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The Hollywood Insider - Gypsy Revival starring Audra McDonald

From star-studded shows in New York to blockbuster national tours, here’s what theater lovers can’t miss this summer. Broadway is buzzing this summer with a sensational mix of hot new musicals, gripping plays, and crowd-pleasing tours that are lighting up stages from Times Square to towns across America. Whether you’re catching a matinee in NYC or planning a theater night in your hometown, this guide walks you through the top shows you simply can’t miss. Subscribe to The Hollywood Insider’s YouTube Channel, by clicking here. Limited Time Offer – Free Subscription to The Hollywood Insider Click here to read more on The Hollywood Insider’s vision, values and mission statement here – Media has the responsibility to better our world – The Hollywood Insider fully focuses on substance and meaningful entertainment, against gossip and scandal, by combining entertainment, education,...

Exclusive: Adam Stein, recently an executive producer on Max’s Our Flag Means Death, has signed with Innovative Artists Entertainment for representation.

Stein’s other recent credits include consulting producer on The Last Thing He Told Me, for Apple TV+, and co-executive producer on Max’s Tokyo Vice and Apple’s See.

He was previously a consulting producer on Designated Survivor, and he also served as a co-executive producer on Fox’s The Exorcist series.

Prior to transitioning to writing and producing, Stein appeared both on and off Broadway, including a year-long stint in Julie Taymor’s The Lion King, as Zazu. He has performed in theaters around the country, including Steppenwolf Theatre Company, The Old Globe, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Seattle Rep, Alley Theatre, McCarter Theatre Center, and others. He performed the title role in Stephen Wadsworth’s adaptation of Molière’s Don Juan, “Parolles” in Darko Tresnjak’s production...

Several major Broadway figures scheduled to participate in the Library of Congress’s upcoming StageStruck! VI: Women and the American Musical conference have withdrawn, drastically altering the event’s programming just days before it is set to begin. An email sent to registered attendees announced that Tony nominee Camille A. Brown (Gypsy), producer Marjuan Canady (Hell’s Kitchen), composer Helen Park (Kpop), and writer/performer Shaina Taub (Suffs) have all canceled their appearances “due to unforeseen circumstances.” While Jeanine Tesori had previously been announced as a featured speaker, she is also no longer listed in the updated session outlines. A planned May 14 panel featuring Brown, Canady, and Tony-winning director Julie Taymor (The Lion King) will now proceed as a solo interview...

Over the course of 25 years, Scott Ellis has been nominated at the Tony Awards for directing nine times, but has never emerged victorious. This year, he earned three more bids for producing: Best Play for English, Best Musical Revival for Pirates! The Penzance Musical, and Best Play Revival for Yellow Face. The latter in particular is the current frontrunner in that category. If it prevails, it would mark Ellis' first Tony win after 12 nominations.

As of now, Ellis is among several notable individuals who have earned multiple Tony bids, but never won. Others include director-choreographer Graciela Daniele (10 noms; Lifetime Achievement Award recipient), lighting designer Paul Gallo (eight noms), orchestrator Harold Wheeler (seven noms; Lifetime Achievement Award recipient), and choreographer Onna White (eight noms).

Ellis' nine prior directing nominations were for the following:

1994 for She Loves Me; lost to Nicholas Hytner for Carousel 1997 for Steel Pier; lost to Walter Bobbie for...

Brian Michael Bendis’s Hollywood memoir-in-comics Fortune & Glory was republished about two years ago, for no obvious anniversary- or thematically-related reason. At the time, I thought it was just a random new edition, but now it’s clear that it was setting up for what we might as well call a sequel.

Fortune & Glory: The Musical was published at the end of January – I don’t think it was serialized first, which is a little unusual for a book written by a guy like Bendis and published by an outfit like Dark Horse – and it tells a different story of a younger Bendis getting pulled into writing stuff for other creative media. While the first F&g centered on trying to turn his creator-owned early noir GNs into movies – Spoiler alert! it didn’t quite happen, though Bendis got contacts and contracts and some income for a few years and other...

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The most frequent fact cited about Ron Howard's 1985 sci-fi film "Cocoon" is that star Wilford Brimley was only 50 years old when he appeared in it. One might have heard the statistic that Tom Cruise was the same age when he made "Jack Reacher" and "Oblivion." This was said to be notable because Brimley plays an aged retiree in "Cocoon," and his advanced age is part of the film's plot, while Cruise was still leading action franchises. Many young people can't wrap their heads around the fact that two 50-year-old men should look so different in age. 

Another fun fact: Did you know that pretty much only people around Wilford Brimley's age in "Cocoon" remember the movie "Cocoon?" Ron Howard's film was a notable hit at the time, making over $85 million on a $17 million budget (those numbers translate to $252 million...

The unimaginable becomes a heartbreaking reality for Denise Gough (Andor) and Jim Sturgess (Across the Universe) in Collider’s exclusive first look at the trailer for The Stolen Girl. The Hulu and Freeform series is set for a release on April 16 and will follow the devastating story of one family’s personal hell after their daughter goes missing. The five-episode series, which also features performances from Holliday Grainger (Strike), Bronagh Waugh (The Suspect), Michael Workéyè (My Lady Jane) and Ambika Mod (One Day), serves as an adaptation of Alex Dahl’s best-selling crime novel, Playdate.

