Wednesday, November 20, 2024
Donate
Home Blog Page 507

Exclusive: Selena Gomez’s Mabel May Be Mixing It Up On “Only Murders” with Cara Delevingne Romantically

Roger Friedman
-
0
Exclusive: Selena Gomez’s Mabel May Be Mixing It Up On “Only Murders” with Cara Delevingne Romantically

We all know Mabel on “Only Murders in the Building” is willing to do anything to solve a crime. But on season 2, Mabel may be getting very fluid in the name of justice.

Sources tell us that the introduction of a new character played by Cara Delevingne could throw a wrench in the romance between Mabel, played by Selena Gomez, and Oscar (Aaron Dominguez). A close relationship is said to develop between Mabel and Cara’s character, Alice, an art dealer living in the building where Gomez, Steve Martin, and Martin Short solved their season 1 mystery.

Some who’ve seen “sides” for season 2 indicate that Gomez, who won accolades as the no nonsense Mabel, and Alice will be locking lips in at least one scene, maybe more, “I’m told it’s a relationship,” says a source, which wouldn’t be great for Aaron. In real life, Gomez and Delevingne are pals, and were recently photographed together at a Knicks game having a lot of fun. They were probably just rehearsing their scenes.

Delevingne is the perfect choice for Alice. She leads a bold life in the real world. She dates in all categories, genders, and genres. She’s what they call these days pan-sexual, which is hotter even than oven-sexual! Let’s just hope Alice lives through the whole series!

 

Review: Japan’s “Drive My Car” Is Winning All the Critics Prizes for a Reason, It’s the Only Contemporary Drama

Regina Weinreich
-
0
Review: Japan’s “Drive My Car” Is Winning All the Critics Prizes for a Reason, It’s the Only Contemporary Drama

Life moves slowly. Loss. Grief. So much happens in Ryusuke Hamaguchi‘s “Drive My Car,” Japan’s entry for the Best International Film Academy Award, it is amazing that the movie is only close to three hours long.

That “Drive My Car” has been named Best Film by the venerable NY and LA Film Critics can make you think, “Parasite all over again.” But that Best Picture Oscar winner from Korea is action-packed, a satiric bloody nightmare romp, while the longueurs of “Drive My Car” drive home deeper, more difficult truths, and how we process them.

An acclaimed theater director named Kafuku (Hidetoshi Nishijima) loses his beautiful wife after witnessing her having sex with a younger man in their apartment. (No one kills her, dies of a cerebral hemorrhage). Two years into his grief, he takes a job in far off Hiroshima directing “Uncle Vanya,” the script for which becomes a leitmotif woven into his own parallel experience. The theater company assigns him a driver, a dour young woman (Tôko Miura) from a remote mountain town Hokkaido. She chauffeurs him around in his red Saab, her face expressing oceans of sadness.

Producing Chekhov in Japan may represent one aspect of multi-culturalism, but the players speak many languages, including sign. And perhaps most poignantly, it takes more than translation to make inner lives connect. “Drive My Car” unfurls slowly and deliberately, as these two are not in a rom-com. And Kafuku’s history with the dead wife, and her young lover, become their own Chekhovian soap opera that must be sorted out painstakingly.

With Oscars looming, “Drive My Car” makes sense, filling a void as the only contemporary drama on spectrum of otherwise compelling 2021 films. “Belfast” and “West Side Story” have been lauded, but like almost everything else they are stories set in the past. This includes  Joel Coen’s The Tragedy of Macbeth, Jane Campion’s Power of the Dog, Paul Thomas Anderson’s Licorice Pizza, and Aaron Sorkin’s Being the Ricardos, The only other film set in our time is Adam McKay’s jokey “Don’t Look Up.”  Maybe this is why Hamaguchi’s epic has resonated so strongly with critics. Its messages are immediate and eternal.

Steady “Spider Man” Flies to $328 Million on 6th Day of Release With No End in Sight

Roger Friedman
-
0
Steady “Spider Man” Flies to $328 Million on 6th Day of Release With No End in Sight

Spider Man, Spider Man, does whatever a spider can.

Actually, thank God spiders can’t really do what Peter Parker can nowadays. Otherwise, the world might be a very different place…

Anyway. “No Way Home” added $31 million last night, crossed the $300 million mark to $328 million on its sixth day of release.

