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Who says love doesn’t have its own script, especially when it comes to the heartwarming and sometimes intricate tales of Hollywood legends? Clint Eastwood, a cinematic icon who scorched the big screen and, at 94, is as robust as an oak, personifies a life narrative filled with diverse chapters of passion and familial ties.

Clint Eastwood in Cry Macho | Warner Bros. Pictures

The actor, whose charm seemingly pauses the hands of time, is not just a figure etched in film history but also a father to eight kids from various relationships. His romantic journey took a gorgeous turn when, in a twist that would give Shakespeare a run for his money, Eastwood went from potentially courting a mother to threading a love story with her daughter.

Yes, we are discussing the little-known history that lies behind his marriage to Dina Eastwood, a formidable figure in her own light. Kindly note...

Real-life experiences often present the most compelling cinematic experiences. Such was the case in Glen Powell’s recently released American disaster movie, Twisters. Created under the directorial vision of Lee Isaac Chung, the movie had more in common with Powell than the audience knew about.

Glen Powell in a still from Twisters trailer || Warner Bros.

The movie had a horrifying tornado scene, and in an interview, Glen Powell had revealed that it was inspired by his real-life tornado encounter. Furthermore, the actor’s personal experience will undoubtedly keep the audience riveted.

How Did Glen Powell’s Real-Life Encounter With a Tornado Inspire a Scene in Twisters? Glen Powell in a still from Twisters trailer || Warner Bros.

In Hollywood, several movies have taken real-life scenarios as inspiration. But Twisters surely takes this up a notch. Glen Powell explained this when he appeared in an interview (via People) before Twisters hit theaters.

[Editor’s Note: IndieWire will cover VFX contributions to “Twisters” next week.]

One key to the success of “Twisters” is how well the CGI tornados are integrated with the action of characters running away from — or, in the case of the storm trackers, driving toward — these terrible forces of nature. Director Lee Isaac Chung recently told IndieWire about how he thought he designed action scenes in terms of layers.

“The ultimate layer, the background layer is going to be the tornado within any frame,” said Chung. “And that I knew had to be CGI because there was no way to actually capture one in the moment.”

What visual effects supervisor Ben Snow’s team achieved in creating six distinct, realistic tornados for each of the film’s big action set pieces is remarkable, but that alone is not enough to sell the movie magic.

“Ultimately what makes that background layer feel real is...

Christopher Nolan’s much-anticipated 2023 film, Oppenheimer, has already generated a lot of buzz and excitement, with a great deal of anticipation for what the acclaimed director has in store for this historical drama. His meticulous attention to detail as well as his knack for developing suspense and intrigue are on full display in this film, which makes it a must-see for any film lover.

And if there’s a particular moment in the film that has already caused quite a stir, it’s the Trinity Test. The first successful nuclear weapon detonation, known as the Trinity Test, occurred in New Mexico on July 16, 1945, and was a historic event. In typical Christopher Nolan fashion, he has recreated this monumental event with such authenticity and attention to detail that audiences have been stunned.

Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer

But here’s the kicker: the Trinity Test scene in the Cillian Murphy-starrer film is not CGI!

The Creator won big at the 22nd annual Visual Effects Society Awards Wednesday night.

The awards were handed out during a ceremony, hosted by actor-comedian Jay Pharoah, at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles.

The Creator took home five awards in the feature competition, including outstanding visual effects in a photoreal feature. The Last of Us was also a top winner in the series categories, scoring four awards, and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse led the animation competition with four wins.

Other winners of the night included Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Oppenheimer, Nyad, The Mandalorian and The Flash.

It was previously announced that producer Joyce Cox, who produced VFX on movies including Avatar and The Dark Knight, received the Society’s Lifetime Achievement Award during the ceremony.

Actor-producer-director William Shatner was also previously revealed as the recipient of the award for Creative Excellence in “recognition of his valuable contributions...

Gareth Edwards’ “The Creator” was the big winner at the 22nd Visual Effects Society Awards (held February 21 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel). The AI-themed, sci-fi actioner earned five awards, including the top photoreal feature VFX prize. The other awards were for modeling (Nomad), created environment (Floating Village), effects simulations, and compositing & lighting (Bar).

