Best of both worlds
Friday, June 25 — Happy Friday, everyone! Let’s get right down to business today – this week’s newsletter features, as they say, the best of both worlds. We’re digging into some behind-the-scenes independent film stories, but we’ve also got a review of the new “Supergirl” movie. Life is all about balance, I say.
Without further ado … Action!
💿 There have been plenty of stories about how Gen Z has embraced moviegoing, but one of our SCAD students, Hannah Poon, has a story about how the young generation has embraced physical media as well. Check it out here.
🎸 On July 25, footage from the 1970 Atlanta International Pop Festival will play at an event called “That 70s Experience” at Pullman Yards.
🤝 We’ve been talking about AI a lot over the past few weeks, and we’ve got another update. A24 has entered the chat: the studio has struck an AI research deal with Google’s DeepMind unit. According to a report, DeepMind researchers will work with the studio to develop new workflows, but will not have access to A24’s content library or its data.
⚖️ A third-degree rape charge against Harvey Weinstein was dropped after the accuser declined to testify. Weinstein remains in prison on a separate conviction.
🍿 Indie theaters saw a nine percent increase in business during 2025, according to a recent survey.
🍿 Finally, in the best news I’ve heard all week, “The Odyssey” is skipping the influencer screening rigamarole and going straight to professional critics for review. If you don’t know, studios will often invite influencers to see the movie early and then allow them to post often flattering (too flattering, some might say) mini reviews. But with “The Odyssey,” Universal is bucking that trend.
This week’s newsletter has a new edition of my ongoing interview series, Indie Spotlight, as well as an interview with local filmmaker Matthew Simpson about his new movie. We’ve got two movie reviews – one of the new blockbuster “Supergirl” and one of a much smaller movie called “Couture” starring Angelina Jolie. Plus, a new edition of Spotlight focusing on the score for “I Love Boosters,” what’s playing in theaters this week, and some reading and listening recommendations for your lunch break.
Thanks for reading!
Sammie
Indie Spotlight: Producer Kiah Clingman on finding distribution for ‘Color Book’
🍿 The first time I spoke with local Atlanta producer Kiah Clingman, she had just helped win a $1 million grant through the AT&T Untold Stories program for “Color Book,” David Fortune’s Atlanta-made film about a single father’s sojourn to take his son to his first baseball game.
That was in 2023. Last week, on June 19, after a successful festival run, “Color Book” debuted on Netflix. It’s a bit of a full-circle moment for Fortune as a filmmaker – he was part of the Netflix and Ghetto Film School Content Creator Program in 2022, as well as Film Independent’s Amplifier Fellowship, which is supported by Netflix. But still, according to Clingman, the process of finding distribution for the film was a hard one.
Throughout my Indie Spotlight series, which kicked off back in March, one of the topics that constantly arises is the idea of a fully-realized, top-to-bottom industry in Atlanta – a place where projects are greenlit, financed, produced, finished, and find distribution. Speaking with Clingman – who is a producer, filmmaker, and actress – about this idea, we talked a lot about what Atlanta filmmakers need to feel properly supported. She sees “Color Book” and its success as proof that Atlanta filmmakers are worth taking seriously.
⚾ Check out our conversation here.
When the Matches End, the Dining Begins
SPONSORED BY LIVABLE BUCKHEAD
⚽ After cheering on your favorite teams across Atlanta, treat yourself to the city’s best tables during Buckhead Restaurant Week, July 27-Aug. 1.
More than 50 participating restaurants are serving exclusive prix-fixe menus and inventive pairings crafted to turn post-game energy into an unforgettable evening. Whether you crave bold flavors or a relaxed celebration with friends, Buckhead delivers.
➞ Explore the lineup and discover your next favorite meal. The final whistle is just the beginning of a delicious night.
Filmmaker Matthew Simpson’s movie ‘Before Me’ explores retroactive jealousy
📸 Many movie premieres are typically followed by a Q&A with the filmmaker. “Before Me,” which played to a crowd of over 100 people on June 14 at the Tara Theatre, was no different.
Most of those Q&As, however, probably don’t involve a licensed therapist. But after the movie, Dr. Margo Rice joined filmmaker Matthew Simpson onstage to offer academic insights about the topic his film deals with – something a lot of people have struggled with, but aren’t necessarily able to name: retroactive jealousy.
“Before Me,” which is Simpson’s feature film debut, follows Roland (Angelo Rosario), a photographer dealing with the aftermath of a devastating breakup. When he meets an aspiring writer, Stephanie (Grace Berry), they hit it off immediately. But Roland’s irrational jealousy over Stephanie’s past relationships threatens to ruin everything.
📖 After the premiere, I spoke with Simpson about the film. Check out our conversation here.
Milly Alcock delivers in a derivative ‘Supergirl’ film that pulls its punches
WEEKLY FILM REVIEW
🦸♀️ In an interview with IndieWire last week, “Supergirl” director Craig Gillespie said that the tone of his film will be very different from James Gunn’s “Superman” – the first film in Warner Bros. relaunch of the new DC Universe. Gillespie said audiences could expect less “Guardians of the Galaxy” and more Mad Max – “The Road Warrior,” to be specific.
