Showbiz patriarch Joe Jackson has been hospitalised after reportedly suffering a stroke.
The Jackson family patriarch, whose kids include Janet Jackson and the late Michael Jackson, endured the health setback on his 87th birthday while in Sao Paulo, Brazil on July 26, reported Us magazine.
Jackson was admitted to Albert Einstein Hospital after feeling dizzy and losing his vision. He is still undergoing tests.
Just hours earlier, Janet posted a sweet message to her father.
"Wishing my Father, @Joe5Jackson a Happy Birthday," the "No Sleeep" singer, 49, tweeted.
"I want to tell the world, I love and honour you."
Joe has reportedly suffered three previous strokes. The former Jackson 5 manager suffered a mild stroke in November 2012. At the time, he complained of having pains in his head and had difficulty standing. He stayed under observation at a Las Vegas hospital.
You can take a black guy to Nashville from right out of the cotton fields with bib overalls, and they will call him R&B. You can take a white guy in a pin-stripe suit who’s never seen a cotton field, and they will call him country. ~ O. B. McClinton
After six years as a guitarist for Guns N’ Roses, DJ Ashba has left the group. He broke the news in a written statement earlier today.
Ashba posted the statement to his Facebook page. He writes about how he got the gig, the “confidence and trust” shown to him by Axl Rose (whom he calls “a true friend and a champion of mine”) and the love and warmth he got by the fans in assuming such a difficult position. He says he’s leaving the band to spend more time with Nikki Sixx in Sixx:A.M. As a nod to Guns N’ Roses’ international appeal, the statement was also translated into Spanish, French, Portuguese and Japanese.
Ten days ago, Sixx said that his group would be releasing two albums next year and spend the next two years on the road, noting that all three members are “committing 100 percent of our time to this band, and anything else that’s out there has to revolve around that. And I think James and DJ’s visions are the same as mine, which is that we want to play with anybody, anywhere we can. We’d love to headline, we’d love to be direct support, we’d love to play festivals. We’ll do acoustic gigs, radio stations, whatever. We just want to play. And that’s what we’re going to do.”
DJ Ashba joined Guns N’ Roses in 2009, after Robin Finck left to return to Nine Inch Nails. Prior to that, he had been in Bullet Boys, Beautiful Creatures and a self-named band.
You can read the full text of Ashba’s letter below:
6 years ago I received a call that changed my life forever. The call was from a dear friend of mine (Katie McNeil-Diamond) who was working with Guns N’ Roses. It was an offer to audition for Axl Rose and earn a role in arguably the biggest rock band of my time. While I thought it was a complete long-shot, I decided to go ahead and give it a try. Much to my shock and surprise, I got the gig. And so began the most incredible journey I could have possibly imagined. I was blessed with the opportunity to not only work with one of the most talented bands but also to share the stage with a living legend and a truly gifted human being, Axl Rose. The amount of confidence and trust that Axl placed in me was genuinely heartwarming and truly career-defining. In the years that followed I traveled the world many times over and played these incredible songs night after night to the most enthusiastic and loving crowds. As you can imagine, the friendships that were forged during that time were deep and long lasting. But the most beautiful surprise of all was YOU… the fans. You welcomed me into your lives with open arms and showed me love and support that I could only have dreamed of. From the very first time I stepped on stage and started playing “Welcome To The Jungle,” and felt the crowd erupt, I knew my life would never be the same. I’m not gonna lie…I was terrified!! But you were so accepting. You immediately turned my fear into pride. For that, I am truly grateful.
So now it is with a very heavy heart and yet great pride that I announce that I’ve decided to close this chapter of my life and encapsulate the wonderful times that I’ve shared with Guns N’ Roses into fond memories. I have reached a point in my life where I feel its time to dedicate myself to my band Sixx:A.M., my adoring wife and family, and to the many new adventures that the future holds for me. I have always been driven by my passion for creating music and Sixx:A.M. has always been a place where I can express myself honestly and share that passion with my two brothers and bandmates, Nikki Sixx and James Michael. As you know I have also been blessed with the love and support of my incredible wife, Naty, who has been at my side for much of this amazing journey.
As I sit here writing this letter, I want to take a moment to thank Axl from the bottom of my heart for not only the most incredible experience of my life, but for truly believing in me. You are a true friend and a champion of mine and I am forever grateful. And even as I move on to pursue other endeavors, I will always remain one of your biggest fans. I also would like to thank each and every one of you fans for your love and support throughout the years. Without you, I am nothing. Please know that I do not take one minute of this amazing life for granted.
I hope that you all join me as I forge ahead. Let’s conquer the world together!
"We had a lot of story left to tell and every intention of telling that. We were surprised," said executive producer Hunt Baldwin. "Needless to say we are thrilled that we got to move to Netflix and finish telling that story."
Star Robert Taylor may have been the most shocked by the news. "I thought it was a joke. I didn’t believe it," he said. "But I always believed we weren't finished."
Executive producer Greer Shephard became emotional, and even teared up, when talking about how the show came to Netflix, giving much of the credit to WBTVG president and chief content officer Peter Roth:"He has believed in this show from the very beginning and I believe it took him 12 minutes from the cancelation of our show and him finding [Netflix vp original content] Cindy Holland, I believe it was in Iceland, and letting her know of the fate of our show," said Shephard.
Shephard recalled pitching the fourth season to Netflix last September. "Never before have I wept in a meeting because there was so much at stake," she said. "We needed to complete and continue our storytelling. ... It was an appeal for life."
That appeal was soon granted, and the result is a fourth season that producers say feels more "cinematic" thanks to less time constraints and no commercial breaks. "They said, 'Go make the same show you're making. Just don’t make it like television,' " said executive producer John Coveny. "And we took that to heart because that’s what we've been trying to do since we pitched it to A&E. It's great to finally be making the show we always wanted to make."
Added Baldwin: "We're not changing our approach to storytelling very much but I think the end result feels very different. … The story feels more completed and more complex."
However, producers said there won't be increased vulgarity or nudity just because the show is on Netflix. "We did not want to alienate the incredible fan base," said Shephard.
In addition to serving their loyal fan base, the Netflix deal has also brought new eyes to the show. Ahead of the Sept. 10 launch, seasons one through three of the western are currently streaming. "I can't tell how many people have just started watching now," said star Cassidy Freeman. "Its such a great opportunity for Netflix to have the whole story to tell."
Ironically, as Shephard pointed out, second chances is also the theme for season four. "Who you are as a person is defined by how you handle the second chance," she said.
The 10-episode season picks up moments after the finale in which Walt Longmire (Taylor) found out who was behind the murder of his wife and takes off after the killer with murder on his mind.
"How does he go on? Once you've vanquished that and that has sort of been your sole purpose in life, who are you," said Baldwin, who also teased Henry's "newfound freedom. … What does he do with it to validate that he's been giving this second chance?"
However, Henry (Lou Diamond Phillips) will also have his hands full going up against Walt. "There's a horrific loophole in that tribal police and tribal courts are not able to prosecute non-natives who commit crimes on a reservation," said Shephard. "Those injustices and those discrepancies are the subject of several stories, and are going to put Walt and Henry in opposition."
NBC's The Wiz, set for Thursday, Dec. 3, will again be executive produced by Sound of Music and Peter Pan duo Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, with Tony-winning director Kenny Leon attached to direct both the live event as well as the Broadway revival in 2016-17. Tony winner and Broadway icon Harvey Fierstein will contribute new material to the original book by William F. Brown and work alongside Zadan, Meron and Leon.
Latifah will portray the Wiz, while Blige is on board as Evillene, the Wicked Witch of the West. They join a cast that includes Stephanie Mills — who starred as Dorothy in the original Broadway production — as Aunt Em in NBC's live musical. A casting search is under way for the role of Dorothy.
Latifah's musical credits include Chicago and Hairspray, while Blige is a nine-time Grammy winner. The casting reunites Latifah with Zadan and Meron.
'Chicago Fire' Promotes Dora Madison to Series Regular for Season 4
Elizabeth Morris/NBC
The 'Friday Night Lights' alum made her debut in April as new paramedic Jessica "Chili" Chilton.
Firehouse 51's newest addition is sticking around.
Dora Madison, who recurred on season three of Chicago Fire as paramedic Jessica "Chili" Chilton, has been promoted to series regular, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
The Friday Night Lights alum joined the NBC drama in late April as a replacement for Mills, played by former series regular Charlie Barnett.
Chicago Fire never has shied away from shaking up its ranks. Before Barnett, the series said farewell to Lauren German when it killed off her beloved character, Shay, in the season-three premiere. She subsequently was replaced by Kara Killmer.
Madison's other credits include Dexter and Star-Crossed. She is repped by Paradigm and Authentic Talent.
The new season of Chicago Fire premieres Tuesday, Oct. 13, at 10 p.m. on NBC.
'Jessica Jones' Boss Says Netflix Marvel Show Will Be "Wildly Different" From 'Daredevil'
AP Images/Invision; Courtesy of Marvel
The two shows will, however, share a mythology, revealed Melissa Rosenberg Tuesday.
On the heels of Daredevil's success, Netflix will launch its second scripted Marvel series later this year, with Jessica Jones.
But although the two shows share a studio and a distributor, the similarities end there.
"The mythology of the universe is connected, but they look very different. Tonally, they're very different," said Jessica Jones showrunner Melissa Rosenberg at the Television Critics Association Press Tour Tuesday."They're wildly different."
Outgoing Daredevil showrunner Steven S. DeKnight heaped praise on the upcoming series, which stars Krysten Ritter as the title character: a former superhero suffering from PTSD who opens her own detective agency. Mike Colter stars as Marvel figure Luke Cage, who eventually will get his own Marvel series on Netflix.
"Everything I've seen and heard about Jessica Jones is fantastic," said DeKnight, who also praised the comic book series — written by Brian Michael Bendis — upon which the series is based.
"He created this incredibly flawed, damaged, interesting character. Regardless of gender, it was the character that drew me," said Rosenberg of the comic books. "We've been going further in all of our storytelling. There is no edge."
Ahead of the show's late-2015 release, Rosenberg already has received very important feedback from Bendis himself that she said was very complimentary.
Said Rosenberg, "That is the biggest honor I've ever had."
Netflix Preps 'Keith Richards: Under the Influence' Documentary for Fall
Keith Richards Jeff Kravitz
The Morgan Neville-helmed doc will launch on Netflix on Sept. 18.
Keith Richards is headed to Netflix.
The streaming service announced Tuesday that it would debut Oscar winner Morgan Neville’s original documentary, Keith Richards: Under the Influence, for its 65 million-plus global subscribers Sept. 18. The doc offers an unprecedented look into the sounds and influences of rock icon Keith Richards, back to the music that's inspired him -- electric blues, country honky-tonk, Southern soul and more – as he creates his first solo album in 23 years.
“If there’s a Mount Rushmore of rock ’n’ roll, Keith’s face is surely on it. He has always represented the soul of rock music -- for all of the light and dark shades that implies," said Neville, whose prior credits include 20 Feet From Stardom andBest of Enemies. "To my relief, Keith Richards turned out to be a real man -- full of humor, knowledge and wisdom. That’s the real Keith we’ve worked to capture in our film, and I’m honored to bring it to a global audience via Netflix."
The doc, a RadicalMedia (What Happened, Miss Simone?, The Fog of War) and Tremolo production, hails from many involved with Netflix's critically acclaimed Miss Simone doc, which The New York Times recently called "an often electric, bracingly urgent documentary." Joining producers Neville, Justin Wilkesand Jane Rose on Under the Influence are Emmy-nominated cinematographer Igor Martinovic and editor Joshua L. Pearson.
“There’s no one who could bring this unprecedented look into the musical influences of Keith Richards to life as distinctively as Morgan Neville," said Netflix vp original documentary programming Lisa Nishimura,who added: "Our viewers around the world are going to love the rare moments he has captured.”
The news comes as Netflix continues to expand its global reach -- the service is in more than 50 countries -- and bolster its library of originals at breakneck speed. At last count, Netflix offers more than 100 million hours of TV series and films per day. And that momentum continues with a July 23rd announcement of another Netflix original movie, an adaptation of Loung Ung's memoir First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers, from filmmaker Angelina Jolie.
Werewolf Comic 'Brooklyn Animal Control' Ordered to Pilot at USA Network
Courtesy of IDW Entertainment
The drama hails from IDW Publishing and Universal Cable Productions, with David Goyer and 'The Walking Dead's' Dave Alpert attached.
USA Network continues to get darker.
The NBCUniversal-owned cable network has handed out a pilot order to Brooklyn Animal Control, based on the IDW Publishing comic book of the same name, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
The drama follows a secret subdivision of the NYPD that serves as social services for the city's werewolves. The drama will explore the lives of the case officers and the secret, insular werewolf community Kveld-Ulf, who are living deep in the borough. Brooklyn will focus on city politics, immigrant communities and families divided by ambition, secrecy and tradition.
Brooklyn will be written and exec produced by comic book creator JT Petty (Spliter Cell), with David S. Goyer (Batman v. Superman, DaVinci's Demons), Circle of Confusion's Rick Jacobs (Spare Parts) and David Alpert (The Walking Dead) attached to exec produce alongside IDW Entertainment's David Ozer and Ted Adams. The drama is a co-production between Universal Cable Productions and IDW Entertainment.
“Fans of the comic book know that Brooklyn Animal Control is a thriller anchored inside the world of New York organized crime families,” said Jackie de Crinis, executive vp original programming. “At its core, it is a family drama, albeit an unconventional one.”
Brooklyn was one first titles IDW identified to bring to the small screen after launching its TV division with Circle of Confusion (The Walking Dead)attached to oversee packaging and creative development of some of its more than 300 titles. The comic publisher also has a first-look development de...inment One, with whom it is partnering to bring V-Warsto the screen.
Brooklyn becomes USA's fourth pilot order of the season and joins Poor Richard's Almanack; Falling Water, from Gale Anne Hurd, Blake Masters and the late Henry Bromell; and Paradise Pictures, from Suits duo Aaron Korsh and Rick Muirragui. The cabler is also searching for a lead for its Shooter update.
The slate marks a departure for USA from its "blue skies" fare as the cabler looks to explore darker-themed dramas, including Mr. Robot and Complications, the former of which has already been renewed for a second season.
Married With Children's Bundy family may be following in the way of Full House's Tanner gang.
David Faustino, who played Bud on the sitcom, told E! that he's developing a "spin-off" of the series. "Sony has it. They're excited about it," he said at the premiere of his TV co-star Christina Applegate's movie Vacation. "They're working on some legal issues that we hope they work out.
"The whole cast, including Christina, is down to do little bits in it," Faustino continued. The idea would be a pilot for a spin-off series, he says, which would require some interesting scheduling with his former co-stars. His TV parents Ed O'Neill and Katey Sagal are both a bit busy with their own current series, Modern Family and The Bastard Executioner, respectively.
"All of us have said we would all be there for [Faustino]," said Applegate, who played his older sister Kelly on the show.
Married With Children originally ran for 11 seasons on Fox, following the Bundy family's dysfunctional goings-on.
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HBO Developing Peter Berg Western Drama 'Untamed'
Peter Berg
The 'Friday Night Lights' creator will executive produce and direct the project, with 'The Revenant' scribe Mark L. Smith on board to write.
HBO is eyeing another western.
The premium cable network that aired Deadwood a decade ago is developing a new hourlong Wild West set drama from multi-hyphenate Peter Berg (Lone Survivor, Friday Night Lights).
Titled Untamed, the project follows three mismatched travelers as they set out on a treacherous trek from 1840s Wyoming across the Rocky Mountains to Utah. Along the way, they’re forced to embrace some of their most primitive instincts — both good and bad — to survive.
Berg will direct the drama, with Mark L. Smith (Vacancy, The Revenant) on board to pen the script. Both will serve as executive producers, and Alissa Bachner will co-produce.
Other projects in the works at HBO include sci-fi drama Westworld, from J.J. Abrams and Jonathan Nolan, and U.K. genre conspiracy thriller Utopia, from David Fincher and Gillian Flynn.
Entertainment Weeklyfirst reported news of the development.
'Stitchers' Promotes Damon Dayoub to Series Regular (Exclusive)
Courtesy of Pop Art Management
The move comes after the 'NCIS' alum was replaced on ABC's upcoming Shondaland drama 'The Catch.'
Damon Dayoub is returning to ABC Family.
The actor had been promoted to series regular on the cabler's Stitchers, The Hollywood Reporter has learned; he had a recurring guest-star role on season one.
Dayoub will return for the procedural drama's recently announced sophomore season. He plays Quincy Fisher, an LAPD detective who is brought into the Stitchers program to assist with backup and support.
'The Originals': 'The Pacific' and 'Pretty Little Liars' Vets to Recur
Alex Vaughan/Courtesy of United Management; AP Images/Invision
Andrew Lees and Rebecca Breeds will first show up in the third season premiere.
The Originals is adding to its vampire lineup.
