Julia Lester and Antonia Gentry in Prom DatesImage: Hulu
As far back as they can remember, Prom Dates’ Hannah (Julia Lester) and Jess (Ginny & Georgia’s Antonia Gentry) always wanted to have a spectacular senior prom. At 13, the two even went as far as to make a blood pact, swearing...
As far back as they can remember, Prom Dates’ Hannah (Julia Lester) and Jess (Ginny & Georgia’s Antonia Gentry) always wanted to have a spectacular senior prom. At 13, the two even went as far as to make a blood pact, swearing...
- 5/3/2024
- by Aurora Amidon
- avclub.com
In “Prom Dates,” two high school besties are sent reeling after their carefully orchestrated plans for the future take an abrupt turn, forcing them on a wild overnight adventure across town. If this set-up sounds vaguely familiar, it’s because director Kim O. Nguyen and screenwriter D.J. Mausner have combined a handful of ingredients from “Booksmart” and mixed them with some of the farcical odyssey of “After Hours.” However, unlike this teen raunch-com’s brilliantly conceived inspirations, its main friendship dynamic and ensuing shenanigans fail to resonate due to sloppy character construction and a cadre of cringe-worthy circumstances.
As innocent middle schoolers, Hannah (Millie Thorpe) and Jess (Hailey Philip) took a blood oath – one that went hilariously awry – to make their prom night the best night of their lives. But as seniors, the besties are finding that making good on their pact might prove difficult. Hannah (Julia Lester) is struggling with her sexuality,...
As innocent middle schoolers, Hannah (Millie Thorpe) and Jess (Hailey Philip) took a blood oath – one that went hilariously awry – to make their prom night the best night of their lives. But as seniors, the besties are finding that making good on their pact might prove difficult. Hannah (Julia Lester) is struggling with her sexuality,...
- 5/3/2024
- by Courtney Howard
- Variety Film + TV
Projects about the Vietnam War and its aftermath are so plentiful as to be practically their own genre, and they’ve starred a who’s who of Hollywood icons, including John Wayne, Robert De Niro, Marlon Brando, Robin Williams, Tom Cruise, Mel Gibson and Christian Bale.
Notably missing from the casts — at least among the substantive speaking parts — have been performers of actual Vietnamese descent. That’s finally changed with The Sympathizer, HBO and A24’s limited series adaptation of Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer-winning novel. Robert Downey Jr. (who also executive produces) and Sandra Oh are the big names involved, but they are led by relative newcomer Hoa Xuande and joined by Vietnamese costars to tell a story about spycraft and personal and collective identity immediately following the conflict, centering the people whose lives and country were torn apart as a result.
The Hollywood Reporter spoke with eight of...
Notably missing from the casts — at least among the substantive speaking parts — have been performers of actual Vietnamese descent. That’s finally changed with The Sympathizer, HBO and A24’s limited series adaptation of Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer-winning novel. Robert Downey Jr. (who also executive produces) and Sandra Oh are the big names involved, but they are led by relative newcomer Hoa Xuande and joined by Vietnamese costars to tell a story about spycraft and personal and collective identity immediately following the conflict, centering the people whose lives and country were torn apart as a result.
The Hollywood Reporter spoke with eight of...
- 4/30/2024
- by Rebecca Sun
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
[Warning: The below contains Major spoilers for the April 23 episode of Jeopardy!] Nam Nguyen set an impressive buzzer stat in the April 22 game of Jeopardy!. His buzzer percentage was 71 percent, which host Ken Jennings said was “almost unheard of” at the top of the April 23 episode. But his speedy buzzing (which he attributes to his video game experience) wasn’t enough to protect the one-day champ from an incorrect answer in Final Jeopardy. Nguyen, a playwright from Mississauga, Ontario, was playing against Mark Lashley, a professor from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Lianne Schaffer, a piano teacher and musician from Newton, Massachusetts on Tuesday. He enjoyed a large lead for the entire game, and a runaway game was nearly possible. Thanks to some Daily Double action, Lashley was able to catch up to the point where his score was just a bit more than half of Nguyen’s. The scores going into the final were Nguyen with $17,600, Lashley with $9,000, and Schaffer with $7,000. ...
- 4/23/2024
- TV Insider
[Warning: The below contains Major spoilers for the April 22 episode of Jeopardy!] If you tuned in to the April 22 episode of Jeopardy!, you likely noticed that there was something different about one of the contestants during half of the Jeopardy! round. Marko Saric, a math professor from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, returned with a two-day total of $26,600 and faced off against Elly Trickett, a blog & podcast editor from Danbury, Connecticut, and Nam Nguyen, a playwright from Mississauga, Ontario. Saric was dominating at the first break of the Jeopardy! round, leading $9,000 to Nguyen’s $2,400 and Trickett’s $1,000. What viewers may or may not have noticed is that Trickett did not have her glasses on for the interviews portion of the episode nor the rest of that first round; Trickett had given the last correct response and appeared to be reaching into her pocket when host Ken Jennings instructed her to select the next clue. Trickett, after answering only two questions ...
- 4/22/2024
- TV Insider
TV is positively cluttered with buzzy book adaptations; 2024 alone has given us “Ripley,” “3 Body Problem,” “Under the Bridge,” “Girls on the Bus,” “Apples Never Fall,” “Palm Royale,” and way too many others to really count. Few of these projects arrive to the screen with as much clout — and as high of expectations — as “The Sympathizer,” HBO’s newest limited series. Not only was Viet Thanh Nguyen’s 2015 novel about the queasy half-existence of a North Vietnamese spy burrowed in the South Vietnamese army extremely popular when it hit book stores in 2015, it was also highly acclaimed, receiving the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. That’s a lot for any show to live up to.
That said, the show certainly has the pedigree behind the cameras to match the original work. The HBO “Sympathizer” limited series comes from Korean auteur Park Chan-wook, who co-created the series with Don McKellar and directs...
That said, the show certainly has the pedigree behind the cameras to match the original work. The HBO “Sympathizer” limited series comes from Korean auteur Park Chan-wook, who co-created the series with Don McKellar and directs...
- 4/22/2024
- by Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
Spoiler Alert: This article contains details of the first episode of HBO’s limited series The Sympathizer, which premiered on April 14.
“All right, see you stateside,” says Robert Downey Jr’s Claude quips with some gallows humor to Hoa Xuande’s The Captain near the end of the first episode of HBO’s The Sympathizer as communist North Vietnamese forces bombard soon-to-fall Saigon in 1975.
If the slippery CIA officer was the only role Oscar winner Downey portrays in the multi-genre adaptation of Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer-winning novel, it would capture a lot of attention on or off cable. However, Downey plays several characters in multicultural and multinational The Sympathizer from showrunners Park Chan-wook and Don McKellar as the action moves from the dying days of the American War, as it is known in Southeast Asia, to Southern California and back again.
Along with the music-fan spymaster and mentor to the Captain,...
“All right, see you stateside,” says Robert Downey Jr’s Claude quips with some gallows humor to Hoa Xuande’s The Captain near the end of the first episode of HBO’s The Sympathizer as communist North Vietnamese forces bombard soon-to-fall Saigon in 1975.
If the slippery CIA officer was the only role Oscar winner Downey portrays in the multi-genre adaptation of Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer-winning novel, it would capture a lot of attention on or off cable. However, Downey plays several characters in multicultural and multinational The Sympathizer from showrunners Park Chan-wook and Don McKellar as the action moves from the dying days of the American War, as it is known in Southeast Asia, to Southern California and back again.
Along with the music-fan spymaster and mentor to the Captain,...
- 4/15/2024
- by Dominic Patten
- Deadline Film + TV
If you felt the instinct to pause, rewind, or repeat part of the premiere to HBO’s “The Sympathizer” on its April 14 premiere, showrunner Park Chan-Wook is one step ahead of you.
