I met Glen Powell in the waiting room of a now-defunct production company. We became friends instantly. The guy has so much charisma; you just want ot be around him and watch him on screen.

It's been a pleasure watching his career grow, but I think not enough people give him credit for how hard he's worked to get where he is, as a marquee leading man across hits like Top Gun: Maverick, Anyone But You, Hit Man, and Twisters.

Today, I want to go over five movies you may have forgotten he was in that you might want to revisit.

Let's dive in.

1. Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over (2003)

Glen Powell on his debut role in Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over #glenpowell #esquire www.youtube.com

• Director: Robert Rodriguez
• Writer: Robert Rodriguez
• Cast: Daryl Sabara, Alexa PenaVega, Sylvester Stallone, Salma Hayek, Antonio Banderas, Glen Powell

At just 14 years old, Powell made his feature debut in Robert Rodriguez’s third installment of the Spy Kids franchise. No one knew it then, but they had a star on their hands.

He plays a guy named "Long-Fingered Boy," and I feel like he crushed the role. In his scene, he tries to test Juni Cortez (Daryl Sabara) before getting knocked out instantly.

2. Fast Food Nation (2006)

- YouTube www.youtube.com

• Director: Richard Linklater
• Writer: Richard Linklater, Eric Schlosser
• Cast: Greg Kinnear, Wilmer Valderrama, Ethan Hawke, Paul Dano, Ashley Johnson, Bruce Willis, Glen Powell

You thought Powell starring in Linklater’s Everybody Wants Some!! and co-writing Hit Man was their first work together? Think again!

Powell landed a brief role as a teenager named Steve in Linklater’s ensemble adaptation of Fast Food Nation. There was an obvious spark, and it's kinda amazing to now see where that relationship has taken them.

3. The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

- YouTube www.youtube.com

• Director: Christopher Nolan
• Writer: Jonathan Nolan, Christopher Nolan
• Cast: Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Gary Oldman, Glen Powell

Playing the famed role of "Trader #1," Powell shows there are no small parts. The guy is very fun to watch as he makes the fatal mistake of confronting Bane (Tom Hardy) during the mid-day trading floor heist.

Bane grabs Powell by the neck and smashes his head into a computer terminal.

Yeah, Glen dies on screen, but his career was just getting started.

4. Stuck in Love (2012)

@itsmishyfishy

TikTok · Mishyfishy

• Director: Josh Boone
• Writer: Josh Boone
• Cast: Greg Kinnear, Jennifer Connelly, Lily Collins, Nat Wolff, Logan Lerman, Kristen Bell, Glen Powell

Acting is hard work. And I think anyone reading this needs to respect the grind that a working actor does to get noticed and to pay the rent.

In Josh Boone’s indie romantic drama about a family of writers, Powell appears as "Good Looking Frat Guy". That's a great billing for someone looking to break in as a handsome star.

5. The Expendables 3 (2014)

- YouTube www.youtube.com

• Director: Patrick Hughes
• Writer: Sylvester Stallone, Creighton Rothenberger, Katrin Benedikt
• Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Antonio Banderas, Jet Li, Wesley Snipes, Harrison Ford, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Glen Powell

Long before joining the fighter pilot ranks of Top Gun: Maverick, Powell joined the cast as Thorn, a combat veteran, hacker, and rock climber. You saw the potential in Powell, who held his ground in scenes opposite Stallone, Harrison Ford, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. This was a glimpse of an action star going big.

Summing It All Up

Powell's career is a lesson in sticking to your guns and taking the parts that come your way. He shines in these roles because he took them seriously and used them as a proving ground to climb the Hollywood ladder. They show hard work pays off. And for that, I am happy to see he's become a massive star today.

It’s hard enough to direct a scene and create movie magic, but once you add set management and all the different timing tools into the equation, things get very complicated very fast.

To help with production timing, there are tools out there, and Time Director Pro is a free solution that brings all your timing tools for radio, television, audio, or video production, plus other live event coverage, into one place.

Let’s check it out and see what this latest update offers.

Time Director Pro App

Available for free on the Apple App Store, this is a new app that is certaintly worth checking out a production timing toolkit app like this to see what it offers.

Its goal is to bring all your timing tools together in one place, which would include tools like your Time Calculation, Timer, CUE Timer, Stopwatch, and Clock together in one app and under one workflow to handle things when precise timing matters, which is often the case with film and video sets, as well as with other radio, television, podcasts, live events, etc.

What’s cool about this app is that it includes many customizations and Timer presets, including tap-to-start and stop controls on the LCD, keypad stowing, light alerts, and System Alarms. The app also includes an NTP-synchronized Clock, date display, multiple Clock alarms, an analog Stopwatch, and Remote Display through Web Display and App Link.

Price and Availability

The latest update for the Time Director Pro App will improve the readability of mode labels and time displays on the analog stopwatch in Light Mode. The app will also add new animated lighting around the numeric LCD display while timing, which you can turn on or off, along with other customization improvements.

While it might not be for everyone, every set, or every project, it could be a helpful tool to try since it’s free and easy to get started with. If you’re curious, you can find more info on the Apple App Store here.

If you’re looking for extremely wide fields of view for your medium format cameras, this new AstrHori MF 8mm F2.4 Circular Fisheye Lens is a great option to consider.

Designed to capture the distinct, spherical fisheye perspective many filmmakers, DPs, and hybrid content shooters want these days, this new fisheye from AstrHori doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it's set to really push its own ultra-widness.

Let’s check out this new circular fisheye lens and see what its 220-degree ultra-wide spherical field of view can do for your medium-format mirrorless systems.

The AstrHori MF 8mm F2.4 Circular Fisheye Lens

Tailored more for photography than videography, this new fisheye should let shooters of all types get close to their subjects and create unique looks that exaggerate curves and add distinctive distortion to your image.

The lens will feature an expansive 220° field of view and dramatic circular fisheye distortion, making it ideal for astrophotography, landscapes, urban exploration, and videography for music videos or trippier sequences.

The lens should also handle most shooting situations, with its bright f/2.4 maximum aperture enabling reliable low-light performance for dimly lit scenes or night shooting.

Price and Availability

Again, this lens serves a unique purpose and will more often appeal to photographers than videographers, but if you’re a hybrid shooter or want some unique looks, it could be a nice option to pair with your medium-format camera system.

Here are the full specs and purchase options.

• Medium Format | f/2.4 to f/16
• 6.3mm (Full-Frame Equivalent)
• Ultra Wide-Angle Prime
• Manual Focus Design
• Clicked Aperture Ring
• 220° Field of View
• 2 HR Elements, 2 LD Elements
• 10 Elements in 8 Groups

AstrHori 8mm f/2.4 Circular Fisheye Lens

Captures images with a distinct, spherical perspective with the 8mm f/2.4 Circular Fisheye Lens from AstrHori. Get close to your subject and create portraits with exaggerated curves and unique distortion. The lens's manual focus design gives precise control over your focus position.

I have been on a kick lately watching a ton of creature features. Hollywood used to thrive on B-movies packed with monsters, gore, and shocking ideas.

Those movies sometimes even went mainstream, with creatures like Jaws and the Swamp Thing becoming part of the cultural lexicon.

One of the best ways to break into Hollywood is through the horror genre, and one of the most fun things to write in horror is a creature feature. One that showcases your creativity not only in the monster but in the jump scares that keep your audience on edge and get cast and crew leaning in, dying to make your masterpiece.

Today, I wanted to give you 100 creature feature prompts to get your brain cooking and maximize your time so you can be as creative as possible and put your personal spin on these things.

Let's dive in.

Ideas For Creature Features

1. Deep Trench: A Deep-sea research team brings up a giant specimen thought to be extinct, only to realize the creature in the tank was just the bait.
2. Submerged City: During an annual spring flood, something swims into Manhattan's flooded subway tunnels.
3. Ghost Ship: A forgotten 18th-century whaling vessel drifts into port, encrusted with barnacles that host parasites that convert human hosts into amphibious drones.
4. Lake House: The local lake monster myth is real, but it isn't an animal—it's a colonial organism that reshapes itself using the bones of drowned swimmers.
5. Ice Shelf: A drill rig off the coast of Greenland taps into a pressurized subterranean pocket filled with prehistoric, bioluminescent apex predators.
6. Bermuda Triangle: A cruise ship runs aground on an uncharted island made entirely of the calcified bodies of a singular, massive, dormant beast.
7. Swamp Horror: A bayou guide notices the local alligators are fleeing the swamp—and whatever is chasing them relies on air pressure changes rather than sight.
8. Aquarium Night: The night shift at an oceanarium becomes a nightmare when an unknown organism hitches a ride inside the belly of a wild-caught tiger shark.
9. Dredged: Dredging a clogged river channel unearths an iron-clad box holding a creature that consumes fresh water, drying up entire aquifers as it grows.
10. The Siren: An isolated lighthouse keeper rescues a washed-up creature that telepathically mimics his deceased wife's voice.
11. Oil Rig: A deep-water rig hits an oil pocket that turns out to be the digestive fluid of a sleeping leviathan.
12. Reservoir: A suburban town’s drinking water is contaminated by microscopic larvae that mature inside the human circulatory system.
13. Frozen Lake: Ice fishermen cut a hole in the thick lake ice, only to realize something under the surface is using the holes as a hunting grid.
14. Sonar: A naval submarine sonar technician tracks a contact that is larger than an aircraft carrier—and moving at 80 knots directly toward them.
15. The Coral: A marine biologist discovers a species of coral that grows feet per hour by consuming human red blood cells.
16. Caves of the Maw: Spelunkers trapped in an unmapped cave system realize the smooth, slimy rock walls are actually the esophageal tract of a subterranean titan.
17. Permafrost: Melting Siberian permafrost releases a swarm of ice-bound parasites that hijack local megafauna's nervous systems.
18. Salt Mine: Workers deep inside an ancient salt mine crack open a crystal cavern, awakening a creature that feeds entirely on body heat.
19. Catacombs: Tour guides in the Paris Catacombs discover that nest-building subterranean carnivores have hollowed out the centuries-old bone walls.
20. Underground Bunker: A Cold War nuclear bunker is reopened, revealing that the original occupants were eaten by something that digs through concrete like soil.
21. Micro-Tunnel: Utility workers repairing fiber-optic cables under a major city uncover a subterranean hive that hunts using electrical currents.
22. The Pit: An open-pit diamond mine hits a hollow chamber where gravity operates strangely—and apex predators have evolved without sight or sound.
23. Sinkhole: A sudden sinkhole swallows a suburban cul-de-sac, exposing a sprawling ecosystem of flesh-eating flora and fauna underneath.
24. Volcano: Volcanologists monitoring a dormant volcano detect heartbeat-like rhythmic tremors originating from the lava tubes.
25. Fossilized: An excavator unearths a fossilized skeleton, but overnight, exposure to humidity causes the fossilized tissue to rehydrate and regenerate.
26. Tree Canopy: Researchers in the Amazon canopy discover a predator that perfectly mimics the appearance and scent of a suspension bridge or fallen log.
27. Spores: A rare forest mushroom releases airborne spores that turn infected wildlife into aggressive, fungal-covered husks protecting the central organism.
28. National Park: A park ranger realizes certain areas are strictly off-limits to campers not for conservation, but for containment.
29. The Canopy Shift: Deep in the redwood forest, the trees aren't growing taller—a vast creature beneath the root system is pushing them upward.
30. Winter Storm: Stranded in a remote cabin during a blizzard, a family realizes the predatory pack uses the howling wind to mask its footsteps.
31. Carnivorous Garden: A botanist brings back an exotic plant species that secretes a pheromone inducing sleepwalking in humans, drawing them to its roots.
32. Island Isolation: A research station on an uninhabited Pacific island discovers the island itself migrates several miles every night.
33. The Pack: A pack of wolves in northern Canada is being systematically hunted by a creature that wears the skin of its previous kills.
34. Fog Patrol: A dense sea fog rolls over a coastal town, bringing with it low-flying airborne predators that cannot survive outside the mist.
35. Desert Burrower: Archeologists in the Sahara unearth an ancient temple designed not to keep people out, but to keep a sand-swimming terror in.
36. Orbit Incident: Astronauts on the ISS collect a space debris sample, unaware it contains a crystalline lifeform that feeds on radiation and hull integrity.
37. Mars Colony: Colonists in a pressurized Martian habitat discover the red dust outside is made of microscopic, dormant eggs waiting for moisture.
38. Meteor Impact: A small meteorite crashes in a rural farm town, cracking open to reveal a single creature that doubles in size every time it sheds its skin.
39. Solar Eclipse: During a total solar eclipse, a nocturnal species that has slept underground for centuries emerges for a brief, violent feeding frenzy.
40. Lunar Dark Side: A lunar rover drops out of communication after entering a crater that seems to breathe.
41. Derelict Freighter: A salvage crew boards an abandoned deep-space freighter to find the interior coated in an organic, bioluminescent web.
42. Signal: SETI receives a clear extraterrestrial signal, but decoding it reveals it isn't a message—it's a territorial roar aimed at Earth.
43. Terraforming: A terraforming team on an alien world accidentally unleashes an indigenous apex predator that hunts using infrared heat tracking.
44. Space Station Quarantine: A biology module on an orbital station goes dark after a mutated tissue sample dissolves its glass enclosure.
45. Atmospheric Skimmer: A high-altitude research aircraft collides with a massive, cloud-dwelling creature that never touches the Earth's surface.
46. High-Rise: A luxury penthouse skyscraper is invaded from the top down by a swarm of winged, armored creatures displaced by a storm.
47. Subway Crawl: During a late-night subway delay in an abandoned tunnel, passengers realize the track ahead is covered in sticky, fibrous webbing.
48. Hospital Lockdown: An unidentified, dying animal brought into a veterinary research clinic gives birth to something fast, aggressive, and highly venomous.
49. Construction Site: Demolition workers tear down an ancient Victorian manor and accidentally break the seal on a basement vault built to contain a family curse.
50. Sewer System: City plumbers investigating blockages find the sewer line isn't clogged with trash, but with discarded shed skins growing larger.
51. Museum Night: A museum curator receives a shipment of smuggled ancient artifacts, including a preserved sarcophagus containing a live parasite.
52. Bridge Isolation: Sea fog envelops a suspension bridge, trapping commuter traffic as a creature scales the support cables.
53. Amusement Park: An abandoned theme park becomes the hunting ground for a rogue genetic experiment that escaped from a nearby lab.
54. Carnival: A traveling circus's star attraction—a supposedly fake "alien specimen"—wakes up when the power goes out during a storm.
55. High-Security Lab: An automated security lockdown traps scientists inside an underground facility with a creature that camouflages itself as lab equipment.
56. Cargo Container: A dockworker accidentally unlocks a shipping container that has been making low, wet crunching noises across a two-week ocean transit.
57. Airship/Plane: Mid-flight on a transoceanic cargo plane, a climate-controlled crate breaks open in the lower hold.
58. Automated Factory: Nightwatch personnel at a fully automated car assembly plant realize an invasive organism is rewiring the industrial robots to build a chassis for itself.
59. Hotel Break-In: During a hurricane, guests at a beachfront resort realize the rising ocean contains more than storm surge.
60. Lab Escape: A genetic engineering company creates a synthetic organism designed to eat plastic, but it quickly evolves to consume carbon-based life instead.
61. Gene Splicing: A pet owner buys a custom-engineered "designer pet" on the dark web, which rapidly mutates upon contact with tap water.
62. Rabies Mutation: A modified strain of a common animal virus causes wildlife to lose their fear of humans and form organized, tactical hunting packs.
63. Clone Experiment: A de-extinction project successfully brings back a prehistoric bird but fails to anticipate its highly advanced acoustic-warfare tactics.
64. Bio-Weapon Test: A military test of an organic bio-weapon goes wrong when the creature proves immune to its built-in self-destruct gene.
65. Fungi Hybrid: Scientists cross-breed aggressive ant-zombifying fungi with predatory plants, creating an airborne organism that takes over mammals' nervous systems.
66. Bio-luminescence: A team researching deep-sea bioluminescence accidentally synthesizes a chemical that causes human skin to glow and attract airborne predators.
67. Regeneration: An experiment in cellular regeneration produces an organism that cannot be killed by physical trauma—it simply splits into two fully formed creatures.
68. Synthetic Life: A lab-grown meat startup accidentally creates a self-aware, growing mass of muscular tissue that requires living hosts to sustain its growth.
69. Radiation Spill: Radioactive runoff in an abandoned industrial zone causes local insect populations to merge into a single hive-mind entity.
70. Cursed Relic: An ancient idol carved from unknown stone bleeds a viscous black fluid that mutates any animal that drinks it.
71. Gargoyles: The stone gargoyles on a medieval cathedral aren't statues—they are hibernating predators that wake every three hundred years.
72. The Wendigo's Mark: A hunting party in the frozen wilderness finds an abandoned cabin surrounded by giant, unnaturally deep foot tracks that circle back on themselves.
73. Cryptid Sighting: A documentary crew searching for Bigfoot finds the creature—dead, half-eaten, and killed by something much larger and far more aggressive.
74. Burying Ground: Farmers unearth an ancient burial site and release a creature that feeds on forgotten memories, leaving its victims catatonic.
75. Skinwalker: A remote border patrol agent realizes the immigrant group they are tracking is actually a single entity taking on different human disguises.
76. Chupacabra: A livestock farmer catches a strange creature in a trap, only for the rest of the pack to lay siege to the homestead to free it.
77. Folklore: A small coastal village maintains an ancient ritual of throwing livestock into the sea every full moon—until a new mayor cancels the tradition.
78. Altar: An archaeology team accidentally activates a stone altar, causing all insect life within a ten-mile radius to form a coordinated swarm.
79. Vessel: An ancient urn recovered from a shipwreck contains a creature made entirely of sentient, parasitic dust.
80. Fog Horn: A foghorn at an isolated station breaks down, and the technician realizes the sound was never meant to warn ships—it was keeping a creature away.
81. Sound Frequency: An acoustic engineer creates a sound frequency that accidentally summons a subterranean creature sensitive to precise megahertz levels.
82. Infrasound: A new wind turbine farm triggers violent hallucinations and panic in a nearby town, drawn in by infrasound emissions that attract subterranean hunters.
83. Mute Predator: A predator arrives, emitting a localized field of absolute silence that makes it impossible to hear it approach or scream for help.
84. Echolocation: Survivors in a pitch-black complex must navigate around a blind apex predator that uses precise echolocation to track heartbeat sounds.
85. The Mimic: A creature stalks a group of survivors by perfectly mimicking radio static, cell phone ringtones, and distress calls.
86. Pheromone: A forest fire pushes a swarm of blind, scent-driven creatures into a suburban township.
87. Thermal Sights: Soldiers wearing thermal night vision realize the creature hunting them in the dark has a body temperature that matches the ambient air.
88. Vibration: Construction on a high-speed railway awakens a creature that hunts by sensing micro-vibrations through the ground.
89. The Voice: A creature attacks isolated homes by imitating a family member's voice, begging to be let inside from the cold.
90. Light-Phobic: A swarm of shadowy, light-sensitive creatures traps survivors inside a grocery store during a massive power grid failure.
91. Hive Mind: An exterminator called to a routine basement infestation discovers the insects are operating with human-level strategic intelligence.
92. Host Takeover: A parasite infects its host without changing their appearance, using them to infiltrate human communities before bursting open to reproduce.
93. Metamorphosis: A small, seemingly harmless creature adopted as a pet goes into a cocoon—and emerges as a horse-sized apex predator.
94. The Shedding: After a stormy night, a town finds giant sheets of translucent, skin-like material draped over power lines and rooftops.
95. Camouflage: A predator's skin acts like a flexible mirror, making it completely invisible unless it is actively moving or dripping blood.
96. Dead Weight: A marine crew salvages a dead sea monster for study, only to discover the creature's organs are individual, living organisms that attack when severed.
97. The Nest: A highway construction crew breaks into a cavern filled with thousands of eggs that hatch when exposed to exhaust fumes.
98. Acidic Blood: A hunting group successfully shoots an unknown beast, only to realize its blood dissolves concrete and wood, destroying their shelter from within.
99. Symbiosis: A human survivor forms a reluctant, mutual defense pact with an alien creature to escape a facility overrun by an even deadlier parasite.
100. The Alpha: After successfully killing a monster terrorizing their town, the residents realize the creature was merely a worker drone—and the queen is coming for revenge.

