Entertainment News
Game of Thrones’ David Benioff and D.B. Weiss to Adapt Sci-Fi Epic The Three-Body Problem for Netflix
David Benioff and D.B. Weiss Last year, Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss inked a five-year deal with Netflix reportedly worth $250 million dollars. Today, the pair announced their first project for the streaming platform: a live-action series based on the Chinese sci-fi novel The Three-Body Problem. Released by author Liu Cixin in 2008, the acclaimed book is set during China’s Cultural Revolution and tracks the aftermath of human’s first encounter with aliens. “… A secret military project sends signals into space to establish contact with aliens. An alien civilization on the brink of destruction captures the signal and plans to invade Earth,” reads a synopsis for the novel. “Meanwhile, on Earth, different camps start forming, planning to either welcome the supe...
David Byrne Apologizes for Wearing Blackface in 1984 Stop Making Sense Promo Video
As the entertainment world continues to confront its ugly history of racism, another prominent artist has come forward to apologize for wearing blackface. In a series of tweets posted Tuesday, David Byrne expressed remorse for wearing black and brown face in a 1984 promotional video for the Talking Heads’ Stop Making Sense concert film. In the clip in question, Byrne portrays various characters that interview Byrne proper — and some of those are people of color. “To watch myself in the various characters, including black and brown face, I acknowledge it was a major mistake in judgement that showed a lack of real understanding,” the British-American musician wrote on Twitter this afternoon. “It’s like looking in a mirror and seeing someone else- you’re not, or were not, the person you thoug...
Riverdale’s Marisol Nichols Works Undercover As a Sex Trafficking Agent
Truth is stranger than fiction, they say, and the secret life of Marisol Nichols is at least as wild as anything on Riverdale. One of the stars of the CW series, she has spent years as a real-life undercover sex trafficking agent, and her unusual personal life has inspired a new TV show. The 46-year-old actress revealed her second job in a gripping April profile in Marie Claire. Written by Erika Hayasaki and called “The Hollywood Vigilante”, it follows Nichols on a sting operation involving an unnamed sheriff’s department and at least one FBI agent. Nichols talks on the phone with would-be child predators, stammering and squeaking, pretending to be a preteen. At other times, she plays a junkie mother desperate to pimp out her children. That operation leads to the arrests of ...
Possessor Trailer Promises Body-Swapping Tension: Watch
One of the more talked-about genre films out of this year’s Sundance Film Festival was Possessor. The latest feature from Brandon Cronenberg — yes, the son of that Cronenberg — hits select theaters and in drive-ins on October 9th. Today, Neon has dropped a brand new trailer that promises an uncut version of the film. Featuring an A-list cast that includes Andrea Riseborough, Christopher Abbott, Sean Bean, and Jennifer Jason Leigh, the film follows corporate assassins who use brain implants to transfer their minds into other bodies to go after high-profile targets. In his Sundance review, our own Clint Worthington wrote, “Like the best of his father’s works, Possessor is meant to provoke and prod at our deepest notions of self and our insecurities about the fleshy meat-bags we find ourselve...
Nashville’s Famed Ryman Auditorium to Reopen for Limited Capacity Concerts Beginning This Week
In lieu of traditional shows, Nashville’s iconic Ryman Auditorium has been regularly livestreaming a concert series called Live at the Ryman. Today, the venue announced that it will reopen its doors for the first time since March to allow a limited audience to physically attend these events. The exciting news comes as Music City continues to ease its coronavirus restrictions. Per Mayor John Cooper’s four-phase reopening plan, event spaces can now operate at a third of their capacity or 125 people maximum, as long as social distancing and mask-wearing are enforced. For the Ryman, that means it will be able to host 125 ticketed guests at each of its Live at the Ryman indoor showing, with concertgoers seated safely apart from another. Other health guidelines, including masks for attendee...
Arab Strap Return with “The Turning of Our Bones”, First New Song in 15 Years: Stream
It’s been 15 long years since Arab Strap dropped new material. That changes today with “The Turning of Our Bones”, their first release since the 2005 album The Last Romance. “WE’RE BACK FROM THE GRAVE AND READY TO RAVE,” the Scottish outfit announced on Instagram on Tuesday. And they weren’t kidding about the rave part. Arab Strap’s music, composed by primary members Aidan Moffat and Malcolm Middleton, helped define the sadcore genre in the late ’90s and early 2000s. However, “The Turning of Our Bones” represents a striking evolution in their sound, as the two musicians now employ electronic drums, disco strings, and bongos that take on a more urgent tone. In a press release, Moffat said the song is an “incantation, a voodoo spell to raise the dead. Inspired by the Famadihana ritual o...
