Universal is hoping the possible SAG-AFTRA strike doesn’t get in the way of the London premiere of “Oppenheimer” on Thursday evening.
Variety has learned the studio is rolling out the red carpet an hour earlier than originally planned — moving from 5:45 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. local time — with the hope that the 60 minutes will allow the cast, which includes stars like Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr. Matt Damon, Emily Blunt and Florence Pugh, to pose for photos and participate in interviews without going against SAG-AFTRA strike rules.
Though the negotiations deadline comes on midnight Wednesday, the SAG-AFTRA board would still have to meet on Thursday to vote and confirm the call for the strike. Universal execs believe such an event may not happen before the premiere takes place.
Of course, that’s a risky bet — the decision to strike could be announced as the carpet is still going on.
A federal mediator was present on Wednesday for negotiations between SAG-AFTRA and Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. If no deal is reached, the board is expected to hold a meeting on Thursday to approve a walkout of its 160,000 performer members.
SAG-AFTRA members would be joining the Writers Guild of America on the picket lines outside major studios and streamers.
SAG-AFTRA agreed to a 12-day extension for contract negotiations on June 30, but has consistently said it would not agree to extending it for a second time.
“Oppenheimer” director Christopher Nolan and the cast celebrated the world premiere of the film on July 10 in Paris. Universal also asked talent to do interviews and junkets earlier than planned to get publicity and promotional activities done before a potential strike. The studio is also planning an “Oppenheimer” premiere on July 17 in New York City.
While Spider-Verse 3, stands a fair chance of getting delayed, it’s been anticipated to be bigger and flashier than the two films that precede it. As is often the case with third movies in trilogies.
Every Character To Look For in Beyond the Spider-Verse
Shameik Moore – Miles Morales / Spider-Man
Shameik Moore
The voice of the hero and primary protagonist of the piece, Shameik Moore will return to reprise Miles, who has been trapped and left stranded in a world without a Spider-Man where crime has run rampant.
Moore has, of course, portrayed the character in the first two films from 2018 and 2023.
Hailee Steinfeld – Gwen Stacy / Spider-Woman
Hailee Steinfeld
The fan-favorite Gwen Stacy (brought to life by the equally fan-favorite Hailee Steinfeld) assembled a crack team of Spider-Folks to mount a rescue mission for Miles, as seen in the closing minutes of Spider-Verse 2.
Gwen was also seen reconciling her relationship with her father, who after learning that his daughter is Spider-Woman, resigned from the police force. This signaled to Gwen that canon events seemingly aren’t set in stone. Expect this revelation to play into Beyond in a big way.
Brian Tyree Henry – Jefferson Morales
Brian Tyree Henry
The MCU’s Phastos, Brian Tyree Henry lends his voice to Miles‘ dad Jefferson in the Spider-Verse franchise.
In Across the Spider-Verse, Miles learned that the death of his father was a canon event, a monumental tragedy in a Spider-Person’s life that is believed to be completely unavoidable.
Luna Lauren Vélez – Rio Morales
Luna Lauren Vélez
Luna Lauren Vélez will return to play Miles’ mom Rio. After not playing a huge role in 2018’s Into the Spider-Verse, the character was more fleshed out in the sequel.
She takes a loving, yet firm hand in bringing up her son, but also has shown a willingness to offer Miles space when he needs it. With her husband’s life on the line in Spider-Verse 3, Rio Morales should have a strong showing in the film.
Jake Johnson – Peter B. Parker / Spider-Man
Jake Johnson
The affable, laid-back Peter B. Parker (voiced by New Girl’s Jake Johnson) began the franchise as a jaded, lovesick hero who had maybe been Spider-Man a bit too long.
But in Across the Spider-Verse, Peter has a new lease on life, having patched things up with Mary Jane and had a child with her, the mischievous Mayday Parker who stole several scenes in the sequel. He was also a member of Gwen’s team to rescue Miles, so fans should be on the lookout for him going into the trilogy capper.
Hailing from Mumbattan, Pavitr Prabhakar, an Indian Spider-Man Variant (played by Deadpool’s own Karan Soni) was another member of the rescue party put together by Gwen, so it can be anticipated that he’ll have an expanded role in the third movie.
Pavitr’s Earth was put into peril when Miles unwittingly intervened during a canon event, resulting in it not occurring at all, which ended up tampering with the very nature of reality itself.
Kimiko Glenn – Peni Parker
Kimiko Glenn
Kimiko Glenn’s anime-styled Peni Parker was largely sidelined in Across the Spider-Verse after getting more to do in the original movie (even if she wasn’t portrayed in perhaps the most respectful fashion). But she joined up with Gwen to help save Miles from Earth-42, so she’ll definitely have a bigger part to play in the threequel.
Peni shares a psychic link with the spider inside of her SP//dr mech suit and the duo fight crime in a futuristic version of New York on Earth-14512.
Nicolas Cage – Spider-Man Noir
Nicolas Cage
Spider-Man Noir, a brooding, monochromatic Spider-Variant voiced by the inimitable Nicolas Cage barely showed up in the 2023 sequel, so hopefully, given that he too is on Gwen Stacy’s Miles-rescuing squad, he’ll have a sizable role in Beyond.
The quirky, popular comedian John Mulaney lends his voice acting talents to Peter Porker aka, Spider-Ham, an honest-to-goodness cartoon character, who interacts with an already animated cast of characters in Into the Spider-Verse.
Gwen recruited Spider-Ham to her group, so he’ll likely be a key player in Spider-Verse 3 after being mostly absent from movie #2.
Mahershala Ali – Aaron Davis
Mahershala Ali
Killed by Kingpin during Into the Spider-Verse, Mahershala Ali’s Aaron Davis’ death served as a canon event for his nephew Miles.
But on Earth-42, Davis is alive and well, committing crimes with an evil Miles in tow.
Jharrel Jerome – Miles G. Morales / Prowler
Jharrel Jerome
As revealed in the final act of Across the Spider-Verse, the Miles Morales of Earth-42 (played by Jharrel Jerome) broke bad and teamed up with his Uncle Aaron to become a two-man crime family, wreaking havoc in a New York City that doesn’t have a Spider-Man to protect it.
Test footage of Miles G. Morales showcases him causing havoc alongside his uncle, which served as an origin of how he would have been trained to become the Prowler. Perhaps fans will get to see these details reincorporated in Beyond‘s story.
He was last seen trying to prevent Miles from stopping the death of his father, only to fail when Miles decided that he was going to “do his own thing.”
Greta Lee – Lyla
Greta Lee
The Lyrate Lifeform Approximation, better known as Lyla, is Miguel’s sassy, sarcastic artificial intelligence. Greta Lee lends her voice to the character in both Into and Across the Spider-Verse and will very likely return for Beyond.
Issa Rae – Jess Drew / Spider-Woman
Issa Rae
Issa Rae plays Jess Drew in Across the Spider-Verse and is stationed as Miguel’s right-hand woman in the Spider-Society. Jess ended the film questioning her allegiance to O’Hara, but could still be portrayed as a temporary antagonist in Beyond the Spider-Verse.
Andy Samberg – Ben Reilly / Scarlet Spider
Andy Samberg
Ben Reilly, a melodramatic Spider-Man Variant brought to animated life by Brooklyn 99’s Andy Samberg, has a habit of narrating his own actions out loud and appears loyal to Miguel O’Hara and the Spider-Society, something that should come into play in the third film.
Jason Schwartzman – Dr. Johnathon Ohnn / The Spot
Jason Schwartzman
Finally, Jason Schwartzman’s The Spot will likely be the primary villain of Spider-Verse 3. After experiencing his very own bad guy origin story in the first Spider-Verse, Ohnn has taken a vendetta against the person he deems responsible for his condition: Miles Morales.
A Plethora of Spider-People
With so many characters on the table, Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse has a tricky balancing act as it heads into its current 2024 release date. But producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller seem more than up to the challenge of finding a way to continue the narrative whilst giving each major character their due.
Why Did Angels and Demons Both Want War on Good Omens?
Prime Video/BBC Studios
“Wars are to be won” and “not avoided” is an obviously evil stance for anyone to take. It’s the kind of attitude we’d expect to hear only a truly evil leader say. But those were the words of Heaven’s archangels on Good Omens. Ten million celestial beings wanted to take up arms against ten million equally excited soldiers of Satan. After thousands of years of anticipation both sides were eager to finally destroy the other.
Neither Heaven nor Hell worried all humans would die in the ensuing war. Angels and demons alike certainly didn’t care about destroying Earth itself, either. If not for one single angel and one single demon Heaven and Hell would have had the Apocalypse they so desperately wanted.
Why Did Aziraphale and Crowley Want to Stop Armageddon?
Prime Video/BBC Studios
Azariphale and Crowley had called Earth home since Adam and Eve resided in the Garden of Eden. Over six thousand years the two had not only grown quite fond of each other, they’d grown fond of the lives they’d built for themselves among humans. Working with little supervision, they’d been mostly free to partake in Earthly delights. Whether reading, listening to Queen, or getting drunk, they both had it good on Earth. They also both had a soft spot for humans and a general dislike of their respective kind. Hell is dreadful and full of uninteresting cretins. Heaven is sterile and full of smug elitists. But Earth is full of interesting things and people.
So once the two learned Satan was sending his son the Antichrist to trigger the Apocalypse, Aziraphale and Crowley conspired to work together and stop it entirely. Their initial plan didn’t come together as they’d hoped, but in the end they helped prevent the End Times. Good news for mankind, yes. But you don’t stop a war every other angel and demon crave without creating armies of supernatural enemies.
How Did Heaven and Hell Punish Aziraphale and Crowley
Prime Video/BBC Studios
Heaven kidnapped Aziraphale and Hell kidnapped Crowley shortly after the pair stopped Armageddon. Both faced the ultimate punishment.
Despite claiming to be on the side of good, Heaven’s highest ranking officer delighted in ordering Aziraphale’s death. The Archangel Gabriel had wanted war with Hell more than anyone. Not getting to lead Heaven’s forces caused him another big problem, too. Gabriel had to deal with a lot of frustrated, bloodthirsty angels.
Prime Video/BBC Studios
Meanwhile, Gabriel’s counterpart in Hell, Lord Beelzebub, served as judge over Crowley’s trial. Once Hell’s demons convicted Crowley for treason, Beelzebub sentenced “the traitor” to a painful death, too. For him that would mean bathing in Holy Water, delivered to Hell by the Archangel Michael herself. Crowley had killed a Duke of Hell the same way earlier in the season.
In Heaven a demon delivered literal Hellfire to aide Gabriel in murdering Aziraphale. But once more the duo ruined their superiors’ plans.
How Did Aziraphale and Crowley Avoid Death in Good Omens Season 1?
Prime Video/BBC Studios
Angels and demons might be supernatural beings, but they’re not especially smart or competent. They were no match for their two Earth-wise counterparts with millennia of experience working as unlikely partners. Especially not when the final nice and accurate prophecy of the witch Agnes Nutter warned Aziraphale and Crowley their respective factions would come looking to punish them for stopping Armageddon.
Thanks to her warning they had planned for their death sentences by swapping bodies. That’s how Crowley was able to survive his Holy Water bath. it was really Aziraphale splashing around in a liquid that is totally harmless to angels. And in Heaven it was actually Crowley bathing in Hellfire, which couldn’t possibly hurt him.
Why Do Heaven and Hell Fear Aziraphale and Crowley?
Prime Video/BBC Studios
Not only did their clever switcheroo save their lives, it also granted Aziraphale and Crowley another measure of protection. Gabriel and the other archangels couldn’t understand how Aziraphale survived Hellfire. Nor could Beelzebub and the other Dukes of Hell make sense of how Crowley could be immune to Holy Water. As a result both factions grew fearful of the two friends.
They seemed more powerful than any other angel or demon. So as “Crowley” told Beelzebub, it was probably best if they simply left the two of them alone.
That’s where the two stand before Good Omens second season. Each has been branded a traitor by their former faction. Heaven and Hell both hate Aziraphale and Crowley, but they also fear them. So as Crowley had said the night they stopped Armageddon, the two no longer have a “side.” They don’t belong to Heave on Hell. They are on their own side.
But Heaven and Hell will come calling on the two again. “They’ll leave us alone,” said Crowley. “For a bit.” Good Omens season two trailer show it won’t a very long bit.
Probably not the best news for our favorite angel and demon. But it will be for fans.We need Aziraphale and Crowley just as much as Heaven and Hell ever did.
Good Omens returns for its second season on Prime Video on July 28th.
Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.
DC Studios boss James Gunn has confirmed his Superman: Legacy cast will appear elsewhere in the DCU.
Following the news that Nathan Fillion will star as a Green Lantern in the upcoming Superman flick, Gunn has confirmed that it’s not the only place you’ll see his version of Guy Gardner.
“The Green Lanterns show is not separate,” he confirmed in a post on Threads. “Nate will play Guy in all parts of the DCU.” It’s therefore likely we’ll see Nathan Fillion play Guy Gardner in Lanterns – the upcoming Green Lantern TV show that was announced as part of the DCU’s upcoming slate.
Although little is known about the show, it’s said to be a high-concept detective drama that focuses on John Stewart and Hal Jordan, though it’s unclear who will play those roles at the moment.
Gunn confirmed that Fillion will sport Gardner’s classic comic book look though: “Giving my old pal Nate a bowl cut might have been my primary reason for casting him,” he said.
Gunn also reveal the other actors recently cast in Superman: Legacy will appear in other DC projects, building out the DCU, and that the upcoming Superman film will include fan favourite Jimmy Olsen.
“Superman: Legacy opens two years from today,” he posted on Threads. “It may seem far away to many of you, but it’s close to me! We have a lot to do between now and then. But I haven’t been more excited about a project in forever, and this cast, slowly coming together, holy cow.”
Alongside Fillion, it was revealed that Isabela Merced has joined Superman: Legacy as Hawkgirl, with Edi Gathegi cast as Mister Terrific. “They fit the story I’m telling,” said Gunn. “Story always comes first.” Superman will be played by David Corenswet with Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane.
Superman: Legacy will be the first film in DC’s new DCU – the extended universe launched by Gunn and co-producer Peter Safran. However, Gunn confirmed that at least one hero will make the jump into the new DCU.
“Blue Beetle and a handful of other characters will continue on in the DCU, even though the first DC Studios movie is Superman: Legacy,” he said on Threads.
Ten years ago, I locked myself out of my NYC apartment, sparking an idea that thrust me into the process of making my first film, Keys to the City.
During the panic of being locked out in the middle of the night, I was faced with no other option but to call an emergency locksmith. The serendipitous encounter revealed that behind this seemingly ordinary blue-collar job lay a captivating glimpse into the lives of New Yorkers. Upon further research of the trade, I stumbled across a motley crew of locksmiths at All Brooklyn Locksmith, an old-school shop in Flatbush, Brooklyn.
It was there that the real story began.
After unlocking and opening the doors of New Yorkers for 47 years, Matthew, the veteran locksmith of the shop, was set to retire. But before leaving, his gregarious boss, Tony, entrusted him with training his replacement, George, a young and brazen first-generation immigrant.
It couldn’t honestly get more New York.
Keep in mind, at the time, I had little filmmaking experience beyond college and was recently fired as a camera assistant. Thankfully being young, naive, and ambitious does actually have its advantages.
With little time to capture Matthew’s story, I used my savings to rent a camera and followed the locksmiths that summer. However, my hopes of producing Keys to the City as a feature-length documentary were swiftly dashed when we realized we simply lacked the material necessary to tell that story. The project meandered as it went through strange iterations, and ultimately sat on a shelf for six years.
