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Michael Gracey, director of the movie musical The Greatest Showman and 2024's Better Man, is closer to debuting his new musical about opera singer Luciano Pavarotti. At a recent master class at Italy’s Marateale Film Festival, the director shared updates about his plans to bring the musical to the New York stage, after working with Pavarotti's family and estate to find the right way to tell the story. “The person who had the rights to do Pavarotti on the stage called me after he saw ‘The Greatest Showman,’ but they didn’t have a way into the story. So I went to Bologna to spend time with Pavarotti’s friends and family to see if I could work out a way into the story, which I did.” Though the...

Gary Smith, the Emmy-Award-winning producer behind numerous television specials and live events, died Saturday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 90.

Born in 1935, Smith studied scenic design at Carnegie Tech (now Carnegie Mellon University) before beginning his career as an art director at CBS in 1956. He made the leap to producer while working on “The Judy Garland Show” in 1963 and, two years later, produced NBC’s “Hullabaloo” a variety series that showcased early performances from The Rolling Stones, The Supremes, The Who, Simon & Garfunkel and Sonny & Cher.

Smith’s influence on music television blossomed throughout the 1960s, as he produced the first television specials for Paul McCartney and Bette Midler and the final television performances of Elvis Presley and Bing Crosby. Other musical acts that he’d produce specials for included Frank Sinatra, Luciano Pavarotti, Neil Diamond, Tony Bennett, Dolly Parton, Sammy Davis Jr., Steve Lawrence & Eydie Gormé, Woody Allen,...

Gary Smith, the eight-time Emmy winner who produced six Tony Awards broadcasts, four Emmy telecasts and TV specials for the likes of Elvis Presley, Barbra Streisand and Burt Bacharach, died Saturday in Los Angeles, a publicist announced. He was 90.

As one-half of the production team Smith-Hemion — formed with fellow producer Dwight Hemion in the early 1970s — Smith “brought artistry, innovation and elegance to an era of TV that celebrated variety, spectacle and unforgettable moments. From intimate musical performances to historic national celebrations, he left an indelible mark on audiences across generations.”

Smith produced the first TV specials for Paul McCartney (1973’s James Paul McCartney) and Bette Midler (1977’s Ol’ Red Hair Is Back) and guided the final TV performances of Presley (Elvis in Concert) and Bing Crosby (Merrie Olde Christmas), both in 1977.

He served as an executive producer of AFI Life Achievement Award tributes to Streisand and Tom Hanks, and...

Gary Smith, the prolific producer of awards shows and TV specials for such performers as Frank Sinatra, Luciano Pavarotti, Neil Diamond, Tony Bennett, Dolly Parton, Sammy Davis Jr., Steve Lawrence & Eydie Gormé, and many others, died Friday, July 18, in Los Angeles. He was 90.

His death was announced by a spokesperson for his family.

Nominated for 30 primetime Emmy Awards (and winner of eight), Smith was and business partner Dwight Hemion formed the production team Smith-Hemion Productions in the early 1960s and developed an approach that was noted for bringing artistry, innovation, and elegance to the world of variety and music specials. The partnership ended in 2001.

Smith produced the first television specials for Paul McCartney and Bette Midler, and the final television performances of Elvis Presley and Bing Crosby. His collaborations with Barbra Streisand led to many of her most iconic televised events, including her acclaimed 1973 special Barbra Streisand and Other Musical Instruments.

Prominent Italian producer Pietro Valsecchi (“Quo Vado”) is developing a high-end Luciano Pavarotti biopic for which he has secured a consulting agreement with Nicoletta Mantovani, the second wife of the late great tenor who broadened the audience for opera and became a global pop culture icon.

A screenplay for the Pavarotti project is being penned by ace Italian screenwriter Leonardo Fasoli, a head writer on the series “Gomorrah” which is Italy’s top TV export.

Mantovani, who established the Luciano Pavarotti Foundation after the maestro’s death at 71, in 2007, is providing the project with documents, rare images, private letters, mementos and more from the archives of the foundation and museum in the Northern Italian city of Modena that was Pavarotti’s home.

As part of the agreement, Mantovani “will be actively involved in every aspect of the project, contributing first-hand to the narrative and artistic construction of the film,” according to a statement.

One of the most unusual visitors to this year’s Cannes Film Festival was a 65-year-old Irishman named Paul David Hewson, better known as Bono to the world at large and especially to the millions of fans of his rock band U2. In 2022, Bono wrote a memoir called “Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story,” which he promoted with a handful of theatrical shows in which he talked about his life, played characters including his father, with whom he had a troubled relationship, and sang a few U2 songs accompanied by the Jacknife Lee Ensemble, a cello/harp/keyboards trio that sounds nothing like U2.

The show found Bono sharing the stage with three empty chairs, which represented his missing bandmates The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. It made for a dramatic night of memories, and he upped the drama by hiring Andrew Dominik who directed “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford...