The beginning of our exclusive debut look at the teaser for the Freeform and Hulu production reveals every parent’s worst nightmare, when Elisa (Gough) and her husband (Sturgess) go to pick up their daughter following a sleepover playdate at the home of her friend. Upon their arrival, the couple are greeted by the housekeeper,...

Dogma is coming back to theaters to celebrate a major milestone. Twenty-five years after it was seen on the big screen for the first time, the satire directed by Kevin Smithis making a comeback, giving viewers who didn't catch it in theaters an opportunity to experience the comedy as it was meant to. The re-release organized by AMC Theaters and Iconic Events Releasing will begin on June 5. Twenty-five cities have been selected to host new screenings of Dogma, with San Diego, New York City and Orlando being some of the places that will participate in the celebration.

Dogma tells the story of Bartleby (Ben Affleck) and Loki (Matt Damon). The fallen angels are banished from Heaven after a series of irresponsible decisions cause God (Alanis Morrissette) to send them away. The protagonists come up with a plan to return to Heaven that involves signing up at the Cardinal Ignatius Glick's (George Carlin) church.

"A lone, spectral woman shrouded entirely in black appears on a family’s front lawn without explanation and warns them “today’s the day.”

Where did she come from? What does she want? When will she leave? Only The Woman in the Yard knows.

From Blumhouse, the most successful global brand in horror, comes a new original chiller starring BAFTA and SAG nominee Danielle Deadwyler as Ramona, a woman crippled by grief after she survives a car accident that takes her husband.

Seriously injured, Ramona now must care for their 14-year-old son and 6-year-old-daughter, alone in her rural farmhouse.

Then one day the woman takes form in their yard.

Ramona assumes the woman is lost or demented, but as the woman creeps nearer and nearer to the house, it becomes clear she is no ordinary figure and her intentions are anything but peaceful. Now Ramona must rally to protect herself...

Martin Scorsese, Jane Campion and Wes Anderson are among the signees of an appeal to stave off the impending threat that a substantial portion of Rome’s movie theaters could be converted into shopping centers and supermarkets under proposed regional legislation.

Alarm over the future of the Eternal City’s cinemas was prompted last month after asset management companies Colliers Global Investors and Wrm Capital won a Rome real estate bankruptcy auction and acquired nine movie theaters for a reported €50 million ($52 million).

Some of these venues, such as the city’s central Cinema Adriano multiplex, are fully operational, while others have long been shuttered. The person behind the fund is believed to be Italian-British financier Raffaele Mincione.

Meanwhile, a new regional piece of legislation is being drafted — and is up for approval this week — that would remove norms that currently prevent Rome movie theaters from being converted into any other...

A vote is scheduled for next week in Italy that could turn cultural venues in Rome — including 50 movie theaters — into shopping malls and supermarkets. Martin Scorsese is among the filmmakers petitioning to save them.

Architect Renzo Piano has shared a letter whose appeal has now been endorsed by filmmakers and Hollywood luminaries including Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Jane Campion, Spike Lee, Wes Anderson, David Cronenberg, Ari Aster, Julie Taymor, Yorgos Lanthimos, J.J. Abrams, Josh Safdie, Todd Haynes, Judd Apatow, Damien Chazelle, Mark Cousins, Alfonso Cuarón, Willem Dafoe, Robert Eggers, Joanna Hogg, Dawn Hudson, Isabella Rossellini, Mark Ruffalo, Paul Schrader, Léa Seydoux, John Turturro, Thomas Vinterberg, Jeremy Thomas, Paweł Pawlikowski, and Debra Winger.

The government of the Lazio region, which hosts the Italian capital, is about to approve a law that will be voted on next week that would make 50 movie theaters, including Rome’s many historic and abandoned cinemas, vulnerable...

A powerful Ukrainian documentary about resilience during wartime has won the Directors Guild of America (DGA) Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary. “Porcelain War,” co-directed by Brendan Bellomo and Slava Leontyev, tells the story of Ukrainian artists fighting against Russian invasion through creativity and spirit.

The film follows Leontyev, who serves as both a shooting instructor for Ukrainian Armed Forces and a porcelain artist, and his wife Anna Stasenko. Their work embodies the documentary’s central message: “Ukraine is like Porcelain. Easy to break but impossible to destroy.”

During a recent virtual Q&a, acclaimed filmmaker Guillermo del Toro praised the documentary and warned about challenges facing artistic expression. “We are entering a very dark time where art will be demeaned,” he said. Del Toro emphasized that resistance lives through art and spirit.

Leontyev, who attended the Beverly Hills awards ceremony with his dog Frodo – also featured in the film...

Exclusive: “Ukraine is like Porcelain. Easy to break but impossible to destroy.”