Andrew Lees (The Pacific, Your Family or Mine) and Rebecca Breeds (Pretty Little Liars, We Are Men) have joined The CW drama in a recurring capacity, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
Lees will play Lucien, a member of Klaus' sire line who comes to New Orleans with a secret agenda involving Klaus. He's described as intelligent, charming, wildly successful and at ease with princes and paupers alike. He prides himself on being two steps ahead of everyone else.
Breeds will play the enigmatic Aurora, who is described as sexy, seductive, witty and free-spirited — the life of the party. However, she also has a dark side, and is also known for being malevolent, dangerous and extremely violent.
Both characters will make their show debut in the upcoming third season premiere.
The two join fellow Originals newbie Jason Dohring, who will play Detective Will Kinney.
Are you excited to see the new vampires? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
The Originals returns Thursday, Oct. 8 at 9 p.m. on The CW.
ABC Family's 'Recovery Road' Lands Laura San Giacomo (Exclusive)
Laura San Giacomo AP Images
The addiction drama, based on author Blake Nelson's YA book, premieres in 2016.
Recovery Road is adding a sponsor to the rehab facility.
Laura San Giacomo, known for roles on NBC's Just Shoot Me and TNT's Saving Grace, has nabbed a guest-starring spot on the ABC Family drama's first season, The Hollywood Reporter has exclusively learned.
The actress will portray Gina, a rebellious artist. Gina is also an AA sponsor who has concerns about a recovering alcoholic whom she helped years ago.
San Giacomo has appeared on The Mentalist, Hot in Cleveland and Medium and in films such as Pretty Woman. She is repped by Paradigm and Rugolo Entertainment.
Recovery Road, based on the YA novel by Blake Nelson, centers on teenage Maddie (Jessica Sula, Skins), who is forced to enter rehab for her addiction issues after her guidance counselor (Alexis Carra, Mixology) threatens her with expulsion. The series looks at Maddie as she adjusts to life at the facility alongside other recovering addicts.
The pilot was written by Bert V. Royal (Easy A) and Karen DiConcetto (Ruby & The Rockits). Royal and DiConcetto are executive producing with Craig Piligian and Beth Miller from Pilgrim Studios and Danielle von Zerneck.
The comedy from Will Packer and showrunner DJ Nash will now be called 'Truth Be Told.'
Ahead of its Oct. 16 premiere, NBC has changed the title for its freshman comedy People Are Talking.
The half-hour series starring Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Tone Bell will now be called Truth Be Told, the network confirmed Monday.
From executive producer Will Packer and showrunner DJ Nash (Growing Up Fisher), the multicamera comedy examines sex, race and everything else your parents told you to never talk about. Sources say the title change was an effort to provide a better example of how the series will explore contemporary topics in an honest and truthful fashion.
Show title changes at this point in the game are not uncommon. For Nash's part, his semi-autobiographical NBC comedy Growing Up Fisher had its title changed early in its development (it was originally known as The Family Guide).
NBC recently added "American" to the title of its summer drama American Odyssey with little fanfare, just ahead of its series debut. The network also changed the title of its summer comedy The Carmichael Show from Go Jerrod Go. NBC fall dramas The Player and Heartbreaker went through pilot season as Endgame and Heart Matters, respectively.
At ABC, meanwhile, its Shondaland-produced drama The Catch was known as Smoke and Mirrors through pilot season and Wicked Crime was updated from L.A. Crime. And Jenna Bans' buzzy drama The Family changing titles twice (from Flesh and Blood and Original Sin).
Other more famous shows to be retitled include Lost (Nowhere); The Good Wife (The Whole Truth, Leave the Bastard) and That '70s Show (Teenage Wasteland). Watch the rebranded trailer for Truth Be Told, below. Do you think the new title is any better? Sound off in the comments section.
He'll have a regular role in the miniseries starring James Franco.
Hulu's 11/22/63 continues to add to its impressive cast.
Battle Creekalum Josh Duhamel has joined the cast of the Hulu miniseries from J.J. Abrams and Stephen King, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
Based on King's best-seller, 11/22/63 is described as a thriller in which high school English teacher Jake Epping (James Franco) travels back in time to prevent the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. But his mission is threatened by Lee Harvey Oswald (played by Daniel Webber), falling in love and the past itself … which doesn’t want to be changed.
Duhamel will play Frank Dunning, the father of Jake's student Harry Dunning (played by youngster Jack Fulton and Leon Rippy), in 1960s Kentucky. Frank is the rakish town butcher, a ladies' man with an effortless smile that everyone welcomes — except Jake, the only man who knows the full violence of which Frank is capable.
Duhamel (Transformers) joins a cast that also includes Chris Cooper, Cherry Jones, George MacKay, Lucy Fry and T.R. Knight. Bridget Carpenter (Friday Night Lights, Parenthood, The Red Road) will pen the script and executive produce the drama alongside King and Bad Robot's Abrams and Bryan Burk. Bad Robot's Kathy Lingg will co-executive produce, and Athena Wickham will produce. Kevin Macdonald will direct and exec produce the first two hours of the nine-hour event series.
Duhamel, who has fielded multiple offers of late, is repped by ICM Partners, John Carrabino Management and Hansen Jacobson.
Don Johnson and Chace Crawford Get Sticky in ABC's 'Blood and Oil' Poster (Exclusive)
ABC's 'Blood & Oil' Fred Hayes/ABC
The drama stars Don Johnson, Chace Crawford and Delroy Lindo.
Things are getting messy in the first official key art for ABC's Blood and Oil.
The poster highlights the drama's focus on complications surrounding the oil business. Hap Briggs (Don Johnson), Carla Briggs (Amber Valletta), Billy Lefever (Chace Crawford) and Cody Lefever (Rebecca Rittenhouse) are seen in formal attire, as their clothes merge with a pool of black oil.
The series centers on working-class married couple Billy and Cody, who move to North Dakota following a major oil discovery in the area. They find themselves head-to-head with Hap, a merciless tycoon whose decisions put their marriage at risk.
Blood & Oil hails from ABC Signature Studios and was created and written by Josh Pate and Rodes Fishburne. Pate is executive producing with Cynthia Cidre, Tony Krantz and Johnson. Delroy Lindo and Scott Michael Foster also star.
The series launches Sept. 27 at 9 p.m. on ABC. The poster is below.
'Buckhead' marks the prolific producer's first sale of the season.
Will Packer is off to an early start in his second season developing for the small screen.
The Ride Along film producer has sold drama Buckhead to NBC, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
Buckhead is described as a drama about ambition, sex and revenge set in the extravagant, high-stakes world of Atlanta politics, entertainment, churches and strip clubs.
Packer, an Atlanta resident, will executive produce via his overall deal with Universal Television — where he just re-upped. David McMillian will pen the script and exec produce. Will Packer Productions' head of TV Korin Huggins is on board as a co-exec producer.
The deal comes after Packer's first year producing for the small screen yielded two series orders — NBC's People Are Talking and ABC's Uncle Buck remake. He's also set to executive produce History/Lifetime's Roots reboot.
On the film side, Packer has produced a number of No. 1 films including No Good Deed, Think Like a Man Too, Ride Along, Think Like a Man, Takers, Obsessed and Stop the Yard. He's an exec producer on Universal's upcoming Straight Outta Compton and Ride Along 2.
Packer, who sold multiple projects last season, is repped by UTA and Ziffren Brittenham. McMillian is repped by CAA.
Katniss Battles Jon Snow in 'Hunger Games'-'Game of Thrones' Mashup
Helen Sloan/HBO
Winter is coming for the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch.
Something deadly is coming for Jon Snow (Kit Harington), and it isn't a White Walker.
In a Hunger Games-Game of Thrones mashup that proves Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) really does hate anyone named Snow, the revolutionary icon pits her people against the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch.
The Hunger Game of Thrones: Jon Snow Must Die, from creator David Elmaleh, cleverly takes advantage of the fact that Katniss' chief protagonist is the brutal dictator President Snow (Donald Sutherland), and uses clips of her denouncing "Snow" from the trailer for the upcoming The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2. It also takes advantage of Game of Thrones' Gwendoline Christie pulling double duty and appearing in both franchises.
'The Affair' Adds Catalina Sandino Moreno as New Love Interest
Catalina Sandino Moreno AP Images/Invision
The Oscar nominee will cross paths with Cole Lockhart (Joshua Jackson) in season two of the Showtime drama.
The Affair's love triangle is getting more complicated in season two.
The Showtime drama starring Ruth Wilson and Dominic West has cast Academy Award nominee Catalina Sandino Moreno as Cole’s (Joshua Jackson) new love interest. She'll play Luisa, an independent and spirited woman who illegally emigrated from Ecuador as a child and is now working her way through school.
Created by Sarah Treem, the series explores what happens when married Montauk waitress Alison Lockhart (Wilson) falls for Brooklyn novelist and father of three Noah Solloway (West). Like its freshman run, the upcoming season will continue to tell the story from both Noah and Alison's perspectives — but will also add the viewpoints of their exes, Cole and Helen (Maura Tierney).
Moreno's credits include Maria Full of Grace, The Bridge and A Most Violent Year. She is repped by Lasher Group, UTA and attorney Fred Toczek. The Affair will return October 4 at 10 p.m. on Showtime.
Melissa McCarthy, Ben Falcone Team for TV Land Comedy 'Friends With Melissa'
Falcone and McCarthy AP Images/Invision
The single-camera entry is inspired by the lives of the couple's friends Hugh Davidson, Larry Dorf and Rachel Ramras.
TV Land is set to explore the rise of Melissa McCarthy.
The Viacom-owned cable network is teaming with the Oscar nominee and Emmy-winning comedian and her actor husband Ben Falcone for single-camera comedy script Friends With Melissa.
The comedy is inspired by the real lives of writers Hugh Davidson, Larry Dorf and Rachel Ramras (Adult Swim's Mike Tyson's Mysteries) who watched as their friends from Los Angeles-based improv and sketch comedy troupe The Groundlings went on to star in blockbuster comedies and win Oscars while they tiled away writing for children's television. McCarthy will appear in the pilot episode and exec produce alongside Falcone via their On The Day banner.
"We are continuing to build our stable of innovative, engaging and challenging comedies, which is exactly what Melissa, Ben and these writers have brought us," said Keith Cox, executive vp development and original programming at TV Land. "With this script being from a group of alums from The Groundlings, we’re excited to know they’ll have an endless amount of creativity and interesting experiences to pull from."
Added McCarthy and Falcone in a joint statement: "We are so excited to be working with Hugh, Rachel and Larry — such funny people, who are great friends. TV Land is a great place for this show."
The Groundlings has produced a long roster of stars including McCarthy, Jack Black, Will Ferrell, Will Forte, Kathy Griffin, Phil Hartman, Cheryl Hines, Lisa Kudrow, Jon Lovitz, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Craig T. Nelson, Jim Rash, Maya Rudolph and Kristen Wiig, among scores of others.
For McCarthy, the TV Land script sale comes as she's poised to return to CBS' Chuck Lorre/Warner Bros. Television comedy Mike and Mollyfor a sixth season. The sitcom began airing in syndication last year on FX.
McCarthy and Falcone are repped by CAA and MGMT. Davidson and Ramras are with ICM; Dorf is with Gersh and Odenkirk
NYFF: Don Cheadle's Miles Davis film 'Miles Ahead' to close festival
Don Cheadle arrives at 66th Annual DGA Awards Dinner in Los Angeles on Jan. 24, 2014. Cheadle’s Miles Davis biopic, “Miles Ahead,” will make its premiere as the closing night film at the New York Film Festival.
Don Cheadle directs and stars in Miles Ahead, about the jazz great Miles Davis
Miles Ahead will make its world premiere at closing night of the New York Film Festival
Last year the New York Film Festival chose to close its annual awards-season confab with “Birdman,” a movie about an actor beset by troubles as he sought to stage a Broadway play.
This year the festival is going back to the artistic-process well, announcing that Don Cheadle’s Miles Davis tale “Miles Ahead” will make its world premiere at the festival's closing night on Oct. 11.
Cheadle directed the film, his first such effort, and also co-wrote the script and stars as its lead character. "Miles Ahead" focuses on a section of Davis’ life, in the 1970s, when the jazz great was facing financial, health and industry crises, trying to navigate the future while being haunted by the past; he wasn’t really leaving his apartment during this time.
Notably, the film does not yet have U.S. distribution, a break from recent tradition in which NYFF world premieres are studio award hopefuls for the current season. In fact, the film was partly financed by an IndieGogo campaign. (It is possible, of course, that a studio can buy the movie ahead of the festival and mount a 2015 campaign for "Miles Ahead.")
In making his case for contributions, Cheadle explained his motivations and approach.
A collection of noteworthy biopics and documentaries that explore the personal and professional lives of musicians.
"Amy" offers an intimate, unflinching gaze into the life of singer Amy Winehouse, exposing the perils of celebrity and addiction and how Winehouse fed off the two.
"I’ve taken my marching orders from Miles’ mandates (“Play what’s not there.” “Fear no mistakes. There are none.”) and focused in on a very specific point in his life to explore his relationship with his muse, his voice, his fears and challenges to come out of his silent period and return to the music. "
Emayatzy Corinealdi stars as longtime love interest Frances Taylor and Ewan McGregor as a man who finagled his way into Davis’ apartment.
“Miles Ahead" is one of several new movies about real-life musicians; the list also includes Hank Williams pic “I Saw The Light,” which Sony Pictures Classics will release in the fall. Last year saw the award-season success of "Whiplash," another making-the-music tale that referenced a jazz great, in that case Charlie Parker, as well as the release last summer of James Brown story "Get On Up."
Festival director Kent Jones cited a line from poet Robert Creeley in announcing the "Miles Ahead" selection. “’There is no longer much else but ourselves, in the place given us. To make that present, and actual … is not an embarrassment, but love.’ Jones invoked, then added “That’s the core of art. Miles Davis knew it, and Don Cheadle knows it.”
NYFF opens Sept. 25 with another world premiere, for “The Walk,” Robert Zemeckis’ dramatization of Philippe Petit’s tightrope feat across the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center.
"Listen to me, Marlon... This is one part of yourself speaking to another part of yourself. Listen to the sound of my voice and trust me. You know I have your interests at heart."
— Excerpt from a self-hypnosis tape recorded in 1996 by Marlon Brando
By any measure, Marlon Brando was one of the most influential actors in the history of cinema.
His powerful acting style and undeniable charisma have mesmerized generations of filmgoers, with unforgettable roles in such movies as "On the Waterfront," "A Streetcar Named Desire" and "The Godfather." A generation of American actors studied — if not actually copied — his every move on-screen. He was like no one else.
But a new documentary, "Listen to Me Marlon," which opens July 31 and will run this year on Showtime, shows another side of Brando — a man haunted by memories of an alcoholic mother and abusive father, who lacked self-esteem, battled loneliness and struggled through personal tragedies, including the suicide of his daughter Cheyenne and the killing of her lover by Brando's son Christian, for which he pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter.
"Listen to Me Marlon" is told in the late Brando's own voice, culled from some 300 hours of audiotapes the actor made over the decades. Interspersed between excerpts from the tapes are clips from his films, historical footage and a ghostly, unsettling digitalized version of Brando created from digital scans made in the 1980s by a friend, VFX supervisor Scott Billups. A facsimile of rooms from his now-demolished estate on Mulholland Drive were even built for the production.
The documentary's British director, Stevan Riley ("Everything or Nothing"), believes Brando was a "prisoner of his own fame."
"He was trapped," the director added, "but I am not entirely sure he would have relinquished the fame if given the choice."
When Riley began listening to a handful of the tapes, he said he thought, "'What if the entire story was told in Brando's own words?' It was a bit of a shot in the dark."
British producer John Battsek ("Searching for Sugar Man") said audiences will be able to hear Brando struggling with himself and recognizing his own flaws on the tapes.
"He wasn't a bad man, but he made a mess of so many things," Battsek said. "He knew he was making a mess. He was so critical of himself, but he couldn't stop himself."
Avra Douglas, a trustee of the Brando estate who worked for the actor for several years and was a family friend, acknowledged: "We weren't sure that the entire story could be told through Marlon's voice.... Stevan figured out a way to tell the story without having talking heads, as one usually sees in documentaries."
The result, she noted, is quite an emotional experience, especially for "people who knew him, to hear his voice."
Battsek said Brando's daughter Rebecca walked out of the first screening at Sundance, where it debuted this year. "I went out to find her and she was sitting outside, sobbing her eyes out because it was too emotional and difficult. She was sitting in the company of her father for the first time in a decade and watching and listening to him go through the travails of his life."
A few years ago, representatives of the Brando estate decided it was time for a new documentary about the actor, who died in 2004 at age 80. "There were a few that kind of scratched the surface," said Douglas. "It was the idea of reintroducing him to a newer generation of people who didn't know much about him or maybe had only heard of 'The Godfather." '
Brando started recording his thoughts "as soon as he could get his hands on a tape recorder," Douglas said, adding that he loved new technology and gadgets. "He was the first person to buy a Mac. He was the first person to tell me about the Internet. I had no idea what he was talking about."
