Pop royalty Janet Jackson is set to receive the Icon Award at this year’s Billboard Music Award, Dick Clark Productions and NBC announced Monday.
Previous recipient of the award include Prince, Neil Diamond, Celine Dion Stevie Wonder, Cher, and Jennifer Lopez.
The “All For You” singer has a long and celebrated history with Billboard, being the current record holder of 18 consecutive Top 10 hits on the Hot 100, and 19 No.1s on the Dance Club Songs chart. Billboard Music Awards has nominated her a total of 18 times, winning 10 of them.
Throughout her career, Jackson has achieved global record sales of more than 100 million, which makes her one of the best-selling music artists of all time.
Jackson is also scheduled to perform during the show, marking her first television performance in nine years. She will join previously announced performers set to take the stage, including Camila Cabello, BTS, Ariana Grande, Dua Lipa and Shawn Mendes.
Kelly Clarkson has been tapped to host this year’s, her first to host an awards show. NBC is set to air the ceremony live from MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, May 20 at 8 pm ET/5 pm PT.
Disney has another boxoffice phenomenon on the horizon as its “Solo: A Star Wars Story” is pacing ahead of Black Panther in advance ticket sales, according to Fandango. The film’s tickets went on sale May 4th.
This would put “Solo” among 2018’s best first days of presales, and second to “Avengers: Infinity War.” Current projections puts the film’s four-day Memorial Day holiday in the $170 million range.
If these estimates hold, it would put the Disney and Lucasfilm Star Wars spin-off ahead of the current record set by Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, which opened to $139.8M during Memorial Day weekend in 2007.
According to the press release, fans who buys a ticket or more from Fandango will receive a poster of the movie while supply lasts. To see the promo, please go to fandangofanshop.com.
Directed by Ron Howard and produced by Lucasfilm from a screenplay by Lawrence and Jon Kasdan, the film is an origin story of the iconic character and focuses on his adventures. Alden Ehrenreich is playing the younger version of the title character, while also in the film are Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke, Donald Glover, Thandie Newton, Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Joonas Suotamo.
‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’ is slated for release on May 25, 2018. The spin-off is set to premiere at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival on May 15, 2018, ten full days before its official release in the United States on May 25, 2018.
The superhero ensemble continues its march towards the record books as “Avengers: Infinity War” tops the weekend box-office once again, surpassing the $1B faster than any movie in history.
According to estimates, $1.16 billion worldwide so far as of this weekend, which place it number 15 on the all-time list merely 11 days since its global release. “Avengers: Infinity War” opens in China next weekend, its final location.
Domestically, it continues to be unchallenged, with an estimated $112.4 million from playing in 4,474 locations in its sophomore weekend for a North American total of $450.8 million 10 days since release.
The success of “Avengers: Infinity War” has helped propelled Walt Disney Studios’ boxoffice to $3B so far this year, which according to Deadline is another record, beating the benchmark set by the studio two years ago when Captain America: Civil War, Zootopia and The Jungle Book ruled the charts in that year’s first five months.
“Wolverine: The Long Night” Episode 10 will be released on May 7 at 9:00am ET
Marvel and top podcast listening service and content network Stitcher (“Heaven’s Gate,” “Katie Couric,” “The Paris Review”) will release the final episode of “Wolverine: The Long Night” on on May 7 at 9:00am ET. Episode 10 will be available for listeners exclusively on Stitcher Premium.
“Wolverine: The Long Night” follows agents Sally Pierce (Celia Keenan-Bolger) and Tad Marshall (Ato Essandoh) as they arrive in the fictional town of Burns, Alaska, to investigate a series of murders and quickly discover the town lives in fear of a serial killer. The agents team up with deputy Bobby Reid (Andrew Keenan-Bolger) to investigate their main suspect, Logan (Richard Armitage). Their search leads them on a fox hunt through the mysterious and corrupt town.
In the finale, Logan and the Agents finally have their long-awaited face to face, and Pierce and Marshall each have to make their hardest decision yet.
“Wolverine: The Long Night” is Marvel’s first-ever scripted podcast. The series was written by award-winning comic book author Ben Percy (“The Wilding,” “Red Moon”) and directed by Brendan Baker (formerly a producer for Radiotopia’s “Love & Radio”) with sound design by Chloe Prasinos (formerly a producer for Gimlet’s “Reply All”). The series is produced by Daniel Fink of Marvel and Jenny Radelet of Stitcher.
In addition to Armitage, the show’s cast includes notable actors Scott Adsit (“30 Rock”), Bob Balaban (“Moonrise Kingdom”) and Brian Stokes Mitchell (“Mr. Robot”).
Also cast in the series are actors Zoe Chao, Chaske Spencer, Jordan Bridges, David Call, Michael J. Burg and Lannon Killea. Chris Gethard, host of the popular “Beautiful Stories from Anonymous People” podcast, will also make a cameo appearance.
