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Barry Manilow paid tribute to his good friend Suzanne Somers on Sunday (Oct. 15) after the 76-year-old Three’s Company star’s death was announced earlier in the day. “Suzanne and I were friends for decades. She was the sister I never had and my close confidant forever. We shared triumphs and heartaches,” wrote Manilow in a […]
An Israeli production company is working on a documentary about the horrific Oct. 7 terror attack on the Supernova Music Festival at Kibbutz Re’im by Hamas militants. The assault by air and land by the militant arm of the terrorist organization that governs the more than two million Palestinians who live in the Gaza Strip included the killing of more than 260 revelers at the Paralello Universo Supernova Sukkot Gathering electronic dance music festival celebrating the Jewish holiday Simchat Torah.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Israeli production company Sipur is working with Israeli broadcasters HOT Channel 8 and HSCC on a feature documentary about the assault that was part of Hamas surprise raid on the Southern border of Israel that found the militants killing more than 1,300 Israeli men, women and children and kidnapping nearly 200 civilians and soldiers.
The film will be directed by Yariv Mozer (The Devil’s Confession: The Lost Eichmann Tapes) using exclusive footage from participants and key people at the party, with the team aiming to “present an in-depth look at the festival before, during and after the horrific event,” according to THR, including interviews with investigators, soldiers and journalists and unseen footage from attendees.
“I have seen things in my life. I have lived through wars; I have fought in wars and I have even filmed during a war,” Mozer told THR in a statement. “But nothing prepared me for the harsh images I have seen in the remains of the massacre that took place at the Nova music festival. I see it as my duty as a documentary filmmaker to bring to the world the testimonies and horrific stories from the survivors of this slaughter. Young women and men whose only sin was their desire for music, and the passion to celebrate free love, spirit and freedom.”
President Biden referenced the massacre during remarks on the Israel-Hamas conflict days after the attack, naming “young people massacred while attending a music festival to celebrate peace” among the violent incidents of the previous few days.
Sipur CEO Emilio Schenker said the team “moved quickly” to begin work on the doc within a week of the attack because they believe it is “imperative to do everything in our power to shine a light on the greatest evil committed against our people since the Holocaust. The Supernova Music Festival must be seen and understood in its entirety to truly understand the larger meaning of the unspeakable crimes against humanity that occurred there. The world must never forget.”
The producers of the Supernova Gathering issued their first statement on the massacre on Friday. “Our dear tribe of Nova, first and foremost, we want to convey our sincere and heartfelt condolences to all the families, friends, partners and couples who have lost their loved ones or have been affected by the tragic events that unfolded, following that magic night and that turned into an exceedingly heavy morning,” they wrote.
“What was planned to be the happiest and largest electronic music festival of the Nova Tribe has turned into a scene of unspeakable tragedy, an inhumane war crime, an unprecedented violation of the most basic human values,” it continued. “This is the epitome of pure and unbridled evil, the horrifying and senseless murder of countless innocent angels, whose only ‘crime’ was being Jewish and living in Israel.“
The festival was attended by approximately 3,000 people, with a lineup focused on the electronic psytrance dance subgenre. Around 6:30 a.m. on Oct. 7, Hamas terrorists entered the site by truck, motorcycle, ATV and paraglider and began killing festival attendees with machine guns and RPGs, while also taking a number hostage and transporting them to Gaza.
Israel is expected to launch a major land invasion into Gaza in retaliation within days with the stated aim of wiping out Hamas’ infrastructure and leadership.
Movie theaters turned into concert venues this weekend as Swifties brought their dance moves and friendship bracelets to multiplexes across the country. The unparalleled enthusiasm helped propel Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour to a massive, first place debut between $95 million and $97 million in North America, AMC Theatres said Sunday (Oct. 15).
It’s easily the biggest opening for a concert film of all time, and, not accounting for inflation, has made more than the $73 million Justin Bieber: Never Say Never earned in 2011. In today’s dollars, that would be around $102 million. And if it comes in on the higher end of projections when totals are released Monday (Oct. 16), it could be the biggest October opening ever. The one to beat is Joker, which launched to $96.2 million in 2019.
A unique experiment in distribution, premium pricing, star power and loose movie theater etiquette — more dancing and shouting than a Star Wars premiere — have made it an undeniable hit. Compiled from Swift’s summer shows at Southern California’s SoFi Stadium, the film opened in 3,855 North American locations starting with “surprise” Thursday evening previews. Those showtimes helped boost its opening day sum to $39 million — the second biggest ever for October, behind Joker’s $39.3 million.
