In Hamilton McFadden's 1934 film "Stand Up and Cheer!," the unnamed off-screen president (actually Franklin D. Roosevelt) posits that the real reason for Great Depression was a sudden crisis of optimism. Additionally, wicked bankers were running amok and getting rich while the rest of the nation starved, leaving everyone nihilistic and horrified. The wasteful and corrupt Warren Harding administration followed by the Crash of '29 isn't mentioned, as McFadden's film sought to cheer people up, not make their depression — and the Depression — any worse. In "Stand Up and Cheer!," Fdr created a Department of Amusement and appoints a secretary (Warner Baxter) to oversee a feel-good, nationwide show to keep morale up.
The bulk of the 80-minute film is a series of auditions in the secretary's office wherein performers come in to sing and dance, effectively turning the movie into a revue. Modern audiences may bristle at some racist caricatures, notably actress...
The bulk of the 80-minute film is a series of auditions in the secretary's office wherein performers come in to sing and dance, effectively turning the movie into a revue. Modern audiences may bristle at some racist caricatures, notably actress...
- 4/17/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Other than making records, what do Green Day, the Notorious B.I.G., classic crooners Perry Como and Johnny Mathis, Latin music giant Héctor Lavoe, and the late Bill Withers have in common? Not much, until today: Works by all those musicians, and over a dozen more, were announced as the latest additions to the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry.
Signed off on by then-president Bill Clinton in 2000, the Registry has aimed to collect recordings —musical performances, speeches, and other audio — deemed “culturally, historically or aesthetically important.” The first...
Signed off on by then-president Bill Clinton in 2000, the Registry has aimed to collect recordings —musical performances, speeches, and other audio — deemed “culturally, historically or aesthetically important.” The first...
- 4/16/2024
- by David Browne
- Rollingstone.com
Andrew Bird has announced his latest album, Sunday Morning Put-On, due out May 24th via Loma Vista Recordings. Recorded alongside the artist’s Andrew Bird Trio project, today’s announcement comes accompanied by two songs from the record, “I Fall in Love Too Easily” and “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face.”
Bird has billed Sunday Morning Put-On as a tribute to mid-century, small group jazz, with the tracklist featuring compositions by musicians like Cole Porter, Duke Ellington, Rodgers and Heart, and more. Drummer Ted Poor and bassist Alan Hampton join bird on the recordings, with additional contributions coming from Jeff Parker and Larry Goldings.
Get Andrew Bird Tickets Here
“Most Saturday nights [in my 20s], I’d stay up listening to a radio show called ‘Blues Before Sunrise’ on Wbez from 12:00 to 4:00 a.m,” the artist said of the album’s inspiration. “The DJ, Steve Cushing, played old, rare 78rpm records of blues,...
Bird has billed Sunday Morning Put-On as a tribute to mid-century, small group jazz, with the tracklist featuring compositions by musicians like Cole Porter, Duke Ellington, Rodgers and Heart, and more. Drummer Ted Poor and bassist Alan Hampton join bird on the recordings, with additional contributions coming from Jeff Parker and Larry Goldings.
Get Andrew Bird Tickets Here
“Most Saturday nights [in my 20s], I’d stay up listening to a radio show called ‘Blues Before Sunrise’ on Wbez from 12:00 to 4:00 a.m,” the artist said of the album’s inspiration. “The DJ, Steve Cushing, played old, rare 78rpm records of blues,...
- 4/11/2024
- by Jonah Krueger
- Consequence - Music
Prime Video’s “Fallout,” inspired by the video game series, is launching an awards campaign ahead of this year’s Emmys, with the streamer eyeing nominations for outstanding drama series among others. Variety has exclusively learned the Emmy campaign strategies for its main actors: Walton Goggins, Ella Purnell and Aaron Moten.
Goggins, portraying the mutated gunslinger Cooper Howard, aka The Ghoul, and Purnell, playing young Vault Dweller Lucy, are both in the running for lead acting categories. Moten, who plays Maximus, the Brotherhood of Steel’s squire, aims for a supporting actor nod.
Set in an alternate history post-apocalyptic Earth, “Fallout” depicts the lives of survivors in Vaults, designed to preserve humanity following nuclear catastrophe. More than two centuries later, a young woman Lucy emerges from Vault 33 to explore a devastated Los Angeles.
Read: All Primetime Emmy predictions in every category on Variety’s Awards Circuit.
Ella Purnell (Lucy)
Director...
Goggins, portraying the mutated gunslinger Cooper Howard, aka The Ghoul, and Purnell, playing young Vault Dweller Lucy, are both in the running for lead acting categories. Moten, who plays Maximus, the Brotherhood of Steel’s squire, aims for a supporting actor nod.
Set in an alternate history post-apocalyptic Earth, “Fallout” depicts the lives of survivors in Vaults, designed to preserve humanity following nuclear catastrophe. More than two centuries later, a young woman Lucy emerges from Vault 33 to explore a devastated Los Angeles.
Read: All Primetime Emmy predictions in every category on Variety’s Awards Circuit.
Ella Purnell (Lucy)
Director...
- 4/10/2024
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
"Fallout" avoids the big flaw of most video game adaptations by throwing away the plot and instead focusing on letting the audience live in this fantastical world. It doesn't mess with the games' storylines, it doesn't contradict player agency, and it just lets "Fallout" be "Fallout."
Indeed, the true star of the show isn't Walton Goggin's hot ghoul or Ella Purnell's vault dweller, but the production design. The world of "Fallout" feels as big and detailed as "Foundation" or "Rings of Power," while still feeling as desolate as "The Last of Us." The show has a unique atom-punk retrofuturism style that somehow combines robots and Bing Crosby. The story takes place over 200 years after nuclear war destroyed the planet, with a small percentage of the population surviving by hiding in underground vaults. Every part of the show feels tactile and lived-in, from the robots to the ruined buildings and the vaults,...
Indeed, the true star of the show isn't Walton Goggin's hot ghoul or Ella Purnell's vault dweller, but the production design. The world of "Fallout" feels as big and detailed as "Foundation" or "Rings of Power," while still feeling as desolate as "The Last of Us." The show has a unique atom-punk retrofuturism style that somehow combines robots and Bing Crosby. The story takes place over 200 years after nuclear war destroyed the planet, with a small percentage of the population surviving by hiding in underground vaults. Every part of the show feels tactile and lived-in, from the robots to the ruined buildings and the vaults,...
- 4/10/2024
- by Rafael Motamayor
- Slash Film
The big and small screens are stuffed full of post-apocalyptic adventures, yet despite that cluttered landscape, few shows and films stick out to offer something unique for viewers. However, in “Fallout” for Prime Video, a thrilling adaptation of the beloved video game series, creators Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Graham Wagner present an off-kilter and fascinating look at humanity in the 23rd century.
“Fallout” begins at the end. The eight-episode series opens in picturesque America sometime in the future. It has reverted to the texture of a glossier post-racial 1955. Cooper Howard (Walton Goggins), an actor known for starring in Westerns, is the entertainment at a children’s party for an affluent family. As he packs his belongings, his young daughter Janey (Teagan Meredith) points outward toward the Los Angeles skyline just as a nuclear bomb explodes on the horizon. The bombing marks the end of the world we are accustomed to, but...
“Fallout” begins at the end. The eight-episode series opens in picturesque America sometime in the future. It has reverted to the texture of a glossier post-racial 1955. Cooper Howard (Walton Goggins), an actor known for starring in Westerns, is the entertainment at a children’s party for an affluent family. As he packs his belongings, his young daughter Janey (Teagan Meredith) points outward toward the Los Angeles skyline just as a nuclear bomb explodes on the horizon. The bombing marks the end of the world we are accustomed to, but...
- 4/10/2024
- by Aramide Tinubu
- Variety Film + TV
Bleachers take on the classic show tune “Almost Like Being in Love” for the final track in the Jack Antonoff-curated The New Look soundtrack.
The tenth and season finale episode of the Apple TV+ series — about the career of fashion designer Christian Dior and his clashes with Coco Chanel amid the backdrop of Nazi-occupied Paris — hit the streaming service Wednesday, and with it Antonoff and Bleachers’ ghostly rendition of the show tune that, after featuring in the 1947 musical Brigadoon, was popularized by artists like Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole,...
