Growing up is hard, but growing up with MRKH syndrome (a rare reproductive condition that causes an underdeveloped uterus) is bloody hell. That’s the premise of upcoming coming-of-age movie “Fitting In” tackles, where Maddie Ziegler‘s teen Lindy discovers she has the condition, and it makes everything — be it her body, her sexual identity, her relationship with her mom — that much more complicated.

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Here’s an official synopsis for “Fitting In,” courtesy of SXSW:

Fitting In is a coming-of-age “traumedy” that follows 16-year-old Lindy who is unexpectedly diagnosed with a reproductive condition, MRKH syndrome.

Continue reading ‘Fitting In’ Trailer: Maddie Ziegler & D’Pharoah Woon-A-Tai Star In A Coming-Of-Age “Traumedy” at The Playlist.

A teenage Vada (Jenna Ortega) arrives at her high school with her best friend Nick (Will Ropp). The coarse Vada isn’t part of the in-crowd. She sports oversized t-shirts, basketball shorts, and sneakers. She leaves during class, skittering to the bathroom to take a phone call from her younger sister Amelia (Lumi Pollack). There she crosses paths with Mia Reed (Maddie Ziegler) — a popular arresting dancer on Instagram now contouring in the mirror for picture day.

Continue reading ‘The Fallout’: A School Shooting Makes for an Emotional Heavyweight [SXSW Review] at The Playlist.

It’s difficult to even pick a starting point on the many misfires that are musician-turned-filmmaker Sia’s misguided directorial debut, “Music.” So much of it is bad and ill-conceived, all of it worth criticizing in various ways. There’s the infantilizing use of an autistic character, who the film portrays as nonverbal but never has the bravery to explicitly identify as autistic, who ends up being the magic push an adult screwup needs to get her life in order.

Continue reading ‘Music’: A Staggeringly Misconceived Exercise In Condescension Masquerading As Optimism [Review] at The Playlist.

“Music” is still about a month away from arriving in select theaters and VOD, but the film has already become a bit infamous thanks to the controversy surrounding the casting of the title character. And without knowing anything about the controversy, it’s clear in the trailer that how you feel about the film is going to come down to how you deal with the fact that a neurotypical person is playing someone on the autism spectrum.

Continue reading ‘Music’ Trailer: Sia’s Controversial Directorial Debut Is A Colorful, Musical Drama at The Playlist.

Australian pop singer-songwriter Sia has made the jump from directing music videos, to directing her first theatrical feature film, “Music.” Almost immediately as the first trailer dropped, controversy arose due to the film’s portrayal of autism.

READ MORE: The Safdie Brothers Direct A New Music Video For Their ‘Uncut Gems’ Composer, Oneohtrix Point Never

The trailer for “Music” teases a musical-drama film about a young girl on the autism spectrum that sees the world through music.

Continue reading ‘Music’ Trailer: Sia Makes Directorial Debut With Controversial “Musical Experience” Movie at The Playlist.

With her iconic style, which includes her face being partially covered by hair, singer-songwriter Sia has become one of the most recognizable pop stars on the planet. And as if music domination wasn’t enough, it appears Sia is ready to branch out and take on the world of feature filmmaking with a new project, “Music.”

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According to Hanway Films, the studio has secured the distribution rights to the forthcoming musical, aptly titled, “Music,” which serves as the directorial debut for Sia.

Continue reading ‘Music’ First Look: Kate Hudson Stars In Sia’s Directorial Debut Musical at The Playlist.

What’s filmmaker Colin Trevorrow doing at the moment? Well, he co-wrote and directed a little film called “Jurassic World” last year that became the third highest grossing film of all time (now it’s fourth thanks to “‘Stars Wars: The Force Awakens’; but nothing to sneeze at). Making the movie all the more impressive is that it came on the heels of his directorial debut, the micro-budgeted Sundance indie and Independent Spirit Award winner “Safety Not Guaranteed.” If you want to talk successful indie leaps to blockbusters, Trevorrow’s jump was Evel Knievel-esque: it was one of the strongest, most daring, and record-breaking vaults in film history.

Continue reading Interview: Colin Trevorrow Talks The ‘Book Of Henry’ & Going From Blockbusters To Indie Films Again at The Playlist.