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Almost Famous Broadway Musical From Cameron Crowe Sets 2022 Debut

Released in the fall of 2000, “Almost Famous” was inspired by Cameron Crowe’s experiences as a teenage music journalist for Rolling Stone. Patrick Fugit stars as a 15-year-old boy who is hired by the magazine and sent on assignment to follow the fictional 1970s rock band Stillwater (though some real 70s music icons make appearances). While on tour, he falls in love with groupie Penny Lane (Kate Hudson), who teaches him the ways of the road....

January 3, 2023 · 2 min · 297 words · Julie Turner

American Selfie Showtime Drops Trailer For Alexandra Pelosi S Doc

Showtime’s synopsis for the documentary reads: “Placing viewers directly within the most consequential events of the past year, Pelosi takes the pulse of the country while capturing the fervor of this precise moment. Powerful and provocative, ‘American Selfie’ raises critical questions about the stark divisions in how Americans feel, and asks if it’s possible to ever find a way to a more perfect union. As unthinkable perils engulf the land, Pelosi bravely captures the rising tensions among warring factions that eventually spill over and erupt into protests in the streets....

January 3, 2023 · 2 min · 350 words · Martin Bermudez

Andor Reveals Massive Time Jump Between Episodes For Diego Luna Show

Set five years before the events of “Rogue One,” the series stars Diego Luna as Rebel pilot Cassian Andor. While Cassian ultimately meets a fatal end after helping deliver the Death Star received by Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), the prequel series will span the five years leading up to “Rogue One” across two seasons. According to Empire Magazine, the first season of “Andor” will center on Cassian’s life as an operative for the Rebellion and cover one year of his life across 12 episodes....

January 3, 2023 · 2 min · 414 words · Travis Green

Aquaman 2 Shuts Down Johnny Depp Fans Who Want Amber Heard Fired

“I don’t think we’re ever going to react to, honestly, pure fan pressure,” Safran said. “You gotta do what’s best for the movie. We felt that if it’s James Wan, and Jason Momoa, it should be Amber Heard. That’s really what it was.” Safran, who produces DC’s “Aquaman” franchise as well as “Shazam!” and “The Suicide Squad,” continued, “One is not unaware of what is going on in the Twitter-verse, but that doesn’t mean you have to react to it or take it as gospel or accede to their wishes....

January 3, 2023 · 2 min · 378 words · Kathleen Veer

Ballad Of A White Cow Review A Masterful Look At An Iranian Woman

Co-directed by Maryam Moghaddam (in her narrative debut) and Behtash Sanaeeha (“Risk of Acid Rain”), “Ballad of a White Cow” bears all the hallmarks of the patient, absorbing character studies of Iranian heavyweights Mohammad Rasolouf and Asgar Farhadi, and deserves consideration alongside their strongest work. In fact, the plight of Mina (Moghaddam as well) wouldn’t look out of place as one of the chapters in “There Is No Evil,” the anthology of stories about Iranians impacted by the country’s rampant executions, which Rasolouf premiered last year....

January 3, 2023 · 4 min · 809 words · Addie Smith

Better Call Saul Bryan Cranston And Aaron Paul Appear In Season 6

Speaking on a panel at PaleyFest LA on Saturday (via Variety), “Better Call Saul” co-creator Peter Gould confirmed what many fans have been predicting: the final season of the “Breaking Bad” prequel will feature appearances from Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul. “I don’t want to spoil things for the audience, but I will say the first question we had when we started the show was, ‘Are we gonna see Walt and Jesse on the show?...

January 3, 2023 · 2 min · 366 words · David Jackson

Big Mouth Amping Up The Anxiety Level For The New Me In Season 4

“We’re trying to portray what it’s like being a kid right now and anxiety seems to be central so many kids’ experiences,” Kroll said. “Obviously, we didn’t know about a global pandemic, but we did know there was going to be a national election around the time the season came out, and it proved to be anxiety ridden in its own right. Fear of intimacy and connecting with other people was weirdly hard for all of us to write about this season....

