Dialogue

Jenny Slate is pretty memorable as an entitled dry-cleaning client twirling a chihuahua around her head in Everything Everywhere All at Once , but it’s her role as an animated shell with one googly eye that really captured attention this season. In Marcel the Shell with Shoes On , we’re given a full-length feature version of the character Slate co-created with director Dean Fleischer Camp back in 2010. Voicing Marcel and leaning into her improv skills to help cook up the comedy character’s quirky and poignant dialogue, Slate explains why she thinks Marcel’s miniature perspective has inspired so many, and why this gig suits her so much better than SNL ever did. DEADLINE: Years ago, you came up with the voice of Marcel when you and Dean and some friends were squashed into a hotel room at a wedding. What part of you was speaking through Marcel back then? Because doing voices can sometimes be about expressing a thing you wouldn’t normally say. JENNY SLATE : And … [Read more...] about ‘Marcel The Shell With Shoes On’ Co-Creator & Star Jenny Slate On Making A Moving Miniature Microcosm: “You Can Be Lost In It”

Cate Blanchett won at the Critics Choice Awards on Sunday, where she took the Best Actress trophy for her role in Tár . In the film, Blanchett plays Lydia Tár, a fiercely independent and world-renowned composer whose esteemed career comes crashing down around her after being accused of sexual harassment. Following her recent win for Best Actress in a Drama at the Golden Globes on Tuesday , which Blanchett did not attend, Blanchett candidly spoke out about the triviality of awards season in a rousing speech. “It’s extremely arbitrary considering how many extraordinary performances that have been by women not only in this room but, you know… the extraordinary creative conversation. I can’t believe I’m up here. This is ridiculous. I am so old,” Blanchett laughed before she continued. “Why don’t we just say there is a whole raft of female performances that are in concert and in dialogue with one another? And stop the televised horse race of it all. Can I tell you, every single … [Read more...] about ‘Tár’ Star Cate Blanchett Wants A New Way To Celebrate “Arbitrary” Awards Season During Critics Choice Awards After Best Actress Win

The coming together of the creative brains behind two of Netflix’s biggest international hits, The Crown and Money Heist , certainly sounds like an eye-catching proposition on paper. For Netflix, it was irresistible. Left Bank Pictures boss Andy Harries and Vancouver Media’s Álex Pina flew into LA in February 2018 to sell their vision for a sun-soaked, sepia-toned saga, set in the breathtaking climes of the Balearic Islands. Netflix was their first stop, with their meeting coming just weeks after Money Heist had taken off like a rocket on the streaming service. “They basically bought it in the room,” Harries recalls. Fast-forward more than two years and Netflix is dropping White Lines this Friday, a 10-part series that tells the story of a British Ibiza DJ who is brutally murdered in the 1990s and his sister’s investigation into his death 20 years on. Not only is the drama set across two different periods in time, it also brings together two … [Read more...] about ‘White Lines’: How Netflix’s Sun-Soaked Spanish Saga United The Creators Of ‘Money Heist’ & ‘The Crown’

EXCLUSIVE : Archer Gray has today announced the promotion of Rebecca Choi to Vice President of Narrative Film and the addition of Kelsey Jackson in the newly established role of Vice President of Narrative Television. The news follows the recent announcement of Vinay Singh being upped to CEO, as well as the company’s expansion into unscripted content with the hire of Liza Keckler, and the launch of its Co-Lab division headed by former Disney and Fox exec Jim Fielding. It also precedes the bow of The Persian Version — a dramedy from writer-director Maryam Keshavarz, which will this week become Archer Gray’s sixth project to premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. Both new VPs will help grow the company’s narrative slate under Archer Gray Partner and President of Narrative Production, Anne Carey — collaborating with a team now spanning unscripted content, live experiences, and brand and retail strategy. “Archer Gray strives to shine a light on distinctive … [Read more...] about Archer Gray Ups Rebecca Choi, Adds Kelsey Jackson As It Expands Narrative Division

Lisa Joy , the Emmy-nominated writer, director and producer of shows like Westworld and Pushing Daisies , has been selected as Jury President for this year’s Series Mania Festival and its International Competition. In a cocktail event at the Général de France at Los Angeles, Laurence Herszberg, Founder and General Director, and Frederic Lavigne, Artistic Director, of Series Mania, made the announcement. “We are very pleased to be announcing here in Los Angeles that the multi-talented, remarkably versatile, Lisa Joy will be our Jury President for the upcoming edition of Series Mania. Lisa’s experience and passion for creating complex and big canvas stories, coupled with her many credits including the highly successful drama series Westworld, make her the perfect choice to be leading our international jury. We look forward to welcoming her to Lille,” said Herszberg. Joy will be present in Lille, along with other jury members who will be announced shortly, and will … [Read more...] about ‘Westworld’ Co-Creator Lisa Joy Selected As Jury President Of Series Mania Festival’s International Competition

