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  • “Barbie” global ticket sales reach $1 billion in historic first for women directors

    “Barbie” global ticket sales reach $1 billion in historic first for women directors

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    In the three weeks since its debut in theaters, “Barbie” has surpassed $1 billion in global ticket sales, marking a historic moment for the film industry as it becomes the first movie directed solely by a woman to hit this box office milestone. 

    Greta Gerwig, who directed “Barbie,” joins a small group of people who have the sole directing credit on a billion-dollar movie in Hollywood’s history. She now holds the box office record for women directors, which Patty Jenkins last set with “Wonder Woman” in 2017. That film raked in more than $800 million.

    “Barbie” has earned about $1.03 billion worldwide as of Sunday, according to Box Office Mojo. The feminist film, which Gerwig directed and co-wrote after previously receiving Oscar nominations for her earlier films “Lady Bird” and “Little Women,” already broke one major record. It had the biggest opening weekend for a women director ever, according to Fandango managing editor Erik Davis. 

    “Barbie” added another $53 million from 4,178 North American locations this weekend according to studio estimates on Sunday. The Margot Robbie-led and produced film has been comfortably seated in first place for three weeks and it’s hardly finished yet.

    People go into a frenzy of looking like a Barbie
    A digital advertisement board displaying a Barbie movie poster is seen in New York on July 24, 2023. 

    Selcuk Acar/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images


    In modern box office history, just 53 movies have made over $1 billion, not accounting for inflation, and “Barbie” is now the biggest to be directed by one woman, supplanting “Wonder Woman’s” $821.8 million global total. Three movies that were co-directed by women are still ahead of “Barbie,” including “Frozen” ($1.3 billion) and “Frozen 2” ($1.45 billion) both co-directed by Jennifer Lee and “Captain Marvel” ($1.1 billion), co-directed by Anna Boden. But, “Barbie” has passed “Captain Marvel” domestically with $459.4 million (versus $426.8 million), thereby claiming the North American record for live-action movies directed by women.

    New competition came this weekend in the form of the animated, PG-rated “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” and the Jason Statham shark sequel, “Meg 2: The Trench,” both of which were neck-in-neck with Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer,” also in its third weekend, for the second-place spot.

    “Meg 2” managed to sneak ahead and land in second place. It overcame its abysmal reviews to score a $30 million opening weekend from 3,503 locations. The Warner Bros. release, directed by Ben Wheatley, currently has a 29% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes and a B- CinemaScore from audiences. The thriller was released in 3D, which accounted for 22% of its first weekend business.

    Third place went to “Oppenheimer,” which added $28.7 million from 3,612 locations in North America, bringing its domestic total to $228.6 million. In just three weeks, the J. Robert Oppenheimer biopic starring Cillian Murphy has become the highest grossing R-rated film of the year (ahead of “John Wick Chapter 4”) and the sixth-biggest of the year overall, surpassing “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.”

    “Oppenheimer” also celebrated a landmark, crossing $500 million globally in three weeks. Its worldwide tally is currently $552.9 million, which puts it ahead of “Dunkirk,” which clocked out with $527 million in 2017, and has become Nolan’s fifth-biggest movie ever. It’s also now among the four top grossing biographies ever (company includes “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “The Passion of the Christ” and “American Sniper”) and the biggest World War II movie of all time.

    Paramount’s “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” was close behind in fourth place with an estimated $28 million from 3,858 theaters in North America. Since opening on Wednesday, the film, which is riding on excellent reviews (96% on Rotten Tomatoes) and audience scores, has earned $43.1 million.

    “This is one of those movies that is a multigenerational joy,” said Chris Aronson, Paramount’s president of domestic distribution. “I think the enduring popularity of ‘Turtles’ is showing its true colors. And there hasn’t been an animated film in eight weeks and there won’t be another for eight weeks which is great for us.”

    “Turtles” cost $70 million to produce and features a starry voice cast that includes Jackie Chan, Ice Cube, Paul Rudd, Ayo Edebiri and Seth Rogen, who produced and co-wrote the film, which leans into the “teenage” aspect of the turtles.

    “Barbie,” “Oppenheimer” and even the surprise, anti-trafficking hit “Sound of Freedom” (now at $163.5 million and ahead of “Mission: Impossible 7”) have helped fuel a boom at the box office, bringing in many millions more than was expected and helping to offset pains caused by some summer disappointments.


    “Barbie” star Margot Robbie on being a “thrill seeker”

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    “After ‘The Flash,’ ‘Indiana Jones’ and, to a certain extent, ‘Mission: Impossible,’ people were saying the summer was a disappointment. But it’s not over yet,” said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. “We’re going to have a summer that is going to go out on a high note.”

    But the moment of triumph for the industry will likely be short lived if the studios can’t reach an agreement with striking actors and writers soon. The fall release calendar has already gotten slimmer, with some studios pushing films into 2024 instead of trying to promote them without movie stars.

    Sony had planned to release its PlayStation-inspired true story “Gran Turismo” in theaters nationwide next Friday, but will now be rolling it out slowly for two weeks before going wide on Aug. 25. The thinking? If movie stars can’t promote the film, maybe audiences can.

    “We have to be realistic,” Dergarabedian said. “We’re on this emotional high of movies doing so well, but we have to temper our enthusiasm and optimism with the fact that the strike is creating a lot of uncertainty. The longer it goes on the more profound the issues become. But the audience has spoken and they love going to the movie theater.”

    Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

    1. “Barbie,” $53 million.

    2. “Meg 2: The Trench,” $30 million.

    3. “Oppenheimer,” $28.7 million.

    4. “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem,” $28 million.

    5. “Haunted Mansion,” $9 million.

    6. “Sound of Freedom,” $7 million.

    7. “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part I,” $6.5 million.

    8. “Talk to Me,” $6.3 million.

    9. “Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani,” $1.5 million.

    10. “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” $1.5 million.

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  • Oppenheimer Grandson Slams 1 Film Scene, Denies He Was ‘Trying To Kill Somebody’

    Oppenheimer Grandson Slams 1 Film Scene, Denies He Was ‘Trying To Kill Somebody’

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    J. Robert Oppenheimer’s grandson is angry that Christopher Nolan’s film about the making and deployment of atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki contained a scene suggesting he was “trying to kill somebody” — despite the mass deaths resulting from his creation.

    “The part I like the least is this poison apple reference, which was a problem in ‘American Prometheus,’” Charles Oppenheimer told Time in a recent interview. “If you read ‘American Prometheus’ carefully enough, the authors say, ‘We don’t really know if it happened.’”

    Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin’s 2005 book, which won the Pulitzer Prize for biography, essentially served as the blueprint for “Oppenheimer.” Both contained a scene from the physicist’s time at the University of Cambridge.

    The moment occurs early in the film and shows J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) seemingly trying to poison his tutor with a potassium-cyanide-laced apple. He then scrambles to throw it away before physicist Niels Bohr (Kenneth Branagh) unknowingly reaches for it.

    “There’s no record of him trying to kill somebody,” Charles Oppenheimer told Time about the scene. “That’s a really serious accusation and it’s historical revision. There’s not a single enemy or friend of Robert Oppenheimer who heard that during his life and considered it to be true.”

    Charles Oppenheimer added he was bothered the moment was included in “American Prometheus” without a disclaimer noting it was “an unsubstantiated rumor.”

    He added that Nolan’s film “told a compelling story,” however, which he accepted as “art that was really engaging.”

    Charles said his grandfather, J. Robert Oppenheimer (pictured), never tried to kill his tutor.

    John Rooney/Associated Press

    As for the hundreds of thousands killed as a result of his grandfather’s work, Charles Oppenheimer said that the U.S. government wrestled control of J. Robert Oppenheimer’s creation away from him and refused to heed his proposals on how to manage the new weapon.

    “I think his advice is really relevant today, because he was right about how to manage atomic energy,” he told Time. “If we had followed his actual hard policy proposals, we could have avoided an arms race right after World War II … [He] saw where we should go.”

    The U.S. detonated two atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, killing an estimated 210,000 people. As shown in the film, former President Harry Truman refused to heed J. Robert Oppenheimer’s advice to co-manage America’s new power with its allies.

    Charles Oppenheimer argued that sharing access to these weapons with the U.K. and Russia, which changed global power dynamics forever, would have avoided the endless arms race still continuing today.

    While he had gripes with the apple scene, Charles Oppenheimer is admittedly biased.

    “I find that being related to him and having insight into who he was doesn’t always seem that interesting to other people,” he told Time. “They’re happy to ask a historian or a writer, and it’s not necessarily true that my impression of his values is taken as the answer.”

    “So I kind of struggle with saying that I have a view of who he is and what he cared about.”

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  • Oppenheimer: Cillian Murphy calls Robert Downey Jr ‘electrifying’; reveals acting with him was ‘extraordinary’

    Oppenheimer: Cillian Murphy calls Robert Downey Jr ‘electrifying’; reveals acting with him was ‘extraordinary’

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    Oppenheimer is one of the biggest movies of the year. With a star-studded cast, the movie has earned rave reviews from critics and fans alike. The star of the movie Cillian Murphy recently talked about his experience working with Iron Man actor Robert Downy Jr. and the fun they had working with the film’s script.

    Cillian Murphy praises Oppenheimer co-star Robert Downey Jr.

    In a recent interview with GQ, Cillian Murphy spoke about the Oppenheimer script being incredibly dense, to the point where the actor made an exception by reading his lines before he got to the set. 

    Murphy said, “You have to be completely prepared. I knew the script more or less before we went into work, which isn’t so not something I’ve ever done before. Only in theatre, because there was so much text, and it was quite dense. I wanted to not be worried about the text when I went on the floor.”

    One respite the Inception actor had was working with Robert Downey Jr. He explained, “But then, a lot of the scenes I have with Downey, it was quite loose and quite improvisational.”

    Murphy heaped praise on the Iron Man actor, calling his talent extraordinary. He said, “I mean, acting with him was just extraordinary. He’s just electrifying, the most available engaged, present, unpredictably brilliant actor I’ve ever worked with.”

    ALSO READ: Oppenheimer: Is Christopher Nolan’s movie based on a true story? Everything to know about Robert Oppenheimer

    Cillian Murphy’s views on Oppenheimer

    During the interview, Murphy was asked if he is “able to judge him [Oppenheimer] just a little bit?” In his response, the actor diplomatically said, “I’m really not going to give you an opinion on that. I really strongly believe that the film should ask the questions of the audience.”

    He explained that his motive is not to “prejudice anybody’s point of view, when they go into the movie theatre, about what how they feel and Oppenheimer.”

    Although, the actor did reveal Christopher Nolan’s view of the man the world came to know as the father of the atomic bomb. Murphy shared, “What I will say, is that Oppenheimer – Chris called him the most important man that ever lived, whatever you think about that. That’s up to you. But we are living in a world that was changed by Oppenheimer. We’re living in a nuclear age because of what Oppenheimer did.”

    Meanwhile, Oppenheimer has been racking in amazing box-office numbers since its release on July 21. With its controversies and praises, Nolan has added another blockbuster to his list of iconic movies.

    ALSO READ: Oppenheimer India Box Office Preview: Christopher Nolan directorial runtime, screen count, and opening day

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  • The Highs And Lows For Warner Bros.

    The Highs And Lows For Warner Bros.

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    It’s no secret that Warner Bros’ hand in the Barbie movie provides them with the biggest box office success of the year. It’s already breaking records, pulling in over $300 million in its opening weekend, the biggest for a female director (in Greta Gerwig) ever. And it’s already garnering Oscar buzz. It went head-to-head with previous Warner Bros right-hand-director Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer and won decisively .

