Film
How Accurate is Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis? Here’s a Fact Check
Baz Luhrmann has made a career out of bending time and reality to tell stories with a distinctive melodramatic flair. Moulin Rouge! was full of Parisians circa 1900 singing MTV-era pop songs. William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet featured 20th century American characters speaking in the original play’s 16th century dialogue. Elvis Presley is one of the most mythologized figures in the American imagination, looming over pop culture via Vegas impersonators and conspiracy theories about his death as much as his music. So one might expect Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis to be about the legend, not the man. But Luhrmann, who began work on the film eight years ago, researched Presley’s life extensively, co-writing the screenplay with longtime collaborator Craig Pearce, as well as Sam Bromell and Jeremy Done...
David Spade Donates $5,000 to Burger King Employee’s GoFundMe
A man named Kevin Ford recently completed the unfathomable task of going 27 years without missing a day of work at Burger King, only to be rewarded with a goodie bag that would make even your average trick-or-treating basket look lavish. After the man’s anti-climactic story went viral, he was surprised to find out a certain someone named David Spade swooped in to give him $5,000. The SNL alum made the donation via Ford’s GoFundMe, which he told TMZ he plans to use to visit family in Texas and buy himself a well-deserved new car. Ford’s daughter notified him that someone with a familiar name had made a hefty donation, although there was no way to tell if it was that David Spade… Until Ford checked his Instagram messages. “Keep up the good work,” read a message from none ...
Taylor Swift Explains the Story Behind Her New Song ‘Carolina’ – And Why It’s Taken So Long to Come Out
After it was announced in March that Taylor Swift would be contributing an original song, “Carolina,” to the Where the Crawdads Sing film soundtrack, fans ended up having to wait more than three months before they finally got to listen to the full thing. But, as it turns out, Swift had to wait a whole year and a half. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The 32-year-old pop star went on Twitter upon the song’s long-awaited release Friday morning (June 24) to explain the story of “Carolina,” from the lyrics she wrote to how bad she’s been wanting fans to hear them since she finished the song well over a year ago. “About a year & half ago I wrote a song about the story of a girl who always lived on the outside, looking in,” she began. “Fig...
Oklahoma Movie Theater Posts Warning About “Same-Sex Kissing Scene” in Lightyear
An Oklahoma movie theater posted a warning about the same-sex kiss that occurs in Pixar’s new Lightyear film, telling parents that they would fast forward through the scene. Lightyear, the new Toy Story spinoff that tells the origin story of Buzz Lightyear, has faced international controversy for briefly showing two women kissing toward the beginning of the film. The 89-ER Movie Theater in Kingfisher, a town about 50 miles northwest of Oklahoma City, posted a message on the window of the building about the scene, prompting movie goers to post pictures of the sign on social media. “Attention Parents: The management of this theatre discovered after booking ‘Lightyear’ that there is a same-sex kissing scene within the first 30 minutes of the Pixar movie,” the message reads. “We will do a...
Christian Bale Confirms “Kate Bush Stuff” Was Cut from Thor: Love and Thunder
Looks like Kate Bush couldn’t make a deal with Gorr the God Butcher. According to Christian Bale, the singer’s music was supposed to be featured somehow in Marvel’s upcoming Thor: Love and Thunder, but didn’t made the final cut. “Taika [Waititi] and I wanted to do a whole dance, which we didn’t get to do, but we had all this sort of Kate Bush stuff that we worked at,” the actor revealed in a new interview with Deadline. “I think he just realized he was never going to be allowed to put that in the final film.” He added, “I would say that the most common thing I was staring at [while preparing for the role] was the Aphex Twin video of ‘Come to Daddy.’ But I don’t even know if that will be in the final film.” Advertisement Related Video He also revealed in a recent interview that when he agre...
Netflix Adds Cheaper Tier for Customers Who “Don’t Mind Advertising”
Netflix has confirmed it will be launching a cheaper, ad-supported tier. The streamer’s co-CEO Ted Sarandos explaining the reasoning behind the lower-priced plan at Cannes Lions advertising festival on Thursday, June 23rd during a sitdown with Sway podcast host Kara Swisher. “We’ve left a big customer segment off the table, which is people who say, ‘Hey, Netflix is too expensive for me and I don’t mind advertising,’” said Sarandos (via The Hollywood Reporter). “We’re adding an ad tier; we’re not adding ads to Netflix as you know it today. We’re adding an ad tier for folks who say, ‘Hey, I want a lower price and I’ll watch ads.’” During Netflix’s last quarterly call in April, the company reported a loss of 200,000 subscribers, marking the first time its customer base has de...
