SAN SEBASTIÁN — Pablo Larraín arrives for our interview at the Hotel María Cristina, having just flown in from a film set he will return to in four days.

The Chilean writer/director has essentially been pulled out of production on his next film, “Once,” to premiere his latest work at the San Sebastián International Film Festival. He calls Spain’s biggest festival “an old and friendly” one, where, as he puts it, “our language and culture are the protagonists.”

READ MORE: ‘My Sad Dead’ Trailer: Pablo Larraín Returns To Supernatural Horror With Mariana Enríquez Netflix Series

That latest work is “Mis Muertos Tristes” — “My Sad Dead” — a four-part psychological horror miniseries for Netflix based on the work of acclaimed Argentine writer Mariana Enríquez.

Continue reading Pablo Larraín On ‘My Sad Dead,’ ‘Once,’ Stephen King & Why Male Characters Can Be “Very Boring” [San Sebastián Interview] at The Playlist.

There are easier ways to fulfill a lifelong action-movie fantasy than lugging bags of fake gold through freezing water, bad weather, and tick-infested forests. Ethan Hawke apparently wasn’t interested in any of them.

His latest, “The Weight,” is a Depression-era crime thriller built around exactly that sort of physical misery, sending Hawke and company deep into the wilderness for a brutal journey where virtually everybody gets pushed to their breaking point.

Continue reading Ethan Hawke Talks ‘The Weight,’ Surviving The Shoot, ‘The Lowdown’ Season 2 & Directing Again [Interview] at The Playlist.

It’s been more than a decade since Tim Blake Nelson directed a feature, enough time that his other career has almost overshadowed how serious a filmmaker he is. Since 2015’s “Anesthesia,” Nelson has remained ubiquitous as an actor, working with filmmakers including the Coen brothers, Steven Spielberg, Denis Villeneuve, Guillermo del Toro, Brady Corbet, and Mona Fastvold.

Continue reading Tim Blake Nelson On ‘The Life And Deaths Of Wilson Shedd’ & Why Ethan Coen Told Him, “Jesus, You Went There” at The Playlist.

What happens when you bring Reacher himself, Alan Ritchson, together with Owen Wilson, better known for his comedy than his affinity for brute-force action? “Runner” is the answer: a race against time in which an ex-soldier (Ritchson) finds himself aligned with a medical courier (Wilson) as they attempt to deliver a very important piece of cargo.

With a mix of comedy and action driving the pace, the pairing makes more sense than you might initially expect.

Continue reading Owen Wilson Talks ‘Runner,’ Alan Ritchson & Thinks His Wes Anderson Western “Is Going To Happen” [Interview] at The Playlist.

Ten years is a long time to disappear between movies. Then again, Na Hong-jin (“The Yellow Sea,” “The Chaser”) apparently spent a decent chunk of that decade figuring out how in the hell to make “Hope.” Given that the finished product is a sprawling, violent, frequently hilarious sci-fi monster movie built on a scale rarely, if ever, attempted in South Korea, you can understand why it took a minute.

Continue reading Na Hong-Jin On ‘Hope,’ Why The Sequel Shifts To The Aliens & His Darker, Bloodier Next Film [Interview] at The Playlist.

For a movie about something that happened nearly 650 years ago, Paul Greengrass’ “The Uprising” doesn’t exactly feel trapped in a museum case. It’s angry, physical, and frequently brutal, but what really gives the film its pulse is something much more familiar: ordinary people deciding they’ve finally had enough.

Set during the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381, “The Uprising” stars Andrew Garfield not as Robin Hood, but as the Ploughman, an anonymous farmer gradually pulled into a rebellion against the Crown after crushing taxes, inequality, and years of suffering push England’s working class to the breaking point.

Continue reading Andrew Garfield Talks ‘The Uprising,’ Spider-Man, Sam Altman & Paul Greengrass [The Discourse Podcast] at The Playlist.

Writer, director, and film theorist Paul Schrader has spent much of his late career returning to a familiar figure: the solitary man in a room, writing, drinking, and wrestling with whatever guilt or obsession has brought his life to an impasse. “First Reformed,” “The Card Counter,” and “Master Gardener” all worked variations on that template; one Schrader traces back much further than his recent run.

