Three decades ago, Tina Turner reclaimed her history with the soundtrack album for the movie What’s Love Got to Do With It. She re-recorded hits she’d originally cut with her abusive ex-husband, Ike Turner so that they could stand on their own as testaments to her survival. These included “Nutbush City Limits,” “Proud Mary,” and “A Fool in Love.” She was in her early 50s, her voice still sounded great, and the album became a hit. Now, the record will be even bigger when it’s reissued on April 26 as an expanded box set.
- 2/14/2024
- by Kory Grow
- Rollingstone.com
For Chaka Khan, the end of 2023 was nothing short of triumphant. In November, she was finally inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and she also moved from Los Angeles to a big, rural property in Georgia, where she says she’s found “peace of mind.”
The R&b icon, who just released a new fragrance (Chaka by Chaka Khan), and is still playing live dates even as she strives to wind down her touring schedule, looked back at some career highlights and struggles in the latest edition of our Last Word interview.
The R&b icon, who just released a new fragrance (Chaka by Chaka Khan), and is still playing live dates even as she strives to wind down her touring schedule, looked back at some career highlights and struggles in the latest edition of our Last Word interview.
- 12/28/2023
- by Brian Hiatt
- Rollingstone.com
Rhino will release Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll, a collection of all Tina Turner’s singles from 1975-2023, on Nov. 24. The boxset celebrates 50 years since the start of the singer’s career and will mark the first time her singles have been released all together.
The release is previewed with a new version of Turner’s 1996 song “Something Beautiful Remains.” The new rendition, titled “Something Beautiful,” was reworked by producer Terry Britten, a long-time collaborator of Turner. “Dear Tina, the experience of working with you could never be repeated, but...
The release is previewed with a new version of Turner’s 1996 song “Something Beautiful Remains.” The new rendition, titled “Something Beautiful,” was reworked by producer Terry Britten, a long-time collaborator of Turner. “Dear Tina, the experience of working with you could never be repeated, but...
- 9/28/2023
- by Emily Zemler
- Rollingstone.com
Fans of Rod Stewart were left fuming after the legendary rock singer “stormed off stage” during a gig in Plymouth. According to a report by mirror.co.uk, Stewart was playing at Home Park Stadium on Saturday night to kick-start his summer shows in the UK.
However, the audience was left “shocked and disappointed” when the lights were turned off at around 10:30 p.m., cutting Rod off from playing his second encore track.
Stewart was reportedly “not very happy” about having his setlist cut off and looked “stunned” when he was asked to leave the stage, just when he was gearing up to play his final song of the night, which had a poignant meaning to the Plymouth town he was playing in.
Apparently, it was due to a strict curfew at the venue.
Voicing their frustration online, one fan said: “It was a fabulous night, but what an abrupt end.
However, the audience was left “shocked and disappointed” when the lights were turned off at around 10:30 p.m., cutting Rod off from playing his second encore track.
Stewart was reportedly “not very happy” about having his setlist cut off and looked “stunned” when he was asked to leave the stage, just when he was gearing up to play his final song of the night, which had a poignant meaning to the Plymouth town he was playing in.
Apparently, it was due to a strict curfew at the venue.
Voicing their frustration online, one fan said: “It was a fabulous night, but what an abrupt end.
- 6/25/2023
- by Agency News Desk
- GlamSham
I’ve been a fan of Tina Turner — the electrifying rock and soul goddess who died Wednesday at 83 after several lifetimes’ worth of legendary performances — for as long as I can remember. Probably since “Nutbush City Limits” hit the airwaves when I was a kid and those swaggering guitar riffs and Moog synthesizer sirens sunk into my bones.
I still can’t hear that song, or other early classics I discovered later, like the volcanic “River Deep — Mountain High,” or Turner’s cover of the Creedence Clearwater Revival hit “Proud Mary,” with its teasing slow start and Richter scale-busting explosion into hyper-speed frenzy, without wanting to drop everything and dance.
But I only ever saw her once in concert.
That was at London’s Wembley Arena in June 1987, a month after the U.K. paperback release of her autobiography, I, Tina, written with Kurt Loder. A friend in marketing at...
I still can’t hear that song, or other early classics I discovered later, like the volcanic “River Deep — Mountain High,” or Turner’s cover of the Creedence Clearwater Revival hit “Proud Mary,” with its teasing slow start and Richter scale-busting explosion into hyper-speed frenzy, without wanting to drop everything and dance.
But I only ever saw her once in concert.
That was at London’s Wembley Arena in June 1987, a month after the U.K. paperback release of her autobiography, I, Tina, written with Kurt Loder. A friend in marketing at...
- 5/25/2023
- by David Rooney
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Click here to read the full article.
If any single designer knows about star power and its impact on fashion, it’s Tom Ford. He didn’t just shine a spotlight on this idea with the Sept. 14 premiere of his Spring/Summer 2023 collection — it was practically a klieg light, producing a high-wattage event that indeed demonstrated Ford’s own power in the dual realms of style and celebrity.
That was evident from the moment the scrum of front-row photographers kicked into overdrive, witnessing the arrival of Madonna. The icon recently debuted Finally Enough Love: 50 Number Ones — released Aug. 19, the album showcases Madonna’s 50 songs that have topped the Billboard’s Dance Club Songs chart, more than any other artist in history — so it felt right that she made a rare public appearance to support the man with whom she’s shared some legendary style moments. Indeed, consider that the now-famous...
If any single designer knows about star power and its impact on fashion, it’s Tom Ford. He didn’t just shine a spotlight on this idea with the Sept. 14 premiere of his Spring/Summer 2023 collection — it was practically a klieg light, producing a high-wattage event that indeed demonstrated Ford’s own power in the dual realms of style and celebrity.
That was evident from the moment the scrum of front-row photographers kicked into overdrive, witnessing the arrival of Madonna. The icon recently debuted Finally Enough Love: 50 Number Ones — released Aug. 19, the album showcases Madonna’s 50 songs that have topped the Billboard’s Dance Club Songs chart, more than any other artist in history — so it felt right that she made a rare public appearance to support the man with whom she’s shared some legendary style moments. Indeed, consider that the now-famous...
- 9/17/2022
- by Laurie Brookins
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
At some point in between finishing her first bright-red “Lover’s Punch” at a bustling brunch place and ordering a second one (keep ’em coming!), the writing is already on the wall: Emma (Jenny Slate) is about to be dumped. Across town, Peter (Charlie Day) is similarly mere moments from having his heart stomped on by his long-time girlfriend. What could possibly happen next to heal these two broken-hearted sad-sacks and cure their breakup blues? In the context of the romantic comedy, we all know: They’ve gotta meet-cute, hatch some wacky plan, and fall in love with each other. Easy peasy!
Despite ticking off all the boxes of standard issue rom-com plotting, Jason Orley’s “I Want You Back” eventually twists itself into something much more complicated, frazzled, and ultimately less satisfying than the film’s log line would lead audiences to believe. Pulling liberally from other rom-coms before...
Despite ticking off all the boxes of standard issue rom-com plotting, Jason Orley’s “I Want You Back” eventually twists itself into something much more complicated, frazzled, and ultimately less satisfying than the film’s log line would lead audiences to believe. Pulling liberally from other rom-coms before...
- 2/9/2022
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
When in a romantic relationship, it’s never a good time to break up, nor to be the one getting dumped. The hilarious cold open of director Jason Orley’s rom-com “I Want You Back” begins with much promise, highlighting the indignities of the separate but equally humiliating fracturing of our two protagonists’ long-term loves. And while the premise of these two broken-hearted strangers finding each other and hatching a foolhardy scheme to win back their exes is quick to ramp up, the midsection plateaus when it should percolate with the pair’s plan taking form, or rather not quite manifesting correctly. Still, despite some pacing issues and predictable plotlines, the film keeps us wholeheartedly engaged with well-drawn, well-performed characters, grounded shenanigans and sweet, sentimental commentary on heartache.
Thirtysomethings Emma (Jenny Slate) and Peter (Charlie Day) both thought they were headed towards the next big step with their respective partners,...
Thirtysomethings Emma (Jenny Slate) and Peter (Charlie Day) both thought they were headed towards the next big step with their respective partners,...
- 2/9/2022
- by Courtney Howard
- Variety Film + TV
Charlie Day and Jenny Slate try to get their exes back in a mostly entertaining romantic comedy that could have benefited from a sharper bite
There are shades of Griffin Dunne’s underappreciated romantic comedy Addicted to Love in Amazon’s slick Valentine’s offering I Want You Back, stories of dumpees refusing to take no for an answer. But while there was a dark undercurrent disrupting the cutesy sight of Meg Ryan and Matthew Broderick flirting in Manhattan way back when, the Big Time Adolescence director Jason Orley is less interested in the murk and keen, if not a little insistent, that his characters be liked, if not unconditionally loved.
It’s thus a far simpler, far more earnest film that one would expect from the spiky set-up that sees total strangers Peter (Charlie Day) and Emma (Jenny Slate) bond over being dumped at the same time, fixating on...
There are shades of Griffin Dunne’s underappreciated romantic comedy Addicted to Love in Amazon’s slick Valentine’s offering I Want You Back, stories of dumpees refusing to take no for an answer. But while there was a dark undercurrent disrupting the cutesy sight of Meg Ryan and Matthew Broderick flirting in Manhattan way back when, the Big Time Adolescence director Jason Orley is less interested in the murk and keen, if not a little insistent, that his characters be liked, if not unconditionally loved.
It’s thus a far simpler, far more earnest film that one would expect from the spiky set-up that sees total strangers Peter (Charlie Day) and Emma (Jenny Slate) bond over being dumped at the same time, fixating on...
- 2/9/2022
- by Benjamin Lee
- The Guardian - Film News
Teresa Kwong is the programme director of the Hong Kong Arts Centre. Her producing titles include “Addicted to Love”, “Big Blue Lake” and “Flowing Stories”, “Dot 2 Dot” and “Napping Kid”, and “Suk Suk”, which was screened in the Panorama section of the Berlin International Film Festival 2020.
On the occasion of the second edition of the program series, “New Waves, New Shores” in cooperation with the Busan International Film Festival, we speak with her about her work as a producer and how the profession has changed through the years, co-productions, the Hong Kong Arts Centre and her role in it, the particularly program, Hong Kong and Korean cinema, and many other topics
You have been working as a producer for almost a decade now. What are the most significant changes you have witnessed in the field?
I believe there are three major differences, but let me start with how I got into producing first,...
On the occasion of the second edition of the program series, “New Waves, New Shores” in cooperation with the Busan International Film Festival, we speak with her about her work as a producer and how the profession has changed through the years, co-productions, the Hong Kong Arts Centre and her role in it, the particularly program, Hong Kong and Korean cinema, and many other topics
You have been working as a producer for almost a decade now. What are the most significant changes you have witnessed in the field?