Internationally, it’s estimated to have earned somewhere between $31 to $33 million, bringing its global total in the range of $126 million to $130 million.
“This is a phenomenal number,” said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. “To have a blockbuster style opening weekend for a concert film is unprecedented.”
Swift, who produced the film, went around the Hollywood studio system to distribute the film, making a deal directly with AMC, the largest exhibition company in the United States. With her 274 million Instagram followers, Swift hardly needed a traditional marketing campaign to get the word out.
Beyoncé made a similar deal with the exhibitor for Renaissance: A Film By Beyoncé, which will open on Dec. 1. The two superstars posed together at the premiere of The Eras Tour earlier this week in Los Angeles. It was a needed injection of star power with Hollywood actors over 90 days into a strike that has left most red carpets void of glamorous talent and resulted in several high-profile films being pushed to next year.
The Eras Tour, directed by Sam Wrench, is not just playing on AMC screens either. The company, based in Leawood, Kansas, worked with sub-distribution partners Variance Films, Trafalgar Releasing, Cinepolis and Cineplex to show the film in more than 8,500 movie theatres globally in 100 countries.
The spotlight on Swift has been especially intense lately as a result of her relationship with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. The two made separate surprise appearances on Saturday Night Live this weekend and were also photographed holding hands in New York.
It led to some hyperbolic projections going into the weekend, with some analysts predicting that The Eras Tour could make over $125 million. Dergarabedian said it’s common for outsized expectations to be attached to massive brands like Swift. There’s also no precedent for something like The Eras Tour and a celebrity of Swift’s stature.
“The laws of gravity don’t apply to Taylor Swift,” Dergarabedian said.
The film scored well with both critics and audiences, who gave it an A+ CinemaScore, a metric that typically signals a film will continue to do well after its first weekend.
Elizabeth Frank, the executive vice president of worldwide programming and chief content officer for AMC Theatres, said in a statement that they are grateful to Taylor Swift.
“Her spectacular performance delighted fans, who dressed up and danced through the film,” Frank said. “With tremendous recommendations and fans buying tickets to see this concert film several times, we anticipate Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour concert film playing to big audiences for weeks to come.”
The stadium tour, which continues internationally, famously crashed Ticketmaster’s site and re-sale prices became astronomical. Pollstar projects that it will earn some $1.4 billion. The concert film offered fans both better seats and a much more affordable way to see the show for the first or fifth time. Prices are higher than the national average, at $19.89, which references her birth year and 2014 album, and ran closer to $29 a pop for premium large format screens like IMAX. Even so, they are significantly less than seat at one of the stadium shows.
Showtimes are also more limited than a standard Hollywood blockbuster, but AMC is guaranteeing at least four a day on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays at all AMC locations in the U.S. Many locations also specified that there are no refunds or exchanges. And fans will have to wait a while for The Eras Tour to be available on streaming — part of the AMC deal was a 13-week exclusive theatrical run.
Michael O’Leary, CEO of the National Association of Theater Owners said in a statement the moment was, “Another landmark weekend for cinemas.”
“This year has been marked by unprecedented experiences for movie lovers in theaters across this nation,” O’Leary continued in a statement. “The ‘Eras Tour’ debut proves, yet again, that fans are eager to share other experiences in a communal way, with theater owners working creatively to build memorable moments in their cinemas.”
O’Leary said that a survey of 6,000 people by his organization and The Cinema Foundation found that 72% want to see more concert films on the big screen.
The Eras Tour accounted for over 70% of the total weekend box office grosses. The Exorcist: Believer placed a very distant second in its second weekend with $11 million, followed by the Paw Patrol movie in third with $7 million. Rounding out the top five was Saw X with $5.7 million and The Creator with $4.3 million.
“This is great news for theaters,” Dergarabedian said. “The Eras Tour wasn’t even on our radar in mid-August. You take this out of the equation and it would have been a totally different weekend.”
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
Travis Kelce returned to Saturday Night Live for the season 49 premiere on Oct. 14 for a hilarious cameo in a sketch poking fun at the NFL’s coverage of his rumored relationship with Taylor Swift.
The “Fox NFL Sunday” skit features SNL cast members Kenan Thompson (playing Curt Menefee), Mikey Day (Howie Long), Molly Kearney (Terry Bradshaw), James Austin Johnson (Jimmy Johnson), Devon Walker (Michael Strahan) and host Pete Davidson parodying the NFL’s obsessive coverage of Swift attending Kansas City Chiefs games in recent weeks.
