Flying a little under the radar right now—presumably because it’s a U.K.-only show, at least at the moment—is a new upcoming series called “The Listeners.” It’s intriguing on its own, but the talent involved makes it even more enticing. A provocative, haunting drama starring Rebecca Hall (“Christine,” “The Town,” “Vicky Christina Barcelona”), “The Listeners” is produced by Fremantle company Element Pictures (“Normal People,” “The Favourite,” “Poor Things”) and directed by acclaimed filmmaker Janicza Bravo, known for directing “Zola” and episodes of “Poker Face,” and “Mrs.

Continue reading ‘The Listeners’ Trailer: Rebecca Hall Stars In A New BBC Series From ‘Zola’ Director Janicza Bravo at The Playlist.

Rian Johnson has a cinematic sensation on his hands with his “Knives Out” movie series. Both critics and audiences love the whodunit films and Daniel Craig‘s detective at their center, Benoit Blanc. But Johnson has murder mystery plans beyond the highly successful movie franchise, too. Enter “Poker Face,” Johnson’s upcoming series for Peacock, which stars Natasha Lyonne as the lead in a case-of-the-week detective show alá classic series like “Murder, She Wrote” or “Columbo.”

READ MORE: Rian Johnson Will Take On The Challenge Of The Third ‘Knives Out’ Next [Interview]

Johnson and Lyonne, the star of Netflix‘s time-loop dramedy “Russian Doll,” cooked up the idea for “Poker Face” at a book party thrown by Johnson’s wife, Karina Longworth.

Continue reading ‘Poker Face’ First Look: Rian Johnson & Nastasha Lyonne Team Up For Upcoming Peacock Murder Mystery Series at The Playlist.

“Y’all wanna hear a story about why me & this bitch here fell out? It’s kind of long but full of suspense.” On this episode of The Playlist Podcast, we spoke with writer, director (and actor) Janicza Bravo, who directed and co-wrote A24‘s Sundance-acclaimed indie “Zola.” Delayed by a year because of the pandemic (which the filmmaker addresses in heartbreaking detail), “Zola” finally came out earlier this summer, and now, the film arrives on DVD and Blu-ray (plus Digital) today, August 14.

Continue reading Janicza Bravo Talks ‘Zola,’ Charming Villains, The “PR Of Whiteness” & More [The Playlist Podcast] at The Playlist.

Did we ever envision a day when a whole-ass Twitter thread would become a movie? Well, it happened alright; an epic story by A’Ziah King, aka ZOLA, told on Twitter (since deleted) became “Zola.” The movie premiered at the Sundance Film Festival 2020 to major acclaim. Directed by Janicza Bravo (“Atlanta,” “Lemon“) and starring Taylour Paige and Riley Keough, “Zola” is about Aa stripper named Zola who embarks on a wild road trip to Florida.

Continue reading ‘Zola’ Trailer: Riley Keough & Taylour Paige Are The Messy B*tches From An Epic Twitter Thread at The Playlist.

“Zola” hasn’t even hit theaters (or streaming…or wherever it gets released) yet, and people are already raving about Janicza Bravo’s debut film. The young writer-director debuted the feature at Sundance and it earned great reviews, instantly making Bravo one of the most in-demand filmmakers. And it appears she has found her next project, where she is going to team up with one of the biggest actors on the planet.

Continue reading Jake Gyllenhaal To Star In A Series From ‘Zola’ Director About The Life Of Infamous Writer Dan Mallory at The Playlist.

One of the most anticipated films of 2020 is definitely A24’s upcoming feature, “Zola.” Even before one frame of film (or megabyte of footage) was produced, “Zola” had everyone talking thanks to the production deal that was made off of a Twitter thread. And now, we have our first teaser for the film that gets us pretty hyped for the feature but also offers up a clue that the drama might not get a traditional release.

Continue reading ‘Zola’ Teaser: A24 Offers First Look At Janicza Bravo’s New Film & An Unclear Release Strategy at The Playlist.

Every generation gets a defining literary opening line – “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” or “As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams…” And for the generation alive and online in 2015, that honor inarguably goes to “Y’all wanna hear a story about why me & this bitch here fell out????????”. The first tweet in A’Ziah King aka A’Ziah Wells aka Zola’s infamous 150-odd tweet thread has it all: high drama and the promise of more to come  (“It’s kind of long,” she continues, “but full of suspense”); an implicit trash-talking challenge couched in streetwise slanguage; and a completely irresistible eight (8) question marks.

