Indie News
Watch most comedians long enough and you’ll start to hear the same stories. But watch Stephen Colbert long enough and you’ll always find he has a new reason for audiences to fall in love with his wife, Evie.
On Sunday, April 21 at The Dolby Theater in Los Angeles, California, “The Late Show” host and Ben Schwartz closed out PaleyFest LA 2024 with a wide-ranging and goofy Q&a that included Colbert retelling some of his career-best stories while gently negging his interviewer’s questioning style.
“I will tell you a question I have been asked before,” Colbert quipped, turning Schwartz’ first prompt back on the actor in a good nature. “It’s ‘What’s a question you haven’t been asked before?'”
“And Ok, we’re going to the next question, you guys!” Schwartz laughed.
Always well-paired for these kinds of media events, the improv veterans talked...
On Sunday, April 21 at The Dolby Theater in Los Angeles, California, “The Late Show” host and Ben Schwartz closed out PaleyFest LA 2024 with a wide-ranging and goofy Q&a that included Colbert retelling some of his career-best stories while gently negging his interviewer’s questioning style.
“I will tell you a question I have been asked before,” Colbert quipped, turning Schwartz’ first prompt back on the actor in a good nature. “It’s ‘What’s a question you haven’t been asked before?'”
“And Ok, we’re going to the next question, you guys!” Schwartz laughed.
Always well-paired for these kinds of media events, the improv veterans talked...
- 4/24/2024
- by Alison Foreman
- Indiewire
For as long as “teenager” has been a demographic, there have been stories about teens breaking free from the status quo. While a lot of the modern great teen rebellion media is confined to the world of TV — where shows like “Euphoria” attract constant buzz — the archetypal troubled teen story remains 1955’s “Rebel Without a Cause.” Starring James Dean in unquestionably his defining role, a rebellious teen struggling with his demons in L.A., Nicholas Ray’s film spoke to young people at the time with its story of high schoolers struggling with, and going against, the social pressures that bring them down. Over the years it became a touchstone because its themes and its honesty transcends generations.
As the teen film has evolved and morphed as a genre, there’s always been room for stories of iconoclastic youth who don’t fit in with the status quo. Oftentimes, these...
As the teen film has evolved and morphed as a genre, there’s always been room for stories of iconoclastic youth who don’t fit in with the status quo. Oftentimes, these...
- 4/23/2024
- by Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
Late last week, filmmaker Quentin Tarantino shocked the film industry. All set to start shooting his tenth and would-be final film, “The Movie Critic,” or at least a handful of scenes to be eligible for a tax credit and then resume in 2025, the filmmaker pivoted, changed course, and then canceled the film.
While some details leaked in the aftermath, the film apparently morphed into a “Once Upon A Time In Hollywood” spin-off featuring Brad Pitt’s Cliff Booth stuntman character, thanks to Tarantino’s endless rewriting, a new in-depth piece on the cancelation of the film by the Hollywood Reporter is separating some of the facts from the fictions.
Continue reading Tarantino’s ‘The Movie Critic’ Could Have Included Olivia Wilde & David Krumholtz, But Probably Not Tom Cruise at The Playlist.
While some details leaked in the aftermath, the film apparently morphed into a “Once Upon A Time In Hollywood” spin-off featuring Brad Pitt’s Cliff Booth stuntman character, thanks to Tarantino’s endless rewriting, a new in-depth piece on the cancelation of the film by the Hollywood Reporter is separating some of the facts from the fictions.
Continue reading Tarantino’s ‘The Movie Critic’ Could Have Included Olivia Wilde & David Krumholtz, But Probably Not Tom Cruise at The Playlist.
- 4/23/2024
- by Rodrigo Perez
- The Playlist
Two crew members were hospitalized and several more were injured in an accident on the set of the Amazon MGM Studios film “The Pickup” starring Eddie Murphy that’s filming near Atlanta.
According to the Associated Press, a car and a truck collided during filming on Saturday, April 20 when the truck seized up and struck the other vehicle. A source described the incident to the AP as a “freak accident” and said the sequence had been rehearsed with proper safety precautions in place.
Of the two hospitalized crew members, whose names have not been released, one remains hospitalized. The injuries included bumps, bruises, and broken bones, according to the AP, and all the injured crew members are expected to make full recoveries.
The sequence was being performed by the film’s second unit team, which shoots portions of the film not involving principal actors. Murphy and co-stars Keke Palmer and...
According to the Associated Press, a car and a truck collided during filming on Saturday, April 20 when the truck seized up and struck the other vehicle. A source described the incident to the AP as a “freak accident” and said the sequence had been rehearsed with proper safety precautions in place.
Of the two hospitalized crew members, whose names have not been released, one remains hospitalized. The injuries included bumps, bruises, and broken bones, according to the AP, and all the injured crew members are expected to make full recoveries.
The sequence was being performed by the film’s second unit team, which shoots portions of the film not involving principal actors. Murphy and co-stars Keke Palmer and...
- 4/23/2024
- by Brian Welk
- Indiewire
Jerry Seinfeld is still bothered “a little bit” by how “Seinfeld” ended. Let’s just say, it wasn’t as cinematic as his favorite finale ever: “Mad Men.”
Seinfeld, who makes his directorial debut with upcoming Netflix film “Unfrosted,” told GQ that while he doesn’t “believe in regret,” he couldn’t help but compare the “Seinfeld” finale to the “greatest” series finale of all-time with Emmy-winning AMC’s “Mad Men.”
“I feel ‘Mad Men’ was the greatest,” Seinfeld said. “A lot of people like the ‘Bob Newhart’ one. ‘Mary Tyler Moore’ was Ok. ‘Mad Men’ was the greatest final moment of a series I’ve ever seen. So satisfying. So funny.”
During the recent series finale of Larry David’s long-running meta HBO series “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” David and Seinfeld reunite onscreen to revisit the controversial “Seinfeld” final moments with the stand-up comic ending up in jail.
“I don’t believe in regret,...
Seinfeld, who makes his directorial debut with upcoming Netflix film “Unfrosted,” told GQ that while he doesn’t “believe in regret,” he couldn’t help but compare the “Seinfeld” finale to the “greatest” series finale of all-time with Emmy-winning AMC’s “Mad Men.”
“I feel ‘Mad Men’ was the greatest,” Seinfeld said. “A lot of people like the ‘Bob Newhart’ one. ‘Mary Tyler Moore’ was Ok. ‘Mad Men’ was the greatest final moment of a series I’ve ever seen. So satisfying. So funny.”
During the recent series finale of Larry David’s long-running meta HBO series “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” David and Seinfeld reunite onscreen to revisit the controversial “Seinfeld” final moments with the stand-up comic ending up in jail.
“I don’t believe in regret,...
- 4/23/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson and Tony Maglio
- Indiewire
Plans feel inevitable when they come together as neatly as Toranaga’s (Hiroyuki Sanada) play for power over the throne of Japan. But the team behind Toranaga — and the rest of the characters on FX’s now complete miniseries “Shogun” — had to work just as hard as the warlord to finesse an ending that feels as right as this one does.
Episode 10, “A Dream of a Dream,” was a huge combined effort for editors Aika Miyake and Maria Gonzales, who each worked on three other episodes in addition to their shared credit on the finale. There were the normal challenges of assembling an edit, from placing incomplete VFX shots meant to convey the scale of Osaka to temp sound and score that will hopefully convey the loneliness of Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis) missing Mariko’s (Anna Sawai) funeral. That’s a lot for any editor to hold in their mind — in...
Episode 10, “A Dream of a Dream,” was a huge combined effort for editors Aika Miyake and Maria Gonzales, who each worked on three other episodes in addition to their shared credit on the finale. There were the normal challenges of assembling an edit, from placing incomplete VFX shots meant to convey the scale of Osaka to temp sound and score that will hopefully convey the loneliness of Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis) missing Mariko’s (Anna Sawai) funeral. That’s a lot for any editor to hold in their mind — in...
