Celebrity cinematographers are exceedingly rare. More often than not, credit for a film’s visual assembly goes to its director, while DPs can be overlooked. Roger Deakins, typically as famous as the directors with whom he works, is an exception. The legendary lensman is ranked fifth in our combined Best Cinematography Oscar odds for “Empire of Light,” his latest project under Sam Mendes. The movie stars Olivia Colman as Hilary, a lonely cinema manager living on the British coast. A chance at fleeting happiness arrives in the form of Stephen (Micheal Ward), a young man who gets a job at the theater. Their May-December romance is complicated by personal and broader political factors at the turn of the ’80s.
See ‘Empire of Light’ cinematographer Roger Deakins: ‘You’re trying to create a reality that all fits together as a whole’ [Exclusive Video Interview]
Comparing “Empire of Light” to “1917”—Mendes and Deakins’ previous collaboration,...
See ‘Empire of Light’ cinematographer Roger Deakins: ‘You’re trying to create a reality that all fits together as a whole’ [Exclusive Video Interview]
Comparing “Empire of Light” to “1917”—Mendes and Deakins’ previous collaboration,...
- 1/23/2023
- by Ronald Meyer
- Gold Derby
Maybe because of his prolific experience as a playwright, director Martin McDonagh is a storyteller who allows for much mystery in the lives of his characters. His acclaimed black comedy “The Banshees of Inisherin” begins with Colm (Brendan Gleeson) ending his friendship with Pádraic (Colin Farrell) for reasons that are never made completely clear. The time is 1923 rural Ireland.
“Martin doesn’t do much backstory in his writing,” production designer Mark Tildesley explained to TheWrap. “He wrote the script and the drew storyboards for the whole film and he had very specific ideas for how he’d like to make it. But we knew that the audience would have to piece together parts of the characters’ pasts through the look of the film.” Tildesley, whose credits include Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Phantom Thread” and Danny Boyle’s “Sunshine,” also designed the 1980s-era sets for the current film “Empire of Light...
“Martin doesn’t do much backstory in his writing,” production designer Mark Tildesley explained to TheWrap. “He wrote the script and the drew storyboards for the whole film and he had very specific ideas for how he’d like to make it. But we knew that the audience would have to piece together parts of the characters’ pasts through the look of the film.” Tildesley, whose credits include Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Phantom Thread” and Danny Boyle’s “Sunshine,” also designed the 1980s-era sets for the current film “Empire of Light...
- 1/20/2023
- by Joe McGovern
- The Wrap
It was in the small courtyard of a house in Galway on the west coast of Ireland that arguably the most important audition for The Banshees of Inisherin took place.
After a casting call had been put out across the country, on one grayish morning in late 2020 — a full year before shooting started — a trailer pulled up with four aspiring young hopefuls in the back. Writer-director Martin McDonagh, director of photography Ben Davis and production designer Mark Tildesley — who had been living together under lockdown while prepping for Searchlight’s period tragicomedy about a friendship gone awry on the fictional island of Inisherin in 1923 — went outside to inspect.
As the quartet of budding screen performers were paraded around, McDonagh spotted his star instantly.
“She just stood out. There was just something about her,” the director recalls. “I don’t know if it was her eyes, which were almost perfectly oval.
After a casting call had been put out across the country, on one grayish morning in late 2020 — a full year before shooting started — a trailer pulled up with four aspiring young hopefuls in the back. Writer-director Martin McDonagh, director of photography Ben Davis and production designer Mark Tildesley — who had been living together under lockdown while prepping for Searchlight’s period tragicomedy about a friendship gone awry on the fictional island of Inisherin in 1923 — went outside to inspect.
As the quartet of budding screen performers were paraded around, McDonagh spotted his star instantly.
“She just stood out. There was just something about her,” the director recalls. “I don’t know if it was her eyes, which were almost perfectly oval.
- 1/17/2023
- by Alex Ritman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
‘TÁR’, ‘Enys Men’ also starting in cinemas.
Sam Mendes’ Empire Of Light goes up against viral marketing success M3GAN at the UK-Ireland box office this weekend, with cinemas searching for a January hit to match previous years.
Distributed in 690 sites by Disney, Empire Of Light is having the biggest-ever opening by number of locations for a title from the studio’s Searchlight Pictures banner, surpassing the 610 sites for The Menu from November.
Empire Of Light opened in cinemas on Monday, January 9; the film premiered at Telluride Film Festival in September, going on to play Toronto, the BFI London Film Festival and Red Sea.
Sam Mendes’ Empire Of Light goes up against viral marketing success M3GAN at the UK-Ireland box office this weekend, with cinemas searching for a January hit to match previous years.
Distributed in 690 sites by Disney, Empire Of Light is having the biggest-ever opening by number of locations for a title from the studio’s Searchlight Pictures banner, surpassing the 610 sites for The Menu from November.
Empire Of Light opened in cinemas on Monday, January 9; the film premiered at Telluride Film Festival in September, going on to play Toronto, the BFI London Film Festival and Red Sea.
- 1/13/2023
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
There is a shallowness to Sam Mendes’s Empire of Light, as if it’s more interested in grand displays of emotion than reflecting the full-body experience of someone’s life. Mendes has called it a tribute to his own mother. Others have declared it a love letter to cinema. So why is it so oddly impersonal? So cold? So closed off from its audience?
Set in 1981, within a fictional Margate cinema named the Empire, it concerns a love affair that seems predicated mostly on sorrow. Hilary Small (Olivia Colman), middle-aged, lives half-invisible with a psychiatric disorder. Stephen (Micheal Ward), significantly younger, is the son of Caribbean immigrants faced with the daily trauma of a racist England.
Both work at the Empire, Stephen newly employed. All it takes to nurture their romantic impulses is their discovery of a pigeon with a broken wing – they, of course, feel a kinship with this lonely,...
Set in 1981, within a fictional Margate cinema named the Empire, it concerns a love affair that seems predicated mostly on sorrow. Hilary Small (Olivia Colman), middle-aged, lives half-invisible with a psychiatric disorder. Stephen (Micheal Ward), significantly younger, is the son of Caribbean immigrants faced with the daily trauma of a racist England.
Both work at the Empire, Stephen newly employed. All it takes to nurture their romantic impulses is their discovery of a pigeon with a broken wing – they, of course, feel a kinship with this lonely,...
- 1/9/2023
- by Clarisse Loughrey
- The Independent - Film
Illuminative, the Native woman-led social justice organization, has announced the launch of the Indigenous House at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.
The Indigenous House will open its doors on Main Street in Park City, Utah, where it will spotlight the creativity of Native peoples, unveil new research on Native voices in media and provide a space for community members and allies to explore issues that impact Native peoples.
“We are beyond thrilled to open the doors to the Indigenous House for the very first time at Sundance Film Festival,” Crystal Echo Hawk, founder and executive director of Illuminative, said in a statement. “Storytelling is a powerful force for change, and we’ve seen firsthand how impactful Native representation is. The entertainment industry has always been one of the biggest perpetrators of our erasure, but Native peoples have flipped the script and are breaking barriers and making incredible strides in representation.
The Indigenous House will open its doors on Main Street in Park City, Utah, where it will spotlight the creativity of Native peoples, unveil new research on Native voices in media and provide a space for community members and allies to explore issues that impact Native peoples.
“We are beyond thrilled to open the doors to the Indigenous House for the very first time at Sundance Film Festival,” Crystal Echo Hawk, founder and executive director of Illuminative, said in a statement. “Storytelling is a powerful force for change, and we’ve seen firsthand how impactful Native representation is. The entertainment industry has always been one of the biggest perpetrators of our erasure, but Native peoples have flipped the script and are breaking barriers and making incredible strides in representation.
- 1/6/2023
- by Jazz Tangcay and Michaela Zee
- Variety Film + TV
This story about Roger Deakins first appeared in the Below-the-Line issue of TheWrap’s awards magazine.
Roger Deakins remembers the moment he figured out what he was going to do for a living. It didn’t come as a child in Torquay, a seaside town on the coast of South West England, where he grew up surrounded by movies. “I think there were five or six cinemas within walking distance of where I lived,” he said. “And now there’s only two, which is a shame.”
It didn’t come in his teenage years, even though he gravitated toward film then, too. “I used to go to the cinema a lot, but what I remember most was when I was still at school and I joined a film club,” he said. “They just had a temporary screen and a 16mm projector, and they put up about 20 folding chairs. But they...
