Writer-director Kang Park makes his feature-length debut with the South Korean horror film Seire. The movie revolves around the superstitious belief of saam-chil-il, which means that for 21 days after the birth of a baby, the parents and their home must be very protective. Ropes are put up around the perimeter of the house, visitors are not allowed, certain foods are banned, and breaking any of the taboos can spell doom for the baby or the parents.
Woo-jin (Seo Hyun-woo) does not buy into any of that, though. However, his wife, Hae-mi (Sim Eun-woo), grew up with a very superstitious-believing mom and holds these ideas close. So Woo-jin tries his best to keep them as well, as they just had little I-su. However, he learns that his ex died and decides to attend the funeral. It goes without saying that Woo-jin did not tell Hae-mi about his decision. Upon returning from the funeral, Woo-jin, Hae-mi, and even the innocent baby I-su, are subjected to strange and horrific happenings. Did Woo-jin break the forbidden taboos and unleash something awful upon his family? Or is there a logical explanation for these unfortunately timed events?
“…Woo-jin, Hae-mi, and even the innocent baby I-su, are subjected to strange and horrific happenings.”
Seire is gripping from start to finish, with Park establishing an oppressive atmosphere from the beginning. The way the lighting captures who’s doing what adds a layer of unreality to everything that heightens the tension. The dialogue is rather exposition heavy, but the moody direction makes up for that. Plus, how the story uses the taboos to springboard into exploring regret and what-ifs is unexpectedly original.
The cast is perfect. Hyun-woo comes off as bland initially but slowly deconstructs his everyman persona to find nuance behind a man leaving with deep regret. Eun-woo is perfect as Hae-mi. She sells the ending with such delicious glee it is delightful. The supporting cast is excellent as well.
As with most South Korean genre offerings, Seire is measuredly pace and more about atmosphere. This does mean gorehounds who only want blood and guts in their horror flicks will be disappointed. But those who don’t mind a slow burn to build tension that is only periodically punctured by a big moment will be very invested here. The cast is great, and the ending is surprising yet makes perfect sense.
An American tourist who miraculously survived after being thrown 165 feet off a cliff during a sight-seeing trip to Germany‘s ‘Cinderella’ castle was saved from almost certain death by a fallen tree, new footage of her rescue appears to show.
Police believe the 22-year-old woman was thrown over the edge after she tried to intervene when her friend was attacked by another US national – a 30-year-old man.
Her 21-year-old friend, also American, was also thrown down the cliff but sadly died.
The video filmed by tourists at the main entrance to the famous Neuschwanstein Castle shows German mountain rescuers being lowered down from a helicopter to where the two women landed next to each other – halfway down the steep cliff.
One of the women, who appears to be wearing a light blue top, can be seen moving around next to a fallen tree, some way down the steep slope. The fallen tree is right at the top of a sheer drop down a much steeper portion of the cliff.
Both women were airlifted to hospital, where the 21-year-old was pronounced dead. Were it not for the fallen tree, it appears that her friend would have likely also died.
An American tourist who miraculously survived after being thrown 165 feet off a cliff during a sight-seeing trip to Germany’s ‘Cinderella’ castle was saved from almost certain death by a fallen tree, new footage of her rescue appears to show
The video filmed by tourists at the main entrance to the famous Neuschwanstein Castle shows German mountain rescuers being lowered down from a helicopter to where the two women landed next each other – halfway down the steep cliff
The new video was filmed just by the entrance to the castle in south Germany.
The 30-year-old American man has been held on charges of murder, attempted murder and one sexual offence. He was seen being led away from the scene in handcuffs with video taken by another tourist showing scratches on his face.
Police said he has ‘had his say in court’ after refusing to speak to investigators.
The emergence of the new footage came as MailOnline revealed the three tourists had all been staying at the same Munich hotel. The victims did not know their assailant, but was on the same day trip excursion to the world famous castle.
It opens showing the scene from a distance, with several tourists gathered looking out at a cliff face hundreds of feet away, as the helicopter descends.
The footage zooms in, and the woman becomes visible on the side of the cliff, sitting close to where the fallen tree appears to have stopped her fall.
The rescuers are lowered down towards her. Another clip MailOnline published yesterday showed one of the two women being airlifted away.
While the earlier clip showed the rescue efforts, the new clip contextualises the scene – and shows just how close the surviving American tourists came to falling even further down the cliff that runs to the south of Neuschwanstein castle.
Were it not the for tree, it appears she could have fallen hundreds of feet more, and would have been highly unlikely to survive.
The two women are thought to have been attacked at around 2.40pm on Wednesday. Police say they met the man near the Marienbrucke bridge, a narrow footbridge that at its highest point crosses 300ft above a gorge – with a stream and waterfall underneath – and offers stunning views of the castle.
Police said the man allegedly persuaded them to follow him down a secluded trail that led to a good lookout point, where he ‘physically attacked’ the 21-year-old.
When her friend tried to intervene, he allegedly choked her and pushed her down a steep slope. Police believe ‘an attempted sexual offence’ was then committed against the 21-year-old, before she was also pushed down the slope.
She fell next to her friend some 165ft below.
The pair were airlifted away by helicopter, but the 21-year-old woman tragically died in hospital from injuries sustained in the fall.
Miraculously, her 22-year-old companion suffered only minor injuries – bruises and a laceration – and has since been able to make a statement to police.
She is expected to be released from hospital today.
The suspect fled the scene, but was caught after a massive police operation involving 25 emergency vehicles.
He was taken to a police station in nearby town of Fuessen.
A witness video posted online showed a man in a T-shirt, jeans and a baseball cap being led away in handcuffs by police, while another clip showed one of the victims being airlifted out of the ravine by a mountain rescue helicopter.
The two women, aged 21 and 22, met the man, 30, near the Marienbrucke bridge, a narrow footbridge that at its highest point crosses the gorge at 300 feet
A helicopter and rescue workers are seen at the ravine on Wednesday, where two women were reportedly pushed down by a man in a shocking attack
All three of the US visitors had been staying at the budget Seibel Hotel in the centre of Munich, around 50 miles away from the castle. They had travelled by coach to Neuschwanstein with other tourists
All three of the US visitors had been staying at the budget Seibel Hotel in the centre of Munich, around 50 miles away from the castle. They had travelled by coach to Neuschwanstein with other tourists.
Staff at the hotel confirmed that they had been visited by police on Wednesday afternoon hours after the alleged attack.
The two girls – who have yet to be formally named by police – shared a twin bed ground floor room at the £90 ($115) night hotel.
Staff identified the two women from social media photos and said they had sat together at breakfast.
The hotel manager told Mail Online the belongings of the two women had been removed from their first-floor room and put into storage.
The pair, from Illinois, had checked into the hotel on Tuesday and travelled the 55 miles to the castle near the town of Garmisch-Partenkirchenon an organised tour.
A police source said the three US tourists had travelled to the castle together but were otherwise not known to each other.
They are not thought to be from the same US state.
The US State Department said they are aware of the incident and their consulate in Munich is monitoring the situation closely. Spokesman Matthew Miller said they were in close contact with the German authorities.
The US Embassy in Berlin said it was aware of the incident and the consulate in Munich was in contact with authorities.
‘Due to privacy considerations, we are unable to comment further at this time,’ the embassy said in a statement.
A spokesman for Bavarian police said: ‘We couldn’t verify yet which US state the suspect is from. Inquiries are still ongoing via German and American authorities.
‘The suspect didn’t make any comments to police but in his hearing in court yesterday he did have his say in regards to remaining in custody. We don’t want to say exactly what he said, however,’ he told MailOnline.
Under German law, suspects must be brought before a judge at a closed-doors hearing by the end of the calendar day after their arrest if investigators intend to keep them in custody.
Police said a judge in nearby Kempten on Thursday ordered him held pending a potential indictment and he was taken to jail.
Meanwhile, police are searching for video footage of the incident. As of 8am this morning, they said they had received a dozen submissions from visitors and that investigators would being scouring through it today for any new information.
The officials said they hoped the international coverage of the shocking attack would result in more people coming forward witnesses statements, as many of the people who visit the bridge are tourists from abroad.
‘We are looking for photographs which, by chance, show two young women and a man (approximately 30 years old) who were staying east of the Marienbruecke,’ Kempten police said on their website.
‘These persons may have been walking together or separately.’
The motive for the attack is still unclear, while all parties remain unnamed.
A US man hurled two female American tourists 165ft down a ravine near a world famous German castle – killing one after he sexually assaulted her and her companion tried to fight him off, reports have claimed
The suspect fled the scene, but was caught after a massive police operation involving 25 emergency vehicles on Wednesday afternoon and taken to a police station in nearby Fuessen. A witness video posted online showed a man in a T-shirt, jeans and a baseball cap being led away in handcuffs by police
Criminal police have taken over the investigation into attempted murder and murder, as well as a sexual offence, with the current focus on reconstructing exactly how the incident took place, police said.
Police have created a tip line for witnesses to submit other footage or leads and until this morning, they received a dozen submissions, according to a spokesman.
Local police spokesman Holger Stabik told MailOnline they had received a dozen photos and video from other sight seers. Up to 6,000 people a day visit the castle.
‘We are just going to see what comes up and meanwhile we are still looking for footage. Other than that, we have announced that the suspect is a US citizen and we are, right at the moment, talking to the consulate.
‘Right now we don’t have a proper address for the suspect. There is, of course a address noted, but we can’t yet tell for sure where it originates from, so all of this is going to the US authorities right at the moment, so that they can check it out.
‘Furthermore, the suspect was of course interviewed and he didn’t tell anything to the police, but in front of the judge he then did but in terms of the content.’
He said the investigation could take several weeks or months and the suspect can be held for up to six months before he must be charged or released.
‘What is missing now and what’s going to happen within the next few weeks and months is that we are going to collect together all the stuff that we have, the evidence, and evaluate it forensically.
‘And this is going to take some time,’ said the spokesman.
A man who witnessed the aftermath of the incident told MailOnline that he saw a man ‘with a bloodied face’ being led away from the attraction in handcuffs.
Eric Abneri, a 21-year-old tourist from New York, said he and his friends arrived at the castle on Wednesday afternoon when they heard the sound of a helicopter above.
According to police, the women encountered the 30-year-old American tourist on a trail on or near the Marienbrucke bridge, which is hugely popular as it offers a view of the 19th century Neuschwanstein castle – which sees around 1.4million visitors per year
Mr Abneri filmed the footage of the helicopter and the man being led away.
‘We saw two or three men repelling [into the ravine] and were confused, until I noticed the woman in blue who we thought fell.
‘They rescued the woman. I’m unsure of who lived and the helicopter flew away, then came back for the other rescuers. Shortly after we went back to see the bridge and it was closed with a police presence.’
Mr Abneri said there was a large police presence at the scene. ‘We waited and a man with a bloodied face came out in handcuffs,’ he said.
Speaking later to the Associated Press, Mr Abneri – a recent business graduate from the University of Pittsburgh – said the man appeared to have scratches across his face.
‘He did not say a single word. He didn’t open his mouth; he didn’t mumble,’ Mr Abneri said. ‘He just walked with the police and that was it.’
He also praised the rescuers for their efforts. ‘I’m honestly absolutely stunned someone is still alive from this. It is like falling from the top of an absolute cliff.’
Mr Abneri described it as ‘a very, very difficult rescue because of those cliffs and because the helicopter came mere feet above the tree line at the top of the hill’.
‘They did an unbelievable job,’ he said.
Police were seen interviewing witnesses to the attack ‘who looked shook up,’ he added, saying that the bridge was later reopened to the public.
The building of Neuschwanstein Castle was completed in 1886 after almost 20 years. It is located in the Swabia region of Bavaria, close to Alps and the Austrian border.
Its construction was commissioned by King Ludwig II of Bavaria, who wanted a holiday home to escape to from the Bavarian capital of Munich.
He paid for the castle out of his personal fortune and through extensive borrowing, but he never saw it completed. He died in 1886, shortly before it opened.
Since then, more than 61million people have visited it.
“‘The Fucking Grifters.’ That’s the podcast we shoulda launched with them,” said Simmons on his self-titled podcast. “I gotta get drunk one night and tell the story of the Zoom I had with Harry to try and help him with a podcast idea. It’s one of my best stories.”
Simmons’ the Ringer sold to the audio platform for $196 million in 2020, with Simmons gaining to a leadership role at Spotify as a result.
The podcaster also scolded the couple in January 2022 episode of his podcast: “Shoot this guy to the sun… I’m so tired of this guy. What does he bring to the table? He just whines about shit and keeps giving interviews. Who gives a shit? Who cares about your life? You weren’t even the favorite son.”
“You live in fucking Montecito and you just sell documentaries and podcasts and nobody cares what you have to say about anything unless you talk about the royal family and you just complain about them,” Simmons added.
The deals with both Simmons and the Duke and Duchess were a part of Spotify’s expansion into podcasting. However, that emphasis has waned at the company, with the January exit of former chief content and advertising business officer, Dawn Ostroff, as well as the early June announcement, that the company would be laying off 200 employees due to “strategic realignment.”
Gal Gadot, star of the “Wonder Woman” movies and periodic ensemble player in The “Fast” Saga, is getting her crack at a Netflix female-led actioner.
In “Heart of Stone,” Gadot stars as an MI6 agent who secretly works for a covert peacekeeping organization known as The Charter. However, things go awry, as they often do in these films, leaving the professional badass comparatively isolated from her MI6 life and having to save the day with little backup. What follows is the expected assortment of action stunts (including a snowy mountaintop skydiving escape) and more conventional sky-high fight scene amid fisticuffs and shootings.
So, no, “Heart of Stone” doesn’t seem to reinvent the wheel, but if it works on its own terms then that will be enough for most Netflix viewers. Whether it spawns a new franchise, well, there’s a long road between “This is the start of a new franchise!” and “Extraction 2… now available on Netflix.”
Tom Harper (“The Aeronauts” and “The Woman in Black: Angel of Death”) directs a script from Greg Rucka (who wrote “The Old Guard” based on his comic book) and Allison Schroeder (who penned “Hidden Figures”), with Skydance, Mockingbird and Pilot Wave producing.
Gadot stars alongside Jamie Dornan, Alia Bhatt, Sophie Okonedo, Matthias Schweighöfer, Jing Lusi and Paul Ready.
EXCLUSIVE:APA’s Head of Music Bruce Solar is among a few music agents who are leaving the agency. A replacement for Solar will be announced shortly.
“In the past year we have added 21 agents including many that joined our touring department. This past week we notified a handful of agents, most of whose contracts were expiring in 2023, that we weren’t going to renew their deals in order to give them time to find their next opportunity,” a rep for APA said in a statement to Deadline. “We appreciate all that they have contributed to APA and wish them the very best going forward.”
APA’s music/touring operation has been going through a transition. In addition to the rapid expansion with the hires of senior agents from ICM, CAA and UTA who brought more than 200 artists, the department also promoted six in February.
The departures come as the writers strike nears its 50th day. APA last week laid off several assistants. APA and Verve, which has laid off most of its assistants and three agents, also are the two known agencies that have implemented temporary salary reductions for top agents and executives.
Courtesy APA
Solar joined APA as EVP Worldwide Music in 2015 after a 14-year career at The Agency Group. He was promoted to partner and Co-Head of Worldwide Music in 2018 and became solo Head of Music in 2021. Solar’s roster of clients has included Radical Face, EELS, Family of the Year, Blondie, Brian Wilson, Smokey Robinson, The Zombies, Cake, The O’Jays and Liz Brasher among others.
Kriti Sanon set the internet on fire with her simple and stylish look. She was seen coming out of the airport.
Kriti Sanon has been trending ever since Adipurush has released. Fans are lauding her performance in the mythological drama. Well today, the actress was spotted at the airport. She has once again set the internet on fire with her latest and stylish outfit. The video has gone viral on social media.
In the video, shared by Viral Bhayani, Kriti can be seen coming out of the airport wearing a simple white colour crop top and denim. She has left her hair open and opted for less makeup. Her minimalistic look is also making her look summer worthy. She was also seen posing with fans. As soon as the video was shared, fans showered her with praise. One of the fans wrote, “Indeed she was only beautiful part of the movie.”
Watch the video here:
In an interview with Times Of India, Kriti Sanon shared how she prepared for the role of Janki, “Om has possibly read everything available on Ramayana and had a clear vision about the project. The transformation into Janaki was not just about the physical aspects, but also about internalising the essence of the character. It took a considerable amount of time and effort to immerse myself in Janaki’s persona, to understand her emotional journey, her virtues and to bring her to life on screen. It was a meticulous process that involved rehearsals, multiple sittings not only on the look and attire but also understanding the historical and mythological context of the character.”
Directed by Om Raut, Adipurush stars Prabhas as Raghav while Kriti Sanon plays the role of Janaki. The film also stars Saif Ali Khan as Raavan. Adipurush is produced by T-Series, Bhushan Kumar & Krishan Kumar, Om Raut, Prasad Sutar, and Rajesh Nair of Retrophiles, Pramod, and Vamsi of UV Creations. The film was released on Friday, June 16.
On the work front, the actress will be next seen in The Crew along side with Kareena Kapoor Khan and Tabu. The shooting is going on currently. She also has an untitled film with Shahid Kapoor.
The jury Grand Prix was awarded to Spain’s “Muyeres” with China’s Liu Jin winning the best director prize. The trio also collected additional prizes making them the only multiple winners in a ceremony that sprinkled its awards widely.
“Yoko,” directed by Kumakiri Kazuyoshi, who earlier this year saw melodramatic “#Manhole” play in Berlin, takes the structure of a road-movie and is a journey of self-discovery of a woman who had been socially isolated in her apartment for many years. Portrayed by global star Rinko Kikuchi (”Babel,” “47 Ronin”), the woman is forced to confront the real world, and herself, when she takes a 658 kilometre cross-country journey to her father’s funeral. Without a cell phone or the money for public transport, she finds herself having to hitch hike. Kikuchi also earned the best actress award.
The film, which also stars Odagiri Joe will have its commercial release in Japan at the end of July as “658km, Yoko no Tabi.”
“Muyeres” is the second feature-length work of Martha Lallana and is a documentary exploration of song preservation in the Asturian region of Spain. Shot in black and white, it focuses on the old women of a rural area where the oral traditions are in danger of extinction through migration and changes in values. As a project, “Muyeres” had a busy career as a work in progress at the Malaga Spanish Screenings in 2020 and at the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam.
“All Ears,” is a drama film by Liu Jiayin, the female director behind notable hybrid documentaries “Oxhide” and “Oxhide II” in 2005 and 2009 respectively. The film follows the life of a man who writes eulogies for people’s funerals and in researching other people’s lives finds meaning in his own. The film has backing from award-winning filmmaker Cao Baoping and stars Hu Ge (“The Wild Goose Lake”). Production is by Alibaba Pictures with international sales handled by Rediance.
