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Jeffrey Wright credits his “Highest 2 Lowest” director Spike Lee for encouraging a career “high” of his own: making his directorial debut.

Wright told Men’s Health that Lee inspired him to direct his first project, which will be shot in 2026. It’s unclear whether the yet-to-be-announced project is a film or a series, but it will be Wright’s first time behind the camera regardless.

“Well, Spike would say to me, and a few other people I’ve worked with have said to me, ‘When are you going to direct?’” Wright said. “So that may be in the works. That is in the works, actually, for a project we’ll shoot in 2026. I’ll have to talk to you about that one later.”

Wright will draw from his past experiences with auteurs like Lee to make his own directorial debut.

“I’ve had the opportunity to work with many...

Alan J. Pakula was one of the most influential filmmakers of the “New Hollywood” era, as his work on classic conspiracy thrillers like Klute, The Parallax View, All the President’s Men, and Rollover helped to define the espionage genre as it is known today. Although there are many classical filmmakers that choose to retire early, Pakula found a resurgence in popularity in the 1990s thanks to the success of the legal thrillers Presumed Innocent and The Pelican Brief, which combined complex ethical dilemmas with dynamic performances from some of the biggest stars working in the industry. Pakula tragically passed away in 1998, but his career concluded on a high note with the underrated crime thriller The Devil’s Own, which featured strong performances from Harrison Ford and Brad Pitt.

Captain America: Brave New World's movie inspirations have been revealed, making the movie even more exciting than it was already. As the first Marvel movie releasing in 2025, Captain America: Brave New World is nearing the final stages of its marketing. The upcoming MCU movie is being teased by Marvel Studios, as well as those involved in crafting the film itself. From teases of the intriguing story of Captain America: Brave New World to the movies that inspired it, the final few months before the MCU project's release have led to many exciting reveals.

In a recent interview with Empire, Captain America: Brave New World's director, Julius Onah, outlined the specific movies he had in mind when crafting the MCU story. Onah also stated that he wants these inspirations to shine through in the final film, rather than be a director who names lots of movies that hold no...

The process of selecting the next pope is not the raw material of a traditional thriller. And while “Conclave” is packed with political intrigue, Edward Berger’s adaptation of Robert Harris’ 2016 book by the same name doesn’t indulge in conspiracies or the underlying fear of violence that are hallmarks of the paranoid 1970s political thrillers the director is emulating with this film.

While Berger was on IndieWire’s Toolkit podcast he discussed the films of director Alan Pakula, like “Parallex View” and “All the President’s Men,” and how he used various cinemtic tools to make his story of a conclave of cardinals feel like a Paranoid ‘70s thriller.

Creeping Inside Cardinal Lawrence’s Brain

Until a new pope is selected, the pressures of administering the conclave’s proceedings fall on one man, Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes), who has been experiencing religous doubt — we learn he even unsuccessfully attempted to...

Can’t get enough of “Rebel Ridge”? You’re certainly not alone. Jeremy Saulnier’s Netflix hit has soared up the streaming charts, thanks to Saulnier’s tight script, toothsome filmmaking and one star-making performance from Aaron Pierre. But all the qualities that make it so special also make it hard to find more movies that will scratch the same itch.

For one thing, it’s distressingly difficult to find action movies (that aren’t Batman or Spider-Man) where the hero makes an active effort not to kill people. But “Rebel Ridge” also treads in unique cinematic waters, a hybrid neo-western legal conspiracy thriller by way of payback actioner that seamlessly blends vintage sensibilities with modern techniques and is led by just about the coolest movie character of the decade. There’s nothing quite like it, but if you’re looking for more movies like “Rebel Ridge,” here’s a...

If the presidential campaign stirs your appetite for still more political noise, here’s a quick solution: Catch the new biopics of Donald Trump or Ronald Reagan. Trump calls the movie about him “a hit job”; Reagan likely would find his biopic a sleeper..

Is there an audience for political movies? Perhaps it’s no coincidence that two movie stars known as policy activists instead have created caper films for the popcorn crowd, or the streaming subset.

