From 2022–2024 Jennifer worked as a Television and Movie News Reporter for Collider.com, covering the latest news in the entertainment industry. This work involved sourcing news and pitching, writing, and editing articles within an hour or less time frame. It also involved coordinating with team members across the world, maintaining a balanced work environment, embedding videos, and using best SEO practices.

Over the course of her time at Collider, Jennifer wrote, edited, and published over one hundred articles. Included below are just three samples of her work. You can find a complete list of articles at https://collider.com/author/jennifer-glynn/

Jennifer is thankful for her time at Collider.

'True Detective: Night Country' Wraps Filming, Showrunner Confirms

By Jennifer Glynn

Published Nov 25, 2023

Summary

• Production on the latest season of True Detective has wrapped, with the final sound mix being completed in the same studio where David Bowie recorded.

• Series writer, director, and showrunner Issa López expressed her excitement and gratitude for the opportunity to work on the hit American crime series.

• True Detective: Night Country is set in Alaska and will star Jodie Foster, Kali Reis, Fiona Shaw, Christopher Eccleston, John Hawkes, Finn Bennett, and Anna Lambe. The series will premiere on HBO on January 14, 2024, with six episodes in the season.

Production on the latest season of True Detective has wrapped up. In a recent post on X (formerly Twitter), series writer, director, and showrunner Issa López announced the final details of the sound mix of True Detective: Night Country have been added, connecting the late David Bowie to the potential success of the upcoming series. In the post, López shared her excitement at finishing production in the same studio where Bowie recorded several tracks, considering the location a good sign for the series. “Today we finished #TrueDetective: Night Country. The final touches in the sound mix we made in the very room where ‘Ziggy Stardust’ was recorded. I just can’t believe how lucky I am. What a perfect, beautiful trip.”

The post was accompanied by an image of the exterior wall of the Trident Studios building, featuring a large plaque awarded by BBC Radio London confirming that Bowie recorded his albums "Hunky Dory and The Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust, and the iconic single Space Oddity" at the studio. In a second accompanying image, López further explained the significance of this. “This is where we mixed the soundtrack. In the very room where my favourite album by my favourite musician was recorded. I mean… come on,” she wrote. “The series was blessed from its very conception, according to me, by the Gods of Cinema.”

López expressed her delight at working on the hit American crime series, thanking everyone involved. “It’s been the most joyous, beautiful, life-changing experience I’ve ever had in filmmaking, and I’ve had some gorgeous shootings,” López, whose writing credits include Todo Mal (2018), Valentina’s Wedding (2018), and Tigers Are Not Afraid (2017), wrote. She then made sure to thank everyone involved in the production, from the “ice that gave us so many gifts” to the Inuit people and HBO.

What Is 'True Detective' About?

Image via HBO

The crime anthology series follows different detective teams based around the United States of America, beginning in Louisiana in Season 1 with a cast featuring Matthew McConaughey, Michael Potts, Woody Harrelson, Michelle Monaghan, and Tory Kittles. True Detective first premiered in January 2014 on HBO with Nic Pizzolatto heading the series as creator and writer.

Season 4, titled True Detective: Night Country is set in Alaska, and will star Jodie Foster, Kali Reis, Fiona Shaw, Christopher Eccleston, John Hawkes, Finn Bennett, and Anna Lambe. The series will premiere on HBO on January 14, 2024, with six episodes in the series as opposed to the usual eight of the previous seasons. Stay tuned to Collider for updates.

'House of the Dragon': Tom Glynn-Carney Addresses Aegon and Joffrey Comparisons

By Jennifer Glynn

Published Oct 17, 2022

Image via HBO

Actor Tom Glynn-Carney has opened up about recent comparisons of his House of the Dragon character to another villainous despot in the franchise, Game of Thrones’ Joffrey Baratheon (played by Jack Gleeson). Glynn-Carney admits that while he can see the similarities, he believes his character is much more complex and hopes for viewers to connect with him.

In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Glynn-Carney has explained that both fans and House of the Dragon executive producers have compared Aegon to Joffrey. After being cast in the role of Aegon Targaryen, the eldest son of the late King Viserys Targaryen (Paddy Considine) and Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke), Glynn-Carney revealed he discussed the likeness of his character to Joffrey Baratheon with the showrunners. “Ryan and Miguel said if we could make any comparisons to [Thrones characters], that he’s the closest to Joffrey,” Glynn-Carney said of his conversation with executive producers Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik.

Glynn-Carney has revealed his character isn’t quite like Gleeson’s when it comes to motives. “[H]e is not an out-and-out psychopath. He’s much more complex. His decisions are due to insecurities and confusion and rage. He’s just bitterly confused and mentally unwell,” Glynn-Carney stated, explaining Aegon’s inability to think prudently as quite different to Joffrey’s sadistic hunger for power and cruelty. The actor went on to further explain that Aegon’s reliance on other people and alcohol has resulted in his poor decision-making capabilities. “As much of a nightmare as Aegon is and how he plays against any form of rules and discipline, he’s pretty defenseless. “He’s so reliant on alcohol that he’s a confused, tangled mess of a man who doesn’t yet know himself. He’s incapable of making decisions that aid him. His entire life, he’s relied on people around him to make sure he’s doing the right thing.” Unfortunately, Glynn-Carney has admitted that thanks to this, Aegon’s “awful decisions” are going to impact everyone.

