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Today in Movie Culture: 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' VFX Breakdown, The Rock in the DC Universe and More

Here are a bunch of little bites to satisfy your hunger for movie culture:

VFX Reel of the Day:

See how much CG work went into the Oscar-nominated visual effects of Star Wars: The Force Awakens in ILM’s newly shared breakdown reel (via The Playlist):

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Cosplay of the Day:

That time a lightsaber battle broke out at Dragon Con between some Jedi, some dinosaurs and Deadpool (via Dragon Con):

Some @DragonCon fun last night pic.twitter.com/HePNNm1eYi

— Cabrina (@ariel1_33705) September 5, 2016

Fan Art of the Day:

Artist Juan Hugo Martinez has seamlessly inserted Dwayne Johnson as Black Adam into a DC Extended Universe scene with Batman and Superman (via Geek Tyrant):

Alternate Ending of the Day:

If Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows wasn’t so set on being a kids’ movie with no violent killings, it could have ended a lot easier:

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Reworked Movie of the Day:

Remember Nine Lives, the new movie where Kevin Spacey is turned into a cat? Maybe you would have seen it if the trailers sold it as a horror movie, like this CineMash job:

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Vintage Image of the Day:

Elia Kazan, who was born on this day in 1909, directs Carroll Baker and Karl Malden for a scene in Baby Doll, which turns 60 this year:

Filmmaker in Focus:

With A Monster Calls due out at the end of this year, Jorge Luengo looks at J.A. Bayona’s trilogy of mother and son movies, also including The Orphanage and The Impossible:

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Actor in the Spotlight:

Ranker pays tribute to Tim Curry with a supercut of the actor laughing in his movies:

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Supercut of the Day:

Revisit the 1980s with this collection of old production company logos, including Cannon, Carolco and Orion (via One Perfect Shot):

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Classic Trailer of the Day:

The Battle of Algiers recently turned 50, and there’s an anniversary restoration version screening free at the Toronto International Film Festival this Friday. Watch the trailer for the 2004 re-release of the classic foreign film below.

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Best of the Week: Marvel's 'Thor' Mockumentary, Ben Affleck's Deathstroke Reveal and More

The Important News

DC Extended Universe: Ben Affleck revealed Deathstroke will be the villain in his Batman movie. The Rogues might be the villains in The Flash.

Marvel Cinematic Universe: Marvel is making a New Warriors TV series with Squirrel Girl. Jon Favreau joined Spider-Man: Homecoming as Happy Hogan.

Star Wars: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story will feature an all-black R2-D2 lookalike.

Harry Potter: Daniel Radcliffe is wanted to return for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

Transformers: Liam Garrigan will play King Arthur in Transformers: The Last Knight.

Sequels: Zombieland 2 is officially in development. Maze Runner: The Death Cure will resume production in February. Richard Linklater is making a sequel to The Last Detail. Trish Sie will direct PItch Perfect 3.

Festival Buzz: La La Land, Arrival and Nocturnal Animals are getting rave reviews.

Awards: Jackie Chan, Frederick Wiseman, Anne V. Coates and Lynn Stalmaster are this year’s Honorary Oscar winners.

Ways of Seeing: Blazing Saddles and Willy Wonka & the Chococlate Factory are back in theaters this weekend.

Box Office: Don’t Breathe continued the hit streak for horror this year.

Reel TV: The Let the Right One In series is moving forward on TNT. Stranger Things hinted at movies it will reference in Season Two.

R.I.P.: Gene Wilder died at age 83.

The Videos and Geek Stuff

New Movie Trailers: Max Steel, Elle and Shut In.

TV Spots: Blair Witch and Ouija: Origin of Evil.

Clips: Beaty and the Beast and Storks.

Watch: A mockumentary showing what Thor was up to during Captain America: Civil War. And a behind the scenes featurette for Doctor Strange.

See: What Bucky could look like as Captain America. And a fake trailer for a Stan Lee as The Watcher movie.

Watch: A fake teaser for The Batman. And a very weird trailer remix for Justice League.

See: What Joe Manganiello could look like as Deathstroke. And a VFX shot breakdowns for Suicide Squad.

Watch: A VFX breakdown for the Ghostbusters remake.

See: A new Jurassic World museum exhibit coming to America.

Watch: A mashup of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and The Magnificent Seven.