George Clooney glibly glides through Wolfs, co-starring Brad Pitt, while Matt Damon ambles through the chaos of The Instigators, co-starring Casey Affleck. The paydays are formidable, but their Tomatoes will whither on the vine.

But then political movies always have had a troubled history in terms of impact and accuracy: One helped obliterate an entire studio regime, another triggered a bitter creative feud. But none became a major audience hit.

Steven Spielberg is no stranger to intense films, but there’s one project he found so brutal that he passed it off like a hot potato. Picture this: Spielberg was initially set to direct Schindler’s List but found himself tangled in a different script—a $182M Robert De Niro movie so violent, it made him think twice. Instead of diving into the blood-soaked world of Cape Fear, he swapped with his buddy Martin Scorsese, who took on the De Niro thriller with gusto.

Steven Spielberg submitted a script for the Argo mission (image credit: Gage Skidmore/Cc By-sa 2.0/Wikimedia Commons)

Meanwhile, Spielberg went on to craft the haunting and historic Schindler’s List. Sometimes, a little film trade among friends can lead to cinematic masterpieces on both ends!

Did Spielberg and Scorsese Make a Hollywood Deal for Two Iconic Films? Robert De Niro, Martin Scorsese, and Leonardo DiCaprio in...

Like much better dressed students, Ethan Hawke, Cate Blanchett, Claire Danes, Holland Taylor and Sarita Choudhury filed into the basement theater at the Museum of Modern Art on Tuesday to honor an acting legend. It was the fortieth anniversary of “Sophie’s Choice,” the movie that helped launch Meryl Streep into the cinematic firmament. It was a role that she campaigned for, learned to speak note-perfect German and Polish for and, somehow, managed to completely transform into another person for, in this case a refuge who can’t escape the horrors of the Holocaust even as she tries to establish a new life for herself in Brooklyn.

And there Streep was, flanked by her co-stars Peter MacNicol and Kevin Kline, to reminisce about making the movie and to honor their late collaborators. It was a trio of fallen friends that included Alan J. Pakula, the film’s director, producer and writer,...

Sam Esmail sacrificed his hearing while making his new apocalyptic thriller Leave the World Behind. You see, in the Netflix adaption of Rumaan Alam’s 2020 novel, there’s a noise so terrifying that it incapacitates the entire country — and Esmail had to get it just right.

“As a filmmaker, I was so excited to explore that aspect because sound is everything to me,” Esmail says. “There’s a fine line of making a sound haunting without actually having the audience get up and leave. I pushed it so much initially in the beginning that,...

Despite being a bestseller, Donna Tartt's novel "The Secret History" has faced numerous failed attempts at adaptation to film due to various reasons. Hollywood legends Alan J. Pakula and Joan Didion were initially involved in the first attempt at adaptation but faced obstacles and eventually, the project was shelved. Gwyneth and Jake Paltrow and author Bret Easton Ellis also tried to bring "The Secret History" to the screen, but unfortunate events and difficulties in finding a network for the adaptation prevented its realization.

Though Donna Tartt's novel is a bestseller, The Secret History has yet to be adapted to the screen after a handful of failed attempts to bring her book to life. Initially released in 1992, The Secret History is Tartt's first novel and follows students at a prestigious school who are encouraged by an eccentric professor to live outside the bounds of common morality--eventually murdering a classmate. The...

“Politics is poisonous – even in making movies.”

Those were the words of William Goldman, the gifted screenwriter, who was finishing his script for All the President’s Men in 1972, when his director told him to quit writing. It seems Robert Redford, the co-star, had a new take on his character and he would take over the writing.

Goldman was shocked. His director, Alan Pakula, was depressed. The movie was stalled. Ultimately, Redford pumped up the polemics, the script was finished and the movie was a hit. But for Goldman and Pakula, the lesson was clear: No more political movies; too up tight and personal.

I was reminded of this incident this week when a network executive told me, “Objective coverage won’t stand a chance in the 2024 election. Look at the early mess in covering the Trump trials” – week two of the civil trial began Tuesday, with four criminal trials to come.