“Let’s get into the game and stop yapping about Taylor and her little boyfriend,” Thompson’s Menefee says, prompting a conversation from the other broadcasters about the rumored couple’s relationship status.
“Whatever it is, I want to say to Travis Kelce, from one Super Bowl champion to another, this is a way bigger deal than the Super Bowl. You cannot mess this up. This is very delicate!” Walker’s Strahan says, pounding his finger on the desk.
After more banter about Swift’s past boyfriends and her appearances at the games, the Chiefs tight end appears when Thompson’s Menefee demands to speak to “someone who actually wants to talk football.” The camera cuts to Kelce standing on the sidelines and responding, “Yes, please!” with a big smile on his face. Kelce previously hosted SNL in March 2023.
Prior to Kelce’s surprise appearance, Swift made a cameo of her own to help introduce the evening’s musical guest, Ice Spice. “Once again, Ice Spice,” the pop superstar announced before flashing a mischievous smile and walking off the stage.
On Saturday evening, Kelce and Swift were photographed holding hands while heading to dinner at Nobu in New York City. Rumors of a romance between the pair have been swirling since Swift was seen attending sitting next to Kelce’s mother during the Chiefs-Bears game on Sept. 24.
Watch Kelce’s cameo in SNL‘s “Fox NFL Sunday” sketch below. For those without cable, the broadcast streams on Peacock, which you can sign up for at the link here. Having a Peacock account also gives fans access to previous SNL episodes as well.
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Taylor Swift made a surprise visit to Studio 8H for the season 49 premiere of Saturday Night Live. The pop superstar popped in on Oct. 14 to help introduce musical guest Ice Spice shortly before another surprise cameo by the singer’s rumored boyfriend, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. “Once again, Ice Spice,” Swift announced before […]
A star-studded episode of Saturday Night Live helps to kick off the show’s 49th season, with Pete Davidson taking on the role of host, and Ice Spice making her debut on the 30 Rockefeller Plaza stage as musical guest. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news In a promo for […]
Jada Pinkett Smith is baring it all in the lead-up to her new memoir, Worthy.
In a primetime special on Friday (Oct. 13), the Emmy-winning actress and talk show host sat down with NBC News’ Hoda Kotb for a wide-ranging interview about her husband Will Smith’s infamous 2022 Oscars slap, kissing Tupac Shakur, and much more.
During the broadcast, titled Jada’s Story: An NBC News Special with Hoda Kotb, Pinkett Smith reflected on Smith slapping Chris Rock at the 2022 Academy Awards. The actress revealed that she didn’t realize her husband had struck Rock until a commercial break when her publicist told her, “Chris has left the building and he’s not going to press charges.”
Earlier in the week, Pinkett Smith told People that she hasn’t spoken with Rock since the incident, but that the comedian approached her shortly after the onstage slap and attempted to apologize for his G.I. Jane 2 joke about her nearly bald head, which is caused by her battle with alopecia.
“Chris came down to the end of the stage and tried to apologize to me,” the actress said. “He said, ‘I didn’t mean you any harm.’ I said, ‘I can’t talk about this now, Chris. This is some old s—.’”
Elsewhere during the TV interview, Pinkett Smith touched on her past friendship with late rap icon Tupac Shakur, whom she met in the late 1980s while attending Baltimore School for the Arts in Maryland. “Pac was new. It was my sophomore year, and he looked over, and he saw me, and he just targeted me,” she said, describing him as “charismatic” with a “beautiful smile.”
She added, “He had a little peanut head… He was just this happy, bouncy, energetic, just full of life, vibrant, you know? And I was like, ‘Whoa.’”
Pinkett Smith downplayed any romantic connection with 2Pac, but shared a story about the pair kissing on her back porch. “We both pulled back like ‘What the hell?’” she said, laughing. “It was not for either one of us.”
In a preview of the primetime special, the actress revealed that she and Smith have been separated since 2016 after the couple became “exhausted with trying” to keep their marriage together. She told Kotb that it was not a divorce “on paper,” but it was definitely a divorce in their minds, even as the couple continued to present a united public front.
Pinkett Smith new book, Worthy, is scheduled for release on Tuesday (Oct. 17).
Taylor Swift is ready to conquer the box office.
The pop superstar’s new concert film, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, is headed for a $100 million domestic opening, according to early estimates by AMC Theatres, per The Hollywood Reporter. Hollywood studios are reportedly projecting that the movie’s opening weekend could earn between $90-$110 million.
