“Thinking Out Loud” Reaches Diamond Certification

By Armando

Asylum. Atlantic.

Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud” has just been certified diamond in the US, which signify sales and streams of at least 10 million, Billboard reports Friday.

Written by the English singer-songwriter himself together with Amy Wadge, the song was release in September 2014 as the third single from his “×” (Multiply) album.

What makes the feat even more impressive is the fact that the song never made it to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song peaked at number two for eight consecutive weeks, blocked by “Uptown Funk” from reaching the summit.

“Thinking Out Loud” later won Grammy Awards for Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance, while also receiving nomination for Record of the Year, the former two being the singer’s first Grammy wins.

Sheeran shared the news to his official instagram page (below): “Thinking out loud is diamond in the US. Thank you to everyone who streamed or downloaded it x.”

This accomplishment puts the romantic ballad in rarefied company: since the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) implemented Diamond certification, only 14 other songs have achieved it.

As impressive the accolade is, this likely won’t be Sheeran’s last. Earlier this year, the singer released “Shape of You” which seem destined to top Billboard’s Year-End Hot 100 singles of 2017: as of August 2017, the single has sold 2.3 million copies and spent 32 weeks at the top 10, a record it shares with The Chainsmokers’ “Closer” and LeAnn Rimes’ “How Do I Live.”

“Shape of You” is from Sheeran’s third studio album ÷ (Divide), also in the running for biggest-selling album of the year. If Sheeran successfully accomplish both feats, he will be the first artist since Adele to top both single and album year-end charts with “Rolling in the Deep” and “21” respectively back in 2011.

 

Thinking out loud is diamond in the US. Thank you to everyone who streamed or downloaded it x

A post shared by Ed Sheeran (@teddysphotos) on

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Another “Lethal Weapon” Film Being Considered At WB

By Creative Media Times

Warner Bros.


“You can’t beat the clock, Riggs.” That’s Danny Glover’s Roger Murtaugh to Mel Gibson’s Martin Riggs in Lethal Weapon 4 back in 1998. Almost twenty years later, the duo might attempt just that, as Deadline reports an intriguing tidbit about the possibility of another Lethal Weapon film.

According to the article, director Richard Donner might also return with a script from Lethal Weapon 4 writer Channing Gibson (no relation to Richard Donnar).

Donner directed the first Lethal Weapon (1987) and all its three its sequels. If he does get on board, this will be his first film since “16 Blocks” from 2006. Danny Glover has recently appeared in HBO mockumentary “Tour de Pharmacy.” Gibson recently directed academy nominated “Hacksaw Ridge” and will next be seen next month in Daddy’s Home 2.

The original is considered to have rejuvenated the buddy cop formula and was a surprise boxoffice hit. Altogether, the franchise has grossed $955.2M worldwide.

Created by Shane Black, Lethal Weapon features Gibson and Glover as mismatched Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) detectives. The films spawned a television series which is currently in its second season with Clayne Crawford as Riggs and Damon Wayans as Murtaugh.

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Review: Macklemore, Without Ryan Lewis in Gemini

By Niy Birden

Bendo


When they first stepped onto the scene, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis were quite an interesting combo: DJ/producer/photographer meets a rapper, both from Washington with an interest in hip hop. They curated a close-knit audience soon after with their first two EPs, The VS. and The VS. Redux, and sealed in the deal with their chart-topping hits such as “Can’t Hold Us”, “Thrift Shop”, and “Same Love”, all to be included on their debut album The Heist.

With their first bit of discography, aside from being an obviously white male duo, they had gained a lot of recognition for their massive success as indie artists. This is an especially noteworthy part of their career, considering their influence with The Grammys and other mainstream music platforms.

With their second album they started to show a reputation for making viral videos, but suddenly, as of earlier this summer they have since gone on a hiatus, which of course caused a major shock to their loyal fanbase. But separation seems to have been a quite amazing thing for the both of them, with Lewis snatching himself another hit for his work on Kesha’s comeback hit “Praying”, and Macklemore having lined up pop and new R&B hitmakers with his sophomore album Gemini.

So what does Macklemore (real name Benjamin Haggerty) sound like without Ryan Lewis?

