The American Cinematheque said Monday that Oscar, Emmy and Tony winner Helen Mirren will receive the 2023 American Cinematheque Award, which will be bestowed November 4 at the Beverly Hilton during the nonprofit organization’s annual gala tribute.
The group also said that the 2023 Power of Cinema Award will be given to Kevin Goetz and his company Screen Engine, a leading global marketing and data analytics firm servicing the entertainment and media industries.
Mirren has been tapped to receive the 37th annual award, following previous honorees Ryan Reynolds last year, Scarlett Johnasson in 2021 and Spike Lee in 2020.
Mirren has four Oscar nominations in total, winning in 2007 for playing Queen Elizabeth II in The Queen. She also played the monarch on the stage, winning Tony and Olivier awards for The Audience in 2015. One of her two Emmys came from playing Elizabeth I in the 2006 HBO miniseries; she also won an Emmy for her longtime role of DCI Jane Tennison on Prime Suspect.
Her five-decade-plus film and TV career feature credits include among others Caligula, Excalibur, The Passion of Ayn Rand, Oscar-nominated roles in Gosford Park and The Last Station, a pair of Fast and Furious movies, and most recently Golda and the Yellowstone spinoff 1923.
“Helen Mirren has won the Oscar, Tony and Emmy triple crown of acting, and is an unparalleled icon among actors,” said Rick Nicita, the American Cinematheque’s board chair. “She has portrayed characters from queens to seductresses with a singular skill that has never lost its freshness or appeal. She brings a savvy intelligence and emotional strength to all her roles because, as movie stars do, the camera shows us the essence of who they are. Movie audiences eagerly embrace her talents in a career that glows brighter with every captivating performance.”
She has also received honors including a BAFTA Fellowship, the Chaplin Award from the Film Society at Lincoln Center, and the SAG Life Achievement Award. She was appointed Dame of the British Empire in 2003.
The AC board of directors established the Power of Cinema Award in 2021 to be given to an individual or organization whose actions have advanced the significance and social relevance of films in today’s modern culture. Screen Engine and its founder and CEO Goetz are being honored this year for being “simply indispensable to today’s movie industry by conducting the majority of test screenings for the major studios, independents and streamers,” Nicita said today.
The awards gala serves as the main fundraiser for the American Cinematheque.
“It came in a flash—it came outta nowhere,” Dave Grohl wails over heat-lightning guitars and pummeling drums at the outset of his band Foo Fighters’ 11th album. Then, he sings a line marked by equal parts amazement and regret: “It happened so fast/ and then it was over,” Grohl yawps, his voice breaking on the final word. This summation of life’s brevity and unpredictability is a fitting epigraph for But Here We Are, the first Foo Fighters record to be recorded in the wake of two losses Grohl experienced in 2022—the band’s longtime drummer Taylor Hawkins died while the band was touring South America last March, and Grohl’s mother Virginia passed away over the summer.
But Here We Are, with its matter-of-fact title, depicts grief in immediate terms, refusing to couch the knotty web of feelings conjured by loss in easy-to-hear platitudes. “Someone said I’ll never see your face again/ Part of me just can’t believe it’s true,” Grohl whisper-sings on “Under You,” which whipsaws from brooding thickets of guitar into a psych-power-pop flashback, then veers into the sort of anthemic chorus that the Foo Fighters have filled stadiums and festival fields with for decades. Only it has a troubling edge: “I’ve been hearing voices,” he sings again and again, before breaking: “None of them are you,” he admits.
Since forming in 1995, Foo Fighters have become one of rock’s most reliable acts, regularly releasing albums that brought the squalls of Nineties alt-rock into the new millennium while headlining massive venues with blistering live sets tempered by the sort of playfulness that can only come from being at the top of one’s game. But Here We Are flips the Foo Fighters script in a way, sorting through the fallout of what happens when things get completely unpredictable—when the people who have been threads in your day-to-day’s fabric get pulled out suddenly and cruelly. It possesses a vitality that in a sense is expected given the events that transpired before its release, but its refusal to take the easy route around grief makes its drum fills (played by Grohl in his first return behind the kit on a Foos album since 2005) land with more intensity and its guitar slashes, some of which recall Nineties left-of-the-dial darlings, hit harder. Even the more subdued tracks like the swirling “Show Me How,” which is leavened by Grohl’s daughter Violet’s lilt, have an urgency to them that makes But Here We Are an immersive listen.
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The last two tracks are particularly gripping. “The Teacher” is a 10-minute mini-epic that opens with gnarled riffs then steadily gains momentum into a determined perpetual-motion machine of galloping drums and ringing guitar chords, taking a breath to survey what’s been lost before launching itself back into heavy riffage, Grohl keening “goodbye” in a strangled voice as the music becomes more and more distorted, the levels maxing out on all levels. It stops abruptly and is, after a breath, followed by “Rest,” a beautiful elegy that crests into a soothing cacophony: “Rest, you can rest now/ Rest, you will be safe now,” Grohl bellows as the chaos once again threatens to overtake the speakers—until the noise cuts out, leaving Grohl alone with his grief and love, envisioning his dreamlife’s hopes for seeing his loved ones again.
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Dealing with loss has confounded philosophers and psychologists for eons. On But Here We Are, Grohl has laid out one way to deal with this complex matrix of emotion: You snarl and thrash and bang against whatever darkness may encroach upon you, drawing on the raw-nerve currents coursing through your veins to prove just how vital life can be.
In Tiger Ji’s short film, Death and Ramen, a ramen chef, Timmy (Bobby Lee), decides to end it all and down a fist full of antidepressants. Soon, the dark figure of Death (Matt Jones) stands over Timmy’s lifeless body and carries him to his final destination.
Unfortunately, Timmy manages to survive the botched suicide, and a perplexed Death is not sure what to do about it. Finally, Timmy convinces the confused Grim Reaper to go to his Ramen shop for one last bowl of noodles with the promise that it will be divine.
“…Timmy manages to survive the botched suicide, and a perplexed Death is not sure what to do about it.”
I’d be lying if I told you I hadn’t seen my fair share of short films about death. What stands out with Tiger Ji’s Death and Ramen are the comedic tone from Lee and Jones’ performances and the heartfelt dramatic story from Ji. While not a full-blown comedy or an overly serious drama, Ji perfectly blends the two disparate genres together to tell a well-balanced story…which is no easy task.
The report between Bobby Lee and Matt Jones is incredible, and the two should do a few more of these. Lee is a firecracker waiting to explode into a pile of teddy bears, while Jones is laid-back and soulful as the Harbinger of Death. Are you going to bust out laughing? No. But you will appreciate their take on those final steps into the afterlife.
“Pence starts off with a decent part of a Republican base that will not support him,” Mr Oman says. “He has to talk about the kind of governor he was, be among those who talk about ideas for the future, someone who can show some common sense and give people a credible alternative to his former partner, Donald Trump.”
Apple has entered the virtual reality arena, announcing a long-anticipated new headset and augmented reality platform called Vision Pro.
CEO Tim Cook called VR and augmented reality “profound technology” with “revolutionary” potential during the company’s . He said the product followed in the illustrious lineage of the company’s Mac personal computer line and the iPhone. It is the first major new device launch by the company since the Apple Watch nine years ago.
The company said its “spacial computing” system relies on a fluid interface that picks up on signals and movements from a user’s eyes and hands as well as Siri voice recognition. Those options differ from many existing VR setups, which require the use of physical controllers along with headsets.
In anticipation of the events onstage, Apple stock hit an all-time high, gaining 2% to just shy of $185 before pulling back in mid-day trading. Shares have risen almost 40% in 2023 to date, several times the increase of the benchmark S&P 500.
While Sony and a division of ByteDance have mounted serious efforts in VR hardware, Meta Platforms has made the highest-profile bet on the emerging sector. It renamed the company from Facebook to reflect its new strategic focus and has pumped billions of dollars into its Reality Labs unit.
Despite all of the investment, VR and the metaverse have not been unanimously proclaimed as the life-changing evolutionary stage that its boosters see it as. Total sales of headsets in 2022 dropped 21% from 2021, totaling 8.8 million, and fell by more than half in down 20.9% from 2021. In the first quarter of 2023, sales more than halved
While the headset stole the show, Apple revealed a wide range of offerings, from new laptops and AirPods to iOS updates. FaceTime figured prominently, with updates to Apple TV and iOS enabling users to use it on a big screen and leave video voicemail messages.
For Oscar-winning actor J.K. Simmons, the rivalry between Ohio State and University of Michigan football fans is an intense part of his life. A self-professed die-hard Buckeye who grew up in the Columbus suburbs and briefly attended Ohio State before transferring to the University of Montana, Simmons is ride-or-die when it comes to Ohio State football.
That might make him an unreliable narrator for a doc about the culture of the Ohio-Michigan rivalry, but that’s what the creative team behind Rivals: Ohio State vs. Michigan was hoping for. The TC Studios documentary is an irreverent look at the history between the Buckeyes and Wolverines, delving into the psychology of such intense feuds and their effect on mass culture. Simmons spoke with THR about providing narration for the film and the intensity of his fellow college football fans.
Did you feel biased when you took this job?
Oh, a hundred percent. I had to get clearance from some of my old pals from junior high and high school to even be able to say the name of the other team in the rivalry. People in Columbus don’t speak that word. [Legendary Ohio State head coach] Woody Hayes called them “that team up north” — ever since then, that’s been how most Buckeye fans refer to them. On the Ohio State campus, they cross out every “M” on every sign on campus the week before the game. And if you are going to say the name of that team, [don’t say Wolverines,] just say “Michigan.”
I mean this in the kindest way possible, but there’s an absurdism to this rivalry, no?
At least from my perspective and most real, hard-core fans I know, there is this actual, intense feeling, this fairly strong dislike, for that other team. They did such a great job in this documentary; they have [NFL Network host] Rich Eisen [who went to Michigan] and me as two fairly rational, reasonably mature human beings able to actually have a dialogue — even though we do have this sort of Hatfields and McCoys vibe for each other’s schools.
J.K. Simmons
Courtesy of TC Studios
It’s rare for a documentary narrator to be seen on camera. In Rivals, you break the fourth wall in a way that’s almost poking the audience.
They’d asked me to do [the narration, which is] one of the fun things that I enjoy from time to time, whether it’s a nature documentary or a book on tape. I was already on board to do it. A few weeks later, they approached my agent and said, “Would you mind if we kind of break the fourth wall and put him on camera a little bit?” And I said, “Well, as long as I can be wearing a Buckeyes cap.”
The tone is very witty and irreverent and throws a lot of psychology and social science in there, too, in a way that’s still digestible. How serious did you feel like you had to be, or did you get to play with the tone of your narration?
It was not dissimilar to most films or television projects. If it’s clearly well-written, it’s often pretty straightforward for people to get on the same page. We just had a couple of very brief conversations about the tone, but I think it was so well laid out on the page that we pretty quickly flipped into something that the guys were on board with, and we just took off running.
Once you win a bunch of acting trophies, everybody feels like they have to approach you a little differently. And the good news is that I find myself in a position where [directors are] more open to collaborating. It happened, maybe twice — mild-level paraphrasing — that I asked them if I could do something, and they were open to it. Sometimes that works and ends up in the final cut. And sometimes it’s like, “You know what, it’s kind of better the way we wrote it.” It did feel very much like, forgive the pun, a team sport both before and during the recording.
Michigan Stadium (“The Big House”) on the Ann Arbor campus.
Courtesy of TC Studios
Have you ever had a rival — even someone who raised the bar for you because you were in silent competition?
Often, those silent competitions are very one-sided. When I first moved to New York and was still barely daring to even dream about being on Broadway, when I could actually scrape together the money to see a show, I would see a 29-year-old boy who’s losing his hair up there [onstage] and think, “Man, I wouldn’t mind having that guy’s career.” He didn’t even know there was a rivalry going on, but from my perspective there was.
As the labor movement builds steam in Hollywood, a lot of people are concerned about the role of AI — I’ve heard fears that studios might use it for voiceover and narration. Does that make you nervous?
I’m basically a Neanderthal. I am, overall, technophobic. I begrudgingly acknowledge that technology is a useful tool. And look, I’m in a position where if there’s a job that I don’t get, I’m still paying the mortgage. But for the everyday, working class actor who’s out there trying to get enough weeks to make their insurance coverage so their kids will be healthy … the idea of a computer taking away voice work is appalling just from a union worker level. Equally important to me: No matter how creative or genius your programming is, that’s a machine. Ones and zeros don’t have feelings.
Interview edited for length and clarity.
This story first appeared in a June stand-alone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.
Taylor Swift confirmed Paramore lead singer Hayley Williams’ duet on her upcoming release of “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version).”
Swift unveiled the full tracklist, including the secretive “From the Vault” songs of the album Monday morning in a tweet. Williams will feature on vault track “Castles Crumbling.” Fall Out Boy will feature on vault track “Electric Touch.”
“Since Speak Now was all about my songwriting, I decided to go to the artists who I feel influenced me most powerfully as a lyricist at that time and ask them to sing on the album,” the singer wrote. “They’re so cool and generous for agreeing to support my version of Speak Now. I recorded this album when I was 32 (and still growing up now) and can’t wait to unveil it all to you on July 7th.”
I’m VERY excited to show you the back cover of Speak Now (my version) including the vault tracks and collaborations with Hayley Williams from @paramore and @falloutboy. Since Speak Now was all about my songwriting, I decided to go to the artists who I feel influenced me most… pic.twitter.com/UJOqUNfCGp
Over the weekend, Swifties began to buzz about a possible feature of Williams on Swift’s rerecorded third album when one tweeted a video of the singer receiving a fan-made friendship bracelet at a meet and greet.
“Let me just tell you,” Williams said. “This is a very interesting time that you’re giving me this to wear.”
“Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” will include 16 songs from the original deluxe album, minus “If This Was a Movie,” which was rerecorded for “Fearless (Taylor’s Version).”
The six vault tracks are titled “Electric Touch (Featuring Fall Out Boy) (Taylor’s Version) (From the Vault),” “When Emma Falls in Love (Taylor’s Version) (From the Vault),” “I Can See You (Taylor’s Version) (From the Vault),” “Castles Crumbling (Featuring Hayley Williams) (Taylor’s Version) (From the Vault),” “Foolish One (Taylor’s Version) (From the Vault)” and “Timeless (Taylor’s Version) (From the Vault).”
Swift’s past two rerecorded albums featured complex word scramble games for fans to figure out the vault track titles for themselves, but there was no such purple sparkly vault video this time around.
The singer first announced the summer release of her third studio album at Night 1 of her Nashville stop on the “Eras” Tour. In addition to the “From the Vault” songs that add new context to each one of Swift’s rereleased albums, fans — especially after Taylor Lautner stoked the flames — anticipate “Dear John (Taylor’s Version)” as well as the ever popular “Enchanted (Taylor’s Version).”
While speaking with Empire, the actor teased that the film has been “so great” and teased that he, along with director Tim Burton, are following the same formula as the original 1988 film.
“Beetlejuice is the most fuckin’ fun you can have working. It’s so fun, it’s so great. And you know what it is? We’re doing it exactly like we did the first movie,” he told Empire. “There’s a woman in the great waiting room for the afterlife literally with a fishing line — I want people to know this because I love it — tugging on the tail of a cat to make it move.”
Keaton also shared that the sequel has been a long time coming as he and Burton had been talking about another Beetlejuice film for “years and years” without telling anyone.
“We’ve both said we’re doing it many times. We both agreed, if it happens, it has to be done as close to the way we made it the first time. Making stuff up, making stuff happen, improvising and riffing, but literally handmade stuff like people creating things with their hands and building something,” Keaton said.
He added, “Fuckin’ great. It’s the most fun I’ve had working on a movie in I can’t tell you how long.”
Warner Bros. will releaseBeetlejuice2 on Sept. 6, 2024. In addition to Keaton, the film also features returning stars Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara, while Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci and Willem Dafoe join the cast. The film also reunites Burton with his Wednesday star Jenna Ortega, who will play Ryder’s character’s daughter.
Dafoe is set to portray a law enforcement officer in the afterlife while Bellucci will play Beetlejuice’s wife.
The original Beetlejuice, which also starred Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis and Jeffrey Jones, grossed $80 million.
Burton and Brad Pitt’s Plan B will produce Beetlejuice 2. Al Gough and Miles Millar, the creators of Netflix series Wednesday, wrote the screenplay.
Gufi Paintal passed away on June 5. Adipurush new trailer to unveil in Tirupati.
Mahabharat Fame Gufi Paintal passed away at 74. Action trailer of Adipurush to be launched in Tirupati.
Actor Gufi Paintal, best known for his role of Shakuni Mama in BR Chopra’s Mahabharat, has passed away. He died on Monday at the age of 78. He was hospitalised for undisclosed health reasons and was reportedly in critical condition. It has been revealed that the funeral will take place on Monday, June 5, at 4 pm.
Prabhas, Saif Ali Khan and Kriti Sanon starrer Adipurush is one of the most awaited films of this year. Even though the teaser that was released last year was met with a poor response and the makers had taken a backseat to work on the VFX, the avid fans are excited to see the film on the big screen, especially after the trailer of the same was launched. As the release date is inching closer every day, the excitement seems to be building more. Now makers are ready to amp up everyone with the action trailer that is all set to unveil on Tuesday.
Jennie Kim from the popular K-Pop group BLACKPINK has taken everyone by surprise by playing one of the pivotal characters in Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye HBO drama series The Idol. In the first episode of the show itself, Jennie has left the internet divided over a segment where she performed a racy and bold dance sequence.
Nawazuddin Siddiqui is recognised as one of the most sought-after actors in Bollywood, having achieved success through hard work and perseverance. Coming from a non-filmy background, he faced his own set of challenges on the journey to establish himself in showbiz. However, the actor recently recalled about the difficult experiences he encountered on film sets during his early days, reminiscing the hurdles he had to overcome.
SatyaPrem Ki Katha Trailer: Kartik Aaryan and Kiara Advani are all set to entertain the audiences with their upcoming love story, SatyaPrem Ki Katha. The trailer dropped on Monday, giving a glimpse of an intense romantic film in the making. In the film, which reunites hit on-screen pair Kartik and Kiara a year after Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2, features the duo playing a married couple. However, it doesn’t seem that Kiara’s character Katha is very happy in the marriage.
Yatamanyu is a multi-disciplinary Journalist & Photographer who dabbles in Films, Poetry, Music, Politics, Pop-Culture and everything in between. …Read More
Netflix’s upcoming series “Glamorous” is like “The Devil Wears Prada” if Meryl Streep were replaced by “Sex and the City’s” Kim Cattrall and instead of Anne Hathaway, she hired drag queens and non-binary actor Miss Benny to work for her. The 10-episode LGBTQ comedy series premieres June 22 on the streamer.
“Glamorous” follows baby-faced new hire Marco Mejia (Miss Benny), a young, queer man who lands a job for the legendary CEO Madolyn Addison (Cattrall). Madolyn’s makeup line, Glamorous Cosmetics, is plummeting. Suspecting her business is being sabotaged by someone on the inside, she hires Marco to sleuth around.
“She wants him to be her eyes and ears, to make friends — and find out what’s going on behind her back, to discover what they’re hiding and what they’re stealing. In exchange, she’ll teach Marco everything she knows – but she warns him, ‘This business isn’t all glitter and glamour, and neither is life,’” reads the show’s official synopsis.
The job is challenging, with co-workers constantly at each other’s throats, but it gives Marco the chance to find out who he really is and what it means to be queer.
