By Iain Blair
In her directorial film debut, Past Lives, South Korean-born playwright Celine Song has made a romantic and deceptively simple film that is intensely personal and autobiographical yet universal, with its themes of love, loss and what might have been. Past Lives is broken into three parts spanning countries and decades.
Getting the Right Look for Oscar-Nominated Anatomy of a Fall
Securing the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival and clinching five Oscar nominations, Anatomy of a Fall is a gripping family saga unraveling the startling collapse of an ordinary household. Under the helm of Justine Triet, her fourth directorial venture paints a dizzying portrayal of a woman accused of her husband’s murder,
Poor Things‘ Oscar-Nominated Cinematographer and Editor
By Iain Blair
Lavish, audacious and visually stunning, Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things tells the fantastical story of Bella Baxter (Emma Stone), a young woman brought back to life by the brilliant, daring scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe). The film just won five BAFTAs and scored an impressive 11 Oscar nominations,
The Holdovers Oscar-Nominated Kevin Tent Talks Editing Workflow
By Iain Blair
Editor Kevin Tent, ACE, has had a long and fruitful collaboration with director Alexander Payne. Their first film together was 1995’s Citizen Ruth, and he’s edited all of Payne’s films since, including the Oscar-nominated Sideways. Tent earned his first Academy Award nod for his work on The Descendants.
Oscar-Nominated Sound Pro Talks The Zone of Interest and Poor Things
Supervising sound editor, sound designer and re-recording mixer Johnnie Burn has been busy working on not one but two of this year’s Oscar-nominated films, The Zone of Interest and Poor Things. One is about the horrors of the Holocaust, and the other is a whimsical tale of rebirth and the love of life.
Director and Editor of Oscar-Nominated American Fiction Talk Post
By Iain Blair
Nominated for five Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Lead Actor, American Fiction is writer Cord Jefferson’s impressive directorial debut. It’s a dramedy satire that stars Jeffrey Wright as Monk, an erudite and frustrated novelist who’s fed up with the establishment profiting from stereotypical “Black” entertainment that relies on tired and offensive tropes.
Academy Announces Science and Technical Oscar Awards, Plaques
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will celebrate 16 scientific and technical achievements at its annual Scientific and Technical Awards ceremony on February 23 at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.
“Each year, a global group of technology practitioners and experts sets out to examine the extraordinary tools and techniques employed in the creation of motion pictures,” reports Barbara Ford Grant,
DP Linus Sandgren on Saltburn’s Shoot, Dailies and Color
By Iain Blair
Swedish cinematographer Linus Sandgren, ASC, has multiple award noms and wins under his belt, including an Oscar for his work on the retro-glamorous musical La La Land. His new film, Saltburn, couldn’t be more different.
Written and directed by Emerald Fennell,
VFX Supervisor Glen Pratt on Barbie’s Visual Effects Workflow
By Iain Blair
To be Barbie in Barbie Land is to be a perfect being in a perfect place. Unless you have a full-on existential crisis and suddenly develop flat feet and bad breath and end up traveling to the real world to find some answers.
That’s the clever setup for the biggest blockbuster of the summer — and now the biggest movie on the awards circuit thanks to its nine Golden Globe noms.
Barbie Editor Nick Houy Talks Workflow and VFX
By Iain Blair
Helmed by Greta Gerwig, co-written by Noah Baumbach (Marriage Story) and starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, Barbie is a celebration of girl power that effortlessly manages to combine romance, sharp satire, stylish musical numbers, wacky car chases and warm-hearted comedy – all tied up with a big pink bow.
Top Gun: Maverick‘s Oscar-Nominated Sound
By Luke Harper
Even the snobbiest of film snobs has had a hard time shooting down Top Gun: Maverick, one of the biggest success stories in recent movie history. Nominated for six Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Sound and Best Visual Effects, Top Gun: Maverick has been credited with helping to bring audiences back to theaters after the pandemic.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’s Oscar-Nominated Visual Effects
By Iain Blair
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, the follow-up to 2018’s blockbuster Black Panther, was nominated for five Oscars this year, including one for Best Visual Effects. Once again directed by co-writer Ryan Coogler, the action-adventure-suspense-thriller Wakanda Forever features a cast of thousands – and behind the scenes,
Editing Banshees of Inisherin: Oscar-Nominated Mikkel E.G. Nielsen
By Iain Blair
The Banshees of Inisherin has scored nine Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director for Martin McDonagh and Best Film Editing for Mikkel E.G. Nielsen, ACE. The film, another dark comedic drama written by McDonagh, is set in 1923 on a mythical and remote island off the west coast of Ireland.
Audio Post: Creating the Oscar-Nominated Soundscape of Elvis
By Randi Altman
Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis is a tour de force of filmmaking, earning eight Oscar nominations including for Best Picture, Best Actor, Cinematography, Editing and Sound.
The film follows Elvis Presley as a poor child in Tupelo through to the last weeks of his life.
Avatar: The Way of Water Colorist Tashi Trieu on Making the Grade
By Randi Altman
Working in post finishing or 10 years, colorist Tashi Trieu also has an extensive background in compositing as well as digital and film photography. He uses all of these talents while working on feature films (Bombshell), spots (Coke Zero) and episodics (Titans).
Sound Designer Scott Gershin on Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
Veteran sound designer Scott Gershin has been working in the industry for over three decades, with a resume that includes Star Trek, Kill Bill: Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, Green Lantern and Hellboy II: The Golden Army, among many others.