“The Creator” utilized an innovative streamlining process in post, in which Ilm designed and placed the naturalistic VFX over the actors playing AI simulants and the photographic plates as set extensions. This made the $80 million indie look like a $200 million blockbuster, with director Edwards shooting the entire film guerilla-style in 80 locations throughout Southeast Asia as the primary camera operator with a small crew and natural light.

Meanwhile, “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” the animated feature Oscar favorite (snubbed by the Academy’s VFX branch), took home four awards, including the top animated VFX prize. Sony Pictures Imageworks innovated...

As had been generally expected, Gareth Edwards’ futuristic sci-fi film “The Creator” proved to be the favorite among visual effects practitioners. The film topped the feature competition at the 22nd Visual Effects Society Awards, claiming five wins including one in the leading category for outstanding VFX in a photoreal feature.

Wednesday night at the Beverly Hilton, it also won the categories for created environment, model, compositing and lighting and effects simulations. Also, in the feature competition, “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” collected two awards for the digital character (the emotive Rocket) and virtual cinematography. “Oppenheimer” grabbed the trophy for practical effects, and “Nyad” took home the award for supporting VFX. Sony Pictures Animation’s “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” was the big winner among the animated features, collecting four awards.

“The Creator,” whose VFX was led by Industrial Light + Magic, and Guardians 3, whose work was shared by roughly 10 VFX companies,...

Visual effects teams served up astonishing images of animated characters, monsters, and the ex-

plosions that we’ve all come to expect and love over the last year. And this time, as the Visual Effects Society’s nominations for its annual awards show, VFX artists are leaning more and more into the kinds of tools and techniques that speed up production, give filmmakers real time choices, and create stylized versions of effects.

Chris Nolan’s “Oppenheimer,” which was lauded for its astonishing and convincing VFX, relied on teams using cutting edge tools to immerse audiences in the story. The film also leaned into some classic special effects designed to be paired with VFX to make an overall more impressive image.

“Chris wants to do as much in camera as he can because he knows this will make everything look better,” says Scott Fisher, special effects supervisor, nommed for his work on the film.

“Oppenheimer,” “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” and “The Last of Us” are among the nominees for the Visual Effects Society (Ves) Awards.

Gareth Edwards’ “The Creator” leads the feature film field with seven nominations. “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” is the top animated contender with seven nominations and 24-time Emmy-nominated drama “The Last of Us” leads the episodic field with six nominations.

“The artistry, ingenuity and passion of visual effects practitioners around the world have come together to create remarkable imagery,” Ves chair Kim Davidson said. “We are seeing best-in-class work that elevates the art of storytelling and exemplifies the spirit of innovation. The Ves Awards is the only venue that showcases and honors these outstanding artists across a wide range of disciplines, and we are extremely proud of our nominees.”

The Ves is a global honorary society dedicated to “advancing the arts, sciences and applications of visual effects and to upholding...

The Visual Effects Society has composited the nominees for its 22nd annual Ves Awards, which will be handed out next month. Disney’s The Creator and Sony’s Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse lead the field with seven noms apiece, and HBO’s The Last of Us tops TV with six. See the full list below.

The annual Ves Awards will be handed out during the group’s 22nd annual ceremony February 21 at the Beverly Hilton. They recognize outstanding visual effects artistry and innovation in 25 categories spanning features, animation, television, commercials and video games and the VFX supervisors, VFX producers and hands-on artists who bring this work to life.

“The artistry, ingenuity and passion of visual effects practitioners around the world have come together to create remarkable imagery,” said Kim Davidson, newly elected Ves Chair. “We are seeing best-in-class work that elevates the art of storytelling and exemplifies the spirit of innovation.

The Spider-Society has webbed in a few honors. The Visual Effects Society has announced their nominations for the 22nd annual Ves Awards, with “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” leading the pack.

Held every winter, the Ves Awards honor the best achievements in visual effects artistry over the previous calendar year, with VFX professionals in film, television, video games, and commercials receiving recognition. Nominees in 25 categories are selected by Ves members through a process of 39 in-person and virtual nomination events, held worldwide and conducted during a 36-hour period. A minimum of three judging panels review each submission for the awards, looking at “Before and Afters” for each prospective nominee. Ves judging panels this year included members of the society from 25 different countries.

