Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey Debut ‘The Last of Us,' ‘Warfare' Arrives and This Week's Best Events
More from The Hollywood Reporter
'Warfare' Review: Ray Mendoza and Alex Garland Plunge the Audience Into the Hell of Combat in Visceral Real-Time Nerve-Shredder
Seth Rogen Spills on Real-Life Inspirations Behind 'The Studio': "I've Been Yelled at Three Times in the Last Week"
'Handmaid's Tale' Team on "Rewarding" Final Season and Ending in Current Political Climate: "The War is Not Over"
Best of The Hollywood Reporter
From 'Lady in the Lake' to 'It Ends With Us': 29 New and Upcoming Book Adaptations in 2024
Meet the Superstars Who Glam Up Hollywood's A-List
Rosie O'Donnell on Ellen, Madonna, Trump and 40 Years in the Queer Spotlight
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
‘Don't Let the Sun,' Jacqueline Zünd's Fiction Feature Debut, Looks to Heat up Locarno (Exclusive First Look)
The skyline looks gorgeous at dawn, but things aren't quite as romantic as they may seem at first. After all, … well, you have to find out by watching an exclusive first look at Don't Let the Sun! The fiction feature directorial debut by documentary filmmaker Jacqueline Zünd (Where We Belong, Almost There, Goodnight Nobody) from Switzerland will have its world premiere on Aug. 9 at the 78th edition of the Locarno Film Festival, where it will screen in the Filmmakers of the Present lineup. Levan Gelbakhiani (And Then We Danced) stars as Jonah, who provides comfort for strangers amid rising temperatures. However, when he meets the young Nika, portrayed by newcomer Maria Pia Pepe, his life threatens to get out of sync. More from The Hollywood Reporter 'Evita' Star James Olivas on Taking the Show to Broadway, That Infamous Balcony Scene and the "Manufactured Outrage" Directed at Rachel Zegler 'Celtic Utopia' Shines a Spotlight on New Wave of Irish Folk Music Made "to Scare Priests and Politicians" Kukla's 'Fantasy' Invites Women to "See Themselves Through Their Own Lens" (Exclusive Locarno Clip) Written by Zünd, who promises 'a glimpse of how external conditions could affect and shape our inner worlds,' and Arne Kohlweyer, the movie features cinematography from Nikolai von Graevenitz. The movie, from producer Lomotion and co-producers CDV – Casa delle Visioni and SRF Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen, will be distributed in Switzerland by Filmcoopi Zürich. International sales are being handled by Sideral Cinema. The 2025 edition of the Locarno Film Festival runs Aug. 6-16 in the picturesque Swiss lakeside town. The first look at Don't Let the Sun, which THR can exclusively present below, gives us a first sense of Gelbakhiani's Jonah and Pepe's Nika, their developing relationship, as well as a first look at the sun featured in the film's title. Actually, we get both, a glimpse of the celestial body itself and a mention of the sun as a character in a play. There is also a question about a happy childhood. But first and foremost, the first look sets the mood, showcasing the atmosphere to expect from Don't Let the Sun. Check out the first look of The Hollywood Reporter The 25 Best U.S. Film Schools in 2025 The 40 Greatest Needle Drops in Film History The 40 Best Films About the Immigrant Experience Solve the daily Crossword
Los Angeles Times
6 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
Making ‘Last of Us' without Pedro Pascal was tough. But Bella Ramsey loves a challenge
For Bella Ramsey, real pressure came with stepping into the leading role for the second season of 'The Last of Us.' But it wasn't entirely mental. The difficulty came from performing nearly every scene without the solidarity of co-star Pedro Pascal, whose character Joel was brutally killed off in Episode 2. 'I did feel the sense of, 'Well, I'm just here every day all day for the next seven months and that's so exhausting,'' says Ramsey. 'But I love hard things. Doing hard things is how I feel satisfied and fulfilled.' Season 2 saw Ramsey embodying Ellie, a stubborn young woman living in a postapocalyptic reality, in a more mature way. Slipping into her skin for the second time was 'very familiar.' Ramsey tackled new skills, including extensive stunt training and a few guitar lessons, but generally they relied on their instincts to find Ellie's emotional state. 