Say Goodbye to Awards Season with a Rewatch of David Cronenberg’s Deeply Bleak ‘Maps to the Stars’
IndieWire After Dark spotlighted David Cronenberg’s 2014 cult thriller *Maps to the Stars* just days after the Oscars, reminding audiences of its limited Los Angeles qualifying run that secured award eligibility. Julianne Moore’s Cannes‑winning performance and the film’s bleak satire of Hollywood narcissism have earned it a modest theatrical revival on the Criterion Channel and at New York’s Metrograph. The piece argues the movie’s themes of fame‑driven desperation remain strikingly relevant in today’s social‑media‑saturated industry. It is now available for rent, purchase, and weekend screenings, offering a fresh entry point for both cinephiles and industry observers.
What Happens When New Allegations Change a Documentary After It Premieres?
Documentary filmmaker David Alvarado won Sundance’s Festival Favorite award for “American Pachuco: The Legend of Luis Valdez,” a portrait of Chicano playwright Luis Valdez and his ties to Cesar Chavez. Two days after the film’s premiere, the New York Times published an investigation...
‘Miroirs No. 3’ Review: Christian Petzold’s Minor Key Is a Major One for His Beautifully Concussed Protagonist, Played by Paula...
Christian Petzold’s latest art‑house drama “Mirrors No. 3” premiered at Cannes 2025 and will open in U.S. theatres on March 20, 2026. The film, under 90 minutes, follows amnesiac pianist Laura (Paula Beer) as she navigates a surreal post‑accident world, forming a surrogate...
Indie Film Has an Architecture Problem
Daren Smith argues the traditional indie film financing model is structurally broken, leaving investors, filmmakers, and distributors misaligned. He cites data showing only 0.025% of scripts achieve profitable theatrical runs, with oversupply at every production stage. Smith proposes a new...
Michaela Coel to Write and Direct New Version of Jean-Claude Van Damme’s ‘Bloodsport’ for A24
Emmy‑winning writer‑director Michaela Coel is set to write and direct a new version of Jean‑Claude Van Damme’s 1988 martial‑arts film “Bloodsport” for A24. The project, produced by Marc Toberoff and Alberto Lensi, will be financed and distributed by A24, marking...
Indie Star Joe Swanberg Never Really Left — but He’s Definitely Back Now
Joe Swanberg, the mumblecore pioneer, returns to feature filmmaking with *The Sun Never Sets*, his first narrative film since 2017’s *Win It All*. After a decade spent directing Netflix’s improvised series *Easy*, running a Chicago video‑store, and doing TV gigs,...
‘Two Seasons, Two Strangers’ Trailer: Sho Miyake’s Locarno Golden Leopard Winner Is His First Film to Be Properly Released in...
Japanese auteur Sho Miyake’s “Two Seasons, Two Strangers,” the 2025 Locarno Golden Leopard winner, is slated for its first proper U.S. release this spring. The film will debut at Film at Lincoln Center and MoMA’s New Directors/New Films festival on April 17...
Quentin Tarantino’s Vista Theatre to Screen the Holy Grail of 35mm Prints with Long-Suppressed ‘Porgy and Bess’
Quentin Tarantino’s Vista Theatre in Los Angeles will present a rare 35 mm Technicolor print of Otto Preminger’s 1959 film “Porgy and Bess” from March 16‑19, marking one of the few public screenings of the long‑suppressed roadshow version. The movie, notable for its...
Amy Madigan Wins Best Supporting Actress Oscar for ‘Weapons’
Amy Madigan captured the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role as the witch Aunt Gladys in Zach Cregger’s horror film "Weapons," marking her first Academy Award win since a 1986 nomination. The win comes as the only Oscar nod...
‘Pretty Lethal’ Review: Ballerina Baddies Spin and Slit Throats in a Suspense Thriller That Skips Pivotal Narrative Beats
"Pretty Lethal" is a ballet‑thriller directed by Vicky Jewson that streams globally on Prime Video on March 25, 2026. Written by former ballerina Kate Freund and starring Maddie Ziegler, Lana Condor and others, the film fuses pointe‑shoe combat with body‑horror....
‘The Sun Never Sets’ Review: A Career-Best Dakota Fanning Navigates Dueling Love Triangles in Joe Swanberg’s Delightful Alaskan Romance
Joe Swanberg’s new romance “The Sun Never Sets,” set against Alaska’s stark landscape, follows Wendy (Dakota Fanning) as she juggles an age‑gap partnership, a toxic ex‑boyfriend, and a potential new love. The film showcases Swanberg’s evolution from low‑budget mumblecore to a...
