In this Industry Spotlight with Creative First, Prithul Kumar, Joint Secretary (Films), Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB) and Managing Director, NFDC joined Lohita Sujith, Sr. Director, Copyright & Digital Economy, Motion Picture Association to discuss MIB's new initiatives in the Indian film sector.
In this Industry Spotlight with Vikram Sahay, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB), Government of India and Lohita Sujith, Sr. Director, Copyright & Digital Economy, Motion Picture Association, discussed the OCC Industry, IFFI and the newly launched Best Web Series Award.
Jo McLaren is a longtime stunt professional who has worked on a slew of hit films and TV series, lending her talents to hits as disparate as Titanic, Dr. Who, and the Sherlock Holmes, Harry Potter, and Avengers franchises. As an in-demand stunt coordinator, she has kept productions safe while creating some of the most inimitable action sequences in the business.
Oppenheimer is a colossal achievement. Christopher Nolan’s film is an exquisitely calibrated epic, brimming with ambition and ingenuity, appropriate for its titular protagonist, J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy), the brilliant physicist who led America’s Manhattan Project during World War II. Nolan and his crew, including production designer Ruth De Jong (Nope), reached for the stars and succeeded in their quest for a pure, tangible vision in presenting one of the most important and dangerous minds of the 20th century – the father of the atomic bomb.
Directed by Justin Simien, Disney’s Haunted Mansion has an all-star cast, a funny, touching script, killer New Orleans scenery, and for a wellspring of inspiration, the Haunted Mansion ride at Disneyland, which holds particular sway over the movie’s aesthetic. The original ride veers from comedic to creepy, which for cinematographer Jeffrey Waldron (Little Fires Everywhere, The Morning Show), worked well as a starting point for designing different aesthetics for Haunted Mansion’s various astral planes.
When Chris Nolan wrapped Tenet in 2919, actor Robert Pattinson gave him a book of J. Robert Oppenheimer speeches as a parting gift. That tome led Nolan to Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin’s “American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer.” For the next three years, Nolan used the Pulitzer Prize-winning biography as the foundation for what critics are hailing as his most mature, emotional work.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One has had success both with critics and audiences and Barbie is breaking box office records. It makes good sense, then, that Skydance, the production company behind the M:I franchise, would want to partner with global superstar Gal Gadot to create a female-fronted action film.
We spoke to Kalas and Thropp about their roles in Paramount’s Archive Department, why their work is not just about preserving the past but helping filmmakers and TV creators make the next future hit, and how some of the most memorable costumes of all time used to be re-used—again and again—before the archives department existed.
Beef creator Lee Sung Jin (Dave, Undone), who goes by Sonny Lee, reached out to production designer Grace Yun (Past Lives, Ramy, Hereditary) to share his vision of the series that pins Danny Cho (Steven Yeun), a failing contractor, and Amy Lau (Ali Wong), a self-made entrepreneur, against one other following a heated parking lot altercation. “I was impressed from the start, and our exchange felt really fun and effortless,” Yun shares with The Credits.
Extraction 2 is one of the most relentlessly action-packed movies of the summer, with the excitement of an 80s action epic paired with explosive, cutting-edge stunts that rival the thrills of Mission: Impossible and John Wick. The movie’s immersive style and never previously attempted stunts were led by director Sam Hargrave once again. Somehow, Hargrave upped his game from the first film.
Anka spent around 15 months in creating Miguel, adding new layers to the suit design and silhouette of the character. “Depending on how close you are to him, you see different layers of detail.
Speaking from a parked car outside his house, St. Clair talks about digitized paint brushes, Indian comic books, and Blade Runner production designer Syd Mead as inspirations for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
In this Industry Spotlight Vivek Krishnani, President & Chief Executive Officer, MovieVerse Studios shared his rich and diverse industry experiences across the fields of advertising, production, and distribution.
We spoke with 2nd unit stunt coordinator Andy Gill, who has been a major part of the Fast & Furious franchise since Fast Five, about how he helped create the craziest entry yet.
