Category Archives: Arts & Culture

Before Rifle Club, Anurag Kashyap was offered these two Malayalam films

Anurag Kashyap made a terrific debut in Malayalam with Aashiq Abu directorial Rifle Club, which released in theatres on December 19, 2024. Anurag Kashyap recently spoke about reaching out to Aashiq Abu and working with a stellar cast, all the while praising Malayalam cinema. The acclaimed filmmaker-turned-actor, however, said that he had missed two big chances in Malayalam cinema before he finally made the debut with Rifle Club.
Anurag Kashyap missed acclaimed Malayalam filmsIn a recent interview with The Gulf News, Anurag Kashyap spoke about finally getting to collaborate on a Malayalam film as an actor. However, he said he had earlier missed out on Rajeev Ravi ‘s Thuramukham and Lijo Jose Pellissery’s Jallikattu.“One was Thuramukham, by Rajeev Ravi. He offered me the role, and waited for me to play the role of Nivin Pauly’s father (which was portrayed by Joju George) and then there was Jallikattu where Lijo wanted me to play the hunter. And they believed in me more than I believed in myself that I could pull it off. I got scared. But this time, I got a little more confident. I said ok ‘Let me reach out’,” Anurag Kashyap said during the interview.On the other hand, Lijo Jose Pellissery’s Jallikattu, which stars Antony Varghese and Chemban Vinod Jose, was selected as India’s official entry to the Oscars. Anurag Kashyap on getting cast in Rifle ClubDuring the interview, Anurag Kashyap also said it was he who first reached out to the makers of Rifle Club upon seeing the announcement on Instagram.“I just saw the announcement – they are going to make it. I reached out on Insta and asked ‘Would you like an actor from the north’ and then they reached out to me. I literally asked for the role without knowing what the film was about. Rifle Club sounded so cool,” he said, adding that he was confident of Aashiq Abu and writer Syam Pushkaran.Anurag Kashyap played the role of an arms dealer in the action thriller, which had an ensemble cast including Vijayaraghavan, Dileesh Pothan, Vani Viswanath, Surabhi Lakshmi, Darshana Rajendran and rapper Hanumankind.
The thriller film marked the Malayalam acting debut of both Hanumankind and Anurag Kashyap. The director was recently seen in the Tamil film Maharaja, which starred Vijay Sethupathi in the lead role.

10 Best Kingsley Ben-Adir Movies & TV Shows, Ranked

Static Media

It’s truly a testament to Kingsley Ben-Adir’s talents that in a show as abysmal as Marvel’s “Secret Invasion,” he still managed to squeeze a gem of a performance out of it. There’s a lot that went wrong with “Secret Invasion,” but Ben-Adir as the disillusioned Skrull, Gravik, brought a level of gravitas to the freedom fighter who believes the best way forward for Skrull liberation is to make Earth only hospitable for the alien race. It’s only a shame Gravik dies at the end of the show, thereby preventing him from really making a mark on the Marvel Cinematic Universe in a better project, but it shows how Ben-Adir is so often the best part of whatever he’s in. 

After making a mark in the theatre world, Kingsley Ben-Adir started appearing in an assortment of British television, as he himself was born in London, England. Now, he’s starred in major TV shows and movies shown around the globe. His filmography may not be as lengthy as other actors, but to be honest, it’s already pretty tough narrowing his roles down into a top 10. This list will inevitably change as he continues giving superb performances, but for now, here are the best Kingsley Ben-Adir movies and TV shows that should be on your radar based off his performance as well as the overall quality of the project. 

Vera (2011 – 2025)

ITV

With someone so clearly talented as Kingsley Ben-Adir, it feels like the roles should’ve always been lined up for him. But as is so often the case, Ben-Adir really struggled to find work at first, especially right out of drama school. His very first recurring role was as Dr. Marcus Sumner in the British show, “Vera,” which remains one of his standout roles. 

The long-running series follows Vera Stanhope (Brenda Blethyn), a Detective Chief Inspector who probably should retire at this point in life, but her obsessive mind forces her to continue solving one riveting case after the next. Dr. Sumner was a pathologist who often aided Vera in her cases. Ben-Adir appeared on four seasons (or series, if you prefer the British parlance) of the show before leaving for good after 2018, and he proved he could hold his own against far more experienced actors and remain captivating.
“Vera” was a pivotal role for Ben-Adir to get so early in his career. When speaking with The Standard, Ben-Adir admitted to crying after hearing he got the part. “I couldn’t get arrested in this country [before that],” the actor said. “I couldn’t get a job on the telly.” All these years later, getting work doesn’t seem to be a problem for him. 

Noelle (2019)

Disney+

After skipping across the pond following “Vera,” Kingsley Ben-Adir found himself in a Disney+ Christmas movie with “Noelle.” The movie centers on the titular Noelle (Anna Kendrick) who tracks down her brother, Nick (Bill Hader), after he runs away following the stress from trying to be the next Santa Claus. To do this, Noelle befriends Jake Hapman (Ben-Adir), a private detective still coming to terms with his divorce. 

