Digital media and advertising company Yahoo tapped Tressie Lieberman, a marketing veteran from the fast-food biz, as its new CMO.
Lieberman, who previously worked at brands including Chipotle, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut, was selected for the post “following an extensive executive search process,” according to Yahoo. She will report directly to Yahoo CEO Jim Lanzone.
Lieberman is Yahoo’s first executive in the chief marketing officer role since 2015, when then-CMO Kathy Savitt exited the company (prior to Yahoo’s 2016 acquisition by Verizon and its subsequent spin-out in 2021). In Yahoo’s current incarnation, marketing functions had been dispersed under the business units and now it will be centralized under the new CMO role with Lieberman.
As Yahoo’s CMO, Lieberman will be responsible for overseeing all aspects of the company’s global marketing strategies, brand positioning, user acquisition and customer-engagement initiatives.
“To say Tressie stood out during our search process would be a massive understatement,” Lanzone said in announcing her hire. “Tressie’s combination of core marketing skills, leadership and people skills, and strategic creativity — especially in digital and social channels — are extremely rare. She is also uniquely inspired by the chance to take the Yahoo brand to new heights, just like myself and the rest of our executive team. We can’t wait to give the keys to Tressie and watch her drive the brand forward in the years ahead.”
Most recently, Lieberman was Chipotle’s VP of digital marketing and off-premise from May 2018 until she left the company in June 2023. While at Chipotle, she’s credited with driving new customer growth and brand relevance and launched the Chipotle Rewards loyalty program to reach 33 million members. Lieberman also extended Chipotle’s reach to Gen Z, becoming an early leader on platforms like Roblox, Discord and BeReal, and inking TikTok influencer collaborations.
“I have always been drawn to the Yahoo brand — not only for its strong legacy, but for its immense potential,” said Lieberman. “The opportunity to push the boundaries and take the brand into the future is a dream. I couldn’t be more excited to work with Jim and his team to steer the path they’ve set forth through disruptive campaigns that engage with culture in new and exciting ways. With a wealth of beloved and compelling brands, the sky is truly the limit for the new Yahoo and I can’t wait to get started.”
Prior to working Chipotle, Lieberman was CMO at Snap Kitchen, where she oversaw a rebranding effort and led retail partnerships. Lieberman also served as VP of digital innovation and on-demand at Taco Bell, driving social media and influencer strategy to tap into millennial consumers. She also worked at Pizza Hut and ad agency Ogilvy & Mather. Lieberman holds a bachelor’s degree in advertising from the University of Texas at Austin.
Verizon sold Yahoo for $5 billion in 2021 to private-equity firm Apollo Group. Yahoo’s brands include Yahoo News, Yahoo Finance, Yahoo Sports, Yahoo Mail, Yahoo Search, AOL, Engadget, TechCrunch and Rivals.
BALI — When Denis Ladegaillerie takes his place on stage for the Music Matters conference in Singapore later this year, the Believe chief executive officer should have some tales to share. Success stories.
Ten years ago, Believe (then Believe Digital) embarked on an Asia Pacific odyssey. The risk is paying off, thanks in no small part to the expanding reach and adoption of streaming services, and the waves of regional acts passing through the pipeline, crossing borders like never before.
Ladegaillerie, the Paris-based music company’s founder, returns to the annual summit this September brimming with confidence for his business’s regional operations, which are now active in 15 APAC territories. Royalties to labels and artists have ballooned to €700 million ($784), Billboard can confirm. The magical €1 billion ($1.12 billion) milestone is on the horizon.
Believe established its APAC presence back in 2013, initially in Indonesia. Playing to the beat of its mantra, “local approach, global vision,” the brand set about building from scratch a network tuned to each local music scene, cognizant of the language, culture and genre specificities that make each market unique.
Believe paid tribute to its APAC origins in May by returning to Bali for a gathering of 130-plus staff, or “Believers” as they’re known within the company, from 11 countries.
Participants included Antoine El Iman; managing director of Southeast Asia and Australia/New Zealand; Dahlia Wijaya, country director, Indonesia; Georgette Tengco, country director, Philippines; Somwalee Limrachtamorn, country director, Thailand; and Mick Tarbuk, country manager, Australia & New Zealand, whose affiliate landed two ARIA No. 1 albums in 12 months, with Cub Sport’s Jesus At The Gay Bar (April 2023) and Northlane’s Obsidian (April 2022).
Cub Sport
Bryant
Also among guests, Believe’s streaming partners, including Paul Smith, managing director of YouTube Music APAC, one of the most powerful brands in the region (and also a guest speaker at ATM 2023), and several key artists, including Indonesia pop star Yura Yunita, a native of Bandung, West Java, who boasts more than 1.2 million followers on Instagram and upwards of 1 million subscribers to her YouTube channel.
The region “was untapped territory,” recounts Sylvain Delange, managing director Asia Pacific. “The business opportunity was tiny at the time because digital was not existent. Well, it existed, but it was ringback tones.”
The Frenchman is a big believer — in the traditional sense — that the pan-Asian music market could achieve lift-off; he was tapped to build the regional business from the ground up.
Previously, he served for five years in Tokyo, promoting French music abroad for the French Music Office. That organization no longer exists, though the relationships he built in Asia still do, and Delange got a head start.
Delange “is an instrumental part of the transformation of the market that we’ve been a part of,” notes Ladegaillerie.
Timing is everything. Launch before the streaming platforms mature and make inroads, and the ship has sunk before it sailed.
Start too late, you miss out.
“When you have international players, and especially big players, like Apple, Spotify or YouTube entering the market, that levels the playing field for everyone,” reckons Delange.
Those big players, when they arrived, brought with them certain standards. “Standards of business practices, content management, monetization, good practices, in terms of marketing releases, and so on,” he continued, creating “a much healthier environment for the music ecosystem.”
The Asian market is as exciting as it is diverse, and the recorded music business is spiking.
The numbers back it up.
Luminate’s 2023 “Midyear Music Report” found that, overall, on-demand audio and video streaming in the first half lifted by 107% year-on-year – a world-leading rate of growth.
And earlier, the IFPI reported that Asia notched double-digit growth for the third consecutive year, up by 15.4%, “outpacing the overall global growth rate.”
China, meanwhile, has joined the recording music industry’s elite. According to the IFPI’s Global Music Report, the world’s most populous market is now the No. 5 ranked country for the first time, bumping France into No. 6. APAC accounts for four of the top 10 markets (Japan at No. 2, South Korea at No. 7, Australia at No. 10), and four of the top 10 acts globally are from APAC – BTS, SEVENTEEN, Stray Kids, and Jay Chou.
Believe itself has evolved from pure distribution-driven business into one focused on “local content, globally,” explains Delange, who confirms the Asia Pacific activities has generated north of €700 million in distributions.
That pile includes its businesses in India, Southeast Asia, China, Australia, New Zealand and Japan, where Believe is ranked No. 3 in terms of digital market share, according to Oricon market research, behind Universal and Sony Music, and ahead of Warner Music.
Acquisitions, investments and partnerships will continue to play a part. Notable deals struck in recent years include the acquisition of a stake in Philippines-based Viva Music and Artists Group (VMAG); the acquisition of India’s Venus Music, and subsequent rebranded to Ishtar; and the purchase of a 76% interest in South Indian soundtrack specialist Think Music, all in 2021.
“The objective for us is to is to strengthen our position on market segment by bringing in people that have a very specific expertise,” explains Delange. “Our positioning is to basically build on our past 10-year success, continue to educate. There’s still a lot of education to be done on many topics. We will continue to build on our teams, we’re going to continue to invest in local players, we’re going to continue to build the partnerships closely with the DSPS.”
Soon, the “emerging markets” tag will be gone from the vernacular.
A decade from now, “Asia would have been very-well emerged,” says Delange. “We do anticipate that Asia Pacific is going to become the largest music market in the world in the next 10 years.”
Safety is a high priority in the film industry. Many movies have scenes involving dangerous stunts or unforgiving weather conditions. For example, the “Mission: Impossible” and “Mad Max” series include dangerous choreography and explosions the crew had to plan meticulously.
Unfortunately, some filmmakers don’t plan for these factors and compromise their crew. Make your set stand out with these six safety measures other producers often neglect.
1. Start Safety in Pre-production
Safety comes first, so filmmakers should start their preparations in the pre-production stage. When researching locations, send scouts to inspect the area and determine if hazards exist. They will perform tasks like examining the structural integrity of buildings, determining the accessibility of the site and considering the security and crime risks present.
Scouting is a significant part of a filmmaker’s risk assessment. This evaluation is critical because it protects the cast and crew when filming. Plus, the location may require a risk assessment to proceed. For example, filming in Oxfordshire, England, requires a risk assessment form to shoot on the public highway.
2. Allow Breaks
Filming requires long days of 12 hours or more. You may believe in your crew’s endurance and willpower, but they aren’t superhuman. They’ll get tired throughout the day and need rest, so be sure to allow for breaks when shooting.
If you don’t need a particular crew member or actor for a while, encourage them to rest or nap to increase their energy levels when it’s time for their scenes.
3. Hire Professionals
Amateur filmmakers often have tight budgets, so every penny matters when allocating funds. However, you should make room for professionals if the film contains dangerous acts or animals. Some amateurs neglect this aspect and pay the price later.
For example, films often have stunt coordinators to assist with the dangerous acts seen on the silver screen. These professionals ensure the actors’ stunts are safe and realistic for the camera.
Another example is an animal professional like a veterinarian or wrangler. Animals don’t always comply with human commands, so it’s essential to have these workers nearby to care for the creatures during fireworks scenes or when inclement weather arrives.
4. Enforce Safety Guidelines
Before filming begins, filmmakers should establish their safety expectations for the cast and crew. Everybody from the prop master to the director must follow the rules and set an example for everybody else on the set. Create an atmosphere where people think about safety when shooting scenes involving dangerous acts.
Filmmakers should set expectations and enforce them when necessary. Encourage the cast and crew to hold each other accountable and raise red flags when they think something is wrong. For example, one of the scenes could be dangerous to the eyes. Producers should provide protective eyewear to shield against ultraviolet light and ensure everybody wears the glasses.
5. Check the Weather
Filmmakers can foster a safe environment with protective gear and stunt coordinators, but one thing they can’t control is the weather. Check the forecast and radars to see the outlook for the day and when the bad weather is supposed to arrive. You may get a window of opportunity to shoot but don’t push your luck.
Surprise storms can arise, especially in the late afternoon and when filming in a tropical location. Filmmakers should have an evacuation plan ready for the cast and crew. This procedure should include evacuation routes scouted ahead of time and protection for the equipment.
Hurricanes and tornadoes aren’t the only weather-related risks when filming outdoors. The cast and crew could encounter sunny skies with a less obvious risk of injury. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says the human body only needs about 10 to 15 minutes to suffer from heat stroke when temperatures rise to 106 F or higher. Filmmakers should ensure plentiful shade and hydration in these conditions.
6. Prepare for Accidents
Preparation can lower the risk of accidents, but they can still happen on any set. Therefore, filmmakers must be ready no matter the situation. The location should have safety equipment regardless if filming occurs indoors or outside. Fire extinguishers and defibrillators are only two examples of what your crew should have for emergencies.
Filmmakers should always have a first-aid kit readily available for crew members. This container should include bandages, over-the-counter medications, antibiotic wipes, scissors and personal protective equipment (PPE). Make a checklist depending on the filming location and each crew member’s needs.
Remembering Safety on Set
Shooting a movie involves hundreds of moving pieces coming together for an incredible motion picture. However, the road there isn’t always smooth due to safety risks. For example, Harrison Ford broke his leg while shooting “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” when a prop fell on him.
Safety is a significant part of shooting a movie, so don’t be like some amateur filmmakers and overlook it. Remember these six safety measures when making your next film.
Oscar Collins is the editor-in-chief atModded. He’s passionate about films, filming techniques and the finer details of filmmaking. Follow him on Twitter@TModded for frequent updates on his work!
When Reese Lange was in kindergarten, she dreamed of joining the police. But it was in high school that she realized her true calling.
The 21-year-old is now part of an army of young men and women, many of them college students, who are spending their summer battling what could be one of Canada’s worst fire seasons on record.
They are drawn together by a sense of duty and comradeship.
But the risks they face were brought home last week by the death in British Columbia of Devyn Gale, a nursing student. Aged just 19, Gale was already in her third summer as a wildland firefighter when she was crushed by a falling tree as her team battled an out-of-control blaze near her hometown of Revelstoke in the southern Interior.
Lange is undergoing firefighting training at Lakeland College in Vermilion, central Alberta, but has already seen action battling blazes in the province this summer. She said Gale’s death was “devastating” but only made her more determined.
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“I feel like it makes me want to be a firefighter more and kind of learn more so that I can protect myself and my teammates,” said Lange.
She said the tragedy had bonded her class of 31 student firefighters, underscoring their shared goals of saving lives and watching each other’s backs.
The 2023 B.C. wildfire season officially most destructive ever
The BC Wildfire Service said in a statement that it employs about 1,600 seasonal personnel each year, and about a third are post-secondary students working during their summer vacation.
“As our core wildfire season happens at a time when many students have their summer break, they are often looking for work at that time. As such, 30 to 35 per cent of them would normally be expected to return to school in the fall,” said the statement.
Ken McMullen, president of the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs, said “a great deal of students” are involved in wildland firefighting.
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Wildland firefighters are often hired for one pay season, typically between the end of May and mid-September. He said that in summer months, the number of paid wildland firefighters spikes compared to volunteer firefighters.
“We don’t see a big increase of volunteerism for those four months that students are back at home, away from school,” he said.
“We do see an increase of wildland firefighters, because it’s a pay opportunity, whereas volunteering in your communities is not a pay opportunity.”
The starting hourly wage for firefighters in B.C. ranges from $26 to $30 per hour with more for overtime and standby hours.
But for some young firefighters, it’s not just about the pay. It’s a calling.
Lakeland College firefighter training students and staff pose in this undated handout photo.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, Lakeland College
Lange’s classmate Mark Uwazny, 21, said he decided to become a firefighter in Grade 9 after he was involved in the rescue of a fellow Boy Scout who had gone into thermal shock during a winter survival challenge.
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“(It was) the way that we just kind of all came together as a community to make sure that this one person got everything that they needed in a timely fashion,” said Uwazny.
From that moment on, his family expected him to work in the emergency services.
Uwazny said his family was “happy and excited” when he decided to become a firefighter through Lakeland’s training course.
In May, Uwazny and Lange spent five or six evenings fighting wildfires that burned about 62 square kilometres in Parkland County, west of Edmonton.
Seeing a wildfire up close for the first time was an “unreal and crazy” experience, said Lange.
Already they feel like they are part of the firefighting community, and Uwazny said the loss of Gale felt like “losing a family member.”
“In our class, there are 31 of us ? (it’s) something that could happen to one of us and there goes your family,” said Uwazny.
But the other part of being in a family is the strength of the bonds, he added.
Canadian military mobilizes to help B.C. fight wildfires
Some young firefighters only last a few seasons. Jennifer Seguin lasted nine, on and off.
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She joined the BC Wildfire Service in summer 2005, when she was on break from studying social work at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, B.C.
Like Gale, she was 19 at the time. She said news of Gale’s death left her in “shock and complete devastation,” as Gale’s circumstances resonated with her own former life. Seguin now works in health care in Manitoba.
“Devyn’s passing is such a tragedy as she was one of many young people doing this job ? she was headed in a direction where she was going to give back to the community as a nurse and help other people along their health journey,” said Seguin, her voice trembling.
She said firefighting was a tough job of sacrifice, sometimes involving 16-hour days in remote locations.
Seguin recalled a “scary” encounter in 2017 when her crew faced a fire in Princeton, B.C.
“We were one of the first crews on scene and the conditions were very dry, very hot. The wind was blowing ? and it was an intensity that required we pulled away from the fire,” she said.
“We had to get close to understand what the nature of it was. And when we knew that there wasn’t anything we could do with the resources we had ? we pulled back.”
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In addition to the extreme conditions, the job also meant missing out on traditional summer activities, or major life events like a friend’s wedding.
But it was an experience Seguin said she “wouldn’t trade for anything.”
“I am very grateful and privileged that I had the opportunity and that I was able to participate,” she said.
Gigi Hadid‘s romance with Zayn Malik — and the birth of their daughter, Khai, in September 2020 — was not the first time that the supermodel’s love life grabbed everyone’s attention.
Hadid’s first major relationship in the public eye was with Cody Simpson. The pair dated on and off for two years before calling it quits for good in May 2015.
One month later, Hadid began dating Joe Jonas.The California native’s pal Cara Delevingne was a fan of their relationship and even gave them the ship name “G.I. Joe.” Hadid took a liking to the nickname and was spotted in Los Angeles with Jonas while wearing a T-shirt with the letters “G.I.” The twosome ended their romance in November 2015 after five months of dating.
Hadid moved on with Malik later the same month. The “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever” singer admitted he made his move by simply asking Hadid out on a date.
“I just asked her [out]. It was pretty straight-up,” he recalled on SiriusXM’s The Morning Mash Up in December 2016. “A gentleman never tells the full details! But, yeah, we met and we spoke, and we went on a date.”
However, Hadid spilled a few details about their first date on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in February 2017.
“We played it cool for like ten minutes and then I was like, ‘You’re really cute,’” Hadid said at the time. “We connected like really quickly. We have kind of the same sense of humor and started sharing videos.”
Malik told Us Weekly in September 2017 that although their relationship is highly publicized, the duo try to just focus on themselves.
“We try not to think about [dating in the spotlight] too much,” he said at the time. “There are a lot of people who are too busy in other people’s lives. I just concentrate on my relationship and try to do right by my girlfriend and she does by me, and we hope for the best, as we all do!”
Despite calling it quits multiple times — most notably from January 2019 to January 2020 when she briefly dated Bachelorette alum Tyler Cameron — Hadid and Malik reconciled in early 2020, before welcoming their daughter later that year.
Three months before the cryptocurrency market imploded last year, Caroline Ellison, the 27-year-old chief executive of the crypto hedge fund Alameda Research, was racked with self-doubt.
“I have been feeling pretty unhappy and overwhelmed with my job,” Ms. Ellison wrote in a Google document in February 2022. She added: “At the end of the day I can’t wait to go home and turn off my phone and have a drink and get away from it all.”
Ms. Ellison had a lot on her mind. She did not think that she was well suited to running Alameda or was a particularly decisive leader, she wrote in another Google document. She was also going through a breakup with Sam Bankman-Fried, the billionaire entrepreneur who had founded Alameda and then FTX, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges. They had dated on and off, and Ms. Ellison worried about “making things weird” and “causing drama.”
“It doesn’t really feel like there’s an end in sight,” she wrote in the February 2022 document.
Now Ms. Ellison is poised to be a star witness at Mr. Bankman-Fried’s criminal trial, which is scheduled for Oct. 2.
Mr. Bankman-Fried, 31, is accused of misusing billions of dollars taken from customer accounts and faces eight counts of fraud and election law violations. His spectacular downfall, which sent FTX and Alameda into bankruptcy, transformed Ms. Ellison from a powerful — yet relatively private — figure into a target of tabloid speculation. In December, she pleaded guilty to fraud charges and agreed to cooperate with the federal prosecutors investigating her former boyfriend.
His case is speeding toward a courtroom showdown in Manhattan. Two other top FTX executives, Nishad Singh and Gary Wang, have also pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate. In June, after weeks of legal wrangling over the charges against Mr. Bankman-Fried, the judge in the case set a brisk schedule for the run-up to the trial, asking prosecutors to come up with a witness list and produce other final materials. Prosecutors are expected to begin preparing at least some witnesses in August, two people with knowledge of the matter said.
As Mr. Bankman-Fried’s sometime-girlfriend and one of his earliest hires, Ms. Ellison had unique insight into the FTX founder. She also recorded many of her thoughts in writing, making observations about her personal and professional life in a handwritten diary and on Google documents that have circulated among lawyers involved in the case, according to documents reviewed by The New York Times and four people familiar with the investigation.
The documents, which have not been previously reported, offer new insight into Ms. Ellison’s psychology during the final months of FTX. Ms. Ellison, now 28, was a prolific writer whose Tumblr posts about Harry Potter and Jane Austen have been widely dissected. But the Google documents are more personal and raw, with some directly addressed to Mr. Bankman-Fried, illustrating the complexity of their relationship and her ambivalence about Alameda.
In one Google document addressed to Mr. Bankman-Fried in April 2022, Ms. Ellison wrote that an earlier breakup with him had “significantly decreased my excitement about Alameda.” Life at the hedge fund, she added, “felt too associated with you in a way that was painful.”
A representative for Ms. Ellison’s legal team and a lawyer for Mr. Bankman-Fried declined to comment. A spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan, the unit prosecuting the case, also declined to comment.
Ms. Ellison, a Stanford graduate, got to know Mr. Bankman-Fried at Jane Street, the quantitative trading firm where he worked after college. They shared a commitment to effective altruism, the charitable movement that has gained adherents in the tech and finance industries.
After Mr. Bankman-Fried left Jane Street to start Alameda in 2017, he recruited Ms. Ellison as a trader. In 2021, he promoted her to co-chief executive, alongside another early hire, Sam Trabucco.
Mr. Bankman-Fried and Ms. Ellison also started an unsteady romantic relationship, with multiple breakups and reconciliations. At times, Ms. Ellison worried that Mr. Bankman-Fried thought she wasn’t good enough. When he was around, she wrote in the February 2022 Google document, she had “an instinct to shrink and become smaller and quieter and defer to others.”
After one split, Ms. Ellison cut off communication with Mr. Bankman-Fried. “I felt pretty hurt/rejected,” she wrote in the April 2022 Google document. “Not giving you the contact you wanted felt like the only way I could regain a sense of power.”
By last year, Mr. Bankman-Fried had become one of the world’s most prominent crypto entrepreneurs, his face plastered on billboards and magazine covers. His fame seemed to make life at FTX and Alameda harder for Ms. Ellison.
Staying put meant “having to be around you all the time, hearing people talk about how great you are all the time,” she wrote in the April 2022 document.
Ms. Ellison was compensated far less generously than other top executives at FTX and Alameda, though it’s unclear whether she was aware of it. According to court filings, the exchange’s founders and other key employees received $3.2 billion in payments and loans. Of that total, $6 million went to Ms. Ellison, compared with $587 million for Mr. Singh, FTX’s head of engineering, and $246 million for Mr. Wang, one of the founders. Mr. Bankman-Fried received $2.2 billion.
In May 2022, the crypto market crashed, sending coin prices spiraling and plunging several prominent companies into bankruptcy. During the crisis, regulators have asserted, Mr. Bankman-Fried, Mr. Wang, Mr. Singh and Ms. Ellison filled a hole in Alameda’s accounts using billions in customer funds deposited with FTX.
Even before then, Ms. Ellison doubted her own abilities. In the April 2022 document, she made a list of areas where she struggled, including “leadership” and “decisiveness.”
