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One Shot invites close readings of the basic unit of film grammar.Gregg Araki’s Mysterious Skin is now showing on Mubi in many countries.Mysterious Skin.The first chapter of Scott Heim’s 1995 novel, Mysterious Skin, ends on a vision of something “hovering in the night air above our field, a group of soft blue lights.” A group of four behold the glow: eight-year-old Brian Lackey, his older sister Deborah, their mother, and Philip, a stranger to the children. With the family home behind them “like a portrait’s massive frame,” Brian wonders “how we looked to whoever or whatever manned the ship.” In Gregg Araki’s 2004 adaptation of the book, a reverse shot considers just this. The blue light oozes over their faces like that of a television set; in Brian’s glasses the glare bounces back, as if connected by beams to the thing seen. Araki omits the character of Philip,...

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Back in February, we reported on the tragic news that Michelle Trachtenberg had died.

The beloved actress rose to fame as a child as the iconic titular character in Harriet The Spy.

She later starred as Dawn Summers on Buffy The Vampire Slayer and portrayed the devilish recurring antagonist Georgina Sparks on Gossip Girl.

The actress who helped define an entire generation passed away unexpectedly at the age of 39.

Michelle Trachtenberg attends the Third Annual “InStyle Awards” presented by InStyle at The Getty Center on October 23, 2017. (Photo Credit: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for InStyle) Michelle Trachtenberg has died at 39

At around 8 Am on Wednesday, February 26, Trachtenberg’s mother found her daughter, reports The New York Post.

Trachtenberg was at One Columbus Place, a Park Slope luxury apartment complex.

Authorities did not regard the death as suspicious.

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In Sebastian, a writer sells his body to provide material for his debut novel, then doesn’t give the night job up. Mikko Mäkelä explains what inspired his film – and remembers his cinematic sexual awakening

Growing up in a small Finnish town close to the Russian border, Mikko Mäkelä knew he was gay from the age of 11. “I think I was happy until then,” says the shy 36-year-old, whose slippery second film Sebastian is about to be released. Isolated he may have been, but at least the young Mäkelä had movies. Alone in his room, he watched queer gems such as Mysterious Skin, Presque Rien and Beautiful Thing, keeping the volume low in case his parents heard. Then a trip to the cinema to see Brokeback Mountain changed everything.

“When I got home, they asked me, ‘Did you like that film?’ They had read about it and wanted to make...

Set amidst spring in wine country, every year the 28th Sonoma International Film Festival offers a festive fusion of food, film, and community. Opening March 19, the festival wrapped things up on March 23 after five days of specialty screenings and culinary pleasures with its Grand Jury and Audience awards (see below). This celebration of cinema showcased 93 films from 21 countries, accompanied by an array of film talent and culinary stars. The festival’s diverse lineup included 39 narrative features, 16 documentary features, and 38 short films.

The festival opened with the World Premiere of documentary “Sweet Störy” (Utopia), directed by Sarah Justine Kerruish and Matt Maude, about saving a colorful café in a remote area of Sweden. The Centerpiece Film was “On Swift Horses” (Sony Pictures Classics), a period relationship drama starring Daisy Edgar-Jones, Jacob Elordi, and Will Poulter, and the festival closed with Andrew Ahn’s “The Wedding Banquet” (Bleecker), starring Bowen Yang, Lily Gladstone,...

When Richard Dreyfuss walked onto the Mothership at the end of “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” it was just about the first time — and also nearly the last — that a movie hero voluntarily went on any such ride. More familiar notes of terror and disorientation come with the UFO territory of Peter Cilella’s “Descendent.” It has “The Walking Dead’s” Ross Marquand as a working-class Southern Californian whose world comes unglued once he suffers an apparent alien abduction. Occupying the slippery-reality realm of “Jacob’s Ladder,” this effective first feature, debuting at SXSW, limns its protagonist’s unraveling with suspenseful skill.

But those expecting straightforward sci-fi horror may resent the writer-director’s insistence on sticking to an ambiguity, played somewhere between the narrative models of “Communion” and “Mysterious Skin.” Cilella never fully resolves whether our protagonist is, indeed, the victim of extraterrestrial meddling or instead suffering delusions triggered by delayed childhood-trauma memories,...

When Chase Sui Wonders hit the SXSW red carpet to promote “The Studio,” she took a moment to tell IndieWire about her role in Gregg Araki’s psychosexual thriller “I Want Your Sex,” which wrapped at the end of last year in Los Angeles. The film follows Cooper Hoffman as the “sexual muse” of a renowned artist, played by Olivia Wilde, “on a journey more profound than he ever could have imagined, into a world of sex, obsession, power, betrayal and murder,” according to the official synopsis.

“‘Nowhere’ is a favorite of mine, ‘Mysterious Skin’ obviously, ‘The Doom Generation,'” Wonders said of her affinity for Araki’s work. “All of his movies are so weird and so offbeat and, yet, point to something so universal about the human psyche and to be able to work with him, an icon like that, he was at the top of my list.

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Michelle Trachtenberg tragically passed away last week.

Many of her fans and former costars are still in shock. This was so unexpected.

The 2025 Oscars have come and gone with relatively few surprises in the mix.