The tenth and season finale episode of the Apple TV+ series — about the career of fashion designer Christian Dior and his clashes with Coco Chanel amid the backdrop of Nazi-occupied Paris — hit the streaming service Wednesday, and with it Antonoff and Bleachers’ ghostly rendition of the show tune that, after featuring in the 1947 musical Brigadoon, was popularized by artists like Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole,...
- 4/3/2024
- by Daniel Kreps
- Rollingstone.com
Joe Flaherty, the two-time Emmy-winning writer and Second City alumnus who sparkled as Guy Caballero, Count Floyd, Big Jim McBob and Sammy Maudlin as an original castmember on the landmark Canadian sketch comedy series Sctv, has died. He was 82.
His daughter, Gudrun Flaherty, told the Canadian Press he died Monday after a brief illness.
“Dad was an extraordinary man, known for his boundless heart and an unwavering passion for movies from the ’40s and ’50s,” she said in a statement. “His insights into the golden age of cinema didn’t just shape his professional life; they were also a source of endless fascination for me. In these last few months, as he faced his health challenges, we had the precious opportunity to watch many of those classic movies together — moments I will forever hold dear.”
A native of Pittsburgh, Flaherty also was known for his stint as A-1 Sporting Goods...
His daughter, Gudrun Flaherty, told the Canadian Press he died Monday after a brief illness.
“Dad was an extraordinary man, known for his boundless heart and an unwavering passion for movies from the ’40s and ’50s,” she said in a statement. “His insights into the golden age of cinema didn’t just shape his professional life; they were also a source of endless fascination for me. In these last few months, as he faced his health challenges, we had the precious opportunity to watch many of those classic movies together — moments I will forever hold dear.”
A native of Pittsburgh, Flaherty also was known for his stint as A-1 Sporting Goods...
- 4/2/2024
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Ross Valory has dreamed of making a solo album ever since he started gigging around San Francisco in the late Sixties, but other projects kept getting in the way. He was in the process of amassing original songs in 1971 when the Steve Miller Band brought him into the fold to play bass on Rock Love. Later, he teamed up with ex-members of Santana to form the Golden Gate Rhythm Section. Within a few months, they changed their name to Journey.
Valory was a near-constant presence over the past 50 years of Journey,...
Valory was a near-constant presence over the past 50 years of Journey,...
- 3/14/2024
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
The 2024 Oscar race is on, and one film has the potential to accomplish a feat that hasn’t happened in 64 years. “Oppenheimer” leads the nominations with 13, and it’s on track to win several of those categories. If Christopher Nolan‘s epic claims Best Picture, Best Actor (Cillian Murphy) and Best Supporting Actor (Robert Downey Jr.), it will be the first time since 1960 that the same film (“Ben-Hur”) has won those three exact categories. And it would be only the fourth time it’s ever happened.
See Cillian Murphy interview: ‘Oppenheimer’
Since the Best Supporting Actor category was introduced in 1937, only three films have walked away with Best Picture as well as both male acting categories. In 1945, the inspirational musical comedy “Going My Way” not only became the highest-grossing film of 1944, but also won seven of its ten Oscar nominations, making it the big winner of the night. Beside the top prize,...
See Cillian Murphy interview: ‘Oppenheimer’
Since the Best Supporting Actor category was introduced in 1937, only three films have walked away with Best Picture as well as both male acting categories. In 1945, the inspirational musical comedy “Going My Way” not only became the highest-grossing film of 1944, but also won seven of its ten Oscar nominations, making it the big winner of the night. Beside the top prize,...
- 3/2/2024
- by Susan Pennington
- Gold Derby
Anne Whitfield, who appeared at age 15 in the 1954 Hollywood Christmas chestnut White Christmas and went on to a prolific career in episodic TV throughout the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s, died February 15 at a hospital in Yakima, Washington. She was 85.
The actor, whose TV credits stretch from I Married Joan and Father Knows Best through The Six Million Dollar Man and Adam-12, suffered what her family describes as an “unexpected accident” during a walk in her neighborhood.
“Through the kindness of neighbors who provided expert medical support, family had the gift to say goodbye and express love and gratitude, a gift we will always cherish,” her family said.
Born August 27, 1938, in Oxford, Mississippi, Whitfield was four years old when she moved to Hollywood with her mother Frances Turner Whitfield, who served as the aspiring child performer’s agent and acting coach. By age 7 Whitfield was appearing on such radio series as...
The actor, whose TV credits stretch from I Married Joan and Father Knows Best through The Six Million Dollar Man and Adam-12, suffered what her family describes as an “unexpected accident” during a walk in her neighborhood.
“Through the kindness of neighbors who provided expert medical support, family had the gift to say goodbye and express love and gratitude, a gift we will always cherish,” her family said.
Born August 27, 1938, in Oxford, Mississippi, Whitfield was four years old when she moved to Hollywood with her mother Frances Turner Whitfield, who served as the aspiring child performer’s agent and acting coach. By age 7 Whitfield was appearing on such radio series as...
- 2/29/2024
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Anne Whitfield, who appeared in the beloved holiday classic White Christmas and on dozens of TV shows, from Father Knows Best, 77 Sunset Strip and Perry Mason to That Girl, Ironside and Emergency!, has died. She was 85.
Whitfield died Feb. 7 at a hospital in Yakima, Washington, after suffering an “unexpected accident” while on a walk in her neighborhood, family members announced.
“She was a powerhouse in life, and we hope her immense positive energy flows out to those who had the pleasure of knowing her,” they wrote.
Whitfield was 15 and had done lots of acting on the radio when she was cast as Susan Waverly, the granddaughter of Dean Jagger’s Major Gen. Thomas F. Waverly — “The Old Man” — in the Michael Curtiz-directed Paramount musical White Christmas (1954). The film starred Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen.
She got to watch White Christmas with her family on the...
Whitfield died Feb. 7 at a hospital in Yakima, Washington, after suffering an “unexpected accident” while on a walk in her neighborhood, family members announced.
“She was a powerhouse in life, and we hope her immense positive energy flows out to those who had the pleasure of knowing her,” they wrote.
Whitfield was 15 and had done lots of acting on the radio when she was cast as Susan Waverly, the granddaughter of Dean Jagger’s Major Gen. Thomas F. Waverly — “The Old Man” — in the Michael Curtiz-directed Paramount musical White Christmas (1954). The film starred Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen.
She got to watch White Christmas with her family on the...
- 2/29/2024
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Just 30 minutes after final voting for the Screen Actors Guild Awards wrapped up, I made a last-minute switch in my best actress prediction — from Lily Gladstone in “Killers of the Flower Moon” to Emma Stone in “Poor Things.” Let this be a lesson: Second-guessing yourself is seldom a good idea.
Lily Gladstone made history as the first Native American and Indigenous person to clinch an individual SAG Award for her portrayal of Mollie Burkhart, an Osage woman, in Martin Scorsese’s gripping crime saga. With a lead actress (drama) Golden Globe and a SAG Award now under her belt, Gladstone’s award-season momentum continues to be formidable. Historically, only seven performers have failed to win the Oscar after winning the unique combination of Globe and SAG:
1995: Lauren Bacall (“The Mirror Has Two Faces”) lost to Juliette Binoche 2001: Russell Crowe (“A Beautiful Mind”) lost to Denzel Washington (“Training Day...
Lily Gladstone made history as the first Native American and Indigenous person to clinch an individual SAG Award for her portrayal of Mollie Burkhart, an Osage woman, in Martin Scorsese’s gripping crime saga. With a lead actress (drama) Golden Globe and a SAG Award now under her belt, Gladstone’s award-season momentum continues to be formidable. Historically, only seven performers have failed to win the Oscar after winning the unique combination of Globe and SAG:
1995: Lauren Bacall (“The Mirror Has Two Faces”) lost to Juliette Binoche 2001: Russell Crowe (“A Beautiful Mind”) lost to Denzel Washington (“Training Day...
- 2/25/2024
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Cynthia Strother, the singer and songwriter who teamed with her younger sister Kay as The Bell Sisters, a popular teenage act that found overnight success in the 1950s with their very first song, “Bermuda,” has died. She was 88.