How Only Murders in the Building’s Music Supervisors Perfected the Needle Drop
It’s hard to think of an element of filmmaking that is as simultaneously critical and hidden as music. It is the unassuming link that binds a film together from moment to moment; it is the final piece of the puzzle that makes the whole experience that much more cohesive; more emotional; more impactful. So what is the key to curating the perfect soundtrack or score? Patience? Determination? For music supervising power-duo Bruce Gilbert and Lauren Mikus, the secret to success is enjoying the work, and having the most fun as possible. In fact, Mikus describes the perfect project as, simply: “a fun conversation,” and the approach seems to work for them: The two have overseen, both individually and as a team, music featured in an impressive catalog of films and TV shows, including, but certainl...
Shawn Mendes Takes Over 88th Street in Trailer for Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile: Watch
Shawn Mendes is the titular reptile in Sony Pictures’ upcoming film adaptation of Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile, and in the first trailer for the film, we see the creature charm the Primm family (led by matriarch Constance Wu) and the rest of New York City. Check out the clip below. Based off Bernard Waber’s children story of the same name, Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile follows Mrs. Primm, Mr. Primm (Scoot McNairy), and their son Josh (Winslow Fegley) as they discover a crocodile living in the attic of their new Manhattan home. While Mrs. Primm and Lyle’s main enemy, Mr. Grumps (Brett Gelman), are naturally terrified of the animal, Josh, and Lyle’s owner, Hector P. Valenti (Javier Bardem), assures them he’s a gentle giant — after all, “he wears a scarf, and he can sing.” Enter pop star Mend...
Welcome to Kevin Bacon’s Conversion Camp from Hell in Teaser for They/Them: Watch
This ain’t your mother’s conversion therapy: Today, Peacock has unveiled the official teaser for They/Them, the upcoming slasher flick starring Kevin Bacon as the director of a mysterious sleep-away camp that resorts to some drastic measures in an effort to turn its attendees straight. Premiering August 5th, the film marks the feature-length directorial debut of John Logan, whose screenwriting credits include Skyfall and Martin Scorsese’s The Aviator. The teaser for They/Them (get it? “They slash them”?) opens on a wide shot of Whistler Camp’s latest fleet of LGBTQ+ campers. This year’s crew includes Jordan (Theo Germaine), whose gender identity conflicts with their religious upbringing; Alexandra (Quei Tann), a young transgender woman on the brink of being kicked out of her hom...
Brad Pitt: “I Consider Myself on My Last Leg”
Brad Pitt is thinking about his legacy and how he wants his film career to end. In a new cover story for GQ, the 58-year-old icon said, “I consider myself on my last leg.” That doesn’t mean he’s ready to roll credits. But he’s aware that he’s entered the “last semester or trimester,” and it’s left him wondering, “What is this section gonna be? And how do I wanna design that?” “He’s one of the last remaining big-screen movie stars,” Quentin Tarantino said, comparing him to Paul Newman, Robert Redford, and Steve McQueen. “It’s just a different breed of man. And frankly, I don’t think you can describe exactly what that is because it’s like describing starshine. I noticed it when we were doing Inglourious Basterds. When Brad was in the shot, I didn’t feel like I was looking thro...
Final ‘Elvis’ Trailer Gives New Look at Presley’s Musicality & Rebelliousness: Watch
Baz Luhrmann’s highly-anticipated feature film Elvis is just two days away from releasing, but viewers were just treated to one last sneak peek at the imaginative biopic before the movie arrives in theaters on Friday (June 24). In a revealing final trailer released Wednesday (June 22) — starring Austin Butler as Presley and Tom Hanks as his manager Tom Parker — both the legendary rock star’s gift for music and rebellious nature are put on full display. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Brand new clips of Butler portraying The King at different stages of his life are featured in the new two-minute teaser, stitched together with footage already unveiled in the film’s previous two trailers. In one, a child Elvis — who is well known for ...
Bill Cosby Found Guilty of Sexually Assaulting 16-Year-Old Girl
A civil court jury has found Bill Cosby guilty of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl in 1975, the New York Times reports. The incident occurred when the plaintiff, Judy Huth, accepted the comedian’s invitation to join him at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles. Huth, to whom a California jury awarded $500,000 in damages Tuesday, first came forward with her accusations against Cosby in 2014. She’s just one of dozens of women who have come forth alleging the Cosby Show star of sexual misconduct, including a woman named Andrea Constand, whose 2017 trial versus Cosby ended in a mistrial after he was charged with three counts of aggravated indecent assault. For many of those victims, the ruling in Huth’s case is a massive step towards justice: “I feel vindicated,” Huth told a repor...