A Small Light follows Miep (Bel Powley) from the time she worked for Otto Frank (Liev Schreiber) through the two years she and her husband Jan (Joe Cole) took care of Frank and his family, working to keep them safe in the secret annex of Otto Frank’s company headquarters.
The Magician’s Elephant on Netflix is a beautiful story whose animation springs to life an ensemble cast of characters you’d want to befriend. The film is a re-imagination of a novel by Newbery award-winning author Kate DiCamillo. Making her directorial debut, Wendy Rogers tapped production designer Max Boas (Abominable), art director Iuri Lioi (How to Train Your Dragon trilogy), previs lead Gary H. Lee (Kung Fu Panda), and the animation company Animal Logic to stylize the heartfelt adventure.
“No one department works by themselves,” says Scott Rogers, stunt coordinator and 2nd unit director, about the exceedingly thrilling action sequences in John Wick: Chapter 4. “When [director] Chad Stahelski comes to you with an idea, you’re talking to an entire team.”
Chad Stahelski didn’t set out to make a blockbuster franchise, let alone a four-part saga that fervently entertains while reinventing the boundaries of American action films. The stunt performer turned director and a founder of 87eleven – the stunt production company behind the action in Deadpool 2, Wolverine, and The Expendables – was unsure if the first John Wick could be a success.
Cinematographer Dan Laustsen has a way with color. From the vivid steel blues and greens found in Mimic (1997) and The Shape of Water (2017) to the deep shadows, monochromatic tones, and silky ambers that paint Nightmare Alley (2021) – all Guillermo del Toro collabs – Laustsen has a profound (and welcoming) habit connecting story with pulsing palettes that energize the screen.
All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque’s 1929 novel that lays bare the harsh brutality of war through the eyes of a naive youth fighting in the German trenches during WWI, is considered a literary classic.
Filmmaker Darren Aronofsky often pursues the road less taken in movies like The Wrestler, Black Swan and Requiem for a Dream. He’s done it again in The Whale, which stars Oscar-nominated Brendan Fraser as Charlie, a 600-pound English teacher who conducts classes over Zoom with his screen image hidden so students can’t see his true size.
In this Industry Spotlight Ashish Kulkarni, Founder of Punnaryug Artvision and AVGC industry veteran joins us for an enlightening conversation on the history and future of animation, visual effects, and gaming in India and abroad.
Christophe Beck is one of the most prominent composers in the Marvel sandbox. He not only scored all three Ant-Man films but co-composed Hawkeye and, to great acclaim, WandaVision.
Cocaine Bear began snorting up viral eyeballs last fall, boosted by a madcap trailer that racked up 18 million views.
The British Association for Screen Entertainment (BASE) has articulated this change, the implications for the creative industries, and a collaborative response to combatting it where more invested parties come together to tackle the big issue of infringement, in Piracy: A Problem Shared, a summary of the current state of infringement and how to address it.
Descendant, which won the US Documentary Special Jury Award for Creative Vision at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival and is now on Netflix, follows various residents of the small community called Africatown, now part of Mobile, Alabama, who for generations had heard and shared stories about the slave ship The Clotilda.
Slashers don’t take sick days, even during a lockdown. Leave it to Scream writer Kevin Williamson to give us more to fear than the virus in Peacock’s Sick, which takes us back to the peak of the COVID pandemic. Production Designer Jenny Möller rolled back the clock to an eerie experience we all shared – visiting grocery stores in 2020 with rows and rows of empty shelves, particularly the toilet paper aisle.
Cline’s also a passionate advocate for the preservation of these priceless cultural artifacts and brings genuine joy to what she calls her dream job. We had a chance to chat with her about the tireless but never boring work of an archivist, how her job has changed alongside filmmaking technology, and the movie that ignited her enchantment with all things Disney.
Everything Everywhere All at Once came out of nowhere to dominate this year’s Oscar voting with 11 nominations. Producer Jonathan Wang, who splits his time between Los Angeles and New York, talks about the importance of good vibes, details the filmmakers’ takeover of an abandoned bank, and recalls how the Daniels maverick choices helped catapult a former child actor into the Academy Awards race.