Roger Deakins remembers the moment he figured out what he was going to do for a living. It didn’t come as a child in Torquay, a seaside town on the coast of South West England, where he grew up surrounded by movies. “I think there were five or six cinemas within walking distance of where I lived,” he said. “And now there’s only two, which is a shame.”
It didn’t come in his teenage years, even though he gravitated toward film then, too. “I used to go to the cinema a lot, but what I remember most was when I was still at school and I joined a film club,” he said. “They just had a temporary screen and a 16mm projector, and they put up about 20 folding chairs. But they...
- 1/6/2023
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
“We referenced things like the great John Ford Westerns and stuff like that, with a lot of shots in doorways, looking out to views and images beyond,” declares production designer Mark Tildesley about how the physical spaces in “The Banshees of Inisherin” and the remoteness of its island setting play a vital role in the film’s emotional narrative. For our recent webchat he adds, “there’s the views out the window from the inside pub to outside the pub, these connections to the real world, and then looking out across the distance of what was possible. You know, at that pub you look out, just across the Atlantic Ocean, you know, towards America.” Watch our exclusive video interview above.
See Exclusive Video Interview: Kerry Condon (‘The Banshees of Inisherin’)
“The Banshees of Inisherin” was written and directed by Oscar winner Martin McDonagh, starring Colin Farrell as bumbling farmer Pádraic,...
See Exclusive Video Interview: Kerry Condon (‘The Banshees of Inisherin’)
“The Banshees of Inisherin” was written and directed by Oscar winner Martin McDonagh, starring Colin Farrell as bumbling farmer Pádraic,...
- 12/20/2022
- by Rob Licuria
- Gold Derby
Editors note: Deadline’s Read the Screenplay series debuts and celebrates the scripts of films that will be factors in this year’s movie awards race.
Sam Mendes has directed nine movies, but Searchlight Pictures’ Empire of Light is only the second he has written, after 2019’s 1917 which was nominated for three Oscars including for original screenplay (written with Krysty Wilson-Cairns). His latest movie reflects on Mendes’ youth growing up in England, going to the movies amid social turmoil and remembering his mother’s real struggle with mental illness.
In 1980, the Empire Theater shows movies like All That Jazz and The Blues Brothers. Hilary (Olivia Colman) manages the theater including ushers and ticket takers; she’s also having an affair with the owner, Donald Ellis (Colin Firth). She welcomes a new employee, Stephen (Micheal Ward) and shows him how they open and operate the business.
Hilary in the meantime takes medication to control her schizophrenia,...
Sam Mendes has directed nine movies, but Searchlight Pictures’ Empire of Light is only the second he has written, after 2019’s 1917 which was nominated for three Oscars including for original screenplay (written with Krysty Wilson-Cairns). His latest movie reflects on Mendes’ youth growing up in England, going to the movies amid social turmoil and remembering his mother’s real struggle with mental illness.
In 1980, the Empire Theater shows movies like All That Jazz and The Blues Brothers. Hilary (Olivia Colman) manages the theater including ushers and ticket takers; she’s also having an affair with the owner, Donald Ellis (Colin Firth). She welcomes a new employee, Stephen (Micheal Ward) and shows him how they open and operate the business.
Hilary in the meantime takes medication to control her schizophrenia,...
- 12/19/2022
- by Fred Topel
- Deadline Film + TV
When it came to recreating an early ’80s-era cinema in a British coastal town for Sam Mendes’ “Empire of Light,” a vital part of the success lay in the most seemingly minuscule details. The film is the first collaboration between the filmmaker and acclaimed production designer Mark Tildesley. Childhood memories instantly proved to be a perfect jumping-off point for the fellow Brits.
“We started to chat about our cinema experience growing up, and I told him about a holiday I went on to the Isle of Wight,” Tildesley told IndieWire. “It was as miserable as buggery, freezing cold, and my mum said, ‘Let’s go to the cinema.’ You’d move out of that green, blue, dark, cold thing into this warm space. It was almost like a womb.” Tildesley recalled warmth and brightness with lush carpets, red velvet curtains, and “a sense of glory that says something amazing is going to happen.
“We started to chat about our cinema experience growing up, and I told him about a holiday I went on to the Isle of Wight,” Tildesley told IndieWire. “It was as miserable as buggery, freezing cold, and my mum said, ‘Let’s go to the cinema.’ You’d move out of that green, blue, dark, cold thing into this warm space. It was almost like a womb.” Tildesley recalled warmth and brightness with lush carpets, red velvet curtains, and “a sense of glory that says something amazing is going to happen.
- 12/13/2022
- by Simon Thompson
- Indiewire
Even though it may feel like an over-the-top lesson on the dangers of unchecked mental illness, there is a beauty and poignancy within the frames of Empire of Light, the new film from Academy Award®-winning director Sam Mendes, that transcends the typical constraints of this ilk and elevates it to something akin to a cathartic experience.
The film takes place mainly in an old cinema in a coastal town in England in the early 1980s and follows Hilary (Olivia Colman) as she struggles with her mental health and her various duties as a manager at the cinema. When a new employee, Stephen (Micheal Ward), joins the theater staff, a surprising and powerful relationship develops between Hilary and Stephen that strains each of them in their own way with regards to the reality of their times.
Writer/director Sam Mendes is on top of his game with the nuanced shadows...
The film takes place mainly in an old cinema in a coastal town in England in the early 1980s and follows Hilary (Olivia Colman) as she struggles with her mental health and her various duties as a manager at the cinema. When a new employee, Stephen (Micheal Ward), joins the theater staff, a surprising and powerful relationship develops between Hilary and Stephen that strains each of them in their own way with regards to the reality of their times.
Writer/director Sam Mendes is on top of his game with the nuanced shadows...
- 12/9/2022
- by Mike Tyrkus
- CinemaNerdz
This review originally ran September 4, 2022, in conjunction with the film’s world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival.
For a movie that’s supposed to be a love letter to cinema, among other things, it’s surprising how little the magic of movies genuinely registers as a vibe in Sam Mendes’ “Empire of Light,” a frustratingly uneven and often meandering period drama written by Mendes, loosely drawing remembrances from his own formative years.
And he pulls from “a lockdown mindset,” too, as the director put it before his ’80s-set film’s world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival, a melancholic state of being marked by feelings of loneliness and even fear that things we love (like movie theaters) would be lost forever in a post-pandemic world.
Perhaps because his inspirations seem to be so extensive here, it often feels like Mendes is searching for a story within a bottomless well...
For a movie that’s supposed to be a love letter to cinema, among other things, it’s surprising how little the magic of movies genuinely registers as a vibe in Sam Mendes’ “Empire of Light,” a frustratingly uneven and often meandering period drama written by Mendes, loosely drawing remembrances from his own formative years.
And he pulls from “a lockdown mindset,” too, as the director put it before his ’80s-set film’s world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival, a melancholic state of being marked by feelings of loneliness and even fear that things we love (like movie theaters) would be lost forever in a post-pandemic world.
Perhaps because his inspirations seem to be so extensive here, it often feels like Mendes is searching for a story within a bottomless well...
- 12/9/2022
- by Tomris Laffly
- The Wrap
Click here to read the full article.
In recent years, British production designer Mark Tildesley has earned credits on such films as No Time to Die, The Two Popes and Phantom Thread. This season, he created two distinct period looks for a pair of movies from Searchlight that are generating awards buzz.
Sam Mendes’ Empire of Light is set largely in a vintage movie theater in a sparsely populated English seaside town during the early 1980s. Finding such a location for the period drama starring Olivia Colman and Micheal Ward proved difficult. “We scoured the whole South Coast [of England], which is where it was originally written for, and we just couldn’t find it. It’s too developed,” Tildesley remembers, adding that someone then suggested the seaside town of Margate on the North Coast of Kent. “We arrived in Margate, and at the end of this wonderful bay of sand is this old cinema.
In recent years, British production designer Mark Tildesley has earned credits on such films as No Time to Die, The Two Popes and Phantom Thread. This season, he created two distinct period looks for a pair of movies from Searchlight that are generating awards buzz.
Sam Mendes’ Empire of Light is set largely in a vintage movie theater in a sparsely populated English seaside town during the early 1980s. Finding such a location for the period drama starring Olivia Colman and Micheal Ward proved difficult. “We scoured the whole South Coast [of England], which is where it was originally written for, and we just couldn’t find it. It’s too developed,” Tildesley remembers, adding that someone then suggested the seaside town of Margate on the North Coast of Kent. “We arrived in Margate, and at the end of this wonderful bay of sand is this old cinema.
