The Playlist’s critic at the 2024 Venice Film Festival did not appreciate Pablo Larrain’s “Maria” as much as this pundit, but there are few awards observers who don’t believe the film’s star, Angelina Jolie, isn’t in the running for her third Best Actress nomination. The 2020 Best Supporting Actress winner portrays the legendary Opera diva Maria Callas in her final days in 1970s Paris. Netflix, who acquired the movie after Venice, released the first teaser trailer which you can find embedded in this post.

Continue reading ‘Maria’ Teaser Trailer: Angelina Jolie Is Ready To Sing In Pablo Larrain’s Latest Drama at The Playlist.

Pablo Larraín is clearly not afraid of doing biopics about powerful women. After earning acclaim on smaller international films, the filmmaker really broke out in a big, big way with 2016’s “Jackie.” From there, he went on to direct 2021’s “Spencer,” and he’s now prepping the release of “Maria.” These three films will end up making a trilogy of sorts. 

READ MORE: Venice 2024 Film Festival Preview: 15 Must-See Movies To Watch

With its Venice premiere coming up, we finally get our first clip from “Maria,” starring none other than Angelina Jolie as the title character, Maria Callas.

Continue reading ‘Maria’ Clip: Here’s Our First Look At Angelina Jolie In Pablo Larraín’s Upcoming Biopic at The Playlist.

Chilean filmmaker Pablo Larraín is in the sweetest of positions. He doesn’t really do one for them or one for him since all his films are artful and uncompromising, but he does have this kind of track going where he does dramas with American stars—most of them non-traditional biopics (“Jackie,” with Natalie Portman, “Spencer,” with Kristen Stewart) and then goes off and makes less commercial work that is more personal and without major stars (“No,” “El Conde,” but even the former starred Gael Garcia Bernal).

Continue reading First Look: Angelina Jolie As The “Original Diva” In Pablo Larraín’s Maria Callas Drama ‘Maria’ at The Playlist.

At first glance, it might seem like Pablo Larraín’s last two films share only a couple of superficial commonalities: they are both biopics in the sense they tell stories of real-life people, Princess Diana in 2021’s “Spencer” and Augusto Pinochet in 2023’s “El Conde”; and they have both premiered in competition at the glitzy Venice Film Festival. 

Alas, scratch the surface and both films stand as an unlikely diptych about dysfunctional families dealing with the generational sins that have made and broken their bloodlines.

Continue reading ‘El Conde’ Review: Larraín’s Pinochet Satire Is A Roaring & Timely Vampire Saga [Venice] at The Playlist.

Every Tuesday, discriminating viewers are confronted with a flurry of choices: new releases on disc and on-demand, vintage and original movies on any number of streaming platforms, catalog titles making a splash on Blu-ray or 4K. This twice-monthly column sifts through all of those choices to pluck out the movies most worth your time, no matter how you’re watching.

This week’s new release slate is a feast for 4K buyers, featuring recent favorites, all-time classics, and one of the great monster movies of the ’80s.

Continue reading The Best Movies To Buy Or Stream This Week: ‘Kimi,’ ‘Spencer,’ ‘Looper,’ & More at The Playlist.

Every Tuesday, discriminating viewers are confronted with a flurry of choices: new releases on disc and on-demand, vintage and original movies on any number of streaming platforms, catalog titles making a splash on Blu-ray or 4K. This biweekly column sifts through all of those choices to pluck out the movies most worth your time, no matter how you’re watching.

Our first disc and streaming guide of the new year brings you a handful of fall theatrical releases, a couple of old favorites on 4K, and several catalog titles from here and abroad.

Continue reading The Best Movies To Buy Or Stream This Week: ‘The Lost Daughter,’ ‘Antlers,’ ‘Dune’ & More at The Playlist.

This year, Pablo Larrain released not one, but two high-profile projects, including the Apple TV+ series “Lisey’s Story” and the feature, “Spencer.” So, as the filmmaker waits to see if the latter brings him some expected awards recognition, 2022 is kicking off with another project from Larrain, the upcoming series “Señorita 89.” Though, the filmmaker serves only as a producer on the new Spanish-language streaming series.

