Film
Jarvis Cocker Announces Companion Album to Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch
Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker has announced a French pop covers album titled CHANSONS d’ENNUI as a companion piece to Wes Anderson’s upcoming movie The French Dispatch. It’s due out October 22nd to coincide with the film’s release worldwide. In a statement, Cocker explained the album is actually credited to a fictional pop singer in the movie named Tip-Top. “JARV IS… were asked to record a version of ‘Aline’ (originally a hit in the 60s for non-fictional French pop star Christophe) under the guise of Tip Top,” he wrote on Instagram. “You may have heard it in the trailer for the film. One thing led to another & now there is a whole Tip Top album Les Chansons d’Ennui.” He added, “Having grown up with a deep love of French pop this was a dream come true for me: I get to ...
Alanis Morissette Blasts HBO Documentary Jagged About Her Life
On Tuesday, September 14th, the new Alanis Morissette HBO documentary, Jagged, will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. According to the singer, however, it’s a misleading glance at her life. In a new statement, Morissette blasted Jagged and accused it of including “implications and facts that are simply not true.” “I was lulled into a false sense of security and their salacious agenda became apparent immediately upon my seeing the first cut of the film,” Morissette told Rolling Stone. “While there is beauty and some elements of accuracy in this/my story to be sure — I ultimately won’t be supporting someone else’s reductive take on a story much too nuanced for them to ever grasp or tell.” News first broke last Friday that Morissette had seen Jagged and disapproved of the d...
TIFF Review: Last Night in Soho Thrives More as a Tribute to ’60s London Glitz Than Coherent Horror
This review is part of our coverage of the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival. The Pitch: Eloise (Thomasin McKenzie), a sheltered young woman with an all-encompassing 1960s obsession, leaves the English countryside home she shares with her grandmother to study fashion in London. When life in the dorms leaves her feeling stressed and isolated, Ellie finds a room of her own to rent in Soho. At first, the move seems ideal: Her landlady, Miss Collins (Diana Rigg, in her final role) is stern but kind. The room appeals to Ellie’s need for space and her aesthetic. And it comes with an exciting bonus: Every night, she’s transported to 1966, where she follows a glamorous young woman named Sandy (Anya Taylor-Joy) as she romps through Swinging London’s nightlife. Alternately watching Sandy...
Freddie Gibbs’ Debut Film Performance in Down with the King Earns Festival Award, Distribution Deal
Big Boss Rabbit is hopping to the silver screen. Down with the King, which stars Freddie Gibbs in his debut film performance, has been picked up by Sony Picture’s Stage 6 Films, Deadline reports. The distribution deal comes after Down with the King bowed in the ACID (Association for Independent Cinema and its Distribution) lineup at Cannes, which it followed by winning the Grand Prize at the Deauville American Film Festival. Directed by Diego Ongaro (Bob and the Trees) and co-written by Ongaro and Xabi Molia, it stars Gibbs as superstar rapper named Mercury “Money Merc” Maxwell. After Money Merc becomes disenchanted with the music industry and life as a celebrity, he escapes the city to start a new life in a small rural farming community. Jamie Neumann (Lovecr...
TIFF Review: Listening to Kenny G Explores What Makes Him So Beloved (And Despised)
This review is part of our coverage of the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival. The Pitch: When some people think of Kenny G, they think of the platinum-selling recording artist who’s shaped their childhoods, soothed their workplaces, and even soundtracked the most intimate moments in their lives. But for others, the thought of Kenny G fills them with scorn. He’s a sellout, a fake, a mop-haired purveyor of anodyne saxophone schlock. He disrespects the improvisational, group-centered dynamics of jazz in favor of treacly solo showmanship, and — even worse — subjected the world to “smooth jazz.” The man’s a paradox wrapped in an enigma topped with a curly perm he’s maintained since the 1980s — the best-selling instrumentalist of all time who nonetheless remains a pop-culture punchli...
Christopher Nolan Shopping Film About J. Robert Oppenheimer’s Development of Atom Bomb
Someone keep an eye on Christopher Nolan’s backyard to see if he’s building a nuclear bomb. The acclaimed filmmaker, known for using practical effects in productions like Dunkirk and The Dark Knight, is reportedly shopping a new movie centered on J. Robert Oppenheimer’s development of the atom bomb during World War II. According to Deadline, Nolan is eyeing to direct the picture and is currently sending the screenplay around Hollywood. That latter fact may actually be more interesting than hearing the auteur is making another WWII epic. Since 2002’s Insomnia, every one of Nolan’s projects has been set up at Warner Bros.; while it’s not known if WB is still in the mix for this nuke film, the idea that he’s considering going elsewhere shows how much Nolan’s soured on the studio. Wh...