The Korean director best known for films like “Oldboy” and “The Handmaiden” and the recent “Decision to Leave” was a critical mind in shaping “The Sympathizer,” based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s bestseller, which required anticipating how the audience would receive the story. In Episode 1, we meet our unnamed protagonist, The Captain (Hoa Xuande), whose interrogation frames the flashbacks that follow.
The Captain’s confession was one element of adapting Nguyen’s story, Park told IndieWire over Zoom with a translator, but the second piece of that framework was particularly exciting: The Commandant’s (Quinn Hoàng) interruptions.
“Sometimes the commandant might get angry at the captain, or sometimes be criticizing — that is how he engages himself in this storytelling,...
The Korean director best known for films like “Oldboy” and “The Handmaiden” and the recent “Decision to Leave” was a critical mind in shaping “The Sympathizer,” based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s bestseller, which required anticipating how the audience would receive the story. In Episode 1, we meet our unnamed protagonist, The Captain (Hoa Xuande), whose interrogation frames the flashbacks that follow.
The Captain’s confession was one element of adapting Nguyen’s story, Park told IndieWire over Zoom with a translator, but the second piece of that framework was particularly exciting: The Commandant’s (Quinn Hoàng) interruptions.
“Sometimes the commandant might get angry at the captain, or sometimes be criticizing — that is how he engages himself in this storytelling,...
- 4/15/2024
- by Proma Khosla
- Indiewire
“I am a spy, a sleeper, a spook, a man of two faces.”
So begins Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “The Sympathizer,” which, when released in 2015, was hailed for its humorous, biting interrogation of American perspectives on the Vietnam War.
Integrating elements of the espionage thriller à lá John le Carré with a heavy sense of irony reminiscent of Ralph Ellison’s “Invisible Man,” “The Sympathizer” is told from the viewpoint of an officer in the U.S.-supported South Vietnam army who secretly reports back to communists in North Vietnam. Framed as a confession to the people for whom he has ostensibly been spying, the narrator — who goes unnamed in the novel — chronicles the story of his journey to Southern California, where he joins the Vietnamese refugee community settling there and grapples with questions of loyalty and assimilation.
In a 2015 interview, Nguyen, who is a professor at the University of Southern California,...
So begins Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “The Sympathizer,” which, when released in 2015, was hailed for its humorous, biting interrogation of American perspectives on the Vietnam War.
Integrating elements of the espionage thriller à lá John le Carré with a heavy sense of irony reminiscent of Ralph Ellison’s “Invisible Man,” “The Sympathizer” is told from the viewpoint of an officer in the U.S.-supported South Vietnam army who secretly reports back to communists in North Vietnam. Framed as a confession to the people for whom he has ostensibly been spying, the narrator — who goes unnamed in the novel — chronicles the story of his journey to Southern California, where he joins the Vietnamese refugee community settling there and grapples with questions of loyalty and assimilation.
In a 2015 interview, Nguyen, who is a professor at the University of Southern California,...
- 4/14/2024
- by Rachel Seo
- Variety Film + TV
The Sympathizer: Robert Downey Jr’s TV Comeback (Photo Credit – IMDb)
Robert Downey Jr has come back to television after over two decades. The legendary actor famous for suiting up as Iron Man is gearing up for a big return to TV screens. He’s set to headline an HBO series based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s award-winning novel, The Sympathizer, as per reports.
Downey is getting ready to dive into several supporting characters in The Sympathizer, embodying various antagonists such as “an up-and-coming Orange County congressman, a CIA agent, and a Hollywood film director, among others,” as revealed in a press release. Casting for the main role is currently in full swing.
Deadline broke the news first. This gig signals Robert Downey Jr’s comeback to TV after two decades, making it his first regular small-screen role since his stint on Ally McBeal back in 2002.
Trending The First...
Robert Downey Jr has come back to television after over two decades. The legendary actor famous for suiting up as Iron Man is gearing up for a big return to TV screens. He’s set to headline an HBO series based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s award-winning novel, The Sympathizer, as per reports.
Downey is getting ready to dive into several supporting characters in The Sympathizer, embodying various antagonists such as “an up-and-coming Orange County congressman, a CIA agent, and a Hollywood film director, among others,” as revealed in a press release. Casting for the main role is currently in full swing.
Deadline broke the news first. This gig signals Robert Downey Jr’s comeback to TV after two decades, making it his first regular small-screen role since his stint on Ally McBeal back in 2002.
Trending The First...
- 4/2/2024
- by Hari P N
- KoiMoi
Family Feud host Steve Harvey admitted to a “big” argument with his producers.
The 67-year-old took a moment during a recent episode of Family Feud to address the crowd and a team of contestants.
Family Feud shared a snippet of Steve’s interaction on its official Instagram feed.
The Reel was captioned, “BTS #FamilyFeud intel Ftw??...
The 67-year-old took a moment during a recent episode of Family Feud to address the crowd and a team of contestants.
Family Feud shared a snippet of Steve’s interaction on its official Instagram feed.
The Reel was captioned, “BTS #FamilyFeud intel Ftw??...
- 3/23/2024
- by Mona Wexler
- Monsters and Critics
War, spy games, political intrigue, social commentary, and plenty of 1970s style -- all wrapped up into one exciting limited series.
In July 2021, HBO announced it had ordered The Sympathizer as a series, with Park Chan-wook and Don McKellar signed on as co-showrunners.
The Sympathizer is based on Viet Thanh Nguyen's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about a communist spy during the Vietnam War and his eventual life in the United States.
In 2021, Nguyen announced his novel was optioned by production studio A24. Robert Downey Jr. soon joined as a producer and costar.
The Sympathizer will be executive produced and directed by filmmaker Park Chan-wook, who also worked on Snowpiercer, Oldboy, and The Little Drummer Girl.
Other directors for the show include Brazilian director Fernando Meirelles, known for City of God, and English director Marc Munden, known for Utopia and National Treasure.
Notable writers for The Sympathizer include Mark Richard (The Man in the High Castle...
In July 2021, HBO announced it had ordered The Sympathizer as a series, with Park Chan-wook and Don McKellar signed on as co-showrunners.
The Sympathizer is based on Viet Thanh Nguyen's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about a communist spy during the Vietnam War and his eventual life in the United States.
In 2021, Nguyen announced his novel was optioned by production studio A24. Robert Downey Jr. soon joined as a producer and costar.
The Sympathizer will be executive produced and directed by filmmaker Park Chan-wook, who also worked on Snowpiercer, Oldboy, and The Little Drummer Girl.
Other directors for the show include Brazilian director Fernando Meirelles, known for City of God, and English director Marc Munden, known for Utopia and National Treasure.
Notable writers for The Sympathizer include Mark Richard (The Man in the High Castle...
- 3/8/2024
- by Shela Ward
- TVfanatic
“Drishyam,” a hit Indian thriller in which an ordinary man confounds the police in order to protect his family, is to be re-made in English. Production is by India’s Panorama Studios with U.S. companies Gulfstream Pictures and Joat Films.
The film was first made in 2013 in the Malayalam language, before being remade in Hindi with Ajay Devgn and Tabu in the lead roles in 2015. It earned itself a Hindi sequel “Drishyam 2,” in 2022, that grossed some $43 million worldwide.
Panorama, which produced the Hindi version for Viacom18 Motion Pictures, has acquired the international remake rights to “Drishyam 1 & 2” from the original producers, Aashirvad Cinemas, and is settling up multiple international versions. A Korean remake with Anthology Studios was announced in May last year, while Panorama says that a development deal for a Spanish language retread is also close to being finalized.
Kumar Mangat Pathak, Panorama’s chairman and MD, said,...