It’s not easy playing a straight man to such a wacky counterpart. While Kendrick and the more Christmasy characters have a lot of fun moments, Ben-Adir is there mostly to react and have his epiphany that Christmas magic is actually real. Ben-Adir helps ground the movie and offer some real sentimentality amid the holiday chaos. 
Reviews for “Noelle” were pretty mixed, as it’s a charming yet formulaic Christmas movie, and we’ve probably seen better ones elsewhere. But much like “Secret Invasion,” Ben-Adir helps elevate the affair. If nothing else, his scenes and character arc of going from a cynical divorced detective to someone with a bit more optimism make the film kind of worth seeing. 

Soulmates (2020)

AMC

“Soulmates” is a fascinating anthology miniseries that deserved way more attention when it came out in 2020. It’s basically “Black Mirror,” except with romance instead of science-fiction where in the not-so-far-off future. There’s a company called Soul Connex that promises to match people up with their soulmates, and each episode explores a different dynamic of people wrestling with this concept. Kingsley Ben-Adir appears opposite “Succession” star Sarah Snook in the very first episode. 

The two play a married couple pre-Soul Connex, but Nikki (Snook) is just too curious and takes the test to see if her soulmate is out there. This naturally causes a great amount of tension between her and her husband, Franklin (Ben-Adir). Also just like “Black Mirror,” the episodes tend to have some devastating finales, and this one is no exception. 
Science fiction definitely has a role to play in “Soulmates,” but the emphasis remains on human dynamics. Having two great actors like Ben-Adir and Snook play off one another allows the show to kick off with a bang because through all the tech gimmicks, any episode lives or dies by the emotion it makes viewers feel. It’s no wonder why “San Junipero,” often considered the best “Black Mirror” episode, puts a relationship front and center, and even though “Soulmates” was only meant to be a miniseries, we would’ve loved to see more of it. 

The Comey Rule (2020)

Showtime

There are a lot of expectations when it comes to portraying a former or current President of the United States. For a period of time, they become the most powerful person in the world, and everyone knows how they sound like and have probably heard plenty of impressions. The trick, especially when it comes to a serious drama as opposed to a “Saturday Night Live” sketch, is to make them come across as a real person as opposed to a parody. Kingsley Ben-Adir absolutely nailed every aspect of Barack Obama on “The Comey Rule.”

The Showtime miniseries centers on James Comey (Jeff Daniels) in the lead-up to the 2016 presidential election and his decision pursue the investigation into Hilary Clinton’s emails. Obama doesn’t have a huge role to play, as much of the show focuses more on Donald Trump’s (Brendan Gleeson) campaign and early months into his first term, but his scenes deliver a powerful impact in part thanks to Ben-Adir’s performance. 
Despite being British, Ben-Adir delivers a spot-on Obama voice that doesn’t parody the president’s cadences like so many others are prone to do. Despite the fact Ben-Adir is significantly younger than Obama should’ve been in 2016, you won’t even mind, because it’s just that good.

Barbie (2023)

Warner Bros.

There were plans for a lot of actors, including Bowen Yang, Dan Levy, and Ben Platt, to become Kens in “Barbie.” We’ll always wonder what might’ve been, but honestly, it’s hard to complain about the crop of Kens we got, all led by the ever-charismatic Ryan Gosling. Among those Kens is Kingsley Ben-Adir as Basketball Ken, who’s also very passionate about explaining why “The Godfather” is a Very Important(™) movie. 

Ben-Adir is probably mostly known for his dramatic work. He’s not normally known for being a silly guy, but in “Barbie,” he got a chance to show a completely new side of himself, which was more than welcome. It was even more of a delight considering “Barbie” came out around the same time as “Secret Invasion,” so around the same time people could see Ben-Adir try to wipe out humanity, they could also see him dressed as a cowboy wearing a crop top. 
It may not have been the biggest part of his filmography, which is why “Barbie” can’t rank too high, but Ben-Adir was ecstatic to be part of such a monumental film. When speaking with the “Zach Sang Show” about the “Barbie” script, Ben-Adir proclaimed, “I’ve never read anything that good. I was like, ‘This is kind of genius. Are they really gonna give [director and writer Greta Gerwig] money to make this?” Thank goodness Gerwig did get the money for this. 

The OA (2016 – 2019)

Nicola Goode/Netflix

The unceremonious cancelation of “The OA” after two seasons remains one of the most controversial decisions in streaming history. Fans gravitated toward the puzzle box storytelling, which primarily focused on Prairie Johnson (Brit Marling) who returns after having disappeared for seven years, and she can now see after previously being blind. Of course, that really doesn’t sell the series, as there are so many moving parts to the point this could’ve been something really special in Netflix’s catalog had it been allowed to continue. 