- 4/23/2024
- by Sarah Shachat
- Indiewire
A single-location thriller set in an imminent-seeming future where food scarcity has forced every country on Earth to cull its population by 20 percent, Caitlin Cronenberg’s slight but steel-eyed “Humane” takes a hard look — or at least an unflinching glance — at the irreconcilable relationship between self-interest and saving the planet. The broadly representative premise screenwriter Michael Sparaga uses in order to examine that dynamic: A family dinner at the castle-like estate of a former news anchor (Peter Gallagher), which is tense even before the wealthy retiree tells his four adult children that he and his most recent wife (Uni Park as Dawn) have volunteered to be euthanized later that same evening.
This news takes Charles’ kids by surprise, as their family doesn’t need the $250,000 payout that the government offers “heroic” — aka poor — people who agree to sacrifice themselves for the greater good, but there isn’t time enough to...
This news takes Charles’ kids by surprise, as their family doesn’t need the $250,000 payout that the government offers “heroic” — aka poor — people who agree to sacrifice themselves for the greater good, but there isn’t time enough to...
- 4/23/2024
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
Sony is the latest player that would like to make an accusation. The studio has won the rights to develop a reimagining of the Hasbro board game “Clue,” and the studio intends to bring the murder mystery game to the screen for both film and television.
Hollywood has been trying to remake “Clue,” first adapted in Jonathan Lynn’s cult classic screwball comedy “Clue” from 1985, for years. Most recently, a project was set up at 20th Century Studios, and it had Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman circling to star along with “The Muppets Movie” filmmaker James Bobin directing. In 2022, Oren Uziel (“The Lost City”) stepped up to rewrite the original draft of the script from Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick (“Deadpool”), but it too went nowhere.
No cast or creative talent is attached at this stage of development. Sony is the only studio developing anything based on “Clue” at this time,...
Hollywood has been trying to remake “Clue,” first adapted in Jonathan Lynn’s cult classic screwball comedy “Clue” from 1985, for years. Most recently, a project was set up at 20th Century Studios, and it had Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman circling to star along with “The Muppets Movie” filmmaker James Bobin directing. In 2022, Oren Uziel (“The Lost City”) stepped up to rewrite the original draft of the script from Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick (“Deadpool”), but it too went nowhere.
No cast or creative talent is attached at this stage of development. Sony is the only studio developing anything based on “Clue” at this time,...
- 4/23/2024
- by Brian Welk
- Indiewire
Ethan and Maya Hawke Almost Abandoned ‘Wildcat’ After Discovering Flannery O’Connor’s Racist Letters
“Wildcat” director Ethan Hawke was introduced to the books of Flannery O’Connor by his mother, but it was his then-teenaged daughter, Maya, who introduced him to a more personal side of the writer.
Maya Hawke, then a teenager looking for something original to recite for her Julliard audition, dug into O’Connor’s “Prayer Journal,” which captured the young, yet-to-be-published writer searching for meaning in journal entries she addressed to God. When Maya’s acting career took off with “Stranger Things,” and she approached O’Connor’s age writing the journal entries, Maya optioned the rights and asked her father to develop them into a film for her to portray O’Connor.
It was deep into the scriptwriting process that Ethan was introduced to yet another, far uglier side of O’Connor: Paul Elie’s 2020 New Yorker article, “How Racist Was Flannery O’Connor?” featured bigoted quotes from O’Connor’s personal correspondences.
Maya Hawke, then a teenager looking for something original to recite for her Julliard audition, dug into O’Connor’s “Prayer Journal,” which captured the young, yet-to-be-published writer searching for meaning in journal entries she addressed to God. When Maya’s acting career took off with “Stranger Things,” and she approached O’Connor’s age writing the journal entries, Maya optioned the rights and asked her father to develop them into a film for her to portray O’Connor.
It was deep into the scriptwriting process that Ethan was introduced to yet another, far uglier side of O’Connor: Paul Elie’s 2020 New Yorker article, “How Racist Was Flannery O’Connor?” featured bigoted quotes from O’Connor’s personal correspondences.
- 4/23/2024
- by Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
The subject of a timely new Variety profile praising his versatility, British actor Dan Stevens is having a moment. The actor is currently competing with himself at the box office with two different films: MonsterVerse installment “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” for Warners and directing duo Radio Silence’s new vampire movie “Abigail” for Universal.
Stevens is already lining up his next genre project, and it’ll see him co-starring alongside Hollywood royalty, Al Pacino, in a horror film focused on two trouble priests.
Continue reading ‘The Ritual’: Al Pacino & Dan Stevens To Lead New Exorcism Film Coming Out In 2025 at The Playlist.
Stevens is already lining up his next genre project, and it’ll see him co-starring alongside Hollywood royalty, Al Pacino, in a horror film focused on two trouble priests.
Continue reading ‘The Ritual’: Al Pacino & Dan Stevens To Lead New Exorcism Film Coming Out In 2025 at The Playlist.
- 4/23/2024
- by Christopher Marc
- The Playlist
Life’s not all a cabaret for film actors making their way to Broadway.
In the case of Eddie Redmayne, who now stars as the ghoul-like and flamboyant Emcee in director Rebecca Frecknall’s “Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club” at New York’s August Wilson Theatre, life behind the scenes is more “monastic,” as he told IndieWire, than song-and-dance bacchanalia.
“When you’re doing a musical like this, it’s quite monastic living, and it’s almost more like being an athlete than an actor sometimes because when you’re doing eight shows a week, you’re keeping your voice in decent nick,” said Redmayne, Zooming from the backseat of a car between appointments, which just included lunch with Joel Grey, who famously starred as the Master of Ceremonies in Bob Fosse‘s Oscar-winning 1972 film.
“It’s quite a physical role,” said Redmayne, who first played The Emcee on...
In the case of Eddie Redmayne, who now stars as the ghoul-like and flamboyant Emcee in director Rebecca Frecknall’s “Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club” at New York’s August Wilson Theatre, life behind the scenes is more “monastic,” as he told IndieWire, than song-and-dance bacchanalia.
“When you’re doing a musical like this, it’s quite monastic living, and it’s almost more like being an athlete than an actor sometimes because when you’re doing eight shows a week, you’re keeping your voice in decent nick,” said Redmayne, Zooming from the backseat of a car between appointments, which just included lunch with Joel Grey, who famously starred as the Master of Ceremonies in Bob Fosse‘s Oscar-winning 1972 film.
“It’s quite a physical role,” said Redmayne, who first played The Emcee on...
- 4/23/2024
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Sydney Sweeney is a marketing genius. That’s Glen Powell’s reasoning for how their rom-com “Anyone but You” went from anything but a success to a box-office and VOD hit.
“The two things that you have to sell a rom-com are fun and chemistry. Sydney and I have a ton of fun together, and we have a ton of effortless chemistry,” Powell told the New York Times. “That’s people wanting what’s on the screen off the screen, and sometimes you just have to lean into it a bit — and it worked wonderfully. Sydney is very smart.”
Sweeney, who also executive produced the film through her Fifty-Fifty Films banner, was directly behind the “Anyone but You” marketing strategy. It included romantic pictures of her and Powell, longing looks on red carpets, and lots of flirting in interviews. And when Powell and his long-term girlfriend broke up, the rumors heated up.
“The two things that you have to sell a rom-com are fun and chemistry. Sydney and I have a ton of fun together, and we have a ton of effortless chemistry,” Powell told the New York Times. “That’s people wanting what’s on the screen off the screen, and sometimes you just have to lean into it a bit — and it worked wonderfully. Sydney is very smart.”
