What Is Cinema?
Like any craft worthy of the name, filmmaking is both an art and a science. In a new series of articles and videos, Vanity Fair, in partnership with Rolex, enlists reigning masters of the form to illuminate the creative and practical aspects of their work. The human urge to tell stories has always been with us, but the storytelling tool kit has never been more robust. Let these living legends inspire you to keep exploring.
—Radhika Jones, Vanity Fair editor in chief
What Is Cinema?
Lee Isaac Chung’s Childhood Trauma Drew Him to Twisters
In the next installment of Vanity Fair’s What Is Cinema? series, director Lee Isaac Chung breaks down his inspirations for Twisters.
- VANITY FAIR IN PARTNERSHIP WITH ROLEX
Rolex and Cinema: A Long-Term Partnership in Excellence
- What Is Cinema?
Sarah Polley and Ruben Östlund on Juggling Acting Ensembles and Pushing Their Audiences
In Vanity Fair’s series What Is Cinema?, the Oscar-nominated writer-directors behind Women Talking and Triangle of Sadness reveal their biggest challenges. - Vanity Fair In Partnership With Rolex
Rolex Supports the Transmission of Knowledge to Future Generations of Filmmakers Through Its Mentoring Program
For more than half a century, Rolex has partnered some of the world’s most talented artists and leading cultural institutions to celebrate excellence and contribute to perpetuating artistic heritage, creating a link between the past, present and future. - What Is Cinema?
The Art That Inspired 6 Major Filmmakers
A short story suggested by Martin Scorsese, a 1970s documentary, a photograph of the Blitz—inspiration came from many sources to create some of 2022’s best films. - What Is Cinema?
Rian Johnson and the Daniels on the Film Rules They Love to Follow—And Break
In Vanity Fair’s series What Is Cinema?, the directors of Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery and Everything Everywhere All at Once talk craft. - What Is Cinema?
How 4 Directors Found a Way to Go Home Again
New movies from Steven Spielberg, James Gray, Joanna Hogg, and Alejandro González Iñárritu ask tough questions about their own pasts—and remind us of cinema’s power as a medium for memories. - What Is Cinema?
Directors Gina Prince-Bythewood and Halle Berry on Their “Very Small Sisterhood”
To kick off Vanity Fair’s new series, What Is Cinema?, the directors of The Woman King and Bruised connect on the “had-to-do” stories they brought to the screen.
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How Real Tornados Tormented the Making of Twisters
Lee Isaac Chung, director of the Twister sequel, wanted to shoot in Oklahoma during storm season: “I was very naive.”
awards insider first look
Amy Adams Hears the Call of the Wild in Nightbitch
“When people ask me what the movie is about, I’m like, ‘It’s about motherhood and rage,’” says director Marielle Heller in this exclusive first look. “And you either get that or you don’t.”
exclusive
Rosemary’s Baby Prequel Apartment 7A Aims to Raise Hell: A First Look
Julia Garner and Dianne Wiest star in this follow-up to the 1968 thriller, centering a side character’s nightmarish untold story.
Little Gold Men
Viggo Mortensen Speaks His Mind: On Amazon’s “Shameful” Decision, Green Book’s “Disingenuous” Critics, and Indie Film’s Unclear Future
The Oscar nominee, whose acclaimed new film, The Dead Don’t Hurt, has just hit VOD, offers his frank assessment of Hollywood.
Awards Insider First Look
In Conclave, the Pope Dies—Then the Twisty Search for His Successor Begins
Ralph Fiennes top lines the new film from the director of All Quiet on the Western Front, a thriller about both a personal and a collective crisis of faith—backed by a brilliant ensemble including Isabella Rossellini, Stanley Tucci, and more.
failure to launch
Fly Me to the Moon: How a Stanley Kubrick Conspiracy Theory Inspired the Film
A new movie starring Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum asks: Could the moon landing have been faked?
from the magazine
Damson Idris’s Life in the Fast Lane
After Idris’s breakout role in Snowfall, his career is picking up speed. Next, he’ll star opposite Brad Pitt in Joseph Kosinski and Jerry Bruckheimer’s Formula 1 movie.
Kevin Bacon Spent a Day as a Regular Person: “I Was Like, This Sucks”
The actor opens up about his storied career, the film industry’s “hierarchical bullshit,” and the two films he has opening this week: the horror movie MaXXXine and the Eddie Murphy action-comedy Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F.