Shanghai International Film Festival 2023 Competition Winners
Best Feature Film “Yoko” dir. Kumakiri Kazuyoshi (Japan)
Jury Grand Prix “Muyeres” dir. Marta Lallana (Spain)
Best Director Liu Jiayin for “All Ears” (China)
Best Actor (joint winners) Hu Ge in “All Ears” (China) dir. Liu Jiayin Da Peng in “Dust to Dust” (China) dir. Jonathan Li
Best Actress Rinko Kikuchi in “Yoko” (Japan) dir. Kumakiri Kazuyoshi
Best Screenplay Muroi Kosuke/Namiko Sou for “Yoko” (Japan) dir. Kumakiri Kazuyoshi
Best Cinematography Toni Vidal for “Muyeres” (Spain) dir. Marta Lallana
Outstanding Artistic Achievement “Good Autumn, Mommy” dir. Chen Shizhong (China)
Best Documentary Film “Anxious in Beirut” dir. Zakaria Jaber (Jordan/Lebanon/Qatar/Spain)
Best Animation Film “Four Souls of Coyote” dir. Áron Gauder (Hungary)
Best Live Action Short Film “The House We Had” dir. Andrey Krechetov (Russia)
Best Animated Short Film “Chasing Birds” dir. Una Lorenzen (Iceland/Canada)
While many MCU heroes have gone through distinct looks over the course of the franchise’s now five phases, none have done so as often as Scarlett Johansson’sBlack Widow.
From her Iron Man 2 debut all the way until her swan song in 2021’s Black Widow, Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff has sported several looks that define her presence in nearly every MCU project she’s been a part of.
It’s worth noting that in the films Scarlett Johansson was a part of that were directed by the Russo Brothers (Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame), Johansson herself had full creative control of her character’s hairstyle.
Scarlett Johansson’s 8 Best MCU Hairstyles Over the Years
All too aware of this, Marvel Studios asked fans to “claim” a Black Widow MCU hairstyle on the studio’s UK/Ireland Twitter account.
1.) Iron Man 2 (2010)
Marvel
Scarlett Johansson made her MCU debut in 2010’s Iron Man 2, sporting long, curly red locks that were extremely reminiscent of her character’s traditional Marvel Comics look.
However, the long hair wouldn’t stay for long (don’t worry, this look will be back).
2.) The Avengers (2012)
Marvel
Black Widow’s first inclusion in a Marvel Studios team-up movie saw the character ditch the curly hair for a short, wavy bob. Rest assured, though, the red stayed.
The Avengers solidified Scarlett Johansson’s place as a bonafide MCU mainstay, and it wouldn’t be long before she made her mark on another Marvel Studios franchise.
3.) Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
Marvel
Captain America: The Winter Soldierdidn’t have Johansson stray too far from her prior look. While the length of her hair stayed roughly the same, it was straightened rather than curled.
It was here that Black Widow nearly became synchronous with fellow Avenger Captain America, with their stories more intertwined than anyone realized.
4.) Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
Marvel
The next Avengers film, Age of Ultron, reverted the Black Widow almost entirely back to her prior Avengers hairstyle. This time, however, it showed more of her face and appeared as a slightly darker red.
This would be the last fans saw of Natasha Romanoff’s shorter hairstyle for a few years.
5.) Captain America: Civil War (2016)
Marvel
Her road crossing with Captain America yet again, the Black Widow landed on Team Iron Man in Captain America: Civil War, though she eventually sided with Cap before the movie ended.
Johansson appeared in the fan-dubbed Avengers 2.5 with another longer look; this one was almost a cross of her Iron Man 2 and The Winter Soldier hairstyles, with the length extended and locks generally straightened apart from the curled ends.
After going incognito with fellow ex-Avengers Captain America and Falcon, Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff cut her hair to less than shoulder-length and dyed it blonde in an attempt to lay low from the feds.
7.) Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Marvel
Shown following the five-year time jump present in Avengers: Endgame, Scarlett Johansson was more creative than ever in how she depicted her character visually.
The blonde locks from Infinity War grew themselves out to the point where the character’s natural red hair re-emerged, leading to a beautiful ombre of the two colors.
8.) Black Widow (2021)
Marvel
Finally, Scarlett Johansson led the billing in 2021’s Black Widow, which filled the slot between Civil War and Infinity War.
The movie saw Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff both as a young teenager and the then present-day super spy. The teenage version, played by Peter Pan & Wendy‘s Ever Anderson, rocked a short and choppy blue do, while the grown-up version showcased a variety of braids throughout the film while retaining the near-classic length and red hue.
Black Widow also hinted at why Natasha dyed her hair blonde in Infinity War: to pay tribute to her spiritual sister, Florence Pugh’sYelena Belova.
All MCU movies starring Scarlett Johansson as the Black Widow are streaming now on Disney+.
Superman: Legacyis currently screen-testing potential Clark Kents and Lois Lanes from a surprisingly small pool of actors. The movie, which is being written and directed by DC co-CEO James Gunn, is one of the flagship projects in the upcoming new branch of the DC Universe. Although Black Adam teased the return of Henry Cavill to the role of the titular hero, this project will be a fresh take on the iconic story with a brand-new star at the center.
SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAYSCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT
Fresh off of The Flash‘s DCU reset, The Hollywood Reporter‘s Borys Kit took to Twitter to shared an update on the Superman: Legacy cast.
According to this new update, as seen above, the actors in talks for Superman are formeractor Nicholas Hoult, Pearl‘s David Corenswet, and Greyhound‘s Tom Brittney. For Lois Lane, they will be testing with Emma Mackey, Phoebe Dynevor, andRachel Brosnahan.
Where You Know the Superman: Legacy Contenders
The trio of actors in contention for Lois Lane are all well-known figures who are either fresh off or currently in major roles on popular television series. Brosnahan played the title character on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, having won an Emmy for her performance, while Dynevor played the leading lady Daphne Bridgerton in Bridgerton season 1, and Mackey played Maeve in the first three seasons of Sex Education. She can also be seen in a major role in last year’s murder mystery movie Death on the Nile and as Physicist Barbie in this year’s Barbie movie.
As far as the title character goes, Hoult will likely be the most recognizable actor currently testing. Most recently, he has been seen in a more horror-tinged heroic role opposite Nicolas Cage as Dracula in Renfield. He has also appeared in several major franchises including playing Beast in the prequel X-Men movies and Nux in Mad Max: Fury Road.
Corenswet is better known for strong supporting roles, including playing the projectionist in Ti West’s Pearl and River in Netflix’s The Politician. Brittney, who is a fellow Brit to Hoult, is on the other hand best known for a long-running role on Grantchester. It remains to be seen which actors come out on top for Superman: Legacy‘s casting search, but it seems more and more likely that solid news on that front will come very soon.
The long-awaited Starfield Direct has arrived following the Xbox Games Showcase and it gave us an extensive look at the much-anticipated game from Bethesda Game Studios.
The Starfield Direct lasted over 40 minutes and was packed with gameplay footage and developers discussing many of the game’s features, including combat, exploration, space travel, character creation, companions, outpost building, and so much more. It was a lot to take in, and this guide will break it all down for you!
Starfield Welcomes You to Visit Over 1,000 Planets and Fly Through the Stars on Your Own Ship
Starfield is going to be huge, there is no doubt about that, especially considering Bethesda has re-confirmed there will be over 1,000 planets for players to visit. While every planet won’t be filled with life-changing quests and some will barren besides some resources to collect, Bethesda has crafted a galaxy that is filled to the brim with places to go.
These planets will be a sight to behold, as well, as they will be filled with alien flora and fauna and the lighting on the planet will be determined by the type of star in the system and the atmosphere on the planet.
Bethesda also wants players to have unique experiences that are still hand-crafted, which means players may have different experiences from their friends who have visited the same planet. Bethesda’s planet tech generates the planet “as procedural content, but the hand-crafted content itself comes as the player explores.”
This means that Starfield will build a planet as players approach it by stitching together “a block of terrain.” Following that process, the game will add interesting places to explore and creatures to encounter and more around the planet that will keep things fresh and unique to each player. There will obviously be main story missions that all players will experience the same way, but exploring will be a whole different ball game.
Set up your home amongst the stars.
? Assign Crew and Companions ? Set up Extractors to harvest resources ? Establish cargo links to move resources between outposts ? Add crafting and research stations#Starfieldpic.twitter.com/A67JsnC700
— Bethesda Game Studios (@BethesdaStudios) June 11, 2023
Once on a planet, players will have the choice to build an outpost that can be a home base of sorts. These can be built most anywhere on any given planet and can also be customized to make it a perfect place to relax among the stars. Building has also been given an upgrade and players can craft their outposts via a top down isometric view for building placement and big changes and via first-person for getting those finer details right.
Once they are built, players can assign their crew and companions to work there, set up Extractors to harvest resources, set up a system to send cargo between your outposts, and house crafting and research stations.
As if that wasn’t enough, players will also be able to fly through the stars on their very own ship that can be customized in a variety of ways. To give an example of how flexible the ship crafting system is, the Starfield Direct basically showed someone building a ship that looked like Optimus Prime.
— Bethesda Game Studios (@BethesdaStudios) June 11, 2023
Ships can be obtained in a variety of ways, including simply purchasing them as any upstanding citizen would or by stealing them if you want to get your hands a bit dirty. Once a ship is obtained, players will be able to actually pilot it and travel to their next destination, as opposed to simply pressing a button to fast-travel to a planet, which you actually can do as well.
Space isn’t always safe, and ship battles will come with the territory. Bethesda wants these combat encounters to feel “exciting and dangerous” while also giving players a ton of control with a power allocation system. This allows for players to boost power to the engines to make their ships faster or sacrificing some systems to keep their shields strong. Players also be able to target specific parts of enemy ships for some strategic victories.
— Bethesda Game Studios (@BethesdaStudios) June 11, 2023
Oh, and if players don’t feel like engaging in a dogfight, they can head to an enemy ship and board it to take down the enemies within. After, they can claim the ship as their own and access it at any spaceport.
Creating Your Very Own Explorer, Building a Team, and Fighting Your Way Through the Galaxy
Bethesda games aim to put you as the main character in a world that feels as real as possible and allows you to live out your dream of living in a fantastical world. Living through those virtual dreams is wonderful, but its made even more special when you get to do it with a character you create that looks like you or a design you choose.
Starfield is no different and features Bethesda’s “most in-depth and diverse character creation system yet.” Players will be able to choose from 40 preset templates to be their starting point in character creation, and the customization just expands so greatly from there.
Character creation is also “more than how you look,” as players will be able to also choose their background and traits that will help define who you are in the world of Starfield. The backgrounds give you a little backstory along with three skills. For example, the Explorer starts with the skills Lasers, Astrodynamics, and Surveying. Some others include Beast Hunter, Bouncer, Chef, Cyber Runner, Gangster, Pilgrim, and Ronin.
Players will then be able to choose, if they want, three more traits to further customize their character. These traits come with advantages and disadvantages, so the choice is a bit tougher. One of these includes Hero Worshiped, which will cause an “adoring fan” to “show up randomly and jabber at you incessantly.” on the bright side, however, he can join your ship’s crew and give you gifts!
— Bethesda Game Studios (@BethesdaStudios) June 11, 2023
Starfield also has skills that players can earn through gameplay, and completing challenges tied to them will level up their rank and make them better. For example, the Security Skill can be improved by picking locks, and each rank gained will let you pick even tougher locks.
There are five skill categories – Physical, Social, Combat, Science, and Tech – and they all do their part in making you… well… you!
Getting all powerful and exploring the galaxy is great, but it’s so much better when you have friends beside you. In Starfield, you will encounter a ton of people and robots who can join your crew and come with you on your adventures. These crew members will have unique skills that will be invaluable to you, and some of them are Sarah Morgan (Astrodynamics and Lasers), Sam Coe (Piloting and Rifle Certification), and Barrett (Starship Engineering and Particle Beam Weapon Systems). Some companions can even join you in the field, like Vasco – a robot who was designed “around the core basics of a NASA machine.”
You’ll encounter some crew members as you progress the story, and more can be recruited at spaceports and other areas. And don’t worry, there will be romance options for companions.
Combat also got an overhaul in Starfield and is much faster paced that that found in Fallout. As is clearly a pattern, there is a ton of customization and options in regards to weapons, and this is seen in an extensive mod system, energy and mag weapons, different types of rounds like the explosive type, jetpacks you can use to your advantage in battle, and more.
— Bethesda Game Studios (@BethesdaStudios) June 11, 2023
Battles, and the whole game for that matter, can be played in either first-person or third-person, and some weapons will even shoot you back when you are in zero-g, so it’s important to take into consideration a ton of factors before engaging a foe.
One of the most mysterious and surprising moment of the direct was a glimpse at what appears to be some type of power the player character gets access to that lifts enemies into the sky as if they were in zero-g. If this tease is indication, there could be even more to Starfield than we initially thought.
There is so much more to Starfield, and this is only a short look at what will be waiting for players on September 6, 2023.
The jury Grand Prix was awarded to Spain’s “Muyeres” with China’s Liu Jin winning the best director prize. The trio also collected additional prizes making them the only multiple winners in a ceremony that sprinkled its awards widely.
“Yoko,” directed by Kumakiri Kazuyoshi, who earlier this year saw melodramatic “#Manhole” play in Berlin, takes the structure of a road-movie and is a journey of self-discovery of a woman who had been socially isolated in her apartment for many years. Portrayed by global star Rinko Kikuchi (”Babel,” “47 Ronin”), the woman is forced to confront the real world, and herself, when she takes a 658 kilometre cross-country journey to her father’s funeral. Without a cell phone or the money for public transport, she finds herself having to hitch hike. Kikuchi also earned the best actress award.
The film, which also stars Odagiri Joe will have its commercial release in Japan at the end of July as “658km, Yoko no Tabi.”
“Muyeres” is the second feature-length work of Martha Lallana and is a documentary exploration of song preservation in the Asturian region of Spain. Shot in black and white, it focuses on the old women of a rural area where the oral traditions are in danger of extinction through migration and changes in values. As a project, “Muyeres” had a busy career as a work in progress at the Malaga Spanish Screenings in 2020 and at the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam.
“All Ears,” is a drama film by Liu Jiayin, the female director behind notable hybrid documentaries “Oxhide” and “Oxhide II” in 2005 and 2009 respectively. The film follows the life of a man who writes eulogies for people’s funerals and in researching other people’s lives finds meaning in his own. The film has backing from award-winning filmmaker Cao Baoping and stars Hu Ge (“The Wild Goose Lake”). Production is by Alibaba Pictures with international sales handled by Rediance.
Shanghai International Film Festival 2023 Competition Winners
Best Feature Film “Yoko” dir. Kumakiri Kazuyoshi (Japan)
Jury Grand Prix “Muyeres” dir. Marta Lallana (Spain)
Best Director Liu Jiayin for “All Ears” (China)
Best Actor (joint winners) Hu Ge in “All Ears” (China) dir. Liu Jiayin Da Peng in “Dust to Dust” (China) dir. Jonathan Li
Best Actress Rinko Kikuchi in “Yoko” (Japan) dir. Kumakiri Kazuyoshi
Best Screenplay Muroi Kosuke/Namiko Sou for “Yoko” (Japan) dir. Kumakiri Kazuyoshi
Best Cinematography Toni Vidal for “Muyeres” (Spain) dir. Marta Lallana
Outstanding Artistic Achievement “Good Autumn, Mommy” dir. Chen Shizhong (China)
Best Documentary Film “Anxious in Beirut” dir. Zakaria Jaber (Jordan/Lebanon/Qatar/Spain)
Best Animation Film “Four Souls of Coyote” dir. Áron Gauder (Hungary)
Best Live Action Short Film “The House We Had” dir. Andrey Krechetov (Russia)
Best Animated Short Film “Chasing Birds” dir. Una Lorenzen (Iceland/Canada)
After Peter Hotez, a leading vaccine researcher and expert who helped develop the COVID vaccine Corbevax, called out Democratic presidential candidate and anti-vaxxer Robert R. Kennedy Jr for spreading “nonsense” on Joe Rogan’s podcast, Rogan offered Hotez $100,000 to debate Kennedy on his podcast.
Kennedy appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience on Thursday and repeated his claim that routine vaccinations cause autism.
That prompted Dr. Hotez, an MD/PhD who is Dean for the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, to label Kennedy’s statements as “misinformation.” Hotez retweeted Vice’s story “Spotify Has Stopped Even Sort of Trying to Stem Joe Rogan’s Vaccine Misinformation” writing, “Just awful. And from all the online attacks I’m receiving after this absurd podcast, it’s clear many actually believe this nonsense.”
Rogan then offered Hotez $100,000 to debate Kennedy on his podcast, to which Hotez responded, “Joe, you have my cell, you have my email, I’m always willing to speak to you.”
When Rogan called the reply a “non-answer,” the virologist responded, “Joe if you are serious about addressing vaccines + the fact that 200,000 unvaccinated Americans needlessly perished during our awful delta/BA.1 Covid waves (including 40,000 in our state of Texas) because they fell victims to vaccine disinformation: I want to have that discussion.”
Dr. Hotez added, “I’m happy to come on and have a meaningful discussion. I respect you and your show and I don’t want an adversarial relationship. I think we can make some progress.”
Then Twitter owner Elon Musk jumped in to say of Dr. Hotez, “He’s afraid of a public debate, because he knows he’s wrong.”
To this, Dr. Hotez responded, “Seriously Elon? This is monstrous.”
Read the Twitter discourse below.
Joe if you are serious about addressing vaccines + the fact that 200,000 unvaccinated Americans needlessly perished during our awful delta/BA.1 Covid waves (including 40,000 in our state of Texas) because they fell victims to vaccine disinformation: I want to have that discussion https://t.co/m8vGNtLnJs
— Prof Peter Hotez MD PhD (@PeterHotez) June 18, 2023
He’s afraid of a public debate, because he knows he’s wrong
Seriously Elon? This is monstrous. 200,000 Americans needlessly perished (including 40,000 Texans, our neighbors) because they were victims of antivaccine disinformation during our awful Covid delta/BA.1 waves in 2021-22. Please don’t do this… https://t.co/qqBDjoPeRs
— Prof Peter Hotez MD PhD (@PeterHotez) June 18, 2023
“The Three-Body Problem,” the first show produced under Benioff and Weiss’ overall deal with Netflix, sees the two showrunners teaming up with Alexander Woo to adapt Liu Cixin’s best-selling sci-fi novels of the same name. The series, which was announced in 2020, debuted its first footage today at Netflix’s TUDUM event in Sao Paolo, Brazil.
Cixin’s novels earned rave reviews for their millennium-spanning scope and meticulous attention to detail. The Netflix adaptation appears to have similarly large ambitions, with an official synopsis that reads: A young woman’s fateful decision in 1960s China reverberates across space and time to a group of brilliant scientists in the present day. As the laws of nature unravel before their eyes, five former colleagues reunite to confront the greatest threat in humanity’s history.
“Liu Cixin’s trilogy is the most ambitious science-fiction series we’ve read, taking readers on a journey from the 1960s until the end of time, from life on our pale blue dot to the distant fringes of the universe,” Benioff and Weiss said in a 2020 statement announcing the show. “We look forward to spending the next years of our lives bringing this to life for audiences around the world.”
