Willy Wonka is coming to Netflix. No, not the Gene Wilder film of the same name. Instead, the streaming service has a new agreement with the Roald Dahl Story Company that will allow Netflix to create a new slate of animated films based on the classic children’s stories from the famous author.

“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” “Matilda,” “The BFG,” and “The Twits” are just several of the projects that Netflix is going to team up with the Roald Dahl Story Company to produce.

Continue reading Netflix To Develop A Slate Of Animated Series Based On Roald Dahl Classics ‘Wonka,’ ‘Matilda,’ & More at The Playlist.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the 10 finalists for the VFX Oscar that will participate in the annual “bake off” to determine the 2017 nominees.

READ MORE: The 89th Oscars Finally Find Some Producers In Michael De Luca And Jennifer Todd

On Dec. 2 AMPAS announced 20 films that were officially in the running.  Now the field has been cut in half. Missing from the shorter list are notable contenders “Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice,” “Deadpool” “Alice Through The Looking Glass,” “Independence Day: Resurgence,” “Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children,” “Star Trek Beyond,” “Suicide Squad,” “Sully,” “X-Men: Apocalypse” and “Warcraft.” The latter is particularly surprising as many believed it was a lock for a nomination overall.

Continue reading ‘Doctor Strange’ And ‘Rogue One’ Are Among Oscars 10 Visual Effects Finalists at The Playlist.

While the awards season is geared specifically to honor the more artistic achievements of the medium across the last year, for those who like their entertainment with a little more spectacle, there’s always the VFX categories. And this year, the Oscar race is not short on blockbusters to choose from.

READ MORE: The 20 Best Movie Trailers Of 2016

The Academy released their shortlist of the 20 films that have made it to the next round of consideration for Oscar VFX nominations, and there are some heavyweights in here.

Continue reading 20 Contenders In VFX Oscar Race Include ‘Batman v Superman,’ ‘Captain America: Civil War,’ ‘Rogue One,’ More at The Playlist.

Prediction based on nominations [Feb. 5]

NOMINEES
1. Justin Hurwitz, “La La Land”
2. Nicholas Britell, “Moonlight”
3. Hauschka, Dustin O’Halloran, “Lion”
4. Mica Levi, “Jackie”
5. Thomas Newman, “Passengers”

PREVIOUS CONTENDERS (for historical context)
John Debney, “The Jungle Book”
Michael Giacchino, “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”
Rupert Gregson-Williams, “Hacksaw Ridge”
James Newton Howard, “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”
Mark Mancina, “Moana”
Alan Silvestri, “Allied”
John Williams, “The BFG”
Lesley Barber, “Manchester by the Sea”
Michael Giacchino, “Zootopia”
Dario Marianelli, “Kubo and the Strings”
Thomas Newman, “Finding Dory”
Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, “Patriots Day”
Benjamin Wallfisch, Pharrell Williams, Hans Zimmer, “Hidden Figures”
Marcelo Zarvos, “Fences”

Gregory Ellwood’s Current Oscar Predictions:
Best Picture
Director
Best Actress
Best Actor
Best Supporting Actress
Best Supporting Actor
Original Screenplay
Adapted Screenplay
Editing
Cinematography 
Production Design
Animated Feature Film
Foreign Language Film
Documentary Feature
Original Score
Original Song
Costume Design
Makeup and Hairstyling
Visual Effects
Sound Mixing
Sound Editing

Continue reading 2017 Best Original Score Oscars Predictions at The Playlist.

It was, as you’ll have noticed from everybody talking about it constantly, and from all the lousy movies you saw, a bad summer creatively and commercially for Hollywood. Aside from “Captain America: Civil War” and “Finding Dory,” everything either sucked, or underperformed financially, or both. But in a summer of flops, what flopped hardest?

READ MORE: ‘Ben-Hur’ With Jack Huston Is Uneven, But Makes Case For Its Own Existence [Review]

Well, according to a Hollywood Reporter piece, it was “Ben Hur,” MGM’s remake of the Biblical-era classic.

Continue reading ‘Ben Hur’ Is Officially The Summer’s Biggest Flop, Losing $120 Million at The Playlist.