That is a line from the Oscar-nominated documentary Porcelain War, which just won the DGA Award for Documentary Feature for directors Brendan Bellomo and Slava Leontyev, the latter a Ukrainian artist also one of the subjects of the film who stayed behind to use his art, rather than guns, as he says, to put up a powerful resistance to the Ukraine war and Russia’s invasion.

Among others, three-time Oscar-winning filmmaker Guillermo del Toro is speaking out for the film and its cause, most recently in a virtual Q&a with the directors.

Leontyev explains to him how he learned the camera, such as used for this film, is far more powerful than a rifle, giving him a “new brush” to paint with.

Del Toro praises the film for emphasizing the value of art, but offers a stark...

In this edition of Horror Highlights, we have details on Terrifier 3 coming to Screambox on Valentine's Day, the trailer for The Woman in the Yard, release details for the vampire movie Drained, a look at the trailer for Inhabitants, and details on Arrow's February streaming lineup!

Terrifier 3 Coming to Screambox on February 14th: "Cineverse, a next-generation entertainment studio, announced today that Terrifier 3, the highest-grossing non-rated film in U.S. history, will premiere Feb. 14 on Screambox, Cineverse’s streaming service for horror fans. The streaming release of Terrifier 3 – distributed by Cineverse and its horror division, Bloody Disgusting – will include a new stunt “Terrify Your Heart: Art’s Bloody Valentines.”

On March 14, Art Attack! The Dissection of Terrifier 3 – a new behind-the-scenes documentary feature offering fans an insider’s look into the making of Terrifier 3 – will debut on Screambox. An exclusive sneak peek of the feature...

These days, Salma Hayek is known for her roles in Eternals, From Dusk Till Dawn, and Wild Wild West. The talented actress has earned acclaim for her adaptability, although she retains strong ties to her comedic roots. She’s earned plenty of well-deserved fans since then, but many have missed her best role. Way back in 2002, Hayek landed the leading role in Julie Taymor’s Frida, a surrealistic biographical drama about Frida Kahlo. That role rightfully propelled Hayek’s career into the stratosphere, and she’s been climbing the cinematic ladder ever since.

So, what makes the film so special? Like many of Julie Taymor’s films, the entirety of Frida is a meticulous masterpiece. It’s more than a simple biography. It’s a fully reconstructed world, and its characters act accordingly. Simply starring in such an “artsy” film is difficult enough, but the subject matter must also be considered.

Up next from director Jaume Collet-Serra (House of Wax, Orphan, The Shallows) is the Universal & Blumhouse thriller The Woman in the Yard, and the first trailer has arrived to give an ominous peek at the eerie title character.

The Woman in the Yard releases in theaters on March 28, 2025.

Watch the new trailer below, which sees a lone, strange woman shrouded entirely in black as she appears on a family’s front lawn without explanation and warns them “today’s the day.”

Danielle Deadwyler as “Ramona, a woman crippled by grief after she survives a car accident that takes her husband. Seriously injured, Ramona now must care for their 14-year-old son and 6-year-old-daughter, alone in her rural farmhouse. Then one day the woman takes form in their yard.

“Ramona assumes the woman is lost or demented, but as the woman creeps nearer and nearer to the house, it becomes clear she...

Universal Pictures has revealed the official trailer and poster for the horror thriller The Woman in the Yard, opening in theaters on March 28, 2025.

In the movie, a lone, spectral woman shrouded entirely in black appears on a family’s front lawn without explanation and warns them “Today’s the day.” Where did she come from? What does she want? When will she leave? Only The Woman in the Yard knows.

From Blumhouse, the most successful global brand in horror, comes a new original chiller starring BAFTA and SAG nominee Danielle Deadwyler as Ramona, a woman crippled by grief after she survives a car accident that takes her husband.

Seriously injured, Ramona now must care for their 14-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter, alone in her rural farmhouse. Then one day the woman takes form in their yard.

Ramona assumes the woman is lost or demented, but as the woman creeps nearer and nearer to the house,...

Spider-Man fans might know the story of the musical ‘Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark,’ but have you wondered what happened behind the scenes? Now you can find out in Brian Michael Bendis’ new graphic novel, ‘Fortune and Glory: The Musical.’ Bendis, who helped create Miles Morales, shares his experience working with Marvel and director Julie Taymor on the musical.

Though Bendis didn’t get a writing credit, he met Taymor and shared those moments in the book. In one part, he recalls a phone call with her where they debated which parts of Peter Parker’s story were outdated.

Bendis, a fan of the musical despite its flaws, highlights the issues it faced, like complaints from Spider-Man fans. The show, featuring music by Bono and The Edge from U2, also struggled with its songs. Most of them sounded the same, except for “A Freak Like Me Needs Company,” which became...

Spider-Man fans know all about the lore of the musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark. But have you wanted to know what it was like from behind the scenes? Now is your chance with a brand new graphic novel from Brian Michael Bendis! Known for being part of the duo who brought us the character Miles Morales, Bendis has a long and storied history with Marvel and our friendly neighborhood fave. Which does include working with Julie Taymor on bringing the musical to life. In a new graphic novel called Fortune and Glory: The Musical, Bendis recounts meetings for the doomed musical.

