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Willem Dafoe to Headline “The Process Unlocked” Premiere at Newport Beach Film Festival

By Greer Wylder

September 16, 2026

The Newport Beach Film Festival will host the taping of the pilot episode of "The Process Unlocked" at Witte Hall on Sept. 19, with veteran journalist Jenelle Riley sitting down for an in-depth conversation with actor Willem Dafoe.The new series is a response to a shift in audience appetite. Red carpet interviews built around trivia and games have their place, but viewers are increasingly hungry for something slower and more substantive: real conversation about craft. "The Process Unlocked" delivers that. Rather than a broad career retrospective, each episode digs into specific creative choices, the instinct behind a scene, the vision…

Newport Beach Film Festival Turns 27, and the Lineup Is Stacked

By Greer Wylder

September 16, 2026

The Newport Beach Film Festival celebrates its 27th year this October, screening more than 100 feature films and 250 shorts from 21 countries, once again making it the largest international cinema event on the coast. Running Oct. 15-22, 2026, the festival has tickets on sale now, with the full lineup available at newportbeachfilmfest.com.The Centerpiece selections alone are worth clearing your schedule for. James Gray's "Paper Tiger" pairs Adam Driver with Scarlett Johansson and Miles Teller. Danny Boyle brings "Ink," starring Jack O'Connell, Guy Pearce and Claire Foy. And Martin McDonagh's "Wild Horse Nine" brings together John Malkovich, Sam Rockwell, Steve…

Segerstrom Center’s Y2K-Inspired Movie Mondays Return This Summer

By Greer Wylder

June 26, 2026

Relive the Y2K era this summer as Segerstrom Center for the Arts brings back its popular Movie Mondays series with a nostalgic lineup of late ’90s and early 2000s favorites on the Julianne and George Argyros Plaza.Returning for its 18th year, the complimentary outdoor movie series begins July 6 with The Parent Trap, followed by Men in Black on July 13, How to Train Your Dragon on July 20, The Lizzie McGuire Movie on July 27, and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl on Aug. 3.Guests may arrive beginning at 5:30 p.m., with pre-show activities from…

A Film Festival Putting Neurodivergent Talent Front and Center

By Greer Wylder

April 12, 2026

Blu Star Productions is launching the inaugural Blu Star Film Festival on Saturday, May 2 at The Frida Cinema, with in-person screenings scheduled from 3 to 11 p.m. The festival will also stream online, extending its reach well beyond the theater.The event features the work of eight Southern California production studios made up entirely of neurodivergent adults, many on the autism spectrum. These filmmakers are paid and credited for their work, but their films are often only seen within their own studio communities. This festival changes that, bringing their work to a broader audience in a shared, public setting.Founded by…

Jack Johnson Headlines Two-Night Coast Film & Music Benefit Concert

By Greer Wylder

October 27, 2025

The Coast Film & Music Festival has opened single-day ticket sales for its upcoming festival, taking place November 1–9 at multiple venues throughout Laguna Beach. The seventh annual event launches November 1 at the Rivian South Coast Theater with a screening of The Eyes of Ghana.The festival will conclude with two feature films: Love + War by Academy Award winners Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, and musician Jack Johnson’s The September Sessions.Before becoming a multi-platinum recording artist, Johnson was a prominent surf filmmaker known for Thicker Than Water and The September Sessions. His cinematic style and acoustic soundtrack helped define…