Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy & Ethan Hawke on Their Before Trilogy
Eighteen years ago, Richard Linklater’s Before Sunrise was released in late January of 1995. Save for a few bit speaking roles sprinkled throughout the film—a pair of Austrian theater actors, a palm reader— every minute of screen time, and every word uttered, comes from a young American, Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and a young French woman, Céline (Julie Delpy), who meet on a train and impulsively decide to spend the next 24 hours together in Vienna.
Looking Back on Some of our Favorite Stories of 2013
When we launched The Credits a little more than a year ago, we aimed to shed a light on the many talented filmmakers who often don’t get much press for their work. While we’ve occasionally spoken to folks who need no introduction (John Waters, for example), most of the filmmakers we’ve focused on have a little less name recognition but a huge amount of talent. We interviewed a lot of people, so the below roundup is really just a taste—there were far too many people to mention in a single post.
Subtle Shorthand: Directors & Actors Who Keep Working Together—Part II
Some frequent collaborations between a director and actor are so high wattage they’re known by last name alone: Scorcese and DiCaprio. Burton and Depp. But other repeated pairings of a director and actor glow a little less brightly. Some are even under the radar. In part two of a two-part series, the Credits reveals what makes four such collaborations tick. Read part one here.
Director: Robert Rodriguez
Actor: Danny Trejo
Movies (10): Desperado (1995);
“My Muse”: Directors & Actors Who Keep Working Together—Part I
The Wolf of Wall Street marks the fifth collaboration between director Martin Scorsese and star Leonardo DiCaprio. But not all frequent director-actor pairings are made in A-list heaven. Many high-profile directors collaborate repeatedly with an actor who simply shares a similar vision, understands their method, or can read between the lines of a script—no matter if the actor is famous or a B-lister. In part one of a two-part series, the Credits takes a look at four frequent director-actor pairings you may not have realized have been right under your nose for years to discover what makes those collaborations tick.
Saving Mr. Banks & the Story Behind Mary Poppins
As Disney’s Saving Mr. Banks debuts, step back in time to discover the story behind the making of Mary Poppins and the inspiration behind one of the greatest and most beloved films ever made.
INT: The Walt Disney Studios. Burbank, California, April 1961.
A rehearsal room in the Animation Building—suffused with sunlight and equipped with storytelling necessities: an upright piano, storyboards, a table and a couch.
Breaking Braddock: New Christian Bale Film Puts Spotlight on Hard Hit Town
Director Scott Cooper’s new movie, Out of the Furnace, boasts a cast that includes Christian Bale, Casey Affleck, Woody Harrelson, Zoé Saldana, Sam Shepard and Forest Whitaker. It’s a thrilling drama about the lengths we’ll go for family, and, what pernicious elements fills the void in a town when the jobs disappear. Filmed and set in the ragged, depressed Rust Belt town of Braddock, Pennsylvania, Bale’s Russell Baze works at a mill that is likely going under,
Christopher Nolan and the Increasing Utilization of IMAX Cameras in Film
Camera nerds, film lovers, Nolan-heads and even some regular film enthusiasts were abuzz earlier this week when word spread that Christopher Nolan was up to some wild business (once again) with an IMAX camera. Nolan is probably the format’s most prodigious advocate (he’s part of a tribe of filmmakers who utilize the bulky-but-beautiful technology), and he always seem to be pushing the boundaries of what can (and should?) be done with these cameras. This past Monday,
All Hail Mary: Three Minutes With Writer/Director Extraordinaire Mary Harron (VIDEO)
Mary Harron is probably most well know for taking Bret Easton Ellis’s notoriously gruesome novel, American Psycho, and adapting it for the big screen in 2000 as both writer and director. It has become a cult classic, cementing Harron’s status as a daring filmmaker with a penchant for taking difficult protagonists (some might argue despicable) and crafting compelling, often very funny, and ultimately challenging films around them. American Psycho was engulfed in controversy before the film even began principal photography—but Harron’s handling of Ellis’s graphic,
Brothers in Arms: Chris Hemsworth & Tom Hiddleston Talk Thor: The Dark World
For the last time, do not—repeat—do not leave the theater before the end credits are done scrolling in Marvel’s newest epic Thor: The Dark World. As any fan knows, Marvel has nearly created its own cottage industry of mid- and post-credit scenes that reward the patient moviegoer (shawarma ring a bell?) That being said, stay put till the lights come on, because this film is filled with enough action to have you white-knuckling the back of the seat in front of you—especially because of Thor and Loki’s shared plight—for most of its two hours.
