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      What Fancams Get Right About Our Love of Movies (and Stars)

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      When I first saw “Anatomy of a Fall” back at the Cannes Film Festival in 2023, I expected that the courtroom drama would be critically acclaimed. I could even imagine an Oscar win. What I did not foresee was the fancams.These vertical video edits of clips focus on a celebrity or character, usually set to pop music. If you want to nitpick, you can also call them fan edits, especially if they involve multiple people onscreen. The fancam phenomenon grew out of the world of K-pop, where enthusiasts often make videos focusing solely on one member of a large band.These days, my feeds are full of film and TV fancams, which I have come to love and seek out. But perhaps the most notable one was from last year and focused on Swann Arlaud in his role as the defense attorney Vincent Renzi in “Anatomy of a Fall.” Set to Rina Sawayama’s song “Comme Des Garçons (Like the Boys),” he runs his fingers through his hair, he lights a cigarette, he stares intensely, he sighs. The music is timed to begin on the lyric “I’m so confident,” thus signaling that Vincent is a bit of a badass. Suddenly, through a savvy bit of editing, a character actor in a serious French drama got the same treatment as a pop heartthrob.There are other “Anatomy of a Fall” fancams, including ones dedicated to Sandra Hüller, who plays the author on trial for the death of her husband, and the sassy prosecutor trying to convict her. But there’s something, dare I say, brilliant about the Arlaud fancam. For one, it’s a little subversive in the way it applies the language of pop music to art cinema. It’s also just an example of good editing in the way it matches Arlaud’s glances and movements to the beat of the song, the lyrics of which further present him as a swaggering star — with a touch of irony, given that he’s a humble, often stressed-out lawyer in the context of the movie.The best fancams have at least some of these qualities. They feature clever, surprising uses of music, highlight films or stars you wouldn’t necessarily expect to get this kind of treatment, and are energetically put together. In that way, the fancam itself has become its own art form and a great platform for cinephiles to show their ardent devotion.The Parisian creator of the Arlaud fancam, who goes by @ginafancam and asked not to share her full name, told me over email: “It’s my way to pay tribute to the film. Some prefer to tell their love of cinema by writing a review, for example, but I prefer to do it by editing.” She added that she was happy that her creation “encouraged people from all over the world to watch a French auteur film.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      ‘Aftersun,’ ‘Anomalisa’ and More Streaming Gems

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      An Oscar-nominated father-daughter drama and a stop-motion dramedy are among the best movies hiding in the corners of your subscription streaming services.‘Aftersun’ (2022)Stream it on Netflix.Charlotte Wells writes and directs this stunning memory play, which begins as a wandering account of a divorced father (Paul Mescal) and his 11-year-old daughter (Frankie Corio), on holiday for his birthday; the mood is languid and mellow, capturing the carefree dreaminess of vacation, with nowhere to be and nothing to do. But this is no mere hangout, and Wells expertly deploys brief but affecting flash-forwards to snap the story she’s telling into focus, juxtaposing glowing, nostalgic memories with the cold, tough present. It’s a tour-de-force of instinctive, emotional filmmaking, anchored by the dazzling acting of Mescal (deservedly Oscar-nominated) and Corio (who turns in one of the best performances by a young actor in recent memory).‘Anomalisa’ (2015)Stream it on Amazon Prime Video.The surrealist screenwriter and filmmaker Charlie Kaufman (“Being John Malkovich,” “Synechoche, New York”) directed this puppet-populated comedy-drama with the stop-motion animation specialist Duke Johnson — but this is no “Muppet Movie,” or even a “Fantastic Mr. Fox.” Kaufman’s screenplay is populated with his signature brand of neurotic malcontents, here in the form of a depressed motivational speaker (voiced by David Thewlis) on a business trip who meets a sunny young woman (voiced by Jennifer Jason Leigh) and decides she is the answer to his ennui. Kaufman and Johnson transcend the potential gimmickry of the puppetry artifice, deftly driving home the picture’s delicate themes of isolation and loneliness in a hermetically-sealed world.‘A Love Song’ (2022)Stream it on Hulu.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      What to Know About ‘Hillbilly Elegy,’ Film Based on JD Vance’s Memoir

