Maya Forbes on her Highly Personal, Illuminating Infinitely Polar Bear

Behind the scenes, writer/director/producer Maya Forbes has helped directors and filmmakers tell a lot of stories, but in her directorial debut Infinitely Polar Bear, she’s telling her own.

Her new drama chronicles the eighteen months that Forbes and her sister lived with their bipolar father in Boston in the 1970s while their mother attended graduate school in New York. Although that period was sometimes tumultuous, it also gave her a lot of beautiful memories about her dad—

Dana Nachman on the Phenomenon of her Doc Batkid Begins

When Miles Scott told the Make-A-Wish Foundation that he wanted to be “the real Batman” no one could have predicted how epically his dream would be fulfilled. The documentary Batkid Begins, which premiered at this year’s Slamdance Film Festival, goes back to November 15, 2013, when, with the help of the Mayor, the Chief of Police and thousands of volunteers, San Francisco became Gotham City, to the delight of a five-year-old boy battling leukemia.

Thomas Haden Church Talks War Dogs, More in Max

Here’s a little known fact about actor/director/writer Thomas Haden Church: Following memorable turns on television (Wings) and in film (Free Money), he stepped away from acting in late 2000 and left Los Angeles for his 2,000-acre cattle ranch in his native Texas. It was director Alexander Payne who lured him back to the screen with a plum part in 2004’s sleeper indie hit Sideways,

Dope Debuts in Theaters After Smashing Sundance Premiere

One of the buzziest crowd-pleasers to come out of Sundance, Dope tells the story of Malcolm, a 90s hip-hop obsessed geek from Inglewood with dreams of studying at Harvard. After a wild night there’s suddenly a backpack of drugs standing in his way and only his two nerdy friends to help him offload them. (Hint: their plan involves bitcoin).

We talk to writer-director Rick Famuyiwa, who grew up in Inglewood,

How Inside Out Writer Meg LeFauve Created An Emotional Battle Inside The Mind

Inside Out comes with all the classic marks of a great Pixar movie. An all-ages storyline? Check. Beautiful animation paired with an unexpected, off-kilter premise? Check. Tears? Check and check.

The story takes place inside the mind of Riley, a pre-teen girl whose family moves from Minnesota to San Francisco, a transition that unleashes a flurry of upheaval among her five main emotions: Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger and Disgust.

Aligning Past, Present & Future in Terminator Genisys

Director Alan Taylor and writers Laeta Kalogridis and Patrick Lussier had a lot to juggle when they went to work on Terminator Genisys. With the four previous Terminator films and their corkscrewing stories, the filmmakers had to find a way to honor the universe the franchise has already built while setting off on their own, singular path. At what part of the saga of man's battle with machines would they pick up,

Melissa McCarthy Continues Tradition of Screwball Spy Comedies in Grand Fashion

In writer-director Paul Feig’s Spy, Melissa McCarthy takes the reins as the latest bumbling protagonist in that tried and tested movie genre: the spy comedy. McCarthy plays CIA desk-jockey Susan Cooper who is unexpectedly called up to go undercover in the field. (See our interview with stunt coordinator J.J. Perry here about turning McCarthy into a proper, butt-kicking spy.)

Unlike the slick, womanizing James Bond, who navigates his way through each world-saving assignment improbably unruffled,

From Rolling Stone To Aloha: The Odyssey of Cameron Crowe

The story of Aloha is, to grossly simplify it, about a man torn between a woman he thought he had moved beyond and a woman who might be his future. Military contractor Brian Gilcrest (Bradley Cooper) returns to Honolulu, Hawaii, which is the site of his greatest career triumph, and reconnects with a former love (Rachel McAdams). Because he’s at a military site, he’s assigned an Air Force minder (Emma Stone), who he begins to fall for.

Writer/Director Garrett Bradley is an Artist to Watch

If you haven't heard of director Garrett Bradley, you're probably not alone but you will be if eventually, as this is one young director you want to keep an eye on. Bradley’s very powerful debut, Below Dreams, is a haunting homage to the beauty and spirit of New Orleans’s underside and the passion of those with dreams, both great and small.

Below Dreams is a narrative in the neo-realism style that melds fiction with reality.

H.R. Giger—The Man who Created the Ultimate Alien

H.R. Giger's work has informed the popular imagination to an extent the Swiss surrealist painter could never have guessed when he began his work. He's most well known for his Oscar-winning creations for Ridley Scott's Alien, a film that has touched nearly every science fiction story that has followed it. Giger's influence extends far past Hollywood, however. Horror fanatics, punk and goth culture, pop music, a cottage industry of album cover art, tattoos,

The Spy Who Swiped Right: Tinder & Paul Feig’s Spy Join Forces

"To swipe left or to swipe right, that is the question." – William Shakespeare-Rogers, quoted in 2014.