‘Keys to the City’
For years, I pushed the project aside despite it haunting me. It wasn’t until the world stood still during the pandemic that I finally chose to resurrect Keys to the City as a 30-minute documentary short.
The themes of loss, change, and hope explored through the personal narratives of our subjects were now framed in a new light. After making an arduous post-production push with the film, we were finally able to start submitting to festivals, reach audiences and eventually find distribution.
It was a happy accident the way this project evolved with time the way it did. The takeaway was simple, there isn’t any shame in adapting your ambitions of creating a big story into a smaller story, especially when you’re short of resources.
Making a feature film can be daunting. I’ve been behind the camera for several projects. If you’re able to translate the same passion and commitment to your short, there is still a real opportunity to reach people with your story and your voice as a filmmaker. Documentaries require planning, but adaptability is crucial—it’s real life, after all.
Keys to the City
I can’t offer groundbreaking advice, but I know that often, we become the obstacle to completing what we start. In the words of Toni Morrison, “If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.”
So go ahead, and finish your movie (even if it’s a short film). You’ll thank yourself later.
The new Taylor Swift album, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) has a little issue with its vinyl editions.
A small number of the vinyls contain British electronica music instead of music by the pop princess.
One fan posted to TikTok about the issue, playing a cut from the album. Instead of Swift, Cabaret Voltaire’s “Soul Vine (70 Billion People)” was in place of “Mine (Taylor’s Version).”
Swift’s Republic Records label issued a statement on the switcheroo,“We are aware that there are an extremely limited number of incorrectly pressed vinyl copies in circulation and have addressed the issue. If you have purchased one of the affected goods, please contact customer service at your respective retailer for a replacement or refund.”
The Swift album is flying out of the chute since its July 7 release. It has sold more than 575,000 equivalent album units in its first week, the biggest one week sale so far this year.
Hulu is home to over 20,000 episodes across the Adult Animation and Anime genres. Today, the streaming platform announced it has launched a new sub-brand called Hulu Animayhem dedicated to Hulu’s robust Adult Animation and Anime content library to “super serve” fans.
Hulu Animayhem will feature some of animation’s most beloved characters, including the upcoming Hulu Original Futurama debuting its 11th season on July 24th. Don’t miss the second part of the first season of Viz Media’s Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War airing July 8th. Freeform’s Praise Petey’s premiere season begins on July 21st and will be available on Hulu on July 22nd.
Following July, Viz Media’s Naruto Shippuden’s eighth season will premiere on August 1st. Hulu’s Original Solar Opposites season 4 will premiere on August 14th. Are you an avid Archer fan? Checked out the series final season on August 30th on FX with next-day access on Hulu.
In October, Hulu will release its next Hulu Original, Undead Unluck. Keep checking in with Hulu as the streaming platform adds more animated series and Hulu Originals throughout the fall season.
Hulu Animayhem offers so much more than a streaming service to binge your favorite shows. It also includes interactive social media touch points such as a TikTok bracket challenge, AR filters, and so much more. Hulu’s new animation destination will also make a grand appearance at the San Diego Comic-Con next weekend by taking over the Bayfront Parking Lot. Fans in attendance will be taking on a fully immersive journey through a 2D experience placing them in their favorite series.
Get a preview of your new favorite animation destination by checking out Hulu’s Animayhem promo on YouTube.
Not a Hulu member yet? Now is a great time to sign up and get a 30-day free trial. Hulu without ads costs $14.99 per month and with ads is only $7.99 per month or $1.99 for students.
Voice acting is equally as important as on-screen performances, even though Hollywood doesn’t seem fully aware of it yet. From the envious Lucille La Verne’s jealous Queen from “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves” (1937) to the whimsical magic of Robin Williams’ Genie in “Aladdin” (1992), there have been countless contributions to the acting form; all conveyed through the passion of a talented performer’s tone.
In honor of Walt Disney Co.’s 100th birthday later this year, Variety ranks the animation powerhouse’s 13 best voice-acting performances, including their subsidiaries, such as Pixar.
The too-often-overlooked skill of voice acting has provided a vital role in bringing films and characters to life. It’s an indispensable skill that has long deserved recognition by awards bodies and worldwide industry respect.
Performers must adapt their vocal range, tone and mannerisms to play a wide range of characters, whether human or fantasy creatures. The discipline has provided an immeasurable value for accessibility and inclusivity for POC and other underrepresented communities, although there’s always more progress to be made.
Artificial intelligence may be creeping into the artistic spaces, but lasting impact can’t be replicated by machines. The authenticity and capability to elicit emotions have echoed under the Disney banner for decades. We should hope they and other studios and production companies remain committed to the form.
Honorable mentions: Cliff Edwards (“Pinocchio”); James Earl Jones (“The Lion King”); Phil Harris (“The Jungle Book”); Holly Hunter (“The Incredibles”); Lucille La Verne (“Snow White and the Seven Dwarves”); Phyllis Smith (“Inside Out”); James Woods (“Hercules”)
In advance of Walt Disney Co.’s 100th anniversary on Oct. 16, Variety is looking at its rich creative legacy. For 10 weeks beginning July 5, Variety will publish a new “best of” list honoring the powerhouse company’s many accomplishments. With a long-lasting legacy of bringing joy to people globally, the cultural impact of Disney may be impossible to measure, but we’ll surely try with each new entry.
Bruno Campos in ‘The Princess and the Frog’ (2009)
Image Credit: Getty
“The Princess and the Frog” is one of Disney’s most underrated gems, despite the Oscar nom for animated feature and Anika Noni Rose’s groundbreaking performance as Princess Tiana, the Mouse House’s first Black Disney princess. Also vital is Brazilian actor Bruno Campos’ multi-layered portrayal of Naveen, the carefree frog-prince. Campos’ warmth and sweet musical tones, exuding charisma and gleeful playfulness, are an excellent crossbreed of humor and joy.
Vincent Price in ‘The Great Mouse Detective’ (1986)
An oldie but goodie, and one that doesn’t come up very often: Vincent Price’s captivating work as Professor Ratigan is as sinister as it is charming thanks to his menacing tone. He can convey Ratigan’s arrogance and fury, aided by his depth and complexness. A true master in the arsenal of voice performers.
Eddie Murphy in ‘Mulan’ (1998)
Image Credit: Getty
Eddie Murphy’s Donkey from DreamWorks Animation’s “Shrek” is legendary. Still, before he stepped into the Far Far Away, he was Mushu, the mirthful and winsome dragon from the animated classic “Mulan.” Murphy’s comedic timing, combined with his character’s mischievous spirit, makes him the perfect sidekick to the titular female warrior, as voiced by Ming-Na Wen.
Billy Crystal in ‘Monster’s Inc.’ (2002)
Image Credit: Getty / Pixar
Pixar’s masterpiece “Monster’s Inc.” is anchored wonderfully by the chemistry of its two leads — John Goodman as the fluffy Sully and comedy master Billy Crystal as the uneven-tempered one-eyed Mike Wazowski. His clever and spot-on timing gives the film an emotional center, easily able to be accessed by both adults and children. Sitting as the fourth Pixar feature, it showed the company was here to stay for quite some time.
Angela Lansbury in ‘Beauty and the Beast’ (1991)
Image Credit: Getty
Angela Lansbury’s take on the enchanting and nurturing Mrs. Potts in the best picture nominated “Beauty and the Beast” played more of a role in my upbringing than I’d like to admit.
The British actress captured the elegance of class within the staff of the spoiled and entitled Beast that is looking for love but more important, exudes the maternal affection that audiences latched onto.
Leaving an indelible mark with her rendition of the film’s iconic title theme song, the three-time Oscar-nominated performer should have been recognized again with the game-changing animated feature.
Idina Menzel in ‘Frozen’ (2013)
Image Credit: Getty
We can’t let it go — Idina Menzel’s Elsa from “Frozen” permeated the cultural zeitgeist with her powerhouse vocals and emotional complexity in Disney’s 2013 mega-hit. Drawing audiences into her world of ice and magic, Elsa’s complexity as her journey to self-discovery is conveyed by Menzel’s boundless talents.
Eartha Kitt in ‘The Emperor’s New Groove’ (2000)
Image Credit: Getty
Among the most underrated turns in one of Disney’s most underrated features, Eartha Kitt’s sassy and magnetic Yzma is downright extraordinary.
The elderly and untrustworthy advisor to Emperor Kuzco (voiced by David Spade), takes such a hilarious approach to teaching audiences lessons regarding greed and patience, in addition to pulling levers and properly labeling your potions.
A scene-stealer with brilliant comedic timing (the same goes for Patrick Warburton as the hilarious sidekick Kronk), her sharp and biting lines make Yzma a supreme antagonist in movie history.
Tom Hanks in ‘Toy Story’ (1995)
Image Credit: Getty
Tom Hanks won back-to-back Oscars for “Philadelphia” (1993) and “Forrest Gump” (1994) the year before Pixar’s inaugural film “Toy Story” changed the animated game forever. You could make the argument for a three-peat with his iconic turn as the lovable cowboy Woody.
Infusing his distinctive vocal beats that bring every essence of Woody’s endearing personality to life as he fights for the attention of his owner Andy when he acquires the new and cool Buzz Lightyear (voiced by Tim Allen), Hanks can do no wrong.
You can cite his work on any of the following three sequels for inclusion on this list.
Jeremy Irons in ‘The Lion King’ (1994)
Image Credit: Getty
Cunning and treacherous, the evil Uncle Scar is brought to life by the perfect balance of malice and sophistication by Oscar winner Jeremy Irons (“Reversal of Fortune”).
The sinister charm and deeply engrained jealousy is felt with the vocal beat executed by Irons’ rich and velvety voice. It all explodes in the iconic villain number, “Be Prepared,” which showcases his vocal prowess, elevating Scar and Irons to legendary in the Disney canon.
What cements “The Lion King” as a classic is how any author of this list could cite anyone else from the movie — such as James Earl Jones as Mufasa or Nathan Lane as Timon — and the same amount of people would still agree.
Ellen DeGeneres in ‘Finding Nemo’ (2003)
Image Credit: Getty
Under the Pixar label, the former television host and Emmy-winning Ellen DeGenres brings the forgetful but utterly lovable Dory to life in “Finding Nemo.”
With childlike naïveté and a contagious spirit, DeGeneres delivers unforgettable and timelessly quotable lines (“Just keep swimming”), contributing greatly to the film’s Oscar nomination for best original screenplay. Her performance is among the most mentioned by awards enthusiasts as one that should have been nominated for an acting Oscar. In another multiverse, she’s the supporting actress winner of 2004.
Eleanor Audley in ‘Sleeping Beauty’ (1959)
Image Credit: Getty
Maleficent was already named the top Disney villain of all time, so it would be foolish not to include the spectacular work of Eleanor Audley in the 1959 classic animated gem.
Treacherous evil, a haunting tone, and an enigmatic aura eventually comes to a head when the evil witch transforms into a dragon. Audley is precise and invigorating with everything she brings to the iconic figure.
Pat Carroll in ‘The Little Mermaid’ (1989)
Image Credit: Getty
The villainous Ursula is iconic in the Disney echo chamber. With her deep and sultry tone, Pat Carroll’s commanding performance blends wickedness, devious charisma and humor. You can’t praise her without mentioning her interpretation of one of the best villain songs ever written, “Poor Unfortunate Souls.”
A fan-favorite among Disney enthusiasts, Carroll brings impeccable timing and allure to the movie, which continues to captivate movie-goers.
Robin Williams in ‘Aladdin’ (1992)
Image Credit: Getty / Everett Collection
Academy Award winner Robin Williams (“Good Will Hunting”) gives a masterclass performance as the whimsical wish-giving Genie of the Lamp. The extraordinary actor infused Genie with his signature wit, rapid-fire line delivery, and an endless range of voices and impressions.
A talented performer that could seamlessly move between dramatic and comedic films throughout his varied career, Williams captivated audiences, earning a special award from the Golden Globes for his vocal work (I wish they, along with the Oscars, would have been in tune enough to nominate him for best supporting actor).
Williams’ contribution to “Aladdin” remains a testament to the enduring legacy of one of the greatest voice performances in animation history.
Radio broadcaster Audacy has begun talks with its lenders to restructure the company’s debt as a soft advertising market clouds its long-term outlook.
The discussions, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, follow the May 10 statement by chairman/president/CEO David Field during the company’s first quarter earnings call that Audacy was “finalizing its preparation to commence discussion with its lenders to explore the financing and strategies to manage” its debt load.
“As we have previously stated we intended to do, we have initiated discussions with our lenders to refinance our debt and optimize our balance sheet to position Audacy for long-term growth as we continue to invest in our people, platform, technology, content and growth initiatives,” the company said in a statement to Billboard.
Audacy warned in a May 10 10-Q filing that “challenging macroeconomic conditions” such as interest rates and soft advertising revenue had created “significant uncertainty in operations.” Field said during the earnings call that Audacy’s banks “have historically been willing to amend covenants to provide relief during recessionary periods” but added “there can be no assurance” the banks would do so in these negotiations.
A weak advertising market has required Audacy and other radio companies to cut costs, sell non-core assets and lay off some employees. Audacy’s first quarter net revenue of $259.6 million was down 5.7% year-over-year and 16% lower than the same period in 2019. The downturn only amplifies the strain of Audacy’s debt load. “The number one issue is too much debt in a secular declining industry,” Craig Huber, media analyst at Huber Research Partners, told Billboard in May.
Most of Audacy’s $1.88 billion of long-term debt came from its 2017 merger with CBS Radio. The deal increased Audacy’s revenue more than four-fold but also increased its debt from $468 million at the end of 2016 to $1.86 billion at the end of 2017. As of March 31, the company was in compliance with its debt covenants, according to its latest 10-Q filing. But Audacy warned investors that its forecasted revenue for the next 12 months “is unlikely to be sufficient” to maintain compliance with its covenants. Failing to meet those covenants would put the company in default and require waivers or amendments from lenders.
Those six fateful words — “You skiied into my effing back” — are set to be immortalized on the small screen thanks to a new documentary about Gwyneth Paltrow’s ski crash lawsuit.
Production company Optomen (“Johnny vs Amber,” “Kim vs Kanye: The Divorce”) are continuing their “Vs” series for Discovery+ with a doc about the “Sliding Doors” star’s legal woes. The civil trial earlier this year saw Paltrow sued by – and then counter-sue – retired optometrist Terry Sanders, after the duo collided on a Utah ski slope in 2016.
Sanders claimed his entanglement with the “Goop” founder caused him to suffer physical injuries and emotional distress while Paltrow, for her part, lost half a day of skiing.
The two-part doc will drop later this year.
Also in the “Vs” series is “Peltz-Beckham vs The Wedding Planners,” which will show how Brooklyn Beckham and Nicola Peltz’s Palm Beach wedding of the year ended in tears, at least for Nelson Peltz, who is suing his daughter’s former wedding planners Nicole Braghin and Arianna Grijalba for refusing to return his deposit after the duo were booted off the project weeks before the ceremony. Braghin and Grijalba are counter-suing for breach of contract and interference.
As for the rest of Warner Bros. Discovery U.K. and Ireland’s slate, fans can look forward to the second season of “90 Day Fiance U.K.” and the Katherine Ryan-led “Tell All,” which delves into the stories of viewers’ favorite couples. Plus, spooky season fans will want to look out for “Jack Osbourne’s Tasmanian Terror,” coming this October from NHNZ Worldwide, which will see the son of Black Sabbath singer Ozzy Osbourne explore some of the southern hemisphere’s most haunted spots. In addition, “Celebrity Help! My House Is Haunted,” in which celebrities are forced to reckon with paranormal forces in their living spaces, is also on the docket.
