Siraj Syed interviews Mumbai-based, under 23, prolific, short film-maker, S. Ashwin *You have been prolific in output. How many films have you made since you completed your studies a couple of years ago, and what/who made it possible to make so many? I have made 29 short films till now. My love for film-making and the conviction I have to keep making them has made it possible for me to have a large number of films to my credit today. Apart from that, my parents have been a great support--the...

by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent  Something Emma Stone says in an off-hand way when she and Ryan Gosling pick up the Outstanding Performers of the Year from Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) on Friday night really sticks. Seated beside Gosling, her co-star and co-nominee for the acting Oscars in LA LA LAND, Stone plays with the 20’s fringe on her dress, then offers this insight: “movies make us feel less alone, I guess, that’s what they...

Siraj Syed reviews Incarnate: This Entity is an Omen for the Exorcist In cinema, as in most other industries, if you don’t innovate, you are dead. Innovation is an essential part of the survival kit, and if new genres are proving elusive, makers must, nevertheless, try to reformat the template. So, if you can’t re-incarnate, at least ‘incarnate’. A good example of eschewing supernatural tropes and plying atypical ropes instead is Incarnate. That it stumbles occasionall...

SPOTLIGHT MEDIA PRODUCTIONS   The 2015 Oscars, By Adrienne Papp   By Adrienne Papp The Oscars have been handed out, the corks on the champagne bottles have been popped, the winners are all sleeping off their hangovers, and the movie industry has put a wrap on the 2015 Oscars. On Sunday night during the 87th Academy Awards broadcast shown on ABC, “Birdman” took home Best Picture and Best Director...

Tom Cross surely has a sore neck since hearing the news: his work on Damien Chazelle's Whiplash has earned the picture one of its five Oscar bids -- in his case for "Best Film Editing." It's the Los Angeles-based editor's first Academy nomination. Back in the fall I spoke with Cross about cutting the scrappy music-themed indie. Here's the full story: http://www.thalo.com/articles/view/997/film_editor_tom_cross_brings_on_whiplash ...

By Maria Esteves – October 14, 2014 WHIPLASH is a thrilling and triumphant music drama set in present day New York City about Andrew Neyman (Miles Teller) a 19-year-old talented drummer student at the prestigious Shaffer Conservatory of Music (fictitious school) is compelled to be the best despite the cost. Accepted into professor Fletcher (J.K. Simmons) elite jazz class who runs it militaristic, instilling the fear of God by emotionally and psychologically tormenting his students, A...

By Maria Esteves – October 5, 2014 The 52nd New York Film Festival 2014 (NYFF52) Presentation of WHIPLASH, directed by Damien Chazelle was held at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center, Sunday, September 28, 9:00PM. Red carpet arrivals included industry executives, celebrity guests, cast and crew members. WHIPLASH in U.S. theaters October 10, 2014; in Hong Kong theaters October 16, 2014. Watch Trailer NYFF52 Presentation of WHIPLASH red carpet arrivals: Director Damien Chazelle, cen...