I believe there are three major differences, but let me start with how I got into producing first,...
- 12/9/2021
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Fresh off being named to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s Class of 2021, Tina Turner will rerelease her 1989 album Foreign Affair as a deluxe reissue featuring the original LP, a 1990 concert performance, B-sides, remixes, and more.
The four-cd/one-dvd Foreign Affair: Deluxe Edition will also feature Turner’s unreleased demo for her hit cover of “The Best,” which Rhino has shared ahead of the reissue’s July 16th release.
The set boasts the original album fully remastered for the first time on the first disc, a collection of B-sides,...
The four-cd/one-dvd Foreign Affair: Deluxe Edition will also feature Turner’s unreleased demo for her hit cover of “The Best,” which Rhino has shared ahead of the reissue’s July 16th release.
The set boasts the original album fully remastered for the first time on the first disc, a collection of B-sides,...
- 6/3/2021
- by Daniel Kreps
- Rollingstone.com
Hollywood stars such as Josh Gad, Russell Crowe, Maria Shriver paid tribute to Kelly Preston,who died Sunday night at age 57 after a two-year battle with breast cancer that was kept private among her family.
Her husband, John Travolta, announced the news on his Instagram.
“She fought a courageous fight with the love and support of so many,” Travolta said. “My family and I will forever be grateful to her doctors and nurses at MD Anderson Cancer Center, all the medical centers that have helped, as well as her many friends and loved ones who have been by her side. Kelly’s love and life will always be remembered.”
Also Read: Kelly Preston, 'Jerry Maguire' Actress, Dies at 57
Crowe on Monday shared a brief anecdote in which he remembered auditioning with Preston in the film “Breaking Up” for a role that eventually went to Salma Hayek.
“Can’t remember where,...
Her husband, John Travolta, announced the news on his Instagram.
“She fought a courageous fight with the love and support of so many,” Travolta said. “My family and I will forever be grateful to her doctors and nurses at MD Anderson Cancer Center, all the medical centers that have helped, as well as her many friends and loved ones who have been by her side. Kelly’s love and life will always be remembered.”
Also Read: Kelly Preston, 'Jerry Maguire' Actress, Dies at 57
Crowe on Monday shared a brief anecdote in which he remembered auditioning with Preston in the film “Breaking Up” for a role that eventually went to Salma Hayek.
“Can’t remember where,...
- 7/13/2020
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Actress Kelly Preston, who broke out in the 1980s in such films as “Secret Admirer” and “Twins” before making a memorable turn in the 1996 classic “Jerry Maguire,” died Sunday after a two-year battle with breast cancer. She was 57.
Husband John Travolta shared the news on his Instagram account Sunday. “It is with a very heavy heart that I inform you that my beautiful wife Kelly has lost her two-year battle with breast cancer. She fought a courageous fight with the love and support of so many,’ he wrote. “My family and I will forever be grateful to her doctors and nurses at MD Anderson Cancer Center, all the medical centers that have helped, as well as her many friends and loved ones who have been by her side. Kelly’s love and life will always be remembered. I will be taking some time to be there for my children who have lost their mother,...
Husband John Travolta shared the news on his Instagram account Sunday. “It is with a very heavy heart that I inform you that my beautiful wife Kelly has lost her two-year battle with breast cancer. She fought a courageous fight with the love and support of so many,’ he wrote. “My family and I will forever be grateful to her doctors and nurses at MD Anderson Cancer Center, all the medical centers that have helped, as well as her many friends and loved ones who have been by her side. Kelly’s love and life will always be remembered. I will be taking some time to be there for my children who have lost their mother,...
- 7/13/2020
- by Wrap Staff
- The Wrap
Here at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, one sign that your international venture has reached a level of prominence is the appearance of a “house” bearing your name — a storefront to hang your hat, give away swag, and hold endless seminars while pumping champagne into would-be investors. There’s the Caspian Week digs, a storefront devoted to the economic interests of the Caspian Sea region, which one night featured female musicians apparently trying to re-create the 1986 Robert Palmer “Addicted To Love” video. My favorite was the Karnataka House,...
- 1/24/2020
- by Stephen Rodrick
- Rollingstone.com
Bob Geldof has organized some of the most incredible all-star shows in rock history, including the original Live Aid in 1985 and its follow-up, Live 8, in 2005. But even the man that reunited Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, and the Who seemed stunned by what he was seeing near the end of the 30th-anniversary celebration of Sting and Trudie Styler’s Rainforest Fund benefit at New York’s Beacon Theater on Monday evening. The Eurthymics had just wrapped up an extremely rare reunion set when Bruce Springsteen came onto the stage and called...
- 12/10/2019
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
Unlike many teen shows of its era, Beverly Hills 90210 never had an episode where the gang formed a band. But in the critical second-season episode Wildfire that introduced the agent of chaos known as Emily Valentine, there was a talent show in which the power trio of Brenda Walsh, Kelly Taylor, and Donna Martin dressed up like Robert Palmer’s video backup singers to perform Neil Sedaka’s 1962 hit “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do.” The whole thing is even weirder than it sounds, but you can see the video right here.
- 8/8/2019
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
If you watch Killing Eve, you've probably picked up on the highly palpable energy exchanges between Eve and Villanelle. The question for season two isn't so much if the two characters have feelings for each other. Rather, it's if their dysfunctional and twisted dynamic will finally culminate in some kind of relationship.
The season one finale ended with a literal stab in the gut. Eve tells the assassin that she thinks about her all of the time, to which Villanelle crassly replies, "I mean, I masturbate about you a lot." They crawl into bed, and as it begins to look like something steamy might unfold, Eve drives a knife into Villanelle, frantically regretting it seconds later.
This sexual tension isn't going away anytime soon. With an eerie rendition of "Addicted to Love" playing in its background, the first season two trailer, which dropped on Valentine's Day, strongly hinted at an...
The season one finale ended with a literal stab in the gut. Eve tells the assassin that she thinks about her all of the time, to which Villanelle crassly replies, "I mean, I masturbate about you a lot." They crawl into bed, and as it begins to look like something steamy might unfold, Eve drives a knife into Villanelle, frantically regretting it seconds later.
This sexual tension isn't going away anytime soon. With an eerie rendition of "Addicted to Love" playing in its background, the first season two trailer, which dropped on Valentine's Day, strongly hinted at an...
- 3/21/2019
- by Stacey Nguyen
- Popsugar.com
When it rains, it pours: Ever since an am-i-blue Will Smith showed up during a commercial in between Grammy no-shows, there’s been a deluge of trailers that have hit the internet. In a little under a week, we got peeks at George Clooney’s upcoming adaptation of Catch-22 for Hulu, the Frozen sequel and a new horror movie starring Octavia Spencer; a first look at the second season of Killing Eve (!) and a new Danny Boyle movie about a Beatle-less world; and a very Nsfw clip of David Fincher...
- 2/16/2019
- by David Fear
- Rollingstone.com
Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer resume their surreal cat-and-mouse chase in the thrilling new trailer for Season Two of Killing Eve. The show returns to BBC America April 7th.
The clip picks up just moments after the show’s Season One finale with — spoilers ahead — Oh’s MI5 security operative, Eve Polastri, telling someone on the phone that she believes she’s finally killed Comer’s psychotic assassin, Villanelle. The moment perfectly captures the show’s dark sense of humor too, with Eve’s phone call awkwardly interrupting a couple’s engagement proposal.
The clip picks up just moments after the show’s Season One finale with — spoilers ahead — Oh’s MI5 security operative, Eve Polastri, telling someone on the phone that she believes she’s finally killed Comer’s psychotic assassin, Villanelle. The moment perfectly captures the show’s dark sense of humor too, with Eve’s phone call awkwardly interrupting a couple’s engagement proposal.
- 2/14/2019
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
Unhappy Valentine’s Day, Killing Eve fans. Then again, there’s good news in the form of the first trailer for Season 2 of the BBC America drama, which also will be simulcast on AMC this year. Check it out above.
Produced by Sid Gentle Films, the series revolves around Eve (Sandra Oh), an MI6 operative, and psychopath assassin Villanelle (Jodie Comer). Season 2 picks up about half a minute last season’s finale, as Villanelle has disappeared and Eve has no idea if the woman she stabbed is alive or dead. With both of them in deep trouble, Eve has to find Villanelle before someone else does.
The Season 2 tagline: “Sometimes when you love someone, you do crazy things.
Last season’s finale, delivered series highs with 1.25 million viewers in Live+3, per AMC, up 86% from the premiere. Oh won the Golden Globe, Critics’ Choice and SAG Award for best actress in a drama this year,...
Produced by Sid Gentle Films, the series revolves around Eve (Sandra Oh), an MI6 operative, and psychopath assassin Villanelle (Jodie Comer). Season 2 picks up about half a minute last season’s finale, as Villanelle has disappeared and Eve has no idea if the woman she stabbed is alive or dead. With both of them in deep trouble, Eve has to find Villanelle before someone else does.
The Season 2 tagline: “Sometimes when you love someone, you do crazy things.
Last season’s finale, delivered series highs with 1.25 million viewers in Live+3, per AMC, up 86% from the premiere. Oh won the Golden Globe, Critics’ Choice and SAG Award for best actress in a drama this year,...
- 2/14/2019
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
“Killing Eve” was one of last year’s most pleasant surprises. A critically acclaimed hit, the BBC America thriller landed a prominent spot on IndieWire’s Best TV Shows of 2018 list.
Judging by the first teaser the network unveiled Thursday, the show is following that breakout season with more of what audiences loved in the first place. Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer return as intelligence officer Eve Polastri and single-monikered assassin Villanelle, who somehow managed to turn the tables on each other over the course of the opening season.
The season picks up where last year’s finale left off, with both women still on each other’s trail after their last fateful encounter. Eve is seemingly filled with both regret and bonbons, while Villanelle is still finding creative ways to inform her victims that she’s about to murder them in cold blood.
Still, Villanelle’s lingering stab wound...
Judging by the first teaser the network unveiled Thursday, the show is following that breakout season with more of what audiences loved in the first place. Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer return as intelligence officer Eve Polastri and single-monikered assassin Villanelle, who somehow managed to turn the tables on each other over the course of the opening season.
The season picks up where last year’s finale left off, with both women still on each other’s trail after their last fateful encounter. Eve is seemingly filled with both regret and bonbons, while Villanelle is still finding creative ways to inform her victims that she’s about to murder them in cold blood.
Still, Villanelle’s lingering stab wound...