Strother died Friday of heart failure at a hospice facility in Las Vegas, her nephew Rex Strother told The Hollywood Reporter.
The Bell Sisters, who recorded for RCA from 1951-55, performed often on radio shows hosted by the likes of Bing Crosby and Bob Hope and on such television programs as The Johnny Carson Show, The Colgate Comedy Hour and The Mickey Mouse Club.
The pair also appeared in the 1953 big-screen musicals Cruisin’ Down the River, starring Dick Haymes, and Those Redheads From Seattle, starring Rhonda Fleming.
The eldest of seven kids — their dad, Gene, was an electrician for an aviation company — Cynthia Sue Strother was born on Oct. 4, 1935, in Harlan County,...
Strother died Friday of heart failure at a hospice facility in Las Vegas, her nephew Rex Strother told The Hollywood Reporter.
The Bell Sisters, who recorded for RCA from 1951-55, performed often on radio shows hosted by the likes of Bing Crosby and Bob Hope and on such television programs as The Johnny Carson Show, The Colgate Comedy Hour and The Mickey Mouse Club.
The pair also appeared in the 1953 big-screen musicals Cruisin’ Down the River, starring Dick Haymes, and Those Redheads From Seattle, starring Rhonda Fleming.
The eldest of seven kids — their dad, Gene, was an electrician for an aviation company — Cynthia Sue Strother was born on Oct. 4, 1935, in Harlan County,...
- 2/20/2024
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Mad Cave Studios new title “Dick Tracy #1, available April 24, 2024 is written by Alex Segura and Michael Morecci, with illustrations by Geraldo Borges:
“…in the aftermath of World War II, the country stands frozen–waiting for the next shoe to drop. In ‘The City’, a killing draws the attention of rising star detective ‘Dick Tracy’…
“…who soon discovers this is just the beginning of a complicated web that threatens to ensnare everything he cares about…”
Originally created by Chester Gould as a newspaper comic strip, 'Dick Tracy' appeared in five movie serials 1937 -1941, six feature films, including actor/director Warren Beatty's 1990 movie, plus three TV series including animated cartoons.
Gould's "Dick Tracy" debuted October 4, 1931, reflecting the violence of gangster Al Capone's 1930's Chicago, while staying current with crime fighting techniques, forensic science and advanced gadgetry.
The "Dick Tracy" rogues gallery of villains include 'Flattop',...
“…in the aftermath of World War II, the country stands frozen–waiting for the next shoe to drop. In ‘The City’, a killing draws the attention of rising star detective ‘Dick Tracy’…
“…who soon discovers this is just the beginning of a complicated web that threatens to ensnare everything he cares about…”
Originally created by Chester Gould as a newspaper comic strip, 'Dick Tracy' appeared in five movie serials 1937 -1941, six feature films, including actor/director Warren Beatty's 1990 movie, plus three TV series including animated cartoons.
Gould's "Dick Tracy" debuted October 4, 1931, reflecting the violence of gangster Al Capone's 1930's Chicago, while staying current with crime fighting techniques, forensic science and advanced gadgetry.
The "Dick Tracy" rogues gallery of villains include 'Flattop',...
- 2/18/2024
- by Unknown
- SneakPeek
The 1975 have shared a meditative new single, “Now Is the Hour.” The piano-led ballad is a cover of an early 20th century song with Maori origins made famous by Bing Crosby in 1947 and later sung by Frank Sinatra. It will appear on the soundtrack to Apple TV+ series The New Look, produced by Jack Antonoff.
“Now Is the Hour” is the second single to emerge from the soundtrack following Florence + the Machine’s cover of Vera Lynn’s 1941 song “White Cliffs of Dover,” released in January. The collection marks the...
“Now Is the Hour” is the second single to emerge from the soundtrack following Florence + the Machine’s cover of Vera Lynn’s 1941 song “White Cliffs of Dover,” released in January. The collection marks the...
- 2/7/2024
- by Emily Zemler
- Rollingstone.com
On February 2nd, 1993 — and on the infinite number of days that followed it — Bill Murray’s curmudgeonly weatherman Phil Connors woke up to the sounds of “I Got You Babe” and reported on the Groundhog Day festivities in Punxutawney, Pennsylvania. And while his displeasure about having to cover such a nonsensically rodent-centric holiday eventually faded, the enduring charm of “Groundhog Day” has not.
In the three decades since Harold Ramis’ classic comedy hit theaters, the time loop formula of characters being stuck repeating a single day has been imitated by everyone from Tom Cruise to Natasha Lyonne. While the heights of “Groundhog Day” are hard to top, time loop films have become a charming addition to nearly ever genre under the sun. Ramis’ idea ended up providing a shot of adrenaline that allowed time travel cinema to flourish for another quarter century.
Time travel has its roots in ancient myths and folk tales,...
In the three decades since Harold Ramis’ classic comedy hit theaters, the time loop formula of characters being stuck repeating a single day has been imitated by everyone from Tom Cruise to Natasha Lyonne. While the heights of “Groundhog Day” are hard to top, time loop films have become a charming addition to nearly ever genre under the sun. Ramis’ idea ended up providing a shot of adrenaline that allowed time travel cinema to flourish for another quarter century.
Time travel has its roots in ancient myths and folk tales,...
- 2/2/2024
- by Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
“Please Please Me” was an early hit for The Beatles, but it might not have made it far in its original form. According to Beatles producer George Martin, the initial version of the song was slow and dull. When he pointed this out to the band, they felt embarrassed that they hadn’t noticed.
The Beatles’ producer embarrassed the band when he asked them to change ‘Please Please Me’
When The Beatles first played “Please Please Me” for Martin, he could scarcely keep from yawning. They wanted it on the first single, but he thought it was too boring as it stood.
“In the first year, I had the final decision on songs, but they persuaded me to let them have their own songs on both sides of their first single,” Martin said in The Beatles Anthology. “I was still thinking that we should release their recording of ‘How Do You Do It.
The Beatles’ producer embarrassed the band when he asked them to change ‘Please Please Me’
When The Beatles first played “Please Please Me” for Martin, he could scarcely keep from yawning. They wanted it on the first single, but he thought it was too boring as it stood.
“In the first year, I had the final decision on songs, but they persuaded me to let them have their own songs on both sides of their first single,” Martin said in The Beatles Anthology. “I was still thinking that we should release their recording of ‘How Do You Do It.
- 1/23/2024
- by Emma McKee
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Oh, we are just up to our ass in this debate again, John? Even 35 years after its release, 1988’s Die Hard is as cited around the holiday season as often as Home Alone and A Christmas Story. And that comes down to two sides: you either watch it every year or you argue why it’s not a Christmas movie. As it turns out, co-writer Steven E. de Souza is at least in support of those in the former camp.
Posting on social media over this holiday weekend, de Souza stated (with tongue in cheek?) that not only is Die Hard unequivocally a Christmas movie, it’s even more so than the one where Bing Crosby tap dances with Danny f*ckin’ Kaye. ““White Christmas” is universally acknowledged as a benchmark Christmas movie, so empirical evidence proves “Die Hard” is even *more* Christmas-y.”
For starters, Die Hard takes place entirely during the Christmas holiday – chiefly,...
Posting on social media over this holiday weekend, de Souza stated (with tongue in cheek?) that not only is Die Hard unequivocally a Christmas movie, it’s even more so than the one where Bing Crosby tap dances with Danny f*ckin’ Kaye. ““White Christmas” is universally acknowledged as a benchmark Christmas movie, so empirical evidence proves “Die Hard” is even *more* Christmas-y.”
For starters, Die Hard takes place entirely during the Christmas holiday – chiefly,...
- 12/25/2023
- by Mathew Plale
- JoBlo.com
The holiday song “White Christmas” is one of the most unforgettable songs of the holiday season. Bing Crosby made it iconic, but did he ever get sick of singing “White Christmas?”
Bing Crosby made ‘White Christmas’ a hit in 1942, but did he get sick of singing it?
