The Invisible Architects: How Two Visionary Production Designers Launched a Global Movement
If a film’s visuals tickle the eye, scorch the heart, or linger in the consciousness long after the credits roll, you can thank the production designer. Whether the project is a blockbuster or a low-budget indie, the production designer is tasked with creating that elusive “look” of the film and translating the director’s vision into visual reality.
“A complaint often raised with production designers, like other ‘below the line’ [artisans],
“Black Rabbit” Creators Zach Baylin and Kate Susman on Cooking Up Their NYC-Set Thriller
Netflix’s hit series Black Rabbit brings viewers into the vibey, chaotic world of New York City nightlife in a breathless eight-episode sprint that left this viewer spent and satisfied, like after a particularly long and indulgent night in the city it lovingly, if somewhat dementedly, portrays. Starring Jude Law and Jason Bateman as Jake and Vince Friedken, respectively, brothers who try to slough off a particularly rough upbringing by opening the titular Black Rabbit restaurant together,
“The Last Frontier” Showrunner Jon Bokenkamp on Creating Apple TV’s Frigid, Frenetic Thriller
Jon Bokenkamp may have made it in Hollywood, but he hasn’t lost his Midwestern roots. The Nebraska native, best known for creating the spy thriller The Blacklist, is the type of person who still has a letter from George Lucas’s office taped to his wall, saying, “Mr. Lucas is sorry, but he’s unable to attend the screening of your movie.” This was a movie Bokenkamp made when he was a teenager.
The Last Frontier,
“Game of Thrones” Returns With “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” Trailer
“I was squired to Sir Arlan of Pennytree,” says Ser Duncan the Tall (Peter Claffey) in the opening seconds of the first trailer for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, a new Game of Thrones spinoff coming to HBO. “He charged me to be a good knight, to defend the weak and the innocent, and I swore that I would.”
It only takes a mere twenty seconds or so to catch a name Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon fans are very familiar with—Targaryen—when a young man asks Ser Dunance whether he’s Baelor Targaryen (Bertie Carvel).
Costume Designer Suttirat Anne Larlarb on Dressing Scorching, Corporate-Controlled Future in “Alien: Earth”
Alien: Earth (streaming on FX) pictures our future here on Earth as a wildly advanced, increasingly grim corporate kleptocracy—a scorching hot planet that doesn’t get any more welcoming after it’s populated with flesh-eating “Xenomorphs” (thanks to a crashed research vessel owned by one of thoes corporate overlords, Weyland-Yutani) that is then pursued by a private army owned by tech genius Boy Kavalier’s company Prodigy. While face-bursting and brain-controlling eyeballs roam the rainforest,
“Alien: Earth” Cinematographer and Director Dana Gonzalez on Bringing Cinema’s Most Iconic Monster to TV
On Earth, everyone can hear you scream. No apologies for the dreadful play on the classic logline for Alien, which continues to reach new, strange heights in FX’s Alien: Earth, created by Fargo‘s Noah Hawley. Cinematographer and director Dana Gonzalez establishes the expressive vision in the pilot, titled “Neverland,” which introduces a young, terminally ill girl named Marcy Hermit (Florence Bensberg) to a future world in which she’ll survive,
From Abbey Road to “Alien: Earth”: Composer Jeff Russo on Bringing Xenomorphs Home Through Music
Alien: Earth doesn’t rehash the familiar, even if it beats with the acid-pumping heart of Ridley Scott’s original Alien. The series expands on the terrifying world Scott first unleashed on audiences on May 25, 1979 by focusing not only on the iconic Xenomorph, one of the most legendary movie monsters of all time, but by imagining what the world might look like decades later when the Xenomorph, and a slew of other captive galactic creatures,
From USC Benchwarmer to Cartel Smuggler: Inside “Cocaine Quarterback” With Director Jody McVeigh-Schultz
If the infamous trope “I know a guy who knows a guy” had a poster child, it should be Owen Hanson. Chronicled in a three-part docuseries, Cocaine Quarterback: Signal-Caller for the Cartel, from director Jody McVeigh-Schultz, the shocking events reveal how the former USC walk-on went from National Champion to convicted drug cartel smuggler.
McVeigh-Schultz, best known for helming the school spying scandal docuseries Spy High,
From “Barbie” to “Bridgerton”: Entertainment Partners is the Secret Sauce Behind Many of the Films & Shows You Love
For nearly five decades, Entertainment Partners (EP) has been the secret sauce behind the scenes of your favorite films, TV shows, and commercials, from Barbie to Bridgerton. Headquartered in Burbank, California, the company has revolutionized the way the entertainment industry manages payroll, accounting, and production finance, with a world-class team of experts specializing in a wide range of areas, including global tax incentives, labor compliance, residuals, and healthcare.
Their industry-standard digital platform featuring Movie Magic Budgeting and Scheduling,
“The Pitt,” “The Studio,” “Adolescence,” and “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” Have Big Night at the Emmys
The 2025 Emmys Awards telecast crowned the year’s big winners on Sunday night, with The Pitt, The Studio, Adolescence, and The Late Show With Stephen Colbert winning big.