Brian Cox has given a frank response to one of his iconic stage roles going to Anthony Hopkins onscreen. Cox is an award-winning performer on both stage and screen. Since his career began in the 1960s, he has been nominated for two British Theatre Association Drama Awards, five Emmy Awards, four Golden Globes, and seven BAFTA Awards.

Cox is best known in the modern age as one of the leads of the Succession cast, having played patriarch Logan Roy across all four seasons of the popular HBO drama. However, he has held a variety of onscreen roles in iconic properties over the years, including playing Samara's father in The Ring, William Stryker in X2: X-Men United, CIA Deputy Director Ward Abbott in The Bourne Identity and its sequel The Bourne Supremacy, Captain O'Hagan in the Super Troopers movies, and more.

Brian Cox Shares His Thoughts On Not Being Cast...

Netflix’s Maria is the latest subversive biopic from acclaimed filmmaker Pablo Larraín, exploring the tumultuous life of opera singer Maria Callas. The film centers around the celebrity’s final days before her death, exploring the impact of her work on both the world around her and her own psyche. It’s a dark, twisted tale of fame, ambition, and corruption that certainly doesn’t stick to the formula when it comes to historical biopics. The film is notably one of Angelina Jolie’s best projects yet, as she delivers a groundbreaking performance in the lead role.

Larrain has a very unique style of filmmaking that’s totally unlike anything else that came before it, but there are certainly traces of influence and inspiration that can be found in Maria. The film’s dark, socially relevant exploration of womanhood and success is something that’s often explored in these kinds of films,...

Martha Luttrell, a talent agent who represented a notable array of directors, actors, writers and musicians, died on Dec. 9 in Calabasas, Calif. She was 80.

Luttrell’s death was confirmed to Variety by her friend Holly Goldberg Sloan, with the cause being pancreatic cancer.

As a one-time representative for directors Martin Campbell, Paul Weiland, Mick Jackson, Tony Bill and Jon Amiel, Luttrell also helped guide the careers of Stephen Rea, Julie Taymor, Dereck Joubert, Beverly Joubert, Susan Sarandon, Judy Davis, Sam Shepard, Waylon Jennings and Don Was.

Luttrell got one of her first jobs answering phones at Capitol Records. In the 1970s, she relocated to New York City and assisted Mike Nichols. After working with him on location for the film “The Day of the Dolphin,” she relocated to Los Angeles and got a job assisting Bill Robinson at The Robinson Agency, where she learned how to be an agent.

Robinson...

Martha Luttrell, the onetime ICM talent agent whose clients included Susan Sarandon, Sam Shepard, Waylon Jennings, Don Was and Martin Campbell, has died. She was 80.

Luttrell died Monday of pancreatic cancer in Calabasas, California, a family spokesperson announced.

Luttrell, who spent 25 years at ICM, also repped directors Paul Weiland, Mick Jackson, Julie Taymor, Tony Bill and Jon Amiel; actors Stephen Rea and Judy Davis; and filmmakers/conservationists Dereck and Beverly Joubert.

Luttrell was born in Vancouver on Halloween in 1944. Her father, James, was a salesman and her mother, Frances, a realtor. She knew at an early age that she wanted to be in show business and moved with her cousin to Los Angeles right out of high school. One of her first jobs was working at Capitol Records answering the phones.

In the early 1970s, Luttrell relocated to New York and became the assistant to Mike Nichols, whom she called...

Martha Luttrell, a veteran talent agent whose clients ranged from Susan Sarandon and Martin Campbell to Julie Taymor, Sam Shepard and Waylon Jennings and also worked with Mike Nichols and Bill Robinson, died Sunday of pancreatic cancer in Calabasas, CA. She was 80.

Her friend Holly Goldberg Sloan confirmed the news to Deadline.

Born on October 31, 1944, in Vancouver, Luttrell knew at an early age that she wanted to be in show business and moved with her cousin to Los Angeles right out of high school. Among her first jobs was answering phones at Capitol Records.

Luttrell relocated to New York City in the early 1970s and became the assistant to comedian-turned-Oscar-winning The Graduate filmmaker Mike Nichols. After working with him on 1973’s The Day of the Dolphin, she moved back to Los Angeles and got a job assisting Robinson at The Robinson Agency, where she learn the craft of agenting.

Related:...

Hulu’s new Spanish-language series ‘La Máquina’ (2024) is a visually striking, dark dramedy that masterfully blends campy, over-the-top elements with moments of psychological tension. Set primarily in Mexico, the show follows an aging boxer and his crafty manager as they gear up for what could be their final match. What truly sets ‘La Máquina’ apart from typical sports dramas is its surreal tone and its nuanced portrayal of family dynamics. The series balances moments of absurdity with heartfelt interactions, creating a unique blend of suspense, humor, and emotional depth. Things to do: Subscribe to The Hollywood Insider’s YouTube Channel, by clicking here. Limited Time Offer – Free Subscription to The Hollywood Insider Click here to read more on The Hollywood Insider’s vision, values and mission statement here – Media has the responsibility to better our world – The Hollywood Insider fully focuses on substance and meaningful entertainment, against gossip and scandal,...

