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‘It really feels like a filmmaking company more than a visual effects company’ Warner Bros. I remember watching “The Lord of the Rings” and all those behind-the-scenes breakdowns of everything Wētā contributed to it. I’m curious: Do you get the same sense of legacy, working with a company as genuinely historic as Wētā? I definitely get a sense of the history and the legacy. Yeah. All our internal tools … puns are named after [laughs] “The Lord of the Rings” quite often....

The Controversial Australian Horror Movie That Was Almost Lost Forever NLT Productions/Group W Films By Lee Adams/June 3, 2022 1:13 pm EST “Wake in Fright” is one of the most violent movies I’ve ever seen. I don’t mean in terms of actual violent acts, because there are very few other than its most controversial scene, which we’ll come to in a bit. I’m talking more about the tone, an atmosphere of latent aggression that made me want to duck for cover, as if someone was about to burst in at any moment and kick my head in....

The Daily Stream: The Last Waltz Should Be Streamed Loud United Artists By Mike Shutt/May 18, 2022 5:00 pm EST (Welcome to The Daily Stream, an ongoing series in which the /Film team shares what they’ve been watching, why it’s worth checking out, and where you can stream it.) The Movie: “The Last Waltz” Where You Can Stream It: Prime Video, Criterion Channel, Pluto TV, Tubi The Pitch: While everyone wants to believe that the band they are in will last the test of time, most bands are not The Rolling Stones....

The Mandalorian Season 3 Has Finished Filming Disney+ By Lex Briscuso/March 30, 2022 12:02 pm EST It’s that time again: Another beloved show has wrapped filming for the season, so we can all wait with bated breath, twiddling our thumbs until a release date materializes and we can start counting down. Today, that show is the “Star Wars” series/cultural phenomenon “The Mandalorian” — which will undoubtedly make fans boil over with excitement....

Hans Zimmer on inventing new sounds for Dune First up, Vanity Fair has released an all-encompassing look at Hans Zimmer and his fellow musicians’ work in bringing new instruments and new sounds to “Dune,” the various “European”-sounding sci-fi movie scores in the past several decades that the composer consciously stayed away from emulating, and using a wide range of tools used in transporting audiences to different planets and cultures altogether. More than merely being a dry and educational look behind-the-scenes, Zimmer breaks down several segments of the film by instrument and tone, while also bringing in various vocalists and musicians to display their talents for all of us to see....

The Scariest Foreign Horror Film Of All Time According To Science Omega Project By Fatemeh Mirjalili/Jan. 7, 2022 10:37 am EST We may receive a commission on purchases made from links. If you consider yourself a horror movie enthusiast, it is likely you’ve gone through multiple lists that feature the most frightening movies of all time. Fear is after all, a universal language — and when administered accurately, it can creep under your skin and make for an unsettling experience....

The Studio Had Some Strange Ideas For Star Trek: Nemesis Paramount By Collier Jennings/March 24, 2022 3:00 pm EST “Star Trek: Nemesis” is a strange film, even by “Star Trek” standards. For starters, there’s the plot that centers on a half-Romulan clone of Jean-Luc Picard (played by Tom Hardy in his big break — true story!) There’s also the earlier version of Data named B-4, and I don’t even want to get into the scene between Deanna Troi and the monstrous Reman Viceroy....

There’s A Good Reason Groundhog Day Is So Often Imitated Columbia Pictures By Travis Yates/May 6, 2022 5:44 pm EST The story of “Groundhog Day” is dripping with irony. Although screenwriter Danny Rubin is not a household name, he should be. While director Harold Ramis gets much of the credit for the success of the 1993 movie, Rubin is solely responsible for the inventive original screenplay and only later refined it with Ramis....

Tron 3 Was Ready To Go, And Then Disney Changed Their Minds Walt Disney Pictures By Joshua Meyer/June 2, 2022 7:56 pm EST Before he hooked up with Tom Cruise to make “Oblivion” and “Top Gun: Maverick,” director Joseph Kosinski made a little movie called “Tron: Legacy.” Best remembered, perhaps, for its Daft Punk soundtrack (which still rocks), “Tron: Legacy” hit theaters in late 2010 and functioned as the belated sequel to the original 1982 “Tron....

Uncharted And Dog Make For A Very Encouraging Weekend At The Box Office Sony Pictures By Ryan Scott/Feb. 21, 2022 12:32 pm EST While the box office has been on uncertain footing, leaving some (including myself) to have a cynical view of the future for the theatrical marketplace, this weekend provided a glimmer of hope. Not one, but two brand new movies — the video game adaptation “Uncharted,” starring Tom Holland, and “Dog,” which serves as Channing Tatum’s directorial debut — both hit theaters and both found their audience over the long President’s Day weekend....