'The way that she thinks and moves and speaks and acts and behaves is almost second nature because of how long I've lived in her,' Ramsey says. 'She feels very easily accessible to me.' Ellie's burgeoning relationship with Dina (Isabela Merced) was key to understanding the character's evolution. As the newly minted couple travels from Jackson, Wyo., to Seattle in search of Abby (Kaitlyn Dever) after Joel's murder, Ellie's protector impulse becomes more pronounced, particularly after learning Dina is pregnant. 'I say this with all the love for Ellie, but she is quite selfish,' Ramsey says. 'But then she has these moments of, 'Wait, it's not just me anymore.' She's forced out of her inherent selfishness by love. She was forced to think about other people, which is growth for her.' Pascal and Dever shot for short periods of time during the production in Canada last year. Ramsey says they were 'less in denial' about Pascal's exit than he was 'because I had felt the effects of him not being there.' Shooting the scene where Ellie walks in just as Abby impales Joel with a broken golf club was a pivotal experience. 'I was really trying to get loads of energy in me before that scene to be able to do it,' Ramsey says. 'I was dancing and getting hyped up. When we actually did it, I had to live in it for a little bit … At the end of the day you feel this exhausted satisfaction and catharsis. But seeing his little face on the ground was pretty awful. I'll never forget it.' Less awful was Episode 6, a flashback to Ellie and Joel's relationship before his death. Ramsey describes shooting it with director Neil Druckmann, who also created the video games, as 'joyful.' Several scenes are a shot-for-shot remake of 'The Last of Us Part II,' including Joel taking Ellie to an overgrown space museum. But Ramsey never tries to mimic the game version of the character, even when replicating such an iconic scene. 'I was just living it through my understanding of Ellie,' they say. 'I've watched the gameplay, and what tends to happen with me is that if I watch someone exist like Ellie exists in the game, I accidentally adopt those mannerisms. But it's not something that I'm consciously doing. I only know Ellie as me.' Although Ramsey had prepared with the stunt team in London ahead of filming, the physicality of the shoot was intense. They note that 'every other day was a stunt day,' which was incredibly taxing. Ramsey was allowed to do all of their own stunts, including the fight scene in Episode 1 and the water work in Episode 7. 'The bit where [Ellie is] crawling out of the ocean was at the actual ocean in the middle of the night, which was freezing,' Ramsey says. 'I had just recovered from bronchitis. I had a wetsuit on underneath the costume and the water collected in the wetsuit and my backpack, so it was so heavy. I had to summon everything I had to be able to do it.' Being part of 'The Last of Us' is proof for Ramsey that they can do anything as an actor, including cry on a command — a newly acquired talent in Season 2. 'I've been really aware of how capable the body and mind can be because of the duration and the challenge of shooting a show for so long, physically and mentally,' Ramsey says. This year marks Ramsey's second time up for lead actress in a drama for 'The Last of Us,' making them the first out nonbinary actor to be nominated for an Emmy more than once. It's gratifying for Ramsey, who never imagined they'd be in a position of influence. 'It's nice to be seen,' Ramsey says. 'I feel like that's what people like me have been searching for: to be seen for who they are. It's a lovely thing for that to happen on a large scale, and hopefully it will help other gender-nonconforming people to feel seen as well. I'm just existing, which is the point. I feel so grateful to have this accidental impact on people.'
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Yahoo
'28 Years Later' Is Now Streaming. Is It as Good as the Original?
