Ahead of the first-ever International Production Design Week, the Production Designers Collective has coordinated a series of interviews with directors and production designers, in which they discuss their working dynamics and mutual passion for the craft of storytelling. At the heart of production designer Akin McKenzie and writer-director Terence Nance’s long-running collaboration is a mutual recognition of the importance of, as Nance puts it, “creative execution that flows from emotional framework.” The two first worked together on the Peabody-award-winning HBO show Random Acts of Flyness and went on to create Space Jam: A New Legacy and award-winning commercial campaigns for […]
The post Reject Departmental Sectarianism: Production Designer Akin McKenzie and Writer-Director Terence Nance first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post Reject Departmental Sectarianism: Production Designer Akin McKenzie and Writer-Director Terence Nance first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 10/19/2023
- by Brandon Tonner-Connolly
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
Ahead of the first-ever International Production Design Week, the Production Designers Collective has coordinated a series of interviews with directors and production designers, in which they discuss their working dynamics and mutual passion for the craft of storytelling. At the heart of production designer Akin McKenzie and writer-director Terence Nance’s long-running collaboration is a mutual recognition of the importance of, as Nance puts it, “creative execution that flows from emotional framework.” The two first worked together on the Peabody-award-winning HBO show Random Acts of Flyness and went on to create Space Jam: A New Legacy and award-winning commercial campaigns for […]
The post Reject Departmental Sectarianism: Production Designer Akin McKenzie and Writer-Director Terence Nance first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post Reject Departmental Sectarianism: Production Designer Akin McKenzie and Writer-Director Terence Nance first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 10/19/2023
- by Brandon Tonner-Connolly
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
With all the chatter about the 2022 movies that are already well on their way to Oscar night, it’s time to shine one last spotlight on Gina Prince-Bythewood’s historical epic “The Woman King.” Released last September, the movie stars Oscar winner Viola Davis in another unforgettable role as Nanisca, the general of the Agojie, an all-woman army protecting the African kingdom of Dahomey during the 1800s.
If that idea sounds familiar, that’s because the Agojie were the inspiration for “Black Panther” comic book writer Christopher Priest to create the Dora Milaje, Wakanda’s woman army that would play a huge role in both 2018’s “Black Panther” and 2022’s “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.”
Despite the similarities, “The Woman King” is a very different movie, based more on historical knowledge of the Agojie while telling an original story about Nanisca and the Agojie’s newest young recruit, Nawi, as played by Thuso Mbedu.
If that idea sounds familiar, that’s because the Agojie were the inspiration for “Black Panther” comic book writer Christopher Priest to create the Dora Milaje, Wakanda’s woman army that would play a huge role in both 2018’s “Black Panther” and 2022’s “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.”
Despite the similarities, “The Woman King” is a very different movie, based more on historical knowledge of the Agojie while telling an original story about Nanisca and the Agojie’s newest young recruit, Nawi, as played by Thuso Mbedu.
- 1/13/2023
- by Edward Douglas
- Gold Derby
In the opening sequence of Gina Prince-Bythewood’s “The Woman King,” there is a moment in which Nanisca (Viola Davis) slings her machete over her shoulder and stares down the small encampment of men she and her coterie of female soldiers are about to attack. Not an ounce of fear pierces through her steely eyes nor flashes across her stone face, since, clearly, she has fought many battles, both emotional and physical, and walked away from each one a bit more hardened than when she marched into it. Yet her icy demeanor is caked in a thick enough layer of weariness for you to know that with every one, she has been forced to leave behind a small part of herself on the battlefield. From the second she is introduced, you have a firm grasp on who Nanisca is, thanks to Davis’ lived-in performance — one that would make her a worthy Best Actress Oscar nominee.
- 1/12/2023
- by Luca Giliberti
- Gold Derby
What was most important to production designer Akin McKenzie when it came to his work on Gina Prince-Bythewood‘s new film “The Woman King” was that every single design he selected and crafted for the historical epic had a specific purpose.
“Every glyph that you see has a meaning; every fabric tells a story; every pattern has a ritual behind it,” underlines the production designer during his recent webchat with Gold Derby (watch the exclusive video interview above). “So, that was a fun exploration — how do we continue to make things visually interesting but do not, under any [circumstances], rely on decoration for decoration purposes? If we need more texture, let’s be patient enough to observe and understand the purpose behind it.”