    People were calling Barbenheimer the biggest day for cinema since Christopher Nolan released
    The Dark Knight and Phyllida Lloyd opened Mamma Mia! on the same day in 2008. However, the magnitude of power both Barbie and Oppenheimer held on cinema-goers this weekend far outpaced that. And yet, you can’t help but notice a few key points Warner Bros is already having as a studio this year.

    With the failing world of DC Comics unable to compete with Disney’s
    Marvel, Warner Bros. faced major controversy by continuing production and promotion of The Flash. After star Ezra Miller was openly accused of grooming, kidnapping, delivering confusing open messages to the Ku Klux Klan, and being charged with disorderly conduct and harassment (to name only a few), Warner Bros. made the curious decision – keep them in the film entirely.

    The film (in simpler terms) flopped. Only bringing in $268 million through the box office,
    The Flash was ill-attended and ill-received. But that wasn’t all the production company faced this year.

    Christopher Nolan was Warner Bros. Golden Boy from 2002-2020 until he left and publicly condemned their hybrid release model. In response to the breakup, Warner Bros. put their top-budgeted film (with insane marketing) up against his 3-hour-long biopic that was only meant to be viewed in IMAX theaters. In other words, Nolan had no chance of winning.

    And while
    Barbie is one of the best films I’ve seen in forever, you can’t help but sense that there’s some deep drama underneath its glossy surface.

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    Jai Phillips

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  • The Massive Wikipedia War Over Barbenheimer, Explained

    The Massive Wikipedia War Over Barbenheimer, Explained

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    Earlier this month, someone created a Wikipedia page for Barbenheimer, the internet phenomenon inspired by the simultaneous release of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, two highly anticipated movies with rave reviews that are expected to bring in millions at the box office this summer. The creation of the Wikipedia page was followed by weeks of debate about how the page should be organized, where it should live, what images should be included, if Barbie’s full name needed to be a part of it, and if all of this should just be deleted.

    This Brutal Gothic Metroidvania Is Shaping up To Be Something Special

    For those of you who have been living under a rock, Barbenheimer is an online meme referencing the fact that the Barbie movie and Oppenheimer were released in theaters on the same day, July 21. While it has certainly picked up steam in the last few weeks, the actual origins of the meme date back to April 2022, when WB Discovery announced that the then-upcoming Barbie film would be released on July 21, 2023. Internet users quickly noticed that was the same release date for Oppenheimer and soon began making jokes about seeing the two movies on the same day. From there, fan art, custom t-shirts, and poster mash-ups were created and spread all over social media. Even actors involved with the films have acknowledged Barbenheimer.

    So, a pop culture phenomenon of Barbenheimer proportions certainly warrants a Wikipedia page. I mean, it’s not like the creation of this page would lead to an online war, right?

    The Barbenheimer Wikipedia page leads to an online war

    On July 1, Wikipedia user Freoh created a redirect for Barbenheimer. Anyone who searched Wikipedia for the online phenomenon would be “redirected” to the Oppenheimer film article. A few minutes later, Freoh changed their mind and redirected users to the Barbie movie page instead. According to Freoh, the reason for the change was that it seemed like “the Barbie movie people have embraced it more.”

    A few hours later, Wikipedia user Manasbose got involved. This user didn’t think the meme should be a redirect. Instead, they thought it deserved its very own Wikipedia page. So they quickly created one and started to expand on it. As pointed out by the Twitter account, Depths of Wikipedia, the first hours of the Barbenheimer page were wild. In its infancy, the page suggested that “Oppenbarbie” was a common alternative name for the meme. For the next few hours, it was mostly just Manasbose and some other users editing and expanding the page.

    Then more users got involved. On July 10, user Shmoovyshlasagna removed the alt name Oppenbarbie and added a comment that “nobody cool” says that. “That shit scrapes my whole mouth,” said Shmoovyshlasagna. “Barbenheimer rolls smoothly. Think about it.”

    At this point, the page was growing fast, with lots of edits being made, sections being changed, entire parts of it being deleted, and then all of it changed again by dozens of users. Some wanted Pikmin 4 thrown into the mix, as it also was set to launch on July 21. Some wanted better, less ugly images of Barbie. And some wanted it all gone.

    The attempted assassination of Barbenheimer

    On July 11, user InfiniteNexus nominated the Barbenheimer page for deletion. They explained that they weren’t sure why this article was created, suggesting this was just one of the dozens of viral memes that pop up every year. They believed that the page didn’t need to exist and instead, a short section about the phenomenon could be included in the articles about the films Barbie and Oppenheimer

    “It is unlikely that this topic will receive significant, sustained coverage,” said InfiniteNexus. “And even if it does, it is too early to tell at this stage, when neither film has even been released.”

    When an article on Wikipedia is nominated for deletion, other users weigh in on the matter and vote for what they think should happen next. Many times, these conversations aren’t too intense or lengthy. This is some really behind-the-scenes, deep-in-the-bowels of Wikipedia shit that most people who use the site never engage with or think about.

    But that wasn’t the case this time. Instead, the request for deletion page for Barbenheimer exploded.

    Some editors cited the 20-Year Test, an old Wikipedia standard that suggests only things that will be remembered or understood in 20 years should receive articles. They believed this online meme didn’t pass the test and that in a few years, nobody would care about the Barbenheimer phenomenon.

    However, the vast majority of Wikipedia editors involved disagreed and began voting en masse to keep the page alive. Many cited that Barbenheimer had grown beyond a simple internet meme and was actually affecting ticket sales, was being talked about by Hollywood stars, and was being reported on by reputable outlets like Variety, IGN, etc. Others also pointed out that there was too much information in the article to simply dump it all into the Barbie and Oppenheimer movie pages. And in the future, the Barbenheimer page could even provide useful information and context for researchers looking to better understand the whole phenomenon.

    After five days, nearly 100 different editors voted and only about 20 suggested the page be deleted or merged into the main films’ articles. In comparison, most deletion debates only get a dozen or so votes and often end in the page being killed. But not this time. On July 16, after thousands of words had been written across multiple sections of Wikipedia’s often unseen bureaucratic channels, Barbenheimer was allowed to live.

    The continued war over Barbie and Oppenheimer’s meme page

    Though the war over the page’s existence was settled, people weren’t done fighting.

    A quick peek at Barbeheimer’s talk page (a more behind-the-scenes forum where editors discuss changes and tweaks) reveals various debates about the article.

    For example, there was a lot of controversy over including Barbie’s full name in the caption below the page’s top photo. This eventually evolved into people suggesting the caption should also include Oppenheimer’s full name and nickname, Oppie, too. Another debate happened over which photo of Barbie should even be used in the article.

    Read More: Before Barbenheimer, There Was Doom Eternal And Animal Crossing

    Things have finally calmed down over on the Barbenheimer Wikipedia page after weeks of arguments. Most of the recent edits are minor, fixing typos, adding new links, or rearranging sentences.

    However, the war is likely not over—some of the editors involved with the page’s deletion nomination suggested they might return to the debate in a few months, assuming nobody will care by then.

    But I know the internet. I know Wikipedia editors. Someone will still care. And nobody is going to give up an inch on this digital battlefield, even if it means fighting for months or years over a page about a silly meme.

    .

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    Zack Zwiezen

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  • Christopher Nolan praises Robert Downey Jr’s role as Ironman: ‘One of the greatest casting decisions’

    Christopher Nolan praises Robert Downey Jr’s role as Ironman: ‘One of the greatest casting decisions’

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    This weekend marks the release of Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, which boasts a stellar ensemble led by Cillian Murphy. Besides that, Robert Downey Jr. plays a character in the movie for the first time in more than three years. The actor recently proclaimed that Oppenheimer is the best movie he has ever been in. Of course, Downey Jr. is best known to most people for his role as Iron Man/Tony Stark in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In a recent interview with Josh Horowitz of Happy, Sad, Confused, Nolan referred to the MCU’s choice of Downey Jr. as “one of the greatest casting decisions in film history.”

    Christopher Nolan was gushing about Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man performance

    Although Robert Downey Jr. may have second-guessed taking on the role of Iron Man, Christopher Nolan considers Downey Jr.’s Iron Man to be “one of the greatest casting decisions” in film history.

    “One of the best casting choices in film history, in my opinion, was when [Jon] Favreau had the vision to cast him as Iron Man. And you examine what happened and the direction that everything took as a result. And I believe Jon knew exactly how amazing of an actor and how amazing of a promise Downey had. Then the allure of a movie star, that amazing magnetism, enters the picture,” Nolan said.

    Talking about what was great about working with Downey on this project, Nolan said, It “was that you could go to him and say, ‘Okay, set your charisma and movie star fantasies aside for a moment and let yourself become engrossed in this real-life character who is so nuanced and has such an amazing role to play in Oppenheimer’s story. And I think a lot of his fan base is going to be quite shocked to see him sort of revert to that genius as an actor, just finding the truth in another human being and expressing it, and the things he accomplishes in the movie. Being able to flip fully and expand oneself in a way that many people haven’t seen someone who has achieved such greatness as a movie star do is pretty cool.”

    ALSO READ: Oppenheimer: Here’s why you need to watch Christopher Nolan’s film in IMAX; Take a look at theatres in USA

    Robert Downey Jr. questions his role as Iron Man, but Christopher Nolan feels otherwise

    The effects of playing the same part for so long have been questioned by Robert Downey Jr. The actor told The New York Times in an interview that he was concerned that playing Iron Man for such a long time might impair his acting abilities. When asked specifically if playing Iron Man in numerous Marvel movies for more than a decade caused him to worry about his ability, he replied, “Yes, without a doubt, and I was aware that Chris Nolan had supported this idea at one point: let’s exercise those other muscles while depriving you of your go-to resources.” He made reference to his standard acting approach, which he developed while playing Iron Man which is known as “fast-talking.” 

    Nolan, however, seems to have a different opinion of Downey Jr.’s acting abilities, as revealed by his comments in the Happy, Sad, Confused podcast. RDJ is set to appear in an HBO adaptation of The Sympathizer after Oppenheimer.

    ALSO READ: Christopher Nolan has no plans to make another superhero film; criticises studios for THIS reason

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  • Is Movie Magic … Marketing Magic?

    Is Movie Magic … Marketing Magic?

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    On July 21st, Barbie and Oppenheimer are set to open in the biggest box office battle since 2008’s Mamma Mia and The Dark Night. And if those two films taught us anything, it’s that we can have it all: a gritty Christopher Nolan film and a fun, fresh, flirty, female-helmed, camp musical.

    So why is the entire internet pitting these two films against each other? It just may be part of the marketing strategy.

    Much has been said about the seemingly untrammeled Barbie budget — especially the collabs. From a Beis luggage collection with actress Shay Mitchell to a splashy array of makeup launches and even the Malibu Barbie Dream House AirBnb, Barbie’s marketing is downright delirious.

    But we must remember, Barbie isn’t just a movie — it’s a decades-old brand that helped to forge the identities of generations of women. While the high-budget film has a hand in much of this marketing, the corporation behind the doll, Mattel, is also invested in the movie’s success — and Barbie’s comeback.

    So Mattel is footing much of the bill. Making the Barbie movie pretty much a sponsored cinematic feature — like Timothee Chalamet x Scorcese’s Chanel short film (when, oh when will that short film come home from the war?).

