Moviefone Editorial

Author: Jami Philbrick

  • ‘The Miniature Wife’ Interview: Elizabeth Banks and More

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    Premiering April 9th on Peacock is the new series ‘The Miniature Wife‘, which is based on the book of the same name by Manuel Gonzales and was created by Jennifer Ames (‘Goliath’) and Steve Turner (‘Ash vs Evil Dead’).

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    The series stars Elizabeth Banks (‘Charlie’s Angels’), Matthew Macfadyen (‘Deadpool & Wolverine’), Zoe Lister-Jones (‘Beau Is Afraid’), Sofia Rosinsky (‘The Other Side of the Door’), O-T Fagbenie (‘Black Widow’), and Ronny Chieng (‘M3GAN’).

    (L to R) Elizabeth Banks and Matthew Macfadyen star in 'The Miniature Wife'.
    (L to R) Elizabeth Banks and Matthew Macfadyen star in ‘The Miniature Wife’.

    Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Elizabeth Banks and Matthew Macfadyen about their work on ‘The Miniature Wife’, the initial pitch for the series, Macfadyen’s inspiration for his character, acting six inches tall, and working with the practical and visual effects.

    Related Article: Elizabeth Banks Talks ‘Cocaine Bear’

    Elizabeth Banks as Lindy in 'The Miniature Wife'. Photo: Rafy/Peacock.
    Elizabeth Banks as Lindy in ‘The Miniature Wife’. Photo: Rafy/Peacock.

    Moviefone: To begin with, Elizabeth, can you talk about showrunners Jennifer Ames and Steve Turner initial pitch to you and what intrigued you about the story and your character?

    Elizabeth Banks: They pitched me ‘The War of the Roses’, but one of them is six inches tall. I love ‘War of the Roses’, and I immediately got the tone they were going for. I felt like it was unique and an absurdist way to tell a very relatable story about someone who feels diminished in their relationship or small in their career or a little unseen suddenly, and I think we all have those moments and have those people in our lives who make us feel small. This is a character whose mother has made her feel very small and she’s obviously working through that trauma. Her father left, and now her husband is paying attention only to his career and not to her needs. I just felt like a lot of people were going to relate to this couple. The device of shrinking me really helped build everything that we wanted to say about relationships and power dynamics within them in the show. So, I got the notions right away and how the absurdist way we were going to do it was going to enhance the whole endeavor.

    Matthew Macfadyen as Les in 'The Miniature Wife'. Photo: Peacock.
    Matthew Macfadyen as Les in ‘The Miniature Wife’. Photo: Peacock.

    MF: Matthew, I understand that you drew inspiration for your character from Bill Nye, Kevin Kline, and Steve Martin. Can you talk about how that inspiration helped you create Less on screen?

    Matthew MacFadyen: Well, they’re little bits of ingredients in the cake. I think Steve Martin and Kevin Kline especially were touchstones in the sense that some of the inspiration for the series is those ‘80s and ‘90s romantic comedies that are witty, barbed, and funny, with wonderful dialogue, and that was the flavor of it. Not sentimental, not syrupy, just entertaining. So, that’s why I was thinking of those guys. But Bill Nye, is an institution I’ve discovered from people growing up and I can see why because he’s really kind of charismatic and funny and great. He’s got a wonderful quirky energy, and I thought maybe some of that is in layers.

    Elizabeth Banks as Lindy in 'The Miniature Wife'. Photo: Peacock.
    Elizabeth Banks as Lindy in ‘The Miniature Wife’. Photo: Peacock.

    MF: Elizabeth, when you were shooting the scenes where your character is small, did you have to rely on your imagination a lot and was it helpful when you had giant props available to use in the scene?

    EB: I was very isolated on a green screen and having to imagine everything around me and a cat chasing me and a bird and all of it. So, they really helped me by giving me actual props to interact with. Whether it was a pill bottle that I’m trying to break open or toothpaste or lipstick or the giant chocolate bar that I got to eat. They made a giant popcorn kernel for me that was edible. All those things really helped. Then of course, I have the dollhouse. That set was incredible, and everything felt real. So, it was interesting to be able to explore that like a little toy and then have my own toys, you know? It was very helpful, and technically challenging, but very fun.

    (L to R) Matthew Macfadyen as Les and Elizabeth Banks as Lindy in 'The Miniature Wife'. Photo: Peacock.
    (L to R) Matthew Macfadyen as Les and Elizabeth Banks as Lindy in ‘The Miniature Wife’. Photo: Peacock.

    MF: Finally, Matthew, when you were in scenes with Lindy when she was small, was the biggest challenge for you not having anyone to react to?

    MM: Yes, but we’ve been saying that acting is an imaginative exercise. If we had scenes together, we’d run the scenes before we shot them separately. So, we’d always have something in our heads, but it’s an exercise in imagining. So, that was part of the endeavor, I suppose.

    (L to R) Matthew Macfadyen as Les and Elizabeth Banks as Lindy in 'The Miniature Wife'. Photo: Screengrab/Peacock.
    (L to R) Matthew Macfadyen as Les and Elizabeth Banks as Lindy in ‘The Miniature Wife’. Photo: Screengrab/Peacock.

    What is the plot of ‘The Miniature Wife’?

    A married couple (Elizabeth Banks and Matthew Macfadyen) battle for power within their relationship which is complicated when a technological accident shrinks the wife to 6 inches tall.

    Who is in the cast of ‘The Miniature Wife’?

    • Elizabeth Banks as Lindy Littlejohn
    • Matthew Macfadyen as Les Littlejohn
    • Zoe Lister-Jones as Vivienne
    • Sofia Rosinsky as Lulu Littlejohn
    • O-T Fagbenle as RPW
    • Sian Clifford as Terry
    • Ronny Chieng as Hilton Smith
    • Aasif Mandvi as Martin Mucklow
    • Rong Fu as Janet
    • Tricia Black as Hel
    Elizabeth Banks as Lindy in 'The Miniature Wife'. Photo: Rafy/Peacock.
    Elizabeth Banks as Lindy in ‘The Miniature Wife’. Photo: Rafy/Peacock.

    List of Elizabeth Banks Movies and TV Shows:

    Buy Elizabeth Banks Movies On Amazon

  • ‘Hamlet’ Exclusive Interview: Riz Ahmed

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    Opening in theaters on April 10th is the new modern adaption of William Shakespeare’s classic play ‘Hamlet’, which stars Oscar winner Riz Ahmed (‘Sound of Metal’) in the title role and was directed by Academy Award winning filmmaker Aneil Karia (‘The Long Goodbye’).

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    Riz Ahmed stars in 'Hamlet'.
    Riz Ahmed stars in ‘Hamlet’.

    Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Riz Ahmed about his work on ‘Hamlet’, taking on the iconic role, shooting the “To be or not to be” speech, and why Shakespeare’s work is so timeless and universal.

    You can watch the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interview.

    Related Article: Movie Review: ‘Relay’

    Riz Ahmed stars in 'Hamlet'. Photo: Focus Features.
    Riz Ahmed stars in ‘Hamlet’. Photo: Focus Features.

    Moviefone: To begin with, can you talk about the challenges of playing the iconic role of Hamlet, and is it a role that you’ve always wanted to play?

    Riz Ahmed: I’ve wanted to play this since I was 17 and I was in English class feeling like this is some stuffy, boring museum artifact, and that Shakespeare is not for me. I had an amazing English teacher who put it in front of me and made me realize, “Wow, this is pretty close to how I’m feeling.” The central feeling, I would say for Hamlet is, “Is the world going crazy or have I lost my mind?” I think that’s how we’re all feeling. That’s how I was feeling then, and it’s how I’m feeling now, and dare I say, it’s how most of the world feels now. So, I wanted to play it because it was very relatable. I think that’s the challenge and the gift of taking on something like ‘Hamlet’, a role like this, is it’s been done so many times. I think the challenge is, what is specific and personal about your interpretation? That’s also a gift. It’s been done so many times, there’s no illusion that someone’s going to perform a definitive Hamlet. You’re liberated in a way to just do something as uniquely specific and personal to you and your experience as possible. So, it’s a strange combination of feeling like, “We’re going to step into these big old shoes that don’t belong to us.” While at the same time going, “Well, actually we get to run around in these shoes however we want.”

    (L to R) Morfydd Clark and Riz Ahmed in 'Hamlet'. Photo: Focus Features.
    (L to R) Morfydd Clark and Riz Ahmed in ‘Hamlet’. Photo: Focus Features.

    MF: Shakespeare’s work is universal and can be adapted to any time-period or culture. What is it about his work that you think has made it stand the test of time?

    RA: I think it’s a couple of things. Firstly, a lot of the stories are drawn from myths that are not British, that are ancient. The first words you hear in our Hamlet are words from the Bhagavad Gita, which is the foundational Hindu myth. That’s because that story is very similar to the story of ‘Hamlet’. It predates ‘Hamlet’ by thousands of years. This idea of choosing family loyalty or doing the right thing, that’s a timeless theme. So, I think that’s one reason why it can cross barriers of culture. It belongs to myth that belongs to all of us. The second reason is because it’s like music. The logical understanding of every word was not something that even audiences were doing in Shakespeare’s time when it comes to these plays. Shakespeare made up like 4,000 new words. They didn’t understand half of what he was saying, but it’s music. It’s rhythm, its flow, its percussion, its energy, and it’s intention. If you hear it like music, it moves you like music and music crosses all boundaries.

