In “I’m a Virgo,” Jharrel Jerome plays a 13-foot-tall teenager in Oakland named Cootie raised by his aunt and uncle (Carmen Ejogo and Mike Epps) in secret. Over the course of the show’s first season, Cootie comes out of hiding, makes friends, and contends with media obsession over his height. Like Riley’s first feature “Sorry to Bother You,” the series develops its own internal logic as it transforms into a scathing indictment of capitalism from some very unexpected directions.
None of that would hold up without its central conceit, which proved challenging, given that Jerome is actually five feet and eight inches. Riley made the show with Amazon on a relatively modest $53 million budget (around the same time that its first season of “Lord of the Rings” cost a reported $1 billion). However, the minimal effects budget wasn’t the only reason he turned to puppets and forced perspective...
None of that would hold up without its central conceit, which proved challenging, given that Jerome is actually five feet and eight inches. Riley made the show with Amazon on a relatively modest $53 million budget (around the same time that its first season of “Lord of the Rings” cost a reported $1 billion). However, the minimal effects budget wasn’t the only reason he turned to puppets and forced perspective...
- 6/29/2023
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
On the back of buzzy premieres in Berlinale and most recently SXSW, Jeff Nichols has earned acclaim for his fourth film, which marks his first collaboration with a major studio and makes its way into Us cinemas on Friday through Warner Bros.
Nichols regular Michael Shannon stars alongside Joel Edgerton, Kirsten Dunst, Adam Driver, Sam Shepard and newcomer Jaeden Lieberher in Midnight Special, which retains the film-maker’s signature ‘slow-burn tension build’ and ups the ante. His latest film is a sci-fi thriller with car chases, special effects, low-lit cinematography, and a powerful story of a father’s love for his son.
Back in his hometown of Austin, Texas, for SXSW, Nichols spoke to Tiffany Pritchard about the transition from indie to mainstream, and why that matters not when it comes to telling stories and touching the hearts of audiences.
Many are likening Midnight Special to Take Shelter, both in its underlying supernatural elements and its focus...
Nichols regular Michael Shannon stars alongside Joel Edgerton, Kirsten Dunst, Adam Driver, Sam Shepard and newcomer Jaeden Lieberher in Midnight Special, which retains the film-maker’s signature ‘slow-burn tension build’ and ups the ante. His latest film is a sci-fi thriller with car chases, special effects, low-lit cinematography, and a powerful story of a father’s love for his son.
Back in his hometown of Austin, Texas, for SXSW, Nichols spoke to Tiffany Pritchard about the transition from indie to mainstream, and why that matters not when it comes to telling stories and touching the hearts of audiences.
Many are likening Midnight Special to Take Shelter, both in its underlying supernatural elements and its focus...
- 3/17/2016
- ScreenDaily
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has revealed its 276-member-strong class of 2013.
The list, published by The Hollywood Reporter, includes actors, cinematographers, designers, directors, documentarians, executives, film editors, makeup artists and hairstylists, "members-at-large," musicians, producers, PR folks, short filmmakers and animators, sound technicians, visual effects artists, and writers.
Jason Bateman, Rosario Dawson, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Milla Jovovich, Lucy Liu, Jennifer Lopez, Emily Mortimer, Sandra Oh, Jason Schwartzman, and Michael Peña are among the roster of actors, while "The Heat" and "Bridesmaids" helmer Paul Feig made the directors' cut.
"We did not change our criteria at all," says Academy president Hawk Koch of this year's larger-than-usual class. "Yes, this year there is a tremendous amount of women, a tremendous amount of people of color, people from all walks of life. This year, we asked the branches to look at everybody who wasn't in the Academy but who deserved to be.
The list, published by The Hollywood Reporter, includes actors, cinematographers, designers, directors, documentarians, executives, film editors, makeup artists and hairstylists, "members-at-large," musicians, producers, PR folks, short filmmakers and animators, sound technicians, visual effects artists, and writers.
Jason Bateman, Rosario Dawson, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Milla Jovovich, Lucy Liu, Jennifer Lopez, Emily Mortimer, Sandra Oh, Jason Schwartzman, and Michael Peña are among the roster of actors, while "The Heat" and "Bridesmaids" helmer Paul Feig made the directors' cut.
"We did not change our criteria at all," says Academy president Hawk Koch of this year's larger-than-usual class. "Yes, this year there is a tremendous amount of women, a tremendous amount of people of color, people from all walks of life. This year, we asked the branches to look at everybody who wasn't in the Academy but who deserved to be.