Jackass Cast’s Medical Bills Have Cost Over $24 Million: Study
For 20 years, we’ve cringed and winced as the stars of Jackass brought the hurt on themselves. But how often have we thought about the damage they do to medical insurers? It turns out the number is almost as painful as the injuries themselves, as a new study has found that the main Jackass crew has racked up over $24 million in medical expenses over their careers. The study from Nova Legal Funding (via Complex) examined the 79 injuries incurred by six members of the Jackass team: Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O, Chris Pontius, Ehren McGhehey, Dave England, Jason ‘Wee-man’ Acuña, and Preston Lacy. The boo-boos range from 28 broken bones to one alligator bite. In total, NLF estimates that those six individuals’ injuries have cost roughly $24,263,000. When taking into account all stunt performers i...
Mad Max: Fury Road Cars Are Being Auctioned Off Online
Grab some extra canisters of chrome and start your engines: Over a dozen cars from Mad Max: Fury Road are being auctioned off this month through Lloyds Auctioneers, and chances are everyone will be racing to come out on top with a prized vehicle of their choosing. Film buffs with deep pockets can purchase the iconic War Rig, as driven by Charlize Theron‘s character Imperator Furiosa, or the fan-favorite Doof Wagon, which strapped the flaming guitar-rocking Doof Warrior to its hood made out of speakers. Imagine going for a joy ride in one of those ridiculous vehicles through your neighborhood. The starting bids for each one are listed at $1 each, but it will obviously end up going for thousands, if not millions, more — especially when compared to other high-selling cars that aren’t totally ...
Randall Poster on Dusting Off Woody Guthrie Songs, Soundtracking Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch and More
Acclaimed music supervisor Randall Poster had a busy year. The award-winning music supervisor has worked on projects such as Pretend It’s a City and Questlove’s documentary Summer of Soul, not to mention his latest collaboration with Wes Anderson for the upcoming The French Dispatch. What’s more, he’s nominated for an Outstanding Music Supervision Emmy for his work on The Queen’s Gambit. But one of his most ardent passion projects this year is Home In This World: Woody Guthrie’s Dust Bowl Ballads, a re-interpretation of Woody Guthrie’s classic 1940 album Dust Bowl Ballads — a set of (eventually) fourteen songs set amid the economic and spiritual hardships of the Great Depression. It’s typically considered one of the very first concept albums, and tracks like “I Ain’t Got No Home In Th...
Saving the World Sucks in New Trailer for Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence’s Don’t Look Up: Watch
The world is about to end but Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence can’t get anyone to care in the new teaser trailer for Don’t Look Up. Directed by Adam McKay, the dark comedy crashes into theaters and on Netflix December 24th. DiCaprio and Lawrence play astronomers who have learned that a comet is on course to destroy the Earth. The new trailer opens with DiCaprio’s Dr. Randall Mindy having a panic attack in the bathroom ahead of a meeting with Dr. Kate Dibiasky (Lawrence), President Janie Orlean (Meryl Streep), and her Chief of Staff — and son — Jason Orlean (Jonah Hill.) “Your breathing is stressing me out,” Hill chides DiCaprio. “This will affect the entire planet!” he replies, to which Hill says, “I know, but it’s, like, so stressful.” Advertisement Related Video Th...
Last Night in Soho Trailer Promises Mind-Bending Murder in ’60 London: Watch
Focus Features has finally unleashed a full-length teaser for its upcoming psychological drama Last Night in Soho. Watch the trailer below. The time-hopping thriller stars Thomasin McKenzie as Eloise, a fashion student and brand-new London transplant who finds she’s able to be transported back to the 1960s in her dreams. Each night she encounters (or is it embodies?) a nightclub singer named Sandie (Anya Taylor-Joy) and her dashing boyfriend Jack (Matt Smith). “I’ve got this kind of gift,” the aspiring designer tells a friend during her waking hours. “I can see people, places, things others can’t. They’re not just dreams. It really happened.” Advertisement Related Video However, the swinging parties and glittering nightlife of Eloise’s slumbers take a dark turn when she realizes Sandie wil...
R.I.P. Michael Constantine, My Big Fat Greek Wedding Actor Dead at 94
Michael Constantine, who played Gus Portokalos, the father of Nia Vardalos’ character Toula in the 2002 blockbuster My Big Fat Greek Wedding and its 2016 sequel, has died at the age of 94. A representative for Constantine told Variety that Constantine died of natural causes. In My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Constantine portrayed a proud but stubborn Greek restaurant owner, who was resistant to the idea of his daughter marrying a non-Greek man. He was also a staunch advocate of Windex, believing it could cure all ailments. Advertisement Related Video Upon its release in 2002, My Big Fat Greek Wedding was a surprise box office smash, earning over $350 million worldwide. Constantine and the rest of the film’s cast subsequently received a SAG Award nomination for outstanding performance by the cas...