See: New images from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. And new images from Woody Allen’s Crisis in Six Scenes series.

Watch: A trailer for Morgan created by an AI. And a Zootopia trailer recut to look like a thriller.

Learn: A secret revealed about John Carpenter’s The Thing.

See: There’s a cookbook inspired by Brad Pitt eating in movies.

Watch: Spike Jonze’s new dance-ilicious short film/ad My Mutant Brain.

See: This week’s best new movie posters.

Watch: Arnold Schwarzenegger’s kid re-create a scene from Terminator 2: Judgment Day.

Our Features

Movie Calendar: See our guide to new movies and anniversaries for September above.

DC Movie Guide: How The Batman can handle Deatstroke and many more villains.

Marvel Movie Guides: What it means for the MCU that Steve Rogers isn’t Captain America. And 5 Spider-Man villains we want to see in the MCU.

Interview: The Russo Brothers on why there’s no Captain America/Black Widow fight in Captain America: Civil War.

In Memoriam: Remembering the reel-important people we lost in August.

Home Viewing: Our guide to everything hitting VOD this week. And our guide to what’s new on Netflix this month.

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Today in Movie Culture: 'Rogue One' Meets 'The Magnificent Seven,' 'Zootopia' as a Thriller and More

Here are a bunch of little bites to satisfy your hunger for movie culture:

Mashup of the Day:

The audio from the trailer for The Magnificent Seven fits very well with the visuals from the trailer for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (via Live for Films):

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Reworked Movie of the Day:

Disney’s Zootopia looks very intense in this recut trailer that makes it out to be more of a crime thriller than fun family flick (via Geek Tyrant):

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Studio Infomercial of the Day:

In 1990, a young Pixar Studios put out the following marketing video to promote its technology as available to brands for advertising purposes (via /Film):

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Vintage Image of the Day:

Lily Tomlin, whose birthday is today, being cool with a young Seth Green and a skateboard on the set of Big Business in 1987:

Filmmaking Lesson of the Day:

Rocket Jump Film School offers a lesson in editing using a special feature from the Die Hard 5 Star Collection DVD:

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Cosplay of the Day:

In Japan, prominent filmmakers apparently cosplay in support of movies they like — or at least horror director Yoshi Nishimura did for the release of the Ghostbusters remake (via Paul Feig):

Character Evolution of the Day:

Kaptain Kristian looks at the origins of Bugs Bunny, one of the most iconic cartoon characters of all time:

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Actor in the Spotlight:

Vox celebrates the late Gene Wilder and how his greatest quality was comedic generosity:

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Filmmaker in Focus:

Another nice video essay celebrating the work of Steven Spielberg, this one focuses on the idea of chaos in the suburbs (via Cinematic Montage Creators):

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Classic Trailer of the Day:

Today is the 10th anniversary of the release of Idiocracy. Watch the original trailer for the prophetic sci-fi comedy below.

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Watch Ziggy Marley Play 'Start It Up' Live In The Studio

September 1, 201610:39 AM ET

Ziggy Marley is true music royalty. On KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic, the seven-time Grammy-winning reggae musician recently played a career-spanning set of music from his incredible catalog — including the hopeful “Start It Up” from his new self-titled album.

SET LIST
  • “Start It Up”

Photo by Dustin Downing/KCRW.

Watch Ziggy Marley’s full Morning Becomes Eclectic performance at KCRW.com.

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Today in Movie Culture: Stan Lee is The Watcher, New 'Morgan' Trailer Made By Articial Intelligence and More

Here are a bunch of little bites to satisfy your hunger for movie culture:

Reworked Trailer of the Day:

Fox got IBM’s artificial intelligence computer program Watson to create a trailer for Morgan. Here’s what it looks like followed by a featurette on its making (via io9):

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Franchise Crossover of the Day:

CineFix compiled all of Stan Lee’s cameos in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and X-Men and Spider-Man movies for a trailer starring him as The Watcher:

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Movie Mashup of the Day:

The next episode of the greatest movie mashup series, Antonio Maria Da Silva’s Hell’s Club, is here. This one is set in the bathroom and features characters from The Big Lebowski, Saturday Night Fever, Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Ghoulies and many more.