The song “White Christmas” was made famous by Bing Crosby in the 1942 Christmas movie Holiday Inn. The “White Christmas” song was adapted twelve years later into a full-length film starring Crosby and Danny Kaye.
The song and film became Crosby’s calling card, despite many other hits synonymous with the singer throughout his career. But in a 1977 interview with Barbara Walters, Crosby revealed his real feelings about the holiday hit.
Walters asked Crosby, “Are you sick of ‘White Christmas?'” He replied, “No, no, I could never be sick of it. I just fear that people will be sick of it.”
Subsequently, Crosby...
Bing Crosby made ‘White Christmas’ a hit in 1942, but did he get sick of singing it?
The song “White Christmas” was made famous by Bing Crosby in the 1942 Christmas movie Holiday Inn. The “White Christmas” song was adapted twelve years later into a full-length film starring Crosby and Danny Kaye.
The song and film became Crosby’s calling card, despite many other hits synonymous with the singer throughout his career. But in a 1977 interview with Barbara Walters, Crosby revealed his real feelings about the holiday hit.
Walters asked Crosby, “Are you sick of ‘White Christmas?'” He replied, “No, no, I could never be sick of it. I just fear that people will be sick of it.”
Subsequently, Crosby...
- 12/24/2023
- by Lucille Barilla
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Popular Christmas songs last forever, and Paul McCartney’s “Wonderful Christmastime” is one of the most popular. The “Band on the Run” singer doesn’t care if it’s overplayed. Love it or hate it, “Wonderful Christmastime” distinguishes itself from most of the Christmas canon.
Paul McCartney wanted ‘Wonderful Christmastime’ to get the party started
In a 2022 article from his website, Paul discussed writing “Wonderful Christmastime.” “I like the idea of Christmas songs purely because they only come around at Christmas!” he said. “They remind us of the fun atmosphere of the whole season, and when I was writing ‘Wonderful Christmastime’ I was trying to capture that party aspect.”
Paul commented on the tune’s ubiquity. “I did hope it would keep coming back — which it has,” he said. “Sometimes people will go into a shop and hear it a little too much, but I don’t care! I’m happy!
Paul McCartney wanted ‘Wonderful Christmastime’ to get the party started
In a 2022 article from his website, Paul discussed writing “Wonderful Christmastime.” “I like the idea of Christmas songs purely because they only come around at Christmas!” he said. “They remind us of the fun atmosphere of the whole season, and when I was writing ‘Wonderful Christmastime’ I was trying to capture that party aspect.”
Paul commented on the tune’s ubiquity. “I did hope it would keep coming back — which it has,” he said. “Sometimes people will go into a shop and hear it a little too much, but I don’t care! I’m happy!
- 12/24/2023
- by Matthew Trzcinski
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Listening to favorite Christmas songs is a vital part of the entire holiday season. Our new photo gallery ranks the Top 30 greatest tunes from worst to best. We only had two rules for assembling our list: each song can only be featured once and the same goes for each artist.
We chose what is considered the most definitive version of each song as performed by the singers most associated with the tunes. Of course, certain people most known for Christmas had to be included — Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Judy Garland, Perry Como, Andy Williams, Mariah Carey and more.
Among our list you’ll find Rock and Roll Hall of Famers such as Elvis Presley, Bruce Springsteen, Darlene Love, Brenda Lee and The Eagles. And we didn’t forget songs that originated from great TV specials like “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “Frosty the Snowman,” “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
We chose what is considered the most definitive version of each song as performed by the singers most associated with the tunes. Of course, certain people most known for Christmas had to be included — Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Judy Garland, Perry Como, Andy Williams, Mariah Carey and more.
Among our list you’ll find Rock and Roll Hall of Famers such as Elvis Presley, Bruce Springsteen, Darlene Love, Brenda Lee and The Eagles. And we didn’t forget songs that originated from great TV specials like “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “Frosty the Snowman,” “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
- 12/18/2023
- by Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Movies and television have been competing for the same audience's time and money since TV was invented, but they've also formed a strange symbiosis. There have been a heck of a lot of movies based on TV shows, and a heck of a lot of TV shows based on movies.
Some of those shows based on movies have been major pop culture milestones, like "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "The Karate Kid," and "Friday Night Lights." And of course a whole lot of been almost completely forgotten, like the sitcoms based on "Dirty Dancing," "Working Girl," and "Animal House."
But one thing these TV shows usually have in common is that they're almost always based on a hit movie. It's not surprising when a blockbuster like "M*A*S*H" or "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" gets turned into a television series. It's even common for smaller, but critically acclaimed films...
Some of those shows based on movies have been major pop culture milestones, like "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "The Karate Kid," and "Friday Night Lights." And of course a whole lot of been almost completely forgotten, like the sitcoms based on "Dirty Dancing," "Working Girl," and "Animal House."
But one thing these TV shows usually have in common is that they're almost always based on a hit movie. It's not surprising when a blockbuster like "M*A*S*H" or "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" gets turned into a television series. It's even common for smaller, but critically acclaimed films...
- 12/18/2023
- by William Bibbiani
- Slash Film
Exclusive: Leonardo DiCaprio was in a playful mood when he and Lily Gladstone, his co-star in Martin Scorsese’s disturbingly thrilling American history lesson Killers of the Flower Moon, were at the center of a small gathering at the Odeon Luxe in London’s Leicester Square.
DiCaprio ridiculed a suggestion that players for English Premier League teams were better athletes than U.S. basketball players. “Better than Michael Jordan?” he scoffed. “The greatest basketball player ever!”
Grinning, he conceded that he doesn’t follow soccer teams. “What’s Arsenal?” he demanded, going for the jugular. Sport wasn’t really on the agenda but it usually helps to encourage banter at these events.
DiCaprio and Gladstone were in the West End Monday night for an awards screening of Killers of the Flower Moon. DiCaprio’s friend, Cate Blanchett, was also in attendance, ready to introduce the actors at the screening.
“We...
DiCaprio ridiculed a suggestion that players for English Premier League teams were better athletes than U.S. basketball players. “Better than Michael Jordan?” he scoffed. “The greatest basketball player ever!”
Grinning, he conceded that he doesn’t follow soccer teams. “What’s Arsenal?” he demanded, going for the jugular. Sport wasn’t really on the agenda but it usually helps to encourage banter at these events.
DiCaprio and Gladstone were in the West End Monday night for an awards screening of Killers of the Flower Moon. DiCaprio’s friend, Cate Blanchett, was also in attendance, ready to introduce the actors at the screening.
“We...
- 12/12/2023
- by Baz Bamigboye
- Deadline Film + TV
Dan Stevens as Charles Dickens and Christopher Plummer as Ebenezer Scrooge in ‘The Man Who Invented Christmas’ (Photo by Kerry Brown / Bleecker Street)
Once again, the holidays – or is it holidaze? – are upon us, bringing with it a flurry of Christmas movies.
You have your endless parade of cartoons, specials, Christmas-themed episodes of your favorite TV shows, bad holiday comedies (1996’s Jingle All the Way and 2007’s Fred Claus come to mind), and Christmas-set horror movies (1984’s Gremlins). Then there’s the cheesy yet feel-good Lifetime and Hallmark films. And how can we forget the 24-hour marathon of 1983’s A Christmas Story (celebrating its 40th anniversary this year), beginning on Christmas Eve and ending on Christmas Day?
If those don’t do it for you, maybe these lists of Christmas movies will.
Classic Christmas Movies
You can’t go wrong with these classics, which can lighten the hearts of even the most ardent cynics.
Once again, the holidays – or is it holidaze? – are upon us, bringing with it a flurry of Christmas movies.
You have your endless parade of cartoons, specials, Christmas-themed episodes of your favorite TV shows, bad holiday comedies (1996’s Jingle All the Way and 2007’s Fred Claus come to mind), and Christmas-set horror movies (1984’s Gremlins). Then there’s the cheesy yet feel-good Lifetime and Hallmark films. And how can we forget the 24-hour marathon of 1983’s A Christmas Story (celebrating its 40th anniversary this year), beginning on Christmas Eve and ending on Christmas Day?
If those don’t do it for you, maybe these lists of Christmas movies will.
Classic Christmas Movies
You can’t go wrong with these classics, which can lighten the hearts of even the most ardent cynics.