But this year’s In Memoriam segment of the Oscars snubbed Trachtenberg. And she was not the only conspicuous exclusion.

Michelle Trachtenberg attends the 28th Annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards Viewing Party sponsored by IMDb, Neuro Drinks and Walmart on February 09, 2020. (Photo Credit: Jemal Countess/Getty Images) Why did Michelle Trachtenberg not appear in the Oscars ‘In Memoriam’ tribute?

On Sunday, March 3, the 2025 Oscars telecast included the familiar tribute to deceased stars — and a few others from within the film industry — who have died over the past year.

The segment used the “Lacrimosa” section from Mozart’s “Requiem in D Minor,” which is often a tasteful decision.

Late titans of...

The 2025 Academy Awards featured its annual In Memoriam segment, honoring industry figures who passed away over the last year. While the tribute recognized film legends such as David Lynch, James Earl Jones, Donald Sutherland, Maggie Smith, Roger Corman, Shelley Duvall, and Bob Newhart, many viewers quickly pointed out names missing from the televised montage.

Morgan Freeman introduced a special remembrance for two-time Oscar winner Gene Hackman, who was found dead alongside his wife, Betsy Arakawa, last Wednesday. Quincy Jones also received his own tribute later in the show. The rest of the segment, set to Mozart’s Requiem in D Minor, displayed a montage of those the Academy selected for recognition.

Social media reaction grew as fans noted the absence of several well-known actors and filmmakers. Tony Todd, known for his lead role in Candyman, was not featured. Todd, who died in November at 69, was a familiar face in horror,...

The In Memoriam portion of the 2025 Oscars telecast on Sunday night paid a moving tribute to several stars and movie industry folk who have died over the last year, but there were some notable omissions that were quickly pointed out on social media.

The In Memoriam segment of the show, that was soundtracked to the “Lacrimosa” portion of Mozart’s “Requiem in D Minor,” featured moving tributes to entertainment industry giants the likes of David Lynch, Maggie Smith, Roger Corman, Shelley Duvall, Bob Newhart, James Earl Jones and Donald Sutherland. Two-time Oscar-winner Gene Hackman, who was found dead inside his Sante Fe home alongside his wife Betsy Arakawa, was given a moving special tribute by his longtime friend Morgan Freeman.

But as ever with the Academy Awards and the In Memoriam segment, much of the discussion online is who was omitted from the televised tribute. One of the more glaring omissions was actor Tony Todd,...

The Oscars In Memoriam tribute, set to Mozart’s “Requiem in D Minor,” began with a tribute from Morgan Freeman to his “Unforgiven” and “Under Suspicion” co-star Gene Hackman. Hackman, who was 95, was found dead last week in his Santa Fe home along with his wife, Betsy Arakawa.

“I had the pleasure of working alongside Gene on ‘Unforgiven’ and ‘Under Suspicion.’ I learned he was a generous performer and a man whose gifts elevated everyone’s work,” said Freeman. “He received two Oscars. He won the hearts of film lovers all over the world. Gene always said, ‘I don’t think about legacy, I just think people remember me as someone who tried to do good work.'”

Hackman won Best Actor in a Supporting Role in 1993 for playing a sadistic sheriff in Clint Eastwood’s “Unforgiven.” He also won Best Actor in a Leading Role for playing a broken...

Brady Corbet is proving himself to be one of the most popular voices in independent cinema. His new film, The Brutalist, has earned praise from critics and recognition from the Academy. The period drama showing a Hungarian architect in post-war America establishes Corbet as someone who takes financial risks to explore big themes.

With a rare career journey from acting in Thirteen and Mysterious Skin to the very unique directing debut on The Childhood of a Leader, Corbet’s vision has allowed him to receive various prestigious awards, like the Silver Lion of the Venice International Film Festival and Best Director Award at the Golden Globes, for The Brutalist.

Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones in The Brutalist | Credit: A24

However, Corbet’s situation landed him in the headlines again and also raised some talks about his financial situation within the industry as he surprisingly stated that he got nothing out of The Brutalist.

Upon the heartbreaking news of Michelle Trachtenberg’sdeath, fans all over the world are sure to be revisiting some of her most iconic roles. From Harriet the Spyand Ice Princessto Buffy the Vampire Slayerand Gossip Girl, Trachtenberg was a charming and versatile actress. With so many memorable roles, one of her most underrated was in Mysterious Skin, a coming-of-age drama that’s much darker than any of the titles she’s best known for. Written and directed by Gregg Araki, Mysterious Skin tells the harrowing stories of Neil (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and Brian (Brady Corbet), two young men who suffered sexual abuse in their childhoods and find vastly different ways of coping with their trauma through their adolescence and into adulthood. In Mysterious Skin, Trachtenberg plays Neil’s supportive best friend Wendy, and though it's only a minor role, her presence is incredibly impactful and Trachtenberg gives a quietly brilliant performance in her limited screen time.

Michelle Trachtenberg’s cause of death will remain a mystery as her family has decided not to perform an autopsy.

According to the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, Trachtenberg’s family opted not to have an autopsy performed on the 39-year-old actress. An autopsy is required if foul play is suspected but since none is in this case, the examiner is following the family’s choice.