R.I.P. Erick Morillo, “I Like to Move It” DJ Dead at 49
Colombian-American DJ and producer Erick Morillo has died at the age of 49. TMZ reports that Morillo’s body was found on Tuesday morning (Sept. 1st) in Miami Beach, Florida. The circumstances surrounding his death are currently under investigation, according to Miami Beach police. Morillo was arrested in August after being accused of sexual battery by a woman who says Morillo made unwanted advances on her following a private DJ gig last December. Morillo denied the allegations, however after an examination tested positive for his DNA, he turned himself in to authorities (via Variety). He was due to appear in court this coming Friday. Morillo was born in New York City, but spent the early years of his life living in Colombia. His family eventually returned to the US and resided in...
Actress Announces New Album Karma & Desire, Shares Sampha Collaboration “Walking Flames”: Stream
This past spring, electronic music producer Actress shared a mixtape called 88. Proving he’s not quite done with 2020, the English artist has now announced a new full-length album: Karma & Desire is expected to arrive next month through Ninja Tune. According to a cryptic statement, the upcoming LP is “a romantic tragedy set between the heavens and the underworld.” Its 17 songs are said to carefully examine “the same sort of things that I like to talk about – love, death, technology, the questioning of one’s being.” The producer born Darren J. Cunningham is assisted on the album by Zsela and Aura T-09. Mercury Prize-winning R&B crooner Sampha also appears, contributing to lead single “Walking Flames”. A meditative number featuring strings and mellow, muted percussion, today’s offeri...
Miley Cyrus Covers Billie Eilish’s “my future” for BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge Month: Watch
Miley Cyrus for BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge Month (photo by Vijat Mohindra) and Billie Eilish (Amy Price) Days after taking the virtual stage for the 2020 MTV VMAs, Miley Cyrus is back with another pandemic performance. Today, she helped launch the latest edition of BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge Month with a four-song set that included covers of Billie Eilish and Eagles. Cyrus and Eilish really couldn’t be more different as pop stars, with one known for delivering literal Bangerz and the other for her hushed, alternative pop structures. Perhaps it’s unsurprising, then, that Cyrus’ rendition of “my future” is far more full-throated than the original. Yes, it’s still a delicate piano ballad with a grooving break, but Cyrus ups the defiance in the vocals considerably. Speaking to Live Lounge ...
Lamb of God Announce Two Livestream Concerts, Featuring Full Album Performances
Lamb of God have announced two livestream concerts, taking place September 18th and 25th. The band will play its 2020 self-titled album and 2004’s Ashes of the Wake in their entirety during the respective shows, plus other favorites during the encores. The September 18th event will mark the “live” debut of Lamb of God’s acclaimed self-titled album, which came out amidst the pandemic on June 19th. The band would have embarked on a massive co-headlining tour with Megadeth in support of the album, but have postponed those dates until 2021. Instead, Lamb of God have turned to paid livestreams as physical concerts remain mostly on pause. The streams will begin at 5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT on their respective days, with on-demand viewing available through those weekends. Tickets are $15 per show or ...
Anjimile Reveals Mournful New Song “In Your Eyes”: Stream
Boston-based trans musician Anjimile is just weeks away from dropping his debut album, Giver Taker. A collection of songs about self-discovery, including reflections on his own transition, the LP is being previewed today with “In Your Eyes”. Although it shares a name with that one Peter Gabriel hit, today’s single is neither a cover, nor about “the light, the heat.” Instead, it’s about the indie songwriter’s encounters with prejudice and the way his mere existence is questioned regularly. “Getting right in your eyes/ Spitting right in your eyes/ Does my body divide? Was my body denied?” he sings in a soft coo à la Sufjan Stevens, but with a noticeable heaviness in his heart. “This is another song about grappling with homophobia and ultimately recognizing that I am what I am,” Anjimile...
Hundred Waters’ Trayer Tryon Shares “cul de sac” Featuring Jónsi and Moses Sumney: Stream
Trayer Tryon, producer and multi-instrumentalist for Hundred Waters, has shared his new solo single called “cul de sac”. It’s from Tyron’s upcoming album new forever, and features such well-loved collaborators as Jónsi and Alex Somers, Moses Sumney, Julianna Barwick, and even Nicole Miglis, vocalist of Hundred Waters. While his day gig with the Waters is informed by pop sensibilities, Tryon’s new solo efforts have been more abstract. That has somewhat to do with the way it was written; he composed “cul de sac” and the rest of new forever in bits and pieces while on the go. The whole project came about at the end of a six-year relationship. In a statement, he said he, “lived through a half-year mania, worked one-off oddjobs, fell feverishly in love, went without a home, hopped ar...