Sweeney, who also executive produced the film through her Fifty-Fifty Films banner, was directly behind the “Anyone but You” marketing strategy. It included romantic pictures of her and Powell, longing looks on red carpets, and lots of flirting in interviews. And when Powell and his long-term girlfriend broke up, the rumors heated up.
- 4/23/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
The baffling phrase on the lips of every TV fan is suddenly “Baby Reindeer” — and for good reason. The Netflix limited series premiered on April 11 and quickly skyrocketed into the Top 10 in several countries, including the U.S. and U.K.
The series stars creator and writer Richard Gadd as an extension of his one-man Edinburgh Fringe show from 2016. In the TV version, Gadd plays a fictionalized version of himself named Donny Dunn, who is harassed by a female stalker for years while disentangling the ordeal from a sexual assault years prior. It evokes the transfixing storytelling and precision of “Fleabag” (another Fringe darling) and “I May Destroy You” (another complex piece processing sexual assault and subsequent self destruction). The title “Baby Reindeer” references a bizarre nickname he receives from stalker Martha (Jessica Gunning) — among many others.
So why is everyone talking about “Baby Reindeer?” On the surface, the series...
The series stars creator and writer Richard Gadd as an extension of his one-man Edinburgh Fringe show from 2016. In the TV version, Gadd plays a fictionalized version of himself named Donny Dunn, who is harassed by a female stalker for years while disentangling the ordeal from a sexual assault years prior. It evokes the transfixing storytelling and precision of “Fleabag” (another Fringe darling) and “I May Destroy You” (another complex piece processing sexual assault and subsequent self destruction). The title “Baby Reindeer” references a bizarre nickname he receives from stalker Martha (Jessica Gunning) — among many others.
So why is everyone talking about “Baby Reindeer?” On the surface, the series...
- 4/23/2024
- by Proma Khosla
- Indiewire
Oscar-nominated “Robot Dreams” is getting a theatrical release almost one year after its Cannes debut.
Directed by Pablo Berger, “Robot Dreams” is based on a graphic novel by Sara Varon and follows the unexpected friendship between a dog and a robot. Dog lives in Manhattan and is tired of being alone, so he does what any good boy would do: build himself a robot companion. Their friendship blossoms until they become inseparable — until Dog is forced to abandon Robot at the beach. And it’s all set to ’80s music.
The Oscar-nominated feature premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival and later won the Special Jury Prize at the Animation Is Film Festival. “Robot Dreams” marks the “Blancanieves” filmmaker Berger’s animated feature debut.
“With ‘Robot Dreams’ I wanted to explore the infinite narrative possibilities of animation. A medium
where everything is possible and there are no formal limits,” Berger said in a press statement.
Directed by Pablo Berger, “Robot Dreams” is based on a graphic novel by Sara Varon and follows the unexpected friendship between a dog and a robot. Dog lives in Manhattan and is tired of being alone, so he does what any good boy would do: build himself a robot companion. Their friendship blossoms until they become inseparable — until Dog is forced to abandon Robot at the beach. And it’s all set to ’80s music.
The Oscar-nominated feature premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival and later won the Special Jury Prize at the Animation Is Film Festival. “Robot Dreams” marks the “Blancanieves” filmmaker Berger’s animated feature debut.
“With ‘Robot Dreams’ I wanted to explore the infinite narrative possibilities of animation. A medium
where everything is possible and there are no formal limits,” Berger said in a press statement.
- 4/23/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Josh O’Connor shines in the sizzling tennis romance drama “Challengers,” but that doesn’t mean “The Crown” alum is a fan of his own character.
O’Connor told WSJ magazine that he actually thought his character Patrick was a bit of a “monster.” The film, directed by Luca Guadagnino, centers on Tashi (Zendaya), a former college tennis star who is torn between her three loves: husband Art (Mike Faist), ex Patrick (O’Connor), and the sport itself. While Tashi’s dalliances between Art and Patrick overlap over the years, O’Connor calls Patrick a total “dick” of a role.
“How do you make a character likable whilst being a monster?,” O’Connor said of his core struggle to play Patrick. “It’s the first time I think I’ve played a character who’s just like, ‘I’m fucking mad.’ Like, ‘I’m a dick and I’m proud.'”
In fact,...
O’Connor told WSJ magazine that he actually thought his character Patrick was a bit of a “monster.” The film, directed by Luca Guadagnino, centers on Tashi (Zendaya), a former college tennis star who is torn between her three loves: husband Art (Mike Faist), ex Patrick (O’Connor), and the sport itself. While Tashi’s dalliances between Art and Patrick overlap over the years, O’Connor calls Patrick a total “dick” of a role.
“How do you make a character likable whilst being a monster?,” O’Connor said of his core struggle to play Patrick. “It’s the first time I think I’ve played a character who’s just like, ‘I’m fucking mad.’ Like, ‘I’m a dick and I’m proud.'”
In fact,...
- 4/23/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
We don’t often see the release of an Oscar-nominated animated movie released in theaters after the Academy Awards ceremonies had aired, as most studios want to capitalize on the buzz of a nomination. But “Robot Dreams” is breaking with tradition as the Spanish/French animation pic is heading to the big screen next month. The movie that made the film festival circuit last year focuses on a Robot and Dog’s budding relationship in Manhattan during 1984, a unique premise and setting.
Continue reading ‘Robot Dreams’ Trailer: Neon’s Oscar-Nominated Animated Film Hits Theaters On May 31 at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Robot Dreams’ Trailer: Neon’s Oscar-Nominated Animated Film Hits Theaters On May 31 at The Playlist.
- 4/23/2024
- by Christopher Marc
- The Playlist
Long live Queen Cleopatra, even if her film adaptations have been plagued for more than half a century.
After Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s 1963 “Cleopatra” starring Elizabeth Taylor made history as one of the biggest box office disasters ever, a long-gestating adaptation was set with Angelina Jolie attached to star (and directors like David Fincher and Ang Lee being attached at different times). “A Knight’s Tale” and “Man on Fire” writer Brian Helgeland wrote the script, and while the film was “almost made,” it eventually fell by the wayside.
Now, Helgeland is recalling the details of the scrapped project in a new interview with Inverse. “I was the very first writer on ‘Cleopatra’ when it was being developed for Angelina Jolie to star in, which was almost made,” Helgeland said. “It had elements of a political thriller with assassinations and sex, but it’s an epic that’s divided between her...
After Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s 1963 “Cleopatra” starring Elizabeth Taylor made history as one of the biggest box office disasters ever, a long-gestating adaptation was set with Angelina Jolie attached to star (and directors like David Fincher and Ang Lee being attached at different times). “A Knight’s Tale” and “Man on Fire” writer Brian Helgeland wrote the script, and while the film was “almost made,” it eventually fell by the wayside.
Now, Helgeland is recalling the details of the scrapped project in a new interview with Inverse. “I was the very first writer on ‘Cleopatra’ when it was being developed for Angelina Jolie to star in, which was almost made,” Helgeland said. “It had elements of a political thriller with assassinations and sex, but it’s an epic that’s divided between her...
- 4/23/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Despite winning his defamation trailer against his ex-wife Amber Heard following her allegations of domestic violence, actor Johnny Depp is still a persona non-grata in Hollywood, by and large. The actor hasn’t starred in anything significant since he was fired/resigned from the “Fantastic Beasts” franchise in 2020, but that hasn’t really stopped the less-discerning European film market from tapping his talents. One of those helmers less concerned with the controversies involving casting Depp is the French filmmaker Maïwenn, the director, writer, and actress behind the upcoming movie “Jeanne du Barry.” In the period drama, Maïwenn plays a sex worker in 18th-century France who becomes the mistress to King Louis Xv, the role played by Depp.