- 2/14/2019
- by Steve Greene
- Indiewire
It’s not hard to see why Robert Zemeckis, a director who has often been drawn to finding the “human” side of technological flimflam, would want to turn the eccentric and touching 2010 documentary “Marwencol” into a dramatic feature. Like the documentary, Zemeckis’ “Welcome to Marwen” tells the story of Mark Hogancamp, a resident of Kingston, New York, who in 2000, outside a bar, was beaten by five louts to within an inch of his life. After spending nine days in a coma, he woke up, but his body was broken and he’d lost nearly all his memory. His friends, his failed marriage, his vast collection of ladies’ high-heeled shoes: He had no recall of any of it.
He took refuge from the trauma by designing and building a miniature World War II village, which he populated with uniformed dolls, many based on the people around him. The Belgian village of Marwencol,...
He took refuge from the trauma by designing and building a miniature World War II village, which he populated with uniformed dolls, many based on the people around him. The Belgian village of Marwencol,...
- 12/19/2018
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
An affecting and magnificently photographed love story set in a Chinese mining town during the massive economic reforms of the 1980s and ‘90s, “The Poet” is the best film yet by Shanghai born writer-director Liu Hao. With subtlety and no small amount of eroticism, Liu shapes the tale of a poet and his wife into an absorbing study in how social status, financial fortunes, and personal relationships were affected by winds of change sweeping through the nation. “The Poet” looks certain to travel widely on the festival circuit and has claims for theatrical exposure in foreign territories.
The fabric connecting the film’s themes of love, ambition, and jealousy can be found in the woolen stockings worn by Hui (Song Jia), the adoring wife of Wu (Zhu Yawen), an aspiring poet and worker at Heija Hill coal mine in northern China. In a beautiful early sequence, the couple return to...
The fabric connecting the film’s themes of love, ambition, and jealousy can be found in the woolen stockings worn by Hui (Song Jia), the adoring wife of Wu (Zhu Yawen), an aspiring poet and worker at Heija Hill coal mine in northern China. In a beautiful early sequence, the couple return to...
- 11/3/2018
- by Richard Kuipers
- Variety Film + TV
Robert Palmer was a great musician and a lot of fun to listen to. Addicted to Love is probably one of his greatest and most remembered hits throughout his entire career and is still listened to at this point. It’s a fun song that pretty much anyone can sing and dance to and doesn’t demand a lot of thought from the average person as to what it means. His career lasted just shy of four decades and was instrumental in inspiring many young artists to go forth and start their own sound and bands as well. He might be forgotten
The Top Uses of Robert Palmer’s “Addicted to Love” in Movies or TV...
The Top Uses of Robert Palmer’s “Addicted to Love” in Movies or TV...
- 1/4/2018
- by Wake
- TVovermind.com
The best thing about being a woman, is the prerogative to have a little fun — on live TV!
Miley Cyrus and her team paid homage to a country icon during the live Top 11 eliminations on The Voice, Tuesday night.
Taking the stage in matching leopard ensembles, Cyrus and Ashland Craft, Brooke Simpson and Janice Freeman performed Shania Twain‘s 1999 hit “Man! I Feel Like a Woman.”
Twain, 52, has ties to the hit reality competition series — she served as an advisor to the competitors and judges on season 12.
Ahead of the fun performance, Cyrus teased her leopard jumpsuit on Instagram.
Though the looks were Twain-inspired,...
Miley Cyrus and her team paid homage to a country icon during the live Top 11 eliminations on The Voice, Tuesday night.
Taking the stage in matching leopard ensembles, Cyrus and Ashland Craft, Brooke Simpson and Janice Freeman performed Shania Twain‘s 1999 hit “Man! I Feel Like a Woman.”
Twain, 52, has ties to the hit reality competition series — she served as an advisor to the competitors and judges on season 12.
Ahead of the fun performance, Cyrus teased her leopard jumpsuit on Instagram.
Though the looks were Twain-inspired,...
- 11/29/2017
- by Jordan Runtagh
- PEOPLE.com
“Game over, man, game over!” It’s rare for a sequel to live up to the original film, but James Cameron managed to fulfill expectations with Aliens (July 18, 1986). This summer marks the 30th Anniversary of the action-packed sci-fi classic, so “stop your grinnin’ and drop your linen.”
Tune-in Saturday, July 23, to an exclusive Aliens YouTube live stream Q&A with the filmmakers and cast from San Diego Comic-Con! Submit your questions in the comments below for a chance to get them answered. #Aliens30th
To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Aliens (1986), San Diego Comic-Con will host an Aliens reunion on Saturday, July 23. Attendees include director James Cameron, producer Gale Anne Hurd, Sigourney Weaver, Bill Paxton, Lance Henriksen, Paul Reiser, Michael Biehn, and Carrie Henn.
Subscribe to Fox Movies and follow on https://www.facebook.com/AlienAnthology so you don’t miss this exclusive live event.
The terror continues in James Cameron...
Tune-in Saturday, July 23, to an exclusive Aliens YouTube live stream Q&A with the filmmakers and cast from San Diego Comic-Con! Submit your questions in the comments below for a chance to get them answered. #Aliens30th
To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Aliens (1986), San Diego Comic-Con will host an Aliens reunion on Saturday, July 23. Attendees include director James Cameron, producer Gale Anne Hurd, Sigourney Weaver, Bill Paxton, Lance Henriksen, Paul Reiser, Michael Biehn, and Carrie Henn.
Subscribe to Fox Movies and follow on https://www.facebook.com/AlienAnthology so you don’t miss this exclusive live event.
The terror continues in James Cameron...
- 7/27/2016
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
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Warner Bros has struggled with its blockbusters of late. But back in summer 1997 - Batman & Robin's year - it faced not dissimilar problems.
Earlier this year it was revealed that Warner Bros, following a string of costly movies that hadn’t hit box office gold (Pan, Jupiter Ascending, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., In The Heart Of The Sea), was restructuring its blockbuster movie business. Fewer films, fewer risks, more franchises, and more centering around movie universes seems to be the new approach, and the appointment of a new corporate team to oversee the Harry Potter franchise last week was one part of that.
In some ways, it marks the end of an era. Whilst it retains its relationships with key directing talent (Ben Affleck, Clint Eastwood, Christopher Nolan for instance), Warner Bros was, for the bulk of the 1990s in particular, the studio that the others were trying to mimic. It worked with the same stars and filmmakers time and time again, and under then-chiefs Terry Semel and Robert Daly, relationships with key talent were paramount.
Furthermore, the studio knew to leave that talent to do its job, and was also ahead of the pack in developing franchises that it could rely on to give it a string of hits.
However, whilst Warner Bros is having troubles now, its way of doing business was first seriously challenged by the failure of its slate in the summer of 1997. Once again, it seemed to have a line up to cherish, that others were envious of. But as film by film failed to click, every facet of Warner Bros’ blockbuster strategy suddenly came under scrutiny, and would ultimately fairly dramatically change. Just two summers later, the studio released The Matrix, and blockbuster cinema changed again.
But come the start of summer 1997? These are the movies that Warner Bros had lined up, and this is what happened…
February - National Lampoon’s Vegas Vacation
Things actually had got off to a decent enough start for the studio earlier in the year, so it's worth kicking off there. It brought Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo back together, for the fourth National Lampoon movie, and the first since 1989’s National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Interestingly, it dropped the National Lampoon moniker in the Us, and instead released the eventual movie as Vegas Vacation. It was a belated sequel, back when belated sequels weren’t that big a thing.
The film was quickly pulled apart by reviewers, but it still just about clawed a profit. The production budget of $25m was eclipsed by the Us gross of $36m, and the movie would do comfortable business on video/DVD. Not a massive hit, then, but hardly a project that had a sense of foreboding about it.
Yet the problems were not far away.
May – Father's Day
Warner Bros had a mix of movies released in the Us in March and April 1997, including modest Wesley Snipes-headlined thriller Murder At 1600, and family flick Shiloh. But it launched its summer season with Father’s Day, an expensive packaged comedy from director Ivan Reitman, starring Robin Williams and Billy Crystal. It had hit written all over it.
Father’s Day was one of the movies packaged by the CAA agency, and its then-head, Mike Ovitz (listed regularly by Premiere magazine in the 1990s as one of the most powerful men in Hollywood, if not the most powerful man). That he brought together the stars, the director and the project, gave a studio a price tag, and the studio duly paid it. Given Warner Bros’ devotion to star talent (Mel Gibson, then one of the biggest movie stars in the world, and a major Warner Bros talent, was persuaded to film a cameo), it was a natural home for the film. It quickly did the deal. few questions asked.
That package, and CAA’s fees for putting it together, brought the budget for a fairly straightforward comedy to a then-staggering $85m. The problem, though, was that the film simply wasn’t very good. It’s one of those projects that looks great on paper, less great when exposed on a great big screen. Warner Bros has snapped it up, without - it seems - even properly reading the script.
Premiere magazine quoted a Warner Bros insider back in November 1997 as saying “when [CAA] calls and says ‘we have a package, Father’s Day, with Williams and Crystal and Reitman, we say ‘great’”, adding “we don’t scrutinise the production. When we saw the movie, it took the wind out of us. We kept reshooting and enhancing, but you can’t fix something that’s bad”.
And it was bad.
The movie would prove to be the first big misfire of the summer, grossing just $35m in the Us, and not adding a fat lot more elsewhere in the world. Warner Bros’ first film of the summer was a certified flop. More would soon follow.
May - Addicted To Love
A more modestly priced project was Addicted To Love, a romantic comedy starring Meg Ryan and Matthew Broderick. Just over a year later, Warner Bros would hit big when Meg Ryan reunited with Tom Hanks for Nora Ephron’s You’ve Got Mail. But here? The film was a modest success, at best.
Directed by Griffin Dunne (making his directorial debut), and put together in partnership with Miramax, Addicted To Love was based around the Robert Palmer song of the same name. But whilst it was sold as a romcom, the muddled final cut was actually a fair bit darker. There was an underlying nastiness to some moments in the film, and when the final box office was tallied, it came in lower than the usual returns for pictures from Ryan or Broderick. Counter-programming it against the release of The Lost World: Jurassic Park didn’t massively help in this instance either, especially as the Jurassic Park sequel would smash opening weekend records.
Addicted To Love ended up with $34.6m at the Us box office. It would eke out a small profit.
June - Batman & Robin
And this is when the alarm bells started to ring very, very loudly. Summer 1997 was supposed to be about a trio of sure-fire hit sequels: Batman 4, Jurassic Park 2 and Speed 2. Only one of those would ultimately bring home the box office bacon, the others being destroyed by critics, and ultimately leaving far more empty seats than anticipated in multiplexes.