Continue reading ‘Señorita 89’ Teaser Trailer: Beauty Pageants Are Hell In A New Pablo Larrain-Produced Series at The Playlist.

With “Spencer” arriving this week and receiving a ton of awards buzz already, you would think that filmmaker Pablo Larrain might want to keep making these female-led biopics for the rest of his career. His previous film, “Jackie,” went on to earn multiple Oscar nominations several years ago. And now, the filmmaker is ready to talk about his next film, which he admits will be another biopic, but he promises it’ll be his last for a while.

Continue reading ‘Spencer’ Director Pablo Larrain To Finish His Biopic Trilogy With Next Film But Isn’t Saying Who It’ll Be About at The Playlist.

There is a lot to unpack in Pablo Larrain’s “Spencer.” On the surface, it’s a movie centered on a 1991 holiday weekend in the life of Princess Diana (Kristen Stewart), a historical figure who still resonates 24 years after her death in a tragic car accident in Paris. But as viewers will quickly learn, Larrain and screenwriter Steven Knight‘s film is, in truth, a portrait of a woman at a breaking point, someone almost frantically trying to escape the chains of the Royal Family she married into.

Continue reading Pablo Larrain On ‘Spencer’: “We Were Making A Movie About Motherhood” [Interview] at The Playlist.

Over the final few months of the year, as the Oscar season starts to heat up and frontrunners emerge from the pack, certain arthouse films find themselves as hyped as any Hollywood blockbuster. Such is certainly the case with Pablo Larrain‘s “Spencer.” The Kristen Stewart-led Princess Diana biopic has won hearts during each of its festival appearances; throw in a beloved composer like Jonny Greenwood and it’s no surprise that even the soundtrack is enough to generate buzz in certain circles.

Continue reading Listen To The First Track From Jonny Greenwood’s ‘Spencer’ Score at The Playlist.

In 1994, Jane Campion made history becoming only the second woman in Academy Awards history to be nominated for Best Director for “The Piano.” In fact, she became the first woman to direct a Best Picture-winning film when that Miramax title took the crown. For comparison’s sake, this past year, Chloe Zhao became just the third for “Nomadland.” Campion may or may not duplicate that particular feat, but she has an excellent shot at taking her first statue in this category (she won Original Screenplay for “The Piano”).

Continue reading Best Director Oscars 2022 Predictions & Contenders at The Playlist.

How many filmmakers get to release two, technically three film and TV projects in a row? If you’re Chilean filmmaker Pablo Larraín, known for “Jackie” and “Neruda,” you get such a privilege, and or the stars just seem to align that way because of the pandemic. Earlier this summer, AppleTV+ released the adaption of Stephen King’s “Lisey’s Story,” which Larrain directed and then in August, his last feature, “Ema” co-starring Gael Garcia Bernal, was finally released theatrically in the U.S.

Continue reading ‘Spencer’ Trailer: Kristen Stewart Goes For Oscar Gold In Pablo Larrain’s New Princess Diana Drama at The Playlist.

If you have even the smallest dislike of the grotesquely redundant and regressive institution that is the British monarchy, one of the greatest pleasures of the shamelessly pleasurable, archly self-aware, high camp masterpiece that is Pablo Larraín‘s “Spencer,” is envisioning how it will play to the still-living people it glancingly portrays. Imagine the creasing of Royal brows sending Royal spectacles cascading down Royal noses! Picture the Royal flushes creeping up Royal necks!

Continue reading Kristen Stewart Is An Incandescent Diana In Pablo Larraín’s Tremendous ‘Spencer’ [Venice Review] at The Playlist.

After its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival two years ago, Pablo Larraín‘s “Ema” finally made had its theatrical release in US theaters last week. US audiences hopefully won’t need to wait as long for Larraín’s next film, “Spencer” The highly anticipated biopic has its world premiere in Venice next month, as it vies for the coveted Golden Lion.

