The Reel

The resistance is storming TV with shows like The Handmaid's Tale and Big Little Lies, while underrepresented communities are challenging the rules of the casting game to gain increasing visibility on the screen.

Deadwood, the show that died too young, is now back as a film, and the whiskey and profanity are flowing — is it the end of the line for what some have called an unfinished TV masterpiece?

The end of so many beloved and long-running TV series is leaving a hole in our hearts, disrupting our viewing patterns and forcing us to find new and different television companions to fill their place.

A conversation with DONNIE DARKO director Richard Kelly about his ambitious, sprawling film SOUTHLAND TAILS. Plus, awaiting the end of Game of Thrones, with @LorraineAli.

The summer of Manson is upon us. Ahead of the 50th anniversary of the mass murder masterminded by Charles Manson, a wave of content is coming our way. The grisly slayings of eight people — including the very pregnant Sharon Tate — cast a long shadow over the romantic adventure of the 60s counterculture, fascinating and haunting us to this day. Out now in theaters is CHARLIE SAYS, the second of a trio of Manson family films this year. Rather than focus on the violence, CHARLIE SAYS is a sensitive, psychological portrait of three of Charlie’s girls -- as they descend into the madness of Manson’s world, and with the help of a grad student, go through a deprogramming process in prison. LA Times film writer Mark Olsen ( @IndieFocus) talks with the movie’s director Mary Harron and writer @turnerguinevere, the filmmakers behind AMERICAN PSYCHO. Harron and Turner discuss their efforts to capture the domestic abuse and manipulation within the Manson family, along with the sexism of their freewheeling commune life. But first, Olsen chats with critic and self-described Manson head @katiewalshstx , who calls CHARLIE SAYS a deeply feminist film that captures the toxic masculinity and sexual manipulation practiced by Charles Manson.

Women love true crime, but they’re also fed up with maneuvering the male-dominated workplace, being underestimated and checking their emotions at the door. Enter KILLING EVE, the right show for the right time. Featuring a fearless, high-fashion assassin and the astute MI6 agent pursuing her, the psychosexual thriller — made by women and starring women — unapologetically exudes femininity from head to toe. The series has found its audience and is on a roll by playing into the emotions of the cultural moment. Host Mark Olsen (@IndieFocus) checks in with Times television team members @LorraineAli and @villarealy halfway through the second season. Later on, horror filmmaker @rox_anne-b makes her feature directing debut with BODY AT BRIGHTON ROCK. Olsen talks with her about the glories — and risks — of filming in the great outdoors and keeping genre fans surprised. Let's listen in.

SPOILER ALERT: Spoilers start at 18:10! Eleven years, 22 films, $18 billion and counting at the global box office: Avengers: Endgame is finally in theaters, bringing to a close a chapter in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It’s been a big emotional investment for fans, and judging by the reaction of some of its stars, it’s been one for the actors as well. Meanwhile, over the course of the franchise, MCU’s longform storytelling has redefined Hollywood. Fans have had a lengthy relationship with these characters. Are they ready for the endgame? Today’s episode is in two parts: The first is spoiler-free, but that is followed by a section for people who have seen the film. So listen for the cues and come back to take it all in, both before and after your trip to the theater. There’s a lot to process. Let’s listen in. SPOILER ALERT: Spoilers start at 18:10!

HBO may not have known it had a hit on its hands in 2011, but the premiere of the final season of GAME OF THRONES shattered ratings records for the network. Viewing of the series has reached a fever pitch and blown up Twitter, while fans divine clues over who will live, who will die, and who will win the Iron Throne. LA Times film writer Mark Olsen (@IndieFocus ) is joined by @marymacTV @tracycbrown and @MeredithBlake to ponder deep cuts and the series' role in the history of modern television. When was the last time the public had to say goodbye to a show long before growing tired of it?

When the movie HEATHERS was shown at the 1989 US Film Festival, now known as Sundance, the Los Angeles Times film critic Sheila Benson wrote: “No amount of production sheen or acting skill seems excuse enough for the film's scabrous morality or its unprincipled viciousness.” In The New Yorker, Pauline Kael wrote the script for the black comedy “promises that the picture will lift off into the junior division of Blue Velvetland. But layers of didacticism weigh it down.” But HEATHERS has survived the test of time to become a cult sensation, and is now being celebrated on the 30th anniversary of its theatrical release. With its big hair and big shoulder pads, the film took on the nasty high school caste system in a way that was ahead of its time. HEATHERS turned the common cruelty of most teen films of that era on its head. In a conversation with LA Times film writer Mark Olsen, (@IndieFocus ) the movie’s writer, director and one of its Heathers explain that the film was designed as an antidote to John Hughes movies. And later, Fosse/Verdon fans don’t want to miss Olsen's talk with Steven Levenson, the Tony-winning writer of Dear Evan Hanson, and a writer and executive producer of the miniseries on FX.