Batman & Robin, it’s easy to forget, came off the back of 1995’s Joel Schumacher-steered Batman reboot, Batman Forever that year's biggest movie). It had one of the fastest-growing stars in the world in the Batsuit (George Clooney), and the McDonald’s deals were signed even before the script was typed up. You don’t need us to tell you that you could tell, something of a theme already in Warner Bros' summer of '97.
That said, Batman & Robin still gave Warner Bros a big opening, but in the infancy of the internet as we know it, poisonous word of mouth was already beginning to spread. The film’s negative cost Warner Bros up to $140m, before marketing and distribution costs, and it opened in the Us to a hardly-sniffy $42m of business (although that was down from previous Batman movies).
But that word of mouth still accelerated its departure from cinemas. It was then very rare for a film to make over 40% of its Us gross in its first weekend. But that’s just what Batman & Robin did, taking $107.3m in America, part of a worldwide total of $238.2m. This was the worst return for a Batman movie to date, and Warner Bros had to swiftly put the brakes on plans to get Batman Triumphant moving.
It would be eight years until Batman returned to the big screen, in Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins. Warner Bros would undergo big changes in the intervening period.
As for the immediate aftermath of Batman & Robin? Warner Bros co-chief Robert Daly would note at the end of '97 that “we’d have been better off with more action in the picture. The movie had to service too many characters”, adding that “the next Batman we do, in three years – and we have a deal with George Clooney to do it – will have one villain”.
Fortunately, Warner Bros’ one solid hit of the summer was just around the corner…
July - Contact
And breathe out.
Warner Bros bet heavily again on expensive talent here, with Robert Zemeckis bringing his adaptation of Carl Sagan’s Contact to the studio for his first film post-Forrest Gump. Warner Bros duly footed the $90m bill (back when that was still seen as a lot of money for a movie), a good chunk of which went to Jodie Foster. It invested heavily in special effects, and gave Zemeckis licence to make the film that he wanted.
The studio was rewarded with the most intelligent and arguably the best blockbuster of the summer. I’ve looked back at Contact in a lot more detail here, and it remains a fascinating film that’s stood the test of time (and arguably influenced Christopher Nolan’s more recent Interstellar).
Reviews were strong, it looked terrific, and the initial box office was good.
But then the problem hit. For whilst Contact was a solid hit for Warner Bros, it wasn’t a massively profitable one. Had Father’s Day and Batman & Robin shouldered the box office load there were supposed to, it perhaps wouldn’t have been a problem. But when they failed to take off, the pressure shifted to Contact.
The movie would gross $100.9m in the Us, and add another $70m overseas (this being an era were international box office rarely had the importance it has today). But once Warner Bros had paid its bills, there wasn’t a fat lot over for itself. Fortunately, the film still sells on disc and on-demand. Yet it wasn’t to be the massive hit the studio needed back in 1997.
July - One Eight Seven
From director Kevin Reynolds, the man who helmed Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves and Waterworld, came modestly-priced drama 187, starring Samuel L Jackson (in a strong performance). Warner Bros wouldn’t have had massive box office expectations for the film (although it can't have been unaware that the inspirational teacher sub-genre was always worth a few quid), and it shared production duties on the $20m movie with Mel Gibson’s Icon Productions. But still, it would have had its eye on a modest success. What it got in return was red ink.
The film’s not a bad one, and certainly worth seeking out. But poor reviews gave the film an uphill struggle from the off – smaller productions arriving mid-summer really needed critics on their side, as they arguably still do – and it opened to just $2.2m of business (the less edgy, Michelle Pfeiffer-headlined school drama Dangerous Minds had been a surprise hit not two years before).
By the time its run was done, 187 hadn’t even come close to covering its production costs, with just under $6m banked.
Warner Bros’ summer slate was running out of films. But at least it had one of its most reliable movie stars around the corner…
August - Conspiracy Theory
What could go wrong? Mel Gibson and Julia Roberts were two of the biggest movie stars in the world in 1997, at a time when movie stars still equated to box office gold. Director Richard Donner, one of Warner Bros’ favourite directors, had delivered the Lethal Weapons, Maverick, Superman, The Goonies and more for the studio. Put them altogether, with Patrick Stewart (coming to wider public consciousness at the time off the back of his Star Trek: The Next Generation work) as a villain, and it should have been a big hit.
Conspiracy Theory proved to be one of the more ambitious summer blockbusters of the era. It lacks a good first act, which would be really useful in actually setting up more of what’s going on. But Gibson played an edgy cab driver who believes in deep government conspiracies, and finds himself getting closer to the truth than those around him sometimes give him credit for.
Warner Bros was probably expecting another Lethal Weapon with the reunion of Gibson (who had to be persuaded to take Conspiracy Theory on) and Donner (it’s pretty much what it got with the hugely enjoyable Maverick a few years’ earlier), but instead it got a darker drama, with an uneasy central character that didn’t exactly play to the summer box office crowd.
The bigger problem, though, was that the film never quite worked as well as you might hope. Yet star power did have advantages. While no juggernaut, the film did decent business, grossing $137m worldwide off the back of an $80m budget ($40m of which was spent on the salaries for the talent before a single roll of film was loaded into a camera). That said, in the Us it knocked a genuine smash hit, Air Force One, off the top spot. Mind you in hindsight, that was probably the film that the studio wished it had made (the cockpit set of Warner Bros' own Executive Decision was repurposed for Air Force One, fact fans).
Still: Warner Bros did get Lethal Weapon 4 off Gibson and Donner a year later…
August - Free Willy 3: The Rescue
Yeah.
Warner Bros opened its third Free Willy film on the same day as Conspiracy Theory (can you imagine a studio opening two big films on the same day now), but it was clear that this was a franchise long past its best days (and its best days hardly bring back the fondest of memories).
Still, Free Willy movies were relatively modest in cost to put together, and Warner Bros presumably felt this was a simple cashpoint project. But in a year when lots of family movies did less business than expected (Disney’s Hercules, Fox’s Home Alone 3, Disney’s Mr Magoo), Free Willy 3 barely troubled the box office. It took in just over $3m in total, and Willy would not be seen on the inside of a cinema again.
August - Steel
Not much was expected from Steel, a superhero movie headlined by Shaquille O’Neal. Which was fortunate, because not much was had.
It had a mid-August release date in the Us, at a point when a mid-August release date was more of a dumping ground than anything else. And even though the budget was set at a relatively low $16m, the film – and it’s an overused time – pretty much bombed. It took $1.7m at the Us box office, and given that its appeal hinged on a major American sports star whose fame hardly transcended the globe, its international takings did not save it (it went straight to video in many territories).
It was a miserable end to what, for warner bros, had been a thoroughly miserable summer.
So what did hit big in summer 1997?
Summer 1997 was infamous for big films failing to take off in the way that had been expected – Hercules, Speed 2, and the aforementioned Warner Bros movies – but there were several bright spots. The big winner would be Barry Sonnenfeld’s light and sprightly sci-fi comedy Men In Black, starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones. Star power too helped score big hits for Harrison Ford (Air Force One), Julia Roberts (My Best Friend’s Wedding) and John Travolta (Face/Off).
This was also the summer that Nicolas Cage cemented his action movie credentials with Face/Off and Con Air. Crucially, though, the star movies that hit were the ones that veered on the side of 'good'. For the first of many years, the internet was blamed for this.
Oh, and later in the year, incidentally, Titanic would redefine just what constituted a box office hit...
What came next for Warner Bros?
In the rest of 1997, Warner Bros had a mix of projects that again enjoyed mixed fortunes. The standout was Curtis Hanson’s stunning adaptation of L.A. Confidential, that also proved to be a surprise box office success. The Devil’s Advocate didn’t do too badly either.
However, two of the studio’s key filmmakers failed to really deliver come the end of 1997. Clint Eastwood’s Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil failed to ignite (although many felt he was always on a hiding to nothing in trying to adapt that for the screen), and Kevin Costner’s The Postman would prove arguably the most expensive box office disappointment of the year. No wonder the studio rushed Lethal Weapon 4 into production for summer 1998. Oh, and it had The Avengers underway too (not that one), that would prove to be a 1998 disappointment.
The studio would eventually take action. The Daly-Semel management team, that had reigned for 15 years, would break up at the end of 1999, as its traditional way of doing business became less successful. The pair had already future projects that were director driven to an extent (Eyes Wide Shut), and it would still invest in movies with stars (Wild Wild West). But the immediate plan of action following the disappointment of summer 1997 – to get Batman 5 and Superman Lives made – would falter. It wouldn’t be until 1999’s The Matrix (a film that Daly and Semel struggled to get) and – crucially – 2001’s Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone that the studio would really get its swagger back...
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Movies Feature Simon Brew Warner Bros 16 Jun 2016 - 05:19 Conspiracy Theory Father's Day Addicted To Love Contact National Lampoon’s Vegas Vacation One Eight Seven Steel Batman & Robin Free Willy 3: The Rescue...
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Warner Bros has struggled with its blockbusters of late. But back in summer 1997 - Batman & Robin's year - it faced not dissimilar problems.
Earlier this year it was revealed that Warner Bros, following a string of costly movies that hadn’t hit box office gold (Pan, Jupiter Ascending, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., In The Heart Of The Sea), was restructuring its blockbuster movie business. Fewer films, fewer risks, more franchises, and more centering around movie universes seems to be the new approach, and the appointment of a new corporate team to oversee the Harry Potter franchise last week was one part of that.
In some ways, it marks the end of an era. Whilst it retains its relationships with key directing talent (Ben Affleck, Clint Eastwood, Christopher Nolan for instance), Warner Bros was, for the bulk of the 1990s in particular, the studio that the others were trying to mimic. It worked with the same stars and filmmakers time and time again, and under then-chiefs Terry Semel and Robert Daly, relationships with key talent were paramount.
Furthermore, the studio knew to leave that talent to do its job, and was also ahead of the pack in developing franchises that it could rely on to give it a string of hits.
However, whilst Warner Bros is having troubles now, its way of doing business was first seriously challenged by the failure of its slate in the summer of 1997. Once again, it seemed to have a line up to cherish, that others were envious of. But as film by film failed to click, every facet of Warner Bros’ blockbuster strategy suddenly came under scrutiny, and would ultimately fairly dramatically change. Just two summers later, the studio released The Matrix, and blockbuster cinema changed again.
But come the start of summer 1997? These are the movies that Warner Bros had lined up, and this is what happened…
February - National Lampoon’s Vegas Vacation
Things actually had got off to a decent enough start for the studio earlier in the year, so it's worth kicking off there. It brought Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo back together, for the fourth National Lampoon movie, and the first since 1989’s National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Interestingly, it dropped the National Lampoon moniker in the Us, and instead released the eventual movie as Vegas Vacation. It was a belated sequel, back when belated sequels weren’t that big a thing.
