Film tips

Filmmaker. Academy Award Winner. Knight. Sir Ridley Scott is not short on titles; and now, the Napoleon director can also add hotelier to the list with Mas des Infermières, a historic winery and vineyard with vacation residences in the heart of Provence, France. Owned and operated by Scott and his family, this charming Luberon address sits on the fringes of the medieval hilltop village of Oppède-le-Vieux and has been in the Scott family for over 30 years. The estate’s first independent vintage was recently released in 2020.

As a travel and food writer, I am beyond lucky that my work takes me to dozens of dreamy destinations both near and far each year. But the very best trips make me reluctant to walk out the door for the last time, wishing I could hit a rewind button and begin the trip all over again even while I’m still there.

Whether you plan on spending the last few days of the year relaxing in front of the screen for some well-deserved rest, or plotting out your next travel adventure for 2024, there’s nothing like some armchair traveling to get you inspired. 

While mostly known for directing and writing films such as ‘ Orlando ,’ filmmaker Sally Potter’s other talents have shined in many projects, including stepping in front of the camera and acting (and dancing) in ‘ The Tango Lesson ’ as well as composing the scores for many of her films. Now with her debut album ‘ Pink Bikini ’ Potter sings songs she composed about her teenage years in the 1960s with themes of growing sexuality and the fear of nuclear war. I spoke with Potter about he inspiration for making the album, the differences in songwriting and filmmaking and the wines she would love to drink — if she only could.

Before there was Massimo Bottura, another man ran Modena and his name was Enzo Ferrari. The racing driver-turned-entrepreneur has a name that's instantly recognizable thanks to the automobile company he founded to what we now know to be a great success. But prosperity was neither immediate nor constant for Enzo, and it is with such a period of turbulence in the man's life that the new film Ferrari is concerned. Set in Modena in 1957, Ferrari was filmed almost entirely in the Northern Italian city and its surroundings.

Hallmark's "One Royal Holiday" is set in a fictional town called Kentsbury — but in reality, the 2020 movie was filmed in Woodstock, Connecticut, where I grew up.

Although it has been years since I’ve traveled in mesmerizing Tokyo, my memories are as vivid as though they had been sparked yesterday—pleasures aswirl in unique flavors and noises, creativity and ingenuity. So when luxury publisher Assouline released the new book Tokyo Chic, I dove into its 312 lush-paper-stock pages, with more than 200 photographs and illustrations, which are bound in an outsize (10-by-13-inches, 6.4-pound) format—a hefty hardcover wrapped in silk. The brainchild of Andrea Fazzari, whose deft imagery and words are love letters to the inimitable capital, Tokyo Chic showcases a massively enthralling—yet strikingly intimate—city. Currently based in Tokyo, Fazzari is a James Beard Award-winning photographer, author and restaurant maven with notable backgrounds in fashion and film. Born in New York City, she has lived in France, Hong Kong, Italy, Spain and Thailand—and speaks four languages. What a sophisticated guide to have at your armchair traveler’s fingertips! Indeed, this coffee table tome would make a treasured holiday gift for those who have already vacationed in Japan or simply dream of doing so.

Christmas has come early: National Geographic has announced that Stanley Tucci will be returning to our screens in 2024. Almost exactly a year ago, CNN decided to cancel the hit show Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy. The decision resulted in heartbreak around the globe, and came as a shock to many—after all, the show had won two Emmys after just two seasons for its host's impassioned travels throughout Italy. But now, in the spirit of gift-giving and joy, Disney-owned National Geographic has confirmed it will be starting production for a new show based on the same premise.

For the new season of Fargo, airing now on FX, actor Lamorne Morris lived in the frosty Canadian city of Calgary, which stands in for North Dakota and Minnesota on screen. Though he loved his time there, as he explains ahead, he’s ready for a change of pace. “Some buddies want to go somewhere for New Year's, and the debate is: Do we go to Aspen and ski, or Cabo and hang on the beach? I just spent seven months in Calgary filming Fargo, where I was freezing my ass off. I'm not voluntarily going back to the cold on a vacation,” says Morris. “It's my stress-free time. And you want me shivering every damn day? Absolutely not.”

