Jazz Tangcay: Celebs Rumors

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 It took over 555 musicians with sessions around Europe — including in Rome, Vienna, Venice, Switzerland and London — to put together the score for “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One,” composer Lorne Balfe tells Variety. The composer started writing the music almost three years ago, and “at last count, there was over 14 hours of music recorded,” Balfe says. However, only two-and-a-half hours or so made it into the final cut of the film. The storyline sees Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt take on a new villain, The Entity, a sentient Artificial Intelligence. Ethan’s mission is to defeat The Entity with a metal key. And while the film features an array of mind-blowing stunts, including Ethan driving a motorcycle off a cliff or a climatic fight atop a moving steam engine train, there was also plenty of emotion for Balfe to root his score in.

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.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Start your engines and mark your calendars for July 28. “RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under” is back for a third season with 10 fierce and fabulous queens. RuPaul will be hosting the series with returning judges Michelle Visage and Rhys Nicholson. “Australasian drag is filled with heart and humor, and I’m thrilled to share my Season 3 queens to the world, for all to see their charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent,” RuPaul says. The 10 queens hail from across New Zealand and Australia. This season promises to be filled with thrills and maxi-challenges galore as the queens go head-to-head to snatch the crown.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor When composer Thomas Newman was having early conversations about the music of Pixar’s “Elemental,” he looked for a connecting thread between the film’s imaginary world, where elements are characters, and the human world. “I looked for similar issues of otherness and how that could be reflected in music, and how we would identify with that through our human ear,” says Newman. His approach to cracking the score was about applying a “musical color,” and association to the universal themes. When he looked at scenes and the vibrant colors of “Elemental,” what did his ears hear sonically, and did that match what his eyes were seeing?

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor When stunt coordinators Tim Connolly and Hank Kingi Jr. first read the script for the pilot of FX’s “The Old Man,” they thought its central chase sequence was one of the best-written scenes in TV. Then, their minds flooded with “a ton of concerns.” Speaking with Variety as Emmy voting comes to a close, Connolly says their challenge was: “How do you pull such a significant scene off with an actor that is 70 years old, and make it feel real and visceral?” So Jeff Bridges prepared for the scene for over a month. In the series, he plays Dan, a rogue CIA operative on the run after being discovered by the FBI. The pilot climaxes with Dan trying to outrun a tail. He seemingly disappears, but before the agents can react, he comes out of nowhere and crashes his car, staving off any fightback from the FBI agents chasing after him.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor As Emmy voting comes to a close, score mixer Phil McGowan could find himself with multiple nominations, having worked on the sound of Paramount+’s “Star Trek: Picard,” Netflix’s “Cobra Kai” and “Ozark,” and Roku’s “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story.” He spoke with Variety about his approach to each project and what needed to be taken into consideration to preserve the sonic integrity in his mixes. “This season was bigger and more maximal than previous seasons, but there wasn’t a big sonic shift. However, each episode is like a movie. Composers Leo Birenberg and Zach Robinson approach it like it’s another ‘Karate Kid’ film. There are guitars, a drum kit, drum machines and lots of percussion. They use a lot of samples that are reminiscent of the 1980s and ’90s. So, I have fun applying mixing techniques with reverb that blends ’80s hair metal and ’90s pop music along with big orchestral symphonic sounds on the show.”