Now take these pieces of inspiration and go get writing and directing!

Come with me on a journey of many horror references. In 1922, a Swedish-Danish silent film came out called Häxan. It was almost educational in nature, like a very early version of infotainment, and its subject was witches and witchcraft. It also happens to look terrifying.

The same year, Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror came out, and its imagery was similarly beautiful and disturbing, with its brutalist and Gothic contrast.

Modern director Robert Eggers has already dabbled in the world of the undead with his take on Nosferatu. He's about to reenter that world with Werwulf, an upcoming gothic folk horror film based on the lycanthrope legend.

It appears he's pushed his visual language even further into its silent film roots, with monochromatic frames that aren't fully black and white but sometimes a wash of yellow, blue, green, or gray.

Eggers and his longtime cinematographer, Jarin Blaschke, have spent five features replicating early cinema textures. Eggers told Esquire that they shot on film.

"The look of the film, while it has similarities with the other films, is also unique. We shot on 35mm film, and we used an orthochromatic treatment in post to make the skin tones more wrecked [with complexions that appear sickly or discolored]. Additionally, we’ve found a way to incorporate the grain structure of black-and-white film onto color film. So it has a very unique look."

But what is that look, and how did he achieve it? Here's what orthochromatic film is, how Eggers and Blaschke faked it before, and what's new on Werwulf.

Aidan Paul took a stab at breaking it down, which is our inspiration today. Check out his video.

- YouTube www.youtube.com

What Orthochromatic Film Is

Orthochromatic film stock is a black-and-white stock that can't see red (only blue and green), so when photographed with it, unpainted faces read darker than they were, and any ruddiness made skin look dirty on screen (via Cosmetics and Skin).

That's why silent-era actors wore blue-toned greasepaint. Kodak made a more stable panchromatic stock commercially from 1923, cut its price to match ortho in 1926, and Hollywood switched quickly after that.

"There'll be exaggerated gritty complexions giving actors a rugged, weathered, sickly appearance," Paul points out. "And that's why you see on the set of a lot of silent movies, you'll see that the actors are in blue and green makeup. A necessity to create natural, nice-looking contrast on the face when an option like natural red tones and lipstick or blush wouldn't be available."

The Academy Museum (aka my favorite place on earth) has an installation to show how color filters and black and white film was used creatively on Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, in which Fredric March transforms practically on screen simply through makeup and light/filter changes.

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How Eggers and Blaschke Faked It Before

The Lighthouse was their first attempt. Blaschke shot Double-X black-and-white stock through a custom filter, because true ortho motion picture stock wasn't an option. He explained the filter in our 2019 interview.

"The orthochromatic filter eliminates all red light to emulate film stocks that were predominantly used up until 1930. It makes The Lighthouse almost feel like an early ethnographic film. With the filter, things that have a lot of red in them, like skin tones, we'll record much darker. You see every pore and blood vessel."

Blaschke paired 1930s and '40s Baltar lenses with custom filters that mimicked early-1900s ortho stock, which responded to ultraviolet, blue, and green but not red (via American Cinematographer).

Blaschke told us:

"Double-X is technically not an impressive film stock, but it works for our movie. It has a rough-and-tumble look to it. The shadows fall off very quickly, but the highlights do a little better. It has some big restraints—I don't want to say problems, but it's limiting. You have to embrace it. We just couldn't get the look another way. Double-X came out in 1959. My understanding is that it's not been improved since."

'Häxan' Credit: Svensk Filmindustri

What's New on Werwulf

Paul points out that The Lighthouse hid its ortho look inside black and white, while Werwulf puts it on display in color, much like Häxan did. If you haven't seen it, Häxan is a beautifully photographed film with crisp images and gorgeously rendered, modern-feeling tableaux.

In that era, film had to be tinted by hand, either using a dye technique on the film base or by hand-painting each frame. (Tinting was also used in the 1922 Nosferatu.)

At the time, filmmakers used a loose color code. Archivists describe amber or yellow for daylight, red for fire and action, green or blue-green for the sea and mystery, and blue as the standard signal for night.

Eggers explained the cool, desaturated nights in Nosferatu as moonlight stripping most color from what the eye perceives, so he and Blaschke aimed for that near-monochrome look (via Fangoria).

We're not saying that tinting is what was done here, but the look is very similar, and Paul points it out, too. But the truth is that for Werwulf, Eggers originally planned to shoot in black and white before switching to color, according to World of Reel. So he's starting on color stock either way.

During prep, Blaschke told Phantasmag that this one would look grim and brutal.

"The Northman was extremely clean—for 35mm anyway—with very fine grain. For Nosferatu, I let it be a high-speed film, and it's still a modern film stock, so it's not really that different. This next one, we're really going to try to give it some texture. And I've got some ideas. Early tests are very promising. It won't look like anything I've seen this decade, that's for sure."

Cinelab, which processed the film, says it will publish more about its hybrid film-digital workflow on the project later. The process involves transferring digital video footage onto celluloid, developing the film, and scanning it back into a digital file to give it the film aesthetic.

Werwulf is released in cinemas in December 2026. Let us know what you think of the look.

It’s been a busy week for Blackmagic Design, as the company has somehow managed to announce both price increases and price reductions (via a flash sale) for its products and software. So, overall, kind of a mixed bag. But we also have news that another Blackmagic Camera update is out, and it’s set to add some nice improvements to the URSA Cine 12K LF.

Let’s look at what this large format cinema camera is getting in terms of improvements to LUT icon behavior, switching, and other upgrades.

Blackmagic Camera Update 10.3.2

This latest Blackmagic Camera update isn’t huge and, like many in the recent past, is squarely focused on one camera in the company’s lineup.

Blackmagic Camera update 10.3.2 brings improvements to the URSA Cine 12K LF, the company’s flagship large-format cinema camera, known for its 12K full-frame 36 x 24mm sensor, 16 stops of dynamic range, and Blackmagic RAW capture up to 12K 3:2 open gate.

Here’s the full list of updates coming to the URSA Cine 12K LF with this Blackmagic Camera update 10.3.2:

• Improved REST control via NMOS for the 10G port.
• Improved switching between 2110 and RAW.
• Improved LUT icon behavior.

Price and Availability

As always, this update is free to download and install, and more info is available on the company’s website here.

Things sure change fast. A day after we reported that Blackmagic Design was offering a pretty sweet deal on its popular DaVinci Resolve Studio editing platform (along with similar deals on some add-on panels), the company has now revealed that it is increasing prices on 36 different products due to the rising cost of memory.

This isn’t new, and Blackmagic Design is far from the only company affected by rising global demand for DRAM, flash, and SSD storage, mostly driven by the AI wars (non-robot, regular industry).

However, it’s never great to report or experience. But it’s our duty. Here’s what you need to know, including a full list of BMD products with price increases.

Blackmagic Design Price Increases

Speaking directly about the price increases, Grant Petty, Blackmagic Design CEO, calls them “frustrating” and says that "Over the past year the cost of memory, specifically the DRAM, flash and SSD storage that goes into almost everything we make, has risen several times over. The cause is memory manufacturers shifting their production to supply AI data centers.”

"For a few years now we have been able to hold our prices down because we had already purchased the parts and could build from that parts stock, but that stock is now being replaced with parts bought at today’s higher prices. On the products that use a lot of memory the increase is more than we can absorb. That really shows up on the new SMPTE 2110 products, which use a lot more memory. - Grant Petty, Blackmagic Design CEO.

The company cites issues with suppliers telling them that memory consumption is now running 60% higher than even the peak of COVID shortages. That, along with AI demand, are just skyrocketing costs and that, sadly, is now being further passed onto the customers of filmmakers, video editors, and other creatives.

Price Increases List

As promised, if you’re curious whether any gear or products that you were interested in are going to get a price increase, here’s the full list of products and price increases to know about:

• DeckLink IP HD from $345 to $450 for a $105 increase.
• DeckLink IP HD Optical from $370 to $580 for a $210 increase.
• DeckLink IP/SDI HD from $395 to $510 for a $115 increase.
• DeckLink IP 100G from $1,495 to $1,795 for a $300 increase.
• Blackmagic Media Player 10G from $975 to $1,115 for a $140 increase.
• Blackmagic Studio Converter from $975 to $1,185 for a $210 increase.
• Blackmagic 2110 IP Converter 3x3G from $595 to $920 for a $325 increase.
• Blackmagic 2110 IP Converter 4x12G PWR from $2,075 to $2,360 for a $285 increase.
• Blackmagic 2110 IP Converter 8x12G SFP from $2,665 to $3,575 for a $910 increase.
• Blackmagic 2110 IP Mini IP to HDMI from $305 to $375 for a $70 increase.
• Blackmagic 2110 IP Mini IP to HDMI SFP from $305 to $325 for a $20 increase.
• Blackmagic 2110 IP Mini BiDirect 12G from $380 to $530 for a $150 increase.
• Blackmagic 2110 IP Mini BiDirect 12G SFP from $385 to $475 for a $90 increase.
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• HyperDeck Studio HD Pro from $1,020 to $1,090 for a $70 increase.
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All prices are in US dollars and exclude local duties and taxes. These prices should be reflected across all resellers worldwide and directly on the Blackmagic Design website, which you can check out here.

You probably know a guy just like Otto. He thinks he's the smartest person in the room and isn't afraid to condescend to others to prove it, even if beneath it all he's just a mean idiot.

The Otto in this case is a character from acclaimed British comedy A Fish Called Wanda, and he's played by Kevin Kline, who nabbed a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for the role. He's the guy who quotes Nietzsche to win an argument, doesn't follow the argument he's quoting, and is offended if anyone notices.

Comedy loves this person. The confident idiot is one of the oldest characters we have, and few films have written one better than A Fish Called Wanda.

For many cinephiles, this is one that's slipped through the cracks, despite starring Jamie Lee Curtis, John Cleese, and Michael Palin. The film is about a London jewel heist. Charles Crichton directed and co-developed the story, and Cleese wrote the screenplay. The film was also nominated for Original Screenplay and Best Director.

After the robbery, the gang turns on itself. Wanda (Curtis) and her "brother," Otto (Kline), her lover, double-cross their boss. Wanda then sets out to seduce the boss' lawyer, Archie Leach (Cleese), to find out where the diamonds are hidden. Palin plays Ken, the stammering animal lover.

One insult in the film still zings years later, and it reveals a ton about these characters. Check out the moment below.

- YouTube www.youtube.com

The Scene

Otto has one defining rule. He can't stand being called stupid. He reads philosophy to prove he isn't, and he reminds everyone of it constantly.

At this point, Wanda has been working Archie for the location of the loot. Otto, jealous and impatient, shows up and dangles Archie out a fifth-floor window. Wanda gets him alone, and she is furious. The key line comes in the middle of her tirade, and seeing the whole scene shows why it hits so hard.

Wanda marches down an alleyway as Otto trails after.

"You said you weren't gonna see him!"

"Because I knew you'd come along and fuck it up!" Wanda says. "I was dealing with something delicate. I'm setting up a guy who's important to us, who'll tell me where the loot is and if you'll be arrested, and you come loping in like Rambo, and you dangle him out a fifth-floor window! Now, was that smart?!"