“Running Alameda doesn’t feel like something I’m thatcomparatively advantaged at or well suited to do,” she wrote.
By last fall, Mr. Bankman-Fried had lost faith in Alameda. He considered shutting the firm, according to court records, and invested more than $400 million in another trading company, Modulo Capital, which was led by a different former Jane Street trader whom he had also dated.
Ms. Ellison expressed jealousy and resentment toward Modulo in some of her writings, as well as a feeling that she was being squeezed out, two people who have seen the documents said.
Mr. Bankman-Fried’s business empire collapsed in November after a run on deposits exposed an $8 billion deficit.
“I just had an increasing dread of this day that was weighing on me,” Ms. Ellison wrote to him in a message that month, which was excerpted in court records. “Now that it’s actually happening it just feels great to get it over with.”
In December, Mr. Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas, where FTX was based, and taken to a prison not far from the luxury penthouse that he and Ms. Ellison had shared with eight other roommates, including Mr. Wang and Mr. Singh. Mr. Bankman-Fried is now under house arrest at his parents’ home in Palo Alto, Calif.
People who know Ms. Ellison say they have been struck by her earnestness and her willingness to admit her own failings. In court in December, she said she was “truly sorry” for committing fraud. “I knew that it was wrong,” she said.
Ms. Ellison is expected to repeat that assertion at Mr. Bankman-Fried’s trial, which is expected to last four or five weeks. Much of the trial will revolve around messages that Mr. Bankman-Fried and the three cooperators exchanged on the messaging app Signal, two people briefed on the matter said.
As a woman in the male-dominated crypto industry, Ms. Ellison may appear more sympathetic to the jury than the other cooperators, lawyers familiar with the case said. In interviews last year, Mr. Bankman-Fried shifted some blame for the collapse to Alameda, saying he had little involvement in the hedge fund’s day-to-day management.
Moira Penza, a former federal prosecutor, said that the best government cooperators accepted blame on the witness stand and that the “power differential” between Ms. Ellison and Mr. Bankman-Fried could make her a compelling voice.
“This does not strike me as an effective strategy for the defendant to be blaming down,” Ms. Penza said. “Especially with someone who was once a romantic partner.”
YouTube Premium’s price has increased to $13.99 a month in the US, a $2 increase compared to what it used to cost. That’s according to Google’s signup page for the service, which has been quietly updated to reflect the new pricing, which was first spotted by 9to5Google. Alongside the monthly price increase, the cost of an annual subscription to YouTube Premium is increasing by $20 to $139.99.
The new pricing shown on YouTube’s website.Screenshot by Jon Porter / The Verge
What’s currently unclear is if or when the YouTube Premium price increase might apply for existing subscribers. When Google last raised the price of ad-free YouTube as part of its rebrand from “YouTube Red” into “YouTube Premium” in 2018 it allowed former YouTube Red subscribers to continue to pay the old $9.99 a month price. 9to5Google’s Abner Li reports that YouTube is still honoring this lower price on his personal account, five years after the rebrand.
More recently, however, YouTube hasn’t been so generous. When it increased the price of its Premium family plan last October for new signups, existing subscribers were charged the higher price starting the following month. We’ve reached out to Google for more information, including details on whether this week’s price increases will apply internationally.
YouTube Premium offers a collection of functionality improvements for the video streaming platform. Subscribers get to watch YouTube videos with no ads and download them to watch without an internet connection. There’s also support for background playback, letting subscribers listen to a video’s audio while using other apps or while their phone screen is off. More recently, Google updated YouTube Premium with a higher-quality 1080p steaming option on select platforms. And importantly, subscribing puts an end to Google’s incessant nagging.
Identity Agency Group, the London-based talent agency whose list of clients includes the likes of John Boyega, Simone Ashley, Malachi Kirby, T’Nia Miller and David Gyasi, has promoted its two most senior agents.
Ikki El-Amriti and Jonathan Hall, who have each been with the company for 13 years and were among the first to join IAG after it was set up by founder and CEO Femi Oguns, have both been made partners.
Oguns, who established the agency as the sister company to his groundbreaking Identity School of Acting drama school, aimed at offering quality drama lessons to diverse talent and this year celebrating its 20th anniversary (and whose alumni includes Boyega, Letitia Wright and Damson Idris), praised his two colleagues for contributing to IAG’s “success and growth.”
El-Amriti, he said, had “consistently demonstrated exceptional leadership in talent management,” adding that her guidance had been “instrumental in propelling artists’ careers to new heights, while securing countless opportunities for their growth and recognition.”
Similarly, he said Hall’s “innate talent in guiding and nurturing artists” had enabled them to “flourish, showcasing their potential on various platforms,” and that his “keen eye for emerging talents and ability to foster strong industry relationships” had played a pivotal role in IAG’s achievements.
“For the past 13 years, I’ve seen this company flourish in an often challenging landscape, helping to establish our clients across film, TV, and theatre at the highest level both in the U.K. and the U.S.,” said El-Amriti. “What makes us special is the strong, diverse collective we’ve built here at the company and the unique perspective we have which has allowed us to break through glass ceilings.”
Said Hall: “This promotion represents a milestone in my career and a testament to the hard work and passion we have all at IAG invested in this industry. I am excited to continue shaping the future of the agency alongside CEO Femi Oguns and co-partner Ikki El-Amriti, nurturing the careers of our exceptional, inclusive and diverse list of clients.”
Hall added: “As a team we will continue to push boundaries, explore exciting new avenues which are already in motion and elevate our collective vision. I am grateful to be part of a company that I love and look forward to contributing to the continued success of IAG as we embark on this exciting new chapter together.”
Leo is all set to release in theatres on October 19.
The production house is now venturing into the Tamil market on a grand scale, after the successful collaboration with Dhanush for his film Sir/Vaathi.
Suryadevara Naga Vamsi’s Sithara Entertainments has been rapidly producing engaging and content-driven films, expanding its presence across India. They are now venturing into the Tamil film market on a grand scale, after the successful collaboration with Dhanush for his film Sir/Vaathi. They aim to collaborate with diverse actors and stars in various languages, as they continue to grow. Now, Sithara Entertainments is all set to collaborate with the much-awaited and exciting action film Leo, featuring director Lokesh Kanagaraj and Thalapathy Vijay. Sithara Entertainment has decided to take over the distribution of Leo in Telugu-speaking states. Producer Suryadevara Naga Vamsi of Sithara Entertainment said in an interview that he is happy to enter the distribution field with such a sensational film. He added that keeping in mind Vijay’s popularity, this film will be released on a massive scale in Telugu-speaking states, like never before.
This action-packed epic film also stars Trisha Krishnan, Arjun Sarja, and Sanjay Dutt in lead roles. Notably, the movie includes popular directors Gautam Vasudev Menon and Mysskin too among its talented cast. It promises to be a thrilling and star-studded cinematic experience.
Leo also features Mansoor Ali Khan, Priya Anand, Mathew Thomas, Jafer Sadiq, Madonna Sebastian, and Anurag Kashyap in significant roles. The film’s production team has recently wrapped up its shooting after an intense 125-day schedule, which took them to picturesque locations in Kashmir and Chennai.
With the action choreographer team duo Anbariv at the helm, the action sequences in Leo are expected to be nothing short of sensational and jaw-dropping. Fans can anticipate an adrenaline-pumping cinematic experience when the movie hits the screens.
The musical score for Leo is crafted by the talented Anirudh Ravichander, marking a hat-trick collaboration with director Lokesh Kanagaraj. Their previous works together, especially with Thalapathy Vijay, have been remarkable as seen with the sensational audio of Master. The first single from Leo titled Naa Ready released on Thalapathy Vijay’s birthday. It has already achieved massive success, creating much anticipation and excitement among fans for the movie’s music.
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For Jason Aldean, the only thing better than having CMT play his new music video is having the country-music cable network refuse to play it.
That’s what happened this week when CMT said it had pulled the clip for “Try That in a Small Town,” Aldean’s latest single, in which the country star lays out a vision of urban chaos — an old lady getting carjacked, a holdup at a liquor store, a cop being spat on — before more or less threatening to kill anyone who might attempt to bring such behavior to a place “full of good old boys raised up right.”
“Try that in a small town / See how far you make it down the road,” he sings over slashing guitars and booming drums, “Around here we take care of our own / You cross that line, it won’t take long for you to find out.”
In the video, directed by the singer’s longtime collaborator Shaun Silva, Aldean and his band perform in front of the Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, Tenn., as violent news footage — including scenes from what appear to be Black Lives Matter protests — is projected onto the building. After premiering Friday, the video drew immediate criticism on social media for its embrace of vigilantism and for its conspicuous use of a location known to historians as the site of a lynching of an 18-year-old Black man in 1927.
“As Tennessee lawmakers, we have an obligation to condemn Jason Aldean’s heinous song calling for racist violence,” state Rep. Justin Jones, a Democrat, wrote on Twitter. Among the other prominent voices denouncing “Try That in a Small Town” was Sheryl Crow, who tweeted that “there’s nothing small-town or American about promoting violence.”
CMT hasn’t explained its decision to stop airing the video, though it’s easy to assume that the network was seeking to distance itself from the widening backlash against Aldean (at a moment when its corporate owner, Paramount, is already facing scorn amid the Hollywood actors’ and writers’ strike).
But whatever exposure he’s losing on CMT — an asset of debatable value in the YouTube era — Aldean, 46, is more than making up for with the hubbub over its being yanked: Nearly two decades into a Nashville career that’s seen him top Billboard’s Country Airplay chart a whopping 25 times, Aldean has happily taken up the role of bomb-throwing right-wing culture warrior, one for whom each attempted cancellation by the so-called elites of music and media only boosts his appeal among those who’ve stuck with him.
To be clear, Aldean, who’s on the road this summer ahead of the release of his 11th studio album, doesn’t see himself as a villain. In a tweet on Tuesday he denied that “Try That in a Small Town” had anything to do with lynching and that the song “refers to the feeling of a community that I had growing up, where we took care of our neighbors, regardless of differences of background or belief.” (In a statement, Shaun Silva’s production company, TackleBox Films, said the courthouse is a “popular filming location outside of Nashville” — it pointed out that parts of “Hannah Montana: The Movie” were shot there — and said Aldean didn’t choose the location.)
Indeed, the thrust of the singer’s messaging about the controversy is that he’s the victim of a hysterical woke-ocracy — a familiar notion amplified predictably Tuesday night by the Fox News host Jesse Watters, who said on his show that Aldean’s single “carries a simple message: Small-town America doesn’t put up with what they put up with in the city. But the media won’t allow the truth to come out about what happened in the summer of love,” Watters continued, referring sarcastically to the racial justice movement that swept the country in 2020.
On Wednesday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis chimed in on Twitter, saying, “When the media attacks you, you’re doing something right,” and adding that Aldean “has nothing to apologize for.” Fellow Republican presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy joined in too with a tweet saying that Aldean “writes a song defending the values that ALL Americans used to share — faith, family, hard work, patriotism — only to be immediately sacrificed at the altar of censorship & cancellation.”
Yet “Try That in a Small Town” is just the latest volley from Aldean, who despite his insistence that his “political views have never been something I’ve hidden from” has in fact become far more vocal in the years since Donald Trump’s election. In 2021 he and his wife, Brittany Aldean, a conservative influencer, dressed their young children in T-shirts that read “Hidin’ from Biden”; last year the couple feuded with Maren Morris over young people seeking gender-affirming healthcare.
For ages, country stars avoided politics, aiming for a squishy ideological middle ground with no risk of offending anyone who might buy a record or a concert ticket. As Emily Nussbaum details in a New Yorker story published this week, though, acts in Nashville are increasingly sorting themselves into opposing camps: one more liberal (in both a political and musical sense), the other more conservative (ditto).
As in America more broadly, this polarization seems due in some part to social media, which has empowered artists to speak more directly to their fans without fear of being misrepresented. But there’s also a business component: If you’re unlikely to connect with a mass mainstream audience — as with Kid Rock, who recently shot up a case of Bud Light to protest the beer’s association with the trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney, or Aaron Lewis, the Staind frontman who’s gone on to a solo country career and who railed against woke-ism in 2021’s “Am I the Only One” — it makes sense to super-serve your base.
Is it accurate to say that Aldean, one of the most reliable hit makers of the 2010s, no longer sits at the center of country music? Nashville insiders I’ve spoken to disagree on the matter. One high-level exec told me Aldean is irrelevant today — “a sideshow all the way”; others in town point out that radio stations still add his new singles (including “Try That in a Small Town,” which Spotify put on its popular New Boots playlist) and that he was just nominated for entertainer of the year at May’s Academy of Country Music Awards.
By Wednesday afternoon, “Try That in a Small Town” had ascended to the No. 1 spot on iTunes’ songs chart — hardly the perch it was in the pre-streaming days but an indication of a strongly devoted core still willing to pay $1.29 to download three minutes of music.
Still, there’s no disputing that Aldean — not unlike other male stars his age such as Eric Church and Luke Bryan — has been pushed aside to some extent by the younger likes of Luke Combs and Morgan Wallen, the latter of whom enacted a kind of torch-passing moment when he made a surprise appearance at an Aldean concert last year at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena.
“He’s in a medium state where he’s had bigger moments,” said Shane McAnally, the veteran songwriter and producer who’s helped create dozens of hits for Kacey Musgraves, Sam Hunt, Keith Urban and Old Dominion, among many others. “Everybody plateaus or declines. But in my mind, he’s like, ‘If I can’t be the best, I’m just gonna be the worst.’”
Which isn’t to suggest that Aldean’s hard-right turn is an act. He’s given no reason to believe he’s not sincere in his political opinions. But there’s a point-of-no-return quality to “Try That in a Small Town,” as though Aldean had concluded that the only path available to him was going all-in on the MAGA rhetoric.
Many critics online were particularly galled by the song’s pro-gun spirit — “Got a gun that my granddad gave me / They say one day they’re gonna round up / Well, that s— might fly in the city, good luck” — given that Aldean was onstage during the 2017 mass shooting at a country festival in Las Vegas that killed 58 people. McAnally said he was “gobsmacked” by Aldean’s decision to release the song just months after a shooting at a Nashville elementary school in which three children and three adults were killed.
“It just feels so intentional,” McAnally said. “And so on the wrong side of history.”
After the first official trailer for the Kraven movie debuted online in June, fans finally got a chance to see what Sony has in store with this A-list cast of actors under its watch.
6 Actors Confirmed for Kraven Movie
Ahead are the six main actors confirmed to play major roles in Sony Pictures’ upcoming Kraven the Hunter movie, which is set to premiere on the big screen on October 6.
1.) Aaron Taylor-Johnson – Sergei Kravinoff/Kraven the Hunter
Sony Pictures
Following his run as Pietro Maximoff in Avengers: Age of Ultron, Aaron Taylor-Johnson will be back in the Marvel universe as Kraven the Hunter‘s leading character, Sergei Kravinoff.
While there will be some notable changes to the character from Marvel Comics, Taylor-Johnson’s character will look reminiscent of his comic counterpart, as seen in the trailer and promo pictures. Part of those changes will show Kraven “humanizing” himself as he lives the life of a hunter, although he’ll have no issues getting gritty when the time comes.
2.) Ariana DeBose – Calypso
Sony Pictures
Ariana DeBose will take on her first Marvel role in Kraven as she plays Calypso – a voodoo priestess blessed with magical abilities who has also been depicted as Kraven’s love interest in the comics.
Debose was only seen minimally in the first trailer as she called Kraven “a goddamn lunatic,” although it remains to be seen whether she’ll boast the same superpowers as her character from the comics.
It’s also been teased that the Chameleon will actually be Kraven’s brother in this new story, adding a different dynamic to the character as they learn how to handle a rough upbringing.
Another villain will take the spotlight in Kraven in the form of the Foreigner, played by Catch-22 star Christopher Abbott in his first dip into the superhero movie landscape.
The Foreigner trained himself to be one of the greatest martial artists and assassins on the planet, and even without superpowers, he’ll be plenty for Kraven and his family to handle in this movie.
6.) Russell Crowe – Nikolai Kravinoff
After first joining the MCU in 2022’s Thor: Love and Thunder as Zeus, Russell Crowe will be back with the red brand playing Kraven the Hunter’s father, Nikolai Kravinoff, a pivotal role in this movie.
And with teases in place for Kraven to potentially go up against some version of Spider-Man, fans will be anxious to find which, if any, take on the web-slinger will join this wild adventure.
Kraven the Hunter premieres in theaters on October 6.
It’s Dick Grayson’s turn to experience the nightmares of Insomnia and reveal his greatest fears…and a couple are pretty clever!
Positives
The two most interesting aspects of this issue come at the end when we see what Dick Grayson is really afraid. There’s a lot of potential in the idea that Dick’s nightmare is that he’s killed Batman and that Barbara Gordon becomes more machine than human. Dick’s role as Robin is revisited monthly in Batman/Superman: World’s Finest and the concept is central to the idea of the shared DC Universe. Dick is the iconic character that has been allowed to grow and change over time, he’s not perpetually stuck in the same 5 year age range, and he’s never been de-aged to take him back to his Robin days. Dick being afraid of killing Batman goes right back to his early days as The Boy Wonder. Very easily he could’ve inadvertently caused the death of the Caped Crusader. It’s not a stretch. It’s compelling to think that Dick still holds this in his head despite the fact one would expect he would’ve grown out of it. It’s linked to the death of his parents as the idea of a “survivor’s complex” is explored. We don’t get this outright in Knight Terrors Nightwing #1, but’s it’s there as an idea.
The idea that Barbara could become more machine that human is just as interesting in a different way. Clearly, Dick loves the person Barbara is and it’s not dependent on her physical abilities. As Babs has had to rely more on technology to keep her spinal column working correctly, it’s quite clever that Cloonan and Conrad see the possibility that Dick’s afraid she could end up relying on it too much and lose who she is in the process. It could even be a meta-jab at DC for putting her back in the Batgirl role at the beginning of the New 52 when it’s clear that Oracle is the iconic Barbara Gordon! While this will play out in the next issue in some fashion, it’s also possible that Dick is afraid Babs will end up relying too much on the technology of computers as Oracle and retreat from the physical world into a cybernetic world. I think the former is what’s intended, but there are two possibilities.
Negatives
Unfortunately, Knight Terrors Nightwing #1 does suffer from one major problem and it’s that it’s part of the Knight Terrors event, so the majority of the mystery and tension is non-existent. Cloonan and Conrad to there best to work within the framework with some great ideas outlined above and Di Nicuolo adds some truly frigthening images and gives us a truly scared Dick Grayson.
The creative team is limited by the framework and it doesn’t take much to imagine this issue taking place without the context of the Knight Terrors event and it being a real mystery for the reader. This would up the stakes as well as give Dick a mystery to solve that the reader doesn’t already know the answer. It’s a sort of backwards way to tell a story, usually you don’t give away the big reveal- it’s NIGHTMARES! as part of the solicit when holding that back could’ve been a really big surprise. Again, one can’t hold Cloonan and Conrad responsible because they do their job in coming up with some compelling ideas that are innovative but also fit with the character.
Verdict
Going into Knight Terrors Nightwing #1 already knowing what Insomnia’s endgame is detracts from the issue greatly. The creative team gives a great showing with what they have to work with, but this issue would’ve worked so much better had the audience not been privy to what was going on and Dick had to figure it out. That said, there are some really compelling ideas from Cloonan and Conrad that have the potential to play out epically next issue and Di Nicuolo gives a great showing on the horror aspect.
Neopets is back! At least, that’s what the new leadership team in charge of the classic old-internet pet collecting game has promised. In a lengthy blog post, The Neopets Team (TNT) announced that Neopets is once more in the hands of an independent company–after years of mismanagement from various parent companies–and ready to start a new era.
The new company is called World of Neopia, Inc, and will run under the leadership of Dominic Law, the former head of the unpopular crypto-centric spinoff, Neopets Meta. The new team is made up of employees from across Neopets and Neopets Metaverse, with Law named as the person who bargained with parent company NetDragon to save Neopets through a management buyout deal.
Now, Neopets is independent again, and the new leadership has big plans for the once great site. For starters, the team has promised to get on top of maintenance that is many years overdue, namely fixing up old Flash games and pages that have been broken for years. TNT is also working on adding new content to the site, including a new plot called The Void Within which will launch in early 2024 to celebrate Neopets’ 25th anniversary.
TNT also announced that it would be moving away from its prior plans for Neopets Metaverse, in line with fan feedback, and would instead be focused on a mobile app called World of Neopets. Described as a “social life-simulation game,” World of Neopets will be played from the perspective of a Neopet, and involve exploration, mini games, social interactions, and decorating your own Neohome. While it will reuse some of Neopets Metaverse’s assets, the game is being designed from the ground up, and currently has no crypto or NFT integrations–and no plans to add any, either.
To help in its lofty goals for reviving Neopets, TNT has asked fans to help out by interacting with the site–dusting off old accounts, logging in, or downloading one of its mobile games like Island Builders or Faerie’s Hope. As a little incentive, Neopets is offering a giveaway of 2 million Neocash–the site’s premium currency–with players who log in and complete certain tasks given more chances to win. TNT will also be launching a brand ambassador program to bring Neopets back into the limelight.
The products discussed here were independently chosen by our editors.
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The Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival is back for another hot summertime festival. From August 15th – 30th, 453 artists from over 50 countries will screen their captivating films at our stunning venues in both San Jose and Mountain View, California. This exciting lineup features 82 highly anticipated World and US premieres—many of which were directed and produced by women and/or members of the Asian, Black, Indian, LatinX, and LGBTQIA+ communities. Known as the festival where art meets technology, Cinequest’s 2023 films and live events embody the best of Silicon Valley innovation and creativity.
