James Cameron hired “short extras” so it would make the sets on Titanic appear larger, thus saving money in set design. When it came to bringing the story of the doomed liner the RMS Titanic to the big screen, James Cameron would face some of the greatest challenges of his career. And while we would … Read more
It’s hard to write about this film without saying too much. The film played countless film festivals during the 2021-22 seasons and with good reason. It’s beautifully shot and easy to program, but at that time, it also offered a moment of catharsis for those who had deep feelings about the lack of physical, loving … Read more
Modern Beatles chronicler Peter Jackson partners with Sean Ono Lennon and Pixar’s Dave Mullins for War is Over music video from WETA Digital. So, this is Christmas, and Peter Jackson recently helmed the music video for the new Beatles song Now and Then, which controversially used AI to finish John Lennon’s vocals on the previously … Read more
The death of Elizabeth Short, aka the Black Dahlia, remains as one of the biggest and most disturbing murder mysteries of the 20th century. Short was born in Boston. After spending her early years in New England and Florida, she went to stay in California. Even though she did not have any acting credits or … Read more
Q&A with co-writer/director Mike Donahue How did this movie come about? As a director, I’ve always been drawn to stories of unexpected or surprising intimacy—and to stories about people who reveal themselves to be something other than what you initially assumed. With “Troy,” we were specifically inspired by our own experiences with a particularly wild … Read more
The makers of the wonderful new short Once Upon a Studio used outtakes from Robin Williams’ Genie sessions to feature the character. Disney has been commemorating their 100th anniversary all year long. From theme park celebrations to a massive 100-film box set, the studio has gone all-out for the special occasion. But their most recent … Read more
Yeah, it reminds me of the films from Laika studios (“Coraline,” “Paranorman,” “Kubo and the Two Strings”). You have done spoken-word performances in the past. I think on your “Shag Tobacco” tour in 1996, you did some. Was this a logical extension of that? Or did it feel different because it was someone else’s story? … Read more
Despite strong pre-sale numbers, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour fell short of Joker’s record October opening Despite strong pre-sales, Taylor Swift was no match for Joker at the box office as it failed to take down that film’s $96.2 million opening to become the highest domestic opening for the month of October. With $96 million, … Read more
Nowadays, names like Martin Scorsese, George Lucas, and Christopher Nolan are synonymous with the kind of big-budget studio filmmaking that turns movies into grand events. These are the names that draw people back to the multiplex and away from the couch, their grand storytelling skills on full display for two full hours or longer. (Often … Read more
“The Ratcatcher” has Richard Ayoade guiding us through a strange encounter with a rat hunter (Ralph Fiennes) who knows the ugly truth about rats. It concludes with an added, morbid note that Anderson includes featuring a character named “Ole Jimmy” from a different Dahl short story from the same collection, Rummins. Dahl wrote many shorts, but … Read more