by tyler | May 17, 2023 | CNN, entertainment
Johnny Depp was teary eyed after his film’s warm welcome at the Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday.
Video shared on social media by Variety shows a visibly moved Depp during an over five-minute ovation for his film, “Jeanne du Barry,” in which he stars as the former King of France Louis XV.
It was the actor’s first film project since a defamation trial with his ex-wife Amber Heard last summer. A jury found them both liable for defamation in their lawsuits against each other, but awarded significantly more damages to Depp.
At the press conference for the film at Cannes, Depp talked about “abstract whispers” and said that “the majority of what you have been reading the last four or five years…with regard to me and my life what you’ve read is fantastically, horrifically written fiction.”
“The focus should simply be on that fact it’s a miracle to get a film made that you care about in the first place,” he said. “You win right there.”
Variety reported that Depp also said, “I don’t feel boycotted by Hollywood because I don’t think about Hollywood.”
“Jeanne du Barry” tells the story of Jeanne Bécu, Comtesse du Barry, who was known as Madame du Barry, and was a mistress of King Louis XV.
In April, Cannes chief Thierry Frémaux talked to Deadline about the decision to open the festival with the Depp movie, calling it “a beautiful film.”
“The opening film also has to come out simultaneously in French cinemas; we don’t put platform films in that slot, because we want France to participate in the festival,” Frémaux said. “The film is a success, and Johnny Depp [as Louis XV] is magnificent in it.”
by tyler | May 17, 2023 | CNN, entertainment
If you’re one of the lucky members of the BeyHive who scored tickets to Beyoncé’s “Renaissance” tour this summer, expect one of the more epic nights of your life.
The theme is Afrofuturist disco fantasia, so dress accordingly. Onstage, there are massive robot arms that transform Beyoncé’s wardrobe mid-number; don’t be alarmed when they start flying. Bey will expect you, the audience member, to know all the words to all of the nearly 40 songs on her set list, and if you’re off-key, she’ll let you know with a grimace.
Fans have been waiting for this tour since last summer, and it’s finally time to unleash our inner alien superstars. Here’s what “Renaissance” tour-goers need to know before the show hits their hometown (or, before they fly across the world to catch it – the things we do for Beyoncé).
The aesthetic of the “Renaissance” tour, based on the footage fans have captured, is more “Alien Superstar” than “Cuff It”: Think Afrofuturist cyborgs with impeccable style. But there are moments where Houston-meets-Studio 54, to be sure, including a life-size sparkling silver horse, similar to the steed Bey straddles on the cover of “Renaissance,” on which Beyoncé sits suspended in mid-air. So yes, crystal-dripping cowboy hats are more than welcome.
Get a good night’s sleep before you show up to Club “Renaissance” – per the New York Times, Bey’s first show in Stockholm was a whopping three hours. But then again, how else do you expect to pack 20 years of a solo career and an album of all-timers into one show, not to mention the many iconic fashion moments? Seriously, every fan video seems to show Bey in yet another getup. The sheer number of costume changes alone justify its three-hour runtime. Among them: A Mugler yellow-and-black bee mask for “America Has a Problem,” a bedazzled Loewe jumpsuit covered in criss-crossing black, red-nailed gloves and a certain UV-light activated coat that left fans slack-jawed.
As for the setlist, prepare for pretty much all of “Renaissance,” plus timeless classics like “Love on Top” and “Run the World (Girls).”
Well, prepare for the two giant robot arms that swivel and swerve around Bey throughout a particularly sci-fi inspired segment of the show. The arms frame her face like a portrait, wave fans like they’re sweating in a basement bar and even, per some fan footage, change the color of her dress. The robots have, so far, not gone rogue, but few dare to defy Beyoncé.
Queen B can hear her audience hooting and hollering and failing to hit the high notes in “Love on Top.” On at least one stop of the tour, she turned the mic to her fans and was visibly displeased at their flatness, according to footage shared online. And since the entire audience sings in unison, Beyoncé can hear if you flub the lyrics. So if Bey hands the mic to you, dear reader, and it’s your turn to perform, come prepared.