Miss Benny has previously appeared in “Fuller House,” “Dreamcatcher” and “Doxxed.” Their rise to fame came from their Youtube Channel, KidPOV, which launched back in 2010.
Cattrall recently starred in Laura Terruso’s comedy film “About My Father” alongside Robert De Niro and Sebastian Maniscalco. It was recently revealed that she will make a cameo appearance in “And Just Like That” Season 2, which premieres June 22 on Max.
“Glamorous” also stars Zane Phillips, Jade Payton, Michael Hsu Rosen, Ayesha Harris and Graham Parkhurst. Guest stars include Priyanka, Serena Tea, Adrin Bundoc, Brock Ciarlelli, Charlene Incarnate, Chiquitita, Diana Maria Riva, Joel Kim Booster, Lisa Gilroy, Mark Deklin, Matt Rogers, Monét X Change, Nicole Power and Ricardo Chavira.
The series was created by Jordon Nardino. It was executive produced by Nardino, Damon Wayans Jr. and Kameron Tarlow. CBS Studios produced the series for Netflix.
Spider-Verse 2 managed to introduce a plethora of Spider-Men across the Multiverse while also revealing a key plot point that helped explain the events of Morbius‘ post-credits scene.
Some fans theorized that this happened due to the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home, leading to speculation that Morbius didn’t fully understand how Doctor Strange’s Multiverse spell worked.
Spider-Verse 2 Explains Morbius’ Confusing Post-Credits Scene
Warning – the rest of this article contains spoilers for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse revealed that the first movie’s events (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse) caused rifts between universes that were dragging Spider-Man villains from one universe to another.
Sony Pictures
In the sequel, a Renaissance-inspired Vulture, who is voiced by The Lonely Island’s Jorma Taccone, invaded Spider-Gwen’s universe aka Earth-65. Miguel O’Hara (Spider-Man 2099) and Jessica Drew then arrive to help Gwen, with the latter learning about the cause of Vulture’s sudden appearance on her Earth.
Sony Pictures
Based on Spider-Verse 2‘s events, Into the Spider-Verse is the main culprit for why Keaton’s Vulture ended up in Sony’s Marvel universe and why he suspects that it “has something to do with Spider-Man.”
This specific plot point in Spider-Verse 2 essentially solved Morbius‘ post-credits pothole caused by Michael Keaton’s appearance as Vulture. In fact, this also fixed fan complaints about Morbius hurting the MCU since many have pointed out that the movie didn’t really understand how No Way Home‘s spell worked.
Spider-Verse 2 Hints at Sony’s Grand Spider-Man Plan
Sony Pictures
Spider-Verse 2‘s reveal that the first film has something to do with Morbius‘ confusing post-credits scene may hint at the potential endgame of Sony’s Marvel universe.
In Morbius‘ post-credits scene, Vulture tries to recruit Morbius to deal with Spider-Man, seemingly seeking revenge for being stuck in that specific universe. It’s possible that a Sinister Six team-up is in the cards, and this could be the culminating event that Sony is leaning towards.
At this point, possible members of the Sinister Six might include Tom Hardy’s Venom, Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s Kraven the Hunter, and Chameleon (who is already confirmed to be part of Kraven’s solo movie), alongside Morbius and Vulture.
The sixth and final member could be unveiled soon, and Sony might surprise everyone by showing that this villain is also from another universe as well.
Hopefully, the ripple effects of the Spider-Verse films will slowly be felt in the live-action realm.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is now playing in theaters worldwide.
After weeks of rumors, it has seemingly been confirmed that The Flash director Andy Muschietti will return to the DCU to helm the upcoming Batman movie, The Brave and the Bold. While official confirmation is still pending, One Take News has reportedly “confirmed with multiple sources” that Muschietti will direct the latest reboot of The Dark Knight, in a move that has been teased by both the filmmaker himself and DC Studios co-chief James Gunn.
The idea of Muschietti following up The Flash with The Brave and the Bold has been the subject of much discussion for a while now, with the director playing things coy when asked directly whether he would play a role in the first chapter of James Gunn and Peter Safran’s recalibrated DCU. “I can’t speak to that… yet,” he replied recently. Aside from The Flash, Muschietti is best known for the horror hits It, It Chapter Two, and Mama.
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James Gunn meanwhile has done nothing but praise Muschietti’s work on The Flash, calling it “probably one of the greatest superhero movies ever made” back in February and even stating that “Andy’s going to be doing some more stuff for us.”
The Brave and the Bold will come as part of the new DCU’s Chapter One: Gods and Monsters. Beginning with the Superman reboot, Superman: Legacy, the rest of the chapter will consist of The Authority, The Brave and the Bold, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, and Swamp Thing, on the big screen, with other projects expected to be announced at a later date.
While details remain largely under wraps, The Brave and the Bold will begin to introduce the Bat-Family and will center on Bruce Wayne and his son Damian Wayne, who has now become Robin. Gunn has since described the movie as being a “strange father and son story” about the superhero duo. Chapter One: Gods and Monsters will kick-start with Superman: Legacy, which is due to be released on July 11, 2025.
Andy Muschietti Will First Direct Two Versions of Batman in The Flash
Warner Bros. Pictures
Before exploring the relationship between Batman and his son, director Andy Muschietti will first deal with two versions of The Caped Crusader in The Flash. Worlds will collide in The Flash when the superhero uses his powers to travel back in time to change the events of the past. However, when his attempt to save his family inadvertently alters the future, he becomes trapped in a reality in which General Zod has returned, threatening annihilation. With no other superheroes to turn to, the Flash looks to coax a very different Batman out of retirement and rescue an imprisoned Kryptonian — albeit not the one he’s looking for.
The Flash will bring back both Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton as alternate versions of Batman, with Ezra Miller reprising the role of Barry Allen aka The Flash alongside Sasha Calle as Kara Zor-El aka Supergirl, Michael Shannon as General Zod, Ron Livingston as Henry Allen, Maribel Verdú as Nora Allen, Kiersey Clemons as Iris West, and Antje Traue as Faora-Ul, with the movie also promising plenty of crowd-pleasing cameos.
After years and years of delays, The Flash is now scheduled be released in the United States on June 16.
On today’s Daily Fix:
Tears of the Kingdom fans believe that the game boasts a hidden experience level scaling system which is similar to the one which supposedly governed world progression in Breath of the Wild. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has officially been completed in less than one hour, setting an all-new speedrunning record for the Breath of the Wild sequel. God of War art director, Raf Grasetti, is leaving Sony. All that and more on today’s Daily Fix!
Nam Dong-chul will act as interim director of the Busan International Film Festival after a month of management turmoil, two high profile resignations and sexual harassment accusations levelled at festival director Huh Moon-young. Huh denies the allegations, but will not return to the festival.
In early May, the festival announced the appointment of Cho Jong-kook, a close friend of festival chairman Lee Yong-kwan, as managing director, with responsibility for operations, administration and budgeting. The move effectively split the festival director’s job and two days later Huh announced his plan to resign.
Two film industry guilds threatened to boycott this year’s event in October in support of Huh.
Huh said that personal reasons were keeping him from returning. Shortly after, it emerged in a local newspaper that a festival employee had reported Huh to the Center for Gender Equality in Korean Films, called DeunDeun. The employee, whose identity is not known to Variety, is reported to have accused Huh of using sexually inappropriate language.
In order to break the logjam and get preparations back on track, the festival board is reported to have asked Cho to step aside and appointed Nam to run the show through October.
“This year’s festival will be led by program director Nam Dong-chul on behalf of [the] vacant festival director,” a Busan spokesperson told Variety. “For this year’s successful festival, chairman Lee will maintain his position until the end of the festival. He will take on the full responsibility of the current situation and resign after the completion of the festival.”
The vacancy in the festival director’s position is not expected to affect preparation for this year’s festival, Asia’s biggest and most prestigious, which is scheduled to run Oct. 4-13. Nam is an experienced programmer and has previously worked within both Busan’s festival and market structures.
“BIFF will abide by the procedure provided by the Center for Gender Equality in Korean Films, where the allegation was reported, and plan to discuss future plans of the festival based on the internal regulations and rules regarding such guidelines. There is no confirmation of the exact facts and [Huh] has denied all claims so far,” the festival spokesperson said.
Huh became festival director in 2021, having previously been program director of the Busan Cinema Center and programmer of Korean films at the film festival. The early part of his career was spent as a journalist with movie magazine Cine21.
Film festivals in Korea are highly political, with the issue of creative freedom and resistance to regulatory oversight at the root of many skirmishes. Each of the biggest three festivals – Busan, Jeonju and the BiFan fantasy festival – has previously experienced poisonous factional infighting.
Now, the #MeToo movement is also growing in force in the country where age, status and rigid social hierarchy had protected wrong-doers for years. In the film and TV industries there have been several high-profile accusations.
Even virtual employees aren’t safe from the artificial intelligence revolution replacing them, as evidenced by Microsoft’s Cortana app for Windows getting the boot later this year in favor of the company’s newer, fancier assistant tools.
Cortana is a virtual assistant that can set reminders for you, look up queries, and perform similar tasks that will now be handled by a range of newer Microsoft tools. The assistant will still exist in some capacity, such as Outlook mobile and Teams mobile, but the main app on Windows will no longer be supported as of late 2023, according to Microsoft.
As to why Microsoft is abandoning Cortana, the company’s blog post summed it up tidily: There are newer tools that do the virtual assistant job just as well or better. The post noted that Windows 11’s voice access tool, which lets you operate your PC and write with your voice, covers the speech portion of Cortana’s toolset. There’s also the new AI-infused Bing search, which replaces Cortana’s search utility. And lastly, there’s Windows Copilot, which will be an AI-driven assistant that is designed to take Cortana’s core helper functionalities to the next level.
Though Microsoft minimizing redundant offerings is a logical progression of the company’s Windows toolkit, this development is sad news for fans of the soon-to-retire AI assistant. Unlike other AI helpers, Microsoft’s Cortana actually had lore attached to her (hence why a virtual assistant has pronouns).
Her Windows presence was inspired by her existence within Microsoft’s “Halo” franchise, where she served as a virtual assistant for the player. This is why the in-game Cortana and her Windows counterpart share the same voice actor, Jen Taylor.
Gamers who appreciated her persistent presence across Microsoft’s gaming and computing divisions may not be satisfied with Cortana’s new AI replacements, should they lack sufficient personality. Personality aside, though, the new tools are advertised as being worthy successors and useful additions to the Windows family. Copilot, in particular, has been promoted as an assistant capable of creating a user-friendly Windows experience for those who aren’t tech savvy or simply dislike futzing with the operating system’s labyrinthian menus.
A spokesperson for Microsoft didn’t immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
The documentary capturing comedian Louis C.K.’s #MeToo scandal has been shelved at Showtime.
Director Caroline Suh (“Blackpink: Light Up the Sky”) was originally set to helm the documentary announced by Paramount Global exec David Nevins in August 2022. Nevins exited Paramount in October 2022.
Showtime confirmed to Showtime that the documentary would not be moving forward but did not provide additional reasons as to why. Variety first reported the news.
“Louis C.K. is a slightly different situation [compared to Harvey Weinstein],” then-Showtime CEO Nevins said at the time. “[He is] a great, great comedian who has come back in his own way.”
Nevins added, “I don’t think the social change that #MeToo has brought about is resolved at all. There’s a bit of backlash against #MeToo, who has to go away and who’s allowed to come back.”
The documentary was set to chart C.K.’s exit from projects in 2017 following multiple allegations of sexual misconduct. Netflix, HBO, and FX (where C.K. had an overall deal) cut ties with the comedian following the allegations of the comedian exposing himself to women.
The New York Times reporters who broke the story that C.K. had been accused of masturbating in front of five women were set to participate in the film, produced by Amanda Branson-Gill (“Mrs. America”) and The New York Times.
C.K. issued a statement at the time of the accusations, saying, “These stories are true. When you have power over another person, asking them to look at your dick isn’t a question. It’s a predicament for them. The power I had over these women is that they admired me. And I wielded that power irresponsibly.”
The “Louie” creator won his third Grammy for a 2020 self-released comedy special “Sincerely, Louis C.K.” and debuted the film “Fourth of July” last summer. C.K. later went on a 24-city, sold-out nationwide tour in 2021.
C.K. accuser Julie Wolov spoke out on the comedian being seemingly immune to cancel culture, saying, “Nobody cares. That’s the message this sends. I don’t believe in cancel culture, but obviously, Louis is not canceled. He seems fine to me. He’s touring. He’s selling out. He’s winning Grammys….What is wrong with people? Wouldn’t it be nice if people would not be rewarded for bad behavior? But what are you supposed to do? These people voted for him. I guess that’s what happens when comedy and music come together.”
Welcome to another big 2023 & beyond preview, where today we’ll focus on the books adapted by Netflix into various movies and series.
A couple of quick qualifiers before we dig in. As with most of our genre previews, we’ll focus only on the English-language projects below and split the article into three parts.
First, we’ll cover some of the books getting turned into movies, then move into books getting turned into series, and beneath that, we’ll move into speculation with some of the books believed to have been optioned by Netflix.
Article Continues Below…
We’ll notably be excluding three notable book adaptation franchises from this list: the Roald Dahl adaptations in development, the various Dr. Suess books getting adaptations, and the Narnia adaptations in the works. Given we’ve got separate previews for those, we won’t do them an injustice by half-heartedly covering them below.
Pictures: The World of Roald Dahl, Cat in the Hat, Narnia
Books Being Adapted into Movies at Netflix
Spaceman
Coming to Netflix: Fall 2023 Based on: Spaceman of Bohemia by Jaroslav Kalfař
Picture: Getty Images
One of the four major Adam Sandler projects coming to Netflix in 2023 will be Spaceman, a sci-fi fantasy epic. Sandler will play the role of Jakub Prochazka, an orphan who always dreamed of being an astronaut and is privileged to be able to fulfill that dream. When in space, he meets an unlikely companion.
Sandler stars alongside Paul Dino, Kunal Nayyar, and Carey Mulligan.
The Electric State
Coming to Netflix: 2024 Based on: The Electric State by Simon Stålenhag
The Electric State by Simon Stålenhag
The Russo Brothers have previously teamed up with Netflix to adapt The Gray Man and their next major project will be adapting the visually striking sci-fi book by Simon Stålenhag.
Set to release in 2024, the movie has completed production and is about a girl who is sent to find her missing brother with her robot companion.
Millie Bobby Brown, Chris Pratt, Ke Huy Quan, Stanley Tucci, Jason Alexander, and Brian Cox star.
Leave the World Behind
Coming to Netflix: December 8th, 2023 Based on: Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam
Picture: Netflix
Written and directed by Sam Esmail, this drama is Netflix’s equivalent of Knives Out for December this year. It follows a family vacation that gets interrupted, and a crisis unfolds.
Among the blockbuster cast for the new movie includes Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali, Ethan Hawke, Myha’la, Farrah Mackenzie, Charlie Evans, and Kevin Bacon.
Seesaw Monster
Coming to Netflix: TBD Based on: Seesaw Monster by Kōtarō Isaka
Seesaw Monster (Chinese Edition)
Announced in November 2022, Netflix is set to adapt the works of Kotaro Isaka’s where we follow rivals forced to work together. Anne Hathaway and Salma Hayek Pinault are attached to star and produce.
Other Books Being Adapted in Movies at Netflix
Here’s a few more books that we’ll be seeing adapted into movies at Netflix.
The Perfect Find is adapted from the Tia Williams book. Releasing in June 2023.
Happiness for Beginners – Romantic comedy starring Ellie Kemper adapting the Katherine Center novel – Releasing in July 2023
You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah! – Adam Sandler comedy movie adapted from the Fiona Rosenbloom novel. Releasing in August 2023.
Love at First Sight, set to arrive on Netflix in September 2023, is adapted by The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith.
Caste– Attached to Netflix (although it’s disputed whether it remains with the streamer) is Ava DuVernay’s adaptation of the Isabel Wilkerson book.
Family Leave – McG is directing this family movie adapted from the Amy Krouse Rosenthal novel.
Rez Ball – Based on Michael Powell’s novel Canyon Dreams, this sports drama is directed by Syndey Freeland.
Scoop – British movie adapting the novel about the true events from the novel Scoops: Behind the Scenes of the BBC’s Most Shocking Interviews by Sam McAlister.
The Family Treehorn – Animated movie from Ron Howards based on the Florence Parry Heide novel, The Shrinking Of Treehorn.
The Netherfield Girls – Described as a contemporary update of Pride and Prejudice.
Uglies – Adaptation of the Scott Westerfeld best-selling 2005 novel starring Joey King.
Books Being Adapted into Series at Netflix
Please note: we’ll only include brand new series in development and coming soon. Returning book adaption series like The Lincoln Lawyer and The Night Agent will also be coming soon to Netflix.
All the Light We Cannot See
Coming to Netflix: November 2nd, 2023 Based on: All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
Shawn Levy’s 21 Laps Entertainment is behind this highly anticipated period war drama based on the 2014 novel by American author Anthony Doerr.
The series tells the story of Marie-Laure, a blind teenager, and a German soldier, whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II.
Steven Knight is behind the script with Hugh Laurie, Mark Ruffalo and Aria Mia Loberti starring.
Boy Swallows Universe
Behind the scenes on Boy Swallows Universe
Boy Swallows Universe, adapted from the Trent Dalton novel, serves as a coming-of-age drama series originating 0ut of Australia.
Here’s what you can expect from the new series:
“The series follows working-class Brisbane teenager Eli Bell in a whirlwind story about drug addiction, ex-cons, poverty, violence and the discovery of hope through the power of love, said local screen agency Screen Queensland.”
Confessions on the 7:45
Charise Castro Smith is on board to serve as the showrunner of this best-selling Lisa Unger novel adaptation. It’s about a working mom meeting a stranger on a train that ends her life.
Jessica Alba boarded the project to star and serve as executive producer.
They Both Die at the End
Based on: They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera
They Both Die at the End book cover
Announced in early 2023, Netflix will adapt They Both Die at the End with Entertainment One, Creative Engine Entertainment, and CVD Productions. Chris Van Dusen, best known for his work on Bridgerton, is on board to helm the project.
A Man in Full
Based on: A Man in Full by Tom Wolfe
Pictures: Getty Images
David E. Kelley Productions and Royal Ties have teamed up for this new political limited series that adapts the Tom Wolfe novel into 6-episodes.
The series follows Atlanta real estate mogul Charlie Croker who lands himself into sudden bankruptcy leading to his political and business interests colliding as Charlie defends his empire.
Jeff Daniels leads the cast, with Diane Lane, Jerrika Hinton, and Josh Pais also set to star.
Other Books Being Adapted into Series at Netflix
Here are some of the other series adaptations that have been announced to be in active-development by Netflix or others:
Confessions – Universal Television adapting this Jason Smith autobiography about his time in teaching public high school.
Cuckoo – First announced in 2020, this adaptation
Department Q – Chandni Lakhani is on board to adapt this Jussi Adler-Olsen novel about Carl, a former top-rated detective in Edinburgh assigned to a new cold case.
East of Eden – Adapting the John Steinbeck novel, this limited series is set to star Florence Pugh.
Firekeeper’s Daughter – Mickey Fisher was announced to be the showrunner of this new series based on the debut novel by Angeline Boulley.
Forever – Adaptation of the Judy Blume 1975 novel about the love story of two Black teens exploring romance and their identities through the awkward journey of being each other’s firsts.
Free Food for Millionaires – Period drama series from EP Alan Wang adapting the Min Jin Lee novel.
Geek Girl – Co-production adapting the Holly Smale novel. About a neurodiverse teenager who has their life turned upside down.