Continue reading ‘Jeanne Du Barry’: Maïwenn Says “Crew Were Afraid” Of Johnny Depp During “Difficult Shoot” at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Jeanne Du Barry’: Maïwenn Says “Crew Were Afraid” Of Johnny Depp During “Difficult Shoot” at The Playlist.
- 4/23/2024
- by Christopher Marc
- The Playlist
Exhibitors will get “Exhibiting Forgiveness” thanks to distribution company Roadside Attractions.
After premiering at the 2024 Sundance Festival and screening at the New Directors/New Films festival, Titus Kaphar’s directorial debut has been acquired by Roadside Attractions, IndieWire can confirm. It will open nationwide this fall for awards season.
Renowned artist Kaphar wrote the semi-autobiographical script for “Exhibiting Forgiveness” after completing a series of paintings and a short documentary — “The Jerome Project” (2016) — inspired by his relationship with his father. Kaphar’s most recent short documentary, “Shut up and Paint,” was shortlisted for an Academy Award in 2022.
“Exhibiting Forgiveness” follows Tarrell Rodin (André Holland), an admired American painter who lives with his wife, singer-songwriter Aisha (Andra Day), and young son. Rodin’s artwork excavates beauty from the anguish of his youth, keeping past wounds at bay, per the synopsis. Yet his path to success is derailed by an unexpected visit from his estranged father,...
After premiering at the 2024 Sundance Festival and screening at the New Directors/New Films festival, Titus Kaphar’s directorial debut has been acquired by Roadside Attractions, IndieWire can confirm. It will open nationwide this fall for awards season.
Renowned artist Kaphar wrote the semi-autobiographical script for “Exhibiting Forgiveness” after completing a series of paintings and a short documentary — “The Jerome Project” (2016) — inspired by his relationship with his father. Kaphar’s most recent short documentary, “Shut up and Paint,” was shortlisted for an Academy Award in 2022.
“Exhibiting Forgiveness” follows Tarrell Rodin (André Holland), an admired American painter who lives with his wife, singer-songwriter Aisha (Andra Day), and young son. Rodin’s artwork excavates beauty from the anguish of his youth, keeping past wounds at bay, per the synopsis. Yet his path to success is derailed by an unexpected visit from his estranged father,...
- 4/23/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
The Peabody Awards are revealing their 2024 nominees in two batches this year and today was an opportunity to shine the spotlight on the non-narrative works. Among the Documentary, News, Public Service, and Radio/Podcast nominees were a slew of Oscar-nominated films including “The Eternal Memory,” “Bobi Wine: The People’s President,” and “All The Beauty and the Bloodshed.” Oh, and this year’s Academy Award winner, “20 Days in Mariupol.”
Read More: 10 pressing questions for the 2024 Emmy Award Season
This year’s narrative nominees will be revealed on Thursday.
Continue reading ’20 Days In Mariupol’ & ‘The Eternal Memory’ Among Early 2024 Peabody Awards Nominees at The Playlist.
Read More: 10 pressing questions for the 2024 Emmy Award Season
This year’s narrative nominees will be revealed on Thursday.
Continue reading ’20 Days In Mariupol’ & ‘The Eternal Memory’ Among Early 2024 Peabody Awards Nominees at The Playlist.
- 4/23/2024
- by Gregory Ellwood
- The Playlist
Zoë Kravitz sure turned heads with the announcement of her directorial debut, a crazy island thriller initially titled “Pussy Island.” Eventually changed to the less provocative, more-marketable “Blink Twice” —a reference to being kidnapped and blinking to convey you’re in danger—the film is a psychological thriller about a cocktail waitress who becomes infatuated with a tech billionaire and travels with him to his private island, where things begin to go wrong.
Continue reading ‘Blink Twice’ Trailer: Channing Tatum & Naomi Ackie Star In Zoë Kravitz’s Crazy Trapped-On-An-Island Thriller at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Blink Twice’ Trailer: Channing Tatum & Naomi Ackie Star In Zoë Kravitz’s Crazy Trapped-On-An-Island Thriller at The Playlist.
- 4/23/2024
- by Edward Davis
- The Playlist
As part of the 2025 Oscar rule changes for the 97th Academy Awards, animated movies can be simultaneously submitted for Best International Feature and Best Animated Feature. This will simplify the qualifying method for the latter and specifically help animated international films that may not have access to U.S. distribution.
“Previously, animated movies selected as a country’s international feature selection [which do not require U.S. theatrical distribution] were not qualified to enter for animated feature consideration unless they also met the qualifying standards for general entry [which require U.S. theatrical distribution],” an Academy insider told IndieWire.
“This consisted of separate submission forms. Submitters will still need to complete different forms, but now animated movies selected as a country’s international feature selection no longer need to meet general entry standards to be considered for the Animated Feature award. They would, however, still need to be ruled eligible under the Academy’s definition of ‘animation.'”
Two examples of animated international feature...
“Previously, animated movies selected as a country’s international feature selection [which do not require U.S. theatrical distribution] were not qualified to enter for animated feature consideration unless they also met the qualifying standards for general entry [which require U.S. theatrical distribution],” an Academy insider told IndieWire.
“This consisted of separate submission forms. Submitters will still need to complete different forms, but now animated movies selected as a country’s international feature selection no longer need to meet general entry standards to be considered for the Animated Feature award. They would, however, still need to be ruled eligible under the Academy’s definition of ‘animation.'”
Two examples of animated international feature...
- 4/23/2024
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
Nothing is as it seems on the private islands of the elite.
In Zoë Kravitz’s feature directorial debut “Blink Twice,” that duplicity just might be the difference between life and death. “Blink Twice” follows tech billionaire Slater King (Channing Tatum), who invites cocktail waitress Frida (Naomi Ackie) on a dream vacation to his private island. Yet, while on the trip, strange things start to happen and Frida begins to question her reality.
Christian Slater, Simon Rex, Adria Arjona, Kyle MacLachlan, Haley Joel Osment, Geena Davis, and Alia Shawkat co-star in the feature Kravitz co-wrote with E.T. Feigenbaum (“High Fidelity”).
The official synopsis reads: “When tech billionaire Slater King (Tatum) meets cocktail waitress Frida (Ackie) at his fundraising gala, sparks fly. He invites her to join him and his friends on a dream vacation on his private island. It’s paradise. Wild nights blend into sun soaked days and everyone’s having a great time.
In Zoë Kravitz’s feature directorial debut “Blink Twice,” that duplicity just might be the difference between life and death. “Blink Twice” follows tech billionaire Slater King (Channing Tatum), who invites cocktail waitress Frida (Naomi Ackie) on a dream vacation to his private island. Yet, while on the trip, strange things start to happen and Frida begins to question her reality.
Christian Slater, Simon Rex, Adria Arjona, Kyle MacLachlan, Haley Joel Osment, Geena Davis, and Alia Shawkat co-star in the feature Kravitz co-wrote with E.T. Feigenbaum (“High Fidelity”).
The official synopsis reads: “When tech billionaire Slater King (Tatum) meets cocktail waitress Frida (Ackie) at his fundraising gala, sparks fly. He invites her to join him and his friends on a dream vacation on his private island. It’s paradise. Wild nights blend into sun soaked days and everyone’s having a great time.
- 4/23/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
For years, streaming had been a great home to canceled series, revivals, and sequels. However, an attempt to get Netflix to bite on a sequel to the late Heath Ledger’s medieval rom-com “A Knight’s Tale” was recently passed on thanks to a clinical computer assessment. According to the original film’s director, Brian Helgeland (“Payback,” “Legend”), in an interview with Inverse, the filmmaker had recently shopped around an “A Knight’s Tale 2” sequel to Sony and Netflix.
Continue reading Brian Helgeland Says Netflix Scrapped ‘A Knight’s Tale’ Sequel Based On Their Algorithm at The Playlist.