    @jaiyagill

    it’s Barbie Pink summer #barbiemovie #barbiegirl #pink #barbiepink #barbieairbnb #beis #airbnb #moontoothpaste #barbiehotel #greenscreen #progressivecommercial #ryangosling #gretagerwig #margotrobbie

    Oppenheimer’s marketing, although intense, is mostly focused on the (Christopher) Nolan and the (Cillian) Murphy-ness of it all. But by all accounts — with an international press tour (now canceled due to the SAG-AFTRA strike) and giant billboards — it must have a giant budget. But nothing compares to Barbie’s boffo budget.

    And it feels like every movie of the summer is competing for air while the whole planet is talking about the girl in pink. So, instead of trying to out-do the joint forces of BarbieMattel, other film marketing teams have embraced the theory: if you can’t beat them, join them.

    The Barbification of Movie Marketing

    Have you seen the photos of Tom Cruise posing with a Barbie ticket and poster? And then have you seen the response-pic of Margot Robbie holding a ticket for Mission Impossible?

    Rather than trying to outdo the colossal pink winner on this year’s slate, other summer blockbusters are hopping on the Barbie marketing bus and hoping a titch of that infectious pink rubs off.

    The prime example is Tom Cruise’s ticket post that influenced the Barbie cast to recreate it.

    What This Means for the Future of Movie Marketing

    One of the most commendable things about Barbie’s marketing is its consistency. The branding isn’t just pink — though there’s certainly enough of that. Everything’s a reference to historic Barbie toys — like the dream house and Margot Robbie’s thematic outfits on the press tour.

    The press tour looks — before the SAG strike, of course — are ones for the books. Each of Robbie’s looks is custom designer pieces made to reference vintage Barbie outfits. Meanwhile, all other cast members served fashion to rival the Met Gala.

    And like the Met, the press tour looks seem like costumes. The branding feels like an extension of the movie. Instead of actors leveraging their personal brands to promote the film, the worldwide press tour felt like an unending trailer. Just look at Ryan Gosling. He’s literally Ken. This is peak method acting. And it’s working on us.

    And whenever the SAG strike ends (studio execs: I beg you to pay your actors so we can all go back to bingeing your content), I anticipate future press tours will take note from Barbie and make their press rollouts more gimmicky. The bigger, the better is now the name of the game.

    But What About the Small Films?

    But what about the movies that can’t afford it? What about those modest films that aren’t essentially product bankrolled and marketed by a global company like Mattel? What about the movies that aren’t able to exploit the personal capital of Margot Robbie, Christopher Nolan, or Tom Cruise?

    We’ve already seen the deleterious effects of streamers on cinemas. When a property’s not a giant blockbuster, are cinemas willing to screen smaller or independent films with their tiny box office returns? And with the entire industry on strike and struggling to earn a living, will studios take risks on movies with unknown actors?

    The magic of movies used to involve viewing something brand new and being wowed by an immersive experience. Now, the magic of movies feels like being swept up in a huge trend the entire world is talking about. Movies feel like a product of marketing and don’t feel separate from the narratives surrounding them. A prime example: Don’t Worry Darling was a bad movie, but successful nonetheless, frankly, because of the IRL drama surrounding it.

    And yet, Barbie is on track for similar success. I won’t be surprised if that silly Wonka film gets the same treatment. And while I’ll be sitting in the theatres for all these films, let’s keep that same energy for movies that lack million-dollar marketing. Otherwise, god help us, movies will just merely be ads.

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    LKC

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  • Director-writer Christopher Nolan on latest masterpiece

    Director-writer Christopher Nolan on latest masterpiece

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    Director-writer Christopher Nolan on latest masterpiece “Oppenheimer,” Hollywood strike – CBS News


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    Five-time Oscar nominee Christopher Nolan, whose films include “Dunkirk” and “Tenet,” joins “CBS Mornings” to discuss his highly-anticipated new film “Oppenheimer” about a famed scientist who oversaw the development of the first atomic bomb.

    Be the first to know

    Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.


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  • Blow Up the Patriarchy, Or: The Barbenheimer Experience

    Blow Up the Patriarchy, Or: The Barbenheimer Experience

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    Perhaps what they don’t warn you about with regard to “the Barbenheimer experience” is just how jarring it actually is. Certainly, that’s the entire “point” of pairing these two films together, the reason the internet has gone apeshit: because they’re so “divergent.” In fact, the phenomenon has proven to be such an excitement to people that they’ve gone “through the archives” to find similar instances of unlikely movie pairings released the same week. Such examples include Jumanji and Heat, The Matrix and 10 Things I Hate About You and The Dark Knight and Mamma Mia! It’s really only the latter example (complete with also featuring a Christopher Nolan movie) that comes vaguely close to capturing the sort of genre/color palette dichotomy that Barbie and Oppenheimer do. But, on a deeper level than that, watching Oppenheimer the same day or week serves as an even more blatant method for underscoring the horrifying patriarchal system that Barbie does. 

    In Oppenheimer’s case, of course, it’s unintentional. Because never was patriarchy in America at its strongest and most accepted than in the mid-twentieth century. Nor could Nolan have planned for a movie about garden-variety male toxicity to have coincided so seamlessly with an actual moviegoing trend/phenomenon. The pairing of these two films fundamentally speaking to how patriarchy destroys lives in far more literal ways than figurative ones. While Barbie (Margot Robbie) at least gets to experience life as it should be under matriarchy in Barbie Land, maybe it’s almost worse to know what that sense of peace and freedom is like only to be forced to enter Real World territory, where males rule with an iron/button-pushing (a bomb allusion) fist. 

    Upon seeing how things are done in Real World, Ken (Ryan Gosling) decides he can no longer be subjected to the “tyranny” of matriarchal dominance. Of being unable to force a Barbie to do anything he wants them to (i.e., return his affection), least of all the specific one he’s pining over. Because, in Barbie Land, men a.k.a. Kens are just background. In J. Robert Oppenheimer’s (Cillian Murphy) world, it’s women who are very much peripheral, serving only as vague sexual impressions. Yet there’s never any issue with making a woman “his.” Except his on-again, off-again paramour, Jean Tatlock (Florence Pugh). Unfortunately for Oppenheimer, she’s the type of “Berkeley free spirit” who can never seem to be pinned down. Oppenheimer’s eventual wife, Katherine (Emily Blunt), on the other hand, is only too eager to take a fourth husband in “Oppi.” 

    And yet, for as important as these women are in Oppenheimer’s life (not to mention being the only sign of women anywhere within this filmic landscape), they’re really just cursory and occasional “presences” that only interrupt the “real” work he’s doing. The truly “significant” aspect of his life. Which becomes helping male politicians destroy the world in the name of war. With Oppenheimer himself growing (like a mushroom cloud) so consumed and titillated by the resources (financial or otherwise) the government provides him with in the name of scientific research, he loses sight of the monster he’s actually creating. Perhaps as Ruth Handler (Rhea Perlaman) once did as well. Not knowing that the woman she unleashed onto the world—the one quite literally made to show girls that they could be anything—only served to further highlight all the things they would never be, both body-wise and career-wise. Therefore, Handler ended up actually accenting a more palpable and depressing divide between reality and what should be…as opposed to conjuring a beacon of hope and feminism in Barbie. And yes, it bears noting that, despite all her evolutions, Mattel has never seen fit to release a “Body Positivity” Barbie. Maybe because they know just how hollow that would come across at this juncture. Though false intentions never stopped a capitalist from trying to make a fast buck. In short, to capitalize. 

    Obviously, Handler and Oppenheimer are by no means comparable for what they created—though each one did offer up, in some sense, a kind of Frankenstein. Gerwig appears to know that only too well by making Handler a prominent character in Barbie. A conceit that might seem a bit out of left field to some, but is actually entirely appropriate considering she was the brainchild behind Mattel’s best-selling and most iconic toy. And it’s cruelly ironic that Handler’s “ghost” should be left to haunt the seventeenth floor of corporate headquarters while the suits with no insight into women benefit from her invention. For yes, she was eventually forced to resign from Mattel in 1974 after the taxman cracked down on her for false financial reporting (something Gerwig refers to with a joke that Ruth herself makes in the movie).

    Difficulty getting along with the government appears to be a common characteristic in those who simply want to create. For Oppenheimer, too, was viewed with malice and contempt by the very political machine that was dependent upon him for developing an atomic weapon. One that turned out, in the end, to be rather needless as Japan would have surely surrendered without it. But such is the nature of patriarchy, with every man “in charge” needing to prove that his power is authoritative and incontrovertible by swinging his dick around while lives hang in the balance. 

    Oppenheimer makes that disgustingly clear when Henry L. Stimson (James Remar), the Secretary of War at the time, decides they shouldn’t bomb Kyoto because he and his wife honeymooned there and it’s a “lovely” place that has cultural value not just to him, but the Japanese. In other words, fuck those arbitrary shitholes, Hiroshima and Nagasaki. To see a scene like this play out is indicative of just how damaging patriarchy is, for it is a system run by a gender that thrives on violence, ego and heartless decision-making. A gender that proves, ultimately, gender is no illusion; for this particular one feeds on destruction, whereas the female one is founded metaphorically and literally on creation. The great yin and yang endeavors of each type of being. 

    So yes, more than merely a means to appreciate the contrasting cinematography styles of Hoyte van Hoytema and Rodrigo Prieto, the Barbenheimer experience does feel somehow essential. Like it shouldn’t get reduced to being categorized as “frivolous pandering to internet tastemaking,” but rather, seen as a brutal and unique way to watch how patriarchy upends male and female lives alike on a daily basis. All because someone wanted to prove he has clout and “intelligence.” Though the dumbest thing of all is to assume that one has any significance whatsoever in the grand scheme. 

    Especially a grand scheme that might now invariably include going “kabluey” because a man wanted to show off the prowess of his mind knowing full well that said result would be used for evil. Indeed, quoting from a Hindu scripture, Oppenheimer would say of his creation, “Now I am become Death, destroyer of worlds.” In some sense, Barbie destroyed worlds as well. Bringing “fire” to the “cavewomen” who were still stuck playing with (read: playing at mothering) baby dolls throughout their childhood. Accordingly, this is the very scene Greta Gerwig rightly chooses to commence Barbie with. And would that playing with/learning to emulate a “slutty” doll was the most affronting and harmful thing a man (/man-boy) ever did. 

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    Genna Rivieccio

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  • ‘Oppenheimer’ Cast Divulges Extreme Lengths Cillian Murphy Went To For Role

    ‘Oppenheimer’ Cast Divulges Extreme Lengths Cillian Murphy Went To For Role

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    Cillian Murphy is already earning rave reviews for his portrayal in “Oppenheimer” of the eponymous physicist who built the first nuclear bomb. Part of the Irish actor’s method was to look as much like the scientist as possible ― and that included extreme tactics, as co-stars Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr. and Matt Damon recently shared.

    In an interview with Fandango, Blunt said filming the Los Alamos National Laboratory scenes in New Mexico offered great local cuisine. But Murphy skipped out while portraying J. Robert Oppenheimer, she said.

    “We were all in New Mexico, like, eating quesadillas, and [Murphy] was like, in his room, eating an almond,” Blunt said during a group interview with Fandango posted last week. Damon added: “He declined every dinner invitation for the entire film. We invited him to dinner every night. He never came once.”

    “He had such a monumental undertaking,” Blunt told Extra in an interview last week. “And he could only eat, like, an almond every day. He was so emaciated.”

