Joaquin Phoenix’s first Academy Award nomination was for the role of Emperor Commodus in the first Gladiator film. The role went down in history as one of the best movie villains of that decade. So to walk in the footsteps of the legacy of such a performance and a character would have been a challenge for any actor.
Continue reading “Fred Hechinger on the Parallels of ‘Gladiator II’ and the Politics of Today”
There are very few films in cinematic history — especially from the ‘00s — that many would consider perfect. But 24 years ago, Ridley Scott’s Gladiator became a monumental box office success, an Oscar Winner for Best Picture, and is now considered to be one of the best films of its decade. So I was insanely skeptical about Gladiator II.
Continue reading “NOC Review: ‘Gladiator II’ Honors Its Predecessor with Strength and Blood”
“The Ballad of the Witches’ Road” is an evocative ensemble earworm heard throughout Marvel Studios’ latest streaming hit, Agatha All Along. Created by EGOT winners and songwriting duo Robert and Kristen-Anderson Lopez, the song plays a crucial part in the series’ larger narrative while also taking a life of its own in different episodes.
Continue reading “Kristen-Anderson and Robert Lopez on ’70s Rock Influences in ‘Agatha All Along’”
As Harley Quinn (as voiced by Tara Strong) says at some point in the video game Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, “Hear that? That’s the empowering feminist anthem of my internal soundtrack starting.” Begging the question, what anthem is she referring to? Compulsive pop-song-playlist-maker that I am, I have needledropping thoughts.
Continue reading “12 Songs to Play the ‘Suicide Squad’ Game With as You Un-Kill the Justice League”
How do you capture the spirit of ancient Rome? Through gorgeously composed music, of course! This was something Hans Zimmer knew very well putting together the original score for Gladiator back in 2000. Now, following in the footsteps of Zimmer comes composer Harry Gregson-Williams.
Continue reading “Harry Gregson-Williams Scores in the New Music Featurette for ‘Gladiator II’”
In a pleasantly surprising move, Lady Gaga revealed this week that she would release a Harley Quinn-themed concept album to accompany the imminent opening of Joker: Folie à Deux.
Continue reading “Lady Gaga Drops ‘Harlequin’ Because Comics-Themed Concept Albums are Cool”
I’ll be the first to admit I’m not hip to the music of today’s generation. I’m a movie guy, not necessarily a music guy. But even an old square like me has heard of Quavo! So it’s really cool that he’s got a new track with Ty Dolla $ign and composer Brian Tyler for Transformers: One. (Dear lord I sound old).
Continue reading “‘Transformers One’ Shares New Single from Quavo, Ty Dolla $ign, and Brian Tyler”
Warner Bros. has unveiled a new soundtrack single, “Save Me,” from the original motion picture Trap. The newly released single features rising music star Saleka Shyamalan, who also stars as the fictional pop star in the new M. Night Shyamalan-directed psychological thriller.
Continue reading “WB Releases Saleka Shyamalan’s New Single from the ‘Trap’ Soundtrack”
Star Wars: The Acolyte is getting its own original song! Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Victoria Monét will release the song, “Power of Two,” on June 14 on all streaming platforms.
Continue reading “Grammy Award-Winning Artist Victoria Monét Joins ‘Star Wars’ Universe with Original Song”
Rocksteady Studios maintains ambitious expansion plans for their embattled live-service game, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League (or SSKTJL, if you’re into the whole brevity thing). The creators of the standard-setting Batman: Arkham Asylum games plan to release at least 12 “seasons” featuring new playable characters, redesigned environs (“Elseworlds”) and alternate Brainiac bosses in the coming months. Recently they unveiled Season 1, featuring that evergreen Batman nemesis, the Joker.
Continue reading “Joker’s on You! Will ‘Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League’ Survive Its Own Expansion?”
There’s no greater way to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Legendary’s MonsterVerse than with a new movie as big as Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire! And there’s no better way to celebrate Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire than with a new song by rising hip hop stars BigXthaPlug and Ro$ama! Get ready for “Beast Mode!”