My Life with the Walter Boys – Ali Novak’s novel will be adapted in this series that stars Marc Blucas and Corey Fogelmanis.
Recursion – Shondaland and 6th & Idaho were attached to adapt this Blake Crouch sci-fi novel.
Ripley – Patricia Highsmith’s novel has been adapted into a new series that was originally attached to Showtime.
List of Books Optioned By Netflix
And finally, thanks to numerous sources, we can dive into some of the books Netflix has currently optioned. That essentially means that Netflix has picked up a book for a particular amount of time, hoping to adapt it into a new movie or series. Inevitably, not all of these books will be adapted, but merely that Netflix may adapt them in the future.
These are some of the books Netflix has optioned over the past three years, which may be making their way onto your screens in the near future.
Alienated: Grounded at Groom Lake – Jeff Norton
Antigua de Fortune of the High Seas – Anna Rainbow, Oli Hyatt
Blood, Bones, and Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef – Gabrielle Hamilton
Call Your Daughter Home – Deborah Spera
Death in a Promised Land – Robert Andrews
Esther the Wonder Pig: Changing the World One Heart at a Time – Caprice Crane, Derek Walter, and Steve Jenkins
That’s how my interview with Jason Segel begins — him beating me to the punch, asking the first question. It perfectly sets the tone. Because like me, he likes his job a lot.
“I don’t like the parts of my job that require permission. That’s why I started writing. No one can tell you no, no one can say you can’t,” says Segel. “The best piece of advice I got was to try to remove as many of the systems of permission along the way as you can.”
Segel has worked hard to get to this point. Currently, he’s promoting Apple TV+’s “Shrinking,” a dark comedy he leads and co-created with Bill Lawrence and Brett Goldstein. There’s freedom in working on a project as a co-creator, but that wasn’t always the case.
He got his start as strictly an actor, breaking through in 1999 with the role of Nick Andopolis in “Freaks and Geeks.” When the NBC series was axed after one season, Segel followed the advice of producer Judd Apatow: Write.
Five years later, he landed a leading role in CBS’ “How I Met Your Mother,” a sitcom he never thought would run for 208 episodes. He appeared in every single one, while simultaneously starring in box office hits, like “Knocked Up” and “I Love You, Man.” He wrote his first movie, “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” just as “HIMYM” began. While writing allows him the most control, it’s acting that he finds to be the easiest.
Dan Doperalski for Variety
“Writing’s a war between you and yourself. Every day you wake up, you’re the one who is choosing to write or not write, so there’s a bit of self-loathing built into it,” he says.
For acting, he’s able to fully prepare before filming begins. “The actual acting process to me is the most peaceful, simplest time of my life. Your job is to make sure you know your lines perfectly, and show up there on time,” he says — and he’s always prepared. “For everything else, someone else’s in charge — including the scene. You can’t really have too firm a plan, because then you’re not leaving space for what Harrison Ford’s going to do. If your plan is too firm, you’re not going to have the magic.”
Over the last two decades, Segel has had many shifts in his career — including those that came in 2014.
“I had a very natural life change moment when ‘How I Met Your Mother’ ended. That was a decade. It was like coming out of a tunnel, where you enter in one person, and then it was truly non-stop for about 10 years, and then you come out,” he says. “All of a sudden, you have — for the first time in a decade — three months off. I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh.’”
At the time, he realized that the movies he was writing and starring in — mostly about “being scared of girls in some capacity” — didn’t apply anymore. “I’m a man who is successful and doing well at his job,” he says, recalling looking at the mirror and asking, “Why are you still writing about a 24-year-old?”
It was also time to make a shift in who he was working with; it used to be all about working with his friends — and he’s got a lot of talented ones: Apatow, Paul Rudd, Jonah Hill, Seth Rogen. So he decided to make a change.
“I was on this track where every year, I was doing ‘How I Met Your Mother’ for eight months of the year, writing a movie during that year which would then shoot during the hiatus. It was amazing, but there wasn’t much time to think about approach or to be too conscious about stuff that I now look at. I wasn’t being as thoughtful as I am now,” he says. “Around 33, I realized I was going to shift from working with friends as the priority to working with people I admire, so that I could learn from them.”
For about seven years, he took roles strictly to learn from people he looked up to and made it his mission to learn from them by continuously asking questions.
“It was a weird decision, but it all led me to how I feel now when I’m acting in ‘Winning Time’ or ‘Shrinking.’ I feel as though I have built together a backpack of advice. I have a lot of different, really smart people’s words in the back of my head,” he says.
Beth Dubber
And now, he’s a bit of a mentor himself. On the set of “Shrinking,” young co-stars Lukita Maxwell and Luke Tennie asked him questions about the craft and the business.
“I have a teenage daughter on a TV show!” exclaims Segel, who enjoys playing the dad now after years of playing the bachelor. “You don’t want to be the dude at the singles bar with, like, an earring, an old Corvette and frosted tips. You don’t want to be the acting equivalent of that.”
But again, it took time to get there.
In 2020, Segel hit another pivotal point in his both his personal life and career. It’d been six years since he wrote something (“Sex Tape,” which he also starred in alongside Cameron Diaz), and that didn’t sit well.
“I was not sure that I could write anymore. I was not interested in the stuff that I was previously writing or known for writing or expected to write. Even when I would try, nothing interesting would happen. It may be the same stuff was happening, I just wasn’t interested anymore,” he says. “I wasn’t quite sure what the point of it was for me.”
Then he watched “The Institute,” a documentary about an alternate reality. The way it made him feel — and the questions that arose — inspired him.
“It felt playful, dangerous, spooky, alive, mysterious and provocative. It was making you ask yourself questions about what you want your experience of life to be like. I was like, these are the questions I’m asking myself. What this guy has created is what I am going through right now,” he says.
As he was puzzled by how to adapt it, the fear — “the degree of it being dumb was so possible” — is what drove him to create “Dispatches From Elsewhere.” While the AMC series only ran one season, that doesn’t matter. Steering the offbeat show was one of the toughest jobs he’s ever had, and one of the most meaningful.
The runtime, ultimately, doesn’t matter. See “Freaks and Geeks,” a cult favorite, that also only lasted one season. “Maybe these things are exactly the length they’re supposed to be,” he says now.
It’s unknown how long “Shrinking” will run, but Lawrence has storylines planned for at least three seasons. While focusing on grief — Segel’s Jimmy is finding a way to move forward as a single father after the death of his wife — it also explores the different ways of getting through it.
As Segel notes, it asks the question of how people can make real emotional progress.
That was important to dive into, especially with the world we live in today. Now, he says, people like to name their trauma or, as Segel puts it, what is inside their “backpack full of shit.”
“A lot of people think naming it is where you get to stop. They’re like, ‘I have this so I get to be an asshole,’” he laughs. “I have a lot of shit I could name, but I want to be happy. So what do I do to actually make progress in my life?”
But what’s the answer? For Segel — much like it is in the “Shrinking” universe — it’s about community and finding those who help you feel less alone with whatever you’re going through.
“Counter to what we think is an inspirational message, I actually think that finding out that you’re not so unique that nobody has gone through what you’ve gone through is a really heartening idea,” he says. “It’s pretty amazing when you find out there are people who have already walked the path for you who can give you a little roadmap.”
Every role Segel has taken on — from the naked Peter Bretter (“Forgetting Sarah Marshall”) to everyone’s favorite husband Marshall Eriksen (“How I Met Your Mother”) to messy therapist Jimmy Laird — has a piece of him inside it.
“When we were writing Jimmy, I said I want him to have Michael Keaton energy — that kind of I’m pretty sure that I can keep it together. But there’s a chance I can’t,” he says of his “Shrinking” character. “That’s kind of where that character is centered, where you’re just really, desperately trying for there not to be a scene.”
The chief of the Wagner mercenary group has lambasted Russia’s military leaders after Ukrainian armed forces managed to retake settlements on the outskirts of Bakhmut.
Yevgeny Prigozhin said it was a ‘disgrace’ that Kyiv‘s troops were able to push back Russian lines and seize Berkhivka, a town in the northern suburbs of the embattled city.
The mercenary figurehead hit out at Russia’s defence minister Sergei Shoigu and army chief Valery Gerasimov, taunting them and urging them to go to the frontlines and see the failures for themselves as the armed factions spiral towards civil war.
‘Now part of the settlement of [Berkhivka] has already been lost, the troops are slowly falling back. What a disgrace!
‘Shoigu, Gerasimov, I urge you to come to the front, raise your pistols at your men to make them go forward. Come on, you can!
‘And if you can’t, then you will die as heroes.’
Prigozhin’s latest tirade comes as his mercenaries captured a lieutenant colonel from Vladimir Putin‘s regular forces in the latest example of bitter infighting in Russian ranks.
The captured colonel was seen hanging his head in a humiliating video posted by the Wagner group in which he confessed his ‘guilt’ and admitted to being drunk on duty after allegedly shooting at a Wagner vehicle.
This follows claims by the mercenaries that the regular Russian army targeted their ranks with mines, as a clip showed their sappers clearing the explosive devices from a road.
Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin has launched several verbal tirades at Putin’s military leaders. He has accused them of ordering their troops to retreat from their positions and leaving Wagner fighters unprotected on the frontlines
Wagner private army mercenaries film themselves de-mining a road which they claim was mined by regular Russian troops as the mercenaries made their way back from the front
A Ukrainian soldier fires a mortar at Russian positions on the frontline near Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Monday, May 29, 2023
An aerial view shows destructions in the frontline town of Bakhmut, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine, in this handout picture released on May 21, 202
Wagner mercenaries have been fighting for Putin in Ukraine and are credited with seizing the embattled city of Bakhmut from Ukrainian armed forces after months of bloody warfare.
But their success has seemingly angered regular Russian army commanders.
Wagner chief Prigozhin has launched several verbal tirades at Putin’s military leaders. He has accused them of ordering their troops to retreat from their positions and leaving Wagner fighters unprotected on the frontlines.
The captured soldier identified himself as Roman Venevitin, commander of Russia’s 72nd Brigade.
Venevitin, who appeared to have a broken or wounded nose, confessed that he ‘opened fire on a Wagner PMC [private military company] vehicle while intoxicated from alcohol’.
He did so due to ‘personal animosity’, he claimed.
The shooting damaged a Ural supply truck but did not wound any Wagner soldiers, according to the private army.
Venevitin also confessed to leading a group of ten to 12 Russian army soldiers who ‘disarmed’ a Wagner rapid response group.
‘Does personal animosity have any place at all in war?’ an angry Wagner commander asked Venevitin.
‘No,’ the captured colonel replied sheepishly.
Wagner has a reputation for battering its own ‘traitors’ to death with a sledgehammer – but there is no suggestion the Russian colonel will face the same treatment.
A summary execution of a high-ranking Russian commander by Wagner forces would cause unprecedented chaos in Moscow’s ranks.
Founder of Wagner private mercenary group Yevgeny Prigozhin (right) speaks with servicemen during the withdrawal of his forces from Bakhmut and the handover to regular Russian forces
A Ukrainian soldier fires a mortar at Russian positions on the frontline near Bakhmut
The Wagner group is fighting in Ukraine on behalf of Vladimir Putin, but the relationship between them and Putin’s regular troops is one of mutual hatred
The capture of Venevitin came hours after Wagner mercenaries were forced to clear a road of mines which they claim had been laid by the regular army corps.
Prigozhin said hundreds of mines had been laid by the regular army to snare Wagner forces when they pulled out of Bakhmut after securing a rare victory for Putin in the war.
‘We discovered about a dozen places where various explosive devices were placed, ranging from hundreds of anti-tank mines to tons of [charges] from Zmey Gorynych self-propelled missiles,’ Prigozhin said.
‘Those who planted these charges were representatives of the ministry of defence… These [explosive] charges did not need to be stacked in order to hold back the enemy since it is in the rear area.
‘It can be assumed that they wanted to meet the advancing units of the Wagner PMC [Private Military Company] with these charges, even though we do not walk in columns.’
It highlights the rift inside the Kremlin forces fighting Ukraine, and some analysts see civil war as a possibility in Russia if Putin loses the war.
Despite huge losses, and a ban on recruiting prisoners from Russia’s penal colonies, Prigozhin is still thought to have up to 60,000 men at his disposal.
Wagner is one of several private armies in Russia. Chechen warlord leader Ramzan Kadyrov controls a heavily armed group of his own, and Russian energy giant Gazprom has set up its own private military company.
Laura Dern is a famous actress, who won an Oscar for Marriage Story.
She was married to musician Ben Harper from 2005 to 2013.
She has a son and a daughter with Ben.
Laura Dern,56, has been one of the most beloved actresses in the entertainment business for nearly 40 years. After early success with movies like Blue Velvet, she became a certified international superstar in 1993 as Ellie Sattler in the first Jurassic Park film, a role she reprised for the 2022 sequel Jurassic World: Dominion. Other than the blockbuster hit, Laura’s received much recognition for her acting abilities in Academy Award-nominated performances in Wild and Rambling Rose. She took home her first Oscar in 2020 for Best Supporting Actress for her work in A Marriage Story.
In 2005, Laura married rocker Ben Harper, after dating for five years. Before they tied the knot, the pair had a son and daughter together in 2001 and 2004, respectively. While the marriage ultimately didn’t last (the pair divorced in 2013), the actress clearly has a very special bond with her two kids. Laura and Ben are still on good terms and they reunited for their daughter Jaya‘s high school graduation on June 4.
The Big Little Lies star has opened up about the difficulties of raising kids post-divorce. “On the hard days, it’s stressful and there is too much going on as a single parent—and it can be hard to carve out a minute for yourself. I have never had anybody else bully me in my single parenting life. I am lucky to have champions around me, but I can definitely do it to myself,” she toldBoston Commonin a 2019 interview.
Regardless of the tough times, Laura is definitely a loving and caring mom. Find out everything you need to know about both of them here!
Ellery Walker Harper
Laura shares Ellery, 20, and Jaya, 17, with her ex Ben Harper. (Evan Agostini/Invision/AP/Kristina Bumphrey/StarPix/Shutterstock)
Laura’s first child Ellery, 21, was born in August 2001. Like his mom, Ellery definitely takes an interest in the arts, although it doesn’t seem like he’s focusing on acting. Ellery has dabbled in photography, shooting photos of his mom for a Valentino campaign in July 2020. His mom made his interest in fashion known in a Women’s Wear Daily interview. Ellery also made his New York Fashion Week debut, when he walked the runway in September 2018, per People. One of the highlights of the then-teen model’s outfit was a graduation cap, but Ellery wouldn’t celebrate his real graduation until May 2020, when his mom posted a photo of him in a cap and gown.
The Marriage Story star is definitely a caring mom, and she’s opened up about having hard conversations with her teens. She recalled hearing her kids talking about their peers vaping and asking her questions about its safety in an August 2021 interview with Romper. “As a parent we don’t always understand that that’s what happening until we have an almost-20 year old who tells us years later ‘I was asking because I was curious and I needed to have some guidance,’” she said, before speaking about her parenting style. “Giving them room to be treated in a very adult way has helped me stay open to how much they teach me each day.”
Jaya Harper
Laura has been open about the great and difficult parts about being a parent in interviews. (Evan Agostini/Invision/AP/Kristina Bumphrey/StarPix/Shutterstock)
Ellery’s younger sister Jaya, 18, was born in November 2004. In the same interview where she showed that Ellery is into fashion, she said that her daughter Jaya has embraced an interest in acting. She’s even gotten her first role in 2021, appearing in Teenage Emotions, per IMDb.
While Jaya may share her mom’s passion for acting, Laura has also spoken about how she shares politics with her kids. “I focus on what I’ve decided is this country and the country that I describe to my children. And there are very few things that seem clear, but there is zero tolerance for a few things, because we’re Americans, and we’re clear about a few things: Nazis, racists, people who denounce people based on their cultural or religious or sexual preference — like that doesn’t fly in this country,” she told WWD in August 2017.
Jaya graduated from her Los Angeles high school on June 4, 2023, and both of her parents and her brother were there for the ceremony. Jaya’s famous grandmother Diane Ladd, 87, was also at the graduation.
Elon Musk recently said Twitter’s advertising business was on the upswing. “Almost all advertisers have come back,” he asserted, adding that the social media company could soon become profitable.
But Twitter’s U.S. advertising revenue for the five weeks from April 1 to the first week of May was $88 million, down 59 percent from a year earlier, according to an internal presentation obtained by The New York Times. The company has regularly fallen short of its U.S. weekly sales projections, sometimes by as much as 30 percent, the document said.
That performance is unlikely to improve anytime soon, according to the documents and seven current and former Twitter employees.
Twitter’s ad sales staff is concerned that advertisers may be spooked by a rise in hate speech and pornography on the social network, as well as more ads featuring online gambling and marijuana products, the people said. The company has forecast that its U.S. ad revenue this month will be down at least 56 percent each week compared with a year ago, according to one internal document.
These issues will soon be inherited by Linda Yaccarino, the NBCUniversal executive whom Mr. Musk named Twitter’s chief executive last month. She is expected to start the job on Monday, four people familiar with the situation said.
Ms. Yaccarino declined to comment through a spokesman. Mr. Musk did not respond to a request for comment.
In response, several large ad agencies and brands, including General Motors and Volkswagen, paused their ad spending on Twitter. Mr. Musk has said Twitter was on track to post $3 billion in revenue in 2023, down from $5.1 billion in 2021, when it was a public company.
Twitter’s valuation has since plunged. In March, Mr. Musk said the company was worth $20 billion, down more than 50 percent from the $44 billion he paid for it. Last week, the mutual funds giant Fidelity, which owns shares in Twitter, valued the company at $15 billion.
Twitter feels increasingly “unpredictable and chaotic,” said Jason Kint, chief executive of Digital Content Next, an association for premium publishers. “Advertisers want to run in an environment where they are comfortable and can send a signal about their brand,” he added.
Some of Twitter’s biggest advertisers — including Apple, Amazon and Disney — have been spending less on the platform than last year, three former and current Twitter employees said. Large specialized “banner” ads on Twitter’s trends page, which can cost $500,000 for 24 hours and are almost always bought by large brands to promote events, shows or movies, are often going unfilled, they said.
Twitter has also run into public relations snafus with big advertisers like Disney. In April, Twitter mistakenly gave a gold check mark — a badge meant to signify a paying advertiser — to the @DisneyJuniorUK account, which Disney doesn’t own. The account posted racial slurs, leading Disney officials to demand from Twitter an explanation and assurances that it wouldn’t happen again, twopeople with knowledge of the situation said.
Disney, Apple and Amazon declined to comment.
Six ad agency executives who have worked with Twitter said their clients continued to limit spending on the platform. They cited confusion over Mr. Musk’s changes to the service, inconsistent support from Twitter and concerns about the persistent presence of misleading and toxic content on the platform.
Last month, for instance, a picture that appeared to show an explosion near the Pentagon — which artificial intelligence experts identified as a synthetically generated image — was shared by dozens of Twitter accounts and briefly caused the stock market to tumble.
Some advertisers also continue to worry about Mr. Musk’s tweets. Last month, he posted several times comparing the billionaire financier George Soros, a frequent target for conspiracy theorists, to the “X-Men” comic book villain Magneto. Ted Deutch, the chief executive of the American Jewish Committee, noted that both Mr. Soros and Magneto are Holocaust survivors, and that “the lie Jews want to destroy civilization has led to the persecution of Jewish people for centuries.”
“Musk should know better,” he said.
Last week, Ella Irwin, Twitter’s head of trust and safety, the division that oversees content moderation, and AJ Brown, the head of brand safety and ad quality, resigned, three current and former employees said. Ms. Irwin and Mr. Brown did not respond to requests for comment.