Continue reading Paul Schrader On ‘The Basics Of Philosophy,’ Why People Probably Can’t Change & Suicide As “The Final Control Of Your Life” [Interview] at The Playlist.

Just days after Paul Schrader revealed that he plans to make his long-gestating crime noir “Three Guns At Dawn” entirely with AI-generated performers, the filmmaker has explained why he abandoned human actors in the first place. According to Schrader, Black actors rejected the original version because all three of its Black protagonists were criminals. His solution? Make the movie without them.

Schrader has spent the past week gradually clarifying his plans for “Three Guns At Dawn.” As The Playlist previously reported, the filmmaker originally conceived the South Central Los Angeles noir around three Black brothers—a corrupt cop, a drug trafficker, and a third criminal—with Antoine Fuqua attached to produce.

Continue reading Paul Schrader Says He Turned To AI Because “No Black Actors Wanted To Play In A Movie Where There Are No Good Black People” at The Playlist.

After the twisty, multi-perspective structures of Zach Cregger’s “Barbarian” and “Weapons,” “Resident Evil” finds the filmmaker pursuing something more linear, immediate, and relentlessly stressful. The new adaptation follows Bryan (Austin Abrams), a medical courier whose routine delivery plunges him into a nightmarish fight for survival as Raccoon City collapses around him.

Abrams previously appeared in “Weapons” as James, the neighborhood addict who broke into the home where the missing children were being held.

Continue reading Zach Cregger & Austin Abrams On ‘Resident Evil,’ Sequel Ideas, Fan Skepticism & Their ‘Weapons’ Bond [Interview] at The Playlist.

John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein seem convinced that adult men can only make friends while narrowly avoiding death. “Game Night” did it. “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” did it. Now “Mayday” turns the idea into a Cold War international incident.

When that pattern was pointed out to the filmmakers, Daley had an explanation ready: “That’s how we met each other, because it was on the set of ‘The Geena Davis Show.’ Our careers were nearly dead.”

Goldstein agreed that it probably says something about them.

Continue reading ‘Mayday’: John Francis Daley & Jonathan Goldstein On Their Cold War Buddy Comedy, The ’Dungeons & Dragons’ Sequel, ‘Star Trek,’ ‘The Flash,’ & Making Ryan Reynolds The Damsel [Interview] at The Playlist.

Despite earning strong reviews and inspiring an enthusiastic fan following, “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” never became the box-office hit that Paramount needed it to be. Its reputation has only grown since its theatrical release, however, keeping hopes for a sequel alive even after the studio declined to move forward. Now, directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein say rights holder Hasbro remains determined to find a new studio home for “Dungeons & Dragons 2.”

Daley and Goldstein, who recently joined The Playlist’s Mike DeAngelo on The Discourse Podcast to discuss their new Apple TV action comedy “Mayday” (read our review), confirmed that they have already completed a screenplay for the proposed sequel.

Continue reading ‘Dungeons & Dragons 2’: John Francis Daley & Jonathan Goldstein Optimistic Their Sequel Will Find New Studio After Paramount Passed at The Playlist.

As part of their recent “Mayday” interview with The Playlist, directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein briefly talked to our Mike DeAngelo about their earlier iteration of the “Flash” movie script before it was reworked by Christina Hodson (the two ended up with story credit on the DC Comics film).

The big kicker with their take on the “Flash” would have seen a version of Bruce Wayne where he had never become Batman, and would have just been this billionaire playboy having to take on the heroic persona (assumed to have been played by another actor).

Continue reading John Francis Daley & Jonathan Goldstein Say Their Version Of The ‘Flash’ Movie Would Have Had An “Aimless” Non-Batman Take On Bruce Wayne [Interview] at The Playlist.

This week sees the filmmaking duo of John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein (“Game Night,” “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves”) with their Cold War era action-comedy “Mayday” starring Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branghan, as the latter plays a Soviet man obsessed with America attempting to help a downed American pilot get to safety after he crash lands in enemy terrority.

The Playlist’s own Mike DeAngelo got a chance to speak with the directors as they’re promoting the new Apple TV flick arriving on September 4 and he specificially asked them about a hypotheical return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, after helping to launch the Tom Holland era of Spidey by working on the “Spider-Man: Homecoming” script (having both story and screenplay credits).

