hills in the most beautiful way that we possibly could,” said Short Bull. “Once Layli got the chance to know us and what our approach was, then she gave us an amazing structure for this whole film. The language in the treaty itself [says] something that’s not delivered. Language is tricky. We wanted someone who looks at language with a fine-tooth comb, who explores the space between letters, what’s behind a word, and what’s around it? What does it mean if I flip it upside down? Layli does that, and that’s the only way to tell this story.”

 

Layli Long Soldier recites two poems: 135 Xs and 38. A scene from Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln accompanies 38 and makes a devastating point about the erasure of history. During the same time period as events depicted in the film, Lincoln ordered the execution by hanging of 38 Dakota men as punishment for their role in the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862, also known as the Sioux Uprising. It was the largest legal execution in American history. Yet, there is not one mention of it in Lincoln.

Matching the film’s lyrical language is the visual poetry of Kevin Phillips’ cinematography. The voices of Lakota activists, including Nick Tilsen, Krystal Two Bulls, Henry Red Cloud, and Phyllis Young, bring the issues right up to the current moment with footage of the Dakota Access Pipeline Protest at Standing Rock in 2014 and the current Landback movement.

A Scene from Jesse Short Bull & Laura Tomaselli’s LAKOTA NATION VS. UNITED STATES. Courtesy of IFC Films. An IFC Films release.

These ongoing efforts to persuade the government to acknowledge and right past wrongs underscore what Tomaselli calls the film’s “radical optimism.”

“The most punk thing you can be right now is hopeful,” she said.

This understanding of the past coexisting with the present is central to Lakota heritage. “History is not a relic; it’s not an old, dusty story that you can’t do anything about. You can make it right,” said Short Bull. “Growing up in Lakota country, I learned that no matter how dark and how hard things can be, you are alive, you have a spirit, and things can always get better. I’m grateful to Lakota country for teaching me that.”

Featured image: A Scene from Jesse Short Bull & Laura Tomaselli’s LAKOTA NATION VS. UNITED STATES. Courtesy of IFC Films. An IFC Films release.

 

 

James Gunn’s “Superman: Legacy” Cast Shaping Up With Nathan Fillion Joining in a Key Role

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Nathan Fillion, welcome to Metropolis.

Fillion has now joined the cast of James Gunn’s Superman: Legacy as Guy Gardner, a member of the Green Lantern Corps in the comics. Fillion and Gunn have collaborated a bunch, including in Gunn’s final Marvel film, Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 3. We haven’t seen any members of the Green Lantern Corps since the Ryan Reynolds-led Green Lantern, which came out in 2011 and didn’t live up to expectations.

Fillion joins newly minted cast members Isabela Merced, Edi Gathegi, and Anthony Carrigan. Merced has joined the cast as Hawkgirl, a fearless, winged hero. A version of Hawkgirl was initially slated to appear in a sequel to Black Adam alongside Dwayne Johnson, but with James Gunn and Peter Safran’s new-look DC Studios, those plans are off, and a new vision, which is being launched with Superman: Legacy, will now feature this version played by Merced. Gathegi will play Mr. Terrific, the hyper-intelligent superhero who draws his powers from his ingenious inventions. This is the first time Mr. Terrific has made an appearance on the big screen. The Hollywood Reporter scooped that Barry standout Anthony Carrigan will be playing DC hero Metamorpho, also known as the archeologist Rex Mason. Metamorpho can transmute elements of his body into numerous forms.

“I like comic books, but I’m not a diehard, but I did when all my hair fell out, go through the kind of pantheon of all of these bald superheroes and supervillains and made note of all of them,” Carrigan told THR. “I remember seeing Metamorpho, and I think he had like a giant hammer for a hand, and I was like, that guy’s badass. Noted. We’ll store that one away.”

All of the above characters, hardly as well known as the likes of Superman, Batman, and the rest of the pantheon, are exactly the types of superheroes that Gunn loves to deploy, whether it’s the cosmic misfits in Marvel’s Guardians trilogy or the roster of oddballs in DC Studios’ The Suicide Squad, the man loves a lesser-known superhero.

The stars of the film are David Corenswet as Clark Kent and Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane. Gunn is reintroducing a younger Superman, the first refresh on the most iconic character in the DC canon since Henry Cavill starred in Zack Snyder’s 2013 Man of Steel. Gunn’s story will focus on Superman’s early years as he tries to figure out how to balance his life as a Daily Planet reporter in goofy glasses alongside being the most powerful person on the planet.

Casting has only just begun, but these major pieces are in place, and pre-production is in full swing. We’ll keep you updated when we learn more.

For more on Superman: Legacy, check out these stories:

“Superman: Legacy”: David Corenswet & Rachel Brosnahan Cast as Superman & Lois Lane

James Gunn’s “Superman: Legacy” Deep Into Casting Clark Kent, Lois Lane & More

James Gunn’s “Superman: Legacy” Will Begin Filming in Early 2024

Featured image: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – AUGUST 02: Nathan Fillion attends the Warner Bros. premiere of “The Suicide Squad” at Regency Village Theatre on August 02, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)

“Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies” Songwriter Justin Tranter on Capturing That ’50s Musical Magic

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The Tony-nominated Broadway musical Grease captured a generation following its theatrical release in 1978, an era-defining film that starred John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John as a pair of unlikely teens falling in love. Since then, the beloved musical has been revived on Broadway, produced a movie sequel, and turned into a live television show. Debuting this April on Paramount+, Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies continues the 1950s nostalgia with a new cast and storyline that takes place four years before the original film. It’s less grease and more pink.