Stephen Colbert has lined up Jon Bon Jovi as his guest for his annual Montclair Film Festival conversation, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

The Late Show host will sit down with the Bon Jovi frontman at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, New Jersey on Saturday, Oct. 26 for an in-depth discussion of the New Jersey rocker’s career.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band has sold more than 130 million albums and performed in more than 50 countries for more than 40 million fans. The group is also the subject of this year’s Hulu docuseries Thank You, Goodnight, which uses archival footage, songs and performances to chart the rise of the group from New Jersey clubs to some of the biggest stages across the globe.

“We are thrilled to welcome Jon Bon Jovi to the Montclair Film Festival and to share what promises to be a special evening of conversation,...

Travis Kelce wasn’t the only person Taylor Swift thanked while accepting her 2024 MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year on Wednesday. Swift – who won seven awards during the ceremony, bringing her lifetime total to 30, tying Beyonce for the most VMAs ever – made sure to show gratitude to several collaborators who helped her make the video for “Fortnight,” including stars Josh Charles and Ethan Hawke, featured artist Post Malone, and Oscar-nominated cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto.

“Directing this video and putting it together and writing it was the most wonderful experience. And that is because of all the people that I got to make it with, and that includes Ethan Hawke and Josh Charles who were amazing cameos,” she said. “That includes my amazing cinematographer/Dp Rodrigo Prieto, who goes out of his way to work with female directors. He’s a genius, and I can’t believe I got to work with him.

Exclusive: Mandy Gonzalez, star of In The Heights, Hamilton and Aida, will play the role of Norma Desmond at select performances of Broadway’s upcoming Sunset Blvd., taking one performance a week with star Nicole Scherzinger taking all others.

Gonzalez will play her first performance on Tuesday, October 22. The casting was announced today by producers of the Jamie Lloyd-directed revival of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, which begins previews at the St. James Theatre on Saturday, September 28 ahead of a Sunday, October 20 opening night.

Gonzalez said in a statement, “In my 25 years playing leading ladies on Broadway, I’ve never been more excited for a show. The role of Norma Desmond is iconic, Jamie Lloyd’s direction is masterful, and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s score is sumptuous. To reinterpret a timeless story with such raw sophistication, especially as the first Latina to take this role on Broadway, is a dream come true.

For those keeping track of such things, nearly 10% – or $3,239,838 – of Broadway’s total $36.8 million box office last week was earned by productions directed by Taymors: The Lion King‘s Julie Taymor and her niece, The Outsiders director Danya Taymor.

And that’s before The Outsiders‘ big Tony-winning night on Sunday. Two of the musical’s four awards were Best Musical and Best Direction of a Musical. (Lighting and sound for musicals were the other two.)

As usual, stalwart The Lion King was Broadway’s top earner for the week, grossing $2,216,034. The Outsiders took in $1,023,804. Those numbers tally up to 9% of the Broadway total for the week ending June 16.

In all, the 35 Broadway productions grossed $36,851,329 for the week, a slight increase of 2% over the previous week but a solid 12% over the same time last year. Total attendance was 293,997, about even with the previous week but up 13% year-to-year.

While the impact of...

There’s nothing quite like cinema under the stars. The Los Angeles based screening org Cinespia understands that and for the last 22 years, founder John Wyatt and his team have been bringing people together for outdoor showings of classic films every summer at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Sponsored by Amazon & Wondery, this month and next features screenings of “D.E.B.S” for L.A. Pride, “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?,” “Rocky” on July 4th with fireworks, and many more, but this past Saturday’s presentation of the 2007 Beatles musical “Across the Universe” had an extra special treat for guests. Star Evan Rachel Wood was there to introduce the film via video message and offered some fascinating tidbits on making it and the struggle getting it released, as well as the impact it had on her life and career.

A knee injury prevented Wood from attending in person, but sitting on the grass...

At this year’s Tony Awards “Suffs” managed to win prizes for Best Musical Book and Best Score, both of which went to Shaina Taub. Historically, winning those two accolades in particular would bode well for a show’s chances at Best Musical. Yet in a shocking turn of events, the top award went to “The Outsiders.” But this is not the first time something like this has happened.

SEETony Awards: Every winner (and nominee) in all 26 competitive categories

In 1978 “On the Twentieth Century” won Tonys for Best Score and Best Book (Comden and Green). It also won Best Actor in a Musical (John Cullum), Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Kevin Kline), and Best Scenic Design (Robin Wagner). Yet Best Musical that year went to Murray Horwitz and Richard Maltby Jr.‘s revue “Ain’t Misbehavin’.” A tribute to the music of Fats Waller, it also won Tonys for Best...

According to Evan Rachel Wood, one of the scenes in the 2007 Beatles themed musical Across the Universe is more based in reality than one might assume. While presenting a special Cinespia screening of the film at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Wood shared a behind-the-scenes story from the set.