Why Kevin Costner Risked His Fortune, Reputation, and Personal Life for Horizon
At 69, the movie star is about to find out how the biggest gamble of his life—a four-film, partly self-financed franchise that reportedly contributed to his departure from Yellowstone—will pay off.
Review
A Quiet Place: Day One Is a Prequel Done Right
The director of Pig makes a franchise film that would be worthy on its own.
Sienna Miller Is More Than Ready to Be Recognized for Her Work, Not Her Personal Life
The star of Kevin Costner’s four-part epic, Horizon, on tackling her next chapter, onscreen and off: “I’m done with grief and torture.”
Here: Robert Zemeckis’s New Movie Spans a Century, but the Camera Never Moves
Tom Hanks and Robin Wright reunite the Forrest Gump team for a drama set entirely in one household’s living room.
Deadpool & Wolverine: Inside the Superhero Movie That Plays Rough
Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, and filmmaker Shawn Levy reveal how a ping-pong table sent by Blake Lively helped bring R-rated troublemaking to the MCU.
Awards Insider Exclusive
Inside Sing Sing, the Colman Domingo Prison Drama That Will Break Your Heart
Domingo may be headed back to the Oscars for his incandescent performance in A24’s innovative film, where he stars opposite several formerly incarcerated men.
Review
In Janet Planet, a Brilliant Playwright Makes a Promising Film Debut
Pulitzer winner Annie Baker moves into movies in this poignant look at a mother and daughter.
Judge Reinhold’s Totally Awesome ’80s Flashback
Returning for the fourth Beverly Hills Cop, the actor shares stories about Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Vice Versa, and Stripes—as well as the time he was paid with a stolen car and the movie he thinks was deliberately killed at the box office.
Awards Insider!
Kevin Hart, Taraji P. Henson, and Samuel L. Jackson Bring a True Story to Wild Life in Fight Night
Peacock’s dynamic new limited series examines how an infamous heist changed the city of Atlanta forever—and reintroduces Hart as a dramatic leading man.
from the magazine
A First Look at How Directors Dress, a New Book From the Indie Studio That Mastered Merch
From Steven Spielberg’s denim to Euzhan Palcy’s statement gold, Adam Wray examines the “workwear” donned by Hollywood’s beloved auteurs in this excerpt from the newest release by A24’s publishing arm.
Exclusive excerpt
“Directors Don’t Cry!” Madonna, Rosanna Arquette, and the Wild Birth of Desperately Seeking Susan
In an excerpt from her memoir, Susan Seidelman watches Madonna go from newcomer (“I’ll do anything to get this part”) to icon.
Awards Insider!
Jude Law: An Eras Tour
The two-time Oscar nominee reflects on his thrilling rise in Hollywood, the real reason he initially turned down The Talented Mr. Ripley, and his recent career turning point: “When there’s a whole herd of interesting, beautiful young men coming up, you’re trying to readjust.”
When Death Came For Frank Miller
The comic book icon behind The Dark Knight Returns, 300, and Sin City reveals the addiction that nearly ended his life—and how his loved ones (and a determined documentary maker) pulled him back.
Run Lola Run 25 Years Later: A Breathless Oral History
Franka Potente and writer-director Tom Tykwer share untold secrets of the uber-cool 1998 thriller
Awards Insider!
The Best and Worst Movies of Cannes 2024, and the Likeliest Oscar Contenders Among Them
From Megalopolis to Emilia Perez to The Apprentice, this was a festival of big swings. Some really worked, some really didn’t—and only a few will likely make it to the Oscars. We break it all down.
cannes 2024
The World Needs Films Like The Seed of the Sacred Fig
Mohammad Rasoulof had to flee his native Iran after being sentenced to prison for making films like this courageous drama.
Magical Thinking
Bringing One Hundred Years of Solitude to the Screen Took Decades—Here’s Why
Gabriel García Márquez didn’t think his masterpiece could be adapted. His readers, and the country of Colombia, pray Netflix gets it right.
Awards Insider!
The Sexiest Movie at Cannes, Motel Destino, Also Aims to Be the Most Political
“We should be forbidden from making movies with white people in Brazil,” director Karim Aïnouz tells Vanity Fair. His erotic new film seeks to upend cinematic conventions for himself, his country, and the film community at large.
cannes 2024
Anora Is a Raucous Good Time With a Gut-Punch of an Ending
Sean Baker, director of Tangerine and The Florida Project, investigates another under-examined corner of America.
