We live in strange times. This young century has been defined by harrowing disasters both natural and man-made, political tribalism, and existential threats to the future of the planet. What better time for documentary filmmaking?
Non-fiction cinema has been evolving since the birth of the medium while capturing a world in motion. From the actualités of the Lumière brothers in the late 19th century to the heavily manipulated ethnographic films of the 1920, from the vérité films of the Maysles brothers to the man-on-the-street agitprop popularized by Michael Moore, documentaries have naturally always been more responsive to their times than any other mode of filmmaking.
Not only do they reveal our world to us, but they shape how we view it, and the early years of the 21st century have proven that to be more true than ever before. On one hand, digital technology has infinitely expanded our range of vision,...
Non-fiction cinema has been evolving since the birth of the medium while capturing a world in motion. From the actualités of the Lumière brothers in the late 19th century to the heavily manipulated ethnographic films of the 1920, from the vérité films of the Maysles brothers to the man-on-the-street agitprop popularized by Michael Moore, documentaries have naturally always been more responsive to their times than any other mode of filmmaking.
Not only do they reveal our world to us, but they shape how we view it, and the early years of the 21st century have proven that to be more true than ever before. On one hand, digital technology has infinitely expanded our range of vision,...
- 3/27/2024
- by Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
The musical sometimes feels like a relic of a long-dead Hollywood studio system, but it remains a genre that captures movies’ ability to create story worlds that move freely between reality and fantasy. The worst examples come from filmmakers who give license to music, color, and movement to run amok; the best transcend artifice and integrate songs that become expressions of pure character emotion. Musicals offer endless possibilities, but success demands a complete mastery of the medium.
The best movie musicals of all time have faced obstacles as varied as their creators’ styles and tastes. That’s in part because its integration of at least two art forms — music and film always, but sometimes also dance — demands an unusually high-caliber of multi-faceted talent from those attempting its complexities.
After Lee De Forest invented the “talky,” the opportunity oozing from that new tech prompted an industry rush on musicals in the last days of the 1920s.
The best movie musicals of all time have faced obstacles as varied as their creators’ styles and tastes. That’s in part because its integration of at least two art forms — music and film always, but sometimes also dance — demands an unusually high-caliber of multi-faceted talent from those attempting its complexities.
After Lee De Forest invented the “talky,” the opportunity oozing from that new tech prompted an industry rush on musicals in the last days of the 1920s.
- 3/20/2024
- by Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
[Editor’s note: this list was originally published in November 2022. We’re recirculating it to coincide with the release of “The Girls on the Bus.”]
It’s an election year in the United States. So, uh, how you doing, buddy?
Even in a world as spectacularly screwed up as ours [insert long list of alarming, urgent problems we have no practical solutions for, ending with some half-assed joke about the planet being on fire that you’ve definitely heard before!], the American political landscape is especially rocky terrain. In a post-Trump-presidency U.S., democracy is on the ballot and faith in both our electoral system and fellow humans is at an all-time low.
But, you knew that. And as we gear up for a 2020 election repeat showdown between Trump and Biden, it’s difficult not to feel fatigued by the circular nature of our political landscape and the lack of real progress made on a number of major crises boiling over at this very moment. Even international bystanders are probably dreading the death march to Election Day this year, and the sea to shining shit storm it will likely be. So to keep your head above water as we head into election season,...
It’s an election year in the United States. So, uh, how you doing, buddy?
Even in a world as spectacularly screwed up as ours [insert long list of alarming, urgent problems we have no practical solutions for, ending with some half-assed joke about the planet being on fire that you’ve definitely heard before!], the American political landscape is especially rocky terrain. In a post-Trump-presidency U.S., democracy is on the ballot and faith in both our electoral system and fellow humans is at an all-time low.
But, you knew that. And as we gear up for a 2020 election repeat showdown between Trump and Biden, it’s difficult not to feel fatigued by the circular nature of our political landscape and the lack of real progress made on a number of major crises boiling over at this very moment. Even international bystanders are probably dreading the death march to Election Day this year, and the sea to shining shit storm it will likely be. So to keep your head above water as we head into election season,...
- 3/14/2024
- by Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
NewFest and the Brooklyn Academy of Music (Bam) have announced the fourth annual lineup for their “Queering the Canon” retrospective film series, this year subtitled “Besties.”
This year’s lineup of films screening at Bam in downtown Brooklyn (April 11 – 15) includes a 4K restoration of Rose Troche’s lesbian classic “Go Fish,” the world premiere of the 4K restoration of Brian Sloan’s queer romantic comedy “I Think I Do,” 35mm screenings of Gus Van Sant’s “My Own Private Idaho” and F. Gary Gray’s “Set It Off.” The “Go Fish” screening will be accompanied by a Q&a with Rose Troche in person along with star Guinevere Turner.
The repertory series was created by NewFest, co-curated by NewFest’s Nick McCarthy (director of programming) and Kim Garcia (technical director and programmer), and is presented in partnership with Bam.
The event will also include a panel discussion, “Best of the Besties,...
This year’s lineup of films screening at Bam in downtown Brooklyn (April 11 – 15) includes a 4K restoration of Rose Troche’s lesbian classic “Go Fish,” the world premiere of the 4K restoration of Brian Sloan’s queer romantic comedy “I Think I Do,” 35mm screenings of Gus Van Sant’s “My Own Private Idaho” and F. Gary Gray’s “Set It Off.” The “Go Fish” screening will be accompanied by a Q&a with Rose Troche in person along with star Guinevere Turner.
The repertory series was created by NewFest, co-curated by NewFest’s Nick McCarthy (director of programming) and Kim Garcia (technical director and programmer), and is presented in partnership with Bam.
The event will also include a panel discussion, “Best of the Besties,...
- 3/13/2024
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Trace Lysette is weighing in on the discourse of cis actors playing trans roles.
At the 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards, which took place at the beach in Santa Monica, California on Sunday, February 25, Trace Lysette caught up with IndieWire on the “blue” carpet. The trans actress was nominated for Best Lead Performance for her performance in “Monica,” alongside fellow nominees Jessica Chastain, Greta Lee, Natalie Portman, Judy Reyes, Franz Rogowski, Andrew Scott, and Teyana Taylor — Jeffrey Wright ultimately won for “American Fiction.”
Whether it’s appropriate for cis actors to play trans roles has been a matter of increasing debate.
“Well, if all things were equal, maybe it wouldn’t be as big of a deal as it is, but all things are not equal,” Lysette told IndieWire at the Spirits’ blue carpet. “If there’s a trans role, I believe that trans actors should get first dibs.”
“Because, you know,...
At the 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards, which took place at the beach in Santa Monica, California on Sunday, February 25, Trace Lysette caught up with IndieWire on the “blue” carpet. The trans actress was nominated for Best Lead Performance for her performance in “Monica,” alongside fellow nominees Jessica Chastain, Greta Lee, Natalie Portman, Judy Reyes, Franz Rogowski, Andrew Scott, and Teyana Taylor — Jeffrey Wright ultimately won for “American Fiction.”
Whether it’s appropriate for cis actors to play trans roles has been a matter of increasing debate.
“Well, if all things were equal, maybe it wouldn’t be as big of a deal as it is, but all things are not equal,” Lysette told IndieWire at the Spirits’ blue carpet. “If there’s a trans role, I believe that trans actors should get first dibs.”
“Because, you know,...
- 2/27/2024
- by Vincent Perella
- Indiewire
There’s something uniquely cinematic about romantic comedies — something that makes them a natural fit for the movies and vice-versa. There’s an intoxicating alchemy that allows us to believe in the magic of meet-cutes, happily-ever-afters, and all the agonizing contrivances that tend to pop up between the two. Love it seems gives storytellers permission to transpose the stuff of operas and fables into the fabric of real (or at least overly glossed but still recognizable) life.
On paper, a film like “Pretty Woman” might be a retrograde fairy tale about a sex worker with a heart of gold and the rich businessman who can afford it, but the chemistry between Julia Roberts and Richard Gere is so explosive that you surrender to the sentiment of it all. Literally nothing in Richard Curtis’ “Love Actually” makes sense if you stop and think about it for even a few seconds. The...
On paper, a film like “Pretty Woman” might be a retrograde fairy tale about a sex worker with a heart of gold and the rich businessman who can afford it, but the chemistry between Julia Roberts and Richard Gere is so explosive that you surrender to the sentiment of it all. Literally nothing in Richard Curtis’ “Love Actually” makes sense if you stop and think about it for even a few seconds. The...
