Looking back at 2019 Filmmaker Interviews

by Murtada Elfadl

2019 gave me the chance to speak to a few filmmakers about their films, their process, what they think their art contributes to the world. These filmmakers came from all over the world, and the breadth of their experiences and the topics they tackled is astounding. As the year comes to an end and we look back at the moments that stood out, here are some of the most fascinating insights I heard.

Recently The Farewell was not allowed to compete in the main film categories at the Golden Globes, and accepted only as a “foreign” film when its story is quintessentially American. After all the United States is a country of immigrants. Some people’s insistance on calling The Farewell foreign when it's so American just indicates that they don't think anyone whose 1st language isn't English is American enough despite their contributions to this country. When I talked to Lulu Wang during the summer, I asked her if she thinks her film being not entirely in English might limit its appeal...

Click to read more ...

Year in Review: Jason's Fave "Horror Actressing"

by Jason Adams 

It's been easy to say this for several years running now but it's been a pretty darn good year for Horror Movies. There are filmmakers out there taking risks and big swings with the genre, from art-house oddities (Midsommar) right on up to the mainstream ones (Us). And once you really dig deep -- the Horror Genre has almost always been one where the most interesting stuff has been a dirty secret whispered between likeminded folk -- the beautiful freaks really come out to play.

For the past five weeks in our "Great Moments in Horror Actressing" series I've covered five of my favorite female performances in the genre in 2019, so first let's recap those before we get to the other five -- click their names to read those earlier posts.

Sofia Boutella in Climax

Rebecca Ferguson in Doctor Sleep

Fatma Mohamed in In Fabric

Lupita Nyong'o in Us

Florence Pugh in Midsommar

And now let's round out our top ten...

Click to read more ...

Year in Review: Mainstream Box Office (feat. Lupita, Queen Elsa, and lots of Superheroes)

Our Year in Review party is getting off to a bit of a slow start (we launched with 50 biggest documentary hits) but we hope to speed up now and what better festive topic during the holiday moviegoing season than an audience participation one? Herewith six "top ten-to-twenty" box office hit lists regarding various subgenres of the mainstream and what we can learn from them... at least in terms of moviegoers today.

We're starting with female-led pictures because this should not be regarded as a minority or special interest topic given that half of the world's population is female! Little Women was a major late-breaking success in this arena but it wasn't the only success from 2019. Let's look at that chart first.

🔺= the movie is still in over 100 theaters. Figures are as of February 23rd

1. TOP GROSSING (LIVE-ACTION) FILMS WITH A FEMALE LEAD
(Excluding films where a male lead is just as prominent as his female co-star)

Captain Marvel

01 Captain Marvel $426.8 (Disney/Marvel, March 8th) starring Brie Larson
02 Us $175 (Universal, March 22nd) starring Lupita Nyong'o
03 Maleficent Mistress of Evil $113.9 (Disney, Oct 18th) starring Angelina Jolie
04 Little Women $107.1 (Columbia, Dec 25th) starring Saoirse Ronan
05 Hustlers $104.9 (STX, Sept 13th) starring Constance Wu & Jennifer Lopez...

Click to read more ...

Year in Review: 50 Biggest Documentary Hits

Our year in review party begins. A different list each day. Here's Glenn Dunks...

The documentary box office of 2018 was always going to be hard to beat - impossible, even. Last year we had five documentaries reach totals greater than $10mil. This year, unfortunately, we had none, although one of those five, Peter Jackson's colorized war doc They Shall Not Grow Old made the bulk of its money in the new year so there's that, as did Oscar winner Free Solo.

 Nevertheless, the realm of non-fiction more or less thrived in cinemas across America. Where indie flicks with big names faultered, sputtered and got chewed up by the markets divergance towards streaming, documentaries continued to post solid numbers for their boutique distributors. The clear winner for 2019 was Apollo 11, which capitalized on the 50th anniversary of man's first walk on the moon as well as being marketed as an event movie in IMAX. It missed an Oscar nomination, but as last year's snubs for Won't You Be My Neighbour and Three Identical Strangers suggest, box office doesn't always make that a done deal.

Still, we are here to talk box office so let's look at the list. 

TOP 50 GROSSING DOCUMENTARIES FOR 2019
Domestic Box Office Totals Only - Figures as of March 12th, 2020
RANK | TITLE | (DISTRIBUTOR, RELEASE DATE) | DOMESTIC GROSS

01 Apollo 11 (Neon, March 1st) $9.0  [REVIEW] 

02 Penguins (Disney, April 17th) $7.6...

Click to read more ...

Best of November ICYMI

One month left to go in the year. AND THE DECADE. We are not prepared. If you've been spottily visiting the site please return daily (things are picking up with great speed) but here are 12 highlights you won't want to have missed from the month we're wrapping up right now.

Highlights
• Parasite's Palme d'Or Loot it's now one of the most successful winners ever
• Mati Diop and Atlantics Murtada talks to 2019's most exciting new cinematic voice
• Soundtracking: Yentl Chris writes beautifully about Babs' 1983 triumph
• Over & Overs: Sister Act Kyndall used to sing in the choir. She loves Whoopi & co.
• Little Claudia in Interview with the Vampire Jason's 'Horror Actressing' series wants more...
• Parasite and films on economic disparity Lynn on recent Asian films that address the issue more cogently than American films have 
• Antonio Banderas, a singular sensation Nathaniel wonders where he's been.
• Frozen 2 Tim goes deep on Disney's latest blockbuster
• FYC Lulu Wang Cláudio makes a case for the director of The Farewell

Most Discussed
• Spirit Nominations Clemency, Farewell, and more...
• SAG Screenings Little Women, Bombshell, etc...
• Oscar Trivia Which films in history received the most nominations but missed Best Picture? It's a fascinating list.

COMING IN DECEMBER: Little Women, Bombshell, 1917, Marriage Story, Uncut Gems, Cats, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, more interviews with Oscar hopefuls, and Best of 2019 and Best of Decade List-Mania and Awards begin (but do not end) and run through Oscar week 2020.