“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” was the top animated film to receive nominations this year, gaining seven nominations including Outstanding Effects in an Animated Feature and specific nods for modeling, character animation,...

Stan Rogow, the writer and Emmy-nominated producer who guided the Hilary Duff-starring Lizzie McGuire series and feature that spawned from the Disney Channel hit and partnered with John Sayles on several projects, has died. He was 75.

Rogow died Thursday at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, family spokesperson Scott Fisher told The Hollywood Reporter.

Early in his career, Rogow served as a producer on the pilot of the acclaimed NBC series Fame and shared an Emmy nomination for outstanding drama series in 1982 with William Blinn and two others.

The Brooklyn native was also an exec producer on the 2004-06 Discovery Kids sitcom Darcy’s Wild Life, starring Sara Paxton, and he co-created another show for the network, the 2005-07 adventure series Flight 29 Down, featuring Corbin Bleu.

Rogow produced Sayles-written The Clan of the Cave Bear (1986), starring Daryl Hannah, before they teamed to create the 1990 NBC drama Shannon’s Deal, starring...

“When you do Chris’ movies… things you normally would think would be visual effects, you know that they’re going to be doing the stuff practically,” observes special effects supervisor Scott Fisher about collaborating with director Christopher Nolan. He is one of the three individuals behind the visual and special effects of “Oppenheimer” that are spotlighted in a new video that Gold Derby is debuting exclusively. The featurette combines interviews, film footage, and behind-the-scenes clips of how the dynamic scenes of the film came to life, which many of the effects occurring in front of the lens. Watch the “Oppenheimer” exclusive featurette above.

Nolan championed this dual visual and special effects approach on the epic film, which explores the explosive story of the Manhattan Project. He shares, “With our visual effects approach on ‘Oppenheimer,’ there’s one sense in which computer graphics is the obvious way to do it, but going down that route,...

It’s not often that you get two films in the same year devoted to a couple of Twentieth-Century giants of science and music as “Oppenheimer” and “Maestro.” But then theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) and conductor-composer Leonard Bernstein (Bradley Cooper) were both legends deserving of lofty cinematic treatment, and directors Christopher Nolan and Cooper delivered dazzling spectacles of sight and sound. Which is why these Best Picture contenders will likely also be craft juggernauts for Universal and Netflix.

Interestingly, both movies were not only shot on Kodak film, but also in color and black-and-white. This was to distinguish the timelines and to heighten the emotional toll of their titanic achievements. Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb, was driven to build it and then tormented by its destruction to the detriment of his marriage to biologist-botanist Kitty (Emily Blunt). By contrast, Bernstein, the Renaissance Man of American Music,...

Oscar-winning sound designer/supervising sound editor Richard King has two frontrunners this season with Christopher Nolan’s explosive “Oppenheimer” and Bradley Cooper’s musical “Maestro.” While each offers very different soundscapes, they capture the essence of these two 20th-century giants of quantum physics and music.

For the sound design of the biopic thriller about the father of the atomic bomb, J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy), King, Oscar-winning music and sound effects mixer Kevin O’Connell (“Hacksaw Ridge”), and dialogue mixer Gary Rizzo got to create the horrifying sound of the Trinity test explosion along with the sounds of the subatomic world of particles and waves that stirred Oppenheimer’s troubled mind.

For the sound design of the complicated love story between legendary conductor-composer Leonard Bernstein (Cooper) and actress wife Felicia Montealegre (Carey Mulligan), King worked with the Oscar-nominated team from the director’s “A Star Is Born”: production sound mixer Steve Morrow,...

The last two VFX Oscar winners — “Avatar: The Way of Water” and “Dune” — were late-season juggernauts. The same was anticipated for “Dune: Part Two” (originally scheduled for a November 3 release). But since Warner Bros. pushed back Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi epic to March 15, 2024, because of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, that opens up a void.