“I have the greatest respect for and faith in the creative team adapting ‘The Three-Body Problem’ for television audiences,” Cixin said when the project was first announced. “I set out to tell a story that transcends time and the confines of nations, cultures and races; one that compels us to consider the fate of humankind as a whole. It is a great honor as an author to see this unique sci-fi concept travel and gain fandom across the globe and I am excited for new and existing fans all over the world to discover the story on Netflix.”
“The Three Body Problem” stars Jess Hong, Benedict Wong, Eiza González, Jovan Adepo, Alex Sharp, John Bradley, Saamer Usmani, Liam Cunningham, Rosalind Chao, Jonathan Pryce, Marlo Kelly, Sea Shimooka, Ben Schnetzer, and Zine Tseng.
“The Three-Body Problem” is expected to premiere on Netflix in early 2024. Watch the first teaser below.
The streaming landscape can feel endless. It’s not and we’re here to help. Netflix has hundreds of documentaries in its streaming library, but they’re not all created equal, and we’ve narrowed down the options for you with 25 of our top picks for the best documentary movies currently available to watch on the streaming platform. If you’re looking for something light and visually stunning, you’ve come to the right place. If you’re looking for something gruesome yet fascinating, there are options for you below. If you only have half an hour or 40 minutes to kill, Netflix has something for you.
So peruse our list below, and get watching!
“Athlete A”
Netflix
One of the best documentaries in recent years, “Athlete A” works on multiple fronts: First, it effectively chronicles the abuse perpetrated by Larry Nassar, a former sports medicine physician who used his position at USA Gymnastics to sexually abuse hundreds of children and young women. Second, it contextualizes how the elite gymnastics culture and the leadership of USA Gymnastics, including former CEO Steve Penny, allowed the abuse to continue for years. Finally, it shows the vital importance of investigative journalism, as it follows the team of Indianapolis Star journalists who broke and continued to cover the story.
“The Great Hack”
Netflix
With how quickly the age of information and technology is moving, the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal, which broke in 2018, may seem like ancient history, but it is not. In this 2019 film, directors Jehane Noujaim and Karim Amer use interviews with former Cambridge Analytica employee Brittany Kaiser, investigative journalist Carole Cadwalladr, and Professor David Carroll to explain how British consulting firm Cambridge Analytica used personal data collected from tens of millions of Facebook users for political advertising, including in the 2016 presidential campaigns of Ted Cruz and Donald Trump.
“Blackpink: Light Up the Sky”
Netflix
If you’re interested in learning more about the global cultural phenomenon that is K-pop, Netflix has a documentary for you. In this 79-minute film, “Salt Fat Acid Heat” director Caroline Suh gets incredible access to the four members of Blackpink to tell the behind-the-scenes story of one of the most popular music groups of all time. The documentary doesn’t get too deep (like Morgan Spurlock’s “One Direction: This Is Us,” there are often limits to music documentaries produced at the height of a group’s active fame), but features moments of vulnerability with Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé, and Lisa that get to some of the joys and pressures of life as a K-pop idol.
“The Speed Cubers”
Netflix
Clocking in at only 40 minutes, “The Speed Cubers” is a great watch option if you’re looking for something quick and uplifting. In this 2020 documentary, director Sue Kim delves into the world of competitive Rubik’s Cube speed solving, following two of the leading solvers in the world: 21-year-old Max Park and 27-year-old Feliks Zemdegs. While the two young men are rivals, they are also friends, and this documentary’s focus on the latter makes it a heartwarming watch.
“The Black Godfather”
Netflix
Clarence “The Black Godfather” Avant is a music executive, film producer, and businessman who has had a hand in many of the Black American musician success stories of the last 50 years. This 2019 documentary, directed by Reginald Hudlin, interviews dozens of the people Avant has worked with over the years—including Barack Obama, Snoop Dogg, Kamala Harris, Hank Aaron, and Jamie Foxx—to tell his story in just under two hours.
“A Secret Love”
Netflix
When director Chris Bolan went to visit his two great aunts, Terry and Pat, he didn’t expect to hear a story that would be the start of his next documentary film project. In this 2020 film, Bolan tells the story of former All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player Terry Donahue and Pat Henschel, partners who have been together for over 70 years but kept the romantic nature of their relationship secret from their family until 2009. “A Secret Love” uses archival home videos and All-American Girls League newsreels to illustrate the story of Pat and Terry’s loving lesbian relationship through the years. The 83-minute film is a testament to love, but it’s also an infuriating history of American homophobia.
“American Factory”
Netflix
An Academy Award winner for Best Documentary Feature, this 2019 film is set in Moraine, Ohio, a working class town not far from Dayton where a General Motors plant once thrived, then shuttered. When a Chinese company run by billionaire Cao Dewang decides to open a facility in the abandoned factory, it seems like a win for everyone. The new glass manufacturing company brings 2,000 American jobs to the depressed region, along with the opportunity for 200 Chinese workers to move to America to work in the factory. What follows is a story of a culture clash between working-class America and high-tech China that, thanks to directors Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert, never loses its empathy or complexity.
“Crip Camp”
Netflix
“Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution” is a story about a community of teens with disabilities who meet at Upstate New York’s Camp Jened in the summer of 1971, and it’s also a story about the power of solidarity in political organizing. The 2020 documentary, directed by James Lebrecht and Nicole Newnham, chronicles the development of the disabilities rights movement in the 20th century, from the sweaty joy and acceptance of the Camp Jened community to the signing of the Section 504, an American law that guarantees a public education to children with disabilities.
“Homecoming”
Netflix
A 2019 concert film about the superstar’s iconic 2018 Coachella performance, “Homecoming” isn’t just about Beyoncé, it is by Beyoncé. Queen Bey wrote, directed and produced the 137-minute film that takes viewers behind the scenes of “Beychella,” from the performance’s conception to its coming together to its execution. Like “Lemonade” before it, “Homecoming” proved that Beyoncé isn’t just a singer, performer, and businesswoman—she’s also a filmmaker.
“Period. End of Sentence”
Netflix
A documentary short clocking it at only 26 minutes, “Period. End of the Sentence” is a quick yet impactful glimpse into a vital topic: period poverty, aka a lack of access to menstrual products. In this 2018 doc, director Rayka Zehtabchi follows a group of local women living in a Kathikera village in the Hapur district of India, as they learn how to work a machine designed to make low-cost, biodegradable sanitary pads. The short is about the implementation of this machine, but it is also about the cultural taboo around menstruation—a taboo that exists in some form in most cultures around the world.
“Is That Black Enough For You?”
Netflix
It can be difficult to make a good documentary on a broad subject, but director and culture critic Elvis Mitchell does it with “Is That Black Enough For You?,” which tells the history of Black American cinema in a cool 135 minutes. The 2022 documentary spends much of its time focusing on the “Blaxploitation” films of the 1970s, but puts the period in a larger context of how Black Americans have been depicted throughout the history of cinema—mostly by White directors and writers. Featuring talking head interviews with people like Laurence Fishburne, Samuel L. Jackson, and Whoopi Goldberg, “Is That Black Enough For You?” is a must-watch for any cinephile.
“White Hot: The Rise of Abercrombie & Fitch”
Netflix
Millennials who were alive and shopping during the 90s or naughts might find particular nostalgia interest in “White Hot: The Rise of Abercrombie & Fitch,” but this documentary is a must-watch for anyone who is interested in the cycles of systemic discrimination that plague American culture. Alison Klayman’s 2022 doc breaks down the successes and failures of the retail brand, and how its commitment to white, rich, thin beauty standards not only in its advertisements but in its hiring policies led to its fall from cool-kid grace. While the talking head interviews with former A&F employees and journalists are insightful, the film may be most effective in its soundtrack, which conjures up turn-of-the-millennials vibes with hits like Lit’s “My Own Worst Enemy” and The Offspring’s “Self Esteem.”
“Pray Away”
Netflix
Directed by Kristine Stolakis, “Pray Away” is a bold and vital film about conversion therapy, the pseudo-scientific practice embraced by some conservative Christian communities under the false belief that it is possible to “cure” someone’s queerness. The film employs interviews with survivors of conversion therapy, as well as former leaders in the evangelical conversion therapy communities to explore the damage these camps have done—and continue to do. The documentary won the 2022 GLAAD Media Award for “Outstanding Documentary.”
“Descendant”
Netflix
In 2019, the wreckage of the Clotilda, the last known U.S. slave ship to bring captives from Africa to America (40 years after slavery had been deemed a capital offense), was found in Alabama’s Mobile River. In “Descendant,” director Margaret Brown uses that moment as a jumping off point to tell the thoroughly American story of Africatown, a community three miles from Mobile that was formed by 32 of the West Africans who were on the Clotilda. Many of their descendants still live in Africatown today. Brown tells their story, as well as the story of other people in the community, stitching together an oral history of systemic racism and collective resilience.
“The Elephant Whisperers”
Netflix
Director Kartiki Gonsalves spent five years following an indigenous couple named Bomman and Bellie, as they cared for elephants in the Mudumalai National Park in the mountains of southern India. While Bomman, Bellie, and elephants Raghu and Ammukutty are the character foci of this 40-minute feature, “The Elephant Whisperers” is as interested in communicating a sense of place as much as plot. Gorgeous shots of the countryside, as well as other animals (including leopards, tigers and monkeys) living in the reserve, make “The Elephant Whisperers” a lush, immersive experience.
“Circus of Books”
Netflix
In 1982, Rachel Mason’s parents took over ownership of Circus of Books, a gay porn bookshop in West Hollywood, without telling their children exactly what it is they did for a living. In 2019, Rachel Mason released the documentary “Circus of Books,” a story about the bookshop, what it meant to the local gay community, and how the family secret was eventually revealed. “Circus of Books” is both a deeply personal meditation on family and a snapshot of a gay community during the 1980s and beyond.
“Coded Bias”
Netflix
Artificial intelligence is becoming an increasing factor in our daily lives, which makes “Coded Bias,” a 2020 documentary about the biases that can be embedded into advanced technology, a must-watch. Directed by filmmaker and environmental activist Shalini Kantayya, “Coded Bias” follows Joy Buolamwini, a computer scientist and digital activist whose MIT research into the limitations of facial-recognition technology brought public attention to the biases that are often built into decision-making software.
“Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”
Focus Features
If you’re looking for more Mister Rogers energy in your life, try this 2018 documentary about the American educator and television host Fred Rogers. Rogers was the face and driving force of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, which ran for 31 seasons from 1968 to 2001. “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” uses archival footage and interviews with people like Rogers’ family, “Mister Rogers”’ cast members, and Yo-Yo Ma to explore the legacy of the kind-hearted man who comforted American children and adults alike for more than three decades.
“For the Love of Spock”
455 Films
“For the Love of Spock” explores the legacy of another American TV icon: “Star Trek”’s Mr. Spock, or more precisely the actor behind the role, Leonard Nimoy. Adam Nimoy began making the film alongside his father in 2014, and continued on without him following Leonard Nimoy’s death in 2015. This could have been a straightforward, superficial documentary about a “Star Trek” legend. Instead, Adam Nimoy dives deeper, giving an honest look at how his father’s career and fame often impacted their father-son relationship negatively. It’s a vulnerable, loving tribute to a pop culture icon and a father.
“Money Shot: The Porn Hub Story”
Netflix
One of the most recent documentaries on this list, “Money Shot: The Porn Hub Story” is exactly what it says on the tin: the tale of the Canadian-owned internet porn site, which is the 13th most-trafficked website in the world. Director Suzanne Hilliger uses interviews with sex workers, ex-Pornhub employees, journalists, and anti-sex-trafficking activists to discuss a 2020 Pornhub scandal involving non-consensual pornography on the site, and its aftermath. Rather than taking a “pro” or “con” stance on the website and industry, Hilliger lets her variety of subjects give their opinions and perspective, which makes for a broad, albeit sometimes frustrating watch.
“13th”
Netflix
With “13th,” Ava DuVernay set out to answer the question of how the United States became the country with the highest rates of incarceration in the world. The 2016 documentary answers that question by drawing a line from the end of slavery in America (enacted with the 13th Amendment, which is where the film gets its name) to our modern carceral system, where Black Americans are incarcerated at nearly five times the rate of white Americans. The 100-minute documentary does this with a mix of archival footage and interviews with activists, politicians, and historians, including Angela Davis, Cory Booker, and Henry Louis Gates Jr.
“Knock Down the House”
Netflix
If you’re looking for some hope heading in the American democratic system, look no further than “Knock Down the House,” a 2019 documentary that follows four women Democrats running for Congress in the 2018 elections. In the election, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Amy Vilela of Nevada, Cori Bush of Missouri, and Paula Jean Swearengin of West Virginia all ran grassroots campaigns against long-time incumbents. If you follow U.S. politics at all, you know the outcome of each race, but that doesn’t take away from the energy of Rachel Lears’ 86-minute film.
“My Octopus Teacher”
Netflix
Come for the breathtaking underwater shots of an underwater kelp forest in a remote bay off the coast of South Africa, stay for the story of an octopus and a human becoming best friends. The human in question is Craig Foster, a filmmaker “My Octopus Teacher” directors Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed spent a year following around in the water (and occasionally on shore). Did they expect for Craig to become best friends with a mollusk? Unclear, and it is only so helpful to project a human relationship context onto their interactions, but you will probably find far more plot and character in this 85-minute documentary than you might expect from a film that is mainly about bopping around in the ocean.
“Fantastic Fungi”
Netflix
Speaking of natural wonders, “Fantastic Fungi” is a deep dive into the mysterious world of the mycelium network. As you may have heard before, there is so much humans still don’t know or understand about mushrooms, but this 80-minute documentary doesn’t let that stop it. Interviews with American mycologist Paul Stamets walking around the forest are a highlight of this 2019 documentary, but it’s the combination of time-lapse cinematography and CGI used by director Louie Schwartzberg that truly makes this film a must-watch.
“Stutz”
Netflix
We’re still not so good at talking about mental health, but Jonah Hill’s documentary about how much he loves his therapist might be helping. The 2022 documentary could have felt like a trash-grab gimmick, if not for the sincerity and vulnerability of both Hill, who shares some of his own mental health struggles, and Stutz, who offers tips and strategies to viewers who might not have their own therapist. The 96-minute film is by no means a substitute for actual mental health access and support, but does perhaps represent a further erosion of the stigma so many people still have against seeking help.
Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour serves two surprise songs at every stop.
Taylor Swift performs onstage for the opening night of The Eras Tour at State Farm Stadium on March 17, 2023 in Glendale, Arizona.
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management
Taylor Swift‘s Eras Tour set list features a surprise song (or two), so far performed during a mini acoustic set, on each date of the the superstar’s 2023 trek.
Guitar in hand and making her way to the end of the stage’s catwalk at March 17’s Eras kickoff in Glendale, Arizona, Swift revealed her intentions for the acoustic portion of her long-awaited live show. She’ll perform a surprise song that will not be played again on this tour — probably.
“The plan, the goal, would be to play different songs every single night and never repeat one. Right? So that when you heard one on this tour, you would know it’s the only time that I was going to play it in the acoustic set, unless — caveat — unless I mess it up so badly,” she said with a small laugh, “that I have to do it over again in some other city. Send your best wishes towards me that I don’t do that.”
The Eras Tour is her first real tour in five years, and the first time the prolific songwriter is getting to perform selections from Lover, Folklore, Evermore and Midnights to sold-out stadium crowds.
Eras Tour night one introduced a career-spanning, whopping 44-song setlist with a runtime of more than three hours, with Swift playing anywhere from one to eight tracks from all 10 of her full-length studio albums. The show’s nightly surprise is sure to keep her fans on their tallest tiptoes, waiting to hear what gem will be unveiled at their concert.
Below, check out the list of all the surprise songs she’s brought to The Eras Tour, courtesy of social media live streams and post-concert clips uploaded by Swifties in attendance. Bookmark this page, as the list will updated regularly as the tour goes on.
“Mirrorball”
Image Credit: Courtesy
Performed at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona (March 17, 2023)
“I was thinking about the first one I would play for you,” Swift said at the very first Eras Tour concert, to a crowd of fans who were still gloriously spoiler-free about what was in store for the rest of the show. “I was thinking about what song to play first, and I was thinking about how one of the songs that I wrote with you in mind during the pandemic was one of the first songs I wrote for Folklore, and it was me writing about how badly I craved the connection that I feel from the care that you have directed in my way. I’m trying to tell you I love you, and I’m babbling,” she noted. Swift tried again: “I was trying to think of sort of an eloquent way to say that I love you and I need your attention all the time, and I came up with ‘I’m a mirrorball.’” After the wordy intro, Swift begins singing “Mirrorball” at the 2:17 timestamp in the video above.
“Tim McGraw”
Image Credit: John Shearer/GI for TAS Rights Management
Performed at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona (March 17, 2023)
“I was thinking about tonight and how special this is,” Swift explained on the opening night of The Eras Tour, and then added, “So I thought it might be kind of fun to play the very first song I ever put out.” The crowd gladly sang along to her pretty piano rendition of her debut single, nearly 17 years after it was first released. “Tim McGraw” was the only track from her first album to make the Eras setlist in Arizona.
“This Is Me Trying”
Image Credit: Courtesy
Performed at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona (March 18, 2023)
“I keep forgetting what key it’s in — one second. It’s lost all concept to me,” Swift joked before launching into the emotional Folklore track as the first of two surprise songs, at the second show of The Eras Tour.
“State of Grace”
Image Credit: Courtesy
Performed at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona (March 18, 2023)
Swift brought the Red album opener down to its roots as a piano ballad in Glendale. Her delicate vocals were echoed by a stadium of thousands joining in, making for a chilling moment of connection between a singer-songwriter and her fans.
“Our Song”
Performed at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas (March 24, 2023)
“I do get ideas from places. I actually saw an interview that Beabadoobee did — who is our amazing, brilliant opening act tonight — and they were saying, ‘Oh, you’re going on The Eras Tour. What song might you want to hear?’ And she was like, ‘I grew up listening to songs on her first album.’ And she named a specific song. So I figured, you know what, for her first show with us, I’ll play the specific song that she said she would want to hear. So this is a song I wrote for my ninth-grade talent show. It’s called ‘Our Song.’”
“Snow on the Beach”
Performed at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas (March 24, 2023)
“Lana Del Rey put out a new album. It’s called Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd. Guys, it’s so good. You probably already know that, but it’s just extraordinary. I just think she’s the best that we have. I think we need to make it a priority as a group to stream, buy, support this album and this artist. She knows I’m obsessed with her, and she was kind enough to make a song with me on Midnights called ‘Snow on the Beach’ because she’s a generous king. She did that for me, and I’ll never forget how nice she’s been to me. It’s so cool when you have favorite artists and they turn out to be so nice to you. I wanted to just do some promo for her, and also, in honor of this brilliant album that she just put out, I wanted to play ‘Snow on the Beach.’”
