Vincenzo Natali’s SPLICE is a dark fantasy about what would happen if maverick scientists decided to flout the rules and insert human DNA into a hybrid creature. The result is terrifyng on both a cerebral and an emotional level, with the complex structure of the human psyche, good and bad, making for the real horror of the… Read More »
Alexandre O. Philippe Makes the Case for THE PEOPLE VS. GEORGE LUCAS
Is George Lucas more than just a filmmaker with a franchise worth billions? Is he also that franchise’s #1 Fanboy? It’s one of many intriguing questions in Alexandre Philippe’s documentary about the relationship the fans have with the creator of the Star Wars universe. While Philippe demurred about the exact number of Star Wars action… Read More »
Tim Allen & Michael Lembeck Invoke THE SANTA CLAUS 2
Though the result may be so much cinematic cotton candy, the process of making THE SANTA CLAUS II was anything but all sweetness and light for its star Tim Allen. Playing both Santa and his evil toy double required extensive prosthetic makeup that took hours to apply and didn’t last all that long under the… Read More »
Gregg Araki Goes KABOOM
Gregg Araki made his reputation for uncompromising indie filmmaking with a the Doom Generation Trilogy. Those films explored the terror and exhilaration of being young, confused, and hormonal. His later film, MYSTERIOUS SKIN, was unflinching in its depiction of the effects of child sexual abuse on its victims. His latest, KABOOM, picks up many of… Read More »
Andre Ovredal Exposes the TROLLHUNTER
Andre Ovredal waited over a decade before embarking on his second adventure in feature filmmaking. He used the time to hone his skills as a successful commercial filmmaker in his native Norway, a country whose folklore gifted him with the premise of TROLLHUNTER. A man with a quick wit, and a killer smile, he talked… Read More »
Brit Marling & Zal Batmanglij Listen to the SOUND OF MY VOICE
For co-writers Zal Batmanglij and Brit Marling, making SOUND OF MY VOICE wasn’t just a labor of love, but one of passion. Batmaglij directed and Marling stars as Maggie, the enigmatic leader of a cult who claims to have come from the future to save her followers in a film that lets the audience decide… Read More »
Rich Moore Gives WRECK-IT RALPH Serious Depth
Rich Moore spent a healthy part of his youth playing video games, which ultimately paid off when the time came to come up with the story for WRECK-IT RALPH. When I spoke to him on October 17, 2012, the first thing I wanted to know was how he got from video games in general to existential… Read More »
Andrew Davis and Louis Sachar’s Perfect HOLES
If I had had any doubts about HOLES being one of the big summer films of 2003, they were all put to rest by the audience reaction the film and its makers received at one of the two press screenings that I went to. The audience was packed with kids of all ages who adored Louis… Read More »
Anna Paquin, Shawn Ashmore & Dania Ramirez on X-MEN: THE LAST STAND
There is something a little superhuman about Anna Paquin (Rogue), Shawn Ashmore (Iceman), and Dania Ramirez (new character Callisto). After a wake-up call that came before dawn and a full day of interviews, including one on a cold and windy pier overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge, they were still full of energy and psyched to… Read More »
Andrew Niccol on Creating SIMONE
In S1M0NE, Andrew Niccol (GATTACA, THE TRUMAN SHOW) presents an intriguing and, for SAG members, a somewhat disturbing glimpse of what the future of entertainment might be. In it, a computer-generated actress becomes a pop-culture sensation for a public that doesn’t know that she’s a collection of pixels. What that says about reality and perception is something worth… Read More »