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Nearly two decades after her death, iconic Spanish singer Rocío Dúrcal will be revived through a biopic that will recount her life and legacy as “the queen of rancheras,” announced last week via Sony Music México. Together with Sony Music Vision and Altit Media Group, the story of the singer of hits such as “La Gata Bajo la Lluvia” and “Como Tu Mujer” will be brought to the big screen.
“It is a true honor for us to be part of this well-deserved tribute to Rocío Dúrcal’s trajectory and celebration of her legacy, which reinforces the cultural impact she continues to have in the industry and society,” said Roberto López, president of Sony Music México, in a statement. “Additionally, it’s the perfect introduction for the new division of Sony Music Vision in Mexico.”
The production will be handled by Altit Media Group, known for The Misfits and The Good Neighbor. It will also feature the participation of Dúrcal’s daughters, Shaila and Carmen, who will play a fundamental role in chronicling this story of female empowerment within music.
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“It is an indescribable honor to see how the story of our mother, a woman who left an indelible mark on the world of music and film, will come to life on the big screen,” said Shaila and Carmen in the statement.
Born on Oct. 4, 1944, Rocío Dúrcal (real name María de los Ángeles de las Heras) began her career in her native Spain as a teenager, appearing in musical films like Canción de Juventud, Más Bonita Que Ninguna, and Amor en el Aire, which catapulted her to fame during the 1960s. By the late ’70s, she surprised many by singing rancheras under the guidance of Juan Gabriel as composer and producer. The duo marked a new era in Latin music, turning her into a mariachi queen following stars like Lola Beltrán, with the uniqueness of being a Spaniard singing Mexican music.
From Rocío Dúrcal Canta a Juan Gabriel, Vol. 1 (1977) to Rocío Dúrcal Canta a Juan Gabriel, Vol. 6 (1984), the partnership of Dúrcal and Juan Gabriel produced timeless songs like “Me Gustas Mucho,” “Fue Un Placer Conocerte,” “Tarde,” “La Gata Bajo la Lluvia” and “Amor Eterno.” After personal differences led to a professional breakup, a new stage in the singer’s career followed with other music geniuses like Marco Antonio Solís, who wrote and produced her albums Como Tu Mujer (1988) and Si Te Pudiera Mentir (1990), as well as Joan Sebastian, who co-wrote and produced Desaires (1993).
Dúrcal, who died on March 25, 2006, of uterine cancer at age 61, left an indelible mark on music and the arts, with more than a dozen film productions, over 20 albums, 11 billion streams on Spotify to date, and 13 billion hits on TikTok. Among other recognitions, in 1998 she won the Billboard Latin Music Award for regional Mexican album of the year with Juan Gabriel for Juntos Otra Vez; in 1999 she received the Billboard Hall of Fame Award; and in 2007, she posthumously received the Billboard Latin Music Award for Latin album of the year of greatest hits for Amor Eterno: Los Éxitos.
No title or release date for the biopic has been announced yet, or who will play the role of Rocío Dúrcal. Sony Music México will provide additional details at a later date.
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While we await to see what James Gunn’s new rebooted DCU cinematic world looks like, DC Studios is looking to rip a page out of Sony’s playbook and make a new movie centered around some of their most famous Batman villains.
According to Variety, DC Studios is currently working on a film that will feature both Deathstroke and Bane and have tasked Captain America: Brave New World screenwriter, Matthew Orton, with penning the project. While little is known about the project such as who’ll star in it and whether or not the villains will be part of Gunn’s main DCU or if it’ll be an DC Elseworld feature, it seems like DC Studios is looking to cash in on villain popularity as films and series based on comic book baddies is all the rage these days.
Per Variety:
Bane and Deathstroke have also appeared in previous DC adaptations. Most famously, Tom Hardy played Bane in Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight Rises,” in which the hulking, masked king of the underworld broke Batman’s back — as he did in the character’s famous comic storyline “Knightfall” — and held Gotham City hostage. Bane also featured as a secondary villain in 1997’s “Batman & Robin,” as played by professional wrestler Robert Swenson, and Shane West played the character on Fox’s Batman prequel series “Gotham.”
