“For me, everything in the movie is ‘Star Wars,’ and everything in the movie I can trace back to deeply, in a deep way, what ‘Star Wars’ is for me,” Johnson told GQ. “Everyone has a different take. I know there are ‘Star Wars’ fans who somehow think that ‘Star Wars’ was a serious thing, like the Batman movies or something. I was so young that when I watched ‘Empire Strikes Back,’ it had this deep, profound impact on me, because it was terrifying, because I was just young enough to not experience it as watching a ‘Star Wars’ movie, but to have it feel like too real....

It’s a conviction that seeps through every stone of his lightly enchanted slice-of-life dramas, which are populated by characters that often use role-play, rehearsal spaces, doppelgängers, and the safety net of the written word as permission to reveal — or even discover — the buried essence of who they really are. That’s especially true for Japanese Oscar entry “Drive My Car,” and Berlinale winner “Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy,” which together are finally bringing the filmmaker the international attention he deserves....

It was fitting. “Because people would talk about grief, oftentimes saying, ‘y’all got hit with a wave.’ But the grief can carry you or you can feel like you’re drowning in it,” Coogler said. “So it makes sense that we were making this film where all of our characters get submerged in water at some point.” Indeed, the movie’s most climactic moments involve water. And it’s remarkable that Coogler and his team didn’t allow themselves to flounder....

When she took the stage, her first words were: “Hello. My name is Sacheen Littlefeather. I’m Apache.” But a new report alleges that might not have been true. In a bombshell story by Native American journalist Jacqueline Keeler for the San Francisco Chronicle, Littlefeather’s sisters Rosalind Cruz and Trudy Orlandi claim that the activist wasn’t actually Native American. “It’s a lie,” Orlandi said of Littlefeather’s claimed heritage. “My father was who he was....

According to a new feature in U.K. outlet The Gentlewoman, filming Cate Shortland’s MCU action adventure proved to be a grueling, four-month shoot conducted over multiple locations, and it took its toll on the cast and filmmakers: “It was like being in the army,” Cate Shortland said. According to the story. “By the end, Scarlett and her co-star Florence Pugh were both shooting while ill with pneumonia.” “Black Widow” was shot in Norway, Morocco, the U....

Five of their next six titles, including Marvel’s “Eternals,” all of which are set to open during the rest of 2021, will not reach Disney+ or Hulu until at least 45 days after their theatrical release. Their animated “Encanto,” opening at Thanksgiving, will reach the streaming platform after 30 days. That’s close to as much as theaters could hope for. Most films, irrespective of performance, have hit home availability by 45 days....

In the meantime, he has already wrapped his second collaboration with Ryan Reynolds, the time-travel action-comedy “The Adam Project.” Their first, “Free Guy,” was finished in 2019 and delayed three times due to the pandemic. While the movie is being released by Disney this week in a theatrical environment that faces serious questions about its future, Levy’s own profile has never looked stronger. All of which puts him in a unique position to evaluate the connotations of “Free Guy,” a major studio release that actually mocks its own resources....