Let’s run it back!
Friday, May 1 — Happy Friday, everyone! If you’re lucky enough to be headed to the “Weapons” screening/Josh Brolin Q&A this afternoon at the Atlanta Film Festival, DON’T tell me about it! I’m so jealous! Tell Josh “hi” for me!
Tomorrow marks the last in-person weekend of the festival, but if you’re hankering for more, select movies will be available virtually May 4-11. I’ll be around all weekend, but tomorrow especially – if you can’t find me at a screening, I’m most likely at the Righteous Room. ✌️
Without further ado … Action!
🏆 The 2026 Image Film Awards, which also stand as the Atlanta Film Society’s annual fundraiser, will be held today at Assembly Atlanta. Will Packer and Josh Brolin are among the honorees.
🍿 Tucker’s Summer of Fun event series will include movies like “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and “Zootopia 2.”
💸 Paramount has asked the FCC to okay the financing behind its $110 billion Warner Bros. Discovery deal. Forty-nine percent of that financing will come from foreign entities, exceeding the FCC’s 25 percent cap on foreign ownership of broadcast license holders. Click here to learn more about what could stand in the way of the merger going forward.
📺 In other business news, the FCC has ordered an early review of Disney’s licenses for its ABC-owned television stations as part of an investigation into the company’s DEI practices. This happened just a day after President Donald Trump called for ABC to fire late night host Jimmy Kimmel.
🇫🇷 The Cannes Film Festival has added 16 more films to its lineup, including movies directed by Diego Luna and James Gray.
✅ Taylor Swift is pulling a Matthew McConaughey – that is, turning her own voice and likeness into federally registered IP to combat AI replicas.
This week’s newsletter has a couple more interviews with directors at the Atlanta Film Festival, as well as an interview with a couple of local filmmakers who made a very personal short film about their grandfather. Plus, a new edition of my series on Atlanta indie film, featuring Rocco Shapiro, and three (count ’em!) movie reviews. Spotlight will return next week, but you’ll still find a schedule of what’s opening in theaters this weekend and some reading and listening recommendations below.
Thanks for reading!
Sammie
⛱️ Looking for things to do this summer or planning a weekend getaway near Atlanta? Just over an hour away, Lake Oconee is one of Georgia’s top summer destinations, offering everything from boating and fishing to berry picking and small-town charm. Plan your nostalgic summer escape today. SPONSOR MESSAGE
An Atlanta Film Festival Roundup: Week Two
I’ve spent another week talking to some amazing filmmakers with movies playing at the Atlanta Film Festival. I’ll have a couple of stragglers next week, but for now, check out these interviews below:
🇺🇸 Filmmaker Jared Sprouse and lead actor Ainsley Seiger talked with me about the making of Sprouse’s film “Party USA.” The film played at the festival on April 29.
🇵🇸 Israeli filmmaker Roy Cohen made the documentary “Far From Maine” about his friendship with Palestinian peace activist Aseel Aslih, who was killed by Israeli police in 2000. I talked with Cohen about the film, which plays at the festival tomorrow.
➡️ Check out the festival’s weekend schedule of screenings here.
What’s actually happening in Sandy Springs, Dunwoody, and Brookhaven right now?
SPONSORED BY PERIMETER COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT DISTRICTS
📍 A lot, it turns out. New investment, better infrastructure, and a growing sense of place. Envision Perimeter 2026on Tues., May 5 brings it all into focus. Join us to see what’s happening, what’s coming, and what it means for the people who call this place home.
Showstopping district views. Bright conversation. Real momentum. Hosted at Perimeter Summit, presented by the Perimeter Community Improvement Districts.
🎟️ Rough Draft readers get 15% off tix with code roughdraft.
Indie Spotlight: Local producer Rocco Shapiro on ‘Reel Friends’ and financing local films
This story is part of a series of interviews with Atlanta creatives about what it’s like to be working in Atlanta’s independent film scene.
💸 Rocco Shapiro has always been interested in playing pretend for a living.
After graduating from the Savannah College of Art and Design, Shapiro dove straight into the commercial world. He worked at No Usual, a filming and equipment rental company, and then started the film production company Wax & Wane with Cristian Bernal, Tré Loren, and Sean Valdivieso. He produced shorts from Atlanta filmmakers, like Madison Hatfield’s “I Could Dom,” and also directed some of his own, like “FAFO (F*ck Around and Find Out).” Shapiro started Reel Friends – a film event, production, and distribution company – in January of 2025.
As he stopped focusing so much on commercial work and started leaning into the narrative scene, Shapiro made it a point to learn all that he could about filmmaking. He connected with local filmmakers like Aaron Strand (“Withdrawal”) and asked questions about what the artistic process was like on small, micro-budget projects. He also started looking into distribution and financing – two aspects of the industry he felt were lacking in Georgia – and learned as much as he could.
🍿 Check out my full conversation with Shapiro here.
Local filmmakers turn experience with grandfather into short film ‘Temple’
👴 Truth is often stranger than fiction. And no one knows that better than local filmmakers Tony and Joshua Gary.
