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Alexander Payne calls editor Kevin Tent his filmmaking partner.

The two first met running in the same L.A. film school circles. Tent cut “Citizen Ruth,” Payne’s feature directorial debut, after editor Carole Kravetz Aykanian recommended him. Ever since, Payne has relied on Tent to come in whenever he’s reading scripts, considering projects and, ultimately, edit his films.

Their latest collaboration, “The Holdovers,” is set in the early 1970s at the fictional Barton Academy, a New England prep school. Paul Giamatti is the curmudgeonly teacher forced to stay on campus during Christmas break to look after the students with nowhere to go

They discuss their shorthand and how they tweaked the film’s opening sequence while shooting it.

Where did “The Holdovers” begin for you?

Payne: It had a unique genesis. The story is taken from a 1935 French film that I saw at the Telluride Film Festival, and...

The Morning Show wrapped its third season Nov. 8 — a moment showrunner and executive producer Charlotte Stoudt admits was an emotional one for members of the creative team, who gathered to watch the season finale at Hollywood’s Linwood Dunn Theater. “It’s really thrilling to watch the show with an audience,” said Stoudt. “It’s not the finale until people see it. I’m all choked up.”

Stoudt — who boarded the Apple TV+ drama starring Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon as anchors Alex Levy and Bradley Jackson, respectively, for its most recent season — was joined after the screening by nine of the show’s executive producers and artisans to reflect on pushing the show’s characters into more vulnerable territory and the joys of working with the talented A-list actors they have at their disposal.

What were you most excited to see onscreen this season?

Mimi Leder, Director/EP The...

After cutting four episodes of “The Morning Show’s” debut season, Carole Kravetz Aykanian wasn’t able to return to the editing room for the second season. But she was back behind the monitor for the third installment of the hit Apple TV+ series — which just concluded its 10-episode run on Nov. 8 — and excited to dive right back into the world of the topical drama.

“[It was] delicious!” she exclaims during a recent webchat with Gold Derby (watch the full exclusive video interview above). “It’s a show that I’ve really enjoyed working on. Season 1 — it was a very dear season to me, just because of the subject matter, the #MeToo movement; there were some very profound themes that touched me, and the collaboration with everyone was just wonderful… I’m so happy to be back on Season 3. [It was] very exciting to go back into the world and reconnect with the characters...

After bouncing about in a couple of good Blu-ray editions, Carl Franklin’s superior film adaptation of the great Walter Mosley novel makes the jump to 4K. Denzel Washington’s star quality and acting prowess shine in the smart production, with Tak Fujimoto cinematography that put the color back into ’90s filmmaking. There’s plenty to enjoy in this hard/soft-boiled tale, starting with the great music. Everybody’s good and Don Cheadle’s loose-cannon henchman ‘Mouse’ is terrific. It’s one of Washington’s best pictures, and should have initiated an entire franchise of Walter Mosley / Easy Rawlins detective adventures.

Devil in a Blue Dress 4K

4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray

The Criterion Collection 1135

1995 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 101 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date July 19, 2022 / 39.95

Starring: Denzel Washington, Tom Sizemore, Jennifer Beals, Don Cheadle, Maury Chaykin, Terry Kinney, Lisa Nicole Carson, Albert Hall, Mel Winkler.

Cinematography: Tak Fujimoto

Film...

“I’ve been in this business for many years … but this was very special. It will always have a special place in my heart because it felt so important for women,” explains “The Morning Show” editor Carole Kravetz Aykanian on working on Apple TV+‘s flagship drama. “It talked about things we have been hearing about — sexual misconduct in the workplace, things like this — but the specificity of our story opened discussion.” Watch our exclusive video interview above.

“The Morning Show” is a drama about the power struggles happening behind the scenes of a morning TV news show where anchor Alex Levy (Jennifer Aniston) fights for control after her co-host Mitch (Steve Carell) is abruptly fired for harassment. It’s always challenging to set the tone for a brand new show in the editing room, but that was especially the case with such difficult subject matter. “There’s a lot of humor,...

Daniel Clowes’ comics creation receives an A-Plus film adaptation through the directorial filter of Terry Zwigoff. The show has more going for it than the bleak alienation of disaffected quasi- gen-Xers — the script offers a depth of character revealing the insecure, hopes and fears behind all the insulting attitudes and behaviors. It’s caustic, funny and also strongly affecting.

Ghost World

Blu-ray

The Criterion Collection 872

2001 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 111 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date May 30, 2017 / 39.95

Starring: Thora Birch, Scarlett Johansson, Steve Buscemi, Brad Renfro, Illeana Douglas, Bob Balaban, Stacey Travis, Teri Garr.