    (Far Left) Riz Ahmed stars in 'Hamlet'. Photo: Focus Features.
    (Far Left) Riz Ahmed stars in ‘Hamlet’. Photo: Focus Features.

    MF: Finally, I’ve never seen the ‘To be or not to be” speech depicted the way you did it, with the character in a car speeding towards oncoming traffic. Can you talk about shooting that scene and how that added urgency to the speech?

    RA: Absolutely. Our interpretation of “To be or not to be” is that it’s not about, “Should I kill myself or not?” Which is how it’s usually performed, right? It’s a much more urgent, confronting question. The question is, “Should we fight back against injustice, even if it means we might die?” That’s a contemporary, radical question. Then if you look at the language itself rather than looking at the traditional way it’s performed, that’s what it’s saying. So, we had to stage it in a way and have that confrontation and that urgency. If the speech is a game of chicken, we’re going to stage it like a game of chicken. So, he is literally doing that. He’s driving down a freeway, heading towards a lorry a hundred miles an hour, asking himself, does he have the guts to take on something bigger than himself? So, we staged it that way in a way. We’re just trying to honor the DNA of this speech rather than honoring the traditional way it’s done. We really tried to make something that’s for people who feel like Shakespeare isn’t normally for them and hopefully it gives them a visceral experience.

    'Hamlet' opens in theaters on April 10th.
    ‘Hamlet’ opens in theaters on April 10th.

    What is the plot of ‘Hamlet’?

    Haunted by his father’s ghost (Avijit Dutt), Prince Hamlet (Riz Ahmed) descends from elite London society into the city’s underground, moving between Hindu temples and homeless camps. In seeking to avenge his father’s murder, he begins to question his own role in his family’s corruption.

    Who is in the cast of ‘Hamlet’?

    Riz Ahmed arrives on the red carpet of the 95th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 12, 2023. Credit/Provider: Kyusung Gong / ©A.M.P.A.S. Copyright: ©A.M.P.A.S.
    Riz Ahmed arrives on the red carpet of the 95th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 12, 2023. Credit/Provider: Kyusung Gong / ©A.M.P.A.S. Copyright: ©A.M.P.A.S.

    List of Riz Ahmed Movies and TV Shows:

    Buy Tickets: ‘Hamlet’ Movie Showtimes

    Buy Riz Ahmed Movies on Amazon

  • ‘Beast’ Exclusive Interview: Daniel MacPherson

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    Opening in theaters on April 10th is the new mixed martial arts drama ‘Beast’, which was written by Oscar winner Russell Crowe (‘Gladiator’) and David Frigerio (‘Land of Bad’), directed by Tyler Atkins (‘Bosch & Rockit‘), and stars Daniel MacPherson (‘Poker Face’), Kelly Gale (‘Plane’), Luke Hemsworth (‘Westworld’), and Crowe.

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    Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Daniel MacPherson about his work on ‘Beast’, his first reaction to Russell Crowe’s screenplay, working with the Oscar winning actor, how his triathlon experience prepared him physically for the film, training for the MMA fight sequences, his character’s relationship with his wife, and creating that on screen with actress Kelly Gale.

    You can watch the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interview.

    Related Article: Russell Crowe Talks ‘The Pope’s Exorcist’ and What to Expect from the Film

    Daniel MacPherson as “Patton James” in the action/drama, 'Beast', a Lionsgate release. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.
    Daniel MacPherson as “Patton James” in the action/drama, ‘Beast’, a Lionsgate release. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.

    Moviefone: To begin with, what was your first reaction to Russell Crowe and David Frigerio’s screenplay, and did you recognize immediately that this would be a great role for you to play?

    Daniel MacPherson: Absolutely I did. I was given the original script for ‘Beast’ by David Frigerio, I think maybe the day we wrapped ‘Land of Bad’. That was my second film with Russell, we did ‘Poker Face’, which he directed, and then ‘Land of Bad’. We filmed the final two weeks of that shoot together, and Dave was like, “You guys work well together. I’ve got this great fight movie, it’s a father and son dynamic. I think it’d be great. I think we could shoot it in Australia. You should read it”. So, I dived straight into that. I started training in 2022, but the movie was on, then it was off, the finances were in, then they were out, Russell was in, then Russell was out. But I never stopped training and I ended up, thankfully, training for three and a half years. By the time the film finally got going, I was in a stage in my life and a stage physically with the level of martial arts that I’d learnt during that time that I was able to attack a role like Patton. But initially, as soon as I read it, it was the family aspect. It was the husband-and-wife relationship. It was the role of the father, the husband, the protector, the provider, and a man fighting for his identity and his place in life and that resonated straight away.

    MF: Can you talk about how your triathlon experience prepared you for this movie and what it was like training for the MMA sequences?

    DM: Yeah, I had 20 something years of triathlon experience. I raced at a high level, a race world championship level, across every distance in triathlon, which I loved. So, when it came to martial arts, I had to start from the very beginning. I taught my hips to go in one direction, running and cycling for 25 years. With martial arts, they must go in all different directions, and I was in my early 40s and that’s a bit more difficult than people give you credit for. But I started at the very beginning, I started with an obsessive nature as I do with many things, and I separated the training. I went specifically to a boxing coach, specifically to a jujitsu coach and to a Muay Thai coach, and I learnt those separately, particularly trying to get technically proficient and understand each of the cultures. Then I put them together into MMA, learning that that was a completely different sport all its own, but I needed to know those other languages to be able to then speak the language of MMA. Then I was trying to put on 20 pounds of muscle, and I was trying to drop body fat. I was trying not to get injured. I was working with Tyler Atkins on ideas for the way the script was going to evolve, and the story was going to evolve, and the way the characters were going to grow. All the while you’re waiting for a green light to go and step into the biggest role of your career, opposite the great Russell Crowe. So, we never lost faith, but I also never stopped working. I worked extraordinarily hard on every aspect because you must when you’re acting opposite Russell Crowe, and you must fight opposite Bren Foster, who is a multiple world champion martial artist, an incredible ex-professional fighter, and a credible actor. He pushed me as hard in the fight sequences as Russell pushed me in the acting and dramatic sequences. So, I had that kind of level of intensity to rise to on every part of the film. But then I was also trying to learn all of that, particularly in the last six or eight weeks on no calories. So, it’s hard when you’re trying to learn really intricate, specific, intense, martial arts choreography and your brain is mush. So, it was a very precarious balance.

    (L to R) Russell Crowe as “Sammy” and Daniel MacPherson as “Patton James” in the action/drama, 'Beast', a Lionsgate release. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.
    (L to R) Russell Crowe as “Sammy” and Daniel MacPherson as “Patton James” in the action/drama, ‘Beast’, a Lionsgate release. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.

    MF: Russell Crowe’s character is really the “Mickey to your Rocky”. Can you talk about creating that relationship with Crowe on screen and what he was like as an actor to work with?

    DM: Oh, it was incredible. Russell elevates every scene, every moment, and every set he walks on. I’ve worked with him now as a director and as a co-star, but the roles were a bit reversed on this where he was there going toe to toe with me but supporting me into the lead in ‘Beast’. He’s taught me about the art of cinema. He’s taught me about really being grounded in cinematic stillness in a scene. I had a great education on a film called ‘Poker Face’ that we did, where I was further down the call sheet, but I played Russell’s lawyer. One day after shooting around the poker table, when everyone else was off at lunch, I got to watch Russell’s close-up, and my close-up, which were filmed simultaneously, and I got to watch them side by side on the monitor. I got to watch what Russell Crowe, Oscar winner, does in a close-up, as opposed to what Daniel McPherson circa 2021 was doing in a close-up. That was one of the greatest cinematic lessons that I’ve ever had, and that was extraordinary. He’s been a great scene partner. He is a powerhouse. He’s got one of the most incredible imaginations. He comes on set armed with ideas, extensive preparation, and he can also see everything around you. He can elevate every set. He was incredibly generous to Tyler Atkins, who is a second time filmmaker, and they worked incredibly well together. I’m slightly ruined now. It’s like flying first class, it’s an incredible experience and it’s what you always want. I also now feel a responsibility to pay it down to those who come after me and those who are younger than me and give them their shot on the way up as well.

    MF: Finally, can you talk about how Patton’s relationship with his wife Luciana is threatened by his return to the ring and working with actress Kelly Gale?

    DM: She’s wonderful. Kelly came in and we worked hard. It was that relationship for me that was always the nucleus of the story. It was always what I loved about it, and it was always going to be the most important part for me. Kelly came in wholeheartedly, open, ready to work, ready to commit, and ready to jump on essentially a treadmill that was already running at a pace because we’d been shooting for weeks before she got there. So, that’s always a challenge to come in when the film’s up and running. She got better and better as it went on and her final sequence, in that final moment of the film, you’ve got three people on screen at the same time, and she absolutely holds her own against one of the greats of all time. So, I’m a massive fan of Kelly. She’s got a huge career ahead, and I’m just proud of the work that she put in and the emotional strength and complexity that she brought to the movie.

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    What is the plot of ‘Beast’?

    After years away from the cage, a once-feared MMA champion (Daniel MacPherson) is pulled back in for the fight of his life when his younger brother (Mojean Aria) is put in danger. Reuniting with the trainer (Russell Crowe) who once made him a legend, he commits to one final showdown against the reigning titleholder (Bren Foster), a brutal fighter determined to dismantle the ex-champ’s legacy in front of the world.

