During her third appearance on Collider Ladies Night, Kate Siegel laughed and said, “It's so cliché for an actor to be like, ‘Oh, what I really want to do is direct,’ but I think what I really want to do is direct.” With each and every interview I’ve done with Siegel, for Ladies Night and beyond, it’s become more and more clear that not only does she have a firm handle on her craft as an actor, but she also has a deep understanding of and enthusiasm for the entire filmmaking process. Now that she’s put that passion and skill set to use on her directing debut, the V/H/S/Beyond segment “Stowaway,” it’s undeniable. Siegel is meant to be a filmmaking multi-hyphenate. 

Penned by Mike Flanagan, “Stowaway” features YouTube star, journalist and voice actor Alanah Pearce as Halley, a young mother who heads out into the desert in hopes of having and documenting an extraterrestrial encounter. After interviewing a number of locals, Halley does manage to track down a spaceship, but the thrill of discovery is short-lived. Halley’s eagerness to explore the unknown lands her in a nightmarish situation that forces her to confront what she’s left behind at home in pursuit of finding something out of this world.

Siegel has a wealth of experience in film and television. Not only has she starred in hits including The Haunting of Hill House, Midnight Mass, and The Fall of the House of Usher, but she also headlined and co-wrote the 2016 gem Hush. How did those titles and more tee her up for success behind the lens as a director? That’s what we dug into during her third go-around on Collider Ladies Night.

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Roughly 10 years ago, when I was in my early days of covering film festivals, I was thrilled to get the opportunity to sit down with the team responsible for a movie that spotlighted a group of women who were, and still are, utter forces in film and television. That team? The filmmakers behind Raze, led by prolific stunt performer and coordinator, Zoë Bell.

Well aware of her work in Kill Bill, Death Proof, Inglorious Basterds, Whip It, and then some, I was quite eager to see what Bell could do both in front of and behind the lens in new ways. Not only did she headline Raze, but she also produced it and heavily contributed to the development of the story and the action right from the start. It was a significant leap that suggested she’d continue to soar in film and television in a multitude of ways.

Sure enough, at the end of September 2024, there we were celebrating Raze 10 years after release, discussing her accomplishments working on blockbusters like Thor: Ragnarok and Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, and teasing her upcoming feature directorial debut. Bell is a proven unstoppable powerhouse in this business, and it was a treat and honor to get to discuss how she found her craft and voice in such a high-pressure line of work, and how she continues to expand that skill set every step of the way, making a bigger and bigger mark on this industry with her art.

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I’ve been a very big fan of Mackenzie Davis’ for some time. I quite enjoyed our very first interview for What If back in 2013 and, like many out there, absolutely adored the AMC series, Halt and Catch Fire. While my enthusiasm for Davis’ work continues, the more we talk, the more why I’m drawn to her work in general comes into focus. During this latest conversation, Davis noted, “I do really give a shit, and I'm not a good liar.” That right there sums up her vibe in all interviews. Her answers are always impassioned and honest. Not only does that make her an especially wonderful Collider Ladies Night guest, but those qualities bolster every single film she’s in, including her latest, Speak No Evil.

Inspired by the 2022 Danish original, James Watkins’ Speak No Evil stars Davis and her Halt and Catch Fire co-star, Scoot McNairy, as Louise and Ben, a couple vacationing with their daughter Agnes (Alix West Lefler) in Italy. While there, they meet Paddy (James McAvoy), Ciara (Aisling Franciosi), and their son, Ant (Dan Hough). After enjoying their getaway with this far more free-spirited couple, it’s time for Louise and Ben to return home where they must face relationship woes and financial struggles. When they receive an invitation to visit Paddy and Ciara’s countryside home, they accept hoping that another day-to-day shake-up could be just what they need to put them on a better path. The trouble is, this particular getaway is destined to become a psychological nightmare.

The original Speak No Evil is an exceptional film, which left many wondering, why remake it, especially so soon after the original’s release? Admittedly, I was quite skeptical myself, but then I saw the new movie. Not only is Watkins’ Speak No Evil a hugely entertaining and effective thrill, but it’s also one that sparks a fascinating conversation about human connection and how far one is willing to be pushed. In particular, how far can Davis’ Louise be pushed before she’s had enough and must leave that house? The movie’s success hinges on Davis’ ability to get the audience on board with Louise’s internal struggle and, courtesy of her pursuit of truth in her work, she pulls that off exceptionally well.

With Speak No Evil now playing in theaters nationwide, Davis joined me for her second Collider Ladies Night conversation to recap how she developed her approach to her work as an actor, and how she applied it to Louise in Speak No Evil to ensure you’re with her every single step of the way throughout this extremely twisted vacation.