Battsek flew to "Los Angeles very swiftly" when asked if he had interest in doing the film. "I met with [the estate] and started to talk about what could we do that would feel innovative and progressive. If they wanted a puff piece, then we weren't the right people."
Though Douglas said "there were some personal things we kept private," Battsek and Riley had access to most material in the archive, including the hundreds of hours of audio recordings.
Brando had recorded his thoughts and musings on reel-to-reel tape, regular cassettes and mini-cassettes, and other material was on CD.
Listening to the tapes, Riley said, he realized that Brando not only suffered from a deep loneliness but also, "I think he had something resembling an attachment disorder."
"He admits in the film to be incredibly jealous," Riley added. "I think he had issues of abandonment with his mother and his nanny. He was still trying to chase his father's love, even at the end. He was the archetype man-child."
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Marlon Brando, in his own voice
On his childhood:
"We lived in a small town, and my mother was the town drunk. When my mother was missing, gone someplace, we didn't know where she was. I used to have to go and get her out of jail. Memories, even now, that fill me with shame and anger."
On the Broadway production of "A Streetcar Named Desire"
"There's nothing about me that's like Stanley Kowalski. I hate that kind of guy. I absolutely hate that person, and I couldn't identify with it. The brute, dark character that represented the beasts and the animals."
On acting:
"If I hadn't had the good luck to be an actor, I don't know what I would have been. I would probably have been a con man. A good con man. Tell smooth lies, give impressions of things that he thinks or appears to think that he doesn't think."
On fame:
"Most actors want to get their name in the paper. They like all that attention. I very often am struck with the illusion of success. Sometimes it's difficult when you meet people, because you see that they've prejudged you. Not to be treated normally. To have people staring at you, like an animal in the zoo. What it does is remove you from reality."
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One Enchanted Evening with Micky Dolenz of the Monkees: Concert Review
4:46 PM PDT 7/8/2015 by Frank Scheck
Courtesy of 54 Below
Micky Dolenz
The Bottom Line
Hearing classic hits, show tunes and loads of funny anecdotes is enough to make anyone a "Daydream Believer."
Venue
54 Below New York City (Tuesday, July 7)
Micky Dolenz's cabaret show at New York City's 54 Below was billed "A Little Bit Broadway, a Little Bit Rock 'N' Roll." But it might just as well been titled "A Little Bit for Me, A Little Bit for You." Delivering exuberant versions of several classic Monkees hits interspersed with theatrical songs both familiar and relatively obscure, the still youthful 70-year-old singer performed with an obvious joy that proved infectious.
Of course, for fans of all ages it's impossible to feel anything but joy while listening to such songs as "Last Train to Clarksville," "Pleasant Valley Sunday," "Daydream Believer" and "I'm a Believer," the latter of which was followed by Dolenz's joking reminder to a child in the audience, "I sang that song long before Shrek."
Accompanied by a youthful four-piece band and looking dapper in his pork pie hat, Dolenz displayed the charm and wit that's endeared him to several generations. The show was liberally sprinkled with anecdotes providing amusing and moving context to the material. He told a story of trying and failing to go unrecognized while taking his young daughter ice-skating to introduce "Mister Cellophane" from the musical Chicago. Explaining that his father used to sing light opera, he delivered a heartfelt "Some Enchanted Evening," after which he announced, "That's for you, dad." Dolenz revealed that he's auditioned for musicals — he's appeared in such shows as Aida, Hairspray and Pippin — with the song "Don't Be the Bunny" from Urinetown. And he choked up while recounting his cross-country drive to see his future wife in NYC in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 before singing "One of the Good Guys" from the musical Closer Than Ever. Judging from the oohs and ahhs emanating from the audience, they seemed to agree with the sentiment.
With only occasional signs of strain, Dolenz's voice remains remarkably intact, although he no longer sings "D.W. Washburn" in the original falsetto. That song, incidentally, bridged both of the show's themes, being both a hit for the Monkees and later prominently featured in the Lieber and Stoller Broadway revue Smokey Joe's Café.
True Monkees fans were rewarded with renditions of Dolenz's own "Randy Scouse Git," which he amusingly explained had to be released in England as "Alternative Title" because the original title was offensive to Liverpudlians, and "As We Go Along" from the cult movie Head, co-written by a young Jack Nicholson.
"Did I just drop that name?" he joked.
After his musical director Michael J. Moritz Jr. explained that "I'm a Believer" would be performed in a Broadway manner suitable for the club's intimate, classy setting, Dolenz launched into a slowed-down, jazzy version which was quickly aborted.
"What's scary is that there's probably someone out there doing it like that," he said before the band reverted to the familiar rocking arrangement.
Shortly after the opening notes of "Daydream Believer" he commented "Guess you recognize that one, huh? Well, don't sing along, it puts me off." That didn't last for long, as he then welcomed the inevitable sing-along by the crowd that knew every word.
Generously paying tribute to the songwriters whose efforts made the Monkees so successful, including Tommy Boyce, Bobby Hart, Gerry Goffin and Carole King, Neil Diamond and Neil Sedaka, Dolenz seemed more than comfortable with his original band's musical legacy. The evening ended with "Goin' Down" from their psychedelically tinged album Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn and Jones Ltd., sending the baby boomer audience out in a blissful wave of nostalgia.
Dolenz's 54 Below run wrapped on July 11.
Set list:
Last Train to Clarksville D.W. Washburn Don't Be the Bunny Mister Cellophane But Not For Me As We Go Along Randy Scouse Git Some Enchanted Evening I'm a Believer Pleasant Valley Sunday Daydream Believer One of the Good Guys Goin' Down
The Weeknd releases the music video for his hit single, "Can't Feel My Face," via Apple's Music Connect. In the clip, the Canadian R&B artist sings into a microphone while standing on a dimmed stage. He later transitions to a few Michael Jackson-esque moves before bursting into flames and burning triumphantly. (Singersroom)
The Watkins Family Hour: Don Heffington (from left), Greg Leisz, Sara Watkins, Benmont Tench, Sean Watkins, Sebastian Steinberg, Fiona Apple. | PHOTO BY ROMAN CHO
Sara and Sean Watkins are best known as members of Nickel Creek, the progressive bluegrass band they’ve been attached to since they were teenagers. Around Los Angeles they’ve also built a reputation as the hosts of The Watkins Family Hour, a monthly residency they undertook about 12 years ago at Largo, a Hollywood club.
It was here that an amazing variety of musical friends would join them on stage for freewheeling performances. Now the rest of us can see what it was all about when The Watkins Family Hour touring behind its new album comes to town for three nights at the Old Town School.
The Watkins Family Hour When: 8 p.m. Aug. 4-6 Where: Old Town School of Folk Music, 4544 N. Lincoln Tickets: Sold out (773) 728-6000; oldtownschool.org
In addition to the Watkins, the touring band also features singer Fiona Apple, and a rhythm section featuring bassist Sebastian Steinberg (Soul Coughing) and legendary session drummer Don Heffington. Special guests are also hinted at for these shows that have a defined goal.
“We’re playing smaller rooms on this tour because we want the vibe to be similar to what we have in Los Angeles,” Sara Watkins says. “We want that communal intimacy and the immediacy you feel when you play songs for this sort of audience. And the Old Town School is a beautiful place and perfectly in line with the feeling of the show we want to do.”
The Watkins siblings had been hanging out at Largo when they were approached about doing the residency. They loved the idea of playing whatever they wanted and bringing in friends (these have included Jackson Browne and John C. Reilly as well as a rotating roster of backing musicians) to perform with them. It became an important secondary outlet for the Watkins.
The residency also led to the recording of the band’s self-titled debut album which is the impetus behind the current tour, says Watkins. Producer Sheldon Gomberg suggested they bring the show into the studio. The phenomenal lineup on the album features the touring band plus Tom Petty keyboardist Benmont Tench and pedal steel and dobro player Greg Leisz (the latter two won’t be at the Old Town shows).
The album is comprised of covers by some great songwriters often played during the Largo shows, including Gordon Lightfoot (“Early Morning Rain”), Lindsay Buckingham (“Steal Your Heart Away”), Roger Miller (“Not in Nottingham”), Bob Dylan (“Going, Going, Gone”) and Jerry Garcia and Robert C. Hunter (“Brokedown Palace”).
Fans of Fiona Apple may be surprised to see her performing with a rootsy, Americana band but her contributions to The Watkins Family uncover a side of her musicianship not seen before. She takes classic country songs and gives them her own distinctive touch.
“Fiona has become a big part of the life of the Family Hour,” Watkins says. “And one of my very favorite singers.”
In 2008, Largo owner Mark Flanagan moved the venue from its original 100-seat location to the 250-seat Coronet Theatre in Hollywood, which he and others managed to save from demolition. Watkins says that the smaller venue “let us relax and try things and be in the moment with the audience. It was a very special place with a real sense of community.”
But the bigger venue, “a proper theater,” changed the nature of the performances but “in a really cool way that the Family Hour was in a good place to embrace,” says Watkins. “We felt we needed to step it up a little bit. Over the last several years, we’ve been able to really dig in with this band. And now we’re ready to take it on the road and celebrate these songs.”
Mary Houlihan is a local freelance writer.
Special Guest Fiona Apple In NYC July 28, 2015 City Winery
The 'Jessie's Girl' singer and 'True Detective' actor is taking a big screen turn in 'Ricki and the Flash.'
A version of this story first appeared in the July 31 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.
"It was all happening too fast to enjoy it," says Rick Springfield of the summer of '81, when "Jessie's Girl" shot to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 just as he debuted as the dreamy Dr. Noah Drake on General Hospital.
This summer also is proving to be memorable, with the actor-singer, 65, taking a big-screen turn in Ricki and the Flash, out Aug. 7, opposite Meryl Streep. "My deer-in-the-headlights look wasn't going to work," he says of his jitters bedding the acting legend. "We had to change that."
The two found their rhythm onstage, shooting the movie's musical performances. Director Jonathan Demme insisted his actors play and sing live, so Streep, 66, spent months teaching herself to play ...ric guitar. "At this point in her career to do something like this is really brave," remarks Springfield.
He also plays True Detective shrink Irving Pitlor, who gets beaten to a pulp by Colin Farrell in the July 19 episode. "Colin asked if I was OK after he choked me," Springfield says. "He was fully professional."
The role required Springfield to cut his trademark mane for auction on IfOnly.com, with proceeds going to ex-girlfriend Linda Blair's dog rescue. To further achieve Pitlor's unsettling look, they pulled Springfield's eyes back with elastic tape "to mimic a facelift" and added dots to his hairline, "like a bad plug job."
More stressful than the actual fighting was committing showrunner Nic Pizzolatto's dense, stylized dialogue to memory: "There was a lot of story revelation while I was getting beat up. I was the one spilling the beans. Obviously, they wanted it word for word."
Springfield knows the sinister character caught more than a few of his lifelong fans off-guard, but is proud of his work on the series. "I think [the producers] had confidence that I could be fairly truthful with a creep," he says. "I think they enjoyed the idea of me playing against type, and so do I."
He adds that the sudden career renaissance isn't a matter of chance, but rather the result of having never stopped "continually working ... I'm a big believe that luck is a matter of staying in the game and keeping up on your chops."
As for the "teen idol" label that's followed him since that summer of '81? He's OK with it: "What it meant was that people would look at me and think, 'Oh, you've had some success, but you're not really that talented.' I felt that was unfair. Don't just write me off because young girls liked me – Sinatra started like that, and they wrote him off at first, too."
"It's not a bad thing to start as a teen idol," he says.
Oh no! Valerie Harper, the actress known for her role on ‘The Mary Tyler Moore Show,’ was rushed to the hospital on July 29! Right before Val was supposed to take the stage for a performance, she was reportedly found unconscious and needed immediate medical attention!
Oh no! Is Valerie Harper okay? The 75-year old icon of stage and screen has been battling brain cancer for years. She had to be taken to the hospital and this latest health scare has fans of the Rhoda star afraid for her health!
Valerie was in Ogunquit, Maine for a July 29 performance of Nice Work If You Can Get it, reports Entertainment Tonight. However, before that night’s show, she was reportedly discovered unconscious while backstage and was taken to the nearby York Hospital. Yikes!
The musical’s artistic director reportedly told the audience that Valerie had “fallen ill” and that “after some fluids and rest,” Val hoped to return to the stage later in the week. However, a source told ET that things don’t look good for Valerie! How sad. The Ogunquit Playhouse’s Executive Artistic Director, Bradford T. Kenney, released the following statement:
Valerie Harper was taken to a local hospital as a precaution before her July 29 evening performance of Nice Work If You Can Get It, at the Ogunquit Playhouse, after reporting that she was not feeling well. She is resting comfortably and will remain in the hospital for observation for the time being. Valerie has been performing in the Ogunquit production as Millicent Winter along with Sally Struthers as Duchess Estonia Dulworth. “The audiences and all of us here at the Playhouse are greatly enjoying our time with Valerie here in Ogunquit, and we are encouraged that she is feeling better,” Bradford T. Kenney, Executive Artistic Director.
Actress Valerie Harper Reportedly Hospitalized After Being Found Unconscious
KTLA - Los Angeles
This is really scary! Valerie was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer in 2013. Despite this sad reality, Val remained positive, telling Good Morning America host Robin Roberts that she felt “great…so much better than I was in December [2012] when I had a few weird symptoms.”
Since then, Val has undergone chemotherapy to slow the cancer’s progress. She was initially given three months to live and she has gone on for over two years! In fact, her doctor said that Val was close to remission in August 2013. Amazing! “It defies the odds,” neuro-oncologist Dr. Jeremy Rudnick said.
Lynn Anderson, Singer of ‘Rose Garden,’ Dies at 67
Photo
Lynn Anderson, shown around 1970, made “(I Never Promised You a) Rose Garden” her signature.Credit Ron Howard/Redferns, via Getty Images
Lynn Anderson, who skyrocketed to country music stardom in 1970 singing her signature song, “(I Never Promised You a) Rose Garden,” died on Thursday in Nashville. She was 67.
Her death was confirmed by Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Her publicist, Mark Logsdon, said that the cause was cardiac arrest. The newspaper The Tennessean reported that she had been hospitalized for pneumonia.
“Rose Garden,” written by Joe South, became a crossover hit, soaring to the top of both the country and pop charts and earning Ms. Anderson a Grammy in 1971. An album of the same title was the top-selling one by a female country artist from 1971 to 1997.
Ms. Anderson attributed the song’s popularity to its emotional tug as the nation was trying to recover from the war in Vietnam. “This song stated that you can make something out of nothing,” she told The Associated Press. “You take it and go ahead.”
The song was recorded only by a fluke. The producers, including her husband, argued that the lyrics made it a man’s song — it includes the line “I could promise you things like big diamond rings.”
But a studio session ended 15 minutes early and with no other songs scheduled, Miss Anderson persuaded the crew to record “Rose Garden.”
According to her official biography, she turned out 12 top-ranked singles and 3 No. 1 albums during a four-decade recording career.
Among her other songs were “That’s a No No,” “Promises, Promises,” “I’ve Been Everywhere,” “Rocky Top,” “Cry,” “How Can I Unlove You,” “Keep Me in Mind,” “You’re My Man,” “What a Man My Man Is,” “Listen to a Country Song,” “Fool Me” and “Top of the World.”
Lynn Rene Anderson was born on Sept. 26, 1947, in Grand Forks, N.D., the daughter of country songwriters, Casey and Liz Anderson. Her mother wrote several hits for Merle Haggard, including “(My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers” and “I’m a Lonesome Fugitive.”
Raised in California, she began performing when she was 6. She became an award-winning equestrian as a teenager and continued to ride and breed horses as an adult.
She recorded her debut single, “For Better or for Worse,” a duet with Jerry Lane, when she was 19. In 1967 she began appearing on “The Lawrence Welk Show,” which also exposed country music to a wider television audience, and that led to a contract with Columbia Records.
She moved to Nashville before recording “Rose Garden,” which earned her the Grammy for Best Female Country Vocal Performance and the Country Music Association Female Vocalist of the Year.
Her marriage, in 1970, to Glenn Sutton, a songwriter, ended in divorce. She is survived by her father; her three children, Lisa Sutton, Melissa Stream Hempel and Gary Stream; four grandchildren; and her partner, the songwriter Mentor Williams.
In 1974, Ms. Anderson was the first female country singer to sell out Madison Square Garden in New York.
She was arrested on charges of drunken driving several times. After she was involved in a car crash in Nashville last year and charged with driving under the influence, she issued an apology to her fans on her Facebook page and promised to be “on the road to recovery.”
In 2005, she was charged with shoplifting a DVD of a Harry Potter film, and pleaded no contest to obstructing an officer and was given a conditional discharge, The A.P. reported.