The film was quickly pulled apart by reviewers, but it still just about clawed a profit. The production budget of $25m was eclipsed by the Us gross of $36m, and the movie would do comfortable business on video/DVD. Not a massive hit, then, but hardly a project that had a sense of foreboding about it.
Yet the problems were not far away.
May – Father's Day
Warner Bros had a mix of movies released in the Us in March and April 1997, including modest Wesley Snipes-headlined thriller Murder At 1600, and family flick Shiloh. But it launched its summer season with Father’s Day, an expensive packaged comedy from director Ivan Reitman, starring Robin Williams and Billy Crystal. It had hit written all over it.
Father’s Day was one of the movies packaged by the CAA agency, and its then-head, Mike Ovitz (listed regularly by Premiere magazine in the 1990s as one of the most powerful men in Hollywood, if not the most powerful man). That he brought together the stars, the director and the project, gave a studio a price tag, and the studio duly paid it. Given Warner Bros’ devotion to star talent (Mel Gibson, then one of the biggest movie stars in the world, and a major Warner Bros talent, was persuaded to film a cameo), it was a natural home for the film. It quickly did the deal. few questions asked.
That package, and CAA’s fees for putting it together, brought the budget for a fairly straightforward comedy to a then-staggering $85m. The problem, though, was that the film simply wasn’t very good. It’s one of those projects that looks great on paper, less great when exposed on a great big screen. Warner Bros has snapped it up, without - it seems - even properly reading the script.
Premiere magazine quoted a Warner Bros insider back in November 1997 as saying “when [CAA] calls and says ‘we have a package, Father’s Day, with Williams and Crystal and Reitman, we say ‘great’”, adding “we don’t scrutinise the production. When we saw the movie, it took the wind out of us. We kept reshooting and enhancing, but you can’t fix something that’s bad”.
And it was bad.
The movie would prove to be the first big misfire of the summer, grossing just $35m in the Us, and not adding a fat lot more elsewhere in the world. Warner Bros’ first film of the summer was a certified flop. More would soon follow.
May - Addicted To Love
A more modestly priced project was Addicted To Love, a romantic comedy starring Meg Ryan and Matthew Broderick. Just over a year later, Warner Bros would hit big when Meg Ryan reunited with Tom Hanks for Nora Ephron’s You’ve Got Mail. But here? The film was a modest success, at best.
Directed by Griffin Dunne (making his directorial debut), and put together in partnership with Miramax, Addicted To Love was based around the Robert Palmer song of the same name. But whilst it was sold as a romcom, the muddled final cut was actually a fair bit darker. There was an underlying nastiness to some moments in the film, and when the final box office was tallied, it came in lower than the usual returns for pictures from Ryan or Broderick. Counter-programming it against the release of The Lost World: Jurassic Park didn’t massively help in this instance either, especially as the Jurassic Park sequel would smash opening weekend records.
Addicted To Love ended up with $34.6m at the Us box office. It would eke out a small profit.
June - Batman & Robin
And this is when the alarm bells started to ring very, very loudly. Summer 1997 was supposed to be about a trio of sure-fire hit sequels: Batman 4, Jurassic Park 2 and Speed 2. Only one of those would ultimately bring home the box office bacon, the others being destroyed by critics, and ultimately leaving far more empty seats than anticipated in multiplexes.
Batman & Robin, it’s easy to forget, came off the back of 1995’s Joel Schumacher-steered Batman reboot, Batman Forever that year's biggest movie). It had one of the fastest-growing stars in the world in the Batsuit (George Clooney), and the McDonald’s deals were signed even before the script was typed up. You don’t need us to tell you that you could tell, something of a theme already in Warner Bros' summer of '97.
That said, Batman & Robin still gave Warner Bros a big opening, but in the infancy of the internet as we know it, poisonous word of mouth was already beginning to spread. The film’s negative cost Warner Bros up to $140m, before marketing and distribution costs, and it opened in the Us to a hardly-sniffy $42m of business (although that was down from previous Batman movies).
But that word of mouth still accelerated its departure from cinemas. It was then very rare for a film to make over 40% of its Us gross in its first weekend. But that’s just what Batman & Robin did, taking $107.3m in America, part of a worldwide total of $238.2m. This was the worst return for a Batman movie to date, and Warner Bros had to swiftly put the brakes on plans to get Batman Triumphant moving.
It would be eight years until Batman returned to the big screen, in Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins. Warner Bros would undergo big changes in the intervening period.
As for the immediate aftermath of Batman & Robin? Warner Bros co-chief Robert Daly would note at the end of '97 that “we’d have been better off with more action in the picture. The movie had to service too many characters”, adding that “the next Batman we do, in three years – and we have a deal with George Clooney to do it – will have one villain”.
Fortunately, Warner Bros’ one solid hit of the summer was just around the corner…
July - Contact
And breathe out.
Warner Bros bet heavily again on expensive talent here, with Robert Zemeckis bringing his adaptation of Carl Sagan’s Contact to the studio for his first film post-Forrest Gump. Warner Bros duly footed the $90m bill (back when that was still seen as a lot of money for a movie), a good chunk of which went to Jodie Foster. It invested heavily in special effects, and gave Zemeckis licence to make the film that he wanted.
The studio was rewarded with the most intelligent and arguably the best blockbuster of the summer. I’ve looked back at Contact in a lot more detail here, and it remains a fascinating film that’s stood the test of time (and arguably influenced Christopher Nolan’s more recent Interstellar).
Reviews were strong, it looked terrific, and the initial box office was good.
But then the problem hit. For whilst Contact was a solid hit for Warner Bros, it wasn’t a massively profitable one. Had Father’s Day and Batman & Robin shouldered the box office load there were supposed to, it perhaps wouldn’t have been a problem. But when they failed to take off, the pressure shifted to Contact.
The movie would gross $100.9m in the Us, and add another $70m overseas (this being an era were international box office rarely had the importance it has today). But once Warner Bros had paid its bills, there wasn’t a fat lot over for itself. Fortunately, the film still sells on disc and on-demand. Yet it wasn’t to be the massive hit the studio needed back in 1997.
July - One Eight Seven
From director Kevin Reynolds, the man who helmed Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves and Waterworld, came modestly-priced drama 187, starring Samuel L Jackson (in a strong performance). Warner Bros wouldn’t have had massive box office expectations for the film (although it can't have been unaware that the inspirational teacher sub-genre was always worth a few quid), and it shared production duties on the $20m movie with Mel Gibson’s Icon Productions. But still, it would have had its eye on a modest success. What it got in return was red ink.
The film’s not a bad one, and certainly worth seeking out. But poor reviews gave the film an uphill struggle from the off – smaller productions arriving mid-summer really needed critics on their side, as they arguably still do – and it opened to just $2.2m of business (the less edgy, Michelle Pfeiffer-headlined school drama Dangerous Minds had been a surprise hit not two years before).
By the time its run was done, 187 hadn’t even come close to covering its production costs, with just under $6m banked.
Warner Bros’ summer slate was running out of films. But at least it had one of its most reliable movie stars around the corner…
August - Conspiracy Theory
What could go wrong? Mel Gibson and Julia Roberts were two of the biggest movie stars in the world in 1997, at a time when movie stars still equated to box office gold. Director Richard Donner, one of Warner Bros’ favourite directors, had delivered the Lethal Weapons, Maverick, Superman, The Goonies and more for the studio. Put them altogether, with Patrick Stewart (coming to wider public consciousness at the time off the back of his Star Trek: The Next Generation work) as a villain, and it should have been a big hit.
Conspiracy Theory proved to be one of the more ambitious summer blockbusters of the era. It lacks a good first act, which would be really useful in actually setting up more of what’s going on. But Gibson played an edgy cab driver who believes in deep government conspiracies, and finds himself getting closer to the truth than those around him sometimes give him credit for.
Warner Bros was probably expecting another Lethal Weapon with the reunion of Gibson (who had to be persuaded to take Conspiracy Theory on) and Donner (it’s pretty much what it got with the hugely enjoyable Maverick a few years’ earlier), but instead it got a darker drama, with an uneasy central character that didn’t exactly play to the summer box office crowd.
The bigger problem, though, was that the film never quite worked as well as you might hope. Yet star power did have advantages. While no juggernaut, the film did decent business, grossing $137m worldwide off the back of an $80m budget ($40m of which was spent on the salaries for the talent before a single roll of film was loaded into a camera). That said, in the Us it knocked a genuine smash hit, Air Force One, off the top spot. Mind you in hindsight, that was probably the film that the studio wished it had made (the cockpit set of Warner Bros' own Executive Decision was repurposed for Air Force One, fact fans).
Still: Warner Bros did get Lethal Weapon 4 off Gibson and Donner a year later…
August - Free Willy 3: The Rescue
Yeah.
Warner Bros opened its third Free Willy film on the same day as Conspiracy Theory (can you imagine a studio opening two big films on the same day now), but it was clear that this was a franchise long past its best days (and its best days hardly bring back the fondest of memories).
Still, Free Willy movies were relatively modest in cost to put together, and Warner Bros presumably felt this was a simple cashpoint project. But in a year when lots of family movies did less business than expected (Disney’s Hercules, Fox’s Home Alone 3, Disney’s Mr Magoo), Free Willy 3 barely troubled the box office. It took in just over $3m in total, and Willy would not be seen on the inside of a cinema again.
August - Steel
Not much was expected from Steel, a superhero movie headlined by Shaquille O’Neal. Which was fortunate, because not much was had.
It had a mid-August release date in the Us, at a point when a mid-August release date was more of a dumping ground than anything else. And even though the budget was set at a relatively low $16m, the film – and it’s an overused time – pretty much bombed. It took $1.7m at the Us box office, and given that its appeal hinged on a major American sports star whose fame hardly transcended the globe, its international takings did not save it (it went straight to video in many territories).
It was a miserable end to what, for warner bros, had been a thoroughly miserable summer.
So what did hit big in summer 1997?
Summer 1997 was infamous for big films failing to take off in the way that had been expected – Hercules, Speed 2, and the aforementioned Warner Bros movies – but there were several bright spots. The big winner would be Barry Sonnenfeld’s light and sprightly sci-fi comedy Men In Black, starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones. Star power too helped score big hits for Harrison Ford (Air Force One), Julia Roberts (My Best Friend’s Wedding) and John Travolta (Face/Off).
This was also the summer that Nicolas Cage cemented his action movie credentials with Face/Off and Con Air. Crucially, though, the star movies that hit were the ones that veered on the side of 'good'. For the first of many years, the internet was blamed for this.
Oh, and later in the year, incidentally, Titanic would redefine just what constituted a box office hit...
What came next for Warner Bros?