Other fare includes “Alan Cumming’s Paradise Homes” from Lion Television Scotland in which the “X Men 2” star undertakes an odyssey across the U.K. and Europe as he searches for his dream property. Coming in 2024 is “The Foot Fixer” (12 Yard Productions) with celebrity podiatrist Marion Yau, who will tackle some of the world’s foulest foot problems from her London clinic along with her GP husband Kenny and surgeon colleagues.
If that hasn’t put viewers off their food, they can look forward to “Tom Kerridge’s Sunday Lunch” (Bone Soup Productions) and “Sophie Grigson: Slice of Italy” (Finestripe Productions). Meanwhile, for true crime afficionados there is “The Suitcase Murders,” about killers who hide their victims in luggage (Woodcut Media) and “Deadliest Families” from Crackit, the makers of “Deadliest Mums & Dads.”
“We’re excited about the breadth of this latest slate of commissioned programs, across Discovery+ and linear, which span our viewers’ most-loved genres from property, reality, and food to true crime and paranormal,” said Clare Laycock, SVP head of content for networks and streaming at WBD U.K. and Ireland. “And we are delighted to offer both new and returning favourites laden with high profile talent ranging from Katherine Ryan to Alan Cumming.”
She continued, “We’re bringing our viewers the stories they are deeply passionate about, whether that’s talent-led food shows or our true crime and paranormal shows which gather an extremely curious audience, keen to investigate the most terrifying cases alongside our experts on screens.”
The series were ordered by Laycock and commissioned by Charlotte Reid.
Police in Toronto have confirmed the arrest of a man accused of stabbing a rider at a subway station in May.
The stabbing was reported just after 6 a.m. on May 27 at Sheppard West Subway station on the Toronto subway’s Line 1.
One person walking inside the station felt they were being followed, police said. A man then allegedly attacked them, unprovoked, with a sharp weapon.
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The victim ended up in hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
On Wednesday, police announced a 27-year-old man had been arrested. He was charged with possession of a weapon, assault with a weapon and two counts of breaching his probation.
Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds are enjoying some international love! The adorable couple, who have been married since 2012, shared some snuggles on the set of Deadpool 3 in London on Wednesday, July 12. In the photos seen below, Ryan, 46, gave Blake, 35, a sweet kiss on the head while dressed in his Deadpool costume. The pair were also seen walking on set while Ryan had his arm lovingly around his wife.
Blake Lively snuggles into Ryan Reynolds as he kisses her head on July 12, 2023 (Photo: Click News and Media / BACKGRID)
While Ryan was in his full Deadpool garb (minus the mask), Blake looked cute and comfy for her day on set. She donned a pair of high-waisted black leather pants paired with a white tank worn under a white button-down blouse that was left open. The Gossip Girl alum paired her outfit with black booties and a shoulder bag. Her blonde tresses were left natural and she appeared to wear no makeup.
Ryan Reynolds was also seen with his arm around Blake Lively as they walked around the London set (Photo: Click News and Media / BACKGRID)
The PDA came less than six months after Blake confirmed she had welcomed her fourth child with Ryan. They are also the parents of James, 8, Inez, 6, and Betty, 3. Blake recently launched her canned cocktail line, Betty Booze, and joked that she did so because she is “tired” from raising four kids. “BettyBooze at your service. These are recipes I’ve been making for loved ones for years. But I have 4 kids now. And I’m tired. So here they are. In a can. Enjoy,” she wrote in one of the announcement posts.
All jokes aside, Blake truly does love being a mom and said she will only leave her kiddos for work if she is passionate about the project. “I guess I really have to really, really, really, really love it, because I’m just obsessed with my kids,” she told E! News in 2020. “So, yeah, I think it’s gotta really be worth it to take me away.”
Just before welcoming their fourth child, whose gender and name are not yet known, Ryan shared a similar sentiment by sharing how much his family means to him while accepting the Icon Award at the 2022 People’s Choice Awards. “It’s gonna be a fourth child very soon. If it happens tonight while I’m here I will be looking for a couch to sleep on for a little while … But Blake and my girls, you are quite literally my heart, my hope, my happiness,” he gushed. “I joke that my family exhausts me, but in reality you give me more strength than any man could possibly deserve.” Too cute!
Sarah Desjardins is uploading to the grid. The Yellowjackets actor is the latest addition to Tron: Ares, the upcoming third installment of the classic Disney film series.
Desjardins joins a cast that includes Jared Leto, Greta Lee, Evan Peters and Jodie Turner-Smith. Maleficent: Mistress of Evil filmmaker Joachim Ronning is directing Ares, which follows 1982’s Tron and 2010’s Tron: Legacy.
While the first Tron film centered on a video game designer (Jeff Bridges) entering his own creation, and the followup focused on his son (Garrett Hedlund) following in his footsteps, sources previously told The Hollywood Reporter that the new film will spend more time in the real world. The script from Jesse Wigutow and Jack Thorne is said to center on a sentient program that crosses over into the human world that is not ready for contact.
Ares marks the latest high profile project for Desjardins, who on Showtime’s Yellowjackets plays Callie Sadecki, the daughter of Shauna (Melanie Lynsky). The series just landed Emmy noms for drama series, as well as an acting nom for Desjardins’s onscreen mother.
She is also known for roles in the Netflix breakout The Night Agent, in which she plays Maddie Redfield, daughter of the vice president. Her other work has included Riverdale, Under the Banner of Heaven and The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina the Teenage Witch.
Desjardins is repped by Mosaic, Play Management and Vision PR.
We’re getting the first look at Painkiller,Netflix’s upcoming limited drama series about the origins of the opioid crisis and the role of Purdue Pharma.
Matthew Broderick stars as Richard Sackler, scion of the billionaire Sackler family and senior executive at Purdue Pharma and Uzo Aduba portrays Edie, an investigator leading the case against Purdue.
Taylor Kitsch, Dina Shihabi, and West Duchovny also star in the six-episode series which premieres Thursday, August 10 on Netflix.
Based on Barry Meier’s book Pain Killer and the New Yorker Magazinearticle ‘The Family That Built an Empire of Pain’ by Patrick Radden Keefe, Painkiller explores some of the origins and aftermath of the opioid crisis in America, highlighting the stories of perpetrators, victims, and truth-seekers whose lives are forever altered by the invention of OxyContin. An examination of crime, accountability, and the systems that have repeatedly failed hundreds of thousands of Americans.
In the trailer, Broderick’s Richard touts OxyContin, which became the No. 1 opioid in the country, and how people “run from pain, run toward pleasure… if we place ourselves right there, between pain and pleasure, we will never have to worry about money again.”
Uduba’s Edie asks “How can something legally prescribed be killing so many people? … It doesn’t just kill people. It destroys the families and friends. They are doing the exact same thing as every crack dealer in America, except they are getting rewarded for it.”
Painkiller was created by Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster, who also serve as showrunners. Eric Newman, Fitzerman-Blue, Harpster, Alex Gibney and Pete Berg executive produce and Berg directs all episodes.
Newman explains in an interview with Netflix’s Tudum that the story continues to be urgently relevant. “The story is still going on. It’s playing out in real time, and I imagine that it will continue to play out long after us. It’s a story that’s so big and so awful that it deserves to be told as often and as loudly as it can be.”
J Noa, the Dominican teen rap dynamo, drew expressions of wonder and joy from a quartet of rap’s founders with an intricate, sometimes lightning-paced freestyle that stretches on and on. In video, filmed at the birthplace of hip-hop in the Bronx this week, she went off verse after verse, boasting about her freestyle skills, how no one can compare to her, and how she’s always repping the Dominican flag.
Her audience included DMC, Grandmaster Caz, the Funky 4 + 1’s Sha-Rock, and the Fearless Four’s Mighty Mike C — four of the genre’s trailblazers who were also visiting the site. The meeting was unplanned.
As she raps, DMC nods his head and looks her in the eye, his smile widening as the video goes on, and Caz get into the groove. Sha-Rock, who, it should be noted, was rap’s first female MC, smiles and leans forward as she watches. J Noa, her ballcap reversed (like her hip-hop forefathers), bends slightly at the knees and gesticulates each word. After a minute, she kicks things into fourth gear and spits a warp-speed verse that would impress J.J. Fad. When she ends, the hip-hop luminaries break into applause and cheer, as Mighty Mike C introduces his friends. “This is what hip-hop does,” he says.
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J Noa, who is only 17, has been one of the leading emcees in the Latin rap scene since bursting out of the Dominican Republic. A couple of months ago, she released a new EP, Autodidacta, which contains seven songs, including some verses at her signature whiplash-inducing velocities.
“I feel like I came to revive rap,” she told Rolling Stonerecently. “To me, most rappers should be intentional about what they write, about what they recite. Otherwise, why would rap serve them, or why would they be considered rappers if they don’t live the reality of what they’re rapping about?”
Ananya Panday, Aditya Roy Kapur Spotted Cozying Up At A Holiday; Shah Rukh Khan Wants To Book First Jawan Ticket for Salman Khan.
From Shah Rukh Khan wanting to buy tickets to Salman Khan for Jawan to Ananya Panday and Aditya Roy Kapur being caught in their PDA moment in Lisbon, here are the biggest headlines of the day.
Shah Rukh Khan sent his love to Salman Khan after the latter gave a shoutout to Jawan prevue. On Tuesday evening, Salman took to Twitter and declared that he will be catching a show on the first day of Jawan. Replying to his tweet, SRK said, “Pehle Bhai, issi liye aapko hi dikhaya tha!! Thanks for your wishes and booking the first ticket already. Love you.”
Looks like Aditya Roy Kapur, 37 and Ananya Panday, 24, are going strong and their status isn’t ‘rumoured’ anymore. The couple, who has, so far evaded questions on dating, have been spotted on a romantic holiday in Lisbon and the pictures are going viral on the internet. In one picture, the actor can be seen holding ladylove Ananya close as they watched the skyline. In another, both can be seen posing with fans.
Kim Kardashians had a moment of surprise when she noticed a spooky shadow in the background of one of her recent selfies. She wrote, “Soooo I took this pic last week when I was alone and now going through my phone I am freaking out noticing a woman in the window.” Closer home, Shraddha Kapoor, who’s shooting for Stree 2 in Chanderi, shared the post on her Instagram Stories. Taking a dig at Stree’s now-famous dialogue ‘Woh Stree hain’, she wrote, “Woh Stree hai.. Woh Kahin bhi pohonch sakti hai.”
The Supreme Court, on Wednesday, refused to hear an urgent plea against an order by the Allahabad High Court which summoned the makers of Prabhas starrer Adipurush to appear before it on July 27. The apex court will now hear the case on Thursday, July 13. The Allahabad high court had earlier ordered Adipurush director Om Raut, producer Bhushan Kumar, and dialogue writer Manoj Muntashir to appear before it on July 27. The court had also asked the central government to form a five-member committee to look at the controversies surrounding the movie.
After the success of The Kashmir Files, Vivek Agnihotri is currently working on his upcoming movie The Vaccine War. Recently, the filmmaker held an ‘Ask Me Anything’ session on social media when a user dared him to release his movie with Shah Rukh Khan’s Jawan if he ‘has guts’. However, Vivek Agnihotri responsed to this saying he does not believe in Bollywood box office clashes. Not just this, the filmmaker also shared that he is sure Shah Rukh Khan’s Jawan will be an ‘all-time blockbuster’.
Aditi Giri, Senior Sub-Editor at News18. She is a Bollywood and Biryani enthusiast. She loves talking to your favourite BTown celebrities, and brings …Read More
For over a decade, Robert Downey Jr. was Iron Man.
The veteran actor’s performance as Tony Stark in 2008’s Iron Man would go on to launch the Marvel Cinematic Universe, while Downey Jr. and his fellow Avengers became pop culture phenomena.
Source: polygon.com
After portraying Iron Man in ten films over 11 years, Tony Stark died saving the world in Avengers: Endgame, ending Downey Jr.’s Marvel run. While the actor has only ever said good things about his time working with Marvel, he admitted in a recent interview that he did have some concerns about playing the same character for over a decade.
Stretching Other Muscles
“You start to wonder if a muscle you have hasn’t atrophied,” Downey Jr. said.
Downey Jr. is set to star as Lewis Strass in the upcoming Christopher Nolan epic Oppenheimer.
Photo: Universal Studios
When asked if he was worried that his acting skill suffered after being focused on Marvel for so long, Downey Jr. admitted that he was.
“Yes. 100%, and I knew there was a point where Christopher Nolan was endorsing, let’s work those other muscles, but let’s do it while rendering you devoid of your usual go-to things.”
A Different Robert Downey Jr.
A key point of emphasis, when it came to Nolan’s vision for Downey Jr.’s Oppenheimer performance, was that he didn’t want the actor relying on his trademark charm.
According to Downey Jr., he had to stay away from “usual go-to things,” which Downey Jr. described as “fast-talking, charming, unpredictable, blah, blah, blah.”
“He’s one of our great actors, and though a generation of kids know what a great movie star he is, they’ve not seen his subtlety and brilliance,” Nolan recently told the Los Angeles Times about casting Downey Jr. “I wanted to get him to do something completely different, to lose himself in another human being. When was the last time we’ve seen that? ‘Chaplin’? Directors are very aware of how talented Downey is, but because of his incredible energy that can punch through the screen, finding the right thing for him is difficult.”
Photo: SlashFilm
Oppenheimer will open in theaters nationwide on July 21.
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Superman: Legacy casting is far from over, with Anthony Carrigan boarding the DC Universe movie as another Justice League hero, Metamorpho. The new DC Universe is on its way from James Gunn and Peter Safran, who are serving as co-CEOs of DC Studios. The first major movie is currently in the works, Superman: Legacy, featuring David Corenswet as the Man of Steel.
It turns out that Superman: Legacy’s hero recruitment isn’t over yet, as THR has revealed Anthony Carrigan has been tapped to play Metamorpho. This isn’t the first time the Barry star has portrayed a DC character as Carrigan also played Victor Zsasz on FOX’s Gotham and The Mist on The CW’s The Flash. James Gunn tweeted confirmation of Carrigan’s casting:
“I am unbelievably excited for Metamorpho,” Gunn wrote, before adding, “and this opportunity to work with Anthony Carrigan.” The news comes only a day after the casting of Green Lantern and more heroes in Superman: Legacy.
Created by Bob Haney and Ramona Fradon in January 1965, Rex Mason, aka Metamorpho, has been a long-time member of the Justice League, as well as other notable teams in the DC Universe. Rex’s history begins when he was aiding Stagg Enterprises CEO, Simon Stagg, in finding the Orb of Ra. However, Simon tried to have him killed when he found out that Rex was dating his daughter, Sapphire.
When Rex gets exposed to a radioactive meteorite, he becomes a powerful metahuman, the Element Man, better known as Metamorpho. Rex gains the ability to shape-shift into elements and is basically invulnerable whenever he is in an alternative state. Superman: Legacy will mark the hero’s live-action debut after having appeared in numerous DC animated projects.
With the addition of Metamorpho, Gunn continues to show how different Superman: Legacy will be in comparison to past Superman movies by really getting an early start in showcasing his new DC Universe. Time will tell when more casting will come for Superman: Legacy, given that a potential SAG-AFTRA strike is looming. Hopefully, Gunn will have more characters ready to reveal for Superman: Legacy before the year is over.
