The Russo Brothers haven’t stopped to take a breath after their massive success from “Avengers: Endgame” toppling “Avatar“‘s box office record, they moved directly into making the Tom Holland thriller “Cherry” and are about to begin shooting their $200 million-plus budgeted spy film “The Gray Man” for Netflix with a stellar cast that includes Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jessica Henwick, Wagner Moura, and others. 

Continue reading The Russo Brothers To Direct Millie Bobby Brown In Sci-Fi Movie ‘The Electric State’ at The Playlist.

In spite of the general state of the world, 2020 ended up being a pretty great year for films – expectations for long-awaited auteur projects that were supposed to come out this year obviously being exempt from that conversation – and what’s more, it was a great year for film scores and soundtracks.

READ MORE: The 25 Best Films Of 2020

All of the films featured on this list are films that have drastically less of an impact without music, and there is a wide, rather dizzying array of talent here: seasoned professionals who’ve been doing this a long while, young up-and-comers who are interested in muddying the definition of what a traditional movie soundtrack is supposed to sound like, plus that dude from Phoenix writing new music for his wife’s movie (which is really just another way of saying if you haven’t checked out the soundtrack to Sofia Coppola’s “On The Rocks” yet, do so immediately). 

READ MORE: The 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2021

At times, 2020 seemed like it had made time for every obscure musical subgenre under the sun: dancehall (“Lover’s Rock”), noise-metal (“Sound of Metal”), reggaeton (“Ema”), and Baltimore hip-hop (“Charm City Kings”).

Continue reading The 20 Best Soundtracks & Scores Of 2020 at The Playlist.

Not to exclude stellar photography all the world over, but there’s a common theme here in The Playlist’s picks for Best Cinematography ‘20: America. The year is littered with movies about the red, white, and blue in one form or another, to one extent or another, movies that capture either a period of time, or an enduring ethos, or tall tales and B.S. we tell ourselves as citizens of the self-styled greatest country in the world.

Continue reading The Best Cinematography Of 2020 at The Playlist.

For the most part, the COVID-19 pandemic didn’t have the same impact on the television landscape that it did with film. Yes, a few seasons were truncated (“Billions,” “The Good Fight”) and a few others had to reschedule wholesale (“Fargo”), but most of the TV output for the first half of 2020 was set long before anyone knew about the latest coronavirus. The truth is that this ridiculous year has arguably made people more reliant on television than ever, needing an escape from reality and having more time to invest in shows that they might have otherwise missed.

Continue reading The Best TV Of 2020… So Far at The Playlist.

Actor Rebecca Hall comes from a unique and interesting pedigree and lineage. There’s the surface element of that pedigree which could be seen as aristocratic privilege in the world of the arts. She is the daughter of the famous theatre director Sir Peter Hall (who passed away in 2017) and her mother is the legendary opera singer and stage actress Maria Ewing. Hall attended Cambridge University’s constitute school, St Catharine’s College, studied English, and eventually found her way back to acting after some time briefly spent as an actor during childhood.

Continue reading Rebecca Hall Talks Complicated Notions Of Bi-Racial Identity In Directorial Debut ‘Passing,’ ‘Tales From The Loop’ & More [Deep Focus Podcast] at The Playlist.

If acting is part journalism, part investigation, and part psychoanalysis of the character, actor Rebecca Hall embodies them all. Throughout her career, which began early on with the big bang of Christopher Nolan’s “The Prestige”—which she bagged just on the strength of a video audition she sent in herself— and then quickly lead to head-turning performances “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” “Frost/Nixon,” Nicole Holofcener’s “Please Give,” Ben Affleck’s “The Town,” Joel Edgerton’s “The Gift,” and Antonio Campos’ startling “Christine”—she has demonstrated the uncanny ability to be charming, but also emotional, vulnerable and absolutely convincing in everything she does.

Continue reading ‘Tales From The Loop’: Rebecca Hall Talks About Her Attraction To Quiet Melancholy; The Practical Jokes Of Judi Dench & More [Interview] at The Playlist.

Amazon’s “Tales From The Loop” is a gorgeous and melancholy meditation on the relentless tyranny of time and all that it’s slow erosion eventually takes from us.  It’s also, on a less cerebral level, a highly engaging, thoughtful mind-bending sci-fi anthology series. Inspired by the evocative paintings of Simon Stålenhag—that mix rural landscapes with lo-tech sci-fi and robots—“Tales From The Loop” explores the stories of disparate people in a small town who live above “The Loop,” a mysterious machine built to unlock and explore the mysteries of the universe— making things previously relegated to science fiction, possible.