"Okay—" Otto says.

"Was it shrewd? Was it good tactics? Or was it stupid?!"

He bristles. "Don't call me stupid."

"Oh, right! To call you stupid would be an insult to stupid people! I've known sheep that could outwit you. I've worn dresses with higher IQs. But you think you're an intellectual, don't you, ape?"

Otto thinks he has her here. "Apes don't read philosophy."

"Yes, they do, Otto. They just don't understand it."

Wanda sets a trap. She lists flattering options (smart, shrewd, good tactics) so the last one stings. Otto's comeback is the only defense he has, his reading, and Wanda turns it into more evidence against him. She grants his premise, then flips it.

Wanda doesn't stop at the insult. She switches from mockery to fact-checking, which is somehow worse.

"Now let me correct you on a couple of things, okay? Aristotle was not Belgian. The central message of Buddhism is not every man for himself. The London Underground is not a political movement. Those are all mistakes. I looked 'em up."

This is the second comic triple of the scene, with a topper. She points out that Otto has just assaulted the one man who can keep him out of jail and make him rich. The scene's last beat returns to the heist, so the comedy is serving the story and not stalling it.

Credit: MGM/United Artists

Building a Villain Who Thinks He's a Genius

Otto is funny because of what he believes about himself, not because he's dumb. And he's one of the funniest villains ever.

Cleese traced Otto to an L.A. magazine ad for a guru, according to Mental Floss.

"I got the real key to the character out of Los Angeles Magazine," Cleese explained in an interview. "I found a double-page spread for a guru, and I'm pretty sure his name was Zen Master Rama, and he looked about 32 and very unsure of himself, and he had a funny sort of hairstyle like a dandelion at the end of September. But the key thing was the line across the top of this two-page advertisement for the seminars he ran at weekends, which was 'Buddhism gives you the competitive edge.' And I thought this was unbelievably funny."

PBS said of Cleese's writing, "He made Otto a man not smart enough to realize how stupid he was."

Kline and Cleese spent 10 days talking and improvising in Jamaica while the character took shape, per the 1988 New York Times making-of.

Kline said, "He's trying so desperately to create an image, and fails so miserably, he's almost endearing. You can't help appreciating his energy and his extraordinary commitment to himself. I ended by finding myself both repelled and drawn to him."

Kline said he initially felt he was cast against type in this one and asked Cleese about it.

"I mean, I was the sociopath, the person who gets in terrible rages with people, the one who's fun to perform, while he was relegated to the romantic lead. I told him, you've written the John Cleese part for me."

'A Fish Called Wanda' Credit: MGM/United Artists

Playing the Idiot Straight

The ape line only works if Otto is offended in earnest. Kline plays the hurt with total sincerity. He really does not like being accused of stupidity. And that was perhaps one of the only handholds Kline got to play the character.

He told Vanity Fair in 2018:

I never understood the character. I kept saying, "Who is this guy?" John actually had a T-shirt printed that said, "Who is this guy?" Because he was such an amalgam of contradictions. He seemed to be a buffoon and idiot, but he’s a good shot and he’s got some physical strength.

But I learned something from it: that, actually, not understanding the character is sort of all right. I realized it was a tribute to John’s writing. Because well-written characters are inconsistent, are contradictory, and trying to reconcile the contradictions is maybe a fool’s errand at the end of the day.

While it likely can't handle an ARRI ALEXA or a Blackmagic URSA Cine, this tiny, affordable desktop tripod might be a surprisingly easy way to take on small vlogging and video projects.

Designed to be as about as tiny and lightweight as possible, this new desktop tripod from the Japanese company Asanuma Shokai looks to be a nice option to consider for your smartphone setups, particularly for those who are shooting vlog-style or desktop types of projects.

Let’s check out this tiny, affordable, yet likely capable desktop tripod and its unique automatic leg-spreading support.

The King Instant Pod IP-350

Again, this isn’t major filmmaking gear, but it’s a fun little desktop tripod that could serve the right purposes for the right projects. What’s most unique about this tiny tripod is its automatic leg-spreading mechanism, which spreads the legs when it touches the ground.

The legs will extend automatically, which should help with quick access and setup. The tripod will also come with a smartphone holder that will allow it to be used as a tabletop tripod, a camera grip for selfies and video recording, or perhaps a lighting stand—or pretty much anything else you could imagine.

The tripod also includes a Bluetooth-enabled remote shutter for smartphones and features 360-degree rotation in its ball head, so the phone's angle should have a full range of flexibility.

Price and Availability

Overall, a solid, yet not groundbreaking, piece of small gear that could be worth the low-end investment, as it’s set to retail on the company’s website for just under $30, with units expected to start shipping soon.

In 2021, I pitched to direct an AXE commercial developed at The Martin Agency.

The premise? A guy gets so sweaty on a New York subway that his enormous orange puffer jacket starts inflating like a human pressure cooker, eventually unleashing a biblical amount of sweat onto a train full of horrified commuters.

Think Titanic meets Speed. With deodorant.

It was big, cinematic, ridiculous, and full of elaborate VFX. Basically, everything I love.

Unfortunately, it was also expensive!

The project was shelved for budgetary reasons, and the concept disappeared into the place where so many great ideas go to die: a folder labeled "FINAL_FINAL_v7."

Tragic.

But here's the thing about directors: we tend to have a hard time letting things go.

Five years later, an opportunity fell into my lap. I started working as a creative director with co-founder Philip Ho and the team at Absurd, a collaborative AI filmmaking platform designed to help filmmakers tackle ambitious projects.

What intrigued me was that this platform brought different AI models and production tools into one organized workspace, with a collaborative memory that could keep track of characters, locations, creative decisions, and feedback as a project evolved.

Essentially, it was designed to work the way filmmakers actually work.

And that got me thinking: "What if I finally made that AXE spot?"

So that's what I did.

The result is For Days That Run Hot, a 60-second unofficial AXE spec commercial made using AI. And no, before you ask, I didn't type "make an awesome AXE commercial" into a chatbot and go get a margarita.

I wish.

Instead, I approached it the way I've approached directing commercials for brands like Pepsi, Coca-Cola, and Amazon. I developed the treatment. Cast the characters. Designed the wardrobe. Scouted my locations. Built the shot list. Storyboarded the action. Planned the coverage.

I just did it with an entirely different set of tools.

Here's how.

1. First, I Made a Treatment Because I’m a Control Freak

One strange thing about AI filmmaking is how many people start generating images before they've figured out what they're making. To me, that's a little like hiring a cinematographer before you've written a script.

Sure. Go nuts. See what happens. It’s probably going to be slop.

I always start with a treatment.

To me, a director’s treatment is the Bible. It's where I figure out exactly what I'm making, how I'm going to shoot it, and what the hell it's all supposed to look and feel like. I spend an enormous amount of time researching, developing references, designing shots, and storyboarding so that by the time I get to set, everyone knows exactly what movie we're making. Most of what ends up on screen starts in those pages.

So when I decided to resurrect this AXE spot, I wanted to start exactly where I would on a live-action production.

I went back to my original treatment from 2021, complete with its janky Photoshop composites, and decided to rebuild the whole thing using Absurd. Partly this because I wanted to revisit the creative with fresh eyes. And partly because this was the perfect opportunity to pressure-test the software against a project I'd already developed using my traditional workflow.

Also, this time I had complete creative freedom. No agency notes. No revisions. No one telling me to make it more “client-friendly.’ MUAHAHAHA.

I wrote the treatment myself, as I always do, but used Absurd's image library and visual development tools to elevate the design.

I could bring in my own references, generate new ones, explore lighting, characters, and locations, and organize everything into polished visual pages without constantly jumping between different programs. Some of those tragic little Photoshop creations from five years ago finally got the glow-up they deserved.

Once the treatment was finished, I took it one step further and used GPT Astra to turn it into an interactive website.

Explore the interactive AXE treatment here

That was pretty wild. I'd taken a concept I'd developed years earlier and used AI to dramatically elevate the presentation, without handing over the actual creative thinking. I can totally see this being a useful tool on future real-world projects.

But I wasn't finished.

Storyboarding is another enormous part of my process. I'm one of those directors who actually does her own boards. I LOVE STORYBOARDING, but traditionally, that meant spending the better part of a week slaving in Photoshop and painstakingly constructing every frame.

This time, using Absurd, I developed the entire storyboard in less than a day. Same directing decisions. A fraction of the time.

Because I treated this as a real production, those boards weren't just pretty pictures. They became my roadmap for generating the actual commercial. I wanted to see how closely I could translate the film I'd planned on paper into finished footage using AI. Before I even generated a second of video, I could see how useful these tools could be in my work.

The Takeaway: AI doesn't need to generate your ideas to be incredibly valuable. Sometimes the biggest breakthrough is simply executing and communicating your vision faster, with more precision and fewer hours of Photoshop-induced misery, especially when you don’t have much budget or time.

2. Next, I Cast a Subway Full of Freaks

Just like on a live-action production, the next step was casting.

I had a pretty specific vision for our hero, let's call him Justin, and the colorful collection of weirdos sharing his increasingly unfortunate commute.

One thing I've learned about AI filmmaking is that if you're not specific about your characters, things go sideways pretty quickly. Suddenly you've got a train full of generic extras whose faces and clothes change between shots. Occasionally they even have seven fingers and two heads. Not ideal!

So I treated casting like a real production.

I wanted Justin to be charming, relatable, slightly overwhelmed, and able to carry a completely ridiculous situation without playing it like a cartoon. Inside Absurd, I tested several models, including GPT Image, Uni, and Nano Banana, and quickly discovered that each model has different strengths.

I initially tried designing faces with Uni. After 16 attempts, I ended up with a collection of strangely textured men who looked nothing like my guy.

Fantastic.

GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst finally delivered. Instead of sterile headshots, I generated cinematic portraits in real environments, with directional lighting and natural skin texture. Once I'd cast Justin, I used Uni 1.1 to build a multi-angle reference pack (front, profile, three-quarter, and full-body) in consistent, neutral lighting.

Essentially, I'd created my own digital casting department.

And to be clear, on a real production involving a recognizable actor's likeness, I'd cast a real person and secure the appropriate licensing and permissions.

For this independent spec, I developed original synthetic characters based on the qualities and casting energy I was after and did text-to-video. I imagine if I had used photos of a real person, it would be even more realistic, but this worked for this test.

Once I'd found my Justin, I locked him.

Then came the supporting cast: a germaphobe, a Wall Street finance bro, a mother and baby, a rich woman with a tiny dog, TikTok girls, a nun, and about 15 other unfortunate commuters.

Instead of generating generic extras, I cast about 20 distinct characters, complete with personalities, wardrobe, and short bios. I found that generating their initial portraits in realistic environments made them feel much more believable than generic white-background casting sheets.

Every subway has its own ecosystem of lunatics. Mine just happened to be synthetic.

Then came the world's most ridiculous wardrobe fitting.

Justin's enormous orange puffer was practically a supporting character. I designed it in Uni, explored styling in GPT, and used Ideogram to edit the wardrobe onto my locked character references without constantly regenerating his face.

Then I needed different stages of the jacket's impending disaster: normal, swollen, leaking, and ready to unleash absolute hell. I used GPT Image for the inflated versions and Nano Banana Pro for one of the leaking variations. I also developed wet and dry references for key characters so their appearances could evolve with the chaos.

Once I'd approved my cast and wardrobe, I locked the references into Absurd's Character reference sheet.

This is where Absurd's collaborative memory became particularly useful.

The platform retained those creative decisions and automatically brought the relevant references into subsequent shots. I didn't have to constantly remind it what Justin looked like, which jacket he was wearing, or where everyone was sitting. I could spend more time directing and less time babysitting the technology.

The biggest discovery was that I didn't need one magical AI model to do everything. GPT was my casting department. Uni handled reference photography and wardrobe design. And Absurd kept the whole production organized, with the approved references carrying forward into the shoot.

Was this more upfront work than typing "handsome guy in orange jacket" into a prompt? Yes!

But by the time I started generating footage, I had an actual cast, established wardrobe, and a consistent visual library, and it stayed consistent throughout. Which is a hell of a lot better than discovering halfway through your commercial that your leading man has become an entirely different person and your supporting cast has 3 heads.

The Takeaway: Cast your characters, establish their wardrobe, and lock your references before generating footage. Different models excel at different jobs, and the more decisions you make upfront, the fewer continuity nightmares you'll face later.

3. LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION

Next up, location scouting and production design.

Just like on a real shoot, I needed to find the right locations. In this case, a New York subway car, a platform, and a bathroom. And since none of them actually existed, I had to build them from scratch.

I started with moodboards, pulling references from films and commercials to establish the visual language. Then I used GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst inside Absurd to generate location options, experimenting with architecture, seating, lighting, and the appropriate amount of New York grime.

Several rounds later, I had my hero location: a slightly battered New York subway car with brushed steel, cobalt-blue seats, scuffed surfaces, and just enough graffiti to suggest the MTA hadn't cleaned it since the Giuliani administration.

I tested Uni and Nano Banana for locations too, but GPT consistently delivered the most believable environments for this project.

Once I'd locked my subway location, I created 360-degree reference views and an overhead, assigning each of my 20 characters a specific position. This was crucial because AI has a notoriously terrible sense of geography. One minute someone's sitting to Justin's left, the next they've teleported across the train and apparently taken the windows with them.

Absurd's memory was especially useful here. By locking the location, blocking, and character references, the agent could carry that context into subsequent shots without me having to explain where everyone was sitting every damn time. It wasn't foolproof, but it made maintaining continuity across a subway full of chaos considerably easier.

Takeaway: AI has no inherent understanding of your set's geography. Establish your locations, create an overhead, block your characters, and lock those references before you start shooting. The more complicated the scene, the more important it is to know where the hell everyone is.

4. Lights, Camera, Artificial Intelligence.

I approached the camera and lighting the same way I would on a live-action production.

I experimented with cameras, lenses, lighting, and compositions before settling on an ARRI ALEXA 35 with Panavision G Series anamorphic lenses as my visual reference. I favored longer lenses to compress the crowd and make Justin feel increasingly claustrophobic, using wider lenses to establish the geography.

One of my favorite features in Absurd was its reference library. I could pull in frames from films and commercials to show the AI exactly what I was after. I could even talk with its agent about what I liked or disliked in a particular image, which helped me articulate the lighting, composition, and visual qualities I was responding to. It felt surprisingly similar to developing a look with a DP.

Lighting was especially important because the entire story revolves around the subway getting progressively hotter. I developed four stages: Commute, Stuffy, Pressure Cooker, and Peak Heat. As the temperature rises, the lighting warms, the atmosphere grows more oppressive, and the passengers become increasingly miserable.

By the climax, the train looks like the seventh circle of hell.

One thing I learned was that simply telling AI to make something look "cinematic" is practically useless. The more I described actual light sources, lens choices, camera positions, and exposure, the more control I had over the results. I also learned that AI doesn't always distinguish between hot and orange. Apparently, its first instinct is to turn the entire train into a giant Cheeto.

So I got specific about motivated light sources, contrast, exposure, and how the warmth should build. With my visual references and lighting rules established in Absurd, I could carry that look throughout the production without starting from scratch on every shot.

The takeaway: Don't just prompt for "cinematic." Develop a visual language, use real references, and learn to articulate exactly what you like and why. Taste is still your most valuable tool.

5. ACTION! (Except Nobody's Actually on Set)

Finally, it was time to “shoot” the damn thing.

My initial instinct was to generate every shot individually, like a traditional shoot. But I found that grouping shots into sequences and using Seedance 2.5’s multi-shot produced more cohesive results. I imported my 48-shot list into Absurd and organized it into sequences of roughly 3–5 shots, each with specific blocking, camera angles, lighting, action, and performance beats.