    Murphy joins many other actors in changing their bodies for a role or feeling pressure to do so. Stars themselves have warned that altering their bodies can be unhealthy physically and mentally ― while others have cautioned that celebrating dramatic weight loss by actors is dangerous for observers as well.

    Murphy recently told The Guardian that “becoming competitive with yourself” in regards to how thin one can get for a role isn’t healthy, and notably declined to discuss details of his “Oppenheimer” diet.

    “I don’t want it to be, ‘Cillian lost x weight for the part,’” he told the outlet.

    The actor explained to The New York Times in May why he wanted to match Oppenheimer’s look.

    “I love acting with my body, and Oppenheimer had a very distinct physicality and silhouette,” Murphy told the Times. “I had to lose quite a bit of weight … he was very slim, almost emaciated, existed on martinis and cigarettes.”

    While Murphy has worked with visionary director Christopher Nolan before — and starred in “Inception” (2010), “Dunkirk” (2017) and the “Dark Knight” trilogy (2005-2012) — “Oppenheimer” marks the first time he’s leading a blockbuster of such scale.

    Oppenheimer spearheaded the Manhattan Project, a secret research and development project to build an atomic bomb during World War II. Testing was carried out at Los Alamos, a desert outpost in New Mexico where the scientists and their families lived.

    For the film, Nolan once again cast digital effects aside in favor of practical filmmaking ― and IMAX cameras. He even used practical effects for the harrowing Trinity test explosion. Nolan is so traditional, in fact, he doesn’t even use a smartphone.

    “The only thing Chris would do by text is [Cillian’s] daily calorie count,” joked Downey Jr. during the Fandango interview.

    “Oppenheimer” hits theaters July 21.

    If you’re struggling with an eating disorder, call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org for support.

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  • Christopher Nolan Compares Artificial Intelligence To The Atomic Bomb

    Christopher Nolan Compares Artificial Intelligence To The Atomic Bomb

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    After a screening of his new film, Oppenheimer Saturday night, director Christopher Nolan suggested that his period piece couldn’t have come at a better time, as we’re in an “Oppenheimer moment,” he said. But this time, the dangerous technology isn’t being created in a lab in a New Mexico lab; it’s coming from Silicon Valley.

    Speaking with the BBC, Nolan compared the Manhattan Project, the World War II-era effort to develop the world’s first nuclear weapons, to the current race to develop intelligent algorithms and artificial intelligence. Oppenheimer is “coming at a time when there are a lot of new technologies that people start to worry about the unintended consequences,” Nolan said.

    “When you talk to leaders in the field of AI, as I do from time to time, they see this moment right now as their Oppenheimer moment. They’re looking to his story to say, ‘What are our responsibilities? How can we deal with the potential unintended consequences?’ Sadly, for them, there are no easy answers.”

    Nolan elaborated on those concerns at a panel Saturday night in New York that followed a preview screening of his film, Variety reports. The panel was moderated by Meet the Press anchor Chuck Todd, who asked Nolan if he thought the tech industry was “re-examining Oppenheimer” as they continue to develop AI.

    “They say that they do,” Nolan responded. “It’s helpful that that’s in the conversation, and I hope that that thought process will continue. I am not saying Oppenheimer’s story offers any easy answers to those questions, but it at least can show where some of those responsibilities lie and how people take a breath and think, ‘Okay, what is the accountability?’”

    At present, though, Nolan worries that that question of accountability isn’t being asked enough by people in Hollywood. “People in my business talking about it, they just don’t want to take responsibility for whatever that algorithm does,” he said. “Applied to AI, that’s a terrifying possibility. Terrifying.”

    The use of AI is one of the sticking points in the current WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, the latter of which prompted the stars of Oppenheimer to formally walk off at the red carpet premiere last week.

    Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Cillian Murphy and Florence Pugh pose on the red carpet at the UK premiere of “Oppenheimer.” Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS/AFP via Getty Images

    HENRY NICHOLLS/Getty Images

    “With the labor disputes going on in Hollywood right now, a lot of it—when we talk about AI, when we talk about these issues—they’re all ultimately born from the same thing, which is when you innovate with technology, you have to maintain accountability,” Nolan said Saturday. 

    Nolan has also stated support of striking actors and writers, and has said that he won’t start work on another film until the strikes conclude. “No, absolutely,” he told the BBC when asked if he’d be writing during the strike period. “It’s very important that everybody understands it is a very key moment in the relationship between working people and Hollywood.”

    “This is about jobbing actors, this is about staff writers on television programs trying to raise a family, trying to keep food on the table,” he said. “This is not about me, this is not about the stars of my film.”

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    Eve Batey

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  • Cillian Murphy, playing Oppenheimer, finally gets to lead a Christopher Nolan film

    Cillian Murphy, playing Oppenheimer, finally gets to lead a Christopher Nolan film

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    The day Christopher Nolan called Cillian Murphy about his new film, “Oppenheimer,” Murphy hung up the phone in disbelief.

    The Irish actor, though a regular presence in Nolan films going back almost two decades, had always been a supporting player. This time, Nolan wanted him to lead.

    “He’s so understated and self-deprecating and, in his very English manner, just said, ‘Listen, I’ve written this script, it’s about Oppenheimer. I’d like you to be my Oppenheimer,’” Murphy, 47, told The Associated Press earlier this year. “It was a great day.”

    Three years after the pandemic brought Hollywood to a standstill, the film and TV industry has again ground to a halt.

    This image released by Paramount Pictures shows Hayley Atwell, left, and Tom Cruise in a scene from "Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning, Part One." (Paramount Pictures via AP)

    After a globe-trotting publicity blitz by star Tom Cruise, “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” launched with a franchise-best $80 million over five days, though it came in shy of industry expectations with a $56.2 million haul over the three-day weekend.

    Luke DePalatis, right, gets a cooling spritz of water from Michael Abel during a rally by striking writers and actors outside Warner Bros. studios Friday, July 14, 2023, in Burbank, Calif. Both are with the WGA. This marks the first day actors formally joined the picket lines, more than two months after screenwriters began striking in their bid to get better pay and working conditions and have clear guidelines around the use of AI in film and television productions. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

    The sidewalks of Hollywood and midtown Manhattan teemed with actors joining Hollywood’s writers in protest outside the corporate offices of studios, streamers, and production companies.

    This combination of photos shows promotional art for the FX series "Justified: City Primeval," left, and the Netflix documentary "The Deepest Breath." (FX/Netflix via AP)

    This week’s new entertainment releases include a documentary on Apple TV+ that chronicles the atypical path Stephen Curry took to becoming a basketball legend, new tunes from the rock band Greta Van Fleet and a “Justified” limited series starring Timothy Olyphant.

    For Murphy, it is never not exciting to get a call from Nolan. It’s just hard to predict if he’s going to. He knows there are some movies he’s right for and some movies he isn’t.

    “I have always said publicly and privately, to Chris, that if I’m available and you want me to be in a movie, I’m there. I don’t really care about the size of the part,” he said. “But deep down, secretly, I was desperate to play a lead for him.”

    Murphy first met Nolan in 2003. He was brought in to screen test for Batman — not just the movie, the character. Murphy knew he wasn’t right for the Dark Knight, but he wanted to meet the man who’d directed “Insomnia” and “Memento.” They hit it off and Murphy got to tap into a sinister intensity to play the corrupt psychiatrist Dr. Crane/Scarecrow, who would go on to appear in all three films. Nolan would also call on Murphy to be the conflicted heir to a business empire in “Inception” and a traumatized soldier in “Dunkirk.”

    “We have this long-standing understanding and trust and shorthand and respect,” Murphy said. “It felt like the right time to take on a bigger responsibility. And it just so happened that it was a f—ing huge one.”

    Soon after the phone call, Nolan flew to Dublin to meet Murphy and hand him a physical copy of the script, which he devoured right there in Nolan’s hotel room. It was, he said, the best he’d ever read.

    Then the scale of it started to sink in.

    This would be a film about the charismatic and controversial theoretical physicist who helped create the atomic bomb. Oppenheimer and his peers at Los Alamos would test it on July 16, 1945, not knowing what was going to happen. There was a non-zero chance that the heat from the explosion could set off a chain reaction that would ignite the atmosphere and literally set the world on fire.

    It didn’t, but several weeks later the United States would drop those bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing tens of thousands of people and leaving many with lifelong injuries. Soon, the United States was at work to strengthen its nuclear arsenal, developing plans to work on an even more catastrophic weapon: the hydrogen bomb.

    As Nolan has said, “Like it or not J. Robert Oppenheimer is the most important person who ever lived.”

    “Oppenheimer,” which opens in theaters on July 21, features a starry cast including Emily Blunt as Oppenheimer’s wife Kitty, Matt Damon as the man who hired Oppenheimer for the job at Los Alamos, Robert Downey Jr. as a founder of the Atomic Energy Commission and many more rounding out the pivotal players in and around this tense moment in history.

    “You realize this is a huge responsibility. He was complicated and contradictory and so iconic,” Murphy said. “But you know you’re with one of the great directors of all time. I felt confident going into it with Chris. He’s had a profound impact on my life, creatively and professionally. He’s offered me very interesting roles over and I’ve found all of them really challenging. And I just love being on his sets.”

    Murphy continued: “Any actor would want to be on a Chris Nolan set, just to see how it works and to witness his command of the language of film and the mechanics of film and how he’s able to use that broad canvas within the mainstream studio system to make these very challenging human stories.”

    Over the years, Murphy has come to appreciate that with Nolan there’s always something deeper to discover than what’s literally on the page. “Dunkirk,” he recalled, was only 70 pages and there wasn’t much to his character, not even a name.

    “He said, ‘Look, let’s figure it out together and you and me can find an emotional journey for the character.’ And we did it. We did it out in the water on that boat. That comes from trust and respect,” Murphy said. “I’m really proud of that performance.”

    As with all Nolan endeavors, secrecy around “Oppenheimer” is vitally important. Murphy loves the “old-fashioned approach” that builds interest and anticipation.

    “There’s an awful lot to talk about when we can talk freely,” Murphy said with a smile.

    The difference from other Nolan originals, even “Dunkirk,” is that “Oppenheimer” is rooted in historical fact and actual transcripts. You can read the book it’s based on, Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin’s Pulitzer Prize-winning “American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer.” You can watch the 1981 documentary “The Day After Trinity” on The Criterion Channel.

    And you can try to parse Nolan’s words for clues. He’s talked about recreating the Trinity test, the fascinating paradoxes, the twists, turns and ethical dilemmas; for him, the story is cinematic and both dream and nightmare. But ultimately, it’s something that just needs to be seen.

    “The question will be how Chris presents it,” Murphy said. “I think people will be very surprised and wowed by what he does. Anything I say will just seem a bit lame as compared to seeing this in an IMAX theater.”

    The time for discussions will be after the movie comes out. But Murphy did offer up that they worked hard to get Oppenheimer’s look right, from the narrow silhouette to the pipe and the porkpie hat. Oppenheimer, he said, “seemed aware of his own potential mythology.” But, again, those conversations will have to wait.

    “I’m really proud of the movie and I’m really proud of what Chris has achieved. This was, for sure, a special one, certainly because of the history with me and Chris. We were not walking around the set high-fiving, but it did feel special.” Murphy said. “It’s an event every time he releases a film, and rightly so. Whether I’m in them or not, I always go to see his movies.”

    ___

    A version of this story first moved on May 3, 2023. It’s being sent again in advance of the film’s release next week.

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  • What If We Just…Paid Writers More?

    What If We Just…Paid Writers More?

