Month: April 2021

UPDATED: More than four months after the $16 billion #SignOurStages act was signed into law, and more than two weeks after the website through which venues could apply for federal aid launched and immediately crashed, the Small Business Administration says it will reopen Saturday — tomorrow — April 24 at 12:30 p.m. ET. Independent music
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Sony Pictures Classics has swooped for Pedro Almodóvar’s Penelope Cruz-fronted “Madres paralelas” in North America, Australia and New Zealand. Production on the film began last month in Madrid, Spain, and sees the Spanish auteur reuniting with Cruz, a frequent collaborator who most recently starred in “Pain and Glory” opposite Antonio Banderas. Cruz will be joined
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Set on a forgotten Russian island in the Caspian Sea and playing out like a window to another world, doc feature “Ostrov – Lost Island” has been acquired for world sales by London-based Taskovski Films. Premiering at Swiss doc fest Visions du Reél in its main International Feature Film Competition, the documentary chronicles a community
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Italian directors Alice Rohrwacher (“Happy as Lazzaro”), Pietro Marcello (“Martin Eden”) and Francesco Munzi (“Black Souls”) have teamed up on high-profile doc “Futura,” a portrait of how Italy’s adolescents look at the future. “Futura,” which is being co-produced by pubcaster RAI’s RAI Cinema film unit with Marcello’s own Avventurosa shingle, is billed as a “collective
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Caitlyn Jenner announced Friday that she has filed initial paperwork to run for governor of California in the expected recall election of Gov. Gavin Newsom. “California has been my home for nearly 50 years. I came here because I knew that anyone, regardless of their background or station in life, could turn their dreams into
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“It was fifteen years ago, and I still don’t believe it,” says DJ Paul of Three 6 Mafia, possibly the most shocking Oscar winners in history. The Memphis-spawned hip-hop group won Best Original Song in 2006 for the theme track from the Terence Howard-starring film “Hustle & Flow,” which bears the spectacularly unsubtle title of
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“Quantico” star Tracy Ifeachor (pictured, right), “Star Trek: Discovery’s” James Frain (left) and “Rocks” actor Sharon D. Clarke are set to star in BBC drama “Showtrial” from “Bodyguard” producer World Productions. The five-part series, which will air on flagship channel BBC One, is now in production. Ben Richards (“The Tunnel”) writes, while Zara Hayes (“Poms”)
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Copenhagen-based Final Cut for Real CEO Signe Byrge Sørensen might be unassuming and soft-spoken, but her vision, will power and fire for urgent stories have made her a world-class producer. Her documentary credits boast countless festival hits and accolades, including two Oscar-nominated films, “The Act of Killing” (2014) and “The Look of Silence” (2016), to
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In this strange year of the global pandemic, the Independent Spirit Awards seemed to fall in line with what the upcoming Academy Awards are predicted to reward this Sunday, including showing love to frontrunners like “Nomadland” and “Promising Young Woman.” Hosted by “Saturday Night Live” cast member Melissa Villaseñor, the virtual ceremony, with some winners
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Jim Steinman was an ultimate officiant in the marriage of rock ‘n’ roll and theater. The songwriter, who died April 19, only had a handful of productions play out on the legit stage, including “Dance of the Vampires,” “Whistle Down the Wind” and, finally, “Bat Out of Hell: The Musical.” But it really wouldn’t have
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Heading into Thursday’s Spirit Awards, Film Independent’s inaugural foray into recognizing television had already passed the so-called “smell test.” That’s because, at the very least, HBO’s “I May Destroy You” had already been recognized as best ensemble cast in a new scripted series. And if there was any TV show that embraces the independent spirit,
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Disney Plus launched in November 2019, at a time when coronavirus wasn’t on the World Health Organization’s radar yet and quarantine lockdowns seemed a thing of dystopian films. Soon, the streamer had to amass subscribers, maintain audience engagement and shift movie debuts, all while keeping the budding platform afloat. Against all odds, Disney Plus has
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Production designers from the Oscar-nominated films “The Father,” “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” “Mank,” “News of the World” and “Tenet” are joining American Cinematheque for a virtual Q&A on Saturday at 1 p.m. PT. Sponsored by Variety, the online conversation will bring together production designers and set decorators from this year’s critically-acclaimed films to discuss their craft
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Kehlani, who has long identified as queer and bisexual, proclaimed herself a lesbian via a TikTok post today (April 22). In her video, the singer and songwriter said, “I am gay, gay, gay. … I finally know I’m a lesbian.” The Oakland-born artist joked about coming out to her family as a lesbian. “We know,
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The U.K’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the British Film Institute (BFI) have formally launched an export booster fund to replace the European tap that ran dry with Brexit. Grants disbursed from Creative Europe’s MEDIA program were worth an average of €18.5 million ($22.2 million) a year to the cultural and
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As far as “fifth Beatles” go, Klaus Voormann has forever been at the top of that elite list. Along with being an intimate part of the pre-Fab Four’s Hamburg circle, his trio Paddy, Klaus & Gibson was taken under the wings of Beatles manager Brian Epstein upon Voormann’s arrival to Great Britain. The bassist/graphic artist
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