With just a 15% drop from Monday there is no end in sight. Sony-Columbia is flirting with $400 million by or on Friday. Right now, the worldwide total is just about $700 million. Most other movies are cursed by COVID and not doing well. “West Side Story,” which should be a blockbuster, is struggling toward $20 million. Shameful.

With business booming for Spidey, we can only imagine the pay days for Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield. Let’s hope they had escalator clauses…

Broadway COVID Emergency: Actor Knocked Out by Virus, Playwright Steps in and Takes Over Role

Roger Friedman
-
0
Broadway COVID Emergency: Actor Knocked Out by Virus, Playwright Steps in and Takes Over Role

What to do when COVID comes for a Broadway cast right before it’s curtain up?

Last night on Broadway the new, highly praised play “Thoughts of a Colored Man” the show had to go on: the audience got a surprise when Keenan Scott, the playwright, appeared on stage in place of the leading cast member, pressed into service minutes before the curtain went up.

What happened? A cast member tested positive for COVID-19 and two non-COVID related illnesses had already knocked down others in the cast. Three actors were suddenly out, and only two trained understudies were standing by.

And the audience was already seated, paid their money, and expected to see a Broadway show.

Some other shows in the last week have actually dismissed the audience from their seats when COVID was discovered lurking backstage. But this group wouldn’t let that happen!

Scott asked producer Brian Moreland if he could go on in the role of “Wisdom,” usually played by Jerome Preston Bates. Was that wise? Moreland figured, why not, who knows the play better?  Scott performed the role script-in-hand — and one plus, he didn’t ad lib! (The playwright never likes it if the actors go “off book.”)

It’s a theater tradition, you know. Shakespeare used to go on as Lady Macbeth all the time when she couldn’t get the damn spot out. (No, just kidding, folks.)

Producer Moreland said afterwards, “It was a thrilling night for a Broadway audience to experience our play.  Keenan Scott II is a bold new voice for now, and last night he exhibited the power and resilience of everyone who makes up the Broadway community.”

Scott  is expected to continue playing the role at least through the holiday weekend.

Ringo Starr Publishing “Closest Thing to a Memoir” He’s Had So Far, With New Stories and Pictures

Roger Friedman
-
0
Ringo Starr Publishing “Closest Thing to a Memoir” He’s Had So Far, With New Stories and Pictures

“Lifted” is the strange name of a book we will want to read. It’s by Ringo Starr, and according to sources, it’s the closest thing to a memoir the Beatles legendary drummer has had so far.

Indeed, Ringo always said he’d never publish an autobiography. He has produced several books of photographs. my favorite being his “Postcards” book.

For “Lifted,” the book will be available not through a publisher but through Julien’s Auction House. There’s a consumer edition for $59.99 and a signed special edition for 500 bucks.

“Lifted” is coming in February 2022.

All the proceeds are going to the Lotus Foundation.

Paul McCartney has his “The Lyrics” book out now. Long ago George Harrison published his non-memoir, “I Me Mine.” And now it’s Ringo’s turn. All we need next is Yoko Ono’s book!

PS Ringo is one of the great treats of the “Get Back” doc on Disney Plus, and his drumming remains a highlight of all the Beatles’ re-releases like “Let it Be.” Listen to “Ticket to Ride” or “A Day in the Life” and then back to me. Astounding.

From the press materials:

“I am not writing this book as a Beatle historian,” Starr explains with a laugh. “I’m writing this book as a Beatle — and there’s only a couple of us who can do that.” Asked about the origins of this new project, Starr explains, “I didn’t keep all these photos. These fantastic images came back to me in recent years from here, there and everywhere — online and off — and have somehow helped me get back to seeing my life with The Fab Four through fresh eyes. A lot of the photos in this book I spotted on my phone and on my computer and “lifted” them because they brought back so many fabulous memories. In recent years, I’d gather these Beatles photos that I sometimes barely remembered. After a while, I thought, how great it would be to “lift” these fantastic photos and some of my other favorites for charity and tell my true tales that they inspire about what the four of us — John, Paul, George and Ringo — went through back in the day. And the best thing is that it’s all for a good cause because the money is going to our Lotus Foundation.