Continue reading Brian Helgeland Says Netflix Scrapped ‘A Knight’s Tale’ Sequel Based On Their Algorithm at The Playlist.
- 4/23/2024
- by Christopher Marc
- The Playlist
Jerry Seinfeld and Martin Scorsese have at least one thing in common: They both are lamenting just how much the film industry has changed within the hierarchy of media.
Seinfeld, who makes his directorial debut with Netflix’s Pop-Tarts origin story “Unfrosted,” told GQ that fellow filmmakers have “no idea” that the “movie business is over.” Or, well, at least not what it once was.
“It was totally new to me,” Seinfeld said of directing the feature which he also co-wrote, produced, and starred in. “I thought I had done some cool stuff, but it was nothing like the way these people work. They’re so dead serious! They don’t have any idea that the movie business is over. They have no idea.”
Seinfeld continued, “Film doesn’t occupy the pinnacle in the social, cultural hierarchy that it did for most of our lives. When a movie came out,...
Seinfeld, who makes his directorial debut with Netflix’s Pop-Tarts origin story “Unfrosted,” told GQ that fellow filmmakers have “no idea” that the “movie business is over.” Or, well, at least not what it once was.
“It was totally new to me,” Seinfeld said of directing the feature which he also co-wrote, produced, and starred in. “I thought I had done some cool stuff, but it was nothing like the way these people work. They’re so dead serious! They don’t have any idea that the movie business is over. They have no idea.”
Seinfeld continued, “Film doesn’t occupy the pinnacle in the social, cultural hierarchy that it did for most of our lives. When a movie came out,...
- 4/23/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
[Editor’s Note: The following review contains spoilers for “Shōgun” Episode 10, “A Dream of a Dream,” including the ending.]
As a sweeping samurai epic, “Shōgun” understands it’s meant to end a certain way. Opposing parties draw swords, don their armor, and square off on the battlefield. Tensions teased over nine hours erupt in the roar of combat. That’s how grand conflicts regarding the future of great nations have been decided for centuries, and it’s only natural for a visual medium like film (or prestige television) to embrace war’s inherent spectacle. Soldiers charging down a hillside, canons firing across an open plain, horses galloping through fields filled with bodies either dead or clinging to life, as the grass under their feet quickly deteriorates into muddied, bloodied slop. These are the scenes we expect in an epic’s ending.
Because we’ve seen those images so many times — slain men strewn over blackened trenches — it’s easy...
As a sweeping samurai epic, “Shōgun” understands it’s meant to end a certain way. Opposing parties draw swords, don their armor, and square off on the battlefield. Tensions teased over nine hours erupt in the roar of combat. That’s how grand conflicts regarding the future of great nations have been decided for centuries, and it’s only natural for a visual medium like film (or prestige television) to embrace war’s inherent spectacle. Soldiers charging down a hillside, canons firing across an open plain, horses galloping through fields filled with bodies either dead or clinging to life, as the grass under their feet quickly deteriorates into muddied, bloodied slop. These are the scenes we expect in an epic’s ending.
Because we’ve seen those images so many times — slain men strewn over blackened trenches — it’s easy...
- 4/23/2024
- by Ben Travers
- Indiewire
Who says this summer is light on blockbuster fare, despite the strikes holding productions and release dates up?
Big movies coming to theaters in the next hot few months include favorite IP getting a 2024 burnish, from “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” to “Alien: Romulus” and “Twisters”. Oh, and a little movie called “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” (May 24), which George Miller will first bring to the Cannes Film Festival before opening it in theaters later that month. Plus, poised to be a Netflix hit this summer is Richard Linklater’s “Hit Man” (May 24 in theaters), playing for a couple of weeks in select cities before the crime comedy starring Glen Powell hits the streaming platform.
But those bigger-ticket titles aside, summer 2024 is a time for indies to shine, from Annie Baker’s long-awaited festival hit “Janet Planet” (June 14) to India Donaldson’s wonderful Sundance premiere “Good One” (August...
Big movies coming to theaters in the next hot few months include favorite IP getting a 2024 burnish, from “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” to “Alien: Romulus” and “Twisters”. Oh, and a little movie called “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” (May 24), which George Miller will first bring to the Cannes Film Festival before opening it in theaters later that month. Plus, poised to be a Netflix hit this summer is Richard Linklater’s “Hit Man” (May 24 in theaters), playing for a couple of weeks in select cities before the crime comedy starring Glen Powell hits the streaming platform.
But those bigger-ticket titles aside, summer 2024 is a time for indies to shine, from Annie Baker’s long-awaited festival hit “Janet Planet” (June 14) to India Donaldson’s wonderful Sundance premiere “Good One” (August...
- 4/23/2024
- by Ryan Lattanzio, David Ehrlich and Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
With the advent of intimacy coordinators and more evolved forms of safeguards, the film and acting industry has dramatically changed for the better in the last few years in the post #MeToo era. But it used to be much worse. In the not-too-distant past, there was a time when “chemistry tests” included intimacy scenes, actors forced to kiss and make out with strangers so directors could watch, leer, and gauge how they might fare on screen together.
Continue reading Anne Hathaway Says 2000s-Era Make-Out Chemistry Tests Were “Gross” at The Playlist.
Continue reading Anne Hathaway Says 2000s-Era Make-Out Chemistry Tests Were “Gross” at The Playlist.
- 4/23/2024
- by Christopher Marc
- The Playlist
The 2024 Tribeca Festival has officially unveiled its shorts lineup.
Presented by Okx, the festival includes short narrative, documentary, and animated films, as well as music videos. This year’s festival takes place June 5 through 16, and boasts 12 short film sections, including 87 total shorts from 101 filmmakers with 65 films in competition and 10 music videos.
The 2024 lineup has a record-breaking number of countries represented ranging from Saudi Arabia, Côte D’Ivoire, Martinique, Chile, Qatar, and more for a total of 27 nations. For the first time, the majority of the program is directed by female filmmakers. The lineup includes 50 world premieres, seven international premieres, six North American premieres, two U.S. premieres, and 22 New York premieres. Seven directors return to Tribeca with their latest projects.
Highlights include the world premieres of “Motorcycle Mary,” directed by Haley Watson and produced by two-time Oscar winner Ben Proudfoot, Rachel Greenwald, seven-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton; queer romance “Ripe!
Presented by Okx, the festival includes short narrative, documentary, and animated films, as well as music videos. This year’s festival takes place June 5 through 16, and boasts 12 short film sections, including 87 total shorts from 101 filmmakers with 65 films in competition and 10 music videos.
The 2024 lineup has a record-breaking number of countries represented ranging from Saudi Arabia, Côte D’Ivoire, Martinique, Chile, Qatar, and more for a total of 27 nations. For the first time, the majority of the program is directed by female filmmakers. The lineup includes 50 world premieres, seven international premieres, six North American premieres, two U.S. premieres, and 22 New York premieres. Seven directors return to Tribeca with their latest projects.
Highlights include the world premieres of “Motorcycle Mary,” directed by Haley Watson and produced by two-time Oscar winner Ben Proudfoot, Rachel Greenwald, seven-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton; queer romance “Ripe!
- 4/23/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Jennifer Lopez has had a mixed year so far. Her back-to-back documentaries, “This Is Me… Now: A Love Story” and “The Greatest Love Story Never Told” for Prime Video, seemingly did well enough with critics. But the docs didn’t really help her music career much, and in March of this year, multiple dates on her ‘This Is Me’ concert tour were canceled due to sluggish ticket sales.
Continue reading ‘Atlas’ Trailer: Jennifer Lopez Must Save Humanity From A.I. In New Sci-Fi Actioner at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Atlas’ Trailer: Jennifer Lopez Must Save Humanity From A.I. In New Sci-Fi Actioner at The Playlist.
