Features

Must-See "In The Family" is Indie Tragedy; Rookie Director Wang Says 'Enough Already' to Low Expectations and Garbage; EXCLUSIVE Clip

Sophia Savage — Wed, 30 May 2012 18:39:15 GMT

The definition of indie film is blurry these days. But Patrick Wang's debut feature, "In The Family," certainly fits the bill. The drama runs 169 minutes with mostly long single takes....

Dear S&A, How Do I, An Actor, Break Into Hollywood Showbiz?

Tambay — Wed, 30 May 2012 18:21:43 GMT

A question that I get asked more often than any other is some variation of the following: do you have any suggestions or advise for how I can get into the business? Like I said, it's not...

Africa First 2012 Profile: Advisor Mahen Bonetti On What Separates The Program From Others

Tambay — Wed, 30 May 2012 16:42:42 GMT

I'm close to wrapping up this series, with 1 or 2 more entries coming; but I hope that, in reading all the previous entries, intentionally spread of over the last 3 months or so, the program is...

The Essentials: 5 Great Howard Hawks Films

Oliver Lyttelton — Wed, 30 May 2012 14:56:00 GMT

We love a chamelonic director here at The Playlist, and Howard Hawks was one of the first, and one of the best. Across a 55-year career that spanned silents and talkies, black-and-white and color,...

A Mid-Year Look Back at 16 Talent Breakouts From 2012

Nigel M Smith — Wed, 30 May 2012 12:37:21 GMT

With the mid-year mark looming, this seems like a good time to revisit the most buzzed-about up-and-comers Indiewire profiled during the first half of 2012. We spoke with the 16 breakout sensations...

FIRST PERSON | Clint Eastwood Explains Why He Usually Goes for the First or Second Take

Clint Eastwood — Tue, 29 May 2012 21:04:43 GMT

In the new book "Film Craft: Directing," Screen International editor Mike Goodridge (who was just named CEO of Protagonist Pictures) compiled interviews with 16 of the world's biggest...

Career Watch: Will Smith, Still on His Throne?

Sophia Savage — Tue, 29 May 2012 20:22:51 GMT

Music-TV-film superstar Will Smith did not mark his return to the box office (after a four year hiatus) with a bang, but it wasn't a crash either. "Men in Black III" knocked "The...

David Cronenberg Talks The Bizarre Love In 'Cosmopolis' Between Paul Giamatti & Robert Pattinson; Discusses The Film's Timely Social Relevance & More

Edward Davis — Tue, 29 May 2012 19:49:57 GMT

An adaptation of Don DeLillo’s titular and typically provocative novel, "Cosmopolis," is the first feature-length effort filmmaker David Cronenberg wrote himself...

5 Breakout Performers & Directors From The 2012 Cannes Film Festival

Oliver Lyttelton — Tue, 29 May 2012 19:31:54 GMT

One of the greatest things about film festivals, something that can even get you through the worst films, the lack of sleep, and the terrible B.O. of your fellow moviegoers, is the chance to discover...

'Beasts of the Southern Wild' Director Benh Zeitlin On Wandering to New Orleans to Make His 'Die Hard' Art Film

Bryce J. Renninger — Tue, 29 May 2012 16:10:09 GMT

Over a cup of gumbo before the Sundance party for "Beasts of the Southern Wild," a ravenous Benh Zeitlin apologized for eating while we chatted. He had just come from Salt Lake City, where...

The Playlist's Complete Coverage Of The 2012 Cannes Film Festival

Oliver Lyttelton — Tue, 29 May 2012 16:00:00 GMT

Cannes is done for another year. Exhausted filmmakers, writers and sales types have pretty much emptied out of the South of France, Michael Haneke has his second Palme D'Or in four years, and...

Revisiting Spike Lee's Forgotten Films #1 - "She Hate Me"

Tambay — Tue, 29 May 2012 15:22:42 GMT

I call them Spike Lee's *forgotten* films, not because we don't remember them, but rather because, when discussion of Spike's film (specifically fan favorites) are had, these are the...

Cannes: Kristen Stewart & Garrett Hedlund Talk Making Walter Salles' 'On The Road'

Oliver Lyttelton — Tue, 29 May 2012 14:58:00 GMT

If any film at Cannes this year faced the most fevered anticipation, it was Walter Salles' "On The Road." Not just because the project had been over thirty years in the making, and was...

