Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar’s stylish output is such that he’s almost a genre to himself. His latest movie, The Skin I Live In, is not only his first film with star Antonio Banderas in many years, but it also marks a certain return to provocative form, so deliciously warped are its plot pivots. At the core of it, though, is a stirring performance from Elena Anaya, who plays Vera, the mysterious captive of Banderas’ rich surgeon, Dr. Robert Ledgard. Revelations about the depth and nature of their relationship are a big part of what drive the movie, but it suffices to say that Vera’s situation is rife with layered trauma, making for a character with never clearly telegraphed motivations. I recently had a chance to speak to Anaya one-on-one, in her charmingly accented English, about some of the spoiler-ish specifics of her role, the comfort of her skin-tight costume and discovery of yoga for production, and more. The conversation is excerpted over at ShockYa, so click here for the read.

The Twilight films may set teenage hearts aflutter, but the HBO series True Blood is the franchise by which a lot more diehard vampire fans swear. For Stephen Moyer, it’s a dream gig — heck, it even landed him on the cover of Rolling Stone. In the new espionage thriller The Double, British-born Moyer swaps out his accent to play an imprisoned Russian spy/assassin, Brutus, who comes face to face with the man (Richard Gere) who put him in prison. I recently had a chance to participate in a press day for the film, and chat with Moyer about his small screen hit, his new film, the challenges of shooting out of order, and the exciting insanity of his producing debut, starring True Blood castmate and offscreen wife Anna Paquin. The conversation is excerpted over at ShockYa, so click here for the read.

Many improvements went into the positive reception that Captain America: The First Avenger enjoyed this summer — a 79% fresh-certified rating on Rotten Tomatoes, compared to the risible 11% rating that its predecessor, from 1992, pulled — including some fairly persuasive body-mapping technology on the pre-transformation character of Steve Rogers, played by Chris Evans. But surely a big portion of credit also rests with the characterization of Red Skull (Hugo Weaving), Captain America’s frightening and forthrightly named nemesis. That challenge — of crafting a practical makeup fix that was scary but, more importantly, visually iconic — fell upon prosthetics makeup designer David White. I recently had a chance to submit a few questions to White via email. The responses are excerpted over at ShockYa, so click here for the read.