As protests continue to march across the United States (and even the entire globe) in support of Black Lives Matter, movie distributors are amplifying the voices of black filmmakers in an effort to not just show solidarity, but educate the general public on why these protests are so necessary.
Following The Criterion Channel making a selection of movies from black filmmakers available for free, Magnolia Pictures is teaming with The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and O Cinema to release three extremely relevant documentaries for free, each focusing on Civil Rights leaders, black writers, and the issues of social injustice. Get the details below. Read More »
(Infinity and Beyond is a regular column documenting the 25-year filmography of Pixar Animation Studios, film by film. In today’s column, writer Josh Spiegel highlights WALL-E.)
How do you know for sure how much power someone has in Hollywood? For filmmakers, it can be as simple as seeing a studio greenlighting a pet project thanks to their success with big-budget blockbusters. For actors, it can be allowing them to pick and choose their preferred projects, no matter how it may look for their box-office prospects moving forward. Pixar Animation Studios is, and has always been, an entirely different beast. With the exception of Brad Bird, Pixar’s filmmakers aren’t often perceived as distinctive auteurs.
Yet as the studio’s films became consistently the highest-performing titles from the Walt Disney Company on a yearly basis, and even as they nearly moved beyond Disney entirely at the end of their initial contract, Pixar pushed the limits of how they could tell stories with computer animation. In 2008, they pushed their boundaries further than ever before or since, in telling a story about human avarice and greed, the death of Earth through pollution, and boiling it down to a love story between two robots who don’t speak English. Read More »
Although the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is still in full force, all 50 states have begun to release their stay-at-home restrictions, with businesses across the country slowly grinding back to life. But what does that mean for movie theaters? Theaters across the country have remain shut since lockdowns were imposed in mid-March, but the National Association of Theater Owners, which represents movie theaters across the U.S., expects that 90% of the global theatrical marketplace will be open by July — the month that Christopher Nolan‘s highly anticipated blockbuster Tenet is set to open in theaters.
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This week’s edition of Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian was shorter than usual, running just under 20 minutes. However, it revealed some more fascinating behind-the-scenes details of the live-action Star Wars series. Like the previous two episodes, this one keeps the focus on the technical side, specifically the visualization process used to plan what will go in front of cameras, both practically and in the immersive virtual set known as The Volume. And we see yet again how The Mandalorian shakes up the typical film production process.
In this episode, it’s revealed that The Mandalorian is not only groundbreaking in the technology being used to make the Star Wars series, but also the manner in which the production is planned through storyboards and previsualization. More specifically, every single episode of The Mandalorian was previsualized in its entirety, and they did it by using the same virtual cinema technology that Jon Favreau utilized while remaking The Lion King. Read More »
It was only a matter of time before Russia got in on the superhero movie market. Major Grom: Plague Doctor is the latest caped crusader to enter the ever-crowded comic book movie field, based on the cult Russian comic book series published by Bubble Comics. Watch the Major Grom: Plague Doctor trailer below.
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(Welcome to The Quarantine Stream, a new series where the /Film team shares what they’ve been watching while social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.)
The Movie: The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
Where You Can Stream It: HBO Max and the Criterion Channel
The Pitch: In a seaside French town, two gorgeous young people declare their love for each other, but war rips them apart. Can their relationship withstand such a blow?
Why It’s Essential Quarantine Viewing: The Umbrellas of Cherbourg is, quite simply, one of the most beautiful movies of all time. And considering how particularly bleak the news is right now, couldn’t we all use a burst of cinematic color? Read More »
There have always been action figures and playsets tied to the Jurassic Park and Jurassic World franchises. While the dinosaurs and vehicles have always been the best parts of the toylines for both of the franchises, the action figures of the human characters have left something to be desire. Mattel has started to change that over the past year with the Jurassic Park Amber Collection, a new line of 6-inch scale action figures and dinosaurs inspired by Jurassic Park and Jurassic World. And they’ve just added a dilophosaurus and his meal in the form of park saboteur Dennis Nedry. Read More »
The Morning Watch is a recurring feature that highlights a handful of noteworthy videos from around the web. They could be video essays, fanmade productions, featurettes, short films, hilarious sketches, or just anything that has to do with our favorite movies and TV shows.
In this edition, the visual effects artists at Corridor Crew take a look at impressive work from Terminator: Dark Fate and flashback to a flaming scene from Reign of Fire. Plus, the cast of Saturday Night Live talk about their experiences making the special “At Home” editions of the show under quarantine, and The Simpsons voice star Nancy Cartwright reviews impressions of Bart Simpson and more. Read More »
Which superhero costume designer created the SpaceX astronaut suits? Will The Falcon and the Winter Soldier get a new title for a second season? What award was Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi recently given? What accidental Easter egg in X-Men: Days of Future Past shows Rogue is still around? Why did Laura Harrier think Zendaya took her role in Spider-Man: Homecoming? All that and more in this edition of Superhero Bits. Read More »
Cool Posts From Around the Web:
If the ongoing pandemic or the events of the past few weeks have driven you to drink a bit more than you might have otherwise (and who could blame you?), you may be interested in Another Round. It’s a new film in which Mads Mikkelsen (Casino Royale, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) and his pals decide to see if they can live better by constantly keeping alcohol in their blood and drinking only “during work hours.”
But the guys are all high school teachers, so all this may not be the best idea – and deciding to push the boundaries of their own plan also seems like it may not be the best thing for their overall health and relationships. But it’s definitely the best thing for this movie, which looks entertaining as hell. Check out the trailer below. Read More »