Continue reading ‘Mayday’ Directors John Francis Daley & Jonathan Goldstein “Would Never Say No” To MCU Return After Working On ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ [Interview] at The Playlist.

There are horror movies you admire from a polite distance, and then there are movies that feel like they were built in a lab specifically to hit your particular pleasure centers. “Onslaught” is very much the latter for anyone raised on John Carpenter, James Cameron, gnarly, practical-minded action horror, and the idea that a military conspiracy can always stand to get a little weirder.

READ MORE: ‘Onslaught’ Review: Adam Wingard Militarizes The Action-Slasher In A Gloriously Scuzzy Midnight Madness Movie

Director Adam Wingard has never exactly hidden his affection for those worlds, but “Onslaught” feels like him taking the keys back after years in the franchise machine and flooring it.

Continue reading Adria Arjona & Adam Wingard Talk ‘Onslaught’ Influences, A Shared ‘Guest’ Universe & The Unmade ‘Face/Off’ Sequel [Interview] at The Playlist.

There is a superhero shot that never was in Macon Blair’s “Idiots,” but nobody is saving the day. The camera is planted low, looking up at Dave Franco just before a practical diarrhea rig erupts from his shorts and completely browns out the lens. Somewhere between the Cocoa Krispies used to give the mess extra texture and Franco’s dainty bird tattoo singing “who farted,” the movie finds its beautifully stupid wavelength.

Continue reading ‘Idiots’: Dave Franco Talks Macon Blair’s Gross-Out Comedy, A “Superhero” Diarrhea Shot & His Next Horror Film [Interview] at The Playlist.

It’s time to start remembering the name Angourie Rice. (It’s pronounced “ang-GOW-ree,” if that helps.) The 25-year-old Australian actress has enjoyed a decade-long run that ought to be the envy of her peers. Rice’s early teenage roles allowed her to learn from some of her profession’s top talents: Ryan Gosling in “The Nice Guys,” Nicole Kidman in “The Beguiled,” and Kate Winslet on television’s “Mare of Easttown.” All the while, she made an impression in familiar franchise fare, whether as a scene-stealing supporting character like Betty Brant in the first three MCU “Spider-Man” films or as the lead of the “Mean Girls” movie musical.

Continue reading ‘Finding Emily’: Angourie Rice On Rewriting The Rom-Com For Gen Z & The Enduring Love For ‘The Nice Guys’ [Interview] at The Playlist.

Hollywood has spent the better part of two decades turning the multiverse into a playground for superheroes, cameos, legacy characters, and increasingly complicated franchise bookkeeping. Apple TV’s “Dark Matter” has always approached the same concept from a more intimate direction: What would another version of your life reveal about the choices, compromises, and regrets that made you who you are?

Created by Blake Crouch from his bestselling novel, the sci-fi thriller’s first season followed physicist Jason Dessen (Joel Edgerton) after he was abducted by an alternate version of himself and forced to navigate countless realities in order to return to his wife, Daniela (Jennifer Connelly), and their son, Charlie (Oakes Fegley).

Continue reading Joel Edgerton & Jennifer Connelly On ‘Dark Matter’ Season 2, Marriage & Its ‘Episode V Of Star Wars’ Vibe [Interview] at The Playlist.

Tell Dr. Jack Abbot to find a hobby, and the man joins a SWAT team. That is the version of healing “The Pitt” handed Shawn Hatosy in Season 2, and it gets right to what makes Abbot such a compelling presence. He is calm enough to walk into any medical disaster and damaged enough to mistake more danger for self-care.

Hatosy has not been around the Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center nearly as much as some of his castmates, but Abbot does not need much screen time to make an impression.

Continue reading ‘The Pitt’: Shawn Hatosy Teases Abbot’s Hidden Trauma, Season 3 & Why A Night-Shift Spinoff Probably Won’t Happen [Bingeworthy Podcast] at The Playlist.

Most interviews about an Anthony Bourdain movie would probably begin with food, travel, or how closely the actor playing him has studied that unmistakable voice. Ours began with labor organizing and a mortgage scam. That seemed appropriate for “Tony,” a film built around the summer job that quietly redirected Bourdain’s entire life. Matt Johnson recalled that he lasted three days at a DVD-packing factory before he and a friend floated the idea of starting a union and were promptly fired.