Then came prompting. And here's where traditional filmmaking experience became genuinely valuable.

Rather than typing "epic cinematic shot, photorealistic, 4K masterpiece" and praying, I treated each prompt like a detailed set of directing notes, specifying lenses, camera moves, lighting, character motivations, and even where I wanted cuts to happen.

I also discovered that directing AI actors is weirdly similar to directing real ones.

Ask for a "funnier" performance, and you'll get wildly exaggerated cartoon nonsense. But give the character an actual motivation (ie: "Justin is desperately trying to act normal because he doesn't want anyone noticing he's sweating through his jacket"), and suddenly the performance becomes much more believable.

I applied the same philosophy to the effects. One of my standing rules was that everything had to obey real-world physics. The jacket could inflate to ridiculous proportions, but it had to behave like something a practical effects team could actually pull off. Water had weight. Pressure had consequences. No magical VFX nonsense.

Absurd has a feature where you can create “project rules” which was cool because I could establish those creative rules once, and its agent would carry them into subsequent prompts without me having to repeat myself every damn time. I did that for many things like "nobody plays the joke" and "the crowd should feel caught on camera, not arranged for it," which the agent could carry into subsequent generations without me constantly repeating myself.

For video, I primarily used Seedance 2.5, generating sequences around 10 seconds long. I'd start with two low-resolution 480p takes, review and refine them, then render my approved selections at 1080p. Absurd's budget tracking helped me keep costs under control.

Because here's another thing directing has taught me: you have to know when you've got the shot.

On a real set, you don't have unlimited time or money. You get the best take you can, decide what will work in the edit, and move on. I approached AI the same way, although being able to generate a pickup without organizing another shoot day was a pretty fantastic bonus.

I also found that imperfection helped sell the realism. AI loves pristine compositions and impossibly smooth camera moves, so I deliberately introduced handheld movement, whip pans, crash zooms, and imperfect framing. Sometimes a little controlled chaos did more to make the footage believable than another hour of prompting.

The actual video generation took roughly two days. Once I'd approved my takes, I organized the finals in Absurd and downloaded them for the edit.

Takeaway: Direct AI like a real production. Give actors motivations, establish the physical rules of your world, plan your coverage, and know when to move on. More generations don't automatically make a better film.

6. Fix It in Post!

Editing is probably my favorite part of filmmaking. I always shoot for the edit. If you compare my shot list and storyboards with the finished commercial, you'll see how closely the final edit follows the original plan.

This project was no different.

I brought my selected takes into Premiere and cut the spot like any live-action commercial. And honestly? I was surprised by how little I needed to regenerate. I only went back for two or three shots, and I probably could have made the original takes work.

Of course, that's one of the really exciting advantages of AI. Need a pickup, a different angle, or an insert? You can generate it without organizing a whole new shoot day. I can see that being incredibly useful on traditional productions too, especially for establishing shots, inserts, or elements that would otherwise eat up valuable time and budget, as long as they can be integrated convincingly.

Sound design was especially important here. I built the tension through escalating train risers, stretching fabric, hissing pressure, and increasingly aggressive transitions. I also used little bursts of messy camera movement, sometimes just a frame or two, to make the action feel more chaotic as the pace accelerated.

Comedy is all about timing, and that is the same in live-action as well as AI. When do you reveal the joke? How long do you hold the reaction? How much tension can you build before everything goes to shit?

Those are the same decisions I'd make in any edit. The footage just happened to come from a different source.

Takeaway: Shoot for the edit, no matter how you generate the footage. Good coverage, pacing, sound design, and editorial judgment still do the heavy lifting. And having the option to generate a pickup without a reshoot? That's a pretty fantastic bonus.

7. The Final Polish: Color, Grain, and a Little Damage Control

Of course, AI still has its quirks. A few subway signs contained complete gibberish, so I had to roto and replace them with actual signage, including a 69th Street sign (lol, I’m immature). I also had a handful of bizarre AI hallucinations that I masked out with minor VFX cleanup.

For the final polish, I brought in my friend Andrew Fletcher, a cinematographer, to help with color and finishing. I was already pretty happy with the look straight out of the model, so the goal wasn't to reinvent it, but to make the whole thing feel more cohesive and photographic.

Andrew brought the finished cut into DaVinci Resolve, used scene detection to separate the shots, and graded them individually. Since AI footage arrives with its color baked in, he worked in a larger color space to make subtle adjustments without breaking the image, focusing particularly on consistent, natural skin tones.

"I was actually surprised by how much flexibility the footage had," Fletcher explains. "It held up better than I expected. Most of the work was refining what was already there rather than trying to fix it."

To finish, he used Filmbox Pro to add 250D film grain and a touch of halation, softening the overly pristine digital look and giving the footage a more photographic texture.

What I found interesting was how familiar this entire stage felt – editing, sound design, VFX cleanup, color, grain, mix — all the same finishing disciplines I'd use on a traditional commercial.

The footage might have been generated by AI, but it still needed to be finished like a film.

Takeaway: AI footage isn't necessarily finished when it comes out of the generator. Traditional post-production techniques can make an enormous difference, and a proper finishing pass can help turn a collection of generated clips into a cohesive film.

I Still Love Live Action. But Damn, This Is Interesting.

I'll be honest. Before I started experimenting with AI, I was pretty skeptical. And if someone had handed me a million dollars to shoot this commercial for real? I would've preferred that in a heartbeat.

Unfortunately, AXE did not throw a million bucks at my exploding sweat jacket, and the idea has been dead for 5 years. So… turns out AI was a pretty fantastic Plan B.

What surprised me most was how similar the process felt to directing a live-action production. I still developed a treatment, cast my characters, designed the locations, planned my coverage, directed performances, and cut the whole thing together. I just did it without leaving my office.

Which has its advantages! And its disadvantages… I happen to like actual humans and traveling to remote locations for a shoot. But given the time and budget constraints, I was pretty blown away by how close I could get to the film I'd originally imagined.

One of my biggest lessons was that the workflow matters just as much as the models. The technology is changing so fast that whatever model you're obsessed with today will probably have a better version by next Tuesday.

What I found valuable about Absurd was that the platform kept everything organized in one place, with shared project memory that tracked my characters, references, creative decisions, and production notes as the film evolved. I could talk to it like I would to an actual production crew, without having to learn “robot.”

And I can see that being incredibly useful beyond fully AI-generated projects. On a live-action production, I could collaborate with my DP, production designer, or agency creatives in the same workspace, developing references, sharing storyboards, and getting feedback without everything disappearing into an endless chain of emails and PDFs.

Ultimately, I don't see this as an either/or situation. I love physical production. I love working with actors, stunt teams, and great crews. I'm not interested in replacing any of that. But I am interested in having more ways to make ambitious ideas happen, whether that's previsualizing a complicated action sequence, generating an insert, or bringing an entire commercial to life when the budget simply isn't there.

This experiment reinforced one thing for me: AI can generate images. It can't decide which images are worth making.

It doesn't know what makes a joke funny, when to hold a reaction, or how to make an audience care about a character. Those are still creative decisions. You still need taste, judgment, and a point of view.

And as for me?

I've got a pretty substantial graveyard of ambitious ideas that never got made.

Now I've got a shovel.

CREDITS:

For Days That Run Hot is an independently produced, unofficial AXE spec commercial based on an original concept developed at The Martin Agency.

• Director: Cassandra Brooksbank
• AI Production Platform: Absurd
• Executive Producer: Philip Ho
• Original Creative Team: Cameron Higginbotham (Copywriter), Emily Delius (Art Director), Mik Manulik (Creative Director), Ashley Marshall (Executive Creative Director)
• Color & Finishing: Andrew Fletcher

Cassandra Brooksbank is represented by CAA and Fancy Content.

I think the biggest problem in Hollywood right now is that studios and production companies are trying to save a buck, so they treat everyone as an auteur and ask them to write and direct.

And that's given us a generation of writers who should be directors and directors who should not be writing.

With a bunch of bad movies to show for it.

The thing is, you don't have to write and direct to be an auteur. Spielberg, Scorsese, and Fisher know that sometimes it's best to stay in one lane and work with someone you trust.

In a recent conversation with Film Courage, filmmaker Gavin Gaitan offered a reality check, sharing Fincher's perspective on screenwriting. It's one I think al ot of filmmakers need to mirror.

Let's dive in.

- YouTube www.youtube.com

1. Different Muscles for Writing and Directing

My basic argument is that writing and directing are very different skill sets. And some people don't have both. But as Gaitan points out, the real danger is getting trapped in "moment filmmaking" and not storytelling.

So take a second to contemplate this stuff. A scene and the bigger piece overall are different. A great scene in isolation is worthless if the broader story hasn't set it up properly and then never pays it off.

You have to be a great writer to see the whole puzzle, then break it into smaller scenes. Directors see things gradually, so as a writer you need to make sure the ripple effect is on the page and communicated to whoever shoots it.

The muscles are different.

Some people can do it all. I envy them. But I think most of Hollywood needs to stay in their lane, or at least spend more time in theirs, collaborating with people in other lanes. To me, that's where we get a lot of our best movies.

You can have something great, like Fincher, by letting artisans do their part and focusing your talents on what you do best.

2. You Don't Have to Write Your Masterpiece to Direct One

As a screenwriter,r I selfishly want more of us working. But as a movie lover, I watch a lot of movies and keep thinking that even if they brought on a writer to consult, many of them would be much better.

I mean, even Hitchcock used writers! He even married one!

Many aspiring directors fall into the trap of holding back their directing ambitions until they write the "perfect" script.

But they may not have it. It's better to jump on a good script and either secure a rewrite for yourself or work with a writer to get the story where you want it.

In the end, you'll have a better movie, which will lead to more work.

With the case study in the video, you see Fincher rely on writers like Aaron Sorkin, Gillian Flynn, and Steven Zaillian to handle the narrative blueprint so he can focus on execution.

So indie directors shouldn't feel ashamed to seek out writer collaborators.

That should be part of the process.

3. Think Like a Writer When Scouting Locations

Understanding narrative structure doesn't just happen at the desk; it dictates how you approach production value. Directors who don't respect script mechanics often throw money at interior sets or get bogged down trying to shoot places that do not work.

Why not talk to a writer about switching to a cheaper location that better fits your vision? Location changes happen all the time, and they can open up the world effectively.

Again, this is a collaborative process, and I want to see that sense of collaboration return to Hollywood.

Summing It All Up

There is no shame in admitting that screenwriting is a craft you haven't mastered yet. And there's no shame in hiring a collaborator on your project. You want to make the best movie; a little humility can get you there.

So take a page from Fincher and respect the writers!

I had a debate with a buddy this week about whether the creature from The Thing was an animal or, like, an entity. I am on the team that it's not an animal, probably an alien.

Anyway, that got us talking about animals in horror movies.

From man's best friend to horrifying predators, animals bring out emotions and also allow us to empathize with one another. Also, as many movies have noted, we're all just animals on the inside, too.

The point is that nature can be both kind and cruel, and horror is the perfect genre to show both. But usually just the bad ones.

So today, I want to introduce you to some of the meanest, most unforgiving killer animals ever put on screen.

Let's dive in.

Bruce the Great White Shark (Jaws)

- YouTube www.youtube.com

• Director: Steven Spielberg
• Writer: Peter Benchley, Carl Gottlieb
• Cast: Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss, Lorraine Gary, Murray Hamilton

From the opening scene, you know that this shark is not listening to reason. He's just eating everyone in sight. Our guy Bruce now hangs in the Academy Museum, but before he was a prop, he was an apex predator hunting for food.

This guy was an unstoppable force of nature that terrorized the small beach town of Amity Island and stole Chief Brody's quiet life. Spielberg built pure tension, making Bruce feel like an omnipresent monster. You wanted to stay out of the water forever.

Cujo (Cujo)

- YouTube www.youtube.com

• Director: Lewis Teague
• Writer: Don Carlos Dunaway, Lauren Currier
• Cast: Dee Wallace, Daniel Hugh-Kelly, Danny Pintauro, Ed Lauter, Christopher Stone

I love dogs. They are kind and sweet and cuddly and love you for just being you. Except Cujo. Cujo is not a good dog. What makes Cujo uniquely tragic and terrifying is that he starts as a beloved St. Bernard. He was totally fine until that damn bat bite took over his brain and turned him into a killing machine.

This rabies movie is sort of the opposite of Old Yeller, where you are rooting for the dog to get shot. Or at least run over.

The Florida Alligators (Crawl)

- YouTube www.youtube.com

• Director: Alexandre Aja
• Writer: Michael Rasmussen, Shawn Rasmussen
• Cast: Kaya Scodelario, Barry Pepper, Morfydd Clark

This movie rocks so much. You cannot miss out on it. I saw it and was immediately like...I can't believe the carnage in this thing as aggressive gators just devour people in Florida during a horrifying hurricane.

Alexandre Aja unleashes relentless creature-feature terror where the environment itself works alongside the monsters as the father and daughter at the center of the narrative navigate their home, as it fills with water and the gators follow them around and multiply.

The Giant Wild Boar (Razorback)

- YouTube www.youtube.com

• Director: Russell Mulcahy
• Writer: Everett De Roche
• Cast: Gregory Harrison, Arkie Whiteley, Bill Kerr, Chris Haywood, David Argue

Remember when we made fun of those people and the 30-50 feral hogs? They were right; you do need a bunch of big guns to handle them. Especially if you run into a razorback.

This is one of those movies that feels ahead of its time. Because these pigs have been part of the cultural conversation now. Maybe it's time for a remake?

The Anaconda (Anaconda)

- YouTube www.youtube.com

• Director: Luis Llosa
• Writer: Hans Bauer, Jim Cash, Jack Epps Jr.
• Cast: Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube, Jon Voight, Eric Stoltz, Jonathan Hyde, Owen Wilson

When I was a kid, we rented this on VHS, and I was afraid for months that giant snakes would come to Pennsylvania. But they never did. This is such a fun idea because it takes the basic monster idea and makes it real. Are you afraid of snakes? What if you saw one that was unreasonably big?

It uses early CGI, but the movie is most successful with practical snakes and puppetry. You're rooting for survival, and by the end you want to see these snakes die in a horrible fashion.

The Giant Crocodile (Lake Placid)

- YouTube www.youtube.com

• Director: Steve Miner
• Writer: David E. Kelley
• Cast: Bill Pullman, Bridget Fonda, Oliver Platt, Brendan Gleeson, Betty White

This movie is insane. I actually am flabbergasted; it's like 84 minutes of a crocodile eating people in Maine. And a great Betty White cameo. It sort of makes no sense, but it is really, really fun. And when they reveal multiples, that's also a good time.

The croc was brought to life through Stan Winston’s legendary practical creature design; this croc combines brute strength with surprisingly sneaky stealth, and we get those iconic Jaws shots that will live on forever as a predator's POV.

Summing It All Up

Not all animals are scary, but in horror movies, it's kind of the prerequisite. I love the animals on this list for the ride they take us on, and I love how they get killed so we don't have to deal with them again.

I have enough nightmares as is...

What other animals belong on this list?

While it may seem like a small addition to your filmmaking or content creation workflow, a solid microphone can greatly improve your audio recording. Sure, smartphones and cameras have decent built-in mics these days, but once you’ve used audio gear tailored for audio, and not video, you’ll never want to go back.

The trick is finding the right system that works for you. And luckily, if you have different recording needs, even on a budget, there are options. This new Elgato Wave Go wireless microphone system offers plenty of versatility, and it retails for under $100. Let’s check it out.

The Elgato Wave Go Wireless Microphone System

A pretty simple yet versatile solution for audio recording, this new Wave Go from Elgato works as one wireless microphone, but with two ways to use it: clip-on and handheld, for your mobile device or laptop when recording interviews, podcasts, and livestreams.