- 12/9/2023
- by Kurt Anthony Krug
- Showbiz Junkies
Have you looked at the Billboard Hot 100 lately? If not, you’re in for a treat. The Christmas classics have flooded in and shaken everything up, making for one slightly surreal snow globe that features Doja Cat, Bing Crosby, Burl Ives, and Gunna all rocking around the same tree. Speaking of which: Sixty-five years after its release, Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” is finally at Number One. In another 65 years, “Cruel Summer” will probably still be in the Top 10. If we’re lucky, Jason Aldean’s “Try...
- 12/8/2023
- by Angie Martoccio
- Rollingstone.com
In the 1920s, a pair of comedians were paired together by chance, and showed a chemistry that caught the attention of audiences; Laurel and Hardy went on to make over 100 short and feature-length films that pioneered movie comedy. Over the next few decades, the studios were quick to seize upon a popular pairing, both comedic and romantic, creating some of the most popular duos in screen history – some of which carried over into offscreen friendships and real-life love stories. In the years since the downfall of the studio system, actors haven’t been paired as they were during the Golden Age, when they were contracted to do a studio’s bidding, but friendships and mutual respect has led to some memorable modern-day pairings.
From the earliest days of cinema to Abbott and Costello to Martin and Lewis to Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor, a successful comedy pairing can lead to big box office returns.
From the earliest days of cinema to Abbott and Costello to Martin and Lewis to Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor, a successful comedy pairing can lead to big box office returns.
- 12/7/2023
- by Susan Pennington, Chris Beachum and Misty Holland
- Gold Derby
The year may be coming to an end, but that doesn’t mean Luis Miguel‘s tour is.
After a month-long tour in South America, Miguel began the North American leg of the Luis Miguel 2023-24 concert tour on September 15, 2023, in Las Vegas at Dolby Live.
As he finishes off his 2023 leg this month, the “La Incondicional” singer is also preparing to welcome 2024 with more tour dates. Miguel will be performing on New Year’s Eve to ring in the new year before heading off to the Dominican Republic in mid-January.
Miguel is scheduled to stay in Latin America for the second leg of his tour until the end of March and is set to return to North America in April, where he will be performing in Seattle.
>Get Luis Miguel Concert Tickets!
Remaining 2023 Tour Dates:
12-02 Aguascalientes, Mexico — Estadio Victoria
12-04 San Luis Potosí, Mexico— Estadio Alfonso Lastras
12-05 León,...
After a month-long tour in South America, Miguel began the North American leg of the Luis Miguel 2023-24 concert tour on September 15, 2023, in Las Vegas at Dolby Live.
As he finishes off his 2023 leg this month, the “La Incondicional” singer is also preparing to welcome 2024 with more tour dates. Miguel will be performing on New Year’s Eve to ring in the new year before heading off to the Dominican Republic in mid-January.
Miguel is scheduled to stay in Latin America for the second leg of his tour until the end of March and is set to return to North America in April, where he will be performing in Seattle.
>Get Luis Miguel Concert Tickets!
Remaining 2023 Tour Dates:
12-02 Aguascalientes, Mexico — Estadio Victoria
12-04 San Luis Potosí, Mexico— Estadio Alfonso Lastras
12-05 León,...
- 12/3/2023
- by Rose Anne Cox-Peralta
- Uinterview
Palm Springs is where one goes to be seen; neighboring Rancho Mirage, well, not so much. That’s why many A-List Hollywood stars pulled up sticks in the mid-20th century, moving from Palm Springs — and L.A. — to the more discreet Rancho Mirage, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary as a city this year.
Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Lucille Ball, Red Skelton, at least one Marx brother, Bing Crosby, and even the guy who played the wizard in The Wizard of Oz, MGM contracted character actor Frank Morgan, lived there. All were seeking the country club lifestyle away from the party scene and camera flashbulbs.
Lawrence Welk, Frank Sinatra, Dinah Shore and Barbara Sinatra at the 1972 Dinah Shore Colgate Winner’s Circle in 1972 at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California.
Rancho Mirage also has long been known as the “Playground of the Presidents,” especially...
Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Lucille Ball, Red Skelton, at least one Marx brother, Bing Crosby, and even the guy who played the wizard in The Wizard of Oz, MGM contracted character actor Frank Morgan, lived there. All were seeking the country club lifestyle away from the party scene and camera flashbulbs.
Lawrence Welk, Frank Sinatra, Dinah Shore and Barbara Sinatra at the 1972 Dinah Shore Colgate Winner’s Circle in 1972 at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California.
Rancho Mirage also has long been known as the “Playground of the Presidents,” especially...
- 12/1/2023
- by Linda Laban
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
‘Wonka’ World Premiere: Timothée Chalamet, Hugh Grant Bring Roald Dahl’s Chocolate Factory to London
London’s Royal Festival Hall was transformed into a festive version of Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory on Tuesday for the world premiere of Warner Bros.’ musical Wonka.
Timothée Chalamet — who plays Wonka — was among the guests at the event and spent over an hour signing autographs and posing for selfies on a red carpet decorated with giant cotton candy clouds and jars of sweets. His co-stars also attended, including Hugh Grant, Olivia Colman, Keegan-Michael Key, Sally Hawkins, Rowan Atkinson and newcomer Calah Lane.
“Our cast is like a box of the most beautiful chocolates,” said director Paul King, who co-wrote the screenplay with his Paddington collaborator Simon Farnaby.
The filmmaker has also praised his star’s singing voice on more than one occasion, even going as far as comparing him to Bing Crosby.
“There’s quite a range because it does go from a couple of bigger, showstopper-y sort of things,...
Timothée Chalamet — who plays Wonka — was among the guests at the event and spent over an hour signing autographs and posing for selfies on a red carpet decorated with giant cotton candy clouds and jars of sweets. His co-stars also attended, including Hugh Grant, Olivia Colman, Keegan-Michael Key, Sally Hawkins, Rowan Atkinson and newcomer Calah Lane.
“Our cast is like a box of the most beautiful chocolates,” said director Paul King, who co-wrote the screenplay with his Paddington collaborator Simon Farnaby.
The filmmaker has also praised his star’s singing voice on more than one occasion, even going as far as comparing him to Bing Crosby.
“There’s quite a range because it does go from a couple of bigger, showstopper-y sort of things,...
- 11/28/2023
- by Alex Ritman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Timothée Chalamet transformed into Willy Wonka for Paul King’s eponymously-titled prequel for the beloved character, but that doesn’t mean first reactions weren’t full of a few critics calling the film nuts.
Chalamet stars as a young entrepreneur setting out to build a chocolate empire in musical film “Wonka.” The film is set 25 years before the events of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” with the feature being deemed a “companion” film to the 1971 original Roald Dahl adaptation. Actor Simon Farnaby wrote the script alongside director King, reuniting after “Paddington 2.” King previously teased that “Wonka” would harness the magic of the “golden age of MGM musicals” hailing from the 1940s and ’50s to tell the sweet tale.
Oscar-nominated star Chalamet did not have to audition for the musical after his viral high school raps circulated the Internet and led director King to cast the actor as Willy Wonka...
Chalamet stars as a young entrepreneur setting out to build a chocolate empire in musical film “Wonka.” The film is set 25 years before the events of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” with the feature being deemed a “companion” film to the 1971 original Roald Dahl adaptation. Actor Simon Farnaby wrote the script alongside director King, reuniting after “Paddington 2.” King previously teased that “Wonka” would harness the magic of the “golden age of MGM musicals” hailing from the 1940s and ’50s to tell the sweet tale.
Oscar-nominated star Chalamet did not have to audition for the musical after his viral high school raps circulated the Internet and led director King to cast the actor as Willy Wonka...
- 11/28/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
The Smashing Pumpkins helped to herald in the holidays with a live performance at Walt Disney World for ABC’s The Wonderful World Of Disney: Magical Holiday Celebration. The rock band showcased their unreleased Christmas song “Evergreen” along with a cover of Bing Crosby’s classic “Silver Bells.”
Many viewers, however, were perplexed by the unconventional renditions and the rock band’s appearance in front of one of Disney’s magical castles. Several fans celebrated the “weird” performance on social media, while others posted confused memes and reactions.