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    We are entering day 73 of the Writer’s Guild strike, where writers for all your favorite TV shows have stopped writing altogether in the midst of contract negotiations. Yes, that indeed means your fave shows are being delayed…you may as well say goodbye to
    Euphoria, which now is projected to be released in 2026 due to the strike. (Safe to say they could cancel it at this point.)

    And if you thought,
    That’s okay! We still have movies! You’re wrong, dead wrong. Enjoy these last few blissful moments of Barbie press tours featuring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling still in character and new red carpet outfits. The Screen Actor’s Guild has been in talks with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers in an effort to re-negotiate contracts. As per usual, Hollywood needs more money and the studios won’t budge.

    Things are getting serious, quickly. The members of SAG-AFTRA agreed to strike if the two entities couldn’t reach a fair agreement…and after a mediator was brought in as a “last ditch effort”, it’s not looking good. Christopher Nolan even informed the attendees of the
    Oppenheimer screening that the stars left in solidarity of the looming strike.

    The
    Oppenheimer viewing was even moved up in anticipation for the strike, as all actors in the film agreed they would participate alongside the SAG members. They agreed that the minute the strike was called, they were going home to picket. So when we’re streaming Disney Plus, or any of those big platforms, remember what they’re taking from us right now.

    SAG-AFTRA’s President, Fran Drescher said in a statement,

    “SAG-AFTRA negotiated in good faith and was eager to reach a deal that sufficiently addressed performer needs, but the AMPTP’s responses to the union’s most important proposals have been insulting and disrespectful of our massive contributions to this industry. The companies have refused to meaningfully engage on some topics and on others completely stonewalled us. Until they do negotiate in good faith, we cannot begin to reach a deal. We have no choice but to move forward in unity, and on behalf of our membership, with a strike recommendation to our National Board. The board will discuss the issue this morning and will make its decision.”

    As I write this article, it has been reported that for the first time since 1960, both the SAG and Writer’s Guild are on strike at the same time. So say goodbye for now to your favorite shows and movies and get ready to say hello to re-runs and YouTube clips. Enjoy the Barbenheimer double feature on July 21 and buckle up…This could take a while.

    And honestly, it’s always appalling to me that people even have to consider paying writers more money. It’s not because I’m biased, but because I’ve learned that they are the backbone of media. But the financial catastrophe this will eventually cause for these big corporations will show them in due time why writers need to be paid more.

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    Jai Phillips

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  • Barbie, Baby!

    Barbie, Baby!

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    Growing up as a girl, I played with all sorts of dolls: American Girl, Bratz, Polly Pocket, and of course, Barbies. I had the Dream House, the Dream Car, the color changing mermaid, and don’t forget about Ken. But as I aged, Barbie became a bit more problematic.

    Suddenly, we grew up and realized that Barbie wasn’t representing diversity (by any means) very well. She was dimensionally impossible, but she grew up as our role model! How could we spend our lives aspiring for blonde-haired, cinched-waisted, pink-loving Barbie if the girl selling the dream was unattainable?

    And then there were the controversial Barbies…1965 Slumber Party Barbie had a scale set to 110 pounds and a dieting book titled “How To Lose Weight” with the advice “Don’t Eat!” Not our role model promoting eating disorder culture!

    1965 Slumber Party Barbie

    Daily Mail

    Mattel was failing to realize that by making Barbie a doctor, lawyer, homeowner, extraordinaire, she truly was our role model as little girls. We were looking at these dolls potentially seeing what our future could look like. And if it meant being 110 pounds to have the Dream Car, that sends the opposite message.

    But there is no one I have more faith in than Greta Gerwig to do the injustices of Barbie justice. We have just under one month until Gerwig’s
    Barbie movie releases into theaters…on the same day as Christopher Nolan’s polar opposite Oppenheimer, which has started its own collection of memes for a double-header day.

    Barbie has already stolen the hearts of social media with perhaps the best marketing we’ve seen for a movie in a long time (barring the accidental chaos marketing of Don’t Worry Darling). We’ve gotten picturesque stills of BarbieLand, the Architectural Digest tour of the Dream House, hilarious trailers, and of course the iconic movie posters. The main message of the posters? Barbie (Margot Robbie) is everything, and he’s just Ken (Ryan Gosling).



    From the trailer we can tell that Barbie lives in her pink world with other Barbies and Kens, like Dua Lipa being Mermaid Barbie. But one day when Barbie throws her party (complete with synchronized dance and bespoke song), she lets a thought out:
    “Do you guys ever think about dying?” Party halts.

    Now that she’s contempating her mortality, things for Barbie become less than perfect: her heels touch the ground (gag) and she falls off her roof (gasp)..So she’s given a choice: return to her world (presented as a high heel) or go to the Real World and figure out what life’s really about (presented as a worn out Birkenstock). Unfortunately for Barbie, she has to choose the latter.

    In BarbieLand, she explains, “
    Basically everything men do in your world, women do in ours.” As for the Kens? “I honestly don’t know.” If you can tell the theme of this film so far, it’s that women are running the show.

    But what Greta Gerwig gets right with
    Barbie so far is that BarbieLand is impractical. In the Architectural Digest tour, Margot Robbie shows us how the pool is fake because there are no elements in Barbie’s world. She showers without water, has a fridge filled with decal food, and a lot, she admits with a laugh, is “not super practical, but nothing is for Barbie.”

    The success of the movie already is proving to be major. With Ryan Gosling’s fierce dedication to being Ken, you find it hard
    not to root for this movie in the box office. He’s given us quotes like “If you really cared about Ken, you would know that nobody cared about Ken” and coined the term “Ken-ergy.”

    On Jimmy Fallon, Gosling likened Ken to an un-cool accessory, saying that nobody really ever played with a Ken doll. “
    I was surprised how…some people were clutching their pearls about my Ken, as though they ever thought about Ken for a second. They never played with Ken! Nobody ever plays with Ken.”



    And we’ve already seen the blazing hot pink merchandise that has scattered stores. You can buy Barbie-inspired satin pillowcases, Barbie glassware, Barbie cookware. Our lives are suddenly immersed in our picturesque Barbie DreamWorld,
    but this time with a grown-up twist.

    We’re no longer emulating the Barbie look, per-se…but the Barbie Dream. It’s about female empowerment and uplifting others, becoming successful in your own way, and loving the color pink always. It’s more of the Barbie mindset than the Barbie body.

    With a star-studded cast consisting of Will Ferrell, Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, Simu Liu, Emma Mackey, Kate McKinnon, and more…and an equally studded soundtrack with features from Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice, Dua Lipa, Ava Max, Charli XCX, Khalid, Lizzo, etc. This movie radiates power.

    As a lover of all things pink, I’m here for the Barbie collabs. Here are my faves to get you ready for the movie of the summer:

    Kitsch x Barbie

    Homesick Barbie Dreamhouse Candle

    Barbie x Barbie

    Bloomingdales Barbie The Movie Popup Shop

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    Jai Phillips

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  • Summer movie season is in full swing. Here’s what’s coming through Labor Day

    Summer movie season is in full swing. Here’s what’s coming through Labor Day

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    The summer movie season goes into high-gear in July, with the arrival of the seventh “Mission: Impossible” movie followed by the “Oppenheimer” and “Barbie” showdown on July 21.

    Not that you have to choose one or the other — as Tom Cruise said on Twitter, “I love a double feature, and it doesn’t get more explosive (or more pink) than the one with Oppenheimer and Barbie.”

    August also promises a new take on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and introduces a new DC superhero, Blue Beetle.

    Moviegoers were only moderately interested in going to the theater to say goodbye to Harrison Ford’s archaeologist character in “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.”

    FILE - Karen Allen arrives at the premiere of "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny," in Los Angeles on June 14, 2023. Allen portrayed Marion Ravenwood in "Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark." (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)

    Indiana Jones. Karen Allen always knew he’d come walking back through her door. Since 1981’s “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” Allen’s Marion Ravenwood has been only a sporadic presence in the subsequent sequels.

    Actor and musician Russell Crowe arrives to the 57th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF), Wednesday, June 28, 2023, in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic. (Slavomir Kubes/CTK via AP)

    An international film festival in the Czech spa town of Karlovy Vary has kicked off its 57th edition with an award planned for Oscar-winning actor Russell Crowe.

    Actor Kevin Spacey arrives at Southwark Crown Court in London, Friday, June 30, 2023. Spacey is going on trial on charges he sexually assaulted four men as long as two decades ago. The double-Oscar winner faces a dozen charges at Southwark Crown Court. Spacey pleads not guilty to all charges. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

    A London prosecutor says Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey is a “sexual bully” who assaults other men and doesn’t respect personal boundaries.

    Here’s a month-by-month guide of this summer’s new movies. Keep scrolling for more info and review links for May and June’s releases.

    July 7

    ” Insidious: The Red Door ” (Sony, theaters): Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne are back to scare everyone in the fifth edition.

    “ Joy Ride ” (Lionsgate, theaters): Adele Lim directs this raucous comedy about a friends trip to China to find someone’s birth mother, starring Ashley Park, Stephanie Hsu, Sherry Cola and Sabrina Wu.

    “ The Lesson ” (Bleecker Street, theaters): A young novelist helps an acclaimed author in this thriller with Richard E. Grant.

    “ Biosphere ” (IFC, theaters and VOD): Mark Duplass and Sterling K. Brown are the last two men on Earth.

    “ Earth Mama ” (A24, theaters): This acclaimed debut from Savannah Leaf focuses on a woman, single and pregnant with two kids in foster care, trying to reclaim her family in the Bay Area.

    July 14

    “ Mission: Impossible-Dead Reckoning Part I” (Paramount, theaters, on July 12): Tom Cruise? Death-defying stunts in Venice? The return of Kittridge? What more do you need?

    “ Theater Camp ”(Searchlight, theaters): Musical theater nerds (and comedy fans) will delight in this loving satire of a childhood institution, with Ben Platt and Molly Gordon.

    “ The Miracle Club ” (Sony Pictures Classics, theaters): Lifetime friends (Kathy Bates, Maggie Smith, Agnes O’Casey) in a small Dublin community in 1967 dream of a trip to Lourdes, a town in France where miracles are supposed to happen. Laura Linney co-stars.

    “ 20 Days in Mariupol ” (in theaters in New York): AP’s Mstyslav Chernov directs this documentary, a joint project between The Associated Press and PBS “Frontline,” about the first weeks of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in which Chernov, photographer Evgeniy Maloletka, and field producer Vasilisa Stepanenko, became the only international journalists operating in the city. Their coverage won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service.

    “ Afire ” (Janus Films, theaters): This drama from German director Christian Petzold is set at a vacation home by the Baltic Sea where tensions rise between a writer, a photographer and a mysterious guest (Paula Beer) as a wildfire looms.

    “ They Cloned Tyrone ” (Netflix): John Boyega, Teyonah Parris and Jamie Foxx lead this mystery caper.

    July 21

    “ Oppenheimer ” (Universal, theaters): Christopher Nolan takes audiences into the mind of the “father of the atomic bomb,” J. Robert Oppenheimer ( Cillian Murphy ) as he and his peers build up to the trinity test at Los Alamos.

    “ Barbie ” (Warner Bros., theaters): Margot Robbie plays the world’s most famous doll (as do many others) opposite Ryan Gosling’s Ken in Greta Gerwig’s comedic look at their perfect world.

    “ Stephen Curry: Underrated ” (Apple TV+): Peter Nicks directs a documentary about the four-time NBA champion.