It achieves this versatility with a USB-C plug-in receiver unit, a clip-on transmitter with a built-in microphone, and a Smart Handle that turns the transmitter into a handheld mic.

The unit comes with a charging case too, so you can store and recharge it easily, plus the transmitter can also be attached to your subject via a magnetic clip or plate, which can then deliver broadcast-quality audio to your receiver from up to 32.8' away via 2.4 GHz.

Price and Availability

Overall, this is a solid wireless microphone system that stands out for its flexibility in different shooting situations and its decently low price point. If you’d like to learn more, here are the full specs and purchase options.

• For Live Streaming & Content Creation
• USB-C Plug-In Receiver
• Clip-On Transmitter with Built-In Mic
• 32.8' Transmission Range
• Smart Handle Turns Transmitter Handheld
• Adjust Gain & Noise Suppression via App
• 8-Hour Battery Life, Charging Case

Elgato Wave Go Wireless Microphone System for Mobile Devices

The Wave Go Wireless Microphone System from Elgato functions as both a clip-on and a handheld microphone system for your mobile device or laptop when recording interviews, podcasts, and livestreams.

If you've ever written a screenplay, you probably know that finishing the dang thing is only half the battle. Now you have to read it back and figure out if it's good or not. And you have to hope that you have the perception and self-awareness to see when a joke just doesn't land, or the pacing feels off, or dialogue is bad.

Off you go on the rewrite journey. The hard part is knowing what to look for, because a draft can go in a hundred directions, and most writers don't know which one to choose.

Matt Harry has wrestled with that question from several angles. He cut reality TV, with credits that include The Bachelor. He spent three years as a developmental editor at a publisher, according to him. And he's a novelist and screenwriting teacher whose book Sorcery for Beginners was optioned for TV.

He talked through his rewriting process in a recent Film Courage interview. His approach is about asking the right questions at each stage. Here's how to find the core of any scene, why tone should guide every cut, when to bring in outside readers, and how to tell when it's finished.

- YouTube www.youtube.com

Ask Three Questions of Every Scene

Harry explains that reality TV taught him to edit prose, because a mountain of raw footage could be shaped into almost anything. So technically his advice could be applied in several editing situations, not just in writing.

"You could literally tell any story. And so one of the things I found early on was that you really need to understand, what's the problem of the scene? Who are the people that are trying to solve or stop that problem? And thematically, what is this really about?"

A problem in a scene is usually a goal vs. obstacle situation. A character wants something, but an obstacle is stopping them. That's a problem of conflict, and it can arise from another character, self-doubt, something physical in the scene (like a wall or locked door), or a million other things.

The people in the scene are your characters. Obviously, they don't have to be people, but could also be animals or robots or anything else you can imagine.

The question of theme is often the most elusive. As you're moving your characters around and giving them stuff to do, sometimes you can lose the thematic tension because you're just trying to get them from point A to B and fill pages in the meantime. But every scene should be tied to your thematic question.

I always link back to advice Craig Mazin gave in 2019 because it has been so formative to my own writing journey. Theme, he says, should be something you can argue, and every scene is a character butting up against that argument until they're forced to change. Unless stasis is your point, and they choose not to change at all.

These questions are simple, but that should make them easy to remember and apply in your edit.

Credit: Photo by Nicolas J Leclercq on Unsplash

Let Tone Guide What You Cut

Right after explaining his three questions, Harry shares the story that taught him about tone. He was cutting Rock the Reception, a 2008 reality series in which choreographers helped couples stage showstopping first dances for their wedding guests.

"And so this thing happened in the shooting where the bride fell, and she twisted her ankle. And it was this big dramatic moment. And as an editor, I saw that [and] I was like, 'Oh, this is going to be a great act out.' And I build this whole act out. And I had scary music on the ankle. And then we come back and realize, 'Okay, she didn't break it. It's fine. It's just a sprain.' So I thought that was great. I was super proud of myself. And then the showrunner came in and watched it, and they said, 'No, no, no, no, no. This is not that show.' And I was like, 'What do you mean?' It's like, 'It's awesome, but yeah, that's not what we're doing. We're telling fun, entertaining stories.'"

This moment, when he missed the show's mission so badly, taught him how tone shapes a scene. When do you cut? What music backs the scene? In writing, what words does a character use? What imagery gets emphasized in a scene?

"Because you could do anything, right?" he says. "You've got all the words in the English language. I could choose any of it. So if you don't understand what the tone is up front, you're not going to know where to begin or what to cut out or take in."

If you're reading your work or someone else's, think first about what genre you're in and what your tone should be. That will dictate everything else.

Make Your Script Something Collaborators Can See

The interviewer asks what big-picture items a screenwriter needs to keep in mind.

"The most important thing for a screenwriter is to think about, how can you get everyone else to see the vision of the movie that you have? Because I think a lot of people can come in with an idea and see a lot of different kinds of movies. And I think a screenplay, I've really come to realize, is a document to get people excited. It's almost like a pitch document of, 'This is what this idea could potentially look and feel like.'"

In other words, you hope to see your project realized one day, so another thing your rewrite might consider is how your screenplay will be performed, what visuals it will require, and how it can all come together in the NLE with another kind of editor at the helm. Does your script get all those people excited?

"Here are the elements that we could use," Harry says. "Here's a part for somebody to play that could be very exciting. Here's a scene or a set piece that could be really cool to build or execute. And to share that excitement you have for this idea, put that vision in your head into other people's heads."

Rewriting isn't easy, especially when you have to balance so much. So take your time, and get your script into its strongest position. (It's never really done, right?)

In 1978, John Carpenter's Halloween changed horror movies forever with its story of suburban terror. Laurie Strode's Halloween night becomes a fight for survival when Michael Myers escapes captivity and returns to his home, then fixates his killer rage on Laurie and her friends.

What better time to revisit this slasher classic than the week before All Hallow's Eve itself? Today we want to look at the iconic lines that end the movie and set off a popular franchise.

Watch the moment below.

- YouTube www.youtube.com

The Scene

Michael Myers escapes a mental institution and steals a car to drive back to Haddonfield. In pursuit is his psychiatrist, Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasence), the only person aware of Michael's dangerous nature.

By the end, Laurie (Jamie Lee Curtis) is the film's final girl, shaking on the floor after fighting off Michael.

Loomis puts several bullets into Michael. The gunshots send Michael plunging off a second-story balcony onto the yard below. In the aftermath, Laurie cries. In shock, she says the thing a child would say.

"It was the boogeyman."

Dr. Loomis looks at her. "As a matter of fact, it was."

Loomis walks to the balcony, and the lawn below is empty. The film concludes with several shots of various locations from the disastrous night, empty—including Michael's childhood home.

Two Writers Meet in One Exchange

Carpenter directed the film, and he also co-wrote the screenplay with Debra Hill.

Most co-written scripts blend their voices until you can't tell who wrote what. Halloween kept its two voices separate on purpose, and the final exchange is the first time they speak directly to each other about the same monster. The ending is interesting because two writers built two halves of a story and then let them meet.

The AFI Catalog reports that Carpenter and Hill described their collaboration as an even split, with Hill writing the babysitters and Carpenter writing Loomis and Michael.

This means that Hill created one of the most famous final girls of all time in Laurie.

"One review said the most notable thing about the movie," Hill told Entertainment Weekly in 1997, "was that it was produced by a woman, because it shows she has the tacky taste of a male chauvinist pig. I just laughed" (via The Los Angeles Times).

The script came together quickly, with Hill claiming it only took three weeks to write. A fast, split draft makes the merge points more deliberate, and the ending is the biggest of them.

In the movie, the girls talk like teenagers. Their walk home is all about boys and babysitting plans, with the town's ordinary rhythms around them. Laurie is the responsible one, the skeptic who tells Tommy there's no such thing as the boogeyman.

Hill grew up in Haddonfield, New Jersey, and the fictional film town is named after it.

Loomis is the opposite register. He gives speeches. He's the only adult who talks about Michael in moral absolutes, and the film spends most of its runtime treating him like a man nobody will listen to.

"I met him 15 years ago; I was told there was nothing left. No reason, no conscience, no understanding, and even the most rudimentary sense of life or death, of good or evil, right or wrong. I met this six-year-old child with this blank, pale, emotionless face and the blackest eyes... the devil's eyes. I spent eight years trying to reach him, and then another seven trying to keep him locked up, because I realized that what was living behind that boy's eyes was purely and simply evil."

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In the end, the skeptic from Hill's storyline regresses, and in her shock uses the word she tried to dismiss earlier. The serious doctor from Carpenter's storyline answers simply.

Each character crosses into the other's territory. Laurie stops being rational, and Loomis stops being grandiose. The two stories have finally become one.

If you're co-writing, splitting the work by character or storyline can give each thread a distinct voice. Then you'll need to plan the scene where those threads have to share dialogue, because that's where the audience will hopefully see it all come together thematically and in character resolution.

Setting Up the Boogeyman

Laurie doesn't believe any of this. She's an adult. She's responsible. She's grounded. The boogeyman isn't real.

"A man wouldn't do that," Sheriff Brackett says at one of Michael's crime scenes.

Loomis responds, "This isn't a man."

Carpenter told Rotten Tomatoes:

“The script was a departure from a lot of horror films that I had seen as a kid and as a film school student. The antagonist, Michael Myers, was neither human, nor supernatural, but a combination. So I had to ride a line there with him. He was everywhere in the darkness. He was just a killing machine and at the time we hadn’t seen that too much. That’s what I was trying to do–and [I was] trying to scare the audience. That was my job.”

- YouTube youtu.be

Ending on a Question

The final exchange closes this chapter but leaves the storyline open, which is common in horror films not only for the purpose of ending on something scary, but also to leave the possibility for a follow-up.

Carpenter had no idea the film would perform, and many critics hated the ending. He told Rotten Tomatoes:

"A lot of people criticized my ending. They thought it sucked. They thought it was bad. And then we finished the movie, and put the music on it, and put it out there, and then the reviews came in and they were bad. ‘John Carpenter does not have a talent with actors’ it said in some of the reviews. Oh lord. So, once again, I got bad reviews on something. But then the audience started to build. Halloween was a word-of-mouth movie. That’s why it worked.”

It's now one of the most celebrated classic horror films ever. What do you think of the last exchange?

Cooke Optics continues its evolution by announcing a significant expansion of its PL/LPL lens range with the introduction of its new S4 FF/i spherical primes.

Compact and lightweight, with class-leading close focus and an intriguing regulated character, the new S4 FF/i series will comprise six T2.0 primes ranging from 18mm at the wide end to 100mm at the long end.

Let’s look at Cooke Optics' new S4 FF/i and explore what makes it intriguing, and whether it might be worth considering for your future projects.

The Cooke Optics S4 FF/i Lens Series

Announced as the new full-frame evolution of the company’s iconic S4/i Super 35 lens lineup, these new S4 FF/i primes are looking to provide some new opportunities for filmmakers and DPs to capture some unique looks with a design that features a carefully regulated character that complements skin tones, delivers gentle clarity and expressive lens flares.

“I am honoured and thrilled to announce Cooke’s newest spherical prime lens series, the S4 FF/i. This lens series is the result of years of planning and work by my dedicated colleagues. I hope this lens can continue Cooke’s core purpose: a tool to empower a diverse variety of artists to express a wide array of distinctive, emotion-based visual storytelling.” — David Hancock, CEO of Cooke Optics.

The company says that despite this being a new line, the lenses will still retain many of the main optical qualities that made its original S4/i S35 lenses so popular, while overall just updating the lenses for modern filmmaking and full-frame camera workflows.

Close Focus and Character

So, the big selling points here for this new S4 FF/i series are really going to come down to these three areas:

• Exceptional close focus: S4 FF/i offers class-leading close focus across the set, averaging just over fifteen inches (385mm). Hands and small details can fill the frame, and performance holds from infinity to the minimum object distance.
• Dependable character: S4 FF/i balances resolution with dimensionality and delivers precision and intimacy without compromise. Contrast and sharpness are consistent across the set.
• Built to Perform: The S4 FF/i lenses are designed around size and weight. They’re among the lightest and most compact cinema lens sets Cooke has ever delivered. At 1,642g on average, they are 29% lighter than the original S4/i S35. With an 87mm front diameter across the range, the set suits handheld, gimbal, and steadicam work.

Price and Availability

Available either as a full series or individually per lens, these new S4 FF/i lenses will reportedly cost $15,000 per lens. If you’d like more info on their availability or insights into their full specifications, you can check them out on the company’s website here.

If you’ve been on the fence about fully jumping into Blackmagic Design’s DaVinci Resolve Studio, or looking to finally upgrade from the free Resolve option, now might be a good time to jump in, as the company is offering a pretty nice deal.

As a limited-time special running through Friday, November 20th, Blackmagic Design is offering 20% off DaVinci Resolve Studio so new users can explore the platform's latest AI tools and features.

Here’s what you need to know.

DaVinci Resolve Studio AI Sale

Announced on the company’s website and shared across its social pages, Blackmagic Design is offering a pretty nice limited-time deal. It’s a bit odd that they’re framing it around AI, but hey—who are we to complain when there’s real money to save.

Now on sale for only $236, DaVinci Resolve Studio is a powerful video editing platform that uses the DaVinci Neural Engine for automatic AI region tracking, stereoscopic tools, more Resolve FX filters, more Fairlight FX audio plugins, and advanced HDR grading.

The “AI Sale” will also extend a similar 20% off offer on the following add-on panels, which could be great options for those looking to further level up and professionalize their AI (and non-AI) video and color workflows.

• DaVinci Resolve Micro Color Panel: A powerful color panel that gives you the control you need to create cinematic images. Includes controls for refined color grading, including adding windows. Connects via Bluetooth or USB‑C.
  • Was $559, now $449
• DaVinci Resolve Advanced Panel: Designed in collaboration with professional Hollywood colorists, the DaVinci Resolve Advanced Panel features a massive number of controls for direct access to every DaVinci color correction feature.
  • Was $34,665, ,ow $27,735
• DaVinci Resolve Mini Panel: Portable DaVinci color panel with 3 high-resolution trackballs, 12 primary corrector knobs, and LCDs with menus and buttons for switching tools, adding color nodes, HDR and secondary grading, and more.
  • Was $2,319, now $1,855

Price and Availability

As mentioned above, this is a pretty nice discount for one of the best video editing platforms currently available, so—for whatever reason it might be enticing to you—it could be worth snatching now.

You can find more info on the deal and its availability through November 20th on the company’s website here.

Your script theme needs to carry both the weight of the story and a connection to the audience. That's a significant burden to bear. So how can you tell if your theme is coming across, or if you even have one?

I went to Catholic School growing up, and we were ALWAYS writing theme papers. They had to have thesis statements followed by three paragraphs supporting the thesis and a closing paragraph. Flash forward to now, and that's basically what I do for a living here. I come up with a thesis, support it, and get torn apart in the comments. But I love it.

I was perusing screenwriting Reddit yesterday (I'm Jasonater2themax, say "hi" any time) and came across a post I enjoyed by ExoticSword. It talked about Craig Mazin's screenwriting theory and the idea that you should always be writing from the theme.

So what does theme mean? Well, how the hell do I know what the theme is? And when do I find said theme? And how do I write to it?

The theme of this week is writing your script's theme. We'll go over the screenplay theme definition, learn how to find your story's idea, and go over a few examples as well as thematic topics.

So strap in, get ready to write, and if you misbehave, I'll wrap your knuckles with a ruler. Sorry, Catholic School is coming back. I don't care if you misbehave as long as you learn something.

How To Find The Theme Of A Story - Jeff Kitchenwww.youtube.com

Theme Definition in Film and TV

In film studies, a theme is a central message within a narrative of a film or television show. In general, themes fit into two categories: a work's thematic concept is what the audience "thinks the work is about," and its thematic statement is "What the work says about the subject of the story." As you can imagine, these vary based on the film, characters, director, and writer.

