January 26, 2020 4:57PM PT Lawrence Michael Levine’s tricky seriocomedy is a very meta construct whose idiosyncrasies divert but don’t necessarily add up. Actor-writer Lawrence Michael Levine’s first two directorial features, “Gabi on the Roof in July” and “Wild Canaries,” were idiosyncratic indie hipster comedies of a familiar stripe. His third, “Black Bear,” is a
Eight long years after “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” Benh Zeitlin brings that same rust-bottomed sense of magical realism to the legend of Peter Pan, reframing J.M. Barrie’s Victorian classic through the eyes of the eldest Darling. “Wendy,” as the indie-minded not-quite-family-film is aptly titled, re-envisions its title character as a working-class kiddo raised at
Within hours of the news of Kobe Bryant’s death breaking, a fast-growing crowd of about two hundred people had gathered outside of the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon to mourn the Lakers legend, who died earlier that day in a helicopter crash. Chants of “Kobe! Kobe!” broke out spontaneously outside of the
It wouldn’t be the Grammys without a pro-Trump fashion statement from Joy Villa. The singer donned a latex gown with “Trump 2020” running down the front and “impeached and re-elected” on the back in white lettering. The red, white and blue dress and cape were custom made by Desi Allinger of Desi Designs. CREDIT: David Fisher/Shutterstock
The dumpster fire of controversy surrounding the Grammy Awards in the days since the Recording Academy abruptly ousted new president/CEO Deborah Dugan largely was kept offstage at the annual Clive Davis Pre-Grammy Gala on Saturday night — at least until Diddy went in during a 50-minute-long speech, but you can read about that here. The
Nispey Hussle won a posthumous award at the 62nd annual Grammy Awards on Sunday. “Racks in the Middle” took home best rap performance to rousing applause at the pre-telecast ceremony. Sharing in the award were Roddy Ricch and Hit-Boy. It is the rapper’s first-ever Grammy Award. The honor was accepted by his family including his
Country music legend Tanya Tucker picked up her first two wins at the 62nd annual Grammy Awards on Sunday at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The 61-year-old singer won for best country song for “Bring My Flowers Now” and best country album for “While I’m Livin’.” “After 50 years in this business, I have a
Kobe Bryant’s shocking death forced major TV news and sports outlets to scramble on Sunday to cover the helicopter crash in Southern California that took the life of the legendary 41-year-old basketball star, his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and seven others. From the BBC to Fox News, Bryant’s death dominated coverage as soon as word surfaced
January 26, 2020 1:30PM PT James Corden is taking the carpool lane to Comedy Central. In the latest example of newly found synergy inside the recently merged ViacomCBS universe, Comedy Central will start airing repeats of CBS’ “The Late Late Show with James Corden” starting on Monday, Jan. 27. The “Late Late Show” repeats will
In Radha Blank’s semi-autobiographical comedy, the quadruple-threat plays “Rahda Blank,” a Harlem-based playwright who faces many of the same struggles and setbacks as her creator. It’s been more than a decade since Radha (as we’ll call the character) earned a promising “30 Under 30” award, and now, instead of getting her work produced, she’s teaching
The 62nd annual Grammy Awards kick off Sunday afternoon at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. This year’s top nominees include Lizzo, Billie Eilish and Lil Nas X, whom are all scheduled to perform on the primetime telecast, in addition to Ariana Grande, Camila Cabello, Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani and more. The Grammys pre-show
GÖTEBORG, Sweden — Chosen to close the discussion dedicated to discrimination against elderly people at the Göteborg Film Festival, Pamela Tola’s “Ladies of Steel” fitted right into this year’s focus on feminism and gender at the Swedish event. Which managed to deliver on its 50/50 promise, with 54% of the presented films being directed by
Already anointed a style icon by W magazine for “exploring uncharted territory in men’s fashion” and “redefining masculine expression,” Lil Nas X counted year-end best-dressed lists among his 2019 streaming and airplay accolades. Describing his fashion sense as “very experimental,” the rapper runs down a few of his top looks from last year. MTV Video
The Recording Academy Task Force for Diversity and Inclusion, which issued a blistering statement Friday criticizing the Academy for failing to act on the recommendations put forward in its report last month, on Sunday morning issued a statement saying that it will “continue to work with the leadership at the Academy to urgently enact reforms
Steve GranitzGetty Images Priyanka Chopra pulled out all the stops in a satin Nicolas Jebran backless halter gown on Saturday night at the Clive Davis Pre-Grammys Gala. Like the red dress Beyoncé wore to the event, Chopra’s champagne gown features a high slit that showed off her leg. Chopra’s husband, Nick Jonas, also joined her