Notably, Wood did not present the film in person but instead recorded a video because she is “recovering from a knee injury and not going anywhere.”

“They told me to share a funny story or moment from when we were on set,” Wood said. “Well, I’ll just say this … during the ‘I Am the Walrus’ scene, any moment you see myself and Jim Sturgess, we are actually tripping.”

Wood continued, indicating that the stars had taken real drugs while shooting parts of the hallucinogenic sequence.

The scene in question is one of the more psychedelic moments of the film. During the sequence,...

Out of all the winners (and also-rans) in the 26 competitive categories at the 2024 Tony Awards, 23 results stand out as particularly noteworthy when considered in the context of history. So what were this year’s most interesting facts, records, and milestones? Check out the complete list of winners here.

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1. The productions that received multiple Tony nominations, but went home empty-handed were “Back to the Future,” “Days of Wine and Roses,” “Doubt,” “Grey House,” “Here Lies Love,” “Lempicka,” “Mary Jane,” “Mother Play,” “The Notebook,” “Prayer for the French Republic” and “Water for Elephants.”

2. The individuals who had multiple nominations this year, but went home empty-handed were songwriter/orchestrator Will Butler (“Stereophonic”), lighting designer Isabella Byrd (“Cabaret” and “An Enemy of the People”), scenic designer dots (“Appropriate” and “An Enemy of the People”), songwriters/orchestrators Jamestown Revival (“The Outsiders”), lighting designer Natasha Katz...

US composer Elliot Goldenthal will receive a lifetime achievement award at the upcoming 24th World Soundtrack Awards (Wsa), Film Fest Gent’s annual film music awards ceremony.

Goldenthal is most renowned for his Oscar, Golden Globe and Wsa-winning score for Frida, as well as scoring Interview With The Vampire, Heat, Batman Forever, Michael Collins, Titus and Across The Universe across his accomplished career.

He will be presented with his award on October 16 at the Wsa ceremony and concert in Ghent, in which a selection of Goldenthal’s work will be performed by the Brussels Philharmonic conducted by Dirk Brossé.

Goldenthal,...

Paul Giamatti is set to join Stephen Colbert for an evening of conversation as part of the second annual North to Shore Festival in New Jersey this June.

The event, set for June 29 at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, will raise money for Montclair Film, the New Jersey based arts organization with which Colbert has long been involved, which runs the Montclair Film Festival.

Onstage, the Late Show host and Holdovers star will discuss Giamatti’s long-running screen career. In addition to his recent, Oscar-nominated role in the Alexander Payne-directed film, Giamatti’s film credits include Sideways, his Oscar-nominated role in Cinderella Man and performances in such movies as American Splendor, Barney’s Version, 12 Years a Slave, Straight Outta Compton, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, San Andreas, Planet of the Apes and Saving Private Ryan.

On the small screen, Giamatti spent seven seasons starring in Billions and previously...

Historical films like Schindler's List and Gladiator transport audiences to pivotal moments and shed light on triumphs and struggles of the past. Movies like Hidden Figures and Selma explore the contributions and sacrifices of overlooked figures in American history, inspiring and educating viewers. From the poignant portrayal of the Holocaust in Schindler's List to the gripping account of the Dunkirk evacuation, historical films offer compelling storytelling.

Historical events always provide rich material for crafting masterful pieces of cinema. As a result, these movies excel at capturing and reimagining some of history's most captivating moments. From the harrowing portrayal of WWII in Schindler's List to the epic tale of revenge and redemption in Gladiator, historical films have the power to transport audiences to different eras and shed light on the triumphs and struggles of those who came before. These cinematic masterpieces not only entertain but also educate, offering unique perspectives on...

Not to be confused with the 2002 narrative film by director Julie Taymor, starring Salma Hayek and Alfred Molina as Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera of the same name, the new documentary Frida is an honest and lovingly constructed film that brings to the forefront the far-reaching influence of Kahlo and her work, further solidifying her status as an artist of singular importance.

The film is narrated by Fernanda Echevarría, performing as Frida Kahlo reading from her diary, letters, essays, and various printed interviews. This approach, when presented alongside the vivid animations of Kahlo’s work breathes an extraordinary amount of life into an already extraordinary life. The story unfolds as both a raw and methodical journey throughout Kahlo’s life that never strays from the central through line of her search for beauty through art.

Carla Gutierrez makes an impressive directorial debut with Frida after amassing an astonishingly impressive resume of credits as an editor.

Since their inception, the directing categories at the Tony Awards have mostly been a boys’ club. Not only are the vast majority of winners men, but so are most of the nominees. But the 2024 ceremony could upend these statistics as more women are helming Broadway shows than ever before. This could finally be the year where they make up the majority of directing nominees.

This season there are 13 women directors on Broadway. Four of them will contend for Best Director of a Play: Lila Neugebauer (“Appropriate” and “Uncle Vanya”), Anne Kauffman (“Mary Jane”), Tina Landau (“Mother Play”), and Whitney White (“Jaja’s African Hair Braiding”). Another nine women will vie for Best Director of a Musical: Sammi Canold (“How to Dance in Ohio”), Rachel Chavkin (“Lempicka”), Rebecca Frecknall (“Cabaret”), Maria Friedman (“Merrily We Roll Along“), Mari Madrid, Leigh Silverman (“Suffs”), Jessica Stone (“Water for Elephants”), Danya Taymor (“The Outsiders”), and...