Now, the spotlight is on other Oscar hopefuls that would’ve been overshadowed: “Wonka”, “The Marvels”, “Napoleon”, “Poor Things” (December 8, Searchlight), and “Rebel Moon —Part One: A Child of Fire”.

Director Paul King (“Paddington”) transforms “Wonka” into the origin story of Roald Dahl’s famed chocolatier (with “Dune” star Timothée Chalamet in the title role), which now becomes the most prestigious late-season VFX contender. It’s a musical companion piece to the 1971 film “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory,” with Wonka struggling to start his own chocolate shop with his magic touch and secret weapon: Hugh Grant’s Oompa Loompa.

50 Cent‘s lawyer is denying that the rapper “intentionally” struck anyone after allegedly hitting a fan in the head with his microphone during a performance.

“Let’s be very clear; as I told LAPD this afternoon, my client Curtis would never intentionally strike anyone with a microphone,” the “Power” star’s attorney, Scott Leemon, tells Et in a statement. “Anyone saying something different doesn’t have all the facts and is misinformed.”

The incident occurred during the rapper’s appearance at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Wednesday as part of his “Final Lap Tour”. In a video captured by fans, the 48-year-old rapper — born Curtis Jackson — is seen on one side of the stage, seemingly frustrated with his microphones as he throws one down and hands off another while Yg performs on the stage behind him. A moment later, Jackson is seen walking to another part of...

There’s a sizable amount of largely “invisible” visual effects work in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, but more than a month after its release, that’s still not obvious to everyone.

In the lead-up to the film, headlines spread after Nolan stated there were no computer-generated images in Oppenheimer — but that’s very different than saying there are no visual effects shots in the film.

“Some people have picked that up and taken it to mean that there are no visual effects, which is clearly not true,” Oppenheimer‘s Oscar-winning VFX supervisor Andrew Jackson tells The Hollywood Reporter. “Visual effects can encompass a whole lot of things.” That includes computer-generated imagery and “in-camera” special effects created on set.

One VFX moment is the scene re-creating the Trinity Test during in which scientists, led by J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) detonated the first atomic bomb in New Mexico on July 16, 1945. According to Jackson,...

When an audience member tossed a drink at her during a performance, Cardi B didn't hesitate before returning the favor. The star was performing at Drai's Beachclub in Las Vegas on July 29 when someone in the crowd splashed her with a drink, and Cardi responded by immediately hurling her mic right back at the attendee, who appeared to be quickly escorted away, per a viral video of the incident.

Now, though, it seems some good is coming out of the incident. Per CBS News, Scott Fisher - who owns the audio company The Wave, which provided sound equipment for Cardi's show at Drai's Beachclub - put the mic Cardi threw up for auction on eBay, and on on Aug. 8, the mic sold for $100,000. According to CBS, money from the sale will go to two charities: the Wounded Warrior Project and the nonprofit Friendship Circle Las Vegas.

According to CNN, police...

In keeping with Christopher Nolan’s preference for shooting in-camera practical effects whenever possible — and a desire to steer clear of CGI on “Oppenheimer” — the director created his own real-life VFX Manhattan Project to create the subatomic world and Trinity atomic blast. That’s why VFX supervisor Andrew Jackson was the first crew member Nolan asked to read his script.

“He needed me to get on board really early to start investigating what we could do,” Jackson told IndieWire. “And in that first discussion, we looked at the options. At one end of the spectrum, there’s trying to reproduce the subatomic electrons orbiting a nucleus and an atom spinning at trillions of times a second because the film is so much about trying to experience the story through the mind of Oppenheimer [Cillian Murphy], and we were trying to visualize what might be going on in his head at...

Rapper Cardi B’s thrown microphone during her club performance in Las Vegas was sold at $100,000. The Shure Axient digital mic, which belonged to an audio production company called The Wave in Sin City, was previously put on eBay by the company’s owner, Scott Fisher. A week and 122 bids later, someone forked out $99,900 for it, reports aceshowbiz.com.

The item was auctioned off for charity though. Scott initially told TMZ that the proceeds will be split with two charities, the Wounded Warrior Project and a local Vegas charity called Friendship Circle Las Vegas, which benefits teens and young adults with special needs.

