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  • Rebecca Hall On the Importance of Listening for ‘Peter Hujar’s Day’ [Podcast]

    Rebecca Hall On the Importance of Listening for ‘Peter Hujar’s Day’ [Podcast]
    2025/12/23

    Two people sitting alone in a room talking is the basic premise of Ira Sachs’ marvelous new drama, Peter Hujar’s Day. Some contemporary audiences might not be used to such a simple concept, but the performances from Ben Whishaw and Rebecca Hall (and Sachs’ direction) are an exercise in how communication can be balanced by nuanced listening. Wouldn’t you just die to have Rebecca Hall listen to you speak about your day?

    Would you be able to take in someone speaking about their day like Hall does as Linda Rosenkrantz? The famed journalist wanted to capture an ordinary day in the life of an artist in New York City in 1974, and it’s surreal to hear Whishaw’s Hujar casually mention names like Susan Sontag, Allen Ginsburg, and William S. Burroughs. Without seeing any of these other people, Sachs’ writing allows these titans of the literary and artistic worlds to become everyday people again. Sachs’ film is not a biopic as much as a sliver of time in the life of two friends and two people creating something wholly unique with one another.

    Hall has always brought a bold intelligence to all of her characters, but because Sachs’ script requests her to listen so much, you are drawn in by how her Linda observes and absorbs Peter’s words. She almost instructs the audience how to take in information. As the camera initially spends so much time on Whishaw, Linda primarily asks questions in response to color Peter’s stories more deeply before the interview settles evolves into a conversation between two friends. At one point, Peter asks Linda how much tape is left and suggests that he is worried that what they are doing isn’t good. ‘It’s all good,’ she says. ‘No, you’re not boring me.’ It’s a line that could be seen as comforting a friend, but she’s also working as a journalist.

    After we talk about Hall adjusting her voice to sit further back in her register, we discuss how her physicality becomes more relaxed as the day wanes into night. Because she loves the era so much, it was easy and exciting for her to research and settle into this period. I originally wondered if Linda was concerned if Peter was telling her the truth about his day, and then I thought…would it matter? While Whishaw spiritedly takes the opportunity to expel so much information, it’s entirely thrilling to see how Hall consumes it and volleys back. We are so steeped in our own media and image that something like Peter Hujar’s Day is a breath of fresh air.

    Rebecca Hall is so luminous that she almost doesn’t have to say a word.

    Click here to listen!

    Podcast Music:
    Royalty Free Music from Tunetank.com
    Track: Here We Go! by cinematic alex
    https://tunetank.com/track/802-here-we-go/

    The post Rebecca Hall On the Importance of Listening for ‘Peter Hujar’s Day’ [Podcast] appeared first on The Contending.
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  • ‘Kiss of the Spider Woman’ Production Design Echoes Classic Movie Musicals