According to Starr, “When people ask me about the Beatles, I often tell them, `You better ask Paul,’ because somehow he seems to remember everything. But along with great projects like Get Back, seeing so many of these amazing Beatles images has really brought back those days to me and all the love and friendship that we four shared back then. So this a book full of Beatle images that many people haven’t seen and stories that I’m sharing with a little help from my longtime writer friend David Wild. We’ve all been through a pretty tough time for a lot of people who’ve been locked down, and this book has really lifted my spirits and took me back to where I once belonged in a whole new way. And in the end, that’s why this new book is called Lifted. The Beatles changed my life forever. So it’s about getting back and giving back.”

UPDATE: Sorting Out the Mysterious Announcement of an Unlikely “West Side Story” Sequel as Told in Forbes.com

Roger Friedman
-
0
UPDATE: Sorting Out the Mysterious Announcement of an Unlikely “West Side Story” Sequel as Told in Forbes.com

UPDATE 12/30/21: Marc Hershberg wrote a follow up story to his original one about all this. Here’s the link. Hershberg tells me he wrote what he was told by all the people involved, and that they changed their tune once they realized a real “West Side Story” sequel would never be allowed. So I’ll cut him some slack.

 

EARLIER

There is no sequel to “West Side Story” coming. We will not be getting the Further Adventures of Maria After Tony Dies.

But Forbes.com, still using a network of amateurs to fill its website pages, posted an announcement of such a project two days ago. It was actually called “‘West Side Story’ Sequel In The Works As Ethnic Groups Reclaim Their Stories” by someone named Marc A. Hershberg. His bio says he coves the business of theater. He’s also an entertainment lawyer, he says.

Well, now, the musical to which he was referring is called “Maria,” but the connections to “West Side Story” don’t exist. It’s being written by Steven Sapp and his, Mildred Ruiz-Sapp. They participated in a YouTube discussion that Hershberg — like most of the Forbes.com geniuses– misinterpreted.

Today Long Wharf Theater in New Haven had to issue a denial and explanation of their “Maria,” which you can see below. The YouTube discussion is below that.

“West Side Story” is owned by the estates of Arthur Laurents, Stephen Sondheim and Leonard Bernstein, and Shakespeare. They’ll be lucky to survive the current Spielberg movie (actually, it’s great) but there will be no sequels. Forbes.com, as usual, is another planet. And the Herhberg story is still up on the site.  My guess is, a rumble comes next.

PS Thanks to David Gordon of the Outer Critics Circle, who pointed this out on Twitter.

Oscars: French “Horror” Film “Titane,” Submitted by France Fails to Make Short List, Almodovar Missing for A Stupid Reason

Roger Friedman
-
0
Oscars: French “Horror” Film “Titane,” Submitted by France Fails to Make Short List, Almodovar Missing for A Stupid Reason

The Academy has spoken. The Foreign Film branch has announced its shortlist and left off Julia Ducournau’s “Titane,” unlikely winner of this year’s Palme D;or at the Cannes Film Festival.

I am not surprised.

Though “Titane” is considered cutting edge by some, it gave me nightmares — twice. It’s a punk horror film that is way beyond the Oscars. In it, the main character, a very fluid young woman, has aex with a Cadillac and gives birth to a metal spined baby. And that’s the least objectionable part of it.

France submitted “Titane” as its official entry, and was denied. It’s as simple as that.

Meantime, Spain didn’t choose Pedro Almodovar’s “Parallel Mothers” as its Oscar entry. Instead, they put in “The Good Boss.” This was a mistake. Obviously, some kind of politics at the Spanish Film Commission were involved.  They will now lose, big time. Frankly, “Parallel Mothers” should be a Best Picture nominee, and Penelope Cruz should be up for Best Actress. Almodovar should be in for Best Director and Screenplay. I doubt this will happen, but it should.

The winner will likely be “Drive My Car,” from Japan, already the Best Picture chosen by the New York and Los Angeles Film Critics. It’s long, and a little slow, but the overall effect is masterful. Still, I don’t understand how a movie about people driving a 1980s Saab around Japan doesn’t include one scene of going to get gas. Or seeing a mechanic. Me? I loved “A Hero.”

