Showing posts with label Variety. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Variety. Show all posts

Monday, January 11, 2021

And Just Like That...

Revival!
l-r
Cynthia Nixon, Kristin Davis & Sarah Jessica Parker 

In case you haven't heard HBO Max is reviving Sex and the City for 10 episodes with the title And Just Like That...

While I do enjoy reruns of the original show I'm not really sure about this, considering the first SATC movie was merely OK, and the second movie was downright awful. Also Kim Cattrall will not be returning as Samantha, she was my favorite character on the show.

This is a "we shall wait and see" type of proposition. While I am not going to outright dismiss it, I am very skeptical moving forward.

Caution, is today's secret word...

For more 411 on the revival, click on the link to the Variety article below!

https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/sex-and-the-city-reboot-hbo-max-1234882219/ 

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Just Because....I Called It

Love Me Tender
Austin Butler & Vanessa Hudgens

Just Because they are a cute couple, Just Because they are in my hood & Just Because I called it (we'll get to that in a moment) Here are Austin Butler & Vanessa Hudgens!

Aren't they cute out and about in Los Feliz (part of my immediate hood)? Aren't they cute I said, no answer me and answer me now!!! OK, have it your way.

What's that, oh yeah the I called it part of the "Just Because" - Well remember when I ran a piece on the actors in contention to play Elvis in Baz Luhrmann's upcoming biopic and Austin was one of them? Fine if you don't remember but you missed out. Why? Because I said Austin would (and did) land the role of Elvis Presley.

My reason was, while I am sure all the guys in the running were talented enough Austin bore the most physical resemblance to the late Rock-N-Roll legend. 

"Yes" I missed my calling I should have been a casting director.

Just Because I am a smarty pants have a groovy day!

Austin's casting announcement via Variety 
https://variety.com/2019/film/news/austin-butler-baz-luhrmann-elvis-biopic-1203257957/

Sunday, October 14, 2018

Just Because...Trio

Threesome
l-r
Gina Rodriguez, Natalie Portman & George Clooney 
Just Because he looks so rejuvenated, Just Because she looks great without make-up & Just Because she always looks smashing - I hereby bring to you the trio of Gina Rodriguez, Natalie Portman & George Clooney.

This is what happens when you get a virgin named Jane, Jackie O and a former womanizer in the same vicinity. It's called a fantastic photo-op.

So what brought these strange bedfellows together? Rama lama lama ka dinga da dinga dong - naturally.

Oh, OK it was actually Variety's Power of Women event in Beverly Hills, CA

Now aren't you happy? Seriously, I am.

Go Just Because something. Do it and do it now!

Gina on IG -
https://www.instagram.com/hereisgina/?hl=en

Natalie on IG -
https://www.instagram.com/natalieportman/?hl=en

George on IMDb -
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000123/ 

Saturday, September 1, 2018

A Star Is Born

With Stars In Their Eyes
Bradley Cooper & Lady Gaga
OK, a star really hasn't been born, more like rebooted, Lady Gaga 3.0, or is it 4.0? Anyone?

While the initial trailer online for this opus was, to me a neutral affair, the reviews from the Venice Film Festival have been anything but. 

Everyone is going gonzo for Gaga & Bradley Cooper in what is the 4th take on a timeless theme and film. 

Here are some quotes from those in the know who have seen it at the Fest -

Owen Gleiberman, Variety:
"A Star Is Born is that thing we always yearn for but so rarely get to see: a transcendent Hollywood movie."
 Stephanie Zacharek, Time:
"Cooper’s version proves there’s always a way to freshen up old material."
 Peter Bradshaw, the Guardian:
"He appears opposite a sensationally good Lady Gaga, whose ability to be part ordinary person, part extraterrestrial celebrity empress functions at the highest level at all times… Cooper is arguably prettier than Lady Gaga, but she is the one who commands your attention: that sharp, quizzical, leonine, mesmeric face—an uningratiating face, very different from the wide-eyed openness of Streisand or Garland."
With the film opening October 5th, Warner Brothers suits obviously knew it was going to get good reviews. Thus they showed it out of competition the Venice Film Festival to create buzz.