    ‘Kiss of the Spider Woman’ Production Design Echoes Classic Movie Musicals
    2025/12/22
    The Kiss of the Spider Woman production design team sits down to discuss their and Bill Condon’s vision for the Broadway adaptation. Looking at the Kiss of the Spider Woman production design, viewers may be initially unaware of its deep connection to classic movie musicals. Sure, many discerning viewers caught the references to Singin’ in the Rain baked into Jennifer Lopez’s show-stopping performance of “Gimme Love!,” but there are deeper cuts imbedded within the film’s extensive production design. Director Bill Condon, production designer Scott Chambliss, and set decorator Andrew Baseman are all students of classic Hollywood musicals. This extensive knowledge perfectly meshed with Spider Woman‘s main character, Molina (Tonatiuh), who escapes the terrors of prison life for the cinematic life of their inspiration, Ingrid Luna (Jennifer Lopez). So, along with Singin’ in the Rain, we receive visual nods to other classic musicals such as Broadway’s Coco, Small Town Girl, The Band Wagon, and other MGM musicals. Not just nods, but in many cases, their sets are built in the same abstract manner of their inspirations. “For me, that was a huge part of the joy of designing this film was going into that vocabulary of design for film that is, to me, that the abstraction of that and the poetry that is within that abstraction gives you room to dream,” Chambliss explained. “When you remember these numbers, at least for me, I remember them as much more elaborate than they really are. They’re so suggestive. When I finally started seeing some of these musicals that I treasured since I was an early teenager on the big screen, I discovered, ‘Oh my god, there’s almost nothing in that set’.” Bizarrely, many younger critics faulted the film’s design because it looked inauthentic and artificial. But that’s the literal point. Molina’s recounting of Luna (and her alter ego, the Spider Woman) are all realized in deliberate homages to the sets of classic Hollywood musicals. As such, the production design needed to recapture those decidedly more antiquated, more sparse, and yes, more artificial appearances so prominently featured within the older Hollywood aesthetic. But the film doesn’t all take place in Molina’s fantasy world. Several scenes take place within the confines of Molina’s harsh prison reality. That offered Chambliss and Baseman a unique challenge. “It’s clearly two extreme opposites, and contrast is key. Focusing in on what exactly those contrasts are made up of is the task of production design itself,” Chambliss said. “For both [Baseman] and I, who love the old musicals that are part of the fantasy world of this movie, we came at the project with a lot of information and a rich history of learning about that period of musical filmmaking.” Here, in a conversation with The Contending, Chambliss and Baseman describe the vast influences of and challenges inherent in bringing Kiss of the Spider Woman to the big screen. They talk about writer / director Bill Condon’s influences and structure for the film. They also talk about the parallels between Molina’s prison cell and their outside apartment, which we do eventually see. Additionally, they reveal how Molina’s prison cell helps define their character. Finally, they reveal the inspiration for the gorgeous theater-set sequence that closes the film and how budget constraints ultimately led to something more artistic and visually stunning. Click here to listen to my chat with Kiss of the Spider Woman production design team of production designer Scott Chambliss and set decorator Andrew Baseman! Podcast Music: Royalty Free Music from Tunetank.com Track: Here We Go! by cinematic alex https://tunetank.com/track/802-here-we-go/ The post ‘Kiss of the Spider Woman’ Production Design Echoes Classic Movie Musicals appeared first on The Contending.
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  • An Immediate Reaction to the Shortlisted Shorts with Brandon MacMurray [Bonus Podcast!]

    An Immediate Reaction to the Shortlisted Shorts with Brandon MacMurray [Bonus Podcast!]
    2025/12/18

    Ahhhh, the shortlists. Most of Film Twitter tuned into Tuesday’s announcement to see what feature films would get a leg up (Wicked: For Good) and what the new Best Casting category would look like. For people like me and ShortStick founder, Brandon MacMurray, we wanted to see what films made an impact in the short film categories.

    Across all three short film categories–Animated, Documentary and Live Action–nearly 500 films qualified, so parsing through so many shorts was no small feat. Brandon and I give our reactions to what we were happy to see and what we were bummed to find out didn’t make the cut. Alexander Farah’s tender, lovely One Day This Kid was both of our biggest disappointment in terms of omissions–stream it on Criterion Channel now!

    We chatted hours after the shortlists dropped, so these reactions are very fresh! Make sure you follow Brandon and his team over at Shortstick for predictions, interviews, and upcoming coverage of festivals throughout the year.

    Click here to listen!

    Podcast Music:
    Royalty Free Music from Tunetank.com
    Track: Here We Go! by cinematic alex
    https://tunetank.com/track/802-here-we-go/

    The post An Immediate Reaction to the Shortlisted Shorts with Brandon MacMurray [Bonus Podcast!] appeared first on The Contending.
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  • 2026 Oscars Shortlists, Saying Goodbye To the Great Rob Reiner [VIDEO]

    2026 Oscars Shortlists, Saying Goodbye To the Great Rob Reiner [VIDEO]
    2025/12/17
    This week, we’re sadly but fondly revisiting the films and legacy of the late Rob Reiner. Plus, we break down the 2026 Oscars shortlists.