See How ‘The Woman King’ costume designer Gersha Phillips turned Viola Davis into the leader of the Agojie [Exclusive Video Interview]
Written by Dana Stevens and inspired by real events, “The Woman King...
“Every glyph that you see has a meaning; every fabric tells a story; every pattern has a ritual behind it,” underlines the production designer during his recent webchat with Gold Derby (watch the exclusive video interview above). “So, that was a fun exploration — how do we continue to make things visually interesting but do not, under any [circumstances], rely on decoration for decoration purposes? If we need more texture, let’s be patient enough to observe and understand the purpose behind it.”
See How ‘The Woman King’ costume designer Gersha Phillips turned Viola Davis into the leader of the Agojie [Exclusive Video Interview]
Written by Dana Stevens and inspired by real events, “The Woman King...
- 1/3/2023
- by Luca Giliberti
- Gold Derby
Recreating 1820s Kingdom of Dahomey, the setting of Gina Prince-Bythewood‘s new film “The Woman King,” was no easy task for visual effects supervisor Sara Bennett. But when it came to the preparation process for the historical epic, she received a lot of help from particularly the movie’s production designer, Akin McKenzie, and his collaborators.
“[They] gathered a lot of information… a lot of imagery, which was hard to get,” Bennett — an Oscar winner for “Ex Machina” (2014) — tells Gold Derby in a recent webchat (watch the exclusive video interview above). “We also looked at locations that still exist — and actually, there was a show on Netflix called ‘High on the Hog,’ which gave you a little insight, as well, of the world that we were looking at.”
See How ‘The Woman King’s’ sound team created the dynamic sonic landscape of 1820s Kingdom of Dahomey [Exclusive Video Interview]
Written by Dana Stevens and inspired by real events,...
“[They] gathered a lot of information… a lot of imagery, which was hard to get,” Bennett — an Oscar winner for “Ex Machina” (2014) — tells Gold Derby in a recent webchat (watch the exclusive video interview above). “We also looked at locations that still exist — and actually, there was a show on Netflix called ‘High on the Hog,’ which gave you a little insight, as well, of the world that we were looking at.”
See How ‘The Woman King’s’ sound team created the dynamic sonic landscape of 1820s Kingdom of Dahomey [Exclusive Video Interview]
Written by Dana Stevens and inspired by real events,...
- 12/16/2022
- by Luca Giliberti
- Gold Derby
The story of the real-life female warriors who protected an African kingdom is now a major box-office hit
The fight to bring The Woman King to the big screen started long before Gina Prince-Bythewood came on board, yet it chimes with the director’s career-long struggle to champion women of colour in her work.
Star and producer Viola Davis and fellow producer Cathy Schulman got the ball rolling seven years ago on what would become TriStar Pictures’ action epic. Schulman had piqued Davis’s interest after she shared a French book given to her by actress Maria Bello that...
The fight to bring The Woman King to the big screen started long before Gina Prince-Bythewood came on board, yet it chimes with the director’s career-long struggle to champion women of colour in her work.
Star and producer Viola Davis and fellow producer Cathy Schulman got the ball rolling seven years ago on what would become TriStar Pictures’ action epic. Schulman had piqued Davis’s interest after she shared a French book given to her by actress Maria Bello that...
- 12/16/2022
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
The ‘22/23 film awards cycle is so competitive that even below-the-line categories like Best Production Design are hard to call. Gold Derby’s projected slate of nominees has at least seven titles that would look like frontrunners in weaker years.
In first, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” is positioned to repeat its predecessor’s victory and earn Hannah Beachler her second Oscar. “Babylon” is close behind. For his 1920s-set dark comedy, Damien Chazelle worked with Florencia Martin, whose recent credits include “Blonde” and “Licorice Pizza.” “Babylon” already seemed like a lock, and reactions to the movie’s unveiling in LA only solidify its status.
See ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’: Stellar reviews boost Oscar hopes
“The Fabelmans,” in third, isn’t the showiest title on the list, but four-time nominee and two-time winner Rick Carter can easily ride the Best Picture frontrunner’s coattails into a nomination. Carter’s first Oscar was for 2009’s “Avatar,...
In first, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” is positioned to repeat its predecessor’s victory and earn Hannah Beachler her second Oscar. “Babylon” is close behind. For his 1920s-set dark comedy, Damien Chazelle worked with Florencia Martin, whose recent credits include “Blonde” and “Licorice Pizza.” “Babylon” already seemed like a lock, and reactions to the movie’s unveiling in LA only solidify its status.
See ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’: Stellar reviews boost Oscar hopes
“The Fabelmans,” in third, isn’t the showiest title on the list, but four-time nominee and two-time winner Rick Carter can easily ride the Best Picture frontrunner’s coattails into a nomination. Carter’s first Oscar was for 2009’s “Avatar,...
- 11/21/2022
- by Ronald Meyer
- Gold Derby
Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony awards ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages are Davis’ assessment of the current standings of the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any film or performance. Like any organization or body that votes, each individual category is fluid and subject to change. Predictions are updated every Thursday.
Last Updated: Oct. 20, 2022
2023 Oscars Predictions: Best Production Design Thirteen Lives, from left: Thira Chutikul, Viggo Mortensen, 2022. ph: Vince Valitutti / © MGM / Courtesy Everett Collection
Category Commentary: More to come…
See the latest film predictions, in all 23 categories, in one place on Variety’s Oscars Collective.
To see the ranked predictions for each individual category, visit Variety’s Oscars Hub.
All Awards Contenders And Rankings:
And...
Last Updated: Oct. 20, 2022
2023 Oscars Predictions: Best Production Design Thirteen Lives, from left: Thira Chutikul, Viggo Mortensen, 2022. ph: Vince Valitutti / © MGM / Courtesy Everett Collection
Category Commentary: More to come…
See the latest film predictions, in all 23 categories, in one place on Variety’s Oscars Collective.
To see the ranked predictions for each individual category, visit Variety’s Oscars Hub.
All Awards Contenders And Rankings:
And...
- 10/21/2022
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Dir: Gina Prince-Bythewood. Starring: Viola Davis, Thuso Mbedu, Lashana Lynch, Sheila Atim, John Boyega. 15, 135 minutes.
Gina Prince-Bythewood is exactly the kind of filmmaker Hollywood needs. Whether in the intimacy of her dramas Love & Basketball (2000) and Beyond the Lights (2014), the propulsion of her comic book adaptation The Old Guard (2020), or, now, the rousing spirit of her historical epic The Woman King, the core strengths of her work remain unaltered, whatever the scale of the project. There is always the same heart, the same integrity, and the same genuine investment in representing the world as it is, even if it puts her at odds with what white Hollywood execs want it to be.
So far, she’s been proven right in her instincts. The Old Guard already has a sequel in the works. The Woman King, which was bounced around studios for three years after being deemed unprofitable, climbed straight...
Gina Prince-Bythewood is exactly the kind of filmmaker Hollywood needs. Whether in the intimacy of her dramas Love & Basketball (2000) and Beyond the Lights (2014), the propulsion of her comic book adaptation The Old Guard (2020), or, now, the rousing spirit of her historical epic The Woman King, the core strengths of her work remain unaltered, whatever the scale of the project. There is always the same heart, the same integrity, and the same genuine investment in representing the world as it is, even if it puts her at odds with what white Hollywood execs want it to be.
So far, she’s been proven right in her instincts. The Old Guard already has a sequel in the works. The Woman King, which was bounced around studios for three years after being deemed unprofitable, climbed straight...
- 10/5/2022
- by Clarisse Loughrey
- The Independent - Film
After two weeks of solid showings at the box office, excellent reviews and passionate fan responses, “The Woman King” has become one of the year’s standout hits, with plans to be competitive in the awards races for both major and artisan category attention.
One of the film’s standout stars, Thuso Mbedu, who plays the young Nawi, will be campaigning for supporting actress attention, Variety has learned. Academy Award winner Viola Davis (“Fences”) will be the sole actress campaigning for lead actress.
Mbedu, who was the breakout sensation of 2021’s Emmy-nominated series “The Underground Railroad” from director Barry Jenkins, will compete in supporting alongside her co-stars Sheila Atim, Jayme Lawson, Adrienne Warren and most prominent, Lashana Lynch. All of the male actors, including John Boyega, will be competing in supporting actor.
Beginning with “Gone with the Wind” (1939) duo Olivia de Havilland and winner Hattie McDaniel, who became the first...
One of the film’s standout stars, Thuso Mbedu, who plays the young Nawi, will be campaigning for supporting actress attention, Variety has learned. Academy Award winner Viola Davis (“Fences”) will be the sole actress campaigning for lead actress.
