1x1 With Kristian Harloff

It isn’t snagging a breakout role in a major Hollywood film, but once you do, the pressure doesn’t stop there. Picking the right follow-up projects, ones that allow an actor to continue honing their craft while also further solidifying the artist one wants to present to the industry, is of the utmost importance. That’s the phase we find Rachel Zegler in. After delivering a staggeringly beautiful debut feature performance in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story, it's on to a beloved franchise, a remake of a Disney classic, and an A24 comedy.The first out of the gate for that trio is The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. The role of Lucy Gray Baird is a massive challenge to take on for a number of reasons. First off, Zegler must follow in the footsteps of Jennifer Lawrence who delivered impeccable work as Katniss Everdeen in the original Hunger Games movies. Not only must Zegler take up the mantle of Hunger Games lead, but she’s doing so with a character with an especially bubbly personality who v

There’s one department the Marvel Cinematic Universe is especially consistent in -- casting. And that’s in large part due to the brilliant eye of longtime franchise casting director Sarah Finn. She’s been with the series since 2008’s Iron Man and has been sending careers soaring ever since. One of her latest A+ finds? The effervescent star of Ms. Marvel and now The Marvels, Iman Vellani.There is no better fit for the role of Kamala Khan than Vellani. As an extremely passionate Marvel fan herself, she has effortlessly infused Kamala with an infectious enthusiasm for everything Avengers. Yes, she did experience quite the evolution in Ms. Marvel after discovering she’s a superpowered individual herself, but she still has a lot of growing to do while facing her biggest test yet in Nia DaCosta’s The Marvels where Kamala is challenged to hold her own alongside two wildly powerful MCU forces, Teyonah Parris’ Monica Rambeau and Brie Larson’s Carol Danvers, aka Captain Marvel. With The Marvels now in th

It’s been far too long since we’ve seen a movie like Bottoms — and in some respects, we’ve never seen anything quite like it. Sure, we’ve seen some recent high school comedies that venture into ranch territory, but Bottoms jumps feet first into that zone without even an ounce of hesitation, and once there, delivers non-stop hilarity while also deconstructing the high school comedy classic and highlighting what the formula’s been missing (and often getting wrong) all these years.Emma Seligman's sophomore feature reunites her with Shiva Baby's Rachel Sennott who stars in Bottoms and also co-wrote the screenplay alongside Seligman. Sennott headlines Bottoms with The Bear breakout Ayo Edebiri playing PJ and Josie respectively, the “ugly, untalented gays” of Rockbridge Falls High School. Eager to get with the girls of their dreams, PJ and Josie start a new school club — a fight club. What begins as an extremely bold move to get cheerleaders to notice them turns into a community that gives schoo

A “private creator” no more. After spending a good deal of time developing ideas and keeping them to herself, Molly Gordon makes her feature film writing, directing, and producing debut on Theater Camp, an achievement that will hopefully pave the way to continued work behind the lens with original ideas.Gordon shares her writing and producing credit on the film with longtime friends and collaborators Ben Platt, Noah Galvin, and Nick Lieberman, and also co-directs alongside Lieberman. Inspired by their short film of the same name, the feature version of Theater Camp focuses on a group of teachers deeply dedicated to their work at AdirondACTS, a theater camp in upstate New York. Right in the midst of some financial trouble, the camp’s founder (Amy Sedaris) falls into a coma and her “clueless tech-bro” son, Jimmy Tatro’s Troy, is put in charge. The camp’s only hope is for the teachers to help Troy understand what they love so much about camp and theater in general, bu

Avy Kaufman didn’t move to New York City with big screen ambitions, but one thing led to another, and she wound up becoming one of the most successful and prolific casting directors in Hollywood. She cast Leonardo DiCaprio in The Basketball Diaries and Haley Joel Osment in his unforgettable one-two punch, The Sixth Sense and A.I. Artificial Intelligence. She’s worked on a number of films with Ang Lee and two films with the legendary Wes Craven, Music of the Heart and Scream 4. If we jump to her most recent credits, the list is loaded with Oscar contenders and winners like Tár, The Eyes of Tammy Faye, King Richard, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, and more.Kaufman’s had great success with the series format as well having cast a number of acclaimed Emmy-winning shows, but there’s one series in particular that’s been an especially significant force during awards season the last few years, a show that will likely go down in history as one of the best shows ever made. It’s HBO’s Succession.While celebrating her thir

