Crimefilms have several subgenres to offer — take gangsters, for instance. That’s arguably the most famous example, with another being the police procedural. But with the subgenre at hand, some of the most famous directors in Hollywood history have executed brilliant cinematic heists. They stole our attention from their film’s first frame until its thrilling end.
And plenty of these titles also featured well-known actors among their respective casts. But just to clarify: this list will be exploring films that were either undervalued by critics upon release or underwhelming in terms of box office receipts. But films that have been overlooked from a perspective of modernity also apply. All that said, these are the most underrated heist films ever made.
13 Dog Day Afternoon
Warner Bros.
This isn’t necessarily to assert that Dog Day Afternoon (1975) was overlooked by pundits when it came out amid the seventies, nor is it to say that more moviegoers should’ve seen it in theaters. It’s just that, when audiences consider Al Pacino from a modern perspective, or late actor John Cazale, or even crime films in general from the 1970s, their first thought is likely The Godfather (1972).
And justifiably so. But Dog Day Afternoon explores personal relationships and thereby the meaning of character in storytelling more so than any other film of its ilk. It focuses on the inner turmoil of protagonist Sonny Koufax — and audiences feel more attached to this character than they do the heist itself. In the end, even the near-perfect rating on critical consensus website Rotten Tomatoes doesn’t do this masterpiece justice.
Like Dog Day Afternoon, this heist film was well received by critics upon release. But unlike the aforementioned Sidney Lumet film, House of Games (1987) by David Mamet was an unwarranted bomb at the box office, raking in an inadequate $2.5 million at the worldwide box office. And what’s even more criminal is that, despite a 97% approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a questionable audience score of 79% on the same website.
That about sums up the name value herein from a modern standpoint. But the pundits truly had it right, as this remains among the highest-quality films its subgenre has ever seen. With heavy elements of neo-noir, it follows a psychiatrist as she becomes involved in the criminal antics of one of her patients. Thanks to Mamet’s witty script in tandem with his brilliant direction, House of Games comes in at number twelve.
Directed by Tony Scott, this was the penultimate entry of the American filmmaker’s career. And even if you don’t recognize his name, you’ll undoubtedly know the actors within The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009) — take Denzel Washington and John Travolta, for instance. Their efforts weren’t exactly noteworthy, but their inherent talent couldn’t impress critics even in the slightest of regards.
And it’s a shame that seems to be the biggest takeaway all these years later. While the prior two picks on the list were greatly revered by critics but lost most semblances of name value as time went by, The Taking of Pelham 123 is underrated on both accounts. It lands here at number eleven.
10 Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead
ThinkFilm
Directed by Sidney Lumet in the final feature film of his career, this marks another heist film that was actually well-received by critics upon release. But considering Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead (2007) made mediocre money at the worldwide box office, it can undoubtedly be considered underrated from a commercial standpoint. Plus, it rarely gets talked about today.
Starring Phillip Seymour Hoffman alongside Ethan Hawke as two brothers who agree to rob their parents’ jewelry store, its plot explores rather meaningful subjects from the start. You feel attached to these characters thanks to well-written development and tangible dynamics shared between the entire cast — not just the aforementioned performers, but others like Marissa Tomei, Albert Finney, Michael Shannon, and Amy Ryan. They facilitated a phenomenal heist plot that comes in at number ten.
9 Out of Sight
Universal Pictures
Directed by Steven Soderbergh — who made the Ocean’s trilogy in the following decade — Out of Sight (1998) also features George Clooney in the starring role. But unlike the aforementioned franchise, this doesn’t truly get discussed by modern audiences like it should. It was adapted from an Elmore Leonard novel of the same name, written two years prior. And the script by Scott Frank was faithful to its book counterpart as Clooney plays Jack Foley, a professional thief who gets caught robbing a bank in Miami.
It’s best to leave further plot details under the surface so that you can experience it for yourself, but just know that it’s well written from start to finish, with meaningful character dynamics and a resonant ending scene. Critics were high on this upon release, and it didn’t exactly come up short at the box office. But it should be on everyone’s list of best heist films, and that’s sadly not the case.
8 American Animals
AI Film
As one of the more recent films on the list, American Animals (2018) hasn’t exactly had time to resonate with audiences. They didn’t by any means line up in theaters to check it out upon release, though. And that’s despite its intriguing premise of four college plans who devise a clever plan to rob their library — based on a true story that occurred in 2004 on the campus of Transylvania University, which is located in Lexington, Kentucky.
The film itself utilizes various methods of high-level screenwriting to achieve an entertaining heist joint from start to finish. It features a fine roster of up-and-coming actors, too: guys like Evan Peters, Barry Keoghan, and Blake Jenner. It’s essential viewing for fans of the subgenre.
7 The Score
Paramount Pictures
Despite a star-studded cast with names such as Robert De Niro, Edward Norton, and Marlon Brando — in the final role of his career, no less — not even their talent combined could truly impress critics with regard to The Score (2001). The protagonist Nick (played by De Niro) is planning to settle down with his wife, but first recruits a new, green accomplice in Norton’s character (named Jack Teller) to execute a nearly impossible heist.
And despite a decent showing with moviegoers upon release, nearly doubling its overall budget of $68 million, this joint by Frank Oz went down as vastly underappreciated by critics. What’s more is that it entirely holds up today, yet nearly never get talked about. It comes in at number seven.
6 Snatch
Screen Gems
English filmmaker Guy Ritchie has plenty of underrated titles under his directorial debut — many of which are also within the subgenre at hand. But perhaps the most confounding of his filmography in terms of consensus review scores was Snatch (2000), starring Jason Statham, Stephen Graham, Brad Pitt, and Benicio Del Toro.
It’s held in relatively high regard today, but that wasn’t exactly the case upon release despite a deep, well-written plot and memorable performances to boot. There are some seriously entertaining character dynamics at play around every corner as well, and Ritchie’s overall direction helps land Snatch in the top ten.
5 Set It Off
New Line Cinema
Directed by F. Gary Gray from a screenplay by Kate Lanier, it features truly impressive efforts from each performer involved: Jada Pinkett, Queen Latifah, Vivica A. Fox, and Kimberly Elise. And despite accruing decent money in theaters — $41.6 million on a $9 million budget — Set It Off (1996) only holds a 71% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Those numbers aren’t at all indicative of the quality hereof. Its premise is fairly simple: set in Los Angeles, four friends devise a plan to rob a bank. Not for selfish reasons, though. Each character has their own motive, mostly going through with the heist for the betterment of their loved ones. And the overall product achieved an engrossing tone off the bat, with clever dialogue and thrilling plot points to boot. It’s undoubtedly among the most underrated heist films Hollywood’s ever produced.
4 No Sudden Move
Warner Bros.
This marks another heist stint from Soderbergh, and it should be in contention to go down as his masterpiece despite its lack of popularity. Critics raved about it, as they should have. But the general moviegoer remains mostly unfamiliar with the name overall. Which is a shame, as No Sudden Move (2021) is perhaps the most stylistic film on the list with palpable neo-noir elements popping through every frame.
It’s one of the best movies of the decade thus far, to be frank, with two of Soderbergh’s most frequent collaborators in the leading roles: Don Cheadle and Benicio Del Toro. But No Sudden Move also has memorable efforts from the likes of Jon Hamm, Brendan Fraser, Ray Liotta, and Kieran Culkin. This one needs to be on your list if it isn’t there already.
3 Thief
United Artists
Directed by Michael Mann, who made another heist film of much more notable name value in Heat (1995), this particular project stars James Caan in the titular role. A professional safe cracker, Frank is attempting to leave his life of crime in the past. He wants to move on from robbing banks and build a family with his newfound wife.
But when things go wrong during his final heist, the plot of Thief (1981) kicks off to a thrilling degree. This is one of those films that meets every measure to be considered underrated: it underperformed in theaters, hardly impressed critics overall, and is rarely regarded in more modern landscapes. And for that, it lands here at number three.
2 The Lookout
Miramax
Written and directed by a little-known American filmmaker named Scott Frank, this was his first ever feature film — for that fact alone, he should’ve gotten more credit for its quality. But it features a fairly impressive cast, too: Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the protagonist Chris Pratt, for starters. That’s a fun note off the bat. And The Lookout (2007) also has Jeff Daniels as his roommate Lewis, and Isla Fisher as his love interest named “Luvlee” Lemons.
It was well-enough regarded by critics but made a meager $5.4 million at the worldwide box office off a $16 million budget. And it holds next-to-no name value today when it should legitimately be considered among the highest-quality heist films ever made. It follows Gordon-Levitt’s character Chris as a maintenance worker at a bank who gets roped into a plan to rob the very facility in which he works. It’s thrilling around every corner, and lands here at number two.
1 Heist
Lionsgate Premiere
You’d think that fans of this subgenre would have gone to see a film called Heist (2001). However, despite brilliant dialogue and structure within the script from David Mamet — along with hardened direction from him, as well — this brilliant romp made only $28.5 million at the box office off a budget of $39 million. It bombed, in other words, and frankly, experts of the field weren’t much kinder with their reviews.
Certain critics like Roger Ebert championed the film upon release. But not even the likes of Gene Hackman, Danny DeVito, or Sam Rockwell could lead this film to greater heights. Hackman’s protagonist Joe Moore is the boss of three professional thieves, including his wife, Fran. But after botching the robbery of a New York City jewelry store, Joe is forced to retire from the trade. It’s a truly entertaining romp from start to finish and ultimately lands here at the top of the list.
Grace scored a nod in the Outstanding Younger Performer in a Daytime Drama Series category but was mistakenly submitted in the category.
According to official rules for the Daytime Emmys, performers must be “no older than 18 years old on at least January 1, 2022,” which disqualified Grace from entry as she turned 21 in 2021.
“I was honored to be nominated for a Daytime Emmy and to be recognized by the Academy. Unfortunately, there was a huge misunderstanding across the board regarding the rules for this year’s category,” read the statement Grace shared on Instagram.
Grace continued, “This is obviously a surprise and I am heartbroken, but in fairness to all, I‘ll be rescinding my nomination. I wish the best of luck to all the nominees. I will continue to work hard to earn another Daytime Emmy nomination next year!”
With Grace rescinding her nomination, there are only three nominees left in the category: Cory Christopher from Days of our Lives, Eden McCoy from General Hospital and Henry Joseph Samiri from The Bold and the Beautiful.
Grace originated the role of Wendy Shin on Peacock’s Second Chapter of Days of Our Lives: Beyond Salem. Wendy is the daughter Wei Shin and younger sister of Li Shin, who works in IT for DiMera Enterprises pharmaceutical division in Alaska.
The Daytime Emmys will take place on Friday, June 16 with CBS and Paramount+ airing the show.
Your weekly horoscope is here. Intensity may be an understatement for this week’s full moon eclipse, so feel your way and accept your emotions. Let them flow, even the hard stuff we might not like to admit about ourselves. Sometimes the most power and liberation comes from not running from our fears or shadow side, not trying to control them, but turning around to face them without judgment. Be brave and apply radical love to yourself as you are right now.
Read on to discover your weekly horoscope and what’s in store for your sign during the week of April 29 through May 6, 2023.
Aries
It’s eclipse week, and this time it’s in your zone of steamy encounters, mysteries, and other people’s resources, like inheritances or bank loans. If this is a make-or-break time for a connection you’ve had on life support, it may be time to let it go. Yes, it could be intense, perhaps painful, but ripping the plaster off fast is better than slowly. The reset mechanism correlating to eclipses could prove handy if there’s something that could do with a total reboot. Full moons are intense, so note if that’s how you feel and what you feel about it. Trim it back so new life can grow. Make space for its latest incarnation. This could be a week of profound intimacy if you’re willing to go deep!
Taurus
This week builds up to a full moon in your opposite sign, so prepare for some opposition! You might be seeking change, but someone close may need more time to prepare. The cost of being so predictable is that others may resist when you are finally ready to bust out of your lane. Don’t let anyone interfere with what you know is best for you. For a relationship to grow, each of its participants needs to go and grow on their individual journeys too. It may be someone else who instigates a pivot or change in direction. If your relationship is stable, weeks end is best for a steamy, private, and intimate connection. Monday holds a moment of absolute clarity, so consider your options then.
Though it has been a couple of years since the last movie – and likely will be another couple of years before filming starts for the next – the anticipation for Bond 26 and the newest actor to take the mantle of 007 is already palpable.
What do we actually know about the newest film in the James Bond franchise? Let’s take a look at some of the facts, rumors, and interesting trivia.
How might the character develop?
James Bond has been associated with the casino since the character’s inception, often depicted sipping his Martini (shaken, not stirred) beside the baccarat or poker table. Even this synonymous activity has developed over the years, with Casino Royale introducing Bond’s new-found appreciation for roulette.
Though this might seem like a minute change, since then, the betting system Bond uses in the book and film has been known as the 007 System or James Bond Strategy.
Nowadays, you have a variety of casino games at your fingertips – you can play roulette online, or perhaps even James Bond-themed games. What this goes to show is with this film comes the opportunity for modernizing the classic spy, which brings the interesting question as to how Bond’s characteristics might be implanted into a more modern, tech-heavy, cloud-based, and AI-driven society.
Who will play Bond?
As of yet, it is unknown who will be the next person to take the role of James Bond – but that hasn’t stopped the rumor mill from going into overdrive, spitting out names of seemingly every British actor of a certain age.
When you look at actors to take up double-Os past, such as Daniel Craig, Pierce Brosnan, Timothy Dalton, and Sean Connery, there’s one thing they all have in common – they were relatively unknown on the commercial silver screen before becoming Bond.
There’s also long since been the debate that Bond should be more diverse – though others are unsure whether diversity should be a factor in casting. With this in mind, it’s logical to hazard a guess that the next 007 will be someone who we least expect – but, more than likely a white actor over 30.
Who else is involved?
The only names associated with the project in certainty are Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, and casting director Debbie McWilliams.
We’re unsure whether a screenwriter has been chosen, or a script has been produced at this time. The major rumours surround who will direct the new Bond’s debut. And, the candidate many have in mind is Phoebe Waller-Bridge (according to the Daily Mail, at least).
Waller-Bridge has previously worked closely alongside the British spy, coming up with rewrites for No Time to Die that’s credited as transforming the perspective of the somewhat patriarchal franchise thus far.
Other rumoured directoral candidates include Cary Joji Fukanaga (No Time to Die) and Joseph Kosinski (Top Gun: Maverick) – both of whom have breathed new life into fan-favourite franchises – or Martin Campbell, who directed both Daniel Craig and Pierce Brosnan’s debut Bond films (Casino Royale and Golden Eye).
And other than that, we’ll just have to wait and see which British actor is lucky enough to land a (potentially breakthrough) role of a lifetime, bringing the infamous spy to a whole new generation of Bond fans.
A section of 101 Street and 104 Avenue was cordoned off by police following what the Edmonton Police Service said was “a response to weapons complaint on the street.”
Multiple people suffered injuries, including a male suspect, police said, adding the responding officers were not injured.
“Police would like to assure citizens there is no risk to those in the immediate area,” EPS said.
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The incident happened as thousands of people were gathered nearby — in one case, just across the street — to take in the Edmonton Oilers game, in which they won and advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs.
Sydney Sweeney with an inset of fiancée Jonathan Davino.Image Press Agency/NurPhoto/Shutterstock; GP/MEGA
A united front. Sydney Sweeney and fiancé Jonathan Davino stepped out in New York City on Friday, April 28, seemingly squashing split rumors.