FEATURE FILMS: WORLD PREMIERES
11.11.18 | Drama, Fantasy | On November 11, 1918, somewhere on the Western Front, a German pilot barely survives a crash near a trench. He will need to hide his identity in order to find his way back to his camp, but his enemies are starting to suspect something. | Country: Belgium | Director(s): Antoine Sauwen, Django Schrevens Da Silva | Producer(s): Django Schrevens, Antoine Sauwen, Yvain De Ryck, Sé bastien Plazaneix, Martin De Waziers | Principal Cast: Fabian Schoog, Oumar Diolo, Samuel Van Der Swalmen, Arthur Marbaix, Alexandre Hérault | World Premiere
Bibi | Thriller | A taut and haunting thriller in which a mother and daughter live in a secluded mansion that is hiding a terrible secret. Can they escape their past? | Country: United States | Director(s): Christopher Beatty | Producer(s): Glen Trotiner, Christopher Beatty, Logan Hunter, Eddie Micallef | Principal Cast: Elizabeth Paige, Judith Ann Diminni, Tammy Blanchard, Rick Zahn, Juliana Davies, Rowan Castro, Nathan Faudre, Logan Hunter, Neddy Rossi, Brentton Reynolds | World Premiere
B-Side: For Taylor | Drama | Taylor, a 14-year-old adoptee, has secretly grown obsessed with finding her birth family in Korea and embarks on a journey of discovery and unforeseen truths. | Country: United States | Director(s): Christina YR Lim | Producer(s): Xin Li, David Liu | Principal Cast: Jeannine Vargas, Esther Moon, Dave Huber, Jacky Jung, Teddy Lee, James Kang | World Premiere
Breakwater | Thriller | A young ex-con risks his freedom to track down the estranged daughter of a fellow inmate, and unknowingly brings a devil from her past straight to her doorstep. | Country: United States | Director(s): James Rowe | Producer(s): Matt Paul, Larry Hummel, Dana Lustig, Edward Winters | Principal Cast: Dermot Mulroney, Darren Mann, Alyssa Goss, Sonja Sohn, Mena Suvari | World Premiere
Daddy | Comedy, Sci-Fi | A wonderful and heartfelt comedy that takes place in a dystopian society where the state has the power to determine who can and cannot father children. | Country: United States | Director(s): Neal Kelley, Jono Sherman | Producer(s): Sophia Kalin, Neal Kelley, Jono Sherman, Albee Zhang | Principal Cast: Neal Kelley, Pomme Koch, Yuriy Sardarov, Jono Sherman, Jacqueline Toboni | World Premiere
Egghead & Twinkie | Comedy | 17-year-old Twinkie takes off on a roadtrip to meet her online crush with the help of her nerdy best friend, Egghead. As they make their way across the country, Egghead wrestles with his unrequited feelings for Twinkie, while Twinkie learns to embrace her identity as a gay mixed-Asian woman. | Country: United States | Director(s): Sarah Kambe Holland | Producer(s): Danielle Fountaine, Sarah Kambe Holland, Valerie Starks | Principal Cast: Sabrina Jie-A-Fa, Louis Tomeo, Asahi Hirano, Ayden Lee | World Premiere
Every Man For Himself | Crime Drama | A reformed ex-convict with a debt to repay picks up his former cellmate from prison and drives him wherever he wants to go. As they travel the desolate landscape, both men seek redemption and a second chance. | Country: United States | Director(s): Gary Gardner | Producer(s): Gary Gardner, Suzanne Lenz, Mónica-Tezla Solís Vega-Görsün, Hillary Cutter, Jason Shahinfar, Anuj Gupta | Principal Cast: Daniel Sharman, Nicholas Logan, Suzanne Lenz | World Premiere
Fallen Drive | Thriller | In a small town, a group of former classmates gather at an Airbnb on the night of their 10-year high school reunion, and things take a dark and violent turn. | Country: United States | Director(s): Nick Cassidy, David Rice | Producer(s): Nick Cassidy | Principal Cast: Jakki Jandrell, Phillip Andre Botello, Donald Clark Jr., Nick Cassidy, Josh Thrower, Maryana Dvorska | World Premiere
Garden City, Kansas | Documentary | On the High Plains of Southwest Kansas, a thriving community sustained for decades by waves of immigrants becomes the target of white nationalists intent on killing the latest arrivals: Muslims. | Country: United States | Director(s): Bob Hurst | Producer(s): Tess Banion | Principal Cast: Hector Martinez, Amy Longa, Dan Day, Peter Ramirez | World Premiere
Going Places | Thriller, Comedy, Drama | After covering up a hit-and-run on the way to their valedictory desert trip, three high school graduates face the true test of their friendship when they become entangled in a deadly crime ring imbroglio. | Country: United States | Director(s): Max Chernov | Producer(s): Greg Silverman, Charles Rapp, Giuliano Musacchio, Max Chernov | Principal Cast: Ethan Cutkosky, Chloe East, Spence Moore II, Alysia Reiner, Miranda Rae Mayo, Mimi Kennedy | World Premiere
How to Ruin the Holidays | Comedy | A hilarious comedy following the craziness that ensues when families gather for the holidays. | Country: United States | Director(s): Arlen Konopaki | Producer(s): Kevin Gillese | Principal Cast: Amber Nash ( “Archer”), Colin Mochrie (“Whose Line Is It Anyway?”), Luke Davis (“ That Was Awesome!”), Kate Lambert, Aisha Tyler, Ronny Chieng, Henry Zebrowski | World Premiere
Last Weekend | Drama | An electric one-night-stand between Sylvia and Ethan is quickly derailed by a psychotic and possessive ex-lover who provokes the young couple to pursue a regrettable act of vengeance. | Country: United States | Director(s): Curtis Anthony Williams-Foshee | Producer(s): Kyle Vannoy | Principal Cast: Virginia Rand, Charlie Barnett, Hunter Morton, Cheryl Burns, Szoone Bonero, Ashley Smith | World Premiere
No Right Way | Drama, Comedy | A young woman’s attempts to spare her 13-year-old half-sister from toxic parenting propels her into an absurd custody battle, forcing her to confront her own past traumas. | Country: United States | Director(s): Chelsea Bo | Producer(s): Sean Drummond, Vivian Miranda | Principal Cast: Ava Acres, Chelsea Bo, Eliza Coupe, Sufe Bradshaw | World Premiere
O Pioneer | Documentary | O Pioneer poetically reckons with and redefines the American pioneer. As a blacksmith forges connections, a seamstress hems raw edges, and a hospital chaplain ministers the spirit, three Appalachians endure without repeating the follies of the past. | Country: United States | Director(s): Clara Lehmann, Jonathan Lacocque | Producer(s): Clara Lehmann, Jonathan Lacocque, Grace Lawson | Principal Cast: | Kaï a Kater, Nellie Rose Gundersen Davis, Tim Hibbs, James Morley | World Premiere
Paul & Trisha : The Art of Fluidity | Documentary | A documentary examining the colorful life of well-known 77-year-old trans British artists Paul Whitehead and his alter ego Trisha van Cleef as they navigate gender and artistic fluidity as two artists in one body. | Country: United States | Director(s): Fia Perera | Producer(s): Fia Perera, Adam Fisk | Principal Cast: Paul Whitehead, Trisha van Cleef | World Premiere
Privacy | Thriller, Mystery | A social thriller set in and out of Mumbai slums that follows the story of Roopali, an operator at the Mumbai surveillance command and control center. Things get complicated when Roopali ignores protocol and investigates a robbery-murder that takes place on her watch. | Country: India | Director(s): Sudeep Kanwal | Producer(s): Shlok Sharma, Navin Shetty, Lalit Prem Sharma | Principal Cast: Rajshri Deshpande, Nishank Verma, Sandesh Kulkarni, Saurabh Goyal, Chhaya Kadam | World Premiere
Share? | Sci-Fi | A man struggles to survive after awakening alone in a society connected only by a primitive computer network, where the ability to entertain is the only currency. | Country: United States | Director(s): Ira Rosensweig | Producer(s): Carissa Buffel, Kevin Matusow, Ira Rosensweig | Principal Cast: Melvin Gregg, ( “The United States vs. Billie Holiday”), Bradley Whitford (“Get Out,” “The West Wing”), Alice Braga (“ Suicide Squad”), Danielle Campbell (“Tell Me a Story”) | World Premiere
Swarm | Drama, Thriller | A spellbinding thriller of family conflict and longing for freedom on a remote island. | Country: Poland | Director(s): Bartek Bala | Producer(s): Łukasz Sió dmok, Bartek Bala, Tomasz Langner | Principal Cast: Roma Gąsiorowska, Eryk Lubos, Adam Wojciechowski, Tosia Litwiniak | World Premiere
There’s No Rain in Hell | Drama | A city stands after the apocalypse, no location, no time. When the war starts, all hell breaks loose and only eight people survive—each protecting something which represents a strand of life in a place where there is no sight of existence. | Country: Iran | Director(s): Zahra Shahhatami | Producer(s): Ali Shahhatami | Principal Cast: Nader Fallah, Alireza Kamali, Pantea Cyrus, Erfan Ebrahimi, Aram Khadem, Alireza Mehran, Iliya Dehghan, Fatemeh Mortazi, Esmaeel Khalaj | World Premiere
Tomorrow | Fantasy, Drama | A bright young girl struggles to find her way home when she starts inexplicably waking up in a different body every day. | Country: United States | Director(s): Kellen Gibbs | Producer(s): Donald Nguyen, Kellen Gibbs, Kurtis Anton | Principal Cast: Charity Rose, Julia Parker, Richard Neil, Zachary Ray Sherman, Arthur Roberts, Tessa Espinola, Diego Medellin, Jane Edwina Seymour, Jordan Knapp, Kally Khourshid, Anna Telfer, Brandon Knabe | World Premiere
Valley of Exile | Drama | Two sisters arrive in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley at the onset of the Syrian war, embarking on a journey into exile that tests their loyalty to their country, family, and each other. | Country: Canada, Lebanon | Director(s): Anna Fahr | Producer(s): Anna Fahr, Lara Abou Saifan | Principal Cast: Maria Hassan, Hala Hosni, Michel Hourany, Najwa Kondakji, Joy Hallak, Sajed Amer | World Premiere
Wintertide | Sci-Fi, Horror, Drama | Beth, a volunteer watch-person of an isolated northern city, battles a plague that transforms the city’s few remaining residents into zombie-like automatons. She discovers that by entering an alternate dimension through her own dreams, she’s able to stave off the illness during the possibly endless winter. But will her power be enough to sustain her? | Country: Canada | Director(s): John Barnard | Producer(s): Tony Wosk, John Barnard | Principal Cast: Niamh Carolan, Solange Sookram, Jeremy Walmsley | World Premiere
FEATURE FILMS: US PREMIERES
Brothers Broken | Documentary | The story of two baby boomer musical brothers who grew up in San Jose, California, had a hit record, and joined Scientology. It destroyed their band and separated the brothers for 28 years. This is a tale about second chances and awakening. | Country: United States | Director(s): Geoff Levin, Lily Richards | Producer(s): Leslie Bates, Geoff Levin | Principal Cast: Robbie Levin, Geoff Levin, Mike Rinder, Tony Ortega, Rick Springfield, John Tristao, Dennis Fridkin, Gene Mason | United States Premiere
Carnifex | Thriller, Horror | As Australia recovers from unprecedented bushfires, Bailey, an aspiring documentarian joins conservationists Grace and Ben as they travel deep into the Australian outback to track and record animals in the aftermath of the fires. As night falls, the well-equipped trio discover a new terrifying species, which begins hunting them. | Country: Australia | Director(s): Sean Lahiff | Producer(s): Helen Leake, Gena Helen Ashwell | Principal Cast: Alexandra Park, Sisi Stringer, Harry Greenwood | United States Premiere
Catching The Pirate King | Documentary | A deep dive into the most incredible yet true story of modern day pirates. This story looks into the fate of the Belgian ship, The Pompei, and the dedicated team who did everything they could to free the 10-man crew. | Country: Belgium | Director(s): Lennart Stuyck, Maarten Stuyck | Producer(s): Maarten Bernaerts, Bram Conjaerts, Barbara Dyck | Principal Cast: Documentary subjects | United States Premiere
A Cautionary Tale | Documentary | A man fights a lone, harrowing battle against a Kafkaesque system that refuses to recognize he’s alive—and the story behind the story is much more than anyone could have imagined. | Country: United Kingdom | Director(s): Ilinca Calugareanu | Producer(s): Mara Adina, Anamaria Antoci | Principal Cast: Constantin Reliu, Ilinca Calugareanu, Jonathan Stanners, Aurica Constantin, Cristian Calinita, Ermina Teodorescu, Cornel Teodorescu | United States Premiere
Deadlock | Drama | Two married couples from opposite social classes who seem to have nothing in common are brought together by momentous events that will bind them for the rest of their lives. | Country: Slovenia | Director(s): Vinko Mö derndorfer | Producer(s): Eva Rohrman | Principal Cast: Mirjam Korbar, Peter Musevski, Uroš Fürst, Barbara Cerar | United States Premiere
Hope, Soledad | Drama | In Oaxaca, Mexico, Hope, a college student seeking a sense of self in her mother’s land after being displaced from the US, meets Soledad, a woman struggling to free herself from the ghost of her deceased lover and end her marriage. Together, they walk in communion with local pilgrims to ease their suffering. | Country: Mexico | Director(s): Yolanda Cruz | Producer(s): Luis Fernando Guizar, Yolan- da Cruz | Principal Cast: Frida Cruz, Karen Daneida | United States Premiere
The Gigantes | Drama | Drowning in debt, JJ, a young woman from the US, escapes from Los Angeles to Baja in search of an old lover. She never planned to have a 14-year-old Mexican teenager change the direction of her trip, as well as her path in life. | Country: Mexico | Director(s): Beatriz Sanchis | Producer(s): Inna Payan, Luis Salinas, Nicole Maynard, Rogelio Coyotl | Principal Cast: Samantha Smith, Andrea Sutton, Regina Orozco, Pedro de Tavira, Krystian Ferrer | United States Premiere
Kaymak | Drama, Comedy | A rich young couple are on top of the world when a distant relative comes to live with them. Meanwhile, the neighbors below are feeling left behind when the husband starts an affair. Director(s): Milcho Manchevski | Producer(s): Jane Kortoshev | Principal Cast: Sara Klimoska, Kamka Tocinovski, Aleksandar Mikic, Simona Spirovska, Ana Stojanovska, Filip Trajkovikj | United States Premiere
Midnight At the Paradise | Drama, Romance | In one evening, three couples at various stages of their relationships come to appreciate that all marriages require equal doses of delusion, forgiveness, laughter, hope, and sexual chemistry in this magical romantic drama. | Country: Canada | Director(s): Vanessa Matsui | Producer(s): Bill Robertson | Principal Cast: Liane Balaban, Allan Hawco, Kenneth Welsh, Ryan Allen, Emma Ferreira, Kate Trotter | United States Premiere
Mother | Drama | Facing a choice between conceiving via in-vitro with her husband and adapting her life-transforming theater program for orphans in Africa, Elena will reinvent the word “ mother.” Inspired by a true story. | Country: Bulgaria | Director(s): Zornitsa Sophia | Producer(s): Zornitsa Sophia Popgantcheva | Principal Cast: Daria Simeonova, Leon Lucev, Peris Wambui, Steve Matias, Daria Dimitrova, Lamar Munene | United States Premiere
New Normal | Comedy, Thriller | Seoul 2022: Six people’s lives intersect in unexpected and ominous ways over the course of four days, as they each face danger, chaos, love, and…something else. | Country: Republic of Korea | Director(s): JUNG Bum-shik | Producer(s): PARK Min-woo, CHOI Jin | Principal Cast: CHOI Ji-woo, LEE Yu-mi, CHOI Min-ho, PYO Ji-hoon, JEONG Dong-won, HA Da-in | United States Premiere
On The Line | Thriller | Alderney, 1964. Agnes, a 24-year-old who works alone as a switchboard operator, uses her powers of deduction and local knowledge to help the police track an abduction. But things take a turn for the worse when she realizes everything is not as it seems. | Country: United Kingdom | Director(s): Oliver Pearn | Producer(s): Oliver Pearn | Principal Cast: Victoria Lucie, Royce Pierreson, Harriet Walter, Joanne Rogers | United States Premiere
Red Shoes | Drama | An old peasant’s life passes slowly in a lost town in the Mexican mountains until he receives news from the capital, prompting him to face a brutal and unknown world in search of redemption. | Country: Mexico | Director(s): Carlos Eichelmann Kaiser | Producer(s): Gabriela Maldonado, Paolo Ansaldi, Alejandro De Icaza, Maria Pia Billi | Principal Cast: Eustacio Arcaico, Natalia Solián, Panie Molina | United States Premiere
Scent of Linden | Comedy | Stefan moves into the Bulgarian enclave in suburban Tennessee where comical rivalries, suspicions, and hijinks conspire to come between him and his American Dream. | Country: United States | Director(s): Sissy Denkova | Producer(s): Sissy Denkova, Megan Kay Jordan | Principal Cast: Ivan Barnev, Albena Koleva, Toncho Tokmakchiev, Yoana Bukovska-Davidova, Maria Bobeva, Albena Mihova | United States Premiere
Scrap | Drama | The engrossing story of a young single-mom who, after getting laid off, finds herself living in her car and struggling to hide her homelessness from her estranged brother and his wife. | Country: United States | Director(s): Vivian Kerr | Producer(s): Vivian Kerr, Rachel Stander | Principal Cast: Vivian Kerr (“Grey’s Anatomy,” “Criminal Minds”), Anthony Rapp, ( “Rent,” “Star Trek: Discovery”), Lana Parrilla (“Once Upon a Time”), Beth Dover, Khleo Thomas | United States Premiere
Tabula Rasa | Drama | In India, a juvenile home warden and an actor struggling to create art meet a 14-year-old girl with a dark past. Together, these three lost souls create a home away from home. | Country: India | Director(s): Nawneet Ranjan | Producer(s): Malti Lal, Radha Raman Lal, Nawneet Ranjan, Anil Somaia, Zarna Somaia, Donna Laemmlen | Principal Cast: Rajat Kapoor, Swastika Mukherjee, Aishani Yadav | United States Premiere
Till Love Do Us Part | Drama | During a work trip to Prague, 30-year-old college lecturer Shu falls madly in love with a theater director, despite the fact that she has a fiancé to marry and a decent middle-class life in China. | Director(s): Ran Li | Producer(s): Ran Li, Michal Sikora | Principal Cast: Liang Cuishan, Zhang Ninghao, Ren Bin | United States Premiere
Welcome to the Family | Comedy, Romance | Leonid Ivanovich is a criminal mastermind who only loves two things in the world: his daughter Mira and being the “ Godfather.” Sasha falls in love at first sight with Mia, knowing nothing about her family. Now, Sasha has to try not to lose his hand and heart before the wedding. | Country: Belarus | Director(s): Vladimir Zinkevich | Producer(s): Vladimir Zinkevich, Olga Kornilova, Pavel Dyatko, Hanna Lebedeva | Principal Cast: Vladimir Sychev, Svetlana Kamynina, Peter Buslov, Kristina Stroiteleva, Vyacheslav Morozov, Rostislav Bershauer, Alexei Maslodudov, Yulia Topolnitskaya, Tornike Kvitatiani, Sergey Ivanyuk, Dmitriy Krasilov | United States Premiere
FEATURE FILMS: HIGH PROFILE NOTABLES
7000 Miles | Drama | A passionate pilot is challenged by her grandmother to live life on her own terms, but finds herself at a crossroads when that could mean revealing her grandmother’s long-buried secrets. | Country: Belarus | Director(s): Amy Glazer | Producer(s): Deborah Glazier, Alixzandra Rothschild, Amy Glazer, Wendie Malick, Sterling Watson, Owen Seidel, Raymond Wood, Linda Rothschild, Jen Prince, Jhennifer Webberley | Principal Cast: Wendie Malick, ( “Just Shoot Me,” “Hot in Cleveland”), Alixzandra Dove, Juliet Mills, Maxwell Caulfield, Ray Abruzzo, Laird Akeo
Abruptio | Sci-Fi, Horror | The story of Les Hackel, a guy down on his luck who wakes to find an explosive device has been implanted in his neck. He must carry out heinous crimes in order to stay alive while trying to identify the mastermind manipulating the now twisted and strange world around him. | Country: United States | Director(s): Evan Marlowe | Producer(s): Kerry Marlowe | Principal Cast: James Marsters ( “Buffy The Vampire Slayer”), Hana Mae Lee, Robert Englund (“A Nightmare on Elm Street”), Sid Haig (“House of 1000 Corpses”), Jordan Peele (“Get Out” ), Christopher McDonald (“Thelma and Louise”), Darren Darnborough, Rich Fulcher
The Adults | Drama, Comedy | Eric returns home for a short visit but finds himself caught between reuniting with his sisters and chasing a victory with his old poker group. As the trip extends, the carefully constructed façade of his adulthood gives way to old childhood conflicts. | Director(s): Dustin Guy Defa | Producer(s): Allison Rose Carter, Jon Read, Michael Cera, Julia Thompson, Hannah Dweck, Theodore Schaefer | Principal Cast: Michael Cera (“Juno, ” “Superbad”), Hannah Gross (“Joker,” “Mindhunter”), Sophia Lillis ( “It,” “Dungeons and Dragons”)
Amerikatsi | Drama | Charlie has lived in America most of his life, but when he tries to repatriate back to Armenia, he’s greeted with the harsh reality of 1947 Soviet Communism and is thrown in prison. He eventually discovers a hole in a prison wall through which he can see into a nearby apartment building, and that’s when his world begins to open again…and change. | Country: Armenia | Director(s): Michael Goorjian | Producer(s): Patrick Malkassian, Sol Tryon, Arman Nshanian | Principal Cast: Michael Goorjian, Hovik Keuchkerian, Nelli Uvarova, Mikhail Trukhin, Narine Gigoryan
Beyond | Documentary | Tamara Mark, a once rising Broadway and Hollywood star, is a full-time single mother of two nonverbal autistic adults. She fights for her dream of building a safe and supportive community for all those like her children. | Country: United States | Director(s): Thiago Dadalt | Producer(s): Dru Miller, Bruna Nogueira, Damaris Pinheiro | Principal Cast: Tamara Mark, Ian and Harry, Marc Olsen
Billion Dollar Babies: The True Story of the Cabbage Patch Kids | Documentary | The unbelievable but true story of the toy craze that started it all, and its legacy of chaos that put the wheels of modern-day Black Friday shopping riots into motion. | Country: United States | Director(s): Andrew Jenks (“ Dream/Killer,” “World of Jenks”) | Producer(s): Dan Goodman, Brian Hunt | Narrated by Neil Patrick Harris (“A Series of Unfortunate Events,” “How I Met Your Mother,” “Gone Girl”)
Bobcat Moretti | Drama | A powerful psychological “Rocky” meets “My Left Foot” drama about an obese Multiple Sclerosis patient who takes up his late father’s sport of boxing to overcome immense personal tragedy and find inner peace. | Country: United States | Director(s): Rob Margolies | Producer(s): Rob Margolies, Vivica A. Fox, Taryn Manning | Principal Cast: Tim Realbuto (“Yes,” “The Sopranos” ), Vivica A. Fox (“Kill Bill,” “Soul Food”), Taryn Manning (“Orange is the New Black,” “Hustle and Flow”), Sally Kirkland (“Anna”), Matt Peters (“ Weeds”), Louis Mustillo, Matt McCoy, Mindy Sterling, Sheria Irving, Carl McDowell, Jayden Rey, Jay Hieron, Coolio
