The Honor of an Absolute Lifetime: Rod Lurie on “Lucky Strike” (June 26, 2026)
“Lucky Strike” is based on the true story of an American soldier wounded behind enemy lines in WWII, during the massive, weeks-long Battle of the Bulge, in December of 1944. Scott Eastwood plays Colonel John Castle, who relies on the then-new technology of a backpack-sized radio that allows him to communicate with his division.
In an interview with RogerEbert.com, director and co-screenwriter Rod Lurie discusses keeping the audience within Castle’s point of view, the film’s three distinct color palettes, and how his wife helped cast a key role.
Talk to me about the cinematography [by Lorenzo Senatore], which is absolutely gorgeous and is so effective at bringing us into that time and place.
Lorenzo Senatore and I talked about it a lot. There are three looks in the film, three distinct color palettes. There’s black and white in the beginning. And then we’re in America, where Scott is meeting with a woman, at the end. Then there is the bulk of the movie, which is in the Battle of the Bulge. Obviously, black and white is its own thing in that first scene. Then I wanted the scene in America to be very bright and vibrant.
But I wanted to get a sense of the cold and the battlefield’s upsetting nature throughout that entire Bulge section. And I was very influenced by the cinematography of a man named Pierre Lhomme, who photographed a movie called “Army of Shadows,” Jean-Pierre Melville’s film. And it’s sort of the same palette that Janusz Kaminski used on “Saving Private Ryan.” Ours is a little bit more lush, I would say.
And I’ve always challenged my DPs to do something that camera movement-wise or composition-wise, that they have never done before. And Lorenzo said, “Ridiculous, I have done everything.” And I said, “No, that’s bullshit. You haven’t done everything.” I said it to him on “The Outpost” as well. And we came up with some stuff there that, to this day, people ask us how we pulled it off.
I challenged him a couple of times here as well. We came up with ideas for some oners that seemed almost impossible. Like, Scott takes out a bunch of Nazis in a farmhouse and runs outside. And we follow him, and then somehow, we follow him into a tank, all in one shot. Lorenzo would say, “This cannot be done.” And then I would say to him, “Except you.” And he goes, “I am going to try.“ And so he pulls out this magician stuff that’s really just amazing. It’s really just amazing. I love his work in this film, and I love cinematography.
The oners are so immediate and visceral.
When you can put that into a combat situation, then you really do create a first-person point of view. It was very important that this movie be Scott’s or Castle’s point of view. We tried, except in the opening section, which was very much meant to be objective, to really stay in his point of view. When we see him in conversation, we never see over his shoulder because we see what he sees, for example. And when he hears a language that he does not understand, like French or German, we didn’t give subtitles, because why should the audience understand something that he does not?
Your background at West Point and in the military lends this film a lot of authenticity, as it did in “The Outpost.” Are you from a military family?
My dad was in the Israeli military and quite a hero there, but not in the American military. I went to West Point for many reasons. My first choice was Columbia. I wanted to go to the School of Journalism, but I didn’t get in there. My number-two choice, and very, very, very high, was West Point. First of all, it’s the best school in the world. If you look at the academics at an undergraduate school, they have tons of PhDs and tons of Rhodes Scholars. Edwin Teller was one of my professors, and he’s a physicist.
It was pretty amazing being there. You didn’t have to pay to go there. You got paid. I did want to serve the country. But really, I wanted to become a filmmaker. I didn’t want to go to film school to learn things that you’re going to learn on sets. What I wanted to do was go and study the things that I wanted to make movies about. I studied leadership, principles, American history, and the military. And whenever I walked around that beautiful campus, I would always ask myself the same question: “Where would I put the camera?”
They haven’t allowed a full feature film to be made on the campus there in 75 years. It’s very difficult to get approved. It’s really the jewel of the Army. But I got it approved for a boxing film a few years ago. Right. And I got approved by Lionsgate and West Point, and then my father got sick, and I had to take care of him. And I just couldn’t take the time to make a movie at that point.
I was surprised to find you credited as a composer for the film.
I came up with the opening melody, the melody that runs throughout the film. However, all the rest of the music, all the tonal stuff in the film, comes from Larry Groupe, who has been my lifelong, career-long composer. I don’t want to credit grab too much. I did write the song at the end. I have done that for several films.
The score is very powerful. In the scene where Castle ends up in the tank, it’s very intense.
That was Larry, and there are these pizzicatos and sliders throughout the film that are also him. He’s a marvelous composer. The Outpost, he did some great electronic work. He did some wonderful tonal stuff there as well. It’s interesting that there has been a shift away from melody in movies and movie scores. And I think that really started to become very in vogue with the movie “Sicario,” where it’s basically all tonal or even in “The Revenant,” and movies like that. Nobody can hum them anymore.
I was very pleased to see one of my favorite actresses, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, in the film.
In the story that my partner Mark Friedman was told, which became the basis for this movie, our hero does go back to find the woman who made the radio that saved his life. We needed to get a very powerful African-American actress. My wife, Kyra Davis Lurie, is Black. She turned on “Lovecraft Country” and said, “Watch this.” And I did. She said, “That’s it.” And I said, “You bet.” I only had one day with her, but we’ve already talked about doing more stuff together. She’s a bit of a miracle of an actress.
It was wonderful to see the premiere at the National Archives. Why was that so meaningful for you?
It should be self-evident that for a director who is a veteran, who’s making a movie about World War II, which really put America on its best display, how much it means to be offered to screen your movie at the National Archives, where, when you walk out of the theater, the Declaration of Independence is right there. It is the honor of an absolute lifetime. Nothing I will ever do, screening-wise, will match that. The fact that these people saw our film as worthy, that we had their 107-year-old commander from the Battle of the Bulge, Herb Stern. Afterward, he held my hand and said, “You got it right.” I’m taking that to the bank now.