Ms. Anderson made her last recording for Columbia in 1980, but had another Top 10 single (a duet with Gary Morris, “You’re Welcome to Tonight”) in 1983 and a Grammy-nominated album (“The Bluegrass Sessions”) in 2004. Just this June, she released a gospel album titled “Bridges.”
Ashlee Simpson Ross has reportedly given birth to a daughter.
The 30-year-old star and her husband Evan Ross are said to have welcomed their little girl into the world on Thursday evening. At the moment there aren't many details available, with no name or confirmation issued as yet.
'Their whole family was around to support them," a source told E! News. "Evan was very emotional and loves Ashlee so much. He did not leave her side and wanted to go through this with her every step of the way. He can't wait to be a dad. He would do anything for Ashlee and now this baby girl. Ashlee is doing great and can't wait to get home to be with her family."
This is a second child for Ashlee, who is already mother to six-year-old son Bronx with her ex-husband Pete Wentz. He couldn't wait to become a big brother, with Ashlee explaining he was over the moon when he found out he'd be having a little sister.
'He's excited. He's so excited,' she previously smiled.
'He's excited that it's a girl. He thinks it's cute - the tea parties - she'll be adorable."
The star has kept busy throughout her pregnancy, regularly attending cardio barre classes at her local gym. It's a ballet-type workout, which was apparently ideal for the star as she's such a huge fan of dancing.
She also got together with her friends and family last month for her baby shower, with her sister Jessica Simpson on hand for the 'beautiful and relaxed' evening.
Ashlee and Evan got married in August last year and announced she was expecting in December.
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Rodriguez, Ludacris and Peck hosting TCAs
added: 31 Jul 2015 // by: Music-News.com Newsdesk
Gina Rodriguez is one of three hosts for the Teen Choice Awards this year.
The 31-year-old Jane the Virgin star will be teaming up with rapper Ludacris and Drake & Josh actor Josh Peck to present the annual ceremony, taking place on August 16 in Los Angeles.
The news was confirmed by the TCA official Twitter account on Thursday, with a message reading: 'RT if you're excited @Ludacris, @HereIsGina & @PortableShua are hosting #TeenChoice 2015!' The awards mark one of the first occasions that Gina has hosted such a prestigious occasion.
She is also nominated for a gong at the ceremony, as she has been recognised in the category of Choice TV Actress: Comedy for her role as Jane Villanueva in the hit show.
However, she has some tough competition as she is up against Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting for The Big Bang Theory, Lea Michele for Glee, Emily Osment for Young & Hungry and Zendaya for K.C. Undercover. The news about Gina's new presenting gig came as she marked her 31st birthday on Thursday.
Asked by a fan on Twitter what she was hoping for during her landmark birthday year, Gina replied: 'I want to smile till my cheeks hurt, box till I sweat rivers, laugh with the people I love and pray for a dope year.'
Gina has already enjoyed huge success thanks to Jane the Virgin, taking home a Golden Globe Award for her role in the programme.
However, she was notably absent from the nominee list for this year's Emmy Awards with nods instead going to Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Edie Falco, Lisa Kudrow, Amy Poehler, Amy Schumer and Lily Tomlin.
Gina's career success is set to continue via another medium, as she is currently working on a book of advice she has received from her father over the years.
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Lydia Nicole Teams with Robert Townsend on Indie Comedy Playin’ For Love
Posted by admin on July 24th, 2015 04:56 PM | FILMght, TV
Indie comedy airs on UP Channel on July 24th, August 1st, 4th & 29th
The multi-talent actress-comedienne Lydia Nicole steps in as producer and creates a positive message with Robert Townsend’s indie comedy film, Playin’ For Love, airing on the cable network UP Channel on July 24th, August 1st, 4th and 29th.
Playin’ For Love centers on the relationship between a high school basketball coach, his players and a single mother who helps turn the team around. Nicole produced together with Townsend, who also directed and stars in the film alongside Salli Richardson-Whitfield (Being Mary Jane), Esai Morales (The Brink) and Jenifer Lewis (The Wedding Ringer).
The film was part of an initiative promoting non-violence in the crime plagued Overtown community of Miami, which has one of the highest poverty rates in the country. The project included a film-training program designed to offer local youth and college students a positive alternative to violence through hands-on education.
I have been working with Robert for the last 10 years learning the ins and outs of producing. We have made several films, web series, and documentaries…”
Nicole is thrilled to be part of such an uplifting venture, which has been resonating with audiences on the film festival circuit. Nicole explains, “I have been working with Robert for the last 10 years learning the ins and outs of producing. We have made several films, web series, and documentaries that have been amazing but what I especially have loved about producing Playin’ For Love is that we actually got to go into an inner city to teach young people how to make a film, employ them and then come out with a finished product that not only are we proud of but they can share with their friends and loved ones and say “I helped make this”. This is the kind of art I love being part of. It feeds the creative soul as well as the social justice aspect. I also love that we are not waiting on someone or something to give us but we are getting it done ourselves.”
The film is just the latest way in which Nicole has been working to foster positive messages and behavior in America. This actress, writer and comedienne has become known for her streetwise wisdom as the Common Sense Mamita, delivering Latino’s a hilarious in-your-face dose of ‘tough-love’ honesty about all aspects of their life. Her popular vlog has become a regular segment on Latin Heat Entertainment (LatinHeat.com) and more recently on the web-radio podcast Robles & Rosado (RoblesandRosado.com).
Previously voted by Hispanic Magazine as one of the ‘Top 100 Latino Comics’, Nicole hosted The Comedy Store’s weekly Latino Comedy Night, a stint that lasted for 2-years. She went on to participate and produce the stand-up comedy shows Funny Ladies of Comedy and the all Latina The Hot and Spicy Mamitas, which performed before sold-out audiences nationwide and recorded a hit comedy CD with Uproar Records. Lydia’s acting career spans over 30 years, guest-starring in numerous television shows and films including the Oscar-nominated film Stand and Deliver starring Edward James Olmos.
Lydia Nicole center
Nicole has become an inspiration for thousands of women and at-risk teens by turning her own turbulent upbringing into a life of celebration. She frequently speaks at inner-city schools, churches and juvenile correctional facilities, an experience she is turning into a life skills book for young adults. She has worked with the California Youth Authority, Athletes & Entertainers for Kids, PEACE Fund and ArtsReach, with whom she collaborated on the award-winning documentary When The Bough Breaks. Her producing credits also include Why We Laugh, a documentary on the history of African American comedy; Los Americans the first dramatic Latino web series; and the dramatic bio-pic In The Hive, based on the life of Vivian Sanders, a woman who started a high school in for at risk boys.
Up next, Nicole will mount a full theatrical run of her highly-acclaimed autobiographical one-woman show, A Rose Grown in Spanish Harlem, transforming herself into 25 different characters in this coming-of-age story from her days growing up in New York’s Spanish Harlem.
This past week it was announced that Emilio Rivera (Sons of Anarchy) and Robert Knepper (Prison Break ) have been cast in the dramatic action film Badsville.April Mullen (Dead Before Dawn 3D) will direct the story of two rival greaser gangs The Badsville Kings and The Aces in a story about loyalty, confrontations and the need to be loved.
Producers Douglas Spain (Line of Duty) and David J. Phillips (Moments of Clarity) have been developing the film for about a year and a half and will be producing under the Phillm Productions shingle.They are surrounding their lead characters with some of the most exciting new young talent in Hollywood, Tamara Duarte (Hard Rock Medical), Rene Rosado (Star Trek Into Darkness), Octavio Pizano (If Loving You is Wrong), Paul James Jordan (Piranha 3DD), Chelsea Rendon (McFarland USA), and Gregory Kasyan (Arms and the Dudes).
(L-R) Rene Rosado, Chelsey Rendon, Octavio Pizano, Paul James Jordan & Tamara Duarte
The debut screenplay is co-written by Ian McLaren and Benjamin Barrett, who also costar in the film. The shooting schedule is set for just 19 days.However, as this is the second film Spain and Phillips produce together, and if their last film Line of Duty is any indication, they will get it done and the audience can expect a joyful ride.Badsville is filming at various locations throughout Southern California and is repped by Ramo Law.
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Andrea Sixtos Playing Gay Teen With Dignity & Honesty on “East Los High 3″
Hulu returns July 15th with a new and a more sizzling third season of the hugely popular and addictive drama, East Los High (ELH). While new characters are being introduced, one of my favorites, Andrea Sixtos is back in her recurring role as Jocelyn, a student who confronts all that comes with being a Latina teen and gay.
Jocelyn deals with the dynamics of being gay from a conservative Latino family. “It’s a conversation, that is long overdue,” said the actress. “I’m thrilled to be the one who brings this topic to the forefront.”
Andrea also has to overcome the teen issues of falling in love with a complicated, complex and very dysfunctional girlfriend Camila brilliantly portrayed by Vannessa Vasquez.
When asked what it was like to be cast as a young lady whose lifestyle is vastly different from her own reality, she said, “It wasn’t hard for me to slip into her skin when the camera was rolling because at that point Jocelyn and I were one entity. I’m not sure I have a better understanding of what it is like to be a gay Latino teenager. But if I were to speak for Jocelyn,” Andrea added, “and what she went through… well it was really tough for me emotionally, especially when she came out as a lesbian.”
“Jocelyn & Camila”
According to the Human Rights Campaign, gay teens are 8.4 times more likely to report having attempted suicide and 5.9 times more likely to report high levels of depression compared to peers that reported no or low levels of family rejection.
“She was bullied,” Andrea said about her character, “talked about in a negative way, loses her best friend and is disowned by her grandfather throughout the season. Not fun. But the admirable thing about Jocelyn is she is such a strong and confident girl and somehow moves past all of the ridicule and pain because she believes in herself and who she is as a person.”
“I really enjoy working with Andrea. She is an intelligent, extremely talented young actress with a bright future. Fearless on set she absorbs the tough challenges her character faces, giving the role depth integrity and honesty.
“Its fun playing the stern no-nonsense grandfather Jose. The grandparents serve as a moral compass where family, culture and principle are everything. This multigenerational approach serves as guidance where the young can’t find answers through their peers.” –Veteran Actor Miguel Najera, Jocelyn’s grandfather in ELH 2&3
Andrea, who was born into a culturally diverse entertainment family has three sisters who are also actors steadily making their way on film and TV shows. Older sister Alicia Sixtos starred in the first and second season of ELH and returns again as “Maya” in a supporting role. She also has a recurring role in ABC Family’s The Fosters. Younger sister, Veronica Sixtos, stars in her first indie, Pocha, an award-winning film currently making the film festival circuit.
The new season premieres on July 15, 2015 and along with many of your favorite characters, new ones are introduced portrayed by reality star Christina Milian, Oscar-nominated actress Catalna Sandino Moreno and Revolution star D Pardo.
So what’s all the hoopla about East Los High? It’s just a teen drama like so many others, right? Wrong! It is a teen drama but this one showcases an all-Latino cast, and focuses on “the lives of teenagers growing up in East Los Angeles from the American-Latino perspective.”
An interesting and insightful interview is one where Andrea Sixtos, Vannessa Vasquez and Carlos Portugal (ELH creator) sit down for a one-on-one with Rick Najera during one of his Oxnard College presentations. Check it out:
And, best of all, the East Los High introduces us to spectacular new talent like Andrea Sixtos!
East Los High 3 Premieres: July 15, 2015 Network: Hulu Original Series Language: English Genres: Soap Opera, Drama Cast: Vannessa Vasquez, Andrea Sixtos, Christina Milian, Catalina Sandino Moreno, D Pardo, Alicia Marie Sixtos, Danielle Vega, Ray Diaz Jr., Rene Alvarado, Gabriel Chavarria, Alejandro Rodriguez, Vivia Lamolli, Chachi Gonzales, Robert Paul Taylor
That takes the cake! Empire's Grace Gealey 'accepts co-star Trai Byers' shock proposal on her birthday'
Published: 01:00 EST, 28 July 2015 | Updated: 01:45 EST, 28 July 2015
She would no doubt have been hoping to get something a little special for her birthday.
And Empire star Grace Gealey ended up with a new fiance after accepting co-star Trai Byer's shock proposal as she turned 31 on Sunday..
The saucy starlet, who plays Anika Calhoun in the soap opera, is said to have been grinning from ear-to-ear after the hunk got down on one knee and asked for her hand in marriage.
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It beats a birthday card: Empire favourite Grace Gealey ended up with a new fiance after Trai Byers proposed on her big day on Sunday
A source told Us Weekly: 'He surprised her on her birthday. He popped the question and she was totally surprised and elated.
'She can’t stop looking at the ring. They celebrated all night.'
It is certainly clear the pair were enjoying a very special night together, as her other half posted an Instagram picture which showed them revelling together and some of their other co-stars.
The 32-year-old captioned the image: 'Had so much fun celebrating @gracegealey's life!! Happy Birthday to an exquisite human being.'
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Unforgettable: Trai dropped a hint about their engagement after posting this image on his Instagram page
And after thanking the Chicago eatery where they had enjoyed their night, he also dropped a hint about their proposal by saying they had an 'UNFORGETTABLE night.'
Trai plays the son of Terrance Howard's character Lucious Lyon, a former drug dealer turned hip hop mogul who is the CEO of Empire Entertainment.
He is one of three son's hoping to win their father's approval to take over the business.
The show has been a runaway success for Fox, with 17.62 million viewers tuning in to see the show's season one finale in March.
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Empire state of union: The couple star together in the runaway Fox smash hit
A Spanish police officer added: “We are still awaiting autopsy results but everything at this stage is pointing towards her death being the result of natural causes.”
Rehearsals at Alpha studios, Birmingham, for ABC's 'Thank Your Lucky Stars' programme with Brian Matthew, Cilla Black (centre), The Beatles (back), Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, Gerry and the Pacemakers and The Searchers (PA)
The Liverpoon-born star enjoyed her first taste of fame at the city's Cavern Club, where she performed alongside acts including The Beatles and Gerry and the Pacemakers.
Cilla relaxes at the Liverpool music venue the Cavern Club Picture: John Pratt
She went on to release 14 albums but later established herself as a television personality, presenting hit shows including Surprise Surprise and Blind Date.
In more recent years, despite suffering from arthritis and deafness, she remained in the public eye. Her rise to stardom was recently told in award-winning three-part drama, Cilla, starring Sheridan Smith.
Cilla Black on 'The Bruce Forsyth Show' in 1969
Most of the shutters were down at the entertainer’s house near Marbella on Sunday morning and there was no answer on the door.
However, a light outside the property was on, a grey Seat Ibiza car was parked outside and the back patio doors appeared to be open.
With her husband Bobby Willis taking their first son, 10-day old Robert John home in 1970 Picture: Rex
Police sources said they thought the death had occurred overnight and they believed Cilla, who suffered from hearing problems and arthritis, had jetted to Spain a few days ago with one of her three sons
Cilla Black receives MBE at Buckingham Palace Picture: Rex
A Spanish man who identified himself as a police officer was stood outside the front of the property talking on the phone before driving off in a Seat Alhambra car around midday local time.
Queen Elizabeth II meeting Cilla Black in 2005 (PA)
The man, who refused at first to say who he was, declined to comment on the health of the property's occupant.
An immediate neighbour added: “I don’t really know who lives next door. The wall between my house and theirs is very high and I don’t know anything.”
'The One and Only Cilla Black' 2013 Picture: Rex
In a recent interview, the musician and TV star said she did not want to live beyond the age of 75.
While Cilla had taken a step back from public life in recent years, she did enjoy appearing on TV's 'Loose Women' Picture: Rex
"Seventy-five is a good age to go if things start to drop off," Cilla said.
"I don't want to linger. I don't want to be a burden on anybody. I know 75 is only four years away, but I take each day as I find it."
Arqiva British Academy Television Awards Special Winner 2014 Picture: Rex
John Lennon and Ringo Starr of The Beatles (back row centre) stand with Rolling Stone Brian Jones (far left), folk singer Donovan (second left), Cilla Black (second right) and Paul McCartney (right) in 1968
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Norman Lear Updates ‘One Day at a Time’ Reboot News
TCA 2015: TV icon addresses his New York Times op-ed, says he loves PBS “well enough to criticize it”
A sharp 93-year-old Norman Lear graced the Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour Saturday, when he talked everything from politics (“You will not fuck with my Bill of Rights”), potential reboots of his classic shows, to PBS, which is honoring the TV icon via an upcoming “American Masters.”
Lear updated reporters on his plans to remake an English-language all-Latino version of “One Day at a Time,” a reboot that was first reported in January. Lear told reporters on Saturday that he’d like the single mother to have a son and a daughter this time as opposed to two daughters, which the original version featured in Valerie Bertinelli and Mackenzie Phillips.
Lear also wants a grandmother on the show “so there will be three generations of women,” he said Saturday. “I love the idea because I don’t see enough of that on the air any place … and I think it’s a rich idea.”