- 11/15/2022
- by Carolyn Giardina
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony awards ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages are Davis’ assessment of the current standings of the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any film or performance. Like any organization or body that votes, each individual category is fluid and subject to change. Predictions are updated every Thursday.
Last Updated: Oct. 20, 2022
2023 Oscars Predictions: Best Production Design Thirteen Lives, from left: Thira Chutikul, Viggo Mortensen, 2022. ph: Vince Valitutti / © MGM / Courtesy Everett Collection
Category Commentary: More to come…
See the latest film predictions, in all 23 categories, in one place on Variety’s Oscars Collective.
To see the ranked predictions for each individual category, visit Variety’s Oscars Hub.
All Awards Contenders And Rankings:
And...
Last Updated: Oct. 20, 2022
2023 Oscars Predictions: Best Production Design Thirteen Lives, from left: Thira Chutikul, Viggo Mortensen, 2022. ph: Vince Valitutti / © MGM / Courtesy Everett Collection
Category Commentary: More to come…
See the latest film predictions, in all 23 categories, in one place on Variety’s Oscars Collective.
To see the ranked predictions for each individual category, visit Variety’s Oscars Hub.
All Awards Contenders And Rankings:
And...
- 10/21/2022
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
The name’s Bond. James Bond. And if you want to play him, you better nail the James Bond screen test, which involves acing a key scene from 1963’s From Russia with Love.
At a recent event at the British Film Institute to commemorate the James Bond franchise’s 60th anniversary, producer Michael G. Wilson went into details about the casting process and which scene is always used to gauge whether or not a potential James Bond has what it takes. “We always use the same scene…and that’s the one in From Russia With Love, where Bond comes back to his room after the assassination, and he starts taking off his shirt, goes into the room to bathe. Then he hears something, takes his gun, goes in and the girl’s in the bed.” And you have now just pictured Idris Elba performing that scene is a James Bond screen test…...
At a recent event at the British Film Institute to commemorate the James Bond franchise’s 60th anniversary, producer Michael G. Wilson went into details about the casting process and which scene is always used to gauge whether or not a potential James Bond has what it takes. “We always use the same scene…and that’s the one in From Russia With Love, where Bond comes back to his room after the assassination, and he starts taking off his shirt, goes into the room to bathe. Then he hears something, takes his gun, goes in and the girl’s in the bed.” And you have now just pictured Idris Elba performing that scene is a James Bond screen test…...
- 10/2/2022
- by Mathew Plale
- JoBlo.com
James Bond film producer Michael G. Wilson, who runs Eon Productions with Barbara Broccoli, has revealed that a seduction scene from the 1963 thriller From Russia With Love is always used to test those aspiring to play Ian Fleming’s ruthless spy.
During an ‘In Conversation’ event at London’s British Film Institute to celebrate 60 years of James Bond, Wilson noted that they always need a good actress to play opposite the actor participating in the audition.
“We always use the same scene … and that’s the one in From Russia With Love ,where Bond comes back to his room after the assassination, and he starts taking off his shirt, goes into the room to bathe. Then he hears something, takes his gun, goes in and the girl’s in the bed,” he told the audience at the BFI on Friday night. He is referring to the moment where Sean Connery...
During an ‘In Conversation’ event at London’s British Film Institute to celebrate 60 years of James Bond, Wilson noted that they always need a good actress to play opposite the actor participating in the audition.
“We always use the same scene … and that’s the one in From Russia With Love ,where Bond comes back to his room after the assassination, and he starts taking off his shirt, goes into the room to bathe. Then he hears something, takes his gun, goes in and the girl’s in the bed,” he told the audience at the BFI on Friday night. He is referring to the moment where Sean Connery...
- 10/1/2022
- by Baz Bamigboye
- Deadline Film + TV
Frank Cottrell Boyce, who co-wrote two of Queen Elizabeth II’s most iconic on-screen cameos – at the 2012 Olympics opening ceremony with Daniel Craig and this year’s Jubilee sketch with Paddington Bear – said the monarch had “brilliant” comic timing and could have been an actor.
“She’s absolutely glowing in that moment,” he said of her appearance alongside Paddington in the 2-minute long sketch, which commenced her Platinum Jubilee celebrations in July. “And you’ve got to remember that that’s real acting that’s going on there. Paddington isn’t really in the room. She’s acting with an eye-line and with someone pretending to be Paddington. That’s proper acting going on. But I also think it’s true happiness.”
Cottrell Boyce made the comments during an appearance on BBC breakfast news on Friday morning, following news of the Queen’s death on Thursday. As he paid tribute to her acting skills,...
“She’s absolutely glowing in that moment,” he said of her appearance alongside Paddington in the 2-minute long sketch, which commenced her Platinum Jubilee celebrations in July. “And you’ve got to remember that that’s real acting that’s going on there. Paddington isn’t really in the room. She’s acting with an eye-line and with someone pretending to be Paddington. That’s proper acting going on. But I also think it’s true happiness.”
Cottrell Boyce made the comments during an appearance on BBC breakfast news on Friday morning, following news of the Queen’s death on Thursday. As he paid tribute to her acting skills,...
- 9/9/2022
- by K.J. Yossman
- Variety Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
With only his second produced screenplay, after 1917, Sam Mendes delves into the territory of his formative years and a mood of nostalgia. The story he tells in Empire of Light isn’t strictly autobiographical, but it draws upon the music and movies and political climate that informed his coming-of-age — the movies especially. It’s not cinema with a capital “C” that Mendes is celebrating, but the kinds of popular features that shape memories and are indelibly associated with life passages. A valentine to celluloid that doesn’t entirely avoid self-consciousness, it’s a handsome film set mainly in a vintage gem of a movie palace on England’s southeastern coast. In the role of the troubled, dazzlingly resilient, poetry-loving manager of the theater, Olivia Colman delivers a stirring performance and some of her most affecting screen work to date.
As the story opens,...
With only his second produced screenplay, after 1917, Sam Mendes delves into the territory of his formative years and a mood of nostalgia. The story he tells in Empire of Light isn’t strictly autobiographical, but it draws upon the music and movies and political climate that informed his coming-of-age — the movies especially. It’s not cinema with a capital “C” that Mendes is celebrating, but the kinds of popular features that shape memories and are indelibly associated with life passages. A valentine to celluloid that doesn’t entirely avoid self-consciousness, it’s a handsome film set mainly in a vintage gem of a movie palace on England’s southeastern coast. In the role of the troubled, dazzlingly resilient, poetry-loving manager of the theater, Olivia Colman delivers a stirring performance and some of her most affecting screen work to date.
As the story opens,...
- 9/4/2022
- by Sheri Linden
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
On Saturday afternoon, as a hailstorm passed overhead, the Telluride Film Festival hosted the second of its world premiere screenings this year: Sam Mendes’ “Empire of Light.” The Oscar-winning director introduced the film, a love story set at a U.K. movie theater in the early 1980s, as “by far the most personal thing I’ve ever done.” Given how his previous film, the war movie “1917” that was inspired by Mendes’ grandfather, dramatically changed the awards season conversation in 2019, there is already a good chance this love letter to cinema will be a big contender in multiple Academy Awards categories come March.
Besides Best Picture and Best Director for Mendes, the biggest one would be Olivia Colman, who serves as the protagonist for most of the film. While her Best Actress win for “The Favourite” in 2019 was seen by many as an upset, the British star has been a...
Besides Best Picture and Best Director for Mendes, the biggest one would be Olivia Colman, who serves as the protagonist for most of the film. While her Best Actress win for “The Favourite” in 2019 was seen by many as an upset, the British star has been a...
- 9/4/2022
- by Marcus Jones
- Indiewire
Click here to read the full article.
Empire of Light, a drama set in the early 1980s within and against the backdrop of a grand old British seaside cinema, had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival’s Herzog Theatre on Saturday afternoon, and proved to be the fest’s biggest crowd-pleaser so far.
A smart, understated, old-fashioned movie that doesn’t aim to set the world on fire, but is solid and satisfying, Empire of Light, which Searchlight will release on Dec. 9, looks to be a formidable Oscar contender given its reception here; the track records of its writer/director, Sam Mendes, and its leading lady, Olivia Colman; and the fact that the Academy loves few things more than a good movie about the movies.
Mendes, who introduced the film (with Colman and her up-and-coming costar Micheal Ward joining via Zoom), would have fit in perfectly during Hollywood’s Golden Age,...