You'd better work!

A Star Is Born on IMDB:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1517451/  

Wednesday, October 25, 2017

Dolly Visits Oz

Follow The Local Listing Road
Dolly Parton & Dr. Oz

We're off to see the Dr, the wonderful Dr. of Oz!
International country superstar Dolly Parton continues her media blitz to promote her first children's album, I Believe In You, as she open up on a special appearance on Dr. Oz this Thursday. Click HERE for local listings.

Parton will cover a variety of topics with Oz, including segments about Mountain Medicine and her personal struggle with kidney stones. In addition, the episode will cover the special visit Parton and Dr. Oz recently made to the Vanderbilt Children's hospital.

The visit was a personal one for Parton, who recently donated 1 million dollars to the hospital, because her niece Hannah underwent successful chemo there. The struggles her niece faced inspired multiple songs on her new children’s album I Believe In You, including “Chemo Hero” and “Brave Little Soldier.” You can order the album, HERE.

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON DOLLY PARTON, VISIT: www.dollyparton.com

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Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Janis Joplin Rules!


"FIERCELY BRILLIANT!" 
-Guy Lodge, Variety

"ENTHRALLING!" 
                                                 -Stephen Holden, New York Times (Critics' Pick)
 
This is going to date me...one of my first cassette tapes was Janis Joplin's Greatest Hits. Which of course lead to Pearl and others. They don't make em' like they used to. I mean the rock stars, not the cassette tapes.

The critically acclaimed, box office smash Janis: Little Girl Blue is coming to DVD on May 6th viaBrooklyn-based film and TV distributor FilmRise. MVD Entertainment Group will distribute the film with exclusive, never-before-seen bonus features.
 
Directed and written by Academy Award®-nominated documentarian Amy Berg ("Deliver Us From Evil," "West of Memphis") and produced by Academy Award®-winner Alex Gibney ("Taxi to the Dark Side," "Going Clear"), Janis: Little Girl Blue is an intimate portrait of the iconic but troubled rock 'n' roll singer Janis Joplin. FilmRise released the film in theaters in Fall 2015 to rave reviews, and it wowed audiences in over 100 cities across the country with electrifying archival footage, exclusive interviews with friends and family, and rare personal letters from the iconic rocker herself. The film features musicians Pink, Kris Kristofferson, Melissa Etheridge, Juliette Lewis, and Bob Weir, TV presenter Dick Cavett, producer Clive Davis, counterculture filmmaker D.A. Pennebaker, and more.
 

The DVD will include bonus features such as an a capella performance from Janis's first band, Big Brother and the Holding Company; footage from Janis's posthumous Walk of Fame ceremony; a fascinating look at Janis's early venues, The Avalon and the Fillmore; and a rare interview with Chan Marshall aka Cat Power, who narrates Janis's letters in the film.
 
Janis Joplin is one of the most revered singers of all time, a tragic and misunderstood figure who thrilled millions of listeners and blazed new creative trails before her untimely death in 1970 at age 27. Janis: Little Girl Blue examines her story in-depth for the first time on film, presenting an insightful look at this complicated, driven, often beleaguered artist with rare personal and performance footage and interviews with friends and family. The Joplin family provided unfettered access to their vaults for the first time, through which Berg unearthed previously unreleased letters, photos, audio and footage of Joplin. The singer's own words tell much of her story through a series of letters she wrote to her parents over the years, never before seen by the public (read by Cat Power). Joplin was a powerhouse when she sang, and her surprising rise and sudden demise changed music forever.
 
Janis: Little Girl Blue premiered at the 2015 Venice Film Festival, and screened at the Toronto and London Film Festivals, as well as the prestigious DOC NYC. The film opened in theaters in November 2015.

Pre-order now at the MVD SHOP or on Amazon.