The Euphoria star, 25, was seen on a date night with Davino, 38, after they attended an Armani Beauty event at the Gansevoort Hotel. Sweeney did not have her engagement ring on, per photos obtained by the Daily Mail, but they were twinning in black outfits.
Sweeney wore an oversized leather jacket over a strapless little black dress wand knee-high boots. Her beau, meanwhile, wore black trousers with a matching shirt and his own leather jacket.
The Washington native got engaged to the restauranteur in May 2022, Us Weekly confirmed at the time. However, her Anyone But You costar Glen Powell‘s recent split sparked speculation about an affair.
The Top Gun: Maverick star, 34, and Gigi Parissplit weeks ago — before he wrapped his R-rated romcom with Sweeney, multiple outlets confirmed, adding that the split was amicable and note Powell is single.
The model, 30, and Powell sparked split speculation on Wednesday, April 26, when Paris shared a cryptic message via social media.
Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney.Matt Baron/BEI/Shutterstock
“Know your worth & onto the next,” she wrote via Instagram alongside a video of her doing a twirl and walking around the streets of New York City solo. Us confirmed the same day that the Jijou founder was no longer following Powell on the app.
The twosome appeared to hit a bump in the road following Paris’ visit to Australia to see her then-boyfriend on the set of Anyone But You. Set photos showed Powell and Sweeney filming steamy scenes, and the cast and crew seemed to enjoy various social outings when the cameras weren’t rolling.
Powell was photographed picking up his then-girlfriend from the airport in March with flowers in hand. Weeks after the trip, reports surfaced that Paris had unfollowed Powell’s costar Sweeney on Instagram, leading to speculation that something happened involving the leading lady. For their part, Powell, Paris and Sweeney have not commented on the alleged social media drama.
Charlie Collier, who joined Roku last fall as president of its newly created media division, had a compensation package worth $53.3 million last year — more than twice as much as his boss, CEO Anthony Wood, took home.
Collier left his post as CEO of Fox Entertainment to head up Roku Media, where he now oversees content and ad sales for the Roku Channel. Roku’s recruitment of the high-profile TV exec — who brought such hits as “Mad Men,” “Breaking Bad” and “The Walking Dead” to AMC — signaled that the company plans to spend more on original content. That said, Roku has been taking steps to cut costs, including laying off about 400 employees, after its revenue growth slowed dramatically in the last two quarters.
In 2022, Collier’s pay package included $1.075 million in base salary along with a boatload of stock: $23.3 million worth in stock grants and $28.9 million in stock options, according to Roku’s 2023 proxy statement filed Thursday. Collier’s annual salary was set at $6.825 million when he joined Roku in October 2022.
An important note is that Collier’s stock equity awards and options will vest over a period of four years, subject to the exec remaining employed with Roku.
Wood, who is Roku’s founder, chairman and CEO, received 2022 compensation totaling $21 million, which included $1.2 million in salary and $19.8 million worth of stock options.
Gidon Katz, president of consumer experience for Roku, had a pay package worth $13.35 million last year, including a salary of $2.75 million and stock grants worth $10.6 million (which also vest over a four-year period). Katz joined the company in January 2022 and in his current role oversees Roku’s customer group, overseeing product, customer journeys, editorial, customer marketing, payments and merchandising. He previously served as president of direct-to-consumer for NBCUniversal, where he was part of the team that launched Peacock.
The Roku board’s compensation committee “assessed each of Mr. Collier’s and Mr. Katz’s market opportunities and determined that each… new hire equity award grant was competitively necessary,” the company said in the proxy statement.
President Joe Biden showed he can take a joke or two aimed at him, and dish them out as well, while honoring the media Saturday night at the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington, D.C.
Some of the celebs making their way down the red carpet at the event included actor Jerry O’Connell and wife Rebecca Romijn, WNBA star Brittney Griner and wife Cherelle Griner, model Winnie Harlow, actress Angelica Ross, actor Liev Schreiber and singer John Legend.
Marvel screenwriter and actor Clark Gregg was there, along with actor Phil Coulson, John Leguizamo and wife Justine Maurer, “The View” co-host Sunny Hostin, along with “Game of Thrones” actress Lena Headey and her actor husband Marc Menchaca.
Addressing the room of journalists, politicians and entertainers, Biden pulled no punches while talking about Donald Trump or Fox News and while expressing his reverence for press freedom, the 80-year-old president even poked fun at his own age.
“I believe in the First Amendment – not just because my good friend Jimmy Madison wrote it,” Biden said, referring to James Madison, the fourth U.S. president and a primary author of the Constitution and Bill of Rights.
Biden also tossed some ageist trash-talk at Rupert Murdoch, 92-year-old owner of Fox News, saying, “You think that I don’t like Rupert Murdoch. That’s simply not true. How could I dislike a guy who makes me look like Harry Styles,” Biden said.
But most of Biden’s address was serious, honoring the press and especially journalists incarcerated in other countries.
The room took a moment to honor Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter being held captive in Russia for alleged espionage while reporting on the war with Ukraine. Members of his family were at the dinner, and the audience stood up in a show of support for them.
“It’s simply wrong. It’s outrageous. And we are not ceasing our efforts to bring him home,” Biden said.
With all that celebrity and power in the room, it took a larger-than-life figure to steal the show all the way from the West Coast. Enter Arnold Schwarzenegger, live by video from Los Angeles, to deliver a serious thanks to the press corps.
“I just simply wanted to say thank you, thank you, thank you to all of you,” Schwarzenegger told the room. “Our country would not be the shining beacon of freedom that welcomes people like me without the free press.”
While the dinner is traditionally a light-hearted event, tSchwarzenegger said that the symbol of the American free press is seen around the world.
“Tonight’s event sends a powerful message. You don’t see politicians schmoozing and drinking with the press in Beijing and Moscow. No, not at all,” he said.
The former California governor said the press often “annoyed” him in office, which means it is doing its job in keeping politicians accountable.
“I wouldn’t be the Arnold that you know, without the press. Even when you asked questions that annoyed the hell out of me, I reminded myself, you are actually doing the people’s work,” he added.
At the end of the live feed, the camera angle widened to show Schwarzenegger hanging out with his “Twins” co-star Danny DeVito, who was feeding a pony and a donkey.
As keynote speaker, comedian Roy Wood, Jr. wanted to make one thing clear: After Dominion Voting Systems won a $787.5 million settlement from Fox News over defamation charges, Wood had nothing negative to say about Dominion or its lawyers.
“I love Dominion,” Wood said. “My favorite voting machine is Dominion voting machines. When I go to the polls, I make sure it is a Dominion machine I use,” Wood said. “I do not want to get sued by Dominion.”
Wood said there are three parties you don’t want to go to court with — Dominion, Cardi B and Gwyneth Paltrow.
He also defended Biden, and noted one of the questions he hears the most is whether the president is awake. “Say what you want about our president, but when he wakes up from that nap, work gets done,” Wood said.
Touching on the firing of Fox News host Tucker Carlson, Wood said he empathizes with the staff that worked for Carlson.
“I know what you’re feeling. I worked at the ‘Daily Show,’ so I too have been blindsided by the sudden departure of the host of a fake news program,” said Wood said.
In an ultimate show-must-go-on moment in country music history, Wynonna Judd was not about to let the legacy of the Judds slip quietly into the sunset, rather than go out as spectacularly as intended, after her mother, Naomi Judd, died by suicide in April 2022. And so the Judds farewell tour that had been scheduled for last fall did proceed, against all probabilities, with a bevy of top stars trading places as Naomi’s stand-in each night. The emotional end of that road was captured for not just one but two new specials premiering on different Paramount platforms — “Wynonna Judd: Between Hell and Hallelujah,” a feature-length documentary that debuted Wednesday on Paramount+, and “The Judds: Love Is Alive — The Final Concert,” a two-hour performance special bowing tonight on CMT at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
With the on-air premieres of the doc and concert special being spaced a few days apart, Judds fans don’t have to consume them both in one fell swoop, but the biggest devotees of the history-making mother/daughter duo may well make a “Girls Night Out” binge out of the two programs anyway.
No one will be punished for picking their own viewing order, but CMT’s Margaret Comeaux, one of the executive producers of the concert film, suggests starting with the doc and saving the live show for dessert. “I think that’s probably the preferred order,” Comeaux says, “because I think the story that the doc is telling of the whole year leads us to the final story we’re telling in the concert special, with the culmination in Murfreesboro.” That’s the Tennessee city where Judd and all the guest stars who appeared along last fall’s tour routing converged for a show that was meant to more or less recreate the Judds’ famous original farewell concert back in 1991, shot on the same stage.
Both projects will prove enticing not just to fans of the Judds but to followers of the performers who are seen joining Wynonna as co-frontwomen: Brandi Carlile, Kelsea Ballerini, Martina McBride, Ashley McBryde, Faith Hill and Little Big Town. (Make that co-frontwomen and -frontmen in the case of the latter co-ed vocal quartet.)
MURFREESBORO, TENNESSEE – NOVEMBER 03: (L-R) Brandi Carlile, Kelsea Ballerini, Ashley McBryde, Martina McBride, Wynonna Judd, Phillip Sweet, Kimberly Schlapman, Karen Fairchild and Jimi Westbrook of Little Big Town perform onstage for The Judds Love Is Alive The Final Concert hosted by CMT at Murphy Center at Middle Tennessee State University on November 03, 2022 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images for CMT)
Getty Images for CMT
Carlile, who has characterized herself as one of the Judds’ all-time megafans since childhood, was particularly instrumental in being a sort of spiritual cheerleader for Wynonna, before and during the tour.
Says Jason Owen, the head of Nashville media powerhouse Sandbox Entertainment and an exec producer on both projects: “I’m being honest when I say I could not have done this tour without her. I mean, she was a confidante. She and I talked through a lot as we were talking through songs and making sure everyone was healthy and happy. And her energy is just infectious. From the very beginning, she felt very strongly that Wynonna should do the tour, and she was very vocal about that with all of us. And we all started building this idea of the tour with a guest (each night) off of Brandi, and that’s how it started. But throughout the process, she was there. It was very important for me that she be the first guest — and it was very important to me — because I knew that she cared so much about the music and cared so much about Wynonna. Not that all of them did not, because they did, but she was like a beacon, and wanted to make sure everything was really right and perfect for Wy, mostly musically.”
MURFREESBORO, TENNESSEE – NOVEMBER 03: Brandi Carlile and Wynonna Judd perform onstage for The Judds Love Is Alive The Final Concert hosted by CMT at Murphy Center at Middle Tennessee State University on November 03, 2022 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images for CMT)
Getty Images for CMT
Even before Naomi died and plans changed in the biggest possible way, there had always been a plan to film a documentary about what had been booked as the Judds’ second farewell tour. Owens’ Sandbox had hooked up with Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine — specifically Sara Rea, who runs the unscripted division — at about the time the Judds appeared on the 2022 CMT Music Awards to sing “Love Will Build a Bridge” and promote the coming reunion tour.
After Naomi died, virtually everything that had been planned went on — including the filming projects — albeit always with a check-in to Wynonna and her team to make sure they were on board, and with obvious constant acknowledgements of the void at the center of things, or at a half-center. Unforgettably, Wynonna showed up to accept the duo’s Country Music Hall of Fame medallion at a ceremony just two days after the death. At a musical memorial televised by CMT from the Ryman Auditorium, Wynonna announced the tour would go on, with Carlile — a key duet partner at the eulogistic event — seen in the third row literally leaning forward in her seat with enthusiasm for the idea.
Wynonna may come off as the ultimate super trouper, but the documentary reveals chinks in that armor along the way, or at least moments where the singer plainly owns up to not yet having come to terms with her mother’s death. One of the first scenes has Wynonna entering a room in her mother’s house full of gold records and other career artifacts for the first time since Naomi died. Later, there’s a scene on a bus where she and sister Ashley Judd look at some old pictures, with the latter sibling admitting she hadn’t been able to look at family photos until then.
Probably the most talked-about scene comes mid-tour, when deepening anxiety about staging issues leads Wynonna to get on an emergency Zoom call with her therapist to deal with the real underlying issues. She says that every time she drives by her mother’s house, which is often, she flashes back to the day she was called over, and the traumatic imagery of being in the room with her dying mom. Her biggest regret, she says feistily, is that she didn’t punch the cop who held her back from kissing her mother before she passed, and that it was only after Naomi was declared dead that she was able to kiss her on the forehead.
“That was a hard day of filming,” says Patty Ivins Specht, the director of the “Between Hell and Hallelujah” doc. “It was a fascinating day, because that (therapy session) was not scheduled. She woke up that day and sincerely needed to have a session with David Kessler for her grief therapy because she was just feeling it so deeply. First of all, the entire crew is crying on some level, because it’s very emotional to listen to somebody relive their worst day of their life. And then it was another moment where she went into that very personal trauma of replaying the driving over (to the house), every time. She’s like, ‘I just can’t stop that loop in my brain.’ Sometimes when you’re making a movie like this, it is such a trust fall, and Wy just trusted that we were gonna capture the process and was free with how she felt, and I think everyone in the room filming it feels that responsibility when someone trusts you with their vulnerability.
“I look at that scene and she’s a woman who’s legitimately in a painful hour in time and she’s asking for help. And she’s kind of trying to ignore that these cameras are here. But watching somebody model processing their grief is also really empowering, because in our society, we don’t talk about death. You do the funeral, you move along, and then you still live with that grief for years. And so I think in a powerful way, her modeling how she’s processing this grief is really one of the gifts of this film.”
Wynonna Judd (Courtesy CMT)
The anxiety for Judd comes about in a somewhat symbolic way, at first, starting with the very practical matter of the artist having difficulty with the opening gambit of the tour. She would be snuck out each night in a rolling equipment cabinet to start each concert on a “B stage,” apart from the band or any guests back on the main stage — and, in some kind of deeply Freudian way, separated from the union with her mother that the main stage represents. It doesn’t help that Judd is described by others as being more claustrophobic than anyone else they know even on an elevator.
“I really fought for that B stage and wanted this epic opening,” says Owen. “You know how I love a production. I wanted this really big kind of reveal at the beginning, and we sort of played with that idea through rehearsals, and she was really game for it. But ultimately it became, for the beginning of the tour, this thing of, is she going to be able to do this or not? I kept saying, ‘We can kill it, if it’s causing this much stress on whether or not the lift works, or worried about going up and down in the dark. Because it is scary, to her credit. Ultimately she realized that it was really working for the emotion she was finding with the fans by herself in that moment, before everything was on the main stage. But it was a constant battle, and I’m not a therapist, but I think a lot of the anxiety was really coming from a different place than just the B stage.”
As for capturing Wynonna’s first visit to her mother’s home after the tragedy, says Ivins Specht, “It illustrates this thing that happens with Wynonna, where I think she has this kind of unspoken contract with her fans that she just gives it up. Because even when she said yes to us, that we could go with her that day, I mean, we weren’t so sure she’d say yes, but no, she was all for it. … The sensitive thing is, leading with your intuition a little bit in those times, but really our job is to always ask. That actually is our job, to ask — in humility and kindness — to ask the uncomfortable questions all the time. There’s so much give and take, and she gives so much. There’s a moment (in the film) where she goes, ‘OK, I think I did it.’ Like, ‘That’s all I can do today.’ But she generally tries to say yes, and then she’ll find a boundary at some point.”