It’s hard for us today to realize how revolutionary the communications technology was in 1944.
It gave them the ability to communicate instantaneously from one unit to another. Asking for cover fire or just knowing where their friends were was completely and utterly essential. And the 300 series was extremely sturdy. It could transmit up to 13 kilometers. And in a place like the Battle of the Bulge, which is very condensed, something like that was very important. And of course, it was a miracle for people like Scott’s character who are trapped behind enemy lines. Just to be given the ability to at least know where your unit is changed the course of the war and warfare period.
I was very touched near the end of the film, when we see a child who shares your late son’s name.
My son died of a blood clot right in front of my eyes while I was making “The Outpost.” And I look back today, and I don’t know how I got through it. And well, I do know how I got through it. I got through it through the art that we make and the sense that we can have purpose. Before he died, I promised him that I would only do things that carried some meaning. And this is the stuff that means the most to me right now.
“The Bear” Closes Its Doors With a Trimphant Final Service in Season 5 (June 25, 2026)
When Season 4 of FX’s “The Bear” premiered last year, nobody really knew whether that season would be the show’s last. Creator Christopher Storer’s tale of the fractious Berzatto clan, and their extended work family of chefs, Faks, and brainy accountants with names like “Computer,” has, over the course of its run, grown into a bona fide phenomenon—one which, like the flagging Chicago eatery at its center, felt like it was growing a bit too big to sustain itself. The cast grew bigger (and more famous) with each installment; the playlist of needle drops became ever more expansive; the show and its writers grew more enamored of its characters to the point of mawkishness. All great ingredients in moderation, but put too much in the broth, and it affects the taste.
But just as Syd is asked to reduce, reduce, reduce with each overstretched protein, Season 5 feels like a stripped-down, back-to-basics iteration of the show, and that’s to its immense credit. It’s two episodes shorter than previous seasons; gone are the needle drops (in favor of a propulsive electronic score courtesy of composer Christian Lundberg and producer Hans Zimmer) and the subplots that stretch far beyond the restaurant, to say nothing of the lumbering pace those more aimless seasons engendered. The entire final season takes place over one stressful, nail-biting day, the most important moment in the restaurant’s life. (Think “Uncut Gems” with more likable characters and a bit of “Chef’s Table” food porn.) It’s game time, do-or-die, the moment of truth. It’s time for The Bear, and “The Bear,” to stick the landing. And, though this review comes without the benefit of seeing the season’s final episode, all signs point to success.
Season 4’s ticking clock, set by Uncle Jimmy (Oliver Platt) and his number-crunching cohort Computer (“Ocean’s Thirteen” scribe Brian Koppelman), has run out; he’s eyeing an exit and is scrambling to cut bait and rid himself of the restaurant once and for all. But, in the spirit of “The Bear”‘s optimistic cast and sports-movie vigor, there’s always one more service, and this might just be the one that pulls them out of the fire. (Especially if Jimmy, along with computer and newly-recruited savant Cheese, played by Elsie Fisher, can find an alternate route to save the business. Two words: Air rights.)
FX’s The Bear — “Ribs” — Season 5, Episode 4 — Pictured: (l-r) Ayo Edebiri as Sydney Adamu, Jeremy Allen White as Carmen ‘Carmy’ Berzatto, Will Poulter as Luca, Sarah Ramos as Jessica. CR: FX
The first two eps, of course, establish the apocalyptic stakes at hand, right down to a massive thunderstorm that coats Chicago in a thick, flood-worthy torrent, making the few wide shots of the Windy City look like the Los Angeles in “Blade Runner.” The restaurant, like its staff, is coming apart at the seams: Pipes burst, basements flood, inventory gets destroyed. We’re literally getting Faks falling through the ceiling.
The metaphorical storm lies in the friction among the staff, too: Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) struggles to find the right time to tell the crew he’s quitting and to leave Syd (Ayo Edebiri) in charge; he lingers like a phantom in his own kitchen, eager to step away but unwilling to let go. Syd, for her part, feels panicked at the prospect of stepping into the leadership role. Sugar (Abby Elliott) juggles keeping the restaurant afloat for one more minute with trusting her chaotic mom, Donna (Jamie Lee Curtis), with her newborn baby, and professional pressures are beginning to form fractures between award-winning pastry chef Marcus (Lionel Boyce) and his departing stage, Luca (Will Poulter). Ebraheim (Edwin Lee Gibson) agonizes over pitching Carmy his prospectus to franchise the beef window (“Do not be intimidated by his bright blue eyes”). The brothers Fak (Matty Matheson, Ricky Staffieri), well…. they’re the Faks.
Storer knows we know and love these characters at this point, and so “The Bear” keeps its nose down and gets down to the business at hand, and it’s so refreshing for that. The show’s hypnotic rhythms, honed over years of montage-like filmmaking and fluid editing, keep us bouncing from scene to scene with remarkable ease; the dialogue floats between spicy (Jimmy’s creative cursing includes “fuck my life to death”) and cheesy (every one of Cousin Richie’s heartwarmingly Chicagoan pep talks, delivered with Ebon Moss-Bachrach‘s signature po-faced sincerity). Every performer is quietly at the top of their game, easing through the quirks and foibles of their characters so quietly that it never feels like effort. (Of particular praise is Edebiri, who sells the pressure of getting the responsibility she had waited for the whole show to receive.) It’s so propulsive and economical, you’ll be shocked when the credits start rolling on one episode and the next begins.
