Cinematographer Kira Kelly on The Dark & Desperate World of “Y: The Last Man”
Y: The Last Man kicked off the fall TV season with a dramatic debut. Based on the DC Comics series, the show chronicles families in mourning, supply chains upended, and a democracy dominated by men dismantled when every person born with a Y chromosome suddenly dies. It’s a shocking and abrupt event that leaves a mystery behind when Yorick Brown (Ben Schnetzer) realizes he is the only one left of his kind.
Director Kay Cannon on Bringing the Modern & the Funny to “Cinderella”
With her hilarious and critically acclaimed feature-directing debut Blockers, Kay Cannon expanded her renown beyond being the writer of the Pitch Perfect blockbuster franchise and writer/producer on hit shows like 30 Rock, New Girl, and Girl Boss. Cinderella, which premiered in theaters and on Prime Video this past September 3rd, is her sophomore release as director and looks like another crowd-pleasing hit.
Vietnamese Filmmaker Le Binh Giang on His New Film “Who Created Human Beings” and Vietnam’s Growing Film Industry
Despite strict travel restrictions imposed against the ongoing pandemic, Vietnamese director Le Binh Giang made it in-person to Switzerland’s Locarno Film Festival. He traveled from Vietnam, along with his Vietnamese producer Le Quynh Anh, to present his latest project Who Created Human Beings at the festival’s international co-production platform Open Doors Hub, which ran from August 6-10.
The new project, which touches on local sensitive issues such as abortion and religion,
Twisting the Natural Hair of “Candyman” from Art Chic to Dark Terror
Can having great hair protect you from a monster in the mirror who cuts down his victims at the mention of his name a mere five times? There’s evidence in the new Candyman that it can. Department head hairstylist Jessi Dean stepped elegantly into the glossy art world of Anthony McCoy (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) and Brianna Cartwright (Teyonah Parris). The killer begins as a mere myth, but hair and terror intertwine as the rumors prove true and the slayings mount.
How “Candyman” Composer Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe Manipulated Madness Into Music
It’s hard to believe that someone as soft-spoken as Brooklyn musician Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe could be responsible for the dread-inducing soundscape that underscores the return of cinema’s most horrific throat-slashing boogeyman. And yet, that’s exactly what Lowe has achieved in his score for Candyman (opening Aug. 27). The film, from co-writer/director Nia DaCosta and co-writer/producer Jordan Peele, updates the original 1992 horror movie by tracking artist Anthony (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) as he tries to wrap his bee-stung arms around the mysterious re-emergence of the murderous Candyman in Chicago’s newly gentrified Cabrini Green neighborhood.
First “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” Social Reactions Are Raves
The first reactions to director Destin Daniel Cretton’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings are making the rounds on social media, and they are going to get you hype. Marvel’s first-ever Asian superhero was always in good hands with a director of Cretton’s ability and a star, in Simu Liu, with charisma to spare. Yet it’s still exciting to see these rave mini-reviews rolling in. Quite a few folks are saying Shang-Chi has the best fight sequences of any Marvel movie,
Go Inside “Candyman” With Writer/Director Nia DaCosta and Co-Writer/Producer Jordan Peele
“I’ve always been fascinated with urban legends,” Candyman co-writer and producer Jordan Peele says at the top of this new behind-the-scenes video released by Universal Pictures. “Candyman,” Peele continues, “is the patron saint of the urban legend.” Peele co-wrote the script with rising star Nia DaCosta, who directs the film. DaCosta says that while growing up, Candyman wasn’t just attached to the 1992 film from director Bernard Rose,
Marlee Matlin on Her New Film “CODA” & Its Refreshing Focus on a Deaf Family
Marlee Matlin is unquestionably the best-known and most successful deaf actor working in American film and television. She exploded on the scene with her Oscar-winning performance as Sarah in the 1986 movie Children of a Lesser God and has worked steadily ever since. From her Emmy-nominated performances in Law and Order, The Practice, Seinfield, and Picket Fences to the memorable characters she created for The L Word,
“Doc McStuffins” Creator Chris Nee on The Future of Children’s Programming
There are few people on the planet who are in a better position to talk about what’s working, and what still needs work, in children’s programming than Doc McStuffins creator Chris Nee. Like so many great ideas, Nee came up with Doc McStuffins, a series about a six-year-old girl who is a doctor to her stuffed animals and toys, while in the shower. Yet the impetus for the beloved series was her own life and her son’s struggles with asthma.
“In The Heights” Director Jon M. Chu on Capturing a Neighborhood’s Magic
Director Jon M. Chu had to become “a complete listener” to bring the story of the largely Latinx community of In the Heights to life. In an interview, Chu talked about the connections he felt between his Chinese heritage and the characters in the film. He also brought the exuberance that made his previous films, like Crazy Rich Asians and Step Up 2, so vibrant.
