| The Ultimate Warrior | Rereleases |
It’s not every day you turn 350. But I like to think Total Film still looks good on it, and being able to put out a print mag in this day and age is a privilege that’s not lost on us. We had to mark the occasion of our 350th in some way – without it descending into a complete navel-gazing love-in – so we did what we’ve always done, really, which is focus on the films. We sat down as a team and pored over all 349 previous covers to select the 10 best movies that have ever fronted TF.
It wasn’t easy to narrow it down, but we’ve ended up with a list of 10 certifiable bangers that represent the highlights of more than 25 years of publishing. And, because we didn’t want to let ourselves off the hook that easily (and, honestly, it’s as fun to look back on the WTFs as much as the soaring successes), we’ve also selected the worst films to have ever graced our front page, including one stinker that actually appeared in that premium position twice. We’d love to hear what your picks would’ve been, so drop us a line if any cover stories are particularly close to your heart (or if there are any that make you gasp, ‘What the hell were you thinking?’). But that’s just one feature in another packed issue. It feels fitting to have a spin-off to one of the best films of our lifetime on the cover this month -Jordan Farley is speaking to the stars and filmmakers behind Furiosa, the epic origin story of Mad Max: Fury Road’s breakout character. Plus, we’ve also got you covered on Star Wars: The Acolyte, Richard Linklater’s Hit Man, Viggo Mortensen, Atlas, Doctor Who and Benedict Cumberbatch’s new Netflix show. As much as we love looking back on our past, we’ll never not be excited about the future of movies.
Enjoy the issue!
CALL SHEET
THIS ISSUE’S EXTRAS
DEPUTY EDITOR
JORDAN FARLEY @JORDANFARLEY
Chris Hemsworth had been to the Grand Prix the day we spoke about Furiosa for our cover feature: ‘When they say, “Start your engines,” and everything fires up… I was like, “This is like a normal day on a Mad Max set.”’
REVIEWS EDITOR
MATTHEW LEYLAND @TOTALFILM_MATTL
Doing interviews for Star Wars: The Acolyte was a blast. Had a cat-off with Amandla Stenberg (hers demanded more attention!) and discussed two of my fave topics with Charlie Barnett: Carrie Fisher and Scotch eggs.
EDITOR-AT-LARGE (ACTING NEWS EDITOR)
JAMIE GRAHAM @JAMIE_GRAHAM9
The last time I interviewed Viggo Mortensen, he told me off for asking too many (three) Lord of the Rings questions. Turn to page 54 to see how he responded this time…
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
KEVIN HARLEY @KEVINSHARLEY
Had a lovely Zoom chat with Doctor Who’s Ncuti Gatwa, Millie Gibson and Russell T Davies about everything from the Doc’s wardrobe to Cherry’s tea, all fuelled by the added Artron energy of copious Mini Eggs.
CONTRIBUTOR
SIMON BLAND @SITWEETSTOO
I had a ball reassessing 1994’s The Flintstones with director Brian Levant. A wall of retro figures flanked him during our Zoom chat and he revealed he has an entire room dedicated to Bedrock-based geekery.
NEWS EDITOR
LAUREN MILES @LAUREN_M1LES
It has been an absolute pleasure to join the Total Film team this month as News Editor. I can’t wait to bring you previews of the most exciting upcoming films!