Entertainment
How 'Shōgun' cinematographer Sam McCurdy helps create a visual portrait
Cinematographer Sam McCurdy knew he was part of something special during his nearly year-long tenure on FX’s “Shōgun,” where he shot five episodes of the 10-part historical epic set in 1600s Japan. But the U.K. native noticed something different leading up to its premiere as the network rolled out one of its biggest campaigns to launch a show in recent history.
“I remember driving into Los Angeles from Altadena going over the canyon roads, and somewhere in the middle of Glendale there were posters for the show,” he says. “I was like, ‘Oh, they made it way out here. That’s really cool.’ And I remember seeing trailers at the cinema too. There was something that felt old-school about ‘Shōgun.’ It was more like an event.”
The sprawling reach paid off, both critically and among audiences, as the premiere broke FX domestic and international streaming records. When Emmy nominations were announced, the success continued as creators Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo told the L.A. Times’ Tracy Brown it was “surreal” for “Shōgun” to lead the way with 25 nominations, including nods for series, acting, production design, costume design, sound, editing and visual effects.
“We don’t do this for the awards, we do it because we love the work,” says McCurdy, who was nominated for the gripping, albeit harrowing episode “Crimson Sky,” in which one of the series’ more beloved characters dies. “But I will be eternally grateful to production designer Helen Jarvis and costume designer Carlos Rosario for putting a kind of quality in front of the camera that I hadn’t seen for years. It was breathtaking. The costumes, the set design, everything was just incredible to photograph every day.”
Production nestled in British Columbia connecting with the lush Canadian surroundings for exteriors, including an old cedar mill to fill in for the fishing village of Osaka, while Mammoth Studios in Burnaby was home to the ornate sets built for the palace quarters, ceremonial hall and samurai houses. Cinematographer Christopher Ross established the visual table in the first two episodes (the pilot “Anjin” earned him his own Emmy nom) and it was up to McCurdy to expand the language to support a magnetic story of civil unrest among five council regents ruling the country, with two of them — Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada) and Ishido (Takehiro Hira) — in a chess match for power.
Cosmo Jarvis as John Blackthorne and Anna Sawai as Toda Mariko in “Shōgun.”
(Katie Yu / FX)
McCurdy also illuminated a blooming relationship between a captured Englishman named John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis) and an interpreter in Lady Toda Mariko (Anna Sawai), which peaks in Episode 4, “The Eightfold Fence.” Teaming with director Frederick E.O. Toye, the pair discussed a theme of romance. “That gave us a shorthand for the visual language that was gentler and softer, where the camera movement was always around them trying to bring them together,” notes McCurdy. Highlighting the dance were scenes of Blackthorne and Mariko conversing atop a rocky outcrop and later in a softly lit natural pool before eventually sharing a bed. The cinematographer composed shots with longer lenses and had characters share the frame to outline their affection. “I like to think we did it subtly enough for viewers to take it on as a wave of feeling as opposed to us being pragmatic with our rules,” he says.
However, the relationship comes to a halt when Mariko’s husband, Buntaro (Shinnosuke Abe), thought to have been killed, unexpectedly returns. “Episode 5 was the breakup and we go with more visceral, harder framing,” McCurdy says. A perfect example of the stylistic choice occurs during a tense dinner scene where Blackthorne attempts to outdrink Buntaro while sharing war stories. It leads to Buntaro showing off his archery skills by having Mariko stand outdoors in the pathway. The shots narrowly miss her as he aims for the garden beyond. “The camera movement becomes more rigid and pointed then,” McCurdy notes. “Instead of gliding into a closeup, we go to a closeup and stay or move around to change your perspective.”
For Episode 7, “A Stick of Time,” which sees Toranaga’s half-brother enter the fray, an almost monochromatic color palette was introduced with the entire episode devoid of sunlight. “If it wasn’t for the firelight, it is almost a black-and-white episode,” McCurdy says. “In prep, Justin [Marks] had noted that ‘a mist rolls into town,’ and when I spoke to him about it he said it was the prevailing mist that was going to take over for the rest of the episodes. So we wanted to embrace the British Columbia climate and dig into the mist, the rain, the dirt, the mud and everything else. That was like music to my ears.” The painterly aesthetic was helmed by Japanese filmmaker Takeshi Fukunaga, who brought his own sensibilities to set. “He had a real way of dealing with the cast that was unlike anybody else,” McCurdy says. “It was the first time the cast could sit and chat in their own language and you could really feel the ease and how comfortable everyone was.”