Exclusive: Women Occupy Hollywood, the L.A.-based production company committed to female-driven storytelling, has secured rights to Italian writer-director Ivana Massetti’s dramatized Luciano Pavarotti biopic project Vox Divina.

The fruit of two years of research, the project aims to chronicle the legendary tenor’s life from his boyhood in Modena, Italy, to his confirmation as a star at the Metropolitan Opera in New York in the 1970s.

“He’s the world’s most beloved tenor, and this story delves into his ascension to ‘The King of the High C’ on the stage of New York’s Metropolitan Opera.” said writer-director Ivana Massetti.

Over the course of two years, Massetti interviewed dozens of people who knew Pavarotti intimately, from family members such as his daughters Cristina and Giuliana Pavarotti, to his best friend Franco Casarini, known as Panocia, and long-time collaborators such as Met pianist Gildo Di Nunzio, promoter/producer Tibor Rudas,...

U2’s Bono is seen as a successor to a very small fraternity of world-conquering rock stars – the likes of Springsteen, Jagger and Bowie. He’s less recognized as a successor to a literary tradition: the Irish pantheon of Joyce, Yeats, Beckett, Heaney, and O’Brien.

But his impressive gift of language shines in the new documentary Bono: Stories of Surrender, directed by Andrew Dominik, which just premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in the Special Screenings section.

“I was born with an eccentric heart,” he notes wryly near the beginning of the film – an iteration of his one-man show at New York’s Beacon Theatre, which in turn grew out of his 2022 memoir, Bono: 40 Songs, One Story. The lovely “eccentric heart” line gestures to an inherited condition that would almost cost him his life: He underwent emergency aortic valve-replacement surgery in 2016. That near-death experience in his mid-50s seems...

Let’s get the obvious joke out of the way first: no, despite being produced by Apple, this film will not be automatically and nonconsensually forced onto your iPhone. Unlike U2’s notorious 2014 album Songs Of Innocence, which one day magically appeared on the world’s Apple devices whether you liked it or not, you actually have a choice over whether to watch Bono: Stories Of Surrender. Which way you go with that choice rather depends on how big a fan you are.

This is an unusual proposition. A filmed version of Bono’s well-received one-man stage show — itself an adaptation of his memoir Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story — Stories Of Surrender can’t really be called a documentary in the truest sense. There is no archive footage here, no childhood photos, no early recordings of the band. Filmed by Australian director Andrew Dominik in gorgeously crisp, contrast-heavy, black-and-white photography, it...

When Bono hits the road for a tour, he usually brings along about 200 trucks, a stage that weighs roughly 170 tons, hundreds of employees, and three high-school buddies named Adam, Larry, and Edge. But when he went out in early 2023 to promote his memoir, Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story, he brought little else besides a table and chairs, a fake beer, and a keyboardist, cellist, and harp player.

The shows were a unique hybrid of rock concert and one-man Broadway-style production in which Bono paid loving tribute to his wife, Ali Hewson,...

Documentary follows the baloeiros, who illegally build and release huge decorated balloons in cities, from where they can travel hundreds of miles

An intriguing film set in Brazil, first shown last year at the Cph:dox documentary festival in Copenhagen, in which expatriate Danish film-maker Sissel Morell Dargis takes a look at a unique grassroots cultural phenomenon: the baloeiros, the ballooners. These are groups of young men, as secretive and loyal to each other as Freemasons, who (illegally) build and release huge decorated balloons in cities, from where they can travel hundreds of miles. Why? As kind of graffiti, or a community self-expression, or situationist artform, or just a subversive gesture of pure joie de vivre that does not need or admit of any explanation.

The baloeiros are harassed by the police, on the ostensible grounds that they are part of gang culture, and the authorities encourage local people to inform...

Spoiler Alert: This story gives away details of the second season of Netflix’s Squid Game.

Paul Potts used to sell cellphones at a British store called Carphone Warehouse before he won the first season of Britain’s Got Talent.

He is not someone you expect to be soundtracking a bloody game of Russian roulette in the second season of Netflix’s Squid Game.

But it is his version of Nessun Dorma, an aria from the final act of Giacomo Puccini’s Turandot – a song popularized by Luciano Pavarotti during the 1990 FIFA World Cup – that plays over the violent subplot in the first episode of the Korean drama series.

In the opening episode of the sophomore season, Lee Jung-Jae’s Gi-Hun is searching for The Salesman, played by Train to Busan star Gong Yoo, who works as a recruiter for the Squid Games, playing Ddakji with them to get them to...

Disney is going back to the well of live-action remakes and is looking to “The Greatest Showman” and “Better Man” director Michael Gracey to bring its 2010 animated film “Tangled” to life in live-action.