Mr. Musk has promoted new tools, known as adjacency controls, so advertisers can keep their ads away from tweets containing specific keywords or posts by certain users. Some advertisers are using the tools to keep their content away from Mr. Musk’s tweets, four people familiar with the situation said.
Still, some marketers are returning to the platform. GroupM, a media-buying organization that is part of the ad giant WPP, informed employees in May that it was removing its “high risk” flag on Twitter and guiding clients to return, at their discretion, to business as usual, two people familiar with the decision said. IPG, another large advertising company, has recommended that clients proceed with caution when dealing with Twitter, after suggesting last fall that they temporarily pause their spending.
Twitter is exploring ways to make it easier for advertisers to buy space on the platform, testing an automated system outside the United States to make deals, two people familiar with the arrangement said. Insider earlier reported the move.
The company is experiencing ad growth in areas that it once shied away from or prohibited, including online gambling and marijuana products. In one week last month, four of Twitter’s top 10 U.S. advertisers were online gambling and fantasy sports betting companies, according to one presentation. Twitter has also started allowing ads for cannabis accessories, including “bongs, vapes, rolling paper,” as well as erectile dysfunction products and services, according to internal emails.
Adult content, which is permitted on Twitter, has become a concern among the company’s sales staff.When some employees tried to drum up interest from advertisers for Mother’s Day, they found that potential sponsored search terms, like “MomLife,” surfaced pornographic videos, according to two people familiar with the conversations.
These are issues that some advertisers hope Ms. Yaccarino will solve.
Dave Campanelli, the chief investment officer of Horizon Media, said he was hoping for change after Ms. Yaccarino started, because media agencies like his struggled to maintain contact with Twitter last fall after Mr. Musk arrived.
“For a period, we weren’t even sure who to get on the phone with to talk to,” he said. “With Linda coming in, that could change that in a big way.”
He acknowledged that Twitter’s mercurial boss and volatile environment might pose a challenge for Ms. Yaccarino.
While many fans are still reeling from the finale of “Succession,” Brian Cox has been “disinclined to watch” the HBO drama’s swan song after the shocking death of Logan Roy in episode 3.
“I don’t know. I’ve never liked watching myself for a start. And somehow or other because of what happened to Logan, I’ve been disinclined to watch,” the actor told BBC News in an interview. “I knew how it was going to end because I knew that Logan had already set it up. And so I gather that ultimately, in the end, Logan’s won through even though he’s in the grave. But it’s a strange situation. I don’t cling on to things. When it’s over, it’s over and I go on.”
He noted that “Succession” has been been “one of the great shows of all time.”
“The wealth gap because that fascinates me the fact that people are getting poorer and people are getting richer and the rich are becoming so out of it,” he added. “They’re so separated and that’s what our show is dealing with and rightly they got their just desserts at the end. Apparently, I haven’t seen the finale, but apparently they get their just desserts.
All episodes of “Succession” are streaming now on Max.
Often overlooked thanks to the ‘skip intro’ button, a great main title sequence serves as an entry point into another world. And this Emmy season has its share of series based on previous properties, which presents the main title designers with the challenge of linking existing inspirations with new stories.
The Last of Us maps out a fungal network across the world in an evolution of the opening credit sequence from the 2013 video game. Inspired by Tolkien’s original works, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power blends magic and science to create cymatic patterns. As a Game of Thrones prequel, House of the Dragon mirrors the previous show’s camera movements, but with a new focus on bloodlines.
‘The Last of Us’ Main Title Stills
HBO
The Last of Us
Following the 2013 video game, which had its own opening title sequence, it was important for creative studio Elastic’s main title designers Nadia Tzuo and Andy Hall to set their design for television apart.
“They wanted it to evolve in the same way that the show evolved beyond the game and be able to stand on its own merits,” Hall says. And those unfamiliar with the game, in which mankind is hit by a lethal fungal infection, needed to have that context. “They wanted it to set up the tone and the idea of what the show was about, but not rely on what people’s associations of the game was.”
While the video game’s title focused on the human impact of the fungal spread, The Last of Us series creators Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin were looking for a title sequence that explored the growth of the infection itself. “They didn’t want to see any dystopia-cliché in the title,” Tzuo says. “They only wanted to see the fungus—how it grows, how it spreads and how it resembles a developing species.” The theme shows the fungus spreading and evolving into forms resembling manmade structures. “It’s like they’re thriving at the same time the human civilization is on a decline.”
‘The Last of Us’ Main Title Still
HBO
To achieve the appearance of organic growth, Hall and Tzuo did extensive research into how fungus grows. “We got elements from the show in terms of the aesthetic,” says Hall, “but Craig always wanted a look at the unique influence of nature.” This research allowed them to include a color palette mirroring the “acidic nature” of the fungus and to use the color to influence how certain things appear onscreen, such as creating a growth pattern that simulates a map of the United States.
The final product looks deceptively simple, though the process was actually complex, which Hall says is indicative of nature itself. “It’s what nature does so brilliantly,” he says. “It makes the complexity look simple in a way that is elegant and beautiful and refined. That’s always what we are trying to do.”
“Most of the time, our job is to simplify the concept down to, ‘What’s the spirit of the show?’” says Tzuo. “The title sequence is really like a book cover and it gets the audience prepared for the show and sets the tone for the story.”
For The Rings of Power main title, Plains of Yonder designers Katrina Crawford and Mark Bashore looked to Tolkien’s creation myth of angelic figures singing the universe into being. “Tolkien felt that music was almost the center of the universe,” Bashore says. “That was perfectly in sync with our view of filmmaking, which is that audio can be more important than visuals.” The goal was to blend audio and visual together for the main title theme, having the music seemingly create the imagery.
“The idea of music creating something brought us to cymatics,” Crawford says. Cymatics is the natural phenomenon of complex patterns emerging through the displacement of small particles on a flat surface when vibrations are introduced. As the song changes in the main title, the particles shift into new patterns created through the vibrations. “It’s hypnotic and beautiful,” she says, “always shifting and changing… representing elements of transformation.” Using cymatic patterns created the perfect solution of something almost magical that is grounded in reality, which creates a portal into the world of Tolkien for the viewer.
‘The Rings of Power’ Main Title Still
Plains of Yonder/Prime Video
With such a storied world, it was essential for Crawford and Bashore to design patterns that would give a new viewer an idea of what they were coming into, but also convey a deep appreciation of Tolkien by layering in hidden meanings for the fans. “It’s beautiful for everybody, but it’s pretty deep in its meaning,” says Bashore.
“Ideally, we want to make it meaningful to everyone, whether they have knowledge of Tolkien’s world or not,” says Crawford. Given only 90 seconds to convey those ideas, she says the biggest question is how do they bring someone into a new world in a limited amount of time? “We’re not novel in saying that for us title sequences are a bit like a portal, right?”
Creating that portal is always a challenge, but Bashore says that’s why he loves designing the entry point into these worlds. “The psychology, mood and inner logic of a show really compressed into an abstract film is very fun to do and a huge challenge,” he says. “Some people don’t care about the titles and they hit the skip button, but we have found that a lot of people really do watch them, and I think viewers feel it when you do it right.”
‘House of the Dragon’ Main Title Still
HBO
House of the Dragon
Since Elastic’s Kirk Shintani was an integral part of designing the main title sequence for Game of Thrones, it made sense for him to return to design a new one for House of the Dragon. “Originally, we tried to find a balance between the story we needed to tell but we also had to be really aware that it needed to have some tie to the original show,” says Shintani. Set nearly 200 years before the events of the original series, House of the Dragon focuses mainly on House Targaryen and its line of succession once the king dies. “The concept boiled down to the family tree and how we show the relationships between the different members of the warring families.”
‘House of the Dragon’ Main Title Still
HBO
Though the design of the new main title sequence was more focused on a singular family line, it was important to incorporate some nods to the original. “There is a big thing that maybe people don’t consciously think about as Game of Thrones,” he says. “There is a specific language that we’ve built with these flyover cameras, moving from place to place, and that’s something we definitely wanted to keep in the show.” While the camera movements originally tracked locations on the map of Westeros, the new movements follow the bloodline of the Targaryen royal lineage.
“The world map was very much intentional of showing people where you are in each episode,” he says about the original Game of Thrones title. “Whereas for this one, the world’s already been defined and the key locators that we’re trying to explain aren’t locations, it’s the people’s positions in the family line.” The camera follows the blood flowing through a labyrinthine structure, as it passes through sigils of different family members and creates a root-like formation of the family tree.
Read the digital edition of Deadline’s Emmy Comedy issue here.
The initial challenge Shintani faced on the project was how to make the design feel like Game of Thrones without becoming a copy, but the focus quickly became about creating a main title that truly spoke to the story of House of the Dragon, and expanding upon that world. “One of the things that we really want to emphasize with our main titles, specifically speaking about House of the Dragon,” he says, “is that we wanted to be able to lean on the idea that the title changes every episode and gives the viewers something else to look forward to. We really wanted to add to the narrative of the show in our own little way.”
If we accept the proposition that having money is sexy, we should also be able to admit that the most aggressive ways of making lots of money — the banking schemes and strategies that compound the wealth of the already rich — are not. Are they unfair to the working class? Certainly. Possibly criminal? Sure. But sexy, no. Among the more nefarious activities known to capitalism, big investing is particularly dry.
In “The Big Short,” a 2015 fictionalized account of the mid-aughts mortgage-market collapse, the director Adam McKay attempted to skirt this dynamic by having attractive performers including Margot Robbie and Selena Gomez explain the details of market manipulation. In the new documentary “Apes Together Strong,” the filmmakers (and twin brothers) Finley Mulligan and Quinn Mulligan, working with a microbudget and no access to movie stars, detail how to short-sell a stock with a rough-hewed sketch involving a bag of sugar that is borrowed, sold and re-bought at a profit — or not.
The title of the movie is the motto of the talking simians in the latter-day “Planet of the Apes” film franchise; it was adopted by the retail investors who led the GameStop “short squeeze” of 2021. At that time, small investors succeeded in significantly raising the price of stock in GameStop, a store chain targeted by hedge funds for market assassination.
In a fast-paced style derived from Michael Moore or Morgen Spurlock, the Mulligans interview retail-investor comrades and banking pros sympathetic to the small investors’ cause. The villains, both past and present — the Reagan White House with its push to deregulate banking; big finance honchos; hedge fund vultures — are seen in archival footage, mostly.
The lessons here are old, and at one point, the filmmakers use the phrase “the house always wins.” But there’s hope, because there’s always hope in such tales. While Dennis M. Kelleher, the chief executive of the nonprofit investor’s advocacy group Better Markets, says, “Wall Street wins largely because they are unopposed,” the movie closes on a rallying cry.
Spider-Man: No Way Home was the live-action version of this movie in a lot of ways and was the payoff of 20 years of Spider-Man at the theaters. There was even a mention of the events of No Way Home in Across The Spider-Verse.
But the sequel to the Oscar-winning Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse goes toe to toe in paying homage to the movies of web-head’s past.
Dozens of easter-eggs, Marvel references, and animated cameos across the Spider-Verse are featured, but the seven live-action cameos are what break the fourth wall and grab the attention of the Spidey-faithful.
Live-Action Cameos in Across the Spider-Verse
Peggy Lu – Mrs. Chen
Sony Pictures
Mrs. Chen is a key side character in the Venom franchise as a San Francisco bodega owner. Peggy Lu’s brief cameo as Mrs. Chen was a part of the marketing campaign for Across the Spider-Verse so it was not a shock, but a welcome surprise.
If fans were given the choice of which character from the Venom universe to be in this film, Mrs. Chen would receive the vast majority of the vote.
Donald Glover – Aaron Davis
Marvel Studios
This cameo was a major shock for audiences as Donald Glover was back in his role of Aaron Davis 6 years after his first appearance in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Moving forward, it will be tough to find a list of the best comic book movie cameos that does not feature Glover’s live-action Prowler.
The meta importance of this cameo and the seed planted for a potential reprisal in a live-action Mile Morales movie is exciting, but this cameo is bigger than the story. Donald Glover dressed as Spider-Man in the Season 2 premiere of Community in 2010. This bit inspired legendary comic book writer Brian Michael Bendis to create Miles Morales, and the rest is history.
Along with the Roger Rabbit-esque cameos from Lu and Glover, there was also a handful of cameos via archival footage from Sony Spider-Man movies from the past 23 years.
These are shown while Miguel O’Hara is explaining the key moments in every Spider-Man’s life that build the Spider-Verse Canon.
Andrew Garfield – Peter Parker/Spider-Man
Sony Pictures
One of those moments is the death of a police captain/father figure that is most often in the form of Captain George Stacy. Andrew Garfield’s Peter Parker was shown experiencing this keystone trauma in a clip from The Amazing Spider-Man.
After Spider-Man: No Way Home, Andrew Garfield fans have been pining for a non-MCU return for the Spidey-actor. This moment will surely do nothing but fuel the fire of the #MakeTASM3 movement.
Tobey Maguire – Peter Parker/Spider-Man
Sony Pictures
The other key moment displayed is the death of an aunt or uncle every Spider-Man must endure. There are a handful of shots from the iconic uncle ben scene in Tobey Maguire’sSpider-Man.
Any Spider-Man fan born before this century owes plenty of their fandom to Maguire’s Spider-Man trilogy and these moments will surely spark a rewatch in many fans.
Denis Leary – Captain George Stacy
Sony Pictures
These canon events not only show Peter Parker’s involvement but also the people lost in these events. Denis Leary’s Captain Stacy is shown in his death scene from The Amazing Spider-Man.
Cliff Robertson – Uncle Ben Parker
Sony Pictures
Much like Leary’s Captain Stacy, Cliff Robertson’s Uncle Ben is shown alongside Tobey Maguire’s Peter Parker in his death scene from Spider-Man. The original live-action Uncle Ben gets his moment within this decade’s Spider-Man renaissance.
Kirsten Dunst – Mary Jane Watson
Sony Pictures
To this day Kirsten Dunst remains the only theatrically released live-action Mary-Jane Watson (Zendaya’s name in the Homecoming trilogy is Michelle).
For as many iconic moments as the Raimi trilogy has, none are more culturally relevant that the moment shown here as Mary-Jane and Peter kiss upside down in the rain.
Alfred Molina – Doc-Ock (voice only)
Marvel Studios
Throughout this montage of iconic Spider-Man movie moments, Tom Holland does not make an appearance. There are a few theories as to why that is (see below) but the Marvel Cinematic Universe Spider-Man was not completely absent from this trip down memory lane.
While Miguel goes through the key canon moments, Alfred Molina’s voice can be heard saying his now iconic catchphrase “Hello Peter”. Chills.
The Animation/Live-Action Crossover
The blend of live-action and animation is one of many bold swings taken in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. While there is no telling what the future holds for this revolutionary franchise, the idea of these movies transitioning into what will be the live-action Miles Morales is more prominent than ever.
There is also a very obvious and exciting lack of Tom Holland. Sony is surely saving their most valuable Peter Parker for Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse.
The idea to explain why Holland’s Spider-Man is not a part of the canon-event scene in the Spider-Society is because the core of the MCU Spider-Man is diametrically opposed to the mission statement of Spider-Man 2099’s Spider-Society.
The Spider-Society’s purpose is to contain the structural foundation of the Spider-Verse by making sure canon moments keep the web strong. This includes accepting the death of some of the most important people in Spider-Man’s life to give those wall-crawlers the push they need to become the Spider-People they are supposed to be.
Tom Holland’s Peter Parker spent all of Spider-Man: No Way Home going against that idea. Despite the powerful nature of the multiverse, Holland’s Spider-Man refused to not try to save everyone.
The very ideology that turns Miles from a welcome guest to Spider enemy number one.
That rocky start for DC comes off of a messy Black Adam release in November 2022. The film ultimately grossed $391.3 million worldwide, but conflicting reports (even from Dwayne Johnson himself) put into question whether the film was profitable or not for the studio.
This would come in considerably under the $93 million Justice League earned in 2017, a film that disappointed fans and pundits worldwide.
On the contrary, Box Office Pro’s latest tracking has Andy Muschietti’s first superhero flick earning between $115-$140 million during its opening weekend.
That’s a significant discrepancy between the two outlets, which should be concerning for Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav.
The Father’s Day weekend should bring in a lot of audience members, which the studio likely expects. This is especially true considering the overwhelming praise the film has gotten from the likes of Tom Cruise and DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn calling it “probably one of the greatest superhero movies ever made.”
Warner Bros.’ DC Problem
Similar to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 opening to a solid but not extraordinary $118 million, superhero films can have a domino effect.
Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quatumania was poorly received by fans when it was released in February and grossed the lowest worldwide total among the franchise’s three films, a significant failure as this was certainly expected to be the highest-earning Ant-Man film.
It’s hard to deny this played a role in Vol. 3‘s relatively slow start (Vol. 2 opened to $146.5 million). This could have been due to superhero fatigue or audiences being less rushed to see Marvel’s next film after being scorned by the previous one.
A parallel scenario may be brewing over at DC. The aforementioned Black Adam and Shazam! 2 releases aren’t growing any momentum toward The Flash.
Dwayne Johnson promoted Black Adam feverishly on social media, specifically to his 381 million Instagram subscribers, yet it only opened to $67 million in North America.
It was a passion project for Johnson, one of Hollywood’s biggest personalities, and it opened to less than Eternals, a Marvel “flop.”
In a way, DC has found more success with what’s being now coined Elseworlds stories like Joker and The Batman that take on a more serious tone and are contained narratively.
The DCEU was, has, and will be lost, and the studio knows it. That’s why James Gunn was hired as its savior to make DC more — in terms of success — more comparable to the MCU.
Resetting the DC Universe
DC
Since 2013’s Man of Steel ushered in a new era of DC films, not much has gone according to plan. The 2016 mega-hyped clash, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, was a letdown critically and by many fans.
While it did well at the box office, it set up 2017’s Justice League (which should have been competitive with Marvel’s Avengers films) for failure.
Poor word of mouth also hurt DC’s most valuable superteam, and ultimately, director Zack Snyder was able to release his own version in 2021 after a wave of fan support calling for WB to #ReleaseTheSnyderCut.
It’s not fair to compare this scattered (and shattered) universe to Marvel Studios’ Phase 1-3 run from the years 2008-2019, all led by the same man: President Kevin Feige.
One of Feige’s most trusted (and successful) directors, James Gunn, is now set to pull DC out of the depths of despair and begin anew with Superman: Legacyon July 11, 2025.
The lack of direction leads to The Flash“reset[ing] many things” in the DCEU,according to Gunn. This lack of direction and success is a reason why hitting the reboot button is key and one of the reasons The Flash may open to less than many were expecting.
(Mis)handling the Ezra Miller Controversy
The elephant in the room during the entire marketing process has been the lead actor, Ezra Miller, having been arrested several times since the film was shot.
During March and April 2022, Miller gained significant media attention due to multiple arrests during their stay in Hawaii.
In the middle of March, they received a citation for impeding a highway, and the police described their behavior as uncooperative as they refused to leave the area and persistently obstructed a sidewalk.
Subsequently, Miller was taken into custody later that month and faced charges of disorderly conduct after their disruptive actions at a karaoke bar in Hawaii.
Additionally, in August, law enforcement made attempts to deliver an emergency order to a 25-year-old mother with three young children. The order demanded the removal of the children from Miller’s residence and the mother’s care.