Empire of Light, a drama set in the early 1980s within and against the backdrop of a grand old British seaside cinema, had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival’s Herzog Theatre on Saturday afternoon, and proved to be the fest’s biggest crowd-pleaser so far.
A smart, understated, old-fashioned movie that doesn’t aim to set the world on fire, but is solid and satisfying, Empire of Light, which Searchlight will release on Dec. 9, looks to be a formidable Oscar contender given its reception here; the track records of its writer/director, Sam Mendes, and its leading lady, Olivia Colman; and the fact that the Academy loves few things more than a good movie about the movies.
Mendes, who introduced the film (with Colman and her up-and-coming costar Micheal Ward joining via Zoom), would have fit in perfectly during Hollywood’s Golden Age,...
- 9/3/2022
- by Scott Feinberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Searchlight Pictures just launched a gorgeous teaser trailer for Sam Mendes’ Empire of Light. The 2022 release marks Mendes’ first feature film solo screenwriting credit and is described as “a powerful and poignant story about human connection and the magic of cinema.”
Empire of Light‘s cast includes Oscar winner Olivia Colman (The Favourite) as Hilary, Oscar winner Colin Firth (The King’s Speech) as Mr. Ellis, Micheal Ward (Small Axe: Lovers Rock) as Stephen, Toby Jones (First Cow) as Norman, Tanya Moodie (A Discovery of Witches) as Delia, and Crystal Clark (The Electrical Life Of Louis Wain) as Ruby. Tom Brooke (The Crown) plays Neil and Hannah Onslow (Call the Midwife) is Janine.
“I’m really thrilled to be working with so many wonderful collaborators across both cast and crew on such a personal project,” said Sam Mendes when production on the film got underway in February 2022. “It’s a particular...
Empire of Light‘s cast includes Oscar winner Olivia Colman (The Favourite) as Hilary, Oscar winner Colin Firth (The King’s Speech) as Mr. Ellis, Micheal Ward (Small Axe: Lovers Rock) as Stephen, Toby Jones (First Cow) as Norman, Tanya Moodie (A Discovery of Witches) as Delia, and Crystal Clark (The Electrical Life Of Louis Wain) as Ruby. Tom Brooke (The Crown) plays Neil and Hannah Onslow (Call the Midwife) is Janine.
“I’m really thrilled to be working with so many wonderful collaborators across both cast and crew on such a personal project,” said Sam Mendes when production on the film got underway in February 2022. “It’s a particular...
- 8/24/2022
- by Rebecca Murray
- Showbiz Junkies
Danny Boyle was all set to direct Daniel Craig in his final James Bond movie before exiting the project due to creative differences with producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson. The Oscar winner would later tell Metro that he’s “not cut out [for franchises],” adding, “I work in partnership with writers and I am not prepared to break it up.” Boyle brought in John Hodge to pen his Bond movie, which the director recently revealed to Esquire UK was set in present day Russia and explored Bond’s origins. Boyle said he was apprehensive from the start about signing on to Bond.
“I remember thinking, ‘Should I really get involved in franchises?’ Because they don’t really want something different,” Boyle told Esquire UK. “They want you to freshen it up a bit, but not really challenge it, and we wanted to do something different with it. Weirdly — it would...
“I remember thinking, ‘Should I really get involved in franchises?’ Because they don’t really want something different,” Boyle told Esquire UK. “They want you to freshen it up a bit, but not really challenge it, and we wanted to do something different with it. Weirdly — it would...
- 5/10/2022
- by Zack Sharf
- Variety Film + TV
Danny Boyle has “No Time” for franchises following his exit from the 25th James Bond film that eventually became “No Time to Die.”
The director signed on for the project in 201 8 alongside longtime screenwriting partner John Hodge.
“I remember thinking, ‘Should I really get involved in franchises?’ Because they don’t really want something different,” Boyle told Esquire UK. “They want you to freshen it up a bit, but not really challenge it, and we wanted to do something different with it.”
Boyle later stepped away from the film, with rumors that producer Barbara Broccoli’s Eon Productions did not approve of Boyle’s alleged conclusion to kill off Bond, played by Daniel Craig. However, after Cary Fukunaga helmed the 2021 feature, Bond met the same demise.
Now, Boyle is detailing what his original plot entailed.
“Weirdly — it would have been very topical now — it was all set in Russia, which...
The director signed on for the project in 201 8 alongside longtime screenwriting partner John Hodge.
“I remember thinking, ‘Should I really get involved in franchises?’ Because they don’t really want something different,” Boyle told Esquire UK. “They want you to freshen it up a bit, but not really challenge it, and we wanted to do something different with it.”
Boyle later stepped away from the film, with rumors that producer Barbara Broccoli’s Eon Productions did not approve of Boyle’s alleged conclusion to kill off Bond, played by Daniel Craig. However, after Cary Fukunaga helmed the 2021 feature, Bond met the same demise.
Now, Boyle is detailing what his original plot entailed.
“Weirdly — it would have been very topical now — it was all set in Russia, which...
- 5/10/2022
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
None of the 13 precursor prizes announced winners before Oscar nominations were revealed on February 8. However, all but one of them — the Casting Society of America — revealed their roster of contenders before the start of Oscar nominations balloting on January 27. The CSA, which chimed in on February 1, will be the only guild to hold its ceremony after final Oscar voting ends on March 22; the Artios Awards are the next day.
Before Oscar voting kicked off on March 17, we heard from eight guilds. The makeup artists and hairstylists weighed in on Feb. 19 while the actors were heard from on Feb. 27. Two guilds — art directors and film editors — held ceremonies on March 5. The visual effects wizards handed out prizes on March 8, the costume designers on March 9, the directors on March 12 and the sound editors on March 13.
The producers and sound mixers met on March 19 while the cinematographers and writers did so on March...
Before Oscar voting kicked off on March 17, we heard from eight guilds. The makeup artists and hairstylists weighed in on Feb. 19 while the actors were heard from on Feb. 27. Two guilds — art directors and film editors — held ceremonies on March 5. The visual effects wizards handed out prizes on March 8, the costume designers on March 9, the directors on March 12 and the sound editors on March 13.
The producers and sound mixers met on March 19 while the cinematographers and writers did so on March...
- 3/21/2022
- by Paul Sheehan
- Gold Derby
“Dune” got a big boost in its Oscar bid for Best Production Design with a win on March 6 at the Art Directors Guild Awards. Over the first 25 years of these prizes, the eventual Oscar winner has always numbered among the Adg nominees in the various genre categories. “Dune” prevailed in the fantasy film race over “Cruella,” “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” “The Green Knight” and “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.”
Its closest Oscar competition, “Nightmare Alley,” won the period picture prize over two other Oscar contenders — “The Tragedy of Macbeth” and “West Side Story.” The fifth Oscar nominee, “The Power of the Dog,” was snubbed in that race in favor of “The French Dispatch” and “Licorice Pizza.”
“No Time to Die” won the contemporary category over “Candyman,” “Don’t Look Up,” “In the Heights” and “The Lost Daughter.”
Period Film
“The French Dispatch” – Production Designer: Adam Stockhausen
“Licorice Pizza” – Production Designer:...
Its closest Oscar competition, “Nightmare Alley,” won the period picture prize over two other Oscar contenders — “The Tragedy of Macbeth” and “West Side Story.” The fifth Oscar nominee, “The Power of the Dog,” was snubbed in that race in favor of “The French Dispatch” and “Licorice Pizza.”
“No Time to Die” won the contemporary category over “Candyman,” “Don’t Look Up,” “In the Heights” and “The Lost Daughter.”
Period Film
“The French Dispatch” – Production Designer: Adam Stockhausen
“Licorice Pizza” – Production Designer:...
- 3/6/2022
- by Paul Sheehan
- Gold Derby
2022 Art Directors Guild Awards: ‘Dune,’ ‘Nightmare Alley,’ and ‘No Time to Die’ Win Top Film Prizes
“Dune” (Warner Bros.), “Nightmare Alley” (Searchlight), and “No Time to Die” (MGM/UA) were the big film winners Saturday at the 26th Art Directors Guild Awards (held at the Intercontinental Los Angeles Downtown).
Denis Villeneuve’s epic “Dune” took sci-fi honors, Guillermo del Toro’s noirish “Nightmare Alley” won for period, and Cary Fukanaga’s “No Time to Die” (which closed out Daniel Craig’s James Bond saga), earned the contemporary prize. Additionally, “Encanto,” the Oscar favorite from Disney, grabbed the animated feature award.