Austria, “Great Freedom”
Belgium, “Playground”
Bhutan, “Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom”
Denmark, “Flee”
Finland, “Compartment No. 6”
Germany, “I’m Your Man”
Iceland, “Lamb”
Iran, “A Hero”
Italy, “The Hand of God”
Japan, “Drive My Car”
Kosovo, “Hive”
Mexico, “Prayers for the Stolen”
Norway, “The Worst Person in the World”
Panama, “Plaza Catedral”
Spain, “The Good Boss”

Oscars: Academy Short List for Best Songs Includes Diane Warren, Beyonce, Lin Manuel Miranda, JHud, Van Morrison

Roger Friedman
-
0
Oscars: Academy Short List for Best Songs Includes Diane Warren, Beyonce, Lin Manuel Miranda, JHud, Van Morrison

Here’s the Academy short list for Best Song. Included are some perennials like Diane Warren for her great song, “Somehow You Do” from a little seen movie starring Glenn Close called “Four Good Days.” It’s a competitive list that includes songs by Beyonce, U2, Jennifer Hudson. Lin Manuel Miranda, and Van Morrison among others.

My choices are in bold face. More to come on this subject…

“So May We Start?” from “Annette”
“Down To Joy” from “Belfast”
“Right Where I Belong” from “Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road”
“Automatic Woman” from “Bruised”
“Dream Girl” from “Cinderella”
“Beyond The Shore” from “CODA”
“The Anonymous Ones” from “Dear Evan Hansen”
“Just Look Up” from “Don’t Look Up”
“Dos Oruguitas” from “Encanto”
“Somehow You Do” from “Four Good Days”
“Guns Go Bang” from “The Harder They Fall”
“Be Alive” from “King Richard”
“No Time To Die” from “No Time to Die”
“Here I Am (Singing My Way Home)” from “Respect”
“Your Song Saved My Life” from “Sing 2”

COVID ‘Cron Starts Causing Trouble: New York Film Critics Postpone January 10th Ceremony

Roger Friedman
-
0
COVID ‘Cron Starts Causing Trouble: New York Film Critics Postpone January 10th Ceremony

The New York Film Critics Circle has postponed its January 10th awards ceremony.

“Out of safety concerns for our award winners and our members, we’ve made the decision to postpone our dinner. But rest assured, we’re going to find a way to celebrate the accomplishments of our winners in the coming months. Even in the midst of an uncertain time, we see this as a positive step forward.” stated NYFCC Chair Stephanie Zacharek.

The NYFCC named “Drive My Car” Best Picture even though no one stops to get gas in a three hour movie abour driving around Japan.

The ceremony would have taken place at Tao New York.

Now the National Bored of Review, with its January 11th gala dinner costing hundreds of dollars per ticket, should be in jeopardy. But they are very money-oriented, so risking the ‘Cron may still be worth it to their decision maker, Annie Schulhof.

Also at risk now is the January 9th Critics Choice ceremony in Los Angeles at the Fairmont Century Plaza Hotel.  Yesterday, the Critics Choice — which is contracted to TV slots on TBS and the CW networks — said they would proceed. But everything is up in the air at this point.

Broadway: “The Lion King” Pawses Performances Until December 27th, Joins a Long List of Shows

Roger Friedman
-
0
Broadway: “The Lion King” Pawses Performances Until December 27th, Joins a Long List of Shows

That’s it for Simba and friends.

“The Lion King” on Broadway is paws-ing performances until December 26th because of COVID.

The long running hit joins a long list of shows on hiatus this week including Hamilton, Hadestown, Aladdin, Dear Evan Hansen, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Ain’t Too Proud, and MJ: The Michael Jackson Musical  that are temporarily shut down thanks to the ‘Cron.

Sadly, “Jagged Little Pill” has shut for good.

“We are providing support to the affected Lion King company members as they recover,” the production announced. “We apologize for the disappointment and inconvenience this causes ticket holders, but we trust that audiences will agree that safety must be at the forefront of our return to Broadway.”

A new play, “Skeleton Crew,” has postponed the start of previews by a week.

Other shows have canceled performances but proceeded on this week. It’s smart to check with the theaters to see what’s going on since everything changes day to day.

 

1...506507508...2,147Page 507 of 2,147

Hollywood to the Hudson

Company

Trending

Categories

© Showbiz411.com