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Mark my words; one of the greatest discoveries of the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, or perhaps the year in its entirety, is bound to be Maisy Stella. Stella isn’t new to the industry. She was on the hit series Nashville for six seasons, but My Old Ass proves her talent in a new way. Not only does the movie mark her very first feature film, but she’s also the lead of it, cementing the fact that she’s a wildly talented actor, and also a certified headliner.

Stella plays Elliott in the film, a teenager gearing up to leave home for college. On her 18th birthday, she opts to celebrate by taking mushrooms with her friends and, while high, she’s visited by her older self, played by Aubrey Plaza. While her “old ass” is hesitant to reveal too much about the future, she does share a few thoughts about how Elliott could make the most of her limited time home sweet home.

My Old Ass was my favorite film of Sundance this year, and now it’s on track to crack my Top 10 Films of 2024. Writer-director Megan Park whips up a brilliant concept that highlights the beauty of growing up and forging forward in life, but also how there’s much to gain from remembering and appreciating the experiences of our youth, even the ones that aren't wholly positive. With My Old Ass now playing in select theaters, I got the chance to welcome Stella to Collider Ladies Night to recap her road to headlining her first film and making an indelible impression on cinema in 2024 in the process.

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While Natalie Dormer’s filmography does rock quite a few standout projects and roles, when she first started her journey in screen acting, she quickly recognized the fact that there weren’t enough “three-dimensional, fleshed-out female protagonists." She explained, “You would be sent the script for ‘the girlfriend,’ ‘the wife,’ or ‘the antagonist,’ and the majority was so two-dimensional.” However, that’s changed considerably over the years. “Now when you're scrolling on whatever platform you're watching and seeing the amount of fleshed-out, three-dimensional, anti-heroic female protagonists … it's just night and day.” It’s night and day, indeed. You want some proof? Go check out Dormer’s latest film, The Wasp.

Dormer stars opposite Naomie Harris in the stage-to-screen adaptation as two estranged school friends, Carla and Heather, who reunite and get involved in some rather diabolical events. As Dormer put it, they’re “women who are both capable of profound darkness and profound vulnerability,” a combination that consistently tests your nerves and allegiance all through the film.

With the twisted psychological thriller now playing in theaters, Dormer joined me for a Collider Ladies Night conversation to discuss some influential moments in her career that paved the way to embracing the opportunity to portray such an angry yet vulnerable character in The Wasp.

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I walked away from Fantastic Fest 2023 calling Strange Darling my favorite film of the festival. Had it received a 2023 release date, it would have been one of my top films of the year. Now it’s August 2024 and nothing has changed. I’d be utterly shocked if Strange Darling didn’t land in my Top 10 of 2024, and I’d also be shocked if I didn’t close out the year calling Willa Fitzgerald’s work in the film one of my favorite performances of, not just 2024, but of recent years.

Fitzgerald and Kyle Gallner headline the movie as The Lady and The Demon. It’s a story loaded with brilliantly crafted twists and turns from writer-director JT Mollner and the team, so we’ll keep the plot synopsis simple; the two have a one-night-stand and it kicks off a murder spree.

I’ve been itching to get Fitzgerald on Collider Ladies Night since Strange Darling’s world premiere screening in September 2023, and now the time has finally come. With Strange Darling now playing in theaters, she joined me for a Ladies Night chat which, yes, included some Scream TV Series talk, but also heavily focused on her exquisite work in Strange Darling.

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The entertainment industry has a habit of boxing artists in. Have your Hollywood breakout via a horror movie? I’m willing to bet you’ll see an influx of genre scripts. Make a name for yourself with a particular type of music? The business will come to expect more of the same. But what about a social media superstar eager to pursue more paths and art forms out in Los Angeles? Given the fact that the number of high-profile social media personalities is skyrocketing, we’re bound to see more and more explore other sectors of entertainment. Someone who’s already well on her way while pursuing that path? Loren Gray.

Gray started building her fan base on the music-driven social media app Musical.ly, a following that transitioned over to TikTok when Musical.ly merged into TikTok in 2018. At this point in time, Gray is the 24th most followed TikTok creator with a whopping 53.7 million followers. She also has nearly 24 million followers on Instagram and 3.66 million subscribers on YouTube where she shares vlogs and her own music, much of which is quite successful. While Gray is still very passionate about all of this work, she’s eager to pursue an additional path in entertainment, a path she dubs her first love — acting. 

With the high school comedy Incoming starring Mason Thames now available to stream on Netflix, Gray swung by the Collider Ladies Night studio for an interview covering her journey from Musical.ly to professional actor. She ran through some of her earliest acting inspirations, discussed what it was like making the move to Los Angeles as a teenager, and pinpointed the highs and lows of breaking into Hollywood as a social media star eager to build a career as an actor.