Most singles in our modern digital age have suffered the agony associated with online dating and online dating apps. Those familiar with the process know its starts with deciding which direction you should swipe, left or right – a euphemism for yes or no – then comes the trepidation of what happens once the deed is done. Who messages who first?

Celebrating the 70th Anniversary of V-E Day Through Film

May 8th marks the 70th anniversary of Victory in Europe (V-E Day). For those fortunate enough to be spending this Friday in the Washington, DC, an event call "Arsenal of Democracy: World War II Victory Capitol Flyover" will feature more than 40 vintage WWII aircraft flying over our nation’s Capitol between noon and 1 p.m. The path will start along the Potomac River; turn left at the Lincoln Memorial to follow Independence Avenue along the Mall,

4 Lessons About the Future of Horror From the Stanley Film Fest

Blood splatters the help, clouds roll over the mountains, zombie baby dolls hang from lamp posts, and the Stanley Hotel glows red at night during the Stanley Film Fest, a horror film festival that just wrapped this past Sunday, May 3. Horror genre icons, amateur filmmakers, legendary producers and Hollywood stars mingled in Estes Park, Colorado over a weekend of shorts and feature films haunted by the horror legacy of Stephen King’s The Shining.

Celebrating Britain’s Big Week Through Film

There is lots of excitement across the pond. The Royal Family is celebrating a new princess, Charlotte Elizabeth Diana, born on Saturday. The common folk will vote on Thursday to elect the UK’s 56th Parliament. So there’s no better time to pour a spot of tea, slather a scone with clotted cream, and snuggle up with a royal themed movie.

Turn on your telly (or mobile device), put on a tiara or a fascinator,

Tribeca 2015: Tim Blake Nelson on Writing/Directing/Producing Anesthesia

Writer/director Tim Blake Nelson’s ensemble drama Anesthesia premiered Wednesday night at the Tribeca Film Festival. A fitting setting for the New Yorker’s latest film about the intersecting lives of erudite city-dwellers who are united by a violent crime. The film, which explores the different ways we attempt to numb our pain, was filmed on location in New York, with an impressive cast of mostly New York-based actors, including Glenn Close, Sam Waterston, Gretchen Mol,

Alex Garland on Building Ex Machina‘s Perfect Woman

Novelist-turned-screenwriter Alex Garland knows how to create strong characters that are trapped in inhospitable and oftentimes dangerous situations.

In 28 Days Later (2002), his characters were faced with the outbreak of a disease that was turning people into zombies. In Sunshine (2007), his characters were sent on a dangerous space mission to prevent the destruction of the human race. In the remake Dredd (2012), his main character was trapped in a criminal’s lair and forced to fight through hundreds of thugs eager to end his life.

Writer/Director Vindu Vinod Chopra on Broken Horses

The bonds of brotherhood are explored and testing in Broken Horses, the gritty thriller from writer-producer-director Vindu Vinod Chopra (Parinda, 1942: A Love Story.). The story follows a young music prodigy, Jacob Heckum, (Anton Yelchin) who returns to his desolate hometown only to discover that his brother, Buddy (Chris Marquette), has been persuaded by a local drug gang to join their ranks. As they grapple with the memories of their father’s murder when they were children,

5 Interesting Choices Made by Cast & Crew in Skype Horror Unfriended

There are few things creepier in life than an unexplained, unwanted intrusion on our privacy. In the pre-internet era, the phone was the communication medium of choice for sadists to torture their victims in films. When a Stranger Calls (1979) revolves around that phone call from the titular stranger to a babysitter named Jill (Carol Kane), asking “have you checked the children?” Spoiler alert; the police trace the call and tell the babysitter the call is coming from inside the house.

Actress Katharine Emmer Wanted A Life in Color, so she Became a Director

NYU graduate Katharine Emmer looked to have a bright acting career in front of her. She landed an episode of Desperate Housewives; she had a role in indie film Puccini for Beginners, which was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. At NYU she was the recipient of the Annual Tisch Artistic Achievement Award. But even with her growing resume, she was not a full-time working actor;

Prolific Screenwriter Dan Fogelman on Directing Debut Danny Collins

Not yet in his 40s, Dan Fogelman is a force to be reckoned with.

In the past ten years, Fogelman has written over a half-dozen hit films. He was the screenwriter responsible for animated hits like Cars, Bolt, and Tangled and star-studded comedies like Crazy, Stupid, Love, The Guilt Trip and Last Vegas. He also helped create television shows like The Neighbors and Galavant.