The Many Moving Parts to The LEGO Movie
The toys and games of our youth have long been fodder for filmmakers. There have been six films (all direct-to-video, it should be noted) made from Mattel’s ‘American Girls’ line. Dungeons & Dragons was made into a feature film in 2000 and starred Oscar winning actor Jeremy Irons. G.I. Joe has been called into duty twice, in 2009 and just this year, in monster big budget spectacles. Transformers have been clanging their multi-purpose parts together since 2007 in three films,
Star Wars: Episode VII’s Galaxy of Talent Behind J.J. Abrams
As useful as IMDBpro is, it’s recommendable to take the “projects in development” rubric with at least a grain or two of salt. Because really, how could one man have 28 projects in development, including the next Star Trek and Mission Impossible, while also working on a little film franchise called Star Wars?
If it were any one other than J.J. Abrams, you’d be right to assume that most of these would fall through,
Ender’s Game and 8 Films That Touch on Bullying
Looked at in a certain way, Ender’s Game follows The Hunger Games into theaters (even though the story itself predates it) as a film about the pernicious reality of bullying, and, the myriad ways one can stand up to it.
In each film, some form of tyranny is meted out, both from up close and personal and from afar. There are antagonists who tease, torment and threaten our protagonists,
Directing Diana: Oliver Hirschbigel On His Princess Di Film
German director Oliver Hirschbiegel is no stranger to controversy. His 2004 Oscar-nominated film Downfall triggered rancor in the German press for its complex, humanistic depiction of Adolph Hitler, played by Bruno Ganz. Now Hirschbiegel faces another firestorm in Great Britain for Diana, a portrait of another larger- than-life figure: Diana, Princess of Wales, played by Naomi Watts. The British press has been vitriolic towards the film, which is based on the book “Diana: Her Last Love”
A Bloody Good Job: Carrie’s Makeup Maestro Jordan Samuel
Makeup department head Jordan Samuel had quite a task in front of him when he joined director Kimberly Peirce and the filmmaking team behind Carrie. "Truthfully, blood itself is one of the most difficult things for a makeup artist," Samuel says, "and the more there is the more difficult it is."
Now, add to the amount of blood Samuel would be working with in Carrie to the fact that he was a major part of making sure they could pull of recreating one of the most iconic scenes in horror film history,
Gravity Shines Light on Future of 3D Filmmaking
How do you create a 3D film that’s truly worth the price of admission? If one lesson can be taken from James Cameron’s Avatar, Martin Scorsese’s Hugo, and Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity, it’s that the extra dimension has to be crucial to the narrative itself. It’s not enough to wow people—you need a good story reason for the technology, which all of the above directors had in spades.
3D Serving the Story
Cuarón’s masterpiece took place in space,
Celebrating the 30th Anniversary of The Right Stuff With Writer/Director Philip Kaufman
“There’s a demon that lives in the air. They say that whoever challenged him would die.” –Levon Helm’s narration at the beginning of The Right Stuff.
Test pilots attempting to break the sound barrier at Muroc Army Air Field in California, where that demon lived, often died. It’s at Muroc where Philip Kaufman’s seminal film begins. Chuck Yeager (Sam Shepard) has been given the opportunity to try and break the sound barrier in the X-1,
Diablo Cody Discusses Paradise, her Directorial Debut
Diablo Cody is still probably best known for her freshman outing as a screenwriter with Juno, back in 2007. After all, the smart, offbeat comedy-drama about a pregnant teenager earned the Illinois-born-and-bred scribe a flurry of ovations for her original screenplay, including an Oscar, a BAFTA and honors from the Writers Guild of America. But come October 18, Cody, who has since penned and produced Jennifer’s Body, Young Adult and Showtime’s United States of Tara,
Spike Jonze’s Soulful, Searching Sci-Fi Romance Her
A Spike Jonze film is always an event. He’s made four features in fourteen years—starting with Being John Malkovich (1999), a film so singularly peculiar and original (a puppeteer finds a portal that leads into the actual mind of John Malkovich), that the long-time music video director found himself nominated for an Academy Award at the ripe old age of 30.
Malkovich was written by Charlie Kaufman,
Everlasting Love: Jim Jarmusch’s Beautiful Only Lovers Left Alive
How often do you walk away from a vampire film and think, ‘Well, that was really lovely’? I’d wager never. Yet that is exactly the feeling I left with after the screening of Only Lovers Left Alive at the New York Film Festival.
True to its title, Only Lovers Left Alive is a love story, even a comedy. It’s a film about Adam (Tom Hiddleston) and Eve (Tilda Swinton),
Alexander Payne’s Nebraska Delights at the New York Film Festival
Alexander Payne first got Bob Nelson's script for Nebraska back in 2003 or 2004 (he isn’t quite sure). He liked it, and he immediately thought of Bruce Dern for the lead role, so he sent it to him. Dern liked it, and was surprised Payne had thought of him for the lead. Dern was so excited, in fact, he went to Toys R Us and bought a toy truck (a new truck has a lot of significance in the plot) and sent it to Payne,