- 4/23/2024
- by The Playlist
- The Playlist
Kit Zauhar’s sophomore feature “This Closeness” follows the promise of her 2021 debut “Actual People,” which demonstrated she could tell an immersive story with few resources. Her microbudget feature “This Closeness,” a Narrative Spotlight premiere of SXSW 2023, is now about to open from Factory 25 on June 7, followed by a Mubi streaming premiere on July 3. Watch the trailer, an IndieWire exclusive, below.
Per IndieWire’s 2023 SXSW preview, “This Closeness” “wields its lo-fi constraints with tremendous sophistication and insight. The entire story takes place within the constraints of a Philadelphia apartment, booked by a young couple (Zauhar and Zane Pais) for a high school reunion weekend; once there, they find themselves dealing with the awkward loner (Ian Edlund) who lives there. As tensions mount, the movie dances an elegant line between cringe-comedy and erotic thriller, with Zauhar’s character, an Asmr YouTuber, developing an enigmatic bond with their temporary roommate while...
Per IndieWire’s 2023 SXSW preview, “This Closeness” “wields its lo-fi constraints with tremendous sophistication and insight. The entire story takes place within the constraints of a Philadelphia apartment, booked by a young couple (Zauhar and Zane Pais) for a high school reunion weekend; once there, they find themselves dealing with the awkward loner (Ian Edlund) who lives there. As tensions mount, the movie dances an elegant line between cringe-comedy and erotic thriller, with Zauhar’s character, an Asmr YouTuber, developing an enigmatic bond with their temporary roommate while...
- 4/23/2024
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Between his massively successful sitcom “Seinfeld” and his popular Netflix streaming talk show “Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee” and his various stand-up specials, comedian Jerry Seinfeld has long established himself as arguably a master of comedic television. Seinfeld has spent nearly four decades on television, but after all this time, the funny man is finally making the jump to movies with “Unfrosted,” a comedic take on the origin of the beloved breakfast pastry Pop-Tarts, which he both stars and directs.
Continue reading Comedian Jerry Seinfeld, Who Just Directed His First Film, Says, “The Movie Business Is Over” at The Playlist.
Continue reading Comedian Jerry Seinfeld, Who Just Directed His First Film, Says, “The Movie Business Is Over” at The Playlist.
- 4/23/2024
- by Christopher Marc
- The Playlist
Setting a vampire — even a tiny one, as in “Abigail” — loose on the world is a messy affair, which got the IndieWire Craft team wondering less about stakes and more about modern special effects make-up. Are there fake blood brands you can buy? Are there different blood recipes for film versus TV? How much has fake blood changed from Nosferatur to Hammer horror to today’s scary movies? Or is fake blood just all VFX these days?
Who better to ask than Dave Elsey of Igor Studios, a self-described makeup FX Jedi and one of the lead designers of the chilling corpsicle in “True Detective: Night Country”? A connoisseur of practical tricks to create worlds of fantastic horror, Elsey’s recipes for fake blood are most often based on the ones that makeup legend Dick Smith came up with in the ’70s, which have been used in everything from “The Godfather...
Who better to ask than Dave Elsey of Igor Studios, a self-described makeup FX Jedi and one of the lead designers of the chilling corpsicle in “True Detective: Night Country”? A connoisseur of practical tricks to create worlds of fantastic horror, Elsey’s recipes for fake blood are most often based on the ones that makeup legend Dick Smith came up with in the ’70s, which have been used in everything from “The Godfather...
- 4/23/2024
- by Sarah Shachat
- Indiewire
Netflix briefly jousted with the idea for a “A Knight’s Tale” sequel, but ultimately passed due to the concept.
Director Brian Helgeland told Inverse that following the release of the 2001 film starring late actor Heath Ledger, a sequel was shopped to studio Sony and then Netflix. The first concept was a “meh” for Sony — the second made it to the desks of Netflix. The streamer walked away after it decided the concept for “A Knight’s Tale 2” would “not be successful” among its audience, Helgeland said.
The first:
“When we finished ‘A Knight’s Tale,’ we were already thinking about making the sequel as a pirate film,” Helgeland said. “The plot revolved around Count Adhemar kidnapping Jocelyn and taking her to Constantinople. They end up as galley slaves after their boat is captured by pirates. There’s a prisoner on the boat who has a treasure map tattooed on his back,...
Director Brian Helgeland told Inverse that following the release of the 2001 film starring late actor Heath Ledger, a sequel was shopped to studio Sony and then Netflix. The first concept was a “meh” for Sony — the second made it to the desks of Netflix. The streamer walked away after it decided the concept for “A Knight’s Tale 2” would “not be successful” among its audience, Helgeland said.
The first:
“When we finished ‘A Knight’s Tale,’ we were already thinking about making the sequel as a pirate film,” Helgeland said. “The plot revolved around Count Adhemar kidnapping Jocelyn and taking her to Constantinople. They end up as galley slaves after their boat is captured by pirates. There’s a prisoner on the boat who has a treasure map tattooed on his back,...
- 4/23/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Some shows are big cultural hits and juggernauts, and some quietly go on season after season; maybe not a huge critical giant, but there are enough ardent fans to justify their existence. And that’s probably where Apple TV+’s “Trying,” a heartwarming British comedy television series created by Andy Wolton (“The Amazing World of Gumball”), lands; it has its fans, and it keeps successfully chugging along, though to be fair, it does have its U.K.
Continue reading ‘Trying’ Trailer: Apple’s Family Drama With Rafe Spall Returns For A Fourth Season On May 22 at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Trying’ Trailer: Apple’s Family Drama With Rafe Spall Returns For A Fourth Season On May 22 at The Playlist.
- 4/23/2024
- by Edward Davis
- The Playlist
With two studios running point for the rock biopic, “Back To Black,” Studio Canal in the U.K., and Focus Features in the U.S., you essentially get two kicks at the promotion can. From director Sam Taylor-Johnson (“Fifty Shades Of Grey”), “Back To Black” is a biopic of the late pioneering blues and soul R&b artist Amy Winehouse, who became a smash sensation globally in the early aughts.
Continue reading ‘Back To Black’ Trailer: Marisa Abela Channels Late Crooner Amy Winehouse On May 17 at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Back To Black’ Trailer: Marisa Abela Channels Late Crooner Amy Winehouse On May 17 at The Playlist.
- 4/23/2024
- by Edward Davis
- The Playlist
When last we saw Nikki (Esther Smith) and Jason (Rafe Spall) in the Apple TV+ comedy series “Trying,” the couple was trying to pull off a reverse shotgun wedding — well, sort of. The long-term partners decided they finally wanted to get married, but rather than get hitched before people knew they were pregnant, they wanted to tie the knot before their kids were taken away from them. Luckily, Nikki and Jason won their court case against their adopted children’s biological grandmother, and with that out of the way, all their worries were over.
Ok, not quite. “Trying” takes a warts-and-all approach to parenthood (if not life in general), so there will always be concerns, big and small, for the family to deal with — the key is sticking together, no matter how trying things get. Season 4 brings a fresh set of family matters, as the story jumps six years into...
Ok, not quite. “Trying” takes a warts-and-all approach to parenthood (if not life in general), so there will always be concerns, big and small, for the family to deal with — the key is sticking together, no matter how trying things get. Season 4 brings a fresh set of family matters, as the story jumps six years into...
- 4/23/2024
- by Ben Travers
- Indiewire
The 2024 Cannes Film Festival lineup is expanding thanks to the newly unveiled Immersive competition.
The inaugural offering includes location-based virtual reality and mixed reality experiences, projection mapping, and holographic works. Actors such as Colin Farrell (“Gloomy Eyes”), Olivia Cooke (“Emperor”), Jessica Chastain, Millie Bobby Brown, and Patti Smith (“Spheres”) lend their respective voices to the projects created with cutting-edge technology.