The master himself, Stephen King, has said PET SEMATARY “is a scary movie. Be warned.” It explores grief, emotion, guilt and love. You could say it’s a family film -- in a terrifying, don’t bring your little ones kind of way. LA Times film writer Mark Olsen (@IndieFocus) is joined by one of PET SEMATARY’s stars -- actress and filmmaker Amy Seimetz -- who talks about elevating a horror picture to an art film, creating female characters typically not seen on screen, and finding your own people in the indie film world. Then, fans of iconic Broadway and the movie musical: We have your number. Olsen talks to Andy Blankenbuehler, the choreographer of Hamilton, who also choreographed Fosse/Verdon, the new FX miniseries that chronicles the creative and romantic partnership between Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon.

Six years after SPRING BREAKERS, Harmony Korine is back with a new film, THE BEACH BUM, out now in theaters. The wildly creative filmmaker and fine artist is a teller of modern-day tall tales, something of a cross between a burnout Mark Twain and an Andy Warhol of the Florida Keys. Korine talks with LA Times film writer Mark Olsen (@IndieFocus) about how he’s skirting autobiography in his work, the casting choices he made for The Beach Bum -- like Matthew McConaughey, Martin Lawrence, Snoop Dog and Jimmy Buffett -- and how he feels about being a perennial Hollywood outsider. But first, The Times Yvonne Villarreal (@villarrealy) spoke with the showrunners for the recently canceled Netflix show, ONE DAY AT A TIME. Emotions -- and opinions were strong. Is diversity and inclusiveness really happening in Hollywood? Does the cancellation signal that the American Latinx experience is almost being erased from the airwaves? What happens when a show is more than just a show?

The much anticipated follow-up to Jordan Peele’s GET OUT is out now in theaters. And Peele delivers the film he set out to make- one that scares people's pants off. In the process, he has reclaimed the art of the horror genre. LA Times film writer Mark Olsen (@IndieFocus ) talks with Justin Chang (@JustinCChang) and Jen Yamato (@jenyamato ) about how US is in some ways a political film about contemporary America. But it's also a horror flick with a black family at its center, instead of the conventional white one.

The Los Angeles Times is in Austin for South by Southwest, the the annual festival of film, music, technology, art, culture, tacos, barbecue, partying - and something of a laboratory think tank for the future. Times film writer Mark Olsen (@IndieFocus) talks with @marcmaron, who's expanding his wings as a movie actor, along with director @lynnsheltonfilm, who saw him as a star. Olsen also interviews @alexgibneyfilm, whose documentary about Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, THE INVENTOR: OUT FOR BLOOD IN SILICON VALLEY, is set to debut on HBO. And in a preview of next week's episode, Austin native Ethan Hawke shares his affection for SXSW, and says "its DNA is a little more punk rock than any other festival in America."

With its first female-led installment in the Marvel Studio franchise, most people are asking what took so long? But in one corner of the Internet, CAPTAIN MARVEL is a bridge too far, especially for those angered by star Brie Larson's progressive calls for diversity and inclusivity. LA Times film writer Mark Olsen (@IndieFocus) is joined by Kenneth Turan (@KennethTuran), Jen Yamato (@jenyamato), Justin Chang (@JustinCChang), Tracy Brown (@tracycbrown) and Sonaiya Kelley (@sonaiyak ) to discuss the politics surrounding CAPTAIN MARVEL and the merits of the film itself -- its indie directors, its '90s nostalgia and its cast, including Reggie, the cat thespian.

Despite what's been called a "despicable" Best Picture win, L.A. Times feature writer and reviewer Mark Olsen (@IndieFocus) talks with Justin Chang (@JustinCChang), Mary McNamara (@marymacTV) and Glenn Whipp (@GlennWhipp) about how real change may have arrived at the Academy. Plus, Jen Yamato (@jenyamato) and Amy Kaufman (@AmyKinLA) get their Gaga fix on, and share the scoop on what was going on off-camera at the Academy Awards.