Cardi tossed the mic into the crowd after someone threw a drink at her during her July 29 gig.

Looking startled, the Grammy Award-winner spontaneously launched the microphone at the woman. Security then intervened while the rap star yelled from the stage. After getting her microphone back, she told the audience,...

Los Angeles, Aug 4 (Ians) Rapper Cardi B is in the clear after throwing a microphone at a fan in Las Vegas, as the criminal battery investigation has been dropped.

Cardi’s lawyers, Drew Findling, David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld, told TMZ: “This afternoon we were notified by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, that as a result of their investigation, there will be No charges against Cardi. On behalf of Cardi, we appreciate the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Dept’s diligent and prompt resolution of this matter.”

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said in a statement: “After a thorough review of this case and with the consultation from the Clark County District Attorney’s Office, this case has been closed as having insufficient evidence.”

They concluded: “No charges will be filed in relation to this case.”

Cardi was caught on camera throwing a microphone into the crowd after a...

Los Angeles, Aug 3 (Ians) A microphone-turned-weapon which was thrown by rapper Cardi B at her recent Las Vegas show will soon benefit others.

The mic has been put up for auction at eBay and is currently sitting at a staggering price, reports aceshowbiz.com.

According to the listing, the Shure Axient digital mic is auctioned off for charity. The used mic actually belongs to an audio production company called The Wave in Sin City and the owner tells tmz.com that the proceeds will be split with two charities, the Wounded Warrior Project and a local Vegas charity called Friendship Circle Las Vegas, which benefits teens and young adults with special needs.

The bidding for the mic, which originally cost $1,000, started at $500 but it has since risen up to nearly $100,000.

It is currently sitting at more than $99,000 after 121 bids were made. With five days left before the auction is closed, it...

You may be able to own a piece of Cardi B history.

Over the weekend, the “Wap” rapper threw a microphone into the crowd during a show at Drai’s Nightclub in Las Vegas, and now that mic is up for auction.

Read More: Cardi B Throws Microphone And Walks Off Stage After Performance In Las Vegas

Scott Fisher, the owner of audio production company The Wave, which services many nightclubs in Vegas, told TMZ the microphone actually belongs to his company.

During the performance, Cardi had asked the crowed to throw water on her to cool her off in the scorching temperatures, but later, when someone threw liquid and ice in her direction, the rapper was none too pleased.

Cardi B throws microphone at audience member who threw a drink at her. pic.twitter.com/alLgHMFshb

— Pop Base (@PopBase) July 30, 2023

She responded by hurling the microphone into the crowd,...

Christopher Nolan's "Oppenheimer" features a stellar central performance from Cillian Murphy, who delivers career-best work as the haunted, brilliant scientist who became known as the father of the atomic bomb. But while a number of directors may have been able to collaborate with this spectacular, star-studded cast to achieve memorable and complex performances, something Nolan brought to "Oppenheimer" that exceedingly few other filmmakers could is his obsession with filming as many things as possible in a practical way instead of relying on CGI.

That tactile approach extends to the movie's explosive Trinity test of the atomic bomb in the New Mexico desert (which is perhaps the film's most show-stopping scene), as well as some visually dazzling moments of Oppenheimer imagining atoms, particles, and nuclei flying around in space.

"In this film, we're going to try and portray the inner state of the character, we're going to try and show atomic activity,...

Another day, another marketing boost for Nolan’s IMAX greatness —Oppenheimer. This time, the video published by Universal Pictures sheds a bit more light on the making and what we can expect from this “definitive moment in the history of modern filmmaking”. There’s one interesting thing though. Nolan states that they came up with some very interesting analog methods of how to shoot the film. Read on.

Behind the scenes of Oppenheimer. Christopher Nolan with the IMAX camera. Credit: Universal Pictures

My preference is always to do things in-camera as much as possible. It’s set a big challenge for every department to actually bring the of a thing there for the actors…I always try to use real locations as much as possible.

Christopher Nolan The practical-vfx debate

In our recent article regarding Oppenheimer, we stated Nolan said that the movie contains zero CGI shots. Then we got...