Oh, and about those album visuals … Bey knows we’ve complained about those, too (seriously, though, where are they?!), and she lets those in the audience know that a “queen moves at her own pace.” We’ll have to keep waiting on those music videos.
So much of the “Renaissance” album was inspired by or directly references New York City ballroom culture of the 1980s and ’90s, pioneered by Black and Latino queer and trans people. Bey incorporates those touchstones into her show, too.
Honey Balenciaga, a member of the ballroom collective House of Balenciaga, dances alongside Beyoncé and, along with the rest of Bey’s cast of dancers, vogues like a pro. There’s no “noguing” allowed on the “Renaissance” tour – “noguing” is the term for amateur attempts at voguing by those who haven’t studied the artform (coined by the ballroom legend Leiomy Maldonado, who’s given the album her stamp of approval).
She even gives her crowd a taste of the ball scene: One showstopping moment sees Bey cede the stage to her dancers, dressed in designer duds, dipping and dropping and spinning on their sides to the roars of the crowd.
And the night ends with an homage to her late “Uncle Jonny,” the beloved family member she namedrops in “Heated” and to whom she dedicated “Renaissance.” (She said he was her “godmother and the first person to expose (her) to a lot of the music and culture” that inspired the album.) As the audience files out, dizzy from the night’s magic, a photo of Beyoncè’s mother, Tina Lawson, and Jonny occupies the massive screen.
by tyler | May 17, 2023 | CNN, entertainment
But will there be a fantasy suite?
That and other questions will be answered when ABC premieres “The Golden Bachelor,” a senior version of “The Bachelor” franchise debuting this fall.
“After more than 20 years of fostering young love on ‘The Bachelor,’ ‘The Bachelorette’ and ‘Bachelor in Paradise,’ ‘The Golden Bachelor’ showcases a whole new kind of love story – one for the golden years,” an ABC press release for the show reads.
“On this all-new unscripted series, one hopeless romantic is given a second chance at love in the search for a partner with whom to share the sunset years of life,” it continues. “The women arriving at the mansion have a lifetime of experience, living through love, loss and laughter, hoping for a spark that ignites a future full of endless possibilities. In the end, will our Golden man turn the page to start a new chapter with the woman of his dreams?”
“The Bachelor” franchise has been a hit for the network over the years.
The new show is produced by Warner Bros. Unscripted Television in association with Warner Horizon. (Warner Bros. is owned by CNN’s parent company.)
“The Golden Bachelor” is set to air on Monday nights after “Dancing with The Stars.”
by tyler | May 17, 2023 | CNN, entertainment
Twenty-two years of “The Fast & the Furious” movies have created enough characters and history for cameos and callbacks aplenty in “Fast X.” Yet for all its high-octane action this tenth film is really just revving its engine for more sequels to come, kicking off a multi-part story that offers an appropriately bloated way to bring this very loud enterprise to a (no doubt temporary) finish.
Despite the familiar faces either extensively featured or who just drive by, the defining element of the latest movie resides in its new villain, Dante, played with wild, over-the-top gusto by Jason Momoa. Motivated by a thirst for revenge explained during the opening sequence, Momoa’s characterization owes a debt to the Joker (perhaps wanting to evoke Nicholson or Ledger, but more Cesar Romero), unleashing a hammy tidal wave that’s generally more cringy than amusing.
That unguided missile nevertheless creates a major threat to Dom (Vin Diesel) and his extended family, beginning with a massive chase that takes place in Rome. The story later shifts to Rio de Janeiro, where they actually squeeze in a race, which seems almost quaint given the ridiculous directions in which “Fast” has gravitated.
Dante’s scheme puts Dom and company on the run from the authorities, with sympathy from one government agent (Brie Larson, due soon in the “Captain Marvel” sequel) while another (“Reacher’s” Alan Ritchson) is hot on their tail.
At this point, the “Fast” movies have reached a can-you-top-this level of action that can either be embraced for its muscular silliness or – more often in this latest incarnation – giggled at for its sheer absurdity.