Continue reading ‘Tales From The Loop’: Mark Romanek Discusses Krzysztof Kieslowski & Arthouse Sensibilities Applied To The ‘Twilight Zone’ [Interview] at The Playlist.

One of the most interesting horror “what if?” in recent years remains the story of Mark Romanek and “The Wolfman.” Originally hired to remake the classic Universal horror film, Romanek exited the project mere weeks before filming was set to begin, being replaced by Joe Johnston. The final product was a box office bomb that shot down Universal’s plans for a shared cinematic universe until the Dark Universe happened (and we all know how that turned out).

Continue reading Mark Romanek Talks About What Happened With ‘The Wolfman’ And His Hopes About Making A Horror Movie at The Playlist.

Two-time Academy Award-nominated cinematographer Jeff Cronenweth has been a part of quite a few memorable projects. After shooting music videos for Nine Inch Nails, George Michael, Taylor Swift, and David Bowie, and collaborating with director David Fincher on several projects, Cronenweth is now venturing into television for the first time, collaborating with Mark Romanek on the latest Amazon Prime sci-fi series “Tales from the Loop.” In a nearly half-hour-long interview, Cronenweth discussed what makes for a good filmmaking collaboration and why David Fincher doesn’t bring his film crew over to TV.

Continue reading Listen: DP Jeff Cronenweth Talks Working With Mark Romanek On ‘Tales From The Loop,’ David Fincher & More at The Playlist.

Nathaniel Halpern is an example of a creative talent that takes a while to bubble to the surface. Despite three years of writing and producing Noah Hawley’s “Legion” (two as co-executive producer), he doesn’t even have a wiki page yet. But, after “Tales From The Loop” finds its audience that will dramatically change.

READ MORE: “Tales From The Loop”: A Moving And Wondrous Director’s Showcase Of Prestige Sci-Fi [Review]

Adapted from the original paintings from Swedish artist Simon Stålenhag, “Tales From The Loop” is set in an alternative history where a futuristic research facility (known as “The Loop”) slowly changed the small Ohio town its employees live in.

Continue reading ‘Tales From The Loop’s’ Nathaniel Halpern On Creating A ‘Hopeful’ & ‘Emotional’ Sci-Fi Series [Interview] at The Playlist.

Early on in the third episode of the new Amazon Prime series, “Tales From The Loop,” Russ Willard (Jonathan Pryce) brings his young grandson Cole (Duncan Joiner) to an abandoned and rust, dilapidated sphere somewhere on the outskirts of the fictional town of Mersa, Ohio. Russ tells Cole to step up and yell inside it. Cole does as he’s told and hears “Hello” repeat six times in what sounds like six increasingly different voices.

Continue reading ‘Tales From The Loop’ Review: A Moving & Wondrous Director’s Showcase Of Prestige Sci-Fi at The Playlist.

Sometimes an artist presents a vision that has no words or explanation, but the visuals are so rich that you are fascinated and moved. Obviously, this is the key to any sort of visual art such as painting. And it’s exactly what makes painter Simon Stålenhag so great. His unique work has showcased pictures of normal landscapes with some sort of retro-future tech in a way that just begs for some sort of adaptation.

Continue reading ‘Tales From The Loop’ Trailer: Amazon’s Sci-Fi Series Stars Rebecca Hall & Jonathan Pryce at The Playlist.

As documented in our Best TV of The 2010 Decade feature, which you should read, the 2010s were the age of PeakTV, Prestige TV and the dawn of the streaming age. Now in this new decade of the 2020s, we enter the Streaming War era. Yes, Netflix is here and here to stay, HBO isn’t going anywhere and Showtime, FX and all the other major players are solidified in status.

Continue reading The 60 Most Anticipated TV Shows Of 2020 at The Playlist.

It’s been a little while since fans have seen anything of substance from filmmaker Mark Romanek. The filmmaker is probably best known for his music video output, but he’s also dabbled in other mediums, with films like “Never Let Me Go” and “One Hour Photo,” as well as episodes of TV series like “Vinyl” and “The Whispers.” But for the last several years, it’s mainly been music videos for Romanek.

Continue reading Mark Romanek To Direct Rebecca Hall In New Amazon Sci-Fi Series Based On Artist Simon Stålenhag’s Work at The Playlist.