Deathstroke — a superpowered mercenary also known as Slade Wilson — is also a recurring Batman nemesis, but he most frequently has been a primary villain for the Teen Titans. Joe Manganiello briefly played the character in a post-credits scene from 2017’s “Justice League” and 2021’s “Zack Snyder’s Justice League.” Manu Bennett played the role on the CW series “Arrow,” and Esai Morales portrayed Deathstroke on the Max series “Titans.”
Until we learn who’ll be taking on the roles of the aforementioned villains and which Batman universe they’ll be in, we’re not going to get too excited. Will it be Robert Pattinson or Ben Affleck’s Bruce Wayne/Batman world? Will it be an entirely different Bats by then?
While many loved Robert Pattinson’s iteration of the Dark Knight, rumors say that The Batman director Matt Reeves turned down James Gunn’s offer of having his Batman be a part of his rebooted DCU, hence making The Batman and it’s pending sequels an DC Elseworld franchise.
So will this new supervillain film be a part of Matt Reeve’s Batman universe or the one for which James Gunn has yet to cast a caped crusader? Guess we’ll have to wait and see.
What do y’all think of DC Studio’s latest project? Sound off in the comments section below.
Kris Kristofferson, a Rhodes scholar with a deft writing style and rough charisma who became a country music superstar and A-list Hollywood actor, has died.
Kristofferson died at his home in Maui, Hawaii, on Saturday (Sept. 28), spokeswoman Ebie McFarland said in an email. He was 88.
McFarland said Kristofferson died peacefully, surrounded by his family. No cause was given. He was 88.
Starting in the late 1960s, the Brownsville, Texas, native wrote such classics as “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down,” “Help Me Make It Through the Night,” “For the Good Times” and “Me and Bobby McGee.” Kristofferson was a singer himself, but many of his songs were best known as performed by others, whether Ray Price crooning “For the Good Times” or Janis Joplin belting out “Me and Bobby McGee.”
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He also starred opposite Ellen Burstyn in director Martin Scorsese’s 1974 film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, starred opposite Barbra Streisand in the 1976 A Star Is Born and acted alongside Wesley Snipes in Marvel’s Blade in 1998.
Kristofferson, who could recite William Blake from memory, wove intricate folk music lyrics about loneliness and tender romance into popular country music. With his long hair and bell-bottomed slacks and counterculture songs influenced by Bob Dylan, he represented a new breed of country songwriters along with such peers as Willie Nelson, John Prine and Tom T. Hall.
“There’s no better songwriter alive than Kris Kristofferson,” Nelson said during a November 2009 award ceremony for Kristofferson held by BMI. “Everything he writes is a standard and we’re all just going to have to live with that.”
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As an actor, he played the leading man opposite Barbara Streisand and Ellen Burstyn, but also had a fondness for shoot-out Westerns and cowboy dramas.
He was a Golden Gloves boxer and football player in college, received a master’s degree in English from Merton College at the University of Oxford in England and turned down an appointment to teach at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, to pursue songwriting in Nashville. Hoping to break into the industry, he worked as a part-time janitor at Columbia Records’ Music Row studio in 1966 when Dylan recorded tracks for the seminal Blonde on Blonde double album.
At times, the legend of Kristofferson was larger than real life. Cash liked to tell a mostly exaggerated story of how Kristofferson, a former U.S. Army pilot, landed a helicopter on Cash’s lawn to give him a tape of “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down” with a beer in one hand. Over the years in interviews, Kristofferson said that with all respect to Cash, while he did land a helicopter at Cash’s house, the Man in Black wasn’t even home at the time, the demo tape was a song that no one ever actually cut — and he certainly couldn’t fly a helicopter holding a beer.