While Lear couldn’t or wouldn’t share any casting details, he said: “It is a possibility and in a couple weeks I will let you know if it’s happening.”
During the weekend panel, a brave journalist asked Lear about an April New York Times op-ed the “All in the Family” creator penned, which was critical of the public broadcasting channel. The timing was interesting if not ironic, as Lear was only in attendance because of PBS’ fawning documentary.
Still, Lear elaborated on the point-of-view expressed in “Is PBS Neglecting Its Mission?” and simultaneously brought his patriotism back into play.
“If you follow me clearly, you’ll find me critical of my country — a lot,” Lear (pictured above) told reporters at the Beverly Hilton. “And if you follow me even more closely, you’ll find out how much I love my country. And it’s because I love it that I take the moment of time — of thought — to deal with it when I think it’s wrong.”
“Same is true of PBS,” he continued on Saturday. “I love what it means for my children and grandchildren. And I love it well enough to criticize it when it’s wrong.”
A few months back, Lear had panned PBS’ move away from documentaries and towards a bit of a ratings chase.
“Unfortunately, PBS is now threatening, for the second time in four years, to downgrade documentaries, which are at the heart of its public mission,” Lear wrote, referring to the launch of “Wolf Hall” behind the success of “Downton Abbey.” “As it chases ratings, PBS risks neglecting the core of its public mission and mandate.”
“It could devastate independent documentary filmmaking,” Lear penned of recent PBS scheduling changes.
His piece concluded: “Diversity, community and accountability are cornerstones of its founding charter. PBS should keep those principles in mind and keep independent documentary films where they belong: in primetime.”
While Lear did generally praise modern television as being in a “Golden Age,” he spoke to one definite lacking that he sees: a dearth of topical TV series. Lear’s many series, which also includes “The Jeffersons,” “Good Times” and “Sanford and Son,” were known for tackling social issues head on.
“My guess is that they’re fully capable of doing it, they just don’t elect to,” Lear said of broadcast channels these days. “Or the … networks you’re talking about don’t elect to have them elect to.”
“They’re doing very well,” he acknowledged. “I love ‘Modern Family.’ It has a lot to say about a lot of situations.”
But again, “It doesn’t talk about some of the things that we dealt with, and I think it’s because they don’t elect to.”
Andre Benjamin has been cast in the second season of ABC’s anthology series “American Crime.”
The move reunites Benjamin with the show’s creator and executive producer John Ridley. The two worked together on the 2014 film “All Is by My Side,” which Ridley wrote and directed and in which Benjamin starred as a young Jimi Hendrix.
Benjamin will star opposite Regina King as Michael Lacroix, an architect who is married to King’s character, Terri. The two form a wealthy power couple who have the means to defend their son when he becomes embroiled in a scandal at an elite private school.
“Personally, I couldn’t be more excited than to work again with Andre,” Ridley said. “He is an amazing individual, a true artist, and ‘All Is by My Side’ is one of the reasons I was given the reins on ‘American Crime.’ Folks at ABC were absolutely moved by Andre’s performance in the film, and by the overall language of cinema we used in telling the story. It’s fair to say ‘American Crime’ might not exist were it not for our previous collaboration.”
The first season of “American Crime” drew 10 Primetime Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Limited Series and a nod for King for outstanding supporting actress in a miniseries or movie.
Felicity Huffman and Timothy Hutton were nominated for best actress and actor, respectively, in a miniseries or movie, while Richard Cabral was nominated for supporting actor. Ridley was nominated for best writing in a miniseries or movie.
As a recording artist, Benjamin performs under the name André 3000, half of the hip-hop duo Outkast.
Local rapper Redway among four people killed in separate car crashes
One collision happened on the 427's northbound ramp to the 401 westbound, with another on Dufferin St. south of Teston Rd. in Vaughan early Saturday morning.
Shane Redway was killed in a car crash early Saturday, his management company confirmed.
Up-and-coming local rapper Shane Redway was among three people killed in a fiery, single-vehicle crash near Pearson International Airport early Saturday morning.
The crash occurred just after 4 a.m. on the Highway 427 northbound ramp to the 401 westbound, where the OPP says, for unknown reasons, a northbound vehicle veered off the highway and hit the right guardrail.
The vehicle burst into flames after the crash and witnesses rushed to the scene in an attempt to rescue the three people trapped inside. They got one out, the OPP said, and performed CPR on the woman until paramedics arrived.
The two people trapped inside the vehicle were pronounced dead on the scene, while the woman was rushed to hospital with life-threatening injuries, where she later died.
Police haven’t confirmed the identities of victims, but believe the two people trapped inside the car were a male driver and female passenger. OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt said confirming the identities has been challenging because the bodies are badly burnt.
The OPP closed the ramp for several hours for investigation following the crash. Police are still investigating what factors may have led to the crash and subsequent fire.
Andrew Collins/ Andrew Collins
The crash occurred on the Highway 427 northbound ramp to the 401 westbound, where the OPP says, for unknown reasons, a northbound vehicle veered off the highway and hit the right guardrail.
Redway was among those killed in the crash, his management company CHAMP Management confirmed to the Star.
“Redway was known for being a passionate artist who was always striving for greatness, pushing the boundaries of always believing in your visions & dreams which led to the creation of the BLVD (The Belief Leading Visions & Dreams),” the company said in an email statement.
Toronto rappers Drake and Kardinal Offishall both sent out condolence messages on social media.
“RIP young Redway. He was on his way to greatness. Everybody only had amazing things to say. Gone too soon. God bless his fam and friends,” Kardinal Offishall tweeted.
“Gone way too soon. Just saw this guy yesterday at Bounce. RIP Redway,” Drake wrote in a post on Instagram.
Redway and his music have been featured in several publications, and news of his death triggered an outpouring of grief on social media, with the hashtag #RIPRedway becoming the top Twitter trend in Toronto.
A GoFundMe campaign has been set up to help pay for Redway’s funeral.
Anyone with information or who saw the collision is asked to call the Toronto OPP detachment at (416) 235-4981.
In an unrelated collision around a half hour later, a cyclist was killed on Dufferin St. south of Teston Rd. in Vaughan.
York Regional Police say that a male cyclist was struck by a vehicle around 4:30 a.m., and pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver of the vehicle remained at the scene.
Dufferin St. was closed from just north of Major Mackenzie Dr. W. to Teston Rd. for a police investigation until early Saturday afternoon.
Why ‘Peanuts’ Needed an African-American Character 47 Years Ago Today
In 1968, Franklkin was born when retired L.A. teacher Harriet Glickman successfully lobbied “Peanuts” creator Charles Schulz
Exactly 47 years ago, Charles M. Schulz’ “Peanuts” made history when he introduced Franklin, the first African-American character ever featured in a comic strip.
In the animated “The Peanuts Movie,” due in theaters on Nov. 6, Franklin (voiced by rapper Mar Mar) will join Charlie Brown and the gang in new big-screen adventures.
Franklin owes his existence to retired L.A. schoolteacher Harriet Glickman, who in the days following Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination wrote letters to Schulz to suggest that he diversify the gang surrounding his wispy-haired blockhead.
“Because he was so famous and the strips were so important, I really didn’t think I would get an answer,” Glickman, now 88, told TheWrap. “It was really not long afterwards that I did. He said that that he had been thinking about it a lot, but didn’t think it would be possible because he thought that black parents might find it patronizing.”
Upon hearing that, Glickman showed Schulz’ letter to some of her African-American friends to get their opinion on the matter. They each wrote him that they would welcome such a character, and Schulz wrote her back, telling her that she would be pleased to see the character in the strip in the week of July 29. Franklin was born.
“The idea was that a black child should be able to see himself looking at a comic strip that people loved and say, ‘Oh, I’m one of them,'” Glickma recalled. “And white kids should look at it and say, ‘That’s natural — black and white kids in a classroom, that’s the way it should be.'”
Not everyone welcomed Franklin’s addition into the “Peanuts” gang. Schulz got pushback from newspapers, particularly in the South, but reportedly told his syndicate, “You print it the way I draw it or I quit.”
Glickman’s advocacy was borne of her observation of the civil rights movement in the 1960s — and of one little girl in particular.
“For years, I had been reading about the struggles for civil rights in this country and the difficulty that black kids had with integration in schools,” she said. “Little Ruby Bridges — who was 6 years old — had to walk through a crowd of people who were spitting at her and yelling at her while being surrounded by guards. She was 6 years old! I thought, the courage it took for her parents to actually allow her to do this and put her through it was such an important reason.”
Glickman added that modern technology has made it easier for ordinary people to make a positive impact on the world. “The voice we have now because of social media — you can be heard now in a different way than you could 47 years ago,” she said.
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‘The End of the Tour’ Review: Jason Segel, Jesse Eisenberg Turn Dialogue into Riveting Cinema
“Infinite Jest” author David Foster Wallace meets Rolling Stone interviewer David Lipsky in film exploring the push and pull between subject and journalist
What’s particularly disappointing about some of the latter-day Woody Allen comedies is the filmmaker’s recent inability to capture effectively how smart people talk to each other. In his earlier classics, Allen had a gift for human-sounding dialogue even between the most pompous and pretentious of academics, but in movies like “Irrational Man,” his characters sound like they’re spewing computer-generated sentences that happen to include occasional references to Schopenhauer.
Listening to two smart guys talk to each other is among the principal pleasures of “The End of the Tour,” based on writer and journalist David Lipsky’s multiple-day interview with author David Foster Wallace, as the latter was finishing up the promotion for his novel “Infinite Jest.” That book was an unlikely best-seller, weighing in at over three pounds and containing a vast array of footnotes and minutiae regarding the rules of tennis.
(Confession: I purchased and started, but never finished, “Infinite Jest.” I feel confident saying that others probably did the same.)
The film opens in 2008 with Lipsky (played here by Jesse Eisenberg) getting a phone call informing him that Wallace (Jason Segel) has committed suicide. Lipsky is prompted to dig out a shoebox containing tapes of the interview the two had conducted a dozen years before. We then leap back to 1996, where novelist Lipsky has just published his autobiographical novel “The Art Fair.” (In real life, that book made Time magazine’s list of the best books of the year, but the movie — adapted from Lipsky’s memoir by playwright Donald Margulies — presents it as landing without a ripple, with only a handful of semi-interested fans showing up for a reading.)
Hired as a journalist by Rolling Stone, Lipsky pitches his editor (Ron Livingston) the idea of interviewing Wallace, whose new novel is getting rapturous reviews and equally impressive sales numbers. Tape recorder in hand, Lipsky sets off for snowy Bloomington to meet Wallace and join him on a trip to Minneapolis to promote “Infinite Jest.”
That’s pretty much the meat of the story, but within this basic framework, Margulies and director James Ponsoldt (“The Spectacular Now”) delve into many fascinating areas: Can interviewer and subject ever really have a genuine conversation when both people have an agenda that transcends the discussion itself? What compels writers to write, and how does that color their own viewpoint of the world? Can a struggling writer profile a successful author without allowing jealousy to creep in?
These concerns might seem merely intellectual, but Segel and Eisenberg make them palpably human and moving. Yes, they discuss the life of the mind, but they also talk about “Die Hard” and Alanis Morissette. (Heck, they even go see “Broken Arrow” together, at the Mall of America, no less.) In a massive departure from his previous work, Segel embodies Wallace’s intellectual curiosity and dismay over his sudden fame without overplaying the author’s vulnerability. (This performance never stamps “Future Suicide” on itself.) Eisenberg, meanwhile, captures the awkward, anxious intimacy that can bloom between two people who might have become friends under other circumstances but have instead been placed in a position to be, at the very least, cordially adversarial.
Of all the various art forms, writing may be the most challenging to present on the screen; Roger Ebert used to talk about how biopics of authors were often reduced to a scene of clacking away frantically on a typewriter, followed by the moment where he enters a neighborhood bar and slams his manuscript down on a table. “End of the Tour” refrains from depicting the process of writing, but what it has to say about the act of creation, not to mention the act of talking about it to an interviewer, is rich and fascinating.
The movie also does a great job at being a period piece for a relatively recent period — apart from a few references to e-mail, this is still a pre-screen society, when computers and cell phones hadn’t yet consumed our lives. That analog sensibility is felt throughout, from Lipsky’s cassette tapes to the physical, tangible books that people are still carrying (or, in the case of “Infinite Jest,” lugging) in this era. Even the idea of a magazine journalist talking to a household-name author of literature feels like a throwback to a whole other world.
Like “My Dinner with Andre” or “Mindwalk,” “The End of the Tour” turns dialogue into riveting cinema. It’s captivating enough to make me want to try tackling “Infinite Jest” again, and that’s no small feat.
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‘Mercy Street’ Very Contemporary In Subject And Facial Hair – TCA
PBS’s first original American drama in more than a decade, Mercy Streetfollows doctors, nurses, contraband laborers and Southern loyalists in Union-occupied Alexandria, VA in the early years of the Civil War, but could not be more relevant, co-creator David Zabel told journalists at TCA this afternoon.
“This show is not a political show – we’re trying to capture a cross-section of characters, as the War is just getting going,” Zabel said in response to a question about recent Confederate flag controversy.
The recent debate over the Confederate flag flying on Statehouse grounds in South Carolina-a debate that followed the shooting deaths of nine black churchgoers and the subsequent arrest of a white supremacist – “only reinforced how important this moment in history was,” Zabel said, referring to the Civil War. “There are still conversations going in in our country now that haven’t been resolved.”
This sounds VERY interesting & yes, relevant. Looking forward to seeing PBS continue to raise the bar!!
Actor Josh Radnor, asked why he chose this project as his first after starring in CBS’s long-running comedy How I Met Your Mother, said, “I didn’t have an overarching agenda about what I wanted to do next, other than finding great material.” He joked that he’d had a “weird moment” when he thought he’d like to be in “something where I’d get to have an un-ironic mustache, and I was thinking about a ’70s cop show.” Then he got this script, which was “un-ironic and requires facial hair.”
In a typical mainstream TV series, he said, “you’re only asked to play a couple notes.” Mercy Street, he added, “was scary enough and exciting enough I wanted to jump in and see what I could do with it.”
Radnor’s character, a morphine-addicted young doctor Jedediah Foster, sports a scruffy beard and doesn’t “spend a lot of time in front of the mirror,” the actor said. Costar Norbert Leo Butz, on the other hand, said he wanted his Dr. Byron Hale character, with his Colonel Sanders beard, “to look like he had really considered what his facial hair was going to be.”
As for the morphine storyline, “It doesn’t go well,” Radnor joked. “Not one of the good-morphine-addiction stories. It’s more of the negative, so I’d say stay tuned!’
Clips of the first season included several references to Florence Nightingale and reporters wondered if actual historical figures would show up in the series. “We wanted to do an episode where a new nurse named Walt appears and is always scribbling things down,” Zabel said, referring to Walt Whitman, but added that, historically, the poet couldn’t be worked into the first season’s time frame. Look for him next season.
Other “kisses by history,” as Zabel put it, will include a visit by the Lincoln family
Mercy Street debuts Sun, January 17 at 10 PM following Episode 3 of Downton Abbey’s final season.
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NBC Universo Teams up With Mitú's Latino YouTube Stars for New Series 'Vive el Verano'
Internet personality Maiah Ocando attends the 2014 American Music Awards at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on November 23, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo : Jason Merritt/Getty Images)
NBC Universo has teamed up with various Latino social media stars to launch the series "Vive el Verano."
According to Variety, the series will include 36 different two and three minute clips that will be airing on NBC Universo, a network aimed at young Latino millennials.
Mitú, a digital media firm, creates programs in Spanish, English and Portuguese. The young company, mainly located in Santa Monica, California, has grown rapidly over the past years to reach an audience of 100 million globally.
"The strong combination of relevant, fun, shortform content on NBC Universo platforms and Mitú's popularity and reach will resonate with Latino millennials, many of whom have grown up with our network," said Senior Vice President of programming and production Bilai Joa Silar.
Starring in the series will be Mitú talents El Guzii, Eddie G., Luan Palomera, Maiah Ocando, Luisito Comunica. The stars will provide various summer themed ideas like pool and backyard activities, food recipes and different do-it-yourself crafts.
The clips will also be distributed online, as well as through various social media outlets like YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
In a statement released on July 30, Beatriz Acevedo, the president of Mitú, explained the partnership with NBC Universo.
"Mitú is proud to be a part of NBC Universo's exciting evolution, and multi-platform content offering that the network is now delivering to its audience," said Acevedo. "As the voice of today's Latino millennials, we love the opportunity to highlight some of our talent and content by partnering with NBC Universo to feature our summer-themed programming #ViveElVerano."
Fans can go online to learn about the cast and to view extra content not shown during the miniseries. "Vive el Verano" will premiere on Aug. 1 and will go on through Labor Day weekend.
