HBO Max
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Back to One, Episode 214: Himesh Patel
Himesh Patel is nominated for an Emmy this year for his incredible performance as Jeevan in Patrick Somerville’s HBO Max mini-series Station Eleven. In this episode, he talks about how that role made him a better actor, which is saying a lot because he had already given us some phenomenal work in films like Tenet, Don’t Look Up, and his first feature film Yesterday. He talks about the attention and care given to him by the big-name directors of those films, and how that helped his work. I ask about his 10 years on the UK television institution EastEnders, and […]
by Peter Rinaldi on Aug 2, 2022 -
Back to One, Episode 212: Ethan Hawke on The Last Movie Stars
Ethan Hawke returns to the podcast (first time was episode 41) to talk about The Last Movie Stars, his epic six-part documentary that chronicles Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward’s iconic careers and decades-long partnership. Years ago, a friend of the couple interviewed Paul, Joanne, and many people close to them for a potential memoir, but Newman burned the tapes. Miraculously, the transcripts survive, so Hawke called on his acting friends to bring them to life. The result is both an intimate portrait of the lives and careers of this great duo and also a constant celebration of the endeavor of […]
by Peter Rinaldi on Jul 19, 2022 -
“Whenever Cinema is in Chaos, You Can Do a New Irma Vep“: Olivier Assayas on His New HBO Series
In the early 1990s, French director Olivier Assayas was invited to develop a remake of a classic work of French cinema for television. “I hadn’t known where to start until I remembered [Louis] Feuillade’s Vampires,” he remembered in 1996, referring to the 1915 silent serial in which Musidora played the costumed criminal Irma Vep. “I spent a few weeks considering the possibility, then I decided that, attractive as it was, I couldn’t take it any further. Somehow, my heart wasn’t in it.” A few years later, another invitation: this time to join Claire Denis and Atom Egoyan in the sort […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jun 23, 2022 -
Back to One, Episode 199: Wunmi Mosaku
Wunmi Mosaku won a BAFTA award for Damilola, Our Loved Boy. She was only the second Black actress to win one in 62 years. You might know her from her incredible work as Ruby in Lovecraft Country, Rial in His House, or B-15 in the Marvel series Loki. Her latest is We Own This City, from the makers of The Wire, which premiered Monday on HBO Max. On this episode, she talks about her early days of learning the ropes of screen acting, how rehearsal makes a big difference in her process, why connecting to people is so important to […]
by Peter Rinaldi on Apr 26, 2022 -
Back to One, Episode 198: Fiona Glascott
In the new HBO Max series Julia, talented Irish actor Fiona Glascott plays Judith Jones, the real life editor who pulled Julia Child’s book Mastering the Art of French Cooking from the reject pile and turned it into a bestseller. In this episode, Glascott talks about the joy of inhabiting that trailblazer and playing opposite the great Judith Light in a pivotal scene. She also details the unique preparation process she employs when she takes on the young Professor McGonagall in the Fantastic Beasts films, shares an inspiring reason why she doesn’t obsess over landing some ideal role, and much […]
by Peter Rinaldi on Apr 19, 2022 -
Review: Steven Soderbergh’s Bright-Hued Techno Thriller Kimi, Starring Zoe Kravitz
Want 87 minutes of something bright and beautiful with a cool kind of “hotness?” Try Kimi, a minimalist thriller in which Steven Soderbergh’s camera and an electric-blue-haired Zoe Kravitz move in sync like two rare birds in flight. Kravitz plays Angela Childs, a data stream analyst for a company behind “KIMI”, a more responsive version of the ALEXA smart audio device, that’s about to go public. The movie opens with a sleazy-looking guy doing a Zoom presser from his kitchen (COVID remote rules, a sketchy company or both?) explaining that KIMI is better than other devices because its communication skills are […]
by Amy Taubin on Feb 9, 2022 -
Back to One, Episode 156: Jean Smart
Jean Smart is the very definition of versatile. The three-time Emmy winner’s first act highlights include Designing Women, Frasier, 24, and now a new act in her career, filled even juicier roles, starting with Fargo, Legion, and Watchmen, has led to current HBO favorites Mare of Easttown, with Kate Winslet, and a starring role in Hacks. In this half-hour she talks about the importance of hearing the character’s voice, why not being an ingenue may have helped her career, frustrating ways the industry has changed for actors, her love for her current co-stars, why studio audiences throw her off her […]
by Peter Rinaldi on Jun 1, 2021 -
Back to One, Episode 155: Laura Donnelly and Ann Skelly from The Nevers
On a very special double episode, Laura Donnelly and Ann Skelly sit down for in-depth conversations on their craft and the magic they make together on the new HBO series The Nevers. Donnelly talks about an artistic breakthrough that happened in rehearsal for a play that changed her perception of herself as an artist. Skelly talks about coming to the realization, early on, that she was getting “too technical” and what she did to bring back her “sense of discomfort again.” And they both describe the fascinating ways their approach to the work complement each other, and how their mutual […]
by Peter Rinaldi on May 25, 2021 -
“It Was Surreal Seeing Rehearsals with Actors Kissing While Wearing Face Shields and Masks:” DP Laura Gonçalves on Lensing Genera+ion
Now streaming on HBO Max, Genera+ion follows Orange County, California, high school students searching for their identities in a world of lockdowns, relentless social media, and clueless parents. The series was developed by Zelda Barnz and her father, Daniel Barnz, (a Filmmaker 2007 25 New Face). Executive producers include Daniel’s husband (and Zelda’s father) Ben Barnz and Lena Dunham. The first eight episodes began filming in September 2020. The second half of season one wrapped in early April. Four cinematographers have worked on Genera+ion, including Sean Porter for the pilot, Yaron Orbach, Xavier Grobet, and on three episodes in season one […]
by Daniel Eagan on Apr 23, 2021 -
Judas and the Black Messiah, Vigilante and Rituals: Jim Hemphill’s Home Video Recommendations
One of the best American films of recent years drops on HBOMax (and on big screens where theatres are open) today with the release of director Shaka King’s mesmerizing Judas and the Black Messiah, a film about slain Black Panther leader Fred Hampton that skillfully avoids bio-pic cliches with its sophisticated dual narrative and arresting ’70s crime flick style. Daniel Kaluuya is the best he’s ever been in a performance that forcefully conveys Hampton’s iconic power and humanizes him at the same time; costar Lakeith Stanfield is equally strong as William O’Neal, an FBI informant who sells out Hampton and […]
by Jim Hemphill on Feb 13, 2021