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Michelle Monaghan is an all-time favorite. Not only was she one of the very first guests on Collider Ladies Night back in 2019, but she’s also an especially wonderful interview. She speaks of her work with great passion, and also deeply cherishes memories of her most influential scenes partners — and she has many of them. Yes, Vince Vaughn is on that list, but there’s another member of the Bad Monkey ensemble who made an indelible impression on her as well.

Based on Carl Hiaasen’s bestselling novel, the Apple TV+ series Bad Monkey stars Vaughn as Andrew Yancy, a detective who got the boot from the Miami Police Department and sent to the Keys where he’s further demoted to a health inspector. However, when a human arm is fished out of the water in the area, Yancy can’t help himself; he’s got to prove that this individual’s death was no accident, but rather, a murder. Trouble is, he no longer has the resources and support to crack the case, and must sort through a string of unusual personalities to find answers. Complicating matters further for Yancy is Monaghan’s character, Bonnie, a mysterious woman he had an affair with and keeps coming back to.

In celebration of Bad Monkey’s August 14 debut on Apple TV+, Monaghan returned to Ladies Night to dig into her collaboration with Vaughn and a few other past co-stars who heavily contributed to Monaghan’s confidence in her craft and goals for the future.

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There’s no doubt that every single main character in Hazbin Hotel is a fan favorite. They’re all voiced by hugely talented individuals, rock wildly creative designs and personalities, and also well reflect a variety of shockingly relatable ideas and experiences. But, there’s no denying that there might be a little extra love out there for Amir Talai’s Alastor. It’s simply too much fun watching, and often rooting for, such a dangerous character, especially when that character is powered by such a deliciously sinister voice performance.

For those out there who’ve yet to watch Hazbin Hotel Season 1 on Prime Video, what are you waiting for? It rocks an 80% on the Tomatometer and an 87% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, it was the largest global debut for a new animated series on Prime Video, and trust me when I tell you, once you hear the show’s original music, you’ll be eager to take Hazbin with you everywhere you go. The show comes from the mind of one of the most exciting voices in animation right now — Vivienne Medrano. After developing certain characters, including Alastor, for much of her life, Medrano independently produced a Hazbin Hotel pilot that currently has 112 million views on YouTube. From there, A24 swooped in and teamed with Prime Video to turn the YouTube hit into a full-fledged series. Now, not only is Hazbin Hotel Season 2 in the works, but Prime Video has also ordered Seasons 3 and 4 as well.

The animated musical takes place in Hell where Erika Henningsen’s Charlie Morningstar is determined to help sinners earn forgiveness and gain access to Heaven. How does she go about doing that? By creating a hotel for rehabilitation called the Hazbin Hotel. The trouble is, very few believe in her idea. The hotel has a mere seven residents - Charlie, Vaggie (Stephanie Beatriz), Husk (Keith David), Niffty (Kimiko Glenn), Sir Pentious (Alex Brightman), Angel Dust (Blake Roman) and Talai’s Alastor. But can Alastor be trusted? While he seems loyal to Charlie and her cause, Alastor is an Overlord of Hell who’s in the midst of a power struggle. That begs the question, are his intentions pure or is he scheming behind the scenes?

During his Collider Forces interview, Talai recapped his journey in the industry thus far from his earliest acting inspirations to appearing on popular shows like American Horror Story and Ghosts, and ultimately scoring the role of a lifetime with Hazbin Hotel.

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We did it. We hosted our very first Collider Ladies Night live panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2024, and it went swimmingly in large part thanks to panelists Melissa Barrera, Erika Henningsen, and Katy O’Brian. Not only did the trio come to play when it came to using our comically large die for Dicey Questions, but they also didn’t hold back when dishing out real talk about the reality of being a working actor in film, television and theater.

All three have seen their stars soar especially high in recent years. Barrera has become a certified beloved scream queen via her work in the Scream franchise and Abigail, but she’s also an artist of great range, a skill she shows off big time in the stellar upcoming genre mash-up, Your Monster, which arrives in theaters just in time for Halloween on October 25th. Henningsen is a musical theater powerhouse. After originating the role of Cady Heron in Mean Girls the musical on Broadway, she scored a one-in-a-million opportunity. She voices the lead character in Hazbin Hotel, a series that posted the largest global debut for a new animated series on Prime Video and has amassed a wonderfully rabid fanbase since. Then there’s O’Brian who’s racked up a number of huge credits in a very short period of time. (And there’s no doubt there will be many more to come.) After appearing in the MCU and in the Star Wars series, The Mandalorian, she stars in what’s now one of the biggest box office hits of the year, Twisters. 

Clearly there’s a whole lot to celebrate here, but just as important as honoring all of the highs is acknowledging the journey one experienced to get them. During our hour-long Collider Ladies Night panel at San Diego Comic-Con in front of a 4,900-seat crowd, Barrera, Henningsen, and O’Brian took the time to peel back the curtain and offer unparalleled insight into what it takes to build a career as an actor.

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