    Who is in the cast of ‘Beast’?

    • Daniel MacPherson as Patton James
    • Russell Crowe as Sammy
    • Luke Hemsworth as Gabriel Stone
    • Mojean Aria as Malon
    • Kelly Gale as Luciana
    • George Burgess as Neal
    • Bren Foster as Xavier Grau
    • Saphira Moran as Nadine James
    • Amy Shark as Rose
    'Beast' opens in theaters on April 10th.
    ‘Beast’ opens in theaters on April 10th.

    List of Daniel MacPherson Movies and TV Shows:

    Buy Tickets: ‘Beast’ Movie Showtimes

    Buy Daniel MacPherson Movies on Amazon

  • ‘A Love Like This’ Interview: Emmanuelle Chriqui and Hayes MacArthur

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    Premiering on digital and On Demand on April 3rd is the new romantic drama ‘A Love Like This’, which was directed by John Asher (‘I Hate Kids’) and stars Emmanuelle Chriqui (‘Entourage’) and Hayes MacArthur (‘Angie Tribeca’).

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    Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Emmanuelle Chriqui and Hayes MacArthur about their work on ‘A Love Like This’, their first reaction to the screenplay, their characters, shooting in Malibu, working together, collaborating on set with director John Asher, and what they’ll remember most about making the movie.

    (L to R) Emmanuelle Chriqui and Hayes MacArthur star in 'A Love Like This'.
    (L to R) Emmanuelle Chriqui and Hayes MacArthur star in ‘A Love Like This’.

    You can watch the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interview.

    Related Article: 20 Best Adam Sandler Movies of All Time Ranked from Worst to Best

    Emmanuelle Chriqui stars in 'A Love Like This'.
    Emmanuelle Chriqui stars in ‘A Love Like This’.

    Moviefone: To begin with, Emmanuelle, can you talk about your first reaction to the screenplay and why you wanted to be part of this project?

    Emmanuelle Chriqui: When they first sent me the script, I was kind of shook. I was very emotional. I think on some levels, I related to Leah, in certain ways that had happened in my life, and it scared me too. It scared me a lot to tell a story like this. But I just knew that if we could get the right person, this could be a cool experience and a kind of deep story to tell that would create interesting conversations at the very least.

    MF: Hayes, what was your first reaction to the screenplay, and did you understand and relate to your character right away?

    Hayes MacArthur: So, I got a call from John Asher kind of out of the blue, and he said, “We’re making a movie”. He didn’t tell me what it was about, but he told me the way he wanted to shoot it and the constraints of what the production would be. He said he wanted it to look like a Mike Nichols movie, like a fly on the wall for this couple for this weekend. I read it not knowing what it was about, which was a very cool way to not have it described to me first. No log line or anything. It’s funny to hear Emmanuelle say that she was scared. I was terrified too of stepping into this because when I looked at the circumstances around how these two characters were getting together and what was unfolding over this weekend, I didn’t know how it would play out and how to make that accessible and likable to an audience. But going into that house in Malibu and seeing that there was already this filmmaking organism in place of everybody just showing up. It was on right away. We had a very small crew to make this. Everyone was doing multiple jobs, but I could just immediately feel that we were going to pull it off. It was a crazy process to be shooting these very emotionally intense scenes and then going into another scene immediately after and switching gears and just being joyous and laughing the whole time. I don’t think I would have done this unless I knew Emmanuel was doing it because we have a long friendship. We’ve worked on projects together before and we have so many mutual friends. I think it would have been hard to step into material like this with someone that I didn’t really have a history with.

    MF: Hayes, did you and Emmanuelle create a backstory for your characters’ relationship history, and if so, how did that help your performance?

    HM: I think a lot of it was in Jeffrey Ruggles‘ script, and taking what was there. It was built in with a lot of backstories that you learn as the story unfolds, information is parsed out in a very clever way. So, knowing that you were telling a story about a relationship, about a couple that’s been in love since high school, and they’ve gotten together every year. There was like a built-in nostalgia to it.

    (L to R) Emmanuelle Chriqui and Hayes MacArthur star in 'A Love Like This'.
    (L to R) Emmanuelle Chriqui and Hayes MacArthur star in ‘A Love Like This’.

    MF: Emmanuelle, did the fact that you and Hayes already knew each other help you build the relationship between the characters in a way that would have been more challenging with an actor you didn’t have a history with?

    EC: For sure. In addition to that, I think there is magic when you’re doing a project with somebody and the chemistry is there and the history is there, and the friendship is there. It fills in all the blanks. There’s this organic thing that happens on set. It’s like, you can’t expect the unexpected and that’s the beauty of having history coming into this, knowing each other, already having worked together, and having a great time. That also just filled it all in, which was great.

    MF: Hayes, you’ve done a lot of comedy throughout your career. Were there moments where you felt yourself relying on your comedic instincts and you had to pull back a bit?

    HM: I think that’s a natural default mode of mine in life, and I love doing studio movie comedies and network television. But, as you get older, a lot of life is drama too. I haven’t had a place to put that really in any of my work prior to this. It was a great experience to be able to use that stuff. But again, I think it is about the people that you are doing it with that can bring out the best of it.

    MF: Emmanuelle, what was it like shooting at one location and filming a movie again in Los Angeles?

    EC: The best! Listen, Malibu is like a dream. Like I said before, everybody was in an outstanding mood every day, and you’re like, “Well, this has got to be the view and the water and all the things that contribute to this other than just wanting to be there.” It’s a love letter to Malibu. There was like twelve years of my career where I only shot in LA. Then, in the last decade, I’ve shot one thing in LA. So, to be home and to shoot and have this experience, it was everything and I would do anything to have more production come back to LA. It’s so sad to me that it is what it is right now.

    Hayes MacArthur stars in 'A Love Like This'.
    Hayes MacArthur stars in ‘A Love Like This’.

    MF: Hayes, is it true that you also lived in the house in Malibu while you were filming?

    HM: I lived in the house downstairs with Mike Manasseri, who was a producer on the film. I would wake up in the morning, go upstairs, shoot, the crew would all leave, and Mike and I would clean the house, cook each other dinner, talk about the day, and then go back down to bed and wake up the next morning and shoot again.

    MF: Emmanuelle, what was it like working with director John Asher?

    EC: John was a dream. I mean, I know I keep saying that, but really these two weeks were spectacular. John was the absolute master of the ship, and he created such a safe place for us. All Hayes and I had to do was show up and lay it on the ground. John went out of his way to make sure that we felt that there was a safe place to do that. He was so good at raining it in. There were times where this could have easily been a romantic comedy. John would be like, “Hold on, that’s not the movie we’re making.”

    MF: Hayes, what was your experience like collaborating with John on set?

    HM: I think it really helps that John’s an actor too, and he’s come from that background. So, it was the shorthand and the way he helped because this is pretty much just a two-person piece. So, it was this intimate triangle, the three of us figuring out all these moments together. John was right on our level in terms of the tone of the scenes and what’s really happening. So, John was like a puppeteer pulling all these different strings at the same time. 
It was fun.

    Hayes MacArthur stars in 'A Love Like This'.
    Hayes MacArthur stars in ‘A Love Like This’.

    MF: Finally, Emmanuelle, what will you remember most about making this movie?

    EC: Oh, so much. Seriously, there have been so many times in the past two years where I was like, “If I could snap my fingers, I would go back there. Bring me back to those two weeks of Malibu.” I think I walk away with a lot, and I think that the thing that’s so cool is that we made this movie during a strike. We got a waiver, and I think we were able to execute a story that is going to make people think and feel, and show that you don’t need a million dollars to make a movie. You just need like a lot of heart and soul and people who want to be creative. There are loads of people that want to be creative. So, find your people, and do it. You can do it and the fact that our movie is coming out, is just like, we can do it!

    'A Love Like This' opens in theaters on April 3rd.
    ‘A Love Like This’ opens in theaters on April 3rd.

    What is the plot of ‘A Love Like This’?

    Follows Paul (Hayes MacArthur) and Leah (Emmanuelle Chriqui) in a tale of two lovers who rent a Malibu beach house for the weekend, but there is more to their relationship than it seems.

    Who is in the cast of ‘A Love Like This’?

    Emmanuelle Chriqui as Jeanine Ferrigno in 'The Lincoln Lawyer' season 4. Photo: Courtesy of Netflix © 2026.
    Emmanuelle Chriqui as Jeanine Ferrigno in ‘The Lincoln Lawyer’ season 4. Photo: Courtesy of Netflix © 2026.

    List of Emmanuelle Chriqui Movies and TV Shows:

    Buy Emmanuelle Chriqui Movies On Amazon

     

  • Every Zendaya Movie Ranked from Worst to Best

    Zendaya arrives on the red carpet of the 94th Oscars® at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood in Los Angeles, CA, on Sunday, March 27, 2022. Credit/Provider: Michael Baker / A.M.P.A.S. Copyright: ©A.M.P.A.S.
    Zendaya arrives on the red carpet of the 94th Oscars® at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood in Los Angeles, CA, on Sunday, March 27, 2022. Credit/Provider: Michael Baker / A.M.P.A.S. Copyright: ©A.M.P.A.S.

    Zendaya is one of the most popular young actresses working today.