Days after Paramount’s Bob Marley: One Love overperformed in its opening weekend at the box office, Sony Pictures chief Tom Rothman stole a bit of the spotlight Feb. 20 in unveiling not one but four intersecting feature films from Sam Mendes about The Beatles, each focusing on one member of the Fab Four: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.

“You have to match the boldness of the idea with a bold release strategy,” Rothman tells The Hollywood Reporter about the project that earned the Oscar-winning director a coveted signoff from the group’s selective label Apple Corps. “There hasn’t been an enterprise like this before, and you can’t think about it in traditional releasing terms.”

Sony hopes the films, which don’t yet have writers on board, will begin shooting in the U.K. in mid-2025 to make the planned 2027 release for all four titles,...

It has recently been announced that Sam Mendes, director of American Beauty and 1917 among others, will be directing four biopics about The Beatles. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr will all get an individual movie. People have faith in Mendes' skills as a director to pull this monumental task off, but there's no denying that it is a big ask with many things that could go wrong. These could be the films that change music biopics as a genre or a quartet of the same film we've seen since the 2000s. We've gotten music biopics about titans of the music industry of varying degrees of quality. Bob Dylan in I'm Not Here, Edith Piaf with La Vie En Rose, Elton John in Rocketman, and yet we have one of the most definitive bands of the 1960s, that became a franchise in and of itself, and yet nothing.

Pop music phenoms come and go, fall in and out of favor and sometimes fade into total obscurity. Very few remain relevant a decade removed from their initial success, and you can count on maybe two hands the number of artists who can knock out a new song or reissue and top the Billboard charts 50-plus years after their debut.

And then there's The Beatles.

From the moment they scored their first number one hit in the U.K. with 1963's "From Me to You," The Beatles drew on their multitude of musical influences — blues, country, rockabilly, and the sui generis soul sounds pulsating out of Motown — to create perfectly constructed, infectiously catchy singles that earwormed their way into the fabric of your being. Within three years of breaking big in the U.S., they released the pioneering folk-rock LP "Rubber Soul," flirted with psychedelia and raga on the expansive "Revolver,...

A bio-series about iconic ranchera singer Chavela Vargas starring “La Reina del Sur” lead Kate del Castillo is in the works. Colombia’s Caracol Televisión and indie Miracol Media are co-producing “Chavela,” which will trace the tumultuous life and career of the legendary singer.

Del Castillo will transform into Vargas, the mythical woman in the red poncho, who boldly rejected the conventions of her time, paving the way for a unique and groundbreaking journey in the landscape of Mexican popular music.

Her internal battle with personal demons, heartbreak, and alcoholism propelled her to become a trailblazer, stepping onto the stage to sing Mexican songs in a jorongo, the traditional Mexican poncho, and pants. With a guitar pressed against her heart, a tequila in hand, and a pistol holstered on her belt, she mesmerized audiences, captivating both men and women alike.

“I came out of hell, but I did it singing,...

The image of Frida Kahlo, the prominent Mexican painter of the early 20 century, is one of the most replicated and commercialized of any artist in the history of the world. From T-shirts to houseware, merchandise of all sorts emblazoned with her face has turned Kahlo into a kitschy, mainstream, decontextualized emblem for Mexican identity. It doesn’t help that the vast majority of her works are self-portraits. Onscreen, the Salma Hayek-starring Hollywood biopic from director Julie Taymor and Paul Leduc’s 1983’s Mexican-production “Frida Still Life” attempted to decipher the tehuana-clad iconoclast via scripted portrayals.

With all that cultural and media baggage on her shoulders, Carla Gutiérrez dares to construct a documentary using a unique approach to such an imposing subject. An editor taking on directorial duties for the first time, Gutierrez is no stranger to assembling nonfiction portraits of major figures, having cut titles like “Rgb” and “Chavela”. Told mostly in Spanish,...

My guess is that Frida Kahlo would have loathed “Immersive Frida Kahlo,” the kind of touring exhibit that professes to honor the canvas while bathing it in digital-tech kitsch. And, having seen Carla Gutiérrez’s riveting documentary Frida, I’m certain the artist would have announced her disdain with a laugh and a healthy dose of juicy invective. If you want to immerse yourself in Frida Kahlo, here is the real thing.

Taking the helm for the first time, editor Gutiérrez (Rbg, Julia) pushes past the dime-a-dozen “icon” label to face the artist on her own terms, drawing upon Kahlo’s illustrated diaries and letters. The film’s archival riches also include an extraordinary selection of photographs and footage, and the transcripts of interviews with people close to Kahlo by biographer Hayden Herrera, whose 1983 book was the basis of the Julie Taymor biopic starring Salma Hayek.

Whatever that 2002 movie’s strengths and weaknesses,...