LG’s thin 55-inch G3 OLED Evo 4K TVs are discounted as part of Amazon’s Prime Day 2023 event and Best Buy’s Black Friday In July sale. The savings is nearly identical between the two retailers–you can grab the 55-inch LG OLED Evo for $1,497 at Amazon or $1,500 at Best Buy (normally $1,900).
The LG G3 OLED Evo 4K smart TV runs on webOS 23, which supports virtually every major streaming app. It’s also a great option for gaming thanks to its four HDMI 2.1 ports, 120Hz refresh rate, and low 0.1ms input latency. It also supports Dolby Vision HDR for video content and variable refresh rate (VRR) for gaming via Nvidia G-Sync and AMD FreeSync, and features a built-in Game Optimizer mode and Game Dashboard.
Along with the 55-inch model, several other LG G3 OLED Evo TVs are also on sale at Amazon and Best Buy at similar discounts. The 43-inch option, for example, is down to $1,196 at Amazon and $1,200 at Best Buy (normally $2,000), while the larger 77-inch model is down to $3000 at both Amazon and Best Buy (normally $3,600). Several other sizes are available, so be sure to check the listing at both retailers to see all the deals.
If you’re interested in other TV deals happening this week, be sure to check our roundup of the best Prime Day 2023 deals for more discounts at Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, Target, and more. And keep an eye on our Prime Day 2023 news hub for all the latest sales.
The products discussed here were independently chosen by our editors.
GameSpot may get a share of the revenue if you buy anything featured on our site.
John Ridley is the Oscar-winning 12 Years A Slave writer, writer/director of Five Days At Memorial, and the Eisner-nominated writer of the DC Graphic novel series GCPD: The Blue Wall, which premieres in September about systemic injustice in the Gotham City PD. He’s been working in Hollywood long enough to witness the the ebbs and flows of diversity initiatives, and he fears the inclusion momentum that came after the death of George Floyd and opened opportunities to new filmmakers, could well turn into a forgotten fad as the urgency fades.
History doesn’t repeat itself, it rhymes. Mistakes made in the past arrive again in the present, slightly re-dressed but always familiar.
The Supreme Court’s recent decision gutting “Affirmative Action” in college admissions is, sadly, the latest ebb in the flow toward social equality endured by people from traditionally marginalized communities.
This cyclical roll back of gains made is currently happening in politics.
It’s happening in the business world.
It’s happening across entertainment.
When I first hit Hollywood in 90s, upstart networks Fox and UPN (later the WB) were trying to build market share by focusing on what they euphemistically called “urban audiences.” It was, largely, the first time networks really focused on representation both in front of, as well as behind the camera. I can remember sitting in the almost exclusively BIPOC writers’ room on The Martin Show thinking that was just the first of what would be any number of opportunities waiting for all of us.
But once Fox and the WB built their market share, both networks did a pivot to more “upscale” audiences largely abandoning shows that led with representation. Through the 90s into the early 2000s TV became a desert that lacked real representation.
In 2002 I remember real distinctly the historic night Halle Berry and Denzel Washington took home well-deserved Oscars. The first time that both lead acting awards had gone to Black performers. It was on a night made all the more poignant when Denzel presented Sidney Poitier with an honorary statue. I don’t think I was alone in believing Hollywood had arrived to a watershed moment.
Then, #OscarSoWhite.
No. History doesn’t repeat. It’s 2023, and it feels like Hollywood is about to give us a new verse of the same old song.
Really doesn’t seem that long ago when, in a matter of days over the summer of 2020 – in the wake of the assassination of George Floyd – our son was out (peacefully) protesting against systemic bias just feet away from armed police officers, I was writing an open letter encouraging context to be added to the opening of Gone with the Wind on HBO, and Hollywood was promising to do a better job of elevating “diverse” voices within the industry.
So, what happened? Other than some context being added to the opening of Gone with the Wind (I mean, I think it’s still there. To be honest I haven’t checked, and I understand there’ve been some changes in leadership at the joint) not much.
According to the 2022/2023 UCLA Hollywood Diversity Reports, Hollywood remains a hostile environment for traditionally underrepresented groups. Despite minorities making up 43.1 percent of the U. S. population in 2022, the report finds that people of color “remained underrepresented on every industry employment front (emphasis added) during the 2020-21 television season”.
Some of the more painful “lowlights” of the reports:
Only 2.5 out of 10 show creators in digital scripted TV are people of color.
Only 3.8 out of 10 lead actors in digital scripted TV are people of color.
Only 3.3 out of 10 credited writers in digital scripted TV are people of color.
Shows created by people of color and women tended to receive smaller budgets than those created by white men, particularly in the digital arena.
About 2.2 out of 10 lead actors in theatrical films are people of color.
And stunningly:
Only 1.7 out of 10 theatrical film directors are people of color.
Only 1.5 out of 10 theatrical film directors are women.
Only 1.2 out of 10 theatrical film writers are people of color.
If you’re a writer of color, and you know another writer of color who’s on a film, you’re only got a .2 chance of getting a job. Sad.
Despite the lack of representation, the reports find that “In 2022, median global box office receipts peaked for those that had diverse casts — from 31 percent to 40 percent minority. For the top films released via streaming platforms in 2022, ratings for most groups were also highest for films with casts that were from 31 percent to 40 percent minority.” Similar was true with the “success rate” for television, and in all circumstances these “diverse” projects were more likely to be reflective behind the camera as well.
So much for “go woke, go broke.”
Same as in every business sector, we – the traditionally marginalized – support commerce with our dollars even when we do not get the support we need for advancement. And the support that is in present is eroding at the same speed it was hastily put into place. Reports abound on the exodus of BIPOC execs – most of them women – from leadership positions in Hollywood and the seeming indifference from the upper levels of the various content providers. Having BIPOC execs in place doesn’t guarantee smooth sailing for creators of color (ooooh, trust me. I know that from experience) but I have lived through and heard way too many stories of creatives having to “prove” to execs that the nuances of our lived experiences matter in storytelling. That, as opposed to taking meetings with people who have an innate understanding of where we’re coming from the jump.
This is not meant to be an “us vs. them” indictment. The opportunities I had early in my career – probably more opportunities than I deserved – were provided by guys who were dead center of the Prevailing Culture: John Wells, Mitch Hurwitz, Jordan Moffat, and the late and I really, really mean great John Bowman. While these guys are not unicorns, the stats show that – no pun intended – they are in the minority. And If the gatekeepers don’t feel the moral imperative to do better, maybe it’s time to stop wishing for change and start insisting on it.
This current work stoppage Hollywood’s going through has revealed legit grievances surrounding pay, contracts and transparency. At the same time there’s a demand to mandate a formula for the size of writers’ rooms. So, if one can mandate the number of writers in a room, where’s the push to mandate the demographic make up of rooms? And I don’t want to hear “you can’t mandate “diversity.”” A mandate, is a mandate, is a mandate. If all that is being mandated is the status quo, that doesn’t cut it. I’ll be straight: I don’t believe in any room mandates. Bad idea. But considering the state of Hollywood – considering the demonstrative lack of progress even in 2023 – mandates that don’t make allowances for the traditionally marginalized are just codifying privilege. Affirmative Action without the “Affirmation.” For the dollars spent by “our” communities, we deserve better.
The truth is the way forward is not easy, it’s not always going to be pleasant, it’s not going to work for everyone, but it will surely work better than what’s been served up in the past.
In her dissent of the Supreme Courts ruling on “Affirmative Action” in college admissions, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote: “The only way out of this morass—for all of us—is to stare at racial disparity unblinkingly, and then do what evidence and experts tell us is required to level the playing field and march forward together, collectively striving to achieve true equality for all Americans.”
While I hope and pray Justice Jackson never leaves the Court, if she did we could desperately use her as an exec here in Hollywood.
Imax announced Wednesday that it plans to spend $124 million to get full ownership of Imax China. The subsidiary was listed on the Hong Kong exchange and was established in 2011 by Imax to oversee its business in Greater China, which has become a key market for the exhibition company. Imax creates wide-screen technology that enables theater owners to charge premium prices — it is also a favorite with filmmakers such as Christopher Nolan and Michael Bay, who its proprietary cameras to produce their movies.
Since COVID, Hollywood films have struggled to attract the same level of business as they did pre-pandemic, but local-language titles such as “The Wandering Earth 2” and “Lost in the Stars” have been huge hits when they have screened in Imax.
As part of the proposal, Imax will buy the outstanding 96.3 million shares in Imax China. The offer represents an approximate 49% premium on the 30-trading day average closing price. Upon approval of the offer, Imax Corporation will own 100% of Imax China.
Imax predicted that the transaction will unlock approximately $2 million of annual cost savings as well as lead to tax efficiencies. It will finance the deal by tapping its current cash reserves and possibly through debt financing.
“This deal is a win-win for Imax Corporation and Imax China, as it unlocks significant financial benefits for Imax while offering Imax China investors a meaningful premium to current market prices,” said Rich Gelfond, CEO of Imax Corporation. “The public listing of Imax China raised capital to help fuel a period of tremendous growth for Imax in China, and this transaction has the potential to usher in a new era of expansion for our brand and technology in this thriving market for entertainment.”
Morgan Stanley is serving as Imax Corporation’s financial advisor, and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is acting as Imax Corporation’s legal advisor.
Anthony Carrigan had much to celebrate on Wednesday. Not only did he earn a third Emmy nomination for his work on “Barry,” but he’s been cast as the character Metamorpho in James Gunn’s upcoming DC reboot “Superman: Legacy.”
“I’m so pumped,” Carrigan told TheWrap about working with Gunn. “I’ve been really excited to work with James for a while now. I think James is one of those few directors that has the magic touch that can take difficult source material and just elevate it and make it so watchable and magical and so fun to watch. I’m excited to collaborate and bring my spark to it and just light it all up.”
The Noho Hank actor said he wasn’t able to read a full script for the “Superman” film and said he’s “kind of in the dark” on how big his role in the DC film will be, but he’s excited to be part of this fresh new chapter for the DC Universe.
Metamorpho, also known as Rex Mason, is a superhero in the DC Comics universe that was created in 1965 by writer Bob Haney and artist Ramona Fradon. Metamorpho possesses the power to shape-shift his body into various forms using the elements contained within the human body.
Carrigan joins a cast that includes David Corenswet as the Man of Steel, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Nathan Fillion as Green Lantern Guy Gardner, Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl and Edi Gathegi as Mister Terrific.
Gunn’s film kicks off a new era for DC characters at Warner Bros. that will also include a new Batman film called “The Brave and the Bold,” which Andy Muschietti (“The Flash”) is attached to direct.
“Superman: Legacy” is slated for release on July 11, 2025.
The 2023 Emmy nominations are in, and Ted Lasso has emerged as one of the shows getting a lot of attention. The popular comedy series accessible to Apple TV+ subscribers has scored six nominations for the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards, which includes Brett Goldstein once again getting a nod for his performance as Roy Kent, as well Phil Dunster, who plays Jamie Tartt, scoring his first nom. While reacting to his third Emmy nomination for Ted Lasso, Goldstein made sure to throw in some recognition for his co-star.
Both Goldstein and Dunster being nominated for Emmys in the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series category comes roughly a month and a half after Ted Lasso Season 3 concluded, with that batch of episodes seeing Roy and Jamie finally forming a friendship, or at least something close to that, after years of bickering and fighting. So it’s only fitting that Goldstein showed Dunster some love in the official statement he released following the Emmy nominations announcement (via TV Line), saying:
Ahhhhhhhh f—k yeah! This is amazing! To be nominated once is insanity, twice is nuts but for this to be a hat trick feels silly and proof that we live in a simulation. It makes me feel incredibly lucky, especially when it’s in the company of genuine acting legends. What an incredible list to be on and, at long last, it is wonderful to see my fit friend and extraordinary talent Phil Dunster be added to that list. Thanks as always to [Ted Lasso co-creators] Jason [Sudeikis], Bill [Lawrence], Brendan [Hunt] and Joe Kelly for inviting me onboard. I’m nothing without them and my fellow Greyhounds. What a ride this whole Lasso train has been, filled with magic. Thank you to the Television Academy for making life a dream. I’m moved as f—k.
It’s only appropriate that Brett Goldstein and Phil Dunster are up for Emmys the same year that Roy Kent and Jamie Tartt are finally on pleasant terms with one another. Granted, they did get into a literal fight in the Ted Lasso Season 3 finale over Juno Temple’s Keeley Jones, but for the most part, they’re unquestionably in a much better place with one another compared to when Jason Sudeikis’ title character arrived to coach for AFC Richmond in the Season 1 premiere. More importantly for right now though, it was nice of Goldstein to bring Dunster up while commenting on his latest nomination, feeling that his co-star/friend is just as deserving of this recognition. Now we wait to see if Goldstein will walk away with his third Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Emmy, if Dunster will take home the trophy or if one of their competitors will walk away with the trophy.
Speaking of those competitors, the other nominees in that category this year include Barry actors Anthony Carrigan and Henry Winkler, The Bear’s Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Abbott Elementary’s Tyler James Williams. Meanwhile, turning our attention back to Ted Lasso, both Juno Temple and Hannah Waddingham, the latter of whom plays Rebecca Welton, have been nominated in the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series category, while the show itself has been nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series. Since premiering in 2020, Ted Lasso has collected eight Emmy wins total, along with 15 other nominations. Its other accolades include winning two Golden Globes and being nominated in four other categories.
We’ll see see how things go for Brett Goldstein and Phil Dunster when the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards air September 18 on Fox as part of the 2023 TV schedule. As for Ted Lasso, it still hasn’t been cleared up if the show is truly done, if it will continue into Season 4 or if a spinoff will move forward, though Juno Temple certainly has thoughts about that final option.
Bob Iger‘s contract as CEO at Disney has been extended another two years through 2026, the Walt Disney Company announced Wednesday. The decision by the board was unanimous.
Though Iger had said time and again that his return would only be for a two-year stint since he came back to Disney in November, leading to more questions about a successor, he’ll have an additional two years to accomplish and solve the problems for which he was brought back to fix in the first place.
“Time and again, Bob has shown an unparalleled ability to successfully transform Disney to drive future growth and financial returns, earning him a reputation as one of the world’s best CEOs,” Mark G. Parker, chairman, The Walt Disney Company, said in a statement. “Bob has once again set Disney on the right strategic path for ongoing value creation, and to ensure the successful completion of this transformation while also allowing ample time to position a new CEO for long-term success, the Board determined it is in the best interest of shareholders to extend his tenure, and he has agreed to our request to remain Chief Executive Officer through the end of 2026.”
Iger’s contract extension keeps him onboard as CEO through that time — not as a consultant or chairman or other title. And as of now, no successor for Iger has been selected, though the Disney board has a committee to find the next person for the job.
“Because I want to ensure Disney is strongly positioned when my successor takes the helm, I have agreed to the Board’s request to remain CEO for an additional two years,” Iger added in a statement. “The importance of the succession process cannot be overstated, and as the Board continues to evaluate a highly qualified slate of internal and external candidates, I remain intensely focused on a successful transition.”
Iger’s shocking return as CEO back in November 2022 and the ouster of Bob Chapek came after the company suffered a $1.5 billion loss in its direct-to-consumer (streaming) division for its fiscal fourth quarter. In the time since he’s returned, Iger has aggressively cut costs, including laying off 7,000 Disney employees and restructuring the company from the format established under Chapek, including dismantling the DMED division, or Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution, the company’s tech and product team.
