Jazz Tangcay Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor It took a village to bring Amazon’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” to life and into homes. The Middle-earth fantasy drama wowed Emmy voters with its craft- work, scoring nominations in main-title design, prosthetic makeup, fantasy/sci-fi costumes, sound editing, special visual effects and original main-title theme music. Set thousands of years before the Third Age of the Peter Jackson-helmed “The Lord of the Rings” film trilogy, the first season introduced viewers to elves, dwarves, orcs and Harfoots (one of three hobbit races) during a time of prosperity and relative peace.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor SPOILER ALERT: This contains spoilers from “Shortcomings, now in theaters. When Ally Maki received the script for Randall Park’s “Shortcomings,” she read it in one sitting and knew she had to be a part of it. Whether it was just to audition or land the role, “I’d be happy to just perform that piece, the opening which was a nine-pager,” says the actor, who has appeared in shows including “Wrecked” and “Hacks.” Maki ended up landing the role of Miko, who is in a complicated relationship with her boyfriend, Ben (Justin H. Min) which slowly disintegrates when he is caught surfing porn on the internet, and Miko takes a leap, accepting an internship in New York.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor SPOILER ALERT: This contains spoilers from “Barbie” which is now playing in theaters. The yellow dress Margot Robbie’s wears in Barbie’s final scenes was designed to represent change, says the film’s costume designer Jacqueline Durran. By the end of the Greta Gerwig blockbuster, Barbie has been transformed by the Real World. She’s become flat-footed, broken the patriarchy and all zen has been restored in Barbieland.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor When Emmy nominations were announced on July 12, artisans in the craft categories made a splash in more ways than one — some landed multiple nominations in several categories, others inched closer to achieving EGOT status and many received first-time recognition. Here, Variety looks at some of the contenders in the Creative Art categories. Editor Stephanie Filo landed three nominations this year in two different categories.

William Earl Variety has announced the programming for its inaugural Creative Collaborations: The Nominees brunch, featuring two panels with the contending directors and artisans behind the year’s top TV series. The invite-only brunch will take place in Los Angeles on Aug.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor When “Haunted Mansion” production designer Darren Gilford was working with director Justin Simien to bring the beloved Disney ride back to the big screen, he had a rather unique perspective. As a former Imagineering intern, Gilford had learned first-hand how the Disneyland attractions were conceived. Gilford’s design entry point for the film was a bible devoted to the ride from Imagineering.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor When director Justin Simien was looking for a composer to score Disney’s “Haunted Mansion,” he called his frequent collaborator Kris Bowers. The two had worked together on “Dear White People” and Simien’s last feature, “Bad Hair.” “I’ve always wanted to have that relationship with the director where you work on a number of projects and develop this trust,” says Bowers. For their latest film, which opens in theaters July 28, Bowers pays homage to the Disney theme-park ride and its famous “Grim Grinning Ghosts” tune while making his mark on the feature.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor For cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema, the challenge with Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” was about capturing what was going on inside the head of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the A-bomb — what he’s thinking and what we can read in his eyes. For costume designer Ellen Mirojnick, whether it was a two-piece suit or three-piece suit, it was his silhouette.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor “Drag Race” fans rejoice. Full 90-minute episodes of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” season 15 are headed to Paramount+. From Aug.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Award-winning scenic designer David Korins calls his work on Broadway’s newest sensation “Here Lies Love” the “most ambitious piece of theater I’ve ever done.” And that’s a high bar: Korins counts The Oscars, “Beetlejuice” and “Hamilton” among his credits. Set to throbbing beats from David Byrne and Fatboy Slim, “Here Lies Love” centers on the Philippines’ controversial former First Lady, Imelda Marcos. The idea was to make the show as immersive as possible and turn a Midtown Manhattan theater into a disco ballroom.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor SPOILER ALERT: This contains spoilers from “Barbie,” now playing in theaters. “Barbie” Production designer Sarah Greenwood and set decorator Katie Spencer reckon that by this time next year, there will be a pendulum swing and no one will want to go near the color pink. But for now, it’s Barbie’s world and everyone, everywhere is obsessed. Greenwood says Greta Gerwig, Mattel and producers Margot Robbie and Tom Ackerley gave her and Spencer a free hand when it came to building the world.