Cannes Film Festival
Inside Emilia Perez: Selena Gomez, Zoe Saldaña, and Karla Sofía Gascón Go Deep on Their Cannes Sensation
“It takes people taking a risk on me,” Gomez tells Vanity Fair of the secret behind Emilia Perez’s success. In conversation, she and her co-stars reflect on taking the biggest leaps of faith of their careers—and making a perfect landing.
cannes 2024
Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis Is a Passion Project Gone Horribly Wrong
Maybe some cinephiles will see value in the Godfather director’s long-gestating epic. Many more, though, will be left scratching their heads.
Cannes Film Festival
In The Apprentice, Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong Peer Into the Dark Heart of Donald Trump
Before Trump was Trump, he was a young striver taken under the wing of Roy Cohn. The Apprentice dramatizes their sinister bond: “I think of it as a love story, really,” Strong tells Vanity Fair.
Cannes 2024
In Furiosa, George Miller Works Another Wonder
Anya Taylor-Joy is a worthy successor to Charlize Theron—but it’s Chris Hemsworth who really drives off with the movie.
Nobody But You
The Rise, Rise, Rise of Glen Powell: “I Started to Think, This May Be a Problem”
Between Anyone but You, Hit Man, and Twisters, he’s seen all kinds of action.
Awards Insider Exclusive
Jesse Plemons and Emma Stone Run Wild in Poor Things Follow-Up Kinds of Kindness
Plemons’s initial reaction to Yorgos Lanthimos’s new movie: “Oh my God. What?”
the midnight society
You’ve Never Seen a Movie Like I Saw the TV Glow
Jane Schoenbrun directed We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, “disappeared for two years, and came out a girl.” Then they made I Saw the TV Glow, a trans allegory by way of Are You Afraid of the Dark? and Buffy.
Little Gold Men
“It’s an Honor Just to Be Snubbed”: Timothy Olyphant Gives Emmy Campaigning Another Try
The Emmy-nominated actor lets loose in a conversation spanning his rumored feud with Walton Goggins, filming Noah Hawley’s Alien in Thailand, and oh yeah, his awards chances for the Justified revival.
First Look
Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis: An Exclusive First Look at the Director’s Retro-Futurist Epic
Adam Driver and Nathalie Emmanuel scan the horizon, and Coppola explains his sprawling influences for the utopian drama.
Review
Sex and Tennis Make a Good Match in Challengers
Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, and Mike Faist form the season’s most seductive triangle.
Bohemian Rhapsodies: Timothée, Leo, Selena, and the Boom in Musician Biopics
Why movies on everyone from Bob Dylan to Amy Winehouse to Air Supply—yes, Air Supply!—are suddenly headed to the screen.
slowly, then all at once
Against All Odds, John Green and Hannah Marks Made a Movie of Turtles All the Way Down
The pair on adapting Green’s follow-up to The Fault in Our Stars, living with OCD, and what’s next for the author: “I think I’ll return to writing novels. Maybe. I hope?”
EXCLUSIVE
The Jinx Part Two: Andrew Jarecki on Robert Durst and His Long-Simmering Sequel
The filmmaker previews the new chapter of his 20-year saga chronicling now convicted murderer Robert Durst, which premieres April 21 on HBO.
Still Watching
Dakota Fanning Thinks Ripley’s Marge and Tom Are More Alike Than They Seem
Andrew Scott makes for a captivating killer in the first four episodes of Netflix’s Ripley, streaming now. Dakota Fanning stops by Still Watching to talk about her new spin on Marge Sherwood and how she stayed grounded while transitioning from child star to adult actor.
“There are ghosts on every corner…”
The Many Lives of Walton Goggins
The actor plays dual roles in Fallout—a monster and the man he used to be—prompting a look back at his own unlikely past.
Shot List
Inside the Stunning, Devious Cinematography of Netflix’s Ripley
Director Steven Zaillian and cinematographer Robert Elswit reveal the methods, ideas, and secrets of their new series’ meticulous black-and-white visuals.
Were Blockers and Game Night the Last Great Studio Comedies?