    “ The Beanie Bubble ” (in select theaters; on Apple TV+ on July 28): Zach Galifianakis stars as the man behind Beanie Babies in this comedic drama, co-starring Elizabeth Banks, Sarah Snook and Geraldine Viswanathan.

    July 28

    “ Haunted Mansion ” (Disney, theaters): A Disney ride comes to life in with the help of Rosario Dawson, Tiffany Haddish, Owen Wilson and Danny DeVito.

    “ Talk to Me ” (A24, theaters): A group of friends conjure spirits in this horror starring Sophie Wilde and Joe Bird.

    “ Happiness for Beginners ” (Netflix, on July 27): Ellie Kemper is a newly divorced woman looking to shake things up.

    “ Sympathy for the Devil ” (RLJE Films): Joel Kinnaman is forced to drive a mysterious gunman (Nicolas Cage) in this thriller.

    “ Kokomo City ” (Magnolia): A documentary following four Black transgender sex workers. One of the subjects, Koko Da Doll, was shot and killed in April.

    August 4

    “ Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem ” (Paramount, theaters): This animated movie puts the teenage back in the equation with a very funny voice cast including Seth Rogen and John Cena as Bebop and Rocksteady.

    “ Shortcomings ” (Sony Pictures Classics, theaters): Randall Park directs this adaptation of Adrian Tomine’s graphic novel about Asian American friends in the Bay Area starring Sherry Cola as Alice, Ally Maki as Miko and Justin H. Min as Ben.

    “ Meg 2: The Trench ” (Warner Bros., theaters): Jason Statham is back fighting sharks.

    “ Passages ” (Mubi): The relationship of a longtime couple (Franz Rogowski, Ben Whishaw) is thrown when one begins an affair with a woman (Adèle Exarchopoulos).

    “ A Compassionate Spy ” (Magnolia): Steve James’ documentary about the youngest physicist on the Manhattan Project who fed information to the Soviets.

    “Dreamin’ Wild” (Roadside Attractions): Casey Affleck stars in this film about musical duo Donnie and Joe Emerson.

    “ Problemista ” (A24, theaters): Julio Torres plays an aspiring toy designer in this surreal comedy co-starring Tilda Swinton that he also wrote, directed and produced.

    August 11

    “ Gran Turismo ” (Sony, theaters): A gamer gets a chance to drive a professional course in this video game adaptation starring David Harbour and Orlando Bloom.

    “ The Last Voyage of the Demeter ” (Universal, theaters): This supernatural horror film draws from a chapter of “Dracula.”

    “ Heart of Stone ” (Netflix): Gal Gadot played an intelligence operative in this action thriller, with Jamie Dornan.

    “The Eternal Memory” (MTV Documentary Films): This documentary explores a marriage and Alzheimer’s disease.

    “The Pod Generation” (Vertical, theaters): Emilia Clarke and Chiwetel Ejiofor star in this sci-fi comedy about a new path to parenthood.

    “Jules” (Bleecker Street, theaters): Ben Kingsley stars in this film about a UFO that crashes in his backyard in rural Pennsylvania.

    August 18

    “ Blue Beetle ” (Warner Bros., theaters): Xolo Maridueña plays the DC superhero Jaime Reyes / Blue Beetle in this origin story.

    “ Strays ” (Universal, theaters): Will Ferrell and Jamie Foxx voice dogs in this not-animated, R-rated comedy.

    “birth/rebirth” (IFC, theaters): A woman and a morgue technician bring a little girl back to life in this horror.

    “ White Bird ” (Lionsgate, theaters): Helen Mirren tells her grandson, expelled from school for bullying, a story about herself in Nazi-occupied France.

    “Landscape with Invisible Hand” (MGM, theaters): Teens come up with a unique moneymaking scheme in a world taken over by aliens.

    “The Hill” (Briarcliff Entertainment): This baseball drama starring Dennis Quaid is based on the true story of Rickey Hill.

    August 25

    “They Listen” (Sony, theaters): John Cho and Katherine Waterston lead this secretive Blumhouse horror.

    “Golda” (Bleecker Street): Helen Mirren stars in this drama about Golda Meir, the Prime Minister of Israel during the Yom Kippur War.

    “ Bottoms ” (MGM, theaters): Two unpopular teenage girls (Rachel Sennott and Ayo Edebiri) start a fight club to impress the cheerleaders they want to lose their virginity to in this parody of the teen sex comedy.

    “The Dive” (RLJE Films): In this suspense pic about two sisters out for a dive, one gets hurt and is trapped underwater.

    “Scrapper” (Kino Lorber, theaters): A 12-year-old girl (Lola Campbell) is living alone in a London flat until her estranged father (Harris Dickinson) shows up.

    “Fremont” (Music Box Films, theaters): A former army translator in Afghanistan (Anaita Wali Zada) relocates to Fremont, California and gets a job at a fortune cookie factory. “The Bear’s” Jeremy Allen White co-stars.

    September 1

    “ The Equalizer 3 ” (Sony, theaters): Denzel Washington is back as Robert McCall, who is supposed to be retired from the assassin business but things get complicated in Southern Italy.

    ALREADY IN THEATERS AND STREAMING

    “ Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 ” (Disney/Marvel): Nine years after the non-comic obsessed world was introduced to Peter Quill, Rocket, Groot and the rest of the Guardians of the Galaxy, the misfits are closing out the trilogy and saying goodbye to director James Gunn, who is now leading rival DC. ( AP’s review.)

    “ What’s Love Got to Do with It? ” (Shout! Studios): Lily James plays a documentary filmmaker whose next project follows her neighbor (Shazad Latif) on his road to an arranged marriage in this charming romantic comedy.

    “ Book Club: The Next Chapter ” (Focus Features): Jane Fonda, Diane Keaton, Candice Bergen and Mary Steenburgen travel to Italy to celebrate an engagement.

    “ The Mother,” ( Netflix ): Jennifer Lopez is an assassin and a mother in this action pic timed to Mother’s Day. (AP’s review here.)

    “ Love Again ” (Sony): Priyanka Chopra Jonas plays a woman mourning the death of her boyfriend who texts his old number not knowing it belongs to someone new (Sam Heughan). Celine Dion (and her music) co-star in this romantic drama.

    “ STILL: A Michael J. Fox Movie ” ( AppleTV+ ): Davis Guggenheim helps Michael J. Fox tell his story, from his rise in Hollywood to his Parkinson’s diagnosis and beyond.

    “ Monica ” (IFC): A transgender woman, estranged from her family, goes home to visit her dying mother in this film starring Tracee Lysette and Patricia Clarkson.

    “ The Starling Girl ” (Bleecker Street): Eliza Scanlen plays a 17-year-old girl living in a fundamentalist Christian community in Kentucky whose life changes with the arrival of Lewis Pullman’s charismatic youth pastor.

    “ Fool’s Paradise ” (Roadside Attractions): Charlie Day writes, directs and plays dual roles in this comedic Hollywood satire.

    “ Hypnotic ” (Ketchup Entertainment): Ben Affleck plays a detective whose daughter goes missing in this Robert Rodriguez movie.

    “ It Ain’t Over ” (Sony Pictures Classics): A documentary about Lawrence Peter ‘Yogi’ Berra.

    “Blackberry” (IFC): Jay Baruchel and Glenn Howerton star in this movie about the rise of the Blackberry. ( AP’s review.)

    “ Fast X ” (Universal): In the tenth installment of the Fast franchise, Jason Momoa joins as the vengeful son of a slain drug lord intent to take out Vin Diesel’s Dom. ( AP’s review.)

    “ White Men Can’t Jump ” (20th Century Studios, streaming on Hulu): Sinqua Walls and Jack Harlow co-star in this remake of the 1992 film, co-written by Kenya Barris and featuring the late Lance Reddick. ( AP’s review.)

    “ Master Gardener ” (Magnolia): Joel Edgerton is a horticulturist in this Paul Schrader drama, co-starring Sigourney Weaver as a wealthy dowager. ( AP’s review.)

    “ Sanctuary ” (Neon): A dark comedy about a dominatrix (Margaret Qualley) and her wealth client (Christopher Abbott).

    “ The Little Mermaid ” (Disney): Halle Bailey plays Ariel in this technically ambitious live-action remake of a recent Disney classic directed by Rob Marshall (“Chicago”) and co-starring Melissa McCarthy as Ursula. ( AP’s review.)

    “ You Hurt My Feelings ” (A24): Nicole Holofcener takes a nuanced and funny look at a white lie that unsettles the marriage between a New York City writer (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and a therapist (Tobias Menzies). ( AP’s review.)

    “ About My Father ” (Lionsgate): Stand-up comic Sebastian Maniscalco co-wrote this culture clash movie in which he takes his Italian-American father (Robert De Niro) on a vacation with his wife’s WASPy family. ( AP’s review.)

    “ Victim/Suspect ” ( Netflix ): This documentary explores how law enforcement sometimes indicts victims of sexual assault instead of helping.

    “ The Machine,” (Sony): Stand-up comedian Bert Kreischer brings Mark Hamill into the fray for this action-comedy.

    “ Kandahar ” (Open Road Films): Gerard Butler plays an undercover CIA operative in hostile territory in Afghanistan.

    “ Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse ” (Sony): Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) is back, but with things not going so well in Brooklyn, he opts to visit the multiverse with his old pal Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld), where he encounters the Spider-Society. ( AP’s review.)

    “ The Boogeyman ” (20th Century Studios): “It’s the thing that comes for your kids when you’re not paying attention,” David Dastmalchian explains to Chris Messina in this Stephen King adaptation.

    “ Past Lives ” (A24): Already being hailed as one of the best of the year after its Sundance debut, Celine Song’s directorial debut is a decades and continent-spanning romance about two friends separated in childhood who meet 20 years later in New York. ( AP’s review.)

    “ Transformers: Rise of the Beasts ” (Paramount): Steven Caple Jr directs the seventh Transformers movie, starring Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback. ( AP’s review.)

    “Flamin’ Hot” ( Hulu, Disney+): Eva Longoria directs this story about Richard Montañez, a janitor at Frito-Lay who came up with the idea for Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. ( AP’s review.)

    “ Blue Jean ” (Magnolia): It’s 1988 in England and hostilities are mounting towards the LGBTQ community in Georgia Oakley’s BAFTA-nominated directorial debut about a gym teacher (Rosy McEwan) and the arrival of a new student. ( AP’s review.)

    “Daliland” (Magnolia): Mary Harron directs Ben Kingsley as Salvador Dalí.

    “ The Flash ” (Warner Bros.): Batmans past Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton assemble for this standalone Flash movie directed by Andy Muschietti and starring Ezra Miller as the titular superhero. ( AP’s review.)

    “ Elemental ” (Pixar): In Element City, residents include Air, Earth, Water and Fire in the new Pixar original, featuring the voices of Leah Lewis, Mamoudou Athie and Catherine O’Hara. ( AP’s review.)

    “ Extraction 2 ” ( Netflix ): Chris Hemsworth’s mercenary Tyler Rake is back for another dangerous mission. ( AP’s review.)

    “ Asteroid City ” (Focus Features): Wes Anderson assembles Tom Hanks, Scarlett Johansson, Jason Schwartzman and Jeffrey Wright for a stargazer convention in the mid-century American desert. ( AP’s review.)

    “ The Blackening ” (Lionsgate): This scary movie satire sends a group of Black friends including Grace Byers, Jermaine Fowler, Melvin Gregg and X Mayo to a cabin in the woods.