For Gemini, we see Macklemore essentially much more personal than ever. The nostalgic vintage imagery is placed perfectly within the context of the album through songs like “Good Old Days”, and we get a closer look into how we perceive his contradictory views of America, and himself.
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CMA Announces More Unexpected Musical Performances And Collaborations

CMA Announces More Unexpected Musical Performances And Collaborations For “The 51st Annual CMA Awards,” Airing Wednesday, Nov.8, On The ABC Television Network. New Performers Include Tim McGraw & Faith Hill, Pop Superstar P!NK, Keith Urban and an All-star Group Performance Featuring Eric Church, Lady Antebellum, Darius Rucker and Urban

NASHVILLE—One of the best things about the CMA Awards are the surprises, and “The 51st Annual CMA Awards” has more unexpected collaborations to share as another round of superstar performances are announced for the Wednesday, Nov. 8 (8-11 PM ET), live broadcast from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on the ABC Television Network.

Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, P!NK, and Keith Urban will perform on this year’s Awards, and an unprecedented opening collaboration will feature Eric Church, Lady Antebellum, Darius Rucker, Keith Urban and more. Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood will co-host The Awards for the 10th consecutive year.

Hill and McGraw are among Country Music’s most nominated couples and “Speak to a Girl” marks the sixth time they’ve been nominated together for a CMA in the Vocal Event of the Year and Musical Event of the Year categories since 1997’s “It’s Your Love,” which they won. The couple has 61 nominations combined, with McGraw winning 11 times, including the 2001 Entertainer of the Year. Hill has three victories.
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Kathryn Bigelow To Be Honored By Filmmaker Award

By Creative Media Times

www.mpse.org


Acclaimed director Kathryn Bigelow is set to be honored by the Motion Picture Sound Editors (MPSE), the organization announced today. The award recognizes her contributions to the art of cinema and will be presented during the MPSE Golden Reel Awards ceremony on February 18th in Los Angeles

Bigelow is responsible for directing acclaimed films such as the war film The Hurt Locker (2008), action thriller war film Zero Dark Thirty (2012), and this year’s crime drama Detroit.

The Hurt Locker brought Bigelow plenty of accolades, including Academy Award for Best Director, the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing, and the BAFTA Award for Best Direction. So far, she’s the only woman to win an Oscar for best director.

The film itself, which follows an Iraq war explosive ordnance disposal team, won six Academy Awards including best picture, best director, best original screenplay, best editing, best sound mixing and best sound editing. The Hurt Locker was followed by Zero Dark Thirty, which was similarly acclaimed by critics and won her best director award from the National Board of Review.

About MPSE
Founded in 1953, the Motion Picture Sound Editors is a non-profit organization of professional sound and music editors who work in the motion picture television and gaming industries. The organization’s mission is to provide a wealth of knowledge from award-winning professionals to a diverse group of individuals, youth and career professionals alike; mentoring and educating the community about the artistic merit and technical advancements in sound and music editing; providing scholarships for the continuing advancement of motion picture sound in education; and helping to enhance the personal and professional lives of the men and women who practice this unique craft. mpse.org

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Ben Mendelsohn In Talks To Play Villain Role In “Captain Marvel”

By Creative Media Times

Mendelsohn as Director Krennic in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Lucasfilm Ltd.


It looks like production of Captain Marvel is starting to develop. Australian actor Paul Benjamin Mendelsohn is said to be in negotiations for the main villain role in Marvel Studios’ Captain Marvel, Variety reports.

The exact identity of the villain character that he will be playing has not been revealed, although Marvel Studios head Kevin Fiege mentioned at this summer’s San Diego Comic-Con that the movie’s villains will be the The Skrulls.

The actor is recently in plenty of high profile projects, including last year’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story where he played Orson Krennic, the director of advanced weapons research for the imperial military, in later this year’s Darkest Hour as King George VI, and next year’s Steven Spielberg directed Ready Player One as Nolan Sorrento.

Last year, it was announced that Brie Larson will be playing Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel, the very first ever female-centric superhero movie in Marvel Cinematic Universe. Danvers is a skilled test pilot whose DNA is melded with that of an alien after an accident. Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury is also set to appear in the film.