There are a number of artists having big years right now but, dare I say, Ayo Edebiri is having one of the best of the bunch. Not only did she just score her first Emmy nomination for her work in Season 1 of The Bear, but she’s also exceptional in the recently released second season of the hit series and has three stellar films coming out back to back to back — Theater Camp, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, and Bottoms.Hopefully you’ve seen Molly Gordon’s episode of Collider Ladies Night and Noah Galvin’s episode of Collider Forces in honor of the release of Theater Camp, but just in case you need a refresher, the Searchlight Pictures film focuses on a theater camp struggling to stay afloat after its founder falls into a coma. Edebiri steps in as Janet, a new teacher at camp working amidst a group of AdirondACTS diehards who’ve spent their summers there for years. The film delivers big laughs as it pokes fun at camp clichés, but it also rocks a powerful beating heart that celebrates what a special

Noah Galvin continues to show off his boundless potential as an actor and also as a filmmaker and storyteller in general with Theater Camp. He’s already found great success on stage and screen, and now he also adds two brand-new credits to his filmography because Theater Camp marks his very first time writing and producing a feature film.Inspired by the short film of the same name, Theater Camp takes place at AdirondACTS, a theater camp in upstate New York. When its founder (Amy Sedaris) falls into a coma, her son Troy (Jimmy Tatro) must take over even though he knows absolutely nothing about the longstanding traditions that make a summer at AdirondACTS a deeply cherished experience.With Theater Camp now in theaters nationwide, Galvin took the time to join me for an episode of Collider Forces to look back on his journey in the industry thus far and to discuss the highly collaborative on-set environment that helped make Theater Camp a true gem oozing with love and respect for the theater camp experience — and

It can’t be easy joining a franchise in its seventh installment and holding your own opposite an industry juggernaut like Tom Cruise, but Hayley Atwell still winds up being a major standout in Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One.The new M:I film introduces Atwell’s Grace, or rather “Grace,” a thief who finds herself in the middle of Ethan’s (Cruise) mission to track down both halves of a key needed to control a self-aware artificial intelligence program called The Entity. That mission lands Grace in a Fiat 500 with a mind of its own, on a train plummeting into a ravine, and in a number of other mighty dangerous situations. Not only is Atwell an ace in the stunt department, but she also finds great success in bringing a hugely charming, well-layer, and complex character to screen in the midst of all of this mind-blowing action. It’s a performance feat that makes Grace feel real and contributes to keeping Dead Reckoning Part One somewhat grounded, which ups the suspense of the film tenfold.With M

I wasn’t especially familiar with Liza Koshy’s work on Vine, YouTube, and other social media platforms the first time I covered one of her feature films, but that certainly changed after our brief chat for her summer 2020 release, Work It. A big ball of infectious energy and positivity, it was immediately clear that Koshy’s star was going to continue to soar, and also that she’d be an ideal guest on Collider Ladies Night. Three years later, the time has finally come, and not only did she not disappoint, she far exceeded Ladies Night expectations.Koshy voices Margot in DreamWorks Animation’s Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken, the human best friend of the title character voiced by Lana Condor. When Ruby discovers she can transform into a gigantic kraken, she does what far too many high school students do with a quality that makes them different; she goes to great lengths to keep it a secret, even from her very understanding and supportive BFFs. However, when the new girl at school, Chel

