Donald Glover interviews himself for Interview magazine; A definitive collection of all of the best recent writing on erotic thrillers; a pioneer in street casting gets her due; recent releases reviewed in five words each or less. All in today’s Movie News Rundown.
But First: Tonight in Los Angeles, I’m hosting a Q&A at Laemmle Glendale for the film Coast. The 7:10 p.m. screening with the Q&A is now sold out, but there are still tickets for 4:20 p.m. today and throughout the next week. I’ve had the pleasure of working on Coast over the past few years as part of our MovieMaker Production Services, and I’m very excited for an audience to see the film.
If You’re Not in L.A.: Coast is out now on VOD. It’s also hitting a few other cities in the coming weeks, including Austin, Modesto, California, and Athens, Georgia. And MovieMaker‘s Tim Molloy will moderate a Q&A about the film in New York City next Thursday. You can buy tickets here.
Sign Up For Our Newsletter: We’re revealing our Spring cover Monday and you’ll need to be signed up for our Movie News Rundown to see it — and read our accompanying cover story — first.
More on Bruce Willis: Last Friday we recommended Matthew Belloni’s The Town podcast, and yesterday Belloni welcomed Amy Kaufman to discuss her Los Angeles Times story on Willis’ secret battle with aphasia.
Street Casting: We covered the art of street casting with an excellent piece last year from actress/street casting master Eléonore Hendricks. Hendricks frequently works with casting director Jennifer Venditti, who has a forthcoming monograph coming from distributor A24’s imprint in May. Venditti is the casting director behind A24 projects Uncut Gems, American Honey and Euphoria. Ahead of the book’s release, the New York Times profiles Venditti. It’s a must-read for anyone interested in those who forge their own path in the film industry.
5 Words or Less: There are several good films out right now and I’ve written some reviews for you in five words or less. Here we go:
Everything Everywhere All at Once: Matrix meets Rick and Morty
The Contractor: Old-school action, fully realized locations
Ambulance: Grand Theft Auto: The Movie.
All the Old Knives: Watching this weekend.
Also: Michael Mann’s new HBO Max series, Tokyo Vice, is now streaming and I’ll also be watching it this weekend.
Donald Glover on Donald Glover: The creator/star of Atlanta interviewed himself for Interview magazine. He talks about being himself, whether he is “afraid of Black women,” and whether he worries about cancel culture. He also says something confusing about the relationship between culture and God. Margeaux Sippell has a concise breakdown on seven intriguing points of the winding “interview.”
The Erotic Thriller: Talk about the disappearing genre is in peak form. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly why so many outlets are so eager to discuss it: Perhaps it’s the release of Paul Verhoeven’s Benedetta last year, and Adrian Lyne’s Deep Water last month. But it may just be time to eulogize a genre many critics and fans miss. Here are some of the best recent writings (and podcasts) on the genre.
All Week: Vulture dedicated the week to the erotic thriller, with stories like “What Was It About Michael Douglas?” and “19 Erotic Thrillers You Can Stream Right Now.”
Neo-Noir: Is the larger genre that includes erotic thrillers, and Brian Raftery dove into ’90s neo-noirs for The Ringer last summer. He talks about the inherent nihilism of such films as The Grifters and The Last Seduction. Raftery followed that piece up last month with “The Rise and Fall of the Erotic Thriller” — also for The Ringer.
More ’90s: MUBI’s Notebook primer series also looked at ’90s erotic thrillers last year.
The Best: IndieWire published a handy list of the 19 best erotic thrillers on Monday. Including 2016’s The Handmaiden is an inspired choice and helps break up the general whiteness of the genre.
A Podcast: If you prefer to listen, then check out Karina Longworth’s You Must Remember This podcast. This season dives into erotic thrillers of the ’80s and ’90s, and the table-setting first episode premiered this week.
For MovieMaker: The Voyeurs director Michael Mohan discusses why his erotic thriller throwback falls into the “steamy moral dilemma” category. And Deon Taylor’s Fatale nods to Lyne’s Fatal Attraction with its choice of elevator.
ICYMI: The New Yorker‘s discussion of sex scenes from February (which we covered in a previous rundown) also gets into erotic thrillers.
Main image: Donald Glover at a 2018 Atlanta event in Hollywood, CA. Courtesy of Shutterstock
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