Not every music biopic needs to chronicle an entire life, and Scott Cooper’s Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere doesn’t attempt to depict The Boss in such a way. Bruce Springsteen’s catapult to fame? Skipped over. Instead, the film trades Springsteen’s hits for the moodier tracks of his sixth studio album, Nebraska. With a focus on this particular chapter of his life, the film sidesteps some biopic clichés — only to trip over others.
The Knockturnal attended the Los Angeles tastemaker screening of AMERICANA at Desert 5 Spot.
Paramount Pictures presented on July 28 the US premiere of “The Naked Gun.”
Back in March, we were invited to Pixar Animation Studios, where the team was hard at work on the final touches of Inside Out 2. Visiting the studio on my very first press trip, I was assigned to the “Anxiety” group (how fitting!), joining other journalists for an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at the making of the highly anticipated sequel.
© 2024 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.
If Inside Out sent you on an emotional rollercoaster, then the sequel is guaranteed to throw you for a loop.
Leading up to the film’s summer release, we visited Pixar Animation Studios to discuss Inside Out 2 with director Kelsey Mann and producer Mark Nielsen, who also worked on Inside Out.
The day before, we were treated to an early sneak peek of the first thirty minutes of the sequel. As a longtime Pixar enthusiast, I was thrilled—though perhaps not as excited as Mann was to push the big red button.
Kelsey Mann, who saw Inside Out as an audience member in 2015 while working on Pixar’s The Good Dinosaur, described his reaction to the first film’s ending as he pointed to Mark Nielsen. “You guys set up [the puberty button] on the console and I’m like, ‘I want that thing to go off. If you don’t set off, I’m gonna be upset!”
He finally gets the chance to do just that as the director of Inside Out 2. He went on to explain that he also set out to cause more chaos than just a blaring puberty alarm.
“[The first movie] ends in a great way where she’s like, ‘we’ve got new friends, a great new house, after all, she’s 12, what could happen?’” he says, “She has such confidence in herself and I wanted to crush that.”
Mann also detailed how they explored challenging Joy’s traditional ideas of who Riley is in this new phase of her life. “That’s where the new emotions come in,” he said, “because they’re like, ‘we understand this teenage world and we know how to play this game better than you do. So you know what? We need you to step aside because we need to take over.”
Once again, filmgoers will see some push and pull at the controls in this new story—just in a different way. “Joy, in the beginning of [Inside Out] learned that lesson that all emotions are valuable, she learned to let Sadness go to the console.” Mark Nielsen says, “And now in this film, she’s like, ‘maybe not ALL of them.’”
© 2024 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.
The new movie features new additions to the cast, including Maya Hawke (Anxiety), Ayo Edebiri (Envy), Paul Walter Hauser (Embarrassment), and Adèle Exarchopoulos (Ennui). During a press conference session earlier that day, Mark Nielsen had nothing but praise for what they brought to the film. “They’re all very funny,” he said, “Some of them are actual straight-up comedians.”
“[Envy] wasn’t as developed as some of the other emotions,” Mann jumped in to say, “Ayo really helped flesh out who that character was in a positive way.”
Nielsen was also wowed by Maya Hawke’s performance as Anxiety, describing her as the “fastest talker I’ve ever met.”
“She brought an element of humanity to the character,” Mann added.
During those first thirty minutes of the film, we didn’t get the chance to become well-acquainted with Embarrassment, but Mark Nielsen gave us an idea of what to expect from the character.
“Paul Walter Hauser as Embarrassment was amazing—what a gem of a human being,” he said, “We met with him beforehand to talk about the role. On the script, it doesn’t look like much because he’s too scared to talk and barely has any lines, but he’s a really important character in the film. It’s actually a really big role, which is a beautiful relationship he ends up having with Sadness.”
You can check out our interview with Kelsey Mann and Mark Nielsen at Pixar Animation Studios in the video below. “Inside Out 2” will be hitting theaters on June 14th, 2024!
Have you ever felt flooded with guilt for immediately unsubscribing from a mailing list after utilizing the coupon code that you got for subscribing to their mailing list?
If the answer is yes then expect to experience a rollercoaster of emotions while watching Kristen Bell and Kirby Howell-Baptiste in Queenpins. Queenpins is based on a real-life multimillion-dollar criminal couponing bust that happened in Phoenix, Arizona. (Kirby’s got love for Phoenix, literally! Watch the interview to find out why. ?)
It was a brazen scheme. $25 million in counterfeit coupons. Can they get away with it?
Kristen Bell tells The Knockturnal‘s Kinsey Schofield, this is one of those unique films where you actually end up rooting for the good girls gone bad. She explains, “What excited me so much about the movie was, it is a dream come true to receive a script that the cover page says, ‘Based on true events.’ Because, you know, humanity is often stranger than fiction.”
“By the time they start their illegal empire, you are 100% on the side of the criminals and I think that’s rare that a movie can accomplish that.”
Both certified saints, Kirby and Kristen fess up to teenage naughtiness! “Have you ever taken anything that doesn’t belong to you?” Asks Kinsey, “Yes, not from another person!” insists Kirby. “No, but like, in high school… for sure,” admits Kristen.
“I guess, maybe, because I’m so scared of breaking the rules in real life, that I kind of like doing movies about breaking the rules,” Kristen tells The Knockturnal.
Kirby and Kristen talk Queenpins, Dateline, and dance contests in the interview above. Enjoy!
Queenpins stars Kristen Bell, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Bebe Rexha, Dayo Okeniyi, Joel McHale, Paul Walter Hauser, and Vince Vaughn, and premieres in theaters on September 10th, 2021.
Kinsey Schofield is a contributor to The Knockturnal and you can follow her on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook.
Have you ever felt flooded with guilt for immediately unsubscribing from a mailing list after utilizing the coupon code that you got for subscribing to their mailing list?
If the answer is yes then expect to experience a rollercoaster of emotions while watching Bebe Rexha in Queenpins. Queenpins is based on a real-life multimillion-dollar criminal couponing bust that happened in Phoenix, Arizona. Bebe plays Tempe Tina, a hardcore hacker that helps Kristen Bell and Kirby Howell-Baptist with their coupon scheme. We probably haven’t seen a hacker this hot since Angelina Jolie in… well… Hackers!
Bebe talked Tempe Tina to The Knockturnal‘s Kinsey Schofield, “Playing this character, she is extremely, like, in your face. She’s all about the business. She’s not trying to waste time, she’s trying to just get straight to the money. Make her money. Do her thing and move right along. That’s what I loved about this character. She’s just super strong, super kick-ass, and it kind of reminds me of the people I was surrounded by in New York. And you know, I’m from New York too. It’s just that energy that I love, so yeah, I love playing a badass chick!”
While Tempe Tina might an identity thief, Bebe likes to play by the rules! “Have you ever stolen something?” asked Kinsey, “Probably when I was younger. I think I stole gum or something from the store and my mom freaked out and like made me bring it back. You know when you were a baby and you would just grab,” admits the award-winning musician. “Other than that, not really! I’m too much of a scaredy-cat to steal something!” “You’re a good girl!” Kinsey reiterates,
Explore manifesting, Juicy Fruit gum, and getting in the car with Tempe Tina aka Bebe Rexha in the interview above.
Queenpins stars Kristen Bell, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Bebe Rexha, Dayo Okeniyi, Joel McHale, Paul Walter Hauser, and Vince Vaughn, and premieres in theaters on September 10th, 2021.
Kinsey Schofield is a contributor to The Knockturnal and you can follow her on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook.
This week, the cast of “I, Tonya” took New York by storm.