@jamesmgivens
Disney...
Many viewers, however, were perplexed by the unconventional renditions and the rock band’s appearance in front of one of Disney’s magical castles. Several fans celebrated the “weird” performance on social media, while others posted confused memes and reactions.
@jamesmgivens
Disney...
- 11/27/2023
- by Emily Zemler
- Rollingstone.com
He’s just an alternative rock frontman in an amusement park: Billy Corgan and Smashing Pumpkins performed on The Wonderful World of Disney: Magical Holiday Celebration, which aired on ABC on Sunday night.
The Pumpkins filmed their appearance at Walt Disney World earlier this month, performing an unreleased Billy Corgan Christmas song called “Evergreen” along with a cover of Bing Crosby’s “Silver Bells.”
In a corresponding interview, Corgan described himself as, “a Disney mark… I collect old DisneyLand items. I have items as far back as opening day, 1955. ”
“When they called me to come play Disney, I was like, ‘Whatever you need,'” Corgan continued. “I am very happy to be here, we come here all the time with our family.”
For the Disney World performance, Corgan, guitarist James Iha, and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin was joined by Sierra Swan, who filled in for bassist Jack Bates. Longtime guitarist Jeff...
The Pumpkins filmed their appearance at Walt Disney World earlier this month, performing an unreleased Billy Corgan Christmas song called “Evergreen” along with a cover of Bing Crosby’s “Silver Bells.”
In a corresponding interview, Corgan described himself as, “a Disney mark… I collect old DisneyLand items. I have items as far back as opening day, 1955. ”
“When they called me to come play Disney, I was like, ‘Whatever you need,'” Corgan continued. “I am very happy to be here, we come here all the time with our family.”
For the Disney World performance, Corgan, guitarist James Iha, and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin was joined by Sierra Swan, who filled in for bassist Jack Bates. Longtime guitarist Jeff...
- 11/27/2023
- by Scoop Harrison
- Consequence - Music
Eddie Merrins, the gentlemanly golf pro at the Bel-Air Country Club who taught the game to the likes of Bing Crosby, Ringo Starr, George C. Scott, Dean Martin, Celine Dion and Jack Nicholson, has died. He was 91.
Merrins died Wednesday after a long illness, according to UCLA, where he coached for 14 years. His son Michael had launched a GoFundMe campaign this year to help the family with expenses.
Nicknamed “The Little Pro,” the 5-foot-7 Mississippi native played on the PGA Tour before serving as Bel-Air’s head pro from 1962 until he was asked to step aside in 2003. However, he remained a beloved fixture at the fabled club as pro emeritus in a jacket/sweater, tie and white driving cap.
Remarkably, Bel Air, which opened in 1925, has had only three head pros: Joe Novak, Merrins and now Dave Podas.
Inducted into the PGA Hall of Fame in 2009, Merrins arranged for Jack Nicklaus to meet Tiger Woods,...
Merrins died Wednesday after a long illness, according to UCLA, where he coached for 14 years. His son Michael had launched a GoFundMe campaign this year to help the family with expenses.
Nicknamed “The Little Pro,” the 5-foot-7 Mississippi native played on the PGA Tour before serving as Bel-Air’s head pro from 1962 until he was asked to step aside in 2003. However, he remained a beloved fixture at the fabled club as pro emeritus in a jacket/sweater, tie and white driving cap.
Remarkably, Bel Air, which opened in 1925, has had only three head pros: Joe Novak, Merrins and now Dave Podas.
Inducted into the PGA Hall of Fame in 2009, Merrins arranged for Jack Nicklaus to meet Tiger Woods,...
- 11/25/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Just two years after Anita of “West Side Story” became the first non-white fictional character to inspire multiple Academy Award nominations, three others are on their way to earning the same distinction. As was the case in 1986, 30% of 2024’s female acting Oscar slots could be filled by stars of “The Color Purple,” the new version of which serves as an adaptation of the similarly titled stage musical rather than Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. If Fantasia Barrino, Danielle Brooks, and Taraji P. Henson all reap bids for their fresh takes on the parts for which Whoopi Goldberg, Oprah Winfrey, and Margaret Avery were previously recognized, the overall list of doubly Oscar-nominated fictional characters will expand to include 20 examples.
In “The Color Purple,” Barrino executes the lead role of Celie Johnson, who she initially played on Broadway as a direct successor to 2006 Tony-winning originator Lachanze. As in the book and first film,...
In “The Color Purple,” Barrino executes the lead role of Celie Johnson, who she initially played on Broadway as a direct successor to 2006 Tony-winning originator Lachanze. As in the book and first film,...
- 11/14/2023
- by Matthew Stewart
- Gold Derby
Can you believe that Christmas is less than two months away?! Now that it’s November, it’s time to start listening to your holiday music playlists.
SiriusXM just revealed their official lineup of 26 festival channels, including three new ones. The holiday season kicks off November 8 on SiriusXM with many of the channels live now and streaming on the SiriusXM app.
Traditional holiday songs, classical Christmas carols, country Christmas classics, contemporary holiday tunes, soul music, Hanukkah music and so many more, can be heard on all of the offerings.
Subscribers are able to listen online, on-the-go with the SiriusXM mobile app, and at home on a wide variety of connected devices including smart TVs, Amazon Alexa devices, Apple TV, PlayStation, Roku, Sonos speakers and more.
Head inside to check out the list of channels…
Keep scrolling for the full list of channels…
SiriusXM’s Holiday Channel Line-Up (Quick Guide)
Channel...
SiriusXM just revealed their official lineup of 26 festival channels, including three new ones. The holiday season kicks off November 8 on SiriusXM with many of the channels live now and streaming on the SiriusXM app.
Traditional holiday songs, classical Christmas carols, country Christmas classics, contemporary holiday tunes, soul music, Hanukkah music and so many more, can be heard on all of the offerings.
Subscribers are able to listen online, on-the-go with the SiriusXM mobile app, and at home on a wide variety of connected devices including smart TVs, Amazon Alexa devices, Apple TV, PlayStation, Roku, Sonos speakers and more.
Head inside to check out the list of channels…
Keep scrolling for the full list of channels…
SiriusXM’s Holiday Channel Line-Up (Quick Guide)
Channel...
- 11/7/2023
- by Just Jared
- Just Jared
Willie Nelson stopped by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Wednesday night to perform “I Never Cared for You.” The track appears on Nelson’s upcoming greatest hits collection, which is set to drop this Friday — just ahead of his long overdue induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
The Red Headed Stranger took the stage with a full band (including his son and frequent collaborator Micah Nelson) and gave a spirited rendition of the 1964 song. His delivery added an extra bite to lyrics like, “Your heart has been forewarned all men will lie to you.” Replay the full performance below.
Nelson has a long history with Colbert dating back to the latter’s years on The Colbert Report. Back in 2008, Nelson and Colbert channeled David Bowie and Bing Crosby on an original song called “Little Dealer Boy” for A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All!
On November 3rd,...
The Red Headed Stranger took the stage with a full band (including his son and frequent collaborator Micah Nelson) and gave a spirited rendition of the 1964 song. His delivery added an extra bite to lyrics like, “Your heart has been forewarned all men will lie to you.” Replay the full performance below.
Nelson has a long history with Colbert dating back to the latter’s years on The Colbert Report. Back in 2008, Nelson and Colbert channeled David Bowie and Bing Crosby on an original song called “Little Dealer Boy” for A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All!
On November 3rd,...
- 11/2/2023
- by Eddie Fu
- Consequence - Music
Judy Nugent, who portrayed one of the twins on the early TV sitcom The Ruggles and a girl who flies around the world in the arms of the Man of Steel on a heartwarming Adventures of Superman episode, has died. She was 83.
Nugent died on Oct. 26 “surrounded by family at her Montana ranch after a short battle with cancer,” according to a family statement shared by her daughter-in-law and Battlestar Galactica and Chicago Fire actress Anne Lockhart (the older daughter of Lassie and Lost in Space star June Lockhart).