    “ No Hard Feelings ” (Sony): Jennifer Lawrence leads a raunchy comedy about a woman hired by a shy teen’s parents to help him get out of his shell before Princeton. ( AP’s review.)

    “ Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny ” (Lucasfilm): Harrison Ford puts his iconic fedora back on for a fifth outing as Indy in this new adventure directed by James Mangold and co-starring Phoebe Waller-Bridge. ( AP’s review.)

    “ Every Body ” (Focus Features): Oscar-nominated documentarian Julie Cohen turns her lens on three intersex individuals in her latest film. ( AP’s review.)

    “ Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken ” (Universal): Lana Condor (“To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before”) lends her voice to this animated action-comedy about a shy teenager trying to survive high school as a part-Kraken. (AP’s review.)

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  • Christopher Nolan breaks down the best ways to watch a movie, ahead of his ‘Oppenheimer’ release

    Christopher Nolan breaks down the best ways to watch a movie, ahead of his ‘Oppenheimer’ release

    [ad_1]

    It’s no secret that Christopher Nolan made “Oppenheimer” to be seen on the big screen. But not all big screens are created equal.

    That’s part of the reason why Universal Pictures has made “Oppenheimer” tickets available early for over a thousand “premium large format” (or PLF) screens, with options including IMAX 70mm, 70mm, IMAX digital, 35mm, Dolby Cinema and more.

    Knowing that even those words can get overwhelming and technical, Nolan went a step further: In an exclusive interview with The Associated Press, he offered a guide to his favorite formats, explaining why it matters and even where he likes to sit so that audiences don’t feel like they need a film school degree (or one in theoretical physics) before settling on a theater.

    “You rarely get the chance to really talk to moviegoers directly about why you love a particular format and why if they can find an IMAX screen to see the film on that’s great,” Nolan said. “We put a lot of effort into shooting the film in a way that we can get it out on these large format screens. It really is just a great way of giving people an experience that they can’t possibly get in the home.”

    In a film about about J. Robert Oppenheimer, the theoretical physicist who oversaw the development of first atomic bomb during World War II, this will be especially pivotal in viewing the Trinity Test, the first detonation of a nuclear weapon. Nolan and his effects teams recreated the blast, with all its blinding brilliance.

    “We knew that this had to be the showstopper,” Nolan said. “We’re able to do things with picture now that before we were really only able to do with sound in terms of an oversize impact for the audience—an almost physical sense of response to the film.”

    “Oppenheimer,” starring Cillian Murphy, opens in theaters on July 21.

    THE BIG PICTURE

    “Oppenheimer” was shot using some of the highest resolution film cameras that exist. Like “ Dunkirk ” and “ Tenet,” “Oppenheimer” was filmed entirely on large format film stock, meaning a combination of IMAX 65mm and Panavision 65mm (think David Lean/“Lawrence of Arabia”), that’s then projected in 70mm.

    “The sharpness and the clarity and the depth of the image is unparalleled,” Nolan said. “The headline, for me, is by shooting on IMAX 70mm film, you’re really letting the screen disappear. You’re getting a feeling of 3D without the glasses. You’ve got a huge screen and you’re filling the peripheral vision of the audience. You’re immersing them in the world of the film.”

    Nolan has been shooting with IMAX cameras since “The Dark Knight.” Audiences would regularly gasp at seeing its first shot projected in IMAX 70mm. Though it’s “just a helicopter shot” of some buildings in Chicago, it helps explain the ineffable power of the format.

    On a technical level, the IMAX film resolution is almost 10 times more than a 35mm projector and each frame has some 18,000 pixels of resolution versus a home HD screen that has 1,920 pixels.

    WHY IS IT SHOT ON 65MM AND PROJECTED IN 70MM?

    The 5mm difference goes back to when that extra space on the film had to be reserved for the soundtrack. With digital sound, that’s unnecessary and it is “purely a visual enhancement,” Nolan explained.

    DO THE DIFFERENT FORMATS IMPACT HOW THE FILM IS SHOT?

    “We have to plan very carefully because by shooting an IMAX film, you capture a lot of information,” he said. “Your movie is going to translate very well to all the formats because you’re getting the ultimate amount of visual information. But there are different shapes to the screen — what we call aspect ratios. What you have to plan is how you then frame your imagery so that it can be presented in different theaters with equal success.”

    Starting with “The Dark Knight,” they developed a system that they call “center punching the action” so that nothing is lost.

    Cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema is also always aware of the “frame lines for the different theaters” when looking through the camera.

    On the biggest presentations, IMAX 1.43:1 (the massive square screen) the screen essentially disappears for the audience. For other formats like 35mm, the top and the bottom get cropped.

    But, Nolan said, “from a creative point of view, what we’ve found over the years is that there’s no compromise to composition.”

    WHY NOT MAKE AN ENTIRE MOVIE IN IMAX?

    The IMAX cameras are just too loud for dialogue heavy scenes, but Nolan is optimistic about the new cameras being developed.

    WHAT’S THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE BLACK AND WHITE SEQUENCES?

    Some of “Oppenheimer” is presented in black and white for a very specific story reason.

    “I knew that I had two timelines that we were running in the film,” Nolan said. “One is in color, and that’s Oppenheimer’s subjective experience. That’s the bulk of the film. Then the other is a black and white timeline. It’s a more objective view of his story from a different character’s point of view.”

    Nolan’s desire for the black and white portions to be of equal image quality to the rest of the film led to the development of the first ever black and white IMAX film stock, which Kodak made and Fotokem developed.

    “We shot a lot of our hair and makeup tests using black and white. And then we would go to the IMAX film projector at CityWalk and project it there,” he said. “I’ve just never seen anything like it. To see such a massive black and white film image? It’s just a wonderful thing.”

    NOLAN’S FAVORITE THEATRICAL FORMATS

    For Nolan, the “best possible experience” to view “Oppenheimer” in theaters is the IMAX 70mm film presentations. These are also among the rarest, currently set for 25 locations in North America including the AMC Universal CityWalk in Los Angeles, the AMC Lincoln Square in New York, the Cinemark Dallas, the Regal King of Prussia near Philadelphia and the AutoNation IMAX in Fort Lauderdale.

    The prints span over 11 miles of film stock, weigh some 600 pounds and run through film projectors horizontally.

    There will also be over one hundred 70mm prints (“a fabulous presentation,” Nolan said) sent to theaters around the world, with over 77 (and more to come) on sale in North America at major chains and many independent locations like the Music Box in Chicago and the AFI Silver in Washington D.C.

    “The two formats are sort of different and I love them both,” he said.

    The sequences projected in IMAX 70mm really “come to life” on those screens, and vice versa for the 70mm sequences on those specific projectors. In IMAX theaters, for example, things shot with IMAX film cameras will expand vertically to fill the entire screen.

    IMAX DIGITAL, LASER AND EXHIBITOR PLF OPTIONS

    The vast majority of moviegoers in North America will have easier access to digital presentations. These include IMAX digital, which can sometimes mean a laser projected image and other times involves a retro formatted screen, and what’s called “exhibitor PLF,” meaning large format screen and projection systems developed by individual theater chains (like Regal RPX, Cinemark XD and Cineplex UltraAVX). When in doubt, look for an “X” in the name.

    But don’t dismay: It’ll still look great, according to Nolan, whose team has worked for six months to digitize the original film for other formats to ensure the best experience on every screen.

    “This is the exciting thing about shooting an IMAX film: When you scan it for the digital format, you’re working with the absolute best possible image that you could acquire, and that translates wonderfully to the new projector formats like the laser projectors,” he said.

    Nolan said the “IMAX impact” over the last 20 to 30 years has resulted in more theaters paying more attention to presentation, from projection to sound, which has been “great for filmmakers.”

    WHERE ARE THE BEST SEATS?

    Well, that comes down to personal preference but here’s where Nolan likes to sit.

    “When I’m in a theater that’s Cinemascope ratio, I like to be right near the front, middle of the third row,” he said. “When I’m in a stadium, IMAX 1.43:1, then I actually like to be a little behind the center line right up at the middle. So, a little further back.”

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  • Christopher Nolan Breaks Down The Best Ways To Watch A Movie, Ahead Of His ‘Oppenheimer’ Release

    Christopher Nolan Breaks Down The Best Ways To Watch A Movie, Ahead Of His ‘Oppenheimer’ Release

    [ad_1]

    By LINDSEY BAHR, The Associated Press.
    Published:

    It’s no secret that Christopher Nolan made “ Oppenheimer ” to be seen on the big screen. But not all big screens are created equal.

    That’s part of the reason why Universal Pictures has made “Oppenheimer” tickets available early for over a thousand “premium large format” (or PLF) screens, with options including IMAX 70mm, 70mm, IMAX digital, 35mm, Dolby Cinema and more.

    Knowing that even those words can get overwhelming and technical, Nolan went a step further: In an exclusive interview with The Associated Press, he offered a guide to his favorite formats, explaining why it matters and even where he likes to sit so that audiences don’t feel like they need a film school degree (or one in theoretical physics) before settling on a theater.

    “You rarely get the chance to really talk to moviegoers directly about why you love a particular format and why if they can find an IMAX screen to see the film on that’s great,” Nolan said. “We put a lot of effort into shooting the film in a way that we can get it out on these large format screens. It really is just a great way of giving people an experience that they can’t possibly get in the home.”

    In a film about about J. Robert Oppenheimer, the theoretical physicist who oversaw the development of first atomic bomb during World War II, this will be especially pivotal in viewing the Trinity Test, the first detonation of a nuclear weapon. Nolan and his effects teams recreated the blast, with all its blinding brilliance.

    Cillian Murphy in a scene from “Oppenheimer.” (Universal Pictures via AP)

    “We knew that this had to be the showstopper,” Nolan said. “We’re able to do things with picture now that before we were really only able to do with sound in terms of an oversize impact for the audience—an almost physical sense of response to the film.”

    “Oppenheimer,” starring Cillian Murphy, opens in theaters on July 21.

    THE BIG PICTURE

    “Oppenheimer” was shot using some of the highest resolution film cameras that exist. Like “ Dunkirk ” and “ Tenet,” “Oppenheimer” was filmed entirely on large format film stock, meaning a combination of IMAX 65mm and Panavision 65mm (think David Lean/“Lawrence of Arabia”), that’s then projected in 70mm.

    “The sharpness and the clarity and the depth of the image is unparalleled,” Nolan said. “The headline, for me, is by shooting on IMAX 70mm film, you’re really letting the screen disappear. You’re getting a feeling of 3D without the glasses. You’ve got a huge screen and you’re filling the peripheral vision of the audience. You’re immersing them in the world of the film.”

    This image released by Universal Pictures shows film from "Oppenheimer" appearing on an IMAX projector. (David Keighley/Universal Pictures via AP)

    “Oppenheimer” appearing on an IMAX projector. (David Keighley/Universal Pictures via AP)

    Nolan has been shooting with IMAX cameras since “The Dark Knight.” Audiences would regularly gasp at seeing its first shot projected in IMAX 70mm. Though it’s “just a helicopter shot” of some buildings in Chicago, it helps explain the ineffable power of the format.

    On a technical level, the IMAX film resolution is almost 10 times more than a 35mm projector and each frame has some 18,000 pixels of resolution versus a home HD screen that has 1,920 pixels.

    WHY IS IT SHOT ON 65MM AND PROJECTED IN 70MM?

    The 5mm difference goes back to when that extra space on the film had to be reserved for the soundtrack. With digital sound, that’s unnecessary and it is “purely a visual enhancement,” Nolan explained.