The film was first made in 2013 in the Malayalam language, before being remade in Hindi with Ajay Devgn and Tabu in the lead roles in 2015. It earned itself a Hindi sequel “Drishyam 2,” in 2022, that grossed some $43 million worldwide.
Panorama, which produced the Hindi version for Viacom18 Motion Pictures, has acquired the international remake rights to “Drishyam 1 & 2” from the original producers, Aashirvad Cinemas, and is settling up multiple international versions. A Korean remake with Anthology Studios was announced in May last year, while Panorama says that a development deal for a Spanish language retread is also close to being finalized.
Kumar Mangat Pathak, Panorama’s chairman and MD, said,...
- 2/29/2024
- by Patrick Frater and Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
In the Netflix documentary The Greatest Night in Pop, A-listers from Stevie Wonder to Michael Jackson come together for the recording of an iconic song
For all the behind the scenes gems and 80s nostalgia it has on offer, Bao Nguyen’s The Greatest Night in Pop is a master class in event planning.
As anyone who has ever tried to cram a group of A-listers – or even a crowd of sluggish friends and family members – into the same room at the same time knows, it’s going to be a headache. Bringing together 46 of today’s musical superstars for a night of unpaid work would be near impossible (small wonder most of today’s chart-topping collaborations involve no more than two artists). “There’s so many managers and publicists and agents that you’d have to go through,” Nguyen said from Sundance, where he premiered his film about the...
For all the behind the scenes gems and 80s nostalgia it has on offer, Bao Nguyen’s The Greatest Night in Pop is a master class in event planning.
As anyone who has ever tried to cram a group of A-listers – or even a crowd of sluggish friends and family members – into the same room at the same time knows, it’s going to be a headache. Bringing together 46 of today’s musical superstars for a night of unpaid work would be near impossible (small wonder most of today’s chart-topping collaborations involve no more than two artists). “There’s so many managers and publicists and agents that you’d have to go through,” Nguyen said from Sundance, where he premiered his film about the...
- 1/30/2024
- by Lauren Mechling
- The Guardian - Film News
The sessions started at Hollywood, California’s A&m Studios the night of Jan. 28, 1985, and didn’t end until well after sunrise the morning of Jan. 29. By that point, it was clear that nothing quite like “We Are the World” could ever happen again. The Greatest Night in Pop, a new documentary on Netflix, brings it all back to vivid life: co-writers Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie joined by Stevie Wonder, Tina Turner, Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, and an improbably long list of other superstars, all crammed in...
- 1/29/2024
- by Brian Hiatt
- Rollingstone.com
Logistically, the task seemed impossible: Gather 46 of the world’s most massive musical stars in a Los Angeles studio and record a hit song, all in a single night. Oh, and the reason for this ambitious endeavor? To raise a record-breaking amount of money to benefit African famine relief and forever alter global pop culture.
No pressure or anything.
On Jan. 28, 1985, that’s exactly what happened during the recording session for “We Are the World.” The story of The Greatest Night in Pop is told in a new documentary film from director Bao Nguyen (Be Water): the idea, the song, and the long, wild night in the studio with some of the most significant musicians of the 20th century.
“This story starts with a call from Harry Belafonte,” Nguyen tells Tudum, referring to the late singer and activist’s idea...
No pressure or anything.
On Jan. 28, 1985, that’s exactly what happened during the recording session for “We Are the World.” The story of The Greatest Night in Pop is told in a new documentary film from director Bao Nguyen (Be Water): the idea, the song, and the long, wild night in the studio with some of the most significant musicians of the 20th century.
“This story starts with a call from Harry Belafonte,” Nguyen tells Tudum, referring to the late singer and activist’s idea...
- 1/29/2024
- by Amanda Richards
- Tudum - Netflix
Everyone knows that (almost) all of America’s biggest pop and rock stars crammed into a Los Angeles recording studio on the night of January 28, 1985 in order to lay down the vocals for the charity single “We Are the World,” a semi-tolerable earworm that would ultimately raise more than $68 million to provide food and relief aid to people suffering from starvation in Africa. What Bao Nguyen’s light and fluffy new Netflix documentary presupposes is that it would be entertaining to revisit the room where it happened and watch as this legendary session nearly devolved into an absolute shitshow that threatened to fall apart in 100 different ways due to the egos and insecurities of the singular artists involved.
And while “The Greatest Night in Pop” may not amount to anything more than a sanitized and somewhat masturbatory look back at one of the wildest get-togethers in the modern history of music,...
And while “The Greatest Night in Pop” may not amount to anything more than a sanitized and somewhat masturbatory look back at one of the wildest get-togethers in the modern history of music,...
- 1/24/2024
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
Stephen Bear has shared his first update since getting an early release from prison, serving just 11 months of a 21-month sentence.
Bear served time for his conviction for voyeurism, disclosing private, sexual photographs and films with intent to cause distress, and harassment without violence.
The former Challenge competitor surfaced in a new video featuring a shot of him jogging outdoors into the video frame.
Bear stops and begins throwing punches in the air before he winks and flexes for the camera.
Music plays over the scene with a sound bite from part of Tom Hardy’s film Legend, which tells the story of twin gangsters Ronald and Reginald Kray wreaking havoc on London in the 1960s.
“It’s not how hard you can hit, it’s how hard you can get hit and keep moving forword…,” Bear’s video caption said, a nod to Sylvester Stallone’s line from the movie Rocky.
Bear served time for his conviction for voyeurism, disclosing private, sexual photographs and films with intent to cause distress, and harassment without violence.
The former Challenge competitor surfaced in a new video featuring a shot of him jogging outdoors into the video frame.
Bear stops and begins throwing punches in the air before he winks and flexes for the camera.
Music plays over the scene with a sound bite from part of Tom Hardy’s film Legend, which tells the story of twin gangsters Ronald and Reginald Kray wreaking havoc on London in the 1960s.
“It’s not how hard you can hit, it’s how hard you can get hit and keep moving forword…,” Bear’s video caption said, a nod to Sylvester Stallone’s line from the movie Rocky.
- 1/23/2024
- by Matt Couden
- Monsters and Critics
Lionel Richie has been very emotional lately, but he wants to reassure everyone that he’s okay.
According to Richie, it’s just been a heady experience to look back nearly 40 years and relive all the wondrous and chaotic memories of writing and recording “We Are the World” for the new Netflix documentary “The Greatest Night in Pop.”
“Every segment of this journey, I cry,” Richie said at the Variety Studio presented by Audible at Sundance Film Festival, where the film made its world premiere. “It just brings tears to my eyes because some of us are not here anymore. Also it was our innocence. We actually were making a difference, so to see the naive version of ourselves, when we actually had an aha moment that we might take all this celebrity and change the world … I’m just emotional about it because I get to watch my kid being born again.
According to Richie, it’s just been a heady experience to look back nearly 40 years and relive all the wondrous and chaotic memories of writing and recording “We Are the World” for the new Netflix documentary “The Greatest Night in Pop.”
“Every segment of this journey, I cry,” Richie said at the Variety Studio presented by Audible at Sundance Film Festival, where the film made its world premiere. “It just brings tears to my eyes because some of us are not here anymore. Also it was our innocence. We actually were making a difference, so to see the naive version of ourselves, when we actually had an aha moment that we might take all this celebrity and change the world … I’m just emotional about it because I get to watch my kid being born again.
- 1/23/2024
- by Angelique Jackson
- Variety Film + TV
Lena Waithe, who is a juror at Sundance, believes the festival “really sets the tone for the year,” citing “Past Lives” as an example from last year.
“Obviously, ‘Past Lives’ has done really well, surprisingly so to the business. It’s a quiet movie about home, friends, what would’ve happened if you would’ve stayed in one place versus going somewhere else,” Waithe said. “Ultimately, I look at Sundance as a window into our industry, into what’s happening. And I think there’s a huge diversity in terms of filmmakers, writers, cast, and for me, it’s really about making sure this business still has a heartbeat.”