Lady Gaga Hints She's Starting Work on New Album 08/2015 Link
Lady Gaga just finished up her world tour with Tony Bennett, but she isn’t wasting any time. The singer hints in an Instagram post that she’ll soon be starting work on her fifth studio album.
She posted a sunglasses-wearing selfie Monday, captioning it: “LG5 time.”
Her next album will be a follow-up to 2013’s ARTPOP and last year’s Grammy-winning jazz duet album with Tony, Cheek to Cheek.
Gaga’s final concert with Tony took place Saturday night in Washington, D.C. She helped him celebrate his 89th birthday at the show by singing “Happy Birthday” to him on stage.
She also wrote on Instagram Saturday, “I'm so sad that this tour is ending. I will never forget it as long as I live. And maybe longer.”
He helped create the smooth ‘countrypolitan’ sound of the 1960s and ’70s and co-wrote Tammy Wynette's “Stand by Your Man.”
Billy Sherrill, the iconic record producer and executive whose style of production ushered in a sound described as “countrypolitan,” died Tuesday in Nashville following a short illness. He was 78.
Born Nov. 5, 1936, in Phil Campbell, Ala., Sherrill’s earliest musical influences were jazz and blues. He led a blues band in his teenage years, actually gaining a record contract of his own — but Sherrill didn’t leave his mark as an artist.
Moving to Nashville in 1962, his first job was working for Sam Phillips at Sun Records, managing the label’s recording studio in Music City. The next year, Phillips sold the studio, leaving Sherrill without a job. His unemployed status wouldn’t last long, as he was quickly hired as a producer for Epic Records, working with acts ranging from Jim and Jesse to the Staple Singers.
Not familiar with the country genre as much as some of the other producers in town, Sherrill’s style of production often drew comparisons to Phil Spector’s “Wall of Sound,” with his use of strings, eventually earning the “countrypolitan” moniker.
His first major success as a producer came in 1966 with David Houston’s “Almost Persuaded,” which spent nine weeks atop Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart in the summer of that year. Sherrill composed the song with frequent collaborator Glenn Sutton (the former husband of Lynn Anderson, who died last week).
With that success under his belt, Sherrill was given more freedom and responsibility at the label — signing many of Epic’s most legendary artists to the roster. He signed a fellow Alabama native by the name of Virginia Wynette Pugh. He was sold on her talent, but not her name. In meeting with her one day, he said, “You look like a ‘Tammy’ to me” (based on her resemblance to Debbie Reynolds, who starred in the 1957 film Tammy and the Bachelor) — and Tammy Wynette was born.
Sherrill not only produced her classic recordings, but also helped her write several of them, most notably “Stand by Your Man.”
It was through working with Wynette that Sherrill also struck up a relationship with her husband at the time, George Jones. Persuading him to move over to the Epic roster from Musicor in 1971, his recordings with Jones resulted in classic hits such as “Loving You Can Never Be Better,” “Her Name Is …” and “The Grand Tour.”
Jones would be the artist Sherrill would produce for the longest, working with “The Possum” through his 1991 album Friends in High Places. Sherrill reportedly bet Jones $100 that their recording of “He Stopped Loving Her Today” would be a hit, to which the singer quipped, “Nobody will buy that morbid son of a bitch.” Needless to say, Jones lost that bet, as the song not only topped the charts but won the CMA Awards for song of the year.
Sherrill also signed Tanya Tucker to the Columbia roster in the 1970s (producing her early hits) and served as producer on Charlie Rich’s hit recordings for the label in the 1970s — such as “Behind Closed Doors” and “The Most Beautiful Girl.” Sherrill — along with Norro Wilson — won a Grammy in 1975 for composing Rich’s “A Very Special Love Song.”
Sherrill’s production credits read like a “who’s who” of music, including Shelby Lynne, Marty Robbins, Johnny Cash, Barbara Mandrell and Andy Williams. He also produced Elvis Costello’s 1980 album Almost Blue.
After stepping down as Jones’ producer in the early 1990s, Sherrill kept a relatively low profile, resurfacing in 2003 to work with Jones one last time on the two-CD set The Gospel Collection. Last year, Out Among the Stars — a disc of unreleased recordings from Cash (produced originally by Sherrill in the mid-1980s) — topped the Top Country Albums chart.
Shelby Lynne shows her affection for the newly inducted Billy Sherrill at the 2010 Medallion Ceremony
Sherrill was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame for his accomplishments in 2010. He was also a member of the Musicians Hall of Fame.
Funeral arrangements are pending.
Idris Elba defines ‘the new Maxim man’ with historic solo cover
Idris Elba is making history for Maxim. The magazine debuted the “Star Trek Beyond” villain as the first man to cover an issue solo.
“It’s historical. It’s fresh. It marks sort of a new way for the magazine to go,” he tells Maxim of the honor.
Though men have appeared on the magazine’s cover before, Elba is the first time one has done so on his own. This is all part of the company’s reinvention, editor-in-chief Kate Lanphear tells Racked.
“For me, he was really the perfect embodiment of what I think the new Maxim man is. He’s multi-dimensional, he’s complex, he’s sophisticated, but he’s down to earth,” she says. “It was funny when on set, I was like, ‘Is there anything this guy can’t do?’ He’s an award-winning actor, he’s a DJ, his capsule clothing line for Superdry is about to hit stores. The guy broke the [British] land speed record which hasn’t been touched since like 1928. He’s sort of a living, breathing superhero.”
Lanphear took over as editor-in-chief in September 2014, and her first issue was Candice Swanepoel’s March 2015 cover. The former Elle and T style director seems to be ushering in a more woman-friendly Maxim, and ditching scantily clad women for a smoldering Elba on the cover of September’s fashion-centric issue is clearly a result of that.
“A well-dressed man, to me, is all about your confidence in whatever you’re wearing,” Elba explains in a video taken during the cover shoot. “Someone that knows how to look comfortable but look a little but stylish.”
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Ronnie Wood confirmed for upcoming Faces reunion charity gig
Ron Wood and Kenney Jones of the Faces perform onstage during the 27th Annual Rock And Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at Public Hall on April 14, 2012 in Cleveland, Ohio.
Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images
Ronnie Wood will rejoin fellow surviving members of The Faces for a charity reunion performance this fall. Fresh off The Rolling Stones hugely successful Zip Code Tour of North America, the hardworking Stones guitarist will team with former bandmates Rod Stewart and Kenney Jones to perform at a benefit concert for Prostate Cancer U.K.
According to an article posted Aug. 4 at Uncut, the 2012 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees will play a short set on Sept. 5 in Ewhurst, Surrey at the Hurtwood Park Polo Club as part of as part of Rock ‘n’ Horsepower. The live performance will be part of the celebrations surrounding The Faces 40th anniversary since disbanding in 1975.
It's uncertain at this point who will be replace Faces keyboardist Ian McLagan, who died of a stroke in December. Ex-Sex Pistols bassist Glen Matlock, who has filled-in on past Faces reunions, will likely once again step in for late bassist Ronnie Lane, who died in 1997.
Further artists will be added to the lineup in coming weeks. For more information, click here.
In conjunction with the reunion, the highly influential British rockers will also be reissuing a special vinyl box set, that includes all four of The Faces albums and singles. Titled You Can Make Me Dance, Sing or Anything (1970-1975), the remastered set will be release on Aug. 28 via Rhino.
For the latest details on Ronnie Wood, click here. For information on The Faces, click here.
Did you know? The Faces planned to reunite surviving members to perform at the band's 2012 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, but Rod Stewart became ill at the last minute and was replaced at the show by Simply Red singer Mick Hucknall.
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Friendship wanes in the Israeli military office comedy Zero Motivation
Cast: Dana Igvy, Nelly Tagar, Shani Klein (in Hebrew w/subtitles)
A three-part portrait of female friendship, falling-out, and reconciliation on an Israeli military base, Talya Lavie’s Zero Motivation makes no mention of the Palestinian occupation. That makes sense, since the film focuses on young women performing two years of mandatory military duty on the administrative sidelines. Patriotic zeal has nothing to do with why they’re there.
Zohar (Dana Ivgy) practices overt, aggressive disregard for her tasks, focusing on mastering Minesweeper instead. Foil Daffi (Nelly Tagar) exhibits a seemingly guileless chirpiness and a detail-oriented mastery of her paper-shredding responsibilities that only slightly conceal a desire to flee desert-bound Shizafon for the cosmopolitan flair of a posting in Tel Aviv. The two are best friends in nonconformity on the base, and their split comes over Daffi’s willingness to leave her friend behind, something an increasingly dysfunctional Zohar can’t accept.
In interviews, Lavie’s discussed how her film operates against a tradition of Israeli films, many unknown here, which view military life almost exclusively through male eyes. Zero Motivation’s partially corrective take isn’t flattering, taking in a culture run by preening males who tell gay jokes at meetings next to the lone female colleague, whose biggest responsibility is coordinating officers’ coffees. Zohar and Abbi’s increasingly violent misbehavior (if a staple-gun is introduced in the first act, it must be fired in the third) falls right into the lineage of Daisies, antisocial disruption as a necessary and understandable reaction to an intolerable situation.
While the middle segment restricts its focus to Zohar’s dogged resolve to lose her virginity, the first and final parts depict the climax and slow dissolution of her friendship with Daffi. First their falling out is violent, but their post-basic-years training is compacted into a brisk, time-jumping, slow-disconnect epilogue. Zero Motivation is Ghost World-esque in showing how two friends brought together in solidarity in an oppressive mandatory environment (high school in that film) fall apart when mutual personality incompatibilities arise.
Melancholy climactic trajectory aside, Zero Motivation is primarily very funny, thanks both to its game cast and Lavie’s flair for unexpected gags; the paper-shredding motif reaches its illogical climax in a near-surreal act of revenge for bureaucratic tyranny. Darker elements punctuate the film’s fundamentally peppy disposition: suicide, an attempted rape, and a not-quite-horrific but still unexpectedly creepy nighttime encounter with a ghost who wants to cuddle. With sometimes black-hearted drollery, Zero Motivation considers the underrepresented dissatisfactions of a mostly mandatory rite of Israeli passage, largely nailing a tricky balance between day-to-day banalities and the unpredictably out-there. You can now STREAM it on Netflix.
Berlin Review: The 140-Minute, Action-Packed One-Shot Wonder 'Victoria'
By Jessica Kiang | The PlaylistFebruary 16, 2015 at 9:14AM
"Victoria"
Like "Birdman," but for real! Like "Russian Ark," but fast! Like the six-minute unbroken raid sequence in "True Detective," only 23.3 times as long! You may have already heard about the "gimmick" of inevitable Berlinale Cinematography award-winner "Victoria," which traces in real time and without a single edit or any CG or camera trickery, a couple of action-packed, indelibly dramatic hours in the life of its unassuming, eponymous heroine. A little like the old adage that points out that while never as well-paid or as respected, Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did only backwards and in heels, here, the virtuosity of the direction and performances, which have to stay in the moment, hitting their marks throughout the entire runtime (oh, imagine fucking up in the final minutes?), is second only to that of the cinematographer, who had to be everywhere they are, all while lugging a camera and trying to keep the right bits in frame and in focus. It's no wonder this is, I think, the only film I've ever seen to have the first credit that appears at the end be for DP Sturla Brandth Grovlen,with director Sebastian Schipper relegated to second place.
Astutely evoking the kind of tenuous relationships that can spring up during one drunken night in Berlin, "Victoria" opens in the small hours of the morning in a very Berlin nightclub, all strobe lights and thrumming techno, which, with its garage beats coming into and out of phase, sonically foreshadows the helter-skelter energy to come. Victoria (Laia Costa) is dancing blissfully, but soon we realize two things — she is alone and she is foreign, speaking in accented English (a clever but realistic flourish that means Schipper gets to be true to the street-level melting pot that is late-night Berlin, while also maximizing his film's potential for foreign distribution). Rebuffed by the barman, she leaves the club, only to strike up a casual, jokey, mildly flirtatious conversation with a young local, Sonne (Frederick Lau), who is out celebrating a friend's birthday. Pulled into the orbit of this tight little crew of guys, Victoria, a recent and somewhat lonely arrival from Madrid, is happy to tag along, prior to catching a couple hours of sleep in the cafe she's due to open in a little while.
This first section is so charming and well-observed, and creates such real chemistry between the two terrific leads, that it's almost a shame that it's there to invest us in them just so the fast-paced genre flick to come has an anchor. I'd have happily sat through 2 hours 20 minutes of Costa and Lau negotiating the pitfalls of the early stages of mutual attraction, but then I am a notoriously soppy fool. Instead, however, a phone call to Sonne's volatile ex-con friend, Boxer (Franz Rogowski), kicks off the story's real thrust, rips Victoria out of this low-key indie romance and plunges her into an action/thriller/heist/chase/lovers on the run film. And in shifting from a character-drives-plot to a plot-drives-character mechanic, it also introduces inevitable contrivance into what has been a very believable film up till then. Everything, because of the conceit, has to happen within a few blocks of this area, and everything has to happen now, now, now!
When you choose to deny yourself the luxury of an occasional nip and tuck, your film becomes essentially a stage play on the move, with no chance of a do-over. Schipper, Olivia Neergaard-Holm and Eike Schulz's screenplay, which evolved after several bouts of improvisation from a twelve-page outline, mostly manages that trick, though it relies on the insistent camerawork and the committed performances to carry us over the bumps. But it is not air-headed either — there is some insight here into the lure of running with the pack, into the kind of ferocious loyalty that can exist between groups of young guys, and how the promise of membership to a tribe can be so seductive, especially to a lonely young person, that she might shelve her better judgement for a chance at belonging. In a lovely early scene in the unopened cafe, Victoria, a recently-ex-aspirant pianist, plays Liszt's "Mephisto Waltz," and Sonne's undiscerning, but genuine, amazement at her talent goes a long way toward explaining why she would go along with the increasingly deranged, dangerous and criminal activities of the gang: as unsafe as things become, Sonne and the gang offer her an acceptance and an admiration that her insecure artist's psyche craves.
Such psychological insights, however, were pretty much blasted out of my mind by the head-rush of the final half-hour or so. Definitely the tensest I've been in a cinema for a long time, some subconscious part of my brain that is used to the way films are normally made started begging for the relief of a cut that never comes. Couple that with the film's slight overlength, and the necessarily shaky hand-held pictures that at times induce a certain motion sickness, and you've some small idea of the deliberately uncomfortable viewing experience it can be, but also of the visceral, often exhilarating, dynamic effect of its form. Schipper, Grovlen and the cast shot the film three times over, and the last take is the one we see here in its entirety and my amazement now is not that they can have achieved something so polished in just three tries. It's that they can have lived that ridiculous night three whole times — from a stationary, seated position, I watched it just once and I am exhausted. [B+]
Review: 'The Diary Of A Teenage Girl' Starring Bel Powley & Kristen Wiig Marks A Promising Debut From Marielle Heller
By Rodrigo Perez | The PlaylistAugust 5, 2015 at 6:01PM
Sony Pictures Classics"The Diary of a Teenage Girl"
Girls just wanna have fun. And girls just wanna get laid. Hey, there are no judgments in Marielle Heller's half-excellent coming-of-age tale, “The Diary Of A Teenage Girl.” Provocative, brutally honest, R-rated formative year stories for females are certainly in short supply, and so Heller’s vividly drawn debut feature certainly delivers in this regard, with a rich and expressively effervescent bildungsroman story. But like so many Sundance narratives this year, Heller’s movie begins to overstate its case and loses hold of its charms in its darker, overlong second half, yet manages some deft navigation of potentially distasteful subjects and tricky source material.
Based on cartoonist Phoebe Gloeckner'sgraphic novels, “The Diary Of A Teenage Girl” is about a sexually precocious adolescent girl in 1970s San Francisco who begins a complex affair with her mother’s boyfriend. The film undoubtedly introduces us to some great new talent: Minnie Goetze (an outstanding Bel Powley) is a typical teenage girl. She’s curious, wants to be loved, and is trying to discover who she is. But the artistic and inquisitive Minnie is perhaps a little bit more sexually curious than most girls her age, and the anything-goes culture around her is certainly not disapproving of this exploration. Her carefree mother Charlotte (Kristen Wiig) parties and uses drugs liberally with her boyfriend Monroe (Alexander Skarsgård).
Sony Pictures Classics"The Diary of a Teenage Girl"
Already enamored with “the handsomest man in the world” Monroe, Minnie's new normal sets the stage for a fateful night when the two cross the line. They quickly launch into a complicated, torrid love affair where both Minnie and Monroe have to tiptoe around their feelings. Excited about losing her virginity and dying to tell someone about the exhilarating clandestine world of adulthood she’s entered, the wide-eyed Minnie begins to document all her thoughts about love, sex, and Monroe through her art, perhaps dictating far too much evidence into her tape recorder. As you might imagine, it doesn't end well.
Heller has technique to burn, employing inventive elements of animation mixed with live-action as Minnie uses her burgeoning sexuality and womanhood to find her place. Sharply observed, funny, and textured, the opening acts of “Diary Of A Teenage Girl” are endearing, clever, and intoxicating, and Minnie is completely believable.
