Cinema Royale

On this week's show, we journey back to Middle Earth for Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug! Plus, we explore the origins of Mary Poppins with Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson in Disney's Saving Mr. Banks! We venture as far from the world of blockbusters as possible when acclaimed director John Sayles calls in to discuss his latest film, the gritty border drama Go for Sisters! All this plus big news on the latest X-men movie, Andrew Garfield and The Amazing Spider-Man, and Fast & Furious 7!

On a very special episode of Cinema Royale, the nominees for the 12th annual Washington DC Area Film Critics Association (WAFCA) Awards will be revealed! Find out the top contenders in 18 categories representing the very best in cinema for 2013!  Will we see The Wolf of Wall Street squaring off against 12 Years A Slave for Best Film? Where does Gravity fit into the picture and is there any room for a dark horse? Tune in and find out!

On this week's show, awards season continues to steamroll along with the gritty crime drama Out of the Furnace, starring Christian Bale, Casey Affleck, Woody Harrelson, and Zoe Saldana! This one's been flying under the radar but does it have the good to win some gold? Plus, in the wake of Paul Walker's sudden passing, we take a brief look at his career and the future of the Fast & Furious franchise.

May the odds be ever in your favor! On a very special episode of Cinema Royale, we journey back to Panem for the anticipated sequel, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire! Plus, Willow Shields who plays Primrose Everdeen calls in to talk about her experience alongside Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson!

It's not enough to simply label Steve Coogan as a British comedian, as his career has grown well beyond making people laugh. Coogan joins Cinema Royale host Travis Hopson to talk about working wirth Judi Dench on the Oscar hopeful, Philomena, and answers questions about the evolution of his career.

Wondering why there was a "Best Of" show last week? Cinema Royale host Travis Hopson spent a few days on the UVA grounds attending the Virginia Film Festival, and now it's time to rundown the event's best and worst films! Did any new Oscar contenders emerge? Is there a dark horse on the horizon? Speaking of Oscar favorites, we'll review The Book Thief, the WWII drama starring Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson. And then we'll revisit some old friends in The Best Man Holiday, which brings back the entire cast of the hit 1999 comedy, The Best Man!

First-time directors Gabe and Alan Polsky sit down with Cinema Royale host Travis Hopson to discuss their adaptation of acclaimed novel, The Motel Life, starring Emile Hirsch, Stephen Dorff, and Dakota Fanning.

Now's your chance to relive some great interviews with today's best directors! Cinema Royale chats with groundbreaking filmmaker Shane Carruth about Upstream Color. The Kings of Summer director Jordan Vogt-Roberts calls in to discuss his breakthrough coming-of-age comedy. And finally Derek Cianfrance of The Place Beyond the Pines describes working alongside Ryan Gosling!

It's a mighty special episode of Cinema Royale to look at two mighty fall season movies that couldn't be more different!! Chris Hemsworth and Tom HIddleston are back in the blockbuster Marvel sequel, Thor: The Dark World! From one superhero movie to a film about a real life hero, the Oscar buzz has been building for Matthew McConaughey in Dallas Buyers Club, in which he plays an AIDS-stricken man who bends the law in a desperate bid for survival. Is it the role that will legitimize McConaughey's career with some Oscar gold? Or is all the hype overblown?

Too...many...movies! Brain...exploding! It's an all movie review sorta show this week as we'll take a look at controversial Palm d'Or winner Blue is the Warmest Color; the old-age comedy Last Vegas; Ender's Game; Kill Your Darlings starring Daniel Radcliffe; and lastly Keanu Reeves' Man of Tai Chi!  

One's a star-studded ensemble crime thriller about a drug dealing lawyer; the other a contemplative character study about one man's fight for survival in the high seas. On this week's episode of Cinema Royale we take a look at two very different fall season heavy-hitters. The first is Ridley Scott's The Counselor, starring Michael Fassbender, Brad Pitt, Penelope Cruz, Javier Bardem and Cameron Diaz. The other film we'll take a look at is the survival drama, All Is Lost, starring Robert Redford and directed by J.C. Chandor. Both movies are expected to be factors in the Oscar race, but which one is most deserving of acclaim?

The Oscar race is here, and on this week's show we'll look at the film many have already declared this year's Best Picture winner, Steve McQueen's 12 Years A Slave! Plus, we sit down with Splice and Cube director Vincenzo Natali to talk about his latest film, Haunter, a ghost story starring Abigail Breslin.

Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity has struck a fierce debate amongst critics and audiences alike over its technical accuracy and Oscar chances, but is there a larger, more significant debate that needs to be had?  Tim Gordon of the Black Reel Awards  calls in to discuss the lack of racial diversity in the science-fiction genre. Plus, reviews of Academy Award-hopeful Captain Phillips, and the not-so-awards-hopeful Machete Kills!

She's starred with Bruce Willis, Sylvester Stallone, and Steven Seagal, and now "Scream Queen" Danielle Harris joins Cinema Royale to talk about her fan-favorite career, her love of horror movies, and her latest film, Shiver!

James Cameron called Alfonso Cuaron's ambitious sci-fi epic Gravity the "best space film ever done", and on this week's show explore whether the phenomenal praise is truly deserved. Is it really the game changer many have proclaimed it to be? Plus, director Peter Landesman calls in to talk about his new film, the JFK assassination drama Parkland, starring Zac Efron, Billy Bob Thornton, and Paul Giamatti.