Richard Linklater on the Killer Chemistry in his Romantic Comedy “Hit Man”
In Richard Linklater‘s latest film, an irresistibly sexy romantic comedy that’s also a bit of a noir, a giddy satire on the hitman genre, and a screwball quasi-whodunit, the one constant is a vibe that is decidedly and effusively all Linklater. Glen Powell, a rising star who has been Linklater’s longtime collaborator through a string of ...
“The Garfield Movie” Director Mark Dindal on Taking a Famously Lazy Indoor Cat Way Outdoors
Garfield, the lasagna-eating original grumpy cat, has been painted with a fresh coat of animated fur and given a new voice in actor Chris Pratt for director Mark Dindal’s The Garfield Movie, a hilarious roller-coaster romp that’s going to bring out the kid in you, nostalgia aside. Garfield purred into theaters on May 24. Published as a ...
“Thelma the Unicorn” Director Lynn Wang on Marshaling the Magic of Brittany Howard’s Voice
When director Lynn Wang and her co-director Jared Hess set out to adapt Aaron Blabey’s popular 2015 book about a plain-Jane barn pony who dreams of being a unicorn, Wang brought to bear years of animation experience to this sure-hoofed, very funny adaptation. Thelma the Unicorn hits its high notes but also manages to work in sly ...
“Under the Bridge” EP/Director Quinn Shephard on Lily Gladstone & Riley Keough’s Twisty Murder Mystery
In 1997, fourteen-year-old Reena Virk went to a party and never came home, then became front page news around the world when a tight-knit circle of girls and one troubled teenage boy were implicated in her murder. Journalist Rebecca Godfrey wrote about the crime in her acclaimed book “Under the Bridge”, and now Hulu’s narrative ...
Writer/Director Jane Schoenbrun on Their Stunning New Film “I Saw the TV Glow”
While a student at Boston University, writer/director Jane Schoenbrun enjoyed “many formative movie experiences” at the nearby Coolidge Corner Theater. “A fond memory is of a zombie movie and me and all my friends dressing in zombie makeup,” says Schoenbrun. “It was one of the happiest memories of my college experience, and it probably says ...
From Feudal Japan to Tokyo’s Neon Underworld: “Shōgun” & “Tokyo Vice” Director Takeshi Fukunaga Unmasks Japan
Japan is enjoying a moment. Godzilla Minus One landed a Best Visual Effects Oscar and a record U.S. box office for a Japanese live-action film; Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron scored a Golden Globe for best-animated feature, while Shōgun (将軍) and Tokyo Vice have won fans and plaudits around the globe. As the ...
From “SNL” to the Director’s Chair: Julio Torres Lights Up With “Problemista”
There is a cornucopia of comedy happening in Problemista, Julio Torres’ debut feature. In a little over 90 minutes, writer/director Torres pokes fun at cryonics, the Kafkaesque bureaucracy of the U.S. immigration system, and the eccentricities of the art world. Along the way, there are jabs at Craigslist, FileMaker Pro, and Bank of America. All ...
“Irish Wish” Director Janeen Damian Makes a Rom-Com Dream Come True with Lindsay Lohan
Lindsay Lohan discovers the magic of romance high atop the majestic Cliffs of Moher in the windswept romcom Irish Wish. When book editor Maddie Kelly’s (Lohan) crush launches into a whirlwind engagement with her friend Emma (Elizabeth Tan), Maddie turns green with envy. Yet, when she gets the chance to switch places with her romantic ...
“Damsel” Director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo on Flipping the Fantasy Script With Millie Bobby Brown
Sure, she’s in distress, but Millie Bobby Brown’s Elodie is hardly in need of saving in director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo‘s revisionist fantasy film Damsel. Fresnadillo’s fantasy epic takes the typical story of a young woman desperate for a prince to puzzle out her troubles in a medieval setting, turns it upside down, and sinks it deep ...
“The American Society of Magical Negroes” Writer/Director Kobi Libii Puts a Spell on Old Tropes
The American Society of Magical Negroes has a provocative premise: What if Black people could join an underground league that gave them the power to erase any white person’s distress? Racism, the movie argues, stems from white anxieties. If that discomfort can be vanished, Black bodies won’t face as much risk. Kobi Libii’s satirical take ...