Bolan’s Shoes | Drama | A tumultuous journey from the height of T. Rex mania in 1970s Liverpool to the present-day poignancy of what would have been Marc Bolan’s 75th birthday. It captures the heady exhilaration of glam rock mania through the experiences of a group of over-excited kids from a local children’s home before a devastating road accident changes their lives forever. | Country: United Kingdom | Director(s): Ian Puleston-Davies | Producer(s): Terri Dwyer, Dean Fisher | Principal Cast: Timothy Spall ( “Harry Potter”), Leanne Best (“Star Wars: The Force Awakens”), Mark Lewis Jones (“Star Wars: The Last Jedi”)
Call Me Mule | A nomadic man embarks on an arduous 500-mile journey with three mules to deliver a message to the Governor of California. A powerful observational documentary on the nomadic lifestyle of the American West. | Country: United States | Director(s): John McDonald, Nina Schwanse | Producer(s): John McDonald | Principal Cast: John Sears
Danny Goes Aum | Drama, Romance | The spiritual and emotional journey of burned-out British video editor Danny, as he travels to the same beach town in Goa, India where his parents met during the 70s heydays of hippiedom. There, he finds inspiration…and perhaps love. | Country: India | Director(s): Sandeep Mohan | Producer(s): Sandeep Mohan | Principal Cast: Andrew Sloman, Anjali Patil, Marianne Borgo, Avinash Kuri, Eunice Wlcek
Destiny on the Main Stage | Documentary | An intimate portrait of four women trying to make ends meet while searching for themselves. Mothers, daughters, sisters, and servants of God, they navigate the complex facets of being a woman. | Country: United States | Director(s): Poppy de Villeneuve | Producer(s): Chloe Hall, Madeleine Sandersin | Principal Cast: Shelsea Milton, Tatum Dryer, Polly Wright, Monica Jackson
Double Down South | Thriller | In the dangerous high-stakes world of illegal pool gambling, Diana, a smart and tough newcomer, charms veteran Nick into taking her under his wing. They prepare to risk it all to defeat the world champion, but soon find themselves in much more danger than they ever imagined. | Country: United States | Director(s): Tom Schulman | Producer(s): Rick Wallace, Sara Sometti Michaels, Seth Michaels | Principal Cast: Lili Simmons (“Banshee,” “True Detective,” “ Ray Dono- van”), Kim Coates (“Sons of Anarchy”), Igby Rigney, Tom Bower, Justin Marcel McManus, Rebecca Lines, Cameron Cowperthwaite (“American Horror Story, “Shameless”)
East Bay | Comedy, Drama, Romance | Jack is a Korean-American man, who at age thirty-nine, decides he’s done trying to be happy and successful. Suspicious that we’re all in a simulation anyway, he lazily explores spirituality. In the process, his psyche unravels and he blows up the lives of those around him. | Director(s): Daniel Yoon | Producer(s): Daniel Yoon | Principal Cast: Constance Wu (“ Crazy Rich Asians,” “Fresh Off the Boat”), Kavi Ramachandran Ladnier, Daniel Yoon, Edmund Sim, Destry Miller, Melissa Pond, Chung-Bin Yoon, Taek-Soon Yoon, Jennifer Chang, Dougald Park
The Effects of Lying | Comedy | Dutiful husband and loving father, Naveen’s life falls apart when decades of festering secrets are exposed and he’s forced to face up to who he really is. A comedy with real heart that offers a new, urgent representation of contemporary South Asian families. | Country: United Kingdom | Director(s): Isher Sahota | Producer(s): Jon Tarcy | Principal Cast: Ace Bhatti, Laila Rouass, Lauren Patel, Navin Chowdhry, Mark Williams (“ Arthur Weasley” from The Harry Potter franchise), Shaheen Khan, Bhasker Patel, Adam Bregman
Everybody Wants To Be Loved | Comedy, Drama | Psychotherapist Ina wants to please all the self-centered people in her life, including her patients, daughter, boyfriend, and mother. But then everything changes. | Country: Germany | Director(s): Katharina Woll | Principal Cast: Anne Ratte-Polle, Lea Drinda, Ulrike Willenbacher, Urs Jucker, Jonas Hien, Hassan Akkouch
Fresh Kills | Drama | Jennifer Esposito’s filmmaking debut shines a light on the never-before-seen women of the beloved mob movie genre. | Country: United States | Director(s): Jennifer Esposito | Producer(s): Leslie Owen, Jennifer Esposito, Samantha Sprecher, Christine Crokos | Principal Cast: Emily Bader (“Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin”), Odessa A’zion (“Hellraiser ”), Jennifer Esposito (“Crash,” “Blue Bloods”), Domenick Lombardozzi (“The Irishman”), Annabella Sciorra (“The Sopranos, ” “Truth Be Told”), Nicholas Cirillo (“She-Hulk”)
Good Egg | Comedy | Jessica is a lot of things–a New York City high school drama teacher, a loving wife to her nerdy husband Gordon, and two weeks shy of turning forty. But, she’s not a mother…yet. | Country: United States | Director(s): Nicole Gomez Fisher | Producer(s): Dorottya Mathe, Yara Martinez, Nicole Gomez Fisher | Principal Cast: Yara Martinez, Joel Johnstone, Andrea Londo, Nick Cirillo, Nick Creegan, Shary Allan, Haas Manning, Priscilla Lopez
Greener Pastures | Documentary | An urgent and intimate look at America, told through the stories of farmers living at the intersection of climate change, globalization, and a mental health crisis. | Country: United States | Director(s): Samuel-Ali Mirpoorian | Producer(s): Ian Kibbe, Samuel-Ali Mirpoorian | Principal Cast: Jeff Ditzenberger, Chris Petersen, Becky Higgins, Jay Simeral, Juliette Albrecht
Gringa | Comedy, Drama | The beautiful story of a young girl, Large Marge Bickford, who after a great loss, flees to Mexico in search of the father she barely knows. | Country: United States | Director(s): EJ Foerster, Marny Eng | Producer(s): EJ Foerster, Marny Eng, Eric Hedayat, Eric Reid | Principal Cast: Steve Zahn ( “The White Lotus”), Jess Gabor (“Shameless”), Roselyn Sanchez (“Fantasy Island”), Judy Green (“Jurassic World”), Jorge A Jimenez
The Grotto | Drama, Romance | The tale of Alice, who just inherited half ownership of a desert nightclub and must take a leap of faith while forces (both seen and unseen) beckon her toward her future. | Country: United States | Director(s): Joanna Gleason (“ Into the Woods”) | Producer(s): Sean Akers, Tim Kirkman, Todd Shotz, Kelly Woyan, Laure Sudreau | Principal Cast: Betsy Brandt (“Breaking Bad”), Jonathan Del Arco, Dan Bucatinsky, Steve Kazee, Susan Sullivan, Miguel Sandoval, Caroline Aaron, Michael Nouri, Amy Aquino, Lindsay Mendez, Kevin Chamberliln
Hundreds of Beavers | Comedy | Ever wondered what it would be like if a Looney Tunes cartoon came to life? This supernatural winter epic set in the 19th century follows a drunken applejack salesman who must go from zero to hero and become North America’s greatest fur trapper by defeating hundreds of beavers. | Country: United States | Director(s): Mike Cheslik | Producer(s): Matt Sabljak, Kurt Ravenwood | Principal Cast: Ryland Brickson Cole Tews, Olivia Graves, Doug Mancheski, Wes Tank, Lu Rico
I’m Okay, We’re Okay | Drama | On a road trip with her unfaithful boyfriend, Ellie discovers she has DID (once called “ multiple personality disorder”) and that her fractured identities reveal clues about her mysterious past. | Country: United States | Director(s): Adrienne Acevedo Lovette | Producer(s): Adrienne Acevedo Lovette, John A. Rice, Elod Zoltan Filyo, Ella Jane New | Principal Cast: Adrienne Acevedo Lovette, John A. Rice, Ella Jane New, David Rey, Joseph Castillo-Midyett, Gisela Chipe
The Island In Me | Documentary | Three women travel to the remote atoll of Pukapuka in the Cook Islands to reconnect with their identity in this poetic and reflective story on memory, loss, and the universal search for wholeness. | Country: United States | Director(s): Gemma Cubero del Barrio | Producer(s): Gemma Cubero del Barrio | Principal Cast: Florence Ngatokorua “ Johnny” Tiane Frisbie, Amelia Rachel Hokuleʻa Borofsky, Charles Mataa Frisbie, Nancy Schildt, Dr. Rob Borofsky, The People of Pukapuka
Know Your Place | Drama | Fifteen-year-olds Robel Haile (Eritrean-American) and Fahmi Tadesse (Ethiopian-American) set out to drop off a suitcase filled with medicine and cash to a friend traveling back to Eritrea due to a family member’s sudden illness. However, an unexpected turn transforms this simple errand into an odyssey across a rapidly gentrifying city. | Country: United States | Director(s): Zia Mohajerjasbi | Producer(s): Ty Walker, Zia Mohajerjasbi | Principal Cast: Joseph Smith, Natnael Mebrahtu, Selamawit Gebresus
Land of Gold | Drama | When truck driver Kiran hears pounding on a shipping container and finds a young Mexican-American girl inside, his already tumultuous life takes a drastic turn as he seeks to reunite her with her family. | Country: United States | Director(s): Nardeep Khurmi | Producer(s): Keertana Sastry, Pallavi Sastry, Simon Taufique, Nardeep Khurmi | Principal Cast: Nardeep Khurmi, Caroline Valencia (“Only Murders in the Building”), Pallavi Sastry, Riti Sachdeva, Iqbal Theba, Karen David ( “Barry,” “Fear the Walking Dead,”), Tina Parker (“Better Call Saul,” “Breaking Bad”)
Minnesota Mean | Documentary | A story about the pounding heart of roller derby: powerful, self-sufficient women, as they experience triumph, loss, strength, determination, and a search for balance between individuality and community. | Country: United States | Director(s): Dawn Mikkelson | Producer(s): Dawn Mikkelson | Principal Cast: Shiver Me Kimbers, Smoka Hontas, Hurtrude Stein, Brickyard, Diamond Rough, Switch Please.
Miranda’s Victim | Thriller, Drama | The riveting story behind one of the most famous civil rights cases of the past century shines powerfully with an all-star cast. | Country: United States | Director(s): Michelle Danner | Producer(s): George Kolber, Brian Drillinger, Michelle Danner, Valerie Debler, Alexandra Guarnieri | Principal Cast: Abigail Breslin ( “Little Miss Sunshine”), Ryan Phillippe (“Crash”), Luke Wilson (“The Royal Tenenbaums”), Emily VanCamp (“Revenge ”), Mireille Enos (“Lucky Hank”), Enrique Murciano (“Without a Trace”), Josh Bowman (“Revenge”), Sebastian Quinn, Brent Sexton, Taryn Manning (“ Orange Is The New Black”), Nolan Gould (“Modern Family”), Andy Garcia (“Ocean’s Eleven”), Donald Sutherland (“ The Hunger Games”)
Oliver & the Pool | Drama, Comedy, Romance | In the heart of Mexico City, a 13-year-old only child sets the urn that contains his father’s ashes next to a poolside chaise lounge, and decides he will stay right there while he mourns, learns to forgive, and falls in love. | Country: Mexico | Director(s): Arcadi Palerm-Artis | Producer(s): Milko Luis Coronel, Arcadi Palerm-Artis | Principal Cast: Monica Huarte, Alejandro Arena, Jorge Karate, Jacobo Lieberman, Cesar Troncoso, Camila Calonico
Passenger C | Drama | A quasi documentary-docudrama reconstruction of actual events as recollected by the film’s director of a mid-flight incident, the aftermath, and a surprising redemption. | Country: United States | Director(s): Cassian Elwes | Producer(s): Michael Kastenbaum, Veronica Ferres | Principal Cast: Jon Jacobs, Eric Brunei, Mary-Bonner Baker, Cheri Moon
RADIOACTIVE: The Women of Three Mile Island | Documentary | An award-winning documentary about the 1979 Three Mile Island meltdown—the worst commercial nuclear accident in US history. These are the never-before-told stories of four intrepid homemakers, the two lawyers who took the local community’s case all the way to the Supreme Court, and a young female journalist who was caught in the radioactive crossfire. | Country: United States | Director(s): Heidi Hutner | Producer(s): Heidi Hutner, Simeon Hutner, Judith Helfand | Principal Cast: Beth Drazba, Paula Kinney, Linda Braasch, Joyce Corradi, Heidi Hutner, Jane Fonda (Grace and Frankie), Aaron Datesman, Joanne Dorooshow, Lynne Bernabei
The Secret Song | Documentary | “The Secret Song” chronicles the final months of Doug Goodkin’s fabled 45-year career teaching music to children in San Francisco. Goodkin’s time-tested methods are thrown into disarray as the pandemic forces schools to implement “ distance learning,” and a music program that always prioritized singing and learning “through the ear, not through the eye” has to adapt to an online format. | Country: United States | Director(s): Samantha Campbell | Producer(s): Rachel Benson, Todd Dayton | Principal Cast: Doug Goodkin
Scrapper | Comedy, Drama | Georgie, a dreamy 12-year-old girl, happily lives alone in her London flat, filling it with magic. Suddenly, her estranged father turns up and forces her to confront reality. | Country: United Kingdom | Director(s): Charlotte Regan | Producer(s): Theo Barrowclough | Principal Cast: Harris Dickinson ( “Triangle of Sadness”), Lola Campbell, Alin Uzun, Ambreen Razia, Olivia Brady, Aylin Tezel
Shadow of the Night | Drama, Thriller | Nandhu, a wealthy film financier wanted in connection with a death for which he may be responsible, is absconding from the media and the police. Trying to get away from everything and everyone, he struggles with guilt while searching for the man responsible for it all. | Country: India | Director(s): Radhakrishnan Parthiban | Producer(s): Radhakrishnan Parthiban, Keerthana Parthiepan | Principal Cast: Radhakrishnan Parthiban, Varalakshmi Sarathkumar, Robo Shankar, Brigida Saga | Scored by legendary composer A.R. Rahman
Sloane, A Jazz Singer | Documentary | Legendary singer Carol Sloane prepares for one final live recording in New York City while reflecting on her storied but largely unknown career involving some of the greatest names in music, from Ella Fitzgerald to The Rolling Stones. | Country: United States | Director(s): Michael Lippert | Producer(s): Donna Campbell, Georgann Eubanks | Principal Cast: Carol Sloane (self), Mike Renzi (self), Catherine Russell (self), Stephen Barefoot (self)
Sometimes I Think About Dying | Comedy, Romance | A funny and romantic story about drawing one’s own roadmap in life. | Country: United States | Director(s): Rachel Lambert | Producer(s): Alex Saks, Daisy Ridley, Dori Rath, Lauren Beveridge, Brett Beveridge | Principal Cast: Daisy Ridley ( “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”), Dave Merheje (“Ramy”), Parvesh Cheena (“Shining Vale”), Marcia Debonis (“Orange Is The New Black”), Meg Stalter ( “Hacks”), Brittany O’Grady (“The White Lotus”)
Star Wars Kid: The Rise of the Digital Shadows | Documentary | In this Mathieu Fournier documentary on the first viral phenomenon of the digital age, Ghyslain Raza breaks his silence and reflects on his story for the first time. In doing so, he also explores our collective experience living in an online world in which we have to make peace with our digital shadows. | Country: Canada | Director(s): Mathieu Fournier | Producer(s): Annie Bourdeau (URBANIA), Pierre-Mathieu Fortin (NFB) | Principal Cast: Ghyslain Raza (the “Star Wars Kid”)
Story Ave | Drama | A teenage graffiti artist from the South Bronx who ran away from home holds up an unwary Puerto Rican MTA conductor in a robbery gone right that will change both their lives forever. | Country: United States | Director(s): Aristotle Torres | Producer(s): Jamie Foxx ( “Django Unchained”), Lizzie Shapiro, Aristotle Torres | Principal Cast: Luis Guzmán (“Traffic,” “Boogie Nights”), Asante Blackk (“This Is Us”), Melvin Gregg (“Snowfall,” “Share? ”)
This is a Film About My Mother | Drama | Two siblings in upstate New York reconnect a year after their mother’s passing and find their differences are what makes them stronger together. | Country: United States | Director(s): Tess Harrison | Producer(s): Frankie Wagner, Marisol Sacramento | Principal Cast: Tess Harrison, Will Harrison
Two Lives in Pittsburgh | Drama | Confronted by his mother’s illness and his child’ s exploration of gender, a traditional blue-collar guy is torn between who he has always been and who his child needs him to be. | Country: United States | Director(s): Brian Silverman | Producer(s): Lola Noh, Brian Silverman, Tiffany Murray | Principal Cast: Brian Silverman, Annie O’Donnell, Emma Basques, Mark McClain Wilson, Casey Braxton, Sky Elobar, Delissa Reynolds, Trevi Williams, Robert John Brewer
Under The Influencer | Comedy, Drama, Romance | A successful Youtuber is aging out of the social media platform of her mid-20s and struggling to redefine herself in the world beyond her social media bubble. Country: United States | Director(s): Alex Haughey | Producer(s): Masha Ko, Kelton White, Marlaina Smith, Alex Haughey, Anna Grigorian | Principal Cast: Taylor Joree Scorse, Spencer Vaughn Kelly, Sara Young Chandler
Under Water | Comedy | In this offbeat comedy-drama, a woman and her soon-to-be ex-husband returns to her childhood home to confront her mother, an avid doomsday prepper. | Country: Netherlands | Director(s): Edgar Kapp, Kuba Szutkowski | Producer(s): Julia van de Graaff | Principal Cast: Elisa Beuger, Julia van de Graaff, Stijn Westenend, Jack Wouterse
Unpacking | Comedy | Six women, sold on the promise of radical transformation, travel to Bali into the hands of an influencer guru and get slapped with reality: change is messy AF. | Country: United States | Director(s): Alexandra Clayton, Michal Sinnott | Producer(s): Alexandra Clayton, Michal Sinnott | Principal Cast: Dania Arancha, Sam Bianchini, Katie Braden, Alexandra Clayton, Gandhi Fernando, Natalie Mitchell, Jessica Rotondi, Michal Sinnott, Stephanie Ann Whited
When We Were Shuttle | Documentary | An inspirational exploration of the Space Shuttle Program through the eyes of some of the exceptional men and women who worked behind-the-scenes to make it fly. Through their recollections and personal archives, we get to the core of the humanity behind the program, gaining a grassroots look at Shuttle’s legacy. | Country: United States | Director(s): Zachary Weil | Producer(s): Giovanna Aguilar, Eynar Pineda, Zachary Weil
The Young Arsonists | Drama | A multi-award-winning film—set in the 80s amongst the sparse landscape of an isolated farming community—that follows four restless adolescent girls as they band together to escape their troubled lives by reclaiming an abandoned farmhouse as their own. | Country: Canada | Director(s): Sheila Pye | Producer(s): Agata Smoluch Del Sorbo, Sonya Di Rienzo, Aeschylus Poulos | Principal Cast: Maddy Martin, Jenna Warren, Sadie Rose, Madison Baines
A Zebra-Riding Boy | Drama, Romance, Fantasy | Poor bowlegged teenager Zuo Lin has a small dream to ride a horse in the most prosperous place of the city, and the sad wooden horse cavalry, the happy zebra cavalry, the bleak and sad iron cavalry, the brilliant paper cavalry all melt into one. | Country: China | Director(s): Fan Xiaotian, Chen Juzhi | Producer(s): Jiang Cheng | Principal Cast: Guo Junchen, Eleanor Lee, Xie Chengze, Hou Changrong
Cinequest Partners: Jay Paul Company, The Wolff Family, Adobe Foundation (ADBE), City of San Jose, Valley Health Foundation, James Boyce Trust & Kris Otis, Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT), Kaiser Permanente, Campbell Foundation, GOOGLE (NASDAQ: GOOGL), California Arts Council, Urban Community, Westbank, Metro Silicon Valley, NBC Bay Area, Telemundo 48, Capital Group, The Continental Bar Lounge & Patio, Silicon Valley Community Foundation, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Agile Ticketing Solutions, ShowPlace ICON Theatre, iHeartMedia, El Observador, San Mateo Journal, Content Magazine, YELP, Topo Chico, TETRA Hotel, AC Hotel Sunnyvale Moffett Park, Signia by Hilton, Hotel Citrine, AC Hotel Palo Alto, Hyatt Centric Mountain View, Sares-Regis Community Foundation, The Morrison & Foerster Foundation, ZOOM (NASDAQ: ZM), Loop & Tie, J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines, Drake’s Brewing Company, and Redwood City Arts Commission (This is a partial list.)
About Cinequest: Cinequest fuses innovation with the arts to empower great creations and to connect audiences, youth, artists, and innovators with these creations and with each other—forging community, joy, and our future. Set in Silicon Valley, Cinequest’s uniqueness, impact, and legacy result from applying this powerful integration of creativity and technology to democratize opportunity and to transform lives. Cinequest does this through the Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival, Cinejoy Virtual Festival, Maverick Studio, and Picture The Possibilities global youth programs.
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Exploring an abandoned British mansion once owned by a mysterious archaeologist, a group of vloggers stumbles upon an evil presence lurking in its walls.
What makes a sex scene sexy? More to the point, what makes a sex scene good? That’s become an especially thorny question in recent years, with detailed accounts of what goes on behind the scenes of movies we love complicating our relationship with their most memorable moments. And though we’re ever so slowly moving away from the male gaze serving as the default perspective on love, sex, and everything between, there’s still a long way to go.
That is, if sex scenes still appear in movies at all. They do, but with greater infrequency, certainly in Hollywood studio productions. Though many think-pieces have been written about “the death of the sex scene” there’s still been a lot to celebrate over the last 23 years. A number of sex-positive, LGBTQ-friendly, and otherwise forward-thinking filmmakers have directed scenes that are as steamy as they are moving. There’s nothing missionary about the movies below — S&M, threesomes, self-love, peaches, and puppet sex all abound — but there is substance to these sex scenes. Here are the best sex scenes in cinematic history, listed chronologically from 2000 to 2023.
Samantha Bergeson, Jude Dry, David Ehrlich, Kate Erbland, Eric Kohn, Jenna Marotta, Noel Murray, Michael Nordine, Chris O’Falt, Jamie Righetti, and Zack Sharf also contributed to this list.
[Editor’s note: This list was published in 2017, and has been updated multiple times since.]
Gina Prince-Bythewood’s 2000 romance “Love & Basketball” is memorable for its star-studded cast —Alfre Woodard, Regina Hall, Dennis Haysbert, and Gabrielle Union — and kicking off the portrayal of the WNBA in cinema. But it’s the love scene between childhood soulmates Monica (Sanaa Lathan) and Quincy (Omar Epps) that is among our top tender love scenes of all time. Why? Well, it’s the pent-up emotion between the two characters spanning a decade together that grounds this sports movie-meets-rom-com.
