We haven’t spent as much time staring at screens as we did during the past year, so it’s inevitable that movies would reflect that. There was the popular (and really good) Zoom horror film “Host,” and now, the sequel to the very successful thriller “Searching” finally found its directors.

READ MORE: ‘The Last Of Us’: HBO Taps ‘Beanpole’ Filmmaker To Direct TV Adaptation Pilot

Deadline has the scoop on the sequel to “Searching,” reporting that Will Merrick and Nick Johnson, who edited the 2018 original, will be taking over directing duties for the new film.

Continue reading ‘Searching’ Sequel Will Be Directed By Editors Of Original Film, Will Feature New Story And Characters at The Playlist.

At the age of only 25, Aneesh Chaganty decided to quit his job and direct his first feature film. Using unusual filming techniques and state-of-the-art technology, Chaganty’s debut film went on to be one of the biggest films coming out of Sundance and one of the best films of 2018. That film is “Searching,” and it would appear that the shocking success of Chaganty’s film has led Sony on a mission to figure out how to turn it into a franchise.

Continue reading Sony Is Beginning Development On A Sequel To The Critically-Acclaimed Thriller ‘Searching’ at The Playlist.

Writer/director Lulu Wang has simply pulled off a miracle of moviemaking with “The Farewell.” Capturing a completely honest portrait of Asian American immigrant family life through a caring battle of cultural discourse, her film weighs Eastern hospitality and tradition against Western self-sufficiency. Her film is at once joyously celebratory and authentically melancholy, painting a specific and respectfully elegant, yet sometimes deliberately unflattering and nuanced, observance of race, family, and communication.

Continue reading Dismantling The Myth Of The Model Minority: 10 Asian American Films To See Before ‘The Farewell’ at The Playlist.

The Playlist has never met a year we couldn’t exhaust with the endless examination, analysis, and decoding; it’s not that we love lists, it’s just in many banner years of cinema, there’s so much to pour over. 2018 was a stellar year for film and there were amazing movies to shout out, performances, new directors, breakout actors and actresses, documentaries, all kinds of new exciting talents and we genuinely can’t stop talking about them, honestly.

Continue reading The 25 Best Films Of 2018 You Didn’t See at The Playlist.

On this episode of The Playlist Podcast, I’m joined by Editor-in-Chief Rodrigo Perez and Managing Editor Charles Barfield, to discuss the 20 Breakthrough Directors of 2018, though it cannot be stressed enough that our topic at hand today was a collective pick from many members of our staff to which we are merely the mouthpiece for. We continue our extensive year-end coverage with our director’s conversation.

READ MORE: The 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2019

It’s been talked about at-length how strong the year in film was for 2018, but maybe not as much about how some of the best, most-acclaimed films of the year were from either first-time directors or filmmakers with few directorial credits who made a huge splash with a recent release.

Continue reading The 20 Breakthrough Directors of 2018 [Podcast] at The Playlist.

For anyone who has seen John Cho in anything, ever, they know he’s a natural leading man, even if the roles he has been offered in the past haven’t quite reflected his versatile skill sets. Having jumped from comedy to franchises and, in recent years, more dramatic fare with stunning work in 2017’s “Columbus,” Cho is nabbing those leading man roles that are long-deserved.

READ MORE: Touching & Tense ‘Searching’ Turns A Gimmicky Premise Into Something Cinematic [Sundance Review]

And this year, he starred in the thriller “Searching” told all from the perspective of social media and earned strong reviews, with our critic calling it “touching and tense.” In a film where the computer screen, tablet, phone, and webcam footage are all he had to work with, the actor delivered one of the best performances all year. 

Continue reading John Cho Explains Why He Initially Said No To ‘Searching’ & The Future Of ‘Star Trek’ [Interview] at The Playlist.

People really do love demon nuns, huh?

Everyone knew that “The Nun” was going to be the #1 movie this weekend, but no one expected just how well it would do. The fifth film in the ‘Conjuring’ cinematic universe earned a franchise-best $53.5 million over the three-day weekend. That’s right, “The Nun” not only beat the opening weekends of every film in “The Conjuring” but it wasn’t even close.

Continue reading ‘The Nun’ Conjures Up Franchise Best $53.5 Million At The Box Office at The Playlist.

We are quickly running out of superlatives to throw at Warner Bros’ “Crazy Rich Asians.” The rom-com opened to a really nice box office number three weeks ago, combined with impressive reviews, ensuring the film would be picked up for a sequel. Then a week later, the film shows almost no Box Office drop, which is not only incredible but pretty much unheard of. And for its third weekend?

Continue reading ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ Dominates Final Weekend Of Summer Box Office As Milestones Are Crossed at The Playlist.

With the flood of reports concerning the films going to fall festivals such as the Toronto International Film Festival, Venice Film Festival, and the Fantastic Fest, it’s difficult to pay much attention to the August film slate when we know that the month that follows signals great offerings along with Oscar season starting.

That being said, despite some slim pickings on the big budgeted, studio films, there’s plenty to choose from as the summer winds down, especially in the independent department.

Continue reading 13 Movies To Watch In August at The Playlist.

Actor John Cho hasn’t chosen a dull role since he made a splash with the “Harold & Kumar” franchise. He’s received much acclaim for his work in independent films such as “Columbus” and “Gemini,” and his profile keeps climbing while working on big budget films like the “Star Trek” franchise reboot. Cho’s latest film, “Searching,” formerly “Search,” turned heads at Sundance for its innovative narrative as a thriller that unfolds entirely on a computer screen à la the Interwebs horror film “Unfriended.”

“I was really suspicious.” Cho told Kevin Smith at Sundance Film Festival this year (watch below), “I said, ‘I don’t think this can work.’ And, in fact, I turned him [director Aneesh Chaganty] down at first.

Continue reading ‘Searching’ Trailer: John Cho Uses The ‘Unfriended’ YouTube Approach To Find A Missing Child at The Playlist.