What does continue in the ten-episode series are the lively musical performances and choreography that make you want to jump up and dance. To bring a chorus of fresh music to light, songwriter and musician Justin Tranter blended a poppy mix of contemporary and period sounds that puts a welcoming spin on the original musical. Here, the Grammy Award-nominated artist shares how the tuneful tracks came to life.  

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 29: (L-R) Justin Tranter, Josette Halpert, Chris McNally, Niamh Wilson, Nicholas McDonough, Maxwell Whittington, Alethea Jones, Cheyenne Isabel Wells, Ari Notartomaso, Annabel Oakes, Marisa Davila, Tricia Fukuhara, Jackie Hoffman, Shanel Bailey, Jason Schmidt, Madison Thompson, Maximo Salas, Emma Shannon, Madison Elizabeth Lagares, and Vivian Lamolli attend the Los Angeles Premiere of Paramount+’s “Grease: Rise Of The Pink Ladies” at Hollywood American Legion on March 29, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images)

You come from a small town in Illinois, and now you’ve written music for a Grease television series. Were you always dreaming big from the start?

Growing up across the road from a pig farm in Hawthorn Woods, I would mow the lawn with my headphones on, belting along to whatever show tune I was obsessed with in the moment. I definitely was dreaming as big as f**k. I don’t know if a Grease prequel was on the vision board, to be exact, but something close to it sure was. 

Jason Tranter attends the 28th Annual GLAAD Media Awards at The Hilton Midtown on May 6, 2017 in New York City.

You came up with the rock band Semi Precious Weapons and eventually opened up for Lady Gaga. Do you partially credit that tour for landing you where you are today? 

I would for sure not be where I am today without my band. The band’s glam punk edge earned me lots of pop star fans that sped up my songwriting career. Got me in bigger rooms faster than the average songwriter. And the band is how I got my publishing deal, so obviously, I owe the band everything.

Semi Precious Weapons attend Executive Producer Tricky Stewart and Executive Producer Mark Stewart’s annual Red Zone pre Grammy party at Greystone Manor Supperclub on February 10, 2012 in West Hollywood, California.

With Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies, there are plenty of musical references. How did the show creators and the music team want to make it their own musically?

We wanted to follow the musical blueprint of the movie, which was leaning on 50’s nostalgia but didn’t want to be afraid of current moments either. Our modern day is not 1978, so that changed the formula but still followed the blueprint. We used lots of vintage guitar tones, vintage chord structures, and old-school drum grooves. But we set ourselves with some modern low-end and vocal rhythms at times so young people could feel like this was their Grease.

 

How was the collaboration with Zachary Dawes and Nick Sena?

Zachary and Nick did the score, which used a lot of songs that my team and I wrote. It was beautiful to see it come to life and see which song themes they brought back to underscore emotional moments. 

Since they were handling the score, how did you approach writing the songs? 

I wrote the songs with a team of writers/producers signed to my publishing company, Facet. Dan Crean and Eren Cannata handled all the instrumental writing and producing while either Brittany Campbell or Brandon Colbein co-wrote the lyrics and melody with me, depending on which scene or character the song was for. It was a gorgeous collaboration between our little team. And then showrunner Annabel Oakes and I went deep on notes for every single song to make it as seamless as possible with the story. 

How did the eventual choreography influence the creative process?

All hail Jamal Sims! He would always choreograph to our songs when they were done. But there was definitely collaboration on him calling and asking things like, “Can I get an extra two bars here for a moment, or can I get more backbeat in this section since I have a vision, etc”. It was great! 

You’ve worked with some big names in music. Was there anything unique to your creative process writing for the small screen?

It is soooooo different. On the small screen, you are an employee, which was a big change for me. You are writing to make the songs great, sure, but you’re also writing to make sure they get approved by executives and a writers’ room. It’s a very different creative process. But most importantly, in pop music, songs, for the most part, are about the same feeling for three minutes. In a musical, that sometimes happens, but mainly you are writing to get a character (or characters) from point A to point B. There is a lot more story to cover, which is a beautiful challenge.

There are several catchy new hits in the series, but do you have a favorite?

‘I Want More’ is probably my favorite. It’s the last song we wrote for the season, even though it’s in episode two. I really understood our protagonist’s journey and was able to really nail a classic “I want” song for her. I feel like it’s a simple but profound idea…a young woman wanting more than society thinks she should have is a DRAMA. And then another honorable mention is “Crushing Me” because TikTok has made it go viral. As a queer person seeing so many young people connect to a song about a queer crush in 1954 really warms my heart. 

 

After the experience, is writing music for television something you want to keep pursuing?

Oh yes!! It was the hardest but most rewarding thing I’ve ever done. I learned so much! I think whatever I get to do next, I’ll be so even more ready to slay harder. It’s fabulous to keep learning in my old age.

 

Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies is streaming now on Paramount+.

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Featured image: L-r: Tricia Fukuhara is Nancy, Marisa Davila is Jane, Cheyenne Isabel Wells is Olivia, and Ari Notartomaso is Cynthia. Courtesy Paramount+