One reason Owen bonded so well with Carlile is that he, too, was a Judds megafan since childhood. He will allow that a VHS tape of the 1991 Judds farewell special was one of his most prized, if not worn-out, possessions. (Naomi Judd said that she was retiring at the time, after their run of ’80s smashes, because of her hepatitis-C diagnosis, although she participated in short or one-off reunions over the following three decades.) That farewell show had been filmed at Middle Tennessee State University, and it was Owen’s idea to recreate the show back at that original site — though it was not the original plan.
“I remember Margaret and I having a phone conversation as we were trying to plan this concert special,” Owen recalls, “and the original plan was that we were going to do it in Lexington, Kentucky,” where the last show was to take place on the original fall 2022 tour routing. “Kentucky made sense because they were obviously from Kentucky, and that was where we were going to wrap the tour. We had blocked off seating for it, we had done camera holds, we did everything. Long story short, Wynonna wanted to continue the tour and continue to do another run of dates,” which would extend the actual finale to months down the line. “And then, with Margaret and I brainstorming on the phone, I said, ‘What if we do it there, at MTSU?’ Within eight hours, we had that.. … At the college, there was tons of faculty and people that worked there for a long period of time that were all there when they shot that special, believe it or not. And when we pitched them on this idea, they went through every hoop imaginable to make sure it happened.
“And then Wynonna, it had been a long time since she had seen that special. I said, ‘I really need you to go back and watch that special. Please.’ She was like, ‘It’s gonna be really hard, but I will.’ She said later to me that she was really grateful that she did that, because when she walked in those hallways, and especially backstage in those corridors, it brought back so many memories. And when she saw the Judds sign in lights (a la 1991), I think that was really emotional for her, too.”
MURFREESBORO, TENNESSEE – NOVEMBER 03: (L-R) Jimi Westbrook and Kimberly Schlapman of Little Big Town, Wynonna Judd, Brandi Carlile, Karen Fairchild, and Phillip Sweet of Little Big Town perform onstage for The Judds Love Is Alive The Final Concert hosted by CMT at Murphy Center at Middle Tennessee State University on November 03, 2022 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images for CMT)
Getty Images for CMT
It wasn’t just Carlile among the guests who was able to have an emotional impact on Judd. Comeaux remembers a spontaneous moment in rehearsal, captured in the doc, when Faith Hill began serenading Judd on stage with an a cappella version of “You Are Not Alone,” with the band eventually joining in. The documentary crew was on the opposite side of the venue, filming an interview with Tim McGraw, but they had made contingency plans to leave one camera near the star at all times, and a producer was able to pick it up and capture the moment. “Wy, at the beginning of every show, is very much in a zone of ‘I want to service all the fans who are coming,’ and as anyone is, you’re in game mode — you’ve gotta see the vision of the end. And so when Faith begins this beautiful rendition, I mean, everybody on stage had a lump in their throat, and Wynonna pulls out a funny and says, ‘Don’t you ever do that again.’ But it’s a beautiful moment in the movie.”
But it’s hard to overstate Carlile’s impact, even on the tour dates that came after her initial appearance at the first ones. Says Ivins Specht, “At the kickoff concert, it was one day of load-in, a little bit of rehearsal that late afternoon into the evening, and then the next day was another rehearsal, and then the first show was that Friday night. So it’s Thursday, 4 or 5 o’clock, and it’s a big freaking day — stressful, everything’s getting built, and things aren’t coming together as quickly as possible, as with every production you ever work on.” Owen concurs, “That first weekend of shows was very stressful. Things go wrong. We have to change things; I’m yelling at some lighting guy. It’s tough.”
And then, says the director, “I can tell you, the moment Team Brandi rolled in, Wy was like, ‘OK, I’m gonna be good.’ Like, ‘I have Brandi on stage. She’s as invested in this being a success for me, as an individual woman, as she is for all the fans who love the Judds so much.’ And I think the planning of Brandi being first is kind of an unspoken tribute to why this is such a success. It transcended being about all the anxiety around what Wynonna was about to do, and it went back to the place of celebration and joy, and Brandi helped Wy access that peace in herself. That’s what I witnessed.” Adds Owen, “She helped me too, honestly, because I was very emotional through it, because I cared so much and it was such a rollercoaster of a year. Again, I really would say wholeheartedly, I could not have done this without her.”
The Judds-celebrating tour stuck mostly to the middle of the country, even with the added dates, missing the coasts. Could there be any rectifying that?
“I have a petition to get her to the Greek” in Los Angeles, says Comeaux. “I want to see Wynonna at the Greek.”
Maybe that will happen eventually, but not under this banner. “There’s nothing (further) scheduled for that,” Owen says. “I think that that was the end of the Judds tour. Unfortunately for all of us.”
Wynonna Judd, Brandi Carlile, Little Big Town, Kelsea Ballerini, Martina McBride, Ashley McBryde, performers on Wynonna Judd concert special (John Shearer for CMT)
MURFREESBORO, TENNESSEE – NOVEMBER 03: Ashley McBryde and Wynonna Judd perform onstage for The Judds Love Is Alive The Final Concert hosted by CMT at Murphy Center at Middle Tennessee State University on November 03, 2022 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images for CMT)
Getty Images for CMT
“Polite Society” is an action caper filled with martial arts battles and secret lairs. It’s a romance in which two smart, impossibly attractive people fall in love. It’s a Jane Austen-esque comedy of marriage in which a teenager meddles in her older sister’s love life while their parents look on in dismay.
It’s also a movie with a lavish, Bollywood-inspired musical number, because why settle on a single genre when you can cram in as many as possible?
Yet this new British film does not feel tonally inconsistent or stylistically scattered; rather, form imaginatively fits function.
“It’s about women dealing with norms and expectations and rules, and wanting to push them,” the writer-director Nida Manzoor explained in a video conversation from Bristol, England. “When they’re breaking them, I’ve got to break genres as well. So it all felt like it was working together, not just me being insane.” She laughed. “Maybe a bit of me being insane.”
Reviewing “Polite Society” for The New York Times, Amy Nicholson called it a delight that signals the arrival of Manzoor as “a promising new thing: a first-time filmmaker impatient to evolve cultural representation from the last few years of self-conscious vitamins into crowd-pleasing candy.”
In the film, Ria, the youngest in a British Pakistani family, attends high school while training hard to fulfill her dream of becoming a stuntwoman. (She idolizes Eunice Huthart, a real-life Liverpudlian with extensive experience as a Hollywood stunt double.) And so the actress portraying her, Priya Kansara, had to get with the program — fast.
“I have no prior martial arts experience or anything like that,” Kansara said in a video chat. “I was cast around six, seven weeks before we started the shoot, so that’s the time I had to learn as many of the stunts and the fight choreography. It was intense because there was so much to get through. And Ria is just a crazy kid; she doesn’t really stop.”
The plot moves at a fast clip peppered with a lot of action, which is nearly always layered with rambunctious comedy. When Ria, who usually has no time for “girlie” accouterments, is forced to endure a wax, the scene is shot like a dramatic interrogation in an early James Bond movie — “but with this kind of villain Auntie character,” Manzoor said, referring to Ria’s nemesis, played by Nimra Bucha.
The film is often cathartic in the way it lets girls and women do — with contagious glee — things we have seen men do onscreen for decades. When Ria and her sister, the art-school dropout Lena (Ritu Arya), go out for burgers, they wolf them down with memorable gusto.
“Nida came up to us, like, ‘Just go for it, eat like you haven’t eaten in hours and you cannot wait to get into it,’ ” Kansara said. “Me and Ritu took the note literally and we went for it. After that take, Nida came back up to us and was like, ‘OK, maybe not that much.’ ”
For Arya (best known as Lila Pitts in the Netflix series “The Umbrella Academy”), being encouraged to chomp was a refreshing change from what she usually sees in movies or on television. “I love watching people eat, but onscreen they are often sort of playing around with their food because of the amount of takes they have to do,” she said in a joint chat with Kansara. “Which is why it’s satisfying when you see people actually eating. I love that scene for that reason.”
Arya was familiar with Manzoor’s sensibility because they had worked together before, most notably on the 14-minute comedy “Lady Parts,” which Manzoor made for Channel 4 in 2018 and in which Arya played the lead singer of the short film’s titular punk band, a raucous quartet of Muslim women. (Because of scheduling conflicts, the part was recast when the short became the series “We Are Lady Parts,” which streams on Peacock in the United States; Manzoor is currently writing Season 2.)
Manzoor started writing “Polite Society” around 10 years ago but kept running into obstacles as she tried to get the project off the ground. Very early on, before such suggestions became less acceptable to make, potential financiers would ask if she could make the central family a white one. Others would have preferred something a little bit less action and more art house. Later, the emphasis on comedy became a problem: Couldn’t there be some weighty issues like, say, an arranged marriage?
Manzoor did not budge. “It was like, ‘It’s a joyful film about South Asian Muslim women,’ ” she said. “So much of the reason I’m a filmmaker is because I want to not have our stories only be about trauma.”
Giving “Polite Society” emotional ballast is the bond between Ria and Lena, which was inspired by the one between Manzoor and her own sister, Sanya, who is a year older. (Their brother, Shez, worked on the soundtrack.) After collaborating with Arya on “Lady Parts,” Manzoor felt she was a natural fit for the role of Lena. “She has the quality of my oldest sister,” Manzoor said, “that natural, inherent sort of alternative brown girl, which is quite rare, actually, in actors. It’s kind of mercurial and wild and vulnerable at the same time.”
Even a brutal brawl between Ria and Lena, at a low point in their relationship, was inspired by real life. “I used to fight with her — we used to do martial arts together,” Manzoor said of Sanya. “I have this memory of when we were in a martial arts class and our instructor always wanted us to fight when we did sparring.” She laughed. “It was kind of creepy.”
Asked why she was so keen to put women being active and physical at the heart of her film, Manzoor dug back into her past again.
“I used to love sports, and doing martial arts and dancing,” she said. “And then around 12, 13 years old, your body changes and you become objectified. I felt so alienated from my body, so ashamed of it. I realized I’m drawn to genres that allow women to be in possession of their bodies: playing an instrument, being onstage. That was something I lost when I was a teenager, that physicality,” she added. “In my art, I’m always trying to show women have it or regain it or find it.”
And with Marvel Studios’ Phase 5 slate already off to a bit of a rocky start for some viewers, combined with the high expectations for this new threequel, many are already wondering what the critics will think this time around.
Guardians of the Galaxy 3 Sets Rotten Tomatoes Record
Marvel
Rotten Tomatoes‘ listing for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has the MCU threequel at an 80% critic approval rating, putting it in a tie with Captain America: The First Avenger for the 19th highest rating in MCU movie history.
Unfortunately, this ranks it below both of the first two Guardians movies, with Vol. 1 coming in at 92% and Vol. 2 holding an 85% rating.
Although it well outpaces the MCU’s first Phase 5 movie, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which currently sits at only a 47% rating.
Spider-Man: No Way Home – 93%
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings – 91%
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – 84%
Black Widow – 79%
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness – 74%
Thor: Love and Thunder – 64%
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania – 47%
Eternals – 47%
Will Guardians of the Galaxy 3 Land With Fans?
It’s no secret that Marvel movies haven’t had the easiest run with Rotten Tomatoes or other critic outlets since the end of the Infinity Saga. After Avengers: Endgame left the saga on such a high note with a 94% rating, the second-highest in MCU history behind Black Panther, expectations for everything that followed have been through the roof.
The MCU has also never shied away from using comedy and action in its movies, although oftentimes, critics have seen those same plot devices used in many other Marvel Studios projects over the years.
And with the MCU fast approaching its 15th birthday with more than 40 movies and TV shows under its belt, critics appear much more ready to look past those aspects, some even docking points for movies being goofier or funnier.
But hopefully, looking at how much anticipation has built up for this last movie in the Guardians trilogy, that score won’t be too much of a concern as Marvel Studios looks to regain its place atop the fandom world.
Momoa still has one more DC appearance confirmed with Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom on the way, and his relationship with Warner Bros. appears as strong as ever after his Minecraft movie received a release announcement.
Men’s Health recently spoke with DC Studios co-CEO Peter Safran for an article spotlighting Aquaman actor Jason Momoa, which led to some intriguing hints about the star’s future and a potential recast.
Safran – who produced both Aquaman movies – shared his anticipation to continue working with Momoa for “many years to come,” noting how he “would be happy” for that to be in his existing role or as “another great character:”
“I look forward to working with Jason for many years to come. I would be happy for it to be in Arthur Curry’s world, but if/when another opportunity came up, I’d find another great character for him to create.”
“Jason always thought Aquaman was a trilogy in his own mind. But he also loves Lobo. He’s been very clear about that, too. He’s never gonna play two characters, but no decision has been made.”
But the DC producer pointed out how tough recasting would be because “there are few superhero castings that are more perfect than Momoa as Aquaman.”
That wasn’t the only praise Safran had for Momoa, admitting “what you see is what you get” with the Aquaman actor:
“What you see is what you get with Jason. I have been working with him for six or seven years, and I keep waiting for the proverbial other shoe to drop. If there is an inner asshole in him, it has never come out. That, to me, is a surprise . . . albeit a very pleasant one.”
The Aquaman actor himself also had some teases to offer about his DC superhero, noting how he’s “extremely, extremely excited” because “there’s a lot of badass shit coming up.”
Momoa hinted at his superhero future in January, shortly after James Gunn and Peter Safran’s DC reboot was announced, saying he got “some really good news” from Warner Bros. before adding his love for the studio bosses:
“Four years ago, I had the jeep out front… Y’all remember four years ago? I was screaming, wasn’t I? … Screaming when I left Warner Bros. Everybody ready? YAHOO! Four years again. It’s a mystery, baby… I’ve got some really good news. Great news with Warner Bros. Amazing. Wish I could tell you, but here it is. Peter [Safran], I love you. James [Gunn], I love you. David [Zaslav]. Okay. To the future, to the future.”
Why Jason Momoa’s DC Future Is Safe… But Not Aquaman
Jason Momoa currently seems to be one of the few actors with a secure DC future after the reboot. Even if Aquaman ends up being recast, as seems unlikely with much of the Justice League being replaced, DC Studios will likely still find a new role for him, perhaps even as Lobo – a Superman villain he seemingly “[loves].”
James Gunn currently appears intent on keeping around the elements of the old DC universe he worked on – The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker. One can only wonder if the same will hold true for the franchises Peter Safran produced – Shazam, Aquaman, and Blue Beetle – given they are equal co-CEOs.
For now, it appears Jason Momoa’s DC future remains undecided, with his fate potentially hinging on the critical and financial result of Aquaman 2. Although things appear concerning on that front after worrying news emerged from test screenings, which may ultimately doom the Arthur Curry to be rebooted.
The Lego Group has announced plans to release four Donkey Kong expansion sets this summer.
Set for release on August 1, the four expansion sets are Donkey Kong’s Tree House, Diddy Kong’s Mine Cart Ride, Dixie Kong’s Jungle Jam and Rambi the Rhino.
They’ll feature Donkey Kong, Cranky Kong, Diddy Kong, Funky Kong and Dixie Kong. The sets and new characters can also interact with the existing Lego Mario, Luigi and Peach figures.
Lego Super Mario YouTube Premiere celebrating MAR10 Day
Donkey Kong’s Tree House Expansion Set costs $59.99 / €64.99 / £57.99 and has 555 pieces. It includes Cranky Kong and lets players ride on DK’s back using Lego Mario, Luigi or Peach.
Priced at $109.99 / €104.99 / £94.99, Diddy Kong’s Mine Cart Ride Expansion Set includes 1,157 pieces. It features Diddy Kong, a rideable mine cart, a plane from Funky Kong’s shop, plus a Mole Miner.