The Eras Tour film grossed a whopping $39 million on Friday (Oct. 13), placing it along other blockbusters like Spider-Man: No Way Home ($39.2 million) and Joker ($39.4 million), THR reports. The concert movie has a chance at becoming the biggest October opening of all in North America if it surpasses Joker, according to Comscore.
By the end of the weekend, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour will likely become the top-grossing contemporary music concert film of all time. Justin Bieber‘s Never Say Never movie, released in 2011, currently sits at No. 1 on the top 10 list with a domestic gross of $73 million, according to boxofficemojo.com.
Following its release on Thursday (Oct. 12), the Eras Tour film had already broken records for single-day advance ticket sales revenue in the AMC Theatres’ 103-year history with $26 million in the first 24 hours of onsale, the company said in early September.
Swift was on hand for the world premiere of the movie at The Grove in Los Angeles on Wednesday (Oct. 11), where she delivered a three-minute speech and gave shoutouts to her band, dancers and, of course, Swifties.
“I’ve always had fun doing this. I can’t believe I get to do music as a career. That’s crazy,” the singer said. “I’ve always had so much fun doing it. I’ve never had this much fun in my life as I have had on The Eras Tour. It is far and away just the most electric experience of my life.”
The movie is also opening overseas, where AMC predicts a global start in the range of $150 million, according to THR. International grosses will be available on Sunday (Oct. 15).
Just in time for spooky season, the new Goosebumps TV series officially hit Disney+ and Hulu on Friday (Oct. 13), and beyond the creepy storylines based on R.L. Stine’s beloved ’90s books, the soundtrack is equally goosebump-inducing (in a good way).
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The horror-comedy series stars Justin Long as teacher Nathan Bratt, who moves into a house haunted by the ghost of Harold Biddle, a 14-year-old boy who was tragically killed, and ends up getting possessed. To soundtrack the show, executive producers Conor Welch and Pavun Shetty worked with music supervising manager Manish Raval to put together a track list that seamlessly blends together some iconic tracks from the 1990s with modern hits.
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The show features throwback jams like Radiohead’s “Creep,” REM’s “Drive,” Smashing Pumpkins’ “Today” and Soundgarden’s “Black Hole Sun” with today’s top hits like SZA’s “Kill Bill,” Sam Smith and Kim Petras’ “Unholy” and Billie Eilish’s Khalid collaboration, “Lovely.” Of course, Travis Scott’s “Goosebumps” is also in the mix.
Below, Billboard caught up with Welch and Shetty as they shared what it was like tapping back into their favorite era of music to create the perfect soundtrack for an iconic series.
Tell me a bit about how the soundtrack came together.
Conor Welch: First of all, our music supervisor manager Manish Raval is is the best in the game. We both love his company and use him as often as we possibly can. With this, it was really fun because we do some flashbacks into the 90s to showcase the experience of some of the parents and what they were going through in high school. So, it was really fun to mirror match contemporary music with some of the throwback from the 90s that Pavun and I grew up with. We found that it was a really easy way to immediately let an audience know that we’ve jumped back in time With a Smashing Pumpkins or a Soundgarden needle drop. It immediately feels like it was setting the tone and it was really fun.
Pavun Shetty: We had a good time debating because all the creators and Conor and I, the music of the 90s is our sweet spot. We were debating if we were going to open with REM or Smashing Pumpkins or what it was gonna be — and there’s a big dance sequence with Justin Long’s character to Proclaimers’ “500 Miles” which is great. But of course, the show appeals to not just us old people, but also for young people too. So, we wanted to make sure that a lot of the music felt contemporary at the same time and having fun with those two time periods was great.
I’m actually surprised looking at the track list at how cohesive the modern music felt in combination with the older music.
Conor: I’m happy that you found that to be the case because that was completely our intention. It also thematically makes sense because the high school experience which we’re really exploring here — and elevating with some some horror tropes and totems —but the high school experience of the 90s, when Pavun and I were in high school, and present day is really pretty similar. You know, there are some extra things added on top of it like social media and phones in your pockets and stuff like that, but really the same issues remain, whether it’s identity or first love, unrequited love, things like that. I feel like the music reflects that. While the sound is a bit different between the Smashing Pumpkins and Billie Eilish, there’s still some of the similar angst and some of the similar relatable issues that are driving it.
Pavun: What we talk about a lot is that we grew up reading the books and now, looking back on it, there’s a sense of nostalgia that comes with that where we get the feeling that we had when we first read the books. A lot of people are discovering the books for the first time, and so we feel similar with the music where we’re bringing songs back that we loved growing up and, hopefully, there’s some high schoolers that are hearing some of these things for the first time too which can be pretty fun to hear their reaction.