    DO THE DIFFERENT FORMATS IMPACT HOW THE FILM IS SHOT?

    “We have to plan very carefully because by shooting an IMAX film, you capture a lot of information,” he said. “Your movie is going to translate very well to all the formats because you’re getting the ultimate amount of visual information. But there are different shapes to the screen — what we call aspect ratios. What you have to plan is how you then frame your imagery so that it can be presented in different theaters with equal success.”

    Starting with “The Dark Knight,” they developed a system that they call “center punching the action” so that nothing is lost.

    This image released by Universal Pictures shows director Christopher Nolan, center, and Cillian Murphy, right, on the set of "Oppenheimer." (Melinda Sue Gordon/Universal Pictures via AP)

    Nolan, center, and Cillian Murphy, right, on the set of “Oppenheimer.” (Melinda Sue Gordon/Universal Pictures via AP)

    Cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema is also always aware of the “frame lines for the different theaters” when looking through the camera.

    On the biggest presentations, IMAX 1.43:1 (the massive square screen) the screen essentially disappears for the audience. For other formats like 35mm, the top and the bottom get cropped.

    But, Nolan said, “from a creative point of view, what we’ve found over the years is that there’s no compromise to composition.”

    WHY NOT MAKE AN ENTIRE MOVIE IN IMAX?

    The IMAX cameras are just too loud for dialogue heavy scenes, but Nolan is optimistic about the new cameras being developed.

    WHAT’S THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE BLACK AND WHITE SEQUENCES?

    Some of “Oppenheimer” is presented in black and white for a very specific story reason.

    “I knew that I had two timelines that we were running in the film,” Nolan said. “One is in color, and that’s Oppenheimer’s subjective experience. That’s the bulk of the film. Then the other is a black and white timeline. It’s a more objective view of his story from a different character’s point of view.”

    Nolan’s desire for the black and white portions to be of equal image quality to the rest of the film led to the development of the first ever black and white IMAX film stock, which Kodak made and Fotokem developed.

    “We shot a lot of our hair and makeup tests using black and white. And then we would go to the IMAX film projector at CityWalk and project it there,” he said. “I’ve just never seen anything like it. To see such a massive black and white film image? It’s just a wonderful thing.”

    NOLAN’S FAVORITE THEATRICAL FORMATS

    For Nolan, the “best possible experience” to view “Oppenheimer” in theaters is the IMAX 70mm film presentations. These are also among the rarest, currently set for 25 locations in North America including the AMC Universal CityWalk in Los Angeles, the AMC Lincoln Square in New York, the Cinemark Dallas, the Regal King of Prussia near Philadelphia and the AutoNation IMAX in Fort Lauderdale.

    The prints span over 11 miles of film stock, weigh some 600 pounds and run through film projectors horizontally.

    There will also be over one hundred 70mm prints (“a fabulous presentation,” Nolan said) sent to theaters around the world, with over 77 (and more to come) on sale in North America at major chains and many independent locations like the Music Box in Chicago and the AFI Silver in Washington D.C.

    “The two formats are sort of different and I love them both,” he said.

    The sequences projected in IMAX 70mm really “come to life” on those screens, and vice versa for the 70mm sequences on those specific projectors. In IMAX theaters, for example, things shot with IMAX film cameras will expand vertically to fill the entire screen.

    IMAX DIGITAL, LASER AND EXHIBITOR PLF OPTIONS

    The vast majority of moviegoers in North America will have easier access to digital presentations. These include IMAX digital, which can sometimes mean a laser projected image and other times involves a retro formatted screen, and what’s called “exhibitor PLF,” meaning large format screen and projection systems developed by individual theater chains (like Regal RPX, Cinemark XD and Cineplex UltraAVX). When in doubt, look for an “X” in the name.

    But don’t dismay: It’ll still look great, according to Nolan, whose team has worked for six months to digitize the original film for other formats to ensure the best experience on every screen.

    “This is the exciting thing about shooting an IMAX film: When you scan it for the digital format, you’re working with the absolute best possible image that you could acquire, and that translates wonderfully to the new projector formats like the laser projectors,” he said.

    Nolan said the “IMAX impact” over the last 20 to 30 years has resulted in more theaters paying more attention to presentation, from projection to sound, which has been “great for filmmakers.”

    WHERE ARE THE BEST SEATS?

    Well, that comes down to personal preference but here’s where Nolan likes to sit.

    “When I’m in a theater that’s Cinemascope ratio, I like to be right near the front, middle of the third row,” he said. “When I’m in a stadium, IMAX 1.43:1, then I actually like to be a little behind the center line right up at the middle. So, a little further back.”

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    Aashna Shah

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  • What We Know So Far About Christopher Nolan’s ‘Oppenheimer’

    What We Know So Far About Christopher Nolan’s ‘Oppenheimer’

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    The countdown is on for Cillian Murphy’s return to the silver screen as death, the destroyer of worlds, in Christopher Nolan’s much-awaited biopic Oppenheimer. The movie, in which Murphy stars alongside a star-studded cast composed of big names like Robert Downey, Jr., Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, and Florence Pugh (to name a few), is generating buzz because this is the celebrated director’s very first biographical film, and knowing his love for unconventional story-telling, with tons of twists and turns, the excitement is very much merited. Here is everything we know so far. 

    The Source Material and Nolan’s Relationship with Biopics

    1945 Portrait of J Robert Oppenheimer
    J. Robert Oppenheimer, taken in 1945 (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

    Oppenheimer is, of course, based on a true story and derives its material from the biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer called American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer written by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin. Published in 2005, the book won the  2006 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography, as well as the 2008 Duff Cooper Prize. Its official synopsis reads as follows:

    “J. Robert Oppenheimer is one of the iconic figures of the twentieth century, a brilliant physicist who led the effort to build the atomic bomb for his country in a time of war, and who later found himself confronting the moral consequences of scientific progress. In this magisterial, acclaimed biography twenty-five years in the making, Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin capture Oppenheimer’s life and times, from his early career to his central role in the Cold War. This is biography and history at its finest, riveting and deeply informative.”

    In contrast, the film is being marketed as an “epic thriller” which, given Nolan’s background, feels more fitting. His Academy-nominated film Dunkirk, which depicted the miracle of the famous rescue mission on the beaches of France during the darkest hours of World War II, was told from three perspectives, and just like in the trailer of Oppenheimer, prominently featured a ticking clock—yet another detail Nolan is often fond of, time.

    Although this is technically Nolan’s first project focusing on a person’s life, he has on several occasions talked of having written a script that could have been a biopic on the eccentric billionaire and aviator, Howard Hughes. He described the ultimately junked screenplay as probably his best work but had decided to forgo the project after the release of Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio’s The Aviator, which also centered on Hughes’ life. 

    The Plot

    Universal’s official summary describes the film as, “epic thriller that thrusts audiences into the pulse-pounding paradox of the enigmatic man who must risk destroying the world in order to save it.”

    As previously mentioned, Nolan is said to be basing the film on Bird and Sherwin’s book but will be adapting it himself. We can only assume that he will also most likely cover the events that transpired after the dropping of the bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as well as the infamous hearings that led to the revocation of Oppenheimer’s security clearance due to his ties to the Communist Party. 

    The Growing Ensemble Cast

    Matt Damon and Leslie Groves.
    (Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Deadline, MPI/Getty Images)

    We’ve previously broken down the film’s cast and their real-life counterparts, but there still remain several members with unnamed roles. These include Olivia Thirlby, Gary Oldman (who has previously worked with Nolan in Dark Knight as Commissioner Gordon and is confirmed to make a cameo), Tony Goldwyn, Alex Wolff, Matthias Schweighöfer, David Rysdahl, Jason Clarke, David Dastmalchian, Kenneth Branagh, Jack Quaid, Dane DeHaan, Rami Malek, and Alden Ehrenreich. Childstar Josh Peck will also be appearing as a scientist named Kenneth Bainbridge. 

    A First With Universal Pictures

    For the past two decades, Nolan’s films have always called Warner Bros. their home, but following a split during the pandemic, after issues with the release of Tenet, Oppenheimer will be opening under the banner of Universal Pictures. This is Nolan’s first film outside of the Warner Bros. lot since 2002. The decision came after Warner Bros. moved for all of its films to open in theaters on the same day they were released for streaming, a decision, according to Nolan, that had been made without any consultation.

    Familiar Faces 

    Like with his actors, Nolan is known for having a ready team he consistently works with in all of his projects. Some familiar names and faces that will be returning for Oppenheimer include Hoyte Van Hoytema for cinematography, Jennifer Lame for editing, and Ludwig Göransson for scoring (this will be his second project with Nolan, although one has to ask, where is Hans Zimmer?) Unsurprisingly, the film will be shot on both IMAX 65mm and 65mm large-format film, which were the same formats for both Tenet and Dunkirk. 

    Will It Be In Black and White?

    Nolan has played with black and white before with Following and Memento and, save for the explosions, Oppenheimer’s trailer is primarily in black and white as well. Perhaps it could be a girl-in-the-red-coat situation just like in Schindler’s List? 

    Teaser Trailer

    Now, the teaser trailer is probably one of the most interesting details about Oppenheimer so far. Released on July 28, the one-minute clip shows Cillian Murphy as the titular character getting ready before walking off with several journalists trailing behind him. A voiceover calls him the “most important man to have ever lived.” What makes this trailer interesting is that it literally set off a countdown. When you look it up on YouTube, it comes in the form of a stream that is counting down to the film’s premiere date, July 21, 2023, although some have pointed out that the clock actually runs out on July 16, 2023, which would be the 78th anniversary of Oppenheimer first calling for a test for the very first atomic bomb.  

    Official Poster

    The poster depicts Murphy in a sea of clouds and smoke with the words, “The world forever changes.” It was released just days before the teaser trailer. 

    The Trailer

    Much like its initial teaser trailer, Oppenheimer’s first full-length glimpse into the much-awaited film opens with a blaze. It gives us a quick look into the Los Alamos Laboratories—the heart of the Manhattan Project. The one-minute trailer provides a quick overview of the experiments and the creation of the atomic bomb itself. At the same time, Cillian Murphy’s J. Robert Oppenheimer ominously narrates in the background his qualms and reservations about what would be his legacy.

    “They won’t fear it until they understand it, and they won’t understand it until they’ve used it. I don’t know if we can be trusted with such a weapon,” he says in the voiceover. 

    Nolan himself has described his project as his most challenging one to date. Speaking exclusively with Total Film, the director shared his and his team’s extensive processes with Oppenheimer, particularly his love for practical effects. 

    “I think recreating the Trinity test [the first nuclear weapon detonation, [in New Mexico] without the use of computer graphics, was a huge challenge to take on. Andrew Jackson – my visual effects supervisor, I got him on board early on – was looking at how we could do a lot of the visual elements of the film practically, from representing quantum dynamics and quantum physics to the Trinity test itself, to recreating, with my team, Los Alamos up on a mesa in New Mexico in extraordinary weather, a lot of which was needed for the film, in terms of the very harsh conditions out there – there were huge practical challenges.” 

    Nolan is, of course, no stranger to practical filmmaking. For Tenet, he crashed an actual 747 into a building. There was also the truck flip in The Dark Knight and the detailed sets of Interstellar. One can only imagine what he and his team are brewing for Oppenheimer. We are definitely seated.

    Release Date

    Oppenheimer opens in theaters on July 21, 2023, just two weeks away from the anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing. 

    (featured image: Universal Pictures)

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    Danielle Baranda

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