Later that month Miller released a statement, saying, “I now understand that I am suffering complex mental health issues and have begun ongoing treatment. I want to apologize to everyone that I have alarmed and upset with my past behavior…
Meanwhile, since 2023 began, The Flash marketing has been in full force, with trailers heavily featuring Michael Keaton’s Batman as well as Miller’s Flash.
However, there hasn’t been a solution to the Miller problem from a public relations perspective nor has WB been proactive about the situation.
This puts in doubt the popular idea that Miller would be replaced/recast in a potential The Flash 2 and the first chapter of the new DCU: Gods and Monsters.
Controversy, previous failures, and planning to hit the reset button are all working against The Flash at the box office.
Find out if Michael Keaton returning as Batman can save The Flash when it races into theaters on Friday, June 16.
The Rogue in Diablo 4 is one of the more complicated classes to play, largely due to a focus on applying buffs and debuffs in combat. Despite this, the Rogue can also have an incredibly high damage output against both single-target enemies and large groups, if you know how to build right. The Rogue can be built for Poison, Ice, or Shadow damage, as well as an emphasis on either single-target or multi-target attacks.
This build will cover which active abilities, passives, and upgrades you should grab to maximize each build’s potential.
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While you can tailor each Rogue build to have a better emphasis on large groups versus single-targets, the builds here will be set up to deal with both with ease. The main difference between the three builds is which Imbuement abilities they use, along with some minor changes to maximize those elements. In addition, there will be some notes on how you should play with each class, to maximize the passives and upgrades chosen below.
Poison Rogue
The Poison Rogue build is a personal favorite, applying as much poison damage to enemies in an area as possible. What makes this build so effective is all of the passive abilities related to poison damage, which will make enemies take more damage, deal less damage, and die quicker. Combined with more active attacks from your primary and core skills, this can melt through enemies with ease. One of those most important aspects of this build is the use of Advanced Twisting Blades and Dash, as you get cooldown reductions for each enemy the returning blades pass through.
Combining Poison Imbuement with Rain of Arrows let’s you inflict damage over time to an entire battlefield’s worth of enemies.
Active skills
Primary Forceful Arrow
Advanced Twisting Blades
Methodical Dash
Countering Poison Trap
Mixed Poison Imbuement
Supreme Rain of Arrows
Passive skills
Weapon Mastery
Exploit
Deadly Venom
Debilitating Toxins
Alchemical Advantage
Exposure
Specializations
Ice Rogue
The Ice Rogue build is going to be very similar to the Poison Rogue build when it comes to active skills, with a few modifications. The biggest differences will come from passive abilities. The main difference in tactics is that you will be more focused on passive and abilities that benefit from crowd control, since the Ice will both slow and freeze enemies, playing into those abilities.
Active Skills
Fundamental Forceful Arrow
Advanced Twisting Blades
Methodical Dash
Countering Stealth Concealment
Mixed Cold Imbuement
Supreme Rain of Arrows
Passive Skills
Concussive
Trick Attacks
Weapon Mastery
Mending Obscurity
Exploit
Frigid Finesse
Chilling Weight
Aftermath
Precision
Specialization
Rapid Fire Shadow Rogue
If you are looking for something a bit different, this Rapid Fire Shadow Rogue build is focused around the use of the Core Skill Rapid Fire. The build is designed around quickly regaining energy to use Rapid Fire, as well as applying vulnerability to enemies via the primary attack to deal maximum damage. The basic loop of this build is: use Shadow Imbuement to infect enemies, use Puncture to apply vulnerability, use Concealment to get a critical hit, deal big damage with Rapid Fire or Rain of Arrows, and rotate as needed. Once you get the hang of it you can melt tough enemies with ease.
Active Skills
Fundamental Puncture
Improved Rapid Fire
Methodical Dash
Countering Stealth Concealment
Blended Shadow Imbuement
Supreme Rain of Arrows
Passive Skills
Exploit
Shadow Crash
Consuming Shadows
Malice
Weapon Mastery
Mending Obscurity
Innervation
Second Wind
Alchemist’s Fortune
Aftermath
Victimize
Specializations
You can find more build guides and other helpful information in GameSpot’s Diablo 4 Guide Hub.
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.
The most exciting part about Quasiis that it was a dream come true in my career. It enabled me to work closely with my family and friends, and I had the best time working on this film set. The sense of family really pushed my passion to create the best final product possible for everyone involved. I am very proud of what we accomplished in such a short time frame!
I was lucky to collaborate with director Kevin Heffernan and the Broken Lizard crew from the project’s inception. Kevin is my brother-in-law, and, along with my husband, we would always sit around and talk about future film ideas. I remember sitting at the dinner table one night, and Kevin mentioned the idea of Quasi. I thought it was a great idea and became excited since the hope of a period piece has always been close to my heart.
We didn’t put too much thought into it at the time since we were about to start Tacoma FD Season 3. Following Tacoma FD, we all assumed that their next project would be Super Troopers 3.
However, Kevin quickly informed me that Quasi was up next, and we had to be ready to shoot in 2 months.
Prepping for Quasi
What helped with this short prep time was that I already had a shorthand with Kevin and the Lizard, so having worked with them in the past. When I got my first Quasi script, I already knew which actors were playing each role, which helped facilitate my designs.
My research process was very short and quick due to scheduling, as the film came together quicker than I initially anticipated. I went back to the old-fashioned way of researching and getting references from paintings, especially Jean Malouel’s work. My goal was to create a period fantasy environment while staying true to the clothing of that particular time in history.
In the late Middle Ages, most lower-class people didn’t have many clothing options, and the ones they had were reused significantly. Also, the colors were very dark, but I wanted to use a little more splash of colors and texture in the big crowd scenes. I also wanted the viewer to recognize the class distinction of each character.
‘Quasi’Credit: Hulu
I tend to do very elaborate mood boards so I can focus my vision for each character on paper first. It organizes my thoughts as I move forward with implementing the look of the entire film.
In the beginning, I anticipated that Pope’s character would be the easiest to create. I just have to look up historical books and art references. I was very wrong.
I had to learn the new terminology of every single piece, sash, and garment. Trying to find somewhat very decorative religious fabric in a short period of time and on a small budget was almost impossible. After two weeks of asking everywhere, from fabric stores to online stores, I found it in Ukraine before the war. The fabric was shipped to Turkey and then to us. So, we only had a few days to create three sets for each look, making it very challenging.
‘Quasi’Credit: Hulu
Designing the Characters’ Looks
Big crowd scenes were fun in terms of creating costumes for peasants. I had a giant room full of options for these big crowd days. We just started putting looks together for our fitting days, but it felt like playing with paper dolls with real medieval-period costumes. It was one of my fun memories of Quasi with my costume team.
Creating costumes for Quasi (Steve Lemme) was challenging because of his hump and overall looks. Despite his work at a torture chamber, I wanted to make his character likable. I layered him with heavy fabric and textures at first, but his prosthetic hump disappeared due to the weight of the fabric. Our actor Steve started having shoulder, back, and hip pain as well. So, we ended up making a few changes to make it lighter and more comfortable.
Beyond our main characters, I enjoyed putting together torturers’ costumes.
When I first started, I designed them to reassemble medieval executioner style. When I met with my shopper, I was supposed to make a list of fabrics and trims I needed. Instead, I made my shopper try on all the background filler stock from rental houses. Our shopper had to stay in the office to be our model. He was happy to do it because he is a huge fantasy cosplay fan.
During this process fell in love with more mad-max-style medieval fantasy. Torture chambers are usually dark inside, so I tried to use more variety of texture, trim, and different types of metals. Also, few torture devices as their accessories.
‘Quasi’Credit: Hulu
When designing King’s looks, I wanted the audience to recognize that he loves wealth and fancy things. We used many rich colors like gold, burgundy, and royal navy and over-accessorized him. We didn’t want to reveal the hidden twists, but I found this medieval pin from Europe I couldn’t feature in a visible spot because there was a hidden phallus in it. Instead, I used it as a decorative pin for his tunic under his necklace. You can spot it on the screen if you look closely! It totally worked in the context of the scene where Kevin’s scrotum is nailed to a stump. So it’s a little bit of Easter egg fun.
I hope to keep working on ambitious and creative projects in the future, like Quasi. Every project is a new challenge for me. I find great fulfillment in my job and hope to continue to push myself beyond my limits.
In the first episode of “Wednesday,” Jenna Ortega’s title character plays a cello cover of The Rolling Stones’ goth anthem “Paint It Black.” Pulling off such a scene required licensing the song, orchestrating a new arrangement of it, and teaching Ortega how to play it — all while the traditional scoring process was taking place. It’s a fusion of old and new that helped make the show a cultural phenomenon when it debuted on Netflix in November 2022. And while the production team might have made it look easy, it required intense coordination between multiple departments.
That type of collaboration was a recurring theme to be celebrated at IndieWire’s Consider This Event on Saturday June 3. IndieWire hosted nearly 200 TV Academy, guild members, and other industry in attendance for a packed event at NeueHouse Hollywood that included a welcome reception, buffet lunch, items raffled by Rabbit Hole whiskey, Stanley cupware, and a Dell computer followed by a cocktail reception. Our editors moderated four panels featuring the artists behind Starz’s “P-Valley,” Paramount+’s “Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies,” Netflix’s “Stranger Things,” “Beef,” and “Wednesday,” and Showtime’s “Yellowjackets.” There will be video content and more on IndieWire’s social feeds in the days ahead.
But despite the wide range of genres that were represented in the event, panelists from every series returned to the theme of departments going above and beyond their job descriptions to perfect the details of our favorite shows.
“For ‘Wednesday’ we came on super early, because in the first episode we had the on-camera cello performance of ‘Paint it Black.’ So we had to get that created and really dial in,” music supervisor Jen Malone said. “We also had to get it to Jenna in time so that she could learn it — which she did phenomenal with.”
While Malone was coordinating with Ortega, composer Danny Elfman and co-composer Chris Bacon were busy writing the music for the rest of the series. Director Tim Burton brought his lifelong collaborator Elfman in to score the episodes that he directed, while Bacon worked concurrently to compose music for the remaining episodes. The music that eventually emerged from “Wednesday” was a combination of the two men’s ideas, but they never worked side-by-side.
“It’s funny because Chris and I shared responsibilities, but our experiences were completely different. Chris was more in the traditional lane, working with the showrunners on the four episodes he did. And I was working exclusively with Tim, because when I’m working with Tim he just likes to keep a closed circle. Like a tank that nobody’s allowed in,” Elfman said. “I also got involved very early, because Tim didn’t know for sure what the tone was gonna be. It just involved lot of experimenting and finding out what is ‘Wednesday’ musically. And Tim doesn’t like to be rushed. So I came on early, did a lot of ideas, and finally honed it down to ‘this feels like Wednesday.’”
“Beef” composer Bobby Krlic explained that creator Lee Sung Jin afforded him a level of access to his hit Netflix series that composers rarely get. Being able to read scripts and watch rehearsals before anything was filmed allowed him to grasp the show’s tone earlier and make bolder musical choices as a result.
“Sung invited me to the first table read that the cast and everybody had. It was really nice of him to do that, because composers don’t normally get to do that,” Krlic said. “So I got to see the pacing and the dialogue and just hear all the workshopping that everyone was doing. I think I literally drove my car 100 miles an hour, I couldn’t wait to get back to the studio. And instead of thinking about score, I just started writing songs. I wanted to write songs for a band, so what I played originally was just guitar, bass, drums. And I sent them just four or five songs that ended up being cut up into the theme of the show. This was really a project for me where everything I’ve worked on in my life so far just came full circle.”
Over the course of its massively popular first four seasons, “Stranger Things” has gradually expanded into a science-fiction epic with one of the largest budgets on television. As the show has gotten bigger, so has the soundscapes. Re-recording mixer and supervising sound editor Craig Henighan explained that he continues to employ the same open-minded approach that he used in Season 1, but the large scale of the show now forces him to observe other departments much more closely.
“It’s a lot of experimenting. It’s a lot of trial and error. Dynamics are a big thing. It’s just figuring out what the scene needs,” Henighan said before explaining the way his work is constantly being shaped by sound artists in other departments. “Seeing what Michael (Dixon) and Kyle (Stein) are doing with the score and seeing if I need to grind against it or actually flow into it. But it’s just a lot of trial and error. I’m very fortunate to get a lot of the episodes early.”
Making an Emmy-worthy TV show is challenging enough as it is, but adding musical numbers makes things infinitely more complicated. Fortunately, the entire creative team behind “Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies” was up for the challenge. Appearing on a panel moderated by IndieWire’s Marcus Jones, the show’s choreographer Jamal Sims explained that the show’s camera team went above and beyond to make sure they could capture the dazzling numbers properly.
“We had amazing directors of photography, DJ Stipsen and Mark Chow. And what was great about working with them was they would love to come to our rehearsals. Which is so important on a movie musical, because you want to know where the dancers are, where do we need the cameras, how can we hide the cameras, all of this stuff,” Sims said. “A lot of DPs say ‘I’ll just see it when I get there,’ but they would actually come to the rehearsal and we would walk them through. As far as choreography, I would film a pre-vis prior to, just to show what the best angles of the dance are. Then our directors would come in and they could choose to use it or not. But at least we were giving the dancers a chance to be seen, because you can miss a dance just by putting the camera too low or too high.”
Karyn Kusama continued the dialogue about collaborations between departments when she explained her role as an executive producer on “Yellowjackets” on a panel moderated by IndieWire’s Dana Harris-Bridson. She famously directed two of the show’s most important episodes — the pilot and that shocking Season 2 finale. She said that she used the opportunity to act as an outside perspective who could help shape the story without being in the writers’ room every day. While this experience was a departure from what she had done as a director, she said that it ultimately made her return to the director’s chair a more creatively rich experience.
“I think non-writing EPs, they find different ways to be useful or to take a more backseat role. I think for the first and second season, I was lucky to really be a part of the team and included in the team and able to, in some ways, kind of be an outside voice to the day-to-day internal process,” she said. “I was able to read scripts and outlines and look at cuts and look at director’s cuts and look at producers’ cuts and offer my thoughts as an outsider. Sometimes those thoughts were part of a larger collective of voices and sometimes I was an outlier, and I’m comfortable with that. But obviously as a director, then when I came onto the finale having done the pilot and having quite a few things from the pilot land in the finale and finish up certain arcs, it was a really satisfying experience.”
The ultimate example of collaboration between departments might have come from the “P-Valley” panel. J. Alphonse Nicholson — who plays the closeted Southern rapper Lil Murda on Katori Hall’s Starz series — told Marcus Jones that many of his character’s rap songs were written by someone who began his career as one of the show’s caterers.
“There’s a quick story about Katori just trusting the locals. One of the guys that creates music for Lil Murda, his name is Antoine, but we call him New Money,” Nicholson said. “He was a chef on ‘P-Valley,’ a caterer. He was a crew member. He stopped me while I was walking and he said ‘Hey, Alphonse, I’m a rapper and I want to write for Lil Murda. I said ‘Bro, rap for me, I’m gonna take a video and send it to Katori.’ So I recorded a video of this kid that was just a chef at the time. She loves it, she takes him off the chef line and puts him in the writers room, and now he’s a writer for Lil Murda.”
The entire event was a reflection of IndieWire’s longtime commitment to highlighting the work of artists on every level of film and TV production. But while the the day gave plenty of artisans and craftspeople their moment in the spotlight, the lesson was clear: nobody is an island. Truly elite television only comes when everyone is willing to keep an open mind and work across department lines in service of their show’s ultimate vision.
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Kim Cattrall is reprising her role as Samantha Jones—but don’t expect any warm, fuzzy reunions on season two of And Just Like That…
According to sources that spoke to Page Six, Cattrall had a couple of conditions before signing on for a “cliffhanger” appearance on Max’s Sex and the City spinoff. Apparently, Cattrall agreed to return as long as she didn’t have to shoot with former co-stars, Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon, and Kristin Davis.
That’s not all. Sources also claim Cattrall refused to film if AJLT showrunner Michael Patrick King was on set. “Kim had two stipulations—one, that she would not act with any of the other girls, and two, she did not want to see Michael Patrick King,” one “show source” explained to Page Six.
On May 31, Variety reported that Cattrall would return for a single scene in the season two finale, featuring a phone call between Samantha and SJP’s Carrie Bradshaw, which was filmed in New York in March. Per the report, “Cattrall’s appearance as Samantha will not be a continuation of the character for now.”
This announcement came as a massive surprise to fans for a reason. Kim Cattrall has been swearing off the SATC universe for years. When asked about filming a third movie by The Daily Mail in 2019, she replied, “Never. It’s a no from me.” She continued, “You learn lessons in life, and my lesson is to do work with good people and try and make it fun.”
There was further beef with Parker that made Cattrall’s return seem even more unlikely, which you can read about here. Following the And Just Like That… season one finale, King described a future Cattrall cameo as “magical thinking.”
In February 2022, Parker was asked by Variety whether she’d be comfortable with Cattrall making a return. “I don’t think I would, because I think there’s just too much public history of feelings on her part that she’s shared,” she said. “I haven’t participated in or read articles, although people are inclined to let me know.”
This June, Cattrall confirmed her return on Instagram with the caption, “Happy Pride ?️??️⚧️?…..”
Can this BET series keep viewers coming back for more? Has the Tyler Perry’s Sistas TV show been cancelled or renewed for a seventh season? The television vulture is watching all the latest cancellation and renewal news, so this page is the place to track the status of Sistas, season seven. Bookmark it, or subscribe for the latest updates. Remember, the television vulture is watching your shows. Are you?
What’s This TV Show About?
A drama series airing on the BET cable channel, the Tyler Perry’s Sistas TV show stars KJ Smith, Ebony Obsidian, Mignon Von, Novi Brown, Chido Nwokocha, DeVale Ellis, Brian Jordan Jr., Crystal Renee’ Hayslett, Anthony Dalton II, Kevin A. Walton, Trinity Whiteside, and Chris Warren. The series follows a group of single black women bound together by their long-standing friendship. These five ladies — Andi (Smith), Danni (Mignon), Karen (Obsidian), Sabrina (Brown), and Fatima (Hayslett) — go after what they desire and handle the blows of life with resilience, determination, and the support of each other.
Season Six Ratings
The sixth season of Sistas averages a 0.00 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 0.00 million viewers in the live+same day ratings (includes all DVR playback through 3:00 AM). Compared to season five, that’s down by 0% in the demo and down by 0% in viewership. While these numbers don’t include further delayed or streaming viewing, they are a very good indicator of how a show is performing, especially when compared to others on the same channel. There can be other economic factors involved in a show’s fate, but the higher-rated series are usually renewed and the lower-rated ones are cancelled. Find out how Tyler Perry’s Sistas stacks up against other BET TV shows.
O F F I C I A L S T A T U S
As of June 5, 2023, Tyler Perry’s Sistas has not been cancelled or renewed for a seventh season. Stay tuned for further updates.
Telly’s Take
Will BET cancel or renew Tyler Perry’s Sistas for season seven? This series has been one of the channel’s top-rated scripted series, so I would be surprised if Sistas wasn’t renewed. I’ll update this page with breaking developments. Subscribe for free alerts on Sistas cancellation or renewal news.
Tyler Perry’s Sistas Cancellation & Renewal Related Links
What do you think? Do you hope the Tyler Perry’s Sistas TV show will be renewed for a seventh season? How would you feel if BET cancelled this TV series, instead?
Check out our status sheets to track new TV series pickups, renewals, and cancellations. You can find lists of cancelled shows here.
When “The Eric Andre Show” returns to the Adult Swim airwaves tonight after a three year hiatus, fans of Andre’s brand of surrealist talk show humor will be treated to another round of awkward interviews, deranged pranks, and naked PAs.