In a 2006 interview with The Associated Press, he said he might not have had a career without Cash.
“Shaking his hand when I was still in the Army backstage at the Grand Ole Opry was the moment I’d decided I’d come back,” Kristofferson said. “It was electric. He kind of took me under his wing before he cut any of my songs. He cut my first record that was record of the year. He put me on stage the first time.”
One of his most recorded songs, “Me and Bobby McGee,” was written based on a recommendation from Monument Records founder Fred Foster. Foster had a song title in his head called “Me and Bobby McKee,” named after a female secretary in his building. Kristofferson said in an interview in the magazine, Performing Songwriter that he was inspired to write the lyrics about a man and woman on the road together after watching the Frederico Fellini film La Strada.
Joplin, who had a close relationship with Kristofferson, changed the lyrics to make Bobby McGee a man and cut her version just days before she died in 1970 from a drug overdose. The recording became a posthumous No. 1 hit for Joplin.
Hits that Kristofferson recorded include “Why Me,” “Loving Her Was Easier (Than Anything I’ll Ever Do),” “Watch Closely Now,” “Desperados Waiting for a Train,” “A Song I’d Like to Sing” and “Jesus Was a Capricorn.”
In 1973, he married fellow songwriter Rita Coolidge and together they had a successful duet career that earned them two Grammy awards. They divorced in 1980.
He retired from performing and recording in 2021, making only occasional guest appearances on stage.
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For a short time, up to 100 Prince fans visiting the music superstar’s hometown will have a place to stay when the party’s over that will let them go crazy over his cultural legacy, a home featured in the film Purple Rain.
Although the white, two-story home with brown trim in Minneapolis looks unassuming from the outside, there’s plenty inside to make the late icon’s devotees delirious over this new, limited-time Airbnb rental. Upstairs, a big closet with paisley wallpaper and leopard-spotted floor displays iconic outfits worn by Prince behind glass and has other outfits available to make renters the beautiful ones.
“And then what guests will be able to do themselves is actually play around with a selection of really iconic ‘80s outfits and looks and styles that they can kind of engage their inner rock star themselves,” said Ali Killam, an Airbnb spokesperson.
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The rentals are within reach for fans who don’t own diamonds and pearls — just $7 a night per person for up to four guests. The price is based on Prince’s favorite number and there will be a total of 25 nightly stays available over seven weeks from Oct. 26 to Dec. 14.
The Airbnb rentals are a sign o’ the times — the 40th anniversary of the movie. It starred Prince as The Kid, a musician and band leader with a rocky life in the home featured on screen.
The film, along with the hit album of the same name, made Prince a superstar through songs like the title track, “Let’s Go Crazy” and “When Doves Cry.” Those followed other hits, such as “1999” and “Little Red Corvette,” and he sold more than 100 million records with a gender- and genre-defying blend of rock, funk and soul. He died April 21, 2016, of an accidental fentanyl overdose at age 57 at his Paisley Park estate in Chanhassen, Minnesota.
The rentals are hosted by Lisa Coleman and Wendy Melvoin, two lifelong friends and musical collaborators of Prince’s, on behalf of Airbnb, the late musician’s estate and global media company Warner Bros. Discovery.
In the home’s basement, guests can sleep in a replica of The Kid’s bedroom from the film, down to the lavender pillows on the bed and even a 1980s-style cassette player. There’s also a lounge where guests can play guitar, drums or an upright piano. QR codes throughout the house link visitors to commentary from the hosts.
“It really is meant to immerse you in The Kid’s world,” Killam said.
And, of course, as a tribute to Prince, his career and influence, there’s plenty of his signature color, purple. There’s a large piece of wall art depicting purple bananas, which Killam said was a reference to “Let’s Go Crazy.”
If U would die 4 Prince, you can request a booking online on Airbnb here, starting at 6 a.m. PT on Oct. 2 and through 11:59 p.m. PT on Oct. 6. Airbnb says a pool of potential guests will be chosen at random, and the final invitations to rent will be based on fans’ answers for why they want to stay there.