In the rest of 1997, Warner Bros had a mix of projects that again enjoyed mixed fortunes. The standout was Curtis Hanson’s stunning adaptation of L.A. Confidential, that also proved to be a surprise box office success. The Devil’s Advocate didn’t do too badly either.
However, two of the studio’s key filmmakers failed to really deliver come the end of 1997. Clint Eastwood’s Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil failed to ignite (although many felt he was always on a hiding to nothing in trying to adapt that for the screen), and Kevin Costner’s The Postman would prove arguably the most expensive box office disappointment of the year. No wonder the studio rushed Lethal Weapon 4 into production for summer 1998. Oh, and it had The Avengers underway too (not that one), that would prove to be a 1998 disappointment.
The studio would eventually take action. The Daly-Semel management team, that had reigned for 15 years, would break up at the end of 1999, as its traditional way of doing business became less successful. The pair had already future projects that were director driven to an extent (Eyes Wide Shut), and it would still invest in movies with stars (Wild Wild West). But the immediate plan of action following the disappointment of summer 1997 – to get Batman 5 and Superman Lives made – would falter. It wouldn’t be until 1999’s The Matrix (a film that Daly and Semel struggled to get) and – crucially – 2001’s Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone that the studio would really get its swagger back...
Follow our Twitter feed for faster news and bad jokes right here. And be our Facebook chum here.
Movies Feature Simon Brew Warner Bros 16 Jun 2016 - 05:19 Conspiracy Theory Father's Day Addicted To Love Contact National Lampoon’s Vegas Vacation One Eight Seven Steel Batman & Robin Free Willy 3: The Rescue...
- 6/13/2016
- Den of Geek
The San Sebastian Festival is almost here and three new competing titles have recently joined those previously announced for the Official Selection. Chinese director Liu Hao returns to San Sebastian with "Back to the North," five years after competing in the Official Selection with "Addicted to Love;" the Belgian moviemaker Joachim Lafosse will present his new film, "The White Knights;" and Peter Sollett will bring to the Festival the film "Freeheld," starring Julianne Moore, Ellen Page, Michael Shannon, Josh Charles and Steve Carrell.
For its part, the New Directors section closes with inclusion of the Swedish production, directed by Peter Grönlund, "Thieves Honor."
Official Selection
"The White Knight" Joachim Lafosse (Belgium - France)
Joachim Lafosse brings to the screen the Zoe’s Ark controversy which made headlines in 2007: a story about the limits of the right of interference. Jacques Arnault, head of Sud Secours Ngo, is planning a high impact operation: he and his team are going to exfiltrate 300 orphans victims of Chadian civil war and bring them to French adoption applicants. Françoise Dubois, a journalist, is invited to come along with them and handle the media coverage for this operation. Completely immersed in the brutal reality of a country at war, the Ngo members start losing their convictions and are faced with the limits of humanitarian intervention.
"Freeheld" Peter Sollett (U.S.A)
Julianne Moore, Ellen Page, Michael Shannon, Steve Carrell and Josh Charles star in this film based on true events. The true love story of Laurel Hester and Stacie Andree and their fight for justice. A decorated New Jersey police detective, Laurel is diagnosed with cancer and wants to leave her hard earned pension to her domestic partner, Stacie. However the county officials, Freeholders, conspire to prevent Laurel from doing this. Hard-nosed detective Dane Wells, and activist Steven Goldstein, unite in Laurel and Stacie’s defence, rallying police officers and ordinary citizens to support their struggle for equality.
"Back to the North" Liu Hao (China)
Xiao Ai is diagnosed with a terminal illness and does not have long to live. She is concerned that her parents will become a "lost family" and have no one to take care of them after her death, so she decides to persuade them to have another child... The latest film by Liu Hao, who competed at San Sebastian in 2010 with "Addicted to Love."
New Directors
"Thieves Honor" Peter Grönlund (Sweden)
An intense social drama about a woman's struggle for survival on the margins of society. When street pusher Minna can't pay her rent she cheats a few young criminals on a drug deal and takes the money. She happens to meet Katja, the mother of a child who has been taken from her by the social authorities.
For its part, the New Directors section closes with inclusion of the Swedish production, directed by Peter Grönlund, "Thieves Honor."
Official Selection
"The White Knight" Joachim Lafosse (Belgium - France)
Joachim Lafosse brings to the screen the Zoe’s Ark controversy which made headlines in 2007: a story about the limits of the right of interference. Jacques Arnault, head of Sud Secours Ngo, is planning a high impact operation: he and his team are going to exfiltrate 300 orphans victims of Chadian civil war and bring them to French adoption applicants. Françoise Dubois, a journalist, is invited to come along with them and handle the media coverage for this operation. Completely immersed in the brutal reality of a country at war, the Ngo members start losing their convictions and are faced with the limits of humanitarian intervention.
"Freeheld" Peter Sollett (U.S.A)
Julianne Moore, Ellen Page, Michael Shannon, Steve Carrell and Josh Charles star in this film based on true events. The true love story of Laurel Hester and Stacie Andree and their fight for justice. A decorated New Jersey police detective, Laurel is diagnosed with cancer and wants to leave her hard earned pension to her domestic partner, Stacie. However the county officials, Freeholders, conspire to prevent Laurel from doing this. Hard-nosed detective Dane Wells, and activist Steven Goldstein, unite in Laurel and Stacie’s defence, rallying police officers and ordinary citizens to support their struggle for equality.
"Back to the North" Liu Hao (China)
Xiao Ai is diagnosed with a terminal illness and does not have long to live. She is concerned that her parents will become a "lost family" and have no one to take care of them after her death, so she decides to persuade them to have another child... The latest film by Liu Hao, who competed at San Sebastian in 2010 with "Addicted to Love."
New Directors
"Thieves Honor" Peter Grönlund (Sweden)
An intense social drama about a woman's struggle for survival on the margins of society. When street pusher Minna can't pay her rent she cheats a few young criminals on a drug deal and takes the money. She happens to meet Katja, the mother of a child who has been taken from her by the social authorities.
- 8/23/2015
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
New films by Liu Hao, Joachim Lafosse and Peter Sollett join line-up.
Peter Sollett’s Freeheld, starring Julianne Moore and Ellen Page, is one of three new titles to join the Official Selection competition at the upcoming San Sebastian Film Festival (Sept 18-26).
Based on true events, the film centres on Us police lieutenant Laurel Hester (Moore) and her registered domestic partner Stacie Andree (Page) who battle to secure Hester’s pension benefits when she is diagnosed with terminal cancer.
The film, set to world premiere at Toronto (Sept 10-20), is one of several features announced in Official Selection that will compete for San Sebastian’s Golden Shell.
Other new titles in competition include Back to the North (Xiang bei fang), which will see Chinese director Liu Hao return to Seb Sebastian five years after Addicted To Love played in Official Selection in 2010.
The film is about a woman diagnosed with a terminal illness who is concerned...
Peter Sollett’s Freeheld, starring Julianne Moore and Ellen Page, is one of three new titles to join the Official Selection competition at the upcoming San Sebastian Film Festival (Sept 18-26).
Based on true events, the film centres on Us police lieutenant Laurel Hester (Moore) and her registered domestic partner Stacie Andree (Page) who battle to secure Hester’s pension benefits when she is diagnosed with terminal cancer.
The film, set to world premiere at Toronto (Sept 10-20), is one of several features announced in Official Selection that will compete for San Sebastian’s Golden Shell.
Other new titles in competition include Back to the North (Xiang bei fang), which will see Chinese director Liu Hao return to Seb Sebastian five years after Addicted To Love played in Official Selection in 2010.
The film is about a woman diagnosed with a terminal illness who is concerned...
- 8/18/2015
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
UKTV ratings roundup - data supplied by Barb
BBC One's Ripper Street lost roughly 600k viewers this week, as a reduced audience of 2.74 million (14%) tuned in to watch the Victorian crime thriller.
Down from last week's 3.38 million average, Ripper Street was behind The One Show as Friday's highest-rated programme outside of soaps.
The One Show was seen by an average audience of 3.22 million (18.5%) at 7pm, while A Question of Sport followed with 2.32 million (12.1%).
BBC One's evening continued with 2.55 million (12.1%) for Would I Lie to You? at 8.30pm and ended with 1.46 million (11%) for Mountain Goats at 10.45pm.
Over on ITV, Gino's Italian Escape: A Taste of the Sun was seen by 2.17 million (11%) on ITV at 8pm, while BBQ Champ attracted an average audience of 1.43 million (7.3%) at 9pm.
Unsurprisingly, The Great British Bake Off: Extra Slice was BBC Two's highest-rated show with 2.31 million (11.6%) at 9pm.
Earlier in the evening,...
BBC One's Ripper Street lost roughly 600k viewers this week, as a reduced audience of 2.74 million (14%) tuned in to watch the Victorian crime thriller.
Down from last week's 3.38 million average, Ripper Street was behind The One Show as Friday's highest-rated programme outside of soaps.
The One Show was seen by an average audience of 3.22 million (18.5%) at 7pm, while A Question of Sport followed with 2.32 million (12.1%).
BBC One's evening continued with 2.55 million (12.1%) for Would I Lie to You? at 8.30pm and ended with 1.46 million (11%) for Mountain Goats at 10.45pm.
Over on ITV, Gino's Italian Escape: A Taste of the Sun was seen by 2.17 million (11%) on ITV at 8pm, while BBQ Champ attracted an average audience of 1.43 million (7.3%) at 9pm.
Unsurprisingly, The Great British Bake Off: Extra Slice was BBC Two's highest-rated show with 2.31 million (11.6%) at 9pm.
Earlier in the evening,...
- 8/15/2015
- Digital Spy
The only thing trailers love to use more than the "Inception" Braaaahm! is a moody, slowed-down cover of a popular song.
"Suicide Squad" is the latest trailer to take advantage of this trend, with its version of the Bee Gees' "I Started a Joke." Here are 13 more movie previews that make good use of great covers.
1. "Creep" in "The Social Network" (2010)
Arguably the trailer that started this trend, this preview uses a children's choir cover of Radiohead's song perfectly -- making us want to buy All the tickets to see the Facebook movie.
2. "Happy Together" in "The Great Gatsby" (2013)
Remember Filter? Lots of drives to high school were scored to this band, but Baz Luhrmann may have found an even better use for their vocal stylings in this kinda badass trailer for his 2013 film.
3. "Once Upon a Dream" in "Maleficent" (2014)
Covering a song from "Sleeping Beauty" in your movie based on that film's villain?...
"Suicide Squad" is the latest trailer to take advantage of this trend, with its version of the Bee Gees' "I Started a Joke." Here are 13 more movie previews that make good use of great covers.
1. "Creep" in "The Social Network" (2010)
Arguably the trailer that started this trend, this preview uses a children's choir cover of Radiohead's song perfectly -- making us want to buy All the tickets to see the Facebook movie.