McKinley Franklin editor Variety will publish its second annual 10 Artisans to Watch list on Oct. 18 and recognize the honorees at this year’s SCAD Savannah Film Festival.  In celebration of Variety’s continued coverage of crafts, the 10 artisans selected will be spotlighted in a panel conversation at the festival moderated by Variety senior artisans editor Jazz Tangcay. The list will include artisans across cinematography, costume design, editing, hair/makeup, production design, sound editing/design and visual effects.  The event will highlight the behind-the-scenes artists that are invaluable to this year’s best films and shows. 

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor SPOILER ALERT: This contains spoilers from “Swagger” Season 2, now streaming on AppleTV+. As Reggie Rock Bythewood was gearing up for AppleTV+’s second season of “Swagger,” the filmmaker was thinking about how to elevate the series and take it to another level. One film that came to mind was Sam Mendes’ “1917” and how cinematographer Roger Deakins had shot the film and presented it as if it were one continuous long shot. The series follows a team of basketball players inspired by NBA star Kevin Durant and in the latest “maze,” as Bythewood calls it, the team down to six players, Jace (Isaiah R. Hill), Phil (Solomon Irama), Musa (Caleel Harris), Drew, Royale (Ozie Nzeribe), and Nick (Jason Rivera) head to Maryland’s Youth Facility, a detention center for young offenders for a game. “I thought about ‘1917’ and the entire film is shot as if it were one shot. So, Cliff Charles, the D.P., and I talked about doing one that way,” says Bythewood.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor In 2020’s “Tenet,” Christopher Nolan blew up a 747, and for his latest feature, “Oppenheimer,” he recreated the Trinity Test without using visual effects, opting to find a way to do it in-camera instead. “Obviously, we couldn’t make an explosion the size of the actual explosion so we used trickery,” cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema explains, and no, they didn’t detonate a real atomic bomb. The ten-minute sequence capturing the first-ever successful atomic bomb detonation came together through many experiments. It was a given that Nolan would do the scene in-camera. “We’re suckers for this absolute depth of resolution that IMAX give us,” van Hoytema says. “But when you go to VFX, you have to scan it, and the moment you do that, it loses half of its resolution.”

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” is a phenomenon that costume designer Jacqueline Durran is still trying to wrap her head around. “I had no idea it would be this big,” she says ahead of the film’s opening weekend. Among the viral sensations started by the film which stars Margot Robbie is #BarbieCore, a fashion homage to the Mattel doll that is very feminine and very pink. The hotter the hue, the better. As part of that phenomenon, the Oscar-winning Durran has partnered with ThredUp to style #Barbiecore fans using only thrift items and to provide consumers with a more sustainable way to participate in the summer’s pink trend. “I love vintage and I’ve always loved it. Even if a small proportion of the people that want to experience and play and be creative with #Barbiecore can go to ThredUp and buy vintage pieces to create their unique look then that would be a great thing,” says Durran.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Elton John, David Letterman and more stars paid tribute to Tony Bennett after his death on Friday morning, with John saying “he’s irreplaceable.” Bennett, whose professional career spanned eight decades and who achieved a No. 1 album at age 85, died Friday morning in New York City. He was 96. John, who performed “Rags to Riches” with Bennett, shared his tribute via Instagram. He wrote, “So sad to hear of Tony’s passing. Without doubt the classiest singer, man, and performer you will ever see. He’s irreplaceable. I loved and adored him. Condolences to Susan, Danny and the family.”