    After beginning her acting career on Disney Channel sitcoms like ‘Shake It Up,’ Zendaya burst on to the silver screen with appearances in hit films like ‘The Greatest Showman,’ ‘Smallfoot‘, ‘Space Jam: A New Legacy‘ and ‘Challengers‘, not to mention her work on HBO‘s poplar series ‘Euphoria‘.

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    But she is probably best known for playing Michelle “MJ” Jones-Watson in the MCU movies ‘Spider-man: Homecoming‘ and its sequels ‘Spider-Man: Far from Home‘ and ‘Spider-man: No Way Home‘, as well as Chani in ‘Dune‘ and ‘Dune: Part Two.’

    Her newest movie, ‘The Drama‘, which also stars Robert Pattinson, opens in theaters on April 3rd.

    In honor of Zendaya’s new film, Moviefone is counting down every movie the popular actress has ever appeared in, including her latest.

    NOTE: For this list we are only including Zendaya’s theatrical films, and not documentaries, TV Shows, or music videos like Beyoncé‘s ‘Lemonade‘.

    Let’s begin!

    Related Article: 5 Things We Learned At The ‘Dune: Part Three’ Trailer Press Conference

    13. ‘Super Buddies‘ (2013)

    2013's 'Super Buddies'. Photos: Walt Disney Pictures.
    2013’s ‘Super Buddies’. Photos: Walt Disney Pictures.

    When the five puppies stumble upon the Five Power Rings of Inspiron (alien artifacts abandoned on Earth 16 years ago), they all develop super powers, and are enlisted in Captain Canine’s (Colin Hanks) battle against the evil Darkon alien Commander Drex (John Michael Higgins).

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    12. ‘Space Jam: A New Legacy‘ (2021)

    (Center) Zendaya as Lola Bunny in 'Space Jam: A New Legacy.' Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures.
    (Center) Zendaya as Lola Bunny in ‘Space Jam: A New Legacy.’ Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures.

    When LeBron James and his young son Dom (Cedric Joe) are trapped in a digital space by a rogue A.I. (Don Cheadle), LeBron must get them home safe by leading Bugs, Lola Bunny (Zendaya) and the whole gang of notoriously undisciplined Looney Tunes to victory over the A.I.’™s digitized champions on the court: a powered-up roster of professional basketball stars as you’ve never seen them before. It’s Tunes versus Goons in the highest-stakes challenge of his life, that will redefine LeBron’s bond with his son and shine a light on the power of being yourself. The ready-for-action Tunes destroy convention, supercharge their unique talents and surprise even ‘King’ James by playing the game their own way.

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    11. ‘Duck Duck Goose‘ (2018)

    2018's 'Duck Duck Goose'. Photo: Open Road Films.
    2018’s ‘Duck Duck Goose’. Photo: Open Road Films.

    After he’s grounded by an injury, a high-flying bachelor (Jim Gaffigan) is saddled with two wide-eyed orphans (Zendaya and Lance Lim) as they come face-to-face with the dangers and beauty of the outside world.

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    10. ‘Smallfoot‘ (2018)

    2018's 'Smallfoot.' Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures.
    2018’s ‘Smallfoot.’ Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures.

    A bright young yeti (Channing Tatum) finds something he thought didn’t exist—a human. News of this “smallfoot” throws the simple yeti community into an uproar over what else might be out there in the big world beyond their snowy village.

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    9. ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming‘ (2017)

    Zendaya in 'Spider-Man: Homecoming.' Photo: Marvel Studios.
    Zendaya in ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming.’ Photo: Marvel Studios.

    Following the events of ‘Captain America: Civil War‘, Peter Parker (Tom Holland), with the help of his mentor Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), tries to balance his life as an ordinary high school student in Queens, New York City, with fighting crime as his superhero alter ego Spider-Man as a new threat, the Vulture (Michael Keaton), emerges.

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    8. ‘Malcolm & Marie‘ (2021)

    (L to R) John David Washington and Zendaya in 'Malcolm & Marie.' Photo: Netflix.
    (L to R) John David Washington and Zendaya in ‘Malcolm & Marie.’ Photo: Netflix.

    As a filmmaker (John David Washington) and his girlfriend (Zendaya) return home from his movie premiere, smoldering tensions and painful revelations push them toward a romantic reckoning.

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    7. ‘The Drama‘ (2026)

    (L to R) Robert Pattinson and Zendaya in 'The Drama'. Photo: A24.
    (L to R) Robert Pattinson and Zendaya in ‘The Drama’. Photo: A24.

    A happily engaged couple (Zendaya and Robert Pattinson) is put to the test when an unexpected turn sends their wedding week off the rails.

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    6. ‘Spider-Man: Far From Home‘ (2019)

    (L to R) Zendaya and Tom Holland in 'Spider-Man: No Way Home'. Photo: Marvel Studios.
    (L to R) Zendaya and Tom Holland in ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’. Photo: Marvel Studios.

    Peter Parker (Tom Holland) and his friends go on a summer trip to Europe. However, they will hardly be able to rest – Peter will have to agree to help Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) uncover the mystery of creatures that cause natural disasters and destruction throughout the continent.

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    5. ‘The Greatest Showman‘ (2017)

    Zendaya in 'The Greatest Showman.' Photo: 20th Century Fox.
    Zendaya in ‘The Greatest Showman.’ Photo: 20th Century Fox.

    The story of American showman P.T. Barnum (Hugh Jackman), founder of the circus that became the famous traveling Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.

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    4. ‘Dune‘ (2021)

    Zendaya in 'Dune'. Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures.
    Zendaya in ‘Dune’. Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures.

    Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet), a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet’s exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence-a commodity capable of unlocking humanity’s greatest potential-only those who can conquer their fear will survive.

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    3. ‘Challengers‘ (2024)

    Zendaya stars as Tashi in director Luca Guadagnino’s 'Challengers,' an Amazon MGM Studios film. Photo credit: Niko Tavernise. © 2024 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    Zendaya stars as Tashi in director Luca Guadagnino’s ‘Challengers,’ an Amazon MGM Studios film. Photo credit: Niko Tavernise. © 2024 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved.

    From visionary filmmaker Luca Guadagnino, ‘Challengers’ stars Zendaya as Tashi Duncan, a former tennis prodigy turned coach and a force of nature who makes no apologies for her game on and off the court. Married to a champion on a losing streak (Mike Faist – ‘West Side Story‘), Tashi’s strategy for her husband’s redemption takes a surprising turn when he must face off against the washed-up Patrick (Josh O’Connor – ‘The Crown‘) – his former best friend and Tashi’s former boyfriend. As their pasts and presents collide, and tensions run high, Tashi must ask herself, what will it cost to win.

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    2. ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home‘ (2021)

    (L to R) Zendaya and Tom Holland in 'Spider-Man: No Way Home'. Photo: Marvel Studios.
    (L to R) Zendaya and Tom Holland in ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’. Photo: Marvel Studios.

    Peter Parker (Tom Holland) is unmasked and no longer able to separate his normal life from the high-stakes of being a super-hero. When he asks for help from Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) the stakes become even more dangerous, forcing him to discover what it truly means to be Spider-Man.

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    1. ‘Dune: Part Two‘ (2024)

    Zendaya as Chani in Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures’ action adventure 'Dune: Part Two,' a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Niko Tavernise. Copyright: © 2024 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    Zendaya as Chani in Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures’ action adventure ‘Dune: Part Two,’ a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Niko Tavernise. Copyright: © 2024 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.

    Follow the mythic journey of Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) as he unites with Chani (Zendaya) and the Fremen while on a path of revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the known universe, Paul endeavors to prevent a terrible future only he can foresee.

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  • ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ Digital Release Cast Interview

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    Debuting on digital March 31st and 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D and DVD on May 19th, is the box office blockbuster ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’, which is the third film in the popular franchise and was once again directed by Oscar winner James Cameron (‘Terminator 2: Judgement Day‘).

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    The film stars Sam Worthington (‘Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1’), Zoe Saldaña (‘Emilia Pérez’), Sigourney Weaver (‘Aliens’), Stephen Lang (‘Sisu: Road to Revenge’), Oona Chaplin (‘Game of Thrones’), Jack Champion (‘Trap House’), Giovanni Ribisi (‘Saving Private Ryan’), Edie Falco (‘The Sopranos’), and Kate Winslet (‘Titanic’).

    (L to R) Oona Chaplin and Stephen Lang star in 'Avatar: Fire and Ash', which will be available on digital March 31st.
    (L to R) Oona Chaplin and Stephen Lang star in ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’, which will be available on digital March 31st.

    Moviefone recently had the pleasure of visiting James Cameron’s Lightstorm Entertainment offices to sit down and speak with actors Oona Chaplin and Stephen Lang about their work on ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’, what it was like for Chaplin to join the franchise and her approach to her character, Lang’s experience working on the films and his character’s arc, collaborating with James Cameron on set, and why Cameron reminds Chaplin of her grandfather, Charlie Chaplin.

    You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Chaplin, Lang, and producer Rae Sanchini.

    Related Article: Movie Review: ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’

    Oona Chaplin as Varang in 20th Century Studios' 'Avatar: Fire and Ash'. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2025 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.
    Oona Chaplin as Varang in 20th Century Studios’ ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2025 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

    Moviefone: To begin with, Oona, what was it like for you to join this franchise and did you understand right away how you wanted to play your character, or did you find it when you were working on set?

