Scott Phillips

2 months ago | forbes.com | Scott Phillips

Everything I know about Scotland I learned from watching nine seasons of the crime procedural Shetland. That’s not entirely a joke as I’ve never had the pleasure of visiting that gorgeous country. Put it on the Bucket List for this middle-aged film critic. Do Scottish people come with actual subtitles translating their speaking voices? I’m afraid my American ears may be insufficient to get the job done, but I’d love to try.

Feb 24, 2025 | forbes.com | Scott Phillips

The 97th Academy Awards will be held on Sunday, March 2nd. So it’s time for the annual ritual engaged in by professional and amateur film critics alike: Oscar predictions. To truly understand how the winners are chosen, you have to understand the mechanics of the balloting system. The Academy uses what is referred to as a “weighted” ballot. In the instance of Best Picture where there are ten nominees, the film at the top of the ballot (the # 1 film of the year for that voter) receives ten points.

Feb 17, 2025 | forbes.com | Scott Phillips

The “cold open” has become a tradition in horror films. From little Michael Myers donning his clown mask in John Carpenter’s Halloween (1978) to Drew Barrymore having the last telephone conversation of her life in Wes Craven’s Scream (1996), the cold open serves as a tone-setting introduction for the film to come. Writer-director Osgood Perkins (Longlegs) opens his new film The Monkey with an iconic addition to the canon of cold opens.

Feb 13, 2025 | forbes.com | Scott Phillips

From January 23rd to February 2nd, filmmakers from across the globe descended on Park City, Utah for the Sundance Film Festival. But, is the festival being held there for the final time? Speculation about the future location of the festival almost eclipsed the discussion about the films making their world premieres. Park City has long been a logistical nightmare, a sleepy ski town that suddenly plays host to tens of thousands of film fans for week.

Jan 15, 2025 | forbes.com | Scott Phillips

Austrailian writer-director Leigh Whannell has quite the pedigree in the world of horror. He is the co-creator (along with director James Wan) of the long-lived and very lucrative Saw franchise. He ignited another horror brand as the sole screenwriter of Insidious (2010). His most recent directorial effort was his brilliant 2020 reimagining of The Invisible Man starring Elizabeth Moss.