Do you hope Goosebumps follows in the steps of Stranger Things by introducing the young generation to classic songs?
Conor: I mean, what better way to introduce a new generation to The Proclaimers than having a character played by Justin Long, possessed by a 14-year-old boy, getting down to an old tune? It just feels like that’s exactly the way we’d love to introduce some of these classics to the youth.
Tell me a bit about the choice of adding Travis Scott’s “Goosebumps” to the soundtrack. It feels very on the nose but also fits so well!
Conor: It just felt like it fit perfectly, in the way that we expect that it will surprise the audience that something as contemporary as hip hop is in our version of Goosebumps. It felt unexpected and exciting. For a young audience, the song is like an anthem of their youth and, to an older audience, they may be hearing it for the first time. This surprising mash up of horror and Smashing Pumpkins and Travis Scott is the type of thing we hope to keep an audience on their toes with.
Is there a song that didn’t make the cut?
Pavun: We had a Nirvana song at one point that we were toying with that we had in the cut and then we had to remove because we didn’t get clearance. It might have been “All Apologies,” but I don’t remember.
Conor: There were a couple options I think from the MTV Unplugged album specifically that felt in the pocket, but for clearance issues, it couldn’t work out. But I think we found some pretty terrific alternatives that ended up being just as great.
Is there a music moment you’re most looking forward to seeing reactions to?
Pavun: In episode five, our character Margot gets a scrapbook from Justin Long’s character and she opens it up and she gets sent back to the past to when her parents were actually in high school. She opens it up and sees her mom and the opening of “Today” by Smashing Pumpkins hits right when her mom looks and sees the character of Harold Biddle next to her. That timing worked really well and was a good intro to the 90s for that scene and set the template for what that episode would be like going back and forth between present day and the 90s.
Conor: For me, I think choosing REM’s “Drive”to start our series off on is really exciting because, for me, I always judge television and movies based on the first song. If it connects with me, I’m like, ‘OK, I’m on board.’ That song is one of my all time favorites and is one that hopefully an audience will be surprised and delighted by and just be ready for the rest of the ride.
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Amazon is taking you to court! Prime Video just premiered a riveting new movie titled The Burial on Friday (Oct. 13), which stars Academy Award-winners Jaimie Foxx and Tommy Lee Jones.
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The film takes inspiration from a 1999 article from The New Yorker that spotlighted the case of a Southern small business up against a huge Canadian conglomerate. Foxx plays the charismatic lawyer Willie E. Gary who has never lost a case and is hired by Jeremiah Joseph O’Keefe (played by Jones). The film loosely unfolds the events of the trial as Jones’ character fights to save his small family business from corporate greed.
Other cast members you can expect to see include Jurnee Smollett, Mamoudou Athie, Bill Camp, Alan Ruck and Pamela Reed. The film was directed by Maggie Betts and written by Betts and Doug Wright.
Keep reading to learn about your streaming options to watch the movie.
How to Watch The Burial for Free
The Burial is considered a Prime Original, which means you can only watch it on Prime Video and select movie theaters (for a limited time). If you’re already a Prime member you can watch the movie for no additional cost — just sign into your account and find it under the new releases.
Not a Prime member? Amazon is offering new users a 30-day free trial when they sign up, which means you can watch the movie and more for free. After the free trial is done you’ll be charged the regular subscription price of $14.99/month (or $139/year).
Students can sign up for a student membership that’s 50% off and comes with a six month free trial. If you’re a part of EBT/Medicaid or a qualifying government program you can also sign up for a 50% off membership with a 30-day free trial.
Along with The Burial, you’ll also have access to the entire Prime Video library featuring exclusive and original TV series and movies such as Gen V, The Boys, Citadel, Daisy Jones & The Six, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Harlan Coben’s Shelter, Swarm, Medellìn, The Power, Kelce, Harlem, I’m a Virgo, Invincible, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, The Horror of Dolores Roach, Fleabag, The Summer I Turned Pretty, The Wheel of Time and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Better Call Saul and more.
Hungry for more content? Amazon has premium channels including Max, Starz and Paramount+ and to increase the amount of programs available to you.
Your membership will also include additional perks such as Prime Premiere, free one-day shipping, grocery delivery, access to Prime member-only deals, Prime Day, Prime Try Before You Buy and more.
Check below to watch the trailer for The Burial.
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