When is an already well-distinguished artist arguably underrated and still overdue for further and greater recognition? Well, 71-year-old writer/director Steven Zaillian, an Academy Award-winning screenwriter (“Schindler’s List”) and five-time nominee (“Moneyball,” “The Irishman”), is already regarded as one of the most celebrated screenwriters on the planet. Yet, following the release of the fabulous “Ripley,” his striking and haunting new Netflix series— not to mention in addition to his excellent and deeply undervalued 2016 series, “The Night Of” starring Riz Ahmed— Zaillian’s filmmaking career recognition merits an ascension to the level of venerated master.

Continue reading ‘Ripley’ Review: Steven Zaillian’s Gripping Thriller Is A Strikingly Haunting Portrait Of A Fractured & Fraudulent Life at The Playlist.

There are few richer collaborations in contemporary cinema between a director and their cinematographer than Paul Thomas Anderson and Robert Elswit. The pair worked together from Anderson’s debut, “Hard Eight,” all the way through “Inherent Vice,” with Elswit picking up a much-deserved Academy Award for their penultimate film together, “There Will Be Blood” (more on that later). In a recent episode of the “Light the Fuse” podcast, hosts Charles Hood and Playlister Drew Taylor share the second half of their interview with the director of photography, where he discusses his work on the “Mission: Impossible” films as well as his collaborations with Anderson.

Continue reading Robert Elswit Compares His Relationship with Paul Thomas Anderson To A “Bad Marriage” at The Playlist.

THR finishes up their annual pre-Oscars roundtables with a fascinating discussion with this year’s leading cinematographer’s including Oscar nominees Roger Deakins (“Blade Runner 2049”), Rachel Morrison (“Mudbound”), Dan Laustsen (“The Shape of Water”), and Hoyte Van Hoytema (“Dunkirk”) in addition to previous Oscar winners Robert Elswit (“Suburbicon” and “Roman J.

Continue reading 50-Minute Cinematographers Roundtable Talk With Roger Deakins, Rachel Morrison, Hoyte Van Hoytema & More at The Playlist.

It’s possible that the Coen Brothers are both the best and the worst thing to have happened to George Clooney‘s Hollywood career. The narcissistic idiots he has played for them on more than one occasion added a comedically self-aware string to his acting bow and gave him some of his most memorable characters, vainglorious buffoons he clearly relished playing because when you suffer through life as George Clooney it’s got to be refreshing to have your absurdly handsome leading-man status not taken seriously.

Continue reading ‘Suburbicon’ Finds George Clooney Doing Coen Brothers Karaoke [Venice Review] at The Playlist.

It’s always good to be reminded that there are good and beautiful things in this world. And on days when the world feels particularly ugly, such reminders can feel vitally necessary. Of course, the craft of the cinematographer is not about prettification, but about communication —in many ways the purest of all the cinematic disciplines, cinematography is about telling the story of the film’s themes, mood and atmosphere through visuals: through the interplay of light and shade, color and motion.

Continue reading The 50 Best And Most Exciting Cinematographers Working Today at The Playlist.

Happy birthday, PTA. From the neon-lit ’70s and ’80s porn excess of “Boogie Nights” to the sunbleached-postcard look of “Inherent Vice” and its 1970s Los Angeles beach locales, cinematographer Robert Elswit has consistently made Paul Thomas Anderson’s films live and breathe in shadows and light. Working on all of Anderson’s films save “The Master,” Elswit has created a distinct visual aesthetic while giving the actors on screen room to move.

Continue reading Breakdown: Paul Thomas Anderson’s Cinematographer Robert Elswit at The Playlist.

Review: ‘Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation’ Starring Tom Cruise, Rebecca Ferguson, Jeremy Renner & More

Continue reading Review: ‘Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation’ Starring Tom Cruise, Rebecca Ferguson, Jeremy Renner & More at The Playlist.

Dear Academy Award Voters: Don't Sleep On These Talents

Continue reading Dear Academy Award Voters: Don’t Sleep On These Talents at The Playlist.

Interview: Jake Gyllenhaal Talks ‘Nightcrawler,’ Robert Elswit As One Of The Movie's Stars & Rooting For Unlikable Characters

Continue reading Interview: Jake Gyllenhaal Talks ‘Nightcrawler,’ Robert Elswit As One Of The Movie’s Stars & Rooting For Unlikable Characters at The Playlist.

Watch: A Twisted Jake Gyllenhaal Crosses The Line In Wicked Red Band Trailer For ‘Nightcrawler’

Continue reading Watch: A Twisted Jake Gyllenhaal Crosses The Line In Wicked Red Band Trailer For ‘Nightcrawler’ at The Playlist.

Continue reading Venice Buzz: ‘Men Who Stare At Goats’ Is Good To Go at The Playlist.

But yesterday, Robert Elswit was awarded the year’s top prize by the American Society of Cinematographers for his work on “There Will Be Blood.” Elswit also shot “Michael Clayton” (though it was not Oscar nominated for its visuals).

Continue reading Best Cinematography Doesn’t Go To Our Boy Roger Deakins at The Playlist.