Trachtenberg, the former child star known for her roles in “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Gossip Girl,” died Wednesday, Feb. 26. She was 39.

“It is with great sadness to confirm that Michelle Trachtenberg has passed away,” her publicist told TheWrap on Wednesday. “The family requests privacy for their loss. There are no further details at this time.”

Per ABC News, Trachtenberg’s mother found her unresponsive at her New York City apartment early Wednesday morning. Her death is not considered suspicious...

Michelle Trachtenberg, who played the role of Lily Benton Montgomery on All My Children, has passed away at age 39.

Trachtenberg Stole Every Scene She Was In

Her mother found her unresponsive and unconscious in her New York City residence on the morning of Wednesday, February 26. She was pronounced dead by emergency medical workers. Trachtenberg never publicly revealed any health issues.

According to a source, Trachtenberg recently underwent a liver transplant and “may have been experiencing complications” after the surgery. The actress was born in New York City on October 11, 1985.

Trachtenberg became a child actress and landed parts in commercials first until her big break on All My Children at age eight. She played on the soap from 1993 to 1996.

Her character, Lily, was the autistic daughter of Laurel Bannon and was adopted by her stepfather, Jackson Montgomery. While playing Lily, she also played on the Nickelodeon sitcom The Adventures of Pete & Pete.

Michelle Trachtenberg’s death at age 39 hit her legion of fans quite hard on Wednesday, and her onscreen sister from “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” was no different.

Sarah Michelle Gellar quoted her iconic character in her tribute to the actress behind little sister Dawn on Thursday.

“Michelle, listen to me. Listen. I love you. I will always love you. The hardest thing in this world, is to live in it. I will be brave. I will live… for you,” she wrote on Instagram, referencing Season 5, Episode 22 “The Gift.” Her message was accompanied by eight photos of the pair from throughout their time together.

Trachtenberg received similar outpourings of love from many of her former co-stars upon her death — including fellow “Buffy” stars Alyson Hannigan, David Boreanaz, James Marsters and Emma Caulfield, as well as Rosie O’Donnell, Kim Cattrall, Ed Westwick and Chace Crawford.

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Life can sometimes feel like it’s stacking the odds against you, but the trick is to keep grinding, to never let up. That relentless spirit is exactly what Michelle Trachtenberg carried with her throughout her career. From her first steps into the spotlight at age three on The Adventures of Pete & Pete, to leaving a lasting impression on fans through iconic roles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Gossip Girl, she faced both triumphs and hurdles along the way.

Though we no longer have the privilege of her vibrant energy—she passed away far too soon at just 39—the legacy she carved on screen is one that will stand the test of time.

Michelle Trachtenberg in Ice Princess (2005) | Credit: Walt Disney Pictures

Her net worth may have been around $7 million at the time of her death, which might not sound like the massive fortune of some of her peers,...

We're very sad to report that Michelle Trachtenberg, best known for playing Sarah Michelle Gellar's title character's little sister Dawn Summers in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, has passed away suddenly at the age of 39.

An exact cause of death has not been disclosed, but The NYPD has confirmed that police responded to a 911 call at 1 Columbus Place in New York City around 8:00 a.m. on February 26.

"Upon arrival, officers observed a 39-year-old female unconscious and unresponsive. Ems responded to the location and pronounced the victim deceased. Criminality is not suspected."

“It is with great sadness to confirm that Michelle Trachtenberg has passed away,” her rep confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter on Wednesday morning. “The family requests privacy for their loss. There are no further details at this time.”

In addition to her Buffy role, Trachtenberg played Georgina Sparks on Gossip Girl, and also appeared in the likes of...

Hollywood is grieving the unexpected loss of Michelle Trachtenberg, including several of the actress’ co-stars.

Trachtenberg — beloved for her roles in TV shows Buffy the Vampire Slayer, where she played Dawn Summers, and Gossip Girl, where she played Georgina Sparks — was declared dead on Wednesday at age 39. “It is with great sadness to confirm that Michelle Trachtenberg has passed away. The family requests privacy for their loss. There are no further details at this time,” the actress’ rep confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter.

Trachtenberg was found dead in her New York City apartment by her mother on Wednesday morning, according to ABC News. The outlet reported that she is believed to have died from natural causes after experiencing complications from a liver transplant procedure.

Trachtenberg started her career as a child star. Her first feature film was at 10 years old in 1996’s Harriet the Spy, where she starred alongside Rosie O’Donnell,...

Millennial star of film and television Michelle Trachtenberg has died at just 39 years of age, it has been confirmed. The actor, who rose to fame as the child star of Harriet The Spy before going on to enjoy success in major hits including Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Gossip Girl, and EuroTrip, was found dead at her New York City home by her mother this morning, as per The New York Post's reporting. The cause of Trachtenberg's death is unknown, though sources have noted that she had recently undergone a liver transplant.

Born in New York City on 11 October, 1985, Michelle Christine Trachtenberg was born to be on the screen — almost literally. At the ripe old age of just three, a toddler Trachtenberg made her first television appearance, in an ad for Wisk laundry detergent. And by the time she was six, the budding actor had already fulfilled a New Yorker rite of passage,...