Kingsley Ben-Adir doesn’t show up as Karim Washington until the second season, but he added an interesting new wrinkle within the show as private investigator Karim Washington. Karim tries to solve various puzzles of his own, which puts him on a collision path with Prairie, who agrees to help him with a case. 
Karim added yet another layer of depth to the series, and Ben-Adir brought him to life wonderfully. The actor even got some shoutouts for his performance, in particularly, like in IGN’s review of “The OA” season 2, “Marling is capably backed up by Ben-Adir. Karim initially comes across as your typical no-nonsense detective, but he becomes something more.” It’s only a shame we didn’t see more of Karim in another season of “The OA,” but perhaps the cancelation allowed Ben-Adir to pursue other projects to help him advance his career further. 

High Fidelity (2020)

Phillip Caruso/Hulu

Speaking of unfair cancelations, “High Fidelity” is another streaming show that deserved far better. It was canceled after just one season despite critical acclaim, and while the final episode works as a solid sendoff, there was so much more potential with these characters.

Zoë Kravitz played Robyn Brooks, a record store owner who’s still processing her latest breakup with Russell “Mac” McCormack (Kingsley Ben-Adir). Ben-Adir is fantastic as Robyn’s ex-boyfriend, still imbuing him with a warmth to the point where he’s not just an ex-boyfriend the audience is meant to hate. We understand where he’s coming from even though he broke the protagonist’s heart, and that kind of character work should’ve carried the show to another season easily. 
“High Fidelity” is a rare reboot that works. It finds a way to make a story we already know about from the 2000 film with John Cusack (which Jack Black thought might kill his music career) and makes it feel fresh and exciting, exploring new angles of relationships. Not for nothing, but Ben-Adir played so well off of Kravitz, I just wanted to see more of them together. 

Peaky Blinders (2013 – 2022)

BBC Two

It’s one thing for an actor to consistently be the best thing in whatever he’s in, even if the project as a whole leaves something to be desired. It’s another thing for that actor to really show what they’re capable of by getting roles that really let them sink their teeth into something with true depth. There are many reasons why “Peaky Blinders” has remained such a popular show, and even though Kingsley Ben-Adir only appears in five episodes before his character gets killed off, he made the most of his short arc on the drama series. 

Ben-Adir plays Colonel Ben Younger, who’s first introduced on season 4’s “The Duel,” one of the best “Peaky Blinders” episodes bar none. He’s the head of the army intelligence officers monitoring Ada Shelby (Sophie Rundle) and even gets into a relationship with her. Ben has conflicting loyalties in the show, and Ben-Adir brings the requisite depth to portray a character struggling with where his allegiances lay. 
It’s not always the biggest performance, as much of Ben’s conflict comes through via subtle body movements. But such dichotomies is what makes Ben-Adir such a compelling performer. 

Bob Marley: One Love (2024)

Paramount

When does someone go from merely being a great actor to a genuine movie star? It’s tough to pin down, but I think Kingsley Ben-Adir proved himself more than worthy of the latter title with 2024’s “Bob Marley: One Love.” He portrays the eponymous singer with a resounding amount of depth in a film that outperformed all expectations. “One Love” crushed “Madame Web” at the box office, which came out around the same time, ultimately grossing $180 million worldwide and creating a new record for the highest opening numbers on Valentine’s Day ever.

This could be attributed to biopics simply having a moment in the sun, so a movie about the life of the ever-popular Bob Marley was bound to do well regardless. Still, it’s hard to argue that Ben-Adir takes what could’ve been a by-the-books performance and brings something truly special to it. The actor earned particular praise among outlets, including The Hollywood Reporter noting, “Ben-Adir’s finely tuned performance captures the mystical relationship between Marley and his music as well as his kinetic stage presence.”
It’s all the more impressive considering Ben-Adir actually sings in the movie, which isn’t always a guarantee with these kinds of biopics. He worked with a vocal coach and worked hard to get Marley’s mannerisms just right. It’s a tour de force role, proving Ben-Adir is more than capable of leading a movie. 

One Night in Miami… (2020)

Prime Video

How do you step into a role based on a real person that already has one incredible performance attached to it? Denzel Washington was nominated for Best Actor for the titular role in Spike Lee’s “Malcolm X.” Even pushing that aside, there’s so much to who Malcolm X was as a person that it’s daunting for any actor to step into those shoes. Yet Kingsley Ben-Adir doesn’t miss a beat portraying the civil rights icon in 2020’s “One Night in Miami…,” bringing the necessary gravitas while doing enough to differentiate his interpretation from Washington’s. 

Ben-Adir has quite the history of portraying real-life people, from Bob Marley to Barack Obama. But it’s his role of Malcolm X that stands out the most in this fictionalized story of him meeting with Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr.), Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge), and Cassius Clay (Eli Goree) following one of Clay’s boxing wins to discuss the Civil Rights Movement and their respective roles in advancing it. Ben-Adir gets plenty to chew on here, as /Film’s review of “One Night in Miami…” noted how he plays “the Nation of Islam minister as soft-spoken and bookish when he needs to be, but also prone to precise outbursts. This is not the fiery Malcolm X delivering a sermon — it’s the private Malcolm.”
That vulnerability to Malcolm X was a driving force for Ben-Adir making the character his own, as he told Harper’s Bazaar, “He was suffering in silence, and I thought that was our way in. I thought it was a route to try and create something more tender and potentially heartbreaking [in the film].” It remains Ben-Adir’s best performance to date and a sign that the actor can do truly great things and will probably win an Oscar one day. 