Global pop superstar Pink has announced new North American tour dates for her “Beautiful Trauma World Tour.” The tour is in support of her latest album of the same name.
The additional 36 dates effectively extends the tour into May 2019. Produced by Live Nation, tickets will go on sale to the general public starting Friday, May 11 at LiveNation.com.
The tour kicks off on March 1, 2019 in Fort Lauderdale, FL with stops in Atlanta, Nashville, New Orleans, Denver, Portland among others before concluding on May 21, 2019 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
The Beautiful Trauma Tour is Pink’s seventh concert tour and began in Phoenix on March 1, 2018. The tour has been a commercial and critical success. “Pink kept raising the stakes throughout the show, which is packed with aerial thrills, huge dance numbers and her unique collection of gritty, uplifting anthems,” Newsday declared.
Pink, who recently graced The cover of People Magazine’s The Beautiful Issue, released her seventh studio album last October. The Billboard 200 charts while the first single, “What About Us,” was nominated for Best Pop Solo Performance at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards.
March 3 – Tampa, FL @ Amalie Arena
March 5 – Jacksonville, FL @ Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena
March 7 – Columbia, SC @ Colonial Life Arena
March 9 – Charlotte, NC @ Spectrum Center
March 10 – Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena
March 12 – Atlanta, GA @ Philips Arena
March 14 – Birmingham, AL @ Legacy Arena at The BJCC
March 16 – Bossier City, LA @ CenturyLink Center Continue reading →
“Leave No Trace” is a compassionate story of a father and daughter living simple lives in the great outdoors, and the circumstances that lead their paths to drift apart. As simple as that sounds, the film is thought-provoking and powerful, touching on complex issues involving parenting, mental instability, and the alienation of many veterans who choose isolation as their refuge.
Directed by Debra Granik in her third feature film, “Leave No Trace” is a compelling character study that has been thoroughly embraced by film critics since its premiere at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. The story was adapted by Granik and her creative partner, Anne Rosellini, from the novel My Abandonment by Peter Rock.
The film stars Ben Foster as Will, a grizzled war veteran suffering from PTSD, living off the grid with his daughter, Tom, played by Thomasin McKenzie in her first major lead role.
The film follows Will and Tom living in a public park outside of Oregon, foraging for food and occasionally traveling by foot to town, primarily to pick up Will’s PTSD medication to sell to other military veterans on the black market. After being spotted in the forest by a jogger, the pair are brought into social services to live conventional lives. They are provided a home in rural Oregon where Will can also work on a tree farm. Tom meets a local farm kid who introduces her to his 4-H meetings.
However, it doesn’t take long before they’re back on the road. Will struggles to adjust to their new home and the social structure provided to them. “We can still think our own thoughts,” Will tells his daughter.
One day, while Will is injured and unconscious, Tom interacts with members of the community, meets kind strangers, borrows a dog from a former army medic, and even offers to pay for the temporary abode where Will is recuperating. She experiences a taste of normalcy and seems to appreciate it. But when Will decides it’s time for them to return to the forest, Tom objects.
“The same thing that’s wrong with you isn’t wrong with me,” she says. But this time, Will agrees, foreshadowing what may come next.
Foster is fantastic in the film. He has previously received acclaim for many of his intense roles, such as in “3:10 to Yuma” and “Hell or High Water.” He is more subdued here but fully embodies the character. Even with limited background information about Will, we understand that he is trapped within himself and sense his profound devotion and love for his daughter.
Granik’s prior film, the 2010 mystery drama “Winter’s Bone,” featured a breakthrough performance from the then little-known Jennifer Lawrence, who later became one of the world’s biggest movie stars. This film might just have the same transformative effect on McKenzie. She displays talent beyond her years, skillfully conveying both the innocence and the evolution of her character.
“Leave No Trace” is a quiet and nuanced film that doesn’t succumb to excessive melodrama, even when the narrative reaches peak emotional conflict between the two leads. Nor does it criticize Will and Tom’s way of life. The beautiful cinematography by Michael McDonough, in fact, invitingly reveals spaces in nature that we know exist in our backyard but seldom experience.
“Leave No Trace” is set to open on June 29, 2018, in cinemas across the US.
“You are a crusader. Now you have to be a warrior. You wanted to steal? Now is your time,” Little John tells Robin Hood in the first teaser trailer for Lionsgate’s upcoming action-adventure film “Robin Hood”.
Taron Egerton is playing the legendary archer, following the footsteps of Errol Flynn, Kevin Costner, and Russell Crowe.
It seem to be a gritty version, though based on this trailer, is not as serious as Ridley Scott’s war epic drama, which was released in 2010. There looks to be a few modern twists to it. In fact some of the action scenes conjures the kind of visuals from Egerton’s blockbuster “Kingsman” franchise.