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor OK Go has shared the new track “This,” from the Apple Original Film “The Beanie Bubble.” The band’s lead singer and guitarist Damian Kulash co-directed the film with his wife Kristin Gore, who also wrote the screenplay. According to Kulash, the idea for the song, filled with exuberant guitars and horns, was in the script: “The term said, ‘We close to unbelievably joyful music.” The film debuts theaters on limited release on July 21 before streaming on AppleTV+ on July 28. It stars Zach Galifianakis, Elizabeth Banks, Sarah Snook and Geraldine Viswanathan and follows the story of the Beanie Baby phenomenon.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Nirvana’s “Something in the Way” and Alanis Morissette’s version of the “Yellowjackets” main theme, “No Return,” are among the songs on the drama’s Season 2 soundtrack. The official “Yellowjackets” album, out Sept. 1 on CD and digital formats, will feature 16 tracks. It’s now available for pre-order via Universal Music Canada and Showtime. Morissette recorded a new version of “No Return (Extended Version),” which opened Episode 4. “I love the original version of ‘No Return.’ It’s just a perfect song. It was a little daunting to be asked to reinterpret it, but I see parallels between ‘Yellowjackets’ and my perspective while songwriting: the sheer intensity, that going for the jugular with no fear of going for the profane,” the singer said last year.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor “Oppenheimer” composer Ludwig Göransson guesstimates there’s “about two and a half hours of music in the film,” which he recorded over the course of five days. The film marks his second collaboration with Christopher Nolan, after the pair first teamed up on 2020’s “Tenet.” Göransson describes the “Oppenheimer” score as “dynamic.” “Sometimes, it’s just the use of a singular instrument, and other times we bring in a whole ensemble. It fluctuates,” he says. Nolan’s most ambitious film, about the race to create a nuclear bomb during World War II, in turn became Göransson’s most ambitious score — it was different from anything he had done before.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor FilmLA has reported a sharp production decline in 2023’s second quarter. On-location production was down 28.8 percent from April to June, with only 6,566 shoot days. The data captures the impact of the Writers Guild of America strike, which began on May 2. The actors union did not begin striking until July. “Greater Los Angeles is the North American epicenter of scripted television production. Before long, this sector’s shutdown will be felt in every corner of the regional economy,” said FilmLA’s president Paul Audley. “Like all others watching with hope from the sidelines, we are eager to see the studios and unions reopen their contract negotiations,” Audley continued. “Much is at stake for WGA and SAG-AFTRA members, and also for the small business supply chain on which future filming depends.”

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor SPOILER ALERT: This story contains spoilers from “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One,” now playing in theaters. “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One’s” jaw-dropping train sequence in the film’s third act features Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt fighting Esai Morales’ Gabriel on the roof of a locomotive as it hurtles down a track at 60 mph. The set piece was originally supposed to be much longer. The scene climaxes with the train plunging off a bridge one carriage at a time during which Ethan and Grace (Hayley Atwell) cling on for dear life as they climb back up through the train.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor LaPolt Law, the Los Angeles-based music and entertainment firm founded by Dina LaPolt in 2001, is expanding into film and TV. Plus, attorney Dani B. Darling has joined the firm. Darling, a veteran in the industry, served as legal counsel for Jellysmash Productions and handled all legal aspects of Electric Entertainment’s development and production. Darling has also represented Blumhouse, A+E Studios and The Walt Disney Studios. Said LaPolt, “We are very excited to be building a film and television practice as more and more of our clients are starting to cross over in that area, and Dani Darling is the perfect attorney to spearhead this at the firm. Dani brings a wealth of experience with her. This is just the beginning.”