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We’re still a ways away from seeing what James Gunn’s rebooted version of the DC cinematic universe will look like. But moves are being made and now that we’ve got Superman, Blue Beetle and possibly Lobo in the bag, the casting for superheroes continues to grow as we now know who’ll be taking on the mantle of the Green Lantern in the DC universe.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, seasoned actor Kyle Chandler has been chosen to star as Hal Jordan aka The Green Lantern in HBO’s upcoming series, Lanterns, which centers around the classic comic book hero and the Green Lanterns Corp. For months, it’s been known that HBO was going forward with the comic book series, and though there were many names that fans threw out there to take on the mantle of The Green Lantern, Kyle Chandler never really cracked the potential rotation. Still, we’re not mad at the choice and are looking forward to see what the man can do in this new role.
The Hollywood Reporter reports:
Lanterns is described as having a gritty, True Detective vibe as it focuses on Jordan reluctantly mentoring a younger Lantern, John Stewart, who in DC publishing history was one of the company’s first Black superheroes. The story sees the two characters investigating an Earth-bound murder with larger implications. Sources say that DC and the producers are looking for a young, more fresh-faced actor for the role to play opposite an older and bigger name.
DC initially was looking for a movie star to take on the Jordan role and had been in talks with Josh Brolin, who ultimately passed. And while rumors abounded that actors such as Chris Pine or Ewan McGregor were next on the list, that turned out to be mostly wishful thinking.
We’re not gonna lie, we’re glad Josh Brolin passed as he’s already Thanos in the eyes of the comic book world. Going with a new face that’s never been part of any comic book cinematic universe was the right move, and the Friday Night Light’s star definitely looks like a comic book accurate version of the superhero.
We just hope he ends up being a part of James Gunn’s eventual Justice League film and not written off as a DC Elseworlds character like Robert Pattinson’s The Batman and Joaquin Phoenix’s The Joker.
What do y’all think about Kyle Chandler being the new Green Lantern? Can’t be any worse than Ryan Reynolds’ iteration of the character in his 2011 bomb of a movie, can it? Let us know in the comments section below.
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While we await word on a third installment to Marvel’s Black Panther, director Ryan Coogler has been keeping himself busy with a new project that delves into the supernatural and takes place during the 1930s Jim Crow era (talk about a double whammy).
On Tuesday, September 24, Warner Bros. released the first trailer to Coogler’s upcoming film Sinners, and if you were a fan of HBO’s Lovecraft Country, this film might just be up your alley. Starring Michael B. Jordan twice (he plays his own twin brother), the film centers around Jordan as he returns to his home after traveling the world and seeing men die “in every way possible” only to learn that “demons” now haunt his hometown.
Getting the strap in preparation for a showdown of Biblical proportions, Jordan and the people of his community must now fight for survival as the evil hunts down the people of his town and does God knows what with them.
Even without much plot details or demons to be seen, the trailer for Sinners definitely promises a ghoulish good time for lovers of the horror genre. We can’t wait.
Check out the trailer for Sinners below, and let us know if you’ll be checking for it when it hits theaters in March of 2025.
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It’s going to be a few months before Marvel fans get their first look at the highly anticipated debut of Harrison Ford’s Red Hulk in Captain America: Brave New World. But until then Marvel isn’t wasting any time hyping up their next big-time crossover movie which will soon follow, Thunderbolts.
Source: Marvel / Marvel
Earlier today (Sep. 23) Marvel Studios released their first trailer for the upcoming mash-up film of former Marvel villains turned antiheroes and though plot details are still unknown, the trailer seems to promise an action-packed, buddy-ish film. Returning to the forefront of the MCU will be the likes of The Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), the new, depressed Black Widow Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), the Red Guardian (David Harbour) and even bootleg Captain America a.k.a U.S. Agent John Walker (Wyatt Russell) amongst a few others.