Prince-Bythewood previously described the scene as a feminist fantasy of what a woman’s first sexual experience should feel like. “I kind of wanted to give a blueprint for boys and girls of what to expect,” the director told Madame Noire. “Love & Basketball” even first earned an R rating from the MPA because the sex scene felt too “real” despite a lack of onscreen nudity. Eventually, the film landed a PG-13, but that sex scene is still just as powerfully memorable. —SB
“Tigerland” (2000)
“Tigerland”
You’d be forgiven for never having watched (or even heard of) Joel Schumacher’s “Tigerland,” an early digital feature about a ragtag group of draftees waiting to go die in Vietnam; very few people saw the movie, but every one of them wanted to cast Colin Farrell in whatever they made next. Farrell plays Roland Bozz, a rebellious young soldier who specializes in helping guys wiggle out of the war, and we learn all about his fun-loving philosophy in a memorable early scene that forever redefines the term “grunt.”
Farrell and the most tight-assed member of his unit (Matthew Davis) sneak out to a strip club, where they run into two incredibly thirsty young ladies (Arian Ash and Haven Gaston). Roland announces he’s rented a hotel room where they’re all going to “fuck until the war’s over.” They don’t last quite that long, but the four actors do manage to engage in the sweatiest sex scene of the 21st century (and one of the loudest, to boot), Matthew Libatique’s DV cinematography infusing an intimacy to a scene that’s almost too seedy for its own good. Schumacher cuts things short, but all that humping makes it clear that there are better things to do in this life than get killed for nothing. —DE
“Y Tu Mamá También” (2001)
“Y Tu Mama También”
In Alfonso Cuarón’s ravishing coming of age drama, horny bros Julio (Gael García Bernal) and Tenoch (Diego Luna) launch on a freewheeling road trip with Luisa (Maribel Verdú), a sultry older woman whose husband has been cheating on her; on a whim, she decides to follow the guys on an extensive trip to the beach, where erotic hijinks ensue. Early in the movie, Julio and Tenoch’s sexual confidence collapses to great comic effect in separate encounters with the experienced Luisa, whose own desires speak to a deeper emotional frustration simmering just below the surface. After the trio feud and the boys nearly destroy their friendship, the group reunite at a dusty bar and get hammered, finally stabilizing their chemistry in a boisterous evening that culminates with the three of them hitting the sack together.
Unlike the fleeing earlier sex scenes, this one unfolds with a slow-burn passion and an unexpected homoerotic twist that brings unspoken aspects of Julio and Tenoch’s bond to the foreground with radical results. Imagine “Jules and Jim” with a progressive eye towards sexual liberation: Cuarón stages this bisexual union less as a kind of shock-and-awe revelation than the inevitable outcome of two men whose bond is so close it may as well lead to lust. It’s a powerful sequence so rich in ambiguity it remains one of Cuarón’s greatest achievements almost 20 years down the line. —EK
“Mulholland Drive” (2001)
“I’m in love with you.”David Lynch’s masterpiece veers between the horrific and the surreal from one scene to the next, but very rarely is it genuinely touching. Here, in Betty and Rita’s long-awaited love scene, it’s that and more — we finally see all the ways in which they not only desire one another but, on some cellular level that they’ll never fully understand, can’t exist without each other. Naomi Watts and Laura Elena Harring are tasked with a lot in the scene, conveying steamy passion and soul-baring longing all at once; that there isn’t a stitch of clothing between the two of them only makes the balancing act more impressive (and, yes, painfully sexy).
It’s a tender reprieve from the waking dream they find themselves navigating, together at first but then separately, and one that neither will enjoy waking from. —MN
Adrian Lyne’s last great film “Unfaithful” is stuffed with all manner of sex scenes, as Connie (Diane Lane) throws herself into oblivion over a sexy and insinuating, vaguely European book dealer named Paul (Olivier Martinez). Their feverishly unfettered affair finds them having sex in all the places, public and private, from a restaurant bathroom to a movie theater during a matinee. These two never met a place they couldn’t get down in.
But the film’s greatest throwdown arrives as Connie becomes consumed by jealousy, confronting Paul at his apartment over a possible other flame. In the heat of her flying out the door, he rips off her clothes and, well, takes her from the back in the hallway of his comically large Soho apartment, the sort that only exists in an Adrian Lyne movie. Connie’s utter tragic downfall is fascinating to watch — look for a key scene where she hastily wipes herself down in the bathroom of a commuter train, electrified — and here meets its apotheosis. —RL
“Secretary” (2002)
“Secretary”
Steven Shainberg’s 2002 romance is a sticky wicket — especially these days — detailing the burgeoning sadomasochistic relationship between timid, titular secretary Lee (Maggie Gyllenhaal) and her exceedingly demanding boss (James Spader). While Shainberg’s movie treats the kink respectfully — and, honestly, quite sexily — the film eventually moves into different waters, using it as a mechanism from which the two explore past traumas and attempt to move past them, literally healed by love.
When Spader’s Mr. Grey (tee hee) balks at the progression of their relationship, Lee refuses to give up on their love, eventually breaking him down and pushing them into a true romance. They consummate that choice with a truly tender love-making scene that still packs the pop of their earlier sequences, all with the added wallop of eternal emotion. —KE
“The Dreamers” (2003)
“The Dreamers”
The first of many sex scenes in Bernardo Bertolucci’s “The Dreamers” is, uh…well, it’s a bloody mess. Let’s start with Matthew (Michael Pitt). After weeks of palling around with a pair of vaguely incestuous French twins (Eva Green and Louis Garrel as Isabelle and Théo), the three kids hiding from the turmoil of the 1968 Paris student riots by staying cooped up inside the siblings’ apartments and playing all sorts of cinephile sex games, he and Isabelle finally break the fourth wall and deflower each other.
Théo doesn’t miss a moment of the action — on the contrary, he orchestrates the entire tryst, standing over his sister and her suitor as they writhe on top of each other on the kitchen floor. The further they go into each other the further they distance themselves from the outside world, and that can only end in a very rude awakening. But, for the first time since they initially discovered the movies, these crazy kids aren’t living their lives through a screen. —DE
“Swimming Pool” (2003)
“Swimming Pool”
The hallucinatory imagery of François Ozon’s film looks and feels like an erotic dream, but what makes it so sexy is the line is often blurred between what is a secret desire and open lust. It’s a dynamic that becomes incredibly charged in the relationship between a middle-aged British author (Charlotte Rampling) and a sexually liberated French teen (Ludivine Sagnier). In this scene the camera explores the young woman’s glistening sun-bathing body almost as if gently stroking her. When we see the shadow of Rampling standing over her, Ozon breaks continuity and enters a dream like state where the Sagnier is touching herself. Eyes closed as she masturbates, the sound makes it seem like it is almost shared experience, but it remains intensely private and voyeuristic. —CO
“Team America: World Police” (2004)
“Team America: World Police”
The most (in)famous moment in “South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s second movie is also the funniest. After professing their love for each other, two members of the eponymous counterterrorism force engage in the most graphic puppet sex you’ve ever seen — first with a quiet sensuality, and then with a level of kink that no live-action movie could hope to get past the MPAA. The scene is quite long, because it’s not as though Parker and Stone were going to restrain themselves when it came time to film their puppet-sex sequence, and increasingly hilarious as it goes on.
It’s also among the most over-the-top ridiculous set-pieces the two have ever devised — which is really, really saying something — as well as further proof of what they’re capable of when unbound by the restraints of television (and, for that matter, good taste). With so many sad and/or moving sequences to ponder on this list, revisit the uncut version of this one to remind yourself that sex scenes can be funny, too. —MN
“Brokeback Mountain” (2005)
“Brokeback Mountain”Focus Features
On a ranch in 1960s Wyoming, sheepherder Jack (Jake Gyllenhaal) and cook Ennis (Heath Ledger) become unexpectedly intertwined in Best Director winner Ang Lee’s poignant film. After gaining each other’s trust over late-night, whiskey-soaked tales of foreclosed farms and rodeo glory, Jack beckons Ennis into his tent when their campfire goes out. Ennis wakes up aghast to be sharing such intimate space with a man, Jack grabs his shoulders to steady him, then they lock eyes for long time, calculating what is about to happen, nearly erupting into punches. Before they have sex, Ennis undergoes a mental battle between remaining an “acceptable” man and giving himself to Jack, who he desires. Soon after, Ennis contends their coupling was a “one-shot thing,” but neither they nor the audience believe it. —JM
Despite what the Amazon Prime censors might think, “Shortbus” is more than just a depraved string of unsimulated sex scenes (though if that’s your thing, you won’t be disappointed). In his bold and beautiful second feature, the great John Cameron Mitchell followed up “Hedwig and The Angry Inch” with a provocative love letter to his post-9/11 New York. Following a compelling trio of lonely protagonists and the eccentric characters in their orbits, “Shortbus” is one of the funniest and most sincere portrayals of alternative sexualities ever made. That it’s wrapped in a surprisingly touching celebration of human connection that presaged our increasingly isolating world is just Mitchell’s boyish genius at work.
Though there are a wealth of sex scenes choose from — a dominatrix session ending with a splattering takedown of Jackson Pollack, a real-life orgy featuring Mitchell performing cunnilingus for the first (but perhaps not the last) time, and an anatomically impressive self-fellatio — the title of best sex scene in “Shortbus” must go to its most joyous and playful: The wildly creative threesome between partners “the Jamies” and their new lover Ceth (pronounced: Seth). From an intimate twist on the very hungry caterpillar to an oddly delightful rendition of the Star Spangled Banner sung into a butthole, this blessedly lengthy montage of a blossoming triad’s evolving configuration is an unmitigated pleasure. It’s funny, inventive, celebratory, and wholly unique. And it won’t be forgotten anytime soon. —JD
“Black Swan” is in many ways a male director’s fantasy of what it means to drive a woman, or an actress, insane, a “Repulsion” revamp that makes a definitive and horrifyingly beautiful stamp on the genre. The film’s trashiest apex finds virginal ballerina Nina (Natalie Portman) finally under the MDMA-induced sway of Lily (Mila Kunis) at a nightclub, and the pair wend their way woozily back to Nina’s Upper East Side apartment, which she shares with her equally mentally unstable and domineering mother (a fabulously off-kilter Barbara Hershey). But is this a hallucination, and is Nina actually just fucking herself? Lily goes down on her, revealing an anthropomorphic, wing-like tattoo that takes on a creepy, undulating power as Nina breaks the wall down to her own sexuality.
The whole point of the movie is really that she needs to tear down her sexual barriers (partly courtesy of her ballet instructor played by Vincent Cassell) to realize who she is. This scene is wild, but in the harrowing light of the hungover next day, she’s only alone with herself, and was it all a dream? It’s exacerbated by Clint Mansell’s menacing score and Darren Aronofsky’s typically perverse eye. —RL
“Blue Valentine” (2010)
“Blue Valentine”
The doomed romance between Dean (Ryan Gosling) and Cindy (Michelle Williams) is explored through a series of intercut flashbacks that reveal a portrait of a very real relationship in “Blue Valentine.” Although the passion between Cindy and Dean is undeniable, it is also hampered by the past, both by Cindy’s ex-boyfriend, Bobby, and the baby she carries, which is likely not Dean’s. But even when they are fighting, their attraction to each other is undeniable. In one of the film’s more infamous sex scenes, Cindy lays on the edge of the bed trembling as Dean slowly pulls off her boots one by one, slips off her underwear and performs oral sex.
It isn’t a graphic scene, there isn’t any nudity, but instead we see Cindy’s heightened pleasure, hear her gasps and moans intermingled with Dean’s own muffled exhales as traffic whizzes by outside of the window. Cindy grips a fistful of Dean’s hair, whispering “not yet, not yet,” eager to hold onto that one moment of joy for just a moment longer. The scene of course caused the film to receive an NC-17 rating from the MPAA, and Gosling spoke out about the double standard in cinema, highlighting that there are plenty of films that depict oral sex given by women that are never labeled as pornographic and asking why depicting a woman receiving pleasure would be seen so. Eventually, the film was given an R rating without any edits and it remains one of the most heartbreaking but realistic depictions of relationship sex in cinema. —JR
“Weekend” (2011)
“Weekend”
Andrew Haigh’s intimate and finely tuned debut includes at least two sumptuous sex scenes, but it’s the one we don’t see that kicks off its two-day liaison, taking us along for the ride. Haigh artfully captures the unique thrill of an unexpected connection with a stranger, and the singular pleasure of the first hookup with a person you might actually like. As Glen (Chris New) cajoles Russell (Tom Cullen) into recounting the details into his tape recorder, we learn that Russell is quite shy about sex.
Through Russell’s coy recounting and Glen’s cheeky prodding, the new lovers write their shared memory of that first night together. Someone hesitated to take his shirt off, someone else has a “thing” for armpits. The interpersonal dynamics are clear; the cruder details made more intimate by their absence. It is only later on that we are treated to the sticky stomach hair, or the measured exhales of a first-time act, each rendered with artful eroticism. But that first encounter, the one we never see, is the movie’s most important. —JD
17. “Her” (2013)
“Her”
It was only a matter of time before we were offered a memorable sex scene featuring no physical contact. Spike Jonze’s virtual love story is one of the most affecting in years not despite its digital component but because of it — no other movie this side of “The Social Network” captures modern-day yearning with such vivid precision. Like nearly everything else in “Her,” Theodore and Samantha’s first “physical” encounter could easily have been laughable were it not carried out by Jonze, Joaquin Phoenix, and Scarlett Johansson.
The scene in question consists of little more than him telling her what he’d do to her if they were actually, truly together, but it’s preceded by so much tension and connection that it feels no less real than the kind of racy scene that requires a closed set. The screen goes dark as his descriptions get more detailed and graphic, leaving us to imagine the scenario just as they are. “You feel real to me,” Theodore tells her before they start. At the end of the day, what else matters? —MN
“Gone Girl” (2014)
“Gone Girl”
With her Best Actress–nominated performance, Rosamund Pike also delivered a diabolical sex scene in which she was the sole survivor. To punish her husband Nick (Ben Affleck) — who not only cheated on her, but also uprooted their union from Manhattan to Missouri — sadistic Amy Dunne (Pike) first frames him for her murder, then decides to return home after witnessing his talk-show mea culpa.
To justify her disappearance, the cinematic sister of Alex Forrest and Catherine Trammel pretends as if she was assaulted: While having sex with her ex-boyfriend, Desi (American sweetheart Neil Patrick Harris), Amy retrieves a boxcutter hidden underneath a pillow and slashes his throat as he climaxes. Doused with Desi’s blood, Amy cooly gets on top for a few final thrusts. She immediately drives home to dramatically collapse into Nick’s arms, flanked by a yard-full of paparazzi. —JM
“Anomalisa” (2015)
“Anomalisa”
The 21st century has given cinema two sex classic scenes involving puppet characters, but where “Team America” goes bombastically over-the-top, “Anomalisa” goes piercingly intimate. Charlie Kaufman’s characters are deeply insecure and imperfect in a way every human can relate to, which makes the sight of puppets performing oral sex on each other feel necessarily awkward, sweet, and, ultimately hopeful. You don’t expect the “Anomalisa” sex scene to move you the way it does, but that’s what happens when you have two damaged souls finally realizing they have a chance at deep human connection. —ZS
“Love” (2015)
“Love”
Gaspar Noé’s “Love” has some of the most graphic sex scenes ever filmed, and they were all designed to be shown in 3D no less, but none are as erotically stimulating as the initial threesome that rattles the world of the film’s central couple. Filmed with a pulsating energy that captures the carnal attraction between the characters, Noé crafts a sex scene that actually feels like it will be a relationship game-changer for his characters. Much of the movie takes place in the threesome’s aftermath as the characters aspire to reach that level of connection again. By expertly making the audience feel what that connection is, Noé lays the groundwork for an effective relationship saga. —ZS
12. “Carol” (2015)
“Carol”
One the beautiful aspects of “Carol” is how much weight and emotion is held in a single glance between Carol and Therese, and these moments hold just as much tension and release as the film’s eventual sex scene between the women. The attraction between Carol and Therese is undeniable and it upends everything Therese thought she knew about herself, sending her on her own journey of self-discovery both intertwined and apart from Carol. While staying in a dingy motel in Iowa, Carol stands behind Therese and watches her in the mirror before leaning forward and sharing a passionate kiss. She lays Therese down in bed, running her hands and mouth across Therese’s body, both exploring and initiating Therese.
The scene is packed with passion, as the women simply cannot get enough of each other, their bodies and hair are entangled, their mouths pressed against each other exhaling pure ecstasy. It is both beautiful and erotic but also tinged with heartache as both we and Carol know that finally giving in also means the end. When the women see each other again at the end of the film, Therese is a different woman, more secure and sure of who she is, thanks in part to Carol. It isn’t their final words but Carol’s hand on Therese’s shoulder than sends another surge of emotion (and a wave of tears) once more. —JR
“The Handmaiden” (2016)
The key to the first sex scene in “The Handmaiden” is the prior charged moments of intimacy director Chan-wook Park creates between Lady Hideko (Kim Min-hee) and her handmaiden (Kim Tae-ri), which pierce through hierarchical roles between the two women. The moments are oral — shaving a tooth, sucking on a lollipop — and create an atmosphere that feels like they could go at it at any moment…but don’t.
When the two women crawl into bed with each other more than 40 minutes into the film it is not sexual, but open, so open that a naive Hideko feels comfortable to ask what her future husband will want from her in the bedroom after she’s married. Reaching for one of her Lady’s favorite lollipops, the handmaiden uses the prop to role-play. The sex scene slowly builds around the two women’s ability — through dialogue — to be increasingly vulnerable and free with each other, until they eventually lose the lollipop and do things that have little to do with pleasing a future husband. —CO
“American Honey” (2016)
“American Honey”A24
Andrea Arnold’s rangy slice of Americana and freewheeling youth finds its initial footing in the ill-fated romance between Star (breakout Sasha Lane) and Jake (Shia LaBeouf), which crackles with chemistry even as it’s crystal clear how very wrong for each other they are. As the pair and their ragtag mag crew make their way across the country, all in search of a buck and a buzz, the pair move ever-closer together. Part of the pleasure of their courtship is the push-pull factor, with Jake never quite given himself to Star, much as she wants him to.
After a particularly bad day attempting to sell magazine subscriptions to some (possibly?) dastardly cowboys, Jake swoops in to save Star, the kind of gallant move he rarely pulls, with the pair all but dashing off into the sunset in a stolen car. It’s there that they finally consummate their attraction in a hazy, sensual, pink-hued sex scene that’s as satisfying as it is dangerous. —KE
“Moonlight” (2016)
“Moonlight”Photo by David Bornfriend, courtesy of A24
Barry Jenkins’ Oscar-winning “Moonlight” follows the protagonist Chiron through all of the moments that define his coming-of-age, none more sensual or thrillingly intimate as a hand job that occurs late one evening on a beach. Chiron is a teenager at the time who is experiencing his first sexual encounter. Jenkins directs the moment by heightening the sounds of the ocean and the wind and showing images of clenching hands. He shoots the two bodies from behind, Chiron’s head resting on Kevin’s shoulder.
The scene represents more of a climax of bliss than a climax of passion. It’s a delicate moment of serene peace for Chiron and perhaps the first moment where he’s allowed to truly lose himself in his own skin. For one fleeting moment, Chiron’s troubles fade away like the ocean receding from the beach. —ZS
Like the controversial Naomi Alderman novel on which its based, director Sebastián Lelio’s “Disobedience” is a movie about boundaries: generational, religious, social, and sexual. When an Orthodox rabbi dies, his estranged bisexual daughter Ronit (Rachel Weisz) returns to her London home, where she reconnects with Esti (Rachel McAdams), a childhood friend from her father’s congregation. Esti, a lesbian, is trapped in a loveless heterosexual marriage and constantly under the scrutiny of her community. So when she and Ronit sneak away to have sex, they share a moment of absolute freedom, giving in to their wildest desires and giving each other unfettered access to their bodies. The intimacy is epitomized by a moment where Esti licks Ronit’s mouth and Ronit responds by spitting into Esti’s. It’s a scene equal parts erotic, transgr
“God’s Own Country” came out the same year as “Call Me by Your Name” and so was largely overshadowed in terms of being a gay coming-of-age romance. But where that film chose to pan to a tree during its hottest scene, “God’s Own Country” goes full throttle into the primal carnalities of its two devastatingly sexy leads, played by Josh O’Connor and Alec Secareanu. Johnny (O’Connor) is intensely closeted, choosing to act out his desires in the loos of the local pub in which he drowns himself nightly.
His family’s new farmhand Gheorghe (Secareaneu), however, is much less restrained, and the simmering eroticism between the pair finally come to a head in a steamy and quite literally filthy moment amidst the muck of dirt and animal excrement: One minute they’re suspended in silent, unspoken attraction, the next they’re rolling around in filth going crazy on each other’s bodies. It’s a wonderfully disgusting and beautiful moment anchored by two actors unafraid to, sure, bare all physically, but also to go there emotionally. —RL
“Call Me by Your Name” (2017)
“Call Me by Your Name”
Luca Guadagnino’s lushly told story of first love is brimming with eroticism and romance at every turn, thanks to both its stunning Italian setting (what doesn’t seem sensual during a Mediterranean summer?) and the rippling chemistry between leads Timothée Chalamet and Armie Hammer. While contractual agreements keep the film from going all-in on more traditional sex scenes (shout out to that well-placed tree), Chalamet and Hammer do manage to pull off one banger, involving a literally ripe piece of fruit. As Elio, Chalamet is all hormones and nerves and wants, and that eventually leads him to experiment on an innocent peach this sounds weird, but it’s not, it’s actually quite charming — ratcheting up to a decidedly piercing encounter between the two.
Alone, it’s a keen insight into the way desire drives us to do insane things, but it’s bolstered by a late appearance from Hammer as Elio’s newly minted lover Oliver, who delights in both the peach and Elio’s actions in a way that’s raw and tender. Overcome by sharing this level of intimacy with someone he already loves so much, Elio crumbles: “I’m sick!” Oliver has the perfect, pervy response: “I wish everyone was sick like you,” and takes a big old bite of the pilfered peach, letting it become a part of him, too. It’s a perfect profession, the kind that only “CMBYN” could ever pull off. —KE
Ari Aster’s twisted pagan breakup drama “Midsommar” unravels a dysfunctional couple, Dani (Florence Pugh) and Christian (Jack Reynor), over the course of a very unwell vacation gone wrong at a Swedish commune. Their relationship was doomed from frame one, as Dani is hugely traumatized by the mass death of her family, and Christian is fed up with her grief and their sexlessness.