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Oscar-winning costume designer Colleen Atwood, prosthetic makeup artist Barrie Gower, and composers Hans Zimmer, Nicholas Britell and Danny Elfman were among the industry heavyweights who landed Creative Arts Emmy nominations on Wednesday morning. Four-time Oscar winner Atwood landed her second Emmy nomination in the outstanding contemporary costumes for Tim Burton’s “Wednesday.” Speaking about her work on the show and about recreating the icon Morticia Addams’ costumes, Atwood said, “We reinvented look with this silver fabric on the side, which was bonded to the black, twisted and sewn over. The dress had a more contemporary shape to it. I think we honored the previous versions of Morticia that had come before.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor SPOILER ALERT: This story includes plot details for “Joy Ride,” now playing in theaters. Director Adele Lim made sure there were intimacy coordinators on set for one of the raunchiest scenes in “Joy Ride” — when Stephanie Hsu‘s character Kat reveals a massive genital tattoo of a devil. “Joy Ride,” the new raunchy R-rated comedy, stars Ashley Park as Audrey, a high-powered attorney who travels to China on business. Joining her on the trip are friends Lolo (Sherry Cola) and Deadeye (Sabrina Wu). Hsu plays Audrey’s college friend, Kat, who is now a Chinese soap opera star. The four find themselves in various wild scenarios that include drugs, sex and basketball star Baron Davis.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Apple TV+ is bringing Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista and Christy Turlington back to the screen in a new four-part documentary “The Super Models.” The documentary from Imagine Documentaries and One Story Up is directed by Academy Award-winner Roger Ross Williams and Larissa Bills. The series follows the legends of the catwalk as they reveal how they began their careers and ended up dominating the modeling world. Archival footage and interviews provide unprecedented access. As the logline for the series reads, “‘The Supermodels’ travels back to the 1980s, when four women from different corners of the world united in New York. Already forces in their own right, the gravitas they achieved by coming together transcended the industry itself. Their prestige was so extraordinary that it enabled the four to supersede the brands they showcased, making the names Naomi, Cindy, Linda and Christy as prominent as the designers who styled them. Today, the four supermodels remain on the frontlines of culture through activism, philanthropy and business prowess. As the fashion industry continues to redefine itself – and women’s roles within it – this is the ultimate story of power and how four women came together to claim it, paving the way for those to follow.”

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor SPOILER ALERT: This article contains major spoilers for Lionsgate’s “Joy Ride,” now playing in theaters. Lionsgate’s latest release, “Joy Ride,” is messy, fun, flirtatious and bold. It’s exactly the type of film writers Teresa Hsiao (“Family Guy”), Cherry Chevapravatdumrong (“Family Guy”) and Adele Lim (“Crazy Rich Asians”) wanted to see when they were kids growing up. The comedy revolves around Stephanie Hsu, Sherry Cola, and Sabrina Wu, who follow Ashley Park’s Audrey across the world on a business trip to Asia, where she has to track down her birth mother to close a huge business deal. From a drug-induced train ride to orgies to impersonating a K-Pop group, Brownie Tuesday, to a genital tattoo reveal, the film pushes the limits in the R-rated comedy space with Lionsgate and Point Gray’s blessing.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Before “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” even opened, the Disney adventure tentpole sparked intrigue with a de-aged Harrison Ford, who, in his fifth film playing the whip-cracking archaeologist, is now 80 years old. The shots of a young Ford look impressive, and it’s thanks to the team of over 100 artists at Industrial Light and Magic, who spent three years on the film’s visual effects, which also included enhancing and developing their existing de-aging technology to create ILM FaceSwap. Photorealism de-aging was nothing new to the team. After all, technology such as Flux existed and had been used on films such as “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” and “The Irishman.”

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor IATSE has announced its core principles for the application of AI technologies in the entertainment industry. In a statement, IATSE, a labor union which represents over 160,000 technicians, artisans and craftspersons in the entertainment industry, said, “Our approach as a union must be comprehensive, focused on research, collaboration, education, political and legislative advocacy, organizing, and collective bargaining.” The statement comes at a time when AI remains an important topic in SAG-AFTRA and WGA negotiations. The principles laid out for its members include a comprehensive approach encouraging the union and its members to “focus on research, collaboration, education, political and legislative advocacy, organizing, and collective bargaining” when AI and machine learning technology is involved.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Disney’s “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” features some of the titular hero’s most loathsome enemies — the Nazis — and it was up to military adviser Paul Biddiss to train over 300 extras to ensure the film’s battle scenes looked authentic. This fifth installment of the franchise sees James Mangold direct Harrison Ford’s Indiana Jones. The year is 1969, and this time, Nazi scientist Dr. Voller (Mads Mikkelsen) is on a mission to seek out the Dial of Destiny, which he believes will “correct” Hitler’s mistakes. Fact, fiction and fascists are set against the backdrop of the space race as Voller aims to go back in time and kill Hitler, take over the Third Reich and lead Germany to victory.