MOVIE
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Taylor Swift is celebrating her upcoming 34th birthday by giving Swifties the greatest gift of all. “Hi! Well, so, basically I have a birthday coming up and I was thinking a fun way to celebrate the year we’ve had together would be to make The Eras Tour Concert Film available for you to watch at […]
Beyoncé dropped a new trailer for her upcoming RENAISSANCE: A Film by Beyoncé movie on Thursday morning (Nov. 9), which promises to capture the eye-popping global tour of the same name in all its silver-streaked, bass-thumping glory. The film, directed by the singer, will hit theaters around the world on Dec. 1 after its Los […]
Before her death in January at age 54, Lisa Marie Presley, the only child of Elvis Presley and wife Priscilla, reportedly lashed out at the way her dad was depicted in the script for Sofia Coppola’s new biopic about her mom, Priscilla. Variety reported on Thursday (Nov. 2) that it had obtained two emails Lisa Marie sent to Coppola in which she asked the director to reconsider her take on the couple’s love story to spare her family from public embarrassment.
“My father only comes across as a predator and manipulative. As his daughter, I don’t read this and see any of my father in this character. I don’t read this and see my mother’s perspective of my father,” Lisa Marie reportedly wrote in two messages she sent to Coppola about four hours apart last September. “I read this and see your shockingly vengeful and contemptuous perspective and I don’t understand why?”
In the messages, Lisa Marie was said to have asked the Oscar-winning director to not further strain her already brittle relationship with mother Priscilla or shine a spotlight on Elvis’ living grandchildren while they were grieving the loss of Lisa Marie’s son, Benjamin Keough, who died in 2020.
Coppola’s biopic is based on Priscilla’s 1985 memoir, Elvis and Me, which depicts the couple’s controversial relationship that began in Germany in 1959 when the singer was 24 and Priscilla was 14. At the point that Lisa Marie sent the emails Coppola had not begun shooting the movie, but Lisa Marie reportedly made it clear that she would condemn the project and the participation of her estranged mother, who is an executive producer on the project and who has been part of A24’s publicity campaign for it; Priscilla had a limited Oct. 27 opening and expands to more screen today (Nov. 3).
“I will be forced to be in a position where I will have to openly say how I feel about the film and go against you, my mother and this film publicly,” Presley reportedly wrote to Coppola. The director commented to Variety through a rep, who shared how Coppola reportedly responded to Lisa Marie after receiving the emails.
“I hope that when you see the final film you will feel differently, and understand I’m taking great care in honoring your mother, while also presenting your father with sensitivity and complexity,” Coppola wrote.
In her emails, Lisa Marie worried that Priscilla did not understand how the shocking age gap between Elvis (played by Euphoria‘s Jacob Elordi) and Priscilla (Cailee Spaeny) would translate for modern audiences. “I am worried that my mother isn’t seeing the nuance here or realizing the way in which Elvis will be perceived when this movie comes out,” Lisa Marie wrote. “I feel protective over my mother who has spent her whole life elevating my father’s legacy. I am worried she doesn’t understand the intentions behind this film or the outcome it will have.”
Speaking to Rolling Stone this month, Coppola — also the scion of a world-renowned father, director Francis Ford Coppola — said she strives not to be “judgmental” about any of the characters in her films and tries to be as sympathetic as possible. “And I’m really focused on her perspective, but even with the parents, you’re like, ‘How can anybody let their kid go live with Elvis that young?’” she told the magazine. During interviews at the Venice Film Festival in August, Priscilla once again clarified that she and Elvis were not sexually intimate when she was 14.
In her emails, however, Lisa Marie said she couldn’t understand Coppola’s need to “take my father down on the heels of such an incredible film [Baz Luhrmann’s 2022 musical biopic Elvis] using the excuse that you are trying to tell my mother’s story, but from your very dark and jaded reality.”