The brothers have taken their strange truth and turned it into a new short film. “Temple” is based on Joshua and Tony’s experience with their grandfather right before he passed away. It stars Michael Silberblatt as Jean, a young man taking care of his aging grandfather (Rick Andosca) and trying to stave off nefarious local groups who come around asking for money.
Joshua and Tony made the film last year and said they just got accepted into their first film festival, the Big Apple Film Festival in New York. I recently spoke with the duo about the making of the film.
✝️ Check out our conversation here.
‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ – the nostalgia machine comes for us all
WEEKLY FILM REVIEW
👠 I have never felt more like I’m getting older than when a few years ago, Hollywood began announcing remakes, reboots, and reinterpretations of all the movies I loved as a kid. “Freakier Friday” (pretty good!) came out last year, and a “13 Going on 30” reboot is in the works (blasphemous!). And this year, we have “The Devil Wears Prada 2” (better than expected!). The Hollywood nostalgia machine comes for us all.
There is no question that this sequel lacks the bite of the original. That being said, with the original creative team (director David Frankel and writer Aline Brosh McKenna) back in action, they’ve made a worthy attempt to comment on the complete dystopian woes of the media-sphere in a way that feels genuine.
It shouldn’t be too much to ask for a sequel with a point of view past dollar signs, but it is rare enough that when it happens, it should be celebrated. There are missteps here and there, but it’s not hard to overlook those missteps when the returning cast seems to be having such a great time.
Horror film ‘Hokum’ blends human and supernatural terror
WEEKLY FILM REVIEW
🏨 “Hokum” is Damian McCarthy’s follow-up to 2024’s aptly titled “Oddity,” continuing his streak of movies that fundamentally understand that human terror is always scarier than the supernatural. And yet, he never underestimates the power of a good, old-fashioned, cackling witch who lives in a dank, dark cellar.
“Hokum” follows Ohm Bauman (Adam Scott), a successful author with a mean streak who heads to a remote hotel in Ireland to scatter his parents’ ashes. But Ohm’s plans are sent into a tailspin when the pretty hotel bartender, Fiona (Florence Ordesh), goes missing.
The emotional beats of “Hokum” – the ways in which it tries to reckon with guilt over old wounds – are well-positioned within the story, but not quite as fleshed out as they need to be to pack that emotional gut punch. But where McCarthy excels is in creating truly horrifying moments out of man and myth alike.
🧙♀️ Check out my full review here.
‘Swapped’ delivers a heartfelt story without the sensory overload
WEEKLY FILM REVIEW
🦜 There is a certain type of kids’ entertainment that seems to be getting increasingly popular. I like to think of it as the sensory overload genre.
You see it in movies like “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” or any number of YouTube channels designed to keep children glued to the screen, catering to already too-short attention spans. Think fast-paced movement, explosions, blasts of color – and barely a character trait or storyline in sight. I’m not saying this type of children’s entertainment hasn’t always existed in some fashion or another. But it certainly feels a little more like a problem when the sensory overload genre is consistently making over $800 million worldwide at the box office.
The new animated film “Swapped” – directed by Nathan Greno with a screenplay by John Whittington, Christian Magalhaes, and Robert Snow – doesn’t have that same quality. And that’s apparent from the beginning.
🐿️ Read my full review here.
At the Movies!
If you’re looking for a movie to see in theaters this week, here’s what you’ve got to look forward to!
Movies releasing this weekend:
🛩️ “Deep Water” (pictured)
🇮🇪 “Hokum”
👠 “The Devil Wears Prada 2”
🐷 “Animal Farm”
📱 “Our Hero, Balthazar”
Special Events:
📽️ The Atlanta Film Festival @ The Plaza and Tara
🦅 “The Maltese Falcon” @ Landmark Midtown Art Cinema (Sunday and Wednesday)
🎤 “Power to the People: John & Yoko Live in NYC” @ Landmark Midtown Art Cinema (Sunday )
⛱️ Looking for things to do this summer or planning a weekend getaway near Atlanta? Just over an hour away, Lake Oconee is one of Georgia’s top summer destinations, offering everything from boating and fishing to berry picking and small-town charm. Plan your nostalgic summer escape today. SPONSOR MESSAGE
Lights, Camera, Action!
🧾 Periodically, I’ll check to see if there are new episodes of the amazing Hollywood history podcast “You Must Remember This.” There haven’t been for a while, but they just released the first episode of a new podcast on their feed called “Cautionary Tales,” about what happens when the bright lights of Hollywood collide with … tax evasion! The first episode, linked here, focuses on Ernest Borgnine.
🎸 One of my favorite movies this year is “Mile End Kicks,” a coming-of-age movie about a young music critic finding her way. Check out this IndieWire interview with filmmaker Chandler Levack for musings on music, her favorite movies, and more.
🏖️ Summer is just around the corner! And while I know what I’m listening to and watching (Olivia Rodrigo and Wet Let, finally starting “The Pitt”), maybe you need some extra help. Take a listen to this recent episode of NPR’s “Pop Culture Happy Hour” for some summer culture tips.
🖋️ Today’s Scene was edited by Julie E. Bloemeke.