Blumhouse Television Wants to Be the Face of Horror TV Without Relying on Monsters and Slashers
Blumhouse Television, under new chief Melissa Aouate, is expanding its horror portfolio beyond traditional monsters and slashers to embrace a full spectrum of sub‑genres. The strategy is exemplified by the Amazon series "Scarpetta," a forensic procedural infused with creepy elements,...
The Direct Line From Devo to ‘Hoppers’
Mark Mothersbaugh, co‑founder of Devo and veteran composer of animated scores, is scoring Pixar’s latest feature “Hoppers,” an ecological adventure about animals defending their habitat. The six‑month project, done while touring with Devo, required him to create cohesive themes that...
How to Craft a Film Festival That Appeals to All Ages (No, Really, All Ages)
The New York International Children’s Film Festival (NYICFF) celebrated its 30th edition, drawing roughly 15,000 attendees across multiple NYC venues and screening 86 films from a pool of 2,000 submissions. Beyond the two‑week program, the organization runs year‑round educational events that...
‘The School Duel’ Trailer: Indie ‘Hunger Games’ Meets ‘The Purge’ in a Dystopian Florida Without Gun Control
Todd Wiseman Jr.’s debut feature "The School Duel" is an indie dystopian thriller set in a near‑future Florida where gun control has been abolished and a televised fight‑to‑the‑death competition replaces school shootings. The black‑and‑white film premiered at the Deauville American...
Don’t Miss Any of IndieWire’s Cannes Programming — American Pavilion Memberships Go on Sale This Week
IndieWire announced that American Pavilion memberships for Cannes 2026 are now on sale. The standard early‑bird pass costs $125, while a premium VIP option is $995 (or $1,195 during the festival) and adds priority seating, complimentary refreshments, and ten single‑use...
How Do You Fix the Best Original Song Race at the Oscars? Eliminate Post-Credits Songs
The Academy’s Best Original Song category currently permits songs that debut in a film’s end credits, leading to a surge of nominations for tracks with little narrative relevance. Recent data shows that 13 of the 20 songs nominated over the...
Anonymous Oscar Ballot: Producer Votes the ‘Sinners’ Ticket, Was ‘Not That High’ on ‘Marty Supreme’
An anonymous veteran producer disclosed their Oscar ballot, showing overwhelming support for Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners,” which received votes in nearly every category. The voter cast early ballots to sidestep the sway of SAG, PGA and media buzz, and highlighted the Academy’s...
Boots Riley Is Taking His ‘I Love Boosters’ on a College Tour
Boots Riley’s sophomore feature I Love Boosters will launch on a nationwide college tour before its SXSW opening‑night debut and theatrical release on May 22. The tour, organized by Neon, spans ten U.S. campuses from late March through early May, each screening paired with...
‘The Perfect Neighbor’ Director Geeta Gandbhir’s Next Film Is a Bio-Doc on Whoopi Goldberg
Acclaimed documentary filmmaker Geeta Gandbhir is set to helm a biographical documentary on EGOT legend Whoopi Goldberg. The untitled film will draw from Goldberg’s autobiography and feature her own narration, while chronicling the revival of her 1984 ‘Whoopi Monologues’ and new theatrical...
Hit Sundance Queer Horror ‘Leviticus’ to Open New Directors/New Films 2026 — Full Lineup
The 55th New Directors/New Films festival will run April 8‑19 at Film at Lincoln Center and MoMA, presenting 24 feature films and 10 shorts. Adrian Chiarella’s queer horror "Leviticus" opens the program, with Neon securing worldwide rights at Sundance. The lineup closes...
Inside the Bootcamp That Transforms NFL Stars Into Film Industry Pros
Former and current NFL players participated in the NFL & NFLPA Film and Entertainment Career Tour, a four‑day bootcamp run by Deon Taylor’s Hidden Empire that teaches all aspects of filmmaking. Twenty‑six athletes, including Charles Tillman, worked on short‑film projects,...
Why Concert Films Like ‘Stray Kids’ and ‘EPiC’ Are Hot Tickets at the Box Office
Indie distributor Bleecker Street turned the K‑pop concert film “Stray Kids: The dominATE Experience” into an event‑cinema hit by limiting showtimes to a single evening per theater. The scarcity tactic drove $1.4 million in ticket sales within 24 hours and the film...
‘The Hunger’ by Way of Bertolucci: Costume Designer Sarah Evelyn on ‘The Beauty’
Ryan Murphy’s FX/Hulu series “The Beauty” launches with a fashion‑forward, horror‑satire premise, starring Bella Hadid in a runway explosion that sets a visually daring tone. Costume designer Sarah Evelyn was tasked with translating Murphy’s eclectic references—from Bertolucci to “The Hunger”—into a contemporary...