At the Variety Diversifying Storytelling in Film panel presented by Adobe, Waithe and other creatives at Sundance discussed the role art plays in reflecting society.
Dawn Porter, director of “Luther: Never Too Much,” reflected on how films from “Past Lives” to...
“Obviously, ‘Past Lives’ has done really well, surprisingly so to the business. It’s a quiet movie about home, friends, what would’ve happened if you would’ve stayed in one place versus going somewhere else,” Waithe said. “Ultimately, I look at Sundance as a window into our industry, into what’s happening. And I think there’s a huge diversity in terms of filmmakers, writers, cast, and for me, it’s really about making sure this business still has a heartbeat.”
At the Variety Diversifying Storytelling in Film panel presented by Adobe, Waithe and other creatives at Sundance discussed the role art plays in reflecting society.
Dawn Porter, director of “Luther: Never Too Much,” reflected on how films from “Past Lives” to...
- 1/21/2024
- by Caroline Brew
- Variety Film + TV
“I didn’t really know much about the making of the song,” admits The Greatest Night in Pop director Bao Nguyen of 1985’s star-studded Ethiopian famine relief hit “We Are the World.” “You just make these assumptions about how things are made because it just happens. But when you think now of 46 great artists getting together to make that, it would be really impossible for that to happen now.”
Whether or not the superstars of 2024 could or would come together like the hit makers of the Reagan Era did in America and the UK almost 40 years ago is debatable. What is a fact is that Nguyen’s latest documentary is debuting today at the Sundance Film Festival just a few days short of when U.S.A. for Africa recorded the Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson penned tune in a studio in Los Angeles. It is also a fact that, after a total of four Sundance screenings,...
Whether or not the superstars of 2024 could or would come together like the hit makers of the Reagan Era did in America and the UK almost 40 years ago is debatable. What is a fact is that Nguyen’s latest documentary is debuting today at the Sundance Film Festival just a few days short of when U.S.A. for Africa recorded the Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson penned tune in a studio in Los Angeles. It is also a fact that, after a total of four Sundance screenings,...
- 1/19/2024
- by Dominic Patten
- Deadline Film + TV
As a global pop culture event, it’s hard to match the release of “We Are the World,” the charity single that sold more than 20 million copies in 1985 and united 46 musical stars as enormous and disparate as Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan and Diana Ross at an all-night secret recording session. The story of that night — the scrambling, the egos, the moments of creative kismet — is now told in Bao Nguyen’s documentary The Greatest Night in Pop, which will premiere Jan. 19 at Sundance before streaming on Netflix beginning Jan. 29.
“When I heard how they assembled the team, to me it was almost like a heist film,” says Nguyen, who directed the 2020 Bruce Lee documentary Be Water. “You have Quincy Jones as the Danny Ocean of the whole effort. And they’re assembling [the team] — who’s the best rock star, who’s the best legend? There’s a bit of...
“When I heard how they assembled the team, to me it was almost like a heist film,” says Nguyen, who directed the 2020 Bruce Lee documentary Be Water. “You have Quincy Jones as the Danny Ocean of the whole effort. And they’re assembling [the team] — who’s the best rock star, who’s the best legend? There’s a bit of...
- 1/18/2024
- by Rebecca Keegan
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Austria-based sales company has acquired world sales rights on two Berlinale Panorama titles: Nelson Makengo’s Rising Up At Night, and Pham Ngoc Lan’s Cu Li Never Cries.
Both films were in the Panorama selection that was announced earlier today.
Rising Up At Night is Congolese director Makengo’s debut feature, and a continuation of his short Up At Night, which won the IDFA award for best short in 2019. The documentary shows the residents of Kinshasa, Congo struggle for access to light after the city is plunged into darkness.
The film is produced by Rosa Spaliviero for Belgium’s Twenty Nine Studio & Production,...
Both films were in the Panorama selection that was announced earlier today.
Rising Up At Night is Congolese director Makengo’s debut feature, and a continuation of his short Up At Night, which won the IDFA award for best short in 2019. The documentary shows the residents of Kinshasa, Congo struggle for access to light after the city is plunged into darkness.
The film is produced by Rosa Spaliviero for Belgium’s Twenty Nine Studio & Production,...
- 1/17/2024
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Two days after The Brothers Sun’s Jan. 4 premiere on Netflix, the creator and cast of the action-packed, comedic family drama returned to the San Gabriel Valley, where the series is set and much of it was filmed, for a special one-weekend-only edition of 626 Night Market, held at its usual location at Arcadia’s Santa Anita Park and featuring a diverse mix of Asian food vendors and other small businesses.
“We’re all from around here, and we really wanted to set the show in the 626 because it’s such a vibrant community and we feel like it hasn’t been represented on screen before,” co-creator Byron Wu, who called Hacienda Heights home, shared with the at-capacity crowd on Saturday night. Netflix covered the night market’s entrance fee, and Day 1 of the event, which was open to the public with prior registration, sold out with 20,000 sign-ups.
The racetrack’s...
“We’re all from around here, and we really wanted to set the show in the 626 because it’s such a vibrant community and we feel like it hasn’t been represented on screen before,” co-creator Byron Wu, who called Hacienda Heights home, shared with the at-capacity crowd on Saturday night. Netflix covered the night market’s entrance fee, and Day 1 of the event, which was open to the public with prior registration, sold out with 20,000 sign-ups.
The racetrack’s...
- 1/8/2024
- by Evan Nicole Brown
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive: Netflix has set a January 29 streaming premiere date for The Greatest Night in Pop, a feature doc just announced as world premiering at the Sundance Film Festival on the 19th of this month.
Directed by award winner Bao Nguyen (Be Water), the film takes viewers back to January 25, 1985, when dozens of the biggest names in music convened at a Los Angeles studio and checked their egos at the door amidst the recording of a song to benefit African famine relief — one that would alter global pop culture history. Chronicled in the doc is the massive undertaking to assemble the world’s most impressive supergroup in a time before cell phones and email. That group of artists, led by the song’s co-writers and two of the most significant musicians of the 20th century — Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie — came from different worlds but united to record “We Are the World.
Directed by award winner Bao Nguyen (Be Water), the film takes viewers back to January 25, 1985, when dozens of the biggest names in music convened at a Los Angeles studio and checked their egos at the door amidst the recording of a song to benefit African famine relief — one that would alter global pop culture history. Chronicled in the doc is the massive undertaking to assemble the world’s most impressive supergroup in a time before cell phones and email. That group of artists, led by the song’s co-writers and two of the most significant musicians of the 20th century — Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie — came from different worlds but united to record “We Are the World.
- 1/5/2024
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Ruby Leigh, the 16-year-old country singer from Foley, Missouri, continued to wow the coaches on Monday’s (November 13) episode of NBC‘s The Voice, earning her a spot in the Playoff rounds. The talented young singer faced off against her fellow Team Reba members, Ms. Monet and Rachele Nguyen, in a Three-Way Knockout, where she performed an incredible rendition of LeAnn Rimes‘ “Blue.” Meanwhile, Ms. Monet sang a powerful rendition of The Emotions’ “Best of My Love,” and Nguyen performed an emotional version of Maddie & Tae’s “Die From a Broken Heart.” But despite the talent on display, nobody was a match for Leigh. Even before she took to the stage, Leigh’s rehearsal stunned Reba McEntire and mega mentor Wynonna Judd. “Ruby is 16… oh my gosh,” Judd said, adding, “Something there is very spectacular, and I think she’s got such a future. She’s unique in a way that country music needs.