September is here, and the fall film festivals have started —check out our Venice coverage so far, and our Telluride coverage starts tomorrow and TIFF next week. Nevertheless, the days are getting shorter and the temperature a little cooler, so it’s time to look back on 2016’s moviegoing summer.

In most respects, it was a bad one. Most tentpoles disappointed, and unusually, it seemed that most underperformed at the box office (though it’s interesting to note that total box office is up about 3% from last year, thanks to a few monster hits).

Continue reading The Winners & Losers Of The 2016 Summer Movie Season at The Playlist.

Forgive me, dear readers, for my tardiness of this month’s column. You probably know what they say about excuses, but I’m fine blaming this on the long holiday weekend getting in the way of work. Now that the grills have been shut off and the cooler is beer-free, we can get into what’s worth seeking out this July. Whether you need to escape into other worlds for the sheer joy of it or just need a few hours of air conditioning, I’ve got you covered for what’s coming out in theaters.

Continue reading 12 Films To See In July at The Playlist.

While the BBQs are being heated up and fireworks are being prepared, the holiday weekend isn’t keeping audiences away from the multiplex this weekend. There were plenty of new movies on hand, but one that has been in cinemas for a few weeks continued to dominate, while another from the pioneer of the modern blockbuster failed to connect.

Disney/Pixar‘s “Finding Dory” spent July 4th at the top of the box office for its third straight week.

Continue reading ‘Finding Dory’ Takes Top Spot For Third Straight Week, ‘The Purge: Election Year’ & ‘The Legend Of Tarzan’ Open Strong [Box Office] at The Playlist.

Steven Spielberg‘s adaptation of Roald Dahl‘s beloved children’s classic, “The BFG,” is a heart-melting, magical ride. The idea of Spielberg adapting Dahl for Walt Disney (remarkably, the first film he’s directed for the studio) obviously comes with a hefty load of expectations, with millions of childhoods molded by the three powerhouse names combined. It’s remarkable, then, that the film’s reluctant attitude to action and palpable danger makes but a tiny dent to those expectations.

Continue reading Steven Spielberg’s ‘The BFG’ Is Magical And Imaginative [Review] at The Playlist.

Few directors have been as concerned with the little moments as Steven Spielberg. Of course, the filmmaker — certainly the world’s most famous director, and a strong contender for America’s greatest — is concerned with the big picture, too. But few since Lubitsch have had such a facility for the beat, the set piece, the gag, the reversal, the sequence that you replay in your head long after you’ve walked out of the theater.

Continue reading The 50 Best Moments In Steven Spielberg Movies at The Playlist.

“The worse the world gets… magic will give us hope, and that hope will cause us to be proactive. I think that’s what movies can give people. It can give people hope that there will be a reason to fight on to the next day.” So said director Steven Spielberg during the Cannes press conference following the premiere of his newest film, an adaptation of Roald Dahl‘s “The BFG” (our review) which opens this weekend.

Continue reading The Best & The Rest: Every Steven Spielberg Film Ranked at The Playlist.

It’s been a while since Steven Spielberg has made a live-action family film. With “The BFG” coming to theaters this summer, Spielberg is indeed departing from historical epics and returning to more fantastical territory to tell the story of a little girl’s adventure with a giant based on the beloved children’s book by Roald Dahl. And now you can have another look at the film ahead of the film’s release next week.

Continue reading Watch The First Two Clips From Steven Spielberg’s ‘The BFG’ Starring Oscar-Winner Mark Rylance at The Playlist.

Who would’ve thought that one of the more divisive movies early on at the Cannes Film Festival would be Steven Spielberg‘s “The BFG“? Indeed, word from the Croisette yesterday appeared to be mixed; however, our own critic thought the picture was winner, calling it “a heart-meltingly magical ride.” But in any event, Disney isn’t missing a marketing opportunity, dropping a new trailer while the talk is still fresh from the south of France.

Continue reading Watch: Meet The Monsters In The New Trailer For Steven Spielberg’s ‘The BFG’ at The Playlist.

Steven Spielberg‘s adaptation of Roald Dahl‘s beloved children’s classic, “The BFG,” is a heart-meltingly magical ride. The idea of Spielberg adapting Dahl for Walt Disney (remarkably, the first film he’s directed for the studio) obviously comes with a hefty load of expectations, with millions of childhoods molded by the three powerhouse names combined. It’s remarkable, then, that the film’s reluctant attitude to action and palpable danger makes but a tiny dent to those expectations.