Why 'We Need to Talk About Kevin' Tops This Week's 5 DVD/Blu-ray Picks

Nigel M Smith — Tue, 29 May 2012 13:55:49 GMT

This week on DVD/Blu-ray: A mother/son drama you should avoid at all costs from watching with your mother; Ralph Fiennes' stellar directorial debut; a touching documentary on the life of Harry...

We've Read It! Thoughts On Steve McQueen's "12 Years A Slave" Script

Vanessa Martinez — Tue, 29 May 2012 13:05:00 GMT

I had an opportunity to read a 2011 draft Steve McQueen’s 12 Years A Slave, a film we’ve been eagerly anticipating and debating about for a several months now. Casting has been well...

Trailers From Hell: Bernard Rose Talks Ken Russell's "Mahler"

Trailers From Hell — Mon, 28 May 2012 19:11:22 GMT

Bernard Rose's Ken Russell Bio-Pic week launched Monday on Joe Dante's Trailers from Hell site: Ken Russell’s largely metaphorical take on the life of 19th century Austrian composer...

Weekend Reel Reads: On Sontag, Video Games and the Death of Ramon Novarro

Steve Greene — Sun, 27 May 2012 19:37:18 GMT

Weekend Reel Reads is a regular feature that gathers lengthier stories related to the world of film criticism you may have missed during the week. If there's anything you think would be ideal for...

Cannes: Walter Salles Talks The Long Journey To Make 'On The Road'

Oliver Lyttelton — Sun, 27 May 2012 17:17:45 GMT

Given that the source material was once described by Truman Capote with the immortal epithet "That's not writing, that's typing," and has generally been considered as...

Miles Davis Was Born Today... Who'll Get To Play Him First On Film? Don Cheadle Or Snoop Dogg?

Tambay — Sat, 26 May 2012 16:29:29 GMT

Today in history... Miles Dewey Davis was born on May 26, 1926 in Alton, Illinois, to Dr. Miles Henry Davis, a dentist, and Cleota Mae (Henry) Davis. I think many will find it odd that we...

How Do You Subtitle a Movie at Cannes? Henri Behar Explains All

Eric Kohn — Sat, 26 May 2012 13:18:04 GMT

Every moviegoer at the Cannes Film Festival is intimately familiar with the work of Henri Behar. Most have seen him as moderator of many of Cannes' high-profile press conferences, a gig he...

The Playlist Soundtrack Series Revisited: Wes Anderson

The Playlist — Fri, 25 May 2012 18:58:02 GMT

In 2006, before I started The Playlist film blog, out of boredom I began what I called the The Playlist Soundtrack Series. A sort of "If I Were _______ (insert filmmaker's name...

Make Your Own Mixtape: 17 Songs From Wes Anderson's Films That Are Not On The Official Soundtracks

The Playlist — Fri, 25 May 2012 17:34:36 GMT

Today sees the latest film from director Wes Anderson, "Moonrise Kingdom," hit theaters, and consistent with the music-obsessed filmmaker's work, it's as much a treat for the ears...

"Black Filmmakers Are (Or Should Be) Obligated To Tell Stories Primarily About Black People" (Discuss)

Tambay — Fri, 25 May 2012 17:19:11 GMT

Slow news day, so how about a survey? :) Revisiting a question I last asked in 2010, when the site wasn't as much of a draw as it is today, 2 years later... Here's a conversation I...

Movie Lovers We Love: Bradford Nordeen's Dirty Looks is Putting Queer Film All Over NYC

Bryce J. Renninger — Fri, 25 May 2012 15:34:43 GMT

Found police surveillance footage of a tearoom (a term for notorious spots to find public but covert gay sex) in 1962 makes up William E. Jones' "Tearoom." On July 23rd, this...

Cannes: Guy Pearce Talks Playing Camp & Shaving His Eyebrows In 'Lawless'

Oliver Lyttelton — Fri, 25 May 2012 15:01:00 GMT

It takes a fair amount of talent to appear in a film alongside practiced scene-stealers like Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Jessica Chastain, Mia Wasikowska, Jason Clarke and Shia LaBeouf. But of course, as...