Upon its release in 2003, Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later instantly and forever rewrote the rules of the zombie genre. After decades of lumbering undead, Boyle introduced us to the fast-moving zombies that would soon proliferate in Zack Snyder's remake of Dawn of the Dead (2004), The Walking Dead, World War Z, and countless less worthy imitators. (Boyle's monsters are technically 'the infected' rather than zombies, having been afflicted with a bloodthirsty rage virus.) Twenty-two years after his first film, which was followed by 2007's unofficial, C-grade sequel 28 Weeks Later, Boyle and original screenwriter Alex Garland are back with 28 Years Later. It's the first in a planned trilogy of films, the second installment of which is set to hit cinemas in January. So, how does this late-era sequel stack up to Boyle's singular original? Can the filmmaker, once again, rewrite the rules of the genre? Nominally, 28 Years Later follows the same structure and formula as the original, though with some small but effective tweaks. In the years since the virus originally spread, the infection has been eradicated from Europe and much of Britain. Only a small pocket of the Scottish Highlands remains quarantined, in which thrives a community which has managed to stay clear of the infected. Twelve-year-old Spike (newcomer Alfie Williams) is one of the village's youngest members. The opening passage of the film finds him embarking, along with his father Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), upon his first trip out of the community and onto 'the mainland,' where the infected still run amok. Though younger than most who trek to the mainland, Jamie is bullish that Spike notch his first kill and, effectively, enter into manhood. The opening passage chronicling Spike and Jamie's journey is a breathlessly paced sequence featuring more zombie action than an entire season of The Walking Dead and at least five white-knuckle moments of unadulterated suspense and fear. Can you remember the last time a horror movie actually made you care about its characters so much that you were hiding behind your hands and humming, 'Oh no, oh no, oh no…'? There are roughly three films' worth of those moments in 28 Years Later, each sweatier than the last. But then, about 40 minutes into the picture, Boyle and Garland pivot the narrative and effectively switch genres, with Spike's ailing mother (an awards-worthy Jodie Comer) taking center stage. Chances are you're aware of this twist, because it's provoked a certain amount of disagreement amongst audience members, but we won't spoil it here if you've managed to avoid it up until now. There's no point in being coy: 28 Years Later is a masterpiece. It's not only the best movie of the summer by a country mile, but one of this year's very finest films. In a season where the major releases have teetered between pleasantly all right and totally joyless, few of them possessing even the slightest hint of originality or risk, it's a pulsating thrill to see a summer blockbuster which functions as a proper, old-fashioned great movie. This is a picture made with great skill and care, but at this point, we should expect that from Danny Boyle. The Oscar-winning British filmmaker of Trainspotting (1996) and Slumdog Millionaire (2008) has never made a boring movie, and he seems to grow more confident with age. He's the consummate filmmaker, one who has remained throughout his career rooted in arthouse, European, and American popcorn influences in equal measure. His films consistently reflect a thrilling the movie functions as a breakneck adventure, an emotional family drama, and a teen coming-of-age story without the disparate genres ever betraying or overtaking each other. Just when you think the movie is settling down, Boyle gives us a naked 'Alpha' zombie (with one notable, swinging appendage) ripping the spines from some unlucky army cadets, or a completely over-the-top zombie baby birthing scene. This is a terrifically weird movie, one of Boyle's most brazenly experimental in years, but its weirdness is also one of its greatest attributes and largely why the whole thing works so effortlessly. Surprisingly, this bears a strong resemblance to Boyle's equally odd and rapturous Millions (2005), a crime caper/domestic drama/religious allegory aimed at a pre-teen audience which is as peculiar as it is beautiful. Garland and Boyle indulge some surprisingly dark horror, but they also aren't afraid to challenge their audience. (What a delight!) The chemistry between Williams and Comer, both of whom give scorching performances, is estimable. Comer, in a precarious balance act, is at once heartbreaking and fearsomely formidable. The final passage, which sees the introduction of a Kurtz-like doctor played by Ralph Fiennes, is vibrantly, unexpectedly affecting. It's also so ghoulish that it verges on very black comedy. Knowing Boyle, that's probably exactly what he intended. Jon Harris' inspired, deeply unsettling editing adds immeasurably to the nightmarish atmosphere, while Anthony Dod Mantle brings a nail-biting immediacy to each scene (the film was shot partially on iPhones). Most notable is the brilliant, unexpected score from Scottish hip-hop group Young Fathers. Their work brings to the film an epically ethereal quality which fits the material like a glove. It's an uncommon type of score for a thriller, but it works beautifully and is one of the best cinematic compositions of this year. With 28 Years Later, Boyle has delivered a perfect follow-up to his original. (The events of the dismal 28 Weeks Later, with which Boyle had little creative involvement, are ignored here.) 28 Days Later, which was being shot when the September 11 attacks occurred, uncannily and perhaps accidentally reflected the world's collective confusion and horror at the time of its release. Years is a much more positive and redemptive film, though it's just as savage in its evisceration of modern social maladies. As much as it's a down-and-dirty horror picture, 28 Years Later functions as a rather heartbreaking rebuke to isolationism and the power of fear. It's a pure Danny Boyle film, one which is entertaining and horrifying and thrilling and, above all, big-hearted. It's a movie which deserves to be seen by all, even those who might not normally watch horror films, so powerful is its construction and impact. Where can I watch 28 Years Later?'28 Years Later' Is Now Streaming. Is It as Good as the Original? first appeared on Men's Journal on Jul 30, 2025 Solve the daily Crossword
