Auteur Sitcoms Get Edgy in Age of Peak TV
Auteur sitcoms are getting awfully quirky and dark in the peak TV age. Buoyed by the successes of Lena Dunham ("Girls") and Louis C.K. ("Louie"), professional funny people are creating shows based on…
Bob Verini
Ebertfest Honorees Share Memories of Roger Ebert
Every year industry heavyweights descend on Champaign, Ill., to pay tribute to Roger Ebert's lasting legacy in the world of film. Ebertfest, the annual week-long celebration of all things cinematic…
Regional Theater Review: A Starry ‘Night of the Iguana’
"The Night of the Iguana" is Tennessee Williams' darkly tragicomic 1961 musing on humanity's difficulties in hanging on to love, faith and grace, set on the eve of World War II when all three…
Regional Theater Review: ‘Fingersmith,’ Based on the Novel That Inspired ‘The Handmaiden’
This holiday season, it's gratifying to encounter at least one Victorian-era entertainment that doesn't end with wassail, Tiny Tim and his crutch. "Fingersmith" — based on the novel that inspired…
How ‘Resident Evil’ Producer Constantin Film Conquered the Globe
As most everyone knows, "Resident Evil" was born of a video game. Playing it, according to co-producer Robert Kulzer, is "empowering." "You're sitting at the controls and you try to really conquer a…
Golden Globes Open Awards Season Doors to Overlooked Genres
Among the unique attributes of the Golden Globes — guests seated at round tables, eating and drinking throughout the show — its category for comedy/musical best picture stands out and offers…
Real Life Offers Best Research for Roles in Films Like ‘Hacksaw Ridge,’ ‘Loving’
Many actors' success at playing real-life characters has much to do with a passion for homework. By all possible means, they aim to achieve communion with the actual human being they propose to…
True-Life Tales Punctuate Awards-Race Screenplays ‘Sully,’ ‘Jackie’ and ‘Bleed for This’
When dogged news-hound Jerry Thompson starts anatomizing deceased media mogul "Citizen Kane," he doesn't assemble bare facts. Instead, he seeks to solve a mystery: What does "Rosebud" mean in Kane's…
‘Lawrence of Arabia’ Editor Anne Coates on Why So Many Great Editors Are Female
At venerable Pinewood Studios west of London, a fledgling Anne Coates hoped editing experience would serve as a stepping stone to directing. No surprise, the industry proved even more resistant back…
Regional Theater Review: ‘Broadway Bounty Hunter’
Annie Golden, the theater veteran and regular on TV's "Orange Is the New Black" (playing inmate Norma), isn't precisely "Annie Golden," protagonist of Joe Iconis's new musical "Broadway Bounty…
From ‘Fargo’ to ‘People v. O.J.’: Emmy Nominees Discuss Limited Series Format
For a limited series to be whole, it first has to be broken. The "breaking" process — as in, breaking out the overall narrative and its individual episodes — is a crucial drama bubbling beneath the…