We sometimes call theme the "central message." So what's the central message in your story?

How Theme Works in Narrative Structure

This is No Film School, so I think we should teach you a little about adding themes to your screenplays. Screenwriters like myself often struggle with where theme actually lives inside a 110-page script.

For me, I usually find it during rewriting, and that's when I really want to draw it out and make sure the audience soaks it in as we move forward in the story.

The Theme Stated

In classic three-act structure, your theme shouldn't wait until Act III for the theme to show up. You want ot bake it into Act One, usually around page five or ten.

This can be the sort of statement of the whole movie.

The protagonist rarely understands it at this point; to them, it sounds like nonsense or an annoying lecture. But for the audience, it clues us into the narrative arc.

• Example: In The Matrix, Morpheus tells Neo early on that there is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path. Neo doesn't understand what this truly means until he surrenders to his destiny in Act III.

The Midpoint Reversal

The Midpoint isn't just a plot shift, it is a thematic reckoning. This is where your protagonist moves from reacting to their circumstances to actively making choices based on the story's core argument.

They test out the theme's worldview for the first time, usually with devastating results.

2. Character Arc vs. Theme

Theme is best expressed through a core dialectic: The Lie vs. The Truth.

Every compelling protagonist enters Act I believing a Lie about themselves or the world. It's sort of a psychological defense mechanism born from past trauma or flawed values. Call it the character's ghost. The story’s theme represents the Truth they must accept to achieve true internal resolution.

3. The "Theme Test" for Your Draft

If you aren't sure whether your theme is working, ask yourself these three questions...

1. What is the Central Dilemma? Can you frame your movie's main conflict as an "X vs. Y" value statement? (e.g., Safety vs. Freedom, Ambition vs. Family, Individualism vs. Community).
2. Does the Climax Require an Internal Shift? Can your hero win the final conflict simply by shooting faster or running faster, or do they have to let go of their core delusion to triumph? If physical force alone solves the plot, your theme hasn't been integrated into the climax.
3. What Do the Subplots Say? Subplots are secondary lenses analyzing the main theme from different angles. If your main plot asks "Can love survive lies?", your B-story and C-story should show other characters answering that exact same question with varying degrees of success and failure.

What is Theme in Film and TV Screenwriting?

The theme of your screenplay refers to the issue at the core of the story itself. This isn't mentioned in the script, but it's the emotional or spiritual driving force behind your movie's message. If you don't have a theme, then your mom will feel like it lacks purpose.

Think of the theme like the thesis statement of a paper. Again, we come back to the central message. John August describes the theme as "what is true and what is real."

So what's true at the center of your story? Maybe you're writing about realizing your parents are flawed humans, or that love conquers all, or that trust and respect are earned.

But maybe you don't know your theme yet. Stephen King thinks it comes after you write the story and emerges in other drafts. Stephen King had this to say in "On Writing:"

"Good fiction always begins with story and progresses to theme, it almost never begins with theme and progresses to story. The only possible exception to this rule that I can think of are allegories like George Orwell's "Animal Farm". Once you have a basic story on paper, you need to think about what it means and enrich your following drafts with your conclusions. To do less is to rob your work (and eventually your readers) of the vision that makes each tale you write uniquely your own."

Whatever the case may be, once you decide on your theme, you should be writing to that theme. But how do you decide? Determining theme is not an easy task.

What's a Theme in Film Storytelling?

When scanning the internet, a lot of websites talk about theme in When Harry Met Sally. Which is awesome, because I just read the script and rewatched the movie. The idea in that movie is easy..."Can men and women be friends?"

That central message is behind every story decision in the movie. The movie seeks to argue this point back and forth. At times, we see the deep friendship of Harry and Sally, and we think, "Sure, maybe they can be friends." But then we realize that the banter is so cute, and all we want is for them to be together, and we understand that the sexual tension and romance are way more important than being stupid friends.

Each character and their actions are written from this point of view. And the theme gives people something to talk about as they walk away.

Well, I know you're not Nora Ephron, so you might be having a bit of trouble finding the theme of your screenplay.

How do Filmmakers Find Themes in Film and TV?

You might know your central message exactly when you start writing, but chances are you will not figure it out until the end. One thing I want you to rethink is why you wrote the story in the first place. For that, I'll do a callback to the Le Menu, an exercise from the beginning of “Crafting Short Screenplays That Connect” by Claudia Hunter Johnson. We've done this from the character's perspective. And it helps here to get your mind working about why you write in the first place.

Write five to ten answers to:

• What I love
• What I hate
• What I fear
• What I believe
• What I value
• What I want
• What I know about
• People who made a difference in my life
• Discoveries that made a difference in my life
• Decisions that made a difference in my life

this can help you find your theme in your writing.

After you do that, you'll be a lot closer to discovering the theme of your work. The theme is closely tied to the internal struggle you want your audience to understand while watching the movie. So you're not really finding and defining as much as building the theme into the story.

Let's look at Theme Examples in Famous Films

What is an example of a theme? Themes just don't show up; you can imply them with an implied theme, or you can just call them out generally. Sometimes it's easier to just look at the themes present in some of our favorite films. Think about a movie like Fargo. The entire story is built around money, and whether or not you need money to be happy. Jerry wants it and is willing to sacrifice his wife to get it. Marge knows it's love that really makes you happy, not money.

The movie is written from both points of view. Marge's encounters are all about love, and Jerry's are all about money. When they finally meet in the end, Jerry learns his lesson, and Marge cuddles up next to her husband. Each is able to answer the theme.

Let's look at a few more examples to work out the theme in our own scripts.

Jurassic Park Themes

I love the theme music of Jurassic Park and the story's theme too. If technology makes something possible, should we pursue it without moral dilemma?

Jurassic Park does a great job providing us with characters who explore this theme. Dr. Grant and Ellie are archeologists, literally living and working in the past and not interested in the technology of the future. Hammond and his team are only interested in taking the past and making it part of the future because they're able to do that.

Malcolm becomes the voice of reason, delivering our theme. "Just because we can, doesn't mean we should."

Over the course of the movie's two hours, we see characters debate this complex issue. Technology saves Dr. Grant's life a few times, but the sheer act of bringing the dinosaurs back to life refutes that we should wantonly wield technological advances.

Hammond and many members of his park fall victim to their hubris.

The movie leaves us with a complex answer to the question. Technology should be used to help humanity but not to play god.

Pulp Fiction Themes

Pulp Fiction is a movie that's thematically about fate. Are we in control or are there larger forces at work? You can read the Pulp Fiction screenplay here for extra analysis.

If we are fated to do certain things, then what is our purpose?

Jules's breakdown is at the center of this thematic struggle. Is he supposed to be an evil man, or should he be doing good? In Pulp Fiction, the people who choose to do good generally survive. The people who don't, like Vincent, are the ones who chose to continue to do wrong even after fate gave them a sign to save themselves.

This theme of fate lends itself exceptionally well to a movie about people running into each other all over Los Angeles. It allows us to suspend disbelief when people show up in crosswalks or accidentally run into sadomasochistic rednecks.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. II Themes

What about something a little sweeter?

Guardians of The Galaxy Vol. II has a great theme. "Can your friends become your family?"

We see Quill, Rocket, Groot, and Yondu debate this fact over and over. The central question of the story is "Who is your daddy?" Quill learns that your biological heritage doesn't matter. What matters are the people who are willing to die for you. Those people, no matter if they are human, alien, god, or raccoon, can become your family.

The choices, stakes, and set pieces in the movie are all written from the family dynamic and make this sequel special.

Summing up the Definition of Theme in Film and TV

As you can see, the primary theme of most stories relies on the goals of the filmmaker. If the whole cast and crew know about the theme, it can make writing and directing all that much easier. Especially for the actors, who now will know how to play the characters' arcs.

What's next? Coincidences in Movies and Television are a Disaster...Unless...

Coincidences in movies and television can take you out of the story or leave you questioning the internal logic of events. So how can you use these random story beats to your advantage?

Click to learn more!

After years of talking about making a fiction film that explores the complexities of nonfiction storytelling, director Lance Oppenheim and his longtime collaborator Daniel Garber, ACE, jumped at the chance to make a nontraditional biopic that examines the dark sides of hidden-camera television and its surrounding cultural discourse.

Oppenheim and Garber instantly connected with Ajon Singh’s powerful screenplay, which gave them a clear vision for exploring this complex subject matter and a unique opportunity to apply their own documentary and unscripted experience to this narrative feature. Balancing 14 camera formats, unsynced vintage DV footage and a variety of audio files to create a TV show within the film, Garber chose to edit on Adobe Premiere. The multicam tools in Premiere were especially helpful in managing the mix of footage from modern cameras to retro broadcast systems, and the Essential Sound Panel was key to recreating visceral, vintage TV and phone audio.

Read on for more about Garber’s workflow and collaboration with Oppenheim to craft and communicate the high-stakes reality of the famed TV show.

Tell us about Primetime. How did you first become involved?

Daniel Garber: Lance Oppenheim and I have worked together for years. I met him when he was still an ambitious college senior on what would become our first documentary feature together, Some Kind of Heaven. Even then, his command of style and cinematic language impressed me, and our easy rapport from our first meeting set the course for what has become one of my most fruitful creative relationships.

Lance and I had talked for years about making a fiction film about the inherently thorny nature of nonfiction storytelling and the practice of turning real pain into mass entertainment. So when Ajon Singh’s script landed on Lance’s lap, it felt like the culmination of a longstanding obsession—and like we had found a kindred spirit in Ajon. My parents were very anti-TV, so I wasn’t an avid viewer of To Catch a Predator growing up–but the show penetrated even my media bubble. It became a cultural touchstone, a phenomenon that was inescapable for American teenagers who, like me, grew up on AIM and early YouTube. The chance to tackle such a complex topic with some of my most valued collaborators and some great new ones was a perfect assignment.

How did you set up your workspace during this post-production process?

DG: Lance and I have worked out of the same office space in Brooklyn for years, gradually improving and augmenting the physical setup. My wonderful assistant editor, Katyann Gonzalez, handled most of the project setup and built out organizational tools that proved invaluable throughout the post process.

We accessed Premiere Productions from a shared server in Lance’s office that housed all our offline media. We simultaneously kept an encrypted portable RAID up to date with the edit so that I could occasionally cut on the road. Lance and I went on a couple of retreats during the post process, and the portable edit drive gave us the ability to keep working on my laptop without all of the trappings of our edit bay back in the city. When we got back, we’d bring any new work back onto the server.

What conversations did you have with your director to align on the creative vision for the project? What did collaboration look like throughout production and post?

DG: In contrast to our documentary process, Lance’s and my conversations about Primetime began with an excellent script. Ajon’s screenplay immediately declares itself to be anything but a straightforward biopic, taking a journalistic account of Hansen’s career and refracting it back to us in a totally unexpected, heightened form.

In post, I’m not the kind of editor who prefers to be left alone; I thrive on interactions with the director. Lance and I egg each other on, achieving great new heights or, at other times, going down rabbit holes, and we often left it to Katyann to tell us honestly which direction we were headed. Friction is also a powerful tool in the editing room. When Lance and I have disagreed on an approach to a scene, we’ve never failed to come up with a third solution better than each of our initial ideas. At every stage, Lance tries to make discoveries, finding ways to further elevate the script and the performances. The sense of endless possibility and a desire for reinvention is what makes working with him so thrilling for an editor.

Tell us about a favorite scene or moment from this project, and why it stands out to you.

DG: One of my favorite sequences in the film is the introduction of Dan Plum (Skyler Gisondo) and his friend Troy (Eric Rahill). They’re struggling actors living in temporary housing in Burbank, and Dan books a gig as a decoy on To Catch a Predator. Eric, his friend and self-appointed acting coach, helps Dan develop his persona as the 13-year-old boy he’ll be playing on the show. This was one of the most exhilarating sequences to cut; for me, it unlocked the film’s tone and style, and it perfectly encapsulates the way that Lance and I work together.

They shot the same Dan-Troy dialogue in multiple locations and, in each of those, also captured a ton of unscripted dialogue from these two incredibly talented improvisers. The number of possible permutations with this footage was staggering, and it immediately became clear that a treasure trove of hilarious ad libs would wind up on the cutting-room floor. Shaping this sequence felt like a return to documentary filmmaking, trying to instill some order and shape to the discoveries on set, while honoring the excellent dialogue Ajon had written.

Billy Bob Thornton on Inside the Actor’s Studio was originally intended to be background audio, and the scene of Dan practicing his childlike voice and getting feedback from Troy was entirely unscripted—but I was inferring a connection between these two elements and decided to run with it. Dan, paying close attention to how Billy Bob produced the voice in Slingblade, and then trying his own exaggerated, pitched voice, seemed too good an opportunity to pass up: juxtaposing these elements helped create a sense of Dan’s ambition as a performer, the seriousness he brings even to the role of a child on a hidden-camera show. That kernel of an idea helped set me free to do a kind of associative editing throughout the sequence, leaping from one location to the next, mixing archival footage of Billy Bob with our original footage, in one dizzying sequence held together by Ari Balouzian’s bombastic and carnivalesque score. After an initial round of notes from Lance, this sequence sat virtually untouched for the remainder of the edit and became a kind of north star for the film’s editorial approach.

What Adobe tools did you use on this project and why did you choose them?

DG: We used very few tools in post, in part, because Adobe Premiere was such an all-in-one piece of software. Productions was at the heart of our workflow and enabled Katyann and me to collaborate seamlessly off of our shared server.

Premiere’s Speech-to-Text function was also essential for us. With Lance’s tendency to invite improvisation and line alts, the transcript became a major time-saver during the edit. I’m also fond of Premiere’s built-in audio tools: because so much of the film features audio playing through speakers, I found myself reaching frequently for the Essential Sound Panel to place audio on a TV or a phone.

Finally, I like to use Remix to quickly audition music cues and make a quick determination about whether it’s worth devoting more effort to making that music work in the scene.

What were some specific post-production challenges you faced when editing Primetime? How did you tackle them?

DG: Much of what was unique and challenging about the workflow had a lot to do with the volume of footage and the number of formats we were contending with. Primetime mixes and matches different cameras, incorporating the cinema camera, DV footage that represents the show within the movie, vintage broadcast cameras, and more. I think there were 14 camera bodies in use over the course of principal photography.

This was, first of all, a technical feat: Katyann was tasked with harmonizing this medley of different aspect ratios, recording media, frame rates, and resolutions. In the film’s climax alone, we used ten cameras, and at one point, eight cameras were recording simultaneously, without the ability to jam-sync on the vintage cameras. So Katyann spent a lot of time building multicams—and I spent a lot of time reviewing them. To handle the influx of DV tapes, Katyann also built a database to track information about each tape, like its content and transfer status.

Creatively, the mixture of formats was its own challenge, as it wasn’t predetermined how all of them would fit together when the edit began. The DV footage, for instance, was originally just intended to play back on screens on set; there was even a question about whether it should be ingested for use in the edit. I quickly saw the power of going full-screen into the cold, surveillance camera objectivity of the DV with the subjective and emotional cinema camera.

Our most stylistically extreme camera was a vintage Plumbicon tube camera, with its psychedelic effusions of color. Lance and David had fallen in love with the look, but it was so unusual that we realized that it could only be used intermittently for an accent. It flickers in and out of the film, showing up as Chris’s sense of reality begins to fray. A long process of trial and error eventually brought us to an unspoken logic of when each type of camera would play, and we only knew we had arrived at the right balance when our test viewers stopped noticing the transitions between formats.

Who is your creative inspiration?

