The Weeknd has responded to the rule changes for the Grammy Awards announced by the Recording Academy on Friday — primarily a change that eliminates the “secret” nomination-review committees that played a key role in his being shut out of all nominations for the 2021 awards, despite having one of the biggest albums and the
The First Monday in May is a holiday in the fashion world. Outside of awards season, the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s annual Costume Institute Gala (also known as the Met Gala) is the most star-studded celebrity event of the year. In 2020, the event, like pretty much everything else in 2020, was canceled because of
Anyone who watched “Avengers: Endgame” on opening weekend knows the shared excitement of seeing a movie on the big screen. Marvel, the studio behind that superhero blockbuster and dozens of others, paid tribute to the emotional sensation that many have been missing in the past year in a newly released feature that gave viewers the
France’s Annecy International Animation Film Festival, the leading global get-together for all things animation, has unveiled the lineup for this year’s Work in Progress section, among the most highly anticipated events of the world’s animation calendar. When a physical event is possible, lines begin to form early in the morning as fans of the high-profile
Gold House has revealed its list of the 100 Most Impactful Asians of the Year. Vice President Kamala Harris, Oscar winners H.E.R. and Chloé Zhao, and the K-pop group Blackpink are among the list of politicians, entrepreneurs, athletes and entertainers honored. The nonprofit, which seeks to elevate Asian voices and their cultural impact on society, is working to
Warner Music Group has announced a partnership with and investment in virtual entertainment company Wave, which has hosted livestreams by the Weekend, John Legend, Tinashe and others. According to the announcement, Wave will develop virtual performances, experiences, and monetization opportunities for WMG’s global roster of emerging and established artists. This includes new forms of ticketing,
Premiering in Hot Docs’ World Showcase, Michal Weits’ debut, “Blue Box,” marks a personal exploration of the myth, reality and historical context of the filmmaker’s great-grandfather. By extension, it becomes a deep dive into Israel’s complex and controversial history – a debate to which there’s no resolution in sight. Named after the blue boxes of
Verizon is throwing in the towel on its content business, announcing plans to sell Verizon Media — which compasses the AOL and Yahoo brands it acquired several years ago — in a $5 billion deal. The telco on Monday announced a deal with private-equity firm Apollo Global Management to sell Verizon Media. Verizon will retain
Uplifting refugee drama “Peace by Chocolate,” which marks the last film starring late great Syrian actor and director Hatem Ali, is set to world premiere at the upcoming Tribeca Film Festival. UTA Independent Film Group will be handling world sales on the English-language pic, which is directed by Canadian first-timer Jonathan Keijser and will bow
The Changing Face of Europe program, which is presented by European Film Promotion (EFP) in collaboration with the Hot Docs Canadian Intl. Documentary Festival, reflects a continent in flux, as displacement, immigration, cultural shifts, and the coronavirus pandemic have all played separate roles in pushing millions to rethink and reimagine what it means to live
Syndicado Film Sales has acquired world rights to “BLIX,” director Greta Stocklassa’s documentary about former U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix, which is being pitched during Hot Docs Forum, the Toronto fest’s co-production and financing event. The Toronto-based sales agent is also boarding the project as executive producers. “BLIX” follows the former head of the U.N.
Zhang Yimou’s snowy period spy thriller “Cliff Walkers” debuted in China this Labor Day holiday weekend with $37.7 million. But it was outrun by local rom-com “My Love,” which took a comfortable box office victory. That tale of young love starring Taiwan’s Greg Hsu and Zhang Ruonan of the popular TV show “Cry Me A
Romantic drama “Waiting For Rain” became the fourth local film in as many weeks to head the Korean box office. It held off new release U.S. movie “The Courier.” “Rain” scored $1.05 million from 122,000 admissions over the weekend, giving a five-day total of $1.41 million. Chasing, “The Courier” delivered $756,000 from 88,000 admissions, for
Coldplay frontman Chris Martin is taking on the role of mentor next week on “American Idol,” Variety has confirmed. Martin is set to mentor the current “American Idol” contestants on May 9, which is the singing competition’s Mother’s Day episode. The remaining finalists will prepare and perform two songs for the episode: one of their choosing
Los Angeles’ New Beverly Cinema is set to reopen on June 1 after being closed for over a year due to COVID-19. The theater’s official Twitter account posted a photo on May 1 of their marquee, which reads: “Re-opening June 1, 2021 because we love showing movies.” No other information was given on the reopening.