Though rumored and fan-casted for several years now, a “Tangled” live-action film is now officially in development at Disney, and Gracey is in negotiations to direct the feature, an individual with knowledge of the project told IndieWire.

Jennifer Kaytin Robinson wrote the most recent draft of the script, and Kristin Burr is producing under the Burr! Productions banner along with producer Lucy Kitada (“The Baby-Sitters Club”).

No cast has been set just yet, and the plot details are being kept under wraps. But the 2010 “Tangled” was a re-imagining of the classic Rapunzel fairy tale in which a thief, Flynn Rider, stumbles upon her in a castle and introduces her to the wide world. Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi...

Exclusive: Ahead of the Christmas Day release of his experimental Robbie Williams biopic Better Man, Michael Gracey has entered negotiations to direct a live-action Tangled film for Disney, Deadline can reveal.

A modern retelling of the classic Rapunzel fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm, Tangled is being described as a revival of Disney’s Oscar-nominated 2010 animated feature of the same name, which was the 50th put out by the studio. Plot details are under wraps but the film is expected to follow along the lines of the animated version.

Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, the multi-hyphenate behind titles like Do Revenge, Thor: Love and Thunder and Sony’s upcoming reboot of I Know What You Did Last Summer, penned the most recent draft of the script. Kristin Burr and Lucy Kitada will produce for Burr! Productions. No word yet on casting.

Directed by Nathan Greno and Byron Howard, the original Tangled starred Mandy Moore as Rapunzel,...

Donald Trump loves music. It does not love him back. But neither fact has ever been more obvious than this week, when he made his DJ debut. Even by his standards, it was a bizarre instant-classic trainwreck. At his Monday town hall event in Oaks, Pennsylvania, he quit taking questions from the crowd, and turned his campaign rally into a dance party. “Let’s not do any more questions,” Trump said. “Let’s just listen to music. Who the hell wants to hear questions?” Then he just stood there frozen in a 40-minute K-hole,...

On Monday, late-night hosts Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert eviscerated the Donald Trump campaign after an Oaks, Pennsylvania, event billed as a Q&a session with Trump devolved into a mixtape listening session as the former president shouted for his staffer to play some of the favorite tracks that have been blasted to crowds at his 2024 campaign rallies.

At the event, moderated by South Dakota Gov. Kristi L. Noem, Trump took a few questions. One was about addressing the price of groceries, to which the former president again gave an answer that invoked the fictional character Hannibal Lecter, immigrants and “Black jobs.” At another point, the candidate encouraged his supporters to vote on Jan. 5 — two months after election day. The venue was the stuffy Expo Center, and an attendee got overheated and fainted. This is when the music started, first with Schubert’s “Ave Maria,” performed by the legendary Luciano Pavarotti.

Donald Trump defended his decision to turn a town-hall event Monday night into an unusual, nearly 40-minute listening session of his favorite songs from his campaign’s music playlist.

The event was interrupted by two medical emergencies in the crowd, something that is not entirely uncommon at campaign events. But it forced Trump to stop the Q&a as people were tended to.

Trump stood on stage with Gov. Kristi Noem (R-sd) as the recorded music played, starting with an orchestral version of “Ave Maria” and then moving to Luciano Pavarotti’s rendition.

“Let’s make this a music fest,” Trump said at one point to the crowd in Oaks, Pa. “Who the hell wants to hear questions?”

I had a Town Hall in Pennsylvania last night. It was amazing! The Q and A was almost finished when people began fainting from the excitement and heat. We started playing music while we waited,...

If there’s been a single moment representing the definitive emergence of the world from the Covid-19 pandemic, it was the Olympics Opening Ceremony in Paris. The Olympics needed this after the necessary, but emotionally stifling, lockdowns of the Tokyo and Beijing Games. The world needed this.

A coming-out party for the ages — and easily the best Opening Ceremony for a Summer or Winter Games since Rio’s in 2016, if not earlier — the July 26 ceremony featured several moments of transcendent emergence that will stick with viewers for a long time: There was the first ringing of the bells of Notre Dame since fire almost destroyed the 900-year-old cathedral in April 2019; Rafa Nadal, after all his injuries and still walking with slight hesitation, taking the Olympic torch to a waiting boat on the Seine, where Serena Williams was waiting (along with Carl Lewis and Nadia Comaneci) in what was kind of...

It may not be too much of an exaggeration to say that Jim Henson came up with the concept for an immersive video dome long before Sphere bubbled up in Las Vegas.

In the mid-1960s he developed an idea for a nightclub he called Cyclia – “the entertainment experience of the future” – that would feature crystal panels throughout the ceiling, floor and walls onto which films would be projected.

“Once an hour, a woman in a white leotard would rise from a pedestal in the center of the floor to have film projected on her body as she danced,” writes author Brian Jay Jones in Jim Henson: A Biography.