EXCLUSIVE: Cristo Fernández ( Ted Lasso , Spiderman: No Way Home ) has wrapped on the comedy Sisters , written by and starring Marta Cross ( Criminal Minds ), Valeria Maldonado ( Coco ), and Virginia Novello ( Gone ). Fernández executive produces and stars in the film via his Espectro MX Films banner. An exclusive trailer for Sisters can be viewed above. With their lives unraveling around them, three Mexican American sisters reunite, after years of estrangement, to complete their beloved grandmother’s pilgrimage through rural Mexico. With no hiking experience, little reception, and an old map, the sisters walk the sacred trail to Talpa de Allende and find help along the way from Kin (Fernández), a local with a dark past. They must work together through their differences in order to reach the end and find their miracle. Sisters also stars Adam Mayfield ( Ford vs Ferrari ), Maya Zapata ( Under the Same Moon ), Ignacio Riva Palacio ( Rosario … [Read more...] about ‘Ted Lasso’s’ Cristo Fernández Wraps Production On ‘Sisters’ Starring Marta Cross, Valeria Maldonado & Virginia Novello

Hello and welcome to another episode of the Scene 2 Seen Podcast !! I am your host Valerie Complex, associate editor and film writer at Deadline. On today’s episode is actress Gugu Mbatha-Raw . In her latest project, the Apple TV+ series Surface (where she also serves as executive producer), Raw stars as Sohie, a woman who has suffered a traumatic head injury that has left her with extreme memory loss, believed to be a result of a suicide attempt. As Sophie embarks on a quest to put the pieces of her life back together with the help of her husband and friends, she begins to question whether or not the truth she is told is in fact the truth she has lived. Showrunner is Veronica West ( High Fidelity ). You can view the trailer here to get a taste. Looking back into her career history, Raw is an award-winning actor of the stage and screen. Her stage performances include Hamlet (2009) alongside Jude Law in the West End, Elsinore in Denmark and Broadway, and … [Read more...] about Scene 2 Seen Podcast: Gugu Mbatha-Raw Discusses Starring And Executive Producing On Apple Series ‘Surface’

Jennifer Lopez has been married a few times, both in life and in the movies — most recently twice last year with her real life wedding(s) to Ben Affleck, and on screen in her delightful Valentine’s Day-timed comedy Marry Me. Both made me happy for her, but her latest, Shotgun Wedding , is something altogether different, a frenetic action comedy that never puts on the brakes. It is a wild ride no doubt, but it isn’t the kind of wedding to which I need to be invited any time soon. So the plot is pretty predictable, especially if you have seen a whole range of movies from Romancing the Stone to last spring’s The Lost City, manic films that pair a male and female star caught in treacherous circumstances and lets them argue and snap at each other for the better part of two hours as they face an onslaught of death-defying antics and stunts. Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum really made the format work big time last year in Lost City and helped bring adult audiences back to … [Read more...] about ‘Shotgun Wedding’ Review: Jennifer Lopez Hits The Altar Again But This Time With Real Fireworks

Written and directed by Chloe Domont, Fair Play follows a couple’s descent into the depths of hell all over a job promotion. The film stars Phoebe Dynevor , Alden Ehrenreich and Eddie Marsan. Fair Play starts at a party where patrons are jamming to Donna Summer. At the center of it all is Emily (Dynevor) smoking a cigarette. She’s in a relationship with Luke (Ehrenreich) and he steals her away for a quickie. However, they quickly realize she has started her period. In the melee of trying to clean up,  a ring drops out of his pocket to the ground which Emily discovers. He was going to surprise her with a marriage proposal, one that she promptly says yes to. They both work in the same office and have the same corporate job in finance. It’s an environment full of busy bodies talking, trading, screaming, crying and doing whatever they can to get the job done. One of their bosses is fired and, as a result, he destroys the office with a golf club. One night Emily is … [Read more...] about ‘Fair Play’ Sundance Review: An Intense Ride Down A Slippery Slope As A Young Couple Descends Into Relationship Hell

Eileen , directed by William Oldroyd, and written by Ottessa Moshfegh, and Luke Goebel , which is based on Moshfegh’s book of the same name. The film stars Thomasin Mackenzie, Anne Hathaway , and Shea Whigham. Eileen (Mackenzie)  starts with the titular character sitting in her car on a beach, watching a couple make up. Her arousal peaks as a voyeur, and stuffs ice down her pants to cool down so to speak. The 24-year old is the loner type who works as a prison receptionist. She has her eyes on one of the prison guards,  and during her downtime at work her imagination runs wild with the possibilities of a hook up. Her mother is dead and now she lives with her father (played by Shea Whigham) who is a retired cop and raging alcoholic. When Eileen comes home from work one day, she sees the police trying to calm him while he’s drunk and waving a gun around in the middle of the street. She promptly deescalates the situation and instead of thanking her for preventing him … [Read more...] about ‘Eileen’ Sundance Film Review: This Is What Happens When Female Loneliness And Rage Collide