Iger also installed Dana Walden (considered by analysts and industry types as an internal candidate for the next CEO) and Alan Bergman as the new heads of Disney General Entertainment and separated their business from Disney’s theme parks and from ESPN. He’s also announced plans to integrate Hulu as a tile into Disney+, and he’s also overseen as Disney+ has removed dozens of titles from its service in another cost-saving move.
He’s also contended with added pressure from Ron DeSantis and the state of Florida over the conflict around the “Don’t Say Gay” legislation dating back to March 2022 when Chapek was still in charge. And Disney has had to grapple with some underperformance at the box office for titles like “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” “The Little Mermaid,” “Elemental,” and most recently “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.”
Iger originally served as CEO between 2005-2020 and was responsible for the acquisitions of Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, and 20th Century Fox. He’ll next be tasked with determining whether to buy out Comcast’s stake in Hulu, which seems highly likely at this point.
AMAZON ORIGINAL REVIEW! In Matteo Pilati’s romantic feature, The Hottest Summer, the summer heat ignites passions and melts a few brain cells against the romantic Italian landscape.
Summer has begun, and a small village along the southern coast of Sicily is experiencing an excruciating heatwave with record temperatures. Our story centers on best friends Lucia (Nicole Damiani) and Valentina (Alice Angelica), who are spending their last summer together helping Don Carlo (Nino Frassica) run his parish’s summer camp for the local children.
The summer starts a bit tense as tension builds between the two best friends because Lucia will soon start school in Rome, leaving Valentina behind, as well as her boyfriend, Omar (Mehdi Meskar), who is going away to live with his father in Egypt for the summer. On the other hand, Valentina will miss Lucia, but she’s a bit more obsessed with not having a boyfriend.
Just as summer camp begins, Don Carlo enlists the help of a priest-in-training, Nicola (Gianmarco Saurino). Valentina instantly falls for the forbidden Nicola and makes every attempt to grab his attention, like an awkward game of tag and a bikini malfunction.
As Lucia is one of the counselors in charge of the camp, she promises to spend time with Nicola and say nice things about Valentina. Over time, Lucia and Nicola learn they have much in common, and their defenses begin to wane along with the heat.
“…Valentina instantly falls for the forbidden Nicola and makes every attempt to grab his attention…”
The Hottest Summer is a romantic comedy that leans heavily into romance and focuses primarily on the unrequited love between Lucia and Nicola. At the story’s spine is that moment love, lust, and passion take over, and our lovers are now placed in a complicated situation. Both Lucia and Nicola are in a relationship with Omar and God (respectively). On top of that, barriers of religious propriety are crossed with Valentina and a bit of nudity, plus Lucia perceived betrayal of her forbidden crush.
Romantic comedies, like The Hottest Summer, are pretty standard fare in we all love to fall in love. We want our characters to fall for one another and try to figure out all the complications later on. The Hottest Summer works primarily because of our leads in Nicole Damiani, Alice Angelica, and Gianmarco Saurino. Three very pretty people caught in the throws of passion and sweaty bodies rubbing against each other…we are in a heat wave, for crying out loud.
Tonally, the comedy in The Hottest Summer is light. Our characters find themselves in awkward situations at the most inappropriate times. Our young leads are pretty h***y, but ultimately the conflict is about the unselfish nature of love that butts right up against its lusty side. Now, added to the comedy is the disapproving older set, including Don Carlo and the nosy Carmen (Stefania Sandrelli). Also, add Omar’s very conservative parents. They act as the B-level antagonists with a dark side of their own.
You’ll enjoy The Hottest Summer for what it is—a light-hearted and slightly h***y rom-com with very beautiful people at the forefront. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but if this is your beverage of choice, drink it all in.
The athletic couple met through the former NFL player’s brother Guy East when the gymnast was in London to be a sports commentator for the 2012 Olympics. (Guy, for his part, was competing in the cycling events.)
“He starts to go on this tangent about this little brother of his and how I have to meet him,” Johnson recalled in a 2018 vlog. Andrew, who was attending Vanderbilt University in Nashville at the time, was intrigued by the idea that the gold medalist was thinking of going to the same school.
“@ShawnJohnson I hear you met my brother Guy! Hopefully you can come to Vandy and the Easts could show you what its all about,” Andrew tweeted at Johnson following Guy’s encounter.
The football player then flew to Los Angeles to meet the highly-decorated athlete, who was filming Dancing With the Stars season 15 after Johnson previously won the mirrorball trophy during season 8). The couple went on their first date, and three years later, Andrew popped the question at the Chicago Cubs’ Wrigley Field. They wed in 2016.
Throughout all of the happiness in their relationship, the Easts endured a difficult time when Johnson suffered a miscarriage in 2017 while trying to get pregnant. Their rainbow baby, daughter Drew Hazel, arrived two years later. Johnson and Andrew later welcomed son Jett James in July 2021.
Keep scrolling to see Johnson and Andrew’s complete relationship timeline:
When we — Brian X. Chen and Mike Isaac, both longtime tech journalists — got an assignment from our editor last week to review Threads, the new social network from Meta, it was like a blast from the past.
Both of us have written about social networks for over a dozen years. In the last half dozen of those years, the social media landscape has been largely static — with the exception of the rise of the short-video app TikTok — and was dominated by Meta, which owns Instagram and Facebook.
The arrival of Threads, which was spun out of Instagram and is aimed as a prime place for public, real-time conversations, shakes up that scene. While the new app could end up a fad, it could also be a potent threat to Twitter, which has retained its crown as a hub of conversation for more than a decade.
But how many of us will hang out on Threads? We wondered how we would take to it since one of us — Brian — is a casual Twitter user, and the other — Mike — is a longtime Twitter addict, which might affect our experience with Meta’s new app. Here’s what we found about Threads’ pros and cons and whether it might become a part of your life.
BRIAN Hello, Mike! It’s been a while since we did a collaborative review. Years ago we nerded out on the new PlayStation and Xbox releases. And now we’re back together — why, again?
MIKE Yes, we’re back, this time to peruse the hottest social app of the moment, Threads, which is made by Meta. After playing with it for a few days, I’m starting to wonder if I can kick my Twitter addiction by replacing it with a “friendlier” social network crafted by Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s chief.
So far, I’m enjoying it. But it definitely feels like a stripped-down version of Twitter. No hashtags, heavy on the influencers — and the worst part is, a lot of the people in my replies don’t seem to get my jokes that usually do well on Twitter.
Brian, I’m worried that all the people coming to Threads from Instagram just don’t know how to post.
BRIAN Well, that’s the interesting thing. Threads is a Twitter clone, but Meta is introducing the concept to never-tweeters who have been on Instagram. So there’s going to be an awkward phase of acclimating.
But let me back up for a second. Threads is a free app you download from the Apple or Google app store. To set it up, you connect it with your Instagram account. Threads then invites you to follow all your friends on Instagram.
From there, it shows a timeline of posts, and you can compose short memos that get published for the public to see. You can embed photos, too, but the focus is text, just like on Twitter.
What are the differences from Twitter that you immediately noticed?
MIKE It feels like Twitter, but on easy mode.
For one, Threads is algorithmically curated, just like Facebook or Instagram. That means when you come in, you see a bunch of different posts based on your interests, whether they were posted five hours ago or five minutes ago. (Is it posted, or is it threaded? Have we decided on the verbiage yet?)
That’s a departure from what we’re used to with Twitter, where the marquee feature is the reverse chronological timeline. That means you see every single post from people you follow in reverse order, which made Twitter indispensable for breaking news and live events.
With Threads, I think the algorithmic curation is intentional on Instagram’s part. They have said they want to make Threads “friendly” as people enter. It feels a bit sterile to me, but I’m also not being bombarded with hate speech and racist tirades, which I consider a big plus.
BRIAN To me, Meta’s interest-based algorithm is a major turnoff. It’s made my Threads feed a pile of posts from accounts I don’t follow, primarily influencers and brands advertising their products. I see very few posts from my actual friends.
To be fair, Twitter’s timeline isn’t great, either. The quality is deteriorating because of changes that affect what people read on the site, including the requirement to pay $8 a month for a Twitter Blue subscription for your posts to show up on others’ timelines.
One other big difference between Threads and Twitter: The character limit on Threads is 500 characters, whereas on Twitter it’s 280 characters for free accounts.
Are more characters a good thing?
MIKE I don’t think so. Brevity is the soul of wit, right? A banger of a tweet comes in short form, in my opinion, not writing a blog post inside of what’s supposed to be a brief message.
Twitter has tested this paid Twitter Blue option where people can post insanely long tweets of 10,000 characters. I feel like that’s getting away from the original point of Twitter’s short-form messages. But maybe I’m just a curmudgeon.
I’m curious: How has it been for you on Threads, overlapping your Twitter-self with your Instagram following?
It’s been a jarring experience for me. I’m very different on my Insta than on Twitter. On Insta, I’m usually posting things I’ve cooked that week or the latest concert I’ve attended. Twitter is more my space for writing about work and the tech industry, while occasionally posting snippets from my personal life. Threads feels like a hybrid of both — at least for the moment.
BRIAN It’s been tricky for me, too, so I haven’t posted much. Like many people, I converted my Instagram into a private account years ago because I didn’t want the public to see photos of my family. It became a “friends-only” network.
With Threads, I now have to think again about what I would share publicly. It’s a trip.
MIKE Totally hear you. I’m still going to try it, but I’m curious if you think this is going to be the next big thing? Especially given that you’re somewhat less active on Twitter than I am.
BRIAN I don’t place bets on tech products as if they are horses. But based on my reporting about how everyday people — who use tech but don’t obsess over it — engage with social networks, they probably won’t post much on Threads.
The truth is Twitter isn’t a social network, and neither is Threads. Both are broadcasting platforms for big brands, celebrities, politicians and media outlets to share information with their followers.
This type of network isn’t conducive to how people actually socialize in communities. In social clubs, people congregate in smaller groups around shared interests. They don’t crowd into an enormous conference room and shout like we do on Twitter and now Threads.
MIKE Absolutely. I have a decent Twitter following that mostly knows what it’s going to get from me and understands when I’m joking. But I’m very aware that when a tweet of mine goes viral and travels outside that sphere of people who know me, I am 100 percent going to get misinterpreted — and probably insulted. We call that “context collapse.”
BRIAN Meta knows this, too. You reported a few years ago that Mark Zuckerberg said people were increasingly shifting away from the big social media platform toward smaller, more siloed networks. Those included private Facebook groups and messaging apps.
MIKE Shout out to the private Slack and Discord groups I’m in that only contain a handful of close friends.
BRIAN And that all makes sense. People have learned that it’s not a great idea to share lots of personal information in the public sphere.
Also, if I want to talk to you, why would I @ you publicly rather than message you? That’s probably the biggest thing Threads lacks compared with Twitter — direct messaging — which makes Threads an inferior product at the moment. But it’s a matter of time until that’s added, since that feature is already part of Instagram.
MIKE I do think there’s a sort of performative element to talking in the public sphere, where my conversations with you take on a different tone and meaning — sort of like we’re talking onstage in front of an audience. There’s something fun about that. But it often can get very unfun very quickly. Messaging, as you note, helps circumvent that.
BRIAN For engaging with brands and influencers, text has also already lost the battle. The growing popularity of TikTok and Instagram’s Reels is evidence that casual tech users, especially young people, would rather see videos of the celebrities and influencers they follow and not read their bite-size text.
At the end of the day, comparing Twitter and Threads is tough since Threads is part of Instagram, which is much larger than Twitter. If the features improve, I could see myself switching to Threads from Twitter eventually because of Instagram’s sheer size, which could bring me more followers. (I’m @bxchen on Threads, by the way.) But like others, I probably won’t spend much time hanging out with friends there.
What about you?
MIKE Right now I’m doing the inconvenient juggling act of trying to post different things to six different networks, and it is not exactly fun. But I assume at least something will die off eventually and I can stop churning out the posts. At least, I hope so.
After giving a partial look at its slate during the upfronts, The CW has announced the official dates and premiere times for its 2023 fall schedule. “All-American,” “61st Street” and the “I Am” film series, which were previously announced to premiere in the fall, have been moved to midseason.
The network once known for its young adult programming is currently in the midst of a massive rebranding following Nexstar’s acquisition last year.
Here is The CW’s full fall 2023 schedule:
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5
8:00-9:00PM INSIDE THE NFL (Season Premiere)
9:00-10:00PM THE SWARM (Series Premiere)
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 4
8:00-9:00PM SULLIVAN’S CROSSING (Series Premiere)
9:00-10:00PM THE SPENCER SISTERS (Series Premiere)
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12
8:00-10:00PM FBOY ISLAND (Season 3 Premiere)
MONDAY, OCTOBER 16
8:00-8:30PM SON OF A CRITCH (Original Episode)
8:30-9:00PM RUN THE BURBS (Original Episode)
9:00-9:30PM CHILDREN RUIN EVERYTHING (Original Episode)
Despite all the musical superstars who entered this year’s Emmy competition, only one – Ed Sheeran – managed to score when the 75th annual Emmy Award nominations were announced Wednesday.
Sheeran was nominated (along with co-writers Max Martin and Foy Vance) for the song “A Beautiful Game” for the season 3 finale of “Ted Lasso,” one of two songs from the popular Apple TV+ series that made it into the music-and-lyrics category.
Emmy’s 550-member music peer group ignored the original songs entered by Dolly Parton, David Byrne, Steve Martin, Kid Cudi, Donald Glover and Lainey Wilson, as well as those from such Oscar-winning tunesmiths as Alan Menken, Steven Schwartz, Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez.
Among the seven music categories, a surprising number of first-time nominees was recognized, and more than one-fourth of all the nominees in the five composition and songwriting categories are women, another positive sign of change in the Hollywood musical landscape.
The shocking omissions among this year’s nominees included any recognition for the music of “Queen Charlotte,” “House of the Dragon,” “Obi-Wan Kenobi” (including its John Williams theme, considered a shoo-in) or any of the songs in the acclaimed “Daisy Jones & the Six.”
The multiple nominees were predictable, and all are previous Primetime Emmy winners: three nominations for Nicholas Britell (“Succession,” “Andor”), two each for Danny Elfman (“Wednesday”), Laura Karpman (“Ms. Marvel”) and music director Adam Blackstone (“Super Bowl Halftime Show,” “Rock and Roll Hall of Fame”).
Composers better known for their work in feature films scored a surprising number of first-time nominations: Gustavo Santaolalla (“Brokeback Mountain”) earned his first Emmy nod for music for HBO Max’s “The Last of Us,” while Howard Shore received his first for the theme for Prime Video’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” and John Powell, his first for music for the Apple TV+ documentary “Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie.” Shore’s three Oscars are for “Lord of the Rings” movies.
In the most-watched music categories, those of “original dramatic score,” six of the 15 nominated programs — more than a third — feature first-time Emmy nominees. Cited for their series composition work are Britell (the Logan’s-death episode of “Succession” and the finale of “Andor”), Santaolalla (episode 3 of “The Last of Us”), Elfman and Chris Bacon (episode 2 of “Wednesday”) and Cristobal Tapia de Veer (episode 4 of season 2 of “The White Lotus”).
Nominated for composition for a limited or anthology series, movie or special are two previous Emmy winners – John Debney (“Hocus Pocus 2”) and Laura Karpman (“Ms. Marvel”) – and four first-timers in the competition: Sarah Schachner for “Prey,” Ariel Marx for “A Small Light” and the team of Leo Birenberg and Zach Robinson for “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story.”
