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 This is a web site built around original video essays and critical, personal writing about movies, TV, music, comics and whatever else interests its contributors. It is published by Matt Zoller Seitz, TV critic for New York Magazine and overseen by editor-in-chief Kevin B. Lee.

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VIDEO ESSAY: Outstanding Collaborative Performance: The Fly (1986)

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David Cronenberg’s 1986 remake of "The Fly" would have been a shoo-in for a theoretical best collaborative performance Oscar. What makes it truly special is its empathy for its arrogant scientist hero, Seth Brundle, who tests his revolutionary new matter transporter on himself and becomes genetically fused with a fly that was not supposed to be in the telepod with him. Jeff Goldblum’s performance as Seth Brundle is a nexus point for all the film’s creative elements: direction, writing, acting, makeup, optical effects, miniatures and puppetry. Goldblum’s work here brings everything together. It’s kind of a thespian telepod.
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  • By Matt Zoller Seitz and Steven Santos
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  • February 21, 2012 9:40 AM
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  • 1 Comment
More: Matt Zoller Seitz, Steven Santos, video essay, The Fly, David Cronenberg

VIDEO ESSAY And the Oscar for Outstanding Collaborative Performance goes to...

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Why hasn't Andy Serkis won an Oscar yet? Will his achievements as an actor ever be recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences? Should they be recognized? Is Serkis an actor, or is his physical performance in a CGI-assisted role just a rough guide for a movie's digital effects?
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  • By Matt Zoller Seitz & Steven Santos
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  • February 21, 2012 7:39 AM
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  • 11 Comments
More: Matt Zoller Seitz, Best Collaborative Performance, Yoda, Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back, Frank Oz, Andy Serkis, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, The Fly, E.T., Adventures of Tintin, video essay, Steven Santos

VIDEO ESSAY: MAGIC AND LIGHT: THE FILMS OF STEVEN SPIELBERG, Chapter 5: Father Figures

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Steven Spielberg is the product of The Greatest Generation -- a Baby Boomer raised on idealized images of the nuclear family, progress, and American might. He is also a child of divorce -- a dreamer from a broken home. Spielberg’s attempt to reconcile these two biographical facts—the mythic ideal of the family, and the reality of its dismantling—has been at the heart of many of his films. Spielberg’s movies often focus on a real or makeshift family unit, banding together to fight an outside force that threatens to tear it apart. At the head of this makeshift family, there is often a father figure imparting wisdom to his charges, or being forced to confront his shortcomings as a protector. Often both.
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  • By Steven Santos, Aaron Aradillas & Matt Zoller Seitz
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  • December 23, 2011 6:49 AM
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  • 2 Comments
More: Steven Spielberg, Matt Zoller Seitz, Ali Arikan, Magic and Light: The Films of Steven Spielberg, Steven Santos, Aaron Aradillas

CHAPTER ART: MAGIC AND LIGHT: THE FILMS OF STEVEN SPIELBERG debuted Dec. 15

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It's almost here! Press Play's first video essay series in direct partnership with IndieWire: "Magic and Light: The Films of Steven Spielberg." On Dec. 15, 2011 on this blog, this series will examine facets of Spielberg's movie career, including his stylistic evolution as a director, his depiction of violence, his interest in communication and language, his portrayal of authority and evil, and the importance of father figures -- both present and absent -- throughout his work.
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  • By Press Play Staff
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  • December 14, 2011 5:24 PM
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  • 0 Comments
More: Matt Zoller Seitz, Aaron Aradillas, Serena Bramble, Steven Santos, Steven Spielberg, Jose Gallegos, Ali Arikan

The Art of MAGIC & LIGHT: THE FILMS OF STEVEN SPIELBERG

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MAGIC & LIGHT: THE FILMS OF STEVEN SPIELBERG premieres Dec. 15 at Press Play. Check out these eye-popping title cards. As they used to say of CLOSE ENCOUNTERS trading cards back in the '70s, collect them all!
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  • By Boke Yuzgen
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  • December 13, 2011 6:52 PM
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  • 0 Comments
More: Steven Santos, Matt Zoller Seitz, Jose Gallegos, Serena Bramble, Steven Spielberg, Richard Seitz, Ali Arikan

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