Sony Pictures Classics"The Diary of a Teenage Girl"
As Monroe, the laid back but exploitative dude who begins to unexpectedly catch feelings, Alexander Skarsgård is quite good. Wiig doesn’t have as much to do, but after many frustratingly uneven serious performances of late ("The Skeleton Twins," "Hateship Loveship"), she nails this role. A particularly hilarious scene-stealer is Christopher Meloni, as Pascal, Minnie’s mom’s uptight psychologist ex-boyfriend who continues to insist upon being a father figure to Minnie and her nosy sister Gretel (Abby Wait). But ‘Teenage Girl’ is for the most part the Bel Powley show. This British actress is amazingly genuine, and the movie rests on the shoulders of her effortlessly charming performance. She anchors the movie and it wouldn’t work half as well as it does without her.
‘Teenage Girl’ features good aesthetics encapsulating the counterculture era, with a cool soundtrack (The Stooges, T-Rex, Heart, Nico, Mott The Hoople) and great art direction, despite the period-accurate browny, mustard color palate. But at 102-minutes, “The Diary Of A Teenage Girl” simply can’t sustain its vivacious nature. Heller’s picture overdoes its “I just want to be loved” theme, and the romantic obsessiveness of the second half becomes frustrating. We want to see Minnie’s exploration of adulthood, and not always how it simply relates to Monroe.
As Minnie’s life begins to fall apart, she starts to use sex as a self-destructive weapon instead of a tool for self-discovery. While that seems fair enough given this particular crisis, the movie begins to take on miserablist qualities common to Sundance, and what began as idiosyncratic and fresh starts to feel more familiar.
"The Diary of a Teenage Girl"
Still, Heller is due a lot of credit. She takes objectionable, potentially repulsive subject matter and imbues it with honesty, fairness, and compassion without prejudice. Heller’s film can also be heartbreakingly authentic in its depiction of teenage wonder, infatuation, confusion, and insecurity. Powley’s poised, incredibly convincing portrayal also connects very real adolescent ideas of desire and exploration to the emotional inability to manage the fallout. Perhaps a little editing could have fixed some of the nagging second half issues, and it might have fulfilled its promise of being great and not just very good. Nevertheless, as uneven as it can be at times in its last 15 minutes, Marielle Heller has crafted promising debut that evokes the idea of unlocking the secret world of teenage girls and letting us live inside the special little jewel box, if ever so briefly. [B]
Watch: New Full Length Trailer For 'The Leftovers' Season 2 Finds A Miracle
By Kevin Jagernauth | The PlaylistAugust 5, 2015 at 2:54PM
Van Redin/HBOCarrie Coon, Justin Theroux and Margaret Qualley in "The Leftovers"
The newly formed Garvey family —Kevin (Justin Theroux), Nora (Carrie Coon), and Jill (Margaret Qualley)— are moving, and can you blame them? Mapleton, New York wasn't exactly the best place to live during season one of "The Leftovers," and so the trio are headed to Texas to find a miracle. In fact, they're destined for Miracle, Texas, and that's where the new trailer for Season Two of "The Leftovers" takes us.
The quasi-rebooted show, which has been given a slight makeover for the upcoming season, still keeps the basic premise intact: 2% of the world's population has suddenly vanished, and in the aftermath, lots of freaky things are happening. Here's the official synopsis:
More than three years ago, 2% of the world’s population inexplicably vanished. 140 million people, gone in an instant. No country, no state, no city was spared, except for one small town in eastern Texas. Population: 9261. Departures: Zero. This is the setting for a tale of two families: the newly-formed Garveys (Kevin, Nora Durst and Margaret), who have moved to this special place, and whose lives were forever changed by the Departure, and the Murphys, a local family, who seem to have been spared from an event that shook the rest of the world. Also, attracted to this special town and hoping for miracles for his whole family, Matt Jamison has moved with his wife, Mary, who still suffers from consequences of the terrible car accident on October 14. Meanwhile, Kevin’s ex-wife, Laurie Garvey, has left the Guilty Remnant and reunited with her son, Tom, who may have finally discovered a cause to help replace the pain in his heart. And while Meg remains in the Guilty Remnant, it may not be the same cult she originally joined.
"The Leftovers" returns to HBO on Sunday, October 4th at 9 PM. Watch below.
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‘Bad Boys 3’ & 4’ ‘Passengers,’ ‘Jumanji’ Remake, ‘Baby Driver & More Get Release Dates
By Edward Davis | The PlaylistAugust 5, 2015 at 3:25PM
Jesus Christ! OK, so Sony lost their “Uncharted” director in June and http://blogs.indiewire.co...d-20150624" href="http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/seth-gordon-the-latest-director-to-exit-sonys-uncharted-20150624">then had to bump the troubled video game adaptation to June 30, 2017. But lest you think the studio is weakened, it's coming back with a vengeance, setting their slate up for the next two years. It’s maybe not quite as ambitious as Marvel or DC's schedules in that it doesn’t go all the way up until 2019 or 2020, but Sony's slate is about more than just super hero film universe-building, and is possibly more impressive as a result.
The biggest news is the arrival of a long-awaited “Bad Boys 3,” which will land in theaters February 17, 2017, followed by a fourth installment set for July 3, 2019. It’s unknown if Will Smith or Martin Lawrence will return, but it’s clear that Sony is looking at the franchise as a flagship series that maybe could contend in the same manner as Universal’s “Fast And Furious” series, which has rocked the box-office this year.
The sci-fi romance film “Passengers,” starring Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt, is now set for December 2016, a few days before Christmas; expect an awards push. Ron Howard and co. havehttp://blogs.indiewire.co...dark-tower" href="http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/tag/the-dark-tower"> been struggling with getting their “http://blogs.indiewire.co...dark-tower" href="http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/tag/the-dark-tower">The Dark Towerhttp://blogs.indiewire.co...dark-tower" href="http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/tag/the-dark-tower">” franchise off the ground, but they’re scheduled the first installment of the Stephen King adaptation for January 13, 2017. The “Jumanji” remake is coming Christmas day in 2016, and Edgar Wright’s “Baby Driver,” a vehicular action movie, has now been slotted for a March 17, 2017 release date.
Here's the full Sony slate up to 2017. [http://variety.com/2015/f...201557242/" href="http://variety.com/2015/film/news/sony-films-bad-boys-jennifer-lawrence-passengers-1201557242/">Variety]
“Money Monster” – 4/8/16 “The Shallows” – 6/24/16 “Ghostbusters” – 7/15/16* “Patient Zero” – 9/2/16 “The Magnificent Seven” – 9/23/16* “Underworld 5″ – 10/21/16 “Passengers” – 12/21/16 “Jumanji” – 12/25/16 “The Dark Tower” – 1/13/17 “Resident Evil 6″ – 1/27/17 “Bad Boys 3″ – 2/17/17 “Baby Driver” – 3/17/17 “Barbie” – 6/2/17 “Uncharted” – 6/30/17* “The Lamb” – 12/8/17 “Bad Boys 4″ – 7/3/19
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Culture Club is reunited — and it feels so good
Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
Boy George performed with Culture Club at Blue Hills Bank Pavilion.
Boy George could have told a story, maybe the one about an Irish police officer who once caught him doing something naughty and then let him off the hook, but really he shouldn’t elaborate.
“It’s scandalous,” George said Sunday night at the Blue Hills Bank Pavilion, punctuated by a giggle and a wide, canary-eating grin.
Indeed, the 54-year-old singer could tell some stories from his 30-plus years in pop music, a life marked with just as many triumphs as trials. And he drew on those experiences on Sunday in a thoughtful, career-spanning set with Culture Club, the newly reunited band that gave him his start in the early 1980s.
With the original lineup in place — including drummer Jon Moss, bassist Mikey Craig, and guitarist Roy Hay — they were in a loose, playful mood that nodded to both their past and future, not to mention their influences. They saluted David Bowie with a rendition of “Starman” and closed with a curveball, T. Rex’s “Bang a Gong (Get It On).”
“Tonight is a little bit like a wedding,” George said. “Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.”
With a lavish band setup that featured three backup singers and just as many horn players, they rolled out three doozies right in a row. “Church of the Poison Mind,” “It’s a Miracle,” “I’ll Tumble 4 Ya” electrified the slightly thin but appreciative crowd before the band unearthed some deeper cuts such as “Black Money.” (Sadly, “The War Song” didn’t make the cut, even though the merch table was peddling T-shirts emblazoned with its refrain, “War Is Stupid.”)
Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
“Tonight is a little bit like a wedding,” George said at the show. “Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.”
From a new Culture Club album in the works, they offered a sneak preview with “Different Man,” George’s funky tribute to Sly Stone. Another new song, the terrific, country-tinged “The Truth Is a Runaway Train,” gave a shout-out to the city where George had gotten the idea for it last year in the back of a taxi: “Rode in to Boston.”
This being Boy George, the costumes were numerous and fabulous, from fanciful hats (“I had to wrestle Lady Gaga for this,” he quipped about a particular architectural wonder) to long coats that appeared to conceal either colorful dresses or skirts. And his face? Flawless, so much so that he thanked his makeup artist in his farewell remarks.
A note about his voice: It has changed dramatically. But where he has lost the high notes and elasticity, he has replaced them with a weathered croon that gives the material more heft, more pathos. He extracted the wounded vulnerability of “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me,” turning it into a chanson of sorts. And “Victims,” an early single, was downright chilling as he shushed the crowd and delivered his most powerful vocal performance of the night.
With the core four returning for a second encore, Culture Club let the audience serenade them, a cappella, with their biggest hit. “Karma Chameleon” resonated softly and then at full throttle as the band took the lead.
Boston’s own Parlour Bells treated the crowd to a short but lean opening set of theatrical glam rock. Taking a picture of the audience, frontman Goddamn Glenn instructed everyone to say the evening’s unofficial motto: “I’ll tumble for ya.”
A long list of musicians including Ed Sheeran, Sheryl Crow and D'Angelo will come together on October 1 at Carnegie Hall for Lean on Him: A Tribute to Bill Withers.
Withers, who was just inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, is the latest artist to be honored by Michael Dorf in his Music of series which benefits music education programs.
The evening will see a full performance of Withers' album Live at Carnegie Hall, originally released in 1973, with the songs by: Ed Sheeran D'Angelo Aloe Blacc Keb' Mo Sheryl Crow Amos Lee Michael McDonald Gregory Porter Kathy Mattea Ledisi Dr. John
Additional artists will be announced in the near future.
Music director for the evening is Greg Phillinganes who is also co-producing along with Marcia Withers, Leo Sacks and Shlomo Lipetz.
The track list from Bill Withers Live at Carnegie Hall: Use Me Friend of Mine Ain't No Sunshine Grandma's Hands World Keep Going Around Let Me In Your Life Better Off Dead For My Friend I Can't Write Left-Handed Lean on Me Lonely Town, Lonely Street Hope She'll Be Happier Let Us Love Medley: Harlem/Cold Baloney
Since the release of his North American debut album 'Racine Carree,' international superstar Stromae has gone on to sell more than 3.5 million albums, performed for thousands of fans in stadiums across the globe, and for the first time in pop history, will be the first ever French spoken artist to have headlined the prestigious Madison Square Garden in New York City this fall.
Joining him as a special guest at MSG is the incomparable Janelle Monae for one night only on October, 1st 2015. Limited amount of tickets are now available for purchase here. The incredible Jidenna will also join Stromae as direct support for the tour, (except for the 9/12 show in Miami). For a full list of tour dates, see below.
High profile fans joining his legion of dedicated supporters include Lorde, Madonna, Diplo, Kanye West (who famously made a surprise appearance on stage at this year's Coachella), Boy George, Tove Lo, Icona Pop and Sam Smith amongst many others. They have all publically proclaimed their admiration for the Belgian artist, whose aforementioned full-length album reached #1 on the Billboard World Album Charts and reached multi-platinum status across the world.
This fall, one of the most truly unique and loved performers of our time, will be returning to North American shores for a headlining tour in continued support of 'Racine Carree.' A full list of dates can be found below. Tickets are available here.
NORTH AMERICAN TOUR DATES: 09/12 - James L Knight Center - Miami, FL^ 09/14 ' Buckhead Theatre ' Atlanta, GA* 09/16 - Echostage - Washington, DC* 09/18 - House of Blue - Boston, MA* 09/21 - Riviera Theatre - Chicago, IL* 09/22 - Myth - Minneapolis, MN* 09/25 - Royal Oak Music Theatre - Detroit, MI* 09/26 - Echo Beach - Toronto, ON* 09/28 - Centre Bell - Montreal, QC* 09/29 - Centre Bell - Montreal, QC* 10/01 - Madison Square Garden - New York, NY**
Andy Summers recounts pressures, pleasures of Police fame in new film
Success didn’t come easy for guitarist Andy Summers.
Cinema Libre
Andy Summers
Oh sure, the Lancashire native eventually topped the charts, sold millions of records, and played to hundreds of thousands of adoring fans as a member of the Police, but it required a decade of hard work, repeated rejection, and a dose of serendipity to score big with Sting and Stewart Copeland.
Heck, he didn’t even meet his “King of Pain” cohorts until he was thirty.
Now available on DVD Can’t Stand Losing You: Surviving the Police chronicles Summer’s remarkable tenure with the Synchronicity songwriters from the guitarist’s own perspective. Directed by Andy Grieve (and based on Summers’ 2007 autobiography One Train Later) the fascinating ninety-minute documentary finds Andy himself narrating the turbulent journey from go-to session musician and coveted sideman to affluent-but-addled pop sensation who enjoyed fleeting fame despite its concomitant stresses—and who gave his all even when he suspected band was living on borrowed time.
Juxtaposing footage shot by Lauren Lazin during the 2007-08 Police reunion tour, Grieve’s film is as much an in-depth, first-person character study and self-evaluation by an introspective artiste as it is conventional music biopic of an acclaimed (if currently kaput) rock and roll act whose influence on modern bands (Capital Cities, Neon Trees, Fictionist, Magic!) is both palpable and profound. Can’t Stand Losing You also incorporates rare, behind-the-scenes footage, outtakes from the band’s numerous television appearances, vintage concert clips, and a treasure trove of photographs taken by shutterbug Summers back when he and his mates were caught up in a maelstrom of constant media scrutiny.
The movie starts moments before a pivotal comeback gig, where Summers and his musical brethren share an intimate backstage huddle before facing a stadium of admirers who waited 25 for a bona fide Police concert. Then Grieve winds the clock back to postwar England of the late 1940s, where—in circumstances that prophesy his future as a traveling troubadour—Summers is born in a gypsy wagon leased by his penny-pinching father.
After receiving a budget guitar from an uncle, teenage Andy commits himself to mastering the exciting new sounds blaring from his radio and takes to performing in school bands. Speaking in his low British voice, he guides us through his tenure in psychedelic outfit Zoot Money & The Big Roll Band, acid rock unit Dantalion’s Chariot, and short-lived stint with aspiring singer Kevin Coyne. He aligns with Eric Burden and The Animals in the early ‘70s, reveling in his first taste of the limelight, and briefly crosses paths with Last Exit bassist Gordon “Sting” Sumner and Curved Air drummer Stewart Copeland before the gig—like the others before—disintegrates, leaving him just disheartened enough to consider quitting music altogether.
An orchestral performance of Mike Oldfield’s Exorcist album Tubular Bells leads to jam sessions with Sting, Copeland, and Mike Howlett (of Gong). Before he realizes what’s happened, Summers supplants guitarist Henry Padavini in Sting’s nascent punk group.
Summers recounts overhearing Sting write “Roxanne” bossanova style on acoustic guitar during an overnight stay at the apartment shared by Andy and his wife, Kate. Retooled into an upbeat reggae song, “Roxanne” instantly transforms The Police from copycat punk combo into a trendsetting trio whose constituents eagerly sublimated their respective virtuosity into a unique new sound. Sting and Summers bleach their hair like Copeland, their blonde(r) locks galvanizing solidarity between band members and making for a memorable visual.
“We played nice and took on any interviews offered,” recalls Andy.
Unlike the profane Sex Pistols, The Police behaved themselves and didn’t insult people—at least not to their faces.
But Sting’s homage to a whore didn’t catch on at home until they undertook a grueling U.S. tour along the East Coast (arranged by Stewart’s manager / brother, Miles). Revolted by the gobs of spit proffered by British youth, Summers thrived before receptive American crowds at dingy (but crucial) venues like C.B.G.B’s in New York and The Agora in Cleveland. Here, the kids seemed to get—or at least appreciate—the music without caring whether the sound adhered to any abstract punk aesthetics. Sting is forced to wear dark sunglasses on The Old Grey Whistle Test after an aerosol can explodes in his face, but the television appearance pays off.