The festival will host eight projects as part of the Immersive Competition, ushering in a new era of storytelling while “challenging convention, embracing new technologies, and above all celebrating new artists as well as old,” per the official press statement.
Outside of the competition, six non-competitive works will be featured at the exhibition exploring the evolution of the medium and drawing parallels between virtual reality, virtual production, cinema, and collective storytelling.
The Best Immersive Work Award will be presented by the President of the Jury at the Closing Ceremony on...
The inaugural offering includes location-based virtual reality and mixed reality experiences, projection mapping, and holographic works. Actors such as Colin Farrell (“Gloomy Eyes”), Olivia Cooke (“Emperor”), Jessica Chastain, Millie Bobby Brown, and Patti Smith (“Spheres”) lend their respective voices to the projects created with cutting-edge technology.
The festival will host eight projects as part of the Immersive Competition, ushering in a new era of storytelling while “challenging convention, embracing new technologies, and above all celebrating new artists as well as old,” per the official press statement.
Outside of the competition, six non-competitive works will be featured at the exhibition exploring the evolution of the medium and drawing parallels between virtual reality, virtual production, cinema, and collective storytelling.
The Best Immersive Work Award will be presented by the President of the Jury at the Closing Ceremony on...
- 4/23/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
As a working actor, Ryan Czerwonko’s credits include The Endgame, Chicago Med, Chicago Fire, Cherry, Paint, and Watchmen, to name a few. He’s also the artistic director of Adult Film, an exciting Brooklyn theater and film group where he acts, directs, and teaches. His latest project is a year-long exploration of Chekhov’s Sea Gull that will culminate in a limited engagement in Manhattan in May and a documentary on the whole process. On this episode, he explains why Chekhov is so important to him and what he set out to do with this ambitious endeavor. He gives us a deep […]
The post “Seeing an Actor Experiencing the Limits of Transcendence is More Interesting than Pretending” Ryan Czerwonko, Back To One, Episode 288 first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “Seeing an Actor Experiencing the Limits of Transcendence is More Interesting than Pretending” Ryan Czerwonko, Back To One, Episode 288 first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 4/23/2024
- by Peter Rinaldi
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
As a working actor, Ryan Czerwonko’s credits include The Endgame, Chicago Med, Chicago Fire, Cherry, Paint, and Watchmen, to name a few. He’s also the artistic director of Adult Film, an exciting Brooklyn theater and film group where he acts, directs, and teaches. His latest project is a year-long exploration of Chekhov’s Sea Gull that will culminate in a limited engagement in Manhattan in May and a documentary on the whole process. On this episode, he explains why Chekhov is so important to him and what he set out to do with this ambitious endeavor. He gives us a deep […]
The post “Seeing an Actor Experiencing the Limits of Transcendence is More Interesting than Pretending” Ryan Czerwonko, Back To One, Episode 288 first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “Seeing an Actor Experiencing the Limits of Transcendence is More Interesting than Pretending” Ryan Czerwonko, Back To One, Episode 288 first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 4/23/2024
- by Peter Rinaldi
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival has announced its first wave of program details for its upcoming 58th edition, which is set to take place from June 28 through July 6, 2024. The Czech festival, widely considered to be the most prestigious film festival in Eastern Europe, is set to honor one of the nation’s most famous writers with a new retrospective titled “Franz Kafka and the Cinema.”
The series is set to feature screenings of a wide range of films inspired by the Czech novelist, who famously wove themes of alienation and existential angst into cryptic novels that often flirted with surrealism. Some films, like Orson Welles’ “The Trial” are direct adaptations of Kafka’s writings; but the series also includes movies about Kafka’s life, and films like Martin Scorsese’s “After Hours” that were influenced by Kafka’s ideas.
“For decades, Kafka’s oeuvre has functioned as a continuing provocation to filmmakers,...
The series is set to feature screenings of a wide range of films inspired by the Czech novelist, who famously wove themes of alienation and existential angst into cryptic novels that often flirted with surrealism. Some films, like Orson Welles’ “The Trial” are direct adaptations of Kafka’s writings; but the series also includes movies about Kafka’s life, and films like Martin Scorsese’s “After Hours” that were influenced by Kafka’s ideas.
“For decades, Kafka’s oeuvre has functioned as a continuing provocation to filmmakers,...
- 4/23/2024
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
On June 2, 1943 Lieutenant Charles B. Hall of the Army Air Forces shot down an enemy Italian fighter plane over the island of Pantelleria off the Tunisian Coast. He was the first African American ever to do so.
Hall was a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, the Black fighter pilots who trained at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama and served as critical air support during the invasion of Italy and as bomber escorts over Occupied Europe thereafter. Their achievement is immortalized in a new 360-degree VR film created by New York-based studio Koncept VR and the World War II Foundation.
“Tuskegee Airmen,” directed by Uli Futschik and Joergen Geerds, combines archive footage with voiceover reminiscences of surviving members of the Airmen and newly shot material — such as a 360-degree camera mounted on a P-51 Mustang, the nimble fighter craft associated with the Airmen that often had their tails painted red (hence...
Hall was a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, the Black fighter pilots who trained at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama and served as critical air support during the invasion of Italy and as bomber escorts over Occupied Europe thereafter. Their achievement is immortalized in a new 360-degree VR film created by New York-based studio Koncept VR and the World War II Foundation.
“Tuskegee Airmen,” directed by Uli Futschik and Joergen Geerds, combines archive footage with voiceover reminiscences of surviving members of the Airmen and newly shot material — such as a 360-degree camera mounted on a P-51 Mustang, the nimble fighter craft associated with the Airmen that often had their tails painted red (hence...
- 4/23/2024
- by Christian Blauvelt
- Indiewire
With two major sci-fi sequels debuting this week to lead the VOD and Netflix charts, the new films also inspired victory laps for the Part Ones of “Dune” and “Rebel Moon.”
“Dune: Part Two” (Warner Bros.) leads at both iTunes and Fandango, and Netflix’s original “Rebel Moon — Part Two: The Scargiver” is #1 at the streamer. iTunes packaged the 2021 “Dune: Part One” with its sequel as a $34.99 purchase, and it ranks second there. (“Dune: Part Two” alone rents for 48 hours for $24.99.) “Rebel Moon — Part One” returned at #7 on Netflix’s top 10.
Three other recent theatrical releases also transitioned to home viewing, with curiously different pricing and availability strategies. The top grosser is Neon’s “Immaculate” (approaching $16 million), but it rents for the lowest price: $9.99. “Late Night with the Devil” (IFC) is $14.99, but for that price consumers own it. “In the Land of Saints and Sinners” (Goldwyn) with Liam Neeson is a standard $19.99 rental.
“Dune: Part Two” (Warner Bros.) leads at both iTunes and Fandango, and Netflix’s original “Rebel Moon — Part Two: The Scargiver” is #1 at the streamer. iTunes packaged the 2021 “Dune: Part One” with its sequel as a $34.99 purchase, and it ranks second there. (“Dune: Part Two” alone rents for 48 hours for $24.99.) “Rebel Moon — Part One” returned at #7 on Netflix’s top 10.
Three other recent theatrical releases also transitioned to home viewing, with curiously different pricing and availability strategies. The top grosser is Neon’s “Immaculate” (approaching $16 million), but it rents for the lowest price: $9.99. “Late Night with the Devil” (IFC) is $14.99, but for that price consumers own it. “In the Land of Saints and Sinners” (Goldwyn) with Liam Neeson is a standard $19.99 rental.