For better or worse, the psychedelia-inspired concept never became a reality. But it’s an example of the restless imagination that propelled Henson throughout his life. The incredible range of Henson’s creative urges come into focus in Ron Howard’s documentary Jim Henson Idea Man,...

Mediawan Rights will rep international sales rights and has released a first teaser clip for “My Way,” a documentary about the iconic song that features a star-studded cast including Ol’ Blue Eyes himself and is narrated by Jane Fonda. The film premieres May 16 with a screening at the Cannes Film Festival’s Cinema de la Plage.

Directed by Thierry Teston in collaboration with Lisa Azuelos, “My Way” is billed as “a captivating journey into the heart of an iconic song that explores the universal appeal and enduring legacy of a timeless classic.”

Through the lens of performers including Frank Sinatra, Ben Harper, Paul Anka, David Bowie, Claude François, Clara Luciani and Sparks, and full of never-before-heard anecdotes, the documentary aims to paint a vivid portrait of the song’s evolution and impact on different generations and cultures, using rare archival footage to trace the remarkable journey of a single melody...

Los Angeles, Jan 6 (Ians) Grammy winner Michael Bolton has revealed that he has been diagnosed with brain tumour and will be taking a temporary break from performing.

The 70-year-old singer took to Facebook to make the announcement about his health, reports deadline.com.

“Just before the holidays, it was discovered that I had a brain tumor, which required immediate surgery. Thanks to my incredible medical team, the surgery was a success,” Bolton wrote.

“I am now recuperating at home and surrounded by the tremendous love and support of my family.”

He told fans he will be taking the “next couple of months” to his recovery and taking a “temporary break” from touring.

“It is always the hardest thing for me to ever disappoint my fans or postpone a show, but have no doubt I am working hard to accelerate my recovery and get back to performing soon,” wrote Bolton.

“Know...

Rolling Stone witnessed all of the action at this year’s 24th Annual Latin Grammy Awards in Spain.

This year’s ceremony moved overseas to Seville for the first time ever, and our Senior Music Editor Julyssa Lopez and Video Producer and Host Ilana Woldenberg caught up with some of the acts who walked the red carpet before the awards show.

We got to chat with Peso Pluma and Nicki Nicole (who made their red carpet debut as a couple), Juanes, Gale, Maria Becerra, Ana Del Castillo, and more. Watch their interviews,...

10 November 2023 — Today, Lise Davidsen, the most in-demand soprano in the world right now, releases her new album, ‘Christmas From Norway’ via Decca Classics/Universal Music Canada. Hailed as “The living, breathing meteor of the current opera world.” (The I Paper), Lise Davidsen‘s forthcoming album presents a delightful and personally selected collection of traditional Norwegian Christmas music and classic festive favourites, spreading the warm glow of the Scandinavian Christmas spirit. Reflecting on the project, Lise expresses her long-standing desire to create this album. “For Scandinavians, Christmas serves as a beacon of light in the midst of a lengthy winter. Perhaps that is why we embrace it so wholeheartedly.” says Lise.

The ‘Norwegian Starlight’ (quote) is unstoppable: this season alone Lise has starred in the BBC’s Last Night of the Proms, where she ‘swept all before her’ (The i Paper), alongside cellist and label-mate Sheku Kanneh-Mason, during an event she...

Luke Evans shared a new video of him singing opera over the weekend!

The 44-year-old actor uploaded a video where he is just in his underwear and a beanie, while singing along to Luciano Pavarotti, who was a Italian operatic tenor.

“On sunny Saturdays, we sing Pavarotti,” he captioned the clip.

While he received praise for the video, his boyfriend Fran Tomas‘ reaction in the comments was a little different than most of the other comments on the post.

Find out how he reacted inside…

“...

Can you believe that Christmas is less than two months away?! Now that it’s November, it’s time to start listening to your holiday music playlists.

SiriusXM just revealed their official lineup of 26 festival channels, including three new ones. The holiday season kicks off November 8 on SiriusXM with many of the channels live now and streaming on the SiriusXM app.

Traditional holiday songs, classical Christmas carols, country Christmas classics, contemporary holiday tunes, soul music, Hanukkah music and so many more, can be heard on all of the offerings.

Subscribers are able to listen online, on-the-go with the SiriusXM mobile app, and at home on a wide variety of connected devices including smart TVs, Amazon Alexa devices, Apple TV, PlayStation, Roku, Sonos speakers and more.

Head inside to check out the list of channels…

Keep scrolling for the full list of channels…

SiriusXM’s Holiday Channel Line-Up (Quick Guide)

Channel...

Jones sang ‘Delilah’ with opera star Luciano Pavarotti at the tenor’s annual charity concert in aid of Afghan refugees.

In 1992, Jones recorded a version of “All You Need Is Love” for ChildLine and performed in a live stage performance of Dylan Thomas’ “Under Milkwood” to benefit the Prince's Trust. He also supported the Prince’s charity in 2001 at the London fundraiser “Party In The Park”.