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      The 2020 film generally follows the book about the Republican vice presidential nominee’s formative years. But there are significant differences.Before J.D. Vance became the Republican vice-presidential nominee or even ventured into politics, he was best known as the author of “Hillbilly Elegy,” a memoir about growing up in the Rust Belt and Appalachia. Published in 2016, the book became a surprise best seller, offering one kind of answer to those searching for an explanation for Donald Trump’s presidential victory and trying to understand the experience of impoverished white Americans.The success of Vance’s book led to a movie adaptation with Imagine Entertainment winning the film rights in 2017. Netflix eventually spent a reported $45 million to finance the movie, which had a limited theatrical release in November 2020 before moving to streaming soon after. Unlike the book, the film received scathing reviews from critics.Here’s what to know about the movie:Who made “Hillbilly Elegy”? Who stars in it?Directed by Ron Howard with Vance getting an executive producer credit, the film stars Gabriel Basso as Vance. Glenn Close plays his grandmother, Mamaw, a loud, gruff but caring matriarch, and Amy Adams is his mother, Bev, who grapples with mental health issues and substance abuse. The cast includes Freida Pinto as Vance’s wife, Usha.Parts of the film were shot in Middletown, Ohio, where Vance grew up, as well as in Georgia, because of the state’s generous tax incentives.What is “Hillbilly Elegy” about?The film mostly follows Vance’s memoir. It begins with a younger Vance (played by Owen Asztalos) biking along a dirt path, while an older Vance narrates his love for the hill country of Jackson, Ky. Alternating between past and present, the film toggles between Vance’s unstable childhood growing up with Mamaw and a mother struggling with addiction and his adult years as a student at Yale Law School. While competing for a prestigious summer internship, Vance receives a call from his sister, Lindsay (Haley Bennett), who asks him to return home to care for his mother, who has been hospitalized after overdosing on heroin.Glenn Close with Bennett and Owen Asztalos as a young Vance in “Hillbilly Elegy. Lacey Terrell/NetflixWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Marvel Changes Israeli Superhero Sabra in Captain America Movie

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      The studio said Sabra, a Mossad agent in comic books, will be “a high-ranking U.S. government official” in its next Captain America movie.When Marvel Studios announced two years ago that it had cast the Israeli actress Shira Haas to play Sabra, a superhero Mossad agent, in its next “Captain America” film, the news was cheered by Israelis and denounced by Palestinians.The studio said at the time that the makers of the film, “Captain America: Brave New World,” would be “taking a new approach to the character,” but did not elaborate.The contours of that reimagined character became clearer on Friday when Marvel released a trailer of the upcoming film. The accompanying announcement made no mention of Sabra as an agent of Mossad, the Israeli intelligence service, as she is depicted in comic books, but described her as “a high-ranking U.S. government official.”The change drew criticism from some who saw it as diminishing Israeli and Jewish representation onscreen. A headline in Haaretz, the Israeli newspaper, proclaimed, “‘Sabra’ Superhero in Marvel’s ‘Captain America’ Stripped of Israeliness Amid pro-Palestinian Backlash,” and one in The Jerusalem Post said, “Marvel removes Jewish superhero Sabra’s Israeli identity for new Captain America movie.”The American Jewish Committee said on social media that Marvel’s “decision to strip the Israeli identity of Sabra is a betrayal of the character’s creators and fans and a capitulation to intimidation. Sabra is a proud Israeli hero, and should be portrayed as such. Taking away such a central part of her identity would be like making Captain America Canadian.”It was not clear whether Sabra — alter ego: Ruth Bat-Seraph — still has Israeli origins in the movie, as her superhero name suggests. “Sabra” is a Hebrew word for a local cactus bush that doubles as an affectionate term for native Israelis. It also the name of a refugee camp in Lebanon where Palestinians were massacred in 1982 by a Christian militia while Israeli troops stood by, though the superhero predated that event. Haas appears only briefly in the new trailer, and a Marvel spokeswoman declined to comment.When Marvel said Sabra would be introduced in this “Captain America” movie two years ago, the prospect drew criticism from Palestinians and their supporters who argued that the comic book character, which dates back to 1980, unduly glorified Israel. The hashtag #CaptainApartheid began to appear on social media.“The bottom line is that to Palestinians, Marvel having an Israeli superhero whitewashes the occupation,” Sani Meo, publisher of This Week in Palestine, a magazine about Palestinian issues, said at the time.In the aftermath of Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel, and Israel’s war in Gaza, questions arose anew about how Marvel Studios, which is owned by Disney, would handle the character. Newsweek wrote in October that “Marvel’s Israeli Superhero Poses Huge Headache for Disney.”Just what kind of character Sabra will be in the film, which is set to be released in February, remains to be seen. More

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      Celebrating Film Nostalgia With Ooze and Ahhs at Blobfest

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      In 1958, the sci-fi horror film “The Blob,” about a murderous, insatiable and ever-ballooning hunk of alien matter, opened in theaters across the United States. At the time, critics’ appetites for the movie were not as piqued as the onscreen monster’s.In a review for The New York Times, Howard Thompson wrote that “The Blob” was “woodenly presented,” and the “dialogue flattens as fast as the blob rounds.”Not even Steve McQueen in his first leading role could save the plot in Thompson’s eyes.But 66 years later, audiences are still hungry for more. The film became a cult classic, fitting snugly among other camp favorites like “Creature From the Black Lagoon” (1954) and “The Fly” (1958).And in Phoenixville, Pa., where much of the “The Blob” was shot, thousands of fans gathered at the 25th annual Blobfest over the weekend to celebrate with ooze and ahhs.A fire extinguisher parade kicked off the Blobfest celebration.Kat Graves, 22, dressed as Carrie (from the movie of the same name), won first place in the 18 and over category in the costume contest at Blobfest on Saturday.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      ‘Sound of Hope’ Studio Defends Partnership With The Daily Wire