In the history of the Academy Awards, only three films have won the Hollywood equivalent of the royal flush — collecting statues for best picture, director, actor, actress and screenplay — and it’s safe to say all have held up fairly well: “It Happened One Night,” “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” and “The Silence
Not five hours after Sean “Diddy” Combs said “black music has never been respected by the Grammys” and demanded that the Recording Academy “get this sh– together” at the Clive Davis Pre-Grammy Gala, members received a 1,000-word memo from chief Harvey Mason Jr. laying out steps the organization plans to take to become more diverse
The race is on for the Grammys’ best new artist with Lizzo and Billie Eilish positioned as frontrunners in an exceptionally exciting 2020 category. Survey the odds for all eight of the year’s contenders below. Black Pumas Eric Burton and Adrian Quesada have been a duo only since 2017, but they sound as if they’ve
PBS’s documentary arm POV has snapped up U.S. broadcast rights for Kenyan director Sam Soko’s “Softie,” fresh off its world premiere in the World Documentary Cinema competition at Sundance, Variety has learned. The film, which is the first Kenyan-produced movie to premiere at the festival, will air as part of the series’ 33rd season, which kicks
January 26, 2020 9:48AM PT Three attention-seeking teens collide online and IRL in Danny Madden’s suburban tragedy that veers from naturalism to melodrama. Writer-director Danny Madden’s “Beast Beast” clatters to life with organic percussion: a stick rat-a-tatting against an iron fence, a skateboard scraping on concrete, a rifle pinging bullets against a defenseless tin plate.
British Film Commission chief executive Adrian Wootton argues that the fiscal incentives that make the U.K. such an attractive market for film and TV will not be affected by Brexit. He will deliver the following message to delegates at Sundance later today. With awards season in full swing, we are reminded of just how successful
“There are so many layers to the song,” Columbia Records chairman Ron Perry says of “Old Town Road.” Just scratching the surface of its beat alone uncovers the connection between a 19-year-old Dutch Internet producer and veteran industrial act Nine Inch Nails, who are now forever intertwined in pop culture — along with Billy Ray
STX’s “The Gentlemen” proved no match for Sony’s “Bad Boys for Life,” which again left box office competitors in the dust after collecting $34 million in its sophomore outing. Those ticket sales, pushing the Will Smith and Martin Lawrence-led sequel past the $100 million mark, were easily enough to claim the No. 1 spot for
It’s Grammys weekend, and Beyoncé and Jay-Z are out on the town and stunning us all with their looks. On Saturday night, Bey wore a scarlet gown that showed off her curves. The dress was one great accessory, so she didn’t need to dress it up with any big pieces. She kept her hair down
The 62nd annual Grammy Awards are just hours away. Music’s biggest night is set to light up Los Angeles’ Staples Center with Lizzo; Billie Eilish; Demi Lovato; the Jonas Brothers; Tyler, the Creator; Bonnie Raitt; and Camila Cabello set to perform. Ariana Grande will also be making her return to the Grammys after deciding against
The world is a weird place. Miranda July knows that, but the rest of us sometimes forget. Or maybe we just don’t want to admit how bizarre it is that society more or less agrees that back rubs and hot tubs and flavored chips and McRibs are an appropriate reward for a bazillion years of
Sean “Diddy” Combs slammed the Recording Academy before a star-studded crowd at the annual Clive Davis Pre-Grammy Gala on Saturday night, saying that hip-hop and black music have “never been respected by the Grammys,” ironically as he accepted his award as the 2020 Grammy Salute to Industry Icons honoree at the Beverly Hilton hotel in
GÖTEBORG, Sweden — Laughs were aplenty at the Stora Theatern, where Göteborg Film Festival artistic director Jonas Holmberg welcomed the recipient of the Nordic Honorary Dragon Award, fresh off his Golden Globe win for HBO’s “Chernobyl”. “It wasn’t planned. I thought that will be my only award this year, that’s why I said yes!” – joked Skarsgård,
Writer-director Emerald Fennell’s debut feature, “Promising Young Woman,” drew an exuberant response at its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival Saturday night. The film, which will be released by Focus Features on April 17, is provocative — and will perhaps be divisive, particularly its ending. It’s a perfect talker for the #MeToo era. It’s best
Given that the entertainment industry is pretty much the center of the #MeToo universe in terms of generating its most public effects — and, needless to say, causes — probably no Sundance film this year will be as hot a conversation topic as “Promising Young Woman.” Emerald Fennell’s first directorial feature is a female revenge