The Pitt nabbed three Emmys, including for Best Drama Series. Star Noah Wyle also took home the Best Actor in a Drama Series win, and his co-star, Katherine LaNasa, topped four White Lotus stars to pull in the Emmy for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama.
“Big Little Lies” Season 3 Officially in the Works
HBO is bringing back Big Little Lies for a third season.
Mr. and Mrs. Smith co-creator and showrunner Francesca Sloane is on board for season 3 and will write the first episode as well as executive produce alongside creator David E. Kelley, Nicole Kidman, and Reese Witherspoon, Variety reports. Kidman and Witherspoon will once again lead the cast.
Sloane’s hit Amazon Prime series,
Inside the Heist: Editor Jay Prychidny on Cutting the Monster Mayhem in “Wednesday”
“If These Woes Could Talk,” the fourth episode of Wednesday season two, is an hour of monster playtime from Tim Burton. The fourth episode wrapped up part one of the season and is built as a heist story with Wednesday Addams (Jenna Ortega) seeking family secrets while Uncle Fester (Fred Armisen), a zombie, and a Hyde (aka a mutant) run amok in an institution. It’s exuberant chaos in the hands of Burton’s frequent editor,
“SNL 50,” “The Pitt” and More Win Big at the Creative Arts Emmys
During the second night of the Creative Arts Emmys, SNL 50 garnered seven wins for its massive, decades-spanning celebration, including wins for directing (Liz Patrick), production design, makeup, and hairstyling.
Love on the Spectrum won for Outstanding Unstructured Reality Programming, while Queer Eye won for Structured Reality Programming. In a nice moment for a veteran director,
MPA Industry Champion Award Recipient Rep. Darrell Issa: From Digital Pirates to Real-Life Mavericks
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) is the recipient of the 2025 Motion Pictures Association’s Industry Champion Award, recognized for his efforts to strengthen copyright protections, spur innovation, and preserve free expression. As chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet, Issa has been at the forefront of legislative efforts to combat digital piracy and address emerging challenges posed by artificial intelligence to the entertainment industry.
As a California resident and representative,
2025 MPA Industry Champion Award Senator Chris Coons on the Real Cost of Piracy
Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) is the 2025 MPA Industry Champion Award recipient for his efforts to strengthen copyright protections, spur innovation, and preserve free expression. As a member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Coons advocates for measures that support intellectual property laws and defend copyrighted works from piracy.
Online piracy is far from a victimless crime—in the U.S. alone, it costs the creative industry billions of dollars and thousands of jobs annually.
MPA Creative Protector Award Recipient Ivan J. Arvelo: The Federal Agent Protecting Your Favorite Movies From Piracy
Director Ivan J. Arvelo is being honored with the 2025 Motion Picture Association Creative Protector Award for playing a crucial role in advancing our core mission of protecting intellectual property and bringing the magic of cinema to life.
As Director of the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (IPR Center), Arvelo leads the federal government’s efforts to protect creativity and innovation by enforcing laws that combat intellectual property crimes.
In this conversation,
Le Lotus Blanc: “The White Lotus” Headed to France for Season 4
HBO’s hit series is trading Thailand’s beaches for France.
The White Lotus is reportedly headed to the European continent for its fourth season, Deadline reports. HBO has not yet confirmed the news, but if the reporting holds, one of the best bets for where season four would be shot is at the Four Seasons at the iconic Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat, located at the tip of the Cap-Ferrat peninsula on the French Riviera,
Emmy Nominees Cathy Sandrich Gelfond & Erica Berger on Casting the Scrappy Young Doctors of “The Pitt”
When The Pitt started streaming on HBO Max in January, the influx of intense young actors just kept coming. ER star Noah Wyle anchors the medical drama as the cracked tower of strength, Doctor Michael “Robby” Rabinovitch; nearly all the other characters on his fractious emergency room team are portrayed by relatively unknown talents delivering performances that are, by turns, wrenching and highly technical.
The Pitt,
The Studio Giant You’ve Never Heard Of: How MBS Group Powers James Cameron and Some of Hollywood’s Biggest Productions
You might not recognize the name The MBS Group right away, but if you ever wandered through legendary studio lots like Radford Studio Center, Culver Studios, Raleigh Studios, or Symmetry Park Studios London, you’ve stepped onto one of the nearly 50 studio campuses they operate globally. The company is the world’s largest studio operator, running top-tier campuses in iconic entertainment hubs like Los Angeles, New York, and London. But they’re not just renting out space — they’re the behind-the-scenes powerhouse designing studios,
Jessica Chastain Hunts Domestic Terrorists in Chilling “The Savant” Trailer
The first trailer for The Savant offers a chilling statistic—between 1994 and 2020, there were 893 extremist attacks in America. The people committed to doing their best to protect us from even more of them aren’t often the ones who might think of it. In fact, we mostly don’t know they exist. Jessica Chastain’s character in Savant is one such person—a suburban mom by day, a tireless hunter by night. Chastain,