DG: One of my biggest inspirations is Lance’s and my former film teacher, documentary filmmaker Robb Moss. He amazes me with his ability to close-read films in progress with such keen awareness of his own emotional responses to what’s on screen as well as attunement to what the film itself seems to be asking for. I aspire to approach every film viewing experience with the level of curiosity and sensitivity that he has.

In a saga that’s been going on for a while, though perhaps not as long as the never-ending DJI drone ban in the US, the hotly anticipated Sony FX5 has finally resolved its production delays and is set to begin shipping next month.

Is this truly the end of the saga? For those who preordered and are waiting to get their hands on this new Sony cinema camera, with its newly developed 16.6MP full-frame stacked sensor and range of filmmaker-focused features, we hope so.

Here’s what we know so far.

Is the Sony FX5 Finally Set to Ship?

While this latest set of reports and rumors does come to us from Sony Alpha Rumors, which is pulling from an Adorama note, it sounds like distributors are letting interested owners know that Sony has “completed its final quality assurance process” and that “deliveries are currently anticipated in early to mid-November."

We don’t have official confirmation from Sony or other resellers yet, but it was never likely this would be a camera delayed indefinitely or anything. Sony certainly wants to get it out into the world, and many Sony-focused filmmakers are eager to get their hands on this new cinema camera as well.

The big news here might simply be that Sony hasn’t announced another delay, which at this point suggests the previously mentioned late October or early November release is still on track.

Ready for the FX5?

The big question, besides when it will come out, might now be whether the Sony FX5 is right for your filmmaking and videography needs.

Set to feature a powerful 16.6MP full-frame stacked Exmor RS CMOS sensor, a next-generation BIONZ XR2 image processor with an integrated AI processing unit, and a host of professional recording options including Open Gate capture and internal X-OCN, the FX5 looks to be quite appealing for those looking for this signature blend of speed, image quality, and production flexibility.

We’ll likely get more sample footage, camera tests, and reviews here soon, so stay tuned as we get closer to an official release confirmation and date, which will bring lots of insights and info.

In the meantime, if you want to check the specs and consider preordering, here are the full features and purchase options to explore.

• 5K 16.6MP Stacked Full-Frame Sensor
• 5K60 Open Gate (3:2) & 4K120 (16:9)
• Internal X-OCN Raw Recording
• Three Base ISO | Dual Gain Mode
• 3.5" 16:9 4-Axis Multi-Angle Touchscreen
• AI-Powered Autofocus & White Balance
• 5-Axis In-Body Image Stabilization
• BIG 6 Menu System & Streamlined Controls
• Dual CFexpress Type A/SDXC Card Slots
• Optional EVF & 32-bit XLR Handle Unit

Kids are fun and full of life. But sometimes they're full of the devil. Or another ancient demon hell-bent on destroying life on Earth.

Whether they're possessed by ancient demons, born the Antichrist, or simply operating on a level of unhinged malice, cursed kids are such a huge part of the horror genre.

They star in some of our favorite movies, and today, I wanted to do a post dedicated to them and the horror that surrounds them.

Let's dive in.

1. Regan MacNeil (The Exorcist, 1973)

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• Director: William Friedkin
• Writer: William Peter Blatty
• Key Cast: Linda Blair, Ellen Burstyn, Jason Miller, Max von Sydow

This is a freaky entry that had to be number one. This movie is, at its core, about a mother trying to figure out what's wrong with her daughter and confronting the fact that it may not be something under her control.

Linda Blair’s portrayal of Regan set the gold standard for movie child curses. You can't get better than this; it's a worst-case scenario.

2. Damien Thorn (The Omen, 1976)

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• Director: Richard Donner
• Writer: David Seltzer
• Key Cast: Harvey Spencer Stephens, Gregory Peck, Lee Remick, Billie Whitelaw

This is the kid you worry about as a parent. What if they come home from the playground and this is their friend; what if this winds up being your kid?

This is the literal Antichrist swapped at birth into an American diplomat’s family; that is a bad situation for everyone in it! He is cold, calculated, and terrifyingly polite. Until he kills you and takes over the world.

3. Rhoda Penmark (The Bad Seed, 1956)

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• Director: Mervyn LeRoy
• Writer: John Lee Mahin (screenplay), Maxwell Anderson (play), William March (novel)
• Key Cast: Patty McCormack, Nancy Kelly, Henry Jones, Eileen Heckart

The first of the worst. This kid was so cursed that they influenced every cursed kid after that. On the outside, Rhoda is a sweet girl in tap shoes who loves her mother. They always present one way, and then the real evil comes out.

This killer child set the standard and the trope for every movie and show that followed.

4. Gage Creed (Pet Sematary, 1989)

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• Director: Mary Lambert
• Writer: Stephen King
• Key Cast: Miko Hughes, Dale Midkiff, Denise Crosby, Fred Gwynne

"Sometimes dead is better."

I just don't know how a kid handles death, especially the death of a beloved family pet. This is supposed to teach them a lesson, not make them into a manifestation of pure violence with a toddler's voice.

5. Charlie Graham (Hereditary, 2018)

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• Director: Ari Aster
• Writer: Ari Aster
• Key Cast: Milly Shapiro, Toni Collette, Alex Wolff, Gabriel Byrne

The absolute shock my theater experienced when this kid's head got knocked off was bonkers. I don't think I will ever get over it. All I see are telephone poles and a shudder.

Milly Shapiro deserved an Oscar. That clicking was gross and weird and also messed with me. The fallout there lasts the rest of the movie.

6. Toshio Saeki (Ju-On: The Grudge, 2002)

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• Director: Takashi Shimizu
• Writer: Takashi Shimizu
• Key Cast: Yuya Ozeki, Takashi Matsuyama, Takako Fuji, Megumi Okina

Japanese horror always takes things to the next level. This is a poor kid who is bound to the house by a curse that forces him into corners and darkness, into pictures and to kill over and over.

7. Isaac Chroner (Children of the Corn, 1984)

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• Director: Fritz Kiersch
• Writer: George Goldsmith (screenplay), Stephen King (short story)
• Key Cast: John Franklin, Courtney Gains, Peter Horton, Linda Hamilton

Bro, stay out of the corn. It's gonna get you. This is so unsettling because I grew up near so many farms, and I was always afraid these kids would waltz out of them. Again, this became a legendary band of bad kids, and if they ever remake this movie, I could see it entering another longer part of the cultural lexicon.

8. Samara Morgan (The Ring, 2002)

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• Director: Gore Verbinski
• Writer: Ehren Kruger (screenplay), Kôji Suzuki (novel)
• Key Cast: Daveigh Chase, Naomi Watts, Martin Henderson, Brian Cox

"She never sleeps."

Nothing more scary than coming out of the TV and getting you. You see this kid who just wants to get her curse out there, one who will relentlessly suck your soul after seven days. Unless you duplicate her DVD.

That cold, dark well is also a terrifying place to be stuck in and conjures up all the trauma and claustrophobia that would make any sick kid kill.

9. Anthony Fremont (The Twilight Zone: "It's a Good Life", 1961)

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• Director: James Sheldon
• Writer: Rod Serling (teleplay), Jerome Bixby (short story)
• Key Cast: Bill Mumy, Cloris Leachman, John Larch, Don Keefer

A TV episode! Yes, The Twilight Zone had so much terror baked inside. Ig you haven't seen this episode, Anthony has the power to mutate reality, read minds, and transport anything (or anyone) he dislikes to "the cornfield."

So you really wanted to be nice to him!

10. The Brood / Ghoul Children (The Brood, 1979)

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• Director: David Cronenberg
• Writer: David Cronenberg
• Key Cast: Cindy Hinds, Samantha Eggar, Art Hindle, Oliver Reed

A title that makes you feel the cursed kids coming your way. These snowsuit-clad, toothless mutants work as a hive mind to get you and everyone you love. They attack first responders, teachers, friends, and foes without mercy, all to avenge Mom's whims.

Summing It All Up

Some kids on this list got a raw deal; others needed a little more parenting. But regardless, these are the ones I wouldn't want hanging out on the playground with my son.

Were there any I missed?

It's so weird when national news converges with Hollywood news, but today I want to talk about the building of data centers. And not in the context of the masterpiece, Eddington.

I want to talk about them because many sound stages are sitting vacant and are being converted into data centers.

That's pretty crazy, and it seems like something we all need to talk about and to know about. According to reporting from Bloomberg and Briefs, we're seeing a bit of an industry-wide pivot, with private capital quietly rerouting money from Hollywood into artificial intelligence infrastructure.

Let's dive in.

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The DeKalb Battle

In 2022, private equity power Silver Lake injected $500 million into Shadowbox to fuel a $1.5 billion expansion across Atlanta, London, and Los Angeles.

This was a smart move; streamers were making so many TV shows across those cities, and they needed places to shoot. To put this into the big-picture perspective, Georgia’s total stage inventory nearly doubled in six years.

The boom was booming.

Then we had the strikes and rollbacks, and people began shooting internationally in order to save even more money.

Now, in 2026, Georgia’s production spend fell to a 10-year low.

And the private equity firms that bought all these Hollywood stages are now faced with a really big question of what to do with them. Do you want for movies and TV to come back with a federal tax break?

Or do you turn to other kinds of businesses?

You can make money from concerts, pickleball, and private events.

But you can make much more by turning those large spaces into data centers.

And that's what we're seeing happening.

Shadowbox’s parent company decided to convert 155 acres set aside for sound stages into a 1.1 million-square-foot data center complex.

Now, if you are as wary of data centers as I am, you can understand why there are so many legal battles surrounding this conversion. But it's not just happening in one place and with one stage.

It's happening all over.

From Soundstages to Server Racks

Private equity ruined Jersey Mike's, and now it's coming for the sound stages we needed to make movies and TV.

I loved when they were building and making shooting more accessible, but now we're seeing a reshaping of infrastructure that was supposed to be around when people actually came back to the USA.

• Athena Studios (Athens, GA): Studio owners submitted plans to redevelop their campus and surrounding land into a 1.3-million-square-foot data center, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Local officials halted new permits to establish strict zoning limits.
• Pinewood Studios (UK): Pinewood’s expansion footprint in the UK shifted its focus toward server infrastructure, which is shocking because it was the most-used studio for a long time. They are retaining only a fraction of the stage additions originally planned.
• Wycombe Film Studios (London, UK): Originally planned as an eight-stage complex outside London, the project was re-pitched as a data center before most of the stages were ever built.
• Tyler Perry Studios Expansion: Tyler Perry publicly put an $800 million, 12-stage expansion on hold after seeing the rapid generative capabilities of text-to-video tools like OpenAI's Sora.

Summing It Up

I don't have a lot of answers here. I just wanted to make you aware of this stuff. As generative AI tools reduce the need for physical sets and streaming budgets remain tight, developers are trying to invest in the data centers to make them work.

These centers theoretically could then provide the computing power to make AI backgrounds better so sound tags aren't needed...but that's a big if. And you have to jump through a lot of regulations and technological advancements to get there.

Interesting and unprecedented times.

I feel like The Princess Bride is one of those movies where you remember the first time you watched it. For me, it was on VHS, rented from the Exton Library, on New Year's Eve. Pretty epic time to see it.

That's where I learned the word "Inconceivable" and the power of just one word in all dialogue writing.

Rob Reiner’s 1987 classic was adapted for the screen by legendary writer William Goldman, and the confidence to wrap all the emotions into one word and define the scene that way is just amazing.

So today, I want to go over that quote and talk about how it helped solidify the playful tone of the movie and how it has lived on forever.

Let's dive in.

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The Scene in Question

So the power of this movie lies in just how much fun it is to watch. There's this lyrical quality; they feel musical. You are just flowing with these characters, and they each have their own score.

Of course, the punchiness of Act One is delivered by Vizzini (Wallace Shawn), who plans to kidnap the princess.

Aiding him are Fezzik (André the Giant) and Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin).

But the one word Vizzini keeps using as his plan unfolds is "Inconceivable."

As things go wrong and a pirate chases him, he's baffled by the scenarios that keep happening to him and his trio.

No matter what insurmountable obstacles Vizzini puts in place, like cutting the climbing rope, relying on Fezzik's sheer physical force, or facing Inigo’s master-level swordplay, the pursuer overcomes every single one with impossible skill.

Each time the mystery man performs another miraculous feat, Vizzini shrieks his favorite exclamation in disbelief:

"Inconceivable!"

This all comes to a head at one poison standoff. Vizzini is again shocked by the results of the ruse he's fallen into and is outsmarted again.

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What The Quote Means

I mean...the word has a definition. It is an adjective meaning "impossible to imagine, comprehend, or believe, or something that is extremely unlikely to happen," according to the dictionary.

I really do not think we need to go deeper here. The repetition of the word defines a character who thinks he's smarter than everyone else in every scene.

Vizzini’s defining character trait is his absolute arrogance. And to show this, Goldman has him repeat the same big word over and over again.

The more he says it, the funnier it gets, too.

In addition to all of this, the quote has taken on a life of its own in popular culture.

It's become one of the most repeated lines in cinema history, and it is impossible to read or hear the words without harkening back to the movie.

That's pretty amazing!

Summing It All Up

The lasting magic of The Princess Bride lies in its ability to balance adventure with playfulness. And the line "Inconceivable" does both, as it is used in those great set pieces but makes us laugh and lean in for the fun, too.

Next time you write dialogue for a character who boasts about their genius, remember there might be a way to do it with just one word.

One of the most anticipated, if not most perplexing, new iPhones ever announced, the iPhone Duo models are set to start shipping later this week. If you're getting your hands on this new foldable iPhone with its 7.6-inch inner display and trove of unique features, you’ll likely want to protect your investment.

And as with all new iPhone releases these days, protective options are already coming out to help protect, or build out, your iPhone. The latest is a new leather case option from SANDMARC that could be a nice protective solution for the Duo and its unique design.

Let’s check it out.

The SANDMARC iPhone Duo Leather Case

Coming from a company that already has a pretty deep history and library of specialty gear for smartphone photographers, videographers, and content creators, it’s of little surprise that SANDMARC has a new case option for the iPhone Duo already available.

What’s unique about this offering is that this Full-Grain Leather case for the Duo is crafted from premium full-grain leather that should be flexible enough to handle the smartphone’s new foldable design, while still staying slim, lightweight, and protective.

The SANDMARC iPhone Duo Leather Case will feature an aluminum threading mount to keep the camera module safe by providing space between surfaces and the lens. It will also be MagSafe-compatible for full charging support and will include sturdy side metal buttons, so you should be able to operate it just as you would without a case.

Price and Availability

As we’ll see with more gear and add-ons likely to start rolling out for the new iPhone Duo here soon, this protective leather case looks to be a solid protective investment for those looking to keep the Duo safe but still usable for all types of photo and video needs.

If you’re curious, here are some key specs and pricing from the company’s website.

• Compatible with MagSafe
• Aluminum threading for camera protection
• Microfiber inner lining & metal buttons
• Brown Premium Full-Grain Leather
• SANDMARC Lens & Filter compatible

Price: $89

Hardcore cinephiles are in the middle of one of the most important weeks of film ever right now, with the 4K theatrical re-release of Ken Russell's highly controversial historical drama, The Devils.

It looks like a horror film and certainly could be classified as such, but it's based on a real period of religious hysteria that took place in 1632-1634 in Loudun, France, during a famous case of mass sociogenic illness resulting in political execution.

The uncut film currently in theaters is rated NC-17 for sexual content and nudity, and it does feel provocative still for how far it takes its portrayals of mass madness. But when it was first released in 1971, it was also considered shockingly blasphemous and was chopped up and censored and since then has been almost impossible to watch.

The director's cut currently in theaters restores Russell's vision and is one of the most visually stunning films you'll be able to watch this year. That's due in part to the film's first-time production designer, Derek Jarman, who built the sets. His career ran from ballet to Pinewood to Blue.