“Babylon‘s a love letter to filmmakers,” says Production designer Martin. “You see the craft and feel the spirit of people who just wanted to create something.”
In trademark fashion, Avatar: The Way of Water is a technological feat that developed new filmmaking tools in production. Yet, costume designer Deborah L. Scott (Titanic, Back to the Future, Avatar, E.T.) said that is all secondary to Cameron’s driving force.
Jusu’s nimbly executed deployment of supernatural characters to critique the myth of the American dream would be a difficult feat for a veteran writer/director, let alone a young filmmaker making her very first feature. It’s for this reason that Jusu is the Motion Picture Association’s choice for their inaugural MPA Creator Award, which is part of our centennial celebration.
How long can you hold your breath underwater? One minute? Two? Maybe three? For James Cameron’s highly-anticipated Avatar: The Way of Water, now in theaters, the cast had to take lessons from free diving expert Kirk Krack in order to fluidly capture the transcendent water scenes. Why so? Bubbles.
As year-end approaches, I like to look back at the main themes that emerged over the past 12 months affecting copyright, creators and the content industries, drawing from my blog posts throughout the year.
In this interview, Ms. Melissa discusses the global trends observed in digital music piracy and the prevailing legal framework in other jurisdictions to combat this menace, and suggests policy changes for India to effectively tackle digital piracy of music.
Director J.D. Dillard, who helms this exciting and emotional film, was better known as a genre filmmaker focused on horror before joining Devotion. He grew up the son of a Naval aviator, with his father Bruce Dillard becoming only the second African American to fly with the Navy’s Blue Angels, so Dillard jumped at the chance to tell a story that resonated with him from his own family history.
Early in the production for Wakanda Forever, Oscar-winning production designer Hannah Beachler wrote a 400-page guide to the fictional world of Talokan for herself, Coogler, and all their collaborators on the film. She shared a few elements of that guide in conversation with The Credits and spoke about an important way in which her adoptive city of New Orleans offered inspiration for the new film.
“Disney Legend” and longtime Disney employee Floyd Norman is perhaps the only interviewee who knew Walt personally. Norman worked at the studio starting in the 50s and became the first Black artist to remain at Disney on a long-term basis. The Credits spoke to Floyd Norman about the documentary and about how Disney’s iconic and beloved character impacted his life and career.
Even with the hiccup, Kennedy designed a number of period authentic sets that transport viewers back to the 1980s storyline where a Bangkok backlot (and areas of Melbourne) fill in for the slums of India. Below, Kennedy details the seemingly impossible transition, how it affected the production design and the challenges behind filming in Bangkok.
The Credits spoke to executive producer and co-showrunner of House of Dragons, Ryan Condal about power and patriarchy, and he shares his thoughts on season one and his hopes for season two. As a longtime collector and lover of movie props, Condal also discusses some of the great designs and props created for the series.
Finn, speaking from Los Angeles, described her most recent collaboration with filmmaker Taika Waititi on Thor: Love and Thunder, explained how Oscar winner Christian Bale wound up playing the film’s villainous Gorr, pondered the pros and cons of top-secret casting, and talked about diversifying Marvel’s ever-expanding cinematic universe.
For the sequel to the beloved 1986 film, Cruise, the film’s executive producer and star, waited until he had a great story and the right people in front of and behind the camera, which included producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Joseph Kosinski.
For both Canale and Ökvist, Bridgerton is a massive undertaking, with, for example, 160 costumes made every six weeks just for the principal characters alone. The Credits spoke with both designers about working in this period-specific yet bonnet-free world, creating collaborative, holistic looks, and setting the season’s newcomers apart from the show’s original fan favorites.
When suggesting to Bullet Train director David Leitch that he should be known as one of the “Godfathers of fight-vis,” a technique where complex fight sequences are filmed to visualize the action prior to shooting the real thing, he modestly said he’d take the credit. “Chad and I were definitely on the forefront of something that now every stunt team on the planet does.” The Chad he’s referring to is Chad Stahelski, who Leitch co-directed the original John Wick with.