    This weekend, we sadly lost one of the 1980s greatest directors: Rob Reiner. While few praised Reiner’s visual style, he excelled at working with and getting great performances from actors in a wide array of genres. From Stand By Me to When Harry Met Sally to A Few Good Men, Reiner made significant contributions to cinema without receiving an Oscar nomination for Best Director (he was only nominated for producing A Few Good Men). We look fondly at his career before moving on to the 2026 Oscars shortlists. What films benefitted the most? What films were kneecapped? Find out on this week’s podcast!

    We close our podcast with a Flash Forward to the media we’re most anticipating in the upcoming week.

    We’re deeply appreciative for your shares, likes, and positive ratings on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

    Click here to listen! Our video podcast follows below!

    Podcast Music:
    Royalty Free Music from Tunetank.com
    Track: Here We Go! by cinematic alex
    https://tunetank.com/track/802-here-we-go/

    The post 2026 Oscars Shortlists, Saying Goodbye To the Great Rob Reiner [VIDEO] appeared first on The Contending.
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    50 分
  • ‘Fantastic Four’ Production Designer Inspired By Optimism In Jet Age, 1964 World’s Fair

    ‘Fantastic Four’ Production Designer Inspired By Optimism In Jet Age, 1964 World’s Fair
    2025/12/16
    Fantastic Four production designer Kasra Farahani talks about optimism, The Jetsons, and other inspirations for his gorgeous designs. The Fantastic Four: First Steps takes place in an entirely different Earth, Earth-828 to be exact. Here, there are no Avengers or X-Men or any of the traditional superheroes we’ve become acquainted with in the advent of Marvel Studios. Instead, the only super-powered beings within this multiverse iteration of Earth are the Fantastic Four, led by Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal). A da Vinci-level inventor/architect, Richards’s influence on this Earth manifests visually in a gorgeous array of retro-futuristic buildings and interior designs tilted toward mid-century modern. Fantastic Four production designer Kasra Farahani dabbled in retro-futurism before. He received an Emmy nomination for his work on the Loki Disney+ series. However, his work here in the world of the Fantastic Four exists on an entirely different plane from that of Loki‘s TVA (Time Variance Authority). “It was interesting when my phone rang for this job because I immediately thought, ‘Oh, mid-century retro-futurism is something I’ve done a lot already in Loki. But after looking more into the source material, I realized it was very different than that of Loki. There, we were going after the feel of an ominous Orwellian monolith,” explained Farahani. “It was clear in the source material for Fantastic Four that this was something very different. It is about optimism first and foremost and about dynamism and acceleration and forward movement.” In initial conversations with director Matt Shakman (WandaVision), Farahani learned that his vision for the film stemmed from the real-world events of the early 1960s. Both artists felt inspired by the optimism of the jet age, best reflected in the advent of the Apollo programs and enhanced space exploration. Additionally, during that period, technology became increasingly married to people’s everyday lives. As a result, early 1960s fashion, product design, and architecture were all heavily influenced by the intersection of technological advancements that made the seemingly impossible more achievable. Here, in Fantastic Four, that aesthetic intersects with the birth and ascension of Reed Richards, a figure that Farahani equates to an “Oppenheimer meets da Vinci-type figure.” His designs stand out within the film and feel like monuments to human potential. It’s a sense that Walt Disney and other visionaries tapped into for New York’s 1964 World’s Fair. “The 1964 World’s Fair is an amazing collection of all of these ideas manifested on a very, very large architectural scale. Considering the amalgamation of all the pavilions, it looked like a small city from the future,” Farahani remarked. “Whether you’re looking at The Jetsons or the World’s Fair or automobile design from that period, it’s undeniable that they’re all looking to the jet age and space flight as a source of inspiration, trying to capture the optimism and hope and kind of sense of awe that those things had in society and distill it into ordinary products that people can buy.” All of those inspirations manifested as the accelerating curves and monolithic white surfaces of Farahani’s production design. Yes, the concept is retro-futurism, but unlike the dark, 50s-based sci-fi world of Loki, everything here feels bright and curvy. There are, in fact, no straight lines in the Richards-built structures in the film. For example, the bathroom countertops seen in the first frames of the film are wavy. The light fixtures are circular. Even Richards’s lab features colored circles that represent the organization of his mind and thought process. There’s so much going on within the design that it’s impossible to encapsulate all details within a written piece, so I encourage you to check out the audio of my conversation with Fantastic Four production designer Kasra Farahani. Here, he elaborates on the connections between Fantastic Four, The Jetsons, the World’s Fair of 1964, and the optimism baked into his designs. He talks about the balance between the playfulness and reality of the production design. He also discusses which architects and structures most inspired his interpretations. Finally, he begrudgingly reveals which aspect of the film’s design was his personal favorite, something he likens to choosing a favorite among one’s children. Click here to listen to my full interview with Fantastic Four production designer Kasra Farahani. You can also see samples of his incredible, Oscar-worthy work below! The Fantastic Four: First Steps streams exclusively on Disney+. Podcast Music: Royalty Free Music from Tunetank.com Track: Here We Go! by cinematic alex https://tunetank.com/track/802-here-we-go/
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  • ‘Fantastic Four’ VFX Supervisor On Artistic Challenges Posed By Each Character’s Powers