- 7/4/2013
- by Laura Larson
- Moviefone
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced today the 276 members of the entertainment industry invited to join organization. The list includes actors, directors, documentarians, executives, film editors, producers and more. Of those listed below, those who accept the invitations will be the only additions to the Academy's membership in 2013. "These individuals are among the best filmmakers working in the industry today," said Academy President Hawk Koch in a press release. "Their talent and creativity have captured the imagination of audiences worldwide, and I am proud to welcome each of them to the Academy." Koch also told Variety, "In the past eight or nine years, each branch could only bring in X amount of members. There were people each branch would have liked to get in but couldn't. We asked them to be more inclusive of the best of the best, and each branch was excited, because they got...
- 6/28/2013
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
The Academy just added 276 Oscar voters.
That’s 100 more than last year, and part of an easing of a longstanding cap on the number of new members allowed to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences each year.
AMPAS usually adds between 130 and 180 new members, replacing those who have quit or passed away. The membership now stands around 6,000.
Jason Bateman, Jennifer Lopez, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Emmanuelle Riva, and Chris Tucker are among the actors who have been invited to join, the organization announced today.
Other interesting additions: the musician Prince, Girls and Tiny Furniture writer/director/actress Lena Dunham,...
That’s 100 more than last year, and part of an easing of a longstanding cap on the number of new members allowed to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences each year.
AMPAS usually adds between 130 and 180 new members, replacing those who have quit or passed away. The membership now stands around 6,000.
Jason Bateman, Jennifer Lopez, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Emmanuelle Riva, and Chris Tucker are among the actors who have been invited to join, the organization announced today.
Other interesting additions: the musician Prince, Girls and Tiny Furniture writer/director/actress Lena Dunham,...
- 6/28/2013
- by Anthony Breznican
- EW - Inside Movies
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is extending invitations to join the organization to 276 artists and executives who have distinguished themselves by their contributions to theatrical motion pictures. Those who accept the invitations will be the only additions to the Academy’s membership in 2013.
“These individuals are among the best filmmakers working in the industry today,” said Academy President Hawk Koch. “Their talent and creativity have captured the imagination of audiences worldwide, and I am proud to welcome each of them to the Academy.”
The 2013 invitees are:
Actors
Jason Bateman – “Up in the Air,” “Juno”
Miriam Colon – “City of Hope,” “Scarface”
Rosario Dawson – “Rent,” “Frank Miller’s Sin City”
Kimberly Elise – “For Colored Girls,” “Beloved”
Joseph Gordon-Levitt – “Lincoln,” “The Dark Knight Rises”
Charles Grodin – “Midnight Run,” “The Heartbreak Kid”
Rebecca Hall – “Iron Man 3,” “The Town”
Lance Henriksen – “Aliens,” “The Terminator”
Jack Huston – “Not Fade Away,” “Factory Girl”
Milla Jovovich – “Resident Evil,...
“These individuals are among the best filmmakers working in the industry today,” said Academy President Hawk Koch. “Their talent and creativity have captured the imagination of audiences worldwide, and I am proud to welcome each of them to the Academy.”
The 2013 invitees are:
Actors
Jason Bateman – “Up in the Air,” “Juno”
Miriam Colon – “City of Hope,” “Scarface”
Rosario Dawson – “Rent,” “Frank Miller’s Sin City”
Kimberly Elise – “For Colored Girls,” “Beloved”
Joseph Gordon-Levitt – “Lincoln,” “The Dark Knight Rises”
Charles Grodin – “Midnight Run,” “The Heartbreak Kid”
Rebecca Hall – “Iron Man 3,” “The Town”
Lance Henriksen – “Aliens,” “The Terminator”
Jack Huston – “Not Fade Away,” “Factory Girl”
Milla Jovovich – “Resident Evil,...
- 6/28/2013
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
There's a striking shot in the trailer for Django Unchained where a sharp-shooting Jamie Foxx blasts an evildoer off his horse, spraying the cotton fields with blood in extreme close-up. Consider that a mere appetizer, though, for the bloody feast that is the actual feature. In Quentin Tarantino's Django world, characters don't simply get shot and then bloodlessly slump to the ground; instead, they're blasted backward as a gigantic (and chunky) crimson geyser erupts from their wound. How did Tarantino do it? We rang up Django's special-effects coordinator, John McLeod, for the lowdown on all of that spilled blood."Actually, Quentin gave us quite a bit of direction on all of those scenes," said McLeod, who was responsible for concocting a blood bag that would be hidden in the actor's outfit, then triggered to explode outward — a "hit." "We'd go from the smallest of hits, these little pinprick-style hits...
- 1/16/2013
- by Kyle Buchanan
- Vulture
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