How did you focus on the specifics of the Latinx culture for the film?
“In the Heights” Choreographer Christopher Scott on Dancing in The Streets
When Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda needed a director to adapt his 2008 stage musical In the Heights for the big screen, he enlisted Jon M. Chu, director of Crazy Rich Asians and mastermind behind Hollywood’s Step Up dance movie franchise. Chu, in turn, picked his go-to choreographer Christopher Scott to create the movie’s elegantly gritty dance sequences, performed to riveting effect by star Anthony Ramos and his castmates.
Giancarlo Esposito on Breaking Good in “Godfather of Harlem”
Giancarlo Esposito has gravitas to spare. On the big screen, early on in his career, he appeared in a slew of Spike Lee’s seminal films, including a commanding performance as Dean Big Brother Almighty in School Daze (1988), which led to roles in Do The Right Thing (1989), Mo’ Better Blues (1990) and Malcolm X (1992). On TV, Esposito’s charisma made him a natural fit for characters on both sides of the law,
“Army of the Dead” and “The Forever Purge” Star Ana de la Reguera’s Big Summer
Actress, writer, and producer Ana de la Reguera is having quite the start to her summer. She has a meaty role in Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead, which bowed on Netflix on May 21, and in which she plays Maria Cruz, a ferociously competent mercenary and the right-hand woman to Dave Bautista‘s Scott Ward. The role finds De La Reguera, a warm and funny presence in comedies like HBO’s Eastbound &
The Motion Picture Association’s Film Workshop Suggests Vietnam’s Industry is Now Open for Business
As part of its mission to facilitate the development of a sustainable and internationally competitive screen industry in Vietnam, the Motion Picture Association (MPA) hosted an in-person film workshop with the Vietnam Film Development Association (VFDA) at the University of Economics in Ho Chi Minh City on April 28.
The event was over-subscribed, with approximately 130 filmmakers, government officials, celebrities, and media in attendance. It was also screened online on May 12, attracting a further 240 attendees.
Director Barry Jenkins Mixes Beauty and Brutality in “The Underground Railroad”
The Underground Railroad has been a long time coming in Barry Jenkins‘ imagination. As a kid growing up in Miami’s rough Liberty City neighborhood, the writer-director pictured literal railroad tracks running beneath the earth. Fast forward to 2014, when Jenkins thrilled to Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel and secured adaptation rights even before he’d finished promoting his Oscar-winning Moonlight movie.
After completing If Beale Street Could Talk,
“The Falcon and The Winter Soldier” Director Kari Skogland on the Evolution of the Hero
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier director Kari Skogland had her work cut out for her. Direct roughly six hours worth of action (practically two Avengers films’ worth), introduce a brand new location to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (Madripool), brand new villains (the Flag Smashers), a brand new Captain America (Wyatt Russell’s John Walker), and continue the long-established character arcs of Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan).
Eddie Murphy’s Barber Stacey Morris Takes Her Talents to Zamunda in “Coming 2 America”
Prince Akeem is one of Eddie Murphy’s most famous roles, but the opinionated barber Clarence is one of the funniest jokes in Coming to America. Stars Murphy and Arsenio Hall arguing with themselves in transformative prosthetics at a New York City barbershop was a surprise to theater audiences. The cameos were crowd-pleasers and captured the culture of men socializing endlessly at their local haircutter, but the scenes emphasized the “boys club” nature of barbershops.
David Oyelowo on His Stirring Directorial Debut “The Water Man”
David Oyelowo was looking for a very particular kind of project when he read Emma Needell’s script for The Water Man back in 2015. The veteran actor is a passionate fan of a specific kind of nuanced, expansive child-led films that one could argue had their heyday back in the 1980s. “The films I had loved growing up were E.T., The Goonies, Stand By Me,” Oyelowo says, “I wore the VHS down watching them.”
Why Director Fernando Frías de la Parra’s Stunning “I’m No Longer Here” is a Must-See
When Oscar-winning filmmakers Guillermo Del Toro (The Shape of Water) and Alfonso Cuarón (Gravity, Roma) refer to a film as “a singularity in the last decade” and “an experience of space and time,” you pay attention. The film is Fernando Frías de la Parra (Los Espookys) I’m No Longer Here, streaming on Netflix, and it tells the fictional story of Ulises (Juan Daniel García),
Oscar Nominees Mia Neal & Sergio Lopez-Rivera on the Hair & Makeup of “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
This interview is part of our ongoing Oscar series. It was originally published on March 17.
I got a chance to speak to hair department head Mia Neal and makeup artist Sergio Lopez-Rivera about their work in George C. Wolfe’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom before the Oscar nominations were announced. Tasked with, among other challenges, turning Oscar-nominee Viola Davis into the real-life Ma was no easy feat,
