Officers include: As he continues to cast movies, Rubin begins his ninth year as a governor representing the Casting Directors Branch. While he ran unopposed, Board term limits dictate that he has to exit both the presidency and the board next year for a minimum of two years. Then he might be able to come back for one last Board term of three years. So a new president will be elected next year....
Over the weekend, the HFPA announced its commitment to change and on Tuesday shared that it had hired advisors to oversee implementation of said institutional changes. “At the core of the HFPA’s plan to tackle diversity issues, we are hiring Dr. Shaun Harper, a leading expert on racial equity, Provost Professor in the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California, and founder and executive director of the USC Race and Equity Center, as our Strategic Diversity Advisor for the next five years,” a statement from the HFPA said....
“Dune” was the big screen event of the season, ushering in the reopening of theaters after the pandemic with its heady mix of politics and religion wrapped around a hero’s journey in the desert. It only came up short in costume design and makeup and hairstyling, where it got overshadowed by three-time Oscar winner Jenny Beaven’s ’70’s punk look for Emma Stone in “Cruella” (Disney), and the transformation of Best Actress winner Jessica Chastain into the infamous televangelist for “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” (Searchlight Pictures)....
The fervor for Julia Ducournau’s “Titane” feels, at least in part, motivated by a kind of relieved elation that a female filmmaker is the new cause célèbre of a genre that has historically been dominated by men. For many years, the highbrow “arthouse body horror” was seen as the purview of Lynch and Cronenberg, not Kusama or Kent. With just two films, the Palme d’Or winner “Titane” and her previous teen cannibal feature “Raw,” Ducournau has allowed those who enjoy the sick thrill of skillfully art-directed torture to rest somewhat easy, knowing the perverted gaze behind the camera was — refreshingly — not entirely male....
That’s a lot of history and conflict to pack into 130 minutes, which is why Sorkin cleverly wrote a sprawling 12-page prologue to set up the whole movie, calling for archival footage, tricky tonal shifts, and jumping back and forth in time. And the six and a half-minute sequence (view below) proved quite the challenge and opportunity for Oscar-nominated Alan Baumgarten to edit. “It serves several purposes,” he said. “It provides a bit of a history lesson, setting the time and place and outlining the [courtroom drama] that is going to occur, and it introduces our characters, who will be engaging and intersecting in this big event....
Returning to the sexual inquisitiveness of “The Piano” and “Sweetie,” the New Zealand filmmaker uses the ambiguous dynamic between her characters to build a tapestry rich with thematic implications (read Anne Thompson’s interview with the director here). Though ranch owner Phil (Benedict Cumberbatch) initially bullies the openly gay Peter (Kodi Smit-McPhee), who moves to the Montana property after Phil’s brother (Jesse Plemons) marries Peter’s mother Rose (Kirsten Dunst), the chemistry between each of these characters continues to evolve, as it becomes clear that Phil’s tough-guy demeanor masks deep-seated insecurities about his place in the world....
“I started writing music three or four months before shooting,” said the “Black Panther” Oscar winner, who was available when Hans Zimmer committed to Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune.” Chris was actually in town and we had a lot of time together, listening to demos I created, so we analyzed every little sound, and we started building our sound world very early. When Chris first mentioned that he wanted the guitar to not sound like a guitar, I had to rethink how to record a guitar with a lot of sonic options....
For years, one of Tribeca’s strongest suits has been its immersive programming, which includes VR, AR, and interactive experiences. As new media creators continue to create more groundbreaking work that takes advantage of cutting-edge technology, Tribeca’s programming has been at the forefront of showcasing many of the strongest examples. And as the future of traditional cinema continues to be an open question, immersive program provides a compelling look at a whole new field of storytelling and digital art just getting started....
Park City’s Main Street will go dormant, with the festival unfolding primarily as a virtual affair (along with some physical events at arthouses around the country). However, anyone who purchases the festival’s $25 Explorer Pass can take advantage of inventive ways of engaging with the festival community from a browser. Others, including filmmakers at the festival and those with press or industry accreditation, can do all that and more. Sundance’s best social options for 2021 require you to create a digital avatar and roam 3D environments, where your face will appear as a small video chat window whenever you approach another person....