Rotten Tomatoes Users Think This Is The Worst Christopher Nolan Movie

Universal Pictures

Since breaking through with his second feature “Memento” in 2001, Christopher Nolan has been one of the most critically celebrated and commercially popular filmmakers on the planet. He’s been nominated for eight Academy Awards (winning Best Picture and Best Director in 2024 with “Oppenheimer”) and currently ranks seventh on the list of highest-grossing directors of all time (not adjusted for inflation). Career-wise, you can’t do it much better than Nolan: he kicked off with two indies, dipped his toe in the studio waters before tackling a major franchise with “Batman Begins,” didn’t overstay his welcome with said franchise, and is now a brand name himself à la Alfred Hitchcock, Steven Spielberg, and George Lucas. With his track record, he can make just about any film he wants at the studio of his choosing.

Now that he’s about to embark on feature number 13 (a currently untitled film starring Matt Damon, Tom Holland, and Zendaya), you’d think we could look back over his 26-year career and find at least one film that drew a smattering of critical and audience opprobrium. By this point in their filmographies, Spielberg had elicited critical disfavor with “1941” and “Hook,” while Lucas had taken the heat for being the producer of “Howard the Duck.” These movies all receive a splat at Rotten Tomatoes from critics (though users give “Hook” a favorable 76%).
So what about Nolan? Does he have a stinker in his oeuvre?

Tenet is Christopher Nolan’s least fresh film at Rotten Tomatoes

Warner Bros.

According to Rotten Tomatoes, Nolan’s most poorly reviewed feature is 2020’s “Tenet,” the sci-fi/action epic that is to date his biggest box-office disappointment — but with an asterisk considering that it was released amid the Covid pandemic. But at 70% fresh with critics and a 76% rating with RT users, it’s a far cry from the invective unleashed on films like “Hook” and “Howard the Duck” (or even “Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace”).

If you look over the negative reviews for “Tenet,” you won’t find many pans. Just about everyone has to admit that Nolan’s gravity- and time-defying set pieces are mind-blowers, while his sense of scale remains unsurpassed amongst his peers. According to the naysayers, the sometimes cool-around-the-heart Nolan failed to fully engage the audience’s emotions this time out. The characters played by John David Washington, Elizabeth Debicki, and Robert Pattinson too often feel like chess pieces being moved in counterintuitive ways across the board. A.A. Dowd of The A.V. Club likened the experience of watching “Tenet” to the solving of a Rubik’s Cube that “reveals little more than the complexity of its design.”

While I agree that “Tenet” is definitely the most emotionally chilly movie in Nolan’s filmography so far, I believe this is by design. I actually like that it’s cut like a diamond, and so dizzyingly multifaceted that you need to watch it a second time to fully understand how it all fits together. Regardless of how you feel about the movie (/Film’s Chris Evangelista found it frustrating), if that’s what counts as a misfire for Nolan, he’s likely to remain in extraordinarily high demand for years and years to come.

Visiting The Real Lord Of The Rings Locations Made Me A Better Movie Fan (And A Better Person)

Warner Bros.

I’ve been watching and loving “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy for the past 20 years. Growing up alongside these films, I’ve always wondered what it would be like to travel to New Zealand and see the filming locations of Middle-earth with my own eyes. This November, after saving up for years, my long-awaited dream finally came true. During a two-week tour with incredibly friendly and expert guides Julie James and Josh Roach from Red Carpet Tours and a fellowship of over thirty passionate fans, we went across the entire country, gaining exclusive access to private lands, insider insights into the making of the films, and even reenacting our favorite scenes with props in the very same spots where filming occurred.

I saw firsthand how the locations perfectly embody J.R.R. Tolkien’s vision of Middle-earth. New Zealand, with its lush forests, snowy glaciers, rolling hills, and sprawling mountains, is breathtaking — a country Peter Jackson captures so magnificently in his sweeping, awe-inspiring landscape shots. In many ways, New Zealand is the true star of the trilogy. More than anything, though, the tour opened my eyes to just how much care and craft went into this monumental series. When Tolkien first imagined his fantasy world, who would have guessed it was actually located over 11,000 miles away from his England home?
“I want to see mountains again, Gandalf, mountains!” Bilbo says in “The Fellowship of the Ring,” and now, after seeing the real-life faces of The Misty Mountains, The Lonely Mountain, and even Mordor for myself, I truly understand the lust for adventure and excitement that comes from stepping outside your door into the great wide world. New Zealand was the farthest away from home I’d ever been, and I invite you along my unforgettable, long-expected journey.

The simple joys of The Shire

Static Media/Warner Bros.

