TV/Film
Come On and Slam: How Quad City DJ’s’ ‘Space Jam’ Became the Theme of Online Mashups
Slam remixes are a bit like the Rule 34 of the music world. If you can think of an IP, the internet has probably mashed it up with QCD’s ‘90s anthem. Cowboy Bebop? Slam. The Price Is Right? Slam. Space Jam?! Slam. It’s almost like the online community created an extended musical multiverse connecting Space Jam to every cultural touchstone in sight. Tracing the origins of the meme involves a labyrinthine journey through now-defunct forum posts dating back to 2005. Ian Kelly, a mashup artist known as Psynwav, happens to be qualified to further break down the broken links. “So ‘Space Jam’ first started with Randy Savage stuff,” the remixer says. The late wrestler offered the requisite flamboyance to carry the first wave of the fad. “It was mostly associated with Randy Savage because it was a ...
Halsey Announces ‘If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power’ Film to Pair With Album: See the Creepy Trailer
The 26-year-old artist also unveiled the two-minute trailer of the film, which fits the mold of a horror flick and unpacks “the lifelong social labyrinth of sexuality and birth,” the text on the screen reads. “The greatest horror stories never told were buried with the bodies of those who died in that labyrinth.” On July 7, Halsey unveiled the powerful album artwork at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and later on social media. The cover image depicts the regal-looking “Castle” singer sitting on a Game of Thrones-like golden throne. Halsey, who is currently expecting her first child with screenwriter Alev Aydin, is holding a baby on her lap in the cover shot while exposing her breast, which serves as a nod to the Madonna-whore psychologic...
Jennifer Lopez, Concord and Skydance Team to Adapt Classic Musicals for TV, Film
The A-list actor and musician will have an option to star in one of the forthcoming productions. Concord, Skydance and Jennifer Lopez’s Nuyorican Productions (co-run by Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas) have teamed to co-develop original film/TV projects based on Concord’s theatrical catalog of musicals, the companies announced Monday (July 12). Representing a wide array of classic and modern theatrical catalogs, Concord controls works by Rodgers & Hammerstein, Irving Berlin, Lin-Manuel Miranda, George & Ira Gershwin and many more. Nuyorican Productions’ Lopez, Goldsmith-Thomas and Benny Medina will act as executive producers for the projects from the partnership along with Skydance’s David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Bill Bost and Concord’s Sophia Dilley and Scott Pascucci. Lopez will ...
‘Bo Burnham: Inside’ to Debut in Theaters for Just One Day
The self-shot musical comedy that chronicles Burnham’s loneliness over the course of an isolating pandemic hits theaters on July 22. Bo Burnham’s one-room Netflix special made during the pandemic is headed for theaters this July for one day only. The comedian’s self-shot Inside, which is filled with catchy dystopian songs that chronicle his loneliness over the course of an isolated year (as well as knocks on internet culture), will hit theaters on July 22 in conjunction with Netflix and Iconic Events. Following Inside‘s release on May 30, the singer-artist put out an accompanying album, Bo Burnham: Inside (The Songs), featuring popular tunes such as “Welcome to the Internet.” You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should b...
‘The Velvet Underground’ Is a Boldly Artful Documentary for a Boldly Artful Band
“I didn’t need to make a movie to tell you how great the band is,” Haynes said in an interview. “There were a lot of things I was going to be like: OK, we know this. Let’s get right to how this happened, this music, where these people came from and how this miracle of this group of people came together.” The Velvet Underground, which Apple will release in theaters and on its streaming platform Oct. 15, plumbs little-seen footage and features a host of rare interviews, including founding member John Cale (who describes the band as striving for “how to be elegant and how to be brutal”), Jonathan Richman of the Modern Lovers and an early disciple, and Jonas Mekas, the late pioneering filmmaker who filmed The Velvet Underground’s first ever live performance in 1964 and to whom the film is dedi...
Young Thug to Make His Acting Debut in Musical Drama ‘Throw It Back’
Shadae Lamar Smith will direct from a script he wrote with Rochée Jeffrey. Haddish, who will also have a small role in the movie, will produce via her She Ready Productions with Melanie Clark. Feig and Laura Fischer will produce for Feigco Entertainment, along with Jeffrey. Geoff Ogunlesi and Feigco’s Lynne Hedvig will executive produce. Throw It Back is heading to the virtual Cannes Market, with CAA Media Finance representing the project’s domestic distribution rights and Mad River handling international sales. Young Thug — who has earned Billboard 200 No. 1 albums with 2019’s So Much Fun and the Young Stoner Life Records compilation Slime Language 2 in April — is represented by UTA, manager Geoffrey Ogunlesi, and Granderson Des Rochers. This article was origin...