Tributes from around Hollywood have poured in for “Gossip Girl” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” actor Michelle Trachtenberg, who died at age 39 on Wednesday morning. She was found dead in her New York City apartment, according to police, with the cause of death not yet revealed.

Comedian and former Nickelodeon child star Kenan Thompson shared a video on Instagram of the two of them on Nick, writing: “Our first Nick movie star has departed us!! She was my friend and now she rests!!” One of Trachtenberg’s first roles was in the Nick series “The Adventures of Pete & Pete.”

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“Sex and the City” actor Kim Cattrall, who acted alongside Trachtenberg in “Ice Princess,” shared a tribute on X, writing: “This is Heartbreaking. So talented, much too young. Rip Sweet Beauty. xo.”

Chase Crawford, who shared scenes with Trachtenberg on “Gossip Girl,...

News of beloved actress Michelle Trachtenberg’s death broke Wednesday morning. She was 39 years old.

The actress is known for appearing in several projects with big followings from Buffy the Vampire Slayer in which she starred as titular character Buffy’s (Sarah Michelle Geller) kid sister Dawn Summers starting in Season 5 to Gossip Girl, in which she starred alongside Blake Lively, Leighton Meester, Penn Badgley, Ed Westwick and more as Georgina Sparks, a socialite and major antagonist in the 2000s show set in the lives of Upper East side elite teenagers.

Related: Buffy,’ ‘Gossip Girl’ & ‘Harriet The Spy’ Co-Stars Mourn Michelle Trachtenberg’s Death: Rosie O’Donnell, David Boreanaz & More Pay Tribute

Trachtenberg later appeared in Max’s reboot of the popular teen drama show, reprising the role of Georgina Sparks. She starred alongside Zac Efron and Matthew Perry in 17 Again, in which Perry’s character undergoes a transformation back to his 17-year-old self,...

The great child actress Michelle Trachtenberg died today, Feb. 26, 2025. This follows a liver transplant the actor received, along with several Instagram posts which had alarmed some friends and fans, with the images portraying an extremely gaunt Trachtenberg. As The New York Post writes, "Trachtenberg was found by her mother at around 8 a.m. Wednesday at One Columbus Place, a 51-story luxury apartment complex in Manhattan’s Central Park South neighborhood, the sources said [...] The NYPD confirmed Trachtenberg was found 'unconscious and unresponsive' by police and pronounced dead by Ems workers."

View this post on InstagramA post shared by Michelle Trachtenberg (@michelletrachtenberg)

Trachtenberg, born on Oct. 11, 1985, began her career as a child actor, eventually joining a live-action Nickelodeon series, The Adventures of Pete & Pete, at the age of nine. That series began as little interstitial shorts in 1989, which became popular enough to warrant a handful of TV specials. Going from...

Michelle Trachtenberg, the star of Harriet the Spy who went on to have memorable parts in shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Gossip Girl, died today, the New York City Police Department confirmed to Rolling Stone. She was 39.

A NYPD spokesperson said Trachtenberg died at her apartment this morning. After responding to a 911 call at her building, police found her “unconscious and unresponsive.” Trachtenberg was pronounced dead after emergency medical services arrived. A cause of death was not immediately available, but authorities do not believe her death was suspicious.

“Buffy the Vampire Slayer” actress Michelle Trachtenberg passed away this morning at the age of 39.

Her death is believed to be from natural causes. Sources say she recently underwent a liver transplant and may have been experiencing complications.

Trachtenberg played Buffy’s younger sister Dawn Summers, appearing in 66 episodes across the series’ last three seasons.

She also co-starred in the 2006 version of Black Christmas and hosted Discovery Kids’ “Truth or Scare.”

Outside the genre, Trachtenberg was known for “Gossip Girl,” Harriet the Spy, EuroTrip, 17 Again, Mysterious Skin, Inspector Gadget, and “The Adventures of Pete & Pete.”

She won three Young Artist Awards and was nominated for a Daytime Emmy, three Saturn Awards, and two Teen Choice Awards.

The post “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” Actress Michelle Trachtenberg Has Passed Away appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Michelle Trachtenberg, the iconic ’90s Nickelodeon star of the TV series “The Adventures of Pete & Pete” and the movie “Harriet the Spy,” has died at age 39 according to multiple reports. Representatives for Trachtenberg confirmed to IndieWire via email: “It is with great sadness to confirm that Michelle Trachtenberg has passed away. The family requests privacy for their loss. There are no further details at this time.”

Page Six first reported the news that Trachtenberg, who also appeared in the series “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and The CW’s original “Gossip Girl,” was found dead New York City. Her death is not being investigated as suspicious, according to the outlet, but no cause of death has yet been shared. Variety and Deadline also reported on the news.

Trachtenberg had been largely out of the film and TV spotlight since the mid-2010s, other than reprising her role as Georgina Sparks...

Gossip Girl actress Michelle Trachtenberg has died. The actress who portrayed Lily Montgomery on All My Children was 39 years old.

Rest In Peace

New York Post reported that Trachtenberg was found dead at 8 a.m. Wednesday at One Columbus Place on Central Park South. She’d recently received a liver transplant, and she might have experienced complications. Authorities aren’t investigating her death as suspicious.