Most of the nominees for scoring a documentary series or special have been to the Emmys before: Tony Morales (“Eva Longoria: Searching for Mexico”), James Newton Howard (“Light & Magic”), Blake Neely (“Pamela, A Love Story”) and Hans Zimmer (“Prehistoric Planet”). Zimmer’s co-writers on “Prehistoric Planet” – Anze Rozman and Kara Talve – are newcomers, as is Powell for “Still,” the Michael J. Fox doc.
A surprising 11 of the 14 songwriters nominated in the original music-and-lyrics category are freshman nominees. They include: Lili Haydn and Ben Bromfield for “Ginny & Georgia” (song “Marriage Is a Dungeon”); Heather McIntosh, Taura Stinson and Allyson Newman for “The L Word: Generation Q” (song “All About Me”); Al Yankovic for “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story” (song “Now You Know”); and Sheeran, Vance and Martin for “Ted Lasso.”
Tom Howe, “Ted Lasso’s” composer, was nominated (along with newcomers Jamie Hartman and Sam Ryder) for another “Lasso” song, “Fought and Lost,” while Curtis Moore and Thomas Mizer were singled out for their song “Your Personal Trash Man Can” from “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” Moore and Mizer have been to the Emmys twice before, also for “Maisel” songs.
Three of the nominees in the main title theme music category are previous Emmy winners: Britell (“Andor”), Karpman (“Ms. Marvel”) and Elfman (“Wednesday”). Joining them, along with Shore for “Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” is first-time nominee Holly Amber Church for “Guillermo Del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities.”
Blackstone’s dual nominations in the music direction category – “Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show Starring Rihanna,” with Omar Edwards, and “2022 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony” – place him up against previous winners and nominees: Greg Phillinganes for “Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song: Joni Mitchell,” Rickey Minor for “The Oscars,” and the “Saturday Night Live” team of Eli Brueggemann, Leon Pendarvis and Lenny Pickett for last December’s Austin Butler episode.
The music supervision category is a mix of veterans and newcomers: Frankie Pine for “Daisy Jones & the Six,” and Tony Von Pervieux and Christa Miller for “Ted Lasso” are the fresh faces in the competition. Gabe Hilfer, for “The White Lotus,” has been nominated before, while Robin Urdang (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”) is a three-time winner and Nora Felder (“Stranger Things”) has won once.
All seven music categories will be awarded at the Creative Arts Awards, currently scheduled for Sept. 9-10, although those dates are subject to change depending on what happens with the actors and writers in the days and weeks to come.
‘Joy Ride’ is an R-rated comedy about four Asian-Americans in their 20s taking a ridiculously chaotic trip through Asia, in theatres now. It’s a hilarious caper that’s next-level raunchy, like all good summer girl’s trip movies should be. Featuring rising stars Ashley Park (from “Emily in Paris”), Stephanie Hsu (from “Everything, Everywhere All at Once”), Sherry Cola and Sabrina Wu, this latest addition to the friends-trip-gone-wrong canon is getting rave reviews, including a 91 per cent Rotten Tomatoes rating.
One review in particular has the meme machine in overdrive, though: Jackson Murphy of Lights Camera Jackson deemed the film “embarrassing,” stating it “objectifies men, targets white people.” This prompted director Adele Lim to clap back that she’d like to wear that phrase on a T-shirt. Hilarious stuff.
The Kit’s Renée Tse watched an early Canadian screening of ‘Joy Ride’ with Lainey Lui, eTalk senior correspondent, The Social co-host and LaineyGossip.com founder. They laughed, they cried, then they had a deep discussion about exactly how ‘Joy Ride’ represents Asians in a refreshingly radical way. Here, Lui’s take on the summer’s best road trip film.
‘Joy Ride’ defies stereotypical depictions of Asians
“It’s one of the few times in a western movie that Asian women are being raunchy, rude, disrespectful and messy, and that directly attacks the stereotype of what Asian women should be. The meek Asian subservient stereotype? That’s out the door. The uber polite, mannered, nonassertive Asian? That’s out the door, too.
You have the stereotype of the overachieving Asian, which is Ashley Park’s character (Audrey Sullivan), but it’s juxtaposed by Lolo (Sherry Cola), and she’s a mess. She’s an artist. One of those stereotypes is that in an Asian family you’re only supposed to be a lawyer, a doctor, a banker or whatever, and in a sense, that’s a little bit true, but the movie is very self-aware of all these stereotypes and it actively pushes back against them in a confrontational, provocative way.
As you can see from the reaction of that one critic, that provocation worked. That critic was probably like, ‘I’m not used to seeing my Asian women like this. Sorry, Asian women are raunchy? They’re not subservient and kowtowing to the white person? They’re not being uber respectful to white people? Wait a minute.’”
‘Joy Ride’ dispels the Asian monolith myth
“There was a hilarious moment in the airport where the main cast points out different types of Chinese people from different regions. We’re not a monolith, and we can identify them. ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ did that a little bit, but ‘Joy Ride’ went even deeper. You could hear the different Chinese dialects. The dialects were woven in organically without needing to be explained to the audience. If you know, you know, but it doesn’t affect the experience if you don’t know.
The film authentically represents what you encounter in China from block to block or conversation to conversation. You’re going to hear Mandarin spoken slightly differently, and you’re going to hear a different dialect, and if you have the ear for it, you’re going to know.”
On racism in families
“In Lolo’s hometown, you meet her aunties and uncles and all the villagers. That’s a snapshot of what it’s like to 返鄉下 (go visit your hometown), and if you’re Chinese, you would know what it means to go back to your hometown. And in your hometown, you’ll have people who are hicks, a little bit.
There was one scene where one of the elders was a little bit racist and Deadeye bluntly calls out, ‘That’s so racist.’ The movie isn’t saying being Asian or specifically Chinese is being better than anybody else, but it’s saying, ‘Hey, we’re messy, and we’re sloppy and we have elders saying inappropriate things, too — even against other Asian people. But this is who we are. We’re complicated and we’re layered.’
‘Joy Ride’ lets women be unapologetically raunchy
“Sherry Cola making those sex sounds in that one scene? That’s the s — t I love. It’s so hilarious to me that they went there. I also thought Stephanie Hsu did such a good job when she was so horny that you could see it in her facial expressions — she couldn’t hold herself back. That is one hundred per cent the level of horny that I want to see, not just from an Asian movie, but from a movie about women.
In every culture, there’s a stigma against women loving sex, wanting sex and being horny, needing to rub one out. And it’s not just sex raunch — the drug scene on the train is the kind of raunch you see with men all the time, like in ‘The Hangover.’ Those guys did three movies in which the whole film was getting wasted and doing s — t they don’t remember. I can’t remember if I’ve seen a movie where four women get high as f—. Not drunk, I’m talking about cocaine. And nobody feels guilty about it. Nobody needed to apologize or felt bad about themselves. Ashley Park’s character basically said she needed some more. It was unapologetic. I can’t remember seeing that level of excess from a women-led cast.”
On gender identity and queerness
“I think it was really important to have a non-binary character like Deadeye (Sabrina Wu) in the mix. But it wasn’t done in an obvious way; there was no point in the movie where we were like, ‘Hey, you’re non-binary.’ They didn’t need to do a side story and figure out their identity. It was, ‘Deadeye is non-binary,’ and that’s it. And in an Asian movie? We’re not seeing a lot of non-binary or queer people. All of our cultures, but mostly Asian cultures, have a very complicated relationship with queerness. It’s not even tolerated. We don’t talk about it. And here’s Deadeye and they’re the most hysterical character. They covered Deadeye’s non-binary-ness through K-pop, like, ‘This is a community that accepts me for me.’ It was a testament to why people love K-pop.”
On what’s next
“I think true progress is that we don’t have to categorize what comes next and check boxes. It should be whoever wants to tell a story should tell that story. Period. But I guess the most obvious and simple answer to that question is we need a sequel. They built it in, saying they should make this an annual girls trip. Where do the four of them go next? Who’s going on this next adventure where they can get up to their hijinks again?
Same with ‘Girls Trip.’ Shout out to ‘Girls Trip’ because that was such a great movie, and it doesn’t have a sequel and we should have it. Why is ‘The Hangover’ getting 80 sequels and Girls Trip hasn’t gotten one and ‘Joy Ride’ hasn’t gotten one? People love this movie.”
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Britney Spears is speaking out again after accusing a member of Victor Wembanyama‘s security detail of striking her in the face last week in Las Vegas.
The “Hold Me Closer” singer posted an Instagram video Tuesday criticizing an unnamed radio station for allegedly saying she “deserved to be hit” by the basketball phenom’s security guard.
Damian Smith is accused of striking Spears. He’s the director of team security for the San Antonio Spurs, which drafted Wembanyama as the NBA’s No. 1 overall pick last month.
“I heard … this radio station talking smack and talking s— … saying that I ‘deserved to be smacked. Security was doing their job and protecting their client,’” Spears said in the clip.
“I’ve been with the most famous people in the world — ’N Sync at one time. Girls would literally throw themselves at them. On my way into the [hotel in Vegas] actually I was knocked down by three 12-year-olds trying to get my picture. My security, not one time, touched them or even came near them. Point being is: I didn’t appreciate the people saying that I deserved to be hit because no woman ever deserves to be hit.”
The Grammy winner proceeded to repeat her account of what happened. She maintains that she had approached the 19-year-old athlete at the Aria Resort & Casino and “tapped him on the back” in an effort to get his attention when Smith “backhanded” her.
“I did get an apology at my table 30 minutes later,” Spears said Tuesday. “But I have yet to receive a public apology.”
While discussing the incident with KENS 5 reporter Nate Ryan last week, Wembanyama claimed that Spears “grabbed” him from behind.
“Not on my shoulder, she grabbed me from behind,” he said.
“I just know the security pushed her away. I don’t know with how much force, but security pushed her away. I didn’t stop to look so I could walk in and enjoy a nice dinner.”
The 7-foot-4 NBA star added that he wasn’t aware at the time that the person trying to get his attention was Spears.
“I am aware of the player’s statement where he mentions ‘I grabbed him from behind’ but I simply tapped him on the shoulder,” Spears maintained in a statement issued last week.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department recently concluded its investigation into the incident after Spears reported it that night. The department confirmed in a statement that “no charges will be filed against the person involved.”
According to a police report obtained by The Times, members of Wembanyama’s security team denied that Smith struck Spears in the face and claimed that he simply pushed the pop musician’s hand off of the player — a “standard response for most security/bodyguards.”
The report also noted that officers and police detectives reviewed surveillance footage that showed Spears tapping Wembanyama on the shoulder before the guard pushed “her hand off of the player without looking which causes Britney’s hand to hit herself in the face.”
“Due to the fact that [Smith] DID NOT willfully or unlawfully use any force or violence upon Britney and probable cause did not exist an Arrest was not made and a Citation was not given,”an officer wrote in the report.
Times staff writer Nardine Saad contributed to this report.
Marvel Studios just confirmed that a former Avenger has secretly been a Skrull this whole time.
The MCU’s recent Disney+ show, Secret Invasion, relies on one key concept: shape-shifting aliens secretly walk among us, and they could be anyone—even someone’s closest friends. It’s what makes the Skrulls so intimidating; who knows where they could be hiding.
In that vein, fans were expecting the Disney+ series to tell them a familiar MCU character has secretly been a Skrull.
Warning – The rest of this article contains spoilers for Episode 4 of Secret Invasion.
Following Secret Invasion‘s fourth episode, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige talked to Marvel.com about the big revelation that Colonel James Rhodes is actually a Skrull working for Gravik.
Feige shared how they needed “a character that one would not expect to be a Skrull,” something Don Cheadle himself “was on board for:”
“We needed to have a character that one would not expect to be a Skrull… Don [Cheadle] was on board for this reveal of playing and revealing another side of Rhodey and revealing that, yeah, Rhodey has been a Skrull.”
Feige shared that the idea was pitched to Cheadle in the “very early days:”
“When we have amazing actors, like Don, that have been with us for so many years, we very much treat them as partners in the creative collaboration… It was very early days when we pitched this concept to Don, and he very much was into it and into being able to play with different sides of Rhodey that we haven’t seen before.”
While Feige didn’t reveal exactly how long the character’s been in disguise, the Marvel boss teased that fans will come to “understand exactly how long he’s been a Skrull” before hinting that Cheadle’s Rhodes has been a Skrull in “some” of his previous MCU appearances:
“We like the idea of fans going back and watching some of the other appearances of Rhodey and realizing that that wasn’t him.”
Prior to Secret Invasion, Cheadle’s Rhodes appeared in 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War, 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, and 2021’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (which even earned him an Emmy nom!)
Marvel then double-downs on the twist when audiences see Rhodey shape-shift into a Skrull during his morning routine.
Disney+
While this Skrull’s name isn’t spoken during the episode, her name is revealed as Raava thanks to the credits.
Marvel
How Long Has Rhodey Been a Skrull?
Such a big twist like this can be hard for audiences to swallow. This is especially true when Marvel seems to be claiming that someone like War Machine has been a Skrull for a long time.
With Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige mentioning fans going back and watching previous Rhodey appearances, that alone indicates Raava was in disguise for quite a bit.
What’ll make it hard for viewers to accept is that this could mean War Machine, who was with the Avengers for five years and saw his closest friend die, was actually a Skrull and not the real deal. Many will feel like such a reveal cheapens all of those moments.
It also means that all of those fun interactions between Rhodey and the wider MCU cast were never actually him.
It’ll certainly give Rhodey an interesting place to start for Armor Wars. The poor dude is going to have a lot of catch-up to do when he comes out of his Skrull-orchestrated hibernation.
The latest trailer for the upcoming DCU film Blue Beetle has officially dropped, and it showcases more of the powers granted to Jaime Reyes by the Scarab, Khaji Da. It presents fans with a fantastic display of what to expect when the film comes out, what the tone will be, as well as a little bit of what the story will be.
Check out the trailer below:
Xolo Maridueña takes on the role of Jaime Reyes, the Blue Beetle, and in this trailer we see his journey to becoming a superhero. After bonding with an ancient alien scarab, Jaime is transformed into the Blue Beetle. We get to see more of his amazing abilities than we did in the first trailer, and how his relationship with the Scarab will grow. Susan Sarandon pops up again in this trailer as one of the film’s villain, Victoria Kord, who, in the comics, is the sister of the previous Blue Beetle, Ted Kord, as does Carapax the Indestructible Man, played by Raoul Trujillo, in a very comics accurate suit.
The movie will follow recent college grad Jaime Reyes as he returns home full of aspirations for his future, only to find that home is not quite as he left it. As he searches to find his purpose in the world, fate intervenes when Jaime unexpectedly finds himself in possession of an ancient relic of alien biotechnology: the Scarab. When the Scarab suddenly chooses Jaime to be its symbiotic host, he is bestowed with an incredible suit of armor capable of extraordinary and unpredictable powers, forever changing his destiny as he becomes the Super Hero BLUE BEETLE.
The film stars Xolo Maridueña as Jaime Reyes/Blue Beetle, with Susan Sarandon set to play the film’s main villain, Victoria Kord. Belissa Escobedo is set to play Jaime’s sister Milagro Reyes, while Brazilian star Bruna Marquezine has signed on to play Jaime’s love interest Penny. George Lopez will be playing Jaime’s uncle Rudy and Raoul Trujillo is set to play a secondary villain in Carapax the Indestructible Man. Harvey Guillén is also set to appear.