Continue reading “Listen to BigXthaPlug and Ro$ama’s New Track from ‘Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire’”
I got to chat with the executive producer of the Street Fighter 6 Original Soundtrack, Koyo Sonae. We talked about his musical background, the ongoing legacy of Street Fighter, and various topics related to the music of video games. The SF6 Collector’s Edition Vinyl Set is now available wherever you get your awesome collector’s edition vinyl soundtracks guaranteeing that you will be the coolest music nerd in your whole zip code.
Continue reading “NOC Interview: ‘Street Fighter 6’ Soundtrack Producer Koyo Sonae”
Stan Walker is a singer from New Zealand. Rising to prominence through Australian Idol, he has since gone on to release seven albums; the most recent one in 2022, All In. In 2023, he was summoned by director Ava DuVernay, who, after being shown a video of him doing a cover of Kanye West’s “Ultralight Beam” by her producing partner, asked Walker to do the song for her latest film, Origin; which tells the story of how journalist Isabel Wilkerson researched the caste systems in the histories of the United States, Germany, and India, for her 2020 book, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents.
Continue reading “Stan Walker on Creating the Song “I Am” for Ava DuVernay’s ‘Origin’”
Crafting any studio blockbuster is a challenging endeavor. Worlds and galaxies begin with the ideas of a gifted writer or director (or both in the case of James Gunn), but have to become reality. And that’s really where so much time, energy, and effort from hard working individuals, such as the VFX team from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 come into the picture.
Continue reading “Building a Universe with the ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ VFX Crew”
Gamora. Nebula. The High Evolutionary. Humanimals. Believe it or not, these specific larger than life characters aren’t made using VFX. They’ve been meticulously brought to life by some of the most unsung heroes in the entire entertainment industry: the incredible hair and makeup crew of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3!
Continue reading “Lessons in High Evolution with the ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ Hair and Makeup Team”
For the past five weeks, Disney has held a Wish Wendsday campagin, where they would release one track from the Wish soundtrack. With Wish hits theaters next Wednesday, and for many Disney fans — including ourselves — that day cannot come soon enough.
Continue reading “Full ‘Wish’ Soundtrack is Out Today”
‘NSYNC made headlines last night reuniting at the VMAs to present Taylor Swift with the Best Pop Award, leaving many wondering if this was an announcement for members to make a comeback.
Continue reading “‘NSYNC to Reunite For ‘Trolls Band Together’ Soundtrack”
Keith welcomes official Friend of the NOC, Mega Ran back to the podcast to celebrate the release of his forthcoming children’s album, Buddy’s Magic Toy Box.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is now officially in theaters. And while we have had a tremendous week celebrating the release of the new film with our review and interviews, we wanted to call out that the timing of the film’s debut coincides with National Space Day!
Continue reading “An Intergalactic Look Back at the ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’”
It’s Guardians Vol. 3 Week here at The Nerds of Color. We dropped our review here on Monday! On Tuesday we brought you our fun conversation with Star Lord, himself, Chris Pratt. And today we are proud to present our terrific interview with the film’s big bad, Chukwudi Iwuji, who plays The High Evolutionary!
Continue reading “How ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ Star Chukwudi Iwuji Evolves the MCU Villain”
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 hits theaters this Friday! And to celebrate the release of one of the biggest movies of the year, we at The Nerds of Color were invited to attend the press conference for the final installment in James Gunn’s space opera trilogy! Keep reading to see what Gunn, as well as the cast, and producer Kevin Feige, had to say about the final chapter in perhaps the best superhero trilogy of all time!
Continue reading “Playing the Final Track at the ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ Press Conference”
It has been an emotional journey guardians! But sadly, it’s time to face the music. This week Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 hits theaters, bringing one of the greatest superhero trilogies of all time to a close with one final track.
Continue reading “Rocking Out with the Legendary Star-Lord: Chris Pratt from ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’”
What an incredible journey it has been for the galaxy’s favorite a-holes! But all good things must come to an end, be it an Infinity Saga or a cosmic journey about a dysfunctional family of losers who band together to win each other (and the audience) over.
Continue reading “NOC Review: ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ is James Gunn’s Marvel Magnum Opus”