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Vintage Image of the Day:

Marilyn Monroe poses for a pin-up style promotional photo for Bus Stop, which was released 60 years ago today:

Movie Comparison of the Day:

Couch Tomato shows 24 reasons why San Andreas is pretty much a remake of 2012:

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Cosplay of the Day:

Cosplayer Raquel Sparrow inhabited the part of El Diablo from Suicide Squad for a cool photoshoot. See more pics and a behind the scenes video at Fashionably Geek.

Video Essay of the Day:

The Nerdwriter examines what The Truman Show teaches us about politics and how it is more relevant today than when it was released:

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Fan Art of the Day:

Artist Anthony Petrie has a new series of “Charts” prints, including the below blueprints of Cameron Frye’s home from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, which will be showing at Gallery 1988 next week (via /Film):

Actor in the Spotlight:

In honor of the late Gene Wilder, Raging Cinema presents a look at Gene Wilder’s mastery of the comedic pause:

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Classic Trailer of the Day:

Today is the 70th anniversary of the release of The Big Sleep. Watch the original trailer for the classic film noir starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall below.

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Songs We Love: Noura Mint Seymali, 'Na Sane'

Noura Mint Seymali with her bandmates Ousmane Touré, Jeiche Ould Chighaly and Matthew Tinari. Bechir Malum/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption Bechir Malum/Courtesy of the artist

It was just two years ago that Mauritanian vocalist Noura Mint Seymali hit the international scene — but now, it’s hard to imagine the scope of African music without her. The singer and her band blow listeners away with giddily woozy and dreamlike vocals; blistering guitar played by her husband, Jeiche Ould Chighaly; and the grounding elements of Ousmane Touré’s bass and Matthew Tinari’s drums.

Now, Seymali is about to release her second internationally available album, Arbina. She’s kicking things off with a video — for her song “Na Sane” — that gives audiences abroad a little glimpse of her native land, which is wedged between the Berber and Arab countries of northwestern Africa and the sub-Saharan south. The desert stretches over the vast majority of Mauritania’s territory and is capped by the Richat Structure, a famous “bull’s-eye” — also known as the “Eye of the Sahara” — that astronauts can see from space. Just over 4 million people live in this country that is nearly twice as big as Texas. It’s a severe and unforgiving landscape, but one that possesses a very particular kind of melancholy beauty.

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Director Loïc Hoquet and producer-drummer Tinari decided to shoot the video for “Na Sane” on a road trip through Mauritania. They rented a Toyota Hilux pick-up truck and a black Mercedes taxi and set off on the road that links Mauritania’s capital city, Nouakchott, with its second-largest city, Nouadhibou (population roughly 118,000), near the border of Western Sahara territory.

The scenes from the road are intercut with glimpses of a party — and everyone in the video is a relative or friend of Seymali and Chighaly. As Tinari wrote in an email, “Essentially, we just threw an impromptu family barbecue. One of the dancers is Noura’s brother Baba; some of the younger boys are nephews of Jeiche. The girl dancer is a friend from the neighborhood. It was a family affair!”

Noura Mint Seymali, Arbina. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption Courtesy of the artist

Part of the shoot also took place at a ridge that overlooks the Atlantic Ocean — yes, this is still Mauritania. The band plays at Cap Blanc, which used to be known as the “largest ship graveyard in the world.” It’s where owners paid bribes to illegally abandon their old vessels and left them to rot in the Cap Blanc harbor. Tinari says, “There has been a recent U.N. project to dismantle the decaying ships, and many of them are no longer there.” Still, one can imagine those ghostly shipping boats shimmering in the waters behind the band.

This Mauritanian sojourn is a perfect fit for Seymali, considering how deeply rooted she is in her home culture. Both she and her husband are Moorish griots; in west Africa, griots are a community’s storytellers, historians, poets — and musicians. Seymali comes from a long line of griots, in fact; her stepmother, Dimi Mint Abba, was a famous Mauritanian singer.

Fittingly, then, Seymali calls upon tradition even as she infuses her music with psychedelia; her lyrics, too, intertwine those ideas of heritage and innovation. “Na Sane” begins with two traditional lines, followed by a line penned in honor of Chighaly’s older brother Lamar (also a talented guitarist) by Seymali’s late father-in-law, the musician Youba El Moctar Chighaly, before concluding with words of her own:

You are getting sleepy, go to sleep, go to sleep,

Go to sleep at the house of Dakhman

God, keep Lamar safe, help him to avoid malicious energy.