- 2/14/2024
- by Alison Foreman
- Indiewire
January is a transitional time for film, with focus shifting to the Oscars just as new offerings in theaters enter an annual dreaded slump. It’s also, paradoxically, one of the best months for new movies — if you’re lucky enough to head to Park City, Utah for Sundance Film Festival.
The single biggest film festival in the country, with almost 50,000 attendees each year, Sundance Film Festival was founded back in 1978 as the Utah/US Film Festival, before rebranding in 1984 to its current name. Operated by the Sundance Institute, the annual fest hosts hundreds of films each year, showcasing the brightest in independent filmmaking, along with a variety of foreign, documentary, and midnight films. Over the years the festival has hosted some of the most beloved indie films ever, and helped launch the careers of major filmmakers like the Coen Brothers, Quentin Tarantino, Damien Chazelle, Ava DuVernay, and many, many more.
The single biggest film festival in the country, with almost 50,000 attendees each year, Sundance Film Festival was founded back in 1978 as the Utah/US Film Festival, before rebranding in 1984 to its current name. Operated by the Sundance Institute, the annual fest hosts hundreds of films each year, showcasing the brightest in independent filmmaking, along with a variety of foreign, documentary, and midnight films. Over the years the festival has hosted some of the most beloved indie films ever, and helped launch the careers of major filmmakers like the Coen Brothers, Quentin Tarantino, Damien Chazelle, Ava DuVernay, and many, many more.
- 1/23/2024
- by Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
It’s hard to believe, but the concept of the teenager is younger than film as a medium. According to historians, American culture first began thinking of the period of 13 to 19 as a specific bridge between childhood and adulthood in the 1940s, in part due to marketing executives looking to define people in that age range as a new demographic. And shortly afterwards, that demographic became ubiquitous on TV and films.
The first teen films began popping up in earnest during the 1950s, with landmark titles like “The Wild One,” “Blackboard Jungle,” and the enduringly iconic “Rebel Without a Cause.” Each film featured a bonafide screen legend — Marlon Brando in “The Wild One,” Sidney Poitier in “Blackboard Jungle,” and James Dean in his most iconic role in “Rebel Without a Cause” — and established films that took the emotional turmoil of teen life seriously as a vibrant subgenre. Since then, teens...
The first teen films began popping up in earnest during the 1950s, with landmark titles like “The Wild One,” “Blackboard Jungle,” and the enduringly iconic “Rebel Without a Cause.” Each film featured a bonafide screen legend — Marlon Brando in “The Wild One,” Sidney Poitier in “Blackboard Jungle,” and James Dean in his most iconic role in “Rebel Without a Cause” — and established films that took the emotional turmoil of teen life seriously as a vibrant subgenre. Since then, teens...
- 1/17/2024
- by Wilson Chapman and Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Films are stunning artifacts of humanity’s singular ability to dream and wonder in unison. But if the moviemaking miracles produced by Hollywood’s studio system are predestined — recycled IP inevitabilities that cost as much money as there are stars in the sky — indies are something greater.
Indie filmmaking is notoriously hard to define; combine the constantly shifting number known as “low budget” and another shifty goalpost, “independent,” and we’re partly there. Here’s another definition: It feels as if it’s willed into existence, both in the final story on screen and in the behind-the-scenes journey that explains how an auteur’s story got there. It was created because it had to be, rendered by talented and undaunted auteurs, through powerful visions and innovative commitment to craft. And finally, it’s introduced to equally ambitious audiences.
It’s in our name: IndieWire was founded in 1996 as an outlet...
Indie filmmaking is notoriously hard to define; combine the constantly shifting number known as “low budget” and another shifty goalpost, “independent,” and we’re partly there. Here’s another definition: It feels as if it’s willed into existence, both in the final story on screen and in the behind-the-scenes journey that explains how an auteur’s story got there. It was created because it had to be, rendered by talented and undaunted auteurs, through powerful visions and innovative commitment to craft. And finally, it’s introduced to equally ambitious audiences.
It’s in our name: IndieWire was founded in 1996 as an outlet...
- 1/3/2024
- by Alison Foreman and Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
It’s safe to say a lot of people had a lot of problems with the switch from HBO Max to Max, but there was at least one upside to the streaming shakeup. Now, it’s easier than ever to find the excellent queer stories floating around Warner Bros. Discovery’s platform.
During its lifespan, HBO Max never had an LGBTQ tag to filter its offerings and help subscribers find stories about the queer community more easily: a surprising move for a streamer named after the channel that brought us boundary-breaking works like “Six Feet Under” and the miniseries adaptation of “Angels in America.” That’s been remedied on Max, which features an “LGBTQ+ Voices” collection. You do have to scroll quite far down the homepage to find it in the collections carousel, but when you do, it makes searching for the queer films and shows on the streamer considerably easier.
During its lifespan, HBO Max never had an LGBTQ tag to filter its offerings and help subscribers find stories about the queer community more easily: a surprising move for a streamer named after the channel that brought us boundary-breaking works like “Six Feet Under” and the miniseries adaptation of “Angels in America.” That’s been remedied on Max, which features an “LGBTQ+ Voices” collection. You do have to scroll quite far down the homepage to find it in the collections carousel, but when you do, it makes searching for the queer films and shows on the streamer considerably easier.
- 12/5/2023
- by Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
If one were to rank all the major streaming services by queerness, Amazon Prime Video would be a pretty tough one to pin down.
On the one hand, you have to give credit where credit is due: One of the service’s very first stabs at original programming was “Transparent,” which in turn was one of the first shows to star a trans main character. That show now has a lot of baggage, but it’s hard to its understate historical significance.
Beyond the thorny topic of “Transparent,” Prime Video does have a good track record of releasing shows with LGBTQ characters and centering their narratives on queer themes; in particular, many of their shows focus on queer women, refreshingly avoiding the centering of gay men that defined queer TV for decades. This spring, the streamer dropped a phenomenal limited series retelling of David Cronenberg’s “Dead Ringers,” starring Rachel Weisz as twin lesbian gynecologists.
On the one hand, you have to give credit where credit is due: One of the service’s very first stabs at original programming was “Transparent,” which in turn was one of the first shows to star a trans main character. That show now has a lot of baggage, but it’s hard to its understate historical significance.
Beyond the thorny topic of “Transparent,” Prime Video does have a good track record of releasing shows with LGBTQ characters and centering their narratives on queer themes; in particular, many of their shows focus on queer women, refreshingly avoiding the centering of gay men that defined queer TV for decades. This spring, the streamer dropped a phenomenal limited series retelling of David Cronenberg’s “Dead Ringers,” starring Rachel Weisz as twin lesbian gynecologists.
- 12/4/2023
- by Wilson Chapman and Alison Foreman
- Indiewire
Hulu may have started out as the redheaded stepchild of the streamers back in Netflix’s heyday, but it has stuck around long enough to have firmly established itself as one of the old standbys. It follows, then, that Hulu would have a veritable fount of LGBTQ content ready to compete with the robust queer catalogues available to subscribers of Netflix, HBO, and other platforms.
A brief perusal of Hulu’s LGBTQ section doesn’t disappoint, but digging in deeper will give you the best chance at a genuinely memorable watch. Right now, the Disney-backed streamer is hosting popular queer television classics, like “The L Word,” “My So-Called Life,” and “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” alongside fresher fare, including “Everything’s Gonna Be Okay” and “Killing Eve.” Recent Hulu originals, such as “Love, Victor” and “Shrill,” deserve singling out, if only because you know they’re buzz-worthy and readily available on the service.
A brief perusal of Hulu’s LGBTQ section doesn’t disappoint, but digging in deeper will give you the best chance at a genuinely memorable watch. Right now, the Disney-backed streamer is hosting popular queer television classics, like “The L Word,” “My So-Called Life,” and “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” alongside fresher fare, including “Everything’s Gonna Be Okay” and “Killing Eve.” Recent Hulu originals, such as “Love, Victor” and “Shrill,” deserve singling out, if only because you know they’re buzz-worthy and readily available on the service.
- 12/1/2023
- by Wilson Chapman and Alison Foreman
- Indiewire
In hindsight, it shouldn’t be surprising that the cinema of 2023 was so preoccupied with the unknown, as the first proper year after the start of the pandemic was always going to find the movie industry plunging into a brave new world.