In addition to her work in daytime, Trachtenberg was known for her roles on as Dawn Summers on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Georgina Sparks on Gossip Girl. She was also Georgina Sparks on The Witch of the Upper East Side.

She was born in New York City on Oct. 11, 1985. She booked her first credited role at the young age of nine. She was Nona F. Mecklenberg on The Adventures of Pete and Pete. Before that, she appeared in a Wisk commercial at age 3.

Her...

Michelle Trachtenberg, the former child star known for her roles in “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Gossip Girl,” has died, TheWrap has learned. She was 39.

“It is with great sadness to confirm that Michelle Trachtenberg has passed away,” her publicist told TheWrap on Wednesday. “The family requests privacy for their loss. There are no further details at this time.”

The actress’ death is not being investigated as suspicious, according to police sources with the New York Post, who was first to report the news. Per ABC News, Trachtenberg’s mother found her unresponsive at her New York City apartment early Wednesday morning.

Born Oct. 11, 1985, in NYC, the actress earned three Young Artist Awards early in her career and was even nominated for a Daytime Emmy. Her last major movie was “The Scribbler” in 2014 and she filmed two episodes of Max’s “Gossip Girl” reboot in 2022.

Trachtenberg’s other notable works included “Ice Princess,...

Michelle Trachtenberg, the actress best known for her roles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Gossip Girl, and Harriet the Spy, has died at the age of 39.

According to ABC News, Trachtenberg was found dead by her mother on the morning of Wednesday, February 26th. Her cause of death was not immediately known, but is not being investigated as suspicious. She had also recently undergone a liver transplant.

Born October 11th, 1985 in New York City, Trachtenberg began her acting career at an extremely young age. She made her television debut at the age of 3, appearing in a Wisk ad that would be the first of more than 100 commercials.

Trachtenberg’s first major role was in the Nickelodeon classic The Adventures of Pete & Pete as Nona F. Mecklenberg, the younger Pete’s best friend. During the same period from 1994 until 1996, she also played Lily Montgomery on All My Children.

This small-screen...

It's become a fun pub trivia act to be able to rattle off the legion of beloved performers who got their start on the big screen by acting in horror movies. It's less common, however, to learn about actors famous for their roles in horror films pivoting to directing and nabbing an Academy Award nomination for Best Director in the process. But that's precisely what happened with Brady Corbet, the director behind one of the frontrunners for Best Picture (at the time of writing) and a film that /Film's Chris Evangelista called "an overwhelming triumph" in his review, "The Brutalist."

Corbet, for those not familiar, made his feature directorial debut in 2015 with "The Childhood of a Leader." Loosely adapted from Jean-Paul Sartre's short story of the same name, the film centers on an American boy living in France with his authoritarian parents during the Treaty of Versailles and explores...

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

Museum of Modern Art

A major highlight of any filmgoing year, To Save and Project returns.

IFC Center

A Donald Sutherland retrospective includes Klute, Fellini’s Casanova, Don’t Look Now, and Mash; Crash, Battle Royale, and The Lost Boys show late.

Anthology Film Archives

Blackout 1973 features films by Sembène, Bill Gunn, Mambéty and more; Essential Cinema runs the gamut from Laurel and Hardy to Jonas Mekas’ Walden.

Roxy Cinema

Emma Roberts has curated Thirteen on 35mm and Mysterious Skin; Amadeus shows on Saturday and Sunday.

Film Forum

AI: From Metropolis to Ex Machina continues, featuring Terminator 2, Blade Runner, Videodrome, and Ghost in the Shell; Wall-e screens on Sunday.

Museum of the Moving Image

See It Big! Let It Snow brings The Gold Rush on 35mm, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, The Shining, and more.

Metrograph

Trash Humpers, The Bling Ring,...

Brady Corbet, director of the upcoming A24 film The Brutalist, is already looking ahead to his next project. Following The Brutalist, centering around an architect (Adrien Brody) fleeing post-war Europe in 1947 and pursuing the American Dream, Corbet will do something completely different. He revealed in a New Yorker profile that his next film, a horror-Western also centering around immigration, will “shake viewers.” According to The New Yorker:

The new project, which is set in the nineteen-seventies and early eighties, will also deal with immigration, this time of the Chinese to California. Its style will be looser; genre-wise, it will draw on horror and Westerns.

Apparently, the seed of the idea came to the director when he hosted a Halloween watch party for The Texas Chainsaw Massacre with his partner and collaborator, the filmmaker Mona Fastvold. Their 10-year-old daughter Ada and various friends were also in attendance.

Related The Brutalist Review:...

Brady Corbet’s “The Brutalist” has already stunned at Venice. Now, the epic drama is unfurling its awards campaign with the first trailer.

“The Brutalist” stars Adrien Brody as László Tóth, a fictional Hungarian Jewish Holocaust survivor and architect who arrives in America to build a massive modern community center. The film spans 30 years in the life of Brody’s László, ranging from his project with his employer (Guy Pearce) to his rocky marriage with his wife (Felicity Jones).

The cast also includes Joe Alwyn, Alessandro Nivola, Raffey Cassidy, and Stacy Martin.