Is There an Oscar Bump? ‘The Perfect Neighbor’ Saw Views Triple on Netflix After Its Nomination
Netflix’s documentary "The Perfect Neighbor" has crossed 50 million views since its October 2025 debut and saw streaming numbers more than triple in the two weeks following its Oscar nomination. The film also secured Best Documentary honors at the Independent Spirit Awards...
‘Industry’ Creators on Mapping Yasmin’s Arc From Wallflower to Ghislaine Maxwell
The creators of HBO’s drama “Industry” reveal that Season 4’s Yasmin arc was deliberately crafted to echo the rise of right‑wing autocracy, transforming her from a shy wallflower into a Ghislaine Maxwell‑type power broker. By weaving conspiracy‑thriller motifs into the financial‑world setting,...
How Every 2026 Best Picture Nominee Will Feature ASL Interpretation Ahead of the Oscars
For the first time in Oscars history, every one of the ten 2026 Best Picture nominees will be available with American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation. SignUp Media’s "The Oscars Project" will roll out picture‑in‑picture ASL overlays via a free Google...
2026 Artios Awards Winners Include ‘Sinners,’ ‘Jay Kelly,’ and ‘Sentimental Value’
The 41st Artios Awards, presented by the Casting Society, honored casting excellence across film, television, and theater in ceremonies held in New York, Los Angeles, and London. Major film winners included *Sinners* (big‑budget drama) and *Jay Kelly* (big‑budget comedy), while TV accolades went...
The Creator Economy Builds Its Own Lot
The Lighthouse, a creator‑economy co‑working campus, opened in a renovated Venice post office and a larger Brooklyn location, offering podcast studios, edit bays, and communal spaces. With a $6,000 annual membership, it caps membership at 500 and provides credits for...
‘The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins’ Review: Tracy Morgan and Daniel Radcliffe Rake in the Laughs
NBC’s new sitcom “The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins” stars Tracy Morgan as a disgraced former NFL star who hires Oscar‑winner Daniel Radcliffe to document his redemption. Created by Robert Carlock and Sam Means, with Tina Fey as executive producer, the series blends...
How Crave, the Canadian Streamer Behind ‘Heated Rivalry,’ Is Making a Name for Itself in America and Beyond
Canadian streamer Crave’s original series “Heated Rivalry” has become a breakout hit, pulling in roughly 11.5 million U.S. viewers on HBO Max and ranking as the platform’s top‑acquired series. The show’s success has driven a 26 percent subscriber surge for Crave, adding over...
‘Wolfram’ Review: Warwick Thornton’s ‘Sweet Country’ Follow-Up Is Just as Ravishingly Bleak
Warwick Thornton’s new film “Wolfram,” a sequel to his acclaimed 2017 western “Sweet Country,” returns to early‑1930s Central Australia to dramatize the brutal tungsten mining imposed on Aboriginal communities. The story follows a half‑breed protagonist, child miners, and two outlaw...
An Odd Weekend for Indie Film, From the Spirit Awards to an Unexpected Buy for ‘Josephine’
The 2026 Film Independent Spirit Awards stumbled with a venue shift to the Hollywood Palladium, lackluster host monologues, and several high‑profile absences, leaving the indie community underwhelmed. Winners like “Train Dreams” could influence the upcoming Oscar race, while Sundance Grand...
Cassandra Kulukundis on How a Lifetime of Casting for Paul Thomas Anderson Led to ‘One Battle After Another’
Casting veteran Cassandra Kulukundis, who began with Paul Thomas Anderson on 1996’s Hard Eight, is now the inaugural nominee for the Academy Award for Best Casting for Anderson’s latest epic, One Battle After Another. The film showcases her signature blend...
‘Journal with Witch’ Is the Best Anime of the Winter
Winter 2026’s anime slate is dominated by high‑octane sequels, yet “Journal With Witch” quietly steals the spotlight. Adapted from Tomoko Yamashita’s manga, the series follows grieving teen Asa and her aloof aunt‑novelist Makio as they navigate loss, identity, and an...
Who Is Department M, the Company in Talks to Acquire a Stake in Neon?
Neon is in negotiations to sell a significant, undisclosed stake to Department M, a production company founded in 2024 by former AGBO president Mike Larocca and ex‑New Regency chief Michael Schaefer. Backed by a private‑investor consortium, Department M brings a slate that includes Steven...