Some of the most pressing questions we had at the start of January were answered with resounding force. Would the studios — some of which had fatally diluted their brands with streaming options in a desperate bid to appease the stock market — find that once-reliable franchises had lust their luster? Yes. Would audiences — so eager for a different breed of “event film” that they had already started to redefine the term themselves — actually follow through on the “Barbenheimer” meme that first spread across social media in late 2022? Yes. Would titans like Martin Scorsese, Christopher Nolan, and Wes Anderson make good on the breathless chatter that surrounded their latest projects...
Some of the most pressing questions we had at the start of January were answered with resounding force. Would the studios — some of which had fatally diluted their brands with streaming options in a desperate bid to appease the stock market — find that once-reliable franchises had lust their luster? Yes. Would audiences — so eager for a different breed of “event film” that they had already started to redefine the term themselves — actually follow through on the “Barbenheimer” meme that first spread across social media in late 2022? Yes. Would titans like Martin Scorsese, Christopher Nolan, and Wes Anderson make good on the breathless chatter that surrounded their latest projects...
- 11/28/2023
- by David Ehrlich and Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
“One more time: animation is a medium, not a genre. Animation is film,” Guillermo del Toro said last year. IndieWire couldn’t agree more, and yet animation — an art form that requires the most precise control of the cinematic medium — is continually disrespected.
Infamously, 2022’s Best Animated Oscars presentation featured several jokes about the nominees that, in the words of Phil Lord and Chris Miller, framed “the five Academy Award nominees for Best Animated Feature as a corporate product for kids that parents must begrudgingly endure.” The directing duo called upon the Academy to do better by animation. And this year’s ceremony largely delivered, with less jokes that belittled animation as kiddy stuff and a sterling speech from del Toro himself for his acclaimed stop-motion feature adaptation of “Pinocchio.”
Pixar and Studio Ghibli tend to spring to mind first when discussing great animation, but there’s a world beyond those two giants.
Infamously, 2022’s Best Animated Oscars presentation featured several jokes about the nominees that, in the words of Phil Lord and Chris Miller, framed “the five Academy Award nominees for Best Animated Feature as a corporate product for kids that parents must begrudgingly endure.” The directing duo called upon the Academy to do better by animation. And this year’s ceremony largely delivered, with less jokes that belittled animation as kiddy stuff and a sterling speech from del Toro himself for his acclaimed stop-motion feature adaptation of “Pinocchio.”
Pixar and Studio Ghibli tend to spring to mind first when discussing great animation, but there’s a world beyond those two giants.
- 11/23/2023
- by Bill Desowitz and Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
Ghosts are ubiquitous and zombies have had their moments of dominance, but of all the classic horror monsters, vampires have the strongest claim for the greatest film legacy. The vampire genre is nearly as old as cinema itself, with F.W. Murnau’s “Nosferatu” scaring up audiences in 1922, followed by the countless iterations that came in its shadow. Every era and every filmmaking country has since taken up its own spins on the myth of the vampire, from Universal Studios’ “Dracula” series beginning with Tod Browning’s Bram Stoker adaptation in 1931, all the way up to Iranian-American director Ana Lily Amirpour’s indie feminist twist “A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night” in 2014.
2023 though, has not exactly been a banner year for brilliant takes on the horror genre’s most iconic creatures of the night. Sure, there have been plenty of movies starring vampires; it’s just that most of them haven’t been very good.
2023 though, has not exactly been a banner year for brilliant takes on the horror genre’s most iconic creatures of the night. Sure, there have been plenty of movies starring vampires; it’s just that most of them haven’t been very good.
- 9/20/2023
- by Alison Foreman and Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
If watching a movie can be compared to taking your emotions for a walk, then sad films challenge audiences with a full-on sprint. Since before Rose said goodbye to Jack or even Bambi lost his mother, tragedy has played a vital role in cinema’s most well-loved stories of every ilk.
For romance, the possibility of heartbreak raises the stakes, pitting lover against lover or, worse still, lovers against time in dazzling depictions of humanity’s enduring quest for security and acceptance. “Titanic,” “A Star is Born,” “Moonlight,” “Brokeback Mountain,” “Up,” and countless other legendary titles have crafted couples so heart-rendingly believable that their joyous reunions and painful partings have provided powerful parallels to our own.
Epic tales of war and survival position total devastation similarly, dangling all-consuming grief and loss like narratively juicy carrots motivating the plodding agony of movies from “War Horse” to “Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey.
For romance, the possibility of heartbreak raises the stakes, pitting lover against lover or, worse still, lovers against time in dazzling depictions of humanity’s enduring quest for security and acceptance. “Titanic,” “A Star is Born,” “Moonlight,” “Brokeback Mountain,” “Up,” and countless other legendary titles have crafted couples so heart-rendingly believable that their joyous reunions and painful partings have provided powerful parallels to our own.
Epic tales of war and survival position total devastation similarly, dangling all-consuming grief and loss like narratively juicy carrots motivating the plodding agony of movies from “War Horse” to “Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey.
- 8/18/2023
- by Alison Foreman and Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Editor’s Note: This story was originally posted on July 23, 2017, and has been updated multiple times since.
Few cinematic moments can burn themselves into an audience’s psyche better than a good sex scene. They can shock, arouse, or simply capture human beauty in ways that cinema is uniquely positioned to do. Sex scenes don’t have to define the movies they appear in, but they’re often the parts you remember the most.
The nature of sex scenes are constantly evolving, as the prevalence of intimacy coordinators and increased concern for performers’ safety in Hollywood is hopefully making regrettable sex scenes a thing of the past. That has allowed sexy cinema to flourish, with plenty of tantalizing movies hitting the multiplex in recent years. With that in mind, it felt like the right time to compile some of the best additions to the sexy film canon.
Our list of...
Few cinematic moments can burn themselves into an audience’s psyche better than a good sex scene. They can shock, arouse, or simply capture human beauty in ways that cinema is uniquely positioned to do. Sex scenes don’t have to define the movies they appear in, but they’re often the parts you remember the most.
The nature of sex scenes are constantly evolving, as the prevalence of intimacy coordinators and increased concern for performers’ safety in Hollywood is hopefully making regrettable sex scenes a thing of the past. That has allowed sexy cinema to flourish, with plenty of tantalizing movies hitting the multiplex in recent years. With that in mind, it felt like the right time to compile some of the best additions to the sexy film canon.
Our list of...
- 8/17/2023
- by Christian Zilko, Samantha Bergeson and Alison Foreman
- Indiewire
It goes without saying that movie music has come a mighty long way in the last 100 years or so, but the first two decades of the 21st century have nevertheless been an extraordinarily active and evolutionary stretch of time for film scores. Without discounting the bold and formative achievements of old masters like Bernard Hermann and Toru Takemitsu, it’s fair to say that the rise of independent cinema and the challenge of the digital age have provoked a true paradigm shift in how we think about musical accompaniment.
Rock and avant-garde musicians like Jonny Greenwood and Mica Levi have used narrative projects as inspiration to explore new facets of their genius, while more traditional composers such as Alexandre Desplat and Carter Burwell have risen to the challenge by delivering the most beautiful work of their careers. Indeed, some of the very best movie scores in recent memory (including the...
Rock and avant-garde musicians like Jonny Greenwood and Mica Levi have used narrative projects as inspiration to explore new facets of their genius, while more traditional composers such as Alexandre Desplat and Carter Burwell have risen to the challenge by delivering the most beautiful work of their careers. Indeed, some of the very best movie scores in recent memory (including the...
- 8/10/2023
- by Wilson Chapman, David Ehrlich, Kate Erbland and Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
In this time of geekery and craft reigning supreme, film critics and academics no longer reject horror movies with the knee-jerk certainty some once did. But even now the specter of “elevated horror” (see that concept’s lambasting in Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett’s “Scream 5”) looms over discussions of artier explorations of dread and terror — Ari Aster’s “Midsommar,” Luca Guadagnino’s “Suspiria,” Rose Glass’ “Saint Maud” — that are clearly distinguished from, well, non-elevated horror. The general gist is that these exceptions to the “horror is bad” rule engage your brain more than just showing brains: eaten by zombies or splattered against the wall.
How can films that fire your adrenal glands, send shivers down your spine, raise goosebumps, and quicken your breath — that inspire such an intense physical reaction — also be cerebral experiences? The answer is obvious enough. Viewers forget all the time that, as Anna Karina...
How can films that fire your adrenal glands, send shivers down your spine, raise goosebumps, and quicken your breath — that inspire such an intense physical reaction — also be cerebral experiences? The answer is obvious enough. Viewers forget all the time that, as Anna Karina...