Clockwise from top left: Malcolm X (Warner Bros.), Washington at the 74th Annual Academy Awards (Getty/Frederick M. Brown) Training Day (Warner Bros/Screenshot), Remember The Titans (Buena Vista Pictures/Screenshot), Fences (Paramount). Graphic: The A.V. Club

In 2020, The New York Times anointed Denzel Washington the greatest actor of the 21st century so far.

NYC Weekend Watch is our weekly round-up of repertory offerings.

Metrograph

Lars von Trier’s The Idiots begins playing in a new 4K restoration.

Film Forum

A celebration of Ozu’s 120th birthday brings a massive series; a retrospective on New York movies continues with Carpenter, Friedkin, Pakula, and more; I Was Born, But… plays on 35mm this Sunday.

Film at Lincoln Center

A retrospective of the great, underseen Marco Ferreri continues with a series of imported 35mm prints; Love & Basketball plays for free Friday night at Governors Island.

Roxy Cinema

35mm prints of In the Cut and The Rocky Horror Picture Show screen; Party Girl and Paris Is Burning also play.

Museum of the Moving Image

Raiders of the Lost Ark and Beat Street play on 35mm in a summer movie series; a print of Mulholland Dr. plays in a queer cinema series.

IFC Center

The David Lynch retrospective...

Harrison Ford is unquestionably one of the greatest actors of all-time. Simply playing the legendary smuggler Han Solo in the Star Wars franchise would have earned Ford a place in film history, but it was his role as the titular hero in the Indiana Jones franchise that suggested that he may in fact be the definitive face of heroism on the big screen. Between Rick Deckard in the Blade Runner series, Jack Ryan in the Tom Clancy adaptations The Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger, and his Academy Award nominated role as Detective John Book in Witness, Ford has a monopoly on great film characters. His performance as the Irish-American Sergeant Tom O'Meara in 1997’s The Devil’s Own may not have been held in the same high regard, but it is equally deserving of praise.

The Devil’s Own served as another collaboration between Ford and director Alan J. Pakula,...

Brad Pitt, 59, and Harrison Ford, 80, clashed while working together on The Devil’s Own.

In a new interview with Esquire, Ford said filming the movie in 1997 was “complicated” with the Meet Joe Black actor.

The Devil’s Own is about a man, Rory Devaney, who stays with policeman Tom O’Meara and his family in New York City. While living with them, O’Meara’s house is broken into by intruders. O’Meara soon realizes that Devaney is part of the Irish Republican Army and that Devaney is in the States to transport illegal guns to Dublin.

Pitt, who played Rory Devaney, wrote the script for the 1997 film, and Ford was offered the part of Tom O’Meara. Ford made it clear that he doesn’t dislike Pitt, but that there were just some things they couldn’t agree on with the film.

“I saved my comments about the character and the construction...

Harrison Ford is willing to open up about his on-set conflict with Brad Pitt. The two actors produced The Devil's Own, the final film of Alan J. Pakula (To Kill A Mockingbird). The project is a typical action movie revolving around the activities of an Irish Republican Army (Ira) fighter and his desperate attempt to gather missiles that can help him in the guerilla fight against the British. While Ford repeatedly insists that he still respects Pitt immensely, he admits that the on-set turmoil throughout the production of The Devil's Own created a tense atmosphere.

In an interview with Esquire, Ford explained that they were constantly arguing over the director, the direction, and the film's script. The two eventually decided on Pakula to serve as their director, yet they still struggled with the script and the overall production. When the film finally hit theaters, it was a relative success with...

Harrison Ford is taking some responsibility for the tension that developed with Brad Pitt during the making of their 1997 thriller “The Devil’s Own.” The film, which notably marked the last directorial effort from Alan J. Pakula, earned mixed reviews but grossed $140 million worldwide. Ford has often said in past interviews that it was difficult filming “The Devil’s Own.” When Esquire magazine recently asked why, Ford said it was due to creative differences he had with Pitt.

“Heh. Yeah, I remember why,” Ford said. “Brad developed the script. Then they offered me the part. I saved my comments about the character and the construction of the thing — I admired Brad. First of all, I admire Brad. I think he’s a wonderful actor. He’s a really decent guy. But we couldn’t agree on a director until we came to Alan Pakula, who I had worked with before but Brad had not.