Directors Kay Cannon, John Francis Daley, and Jonathan Goldstein gather six years later to hash out what went right in their still-popular 2018 films—and why we might not see another one-two punch like this one in theaters again.
SPOTLIGHT
Callum Turner Takes Flight
The Masters of the Air and Boys in the Boat star has worked with Clooney, Hanks, and Spielberg—so yes, you could say it’s going well.
EXCLUSIVE
Inside Wicked: Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo Talk Glinda and Elphaba
Plus, Jon M. Chu reveals his vision for the feverishly anticipated musical alongside brand-new images of Erivo, Grande, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, and more.
an enemy of the people
Why Is Vladimir Putin So Afraid of The Master and Margarita?
Five years ago, filmmaker Michael Lockshin embarked on an ambitious adaptation of Mikhail Bulgakov’s classic novel. Then Russia invaded Ukraine, the movie became a hit, and Putin’s cronies went to war against Lockshin’s blockbuster.
Always Great
Inside Carla Gugino’s Singular Career, From Spy Kids Mothering to House of Usher Murdering
The veteran character actor, currently starring in The Girls on the Bus, believes her career choices have “confused” people. Now she reflects on her Hollywood plan, decades in the making.
OG RHONY
Tilda Swinton Embraces Her Inner Real Housewife in Julio Torres’s Problemista
Swinton and Torres, who star opposite each other in Torres’s debut film, open up about terrible bosses, wonderful communities, and the deeply damaged psyches of New York City’s chief Karens.
Exclusive
Christopher Walken Still Rules: On Dune 2, Star Wars, and True Power
After four years away, the legendary actor tells all about his emperor of the galaxy—and about missing out on Han Solo in another universe.
dune it again
Dune: Meet Loire Cotler, Whose Voice Powers the Film’s Propulsive Score
“Dune has its own rhythm,” composer Hans Zimmer previously told Vanity Fair. “So it’s obvious that I would find a woman who should know everything about rhythm and then give you the cry of a banshee.”
Exclusive
First Look: The Crow Flies Again With Bill Skarsgård and FKA Twigs
More than 30 years after tragedy struck the Brandon Lee version, director Rupert Sanders launches a new incarnation.
baton down the hatches
What Real Conductors Think of Bradley Cooper in Maestro and Cate Blanchett in Tár
Two professionals evaluate the Oscar nominees who embodied Leonard Bernstein and Lydia Tár.
Awards Insider!
How The Holdovers Pulled Off Paul Giamatti’s Lazy Eye
Cristina Patterson’s custom contact lenses have transformed actors into all manners of monsters and zombies—but the curmudgeonly professor at the center of The Holdovers was a new kind of challenge.
The 37 Best Feel-Good Movies to Boost Your Mood
From silent-film classics to modern rom-com hits, the best feel-good movies have a timeless power to bring out smiles—and sometimes a few tears too.
Temporal Pincer Movement
With Oppenheimer Marching Toward Best Picture, an Overlooked Christopher Nolan Classic Gets Its Due
Tenet was released under pandemic restrictions and months before Nolan’s relationship with Warner Bros. reached an acrimonious end. But its acolytes never gave up the faith.
Dune: Part Two
Austin Butler: The Making of a Sexy Pyschopath
The actor and director Denis Villeneuve break down his Dune: Part Two role as the lethal Feyd-Rautha.
Review
Dune: Part Two Is Bigger and Better
Director Denis Villeneuve finally provides some meat for all that spice.
let’s get together and feel all right
The Real Story of Rita and Bob Marley
A closer look at the marriage at the center of the new biopic Bob Marley: One Love.
Awards Insider First Look
How Robert Downey Jr. Helped The Sympathizer Pull Off an Audacious, Ferocious Adaptation
A Pulitzer Prize–winning book, an iconic filmmaker, a beloved movie star, and a breakout young actor meet for HBO’s new limited series. You’re not ready for the results.
Exclusive
Adam Sandler’s Spaceman Took Him to a Deep, Dark Place
The actor drew on fear and loneliness for the drama about a far-off astronaut trying to escape himself.
Exclusive
Wicked First Look: Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo in Costume
The stars talk for the first time about playing the unlikeliest of friends, Glinda and Elphaba. With the teaser dropping during the Super Bowl, Wicked is looking pretty…wonderful.
fine feathered friends
The Forgotten Swans: Truman Capote’s Society Friends Left Out of Feud
These women are every bit as fascinating as Babe Paley, Slim Keith, and the glamorous rest depicted on FX’s Feud: Capote vs. the Swans.
