THE HOLLYWOOD PODCAST

On this episode, cinematographer Shawn Peters discusses how he captured the aesthetic of the new Apple TV+ series, THE LAST DAYS OF PTOLEMY GREY, premiering March 11th.

Based on the novel of the same name, The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey follows Ptolemy Grey (Samuel L. Jackson), a 91-year-old man forgotten by his family, by his friends, by even himself. Suddenly left without his trusted caretaker and on the brink of sinking even deeper into a lonely dementia, Ptolemy is assigned to the care of orphaned teenager Robyn. When given the tremendous opportunity to briefly regain his memories, Ptolemy uses this precious and fleeting lucidity to solve his nephew's death, beginning a journey toward shocking truths about the past, present and future.

Shawn shares how his partnership with series director, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Ramin Bahrani (99 Homes, The White Tiger), was integral in informing the aesthetic and the overall worldbuilding of the series. Additionally, Shawn shares what the experience was like working on-set with Samuel L. Jackson and the challenges in shooting across multiple time eras. Prior to this series, Shawn's work was seen mainly in shorts and music videos, featuring the talents of artists such as Alicia Keys, Common, H.E.R., and Solange. He was also the cinematographer on the this past year's Oscar-nominated documentary feature Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised).

In this episode, newly-minted Academy Award nominated make-up artist and hairstylist Nadia Stacey shares what it was like working on the Disney live-action film Cruella, starring Emma Stone and Emma Thompson. Nadia discusses the research she undertook into 1970s London punk scene in bringing a culturally accurate mood to the the film, collaborating with director Craig Gillespie in bringing his vision to reality, and what it was like working with Emma Stone. She also shares the thought process behind some of the most signature looks in Cruella from Stone and Thompson.

Nadia also previewed a few of the many upcoming, much-anticipated films that she has in store for audiences to see including: Poor Things, directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and starring Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe, Mark Ruffalo, Margaret Qualley, Ramy Youssef, and Kathryn Hunter; the Sundance film Living starring Bill Nighy; See How They Run with Saorise Ronan, Sam Rockwell, Adrien Brody, Ruth Wilson, and David Oyelowo; and The Almond and the Seahorse directed by longtime Clint Eastwood cinematographer Tom Stern in his feature film debut starring Rebel Wilson.

Nadia also shares that she is currently working on the long-awaited Disney live-action remake Snow White starring Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen and West Side Story breakout Rachel Zegler at the titular lead.

In this episode, Tick, Tick...Boom! editors Myron Kerstein and Andrew Weisblum discuss how they worked together to incorporate a theatrical, but naturalistic editing style throughout the film, based on the musical written by the late Jonathan Larson. Kerstein and Weisblum share their experiences worked with Lin-Manuel Miranda on his feature directorial debut, the challenges of working during the pandemic, and offered insight into editing some of the most complex musical sequences in the film.

Kerstein's previous credits include Camp, Garden State, Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, Wish I Was Here, Girls, Crazy Rich Asians, and, most recently, In The Heights. He will next work on the much-anticipated musical adaptation Wicked, starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo and directed by Jon Chu.

Weisblum, known for his collaborations with directors Wes Anderson and Darren Aronofsky, has previously worked on The Darjeeling Limited, Chicago, The Wrestler, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Moonrise Kingdom, mother!, Black Swan, Noah, Isle of Dogs, The OA, The French Dispatch, The Eyes of Tammy Faye. Weisblum received an Academy Award nomination in 2011 for his work in Black Swan. His upcoming projects include the Aronofsky-directed The Whale, starring Brendan Fraser and Anderson's upcoming films Asteroid City and The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar.

Kerstein and Weisblum are nominated for the American Cinema Editors Award for Best Edited Feature Film - Comedy or Musical for their work in Tick, Tick...Boom!. Weisblum has a second nomination in the same category for his work in The French Dispatch.

Recreating the visually dazzling costumes of one of cinema’s most celebrated musicals may have been an intimidating task for many, but for Tony-winning costume designer Paul Tazewell, it was a craftsperson’s dream come true.

Tazewell, known best for his costuming work in Broadway musicals such as Hamilton and In the Heights, has recently transitioned his talents to film where one of his first big screen projects was working on the critically-lauded Oscar contender West Side Story, directed by Steven Spielberg. In this interview, Tazewell shares the excitement he had in working on a reimagining of one of Broadway’s most celebrated stories, how Spielberg found out about his work, and the decision making behind the stark visual contrasts between the Sharks and the Jets.

In this episode, cinematographer Romain Lacourbas to discusses how he brought grand medieval fantasy worlds to life in season two of THE WITCHER, now streaming on Netflix.

Romain shares how he worked with the series' directors, Stephen Surjik and Ed Bazalgette, in translating their visions through his own eyes by utilizing various colors, contrasts and lenses to create the many fantasy worlds the audience is taken to throughout the season. Romain also talks about the importance in his collaboration with the visual effects department and how they worked together to design the epic action sequences that fully capture the imagination of the storyline.

Romain has been nominated for an American Society of Cinematographers Award in 2016 for his work in the Netflix original series MARCO POLO.

In this episode, Max chats with costume designer Avery Plewes about her work in Warner Bros' 8-BIT CHRISTMAS, now streaming on HBO Max.