The younger daughter of a prop man at MGM, Nugent also appeared in two films directed by Douglas Sirk: as a wise-cracking tomboy who tries to get a blinded widow (Jane Wyman) to snap out of it in Magnificent Obsession (1954), and as one of the daughters of Fred MacMurray and Joan Bennett’s characters in There’s Always Tomorrow (1956).
Nugent also...
Nugent died on Oct. 26 “surrounded by family at her Montana ranch after a short battle with cancer,” according to a family statement shared by her daughter-in-law and Battlestar Galactica and Chicago Fire actress Anne Lockhart (the older daughter of Lassie and Lost in Space star June Lockhart).
The younger daughter of a prop man at MGM, Nugent also appeared in two films directed by Douglas Sirk: as a wise-cracking tomboy who tries to get a blinded widow (Jane Wyman) to snap out of it in Magnificent Obsession (1954), and as one of the daughters of Fred MacMurray and Joan Bennett’s characters in There’s Always Tomorrow (1956).
Nugent also...
- 10/31/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
When you think about where to head for Halloween favorites, Disney+ probably doesn’t immediately spring to mind. But just because Disney+ is free from blood-and-gore extravaganzas doesn’t mean it can’t scratch your spooky itch. In fact, far from it! There is a pretty robust amount of Halloween (and Halloween-adjacent) fair on Disney’s direct-to-consumer platform, including a bunch of new stuff that was recently added and so many classics, for every age group. Here are our choices for the very best Halloween movies and shows on Disney+ right now.
Frankenweenie (2012) Photo: Disney
Unlike other Disney remakes, which start out in animation before transitioning to live-action, Tim Burton decided to remake his oddball live-action short film (one of his “after school projects” that kept him busy while animating for Disney) in the form of a feature-length stop-motion animated film. Talk about a curveball! One of his most emotionally resonant and overlooked films,...
Frankenweenie (2012) Photo: Disney
Unlike other Disney remakes, which start out in animation before transitioning to live-action, Tim Burton decided to remake his oddball live-action short film (one of his “after school projects” that kept him busy while animating for Disney) in the form of a feature-length stop-motion animated film. Talk about a curveball! One of his most emotionally resonant and overlooked films,...
- 10/26/2023
- by Drew Taylor
- The Wrap
Legendary classic rock producer George Martin predicted that one of The Beatles’ songs would hit No. 1. He was wrong multiple times over. However, he still worked on many other Beatles songs and one of Paul McCartney’s most famous solo hits.
1 of The Beatles’ songs originally sounded like a Roy Orbison ballad
During a 2020 interview with Uncut, Martin discussed the impact Martin had on The Beatles. “‘Please, Please Me,’ originally we brought to him as a very slow [Roy] Orbison-esque ballad,” he recalled. “‘Last night I said these words … Come on — joojoo — come on — joojoo’ — you can imagine Roy Orbison doing it.
“George said, ‘It might be good a bit faster,'” he said. “We go, ‘No.’ He used this skill of persuasion and he got us. ‘Oh, go on then, we’ll try it.’ So we did, ‘Last night I said.‘ He goes, ‘There’s your first No 1.'”
‘Please...
1 of The Beatles’ songs originally sounded like a Roy Orbison ballad
During a 2020 interview with Uncut, Martin discussed the impact Martin had on The Beatles. “‘Please, Please Me,’ originally we brought to him as a very slow [Roy] Orbison-esque ballad,” he recalled. “‘Last night I said these words … Come on — joojoo — come on — joojoo’ — you can imagine Roy Orbison doing it.
“George said, ‘It might be good a bit faster,'” he said. “We go, ‘No.’ He used this skill of persuasion and he got us. ‘Oh, go on then, we’ll try it.’ So we did, ‘Last night I said.‘ He goes, ‘There’s your first No 1.'”
‘Please...
- 10/24/2023
- by Matthew Trzcinski
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
With the temperature dropping, the days getting shorter, and the start of sweater weather, Christmas - and the holiday season - is just on the horizon. And if you're a Christmas-music-lover like us, you're starting to put together your playlists of seasonal hits to prepare for another celebration of joy, love, and festive bops.
With so many Christmas songs out there, it can be overwhelming to create a solid holiday-music playlist. To make things easier, we're gifting you 75 of the best Christmas songs of all time. Some of the biggest artists of today have released some amazing Christmas tracks, including Taylor Swift, Kelly Clarkson, and Ariana Grande. Then there are classic songs from artists like Eartha Kitt, Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby, and Frank Sinatra that we love listening to every year. And of course, there's the No. 1 Christmas bop of all time, Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You.
With so many Christmas songs out there, it can be overwhelming to create a solid holiday-music playlist. To make things easier, we're gifting you 75 of the best Christmas songs of all time. Some of the biggest artists of today have released some amazing Christmas tracks, including Taylor Swift, Kelly Clarkson, and Ariana Grande. Then there are classic songs from artists like Eartha Kitt, Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby, and Frank Sinatra that we love listening to every year. And of course, there's the No. 1 Christmas bop of all time, Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You.
- 10/18/2023
- by Madison Tyler
- Popsugar.com
WonkaScreenshot: Warner Bros. Pictures/YouTube
What makes Willy Wonka such a maverick? It’s not his inventive confections, nor his inventive wardrobe, nor his inventive methods of torturing naughty children. No, what really sets Mr. Wonka apart is his willingness to sell chocolate at reasonable prices affordable to the working class.
What makes Willy Wonka such a maverick? It’s not his inventive confections, nor his inventive wardrobe, nor his inventive methods of torturing naughty children. No, what really sets Mr. Wonka apart is his willingness to sell chocolate at reasonable prices affordable to the working class.
- 10/12/2023
- by Mary Kate Carr
- avclub.com
The latest trailer for Wonka is out, featuring an extended look at Hugh Grant’s portrayal of an Oompa Loompa. Watch the clip below.
In addition to showing how Timothée Chalamet’s young Willy Wonka met the diminutive human (who insists he’s actually “a perfectly respectable size” for his cohort), the clip features Grant doing his best rendition of the Oompa Loompa song. Elsewhere in the preview, rival chocolatiers try to bully Wonka into giving up his business, which only strengthens his resolve.
Director Paul King co-wrote Wonka with Simon Farnaby. The cast also features Olivia Colman, Sally Hawkins, Keegan-Michael Key, Rowan Atkinson, Matt Lucas, and more.
Besides the Oompa Loompa song, the film also features a scene in which Chalamet swam in an “enormous vat of hot chocolate,” as King previously revealed. The director has also compared his lead’s singing voice to Bing Crosby. Wonka hits theaters on December 15th.
In addition to showing how Timothée Chalamet’s young Willy Wonka met the diminutive human (who insists he’s actually “a perfectly respectable size” for his cohort), the clip features Grant doing his best rendition of the Oompa Loompa song. Elsewhere in the preview, rival chocolatiers try to bully Wonka into giving up his business, which only strengthens his resolve.
Director Paul King co-wrote Wonka with Simon Farnaby. The cast also features Olivia Colman, Sally Hawkins, Keegan-Michael Key, Rowan Atkinson, Matt Lucas, and more.
Besides the Oompa Loompa song, the film also features a scene in which Chalamet swam in an “enormous vat of hot chocolate,” as King previously revealed. The director has also compared his lead’s singing voice to Bing Crosby. Wonka hits theaters on December 15th.
- 10/12/2023
- by Eddie Fu
- Consequence - Film News
Timothée Chalamet makes his big-screen musical debut with Warner Bros.’ “Wonka.”
Serving as an origin story for the famed fictional chocolatier, “Wonka” is produced in part by the Roald Dahl Company, based on the novel “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” “Paddington” franchise director Paul King helms the musical film, which also stars Hugh Grant, Olivia Colman, Keegan-Michael Key, Sally Hawkins, Matt Lucas, Rowan Atkinson, Natasha Rothwell, Rufus Jones, and Simon Farnaby.
“Paddington 2” writer/actor Farnaby penned the “Wonka” script with director King. The film centers on an optimistic young Willy Wonka before he opens his elusive chocolate factory.
The 1971 original “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” starred Gene Wilder. Tim Burton previously adapted Roald Dahl’s book in 2005 with Johnny Depp starring as Wonka.