In 1993, Tom recorded version of the Rolling Stones’ classic “Gimme Shelter” to benefit the UK homeless charity, Shelter, and sang at Sting's annual show at Carnegie Hall to benefit his charity, The Rainforest Foundation.

Charities & foundations supported

Tom Jones has supported the following charities:

Bridge SchoolCash For KidsComic ReliefElton John AIDS FoundationGRAMMY FoundationHelp for HeroesHoping FoundationMusiCaresNordoff RobbinsPrince's TrustSmall Steps Project Read more about Tom Jones's charity work and events. Related articles Elton John, P. Diddy and Andrew Lloyd-Webber to Celebrate Life of Princess...

Norman Steinberg, the Emmy-winning screenwriter who teamed with Mel Brooks on Blazing Saddles and My Favorite Year and wrote for the Michael Keaton-starring Mr. Mom and Johnny Dangerously, has died. He was 83.

Steinberg died March 15 at his Hudson Valley home in upstate New York, his family announced.

Steinberg also wrote Yes, Giorgio (1982), starring Italian opera star Luciano Pavarotti in his feature acting debut, and co-wrote Funny About Love (1990), directed by Leonard Nimoy and starring Gene Wilder and Christine Lahti.

The Brooklyn native and former lawyer won his Emmy very early in his career, for his work on a Flip Wilson variety show.

His TV résumé also included developing Marlo Thomas’ 1974 landmark kids special, Free to Be … You & Me (he brought Brooks in on that); serving as a writer and executive producer on the first two seasons of CBS’ Cosby; and creating the short-lived CBS sitcoms Doctor, Doctor and Teech.

Legendary tenor Placido Domingo is facing a new round of sexual harassment allegations, three years after he stepped down from the Los Angeles Opera over similar claims.

The new accusations come from a fellow Spanish singer with whom Domingo performed on a TV show that aired on Spain’s La Sexta. She alleges that he once tried to kiss her and also asked to touch her on another occasion after a rehearsal in a local theater some two decades ago.

Related Story Meghan Markle & Prince Harry Respond To Jeremy Clarkson’s Latest Apology; Amazon Reportedly Set To Part Ways With ‘The Grand Tour’ Vet – Update Related Story Former L.A. Opera General Director Placido Domingo Hospitalized Due To Coronavirus – Update Related Story This Week In Music: Placido Domingo Gives First Interview Following Sex Harassment Charges

“The first time that I felt unease was when we were rehearsing,” the woman said on La Sexta.

When protests broke out in Iran in 2009 over the fraudulent presidential election, one of the country’s leading artists stood up against the regime and its violent repression of demonstrators. Vocalist Mohammad Reza Shajarian recorded a song with lyrics addressed to government militias attacking people in the streets: “Lay down your guns. Come, sit down, talk, hear. Perhaps the light of humanity will get through to your heart.”

With mass protests again flaring in Iran in recent months—perhaps the most serious challenge to the fundamentalist regime since the Islamic Revolution of 1979—Shajarian’s example and solidarity with the people remain as vital as ever.

Shajarian’s life and the unique stature he attained in Iranian culture are explored in the Oscar-contending documentary The Voice of Dust and Ash, directed by first-time Iranian American filmmaker Mandana Biscotti. The director’s father had been friends with Shajarian—or “Ostad” as he is often called,...

Click here to read the full article.

“Like everyone else in L.A., I have a screenplay,” Bono told the sold-out crowd at the Orpheum Theatre Sunday night for Stories of Surrender, a combination one-man autobiographical show and stripped-down U2 tour (minus his three bandmates) in support of his new memoir, Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story.

The line drew a big laugh from the crowd. But were he being serious — and Bono’s life story is certainly as worthy of the rock biopic treatment as Freddie Mercury’s or Elton John’s — then he came to the right the place. Among the adoring fans were J.J. Abrams, Colin Farrell, Rita Wilson (husband Tom Hanks caught the Nov. 2 tour opener at New York City’s Beacon Theatre), and Cindy Crawford and her tequila-magnate spouse Rande Gerber, to name a few of the Hollywood movers and shakers in attendance.

By 7:45 p.m.

This story about Ron Howard, José Andrés and “We Feed People” first appeared in the Race Begins issue of TheWrap’s awards magazine.

After making documentaries on the Beatles and Luciano Pavarotti, director Ron Howard has turned to crisis response for his last two films, 2020’s “Rebuilding Paradise” and the new “We Feed People.” The former film dealt with the aftermath of a deadly California wildfire in 2018, while the latter chronicles Spanish-born chef José Andrés and his World Central Kitchen, which responds to natural disasters and wars around the world by bringing food to those in need.

“We Feed People” includes glimpses of Andrés’ family life, but it’s really about a heroic effort to cut through bureaucracy in moments of crisis.