French director Louis Letterier (whose credits include the “Transporter” films as well as “The Incredible Hulk”) approaches it with complete conviction, including those sentimental lectures about family and commitment Diesel insists on delivering, with classy scene partners like Helen Mirren and Rita Moreno.
Although there’s something to be said for trying to craft a truly epic story, even with its abundant roster of characters to accommodate the escapist nature of the “Fast” franchise makes the attempt to do a “Star Wars”-like serialization feel like a bridge too far. Still, it’s a popular gimmick among the cool kids this summer, with the latest “Mission: Impossible” movie billed as “Part One.”
The sheer number of “Fast” cast members who now possess superhero credentials reflects a film industry drift this century mirrored by the evolving nature of these movies, whose exponentially more elaborate set pieces and stunts frankly tend to blur together.
The idea that “Fast X” will seamlessly bleed into “Fast XI” and potentially “Fast XII” (sticking with the Roman-numeral conceit) appears to represent narrative ambition, but it’s really not; rather, that framework is simply a means of paving the way for another five years or so of this extraordinarily lucrative global franchise.
The fact the last entry, “F9,” provided theaters with a welcome shot of box-office adrenaline indicates there’s still ample gas left in that tank, commercially speaking. It’s creatively where “Fast X” feels as if it’s running on fumes.
“Fast X” premieres May 19 in US theaters. It’s rated PG-13.
by tyler | May 15, 2023 | CNN, entertainment
The Weeknd is now officially known online by his real name – Abel Makkonen Tesfaye – after following through on plans to update his social media accounts.
On Monday, the Canadian artist’s Twitter and Instagram accounts had updated to display his birth name rather than his artistic name.
And the change is part of a wider plan to “kill The Weeknd,” Tesfaye told W Magazine in an interview published May 8.
“I’m going through a cathartic path right now,” he said.
“It’s getting to a place and a time where I’m getting ready to close the Weeknd chapter. I’ll still make music, maybe as Abel, maybe as The Weeknd. But I still want to kill The Weeknd. And I will. Eventually. I’m definitely trying to shed that skin and be reborn.”
And Tesfaye revealed that his upcoming album might well be The Weeknd’s swansong.
“The album I’m working on now is probably my last hurrah as The Weeknd,” he told W Magazine.
“This is something that I have to do. As The Weeknd, I’ve said everything I can say.”
In March, Guinness World Records (GWR) announced that the singer-songwriter is statistically the most popular musician on the planet.
The 33-year-old took two new Guinness World Record titles. He had the most monthly listeners on Spotify, with 111.4 million as of March 20, and also became the first artist to reach 100 million monthly listeners.
A surge in listens was fueled in part by the fact that a remix of “Die for You,” featuring Ariana Grande, went viral on TikTok, according to GWR.
The track went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 – The Weeknd’s seventh time at the top spot. The original “Die for You” was released in 2016 on his album “Starboy.”
by tyler | May 15, 2023 | CNN, entertainment
Taylor Swift appeared to help a concertgoer in the crowd of her latest “Eras Tour” stop in Philadelphia on Saturday, and videos of the moment are circulating on social media.
Videos from the show at the Lincoln Financial Field showed Swift interrupting her 2014 hit “Bad Blood” to defend a person in the crowd.
“She’s fine,” Swift is first heard yelling into the crowd, noticeably perturbed by what she had seen. She paused again to say, “She wasn’t doing anything,” before yelling, “Hey, stop,” two more times.
It’s unclear from the videos what transpired in the crowd to prompt the reaction, but Swift is seen resuming “Bad Blood” – perhaps an apt song for the moment – without a hitch shortly after the interruption.
CNN has reached out to Lincoln Financial Field and a representative for Swift for comment.
Saturday’s show wasn’t entirely full of bad blood. Other videos on social media appear to show thousands of ticketless Swifties gathering outside the open-air stadium to sing along from afar during the show in a wholesome show of support for their “Anti-Hero.”
The singer will head to Massachusetts next weekend following her third and final show in Philadelphia on Sunday. The “Eras Tour” is Swift’s first tour in five years and kicked off in March in Glendale, Arizona.