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor RuPaul’s go-to costume designer Zaldy Goco, who goes by Zaldy, has worked with the “Drag Race” superstar for over a decade and is no stranger to designing Ru’s show-stopping outfits. For RuPaul’s Season 15 finale look, Zaldy — whose trust with RuPaul runs so deep, they don’t even discuss finale looks prior to fittings — tells Variety he wanted it to feel “goddess-like and for Ru to float in.” Zaldy knew he wanted a unique color, so the three-time Emmy winner settled on a citrine and chartreuse combination that screamed springtime. For some extra sparkle, he added metallic fringe to the dress from Swiss fabric manufacturer Jakob Schlaepfer.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor “Saturday Night Live” production designers Leo Akira Yoshimura and Keith Raywood work at breakneck speed under extraordinarily tight schedules to ensure sets for the timely satire are camera-ready each week — with changes being added right up to the very last minute. Raywood, who began as a production designer on the show in 1985, will often start crafting sets late on Wednesday nights. “This show is writer-driven. It all starts with the script,” he says. “One show can haveless complexity to it and fewer special effects are involved, but we never know until it’s handed to us on Wednesday night.” Other sets will be used for two to three scenes. When Yoshimura introduces people to the show, whether it’s cast or friends visiting, they always comment on the stage size — Studio 8H is just over 6,000 square feet, including space for audience seating — or remark on how swiftly the crew shifts scenery.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor REO Speedwagon’s “Time For Me To Fly” plays out in the very last scene of the final episode of ABC’s long-running sitcom “The Goldbergs.” The 1978 hit plays as the titular family gather together and imagine what the future will bring. Mojo co-founder and COO Peter Shane acquired REO Speedwagon’s publishing catalog in 2019, and because of longstanding relationships with both the band and “The Goldbergs” music supervisor Ann Kline, the process to clearing the song was a swift one. Having been in the business for over 25 years, Shane’s closest collaborations are with music supervisors. “We work with them at all stages,” he says. “The beginning, middle and end, when music is being considered for projects.”

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Issa Rae’s ‘Rap Sh!t” focuses on female friendships, but also female rappers and the challenges facing women in a male-dominated industry. For music supervisors Sarah Bromberg and Philippe Pierre, that meant pulling together a soundtrack of artists that not only reflected Miami’s rap scene but also the strong ties between its main characters. In the Max show, Shawna (Aida Osman, also a writer on the series) has been chasing fame as a solo rapper, and she reunites with her friend Mia (rapper Kamillion) to form a rap duo. Together they navigate success, friendship and the lively city of Miami. Here, Bromberg and Pierre break down key needle drops in the series and how they spent months trying to clear a Drake song, as well as having to change an original song at the last minute due to clearance issues.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Focus Features and Working Title have released the first trailer for Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke’s comedy caper “Drive-Away Dolls.” The comedy is set to open in theaters on Sept. 22. The film follows Jamie, played by Margaret Qualley, who is an uninhibited free spirit bemoaning yet another breakup with a girlfriend, and her demure friend Marian (Geraldine Viswanathan), who desperately needs to loosen up. In search of a fresh start, the two embark on an impromptu road trip to Tallahassee, but things quickly go awry when they cross paths with a group of inept criminals. Speaking with Variety, Coen described the film as “filthy fun” and a “chase intrigue movie. In one word, it’s a comedy.”

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Just last May, the world got to experience a real-life coronation when King Charles ascended to the throne. Over on Shondaland’s new Netflix series “Queen Charlotte: A Bridgeton Story,” there was a coronation too that needed to take place, and it was up to production designer David Ingram to create one. When it came to pulling off Queen Charlotte’s (played by India Amarteifio) coronation, Ingram considers it fortunate that the show was shot in the U.K. “We could get the carriage,” Ingram says, stressing it was a replica one. “We could hire it and adapt it. We were able to reupholster it and repaint it.” But the golden carriage was the least of his problems. The challenge was how to approach Westminster Abbey, traditionally used for real coronations, weddings and funerals, about how to shoot the scene.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor “George & Tammy” costume designer Mitchell Travers’ approach to any project is to start with rock solid foundation. “You get asked a billion questions every day, and because I shoot moves so quickly, I love to have that ready,” he says. Travers reunited with Jessica Chastain (the two previously worked on “The Eyes of Tammy Faye”) for the intimate look at country singer Tammy Wynette. With a storyline that spanned three decades, Travers needed to know the answer to any costume questions thrown at him. “When Tammy needed a coat, in the script, it was about what coat did she grab? Was it short? Long? Fitted? Oversized? Embellished?”