The real-life Hobbiton set is surrounded by bright green hills stretching as far as the eye can see, reminiscent of the English countryside that inspired Tolkien. Many of the hills have the facade of a hobbit hole (44 in total), each with a unique personality that Weta Workshop lovingly crafted with fine detail. Several hobbit holes have stands with fake bread, honey jars, or pastries, while others featured chessboards in their yards or tiny hobbit clothes hanging from a drying rope. One home was designed to look like it belonged to a fishmonger, with a table for wrapping their fresh catches, while others had mailboxes adorned with intricate etchings of flowers or bumblebees. In the middle of Hobbiton, there is a seesaw, swings, and a maypole where young hobbits can frolic. 

I was moved to tears and reminded of the Tolkien quote, “If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.” The hobbits’ home had a warmth, comfort, and sense of compassion that I feel is so lost in our divided and fast-paced society. With consuming work obligations, little time to see friends, and families often spread across the country, contemporary adult life can feel so stressful and isolating. Gazing out at those quaint hobbit holes, I saw a close-knit community where everyone could contribute something meaningful — working with their hands instead of rotating between computer, iPhone, and television screens all day long. The hobbits could easily walk to The Green Dragon (an actual pub on the premises) for a crisp pint with their best buddies, then unwind in their snug hobbit holes. These characters have a slow, simple, and nature-filled way of living that I yearn for, especially while living in a city. Being in The Shire reminded me that I need step away from the grind sometimes and enjoy the world around me.

The thrill of conquering Edoras

Static Media/Warner Bros.

Edoras, a key location in “The Two Towers” and “The Return of the King,” was filmed on the steep, jagged Mount Sunday, offering a 360-degree view of towering, snow-capped mountains and wide, grassy plains. Climbing it was scary for me because I have approximately zero athletic skills, but it was worth every step. When I reached the peak and felt the wind in my hair, like Éowyn in front of The Great Hall, I was not only proud of myself for conquering my fears, but I got an overwhelming sense of strength and connection to nature. It’s a feeling that only being in such an incredible location can give you. 

Standing on the mountain, I immediately thought how helpful it must have been for the actors to be here rather than in a studio with a green screen. It would have been much easier to immerse themselves in their heroic roles, racing toward Rohan or watching for the beacons of Gondor, while actually feeling the blustering wind or the hot sun and taking in these stunning surrounding vistas. Being in the middle of such majestic landscapes affects you both mentally and physically, and we see that shine through in their performances. The arduous climb also made me appreciate the strength of the cast and crew for navigating this rocky, windy, and inclined terrain; many of the locations we visited were surprisingly difficult to maneuver. 

Peter Jackson’s commitment to filming on location in New Zealand is a large part of why the films have held up so well for the past two decades. The details, scope, and unpredictability of these gorgeous vistas give the fantasy world of Middle-earth tangibility and texture, as well as a sense of danger and epic wonder that can only be captured by the natural world. Despite “The Hobbit” trilogy also largely being shot in some of the same locations, the effect is largely lost on those films, which frequently have a more glossy, studio-shot look to them.

Family farms became a part of film history

Static Media/Warner Bros.

Speaking of “The Hobbit,” we did visit some of the locations from that trilogy, too. Many sites we visited are farms that have been owned by families for generations. All of the landowners we spoke to were fascinated by the logistics and infrastructure involved in filming. Part of Ian Hayman’s farm included the dazzling Lake Tekapo with bright turquoise water which was used for the Lake-town refugees. But Peter Jackson had to work with the New Zealand government to lower the lake and expose more of the shoreline to accommodate the 700 extras. 

The refugee camp took months to build, and there were still pieces of fake wood from the set scattered around all these years later. They were surprisingly light, and finely detailed with grooves and lines. In the end, the set was only used for 13 minutes of footage. It was exciting to see how Jackson and his crew put so much effort into bringing scenes to life, even if they ended up being brief on screen. 
Another perk about having an entire film crew show up at your home? The craft services! Ian Hayman joked that it was “like going to a wedding every day.” Warrick Denzie, owner of the property near Piopio that was used for Trollshaw Forest, said his family also got to indulge in the feast on a daily basis. His sons would even take samples to share with their friends on the school bus. The Denzies’ property has rows of massive limestone cliffs that were originally seen as eyesores, but they were exactly what caught Jackson’s eye. 

Locals helped out in a big way

Static Media/Warner Bros.

Priscilla Cameron owns the farm that would become the site of The Battle of the Pelennor Fields, where golden-hued grass stretches all the way to the horizon. Just as the Rohan soldiers come together in the movies, the entire New Zealand community rallied to create one of the most epic, action-packed battle scenes ever. 

In the tiny town of Twizel, the production team literally knocked on the doors of local homes and even hotels to find 1,500 extras. Cameron even ended up playing one of the orcs, as did many of the locals we came across. The New Zealand Infantry also played orcs; “They finally got to be in a battle,” Cameron joked. Peter Jackson traveled to a Wellington cricket game to gather sounds of the orcs stomping, growling, and the men shouting “Death!” — which the crowd had to practice saying without the ‘I’ sound typical of the New Zealand accent.
Ads were placed in equestrian magazines and local newspapers to encourage people to bring their horses. Although Peter Jackson originally wanted 500 horses and riders for Rohan, he ended up with 286, most of whom were young women who had to transform into bearded men. Coordinating all these extras and animals was no easy feat, especially since the horses had to spend three days training for the charging scene. The crew had to make sure the horses would move at the same time and wouldn’t fight with each other. This was all for a close-up shot that only lasts a few seconds. We never think about this when we see it on screen, but there is so much manpower and time put into every shot in “The Lord of the Rings.” 