In “Crimson Sky,” McCurdy sought to “drive the Mariko story” by showcasing “the weight the character earned through the rest of the season.” What it meant was lensing a visual narrative around Mariko’s strength and connecting the camera to her perspective. “We were going to treat Mariko very singularly,” he says. “She was going to stand proud of everybody else in the great hall scene, in the fight sequence or anywhere within her own space.” The resulting decision comes in a pinnacle moment when Mariko tries to lead her retinue out of Osaka only to be stopped by castle guards. With each shot, including overhead views, the camera reinforces Mariko’s bold ambitions as she becomes the focal point of the story
Even with each episode meticulously planned, McCurdy gave way to the performances, especially in Episode 10 when Blackthorne invites Usama Fiji (Moeka Hoshi) to say goodbye to her infant child who was sentenced to death as part of her husband’s seppuku. “The time between Episodes 4 and 5 and 9 and 10 gave us a chance to know how to subtly play with the characters,” notes McCurdy. “It’s a scene where you naturally respond to the performance and you don’t want to force anything. You don’t want to over-cover it so that it becomes a fiasco in the edit. The cast always informed us how we were going to photograph something, and it was always about their performances.”
Entertainment
Stagecoach 2026: How to watch Friday’s livestream with Cody Johnson, Ella Langley, Bailey Zimmerman
Choosin’ to stay home instead of trekking out to Indio for this weekend’s Stagecoach festival? Don’t worry, you’ll be able to listen to all the country music your heart desires. You can get your country heartbreak on with Ella Langley, Bailey Zimmerman and Cody Johnson, and then rock out with Counting Crows. If you prefer EDM, you can catch Diplo and Dillstradamus (Dillon Francis and Flosstradamus) as Friday’s closing acts.
The festival will be livestreamed on Amazon Music, Amazon Prime Video and Twitch beginning at 3 p.m. On Sirius XM’s The Highway (channel 56), you can listen to exclusive interviews and live performances along with a special edition of the Music Row Happy Hour. The station Y’Allternative will also be covering the festival on Friday evening.
Here are updated set times for the Stagecoach livestream Friday performances (times presented are PDT):
Channel 1
3:05 p.m. Noah Rinker; 3:25 p.m.; Adrien Nunez; 4 p.m. Ole 60; 4:25 p.m. Avery Anna; 5 p.m. Chase Rice; 5:55 p.m. Nate Smith; 6:50 p.m. Ella Langeley; 7:50 p.m. Bailey Zimmerman; 8:55 p.m. the Red Clay Strays; 10 p.m. Cody Johnson; 11:30 p.m. Diplo
Channel 2
3:05 p.m. Neon Union; 3:25 p.m. Larkin Poe; 4 p.m. Marcus King Band; 4:50 p.m. Lyle Lovett; 5:35 p.m. BigXthaPlug; 6:30 p.m. Noah Cyrus; 7 p.m. Wynonna Judd; 8 p.m. Counting Crows; 8:50 p.m. Sam Barber; 10 p.m. Dan + Shay; 10:45 p.m. Diplo featuring Juicy J; 11:05 p.m. Rebecca Black; 11:45 p.m. Dillstradamus
Sirius XM Music Row Happy Hour
1 p.m. Avery Anna; 2 p.m. Nate Smith; 2:30 p.m. Josh Ross; 3 p.m. Cody Johnson; 3:30 p.m. Gabriella Rose; 5:15 p.m. Nate Smith; 7:50 p.m. Bailey Zimmerman; 9:30 p.m. Cody Johnson; 11 p.m. Diplo
Sirius XM Y’Allternative
5 p.m. Ole 60; 6 p.m. Larkin Poe; 7 p.m. Marcus King Band; 8 p.m. Sam Barber
Movie Reviews
Movie Review: The Mortuary Assistant – HorrorFuel.com: Reviews, Ratings and Where to Watch the Best Horror Movies & TV Shows
Forget the “video game movie” curse; The Mortuary Assistant is a bone-chilling triumph that stands entirely on its own two feet. Starring Willa Holland (Arrow) as Rebecca Owens, the film follows a newly certified mortician whose “overtime shift” quickly devolves into a grueling battle for her soul.