The music of the band, the azawan, is blending well with my song,

Protect us from bad energy, help us preserve the vibe.

Arbina comes out Sept. 16 on Glitterbeat Records.

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Today in Movie Culture: Gene Wilder's Final Talk Show Appearance, Joe Manganiello as Deathstroke and More

Here are a bunch of little bites to satisfy your hunger for movie culture:

Talk Show Appearance of the Day:

See Gene Wilder’s final talk show appearance on Late Night With Conan O’Brien in 2005 in honor of his passing (via /Film):

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Reworked Trailer of the Day:

Aldo Jones is back with another weird trailer remix, this time having a ton of fun with Justice League:

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Casting Interpretation of the Day:

With Joe Manganiello rumored for the part of DC villain Deathstroke, BossLogic shows us what he could look like. See one more design at ComicBook.com.

Movie Takedown of the Day:

DC’s new animated adaptation of Batman: The Killing Joke gets killed with jokes in this new Honest Trailer:

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Video List of the Day:

For Fandor Keyframe, Kevin B. Lee looks at the BBC list of the best movies of the 21st century and turns some of them into emojis:

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Fan Art of the Day:

Watch a time-lapse video of a dad painting an amazing Disney mural in his daughter’s bedroom (via Geek Tyrant):

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Movie Science of the Day:

For The Film Theorists, Matthew Patrick looks at how the Transformers movies are more scientifically accurate than you’d think:

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Soundtrack Study of the Day:

For Slate, Lydia Cornett and Daniel Hubbard look at the classical pieces that are overused in movies, including “O Fortuna” and “Adagio for Strings”:

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Actor in the Spotlight:

Bruce Willis apparently can be seen waking up in many of his movies, as shown in this supercut compilation (via Cinematic Montage Creators):

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Classic Trailer of the Day:

Today is the 25th anniversary of the wide release of Dead Again. Watch the original trailer for the Kenneth Branagh-helmed thriller below.

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Today in Movie Culture: 'Kubo and the Two Strings' Behind the Scenes, 'Ghostbusters' Effects Breakdown and More

Here are a bunch of little bites to satisfy your hunger for movie culture:

Behind the Scenes Video of the Day:

See the painstaking work that went into the stop-motion feature Kubo and the Two Strings in this time-lapse video (via Geekologie):

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Visual Effects Breakdown of the Day:

Check out how Iloura created their visual effects for Ghostbusters in this revealing VFX reel (via io9):

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Movie Art of the Day:

In honor of Gene Wilder, here’s a relevant new Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory-based print from Truck Torrence’s new Mass Hysteria 2 series of pop culture-inspired art (via Geek Tyrant):

Superhero Movie Parody of the Day:

In response to Deadpool, Suicide Squad and Batman v Superman, Last Week Tonight‘s John Oliver presents his solution to superhero movie fatigue, which is a unique superhero character he created in the fifth grade (via THR):

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Casting Interpretation of the Day:

With word that Bucky/Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) might become Captain America in Avengers: Infinity War, BossLogic shows three variants of what that could look like:

Fun with @ComicBook creating Captain (Bucky) America (3 Alts) pic.twitter.com/SMSxaxA7Cw

— BossLogic (@Bosslogic) August 28, 2016

Supercut of the Day:

All kinds of movie moments become unintentionally romantic in Now You See It’s spotlight on the sense of touch in film:

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Vintage Image of the Day:

William Friedkin, who turns 81 today, directs young Linda Blair on the set of 1973’s The Exorcist:

Actor in the Spotlight:

Watch Natalie Portman grow up, almost Boyhood-like, in Candice Drouet’s spotlight on the actress through the years:

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Cosplay of the Day:

Photographer Laura Izumikawa has been getting attention lately for her pictures of her baby dressed up as movie characters while she’s napping. They just posted a new one inspired by Star Wars:

Classic Trailer of the Day:

Today is the 30th anniversary of the release of the skateboarding movie Thrashin’. Watch the original trailer for the movie, which stars a young Josh Brolin, below.

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Best of the Week: The Top Movies of the Century, How to Get a Marvel Movie Gig and More

The Important News

DC Extended Universe: Doug Liman will direct the Justice League Dark movie.