- 8/10/2023
- by Alison Foreman
- Indiewire
It’s the shock of seeing Norman Bates, knife in hand, clad in his mother’s clothes, grinning maniacally in the swinging lamplight. It’s a supposedly dead husband rising from a bathtub with terrifying saucer contact-lenses. It’s finally connecting “I see dead people” with Bruce Willis being shot at the beginning of “The Sixth Sense.” When movies pull the rug out from under us, it’s one of the greatest thrills that cinema can provide.
As Hollywood continues to reboot countless old properties, it’s easy to think that the days of original and surprising storytelling are long behind us. But these films prove that Hollywood still has a few tricks up its sleeve, ones that have kept us talking for years, and have cemented their place in film history.
Beware of spoilers! Here are the best plot twists of the 21st century.
Samantha Bergeson, Christian Blauvelt, Jude Dry,...
As Hollywood continues to reboot countless old properties, it’s easy to think that the days of original and surprising storytelling are long behind us. But these films prove that Hollywood still has a few tricks up its sleeve, ones that have kept us talking for years, and have cemented their place in film history.
Beware of spoilers! Here are the best plot twists of the 21st century.
Samantha Bergeson, Christian Blauvelt, Jude Dry,...
- 7/28/2023
- by Wilson Chapman and Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
For as long as there have been horror movies, there has been body horror — and it’s not hard to see why the subgenre is unlikely to ever go out of style. Great horror movies tap into the darkest corners of our subconscious minds to poke at our deepest fears, and few emotions are more human than the fear of bodily harm. The human tendency to identify with our own bodies is so strong that watching transformations and mutilations can evoke the feeling that characters are being stripped of their very humanity.
While early filmmakers explored these themes in projects like “Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” the second half of the 20th century saw body horror elevated to the level of high art. Nobody deserves more credit for that shift in public perception than David Cronenberg, whose films like “Videodrome” and “The Fly” contained as much scientific and social commentary as blood and guts.
While early filmmakers explored these themes in projects like “Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” the second half of the 20th century saw body horror elevated to the level of high art. Nobody deserves more credit for that shift in public perception than David Cronenberg, whose films like “Videodrome” and “The Fly” contained as much scientific and social commentary as blood and guts.
- 7/23/2023
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
What makes a sex scene sexy? More to the point, what makes a sex scene good? That’s become an especially thorny question in recent years, with detailed accounts of what goes on behind the scenes of movies we love complicating our relationship with their most memorable moments. And though we’re ever so slowly moving away from the male gaze serving as the default perspective on love, sex, and everything between, there’s still a long way to go.
That is, if sex scenes still appear in movies at all. They do, but with greater infrequency, certainly in Hollywood studio productions. Though many think-pieces have been written about “the death of the sex scene” there’s still been a lot to celebrate over the last 23 years. A number of sex-positive, LGBTQ-friendly, and otherwise forward-thinking filmmakers have directed scenes that are as steamy as they are moving. There’s nothing...
That is, if sex scenes still appear in movies at all. They do, but with greater infrequency, certainly in Hollywood studio productions. Though many think-pieces have been written about “the death of the sex scene” there’s still been a lot to celebrate over the last 23 years. A number of sex-positive, LGBTQ-friendly, and otherwise forward-thinking filmmakers have directed scenes that are as steamy as they are moving. There’s nothing...
- 7/20/2023
- by Ryan Lattanzio, Christian Zilko and Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
From the director of Night’S End, comes filmmaker Jennifer Reeder’s new film Perpetrator.
Anna Bogutskaya, (The Playlist) calls it “A Trip Dripping In Blood & Atmosphere. Takes influence from giallo films and teenage classics like Heathers to craft a world that blends the kitsch and the uncanny.”
Jordan Mintzer, (The Hollywood Reporter) says it’s “Transgressive and true to itself. Somewhere between camp and Cronenberg lies Perpetrator.”
Jude Dry, (IndieWire) says it’s “An ambitious addition to the feminist horror genre with blood and guts to spare. Silverstone is a steely delight.”
Streaming on Shudder and opening in Select Theaters on September 1st, check out the trailer for Perpetrator.
Jonny Baptiste (Kiah McKirnan) is a reckless teen sent to live with her estranged Aunt Hildie (Alicia Silverstone). On her 18th birthday, she experiences a radical metamorphosis: a family spell that redefines her called Forevering. When several teen girls go missing at her new school,...
Anna Bogutskaya, (The Playlist) calls it “A Trip Dripping In Blood & Atmosphere. Takes influence from giallo films and teenage classics like Heathers to craft a world that blends the kitsch and the uncanny.”
Jordan Mintzer, (The Hollywood Reporter) says it’s “Transgressive and true to itself. Somewhere between camp and Cronenberg lies Perpetrator.”
Jude Dry, (IndieWire) says it’s “An ambitious addition to the feminist horror genre with blood and guts to spare. Silverstone is a steely delight.”
Streaming on Shudder and opening in Select Theaters on September 1st, check out the trailer for Perpetrator.
Jonny Baptiste (Kiah McKirnan) is a reckless teen sent to live with her estranged Aunt Hildie (Alicia Silverstone). On her 18th birthday, she experiences a radical metamorphosis: a family spell that redefines her called Forevering. When several teen girls go missing at her new school,...
- 7/19/2023
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Sundance breakout queer coming-of-age film “Mutt” is finally unleashed stateside. Writer-director Vuk Lungulov-Klotz’s debut film stars Lío Mehiel as a young trans man named Feña, and the film won Mehiel a Special Jury Award for Acting at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Strand releases the film in the U.S. this summer, beginning at New York’s Film Forum, and IndieWire shares the exclusive trailer premiere below.
“Mutt” follows Feña across his romances, friendships, and family over the course of one hectic day in New York City, where three people from Feña’s past are thrust back into his life. Having lost touch since transitioning from female to male, he navigates the new dynamics of old relationships while tackling the day-to-day challenges of living life in between. Cole Doman, MiMi Ryder, and Alejandro Goic also star.
“Mutt” details Lungulov-Klotz’s own personal experience growing up in New York City as...
“Mutt” follows Feña across his romances, friendships, and family over the course of one hectic day in New York City, where three people from Feña’s past are thrust back into his life. Having lost touch since transitioning from female to male, he navigates the new dynamics of old relationships while tackling the day-to-day challenges of living life in between. Cole Doman, MiMi Ryder, and Alejandro Goic also star.
“Mutt” details Lungulov-Klotz’s own personal experience growing up in New York City as...
- 7/18/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
“That’s not art. A striptease isn’t art. It’s too direct. It’s more direct than art.”
That line from Akira Kurosawa’s “Ikiru” sums up a lot of feelings people seem to have about nudity in film. The history of painting and sculpture is full of nude portraiture, which is regularly and comfortably classified as art. But the nude scene in movies is rarely discussed alongside a Canova marble statue or Manet’s “Olympia.” Movies blur the boundaries between “real life” and artistic indirection so thoroughly that people discuss nude scenes in movies as practically everything but art. It’s “content” that deserves an “advisory,” or something akin to “porn,” however the Supreme Court is classifying that these days.
As many have noted, the very nature of the actor’s job demands the audience look at them. So when nudity enters the (literal) picture, it complicates the relationship between viewer and viewed.
That line from Akira Kurosawa’s “Ikiru” sums up a lot of feelings people seem to have about nudity in film. The history of painting and sculpture is full of nude portraiture, which is regularly and comfortably classified as art. But the nude scene in movies is rarely discussed alongside a Canova marble statue or Manet’s “Olympia.” Movies blur the boundaries between “real life” and artistic indirection so thoroughly that people discuss nude scenes in movies as practically everything but art. It’s “content” that deserves an “advisory,” or something akin to “porn,” however the Supreme Court is classifying that these days.
As many have noted, the very nature of the actor’s job demands the audience look at them. So when nudity enters the (literal) picture, it complicates the relationship between viewer and viewed.
- 6/28/2023
- by Alison Foreman and Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
Nowadays, there are a lot of great start-to-finish LGBTQ TV shows, from reality shows like “RuPaul’s Drag Race” to comedies like “The Other Two.” But just because a show isn’t always gay, doesn’t mean it’s never gay.
When gay characters started popping up on television sporadically in the ’70s and early ’80s, they were largely one-episode wonders, with their sexualities serving as plot fodder for the regular, straight cast members to grapple with. One of, if not the first, gay characters on television came in the fifth episode of Norman Lear’s “All in the Family,” which focused on main character Archie (Carroll O’Connor) learning that one of his former college friends is gay. Other sitcoms that followed “All in the Family” utilized similar one episode plots: a 1976 episode of “The Bob Newhart Show” saw the main character trying to curb prejudice in a therapy group when a member came out.