READ MORE: Venice Film Festival Unveils New Films By Edgar Wright, Paul Schrader, Jane Campion, ‘Scenes From A Marriage,’ & More [Full 2021 Lineup]

The reason for all of the excitement around “Spencer?” There are several reasons, actually.

Continue reading ‘Spencer’ Trailer: Pablo Larraín’s Kristen Stewart-Led Biopic Arrives In November at The Playlist.

American actress Kristen Stewart has been returning to the world of awards caliber filmmaking with her upcoming movie “Spencer” focused on the iconic Princess Diana, the British royal that was beloved by the public but her life was cut short in 1997 when the tabloids’ obsession got her killed, leaving behind her two sons, Prince William and Prince Harry.

READ MORE: ‘Spencer’: Pablo Larraín’s Princess Diana Drama Starring Kristen Stewart Will Debut In Venice

It’s been announced by Neon and Topic Studios that “Spencer,” directed by Chilean filmmaker Pablo Larrin (“Jackie“) and written by British screenwriter Steven Knight (“Locke,” “Peaky Blinders,” “Eastern Promises“), will have a domestic release date of November 5.

Continue reading Pablo Larrain’s ‘Spencer’ Starring Kristen Stewart As Princess Diana Opens November 5 at The Playlist.

Believe it or not, it’s been five years since Pablo Larrain‘s “Jackie” premiered at the Venice Film Festival and earned Natalie Portman several Best Actress nods. The film is the Chilean director’s English language debut and his first feature film outside his home country. Its positive reception at Venice and beyond practically guaranteed Larraín further work in the U.S. market. Instead, Larraín opted to return to Chile for his next film, “Ema.”

READ MORE: ‘Ema’ Exclusive Red Band Trailer: Pablo Larrain’s Erotic Dance Drama Arrives In Theaters Next Month

Now, “Ema,” his follow-up to “Jackie,” finally gets a theatrical release in the US after its debut back in 2019 at Venice.

Continue reading ‘Ema’ Exclusive Clip: Pablo Larraín Returns With A Chilean Drama About Dance, Desire & The Modern Family at The Playlist.

Though we’re already halfway through 2021, we’re only a month away from the official North American release of “Ema,” one of our favorite films of 2020. Okay, that’s a bit of an understatement, as Pablo Larrain’s dance drama ended up on our lists of best films, best posters, best cinematography, and best soundtracks/scores. All that to say, we think everyone should go out and see “Ema” when it hits theaters in August.

Continue reading ‘Ema’ Exclusive Red Band Trailer: Pablo Larrain’s Erotic Dance Drama Arrives In Theaters Next Month at The Playlist.

Sure, we’re still in the middle of the Cannes Film Festival, but it’s also time to look ahead to the fall festivals, as it appears the Venice Film Festival has added yet another high-profile film to its lineup. So far, we have a Venice that is going to include the sci-fi epic, “Dune,” the horror sequel, “Halloween Kills,” a family drama, “The Power of the Dog,” and now, a highly-anticipated biopic.

Continue reading ‘Spencer’: Pablo Larraín’s Princess Diana Drama Starring Kristen Stewart Will Debut In Venice at The Playlist.

When we talk about prestige TV dramas on streaming services, we are typically discussing shows that have one A-lister or maybe a well-known filmmaker attached. However, when you talk about “Lisey’s Story,” from the top down, the show is jam-packed with massive talent that makes it a prestige-ier prestige drama than most.

READ MORE: ‘Lisey’s Story’: Pablo Larrain, Julianne Moore & Clive Owen Try To Sift Through The Fog Of Stephen King’s Surreal Nightmare [Review]

And in honor of the series continuing its run on Apple TV+, we’re thrilled to give our readers an exclusive look at a clip from an upcoming episode.

Continue reading ‘Lisey’s Story’ Exclusive Clip: Julianne Moore Prepares To Take On Dane DeHaan In Stephen King’s Apple TV+ Series at The Playlist.

