The Verge goes to Hollywood: TV, movies, and the people who make them – The Verge

How Disney Imagineering revealed the secrets of Tomorrowland two years ago

2015-05-23T09:00:00-04:00

The Optimist Logo

Tomorrowland is now in theaters, and since the project was mysteriously announced four years ago it's appeared to be many things: an '80s-style children's adventure, a mysterious sci-fi tale of interlocking mysteries, and - as I mentioned in our review - a story about the hope and optimism that technology and exploration can unleash in everyone.

The promotional ramp-up to the movie has also revealed that there's a complicated backstory in play, with a tie-in book and mysterious promotional videos hinting at secret societies and grand utopian visionaries. The film doles out its share of those secrets, of course, but a huge chunk of the Tomor …

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‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ review: Marvel hits interstellar space

2014-07-29T11:55:41-04:00

Like Pixar before it, Marvel Studios has developed a brand that transcends any particular character or franchise. That red rectangle with the white letters has become a stamp of quality, a relative guarantee that the comic-book movie you're about to see will be worth your time and money. But also like Pixar, Marvel now has to decide how best to extend and expand that brand. Make more sequels to the films we already enjoy? Or try to branch out and invest in new stories, which brings fresh risks?

Guardians of the Galaxy shows the studio choosing the latter option, and the film truly manages to find its own rhythm and tone. More emotional than …

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Why ‘Saturday Night Live’ still matters: a conversation with Taran Killam

2013-12-20T14:20:17-05:00

Taran Killam still

Now in its 39th season, Saturday Night Live is a cultural pillar on par with 60 Minutes and Monday Night Football. Under Lorne Michaels' four decades of stewardship, the show has always introduced new talent - but this year featured a bigger shift than most. With heavy hitters like Fred Armisen and Bill Hader leaving, SNL added six new faces while asking existing staffers like Taran Killam to step to the forefront. A cast member since 2010, Killam has become known for characters like critic Jebidiah Atkinson (not to mention his video spoof of Robyn's "Call Your Girlfriend" video). On the eve of SNL's annual holiday episode, we sat down with h …

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From alpha to ‘Betas’: how Amazon is rethinking the way television is made

2013-11-26T11:40:01-05:00

Betas publicity still (AMAZON)

When Amazon Studios launched in 2010, it had a bold vision for reimagining the way movies were made. Writers and filmmakers could upload their work, the pitch went, and with the help of other customers could workshop their projects in the hopes of getting them discovered and made. In 2012, a year after Netflix had closed its deal for House of Cards, Amazon Studios announced it was going after television as well.

Betas is just the second series to come out of the studio, joining the John Goodman vehicle Alpha House which premiered earlier this month. Created by Evan Endicott and Josh Stoddard, it tells the story of a group of friends in the …

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Creating analog with digital: the beautiful black-and-white cinematography of ‘Nebraska’

2013-11-22T13:10:01-05:00

Nebraska (PARAMOUNT)

Alexander Payne's new film Nebraska is about a fading older man (Bruce Dern, hitting a new high in a career full of them) who embarks on a road trip with his son to redeem a sweepstakes prize he's sure will earn him a fortune. It's a raw and funny look at family and the relationships we forge, and it's made all the more resonant by the breathtaking black-and-white cinematography of Phedon Papamichael.

When discussing small character studies, the natural inclination is to think of the low-budget indie gems that shoot on film to bring their worlds to life. But despite Nebraska's aesthetic sensibilities, the filmmakers actually went the opposi …

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‘I wasn’t scared’: Spike Lee on reimagining ‘Oldboy’

2013-11-20T12:30:03-05:00

Filmmaker Spike Lee has been getting the attention of audiences since 1986's She's Gotta Have It, but for his latest film he took on a decidedly different challenge: mounting a remake of Park Chan-wook's revenge classic Oldboy. Starring Josh Brolin as a man who finds himself mysteriously imprisoned for 20 years, the new film is an English-language reimagining of a film that's held dear by fans. We spoke with Lee about the challenges of taking on such a beloved film, what it was like working with Brolin, and his recent foray into online crowdfunding.

This is the first time you've done a remake of an existing film. What was it about Oldboy th …

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‘About Time’: director Richard Curtis on the tradition of time travel comedies

2013-11-07T13:01:22-05:00

Richard Curtis - About Time

Bring up a time travel movie with a group of sci-fi or fantasy fans, and odds are you'll end up in an argument. It simply comes with the territory; whether it's the chicken-and-the-egg conundrum of John Connor sending his dad back in The Terminator, or the mind-melting temporal gymnastics of Primer, part of the fun of time travel flicks is tearing them apart to suss out their internal logic - and whether they play by their own rules.

But there's also a quiet dance partner to those sci-fi tales: the comedies and dramas that use the conceit to mine laughs and explore feelings of love and regret. Call it time travel for regular humans, but it' …

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Director of ‘The Fifth Estate’ responds to Julian Assange’s attacks: ‘He just flat-out makes things up’

2013-10-14T14:10:50-04:00

The Fifth Estate publicity still (DREAMWORKS)

Director Bill Condon has shown the ability to move between genres with ease, shifting from the the likes of Gods and Monsters and Kinsey to Dreamgirls and the two-part Twilight closer Breaking Dawn. For his latest film, he's taking on another project inspired by real-life events: the WikiLeaks origin story The Fifth Estate.

The movie arrives amidst a storm of criticism from WikiLeaks itself, with the organization publishing script reviews and even suggesting alternative viewing options for UK filmgoers. We spoke with the director about the intense reaction, what it says about Julian Assange, and how whistleblowers like Edward Snowden are co …

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How the sound masters of ‘Gravity’ broke the rules to make noise in a vacuum

2013-10-10T11:30:04-04:00

Gravity (WARNER BROS.)

3D and IMAX may receive top billing, but the secret weapon of Alfonso Cuarón's Gravity is something the audience will never even see. From the sound design to the score, Gravity features one of the most innovative and inventive sound mixes to make its way to theaters - one that breaks with modern movie convention in significant ways. It's a film where space is actually silent, touch is the best way to hear, and dialogue whirls around the audience in an immersive 360-degree cyclone.

Two of the artists who helped bring it to life are sound designer and supervising sound editor Glenn Freemantle (Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours), and sound re-re …

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Heavy metal spectacle: the making of ‘Metallica Through the Never’

2013-10-03T15:15:19-04:00

Metallica Through the Never (PUBLICITY STILL)

From Katy Perry to One Direction, concert films have been enjoying a recent resurgence, but Metallica's decision to jump into the genre with Metallica Through the Never didn't happen overnight. "We've been trying to do an IMAX film for a long time now," guitarist Kirk Hammett tells me. "The idea had been around since the '90s, and it'd been revisited numerous times but for some reason or another never came to be."

The idea resurfaced several years ago, with the band's manager envisioning a custom-built stage that would incorporate imagery from records like …And Justice For All and Master of Puppets. "What we wanted to do," Hammett says, "wa …

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