The Credits recently chatted with Williams about his inspiration for the film, the design of his star sea monster, and the importance of collaboration in animation. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
In this Industry Spotlight, Nishit Shetty discussed the current landscape and future for the VFX industry in India.
Cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema failed to get into two Dutch film schools, so he worked in a soap factory, played in a band, and survived unemployment as a self-described “slacker” before finding his creative footing at a renowned cinema academy in Lodz, Poland. Since then, he’s made up for lost time through collaborations with A-list auteurs, including David O. Russell (The Fighter), Sam Mendes (Spectre), and Spike Jonez (Her)
The Vietnam Film Development Association (VFDA) was established in July 2019 as a national film commission, and its top priority was fostering international collaborations.
As India celebrates the 75th anniversary of its independence, here’s a look back at the history of Indian cinema through the eyes of Uday Singh, managing director of the Motion Picture Association’s India office and an industry veteran of 26 years. Singh was interviewed by email.
This interview with Daniel Lopez Muñoz is part of our ongoing Oscar series. It was originally published on December 24, before the film was nominated for Best Animated Feature Film.
Jeanne Mau joined NBCUniversal only seven months ago, in a new position that was tailor-made for her skill set and experience. The former Senior Vice President of Global Inclusion at ViacomCBS is now NBCUniversal’s Senior Vice President of TV Programming Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. Mau’s position has her overseeing diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives across NBCU’s vast television and streaming brands. It’s a thrilling opportunity for someone who has been doing the work for 20-years.
Karen Horne has been working to amplify the voices of underrepresented communities for more or less her entire career. WarnerMedia’s Senior Vice President of Equity and Inclusion Programs has been creating results-oriented programs across a wide swath of the entertainment, sports, and news divisions for more than two decades. “I’ve always wanted to work in this field,” Horne says of her work. “Also, I’ve never had a plan B.”
The magic of live theatre is a precious element that is often elusive to the lens. Countless legendary Broadway performances have sparkled and faded in a night, rarely ever recorded. Even a long run of a popular musical will never see the exact same show cross the stage twice.
In this Industry Spotlight, Karan Bedi talks about the role of experimentation and innovation as a means to finding success in a constantly evolving M&E Industry.
How do you create the fifth film in a beloved slasher franchise that’s both a nod to everything that’s come before, a clever meta-commentary on horror films and toxic fandom, and something that’s entirely your own?
When her second film Memoryland held its world premiere at the Busan International Film Festival’s New Currents competition last month, Vietnamese director Bui Kim Quy had to give it a miss due to her health conditions.
Aparna Purohit (Head of India Originals at Amazon Prime Video, India) joins Lohita Sujith (Sr. Director, Copyright & Digital Economy) in an exciting discussion on the creative aspects of developing and presenting authentic content to Indian audiences.
A fruitful discussion with NS Nappinai, a Supreme Court advocate & founder of Cyber Saathi, on the need for a robust policy and a legislative framework for the creative economy in the digital age.
In this exclusive interview, Anil explains the pandemic’s effect on how audiences consume media, and how it acted as a catalyst to unlock new potential for filmmakers.
Making the action pop alongside director Cate Shortland is Black Widow stunt coordinator Rob Inch, who previously worked on Wonder Woman 1984, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and Captain America: The First Avenger. Speaking from England, where he’s prepping a new Marvel movie, Inch deconstructs Black Widow‘s most thrilling set-pieces.
The Credits chatted with Hay and Manfredi about adapting the beloved book, landing Hale for the lead(s), and working on the shoot from afar.
Piracy threatens to undermine that exclusivity. This in turn can adversely impact the fees licensees are willing to pay to buy our content, which means BBC Studios has less money to invest in future content. It’s a vicious circle.
We all know that ‘content owners care about piracy.’ But the concerns of content owners and rights-holders that want to protect their content against theft are quite different from the concerns of distributors and online video providers who want to minimize churn and theft of service.