He Is Iron Man
Robert Downey Jr. Reveals the Surprising Roles He Almost Got—And Almost Lost
The Oppenheimer Oscar nominee was passed over for a DC villain, and says Tom Cruise nearly starred in both Chaplin and Iron Man.
exclusive
Brad Pitt and the Wild Making of Legends of the Fall
In an excerpt from his revelatory new book, Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions, director Ed Zwick goes deep on the pain, the glory—and the sometimes combative male energy on set.
exclusive first look
Inside Ripley: Andrew Scott, Dakota Fanning, and Johnny Flynn’s Bad Romance
The trio at the center of Steven Zaillian’s bold Netflix adaptation speak for the first time about the twisted triangle around scam artist Tom Ripley: “That’s the brilliant thing about a scammer story like this—you’re rooting for somebody who’s committing crimes.”
First Look
Steve Martin Gets the Documentary Treatment in Steve!—And He Doesn’t Hold Back
An exclusive look inside the ambitious two-part portrait of the comedy legend, which Morgan Neville structures as a documentary like no other.
Awards Insider!
Barbie’s Dream Revenge: How Snub Fury Can Upend an Oscar Race
Greta Gerwig’s and Margot Robbie’s omissions might spark an outpouring of support. It’s happened before—just ask Ben Affleck.
spy vs. spy
Donald Glover and Maya Erskine on Mr. & Mrs. Smith: “This Is Actual Intimacy”
The stars of Amazon’s new spy-rom-com talk glamour, farts, and why Phoebe Waller-Bridge left the project: “Her whole process is very different from our process.”
Mojo Rising
Playing the Pretty Boy: Ryan Gosling, Jacob Elordi, and More Redefine the Himbo
Their latest characters are stunning, stunted—and in the awards race.
Awards Insider!
Oppenheimer’s Big Bang: A Surprisingly Hilarious Oral History
Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, and Robert Downey Jr. on making Christopher Nolan’s historical epic.
Love and Marriage
The Most Famous Couple in the World: Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton on the Set of a Classic
She was too young and beautiful for the role, in a tumultuous marriage, and had never been asked to rehearse before. An excerpt from Cocktails With George and Martha about the wild filming of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Awards Insider!
The History Woven Into Every Costume of Killers of the Flower Moon
For the first-ever live Little Gold Men podcast, Lily Gladstone, Jacqueline West, and Julie O’Keefe joined to talk about the Osage culture visible in every frame of Martin Scorsese’s film.
old hollywood
Cary Grant and Randolph Scott’s Hollywood Story: “Our Souls Did Touch”
Hedda Hopper once asked of Grant, “Whom does he think he is fooling?” The star’s bond with Scott has been the subject of nearly a century of speculation, but the truth about their impact on each other’s lives has been hiding in plain sight.
Little Gold Men
How Julianne Moore Found the “Hysterical” Truth in May December
The Oscar winner gives another exceptionally complex performance in Todd Haynes’s Netflix melodrama, one that required a lot of preparation—and a willingness to take big risks.
Awards Insider!
American Fiction’s Subtle Secret Weapon: All About Laura Karpman’s Jazzy Score
Emmy-winning composer Laura Karpman takes Vanity Fair behind the music, how she envisioned Jeffrey Wright’s voice as a tenor sax, and more.
Character Building
Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor Put Everything Into Origin. She Hopes It Wasn’t in Vain
The Oscar nominee reveals all about her brilliant, emotional performance in Ava DuVernay’s awards underdog—and the effort to get folks to see it.
Q & A
Jodie Foster, Ascendant at 61, Reckons With Her Complex Mother’s Ghost
With magnetic roles in both True Detective: Night Country and Nyad, a legend looks back.
Reunited
Greta Gerwig and Natalie Portman on the “Cosmic” Connection That Still Links Them
The Barbie director and the May December star, who have been friends since No Strings Attached, have seen their paths cross multiple times over the years, with more to come.
Awards Insider!
Golden Globes 2024: See All the Nominations Here
Barbie and Oppenheimer reigned in the film categories, while Succession and Abbott Elementary continued their dominance on the TV side.
