‘Palm Royale’ Production Designer Jon Carlos on Crafting Those Musical Numbers and Teetering on the Edge of Fantasy

Apple TV's Palm Royale may have am embarrassment of riches among its cast, but its the comedy's impeccable craftmanship that provides a truly immersive viewing experience. Set in Palm Beach, Florida during the late-60s, production designer Jon Carlos and his fellow artisans were tasked with finding the balance between whimsy and historical realism, creating a memorable look for the show that added to an often times over-the-top comedic experience.

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‘Ted Lasso’ Season Four Is Aggressively Fine, and Maybe That’s Enough

While Ted Lasso season four is still far from what it was at its best, it is still highly watchable, and maybe that is enough.

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Sharon Bialy, Casting Director for ‘Pluribus,’ Discusses Journeyman Actors, the Significance of Chemistry Reads, and Vince Gilligan’s Infallibility

Bialy tells Screen Speck that a central part of Vince's philosophy is always casting the actor that is right for the part, and not the actor that is more well-established.

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‘Pluribus’ Composer Dave Porter on Creating a Sci-Fi Epic & Highlighting the Hive’s Humanity

As composer Dave Porter notes, he's been working with Vince Gilligan for nearly two decades now, and their creative collaboration together is still teaching him new things.

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‘The Vampire Lestat’ Finally Takes the Spotlight in ‘Detroit’: Premiere Recap

From the first frames of the new opening titles, The Vampire Lestat announces itself as something tonally distinct from its predecessor.

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‘The Baltimorons’ Is a Literal ‘Yes, And’ to Life

Poignant, other times laugh-out-loud funny, The Baltimorons is a pleasant depiction of themes tricky to develop in comedy.

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‘The Secret Agent’ Resonates Far Beyond Its Borders

The Secret Agent creates an outstanding cinematic stance on bravery and justice that resonates far beyond its borders.

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‘Off Campus’ Takes Over Prime Video

If Off Campus is any indication of what’s to come for Prime Video, audiences are in for a legendary summer. 

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‘Remarkably Bright Creatures’ Will Move You

2026 seems to be the year for films reexamining how people are the most valuable source of support. With the likes of Project Hail Mary proving its thesis that problems are better resolved through collaborative effort. That can be either between nations or between galactic species and civilizations. Isolation may seem tempting when life deals you a bad hand. However, …

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‘People We Meet on Vacation’: Emily Henry’s Advice is to Ruin the Friendship

People We Meet on Vacation reminds its viewers that it’s not always about boisterous expressions of passion. Sometimes it’s falling for your best friend that makes you realize the fireworks are from the desire to be cared for, to be loved, to be known, and to be changed.

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‘Pluribus’ Cinematographer Marshall Adams on Making a Sci-Fi Show Without Any Sci-Fi In It

Pluribus is excellent in every respect, but the beautiful cinematography is particularly memorable, evoking a strange and lonely world in the familiar terrain of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Marshall Adams and Paul Donachie, directors of photography on Vince Gilligan's Apple TV sci-fi hit, bring a cinematic sensibility, anchoring the look of the show on Carol Sturka's (Rhea Seehorn) perspective.

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Edgar Wright’s ‘The Running Man’ Cannot Visualize a Picture of Liberation

*This essay contains spoilers for The Running Man. To what extent of pain can we turn into fast entertainment before any enjoyment collapses under the weight of agony? When I ask this, am I introducing the in-universe show, "The Running Man," where people fight for their lives to excite fans? Or am I interrogating the handling of oppression in…

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‘Pluribus’ Production Designer Denise Pizzini on Building a Neighborhood from Scratch and Making All of Those Dead Body Parts

Production designer Denise Pizzini certainly had her work cut out for her on Pluribus, taking on the tall task of building not just a cul-de-sac, but authentically portraying all the show's international locations. Pizzini, who also worked with Vince Gilligan on the final season of Better Call Saul, sat down with Screen Speck to discuss the show's look, working with the City of Albuquerque to create a custom home neighborhood, and the days it felt like she was actually working on the production design of a horror movie instead of an Apple TV sci-fi drama.

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‘Pluribus’ Costume Designer Jennifer L. Bryan on Dressing the Hivemind and Saying Goodbye to Kim Wexler

Jennifer L. Bryan has collaborated with Vince Gilligan and his merry band of recurring cast and crew for years now. According to her, she wouldn't have it any other way, missing the shorthand she has with them when she works on other projects between seasons. Apple TV just announced that Pluribus is their number one new show, and Screen Speck…

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‘Tuner’ Composer Will Bates on Finding The Sound of Safecracking

Tuner snaps along at a satisfying pace, both because of Greg O’Bryant’s editing and Will Bates’s score.

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Zefyr Lisowski’s ‘Uncanny Valley Girls: Essays on Horror, Survival, Love’ Discusses Resistance & Community Through Horror

Screen Speck got the chance to talk with Zefyr Lisowski about her new book, Uncanny Valley Girls: Essays on Horror, Survival, and Love, and the complexities of the horror genre, love through communal watching, and radical acceptance.  

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‘Tron: Ares’ Can’t Survive Itself

Tron: Ares, full of beautiful imagery and exciting sounds, doesn’t fully follow through on all of its interesting ideas.

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Long Live Asian Cinema: 2025’s Asian American International Film Festival

For the Asian American International Film Festival, here are four feature directorial debuts that explore grief, trauma, and perseverance in a world that is ever-changing.

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‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’s’ Virality Is Discrediting the Binge-Model

The Summer I Turned Pretty going viral is further proof that not only do people yearn for the weekly release schedule.

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‘Night Always Comes’ Can’t Quite Reckon with the Pain of Poverty

something is missing in Night Always Comes, some important reflection that could raise this story from just another Netflix drop into something more revealing about our current socioeconomic hellscape.

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The Style is 'The Substance'

By phasing out actors based on their age, Hollywood is phasing out humanity in films.

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The Style is ‘The Substance’

By phasing out actors based on their age, Hollywood is phasing out humanity in films

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‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ Is Missing Something That Isn’t Its Actresses

Fantastic Four suffers from the opposite problem of its summer crosstown rival, James Gunn’s Superman.

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‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ Is Missing Something That Isn’t Its Actresses

Fantastic Four suffers from the opposite problem of its summer crosstown rival, James Gunn’s Superman.

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Keeley Hazell’s ‘Everyone’s Seen My Tits’ Is a Tired White Feminist Trope

The result leaves out lot of humanity, replacing it instead with aggressive sarcasm.

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Intermissions

volume 1 theme: Trauma & Grief READ HERE FOLLOW US: BLUESKY instagram youtube zine intermissions zine guidelines poetry 3-5 poems submitted in a single document. Each submission should be 10 pages max...

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‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’ and the Dangers of Nostalgia 

Robinson’s I Know What You Did Last Summer joins the ranks of soulless remakes, reboots, and refried stories that seem inescapable these days.

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