The Warner Bros. musical generated a wane $11.4 million from 3,456 U.S. theaters in its first four days of release, below earlier expectations suggesting the feel-good film would reach $20 million. - Variety
Filmmaker Jim Mickle: "I started asking questions like, 'What if you could make an apocalyptic story where you actually want to go to that world?' What does that look like? And you start asking, 'What happens if humans just disappear for 10 years and nature is suddenly allowed to thrive?' It would probably be one of the most beautiful...
That's what season 2 - and sophomore novels - are all about. Overwhelming numbers for a TV series or book can scare artists off. So what's going to happen in series 2 of Lupin? - The New York Times
In the Heights might have opened to disappointing box office numbers this weekend, but those who did see it had the chance to learn about second-generation immigrants' dreams - and, through an elderly character, reality. "The classic peril of assimilation in America is that a perceived greater belonging demands a partial loss of self," but Abuela Claudia's character offers...
Coming to those who are interested in Spanish-language media, to be a little more precise. Disney, Netflix, and Warner Media, and Univision all have a piece of the pie - and are tugging, hard. "It’s easy to see why streamers and studios see a gold mine. Latinos consistently accounted for a disproportionate amount of moviegoing before the pandemic, yet...
Take Netflix's new High on the Hog as an example: "The narrative about Black food is often one of resilience—a history of dishes and cooking passed down from one generation to the next as Black people survived subpar and inhumane conditions. While part of that is true, High on the Hog is not afraid to complicate that narrative by reconsidering Black...
And it's not just Hollywood. In recent USC study, the researchers "combed through 200 popular films from the U.S., the U.K., Australia and New Zealand from 2017 to 2019. They found that only six of them had a Muslim in a co-leading role, and only one of those was female. Of the nearly 9,000 speaking parts, fewer than two...
When Kids came out in 1995, it won awards, had incredible box-office success for a film so raunchy, and essentially took the film world by storm. But "the film’s legacy is more complicated. Many of the young men and women ... tapped to play key roles struggled to find work after the film premiered, and grew frustrated that they’d...
To make In the Heights work as a movie, the playwright and scriptwriter Quiera Alegría Hudes had to make painful cuts, and so did songwriter Lin-Manuel Miranda. How to keep it faithful to the feel of the stage show? Director Jon Chu: "What they had created is not just a show. It is a life force." - The New...
Success in streaming, as Netflix has shown, ultimately requires reaching subscribers in every corner of the planet. But taking a streaming service around the world is complicated and expensive. It involves creating locally-sourced shows in multiple languages and navigating regions that don’t have reliable broadband or many consumers with credit cards. For HBO Max, it also means deciding when...
" is using powerful tools to curtail the creative freedom of Bollywood — in particular the influence of Muslims, who have an outsize presence in the industry. The measures pushed by the Modi government include indiscriminate tax investigations, trumped-up accusations against actors and directors, intimidation and harassment in response to certain movies and TV shows, and the chilling rap...
The just-announced project They Are Us, to be written and directed by New Zealander Andrew Niccol (writer and co-producer of The Truman Show, writer-director of, among others, Gattaca and Good Kill) and starring Rose Byrne, focuses on the aftermath of the 2019 mass shooting and the national campaign led by Prime Minister Ardern to ban assault rifles in the...
A virtual YouTube is a channel that follows an animated or virtual character instead of a real-life person. These virtual YouTubers (VTubers for short) first became popular in Japan in the mid-2010s, and now have spread around the world. - Slate
Making Crazy Rich Asians and In the Heights helped Chu figure out what he’s trying to say with his films. Through them, he’s arguing for telling fresh stories via beloved, old-school Hollywood styles. But he also wants to do more than entertain; he wants to help audiences reflect on their own connections to what’s happening on screen. - The...
With Cannes on the verge of reigniting international festival activity and Telluride keen on reclaiming the Oscar influencer throne, festivals are mobilizing to become the frontlines for an industry that must assess an uncertain future. - IndieWire