Continue reading ‘Zola’ Is The Ultimate Internet-Age Tale Of Messy Bitches Being Extra [Sundance Review] at The Playlist.

Academy snubs be damned, 2019 was a spectacular end to a decade of outstanding films directed by women. Joanna Hogg reinvented visual memoir with “The Souvenir,” Lulu Wang challenged American conceptions of family and death in “The Farewell,” and Greta Gerwig’s “Little Women” adaptation upended one of the most iconic American novels by and about a woman.

Continue reading 52 Films Directed By Women To Watch In 2020 at The Playlist.

The 2019 Sundance Film Festival is upon us and we’re feeling good about most of our Most Anticipated 2020 Film feature predictions; many of the films with early February release dates are indeed making Sundance premieres (“Wendy,” “Downhill,” etc.). This year feels rich already, with new films by Dee Rees, Josephine Decker, Miranda July and many, many more.

READ MORE: Sundance 2020 Lineup Revealed: Films By Josephine Decker, Miranda July, Viggo Mortensen & More

But let’s get to some quick first looks, shall we?

Continue reading Sundance First Look: Anne Hathaway in Dee Rees’ Latest, Miranda July’s ‘Kajillionaire,’ Riley Keough In ‘Zola’ & More at The Playlist.

Netflix is famous for withholding its viewing data, but it’s probably not a big stretch to say that “Love“ isn’t bringing in huge numbers, like say “Stranger Things.” For one thing, the Judd Apatow-produced series has quietly been on for three seasons, with very little fanfare. Which is unfortunate, because “Love” is an endearing, romantic modern sitcom that deserves better.

Over the course of the first two seasons of “Love,” Mickey and Gus (Gillian Jacobs and Paul Rust) will-they-or-won’t-they’d around each other while simultaneously navigating their work lives, and, in Mickey’s case, alcoholism and sobriety.

Continue reading Netflix’s ‘Love’ Is As Endearing As Ever In Its Final Season [Review] at The Playlist.

“Twin Peaks” is providing plenty of summer weirdness on the small screen, but if you’re looking for something oddball at the cinema, put “Lemon” on your list. The new comedy from director Janicza Bravo premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, and now the distinct flavor is gearing up to get out in the world.

READ MORE: Sour ‘Lemon’ With Brett Gelman, Michael Cera, Judy Greer & Gillian Jacobs Is Heavy On The Quirk, But Little Else [Rotterdam Review]

The ensemble includes Brett Gelman (who co-wrote the film), Judy Greer, Michael Cera, Shiri Appleby, Fred Melamed, Rhea Perlman, David Paymer, Gillian Jacobs, Jon Daly, Martin Starr, Megan Mullally, Jeff Garlin, Elizabeth De Razzo, Marla Gibbs, and Nia Long in this story of a 40 year-old man grappling with a severe mid-life crisis.

Continue reading Brett Gelman & Michael Cera Get Weird In New Trailer For ‘Lemon’ at The Playlist.

So often the problem with quirk is not the quirk itself, but the fact that the quirk is alloyed with sentimentality, and the resulting whimsy becomes just too cute to bear. So Janicza Bravo‘s directorial debut, which premiered in Sundance before opening the International Film Festival of Rotterdam, is to be congratulated for avoiding that pitfall by quite some distance: it quirks hard for its money, but its tone is sourer than the eponymous citrus fruit.

Continue reading Sour ‘Lemon’ With Brett Gelman, Michael Cera, Judy Greer & Gillan Jacobs Is Heavy On Quirk, But Little Else [Rotterdam Review] at The Playlist.

We’re a week into the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, and, like American democracy, things are starting to wind down. Most of the major movies have premiered, critics have their favorites (and least favorites), and many of the hot-ticket movies have already been snapped up by distributors, with the box-office success of “Manchester By The Sea” fueling a healthy market for sellers. There’s plenty more to come — we’ll be filing more reviews in the days ahead — but we wanted to start to take a view of the festival as a whole.

Continue reading The 30 Breakout Performers & Filmmakers Of The 2017 Sundance Film Festival at The Playlist.