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The 174-piece Dixie Kong’s Jungle Jam Expansion Set, which costs $26.99 / €26.99 / £20.99, is a music-themed set which lets players perform with Dixie Kong and Squawks the parrot.
Priced at $26.99 / €26.99 / £20.99, the 106-piece Rambi the Rhino Expansion Set lets players ride the rhino figure, which emits sound effects when it walks or charges into the included stackable rock elements.
The Kong family played a prominent role in the recently released Super Mario Bros. Movie, which has been a big hit at the box office.
The Hateful Eight Extended Version— the miniseries recut from Quentin Tarantino‘s original 2015 film — is back on Netflix this week. As Tarantino told SlashFilm shortly after the series’ initial release in April 2019, the project came about when Netflix approached him directly, wanting to know if there was even more footage available beyond the 70 mm roadshow cut and whether it could be reworked into a short series. So the director, alongside the film’s original editor Fred Raskin, got to work, recutting the film into four episodes of about 50 minutes each, which streamed until January of this year. In honor of its re-release, let’s explore: how different is it from the original, and is it worth watching?
COLLIDER VIDEO OF THE DAYSCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT
The 2015 film was long at about 168 minutes and was divided into six chapters, each with its own title card. The miniseries clocks in at 210 minutes — but that doesn’t add up to as much new footage as you might think based on the math. Fans of the movie might remember the lengthy, beautifully cinematic (even for Tarantino) opening credits sequence, which features a lingering shot of a snowy Wyoming landscape set against Ennio Morricone’s haunting score. Each episode of the miniseries includes both that opening credits sequence and the closing credits, and the second, third, and fourth episodes also include a brief replay of the final scene of the previous episode. Combined, this inflates the runtime of each episode by about eight minutes. The original film without the credits is about 160 minutes; the extended version without the credits is about 178, meaning there’s only around 18 minutes of new footage.
The miniseries’ episodes share their titles with the film’s chapters, though there are fewer of them. The new footage shows up mainly in slightly extended dialogue sequences — there are no changes to the plot, story structure, or timeline. However, there are some scene extensions that give us a few interesting moments between the players and a bit more insight into their characters.
‘The Hateful Eight: Extended Version’s First Episode Has Few Changes
Image via TWC
Episode 1, “Last Stage to Red Rock,” is the shortest of the series and features the fewest changes from the original. Major Marquis Warren (Samuel L. Jackson) and O.B. (James Parks) haggle a bit more over the particulars of getting Warren’s bounties strapped to the top of the coach, and in the same scene, we’re treated to a shot of John Ruth (Kurt Russell) peeing against its side. The dialogue inside the coach is also slightly more substantial: John hurls more abuse at Daisy (Jennifer Jason Leigh), and John and the Major chat a bit more. After Warren expresses his disappointment at having to put down his horse Lash, whom he might have considered his best friend if he considered stupid animals to be friends — which he doesn’t — John shares that he had a horse named Cauliflower that he affectionately called his “beast friend.”
Kurt Russell’s John Ruth Is a Mean Bastard
Image via TWC
Episode 2, “Minnie’s Haberdashery,” starts in the same moment as the film chapter of the same name: the coach’s arrival at the eponymous haberdashery. The episode shows us more footage of Warren, O.B., Chris Mannix (Walton Goggins), and Bob (Demián Bichir) trudging through the rapidly deepening snow to put the horses in the stable and extends the scene in which Mannix and Confederate General Sanford Smithers (Bruce Dern) meet, with Mannix offering a toast of brandy to Smithers’ deceased son, service, and home state of Georgia. Another mini-scene is added in which John, while chowing down on a can of peaches, spots the half-plucked chicken lying on the piano bench — which we later learn was left there because the Domingre Gang shot the plucker — and forces Bob to finish plucking it, saying a half-plucked chicken is bad luck. (He must have been right.) After taking Joe Gage’s (Michael Madsen) and Oswaldo Mobray’s (Tim Roth) guns, John spends a bit more time bossing everyone around, giving them exact instructions as to where to sit, and he smashes a shotgun that was stashed on the wall. The added minutes characterize John as even more paranoid and hostile than he was previously.
Why Can’t Smithers Eat in His Chair?
Image via TWC
Episode 3, “Domergue’s Got a Secret,” opens on O.B. dumping the confiscated guns in the outhouse, followed by an argument between Mannix and General Smithers in which Smithers refuses to sit at the table with Major Warren, and Mannix for some reason believes this means Smithers can’t eat any stew — perhaps lending new significance to Warren’s seemingly courteous act of taking a bowl to the General’s chair later. The argument continues in the background for some time as the rest of the crew eats, and we see the Major pray over his food. The rest of the episode proceeds as the film does: John’s delightful observation on the necessity of hanging mean bastards, the reveal of the Lincoln letter’s fraudulence, Warren’s vivid description of his torture of Smithers’ son and his subsequent shooting of Smithers himself, and of course, the poisoning of the coffee and its bloody aftermath.
‘The Hateful Eight: Extended Version’ Gives Us a Glimpse Into the Gang’s Perspective
Episode 4, “The Last Chapter,” contains perhaps the most interesting addition, one which Tarantino was particularly excited to share with an audience in the same SlashFilm interview. Like the film’s fifth chapter, “The Four Passengers,” it begins with a jump back in time to the Domingre Gang’s arrival at the haberdashery and their dispassionate murder of its occupants. But where the film cuts from the moment of John and Daisy’s arrival back to the present, the miniseries shows us their first few minutes in the haberdashery — this time from the gang’s perspective. As John makes coffee, we see Oswaldo/English Pete motion Daisy out of the way so that Joe Gage/Grouch Douglass can take a shot at her captor, and we learn that Daisy wasn’t just mentioning Mannix and Warren’s presence in the stable to make casual conversation — she was warning her gangmates that they weren’t alone. We also get Joe’s reaction to John’s abuse of Daisy: he takes it personally, telling us that this gang is truly devoted to her. The episode then jumps back to the present where Mannix and Warren, on the verge of bleeding to death themselves, dispatch the remaining members of the gang one by one.
So, is the miniseries worth watching? In short, yes. Tarantino fans can appreciate it knowing that it’s the vision of the director himself, and those who liked the original film might enjoy the extra footage as they would any bonus footage or deleted scenes from a good movie. Filmmaking connoisseurs might also note that watching it back-to-back with the original (also currently streaming on Netflix) is a fascinating insight into the nuances and challenges of editing and a commentary on how seemingly minor cuts can change the tone or pacing of a scene dramatically. Lastly, those who have never seen the lengthy original might simply find the fifty-minute blocks of the series more convenient to watch: after all, you can always skip the credits.
“It wasn’t the right thing at that moment,” Mulaney said of the opportunity that ultimately went to Trevor Noah.
John Mulaney is back on top of the stand-up comedy world following the release of “Baby J,” his new Netflix special that digs into his recent addiction relapse and subsequent return to sobriety. The special has earned rave reviews for the honesty and vulnerability Mulaney displays, with many viewing it as a warning about the dangers of American celebrity culture.
Mulaney’s press tour to promote the special has seen him take a trip down memory lane, recalling his rise to prominence and some of the high profile opportunities that he missed out on over the years. Appearing on Doug Herzog and Jen Chaney’s “Basic” podcast (via The Hollywood Reporter), the comedian said that he was considered as a potential host of The Daily Show after Jon Stewart vacated the job in 2015. He explained that the offer came right after his ill-fated multi-camera sitcom “Mulaney” aired on Fox.
“It was shortly after the ‘SNL’ 40th anniversary,” Mulaney said. “I had a sitcom on Fox. They’d aired all 13 [episodes], but it was canceled. It didn’t do good numbers, but at least critics reviled it. So, it was a fun time.”
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The comic said that the critical and commercial failure of “Mulaney” made him hesitant to pursue other projects outside of his stand-up career.
“I sensed they would be big shoes to fill,” he said. “I think I also was gun-shy from putting myself out there at that moment after the Fox run. And I sensed all eyes would be on whoever came after Mr. Stewart.”
Mulaney said that former Comedy Central president Kent Alterman had to move on to other candidates because of his reservations about the job. Trevor Noah was ultimately tapped to take over for Stewart and hosted the show for seven years before departing in 2022.
“It wasn’t the right thing at that moment, but I remember saying to Kent, ‘I wish it was five years from now.’ And he went, ‘Yeah, but it’s not,’” he said. “I mean, I just remember Kent had a great tone of, ‘I hear you. I’m here to hear out anything you have to say, but it’s now, and we’re asking you about it, and we can’t talk hypothetically for that long at this dinner, John.’”
The entitled son of a wealthy patriarch pursues a driven young woman, but is in for a powerful lesson when she challenges his assumptions about marriage.
Certificate:TV-14 Parents strongly cautioned. May not be suitable for ages under 14.
In the Paramount+ series “Fatal Attraction,” Joshua Jackson and Lizzy Caplan take on the iconic roles first played by Michael Douglas and Glenn Close in the 1987 film, a time when erotic thrillers competed at the Oscars. But in those 36, times have changed.
“The movie is in an era of time where we were much more comfortable, oddly, examining human sexuality. We seem much more prudish now in the way that we deal with this,” Jackson told TheWrap.
While the industry debates whether to tone down onscreen intimacy or skip sex scenes entirely, the series, which premieres on Sunday, April 30, doesn’t shy away from showing the steaminess of the central affair and features partial nudity from both leads.
TheWrap sat down with Jackson, Caplan, showrunner Alexandra Cunningham and director Silver Tree to discuss how Hollywood’s attitude to sex has changed in the last few decades.
TheWrap: Have you heard the conversation that people think there shouldn’t be as many sex scenes in TVs and movies today?
Joshua Jackson: I don’t know what that conversation is. But I actually feel like we need more of this. I feel like we examine sexuality on screen in a much more prudish way now. The movie is in an era of time where we were much more comfortable, oddly, examining human sexuality. We seem much more prudish now in the way that we deal with this.
Showrunner Alexandra Cunningham: Yes, there is that talk. But at the same time, if you’re doing something that’s renowned as an erotic thriller, you have to lean into it to a certain extent, especially with this property, which is really, the reason the storytelling is happening at all is because of this encounter. So we need to represent it.
Lizzy Caplan: There was a period of time where [sex in movies and TV] was a constant presence. Now I feel like there’s actually less of it. It seems like there’s been a shift in the past few years, which is a reflection of the bigger society and the societal mores. But I did get very bored of the “let’s stop the narrative and the action so we can just watch two actors simulate sex with each other, and then we’ll get back to the story.” If it’s not part of the narrative, I do think that it’s a bit useless.
Joshua Jackson: You can tell the story of sexuality without the actual representation of sex. [Today] we also have a better understanding of how to present bodies and the scenarios in which we do that. I wish that we were examining sex and sexuality more in the narratives that we’re telling because it’s so central to who we are as human beings. And part of our broader job is to be reflecting the culture back to itself.
Silver Tree: I consider intimacy scenes very similar to stunts. Logistically, it’s a much easier time to film these sorts of scenes, because there’s a lot of safeguards in place.
I think the most important thing to me was to make sure there was enough chemistry between these two people. Because if you don’t have that, there’s no story. And these actors immediately had chemistry, so most of the work was done for me. The scenes needed that chemistry, obviously, in the sort of animalistic nature of two people devouring each other. But then I had to make sure the Alex character is metabolizing the experience in a way that is so impactful, that she’s not going to be able to let go of this person, without conveying that and scaring Dan off. So it’s definitely a dance.
The first three episodes of “Fatal Attraction” premiere on Paramount+ on Sunday, April 30.
Prolific Atlanta-based rapper Tony Shhnow has shared a new release titled Love Streak. Mavi, DRAM, Lil Crank, Act, and 3AG Pilot all make guest appearances on the project, which Grimm Doza and CashCache produced. There’s also a new Darko-directed video for “If It Wasn’t for Me.” Check that out and the rest of Love Streak below.
Tony Shhnow last released Plug Motivation in November, which itself arrived five months after its predecessor, June’s Reflexions. Earlier this year, he joined Popstar Benny for the single “All the Girls <3,” which sampled Mariah Carey’s “Bliss.”
US President Joe Biden said 92-year-old tycoon Rupert Murdoch made him look like singer Harry Styles, and joked that he was friends with one of the US founding fathers, James Madison, at an annual press dinner.
The president traditionally faces friendly jibes in front of journalists at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
Mr Biden, aged 80, has announced he plans to run for re-election, and took aim at critics who think he is too old to do so.
Amazon reported a net profit of $3.2 billion in the first quarter, thanks in part to a fast-growing advertising business and strong performance from Amazon Web Services (AWS).
The strong quarter also came amid substantial layoffs at the tech giant, which has said it will lay off about 27,000 employees by the end of the year. On Thursday, Amazon entertainment divisions were impacted, with about 100 jobs cut.
Amazon revenue in the quarter was $127.4 billion, well above Wall street’s $124.5 billion consensus. The company’s share price rose after hours.
“There’s a lot to like about how our teams are delivering for customers, particularly amidst an uncertain economy,” said Andy Jassy, Amazon’s CEO, in a statement. “Our Advertising business continues to deliver robust growth, largely due to our ongoing machine learning investments that help customers see relevant information when they engage with us, which in turn delivers unusually strong results for brands.”
Amazon’s ads business delivered $9.5 billion in revenue, up 21 percent from a year ago.
On the entertainment front, Amazon’s usual lengthy earnings release also called out Creed III and Daisy Jones & The Six as contributing to its success in the quarter. Theater owners will surely take note of the fact that Amazon touted Creed‘s strong box office numbers.
The Los Angeles Lakers are back in the NBA playoffs, and waves of celebrities like Jack Nicholson and Adele have returned to Crypto.com Arena to bear witness.
Spotting which celebrities are in attendance for live sporting events can be almost as entertaining as the games themselves (particularly if you’re not a sports fan), and no team has drawn quite as many famous attendees as Hollywood’s hometown ball club. Since the “showtime” era of the 1980s, actors, musicians and reality stars have treated Laker games like an informal, nationally-televised catwalk, sitting courtside at both the Forum and the arena formerly known as the Staples Center to watch some of the world’s best athletes square off.
But since NBA superstar LeBron James signed with the Lakers in 2018, celebs have been unable to enjoy the purple and gold during the NBA playoffs, where the lights are brightest and the media attention is at its peak. Whether it be because of safety restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic or the Lakers simply not being good enough to make the playoffs, Crypto.com Arena hasn’t welcomed fans for postseason Lakers games in quite a while.
This year is different, though. The Lakers are good, Covid restrictions have lifted and celebrities are returning in droves to watch their beloved team take on the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the NBA postseason.
Most notably, given his reclusive nature as of late, Jack Nicholson was in the building for Game 6 Friday night, returning to his usual courtside spot (though without his usual sunglasses). Nicholson has been a proud Lakers season-ticket holder since 1970.
Check out this compilation the NBA put together of some of the stars at Friday night’s game, including Larry David, “Red Hot Chili Peppers” bassist Flea, Adele (girlfriend of LeBron James’ longtime agent Rich Paul) and Dr. Dre, in addition to Nicholson.
Other celebs spotted at Lakers home games during the series included Kim Kardashian, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Jason Bateman and Will Arnett.
