E. Oliver Whitney is a senior editor at ScreenCrush. When not talking Game of Thrones theories or waiting for the next Terrence Malick film, Oliver is probably having an SVU marathon. Oliver was formerly an entertainment editor at Huff Post and has written for Variety, New York magazine, Indiewire, Moviefone, and Backstage.
E. Oliver Whitney
‘Moonlight’ Wins Best Motion Picture Drama at the 2017 Golden Globes
The 90 or so members of the Hollywood Foreign Press are always an unpredictable bunch of awards season voters, but that made predictions for the 2017 Golden Globes’ Best Motion Picture Drama award even more uncertain. The awards race has been a close one this year between Manchester By the Sea and Moonlight (and especially close in the Drama category at the Globes with other frontrunner La La Land in the Comedy category). But this year the HFPA decided to honor the Kenneth Lonergan film / the Barry Jenkins film with the top drama prize.
The Best Movies of 2016 (According to Erin Whitney)
How you define the “best” of something varies from one person to the next. The “best” movies can be the ones crafted with the most artistry, the ones that feel particularly culturally significant, the ones you can’t shake hours, days, or months after seeing them. Or perhaps the best films are the ones you simply love the most and are eager returning to again and again.
First ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ Trailer: Hey, Those Aren’t the Real Avengers
You feel that? That tingling Spidey sense? That can only mean one thing: The very first Spider-Man: Homecoming trailer has finally arrived. Two trailers, actually — the official domestic trailer and an international trailer with even more footage, featuring our first look at Michael Keaton’s Vulture, helpful life advice from Tony Stark, some fake Avengers, and all the awkward pain of high school.
‘Hidden Figures’ Has a New Trailer, Can We Get This Movie Now, Please?
There are few things I’m more excited about right now than the start of Janelle Monae’s acting career. The R&B funk singer made her big screen debut earlier this year in Barry Jenkins Moonlight, which she is wonderful in, and next up she’ll crack some quips in Theodore Melfi’s Hidden Figures. That film, which also stars Taraji P. Henson and Octavia Spencer, is the next thing I’m most excited about.
Ava DuVernay on Her Documentary ‘13th,’ Trump, and Why She Wants to Make Big Studio Movies
Ava DuVernay‘s latest documentary, ‘13th,’ couldn’t be arriving at a more relevant time. Urgent, angry and unflinching, the documentary looks at the current state of mass incarceration and police militarization, attempting to understand why the United States contains 25 percent of the world’s prisoners, which today is 2.3 million people. Opening this Friday just weeks after the largest prison strike in U.S. history, a month shy of the 2016 Presidential Election, and following a year full of harrowing violence against the black community, ‘13th’ feels like essential viewing now more than ever.
See the Making of Black Panther’s CG Suit in the ‘Captain America: Civil War’ Visual Effects Reel
Recently we learned that every single shot of Black Panther in ‘Captain America: Civil War’ was CG. Chadwick Boseman and his stunt double wore a practical suit on set, but the final costume was the workings of the visual effects team, and now we can see how the magic was done.
‘Loving’ Review: Ruth Negga and Joel Edgerton Give Their Best Performances Yet
Richard and Mildred Loving couldn’t have had a more perfect last name. The real-life interracial couple, whose 1958 marriage violated Virginia’s anti-miscegenation laws and led to a landmark laws civil rights case, weren’t just incredible for how much they changed history, but for how deeply they loved one another despite all opposite. In the aptly titled historical drama ‘Loving,’ Jeff Nichols makes the couple’s warm devotion to one another the focal point of his quiet, intimate film.
Will Smith Meets Death (Helen Mirren) and Love (Keira Knightley) In the ‘Collateral Beauty’ Trailer
You know when you’re a kid and you write letters to Santa Claus? Pretend you’re actually a middle aged man suffering from depression, you write a letter to the universe and, BOOM Helen Mirren shows up in response! But she’s not Santa Claus, she’s Death.
Gene Wilder, Legendary Actor and ‘Willy Wonka’ Star, Dead at 83
Gene Wilder, best known for his comedic roles in Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, The Producers, and Young Frankenstein has died at the age of 83.
What’s Expiring From Netflix: September 2016
September is bringing a whole slew of new titles to Netflix Instant, but that also means a bunch are on their way out. You know you need to weep to ‘A Walk to Remember’ one more time, but you also better cross ‘The Bridge on the River Kwai’ off your list before it’s gone for good. Just make sure you leave time for a double feature of ‘Zoolander’ and ‘Crocodile Dundee.’ Also what the heck is ‘My Babysitter’s a Vampire: The Movie?’ I don’t know, but I think you need to add it to your queue immediately before you miss this opportunity.
‘Morris From America’ Review: A Sweet But Familiar Coming-of-Age Tale
Chad Hartigan’s ‘Morris From America’ opens with a close-up of the titular 13-year-old boy bopping his head to an old school hip-hop song with his father Curtis (Craig Robinson). Morris (Markees Christmas) confesses he’s not a fan, calling out the song for its lack of a hook. Offended his son can’t appreciate the roots of the music genre they both love, he sends Morris to his room. It’s playful, but he’s not kidding. That’s the kind of relationship Curtis has with his son, loving, but firm, where the two share more of a brotherly bond. Curtis treats Morris like an equal, entrusting the boy to make his own decisions, but challenging him to grow into a more thoughtful adult.
Amy Adams Makes Alien Contact in the Full Trailer for Denis Villeneuve’s ‘Arrival’
If an alien species were to visit Earth with mysterious intentions, it just makes sense that we’d send Amy Adams to represent humankind. She’s empathetic, she’s approachable, she’s understanding, and she’s the total antithesis of the hostile and aggressive types we see facing off aliens in most sci-fi movies. (At least this is how I like to picture Amy Adams.)