Cinematography: Affonso Beato

Production Designer: Edward T. McAvoy

Art Direction: Alan E. Muraoka

Film Editors: Carole Kravetz, Michael R. Miller

Original Music: David Kitay

Writing credits: Daniel Clowes & Terry Zwigoff from the comics by Daniel Clowes

Produced by Pippa Cross, Janette Day, Lianne Halfon, Barbara A. Hall,

John Malkovich, Russell Smith

Directed by Terry Zwigoff

Enid:...

Carl Franklin scored with this exciting adapation of Walter Mosley's first 'Easy' Rawlins detective tale, starring a terrific Denzel Washington as the South Central resident who takes up snoop work to pay the mortgage. Don Cheadle steals the show as Easy's loose-cannon pal from Texas, Mouse Alexander; this really should have been the beginning of a franchise. Devil in a Blue Dress Blu-ray Twilight Time Limited Edition 1995 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 101 min. / Ship Date October 13, 2015 / available through Twilight Time Movies / 29.95 Starring Denzel Washington, Tom Sizemore, Jennifer Beals, Don Cheadle, Maury Chaykin, Terry Kinney, Lisa Nicole Carson, Albert Hall, Mel Winkler. Cinematography Tak Fujimoto Production Designer Gary Frutkoff Costumes Sharen Davis Film Editor Carole Kravetz Original Music Elmer Bernstein From the book by Walter Mosley Produced by Jesse Beaton, Gary Goetzman Written and Directed by Carl Franklin

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

Carl Franklin was cheated, Easy Rawlins was cheated and We...

This review was written for the festival screening of "The Hunting Party".As he did with his previous feature, "The Matador", writer-director Richard Shepard assembles all the elements for a dark suspense comedy only to lose his way in a surfeit of plot mechanics and unlikely behavior. There's a potentially funny political story in "The Hunting Party" about war criminals that the United Nations, NATO and the U.S. all say they want to find but really don't. Unfortunately, Shepard's approach takes the movie into Jason Bourne territory and away from the black comedy he seemingly wants to make, making the film fall between the cracks in terms of boxoffice appeal.

Richard Gere and Terrence Howard make an excellent pair of conflict journalists who get off on the adrenaline rush of war zones. And Jesse Eisenberg of "The Squid and the Whale" comes along as a very young stooge/sidekick. The secondary characters, a few based on real-life hard cases in Bosnia and Serbia, are nothing if not colorful. Meanwhile, the production takes terrific advantage of the war-torn city of Sarajevo and the middle-of-nowhere look of the treacherous mountains nearby, where a war criminal can easily hide. So the movie's surfaces are wickedly alive, giving MGM and the Weinstein Co. plenty to market.

Gere and Howard play the aptly named Hunt and Duck, a TV news reporter and cameraman, respectively, who have dashed through the world's worst war zones, from Somalia to El Salvador. Hunt is forever on the hunt for hot action footage, while cameraman Duck must duck all the bullets and explosions coming at him as a consequence. Then, in Bosnia, in a village brutally ravaged by ethnic cleansing, Hunt suffers an on-camera meltdown during a live feed on network television.

Five years later, Duck, on a quickie assignment to Sarajevo with anchor Franklin Harris (James Brolin), meets up with Hunt, reduced to peddling stories to whomever will buy. Hunt dangles a major exclusive in front of Duck: He knows where a Bosnian Serb war criminal known as the Fox is hiding. Eventually, Duck bites, so along with rookie reporter Benjamin (Eisenberg), the son of a network exec, the three go on a Fox hunt.

And here is where the story goes astray. On a mountain road in a stolen vehicle, Hunt makes it clear that he aims not to interview the Fox but to capture him. With suspense music worthy of the next James Bond film to encourage them, the trio assume the guise of CIA agents and eventually start to believe in that identity. But unlike a Bond or Bourne movie, which slams from A to B to C to D, this hunting party goes from A to B and back to A again. Wild goose chases and dead ends introduce a host of rustic villains but serve only to alert the Fox to their presence. And would these war vets be foolish enough to talk loudly in restaurants about their plans so that all may hear?

Shepard insists that the quest is personal for Hunt. The Fox's men murdered his pregnant girlfriend in that village, and he means to "wipe that smile off his face." Which is OK if that's the story you want to tell, but there goes any comedy. The movie is now a revenge melodrama filled with lame comedic moments that work against the suspense. Shepard actually does a good job of pumping up these suspense sequences, yet the repeated 11th hour rescues stretch credibility beyond the breaking point.