“Cowboy Like Me” (with Marcus Mumford)
Performed at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas (March 25, 2023)
“Las Vegas, Nevada, you are so lucky, because we do have a special guest with us tonight,” Swift told the sold-out crowd when introducing Mumford & Sons frontman Marcus Mumford. “Would you sing ‘Cowboy Like Me’ with me?” The duo paired up for the 2020 Evermore duet.
“White Horse”
Performed at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas (March 25, 2023)
“Sad Beautiful Tragic”
Performed at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas (March 31, 2023)
Swift worked in “Sad Beautiful Tragic” from Red to the setlist during her acoustic portion of the Arlington show. Strumming it on just an acoustic guitar, she introduced the song saying, “I love this one. When I love a song, I don’t care what anyone says.”
“Ours”
Performed at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas (March 31, 2023)
“Death By A Thousand Cuts”
Performed at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas (April 1, 2023)
“Clean”
Performed at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas (April 1, 2023)
“Speak Now”
Performed at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. (April 13, 2023)
“I’ve been thinking a lot about one of my albums recently. One of my albums has been on my mind a lot … lots going on in my brain about it. So I thought I might play the title track of that album.”
“Treacherous”
Performed at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. (April 13, 2023)
“The Great War” (with Aaron Dessner)
Performed at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. (April 14, 2023)
“This song really took on a new meaning when you guys made enough jokes about how you trying to get tickets for this tour felt like surviving the great war,” Swift joked prior to the debut live performance of the Midnights (3am Edition) track.
“You’re on Your Own, Kid”
Performed at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. (April 14, 2023)
“Mad Woman”
Performed at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. (April 15, 2023)
“I have a really, really, really wonderful, incredible person in my life who I’ve been making music with,” Swift said, bringing Aaron Dessner out on her stage for a second time this tour and joining him at the piano bench. “…We wrote this song that I really love because it allowed me to get a lot off my chest, and now we’re gonna sing it for you — ’cause who doesn’t love a mad woman?”
“Mean”
Performed at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. (April 15, 2023)
Swift picked up the guitar for surprise song No. 2 of the night, complimenting the particularly loud Tampa crowd. She explained that she thought she’d play a song they might know and want to sing along with. “Just thought that would be nice, which is the opposite of mean,” she quipped.
“Wonderland”
Performed at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas (April 21, 2023)
“You’re Not Sorry”
Performed at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas (April 21, 2023)
“A Place in This World”
Performed at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas (April 22, 2023)
Going way back to her very early songwriting days, Swift introduced “A Place in This World” as a song she penned around the age of 13 — noting that she might relate to its lyrics even more 20 years later.
“Today Was a Fairytale”
Performed at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas (April 22, 2023)
“You make every day on this tour feel like a fairytale,” Swift told her fans before performing the song, originally featured on the soundtrack for the 2010 film Valentine’s Day, on piano. (At the second of three Houston shows, she admitted that The Eras Tour has basically become her “entire personality.”)
“Begin Again”
Performed at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas (April 23, 2023)
“We’ve come to the acoustic era,” Swift said as she set up for the two surprise songs of the evening at the end of the catwalk. Before launching into the Red track, she told the crowd, “I hope that if you know it, you sing along” — and they did.
“Cold as You”
Performed at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas (April 23, 2023)
“No shade to the other songs on the album,” Swift joked, expressing an utmost love for the emotional ballad from her debut album, which she played at the piano for the night three Houston audience. “Cold as You” immediately trended on Twitter while she sang the song live on tour for the first time in a decade.
“The Other Side of the Door”
Performed at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia (April 28, 2023)
“This is one of my favorite moments in the show because it kind of keeps me on my toes,” Swift said to a wild crowd in Atlanta.
“When I was rerecording my album Fearless, I looked back and I was listening to this one … I remember when I wrote this one I was so obsessed with this sort of, like, rant I put at the end of the song,” she said, hinting at the deep cut that was to come. “And I never, I don’t think I really got to perform it live. If I ever I ever did, it was not enough times, so I’d really love to play the song. It’s called ‘The Other Side of the Door.’”
“Coney Island”
Performed at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia (April 28, 2023)
A pretty long speech came before the first-ever solo (and first-ever at all) live performance of the heart-wrenching Evermore highlight, originally a duet with with Matt Berninger.
“Any time I’m gonna talk about or even reference another artist, I feel inclined to tell you that if they’re not here, they’re not here,” she warned the crowd. “No one else is here. You are stuck with me. It’s only me. But I am gonna talk about another artist. I just feel like, you know, stadiums are huge and it’s important to really communicate, so that’s what I’m doing. I’m gonna talk about another artist who has an album that just came out that is so incredible. The National just had an album come out. This band has influenced me beyond my ability to verbalize how much they’ve influenced me — just lyrically, their ability to set a scene, their ability to tell a story. And obviously, Aaron Dessner is in The National and he has completely changed my life. I was lucky enough to be able to write a song with them for their new album, which is called the First Two Pages of Frankenstein. Check it out, stream it, buy it on vinyl. I love them so much. They’ve been so kind to me. So, I’m not gonna sing the song that we have on this new album — it’s called ‘The Alcott’ — check that out, though. But I am gonna sing ‘Coney Island.’”
“High Infidelity”
Performed at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia (April 29, 2023)
“Do you really wanna know where I was April 29th?” Swift improvised before beginning the actual song. “Atlanta, Georgia.”
“Gorgeous”
Performed at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia (April 29, 2023)
For her second surprise song of night two in Atlanta, Swift made “Gorgeous” the first Reputation track to get the acoustic treatment this tour.
“I Bet You Think About Me”
Performed at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia (April 30, 2023)
“How You Get the Girl”
Performed at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia (April 30, 2023)
“Sparks Fly”
Performed at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee (May 5, 2023)
“I’ve been planning something for a while. You know how I love to plan things. You know how I love to surprise you… It’s my love language with you,” Swift teased during her first night in Nashville on The Eras Tour. “I plot, I scheme, I plan.”
“Rather than me speaking about it,” she said with a grin, “I thought I would just show you — If you would direct your attention to the back screen.” The screen announced that Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) will be released on July 7, and Swift then launched into the album track “Sparks Fly” on acoustic guitar.
“Teardrops on My Guitar”
Performed at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee (May 5, 2023)
Before playing the next surprise song at the piano, a selection from her debut, Swift reflected on her early years in Nashville, noting that she’d moved to the city while in eighth grade. “I’d been writing songs since I was 12, but when I think about Nashville I think about writing all the songs that would end up on my first album,” she told the crowd.
“Out of the Woods”
Performed at Nissan Stadium in Nashville (May 6, 2023)
“I think I saved a really good one for right now,” Swift, acoustic guitar in hand, teased the Nashville night two crowd. “You be the judge based on how loudly you scream. This one’s from 1989.”
“Fifteen”
Performed at Nissan Stadium in Nashville (May 6, 2023)
Sitting at the piano, Swift joked, “I feel like if I give you one piece of information you’d know exactly what song I was about to play,” before singing the Fearless classic “Fifteen” for her high school best friend Abigail, who was at the show.
“Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve”
Performed at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee (May 7, 2023)
Swift welcomed “kind, wonderful genius” Aaron Dessner to the stage on a stormy night in Nashville to join her on the surprise song from the 3AM version of Midnights. “He was warned about the rain, and he did accept the challenge anyway,” she said.
“Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve” was “one of our favorites when we made it,” Swift noted.
“Mine”
Performed at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee (May 7, 2023)
“I want to play a song that when I wrote it, I was writing about all these relationship things that hadn’t happened yet,” Swift said from her seat at the piano. She described how “it’s crazy” to go back and listen to songs that at the time were rooted in “fantasy” but at her age now are relatable, and then introduced the Speak Now track that was coming next: “This is called ‘Mine,’” Swift said.
“Gold Rush”
Performed at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (May 12, 2023)
“I wanted to start out with this one in Philly because there was sort of a — I don’t know how large the debate was, but I did see the debate,” Swift told the audience, referencing the “Eagles T-shirt hanging from the door” lyrics from “Gold Rush.”
“I saw some people wondering if it was the band the Eagles or the team the Eagles,” the singer added. “And I love the band the Eagles, but guys, like, come on, I’m from Philly.”
“Come Back… Be Here”
Performed at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (May 12, 2023)
“I take requests if they are polite and decently worded,” Swift told the sold-out crowd, adding that the request came from special guest Phoebe Bridgers.
“Forever & Always”
Performed at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (May 13, 2023)
“I have a request that I’m gonna do,” Swift teased the crowd before playing the first of two surprise songs on May 13.
“My friend Lena, it’s her birthday today,” she said, explaining that “she wanted to hear ‘Forever & Always.’”
“This Love”
Performed at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (May 13, 2023)
Heading over to her piano, Swift said she loved this night and didn’t want it to end, and then — without an introduction — played the emotional 1989 song “This Love.”
“Hey Stephen”
Performed at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (May 14, 2023)
“I had a few really nice, fun people ask me to do this one,” Swift said, and then took the crowd back almost 15 years to a Fearless classic, “Hey Stephen.”
“The Best Day”
Performed at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (May 14, 2023)
Tears had to have been aplenty throughout the stadium on Mother’s Day as Swift told the story of “The Best Day” and performed it on piano.
“I secretly recorded a song on Fearless,” she told the crowd, recalling being 16 or 17 at the time and explaining that it was very tricky to get this project done without her mother knowing. “It was very sneaky and fun,” she said.
“I wrote this song just compiling these sort of core childhood memories I had of not just her as a mother but her as a friend,” Swift said. After playing the sweet song for her mom for the first time, while showing her the video of personal family footage set to the track that she edited together herself, she asked her mom, “Did you like the song?” “It’s such a beautiful song. Where did you find it? It sounds exactly like the things we went through” Mom replied, not even comprehending that her own daughter would write a song about the two of them. “I wrote it and recorded it secretly,” Taylor told her. “It is our memories. That’s about us.” Needless to say, there were plenty of tears that day, too.
“Should’ve Said No”
Performed at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. (May 19, 2023)
“Better Man”
Performed at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. (May 19, 2023)
“Question…?”
Performed at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. (May 20, 2023)
Before giving this Midnights track its live debut, Swift got candid with fans about how her life’s going behind the scenes.
“I kind of just feel like telling you … I’ve just never been this happy in my life, in all aspects of my life, ever,” she gushed. “And I just want to thank you for being a part of that. It’s not just the tour, I just sort of feel like my life finally feels like it makes sense. I thought I’d play this song which brings me a lot of happy memories.”
“Invisible”
Performed at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. (May 20, 2023)
“I Think He Knows”
Performed at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. (May 21, 2023)
“Red”
Performed at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. (May 21, 2023)
For the first time in Eras Tour history, Swift performed both surprise songs on guitar. That’s because her piano took on a life of its own after getting damaged by rain during the show the night prior, causing Swift to last-minute switch over to guitar for “Red.”
“Literally, it was like a water park under the stage,” she recalled to fans at the May 21 show. “This has clearly broken my keyboard. It was literally underwater — I don’t know how any of the instruments were working last night.”
“Getaway Car”
Performed at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. (May 26, 2023)
“I know you’ve wanted to hear this song,” Swift teased before her first surprise acoustic offering. And she wasn’t exaggerating. The pick was “Getaway Car,” a beloved fan fave, and for the song, frequent collaborator Jack Antonoff joined her on stage. “He’s been one of my best friends — he feels like a family member,” Swift said while welcoming “Jersey’s own” Antonoff. In addition to singing lead on a few lines, Antonoff aided Swift with some forceful acoustic strumming on the Reputation highlight.
“Maroon”
Performed at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. (May 26, 2023)
Midnights is the most recent album to drop before Taylor’s Eras Tour, so it’s no surprise that it takes up a good portion of the setlist. Even so, the standard Eras Tour setlist doesn’t include one of the album’s absolute best songs — but the evening’s night’s crowd was in for a treat. “This is one of my favorites off Midnights, but I haven’t played it yet,” Swift said, before performing a gorgeous rendition of “Maroon” while seated at an upright piano festooned with a floral design.
“Holy Ground”
Performed at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. (May 27, 2023)
“I’m gonna do one that’s one of my favorites, and hopefully you like it too,” Swift told the MetLife crowd of Red track “Holy Ground” Saturday night (May 27). “I feel like this is a pretty good choice for tonight. I’m pretty confident about it.”
“False God”
Performed at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. (May 27, 2023)
Without any introduction at all, Swift launched into Lover‘s “False God” on the piano.
“Welcome to New York”
Performed at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. (May 28, 2023)
“Clean”
Performed at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. (May 28, 2023)
“I Wish You Would”
Performed at Soldier Field in Chicago (June 2, 2023)
“The Lakes”
Performed at Soldier Field in Chicago (June 2, 2023)
“You All Over Me” (with Maren Morris)
Performed at Soldier Field in Chicago (June 3, 2023)
For this first-ever live performance of the “From the Vault” track off of Fearless (Taylor’s Version), Swift decided to make it all the more special for her fans in Chicago. “When I was re-recording Fearless, I thought it would be really cool to have one of my favorite artists sing on one of the song,” she told the screaming crowd. “We are so lucky Chicago … because not only did that artist say ‘yes,’ but Maren Morris is actually here tonight.” Morris joined Swift on stage for a beautiful rendition of the ballad, later writing on her Instagram that she “won’t ever be shutting up” about getting to perform the song live.
“I Don’t Wanna Live Forever”
Performed at Soldier Field in Chicago (June 3, 2023)
“Hits Different”
Performed at Soldier Field in Chicago (June 4, 2023)
“I don’t know if you’ll know this. It’s kinda new,” Swift teased ahead of debuting one of the extra tracks from the Midnights era. Note: She did mess up the bridge at first, so maybe Swifties will have another shot at hearing this excellent breakup song live.
“The Moment I Knew”
Performed at Soldier Field in Chicago (June 4, 2023)
With no introduction needed, Swift topped off the weekend’s surprise performances with one of her saddest songs to not make the final cut for an album. The track appeared on a deluxe edition of Red, and it’s on the Taylor’s Version rendition of the album. This night marked the first time she’s ever sang it live.
“Haunted”
Performed at Ford Field in Detroit (June 9, 2023)
“I Almost Do”
Performed at Ford Field in Detroit (June 9, 2023)
“All You Had to Do Was Stay”
Performed at Ford Field in Detroit (June 10, 2023)
“It’s interesting ’cause it has this like really loud, really high sound in it,” Swift hinted, previewing a very familiar note she hits on this 1989 track.
“Breathe”
Performed at Ford Field in Detroit (June 10, 2023)
Jumping way back to her Fearless era, Swift brought a beautiful rendition “Breathe” to life at her piano.
“Mr. Perfectly Fine”
Performed at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh (June 16, 2023)
“The Last Time”
Performed at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh (June 16, 2023)
“Seven”
Performed at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh (June 17, 2023)
After calling return special guest Aaron Dessner a “soulmate collaborator,” Swift shouted out all the “amazing dads here” who had brought their kids to The Eras Tour, in honor of Father’s Day weekend.
“I have a really, really incredible dad, like hasn’t missed as how type of dad,” Swift said of her own father. She also showed love for those who don’t have a good relationship with their parents and “how hard it can be for them.”
“I’ve always wanted to play this song in Pennsylvania,” she said of “Seven.”
“The Story of Us”
Performed at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh (June 17, 2023)
Swift thanked her fans for being so supportive of her re-recording her albums, and rewarded them with Speak Now‘s “The Story of Us” acoustic.
Historical fiction is a delightful genre to me. To take a slice of history and breathe context into it through fictional prose is a remarkable endeavor. Thus, I come today to review director Shaun Dozier and writers James A. Hodge and Ian Finley’s The Problem of the Hero, which concerns the adaptation of Richard Wright’s Native Son to the Great White Way.
Adapting a novel can be fraught with complications. Native Son was the first novel written by Black Man that ever went to the Broadway stage. To that end, Richard Wright (J. Mardice Henderson) contracts to work with then-established playwright Paul Green (David Zum Brennen). We witness the two perspectives present in the thirties. Green, an optimistic patriotic white man, believes in the future promise of the United States; while his fellow Whites may act detestable, Green would rather work through the system. He cannot dismantle the country over race.
Richard Wright, conversely, has been so mistreated by Jim Crow America that he has chosen to expatriate. He means to leave America behind for Paris, where he believes freedom exists. As portrayed in The Problem of the Hero, the author has a solid foundation for his position. The U.S. of A. is no place for a card-carrying member of the Communist Party. The conflict between Capitalist and Marxist comes to a head over the ending of the play’s script.
“…prepared a wondrous play and had a falling out over a paragraph less than a page long.”
For Green, the protagonist, Bigger Thomas, needs to be humanized prior to the play’s conclusion. It would not do for the white audience of this play to view Bigger Thomas as some unrepentant scared man. In his estimation, everyone deserves a shot at redemption. Being Black, Wright vehemently disagrees. Jim Crow laws seek to dehumanize Richard and his kin. For the author, the play must end with Bigger Thomas as scared, confused, and incapable of making sense of how his murder of a white woman led him to death row. In Bigger’s mind, all he was trying to do was remove the evidence that he was ever anywhere near a white girl in her bed chamber.
The Problem of the Hero centers on Paul and Richard, and Henderson and Brennen are electric with brotherly chemistry. The fights, disagreements, and collaborations portrayed in this fictionalized account are master classes in acting. The eyes of both men are fully engaged and riddled with emotional intensity. As we know, acting on film is central in the eyes. Both leads possess gloriously active and engaging eyes.
Credit also is due to the writers and director. Hodge and Finley crafted a superb screenplay, deep and insightful. It really walks you through the perspective and mindset of the protagonists. Dozier knocks his first feature out of the park. This is a passionate, blazing, and deeply enticing human drama. Two men, brothers from different mothers, prepared a wondrous play and had a falling out over a paragraph less than a page long. The director captures the mood elegantly. I am intrigued to see his future endeavors.
The Problem of the Hero is an excellent example of historical fiction. I absolutely loved it. This is worth your time to watch it wherever it ends up screening. Seek this out.
The B.C. Lions blitzed the Edmonton Elks 22-0 in front of 33,103 fans in their home opener at B.C. Place to remain undefeated.
It was the first time since Aug. 15, 1976 that the Elks have been blanked by a CFL opponent.
It was also the first since Aug. 23, 1977 that the Lions have done it to an opponent, which was the Toronto Argonauts.
“Any time you don’t score points in the CFL game, it’s certainly concerning,” said Elks head coach Chris Jones, with his team now winless in two regular-season outings.
He added that the fact his team couldn’t stay on the field offensively or generate offence concerned him the most.
“It’s as good a character group as I’ve been around now,” Jones said about keeping his team’s spirits up. “What we’ve got to do is we’ve got to take advantage of those opportunities in the first half.”
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The Lions’ offence sputtered throughout the first half as quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. repeatedly threw in to low success opportunities, finishing the game 25 for 35 with one touchdown and one interception.