- 4/22/2024
- by Tom Brueggemann
- Indiewire
TV is positively cluttered with buzzy book adaptations; 2024 alone has given us “Ripley,” “3 Body Problem,” “Under the Bridge,” “Girls on the Bus,” “Apples Never Fall,” “Palm Royale,” and way too many others to really count. Few of these projects arrive to the screen with as much clout — and as high of expectations — as “The Sympathizer,” HBO’s newest limited series. Not only was Viet Thanh Nguyen’s 2015 novel about the queasy half-existence of a North Vietnamese spy burrowed in the South Vietnamese army extremely popular when it hit book stores in 2015, it was also highly acclaimed, receiving the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. That’s a lot for any show to live up to.
That said, the show certainly has the pedigree behind the cameras to match the original work. The HBO “Sympathizer” limited series comes from Korean auteur Park Chan-wook, who co-created the series with Don McKellar and directs...
That said, the show certainly has the pedigree behind the cameras to match the original work. The HBO “Sympathizer” limited series comes from Korean auteur Park Chan-wook, who co-created the series with Don McKellar and directs...
- 4/22/2024
- by Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
To quote Robert Downey Jr. in ‘Infinity War,’ “Your math is blowing my mind.” Last month, director Zack Snyder appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience (you can watch/listen below) to promote his latest film, “Rebel Moon: Part Two” (read our review). Among many of the comments made and stories told, Snyder suggested that more people saw his movie on Netflix than “Barbie” in theaters, a hot take the director used to defend using “Netflix math.”
Pulling 160 million viewers seemingly out of the air, Snyder tried to make a 1:1 comparison between theater tickets sold and the number of people streaming, which is tricky and dubious given dozens of reasons.
Continue reading Zack Snyder Clarifies ‘Barbie’ Box Office Comments, Stating “Cultural Significance” Is Still Dictated By Theaters at The Playlist.
Pulling 160 million viewers seemingly out of the air, Snyder tried to make a 1:1 comparison between theater tickets sold and the number of people streaming, which is tricky and dubious given dozens of reasons.
Continue reading Zack Snyder Clarifies ‘Barbie’ Box Office Comments, Stating “Cultural Significance” Is Still Dictated By Theaters at The Playlist.
- 4/22/2024
- by Christopher Marc
- The Playlist
Anne Hathaway says the chemistry tests for early 2000s rom-coms were “gross.”
Thankfully, that has changed, the star of “The Princess Diaries,” “The Devil Wears Prada,” and “Love and Other Drugs” told V magazine.
“Back in the 2000s — and this did happen to me — it was considered normal to ask an actor to make out with other actors to test for chemistry, which is actually the worst way to do it,” Hathaway said. “I was told, ‘We have ten guys coming today and you’re cast. Aren’t you excited to make out with all of them?’ And I thought, ‘Is there something wrong with me?’ because I wasn’t excited. I thought it sounded gross.”
The Oscar winner worried about being called “difficult” for not adhering to the industry standards at the time.
“I was so young and terribly aware how easy it was to lose everything by being labeled ‘difficult,...
Thankfully, that has changed, the star of “The Princess Diaries,” “The Devil Wears Prada,” and “Love and Other Drugs” told V magazine.
“Back in the 2000s — and this did happen to me — it was considered normal to ask an actor to make out with other actors to test for chemistry, which is actually the worst way to do it,” Hathaway said. “I was told, ‘We have ten guys coming today and you’re cast. Aren’t you excited to make out with all of them?’ And I thought, ‘Is there something wrong with me?’ because I wasn’t excited. I thought it sounded gross.”
The Oscar winner worried about being called “difficult” for not adhering to the industry standards at the time.
“I was so young and terribly aware how easy it was to lose everything by being labeled ‘difficult,...
- 4/22/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Newly released is the first trailer for the thriller, New Life, the directing debut of Emmy-award-winning journalist John Rosman. Rosman was one of Filmmaker‘s 2023 25 New Faces, selected on the basis of this film, which Erik Luers described thusly: “A tale of two women—one being chased, the other a fixer doing the chasing—New Life is a pandemic-era horror film that rewards its audience with gory twists and a surprisingly heartfelt center.” One of the film’s two lead characters faces Als, a subject Rosman covered for PBS while a journalist. Of the journey of his Fantasia-premiering film’s characters, Rosman said, “One […]
The post Trailer Watch: 25 New Face Filmmaker John Rosman’s New Life first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post Trailer Watch: 25 New Face Filmmaker John Rosman’s New Life first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 4/22/2024
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Newly released is the first trailer for the thriller, New Life, the directing debut of Emmy-award-winning journalist John Rosman. Rosman was one of Filmmaker‘s 2023 25 New Faces, selected on the basis of this film, which Erik Luers described thusly: “A tale of two women—one being chased, the other a fixer doing the chasing—New Life is a pandemic-era horror film that rewards its audience with gory twists and a surprisingly heartfelt center.” One of the film’s two lead characters faces Als, a subject Rosman covered for PBS while a journalist. Of the journey of his Fantasia-premiering film’s characters, Rosman said, “One […]
The post Trailer Watch: 25 New Face Filmmaker John Rosman’s New Life first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post Trailer Watch: 25 New Face Filmmaker John Rosman’s New Life first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 4/22/2024
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
Rawandan-British actor Ncuti Gatwa is on the rise with roles in “Sex Education,” “Barbie,” and currently, as the lead of “Doctor Who,” the wildly popular BBC sci-fi comedy series that first aired in 1963.
Gatwa’s casting in “Doctor Who” saw the actor face an extreme level of racist backlash, reminding us all over again of the sexism that fellow “Doctor Who” alumni Jodie Whittaker experienced when she was hired to play the Doctor in 2017 (the role has mostly been portrayed by white men so far).
Continue reading ‘Doctor Who’ Star Ncuti Gatwa Says Black Actors Face “Excellence” Pressure Amid Much “White Mediocrity” at The Playlist.
Gatwa’s casting in “Doctor Who” saw the actor face an extreme level of racist backlash, reminding us all over again of the sexism that fellow “Doctor Who” alumni Jodie Whittaker experienced when she was hired to play the Doctor in 2017 (the role has mostly been portrayed by white men so far).
Continue reading ‘Doctor Who’ Star Ncuti Gatwa Says Black Actors Face “Excellence” Pressure Amid Much “White Mediocrity” at The Playlist.
- 4/22/2024
- by Christopher Marc
- The Playlist
The 2024 Cannes Film Festival lineup was finally revealed at the sliver of dawn on Thursday, April 11. Festival director Thierry Frémaux and president Iris Knobloch unveiled this year’s crop of films across the many sections, from the Competition to Un Certain Regard, during a press conference beginning at 5 a.m. Et. See the full lineup below.
The 77th edition of Cannes comes to the Côte d’Azur May 14 through 25, and a few titles were already confirmed to be in the mix. There’s Francis Ford Coppola’s self-funded epic “Megalopolis,” which has already screened for a rarified few in the United States to much awe and speculation over what distributor might take on Coppola’s experimental vision. For his first feature since 2011’s “Twixt,” Coppola gathered a cast including Adam Driver, Nathalie Emmanuel, Shia Labeouf, Giancarlo Esposito, Aubrey Plaza, and Jason Schwartzman for a sci-fi vision of a ruined NYC-like metropolis.
The 77th edition of Cannes comes to the Côte d’Azur May 14 through 25, and a few titles were already confirmed to be in the mix. There’s Francis Ford Coppola’s self-funded epic “Megalopolis,” which has already screened for a rarified few in the United States to much awe and speculation over what distributor might take on Coppola’s experimental vision. For his first feature since 2011’s “Twixt,” Coppola gathered a cast including Adam Driver, Nathalie Emmanuel, Shia Labeouf, Giancarlo Esposito, Aubrey Plaza, and Jason Schwartzman for a sci-fi vision of a ruined NYC-like metropolis.
- 4/22/2024
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
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