FX’s The Bear — “Lamb — Season 5, Episode 2 — Pictured: Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Richard “Richie” Jerimovich. CR: FX
Apart from Jimmy and crew’s foul-mouthed excursions to the County Clerk’s office and a crazy family member who owns the air rights (played with delicious scorn by “The Penguin“‘s Dierdre O’Connell), “The Bear” smartly keeps its characters contained inside the four walls of the restaurant. It’s practically that one-take season one episode “Review” writ large, with all the tension that entails. But what longtime “Bear” fans will notice is that the characters have genuinely grown since then: They face obstacles, but they know to rely on each other and their faith in their own skills. As their final service starts, and hope begins to spring (especially in the fifty-minute penultimate episode), the crew begins a delicate balancing act of improvisation and teamwork that makes you want to pump your fist in the air.
It’s competence porn of the highest degree—not just because they’ve gotten better at making and serving haute cuisine, or know how to stretch a finite number of ingredients into Michelin-quality paintings on a plate, but because they know how to build and motivate a team. Same as Richie and crew can massage a turn into a delicate dance of impatient patrons and dropped dishes, Storer and his expert team usher us through the highs and lows of The Bear’s make-or-break shift in ways that feel earned, rather than just the sentimentality of an unrealistic underdog story.
In many ways, “The Bear” is, and always has been, an aspirational fantasy. As Cheese notes frequently, restaurants are a horrible business; they close, they shutter for any reason, they wring the emotional, financial, and physical well-being of the people who run and work for them. Lord knows, the show, with its many creative ups and downs (not to mention the awkward scheduling of an increasingly famous cast), has had its low moments. But what Storer’s story presupposes is that there is worth in the doing, and family to be had in the tight-knit community of chefs that work for a place. That, in the final estimation, will be “The Bear”‘s ultimate lesson, and one that will cement it as one of the most dynamic and satisfying shows of the 21st century.
First seven episodes screened for review. All episodes now available on Hulu and Disney+.
Two Incredible 4K Box Sets Target Loyal Fan Bases (June 25, 2026)
The physical media box set market has slowed in recent years as studios have kinda run out of collections to release. So we wanted to highlight two of the coolest such releases in a very long time, box sets aimed at fans of two icons of film history: Steven Spielberg and Jackie Chan. The former gets a lavish limited-edition steelbook set that collects some of his most beloved films for the first time to celebrate the release of “Disclosure Day”; the latter gets a special-features-loaded 10-disc set that spotlights a formative period in his legacy. They’re both going to be on any shortlist of the best Blu-ray box sets of the year. Pick ’em up at an online outlet or store near you while you can.
“Steven Spielberg: The Spotlight Collection”
There are very few filmmakers who could assemble an 8-film box set as impressive as this one. Collected for the first time, this impressive set not only includes Spielberg’s three other alien movies—“Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” “E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial,” and “War of the Worlds”—but accompanies them with five other straight-up masterpieces: “Jaws,” “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” “Jurassic Park,” “Schindler’s List,” and “Saving Private Ryan.” It’s a box set that features more disc-by-disc quality than arguably any other 8-movie collection you could buy.
Each film slides into a 4K steelbook edition, and the entire collection features over 25 hours of bonus features, all of which are listed below:
Jaws
JAWS @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story
The Making of JAWS
The Shark Is Still Working: The Impact & Legacy of JAWS
JAWS: The Restoration
Deleted Scenes and Outtakes
From The Set
Theatrical Trailer
Galleries
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Includes all 3 versions of the film (Theatrical Version, Special Edition, Director’s Cut)
Three Kinds of Close Encounters
Steven’s Home Videos & Outtakes
Steven Spielberg: 30 Years of Close Encounters
Close Encounters of the Third Kind: Making of Documentary
Close Encounters of the Third Kind: Watch the Skies
Deleted Scenes
Storyboard Comparisons
Extensive Photo Gallery
Close Encounters of the Third Kind – Original Theatrical Trailer
Close Encounters of the Third Kind – Special Edition Trailer
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Teaser Trailer
Theatrical Trailer
Re-Issue Trailer
T. The Extra-Terrestrial
40 Years of T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL
TCM Classic Film Festival: An Evening with Steven Spielberg
The E.T. Journals
Deleted Scenes
Steven Spielberg & E.T.
A Look Back
The Evolution and Creation of E.T.
The E.T. Reunion
The Music of E.T.: A Discussion with John Williams
The 20th Anniversary Premiere
Designs, Photographs, and Marketing
Theatrical Trailer
Special Olympics TV Spot
Jurassic Park
Return to Jurassic Park: Dawn of a New Era
Return to Jurassic Park: Making Prehistory
Return to Jurassic Park: The Next Step in Evolution
Archival Featurettes
The Making of Jurassic Park
Original Featurette on the Making of the Film
Steven Spielberg Directs Jurassic Park
Hurricane in Kauai Featurette
Behind the Scenes
Early Pre-Production Meetings
Location Scouting
Phil Tippett Animatics: Raptors in the Kitchen
Animatics: T-Rex Attack
ILM and Jurassic Park: Before and After the Visual Effects
Foley Artists
Storyboards
Production Archives
Theatrical Trailer
Schindler’s List
Schindler’s List: 25 Years Later
Voices from the List
USC Shoah Foundation Story with Steven Spielberg (2018)
Let Their Testimonies Speak – Stronger Than Hate
About iWitness (2018)
Saving Private Ryan
An Introduction
Looking Into the Past
Miller and His Platoon
Boot Camp
Making Saving Private Ryan
Re-Creating Omaha Beach
Music and Sound
Parting Thoughts
Into the Breach: Saving Private Ryan
Theatrical Trailer
Re-Release Trailer
Shooting War
War of the Worlds
Revisiting the Invasion
The H.G. Wells Legacy
Steven Spielberg and the Original War of the Worlds
Characters: The Family Unit
Previsualization
Production Diaries
Designing the Enemy: Tripods and Aliens
Scoring War of the Worlds
We Are Not Alone
Galleries
Theatrical Teaser Trailer
“Jackie Chan’s Breakout Hits”
There was a run of international releases in the mid-‘90s when Jackie Chan went from a beloved action star for those who knew the genre’s world market to a household name in the United States. By the end of it, Chan would star in 1997’s “Rush Hour,” beginning a wave of blockbuster releases in which his name was above the title, with some of them standing the test of time better than others. (I’ll still defend the goofy fun of “Shanghai Noon”; less so “The Tuxedo.”)