Produced by Kevin Feige and to be directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck (Mississippi Grind and Half-Nelson), Captain Marvel is set to be released on March 8, 2019.

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Paloma Faith Creates A Visual and Audio Masterpiece for “Crybaby” (Review)

By Niy Birden

RCA Sony Music Entertainment


Grainy videos of DNA and various scientific studies transition from one another, while a soft drone murmurs as the soundscape. Children stand, completely still and attentive in line while a disgruntled man addresses them. The camera slowly reaches various points of his face, all from a closer angle each time:

“Emotion, empathy, feeling…
these human qualities, gentlemen, are for the weak
for those that we leave behind,
for those that we remove from the crop.
You are the leaders of tomorrow,
bred, to be the future’s history.
You should hold yourselves as such.
Do not let the world see you tremble.”

This introduces us to the world of Paloma Faith’s new dystopian musical entity. A world where emotion and resistance are often side-by-side. But this really is no wonder for the loyal listeners of Paloma. From the start of her career, she has shown to her royal subjects that she loves contradiction and embraces the artistic characteristics that come with it.

Paloma Faith started out with an extremely humble beginning, which makes it very easy to understand why playing other roles is such a second skin for her. In one of her many prior jobs and education, as a magician’s assistant she became a virtuoso in creating the fairytales needed to wow the minds of audiences. Unfortunately though, this role was relatively unheard. It was mostly silent and non-confrontational. Be pretty and follow directions, but don’t hit them where it hurts.

Don’t suggest you know too much more than them. Don’t suggest to the magician that you can do his job. Her early video, Do You Want The Truth Or Something Beautiful?, taken from the album of the same name, is a direct testament to the life that is lived through a magician’s assistant. Wow and amaze, but don’t take them out of that dream land.

And now, Paloma has created her own. From her studio debuts all the way to now, Paloma has quite honestly almost perfected the visual and audio partnering for her specific niche of music.
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Trailer: First Look At The ‘Phantom Thread’

By Armando

Focus Features


The trailer for writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson’s post–World War II period drama ‘Phantom Thread’ has arrived, giving audiences the first look at what is expected to be Daniel Day-Lewis’ last screen performance.

“You can sew almost anything into the canvas of a coat. When I was a boy, I started to hide things in the lining of the garments. Things that only I knew were there. Secrets,” says Day-Lewis’ Reynolds Woodcock, a renowned 1950s dressmaker whose life unraveled after a young woman, Vicky Krieps walks into his life and becomes his muse and obsession.

A few months ago, Day-Lewis announced his retirement from acting following Phantom Thread. The actor did not provide a reason for his retirement but is expected to fulfill publicity tasks for the Phantom Thread.

Anderson and Day-Lewis previously collaborated together ten years ago in ‘There Will Be Blood,’ for which the actor won an academy award best actor. The acclaimed actor also won the same award for his performances in My Left Foot (1989) and Lincoln (2012).

Another win for the celebrated thespian and he will share the record with Katharine Hepburn as the actor with the most Oscar wins, a fitting achievement for one of most acclaimed actors of our generation.

Extremely protective of his privacy, Day-Lewis previously vanished into semi-retirement in 1997 following Jim Sheridan’s The Boxer and moved to Florence, Italy. He then appeared in five more films (excluding “Phantom Thread”.) Now 60 years old, there is definite reason to take the actor’s announced retirement seriously. All good things must come to an end.

Here’s the film’s official synopsis:

Set in the glamour of 1950’s post-war London, renowned dressmaker Reynolds Woodcock (Daniel Day-Lewis) and his sister Cyril (Lesley Manville) are at the center of British fashion, dressing royalty, movie stars, heiresses, socialites, debutants and dames with the distinct style of The House of Woodcock. Women come and go through Woodcock’s life, providing the confirmed bachelor with inspiration and companionship, until he comes across a young, strong-willed woman, Alma (Vicky Krieps), who soon becomes a fixture in his life as his muse and lover. Once controlled and planned, he finds his carefully tailored life disrupted by love. With his latest film, Paul Thomas Anderson paints an illuminating portrait both of an artist on a creative journey, and the women who keep his world running. Phantom Thread is Paul Thomas Anderson’s eighth movie, and his second collaboration with Daniel Day-Lewis.