Perched above the Ionian Sea on a rocky promontory, the iconic San Domenico Palace welcomes guests to a world of unparalleled luxury that’s not only reminiscent of the TV show “White Lotus” — it actually served as the filming location for Season 2. This beautiful hotel in the heart of Taormina, Sicily, is a 14th-century convent reimagined, seamlessly blending historic charm with modern opulence. A testament to Sicilian elegance, the hotel’s lush gardens and stunning sea-view deluxe rooms give guests intimate spaces to unwind in a place that feels more like a sanctuary than a hotel.

“Bella want look at world,” says Bella Baxter early on in Poor Things. Bella, played by Emma Stone, has the physical appearance of a fully-grown woman but the brain and insolence of, it seems, a small child. She’s spent her life up to this point safe within the grand London townhouse of her creator, mad scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter, whom she calls “God" (played by William Dafoe). She has long played a game on the floor of his study with a stack of atlases, wherein she closes her eyes and drops an index finger down like a rocketon a random point—her playmate must then tell her about wherever it is she’s ‘landed.’ Eventually her curiosity must be quenched by experience.

For more than 70 years, Sir David Attenborough has been the face and voice of countless wildlife documentaries, and has continued to bring the vast scale and diversity of the natural world to our screens.

Think of a Wes Anderson film and the muted greys and browns of a rain-soaked day in London are not the first things that spring to mind. But the UK capital is about to host the first European exhibition of photographs inspired by the vibrant aesthetic of the American film director.

Winter can be a tricky time if you’ve got kids of any age: darker, shorter days and inclement weather mean they inevitably end up stuck inside, with everyone getting bored, cross and arguing about screen time. Why not banish those winter blues with a change of scene and whisk them away on an impromptu weekend trip? After all, spontaneity is now a major travel trend – recent research from Hilton* found that only 22% of UK travellers consider themselves meticulous planners.

It’s been mooted as “the most divisive film of the year”, with keen discussion among cinema-goers before they’ve even emerged from screening rooms. But one thing we can all agree on about Emerald Fennell’s Saltburn is its true star (OK, aside from Rosamund Pike): Saltburn itself.

Two Decembers ago, after years away, I went back to Oak Tree Road. That thoroughfare, straddling my New Jersey hometown of Edison and the neighboring Iselin, had been the site of my childhood in the early aughts. Sitting along that four-mile stretch were video stores with DVDs for Bollywood films you definitely couldn’t find at Blockbuster, sari boutiques with their dazzling display of color and pattern, and sweets shops whose indulgences ferried my Bengali immigrant family back to the country they’d left behind long ago.

This story about Asian and Asian American films is part of Home, Made, a collection of stories honoring Asian diasporas creating vibrant communities by weaving their heritages with their American hometowns. Read more here.

Whether you’re traveling with just the phone in your pocket, a new mirrorless camera or 20 lbs. of lenses and accessories these are some great gifts to make your life easier and take better photos in 2024. From photographing Northern Lights in the Arctic or island hopping in the Maldives check out which of these you’ll want with you on your next adventure.

Disney fans may soon be able to live in a North Carolina residential community designed by the company’s theme park designers, as Disney announced plans Wednesday to expand its new residential living concept — even before its first community has opened, and amid the company’s recent high-profile financial challenges.

The ‘Hogwarts Express’ train - one of the most iconic rail experiences in the UK - is facing trouble down the line.

In 2021, I gave up on major airlines for my regular flights between Paris and New York—despite being a frequent flyer club member with a cache of points. I had purchased economy tickets for my toddler, my husband, and myself, and called the airline to double-check that we could sit together. The customer service rep said seat selection was a privilege for the half-step above economy, but they would let one of us sit next to our daughter—as an exception. Or what? I wondered. Have a stranger tend to our two-year-old?