The series, which premiered in 2012, made Andre a star in alternative comedy circles. But after a successful five-year run, he paused the show in 2020 to pursue bigger projects. In a new interview with the Associated Press, Andre said that his decision to bring the show back for a sixth season was partially due to his Netflix movie “Bad Trip” not being the financial windfall that he expected it to be.
“I was going to end the show after five seasons and then I didn’t make any money on ‘Bad Trip,’” he said, before adding that he still enjoys making the show and is open to more seasons. “Why permanently close the door on a show where I have full creative freedom?”
While Andre says that he was disappointed with the financial results of “Bad Trip,” the comedian teased that the film paved the way for some bigger projects — but he’s not ready to announce them just yet.
“It’s not even my corporate overlords. It’s superstition,” he said of his reasons for remaining tight-lipped. “So, I’ll tell you when the time is right.”
Andre’s comments about the creative freedom that he enjoys on the show echo similar remarks he made to IndieWire in 2020, when he said that it would be hard to ever permanently end the series.
“As I was going through the editing and finishing post production, I was like, ‘This is the funnest show to make and I’m so blessed to have this opportunity that this is my job. I have full, complete creative freedom,’” he said. “I was sitting at home thinking about how much I enjoy the process of the show and how we have it down to a science and our team is a tight, cohesive family and was like, ‘Why would I close the door on this?’ I’m gonna keep the door open. I don’t know if I’ll do it every single year, other projects will come and go and I’ll have to adjust, but I love the show too much to retire it and this is the best season yet and we’re so in our groove. It doesn’t feel right to end the show. It’s just getting started.”
Redd Holt, a drummer who in the 1960s, before jazz fusion became a popular term, struck a beat that had both the kick of funk and the delicacy of jazz on a number of surprisingly popular instrumental records, died on May 23 in Chicago. He was 91.
The death, at a hospital, was caused by complications of lung cancer, his son Reginald said.
Mr. Holt scored his greatest success as the drummer with the pianist Ramsey Lewis’s trio, whose original lineup also included Eldee Young on bass.
In 1965 — nearly 10 years after the band’s first record — they came out with “The ‘In’ Crowd,” a live album whose title track was a cover of a recently popular song by the R&B singer Dobie Gray.
The Lewis Trio version superseded Mr. Gray’s, reaching the top of the Billboard R&B chart and No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100. Their “‘In’ Crowd” won the 1965 Grammy Award for best instrumental jazz performance by a small group or soloist.
The group had found a winning formula — repeating a catchy melody over and over, as in a pop tune, adding a bluesy rhythm and leaving room for improvisation. Later in 1965 the trio released the album “Hang On Ramsey!” It included two bluesy instrumental covers of pop songs that also appeared as singles: the Beatles’ “A Hard Day’s Night” and “Hang On Sloopy,” which the McCoys had made a No. 1 hit in 1965. The trio played each of them to shouts of encouragement from a live crowd.
Success, however, proved the be the group’s undoing. In 1966, following disagreements over artistic direction and money, Mr. Holt and Mr. Young left Mr. Lewis to form the Young-Holt Trio, later renamed Young-Holt Unlimited. (Mr. Lewis replaced Mr. Holt with Maurice White, who would go on to found Earth, Wind & Fire.)
Mr. Holt and Mr. Young continued making music in a pop-friendly vein. Their 1968 single “Soulful Strut,” with a funky, danceable groove, reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, behind Marvin Gaye’s “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” and “I’m Gonna Make You Love Me,” a joint recording by Diana Ross & the Supremes and the Temptations.
(“Soulful Strut” sounded a lot like an instrumental version of “Am I the Same Girl?,” a late-’60s single by the soul singer Barbara Acklin. Some questioned whether Mr. Young and Mr. Holt had actually played on the recording credited to them, suggesting rather that they had allowed their band name to be used for work done by the studio musicians who backed Ms. Acklin. Reginald Holt said that Carl Davis, the producer of both records, told him that his father and Mr. Young had indeed played on “Soulful Strut,” and that his father would laugh when questioned about it.)
Another Young-Holt single, “Wack Wack,” reached No. 40 on the singles chart in 1967. With a monotone male voice repeating the word “whack” in the manner of a quacking duck, the song expressed the merry spirit of Mr. Holt’s style of jazz.
Isaac Holt was born on May 16, 1932, in Rosedale, Miss., a Mississippi River town in the northern part of the state. He got his nickname when he was young, a reference to his light-toned skin. His father, Willie, worked in a lumberyard, and his mother, Mary (Gilliam) Holt, was a homemaker who sometimes taught crocheting and worked as a nurse’s aide.
Redd’s father took him to see traveling minstrel shows when he was a boy, and he was particularly struck by the one-legged tap dancer Peg Leg Bates moving to the rhythm of a trap drummer.
“I went home and from that moment on, I was banging on my mother’s pots and pans and buckets,” Mr. Holt told The Journal and Courier of Lafayette, Ind., in 1992. “That’s how it all came to be.”
The family moved to Chicago as part of the Great Migration. Redd grew up there and lived in Chicago the rest of his life, mostly on the South Side. He served in the Army from 1954 to 1956.
He played with many jazz luminaries in Chicago as a teenager, and he belonged to a local seven-piece jazz band called the Clefs. When several members were drafted, only Mr. Holt, Mr. Young and Mr. Lewis remained. They formed a trio, calling themselves the Gentlemen of Jazz, but changed the name when they were advised that it made more commercial sense to name the group after their pianist.
In later years Mr. Holt performed in his own band, Holt Unlimited, and occasionally played reunion shows with Mr. Young and Mr. Lewis. Mr. Young died in 2007, and Mr. Lewis died last year.
Mr. Holt married Marylean Green in 1954. In addition to his son Reginald, she survives him, along with two other sons, Isaac and Ivan; a brother, Benjamin; eight grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren.
Mr. Holt kept up a regular Friday night gig in Chicago until the onset of the pandemic, and he loved to talk about his craft with high school students.
“Kids are hip,” he told The Journal Herald of Dayton, Ohio, in 1977. “They have open heads.”
The Farm is writer-director Rayn Pace’s feature-length debut. The drama, based on a true story, follows Catherine (Alicia Kelly) and Tom (Austin Chunn) as they navigate the ups and downs of life. The wife and husband inherited Tom’s father’s farm, and they initially considered selling it. But, despite its middle-of-nowhere location, the couple decides to stick with it and turn it profitable once again.
This major shake-up coincides with Catherine and Tom reeling from other problems life has thrown at them. She’s infertile, which is causing a growing rift between them. Add in money woes, and it seems the husband and wife team may have more on their plates than they can handle. Is love enough to see them through these unparalleled difficult times, or is it too much to bear?
The Farm has the loosest story possible. Pace is more interested in observing the characters and their interactions than following an A-to-Z narrative. To that end, the director employs a few novel decisions, the best of which is the voice-over. Or should that be voice-overs? Both Catherine and Tom provide narration reflecting on their emotional state in X or Y scene. Using both of them gracefully allows audience members to understand their respective perspectives. The filmmaker also gets the director of photography Richard Sanborn to lens the whole production like a visual poem, minus one or two of the more weighty scenes. As a result, the drama is lush to look at.
“…major shake-up coincides with Catherine and Tom reeling from other problems…”
The acting is also quite good. Kelly and Chunn share an easygoing chemistry that works to make a believable wife and husband. Individually the actors bring viewers into their characters’ emotional states via subtle body language and wistful looks.
However, The Farm does have a few issues. At one point, a lady drops off a kid for Catherine and Tom to… babysit? Play with them since they don’t have kids? Tutor? How long has this arrangement been going on for? This happens only once and is baffling. The child actor is fine, energetic and sweet. But his relation to them is confusing, to say the least. Just as poorly explained is the kid’s mom. Does she work with Catherine? An in-law of some kind?
Aside from causing more questions than it’s worth, this moment adds to the runtime in the wrong way. The film runs just shy of 90 minutes, but it is a slow-going experience, like Ugly Sonic sloooow. As lovely as the visuals and narration are, they can sometimes be repetitive. The conclusion is exceptionally lengthy. There’s a perfect moment with both characters sharing one voice-over discussing the nature of love. It is the ideal spot to conclude the film. But it keeps going for at least another 5 minutes, but it might be more. Sure, the ending proper works well enough, but the momentum has fizzled out by that point.
The Farm has a lot going for it: sumptuous cinematography, great acting, excellent use of voice-over, and a sweet message about the power of love. Yes, the film is too long, and one sequence feels awkwardly shoehorned in. Still, it works far more often than not.
A union representing workers at Veterans Affairs Canada says a deal to privatize rehabilitation services has been a failure.
The $570-million contract with Lifemark Health Group and WCG International Consultants was supposed to take the strain off case managers and help veterans access services.
But the Union of Veterans’ Affairs Employees has given the deal a failing grade in a new report card, issued six months after the contract kicked in.
It says instead of streamlined services, case managers are dealing with more paperwork.
The report card says only the least complex files have actually been transferred and delays in getting started have led to backlogs for veterans.
The union is pointing the finger at a lack of training in Veterans Affairs Canada’s guidelines, as well as a lack of understanding of what the clients need.
Lance Basskicked off coverage of the West Hollywood Pride Parade on June 4 by discussing what the month means to him. “There’s many things I think of with pride. One, celebration of who we are, how far we’ve come [and] honoring the ones that came before us so we are able to do this,” the singer, who has been married to Michael Turchin since 2014, explained during a KTLA’s parade broadcast.
He continued, “But the temperature right now for the LGBTQIA community right now is very hostile. So pride is a protest. It started as a protest and it’s still a protest. So, as you see, there’s a lot of people standing up for what is right and protesting for what they believe in.”
Stars who identify as straight show their support for the queer community as well. McCarthy was honored as an “ally icon” during the WeHo event.
Meanwhile, Quinn, a former star of Netflix’s Selling Sunset, shared a special message before riding in the California parade.
“A phoenix rising from ashes of hate, a vibrant rainbow after the storm of intolerance. Shedding our masks, unveiling our souls resplendent in their true colors. An echo of freedom disrupting centuries of silence,” the reality star wrote via Twitter. “Today, we’re seen and celebrated. Today, our masks are off, our love is loud. A performance adorned with the nuances of who we wish to be, who we are, and the distance between. After all, isn’t everything we all do just a form of drag? ?.”
She wasn’t the only reality star at the June 4 event. Real Housewives of Beverly Hills stars and besties Garcelle Beauvais and Sutton Stracke carried matching rainbow fans while being driven in a Sutton Concept convertible.
While West Hollywood was 2023’s first major star-studded pride parade in the U.S., the celebrations will continue throughout the summer. New Orleans and Los Angeles are scheduled for the second weekend of June while Chicago, and Portland will be the third weekend of the month. New York City and Nashville pride celebrations will happen during the last Saturday and Sunday of the month.
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Scroll down to see the stars celebrating pride in 2023:
The cheapest Xbox controller deals are pivotal if you’re planning on replacing your existing controller or looking to get more at the fairest rates around. Whether you play on Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, or PC, we’re bringing you all the latest and greatest savings on all manner of gamepads for the systems in question.
When we think about the best Xbox controllers, the two that most quickly come to mind have to be the Xbox Wireless Controller and the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2. While these two gamepads are truly excellent, they certainly aren’t usually the most affordable. That’s the great thing about the cheapest Xbox controller deals as now these models have been around for years, and offers are much more common in the US, the UK, and Australia now than they were at release.
Our mission is to be your one-stop destination for all things Xbox. If you’ve been a gamer on the platform for some time then you’ll know that controllers are just the tip of the iceberg. We’re also helping you save money with the best Xbox Game Pass deals as well as the best Xbox game deals to get the best Xbox Series X games cheaper.
Best cheapest Xbox controller deals – Quick links
We’ll cut right to the chase and show you exactly where to find the best cheapest Xbox controller deals and what to expect from major retailers in the US and the UK right now. Historically, we’ve seen the best levels of success from major outlets such as Amazon in the US and the UK, with specific retailers such as Best Buy in the US and Currys in the UK boasting the best deals month by month.
US:
UK:
(Image credit: Future)
Xbox Wireless Controller deals
The Xbox Wireless Controller in its current form has been around for almost three years meaning that it’s often possible to find a discount on this tried and true gamepad. With so many different versions available, there are bound to be a couple of color schemes that you’ll be able to find at more affordable rates than others. We’ve rounded up some top offerings below.
Xbox Elite Wireless controller deals
(Image credit: Future)
The Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 is absolutely awesome and we said as much in our 4.5-star review stating: “It’s the best Xbox controller on the market – but it doesn’t come cheap”. Well, fortunately, it’s been over four years since this all-star controller hit the scene and we’ve seen extensive discounts on it since.
There is now also the option of the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 Core which is a cheaper alternative, which starts at around $101 / £103 / AU$189 and delivers a significantly higher-end model than the standard Xbox controller but without the extras. What’s more, it’s now available in blue, red, and white, too.
Cheap Xbox controller alternatives
Sometimes going with the official controller isn’t necessarily the best plan of action if you’re on a budget. That’s why we’ve expanded our search out to other manufacturers, such as PowerA, which provides a cost-effective alternative that sacrifices none of the functionality but keeps the costs down.
Where can I find the best cheap Xbox controller deals?
Generally speaking you can find some of the best cheapest Xbox controller deals at Amazon in the US, the UK, and Australia but more region specific retailers like Best Buy in the US, Currys in the UK, and JB Hi-Fi in Australia have some of the most competitive offers.
Are cheap Xbox controllers worth it?
While budget Xbox controller offerings from the likes of PowerA and PDP perform functionally identical, you aren’t going to have the same weight and build quality as with the OEM gamepad that comes with your Xbox Series X or Xbox One console. With that said, if you want something cheap then they will be more than enough without breaking the bank.
Note: This story contains spoilers from the “The Idol” episode 1.
Weeks after “The Idol” scandalized the Cannes film festival as audiences witnessed the first two episodes of “Euphoria” creator Sam Levinson’s new series, viewers around the world could finally experience the debauchery firsthand as the HBO series makes its debut.
Co-created and co-executive produced by Levinson, Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye and Reza Fahim, “The Idol” centers on pop star Jocelyn (Lily-Rose Depp), who attempts to reclaim the public’s attention after a nervous breakdown derailed her last tour. Jocelyn leans on Tedros (Tesfaye), a nightclub owner with a sordid past who leads her down a path of corruption.
Following its Cannes debut, reviews and commentaries poured in regarding the series’ scandalous moments filled with sexual content and nudity that many called outrageous. Several critics who screened the first two episodes called out the sex scenes as falling into male fantasies while leaving Depp’s character disempowered.
As expected from the creator of “Euphoria,” “The Idol” premiere did not fall short in terms of its shocking moments that kept us on the edge of our seats:
Chaim Locked an Intimacy Coordinator in the Bathroom for $5,000
The debut episode opened with a sultry photoshoot for Jocelyn’s new album cover, featuring a barely tied satin robe around the pop star. The set’s intimacy coordinator raises alarm bells when Jocelyn exposes her nipples — which is against her nudity rider. While the intimacy coordinator explained to Jocelyn’s team that the nudity rider must be followed to protect vulnerable parties, her team mocked the suggestion by quipping, “she looks quite vulnerable.” When the team learned that reversing the nudity rider would mean pausing the photoshoot and losing the day’s work, Jocelyn’s manager, Chaim, found a new solution: locking the intimacy coordinator in the bathroom and offering a staffer $5,000 to make sure he stays in there.
Jocelyn Wore a Hospital Bracelet for Her Comeback Album Cover
Referencing her recent nervous breakdown, Jocelyn donned a hospital bracelet for the photoshoot for her comeback album alongside bottles of tequila. While Xander (Troye Sivan) wondered if the bracelet could romanticize mental illness, record label executive Nikki (Jane Adams) assured him “mental illness is sexy” — adding that mental illness can be a big way for everyday consumers to relate to the pop princess.
Jocelyn Choked Herself While Pleasuring Herself
For many audiences members at Cannes, this was the moment that solidified the series’ scandalizing status. After briefly hooking up with Tedros at his nightclub and returning home solo, Jocelyn choked herself while pleasuring herself, seeming to reference how Tedros grabbed her throat while they were kissing on the dance floor.
Jocelyn‘s Vanity Fair Interview
While speaking to a Vanity Fair journalist (Hari Nef) working on a profile of the pop star, Jocelyn told the reporter that “everyone answers to someone.” When asked who she answers to, Jocelyn replied “God,” leaving the journalist perplexed.
Jocelyn Liked Tedros’ ‘Rape-y Vibe’
After Jocelyn and Tedros’ brief rendezvous at the club, Jocelyn told her assistant/best friend Leia (Rachel Sennott) that she wanted to invite Tedros over to the house. Leia cringed slightly and told Jocelyn she thought Tedros had a “rape-y vibe,” to which Jocelyn responded that she kind of likes that.
Tedros Greeted Leia With a Kiss on the Lips — and Other Creepy Things
When Tedros arrived at Jocelyn’s house, Leia let him in while Jocelyn finished getting ready. Tedros greets Leia with a kiss on the lips, which immediately left Leia unsettled. She told him to make himself at home and he oddly responded, “are you sure?” He then continued to act strangely as he waited for Jocelyn, sniffing her furniture and practicing which variation of “hey, angel” he’d try out when meeting with Jocelyn.
Tedros Choked Jocelyn With Fabric and Whipped Out a Knife
As Jocelyn and Tedros were flirting, drinking and listening to her new song, Tedros told her she was not singing like she “knows how to f—k,” and offered to help her out. Tedros then covered Jocelyn’s face with red fabric from her robe and tied the waistband around her neck, leading her facial features to protrude from beneath the fabric. Tedros then whipped out a knife and told Jocelyn to open her mouth from under the fabric, making a sliver opening so she could breath through her mouth. “Now you can sing,” he said before the episode ended.
Bonus: Jocelyn Was Compared to Simone Biles
While the HBO series owns up to its references to Britney Spears, this is one we couldn’t have expected. After explaining that Jocelyn’s team pushed her tour and refunded tickets amid her breakdown, her team likened her to Olympic gymnast Simone Biles for prioritizing her mental health to prepare for her next professional chapter.
Black women showing confidence through their hair can be seen across the field of television shows this season. Sheryl Lee Ralph’s motherly role on ABC’s “Abbott Elementary” and Cassandra Freeman’s Aunt Viv coming into her own on Peacock’s “Bel-Air” are just two examples of Black hair telling a story and informing audiences about their characters. And there are more in the mix, as department heads from Netflix’s “Queen Charlotte” and Hulu’s “Unprisoned” will also vie for Emmy consideration.
“Abbott Elementary” hair department head Moira Frazier relied on decades of experience and her relationship with the cast to create signature looks for the characters that reflect growth and evolution.
Frazier gave Ralph a short cut with a side swept bang, a look the artisan associates with a woman who’d want her appearance to be as neat and convenient as possible — yet stylish. The look also reflected Barbara’s boldness and confidence.
“I imagine her going to the salon and telling her hairstylist, ‘Can you cut this a little shorter so I can deal with it? I just want to wrap it up at night, throw some rollers in and keep it moving,’” says Frazier.
ABC
Quinta Brunson’s Janine, hopelessly optimistic and fashion challenged, had a dark brown shoulder-length wig. “Janine is at a point where she’s taking time to part her hair, apply products and soften her texture,” says Frazier. “She uses a curl activator so that when she goes to where she’s going, she’s going to look more put together. She’s taking care of business.”
For Janelle James’ Ava, Frazier made custom wigs.