And so, when he’s offered sex in the context of a mating ritual by the maypole-dancing women of the commune, he’s jumping at the offer, but there’s also something a little bit rapey about it even as he’s the one driving the plow. The double-sidedness of the scene is its very edge: Actor Reynor insisted on going full-frontal for the scene, making his vulnerability especially crucial in the lead-up to Dani literally burning him to the ground with a rictus grin. —RL
“Portrait of a Lady on Fire” (2019)
“Portrait of a Lady on Fire”Courtesy Everett Collection
Céline Sciamma’s Cannes-winning epic uses the stifling Victorian era to mirror (literally, you’ll know which scene) the forbidden love between painter Marianne (Noémie Merlant) and bride-to-be Héloise (Adele Haenel). While both women take hallucinogenic drugs, they begin to explore each other’s bodies, slipping their hands under their respective armpits, giving the visual sensation of fingering. The foreplay soon gives way to a fully nude sex scene with Marianne painting Héloise, learning the curves of her hips down into her nether regions with the stroke of her paint brush fingertips. Sciamma told IndieWire that “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” is meant to be a heartbreaking memory of a love story, one that reflects a universal romance harkening back to all viewers’ best sex scenes in their personal lives. It doesn’t get any more real than that. —SB
“The Lighthouse” (2019)
“The Lighthouse”
Robert Eggers is only three films into his feature directing career, but he has already earned the title of Hollywood’s top chronicler of mermaid vaginas. From the unsubtle phallic symbolism of its title to the early scenes of Ephraim Winslow (Robert Pattinson) masturbating, sex is never out of focus for long in “The Lighthouse.” So much of the film is about isolation, sexual, frustration, and mermaids, so it was inevitable that Winslow would have to copulate with one at some point.
When it eventually happens, Eggers does not hold back, crafting a stunningly realistic set of genitalia that took inspiration from a variety of real-life sea creatures. Neither does Pattinson, as he releases a lifetime’s worth of pent-up lust on the mermaid in a sequence that reminds fans why he deserves his spot as an indie film darling. It’s such a thrilling, disgusting, captivating scene to watch that it almost doesn’t matter if the sex actually happened or was a vivid mirage. —CZ
Nobody would mistake the short sex scene in “Booksmart” as the sexiest moment in film history. But the hook-up between shy Amy (Kaitlyn Dever) and her sort of school nemesis Hope (Diana Silvers) is one of the sweetest and most realistic teen love scenes in any high school movie. After a blowup fight with her best friend Molly (Beanie Feldstein), Amy finds herself in the bathroom at the end-of-year school party, where she runs into Hope, and, after a brief argument, unexpectedly kisses her. A steamy make-out ensues, and Hope prepares to go down on Amy, but the moment is ruined when the low tolerance Amy barfs up the alcohol she’s been drinking throughout the night on her sudden new romantic partner. It’s a sex scene perfect for the funny, raunchy world of “Booksmart,” but Dever and Silvers makes the sudden connection between the two young women really sing. —WC
“Drive My Car” (2021)
“Drive My Car”Courtesy Everett Collection
The mystique surrounding the relationship between Yūsuke and Oto looms over every frame in Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “Drive My Car.” While much of the movie is driven by Yūsuke’s introspection, none of that would be possible without giving audiences a clear image of what he’s thinking about. The anchors of the film are the undeniable love between the two of them, the creative inspiration they both found in each other, the pain of infidelity, and the grief that her death brings him. In that sense, the sex scene between the two of them that opens the film is less significant for its contents than for what it represents, illustrating their complex relationship in a way that never feels contrived. They have relatively normal sex, then Oto comes up with a haunting fictional story idea that even she does not quite understand.
The idea of relatively mundane romantic moments being the catalyst for profound ideas is an idea that returns again and again in the film, but it is never encapsulated better than in this first scene. The moody opener combines the film’s stark realism with esoteric musing, making it one of the most Murakami-esque moments in the film and setting the tone for the beautiful three hours that follow. —CZ
“Titane” (2021)
“Titane”Courtesy Everett Collection
Well, this was one storyline yet to make it into the “Fast and Furious” franchise. The steamy opening sex scene of Palme d’Or winner “Titane” is between woman and machine as a muscle car really puts the hot in hot wheels. Model Alexia (Agathe Rousselle) chooses to strip atop cars after having an inexplicable attraction to metal following an adolescent car accident that led to a metal plate being placed in her scalp.
Director Julia Ducournau told IndieWire that the sex scene was meant to showcase the “hyper-violent” tendency of Alexia. The BDSM rage is channeled in Alexia both taking a backseat and revving the engine of her vehicle lover. Her arms are restrained by seat belts as she writhes over leather. Ducournau explained that “Titane” set out to be “going against every feminist stereotype of softness, being polite, having a great body, all that shit.” In Ducournau’s “Titane,” men are irrelevant to pleasure — all you need is a metal machine to be in the driver’s seat. —SB
“X” (2022)
“X”Christopher Moss
“X” is ostensibly a horror movie set on a porn set, but in truth, the characters only start getting picked off by the killer once the porno wraps filming. That results in the odd slasher movie where the most interesting part is the half before everyone gets killed, because Ti West has a lot of fun shooting his actors making “The Farmer’s Daughters”: a cheap porno movie filmed on a run-down Texas farm. The “plot” of the porno — about a hunky stud (Scott Mescudi) seducing the virginal daughters of an elderly farmhand — is nonsense, but it’s a masterpiece to the people making it, from star Maxine (Mia Goth) to director RJ (Owen Campbell), and their enthusiasm makes their very raunchy work oddly endearing. A sex scene between Mescudi and Goth’s characters in the hay of the barn is gorgeously shot, lit with a golden hue, and features Maxine giving the performance of her lifetime with her moans, a sequence that proves porn can be art… even if the conservative killers stalking the cast and crew disagree. —WC
“Good Luck to You, Leo Grande” is one long buildup to a fantastic final release. A talky film mostly focused on the connection between two people, Sophie Hyde’s feature focuses on Nancy (Emma Thompson), a woman in her 60s who has never experienced an orgasm, and a younger sex worker (Daryl McCormick, very dashing), who she sees in the hopes of finally achieving one. Most of the film is the two sitting in the hotel they meet at discussing sex instead of having it, unpacking Nancy’s relationship with sex, the role of sex work in modern society, and how older women are desexualized in life. Their conversation is plenty interesting, but it makes it all the more thrilling when Nancy and Leo finally engage in a lusty montage of banging; like Leo with Nancy, the film keeps you waiting for the real pleasure. —WC
“Beau is Afraid” (2023)
“Beau Is Afraid”Courtesy Everett Collection
Sex is beautiful and loving and natural; it’s also, for many people, mortifyingly awkward, frightening, and even painful. The best scene of Ari Aster’s “Beau is Afraid” channels nearly every negative emotion one can feel about consensual sex and puts it on screen, as a shining monument to sexual hang-ups. Joaquin Phoenix’s title character, a lifelong virgin who was told by his mother he would die if he ever orgasms, reunites with his childhood crush Elaine (played by Posey Parker), and, before he knows it, finds himself in bed with a woman for the first time. As Elaine matter-of-factly coaches the inexperienced Beau, starting and stopping her chosen banging song “Always Be My Maybe,” Beau steadily grows terrified of losing his life — treating the experience of an orgasm like a heart attack. He’s happy and relieved when he doesn’t die, having finally found something resembling peace; it’s short-lived however, when he realizes his semen killed Elaine, her body completely frozen mid-climax. The scene is horrifyingly, darkly funny, but it also captures what it feels like to approach the act of sex with baggage, where it feel less like the sharing of pleasure and more like a sin. —WC
“Passages” (2023)
“Passages”
Ira Sachs’ “Passages” takes a cold, hard look at love that hurts. Franz Rogowski plays Tomas, a Parisian filmmaker who self-immolates when he leaves his husband Martin (Ben Whishaw) for the kind-eyed Agathe (Adele Exarchopoulos, who does not appear naked once in this film despite what you’d expect from the “Blue Is the Warmest Color Star”), a collaborator on his latest film. Tomas’ emotional and pan-sexual ricochets set off a grisly chain of psychological reactions. At one point, Tomas, realizing the peril of his decisions, returns to Martin in their Paris apartment. They make primal unfussy love in a long unbroken take helmed by Josée Deshaies where Martin fucks Tomas, Tomas’ legs wrapped around him in tortured ecstasy. Director Sachs never shows us their faces, and obfuscates their bodies with off-centered camera blocking, but the scene underscores the banality of sex as seen from a distance, even if it seems like the most important thing ever to happen to us at the time. —RL
In writer-director Charles Norton’s short film, The Lost Weekend, he attempts to define the term “Manhood” for a young man on a beach trip with friends just before starting college in the fall. Three best buds, the socially awkward James (Brenden Egan), confident ladies’ man Nick (Henry Lynch), and the even-tempered Dylan (Mathew Ray), are getting ready for a party at a Cape Cod, They’ve rented out a beach home for the weekend.
James’s first test of manhood is jumping off an easy bridge into the water. Nick and Dylan have no problem diving in, but James thinks better of it and walks to the house. This sign of indecision is noticed by a trio of girls, one being Caroline (Chloe Lang), who may be interested in James. Knowing this, Nick invites the girls to a party, and the trio is certain they’re going to get laid.
The Lost Weekend is about James. He’s a shy high school graduate who uses his religious upbringing as an excuse for still being a virgin. This trip was designed for James to lose his virginity, but he is having second thoughts, which prompts the aggressive Nick to question his sexuality. Filmmaker Norton’s tale is not a no-hold-barred teen sex romp but an honest reflection on manhood and maturity as James crosses from teen to adult. Is losing one’s virginity the final bridge to cross into manhood? In the case of James, what are the emotional ramifications of simply doing the deed?
“…a shy high school graduate who uses his religious upbringing as an excuse for still being a virgin.”
Though the plot sounds like a crazy sex romp, this is a thoughtful take on the subject. Egan gives an authentic performance as the shy teen who wants something so bad but wants to get it in the right way. Playing counter to James is Lynch as Nick, the stereotypical jock who doesn’t play him stereotypically.
Norton’s choice of a beach house setting is simple and beautiful. The location is perfect for capturing the emotion and thrills of this coming-of-age story. The casting and acting are top-notch, with ideal staging. The Lost Weekend could undoubtedly expand into a feature film with an independent flair.
Losing one’s virginity for many is a rite of passage, and all you have to do is get it done. For others, it’s a sacred rite of passage, where it’s about doing it right. The Lost Weekend is a thoughtful film that will resonate with us “others.”
The AMD Ryzen 8000 series of processors has been generating a lot of buzz as we head into the second half of 2023, especially as we move closer to its anticipated launch next year.
AMD’s Ryzen processors have been widely praised for their impressive performance and competitive pricing, not to mention innovations like 3D V-Cache technology that makes Ryzen processors the best processors for gaming on the market. With the Ryzen 8000 series on the horizon, expectations are high, especially as AMD moves to more advanced TSMC silicon fabrication with its Zen 5 architecture.
With all the news and rumors swirling out there though, it’s important to separate the baseless speculation from the legitimate reports and news that invariably leak out of the typically tight-lipped AMD. Here, we’re pulling together all we know to provide readers with a clear and accurate understanding of what to expect from the AMD Ryzen 8000 series.
AMD Ryzen 8000 series: Cut to the chase
What is it? The next generation of AMD processors
How much does it cost? Unknown, but will likely range from about $230/£175/AU$345 for the Ryzen 5 8600 to as much as $700 (about £650/AU$1,150) for the Ryzen 9 8950X3D
When can I get it? When it launches, the Ryzen 8000 series will be available in the US, UK, and Australia
Given the 12- to 18-month cadence typical of generational CPU releases, that would put March 2024 at the 18-month mark from the release of the AMD Ryzen 7000 series, and that is not an unrealistic projection, though it could be longer between releases than normal this time around.
According to AMD, Zen 5 will be a complete rebuild architecture from the ground up, so that should conceivably take longer than your standard CPU release cycle. The desktop processor line, codenamed Granite Ridge, and the mobile processor line, codenamed Strix Point, will likely see separate launches as well.
AMD Ryzen 8000 series: Specs
(Image credit: Future/John Loeffler)
There is very little that we know right now about the AMD Ryzen 8000 series specs, other than it will be built using AMD’s Zen 5 architecture and will feature an integrated RDNA 3.5 GPU, which is AMD’s cute way of saying an iterative improvement over the current RDNA 3 GPU architecture, but not enough to warrant a new generation of hardware.
There had been speculation for a while that the Ryzen 8000 series would be built on TSMC’s 4nm process node, but it now looks likely that it will use the more advanced 3nm node instead.
We also know that AMD acquired AI company Xilinx in 2021, and it’s expected that more AI optimizations are set for Zen 5.
We also anticipate that AMD will be sticking to its non-hyprid approach to Zen 5, much like with Zen 4 and unlike Intel‘s 12th and 13th generation processors, which use a hybrid of efficiency and performance cores.
Given how AMD is saying it is rebuilding its Zen 5 architecture from the ground up, there’s no telling what the performance uplift over the Ryzen 7000 series Zen 4 architecture will be.
We do anticipate that it will be significant though. AMD has been innovating a number of technologies as far as chip designs go, from multi-chip modules (chiplets) to stacked, vertical architecture like that seen in its 3D V-Cache technology.
We expect that AMD will bring all of this into Zen 5 and build these new chips around these technologies, rather than try to attach them to an existing architecture that wasn’t designed with this tech in mind.
Will that mean better performance? It absolutely should, especially when paired with a 3nm process, compared to the 5nm process in AMD Zen 4.
AMD Ryzen 8000 series: What to expect
Right now, there’s not a whole lot of information on the AMD Ryzen 8000 series, other than it is inbound. Whether it will be called the Ryzen 8000 series isn’t even certain, though it’s unlikely that AMD will mess around too much with its model numbering scheme (it has done this before though, pretty much skipping over the Ryzen 4000 series entirely in favor of the Ryzen 5000 series).
We also anticipate that it will be going up against Intel’s Arrow Lake processors, also due out in 2024, though the Ryzen 8000 series should make it to market before Intel’s 15th-gen chips.
Beyond that, we’re hoping to see more integration of AMD’s innovative designs around chip microarchitecture with Zen 5, rather than splitting the product stack between mainline Ryzen 8000 series processors and 3D-branded variants with 3D V-Cache tacked on.
Regardless, we’ll keep you posted on all the latest news as it rolls in.
Tuesday’s event brought an audience of 321,000 among adults 25-54, marking the network’s most-watched town hall of the 2024 election cycle
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Fox News’ town hall with Donald Trump was watched by an audience of 2.85 million viewers, making it the network’s most-watched town hall of the 2024 presidential election cycle.
As audiences tuned in to watch the former president and 2024 presidential candidate take questions from moderator Sean Hannity, the broadcast drew in 321,000 viewers in the key cable demographic among adults 25-54, according to Nielsen-live-plus-same-day figures.
Beginning at 9 p.m. ET, the town hall helped Fox News garner the most attention of all the cable news networks, surpassing CNN and MSNBC’s total viewership combined. At 9 p.m. ET, MSNBC drew 1.60 million total viewers and 168,000 viewers in the 25-54 demographic. CNN came in third, drawing 667,000 total viewers and 162,000 viewers in the 25-54 demo.
As expected, Fox News swept overall primetime figures as the No. 1 most-watched cable news channel with 2.41 million total viewers. MSNBC came in second place with 1.57 million total viewers while CNN lagged behind with 650,000 viewers.
The trend continued in the demo for primetime, with Fox News leading the pack with 277,000 viewers, MSNBC coming in second with 171,000, and CNN coming in third with 133,000 viewers in the demo.
On the second day of Fox News’ shifted primetime lineup, the network saw a 40% gain in the 7-11 p.m. ET demo compared to night one.
Viaplay is letting go of more than 25% of its staff as it pulls streaming out of the U.S. and UK and mulls a sale.
The embattled Nordic operation has unveiled a new strategy and plan alongside its Q2 results, which were better than expected but have been paired with a decision to “regrettably let go of more than 25% of our people,” according to new CEO Jørgen Madsen Lindemann, who replaced Anders Jensen last month with immediate effect.
Redundancies will impact around 450 people and the cost of restructuring will be approximately $4M, according to today’s Q2 update, with Lindemann set to address investors and journalists in the next hour.
The
Going forwards, Viaplay will discontinue its low tier non-sports offering in the likes of the U.S. and UK and focus on the Nordic and Dutch markets, along with the sale of content internationally via Viaplay Select. It will continue focusing on Nordic originals, the likes of upcoming series Ronja the Robber’s Daughter (pictured). Viaplay, which rebranded from NENT last year, had nascent operations in the UK, U.S. and other markets such as Germany under Jensen, but is retrenching to focus on its heartlands and distribution. Jensen said “international expansion assumptions, including the timelines to profitability, have also been pushed materially into the future and we are moving quickly to address all of these challenges.”
Lindemann has therefore initiated an immediate strategic review of the entire business to consider all options including “equity injections or the sale of the whole Group.”
He said: “We are today announcing a new strategy and plan, which includes, but is not limited to, focusing on our core Nordic, Netherlands and Viaplay Select operations; implementing a new operational model; downsizing, partnering or exiting our other international markets; rightsizing and pricing our product offering in the Nordics and undertaking a major cost reduction programme.”
The redundancy decision was taken “for the sake of the future of our business,” he added, describing the move as “regrettable.”
She’s in the driver’s seat, headed for uncharted territory (flat feet!). But there are limits to how much dimension even Greta Gerwig can give this branded material.
Korean TV series and films are increasing still further their hold on streaming audiences across East Asia. They accounted for half of viewing time in the first half of the year, according to new third-party research.
Korean-made premium VOD content captured 50% of SVOD viewership and 42% of freemium viewership between January and June 2023, with a record 58 million VOD users tuning in nine East Asian territories (Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam), according to Singapore-based research and consultancy firm Media Partners Asia.
The analysis is based on the measured media consumption activity of 40,000 Asia Pacific consumers, conducted by AMPD, the analysis firm’s sister company.
“The Korean Wave” report evaluates Korean content demand, genres, formats, studios and hits with insights on the impact of K-content in Asia’s VOD industry, key trends in video content investment and the growth of the studio ecosystem. It shows that Korean content commands a large share of its home market and an increasing proportion of other markets, as shows travel across borders.
The findings run counter to those who argued that “Squid Game” was a one-off phenomenon and that the Korean Wave would not be sustained. The AMPD data shows the number of unique users of Korean content rising steadily both before and after Squid Game. The momentum has been sustained by other shows including “Extraordinary Attorney Woo” and in recent months by dramas “The Glory” and “Taxi Driver” as well as unscripted shows such as “Physical 100.” Taxi Driver was adapted from a webtoon, another Korean content phenomenon.
“Regular breakout hits from Korea have helped expand the premium VOD audience for K-content,” the report said. “Both [drama] titles benefited from platform exclusivity, star power, local dubbing, and tap into resonant drama elements such as revenge and vengeance plots and in the case of ‘The Glory,’ a strong female lead.”
Platforms are competing to be in the Korean content business. “Netflix is the major driver of SVOD Korean content demand in the region, while Viu leads significant freemium demand in Southeast Asia. Other notable platforms with Korean content investment and growing reach include Tving and Wavve in Korea, and global services Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video,” the report said.
“While romance and comedy have historically been definitive Korean drama genres, growing investment from VOD platforms seeking to differentiate and elevate their K-offering has allowed for the rise of crime, thriller, sci-fi and fantasy genres and unscripted formats, expanding the audience for Korean content,” MPA head of content insights Dhivya T said.
“We expect Korea to maintain its stronghold as the top-travelling content category online in the region as total online video investment in Korean content is estimated to top US$1.9 billion in 2024. Beyond Korea, strong engagement with Chinese and Thai content in the region is promising, pointing to potential further diversification in impactful Asian entertainment with regional travelability.”
Progress comes at a cost. “Korean content production costs grew as much as 100% for high-end scripted series and 10-15% for lower cost online dramas in 2022,” Divya T told Variety. “Many of Netflix’s hits are part of studio output deals from CJ’s Studio Dragon, JTBC’s SLL, etc. Independent studios such as Astory (Extraordinary Attorney Woo) are increasingly opting to keep IP-rights, often licensing to broadcasters domestically and to Netflix, Disney or Amazon for global distribution.”
Our MickeyBlogger Miranda was at EPCOT today and noticed that some awesome new Marvel finds are now in stock at Disney Traders in EPCOT. Fans of Iron Man, Spider-Man and Black Panther will definitely want to stock up on these awesome items!
First, visitors to Disney Traders at EPCOT can harness the power of Marvel’s Iron Man with this adorable kids t-shirt.
The tee features Iron Man’s signature colorway of red and yellow.
At the center of the t-shirt is a glittery arc reactor patch!
The kids t-shirt also features fun stitching on the front.
You can pick up the Iron Man youth t-shirt for $39.99.
Next up is a short-sleeved hoodie celebrating Marvel’s Black Panther.
The hoodie is white with contrasting purple stitching and reads “Wakanda Forever” with a Black Panther silhouette.
The sleeve also features a cool purple Black Panther mask!
Fans of Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur are in luck as we also found a new youth t-shirt celebrating the animated series.
The T-shirt features a black and red tie-dye design!
The Moon Girl t-shirt reads “Did I mention that I have a dinosaur” and features an image of Devil Dinosaur. It retails for $26.99.
Fans of Black Panther will also want to pop by Disney Traders at EPCOT to pick up this Marvel coffee mug!
It features Black Panther’s mask and actually changes color when you pour hot liquid in it!
The Marvel Black Panther mask retails for $19.99.
Rounding out our look at the new Marvel items at Disney Traders are a couple of items inspired by Spider-Man. First up is another short-sleeve hoodie! It features the Spider-Man logo on the front and features a red, white and blue colorway.
The short sleeve hoodie retails for $44.99.
With the next school year not too far away, this colorful Spider-Man bag would be just perfect for all your essentials. The bag is round and features a stunning full-color image of Spidey in the center.
The Marvel bag features side slip pockets and adjustable shoulder straps! It retails for $44.99.
Readers are encouraged to keep following along with MickeyBlog for further Walt Disney World news and updates. We’ll be coming to you LIVE! from the theme parks each and every week.
Have you heard the news? MickeyTravels just earned the incredible distinction of being a Diamond Earmarked Agency!
Whether it’s a visit to the theme parks, a Disney cruise, a stay at Aulani in Hawaii, or the trip of a lifetime with Adventures by Disney, I can’t wait to help you plan your vacation utilizing all of our incredible concierge-level services. This injdjdjdcludes discount monitoring, itinerary planning, flexible booking, and more. Best of all my services are 100% FREE!
Justified: City Primeval‘s cast has familiar faces and exciting newcomers.
Created by showrunners Dave Andron and Michael Dinner, Justified: City Primeval is an eight-part revival show that continues the story of FX’s Justified series.
The series is inspired by Elmore Leonard’s novel City Primeval: High Noon in Detroit, and it revolves around U.S. Marsha Raylan Givens’ clash against a dangerous new outlaw.
Justified: City Primeval – Every Actor & Character
1.) Timothy Olyphant – Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens
Timothy Olyphant
Timothy Olyphant reprises his role as Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens in the Justified revival mini-series. Not only did the actor’s portrayal of Givens in Justified‘s first run on FX earn him an Emmy nomination, but it also allowed him to effortlessly step inside a Western lawman-type character for his future roles.
In Justified: City Primeval, Givens investigates a murder of a public official in Detroit that pits him against a dangerous and deadly outlaw.
