Behind the Bruises: Stunt Legends Reveal What the New Oscar Category Really Means
For the first time in its century-long history, the Academy Awards will finally recognize the artists who put their bodies—and ingenuity—on the line to make movie magic. Beginning with films released in 2027, the Oscars’ new Stunt Design Award honors the stunt performers, choreographers, riggers, and second unit teams who have shaped some of cinema’s most unforgettable moments. And as the creative forces behind "John Wick," "Mission: Impossible," "Avatar," and "The Fall Guy" tell The Credits, this long-awaited milestone is both a celebration of their craft and a complicated new frontier.
Oscar-Nominated “Hamnet” Producer Nic Gonda on Building the Creative Village Behind Chloé Zhao’s Vision
In producing "Hamnet," Nic Gonda wasn’t just helping Chloé Zhao adapt a beloved novel — he was helping build a creative village. The result is a film that feels both intimate and epic, shaped by trust, intuition, and a crew willing to step into the unknown. Speaking with Gonda, what emerges is less a story about mounting a period drama and more a reflection on the kind of filmmaking that only works when everyone involved is ready to discover the film together.
How “Sinners” Oscar‑Nominated Editor Michael P. Shawver Carved Ryan Coogler’s Beautiful Chaos Into Pure Cinema
Oscar‑nominated editor Michael Shawver, Ryan Coogler’s longtime collaborator since Fruitvale Station, takes us inside the cutting room — and the Louisiana heat — of "Sinners," revealing how he protected twin‑performance coverage, built the movie’s emotional architecture, and crafted the juke‑joint sequence where the whole film turns.
“Ghost Elephants”: Werner Herzog’s Quest With Dr. Steve Boyes for Africa’s Most Elusive Herd
On the heels of a decade‑long search in Angola’s remote highlands, conservation biologist and National Geographic Explorer Dr. Steve Boyes teams with Werner Herzog—and KhoiSan master trackers—to pursue Ghost Elephants, a dreamlike new documentary about obsession, survival, and the ancient knowledge that science can’t replicate. (Streams Mar. 8 on Disney+ and Hulu.)
Peacock’s “Ice Gold” Captures One of Sports’ Greatest Underdog Triumphs
Streaming on Peacock during the 2026 Winter Paralympics, the new documentary "Ice Gold" uncovers how a last‑place U.S. team stunned the world in 2002.
Oscar-Nominated “Sentimental Value” Editor Olivier Bugge Coutté Breaks Down the Film’s Most Devastating Scenes
After earning his first Oscar nomination, Olivier Bugge Coutté is still thinking in millimeters — because in "Sentimental Value," emotional truth lives in the smallest possible edits.
“Sinners” Oscar-Nominated Prosthetics & Makeup Designer Mike Fontaine’s Beautiful, Horrifying Vamps
In "Sinners," the vampires don’t just terrify—they mesmerize. Behind their unsettling beauty is prosthetics and makeup designer Mike Fontaine, whose in‑camera ingenuity and nature‑inspired approach helped Ryan Coogler’s genre‑breaking epic become one of the most visually striking films of the year and earn a record 16 Oscar nominations.
Production Designer Scott Dougan Turns Chris Hemsworth’s “Crime 101” Into a High-Gloss L.A. Fever Dream
Scott Dougan has spent his career absorbing the real texture of Los Angeles — the sun‑faded corners, the hidden views, the neighborhoods that rarely show up on screen. In Crime 101, director Bart Layton’s sleek, high‑stakes heist thriller adapted from Don Winslow’s novella, Dougan finally gets to unleash that knowledge.
How “The Night Agent” Keeps It Real: Shawn Ryan on Panama Papers Inspiration and Filming in New York
Shawn Ryan has spent much of his career writing about the cracks in America’s institutions, from corrupt cops on The Shield to rogue commanders on Last Resort. But "The Night Agent," his hit Netflix thriller now entering Season Three, lets him imagine something different: principled people fighting back.
How “Marty Supreme” Put Oscar-Nominated Production Designer Jack Fisk in a New York State of Mind
Jack Fisk didn’t expect his next project after Killers of the Flower Moon to center on a fast‑talking ping pong hustler played by Timothée Chalamet — but then Josh Safdie called. What began as an unexpected conversation became a three‑year collaboration that transformed a stretch of Manhattan’s Lower East Side into a vividly detailed 1952 world built from modular storefronts, aged signage, and layers of texture audiences will never fully see.