In the trailer, we find that some of these characters were lured into a death trap of sorts with the intentions of taking one another out, but once they realize it was a set-up, the Marvel misfits decide to team together to get to the bottom of who wants them dead. Ultimately they end up face-to-face with Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus aka Elaine from Seinfeld) who seems to have a plan for them all as she’s been running a shady part of the government since her first appearance in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier series.
Source: Marvel / Marvel
Though we don’t know much else about what this band of Marvel antiheroes are set to do, rumors have it that Harrison Ford’s Red Hulk will play some kind of role in the forthcoming movie as he is a member of the squad in the comic book series.
Could Marvel Studios have another hit on their hands with Thunderbolts or will this team meet the same fate as the already forgotten Eternals?
Check out the trailer to Thunderbolts below and let us know if you’ll be checking for this come May of 2025.
The upcoming ABC series Doctor Odyssey has some country music cred, judging from the series’ new trailer. The teaser, which arrived Tuesday (Sept. 17) features both Kelsea Ballerini and Shania Twain, who will have guest-starring roles, though details on those roles have not been revealed.
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The trailer features a scene with Ballerini being checked out by Dr. Max, while another moment features Twain dancing in the ship’s ballroom with Don Johnson, whose role has also not yet been detailed.
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Doctor Odyssey stars actor Joshua Jackson (Dawson’s Creek, Dr. Death), who portrays Dr. Max, an on-board doctor for a luxury cruise ship. He and the rest of the ship’s medical team work to navigate medical crises. Other stars in the series include Johnson (Miami Vice, Nash Bridges), Phillipa Soo and Sean Teale.
Ballerini expressed excitement for her work on the series after the teaser arrived. “Spent the last few weeks literally screaming crying and throwing up in the dramatic, fabulous world of #doctorodyssey and crossing guest star off the bucket list,” Ballerini wrote on Instagram Tuesday, accenting her caption with a heart emoji. “This incredible show premiers [sic] september 26th on @abc and streams on @hulu. (more soon on my episode and obsession with the utterly lovely kind and brilliant cast).”
Ballerini previously appeared on the television series Nashville in 2016, but is known for her cinematic music videos, such as those from her 2023 project Rolling Up the Welcome Mat, and the clip for her song “If You Go Down (I’m Goin’ Down Two).” Twain has made appearances in television series including Monarch, Broad City and A Man in Full.
Doctor Odyssey is written and executive produced by Jon Robin Baitz, Joe Baken and Ryan Murphy, with Paris Barclay directing and executive producing.
Doctor Odyssey will premiere Sept. 26 on ABC, and will also stream on Hulu.
Watch the series’ trailer below:
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Following K-Pops making its world premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival last weekend (Sept. 7), fans across movies and music were buzzing about the all-star cameos joining stars like Anderson .Paak, actor-rapper Jonnie “Dumbfoundead” Park, former U-KISS member Kevin Woo, Community star Yvette Nicole Brown, and .Paak’s son Soul Rasheed.
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With rumors about an upcoming acting opportunity for Vernon of SEVENTEEN since the singer-rapper was spotted filming in Seoul in May, Billboard can confirm the 26-year-old’s participation in K-Pops and share a first look.
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Described by Anderson .Paak as “a fun, lighthearted film born from my love for music and inspired by my family while we were quarantined during the pandemic,” K-Pops is the comedy-musical telling the story of struggling musician BJ (.Paak), who attempts to revive his career by joining the house band of a K-pop competition program in South Korea, only to discovers that his long-lost son Tae Young (Rasheed) is a contestant vying for global superstardom. The nearly two-hour flick marks .Paak’s directorial debut for a tale of uniting people and cultures through entertainment while enlisting several major collaborators.