Aunjanue Ellis portrays Carolyn Wilder, a defense lawyer who is hired by Clement Mansell when he is pursued by Raymond Cruz and the police. The character is a passionate lawyer who eventually gets entangled in a romantic situation with Cruz while also learning Mansell’s evil side.
Ellis’ past credits include King Richard, Lovecraft County, and Quantico.
3.) Boyd Holbrook – Clement Mansell / The Oklahoma Wildman
Boyd Holbrook
Boyd Holbrook plays Clement Mansel aka The Oklahoma Wildman, Justified: City Primeval‘s main villain. In the book, Mansell is a dangerous criminal and murderer whose main goal is to exploit rich men.
The character also has the means to keep himself one step ahead of the law to avoid getting arrested.
Adelaide Clemens portrays Sandy Mansell, Clement’s girlfriend and his accomplice in his crimes. During the pair’s operations, Sandy is the one who seduces wealthy men who they eventually target.
Clemens’ other roles are from the Rectify series and Under the Banner of Heaven.
5.) Vondie Curtis-Hall – Marcus “Sweety” Sweeton
Vondie Curtis-Hall
Vondie Curtis-Hall is Sweety in Justified: City Primeval, a local bar owner in Detroit and a criminal who is in cahoots with Mansell in the novel.
In the series, though, the character is confirmed to be a former musician who wants to escape his past criminal life while also having a connection to Carolyn Wilder.
Curtis-Hall is best known for his past acting stings in Coming to America, Die Hard 2, and as Ben Urich in Netflix’s Daredevil series.
6.) Marin Ireland – Maureen Downey
Marin Ireland
Marin Ireland plays Maureen Downey, a Detroit cop who is working alongside Raymond Cruz in the novel. It seems that the character is set to portray a similar role in the revival as she works alongside Timothy Olyphant’s Raylan Givens to uncover Mansell’s evil plans.
Ireland’s past acting credits include The Umbrella Academy,The Irishman, and Hell or High Water.
7.) Norbert Leo Butz – Norbert Bryl
Norbert Leo Butz
Norbert Leo Butz portrays Norbert Bryl in Justified: City Primeval, a character described as one of the best homicide cops in Detroit despite having a self-inflated ego.
Butz is known for Better Nate Than Ever, Bloodline, and Debris.
8.) Victor Williams – Wendell Robinson
Victor Williams
Victor Williams plays Wendell Robinson, a veteran Detroit detective who helps Raylan in his quest to stop Mansell.
Williams’ past acting credits include The Affair and The King of Queens.
9.) Vivian Olyphant – Willa Givens
Vivian Olyphant
Vivian Olyphant is Timothy’s real-life daughter who appropriately portrays Raylan Givens’ daughter, Willa, in the series.
Justified: City Primeval marks Vivian’s onscreen debut.
10.) Ravi Patel – Rick Newley
Ravi Patel
Ravi Patel plays a recurring character named Rick Newley in Justified: City Primeval.
Patel is known for his roles in Wonder Woman 1984, The Valet, and Master of None.
11.) Alexander Pobutsky – Skender Lulgjuraj
Alexander Pobutsky
Alexander Pobutsky portrays Skender Lulgjuraj in Justified: City Primeval. In the novel, the character is a wealthy Albanian who becomes the target of Mansell’s diabolical scheme when he is seduced by Sandy.
Pobutsky’s past credits include small roles on Daisy Jones and the Six and The Blacklist.
12.) Paul Calderon – Raymond Cruz
Paul Calderon
Paul Calderon plays Raymond Cruz, the original main character in Elmore Leonard’s novel City Primeval: High Noon in Detroit. Instead of him leading the charge, Givens will be the one pushed to the forefront, but his appearance may hint that he is involved in the case.
Calderon is known for Out of Sight, Bosch, and King of New York.
13.) Matt Craven – Dan Grant
Matt Craven
Matt Craven joins Timothy Olyphant as the only confirmed returning cast member of the original series who returns to Justified: City Primeval.
In FX’s Justified, Dan served as Raylan’s original boss in the Miami field office.
Craven’s past credits include Deja Vu, X-Men: First Class, and Crimson Tide.
14.) Keith David – Judge Alvin Guy
Keith David
Keith David portrays Judge Alvin Guy, a Detroit judge who had a run-in with Mansell that essentially served as the launchpad of the show’s story.
David is known for his roles in Platoon, The Thing, and Jordan Peele’s Nope.
15.) Amin Joseph – Jamal
Amin Joseph
Amin Joseph plays Jamal in Justified: City Primeval, Carolyn Wilder’s ex in the series.
Joseph is known for Snowfall, Call Me King, and Send Help.
16.) Jalen Gilbert – Tyrone Power
Jalen Gilbert
Jalen Gilbert plays Tyrone Power, Carolyn Wilder’s client during Justified: City Primeval‘s first episode.
Gilbert’s past roles include Work in Progress, Shameless, and Chicago Med.
The other cast members of Justified: City Primeval are listed below:
Neopets, a once popular website in the early 2000s, where users raised adorable virtual pets by battling them, feeding them, reading to them, and more, has had a consistently declining player base over the years. This can be attributed to a player base that has aged out, a mostly disliked conversion of the pet artwork to make them customizable, and then the heavy monetization. As a result, the end of Flash, which the website heavily relied on, and the heavily disliked NFT project.
Still, to this day, the website maintains a loyal fanbase that still plays all these years later and has demonstrated a love of the IP throughout the many highs and lows that Neopets has weathered.
Neopets Revival is a Passion Project by Developers and Players
After being sold by its original owners, Donna and Adam, Neopets has been passed around by multiple companies. Gradually moving away from what players had liked about the game in the first place, removing what was most popular such as Key Quest and the Habitarium, and clearly having a tremendous reliance on cash shop items with each update having a heavy focus on Neocash items. This dissonance between players and staff came to a head when the NFT project went ahead despite loud protests from the players that this was not what they wanted and would be a breaking point for them, with many following through and leaving the game entirely when Neopets did not back down.
Screenshot by Prima Games
It was a welcome surprise to players that Neopets announced that it was making a comeback. The new leadership team “Word of Neopets” is made up of both developers and longtime players and headed by Dominic Law, a player himself potentially single-handedly saved Neopets by pushing for it to be saved after the company that owned it, Jumpstart, closed down on June 30, 2023.
The team immediately announced issues that they plan to address alongside this change. The leadership team is putting four million dollars into the project. The big issues that they are tackling are fixing the current issues with the website, which are largely a result of Adobe Flash ending. Neopets, right until the end, relied heavily on Flash, and the conversion to HTML5 has been incredibly slow. As of the time of writing, there is still a mix of updated pages, original pages, and pages that do not load at all. Alongside this, most of the games still are yet to be converted to HTML5 and do not work.
Neopets Will See Many Much-Needed Updates
World of Neopets plans to provide a stream of new content on the website, and a new plot has been teased to immediate fan excitement. The mention of reviving old game modes has many players hopeful that Habitarium and Key Quest both will be reinstated. Communication is another issue that has been lacking in the past, and they mentioned that they will be holding monthly AMA sessions.
They also mentioned that support will be addressed. Support tickets are in drastic need of a revamp, with players often waiting months or more to get their ticket reviewed by staff. This will be a welcome change to players still waiting to access their old accounts after 2FA was implemented by force. On the games front, they announced that they would be using Ruffle to bring back 50 of the games that are yet to be converted to HTML5. These will be available on July 25, 2023.
Screenshot by Prima Games
Players can breathe a collective sigh of relief knowing that the Neopets Metaverse, the disdained NFT project has been officially scrapped by the new team.
We also took a long, hard look at community feedback on Neopets Metaverse, and it quickly became clear that the game just didn’t line up with everything that made Neopets… well… Neopets!
WoRLD OF nEOPETS tEAM, jULY 17, 2023
World of Neopets have stated that prior to this announcement, they have already seen success with the roadmap that they laid out last year. In particular, support ticket backlog has decreased by 80%, and with the new team in place, they have made significant progress on the roadmap itself. From July 20, 2023, players will be able to view the roadmap itself when the leadership team launches a new central hub for the Neopets brand. Bringing the main Neopets website, World of Neopets, and other spinoffs such as Island Builder’s and Faerie’s Hope together. World of Neopets also plans to invest in merchandise and physical collectors’ items. In 2024, they will be continuing the Neopets trading card game of yesteryear, with more information to be provided in the near future.
World of Neopets itself will be a brand new mobile-based game that has the player exist as a Neopet whilst they explore Neopia. Touted as a social life-simulation game, it will include everything that players love and expect from Neopets: questing, Neohomes, games, and more. It is yet to be seen how the app will coexist with the Neopets website, but information seems promising thus far.
The World of Neopets Team Needs Your Help
All of that said, even with the new team, four-million-dollar investment, and revamping of the website. World of Neopets has stated that they need your help. Neopets cannot thrive without a player base. The team asks that you log on, interact with the site, and discuss it on social media. The number of people confused when this announcement came to be clearly illustrated that Neopets has a long way to go to have an online presence today. Talking about it on social media is one way to help build the community back up so that players can enjoy Neopia for many years to come.
If you are a current Neopets player or someone who has logged in or made a new account due to this announcement, make sure that you enter the Neopets 2,000,000 Neocash giveaway that is live July 17, 2023, until August 6, 2023.
About the Author
Priscilla Wells
Priscilla is a weekend editor and freelance writer for Prima Games. She is an Australian living in the United States with her family. Priscilla has grown up playing video games, and most often plays her PS5 and Nintendo Switch consoles.
Margot Robbie not only stars in the upcomingBarbie, she’s also a producer. Which means, like her character, she often got a little carried away.
In an interview with Collider, Robbie admitted to a touch of hype on the film.
“I think my pitch in the green-light meeting was the studios have prospered so much when they’re brave enough to pair a big idea with a visionary director,” she said of using Oscar- nominee Greta Gerwig
“And then I gave a series of examples like, ‘dinosaurs and [Steven] Spielberg,’ that and that, that and that — pretty much naming anything that’s been incredible and made a ton of money for the studios over the years. And I was like, ‘And now you’ve got Barbie and Greta Gerwig.’ And I think I told them that it’d make a billion dollars, which maybe I was overselling, but we had a movie to make, okay?!” she added.
“And then I gave a series of examples like, ‘dinosaurs and [Steven] Spielberg,’ that and that, that and that — pretty much naming anything that’s been incredible and made a ton of money for the studios over the years. And I was like, ‘And now you’ve got Barbie and Greta Gerwig.’ And I think I told them that it’d make a billion dollars, which maybe I was overselling, but we had a movie to make, okay?!”
Robbie wasn’t demandng to star in the vehicle.
“I didn’t want whoever our director was going to be – Greta being the first choice, but if she had said no – I didn’t want our director to feel pressured to put me in the role,” Robbie said.
“So I was just really upfront about like, ‘I won’t be offended in the slightest. We could go to anyone. Whatever story you want to tell and whoever you want that to be, I support that. I’ve got skin in the game as a producer, I don’t have skin in the game as an actor, so be free with that choice.’ And she was like, ‘Shut up, I want to write this for you.’ And I was like, ‘You might feel pressured to say that, but …’ and we did that dance for a while. And then eventually I just accepted that she did want me to play the role, and then she wrote it. She wrote me in and she wrote Ryan [Gosling] in, and it was our names printed in the script from the get-go: ‘Barbie – Margot, Ken – Ryan Gosling.’”
We’re celebrating the 70th anniversary of one Brandon’s favorite films this week on Front Row Classics. The Band Wagon is one of the crown jewels of the Arthur Freed unit at MGM. Author and film historian, John DiLeo also counts the musical comedy as one of his favorites. Brandon and John recount all of their favorite moments and musical numbers from Vincente Minnelli’s love letter to show business. From the romance of ‘Dancing in the Dark’ to the hilarity of the “Girl Hunt Ballet’, The Band Wagon is a film that still charms seven decades later.
Man name is Brandon and I love Classic film. In this day and age its easy to forget where our favorite films came from. I started this show on the Front Row Network to once again give these greatest films of all time the spotlight that has passed them by. Join me in exploring these Classics!
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The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup will be Megan Rapinoe’s last.
The four-time World Cup veteran has had many great moments as a member of the United States Women’s National Soccer Team. The USWNT will compete for a fifth championship after claiming victory in 1991, 1999, 2015 and 2019. This year’s tournament will take place in Australia and New Zealand with the first match of group play between New Zealand and Norway kicking off July 20. Australia will take on the Republic of Ireland shortly after, and two more matches that day will see Nigeria take on Canada and the Philippines take on Switzerland.
Group play extends to Thursday, August 3 before elimination rounds begin as the tournament narrows down the competition for a champion. The United States will also face the Netherlands and Portugal in Group E.
Read more details on how to watch the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup below:
When Is the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup?
The World Cup begins on July 20 with group play. It will stretch into August once elimination rounds start, ending Aug. 20.
Will the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup Be Streaming?
The streaming options for the soccer matches include the Fox Sports App, Fifa+, Sling, YouTubeTV and Peacock in Spanish. Other ways to watch include the Fox cable channels like Fox Sports 1, and FoxSports.com. Full replays of the matches will be available on FOXSports.com and the FOX Sports App.
When Is the first game for the U.S. Women’s National Team?
The first game of group play for the USWNT takes place Friday, July 21. They will play Vietnam at 9 p.m. Eastern time.
Who Will Be Representing the United States in the Women’s World Cup This Year?
Veteran champions include Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan, Kelley O’Hara and Julie Ertz. Those with multiple World Cup appearances under their belts include Emily Sonnett, Rose Lavelle, Alyssa Naeher, Crystal Dunn, Lindsey Horan and more. Sofia Huerta, Kristie Mewis, Lynn Williams and Andi Sullivan are among the first-timers to the international tournament. The youngest players on the team include Alyssa Thompson (18), Trinity Rodman (21) Sophia Smith (22), and Naomi Girma (23).
Familiar faces who will be missing the World Cup due to injury include Christen Press, Tobin Heath, Becky Sauerbrunn, Mallory Swanson, Catarina Macario and Samantha Mewis.
Adam Schiff responded Wednesday to the potential third round of charges former President Donald Trump faces in relation to the 2021 insurrection on the Capitol, predicting that Special Counsel Jack Smith “will be conservative in the charging around Jan. 6” because he wants the “most provable, strongest case.”
The comments came on Wednesday evening’s “All In With Chris Hayes,” with MSNBC’s Ali Velshi stepping in to host for Hayes this week.
“We thought there was certainly a strong body of evidence the department should consider – but having been a federal prosecutor myself, they are going to look for what is the most provable, strongest case,” says Congressman Adam Schiff. pic.twitter.com/FZNwciMrwH
— All In with Chris Hayes (@allinwithchris) July 20, 2023
Noting that as a member of the House select committee investigating the insurrection, Schiff recommended the charge of aiding an insurrection, Velshi explained that “our reporting at the moment does not indicate that that’s being included” in the Justice Department’s charges.
Similar findings were determined by the New York Times, which instead predicted potential charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States government and obstruction of an official proceeding, both of which were also recommended by the committee.
“Tell me what your thoughts are on that being left out of these potential charges,” Velshi posed of the outlying charge.
“We thought there was certainly a strong body of evidence the department should consider,” Schiff said, citing Trump’s response of “take down the effing mags” to the haphazard use of Capitol metal detectors for armed insurrectionists as an example of his aid. “This is powerful evidence of his involvement and the incitement, his knowledge that these people were armed and dangerous.”
“But having been a federal prosecutor myself,” Schiff continued, “they are going to look for what is the most provable, strongest case. [Smith has] been very conservative in the charging at Mar-a-Lago, I think he’ll be conservative in the charging around Jan. 6, if indeed he brings charges against the former president.”
Velshi then probed for Schiff’s opinion on whether or not the potential charges as they currently stand effectively hold Trump and his actions surrounding the Jan. 6 insurrection to account.
“Again, we don’t know — this is some reporting we’ve got, but we don’t know until we see that target letter,” Velshi began, teeing up his final question. “What’s your sense of these charges as they’re being discussed right now, these potential charges, reflect the gravity of what Donald Trump did? You made the point that Jack Smith might be conservative about this because he needs a case to actually prove and hopefully one that doesn’t drag into 2025. Does it reflect, for the viewer, for the American public, the gravity of what Donald Trump did?”
“Well, I certainly hope that whatever charges are brought does reflect the gravity, but I also completely agree with you, Ali, that this is the most serious set of potential charges,” Schiff concluded. “Mar-a-Lago is very serious. It threatened the nation’s security. The charges in New York are also serious, committing multiple acts of business fraud is no laughing matter. But here, you’re talking about charges going to the heart of our democracy, charges involving the first effort to essentially prevent the peaceful transfer of power in our history, so any charges regarding Jan. 6, I think, by definition are going to be the most serious charges against Donald Trump.”
Watch Schiff’s full “All In” interview in the clip above.
Country music star Miranda Lambert has become the latest star to deal with a concert scandal. Recently, many big-named artists like Bebe Rexha and Drake have had concerts disrupted by fans.
On Saturday, Lambert became the latest star to deal with an interruption. Luckily, Lambert wasn’t hit in the face by a flying object. But the star was upset when fans were more interested in taking selfies than listening to music.
Miranda Lambert’s actions spark debate
Singers like Lambert put a lot of effort into their concerts. Artists want to make sure the show is a memorable experience for fans. Lambert’s recent Las Vegas concert is one that a couple of fans won’t forget.
Lambert was in the middle of a song when she halted the performance because of a group of fans taking selfies. “I’m gonna stop right here for a second, I’m sorry,” Lambert told the audience. “These girls are worried about their selfie and not listening to the song. It’s pissing me off a little bit. Sorry, I don’t like it. At all.”
Lambert’s actions quickly sparked a debate. Some supporters applauded the Little Red Wagon singer by saying concerts were for enjoying music, not being on the phone. However, many believe Lambert was out of line and felt the fans had a right to take selfies since they paid for the tickets.
As the concert debate continues, Adela Calin one of the selfie fans has spoken out about her experience. In an interview with NBC News, Calin explained her side of the story. “It was 30 seconds at most. We took the picture quickly and were going to sit back down.”
When Lambert called Calin and her friends out, the concertgoer admitted to feeling embarrassed.
“It felt like I was back in school with the teacher scolding me for doing something wrong and telling me to sit down back in my place. I feel like she was determined to make us look like we were young, immature and vain. But we were just grown women in our 30s to 60s trying to take a picture.”
Do you think Lambert went too far in calling out the fans?
Prolific film and television composer Danny Elfman — known for creating “The Simpsons” theme song and the music behind “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” “Men In Black,” “Spider-Man” and most recently, Netflix’s “Wednesday” — is being sued for breach of contract for failing to make settlement payments due to allegations of sexual harassment.
A new investigation in Rolling Stone claims that Elfman sexually harassed Nomi Abadi, a Grammy-nominated pianist and composer, in2015 and 2016.
Elfman denies the claims. Abadi is now suing Elfman for breach of contract for failing to make all settlement payments, in new legal documents that have been reviewed by Variety.
Rolling Stone uncovers a police report that Abadi filed with the LAPD in November 2017 in which she alleges that Elfman exposed himself and masturbated in front of her multiple times. Rolling Stone states that the police report categorized the allegations as “indecent exposure.”
Elfman denied all accusations of improper behavior in a statement to Rolling Stone, stating he did not expose himself or masturbate in front of Abadi. He described their relationship as “platonic,” the publication reports, and claims that “Abadi had attempted to pursue Elfman romantically and retaliated against him after he spurned her advances.”
In Rolling Stone’s article, Elfman is also alleged to have coerced Abadi into a nude photoshoot, stating it would be an “artistic shoot,” which he denies.
He is also accused in Rolling Stone of presenting Abadi with a glass of what Abadi claimed Elfman said was semen. (Variety has reviewed a photo of the glass in question from an email that Elfman allegedly sent Abadi with the caption, in part, “to pique your ‘magination.”) A representative for Elfman told Rolling Stone that he “never claimed it was semen” and categorized the email as “a provocative tagline that was meant to be a joke,” telling the publication that the substance was actually the moisturizing cream Cetaphil.
“How do I respond to accusations so serious that being innocent is not a valid defense? It is excruciating to consider that a 50-year career may be destroyed in one news cycle as a result of vicious and wholly false allegations about sexual misconduct,” Elfman told Rolling Stone. “Ms. Abadi’s allegations are simply not true. I allowed someone to get close to me without knowing that I was her ‘childhood crush’ and that her intention was to break up my marriage and replace my wife. When this person realized that I wanted distance from her, she made it clear that I would pay for having rejected her. I allowed an ill-advised friendship to have far-reaching consequences, and that error in judgment is entirely my fault. I have done nothing indecent or wrong, and my lawyers stand ready to prove with voluminous evidence that these accusations are false. This is the last I will say on this subject.”
A spokesperson for Elfman told Rolling Stone that Elfman and Abadi’s “limited interactions, which did not involve sexual contact, were fully consensual.”
His spokesperson also told the publication that the settlement was a reaction to the #MeToo movement: “When faced with threats from the other party to go public with untruths at the height of the #MeToo movement, [Elfman] faced the impossible choice between settling and continuing his career and earning a living for his family or deciding to fight what at the time was an unwinnable battle to tell the truth — Danny chose his family. It is disappointing, but sadly not surprising, that this baseless narrative would be revived now that the payments have stopped. Accusations alone should not and do not equate to guilt, and Danny will defend himself and clear his name with the volume of evidence and the other party’s own words — her words speak for themselves.”
An attorney for Abadi, Jeff Anderson of the firm Anderson & Associates, disputes Elfman’s version of events, telling Variety, “Elfman has said that his relationship to Nomi Abadi was platonic and consensual. His account is as bizarre as his conduct towards her was years ago. It was not platonic. It was bizarre.”
Abadi, who did not speak to Rolling Stone for their investigation, had entered into a non-disclosure agreement with Elfman in July 2018, signing a settlement worth $830,000.
Rolling Stone’s report says that Abadi signed a nondisclosure agreement “feeling she had little choice.” A friend of Abadi who spoke to the publication said, “She felt her career would be over if she said Elfman was a creep. And she’s right. I’m sorry to say, but that’s still unfortunately how this industry works.”
Abadi filed a complaint against Elfman on Wednesday morning at the Los Angeles Superior Courthouse for breach of contract for not paying the full amount of her settlement. In the court documents — which have been obtained by Variety — Abadi’s legal team writes that “the parties agreed to resolve an underlying dispute” in July 2018, which included Elfman making four payments over the course of five years, totaling $830,000. Some of the settlement funds would be made to charitable organizations and not directly to Abadi, the docs allege.
The complaint does not mention the cause of the settlement being for Abadi’s allegations, but Rolling Stone reports that “based on multiple sources and documents that the dispute refers to claims of sexual misconduct.”
