The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, in a tender production from Foothill Music Theatre, understands what it means to be the underdog. The musical is a tribute to the awkwardness of being different, kids who read the dictionary with urgent ferocity. But behind the competitive spirit that comes with devouring Latin and Greek roots are stories of kids who overcompensate with the hope of being normal.
We're literally representing every single aspect of UK life. Unlike other series that focused on wealth and power with tantalizing sets to match—Succession, most recently—there's usually a darker, colder sheen to the environs of Industry. Each character is depicted in their own environments more often than previous seasons, just as the scripts reveal deeper and more intimate layers of the characters. The spaces on screen align with their interiority and they're less gleaming penthouse than tarnished mansion.
There was so much to do, and it really pushed the team right to the very limits. The new backlot at Shepperton had to be intricately designed and constructed to transport actors back in time to Georgian-era England with horse-drawn carriages trotting down worn cobblestone roads. Then we also had to design the Queen's World set of rooms, which was an absolutely enormous undertaking.
Love Story, FX's new limited series which premiered February 12, attempts to bring fans into the most intimate spaces inhabited by the late political heir and his savvy, stylish wife. Inspired by Elizabeth Beller's book, Once Upon a Time: The Captivating Life of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, the show chronicles one of the late twentieth century's most magnetic couples, with Paul Anthony Kelly and Sarah Pidgeon starring in the titular roles,
Catherine O'Hara's decades-long marriage was a match made in Hollywood. O'Hara and husband Robert W. "Bo" Welch III first connected on the set of the 1988 cult classic, "Beetlejuice." O'Hara portrayed memorable character Delia Deetz while her future husband stayed behind the camera as a production designer.
Sentimental Value is very much a film about a house - a Victorian " dragestil," or "dragon style," home in Oslo where generations of the same family have lived for more than a 100 years. Director Joachim Trier, who found the house in Oslo's Frogner neighborhood, called its role in the film "a witness of the unspoken ... a witness of the 20th century."
Carolyn Michelle is an actress, producer, educator, and entrepreneur. Her credits include: Brilliant Minds, And Just Like That, The Chi, Russian Doll, House of Cards, and the role of Vanessa, opposite Kathleen Chalfant's Ruth, in Sarah Friedland's celebrated indie film Familiar Touch. On this episode, she talks about her deep roots with that project, and what she told Friedland she needed to bring that character to life.
Every epic romance needs its stage, but the Canadian phenomenon Heated Rivalry built an entire global arena. The television series, which has quickly moved from queer TikTok to just about everywhere beyond and spawned a thousand "meeting at the cottage" memes in the process, follows rival hockey stars Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov as they navigate a narrative that's part coming-of-age saga, part fever dream in which Toronto masquerades as Manhattan, Hamilton doubles for Russia.
Going into the woods can evoke scary thoughts of wild animals and creepy people, but not so for the magical forest displayed in SF Playhouse's stunning production of Into the Woods. Beautifully designed by Heather Kenyon, these woods feature lush trees and foliage with one tall tree rotating to become Rapunzel's tower. Bill English cleverly directs his impressive cast with just the right amount of sarcasm, humor and tender moments. His slightly over-the-top look at storybook characters gone awry
According to Cunningham, one of the many Ingelsby collaborators who worked on both series, despite the similarities in location, crime genre, and the creator's distinctive voice, "Task" was a different mode of visual storytelling. Gone were the claustrophobic, overcast gray and blue vibes of "Mare;" "Task" moved outside of the domestic drama into the natural world, with a summer color palette and its own approach to cinematic storytelling led by executive producer and director Jeremiah Zagar ("We the Animals," "Hustle").
"When you read Mary Shelley's book, it is like a tour of different exotic locations," Frankenstein production designer Tamera Deverell says of the source material for her new Netflix film. "It takes place in Lake Como in Italy. It takes place in Switzerland. It takes place in Edinburgh, where we shot. It takes place in the north. It's a fantastic travelogue."
We hate to break it to you, but Stars Hollow, Connecticut, is not a real place. Yet the endearing small town depicted in Gilmore Girls was so flush with quaint details-falling leaves, quirky gatherings, and sweet little nooks such as Taylor's Olde Fashioned Soda Shoppe, Stars Hollow Books, and Weston's Bakery -that it's easy to imagine Lorelai and Rory Gilmore gabbing over coffee at the retro-style Luke's Diner at this very moment.
There's a ubiquitous prop in just about every police procedural and conspiracy thriller: a cork board pinned with documents, newspaper clippings, and Polaroid photos, all connected by a web of red string. They go by many names, including pin boards, string boards, evidence boards, investigation walls, conspiracy walls, and walls of crazy. These boards can be vehicles of insight or manifestations of madness-and in many cases, both. But where did they come from? And can they really solve a crime?
In a movie you have a couple hours to spend with the characters, in these spots you only have a few seconds to get invested and start rooting for them. So each one needed a perfect micro performance, timed flawlessly with the camera movement, and music doing the right thing at the right moment for it all to work.
Stuart Craig was a softly spoken, gentle soul full of grace, tall, slender, willowy, polite and kind but despite appearances he masterfully stewarded a gigantic industrial creative machine. The art department for Harry Potter was huge, and Stuart guided teams across multiple skill sets concept artists, prop makers, construction workers, painters and decorators, plasterers and model makers to realise the fabric and architecture of JK Rowling's world.