    ‘Fantastic Four’ VFX Supervisor On Artistic Challenges Posed By Each Character’s Powers
    2025/12/11
    Fantastic Four VFX Supervisor Scott Stokdyk talks about bringing the core four, plus a new Silver Surfer, to vivid, authentic life.

    Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four: First Steps wasn’t the first film to render the famed comic book quartet on the big screen. Aside from the famed never-released early 90s attempt, there have been three previous Fantastic Four films. Yet, none of those films’ visual effects truly felt fully realized in representing the core four’s — Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, The Thing — cosmic-birthed powers. Earlier attempts felt cartoonish, overly exaggerated, or strictly phoned in. Thankfully, Marvel Studios and director Matt Shakman vastly improved the Fantastic Four VFX.

    Thanks to Academy Award-winning VFX Supervisor Scott Stokdyk, the update feels real and authentic. Reed Richards / Mr. Fantastic’s infamous stretching ability never becomes the butt of a joke. Ben Grimm / The Thing conveys the humanity of Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s performance. Even the controversial female Silver Surfer / Shalla-Bal (Julia Garner) is gorgeously rendered, refuting early reactions to split-second glimpses of the character in the trailer.

    They’re exactly rendered as Stokdyk and team intended, online buzz be damned.

    “I have to tune that out. At this point it’s like, it’s so easy to get caught up in first reaction kind of things. When I’m just in it and working on it, I just want to make these shots the best they are and focus on that,” Stokdyk explained. “If I think they look good and I know they’re going to look good, then I’m not worried about it.That’s just kind of noise to me.”

    Here, in an interview with The Contending, Stokdyk talks about the process of bringing to vivid life the Fantastic Four’s powers. He talks about digging into anatomy — muscle, skin, bones — and learning how they stretch. He talks about retaining Bachrach’s emotional performance as The Thing within that rocky exterior. He also talks about capturing Julia Garner’s fully committed performance as Shalla-Bal through visual effects as a fully chromatic character.

    “She’s so expressive, and there’s so many really deep emotional performances. On set, you’re just like flabbergasted on what she brings. Then, you get back, and you want to make sure the audience feels what I felt on set.”

    Stokdyk shares details about taking Ralph Ineson to galactic heights as Galactus, eater of worlds. He also reveals the extensive collaboration between multiple departments that helped fashion the excellent finished product. Finally, he reveals which character posed the biggest challenge to render through VFX.

    Click here to listen to my full interview with The Fantastic Four: First Steps Oscar-winning visual effects supervisor Scott Stokdyk.

    The Fantastic Four: First Steps streams exclusively on Disney+.