“The whole offence came together at halftime. We knew we had to make adjustments,” Adams said. “We made those adjustments and came out in the second half a little bit better. We want to start a little faster.”
Adams said the offence was thrown off at times by the aggressiveness of the Elks’ defence as well as their defensive schemes.
It took until the dying moments of the third quarter for the Lions’ offence to record its first and only touchdown of the game with Dominique Rhymes hauling a pass in, adding to kicker Sean Whyte’s four previous field goals.
The Lions chose several times to turn to Whyte instead of trying on third and one situations, which head coach Rick Campbell defended.
“I thought points were at a premium,” he said. “I thought if we could get ahead of them, we could put them in a bind. As the game went on, you could see points were like gold.”
Rhymes left shortly afterwards and did not return for the Lions for the rest of the game.
Although the offence struggled at points, the Lions’ defence consistently hassled Elks quarterback Taylor Cornelius who finished the game 13 for 22 with 92 yards.
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The Elks’ offence finished the game with a total of 149 yards.
“It was tough. To game plan all week and feel like you had something successful to go against their defence and, you know how good they are, to come out to where we didn’t play, it was terrible,” said Cornelius.
Penalties slowed the pace of the game, with the Lions recording nine for 80 yards while the Elks had eight for 65 yards.
“We need to cut out some of those penalties,” said Campbell, adding that the penalties occurred on punt returns were “particularly frustrating.”
The Lions’ margin of victory in the last five games over the Elks is now 201 to 53.
UP NEXT
The Edmonton Elks host the Toronto Argonauts next Sunday, trying to break their CFL-record home losing streak in the process.
The B.C. Lions travel to Winnipeg on Thursday for a battle with the Blue Bombers. Both teams are 2-0.
Jameela Jamil is weighing in on award shows having gender-neutral categories and proposes people who identify as non-binary get their own category to not “completely shut out women.”
“Would it not be better to give non-binary people their own category rather than open the door for Hollywood to completely shut out women given the known disproportionate amount of men vs women winning at award shows?” reads a statement Jamil posted on Instagram.
“If we now have enough non-binary talent to restructure entire award shows, which is GREAT, then we should add rather than run the accidental risk of erasing, no? I say this as an audience member because I am not going to be nominated for an Oscar anyway,” she adds. “I have no horse in this race.”
The She-Hulk: Attorney at Law actor clarified in the Instagram caption that her sentiment comes as “the Oscars looking to get rid of gendered acting awards. As we see with the director award which is genderless, it’s rare to even see a woman nominated never mind win…”
She continued, “I want to open more doors and create more tables, not narrow the opportunities for everyone, including GNC [gender non-conforming] people.”
The Bad Dates podcast host acknowledges that “this disparity exists” and says that she feels “as though we will see a growing ire from women who get shut out of award opportunities because we have created only one spot for a winner amongst 10s of thousands of actors, in a world that favors men.”
“I don’t think it will help women or NB people to minimize the amount of possible winners,” she adds. “We should look to EXPAND the possibilities so that both GNC people and women have a fair shot in an industry that has for a long time struggled to treat others equals to men.”
Carol Higgins Clark, an actress in several television movies and best-selling author of the Regan Reilly series, died on June 12. She was 66.
Her family told The New York Times that she died in Los Angeles following a battle with appendix cancer.
Clark, the daughter of best-selling suspense author Mary Higgins Clark, who died in 2020 at the age of 92, was born on July 28, 1956, in New York City. After graduating from Mount Holyoke College in 1978, she went on to study acting at the Beverly Hills Playhouse.
It was later that she found her way to becoming an author. Some of her most successful novels were centered around private investigator Regan Reilly, including Decked, which was nominated for the Agatha Award in 1992 and the Anthony Award for best first novel. Several of the books in the series were also made into TV movies, which she appeared in.
She also co-wrote several Christmas-themed novels with her late mother. When she wasn’t writing, Clark took on roles in some television movies based on her mother’s books, including The Cradle Will Fall, While My Pretty One Sleeps and A Cry in the Night. She also appeared in Deck the Halls, The Mystery Cruise and My Gal Sunday.
Then in 2016, Clark was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame. Her mother, who had been previously inducted in 2011, introduced her at the ceremony.
She is survived by her siblings, Marilyn, Warren and David Clark. Another sister, Patricia, died before her.
According to her obituary shared online, a wake is scheduled for Monday from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel in New York City. A Funeral Mass will then be held the following day at 10:30 a.m. at the Church of St. Vincent Ferrer.
Netflix has unveiled Tudum, a global fan event set to provide fans with exclusives and first looks at some of their favorite original titles, with this one being the long awaited Gal Gadot action vehicle, Heart Of Stone. Along with Gadot, the film stars Jamie Dornan, Alia Bhatt (in her first English language feature), and Sophie Okonedo.
Netflix is tight-lipped about the full synopsis but according to IMDB the logline reads:
“An intelligence operative for a shadowy global peacekeeping agency races to stop a hacker from stealing its most valuable and dangerous weapon.”
Described by Gadot and Dornan as “epic in scope,” Heart of Stone is an international espionage thriller that incorporates a female perspective into action franchises, comparable to Mission: Impossible and James Bond films, so expect to see high-octane action sequences – skydiving, gunfire exchanges, vehicle pursuits, and explosions.
When developing her on-screen friendship with co-star Christa Miller, “Shrinking” star Jessica Williams said she positioned it as if they were hanging out “like a ‘Real Housewife of Pasadena.’”
In other words, she approached the relationship between her character, Gaby, and and Miller’s character, Liz, through the lens of her fascination with reality TV and obsession with the “Real Housewives” franchise. In this episode of Variety‘s Awards Circuit Podcast, Williams and Miller share how that TV friendship has developed into a real-life, off-screen one as well.
In separate interviews, Williams and Miller discussed the dynamic of their characters’ evolving personalities and what they hope for the second season. Listen below!
“Shrinking” focuses on therapist Jimmy Laird (Jason Segel) and his daughter Alice (Lukita Maxwell), after the loss of their matriarch, Tia (Lilan Bowden). The half-hour comedy chronicles as the therapist develops a much more hands-on approach with his clientele and begins to process his grief with Alice.
As Jimmy and Alice grieve, the two are embraced by the family’s close friends, Liz (Christa Miller) and Gaby (Jessica Williams). As Jimmy neglects his daughter during his mourning period, Liz becomes the proxy overbearing maternal figure to Alice, and guides her through her grief, all while bringing a new dimension to the nosy neighbor archetype. And then there’s Harrison Ford, who plays Jimmy’s mentor, Paul, an aging therapist who isn’t yet ready to come to terms with his Parkinson’s diagnosis.
While Liz attends to Alice’s needs, she starts causing fierce face-offs with those that also support the Lairds — including Tia’s best friend, Jimmy’s co-worker and Alice’s godmother, Gaby. Williams’ Gaby becomes the expressive and understanding friend to Alice, and at the same time develops a deeper connection with Jimmy. Battling her own grief, Gaby develops an unlikely friendship with Harrison Ford’s Paul, and eventually an unexpected friendship with Liz.
As a product of her personal relationship with series co-creator, and real-life husband, Bill Lawrence, Miller noted how her quirks have also filtered into the creation of Liz — explaining how the character’s unique rock-cleaning obsession comes from her personal fixation. In addition to starring as Liz, Miller also serves as the series’ music supervisor with Tony Von Pervieux. Throughout the podcast, Miller detailed what it’s like to curate the series’ music, divulging she “puts all the music in on the first edit” and primarily uses new music as a nod to the characters’ ages and lifestyles.
In addition to working on the music for “Shrinking,” Miller also worked on the music of Lawrence’s “Ted Lasso,” “Scrubs” and “Cougar Town.” Although Miller and Lawrence’s professional and personal partnerships didn’t begin until 2002 and 1998, respectively, Miller appeared in several series throughout the 1990s, including “Seinfeld,” “Party of Five” and “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” which led her to join “The Drew Carey Show.”
After spending seven years at “The Drew Carey Show,” Miller joined Lawrence for his animated satire, “Clone High,” and would soon become a recurring character on “Scrubs.” As “Scrubs” concluded, she and Lawrence partnered on “Cougar Town,” and once the sitcom wrapped, Miller appeared in feature films, “Hot Air” and “Breaking In.” Miller recently reprised her role in Max’s “Clone High” reboot.
Meanwhile, Williams said that Gaby was “right in [her] wheelhouse,” because of the character’s ability to “swing really hard and do comedy, and then be pretty dramatic.” Additionally, Williams acknowledged how she worked to transform the stereotype of a Black female therapist and was encouraged to improvise and incorporate Black American vernacular into Gaby’s dialogue.
Williams has circled in the comedy scene for nearly two decades. First appearing in “Just for Kicks” at 17 years old, Williams appeared in several TV movies, short films, web series, as well as popular comedy films and TV shows, including “Girls” and “Hot Tub Time Machine 2.”
As she simultaneously guest starred in “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald” and appeared as a correspondent on “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah,” the comedian hosted the “2 Dope Queens” podcast with Phoebe Robinson. Once the podcast concluded in 2018, Williams continued her comedy career, taking on more scripted series and films, including “Booksmart,” “Love Life” and now “Shrinking.”
Variety’s “Awards Circuit” podcast, produced by Michael Schneider, is your one-stop listen for lively conversations about the best in film and television. Each week “Awards Circuit” features interviews with top film and TV talent and creatives; discussions and debates about awards races and industry headlines; and much more. Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or anywhere you download podcasts. New episodes post weekly.
“How Stella Got Her Groove Back” is known for steamy scenes between Stella, a stern stockbroker played by Angela Bassett, and a young Jamaican man half her age. At the Tribeca Festival on Saturday, Bassett reflected on filming those intimate moments alongside Taye Diggs as her love interest, explaining the one responsibility her co-star shouldered: “He had to fulfill a Black woman’s fantasy.”
Bassett and the film’s director, Kevin Sullivan, were at the festival to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the romance based on the novel by Terry McMillan.
As Bassett entered the SVA Theater in a tangerine-colored suit and a feathered top, the audience erupted in applause and cheers with one fan shouting, “I love you!” The conversation touched on her co-stars, including Diggs and Whoopi Goldberg, the importance of filming in Jamaica and the legacy Bassett aimed to leave.
With Torell Shavone Taylor moderating, Bassett began by recognizing McMillan, who with Ron Bass wrote the screenplay, and praising the costume designs of Ruth Carter, with whom Bassett worked closely on the “Black Panther” franchise.
Bassett was always Sullivan’s choice to play Stella. He explained how a worldwide search led the filmmakers to cast Diggs as Winston Shakespeare, the 20-year-old hunk Stella gets involved with. Sullivan had seen Diggs performing on Broadway in “Rent,” and during rehearsals, the director would ask Diggs to sing to Bassett, to help with nerves and strengthen their chemistry.
“It was important for me to make the love scenes from a woman’s point of view,” Sullivan added. “It was not Winston’s story. It was Stella’s story.”
The romantic comedy was Sullivan’s directorial debut, and it later swept the 1999 NAACP Image Awards with wins for lead actress, supporting actress and motion picture. Bassett, who is known for powerful performances of memorable women in “What’s Love Got to Do It” and “Waiting to Exhale,” said she tried to find a balance between boldness and emotional vulnerability.
“Whenever I take on a character, you’re looking for the totality of them and who they represent and what they are about, what struggles they’re going through,” Bassett said. “It’s not one- dimensional, and often throughout history we as Black women have been seen that way.”
Getting Whoopi Goldberg to play Stella’s friend, Delilah, was a top priority. Bassett was a fan of the comedian, who signed on after Sullivan went to her home and spoke with her about the film. His favorite scene: after Delilah learns she has liver cancer, the friends share a playful moment in the hospital jamming to Marvin Gaye and giggling at old memories. The two had undeniable camaraderie and sisterhood, Bassett said, adding, “The scene when she passes, I felt that, for real, at her funeral because she was such a dear friend.”
Though the novel was set in Jamaica, the studio initially wanted to film in Mexico, where crews and infrastructure were already in place. But Sullivan worried the cultural connection could be lost. By establishing a Jamaica-based crew and overcoming challenges like poor infrastructure, Sullivan said, the film “came in on time and under budget.” Bassett added that tourism even rose on the island, with audiences eager to find a Winston Shakespeare for themselves.
Most recently, Bassett played the valiant Queen Ramonda in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” for which she received an Oscar nomination. She also stars as a first responder in the Fox TV series “9-1-1.” When asked about the legacy she hopes to leave, she said she felt privileged to play characters who are brilliant, courageous and sensual and who represent Black women as multifaceted beings.
“I would hope that I illuminated the human experience,” Bassett said.
Taking on a nearly co-starring role alongside Shamiek Moore’s Miles Morales, Hailee Steinfeld reprised her role as Gwen Stacy as she embarked on another wild Multiversal adventure bringing Spider-Woman to life.
Spider-Verse 2 brought back Brian Tyree Henry for his role as Officer Jefferson Morales, Miles’ father, as the police officer developed his relationship with both his son and the new Spider-Man.
Henry also took on his first MCU project with a role in Phase 4’sEternals, in which he played the team’s technological expert, Phastos, with the chance to continue playing the role again in the coming years.
3.) Oscar Isaac
Marvel
Spider-Verse 2 brought one of the most intense versions of Spider-Man in history with Oscar Isaac’s Spider-Man 2099, reprising his role after his cameo in the first movie’s post-credits scene.
Isaac officially joined the MCU when he played Marc Spector, Steven Grant, and more in 2022’s Moon Knight, although there are no official signs pointing to when the show’s second season will bring the Marvel veteran back.
4.) Daniel Kaluuya
Marvel
Oscar-winner Daniel Kaluuya brought some punk rock to Spider-Verse 2 with his role as the British Spider-Man Variant known as Spider-Punk, who served as a semi-love interest for Gwen Stacy throughout the sequel.
Spider-Man India took on a key leading role in Spider-Verse 2, with fan-favorite actor Karan Soni playing the part of Pavitr Prabhakar as Miles and Gwen explored the Multiverse.
Gwen Stacy’s backstory saw a major expansion in this sequel as fans got a look at her relationship with her father, Captain Stacy, who was voiced in this film by Shea Wingham.
Wingham had his own moment of MCU shine in Season 1 of ABC’s Agent Carter, in which he played SSR director Roger Dooley before the character was killed off at the end of Season 1.
7.) J.K. Simmons
Marvel
For more than two decades, nearly every version of J. Jonah Jameson has featured a portrayal by J.K. Simmons, which came through once again in a couple of short newsreels from Across the Spider-Verse.
Donald Glover made history for the Spider-Verse franchise by appearing as the first live-action character in the almost completely animated franchise, taking a cameo appearance as a Multiversal Aaron Davis, better known as the Prowler.
This is actually the second time he’s embodied Aaron Davis after playing a minor role as the same character in 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming for the MCU, although it’s still unknown if they are the same Variant.
9.) Kathryn Hahn
Marvel
After becoming the main villain in 2018’s Into the Spider-Verse, Kathryn Hahn made a quick return as Olivia Octavius/Doc Ock as the Multiverse expanded in Spider-Verse 2.
To kick off Spider-Verse 2, Gwen Stacy showed off her musical prowess as the drummer of a band called the MaryJanes, which features Ayo Edebiri as Glory.
Listed below are a few honorable mentions who were all included in Spider-Verse 2 through archival footage and/or audio.
Alfred Molina
Marvel
Alfred Molina’s Doctor Otto Octavius was used in a quick voiceover cameo after making his MCU debut in 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home, serving as one of the five villains that crossed over between universes.
Tobey Maguire
Marvel
After his internet-shattering return in No Way Home, Tobey Maguire got a quick moment to shine in Spider-Verse 2 with a flashback scene showing the moment he saw his Uncle Ben die on the sidewalk in 2002’s Spider-Man.
Andrew Garfield
Marvel
MCU newcomer Andrew Garfield got even more screentime than Maguire in Spider-Verse 2, with his Uncle Ben death scene being used along with the moment he watched Gwen’s father, Captain Stacy, die in 2012’s The Amazing Spider-Man.
Review: Green Lantern #2 [Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writers: Jeremy Adams and Phillip Kennedy Johnson Art: Xermanico and Montos Colors: Romulo Fajardo, Jr. and Adriano Lucas Letters: Dave Sharpe
Reviewed by: Matthew B. Lloyd
Summary
Hal doesn’t let his failure stop him as he follows some advice from Kilowog and the mystery deepens for John Stewart and Guy Gardner.
Positives
Nostalgia can never be underestimated, but Green Lantern #2, like last issue, has a familiarity that is truly engaging. Jeremy Adams not only gets Kilowog’s voice right, but also the way he interacts with others, especially Hal. Additionally, Adams gets some personality traits that remind the reader of what’s likable about Hal as well as the complexity of the character. And, just for kicks, Adams brings in an appearance of the Demolition Team who first appeared back in Green Lantern (Volume 2) #176. (FTR- I bought that issue new off the stands!) And, where’s Rosie’s cigar? This callback to the mid-’80’s reminds the reader that Hal’s entire history is in play including some of his lesser known adversaries. The appearance of the Manhunter costume last issue functioned in a similar fashion, although the Manhunters are certainly adversaries with higher stakes than the Demolition Team.
In the same vein, Hal’s ability to utilize the Oan energy in the Manhunter to create a power ring connects this series to Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps, the series in which he first fashioned his own ring out of energy. As Adams uses Hal’s history and character to drive the issue, the same is true for his relationship with Carol Ferris. Adams doesn’t try to convince the reader that they SHOULD be together, but rather approaches the situation with the same complexity as he approaches Hal’s character. It’s easy to want Hal and Carol to be together, but as the history of that relationship it may not be the best thing for either of them. Carol shows all the conflicting emotions that make this feel like a real relationship. Will Carol’s fiance Nathan turn out to be a douchebag? Only time will tell, but this may be a classic Silver Age love interest that is actually better off without the hero.
Positives Cont’d
Grant Morrison, in both seasons of The Green Lantern, approached the Carol question as well. It’s not out of the question, but Hal and Carol could potentially end up as friends, maybe best friends and that would truly be unique and an additional layer to their relationship. So far, this feels like it could tread new ground and not simply “ship” the classic relationship. Carol’s such a smart and capable woman it doesn’t fit that she would continue to go back to Hal when she constantly points out how he doesn’t hold up his end of a romantic relationship. It makes perfect sense that this is an important subplot for this series. Like Adams’ run on The Flash, the personal life of the main character is just as important part of the series. This grounds the book so that despite all the fantastic super-hero stuff that happens readers are able to have something very relatable.
Green Lantern #2 looks great, as well. Xermanico captures both aspects of these stories both in the exciting Green Lantern sequences as well as the concerned Carol sequence. Adriano Lucas provides some outstanding uses of color especially when Hal is flying in downtown Coast City and the page of Hal falling back to Earth he combines with Xermanico for a truly spectacular image. Not to be outdone, Montos in the John Stewart second feature gives a clinic in faces as he makes John and his Mama feel real. The reality of these expressions include the reader in their conversation in a fascinating way. Furthermore, this John Stewart story, though moving slowly presents the reader with a couple of mystery that Phillip Kennedy Johnson is revealing slowly and so far it’s working.