Oscar-Nominated Casting Director Nina Gold Knew Jessie Buckley Was the One for “Hamnet”
Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet brings Maggie O’Farrell’s award‑winning novel to the screen with a cast assembled through intuition, legwork, and what casting director Nina Gold calls “a little bit of magic.” Gold — now among the Oscars’ first-ever nominees for achievement in casting — opens up about finding Jessie Buckley’s searing Agnes, discovering the young pair who could hold the emotional weight of the film as the twins, and why the Globe Theatre’s background artists needed to feel as emotionally alive as the stars onstage.
Inside Stage13: The Rigging Experts Behind “The Mandalorian,” “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” & More
Rigging may not be the flashiest part of filmmaking, but it’s foundational — the invisible engineering that keeps sets standing, cranes moving, bluescreens flying, and stunts safe. For more than three decades, Stage13 Rigging Rentals has been one of the industry's crucial behind‑the‑scenes partners, ensuring productions can build, lift, and fly with confidence.
DP Jonathan Furmanski on Crafting the Voyeuristic Look of Peacock’s Keke Palmer–Led “The ’Burbs”
The original film, The ‘Burbs, came out to mixed reviews when it premiered in 1989, but since then, the black comedy starring Tom Hanks as Ray, a suburban dad suspicious of his odd new neighbors, has become a cult classic. As such, it’s an ideal vehicle for a streaming reboot, which Peacock just debuted, starring Keke Palmer as Samira, Ray’s successor in suburbia-driven mystery madness.
Samira, her husband Rob (Jack Whitehall),
Oscar Nominee Cassandra Kulukundis on the Art, Science, and Heart of Casting PTA’s “One Battle After Another”
The Oscars’ first new category in 25 years — achievement in casting — finally shines a long‑overdue spotlight on the artists who shape films from the inside out. Among the inaugural nominees is Cassandra Kulukundis, Paul Thomas Anderson’s longtime casting collaborator, whose work on "One Battle After Another" helped deliver two breakout performances (Teyana Taylor and Chase Infinit) and one of the year’s most electrifying ensembles. For Kulukundis, who has cast every PTA film since Magnolia, finding the right actors isn’t just a job — it’s world‑building. “There’s a right role for everyone,” she says. “I just have to figure out what that is.”
“Wuthering Heights” Production Designer Suzie Davies on Building Emerald Fennell’s Fever Dream
Emerald Fennell’s audacious, hyper-stylized “Wuthering Heights” transforms Emily Brontë’s classic into a feverish, sensory assault — a Gothic love story inflated to the scale of obsession. For production designer Suzie Davies, the challenge wasn’t period accuracy but capturing the volcanic emotional logic driving Margot Robbie’s Catherine and Jacob Elordi’s Heathcliff.
Oscar-Nominated “Hamnet” Production Designer Fiona Crombie on Re-Inventing Shakespeare’s Home & the Globe Theater
For "Hamnet," Oscar-nominated production designer Fiona Crombie (The Favourite, Cruella) built Tudor-era sets at Elstree Studios, shipping 20 tons of oak beams from dismantled French barns to create Shakespeare's Henley House, his London attic, and the Globe Theatre.
“The Pitt” Cinematographer Johanna Coelho on Season 2’s Immersive 15-Hour ER Shift
"The Pitt" doesn't feel like typical TV — and that's exactly the point. Cinematographer Johanna Coelho was brought on as the sole DP to maintain visual consistency across what feels like a continuous 15-hour hospital shift.
Oscar-Nominated Sound Team for “Sirāt” on Editing the Sounds of the Desert, Raves, and War
The Oscar-nominated sound team from "Sirāt"—supervising sound editor Laia Casanovas, re-recording mixer Yasmina Praderas, and production sound mixer Amanda Villavieja—created an immersive soundscape balancing realistic desert atmospheres with emotional intensity.
“Zootopia 2” Writer/Director Duo Jared Bush & Byron Howard on Assembling 697 Artisans for Their Historic Hit
"Animation really is a team sport, it's a community," says "Zootopia 2" co-writer and director Byron Howard. Howard and his partner on assembling 697 artisans across Los Angeles and Vancouver to create the top-grossing animated film in history
“Star Trek: Starfleet Academy” DP Philip Lanyon on Balancing Franchise Legacy With a Youthful Visual Approach
Cinematographer Philip Lanyon, a veteran of "Star Trek: Discovery," "Picard," and "Strange New Worlds," brought a fresh visual approach to "Star Trek: Starfleet Academy," the Paramount+ series marking the franchise's 60th anniversary.
