Dear Mr. Brody Director Keith Maitland on His Fascinating Documentary and the Fate of All Those Unopened Letters
Those who read my Top 10 list last year might recall that my #2 movie of 2021 was the documentary Dear Mr. Brody, which told the incredible story of Michael Brody Jr., a 21-year-old hippie millionaire who in 1970 promised to give away his $25 million inheritance in an effort to usher in a new... »
Director Series: Robert Eggers on His Epic Journey in Making Revenge-Fueled Viking Movie The Northman
Ever since his debut feature The Witch premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, writer-director Robert Eggers has established a reputation as a visionary auteur, something fully confirmed a few years later by his second feature, the black-and-white oddity The Lighthouse. Now, Eggers returns to theaters with The Northman, an expensive Viking epic and a film... »
Umma Director Iris K. Shim on the Duality of Identity Within Her Sandra Oh-Led Horror Movie
The Evil Dead director Sam Raimi returns to his genre roots with the release of Umma, which marks the feature directorial debut of up-and-coming filmmaker Iris K. Shim (The House of Suh). The supernatural thriller stars two-time Golden Globe winner Sandra Oh (Killing Eve, Grey’s Anatomy) as Amanda, who is living a secluded life on a remote property where... »
X Director Ti West on His Sex-Themed Slasher Movie and His First Question for Potential Cast Members
Writer-director Ti West has been doing the “elevated horror” thing since long before A24, the distributor of his new film X, made the subgenre cool. The filmmaker made a name for himself with his low-budget independent horror movies House of the Devil (2009) and The Innkeepers (2011) before changing things up a bit with his 2013 horror-thriller The Sacrament (produced by Eli Roth and... »
DGA Awards: Jane Campion and Maggie Gyllenhaal Win Top Prizes for Netflix
As expected, The Power of the Dog filmmaker Jane Campion won the top feature prize at the 74th Annual DGA Awards on Saturday night. Campion beat out all of her male competitors, which this year included Paul Thomas Anderson (Licorice Pizza), Kenneth Branagh (Belfast), Steven Spielberg (West Side Story), and Denis Villeneuve (Dune). Meanwhile, The Lost... »
Director Series: Joe Wright Explores the Many Colors of Love in Cyrano
Over the course of his 25-year career, British filmmaker Joe Wright has directed two movies to Best Picture nominations and three actors to Oscar-nominated performances — including Gary Oldman‘s only Oscar win for Darkest Hour — but Cyrano might be one of Wright’s best films to date. It’s also the director’s first full-on movie musical, as it uses the... »
Visual Effects Society to Honor Guillermo Del Toro With VES Award for Creative Excellence
The Visual Effects Society has announced it will honor Oscar-winning filmmaker Guillermo del Toro with its VES Award for Creative Excellence in recognition of his valuable contributions to filmed entertainment. The award will be presented at the 20th Annual VES Awards on March 8 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. The VES Award for Creative Excellence, bestowed by the... »
The Cursed Filmmaker Sean Ellis on Reviving the Werewolf Genre and Refusing to Compromise on That One-Shot
Like many filmmakers, British director Sean Ellis began his career with short films, though that was after many years spent working as a photographer. His 2004 Oscar nomination for his short Cashback helped pave the way for his transition into features, beginning with a feature version of Cashback in 2006. Both of Ellis’ next two movies, The... »
Ghostbusters Director Ivan Reitman Dies at 75, Leaves Behind a Rich Comedy Legacy
Some people grew up on Star Wars. Others on Star Trek. Some grew up on Marvel comics. Others were loyal DC readers. Some loved James Bond, while others preferred Indiana Jones. Of course, most people love all of these things. But me? I didn’t love any of them. I loved Ghostbusters, which by extension means that I... »
Catch the Fair One Director Josef Kubota Wladyka on Making the Distinctive Crime Movie
Josef Kubota Wladyka’s Catch the Fair One is a pretty special film, co-written and starring real-life boxer Kali “KO” Reis, though it’s not exactly a boxing movie, per sé. Instead, Reis stars as Kaylee, an indigenous boxer who has been looking for her missing younger sister. Going off on her own investigation, Kaylee comes... »