Marvel Cinematic Universe: Niki Caro, Lesli Linka Glatter and Lorene Scafaria were shortlsted to direct Captain Marvel. Vin Diesel confirmed the Guardians of the Galaxy will be in Avengers: Infinity War. Mark Mothersbaugh is scoring Thor: Ragnarok. The Russo Brothers revealed Steve Rogers is no longer Captain America in the MCU.

Star Wars: Gareth Edwards revealed Rogue One‘s title has three meanings.

Disney: New photos and concept art from the live-action Beauty and the Beast surfaced online.

Sequels: Dwayne Johnson confirmed the new movie is a sequel, not a reboot. Laika promised they will never make sequels.

Remakes: Ruben Fleischer is making a movie based on the show Cops. Sam Mendes is making a live-action version of James and the Giant Peach.

Box Office: Suicide Squad continued to reign in theaters.

Polls: Critics were surveyed for a list of the 100 best movies of this century. Moviegoers named their most anticipated fall releases.

Reel TV: Rupert Grint is starring in a Snatch TV series. The Departed and Get Shorty are also becoming TV shows.

Documentaries: Idris Elba is documenting his personal, passionate pursuit to be a kickboxer.

Festivals: Fantastic Fest revealed another crop of major movies in this year’s program.

The Videos and Geek Stuff

New Movie Trailers: Rings, Lion, La La Land, Kidnap, A United Kingdom, Max Steel, The Dressmaker, Planetarium, Manchester By the Sea and My Blind Brother.

TV Spots: Mechanic: Resurrection and Blair Witch.

Clips: Snowden.

See: What Rogue One: A Star Wars Story looks like starring Jar-Jar Binks.

Watch: Hugh Jackman shaves his Wolverine beard for the last time.

See: Why Heath Ledger’s Joker is the best-written version of the character.

Learn: Why Thor is to blame for John Krasinski not being cast as Captain America.

See: What Star Trek Beyond would have looked like if made in the 1960s.

Learn: How a fan got Dwayne Johnson cast in the Fast and Furious movies.

See: How many times Jason Statham kicks in his movies.

Watch: An honest trailer for Disney’s live-action Jungle Book.

Learn: How to make a great sex scene.

Watch: A viral video parody promoting Don’t Think Twice.

See: Why the “Evil” Queen is not the villain of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

Watch: A thrilling behind-the-scenes look at Cuba Gooding Jr.’s Oscar win.

See: The best new movie posters unveiled this week.

Watch: Two real robots react to the trailer for Morgan.

Our Features

Interview: The Russo Brothers reveal how to get a job directing a Marvel movie.

Comic Book Movie Guide: Here’s everything you need to know about Justice League Dark.

Lists: For National Dog Day, we named the 10 best dog movies.

Home Viewing: Our guide to everything hitting VOD this week.

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Today in Movie Culture: Jason Statham Kicking Butt, How to Film Sex Scenes and More

Here are a bunch of little bites to satisfy your hunger for movie culture:

Supercut of the Day:

With Mechanic: Resurrection out this Friday, Burger Fiction compiled every Jason Statham kick ever:

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Viral Video of the Day:

We had to share this viral video promoting Mike Birbiglia’s Don’t Think Twice or we would all be murdered (via /Film):

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Fan Art of the Day:

Illustrator George Evangelista offers another look at how Henry Cavill could look when Superman returns in Justice League (via Geek Tyrant):

Film History Lesson of the Day:

With Kubo and the Two Strings now in theaters, check out a great video on the evolution of stop-motion animation (via Cinematic Montage Creators):

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Movie Trivia of the Day:

Learn some things you probably don’t already know about Labyrinth, which turned 30 this summer, in this ScreenCrush trivia video:

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Vintage Image of the Day:

Filmmaker Ava DuVernay, whose birthday is today, meets Roger Ebert at age 8 outside a rehearsal for the Oscars:

Filmmaking Lesson of the Day:

Frame by Frame shows the proper way to shoot a great sex scene in this video that delves into film history, cinema studies and filmmaking craft:

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Filmmaker in Focus:

In his latest for Fandor Keyframe, Kevin B. Lee explores the world of Alex Ross Perry, with a video tribute:

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Actors in the Spotlight:

This supercut of the “best supporting weirdos” in cinema highlights 56 great characters from the finest character actors (via Geek Tyrant):

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Classic Trailer of the Day:

Today is the 50th anniversary of the release of Fantastic Voyage. Watch the original trailer for the sci-fi classic below.

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