After releasing his new album, The Love Album: Off The Grid, last month, Diddy is upping the ante with his forthcoming film, Off The Grid. The first trailer for the film — powered by the sonics off The Love Album — dropped on Monday morning (Oct. 30) and features Diddy and budding actress Eva Apio in a romantic […]
Beyoncé will host the dual premieres of her Renaissance: A Film By Beyoncé concert movie in Los Angeles on Nov. 25 and London on Nov. 30, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The roll-out will happen just a few days before AMC Entertainment and Bey’s Parkwood Entertainment open the film in theaters around the world on Dec. 1.
The doc chronicling the singer’s highest-grossing tour to date was co-directed by the singer, who also wrote it and executive produced the project. Tickets for international territories — including Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, South America and the Caribbean — will go on sale on Nov. 9 here; tickets are on sale now in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
A description of the film notes that it, “accentuates the journey of Renaissance World Tour, from its inception, to the opening in Stockholm, Sweden, to the finale in Kansas City, Missouri. It is about Beyoncé’s intention, hard work, involvement in every aspect of the production, her creative mine and purpose to create her legacy, and master her craft. Received with extraordinary acclaim, Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour created a sanctuary for freedom, and shared joy for more than 2.7 million fans.”
While locations for the U.S. and European premieres have not yet been announced, an invitation for London suggested a “formal opulence” dress code, while the L.A. premiere calls for “Cozy opulence,” a seeming reference to the Renaissance album track “Cozy.”
“When I am performing, I am nothing but free,” Bey said in the voiceover of the film’s two-minute trailer that also includes the singer casually walking to stage while flashing a peace sign, stretching pre-show with her kids — including rehearsing with backup dancer/eldest daughter Blue Ivy Carter — and having a cocktail in the green room. Husband Jay-Z also makes a cameo, pumping his fist and smiling from the crowd in the clip that also featured the couple’s twins, Rumi and Sir.
The two-hour-and-thirty-minute unrated film is the latest concert film from Bey, following on the heels of her 2019 Netflix doc Homecoming — which chronicled her 2018 Coachella headlining set — as well as her 2013 HBO movie, Life Is But a Dream, a hybrid live performance and video diary project, and 2009’s I Am… Yours: An Intimate Performance at Wynn Las Vegas.
Watch the Renaissance trailer below.
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In advance of Britney Spears coming back to the big screen in next month’s re-release of the singer’s movie debut in 2002’s coming-of-age road-trip dramedy Crossroads, a new trailer is getting fans hyped for the special event.
The 30-second trailer for the global fan event on Oct. 23 and 25 opens with Spears’ Lucy enthusiastically singing Madonna’s “Open Your Heart” into a spoon in her teenage bedroom, which just happens to have a poster of Madge’s debut album cover in plain view on the wall.
As Spears bounces around the room lost in music, she suddenly stops and hops under the bed when her dad (Dan Akroyd) yells from the other room. Cut to Lucy hopping in the car with her two estranged high school besties, Mimi (Taryn Manning) and Kit (Zoë Saldaña) for a cross-country road trip, where they’re joined by Mimi’s handsome friend, Ben (Anson Mount).
“So I’m going all the way to California,” Mimi says, as Spears’ Lucy counsels, “you can’t go by yourself with some guy.” We also see Akroyd berating Lucy for sneaking away in the middle of the night and ordering her to return right away. The clip ends with Spears crooning “I’m Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman,” one of the hits from the singer’s 2001 Britney album.
The two-night event from Trafalgar Releasing, Sony Music Entertainment and RCA Records will support Spears’ upcoming tell-all memoir, The Woman in Me (Oct. 24). The movie written by Shonda Rhimes (Scandal, Grey’s Anatomy) and directed by Tamra Davis (CB4, 13) will include bonus features never before seen in theaters — including a sing-along to two of Spears’ songs from the film.
“I recently rewatched Crossroads and was so enthralled with the time capsule of nostalgia that this incredible ensemble cast brings to the screen,” director Davis said in a statement when the re-release was announced last week. “Britney is absolutely breathtaking to watch, and Shonda is showing us her early expertise in writing complicated female characters.”