Also Read:

‘We Feed People’ Film Review: Ron Howard Documents José Andrés’ Mission to Nourish Bodies and Souls

Ron, what was the challenge of summing up José in a movie?...

The 1995 Grammys ceremony was one of the most interesting the award show has ever had. Most relevant to this year, it was the last year without nomination review committees. And not coincidentally, it was the year Tony Bennett won Album of the Year for his “MTV Unplugged.” Bennett’s win is an interesting one to ponder, especially as he is now nominated for Album of the Year again for “Love for Sale” with Lady Gaga.

Bennett has always been on the Grammys’ radar. His first wins were at the 5th Grammy Awards, where he took home Record of the Year and Best Male Solo Vocal Performance for “I Left My Heart in San Francisco.” Bennett was a consistent nominee for a couple years after that, but dropped off the awards’ radar for 25 years until in 1991 his album “Astoria: Portrait Of The Artist” became his first nomination since 1966.

SEE2022 Gold Derby...

SAG-AFTRA’s unclaimed residuals fund has grown to roughly $76 million – up 60% from $48 million six years ago. According to the union, the fund now contains 124,000 separate accounts for members and others, living and dead, that it can’t locate. That’s up from 96,000 accounts in 2016.

“The funds may be unclaimed for a variety of reasons including a bad address or as a result of mail returned for other reasons; unresolved estate issues, or the funds may be in trust for an inactive or dissolved loan out corporation,” a spokesperson for the union said. “Most often, residuals may be waiting for a recipient or their agent to formalize a change of address or submit the appropriate paperwork to claim the funds. The union uses a number of tools to locate and get money to those individuals due unclaimed residuals including mail, email and telephone outreach to last known address and telephone number,...

As Luciano Pavarotti demonstrated in Yes, Giorgio, his woeful attempt at screen stardom, opera and romantic comedy don’t necessarily mix well onscreen. Fortunately, this new effort from director Ben Lewin fares somewhat better, thanks to the appealing charm of lead players Danielle Macdonald and Hugh Skinner and the amusingly droll humor for which Scottish characters are particularly suited (it’s hard to take a man in a kilt totally seriously). Undemanding rom-com fans and, to a lesser degree, opera lovers, should take some mild pleasure in Falling for Figaro, although the humor isn’t of Gilbert and Sullivan proportions.

The film’s ...

As Luciano Pavarotti demonstrated in Yes, Giorgio, his woeful attempt at screen stardom, opera and romantic comedy don’t necessarily mix well onscreen. Fortunately, this new effort from director Ben Lewin fares somewhat better, thanks to the appealing charm of lead players Danielle Macdonald and Hugh Skinner and the amusingly droll humor for which Scottish characters are particularly suited (it’s hard to take a man in a kilt totally seriously). Undemanding rom-com fans and, to a lesser degree, opera lovers, should take some mild pleasure in Falling for Figaro, although the humor isn’t of Gilbert and Sullivan proportions.

The film’s ...

Amazon Studios has unveiled a new high-concept Italian original movie featuring pop star Laura Pausini, who recently collaborated with Diane Warren to perform the Oscar-nominated theme song “Io Sì” (Seen) for Sophia Loren-starrer “The Life Ahead.”

The still untitled film, which has begun shooting, is being helmed by Ivan Cotroneo, who is among Italy’s most innovative writer-directors, known for several hit Rai TV series such as “Crazy About Love,” which featured Bollywood-style musical numbers, as well as some indie feature films. Endemol Shine Italy is producing. The pic will drop exclusively on Prime Video in over 240 territories in 2022.

Pausini, who performs mainly in Italian and Spanish, is a 2006 Grammy Award winner for “Escucha” in the best Latin pop album category, one of 13 studio albums she has released, scoring more than 70 million album sales around the world.

She regularly tours internationally and has performed with the likes of Luciano Pavarotti,...

Of the top contenders for Best Limited Series Actress, British star Cynthia Erivo faced the greatest technical challenges in playing Aretha Franklin in Nat Geo’s “Genius: Aretha.” The category has five slots and is much more competitive than those honoring actors who work in dramatic and comedic series. This 2015 Tony winner for playing Celie in “The Color Purple” and 2019 double Oscar nominee for “Harriet” is currently in the running for an Emmy alongside Anya Taylor-Joy (“The Queen’s Gambit”), Kate Winslet (“Mare of Easttown”), Michaela Coel (“I May Destroy You”) and Elizabeth Olsen (“WandaVision”), according to Gold Derby predictions.

Erivo had to sing Aretha’s greatest hits from a period of 30-odd years, matching live performances of such hits as “You’re All I Need to Get By,” a studio session of her first hit, “I Never Loved a Man the Way I Loved You” and finally the opening bars of “Nessun Dorma,...

