Given his background in journalism, it’s little wonder that director Edward Zwick turned to an investigative reporter’s work as the basis for his latest film, “Trial by Fire.” The film is based on an article of the same name by David Grann published in the New Yorker in 2009 about a Texas man who was almost certainly wrongfully executed for the murder of his three children; DNA evidence exonerated ... more >
INTERVIEWS
TRIAL BY FIRE, our interview with Edward Zwick
"I’m seeing people come out of this almost transcendent"
Six minutes into the future: a conversation with Karim Huu Do, director
"I have this Westernized mind, and at the same time, I have roots that are not coming from here. All this stuff mixed together creates something interesting"
What would it be like if you existed six minutes in the future, ahead of everyone? Things around you look familiar, being young is still cool and institutional repression hasn’t caught on with your latest act of rebellion. This is the world of Karim Huu Do, director. Some of the most esthetically-intense, visually-rousing short films come from advertising work. And some of the most ... more >
TALK: Jonathan Levine opens up about “Long Shot”
"It was important to us to make something kind of joyous at the end of the day"
Charlize Theron, Seth Rogen and June Diane Raphael
Directed by Jonathan Levine
Filmmaker Jonathan Levine stood in front of a packed theater in Washington, D.C., Wednesday evening to introduce a screening of his new film, “Long Shot,” a political comedy. He opined that it was somewhat of a challenge, in such surreal times as now, to make a comedy that satirizes politics. Nonetheless, he felt the time was right for such a rib-tickler like his new film. “We started making ... more >
INTERVIEW: Michael Ealy on his new film “The Intruder”
"The Intruder" stars Meagan Good, Dennis Quaid and Michael Ealy
Actor Michael Ealy was in the midst of renovating his own home when a script came his way about a man who sells his house to a young couple, but then, at first mysteriously but later ominously, refuses to leave them be after turning over the keys. “I understand this whole idea of the American dream and buying your first house, starting your family,” Ealy said, comparing real life with his new ... more >
WHEN LESS IS MORE: Talking with John Lee Hancock, director of “THE HIGHWAYMEN”
The Texas-born filmmaker previously directed "The Blind Side" (2009), "The Rookie" (2002) and "Saving Mr. Banks" (2013)
"The Highwaymen" stars Kevin Costner, Woody Harrelson and Kathy Bates
We all remember the slow-motion ballet of bullets that closed Arthur Penn’s 1967 “Bonnie and Clyde,” with Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway’s gangster-lovers meeting their violent demise on a rural Louisiana highway. It remains one of the most grippingly awful endings to a film, and as you watch it, it feels like it goes on forever. In reality it was just sixteen seconds. More than a ... more >
With “Mary Shelley,” Woman Behind Monster Directed by Woman Behind Camera
INTERVIEW with Haifaa Al Mansour
Ben Hardy, Elle Fanning and Maisie Williams
There were many films at the Tribeca Festival, many about women, and many others directed by women. “Mary Shelley,” starring Elle Fanning, is not only both, but perhaps was one of the best films at this year’s Tribeca Festival, which ended recently. As the title suggests, "Mary Shelley" tells the story of the nineteenth century-author who penned the horror classic “Frankenstein.” And in a case of ... more >
Documentary “Off Country” Lets Survivors and Opponents of Nuclear Testing Do the Talking
Documentary film as digital archive
Taylor Dunne and Eric Stewart’s forthcoming documentary “Off country” examines the devastating, still-lingering effects of atomic bomb testing on the communities around the White Sands missile range in New Mexico, the Nevada Test Site and the Rocky Flats Plant in Colorado, where plutonium triggers were manufactured until its 1992 shutdown (the latter facility was studied in the galling 1982 ... more >