Continue reading ‘Tony’: Matt Johnson, Dominic Sessa & Stavros Halkias On Finding Anthony Bourdain Before The World Did, ‘Nirvanna The Band The Show’ Season 3, & More [Interview] at The Playlist.

Ben Gregor’s “The Magic Faraway Tree” comes with whimsy & nostalgia baked in. What keeps it from feeling like an old favorite dusted off for another generation is how sincerely it treats imagination as something worth holding on to. Technology, distraction, and plain old adulthood have all made that harder than it should be. 

READ MORE: 88 Must-See Movies This Fall: ‘Dune: Part Three,’ ‘Digger,’ ‘Avengers: Doomsday,’ ‘The Adventures Of Cliff Booth’ & More

Simon Farnaby (“Paddington 2,” “Wonka”) brings Enid Blyton’s children’s books into the present by putting a modern family at the center of them.

Continue reading ‘The Magic Faraway Tree’: Andrew Garfield & Claire Foy On Their Family Adventure, The “Dadrew” Era, & Garfield’s Very Strange Spider-Man Idea [Interview] at The Playlist.

Hollywood is a tough town. It has been for over a century. But something is reassuring about where Karolina Wydra has ended up after the journey she endured over the past few years. Before the pandemic, she’d spent over a decade booking recurring roles on shows such as “True Blood,” “Quantico,” and “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D,” among others. Then COVID hit. She decided to have kids and, well, the industry became horrifyingly unkind.

Continue reading Karolina Wydra Lost Her Manager & Agent And Then ‘Pluribus’ Changed Everything [Interview] at The Playlist.

Based on our chat last week with Jeff Hiller, the veteran actor would lead you to believe he was somewhat unaware of what a lucky year he’s had. That may be genuine, but it may also reflect Hiller’s infectious, self-deprecating nature. Because 12 months ago he was simply celebrating just being nominated in the Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series category for his acclaimed performance in “Somebody Somewhere.” To many, it was a “the nomination is the win” moment for the little gem of a show that had a small but passionate fanbase and was a critic’s favorite.

Continue reading Jeff Hiller Is Living His Emmy Life With A Second Nomination For ‘Pluribus’ And Keeping ‘Widow’s Bay’ Secrets Secret [Interview] at The Playlist.

Trying to recommend “The Rivals of Amziah King” without sounding like you are making it up as you go along presents a real problem. It begins as a warmhearted Oklahoma bluegrass movie about beekeeping, honey production, and family. Then it takes a very sharp turn into a coming-of-age epic and crime story. Every description sounds slightly insane. Somehow, director Andrew Patterson (“The Vast of Night”) makes all of that work.

Continue reading ‘The Rivals Of Amziah King’: Matthew McConaughey, Angelina LookingGlass & Andrew Patterson Talk Live Bees, Alternate Cuts & ‘Yellowstone’ Spin-Offs [Interview] at The Playlist.

Across nearly two decades, Will Poulter has run the gamut from franchises to festival fare, massive studio epics to micro-budget indies, and broad comedies to gut-wrenching dramas since making his debut as a child actor in “Son of Rambow.” But one thing sets Poulter apart from many similarly accomplished peers: he cares deeply about whether his work makes an impact beyond himself.

There’s a sincerity to Poulter’s work and his choice of roles that often reaches beyond the performance itself.

Continue reading Will Poulter On ‘Union County,’ Addiction Stigma, & Why Emotional Vulnerability Is “A Sign Of Strength” [Interview] at The Playlist.

After multiple films and revival seasons, “The X-Files” creator Chris Carter finally got another shot at his often misunderstood film, “The X-Files: I Want to Believe.” The new R-rated cut restores disturbing imagery, reshapes the music, and even strips away some of the Mulder-Scully relationship material. It also commits what a certain corner of the fanbase may consider the ultimate R-rated act: Carter cut the Mulder-Scully kiss.

Continue reading ‘The X-Files: I Want To Believe’: Chris Carter On His 2008 Recut, Cutting A Mulder-Scully Kiss & The Story He Still Wants To Tell [The Discourse Podcast] at The Playlist.