Andy Serkis was inches from death

Static Media/Warner Bros.

Another fascinating aspect of visiting the real-life locations was seeing the differences in how they appear on screen. What’s just outside the frame often becomes as exciting as what’s in it, and vice versa. The famous “Get off the road!” forest is just a hop, skip, and a jump away from the bustling city center of Wellington. Nearby the breaking of the fellowship riverside, other tourists were innocently strolling by, unaware they were footsteps away from cinema history. There were often conservation areas or walking trails right near the filming locations. 

Some locations were quite precarious. The hill the Uruk-hai ran down screaming “Find the halfling!” was very steep and slippery, making it remarkable that the actors in bulky armor, prosthetics, and heavy makeup could actually navigate it and run down without slipping (which I did several times while trying to get my picture).
But one of the most dangerous locales was where Gollum tries to catch a fish in “The Two Towers.” The area is filled with tons of pointy, wet rocks. Maybe the hobbit feet gave Elijah Wood and Sean Astin some cushion, but I couldn’t believe that they simply walked and performed the scene without wincing or having to look down at their feet! What was even more impressive was that Andy Serkis, while writhing in his white suit trying to catch a fish, was literally inches away from falling off a deadly cliff into a freezing waterfall. The location opened my eyes to how much Serkis truly threw himself into the role, and just how much athleticism was required overall to be a part of this trilogy.

Forever under The Lord of the Rings’ spell

Static Media/Warner Bros.

Like my Middle-earth heroes, I feel a great sense of accomplishment having journeyed from The Shire to Mordor across the gorgeous country of New Zealand. The locations the entire production team discovered were hidden gems that were perfect for bringing Middle-earth to life. It’s genuinely awe-inspiring to see how Jackson brought so many people together to create a film that will stand the test of time. I can’t wait to watch “The Lord of the Rings” again (extended editions, duh!) now that I’ve been to the locations — something I’ve dreamed about ever since I first saw the films all those years ago. Seeing how the films were made didn’t break the magical spell “The Lord of the Rings” has over me; instead, it only made me more awestruck by the effort every single one of the filmmakers put into it. One of the tour members described the films as “miracles,” and in many ways, they are. It took an incredible amount of planning, ingenuity, and teamwork to put Tolkien’s saga onto film, and I feel lucky to have experienced even a little part of that in person. 

Behind the true-crime documentary ‘ChiefsAholic’ is an Iowa filmmaker who’s had a busy year