    Oona Chaplin: Joining the franchise, I mean, it’s still kind of like, I’m pinching myself. It’s a very strange thing to feel like it was a dream I didn’t even know I had, and it came true. I remember watching ‘Avatar’ and falling in love with the world, but it felt so far away from me. So, I’m speechless to be a part of it, and to not just be a part of the franchise, but to have really felt welcomed in by a family, and to feel so much love, intimacy, connection, respect, and care for the people. So, it’s special and it’s a unique feeling. Then the second part of the question is, did I find the character right away? I think a part of me did. I kind of connected with her anger quickly. At the time I was angry about the state of the world, and I could connect with the visceral injustice of, why is this happening? But weirdly, through playing her, I learned to come to a greater place of peace within myself because I don’t want to be like Varang, especially before my first coffee in the morning, my husband can attest it. There are some striking similarities. There’s a little bit in there wanting to get out.

    Quaritch (Stephen Lang) in 20th Century Studios' 'Avatar: Fire and Ash'. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2025 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.
    Quaritch (Stephen Lang) in 20th Century Studios’ ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2025 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

    MF: Stephen, what has it been like for you to be part of this franchise and play this incredible character over three films?

    Stephen Lang: Well, first, it validates my career choices. I would say I’m delighted that I became an actor, and it’s the kind of thing that you do dream about. I think when you talk about the arc of the character, that really is the key to me. I started in this one place, and he’s moved into completely different realms. So, much of it has been surprising to me, even though I know the story, and I’ve read it, I know where it goes. But to experience it, and to share it with my amazing colleagues that I’ve had starting with Sam (Worthington) at the beginning, and then to be gifted to be working within Oona Chaplin, has been just a great experience. So, no matter whatever happens from now on, it’s like I’m always a part of this. It’s funny, ‘Avatar’, in some aspect, enters my life every day. You know what I mean? Something happens that’s Pandora-ish to me. I meet someone who’s doing a little Varang kind of a thing on me, or whatever it is. It’s just being part of this family, it’s just always there. I mean, my life was good before but since ‘Avatar’, it’s just so enriched by the relationships that I have.

    (L to R) Stephen Lang and Director James Cameron on the set of 20th Century Studios' 'Avatar: Fire and Ash'. Photo by Mark Fellman. © 2024 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.
    (L to R) Stephen Lang and Director James Cameron on the set of 20th Century Studios’ ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’. Photo by Mark Fellman. © 2024 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

    MF: Stephen, can you talk about working with James Cameron on these three films and watching him execute his unique vision for this world?

    SL: I mean, my respect and affection for Jim are boundless because he gave me the role. But it goes well beyond that to me. I just have an appreciation for him as a visionary guy in so many respects. To me, I’ve said this before, and I stand by it, he really is the Leonardo (da Vinci) of our age, and by that, I mean not just an artistic visionary, but an engineer, an inventor, and an explorer. The thing is, every character in this franchise is a manifestation of Jim, and a part of him. He is a guy, I believe, who runs towards danger. Why else would you go to the deepest part of the planet in a submarine that you yourself have designed? But working with him, we have a lot of fun together. We’re tough on each other, I think. But I just feel such support and mutual respect and affection.

    (L to R) Director James Cameron and Oona Chaplin on the set of 20th Century Studios' 'Avatar: Fire and Ash'. Photo by Mark Fellman. © 2025 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.
    (L to R) Director James Cameron and Oona Chaplin on the set of 20th Century Studios’ ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’. Photo by Mark Fellman. © 2025 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

    MF: Finally, Oona, can you talk about working with James Cameron and what have you learned from watching the specific way he makes movies?

    OC: It was just a master class every single day. Because this universe wouldn’t have existed without his brain, but also his heart. He cares so much about this world, about Pandora, about the people in it, and he’s so curious. He really treasures questions, and he will do everything in his power to answer the good questions. He’s got this incredible rigor, and it’s incredible to live in, because he brings the best out of everybody. I could go on for hours and hours because it is boundless, and to work with that love, that breadth of genius is very humbling and inspiring. He’s the person that reminds me the most, of my grandfather, Charlie Chaplin, because of the way that he is pushing the boundaries of cinema, technology, and storytelling.

    'Avatar: Fire and Ash' will be available on digital March 31st.
    ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ will be available on digital March 31st.

    What is the plot of ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’?

    A year after settling in with the Metkayina clan, Jake (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri’s (Zoe Saldaña) family grapples with grief after Neteyam’s death. They encounter a new, aggressive Na’vi tribe, the Mangkwan clan, also called the Ash People, led by the fiery tribe leader, Varang (Oona Chaplin), who has allied with Jake’s enemy, Quaritch (Stephen Lang), as the conflict on Pandora escalates to devastating consequences.

    Who is in the cast of ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’?

    'Avatar: Fire and Ash' will be available on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D and DVD May 19th.
    ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ will be available on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D and DVD May 19th.

    List of James Cameron Movies:

    Buy James Cameron Movies on Amazon

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  • ‘Secrets of the Bees’ Interview: James Cameron and More

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    Premiering March 31st on National Geographic, and April 1st on Disney+ and Hulu is the new documentary series ‘Secrets of the Bees’, which was executive produced by James Cameron (‘Titanic’, ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’).

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    (L to R) James Cameron and Dr. Samuel Ramsey talk 'Secrets of the Bees'.
    (L to R) James Cameron and Dr. Samuel Ramsey talk ‘Secrets of the Bees’.

    Moviefone recently had the pleasure of visiting Lightstorm Entertainment’s offices, along with other members of the press, to speak with James Cameron and Dr. Samuel Ramsey about the new docuseries ‘Secrets of the Bees’, finding the story in post-production, the special cameras utilized for the project, the science of the series, what they hope viewers learn from the show, and why nature is important to Cameron.

    You can watch the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch the interview.

    Related Article: Director James Cameron and Kate Winslet Talk ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’

    (L to R) James Cameron and Dr. Samuel Ramsey talk 'Secrets of the Bees'. Photo: Jami Philbrick.
    (L to R) James Cameron and Dr. Samuel Ramsey talk ‘Secrets of the Bees’. Photo: Jami Philbrick.

    Moviefone: To begin with, Mr. Cameron, can you talk about developing the show’s narrative in the post-production process and discovering the story based on the incredible footage you were able to capture?

    James Cameron: It’s a recursive effect. You go in with a rough script and you go in with experienced people who have done this kind of macro photography out in the field. It’s basically a wish list or a hope list. You go and if you get the right people on the team, you’re going to get the results that you wanted, you’re going to get the kind of mind-blowing footage that you want. But when you do discover something new, then the script changes and the edit will change. So, you put it together and you rough it in according to what your game plan was, but you also must be ready to follow a lead and write new dialogue. We find that the voiceover narration and so on and the way in which it’s structured and explained is quite fluid right through to the end of postproduction. So, the story is continuing to reveal itself to us as we go along. I mean, I’d say all documentaries are like that, but certainly natural history documentaries at this kind of scale are absolutely like that. The story’s constantly revealing itself to you as you go along, just as nature is constantly revealing itself to science as you go along. It’s kind of a parallel process.

    Cinematographer Owen Carter filming the broomstick bee (Osmia bicolor) sequence in 'Secrets of Bees'. Photo credit: National Geographic/Nadege Laici.
    Cinematographer Owen Carter filming the broomstick bee (Osmia bicolor) sequence in ‘Secrets of Bees’. Photo credit: National Geographic/Nadege Laici.

    James, can you talk about the cutting-edge camera technology you utilized to make this series?

    JC: Well, our camera team is very experienced with macro photography and have been doing it for decades. The camera technology itself wasn’t really the leap forward. It was really, how do we configure the hive environment around various other environments like tunnels and things that were done with the solo bees. But how do we get into their world? So, you know, I’m not an expert in animal photography, where you’re creating an environment that, we’ve got the best people in the world to do that. But it’s about not interfering with their behavior, making it seem natural for them but still getting the camera in a manner that’s reasonably predictable, that the bee or the animal will do that behavior right in front of the lens. When you have a little tiny area of photography, you have a very shallow depth of field, and this is always the problem with macro photography. So, it’s really about the human in the loop experience team, and these days, less than breakthroughs in the optics, per se.

    A scene from 'Secrets of Bees'. Photo credit: National Geographic.
    A scene from ‘Secrets of Bees’. Photo credit: National Geographic.

    Dr. Ramsey, from a scientific point of view, can you talk about what you learned about the world of bees from this project?

    Samuel Ramsey: So, the way that these kinds of things often work is that when you’re conducting science, sometimes you just don’t have the time and space to be patient. A lot of the most incredible discoveries come from patience. What Jim was just talking about, about being able to get those cameras into that space, you can’t just leave the camera there forever. The bees will cover it in propolis, and wax and you’ll never be able to see anything. You’ve got to get it in there and wait, watch, and really spend the time looking at what they’re doing and hope for the best. That can be really difficult at times in science, but it’s in these spaces where you have the resources and the team that comes along with working with National Geographic, where you can really do this incredible stuff because we’re working with people who do all of this for a living, who are the best, and the top of their field at doing this sort of stuff. So then, with the bees that were using these leaves as a way of covering up the smell from the hornets, that’s the first time that that’s ever been documented. It is incredible to watch them do something like this, and of course, all of us were blown away. We expected that they would be able to do something like that, but not specifically that because it showed that they weren’t just looking for one thing and doing something on instinct. They had the ability to think, “Well, if I can’t find this, maybe I’ll use this as an alternative and it will allow us to cover the smell so that the hornets don’t kill us.” It’s an incredible process. But what it really involves a lot of is patience, because we go there, we’re looking for something specific, but we don’t know exactly what we’re going to see. We must wait and watch and really drill down and allow for time to show us the incredible secrets of the bees.