“Vernon brings an undeniable energy and talent to anything he does so I was thrilled to have him join our cast,” Anderson.Paak shares exclusively with Billboard. “He’s got a unique vibe that brings so much value to the dynamic world of K-pop that we explored in the film. On set, he was a natural. His ability to adapt and take direction while bringing his creativity and dedication really elevated the project. One of his jokes got a huge laugh from the audience during our world premiere, demonstrating just how effortless his talent is.”
The SEVENTEEN star isn’t the only big K-pop name joining the project. In his director’s statement shared with press at TIFF 2024, Anderson.Paak explains how he infused his style with several top artists representing the South Korean music industry.
“I also had the opportunity to work with iconic K-pop artists that I’ve been looking to collaborate with for years like Suga from BTS, Vernon from SEVENTEEN, Crush, The Rose, Jessi and G-Dragon,” he shared. “The fact that I get to do these collaborations in my directorial debut and bring these idols and artists into the world of K-Pops just brings a whole new level of excitement to the project.”
Billboard Hot 100 hit producer DemJointz also collaborated with .Paak to create original music for the film. The Silk Sonic star explained how the California beatmaker brought his experiences working with artists like Rihanna and Kanye West as well as K-pop chart-toppers like BTS and IVE — and even recently bringing both worlds together like on the “Dirty Dancing (Dem Jointz Remix)” where New Kids on the Block is joined by SEVENTEEN — as a perfect partner.
“I worked alongside the incredible DemJointz to create some original music based around the fictional competition show you see in the film,” .Paak added. “He was vital to the creation of these songs because he works heavily in the K-pop world and has churned out a lot of hits in that genre — he’s brilliant. We had a great time digging into my archive of music and building off of original ideas to utilize for the soundtrack.”
K-Pops is being sold by WME Independent, with Stampede Ventures, Live Nation Productions, Apeshit Films, EST Studios, and Big Dummie all working as production company partners. Get your first official look at Vernon in the film below:
Seventeen’s Vernon in the movie ‘K-POPS.’
Israel Ramos
‘K-POPS’
Israel Ramos
Primary Wave Music and Prince Legacy, two companies with ties to Prince‘s assets, released a statement Monday afternoon in response to reports of an unreleased documentary accusing the late musician of physical and emotional abuse.
“Those with the responsibility of carrying out Prince’s wishes shall honor his creativity and genius,” the statement reads. “We are working to resolve matters concerning the documentary so that his story may be told in a way that is factually correct and does not mischaracterize or sensationalize his life. We look forward to continuing to share Prince’s gifts and celebrate his profound and lasting impact on the world.”
On Sunday, a lengthy report from the New York Times Magazine revealed that an unreleased nine-hour documentary from O.J.: Made in America filmmaker Ezra Edelman featured interviews with dozens of Prince’s former business partners, lovers, friends and associates which included multiple allegations of physical and emotional abuse.
The article chronicled a dense back-and-forth between the film’s production team and Prince’s estate in a battle over the documentary’s release. Per NYT, the project has been in development with Netflix for nearly five years.
The film allegedly includes an interview with Prince’s ex-lover Jill Jones, who recalls a night in which he slapped and repeatedly punched her in the face. Another past relationship, Susannah Melvoin, reportedly told filmmakers that after she moved in with the musician, he monitored her phone calls, told her not to leave the house and tried to keep her separated from her sister. In another interview, his ex-wife Mayte Garcia allegedly recalls being left alone after her and Prince’s child died.
Other interviews allege the famous singer exhibited controlling nature and that he suffered abuse as a child. Additional sources, however, also recall positive memories of the singer, which created what Edelman described as one of the hardest projects of his career.
“How can you tell the truth about someone who, when you’re talking to people, they all had different things to say?” he said.
In a statement to NYT, Netflix said “this documentary project has proved every bit as complex as Prince himself. We have meticulously archived Prince’s life and worked hard to support Ezra’s series. But there are still meaningful contractual issues with the estate that are holding up a documentary release.”
This article was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter.