Jun 14, 2013 By John Everhart Michael Shannon

Michael Shannon‘s been acting since the early ‘90s: he cut his teeth in Chicago’s theater community and showed up in a small scene in 1993’s Groundhog Day, as the enthusiastic recipient of WrestleMania tickets as a wedding gift from Bill Murray’s character Phil Connors. More

Jun 07, 2013 By Chris Tinkham Web Exclusive

With three films in U.S. movie theaters this spring, English actress Andrea Riseborough suddenly is seeing her visibility gain ground on her reputation as one of the U.K.‘s finest and most versatile actresses. In the futuristic sci-fi adventure, Oblivion, she appears opposite Tom Cruise as the navigator of his character’s drone-repair mission. She plays an ambitious television reporter in the Internet-focused cautionary tale, Disconnect. And for Shadow Dancer, director James Marsh cast her as Collette McVeigh, a single mother who is an accomplice to an IRA bombing plot. More

May 24, 2013 By Chris Tinkham Soko

At this year’s Cannes Film Festival, French actress and singer/songwriter Soko is the face of La Semaine de la Critique (Critics’ Week), a section of the festival that showcases films of first- and second-time directors. The image used for the Semaine de la Critique poster was taken from Soko’s performance in Augustine, the debut feature of writer/director Alice Winocour. Augustine premiered as part of last year’s Critics’ Week at Cannes and now is opening in U.S. theaters. More

May 17, 2013 By Austin Trunick Web Exclusive

Writer and director Noah Baumbach is an admitted overachiever. By the ripe old age of 26 he’d already broken out on the indie scene with his acclaimed 1995 debut feature, Kicking and Screaming. He’d follow it up two years later with Mr. Jealousy, and then go on to write and direct the Academy Award-nominated The Squid and the Whale in 2005, Margot at the Wedding in 2007, and Greenberg in 2010. More

May 10, 2013 By John Oursler Web Exclusive

British director Ben Wheatley has made a name for himself on the festival circuit with Down Terrace and Kill List, films that explore murder, cults, and a bit more murder. In his newest, Sightseers, the director branches into more comedic territory while maintaining his signature flair for the sick and twisted. On a road trip through the English countryside, young couple Chris (Steve Oram) and Tina (Alice Lowe) let loose by taking out their aggression on everyone and everything that betrays one of their pet peeves. The result is a hilarious black comedy that only Ben Wheatley could deliver. More

May 02, 2013 By John Oursler Web Exclusive

Susanne Bier is a filmmaker who knows her way around a dramatic situation. Her last film, In a Better World, won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, a category that historically rewards a heavier tone. More

Apr 30, 2013 By Austin Trunick Web Exclusive

Filmmaker Henry-Alex Rubin was nominated for an Academy Award in 2005 for Murderball, his documentary about quadriplegic rugby players. As a highly lauded commercial director, he creates campaigns whose distinctive style often makes them feel more like short documentary films than advertisements. More

Apr 26, 2013 By Chris Tinkham Kate Lyn Sheil

In November of 2011, New York-based actress Kate Lyn Sheil attended the AFI Fest in Hollywood, where four films that she had acted in were screened: Sophia Takal’s Green, Alex Ross Perry’s The Color Wheel, and Joe Swanberg’s Silver Bullets and The Zone. More

Apr 26, 2013 By Chris Tinkham Web Exclusive

Over the last four years, Amy Seimetz has become one of the most active and respected actresses in a fertile independent scene, appearing in films by Joe Swanberg, Lena Dunham, and, more recently, Shane Carruth and Ti West. She’s also a versatile talent, having produced films for other directors in addition to writing, directing, and editing her own. More