Creative First in Conversation with Mr.Kamal Gianchandani, CEO of PVR Pictures Limited, and President of Multiplex Association of India.
In conversation with Biren Ghose, Country Head in India for Technicolor.
Pioneering Malaysian New Wave director Tan Chui Mui was on the final recce of her latest film, Barbarian Invasion, in a remote fishing village […]
Once again Pixar tackles the subjects of the meaning of life, fearlessness in the face of change, synchronicity, and inspiration in their new film Soul.
Welcome to the 2020 edition of CII Big Picture Summit’s Knowledge Report, in partnership with BCG, on the future of the Indian Media & Entertainment industry.
As the title suggests, Murder on Middle Beach, the four-part HBO documentary, revolves around a tragedy.
Moses Ingram stepped off the stage at Yale and immediately onto the set of The Queen’s Gambit. The acting newcomer had only two weeks between graduating from the Yale School of Drama in May of last year and flying to Toronto to begin filming.
As one of film’s most innovative directors, Ridley Scott is a master at transporting us to worlds unlike any we’ve seen before.
For most creatives, when faced with the pervasive problem of litigating infringement of their work, the solution is to hire a lawyer. For photographer Earl Richardson, the solution was to become a lawyer himself.
The Era of Smart TVs and Interconnected Home Devices Needs Smart Regulations
Chatterjee was all set to direct all ten episodes of the third season of Amazon’s incredibly popular television series Four More Shots Please, featuring four female friends from different walks of life who deal with romance, work-life conflict, ambitions, and anxieties in modern-day India.
The documentary, titled Kicking Balls, is about a soccer program in rural India for young girls, where the practice of child marriage, although illegal in the country, still takes place.
When I saw the theme of this year’s World IP Day, Innovate for a Green Future, I will admit that it was hard not to be cynical.
When director Kabir Akhtar heard the news that producer/writer/star Mindy Kaling was, along with co-creator Lang Fisher, putting together a new series at Netflix that would focus on a first-generation Indian American teenage girl, he thought, I need to be a part of this.
As far-fetched as it seems right now though, there will be a recovery and people are already asking: how different will the post-COVID-19 era be from the one we knew earlier?
With their expressive visuals and cartoony speech bubbles, comic books offer the breeziest of reading pleasures, even when the material is dark or heavy. But don’t mistake “breezy” for “easy.”
The much anticipated 2020 Media & Entertainment Sector Report from EY and FICCI, was due to be formally released during FICCI Frames in March. The Report was finalized before Covid-19 up-ended the sector in such dramatic terms. Still the underlying trends indicate strong growth.
Hughes started working in film, but her TV career has not only proven steady, but it’s also been creatively fulfilling in ways she probably couldn’t have dreamed when she started out.
We all want to see “normal” life resume as quickly as possible and to be able to enjoy once again the output of our artists, musicians, authors and other creators in a social, group setting.
In light of the tragic news of the death of NBA legend Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna Bryant, 13 (the second […]
Deutz’ potent combination of nuanced storytelling and artful craft was more than enough to earn “Bloeistraat 11” the CreativeFuture Innovation Award at this year’s Slamdance Film Festival.
In conversation with N.P Singh, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, Sony Pictures Networks India
In Conversation With Vishal Ramchandani, Head of Marketing, Excel Entertainment
With Sanju and other recent successes, Fox Star Studios - India is at the top of it's game. Creative First caught up with Vijay Singh, CEO, Fox Star Studios to get an insight on what it takes to get to the top and stay there.
Creative First caught up with Vivek Krishnani - Managing Director, Sony Pictures India to talk about some of the changes in the industry and audience behavior, and what production companies can do to ensure the big screen continues to rise.
Be it films or Fintech, anytime business is booming it’s good for the nation’s economy as a whole. Creative First spoke with Dharma Productions CEO Apoorva Mehta to discuss what makes a successful film and what role other stakeholders can play in supporting ongoing growth of the film industry.