The story of course is legendary. Robin is stealing from the rich, and seeks the help of Little John (played by Jamie Foxx) to spark a revolt against corrupt powers that be. Ben Mendelsohn (Ready Player One, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story), is the film’s villain, playing the Sheriff of Nottingham.
Directed by Otto Bathurst from the screenplay by Ben Chandler and David James Kelly, the film also features Eve Hewson as Maid Marian, Jamie Dornan as Will and Scarlet, Tim Minchin as Friar Tuck.
Robin Hood is set for release on November 23, 2018.
There is certainly no shortage of Stephen King film and tv series adaptation especially after the success of last year’s “It” as a new psychological-horror drama series “Castle Rock” gets a new trailer today.
From mega producer J. J. Abrams, the spooky new trailer features some of the cast entangled in a mystery that beset the eponymous town, along with footage of an alligator, creepy mask man, and suicidal characters.
“Everyone’s got a theory about how it started, about Castle Rock’s original sin,” narrates Terry O’Quinn’s character Dale Lacy. “There’s blood in every backyard, inside every house. People say ‘It wasn’t me, it was this place.’ And the thing is, they’re right.”
Also in the series are André Holland, Melanie Lynskey, Bill Skarsgård (Pennywise from It), Sissy Spacek and Jane Levy .
Here is the show’s synopsis:
A psychological-horror series set in the Stephen King multiverse, Castle Rock combines the mythological scale and intimate character storytelling of King’s best-loved works, weaving an epic saga of darkness and light, played out on a few square miles of Maine woodland. The fictional Maine town of Castle Rock has figured prominently in King’s literary career: Cujo, The Dark Half, IT and Needful Things, as well as novella The Body and numerous short stories such as Rita Hayworth and The Shawshank Redemption are either set there or contain references to Castle Rock. Castle Rock is an original suspense/thriller — a first-of-its-kind reimagining that explores the themes and worlds uniting the entire King canon, while brushing up against some of his most iconic and beloved stories.
Hulu has slotted the premiere of “Castle Rock” to July 25.
New York City based entertainment company Saboteur Media is bringing its epic Vietnam War film “Danger Close” to Cannes, the company’s President of Distribution Mark Lindsay announced today.
Danger Close features Australian actors Travis Fimmel (Vikings, Warcraft), Luke Bracey (Hacksaw Ridge, Point Break, G.I. Joe: Retaliation), Richard Roxburgh (Breath, Hacksaw Ridge, Moulin Rouge) and Daniel Webber (The Dirt, The Punisher).
Kriv Stenders (Red Dog, Kill Me Three Times, Australia Day) will be helming the film, from the script by Australian screenwriter Stuart Beattie, whose screenplay for Collateral earned him a nomination for BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay.
“I knew immediately when I finished the last page that this is a film I had to make, a story I needed to tell, and a project I absolutely had to be involved with. This is the most ambitious film I have ever directed, and one of the most ambitious films coming out of Australia in the last 30 years,” says Stenders.
Here the film’s synopsis:
Danger Close tells the incredible true story of when in the late afternoon on August 18, 1966 in South Vietnam, for three and a half hours, in torrential rain, amid the mud and shattered trees of a rubber plantation called Long Tan, Major Harry Smith and his dispersed company of 108 young and mostly inexperienced Australian and New Zealand soldiers fought for their lives, holding off an overwhelming enemy force of 2,500 battle hardened North Vietnamese and Main Force Viet Cong soldiers. With their ammunition running out, their casualties mounting and the enemy massing for a final assault, amid non-stop artillery barrages, each man braced themselves for the fight of their lives.
The new documentary from Encompass Films recently screened at Austin Film Festival where it won “2017 Hiscox Courage Award.” The documentary is the first feature film from its director Dominic Gill, who founded the production company with wife Nadia Gill.
The documentary follows former Motocross athlete Aaron Baker’s journey, the motocross accident that left him paralyzed, and the subsequent 15-year struggle to regain movement.
The filmmakers describe “Coming To My Senses” as “portrait of movement, how it relates to our goals and dreams, and how it changes our motivations and perspectives.”
Here’s the documentary’s synopsis:
In 1999 Aaron Baker broke his neck in a motocross accident, leaving him completely paralyzed from the neck down. Despite doctor’s grim prognosis, over the next 16 years Aaron decided not to listen to those who said ‘he had a million-to-one odds of ever feeding himself again’ and instead, through painstaking effort, endeavored to regain as much mobility as possible. This journey through the unknown took him from the depths of depression to the joys of cross country road tripping via tandem bicycle with his mother and friends, and finally, culminating in his opening a socially conscious low-cost gym focused on increasing mobility for the disabled.
Now, in Coming To My Senses, we watch as Aaron takes one final journey which symbolizes his recovery: crossing a 20-mile tract of Death Valley unsupported on foot. But will he make it?
“Coming To My Senses” is set for EST distribution on May 15 followed by VOD on May 22 .