Of course, Jackie Chan’s career didn’t start in the ‘90s. By then, he had already amassed dozens of credits, dating all the way back to 1962. And as someone old enough to remember this period, I knew about films like “Police Story” and “Supercop.” But it was Stanley Tong’s “Rumble in the Bronx” that was really the star’s breakthrough North American hit, despite how legendarily it falters in its attempts to make Vancouver look like New York. “Rumble” made over $75 million, the highest-grossing film in Hong Kong to that date. Chan truly was the biggest action star in the world.
To commemorate that period, Arrow Home Video has released a collection of six Chan films, all presented in 4K for the first time: The box set features “Drunken Master II” (1994), “Rumble in the Bronx” (1995), “Thunderbolt” (1995), “Police Story IV” (1996), “Mr. Nice Guy” (1997), and “Who Am I?” (1997). The box includes a 160-page book with new writing on the films, 24 lobby cards, and even a reversible poster, but it’s the films themselves that are LOADED with material that Chan fans will want to see. It’s overwhelming, and listed below:
DISC 1 – DRUNKEN MASTER II
4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentations in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible) of three versions: the uncut 102-minute Hong Kong Cut , the 100-minute International Cut and the American Cut re-titled The Legend of Drunken Master (102 mins)
Original lossless Cantonese, Mandarin and English mono audio for the Hong Kong Cut
Original lossless English mono audio for the International Cut
Original English DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround audio for The Legend of Drunken Master
Optional English subtitles and subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
Brand new commentary by martial arts cinema experts Frank Djeng and F.J. DeSanto
Before the Breakout, a new featurette in which stuntman Wang Yao, academic Dr. Wayne Wong and critics David West and James Mudge look back at Jackie Chan’s earlier career
Breakout! Part 1, a new featurette in which Wong, West, Mudge and stuntman Mars look back at the film
Deadly When Drunken, a new interview with co-writer Yuen Kai-chi
Tipsy Tribulations, an expanded interview with stuntman Mars
Period Postures, a new interview with academic Dr. Lars Laamann on the historical context behind the film
Drunken Defiance, a new appreciation of the film by martial arts cinema expert Ricky Baker
Archive interview with Jackie Chan filmed for the American release in 2000
Alternate Mandarin drinking scene (contains standard-definition inserts)
Textless outtakes
Chinese New Year messages recorded by Jackie for the Taiwanese and Malaysian openings
Trailer gallery
Image gallery
DISC 2 – RUMBLE IN THE BRONX (HONG KONG CUT)
4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
Original lossless Cantonese/English (sync-sound) stereo audio and English (export dub) mono audio
Optional English subtitles and subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
Brand new commentary by martial arts cinema experts Frank Djeng and F.J. DeSanto
Breakout! Part 2, a new featurette in which stuntman Mars, stuntwoman Kathy Hubble, martial arts cinema expert Ricky Baker and critics David West and James Mudge look back at the film
Rumble Recollections, an expanded interview with Hubble
Alternate footage
Textless outtakes
Image gallery
DISC 3 – RUMBLE IN THE BRONX (INTERNATIONAL CUT)
4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
Original English-dubbed lossless stereo audio and DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
Electronic press kit interview with Jackie Chan
Two scenes added for the network TV version with dubbing unique to this version
US trailer and TV spots
DISC 4 – THUNDERBOLT
4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible) of the uncut 110-minute International Cut
Original lossless Cantonese/English (sync-sound) stereo audio, English (export dub) stereo audio and English (US dub) DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround audio
Optional English subtitles and subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
97-minute Japanese Cut with lossless Cantonese/English sync-sound stereo audio (high-definition only)
Brand new commentary by martial arts cinema experts Frank Djeng and F.J. DeSanto
Breakout! Part 3, a new featurette in which stuntman Mars, critics David West and James Mudge, and dubbing supervisor Paul Clay look back at the film
A Thunderous Presence, an expanded interview with Clay on his collaborations with Jackie Chan
Alternate English export credits
Textless outtakes
International trailer
Japanese trailers
Image gallery
DISC 5 – POLICE STORY 4: FIRST STRIKE (HONG KONG CUT)
4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
Original lossless Cantonese/English (sync-sound) stereo and Mandarin (dubbed) stereo audio
Optional English subtitles and subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
Brand new commentary by martial arts cinema experts Frank Djeng and F.J. DeSanto
Breakout! Part 4, a new featurette in which critics David West and James Mudge look back at the film
Textless outtakes
Image gallery
DISC 6 – POLICE STORY 4: FIRST STRIKE (INTERNATIONAL CUT)
4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
Original English-dubbed lossless stereo and DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
Striking Back, a new interview with martial arts cinema expert Frank Djeng
Scenes added for the US network TV version with dubbing unique to this version
US trailer
DISC 7 – MR. NICE GUY (JAPANESE & HONG KONG CUTS)
4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
Original lossless English DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround and lossless stereo audio for both cuts
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
Brand new commentary by critic James Mudge
Breakout! Part 5, a new featurette in which stuntman Mars and critics David West and James Mudge look back at the film
Nice Thoughts, a new appreciation by martial arts cinema expert Frank Djeng
Alternate English credits
Textless outtakes
Original trailer
Image gallery
DISC 8 – MR. NICE GUY (INTERNATIONAL CUT)
4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
Original lossless English DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround and lossless stereo audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
US trailer
DISC 9 – WHO AM I? (HONG KONG CUT)
4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
Original lossless English DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround and lossless stereo audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
Brand new commentary by critic James Mudge
Breakout! Part 6, a new featurette in which critic James Mudge, actor Glory Simon and second unit cinematographer Ray Wong look back at the film
From Drunk to Slam Dunk: Jackie Chan in the New Millennium, a new featurette in which Mudge, Simon, Wong, stuntwoman Kathy Hubble, stuntmen Wang Yao and Mars, critic David West and others look at Jackie’s career in the years since
The Making of Who Am I?, a three-part archive behind-the-scenes featurette
Alternate English credits
Textless outtakes
Original trailer
Image gallery
DISC 10 – WHO AM I? (INTERNATIONAL CUT)
4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
Original lossless English DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround and lossless stereo audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
Who, When & Where, an expanded interview with Wong
Jostling with Jackie, an expanded interview with Simon
US trailer
The Element of Risk: Olivia Wilde on “The Invite” (June 25, 2026)
Olivia Wilde wants to start conversations. Her latest film, the sex comedy of manners “The Invite,” asks more questions than it answers, prompting audiences to look at their own lives and relationships with a more honest gaze.