It’s been a big year for Des Moines-based filmmaker Kristian Day. After years of work, his name has been attached to releases on nearly every major streamer in 2024.The Last American Gay Bar, which tells the story of Des Moines’ famous Blazing Saddle bar, came out on OUTtv this summer. A three-part documentary about an Iowa cold case, Taken Together: Who Killed Lyric and Elizabeth?, spent several weeks on Max’s Top 10 series list after it was released in August.The latest project — another with collaborator Dylan Sires — tells the story of Xaviar Babudar, the Kansas City Chiefs superfan who was sentenced in September to more than 17 years in prison for a string of bank robberies. ChiefsAholic: A Wolf in Chief’s Clothing premiered on Prime Video Dec. 24.
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Ahead of his latest release, I chatted with Day to ask him about telling these regional stories for a national audience, what it’s like to film as a headline unfolds in front of him, the funding realities of passion projects, what’s next on his agenda and what sort of (likely horrible) sleep schedule allows for this level of output.This interview has been edited for length and clarity.Madeleine King: Kristian, to put it mildly, you’ve had a busy year. You were a showrunner and director on The Last American Gay Bar docuseries on OUTtv, worked as a producer on the HBO series Taken Together about the abduction of two young Iowa girls and you just produced ChiefsAholic. In a year when you seemingly never stopped making announcements about new projects, what stood out? What were you most excited to share? Kristian Day: I don’t think I will have a year like this again for a while. Taken Together was actually filmed over a period of seven years and then wrapped back in September of 2022. It just didn’t get released until August of 2024. It was coincidental that everything lined up this way. I do feel like the span of projects that have been released this year hit on every level. The Last American Gay Bar was 100% a local story, but it connected with a generation of gay men that are starting to fade away. ChiefsAholic has been two years in the making. It was ripped from the headlines and we were there for it all the way to the end. We had a lot of ups and downs with it, including falling into debt when we ran out of development money, and I had to start putting things on personal credit cards. But I did that because I believed in the story and I knew a bigger studio would eventually come along. When ChiefsAholic was announced, I felt that I needed to mention that this would be the last movie for a while since this was the third one this year.King: Do you… ever sleep? Day: Well, yes is the short answer. What makes it work is having some sort of schedule. I’m in bed by 10:30 p.m. and up by 6:30 a.m. I fill my time wisely. King: Last movie for “a while…” What does that really mean for you? Do you have an ideal plan for this time away from production? Day: Oh, there are things being made. I have one documentary that needs to be delivered in June. One feature documentary and one short that are both passion projects. I am in production all the time. Technically I didn’t have a movie or show released in 2023, but Dylan Sires and I were chasing Xaviar Babudar after he went on the lam. I also sold and shot The Last American Gay Bar during the last half of that year. It was a weird time because we hadn’t sold ChiefsAholic to Amazon yet. We were in limbo as we were looking for a buyer and the industry strikes happened. I had the idea of The Last American Gay Bar on paper, but nothing was shot. OUTtv bought [the series] based on the idea alone and then all of a sudden, Amazon made their offer on ChiefsAholic. Then there were two very different productions happening simultaneously. Outside of the movie world, I have been focusing on writing because that only costs me time. I started a manuscript back in the spring of 2023 called F*ck This Show, which I just finished this past November. It’s a memoir of a self-destructive reality TV producer desperately clawing his way out of making the world’s worst television. I worked with an editor who, at times, would probably like to see my legs broken. But it was one of the best creative experiences I have had in a long time. It’s the final words on my years making the trash television you see in the waiting room while your car is getting an oil change. King: Can’t wait to read it! I’m a not-so-secret fan of “unscripted” television, so I’m sure it’ll be devastating to see it all through your lens.Going back to your latest projects… In one documentary, your team searches for answers in a more than a decade-old case. In the other, you’re getting answers from the perpetrator of a crime in almost real-time. One a cold case, one very hot —  Babudar was just sentenced in September. On Taken, you told IPR that you hoped the documentary would help bring more attention to the case and make sure it’s not forgotten. What are you hoping people get out of watching this latest project?Day: When Dylan [Sires] told me he thought Babudar might be a serial bank robber, I didn’t believe him. Who even does that in the modern world? I am a big fan of the Safdie brothers’ movie Good Time, but that is pure fiction. The Jesse James of the world are few and far between. If he was right, then this guy in his late twenties had been robbing banks all over the country. When we were still originally spending time with him, it felt like he just hit a really bad patch and maybe didn’t know what else he could do. He robbed a bank, got caught, end of story. Then I got the call at 9 p.m. on March 25, 2023: He cut his ankle monitor and ran. That’s when I knew Dylan was right.It’s not often that you are in a position to capture a story as it unfolds in real time. We went after it. The caveat to this was there was no more development money. So if we proceeded, it was on our own dime. For two weeks, we traveled with the bail bondsman, Michael Lloyd, looking for Babudar and following his mother and brother. They all three lived a nomadic lifestyle that slowly revealed itself the longer we stayed on their trail. An outlaw family with no physical home, but multiple cars which they lived out of that they parked in various Target parking lots in the Kansas City metropolitan area. It was this family of rebels with no jobs, just living off the land. It nearly bled us dry, but the story kept us in the field.King: It’s a compelling story, and it feels rare to get such an inside look as a headline unfolds in real time. How did Dylan/you start this project? What was the story you were hoping to tell before you found out the magnitude of what you were documenting?Day: A few days before Christmas, back in 2022, I was doing my annual cider delivery to friends when Dylan called me. A friend of his from Kansas City told him about a Chiefs superfan who was just arrested for robbing a bank and he asked me what I thought. We had just wrapped Taken Together a few months earlier, and to be honest, we were pretty numb from it. This story [ChiefsAholic] didn’t have murder. No one was kidnapped. It had this element of Don’t F*ck With Cats with the internet sleuths that I loved, but also I am obsessed with stories about countercultures and subcultures, whether it be the men from The Last American Gay Bar or my love of punk rock and noise music. The superfans were a subculture of their own.I always knew that a bigger story would reveal itself as we moved forward. We spent a good chunk of 2023 in Tulsa and Kansas City with all of us piled in a house together for weeks at a time. I knew there was something deeper the night we watched the NFL Honors show when he won the bet that Mahomes would win the MVP award. This was the first moment I was able to interact with him as I flew in from a commercial shoot in Vegas that day. Dylan and our DP Bruce had already spent a day with him. But I will tell you, the moment he won that first bet after being out, he started opening up about choosing to be homeless. It was honestly pretty interesting.”You throw away a minimum of $12,000 a year when you rent an apartment. Get a nice car, live in it for a year or two and you can save that money for a down payment on a house,” Babudar told us.He wasn’t wrong. You could do that.King: Speaking of Christmas, is there any story behind the Christmas Eve release date? Did you want to give us something to talk about at awkward family gatherings?Day: That was an Amazon move. They have a lot of faith in this movie, so they are releasing it right before everyone takes their winter break. That way you can ask your weird uncle if ChiefsAholic has any weight on the Chiefs three-peat?King: I hope Taylor Swift watches! Any final thoughts you want to share? Day: Movies are hard to make. You spend anywhere from six months to two years or more working on one just so someone at home can devour it in two hours. Watch them with your friends and talk about it afterward. Ask grandma or your stepdad from two marriages back (the one you actually like) what they thought. Don’t just burn through it. Enjoy it.