There will also be a new merch line featuring shirts, sweats, jackets and pieces inspired by the film’s wardrobe, as well as RCA Records’ Crossroads: Special Edition of the soundtrack, with three new Spears remixes: “Overprotected” (Richi Lopez Remix), “I’m Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman” (Snakehips Remix) and “I Love Rock ‘N Roll” (Frank Walker Remix).
Watch the new Crossroads trailer below.
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Lil Nas X has always been unabashedly himself, never shying away from being out and proud in a genre that hasn’t always been accepting to the LGBTQ community. The “Industry Baby” rapper also reveals in his new documentary, Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero, that he helped his brother, Tramon Hill, come out as bisexual.
The film — which has its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on Saturday night — includes a scene in which Hill describes how Lil Nas, 24, made him comfortable discussing who he is as well, according to EW. “My brother really opened doors for a lot of people,” Hill says in the film, EW reported. “Yeah, he opened a door for me. What I mean by that, like, I’m not gay, though, you feel me? I’m bisexual. He helped me be real with myself. My brother made me more open to it.”
Later in the movie, Hill says that while he was worried about losing some of his cherished relationships after coming out, Lil Nas helped show him the way again. “If you f–k with me, you f–l with me. If you don’t, you don’t. Bye. Get out of my presence. I don’t need you,” Hill says. “At the end of the day, people are going to f–k with who they f–k with, so stop trying to chase a friend. A friend is going to always be there.”
The film also follows Lil Nas as he hits the road for his debut tour, 2022’s Long Live Montero, hangs with Madonna and faces off against homophobic protesters outside his shows. EW also noted that Lil Nas tells a funny story toward the beginning of the movie about running into How to Get Away With Murder star Viola Davis at the iconic L.A. grocery store Erewhon that did not go as expected.
“I met Viola Davis at an Erewhon, but I don’t think she knew who the f– I was,” Lil Nas says while showing directors Carlos López Estrada and Zac Manuel a photo of David taped to his bedroom wall, which also features images of Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny and Euphoria star Alexa Demie. “I was like, ‘I’m such a big fan,’ and she was like, ‘Oh, thanks,’ and she hurried out the store. It was kind of funny.”
At press time there was no release date yet for the film, whose debut this weekend was delayed by 20 minutes after a bomb threat was called in to the festival; authorities later verified that the threat was not credible.
If you missed out on Taylor Swift‘s Eras Tour during the record-shattering 52-date U.S. swing, the good news is that you can play catch-up next month when the Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour concert film opens in every AMC Theatre in the U.S., Mexico and Canada on Oct. 13.
Swift excitedly announced the 2 hr. 45 minute film on her socials on Thursday morning (Aug. 31), posting an 80-second trailer and writing, “The Eras Tour has been the most meaningful, electric experience of my life so far and I’m overjoyed to tell you that it’ll be coming to the big screen soon. Starting Oct 13th you’ll be able to experience the concert film in theaters in North America!”
The immediate question, though, aside from “how many times are you going to see it?” was: How was Swift able to film and promote the documentary in the midst of the ongoing Hollywood strike by actors and writers? The production-crippling strike began when the Writers Guild of America walked out on May 2 — followed by members of SAG-AFTRA joining in on July 13 — shutting down production on nearly all movies, TV and streaming projects in the U.S.
However, SAG-AFTRA has struck an interim agreement to cover individual non-AMPTP (Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers) productions that meet the same standards the unions are seeking in their negotiations with the studios. A source close to the Swift film confirmed to Billboard on Thursday that the Eras doc had obtained clearance under that agreement before shooting the movie. Billboard also confirmed that the Swift film is included under an assumed name on the list of approved interim agreement projects.
The list of terms on the interim agreement covers everything from scheduled breaks to payment for fittings, meal and wardrobe allowances for principal actors and background actors, per diems, rest periods and more.