Jason Bateman & Will Arnett attend a basketball game between Los Angeles Lakers and Memphis Grizzlies Round 1 Game 6 of the 2023 NBA Playoffs against Los Angeles Lakers at https://t.co/6HHaVJc3Ku Arena on April 28, 2023 in Los Angeles, California pic.twitter.com/qx3NCzeAJO
The Lakers won their series against the Grizzlies on Friday, advancing to the Western Conference Semifinals. Who knows who else might make an appearance at Crypto as the lights get even brighter for the team.
Born in Jamaica as Dwight Arrington Myers, Heavy D moved with his family to Mount Vernon when he was 2.
Wes Jackson, the founder of the Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival, credits Heavy D, who saw success in the 1980s and ’90s, with opening the door for other Mount Vernon hip-hop artists like Sean “Diddy” Combs.
“He didn’t curse,” Jackson told me. “He was the rapper your mother liked.”
Al Pereira/Michael Ochs Archives , via Getty Images
Zendaya On Flirting With Timothée Chalamet In Dune 2
I would imagine it wouldn’t be too hard to flirt with Timothée Chalamet, but perhaps in character is a different story.
For the much anticipated Dune: Part Two, fans have a lot to look forward to, especially since it was revealed that, along with new characters and epic visionary action sequences, there would also be an epic, blossoming space romance between Zendaya’s character Chani and Timothée Chalamet’s Paul Atreides.
Director Denis Villeneuve describes the film as “a war epic action movie.” However, he stressed to Vanity Fair, “The epicenter of the story is this relationship,” and capturing the “spark” between the two characters was integral. “If we don’t have that onscreen, there’s no movie,” he affirmed.
In the same interview, Zendaya said, “It was funny trying to figure out in this futuristic space talk, like, how do they flirt?” She continued, “What does that look like for a space warrior and the young duke of a planet? How do they show that they like each other? What does that even sound like?”
“Awkward and uncomfortable—there’s all those things,” revealed Zendaya. “I was like, Does Chani get awkward? Does that happen to her? Does she know what that feels like?” she wondered.
“Zendaya is a fierce warrior. [Her character] has a very strong opinion about her world, about the politics of this world, about the religions and all the impact of colonization on their culture, but there’s something about that young man that cracks her heart,” Denis explained.
“And Timothée,” Denis added, “[He] did a beautiful job to bring that sincerity onscreen.”
And there was also the question of time when it came to creating that “spark.” What might have helped – and added pressure — were the pros and cons of filming during “magic hour,” a tiny sliver of time just after sunset that produces a golden wash.
“There’s kind of, like, a ticking timer,” said Zendaya of the experience. But the upside was that, by returning to the set over several days, they could mull over how to approach it differently each time. “Every time we revisited it, we kind of got to sleep on it and think about it, and come up with a new set of ideas.”
“I think something we can all relate to is just love,” Zendaya added. “These characters literally live on another planet, right? They’re aliens. It was interesting finding these tender moments in such turmoil and chaos. These characters are just young people forced into really, really intense circumstances.”
Plus, don’t forget the new characters in the Dune universe will be played by the likes of Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, and Léa Seydoux!
Dune: Part Two is set to be released on Nov. 3, 2023.
Thousands of country music fans were greeted at Indio’s Empire Polo Club by triple-digit heat to attend the Stagecoach Country Music Festival, which is billed as “country music’s biggest party.”
Crowds arrive on the first day of the three-day Stagecoach Country Music Festival at the Empire Polo Club in Indio on Friday.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times and Evan Schaben / For The Times)
The three-day festival that treads on Coachella’s heels on the same grounds and will run this year from Friday, April 28, through Sunday, April 30, featuring more than 60 artists including some of the biggest names in country music such as Luke Bryan, Kane Brown and Chris Stapleton.
The Compton Cowboys are returning for a second year as a special guest to share their story and experiences with festival goers. And Nelly is scheduled to make an appearance Saturday night.
Los Angeles Times staff photographer Allen J. Schaben has photographed Stagecoach since the second festival in 2008 and will be taking us around the cowboy-hat-studded landscape this weekend along with his son Evan Schaben.
And check back for more photos from Stagecoach; we will be updating this gallery each day.
ZZ Top performs on the Palomino Stage on the first day of Stagecoach 2023.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Breland performs on the Mane Stage on the first day of Stagecoach 2023.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Jon Pardi performs on the Mane Stage on the first day of Stagecoach 2023.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Ian Munsick performs on the Palomino Stage on the first day of Stagecoach 2023.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Clockwise from left: Daryl Clark places his hat over his heart as Jackson Dean performs, Jackson Dean on the Mane Stage (Evan Schaben / Los Angeles Times) and a woman in the crowd.
(Allen Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Elle King performs on the Mane Stage on the first day of Stagecoach 2023.
(Evan Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
A festival goer escapes the heat in the air-conditioned rainbow tower.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Melissa Etheridge performs on the Palomino Stage on the first day of Stagecoach 2023.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Sammy Kershaw performs on the Palomino Stage on the first day of Stagecoach 2023.
(Evan Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Country music fans dance at the K-Frog & KSON Dance Party in the Dome at Stagecoach 2023.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
The sunset lights up the sky with an orange glow as fans watch Melissa Etheridge perform on the Palomino Stage on the first day of Stagecoach.
Marvel Studios might be considering gender-swapping the Thing, aka Ben Grimm, for its 2025 Fantastic Four reboot, at least that is if a recent rumor from popular scooper MyTimeToShineHello (MTTSH) is to be believed.
The scooper purports Marvel Studios and director Matt Shakman are searching for a Jewish actor for the role, however, what comes as a surprise is how they are supposedly looking are “both male and female” talent for the role.
They specifically noted Friends with Benefits actress Mila Kunis as one of those being considered. Rumors swirled of the actress’ involvement in Fantastic Four after she was spotted at lunch with Shakman in February, although most speculated she would play Sue Storm – usually the team’s only female member.
MTTSH also stated Shakman “insisted” on a Jewish actor for the Thing, likely to accurately portray the character’s comic roots. Neither of the Thing’s past live-action actors – Michael Chiklis and Jamie Bell – are believed to be Jewish.
Just two days before this rumor surfaced, Kunis, speaking on The Late Late Show with James Corden, addressed the possibility of her appearing in Fantastic Four and appeared to shut down talk of her being in the movie.
It’s safe to say the rumor proved controversial on Twitter, with countless fans outraged at the idea, and some, such as @NonExistentAlt8, proclaiming they “will not be watching” if a female Thing is cast:
“Listen, I love marvel. Sometimes gender swapping characters is for the better. However, if this does happen, I will not be watching”
Even going beyond Fantastic Four, some, including @IMP3423, suggested a decision like this could impact the whole MCU:
“Yeah if they genderswap the thing then the MCU is cooked fr”
Many stated they have been on board with past gender swaps, but not in this case. @dub0890 called the Fantastic Four character “way too iconic” to be gender-swapped for the MCU:
“This is where I draw the line with the gender swapping…not the thing please not the thing he’s way too iconic!”
But it wasn’t all doom and gloom, The GWW’s KC Walsh pointed out how the Thing’s dynamic of feeling “ugly and rejected” may actually be “more relevant” to a woman than a man:
“Again nothing about Ben having a vagina instead of a penis is disrespectful to his character in fact a huge part of The Thing is how ugly and rejected he feels based on his looks, something WOMEN deal with 1000x more and is more relevant to them than a man”
Similarly, The Hollywood Reporter’s Richard Newby noted the potential for an “interesting dynamic” in using Marvel Comics’ female Thing, Sharon Ventura, and pushing Ben Grimm to the side for a while:
“I’m not opposed to a female Thing. The comics already set a precedent for it with Sharon Ventura. I think it’d be an interesting dynamic if she was utilized and Ben was temporarily cured or ‘lost.’ But I don’t think they’ll make Grimm female because of the fan backlash.”
Marvel Has Had a Female Thing Before
Marvel
Although Ben Grimm may be the character most famously associated with becoming the Thing, he isn’t the only one, as the duties of the Fantastic Four’s rocky hero have also fallen to Sharon Ventura in the past.
Ventura quickly struck up chemistry with Grimm after they met through a motorcycle stunt team. She later gained super strength after going through an experimental process in an effort to join the Grapplers, a female wrestling group.
After spending some time in the group under the alias of Ms. Marvel, Ventura was forced to escape with the help of the Thing, which led to her eventually joining the Fantastic Four under her wrestling persona.
However, on a return trip from outer space with the Thing, the pair’s shuttle was hit by cosmic rays, mutating Ventura to take on a similar rocky appearance to Grimm, and thus she became She-Thing.
Marvel may adapt to utilize elements of Sharon Ventura’s for Fantastic Four if they were to utilize her in place of Ben Grimm. Although most of these events wouldn’t fit with the existing MCU, so it’s more likely she would just be slotted into Grimm’s usual origin – that said, the reboot isn’t even expected to be an origin story.
Why Marvel Might Be Gender-Swapping Fantastic Four’s Thing
Marvel
Even with the Marvel Comics precedent for a female Thing in the form of Sharon Ventura, most will know the Fantastic Four member for the male Ben Grimm. Opting to gender-swap the character would undoubtedly prove controversial among fans, and Marvel Studios will undoubtedly be more than aware of that.
So, with a significant departure from a traditional Fantastic Four putting the MCU at risk of huge backlash and chancing the potential failure of one of its most-anticipated movies, why would Marvel Studios take such a direction?
For one, Matt Shakman may be seeking a way to put his own stamp on the Fantastic Four, setting his movie apart from the last two adaptations. Or perhaps the director simply wants another female hero to play off Sue Storm, as a gender-swapped Thing would leave the team with an even gender split.
The studio could also be having difficulty finding an actor to portray the Thing that also matches its apparent requirement of a Jewish background, and as such has opted to widen its search by removing the gender restriction.
Whatever the case, Marvel Studios ought to have its Fantastic Four cast lined up soon, with production set to begin early next year. As casting rumors heat up and the search continues, the actors set to bring Marvel’s First Family to life could be announced as soon as this July’s San Diego Comic-Con.
It would probably be an understatement to say that Velma was not very well received when it was released on HBO Max last year. Serving as a Scooby-Doo prequel series, albeit one without any trace of Scooby-Doo himself, the show primarily followed a new incarnation of Velma as voiced by Mindy Kaling. She had also served as an executive producer on the show and helped creatively with putting it together alongside series creator Charlie Grandy. The idea was to do something different with the franchise, and it certainly did accomplish that, for better or for worse.
Velma was pummeled with bad reviews upon its release, landing an abysmal 7% rating with audiences on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics were a little more kind, though the series was still labeled rotten with a 40% approval rating. There have been a variety of complaints about the show, but one of the most prominent is the accusation that Velma disrespects or even “ruins” the Scooby-Doo franchise. In a recent interview for Emmy Magazine (via ComicBook.com), Grandy addressed this criticism, clarifiying that Velma takes nothing away from Scooby-Doo, but merely as carved its own little spot for itself somewhere in that world.
“The original Hanna-Barbera shows are still out there to watch. We are not erasing the originals. We just want to be a little ice planet on the outer regions of the Scooby-verse!”
Grandy also spoke about how Velma was put together. He recalled how enthusiastic Kaling was when she initially spoke to him about creating a show for the brainiest member of Mystery Inc., a character that all too often gets placed on the sidelines to make room for Shaggy and Scooby’s antics. As Grandy explains:
“Mindy came to me and said she’d love to work on a story with Velma…She loved the character and thought it would be funny to have her at the center of a show.”
Grandy also spoke about the differences made to the Mystery Inc. characters in terms of appearance. While Fred Jones (Glenn Howerton) remains a white male, changes were made with the ethnicities of Velma, Norville (Sam Richardson), and Daphne (Constance Wu). Grandy explains that these characters are not “rooted” to being white, but there was nevertheless some concern that the studio wouldn’t sign off on making these changes. However, the powers that be at Warner Bros. were apparently thrilled about the idea, happy with any character changes so as long as the show would be “funny and good.” As Grandy puts it:
“None of these characters are rooted to being white. We were worried about going to Warner Bros. and asking them to do it, but they said, ‘Do it. It’s time! Just make sure it’s funny and good!'”
You can stream the first season of Velma on HBO Max. While a second season hasn’t been officially announced by the streamer, there have been reports of production already starting on season 2. For as bad as most of the reviews were, the series had still drawn in high viewership, so perhaps that was enough to secure the season renewal.
Grand Theft Auto IV is celebrating its 15-year anniversary today, April 29, 2023. Below, we look back at the series’ flawed but compelling attempt to break free from its glamorous kingpin empowerment fantasies.
At the time of its release, Grand Theft Auto IV’s faithful recreation of New York City was unlike anything that gaming had ever seen. Its grim aesthetics and grounded presentation signaled a new era for video game verisimilitude, where developers could make players feel as though they were really living in a virtual world.
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Today, however, GTA IV is perhaps best-known for a more distinct sort of ambition: a sense that Rockstar was making a different take on the open-world crime game, one that questioned the very foundations of the genre. Though it didn’t fully succeed at that aim, it’s now a reminder that even blockbusters can challenge their players in a variety of ways, a lesson that today’s game developers would do well to remember.
It’s no exaggeration to say that GTA IV’s technological leaps overshadowed much of the game’s radical identity. The introduction of more impressive combat mechanics (particularly cover-based shooting) and a more realistic handling model for vehicles made for a night-and-day mechanical difference between it and its predecessors. The cartoonish violence of GTA III and Vice City were replaced with gritty gun battles and believable criminal hijinx. Even the game’s most outlandish setpiece, a lengthy bank robbery sequence strongly inspired by Michael Mann’s Heat, could barely compete with the flashy jets and helicopter chases of GTA: San Andreas.
Even in the months after its acclaimed release, fans knocked GTA IV for lacking many of San Andreas’s most memorable elements, such as RPG systems, a more diverse map, and optional activities like turf wars. These omissions have only become more glaring over time, especially thanks to the seemingly eternal reign of its successor, GTA V, which added many of those elements back into the formula. It’s probably true that some of those series-defining characteristics were likely held back from GTA IV due to technical limitations, but you also get a sense that equipping Niko with a jetpack didn’t quite fit the tone that Rockstar was going for with GTA IV.
From Goodfellas to De Palma’s Scarface, the crime genre has a rich history of critiquing itself. As influential as the original trilogy of PS2 GTA games are, they are essentially full-throated restatements of existing crime movie tropes, except shorn of all the tragedy. The heroes of these games rise from unfortunate circumstances–prison, obscurity, and certain death–to become kingpins and made men, captains of criminal industry. They get away with it, too: Vice City’s Tommy Vercetti blows away all the bad guys in his path, survives a major betrayal, and lives to rule the city. San Andreas ends on much the same note. GTA IV could hardly be more different.
The franchise’s fourth numbered entry is an immigrant story modeled on more dour films, especially Cronenberg’s Eastern Promises. Protagonist Niko Bellic arrives to America in proverbial rags, but the riches don’t come easily or quickly. Instead of rising up the criminal ladder, Niko spends most of his time bailing out his dim-witted cousin, Roman, who constantly puts himself in difficult positions due to his gambling habits. Throughout the game’s opening hours, Niko discovers that nearly everything that Roman told him about his life in America is a lie, and that achieving the American Dream will be a lot harder than he thought it would be.
A major turning point in the game comes when Niko kills Roman’s loan shark, Vlad, who is connected to the Russian mob. Vlad’s friends kidnap Niko and Roman and burn down the latter’s taxi company, leaving them bereft. However, after surviving these early travails, Niko manages to find enough work in the criminal underground to keep the duo afloat. And though he in turn earns quite a bit of money from his work with the Irish mob and the Mafia–though he never rises as far as Versetti or CJ–flashy rewards like mansions and fast cars continue to elude Niko. Like GTA III before it, there are very few things to actually spend Niko’s hard-earned cash on. GTA IV’s idea of a big purchase is a drab navy suit.
