TV/Film
Emmys 2021: Facts & Feats
RuPaul became the person of color with the most career Emmys. He won his 11th Emmy for outstanding competition program as an executive producer of RuPaul’s Drag Race (VH1). RuPaul pulled ahead of Donald A. Morgan, a cinematographer and lighting director, who has won 10 Emmys. This is the fourth consecutive win for outstanding competition program for RuPaul’s Drag Race, which puts it in a tie with The Voice (NBC) for second place on the all-time winners list in this category, behind only The Amazing Race (CBS), which won 10 times. ‘Hamilton’ won outstanding variety special (pre-recorded), five years after it swept the Tonys. The show won one other Emmy — outstanding technical direction, camerawork, video control for a special, at last weekend’s Creative Arts Emmys. The show won ...
Dorothy Carvello’s ‘Anything For A Hit’ Exposé Being Adapted Into Docuseries: ‘We’re Going to Tell the Truth’
Stern and Sundberg are the filmmakers of such acclaimed documentaries as Reversing Roe, Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work, Surviving Jeffrey Epstein and Marathon: The Patriots Day Bombing. Their company, Break Thru, will also run production on the docuseries along with One Foot Forward, which produces content aimed at major streaming services, and Stroud, who has worked on the HBO Max series, Genera+ion. One Foot Forward is a division of Michael Yudin‘s MY Entertainment, which has produced content for Discovery, National Geographic, MTV and the Travel Channel. The producers have not revealed whether Anything For A Hit has been acquired by a streaming service, but Carvello says the project should be ready to run sometime next year. In a statement, Stern and Sundberg said, “We are...
Mariah Carey’s ‘Glitter’ at 20: How It Sparkled to Life After Nearly Two Decades
The reason for such a dramatic turnabout is well-documented. That ice cream cart ‘gate-crashing‘ of Total Request Live which saw host Carson Daly declare that his impromptu guest had “lost her mind.” A hospitalization, which Carey later explained resulted in her bipolar diagnosis. In a much less forgiving era, these mental health struggles were shamefully treated by the media with more derision than empathy. The singer would later argue that she was used as a punching bag to distract from the horrors of 9/11. By the time Glitter finally made it into stores (on the darkest day in modern American history), Carey’s stock was at an all-time low. First-week sales of 116,000 and a No. 7 Billboard 200 peak (compared to the 323,000 first-week numbers and No. 2 de...
Janet Jackson Shares First Look at ‘JANET’ Documentary: Watch
In the clip for the two-night, four-hour documentary that’s set to air on A&E and Lifetime in January 2022, Jackson says: “This is my story, told by me, not through someone else’s eyes.” “This is the truth — take it or leave it. Love it or hate it. This is me,” she adds. It was previously announced that JANET would include exclusive archival footage, home videos and celebrity interviews. Missy Elliott, Mariah Carey, Paula Abdul and more make brief appearances in the trailer, which promises that the doc will feature unseen personal footage. Ben Hirsh directed JANET, with Workerbee producing for Lifetime and A&E and Associated Entertainment Corporation co-producing. Janet Jackson and Randy Jackson are executive producers on the project, while...
Jimmy Page Attends Venice Film Fest for Led Zeppelin Doc Premiere
The interview, concert footage and other archive material are spliced into contemporary interviews with the three surviving band members — Page, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones — to create a montage that maps the frenetic first two years of the band’s existence and its early musical influences. MacMahon, who along with McGourty launched the PBS American Epic documentary series, said it took a year to locate the Bonham recording, after hearing a bootleg version of the interview on a vinyl record. From the sound, he knew that it had been converted into a quarter-inch tape. He then “went to every Australian journalist that we knew from that era saying do you recognize this voice? Because the journalist doesn’t identify himself.” “Eventually I tracked down someone who said, ‘We know who it wa...
Jennifer Hudson’s ‘Respect’ Soundtrack Debuts in Top 10 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales Chart
Also on Top Album Sales: Billie Eilish’s Happier Than Ever holds at No. 1 for a third straight week (23,000 sold; down 35%). It becomes the first album with three weeks in a row at No. 1 since Taylor Swift’s Folklore spent its first five weeks atop the list (Aug. 8-Sept. 5, 2020-dated charts). Meanwhile, new albums from The Killers, Dan + Shay, Ben Platt, Luke Hemmings and $uicideboy$ debut in the top 10. Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart ranks the top-selling albums of the week based only on traditional album sales. The chart’s history dates back to May 25, 1991, the first week Billboard began tabulating charts with electronically monitored piece count information from SoundScan, now MRC Data. Pure album sales were the measurement solely utilized by the Billboard 200 albums chart thr...
