Elizabeth Olsen, Stuart Murdoch and The Terror

The Independent’s entertainment newsletter [View in browser]( [The Independent]( May 07, 2022 [The Independent]( Written by Louis Chilton   The IndyArts Newsletter   Hello, and welcome back to the IndyArts newsletter. I’m Louis Chilton, filling in again for the week. It may have only been four days, but it’s been a pretty eventful week all round, hasn’t it? We’ve seen [big losses for the government in local elections](, a [shocking on-stage altercation at the Hollywood Bowl](, and for any football fans, the ever-enjoyable sight of Man City getting knocked out of the European Cup. For the first time in nine years, there’s a Sam Raimi film out at the cinemas – Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness – and he’s not the only auteur making a comeback. James Cameron has finally given fans a first look at his sequel to Avatar, a mere 12 years after the original was released. The trailer’s not out online yet, but you can see it in cinemas before screenings of Multiverse, or read our review [here](. It’s also only a few days until Everything Everywhere All at Once is finally out in the UK, which has been getting some seriously effusive word-of-mouth reviews on Twitter. Landmark erotic thriller 'Basic Instinct' celebrates its 30th anniversary this year (Columbia Tristar Pictures)   What’s been happening on the culture desk this week? Craig McLean [interviewed Stuart Murdoch, frontman of Scottish pop-rock outfit Belle and Sebastian](. Oliver Keens suffered through a full week of the newly launched TalkTV channel (so you didn’t have to) and [documented what he learned](. Tom Fordy wrote an interesting retrospective to [mark the anniversary of Paul Verhoeven’s Basic Instinct](, while Tom Murray [wrote a great piece about the Johnny Depp-Amber Heard trial](, looking at how livestreaming the court proceedings has exacerbated the worst indulgences of the whole media circus.   [The Saturday Interview – Elizabeth Olsen]( [Oscars image]( Olsen: ‘It continues to be a surprise when Marvel want to use me for more projects’ (Getty) For this week’s [Saturday Interview](, Jacob Stolworthy had a lively conversation with Elizabeth Olsen, star of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Among the topics traversed in the piece are the flak directed at Marvel films, her famous sisters’ advice, and why she rarely watches herself on screen. [Oscars image]( Olsen as Wanda Maximoff in 'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness' (Marvel Studios) Read an extract from our Saturday Interview below… I wonder what somebody in her position feels about the criticism directed Marvel’s way in recent years. Most controversially, Martin Scorsese described MCU films as being “closer to theme parks” than cinema, while The Godfather director Francis Ford Coppola described them as “prototypes made over and over and over again to look different”. Olsen says it’s when people “make them seem like a lesser type of art” that she gets frustrated. “I’m not saying we’re making indie art films, but I just think it takes away from our crew, which bugs me,” she says. “These are some of the most amazing set designers, costume designers, camera operators – I feel diminishing them with that kind of criticism takes away from all the people who do award-winning films, that also work on these projects. “From an actor’s point of view, whatever, I get it; I totally understand that there’s a different kind of performance that’s happening. But I do think throwing Marvel under the bus takes away from the hundreds of very talented crew people. That’s where I get a little feisty about that.” [Read the full interview here]( What to binge this week Miki Ishikawa in season two of 'The Terror' (BBC/AMC Film Holdings LLC/Maxine Helfman) The Terror Why did it take The Terror so long to make its way over to the UK? The first season of the acclaimed historical horror-drama only washed up on our shores last March, having debuted in the US back in 2018. Season one merged fact and supernatural fiction in a retelling of Captain Sir John Franklin's lost expedition to the Arctic in 1845. The acting – from a cast that included Jared Harris and Tobias Menzies – was first-rate, as was the bone-deep sense of dread; this was a series unafraid of getting its hands dirty. Season two, which debuted yesterday on BBC Two, tells an entirely new story, set in an American-run Japanese internment camp in WWII. ‘The Terror' season one is available to stream now on Shudder (via Prime Video) Out and about [Middle – National Theatre]( A follow-up to David Eldridge’s 2017 work Beginning, Middle explores the stifling ennui of marital life through the lens of Maggie (Claire Rushbrook) and Gary (Daniel Ryan). Played out in real time, the production swings between extremely funny and desperately sad, painting a bleak, candid picture of a relationship. [Buy tickets here]( [The Misfortune of the English – Orange Tree Theatre]( Based on the true story of the 1936 “Black Forest tragedy”, when five British prep schoolboys died in a blizzard in the German mountains, The Misfortune of the English distinguishes itself thanks to some strong performances, especially from Matthew Tennyson. [Buy tickets here]( [Oklahoma! – Young Vic]( This dark reimagining of Roger and Hammerstein's seminal musical from Daniel Fish forgoes the knee-slapping, square-dancing bonhomie you might ordinarily expect in favour of something slipperier. Per Nicole Vassell's [full review](, the show "dives headfirst into the suffocating bleakness of small-town community life and the male-female relationships that govern them". [Buy tickets here](   Essential reading [The 10 best sex scenes in film]( [The 10 best sex scenes in film]( [Ten out of ten for awkwardness: why we can’t get enough of ‘fremdschämen’]( [Ten out of ten for awkwardness: why we can’t get enough of ‘fremdschämen’]( [Andrew Garfield admits he texted friends during the Oscars after Will Smith slap]( [Andrew Garfield admits he texted friends during the Oscars after Will Smith slap](         If you can spare a minute we’d love your [feedback]( on our newsletters. [The Independent]( Join the conversation or follow us [Facebook]( [Twitter]( Please do not reply directly to this email You are currently registered to receive The Independent's entertainment newsletter. Add us to your safe list of senders. If you do not want to receive The Independent's entertainment newsletter, please [unsubscribe](list_name=IND_Culture_Newsletter_CDP). 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