But “Supergirl” is less “Road Warrior” than it is “Fury Road” – and less of an homage to that aesthetic than it is a total cribbing.
Despite a committed effort from star Milly Alcock, “Supergirl” (screenplay by Ana Nogueira) is immensely derivative of other, better films in a way that’s impossible to ignore – not least of all because the movie insists on calling attention to that fact. But “Supergirl” also runs into issues that plague any superhero movie trying to aspire to harsh, complicated themes while still attempting to stay palatable enough to garner a PG-13 rating. It’s an unenviable task, and “Supergirl” certainly has moments where it gets close to walking the line in a way that works. But a poorly balanced narrative and the inevitable comparisons the movie invites drag it down.
🐶 Read my full review here.
‘Couture’ is a beguiling, unfocused take on women in the arts
WEEKLY FILM REVIEW
🩺 “Couture” makes its thematic tensions apparent immediately. Early in the film, which takes place in the lead up to a show during Paris Fashion Week, a seamstress works on the dress that will open the show, pinning red threads in a pattern across a mannequin. Later, Maxine (Angelina Jolie) – a filmmaker, and our protagonist – considers getting a double mastectomy, a surgeon drawing red lines in marker across her body to show her where his knife would cut.
This is not a subtle connection, but it is an interesting one about the intersection between the personal and the professional for all of the women in Alice Winocour’s film “Couture.” Set in the fashion and artistic industries, “Couture” is about a group of women for whom their bodies are essential to their work – their looks, health, and strength an integral part of their ability to satisfy their creative passions, whatever the cost may be.
But as interesting as those connections are on the surface, Winocour has trouble weaving the threads of her story together.
👠 Check out 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:
🦸♀️ “Supergirl”
🧛♀️ “Couture”
💥 “Jackass: Best and Last” (pictured)
📸 “Misan Herriman: Shoot the People”
🧠 “O Horizon”
Special Events:
🫱 “Freddy Got Fingered” in 35mm @ The Plaza (Friday)
🏦 “The Room” 23rd Anniversary in 35mm w/ Greg Sestero @ The Plaza (Saturday-Sunday)
🪄 “Retro Puppet Master” 25th Anniversary w/ Greg Sestero @ The Plaza (Saturday)
🏳️⚧️ “Castration Movie Anthology ii. The Best of Both Worlds” @ The Plaza (Saturday)
🎭 National Theatre: “Les Liaisons Dangereuses” @ The Tara (Saturday-Sunday)
💸 “Goodfellas” @ Springs Cinema & Taphouse (Sunday-Monday)
🌊 “Moonlight” @ Landmark Midtown Art Cinema (Saturday-Tuesday)
Spotlight: Tune-Yards, ‘I Love Boosters’
🎺 One of my favorite things about Boots Riley’s film “I Love Boosters” is how completely it embraces its Looney Tunes aesthetic. And that extends to the film’s score, which is one of the best of the year so far.
“I Love Boosters” follows a group of professional shoplifters, led by Corvette (Keke Palmer), who take aim at fashion tycoon Christie Smith (Demi Moore) after Corvette learns Christie has been stealing her designs. “Boosters” has Riley’s signature, surrealist style, but leans more into a carnival aesthetic than his previous work. There’s a madcap, absurdist feel to the set design, to the editing, to the costume – and the music is another part of that.
Tune-Yards, an electric indie pop duo from Oakland, did the score. They’ve worked with Riley before, and are the perfect to capture his genre-bending style. For “I Love Boosters,” they strike a balance between capturing the circus of it all – the polka, horns-based melody that would fit right in underscoring a clown show – and the rhythmic beat that makes you want to move.
“Carnival” could easily come across as an old-school, traditional sound, but Tune-Yards makes it feel fresh. It might sound silly, but the score has a groove that fits as easily in a carnival as it does on the dance floor. It’s anything but static, propelling the action forward, lurching you through the rough-and-tumble antics of the film with gusto.
Lights, Camera, Action!
🐠 The hosts at “Blank Check” have finished up their Peter Weir series and kicked off a slew of episodes on a new director – Andrew Stanton, one of Pixar’s finest. Listen to their first episode on the animated classic “Finding Nemo” here.
💰 I’ve been doing my own little sojourn into the world of independent filmmaking in Atlanta, but it seems the topic has been top of mind for everyone. In addition to the ongoing conversation started by Sally Choi, the art director for “Obsession,” about how crew members should be compensated if an indie film takes off, Vulture just did a deep dive on how five indie filmmakers keep the lights on and the bills paid. Check it out here.
🎙️ This is a little outside of the realm of cinema, but I just rewatched Oliver Stone’s “JFK” for the first time in years, so I’ve got the Kennedy assassination on the mind. “You’re Wrong About” – a wonderful podcast, if you haven’t listened before – is finally tackling that topic. Listen to the first part of the series here.
🖋️ Today’s Scene was edited by Julie E. Bloemeke.