When gay characters started popping up on television sporadically in the ’70s and early ’80s, they were largely one-episode wonders, with their sexualities serving as plot fodder for the regular, straight cast members to grapple with. One of, if not the first, gay characters on television came in the fifth episode of Norman Lear’s “All in the Family,” which focused on main character Archie (Carroll O’Connor) learning that one of his former college friends is gay. Other sitcoms that followed “All in the Family” utilized similar one episode plots: a 1976 episode of “The Bob Newhart Show” saw the main character trying to curb prejudice in a therapy group when a member came out.
- 6/27/2023
- by Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
The annual Los Angeles Press Club Awards honored multiple IndieWire staffers Sunday night.
Among the honorees, IndieWire Deputy TV Editor and chief TV critic Ben Travers was recognized as TV Critic of the Year at the ceremony, which took place June 25 at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles.
The official comment for Travers’ honor reads, “The reporter’s writing style includes his personal tele-visual hang-ups, much to the benefit of the reviews!”
Travers’ reviews for the series finale of “Atlanta,” the Season 1 “Yellowjackets” finale, and “Tuca & Bertie” were among the selected pieces recognized by the LA Press Club.
Also taking first place in the Audio Journalism category for Best Entertainment Reporting were Sarah Shachat, Chris O’Falt, and Zach Valenti with podcast episode “Filmmaker Toolkit: Station Eleven Deep Dive Podcast.” Said the LA Press Club: “This ‘deep dive’ skillfully uses multiple interviews and clips to learn the backstory of a single TV episode.
Among the honorees, IndieWire Deputy TV Editor and chief TV critic Ben Travers was recognized as TV Critic of the Year at the ceremony, which took place June 25 at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles.
The official comment for Travers’ honor reads, “The reporter’s writing style includes his personal tele-visual hang-ups, much to the benefit of the reviews!”
Travers’ reviews for the series finale of “Atlanta,” the Season 1 “Yellowjackets” finale, and “Tuca & Bertie” were among the selected pieces recognized by the LA Press Club.
Also taking first place in the Audio Journalism category for Best Entertainment Reporting were Sarah Shachat, Chris O’Falt, and Zach Valenti with podcast episode “Filmmaker Toolkit: Station Eleven Deep Dive Podcast.” Said the LA Press Club: “This ‘deep dive’ skillfully uses multiple interviews and clips to learn the backstory of a single TV episode.
- 6/26/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
The media was not quick to embrace Black creatives nor has Juneteenth long been something on its radar. But as different voices enter the culturally and politically shifting landscape, the newly recognized federal holiday — which honors the emancipation of the last enslaved people here in the United States on June 19 — could, or at the very least should, pop up more on screens large and small.
Channing Godfrey Peoples made her directorial debut against the backdrop of Black Lives Matter protests in the summer of 2020 with “Miss Juneteenth“: a feature film starring Nicole Beharie and Alexis Chikaeze as a mother-daughter pair navigating their opposing dreams for the young girl’s future. Before that, “Juneteenth” was the title of Season 1, Episode 9 in Donald Glover’s beloved “Atlanta”: a boundary-breaking FX dramedy about Blackness and celebrity with a surrealist twist.
From tentpoles that changed the box-office game (see “Get Out” and...
Channing Godfrey Peoples made her directorial debut against the backdrop of Black Lives Matter protests in the summer of 2020 with “Miss Juneteenth“: a feature film starring Nicole Beharie and Alexis Chikaeze as a mother-daughter pair navigating their opposing dreams for the young girl’s future. Before that, “Juneteenth” was the title of Season 1, Episode 9 in Donald Glover’s beloved “Atlanta”: a boundary-breaking FX dramedy about Blackness and celebrity with a surrealist twist.
From tentpoles that changed the box-office game (see “Get Out” and...
- 6/18/2023
- by Tambay Obenson and Alison Foreman
- Indiewire
Netflix may get most of the attention, but it’s hardly a one-stop shop for cinephiles looking to stream essential classic and contemporary films. Each of the prominent streaming platforms caters to its own niche of film obsessives.
From the boundless wonders of the Criterion Channel to the new frontiers of streaming offered by the likes of Disney+ and Max, IndieWire’s monthly guide highlights the best of what’s coming to every major streamer, with an eye toward exclusive titles that may help readers decide which of these services is right for them.
Here is your guide for June 2023.
Christian Blauvelt, Jude Dry, David Ehrlich, Eric Kohn, and Steph Green contributed to this article.
From the boundless wonders of the Criterion Channel to the new frontiers of streaming offered by the likes of Disney+ and Max, IndieWire’s monthly guide highlights the best of what’s coming to every major streamer, with an eye toward exclusive titles that may help readers decide which of these services is right for them.
Here is your guide for June 2023.
Christian Blauvelt, Jude Dry, David Ehrlich, Eric Kohn, and Steph Green contributed to this article.
- 6/9/2023
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
With Cannes done and dusted and the heavy-hitting autumn quartet of Venice, Telluride, TIFF, and NYFF still a few months off, what’s a film festival fan to do during the dog days of summer? With New York City’s own Tribeca Festival now firmly ensconced in the summer months after moving off its traditional spring dates in 2021, movie lovers both in the city and beyond can enjoy the annual event’s prodigious programming, thanks to a combination of in-person and virtual programming.
The 2023 edition will kick off June 7 with the North American premiere of “Kiss the Future,” a documentary following the story of a community of underground musicians and creatives throughout the nearly four-year-long siege of Sarajevo, as well as the 1997 U2 concert celebrating the liberation of the Bosnian capital.
A special 30th-anniversary screening of “A Bronx Tale” will close the fest on June 17. After the movie, the film...
The 2023 edition will kick off June 7 with the North American premiere of “Kiss the Future,” a documentary following the story of a community of underground musicians and creatives throughout the nearly four-year-long siege of Sarajevo, as well as the 1997 U2 concert celebrating the liberation of the Bosnian capital.
A special 30th-anniversary screening of “A Bronx Tale” will close the fest on June 17. After the movie, the film...
- 6/1/2023
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Just in time for Succession‘s end, let’s look at method acting. The Criterion Channel are highlighting the controversial practice in a 27-film series centered on Brando, Newman, Nicholson, and many other’s embodiment of “an intensely personal, internalized, and naturalistic approach to performance.” That series makes mention of Marilyn Monroe, who gets her own, 11-title highlight––the iconic commingling with deeper cuts.
Pride Month offers “Masc,” a consideration of “trans men, butch lesbians, and gender-nonconforming heroes” onscreen; the Michael Koresky-curated Queersighted returning with a study of the gay best friend; and the 20-film “LGBTQ+ Favorites.” Louis Garrel’s delightful The Innocent (about which I talked to him here), the director’s cut of Gregg Araki’s The Doom Generation, and Stanley Kwan’s hugely underseen Lan Yu make streaming premieres, while Araki’s Totally F***ed Up and Mysterious Skin also get a run. Criterion Editions include Five Easy Pieces,...
Pride Month offers “Masc,” a consideration of “trans men, butch lesbians, and gender-nonconforming heroes” onscreen; the Michael Koresky-curated Queersighted returning with a study of the gay best friend; and the 20-film “LGBTQ+ Favorites.” Louis Garrel’s delightful The Innocent (about which I talked to him here), the director’s cut of Gregg Araki’s The Doom Generation, and Stanley Kwan’s hugely underseen Lan Yu make streaming premieres, while Araki’s Totally F***ed Up and Mysterious Skin also get a run. Criterion Editions include Five Easy Pieces,...
- 5/22/2023
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Editor’s Note: This interview took place prior to the beginning of the Writers Guild of America strike on May 2.
Welcome to It’s a Hit! In this series, IndieWire speaks to creators and showrunners behind a few of our favorite television programs about the moment they realized their show was breaking big.
As he geared up for the premiere of “Fire Island” on Hulu, writer and star Joel Kim Booster was braced for a deluge of #discourse.
He was familiar with the critical audience feedback for well-intentioned queer media of yesteryear, and fully prepared for “Fire Island” to engender the same polarizing response.
“Listen, I think I got away with murder a little bit in terms of the discourse around this movie,” Booster told IndieWire. “Gay men are especially critical of a media that depicts us because we are so starved for it. There’s not a lot of...
Welcome to It’s a Hit! In this series, IndieWire speaks to creators and showrunners behind a few of our favorite television programs about the moment they realized their show was breaking big.
