Diego Luna: On Going From “Andor” to Argentina in “Kiss of the Spider Woman”
At one point during our discussion about his new film, Diego Luna likens the character he plays to a Matryoshka doll, the Russian wooden figures that nest within each other.
The reference is apropos for the film itself. Kiss of the Spider Woman began life as a 1976 novel by Manuel Puig, and as Luna points out, the haunting story of two vastly different men who form an unlikely bond when imprisoned together has spawned various iterations.
Editing in Secrecy: How Amir Etminan Cut Jafar Panahi’s Palme d’Or Winner “It Was Just an Accident”
“When Mr. Panahi called and invited me to meet him, I didn’t ask any questions because I knew the secrecy and the sensitivity of his projects,” picture editor Amir Etminan tells The Credits through an interpreter. “So I accepted the invitation and went to have a conversation in person.” What followed was a discussion of Iranian writer-director Jafar Panahi’s It Was Just an Accident, an unflinching portrait of trauma,
“Blue Moon” Screenwriter Robert Kaplow on Capturing the Genius and Tragedy of Lorenz Hart in Richard Linklater’s Latest
People still sing, dance, and swoon to “My Funny Valentine,” “Where or Where,” and “Blue Moon.” But mention that those songs were written by Lorenz Hart, and you may get a puzzled “Who?” Luckily for screenwriter Robert Kaplow, whose film Blue Moon stars Ethan Hawke as Hart, at least one crucial person not only knew Lorenz Hart but loved his work.
“Richard Linklater made a film of my novel ‘Me and Orson Welles’,
“Queens of the Dead” Producer Natalie Metzger on Tina Romero’s Zesty Zombie Film, Tom Cruise’s Help, and Creating a Dream Set
Natalie Metzger is the proud producer of one of the most critically acclaimed horror films of the year, Queens of the Dead (in select theaters now), from a filmmaker with a very specific (and very special) vision—Tina Romero. Romero, the daughter of the iconic George A. Romero, the man whose 1968 classic Night of the Living Dead established the modern zombie archetype and has inspired filmmakers and creators for generations,
From “Dogtooth” to “Bugonia”: How Yorgos Lanthimos Made Strangeness Irresistible
In the landscape of modern cinema, Yorgos Lanthimos has emerged as a glorious anomaly: a filmmaker who wields absurdism and discomfort like surgical instruments. With deadpan dialogue, unnerving silences, and an unblinking camera trained on the joke that is the human condition, Lanthimos has carved out one of the most distinctive directorial voices of the 21st century. Before he was the toast of Cannes and the Oscars’ strangest darling, he was quietly sharpening his tools in the fringes of Greek media,
Director Yorgos Lanthimos and Writer Will Tracy on the Blurred Morality of “Bugonia”
The title of Yorgos Lanthimos’s newest psychological thriller, Bugonia, refers to an ancient Greek belief that bees are born from the corpses of cows. In the film, protagonist Teddy (Jesse Plemons) keeps bees, but it’s a minor hobby compared to his main passion, which, as it develops on-screen, is as curious, revolting, and belief-beggaring as bugonia’s original ancient meaning. Teddy is absolutely certain that Earth is under the control of an alien race called the Andromedans,
“Roofman” DP Andrij Parekh on Shooting Super 35, Filming in North Carolina, and Channing Tatum’s Surprising Vulnerability
Director Derek Cianfrance and cinematographer Andrij Parekh forged a tight bond in 2009 while making Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams’ acclaimed indie drama Blue Valentine. In the intervening years, Parekh, armed with an MFA in cinematography from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, won an Emmy for directing Succession and helmed another HBO hit, their Game of Thrones spinoff House of the Dragon, while Cianfrance helmed dark fare including The Place Beyond the Pines,
“Wicked: For Good” First Reactions: A Heartbreakingly Tender Conclusion & Major Oscar Contender
The first reactions to Jon M. Chu‘s Wicked: For Good have arrived. When we spoke to Chu and co-writer Dana Fox, Chu was putting the finishing touches on the film, while Fox, who had a chance to watch both Wicked and Wicked: For Good back-to-back (as many fans will be doing in the years to come), said the experience was overwhelming for her.
How Cinematographer Robbie Ryan Used VistaVision To Capture the Claustrophobic Terror of “Bugonia”
A good deal of Yorgos Lanthimos‘ new psychological thriller, Bugonia, is set in a cellar. Teddy (Jesse Plemons), alone in the world except for his cousin, Don (Aidan Delbis), and their belief that Earth is under the thumb of an alien race called the Andromedans, kidnaps Michelle (Emma Stone), whom he believes to be the aliens’ local representative and an architect of a plan to destroy Earth via colony collapse disorder.
How “KPop Demon Hunters” Songwriter EJAE Turned Rejection Into Her Golden Success
KPop Demon Hunters is a juggernaut. Since its release on Netflix, not only has it become the streamer’s most-watched film of all time, but the animated feature is the first to have four songs simultaneously on the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100. In addition, the song “Golden” is now the longest-running number 1 by a girl group in the 21st century.