Mbedu, who was the breakout sensation of 2021’s Emmy-nominated series “The Underground Railroad” from director Barry Jenkins, will compete in supporting alongside her co-stars Sheila Atim, Jayme Lawson, Adrienne Warren and most prominent, Lashana Lynch. All of the male actors, including John Boyega, will be competing in supporting actor.
Beginning with “Gone with the Wind” (1939) duo Olivia de Havilland and winner Hattie McDaniel, who became the first...
- 9/26/2022
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
“The Woman King” was reviewed by TheWrap out of the Toronto International Film Festival.
At first pass, “The Woman King” recalls those classic Disney animated fables. Though inspired by real-life warriors who guarded the Kingdom of Dahomey in 19th-century West Africa, the film hits many familiar notes: Ancient mythical land! Palace intrigue! Rebellious orphan! Tough-love mentors! Coming of age! Prince charming! Wicked villain! Good vs. evil showdown! It’s just that here, the tropes aren’t metaphors at all and the story isn’t an allegory.
In the Sony Pictures release, Oscar winner Viola Davis stars as General Nanisca, commander of the Agojie, an all-female army, and adviser to the young King Ghezo (John Boyega), who has recently ascended to the throne. The kingdom has been at war with the Oyo Empire, which routinely kidnaps Dahomey’s people and auctions them off to slave traders. Ghezo is himself complicit in this human trafficking,...
At first pass, “The Woman King” recalls those classic Disney animated fables. Though inspired by real-life warriors who guarded the Kingdom of Dahomey in 19th-century West Africa, the film hits many familiar notes: Ancient mythical land! Palace intrigue! Rebellious orphan! Tough-love mentors! Coming of age! Prince charming! Wicked villain! Good vs. evil showdown! It’s just that here, the tropes aren’t metaphors at all and the story isn’t an allegory.
In the Sony Pictures release, Oscar winner Viola Davis stars as General Nanisca, commander of the Agojie, an all-female army, and adviser to the young King Ghezo (John Boyega), who has recently ascended to the throne. The kingdom has been at war with the Oyo Empire, which routinely kidnaps Dahomey’s people and auctions them off to slave traders. Ghezo is himself complicit in this human trafficking,...
- 9/15/2022
- by Martin Tsai
- The Wrap
Newly expanded advisor roster spans filmmaking disciplines.
Projects from South Africa, China and Turkey are among 10 selected for the 2020 Sundance Institute Directors and Screenwriters Labs, which have been reconfigured as a digital event amid the pandemic lockdown.
The event will take place on Sundance Co//ab and as always is designed to connect selected filmmaker Fellows with creative advisors and industry mentors across multiple disciplines.
The Directors Lab runs from June 1-19 when filmmakers will participate in a schedule of advisor presentations, scene analysis sessions, directing exercises, one-on-one meetings, and inaugural conversations across a wide range of industry disciplines, including casting,...
Projects from South Africa, China and Turkey are among 10 selected for the 2020 Sundance Institute Directors and Screenwriters Labs, which have been reconfigured as a digital event amid the pandemic lockdown.
The event will take place on Sundance Co//ab and as always is designed to connect selected filmmaker Fellows with creative advisors and industry mentors across multiple disciplines.
The Directors Lab runs from June 1-19 when filmmakers will participate in a schedule of advisor presentations, scene analysis sessions, directing exercises, one-on-one meetings, and inaugural conversations across a wide range of industry disciplines, including casting,...
- 5/28/2020
- by 36¦Jeremy Kay¦54¦
- ScreenDaily
Netflix highlighted the crafts of “When They See Us” during a recent special event at their Fysee space. The panel discussion, which took place at Raleigh Studios in Hollywood and was moderated by the show’s own writer-director Ava DuVernay, shined a spotlight on a variety of behind-the-scenes talents who spoke about their work on the limited series. Watch the full 47-minute Q&a above.
See Terilyn A. Shropshire and Michelle Tesoro interview: ‘When They See Us’ editors
“When They See Us” tells the shattering true story of Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Raymond Santana, Yusef Salaam and Korey Wise, formerly known as the Central Park Five, now known more and more as the Exonerated Five. As teenagers in 1989, they were wrongfully accused of raping a white jogger in New York City. They were convicted and spent years behind bars and as registered sex offenders until their sentences were finally vacated...