“Tonally, I think we were all wondering if the filaments would come to the magnet,” said executive producer and co-showrunner Jonathan Lisco while speaking on a panel moderated by IndieWire editor-in-chief Dana Harris-Bridson. “Because there’s a lot of different tonalities in here, which we thread together into this single impact on our audience.” The “Yellowjackets” team wasn’t alone in juggling that problem. A common topic at the brunch was fusing multiple thematic elements into something coherent....
James Cameron, Guillermo del Toro, John Williams, Kathleen Kennedy, and more than six dozen others signed an open letter addressed to Academy President David Rubin slamming the decision to record the wins for best documentary short, film editing, makeup and hairstyling, original score, production design, animated short, live-action short, and sound outside of the live Dolby Theatre ceremony. The letter explained that such a decision would “demean” those categories and “relegate [them] to the status of second-class citizens,” as shared with Variety....
In a new interview with The Playlist, Gray revealed that he might not be done telling stories about his own life. “You know what I would really love to do? I probably shouldn’t admit this publicly yet,” he said. “But I’m really interested in making a kind of ‘[Armageddon Time’] sequel about what happened to my mother.” The filmmaker explained that a potential sequel would follow his mother (Anne Hathaway) as she battled brain cancer, something he subtly alluded to in “Armageddon Time” when her character complains about headaches....
“One executive – who is no longer with Marvel Studios/Disney – saw an early cut and said, ‘Why did we pay money for Bradley Cooper if he doesn’t even sound like Bradley Cooper!?’” Gunn revealed. “I was like, we hired him because he’s a great actor. That’s the point! He’s creating a CHARACTER!” Oddly enough, Bradley Cooper’s Rocket Raccoon sort of does just sound like a thicker and more angry Bradley Cooper....
The “Suicide Squad” and “Peacemaker” director is joining forces with “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” producer to both serve as co-chairmen and CEOs of DC Studios, IndieWire can confirm. The duo will be responsible for the overall creative direction of the storied superhero franchise across film, TV, and animation under new unified banner at Warner Bros. Discovery. Gunn and Safran will report to David Zaslav, Chief Executive Officer, Warner Bros....
“My family and I have known Tiffany Haddish for many years – and we now know that she would never harm me or my brother or help anyone else do anything that could harm us,” she said in a statement, first issued via TMZ. “We wish Tiffany the best and are glad that we can all put this behind us.” Doe was representing herself and filed the lawsuit August 30....
Bestselling novelist Blake Crouch adapts his own acclaimed sci-fi novel for AppleTV+, with Joel Edgerton set to lead the series. Crouch will serve as showrunner and writer, with Edgerton and Connelly executive producing. The show is produced for AppleTV+ by Sony Pictures Television. Oscar-winner Connelly will portray Daniela, the wife of physicist Jason Dessen in the nine-episode series coming off the summer blockbuster success of “Top Gun: Maverick.” Per an official synopsis, “Dark Matter” is about the road not taken....
After Academy president David Rubin announced February 22 via email that eight categories — documentary short, film editing, makeup and hairstyling, original score, production design, animated short, live-action short, and sound — would be pre-recorded for the 94th Academy Awards ceremony, otherwise live from the Dolby Theatre March 27, Hollywood has had something to say. “The Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon took a jab at the debate during his February 23 show, quipping, “Even more insulting, before the awards are presented the announcer will say, ‘And now, the categories nobody cares about....
“I’m sick of watching stuff on TV, I’m sick of virtual everything,” said Waters, before rattling off a list of some of his quarantine watches. Some of his recent viewings include “Halston,” the Netflix show made by his friends Dan Minahan and Christine Vachon. True to his varied tastes, he also enjoyed “I, Sniper,” a Vice documentary about the Washington, D.C. sniper, as well as “Genius: Aretha.” He was thrilled to get back into theaters during the Provincetown Film Festival, where he caught “In the Heights” at the drive-in....
The jury did find that a statement by one of Depp’s attorneys defamed Heard, however, for which the jury ordered the awarding of $2 million in compensatory damages and a zero-dollar punitive damages payout. Heard issued a statement after the ruling: “The disappointment I feel today is beyond words. I’m heartbroken that the mountain of evidence still was not enough to stand up to the disproportionate power, influence, and sway of my ex-husband....
“Raiders of the Lost Ark” does not provide any context for the conversation in the scene, leaving many viewers left to wonder what might have happened between Indiana and Marion. In a recent interview with Uproxx to mark the 4K Blu-ray release of “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” Allen spoke about the scene and how she never viewed the relationship between Indiana and Marion starting in a predatory way....
