Collider Ladies Night & Collider Forces – Details, episodes & analysis

While Natalie Dormer’s filmography does rock quite a few standout projects and roles, when she first started her journey in screen acting, she quickly recognized the fact that there weren’t enough “three-dimensional, fleshed-out female protagonists." She explained, “You would be sent the script for ‘the girlfriend,’ ‘the wife,’ or ‘the antagonist,’ and the majority was so two-dimensional.” However, that’s changed considerably over the years. “Now when you're scrolling on whatever platform you're watching and seeing the amount of fleshed-out, three-dimensional, anti-heroic female protagonists … it's just night and day.” It’s night and day, indeed. You want some proof? Go check out Dormer’s latest film, The Wasp.

Dormer stars opposite Naomie Harris in the stage-to-screen adaptation as two estranged school friends, Carla and Heather, who reunite and get involved in some rather diabolical events. As Dormer put it, they’re “women who are both capable of profound darkness and profound vulnerability,” a combination that consistently tests your nerves and allegiance all through the film.

With the twisted psychological thriller now playing in theaters, Dormer joined me for a Collider Ladies Night conversation to discuss some influential moments in her career that paved the way to embracing the opportunity to portray such an angry yet vulnerable character in The Wasp.

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I walked away from Fantastic Fest 2023 calling Strange Darling my favorite film of the festival. Had it received a 2023 release date, it would have been one of my top films of the year. Now it’s August 2024 and nothing has changed. I’d be utterly shocked if Strange Darling didn’t land in my Top 10 of 2024, and I’d also be shocked if I didn’t close out the year calling Willa Fitzgerald’s work in the film one of my favorite performances of, not just 2024, but of recent years.

Fitzgerald and Kyle Gallner headline the movie as The Lady and The Demon. It’s a story loaded with brilliantly crafted twists and turns from writer-director JT Mollner and the team, so we’ll keep the plot synopsis simple; the two have a one-night-stand and it kicks off a murder spree.

I’ve been itching to get Fitzgerald on Collider Ladies Night since Strange Darling’s world premiere screening in September 2023, and now the time has finally come. With Strange Darling now playing in theaters, she joined me for a Ladies Night chat which, yes, included some Scream TV Series talk, but also heavily focused on her exquisite work in Strange Darling.

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Getting a breakout role in film and television is the dream for many aspiring actors, but just as important are the projects one chooses to take after that breakout gig. Given the business’ habit of boxing artists into the first thing the world sees them do well, it can be a great challenge to amass a diverse body of work. How does one steer clear of those limitations and carve a path forward with volume and diversity? Perhaps by taking a cue from Kaya Scodelario.

Scodelario’s star began to soar via her work as Effy Stonem in the hit British teen series, Skins. After doing four seasons of the show, Scodelario began to pick up other television and film credits, credits ranging from Hollywood blockbusters like 2010’s Clash of the Titans to Andrea Arnold’s Wuthering Heights, which celebrated its big debut at the 2011 Venice Film Festival before going on to other top tier fests like the Toronto International Film Festival and Sundance.

Over a decade later, Scodelario still enjoys a vast range of work. She headlined the 2019 horror gem Crawl, jumped into a popular game franchise with Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, and then did the Christmas romantic comedy, This Is Christmas. Yet another vastly different standout credit on her resume? The new Guy Ritchie Netflix series, The Gentlemen, a kinetic crime comedy that's enjoying a good deal of Emmy buzz this season. 

Inspired by Ritchie’s 2019 film, The Gentlemen series stars Theo James as Edward Horniman. After his father passes, Eddie inherits the family estate and becomes Duke of Halstead. As if all that isn’t enough to process, Eddie is soon made aware that his father secretly made an arrangement with Bobby Glass’ (Ray Winstone) weed empire. If Eddie continues to let them grow their product below ground on his property, he'll get large sums of money in return, money Eddie needs given the state of the family farm and his brother’s (Daniel Ings) habit of accumulating massive debts with dangerous figures. The person in charge of this weed empire while Bobby is in prison? His daughter, Scodelario’s Susie Glass.

In celebration of The Gentlemen’s successful Season 1 run, Scodelario joined me for an episode of Collider Ladies Night to retrace her steps from breaking out via Skins to starring in an acclaimed Guy Ritchie production.

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Jenny Slate, Dean Fleischer Camp, and Nick Paley did it. They took the 2010 internet sensation, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On the short film, and expanded the concept into a full feature. And they didn’t just figure out a way to make it work. They crafted a deeply moving exploration of connection and community, far exceeding expectations and delivering a film that’s currently a favorite of 2022.

In the new movie, Marcel, a talking shell with shoes on voiced by Slate, is living with his Nana Connie (voiced by Isabella Rossellini) in a home being used as an Airbnb. They used to be part of a thriving community there, but their loved ones vanished, challenging Marcel and Connie to figure out how to survive on their own as tiny shells in a big house while also coping with their loss. However, when a documentary filmmaker (Camp) moves in, Marcel winds up with an unexpected opportunity to try to track down their loved ones.

With Marcel the Shell with Shoes On getting an expanded theatrical release on July 15th, I got the chance to chat with Slate about the movie and so much more during an episode of Collider Ladies Night.

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Stranger Things features a number of powerful character arcs, but a personal favorite of the bunch is Nancy Wheeler’s evolution from timid student finding her way in the high school social scene to a sheer force who’s willing to throw herself into danger to fight for her loved ones. That epic transformation is exactly what we break down in this new edition of Collider Ladies Night with Nancy Wheeler herself, Natalia Dyer.