There is credibility, though, in Gere's burned-out case, who looks haggard even after a good night's sleep and maintains a simmering frenzy that borders on true insanity. Howard, on the other hand, looks too well rested, having traded war zones for a cushy job in New York. Back in Bosnia, he comes alive again. Eisenberg gets a few laughs as a scared Harvard grad over his head in the real world, but the film goes to that well once too often.

Production values are terrific, especially David Tattersall's cinematography and Jan Roelfs' production design. They conspire to make Bosnia still look like a very scary place.

THE HUNTING PARTY

MGM

The Weinstein Co. presentsa QED International/Intermedia production

Credits:

Screenwriter-director: Richard Shepard

Based on an article by: Scott Anderson

Producers: Mark Johnson, Scott Kroopf

Executive producers: Adam Merims, Bill Block

Director of photography: David Tattersall

Production designer: Jan Roelfs

Music: Rolfe Kent

Costume designer: Beatrix Pasztor

Editor: Carole Kravetz-Aykanian

Cast:

Simon Hunt: Richard Gere

Duck: Terrence Howard

Benjamin: Jesse Eisenberg

Franklin Harris: James Brolin

Fox: Ljubomir Kerekes

Magda: Kristina Krepela

Mirjana: Diane Kruger

Duck's Girlfriend: Joy Bryant

Running time -- 104 minutes

MPAA rating: R...

As he did with his previous feature, The Matador, writer-director Richard Shepard assembles all the elements for a dark suspense comedy only to lose his way in a surfeit of plot mechanics and unlikely behavior. There's a potentially funny political story in The Hunting Party about war criminals that the United Nations, NATO and the U.S. all say they want to find but really don't. Unfortunately, Shepard's approach takes the movie into Jason Bourne territory and away from the black comedy he seemingly wants to make, making the film fall between the cracks in terms of boxoffice appeal.

Richard Gere and Terrence Howard make an excellent pair of conflict journalists who get off on the adrenaline rush of war zones. And Jesse Eisenberg of The Squid and the Whale comes along as a very young stooge/sidekick. The secondary characters, a few based on real-life hard cases in Bosnia and Serbia, are nothing if not colorful. Meanwhile, the production takes terrific advantage of the war-torn city of Sarajevo and the middle-of-nowhere look of the treacherous mountains nearby, where a war criminal can easily hide. So the movie's surfaces are wickedly alive, giving MGM and the Weinstein Co. plenty to market.

Gere and Howard play the aptly named Hunt and Duck, a TV news reporter and cameraman, respectively, who have dashed through the world's worst war zones, from Somalia to El Salvador. Hunt is forever on the hunt for hot action footage, while cameraman Duck must duck all the bullets and explosions coming at him as a consequence. Then, in Bosnia, in a village brutally ravaged by ethnic cleansing, Hunt suffers an on-camera meltdown during a live feed on network television.

Five years later, Duck, on a quickie assignment to Sarajevo with anchor Franklin Harris (James Brolin), meets up with Hunt, reduced to peddling stories to whomever will buy. Hunt dangles a major exclusive in front of Duck: He knows where a Bosnian Serb war criminal known as the Fox is hiding. Eventually, Duck bites, so along with rookie reporter Benjamin (Eisenberg), the son of a network exec, the three go on a Fox hunt.

And here is where the story goes astray. On a mountain road in a stolen vehicle, Hunt makes it clear that he aims not to interview the Fox but to capture him. With suspense music worthy of the next James Bond film to encourage them, the trio assume the guise of CIA agents and eventually start to believe in that identity. But unlike a Bond or Bourne movie, which slams from A to B to C to D, this hunting party goes from A to B and back to A again. Wild goose chases and dead ends introduce a host of rustic villains but serve only to alert the Fox to their presence. And would these war vets be foolish enough to talk loudly in restaurants about their plans so that all may hear?

Shepard insists that the quest is personal for Hunt. The Fox's men murdered his pregnant girlfriend in that village, and he means to "wipe that smile off his face." Which is OK if that's the story you want to tell, but there goes any comedy. The movie is now a revenge melodrama filled with lame comedic moments that work against the suspense. Shepard actually does a good job of pumping up these suspense sequences, yet the repeated 11th hour rescues stretch credibility beyond the breaking point.

There is credibility, though, in Gere's burned-out case, who looks haggard even after a good night's sleep and maintains a simmering frenzy that borders on true insanity. Howard, on the other hand, looks too well rested, having traded war zones for a cushy job in New York. Back in Bosnia, he comes alive again. Eisenberg gets a few laughs as a scared Harvard grad over his head in the real world, but the film goes to that well once too often.

Production values are terrific, especially David Tattersall's cinematography and Jan Roelfs' production design. They conspire to make Bosnia still look like a very scary place.

