At SDCC, Kevin Feige revealed that Kim’s Convenience actor Simu Liu will be playing martial artist extraordinaire Shang-Chi, the first Asian character to get his own MCU solo film. Destin Daniel Cretton is directing, Dave Callaham is scriptwriting, and Marvel is reportedly planning on assembling a predominantly Asian and Asian American cast (with Awkwafina and…
Sansa Dislikes Daenerys on Game of Thrones & That’s Fine
The final season of Game of Thrones is all about conflict, and the premiere episode gave fans a long awaited meeting between Sansa Stark and Daenerys Targaryen. The two share similar backstories, both having survived the abuse, trauma, and machinations of men in order to become respected leaders in their own right. Together they’d make…
Alien: Covenant Decenters its Female Protagonist in Favor of a Man
Warning: This article contains spoilers for Alien: Covenant, as well as discussions of rape analogies. Is the Alien franchise a feminist one? It depends on who you ask. If, and how, and why a film is feminist has always been up for debate in film criticism circles. Feminist films are often helmed by women who…
Backlight: Further Weinstein Repercussions and Twitter Boycotts
These past two weeks it’s become increasingly clear that Hollywood is run by a handful of rich, disgusting, decrepit old white men; luckily, many in Hollywood are now coming forward to criticize the culture of abuse and harassment. Here’s hoping all these painful conversations will lead to further change in the industry. We also have…
Wishing For More Out of the Badass Women of Sci-Fi Panel
Updated October 9, 10:00 PM EST. A previous version of the article misattributed the statement “I love Moana” to Cher Martinetti. On Friday afternoon at New York Comic Con, several science fiction actresses and female directors came together for Syfy Wire Fangrrls Presents: Badass Women of Sci-Fi. Moderated by Syfy Fangrrls creator and managing editor Cher…
Pacific Rim Uprising UnCancels the Apocalypse
New York Comic Con finally gave us the first look at Pacific Rim: Uprising, and it looks brighter, louder, and larger than Guillermo del Toro’s iteration.
Fantastic Shorts by Women at Fantastic Fest
With everything that’s gone down with Fantastic Fest these past few weeks, there’s been a hyper focus on how we can make the film industry more welcoming towards women. At the festival itself, only 11 feature length films out of over 80 were directed by women; three of those films were co-directed with men, meaning…
Jailbreak is a Gorgeously Shot Ode to Cambodia’s Martial Art
Jailbreak Jimmy Henderson (director), Godefroy Ryckewaert (cinematographer), Amit Dubey, Jimmy Henderson (editors) Jean-Paul Ly, Dara Our, Tharoth Sam, Céline Tran, Savin Phillip, Dara Phang (cast) September 23, 2017 (Fantastic Fest), October 6, 2017 (London Film Festival) Jailbreak is an ambitious, kinetic, and wildly enjoyable action film hailing from Cambodia, a country whose film industry is…
Good Manners Is a Romance Film Seeped in Magical Realism
Good Manners (As Boas Maneiras) Marco Dutra, Juliana Rojas (directors), Rui Poças (cinematography), Caetano Gotardo (editor) Isabél Zuaa, Marjorie Estiano, Cida Moreira, Miguel Lobo (cast) Released September 24, 2017 (Fantastic Fest), October 11, 2017 (BFI London Film Festival) “Lady, beware, quicken your pace…all kinds of creatures hide in the night,” a woman sings as the…
Backlight: Emmys and Fantastic Fest
This week we saw a range of diverse creators receive the recognition they deserve. We also saw further repercussions around Tim League quietly employing Devin Faraci; the whole ordeal has been revealing and frustrating, and serves as a reminder that this industry still has a long way to go before it’s fully inclusive and safe…
On Dream Daddy, Authenticity, and Games by Queer Creators
The pitch for the Dream Daddy dating simulator was simple: play as a queer daddy who gets to romance other, much hotter, queer daddies.
Backlight: Your Movie and TV News Roundup
Whew it’s been…a week. Joss Whedon, Hypocrite Preaching Feminist Ideals On Sunday Kai Cole, the ex-wife of Joss Whedon, wrote a scalding essay about Whedon’s multiple affairs with both fans and actresses. “I now see how he used his relationship with me as a shield, both during and after our marriage, so no one would…