Negatives
Like Adams’ The Flash, it’s difficult to find a negative in Green Lantern #2. The John Stewart feature is moving slowly, and that may not sit well with everyone. Perhaps, there should’ve been some follow up with the appearance of Sinestro’s appearance last issue, as well. Overall, these are very minor because what we get is so strong.
Verdict
DC Comics may not be smart enough to keep Jeremy Adams on The Flash, but at least they are keeping him on something! Green Lantern #2 is only the second issue of this newest volume of Hal Jordan’s adventures, but it’s already proving to be the full package. The beautiful art supports a character driven story that draws the reader in with its familiarity and attention to the complexity in Hal’s character and relationships.
As of late, many people have taken an interest in Neowiz’s Souls-like game Lies of P. The demo has surpassed over a million downloads in just the last three days.
Since the announcement of a playable demo was released,the experience of playing the game has received mostly positive reviews. It currently has a 4.3/5 on the Xbox store and earned a spot on Steam’s top 100 most-played games. In addition, Lies of P has reached over 170 thousand views on Twitch and is now one of the top ten pre-ordered games on PlayStation.
In a press release, project director Jiwon Choi had this to say about the demo’s positive feedback:
“The Lies of P team has been working hard to deliver a demo experience that meets your expectations, and it’s been gratifying seeing the positive response! We’re looking forward to continued feedback as you play through the demo again, so please keep them coming, and we’ll release the very best Lies of P experience possible on September 19th.”
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.
Explore the wide expanses of space (and night in general) with this new Sigma lens.
There’s just something so great and freeing about a wide-angle lens. You never feel cornered or put in a box with a wide angle. Even if you want to point it up at the furthest points in the sky, you can rest assured that you’re leaving nothing out of frame.
That is, of course, if it’s fast enough and capable of handling it.
This is why it’s exciting to share the news of Sigma’s 14mm f/1.4 lens, a first for the brand and the world, apparently. With this fast and wide new lens, you can really open your photography, time-lapse cinematography, or videography to whole new worlds of possibilities.
Let’s take a look at this new wide lens and explore how it might be the perfect lens for your nighttime lapses and space-exploring videos or photos.
The New Sigma 14mm f/1.4
Designed for Sony FE mount and Leica L mount cameras, these are really a space photography play through and through. However, just because a lens’s primary purpose might be photography, it doesn’t mean video pros won’t be able to use it too. (And if that were true, we’d never have any lenses at our disposal really.)
Up until this point, most of the 14mm wide-angle lenses out there were lucky to get down to f/1.8 speed. With this new f/1.4, you can expect some low-light capabilities which were previously unseen for this angle type. We’re talking about Barry Lyndon territory, y’all.
For the photographers out there, this Sigma 14mm lens will include a full array of photo-minded tools and features like a manual focus lock function, a lens heater retainer, a rear filter holder, and a removable tripod socket. For videographers or photo/video time-lapse takers, this should be a revolutionary lens with a killer field of view.
Imagine what this lens could capture for night timelapse photographyCredit: Sigma
An Ultra-Wide Field of View
With new chromatic aberration correction controls, this truly makes this one of the best ultra-wide lenses for all types of space and night photography and video. However, you don’t have to solely use it at night or point it at the sky. There are plenty of examples of video pros needing wide coverage for low-light video work ranging from documentary projects to more stylistic choices.
Plus with a rear filter holder too (despite no front filter options due to its fixed hood), you can keep your NDs or other filters handy for different looks and setups as well.
A great lens option to bag alongside your usual array for different hybrid photo and video projects and perfect to combine with a solid Sony mirrorless of any grade.
Sigma 14mm f/1.4 lensCredit: Sigma
Specs and Price
This new Sigma 14mm f/1.4 is set to be available here by the end of June 2023 at your favorite retailers IRL or online.
Here are the full specs and price options:
Angle of view: 114.2°
Number of diaphragm blades: 11 (rounded diaphragm)
Minimum aperture: f/16
Minimum focusing distance: 30 cm / 11.9 in.
Maximum magnification ratio: 1:11.9
Filter size: rear filter only
Dimensions (Maximum Diameter x Length): 101.4 x 149.9mm / 4.0 x 5.9 in.
The final season of Matt and Ross Duffer’s 1980s-set sci-fi blockbuster was already one of the most anticipated television events in recent memory. But at Netflix’s TUDUM fan event in Brazil on Saturday, the streaming giant upped the ante by announcing that action film legend Linda Hamilton is joining the cast for Season 5.
Hamilton is best known for playing Sarah Connor in the “Terminator” franchise, beginning with James Cameron’s original 1984 film and continuing through 2019’s “Terminator: Dark Fate.” Her casting adds one final dose of ’80s genre film pedigree to a cast that already stars Winona Ryder and has featured the likes of Robert Englund in smaller roles.
Little is known about the plot of Season 5, though the Duffer brothers have suggested that the series will continue to go down the increasingly dark path established in Season 4.
“[For] two hours, we pitched the full season to Netflix. We did get our executives to cry, which I thought was a good sign,” Matt Duffer said at a recent Netflix event. “The only other time I’ve seen them cry is like, budget meetings.”
Ross Duffer added that their writing process for Season 5 has placed particular emphasis on ensuring that the show’s many supporting characters get proper endings.
“We have so many characters now, most who are still living,” he said. “It’s important to wrap up those arcs as a lot of these characters have been growing since Season 1. So it’s a balancing act between giving them time to complete their character arcs and also tying up these loose ends and doing our final reveals.”
Appearing on the same panel, “Stranger Things” executive producer and director Shawn Levy teased that Season 5 will please fans of the show by staying true to the emotional core that made it a hit in the first place.
“The thing about these Duffer Brothers is that even though the show has gotten so famous, and the characters have gotten so iconic, and there’s so much about the ’80s, and the supernatural and the genre, it’s about these people,” Levy said. “It’s about the characters. And Season 5 already is so clearly taking care of these stories of characters, because that’s always been the lifeblood of ‘Stranger Things.’”
When is the premiere date? We know, per Variety, that seasons three and four of Emily in Paris were filmed back-to-back, but there is not a confirmed premiere date for season four yet, so all we have to go on at the moment are some educated guesses. Seasons two and three of Emily In Paris both premiered right before Christmas, so if we had to place a bet, we’d say look out for a late December premiere date in 2023. But given the back-to-back shooting schedule, it’s possible that season four could premiere earlier than that.
Who is in the season four cast?Lily Collins will be back as the titular Emily Cooper, and there have been no announced shakeups to any of the rest of the regular cast. More importantly, we’re keeping our eyes open for any new characters that might be introduced. Another love interest perhaps? When in Paris, one can never have too many. The only cast member whose return is unlikely is Kate Walsh, since her character, Madeline, returned to Chicago in season three.
In a recent interview with Glamour, creator Darren Star said that he is not opposed to having Kim Cattrall join the show. “Under the right circumstances, definitely,” he said. “But I’m not a big believer in just stunt casting for the purpose of stunt casting. And for Kim as well, a role that feels like it’s the right thing for her to do. But I definitely feel like she would bring some great energy into the series.”
Cattrall attended the season three premiere, fueling rumors that she’s joined the series, although she was nowhere to be seen in season three.
What is season four about? It’s safe to assume that season four will deal with the aftermath of the events of the season three finale. Star was intentionally vague about the details with Glamour as plans are still in the early stages. “There are definitely some ideas,” he said. “There’s nothing I want to tease, but there are definitely some ideas. It sort of turned over the ship a little bit, in terms of the characters and the relationships.”
In an interview with TV Guide, Starr said, “Season 4 is going to be more about navigating complicated relationships; personal relationships and work relationships, and how they come into conflict with each other,” the creator said. “Emily is still going to be working with Alfie, Gabriel, and Camille. Those work relationships are really fraught with emotional conflicts.”
Emily is heading to Rome. During Netflix’s live Tudum event on June 17, Collins couldn’t tease much about the fourth season, but she did tell viewers to prepare for a “Roman holiday.” Will this be just an episode-long adventure or should we start calling the show Emily in Italy? It’s unclear, but Collins did promise that “Emily’s heart will always remain true to Paris.”
The “based on true events” card that often appears on film credits, during the opening or when the credits roll, can easily determine the film’s success. Audiences thrive on the hint that what they’re about to see is a recreation of something that actually happened. When it comes to drama films, it doesn’t really affect the box office. But if these words appear on a horror film’s marketing campaign, chances are people will throw themselves at the chance of seeing a fictionalized version of something horrible that happened. With Scott Derrickson’s The Black Phone, something very curious happens.
It’s as if people need this one to be true. No matter how many times we confirm it was actually based on a fiction story written by Joe Hill, people will still wonder if Hill took something from life itself. As wicked as his father sounds, we can’t imagine he went through something like this.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAYSCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT
However, there is something true about the story, and Derrickson has been quite vocal about it. You don’t even have to research to see if there’s an element of truth in the villain’s motives and artistic aspect. During the ’70s, these kinds of monsters existed, killed, and roamed the streets every night looking for more. Some of them were never caught. So, how much of The Black Phone is true? Let’s find out.
Yes, Some of the Story Is Inspired by True Facts
Universal Pictures
The key point is the story by Hill. In it, the villain is completely different and much more reminiscent of someone that really existed. He’s an obese man dressed up as a clown. He’s also insecure about his acts and most of what we know of him comes from the interaction with Finney. An obese clown? Doesn’t that ring a few bells? How about we add the fact that he was able to perform magic to get the attention of his victims?
John Wayne Gacy is probably what drove Hill to go for this when he wrote the story long ago. For the film adaptation, Derrickson and co-writer C. Robert Cargill turned the fat clown into The Grabber, because using clowns would be an overkill considering the success of other horror films where clowns were the bad guys. They also made sure to add a few facts about the M.O. of some notorious serial killers of the ’70s. Add a horrible collection of masks, and you get an unforgettable villain that made us forget if The Black Phone was based on the acts of a real serial killer. It didn’t have to. We were already terrified when he snatched Finney under an ocean of creepy balloons.
Other true facts inspiring the film have to do with an area in Colorado where Derrickson grew up in. The streets were violent, and bullying was a daily part of your life. In fact, he has admitted in the past that he left out of the film some of the most traumatic events he had to witness. It also doesn’t help that Derrickson grew up in a violent household. This was incorporated in the first act as a way to build a backdrop of what Finney was already going through before becoming the next potential victim.
Does It Matter If The Black Phone Is Based on a True Story?
Universal Pictures
At this point, you probably know the plot in The Black Phone contains a supernatural element that allows the lead character to fight The Grabber, the monster played by Ethan Hawkein an impeccable performance that gave everyone goosebumps. It’s safe to say this was taken directly from Hill’s short story and nothing that happened in real life.
Nevertheless, the circumstances are chilling. Finney comes from an abusive home, and his sister Gwen is subjected to a sort of punishment that left audiences speechless when they realized this wasn’t directly linked to the real menace in the film. Before he gets abducted, Finney actually is the victim of an act by bullies that feels excessively violent and realistic. It’s incomparable to what was possibly going to happen to him if he hadn’t stood up to the killer, or if he hadn’t listened to a very important piece of advice from a ghost. And yes, it doesn’t get any more real than what your imagination can come up with if you give this more thought.
The events can’t be directly associated with a crime that took place in America in the ’70s. But it doesn’t make the essence of the crimes easier to digest. We can only imagine what those poor kids had to suffer when The Grabber achieved his goal in the past. You only have to look up the serial killers of that era to see that what inspired Derrickson and Hill is much more terrifying than anything the film showed in the final cut. So, next time you wonder if The Black Phone is based on a true story, just google John Wayne Gacy or Dean Corll (The Candy Man), and you’ll get a dose of reality that truly inspired the horrible murders The Grabber was capable of. When Gacy was caught, more than 20 corpses of young boys were found in his basement. They all showed signs of torture and sexual abuse.
Tom Hanks was leading the romantic comedy genre in the 90s with Meg Ryan, but his wife, Rita Wilson, revealed that he actually turned down starring in another classic.
“People probably don’t know this, but Tom was offered When Harry Met Sally…, and he turned it down because he was going through a divorce and he was very happy to be not married,” Wilson said. “And so he could not understand that a person going through a divorce would have anything other than just like, ‘I’m so happy.’”
The Forrest Gump actor later went on to star opposite Ryan in 1993’s Sleepless in Seattleand 1998’s You’ve Got Mail. And Billy Crystal ended up landing the role of Harry Burns in the film directed by Rob Reiner and written by Nora Ephron.
Before When Harry Met Sally… was released, Hanks and Samantha Lewes had gotten a divorce in 1987. The actor then tied the knot with Wilson in 1988.
During her podcast appearance, Wilson also opened up about how she got the role of Suzy in Ephron’s Sleepless in Seattle. After Hanks accepted the part, the actress said she “loved that script so much” when reading it.
Wilson also noted that she loved the way Ephron wrote for Carrie Fisher in When Harry Met Sally… and This Is My Life. Then, when she ended up running into Ephron at a party, she asked the filmmaker if she could audition for the role of the best friend (Becky) if she wasn’t going to cast Fisher.
The actress said she went in for an audition, but “didn’t get the part. They gave it to Rosie [O’Donnell]. But Nora offered me the role of Suzy, this other character. And I was like, ‘Oh yeah, that was a really good part of the script. I really like that character. There was a big monologue in there.’”
Wilson added that the role ended up being “one of the most fun, most wonderful acting experiences I’ve ever had.”
NOW ON TUBI! Prepare for a throat full of screams with the ultra-scary indie horror film Trinket Box, written and directed by Patrycja Kepa and Acorye White. It opens in present day, with a mysterious figure (Darian Fisher) cleaning up an empty house. On the mantle is a picture of a couple, where the husband is black, and the wife is white. We then see the figure dragging two bodies wrapped in plastic out of the house and into a van. A “For Sale” sign is then put in the front yard.
“The box has strange carvings on it, and inside there is a necklace.”
We flashback to the 30s, when little Mary Ann Davis (Zia Carlock) accidentally spies her big sister Gracie (Judith Davis) in bed with her boyfriend Abe (Joe Anthony Gordon). Gracie tells Abe about all the dead witches buried on the property, not knowing her little sister is peeking. They both get caught by Gracie’s father, James (Barry Ratcliffe), who goes berserk due to Abe being black while his daughter is white. Horrible things happen that day, and that night, Mary Ann finds a box with strange carvings and a necklace inside. When she puts on the necklace she is filled with a dark force that has a huge grin.
Jumping back to present day, we see Ava (Augie Duke) and Mike Wilson (Acorye White) moving into the house seen in the opening. Several days later, right after Mike has left, an elderly woman (Sandra Ellis Lafferty) comes knocking. She asks Ava if she should call the police on the dark man that had just left. Ava informs her that was her husband Mike. The elderly woman then gifts Ava with a trinket box as a welcome to the neighborhood. The box has strange carvings on it, and inside there is a necklace. When Ava puts the necklace on, very weird things start occurring.
Lorde, 26, reminisced on the release of her second album, Melodrama, by sharing a sweet text message Taylor Swift, 33, sent her six years ago. The singer took to her Instagram story and showed off a cut-off photo of the text, which can be seen below, and it appeared to include encouraging words about the outcome of the record. “Taylor was very kind and not wrong,” the “Royals” creator captioned the snapshot.
“You will always be imagined in my mind in a rowboat with Annie Lennox floating down a river of cool cerebral ethereal dreams but don’t-f***-with-me vibes all around you,” part of Taylor’s text read. “And I don’t think first week record sales singularly define a legacy.”
After the message made its way around online, fans of the singers didn’t hesitate to respond. “Taylorde is alive,” one fan wrote while also posting several photos of them together at various past events. “OMG I’m so happy today,” another shared, while a third asked if this hinted toward a possible music collaboration between the two women in the future. “Two musical powerhouses! Loved hearing about their conversation. still remains a masterpiece after 6 years,” another user wrote.
Taylor and Lorde pose together at an event. (Matt Baron/Shutterstock)
Lorde’s photo comes six years after the release of Melodrama, which included hit songs like “Green Light,” “Sober,” and “Perfect Places.” She teamed up with producer Jack Antonoff, who Taylor is known for working with on her own music, for the release, and it proved to be a memorable and impressive project. It debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 charts during its first week and it won a New Zealand Music Award for Album of the Year.
Since Lorde and Taylor are known for being good friends for years, the latest shared message isn’t too surprising and seems to prove the ladies are still close and grateful for each other. It’s unclear if they will team up for new music soon or not, but they’re both currently busy with their careers. Lorde is on her Solar Power World Tour and Taylor’s on her Eras Tour.
The Securities and Exchange Commission reached a deal with Binance late Friday that would allow the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange to keep operating in the United States and safeguard customer assets as the company battles a government lawsuit.
After filing fraud charges against Binance on June 5, the S.E.C. moved to freeze the firm’s U.S. assets in a move that the exchange’s lawyers said would put it out of business in the United States.
But in a court filing on Friday, the S.E.C. said that the two sides had reached a compromise after several days of court-ordered mediation. On Saturday morning, Judge Amy Berman Jackson, who is overseeing the case in federal court in Washington, signed off on the deal.
Under the agreement, funds belonging to customers of Binance.US, an affiliate of the company’s larger offshore exchange, would go into special digital repositories accessible only to the U.S. exchange — and not to Binance’s international operation, or its founder, Changpeng Zhao. The deal stipulates that Binance.US can transfer company assets “solely to make payments for expenses or to satisfy obligations incurred in the ordinary course of business.”
Binance said on Saturday, “Although we maintain that the S.E.C.’s request for emergency relief was entirely unwarranted, we are pleased that the disagreement over this request was resolved on mutually acceptable terms.”
The S.E.C.’s director of enforcement, Gurbir Grewal, said in a statement on Saturday, “We ensured that U.S. customers will be able to withdraw their assets from the platform while we work to resolve the alleged underlying misconduct.”
The dispute over Binance’s assets was part of a high-stakes legal battle that could determine the future of the crypto industry in the United States.
In recent months, the S.E.C. has embarked on an aggressive industry crackdown, suing Binance as well as its largest U.S. rival, the crypto exchange Coinbase. With the regulatory pressure intensifying, some crypto companies have vowed to fight in court, while others are exploring options outside the United States, decamping to countries with more lenient regulations.
The agreement to safeguard customer assets in the United States would resolve the first of what could be many legal skirmishes to come. The S.E.C., in a sweeping civil fraud lawsuit, charged Binance and Mr. Zhao with mishandling customers’ deposits, lying to regulators and allowing market manipulation to proliferate on the exchange.
In court filings, the S.E.C. said an asset freeze was necessary to ensure that Binance did not endanger user funds or seek to move money abroad. But the company said the S.E.C.’s proposal was overly punitive and would prevent the firm from paying employees and vendors, causing its operations to “quickly grind to a halt.”