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Transforming Disney’s award-winning animated feature “Encanto” into a live experience at the Hollywood Bowl in front of an audience of 17,000 people was no easy feat, with factors such as the pandemic, limited access to the venue and unexpected weather conditions all in play. But the production team, cast and crew pulled it off in under 72 hours, delivering a Broadway-quality experience. Unlike a Broadway show, the original voice cast, scores of dancers and production team did not have the luxury of rehearsing at the Bowl. Gabe Turner, executive producer of the event, said, “We could only gain access to the Bowl for four days before we were due to welcome our dancers, orchestra and cast into the space.”

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor National Geographic’s “A Small Light” takes the well known story of Anne Frank, the Jewish teenager who hid in a cramped Amsterdam attic with her family during the Nazi occupation, and presents it though a new lens. The narrative focuses on a tenacious young woman, Miep Gies (Bel Powley), Otto Frank’s secretary, who risked everything to save the Frank family and many others. While the story centers around the horrors of World War II, the story finds resilience and hope through it all. Here the artisans behind the limited series break down how their respective crafts reflect hope, resilience and the atrocities of war.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Filmmaker Sam Hargrave knew he would have to up the ante when it came to filming Netflix’s action sequel “Extraction 2.” The first film, which came out in 2020, contained a 12-minute sequence that included a car chase, gun battles, knife battles and plenty of explosions. It was during early conversations with producer Joe Russo that the idea of a longer sequence came up. Says Hargrave, “Joe said, ‘It’d be cool if we opened the film with Tyler (Chris Hemsworth) extracting someone from a prison. Joe he wrote this into the script, ‘And thus follows the greatest oner in cinema history.’” Hargrave devised a plan forward, and the result was a mind-blowing, 21-minute one-take sequence that sees black ops specialist Tyler Rake entering a prison to rescue the family of a violent gang member. As Tyler and the family members escape the prison and jump into armored vehicles, a chase ensues, and when they board a train, it comes under attack by gangsters who land a helicopter on the train.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Composer Sherri Chung admits she was late to the “Gremlins” party — only because she was too young and found it too scary. But when she grew older and was reintroduced to the movie, she thought “it was the greatest thing ever.” The 1984 film, as well as Jerry Goldsmith’s score, became a key inspiration for her. So when she got the opportunity to score Max’s new animated series “Gremlins: Secret of the Mogwai,” directed by Tze Chun, she decided to “lean into the scary and the fear, but also the emotion” with her music. The series is an origin story that gives a partial explanation as to how Gizmo ends up in a Chinatown antique store at the beginning of 1984’s “Gremlins.” To add a Chinese element to the score, Chung used bamboo flutes, but the meat of the score came from the erhu, a two-stringed bowed musical instrument sometimes referred to as the “Chinese violin.”

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor The story behind Pixar’s latest animated feature “Elemental” is a personal one to filmmaker Peter Sohn. The opening shows a family arriving at the fictional port of Elemental City, which closely reflected the immigration story of Sohn’s parents from Korea to New York. The story breathes life into the earth elements of fire, water, land and air, depicting them as residents of Elemental City. When Ember (Leah Lewis), a fiery young woman, meets go-with-the-flow water being Wade (Mamoudou Athie), they discover that, despite their conflicts, they have a lot in common. As the two fall in love, Ember is faced with the internal conflict of being with Wade or following in her parents’ footsteps and running the family business. As the son of first-generation immigrants, Ember’s struggle reflected not only Sohn’s personal experience, but that of many of the animators and storytellers behind the scenes.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Lady Gaga‘s concert film for “The Chromatica Ball Tour” is well on its way, according to the pop singer and actor. On Friday evening, Gaga confirmed the news via Instagram as she gave fans an in-depth explanation of her creative process as of late, also sharing what she has recently been working on. She wrote, “I have been running my start-up Haus Labs, doing philanthropic work, and additionally have been working on The Chromatica Ball film edit.” She added, “Here’s a photo of my working on The Chromatica Ball film edit (that’s a frame from the film behind me) — I can’t WAIT for you to experience it.”A post shared by Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) The long and detailed caption also notes that she’s been writing and producing music for a “special project.”