The key plot events of GTA IV ultimately rely on choices that the player makes throughout the story, especially near the end of the game. Its emotional climax comes when Niko finally tracks down Darko Brevic, the man who betrayed his military unit back in Eastern Europe. The player then chooses whether to execute or spare Darko. If you do kill him, Niko says that he feels “empty;” if you spare him, Niko admits that he realized that killing him would change nothing. Regardless of your choice, it’s bitter stuff.
That same morose tone applies to the game’s conclusion. No matter which path you choose, a person close to Niko dies in an errant assassination attempt–either cousin Roman or his girlfriend, Kate. GTA IV ends with Niko getting revenge on the perpetrator and living a life of relative comfort. All the same, the final line of the “Revenger’s Tragedy” branch sums it up well: “So this is what the dream feels like. This is the victory we longed for.”
Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy Best Bugs and Glitches
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As a whole, GTA IV’s radical approach is one that proved divisive with series fans, with some praising its more ambitious storytelling and others longing for the more cartoonish fun of the previous entries. Personally, I fall somewhere in the middle. The game’s writing and character work aren’t quite strong enough to carry it to the level it aspires to reach, especially set against the backdrop of its the goofy, joke-filled Liberty City. An illustrative example: It’s difficult to take the moral dilemma of killing or sparing Darko seriously when your Niko has already killed hundreds of cops and civilians.
GTA IVis one of the more intriguing video game blockbusters ever made. It’s an enduring example of a massive, world-conquering game challenging its audience to accept a radically different version of the thing that they expected. GTA left the goofy Saints Row track in the dust and leapt over to the Mafia side of the crime-drama genre, and it’s arguably never been quite the same. Today’s crop of video game blockbusters could learn a bit from this 15-year-old classic. Sometimes it’s better not to play it safe. I applaud Rockstar for stretching its creative wings and trying something bold and new, even if the experiment didn’t entirely pay off.
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In addition to Kate (Sarah Chalke) and Tully (Katherine Heigl) just barely missing each other on opposite elevators as Kate tries to deliver some devastating news to her estranged best friend, a short clip of a suggestive wedding scene between Johnny and Tully played after the credits of the Netflix series’ final episode.
Throughout Part 2 of Season 2, the scene’s puzzle pieces slowly come together, but at first it looks like Tully, dressed in white, might be getting ready to marry Johnny after Kate has died. As it turns out, it was Marah’s wedding, and Tully ended up with Danny.
“We wanted to direct the audience a little bit and have them wonder, ‘Is Tully going to marry Johnny? Is she gonna marry Danny? What’s happening?’” showrunner Maggie Friedman told TheWrap. “She just happens to be wearing a white slip because she’s getting dressed. She gets dressed, and the veil is there behind her because it’s Marah’s veil. We thought it would be fun to play with the audience’s expectations.”
Author Kristin Hannah made sure to advise Friedman to not let a man come between such a strong female friendship, since that didn’t happen in her book either.
“That was actually my greatest fear in allowing this piece to be adapted because it was just so important for me that a man did not come between these two, that a man was not the reason for their angst or their joy or anything because we’ve seen that a lot,” Hannah told TheWrap. “I think the real strength of the piece is it’s not just Kate and Tully. Johnny allows this friendship to thrive, to take up so much of their marriage, to take up so much of their life because he loves both of them as well. I thought that was really important. The joy of watching a female friendship like this flourish over the course of the seasons — we don’t see enough of it.”
In the earliest timeline of the friendship, when Kate (Roan Curtis) and Tully (Ali Skovbye) are still in high school, a poignant school play scene brought this concept home. Their high school play was “Romeo and Juliet,” but the guy playing Romeo ditches set after he can’t work up the courage to admit publicly that he likes Kate. Kate steps in to play the Romeo to Tully’s Juliet because she’s the only one who has all the lines memorized.
“I always felt like this story is about platonic soulmates. It’s a platonic love story between Kate and Tully. Even though Johnny’s her man and they are engaged, really, Tully is the love of her life, and she’s the love of Tully’s life,” Friedman said. “We came up with this idea that it’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and at the last second, Kate has to step in and play Romeo to sort of play out the fact that they do love each other so much. We found it felt very poetic, that Kate had to do a death scene when she’s a teenager with the context of knowing what was coming.”
All episodes of “Firefly Lane” Season 2 Part 2 are now streaming on Netflix.
Kate Middleton and Prince William have been married for 12 years as of April 29, 2023. The newly minted Prince and Princess of Wales famously said “I do” on this spring day in 2011, and have since welcomed three children: Prince George, 9, Princess Charlotte, 7, and Prince Louis, 4.
This year, the royal couple marked the personal milestone by sharing a relaxed portrait by photographer Matt Porteous. “12 years ❤️,” Kate and Will captioned the previously unseen photo, which features the prince and princess at their most casual in jeans, light button-ups, sneakers, and sunglasses. In the photo, the pair seem to have pulled over from a bike ride to pose with their arms around each other in a somewhat rare display of intimacy. You can see the pic here.
Based on their laid-back fits, this photo was taken on the same day as the Wales family’s 2022 Christmas card shoot, which featured the group in shades of blue: George and Louis wore shorts and polo shirts, while Charlette wore a denim romper. Though Middleton was dressed in a pair of dark wash denim, she broke the mold with a white eyelet blouse and her go-to white sneakers. Though it’s not exactly clear which pair of high-waist skinny jeans Middleton broke out for the shoot, Frame’s Le High Skinny Jeans are one of her tried and true favorites.
Prince William proposed to Kate Middleton with the late Princess Diana’s sapphire and diamond engagement ring in November 2010. Earlier this week, Middleton shared a special detail about the ring during a visit to Wales. It turns out, the historic piece didn’t even need to be adjusted to fit her finger. “[It’s the] same ring,” she told one fan in a video, posted to Instagram by @all.thats.pretty. “And exactly the same—the same size.”
Dressed in yet another pair of skinny jeans, hiking boots, and her Barbour x Alexa Chung wax jacket, People reports that Kate Middleton said she was “honored” to wear her late mother-in-law’s ring, adding, “We miss her every day.”
“OK Jaanu” was produced by Madras Talkies and Dharma Productions. With it’s initial release on January 12th 2017 it made approximately $0.35m at the Box Office.
Showrunner Jen Flanz said during the show’s panel at Deadline’s Contenders Television: Documentary + Unscripted event that it’s been a fun ride. “It’s been really cool to see so many different voices given the authority of the desk,” she said. “It’s hard to think about the next thing. There’s no time to be sad about Trevor [leaving], there’s no time to think about what’s next. We’re just living in it right now.”
Wood added that he enjoyed his recent stint as host. “The thing that I learned the most, the biggest difference from correspondent to hosting, is that as a correspondent you get the freedom to be a little bit of a chaos agent, and supportive of a greater story. But as a host, you still have to be able to find the truth or the feeling or the emotion behind something.”
He also revealed that Noah occasionally pops in to watch the show and Wood teases him that it’s like watching your ex-girlfriend.
The trio agreed that Noah had a huge impact on the franchise. Flanz said two things that Noah was adamant about was finding viewers where they are, particularly online, and building out its content on different platforms.
“I don’t think anybody saw The Daily Show desk being taken by anybody when Trevor took over from Jon Stewart,” she added. “He kind of paves the way for guest [hosts], so somebody that’s not Jon could take the desk, and he did it really well.”
David Kibuuka, a supervising producer and writer on the show, said it was sad that Noah left but added that there’s been a “rush of energy” every week with new hosts. “Trevor said it was his time to go, so all of us are thinking of it more like an opportunity. We’re having a good time — and he’s not dead.”
The last time Bacilos had a headlining U.S. tour was in in 2004. Now, 19 years later — and following the postponed “¿Dónde Nos Quedamos?” 2020 Tour — the tropipop group is hitting the road with its Back in the USA 2023 trek.
Currently composed by original band members Jorge Villamizar and André Lopes, Bacilos kicked off its highly-awaited live comeback on Thursday (April 27) in the open-venue Miami Beach Bandshell, where they performed to a sold-out crowd.
“We’re in our house, thank you for coming,” Villamizar said after opening the night with “Pasos de Gigantes” and “Por Hacerme el Bueno.”
A bohemian night accompanied by great storytelling before every song — for example, how Luis Enrique’s “Yo No Se Mañana” was co-written by Villamizar and how “Caraluna” was born on a drive on Miami’s I-95 highway — Bacilos crooned to a loyal audience with timeless pop hits “Besala Ya,” “Nada Especial,” and “Tabaco y Chanel,” to name few.
“Thank you, Live Nation, for believing in us after all these years,” Villamizar said to the tour promoters before closing off the night with their smash hit “Mi Primer Millon.”
Formed in Miami, Florida, in 1997, Bacilos gained notoriety as a group that blended pop and tropical influences into one distinctive, catchy and often danceable mix. Their album Caraluna won the 2003 Grammy Award for best Latin pop album. In 2007, the group, then made up of Villamizar, Lopes, and Jose Javier Freire, parted ways.
Now, in 2023, they’re part of the nostalgia tour trend.
“What makes these nostalgic touring concepts powerful is that it’s multigenerational,” Hans Schafer, senior vp of global touring at Live Nation, previously told Billboard. “The music has been passed down generations and continues to live on. Now we are seeing more artists interested and excited to tap into the nostalgia of fans.”
See upcoming Back in the US tour dates and venues below:
Sunday, April 30, 2023 – Atlanta @ Buckhead Theatre Thursday, May 4, 2023 – Houston @ House of Blues Saturday, May 6, 2023 – Austin @ Emo’s Sunday, May 7, 2023 – Dallas @ The Echo Lounge & Music Hall Wednesday, May 10, 2023 – Boston @ Paradise Rock Club Friday, May 12, 2023 – New York @ Irving Plaza Sunday, May 14, 2023 – Chicago @ House of Blues
The Toronto Maple Leafs finally exorcised their playoff demons — and are off to the second round of the NHL playoffs.
John Tavares scored at 4:36 of overtime and Ilya Samsonov made 31 saves as Toronto defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 on Saturday to win their series 4-2 and advance in the post-season for the first time in nearly two decades.
Leafs captain John Tavares threw a puck in front that went in off the Toronto defenceman, who also scored the OT winner in Game 3.
Auston Matthews had the goal in regulation for the Leafs, who lost to Tampa in seven games last spring and were under intense pressure to finally break through in the playoffs after a string of failures.
Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews (34) celebrates with the bench after his goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the second period in Game 6 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Saturday, April 29, 2023, in Tampa, Fla.
(AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly (44) checks Tampa Bay Lightning center Michael Eyssimont (23) into the boards during the second period in Game 6 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Saturday, April 29, 2023, in Tampa, Fla.
When the union representing Hollywood writers laid out its list of objectives for contract negotiations with studios this spring, it included familiar language on compensation, which the writers say has either stagnated or dropped amid an explosion of new shows.
But far down, the document added a distinctly 2023 twist. Under a section titled “Professional Standards and Protection in the Employment of Writers,” the union wrote that it aimed to “regulate use of material produced using artificial intelligence or similar technologies.”
“It is not out of the realm of possibility that before 2026, which is the next time we will negotiate with these companies, they might just go, ‘you know what, we’re good,’” said Mike Schur, the creator of “The Good Place” and co-creator of “Parks and Recreation.”
“We don’t need you,” he imagines hearing from the other side. “We have a bunch of A.I.s that are creating a bunch of entertainment that people are kind of OK with.”
In their attempts to push back, the writers have what a lot of other white-collar workers don’t: a labor union.
Mr. Schur, who serves on the bargaining committee of the Writers Guild of America as it seeks to avert a strike before its contract expires on Monday, said the union hopes to “draw a line in the sand right now and say, ‘Writers are human beings.’”
But unions, historians say, have generally failed to rein in new technologies that enable automation or the replacement of skilled labor with less-skilled labor. “I’m at a loss to think of a union that managed to be plucky and make a go of it,” said Jason Resnikoff, an assistant professor of history at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, who studies labor and automation.
The fortunes of the writers, actors and directors negotiating new contracts this year may say a lot about whether the pattern will continue into the era of artificial intelligence.
In December, Apple introduced a service allowing book publishers to use human-sounding A.I. narrators, an innovation that could displace hundreds of voice actors who make a living performing audiobooks. The company’s website says the service will benefit independent authors and small publishers.
“I know someone always has to get there first, some company,” said Chris Ciulla, who estimates that he has made $100,000 to $130,000 annually over the past five years narrating books under union contracts. “But for individuals not to understand how that can affect the pail-carrying narrator out there eventually is disappointing.”
Other actors fear that studios will use A.I. to replicate their voices while cutting them out of the process. “We’ve seen this happening — there are websites that have popped up with databases of characters’ voices from video games and animation,” said Linsay Rousseau, an actress who makes her living doing voice work.
On-camera actors point out that studios already use motion capture or performance capture to replicate artists’ movements or facial expressions. The 2018 blockbuster “Black Panther” relied on this technology for scenes that depicted hundreds of tribespeople on cliffs, mimicking the movements of dancers hired to perform for the film.
Some actors worry that newer versions of the technology will allow studios to effectively steal their movements, “creating new performance in the style of a wushu master or karate master and using that person’s style without consent,” said Zeke Alton, a voice and screen actor who sits on the board of his union local, SAG-AFTRA, in Los Angeles.
And Hollywood writers have grown increasingly anxious as ChatGPT has become adept at mimicking the style of prolific authors.
“Early on in the conversations with the guild, we talked about what I call the Nora Ephron problem,” said John August, who is on the Writers Guild negotiating committee.“Which is basically: What happens if you feed all of Nora Ephron’s scripts into a system and generate an A.I. that can create a Nora Ephron-sounding script?”
Mr. August, a screenwriter for movies like “Charlie’s Angels” and “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” said that while artificial intelligence had taken a back seat to compensation in the Writers Guild negotiation, the union was making two key demands on the subject of automation.
It wants to ensure that no literary material — scripts, treatments, outlines or even discrete scenes — can be written or rewritten by chatbots. “A terrible case of like, ‘Oh, I read through your scripts, I didn’t like the scene, so I had ChatGPT rewrite the scene’ — that’s the nightmare scenario,” Mr. August said.
The guild also wants to ensure that studios can’t use chatbots to generate source material that is adapted to the screen by humans, the way they might adapt a novel or a magazine story.
SAG-AFTRA, the actors’ union, says more of its members are flagging contracts for individual jobs in which studios appear to claim the right to use their voices to generate new performances.
A recent Netflix contract sought to grant the company free use of a simulation of an actor’s voice “by all technologies and processes now known or hereafter developed, throughout the universe and in perpetuity.”
Netflix said the language had been in place for several years and allowed the company to make the voice of one actor sound more like the voice of another in case of a casting change between seasons of an animated production.
The union has said that its members are not bound by contract provisions that would allow a producer to simulate new performances without compensating actors, though it has sometimes intervened to strike them from contracts nonetheless.
Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA’s executive director, said such contracts posed a much bigger risk to nonunion actors, who can become unwitting accomplices in their own obsolescence. “It only takes one or a few instances of signing away your rights on a lifetime basis to really potentially have a negative impact on your career prospects,” Mr. Crabtree-Ireland said.
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which bargains with the various unions that represent writers, actors and directors on behalf of the major Hollywood studios, declined to comment.