We Need To Talk About Cosby Trailer Reevaluates The Once-Beloved Comedian’s Tarnished Legacy Showtime By Marisa Mirabal/Jan. 20, 2022 9:51 am EST A new year, a new predator to expose. Today, Showtime released the first trailer for their four-part docuseries about the consequential downfall of actor and comedian Bill Cosby. Directed by comedian W. Kamau Bell, “We Need to Talk About Cosby” addresses challenging conversations around the #MeToo movement in relation to “America’s Dad,” Bill Cosby, who was later revealed to be an alleged sexual predator....

Why Joseph Kosinski Shot Top Gun: Maverick Like It Was Two Different Movies Paramount Pictures By Jenna Busch/June 30, 2022 4:03 pm EST “Top Gun: Maverick” is still raking in the dough. At the time of this writing, its global gross is well over $1 billion. It’s holding strong against films that have opened more recently, like “Elvis” and “Lightyear.” Clearly, fans feel the need for speed. We’ve heard about how the actors were taught to shoot their own footage while up in their fighter jets, and the risky stunts that star Tom Cruise did (which is pretty much an average Tuesday for him)....

Why The New Star Wars Series The Acolyte Is Set During The High Republic Era Del Rey Books By Jeremy Mathai/May 24, 2022 3:39 pm EST In the aftermath of the sequel trilogy’s conclusion, recent entries in the “Star Wars” franchise have remained firmly (some might say “stubbornly”) set in the time period surrounding either the original or prequel trilogies. Rather than move confidently forward beyond the scope of “The Rise of Skywalker” and tell brand-new stories with brand-new characters and no safety net in the form of George Lucas’ prior ideas (many of which were borrowed heavily for the sequel trilogy overall, mind you), the powers that be have seen fit to double back towards the comfort of familiar iconography....

Why You Need To Read Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman Before The Netflix Series DC Comics By Sandy Schaefer/June 13, 2022 11:00 am EST We may receive a commission on purchases made from links. If there’s one title you’re sure to find on just about every list of the all-time best comic books out there … it’s “Watchmen,” because best-of lists tend to be kind of predictable and boring that way (at least the non-chaotic ones are)....

Being In The Wire Writers Room Was Like Watching A Title Fight HBO By Anya Stanley/June 30, 2022 10:55 am EST “We’re building something here, detective. We’re building it from scratch. All the pieces matter.” That’s Det. Lester Freamon (Clarke Peters) talking about an ongoing wiretap investigation with a colleague, emphasizing the need to pore over every element in service of the bigger picture. Such was the climate of the writers room on “The Wire,” one of HBO’s most lauded drama series to date, 20 years beyond the airing of its pilot episode in 2002....

Digging Into Worf’s Dark Side Was Welcome Challenge For Star Trek’s Michael Dorn Paramount By Danielle Ryan/April 18, 2022 4:54 pm EST Worf is one of the most recognizable faces in all of “Star Trek.” Not only does the Klingon warrior and Starfleet officer have a pretty impressive set of forehead ridges, but he’s been on more episodes of “Star Trek” than any other character, playing a major role in both “The Next Generation” and “Deep Space Nine....

Disney’s Creepy ’80s Horror Movie You Have To See To Believe Walt Disney Productions By BJ Colangelo/Dec. 21, 2021 11:41 am EST Disney has become synonymous with family-friendly films, seldom crossing the line into anything that may be perceived as “scary” or “upsetting.” Disney Channel Original Movies are notorious for their Halloween fare, but with the exception of the criminally underrated “Don’t Look Under The Bed,” even their spookiest films are rated-G for general audiences....

Dr. Evil’s Super Bowl Ads Have To Be Worth One Million Dollars New Line Cinema By Jenna Busch/Feb. 8, 2022 4:27 pm EST Sometimes I sit back and think about the fact that we have teasers for commercials and wonder how we got here. Maybe it’s best not to dwell on that for too long. General Motors has been tweeting out teases (via AV Club) for its Super Bowl commercial, and they’re eeevil....

Guardians Of The Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind Trailer Teases Celestial Action In The New Disney Theme Park Ride Disney Parks By Eric Vespe/April 27, 2022 7:11 pm EST It’s been a long time coming, but the Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind coaster is finally up and running at Walt Disney World’s Epcot theme park. Well, kind of. Early access has been granted to a few lucky people, but the roller coaster isn’t available for all attendees until its official launch on May 27, 2022....

Here’s Where You Can Stream Or Buy Every Season Of The Flash The CW By Fatemeh Mirjalili/Feb. 2, 2022 10:19 am EST One of my favorite things about “The Flash” is that it feels straight out of a comic book story. It’s easily one of the most fun superhero television shows of its time, has brought some fan-favorite supervillains to life, and can keep you invested without getting too cheesy. It also helps that Barry Allen (Grant Gustin), Caitlin Snow (Danielle Panabaker), and Cisco Ramon (Carlos Valdes) are an incredible group of people to hang out with during the show’s eight-season tenure....