Angel Manuel Sotodirects from a screenplay by Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer, based on characters from DC.
Blue Beetle is set to hit theaters on August 18, 2023.
Have you ever wondered what Pokemon you sleep the most like? Well, you probably haven’t, but that hasn’t stopped The Pokemon Company from putting out a quiz to tell you exactly that.
After answering a number of questions based on your sleep habits, the quiz will generate a Pokemon and sleep type to assess your deepest secrets.
This Pokemon Sleep Quiz Will Call You Out On Your Bad Habits
You can take the quiz here. Pokemon Sleep is a new app coming out this summer that will gamify going to bed and being a real human. It’s an odd game that many thought was a joke when it was first announced back in 2019.
It might even insult you! It called me a pile of rocks because I have most of my energy at night. You can check out the results below.
Pokemon Sleep features roughly 100 Pokemon and will add more as time goes on. Much like any other Pokemon game, it takes a lot of time to add over 1,000 weird little monsters to the game.
The quiz will walk you through many of your habits when going to bed, like what time you go to bed on weekdays, days off, and when you feel the most energized. It certainly doesn’t take into account all of the cups of coffee you’ve had Detective Pikachu style.
There are many different options for Pokemon and sleep type, so be sure to share it with your friends and see what everyone gets.
The Pokemon Sleep app is coming sometime this summer. So be sure to stick around Prima Games to learn exactly when you can download the game and try it out for yourself. Who knows what Pokemon you’ll catch in your dreams.
About the Author
Jesse Vitelli
Jesse loves most games, but he really loves games that he can play together with friends and family. This usually means late nights in Destiny 2 or FFXIV. You can also find him thinking about his ever-expanding backlog of games he won’t play and being constantly dehydrated. Do not contact him.
“The visions of yesterday have all caught up to us and we must start looking towards the next visions,” stated moderator and veteran TV writer and producer Wendy Calhoun (Station 19, Empire) emphasizing a recurring theme of the June 22 Sloan Salon panel “Storytelling and Tech: Crafting Human-Centered Stories About Technology.”
The online conversation delved into timely subjects such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and ChatGPT, raising ethical questions about how we represent technology in stories and highlighting some optimistic views on where it could all be headed.
This dynamic discussion was made possible due to Film Independent’s exciting 15+ year partnership with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation that encourages filmmakers to create more realistic and accurate stories about science and technology that challenge existing stereotypes about scientists and engineers in the popular imagination. Learn more about Film Independent’s Sloan-supported programs and grants here.
The panel featured Sloan-supported storytellers writer/director Kogonada (After Yang, Columbus) and writer Rom Lotan (Code of Virtue) discussing how they develop stories that responsibly highlight our relationship with technology. Karim Jerbi (Professor, Canada Research Chair, Computational Neuroscience and Cognitive Neuroimaging, University of Montreal) rounded out the panel to share his expertise working at the forefront of technological innovation and discuss the importance of telling inspiring stories with scientific accuracy.
Filmmaker Kogonada at the 2022 Sloan Film Summit (source: Getty Images)
On his initial interest in the intersection of storytelling and technology, Kogonada referenced two books, Marshall McLuhan’s Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man and Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, as works that got him thinking more consciously about technology and how it impacts society in ways both overt and subtle. On McLuhan’s 1964 work, he said: “It was the first time I thought it’s not just content, but it’s the technology that shapes us. We don’t just use technology, but technology can alter us and society.”
During his formative years growing up in Tel Aviv, Rom Lotan described how he loved sci-fi and ultra-futuristic stories featuring advanced technology such as Blade Runner. In the process of refining his early writing projects however, he was more drawn to grounded and realistic technological and science narratives such as 2014’s The ImitationGame, which received funding from the Sloan Foundation. 2001’s A Beautiful Mind, based on mathematician John Nash, was another film he referenced as inspiring in a similar way. Karim Jerbi became excited about science around age 10 by the possibility of creating an actual dream machine. “My dream was to build this machine that would allow us to watch our dreams in real time as they unfold. Some 30+ years later this process, now known as brain decoding, is becoming quite close to reality. He went on to talk about how what seemed like impossible science fiction from a technological perspective just a decade ago is now possible and forces us to constantly reconsider what the genre should be moving forward.
‘After Yang’ (2022, dir. Kogonada)
From there, the conversation flowed into quite a few fascinating directions. Through his exploration of Asian and Eastern science fiction works, Kogonada had several revelations on how AI is presented in Western media. “In a dominant white male narrative, traditionally anything that’s ‘other’ is vilified. It is a threat. There’s been a real history of treating otherness as an immediate threat to whatever is dominant.”
He went on to explain how, in Eastern sci-fi, ]the emphasis is more concentrated on understanding the other and its intent rather than condemning it without thoughtful evaluation. This thought process informed his writing on After Yang and how he presented the titular character, an Asian robot.
Lotan echoed the sentiments of Kogonada (“K” as the group warmly referred to him) about blindly viewing AI as a destructive force. Collectively, they felt a more philosophical approach was productive. “Tech, like any other tool, isn’t bad or good in and of itself. It’s about how people harness and use it. It’s the same with the atom bomb, or with the knife, or with AI. It’s important to identify who is behind the technology and for what purpose it is being used.”
What concerns Lotan is the fact that the public is not a part of the conversation with AI or other emerging technologies. Even decisions such as what type of literature AI is programmed on are important ones that can be made with ill intent if diverse voices are not represented.
Jerbi and Calhoun both decided to take time to discuss optimistic aspects of the future of AI. While the fear of AI replacing human creativity with large language models like ChatGPT is certainly real, Jerbi believes collaboration can exist and enhance creativity overall. “There may be new roots of co-creativity between humans and machines, synergistic approaches.” He went on to discuss how we’ve always incorporated technology into our daily lives and professions, so it is more about figuring out where each new tools fits into the process.
Calhoun spoke to a welcomed byproduct of now-engrained technologies such as social media and how they have been able to act as at times as democratizing forces. “It has done some very positive things for people who weren’t heard, who weren’t seen, who were othered. It has brought them in to a part of the social discourse that they weren’t in before because I think some gatekeepers may kept them and their stories from being heard.” While emerging technologies present inherent threats to society, there are reasons to be hopeful as well.
The Film Independent Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Grant rewards $120,000 annually through four grants to projects at various stages of development. Past recipients of the grant include The Who Knew Infinity, Future Weather and The House of Tomorrow, among others.
Film Independent promotes unique independent voices, providing a wide variety of resources to help filmmakers create and advance new work. Learn more online and become a Member of Film Independent today.
The FBI wants Swifties to know snitching is actually cool
At this early stage, it’s less of a question of whether any of the actors from these series will take home trophies, but rather which ones. Brain Cox, Jeremy Strong, and Kieran Culkin all earned nominations in the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama category—the first time three actors from a single show have been nominated in the field. Meanwhile, in the supporting category, Succession and The White Lotus shut out actors from any other series.
But there is still plenty of other gold to go around. For many of the shows nominated, including other recently concluded series like Barry, Ted Lasso, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Dead To Me, and Better Call Saul, this marks their final chance to take home trophies. All of these shows have been critical darlings ahead of the final seasons, and most have taken home multiple Emmys previously. Better Call Saul stands apart, though, as leads Bob Odenkirk and Rhea Seehorn never earned Emmys over the course of the show’s six seasons. Despite the fact that the show ended a year ago, the season being released in two parts allowed a little loophole for Saul to sneak through.
There weren’t too many outrageous surprises within the full list of nominees. The White Lotus had another great year, while the freshman seasons of The Bear and The Last Of Us also got plenty of love. The year’s surprise hit Jury Duty got an outstanding comedy nod, while Rian Johnson’s Poker Face missed out. (Star Natasha Lyonne, however, was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.) Check back on The A.V. Club later for our full list of snubs and surprises.
Breaking it down by network, HBO/Max came out, unsurprisingly, on top with 127 total nominations. Netflix racked up 103. Also unsurprisingly, Succession was the most nominated series of the year, netting 27 nominations, up from last year’s 25. The Last Of Us followed with 24, and The White Lotus earned 23. Behind that, Ted Lasso scored 21 noms, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel snagged 14, and The Bear, Beef, and Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story all earned 13.
The ongoing WGA strike, as well as the possibly imminent SAG-AFTRA work stoppage, figure to impact the lead-up to the Emmys, and possibly on the ceremony itself. Should the actors walk out, neither the performers nor writers will be able to do press for their series. And should the strike(s) continue through September, there won’t be anyone to write the Emmy show nor, possibly, anyone there to accept awards. As such, rumors have already begun that the Television Academy might delay the ceremony to as late as January. One way or another, it’s sure to be a historic Emmys. You can see the full list of nominations here.
Russell Crowe is standing on a stage, playing an electric guitar. He’s singing “Folsom Prison Blues” by Johnny Cash, accompanied by a trumpetist, a drummer, someone at a keyboard, another guitarist, and even four backing singers. He starts rocking out to the instrumental section. The crowd, full of Czech film industry insiders, international critics, and fans, is undoubtedly entertained.
This is not yet another remake of “A Star Is Born,” but simply the kind of event you can expect to witness at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, taking place every summer in the Czech city and welcoming talent from all over the world.
First established in 1946, KVIFF went through a transformation in the early 1990s following the fall of communism. Karel Och, working at the festival since 2001 and its artistic director since 2011, thinks this shift explains how spectators themselves have changed.
“They didn’t really react at Q&A’s,” he told IndieWire. “They had the tendency to keep their sensations inside. But now, you can see a forest of hands immediately after the screening. They like to ask very sophisticated questions, which is a really interesting mirror of what’s going on in [our] society.”
Most screenings are indeed sold out, whether they be for films that played in Cannes, such as Karim Aïnouz’s “Firebrand,” which opened the Czech festival (with star Alicia Vikander present), or for smaller films having their world premieres, most intriguing amongst them this year being Luka Beradze’s “Smiling Georgia,” a 62 minute-long documentary about an infamous political campaign during which a candidate convinced poor Georgians to have their rotten teeth pulled out and promised them new ones, only to leave them toothless after his defeat.
Stars like Crowe have always been part of the festival experience, with even Rita Hayworth attending the inaugural edition. A private company, the festival needs to please sponsors: “They’re like us in a way, you know? We like to spend time near the stars because if you love cinema, you’re inevitably in love with its glamour as well,” said Och.
The opening night gig was a way to attract Crowe in his music-man era, as are the career awards that the festival gives out every year — Robin Wright and Ewan McGregor were also welcomed at this 57th edition, each selecting a film from their respective careers to be screened.
Russell Crowe performs with his band Indoor Garden Party during the “Firebrand” Premiere and Opening Ceremony for the 57th Karlovy Vary International Film FestivalGetty Images
In addition to receiving statuettes, recipients of the Crystal Globe are also asked to participate in the shooting of a trailer for the festival, typically directed by a Czech filmmaker working in black and white and poking fun at the very concept of awards. In a questionable move, the festival decided to shoot one such trailer with Depp as well, this time in color, in which the star shows off a Crystal Globe he stole and stuck his name onto.
KVIFF isn’t the only film festival unsure of what to do with filmmakers under scrutiny (TIFF, a much bigger festival, canceled the premiere of Ulrich Seidl’s “Sparta” at the last minute last year, and this year’s Cannes Film Festival opened with a film starring Depp and whose director has been sued for assaulting a journalist) but this indecisiveness is a real shame for a festival that has plenty to offer beyond glitter.
This year’s winner of the Crystal Globe Competition, featuring world or international premieres of fiction and documentary works, was the darkly funny and gut-wrenching “Blaga’s Lessons” by Bulgarian filmmaker Stephan Komandarev, which follows a 70-year-old woman trying to rebuild her savings after falling prey to a phone scam. Such bold Eastern European cinema is Karlovy Vary’s true specialty and the festival has become key for the Czech film industry, with filmmakers fitting their post-production schedules to the festival’s deadline.
The Proxima section presents debuts as well as audacious films from accomplished filmmakers. This year’s highlight for this writer was British production “In Camera,” directed by Naqqash Khalid, an almost experimental exploration of identity and survival in our modern world through the experience of a struggling actor. The main cast and crew of this small debut were invited to attend — as Och explained, filmmakers love the festival for “doing things partially the old way, honoring the fact that festivals are here to facilitate the encounter of the filmmaker with the audience.”
Even filmmakers whose works premiered in Venice or Cannes now want to support their work at KVIFF “because they don’t have that many opportunities anymore to meet those for whom they make films.”
The eclectic film selection stems from pure intuition. “What one of my professors at the faculty told us was to really sit down in the cinema and not think about anything, to just let the movie work you,” said Och, “and to just rely on the years of doing this job. Because the more movies you watch, the better you know your instincts, and ultimately, it’s the instincts that decide.”
Alicia Vikander and Michael Fassbender attend the 57th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival on June 30, 2023 in Karlovy Vary, Czech RepublicGetty Images
This same genuine curiosity determines each year’s retrospective section, with the wild works of post-war Japanese filmmaker Yasuzô Masumura chosen this year by curator Joseph Fahim and screening to packed audiences. And if the team’s cinephilia remained in doubt, it’s worth noting that Och also allows himself to use his privileges as creative director to screen one film by John Cassavetes each year (“Minnie and Moskowitz” this time), simply for the pleasure of it.
Perhaps most strikingly, KVIFF benefits from its charming setting in a spa town where romantic upholstery and pink, yellow, or blue buildings along the river and up the mountain create a sense of being out of time and space. “It might be obvious, but people probably don’t realize enough how important it is to have a festival in a city where the majority of the guests do not work nor live,” said Och, who is based in Prague. “It’s such a challenge to prepare a lineup of films which are often demanding, because we’re talking arthouse cinema, [that will enter] the life of people who spend the day at the office.”
By contrast, Karlovy Vary offers a break from everyday life in an atmospheric environment, aesthetically verging on Wes Anderson’s idea of 20th century Europe but full of diverse and exciting cinema old and new — and with additional score by Russell Crowe.
The trailer for This Fool Season 2 confirms the return of Hulu‘s critically acclaimed irreverent comedy. The half-hour series will premiere the new season in its entirety on Friday, July 28, continuing the binge-release format of the first installment.
Check out the official trailer for This Fool season 2:
What To Know About This Fool Season 2
“This Fool is an irreverent, cinematic half-hour comedy set in working-class South Central Los Angeles,” according to the official synopsis. “After Julio’s job and love life blew up at the end of last season, this season, new roommates Julio and Luis embark on finding new careers and romances with the help of Minister Payne, Chef Percy, and other former Huggers.”
The cast of The Fool season 2 includes Chris Estrada as Julio, Frankie Quinones as Luis, Laura Patalano as Esperanza, Julia Vera as Maria, Michael Imperioli as Minister Payne, Michelle Ortiz as Maggie, and Ivana Rojas as Ruby.
This Fool, which debuted to widespread acclaim in August 2022, is written and executive produced by Chris Estrada, Pat Bishop, Jake Weisman, and Matt Ingebretson. Jonathan Groff and Fred Armisen also serve as executive producers on the series. The Hulu Original comedy series is produced by ABC Signature.
“Morning Joe” wants President Joe Biden to use Eminem’s “8 Mile” strategy when it comes to questions about his age on the 2024 campaign trail.
Biden will be 81 going on 82 during the election cycle, and concerns about his age, stamina and mental acumen are already dogging the sitting president. MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” played a clip Wednesday of Democratic voters discussing the issue in a focus group, then threw to journalist and contributor Mike Barnicle, who said Biden should just get ahead of it with humor – like Marshall Mathers did during the final rap battle of the 2002 film “8 Mile,” when he riffed on his flaws before anyone had a chance to use them against him.
