💥 Kerry Washington on ‘Shadow Force’
Sleep, or movie?
May 2 — Happy Friday, y’all. It’s the end of a LONG week, in which I’ve been at the Plaza or the Tara enjoying the Atlanta Film Festival almost every day. I love watching movies (that should be obvious at this point), but even the best of us get sleepy sometimes! And this long week of movie-watching has just about taken it out of me.
But the fun isn’t over yet! The in-person aspect of the festival will continue through the weekend, and then you’ll be able to enjoy films virtually until May 12. Check out the lineup here.
Without further ado … Action!
The Atlanta Film Festival recently announced it will honor filmmaker David O. Russell with its Originator Award and also host a May 4 screening of Russell’s film, “The Fighter.” Russell’s films have been lauded over the years, but he has also been the subject of numerous troubling allegations. More on that story here.
In other festival news, this year the Atlanta Film Festival will honor Mary Ann Hughes, Ray McKinnon, and the Georgia Film Academy with its IMAGE Film Award.
In case you missed it, Jim Farmer interviewed actor Marco Calvani for the Georgia Voice this week, discussing his new role in the Netflix show “The Four Seasons.”
Francis Ford Coppola received the American Film Institute’s Life Achievement Award over the weekend. Check out the tribute here.
“Sinners” had another great weekend at the box office with $45 million domestic. That marks the smallest second-week drop-off ever for an R-rated film. Let’s hope the magic continues this weekend! And if you want to check out my review of the film, you can do so here.
This week includes more Atlanta Film Festival interviews, including one with Kerry Washington, and filmmakers Sabrina Greco and Miguel Ortiz. Plus, we’ve got reviews of the new Marvel movie “Thunderbolts” and Daniel Minahan’s queer melodrama “On Swift Horses.” You can also check out a new episode of my podcast, Crash Zoom, and enjoy a few listening and reading recommendations on your lunch break.
Thanks for reading!
Sammie
The Midtown Mutt Gala returns this Sun., May 4! Inspired by the Met Gala, enjoy food, music, vendors, and costumed dogs on the red carpet. Free to watch; Details here! SPONSOR MESSAGE
Kerry Washington talks parenting, producing, and ‘Shadow Force’
Coming up Mother’s Day weekend, Kerry Washington will star in a new film about the rougher side of parenting – literally.
“Shadow Force” stars Washington and Omar Sy as two former shadow operatives on the run from their old team. The couple must stay out of harm’s way and avoid the bounty on their heads while keeping their young son Ky (Jahleel Kamara) safe at the same time.
Ahead of its Mother’s Day weekend release on May 9, the film played at this year’s Atlanta Film Festival on April 27, with Washington in attendance. I also got the opportunity to speak with Washington about the film, which, as an Olivia Pope stan, was huge for me.
Check out that conversation here.
Scenthound salutes educators with free services
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If you know an amazing educator, pass this on.
Sabrina Greco on embarrassment and miscommunication in ‘Lockjaw’
Everyone has had a bad night out: indulged in a little too much to drink, said something embarrassing, gotten into a fight with a friend. It happens! But, for most of us, when those bad nights arise, we don’t have to face them with our jaws wired shut.
In “Lockjaw,” a film from writer/director Sabrina Greco, dysfunctional Raina (Blu Hunt) suffers through her first night out post a drunken accident that landed her in the hospital – and with a mouth full of metal rendering it impossible for her to speak normally.
“Lockjaw” takes the feelings of embarrassment from those bad nights out and magnifies them by a million. Greco’s film recently played at the Atlanta Film Festival, and I got the opportunity to talk with her after the screening.
Check out that interview here.
Miguel Ortiz talks getting past the block with ‘Bloqué’
Miguel Ortiz has always wanted to be a storyteller. In fact, he told his mom he would be a filmmaker when he was just 8 years old. Decades later, he’s made it.