    A beekeeper holds a honey frame which has a large group of honey bees on it at the University of Colorado in 'Secrets of Bees'. Photo credit: National Geographic/Ryan Tidman.
    A beekeeper holds a honey frame which has a large group of honey bees on it at the University of Colorado in ‘Secrets of Bees’. Photo credit: National Geographic/Ryan Tidman.

    Dr. Ramsey, what do you hope viewers learn about bees from this series?

    SR: I want people to take away from this series that bees are working hard in the background doing things that keep our entire ecosystem healthy. They don’t get enough attention and they certainly don’t get protected nearly enough. Oftentimes when we say, “Save the Bees,” we mean “Save the Bee.” We’re thinking about the one bee species that we keep inside of a box because that’s the one that’s the most precious to us and it’s the one that we know the best. But they are the canary in the coal mine for the other 20,000 species of bees out there that we don’t have as close a connection with, and we’ve been able to show in this documentary some of their secret lives that they’re living underground and inside of tubes and the kinds of ways that they’re interacting with the world. If we couldn’t show that to people, it would be easier for them to discount that those things are important. But now that we’re able to put that front and center in front of people’s eyes, we want them to take away from that that these organisms are important, that they’re incredible, and we want them to expand that phrase of “Save the Bee” back to “Save the Bees” to keep the rest of them safe, healthy, and happy.

    Bumble bee passes nectar from her fore legs to hind legs in 'Secrets of Bees'. Photo credit: National Geographic.
    Bumble bee passes nectar from her fore legs to hind legs in ‘Secrets of Bees’. Photo credit: National Geographic.

    Mr. Cameron, what do you hope people learn from watching this series?

    JC: Well, you’re opening several different areas here. So, in terms of what I think the series in general is trying to convey, and the ‘Secrets of the Bees’ is an excellent example, is a sense of wonder about the natural world, because we won’t appreciate and make space for and protect that which we don’t love and don’t care about. The way to get people to care about things is to put them into it in a way that’s accessible, that’s not scientifically off-putting. Our primary purpose is not to sound very strident warnings, but as the series has progressed, we have shifted our emphasis a little bit toward this is what is endangered, this is what we may lose. You start off with “Isn’t this amazing?” Therefore, “Isn’t this precious? Oh, and by the way, it’s at risk.” That’s the last leg of that. “What can you do personally?” We don’t get into that that much, but that’s a critical area. I think this is where, when you start the conversation, it’s important not only as documentarians but as the National Geographic in general, to have answers. I think one of the issues that we all face in a global population of eight billion people is, what can I as an individual do? I can’t influence policy, and we all think of it as a government top-down system, and it doesn’t have to be. Let me give you an example. I’m vegan, I want to say that right up front. Animal agriculture is responsible for so much deforestation and loss of habitat that impacts not only bees but all species. The way in which we do our food system with massive industrial agriculture that’s mostly monocropping is also highly deleterious to bees, so it’s not just as simple as insecticides. It’s also, the simplification of monocropping just vast fields of corn or soy or wheat versus diversified vegetables and fruits, which is really what we should be eating as the intelligent hominids on the planet. For example, as a thought experiment, if people just stopped eating meat, which you can and you’d be healthier if you did, we could re-wild more than half of the planet, more than half of the area that’s been dedicated to agriculture, could be re-wild. That would be very good for the bees and for just about every other species out there. So, we make choices as a civilization and as individuals, and those choices have consequences. I think that the way to start getting people to think of those consequences is to let them see the victims, if you will. So, if we can relate to these bees, these hardworking ladies in these hives all over the world, then we may start to make better choices.

    Asian giant Hornet portait at the entrance of an Asian honeybee hive in 'Secrets of Bees'. Photo credit: National Geographic.
    Asian giant Hornet portait at the entrance of an Asian honeybee hive in ‘Secrets of Bees’. Photo credit: National Geographic.

    Finally, Mr. Cameron, nature plays an important role in many of your films including ‘The Abyss’, ‘Titanic’, and the ‘Avatar’ franchise. Can you talk about why nature is important to you as a storyteller?

    JC: I grew up living in a suburban neighborhood, but two blocks away a forest began that went for hundreds of miles. This was in Canada, so it was a rural area, and I grew up with a natural curiosity. I spent all my time out in the fields and out in the woods collecting bugs, snakes, frogs, turtles, and everything that I could get my hands on. I was reading about it and doing dissection, preservation, and drawing it all up, so I was a junior naturalist. Nobody asked me to do this, nobody told me to do it, it was just my natural curiosity. So, I know that that’s always been a driver throughout my life. Before I settled in on a career in film, I went to college to study astronomy and physics, believe it or not. So, I think curiosity is our superpower as human beings and I think science is a natural extension of that. Yes, of course we all reap the benefits in our technological world of science. But I think science in and of itself is just an amazing thing, and I have such respect for researchers and my curiosity is very broad.

    'Secrets of the Bees' premieres on Disney+ and Hulu April 1st.
    ‘Secrets of the Bees’ premieres on Disney+ and Hulu April 1st.

    What is the plot of ‘Secrets of the Bees’?

    Hosted and narrated by BAFTA and Emmy-winning National Geographic Explorer Bertie Gregory, ‘Secrets of the Bees’ uses groundbreaking filming technology to reveal the extraordinary world of bees. With the expertise of entomologist and fellow National Geographic Explorer Dr. Samuel Ramsey, the series uncovers their astonishing architecture and intelligence, unlocking their secrets and featuring never-before-filmed moments.

    Who is the host of ‘Secrets of the Bees’?

    (L to R) James Cameron and Dr. Samuel Ramsey talk 'Secrets of the Bees'. Photo: Jami Philbrick.
    (L to R) James Cameron and Dr. Samuel Ramsey talk ‘Secrets of the Bees’. Photo: Jami Philbrick.

    List of James Cameron Movies:

    Buy James Cameron Movies on Amazon

  • Every Ryan Coogler Movie Ever Made Ranked

    Ryan Coogler accepts the Oscar® for Original Screenplay during the 98th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 15, 2026. Credit/Provider: Trae Patton / The Academy. Copyright: ©A.M.P.A.S.
    Ryan Coogler accepts the Oscar® for Original Screenplay during the 98th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 15, 2026. Credit/Provider: Trae Patton / The Academy. Copyright: ©A.M.P.A.S.

    One of the most celebrated filmmakers of his generation, Ryan Coogler is now an Oscar winner!

    The writer, director and producer first gained attention for his work on ‘Fruitvale Station‘, and went on to make such celebrated and successful films as ‘Creed‘, ‘Black Panther‘ and ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever‘.

    He has also produced such popular and successful films as ‘Judas and the Black Messiah‘, ‘Creed III‘, ‘Space Jam: A New Legacy‘, and the documentary ‘Stephen Curry: Underrated‘.

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    But it was his blockbuster hit ‘Sinners‘, which received a nomination for Best Picture, that earned him an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.

    In honor of Coogler’s recent Oscar win, Moviefone is ranking every movie he’s ever made as a writer, director or producer.

    Let’s begin!

    Related Article: Director Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan Discuss Making ‘Sinners’

    9. ‘Space Jam: A New Legacy‘ (2021)

    (L to R) LeBron James and Tweety in 'Space Jam: A New Legacy'. Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures.
    (L to R) LeBron James and Tweety in ‘Space Jam: A New Legacy’. Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures.

    When LeBron (LeBron James) and his young son Dom (Cedric Joe) are trapped in a digital space by a rogue A.I. (Don Cheadle), LeBron must get them home safe by leading Bugs, Lola Bunny and the whole gang of notoriously undisciplined Looney Tunes to victory over the A.I.’s digitized champions on the court: a powered-up roster of professional basketball stars as you’ve never seen them before. It’s Tunes versus Goons in the highest-stakes challenge of his life, that will redefine LeBron’s bond with his son and shine a light on the power of being yourself. The ready-for-action Tunes destroy convention, supercharge their unique talents and surprise even ‘King’ James by playing the game their own way.

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    8. ‘Stephen Curry: Underrated‘ (2023)

    Stephen Curry in the documentary 'Stephen Curry: Underrated'. Photo: A24 and Apple TV+.
    Stephen Curry in the documentary ‘Stephen Curry: Underrated’. Photo: A24 and Apple TV+.

    The remarkable coming-of-age story of Stephen Curry, one of the most influential, dynamic, and unexpected players in basketball history—and his rise from an undersized college player to a four-time NBA champion.

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    7. ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever‘ (2022)

    Letitia Wright as Shuri in Marvel Studios' 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.' Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2022 Marvel.
    Letitia Wright as Shuri in Marvel Studios’ ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.’ Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2022 Marvel.

    Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett), Shuri (Letitia Wright), M’Baku (Winston Duke), Okoye (Danai Gurira) and the Dora Milaje fight to protect their nation from intervening world powers in the wake of King T’Challa’s (Chadwick Boseman) death. As the Wakandans strive to embrace their next chapter, the heroes must band together with the help of War Dog Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o) and Everett Ross (Martin Freeman) and forge a new path for the kingdom of Wakanda.