Director King told Entertainment Weekly that he did not want to “reinvent” the story of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” saying that instead “Wonka” would be...
Serving as an origin story for the famed fictional chocolatier, “Wonka” is produced in part by the Roald Dahl Company, based on the novel “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” “Paddington” franchise director Paul King helms the musical film, which also stars Hugh Grant, Olivia Colman, Keegan-Michael Key, Sally Hawkins, Matt Lucas, Rowan Atkinson, Natasha Rothwell, Rufus Jones, and Simon Farnaby.
“Paddington 2” writer/actor Farnaby penned the “Wonka” script with director King. The film centers on an optimistic young Willy Wonka before he opens his elusive chocolate factory.
The 1971 original “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” starred Gene Wilder. Tim Burton previously adapted Roald Dahl’s book in 2005 with Johnny Depp starring as Wonka.
Director King told Entertainment Weekly that he did not want to “reinvent” the story of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” saying that instead “Wonka” would be...
- 10/12/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Richard Gere’s breakout role in 1980’s “American Gigolo” might have made him a household name, but that didn’t mean the actor wanted to be labeled a “sex symbol,” according to veteran British talk show host Michael Aspel.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Aspel recalled Gere’s appearance on his talk show “Aspel and Company” in 1989.
“When Richard Gere came on the show, I introduced him and at the end I said, and ‘he’s done this, he’s done that,’ and I used the phrase ‘sex symbol,'” Aspel said. “After the interview, we had a phone call from his agent saying if I didn’t remove the sex symbol thing, they were going to take it up with their lawyer.”
Aspel continued, “He would not be known as a sex symbol. It was very odd. But he took himself very seriously because he did a lot of...
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Aspel recalled Gere’s appearance on his talk show “Aspel and Company” in 1989.
“When Richard Gere came on the show, I introduced him and at the end I said, and ‘he’s done this, he’s done that,’ and I used the phrase ‘sex symbol,'” Aspel said. “After the interview, we had a phone call from his agent saying if I didn’t remove the sex symbol thing, they were going to take it up with their lawyer.”
Aspel continued, “He would not be known as a sex symbol. It was very odd. But he took himself very seriously because he did a lot of...
- 10/1/2023
- by Michaela Zee
- Variety Film + TV
Richard Gere threatened to bring his lawyers down on a British TV chat show unless they removed the words “sex symbol” from his introduction.
Veteran British TV chat show host Michael Aspel was this weekend recalling some his encounters with Hollywood luminaries, including the An Officer and a Gentleman star who came onto his primetime show in the UK in 1989.
Aspel recalled to the Daily Mail:
“When Richard Gere came on the show, I introduced him and at the end I said, and ‘he’s done this, he’s done that,’ and I used the phrase ‘sex symbol.’
“After the interview, we had a phone call from his agent saying if I didn’t remove the sex symbol thing, they were going to take it up with their lawyer.
“He would not be known as a sex symbol. It was very odd. But he took himself very seriously, because he...
Veteran British TV chat show host Michael Aspel was this weekend recalling some his encounters with Hollywood luminaries, including the An Officer and a Gentleman star who came onto his primetime show in the UK in 1989.
Aspel recalled to the Daily Mail:
“When Richard Gere came on the show, I introduced him and at the end I said, and ‘he’s done this, he’s done that,’ and I used the phrase ‘sex symbol.’
“After the interview, we had a phone call from his agent saying if I didn’t remove the sex symbol thing, they were going to take it up with their lawyer.
“He would not be known as a sex symbol. It was very odd. But he took himself very seriously, because he...
- 10/1/2023
- by Caroline Frost
- Deadline Film + TV
Tyrannical and brilliant, director Michael Curtiz created film legends out of mere stars, and turned movies into myth. Here are some of his greatest films.
When movie enthusiasts think of legendary director Michael Curtiz, the first thing that pops into their mind is Casablanca (1942), consistently named to, and occasionally topping, lists of the greatest films of all time. Although if we’re being honest, most people think of it as a Humphrey Bogart movie. The same could be said of Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) and The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). These are known for their stars, James Cagney, and Errol Flynn, the latter of whom Curtiz put on the map with Captain Blood (1935). In the director’s hands, actors and characters merged into a mythology which exceeded mere signature roles, becoming universal symbols.
Curtiz worked in the motion picture business from its infancy, but began in the theater, graduating Budapest’s...
When movie enthusiasts think of legendary director Michael Curtiz, the first thing that pops into their mind is Casablanca (1942), consistently named to, and occasionally topping, lists of the greatest films of all time. Although if we’re being honest, most people think of it as a Humphrey Bogart movie. The same could be said of Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) and The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). These are known for their stars, James Cagney, and Errol Flynn, the latter of whom Curtiz put on the map with Captain Blood (1935). In the director’s hands, actors and characters merged into a mythology which exceeded mere signature roles, becoming universal symbols.
Curtiz worked in the motion picture business from its infancy, but began in the theater, graduating Budapest’s...
- 9/27/2023
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
'Wonka' director Paul King says Timothee Chalamet sings just like Bing Crosby.The actor stars as Willy Wonka in the new movie - which is a prequel to 1971 film 'Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory' - and King has admitted he was amazed to hear Timothee sing because he sounds just like 'White Christmas' star Bing.In an interview with Total Film, King explained: "[He has] got a beautiful singing voice. The person it reminded me of was Bing Crosby. There’s quite a range because it does go from a couple of bigger, showstopper-y sort of things, to moments of real, pure emotion, and he can do it all … I’m going to sound like a crazed fan."The film is a new story based around Roald Dahl's 1964 novel 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' and features big song and dance numbers - but King...
- 9/12/2023
- by Louise Mary Randell
- Bang Showbiz
Director Paul King, who will be directing the upcoming fantasy-drama film ‘Wonka’ starring Timothee Chalamet, has praised the actor’s singing voice, though he said that despite some musical sequences, the film is not a musical. “He’s got a beautiful singing voice. The person it reminded me of was Bing Crosby. There’s quite a range because it does go from a couple of bigger, showstopper-y sort of things, to moments of real, pure emotion, and he can do it all… I’m going to sound like a crazed fan (sic),” Paul told Total Film in an interview, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Nonetheless, the ‘Paddington’ director also made it his purpose to establish that while the film has songs in it, he doesn’t exactly consider it a musical.
“The Oompa Loompas sing a lot in the book, and Dahl always uses poetry,” Paulexplained.
“But I didn’t...
Nonetheless, the ‘Paddington’ director also made it his purpose to establish that while the film has songs in it, he doesn’t exactly consider it a musical.
“The Oompa Loompas sing a lot in the book, and Dahl always uses poetry,” Paulexplained.
“But I didn’t...
- 9/12/2023
- by Agency News Desk
- GlamSham
Paul King, director of Wonka, is teasing the film and Timothée Chalamet’s singing voice. The filmmaker compared Chalamet to Bing Crosby.
“[Chalamet]’s got a beautiful singing voice,” King said in an interview with Total Film magazine. “The person it reminded me of was Bing Crosby. There’s quite a range, because it does go from a couple of bigger, showstopper-y sort of things, to moments of real, pure emotion and he can do it all… I’m going to sound like a crazed fan.”
Although the film has musical numbers, King doesn’t want to classify the movie as a musical saying, “The Oompa Loompas sing a lot in the book, and Dahl always uses poetry. But I didn’t want it to just become a musical where people are singing dialogue to each other for no discernible reason. I felt like it was more like a movie with songs than a musical.
“[Chalamet]’s got a beautiful singing voice,” King said in an interview with Total Film magazine. “The person it reminded me of was Bing Crosby. There’s quite a range, because it does go from a couple of bigger, showstopper-y sort of things, to moments of real, pure emotion and he can do it all… I’m going to sound like a crazed fan.”
Although the film has musical numbers, King doesn’t want to classify the movie as a musical saying, “The Oompa Loompas sing a lot in the book, and Dahl always uses poetry. But I didn’t want it to just become a musical where people are singing dialogue to each other for no discernible reason. I felt like it was more like a movie with songs than a musical.
- 9/12/2023
- by Armando Tinoco
- Deadline Film + TV
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