What Makes It Work
The film expertly balances the stomach-churning procedural work of embalming with a spiraling demonic nightmare. Alongside a mysterious mentor played by Paul Sparks (Boardwalk Empire), Rebecca is forced to confront both ancient evils and her own buried traumas. And boy, does she have a lot of them.
Thanks to a full-scale, practical River Fields Mortuary set, the film drips with realism, like you can almost smell the rot and bloat of the bodies through the screen.
The skin effects are hauntingly accurate. The way the flesh moves during surgical scenes is so visceral. I’ve seen a lot of flesh wounds in horror films and in real life, and the bodies, skin, and organs. The Mortuary Assistant (especially in the opening scene) looks so real that I skipped supper after watching it. And that’s saying something. Your girl likes to eat.
Co-written by the game’s creator, Brian Clarke, the movie dives deeper into the demonic mythology. Whether you’ve seen every ending or don’t know a scalpel from a trocar, the story is perfectly self-contained. If you’ve never played the game, or played it a hundred times, the film works equally well, which is hard to do when it comes to game adaptations.
Nailed It
This film does a lot of things right, but the isolation of the night shift is suffocating. Between the darkness of the hallways and the “residents” that refuse to stay still, the film delivers a relentlessly immersive experience. And thankfully, although this movie is filled with dark rooms and shadows, it’s easy to see every little thing. Don’t you hate it when a movie is so dark that you can’t see what’s happening? It’s one of my pet peeves.
The oh-so-awesome Jeremiah Kipp directs the film and has made something absolutely nightmare-inducing. Kipp recently joined us for an interview, took us inside the film, discussed its details and the game’s lore, and so much more. I urge you to check out our interview. He’s awesome!
The Verdict
This isn’t just a cash-grab; it’s a high-effort adaptation that respects the source material while elevating the horror genre. With incredible special effects and a powerhouse cast, it’s the kind of movie that will make you rethink working late ever again. Dropping on Friday the 13th, this is a must-watch for horror fans. It’s grisly, intelligent, and genuinely terrifying.
Entertainment
Former Live Nation executive says he was fired after raising ‘financial misconduct’ concerns
A former executive at Live Nation, the world’s largest live entertainment company, is suing the company, alleging that he was wrongfully terminated after he raised concerns about alleged financial misconduct and improper accounting practices.
Nicholas Rumanes alleges he was “fraudulently induced” in 2022 to leave a lucrative position as head of strategic development at a real estate investment trust to create a new role as executive vice president of development and business practice at Beverly Hills-based Live Nation.
In his new position, Rumanes said, he raised “serious and legitimate alarm” over the the company’s business practices.
As a result, he says, he was “unlawfully terminated,” according to the lawsuit filed Thursday in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
“Rumanes was, simply put, promised one job and forced to accept another. And then he was cut loose for insisting on doing that lesser job with integrity and honesty,” according to the lawsuit.
He is seeking $35 million in damages.
Representatives for Live Nation were not immediately available for comment.
The lawsuit comes a week after a federal jury in Manhattan found that Live Nation and its Ticketmaster subsidiary had operated a monopoly over major concert venues, controlling 86% of the concert market.
Rumanes’ lawsuit describes a “culture of deception” at Live Nation, saying its “basic business model was to misstate and exaggerate financial figures in efforts to solicit and secure business.”
Such practices “spanned a wide spectrum of projects in what appeared to be a company-wide pattern of financial misrepresentation and misleading disclosures,” the lawsuit states.
Rumanes says he received materials and documents that showed that the company inflated projected revenues across multiple venue development projects.
Additionally, Rumanes contends that the company violated a federal law that requires independent financial auditing and transparency and instead ran Live Nation “through a centralized, opaque structure” that enables it to “bypass oversight and internal checks and balances.”
In 2010, as a condition of the Live Nation-Ticketmaster merger, the newly formed company agreed to a consent decree with the government that prohibited the firm from threatening venues to use Ticketmaster. In 2019 the Justice Department found that the company had repeatedly breached the agreement, and it extended the decree.
Rumanes contends that he brought his concerns to the attention of the company’s management, but his warnings were “repeatedly ignored.”
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