“The Brutalist” is writer/director Corbet’s third film after “The Childhood of a Leader” (2015) and “Vox Lux” (2018); he has also acted in films such as “Melancholia,” “Mysterious Skin,” and “Thirteen.” Mona Fastvold co-wrote the script for “The Brutalist,” with Venice Film Festival artistic director Alberto Barbera comparing the feature to King Vidor’s 1949 adaptation of “The Fountainhead.

A brutal Oscar season is ahead…in a good way.

As the Oscar race heats up, Hollywood is bracing for an intense, wide-open awards season. After its whirlwind tour through the Venice, Toronto, and New York Film Festivals, A24’s newly acquired historical epic “The Brutalist” has emerged as a potential heavyweight in this year’s Academy Awards lineup. Starring Adrien Brody in a career-redefining role as a Hungarian-born Jewish architect who survives the Holocaust and journeys to the U.S., the film screened in front of an influential audience at CAA on Sunday night. The room was filled with industry professionals, journalists, and Oscar winners like Cord Jefferson (“American Fiction”). After the screening, the film’s director, Brady Corbet, and co-writer Mona Fastvold participated in a post-screening Q&a session, giving the audience insight into the seven-year odyssey to bring this project to life.

“The Brutalist” follows 30 years in...

Indie filmmaker Brady Corbet may have had a shockingly small budget for “The Brutalist,” but the writer/director is explaining why more funding would have been even more brutal.

Period piece “The Brutalist” stars Adrien Brody as László Tóth, a fictional Hungarian Jewish Holocaust survivor and architect who arrives in America to build a massive modern community center. Guy Pearce plays László’s employer, with Felicity Jones, Joe Alwyn, Alessandro Nivola, Raffey Cassidy, and Stacy Martin co-starring. The film spans 30 years in the life of Brody’s László.

“The Brutalist” was filmed in Budapest and Tuscany in Spring 2023 after Covid delays on a budget of less than $10 million. The feature debuted at the Venice Film Festival, with North American distributor A24 positioning the drama as an Oscar contender. Focus Features has the international distribution rights.

Corbet told Variety that he spent seven years developing “The Brutalist,” which became a 215-minute...

Writer-director Brady Corbet doesn’t see much difference between constructing a skyscraper and making a movie.

“There are so many similarities,” says Corbet, whose new film “The Brutalist,” which dramatizes the concessions architects are forced to accept, is also an allegory of Hollywood. “We’re usually working for a client. The infrastructure involved is enormous. The number of people required to run these operations is immense, and there are so many compromises you have to make. There aren’t many art forms with so many cooks in the kitchen.”

“The Brutalist” is more concerned with constructing monuments than making movies, but its story seems to be informed by Corbet’s personal experiences with art and commerce. It centers on László Tóth (Adrien Brody), a Hungarian Jewish architect, who arrives in America after being interned at Buchenwald. His path intersects with that of a preening industrialist, Harrison Lee Van Buren (Guy Pearce...

Un joven se convierte en la musa sexual de una provocadora artista.

De acuerdo con Variety, Olivia Wilde Cooper Hoffman y la cantante Charli Xcx protagonizarán el thriller erótico I Want Your Sex, del director Gregg Araki (Mysterious Skin) y coescrito junto a Karley Sciortino (Slutever).

En I Want Your Sex, cuando el novato Elliot (Hoffman) consigue un excitante trabajo para la renombrada artista, icono y provocadora Erika Tracy (Wilde), sus fantasías se hacen realidad cuando Erika le elige para convertirse en su musa sexual. Pero Elliot pronto se encuentra fuera de sí cuando Erika le lleva a un viaje más profundo de lo que jamás hubiera imaginado, a un mundo de sexo, obsesión, poder, traición y asesinato.

El rodaje de la película comenzará en Los Ángeles en octubre.

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The post Olivia Wilde, Cooper Hoffman y Charli Xcx protagonizarán ‘I Want Your Sex’, del director Gregg Araki.

In Paul Thomas Anderson's 2021 coming-of-age joint Licorice Pizza, Cooper Hoffman gave a breakout performance as a fresh-faced kid who gets in over his head with an older woman. And now, as Variety's reporting confirms, Cooper Hoffman is set to play a fresh-faced kid who gets in over his head with an older woman once again — albeit with a little less of a '70s nostalgic glow and a little more of a dangerous twist. The actor, son of Philip Seymour Hoffman, has been cast as Olivia Wilde's sexual muse in erotically charged thriller I Want Your Sex, the latest movie from Mysterious Skin auteur Gregg Araki.

Written by Araki alongside his Now Apocalypse co-writer Karley Sciortino, I Want Your Sex — in case the title doesn't quite spell it out clearly enough — looks set to be a typically raw and unflinching feature from the White Bird In A Blizzard filmmaker.

Cooper Hoffman is getting his own “Boogie Nights” breakout moment.

The actor, whose father is late icon Philip Seymour Hoffman, is set to star in Gregg Araki’s upcoming psychosexual thriller “I Want Your Sex.” Hoffman will co-lead the film with Olivia Wilde, IndieWire has confirmed.

The official synopsis reads: “When fresh-faced Elliot (Hoffman) lands an exciting job for renowned artist, icon and provocateur Erika Tracy (Wilde), his fantasies come true as Erika taps him to become her sexual muse. But Elliot soon finds himself out of his depth as Erika takes him on a journey more profound than he ever could have imagined, into a world of sex, obsession, power, betrayal and murder.”