Welcome to this week’s Nwa: Powerrr review, right here on Nerdly. I’m Nathan Favel and we have more in Nick Aldis’s quest to not be called Brutus Magnus any more. There’s plenty to cover here, so let’s…what the… Stevie The Monkey: Oo Oo Oo! Ah Ah Ah! Me: Stupid monkey! Go to Hell! Stm: Ohhhhhhhhhh!!!!!! Me: Who you s—tin’? You’re a dumbass! Stm: Wawawawawawawawawa!!!!!!!!!! Me: I’ve had it with your bull-s—t! Life is not a highway! Stm: Uhuhuhuhuhuhuhuh!!!!!! Me: No it’s not! Stm: Ohha! Me: There is no such thing as a bisexual airplane! It’s not called a bi-plane! Stm: Oo Oo! Me: Go f—k an Arby’s Ripple-Dipple Melt! Stm: Huh? Me: Yeah! Got your ass there! Nwa: Power starts now!

Match #1: Slice Boogie def. Jax Dane – Falls Count Anywhere Match The Score: 7 out...

R&b superstars Bruno Mars and Anderson Paak have joined forces to form a duo called Silk Sonic. The single “Leave The Door Open,” off their album “An Evening with Silk Sonic,” has so far been tremendously popular, recently topping the Billboard Hot 100. But while their continued commercial success seems all but certain, one question does remain: what are their Grammy chances? Let’s look at some past supergroups to see how the recording academy has reacted to them and what that might mean for this new dynamic duo.

The Highwomen

This critically acclaimed all-female supergroup consists of Grammy winners Maren Morris, Brandi Carlile, Amanda Shires, and Natalie Hemby. The country and Americana quartet released their debut album in late 2019 to great reviews. As for the Grammys, they surprisingly only got one nom for Best Country Song for “Crowded Table,” which they eventually won against bigger hits like Miranda Lambert...

The director of 2019’s critically acclaimed Martin Eden returns with For Lucio, a slim, charming documentary about one of Italy’s premier post-war crooners. Lucio Dalla, born in Bologna in 1943, witnessed Italy’s recovery from the destruction of the second World War as his pastoral Bolognese childhood was replaced by rapid industrialization in a country that was painfully losing its social and cultural identity. It may be brief at 78 minutes, but this is a rewarding film, mostly pivoting on a series of interviews with the singer’s manager Tobia, who regales stories of Lucio from his early days hustling for gigs in Rome to a nationally renowned artist with a powerful social conscience.

A former child star, Lucio started on the Italian jazz scene as a clarinettist, only moving into singing because being in the band didn’t earn him enough money. “Singing wasn’t in my plans,” he says...

David Romano, a tenor who appeared in the original Broadway production of The Phantom of the Opera and served as a vocal coach to the likes of Josh Groban and Sarah Brightman, has died. He was 69.

Romano had a heart ailment and died Saturday at his home in Palm Springs, his friend Michael Caprio announced.

Romano toured the world as soloist, sang in more than 100 concerts with conductor and chorus leader Roger Wagner and was heard on more than 30 film soundtracks; for the 1982 MGM film Yes, Giorgio, he performed a duet with Luciano Pavarotti.

In 1998, Romano released ...

David Romano, a tenor who appeared in the original Broadway production of The Phantom of the Opera and served as a vocal coach to the likes of Josh Groban and Sarah Brightman, has died. He was 69.

Romano had a heart ailment and died Saturday at his home in Palm Springs, his friend Michael Caprio announced.

Romano toured the world as soloist, sang in more than 100 concerts with conductor and chorus leader Roger Wagner and was heard on more than 30 film soundtracks; for the 1982 MGM film Yes, Giorgio, he performed a duet with Luciano Pavarotti.

In 1998, Romano released ...

Oscar-winning director Ron Howard (“A Beautiful Mind”) is a strong contender at this year’s Academy Awards over in Best Documentary Feature for his well-received film “Rebuilding Paradise.” After premiering in January at Sundance, it was released theatrically in July, and will debut ad-free on National Geographic on November 8.

That is the second anniversary of the devastating Camp Fire that destroyed almost all of the picturesque town of Paradise, California and surrounding areas killing 85 people, destroying some 95% of the town’s structures including hospitals and schools, with losses of upwards of $16 billion.

Paradise, which is located in Northern California in Butte County, had a population of 26,500 before the Camp Fire, but only 2,900 lived there a year after firestorm. For Howard, “the year we spent watching what happened in Paradise was sort of a reminder that community adds up to something. We live in an increasingly complicated global society that challenges...

As summer comes to a close and sweater season begins, many of us will start to incorporate baths into our routine — or stop taking showers altogether. Whether it’s a simple bath with warm water or additions that include bath bombs, salt, candles, books, or wine, baths are an ideal way to decompress from a long day. And these days most of us need to decompress more than ever. Just ask Alabama Shakes frontwoman Brittany Howard, who’s made a delightful hobby of it: “Some people meditate, some people go for runs,...

