The news as it happens … and then collected after it happens. (We’ll post some analysis articles tomorrow.)
Category: media
‘Toni Erdmann’ Sweeps European Cinematic Awards
It’s the first film directed by a woman to win best film – and she won best director and best writer as well, beating Ken Loach and Pedro Almodovar, among other strong contenders. What does this presage for the Oscars?
How Do You Make A Movie Musical Like ‘La-La Land’?
The director says you have to ease people into it. “I thought of it like the frog boiling slowly in water. Maybe people wouldn’t realize they’ve been suckered into a musical until it was too late.”
Will The Academy Ever Recognize The Skills Of Those Who Cast Movies?
Sure, casting geniuses get “special Oscars” sometimes, including this year, but “an Oscar category honoring casting alongside acting, directing, and the other long-recognized areas has yet to take hold.”
The Lost Power Of ‘Life’ Magazine
Two in-the-theatres-now movies remind us that Life Magazine once set the national agenda. “Looking back at Life now is a bit of a shock. All those pages! All those ads! And how strange to think there was once a time when only a handful of trusted sources were delivering our news.”
Why It Took Scorsese Three Decades To Make ‘Silence’
In a story that begins with the director’s near-death from drugs and asthma in 1978, Stephen Galloway follows the project through legal troubles (complicated), money troubles (recurring), and weather troubles (terrifying) – with the happy ending of a screening for Pope Francis and 200 teary-eyed Jesuits.
How Did You Actually Film That Embarrassing Sex Scene? 10 Directors Tell How
Kyle Buchanan talks to Leslye Headland (Sleeping With Other People), Mary Harron (American Psycho), Paul Feig (Bridesmaids), John Krokidas (Kill Your Darlings), and half a dozen others (including Paul Verhoeven of Showgirls, of course).
The Women Of Pedro Almodóvar’s ‘Cinema Of Women’
Penélope Cruz, Rossy de Palma. Marisa Paredes, Emma Suárez, and others on how the flamboyant director creates his female-centered worlds.
How ‘Crash’ Got Made Against The Odds And Won The Best Picture Oscar Against Even Bigger Odds: An Oral History
These folks don’t think they beat Brokeback Mountain because of Academy voters’ homophobia (or at least skittishness). But they made the movie, so they would say that, wouldn’t they? Even so, they have quite a story to tell.
Nine Nations And Their Favorite Movies (And The Reasons Why)
These films rarely top critics’ lists, but they’ve definitely captured their people’s imaginations. Britain’s The Great Escape, Russia’s Irony of Fate, India’s Sholay – plus titles for France, Germany, Mexico, Japan, Nigeria, and, of course, the U.S. (for which the choice may be arguable but is certainly credible, especially when you adjust its box-office figures for inflation).