- 11/14/2023
- TV Insider
Beginning the second season with a nerve-wracking scenario of Maddie’s abduction, Bosch: Legacy quickly moved on to new situations involving Harry and Chandler, where their professional lives came into jeopardy. The first four episodes build up the central narrative smoothly, and there are three distinct plotlines to follow that occasionally mingle with each other. One of Chandler’s former clients, David Foster, was framed for the sexual assault and murder of City Hall employee Lexi Parks, and to prove his innocence, the senior lawyer had assigned Harry to the case. After being rescued from the clutches of her captor, serial rapist Kurt Dockweiler, Maddie re-joined the LAPD, and due to her proficiency, she was quickly recruited into the Cru unit. However, her experience as a victim made it hard for her to move on, and she has been plagued by anxiety and fear of similar situations taking place in the near future as well.
- 11/10/2023
- by Siddhartha Das
- Film Fugitives
Harry Bosch has a target on his back. The Pi at the center of Amazon Freevee’s Bosch: Legacy made some serious enemies when he started digging into the Lexi Parks murder and discovered a pair of LAPD officers were linked to the crime. The FBI also has big questions about his and Honey Chandler’s involvement in the murder of Carl Rogers and the pipeline explosion. And the feds aren’t messing around. Episode 8 ended with a major cliffhanger involving Honey that has us wondering what’s next for the tough-as-nails lawyer. Fortunately, we won’t have to wait long to find out. Here’s when the Bosch: Legacy Season 2 finale will stream on Freevee.
[Warning: This article contains spoilers for Bosch: Legacy Season 2 Episodes 1-8.]
The ‘Bosch: Legacy’ Season 2 finale drops Nov. 10 on Amazon Freevee ‘Bosch: Legacy’ | Tyler Golden/Amazon Freevee
Bosch: Legacy Season 2 premiered on Oct. 20, with new episodes dropping on Fridays. There are 10 episodes in total,...
[Warning: This article contains spoilers for Bosch: Legacy Season 2 Episodes 1-8.]
The ‘Bosch: Legacy’ Season 2 finale drops Nov. 10 on Amazon Freevee ‘Bosch: Legacy’ | Tyler Golden/Amazon Freevee
Bosch: Legacy Season 2 premiered on Oct. 20, with new episodes dropping on Fridays. There are 10 episodes in total,...
- 11/7/2023
- by Megan Elliott
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
In the world of reality television, controversy, and drama often go hand-in-hand. Well, no recent reality TV star has stirred up more controversy than Jennie Nguyen. Her shocking firing and the fallout from her time on The Real Housewives Of Salt Lake City (Rhoslc) has been nothing short of a whirlwind. But what led to Nguyen’s firing and what has happened since? In this article, we delve deep into the controversy surrounding this controversial figure and explore the unforeseen aftermath of her departure. From uncovering the truth about her on-set clashes to examining the impact of her departure on the show’s...
- 9/10/2023
- by Ima Whyte
- TVovermind.com
If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Rolling Stone may receive an affiliate commission.
Whether you’re singling out which books to bring on an upcoming vacation, luxuriating in low-key Sunday afternoons, or hiding out in bookstores until the temperature mercifully drops somewhere below hellscape, this month offers a host of new book releases to scoop up. From debut fiction to fresh work from award-winning authors and non-fiction galore, there’s enough to (maybe) lure you away from seeing Barbie and Oppenheimer on opening weekend.
Whether you’re singling out which books to bring on an upcoming vacation, luxuriating in low-key Sunday afternoons, or hiding out in bookstores until the temperature mercifully drops somewhere below hellscape, this month offers a host of new book releases to scoop up. From debut fiction to fresh work from award-winning authors and non-fiction galore, there’s enough to (maybe) lure you away from seeing Barbie and Oppenheimer on opening weekend.
- 7/20/2023
- by Liz Doupnik
- Rollingstone.com
Image Source: HBO
HBO's new miniseries "The Sympathizer" tells the complicated story of a man known only as the Captain who's planted by North Vietnam as a spy in the South Vietnam army before the Vietnam war ends. He flees to the US after the war, where he lives as a South Korean refugee, keeping his spy activity for the Viet Cong a secret. In the first teaser for the series, shared April 12, the Captain - played by Hoa Xuande - comes face-to-face with multiple antagonists all played by Robert Downey Jr., who question him at every turn. Watch the teaser ahead.
"The Sympathizer" is a joint project between HBO and A24, and it'll air on the network in 2024. HBO shared the teaser as part of their announcement that HBO Max is becoming a new streaming service, called simply Max. The show will stream on Max when it airs next year.
HBO's new miniseries "The Sympathizer" tells the complicated story of a man known only as the Captain who's planted by North Vietnam as a spy in the South Vietnam army before the Vietnam war ends. He flees to the US after the war, where he lives as a South Korean refugee, keeping his spy activity for the Viet Cong a secret. In the first teaser for the series, shared April 12, the Captain - played by Hoa Xuande - comes face-to-face with multiple antagonists all played by Robert Downey Jr., who question him at every turn. Watch the teaser ahead.
"The Sympathizer" is a joint project between HBO and A24, and it'll air on the network in 2024. HBO shared the teaser as part of their announcement that HBO Max is becoming a new streaming service, called simply Max. The show will stream on Max when it airs next year.
- 4/13/2023
- by Victoria Edel
- Popsugar.com
HBO has released a trailer for The Sympathizer, its limited series based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel.
The series won’t debut until 2024, but HBO unveiled the first look at a Warner Bros. Discovery press event unveiling its rebranded Max streaming service (which is dropping the “HBO” from its name and adding a lot of content from Discovery+) and upcoming programming.
The Sympathizer follows a half-French, half-Vietnamese communist spy (Hoa Xuande) during the final days of the Vietnam War and his resulting exile in the United States. The series is described as part espionage thriller and part cross-culture satire.
Fred Nguyen Khan, Toan Le, Vy Le, Alan Trong, Ky Duyen, Sandra Oh and Robert Downey Jr. also star. Downey, who doubles as an executive producer, plays multiple roles, all of which represent a different part of the American establishment: a congressman from Orange County, a CIA officer...
The series won’t debut until 2024, but HBO unveiled the first look at a Warner Bros. Discovery press event unveiling its rebranded Max streaming service (which is dropping the “HBO” from its name and adding a lot of content from Discovery+) and upcoming programming.
The Sympathizer follows a half-French, half-Vietnamese communist spy (Hoa Xuande) during the final days of the Vietnam War and his resulting exile in the United States. The series is described as part espionage thriller and part cross-culture satire.
Fred Nguyen Khan, Toan Le, Vy Le, Alan Trong, Ky Duyen, Sandra Oh and Robert Downey Jr. also star. Downey, who doubles as an executive producer, plays multiple roles, all of which represent a different part of the American establishment: a congressman from Orange County, a CIA officer...
- 4/12/2023
- by Rick Porter
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Robert Downey Jr. is a master of disguise in the trailer for “The Sympathizer,” a new spy series coming in 2024 to HBO’s rebranded Max streaming service.
Based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, “The Sympathizer” stars Hoa Xuande (“Cowboy Bebop”) as a spy for North Vietnam who becomes embedded in L.A.’s refugee community. Headed by Park Chan-wook, who serves as co-showrunner, executive producer, writer and director, “The Sympathizer’s” official logline describes the show as “an espionage thriller and cross-culture satire about the struggles of a half-French, half-Vietnamese communist spy during the final days of the Vietnam War and his resulting exile in the United States.”
Downey Jr., who is as an executive producer on the project alongside his wife Susan Downey, takes on several roles in the show. Each of Downey Jr.’s characters have their own distinct look, as depicted in the trailer,...
Based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, “The Sympathizer” stars Hoa Xuande (“Cowboy Bebop”) as a spy for North Vietnam who becomes embedded in L.A.’s refugee community. Headed by Park Chan-wook, who serves as co-showrunner, executive producer, writer and director, “The Sympathizer’s” official logline describes the show as “an espionage thriller and cross-culture satire about the struggles of a half-French, half-Vietnamese communist spy during the final days of the Vietnam War and his resulting exile in the United States.”