Greta Lee’s already accomplished quite a bit over the years, but 2023 is shaping up to be a banner year. Not only is she in Julio Torres’ feature directorial debut Problemista, but she also voices LYLA in the smash hit Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and leads the awards season-bound Past Lives from A24.Lee plays Nora in Celine Song’s first feature. As a child (Moon Seung-ah) living in South Korea, she's deeply connected to her closest friend, Hae Sung (Leem Seung-min). But, that connection is severed when Nora’s family emigrates. Many years later while living in New York, Nora does reconnect with Hae Sung (Teo Yoo), but only virtually. Their in-person reunion doesn't happen until a decade later when Nora is married to an American author, Arthur played by John Magaro.It’s a love triangle like you’ve never seen before, one that redefines what such a story can be. Past Lives respects the very real and deeply meaningful love one can have for two people in such a situation, while also emphasizi

As the role of present-day Lottie demands, Simone Kessell made a huge impression on Yellowjackets in her debut season.Season 1 introduced the 1996 version of the character played by Courtney Eaton, but viewers were left wondering whether Lottie would make it through the wilderness ordeal alive until Kessell’s casting was announced between seasons. Ultimately, present-day Lottie becomes a significant driving force of the show. She’s the one who encouraged the Yellowjackets to start listening to the wilderness and respect its voice in the past, and now she’s pursuing similar ambitions but on a larger scale via her very own wellness compound.At the start of Season 2, Lottie isn’t preaching about the power of the wilderness but rather, offering activities and sermons that encourage “turning suffering into strength so we can live as our best selves.” Lottie starts the season sound and steady with confidence and authority, but as more surviving Yellowjackets arrive at the compound, the more Lott

Amber Midthunder is a movie star. She’s already made a big impression in a number of projects, but an especially significant amount of Prey rests on her shoulders. She’s the beating heart of a powerful character arc, the focus of a number of very challenging set pieces, and is tasked with headlining a brand new installment of one of the most beloved sci-fi franchises out there. She exceeds expectations in all of those respects and then some in the newest Predator movie, Prey.Midthunder plays Naru, a young Comanche woman who’s a very talented healer, but dreams of becoming a great hunter alongside her brother, Taabe (Dakota Beavers). Despite pushback from her mother (Michelle Thrush), other hunters, and village expectations, Naru commits to tracking down the mysterious threat that lurks in the woods nearby. Little does she know, this creature isn’t a bear or a ferocious lion, but rather, an alien that hunts for sport. It’s a Yautja, or rather, a Predator.  Prey isn’t just an exceptional&nbs

Another season of Yellowjackets, another Emmy nomination-worthy performance from Christina Ricci as one of the show's most complex characters, Misty Quigley.Ricci returns to Collider Ladies Night to recap her experience working on the second season of the hit Showtime series. Check out this video interview to get her take on how much Misty remembers about what happened in the wilderness, if Misty believes anything supernatural is really going on, why Karyn Kusama was the ideal director for the Season 2 finale, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

While on Collider Ladies Night, Barry star Sarah Goldberg revisits her experience making the pivot from script to screen, and scoring a breakout role with Barry's Sally Reed.Check out this interview to hear all about her collaboration with Bill Hader and the Barry crew, to find out which Season 4 scene she dubbed the toughest to film of the entire series, to get her thoughts on Sally's final scenes in the Barry series finale, and loads more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Christa Miller is no stranger to hugely successful TV shows. She appeared on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Seinfeld, did over 180 episodes on The Drew Carey Show, over 80 on Scrubs, over 100 on Cougar Town, and now she’s a standout on an Apple TV+ gem, a series gearing up for what will hopefully be quite the awards season run, Shrinking.The series was co-created by Bill Lawrence, Brett Goldstein, and Jason Segel with Segel also starring as Jimmy Laird, a therapist struggling with the death of his wife. That means Jimmy hasn’t been the responsible, attentive parent he needs to be for his daughter, Alice (Lucite Maxwell). But, that’s where Miller’s Liz comes in. She’s the Lairds’ neighbor and the person who winds up taking responsibility for Alice when she needs support and an active guardian. Liz has a massive heart and many assets, but stepping back isn’t one of them, so Jimmy finally starts to make moves to put his life back together and reconnect with Alice, Liz isn’t quite ready to hand the reins over.In