As he geared up for the premiere of “Fire Island” on Hulu, writer and star Joel Kim Booster was braced for a deluge of #discourse.
He was familiar with the critical audience feedback for well-intentioned queer media of yesteryear, and fully prepared for “Fire Island” to engender the same polarizing response.
“Listen, I think I got away with murder a little bit in terms of the discourse around this movie,” Booster told IndieWire. “Gay men are especially critical of a media that depicts us because we are so starved for it. There’s not a lot of...
- 5/18/2023
- by Proma Khosla
- Indiewire
The Los Angeles Press Club released the nominees for its 60th annual award Southern California Journalism Awards on Friday, and IndieWire earned six nominations. Following its 2022 win for Best Website, Traditional News Organization, IndieWire’s entire staff was once again honored with a nomination for Website, News Organization Exclusive to the Internet. IndieWire writers also earned nominations for individual accolades in five categories.
“I’m so proud of our team,” said Dana Harris-Bridson, senior VP and editor in chief at IndieWire. “The nominations demonstrate the range, depth, and quality of the thoughtful work we produce across film and TV every day and we’re grateful for the honor.”
IndieWire’s Deputy TV Editor and TV Critic Ben Travers — who won in the Entertainment Commentary category last year — picked up a Criticism of TV nomination for his pieces “‘Atlanta’ Ends as Whatever Dream You Want It to Be,” “‘Yellowjackets Caps Off...
“I’m so proud of our team,” said Dana Harris-Bridson, senior VP and editor in chief at IndieWire. “The nominations demonstrate the range, depth, and quality of the thoughtful work we produce across film and TV every day and we’re grateful for the honor.”
IndieWire’s Deputy TV Editor and TV Critic Ben Travers — who won in the Entertainment Commentary category last year — picked up a Criticism of TV nomination for his pieces “‘Atlanta’ Ends as Whatever Dream You Want It to Be,” “‘Yellowjackets Caps Off...
- 5/12/2023
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
Charlize Theron thinks anyone who opposes drag is a monster.
The “Monster” Oscar winner and “Fast X” star participated in a “Drag Isn’t Dangerous” telethon alongside Elizabeth Banks, Jesse Eisenberg, Billy Eichner, Sarah Silverman, Adam Lambert, Marcia Gay Harden, and more LGBTQ+ allies. Theron vowed to “fuck anybody up” who is against drag queens in response to proposed bills in states like Tennessee, Kentucky, and Montana banning public drag performances.
“We love you, queens. We’re in your corner and we’ve got you,” Theron said in a video. “I will fuck anybody up who’s trying to fuck with anything with you guys. There are so many things that are hurting and, really, killing our kids, and we all know what I’m talking about right now and it ain’t no drag queen.”
Theron continued, “If you’ve ever seen a drag queen lip-sync for her life,...
The “Monster” Oscar winner and “Fast X” star participated in a “Drag Isn’t Dangerous” telethon alongside Elizabeth Banks, Jesse Eisenberg, Billy Eichner, Sarah Silverman, Adam Lambert, Marcia Gay Harden, and more LGBTQ+ allies. Theron vowed to “fuck anybody up” who is against drag queens in response to proposed bills in states like Tennessee, Kentucky, and Montana banning public drag performances.
“We love you, queens. We’re in your corner and we’ve got you,” Theron said in a video. “I will fuck anybody up who’s trying to fuck with anything with you guys. There are so many things that are hurting and, really, killing our kids, and we all know what I’m talking about right now and it ain’t no drag queen.”
Theron continued, “If you’ve ever seen a drag queen lip-sync for her life,...
- 5/11/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
The red carpets are being rolled out, the rosé is being chilled, and the biggest names in international cinema are getting ready to converge on France for this year’s Cannes Film Festival. After a stellar return to form with last year’s event, which followed a delayed and truncated 2021 festival and a totally cancelled 2020 edition, the circuit’s starriest annual event seems ready to deliver another enviable selection of some of the year’s best films.
This year’s festival includes new films from some of cinema’s biggest names, including Martin Scorsese, Wes Anderson, Todd Haynes, Ken Loach, and even Jean-Luc Godard. There are big studio efforts on offer and new features from some of our favorite auteurs.
There’s also already plenty of controversy afoot, from the programming of Maïwenn’s Johnny Depp-starring “Jeanne du Barry” as the fest’s opener to the inclusion of The Weeknd...
This year’s festival includes new films from some of cinema’s biggest names, including Martin Scorsese, Wes Anderson, Todd Haynes, Ken Loach, and even Jean-Luc Godard. There are big studio efforts on offer and new features from some of our favorite auteurs.
There’s also already plenty of controversy afoot, from the programming of Maïwenn’s Johnny Depp-starring “Jeanne du Barry” as the fest’s opener to the inclusion of The Weeknd...
- 5/11/2023
- by Kate Erbland, David Ehrlich and Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Patricia Clarkson is no stranger to playing a mother in turmoil.
She earned an Oscar nomination for her performance as a woman perhaps oxymoronically named Joy and dealing with breast cancer in “Pieces of April” (2003). On the small screen, she earned an Emmy nomination for portraying Adora, a bitterly faded Southern belle with Munchausen by proxy syndrome in “Sharp Objects” (2018). Now, in director/co-writer Andrea Pallaoro’s “Monica,” she plays Eugenia, a Midwestern mother dying of brain cancer and now getting reacquainted as best she can with her estranged daughter (Trace Lysette), who is trans.
In “Pieces of April,” “I was a very present, very feisty woman. [With ‘Monica’], I’m considerably older. I’m 20 years older. She really is on borrowed time,” Clarkson said in a recent interview with IndieWire. As for preparing to play a woman physically and psychologically succumbing to the terminal illness, she added, “I’ll tell you this: the preparation,...
She earned an Oscar nomination for her performance as a woman perhaps oxymoronically named Joy and dealing with breast cancer in “Pieces of April” (2003). On the small screen, she earned an Emmy nomination for portraying Adora, a bitterly faded Southern belle with Munchausen by proxy syndrome in “Sharp Objects” (2018). Now, in director/co-writer Andrea Pallaoro’s “Monica,” she plays Eugenia, a Midwestern mother dying of brain cancer and now getting reacquainted as best she can with her estranged daughter (Trace Lysette), who is trans.
In “Pieces of April,” “I was a very present, very feisty woman. [With ‘Monica’], I’m considerably older. I’m 20 years older. She really is on borrowed time,” Clarkson said in a recent interview with IndieWire. As for preparing to play a woman physically and psychologically succumbing to the terminal illness, she added, “I’ll tell you this: the preparation,...
- 5/9/2023
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Where to begin with this year’s summer preview?
The “big” titles, including new superhero films, another zippy entry into the “Fast and Furious” franchise, the continuing adventures of Tom Cruise running against “Impossible” odds, or even a kicky new Indiana Jones film? What about the latest picks from some of our favorite filmmakers, Wes Anderson to Greta Gerwig, Christopher Nolan to Nicole Holofcener, Paul Schrader to Niki Caro, Christian Petzold to Rachel Sennott?
Or what about the rising filmmaking stars we’ve already fallen for, like Celine Song, Laurel Parmet, Adele Lim, Charlotte Regan, and Savanah Leaf? Should we bet even bigger, noting that this summer includes at least two films we’ve already crowned some of the best of the year?
Or, better yet, how about we let the films speak for themselves? As another summer movie season beckons, we’ve dug into the calendar to pull out...
The “big” titles, including new superhero films, another zippy entry into the “Fast and Furious” franchise, the continuing adventures of Tom Cruise running against “Impossible” odds, or even a kicky new Indiana Jones film? What about the latest picks from some of our favorite filmmakers, Wes Anderson to Greta Gerwig, Christopher Nolan to Nicole Holofcener, Paul Schrader to Niki Caro, Christian Petzold to Rachel Sennott?
Or what about the rising filmmaking stars we’ve already fallen for, like Celine Song, Laurel Parmet, Adele Lim, Charlotte Regan, and Savanah Leaf? Should we bet even bigger, noting that this summer includes at least two films we’ve already crowned some of the best of the year?
Or, better yet, how about we let the films speak for themselves? As another summer movie season beckons, we’ve dug into the calendar to pull out...
- 4/18/2023
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
“Fire Island” is about to, uh, catch fire at this year’s Emmys. The telefilm, which aired on Hulu last June, is certain to be nominated for Best TV Movie and could well win that top honor. The flick follows a group of Lgbtqia+ friends who head to Fire Island Pines for their annual trip full of sex, fun, and drugs. But when their usual trip is disrupted, they have to make this final trip their best ever. Joel Kim Booster does double duty as both writer and star of this heartfelt film, which he loosely based on “Pride & Prejudice.” Andrew Ahn directs while Margaret Cho, Matt Rogers, Conrad Ricamora, and “Saturday Night Live” star Bowen Yang all costar.