January 3, 2023 · 4 min · 755 words · Jo Vaughn

Bill Traylor Chasing Ghosts Review Documentary Chronicles Artist

Why was Traylor mostly omitted from history for so long? The framework of American Black art in the mid-20th century, this documentary argues, didn’t exist in any robust way. But “Chasing Ghosts” isn’t so interested in plumbing the mechanisms that worked, for many years, to erase Bill Traylor from the canon; instead, it’s a portrait of the artist that uses staged dramatic readings, archival materials including voiceover and photographs, and interviews to understand his craft....

January 3, 2023 · 3 min · 597 words · Buddy Martinez

Black Box Review Total Recall Meets Get Out In Blumhouse Thriller

The first point of comparison for “Black Box” is “Memento.” Nolan (Mamoudou Athie) survived a debilitating car accident that killed his wife and left him in a perpetual state of confusion, constantly forgetting details about his everyday life as his young daughter Ava (Amanda Christine) does her best to give him reminders to get through the day (eat your breakfast, drive me to school, and no, you don’t smoke). Nolan keeps experiencing strange signs that he’s still not himself, none more shocking than a hole in the wall that suggests he’s prone to blackouts and rage spirals....

January 3, 2023 · 4 min · 661 words · Ernest Allen

Black Widow Previews Box Office Hits Pandemic High 13 2 Million

This is nearly double “F9” (Universal), which took in $7.1 million from similar Thursday shows two weeks ago. It went on to gross $70 million for its initial weekend. Under normal circumstances, initial evening shows for Marvel films are among the biggest for “previews.” (The grosses are folded into the Friday result for one number, but usually reported as initial estimates.) Nothing compares to “Avengers: Endgame” in April 2019. It took in $60 million, a record, on its way to $357 million for its first weekend....

January 3, 2023 · 5 min · 971 words · John Weiss

Doctor Strange 2 Super Bowl Trailer In The Multiverse Of Madness

The latest “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” trailer, which aired during the Super Bowl on February 13, gives Marvel fans a glimpse into the chaos caused by the events of “Spider-Man: No Way Home.” Benedict Cumberbatch reprises his role as neurosurgeon turned Master of the Mystic Arts Stephen Strange, who has the power to unlock alternate dimensions and change the course of MCU history. “Multiverse of Madness” is a sequel to Scott Derrickson’s 2016 film, and hinges on the aftermath of Doctor Strange’s latest showing in “No Way Home....

January 3, 2023 · 2 min · 397 words · Kellie Kruse

Dune Art Director Compares Films To Lord Of The Rings Series

“The great thing about this is that it’s so realistic. It’s not like anything they’ve seen before,” Brown said of the film’s spacecraft. “The attitude that Denis and [production designer] Patrice [Vermette took] was, what would happen if these things could actually fly? Unlike a lot of spaceships that just sort of lift off and fly, these have an incredible realism to them. Even though some of the spaceships are the size of skyscrapers, others are two-seater vehicles....

January 3, 2023 · 2 min · 369 words · Leslie Begin

Earwig And The Witch Trailer Studio Ghibli First Cgi Movie

“Earwig and the Witch” is directed by Goro Miyazaki, son of Studio Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki, and marks the studio’s first feature fully rendered with CG animation. The decision to pass on the studio’s famous hand-drawn style has made “Earwig” a polarizing title, but the Cannes Film Festival did give the title its seal approval by naming it part of the 2020 official selection earlier this year. The English-language dub is set to feature the voices of Oscar nominee Richard E....

January 3, 2023 · 2 min · 318 words · Tiffany Dodd

Euphoria Season 2 Episode 5 Review Zendaya On The Run Spoilers

Gia Bennett, played by Storm Reid, is the first face shown in “Euphoria’s” fifth episode, and even without the contentious conversation overheard seconds earlier, loyal audiences know what her appearance means. Gia has a way of popping up whenever her older sister’s substance abuse issues escalate. In the series premiere, it’s Gia who finds Rue (Zendaya) laying on her bedroom floor in a heap of her own vomit. It’s Gia who calls the paramedics and watches the ambulance drive off....