Hoffman previously starred in “Licorice Pizza” and will appear in the upcoming “Saturday Night” about the origins of “SNL.”

“I Want Your Sex” is written by Araki and Karley Sciortino. Araki, Sciortino, Seth Caplan, and Black Bear...

The 81st edition of the Venice Film Festival officially kicks off on Wednesday with the eyes of the film world focused on the Lido.

Long-running festival director Alberto Barbera and his team have unveiled a star-studded lineup, including possible awards season contenders. But which premieres can’t be missed amid the busy program?

THR‘s chief movie critic David Rooney looked through the selection of the big Italian festival to pick some of the most intriguing prospects.

The Brutalist

When Brady Corbet was in Venice at age 16 with Mysterious Skin, instead of flying home with his director Gregg Araki and co-star Joseph Gordon-Levitt, he stayed on a couple extra days to see the new Claire Denis film, The Intruder. That same cinephile curiosity is evident in the choice of filmmakers with whom he’s worked, among them Michael Haneke, Sean Durkin, Lars von Trier, Olivier Assayas and Mia Hansen-Love. Co-written with Mona Fastvold,...

This article is part of IndieWire’s 2000s Week celebration. Click here for a whole lot more.

The 21st century has seen any number of films about the stories people tell themselves in order to rationalize and reconfigure their trauma, but none have been more raw or powerfully true to life than “Mysterious Skin.”

Nineties indie icon Gregg Araki took great risk in adapting Scott Heim’s 1995 novel, the story of a teen hustler who, drawn exclusively to older men as an adult, comes to terms with the fact that his Little League coach groomed and raped him as a child over one summer in 1981 Kansas, and how his sexual behavior later in the ’90s was shaped by those encounters as a result. While Neil McCormack (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) engages in reckless sexual activity, elsewhere a fellow teammate, Brian Lackey (Brady Corbet), who was also abused by the same coach, retreats...

Filmmaker Brady Corbet has premiered features twice before at Venice, but never at this scale.

“The Brutalist” is the director’s first feature since 2018’s “Vox Lux,” which starred Natalie Portman as a pop star haunted by a school shooting. Before that, Corbet also premiered “The Childhood of a Leader” (2015) at Venice, announcing a singular cinematic voice after years of acting in indies like “Melancholia,” “Simon Killer,” “Mysterious Skin,” and “Thirteen.”

As Venice Film Festival artistic director Alberto Barbera revealed during the July 23 press conference announcing the lineup, “The Brutalist” will premiere in competition. It’s also a whopping 215 minutes long, which includes a 15-minute intermission. The film was shot on Vista Vision by Lol Crawley, director of photography on the celluloid-made “Vox Lux” and “The Childhood of a Leader” as well as Noah Baumbach’s “White Noise” more recently. Barbera confirmed that the Italian film festival will screen “The Brutalist” in 70mm,...

Nineties New Queer Cinema icon Gregg Araki has not directed a feature since leaving Eva Green’s body frozen in the suburban snow globe of “White Bird in a Blizzard” in 2014. Since then, the DIY taboo buster has gone the way so many indie directors have to: by applying their personality to TV shows. In Araki’s case, that includes directing episodes of “Dahmer” and “American Gigolo.”

The iconoclastic Southern California filmmaker — known for “The Doom Generation” and “Mysterious Skin” and celebrated for his stylishly drawn stories of youthful sexual identity coming to bloom — also wrote and directed the 2019 series “Now Apocalypse.” Now, he’s teaming up with Karley Sciortino, the co-writer on that Starz show about sex and aliens in LA, for a new movie titled “I Want Your Sex.”

Araki revealed the project in early May, and it’s set up at Black Bear, most recently the production...

Let’s bounce.

After concluding May with discussions of Gregg Araki’s Mysterious Skin (listen) and Ridley Scott’s Alien (listen), we’re delving back into the world of female coming-of-age tales with Lisa Brühlmann‘s 2017 body horror film Blue My Mind.

Blue My Mind sees 15-year-old Mia (Luna Wedler) face an overwhelming transformation which calls her entire existence into question. After getting her first period, her body begins to change radically in some very non-human ways. Despite desperate attempts to halt the process, she is soon forced to accept that nature is far more powerful than her.

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to get a new episode every Wednesday. You can subscribe on iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, iHeartRadio, SoundCloud, TuneIn, Amazon Music, and RSS.

Episode 284: Blue My Mind (2017)

Swallow that fish and peel the skin off your legs because we’re discussing Lisa Brühlmann’s...

At long last, Eddie Murphy is reprising his role as street-smart cop Axel Foley in the fourth instalment of the Beverly Hills Cop franchise, which is set to hit Netflix this summer. But, it isn’t easy being a middle aged action star. It’s been nearly thirty years since we last saw Eddie Murphy as Axel Foley, and in a recent interview with People Magazine he admitted that the shoot was a “rough one”.“I did Axel Foley when I was in my 20s. I am not in my 20s anymore,” he said. At any rate, Murphy won’t be the only aged actor from the original to show up, with many of the classic Beverly Hills Cop cast members are set to join him in Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley. Here’s everything we know about Beverly Hills Cop 4!

