Posts

Music Biopics, Rock Legends and the "Truth" We Choose to Tell

Image
The new Michael Jackson biopic, Michael, has already become one of the biggest movies of the year. According to The Hollywood Reporter in “ Michael Jackson Biopic Scores Record Box Office Opening ,” the film exceeded expectations in North America and achieved the biggest domestic opening ever for a biopic, passing Oppenheimer . It also reportedly surpassed Bohemian Rhapsody to become the biggest global opening for a music biopic. Part of what makes Michael such a fascinating cultural moment is not just its success, but the conversation around it. The film, directed by Antoine Fuqua and backed by the Jackson estate, focuses on Jackson’s rise, artistry, childhood, family dynamics, and transformation into one of the most famous entertainers in the world. But it has also drawn criticism for what it leaves out. As Variety discusses in “ ‘Leaving Neverland’ Director Torches Michael Jackson Biopic for Omitting Alleged Abuse ,” the film avoids the allegations of child sexual abuse that bec...
Post a Comment
Read more

National Library Week 2026

Image
In honor of National Library Week , we wanted to highlight amazing films based on amazing books. Literature has been a major inspiration for film; the 1899 silent film Cinderella , directed by Georges Méliès, is widely considered the first book-to-film adaptation .  And that tradition is very much alive today. Some of the biggest films in recent memory have come straight from the pages of a book. Project Hail Mary , based on Andy Weir's beloved sci-fi novel, stars Ryan Gosling in a beautiful survival story. Hamnet , adapted from Maggie O'Farrell's acclaimed novel, turns a quiet literary meditation on grief and family into a powerful historical drama. Emerald Fennell took on Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights with a bold new vision, and Denis Villeneuve's Dune films have reminded everyone just how epic a literary adaptation can feel. Dune: Part Three is arriving in December 2026.  Book-to-film adaptations are exciting because a novel can let us sit inside a charact...
Post a Comment
Read more

Autism Awareness Month and the Power of Representation on Screen

Image
Autism Awareness Month is a chance to think more deeply about how autism is represented on screen, how often those stories are overlooked and why visibility matters. For a long time, autism in film and television was treated one-dimensionally. Characters were often written to fit a single idea of what autism "looks like," when in reality, autism exists across a wide spectrum of experiences, needs, strengths, and challenges. That is exactly what people mean when they say autism is a spectrum . There is no single way to be autistic. Some people are verbal, some are nonverbal. Some need high levels of daily support, while others live fully independently. Some are highly sensitive to sound, touch, or social environments, and many experience the world in ways that do not fit neatly into how society expects people to think, communicate, or connect. That is part of why representation matters so much . When audiences only ever see one version of autism, it creates misconceptions. It...
Post a Comment
Read more