Continue reading Cannes Review: Steven Spielberg’s Wondrous & Heart-Melting ‘The BFG’ Starring Mark Rylance at The Playlist.

It feels like we say it every year around the time the Cannes Film Festival lineup is unveiled, but this year we really really mean it: wow! There’s an embarrassment of riches across the whole selection, especially if you factor in the not-quite-so-official Directors’ Fortnight sidebar, which is where many of the more under-the-radar breakouts have bowed in recent years. It seems hard to believe we’re already going to be in the thick of it this time next week, but here are the 25 titles (plus copious honorable mentions) that we’ve circled most heavily in our program during our increasingly frazzled and giddy pre-Cannes research.

Continue reading The 25 Most Anticipated Films Of The 2016 Cannes Film Festival at The Playlist.

Obviously the biggest event of the summer is The Playlist moving to the shiny new digs in which you’re now seeing us. But seriously, the summer movie months are packed with films both big and small guaranteed to thrill, delight and provoke you, and keep you out of the sunshine, and inside basking in air-conditioned comfort.

The time when big movies were released only in summer has long gone — this year has seen “Deadpool,” “Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice,” and “The Jungle Book” among those that were smashing box office records while the temperatures were still low and the days still short.

Continue reading The 40 Most Anticipated Movies Of Summer 2016 at The Playlist.

Summer Movie Photos: 'Jason Bourne,' 'Café Society,' 'The BFG,' 'Star Trek Beyond,' 'Ghostbusters,' And More

Continue reading Summer Movie Photos: ‘Jason Bourne,’ ‘Café Society,’ ‘The BFG,’ ‘Star Trek Beyond,’ ‘Ghostbusters,’ And More at The Playlist.

Watch: The Witching Hour Arrives In New Trailer For Steven Spielberg's 'The BFG'

Continue reading Watch: The Witching Hour Arrives In New Trailer For Steven Spielberg’s ‘The BFG’ at The Playlist.

Get Ready For Summer At The Movies With New Images Of 'Jason Bourne,' 'Ghostbusters,' 'Captain America: Civil War' & More

Continue reading Get Ready For Summer At The Movies With New Images Of ‘Jason Bourne,’ ‘Ghostbusters,’ ‘Captain America: Civil War’ & More at The Playlist.

Cannes Report: 'The BFG,' Woody Allen’s Latest & More Will Screen; 'Voyage Of Time' Might, 'Silence,' 'Lost City Of Z' Not Ready

Continue reading Cannes Report: ‘The BFG,’ Woody Allen’s Latest & More Will Screen; ‘Voyage Of Time’ Might, ‘Silence,’ ‘Lost City Of Z’ Not Ready at The Playlist.

Premature Oscar Predictions: The 2017 Best Picture Academy Award Contenders

Continue reading Premature Oscar Predictions: The 2017 Best Picture Academy Award Contenders at The Playlist.

Continue reading Watch: First Trailer For Steven Spielberg’s Roald Dahl Adaptation ‘The BFG’ at The Playlist.

Thomas Newman To Score Steven Spielberg's 'Bridge Of Spies,' John Williams Will Tune Up 'The B.F.G'

Continue reading Thomas Newman To Score Steven Spielberg’s ‘Bridge Of Spies,’ John Williams Will Tune Up ‘The B.F.G’ at The Playlist.

Tom Hanks Eyes James Ponsoldt's 'The Circle,' Kaya Scodelario In The Mix For 'Pirates 5' & More

Continue reading Tom Hanks Eyes James Ponsoldt’s ‘The Circle,’ Kaya Scodelario In The Mix For ‘Pirates 5’ & More at The Playlist.

Casting: Steven Spielberg Finds His 'B.F.G,' Lily James Joins Lone Scherfig's 'Their Finest Hour And A Half' And More

Continue reading Casting: Steven Spielberg Finds His ‘B.F.G,’ Lily James Joins Lone Scherfig’s ‘Their Finest Hour And A Half’ And More at The Playlist.