Friday, November 7, 2014

Iconoclast: Nick Cave



20,000 DAYS ON EARTH
The Acclaimed Film About Iconic Musician NICK CAVE
On Blu-ray, DVD and Digital Download on November 18th

Ever since someone introduced me to Nick Cave's and the Bad Seeds album "Tender Prey" I have been a fan. My favorite album by him? "Murder Ballads" which to me contains the best song Kylie Minogue ever sang "Where The Wild Roses Grow," I have posted the video for it in this piece. I am psyched for this to come out...T.G.I.F!

"Hypnotic and introspective... An intelligent and revealing look at one of rock's last true iconoclasts" -Entertainment Weekly 


"An intense and innovative study of pioneering rock poet Nick Cave" 
Variety

"Smart and deliriously strange... thrilling to behold"; 5 stars. 
Time Out NY

"It's right up there with the best rock documentaries. That is, if you can call it a documentary."
San Francisco Chronicle

The adventurous life and creative process of Renaissance man of rock Nick Cave are revealed in the exhilarating 20,000 Days on Earth. The award-winning film, which has received a remarkable, near-perfect rating of 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, comes to Blu-ray and DVD on November 18, 2014, from Drafthouse Films, in conjunction with Cinedigm (NASDAQ: CIDM). Both the Blu-ray and the DVD are loaded with extra features and have SRPs, respectively, of $29.23 and $24.99. The film will also be available on VOD & Digital Download day and date.

20,000 Days on Earth is an inventive, lyrical ode to creativity and an intimate examination of the artistic impulses of Australian-born musician and cultural icon Nick Cave. In their debut feature, directors Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard fuse drama and documentary, weaving a staged day in Cave's life with never-before-seen vérité observations of his creative cycle. It features those who have affected his life, including wry tales from the road shared with his regular collaborator, the multi-instrumentalist Warren Ellis; actor and friend Ray Winstone; and Kylie Minogue, who shared a duet with Cave in the breakout hit "Where the Wild Roses Grow." These voices from the past revisit Cave in daydream-like scenes as he sits behind the wheel, driving through his adopted hometown of Brighton, England.
                                               Nick Cave & Kylie Minogue

Neither an outright music documentary nor a concert film, 20,000 Days on Earth nevertheless contains electrifying performances. Audiences see a song grow from the tiniest of ideas to an epic performance at the Sydney Opera House. Cave also opens up to a psychoanalyst as he discusses how his early years continue to inform his work, and journeys through his memories via mementos from his personal archive. This category-defying film pushes the form into new territory, exploring universal themes about artistry and celebrating the transformative power of the creative spirit.
A writer and performer of emotionally intense and lyrically bold songs, Nick Cave has been making music for more than 40 years. He has written and published more than 250 songs as the lead singer of the Birthday Party, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and Grinderman. He's also an acclaimed film score composer, screenwriter, novelist and occasional actor.

Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard have worked extensively with Cave on various projects over the past seven years and know him well. Cave says, "I've always liked their unorthodox approach to things and on a personal level we have always gotten on very well. I invited them into La Fabrique Studios to film some promotional footage for [the 2013 album] Push the Sky Away. As it turned out, in the end, they shot everything and the studio footage was so compelling we decided to expand the idea."

The film has received widespread acclaim from critics. Michael O'Sullivan of The Washington Post said, "For the uninitiated, it offers a demonstration of what is so mesmerizing about this performer, who is by, his own description, 'a kind of ostentatious bastard.' " Ray Pride of Newcity wrote, "This bold, unique gem is bright, funny, brooding, hopeful, momentarily visionary, a wounded beauty exploring the creative process in a fresh and oft-brilliant fashion." It's "a documentary clothed in the robes of a dream," praised Daniel Walber of Nonfics. Joe Gross of the Austin American-Statesman wrote, "Visual artists and first-time feature directors Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard have given [the film] a potent mix of the raw and the cooked."

A Drafthouse Films theatrical release, 20,000 Days on Earth was an Official Selection at numerous film festivals in 2014, including Sundance (where it won for Best Directing and Best Editing), Berlin, San Francisco, New Directors/New Films and the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival.

Extra, Extra Spend 20,000 Days On Earth Here;

http://www.cinedigm.com/