Who’s making it?

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley...

The Perfect Organism.

After kicking off May with discussions of Stephen Sommers’ The Mummy (listen), Trace and I have checked out Audrey Hepburn in Wait Until Dark (listen) and Joseph Gordon-Levitt in Gregg Araki‘s Mysterious Skin (listen).

Now we’re crossing a classic title off our list: Ridley Scott‘s Alien.

Alien tells the story of the crew of the Nostromo as they’re awoken from stasis to answer a distress beacon on a nearby planet. When Kane (John Hurt) is attacked on an alien ship, Warrant Officer Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) refuses to let Captain Dallas (Tom Skerritt) and Navigator Lambert (Veronica Cartwright) back on board with quarantining.

Science Officer Ash (Ian Holm) overrides her command and brings them inside, but as the alien creature on Kane’s face evolves, it becomes clear that there’s more than one antagonist on board the ship and everyone, including Engineers Parker...

Heart-wrenching horror.

After kicking off May with discussions of Stephen Sommers’ perfect action-adventure-horror-romantic-comedy The Mummy (listen) and the iconic jump scare in the Audrey Hepburn-starring Wait Until Dark (listen), we’re delving into the real-life horrors of child sexual abuse in Gregg Araki‘s 2004 adaptation of Scott Heim‘s novel Mysterious Skin.

Mysterious Skin tells the story of how child sexual abuse affects the lives of two pre-adolescent boys in different ways. Neil (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) becomes a reckless, sexually adventurous sex worker, while Brian (Brady Corbet) retreats into a reclusive fantasy of alien abduction. The film is told in parallel narratives before culminating in a heart-breaking reunion that will change each boy’s life forever.

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to get a new episode every Wednesday. You can subscribe on iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, iHeartRadio, SoundCloud, TuneIn, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts, and RSS.

Episode 282:...

After concluding April with discussions of Ciarán Foy’s Eli (listen) and David Cronenberg’s eXistenZ (listen), we kicked off May with a revisit of Stephen Sommers’ delightful 1999 film, The Mummy (listen).

Now we’re headed into the past with Terence Young‘s adaptation of Frederick Knott‘s “disabled woman in danger” play, Wait Until Dark (1967).

In the film, recently blind Susy (Audrey Hepburn) is menaced by a trio of strange men, including sexually perverse ring leader Roat (Alan Arkin), “nice guy” Talman (Richard Crenna) and portly Carlino (Jack Weston). The men are looking for a doll full of heroin, which is located somewhere in her apartment, but she doesn’t know where!

Can Susy figure out the scam with the help of upstairs neighbor girl Gloria (Julie Herrod) or will she wind up hanging in the closet like Roat’s poor accomplice Lisa (Samantha Jones)?

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Marking his first narrative feature in a decade, Mysterious Skin and The Doom Generation director Gregg Araki is returning with a new thriller. I Want Your Sex, scripted by Araki and Karley Sciortino, is set to star Olivia Wilde and the first details have been unveiled ahead of a summer shoot in Los Angeles.

Described as a “provocative thriller” which “blithely explores desire, domination, and fantasy, here’s the synopsis: “How far is too far? When fresh-faced Elliot lands an exciting job for renowned artist, icon and provocateur Erika Tracy (Wilde), his fantasies come true as Erika taps him to become her sexual muse. But Elliot soon finds himself out of his depth as Erika takes him on a journey more profound than he ever could have imagined, into a world of sex, obsession, power, betrayal and murder. Featuring outrageous characters and a playful sense of humor, I Want Your...

Gregg Araki is set to direct Olivia Wilde in his next feature, Black Bear’s provocative thriller “I Want Your Sex.”

The film features an original script penned by Araki and Karley Sciortino which blithely explores desire, domination and fantasy.

When fresh-faced Elliot lands an exciting job for renowned artist, icon and provocateur Erika Tracy (Wilde), his fantasies come true as Erika taps him to become her sexual muse. But Elliot soon finds himself out of his depth as Erika takes him on a journey more profound than he ever could have imagined, into a world of sex, obsession, power, betrayal and murder.

Arlie Day (“To Leslie”) and Mike Page (“The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry”) are casting the picture. The film will be produced by Seth Caplan, a past winner of the John Cassavetes Award at the Film Independent Spirit Awards, alongside Black Bear’s Teddy Schwarzman and Michael Heimler.

Olivia Wilde (Don’t Worry Darling) has signed on to star in I Want Your Sex, a new thriller from director Gregg Araki (Mysterious Skin) and Black Bear.

Blithely exploring desire, domination and fantasy, the film asks the question, how far is too far? When fresh-faced Elliot lands an exciting job for renowned artist, icon and provocateur Erika Tracy (Wilde), his fantasies come true as Erika taps him to become her sexual muse. But Elliot soon finds himself out of his depth as Erika takes him on a journey more profound than he ever could have imagined, into a world of sex, obsession, power, betrayal and murder.

Written by Karley Sciortino & Araki, the film will be produced by Seth Caplan, as well as Black Bear’s Teddy Schwarzman and Michael Heimler. Exec producers include John Friedberg and Courtney L. Cunniff. Black Bear will also fully finance the picture...