The Eras Tour film was shot over the first three nights of Swift’s six-night stand at L.A.’s SoFi Stadium from Aug. 3-9.
Selena Gomez appeared to take down a photo tagging her Hulu series Only Murders in the Building earlier this week after some followers accused her of breaking the SAG-AFTRA rules concerning promotion during the strike. The union rules prohibit members from promoting new or finished works being released during the strike in interviews, on their socials or on red carpets. Because the Swift film is covered under the interim agreement, Billboard has confirmed that the singer’s post promoting it does not run afoul of any strike rules and there are no restrictions on her promotion of the project.
In an example of the impact of the strike on another musician who also has a foot in Hollywood, when Troye Sivan recently spoke with Billboard, he was excited to plug his new single, “Rush,” but was unable to discuss his work on the recently canceled HBO drama The Idol, which had wrapped its run weeks earlier. “I am in total support of the strike and am holding strong with everyone in waiting it out and making sure that everyone gets treated fairly,” Sivan said, adding that he also couldn’t talk about his upcoming starring role in the coming-of-age drama Three Months.
Swifties already likely know everything they need to about getting tickets to the movie, but just in case: every U.S. AMC Theatre location will run the Eras film at least four times per day on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sundays, with tickets for priced at $19.89 plus tax for adults and $13.13 for children and seniors plus tax (except for AMC’s branded premium large-format screens.) The film will be available in AMC theaters in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, with tickets on sale now here and here.
In light of the chaotic roll-out of Eras Tour presale tickets from Ticketmaster, AMC said it had upgraded its website and ticketing engines to “handle more than five times the largest influx of ticket-buying traffic” the company has experienced before.
Watch the Eras Tour concert film trailer below.
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If you were losing it in the theater watching Ryan Gosling turn the Kenergy up to 11 in the Barbie movie during his showstopper power balled “I’m Just Ken,” just wait until you see how director Greta Gerwig felt while watching her star ham it up on the beach. In a behind-the-scenes video chronicling the […]
Travis Scott‘s super-sized roll-out of his Utopia album continued on Tuesday (Aug. 15) with the free YouTube posting of his 75-minute Circus Maximus film, as well as four Utopia music videos.
The trippy film — which played in select theaters on the album’s July 28th release date — opens with a scene in which Scott dreams he is being enveloped by a gigantic sea creature before setting off on a quest across a desolate landscape that brings him to a lavish mansion where he meets up with producer Rick Rubin.
Seen through a keyhole, their interaction initially finds Rubin asking probing questions (“is the house half empty, or completely empty?,” “how are the kids?,” “are you still crying?,” “how about the drugs, are they still working, or are you just tired of them?”) as an exasperated Scott tries to gather his thoughts.
What unfolds over the next hour-plus is a head-spinning film — written by Scot and co-directed by the rapper, Andrew Dosunmu and Kahlil Joseph — that incorporates all 19 tracks from the feature-filled album in a series of colorful vignettes. It bounces from Scott rapping “Hyaena” in an African village, to the MC participating in a Catalan-style human tower build in “Sirens,” all intercut with bits of the Rubin interview.
Elsewhere, there is a futuristic taxi chase set to the Beyoncé-assisted “Delresto (Echoes),” a strobing underground dance party for “Modern Jam” and some fresh footage cued to “Hyaena” and a remix of “Jam” in which Scott stands in front of a massive wall of speakers in Rome’s Circus Maximus, which bleeds into an extended run of footage from the recent album release show in the ancient venue that drew 60,000 fans and a surprise Kanye West cameo.
The break-out videos for “Sirens,” “Modern Jam,” “Hyaena” and “Delresto (Echoes)” are all versions of the clips that appear in the Maximus movie. Utopia has ruled the Billboard 200 albums chart for two weeks in a row, earning 147,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. for the week ending Aug. 10, down 70%, according to Luminate, from its debut the week before with 496,000 units earned.
Check out the Scott videos below.
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