Booster play Noah, who is out just for fun and frolic until he makes a promise to best friend Howie (Yang) that he won’t have sex again until Howie breaks his dry spell.
Booster play Noah, who is out just for fun and frolic until he makes a promise to best friend Howie (Yang) that he won’t have sex again until Howie breaks his dry spell.
- 3/29/2023
- by Jacob Sarkisian
- Gold Derby
Before the summer movie season consumes the local multiplex, discerning cinephiles and festival fans can bone up on some of the best films of the year, thanks to the always-excellent slate on offer at this year’s New Directors/New Films festival. Over the course of the New York City festival, it will play home to films from 41 directors, including 27 features and 11 shorts.
As ever, this year’s Nd/Nf features a variety of films from around the festival circuit, Sundance to Cannes, Venice to Berlin, and more. The 52nd edition of the festival kicks off this week with Savannah Leaf’s A24 drama “Earth Mama” and concludes with Vuk Lungulov-Klotz’s trans coming-of-age story “Mutt.” In between, film fans can see projects from rising stars, fresh voices, and finally (finally!) get to check out gems like “Joyland,” “Totem,” and “Disco Boy.”
The 52nd edition of New Directors/New Films...
As ever, this year’s Nd/Nf features a variety of films from around the festival circuit, Sundance to Cannes, Venice to Berlin, and more. The 52nd edition of the festival kicks off this week with Savannah Leaf’s A24 drama “Earth Mama” and concludes with Vuk Lungulov-Klotz’s trans coming-of-age story “Mutt.” In between, film fans can see projects from rising stars, fresh voices, and finally (finally!) get to check out gems like “Joyland,” “Totem,” and “Disco Boy.”
The 52nd edition of New Directors/New Films...
- 3/28/2023
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
In May, the Cannes Film Festival injects a jolt of international cinema into year ahead, and expectations are even greater than usual this time around. In 2022, Cannes was the starting point for everything from future commercial hits “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Elvis” to arthouse successes like “Decision to Leave” and “Eo.” With less pandemic-era stagnation on productions, there are more newly finished (or almost finished) Cannes hopefuls in the mix than anytime in recent memory.
Some of the bigger ones have been widely reported: We already know that Martin Scorsese’s sprawling Osage Nation crime drama “Killers of the Flower Moon” will bring the revered director back to the festival with Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro in tow, while “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” is poised to premiere in an out-of-competition slot 15 years after the last entry did the same thing. There’s also a lot of...
Some of the bigger ones have been widely reported: We already know that Martin Scorsese’s sprawling Osage Nation crime drama “Killers of the Flower Moon” will bring the revered director back to the festival with Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro in tow, while “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” is poised to premiere in an out-of-competition slot 15 years after the last entry did the same thing. There’s also a lot of...
- 3/23/2023
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
The ’47 Meters Down’ Shark Franchise Has Made Stars Like Mandy Moore and John Corbett Much Wealthier
The 2017 horror survival film 47 Meters Down and its underrated sequel made considerably more than the studio expected. In fact, Dimension Films had such little faith in the first movie that they planned to release it straight to DVD. Fortunately, they sold the rights to Entertainment Studios instead, which gave the horror movie a chance in theaters, where it proved to be a major success.
Claire Holt and Mandy Moore attend the premiere of ’47 Meters Down’ at Regency Village Theatre on June 12, 2017 in Westwood, California | Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage/Getty Images ’47 Meters Down’ stars Mandy Moore and Claire Holt
Unlike typical shark films that attempt to replicate the success of Jaws, 47 Meters Down offers a new perspective to the genre. Starring Mandy Moore and Claire Holt, the film follows two sisters who decide to go shark diving while on vacation in Mexico.
After watching the sharks from a cage for a few minutes,...
Claire Holt and Mandy Moore attend the premiere of ’47 Meters Down’ at Regency Village Theatre on June 12, 2017 in Westwood, California | Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage/Getty Images ’47 Meters Down’ stars Mandy Moore and Claire Holt
Unlike typical shark films that attempt to replicate the success of Jaws, 47 Meters Down offers a new perspective to the genre. Starring Mandy Moore and Claire Holt, the film follows two sisters who decide to go shark diving while on vacation in Mexico.
After watching the sharks from a cage for a few minutes,...
- 3/12/2023
- by Rose Burke
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
No matter how many they’ve been through, there’s no feeling for a television or film creator like a premiere. Putting months if not years of hard work in front of an audience is the ultimate reward — and litmus test — for how that work will be received and remembered, as well as the unquantifiable validation of sharing all that blood, sweat, tears, and imagination.
March 10 marks the start of South by Southwest 2023, with another packed week of TV and film premieres that already have major momentum leading into the conference. Donald Glover’s latest incisively weird series “Swarm” will make its debut, A24 will present “Problemista,” Liza Mandelup toys with documentary format in “Caterpillar,” and the leads of “Everything Everywhere All at Once” reunite for Kelvin Yu’s “American Born Chinese” — to name but a few from a sorely enticing and packed schedule.
There are awards and panels throughout...
March 10 marks the start of South by Southwest 2023, with another packed week of TV and film premieres that already have major momentum leading into the conference. Donald Glover’s latest incisively weird series “Swarm” will make its debut, A24 will present “Problemista,” Liza Mandelup toys with documentary format in “Caterpillar,” and the leads of “Everything Everywhere All at Once” reunite for Kelvin Yu’s “American Born Chinese” — to name but a few from a sorely enticing and packed schedule.
There are awards and panels throughout...
- 3/9/2023
- by Proma Khosla
- Indiewire
Jena Malone has shared that she was sexually assaulted during the “Hunger Games” films.
Malone, who joined the franchise in “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” in 2013, shared a photo from after finishing production on “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part Two” in 2015. The sci-fi films based on Suzanne Collins’ novels recently landed a prequel film.
“This photo was taken right after I wrapped ‘Mockingjay Part Two’ and I had to say goodbye to everyone on set. We were shooting in a beautiful estate in the countryside of France and I asked the driver to let me out in this field so I could cry and capture this moment,” Malone captioned along with a trigger warning. “Even tho this time in Paris was extremely hard for me, was going thru a bad break-up and also was sexually assaulted by someone I had worked with, I was so full of gratitude for this project,...
Malone, who joined the franchise in “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” in 2013, shared a photo from after finishing production on “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part Two” in 2015. The sci-fi films based on Suzanne Collins’ novels recently landed a prequel film.
“This photo was taken right after I wrapped ‘Mockingjay Part Two’ and I had to say goodbye to everyone on set. We were shooting in a beautiful estate in the countryside of France and I asked the driver to let me out in this field so I could cry and capture this moment,” Malone captioned along with a trigger warning. “Even tho this time in Paris was extremely hard for me, was going thru a bad break-up and also was sexually assaulted by someone I had worked with, I was so full of gratitude for this project,...
- 3/1/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
The movie year has already unleashed a lot of memorable work, from Sundance breakouts to “M3GAN.” But things are about to get a lot more global. Even as a new Marvel movie opens in theaters worldwide, the Berlin International Film Festival begins on Wednesday to offer a whole lot more. Nestled in between Sundance and SXSW, Berlin is like a firehose of international cinema.
More than 200 films from around the world will premiere at the festival this week, many of which are potential discoveries. Berlin premieres sometimes creep into awards consider (this year’s Oscar nominee “The Quiet Girl” premiered there last year) but can also deliver major new works from rising filmmaker talent. Some of the more promising titles from this year’s lineup speak to its versatility. It’s also a valuable European launchpad for Sundance highlights: The festival’s hit “Past Lives” plays in competition.
From its...
More than 200 films from around the world will premiere at the festival this week, many of which are potential discoveries. Berlin premieres sometimes creep into awards consider (this year’s Oscar nominee “The Quiet Girl” premiered there last year) but can also deliver major new works from rising filmmaker talent. Some of the more promising titles from this year’s lineup speak to its versatility. It’s also a valuable European launchpad for Sundance highlights: The festival’s hit “Past Lives” plays in competition.
From its...
- 2/14/2023
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Editor’s Note: This story was originally posted on July 23, 2017, and has been updated multiple times since.
Few cinematic moments can burn themselves into an audience’s psyche better than a good sex scene. They can shock, arouse, or simply capture human beauty in ways that cinema is uniquely positioned to do. Sex scenes don’t have to define the movies they appear in, but they’re often the parts you remember the most.
The nature of sex scenes are constantly evolving, as the prevalence of intimacy coordinators and increased concern for performers’ safety in Hollywood is hopefully making regrettable sex scenes a thing of the past. That has allowed sexy cinema to flourish, with plenty of tantalizing movies hitting the multiplex in recent years. With that in mind, it felt like the right time to compile some of the best additions to the sexy film canon.
Our list of...
Few cinematic moments can burn themselves into an audience’s psyche better than a good sex scene. They can shock, arouse, or simply capture human beauty in ways that cinema is uniquely positioned to do. Sex scenes don’t have to define the movies they appear in, but they’re often the parts you remember the most.
The nature of sex scenes are constantly evolving, as the prevalence of intimacy coordinators and increased concern for performers’ safety in Hollywood is hopefully making regrettable sex scenes a thing of the past. That has allowed sexy cinema to flourish, with plenty of tantalizing movies hitting the multiplex in recent years. With that in mind, it felt like the right time to compile some of the best additions to the sexy film canon.
Our list of...
- 2/4/2023
- by Christian Zilko, Samantha Bergeson and Alison Foreman
- Indiewire
As this year’s Sundance comes to a close on its final weekend, awards winners have been announced, big deals have been brokered, and buzz has reached a fever pitch. And thus, the inevitable: a list of all our own favorite films of the festival, the entries we’ve been yapping about for days on end and that we just can’t wait for more people to see and enjoy.
Of this year’s batch of best-of-fest, we fell hard for films like “Eileen,” “Fair Play,” “Past Lives,” and “Passages,” which all arrived at Sundance with strong headwinds, but were also delighted by dark horses like late entry “Flora and Son” and little gems “Scrapper” and “Radical.” here are narrative features and documentaries among these picks, along with plenty of first-time filmmakers making big debuts and new offerings from some of our long-time favorite directors. And some of the festival’s prize winners,...
Of this year’s batch of best-of-fest, we fell hard for films like “Eileen,” “Fair Play,” “Past Lives,” and “Passages,” which all arrived at Sundance with strong headwinds, but were also delighted by dark horses like late entry “Flora and Son” and little gems “Scrapper” and “Radical.” here are narrative features and documentaries among these picks, along with plenty of first-time filmmakers making big debuts and new offerings from some of our long-time favorite directors. And some of the festival’s prize winners,...
- 1/28/2023
- by Kate Erbland, David Ehrlich and Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
After making one of the most talked about horror movies of 2022, Zach Cregger has set his sights on a follow-up. The “Barbarian” writer-director’s sophomore film “Weapons” will begin production this year, it was announced January 25.
The film, which has not revealed any plot details, will be distributed by New Line Cinema and receive a full theatrical release. Warner Bros. Pictures will distribute the film worldwide. Cregger, best known before “Barbarian” for his work as a writer in the comedy troupe “The Whitest Kids U’Know” and its IFC TV series, will produce the film, alongside the rest of the producing team from “Barbarian,” including Roy Lee of Vertigo and J.D. Lifshitz and Raphael Margules of BoulderLight Pictures. Vertigo’s Miri Yoon will also produce.
“Zach proved with ‘Barbarian’ that he can create a visceral theatrical experience for audiences and that he commands every tool in the filmmaker toolbelt,” New...
The film, which has not revealed any plot details, will be distributed by New Line Cinema and receive a full theatrical release. Warner Bros. Pictures will distribute the film worldwide. Cregger, best known before “Barbarian” for his work as a writer in the comedy troupe “The Whitest Kids U’Know” and its IFC TV series, will produce the film, alongside the rest of the producing team from “Barbarian,” including Roy Lee of Vertigo and J.D. Lifshitz and Raphael Margules of BoulderLight Pictures. Vertigo’s Miri Yoon will also produce.
“Zach proved with ‘Barbarian’ that he can create a visceral theatrical experience for audiences and that he commands every tool in the filmmaker toolbelt,” New...
- 1/25/2023
- by Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
Blow the dust off your wired microphone, there’s a new “House Party” movie in theaters.
The remake of the 1990 movie hails from LeBron James and Maverick Carter’s SpringHill Entertainment, as well as the O.G. film’s distributor New Line Cinema. (Warner Bros. put this one out theatrically; it was originally meant to be an HBO Max movie released last summer.) Considering the early reviews — IndieWire’s Jude Dry called it an “uneven” film, one “that skates by on celebrity cameos,” like those from James and his NBA pals — 2023’s “House Party” probably should have stayed on streaming.
Stephen Glover wrote this “House Party” with his “Atlanta” colleague Jamal Olori. The 2023 reboot, which is technically the sixth movie in the franchise, is directed by Charles “Calmatic” Kidd II, who is mostly known for doing music videos and TV commercials to this point.
The Friday the 13th release follows...
The remake of the 1990 movie hails from LeBron James and Maverick Carter’s SpringHill Entertainment, as well as the O.G. film’s distributor New Line Cinema. (Warner Bros. put this one out theatrically; it was originally meant to be an HBO Max movie released last summer.) Considering the early reviews — IndieWire’s Jude Dry called it an “uneven” film, one “that skates by on celebrity cameos,” like those from James and his NBA pals — 2023’s “House Party” probably should have stayed on streaming.
Stephen Glover wrote this “House Party” with his “Atlanta” colleague Jamal Olori. The 2023 reboot, which is technically the sixth movie in the franchise, is directed by Charles “Calmatic” Kidd II, who is mostly known for doing music videos and TV commercials to this point.
The Friday the 13th release follows...
- 1/13/2023
- by Tony Maglio
- Indiewire
While the chances of getting a feature film into Sundance may be slim, the short film submissions are just as competitive. For its first year back to in-person after two years of a virtual event, the festival received a record number of short films submissions, with 10,980 entries from around the world hoping to play in Park City. Shorts programmers Mike Plante and Heidi Zwicker had the task of whittling it down to 64 films and 4 episodic projects, and they assure aspiring Sundance filmmakers that they watch every single submission.
“We love all these films individually, but part of choosing them is how well they speak together as a program,” Zwicker told IndieWire during a recent interview. “They have to come together to create a cohesive whole, where each one is doing something different.”
Building the program holistically allows for a broad spectrum of genres and budgets, something Plante singles out as being unique to Sundance.
“We love all these films individually, but part of choosing them is how well they speak together as a program,” Zwicker told IndieWire during a recent interview. “They have to come together to create a cohesive whole, where each one is doing something different.”
Building the program holistically allows for a broad spectrum of genres and budgets, something Plante singles out as being unique to Sundance.
- 1/12/2023
- by Jude Dry and Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
After two years of virtual and hybrid event offerings, the Sundance Film Festival is set to celebrate the first fully in-person edition of the landmark fest when it rolls out next week in Park City, Utah. As ever, this year’s festival boasts a wide variety of new films from some of our favorite filmmakers, plus an assortment of rising stars, new talents to keep an eye on, and perhaps a few surprises.
This year’s program includes new films from Nicole Holofcener, Ira Sachs, Brandon Cronenberg, Sebastian Silva, Cory Finley, Justin Chon, Nicole Newnham, Maite Alberdi, Roger Ross Williams, Sophie Barthes, Lana Wilson, Davis Guggenheim, Rebecca Zlotowski, and Anton Corbijn.
Looking for big stars? Sundance has them, too, as notable actors at this year’s festival range include Jonathan Majors, Daisy Ridley, Sarah Snook, Ben Whishaw, Alexander Skarsgard, Mia Goth, Cynthia Erivo, Alia Shawkat, Thomasin McKenzie, Anne Hathaway, Emilia Jones,...
This year’s program includes new films from Nicole Holofcener, Ira Sachs, Brandon Cronenberg, Sebastian Silva, Cory Finley, Justin Chon, Nicole Newnham, Maite Alberdi, Roger Ross Williams, Sophie Barthes, Lana Wilson, Davis Guggenheim, Rebecca Zlotowski, and Anton Corbijn.
Looking for big stars? Sundance has them, too, as notable actors at this year’s festival range include Jonathan Majors, Daisy Ridley, Sarah Snook, Ben Whishaw, Alexander Skarsgard, Mia Goth, Cynthia Erivo, Alia Shawkat, Thomasin McKenzie, Anne Hathaway, Emilia Jones,...
- 1/11/2023
- by Kate Erbland, David Ehrlich and Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
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