Meanwhile, “Squid Game” (Netflix), “What We Do in the Shadows” (FX), and Marvel’s “Loki” and “WandaVision” from Disney+ won the major TV prizes.
In terms of an Oscar predictor, the production design race now comes down to “Dune” and “Nightmare Alley.” “No Time to Die” is not in contention, but the other nominees are “West Side Story” (20th Century), “The Power of the Dog” (Netflix...
Denis Villeneuve’s epic “Dune” took sci-fi honors, Guillermo del Toro’s noirish “Nightmare Alley” won for period, and Cary Fukanaga’s “No Time to Die” (which closed out Daniel Craig’s James Bond saga), earned the contemporary prize. Additionally, “Encanto,” the Oscar favorite from Disney, grabbed the animated feature award.
Meanwhile, “Squid Game” (Netflix), “What We Do in the Shadows” (FX), and Marvel’s “Loki” and “WandaVision” from Disney+ won the major TV prizes.
In terms of an Oscar predictor, the production design race now comes down to “Dune” and “Nightmare Alley.” “No Time to Die” is not in contention, but the other nominees are “West Side Story” (20th Century), “The Power of the Dog” (Netflix...
- 3/6/2022
- by Christian Blauvelt and Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
The 26th Annual Art Director’s Guild Awards took place tonight as an in-person show at the InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown, with “Nightmare Alley,” “No Time to Die” and “Encanto” taking home top film honors.
Hosted by Yvette Nicole Brown, the event celebrated outstanding production design in theatrical motion pictures, television, commercials, animated features and music videos.
As previously announced, director Denis Villeneuve (“Dune”) was honored with the William Cameron Menzies award.
Jane Campion “(The Power of the Dog”) was bestowed with the cinematic imagery award. The Oscar-nominated director was unable to accept her award in person due to having Covid. Campion took a moment to publicly speak out on the Academy’s recent decision to weave eight categories including Production Design into the live telecast, recording the wins ahead of time. She said, “I would definitely have included design in the main body of the awards because the designer...
Hosted by Yvette Nicole Brown, the event celebrated outstanding production design in theatrical motion pictures, television, commercials, animated features and music videos.
As previously announced, director Denis Villeneuve (“Dune”) was honored with the William Cameron Menzies award.
Jane Campion “(The Power of the Dog”) was bestowed with the cinematic imagery award. The Oscar-nominated director was unable to accept her award in person due to having Covid. Campion took a moment to publicly speak out on the Academy’s recent decision to weave eight categories including Production Design into the live telecast, recording the wins ahead of time. She said, “I would definitely have included design in the main body of the awards because the designer...
- 3/6/2022
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
“Nightmare Alley,” “Dune” and “No Time to Die” have won the top feature-film prizes at the 26th annual Excellence in Production Design Awards, which were held by the Art Directors Guild on Saturday evening in Los Angeles.
“Nightmare Alley” won in the Period Feature Film category, where the other finalists included “The Tragedy of Macbeth” and “West Side Story,” both of which were nominated for the Oscar for Best Production Design.
“Dune” won in the Fantasy Feature Film category, where it was the only Oscar nominee in the running. And “No Time to Die” won in the Contemporary Feature Film category, in which none of the nominees had been recognized by Oscar voters.
“Encanto” took the award in the Animated Feature category.
In the 15 years since the current Adg categories were established, one of the Adg winners has gone on to take the Oscar for Best Production Design 12 times. In that stretch,...
“Nightmare Alley” won in the Period Feature Film category, where the other finalists included “The Tragedy of Macbeth” and “West Side Story,” both of which were nominated for the Oscar for Best Production Design.
“Dune” won in the Fantasy Feature Film category, where it was the only Oscar nominee in the running. And “No Time to Die” won in the Contemporary Feature Film category, in which none of the nominees had been recognized by Oscar voters.
“Encanto” took the award in the Animated Feature category.
In the 15 years since the current Adg categories were established, one of the Adg winners has gone on to take the Oscar for Best Production Design 12 times. In that stretch,...
- 3/6/2022
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Who’d have thought the 26th annual Art Directors Guild Awards would be such a good party?
Community alum and host Yvette Nicole Brown kicked things off with great energy and a few genuinely funny jokes. There followed two genuinely engaging acceptance speeches from Ethan Tobman and François Audouy and then a genuinely emotional — and funny — introduction from Kevin Costner for his longtime collaborator, production designer Ida Ransom, who received the Lifetime Achievement Award.
“I’m so impressed how many production designers are not freaked out by talking up here,” said a visibly nervous Costner. “It’s freaking me out.”
The guild also awarded Lifetime Achievement Awards to Donna Cline, Anne Harris and Denise & Michael Okuda.
Oscar-nominated Dune director Denis Villeneuve received the William Cameron Menzies Award, for which he credited all the production designers he has worked with, especially frequent collaborator Patrice Vermette. Vermette, it turns out, won the gong for Fantasy Feature Film.
Community alum and host Yvette Nicole Brown kicked things off with great energy and a few genuinely funny jokes. There followed two genuinely engaging acceptance speeches from Ethan Tobman and François Audouy and then a genuinely emotional — and funny — introduction from Kevin Costner for his longtime collaborator, production designer Ida Ransom, who received the Lifetime Achievement Award.
“I’m so impressed how many production designers are not freaked out by talking up here,” said a visibly nervous Costner. “It’s freaking me out.”
The guild also awarded Lifetime Achievement Awards to Donna Cline, Anne Harris and Denise & Michael Okuda.
Oscar-nominated Dune director Denis Villeneuve received the William Cameron Menzies Award, for which he credited all the production designers he has worked with, especially frequent collaborator Patrice Vermette. Vermette, it turns out, won the gong for Fantasy Feature Film.
- 3/6/2022
- by Tom Tapp
- Deadline Film + TV
The 26th annual Art Directors Guild Awards take place on Saturday (March 5). These kudos have a stellar record at previewing the outcome of the Best Production Design race at the Academy Awards. Over the first 25 years of these prizes, the eventual Oscar winner has always numbered among the Adg nominees in the various genre categories.
“Dune” is the clear frontrunner to win the Oscar for Best Production Design. It reaped a bid in the fantasy film genre with the Adg. The other fantasy film nominees are: “Cruella,” “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” “The Green Knight” and “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.”
Three of its Oscar rivals — “Nightmare Alley,” “The Tragedy of Macbeth” and “West Side Story”– contend in the period picture category. The fifth Oscar nominee, “The Power of the Dog,” was snubbed in that race in favor of “The French Dispatch” and “Licorice Pizza.”
The contemporary contenders are: “Candyman,...
“Dune” is the clear frontrunner to win the Oscar for Best Production Design. It reaped a bid in the fantasy film genre with the Adg. The other fantasy film nominees are: “Cruella,” “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” “The Green Knight” and “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.”
Three of its Oscar rivals — “Nightmare Alley,” “The Tragedy of Macbeth” and “West Side Story”– contend in the period picture category. The fifth Oscar nominee, “The Power of the Dog,” was snubbed in that race in favor of “The French Dispatch” and “Licorice Pizza.”
The contemporary contenders are: “Candyman,...
- 3/4/2022
- by Paul Sheehan
- Gold Derby
Exclusive: Sam Mendes has begun principal photography on the south coast of England for his upcoming feature, Empire Of Light. From Searchlight Pictures, the drama is written by Mendes — his first solo screenplay — and stars Olivia Colman, Micheal Ward, Colin Firth, Toby Jones, Crystal Clarke and Tanya Moodie.
Joining the previously announced cast are Tom Brooke and Hannah Onslow (Ridley Road, Call The Midwife).
Billed as a love story set in and around a beautiful old cinema in the 1980s, Empire Of Light will shoot in Margate and along the Kent coastline through May. Produced by Pippa Harris and Mendes under their Neal Street Productions banner, it will be released theatrically by Searchlight.
The filmmaking team is a who’s who of Oscar winners and nominees and includes longstanding Mendes collaborators such as cinematographer Roger Deakins, who reunites with Mendes for their fifth collaboration; as well...
Joining the previously announced cast are Tom Brooke and Hannah Onslow (Ridley Road, Call The Midwife).
Billed as a love story set in and around a beautiful old cinema in the 1980s, Empire Of Light will shoot in Margate and along the Kent coastline through May. Produced by Pippa Harris and Mendes under their Neal Street Productions banner, it will be released theatrically by Searchlight.
The filmmaking team is a who’s who of Oscar winners and nominees and includes longstanding Mendes collaborators such as cinematographer Roger Deakins, who reunites with Mendes for their fifth collaboration; as well...