Downey Jr., who is as an executive producer on the project alongside his wife Susan Downey, takes on several roles in the show. Each of Downey Jr.’s characters have their own distinct look, as depicted in the trailer,...
- 4/12/2023
- by Ellise Shafer
- Variety Film + TV
Sad clips from films, TV shows and TikTok are being spliced together over melancholy music – and they’re raising a smile among hopeless young people
Jimmy Nguyen, an 18-year-old student, saw his first “corecore” video on TikTok in January. He can’t remember which one it was – there are so many of them now. But he says it was typical of this new trend of video: other TikTok videos, celebrity or podcaster interviews, TV show and film clips spliced together over some sad or ambient music. They’re depressing, full of existential dread and usually on the theme of disconnection and alienation. Nguyen initially thought, like other users, that these videos were a joke. They’re crudely edited and the name in itself is a sarcastic reference to the proliferation of micro-trends emerging from TikTok since 2020. But he was soon staying up late at night in his bedroom making corecore of his own.
Jimmy Nguyen, an 18-year-old student, saw his first “corecore” video on TikTok in January. He can’t remember which one it was – there are so many of them now. But he says it was typical of this new trend of video: other TikTok videos, celebrity or podcaster interviews, TV show and film clips spliced together over some sad or ambient music. They’re depressing, full of existential dread and usually on the theme of disconnection and alienation. Nguyen initially thought, like other users, that these videos were a joke. They’re crudely edited and the name in itself is a sarcastic reference to the proliferation of micro-trends emerging from TikTok since 2020. But he was soon staying up late at night in his bedroom making corecore of his own.
- 3/30/2023
- by Hannah Ewens
- The Guardian - Film News
Sydney, March 29 (Ians) Despite being severely low on immunity levels, blood cancer patients generate strong responses against Sars-CoV-2 after vaccination, on par with that of healthy individuals, according to a research.
Researchers from the University of Melbourne undertook the most comprehensive analysis of adaptive Sars-CoV-2 immunity to date in haematology patients of varying diseases and treatments across three doses of Covid-19 vaccination in comparison to healthy individuals.
The findings published in the journal Cell Reports Medicine shows that blood cancer patients highly benefit from receiving three doses of vaccination.
The vaccines boost their levels of T cells, the white blood cells that kill viral infected cells, irrespective of the patient’s B-cell numbers and antibody response.
“It is important to really understand vaccine efficacy in this immuno-suppressed high-risk group of patients to help prevent severe Sars-CoV-2 infection,” said Dr Oanh Nguyen, Senior Research Fellow at the varsity’s Peter Doherty...
Researchers from the University of Melbourne undertook the most comprehensive analysis of adaptive Sars-CoV-2 immunity to date in haematology patients of varying diseases and treatments across three doses of Covid-19 vaccination in comparison to healthy individuals.
The findings published in the journal Cell Reports Medicine shows that blood cancer patients highly benefit from receiving three doses of vaccination.
The vaccines boost their levels of T cells, the white blood cells that kill viral infected cells, irrespective of the patient’s B-cell numbers and antibody response.
“It is important to really understand vaccine efficacy in this immuno-suppressed high-risk group of patients to help prevent severe Sars-CoV-2 infection,” said Dr Oanh Nguyen, Senior Research Fellow at the varsity’s Peter Doherty...
- 3/29/2023
- by News Bureau
- GlamSham
London and Paris-based sales outfit Film Constellation is launching sales at the EFM.
London and Paris-based sales outfit Film Constellation is launching sales on remastered documentary Lynch (One) at the European Film Market (EFM).
Lynch (One), originally completed in 2007, compiles over two years of footage following US Twin Peaks and Mulholland Drive creator David Lynch and his filmmaking process, drawing an intimate portrait of his creative journey as he completes Inland Empire.
The documentary director works under the pseudonym blackANDwhite.
It was produced by Jon Nguyen, Jason S., Søren Larsen and Brynn McQuade.
Nguyen also directed and produced 2016 Venice premiere David Lynch: The Art Life,...
London and Paris-based sales outfit Film Constellation is launching sales on remastered documentary Lynch (One) at the European Film Market (EFM).
Lynch (One), originally completed in 2007, compiles over two years of footage following US Twin Peaks and Mulholland Drive creator David Lynch and his filmmaking process, drawing an intimate portrait of his creative journey as he completes Inland Empire.
The documentary director works under the pseudonym blackANDwhite.
It was produced by Jon Nguyen, Jason S., Søren Larsen and Brynn McQuade.
Nguyen also directed and produced 2016 Venice premiere David Lynch: The Art Life,...
- 2/18/2023
- by Mona Tabbara
- ScreenDaily
Long before Canada sought greater diversity for its homegrown films in recent years, its movie industry depended on a web of international co-production treaties to get indie fare into the global market.
Now the Canadian industry is looking to marry that diversity drive with international co-production coin as racially diverse filmmakers converge at the Berlin Film Festival and its European Film Market (EFM).
Take Toronto producer Shehrezade Mian of Markhor Pictures, who is targeting foreign sales for Antoine Bourges’ Concrete Valley, an English- and Arabic-language immigrant drama anchored in Canada. Chronicling the struggles of a Syrian family attempting to make a life in the Great White North, the film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and will screen in the Berlinale’s Forum program.
Antoine Bourges’ Concrete Valley tells the story of a Syrian family adjusting to life in Canada.
While in Berlin, Mian will fly the Maple...
Now the Canadian industry is looking to marry that diversity drive with international co-production coin as racially diverse filmmakers converge at the Berlin Film Festival and its European Film Market (EFM).
Take Toronto producer Shehrezade Mian of Markhor Pictures, who is targeting foreign sales for Antoine Bourges’ Concrete Valley, an English- and Arabic-language immigrant drama anchored in Canada. Chronicling the struggles of a Syrian family attempting to make a life in the Great White North, the film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and will screen in the Berlinale’s Forum program.
Antoine Bourges’ Concrete Valley tells the story of a Syrian family adjusting to life in Canada.
While in Berlin, Mian will fly the Maple...
- 2/16/2023
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive: Apple has rounded out the cast for its crime drama series Sinking Spring with the addition of Golden Globe winner Ving Rhames (Mission: Impossible franchise), Dustin Nguyen (The Accidental Getaway Driver), Nesta Cooper (See), Idris Debrand (Dear Edward), Liz Caribel (Pussy Island) and Will Pullen (A Little Prayer).
The actors join an ensemble led by 2023 Academy Award nom Brian Tyree Henry (of the Apple drama Causeway) which also includes Michael Mando, Marin Ireland, Kate Mulgrew and Amir Arison, as previously announced.
Related Story ‘Presumed Innocent’: Chase Infiniti, Lily Rabe, Nana Mensah, Matthew Alan & Kingston Rumi Southwick Cast In Apple TV+ Series Related Story 'The Blacklist' Star Amir Arison Joins Ridley Scott's Apple Series 'Sinking Spring' Related Story Marin Ireland Joins Apple's 'Sinking Spring' TV Series
The eight-episode series created by Top Gun: Maverick scribe Peter Craig, entering production this week in Philadelphia,...
The actors join an ensemble led by 2023 Academy Award nom Brian Tyree Henry (of the Apple drama Causeway) which also includes Michael Mando, Marin Ireland, Kate Mulgrew and Amir Arison, as previously announced.