‘Phantom Thread’ is set to be released on December 25, 2017

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Animated ‘The Predator’ Poster Released

By Creative Media Times

20th Century Fox


20th Century Fox has released an animated, motion poster for director Shane Black’s upcoming 2018 film ‘The Predator’, and it’s electrifying. The animated poster shows lightning striking above the cityscape, with each flash of light taking the shape of huge Predator head.

Not much is known about what exactly this means, which makes the poster all the more intriguing. A couple of weeks ago a still version of the poster depicting a silhouette of the same image was spotted at Brand Licensing Expo in London, England.

Written by Black and Fred Dekker, the film stars Boyd Holbrook (Logan), Olivia Munn (X-Men: Apocalypse), Thomas Jane (1922), Jacob Tremblay (Room), Trevante Rhodes (Moonlight), Yvonne Strahovski (Dexter), Sterling K. Brown (This is Us), Alfie Allen (Game of Thrones), and Edward James Olmos (Blade Runner).

Earlier this year, Black confirmed on Twitter that his movie will not be a sanitized version, saying, “And, just to be clear… Spines bleed… a lot.

The upcoming film action horror sci-fi is the fourth film in the Predator series. The original, directed by John McTiernan (Die Hard) and starred Arnold Schwarzenegger was released in 1987 and became that year’s second biggest hit (next only to Beverly Hills Cop II). The film has since been considered one of the greatest action films by genre fans and appeared in “best of” lists in many trade publications.

Director Shane Black himself appeared in the film as radio operator Rick Hawkins who was later ambushed by the extraterrestrial creature.

‘The Predator’ is set for release next year, Aug. 3, 2018.

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‘I, Tonya’ Teaser Shows Margot Robbie As Disgraced Skater Tonya Harding

By Creative Media Times

Neon


The first teaser for the biopic “I, Tonya” has been release, giving audiences their first look at Margo Robbie playing disgraced two-time Olympic figure skater Tonya Harding.

America, they want someone to love, but they want someone to hate,” says Margot’s character. “And the haters always say ‘Tonya, tell the truth.’ There’s no such thing as truth. I mean it’s bullshit.

The film is based on the sensational story of Tonya Harding and husband Jeff Gilooly (Sebastian Stan), who in 1994 orchestrated an attack against Harding’s competitor Nancy Kerrigan and break her right leg in order to prevent her from competing at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer. Though her leg was not broken, it was soon found out that Gilloly, along with bodyguard Shawn Eckhardt (Paul Walter Hauser) hired an assailant, though Gilloly shifted blame to Harding.

I, Tonya recently had a surprisingly play at Toronto International Film Festival in September, where it won second runner up for People’s Choice Award, and successfully starts the awards season with Gotham Awards nominations for the film and star Margot Robbie.

Directed by Craig Gillespie (Lars and the Real Girl) and written by Steven Rogers (Stepmom), the film also stars Allison Janney, Paul Walter Hauser, Julianne Nicholson, Caitlin Carver, Bojana Novakovic and Bobby Cannavale.

‘I, Tonya’ is set for release on December 8, 2017.

Here is the film’s official synopsis:

Based on the unbelievable but true events, I, TONYA is a darkly comedic tale of American figure skater, Tonya Harding, and one of the most sensational scandals in sports history. Though Harding was the first American woman to complete a triple axel in competition, her legacy was forever defined by her association with an infamous, ill-conceived, and even more poorly executed attack on fellow Olympic competitor Nancy Kerrigan. Featuring an iconic turn by Margot Robbie as the fiery Harding, a mustachioed Sebastian Stan as her impetuous ex-husband Jeff Gillooly, a tour-de-force performance from Allison Janney as her acid-tongued mother, LaVona Golden, and an original screenplay by Steven Rogers, Craig Gillespie’s I, TONYA is an absurd, irreverent, and piercing portrayal of Harding’s life and career in all of its unchecked––and checkered––glory.

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