- 2/28/2022
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
The Sonoma International Film Festival celebrates its 25th edition from March 23 to 27 in the Northern California wine country town. More than 120 independent and international films will be screening, including 79 premieres. The festival will open with Sandra Bullock’s “The Lost City” and close with French film “The Butcher’s Daughter.” Jacqueline Bisset will be honored with the Cinematic Excellence award, while Jacques Pepin will be feted with the Culinary Excellence Award at a five-course dinner.
Head to Sonoma Film Festival’s website for more info.
Lin-Manuel Miranda, Leslie Odom Jr. and Daveed Diggs Reunite to Open SAG Awards
“Hamilton” trio Daveed Diggs, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Leslie Odom Jr. will reunite to open the 28th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sun. Feb. 27.
Following the Tony-winning blockbuster stage show, Diggs, Miranda and Odom Jr. have gone on to other major projects. Diggs stars in “Snowpiercer” and, last year, earned a SAG...
Head to Sonoma Film Festival’s website for more info.
Lin-Manuel Miranda, Leslie Odom Jr. and Daveed Diggs Reunite to Open SAG Awards
“Hamilton” trio Daveed Diggs, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Leslie Odom Jr. will reunite to open the 28th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sun. Feb. 27.
Following the Tony-winning blockbuster stage show, Diggs, Miranda and Odom Jr. have gone on to other major projects. Diggs stars in “Snowpiercer” and, last year, earned a SAG...
- 2/25/2022
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
With the announcement on Feb. 1 of the contenders for the Artios Awards, which are bestowed by the Casting Society of America, we’ve now heard from all 13 guilds. The CSA was the only group to hold off till the end of Oscar nominations voting. The actors, art directors, cinematographers, costume designers, directors, film editors, makeup artists & hairstylists, producers, sound editors, sound mixers, visual effects wizards and writers all weighed in on or before the start of balloting on Jan. 27.
“Dune” had racked up a perfect score by reaping nominations with each of the first dozen guilds but was snubbed by the CSA.”West Side Story” is next with 10, missing out for film editing and lensing. The stylish “No Time to Die” has eight.
Of the other leading Academy Awards contenders for Best Picture, only “Licorice Pizza” went four for four with the big guilds. Both “Belfast” and “The Power of the Dog...
“Dune” had racked up a perfect score by reaping nominations with each of the first dozen guilds but was snubbed by the CSA.”West Side Story” is next with 10, missing out for film editing and lensing. The stylish “No Time to Die” has eight.
Of the other leading Academy Awards contenders for Best Picture, only “Licorice Pizza” went four for four with the big guilds. Both “Belfast” and “The Power of the Dog...
- 2/1/2022
- by Paul Sheehan
- Gold Derby
On January 24 the Art Directors Guild announced the nominees for its 26th annual awards, which will be handed out on March 5. These kudos have a stellar record at previewing the Academy Awards. Over the first 25 years of these prizes, the eventual Oscar winner for Best Production Design has always numbered among the Adg nominees in the various categories.
“Dune” is the clear frontrunner to win the Oscar for Best Production Design. It reaped a bid in the fantasy film genre with the Adg. All four of its likeliest Oscar rivals — “The French Dispatch,” “Nightmare Alley,” “The Tragedy of Macbeth” and “West Side Story”– contend in the period picture category. That race is rounded out by “Licorice Pizza.”
The other fantasy film nominees are: “Cruella,” “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” “The Green Knight” and “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.”
The contemporary contenders are: “Candyman,” “Don’t Look Up,” “In the Heights,” “The Lost Daughter...
“Dune” is the clear frontrunner to win the Oscar for Best Production Design. It reaped a bid in the fantasy film genre with the Adg. All four of its likeliest Oscar rivals — “The French Dispatch,” “Nightmare Alley,” “The Tragedy of Macbeth” and “West Side Story”– contend in the period picture category. That race is rounded out by “Licorice Pizza.”
The other fantasy film nominees are: “Cruella,” “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” “The Green Knight” and “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.”
The contemporary contenders are: “Candyman,” “Don’t Look Up,” “In the Heights,” “The Lost Daughter...
- 1/24/2022
- by Paul Sheehan
- Gold Derby
The Art Directors Guild has announced nominations for the 26th Annual Excellence in Production Design Awards in theatrical motion pictures, television, commercials, music videos and animation features, with nominees in the top categories including Licorice Pizza, Cruella, Dune, In The Heights, The White Lotus and Encanto.
Winners will be announced at the Adg Awards ceremony, which returns to a live-in person event at the InterContinental Hotel Los Angeles Downtown Hotel on Saturday, March 5. Today’s announcement was made by Adg President Nelson Coates, Adg, and Awards Producer Michael Allen Glover, Adg.
As previously announced, director Denis Villeneuve (Dune) will receive the William Cameron Menzies Award. Academy Award-winning filmmaker Jane Campion (The Power of the Dog) will receive the Cinematic Imagery Award. The Adg Awards honor excellence in Production Design in theatrical motion pictures, television, commercials, music videos and animated feature films.
The producer of the 2022 Adg Awards is Art Director Michael Allen Glover,...
Winners will be announced at the Adg Awards ceremony, which returns to a live-in person event at the InterContinental Hotel Los Angeles Downtown Hotel on Saturday, March 5. Today’s announcement was made by Adg President Nelson Coates, Adg, and Awards Producer Michael Allen Glover, Adg.
As previously announced, director Denis Villeneuve (Dune) will receive the William Cameron Menzies Award. Academy Award-winning filmmaker Jane Campion (The Power of the Dog) will receive the Cinematic Imagery Award. The Adg Awards honor excellence in Production Design in theatrical motion pictures, television, commercials, music videos and animated feature films.
The producer of the 2022 Adg Awards is Art Director Michael Allen Glover,...
- 1/24/2022
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
“Nightmare Alley,” “Cruella,” “No Time to Die” and “In The Heights” are among the top films recognized for excellence in production design in the 26th annual Art Directors Guild nominations.
On Monday, the Adg announced nominations for this year’s awards show, which will return to a live ceremony on March 5 at the Intercontinental Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles.
“The French Dispatch,” “Licorice Pizza,” “West Side Story” and “The Tragedy of Macbeth” landed nominations in the period feature film category alongside “Nightmare Alley.” “Dune,” “Cruella,” “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” and “The Green Knight” earned recognition in fantasy feature film.
Missing out were Oscar contenders “Spencer,” “The Power of the Dog,” “Belfast” and “Cyrano.”
As previously announced, director Denis Villeneuve (“Dune”) will receive the William Cameron Menzies award. Jane Campion “(The Power of the Dog”) will receive the cinematic imagery award.
The Adg Awards honor...
On Monday, the Adg announced nominations for this year’s awards show, which will return to a live ceremony on March 5 at the Intercontinental Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles.
“The French Dispatch,” “Licorice Pizza,” “West Side Story” and “The Tragedy of Macbeth” landed nominations in the period feature film category alongside “Nightmare Alley.” “Dune,” “Cruella,” “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” and “The Green Knight” earned recognition in fantasy feature film.
Missing out were Oscar contenders “Spencer,” “The Power of the Dog,” “Belfast” and “Cyrano.”
As previously announced, director Denis Villeneuve (“Dune”) will receive the William Cameron Menzies award. Jane Campion “(The Power of the Dog”) will receive the cinematic imagery award.
The Adg Awards honor...
- 1/24/2022
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
“The French Dispatch,” “Nightmare Alley,” “West Side Story,” “Dune,” “The Green Knight” and “Don’t Look Up” are among the feature-film nominees for the 26th Annual Excellence in Production Design Awards, which are given out by the Art Directors Guild (IATSE Local 800).
Kicking off a four-day period in which 10 different Hollywood guilds and societies will announce their nominations, the Adg honorees were announced by guild president Nelson Coates and Adg Awards producer Michael Allen Glover.
In the period-film category, the Adg category that most closely matches the Oscar for Best Production Design, the nominees were “The French Dispatch,” “Licorice Pizza,” “Nightmare Alley,” “The Tragedy of Macbeth” and “West Side Story.”
In the fantasy category, nominations went to “Cruella,” “Dune,” “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” “The Green Knight” and “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.”
And in the contemporary category, the nominees were “Candyman,” “Don’t Look Up,” “In the Heights,” “The Lost Daughter” and “No Time to Die.