Harrison Ford got candid about his on-set conflict with Brad Pitt during the making of The Devil's Own.

Sitting down with Esquire for an in-depth interview to promote Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Ford opened up about his legendary career highs and lows. One of those lows happens to be the difficult production of the 1997 action-thriller that reunited him with Presumed Innocent director Alan J. Pakula and co-starred Pitt. From the moment he agreed to star in The Devil's Own, Ford and Pitt did not see eye-to-eye. "Brad developed the script. Then they offered me the part. I saved my comments about the character and the construction of the thing -- I admired Brad," Ford recalled.

Related: An Indiana Jones TV Show Could Only Succeed Through a Prequel

"First of all, I admire Brad," he continued. "I think he's a wonderful actor. [Thump.] He's a really decent guy. But...

I love a good con film. "The Crown" and "Andor" director Benjamin Caron has delivered a new one as his feature directorial debut in the form of "Sharper," a twisty Apple TV+ neo-noir about a bunch of people in New York City who are angling to get what they want. Con men, billionaires, gold diggers, and victims collide in this fascinating examination of the lengths people will go for greed, and it has a killer cast: Julianne Moore, John Lithgow, Sebastian Stan, Justice Smith, and the stellar Briana Middleton, who not only hangs with these relative veterans, but practically leaps off the screen. In a movie full of theft, the most impressive one of all is how Middleton steals this movie with her performance.

I had the chance to speak with Caron in the lead-up to his film's release, and ask him about his influences, how he kept the audience surprised,...

In 1997, Alan J. Pakula's "The Devil's Own" came and went with minimal fanfare. Although coming from the director of "All the President's Men," and the recent John Grisham hit "The Pelican Brief," no one much paid attention. Even the presence of Harrison Ford and Brad Pitt couldn't pull in audiences or dazzle critics. "The Devil's Own" was a modest hit, earning 140 million worldwide, and earned tepid reviews from critics; it currently holds a 35 approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It's one of those major studio releases that seems to exist only to provide the writers of movie-related Trivia Pursuit cards an opportunity to stump players. It awaits on basic cable, filling time between dinner and the late shows. It was Pakula's final film before his death, and cinematographer Gordon Willis' final film before his retirement.

"The Devil's Own" is about an Irish operative named Frankie (Pitt) who comes to...

Exclusive: Michael Beach (Dahmer: Monster), Joshua Colley (Senior Year) and Lindsey Gort (All Rise) have joined the cast of Dead Boy Detectives, HBO Max’s upcoming drama series based on the DC Comics characters created by Neil Gaiman, in key recurring roles. The series hails from The Flight Attendant’s Steve Yockey, Doom Patrol’s Jeremy Carver, Berlanti Productions, and Warner Bros. Television. Beach, Colley and Gort join series stars George Rexstrew, Jayden Revri and Kassius Nelson.

The eight-part series is a ghost story that explores loss, grief, and death through the lens of Edwin Payne (Rexstrew) and Charles Rowland (Revri), two dead British teenagers, and their very alive friend, Crystal Palace (Nelson). So, it’s a lot like a vintage detective series — only darker and on acid.

Beach plays Tragic Mick, a melancholy walrus trapped in a human body who helps the Dead Boys out sometimes.

Colley plays Monty,...

After a decade of sensational work in New York City theater (for which he won two Tony Awards), Kevin Kline was at last ready to make his motion picture debut. He couldn't have chosen a buzzier project than Alan J. Pakula's "Sophie's Choice," a shattering drama based on the National Book Award-winning novel by William Styron. Pakula had been wowed by Kline's bravura performance in the 1981 Broadway revival of "The Pirates of Penzance," and believed the effervescent actor could capture the alternating charm and terror of Nathan Landau, a seemingly brilliant chemist engaged in an abusive love affair with Sophie, a Polish immigrant haunted by a horrible sacrifice she was forced to make during the Holocaust.

For the part of Sophie, Pakula was torn between the brilliant Norwegian actor Liv Ullman and the unknown-in-the-u.S. Slovakian performer Magdaléna Vášáarová. Unfortunately for these two, Meryl Streep had serious designs on the role,...