special effects
'Planet of the Apes' actors undergo intense training to become more ape-like
Monkey business is harder than it looks. Before each “Planet of the Apes” film starts shooting, the actors must attend what is affectionately called “Ape Camp” for six weeks on...
How 'Santa Clarita Diet' turned Drew Barrymore into a zombie
Making a TV show about a flesh-eating zombie offers its technical challenges — like how to fake various (edible) human limbs and other body parts. That becomes even more complicated when...
4-D effects add nothing but cost to 'Captain America: Civil War'
You know something’s wrong when watching the audience seems more compelling than the movie you’re viewing. That was my deflating experience when I saw “Captain America: Civil War’’ on opening...
London bus explosion terrifies people who didn't know it was for a movie
The special effects for a new Jackie Chan movie movie were a bit too real for Londoners -- who mistook the wild pyrotechnics for a terrorist attack. On Sunday morning,...
A look behind the special effects of ‘AHS: Freak Show'
An actor needs to keep an open mind and have a sense of adventure to work on “American Horror Story.” Creators Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk have assembled a reliable...
Serkis shines in 'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes'
If you’re a young ape growing up in the jungle today and you have your sights set on Hollywood stardom — or at the very least, a bottom-feeding reality show...
Godzilla is back and bigger than ever
When the star of Hollywood’s newest horror-action-thriller debuted in the film’s trailer a couple of weeks ago, Japanese fans wasted no time scrutinizing his appearance. Among the typical Internet troll...
This hour of 'Game of Thrones' cost HBO $8M
The most spectacular episode in "Game of Thrones" almost never happened. We’re talking about Blackwater, the ninth episode of Season 2. It features a huge battle between the forces of...
'Dante's Inferno,' Milton Berle-Otto Preminger collaboration surfaces
A pair of fascinating but neglected films that have never appeared on any video format in the United States -- indeed, have scarcely been seen here since the heyday of...
T'was Broadway billed the beast: ‘Kong’ stalks NY
The big boy’s coming to Broadway. And I don’t mean James Corden! The producers of “King Kong,” a spectacle from Australia, will soon announce plans for a New York run...
'Gravity' features coolest special effects of the year
They actually thought it would be easy. When film director Alfonso Cuarón, now 51, and his screenwriter son, Jonás, began work on their latest project, “Gravity,” they figured they’d be...