After narrowly losing first place in its opening weekend, “Demon Slayer: Mugen Train” has surged ahead of “Mortal Kombat” on U.S. box office charts. The anime action adventure “Demon Slayer” is expected to end the weekend with $6.4 million in ticket sales, while “Mortal Kombat” trails closely behind with $6.2 million between Friday and Sunday.
Promising ideas turn out to be mostly empty thought bubbles in “Rising Wolf,” a confusing and derivative Aussie combo of hostage thriller and sci-fi fantasy. Centered on a terrified young woman trapped in a Shanghai skyscraper elevator by a nasty Russian villain, this muddled attempt at an elevated genre film involving time travel, psychic powers
India is celebrating the birth centenary of one of her greatest sons, Satyajit Ray, in a variety of ways. Sunday (May 2, 2021), marks the centenary of Ray, the Indian master who won an honorary Oscar in 1992, shortly before his death, and remains the country’s best known filmmaker internationally. Ray debuted with “Pather Panchali”
RIP to “the room where it happens” — the Grammys’ blue-ribbon committees, which are officially being laid to rest this year after being an essential part of the nominating process in most categories since the 1990s. Never again will non-insiders have to play the role of Aaron Burr, wondering if there was actually smoke filling
Warren Buffett gushed over the management and leadership skills of Apple CEO Tim Cook on Saturday as the renowned investor presided over Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholders meeting. Buffett compared Cook to legendary Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, noting that while Jobs was a tech and business visionary, Cook has had a huge impact on the company’s
“I love you more than my luggage,” Olympia Dukakis’ Clairee Belcher says to Shirley MacLaine’s Ouiser Boudreaux in the beloved 1989 movie “Steel Magnolias.” With the news of Dukakis’ death, Hollywood flocked to social media to express similar sentiments and pay their respects to the character actors’ illustrious legacy. Dukakis died on Saturday at age
Olympia Dukakis, a character actress best known for her Oscar-winning supporting turn in Norman Jewison’s “Moonstruck” and for her role as the wealthy widow in “Steel Magnolias,” has died. She was 89. Dukakis’ brother, Apollo Dukakis, announced her death in a Facebook post, writing: “My beloved sister, Olympia Dukakis, passed away this morning in New
Derek Chauvin deserves to be locked up for much longer than what the state of Minnesota’s guidelines suggest … that’s according to the state’s Attorney General, who’s citing the ex-cop’s “particular cruelty” toward George Floyd. Minnesota AG Keith Ellison filed docs this week asking Judge Cahill to impose a stiffer sentence come June than he
Nathan Jung, the actor who appeared in “Star Trek: The Original Series,” “The A-Team” and “Kung Fu,” has died. He was 74. Jung died on April 24, his close friend and attorney, Timothy Tau, confirmed to Variety. The cause of death has not been disclosed. Jung kicked off his acting career in 1969 with his
A report has been filed with London’s Met Police relating to sexual misconduct allegations against British actor Noel Clarke. Met Police confirmed that they received a third party report on April 21 relating to allegations of sexual offenses by a man. Police are assessing the information, but an investigation is not currently underway. A statement
It’s safe to say that the music industry was stunned on Friday when the Recording Academy almost completely eliminated the controversial “secret” committees that for decades have decided the final list of Grammy nominees in most categories, including the “Big Four” General field of Album, Song, Record of the Year and Best New Artist. The
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Marc Bauder, whose documentary “Who We Were,” a visually stunning cinematic search for solutions to the increasingly dire problems facing Planet Earth, unspools at Copenhagen’s CPH:DOX, is going in a very different direction on his next project — a narrative feature film about a cross-dressing flamenco dancer and Jewish resistance fighter who killed Nazis in
As a feminist filmmaker, Antonia Kilian was inspired to travel to northern Syria after forces of the Kurdish autonomous region known as Rojava liberated the city of Minbij from ISIS militants. It was in Minbij that Kilian met Hala, a young Arab woman who had fled her conservative family and the prospects of a forced marriage
Michael Lohan‘s out on bond following his arrest for patient brokering … but he’s gotta abide by some special rules while his case is pending trial. As we reported … Lindsay’s father was booked into jail in South Florida last week for allegedly getting illegal kickbacks from a rehab facility where he referred drug addicts.