It’s been less than two years since Daniela Melchior broke out in Hollywood with the release of James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad, but she’s already part of three of the biggest film franchises of all time — DC and now Marvel thanks to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and the Fast and Furious series after making her debut as Isabel in Fast X.In Guardians, Melchior got a role that Gunn wrote specifically for her — Ura, the OrgoCorp employee forced/compelled/conned into helping the Guardians on their mission to steal Rocket’s file from the Orgosphere. Then, in Fast X, Melchior steps in as a character related to a past favorite. She plays Isabel, Elena’s (Elsa Pataky) sister.With both movies now playing in theaters nationwide, Melchior returned to Collider Ladies Night for another interview to dig into this next stage of her flourishing career.Note: There are a few audio glitches in this episode due to filming virtually. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Collider Forces is all about highlighting artists who are changing film and television for the better. Do you know who’s having that kind of impact on the industry? Someone who’s made such a significant impression that we can already see the ripple effect she started? Director and cinematographer, Rachel Morrison, the first woman to ever score a cinematography Academy Award nomination.In celebration of Morrison’s work as a director on Season 3 of The Mandalorian, she joined me for a Collider Forces interview to discuss how she managed to break through in a male-dominated sector of the industry, and then do it yet again when making a name for herself as a director in addition to continuing her work as a cinematographer.During our Collider Forces conversation, Morrison revisited her journey from reality TV to scoring her Oscar nomination to jumping into Star Wars! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From powering through a post-apocalyptic wasteland in Mad Max: Fury Road to trying to survive the wilderness with a group of teenagers who turn to violence and cannibalism in Yellowjackets, Courtney Eaton is loading up her filmography with ambitious projects, and excelling in them.Eaton quickly emerged as one of the most curious characters in Yellowjackets Season 1 playing Lottie. Soon after the plane crashes in the wilderness and Lottie runs out of her medication, the unusual behavior begins. Bad feelings about the cabin in Episode 2, a supposed possession in Episode 5, and visions in Episode 6 all pave the way to increasingly dark and occasionally violent behavior. But how much of it is her fault? Can we blame the mushrooms, the absence of Lottie’s medication, and perhaps the other Yellowjackets for warping Lottie’s words and intentions? That’s exactly what I discussed with Eaton on a brand new episode of Collider Ladies Night! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Liv Hewson is a must-know force in film and television for a number of reasons. Not only are they a standout in the hit Showtime series Yellowjackets and an artist who exudes passion for their craft and a deep appreciation for the collaborative nature of creating a film or series, but they’re also making choices that will help pave the way to parity in the industry. It’s an honor to call Hewson the very first guest on our new interview series, Collider Forces — an interview series they helped inspire.Collider Forces is a long overdue expansion of Collider Ladies Night, one that gives us the opportunity to include more voices. Thanks to Hewson’s work, their approach to their craft, and how they operate in this business and beyond, the recognition of a need for change was turned into action, and now we have Collider Forces, an interview series dedicated to highlighting artists in film and television who are changing the industry for the better, particularly voices that should have been amplified all along. Coll

Not only is it a colossal challenge trying to spark a career in film and television, but once you get there, the pressure rarely lets up. How does one manage such non-stop stressors, especially the ones that are entirely out of an artist's control? There’s no be-all, end-all answer to that question, but over the years, Katherine McNamara’s built up an especially effective and inspiring set of tools and ideas to ensure she’ll continue forging forward, and likely inspire others to do the same in the process.McNamara joined me for a Collider Ladies Night conversation to put the spotlight on two recent projects, Charlie Day’s feature directorial debut, Fool’s Paradise, and her new CW series, Walker: Independence, which sadly was canceled the day after we recorded. Fool’s Paradise stars Day as a mute man who’s plucked off the street by Ray Liotta’s character, a producer desperate to replace an actor who won’t come out of his trailer and, it turns out, Day’s character looks exactly like this actor. As for Walker: I