January 3, 2023 · 8 min · 1613 words · Francis Federico

Friends Creator Apologizes For Kathleen Turner Role Misgendering

Kauffman, who created the 1994 to 2004 series with David Crane, admitted that “referring to her as ‘Chandler’s father’, even though Chandler’s father was trans” was a “mistake.” “Pronouns were not yet something that I understood. So we didn’t refer to that character as ‘she.’ That was a mistake,” Kauffman said during “The Conversation” on the BBC World Service (via The Huffington Post). Matthew Perry as Chandler endured numerous jokes about his “dad,” played by Turner, on the series....

January 3, 2023 · 3 min · 482 words · Adam Johnson

Halo Trailer Reveals Master Chief Covenant And A Release Date

According to an official synopsis, the series follows “an epic 26th-century conflict between humanity and an alien threat known as the Covenant, HALO the series will weave deeply drawn personal stories with action, adventure and a richly imagined vision of the future.” The show stars Pablo Schreiber as the iconic Master Chief, and Jen Taylor reprises her role as Cortana from the video game series. “Halo” also stars Bokeem Woodbine (Soren-066), Shabana Azmi (Admiral Margaret Parangosky), Natasha Culzac (Riz-028), Olive Gray (Miranda Keyes), Yerin Ha (Kwan Ha Boo), Bentley Kalu (Vannak-134), Kate Kennedy (Kai-125), Charlie Murphy (Makee) and Danny Sapani (Captain Jacob Keyes)....

January 3, 2023 · 2 min · 251 words · Robert Miller

Heaven S Gate The Cult Of Cults Review Hbo Max S New Docuseries

A half-baked, hokey blend of pseudo-Christianity, New Age mysticism, and “Star Trek” lore, Heaven’s Gate was built on the belief that humans were, in fact, extraterrestrials living in shells known among the sect’s members as “vehicles.” In the fractious, early 1970s moment of a post-war, counterculture-rattled America, some people were evidently easy targets for Applewhite, better known as “Do,” and Bonnie Nettles, aka “Ti.” As the supposed messengers to help people shed their human bodies, they traveled the country to share their wacky dogma, hinging on the idea that these alien hosts were soon meant to ascend to a higher plane of being — so why not join them?...

January 3, 2023 · 4 min · 665 words · Polly Hart

Hill House And Bly Manor Creator No Plans For Future Seasons

“Never say never, of course, but right now we are focused on a full slate of other Intrepid projects for 2021 and beyond,” Flanagan added. “If things change we will absolutely let everyone know!” Intrepid Pictures is Flanagan’s production company, which wrapped filming on the new Netflix horror series “Midnight Mass” earlier this month. Instead of moving into production on a third “Haunting” chapter, Flanagan and his team went to work on the original horror idea “Midnight Mass,” which is set to run seven episodes on Netflix....

January 3, 2023 · 2 min · 359 words · Brandon Hepler

I Want You Back Review Jenny Slate Charlie Day In Shaky Rom Com

Despite ticking off all the boxes of standard issue rom-com plotting, Jason Orley’s “I Want You Back” eventually twists itself into something much more complicated, frazzled, and ultimately less satisfying than the film’s log line would lead audiences to believe. Pulling liberally from other rom-coms before it — think of it as a spin on Griffin Dunne’s “Addicted to Love,” though less mean-spirited and with its own set of convoluted plot turns — “Love, Simon” screenwriters Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger’s latest retains the sweet center that drives the genre, but gets woefully lost in the details....

January 3, 2023 · 5 min · 907 words · Erminia Moll

Julia Review This Tasty Chef Documentary Can T Quite Satisfy

The world’s fascination with Julia Child — arguably the world’s first celebrity chef, and certainly the first to make a career out of cooking up both an assortment of beloved television shows and a bestselling lineup of books — hasn’t abated much since Child passed away in 2004. By 2009, Meryl Streep was playing her on-screen in Nora Ephron’s “Julie & Julia,” which threaded Child’s later years alongside the fraught young adulthood of New Yorker Julie Powell....

January 3, 2023 · 5 min · 937 words · Albert Nixon