Interview: Peter Sciberras on editing four key scenes in 'The Power of the Dog'

by Nathaniel R

Peter Sciberras, the Oscar-nominated editor of The Power of the Dog

Final interview of the season! Editing is often called "the invisible art" but it's very visible. The audience just doesn't always know what they're looking at. Editors make a million choices in how we see, absorb, and feel the movies we love. I was thrilled to sit down with the editor Peter Siberras, who is Oscar nominated for his rich work on Jane Campion's Best Picture nominated future classic The Power of the Dog. As we started talking we shared stories about falling in love with editing.  Peter fell in love young when a housemate was making a music video and was having trouble finding an editor. "So, I gave it a shot one night at the age of 22," he recalls. "I instantly loved it. The second I did it I stopped thinking about any other career."

You can dip into everything you love about movies including cinematography, acting, and directing while you're editing, he explains. "Without doing all the hard work" he jokes. The editor's work is substantial after all. They essentially make the whole film over again after it's shot. Sciberra's big break came with David Michôd's thriller The Rover (2014) so he was already comfortable with dusty slow burn drama and building tension before Jane Campion came calling. For something a little different we focused on four specific beats in the film...

Click to read more ...

Oscar Trivia: Who has had the most consecutive acting nominations?

by Nathaniel R

Given that this year brought us only one repeat acting nominee from last season (Olivia Colman, from The Father to The Lost Daughter)  we thought it would be a fun detour to look back at thespians that Oscar was obsessed with for a relatively intense stretch of time. Which of the 20 actors nominated this year will be back again next year and start a run towards this rarefied list?Care to make a guess? Maybe it'll be Olivia Colman a third consecutive time. We could see it if Empire of Light opens in time.

Now, it's pretty easy to return again and again at The Emmys given that one series can last for several years (and the TV Academy falls out of love slowly), but for the Oscars, where it's new projects and characters every year, it's very dificult to hold interest for years on end...

Click to read more ...

Oscar Volley: Best Costume Design, Makeup & Hairstyling

Team Experience is discussing the various Oscar categories. Here's Cláudio Alves, Gabriel Mayora, and Nathaniel Rogers to discuss the Best Costume Design and Best Makeup & Hairstyling races.

NATHANIEL ROGERS: Hello Cláudio and Gabriel. Ready to get dressed up? Picture me speaking to you in Stanton Carlisle tux and blindfold from Nightmare Alley and tell me what you're wearing. So many outfits from the five Oscar-nominated films are fully visible to me even with my eyes closed they were so memorable. In short, I think this is a strong Oscar list, even if my own ballot only overlaps by two pictures.  The Costume Design Guild Awards were held last week and Cruella, Dune, and Coming 2 America emerged as the winners for Period, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, and Contemporary respectively. Since Oscar rarely honors contemporary work only the prior two are nominated at the big show on March 27th. They're up against Cyrano, Nightmare Alley, and West Side Story. Though I am constitutionally opposed to the all too common internet and pundit trend of handing out Oscars before all the films have been screened in any given year, I will admit that this was a rare case when I did. At least inside my own head. As soon as Cruella reached its garbage-dress reveal, my jaw-dropped and I thought 'game over. Engrave the Oscar' while sitting in the theater. Way back in May...

Click to read more ...

Interview: Sir Kenneth Branagh on "Belfast"

by Nathaniel R

Kenneth Branagh on the festival circuit early in the season (Middleburg Film Festival to be exact). Photo by Shannon Finney

I had the opportunity to sit down with Sir Kenneth Branagh at the Middleburg Film Festival way back in October and saved that conversation, not quite intentionally, until now. Consider it a last minute gift to you all as near the end of Oscar season. Belfast is up for seven Oscars, three of which are for Branagh himself (Original Screenplay, Director, Picture) but when we spoke he was at the beginning of this awards journey. The famous actor/director was a delight in person, unconcerned with the clock, and very conversational, interested in talking about the movies in general and not just his own!  Outside of this official interview we discussed the movies we'd seen at the festival and he even asked for my take on a film that was getting harsh press at the time. He is an avid moviegoer in real life, which is a good personality trait you must agree.  Naturally we had to talk about the big moviegoing scene in Belfast.

[This interview has been edited for length and clarity]

NATHANIEL: One of the intriguing things you've said is that you wouldn't have done Belfast without the blessing of your siblings. But what if they'd said no? Would you have really tossed your script? 

KENNETH BRANAGH: It would have gone in the bottom drawer, yes. Over the years there's a few in there like that...

Click to read more ...

Review: Sandra & Channing sparkle in 'The Lost City'

By: Christopher James

Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum search for their own "Romancing the Stone" vehicle in "The Lost City."There are some movies that are “perfect films,” masterpieces that elevate the bar on what cinema can do, where not a single frame should be changed. Other movies are “perfect versions of themselves.” The Lost City is not a perfect film by any means. However, it is the perfect version of itself. It’s a light on its feet, star driven adventure-romance-comedy. Watching it transports one back to the 90s, when movies could be sold solely on a movie star and a logline. If the trailer makes you chuckle, you’ll be giggling for the entirety of the 112 minute running time.

There’s the old saying, those who can’t do… teach. In The Lost City, one could say: those who can’t be archeologists, write horny romance novels. That is the fate of Loretta Sage (Sandra Bullock), who has not left her house since the passing of her beloved explorer husband. Her latest entry in the bestselling romance novel series "Lovemore and Dash"  is about to drop and Loretta’s publisher, Beth (Da’Vine Joy Randolph), insists on putting her on a book tour...

Click to read more ...