When professionals have fended off obsolescence at the hands of technology, the outcome has often reflected their occupation’s status and prestige.
That appears to have been the case to some extent with airplane pilots, whose crew sizes had dropped to two on most domestic commercial flights by the late 1990s, but have largely been level since then, even as automated technology has become far more sophisticated and the industry has explored further reductions.
“The safety net you have when you’re high off the ground — the one that keeps you from hitting the ground — is two highly trained, experienced, rested pilots,” said Capt. Dennis Tajer, a spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association, which represents pilots for American Airlines. To this day, flight times longer than nine hours require at least three pilots.
The replacement of certain doctors by artificial intelligence, which some experts predicted was imminent in fields like radiology, has also failed to materialize. That’s partly because of the limits of the technology, and because of the stature of the doctors, who have inserted themselves into high-stakes conversations about the safety and deployment of A.I. The American College of Radiology created a Data Science Institute partly for this purpose several years ago.
Whether screenwriters find similar success will depend at least in part on if there are inherent limits to the machines that purport to do their jobs. Some writers and actors speak of a so-called uncanny valley that algorithms may never entirely escape.
“Artists look at everything ever created and find a flash of newness,” said Javier Grillo-Marxuach, a writer and producer for “Lost” and “Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance.” “What the machine is doing is recombining.”
However sophisticated the algorithms, the fate of writers and actors will also depend on how well they protect their status. How good are they at convincing audiences that they should care whether a human is involved?
The unions are pressing their case. Mr. August says that it falls to the Writers Guild and not the studio to determine who receives a writer’s credit on a project, and that the union will guard this rite jealously. “We want to make sure that an A.I. is never one of those writers in the chain of title for a project,” he said.
The unions also have legal cards to play, Mr. Crabtree-Ireland of SAG-AFTRA said, like the U.S. Copyright Office’s pronouncement in March that content created entirely by algorithm is not eligible for copyright protection. It is harder to monetize a production if there is no legal obstacle to copying it.
Perhaps more important, he said, is what you might call the Us Weekly factor — the tendency of audiences to be as interested in the human behind the role as in the performance. Fans want to hear Hollywood celebrities discuss their method in interviews. They want to gawk at actors’ fashion sensibilities and keep up with whom they’re dating.
“If you look at culture in general, the audience is generally interested in the real lives of our members,” Mr. Crabtree-Ireland said. “A.I. is not in a position to substitute for key elements of that.”
Elon Musk announced on Saturday that an upcoming Twitter feature will allow creators to monetize their content by allowing media publishers to charge on a per-article basis.
“Rolling out next month, this platform will allow media publishers to charge users on a per article basis with one click,” Musk said. “This enables users who would not sign up for a monthly subscription to pay a higher per article price for when they want to read an occasional article. Should be a major win-win for both media orgs & the public.”
Rolling out next month, this platform will allow media publishers to charge users on a per article basis with one click.
This enables users who would not sign up for a monthly subscription to pay a higher per article price for when they want to read an occasional article.…
This is one of many changes that Musk has made to the social media app. Earlier in the week, he announced the subscription feature which gives content creators the opportunity to make money off their content by charging a monthly fee. Musk vowed all monies made will go to the creators, and Twitter will not take a portion of the profits.
Support content creators around the world in near & far away places!
For many this represents a vital source of income & enables them to put more time into creating great content for you. https://t.co/XzrFMLPytB
The most controversial change the world richest man made was taking away verification checks from legacy accounts earlier this month. Musk admitted he’s paying for some notable people to keep their blue checkmarks, among them Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James, though many high-profile users asked him not to.
Last week, just days after Twitter removed all blue check verification marks from accounts that are not subscribed to Twitter Blue, Musk, for unknown reasons, gifted certain users a free blue check — whether they asked for it or not.
And just yesterday, social media users started flocking to Bluesky Social, the Twitter alternative created by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey. The invite-only platform, which has not formally launched and is one of several rival platforms to emerge in recent months, has been picking up steam in recent days. According to Fortune, Bluesky Social has been downloaded 360,000 times from Apple’s app store worldwide, with over a million more users on the waitlist.
With the 2023 NFL Draft mere days away, it’s time to pay tribute to the greatest NFL prospect of all-time: Bobby Boucher, linebacker of the South-Central Louisiana State University Mud Dogs. Sure, Bobby’s diet consists mainly of fried gator and H2O, and sure, as a 31-year-old, he’d be older on his first day than 90% of the other foosball players…
(From left) Amitabh Bachchan and Rajinikanth are among the recipients of prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke award.
Dadasaheb Phalke Birth Anniversary: Dadasaheb Phalke Award is the highest award for film personalities in the country to recognize valuable contribution in Indian cinema’s development
DADASAHEB PHALKE BIRTH ANNIVERSARY: Born on April 30, 1870, Dhundiraj Govind Phalke came from a small town in Bombay Presidency. Known as Dadasaheb Phalke, he was director, producer screenwriter, editor and distributor. He is regarded as the Father of Indian Cinema for giving the country its first full-length feature film. The indigenous silent film was titled, Raja Harishchandra (1913).
Dadasaheb Phalke Birth Anniversary: In 1971, India post released a stamp bearing Dadasaheb’s character in his reverence. (Image: Shutterstock)
In a 19-year-career span, he worked on 95 feature films and 27 short films. His last film, Gangavataran (1937) was the only film made by Dadasaheb with sound and dialogues.
After his death in 1944, the Government of India initiated an award on his name titled The Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1969. It is the highest award for film personalities in the country to recognize valuable contribution in Indian cinema’s development. In 1971, India post released a stamp bearing Dadasaheb’s character in his reverence.
Here are the winners of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award since its inception in 1969. Devika Rani was the first recipient of the prestigious award.
Devika Rani (1969)
Birendranath Sircar
Prithviraj Kapoor
Pankaj Mullick
Ruby Myers (Sulochana)
B. N. Reddy
Dhirendra Nath Ganguly
Kanan Devi
Nitin Bose
Raichand Boral
Sohrab Modi
Paidi Jairaj
Naushad
L. V. Prasad
Durga Khote
Satyajit Ray
V. Shantaram
B. Nagi Reddy
Raj Kapoor
Ashok Kumar
Lata Mangeshkar
Akkineni Nageswara Rao
Bhalji Pendharkar
Bhupen Hazarika
Majrooh Sultanpuri
Dilip Kumar
Rajkumar
Sivaji Ganesan
Kavi Pradeep
B. R. Chopra
Hrishikesh Mukherjee
Asha Bhosle
Yash Chopra
Dev Anand
Mrinal Sen
Adoor Gopalakrishnan
Shyam Benegal
Tapan Sinha
Manna Dey
V. K. Murthy
D. Ramanaidu
K. Balachander
Soumitra Chatterjee
Pran
Gulzar
Shashi Kapoor
Manoj Kumar
K. Viswanath
Vinod Khanna
Amitabh Bachchan
Rajinikanth
Asha Parekh
The Dadasaheb Phalke Award was not awarded in the years 2021 and 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
If anyone can successfully close out a packed desert show on Stagecoach Festival’s opening day, it’s Luke Bryan, who’s been playing at the festival for more than a dozen years and previously headlined in 2014, 2016 and 2019.
On Friday night, he opened with a song that might as well have been written for the occasion, “I Don’t Want This Night to End,” and played a set that consisted of nearly all his hits, and a few surprise covers. In addition to his many party anthems — “Drink a Beer,” “Roller Coaster,” “Crash My Party” and “Play it Again” came all in a row — he also sprinkled in covers of Tim McGraw’s “Where the Green Grass Grows” and Brooks and Dunn’s “Neon Moon.”
As festival-goers danced the night away, many were clearly wondering if maybe a guest or two would pop out — especially since Brooks and Dunn are set to pay their own set on Sunday evening. But no such luck. Bryan paused momentarily before closing out the set with a cover of Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer,” and there appeared to be a touch of disappointment among the crowd that had gotten excited about possibly seeing a Jon Bon Jovi cameo, a la Axl Rose’s appearance during Carrie Underwood’s headlining show last year.
Jody Domingue
Jody Domingue
Still, the show went out on top, with Bryan grabbing a Marines jersey from one audience member and proudly wearing it for his last song, which closed out the festival just minutes before midnight — the grounds’ curfew.
While Bryan was a model headliner to close out the night, the day was an eventful one leading up to his set.
Jon Pardi played the “Mane” (Main) Stage directly before Bryan and was joined by chef Guy Fieri, who has his own cooking stage at the festival for demos, to bring a special surprise to the “Dirt on My Boots” singer. Fieri threw it to the monitors to introduce a virtual Alan Jackson, who invited Pardi to become the latest member of the Grand Ole Opry. Opry VP and executive producer Dan Rogers then joined Pardi on stage with the official offer. “Not only are you the first person ever invited to become an Opry member here at Stagecoach, this guy is the first native Californian ever to be a member of the Grand Ole Opry,” he stated.
In true Stagecoach fashion, Pardi celebrated the success with a shot of tequila before thanking everyone for the opportunity.
Other highlights of Friday include Melissa Etheridge, who performed her hits “Come to My Window” and “I’m the Only One” to thousands of fans screaming every word. The two-time Grammy winner’s stellar vocals weren’t the only thing reminding the crowd why she is still such an icon; she also performed the harmonica at one point and completely rocked out in multiple guitar solos.
Julian Bajsel
Julian Bajsel
Overall, day 1 had a positive, uplifting vibe — minus the Bud Light controversy. While the Bud Light Backyard stage served the cold beer, most other bars are not offering it whatsoever following the company having given a celebratory, commemorative beer can to transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
In other recent concerts, Riley Green had changed the lyrics of his hit song, “I Wish Grandpas Never Died,” from “And coolers never run out of cold Bud Light” to “And coolers never run out of cold Coors Light.” But some kind of detente appeared to have been reached, as he kept the “Bud Light” line in during Friday night’s performance.
“I don’t really agree with their terms,” said one festival-goer who was chanting “Coors Light” around the grounds. “Their recent ad campaign, I didn’t like how they appealed to the LGBTQ agenda. I’m not saying I don’t support the LGBTQ community, but don’t force that into my life.”
Still, the guest stated — as did numerous others Variety spoke with on the grounds — that if it came down to it and Bud Light was the only choice, “I’ll probably buy a 30 rack.”
Reaching the front of the line at one of the bars closest to the stage, guests happily ordered Michelob Ultra — another Anheuser-Busch branded beer that was offered at every tent — with the majority having no idea they were supporting the same company that some were loudly protesting.
The Direct has six predictions for MCU movies that could feature Tom Hiddleston’sLoki in the rest of the Multiverse Saga.
Loki is one of few Phase 1 characters still standing in the MCU, and he remains just as important as ever after his Disney+solo series was instrumental in introducing Jonathan Majors’Kang and birthing the Multiverse.
How Tom Hiddleston’s Loki Could Fit Into 6 Upcoming MCU Movies
Deadpool 3 (November 8, 2024)
Marvel
Going back several years, nobody could imagine Loki having any chance of appearing in Deadpool 3. But with the Ryan Reynolds threequel confirmed to be a Multiversal affair that will involve Loki‘s TVA, it’s easy to see him coming into play.
Reports indicate at least two characters from Loki will appear in Deadpool 3, those being Owen Wilson’s Mobius and Tara Strong’s Miss Minutes. With the TVA seemingly on the hunt for the Merc with the Mouth, perhaps Loki could at least make a cameo with his time-policing companion Mobius.
Or alternatively, after the TVA plays an important role in Deadpool 3, a post-credits scene could feature the God of Mischief, continuing to set up more antics with Kang in a potential Loki Season 3 or Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.
Fantastic Four (February 14, 2025)
Marvel
After years of waiting for the MCU’s Fantastic Four, the tale is expected to be an important piece of the Multiverse Saga, with the reboot arriving in February 2025, just months ahead of May 2025’s The Kang Dynasty.
Just as the movies leading up to Infinity War and Endgame laid the groundwork for the blockbusters, Fantastic Four will likely do the same. Perhaps this could involve a post-credits scene to hint at Reed Richards’ relation to Kang as a distant ancestor of the time-traveling conqueror.
A scene of this nature could easily involve Loki, with Tom Hiddleston’s Asgardian continuing his investigation into Kang by uncovering his modern-day ancestors, setting up the Fantastic Four to assist the Avengers in The Kang Dynasty – although there has been a suggestion they may not appear.
Jonathan Majors’ Kang may not have had a place in Doctor Strange 2, but if the threequel is to involve the Multiverse and come before Avengers 5, he may well be involved this time around, and Loki is the MCU’s expert in him after all.
Although Loki was key to the first three Thor movies, he sat out Love and Thunder given he is still dead in the current Earth-616 MCU timeline, but perhaps there may be a way to incorporate him into a fifth installment.
For one, Thor 4 revealed other dead Asgardians who fell in battle now reside in Valhalla, with Heimdall and Jane Foster among them, perhaps a return to the Norse afterlife could feature Loki living there with them.
Given Thor 5 will likely come after the next Avengers movies, maybe the redeemed TVA Loki could find himself sticking around in the main timeline once Kang is defeated. This could set up more adventures between the Asgardian brothers, which would certainly be rather different with Loki now more on the heroic side.
Avengers: The Kang Dynasty (May 2, 2025)
Marvel
Only a select few characters have had interactions with Kang Variants in the MCU so far, those being Loki, Sylvie, and the Ant-Man family. Going into Avengers 5, all of them ought to be key players in the conflict against Kang, just as how Gamora was so important in Infinity War because she was Thanos’ daughter.
Many have theorized Loki could have a key role in Avengers 5, perhaps he could even lead Earth’s Mightiest Heroes against Kang. This would create a perfect full-circle moment after being the villain of The Avengers, something which is still fresh for this Loki given he was pulled from the timeline in 2012.
Marvel actually did recently make Loki an Avenger in the comics, and with the current MCU Variant now being more heroic and less villainous after his Disney+ series, it’s easy to imagine him taking a similar trajectory.
Avengers: Secret Wars (May 1, 2026)
Marvel
The Kang Dynasty and Secret Warsare expected to tell something of a two-part story of the conflict against Kang. If Loki were to appear in 2025’s Avengers 5, he would likely also return for 2026’s Avengers 6 to continue his crusade against the time-traveling conqueror.
Marvel Studios does love to kill off Lokis, so fans can only hope Tom Hiddleston’s Asgardian survives The Kang Dynasty and can continue his journey into Secret Wars, possibly even teaming up with some legacy Marvel characters.
Is Loki’s MCU Story About to End?
Clearly, Tom Hiddleston’s Loki has plenty of opportunities to appear in the coming years across the next few years on both the big screen and Disney+. The God of Mischief seems placed to be a key player in the Multiverse Saga, but what comes beyond that – does Loki have a future in the MCU?
With the original Loki seemingly firmly deceased after his face-off with Thanos in Infinity War, this may be the end of Tom Hiddleston’s MCU tenure. The British actor has been around in the superhero franchise since 2011, so it would be hard to blame him for looking to bring it to an end in the next few years.
The very concept of Disney+’s Loki means the series works best as a chapter of the Multiverse Saga, making it unlikely any future seasons will be made past Secret Wars. So, unless this Loki finds a place to stick around on Earth-616, possibly with Thor on New Asgard, his journey may well close out soon.
Alternatively, since He Who Remains death left the Multiverse unmanaged and plunged into chaos, perhaps the Avengers will need to place someone new in that role to end their Kang conundrum. After his time with the TVA, Loki may be the one for the job, which He Who Remains actually already tried to pass off to him.