“Ava takes pride in her appearance. She has the latest everything,” Frazier explains. “We wanted to play with those textures and the colors this season to bring out her skin tone because honey blonde on her skin tone slays and brings out her facial features. Every time she moves her head, she moves with authority, sassiness, and boughettoness.”
For Amazon Prime’s “Swarm,” Deaundra Metzger constructed multiple hair pieces of varying lengths and textures to fit the emotional and mental evolutions for Dominique Fishback’s Dre, a superfan of a famous singer.
Dre’s evolves throughout the series; as a shy and awkward young woman, Metzger styled her hair “in two puffs with bangs that lends itself to her air of naivete.” Meanwhile, by the end, she’s wearing a long ponytail to represent confidence. “When I was creating that look, I thought of it as she’s developing strength,” says Metzger. “She’s more reassured in herself.”
In another scene, Dre takes her wig off — a moment that showed Metzger a bold moment, reflecting the evolution. “I wanted to highlight her beauty, but also to relay the message that she’s definitely stronger and more confident in herself.”
The politics of Black hair and the representation of Black women in the upper echelons of society were at the forefront for Araxi Lindsey, hair department head for Peacock’s “Bel-Air.” (Photo above.)
Aunt Viv’s image echoes the way she uses her art to speak to the past and present struggles of Black women in America, as well as her own inner crisis.
Lindsey decided that having Freeman’s hair in its natural state with intricate cornrowed and braided styles reflected all these aspects of such a nuanced character.
“It’s regal. I’ve had many neurosurgeons that had their hair pinned back in braids in a nice chignon,” she says. “It’s us putting an Afro-centric twist on something that has an American Standard.”
Celebrity Couples Who Have Acted In Movies Together
When it comes to movies, it’s not so uncommon to find Hollywood’s it couples getting cast in movies together. Here’s a roundup of the love birds who brought their real-life chemistry to the big screen:
1.
To start, John Krasinski and Emily Blunt starred together in A Quiet Place and A Quiet Place Part II.
2.
Amy Poehler appeared in Blades of Glory with her former hubby, Will Arnett.
3.
Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor appeared together in Zoolander and Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story.
4.
Now-exes Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe starred in the cult classic Cruel Intentions.
5.
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are broken up, but they can still be found in By the Sea and Mr. & Mrs. Smith (aka the movie where they first met).
6.
Former couple David Arquette and Courteney Cox starred in multiple Scream films together.
7.
Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell have been in a number of movies together including The Christmas Chronicles, The Christmas Chronicles 2, Overboard, Swing Shift, and The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band.
8.
Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard are no strangers to sharing the silver screen with appearances together in When in Rome, Hit and Run, and CHiPs.
9.
Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone understand the secret to making people laugh with appearances together in Tammy and Life of the Party.
10.
Before calling it quits IRL, Anna Faris and Chris Pratt worked together on numerous films including Take Me Home Tonight, What’s Your Number?, and Movie 43.
11.
Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons were featured together in 2021’s The Power of the Dog before getting hitched the following year.
12.
Paul Dano and Zoe Kazan proved working with your significant other isn’t so bad after teaming up on Meek’s Cutoff and Ruby Sparks.
13.
Will and Jada Pinkett Smith both landed roles together in Ali.
14.
Finally, one-time couple Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise shared the screen when they were cast in Days of Thunder. They were later seen together in Far and Away and Eyes Wide Shut.
Which Hollywood couple would you like to see together on screen? Let me know in the comments!
Handler, who plays Kristin Davis’ husband in “And Just Like That,” praised Cattrall’s decision to reprise her role as PR extraordinaire Samantha Jones in a recent interview with People magazine. The “Sex and the City” alum is slated to appear in a single scene of the reboot starring her former TV besties, Davis, Cynthia Nixon and Sarah Jessica Parker.
According to Variety, Cattrall will not share the screen with her ex-castmates during the sequence, which she shot in Manhattan on March 22.
“I think it is great. I do,” Handler said of Cattrall’s limited involvement in Season 2.
“Apparently, [her cameo] was shot in the garage somewhere with no contact with anybody, so the only place I have to welcome her is into my living room when it airs on television.”
Reports of Cattrall’s surprise “And Just Like That” appearance began to surface after executive producer and co-creator Michael Patrick King told Variety he had “no realistic expectation of Kim Cattrall ever appearing again” in the “Sex and the City” universe.
Cattrall hasn’t been active in the franchise since she declined to sign on for a third “Sex and the City” movie in 2017.
It’s also no secret that Cattrall isn’t a fan of Parker. After years of feud rumors and eyebrow-raising interviews, the “How I Met Your Father” star explicitly and publicly told the “Hocus Pocus” actor, “You are not my friend,” in early 2018 when Cattrall’s brother died and Parker offered her condolences via Instagram.
“Your continuous reaching out is a painful reminder of how cruel you really were then and now,” Cattrall wrote on Instagram at the time.
“I’m writing to tell you one last time to stop exploiting our tragedy in order to restore your ‘nice girl’ persona.”
The first season of “And Just Like That” chalked up Samantha’s glaring absence to a business disagreement between her and Parker’s Carrie Bradshaw (side-eye emoji). The beloved character still lived on (sort of) in text exchanges between the two women.
Last year, King told Variety that getting Cattrall to return for “And Just Like That” was never even a “thought,” explaining that the actor “said what she had said.”
“The only place I participate in magical thinking is in fiction,” he said. “You take people at their word, and … you don’t back yourself into a corner.”
The sophomore season of “And Just Like That” premieres June 22 on HBO Max.
Thanks to Oscar Isaac’s new role in the latest Marvel release, the actor is now in an elite class of stars when looking at superhero movie history.
Isaac made his MCU debut in 2022 as one of Marvel Studios’ darkest heroes ever in Moon Knight, shining a light on Dissociative Identity Disorder while helping to provide some of the most intense action sequences Marvel Studios has ever seen.
This marked his long-awaited and unexpected return to the greater Marvel universe, as he also took on a villainous role as Apocalypse in 2016’s X-Men-centric movie, X-Men: Apocalypse.
Oscar Isaac Makes Marvel History
Marvel
Oscar Isaac made Marvel history with his voiceover role as Miguel O’Hara/Spider-Man 2099 in Sony Pictures’ most recent movie, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, which premiered in theaters on June 2.
Isaac becomes the first actor in history to play three separate Marvel characters in major roles, having previously been the headliner in 2016’s X-Men: Apocalypse and 2022’s Moon Knight. While he first played Spider-Man 2099 in 2018’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, he only appeared in that movie’s post-credits scene.
He’s also one of nine actors to play at least two different Marvel roles in the MCU and other franchises, the rest of which can be seen below:
When Will Oscar Isaac Return to Marvel Universe?
With his time in X-Men: Apocalypse didn’t leave a good taste in his mouth, Isaac has been quite complimentary about his experience in the MCU as well as his chance to voice an exciting new character in Sony’s Spider-Verse.
Now, the big question is when exactly he’ll find his way back onto the big or small screen with the red brand, especially considering where both of his current characters stand in their respective stories.
While rumors have pointed to Moon Knight being in line for a second season, nothing is confirmed from Marvel’s side, and the story itself ended in a difficult scenario with Khonshu honoring his deal to leave Marc Spector for now.
As for Sony’s animated web-slinger movies, it would be shocking if Isaac didn’t reprise his role as Spider-Man 2099 in 2024’s Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, especially considering the major cliffhanger that helped close out the most recent movie.
Safe to say, the next few years should see a whole lot of Oscar Isaac in one Marvel role or another, even though there are no indications specifically pointing to where he will show up next.
Over the years, rappers have been constantly branching out into other creative ventures, and one of the most common of those is acting. From being in a genre that is so expressive and all about how one carries themselves, it’s no wonder that many musical artists would pick this career path as it’s the most natural transition one could make. However, not all rappers become great actors and some even fall into the pool of an already oversaturated market of mediocrity.
Despite that, there have been some rappers who have found great success in acting, and some of them have even made a name for themselves in the film world to the point that you’d forget they were even originally rap stars. These are the best actors who were once rappers.
Updated June 2023: If you are a fan of rappers-turned-actors, you’re in luck. This article has been updated with additional content and entries by Molly Byrne.
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11 50 Cent
Starz
Curtis James Jackson III best known as 50 Cent, has been in the acting game since 2005 with his role as Marcus in Get Rich or Die Tryin’. He continued taking roles in movies where he can authentically portray himself in his hip-hop element. Some of his films include Streets of Blood, 13, Den of Thieves, and more. 50 Cent transitioned into writing and directing in 2008 with the film Before I Self Destruct. He executive produced the 2010 film Caught in the Crossfire and produced the six-season crime drama series, Power. The show started airing in 2014 and ended filming in 2020, but featured plenty of A-list stars that quickly got fans’ attention.
50 Cent’s music goes above and beyond. He’s been a prominent figure in the rap game since 2000 when he was set to release his first album Power of the Dollar before he was shot, and it never debuted. After his mixtape Guess Who’s Back? was released in 2002, Eminem signed 50 Cent to Shady Records under the control of Dr. Dre and the rest is history. Some of his most successful work in music includes the songs Candy Shop, In Da Club, P.I.M.P., and 21 Questions.
10 Teyana Taylor
Hulu
Teyana Taylor had her breakout role in music in Kanye West’s 2016 music video for his song Fade, where her killer dance moves were given high acclaim. She’s worked in music since 2005 when she was signed to Pharrell’s record label, Star Trak Entertainment. Taylor would go on to choreograph dances for stars like Beyoncé and write songs for artists like Chris Brown, Usher, and Omarion.
Taylor began acting in film in the 2010 movie Stomp the Yard: Homecoming and was welcomed by the Madea family for her role in Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Big Happy Family in 2011. Some of her work in film is centered around her dance ability like her role in Honey: Rise Up and Dance. She also starred alongside Eddie Murphy in Coming 2 America. Some of Taylor’s most recent work is in the drama film A Thousand and Oneas well as the 2023 film White Men Can’t Jump.
9 Ice-T
NBC
Tracy Lauren Marrow best known as Ice-T, has been a longtime actor and rapper. He rose to fame after displaying his rap talent in the ’80s underground scene. After signing to his first record label in 1987, he founded his own label the following year, Rhyme $yndicate Records. His first studio album with his own label went platinum and several of his continuing albums like O.G. Original Gangster and Home Invasion were certified gold. What’s intriguing about Ice-T is his versatility in music. Not only is he an acclaimed rapper, but he’s also dabbled in heavy metal as well, having released multiple albums for the genre.
His acting debut was in the 1983 film Breakin’ ‘n’ Enterin’ where he featured as both a rapper and break-dancer. He starred alongside Denzel Washington in New Jack City and continued taking roles pertaining to crime in most of his features. Though he’s worked a bit in film, Ice-T is most prominently known for his role as Fin Tutuola in Law and Order Special Victims Unit. He’s worked on the set of SVU since 2000 and continues to portray his special detective character on the show as it is still filming.
8 Common
Universal Pictures
Common has become a familiar face in cinema, mostly known for starring in action films. To date, Commonhas released a total of 14 studio albums and has been nominated for 17 Grammy Awards, winning three throughout his career. With early beginnings in a hip-hop trio known as C.D.R., the group would go on to become the opening act for artists like Big Daddy Kane and N.W.A. His sophomore album Resurrection was met with critical acclaim and gained him a substantial following in the underground hip-hop scene.
2006’s Smokin’ Aces would be Common’s official acting debut, where he played the head of security for Buddy ‘Aces’ Israel. Following this, Common would star in Ridley Scott’s critically acclaimed crime drama, American Gangster. The film received two Oscar nominations at the 80th Annual Academy Awards, and from then on, Common would continue to star in a string of action films, garnering credits in films like Street Kings, Wanted, and Terminator Salvation.
In 2010, Common would venture out of the typical action films one would expect him in and began taking roles in comedy films by starring in films like Date Night, Just Wright and New Year’s Eve. In 2014, Common would star in the historical drama Selma, directed by Ava DuVernay. The film was nominated for Best Picture and won Best Original Song at the 87th Annual Academy Awards. This song was Glory, written and performed by Common with John Legend. Glory also won Best Song Written for Visual Media at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards. Since then, Common has starred in over 20 films, including the smashing hit John Wick: Chapter 2, and is currently attached to Charlie Day’s and Krystin Ver Linden’s upcoming directorial debuts, El Tonto and Alice.
7 Ludacris
Universal Pictures
Christopher Brian Bridges, also known to fans as Ludacris is a hip-hop classic. He started rapping when he was only nine years old and formed his own record label, Disturbing tha Peace, in the late ‘90s after becoming familiar with being a DJ. Eventually, Ludacris would sign with Def Jam Records, giving him the exposure he needed. He’s released eight studio albums that include popular songs like Get Back, Rollout, My Chick Bad, Act a Fool, and Money Maker.
Ludacris merged into acting in his 2001 role in the movie The Wash. A year later he would be welcomed into The Fast and the Furious franchise where he’s appeared in seven of their films including the latest release, Fast X. Some of his other popular films include Hustle & Flow and No Strings Attached. Ludacris has also voiced the character Max in Show Dogs. His next film is the Christmas comedy, Dashing Through the Snow, which is set to premiere in December 2023.
6 Ice Cube
Columbia Pictures
O’Shea Jackson Sr., better known by his stage name Ice Cube, is a prolific name in hip-hop music. From being part of the controversial collective N.W.A. to his equally successful solo ventures, Ice Cube is highly respected in rap music and looked up to by many. N.W.A.’s debut album, Straight Outta Compton, was critically acclaimed and became the first-ever rap album to gain a five-star rating from Rolling Stone. The album was certified triple-platinum and was also the first rap album to be inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Cube’s first four solo albums were all certified platinum, with his third album, The Predator selling over two million copies.
Cube would make his transition into film by having his first starring role in John Singleton’s crime drama, Boyz n the Hood. The film would go on to be nominated for two Oscars at the 64th Annual Academy Awards, making history for writer-director Singleton for being the first African-American to be nominated for Best Director and for being the youngest person to be nominated in that category. In 1995, Cube starred alongside Chris Tucker in the buddy stoner comedy film Friday. Co-written by Cube himself, the film would go on to gain a mass cult following and is immortalized by a string of Internet memes and constant pop-culture references.
Cube would spend the next several years consistently building up his acting resume. However, it was only in 2012 that Cube would score another massive hit under his belt by starring as Captain Dickson in the buddy cop action comedy film, 21 Jump Street. Adapted from the hit TV show of the same name, the film became a huge success, grossing over $200 million against a $54 million budget. Cube would reprise his role in its 2014 sequel, before serving as a producer on the N.W.A biopic, Straight Outta Compton. Nominated for Best Original Screenplay at the 88th Annual Academy Awards, the film would star Cube’s son, O’Shea Jackson Jr., who portrayed his father in the film.
5 LL Cool J
CBS
The ever-so-suave James Todd Smith, also known as LL Cool J is well known for both his acting and rapping. He’s one of the first known commercial rappers alongside Run-DMC and has kept his head above the water in the hip-hop game since 1984 when he signed with Def Jam Records. His debut album Radio was certified platinum by the RIAA within years. His popular single I Need a Beat helped Def Jam Records become established enough to reach a distribution deal with Columbia Records, but LL Cool J didn’t stop there. He went on to earn even more platinum-selling records like Bigger and Deffer, Mr. Smith, Phenomenon, and more.
LL Cool J may be making waves in the hip-hop field, but he’s doing just the same in the acting guild. His role on the hit crime show NCIS: Los Angeles began in season six and was reprised until the final fourteenth season. Some of his television features include House, 30 Rock, American Dad!, and Hawaii Five-O. LL Cool J has also done plenty of work in film since 1985. Some of his films include roles in In Too Deep, Charlie’s Angels, S.W.A.T., and Last Holiday.
4 Queen Latifah
HBO Films
Queen Latifah is a prominent figure in hip-hop for a variety of reasons. Often regarded as the “Queen of Hip-Hop,” Latifah was a key figure in the rise of female rappers and broke barriers in a genre that was predominantly run by men. She was also the first female rapper to receive an RIAA certification. Throughout her career, Latifah has been nominated for six Grammy Awards and won one, and was also awarded the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2006. She was also nominated for an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards and won one.
Latifah began her musical career by first being a beatboxer for the hip-hop group Ladies Fresh. In 1993, she released her third studio album, Black Reign, and won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance at the 37th Annual Grammy Awards for the song “U.N.I.T.Y.” Being such a prolific figure in hip-hop, Queen Latifah’s film endeavors were met with equal praise. Latifah’s transition into acting began in 1991 when she was cast in Spike Lee’s romantic drama, Jungle Fever. She was also given her own daytime talk show (aptly titled The Queen Latifah Show) that ran for two seasons from 1999 to 2001. The following year, Latifah starred in the on-screen adaptation of the Broadway musical, Chicago. The film received critical acclaim and snagged six Oscars, including Best Picture at the 75th Annual Academy Awards, and was Latifah’s first Oscar nomination.
The Queen then starred in Life Support in 2007, a television film where Latifah would play an HIV-positive woman. This role would earn Latifah a win at the 65th Golden Globe Awards, along with an Emmy nomination. She returned to TV in 2015 for Bessie, where she would play the titular musical legend, Bessie Smith. The film became HBO’s most-watched original film in the network’s history at the time, with critics praising Latifah’s performance. Bessie won Outstanding Television Movie at the 67th Primetime Emmy Awards, with the actor being nominated as well, along with another Golden Globe nomination. Queen Latifah is currently attached to star alongside Adam Sandler in the sports comedy film Hustle,as well as the Netflix thriller End of the Road alongside fellow rapper-turned-actor Ludacris.
3 Tupac Shakur
Columbia Pictures
The late Tupac Amaru Shakur passed away at the age of 25 in 1999 from gunshot wounds. He left behind him a legacy that could never be forgotten, as his acts in music and film continue to gain mainstream success. He has sold more than 75 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling artists of all time. Not only was Tupac a rapper, but his songwriting is some of the best lyricism of our time. He could break through a beat with a mental focus unlike any other. His album All Eyez on Me is certified Diamond by the RIAA and most of his albums have reached gold or platinum. Some of Tupac’s greatest songs are Ambitionz az a Ridah, Dear Mama, Keep Ya Head Up, and All Eyez on Me.
Tupac was also a phenomenal actor as well. He starred in films where his natural element of a hip-hop mogul could shine. He first appeared in the 1991 movie Nothing but Trouble. His role in Juice was received extremely well by fans and prominent people in the acting industry, making his career sail from early on. He starred alongside Janet Jackson in the romance film Poetic Justice and went on the work on films like Above the Rim, Bullet, and Gang Related. Tupac has also recently been honored with a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
2 Will Smith
Warner Bros. Pictures
Will Smith is a household name at this point. From making music in 1985 to becoming Hollywood’s leading man, the Fresh Prince has now become a staple in mainstream cinema. Smith began his musical career by collaborating with fellow Philly DJ and record producer, DJ Jazzy Jeff. Collectively known as DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, the duo released five studio albums and won a total of three American Music Awards, one MTV Video Music Award, one Soul Train Music Award, and two Grammy Awards. Their second studio album, titled He’s the DJ, I’m the Rapper, was certified triple platinum and was the first-ever double vinyl album in hip-hop music.
The duo would disband in 1993 after their final album together, Code Red, due to Smith’s pursuit of acting. By this time, Smith was already raking up several credits in film, starring in Where the Day Takes You and Made in America. However, it was a TV role that put Smith on the map by starring as the leading character in the hit sitcom, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The series ran from 1990 to 1996 with over 140 episodes and is now known as the launching pad that catapulted Will Smith into stardom. His musical partner DJ Jazzy Jeff also had a recurring role in the series, playing Smith’s best friend, Jazz. Smith oozed charisma in a show which made him instantly likable and captured the hearts of millions.