Written by Will McCormack and Rashida Jones, the film is an adaptation of the Spanish film “The People Upstairs” by Cesc Gay that stars Wilde as a stay-at-home wife mother named Angela whose marriage to her husband Joe (Seth Rogen) a one-time punk singer turned burnt out music teacher, is on the rocks. Things get shakier when Angela impulsively invites the beguiling couple upstairs, Pína (Penélope Cruz) and Hawk (Edward Norton), for a lively dinner party. Things quickly unravel as hidden desires, unspoken fears, and other complexities surface.
Born in New York City and raised in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C., Wilde was the child of British journalist Andrew Cockburn and journalist and “60 Minutes” producer Leslie Cockburn. Before stepping behind the camera, Wilde broke out as an actress in popular TV shows in the mid-2000s, like “The O.C.,” where she played bisexual bar owner Alex Kelly, and “House,” where she played Remy “Thirteen” Hadley opposite Hugh Laurie.
She also acted in blockbuster films like “Tron: Legacy,” awards contenders like Ron Howard’s “Rush,” and indie films like Joe Swanberg’s “Drinking Buddies” and Reed Morano’s “Meadowland.” Wilde’s feature film directorial debut, “Booksmart,” won the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature, while her second feature, “Don’t Worry Darling,” debuted at the 79th Venice International Film Festival, and her latest feature, “The Invite,” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January.
The same day a 35mm print of “The Invite” opened the Chicago Critics Film Festival in May, RogerEbert.com spoke with Wilde about taking inspiration from Sidney Lumet and Mike Nichols, recreating an entire vintage San Francisco apartment on a set, the influence of Esther Perel’s philosophy, the precarious place women inhabit in the film industry, and why she hopes her film will inspire arguments.
This interview has been edited for clarity.
Your film starts with a cheeky quote from Oscar Wilde, who also inspired your stage name. Was that part of the script, or was that something you brought to it?
That was not part of the script. I added that because I’m a big fan of contextualizing for the audience from the filmmaker’s perspective, in a way that allows for some specificity of the lens. So you understand what you’re heading into. Also, for me, that quote perfectly captures the film’s dichotomy, where we have a romantic spirit mixed with a load of cynicism. The film certainly contains both of those things. It felt right to me. I added it at a certain point in the edit, and I didn’t know if I was going to keep it in there. I really had it in there for myself as a north star to define my feelings about the film, and to make myself laugh, because that quote makes me laugh.
The pace at which the second half of the quote comes in. It always makes me giggle because the audience, at first, sees the first part, which says “One should always be in love,” and they think, okay, that’s a very sentimental way to begin this movie. And then the second half comes in, “That’s the reason why one should never marry,” and before the Oscar Wilde name comes in, I can feel people going like, “is that… that feels…” and then Wilde comes in, they’re like, “That’s right, that’s what we thought.” So it just seems to frame the experience in a way I’m a fan of. Filmmakers before me have used that device. It’s been used by Woody Allen to great effect, and it felt right for this film.
The film is reminiscent of Allen’s “September”; it’s mostly set in one space, there’s a party, and couples are falling apart.
Well, there was this really fun one-location film festival we held for ourselves in prep for this film, where we studied films that showed how filmmakers had taken on the challenge of a limited environment. “12 Angry Men” was another one that really influenced us. I think Sidney Lumet’s book, Making Movies, has a really great section on how he used cinematography to make you feel the crushing claustrophobia of that room, and then the shifting perspectives allow for a complete change in the visual storytelling. It’s masterful.
“Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” was my number one. I mean, Mike Nichols, in general, is my number one, and I think that “Virginia Woolf” is a master class in emotional storytelling through the camera, and to feel that, though you’ve been in one space, you’ve almost been watching an emotional action film that’s taken you to several different locations, but you realize it’s all been within the emotional turmoil of these people. I love the explanation of his approach to cinematography, which is actually in the Mike Nichols biography by Mark Harris, about how Haskell Wexler tied a rope to the actor to the operating camera and swung them around, which is probably one of the most innovative and inspiring cinematography moves that I could imagine. We didn’t get to do that exact move, but I thought, well, of course, the camera is allowing us to get drunker with those characters and get more angry and more out of control. It’s another master class. We were inspired by so many of these films.
The way you frame the characters in space, sometimes you have them really wide in the room, and you feel the division, and then other times you get really close. When you were thinking of those shots, were you someone who storyboards?
