Whether you know it or not, you’ve probably seen at least one work from director Joseph Kahn, whose formidable track record of instantly recognizable music videos includes such Grammy-winning shorts as Eminem’s “Without Me” and Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood.” And speaking of artists known for their public feuds, Kahn’s new film “Bodied” will have bad blood to spare as it immerses us in the verbal brutality of urban battle rap.

Continue reading ‘Bodied’ Trailer: Eminem Produces Joseph Kahn’s Dynamic Battle Rap Drama [NSFW] at The Playlist.

Movies about rap battles are a rare breed. Of course, there’s the blisteringly ill rhymes in 2002’s Eminem-led drama “8 Mile,” and, more recently, this summer’s Sundance sensation “Patti Cake$,” featured a white New Jersey teenager dreaming of rap-stardom. But Hollywood has mostly stayed away from this incredibly popular urban underground activity where rappers battle in improv-filled, braggadocio-laden, lyric spouting contests.

Director Joseph Kahn — the filmmaker behind “Detention” and dozens of iconic music videos for artists, most notably Taylor Swift‘s “Bad Blood”– acts like he doesn’t care about what might be his audiences lack of knowledge of the topic.  

Continue reading ‘Bodied’: Joseph Kahn Crafts A Visually Dynamic Rap Battle [TIFF Midnight Madness Winner] at The Playlist.

In a huge surprise move, unexpected by almost all pundits, Fox Searchlight’s “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” won the coveted Toronto International Film Festival People’s Choice Award today.

Directed by Martin McDonagh (“In Bruges“), ‘Three Billboards’ is a darkly comic drama about a mother who personally challenges the local authorities to solve her daughter’s murder, when they fail to catch the culprit.

Continue reading ‘Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri’ Wins TIFF’s People’s Choice Award at The Playlist.