‘Trolls: Band Together’ Production Designer on Crafting That Colorful and ‘Wacky’ Car Chase

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Director Blitz Bazawule had a clear vision of what he wanted Shug Avery (Taraji P. Henson) to represent in “The Color Purple.” She was a bold, sexy, beautiful and extraordinary woman, but she was also loving and nurturing to Celie (Fantasia Barrino) and Sophia (Danielle Brooks). “Those were her sisters and there was a bond there,” Tym Wallace, the film’s makeup and hair department artist explains.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Choreographer Fatima Robinson fused hip-hop, dance, African history, tap, jazz and even Jamaican moves as she crafted the musical numbers in “The Color Purple,” but there was one person in particular whose energy she wanted to capture: Beyoncé. Specifically, the energy of Beyoncé’s “Renaissance.” Director Blitz Bazawule blends Alice Walker’s text and the Broadway musical to reimagine the classic as a vibrant movie musical. “American Idol’s” Fantasia Barrino plays Celie, a woman who slowly finds her voice with Shug Avery’s (Taraji P.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor In Paul King’s “Wonka,” there is a scene where Noodle (Calah Lane) and Willy Wonka (Timothee Chalamet) have to sneak into a zoo so he can produce his one-of-a-kind chocolate. There the duo meets Abigail the giraffe and milks her. It cues up the musical number “For a Moment” where they fly over way the town’s Galeria and back into the town square.

Preeminent comedian Jo Koy has been set to host the 81st Golden Globe Awards, in what will be his first outing in that capacity at a major awards show.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Many stories have been told about Westward expansion, but few have focused on the impact and consequences. John Williams’ 1960 novel “Butcher’s Crossing” follows William Andrews, a Harvard student who leaves his life behind to join a buffalo-hunting expedition, facing many harsh realities on his journey. Producer Molly Conners sat down with Variety for the film’s DVD release to discuss director Gabe Polsky’s journey adapting the story, financing the film, casting its star Nicolas Cage and working with the Blackfeet Nation to tell the story about the destruction of the buffalo population in 19th century America.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor VFX supervisor Sean Konrad was tasked with bringing to life some iconic titans back for Apple TV+’s eight-part series “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters.” Among them are “Kong: Skull Island’s” Mother Longlegs and Godzilla, as well as some new monsters, including a crab-inspired titan and star-mole beast. Showrunner and writer Chris Black had always wanted to open the series on Skull Island to root the viewer in familiarity without having to rewatch past films. The opening episode sees Bill Randa (John Goodman) being chased through a bamboo forest that opens out onto a rock peninsula, before Mother Longlegs emerges.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Alexander Payne calls editor Kevin Tent his filmmaking partner. The two first met running in the same L.A. film school circles.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Cord Jefferson’s “American Fiction” has won rave reviews and is tipped to be an Oscars favorite with its satirical portrayal of the exploitation of Black people in media, balanced with sharp comedy and a punch of emotional family drama. Jefferson credits his editor, Hilda Rasula, with striking the right tone for the film. “The thing I appreciate about Hilda is that she never lies, she’s very honest, and she tells me when she doesn’t like something,” Jefferson tells Variety.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Based on the nonfiction book by David Grann, “Killers of the Flower Moon” stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Ernest Burkhart, a WWI vet who travels to Oklahoma to work for his wealthy uncle, William King Hale, played by Robert De Niro. It’s the early 1920s, and this part of Oklahoma sits on lots of oil, whose rights are owned by the Native American Osage and other tribes. They are prosperous, some even rich, and it’s here that Ernest meets Mollie (Lily Gladstone).

Caroline Brew editor Director Abdulelah Alqurashi sat down with Variety’s senior artisans editor Jazz Tangcay at Variety’s Artisans Screening Series to break down his film “Alhamour H.A.,” Saudi Arabia’s official Oscars submission. The film is based on the true story of one of Saudi Arabia’s biggest con artists, a former security guard named Hamed who grows rich by convincing people to make dubious investments. Alqurashi lived in Jedda as a banker while the scam was happening.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor “The Color Purple” director Blitz Bazawule hesitated to take on the latest incarnation of Alice Walker’s sacred text. However, when he revisited the book, the first line (“Dear God, I’m 14 years old”) struck him as a way to navigate a familiar story and “keep expanding Celie’s imagination.” In the new musical movie adaptation, as Celie (Fantasia Barrino) is bathing Shug (Taraji P. Henson), an old record plays on a gramophone in the background.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association displayed a fair amount of consensus with the Recording Academy when it unveiled its first Golden Globe nominations for Performance in Stand-Up Comedy on Television, giving nominations to such recently Grammy-nominated comedians as Chris Rock, Wanda Sykes and Sarah Silverman.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor The biggest challenge for “Poor Things” costume designer Holly Waddington was trying to establish a costume arc for Emma Stone’s Bella Baxter. In the Searchlight film based on Alasdair Gray’s novel of the same name, Bella is a creation of Willem Dafoe’s mad scientist Godwin. He brings Bella back to life after she tries to kill herself, using the brain of an unborn fetus, and Bella ends up a young child trapped in a woman’s body.

Variety FYC Fest on Dec. 6 in Los Angeles. Variety‘s senior awards editor Clayton Davis, Senior Artisans Editor Jazz Tangcay and Senior Entertainment & Media Writer Matt Donnelly moderated several panels throughout the event.

Variety’s senior artisans editor Jazz Tangcay during Variety’s A Night With Artisans. The creatives who helped build the Los Alamos set for “Oppenheimer” or acquired 1,000 blankets for “Killers of the Flower Moon” shared their creative processes and stories from set. In six separate conversations, Tangcay spoke with the teams behind “Oppenheimer,” “Saltburn,” “Killers of the Flower Moon,” “Maestro,” “American Fiction” and “The Color Purple.” See the full Variety A Night With Artisans recap below.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor “I’m Just Ken,” the showstopping number performed by Ryan Gosling in “Barbie,” took Mark Ronson and co-songwriting partner Andrew Wyatt just two days to write. “But we needed the entire year to make it what it was,” notes Ronson. It’s been a contender to nab an Oscar original song nomination ever since it was first teased in the film’s trailer earlier this year.

Harrison Ford surprised SAG-AFTRA members during a nomination committee Q&A this afternoon when he showed up to talk about his role on Apple TV+’s “Shrinking.” Ford was keen to lavish praise on the cast of the comedy-drama television series, describing working with his co-stars as a uniquely different experience that rejuvenated his perspective on acting. “There are people who improvise as though it was an exercise in egos. That never happens with this bunch.

William Earl This awards season’s premier contending filmmakers, talent and artisans will gather for exclusive panels at Variety FYC Fest on Dec. 6 in Los Angeles from 9 a.m.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor “She blended in — there was no ‘Kitty’s world,’” “Oppenheimer” production designer Ruth De Jong says of the woman portrayed by Emily Blunt in Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster. Kitty is a scientist with her own ambitions when she meets J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy), the man who led the atomic bomb project.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Growing up, Kris Bowers felt like he was an outsider trying to fit in. These days, he is anything but that in Hollywood. The Oscar-nominated composer has scored a wide array of projects in the past five years, ranging from “Green Book” to “When They See Us,” and worked with Ava DuVernay and Shonda Rhimes repeatedly.