Related Story ‘Presumed Innocent’: Chase Infiniti, Lily Rabe, Nana Mensah, Matthew Alan & Kingston Rumi Southwick Cast In Apple TV+ Series Related Story 'The Blacklist' Star Amir Arison Joins Ridley Scott's Apple Series 'Sinking Spring' Related Story Marin Ireland Joins Apple's 'Sinking Spring' TV Series
The eight-episode series created by Top Gun: Maverick scribe Peter Craig, entering production this week in Philadelphia,...
- 2/13/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
“Strange World” director Don Hall was thinking about his children and the world they would inherit when he got the idea for Disney’s latest animated feature. Hall, whose credits include “Raya and the Last Dragon,” says he wanted to tell a story about the environment. “This idea of the world existing on a back of a living thing was cool,” Hall says.
Hall and the team of animators looked into the body, the nervous system and even a body’s digestive system through a microscopic lens. He says, “We started seeing landscapes in actual microscopic imagery and I got really excited.” Hall says he let production designer Mehrdad Isvandi run wild with ideas over what the world could look like.
Screenwriter Qui Nguyen adds that while Hall had mapped out much of the story, it was pitched as “Indiana Jones meets National Lampoon’s Vacation.” But this was also about...
Hall and the team of animators looked into the body, the nervous system and even a body’s digestive system through a microscopic lens. He says, “We started seeing landscapes in actual microscopic imagery and I got really excited.” Hall says he let production designer Mehrdad Isvandi run wild with ideas over what the world could look like.
Screenwriter Qui Nguyen adds that while Hall had mapped out much of the story, it was pitched as “Indiana Jones meets National Lampoon’s Vacation.” But this was also about...
- 11/28/2022
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
Disney Animation's "Strange World" is now in theaters, and the movie about three generations of the Clade family finding themselves in a land unlike anything they've ever seen makes for a delightful film to see with your own family over the Thanksgiving holiday.
If you've seen "Strange World," you also know there's some surprises in store for the Clades as well as for the audience. I talked with director Don Hall and writer/co-director Qui Nguyen about that major reveal (and where they got inspiration for it), the movie's score and its "Raiders of the Lost Ark" feel, and how the game in the movie actually exists in our not-so-strange world. I also got to ask Nguyen about another Disney project he's working on with Ryan Reynolds.
This interview contains spoilers for "Strange World" and was lightly edited for clarity and brevity.
'Not In A Hippy Dippy Way, But In A Real,...
If you've seen "Strange World," you also know there's some surprises in store for the Clades as well as for the audience. I talked with director Don Hall and writer/co-director Qui Nguyen about that major reveal (and where they got inspiration for it), the movie's score and its "Raiders of the Lost Ark" feel, and how the game in the movie actually exists in our not-so-strange world. I also got to ask Nguyen about another Disney project he's working on with Ryan Reynolds.
This interview contains spoilers for "Strange World" and was lightly edited for clarity and brevity.
'Not In A Hippy Dippy Way, But In A Real,...
- 11/28/2022
- by Vanessa Armstrong
- Slash Film
This time, no poultry was harmed in Dung Luong Dinh’s film which – like his previous one “Drowsy City” did back in 2019 – competes for the Grand Prix in the Official Selection of Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival. Instead of feathers, there are lots of fists and bullets flying in “Magnum 578”, Dinh’s first attempt at a full blooded action thriller that challenged us with the extensive filtering, and literally – the tiniest of violins incessantly vibrating from the opening credits to the closing scene. It would be interesting to find out why the film’s composer Dong-jun Lee thought that it would be a good idea to set the melodramatic tunes to a story full of action, wild chases through the Vietnamese mountains and kung-fu bashings. It’s like having Mariah Carey falsetto-ing through “The Fast and The Furious” on loop.
It is an overall challenging film...
It is an overall challenging film...
- 11/26/2022
- by Marina D. Richter
- AsianMoviePulse
Warning: Major spoilers ahead for "Strange World."
In the new Disney Animation film, "Strange World," the Clade family lives in a land nestled in the center of a mountain range. The mountains are unpassable ... not that Jaeger Clade (voiced by Dennis Quaid) believes that. He and a group of explorers set off to try to find out what's on the other side of the range, but when his son Searcher (voiced by Jake Gyllenhaal) finds a plant that can bring electricity to the land, he and the rest of the group turn back. Jaeger isn't seen again for 25 years.
When things start going wrong with their powers source, the land's leader, Callisto (voice of Lucy Liu), calls on Searcher — now a farmer of these plants — to help her discover the issue. They along with his wife, Meridian (voiced by Gabrielle Union), their son, Ethan (voiced by Jaboukie Young-White), and the family's three-legged dog,...
In the new Disney Animation film, "Strange World," the Clade family lives in a land nestled in the center of a mountain range. The mountains are unpassable ... not that Jaeger Clade (voiced by Dennis Quaid) believes that. He and a group of explorers set off to try to find out what's on the other side of the range, but when his son Searcher (voiced by Jake Gyllenhaal) finds a plant that can bring electricity to the land, he and the rest of the group turn back. Jaeger isn't seen again for 25 years.
When things start going wrong with their powers source, the land's leader, Callisto (voice of Lucy Liu), calls on Searcher — now a farmer of these plants — to help her discover the issue. They along with his wife, Meridian (voiced by Gabrielle Union), their son, Ethan (voiced by Jaboukie Young-White), and the family's three-legged dog,...
- 11/25/2022
- by Jenna Busch
- Slash Film
Every so often, Disney Animation veers from the path.
Veteran Disney producer Don Hahn said he called it “turning left at the castle.” His analogy was built on theme park geography: instead of heading through the castle to Fantasyland, you would veer left, into Adventureland – an area full of hidden danger, wild creatures and very few songs.
This week, Walt Disney Animation Studios turns left again with their 61st feature “Strange World,” a story set in a mythological realm that follows three generations – manly adventurer Jaeger Clade (Dennis Quaid), his more intellectual son Searcher Clade (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Searcher’s teen son Ethan (Jaboukie Young-White) – as they explore a world beneath our own full of bizarre, deadly creatures and equally odd geography. They’re there in an attempt to save our world but uncover a threat that could destroy both.
TheWrap talked to producer Roy Conli, director Don Hall and...
Veteran Disney producer Don Hahn said he called it “turning left at the castle.” His analogy was built on theme park geography: instead of heading through the castle to Fantasyland, you would veer left, into Adventureland – an area full of hidden danger, wild creatures and very few songs.
This week, Walt Disney Animation Studios turns left again with their 61st feature “Strange World,” a story set in a mythological realm that follows three generations – manly adventurer Jaeger Clade (Dennis Quaid), his more intellectual son Searcher Clade (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Searcher’s teen son Ethan (Jaboukie Young-White) – as they explore a world beneath our own full of bizarre, deadly creatures and equally odd geography. They’re there in an attempt to save our world but uncover a threat that could destroy both.
TheWrap talked to producer Roy Conli, director Don Hall and...
- 11/25/2022
- by Drew Taylor
- The Wrap
Henry Jackman would make for a great music professor. During an hour-long Zoom call, when you throw out an idea or question at the composer, he would run with it until sundown. In our recent conversation, no stone was left unturned by Jackman, the composer behind Disney's latest animated film, "Strange World." For this sci-fi family film, he wanted a rousing, old-school adventure sound that calls to mind the work of titans like John Williams and James Horner.
To do that, Jackman had to create a sense of familiarity but also otherworldliness. It's not the first time he's had to pull off that musical balancing act in his work, which includes "Big Hero 6," "Captain America: The Winter Soldier," "Kong: Skull Island," and the "Kingsman" movies, to name a few. Recently, Jackman was kind enough to talk to us about some of his past and present work, as well as...
To do that, Jackman had to create a sense of familiarity but also otherworldliness. It's not the first time he's had to pull off that musical balancing act in his work, which includes "Big Hero 6," "Captain America: The Winter Soldier," "Kong: Skull Island," and the "Kingsman" movies, to name a few. Recently, Jackman was kind enough to talk to us about some of his past and present work, as well as...