    Podcast Music:
    Royalty Free Music from Tunetank.com
    Track: Here We Go! by cinematic alex
    https://tunetank.com/track/802-here-we-go/

    The post ‘Fantastic Four’ VFX Supervisor On Artistic Challenges Posed By Each Character’s Powers appeared first on The Contending.
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  • Oscars 2026: How Critics Week, Golden Globes Impact the Race [VIDEO]

    Oscars 2026: How Critics Week, Golden Globes Impact the Race [VIDEO]
    2025/12/09
    This week, we look at the 2025 critics awards, Golden Globes and their impact on the 2026 Oscar race. Plus, what happened to the old Globes?

    A lot happened in the weeks since we last recorded. Last week, the New York, Los Angeles, and National Board of Review all weighed in on 2025 film. We also had the AFI and the Critics Choice unveil their nominations for the best of the year. This week, the maligned Golden Globes revealed their nominations. Funny thing: they’re all kind of the same. On this week’s podcast, we talk about whether or not the critics still matter and who most benefitted from the initial awards. Then, we break down the Golden Globe nominations and reveal who we think the frontrunners are to win.

    We close our podcast with a Flash Forward to the media we’re most anticipating in the upcoming week.

    We’re deeply appreciative for your shares, likes, and positive ratings on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

    Click here to listen! Our video podcast follows below!

    Podcast Music:
    Royalty Free Music from Tunetank.com
    Track: Here We Go! by cinematic alex
    https://tunetank.com/track/802-here-we-go/

    The post Oscars 2026: How Critics Week, Golden Globes Impact the Race [VIDEO] appeared first on The Contending.
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    1 時間 14 分
  • ‘Jay Kelly’ Casting: Nina Gold, Doug Aibel Discuss Assembling Different Ensembles [PODCAST]

    ‘Jay Kelly’ Casting: Nina Gold, Doug Aibel Discuss Assembling Different Ensembles [PODCAST]
    2025/12/04

    One of the most exciting things about this upcoming Academy Awards is the introduction to the newest category: Best Casting. This will be the first new category implemented by the organization since 2001, and there are a lot of questions swirling around. Which films will have a shot at the inaugural trophy? Will some popular films make the shortlist when they are announced later this month? For legendary casting directors Nina Gold and Doug Aibel, they might have the same questions. Their work on Jay Kelly is one of the many reasons why Noah Baumbach’s character study is as successful as it is.

    We began our talk reflecting on what it means for them to finally be in competition for an Academy Award. If you put their resumes together, you would find enormous accomplishments. Aibel cast Materialists, The Phoenecian Scheme, and Long Bright River this year alone, while Gold worked on Ballad of a Small Player, Too Much, and Hamnet in 2025.

    For Jay Kelly, Gold and Aibel had to populate entire worlds of the entertainment industry and Jay Kelly’s devoted fandom across multiple countries. The duo explains that they made pocket ensembles to represent the various groups that follow Jay and his crew around. One of the most satisfying and entertaining sections of Baumbach’s film is when the entertainment crew boards a train from France to Italy, and Jay finds himself at the center of an adoring stew of people. Some are locals, some are tourists. Most are European but some Americans make themselves known.

    There are many different ways to cast a project, and Gold and Aibel admit that it depends on the story, timing, and circumstance. There is no “standard” way of casting a film, and that’s why Gold and Aibel are the best in the business. Their work on Jay Kelly reflects just how many factors come into play when populating the screen with characters big and small. They make it look effortless–just like Jay Kelly’s smile.

    Jay Kelly is in select theaters now, and it debuts exclusively on Netflix on December 5.

    Click here to listen!

    Podcast Music:
    Royalty Free Music from Tunetank.com
    Track: Here We Go! by cinematic alex
    https://tunetank.com/track/802-here-we-go/

    The post ‘Jay Kelly’ Casting: Nina Gold, Doug Aibel Discuss Assembling Different Ensembles [PODCAST] appeared first on The Contending.
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