“Bloqué” is Ortiz’s short film about a drummer, played by Malick Koly, struggling to push through a creative block of sorts. The film is playing in the Black Boy Fly shorts block at this year’s Atlanta Film Festival on Saturday at the Plaza Theatre.
The drummer’s struggle for inspiration mirrors Ortiz’s own experience while writing the film, just through a different artistic medium. I recently spoke with Ortiz about the making of the film, and how dwelling on the personal stuff can sometimes help you break through.
Check out that conversation here.
The ‘Thunderbolts’ are the superheroes we didn’t think we needed
WEEKLY FILM REVIEW
At the beginning of “Thunderbolts,” Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), is on a mission, sent by CIA director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) to destroy any and all evidence of a super soldier experiment gone wrong.
As the last scientist standing tries to take her down, she begins to narrate exactly how the following scene will play out – there’ll be a scramble for the gun, a brief skirmish resulting in a bunch of smashed lab equipment, the scientist will make a brave attempt at a few last words, and Yelena will kill him. Bing, bang, boom, done. Boring.
Yelena might be talking about the mission at hand, but it’s not hard to make the leap that this is “Thunderbolts” commenting on the state of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a whole. The formula is becoming tired, and they know it. But as much as this moment is poking fun at the state of these movies, “Thunderbolts” is not suggesting that Marvel abandon the routine all together – just that it tries to get back to whatever made that early run of movies work in the first place. And, by God, “Thunderbolts” does just that.
‘On Swift Horses’ and the melodrama of awakening
WEEKLY FILM REVIEW
A little ways into “On Swift Horses,” Henry (Diego Calva) takes Julius (Jacob Elordi), one of our central characters, to watch an atomic bomb test in the desert. It’s a fitting metaphor for the way that Henry – a smokin’ hot Las Vegas casino worker – is about to blow up Julius’ life.
That’s sort of what “On Swift Horses,” directed by Daniel Minahan and based on Shannon Pufahl’s 2019 novel of the same name, is all about – although, the bomb metaphor is a little more of an on-the-nose representation of awakening than anything else that happens in the film.
Julius and his sister-in-law Muriel (Daisy Edgar-Jones) serve as our main characters, two people on separate, but similar journeys of self-discovery – one trying to do what’s expected of them, the other running away, but both avoiding the truth about their sexualities and their identities. Melodrama can be a difficult genre to get right, but “On Swift Horses” enters the canon as a solid modern entry, a story of what it means to stop going through the motions, and to truly awaken to your life.
The Midtown Mutt Gala returns this Sun., May 4! Inspired by the Met Gala, enjoy food, music, vendors, and costumed dogs on the red carpet. Free to watch; Details here! SPONSOR MESSAGE
Crash Zoom: diversity on film sets and the creator economy boom
Welcome to Crash Zoom, a podcast where we take a deep dive into film and entertainment industry news!
Each week, join me and my cohost, indie filmmaker Aaron Strand, as we explore how things happening at the highest level trickle down and affect the independent artist. This week, we discuss why there’s such a booming creator economy, more additions to the Cannes Film Festival, and more.
Lights, Camera, Action!
The Blank Check podcast is back with a new miniseries – they’re doing the Lord’s work, and covering the films of the queen Amy Heckerling. Listen to the first episode on “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” here.
For the New York Times, John McWhorter made a list of 10 movies from before 1965 that are still essential viewing today. Entries include “Singin’ in the Rain,” “Casablanca,” and more. It’s a good list, but – as all great lists do – it made me want to make my own to give some love to everything John left out. Check out McWhorter’s list here.
With Andrew Ahn’s “The Wedding Banquet” and Roshan Sethi’s “A Nice Indian Boy” both hitting theaters this spring, it feels like we’re in the season of queer Asian cinema. For GQ, Raymond Ang talked to both filmmakers about the pressures of working in Hollywood and their hopes that this burst is just the start of something more. Check out the full article here.
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