My cinematographer, Adam Newport-Berra, who’s really creative and deeply passionate, we knew, because I was going to be in the film, that prep was really our chance to develop this shared mindset about the goals for visual storytelling. Instead of drawing through storyboarding or a specific shot list, we had a series of inspiration shots from films we loved, from Agnès Varda’s “Le Bonheur” to “Hannah and Her Sisters” to, certainly, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” We looked to those inspiring images as suggestions that we would remember in the moment, without being overly prescriptive.
The use of wide shots versus extreme close-ups was heavily influenced by both Lumet and Mike Nichols. The idea that the audience would feel at times intrinsically connected to one character’s emotional crisis and at other times, like more of a voyeur, it takes advantage of the medium in a way that you feel inspired to do when I think you’re doing a movie based on a play, because you’re asking yourself the whole time, “Why is this a film and not just a play?” And the answer is, because this film allows us, the medium allows us, to really become the characters and to get so close to them that we feel the slightest twitch.
I love asking that question, “Why is this a movie?” I think with any project, it’s worth asking, “Why isn’t this just a novel? Why isn’t this just a play? Why is it a movie?” And it’s like, you better be using these tools to communicate differently. Obviously, Bergman was also a huge influence with “Scenes From A Marriage.” So Adam and Jade Healy, our production designer, had such a good time trying to figure out how to make this limited space feel like an additional character that was, of course, reflecting how the relationship was evolving, shooting through glass, shooting around corners, using mirrors.
I love it when a filmmaker uses mirrors to show the doubling of a character, what they’re presenting, what they’re hiding, and the mirror shows you both at the same time. At what point in the production were you thinking about using mirrors that way?
Pretty early on, we were thinking of how we can specifically show Joe and Angela sharing space while being in completely different spaces emotionally. So mirrors were a helpful way to show the two of us in the same frame without us traditionally sharing the same space, and that inspired us to find different ways to use them. It also allowed a relatively simple space to feel more graphic in its visual language. I think that mirrors allow for layering, and the layering felt right for this story.
We had such a good time figuring out the palette of this apartment. Ariane Phillips, our costume designer, came up with the idea that Angela’s shirt should match the wall color because she’s completely sacrificed her identity and is blending into this home that’s become her entire purpose in life. All of those choices were made in the prep process… that was the most potent prep I’ve experienced. We weren’t doing you a huge amount of scouting, so the process was boiled down to something unlimited, which allowed for this condensed experience within that space and within the story. I hope to have another experience as interesting as this one. It was so fun.
The apartment felt very San Francisco to me.
When we scouted in San Francisco, we looked at several apartments, then recreated them. I’m really grateful we were able to build our set because we were able to control the space in order to allow for a lot of the visual language we were dreaming of, including the kind of air shaft interior for the windows to be able to face each other, and that was entirely inspired by apartments we’d seen during the scouting.
Also, Jade was so sensitive about authenticity that these characters had to feel like they were from there, and the apartment was responsible for this whole other level of storytelling. It had to be the place where Joe’s character had grown up, so it had to feel a little bit out of their price range. It had to have history. We had a lot of fun with the sound design and adding the creeks to the floor, and all those layers were fun to build.
But I’m really grateful that [screenwriters] Rashida Jones and Will McCormack specified San Francisco as the location, because it limited our choices in a great way. Sometimes you get a script that’s very vague in terms of where it’s placed, and it’s harder to immediately see who these people are and where they’re from. So I loved that they had made that decision, and we worked from that decision, and it felt very right.
One of the character beats I loved is at the beginning, when your character is making the soufflé and pulls out an old copy of The Joy of Cooking. I wondered where that came from.
Yes! I think we all had that cookbook in our kitchen. We all feel so emotional about that cookbook, and it is something you sense was handed down and had the weight of it, and the stains on the pages, they’re made of onion paper thin. It felt like it told a different story than if Angela had a brand-new, glossy Ina Garten cookbook. There’s something about having this thing that represented tradition in keeping with her philosophy of renovation without change. She’s trying to reach for something traditional, but not really able to achieve it.
All three of your films explore dynamics and relationships in flux. In “Booksmart,” you have these girls who are growing up and growing apart, but they don’t want to. In “Don’t Worry Darling,” there’s a lot of growing apart happening with those characters, and then this one, they’re growing apart. Although maybe they’ll come back together. You don’t know.
Well, all three films are about a combustion point happening for different reasons and different relationships. Someone said something to me the other day that I can’t stop thinking about. He said, “I think I figured out what you make movies about. I think you tell stories about people coming to the realization that intelligence isn’t enough.”
I was blown away by this, because I hadn’t ever thought about it from that perspective, but now I’m obsessing over this, because I think it’s interesting that each movie is about someone who gets to the limits of logic and has to go beyond that into unknown territory that can at times be really intimidating, terrifying, and emotionally very vulnerable.
I think that is actually what happens in relationships. You get to a point where you have to exit your logic brain and tap into something deeply human and emotional, and to trust your instincts, and to leap into that void, and it is not guaranteed, it’s not safe, and it’s actually the most valuable thing you can do for yourself. It often happens, I think, when you get to a point of maturity, when you realize you’re ready for that leap.
I do think these points of combustion in relationships are really interesting. There’s always an inflection, a change that has to happen, and maybe it’s evolution. As in “Booksmart,” they’ve gotten to the point where it’s time to see themselves as individuals. In “Don’t Worry Darling,” it’s about betrayal. In “The Invite,” it’s about the point of realizing they can no longer blame their unhappiness on each other, and are they willing to start a new relationship with each other, or is it time to part? What I hope people take away is the Esther Perel philosophy that runs throughout this film.