Upon the incredible success of the sitcom, Smith would go on to attain leading roles in blockbuster films, the first of which being Michael Bay’s buddy cop action film, Bad Boys. From here, Smith would keep himself busy by consistently starring in big-budget films every year, like Independence Day, Men in Black, Enemy of the State, and Wild Wild West. Although not all of his endeavors proved to be fruitful, it was clear that Smith was well on his way to cementing his status as a Hollywood A-lister. To this date, Will Smith has starred in nearly 50 films and has been nominated for two Academy Awards, and won one Golden Globe for Best Actor where he portrayed Richard Williams in the 2021 biographical drama, King Richard.
1 Donald Glover (Childish Gambino)
NBC
With over a hundred nominations (and counting) under his belt, including two Golden Globes and five Grammy Awards, Donald Glover has paved a lane for himself in the music and movie worlds ranging from rapping, singing, acting, writing, directing, and producing. Glover released his first mixtape, The Younger I Get, back in 2005 under the stage name Childish Gambino, and has since released 13 other mixtapes, three EPs, and four studio albums. His third album, Awaken My Love, was certified platinum, selling over a million copies.
Glover first branched out into acting in 2005, taking on minor roles in various TV shows and video shorts. His big break would come in the year 2009 when Gambino had a main starring role in Dan Harmon’s cult classic TV show, Community. Playing former high school star quarterback Troy Barnes, Glover reached new heights in his career, exhibiting a natural knack for comedy. That role would earn him an American Comedy Award, winning the Breakout Performer of the Year in 2012. Gambino would also bring comedic wits to other TV shows by becoming an Executive Story Editor for NBC’s 30 Rock, where he would work for 23 episodes from 2008 to 2009, and to live stand-up specials like Weirdo.
In 2016, Glover would create the critically acclaimed TV show Atlanta, which received numerous awards and nominations but most notably for Glover being the first-ever African American recipient of Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series at the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards. Besides the small screen, Glover also starred in numerous blockbuster films such as Magic Mike XXL, The Martian, The Lion King, Solo: A Star Wars Story, and Spider-Man: Homecoming. His most recent work in film is the series Swarm, where he was able to use his stimulated creativity to make an epic and horrifying storyline. With a plethora of accolades and a multifaceted powerhouse of overflowing talent, it seems like there’s no stopping Donald Glover from continuing to flourish in his creative endeavors.
As an early adopter of everytihg VR it is a good thing that SONY is investing in this space. IMHO this is the entartainment of the future. I did build a custom PC specifically for VR (rtx 4090, Ryzen 9, Pico 4) and what I get out of it is unmatched. I did purchase PSVR1 and now PSVR2 and for the price the offering is still a bit undecoocked especially on the exclusive games front. Don’t get me wrong, GT7, RE VIII, RE IV, Horizon are great starting point to bring VR to a more mature audience. 600 euros is a steep price to pay to get into VR on PS5 but if you factor in its potential these are money well spent in the long run. Not a huge fan of ports to PSVR2 as I already have plaied everything else on PC so hopefully the software house will start making games that will take full advantage of the fantastic hardware. It is a good time to be a gamer.
It was a not-so-chilly day in October 2021. My wife and writing partner Natalie Victoria and I were pumpkin patching with our good friends R.H. Norman and Micheline Pitt Norman in Los Angeles.
The Normans are a fantastic writing duo and Micheline had been talking with her friend and self-proclaimed gore hound Luke Lebeau about a new company he was forming called Welcome Villain.
Luke was a fan of a horror film I directed in 2014 calledLast Shift, and Micheline made the intro. I was standing in that pumpkin patch talking to Luke on the phone as the others searched for kettle corn and candy apples.
Luke asked me a simple question, “What do you think about revisiting the world of Last Shift?”
“Like a remake?” I said.
“Let’s call it a reimagining.” Luke was offering me a chance to write and direct a movie I had already made but with more resources. A bigger budget, that’s all that means… The possibilities raced through my mind… more time, more talent, more stunts, more effects… more blood. Gallons of it at our disposal.
I was intrigued…
‘Malum’ behind the scenes Credit: Courtesy of Anthony DiBlasi
The next day I’m on the phone with my co-writer and producer of Last Shift, Scott Poiley. Poiley was based in Florida, and I directed three films that he produced. Last Shift was our first co-writing venture and it became one of my most successful films. Scott was dubious about the funds coming together but I told him the signs were pointing in the right direction. The Welcome Villain team was saying the right things, and I was confident the money would come together.
Scott and I started talking ideas and we threw together a treatment which was basically a six-page vomit draft of the first film, but the ideas hadn’t started flowing yet, also Scott was dealing with some health issues. Scott had undergone a heart transplant seven years prior and he was having complications and receiving treatment. The notion that we’d get to write together again and get paid for it was a welcome distraction so we started brainstorming.
‘Last Shift’ behind the scenesCredit: Courtesy of Anthony DiBlasi
Scott cringed at some of the dialogue from the first film, we’d grown as writers and it’s something he really wanted to focus on. For me, it was the mythology and the structure. Last Shift focused on a satanic cult haunting a police station on a rookie cop’s first… and last shift. I wanted to stay away from the generic devil-worshipping stuff and create a mythology that was all our own.
There were also so many more scares we could include now, gags we had to leave out of the first film due to budget constraints. Our world of the now-titled Malum was forming and with each treatment passed I forgot about Last Shift and realized we were making a completely new film.
Yes, it still had the basic premise of Last Shift, and we still retained a few good set pieces that really worked, but its DNA was cut from a different flesh.
Our character’s motivations were changed, and that changed every page of the screenplay.
‘Malum’Credit: Welcome Villain Films
About the time we sat down to write the screenplay, Scott was admitted into the hospital. He wouldn’t emerge till 40 days later. His treatments were painful and draining but during that time we talked and worked almost every day. We kept busy and stayed focused.
Last Shift reimagining was the normalcy in our lives and it allowed us not to discuss what was really going on. Scott’s heart was failing and he needed another transplant. Scott had daughters, Scott had a wife, Scott had a business, and he had his love for making movies. We focused on all that we loved.
After the Welcome Villain team signed off on the script, and I went to Kentucky to scout locations, we decided on a shoot date of August. Prep would start the first week of July, and Scott told me he got the OK from his doctors to take the trip to Kentucky and produce alongside the Welcome Villain team as he intended. He’d be bringing his oldest daughter Skyler along. Skyler would be going to film school in the fall and this would be her first on-set credit, though she was always around for the other three films we made together. In my eyes, she was already a veteran.
‘Malum’ behind the scenes Credit: Courtesy of Anthony DiBlasi
We set up base camp in a decommissioned police station in downtown Louisville Kentucky. Jessica Sula from M. Night Shyamalan’s Split signed on to be our new Jessica Loren and RusselFX, who just came off of the Hellraiser reboot, designed some incredible practical effects for us. We were ready to make some monsters and spill some blood, most of it landing on Jessica Sula during the course of the shoot. The production was both rewarding and the toughest of my career. It was summertime in Kentucky hot, the schedule was packed, and though the station looked amazing, it was a labyrinth.
Splitting up scenes in multiple locations was the norm for this shoot. We wanted to milk the best locations out of it, but it was a massive challenge. Our script supervisor definitely had the hardest job on set. On top of it all, I couldn’t believe how much Scott was doing, he was taking it easy, but his easy was still basically doing the job of three people. He has always been a beast of a producer and a great collaborator when it came to figuring out story points on set, which we did often.
During this journey, I never once felt like I was remaking a movie I had already made. I told Jessica early on not to watch the first film so that the baggage of comparisons never became part of our language. Every scene was fresh between us, and her creative process fueled that. I set out to make a new film for a new audience, a better film that Scott and I could be proud of and I believe we did that.
‘Malum’ title cardCredit: Welcome Villain Films
It was a completely unique experience, and not since Leo McCary in 1957 (Love Affair (1939) into An Affair to Remember (1957)) has an American director remade his own feature film. It sounds a little better to say not since Cecil B. DeMille remade The Ten Commandments (1923) into The Ten Commandments (1956), but Leo had him beat by a year so I have to honor that.
Scott left set with Skyler during the last week of production to spend time with his family and to see Skyler off as she left for college. I took a picture with Sky and then ran off to direct, so Scott snuck away from set with an Irish goodbye, though he was not an Irishman.
I returned home around September 1st to start post-production, Scott and I jumped on the phone a few days later to complain about drives and how we needed to order some better ones if I was going to make it through the edit. That night, Scott went into the hospital and he passed away the next morning.
I received a text from his wife that haunts me to this day: “Scott died,” which led me to immediately get on the phone with her.
Scott and I were in the business of make-believe, but nothing has felt more unreal to me than that moment. Malum became a film I had to complete without one of my closest friends and collaborators, it became a mission and a dedication.
Post-production was put on hold for a few weeks so I could dedicate my time to helping his wife, Mary, and family create a celebration of life. Even now, Scott and I were still collaborating. I was going through all the videos on his phone and computer, compiling a story that we could present to a crowded auditorium filled with his friends and family. When it was done, the show went on as it must. We had schedules and deadlines so to the edit bay, I went, but by this point, I had all I needed.
Scott, myself, and the Welcome Villain team had put our best efforts into making the best movie we could for the resources we had.
Scott and I liked writing scary movies together because we spent most of that time laughing and pushing the boundaries of what was socially acceptable. In the writer’s room, we were like 6-year-olds, but that’s how we came up with some of our best ideas. There’s no easy way to wrap this up really… what is our denouement? Scott’s daughter, Skyler, is at film school looking to carry on her father’s legacy and complete all the unfinished works he left behind.
I’m promoting our last filmtogether. It was all part of the journey in the reimagining of Last Shift, a tiny movie Scott and I made in 2014. Although it’s not common for horror and it may seem macabre to some due to how bloody and scary Malum gets, when the credits roll on this collaboration between two screenwriters and the best of friends, the audience will read:
You Hurt My Feelings stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus (You People) as Beth, a novelist, and Tobias Menzies (The Crown) as Don, a therapist, two halves of a couple living in New York City. Their long-standing marriage is suddenly upended when Beth overhears her husband giving his honest reaction to her latest book. The film is produced by FilmNation Entertainment and Likely Story. It is being distributed to US audiences by studio, A24, which picked up the comedy-drama at the 2021 American Film Market. The film then premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah on January 22, 2023.
This is Dreyfus’ second collaboration with Director Nicole Holofcener since Enough Said in which she starred alongside late actor James Gandolfini.
You Hurt My Feelings showcases the reality of building trust and honesty in a relationship.
A24 Films’ You Hurt My Feelings premieres May 26, 2023.
Dreyfus’ casting was smart as I couldn’t see any other actress embodying this role. She puts on a performance that is equal parts humorous and dramatic. The movie exhibited much more humor than I expected before purchasing my ticket. With a small ensemble cast, watching the events of the movie unfold felt very intimate, almost voyeuristic in a way. Dreyfus’ reaction to the events of the premise occurring, which leads to her eventual breakdown after overhearing Don’s thoughts on her book, sets the tone for the rest of the film.
Holofcener is known for her realistic approach to storytelling, which is evident in her previous work (Walking and Talking, Friends with Money) and this film lives up to the expectation of intimate character studies. It essentially explores the intricacies of different relationships, whether they are familial, parental, academic, or romantic. While the film centers around the relationship between Beth and Don, other relationship dynamics abound such as between Beth’s sister Sarah (Michaela Watkins), an interior designer, and her husband Mark (Arian Moayed), an anxious actor. Another character with a strong presence in the film is Beth and Sarah’s mother, Georgia (Jeannie Berlin), who has to accept that her life is fast-moving and changing around her, even if she doesn’t want to accept it.
Seeing how Don interacts with his work also gave more insight into how he approaches conflict. Through a series of not-so-positive encounters with his repeat patients, with one couple expecting a refund of the money spent on their sessions, a bunch of imperfect moments slowly lead to an eye-opening sub-narrative of taking control of your own life and not leaving it up to others to help put the broken pieces back together.
We see how Beth interacts with her students as a writing instructor, listening to their “real life” yet off-putting stories to use as material for their work, Beth doesn’t bat an eye at making sure her students know that she’s listening to their every word and encouraging them, even though none of them had reciprocated the kindness by reading her already-published memoir before signing up for her class. This bleeds into Beth’s relationship with her son. The couple engages in a seemingly loving but co-dependent relationship, that upsets their young adult son Elliott who lives out of the home, but not out of reach, and even says that he feels like a third wheel.
At the same time, his current relationship with his girlfriend becomes a thing of the past and forces him to be introspective about his life and confronts Beth and Don later in the movie, asking why Beth failed to inform him of his true capabilities as a young boy. Even with the inclusion of such topics as well as a therapist lead character, there’s nothing truly psychological about this film as it deals with the social implications of not being truthful in relationships and quite honestly pokes fun at the therapist-patient relationship trope, which I enjoyed.
Watching the movie almost felt like watching a play, where each scene showcases a different slice of a relationship. Though it is not overwhelming and Holofcener subtly ends the movie by returning to focus on the main couple in question. It was a fun watch and warranted another hour to delve into even more. It would’ve been nice to gain more backstory from each of the relationships. It can help others assess what does and doesn’t work in their relationships. Do I need to tell my partner? Can this wait until something serious happens? Should I be upfront with them now? These are all questions the movie asks as Olivia begins to unexpectedly lose what she holds dear just like she lost her friend.
The relationship comedy-drama, You Hurt My Feelings, premiered in select theaters on Friday, May 26.
Anders Jensen has stepped down as CEO of Scandinavian media group Viaplay after a lousy quarter that saw advertising sales slump and subscriber figures dip.
Jensen, who is credited with Viaplay’s aggressive move into original production and a streaming-first focus as the Nordic company, is leaving after five years as CEO and will be replaced by Jorgen Madsen Lindemann, the ex-CEO of Viaplay’s former parent company MTG.
Viaplay announced Jensen’s resignation early Monday morning after it posted second-quarter results that showed the company booked an operating (EBIT) loss of between $23.1 million and $27.7 million (200 million – 300 million Swedish Krona) on expected sales of between 4.5 billion – 4.6 billion Swedish Krona ($415 million – $420 million).
It was bad news all round. Advertising sales dropped double digits, with ad revenues projected to be down between 12 percent and 16 percent on an organic basis, due to the “sharp and rapid deterioration in the TV and radio advertising markets,” the streaming and pay-TV business is slumping with “lower demand in the Nordic and international streaming D2C subscriber markets and lower wholesale subscription sales by linear distribution partners.” And cost cuts at the company have been slow to deliver the expected savings.
The situation is so dire, Viplay has withdrawn its 2025 operating and financial targets and will provide a new medium-term outlook on July 20.
“In the light of current challenges, the company is best served if I step down, and I have therefore decided to do so,” Jensen said in a statement. “I wish the company and the team the very best in the future.”
Jensen had bet big on the future of streaming and original programming at Viaplay, aggressively ramping up in-house productions — the company just greenlight a new drama series from Snabba Cash author Jens Lapidus — and snatching up costly sports rights for its premium services. Jensen also had international ambitions, launching a version of its Nordic streaming service in the U.K. last year and in the U.S. in February.
Sunday’s episode of Fear the Walking Dead felt like old times — really old times. It gave Morgan visions of late wife Jenny as he sought to put down their son Duane after all these years. (Better very late than never?) Needless to say, what with a whole hour needing to be filled, things did not go smoothly.
Early on in “King County,” Morgan discovered that he couldn’t enter his old house and lay Duane to rest; too painful. Further complicating matters was the arrival on the scene of Grace and Mo, the latter of whom turned out to be a child prodigy who’d added two and two off intel from Madison, guessed where her father was going and sent her mother a fake message so that she could stow away on the ride.
Soon, Dwight and Sherry showed up in full PADRE mode. They had to take Morgan back in order to win from Shrike their own and son Finch’s freedom. Naturally, the former Saviors weren’t able to accomplish their goal any more easily than Morgan was his own. He, Grace and Mo wound up hiding in the house where he and Duane had laid low post-apocalypse. Only then did Grace wonder, “What have we been doing these last seven years?” (Again, better very late than never?)
Upstairs, Morgan found the rifle that Rick Grimes gave him way back in the first episode of The Walking Dead. Morgan could use it to save his family — if only he didn’t keep seeing a zombified Jenny where regular carrion stood. Although Dwight and Sherry threatened to burn Morgan & Co. out of the house, they didn’t. Instead, they asked to see Duane so that they could prove to PADRE somehow that he was the real reason that Nightingale had flown the coop.
Alas, the dead kid was not where his father expected him to be. Jenny’s dead-dead body was there… but Duane’s ambulatory one? Nope. Ultimately, Dwight and Sherry helped Morgan escape the execution that Shrike ordered. What’s more, the couple was able to radio with Finch, who was now right as rain, for long enough to tell him to use the “chimney sweep” move on Shrike and make a beeline for a boat leaving in 20 minutes; they’d meet him on the other side.
Before we could say, “Yay! Reunited!” Grace revealed to Morgan that she’d known for months that she was dying of radiation poisoning. (D’oh!) Desperate to save her and Mo, Morgan used Rick’s rifle to gun down walkers and save his daughter from a house fire — and from Duane, whom he’d forgotten chaining in the attic. The following morning, as the gang prepared to leave to help Madison and Daniel reunite all of PADRE’s kids with their parents, Grace was bitten by a walker. (Again, d’oh! First radiation poisoning, then this?!?)
More desperate than ever to save his family, Morgan raced them to the dock where Dwight and Sherry were rendezvousing with Finch. June’s treatment had saved the boy; now, Morgan hoped, it would save Grace, too. Um, but would it also cure radiation poisoning? What do you think? Is Grace a goner? This being the final season, she’s gotta be, right?
Barry Newman, who somehow made souped-up muscle cars look even cooler in the 1971 film “Vanishing Point” and starred in the titular role on NBC’s legal drama “Petrocelli,” has died. He was 92 years old.
Newman died at Columbia University Irving Medical Center on May 11, according to media reports.
Born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts, he took a college course with renowned acting instructor Lee Strasberg, who inspired him to become an actor. After graduating from Brandeis University and serving time in the army, Newman moved to New York City to study with Strasberg.
Newman went on to perform in various Broadway and New York theater shows before moving into feature films like 1971’s “The Lawyer” and, of course, “Vanishing Point,” in which he played Kowalski, a car delivery driver known for transporting hot rods in record time — but with a knack for running into trouble with highway cops.
He went on to star on NBC’s “Petrocelli,” which followed the Harvard-educated lawyer from Boston as he sets up shop in a small Arizona town. The series ran for two seasons through 1976. It garnered Newman nominations for both an Emmy and a Golden Globe Award.
In the years since “Petrocelli” ended, Newman has appeared in several TV series, including “The O.C.,” “Nightingales,” “Ghost Whisperer,” “NYPD Blue,” “L.A. Law” and “Murder, She Wrote.”
He also went on to appear in notable films, including Sylvester Stallone’s “Daylight,” Steve Martin’s “Bowfinger,” and Stephen Soderbergh’s “The Limey” with Peter Fonda.
Can this BET series keep viewers coming back for more? Has the Tyler Perry’s Sistas TV show been cancelled or renewed for a seventh season? The television vulture is watching all the latest cancellation and renewal news, so this page is the place to track the status of Sistas, season seven. Bookmark it, or 