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Pete Docter, Pixar’s creative chief officer, is hoping the animation studio’s 27th release, “Elemental,” will draw families to movie theaters this weekend. Peter Sohn‘s film is a story about immigration, families, duty and love. Not only does Docter say the visuals are “a spectacle,” but believes it should be experienced with an audience. Docter, who has been with the studio since the beginning and was upped to CCO in 2018, has come under criticism recently that Pixar has lost its magic touch. Here, Docter sits down with Variety over Zoom to discuss Pixar’s approach to programming, Cannes, “Elemental,” and what’s next for the studio.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Katori Hall’s “P-Valley,” a show about the female dancers at The Pynk, a popular strip club in Mississippi, uses music to shine a spotlight on southern female rappers and artists. In putting together the soundtrack for the series, music supervisors Sarah Bromberg and Stephanie Diaz-Matos turned to the show’s stars, J. Alphonse Nicholson and Loretta Devine, as well as Beyoncé and Megan Thee Stallion, to curate the anthems for Brandee Evans’ Mercedes, Elarica Johnson’s Autumn Night and Nicco Annan’s Uncle Clifford. Here, Bromberg and Diaz-Matos break down how they landed Beyoncé and other needle drops for the show’s second season.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Jessica Chastain was a “mess” when she won the best actress Oscar for “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” in 2022. Not from the barrage of congratulatory messages from friends and family, but her hair (Stephanie Ingram) and makeup (Linda Dowds) collaborators had also won the best makeup and hairstyling Oscar. Says Chastain, “It was so meaningful to me that they were recognized for their work.” Chastain, Dowds and Ingram first crossed paths in 2013 on “Mama,” and most recently on Showtime’s “George and Tammy,” the story of country singers George Jones (played by Michael Shannon) and Tammy Wynette (Chastain). Since then, the trio has become a tight unit with honesty and trust at the core of their collaboration, whether conceiving real-life transformations or subtle applications as part of their process.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Production designer Tamara Deverell was tasked with creating eight different periods and working with eight different directors for Netflix’s “Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities.” The anthology series required Deverell, 2020’s artisan award recipient for production design, to tap into her love for building gritty sets and build everything from a brutalist architecture room inspired by her work on “Star Trek: Discovery” to using an old warehouse for an alien autopsy. Here Deverell breaks down some of her favorite sets from the series. The first episode tells the story of Tim Blake Nelson as Nick Appleton, who purchases the titular Lot 36 from a recently deceased old man and discovers strange items such as a séance table and rare books. However, the Lot also holds dark demonic secrets

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor In the past few years, Hollywood has taken great strides to increase AAPI representation on screen, with a record number of Asians landing Emmy nominations and wins, from Sandra Oh’s recognition for “Killing Eve” to “Squid Game” picking up six trophies, including Lee Jung-jae for best actor in a drama series. This awards season, more AAPI actors fight for history-making nominations, including Ali Wong for “Beef” and the ensemble cast of “Yellowjackets.” Former nominees contending again this year are “Saturday Night Live’s” Bowen Yang and “Ted Lasso’s” Nick Mohammed.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Filmmaker Victoria Bousis has partnered with Unique Network to enhance the immersive film experience of her award-winning film “Stay Alive, My Son.” Inspired by true events and based on the memoirs of Pin Yathay, “Tu Vivra, Mon Fils” (“Stay Alive, My Son”), Bousis says she wanted to “leverage technology to break the rules of traditional storytelling and educating audiences about Cambodia’s history.” The film, which will screen at Siggraph in August and is currently on the festival circuit, uses augmented reality and a virtual world that audiences experience through a VR headset.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor “Fatal Attraction” production designer Nina Ruscio’s visual challenge was taking on an iconic movie, paying homage to it and finding a way to put her creative stamp on it by taking it into 2023. In the eight-part Paramount+ series, Joshua Jackson stars as Dan Gallagher with Lizzie Caplan as Alex Forrest, roles originated by Michael Douglas and Glenn Close in the original film. And while it’s not a remake, the creative team stressed, it’s an expanded adaptation that provides more insight into Alex’s behavior after an affair with a married man drives her to obsession. The series covers Alex’s struggles with her mental health, but it’s also an erotic thriller.