Christopher Nolan on Detonating Myths & Baring Humanity in “Oppenheimer”
*Ahead of the 96th Academy Awards, we’re re-posting our interview with Christopher Nolan. He’s nominated for three Oscars—Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) stares wide-eyed into the pond spread out in front of him; his last conversation with Albert Einstein (Tom Conti) on the potential catalytic effects of the ...
“Spaceman” Director Johan Renck on Guiding Adam Sandler Through the Cosmos
The vast expanse and harsh conditions of space can impose solitude or offer a fresh perspective. As astronaut Jakub Prochazka (Adam Sandler) is nearing the climax of a six-month interplanetary investigation, he sails farther from the problems he left behind on Earth in director Johan Renck’s Spaceman. With four young children, Renck understands the forces ...
Director Alex Stapleton Gets Personal in HBO’s “God Save Texas”
Throughout her career, Emmy-winning documentarian Alex Stapleton has spotlighted such colorful characters as baseball legend Reggie Jackson and movie maverick Roger Corman. She’s examined the role athletes play in the cultural and political conversation in Shut up and Dribble and investigated the struggle for LGBTQ rights in Pride. But the HBO series God Save Texas ...
“To Kill a Tiger” Director Nisha Pahuja on her Eight-Year Journey to Make her Oscar-Nominated Doc
One of the year’s Oscar Cinderella stories is the best documentary nomination for director Nisha Pahuja’s To Kill a Tiger. It took Pahuja and her small crew eight years to complete their independent film about a father’s fight for justice after three men abducted his 13-year-old daughter and sexually assaulted her in a poor rural ...
Co-Director Moses Bwayo on the Harrowing Journey to Capture the Oscar-Nominated Doc “Bobi Wine: The People’s President”
Imagine for a moment if a music icon like Beyoncé or Dolly Parton ran for United States President. Cool, right? But imagine, during their campaign, they were arrested, brutally beaten, and thrown in jail by the incumbent government while their supporters were detained, shot at, and killed. As Americans, would we simply look the other ...
How Pixar Director Peter Sohn Got Personal in His Oscar-nominated “Elemental”
How do you make fire feel endearing rather than scary? And how do you turn water into a gusher of emotions? Those were key questions faced by director Peter Sohn when he set forth to make Elemental. The Bronx-born animator previously helped anthropomorphize rats, robots, dolphins, and dinosaurs in Ratatouille, Finding Nemo, WALL•E, and The ...
“Bob Marley: One Love” Co-writer/Director Reinaldo Marcus Green on Capturing a Legend’s Spirit
Bob Marley’s family has been trying to create and release a narrative that celebrates the beloved Jamaican performer’s life and music for decades. Only recently did the producers, including Rita, Bob’s wife, and her children Ziggy and Cedella Marley, feel like all the pieces had come together to create a story worthy of Bob’s legacy. ...
“Say It Loud” Director Deborah Riley Draper on Telling the Complex James Brown Story
It doesn’t take much to get filmmaker Deborah Riley Draper going when it comes to the topic of James Brown. Her new documentary James Brown: Say It Loud (airing Feb. 19 and Feb. 20 on A&E) chronicles the music titan’s remarkable journey from his 1933 birth in a South Carolina shack through his early days ...
“The Last Repair Shop” Co-Composer & Co-Director Kris Bowers on his Perfectly Tuned Oscar-Nominated Doc
Composer Kris Bowers has emerged as one of Hollywood’s most versatile film scorers with a stunning list of credits, including Ava DuVernay’s Origin, The Color Purple, and the upcoming Bob Marley: One Love. But Bowers is also the Oscar-nominated co-director of this year’s documentary short The Last Repair Shop, which spotlighted a story right in ...
“The Peasants” Co-Director/Writer Hugh Welchman on Hand Painting Real Life Hardships Into Animated Magic
Creating any animated feature film is an awesome commitment of time, talent, and resources. But the animated films of the Poland-based husband-and-wife directing team of Hugh Welchman (who is British) and D.K. Welchman (who is Polish) go well beyond the common description of “labor of love.” For their groundbreaking debut in 2017, the Oscar-nominated animated ...