Binance was also sued earlier this year by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and Mr. Zhao is under investigation by federal prosecutors. The company has argued that the S.E.C. is being unreasonable in going after the business and its founder. Four major law firms are representing Binance and Mr. Zhao, better known as C.Z., in the litigation in Washington.
At a court hearing in Washington on Tuesday, Judge Jackson expressed some skepticism over the S.E.C.’s strategy of using enforcement actions to impose regulatory oversight on the crypto world. She called the approach “inefficient and cumbersome” and it is one reason she urged the parties to negotiate a deal on safeguarding customer assets in the United States.
But Judge Jackson also gave short shrift to Binance’s argument that it was surprised by the aggressiveness of the S.E.C.
According to court filings, the S.E.C. has been investigating Binance since 2020. “Some of the surprise expressed in the pleadings rang a little hollow,” she told Binance’s lawyers on Tuesday.
After several long days of deliberating, the cast of Amazon Freevee’s “Jury Duty” got a night to waste away in Margaritaville. While the restaurant was staged with hidden cameras, actors and even one producer made up to look like a Margaritaville manager, the cast and one Ronald Gladden still got to enjoy real food and drinks along with each other’s company.
“Everyone needed that night,” said “Jury Duty” director Jake Szymanski. “Everyone really was kind of bonding in a special way, and that all came together at Margaritaville.”
While the actors had to improvise some of the scene, the field trip was born in the writers room along with certain beats. The overarching goal was to make the experience believable to Gladden, which is what they had been doing throughout the whole show.
Leaving the court room, there were a few changes that had to be addressed. For sound recording purposes, there was no music playing inside the restaurant. “How is he gonna walk in a Margaritaville and it be silent?” wondered Edy Modica, who plays Jeannie. The crew had to build three Margaritaville-esque camera blinds out of mirrors, bamboo and parrots so that the camera men could properly hide. There were no cuts, no breaks so the camera crew had to stay fully hidden and even the background actors had to remain in character the entire course of the cast’s dinner.
One objective was getting Gladden to sit in the right place to be filmed. By staging a quick interview outside with him so that all the seats were filled up, Gladden had no choice but to sit right where they wanted him. Another was getting Gladden to win an arm-wrestling battle with Marsden to see who would pick up the $1500 check.
Still, some things just worked out by the grace of improv. On the ride home, Mekki Leeper, who plays Noah, unintentionally vomits through the school bus window after drinking too many sugary drinks at Margaritaville. This provided a small problem for filming as Szymanski revealed that they had actually set up a vomiting sequence for the following day, but like all things “Jury Duty,” the crew and cast swiftly pivoted for the more organic moment.
Although very fun and consistently changing, the overall shoot itself wasn’t an easy task. “This process itself was draining, because you have to be on for five or six hours a day,” Marsden said. He would then go home and keep a journal of potential bits to be used the following day based on what happened that day.
Margaritaville, and the rest of the series, was an ongoing chess game that everyone but Gladden was constantly playing, even when shooting wrapped. But in the end, the show made people laugh and it made people look a little differently at humanity.
“I’m honored that people are calling me a hero. The reason why I feel so weird about that title, though, is because if you look at what I did, all I was doing was trying to be a decent human being,” said Gladden.
Watch the full episode above, Variety’s “Making A Scene” is presented by HBO.
Al Roker is tackling a subject that might not be at the center of his activities on NBC’s “Today.”
The morning-news veteran, through his Al Roker Entertainment production company, is releasing a new documentary underwritten by farming-equipment manufacturer Deere & Co. that examines the state of Black farming in the U.S. — and some of the struggles the farmers in question must often navigate.
“Gaining Ground: The Fight for Black Land,” was created in partnership with director Eternal Polk, and looks at how landowners are working to reclaim agricultural rights. Many Black farmers often work land that has been passed down over generations via inheritance, but without a clear title, leaving the landholders unable in many instances to qualify for government assistance, equipment financing or agriculture programs. Many of them have lost their land over the years, marking a loss of generational wealth.
“It’s one of those iceberg issues,” says Roker, in a recent interview. “There’s so much more under the surface.” The topic may be of heightened interest in an era when Americans are often pondering issues of equity and inequality.
The film will debut at the American Black Film Festival in Miami on June 15, 2023, and is expected to appear in screenings across the country this summer. Al Roker Entertainment is working to find a home for the film on a streaming service or cable network for next year.
Roker says the film was originally conceived as an hour-long project, but executives at Deere, after reviewing footage, asked if it could be extended to 90 minutes to tell more of the story.
While many TV viewers know Roker from his years spent forecasting weather for “Today” and other venues, fewer know that he has led a small TV-production company for more than two decades. His company has produced series like “Coast Guard Alaska” for Weather Channel and “DEA” for Spike TV.
There are new projects in the works, including an animated series for PBS Kids that may remind viewers of his main career. “Weather Hunters,” slated to debut in 2024 or 2025, Roker says, is centered on eight-year-old Lily Hunter, a weather detective who shares her investigations with her family, including dad Al Hunter, voiced by Roker. The three kids in the series have the same ages Roker’s children did when he first came up with the idea for the program
Roker likes to create new things, but he has no plans to leave “Today,” even as he enjoys some new activity at Al Roker Entertainment. “They are going to have to drag me off the train,” he says.
“Today” viewers have watched over the last few months as Roker has grappled with some health issues. He missed his regular appearance on NBC’s broadcast of Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in November — the first time he has done so in 27 years — to deal with a blood clot. He ended up in the hospital for four weeks and had to spend some time rebuilding his strength. In recent weeks, he had to have his knee replaced (actually, he had to replace a replacement).
“It was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced,” Roker says of his medical issues. But he believes he is on the mend. An avid walker, he recently completed his first 10,000-step day in quite some time, a sign that his body is gaining strength. He credits his wife, ABC News correspondent Deborah Roberts, and his family, along with a healthy dose of positive thinking, for his rebound.
“Not to mention how much of their lives mirror each other: difficult relationship with their fathers who were in the business before them, substance abuse problems, overcoming a troubled past and making a comeback. I can’t imagine anyone else in the future even coming close to portraying Iron Man as perfectly.”
When Center Theatre Group on Thursday announced that it was indefinitely pausing shows at the Mark Taper Forum — the creative beating heart of one of the country’s largest regional companies — a sense of deep sadness and acute anxiety resonated with theater leaders across the country.
Center Theatre Group might be calling this a “pause,” many said, but that word is a euphemism for a closure — what the entire theater ecosystem had to endure when the COVID shutdowns hit in March 2020. The hard lesson learned — during closures that in some cases lasted close to two years — is that audiences won’t quickly return in nearly the numbers needed to make budgets.
The result is a painful, and unprecedented, contraction of regional theaters nationwide. Vibrant, essential leaders of the industry including New York’s Public Theater, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Dallas Theater Center and San Francisco’s American Conservatory Theater, among many others, are experiencing various levels of pain — fighting to keep doors open despite dwindling ticket sales, increased production costs and hesitant, recession-wary donors. The result: drastic cuts to programming, layoffs, candid pleas to subscribers about an industry-wide emergency and, in L.A., the indefinite shutdown of what for decades has been the city’s most prominent and important home for drama.
Meghan Pressman is the chief executive and managing director of Center Theatre Group, which operates the Taper and the Ahmanson in downtown L.A. as well as the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City. She said she had been crunching numbers and making extremely difficult choices, keenly aware of the controversy that would arise from closing the Taper before the world premiere of Larissa FastHorse’s play “Fake It Until You Make It.”
FastHorse would have been the first Native American writer to have a main stage production at the Taper, and the postponement abruptly ends a season programmed to feature plays written by female-identifying or nonbinary playwrights, the majority of whom were artists of color.
The Taper canceled, rather than postponed, a touring production of Lauren Yee’s musical “Cambodian Rock Band.” Both FastHorse and people close to Yee expressed profound disappointment on social media, and some theater leaders said confidentially that Center Theatre Group should have called on the financial heft of its well-connected board to fund the completion of an all-important season for female and BIPOC writers.
Pressman said her company simply ran out of options and had to move quickly to avert greater disaster.
“This is not related to that programming choice of which I am still so proud,” Pressman said. “This moment would have happened because of the environment we’re in.”
One theater leader said Center Theatre Group will not regain its status within the industry until it makes good on the promise to stage FastHorse’s play. Pressman said that is the absolute goal.
“That show deserves an audience — a big audience — and the audiences that it deserves are not back,” she said.
Daya Curley, Adina Verson and the cast of “A Transparent Musical” at the Mark Taper Forum. The venue announced that it would be pausing programming for the foreseeable future after the musical ends its run later this month.
(Craig Schwartz)
Center Theatre Group’s budget gap is $12 million to $13 million, Pressman said. The company’s annual operating budget varies between $55 million and $70 million, depending on the season. Corporate contributions and individual donations — which constitute 20% to 30% of the budget — are down about one-fifth compared with pre-pandemic giving. Ticket sales, which account for nearly 70% of the budget, are only about 70% of what they were in 2019 across all three of CTG’s stages.
Playwright Jeremy O. Harris, whose groundbreaking “Slave Play” reopened the Taper after nearly two years of pandemic closures, expressed sympathy for CTG’s leaders and noted that the theater industry was in trouble long before COVID-19. He singled out the subscriber model — in which theaters rely on a core base of fans to subsidize shows before they are staged — as a system of support that failed years ago.
Harris also said that in other cities, large theater companies’ obsession with funding expensive building projects was problematic and caused artistry to play second fiddle to the bottom line, making companies increasingly dependent on the whims of wealthy, often out-of-touch board members.
“The worst thing that could happen is for people to look at some of the really exciting social movements inside of the theater in the last three years and point to those as the issue, when actually the issue is deeper — it’s from 20 to 30 years of bad programming,” Harris said. “There hasn’t been enough innovation or inquiry around how to inspire a new generation of people to go to these spaces, and to find community inside of a theater in their town.”
The seats in Mark Taper Forum reflected in the mirrored set of “Slave Play.”
(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)
If theaters are not careful, said Harris, artists will start making their own spaces out of necessity. This brain drain would exacerbate an already troubling trend of theater artists — many of whom are independent and freelance — leaving the field entirely because of closures, layoffs and financial insecurity, noted Teresa Eyring, executive director and chief executive of the Theatre Communications Group, a national network of more than 500 member theaters.
“Budgeting for Uncertainty,” a Theatre Communications Group survey of 99 member theaters this year, found that 62% were budgeting for a deficit, up from 30% in 2022 and 10% in 2021.
“There’s just this sense of crisis that that needs more time to be resolved than many companies have to resolve it,” Eyring said. “I think it gives us all pause when we hear of a company like Center Theatre Group having to postpone or cancel one of its entire facilities.”
The pause at the Taper is prompting the most sober of questions: Is this just the first domino to fall?
Diane Yu, chair of the board for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, said she was shaken by the Taper news. Her company has struggled mightily to recover after the pandemic — and also after wildfires swept the region and made performances on its outdoor stages impossible.
With three theaters and almost 1,000 seats to sell, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival operates on a budget that hovers around $40 million. Between March and June 2020, the company laid off 90% of its 500-person full-time and seasonal staff; it’s still operating with only about half of its pre-pandemic staffing. The company has cut back its annual programming from 10 shows to only five. Those productions, however, are selling so Yu said she is “cautiously optimistic.”
“It took us years to get to this point, and it’s going to take us years to get out,” said Yu, referring to the robust fundraising the company launched in May, asking for $2.5 million in donations to save its season.
Theaters including Oregon Shakespeare need to “find a way forward that’s going to be more sustainable and more responsive to the environment that we now face,” she said.
Oskar Eustis, artistic director of the Public Theater, said companies had spent the last three years improvising, hoping for a return to normal.
“And this spring, I think all of us are going, ‘They’re not returning to the old normal.’ We don’t know what’s going to happen exactly. But we need to stop improvising and hoping for the best. And we need to actually make solid plans that we know will sustain the organization in the future,” Eustis said. “And the Taper’s announcement is part of that wave of knowledge.”
Anna Deavere Smith in the original acclaimed “Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992,” which premiered at the Mark Taper Forum nearly 30 years ago.
(Jay Thompson/Center Theatre Group)
Last month, Eustis made the “agonizing” decision that the Public would not produce its Under the Radar festival next year, and it laid off the festival’s producer, Mark Russell. Since 2005, Under the Radar had been home to some of theater’s most experimental work, and its loss has been lamented internationally.
At this moment, the Public is not in peril, said Eustis. “The reason we’re not teetering is that we’re contracting in ways that are unbelievably painful.”
The operating budget last year was closer to $50 million, down from about $60 million, Eustis said. Staffing is down 10%, but at this moment, the company is hopeful that it will end its fiscal year Aug. 30 with a “de minimis deficit.”
The emptying out of urban cores as workers went remote, and the rise of streaming entertainment at home, are affecting live theaters in ways that nobody quite imagined, said Kevin Moriarty, executive director of Dallas Theater Center.
The company anchors Dallas’ 20-block Arts District and is home to two theaters that drew nearly 100,000 audience members annually before the pandemic. The company won a regional Tony Award in 2017. Recently, however, subscriptions dwindled by 60% and an operating budget of close to $11 million shrank to about $8 million, Moriarty said. In April, Dallas Theater Center announced it was laying off an undisclosed number of staff — a move that Moriarty called “incredibly painful.”
The belt-tightening has worked and the company is heading into a new season debt-free, he said.
American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco is limiting its programming to reduce budget pressure, said A.C.T. Executive director Jennifer Bielstein. Eight mainstage productions have become six. Pre-COVID the company had about 130 full-time staff members; now it has about 60. The budget has shrunk from $27.5 million to $22 million.
“When a theater has to announce that they can’t do as much work, that also means less work for artists, and we exist to work with artists, to invest in artists, and to deliver this work to our communities,” Bielstein said, adding that as a field, theater needs significant continued investment. “So overall it’s certainly heartbreaking.”
“Our businesses were among the first to be closed down and the last to be allowed to reopen,” she said.
Front row from left, Justin Gregory Lopez, Margo Seibert, and Kim Blanck; second row from left, Kuhoo Verma, J.D. Mollison, and Isabel Santiago; back row from left, Adam Bashian and Alex Gibson in the West Coast premiere of Dave Malloy’s “Octet” directed by Annie Tippe.
(Kevin Berne/Berkeley Repertory Theatre)
Nearby Berkeley Repertory Theatre is an outlier among regional companies, said managing director Tom Parrish. Berkeley Rep has increased its budget to nearly $24 million from about $19 million, but Parrish noted that the theater’s cost of operating is about 25% higher than it was in 2019. He also said Berkeley Rep is one of the last to still require masks, a fact that he believed kept much of his audience feeling safe and able to come back.
Parrish worries that “we’re gonna see a lot of stories like what happened in Los Angeles.”
For now, Gil Cates Jr., executive director of Geffen Playhouse in Westwood, said his playhouse is relatively stable. It is focusing on subtle shifts, such as programming four shows instead of five, and eliminating performances on Tuesday to give artists a two-day break, resulting in a schedule with seven shows weekly rather than eight.
“I think seven shows will be the new eight shows in about two years,” Cates said.
“CTG isn’t out of the blue and it’s not unique,” said Feldman. “But it’s a bellwether. The extraordinary support that lifted us through the pandemic, both from government and foundations and individuals, was a bridge to the other side. But the other side isn’t so great for all the reasons CTG listed in its statement.”
Pasadena Playhouse received the 2023 Regional Theatre Tony Award.
(Jeff Lorch )
Even with all the good news coming out of Pasadena Playhouse — and the success of its recent Stephen Sondheim festival — the company is still likely facing a “very large hole” in its budget, he said, declining to provide specifics. Theaters are resorting to cost-saving measures because they are “being realistic about audience attendance.”
“We have to show up in different ways, and in more robust ways than we currently are,” Feldman said. “I’m optimistic. I hope this shocking and really sad and troubling news activates folks — activates them for CTG, and activates them for all theaters. As painful as it seems, we all need to lift each other up.”
Many leaders agreed that one thing has become painfully clear: Regional theaters need to dramatically shift the way they do business if they are to rise from the smoldering ashes of the pandemic closures.
“It’s not like the audience pauses with you. They go away,” said playwright Luis Alfaro. “So there’s gonna have to be a reinvention because you have to get those people back.”
As an associate artistic director at CTG until his abrupt departure late last year, Alfaro was part of a cohort of five leaders who helped to guide the company’s vision after former artistic director Michael Ritchie left the job in 2020 and before the newly appointed artistic director, Snehal Desai, takes the reins in August.
Snehal Desai, the outgoing artistic director at East West Players, the Asian American theater based in Little Tokyo, will take the reins at Center Theatre Group in August.
(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
Desai is CTG’s first leader of color, and many people, including Alfaro, expressed dismay that the momentous development comes at a time of such crisis.
“It’s really depressing to see a person of color, a queer person, take this job at this moment,” Alfaro said. “It’s not like it’s being handed over with all the bells and whistles. He’s coming into a company that he is, in some ways, expected to save a bit. And this is happening all over the country.”
Chay Yew, the former artistic director of Chicago’s Victory Gardens, noted that CTG is taking a big leap of faith with the temporary shutdown of the Taper. He said that most theater companies were making their seasons smaller, not skipping an entire season, or more.
“I think it might be hard for it to jump-start again,” Yew said. “Some people don’t come back to the theater. So it’s a gamble, and maybe that’s CTGs strategy, and unfortunately it’s Snehal’s housewarming gift. I don’t think it’s very fair. I think it puts him at a disadvantage.”
Theater leaders said murmurs of a pause at the Taper have been in the air for the last six months. Admiration for Desai runs high, as do hopes that he will prove to be the visionary leader that the company needs.
The company, industry watchers said, needs to once again push boundaries, stir audiences and launch careers and legacies like it did under founding artistic director Gordon Davidson — under whom Tony Kushner found a home for “Angels in America,” and Anna Deavere Smith debuted “Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992.”
“Everyone’s upset because of what the Taper has done and what its promise is,” Yew said. “But the theater is going through a hard time and, of course, we all say, ‘Well, do something about it.’ But we can say that so easily from the outside.”
While 2022’s “Thor: Love and Thunder” was an undeniable box-office success, for many Marvel fans the film was too unserious for its own good.
Despite introducing a character known as the “God Butcher”, the fourth installment leaned heavily into the irreverent tone that defined “Thor: Ragnarok” and the “Guardians of the Galaxy” franchise.
Too Much Humor
While those films managed to walk the fine line between high stake adventure and comedy, many Thor fans were put off by just how silly the character was in “Love and Thunder”.
As Hemsworth considers his future as the “God of Thunder”, he is aware of how the last installment in the “Thor” series was received.
Would Hemsworth Return?
With that being said, the actor would return to his iconic role, if there was a way to reinvent Thor and make an interesting film.
“I’ve got to be careful how I word that. Because I have no idea what’s happening in the next phase,” Hemsworth said. “There’s always conversations…Before anything is official, people are throwing around ideas. But officially, I don’t know.”