2. "Happy Together" in "The Great Gatsby" (2013)
Remember Filter? Lots of drives to high school were scored to this band, but Baz Luhrmann may have found an even better use for their vocal stylings in this kinda badass trailer for his 2013 film.
3. "Once Upon a Dream" in "Maleficent" (2014)
Covering a song from "Sleeping Beauty" in your movie based on that film's villain?...
- 7/14/2015
- by Phil Pirrello
- Moviefone
Remember the first ever Love Island with its seemingly clueless single celebrities constantly bickering on a tumultuous and stormy (literally and metaphorically) Fijian island?
Even the show's co-hosts Kelly Brook and Patrick Kielty were baying for one another's blood when Kielty decided to declare during one live show that Brook had previously dated contestant Paul Danan.
Other memorable highlights included Abi Titmuss becoming more and more enraged as Fran Cosgrave repeatedly referred to her as Vanessa Feltz, swiftly followed by a tipsy and uncouth Rebecca Loos letting rip.
The series aired almost exactly a decade ago, so we found ourselves wondering - whatever happened to eventual winner Jayne Middlemiss? And the Love Island love god that was Lee Sharpe?
As the new non-celebrity series currently enjoys its ITV2 revival, we find out what the 12 star contestants have gone on to do since their 2005 stint below:
Jayne Middlemiss
Love Island winner...
Even the show's co-hosts Kelly Brook and Patrick Kielty were baying for one another's blood when Kielty decided to declare during one live show that Brook had previously dated contestant Paul Danan.
Other memorable highlights included Abi Titmuss becoming more and more enraged as Fran Cosgrave repeatedly referred to her as Vanessa Feltz, swiftly followed by a tipsy and uncouth Rebecca Loos letting rip.
The series aired almost exactly a decade ago, so we found ourselves wondering - whatever happened to eventual winner Jayne Middlemiss? And the Love Island love god that was Lee Sharpe?
As the new non-celebrity series currently enjoys its ITV2 revival, we find out what the 12 star contestants have gone on to do since their 2005 stint below:
Jayne Middlemiss
Love Island winner...
- 6/10/2015
- Digital Spy
Picture it: Germany, 1989. (Yes, the first four words of this American Idol recap are inspired by The Golden Girls‘ incomparable Sophia Petrillo.)
Knight Rider star David Hasselhoff is performing a partial striptease in the one country that’s embraced his pop-star aspirations as warmly as they’ve accepted sauerkraut and spätzle on their dinner tables. He’s shaking what his mama gave him and belting some of the decade’s biggest hits: “Walking on Sunshine.” “Crazy Little Thing Called Love.” “Let’s Dance.”
RelatedAmerican Idol Grad Chris Daughtry Lands Recurring Role in Fox’s Studio City Pilot
Except, hold up,...
Knight Rider star David Hasselhoff is performing a partial striptease in the one country that’s embraced his pop-star aspirations as warmly as they’ve accepted sauerkraut and spätzle on their dinner tables. He’s shaking what his mama gave him and belting some of the decade’s biggest hits: “Walking on Sunshine.” “Crazy Little Thing Called Love.” “Let’s Dance.”
RelatedAmerican Idol Grad Chris Daughtry Lands Recurring Role in Fox’s Studio City Pilot
Except, hold up,...
- 3/26/2015
- TVLine.com
We're only two weeks into this season's "American Idol" Finals and The Save is gone. The "Idol" judges opted to Save Qaasim Middleton last week. Were they protecting the entertainment factor that Qaasim brings to the show? Were they rewarding Qaasim for bringing energy to an episode that had lacked energy? Were they recognizing that America's voting has, thus far, been wonky as heck this season? Either way, Wednesday's (March 25) episode of "American Idol" is going to be a double-elimination episode, meaning that there are 11 remaining contestants, but presumably only nine are going to sing. This will change the entire architecture of the episode. Plus, Fox is boasting an appearance by Salt and/or Peppa, following last week's big Kenny Loggins appearance. Whee! 8:01 p.m. I think Nick Fradiani should have been the '80s Night mentor, since I'm pretty sure he's the only contestant this season who existed way back then.
- 3/25/2015
- by Daniel Fienberg
- Hitfix
File this one under Things You Never Expected to Hear Carson Daly Utter on The Voice: “You know what? America has to pee. America, go pee and we’ll be right back with Pharrell’s decision!”
Sorry, Carson, but there’s no excuse for that kind of targeted tinkle tirade — unless, of course, you’re about to embark on a road-trip with a toddler in tow.
RelatedCancellation Anxiety: 9 Shows You Should Probably Start Worrying About
Then again, it did take Pharrell Williams a ridiculous amount of time to call a winner in Monday’s toughest Battle Rounds matchup — the...
Sorry, Carson, but there’s no excuse for that kind of targeted tinkle tirade — unless, of course, you’re about to embark on a road-trip with a toddler in tow.
RelatedCancellation Anxiety: 9 Shows You Should Probably Start Worrying About
Then again, it did take Pharrell Williams a ridiculous amount of time to call a winner in Monday’s toughest Battle Rounds matchup — the...
- 3/17/2015
- TVLine.com
[Youtube "u1_9EbxXnlI&list=PLlYqpJ9JE-J8EARbJH-1UxPLo-Z5_gQbW"] Chris Jamison didn't take the easy route to the Top 5 on The Voice, fighting his way into the semifinals last week after earning four-chair turns in the show's blind auditions. But the Pittsburgh pop singer claimed his space with some sexy force Monday, stepping up for Team Adam Levine with his trademark falsetto to look every inch the polished pop star. Move over, Justin Timberlake! First, Jamison showed off heightened style and confidence as he performed his song choice, Maroon 5's next single, "Sugar," alongside a groovy line of Daisy Duke-clad backup players. As Jamison strutted confidently, his cherry-lipped...
- 12/9/2014
- by Andrea Billups, @princessmouse
- PEOPLE.com
Shailene Woodley is experienced at losing her virginity — on-screen that is.
In the latest issue of GQ, the 23-year-old actress recounts five different scenes — The Secret Life of the American Teenager, Fault in Our Stars, Divergent, White Bird in a Blizzard, and The Spectacular Now — during which she had to get intimate with co-stars, including Ansel Elgort and Miles Teller.
News: Shailene Woodley Says Her Armpits Turn Theo James On
When asked who was superior man of the two stars to lose her virginity to, Woodley plays coy by saying that both were "different." Though, Woodley eventually reveals that Ansel wore a "really awful-smelling deodorant."
"Ansel smells more pheromone-y and Miles smells more—is delicious an appropriate word to say for a man?" she offers. Noted: Teller smells delicious.
News: Shailene Woodley Defends On Screen Nudity
While the entire interview wasn't all sex talk, the self-proclaimed "hippie" did glam things up for the Men of the Year...
In the latest issue of GQ, the 23-year-old actress recounts five different scenes — The Secret Life of the American Teenager, Fault in Our Stars, Divergent, White Bird in a Blizzard, and The Spectacular Now — during which she had to get intimate with co-stars, including Ansel Elgort and Miles Teller.
News: Shailene Woodley Says Her Armpits Turn Theo James On
When asked who was superior man of the two stars to lose her virginity to, Woodley plays coy by saying that both were "different." Though, Woodley eventually reveals that Ansel wore a "really awful-smelling deodorant."
"Ansel smells more pheromone-y and Miles smells more—is delicious an appropriate word to say for a man?" she offers. Noted: Teller smells delicious.
News: Shailene Woodley Defends On Screen Nudity
While the entire interview wasn't all sex talk, the self-proclaimed "hippie" did glam things up for the Men of the Year...
- 11/19/2014
- Entertainment Tonight
It doesn't feel like a week has passed since One Direction Overload Generation and Blonde Electra said their goodbyes, but it's time for two more solid hours of Saturday night-in entertainment with The X Factor.
The remaining 14 acts will sing their hearts out to earn the praise of the judges Simon Cowell, Cheryl Fernandez-Versini, Mel B and Louis Walsh, as well as the millions watching at home, complete with five free votes each should they wish.
Join Digital Spy from 8pm as we settle down for the night for the inevitable judge fisticuffs, impressive high notes and dodgy boyband hand movements.
22:20That's your lot, guys and girls! Thanks for joining along in the fun - hope you enjoyed it - see you back tomorrow night to find out who must leave the competiton.
22:19So tomorrow we have Jessie J and Maroon 5. Yay?
22:16Fleur also gave a great performance.
The remaining 14 acts will sing their hearts out to earn the praise of the judges Simon Cowell, Cheryl Fernandez-Versini, Mel B and Louis Walsh, as well as the millions watching at home, complete with five free votes each should they wish.
Join Digital Spy from 8pm as we settle down for the night for the inevitable judge fisticuffs, impressive high notes and dodgy boyband hand movements.
22:20That's your lot, guys and girls! Thanks for joining along in the fun - hope you enjoyed it - see you back tomorrow night to find out who must leave the competiton.
22:19So tomorrow we have Jessie J and Maroon 5. Yay?
22:16Fleur also gave a great performance.
- 10/18/2014
- Digital Spy
Next week's (October 18) X Factor Live Show will have an '80s theme.
It was announced at the end of tonight's results show that the remaining 14 acts will be singing songs of the '80s.
Jessie J and Maroon 5 will also be providing live performances during Sunday's (October 19) live results show.
During tonight's ITV2 show, Xtra Factor host Sarah-Jane Crawford revealed a few provisional song choices that will feature in the '80s-themed week.
Stevi Ritchie will be performing rock song 'Addicted to Love' by Robert Palmer, while Only the Young will sing 'The Power of Love' by Huey Lewis, Jake Quickenden will cover Bonnie Tyler's 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' and Chloe Jasmine will sing 'Call Me' by Blondie.
Blonde Electra and Overload Generation were the first two acts to be eliminated from the competition during the first round of X Factor live shows.
The X Factor...
It was announced at the end of tonight's results show that the remaining 14 acts will be singing songs of the '80s.
Jessie J and Maroon 5 will also be providing live performances during Sunday's (October 19) live results show.
During tonight's ITV2 show, Xtra Factor host Sarah-Jane Crawford revealed a few provisional song choices that will feature in the '80s-themed week.
Stevi Ritchie will be performing rock song 'Addicted to Love' by Robert Palmer, while Only the Young will sing 'The Power of Love' by Huey Lewis, Jake Quickenden will cover Bonnie Tyler's 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' and Chloe Jasmine will sing 'Call Me' by Blondie.
Blonde Electra and Overload Generation were the first two acts to be eliminated from the competition during the first round of X Factor live shows.
The X Factor...