“Lisey’s Story” is unmistakably a writer’s miniseries, so much that it romances a rough draft. It has immense range, touching upon every shade of darkness within the human spirit. But it has little tact in how it expresses its themes, other than including them all into the same story and letting them fight for space. Rampant metaphors, reflecting pools, extensive flashbacks, non-chronological storylines, scavenger hunts, and self-references are all thrown in; everything has a grandiose significance, whether it’s effective or not.

Continue reading ‘Lisey’s Story’: Pablo Larrain, Julianne Moore & Clive Owen Try To Sift Through The Fog Of Stephen King’s Surreal Nightmare [Review] at The Playlist.

Apple TV+ today unveiled the trailer for the highly anticipated limited series “Lisey’s Story,” based on the best-selling novel, and adapted and written by author Stephen King. Starring Academy Award-winner Julianne Moore and Academy Award-nominee Clive Owen, the eight-episode Apple Original series will premiere globally on Friday, June 4, 2021, with the first two episodes, followed by new episodes every Friday.

Continue reading ‘Lisey’s Story’ Trailer: Julianne Moore & Clive Owen Star In A Haunting Stephen King Series From Director Pablo Larrain at The Playlist.

A new Stephen King TV series or film is hardly news to get excited about, as just about every story the man has lent his name to has been adapted or will be adapted (or even remade) at some point. That said, when you have the talent pooled together as we see in “Lisey’s Story,” it’s hard not to be incredibly excited.

READ MORE: The 65 Most Anticipated TV Shows & Mini-Series Of 2021

With the premiere of “Lisey’s Story” arriving in June, Apple TV+ has provided a series of first-look photos to tease the upcoming Stephen King adaptation.

Continue reading ‘Lisey’s Story’ First Look: Julianne Moore Stars In Pablo Larraín’s Stephen King Adaptation Hitting Apple In June at The Playlist.

“Lisey’s Story,” the latest TV adaptation of a Stephen King novel, is finally slated to premiere this summer on Apple TV+, following delays last year due to the pandemic.

READ MORE: The 65 Most Anticipated TV Shows & Mini-Series Of 2021

The news comes from the streamer’s Television Critics Association winter press day on Friday, where Apple TV+ introduced a short teaser for its returning and brand-new genre series including the first footage of “Lisey’s Story.” The eight-episode, limited series is written entirely by King himself, and executive produced by J.

Continue reading ‘Lisey’s Story’ First Look: Apple TV’s Stephen King Adaptation Premieres This Summer at The Playlist.

Well, Neon Films have broken the internet today with the first look at Kristen Stewart in “Spencer.” “Spencer” is, of course, about the late Diane, Princess of Wales (her full given name was Diana Frances Spencer), and heralded Chilean filmmaker Pablo Larrain directs it (“Jackie,” “No,” “Neruda.”)

READ MORE: The 25 Best Films Of 2021 We’ve Already Seen

We’ll be honest, we didn’t think “Spencer” would even begin production this year, and alas, it’s not on our 100 Most Anticipated Films of 2021 (guess who is fixing that asap?!), because Larrain was supposed to start and shoot an adaptation of Stephen King‘s “Lisey’s Story” starring Clive Owen and Julianne Moore for AppleTV+ first.

Continue reading First Look: Kristen Stewart In Pablo Larrain’s ‘Spencer’ Drama, Expected Fall 2021 at The Playlist.

With the recent announcement that Steven Knight’s “Peaky Blinders” was coming to an end with one more season and a film, everyone has been wondering what plans the creator-writer has up his sleeve to concluding the acclaimed story. Well, in a new discussion with Variety, he does shed light on where the film that will end “Peaky Blinders” is in development and why the end of “Peaky Blinders” might lead to an expansion of the series’ universe into spinoffs and other shows.

Continue reading ‘Peaky Blinders’ Film Could Lead To More TV Spinoffs at The Playlist.