Travis Kelce reviews Taylor Swift’s favorite Christmas movie after being ‘forced’ to watch ‘Love Actually’

Travis Kelce “actually enjoyed” watching “Love Actually.”

The NFL player reviewed Taylor Swift’s favorite Christmas movie on his “New Heights” podcast Tuesday at his sister-in-law Kylie Kelce’s request.

While Travis, 35, called the 2003 film “torture” in last week’s episode, he changed his tune on the “very interesting” and “fun” plot.

Travis Kelce gave his honest review of “Love Actually,” Taylor Swift’s favorite Christmas movie. andrewspruill/Instagram

The athlete thought the 2003 film would be “torture” to watch. newheights/Instagram

However, he “actually enjoyed” the experience. Getty Images

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However, the Kansas City Chiefs tight end told listeners on Christmas Eve that all of the “scandal” portrayed in the various storylines was “terrifying” to watch.

“What’s crazy is that all of these stories tie together in one community, and it’s supposed to make it look like this is what happens,” he said. “Like, this is what’s going on around you.”

Travis went on to call the movie “far-fetched,” noted that he “couldn’t relate to anybody onscreen” and denied that it should be considered a Christmas movie.

He called the movie “fun” and “interesting.” David Smith/CSM/Shutterstock

Kelce praised the acting and directing. ©Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection

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Kylie, 32, shared her love of the classic, while her husband, Jason Kelce, repeatedly panned it — and decried being “forced” to watch.

“I’m giving an honest review, not swayed by an ulterior motive,” the former Philadelphia Eagles center, 37, said. “That’s what you get from Jason Kelce.”

Swift, 35, spoke about “Love Actually” in a Teen Vogue interview in May 2014.

Swift gushed over the movie in 2014. GC Images

The pop star said it shows “love actually is all around.” ©Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection

At the time, the pop star gushed, “If you look around, love actually is all around.”

More recently, Swift praised one of the movie’s stars, Hugh Grant, in June when he tweeted about attending one of her Eras Tour shows in London — and doing tequila shots with Travis.

Follow Page Six’s coverage of Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift’s whirlwind romance

“As a long time Hugh Grant stan this tweet is very important to my culture,” the Grammy winner replied via X.

Travis, who has been dating Swift since last summer, conceded last week that he does enjoy Grant’s recent work.

Earlier this year, Swift called herself a “longtime stan” of Hugh Grant, one of the movie’s stars. ©Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection

Her boyfriend also praised the actor’s work. Instagram/ Ashley Avignone

On Tuesday, the Super Bowl winner went on to say that the movie was well-acted and directed, giving scores of 9 and 8, respectively, out of 10.

The episode marked Kylie’s second time on the podcast — and her first since launching her own, “Not Gonna Lie.”

Fans are convinced that Swift is going to make her debut on “New Heights” next month, as Travis and Jason have teased a “very special” guest fans have “long” been waiting for.

Universal Pictures confirms Christopher Nolan’s next movie following Oppenheimer success

The Odyssey is the title of Christopher Nolan’s upcoming movie. (Arturo Holmes/Getty Images)

Universal Pictures has confirmed that Christopher Nolan’s next movie will be The Odyssey, following the success of Oppenheimer. 

The filmmaker, behind blockbusters like Tenet, The Dark Knight, Interstellar and Oppenheimer, has planned his latest movie, The Odyssey. Universal Pictures confirmed the news via X (formerly Twitter).

It wrote: “Christopher Nolan’s next film ‘The Odyssey’ is a mythic action epic shot across the world using brand new IMAX film technology. The film brings Homer’s foundational saga to IMAX film screens for the first time and opens in theatres everywhere on July 17, 2026.”

The director has enlisted an all-star cast for the upcoming movie. Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong’o, Robert Pattinson and Charlize Theron are set to star. 

Holland said in a recent podcast episode on The Dish that he signed onto the film despite not knowing many details about it. He said: “To be perfectly honest, I don’t really know what it’s about.

“I’m super excited, but it’s been pretty quiet about the project. I met with [Nolan] and it was awesome. He kind of loosely pitched what it is, and I’m sure when he’s ready he’ll announce what it’s about.”

The Odyssey is originally one of two ancient Greek poems by the poet Homer. It tells of the Greek legend of Odysseus who ventured home after the Trojan War.

Filmmakers used the poem as a basis for their films, including in a 1911 silent movie by Giuseppe de Liguoro, and in 1954’s Ulysses which starred Kirk Douglas. More recently in 2024, The Return adapted the last sections of the poem in the story.

Nolan and the studio’s follow-up to 2023’s huge moment in cinematic history is set to start production in the first half of 2025. The director will write and produce The Odyssey with his wife and film producer Emma Thomas, who is also behind some of Nolan’s biggest film hits. 

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