Short films by both Taylor Swift and Kendrick Lamar have qualified for the Academy Awards ’ best live action short category. According to the Hollywood Reporter , Swift’s All Too Well: A Short Film , written and directed by the singer, gained eligibility because it screened Nov. 2021 at New York’s AMC Lincoln Square; the window for eligibility in the live action short category for the 2023 Oscars runs from Oct. 1, 2021 to Sept. 30, 2022. Lamar became eligible for the category when he quietly screened a six-minute video for his Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers track “We Cry Together” — a song and visual that featured actress Taylour Paige — at Los Angeles’ Laemmle Royal Theater in June. THR writes that the We Cry Together , which starred Lamar and Paige, only showed once a day during the weeklong screening, with each showing largely occupied by friends and family of the rapper, though a very limited number of fans were permitted into each showing; … [Read more...] about Taylor Swift’s ‘All Too Well,’ Kendrick Lamar Short Film Eligible for 2023 Oscars
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Aretha Franklin Announces Retirement, Final Album
Aretha Franklin intends to drastically reduce the frequency of her performances following the release of a new full-length in the fall. “I am retiring this year,” the singer told WDIV Local 4 in Detroit. “I will be recording, but this will be my last year in concert. This is it.” Franklin feels comfortable stepping away from active duty with her remarkable legacy intact. “I feel very, very enriched and satisfied with respect to where my career came from and where it is now,” she noted. “I’ll be pretty much satisfied, but I’m not going to go anywhere and just sit down and do nothing. That wouldn’t be good either.” Franklin’s last full-length, Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics , came out in 2014, featuring covers of songs by Adele, Gloria Gaynor and Chaka Khan. On that album, she worked with producers well-versed in the ways of modern pop – notably R&B ace Babyface and the rapper André 3000. Later this year, the legendary soul singer will return to … [Read more...] about Aretha Franklin Announces Retirement, Final Album
Live Nation Admits Helping Bands Like Metallica Scalp Tickets
TMZ/Getty Composite Live Nation 's provoking the ire of concert lovers everywhere, because it's fessed up to the shady practice of putting tickets directly on resale sites ... before the public even has a chance to buy them at face value. The touring company's admission comes on the heels of a Billboard report detailing a secretly recorded phone call between a Live Nation honcho and an event promoter for Metallica in February 2017 ... days before the band announced its WorldWired North American stadium tour. During the call ... the 2 parties agreed to put 88,000 tickets directly on secondary market sites like StubHub, so people never got a chance to buy them on sites like Ticketmaster, which is actually owned by Live Nation. The company's admitted to facilitating this scalping practice for "about a dozen artists out of the thousands we work with" ... but other than Metallica, the bands remain unknown. Live Nation says it did it because bands know face value … [Read more...] about Live Nation Admits Helping Bands Like Metallica Scalp Tickets
Alicia Keys, Swizz Beatz, Meek Mill Celebrate Album Release with Skating Party
TMZ.com Alicia Keys , Swizz Beatz and Meek Mill were high rollers Friday night in NYC's Rockefeller Center ... and it looked like a blast! The "Girl on Fire" singer threw an awesome party for close friends and family, celebrating the release of "KEYS II" ... a deluxe edition of her double album "KEYS." Alicia and Swizz showed off their rink skills, dancing and holding each other, taking smiling selfies and even smooching as they rolled along. Alicia also got jiggy by herself ... busting moves just like back in the 70s! TMZ.com And, then there was Meek ... he was having fun with a young woman, circling the rink as they held hands. The Philly rapper was also cutting it up with Busta Rhymes off to the side. Guess Busta wasn't in the skating mood. TMZ.com It was fire in the hot, hot summer! … [Read more...] about Alicia Keys, Swizz Beatz, Meek Mill Celebrate Album Release with Skating Party
L.A. Shelter Frustrated by Kanye, Please Deliver What You Promised