Securing a deal with A&M Records, The Police crank out their first official album, Outlandos d’Amour, in 1978 and return home as conquering heroes behind the reissued “Roxanne” and a slew of fresh cuts (“So Lonely,” “Next to You,” and “Can’t Stand Losing You”) whose rasta-punk appeal enhances their profile with the youth market. Regatta de Blanc and Zenyatta Mondatta follow in quick succession, sending “Message in a Bottle,” “Don’t Stand So Close to Me,” and “Walking on the Moon” up the charts—and planting the band’s faces on magazine covers everywhere.
Already, Sting seems “ruthless,” charming the press with his good looks and advocating his songs for slots on
Sting advances his musical agenda to anyone who’ll listen, giving and Stewart a cold shoulder: The Machiavellian bassist hides a master tape containing the Andy-penned “Behind My Camel,” but the song makes it onto the third album—and earns a Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental. Sibling rivalry rattles the band dynamic when The Police sequester themselves in Montserrat for Ghost in The Machine.
“I like about half of it,” says Summers of 1981 album.
“Each of us wanted his instrument to be a little louder than the others, so there were three sets of hands on the faders.”
The musicians’ spouses and families are invited to join them for a working vacation. Summers is chagrined when Kate declines, souring a relationship already strained by his extending time away on tour. Then he receives the inevitable phone call asking for a divorce.
“I argue, but she’s already made up her mind,” bemoans Andy.
When the band returns to the British isles for Synchronicity, the infighting has gotten so bad that the musicians are set up to track from separate rooms, with Sting (naturally) occupying the control room. Summers wins a minor battle when the bassist relents to his suggestion of placing upbeat songs (“Mother,” “Miss Gradenko”) on one side of the record and quieter tunes (“Tea in the Sahara,” “King of Pain”) on the reverse. “Every Breath You Take” becomes a blockbuster single, occupying Billboard’s #1 slot for eight weeks (and holding Michael Jackson at bay), and video clips for “Wrapped Around Your Finger” and “Synchronicity II” become MTV sensations.
Where once they shared a cramped Econoline, The Police are shuttled from one gig to the next in separate limos. It’s a surreal existence, and Summers has trouble transitioning from his loud life onstage to quiet, lonely nights in cookie cutter hotel rooms. The marijuana of old is replaced by harder drugs that energize the musicians when they need to be “up” and calm them when it’s time to come “down.” Summers relents to the groupies who throw themselves at the band, and otherwise busies himself with photography and practical jokes—sometimes combining the two hobbies into “gritty” works of art.
The guitarist reflects on his mixed feelings at a 1983 Shea Stadium concert finale:
“It’s over, this is it. The soft dream voice confirms with a knife-edge what I already know.”
Summers coped with the dissolution of The Police by throwing himself into another record with King Crimson guitar guru Robert Fripp. A string of well-regarded solo efforts follow, but none (XYZ, Synthaesthesia, Last Dance With Mr. X) receives mention in the film. Rather, Grieve shifts his focus to Summers’ reconciliation with Kate, who gives birth to twin sons after they remarry.
His heart mended, Andy also gets another shot at superstardom when Sting and Sting sign on for 2007’s Police reunion. He relishes the “second chance” playing with his mates on gigantic stages, but draws secret pleasure in having his family accompany him on tour, where his now-grown children witness firsthand what all the fuss in the ‘80s was about. Later, we crash the party for an exhibit of Summers’ (and provocative) photos.
Our favorite scenes are the present-day (2007-2012) clips that show Summers in his natural habitat: We watch Summers do yoga stretches and make his morning coffee (while noodling on a Fender Stratocaster) and shadow Grieve’s cameraperson when the Andy goes sightseeing in exotic locales, his Nikon ready to capture the images most eyes overlook. Summers happens on a group singing “Every Breath You Take” at a karaoke bar in the Far East. Amused, he listens from outside for a minute before venturing in, where patrons don’t recognize the guitarist behind the hit—until he his removes his hat and joins in. Smiles, selfies, and warm hugs ensue.
Of course, there’s a plethora of footage of The Police clowning around in-studio, onstage, and during T.V. interviews. Sting and Copeland nurse a strange, physical bond that finds the two swapping ideas one instant and trading blows the next. On one talk show they half-jokingly argue over who will be first to quit the group. It’s eerie to behold now, knowing the band members were already cognizant of the countdown.
One Train Later is a telling memoir that gives Sting tell-all Broken Music and Copeland’s Strange Things Happen a run for their money. Likewise, Can’t Stand Losing You is an indispensable, compelling film that sheds light on a band responsible for the sound of a generation in flux, and which should occupy a space in one’s video library alongside the drummer’s Super-8 documentary Everyone Stares: The Police Inside Out.
Songs featured in the movie include obvious Police cuts “Next to You,” “Roxanne,” “Truth Hits Everybody,” “Voices Inside My Head,” “Driven To Tears,” and “Murder by Numbers” as well as Summers solo guitar bits “Bourree” (Bach), “Dust My Loom,” “Procrastinator,” “Cloud of Unknowing,” and the tongue-in-cheek “Viva Viagra.”
We’re also treated to a live performance of “Auld Lang Syne” at an early ‘80s Police concert, a befitting traditional for a film about getting that rare second go-round in life.
Mick Jagger fans jazzed about his upcoming TV project titled 'Vinyl' with Martin Scorsese can check out a newly release teaser clip. The hour-long music drama conceived by the multi-talented Stones frontman focuses on sex, drugs and rock n' roll in the recording industry back in the late 70s and will debut as nine-part series on HBO in 2016.
Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images
According to an article posted on Aug. 5 at NME, 'Vinyl' features 'Boardwalk Empire' star Bobby Cannavale, who plays the story's lead character Richie Finestra - a struggling record company tycoon attempting to salvage his label by discovering new talent in New York. Described as a "70s rock drama," the cast also includes Jagger's son James, Bobby Olivia Wilde, Ray Romano and Andrew "Dice" Clay.
The 30-second film trailer opens with microphone feedback and assaults the viewer with a series of fast edit images. A close-up shot of a musician playing slide guitar is quickly followed by a kick-drum, a reel to reel tape recorder, money, drugs, gold records and ends with a woman applying red lipstick. Fans can check out the clip above.
No premiere date has been confirmed by HBO, but production is well under way in Brooklyn. Jagger dropped by the set in late July and posted an update on Facebook, mentioning the cast and crew were working on episode 6.
Jagger and The Stones recently wrapped up their hugely successful Zip Code Tour of North American earlier this month in Quebec City Summer Festival (FEQ) where the band performed a headline show to a record-breaking crowd of 102,000 fans. For more information on Mick Jagger click here. For details on The Rolling Stones, click here.
Robin Thicke 'engaged'
added: 5 Aug 2015 // by: Music-News.com Newsdesk
Robin Thicke has reportedly asked girlfriend April Love Geary to marry him.
The Blurred Lines singer, 38, has been dating the 20-year-old model since October last year. They made their red carpet debut together at Cannes in May and following the whirlwind romance, Life & Style is reporting that the musician has popped the question.
'Robin recently proposed to April and she said yes,' a source told the outlet. 'He doesn't want to risk losing her. Robin's moving really quick with the relationship.'
In fact the star's divorce from wife Paula Patton was only finalised four months ago after they split in February 2014. The couple had been married for nine years but had dated since he was 16. They have one son together, Julian, who was born in 2010.
In the aftermath of their split, Robin went on a public mission to win Paula back, even recording an album which he named after her, but to no avail.
The publication adds that Robin's parents have advised their son not to be so hasty to tie the knot again, but he is ignoring their words.
'Both his parents have told him to take some time and not rush into marriage again so soon,' the insider continued 'They go almost everywhere together. He's totally obsessed with her.'
It helps that April seems to get along so well with five-year-old Julian as the model was spotted holidaying with Robin and his little boy in St Barts earlier in the year.
A representative for Robin is yet to confirm the news of the engagement.
In the same season we’ve been presented with two different comprehensive documentaries of two of our most iconic and tragic, gone-too-soon figures in recent decades. Brett Morgan’s Montage of Heck depicts the slow unraveling of Kurt Cobain in the preamble to his suicide, Asif Kapadia’s Amy depicts a corollary narrative about Amy Winehouse’s life, and in the process sheds light on how unequal the treatment of male and female artists truly is, even in death.
The two artists faced radically different cultural realities: Cobain’s death happened in the pre-TMZ era when the world wide web was in its infancy, and Winehouse rose to fame in the age of internet ubiquity. Still, the assumptions that belie public perception of each artist’s tragedy-- as seen through the two documentaries, which excerpt raw media as evidence-- obviate the unfortunate iniquities that now come as no surprise.
In the course of Amy, a newscaster reports on Winehouse’s infamous meltdown in Serbia by commenting that “she had the chance to make a big comeback and she totally BLEW it!” while laughing through a segment that dovetails with George Lopez announcing that Winehouse had won a Grammy by saying, "someone call and wake her up at 6 PM and let her know" before calling her “a drunk” with a derisive scoff. A slurry of ugly tabloid images fly across the screen and we see paparazzi preying upon her existential nadir-- meanwhile, Montage of Heck posits a cache of neat magazine covers that offer obsequious, reverential coverage of a man whose drug addiction was portrayed as incidental to his supreme talent. Even though both deaths were motivated by depression underscored by narcotics and celebrity, Montage depicts a context in which the public was willing Cobain to succeed, whereas Winehouse, when confronted with similar drug-addled obstacles, was met with ridicule and slander. If Amy proves anything about the life and times of Winehouse, it’s that newscasters, tabloids, and even respected media outlets reported on her shortcomings with enough thinly-veiled aggression to weaken what little resolve the drugs hadn’t already sapped. Cobain’s struggle with drugs, meanwhile, was all but an open secret while he was alive, whispered about or written around in order to maintain good graces and access to the superstar and his band.
The unequal treatment here is not new.
The way media dotes over its tortured male artists while undermining the personal struggles of women who suffer the same is nuanced, but a look into the archive suggests the phenomenon is well documented across race, genre, and generation. When Janis Joplin died on October 4, 1970 the New York Times called her a “misfit” whose “behavior was explosive” and remembers her as “drinking from a bottle at her concerts” and “screaming obscenities at a policeman in the audience”. Two weeks prior when Jimi Hendrix died-- also at the age of 27-- the same paper’s headline referred to him as a “Top of Music World Flamboyant Performer Noted for Sensuous Style” above an article that failed to highlight his fabled and widely-acknowledged affinity for mixing drugs with alcohol, even as new evidence emerged that he was wildly out of control during his final days. In many cases these kind of comparisons are sticky because Joplin was not Hendrix in the same way that Billie Holiday was not Keith Moon, and there are so many other factors affecting the way we remember these icons that it seems silly to compare them on the basis of their self-destruction alone-- but how we interpret an artist’s demise says a lot about how we view them in life.
The pattern is always the same: one Billie Holiday obituary dedicated an entire column to discussing her 1947 arrest and narcotics conviction; years later a Keith Moon obituary mentioned only that “his death comes at a time when he seemed to have recovered from the excesses of earlier years”, without so much as mentioning that those “excesses” included a well-documented struggle with alcoholism and the 32 clomethiazole pills that ultimately killed him. Whitney Houston, like Amy Winehouse, was depicted as a substance-addled mess in the run up to her overdose death, much unlike the courtesy that was lavished unto Michael Jackson, whose latter-day prescription drug habit was neatly and often dismissively attributed to the rueful loneliness of fame, if it was even reported at all.
Even when public meltdowns or existential tumult doesn’t result in death, the media’s depiction of female artists still tends toward collusion. When Lauryn Hill took a sabbatical from music because she objected to the way the industry commodified her lifestyle-- a choice that dovetailed with a concurrent broadcast of religious faith-- she was depicted as a crazy person. When Nas, Mase, Yasiin Bey and even to a lesser extent, Kendrick Lamar all did the same, they were heralded as noble, bravely pious. The reportage was damaging and unequal: when Hill left the country it was portrayed as exile; when Mos Def left the country it was to become Black Dante.
The way pop culture suggests an aversion to Courtney Love’s drug-addled mythology while espousing Cobain’s martyrdom, the way some communities shit on Lana Del Rey’s “aesthetic sadness” while simultaneously espousing emo bands fronted by men-- it’s not to say that any of these genres, digressions, or affinities necessarily deserve respect, but there is a schism and a definite, unfair gender binary that favors troubled men over troubled women--and their right to be troubled. Men who grapple with issues that coincide with art and fame are canonized in death; women who do the same are made lesser, somehow, by their own unequivocal loss.
It’s very likely that the unfair portrayal of women stems from a puritanical notion of the “woman as artist”-- this often unarticulated pedagogical idea that women, by their very baby-making capacity, are somehow never able to--and shouldn’t-- immerse themselves as fully into art as men, because the question of gender gets in the way. Women are forever seen as outsiders, interlopers, their genius owed to the nearest male manager (The Runaways), producer-svengali (Ke$ha), famous boyfriend (Joni Mitchell) or husband (Alice Coltrane). This incredibly subtle “othering” of women, coupled with a culture-wide superficiality that places the onus of physical beauty more squarely on female celebrities than on men, sets female artists up for spectacle-- the pernicious underbelly of gossip.
A friend of mine once told me about an art historian who lamented that fact that Yoko Ono would never be as widely-respected as several contemporary male artists because she was a mother. “Women who live art-- who put their art first, above their families-- are seen as selfish, neglectful parents,” the art historian had said. “Men who do the same are regarded as geniuses consumed by their work.”
Women who succeed in a big way upset convention, and we haven’t yet figured out how to deal with that as a culture. When women succeed as Winehouse did, we anticipate their downfall and pounce hard, relish the sillage of failure when we get a whiff. It’s coded into our public expectations of women even before this happens, from the recent takedown of Beyonce over her admittedly paltry diet announcement to the everyday thinkpiece about Madonna’s age (even as The Who, AC/DC, The Replacements, Bono, Bruce Springsteen, and hundreds of other male artists that are all older than her continue to tour without criticism). We martyr our women because we fear their greatness. We do so because we fear women who are living out of bounds.
In 1956, a 21-year-old Elvis Presley was drafted into the United States Army. By that time, he had already recorded and released hits like "Heartbreak Hotel," "Blue Suede Shoes," and "Hound Dog," and was one of the biggest celebrities in the country. Despite being deemed eligible for Special Services, a post that would have had him merely entertain the troops, Elvis opted to serve like a regular soldier (a move that turned out to be a boon for his public image). In the words of this newsreel, "Uncle Sam doesn't play favorites":
On March 24, 1958, Elvis officially entered the U.S. Army. His two-year stint took him overseas, and he served in West Germany from October 1, 1958 until March 2, 1960 as a member of the 1st Medium Tank Battalion, 32d Armor, where he was eventually promoted to Sergeant.
It was there, near Giessen, that Colin Powell, the future Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Secretary of State, was serving as a young lieutenant in the 3rd Armored Division. He met Elvis on a wooded road, and recalls running into him to the BBC: "He served his country for two years, I saw him in the field, I ran across him in the woods while he was doing what every other GI does." He remembers Elvis as being "grimy" and "weary-looking" at the time of their meeting, but still polite and disciplined, saluting Powell and shaking his hand. "He was thought of well enough by his commanders that he was promoted from private to sergeant," Powell said. "What impressed me at the time was that instead of seeking celebrity treatment, Elvis had done his two-year hitch, uncomplainingly, as an ordinary GI, even rising to the responsibility of an NCO."
In his autobiography, Powell mentions that the only time his children "perked up" when listening to his war stories was upon hearing this anecdote about meeting Elvis. "That their father had shaken the King's hand astonished my kids."
Powell of course, would stay in the military and rise to the rank of four-star general. Elvis, meanwhile, returned to "normal" civilian life in 1960. "The first thing I have to do," he said in his first post-Army interview, "is to cut some records. And then after that I have the television show with Frank Sinatra."
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Peter Berg
Courtesy of Pop Art Management
Alex Vaughan/Courtesy of United Management; AP Images/Invision
Cilla Black's Spanish villa close to Marbella
Rehearsals at Alpha studios, Birmingham, for ABC's 'Thank Your Lucky Stars' programme with Brian Matthew, Cilla Black (centre), The Beatles (back), Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, Gerry and the Pacemakers and The Searchers (PA)
Cilla relaxes at the Liverpool music venue the Cavern Club Picture: John Pratt 
Cilla in the 1960s Picture:Rex
Cilla in the 1960s Picture:Rex
Cilla Black on 'The Bruce Forsyth Show' in 1969
With her husband Bobby Willis taking their first son, 10-day old Robert John home in 1970 Picture: Rex 
Cilla Black receives MBE at Buckingham Palace Picture: Rex
Queen Elizabeth II meeting Cilla Black in 2005 (PA)
'The One and Only Cilla Black' 2013 Picture: Rex
While Cilla had taken a step back from public life in recent years, she did enjoy appearing on TV's 'Loose Women' Picture: Rex 