Few things bring up childhood nostalgia for summers gone by more than the memory of the ice cream truck. Most of us remember those hot days playing outside with our neighborhood friends and immediately going into a frenzy upon hearing the jingle signifying approaching frozen treats. Well, this summer, PepsiCo is bringing some of that retro ice cream truck energy back. All thanks to a new flavor of MTN Dew, called MTN Dew Summer Freeze. The taste of Summer Freeze will mimic that of the striped ice cream popsicle of your youth. You can read the official description right here:
Nothing screams summer like everyone’s favorite iced cold treat: a classic red, white, and blue ice pop. To tap into this nostalgia, MTN DEW is combining its iconic citrus flavor with bold notes of cherry, lemon, and raspberry ice pop flavor to roll out the ultimate taste of summer: introducing the first-ever MTN DEW Summer Freeze! With a blast of summer in every sip, this taste will take you back to fond memories of running to the ice cream truck and is even more refreshing than a summer ice pop itself. DEW Nation can get their hands on this all-new flavor on shelves nationwide beginning this month and through the summer while supplies last. This new flavor will be available in both original and zero-sugar offerings, and can be purchased in 20 oz. Bottles, 12 oz. 12-pack cans, and 16.9 oz. 6-pack bottles (regular only).
PepsiCo
MTN Dew Summer Freeze is a limited-time-only beverage. So you might want to get your hands on them as soon as you see them at the grocery store. Unfortunately, these do not come with the whimsical (and also super creepy?) sounds of the ice cream truck. You are just going to have to provide that on your own. Luckily, you can find such things easily online easily these days. We live in an age of wonders.
In an interview with GQ, Leguizamo revealed that he was so sick of auditioning to play drug dealers early in his career that he considered passing on his now-iconic role as Benny Blanco in Brian De Palma’s “Carlito’s Way.”
“I’m a Latin guy and I didn’t wanna play another drug dealer. I was just kind of sick of that kind of routine,” Leguizamo said. “So I turned it down three times.”
He continued to resist the role, only to learn that one of Hollywood’s other rising Hispanic stars, Benicio Del Toro, was also in the mix for it. Once he learned Del Toro was interested, Leguizamo said that he opted to do the film after realizing it was a good career move.
Related
Related
“The producers said, ‘Look, this is the last time I’m coming to you. We’re gonna go to Benicio,’” he said. “Okay, I’ll take it!”
Leguizamo’s thoughts about not wanting to play drug dealers echo similar comments he made in a recent interview with IndieWire. The actor explained that the limited range of roles he was considered for as a young actor shaped his view about the importance of representation in films.
“Even when I was a kid going to college, I was like, ‘Wait a minute. How come we’re all paying the same tuition, I’m getting A’s, they’re not, and I’m getting five calls a day to play a drug dealer because I’m Latin?’ It was like Jim Crow,” he said. “The casting breakdown every day with the roles that were available were like, ‘White romantic lead, white doctor,’ and so on. They wouldn’t see you. When I started seeing the data, it blew my mind. I was like, ‘Wait a minute — we’re the largest ethnic group in America, the oldest ethnic group in America, and we’ve got no representation?’ More recently, I found that we’re 30 percent of the U.S. box office and four percent of streaming, and we’re still less than two percent of the faces in front of the camera.”
Michael J. Fox continues to share candid details about his decades-long battle with Parkinson’s disease.
The actor, who is the subject of the forthcoming documentary Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie, spoke to Jane Pauley for a CBS Sunday Morning interview set to air Sunday. Preview clips from the sit-down show the 61-year-old Back to the Future star describing the challenges that he has faced as a result of the disease.
“I’m not gonna lie, it’s getting harder,” Fox said of living with Parkinson’s. “It’s getting tougher. Every day gets tougher. But that’s the way it is. I mean, who do I see about that?”
The actor, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s at age 29, discussed having undergone spinal surgery on a benign tumor and explained that the procedure impacted his walking. He said that this has led him to fall and suffer numerous injuries, including breaking both arms, a hand and facial bones.
Fox said that falling “is a big killer with Parkinson’s. Falling and aspirating food and getting pneumonia — all these subtle ways that get you. You don’t die from Parkinson’s; you die with Parkinson’s. So I’ve been thinking of the mortality of it. I’m not going to be 80. I’m not going to 80.”
Filmmaker Davis Guggenheim directed Still, which premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival and celebrates Fox’s life through interviews, photos and archival footage. In his review for The Hollywood Reporter, chief TV critic Daniel Fienberg praised the feature’s “tight focus and distinctive style” and wrote that it “delivers an essence of Fox’s energy and generation-spanning appeal.”
During a visit to the THR Studio at Sundance in January, Fox explained that he didn’t want to place any limits on the footage that Guggenheim felt compelled to include. Fox said at the time, “It’s a movie about my life, and if we’re going to be real about it, let the filmmakers have access to that.”
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie is available May 12 on Apple TV+.
Stranger Things is returning to Netflix for a fifth and final season, not expected to release until at least late 2024 or even 2025. Here’s our massive preview of Stranger Things season 5, where we’ll cover everything you need to know about the fifth and final season of the show on Netflix.
Since its introduction in July 2016, Stranger Things has been and continues to be one of Netflix’s flagship shows. Each season has gone from strength to strength, increasing in popularity with every new outing.
If three years was too long of a wait for some subscribers, the figures greatly disagree with them. Within the first week of volume 1 of season 4 landing on Netflix, a Nielsen streaming record was broken as 7.2 billion minutes of the series were watched between May 30th and June 5th, 2022. The demand for the show was so high on the release of volume 2 that some Netflix users briefly experienced crashes as subscribers raced to consume the epic conclusion of season 4.
Official Netflix Renewal Status: Renewed (Last Updated: 02/07/2022)
We learned that Netflix had already renewed Stranger Things for a fifth and final season ahead of the fourth season release.
Before the production of season 4, the Duffer Brothers were unsure about the number of seasons it would take to tell the full story of Stranger Things.
Speaking about the length of the show ahead of time, Ross Duffer said:
“We don’t actually know. I think, you know, four to five seasons is likely where we’ll end up, but who knows? I mean, none of this is official, and we know where we want to go. We’re trying to figure out still how long it’ll take to get there, so we’ll see.”
Matt seemed to know well ahead of time that the series would conclude with a fifth season:
“It’s hard like four seems short, five seems long. So I don’t know what to do.”
Ross (left) and Matt Duffer (right) – Alberto E. Rodriguez | Getty Images
Welcome to Hell, Hawkins
Despite their best efforts, Vecna aka Henry aka 001, successfully carried out his plan to tear open a giant gate between the Upside Down and the real world. Dozens of people died in the ensuing chaos, and residents are leaving en masse to escape any further danger.
Thanks to the giant smoke plumes emitted from the giant gates, the particles falling all around Hawkins will result in any and all plant life decaying rapidly. Soon the real-world Hawkins will emulate the look of Hawkins from the Upside Down as Vecna’s vision for his “beautiful” new world begins to take shape.
As Hawkins falls deeper and deeper into chaos, expect to see a large military presence surrounding the town, with only very few residents and our heroes staying behind to keep fighting Vecna.
Vecna’s Return / 001 vs 011
Vecna came extremely close to being killed by Nancy, Steve, and Robin, but he could escape before anyone could deal a killing blow. It’s unclear how injured he is, and how long it takes to recover from multiple shotgun blasts and Molotov cocktails. Once fully recovered, we expect to see Vecna unleash his true powers on Hawkins and unleash the hordes of monsters from the Upside Down.
Eleven is the only person capable of fighting Vecna one-on-one, and she barely survived her second encounter with him. There’s no denying Eleven’s strength is vast, but it’s more than likely we’ve barely scratched the surface of what her true potential is. If Eleven wants to defeat Vecna, she must practice and hone her powers.
Picture: Netflix
Hawkins to be Quarantined?
Given the danger that the gates pose to Hawkins and the rest of the world, the military may declare martial law and potentially quarantine Hawkins. We can expect a robust military presence, especially if Demogorgons and other monstrosities begin to surf from the gates.
Sadly, for the people of Hawkins, those unable to get out of the town before a quarantine starts may have to fend for themselves while the military wage war against the forces of the Upside Down.
What will happen to the gates?
If Eleven successfully defeats Vecna, this doesn’t guarantee the gates to the Upside Down will be closed. It may require Eleven to replicate what she did with the gate under Hawkin’s Lab in the second season and forcibly close it herself. That first gate was large but pales compared to what Vecna has done to Hawkins. Not only will it take every ounce of Eleven’s power, but closing the gates may require Eleven to sacrifice herself.
Max’s death resulted in Vecna’s plan coming to fruition, but Eleven unexpectedly brought Max back to life. Between dying, having her limbs snapped, and potentially becoming blind, it’s no wonder Max is in a coma. We fully expect Max to wake up, but what condition she will be in remains to be seen.
If Max wakes up and is fully healed, Eleven can bring back people from the dead. The consequences of such power haven’t been explored yet, but with some potential deaths headed our way in season 5, Eleven will be needed more than ever.
Speaking on the TODAY program, Sadie said, “We know that it’s happening and that it’s the last season, so it’s going to be emotional, I’m sure,” adding, “Spoiler-free, just with the way my character ended in season 4, I have no idea what is going to happen. But I’ll be there.”
Time Skip
The Duffer Brothers have already announced that another time skip will happen in the story and will potentially pick back up around 1988 or 1989. This coincides with the real-life ages of the actors, who are already outgrowing their 15-year-old counterparts, such as Gaten Matarazzo, who turns 20 in September 2022, and during the production of season 5, will turn 21.
Official Production Status: Pre-production / Writing
Collider first reported that writing for the fifth season would begin in August 2022, which was subsequently confirmed with a tweet from the Stranger Things writers’ account on August 2nd, 2022.
Production listings state the series will continue filming in Atlanta, Georgia, as per prior seasons. It’s expected to return to EUE/Screen Gems Studios Atlanta Studio, which has been home to Stranger Things since season 1. The 33-acre Atlanta studio complex boasts 11 stages and was the first full-service production studio campus to open in Atlanta.
The season 5 working title/codename is reported to be “JERICHO.”
New casting grids and production listings on various sources currently state that season 5 will begin filming in early June 2023 and not wrap up until late June 2024.
Yes, that means season 5 is scheduled to be in production for an entire year, as current reports stand. Each episode will reportedly cost north of $20 million.
Stranger Things Season 4 Behind-the-Scenes
As part of Stranger Things Day 2022 (which took place on November 7th, 2022), the season 5 episode 1 chapter name was revealed.
Stranger Things – Episode 501 Script
Episode 501 – Chapter One: The Crawl – Written by The Duffer Brothers
Episode 502 – ???
Episode 503 – ???
Episode 504 – ???
Episode 505 – ???
Episode 506 – ???
Episode 507 – ???
Episode 508 – ???
The cast for Stranger Things has swelled in recent years, and expect a big ensemble cast for the final season.
We expect all of the following actors to return in Stranger Things season 5:
Eleven – Millie Bobby-Brown
Peter / 001 / Henry / Vecna – Jamie Campbell Bower
Mike Wheeler – Finn Wolfhard
Dustin Henderson – Gaten Matarazzo
Lucas Sinclair – Caleb McLaughlin
Will Byers – Noach Schnapp
Joyce Byers – Winona Ryder
Jonathan Byers – Charlie Heaton
Jim Hopper – David Harbour
Max Mayfield – Sadie Sink
Nancy Wheeler – Natalia Dyer
Steve Harington – Joe Keery
Robin Buckley – Maya Hawke
Murray – Brett Gelman
Erica Sinclair – Pirah Ferguson
Argyle – Eduardo Franco
Karen Wheeler – Cara Buono
Ted Wheeler – Joe Chrest
Vickie – Amybeth McNulty
There’s no news on any new cast members for season 5, although The Duffer Brothers are on the record saying they’ll “stay away” from introducing new characters.
Per Puck News, the cast negotiated a pay rise going into season 5. Winona Ryder and David Harbour are expected to net $9.5 million for the season. Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp, Finn Wolfhard, and Sadie Sink at just over $7 million for the season. Series regulars such as Natalia Dyer, Maya Hawke, Charlie Heaton, and Joe Keery will net over $6 million for the final season.
In April 2023, we got word that Netflix was currently casting the following minor roles, including multiple army/military guys plus two kids aged between 8 and 10.
Another job listing is looking for an actor for the role of DEREK:
“[DEREK] Character is portrayed as 8-10yo, male, any ethnicity, overweight. An outsider with no friends, he is rude to adults — and a bully to those his age.”
Alongside the announcement of The Duffer Brothers re-upping their Netflix deal, we also got word they’re working on multiple spin-offs – some of which we’ve got more information on.
In December 2022, we got word about one of the new spin-offs, described as an anime series set in Tokyo during the 1980s. The logline we have for the new anime series, which hasn’t been officially confirmed, is as follows:
“An encounter with the Upside Down evolves into a grand adventure for video game-loving twin brothers living on the outskirts of 1980s Tokyo.”
In April 2023, we also got word of a new animated series described as a Saturday morning cartoon. What’s on Netflix can exclusively reveal the logline for that new series:
“About a young girl Janet who has moved in with her uncle Brody after being in social services for years. Follows their dynamic as she learns to navigate having a real family and he learns to care for someone other than himself.”
Stranger Things VR game
To recap, here are all the various spin-offs and other Stranger Things projects coming in the near future:
Untitled Stranger Things Animated Series – Described as a Saturday morning cartoon.
Stranger Things: Tokyo – Yet-to-be-confirmed anime series spinoff.
Untitled Stranger Things Live-Action Series – Spin-off series based on an original idea by The Duffer Brothers, with Upside Down and 21 Laps producing.
Stranger Things: The First Shadow – Live performance play due to begin in London in late 2023.
Stranger Things VR – Video game VR project from Tender Claws due out in late 2023.
Stranger Things Comics – Currently announced projects include Tales from Hawkins and The Many Ghosts of Dr. Brenner.
This is in addition to some of the other projects The Duffer Brothers and 21 Laps is working on for Netflix.
Are you looking forward to the fifth and final season of Stranger Things on Netflix? Let us know in the comments below!
The 2023 White House Correspondents Dinner kicks off Saturday, April 29 and there are multiple ways to watch the event from the comfort of your own home. “The Daily Show” correspondent Roy Wood Jr. will headline the event, and President Biden is expected to attend and make remarks.
Other attendees include First Lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff.
The White House Correspondents Dinner begins at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT, and you’ll be able to watch it live on C-SPAN and in the livestream embed below. Coverage is also planned for CNN and MSNBC, so you can tune into those channels as well.
Live C-SPAN coverage begins online and on the C-SPAN app at 6 p.m. ET with guest arrivals.
As for the tone of the event, Roy Wood Jr. told TheWrap he takes seriously the contribution of the media.
“To me, that’s more important than the jokes, to take the opportunity to recognize the contribution of the media,” he said in an interview. “So I think in that regard, it’s a real honor. You don’t want to be the person that messes it up. You know, these are the people who decide what the news is and what it isn’t. That isn’t easy, and I have nothing but high praise for journalists in general.”
That said, Wood Jr. told TheWrap that no jokes or subjects are “off limits,” summing up his outlook thusly: “I don’t really think of this whole thing as some sort of big roast. I think it’s an accountability session.”
Watch the 2023 White House Correspondents Dinner in the livestream below.
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