TMZ.com The L.A. Mission thinks Kanye West needs to turn his words into action, and the org. is frustrated he hasn't followed through on his vow to help the homeless get jobs and housing ... folks familiar with the Mission's struggles tell TMZ. Kanye got all inspirational Friday, posting this on IG ... "look to the homeless as the biggest inspiration for all design." It's unclear what he meant, but it resurfaces some of the promises the rapper made last year, when he visited the Mission and vowed to use his companies to help the homeless get jobs, education and housing. Our sources say little if anything has been done since. TMZ.com Kanye West Planning Fashion Show Starring Homeless People Kanye waxing philosophical isn't moving the ball forward for the homeless crisis in L.A. As we reported, Kanye met with leaders of the org . last November, where he laid out ambitious plans on how to tackle City's biggest challenge … [Read more...] about L.A. Shelter Frustrated by Kanye, Please Deliver What You Promised
Step Right Up! As The Film Awards Season Opens, Everyone Is A Winner
Now comes my favorite part of the film awards season, the very beginning, when everyone is a contender. It’s just like the old days, when the carnival came to town (also in late summer). Step right up, everyone’s a winner ! Take a shot, win a prize !! You can’t win if you don’t play the game !!! We all know it isn’t quite true. Some of these movies don’t stand a chance. But I love the inclusiveness of it. For a couple of months—let’s say, from Aug. 31 when the Venice Film Festival opens until maybe late November, when Oscar voters start fretting about shortlists—anything is possible. You could win the Kewpie doll! Heck, Nightmare Alley was picking up prizes on the front-end. At least it ended the season as an Oscar nominee, which is more than can be said for several hundred rivals. But I say this with love. The carnival atmosphere is a good thing. For a couple of months, we screen, and stream, and share the delicious illusion that the very next film we … [Read more...] about Step Right Up! As The Film Awards Season Opens, Everyone Is A Winner
“You Are Next”: J.K.Rowling Receives Death Threat From Supporter Of Salman Rushdie’s Alleged Attacker
Harry Potter creator JK Rowling has received a public threat from an Iran-backing extremist, following her denunciation of yesterday’s attack on fellow British author Salman Rushdie . Rowling – who has previously been targeted by some trans activists for her beliefs on gender – had published a post expressing her horror at the attempt on Rushdie’s life, when one responder threatened her harm. Rowling wrote on Friday night, “Horrifying news. Feeling very sick right now. Let him be ok.” Meer Asif Aziz, described in his Twitter bio as ‘student, social activist, political activist and research activist’ responded, “Don’t worry you are next.” . @TwitterSupport any chance of some support? pic.twitter.com/AoeCzmTKaU — J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) August 13, 2022 Rowling today publicly asked Twitter to intervene, asking @TwitterSupport, “Any chance of some support?” but Aziz’s post currently remains in place. He had previously described the man arrested for … [Read more...] about “You Are Next”: J.K.Rowling Receives Death Threat From Supporter Of Salman Rushdie’s Alleged Attacker
Late-Night Landscape Shift Brings New Opportunities & Challenges
Call it a seven-year itch, but the sands of late-night are shifting. James Corden is leaving The Late Late Show next year after seven years in the CBS hotseat, Samantha Bee’s Full Frontal was canceled at TBS, the latest cull of the new Warner Bros. Discovery empire, and Desus & Mero split up and ended their Showtime series. Jon Batiste, bandleader of Stephen Colbert’s The Late Show is leaving after seven years and even Jimmy Kimmel is considering ending his 20-year run on ABC. Seth Meyers, who hosts NBC’s Late Night, which scored its first major Emmy nomination since launching his show in February 2014, tells Deadline that we’ve reached a new inflection point. “It’s notable that when we started, around eight and a half years ago, it seemed like there was this massive wave of new shows, and that seemed like the last inflection point. What was really exciting about that wave is you have someone like me, who looks a lot like people who’ve had these shows … [Read more...] about Late-Night Landscape Shift Brings New Opportunities & Challenges