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    6.’Creed III‘ (2023)

    Michael B. Jordan stars as Adonis Creed in 'Creed III,' A Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures film. Photo credit: Eli Ade. © 2023 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved
    Michael B. Jordan stars as Adonis Creed in ‘Creed III,’ A Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures film. Photo credit: Eli Ade. © 2023 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved

    After dominating the boxing world, Adonis Creed (Jordan) has thrived in his career and family life. When a childhood friend and former boxing prodigy, Damian Anderson (Jonathan Majors), resurfaces after serving a long sentence in prison, he is eager to prove that he deserves his shot in the ring. The face-off between former friends is more than just a fight. To settle the score, Adonis must put his future on the line to battle Damian — a fighter with nothing to lose.

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    5.’Judas and the Black Messiah‘ (2021)

    Daniel Kaluuya in 'Judas and the Black Messiah'. Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures.
    Daniel Kaluuya in ‘Judas and the Black Messiah’. Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures.

    Chairman Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya) was 21 years old when he was assassinated by the FBI, who coerced a petty criminal named William O’Neal (LaKeith Stanfield) to help them silence him and the Black Panther Party. But they could not kill Fred Hampton’s legacy and, 50 years later, his words still echo’¦ louder than ever.

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    4. ‘Fruitvale Station‘ (2013)

    (L to R) Michael B. Jordan and Kevin Durand in 'Fruitvale Station.' Photo: The Weinstein Company.
    (L to R) Michael B. Jordan and Kevin Durand in ‘Fruitvale Station.’ Photo: The Weinstein Company.

    Oakland, California. Young Afro-American Oscar Grant (Jordan) crosses paths with family members, friends, enemies and strangers before facing his fate on the platform at Fruitvale Station, in the early morning hours of New Year’s Day 2009.

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    3. ‘Creed‘ (2015)

    (L to R) Michael B. Jordan and Sylvester Stallone in 'Creed'. Photo: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures.
    (L to R) Michael B. Jordan and Sylvester Stallone in ‘Creed’. Photo: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures.

    The former World Heavyweight Champion Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) serves as a trainer and mentor to Adonis Johnson (Jordan), the son of his late friend and former rival Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers).

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    2. ‘Black Panther‘ (2018)

    (L to R) Michael B. Jordan and Chadwick Boseman in 'Black Panther'. Photo: Marvel Studios.
    (L to R) Michael B. Jordan and Chadwick Boseman in ‘Black Panther’. Photo: Marvel Studios.

    King T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) returns home to the reclusive, technologically advanced African nation of Wakanda to serve as his country’s new leader. However, T’Challa soon finds that he is challenged for the throne by factions within his own country as well as without. Using powers reserved to Wakandan kings, T’Challa assumes the Black Panther mantle to join with ex-girlfriend Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o), the queen-mother (Angela Bassett), his princess-kid sister (Letitia Wright), members of the Dora Milaje (the Wakandan ‘special forces’) and an American secret agent (Martin Freeman), to prevent Wakanda from being dragged into a world war.

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    1. ‘Sinners‘ (2025)

    Michael B. Jordan as Smoke and Stack in Warner Bros. Pictures’ 'Sinners,' a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures. Copyright: © 2025 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    Michael B. Jordan as Smoke and Stack in Warner Bros. Pictures’ ‘Sinners,’ a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures. Copyright: © 2025 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.

    Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers (Jordan) return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back.

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  • Every Paul Thomas Anderson Movie Ever Made Ranked

    Every Paul Thomas Anderson Movie Ever Made Ranked

    Paul Thomas Anderson accepts the Best Director Award for 'One Battle After Another' onstage during the 83rd Annual Golden Globes®, airing live from the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California on Sunday, January 11, 2026 at 8 PM ET/5 PM PT, on CBS and streaming on Paramount+. Photo: Kevork Djansezian/CBS ©2026 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    Paul Thomas Anderson accepts the Best Director Award for ‘One Battle After Another’ onstage during the 83rd Annual Golden Globes®, airing live from the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California on Sunday, January 11, 2026 at 8 PM ET/5 PM PT, on CBS and streaming on Paramount+. Photo: Kevork Djansezian/CBS ©2026 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

    Paul Thomas Anderson is one of the most accomplished filmmakers of his generation … and now he is an Oscar winning director and screenwriter!

    He began his career with ‘Hard Eight‘ starring Gwyneth Paltrow, but it was ‘Boogie Nights’ that made him one of the most popular directors in Hollywood. Since then he has helmed such acclaimed films as ‘Magnolia‘, ‘Punch-Drunk Love‘, ‘There Will Be Blood‘, ‘The Master‘, ‘Inherent Vice‘, ‘Phantom Thread‘, and ‘Licorice Pizza‘.

    The filmmakers latest movie, ‘One Battle After Another,’ which stars Leonardo Di Caprio, and recently earned him Academy Awards for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Picture.

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    In honor of Anderson’s recent Oscar wins, Moviefone is counting down every film Paul Thomas Anderson has ever directed from worst to best, including his latest.

    Let’s begin!

    Related Article: Movie Review: ‘One Battle After Another’

    10. ‘Hard Eight‘ (1997)

    Gwyneth Paltrow in 'Hard Eight'. Photo: Rysher Entertainment.
    Gwyneth Paltrow in ‘Hard Eight’. Photo: Rysher Entertainment.

    A stranger (Phillip Baker Hall) mentors a young Reno gambler (John C. Reilly) who weds a hooker (Gwyneth Paltrow) and befriends a vulgar casino regular.

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    9. ‘Punch-Drunk Love‘ (2002)

    (L to R) Emily Watson and Adam Sandler in 'Punch-Drunk Love'. Photo: Sony Pictures Releasing.
    (L to R) Emily Watson and Adam Sandler in ‘Punch-Drunk Love’. Photo: Sony Pictures Releasing.

    A socially awkward and volatile small business owner (Adam Sandler) meets the love of his life (Emily Watson) after being threatened by a gang of scammers.

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    8. ‘Phantom Thread‘ (2018)

    Daniel Day-Lewis in 'Phantom Thread'. Photo: Focus Features.
    Daniel Day-Lewis in ‘Phantom Thread’. Photo: Focus Features.

    In 1950s London, a renowned dressmaker’s (Daniel Day Lewis) meticulous lifestyle begins drastically changing as his relationship with his young muse (Vickey Kreps) intensifies.

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    7. ‘The Master‘ (2012)

    Philip Seymour Hoffman in 'The Master'. Photo: The Weinstein Company.
    Philip Seymour Hoffman in ‘The Master’. Photo: The Weinstein Company.

    Freddie (Joaquin Phoenix), a volatile, heavy-drinking veteran who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, finds some semblance of a family when he stumbles onto the ship of Lancaster Dodd (Phillip Seymour Hoffman), the charismatic leader of a new “religion” he forms after World War II.

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    6. ‘Licorice Pizza‘ (2021)

    (L to R) Alana Haim and Cooper Hoffman in 'Licorice Pizza'. Photo: United Artists Releasing.
    (L to R) Alana Haim and Cooper Hoffman in ‘Licorice Pizza’. Photo: United Artists Releasing.

    The story of Gary Valentine (Cooper Hoffman) and Alana Kane (Alana Haim) growing up, running around and going through the treacherous navigation of first love in the San Fernando Valley, 1973.

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    5. ‘Magnolia‘ (2000)

    Tom Cruise in 'Magnolia'. Photo: New Line Cinema.
    Tom Cruise in ‘Magnolia’. Photo: New Line Cinema.

    On one random day in the San Fernando Valley, a dying father (Jason Robards), a young wife (Julianne Moore), a male caretaker (Phillip Seymour Hoffman), a famous lost son (Tom Cruise), a police officer (John C. Reilly) in love, a boy genius, an ex-boy genius (William H. Macy), a game show host (Phillip Baker Hall) and an estranged daughter (Melora Walters) will each become part of a dazzling multiplicity of plots, but one story.

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    4. ‘Inherent Vice‘ (2015)

    Joaquin Phoenix in 'Inherent Vice.' Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures.
    Joaquin Phoenix in ‘Inherent Vice.’ Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures.

    In Los Angeles at the turn of the 1970s, drug-fueled detective Larry “Doc” Sportello (Joaquin Phoenix) investigates the disappearance of an ex-girlfriend (Katherine Waterson).

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    3. ‘Boogie Nights‘ (1997)

    The cast of 'Boogie Nights'. Photo: New Line Cinema.
    The cast of ‘Boogie Nights’. Photo: New Line Cinema.

    Set in 1977, back when sex was safe, pleasure was a business and business was booming, idealistic porn producer Jack Horner (Burt Reynolds) aspires to elevate his craft to an art form. Horner discovers Eddie Adams (Mark Wahlberg), a hot young talent working as a busboy in a nightclub, and welcomes him into the extended family of movie-makers, misfits and hangers-on that are always around. Adams’ rise from nobody to a celebrity adult entertainer is meteoric, and soon the whole world seems to know his porn alter ego, “Dirk Diggler”. Now, when disco and drugs are in vogue, fashion is in flux and the party never seems to stop, Adams’ dreams of turning sex into stardom are about to collide with cold, hard reality.

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    2. ‘One Battle After Another‘ (2025)

    Leonardo Di Caprio as Bob Ferguson in 'One Battle After Another.' A Warner Bros. Pictures Release. Photo Credit: Photo Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures.
    Leonardo Di Caprio as Bob Ferguson in ‘One Battle After Another.’ A Warner Bros. Pictures Release. Photo Credit: Photo Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures.