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About The Devils

Based on a 1961 stage play and the non-fiction book The Devils of Loudun by Aldous Huxley, the story follows a fortified French city that Cardinal Richelieu wants to bring to heel. The plan involves demolishing the city walls, but the parish priest, Father Urbain Grandier (Oliver Reed), refuses to comply until he hears from King Louis XIII.

Meanwhile, nuns at a local convent—led by repressed Mother Superior Sister Jeanne des Anges (Vanessa Redgrave)—began claiming they are possessed by demons. Richelieu and his agent Baron Jean Martin de Laubardemont use the event to get to Grandier, pinning the "possessions" on him and threatening violence against anyone who dares to stand against them.

Essentially, the film can be boiled down to Grandier being so handsome and charismatic that everyone either wants to sleep with him or kill him.

The film is visually stunning, with the city of Loudun rendered in stark white tiles and built to a grand scale in arches, angled walls, and high ceilings. It's an odd mix of sterile and grandiosity, the film's version of cathedrals and grand halls turned on their heads. Meanwhile, the costumes are often flamboyant, contrasting with the clean surroundings.

The BBFC first saw a rough cut on January 27, 1971. Warner Bros. executives saw it around the same time and were similarly concerned, making it a rare case of a distributor censoring its own film alongside the BBFC. Russell was asked to cut a late sequence from the film when the hysterical nuns engage in gyrations with... certain church decor. The cut film still received X ratings.

'The Devils' Credit: Clockwork

From the Slade to the Stage

Jarman was born in 1942 and attended the Slade School of Fine Art (via the Victoria and Albert Museum). He went on to become a respected production designer and director, as well as an AIDS activist.

After graduating from the Slade, Jarman was commissioned by Frederick Ashton to design Jazz Calendar and by John Gielgud and Sadler's Wells Opera to design Don Giovanni, the company's opening production at the London Coliseum. Jarman also costume designed Don Giovanni, and the production was highly controversial. His designs were geometric and sharp and stripped back and part of what critics disliked about the production.

In the Sunday Times, he said the design was driven by his dislike of "unnecessary detail, which blurs the outlines of sets and costumes" (via the V&A).

Stage training taught him to design for an idea, not for literal accuracy, and eventually led him to film.

'The Devils' Credit: Clockwork

Building Loudun

Russell learned of his work and invited the 28-year-old Jarman to join The Devils. For the film, he leaned into Art Deco influences that were admittedly anachronistic for the time period, but the designs were praised even as the film was disdained.

Russell wanted Loudun to read as modern to the people living in it. According to What's in a Scene, he told Jarman to take modern influences because Loudun's people would have seen themselves as a modern, vibrant community.

In 2012, when BFI released the film on DVD, The New Statesman wrote:

The fresh, zinging white tiles and brickwork of the sets was designed both to reflect a phrase in The Devils of Loudun, Aldous Huxley’s book about the same historical events, which described what took place in the city as akin to “a rape in a public toilet,” and to simultaneously insulate the picture from historical remoteness.

Russell described it as "a black and white film shot in color."

There are several stunning moments in these white halls. Sister Jeanne des Anges, also mostly in white, almost blends into the setting at points, crawling in ecstasy while her convent prays. Later, when Mignon (Murray Melvin) arrives dressed all in black, he looks like a dark bar in a cage looming over her.

These sets were the biggest constructed since Cleopatra. Within the walls, audiences see plague carts, a dramatic recreation of events on a stage shaped like a distorted, fish-like face, a tribunal in a black hall, and more.

If there's anything to take away at the indie level, it might be that period accuracy can be sacrificed for a creative vision as bold as this one.

'The Devils' Credit: Clockwork

What Jarman Learned

While given complete creative freedom here and a large budget, Jarman emerged from the experience determined to focus on his art. BAMPFA writes:

A deeply independent filmmaker, he embraced low budget filmmaking for its aesthetics and ethics, welcoming the opportunity to innovate and work with friends, but also to resist the way films were traditionally conceived and made.

While everyone would love hours, if not days, to properly set up and compose every shot for a project, filmmakers, DPs, and high-end content creators often shoot scenes as fast as possible. And this rarely allows for lots of creative looks and effects.

If you want to speed up your workflow, either to get more done or to buy more time for creativity, options like the NiSi ATHENA Drop-In Filter PL-E Adapter can help, since it lets shooters mount PL cinema lenses on Sony E cameras and swap filters behind the lens in seconds.

Let’s check it out.

The NiSi ATHENA Drop-In Filter PL-E Adapter

As the title suggests, this new NiSi ATHENA Drop-In Filter PL-E Adapter offers a unique combination of features: a PL lens mount adapter with a helpful drop-in filter slot. This is cool because, unlike standard ATHENA PL adapters we’ve seen in the past, one set of drop-in filters works with every PL lens you mount, regardless of its front diameter.

The filters slide between the lens and the camera, so you can swap ND, polarizers, or diffusers in or out in seconds, without a matte box or front filters. This system is also compatible with the entire PL-mount ATHENA PRIME lineup, as well as most other PL-mount lenses, including lenses with a rear protrusion of up to 25.8mm.

These will work with all ATHENA drop-in filters, so you can use True Color VND, True Color CPL, Black Mist, Allure Streak, and FS ND drop-in filters for a wide range of looks.

Price and Availability

The adapter is lightweight and includes your usual mix of weatherproof sealing and other protective features. The company notes that the filter slot sits close to the camera body, so a cage or other rig attachment may limit filter changes, or make it difficult to fit the adapter with a filter installed.

If you’d like more info, the NiSi ATHENA Drop-In Filter PL-E Adapter for PL Mount Lenses to Sony E Cameras (with Clear Drop-In Filter) is available to preorder on the company’s website for $269.

While Z CAM may not be as familiar a name as Canon, Sony, or Blackmagic Design, it has steadily built a reputation as an up-and-coming camera brand with a large, solid library of cameras.

Focused on professional filmmakers and videographers, the Z CAM E2-F6 Pro in particular has proven to be quite capable for those looking for high-quality full-frame video recording, and this new firmware update (0.9.10) is set to expand its capabilities even further by adding internal ProRes RAW recording.

Let’s check it out.

Z CAM E2-F6 Pro Firmware Update

So, following up on a pretty significant 0.9.9 firmware update that added RAW recording over HDMI and ProRes RAW on the Atomos Ninja V, this new 0.9.10 update is set to take things a bit further by adding internal ProRes RAW recording.

The update doesn’t add much beyond that, but for filmmakers looking to simplify their workflows and shoot ProRes video in-camera without attachments, this could be helpful.

As mentioned above, the previous update also added DCI 4K (4096 x 3072) at up to 50 fps, along with optimizations for the timecode function. All updates also include minor bug fixes and improvements.

How to Download and Install

If this Firmware 0.9.10 update sounds interesting, you can download and install it directly from the company’s website here.

If you’d like to find out more about the Z CAM E2-F6 Pro and all its filmmaking possibilities, you can read our original review of the camera when it was first announced here.

If you make a movie, chances are you, uh, actually want people to see it. Right? Right.

But indie distribution is a beast, and it's a world that keeps changing with every new media conglomerate merger and fresh niche streaming service. And there are plenty of people out there ready to scam a hopeful filmmaker out of their budget—which is something we'll look at today.

What can you do? Be as educated as possible about the choices for distributing your work, and know some red flags that should send you running in the opposite direction.

Indie Film Podcast is hosted by Victoria Horn and Chuck Norton, indie filmmakers who are used to doing it all themselves. They work on low budgets and champion their own work, and the work of others.

Norton brings up a local filmmaker on a forum who lost $10,000 in marketing spend to a distributor that wouldn't tell him what the money was used for.

"He ended up getting decent amount of views on his film, and he was like, 'Where's my cash?' And they're like, 'We spent it in marketing.' And he said, 'Show me the itemized receipt.' And they just sent him one line item for the exact amount of money."

"It was exactly $10,000 paid to another marketing agency to run all the ads," Horn added. That filmmaker might pursue legal action against the distributor.

Unfortunately, this isn't uncommon. In 2019, filmmakers who used the aggregator Distribber to get their movies on iTunes and Amazon said they were owed thousands in royalties as the company collapsed, and six told IndieWire they'd waited as long as a year for payments. We covered it as it unfolded, when filmmakers couldn't reach anyone at the company.

But these avenues must be explored, because as we learned from Jon Reiss, author of Think Outside the Box Office, said at SXSW this year that filmmakers shouldn't wait for a distributor to rescue them.

"Traditional distribution doesn't exist anymore, except for maybe 0.1% of films," he said. He added, "Someone else is going to come around and distribute your film in the way that you want it to be distributed ... that world kind of didn't really exist for 95% of filmmakers since '07, and certainly doesn't exist now."

Indie Film Podcast's recent episode talks about all these problems and more. It's the final episode of their three-part series on getting your film seen, and they get candid about flattering distributors, vague marketing receipts, and contracts that reach for the sequel. Check it out below.

- YouTube www.youtube.com

Getting on a Platform Is Not Getting Seen

It is a big achievement to make a movie. For sure. And it's great to get on a streamer. But as they point out, there's a lot of content already there—40,000 individual feature-length films on Tubi alone, per the platform.

So what you have to think about instead, after the hurdle of actually making and putting your thing out, is distinguishing yourself.

Norton recalls putting his second film directly on Amazon in the platform's early days. Amazon removed it after a year of slow rentals. He says getting onto the big platforms now means going through a middleman, then rattles off the competition, including YouTube, Tubi, Netflix, Peacock, Hulu, HBO Max.

"There's just so much out there that signing those distribution deals is not the end of your filmmaking journey, unfortunately. And the likelihood of people finding your stuff is pretty low."

"Not impossible," Horn said.

Admittedly, the do-it-yourself route onto Prime Video has narrowed. In 2021, Amazon stopped taking unsolicited documentaries and short-form work through Prime Video Direct.

How to Stand Out

After warning about predatory deals, the hosts turn to the self-serve route. This means aggregators like Filmhub and Indie Rights that filmmakers can submit to directly. But getting on a platform is only step one.

"But then the problem there is, you're still just kind of like throwing something out," Norton said. "And if you don't have a marketing plan behind it, there's a good chance that it's just going to get lost."

"It'll get buried in those 300,000 other titles," Horn said.

Filmhub's own help center says it passes along 80 cents of every dollar the platforms pay and keeps 20 cents. Fair terms don't guarantee income, though. In a Film Collaborative survey, one filmmaker said that even with a film streaming on eight services, the monthly take tops out around $20.

Here are some ways to build your brand.

Own your audience. Norton said that when he ran a fundraiser with his brother and sister-in-law, the email list came through because those subscribers cared about the work.

"And 100 newsletter subscribers is worth 10,000 Instagram subscribers, probably. I'm pretty convinced."

Ted Hope argues along the same lines, urging filmmakers to own their connection to fans instead of renting it from a platform that can change the rules. Reiss said something similar at his SXSW panel about putting as much effort into finding viewers as into making the film. So build your audience first.

Case in point, Curry Barker had YouTube before he had Obsession.

"He still had to go around and pitch to people to get the investors," Horn said. "But because he had the following in the audience, it gave him the leverage to make those pitches."

One way to build an audience is by hosting screenings and getting marketing content out of that.

"In other words, host a very localized cast and special-invite screening where you don't charge for tickets so you retain your premiere status," Horn said, "and you interview everyone on the way out of the theater, and you start just getting those videos, throwing them up online, everybody talking about what this movie made them feel."

Online, look at niche platforms for shorts. The hosts suggest horror and sci-fi shorts filmmakers look at ALTER and DUST, which they describe as an easy way onto YouTube. The channels' submission page says they reach close to 7 million YouTube subscribers between them but premiere just one short a week on each channel, so getting picked is competitive.

Credit: Photo by Mike Von on Unsplash

What Distributors Want

This bit can be taken in two ways. First, what distributors want from you, which can be a trap. Second, what makes them say yes, which is the opportunity.

Making stuff is fun and creative, but once it's done, the job becomes business. And the business is selling, which is what distributors are doing.

Norton said the distributors his brother spoke with were warm and full of praise, but what they wanted was a signed contract and the film.

"It was like, we're going to promote your film. We're going to spend $10,000 marketing your film, and you'll just have to pay that back, and then you'll keep everything after that."

But what you actually get is a percentage of that money back, which can be very low. It's important to read contracts thoroughly and understand who will own exclusive distribution rights and whether you retain your IP.

If you really want to go the traditional route and have a distributor, what makes them say yes? Distributors respond to a defined target audience, recognizable cast, festival selections and wins, positive reviews, and signs of an existing fan base, like an email list or social following.

Struggling to find LED lights that are small and lightweight enough to use in tight spaces, but still ready to pack a bright punch that can give you enough light to creatively shoot your scenes exactly as you desire?

Well, you’re in luck because, for our latest "Deals of the Week" roundup, we have three Halo bi-color LED monolights from amaran for you to check out that could be great options for those working in home studios, livestream rooms, and compact sets.

Check out some of the deals below.

• amaran Halo 200x Bi-Color LED Monolight: $211
• amaran Halo 300x Bi-Color LED Monolight: $254
• amaran Halo 600x Bi-Color LED Monolight: $469

You can find more filmmaking deals here.

I think I was in 5th grade when The Mummy came out. And I remember distinctly going to see it, my first "horror" movie in theaters. I was nervous, but it seemed so cool to me in the trailers.

What I got was an adventure movie with some sexy ladies, a suave hero, and enough horror to intrigue me without going over the top.

Stephen Sommers’ The Mummy wasn't just a hit with me, but it became a hit at the box office with a massive cult following that demanded more of Rick, Evie, and the gang. We're even getting another entry next year.

Today, I want to go over a line in the movie that I love, which sort of gets the ethos of the whole series and certainly sums up the main character.

Let's dive in.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

The Scene in Question

You've surely seen the movie, so you know that after surviving the initial chaotic encounter at the ancient city of Hamunaptra and landing in a Cairo prison, Rick O'Connell finds himself back in the heat of the action after he's sprung from prison by Evelyn Carnahan (Rachel Weisz) and her brother Jonathan (John Hannah).

They want him to lead them back to the City of the Dead.

The group settles into a riverboat on the Nile where they sit across from the people who are trying to beat them there.

It's a friendly, tense scene of two factions all out for the same treasures, but stuck on the same route now.

That's where firebrand Jonathan, who has a knack for getting into financial trouble, tries to get Rick into a game of poker with his comrades.

Rick looks at him, totally unfazed, and exudes effortless confidence:

"I only gamble with my life, never my money."

What The Quote Means

Rick is a great character, and Brendan Fraser's portrayal is why these movies have been so successful. We love a guy with swagger and a sense of humor.

The line is thrilling; we sort of know what's coming... ancient curses, mummies, and fear, but this is a guy who maybe isn't afraid of all that.

He's part of this mission for the cahd, but that may also change.

Rick’s worldview is that material wealth is secondary to the sheer thrill. And as an audience. we're watching this movie to see those thrills.

Again, a lot of this stuff relies on the actor to convey it, and thank God we got Fraser. He excelled at balancing rugged heroics with reluctant anti-hero charm.

These little quips become the backbone of the series and eventually the romantic banter between him and Evie.

And in this moment, we know that to Rick O'Connell, standing down an ancient priest with supernatural powers is just another day, but losing a stack of cash on a card game is an actual tragedy.

That kind of sensational ideology is what makes these movies so fun.

Summing It All Up

Great movie quotes are not just fun trailer moments; they have to mean something to the character. This is a fun way to get out a worldview of the hero and also make the audience lean in to a set piece that is right around the corner.

It’s a classic beat of screenwriting efficiency, and one of the many reasons The Mummy has stuck in our collective consciousness for so long.

I can't wait for the next movie in the series!