- 11/23/2022
- by Jack Giroux
- Slash Film
That latest offering from Walt Disney Animation Studios, Strange World, proves to be an entertaining and remarkably endearing portrait of a slightly dysfunctional father and son relationship being mended and rebuilt through communication and mutual respect. It is a surprisingly solid family film that ultimately emerges as the wonderful story of an estranged father and son reconnecting after several years.
After a lengthy prelude that introduces the Clades – particularly Jaeger and his son Searcher – as they explore the land beyond the mountains of their village, the film jumps forward several years to show a grown Searcher (voiced by Jake Gyllenhaal) now considered a savior of the village after returning from the initial expedition with a miraculous plant that has since powered the village and allowed many significant technological advancements. Unfortunately, the plant now appears to be dying and it is decided that an expedition must be immediately mounted to locate...
After a lengthy prelude that introduces the Clades – particularly Jaeger and his son Searcher – as they explore the land beyond the mountains of their village, the film jumps forward several years to show a grown Searcher (voiced by Jake Gyllenhaal) now considered a savior of the village after returning from the initial expedition with a miraculous plant that has since powered the village and allowed many significant technological advancements. Unfortunately, the plant now appears to be dying and it is decided that an expedition must be immediately mounted to locate...
- 11/23/2022
- by Mike Tyrkus
- CinemaNerdz
Psychedelia and the Walt Disney Company would not, on the surface, seem like two things that go hand in hand. Disney, even now that it encompasses so much of popular culture, is meant to represent family values of a sort, and psychedelia ... is not. But some of the films in the Disney Animation feature canon, such as "Dumbo" and "Fantasia," take certain flights of fancy that are hard to square even now in the studio's legacy, creative leaps that are so stark and remarkable largely because so few films the studio has produced in the modern era have the interest in really pushing the boundaries. Disney Animation's latest film, "Strange World," lives up to its name at least in terms of the artistry on display. The story surrounding that artistry is perhaps somewhat familiar, but it's offset by buoyant pacing, compelling world-building, and truly trippy visuals.
"Strange World," from director...
"Strange World," from director...
- 11/21/2022
- by Josh Spiegel
- Slash Film
Click here to read the full article.
The Clades, in the words of their comic patriarch, are born explorers. They crave adventure, live like nomads, love danger and aim to do the impossible. At the beginning of Strange World, an effortlessly charming adventure-comedy about father-son relationships from Disney’s Animation Studios, viewers are treated to a zippy montage of Jaeger (voiced by Dennis Quaid) and his son, Searcher (Jake Gyllenhaal), traversing coniferous forests, diving into the deep sea and hiking mountainous terrain. Their journeys take them far and make them legends, but never once have they seen the other side of the snowy summits surrounding their small city of Avalonia.
Naturally, Jaeger, a burly pioneer with an affection for the sound of his own voice, becomes obsessed with accomplishing this feat. Searcher, already disinclined to pursue the duo’s dangerous quests, couldn’t care less. When these differences come to light,...
The Clades, in the words of their comic patriarch, are born explorers. They crave adventure, live like nomads, love danger and aim to do the impossible. At the beginning of Strange World, an effortlessly charming adventure-comedy about father-son relationships from Disney’s Animation Studios, viewers are treated to a zippy montage of Jaeger (voiced by Dennis Quaid) and his son, Searcher (Jake Gyllenhaal), traversing coniferous forests, diving into the deep sea and hiking mountainous terrain. Their journeys take them far and make them legends, but never once have they seen the other side of the snowy summits surrounding their small city of Avalonia.
Naturally, Jaeger, a burly pioneer with an affection for the sound of his own voice, becomes obsessed with accomplishing this feat. Searcher, already disinclined to pursue the duo’s dangerous quests, couldn’t care less. When these differences come to light,...
- 11/21/2022
- by Lovia Gyarkye
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
While the creative and commercial aspects of filmmaking often clash due to the sometimes-differing ideologies of art and business, they are two sides of the same coin. One can't exist without the other: films of course cost money to make, and the money has to come from somewhere. One of the most lucrative areas to make money in entertainment is merchandising. If a major motion picture produces toys, apparel, high-end collectibles, and theme park experiences, that's another revenue stream for the filmmakers to keep on creating. Just ask George Lucas.
However, when done right, products that tie into a movie can create a harmonious relationship that serves both the financial and artistic aspects of a project. For example, while speaking to "Strange World" directors Don Hall and Qui Nguyen, /Film's Vanessa Armstrong learned that designer Cory Loftis created Ethan Clade's favorite card game, "Primal Outpost." But he didn't just come...
However, when done right, products that tie into a movie can create a harmonious relationship that serves both the financial and artistic aspects of a project. For example, while speaking to "Strange World" directors Don Hall and Qui Nguyen, /Film's Vanessa Armstrong learned that designer Cory Loftis created Ethan Clade's favorite card game, "Primal Outpost." But he didn't just come...
- 11/20/2022
- by Ben F. Silverio
- Slash Film
While “Strange World” explores a fantastical environment full of mysterious creatures and flora, including flying fish and walking rock columns, the action-adventure film also includes a first for Walt Disney Animation Studios: a gay teen romance.
The animated feature introduces viewers to Ethan Clade, a biracial, openly gay teenager who gets completely tongue-tied when he’s near his crush, Diazo.
“It never got broken down like that. It was more organic,” director Don Hall said about the character’s identity.
“I have a biracial family, so it was something that was easily relatable to me to [have] two people with very different backgrounds fall in love,” said co-director and writer Qui Nguyen. “And now my kid walks both those lines of us — fully Asian, fully Jewish — and that was something I understood inherently.”
“His gayness is one part of him. He’s also bold and wildly empathetic, which is why...
The animated feature introduces viewers to Ethan Clade, a biracial, openly gay teenager who gets completely tongue-tied when he’s near his crush, Diazo.
“It never got broken down like that. It was more organic,” director Don Hall said about the character’s identity.
“I have a biracial family, so it was something that was easily relatable to me to [have] two people with very different backgrounds fall in love,” said co-director and writer Qui Nguyen. “And now my kid walks both those lines of us — fully Asian, fully Jewish — and that was something I understood inherently.”
“His gayness is one part of him. He’s also bold and wildly empathetic, which is why...
- 11/16/2022
- by Michaela Zee
- Variety Film + TV
Sandra Oh is joining the cast of HBO’s “The Sympathizer,” the TV adaptation of Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name starring Robert Downey Jr., who also executive produces. The recurring role marks her first after the series conclusion of BBC America’s “Killing Eve.” Kieu Chinh and Nguyen Cao Dy Duyen also join in recurring roles of the same capacity as Oh’s.
Described as a “blistering exploration of identity and America, a gripping spy novel and a powerful story of love and friendship,” Nguyen’s novel has been hailed by critics as a new classic of war fiction, and has been compared to the works of Kafka, Orwell and le Carré.
Also Read:
The Bangles’ Susanna Hoffs to Adapt Her Novel ‘This Bird Has Flown’ Into Feature for Universal
The series logline is as follows: “An espionage thriller and cross-culture satire about the struggles of a half-French,...
Described as a “blistering exploration of identity and America, a gripping spy novel and a powerful story of love and friendship,” Nguyen’s novel has been hailed by critics as a new classic of war fiction, and has been compared to the works of Kafka, Orwell and le Carré.
Also Read:
The Bangles’ Susanna Hoffs to Adapt Her Novel ‘This Bird Has Flown’ Into Feature for Universal
The series logline is as follows: “An espionage thriller and cross-culture satire about the struggles of a half-French,...
- 11/10/2022
- by Natalie Oganesyan
- The Wrap
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