Directed by Maggie Kang and Chris Applehans, the story is about K-pop girl group Huntr/x,
“A House of Dynamite” Scribe Noah Oppenheim on His Real-Time Nuclear Thriller’s Emotional Stakes & Shocking Ending
Spoilers below.
News veteran turned Hollywood scribe Noah Oppenheim (Jackie, Zero Day) has penned a new edge-of-your-seat thriller in A House of Dynamite, a cautionary tale about nuclear weapons and those in charge of them. Helmed by Oscar-winner Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty),
Production Designer Tamara Deverell on Building the Gothic Grandeur of Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein”
Guillermo del Toro became obsessed with Frankenstein at the age of seven, after seeing the 1931 Boris Karloff movie, and walked out of the theater with a new calling. “Gothic horror became my church,” Del Toro said in a statement, “and [Boris Karloff] became my messiah.”
Ever since that childhood epiphany, del Toro has dreamed of reanimating Mary Shelley’s famous monster for modern audiences. Now comes his Frankenstein (in theaters now,
How the “Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere” Sound Team Captured The Boss’s Raw Emotion
The Boss doesn’t just sing into a microphone; he commands attention. His raw charisma and rich baritone were evident when he burst onto the music scene in the mid-1970s at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, New Jersey, but arguably the strength and comfort of his singing voice became settled on his album “Nebraska.” That was the energy the sound team aimed to bottle in writer-director Scott Cooper’s Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere,
Inside Netflix’s “The Twits”: Writer/Director Phil Johnston on Empathy, Evil, and Adapting Roald Dahl
Writer/director Phil Johnston, known for his work on Zootopia and the Wreck-It Ralph features, says. “Every character I’ve ever truly connected to has been on the outside looking in. Outcasts, dirtbags, and weirdos are my people.” It seems appropriate, then, that he brought beloved weirdo-specialist Roald Dahl’s book “The Twits” to the big screen. He took Dahl’s story of two hateful people, expanded it,
“Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere” Location Manager Sarah Brady Stack on Finding The Boss’s New Jersey
For writer-director Scott Cooper’s making-of-an-album drama about one of America’s most enduring rock icons, finding the ideal location was a no-brainer, since Bruce Springsteen’s image and identity are inseparable from the Garden State. “Springsteen is like the New Jersey guy. If you’re gonna make a movie about him, it has to be in New Jersey, which is a character in its own in this film,” says the location manager for Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere,
“One Battle After Another” Production Designer Florencia Martin on Building PTA’s Three-Hour Action Thriller from the Ground Up
Paul Thomas Anderson’s action thriller One Battle After Another is loosely inspired by a section of Thomas Pynchon’s 1990 novel “Vineland,” but this three-hour epic is rooted in the present, a contemporary vision of a heightened clash between far-left and far-right, and, more intimately, a story about vengeance, desire, and family.
Pat Calhoun (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Perfidia Beverly Hills (Teyana Taylor) are partners and active members of a far-left militant group,
“Hedda” Production Designer Cara Brower on Transforming a Stunning Estate for Tessa Thompson’s Rogue Heroine
To re-animate playwright Henrik Ibsen’s famously unhappy heroine Hedda Gabler, writer-director Nia DaCosta cast her longtime muse Tessa Thompson as the star of Hedda (opening Oct. 22). This vivid adaptation, featuring Nina Hoss in the gender-switched role of an ex-lover along with Imogen Poots, Tom Bateman and Nicholas Pinnock, takes place in 1950s England at a raucous party complicated by jealousy, existential angst, feminist fury,
The Invisible Architects: How Two Visionary Production Designers Launched a Global Movement
If a film’s visuals tickle the eye, scorch the heart, or linger in the consciousness long after the credits roll, you can thank the production designer. Whether the project is a blockbuster or a low-budget indie, the production designer is tasked with creating that elusive “look” of the film and translating the director’s vision into visual reality.
“A complaint often raised with production designers, like other ‘below the line’ [artisans],
Shocking Doc “The Age of Disclosure” to Make Contact With Viewers on Prime Video
The Age of Disclosure, director/producer Dan Farah’s chillingly compelling alien doc that premiered at the SXSW Film Festival (read our reaction to the film here), has set a worldwide release on Prime Video, as well as an Oscar-qualifying theatrical run in New York City, Washington D.C., and Los Angeles, on November 21. Prime Video has secured an exclusive VOD window for the film, which is now available for pre-order.
Farah’s film is the product of three years of working in secrecy to gain access to highly-placed government officials to discuss a highly sensitive and historically taboo subject—the existence of non-human intelligent life and a nearly century-long global coverup to keep the details of our knowledge,
“Tron: Ares” Cinematographer Jeff Cronenweth on Shooting IMAX, Practical Effects, and Nine Inch Nails’ Influence
The third installment in the Tron series, which broke new ground in 1982 with a film set in the digital world, sees AI beings cross over from the grid into the physical realm. Directed by Joachim Rønning, Tron: Ares stars Jared Leto as Ares, an AI soldier generatively laser printed by Dillinger scion Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters) to take on rival corporation Encom. Encom CEO Eve Kim (Greta Lee) has cracked the permanence code,