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      Letitia Wright, the “Black Panther” actor and an executive producer of “Sound of Hope,” had posted her frustration with people using the film for “divisive political purposes.”The studio behind last year’s unexpected hit “Sound of Freedom” defended a partnership with the conservative website The Daily Wire to promote “Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot” following complaints by the actress Letitia Wright, an executive producer of the film.“Sound of Hope” is based on the true story of a Christian couple in Texas who adopted 77 children from foster care. The distributor, Angel Studios, framed the film as a spiritual sequel to “Sound of Freedom,” which starred Jim Caviezel as a real-life former federal law enforcement official who combats human trafficking.On the day “Sound of Hope” received its full theatrical release, Matt Walsh, the Daily Wire commentator and podcaster, posted on social media about the inspiration for the movie and added that “leftists are trying to stop Christians from saving more children.”In a series of posts on X, Walsh then condemned states that he said had prevented adoptions by parents who declined to recognize gender transition in children. He detailed two cases involving lawsuits in Oregon and Vermont.Wright, whose acting credits include “Black Panther” and “Ready Player One,” said on social media days later that she did “not condone using this beautiful film for divisive political purposes.”“This story isn’t about politics, it’s about children,” she posted. “It’s about sacrificial love for children who have experienced unthinkable horrors.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      How Osgood Perkins Gave a Jolt to ‘Longlegs’

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      The filmmaker, who is the son of the “Psycho” star Anthony Perkins, discusses horror inspirations, his father’s legacy, evil dolls and working with Nicolas Cage.Many directors fall in love with scary movies through late-night cable binges or with friends at a drive-in. Osgood Perkins had a leg up: His father was the actor Anthony Perkins, a Hollywood heavyweight and the star of “Psycho,” Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 horror movie game changer.“My father was absent, more oblique and abstract but a movie star, a public figure, an icon,” said Perkins, 50, in a recent interview over video. “Something very big lived with me.”The younger Perkins said his father, who died of AIDS at 60 in 1992, was a spirit guide as he made his new horror movie “Longlegs,” starring Nicolas Cage as a fiendish clown-looking evildoer who vexes a green F.B.I. agent, played by Maika Monroe, via handmade evil-summoning dolls.What would Perkins’s father have thought of the film, now in theaters?“He probably would have really dug it,” he said.Perkins talked about what inspired “Longlegs” and working with the chameleonic Cage. The interview has been edited and condensed.Perkins, right, on the set of “Longlegs” with his cinematographer, Andres Arochi.Asterios Moutsokapas/Neon, via Associated PressWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman Talk ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ and Their Careers

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      The two friends have learned a lot about being the stewards of major pop-culture characters, an education that led them to “Deadpool & Wolverine.”If there’s a magic formula for Hollywood success, “Deadpool & Wolverine” would appear to have refined it to a simple calculation: Just add Hugh Jackman’s “X-Men” superhero to the hit comic franchise anchored by Ryan Reynolds and reap the sure-to-be-lucrative dividends.So why did a film that’s projected to be the summer’s biggest live-action blockbuster prove so difficult to get off the ground?Though Reynolds had pitched a team-up to his close friend for years, Jackman initially resisted, preferring to let the well-reviewed “Logan” (2017) stand as his swan song with the gruff mutant Wolverine. And while the merger of Disney and Fox allowed Reynolds to set the third “Deadpool” movie starring his R-rated mercenary in the previously off-limits Marvel Cinematic Universe, he struggled to come up with a story that could capitalize on that opportunity. “It was just hard to find the thing that felt right,” Reynolds said.In August 2022, just as Reynolds and the director, Shawn Levy, debated putting their sequel on ice, Jackman placed a surprise call and told them he was willing to give his signature role one more go. “There’s parts of Wolverine that I scratched around and wanted to explore, but I wasn’t able to,” Jackman said. “In this film, there’s sides of him that I’ve always wanted to get out.”On a video call in late June, both men had plenty to say about the long arc of portraying and eventually becoming the steward of major pop-cultural characters. Reynolds waged an uphill battle to make the first “Deadpool” film (2016), which was greenlit only after leaked test footage became an internet sensation. Off its modest $58 million budget, the movie grossed $782.8 million worldwide and gave Reynolds his first real franchise.“I was an actor who was semi-well-known,” said Reynolds, who added jokingly, “I don’t know how you would phrase that without sounding like a dink. But I was 37 when ‘Deadpool’ had its pop-culture phenomenon moment, and I’m really grateful I was because I knew exactly how to enjoy it.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More