A source close to Abadi confirms to Variety that the underlying allegations concern sexual harassment. “You don’t pay $830,000 for a non-consequential issue,” this individual tells Variety.
A spokesperson for Elfman tells Variety in a statement, “While we can’t comment on a lawsuit that we haven’t received, the fact that it has made its way to the media before the defendant further shows that this is another stunt in a years-long campaign to demand money from Mr. Elfman and his family. The allegations are baseless.”
Elfman’s spokesperson also provided Variety with numerous documents including screenshots of text messages and emails from Abadi, as reinforcing evidence of Elfman’s denial.
Rolling Stone spoke to numerous friends of Abadi who corroborated many of her allegations. The report states that Abadi’s friends recall her excitement when she met Elfman in 2015 and that she was “hoping he’d take her on as a mentee and be a launchpad for her career.” The report continues, “Abadi visited Elfman at his recording studio several times over the year, where Abadi’s misconduct claims were alleged to have taken place.”
Abadi’s police report states that Elfman’s “demeanor turned from ostensibly friendly to inappropriate within the first year,” Rolling Stone writes. The publication also reports that Abadi claimed, in her police report, that Elfman would answer the door of his recording studio in a bathrobe with no clothes underneath, explaining “this was how he liked to work.” Abadi claimed, in her police report, per Rolling Stone, that Elfman allegedly insisted that masturbating would help “with his creativity.” Friends of Abadi told the publication that Elfman would invite her into a sauna at his recording studio, which his spokesperson denied.
“She looked at him as a mentor,” a friend of Abadi’s told Rolling Stone, adding that she did not realize, at the time, that Elfman was “absolutely crossing a barrier.”
Another friend tells Rolling Stone, “He said he wanted to show her his authentic self; apparently, that involved being naked a lot.”
Abadi is an outspoken activist and has spoken to the media in the past about corruption and toxicity across the music industry, stating that the #MeToo movement has skipped over the world of composing, but she has alleged Elfman as her perpetrator. This is the first time Elfman has been named in connection with her allegations.
Earlier this year, Abadi joined a group of sexual misconduct survivors at a press conference during Grammys weekend to urge the music industry to stop enabling the culture of harassment. Abadi is the founder of the Female Composer Safety League (FCSL), an organization dedicated to the empowerment of women working in the business. She has said that she is committed to exposing toxic and abusive conditions that go unchecked in composing studios.
Elfman has been one of the most powerful and influential composers in the film scoring world since the 1980s. Having composed over 100 film scores throughout his four-decade career, Elfman is known for his long association with Tim Burton on films like “Batman,” “Beetlejuice,” “Edward Scissorhands” and the Netflix series “Wednesday,” which has been campaigning for Emmys. Elfman is responsible for the music in a number of superhero movies including Marvel’s “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” Oscar-winning films including “Good Will Hunting” and blockbuster franchises like “Men In Black” and “Fifty Shades of Grey.” He is most famous as a performer for his voice work as Jack Skellington in the songs of “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” for which he composed.
As a musician, Elfman got his start in the rock realm as the frontman of the group Oingo Boingo. He returned to releasing his own albums with 2021’s “Big Mess,” which was followed by high-profile concerts mixing his rock and orchestral work at Coachella and the Hollywood Bowl in 2022. In 2015, the Emmy and Grammy-winning Elfman was honored with the Disney Legend Award, and, in 2022, with the Society of Composers and Lyricists Lifetime Achievement Award.
The accusations stand to tarnish a legendary career for the Oscar-nominated Elfman, but also shine a light on the world of composing, a sector of the music industry that has scarcely been explored during the #MeToo movement.
Homeowners who were forced to abandon their properties on B.C.’s Sunshine Coast due to sinkholes say they’re now grappling with rampant looting.
Residents of 14 properties in the Seawatch subdivision were forced to evacuate their homes in February 2019, when erosion and sinkholes rendered the subdivision unsafe for habitation prompting a state of local emergency.
The state of emergency was finally lifted last year, but residents have been unable to return.
District of Sechelt sues Seawatch homeowners who lost everything
Now, they say thieves and vandals are targeting the properties, and officials in the region refuse to do anything about it.
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Resident Ed Pednaud has been returning regularly to his property in the beleaguered subdivision to document theft and damage.
On Wednesday, he showed Global News smashed pipes and flooding, destroyed ceilings and graffiti inside the home.
“It’s gotten worse, absolutely, because I believe they know they can walk into here with impunity at night time, nobody is going to stop them, so they have a free-for-all,” he said.
Residents of devastated Sechelt neighbourhood suffer major legal blow
Adding insult to injury, Pednaud said there has bee no action from the municipal government.
Due to safety concerns around the sinkhole, firefighters won’t come to the property unless there’s a life-safety emergency, and police won’t respond to reports of vandalism or theft, he said.
“Its ridiculous that we can’t have law enforcement patrol at night time or walk through here a couple of times a week to keep people out,” he said. “We’re not asking for 24 hour security, for RCMP to walk around here 24 hours a day but we would love to have somebody come in with us when we see something that’s happened.”
Sechelt RCMP told global news it can’t respond to any property crime in the neighbourhood due to the risk to officers, adding they would only respond if it’s a life and death emergency.
Residents of controversial Sechelt neighbourhood ordered out of homes
The District of Sechelt won’t comment on matters related to the Seawatch subdivision due to ongoing litigation.
Homeowners have launched numerous legal challenges, and have lost nearly every one so far, but continue to fight hoping for some form of compensation.
In the meantime, residents remain displaced and financially on the hook for their unviable homes.
Property values for some have plummetted from more than $1 million to around $2, according to recent BC Assessment figures, and continue to be subject to vandalism and squatters.
Fox News host Jeanine Pirro went fishing Wednesday for excuses as to why country music star Jason Aldean shot a now-controversial video in front of a Tennessee courthouse known as the site of a notorious 20th century lynching of a Black man.
Pirro, in a segment on “The Five” discussing why Aldean’s “Try That in a Small Town was pulled by the Country Music Television channel, came up with a doozy of a reason for his choice of location.
“Don’t you think he’s trying to show that there hasn’t been much progress and that, you know, Black Lives Matter is violating the law themselves at this point,” Pirro said, to the seeming consternation of even cohost Greg Gutfeld, who was left expressionless by the comment, even looking down at the table as the camera pulled out to a wider shot.
“Rioting and burning,” Pirro added, referring to news clips featured in Aldean’s video of burning U.S. flags and protestors confronting police. “That’s what happened a hundred years later.”
Pirro near the end of her remarks was forced to talk over liberal cohost Jessica Tarlov, who brought up the matter of the video shoot’s location in front of the Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, Tennessee, only after Jesse Watters and other cohosts glossed over its significance.
Instead, the Fox News segment, which you can watch at the top of this page — titled on YouTube as “The woke think Aldean’s song is racist: Jesse Watters” — made excuses for Aldean after the country singer was widely blasted for the song’s inflammatory lyrics and for where it was filmed.
The song, which was released in May, has already been interpreted by many as an ode to the notorious “sundown towns” of the past thanks to lyrics like, “Try that in a small town, see how far ya make it down the road… You cross that line, it won’t take long for you to find out/recommend you don’t.”
Aldean shared a lengthy statement to Twitter on Tuesday insisting that “Try That in a Small Town” is a not “a pro-lynching song.”
“The Umbrella Academy” writer Molly Nussbaum said that the streaming financial structure “doesn’t make any sense” while picketing outside Paramount on Wednesday, telling TheWrap that even after executive producing a streaming series, she was forced back into driving for Lyft.
“The money that you make on a job has to now last you six, 10, 12, 14 months — and when you don’t have residuals coming to help you get through that… I mean, I was an executive producer in April on a hit show for a streaming platform, and I was driving for Lyft in December. That doesn’t make any sense. It’s not good,” Nussbaum, who was acting as a WGA strike captain, told TheWrap.
The WGA member, who was most recently working on the “Daredevil” reboot for Disney and was previously executive producing on the Peacock series “One of Us Is Lying,” added, “I believe that what we’re asking for is fair. We want our fair share in the wealth that we create for these billion dollar companies. I care a lot about residuals and making sure that streaming residuals reflect the wealth we are generating.”
When asked if she thought entertainment CEOs should take a pay cut, as Barry Diller recently suggested, she replied, “When I look at the numbers, I feel like that’s where you can make some cuts and reallocate some funds. If we are creating this much profit, this much revenue for your companies, why is it all going to the people at the top? Why is it all going to the shareholders who have not been the people creating that wealth for you?”
She added, “We are not asking for money that’s not there. We are just asking for a reallocation of funds that reflects the value we bring to these companies.”
Nussbaum added, “We need to see real changes in our contract that addresses the changes that have happened in the streaming model: short-term work, mini rooms, not sending writers to set production. These are diminishing our work and diminishing our power. We need to address these problems now, because we won’t get a second chance.”
Bron Studios, the Canadian finance and production company that emerged as a media force in 2017 and has backed awards favorites like “Joker,” “Judas and the Black Messiah” and “Licorice Pizza” and commercial plays like “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” “The Mule” and “65,” has filed for bankruptcy.
Co-founder and CEO Aaron L. Gilbert disclosed the news in a statement on Wednesday, penning a letter to the banner’s “friends, partners, team members and backers.”
“Having explored many options for many months, BRON had no choice but to take this step in light of its financial circumstances. The last few years have been incredibly difficult for BRON, and things have only gotten more complicated over these past months,” Gilbert shared, citing the COVID pandemic and both the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes as insurmountable headwinds for the company’s continued operations. The exec also stated that the company would not be doing press.
The letter states that Bron has filed for creditor protection with the Supreme Court of British Columbia in Canada and Chapter 15 in the United States (the Chapter 15 filing is for cases across more than one country).
In recent months, Bron’s co-financing deals with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Warner Bros. had sunsetted.
“Thank you to our many friends who have been there to support us. Thank you to the BRON team and to our incredible creative, production, and business partners. Thank you to the many production financing partners and our corporate backers for support these many years. Thank you to our various representatives and the many service providers for all the support and patience through a very tough few years at BRON,” Gilbert’s statement concludes. “Your continued support and patience will remain critical during this restructuring process and we will continue to keep you informed as we move through this process.”
Moreover, Captain Marvel 2‘s trailer also indicated that Seo-joon’s character is involved in a musical number.
How Park Seo-Joon’s Prince Yan Fits in Captain Marvel 2 (Theory)
In Marvel Comics, Yan is the prince of Aldana, a planet where men can’t pick whom they will marry and everyone speaks in rhymes.
In Captain Marvel Vol. 8 #9, Carol acted as Yan’s bride after replacing the mutant Lila Cheney. After duking it out with an evil alien who interrupted the ceremony, Yan’s companion Tica agreed to marry Yan, giving Carol the freedom to flee.
After the marriage of Tica and Yan, the latter abolished the planet’s rule of not allowing men to choose their wives.
It is unknown if this exact story arc will be adapted in the movie, but there’s a chance that some of it will be included.
Given that Park Seo-joon’s character is confirmed to be an ally, it’s possible that Brie Larson’s Carol Danvers was indeed married to the prince at some point and she could’ve used Aldana as her planet of refuge alongside Kamala Khan and Monica Rambeau.
On the flip side, the sequel may end up showcasing Carol and Yan’s fixed marriage to act as a cover-up to finally abolish Aldana’s rule about men and their choice of wives.
The Marvels is set to premiere in theaters on November 10.
It’s no secret that often when human tragedies occur in the public sphere, a siphon of unfounded rumors can follow that skew established facts and even put unsuspecting people in incredibly awkward positions for the sake of headlines.
The OceanGate Titan submarine tragedy gained international attention last month, and fueled a heavy retrospective discourse on how ignoring standards of safety in lieu of profits can clearly lead to catastrophe. One of the biggest figureheads approached about that discourse was director and seasoned deep sea explorer James Cameron, and while he gave plenty of his own perspective, his words were eventually manipulated by certain media outlets such as The Sun to create the prospect of Cameron actually planning a series about the tragedy itself. Per a report from The Hollywood Reporter, Cameron has since come forward to adamantly deny any notion of such a project.
It was exactly one month ago that OceanGate’s Titan submarine took the plunge with five passengers down to explore the infamous wreckage of the RMS Titanic at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. Soon after embarking the submersible lost all contact, leading to a days-long search that ended in tragedy with all passengers declared dead, only fragments of the sub wreckage recovered awhile later. The incident grabbed international headlines and led to intense scrutiny of OceanGate’s operations and severe disregard of safety standards.
Award-winning director James Cameron, who not only helmed the legendary 1997 film Titanic, but also became famous for his dozens of successful submarine ventures to the actual wreckage, was predictably approached by media from all directions about the tragedy and OceanGate’s questionable practices. As a decorated sub-aquatic professional, his remarks echoed the same concerns, and in the aftermath of the Titan incident some rather insensitive rumors started to swirl that Cameron was actually debating directing a feature series all about it. Most notably, The Sun had actually published a story that Cameron was looking into the project, and was even considering hiring Matt Damon to star in it. An excerpt from the article read:
“The Titan disaster is already being looked at as a major series for one of the world’s biggest streamers — and James is the first choice for director. It is a subject close to his heart. He told the story of the Titanic so compassionately it feels like a natural step for him to take this on. Retracing the steps of those on board the Titan is a massive undertaking, but there would be a lot of time, money and resources dedicated to it.”
Cameron Takes Personal Obligation to Shoot Down Tasteless Rumors
Unfortunately it’s not too surprising that Cameron, given his experience in the field and notoriety with the Titanic in general, and A-listers like Matt Damon would be sniped for such a crude and ill-timed story. As certain magazines and newspapers clearly look to continue profiting off the attention around the disaster, the director has vehemently and repeatedly denied the prospect, even taking to Twitter to declare on the social forum that it will never happen, ever.
Despite inevitably needing to clear the air about such a thing, Cameron has plenty of other film work keeping him occupied. The long-planned Alita: Battle Angel sequels are back in the works, along with the third installment Cameron’s ongoing epic fantasy film franchise Avatar.
“SOS (Sad Owl Studios) and Thunderful are excited to announce that their highly anticipated first-person puzzle adventure, “Viewfinder”, is out now on PC and PlayStation.” – Sad Owl Studios and Thunderful.
It’s hard to believe that Jenny Lewis has been an indie rock mainstay for almost 25 years. She first burst onto the scene as lead singer and guitarist of Rilo Kiley, and since the release of their debut EP in 1999, she’s been dashing through genres and writing songs about love and heartbreak.
After Rilo Kiley’s 2013 breakup, Lewis was prolific with new material and touring, releasing solo albums as well as collaborative work with Johnathan Rice, The Watson Twins and her supergroup Nice as Fuck. After spending much of 2021 playing arena shows opening for Harry Styles, Lewis is back on the road solo again promoting her breezy new album “Joy’All.” Her energetic show Tuesday night at New York’s The Rooftop at Pier 17 brought a great bounce to the new music from her fourth solo album and added a cheery sheen to her older material.
Lewis began the set with a blissed-out version of her 2014 single “Just One of the Guys,” which served as a great introduction to her Western-clad band, consisting of drummer Meg Coleman, locked-in bassist Ryan Madora, keyboard player and vocalist Jess Nolan, and guitar and pedal steel player Nicole Lawrence. Trading in the jagged rock edges of her previous backing bands, Lewis’ group is smooth and lush, creating a bed of sound that could be coming from a needle-popping record player. The country tinge gave a different dimension to stomping hits such as “She’s Not Me” and “Red Bull & Hennessy,” with Nolan and Lawrence trading off tasteful solos. Meanwhile, Coleman’s versatility with the kit added some unexpected sounds, including playing the kit without sticks for gentle “Joy’All” single “Puppy and a Truck.”
Meanwhile, Lewis was all smiles throughout the set, clearly thrilled to be sharing her new style with fans. Far removed from the jittery intensity of her early performances with Rilo Kiley, the singer spent most of her time dancing and singing on an elevated platform in a biker-vibe jumpsuit. Grinning her way through poison-kissed lyrics like “He took me to a graveyard / I thought he’d kill me there / And he kissed me on the corner / While the nuns of Harlem stared,” Lewis’ heart was clearly full while playing material in her onetime home of New York City.
The joy translated into her vocals, which are growing more and more honeyed through the years. From her vibrato in the torchy “Acid Tongue” to some genuine grit during “The Next Messiah,” Lewis’ voice was strong but floated effortlessly over the instrumentation. She seemed especially rejuvenated by the new material, finding a pocket for album tracks like “Apples and Oranges” and “Cherry Baby” that made them sound like old favorites.
“There’s no crying in rock ‘n’ roll,” Lewis quipped during one one happy tears moment, remixing the “League of Their Own” quote to show her appreciation that fans were still connecting with her songs. And even though she brought many fans to their own emotional apex during the encore with the sole Rilo Kiley song of the night— the singalong classic “With Arms Outstretched” — her music, past and future, left everyone smiling.
The movie Oppenheimer is getting early buzz that it’s so disturbing people are leaving the theater scared and unnerved. At least that is what its director Christopher Nolan is saying according to Variety. And it kind of makes sense given the subject matter.
Oppenheimer Movie Poster
“Some people leave the movie absolutely devastated,” Nolan said to Variety. “They can’t speak. I mean, there’s an element of fear that’s there in the history and there in the underpinnings. But the love of the characters, the love of the relationships, is as strong as I’ve ever done.”
Nolan also added, “It is an intense experience, because it’s an intense story. I showed it to a filmmaker recently who said it’s kind of a horror movie. I don’t disagree.”
Oppenheimer was the scientist who helped create the deadliest weapon on Earth. Some might think a bio-pic about a scientist would be tiring, in ‘A Beautiful Mind’ type of way, however considering that Oppenheimer’s creation could actually end the world is terrifying, and there are currently over 12, 500 of his inventions scattered around the globe.
Biographer Kai Bird wrote the book on which Oppenheimer is based, and even he was shaken, “I am, at the moment, stunned and emotionally recovering from having seen it,” he said.
Oppenheimer opens in theaters nationwide July 21 from Universal Pictures.
The Nuclear Fear Is Real
It’s called a nuclear bomb and it’s used for “Global Thermonuclear War.” If that sounds familiar it’s because it was the video game Matthew Broderick was playing against WOPR, a virtually self-aware computer using the real world as its game board, in the 1983 movie War Games.
For all of you new-generationhorror fans, War Games was a movie released at a time in the 80s when the threat of a real-life disaster film was not only possible but plausible.
WarGames 1983 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
You see, in 1983, the Soviet Union was accidentally — to use a phrase in current terms — trolled by the United States when that country’s early warning systems triggered an alarm alerting them that America had launched four nuclear missiles in their direction.
Turns out a malfunctioning satellite computer created a false alarm and if Russia hadn’t waited to confirm the launch, and retaliated instantaneously it would have triggered World War III.
If you don’t think that’s scary consider it takes just one nuclear bomb to wipe out an entire city, killing millions. The after-effects would continue to be destructive for many years afterward.
Remember, there are 12,500warheads at the ready with a push of a button right now; imagine what that many could do to the planet.
The nuclear scare of the 80s was a real thing. Disaster films were made on the subject and even horror films used the effects of nuclear weapons as a plot point. Movies like The Day After, The Manhattan Project, Red Dawn, and Mad Max were heavy hitters. Wes Craven also weighed in with The Hills Have Eyes in 1977 with a remake in 2006.
It’s another earnings quarter and another new strike knocking at the door, and Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos is responding to the reality of both SAG-AFTRA and WGA on strike while putting on a good face for Wall Street.
During Netflix’s Q2 earnings interview on Wednesday, Sarandos deflected on a pair of questions from Wall Street analyst Jessica Reif Ehrlich about how much content spend from this year would be deferred into next year, as well as at what point content could run out. Instead, Sarandos led off the earnings interview saying that both strikes are “not an outcome that we wanted.” He also shared a story from a personal level saying that his dad was a union electrician who he recalls going on strike.
“We make deals all the time, we are constantly at the table negotiating, with writers, with directors, with actors, with producers, and we very much hoped to reach an agreement by now.” Sarandos said. “It takes an enormous toll on your family, financially and emotionally. So you should know that nobody here, nobody within the AMPTP, and I’m sure nobody at SAG or nobody at the WGA took any of this lightly. But we’ve got a lot of work to do. There are a handful of complicated issues. We’re super committed to getting an agreement as soon as possible, one that’s equitable, and one that enables the industry and everybody in it to move forward into the future.”
When pressed about when content could run out for Netflix, Sarandos said that the company listed some of its upcoming shows and movies in the investor note and referenced his remarks in last quarter’s earnings call about producing “all kinds of content.”
“It’s besides the point. We need to get this strike to get to a conclusion, so we can all move forward,” Sarandos said.
“If there is one, we have a large base of upcoming shows and films from around the world, so we can probably serve our members better than most,” he said back in April. “We really don’t want this to happen, but we have to make plans for the worst, so we do have a pretty robust slate of releases to take us into a long time. But just to be clear, we’re at the table, and we’re going to try and get to an equitable solution so there is no strike.”
He’s been right so far. Netflix’s earnings this quarter were strong, with the company adding nearly 6 million global subscribers in the quarter thanks to its “paid sharing” rollout, raising Netflix global subscribers to 238.39 million. Its stock price has also risen dramatically since the prior quarter and could soon hit $500, and as a streamer that plans out its content well in advance, Netflix has gotten by in the nearly three months of the writers strike whereas other linear TV networks have already felt the pinch.
But an actors strike on top of a writers strike is a different animal, and even Netflix will start to sweat if it can’t deliver some of its biggest shows fans want to see on time. The writers strike already shut down production of “Stranger Things 5,” and the actors strike has now shut down any remaining U.S. production, as well as production abroad. The actors strike is also suspending Emmy campaigns and puts a damper on the fall film festivals that Netflix may rely upon to fuel Oscar campaigns.
Netflix, despite beating expectations on earnings and adding nearly six million global subscribers, fell short in revenue benchmarks this quarter, hitting $8.187 billion of revenue from April to June, with quarterly earnings on a per share basis at $3.29. Overall net income was $1.488 billion for the quarter, and Netflix forecasts an even higher profit, $1.58 billion, for the next quarter.
Pictures: Sony Pictures, UPN, and Warner Bros. Pictures
Every month, Netflix loses a bunch of movies and series as licensing rights come up for expiration. August 2023 will be no different, with dozens of movies and series set to leave Netflix US.
Beyond the standard movie removals on the first of the month, we’re also going to start seeing a number of high-profile sitcom series leave in the coming months, starting with Moesha.
Article continues below…
Few quick notes on removals before we dive into the full list.
We list removals slightly differently compared to different outlets. We list titles on the actual day of removal. That means if you want to watch any of these shows and movies below, you’ll need to watch the day before. So if something below says it’s leaving on August 5th, you must watch on August 4th.
This is a live article and will be continuously updated throughout the month of July 2023 as and when we learn of more removals.
Full List of Removals From Netflix US in August 2023
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