“I think the plan is, for the president and his campaign, is to more or less own his age, own the fact that he’s [80],” Barnicle said. “Own the fact that he doesn’t run as fast as he used to. He doesn’t look as agile as he used to because of his age. He has a troubled foot that makes his walk look … worse than it is.”
Barnicle said Biden has enough of his own record to make the case that he deserves a second term, and can simply use jokes and cheeky references to de-fang those who would focus on his advanced age.
“But given his age, and his vast experience in government, given his knowledge of the presidency, given the record that he has achieved, which arguably is better than Barack Obama’s first term, I think that’s what he has to campaign on,” Barnicle said. “Own your age! Say things like ”Hey, when Washington crossed the Delaware, I was there to help pull those boats in. That’s how old I am!’”
However, Barnicle seemed to think that when talking about himself, Biden could use a little bit of editing for length – then proceeded to suggest a longer laundry-list than we’re used to hearing:
“If he ends up doing it properly, from script, from his birth in Scranton, Pennsylvania, telling his life story, and a shorter version, a briefer version than he’s used to telling it, he can then say ‘I am you. I am the American citizen that you are. I have owned homes that I couldn’t afford. I have maybe almost had cars repossessed. I’ve put kids through school. I’ve carried the weight of an addicted child. I’ve lost some children. I’ve lost two children. I know the pain that you feel on a daily basis. I’m Joe Biden.”
“Morning Joe” Mika Brzezinski couldn’t have disagreed less.
“Exactly! I can’t agree more, and that focus group really reflected a conversation we might have had across a dinner table,” she said. “Or you hear across the country. People really care about him, he’s doing a great job, and he’s going to be 82 when he’s running.”
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY – AUGUST 26: Taylor Swift performs onstage during the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards at Prudential Center on August 26, 2019 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/VMN19/Getty Images for MTV)
Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour has somehow gotten even bigger.
It wasn’t enough that Swift announced international tour dates to expand the ever-growing experience to a global audience. Fourteen additional dates have now been added to the rotation, giving even more Swifties the chance to see her perform live.
The artist announced the new European dates on Instagram, writing: “I can’t wait to see so many of you on The Eras Tour next year at these new international dates!”
While Swift won’t be going to any cities that weren’t previously announced, she’ll now be doing multiple shows in a number of locations. She has done this in multiple cities during the United States leg of the tour so far.
These additional dates mean The Ears Tour is expected to include over 130 shows in total by the time it (theoretically) ends in the summer of 2024. It’s her biggest tour yet — and not just in its reach. The tour is breaking records financially, too.
But Swift isn’t doing this alone. (She never does — our girl knows how to share the spotlight.) Paramore will tag along as her opening act for a number of these shows. Hayley Williams and Taylor Swift have been good friends for years — and now they get to share stage time!
Really can’t contain my excitement because… we’re adding 14 new shows to The Eras Tour. And I get to travel the world doing shows with @paramore!! Hayley and I have been friends since we were teens in Nashville and now we get to frolic around the UK/Europe next summer??? I’m… pic.twitter.com/kl1aijxR2o
Basically, this tour may never end. It just keeps getting better and better.
Listen, it’s not that we want The Eras tour to say its final goodbyes … ever. With U.S. shows wrapping up in August, we very well could have been gearing up for the final bow. But South America! Asia! Europe! Australia! Paramore! What’s next?
Technically, what’s next is another Taylor’s Version album — Speak Now (TV) to be exact, released July 7. If you were among the groups who saw Eras before this album came out, you’re finally going to get your Speak Now fill. It’s not a tour … but Paramore will still make an appearance.
It’s the Year of Taylor Swift. And it’s only July. What a time to be alive.
I can recognize as readily as the next person the need for all subsets of society to have the proper representation in cinema. I also fear that representation itself is being used as a crutch for many filmmakers in an attempt to bolster otherwise vanilla flicks. It’s difficult to watch writer-director Mariano Biasin’s LGBTQ+ coming-of-age romance Sublime and not worry if that’s the case. The discovery and negotiation of our sexual identity during adolescence (or later) is seemingly an endless well of inspiration for countless authors and filmmakers. That in itself simply isn’t enough in to separate any moviefrom the pack, though. One only needs to peruse any streaming service (especially in the month of June) to find numerous titles from around the world that share the same sensibilities as this.
Biasin’s film is centered on two aspiring musicians in an admittedly dreadful garage band in Buenos Aires. 16-year-old Manu (Martín Miller) is a gawky bass player with braces. Felipe (Teo Inama Chiabrando) is the aloof lead guitar player. Manu, whose full name is Manuel, develops feelings for the guitarist. The friends, maybe more, are fun to see on screen together. Their best moments involve a game of Either/Or in which they discuss various torture methods and which they would prefer, given a choice.
“…realize that they don’t like their girlfriends as much as they think they should.”
Their band prepares for a local concert by practicing a thorough setlist, with Manu and Felipe bonding during rehearsals. Their connection doesn’t happen at the outset as both have girlfriends, though the boys treat them as little more than accessories. As in various other movies in the same vein, the leads realize that they don’t like their girlfriends as much as they think they should. Manu is the first to confront his newfound feelings for Felipe, but will his admission cause the band’s break up?
The setup of Sublime is a fairly basic affair. Biasin takes too long to get moving with the plot machinations. We know what’s ultimately going to happen, so it’s prudent to get to the point more rapidly. The frequent glimpses of the band playing their songs are also tiresome. Anyone who has spent any period of time listening to high school garage bands will have an idea of the pain they may be in. The camera glides around the band playing their angst-ridden songs, making viewers aware of Biasin’s skill at photographing musicians. If only the level of music matched the quality of the filmmaking.
Just because I wasn’t vibing with much of Sublime (as kids of Manu and Felipe’s age would say) doesn’t mean I can’t admire it as a picture with a boundless heart. Miller and Chiabrando work well with what they’re given, and this story is bound to be relatable to plenty of adolescents navigating their sexuality in a world that may not be ready to embrace their identities. And just because it’s a story like many others we’ve seen before doesn’t suggest it can’t mean a lot to anyone struggling in a world still hostile to their way of life.
Ben Wallace today warned Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky that the West expects his country to show ‘gratitude’ for the weapons and other military aid it has been given to fight Russia.
The Defence Secretary said he had bluntly told told Kyiv officials ‘I’m not Amazon’ on a recent visit, after being presented with a shopping list of items they wanted to be supplied with after an 11-hour drive.
It came after the Ukrainian war leader had expressed his frustration at the reluctance of the 31 member states to agree a firm timetable for membership.
Joe Biden‘s administration has also told Ukraine that the US ‘deserves a degree of gratitude’ for its billions of dollars in military support to the war-torn nation.
In surprisingly strong remarks at the event in Lithuania, Mr Wallace told reporters in Vilnius: ‘There is a slight word of caution here which is that, whether we like it or not, people want to see gratitude.’
‘My counsel to the Ukrainians… you’re persuading countries to give up their own stocks. And yes the war is a noble war and yes we see it as you doing a war for not just yourself but our freedoms.
‘But sometimes you’ve got to persuade lawmakers on the Hill in America. You’ve got to persuade doubting politicians in other countries that it’s worth it and it’s worthwhile and they’re getting something for it. ‘Whether you like that or not, that is just the reality of it.’
However he was later brutally slapped down by Rishi Sunak. The PM told a press conference: ‘President Zelensky has expressed his gratitude for what we have done on a number of occasions, not least in his incredibly moving address that he made to Parliament earlier this year and he has done so again to me, as he has done countless times when I have met him.
The Defence Secretary said he had bluntly told told Kyiv officials ‘I’m not Amazon’ on a recent visit, after being presented with a shopping list of items they wanted to be supplied with.
It came after the Ukrainian war leader had expressed his frustration at the reluctance of the 31 member states to agree a firm timetable for membership.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak today told Mr Zelensky he belonged in Nato as he assured him ‘real progress’ had been made on providing security guarantees for Kyiv.
The PM told a press conference that Ukraine was ‘enormously grateful … president Zelensky has expressed his gratitude for what we have done on a number of occasions’.
‘So I know that he and his people are incredibly grateful for the support we have shown, the welcome that we have provided to many Ukrainian families, but also the leadership we have shown throughout this conflict.’
Mr Sunak today told Mr Zelensky he belonged in Nato as he assured him ‘real progress’ had been made on providing security guarantees for Kyiv.
Mr Zelensky said it was ‘logical and understandable’ that Ukraine could not be admitted immediately as the struggle against Russia meant the conflict would develop into a world war.
But he said Nato had sent ‘signals’ that were ‘important’ when it came to Ukraine becoming a member state.
‘Already we can hear some confident statements (about) when the conditions will be met,’ said Mr Zelensky, who was speaking through a translator.
As well as holding talks with Mr Sunak, the Ukrainian leader also met other G7 heads of state, including German chancellor Olaf Scholz and Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau.
He is expected to meet US president Joe Biden later on Wednesday.
Labour’s shadow defence secretary John Healey said: ‘The Ukrainians are fighting for the future and the freedom of their country.
‘President Zelensky wants more military help yesterday, of course he does. What he doesn’t need is lectures on gratitude, especially when they overshadow a successful summit in which NATO is stronger and the support for Ukraine is greater.’
This morning US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan issued a thinly-veiled warning to Kyiv.
He angrily dismissed claims from Ukrainian anti-corruption activist Daria Kaleniuk that the president ‘was afraid of Russia’ by not setting out a timeline for Ukraine to join the Brussels-based military alliance.
‘The United States of America has stepped up to provide an enormous amount of capacity to help ensure that Ukraine’s brave soldiers have the ammunition, air defense, the infantry, fighting vehicles, the mine clearing equipment and so much else to be able to effectively defend against Russia’s onslaught and to take territory back as well,’ he said.
‘I think the American people do deserve a degree of gratitude from the United States government for their willingness to step up and from the rest of the world as well.’
In a thinly-veiled swipe at Zelensky’s criticism of his Western allies, Sullivan said some of the charges leveled against the U.S. were ‘entirely unfounded and unjustified.’
The United States is by far the largest donor of military support to Ukraine, offering more than $46 billion worth of hardware to Kyiv, according to data from a respected German think-tank.
Lawmakers in Congress have earmarked as much as $100 billion, but not all of that aid has yet been drawn down to help the Ukrainian government.
Most of the weapons shipped to Ukraine are also made in the U.S., boosting jobs in the country’s key defense sector.
The second largest donor, by contrast, is Britain, which has offered up just over $6 billion, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy’s Ukraine Support Tracker.
A new trailer for upcoming action brawler Hellboy Web of Wyrd has shown a little of what the game is about, and it largely seems to be about belting demons in the face using Hellboy’s big red fist.
While Hellboy Web of Wyrd was originally announced back in December 2022, being developed by West of Dead developers Upstream Arcade and being published by Monster Train publishers Good Shepherd. It wasn’t clear until now how the game would actually play, but now we know.
The trailer looks like a lot of fun and shows some fast-based combat alongside Lance Reddick voicing Hellboy in one of his last acting roles. Why not take a look?
There’s no release date yet for the game but it will be “coming soon” to Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, and PC. We don’t know too much about the game’s story or setting, except that it’s an original storyline that is being pulled together in collaboration with Mike Mignola, the creator of Hellboy who has overseen the series and its spin-off titles since then.
What we do know is that Hellboy will be venturing through the eldritch and ever-shifting Butterfly House in the search for a missing B.P.R.D agent, with a mix of exploration and, well, punching.
EXCLUSIVE: We can reveal the first trailer and release date for Nicolas Cage action-comedy The Retirement Plan.
The Face/Off and National Treasure actor stars with Ashley Greene and Ron Perlman in the movie, which is due to hit theaters in the U.S. from August 25 via Falling Forward Films and Productivity Media.
In The Retirement Plan, when Ashley (Ashley Greene) and her young daughter Sarah (Thalia Campbell) get caught up in a criminal enterprise that puts their lives at risk, she turns to the only person who can help – her estranged father Matt (Nicolas Cage), a retired beach bum. Their reunion is fleeting as they are soon tracked down by crime boss Donnie (Jackie Earle Haley) and his lieutenant (Ron Perlman). The bad guys get more than they bargained for because Matt is not the wacky character he appears to be.
Also among cast are Jackie Earle Haley, Joel David Moore, Grace Byers, and Ernie Hudson. Pic is directed by Tim Brown.
“I am thrilled to be working with Falling Forward and Productivity Media on the theatrical release of this film,” said director Tim Brown. “I’m super grateful to Nic and the rest of the cast, and being able to watch this film in theaters is a childhood dream come true.”
“This film is destined to be another classic Nic Cage action-comedy,” added Scott Kennedy, President of Falling Forward Films. “We are big supporters of the theatrical experience and there is nothing better than to have the audience experience the laughter and the thrills of The Retirement Plan on the big screen.”
Oscar winner Cage is coming off Renfield and The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent and has thriller Longlegs in post.
Ticketmaster has once again cracked under the weight of a Taylor Swift ticket sale — this time in France.
As French fans prepared on Tuesday to purchase tickets to six concerts in May and June 2024 on Swift’s Eras Tour — four shows in Paris, two in Lyon — Ticketmaster’s website displayed a gigantic queue of customers ready to buy; one screenshot appeared to tell a fan that 1,023,504 shoppers were in line ahead of them.
Soon, Ticketmaster announced that sales for those shows had been placed on “pause.” The company said that a new on-sale time would be announced, and that “all codes not already used will remain valid.” But some fans’ social media posts seemed to show technical errors on Ticketmaster’s website, including a progress icon that “keeps spinning and spinning and spinning,” as one fan — speaking English with an American accent, but with 762 euros’ worth of tickets in their shopping cart — put it.
A few hours later, the French branch of Ticketmaster offered some more detail on social media, blaming the problem on a “third-party provider” that the company did not identify, and adding that tickets were still available. A representative of Live Nation Entertainment, Ticketmaster’s corporate parent, said that the provider works with Ticketmaster only in France.
The situation in France appeared to be a frustrating repeat of the problems that plagued Swift’s North American presale in November, when an influx of millions of fans — and bots — overwhelmed Ticketmaster’s systems, and fans reported issues like tickets in their shopping carts disappearing before they could be purchased. Ticketmaster shut down its public sale as a result, though the company also said it had sold more than two million tickets to the tour in a single day.
Problems like those at Swift’s presale in November — as well as long-simmering concerns over Ticketmaster and Live Nation’s market dominance — led to a brutal Senate Judiciary hearing in January. Senators from both parties flatly called the company a monopoly and were skeptical of an executive’s explanation that Ticketmaster was unable to defend itself against an onslaught of bots during Swift’s presale.
“This is unbelievable,” Senator Marsha Blackburn, Republican of Tennessee, said at the hearing. “Why is it,” she added, “that you have not developed an algorithm to sort out what is a bot and what is a consumer?”
Yet the demand for Swift tickets has been extraordinary, with Swift selling out stadiums everywhere she plays and tickets going for thousands of dollars on the secondary market. She is scheduled to complete the North American leg of her tour next month, then play in Latin America, Asia and Europe.
The Justice Department has separately been conducting an antitrust investigation of Live Nation. The Justice Department has not confirmed that investigation, but Live Nation’s chief executive, Michael Rapino, has spoken about it openly.
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