Rita Moreno Says ‘I’m Disappointed in Myself’ Following ‘In the Heights’ Colorism Defense
The remarks drew backlash on social media for being an insensitive response to the Afro-Latino population; Moreno was even trending on Twitter on Wednesday as a result of the controversy. Shortly after landing in Los Angeles from a flight from New York, Moreno issued this statement: “I’m incredibly disappointed with myself. While making a statement in defense of Lin Manuel Miranda on the Colbert Show last night, I was clearly dismissive of black lives that matter in our Latin community. It is so easy to forget how celebration for some is lament for others. In addition to applauding Lin for his wonderful movie version of In the Heights, let me add my appreciation for his sensitivity and resolve to be more inclusive of the Afro-Latino community going forward. See, you CAN teach this old dog ...
‘Space Jam: A New Legacy’ Soundtrack Recruits Lil Baby, Jonas Brothers, Saweetie & More
Plus: Salt-N-Pepa are featured after appearing on the first soundtrack too. Space Jam has A New Legacy and a new soundtrack to match. On Wednesday (June 16), Republic Records and Warner Bros. Pictures announced details of the official soundtrack for Space Jam: A New Legacy, the upcoming sequel starring LeBron James. The 16 tracks include collaborations between Lil Baby and Kirk Franklin on the lead single “We Win (Space Jam: A New Legacy)” and SAINt JHN and SZA on follow-up single “Just for Me,” plus 24kGoldn and Lil Wayne (“Control the World”); Chance the Rapper, John Legend and Symba (“See Me Fly”); and Dame D.O.L.L.A., G-Eazy, P-Lo and White Dave (“About That Time”). On “Hoops,” Saweetie teams up with feat...
‘Scott Pilgrim’ Song Puts Brie Larson Back on Billboard Charts, 16 Years After Her Debut
The song premiered in the 2010 Edgar Wright film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. The fictional band The Clash at Demonhead performs the song in the movie, with Brie Larson (as Envy Adams) as the lead singer. The track makes its chart debut a week after Wright, who co-wrote, produced and directed the film, announced a new extended edition of the soundtrack, which is set to be released July 9 in celebration of the movie’s 10th anniversary. The new soundtrack features demos from other artists in the film, plus the version of “Black Sheep” featuring Larson (as opposed to the original recording of the song, which uses vocals from Metric singer Emily Haines). The version featuring Larson’s vocals arrived on DSPs June 4 for the first time (although it lurked in bootleg form o...
Lin-Manuel Miranda Addresses ‘In the Heights’ Colorism Criticism: ‘We Fell Short’
Read Miranda’s full message below. I started writing In the Heights because I didn’t feel seen. And over the past 20 years all I wanted was for us – ALL of us – to feel seen. I’m seeing the discussion around Afro-Latino representation in our film this weekend and it is clear that many in our dark-skinned Afro-Latino community don’t feel sufficiently represented within it, particularly among the leading roles. I can hear the hurt and frustration over colorism, of feeling still unseen in the feedback. I hear that without sufficient dark-skinned Afro-Latino representation, the work feels extractive of the community we wanted so much to represent with pride and joy. In trying to paint a mosaic of this community, we fell short. I’m truly sorry. I’m learning from the feedback, I thank you for ra...
Nabil Elderkin Talks Directing ‘Gully,’ Travis Scott’s Role & Film’s Hip-Hop/Classical ‘Sonic Tapestry’
Gully follows a trio of troubled teens in Los Angeles played by Jacob Latimore (The Chi, Collateral Beauty), Charlie Plummer (Lean on Pete, Looking for Alaska) and Kelvin Harrison Jr. (Waves, Monster). The gritty feature film depicts how the three boys are byproducts of their ‘hood who “don’t really get to play astronaut and stick fight because there’s so much being demanded [from them],” says screenwriter Marcus J. Guillory. In spite of being subject to their respective cycles of violence and abuse at home, their brotherhood remains the most unfailing force in their lives, as Gully portrays a gutting picture of what it means to be a “ride-or-die.” “Music videos was my film school,” Elderkin tells Billboard. Of course, he’s not the only music video director to transition into fi...
Cher Biopic in the Works From ‘Mamma Mia!’ Producers
Eric Roth will be writing the screenplay. Cher is getting the biopic treatment thanks to Universal and Oscar-winner Eric Roth. Roth is set to pen the screenplay for a feature film about the life and career of the multi-hyphenate entertainer, whose decades-long career has spanned music, television, fashion and film. It has included multiple studio albums, a comedy variety show, and a Las Vegas residency, as well as an expansive acting career that included Silkwood, Mask, The Witches of Eastwick and Moonstruck, the latter of which earned her a best actress Oscar. 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 to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the process. Earn reward...
