Nomadland; and Dariusz Wolski of Universal s
News of the World. Inspiration, diversity and the future of theatrical exhibition drove the conversation. Seeing people congregate together wearing masks in the middle of a plague … was one of those moments for me where I was just like, I m a filmmaker for life now. It made me realize I m kind of ready to go down with the ship, to be honest, recalls Richards of
Nomadland s drive-in premiere in September. If filmmaking stops being about that, people coming together, congregating for an experience that s awe-inspiring, I might prefer to do something else.
Who are some of the cinematographers who have influenced your work?
The Movie:
Where You Can Stream It: Amazon Prime
The Pitch: On February 25, 1964, the respected and heavily favorited Word Champion Sonny Liston stepped into the ring with a brash, charismatically obnoxious fighter named Cassius Clay. Kemp Powers’ 2013 award-winning play imagines an evening spent after the surprise victory by the future Muhammed Ali with three of his friends – Nation of Islam leader Malcom X, soul singer Sam Cooke and NFL record breaker Jim Brown. In her directorial debut, Regina King takes Powers’ sophisticated and nuance look at these iconic individuals and, thanks to some exceptional performances, weaves a story that feels as remarkable today as ever.
It wasn’t
that long ago when you could watch the Oscars, see what movie won the award for cinematography and think, “OK. That might be the best picture winner too.” In the ‘90s, the two awards went hand in hand six times. “Dances With Wolves,” “Schindler’s List,” “Braveheart,” “The English Patient,” “Titanic” and “American Beauty” all pulled off the feat. In the ensuing two decades, it has happened just twice “Slumdog Millionaire” and “Birdman.”
Instead, the correlation now comes between director and cinematographer. Alfonso Cuarón won both Oscars for “Roma.” Two years before that, “La La Land” swept the two honors. “The Revenant,” “Birdman,” “Gravity” and “Life of Pi” also won both.
Last summer’s “The Old Guard” is full of big deals that shouldn’t be big deals anymore. The superhero action movie stars two women, one of whom is Black. Two other members of the superheroic Guard both men are in love with each other. A Black woman, Gina Prince-Bythewood, directed the Netflix hit, one of the streamer’s Top 10 most popular original films. That is all, by 2020, still groundbreaking.
So let’s get to the story. Charlize Theron plays Andromache the Scythian, Andy for short, leader of a small band of warriors who have been helping people in trouble for a very long time. Centuries in fact, because Andy and her crew Joe (Marwan Kenzari), Nicky (Luca Marinelli) and Booker (Matthias Schoenaerts) are immortals. When the action opens, they’re being hunted for their powers.