Image via HBO

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'House of the Dragon' Season 1 Episode 9 Recap: Coup de Throne

The actor has also explained that Aegon’s resentment of his father not wanting him to have power has shaped his character. Both Joffrey and Aegon are the eldest sons in their respective families, and like Joffrey, Aegon’s father Viserys was reluctant to have Aegon take the throne after his death. “He’s grown up with the idea that he doesn’t want power,” Glynn-Carney explained. “He’s a very selfish person because he wants to escape. I think if he was a modern-day person, he’d leave his family and go traveling around Australia and grow some dreadlocks.”

The actor further added that Aegon’s rebellion is not only seen in his recent actions, but in his choice of hairstyle. When speaking to Sapochnik, Glynn-Carney told the producer he felt Aegon’s hair should not match his family’s in terms of length. “I was like, ‘I don’t want him to have long, luscious Targaryen locks, because he hates that.’ Like Aemond [Aegon's brother] is completely reveling in it. Whereas Aegon just throws it away. He was like, ’Take it off!’” He added that he didn’t think his character would allow himself to be defined by his family in any sense, whom he hates “because—in his head—they hate him.”

In the same interview, Glynn-Carney admitted he had reservations about his character after his criminal introduction. In the series, the adult version of Aegon is brought into the House of the Dragon world after sexually assaulting a female servant. “That’s a harsh introduction for any character. “There are questions about whether his heart is in the right place, if he’s a psychopath, or if he’s just confused. It’s tricky because, as an actor, you want the audience to be on your side at least a little,” Glynn-Carney said, voicing concerns that he had hoped he’d be able to get viewers to “connect… at least a little bit” with his character.

Two Game of Thrones actors, Alfie Allen (Theon Greyjoy) and Kit Harington (Jon Snow) were more than happy to offer the new-to-the-franchise actor advice. “The world itself is massive and to remember that you are just a tiny cog of a huge machine,” Harington had advised Glynn-Carney, which reassured him. “It’s the truth, you know? Without the machine, you’re nothing.” On the other hand, the actor said Allen told him to “enjoy it, laugh it up, and use the time to play with it. Especially with this character, there’s a lot to play around with and be a bit mischievous.”

House of the Dragon is currently streaming on HBO Max. Check out the trailer for the finale below.

Discover the VFX Secrets of 'The Killer' in New Behind-the-Scenes Look

By 

Jennifer Glynn

Published Nov 22, 2023

Image via Netflix

Summary

• David Fincher used digital effects in The Killer to achieve a scene that couldn't be filmed, using reference photos and photogrammetry.

• Wylie Co. VFX was tasked with creating close-up, photoreal digi-double shots of Michael Fassbender riding a scooter in the film.

• Photogrammetry was used to ensure the digital Fassbender matched the speed and details of the live-action shots, seamlessly blending CG and real footage.

A breakdown of the digi-double visual effects used in David Fincher’s The Killer has been released. Posted to X (formerly known as Twitter) by Wylie Co. VFX, the short clip reveals how Fincher managed to use reference photos and photogrammetry to achieve an otherwise impossible-to-film scene. The clip is just one of several break-downs expected to be released in the coming weeks.

In the clip, which clocks in at just under a minute-and-a-half, Wylie Co. VFX CEO Jacob Maymudes explains why digital effects were necessary in the film. “The original plan to shoot these shots on a virtual stage didn’t live up to what Fincher had envisioned,” Maymudes, whose company is known for their work on films and series such as Dune: Part 1 and 2, The Marvels, The Last of Us, and Extraction 2, says. Approached by creators Eric Barba, Peter Mavromates, and Fincher, the company was to “create close-up, photoreal digi-double shots of Michael Fassbender riding a scooter.” These shots would need to “seamlessly cut back-to-back between live-action shots of The Killer on set.” To add extra complexity to the already difficult task, very few reference photos were available, and no HDRIs (High Dynamic Range Image) or “usable array footage” existed.

Maymudes explained that although complex, his team were able to achieve a realistic scene focusing on one detail at a time. To begin with, the team focused on the Killer character himself (Fassbender), creating the fine facial detail beneath his helmet before moving on to cloth simulations. In the clip, it is shown how each layer was created this way, focusing at first on the basic face shape before adding finer details such as pupils and eyelashes, then skin tone. Creating the lighting and checking the Look Dev was also completed once the facial details were finalised.

How Was Photogrammatery Used in The Killer?

The Killer digi-double visual effects sequence & breakdown. This is our first of many breakdown reels we're going to post on X for our VFX work on The Killer. pic.twitter.com/nZuWX9Tafr — Wylie Co. VFX (@wyliecovfx) November 21, 2023

Photogrammetry was revealed to be a key component of achieving “the ultimate goal of nobody noticing.” Once the character and scooter were created, the team used the process of creating 3D digital models from overlapping photographs of an object or structure to ensure the digital Fassbender was travelling at the correct speed to match the cascading streetlights he was travelling past. This is most evident in the clip with the close-ups of the lights reflected on his helmet, as well as the wheels and front handlebars of the scooter. It is also clear to see in the way the scooter’s headlamps meet the pavement and hit the buildings and other vehicles, particularly as Fassbender rounds corners. By using photogrammetry, the team were able to successfully cut the “nearly full” high-resolution CG shots into the live-action sequence.

Originally released at the Venice International Film Festival in September before moving to Netflix on November 10, 2023, The Killer is an action-thriller based on Alexis ‘Matz’ Nolent’s graphic novels of the same name. The film focuses on an assassin (Fassbender) who must evade authorities after mistakenly taking out the wrong target. Directed by Fincher, the film stars Fassbender, Arliss Howard, Tilda Swinton, Charles Parnell, Sophie Charlotte, Kerry O’Malley, and Sala Baker.

The Killer is currently streaming on Netflix. You can check out the official trailer below.