- 10/12/2014
- Digital Spy
Imagine Anne Hathaway, Kristen Stewart and Brie Larson as guys - in '70s-inspired Adidas tracksuits, flat-bill ball caps and gristly porn-staches, as they breakdance in all-white suits. A modern nod to Robert Palmer's "Addicted to Love" video, perhaps? Not quite, but why the disguises? It's for Jenny Lewis's new video for her song "Just One of the Guys." As for Lewis's outfit, she dons a teal tracksuit and scraggly beard. Her video, which debuted on British GQ Tuesday morning, pulls heavily from the androgynous undertones of the indie darling's upcoming album, The Voyager, to be released in its...
- 7/15/2014
- by Katherine Foreman
- PEOPLE.com
Imagine Anne Hathaway, Kristen Stewart and Brie Larson as guys - in '70s-inspired Adidas tracksuits, flat-bill ball caps and gristly porn-staches, as they breakdance in all-white suits. A modern nod to Robert Palmer's "Addicted To Love" video, perhaps? Not quite, but why the disguises? It's for Jenny Lewis's new video her song "Just One of the Guys." As for Lewis's outfit, she dons a teal tracksuit and scraggly beard Her video, which debuted on British GQ Tuesday morning, pulls heavily from the androgynous undertones of the indie darling's upcoming album, The Voyager, to be released in its entirety July 29. As described by GQ,...
- 7/15/2014
- by Katherine Foreman
- PEOPLE.com
Greetings readers! I don’t believe we’ve been formally introduced. I’m Dana Piccoli from AfterEllen and I’m stepping in for Heather Hogan for the rest of Glee’s Season Five recaps. I hope I can do her and all of you justice. Now on with the show.
There’s nothing like starting off a Glee episode with a WWII military style Std hygiene film. Frankly, I’m not sure why they haven’t gone this route before. Not unlike “punching Lady Liberty in the face” this opener sets us up for good times ahead. Stand up and clap, everyone. No, not that kind of clap. Well, we’ll get to that soon enough. Sam, Kurt, Blaine and Artie do look awful adorable in their sailor costumes as they run through the possible side effects of venereal diseases, like burning itches and jaunty hats.
The segue from syphilis...
There’s nothing like starting off a Glee episode with a WWII military style Std hygiene film. Frankly, I’m not sure why they haven’t gone this route before. Not unlike “punching Lady Liberty in the face” this opener sets us up for good times ahead. Stand up and clap, everyone. No, not that kind of clap. Well, we’ll get to that soon enough. Sam, Kurt, Blaine and Artie do look awful adorable in their sailor costumes as they run through the possible side effects of venereal diseases, like burning itches and jaunty hats.
The segue from syphilis...
- 4/16/2014
- by Dana Piccoli
- The Backlot
As a horror fan, the word “remake” digs up mixed emotions, but as a fan of all cinema, one has to question the merits behind remaking a romantic film. Aren’t they all essentially just remakes anyway? People fall in love, some obstacle gets in the way, hearts are broken, said hearts are then mended and *usually* everyone lives happily ever after – don’t see much deviation except the who, when, and where – but a straight remake? Thankfully, Endless Love strays extremely far from Franco Zeffirelli’s original film, as similarities boil down to character names, a tale of forbidden fruits, and one chance encounter with a raging fire. No one can stop the unbreakable bonds of true love, not even an irrational father with a restraining order – Love Knows No Laws!
Jade Butterfield (Gabriella Wilde) lived her high school days mourning the loss of her brother, sticking close to...
Jade Butterfield (Gabriella Wilde) lived her high school days mourning the loss of her brother, sticking close to...
- 2/13/2014
- by Matt Donato
- We Got This Covered
This coming Valentine's Day sees the release of "Endless Love," a remake of the 1981 Brooke Shields film, that's available to view for free on SnagFilms. The Franco Zeffirelli-directed 1981 "Endless Love," although a box office success, received six Razzie nominations (and funnily enough, an Oscar nomination for its title song by Lionel Richie). Whether the 2014 version, starring Alex Pettyfer, will follow in the same vein, well, we'll see. In the trailer for the remake, we are introduced to David and Jade, two drop-dead gorgeous lovers who embark on an impassioned relationship despite interferences from Jade's meddling parents. We are given intercut scenes of love-making, swimming pool footsie and daddy yelling -- all to a sexy cover of Robert Palmer's "Addicted to Love" by Florence + The Machine. Directed and written by Shana Feste ("Country Song"), "Endless Love" promises intrigue, really good beach bodies and steam--the perfect Valentine's Day flick. Before catching the new.
- 2/7/2014
- by Eric Eidelstein
- Indiewire
Admit it: You're still hung up on "The X Factor" winners Alex and Sierra and how truly great they became over the course of the Fox reality competition's third season. The show might not be the best, but the Florida duo is the best winner to come out of a singing competition show in years.
While they're headed to Los Angeles after the new year to record their debut album -- they won a $1 million Sony recording contract as their prize -- we can't wait that long to listen to them! So until then, Zap2it has compiled videos of their each and every "X Factor" performance to tide you over until you can buy a full disc. (You can buy most of their singles on iTunes now.)
Audition round: "Toxic," Britney Spears
Four Chair Challenge: "You're the One That I Want," John Travolta and Olivia Newton John
Live Show No.
While they're headed to Los Angeles after the new year to record their debut album -- they won a $1 million Sony recording contract as their prize -- we can't wait that long to listen to them! So until then, Zap2it has compiled videos of their each and every "X Factor" performance to tide you over until you can buy a full disc. (You can buy most of their singles on iTunes now.)
Audition round: "Toxic," Britney Spears
Four Chair Challenge: "You're the One That I Want," John Travolta and Olivia Newton John
Live Show No.
- 12/28/2013
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Zap2It - From Inside the Box
Welcome back to another recap of The X Factor! Or as Paulina Rubio likes to call it, “Where am I? Who am I? And why is there a camera in my face?”
Too mean? Oh well. I mean, yeah, PowPow (as I affectionately think of her) managed to correctly identify all three of her contestants tonight for the first time, but her total butchey of the universally recognized moniker “Mick Jagger” (aka “Meek Yaggar!”) means she’ll continue to play the role of human piñata in this recap zone. (Side note: Why is nothing in my apartment filled with Candy?...
Too mean? Oh well. I mean, yeah, PowPow (as I affectionately think of her) managed to correctly identify all three of her contestants tonight for the first time, but her total butchey of the universally recognized moniker “Mick Jagger” (aka “Meek Yaggar!”) means she’ll continue to play the role of human piñata in this recap zone. (Side note: Why is nothing in my apartment filled with Candy?...
- 11/21/2013
- by Michael Slezak
- TVLine.com
Chug, chug, chug. The X Factor keeps lurching along despite an embarrassing voting glitch and record-low ratings. And it's doubtful its lackluster, borderline unwatchable Eighties night will help matters.
After last week's clusterfuck that saw all of America's votes thrown out on the very first night viewers had their say, it's hard to feel invested. And since the show had to scrap last week's elimination in favor of a do-over, they unceremoniously tossed Boys category member Carlos Guevara at the beginning of this week's show. (What gives with not bringing...
After last week's clusterfuck that saw all of America's votes thrown out on the very first night viewers had their say, it's hard to feel invested. And since the show had to scrap last week's elimination in favor of a do-over, they unceremoniously tossed Boys category member Carlos Guevara at the beginning of this week's show. (What gives with not bringing...
- 11/14/2013
- Rollingstone.com
The top 12 contestants on the ‘X Factor’ brought us back to the ’80s tonight — big hair included — and one act was eliminated! Keep reading for all the details.
Proving that the ’80s are always in style, The X Factor‘s final 12 contestants channeled Madonna, Pat Benatar and more on the competition show’s Nov. 13 episode. Read on for HollywoodLife.com‘s take on the evening, including our favorite acts!
‘The X Factor’: Top 12 Perform ’80s Hits
Tonight’s show started on a sad note, when Carlos Guevara got voted off! Last week, he performed “What’s Going On,” and it left the judges asking themselves that very same question. “I thought it was cool for your voice,” Kelly Rowland told him, “but you could have done better.” That was our signal that he would be the first to go!
Lillie McCloud (one of our favorites) is a great way to get the party started,...
Proving that the ’80s are always in style, The X Factor‘s final 12 contestants channeled Madonna, Pat Benatar and more on the competition show’s Nov. 13 episode. Read on for HollywoodLife.com‘s take on the evening, including our favorite acts!
‘The X Factor’: Top 12 Perform ’80s Hits
Tonight’s show started on a sad note, when Carlos Guevara got voted off! Last week, he performed “What’s Going On,” and it left the judges asking themselves that very same question. “I thought it was cool for your voice,” Kelly Rowland told him, “but you could have done better.” That was our signal that he would be the first to go!
Lillie McCloud (one of our favorites) is a great way to get the party started,...
- 11/14/2013
- by Ivy Jacobson
- HollywoodLife
The X Factor was all about big hair and even bigger results Wednesday night.
Carlos Guevara was the first Top 13 contestant to be eliminated as the show kicked off by announcing results after last week's technical glitch nullified the voting.
Then it was back to the '80s, as the contestants took on songs from the era of Madonna's fingerless-gloved heyday.
Lillie McCloud, 54, who kicked off the night with Chaka Khan's "Ain't Nobody," impressed judges by making the song current and prompted Simon Cowell to ask, "You're a naughty little thing, aren't you?"
Carlito Olivero, 24, sang "Rhythm Is Gonna Get You,...
Carlos Guevara was the first Top 13 contestant to be eliminated as the show kicked off by announcing results after last week's technical glitch nullified the voting.
Then it was back to the '80s, as the contestants took on songs from the era of Madonna's fingerless-gloved heyday.
Lillie McCloud, 54, who kicked off the night with Chaka Khan's "Ain't Nobody," impressed judges by making the song current and prompted Simon Cowell to ask, "You're a naughty little thing, aren't you?"
Carlito Olivero, 24, sang "Rhythm Is Gonna Get You,...
- 11/14/2013
- by Wade Rouse
- People.com - TV Watch
The X Factor was all about big hair and even bigger results Wednesday night. Carlos Guevara was the first Top 13 contestant to be eliminated as the show kicked off by announcing results after last week's technical glitch nullified the voting. Then it was back to the '80s, as the contestants took on songs from the era of Madonna's fingerless-gloved heyday. Lillie McCloud, 54, who kicked off the night with Chaka Khan's "Ain't Nobody," impressed judges by making the song current and prompted Simon Cowell to ask, "You're a naughty little thing, aren't you?" Carlito Olivero, 24, sang "Rhythm Is Gonna Get You,...
- 11/14/2013
- by Wade Rouse
- PEOPLE.com
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