Exclusive: Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina) has been set to star opposite Cate Blanchett in Rumours, a comedy from writer-directors Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson and Galen Johnson (The Green Fog), which Bleecker Street has snapped up for release in U.S. theaters this year.

The film follows the seven leaders of the world’s wealthiest liberal democracies at the annual G7 summit after they become lost in the woods and face increasing peril while attempting to draft a provisional statement regarding a global crisis.

Also featuring in a top role in the pic, which recently wrapped production in Hungary, is Genie Award winner Roy Dupuis (Shake Hands with the Devil). Additional cast includes Charles Dance (Game of Thrones), Denis Ménochet (Inglourious Basterds), Nikki Amuka-Bird (Knock at the Cabin), Rolando Ravello (Perfect Strangers), Takehiro Hira (Gran Turismo), and Zlatko Burić (Triangle of Sadness).

Hailing from Ari Aster and Lars Knudsen’s Square Peg,...

Across the Universe is an amazing collection of music from The Beatles, as it uses more than 30 of their songs, to tell the love story between Jude (Jim Sturgess) and Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood), while also talking about New York in the '60s, the Vietnam War, and paying homage other unique musicians of the era, with Janis Joplin-like Sadie (Dan Fuchs), and Jimmy Hendrix-inspired Jojo (Martin Luther); making it a one-of-a-kind movie. Director Julie Taymor had been known for her Broadway adaptation of The Lion King before directing Titus and Frida, and she brought that same magical realism and imagination to this film, making it a musical like no other.

There have been many movies that have used some of the songs of the Fab Four, even successfully, but this movie is all Beatles songs, all the time (there might be less spoken dialogue here than in...

In 2022, Marianne Elliott won the Tony Award for directing a revival of the Stephen Sondheim musical “Company.” In her speech, she thanked the late composer for trusting her to put a “woman front and center” in her gender-bent production. Indeed, her victory was a major milestone for female directors. She became the first woman to win three times for directing. It was also the first time a woman took home a Tony for helming a Sondheim musical, and just the fifth instance of a woman winning for directing a tuner.

At the upcoming 2024 Tonys, Maria Friedman could accomplish those latter two feats, too. She is the visionary performer-turned-director who has achieved what would have been unfathomable to theatergoers back in 1981 — making the Sondheim and George Furth musical “Merrily We Roll Along” a hit on Broadway. But she definitely has a “good thing going” with her production of the notorious flop,...

Texas Congressman Joaquin Castro has nominated 27 Latino-driven films for inclusion in the National Film Registry. Among the suggestions are films that brought Oscar nominations to Latino actors and artists, including Salma Hayek, as Mexican artist Frida Kahlo in “Frida” (2002); Catalina Sandino Moreno, who portrayed a desperate undocumented pregnant immigrant in “Maria Full of Grace” (2004) and Demián Bichir, who played an undocumented worker in Los Angeles in “A Better Life” (2011). All were nominated for lead acting Oscars.

Other notable titles nominated by the congressman are Peter Sollett’s coming-of-age indie “Raising Victor Vargas,” Alfonso Arau’s romantic drama “Like Water for Chocolate (1992) and Darnell Martin’s “I Like It Like That” (1994), a story of a Puerto Rican family in the Bronx.

“Given the film industry’s continued exclusion of Latinos, we must make a special effort to ensure that Latino Americans’ contributions to American filmmaking are appropriately celebrated and included in the National Film Registry,...

Last November, The Lion King musical celebrated its 25th anniversary on Broadway, marking the stage adaption of Disney’s 1994 animated film as one of the longest-running productions in New York theater history, and presently Broadway’s highest-grossing.

But the legacy of the Tony-winning show, which transferred from Minneapolis’s Orpheum Theatre to Broadway’s New Amsterdam Theatre in 1997 before moving to its current home, the Minskoff Theatre, in 2006, spans far beyond its more than 10,000 performances in New York. The show, originally directed by Julie Taymor, has played around 60,000 performances worldwide, with more than 100,000 people viewing the puppet-led show featuring music from Hans Zimmer and Elton John in 10 productions weekly across multiple continents. That global success has helped make The Lion King the highest-grossing entertainment property in film and stage history, with the show grossing more than 8 billion in 2017.

Since its debut, The Lion King has staged 28 productions in places like Toronto,...

The story of Winston Baker is one of female empowerment, friendship and building a community around curated content and events.

It started when Amy Baker and Katherine Winston met in 2001 at a company that organized finance events. Baker focused on business development and sponsorship sales, Winston on producing the events. The two became fast friends and stayed close when their careers took them separate ways.

Fast-forward to 2008: Baker was pregnant and Winston had just bought a house. Both shared the desire to stop “working for the man” and set up their own conference production business. “Eventually, we said, ‘Let’s do our own thing,’ ” recalls co-founder and CEO Baker. “We had so many years of working with all these finance people, but we didn’t see any events out there in entertainment, especially film.” Winston Baker, headquartered in Santa Monica, was born.

In just three years, Winston Baker became a brand name.