Plewes discusses the creative approach she brought to this holiday film in designing the 1980s costuming. Based on the book of the same name by Kevin Jakubowski, 8-Bit Christmas takes place in an idyllic Chicago suburb in the ’80s, centering around a 10-year-old’s epic quest to get the Christmas gift of his generation - a Nintendo Entertainment System. The film switches back and forth between past and present as adult Jake Doyle (Neil Patrick Harris) tells his daughter the story of the unforgettable Christmas where he and his friends did everything they could to get their hands on the latest and greatest video game system.

Plewes chatted about her inspirations while designing the colorful and graphic period costumes, while making sure the costumes would appeal to kids watching the film, as well as bring nostalgia to adults who also grew up in that decade. She can also discusses the challenges of designing costumes for film during the lockdown period of the entertainment industry, and how it gave her the opportunity to build a significant wardrobe without the help of clothing stores.

Plewes' other credits include Everything, Everything, Ready or Not, Sex/Life, and the upcoming series Painkiller starring Matthew Broderick and Uzo Aduba.

muti-Emmy Award winning production designer James Pearse Connelly currently stars as a judge on season 2 of HBO Max’s crafting competition show CRAFTOPIA, which just dropped four winter spectacular episodes on November 18th. The Halloween and holiday themed season follows master crafters compete in “Quick Craft” and “Master” challenges to see who can create the most complex and visually stunning crafts to be crowned champion. His company designed the set and he is now stepping in front of the camera as judge.

James’ production designs can be seen in top-rated iconic shows such as THE VOICE, THE KELLY CLARKSON SHOW, THE MASKED SINGER, TOP CHEF, MTV’s VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS, the brand new KIDS TONIGHT SHOW, the upcoming FOODTASTIC on Disney+, and many more. His success has led to the creation of his own full-service design company, JPConnelly, that specializes in pre-visualization and environment design for television, special events, residential and commercial projects.

He has been nominated for 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, most recently for his production design work on THE MASKED SINGER. He won in 2009 for MTV’s VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS. He has also won a Daytime Emmy Award for his work on THE KELLY CLARKSON SHOW and has received 8 Art Director’s Guild Award nominations.

Directed and written by Clint Bentley, JOCKEY is about aging jockey Jackson Silva (Clifton Collins Jr.), who hopes to win one last title for his longtime trainer (Molly Parker), who has acquired what appears to be a championship horse. But the years – and injuries – have taken a toll on his body, throwing into question his ability to continue his lifelong passion. And the arrival of a young rookie rider (Moises Arias), who claims to be his son, and whom he takes under his wing, further complicates the path to fulfilling his dream. JOCKEY has played at the Sundance Film Festival, AFI Fest, Stockholm Film Festival, and Zurich Film Festival. It was named one of the top 10 independent films of 2021 by the National Board of Review and is nominated for Best Male Lead (Clifton Collins Jr.) and the John Cassavetes Award at the 2022 Film Independent Spirit Awards.

Max chats with the film's lead, Screen Actors Guild Award winning and Emmy nominated actor Clifton Collins Jr, on how he prepared for both the emotional and physical transformation in playing Jackson, what it's like finally being the lead of a feature film after years in the film industry, and the real-life jockeys he interacted with to help in his research for the role. Clifton is best known for his previous work in TRAFFIC, CAPOTE, STAR TREK, HONEY BOY, THE MULE, ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD and the HBO series WESTWORLD. He's also starring in the Guillermo del Toro-directed film NIGHTMARE ALLEY.

Also on this week's episode is SAG and Emmy-nominated actress Molly Parker who plays Ruth Wilkes, Jackson's trainer. Molly spoke about the wisdom she received from a real-life trainer who helped inform her character of Ruth, working with a director like Clint who was raised in an atmosphere of jockeys on a ranch, and the deeply intimate scenes with Clifton that showed their chemistry. Molly's previous work includes MADELINE'S MADELINE, PIECES OF A WOMAN, HBO series DEADWOOD, Netflix series HOUSE OF CARDS and LOST IN SPACE, and Amazon Prime series GOLIATH. She'll next be seen in the upcoming Disney+ film PETER PAN & WENDY where she'll be playing Wendy's mother Mrs. Darling, and the sci-fi Netflix film THE MOTHERSHIP, where she'll be working alongside Halle Berry. 

Tracey Scott Wilson is the screenwriter of the Aretha Franklin biopic RESPECT, starring Aretha Franklin as the Queen of Soul. The film, which was released by MGM in August, takes one of the most famous women in the world and tells the little-known story of her journey to find her own iconic voice. 

In approaching the daunting task of telling the story behind the icon, Tracey focused on creating a character-driven script which provides a deep look at the childhood, hardships and early achievements of one of the most successful music artists in history. She created a script which looks at the humanity of Aretha, a notoriously private woman, which resulted in a film that is entertaining, moving and joyous.

While RESPECT is Tracey’s feature film debut, she has an extensive resume across television and theater. On the TV side, Tracey served as a co-executive producer and writer on the critically acclaimed limited series FOSSE/VERDON at FX and THE MORNING SHOW for Apple TV+. Before that, she was a co-executive producer on FX’s award-winning series THE AMERICANS, where she wrote for four seasons and received two WGA awards, two Peabody awards and a Golden Globe.  Tracey is also a renowned playwright, and her plays include BUZZER (Guthrie Theater, The Public Theater), THE GOOD NEGRO and THE STORY (both at The Public Theater and the Goodman Theater).