She was a consultant on the film, so it is certainly intentional. That is, questioning yourself honestly within a relationship. Are you ready to take responsibility for your own happiness? Are you able to maintain your individuality while connected to another person? You may not blame your misery on your partner; it’s your own choice, and this relationship might be over, or it might be something to be reinvented within the union. I really hope people leave the theater and consider the conversations they may not have had.
Obviously, our ending was another Mike Nichols reference. Everyone is always aiming for the ending of “The Graduate” in terms of ambiguity. We all so admired that choice. I want people to make their own decision at the end of this film, but I am fascinated by how evenly split the audiences have been so far. It’s been 50/50. We did a poll in Boston, and the audience was literally 50/50. It was so cool. It was exactly like on set. Seth and I completely disagree on what happens at the end.
I love that people are responding in this way. It’s a Rorschach test. They’re projecting themselves all over it and making these decisions, and there’s nothing you can ask for as a filmmaker that’s more exciting than people continuing to talk about the film afterward, which we’ve been lucky enough to observe at all these screens. I love it. We drive away, and everyone’s out in front of the theater arguing. My dream is that this summer, people will go see this with their friends, partners, or strangers, and then go and, like, break bread together afterward and argue.
It really speaks to whether you’re a half glass full or half glass empty kind of person, because just because you’re playing the same old song, one last time, but it could be one last time, or could be for the first time, right?
Yes! Or with a renewed appreciation. Also, I’m really excited because the song played during the credits is the demo of “Our House” sung by Graham Nash and Joni Mitchell. It’s the first time they’ve licensed it for a film. The reason it moves me so deeply is that, if you know anything about that song, if you know anything about Graham Nash and Joni Mitchell, you might know that they were in love and that song was their song, and then they broke up. I fought so hard to get that song because I think there is this sense of wanting people to be together, because we like the idea of staying together, but we need to find the acceptance that sometimes a story is over, and it’s fucking heartbreaking.
The way Seth Rogen’s character wrote about yours is great. You don’t hear it, but it doesn’t feel like he’s just upset that his music career didn’t work out; obviously, the inspiration was Angela, and that relationship is in flux. It’s fascinating what happens when the inspiration behind a love song is gone.
Yes! I think the hardest thing about getting older and having more and more relationships is losing a little bit of the fantasy you may have begun with. There is this optimism that I think evolves from that, that allows you to see that even when it doesn’t work, it was worth it. It’s the worst thing someone tells you when you’re going through a breakup. It’s the last thing you want to hear, that this is the best thing that’ll ever have happened to you, I swear, you’re so grateful for this horrible pain.
Certainly, when people are splitting up, when there are kids in the picture, and it’s deeply painful for everyone, there comes this moment when you understand that the peace that results from separation is so much better than the agony of contempt that sometimes weasels its way into a relationship. I think once you experience contempt, it’s very hard to undo that. Loss of respect is hard to undo. I think for these characters, I believe that they are on the edge of contempt, and that Penélope Cruz’s character is drawing their attention to that, and saying that this is a losing game. Contempt is no place to raise a child, and you gotta call it, but you have a chance to begin again.
It’s so sweet. Seth is such a softy, and he’s like, “I think they stay together. I think they’re together forever.” And I was like, “Oh, sweet Seth.” I felt like they broke up, but they have this newfound respect for one another and will be best friends. But they each have so much life to live. I believe he’ll go back to playing music, I think she’ll go back to school, or she’ll start doing more photography. I have a whole theory.
I love that it’s a film that doesn’t answer questions, it just raises them. Those are the kind of films that create conversation.
Which is something you can only do in an independent film. I really think that the studio system won’t allow for that kind of ambiguity. They don’t feel safe in it because it’s not a complete mathematical equation that they can test and rely on. It’s one of the reasons I so appreciate working in independent film and having the freedom to make these choices: the ending is one of several choices that I believe were only possible because I was given that kind of autonomy.
It’s always what audiences end up really appreciating, but if you’re trying to please too many people at once, you run the risk of pleasing absolutely no one. I think the risk of turning people off is what people actually appreciate. I like watching something where it feels like, “Oh, you were willing to lose me. You were willing to let this not work.” That risk is thrilling to watch. I love filmmakers who I can tell risked it all.
They stayed with their vision and didn’t think of it as a product.
You can tell because it’s what felt true to them. I wish that the studio system embraced that more. That’s such a blanket statement to make, though. Some studio people do. Look at “One Battle After Another” and any of the films by PTA or Denis Villeneuve. There are several people working at that level now with studios. Greta Gerwig is another. Even though the films are massive, we’re seeing their vision, and we can feel confident.
Looking back at your directorial career as a macro, “Booksmart” is set during adolescence; “Don’t Worry Darling” is set in their twenties; with “The Invite,” you’ve got full-fledged adults in their late thirties or early forties. Obviously, you weren’t a teenager when you made “Booksmart,” but you’re making films that reflect these different stages, especially in women’s lives, and I wonder if that’s something you think you’ll continue doing?
Yes. Actually, hopefully that’s what I’ll be able to do with this next film. I think the most interesting work always feels the most personal, and I feel that I’ve gotten better at understanding that. We were just talking about the element of risk. I think probably the reason that this film feels like the best thing that I’ve done, not only as a director, but as an actor, when I look at this film, I feel the most proud of this performance, and I think it’s because there was an element of confession in the performance and in the direction that felt raw and worthwhile.
Tarantino said, “Make the movie only you can make.” I think that telling stories about women going through things that I understand has felt right, and I think I’ve gotten better and better at that. I think that the more specific and personal things are, the better they end up feeling. I like the idea that, hopefully, I’ll get to make a few more films, and you’ll be able to see the evolution of my experience and thought as a female filmmaker, which allows us to offer a perspective on our experience.
Even though some great male filmmakers have made films about female experience, like Bo Burnham with “Eighth Grade,” which was brilliant and felt honest. But I still think it’s valuable to have women telling stories about women at different stages of life, and I certainly hope I get to continue that.