Image Credit: cinemablend.com
“I don’t want to continue to do it until people are so exhausted that they roll their eyes when they see me come on the screen as that character,” Hemsworth added. “If an audience wants to see it, and if there’s something that we believe is exciting and fun, then great. I’ve loved being able to reinvent that character a few times. I don’t have the answer yet, but I would love to try and [figure out] how we can do that again and keep it a little unpredictable.”
Reflecting back on “Thor: Love and Thunder”, Hemsworth admitted that the film was not serious enough.
Source: newyorktimes.com
“I think we just had too much fun. It just became too silly,” Hemsworth told GQ last month. “It’s always hard being in the center of it and having any real perspective. I love the process, it’s always a ride. But you just don’t know how people are going to respond.”
The Actor’s Biggest Critics
As it turns out, some of Hemsworth’s biggest critics were his son’s friends.
“It’s a bunch of eight-year-olds critiquing my film. ‘We thought this one had too much humor, the action was cool but the VFX weren’t as good,’” he said. “I cringe and laugh equally at it.”
While it seems likely that Hemsworth will return for another “Thor” outing, perhaps to do battle with Hercules, it sounds like we may see a different approach to the God of Thunder’s next adventure.
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The hit CW series The Flash has officially come to an end, and this August, fans can pick up both the final season on Blu-ray and DVD, as well as the complete series box set, so they can relive all the amazing moments whenever they want!
You can check out all the details in the official press release below.
THE FLASH: THE NINTH AND FINAL SEASON
COMING TO BLU-RAYTM DISC AND DVD AUGUST 29, 2023
BURBANK, CA (June 1, 2023) – The fast-paced DC Super Hero drama ends its nine-season run as The Flash: The Ninth and Final Season arrives on Blu-rayTM Disc and DVD on August 29, 2023. The action continues through all 13 episodes of the final season along with brand-new bonus content. The season is also available to own on Digital via purchase from digital retailers.
Also available on August 29, is The Flash: The Complete Series on Blu-ray Disc and DVD, which includes 184 episodes from the exhilarating DC series along with hours of bonus content from all nine seasons in one complete set.
After defeating the Reverse Flash once and for all, the ninth season of The Flash picks up one week after their epic battle, and Barry Allen aka The Flash and Iris West-Allen are reconnecting and growing closer than ever. When a deadly group of Rogues descend on Central City, led by a powerful and unknown new threat, The Flash and his team including Meta-Empath Cecile Horton, the light-powered meta, Allegra Garcia, brilliant tech-nerd Chester P. Runk and reformed cryogenics thief Mark Blaine, must once again defy the odds to save the day. But as The Rogues are defeated, a deadly new adversary rises to challenge Barry Allen’s heroic legacy. In their greatest battle yet, Barry and Team Flash will be pushed to their limits, to save Central City one last time.
The Flash stars Grant Gustin (Arrow, Glee), Candice Patton (The Game), Danielle Panabaker (Sky High, Friday the 13th), Danielle Nicolet (Central Intelligence), Kayla Compton (Making Moves), Brandon McKnight (The Shape of Water) and Jon Cor (Shadowhunters). Based on the characters from DC, The Flash is produced by Berlanti Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television, with executive producers Greg Berlanti (Arrow, Supergirl, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Riverdale), Eric Wallace (Teen Wolf, Z Nation, Eureka), Sarah Schechter (Batwoman, Riverdale, Black Lightning, Supergirl), Jonathan Butler, and Sam Chalsen (Sleepy Hollow).
SPECIAL FEATURES INCLUDE:
The Flash: The Saga of the Scarlett Speedster (featurette)
Deleted Scenes
Gag Reel
The Flash: The Complete Ninth Season and The Flash: The Complete Series will be available to purchase August 29, 2023 on Blu-ray Disc and DVD both online and in-store at major retailers. The series is also available now to purchase Digitally from Amazon Prime Video, AppleTV, Google Play, Vudu and more.
Pricing and series information:
The Flash: The Ninth and Final Season
Includes 13 one-hour episodes:
Wednesday Ever After
Hear No Evil
Rogues of War
The Mask of the Red Death, Part 1
The Mask of the Red Death, Part 2
The Good, the Bad and the Lucky
Wildest Dreams
Partners in Time
It’s My Party and I’ll Die if I Want To
A New World, Part 1
A New World, Part 2
A New World, Part 3
A New World, Part 4
PRODUCTSRP
Blu-ray Disc $29.98 SRP US ($39.99 in Canada)
DVD $24.98 SRP US ($29.98 in Canada)
Blu-ray Audio: English DTS 5.1
Blu-ray Subtitles: English SDH
DVD Audio: English (5.1) DD
DVD Subtitles: English SDH, Latin Spanish
Blu-ray and DVD Presented in 16×9 widescreen format
Run Time: Approx. 13 hours
The Flash: The Complete Series
Includes 184 one-hour episodes plus previously released special features.
PRODUCTSRP
Blu-ray Disc $179.99 SRP US ($179.99 in Canada)
DVD $134.99 SRP US ($149.99 in Canada)
Blu-ray Audio: English DTS 5.1
Blu-ray Subtitles: English SDH
DVD Audio: English (5.1) DD
DVD Subtitles: English SDH, Latin Spanish
Blu-ray and DVD Presented in 16×9 widescreen format
Run Time: Approx. 135 hours
About Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment
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Woodcutting. Love it or hate it, it is one of the easiest skills to get to level 99 due to the perfect mix of affordability and the ease of leveling it whilst AFK. It makes sense then that Jagex has left it largely untouched over the years with only a few quality of life updates such as Ivy. That is all about to change though, as Jagex is implementing a large Woodcutting update coming June 19, 2023! Keep reading to find out what to expect when the new Woodcutting update goes live in RuneScape!
What to Expect in the New RuneScape Woodcutting Update
Jagex has stated that this update is a mix of two things. Aspects to the update that you can interact with now to make Woodcutting similar to other previously updated skills, as well as work behind the scenes to make sure that they are able to continue updating the skill in future updates. Which sounds like we will be getting more trees in the future! Heavily linked to Fort Forinthry, the new Woodcutting update takes place at a new adjacent grove that will be provided for you in close proximity to the Fort itself.
Hatchet and Tree Rebalances
This has been a long time coming and after reading through the rebalance work, I am quite happy with the changes. Especially when it comes to the trees. For years, new trees have been added to RuneScape without any thought to the existing tree level requirements. Check out how they are being rebalanced below.
Tree
Original Required Level
Rebalanced Required Level
Wood
1
1
Oak
15
10
Willow
30
20
Teak
35
30
Maple
45
40
Acadia
47
50
Mahogony
50
60
Yew
60
70
Magic
75
80
Elder
90
90
Tree
Chop Speed
XP Per Cut
Hollow
Reduced – but more likely to succeed at higher levels.
Maple
Significantly increased.
Mahogony
Increased.
Arctic Pine
Increased.
140.2 → 145
Eucalyptus
Increased.
Yew
Significantly increased.
175 → 187.5
Magic
Significantly increased.
250 → 365
Blisterwood
2000 → 2650
Elder
Increased.
3250 → 4250
Crystal
4345 → 3500
Golden Bamboo
Changed to follow regular formula.
Jadinko Lair
Changed to follow regular formula.
1400 → 1616
Acadia
Increased slightly.
920 → 800
Hatchet
Original Tier
Rebalanced Tier
Dragon
55
60
Crystal
57.5
70
Image via Jagex
Woodcutter’s Grove in RuneScape
I don’t know about you, but just reading about Woodcutter’s Grove has me excited. It almost feels weird to say because it is Woodcutting. Woodcutter’s Grove cannot be unlocked until you have completed the Unwelcome Guest quest and have constructed a Tier 1 Guardhouse. From there it is simple! Just talk to Bill or Aster to unlock the Woodcutting of your dreams!
Here is an overview of the updates that Woodcutter’s Grove provides you:
One of the most convenient ways to level Woodcutting from 1-99.
Imcando Hatchet – a new Tier 80 best-in-slot hatchet available after unlocking Tier 3 of Woodcutter’s Grove.
Wood Box to store logs as you cut them down. Similar to the Ore Box for Mining.
New Log Piles will act as a method to directly deposit logs into your bank.
Bird’s Nests drops that will drop Imcando Hatchet fragments at Tier 3.
Wood Spirits will be an item that consumes a log to increase cutting ability. Similar to Stone Spirits for Mining.
Tier 2 Woodcutter’s Grove will provide the player with a Fairy Ring for convenient travel.
Tier 2 Woodcutter’s Grove will provide the player with a tree patch to grow additional trees.
It sounds like Jagex has put a lot of thought and effort into the Woodcutting rebalance and I am excited to sink my axe into it on day one. I haven’t touched Woodcutting much since hitting level 99 and the fact that I am surprised to spend time on the skill again speaks volumes! I daresay that there are a lot of equally eager players out there that feel the same! In the meantime, make sure that you have collected all of your shards for the elusive Golden Capebefore time runs out!
A Bronx Tale, Robert De Niro’s 1993 directorial debut, starred as the Tribeca Festival’s closing gala with the famed actor acknowledging that he never got asked to direct again following the film’s inauspicious box office debut.
“I was lucky to be able to make the movie. I made it the way I wanted to make it. I didn’t compromise at all. And I took longer to do [it] than was scheduled. And I had a lot of pressure…So I never got asked to do movies after that. That’s okay,” he said, sitting down with Chazz Palminteri in an interview with New Yorker editor David Remnick after a screening of the newly remastered film.
Remick reminded him he’d also directed The Good Shepherd (2006, starring Matt Damon and Angelina Jolie). “I did The Good Shepherd. But that was another uphill battle,” De Niro said.
A Bronx Tale opened to $3.7 million at over 1,000 theaters, said Tribeca co-founder Jane Rosenthal in opening remarks. “That’s not a good number.” But, she added, “The film never died. It kept growing in popularity.” Palminteri noted that it ended up grossing $17 million, on a $21 million budget.
It’s based on an autobiographical one-man play originally written and performed by Palminteri (Bullets over Broadway, The Usual Suspects). De Niro stars as a devoted father battling a local mob boss, played by Palminteri, for the life of his son, in racially divided 1960s New York.
The show was big success and Palminteri said he had many offers for a film version but chose to go with De Niro, who had his heart set on the project for his first outing as a director and agreed to let Palminteri write the screenplay and play the gangster, Sonny.
“I just wanted to direct and I couldn’t find anything,” said De Niro. “It’s a lot of work to develop something. And I saw this is one man show and I said, ‘Let me try and do this…I know I could add to it and contribute to it.’”
Palminteri wrote the play when he was short of cash after being fired from a bouncer job for refusing to let super agent Swifty Lazar enter a venue. “It was his party, and I didn’t let him in. Because he was really rude. He said, ‘Do you know who I am?’ I said, ‘Yeah, the guy who’s not getting in.’”
Screenings and events for the 22nd annual festival, which runs June 7-18, continue tonight and tomorrow but the film, produced by Jane Rosenthal, was chosen as the official closing event.
Rosenthal and DeNiro founded festival after 9/11. “I’ve always been hopeful that it would become part of the fabric of New York City, like many great traditions in New York. And it’s done that so far, and so I’m very happy,” De Niro said.
This year’s edition features over 100 films, musical performances as well as games, virtual reality and audio competitions.
So what does this mean for Benedict, played by Luke Thompson? His book is the third in the Julia Quinn series, so it’s possible we’ll finally see his story told in season 4 of the show. Series creator Chris Van Dusen told ET, “I love Benedict’s story. I love his story and all these siblings, all these characters for different reasons. They all offer something new. I think it was really the appeal to me in a project like this, the fact that we could tell these close-ended love stories and shift focus season after season.” In terms of following or not following the books, he said, “I think it depends on story, and it always comes down to character for me…. I think we do a lot of work in these first two seasons to set up characters in these future seasons, and every one of these siblings is going to eventually carry their own season, so it’s important to flesh out these characters and set them up for success.”
Translation: They’re going to do what they want to make the setups and payoffs work. Readers who have seen the first two seasons will have noticed that Eloise’s storyline has already been shifted. As for Benedict, back in season 1 he went to an orgy and hooked up with the modiste…neither of which happen in the books.
What do we know about the plot?
On July 20, 2022, Netflix teased a bit more of what’s to come for Polin. By the end of season 2, Penelope has all but given up on Colin and finds herself in the midst of a row with her BFF, Eloise. Despite this, she has “decided it’s time to take a husband, preferably one who will provide her with enough independence to continue her double life as Lady Whistledown, far away from her mother and sisters,” Netflix writes in a release. “But lacking in confidence, Penelope’s attempts on the marriage mart fail spectacularly.”
Colin, on the other hand, is overflowing with confidence—so much so that he’s willing to “mentor Penelope in the ways of confidence to help her find a husband.” (You can see where this is going.) Turns out, Colin’s a great teacher. “When his lessons start working a little too well, Colin must grapple with whether his feelings for Penelope are truly just friendly,” according to the release.
HasBridgertonseason 3 started filming?
Yep! On July 20, 2022, Netflix confirmed that filming of season 3 had begun. The streaming service released a video of the returning cast, which you can see below:
Who is leaving and joining the cast?
Perhaps the biggest casting news for season 3 is the announcement that Phoebe Dynevor will not appear in season three. ”Sadly, [I]] not in season 3. Potentially in the future,” Dynevor told Screen Rant in January 2023, per People. “But season 3, I’m just excited to watch as a viewer.”
Netflix announced Saturday at its Tudum fan event in Sao Paulo that it has renewed FUBAR for season two. The pickup comes about three weeks after the show’s premiere.
FUBAR stars Schwarzenegger as a CIA operative who discovers that his daughter (Monica Barbaro) also works for the agency. They’re forced into a reluctant partnership in the action comedy created by Nick Santora (Reacher, Scorpion).
The series premiered on May 25 and became Netflix’s most watched show for that week. Since its release it has amassed 219 million hours of viewing worldwide, according to the streamer’s internal metrics.
Along with Schwarzenegger and Barbaro, FUBAR’s cast includes Jay Baruchel, Fortune Feimster, Milan Carter, Travis Van Winkle, Gabriel Luna, Andy Buckley, Aparna Brielle, Barbara Eve Harris and Fabiana Udenio.
Skydance Television produces the series. Santora executive produces with Schwarzenegger, Adam Higgs, Scott Sullivan, Holly Dale, Bill Bost and Skydance’s David Ellison and Dana Goldberg.
During the Tudum global fan event in São Paulo, Brasil, Netflix dropped the first names joining Lee Jung-jae for Squid Game Season 2.
Jung-jae will be reprising his role of Gi-hun with Hwang Dong-hyuk returning to direct and executive produce the sophomore season of the series that will start production later this year.
Lee Byung-hun is returning as Front Man, Wi Ha-jun will revisit the character of police detective Jun-ho and Gong Yoo will be coming back as well.
New players joining the game are Yim Si-wan (Unlocked), Kang Ha-Neul (Midnight Runners), Park Sung-hoon (The Glory) and Yang Dong-geun (Yaksha: Ruthless Operations).
Check out a preview of the new cast members in the video posted above.
Squid Game debuted on Netflix on September 17, 2021, and became a global phenomenon. The series clocked over 1.65 billion viewing hours in 28 days, and reached 111 million accounts, becoming Netflix’s first series to surpass 100 million members at launch and remains the most-watched series ever on Netflix.
During Tudum, Netflix also previewed Squid Game: The Challenge, the competition show inspired by the series. The competition will feature 456 players vying for a $4.56M cash prize, the largest prize for a reality series.
The ten-part series will see contestants competing in a series of games inspired by the show plus some new ones and their strategies, alliances, and character will be put to the test while competitors are eliminated around them.
Famed composers Kander and Ebb are back on Broadway with a new musical, New York, New York. While loosely based on the film of the same name, which starred Robert DeNiro and Liza Minelli in the leading roles, the stage production serves as a refreshed version of the story first helmed in the era of 70s cinema. At the beginning of the show, in the opening scene, you will see a man fixing the lights on stage, setting the tone that this is a show that will undoubtedly highlight the city’s best parts. The show first acknowledges the relationship between second-generation Irish musician Jimmy Doyle played by Colton Ryan (Dear Evan Hansen, Girl from North Country), and African-American lounge singer Francine Evans played by Anna Uzele (Once on This Island, SIX) who encounter each other early on in the show. While pursuing Evans, Doyle also grapples with his insecurities, maintaining his musical ambitions and dealing with losing his brother in combat.
Kander and Ebb, known for classic musicals such as Cabaret and Chicago, revisit their roots in this show. There is Or the conflict between Madame Veltri, a woman initially waiting for her son to return from the war before finding out he went MIA while teaching a young Polish violinist named Alex Mann played by Oliver Prose. Both Veltri and Mann eventually bond over their heartbreaking losses and find solace with their fellow musicians. While Mateo Diaz played by Angel Sigala, is a percussionist who is originally from Cuba, has to deal with his abusive father, played by Leo Moctezuma, and take care of his mother, played by Janet Dacal. The lively number “Gold” helps to emphasize this fascination with the “American dream” that overtakes the lives of the family. The song and a few others incorporate lyrics crafted by Hamilton and In the Heights creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda. The show is meant to take the audience not only on a journey through the city but through the perspectives of different groups that make New York what it is today. Some songs like “Can You Hear Me?” and “Music, Money, Love” help to drive the message home.
The first act is supposed to set the stage both literally and figuratively. While the main storyline seems to take priority, different relationships are being played out throughout the show. However, they get a bit jumbled in the first few numbers. That being said, the show rebounds after intermission. The second act blew me away. When you return to a story from intermission, you want the opener to reinvigorate your excitement for the performances ahead and I will say that it did just that while also fine-tuning the different relationships we were introduced to in the first act. Racial tensions are present in this musical but the lighthearted atmosphere created in the first act makes the through line you feel the tension more so in the second act than in the first which garnered a variety of “oos” and head shakes from audience members. John Clay III portrays Jesse Webb, a trumpeter that joins Doyle and Diaz to perform at the club that Doyle manages.
Most of the musical numbers between the dialogue-supported scenes gave necessary insight into the There is a Newsies vibe to this song. The sound of tap shoes fills the theater as we see our lead do a variety of steps on an unstable building pipe alongside his friends.
The show ends with Francine singing a beautiful rendition of the song “New York, New York”, first made famous by legendary singer Frank Sinatra. It was a full-circle moment and made the myriad of events that happened throughout the entire show worth reminiscing about.
While there are a few valid criticisms about the flow of the show’s storyline, the production did its job as it is a love letter to New York that people have been waiting to find for years to hear and see on a stage as New York, New York provides an upbeat yet heartfelt tale of what it means to keep up with life as it constantly changes and the different facets of being a New Yorker, whether homegrown or not.
Catch the Broadway production of New York, New York at the St. James Theatre in New York City. Find upcoming dates and times here. The show is expected to go on a national tour in 2025.
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