Society of the Snow: The Real-Life Story That Inspired the Dark Oscar Contender
“It was the worst nightmare you can imagine,” a real-life survivor said of the 1972 Andes plane crash and the cannibalism that followed, an ordeal depicted in Society of the Snow.
Little Gold Men
The Year’s Most Surprising Golden Globe Nominee on Her Cinematic Cinderella Story
Meet Alma Pöysti, the Finnish star whose breakout performance in Fallen Leaves has netted international recognition—and placed her in the same league as Emma Stone, Margot Robbie, and more.
Reunited
Rosamund Pike and Chris Messina on Performing as “Two Assholes Playing Their Best Game”
The pair, who starred in 2020’s I Care a Lot, reveal the secrets to creating their scene-stealing Saltburn and Air characters.
TRUE STORY
The Iron Claw: The Real-Life Von Erich Tragedies You Don’t See Onscreen
Sean Durkin spent eight years adapting the story of the Von Erich wrestling family for the screen and found that there is such a thing as too much sadness.
Review
There Are No Winners in Wrestling Drama The Iron Claw
Zac Efron does his best to lend a brutal story some real humanity.
Oscar Buzz
The Love Story of Jon Batiste and Suleika Jaouad
Batiste was being filmed for the documentary American Symphony when his wife learned that her cancer had returned. The result is full of beauty and pain.
Awards Insider!
Golden Globes Nominations 2024: The 10 Biggest Snubs and Surprises
Unexpected cheers for Beau Is Afraid and Slow Horses meet troubling misses for The Color Purple and Napoleon.
FROM THE MAGAZINE
The Talented Mr. Ripley at 25—Frank, Queer, and Ahead of Its Time
With Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Jude Law all at the peak of their star power, the thriller was an Oscar anomaly that became a touchstone.
FROM THE MAGAZINE
On Set With Bradley Cooper, Emma Stone, and More
Go behind the scenes with some of the year’s most celebrated Oscar contenders.
Awards Insider!
Nicolas Cage Is Almost Done Making Films: “I May Have Three or Four More Movies Left in Me”
In conversation with Vanity Fair, the Oscar winner reveals why he’s nearing the end of his big-screen career—and what he hopes to do next.
cover story
Robert Downey Jr.’s Third Act: “He’s Lived a Complicated Life. He Understands the Stakes”
Following an Oscar-worthy turn in Oppenheimer, Downey’s inner circle size up the man and his considerable legacy.
Year in Review
The Best Movies of 2023
Vanity Fair’s chief critic lists the best movies of 2023, from Past Lives and May December to Poor Things.
Awards Insider!
Saltburn Star Barry Keoghan on the Film’s Revealing Ending
“Without sounding cocky, it wasn’t the nudity. That was fine for me. It was the dancing.”
Exclusive
Fallout First Look: This Is How the World Ends—With a Smiling Thumbs Up
The globally popular video game has become an epic TV series from Westworld creator Jonathan Nolan.
IN CONVERSATION
Playing Murderous Alex Murdaugh Was Freeing for Bill Pullman
The actor knows it’s surprising to hear that he stars as the notorious killer in Lifetime’s Murdaugh Murders: “There was something that felt like, this is a challenge.”
Awards Insider Exclusive
Matt Bomer Takes His Dark, Sexy Turn: “I Got to Be the Bad Boy”
Between Fellow Travelers and Maestro, the Emmy nominee is having the biggest year of his career—and that’s after he walked away from Barbie. We discuss his enticing new chapter.
Reviews
The Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes Is the Rare Good Prequel
It’s possible, Francis Lawrence’s movie suggests, to do something as cynical as a brand extension with care and insight.
AWARDS SEASON
Sandra Hüller Steps—Cautiously—Into the Spotlight
With roles in two riveting films this awards season, the moral thriller Anatomy of a Fall and the Holocaust drama The Zone of Interest, the German actor is figuring out what to make of Hollywood’s sudden attention.
COVER STORY
After Barbie, Greta Gerwig Has No Plans to Rest
The director on her box office dominance, life with Noah Baumbach, and the grossest parenting story you’ve ever heard.
shot list
How the Warm, Elegant Look of The Holdovers Came Together
Director Alexander Payne and cinematographer Eigil Bryld needed a lot of snow, and actors up for the task, to tell the quiet, melancholy story of three people spending Christmas at a New England boarding school.