You mentioned Agnès Varda earlier. I always love to ask women who make films if there are other women who make films who have either inspired you or whom you hope people seek out.
Julia Ducournau. I love her films. She’s fearless. I’m obsessed. I think that Sofia Coppola is someone who I sense is appreciated more and more by people who realize how far ahead she really was in terms of not only her sense of storytelling and design and everything, but just being bold and understanding the value of something. I just rewatched “Marie Antoinette,” and she was so onto something that we didn’t understand. It’s great, and you think about how shallow the reception was at the time. She was playing on a level that people didn’t quite understand.
There are so many women making films today. There are so many European filmmakers, and I think, “Why are a lot of the women in Europe having a bit more freedom to tell these stories?” Like when we all saw Justine Triet’s “Anatomy of a Fall.” She’s just unreal. I think it does have to do with the financing system.
It’s true. When I ask European women, they always say it’s because our governments fund us.
Yeah.
Same with Canada.
Sarah Polley is another example. I love her films so much. She’s brilliant. I think it’s amazing when women are given the freedom to tell stories their own way. I mean, look at what Kristen Stewart did with her film “The Chronology of Water.” I love the way Kristen Stewart speaks about filmmaking. She’s absolutely spot on about everything she has said about this process and her long career as an actress, and how that’s emboldening her approach to directing. I so appreciate it.
I had the chance to tell her recently, I was like, “Please keep speaking.” Because it is such a gift to the rest of us to hear someone who’s that fearless, and so clear-minded about it. I love what she said about acting being inherently kind of humiliating, and how men have a hard time being vulnerable in that way. I think we’re in a time when, obviously, there are more female stories being made. I want to say I’m optimistic, and there are so many more women directing movies, but I’m not truly… There aren’t enough.
Cr: Kate Scott
And those who do make films, not enough of them are being watched.
Exactly. Not enough are being watched. I think that there’s a need for the system itself to shift. I mean, we have some incredible women in power at studios between Donna Langley and Pam Abdy, and there are other people who are really trying to help. I’m very appreciative of what Megan Ellison has done for me for both “Booksmart” and “The Invite.” I think they’re doing their best. Many of these people still respond to shareholders, so it’s important that audiences continue to show up for these filmmakers. That’s what makes the difference. And theaters actually showing these films, programming them.
People want it.
People want it. I wonder, in your research for your book, have you ever heard from people that one of the things that holds women back from directing, and this might be very specific to my experience, and I acknowledge that it’s beyond just the film industry itself, is that it’s the way society as a whole functions? It is an enormous sacrifice to take on directing a film. It takes a huge amount of time. It’s like a marriage. You are fully entering into this union with this project, which will be all-encompassing and hard on families.
Some women take breaks. I think Jocelyn Moorhouse, who made a bunch of great films in the ’90s like “How to Make an American Quilt,” took a decade or more off to raise her kids.
This is the thing. There’s that sharp drop-off from making a first film to making a second film. I think a lot of women make a first film, realize the sacrifice it requires of their families, and wait a long time before making another. It’s rough. It’s something that I think about a lot. It’s even an issue with schools.
The question is: if you have children, do you take them out of school and take them with you, and do you face a lot of judgment for it? The administrators say, “Oh, you want to disrupt their education? Oh, that feels very unfair to the child.” Or you leave them there and they say, “Oh, how could you abandon the child?”
I’ve never once heard someone question a male director like that when they leave town to make a movie. I’ve never heard someone say, “Well, you know, Jim’s been gone. He hasn’t done pickup for quite a while at school.” Never once heard it.
I do think it’s societal. I do think that hasn’t shifted as much as we would like to think. Then there’s the shame that you internalize.
The shame.
So you stop making movies.
Yeah, and then people are like, oh, we need more female filmmakers, it’s like, man…
We need a system that supports women.
We need a system that supports that. I always think about how the only thing we can do to change that is encourage women not to feel that shame. Like, sure, you took your kid out of school, that’s great! That’ll be a great experience for them. Or have a support system that asks, “If you need to leave town, how can I support that?” It’s the way that women always end up filling in the gaps and being the community that allows people to do all sorts of difficult things.
And you know, look, we’re not like trauma surgeons. I’m going into a battlefield, and it’s so much more manageable and luxurious than that, and I recognize that, but it’s still something that I think about. I think all these women who aren’t telling stories because they’re afraid that it means they’re a bad woman.
I’ve heard similar stories from many women directors I’ve spoken with. Some just quit altogether.
They just quit, and that makes me crazy! And it’s like, oh, why are all these guys in their 30s making movies? And it’s like, I don’t know, maybe because it doesn’t disrupt their lives at all to leave. Oh, sure, it’s harder to stay in a relationship. Sure, maybe I don’t know.
And it’s in all industries. My mom was a journalist my whole childhood. My dad’s a journalist too. I’m pretty sure it was much harder for her to be the one leaving to go work in war zones than it was for my dad, and she received so much judgment for going into dangerous places around the world when I was a very small kid. She had three kids at home, and she was in very dangerous war zones, and people gave her so much shit about it. But I’m so glad she didn’t quit. The fact is that we grew up thinking she was a hero and an inspiration, and it made us all really motivated to become leaders and go for it.
That’s the thing I get really fired up about. It happens to actresses, too. I think a lot of actresses feel this guilt about working, and it’s like, where is that guilt coming from? It’s only been really 60 years since the women’s movement, and we’re really at the beginning of this shift in society.
And it depends on who you talk to, if there even is a shift. The second shift has never gone away, I feel like.
Right. I mean, we could obviously go into politics, and why more women don’t run for office is the same.
“The Invite” opens in theaters from A24 tomorrow, June 26th.