In Season 1 of Stranger Things, Nancy is inspired to step up and face the Upside Down after Barb’s (Shannon Purser) disappearance. It’s a mighty powerful early point of change for the character, and it's something that the Duffer Brothers continued to build upon as Nancy’s circle of loved ones grew and as the threat of the Upside Down intensified. Throughout much of Season 2, Nancy teams with Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) to expose Hawkins Lab, and then in Season 3, she applies that tenacity to overcoming intense disrespect from the staff of the Hawkins Post to see an investigation through that proves vital to battling the Mind Flayer.

As we see in Stranger Things 4, Episode 9, “The Piggyback,” every single character proves vital to the plan to defeat Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower), but Nancy in particular shows off an especially essential ability to assess the threat and figure out what's necessary to power through the mission, a quality that will undoubtedly be crucial to saving Hawkins in the show’s final season.

Hear all about Dyer's journey from discovering her passion for acting to becoming a Netflix powerhouse on this episode of Collider Ladies Night!

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Claudia Doumit is on fire as Victoria Neuman in Season 3 of The Boys. She did make a big impression when she was first introduced in Season 2 of the Prime Video series, but we had to wait nearly the entire season to see what Neuman was really capable of. Now, in Season 3, not only is Neuman less secretive about her head-popping ability, but she’s also proving to be one of the most complex characters to track.

Neuman may convey a certain set of goals and values to the public, but deep down, she’s got a top-secret agenda that she’s determined to see through to protect her daughter, Zoe (Olivia Morandin).

You don’t become this skilled at conveying multiple emotions and intentions in a single moment without some serious training and experience, and Doumit has certainly put in the work in that respect. With Season 3 of The Boys now available to stream in its entirety, Doumit joined us for an episode of Collider Ladies Night Pre-Party to recap how she went from getting rejected from acting schools in Australia to starring in one of the hottest shows on Prime Video.

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Geena Davis is a force in this industry. Not only is she a hugely talented Academy Award-winner with a slew of iconic titles on her filmography like Thelma & Louise, A League of Their Own, Beetlejuice, and more, but she’s also actively working to change this industry for the better via the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media and also through the Bentonville Film Festival. If that’s not the definition of a perfect guest for Collider Ladies Night, I don’t know what is!

With Bentonville having just celebrated its eighth year, Davis took the time to join me for a Collider Ladies Night interview to revisit some of her past titles and discuss exactly how those experiences sparked the goals she fights for today.

Find out what she had to see about Beetlejuice, Thelma and Louise, and so much more on this edition of Collider Ladies Night!

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The cast of Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy was electric in Season 1. One’s got to imagine it’s a challenge to join such an ensemble and encourage the audience to fall for your character just as hard, but Ritu Arya did just that in the second season as Lila Pitts.

When we first meet Lila in the hit Netflix series, her adoptive mother, The Handler (Kate Walsh), has her assisting in her mission to overthrow the authority at The Commission so she can assume control. However, after succeeding in that plan, Lila comes to learn that The Handler is responsible for the murder of her biological mother and stepfather, putting their entire relationship in question. Diego (David Castañeda) and the Umbrellas try to convince Lila that they can be her family, but after The Handler is shot, Lila opts to take off with the briefcase.

Season 3 picks up immediately after the events of Season 2 with the Umbrellas making their way home sweet home to present-day New York — or so they think. Their home now belongs to The Sparrow Academy, an alternative version of their super-powered family. Ultimately, Lila does make her way back to the group to test this notion of family in an unexpected way; she tells Diego that they had a son together, Stanley (Javon Walton).

With The Umbrella Academy Season 3 now available to watch — or, let’s get real, to binge on Netflix, Arya joined us for an episode of Collider Ladies Night Pre-Party to retrace her steps in the industry and discuss how she scored a role on one of the streamer’s hottest shows.

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Sadie Sink’s star is soaring. And it has been ever since Stranger Things 2 hit Netflix in October of 2017. But since, Sink has made the absolute most of every single opportunity to come her way, proving her boundless range and astronomical promise in this industry. 

Not only is she a sheer force in her first lead role in a feature film playing Ziggy in Fear Street 1978, but she also shines in Taylor Swift’s All Too Well: The Short Film, will star in Darren Aronofsky’s next film, The Whale, and, to top it all off, she delivers what I truly believe is an Emmy nomination-worthy performance in Stranger Things 4. Sink is a true standout in front of the camera, so it’s shocking to think that there was a time when Sink envisioned her career being solely on the stage, not on screen.

While we wait for Strange Things 4 Volume 2 to drop on Netflix on July 1st, Sink joined me for an episode of Collider Ladies Night to recap her journey from her earliest inspirations to Stranger Things megastar.

Hear all about her time working on the stage, how she made the pivot to screen, what she imagines Max went through between Stranger Things 3 and 4, what it was like filming "Dear Billy," and so much more in this interview!

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If you've binged Prime Video's The Summer I Turned Pretty, I'm willing to bet you want to know everything about the film's star, newcomer Lola Tung! If you fit that description, you've come to the right place. In this episode of Collider Ladies Night Pre-Party, we recap how Tung went from playing the Tin Man in a school production of The Wizard of Oz to headlining the latest Jenny Han adaption for Amazon.

Tung leads the series as Belly, a teenager who always spends her summers at Cousins Beach with her family and their close friends the Fishers. Belly's always been the youngest of the bunch, the little sister to her brother Steven (Sean Kaufman) and also to the Fisher boys, Conrad (Christopher Briney) and Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno). That kind of connection and coming-of-age awkwardness hasn't done much for Belly's crush on Conrad, but this summer is different. This is the summer Belly "turned pretty."

Check out this The Summer I Turned Pretty interview to get to know Tung and to hear all about her journey from studying drama in school to tackling her very first professional acting gig.

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