Interview: ‘The Substance’ Special Makeup Effects Designer Pierre-Olivier Persin on Transforming Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley into a Funhouse of Horror and Using 4,000 Gallons of Blood
I joke at the start of my interview with special makeup effects designer Pierre-Olivier Persin that he is, in a way, the true star of... Read More
Daniel Bayer
Daniel Bayer has been in love with movies all his life, in love with the theater since he could sit still, and in love with tap dance since seeing Singin' in the Rain at nine years old. A nationally-ranked dancer in his teens, his theater credits are many and varied, both behind and on the stage. He now spends his days as a non-profit database manager and the rest of his time seeing, writing about, and talking about movies and theater. He is a proud member of GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics. You can find him on the AwardsWatch and Next Best Picture podcasts, and on Twitter @dancindanonfilm.
‘Better Man’ Review: Hey, Hey, He’s A Monkey | TIFF
Pop superstar Robbie Williams hasn’t exactly been a great person. He’ll even tell you that himself, as he does in the opening narration to Better... Read More
‘The Deb’ Review: Not Quite a Rebel Yell But Wilson’s Dynamic Directorial Debut Delights | TIFF
The most successful actor-turn-directors tend to be those who have a clearly-defined voice that they are able to transfer from in front of the camera... Read More
‘Heretic’ Review: Hugh Grant is a Creep and a Weirdo in Deviously Devilish Debate About Religion | TIFF
Sister Barnes and Sister Paxton are doing missionary work for the Mormon Church. Paxton (Chloe East from The Fabelmans) is a sweet, bubbly chatterbox, while... Read More
‘On Swift Horses’ Review: Daniel Minahan’s Unsexy Adaptation Rides On Svelte Torsos and Not Much Else | TIFF
While revisionist westerns aren’t exactly popular, they do important work in dispelling the myth of the Great American West. On Swift Horses, Daniel Minahan’s adaptation... Read More
‘William Tell’ Review: A Rousing, Old School Hollywood Epic of a Well-Told Story | TIFF
In case you don’t remember the story of William Tell from your school days, Nick Hamm’s new film about the Swiss folk hero opens with... Read More
How ‘Sing Sing’ and ‘Ghostlight’ Highlight the Power of Theater as Venues of Survival
Theater and cinema have always had a strange symbiotic relationship. While cinema has, over the decades, become more accessible to view than theater, theater is... Read More
Interview: Eden Espinosa on Her First Tony Nomination for ‘Lempicka’ and the Emotional Challenge of the Role [VIDEO]
“I just remember squealing,” laughs Eden Espinosa when recalling her reaction to hearing her name read as a nominee for this year’s Tony Award for... Read More
Interview: Taylor Zakhar Perez on Latin Representation, the Wedding Cake and Baring All in ‘Red, White & Royal Blue’ [VIDEO]
Taylor Zakhar Perez does not take his status as a celebrity lightly. “I’m a blue collar kid in an extraordinary circumstance in Los Angeles,” much... Read More
‘Mean Girls’ Retrospective: 20 Years Later and It’s Still Fresh and Oh So Fetch
With its 2004-perfect styles and needle drops (not to mention cultural references), Mark Waters’s Mean Girls should feel like a relic of the George W.... Read More
2025 Oscar Predictions: SUPPORTING ACTOR (November) 
Director Watch Podcast Ep. 72 – ‘Three Colours: Blue’ (Krzysztof Kieślowski, 1993) 
2025 Oscars: Eligibility Lists for Animated Feature, Documentary Feature and International Feature Film for the 97th Academy Awards 
Nava Mau, Sean Wang Among 2024 BAFTA Breakthroughs Championing New ‘Must-Watch’ Creatives