    When their evil nemesis resurfaces after 16 years, a band of ex-revolutionaries reunite to rescue the daughter of one of their own. (Leonardo Di Caprio)

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    1. ‘There Will Be Blood‘ (2008)

    Daniel Day-Lewis in 'There Will Be Blood'. Photo: Paramount Vantage.
    Daniel Day-Lewis in ‘There Will Be Blood’. Photo: Paramount Vantage.

    Ruthless silver miner, turned oil prospector, Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day Lewis), moves to oil-rich California. Using his son to project a trustworthy, family-man image, Plainview cons local landowners into selling him their valuable properties for a pittance. However, local preacher Eli Sunday (Paul Dano) suspects Plainview’s motives and intentions, starting a slow-burning feud that threatens both their lives.

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  • Best Michael B. Jordan Movies and TV Shows Ranked

    Michael B. Jordan poses backstage with the Oscar® for Actor in a Leading Role during the 98th Oscars® at Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 15, 2026. Credit/Provider: Etienne Laurent / The Academy
    Michael B. Jordan poses backstage with the Oscar® for Actor in a Leading Role during the 98th Oscars® at Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 15, 2026. Credit/Provider: Etienne Laurent / The Academy
    Copyright: ©A.M.P.A.S.

    Michael B. Jordan is one of the most popular and talented actors working today, and now he is an Oscar winner!

    The actor first gained attention on TV for his roles in popular series like ‘The Wire‘ and ‘Friday Night Lights‘ before making a name for himself on the big screen in movies like ‘Chronicle‘ and ‘That Awkward Moment‘.

    But it his collaborations with director Ryan Coogler such as ‘Fruitvale Station‘, ‘Creed‘, ‘Black Panther‘ and ‘Sinners‘, which have really resinated with audiences.

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    Jordan would go on to star in ‘Creed II‘ before stepping into the director’s chair himself for ‘Creed III‘, which were both executive produced by Coogler, and even made a cameo in Coogler’s ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever‘.

    In honor or Jordan’s recent Best Actor Oscar win for ‘Sinners’, Moviefone is counting down the 20 best movies and TV shows of Michael B. Jordan’s impressive and groundbreaking career.

    Let’s begin!

    Related Article: Director Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan Discuss Making ‘Sinners’

    20. ‘Fantastic Four‘ (2015)

    (L to R) Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Bell in 2015's 'Fantastic Four.' Photo: 20th Century Fox.
    (L to R) Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Bell in 2015’s ‘Fantastic Four.’ Photo: 20th Century Fox.

    Four young outsiders (Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Jamie Bell and Jordan) teleport to a dangerous universe, which alters their physical form in shocking ways. Their lives irrevocably upended, the team must learn to harness their daunting new abilities and work together to save Earth from a former friend (Toby Kebbell) turned enemy.

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    19. ‘Kin‘ (2018)

    A young boy finds a powerful otherworldly weapon, which he uses to save his older adoptive brother from a crew of thugs. Before long, the two of them are also pursued by federal agents and mysterious mercenaries aiming to reclaim their asset.

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    18. ‘Hardball‘ (2001)

    An aimless young man (Keanu Reeves) who is scalping tickets, gambling and drinking, agrees to coach a Little League team from the Cabrini Green housing project in Chicago as a condition of getting a loan from a friend.

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    17. ‘A Journal for Jordan‘ (2021)

    Based on the true story of First Sergeant Charles Monroe King (Jordan), a soldier deployed to Iraq begins to keep a journal of love and advice for his infant son. Back at home, senior New York Times editor Dana Canedy (Chanté Adams) revisits the story of her unlikely, life-altering relationship with King and his enduring devotion to her and their child.

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    16. ‘Parenthood‘ (2010-2015)

    The trials and tribulations of the very large, colorful and imperfect Braverman family.

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    15. ‘That Awkward Moment‘ (2014)

    (L to R) Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan and Zac Efron in 'That Awkward Moment'. Photo: Focus Features.
    (L to R) Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan and Zac Efron in ‘That Awkward Moment’. Photo: Focus Features.

    Best pals Jason (Zac Efron) and Daniel (Miles Teller) indulge in casual flings and revel in their carefree, unattached lives. After learning that the marriage of their friend Mikey (Jordan) is over, they gladly welcome him back into their circle. The three young men make a pact to have fun and avoid commitment. However, when all three find themselves involved in serious relationships, they must keep their romances secret from one another.

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    14. ‘Red Tails‘ (2012)

    The story of the Tuskegee Airmen, the first African-American pilots to fly in a combat squadron during World War II.

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    13. ‘Just Mercy‘ (2020)

    The powerful true story of Harvard-educated lawyer Bryan Stevenson (Jordan), who goes to Alabama to defend the disenfranchised and wrongly condemned — including Walter McMillian (Jamie Foxx), a man sentenced to death despite evidence proving his innocence. Bryan fights tirelessly for Walter with the system stacked against them.

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    12. ‘Fahrenheit 451‘ (2018)

    In an oppressive future, a ‘fireman’ (Jordan) whose duty is to destroy all books begins to question his task.

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    11. ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever‘ (2022)

    Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett), Shuri (Letitia Wright), M’Baku (Winston Duke), Okoye (Danai Gurira) and the Dora Milaje fight to protect their nation from intervening world powers in the wake of King T’Challa’s (Chadwick Boseman) death. As the Wakandans strive to embrace their next chapter, the heroes must band together with the help of War Dog Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o) and Everett Ross (Martin Freeman) and forge a new path for the kingdom of Wakanda.

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    10. ‘Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse‘ (2021)

    Michael B. Jordan as John Kelly in Prime Video's 'Without Remorse.' Photo: Amazon.
    Michael B. Jordan as John Kelly in Prime Video’s ‘Without Remorse.’ Photo: Amazon.

    When a squad of Russian soldiers kills his family in retaliation for his role in a top-secret op, Sr. Chief John Kelly (Jordan) pursues the assassins at all costs. Joining forces with a fellow SEAL (Jodie Turner-Smith) and a shadowy CIA agent (Jamie Bell), Kelly’s mission unwittingly exposes a covert plot that threatens to engulf the U.S. and Russia in an all-out war. Torn between personal honor and loyalty to his country, Kelly must fight his enemies without remorse if he hopes to avert disaster and reveal the powerful figures behind the conspiracy.

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    9. ‘Chronicle‘ (2012)

    Three high school students (Dane DeHaan, Alex Russell and Jordan) make an incredible discovery, leading to their developing uncanny powers beyond their understanding. As they learn to control their abilities and use them to their advantage, their lives start to spin out of control, and their darker sides begin to take over.

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    8. ‘Creed II‘ (2018)

    Between personal obligations and training for his next big fight against an opponent with ties to his family’s past, Adonis Creed (Jordan) is up against the challenge of his life.

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    7. ‘Friday Night Lights‘ (2006-2011)

    The trials and triumphs of life in the small town of Dillon, Texas, where high school football is everything.

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    6.’Creed III‘ (2023)

    After dominating the boxing world, Adonis Creed (Jordan) has thrived in his career and family life. When a childhood friend and former boxing prodigy, Damian Anderson (Jonathan Majors), resurfaces after serving a long sentence in prison, he is eager to prove that he deserves his shot in the ring. The face-off between former friends is more than just a fight. To settle the score, Adonis must put his future on the line to battle Damian — a fighter with nothing to lose.

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    5. ‘Fruitvale Station‘ (2013)

    (L to R) Michael B. Jordan and Kevin Durand in 'Fruitvale Station.' Photo: The Weinstein Company.
    (L to R) Michael B. Jordan and Kevin Durand in ‘Fruitvale Station.’ Photo: The Weinstein Company.

    Oakland, California. Young Afro-American Oscar Grant (Jordan) crosses paths with family members, friends, enemies and strangers before facing his fate on the platform at Fruitvale Station, in the early morning hours of New Year’s Day 2009.

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    4. ‘The Wire‘ (2002-2008)

    Told from the points of view of both the Baltimore homicide and narcotics detectives and their targets, the series captures a universe in which the national war on drugs has become a permanent, self-sustaining bureaucracy, and distinctions between good and evil are routinely obliterated.

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    3. ‘Black Panther‘ (2018)

    King T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) returns home to the reclusive, technologically advanced African nation of Wakanda to serve as his country’s new leader. However, T’Challa soon finds that he is challenged for the throne by factions within his own country as well as without. Using powers reserved to Wakandan kings, T’Challa assumes the Black Panther mantle to join with ex-girlfriend Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o), the queen-mother (Angela Bassett), his princess-kid sister (Letitia Wright), members of the Dora Milaje (the Wakandan ‘special forces’) and an American secret agent (Martin Freeman), to prevent Wakanda from being dragged into a world war.

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    2. ‘Creed‘ (2015)

    The former World Heavyweight Champion Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) serves as a trainer and mentor to Adonis Johnson (Jordan), the son of his late friend and former rival Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers).

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    1. ‘Sinners‘ (2025)

    Michael B. Jordan as Smoke and Stack in Warner Bros. Pictures’ 'Sinners,' a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures. Copyright: © 2025 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    Michael B. Jordan as Smoke and Stack in Warner Bros. Pictures’ ‘Sinners,’ a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures. Copyright: © 2025 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.

    Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers (Jordan) return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back.

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