The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce has announced the latest group of entertainment professionals in the categories of Motion Pictures, Television, Live Theatre/Live Performance, Recording and Radio to be honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2021. The new selections were revealed via the Walk of Fame Facebook page on Thursday.

The honorees were chosen from among hundreds of nominations at a selection committee meeting held this month with the final approval coming down from the Hollywood Chamber’s board of directors. Ellen K, radio personality and the chair of the Walk of Fame selection panel, announced the new honorees alongside Rana Ghadban, the president and CEO of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.

“The Walk of Fame selection panel is pleased to announce 35 new honorees to the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The Selection Panel, made up of fellow Walk of Famers, hand-picks a group of honorees each...

Sunday marks Bono’s 60th birthday, and to celebrate the U2 singer has unveiled his “60 Songs That Saved My Life” playlist.

“These are some of the songs that saved my life,’ Bono wrote of the playlist. “The ones I couldn’t have lived without… the ones that got me from there to here, zero to 60… through all the scrapes, all manner of nuisance, from the serious to the silly… and the joy, mostly joy.'”

Bono also penned a “fan letter” of gratitude to each of the artists included on his playlist,...

Mythos Studios has expanded the team behind the animated feature film Cupid with Michael Gracey (the director of The Greatest Showman) joining as executive producer and Mike Vukadinovich (Hulu’s The Runaways) coming aboard to write the script for the Justin Bieber vehicle.

Pic is built around the Hellenic tale of Cupid and Psyche with Bieber set to executive produce and voice the title role as the winged figure of myth and passion. The announcements were made by Founding Chairman of Marvel Studios David Maisel, now Chairman and Co-Founder of Mythos Studios. Mythos was founded in 2018 by Maisel and Scooter Braun, founder of Sb Projects and Chairman of Ithaca Holdings, who joined as the principal investor..

Gracey brings his extensive experience working at the intersection of music and film to the feature, an original adaptation of the enduring 2,000-year-old love story.

“The addition of Michael Gracey and Mike Vukadinovich, who...

Among the nearly 20 documentary films and TV series projects shared with Variety by Ron Howard and Brian Grazer’s Imagine Entertainment, one stands out: Martin Scorsese has a new music documentary in the kiln.

Imagine Docs, which is the entertainment company’s nonfiction unit, said that the documentary will mark a return to familiar territory for “The Irishman” director Scorsese — specifically the 1970s music scene. Scorsese is no stranger to this world, as his 2019 Netflix documentary “Rolling Thunder Revue” explored a legendary 1975 Bob Dylan tour through the eyes and ears of the period. Scorsese’s prior music documentaries include “George Harrison: Living in the Material World,” “No Direction Home,” and “The Last Waltz.” In terms of fiction projects revolving around this turbulent era of music, Scorsese and Mick Jagger were among the co-creators of HBO’s one-season wonder, “Vinyl,” which starred Bobby Cannavale (who stars in “Irishman”) as a decadent ’70s record executive.

In his latest documentary Pavarotti, two-time Academy Award®-winning director Ron Howard celebrates the life of the beloved opera star Luciano Pavarotti, who sold over 100 million records in his lifetime. Pavarotti is available now on Digital Download and comes to Blu-ray and DVD on 25th November 2019. To celebrate the release, we are offering two winners the chance to win a Blu-ray copy.

The 1990 World Cup in Italy was the moment opera left the elite and hit the masses. Opera star Pavarotti joined fellow tenors Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras onstage in Rome watched by millions around the world. Their powerful rendition of “Nessun Dorma” lives on as one of the most popular and famous pieces of music the world has ever heard, and Pavarotti realised his long-held dream of bringing opera into the mainstream.

Ron Howard takes an intimate approach in telling Pavarotti’s story, going beyond the iconic public...

‘Promised.’

Most of the new releases in Australian cinemas last weekend had bombed or under-performed in the Us weeks or months ago, so their fates were probably sealed.

Splatter comedy Ready or Not, Ron Howard’s homage to the late tenor Luciano Pavarotti, English musical dramedy Blinded by the Light and indie Us drama After the Wedding were among the Halloween strugglers.

The top-grossing title at the Lavazza Italian Film Festival, writer-director Nick Conidi’s Promised opened on 45 screens via Umbrella Entertainment. The weekend take for the 1950s-set drama starring Tina Arena, Paul Mercurio, Antoniette Iesue, Daniel Berini and Mirko Grillini was a modest $57,000 but the total including festival screenings is a decent $198,000.

The top 20 titles generated $11.3 million, down 21 per cent on the prior frame according to Numero, getting some uplift from Indian imports Bigil and, to a lesser extent, Housefull 4.

Facing minimal competition, Todd Phillips’ Joker led the field for the fourth consecutive weekend,...