Kicking off a four-day period in which 10 different Hollywood guilds and societies will announce their nominations, the Adg honorees were announced by guild president Nelson Coates and Adg Awards producer Michael Allen Glover.
In the period-film category, the Adg category that most closely matches the Oscar for Best Production Design, the nominees were “The French Dispatch,” “Licorice Pizza,” “Nightmare Alley,” “The Tragedy of Macbeth” and “West Side Story.”
In the fantasy category, nominations went to “Cruella,” “Dune,” “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” “The Green Knight” and “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.”
And in the contemporary category, the nominees were “Candyman,” “Don’t Look Up,” “In the Heights,” “The Lost Daughter” and “No Time to Die.
- 1/24/2022
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
The Set Decorators Society of America, which celebrates excellence in the art of set decoration for film, announced its nominees Monday. The Decor/Design categories highlight feature-length films of the 2021 season, which were voted on by Sdsa members.
Here is the full list of Nominees:
Best Achievement In Decor/Design Of A Contemporary Feature Film
Don’t Look Up
Set Decoration by Tara Pavoni with Production Design by Clayton Hartley
Hand of God
Set Decoration by Iole Autero with Production Design by Carmine Guarino
The Lost Daughter
Set Decoration by Christine-Athina Vlachos with Production Design by Inbal Weinberg
No Time To Die
Set Decoration by Véronique Melery Sdsa with Production Design by Mark Tildesley
Best Achievement In Decor/Design Of A Period Feature Film
Being The Ricardos
Set Decoration by Ellen Brill Sdsa with Production Design by Jon Hutman
House of Gucci
Set Decoration by Letizia Santucci Sdsa with Production Design...
Here is the full list of Nominees:
Best Achievement In Decor/Design Of A Contemporary Feature Film
Don’t Look Up
Set Decoration by Tara Pavoni with Production Design by Clayton Hartley
Hand of God
Set Decoration by Iole Autero with Production Design by Carmine Guarino
The Lost Daughter
Set Decoration by Christine-Athina Vlachos with Production Design by Inbal Weinberg
No Time To Die
Set Decoration by Véronique Melery Sdsa with Production Design by Mark Tildesley
Best Achievement In Decor/Design Of A Period Feature Film
Being The Ricardos
Set Decoration by Ellen Brill Sdsa with Production Design by Jon Hutman
House of Gucci
Set Decoration by Letizia Santucci Sdsa with Production Design...
- 1/18/2022
- by Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
“No Time to Die” heralds Cary Joji Fukunaga’s turn at helming the 25th James Bond movie. Not only did Fukunaga shoot on film, he shot for IMAX.
Fukunaga picked his team of artisans to help keep the emotional arc of the storytelling front and center. Here he talks with Variety about the crafts of the film which dominated the BAFTA and Oscar-shortlists and could very well land a Best Picture nomination.
Tell us about Linus Sandgren and picking him as your director of photography.
What he created and what we did together was just fit together so nicely. There’s a certain feeling you get when a scene is cut together in the order in which you conceived it and shot it. We liked to shoot something where each shot had meaning and where you weren’t recovering you know, there’s different philosophies and strategies for shooting, but oftentimes,...
Fukunaga picked his team of artisans to help keep the emotional arc of the storytelling front and center. Here he talks with Variety about the crafts of the film which dominated the BAFTA and Oscar-shortlists and could very well land a Best Picture nomination.
Tell us about Linus Sandgren and picking him as your director of photography.
What he created and what we did together was just fit together so nicely. There’s a certain feeling you get when a scene is cut together in the order in which you conceived it and shot it. We liked to shoot something where each shot had meaning and where you weren’t recovering you know, there’s different philosophies and strategies for shooting, but oftentimes,...
- 1/13/2022
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
“Spider-Man: No Way Home” shattered the pandemic box office at the end of December, but also sent fans into the social-media orbit with the return of villains from previous Spider-Man movies including Green Goblin, Doc Ock and Sandman. Working behind the scenes to bring those villains back to life was VFX supervisor Kelly Port.
“While technology had significantly advanced, the villains stayed the same,” says Port of the distinct looks they had to revive. “A lot of the digital assets from the [Sam] Raimi and [Marc] Webb films no longer exist, so those we had to get going from scratch.”
With that, Port and his team examined ideas such as looking at the most practical, efficient way to get Sandman across the living room floor. “Would you make yourself into a human form and walk? Or would you just blow over there? How would that work? Does he create vocal cords out of sand?...
“While technology had significantly advanced, the villains stayed the same,” says Port of the distinct looks they had to revive. “A lot of the digital assets from the [Sam] Raimi and [Marc] Webb films no longer exist, so those we had to get going from scratch.”
With that, Port and his team examined ideas such as looking at the most practical, efficient way to get Sandman across the living room floor. “Would you make yourself into a human form and walk? Or would you just blow over there? How would that work? Does he create vocal cords out of sand?...
- 1/11/2022
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
“If we don’t do this, there will be nothing left to save!”
The Top-grossing Hollywood Film Of The Pandemic Era At The International Box Office Is Yours To OWN. Bring Bond Home For The Holidays And Experience Never-before-seen Bonus Content. OWN It On 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray And DVD Collector’S Editions December 21, 2021 From Eon Productions, Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM) & Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.
Daniel Craig delivers the “best Bond we’ve ever had” (IGN) and a “stunning and surprising finale” (Empire) in No Time To Die, the extraordinary 25th installment of the James Bond series, available to own for the first time on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD Collector’s Editions on December 21, 2021 from Albert R. Broccoli’s Eon Productions, Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM) and Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. Generating more than $700 million worldwide and Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, fans can now bring home No Time...
The Top-grossing Hollywood Film Of The Pandemic Era At The International Box Office Is Yours To OWN. Bring Bond Home For The Holidays And Experience Never-before-seen Bonus Content. OWN It On 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray And DVD Collector’S Editions December 21, 2021 From Eon Productions, Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM) & Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.
Daniel Craig delivers the “best Bond we’ve ever had” (IGN) and a “stunning and surprising finale” (Empire) in No Time To Die, the extraordinary 25th installment of the James Bond series, available to own for the first time on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD Collector’s Editions on December 21, 2021 from Albert R. Broccoli’s Eon Productions, Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM) and Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. Generating more than $700 million worldwide and Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, fans can now bring home No Time...
- 12/16/2021
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Last week, at Deadline's annual film industry event, Contenders: New York, James Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson were among those participating. They appeared by a video feed from London to discuss "No Time to Die" and were joined by Eon team members Chris Corbould (Special Effects Supervisor), Production Designer Mark Tildesley and actor Rami Malek, who plays the chief villain. While no major news was broken, the team provided some interesting insights into the making of the film, their motivations and some of the challenges they faced. No announcement was made about how they envision a new incarnation of Agent 007, but Barbara Broccoli once again assured fans that Bond will indeed be back.
Click here to access video and read coverage.
Click here to access video and read coverage.
- 12/8/2021
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
While No Time to Die producer Barbara Broccoli admitted today that the stewards of the 007 franchise don’t yet know how James Bond will return after Daniel Craig’s swansong as the super secret agent, she did allow, “We’ll figure that one out, but he will be back. You can rest assured James Bond will be back.”
Broccoli was speaking Saturday at Deadline’s Contenders Film: New York event joined virtually by fellow producer Michael G Wilson as well as co-star Rami Malek, special effects supervisor Chris Corbould and production designer Mark Tildesley.
MGM/Eon/Universal’s Cary Joji Fukunaga-directed No Time to Die went through four release-date changes amid the pandemic and had its world premiere September 28 at London’s Royal Albert Hall before opening to $113 million overseas. Its North American rollout began in early October.
In mid-November, it became the biggest Hollywood title of 2021 and the pandemic worldwide,...
Broccoli was speaking Saturday at Deadline’s Contenders Film: New York event joined virtually by fellow producer Michael G Wilson as well as co-star Rami Malek, special effects supervisor Chris Corbould and production designer Mark Tildesley.
MGM/Eon/Universal’s Cary Joji Fukunaga-directed No Time to Die went through four release-date changes amid the pandemic and had its world premiere September 28 at London’s Royal Albert Hall before opening to $113 million overseas. Its North American rollout began in early October.
In mid-November, it became the biggest Hollywood title of 2021 and the pandemic worldwide,...
- 12/4/2021
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
Deadline’s Contenders Film returns to New York this morning with a hybrid in-person and livestreamed showcase at the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens, and a lineup of 23 films spotlighting the best motion pictures this awards season has to offer. The in-person event kicks off with a breakfast sponsored by United Artists Releasing at 8 a.m. Et, with panels and livestream coverage kicking off at 9:30 a.m.
