“Doctor Who’s” Ncuti Gatwa just faced off against the franchise’s wackiest, most over-the-top villain yet. And that was before they started singing. Enter “RuPaul’s Drag Race” superstar Jinkx Monsoon as Maestro. Those familiar with Monsoon’s game wouldn’t expect anything else from her: the beloved two-time “Drag Race” winner is currently taking Broadway by storm, wowing audiences […]

Hoa Xuande’s life changed on Sept. 21, 2022.  It was nine months after he had sent in his audition tape for HBO’s series “The Sympathizer”; he had gone through the gamut of Zoom calls, he’d met with director Park Chan-wook, he’d traveled to South Korea and even made some trips to Los Angeles as part of the […]

“Nuremberg,” a historical thriller set in post-war Germany, will launch its sales through WME Independent at the Cannes Film Festival next month. The film stars Russell Crowe, Rami Malek and Michael Shannon. Richard E. Grant, Leo Woodall, John Slattery, Mark O’Brien, Colin Hanks, Lydia Peckham, Wrenn Schmidt, Lotte Verbeek and Andreas Pietschmann round out the […]

When “The Sympathizer” showrunner and director Park Chan-Wook brainstormed ideas for HBO’s newest miniseries, one scene struck him as a “quintessential American institution and represented the idea of America.” It took place in a steakhouse with several characters coming together. Based on the best-selling novel by Viet Thanh Nguyen and set at the end of […]

SPOILER ALERT: This contains major spoilers for the finale of “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” Banana fever reigns supreme after “RuPaul’s Drag Race” crowned America’s next drag superstar. Season 16 winner Nymphia Wind snatched the crown from fellow finalists Plane Jane and Sapphira Cristál. With her win, Nymphia makes “Drag Race” history as the first-ever Taiwanese queen and the […]

“3 Body Problem” production designer Deborah Riley is no stranger to creating epic environments — she won four consecutive Emmys for her work on “Game of Thrones.” Netflix’s new series reunites Riley with creators David Benioff and D.B Weiss. “That show was vast insofar as cold and hot environments and in its scope and scale, […]

LucasFilm’s 25th anniversary theatrical re-release of “Star Wars: The Phantom Menace” will feature an exclusive sneak peek of the upcoming Disney+ series “Star Wars: The Acolyte,” set to release on the streamer on June 4. Screenings of “The Phantom Menace” begin May 3 and tickets are on sale now. Additionally, to celebrate the “Star Wars” […]

“Desert power.” That’s how Denis Villeneuve teases what’s to come at the end of 2021’s “Dune,” as Timothée Chalamet’s Paul Atriedes looks out across the desert in awe as he sees a Fremen person riding a sandworm. And Villeneuve does not disappoint. The director goes full white-knuckle thrill ride in its sequel, orchestrating a glorious […]

Hoyte Van Hoytema has taken top honors at the 38th annual American Society of Cinematographers Awards for his work on “Oppenheimer.” Van Hoytema topped a field that included Edward Lachman for “El Conde, Matthew Libatique for “Maestro,” Rodrigo Prieto for “Killers of the Flower Moon” and Robbie Ryan for “Poor Things.” The awards were handed […]

Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” topped the dramatic feature editing category at the American Cinema Editors’ 74th ACE Eddie Awards, while “The Holdovers” won the category for best edited comedic feature during Sunday’s ceremony at UCLA’s Royce Hall. Jennifer Lame edited “Oppenheimer,” which also took top honors at last week’s SAG Awards and Producers Guild Awards. The […]

It might seem hard to believe after viewing the series, but “Shōgun” production designer Helen Jarvis had never been to Japan, had never read James Clavell’s nearly 1,200-page novel and she had never before worked on a 10-part TV series when she first came on the FX show. However, she was determined to bring authenticity […]

According to Sofía Vergara’s makeup artist Todd McIntosh, three prominent and iconic features needed to be covered up when transforming Vergara into Griselda Blanco, also known as “The Godmother,” for her latest role in Netflix’s “Griselda“: her nose, her “white smile” and her eyebrows. McIntosh, who worked closely with the actor, notes “Griselda was not […]

Writer, director and actor Bradley Cooper began working on “Maestro” years before the film went into pre-production. One person he turned to early on in that process was his collaborator on his directorial debut (“A Star is Born”), cinematographer Matthew Libatique. On this episode of the award-winning Variety Awards Circuit Podcast, Libatique discusses his process […]

“Napoleon” costume designers divvied up their tasks, with Janty Yates concentrating on French civilian wear and David Crossman on evolving military outfits. The Ridley Scott epic follows Napoleon Bonaparte’s (Joaquin Phoenix) rise from general to emperor. Along the way, he meets and falls in love with Josephine (Vanessa Kirby). The recreation of the battle of […]

“The Creator” director and co-writer Gareth Edwards started out making documentaries for the BBC, moving to fiction with 2010’s “Monsters.” From there, he jumped into “Godzilla” and “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.” For “The Creator,” a futuristic sci-fi film depicting AI robots and humans in conflict, he wanted to draw from the best aspects […]

Sam Green’s last film “A Thousand Thoughts” was a documentary about the Kronos Quartet, but his challenge was getting people to “hear” the film because everything about the medium is visual. When it came to his next project, “32 Sounds,” the documentary feature shortlisted for Oscar, he set out tell a story specifically about sound […]

“The Last of Us,” “The White Lotus,” “The Bear” and “Beef” gained momentum Saturday night as each show picked up big wins at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards. HBO’s “The Last of Us” was by far the dominant favorite with eight wins. FX’s “The Bear,” Netflix’s “Wednesday” and HBO’s “The White Lotus” won four apiece. […]

“She is the most literal character. ‘It’s sunny, you wear glasses. I put on shoes because it hurts when I walk outside without shoes on,’” says producer and actress Emma Stone of her latest role as Bella Baxter in “Poor Things.” Based on Alasdair Gray’s novel of the same name, Bella is a creation of […]

SPOILER ALERT: This contains spoilers from the “RuPaul’s Drag Race” Season 16. Charlize Theron expressed her strong support for the drag community in her debut as a guest judge on the season premiere of MTV’s “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” In the opening episode of Season 16, the Oscar-winning actor and longtime LGBTQ told the queens that the groundswell […]