See Terilyn A. Shropshire and Michelle Tesoro interview: ‘When They See Us’ editors
“When They See Us” tells the shattering true story of Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Raymond Santana, Yusef Salaam and Korey Wise, formerly known as the Central Park Five, now known more and more as the Exonerated Five. As teenagers in 1989, they were wrongfully accused of raping a white jogger in New York City. They were convicted and spent years behind bars and as registered sex offenders until their sentences were finally vacated...
- 6/20/2019
- by Zach Laws
- Gold Derby
When HBO Films bought the world-premiering “Native Son” earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival, it felt that the movie, based on Richard Wright’s seminal 1940 novel of the same name, would focus on a subject to which modern audiences could certainly relate: the complicated issue of racism in America. But the filmmakers faced a harder task in telling the story of Bigger Thomas, a poor 20-year-old African American living in Depression-era Chicago — making the 1930s setting relevant to modern audiences.
The drama, which HBO premiered on the small screen April 6, toplines Ashton Sanders as Bigger and marks the directorial debut of visual artist Rashid Johnson, with a screenplay by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks. The talent pool behind the film includes production designer Akin McKenzie and Oscar-nommed cinematographer Matthew Libatique.
When Libatique first signed on to the project, he and Johnson came to the table with the identical...
The drama, which HBO premiered on the small screen April 6, toplines Ashton Sanders as Bigger and marks the directorial debut of visual artist Rashid Johnson, with a screenplay by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks. The talent pool behind the film includes production designer Akin McKenzie and Oscar-nommed cinematographer Matthew Libatique.
When Libatique first signed on to the project, he and Johnson came to the table with the identical...
- 4/26/2019
- by Valentina I. Valentini
- Variety Film + TV
Carey Mulligan and Jake Gyllenhaal’s marriage capsizes in 50s Montana in an impressive directorial debut by Dano, based on the Richard Ford novel
This handsomely made, meticulously acted period picture is an impressive directorial debut for Paul Dano – and a triumph for its production designer Akin McKenzie and cinematographer Diego Garcia, who create some soberly beautiful tableaux of postwar American life.
With his partner, the screenwriter and actor Zoe Kazan, Dano has adapted the novel by Richard Ford about Joe, a teenage boy who has moved to a small town in 1950s Montana with his parents, on the genteel middle-class poverty line, living from pay cheque to pay cheque, and then to lack of pay cheque. When his restlessly angry and unemployed dad leaves the family home to take a low-paying job fighting wildfires up in the hills, it ambiguously signals the end of his marriage, and Joe is...
This handsomely made, meticulously acted period picture is an impressive directorial debut for Paul Dano – and a triumph for its production designer Akin McKenzie and cinematographer Diego Garcia, who create some soberly beautiful tableaux of postwar American life.
With his partner, the screenwriter and actor Zoe Kazan, Dano has adapted the novel by Richard Ford about Joe, a teenage boy who has moved to a small town in 1950s Montana with his parents, on the genteel middle-class poverty line, living from pay cheque to pay cheque, and then to lack of pay cheque. When his restlessly angry and unemployed dad leaves the family home to take a low-paying job fighting wildfires up in the hills, it ambiguously signals the end of his marriage, and Joe is...
- 5/9/2018
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
The prestige debut film is cornerstone of the modern art house market, and thus a persistent presence at Sundance. They are beautifully (almost too-cleanly) photographed, ostentatiously performed, over-explanatory, and narratively tidy. Paul Dano’s Wildlife has some of these pitfalls – in particular, it feels terribly insular to the point that anyone besides the four main performances feels under-directed – but is on the whole a mature, thoughtful film that I found awfully affecting.
Joe (Ed Oxenbould) has been on the move. His parents are habitually restless, rambling generally eastward in search of new jobs, new neighborhoods, new lives. At fourteen, he’s too old to keep going through it and too young to do anything about it. Lately, they’ve settled in Montana. They don’t know anyone. Jerry (Jake Gyllenhaal), is making the best of his job at a golf course, which means nothing when he is suddenly fired. His wife,...
Joe (Ed Oxenbould) has been on the move. His parents are habitually restless, rambling generally eastward in search of new jobs, new neighborhoods, new lives. At fourteen, he’s too old to keep going through it and too young to do anything about it. Lately, they’ve settled in Montana. They don’t know anyone. Jerry (Jake Gyllenhaal), is making the best of his job at a golf course, which means nothing when he is suddenly fired. His wife,...
- 1/22/2018
- by Scott Nye
- CriterionCast
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.