Click here to register and watch the livestream.
While last year’s supply of movies during a Covid-embattled awards season may have slimmed down, this year, the studios aren’t holding back. This year’s lineup features films from A24, Amazon, Apple Original Films, Focus Features, MGM/United Artists, Netflix, Neon and Warner Bros, and a roster of panelists that includes stars Matt Damon, Mahershala Ali, Tessa Thompson, Dakota Johnson, Amy Schumer, Andre Holland, Richard Jenkins, Ruth Negga, Oscar Isaac,...
Click here to register and watch the livestream.
While last year’s supply of movies during a Covid-embattled awards season may have slimmed down, this year, the studios aren’t holding back. This year’s lineup features films from A24, Amazon, Apple Original Films, Focus Features, MGM/United Artists, Netflix, Neon and Warner Bros, and a roster of panelists that includes stars Matt Damon, Mahershala Ali, Tessa Thompson, Dakota Johnson, Amy Schumer, Andre Holland, Richard Jenkins, Ruth Negga, Oscar Isaac,...
- 12/4/2021
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
“No Time to Die” doesn’t stint on one of the Bond trademarks: shooting in stunning locations across the globe. Daniel Craig’s latest and last outing as 007 moves from Matera, Italy, to Norway, Denmark and Jamaica and London.
A stunning sequence takes place in Cuba, but of course that was one location that wasn’t available. So the production team shot a few exteriors dressed as Cuba in Jamaica, then transformed the U.K’s Pinewood Studios into Havana for the rest of the scene.
Production designer Mark Tildesley travelled to Cuba to research the architecture and details, taking note of intricately detailed building facades, the look of streets, neon signs and propaganda art.
Here he shares his journey — from coming on board back when director Danny Boyle was attached to paying homage to classic Bond films.
Building Bond’s World
I was attached to the version Danny Boyle was doing.
A stunning sequence takes place in Cuba, but of course that was one location that wasn’t available. So the production team shot a few exteriors dressed as Cuba in Jamaica, then transformed the U.K’s Pinewood Studios into Havana for the rest of the scene.
Production designer Mark Tildesley travelled to Cuba to research the architecture and details, taking note of intricately detailed building facades, the look of streets, neon signs and propaganda art.
Here he shares his journey — from coming on board back when director Danny Boyle was attached to paying homage to classic Bond films.
Building Bond’s World
I was attached to the version Danny Boyle was doing.
- 10/9/2021
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
The upcoming James Bond tentpole “No Time to Die” is in good hands with “Beasts of No Nation” and “True Detective” director Cary Fukunaga, but part of the 007 fandom will always wonder what Daniel Craig’s final outing as Bond would’ve looked like with original director Danny Boyle. The “28 Days Later” and “Slumdog Millionaire” Oscar winner boarded Bond 25 with his “Trainspotting” writer John Hodge after successfully pitching an original idea to franchise producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson. The producers liked Boyle’s plan enough to put on hold the script being developed by franchise veterans Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, who previously wrote all of Craig’s Bond adventures. What Boyle’s ideas were have never been confirmed, but they ended up being polarizing enough for him to leave the project over “creative differences.”
“What John [Hodge] and I were doing, I thought, was really good,” Boyle...
“What John [Hodge] and I were doing, I thought, was really good,” Boyle...
- 3/10/2020
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
Dear God, how does one even begin to rebuild a 536 year old structure like the Sistine Chapel?
For Two Popes filmmaker Fernando Meirelles and his production designer Mark Tildesley, they certainly couldn’t fully paint one, because the film production would’ve wrapped before the set’s completion.
But there was a clever way, and the two, who’ve worked together since Constant Gardener, talk with us today on Crew Call about how they pulled off a pitch-perfect recreation in 7 weeks at Rome’s Cinecitta Studios. Shooting in the Vatican was off limits for the Netflix movie about Pope Francis’ rise and Pope Benedict’s resignation; a narrative production can only shoot the exteriors around St. Peter’s and Vatican City. There were also other high-bar set reproductions such as the Vatican’s map room. The duo also expound on that as well as how they brought Benedict’s summer residence to life.
For Two Popes filmmaker Fernando Meirelles and his production designer Mark Tildesley, they certainly couldn’t fully paint one, because the film production would’ve wrapped before the set’s completion.
But there was a clever way, and the two, who’ve worked together since Constant Gardener, talk with us today on Crew Call about how they pulled off a pitch-perfect recreation in 7 weeks at Rome’s Cinecitta Studios. Shooting in the Vatican was off limits for the Netflix movie about Pope Francis’ rise and Pope Benedict’s resignation; a narrative production can only shoot the exteriors around St. Peter’s and Vatican City. There were also other high-bar set reproductions such as the Vatican’s map room. The duo also expound on that as well as how they brought Benedict’s summer residence to life.
- 12/20/2019
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Because you’re not allowed to shoot a work of fiction in the Vatican, production designer Mark Tildesley was tasked with recreating the iconic building for “The Two Popes.” “We used I’d say a 60/40 build vs. location relationship,” he reveals. Although parts of the film were shot in various palaces and buildings around Rome “that are of the same period as the Vatican,” he had to build several rooms from scratch, most notably the Sistine Chapel, the Room of Tears and the Pope’s office. Watch our exclusive video interview with Tildesley above.
Directed by Oscar nominee Fernando Meirelles (“City of God”), the Netflix release is a cinematic two-hander between the conservative Pope Benedict XVI (Anthony Hopkins) and the future Pope Francis I (Jonathan Pryce), who is more liberal. They debate the future of the Catholic Church as Benedict considers resigning from the papacy amid scandals.
See Fernando Meirelles...
Directed by Oscar nominee Fernando Meirelles (“City of God”), the Netflix release is a cinematic two-hander between the conservative Pope Benedict XVI (Anthony Hopkins) and the future Pope Francis I (Jonathan Pryce), who is more liberal. They debate the future of the Catholic Church as Benedict considers resigning from the papacy amid scandals.
See Fernando Meirelles...
- 12/6/2019
- by Zach Laws
- Gold Derby
When Mark Tildesley read Anthony McCarten’s script for “The Two Popes,” he saw how integral the Sistine Chapel was to the narrative. As the film’s production designer, he knew he couldn’t film inside the Vatican, which meant he’d have to reproduce the location. “We did visit it with a leading expert — [producer] Enzo Sisti. His father was a sacristan there who had dressed two of the popes. He took us on a tour and explained the place to us. It was the first time I’d ever been in the chapel. It was a daunting task to imagine that we were going to reproduce this.”
Through discussions with the film’s director, Fernando Meirelles, and cinematographer, César Charlone, Tildesley knew Michelangelo’s iconic frescoes would be featured prominently. “We were going to do these close-ups,” he says. “We went to Cinecittà Studios, and it’s big enough...
Through discussions with the film’s director, Fernando Meirelles, and cinematographer, César Charlone, Tildesley knew Michelangelo’s iconic frescoes would be featured prominently. “We were going to do these close-ups,” he says. “We went to Cinecittà Studios, and it’s big enough...
- 12/6/2019
- by Nick Vivarelli and Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
“When we went to the Sistine chapel, it is a spectacular piece. And now, it’s been cleaned from the hundreds of years of candle burning. It’s super bright and vivid, and that’s something that I hope you see in the film. We wanted to recreate that spectacular feeling of how it must’ve been to walk in there for the first time, [to] these glorious, glorious images in praise of the Lord.” — Mark Tildesley
Seeking a soundstage large enough to house a full recreation of the Sistine Chapel, Tildesley opted for the world-famous Cinecittà Studios in Rome. At 400,000 square meters, it is the largest film studio in Europe.
Unfortunately, the largest studio space on the lot was not available, meaning that the chapel’s famous ceiling artwork would have to be created in post.
To reproduce Michelangelo’s fresco, The Last Judgment, Tildesley considered multiple strategies, ruling out painting a full-scale version.
Seeking a soundstage large enough to house a full recreation of the Sistine Chapel, Tildesley opted for the world-famous Cinecittà Studios in Rome. At 400,000 square meters, it is the largest film studio in Europe.
Unfortunately, the largest studio space on the lot was not available, meaning that the chapel’s famous ceiling artwork would have to be created in post.
To reproduce Michelangelo’s fresco, The Last Judgment, Tildesley considered multiple strategies, ruling out painting a full-scale version.
- 11/19/2019
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
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