THE HUNTING PARTY

MGM

The Weinstein Co. presentsa QED International/Intermedia production

Credits:

Screenwriter-director: Richard Shepard

Based on an article by: Scott Anderson

Producers: Mark Johnson, Scott Kroopf

Executive producers: Adam Merims, Bill Block

Director of photography: David Tattersall

Production designer: Jan Roelfs

Music: Rolfe Kent

Costume designer: Beatrix Pasztor

Editor: Carole Kravetz-Aykanian

Cast:

Simon Hunt: Richard Gere

Duck: Terrence Howard

Benjamin: Jesse Eisenberg

Franklin Harris: James Brolin

Fox: Ljubomir Kerekes

Magda: Kristina Krepela

Mirjana: Diane Kruger

Duck's Girlfriend: Joy Bryant

Running time -- 104 minutes

MPAA rating: R...

Screened

Toronto International Film Festival

TORONTO -- Cross "Body Heat" with "No Way Out" and you wind up with "Out of Time", a slick crime melodrama with more style than substance. Director Carl Franklin certainly knows all the right moves in this genre, so even a less-than-stellar performance by Denzel Washington probably won't hurt the film's chances of becoming a medium-range success for MGM.

The locale of Florida's Gulf Coast and the way a love-starved man's sexual indiscretions lead him into a frame-up for murder suggest "Body Heat". But "No Way Out" (itself a remake of "The Big Clock") contributes the film's two key elements: a rapidly ticking clock and a cop desperate to solve a double murder when he knows all the clues point to him. Working from a tight script by first-time screenwriter Dave Collard, Franklin moves the story at a brisk pace as his often-in-motion camera captures the sultry sensuality of a backwater coastal town.

A noirish tale sets up small-town police chief Matt Lee Whitlock (Washington) for the fall as smoothly as a well-blended summer drink. Estranged from wife Alex (the striking Eva Mendes), who happens to be a police detective, Matt fools around with Ann Merai (Sanaa Lathan), whose nasty ex-football player husband Chris Dean Cain) has gotten wind of the affair. Matt then gets hit with two blows: His wife files for divorce, and Ann Merai learns she has terminal cancer.

Ann Merai's only long-shot hope is alternative therapy in Europe, which costs a fortune. But wait! There is that $1 million life insurance policy her husband bought a year ago. Maybe she can leverage that policy for quick cash. When this scheme fails, she changes the beneficiary to Matt, and in exchange he gives her stacks of drug money, which his office is holding for a trial years away. Then Ann Merai's house burns down that night in an arson fire, killing both her and her husband.

Alex is on the case the next morning. Matt realizes the evidence will all too quickly point to him. Frantic, Matt struggles to stay one step ahead of his enterprising wife to solve the murder before he finds himself in jail. Of course, logic would dictate that Matt should take his wife into his confidence

after all, she is still on friendly terms with him. But what fun would that be for viewers?

The film contains a number of well-orchestrated sequences where that one step shortens to a half-step, especially at a Miami hotel where Matt races to get to a suspicious character (Alex Carter) before his wife does, only to wind up hanging from a hotel balcony with the suspect.

Washington never appears to have gotten a handle on his character, though. Matt is a sleazy guy who doesn't just make a mistake or two but a whole series of them, all predicated on his own self-interest. Yet Washington tries to play Matt as a sympathetic innocent, which doesn't wash. A little of that "Training Day" evil cunning might have worked better.

Mendes, in her best role yet, gives her cop plenty of energy and femininity. John Billingsley is wonderful as a slacker medical examiner who becomes Matt's sidekick in crime and serves as the film's comic relief. Lathan and Cain hit just the right notes of guile and ardor.

Adding to the film's rich atmosphere are terrific Florida locations, Theo Van de Sande's elegant cinematography -- emphasizing voluptuous earth tones -- and Graeme Revell's rousing Latin jazz score.

OUT OF TIME

MGM

An Original Film/Monarch Pictures production

Credits:

Director: Carl Franklin

Screenwriter: Dave Collard

Producers: Neal H. Moritz, Jesse B'Franklin

Executive producers: Kevin Reidy, Jon Berg, Damien Saccani, Alex Gartner

Director of photography: Theo Van de Sande

Production designer: Paul Peters

Music: Graeme Revell

Costume designer: Sharen Davis

Editor: Carole Kravetz Aykanian

Cast:

Matt Lee Whitlock: Denzel Washington

Detective Alexandra Whitlock: Eva Mendes

Ann Merai: Sanaa Lathan

Chris: Dean Cain

Chae: John Billingsley

Tony: Robert Baker

Cabot: Alex Carter

Running time -- 105 minutes

MPAA rating: PG-13...