Jimmy Buffett Recalls Montserrat’s Fabled Air Studios, From Sailing to Work to Hiring a Drummer in the Jungle
In addition to such artists as Buffett, The Police’s Sting and Andy Summers, Dire Straits’ Mark Knopfler, Duran Duran’s Nick Rhodes and Earth, Wind & Fire’s Verdine White, plus Martin and his son Giles, the documentary includes interviews with studio staffers, including Desmond the bartender and George the chef, whose stories provide a continuous thread to not only the studio, but the island. For some artists like The Police, Montserrat provided a chance to escape as their careers exploded. Though, as Summers notes in the film, all three members started divorce proceedings while recording Ghost in the Machine and the band went through periods of not speaking to each other until Martin intervened. For others, like Lou Reed and Rhodes, the location was too remote and pastoral to provide ...
Band of Horses’ Ben Bridwell & Composer Jeff Cardoni Deliver Haunting ‘Heels’ Theme: Exclusive Premiere
“I really felt the main title theme should be based on music from the show, so I wrote the track and tied it to the main titles graphics and started lobbying the powers that be to have a listen,” Cardoni tells Billboard over email. Music supervisor Jonathan Leahy suggested pairing Cardoni with Bridwell. “We bounced some voice memo vocal ideas off each other and then Ben did his thing. A few days later, he sent me the song and I just about had an out of body experience,” Cardoni says. “It was so emotional, uplifting, and poignant. His voice paired with my music just worked in ways I couldn’t have imagined.” For Bridwell, it was the culmination of a lifetime of fandom and the start of a potential new career path. “As a southern kid who grew up watching wrestling and waiti...
Nick Jonas Shares Sneak Peek of His ‘Dream Role’ in ‘Jersey Boys’
Valli, 87, confirmed the New Jersey-bred Jonas Brothers member would portray him in the upcoming TV musical film in an interview on Today. “[Jersey Boys] is being filmed for television and Nick Jonas of the Jonas Brothers is playing Frankie, and I’m really excited about that,” he said in June. The following month, Jonas, 28, shared a TikTok video of the “first day tech rehearsal on stage.” Running from 2005 to 2017 on Broadway, the original four-time Tony Award-winning jukebox musical follows the story of ’60s rock ‘n’ roll group The Four Seasons, which was split into four “seasons” for every member to narrate their perspective on the band’s history. In 2007, the Jersey Boys: Original Broadway Cast Record...
Camila Cabello Chases Her Dreams In ‘Cinderella’ Movie Trailer: Watch
In the official trailer, we meet her fabulous fairy godmother, portrayed by Pose star Billy Porter, who in true fashion makes Cinderella’s wish come true by glamming her up for the prince’s ball. The star-studded cast — including Idina Menzel, Minnie Driver, James Corden, Nicholas Galitzine and Pierce Brosnan — can also be seen in the trailer. “This was one of the most magical experiences of my life,” Cabello previously expressed on Twitter. “I can’t wait for you to see it.” Cinderella, written and directed by Pitch Perfect screenwriter Kay Cannon, will arrive on Sept. 3 on Amazon Prime. Watch the official trailer below. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get...
‘The Princess Diaries’ at 20: How a Perfect Pop Soundtrack Was Born
And like many great films that attain cult status, behind Princess Diaries is a great soundtrack. The music of The Princess Diaries was a product of its time, crafted following the height of boy bands and bubblegum pop. In 2001, the Billboard charts were led by R&B-tinged pop songs like the star-studded “Lady Marmalade,” Janet Jackson’s “All For You” and Destiny’s Child’s “Bootylicious.” Also, thanks to bands like The Strokes, there was an eruption of post-punk revivalists and a new wave of rock players gaining fame. Both the state of pop and the changing face of rock music would be integral to the music of The Princess Diaries. It was also a time when movie soundtracks, particularly for coming-of-age films, were celebrated. From Br...
Guy Clark Documentary ‘Without Getting Killed Or Caught’ Finally Gets Theatrical Release Schedule
Now, as the pandemic recedes, the film, which examines Clark’s unparalleled songwriting, as well as his complicated relationship with his wife, Susanna, and fellow songwriter Townes Van Zandt, will finally play in front of live audiences, starting Friday (July 23) in Austin, with one-week engagements in more than a dozen cities planned throughout the summer and fall. For Saviano, it is gratifying to finally have people see and hear the movie in the way it was intended. “It’s been a long, long, road,” she tells Billboard. “My husband Paul and I started working on this film in 2014 when Guy was still alive. The most exciting thing to me is that I never have to make the film again. I’m thrilled that people are going to get to see Guy larger than life on the big screen and hear his music in hi...
