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The Simpsons has a long history of inviting big-name celebrities to play fictional, four-fingered versions of themselves on the show — from Leonard Nimoy, to Barry White, to Lucy Lawless, to a bunch of stars that the producers would probably rather forget all about.

Season 10’s “Mayored to the Mob” included a special treat for Star Wars fans: Mark Hamill guest-starred as, well, Mark Hamill. But in the world of the show, the actor behind Luke Skywalker isn’t above shilling for Sprint during fan convention appearances, and is happy to take a job performing in a dinner-theater production of Guys and Dolls while dressed in Luke’s Tattooinian garb.

In a new interview with News18, the Life of Chuck star revealed that, although he was a big fan of The Simpsons, he wasn’t thrilled that they didn’t offer him a more interesting character to play. “I always wanted...

Stars: Ke Huy Quan, Ariana DeBose, Daniel Wu, Mustafa Shakir, Lio Tipton, Cam Gigandet, Marshawn “Beastmode” Lynch, Sean Astin | Written by Matthew Murray, Josh Stoddard, Luke Passmore | Directed by Jonathan Eusebio

Ke Huy Quan turns Jackie Chan in the action comedy Love Hurts, from producer David Leitch (John Wick), whose production company 87North also made Nobody and Violent Night. Admittedly, the film has its fair share of problems, but Quan’s likeability and some decent fight scenes paper over a lot of the flaws.

Recent Oscar-winner Quan plays mild-mannered estate agent Marvin Gable, who, just like mild-mannered Bob Odenkirk in Nobody, turns out to have a secret violent past, in this case as a deadly killer, working for his gangster brother Knuckles (Daniel Wu). Marvin walked away from that life after Knuckles ordered him to kill Rose (recent Oscar-winner Ariana DeBose), the woman he loved, whereupon he faked her death,...

In celebration of Black History Month, 70s on 7 is counting down the 50 best soul hits of the 1970s — according to you, our listeners!

70s on 7 Soul CountdownYour favorite soul hits of the ’70sListen on the App

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Voting has closed and the results have been tallied. Now you can listen to the countdown in full anytime on the SiriusXM app or catch it on-air on 70s on 7 (Ch. 7).

Top Soul Hits of the ’70s

Songs our listeners voted on:

“ABC” – The Jackson 5

“After the Love Has Gone” – Earth, Wind & Fire

“Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” – Diana Ross

“Ball of Confusion” – The Temptations

“Bad Girls” – Donna Summer

“Ben” – Michael Jackson

“Best of My Love” – The Emotions

“Boogie Down” – Eddie Kendricks

“Boogie Fever” – The Sylvers

“Boogie Nights” – Heatwave

“Boogie Oogie Oogie” – A Taste of Honey

“Can’t Get Enough of Your Love, Babe” – Barry White

“Car Wash...

What is Valentine’s Day without a romantic mixtape? Well, the soundtrack of “Love Hurts” may not exactly be romantic, but it still brings good vibes to the action film.

Now in theaters, “Love Hurts centers on realtor Marvin Gable, who loves his job and very ordinary life. But when he suddenly gets an unexpected valentine from his ex-girlfriend who’s hellbent on revenge, he gets ripped back into his old life — one of violence and crime.

Together(ish), they work together to bring down his crime lord brother and make it out alive.

Naturally, you need a good soundtrack to do all this. Surprisingly though, the song “Love Hurts” isn’t actually in the film “Love Hurts.”

Here are the songs that are:

“Feeling Alive” by Earl St. Clair “You Sexy Thing” by Hot Chocolate “Bum Bum” by L.O.U.D. & Kali J “In My Arms” by Mt Jones “Down to...

Stars: Ke Huy Quan, Ariana DeBose, Daniel Wu, Mustafa Shakir, Lio Tipton, Cam Gigandet, Marshawn “Beastmode” Lynch, Sean Astin | Written by Matthew Murray, Josh Stoddard, Luke Passmore | Directed by Jonathan Eusebio

Ke Huy Quan turns Jackie Chan in the action comedy Love Hurts, from producer David Leitch (John Wick), whose production company 87North also made Nobody and Violent Night. Admittedly, the film has its fair share of problems, but Quan’s likeability and some decent fight scenes paper over a lot of the flaws.

Recent Oscar-winner Quan plays mild-mannered estate agent Marvin Gable, who, just like mild-mannered Bob Odenkirk in Nobody, turns out to have a secret violent past, in this case as a deadly killer, working for his gangster brother Knuckles (Daniel Wu). Marvin walked away from that life after Knuckles ordered him to kill Rose (recent Oscar-winner Ariana DeBose), the woman he loved, whereupon he faked her death,...

The poster for Love Hurts shows a menacing-looking Ke Huy Quan staring directly into the camera, wearing a cute, heart-emblazoned sweater as Valentine’s Day candies swirl around him. It’s a perfect encapsulation of the dichotomies of this new effort from 87North, the production company that specializes in action films featuring such unlikely stars as Bob Odenkirk (Nobody) and David Harbour (playing a kickass Santa Claus in Violent Night).

Unfortunately, the company doesn’t fare as well with the Oscar-winning actor from Everything Everywhere All at Once. For all his impressive fighting skills, Quan simply doesn’t look very tough, even when outfitted with slicked-back hair and a mustache in the flashbacks. Lovable, yes; a badass, no.

As if acknowledging that fact, the movie leans more heavily into comedy rather than action, even though it features several impressive fight scenes, including one in a kitchen in which nearly every...

"The Simpsons" has no shortage of memorable characters, but many of them are voiced by the same stable of actors who voice the main cast. Harry Shearer, Hank Azaria, and Dan Castellaneta are immensely talented voice actors, but sometimes, a role comes along that needs someone else to take the wheel.

There are some common reasons why celebrities agree to guest star on "The Simpsons." But even if they're only doing it because their kids made them, they can still make an impact, even if their character is never seen again after a single appearance. Whether they were simply funny or profoundly affected a member of the main cast, these celebrity cameos weren't just gimmicks. They helped change the DNA of the sitcom.

/Film has already gone through the worst celebrity cameos "The Simpsons" has ever had. Now, let's look through the best of the best, ranking the greatest celebrity...

It’s not an exaggeration to call Nicole Avant one of L.A.’s most influential political figures. A former U.S. ambassador to the Bahamas, she’s been a top bundler for the Democratic Party for more than 20 years — getting Hollywood’s wealthy progressives to open their wallets for Barack Obama, Gavin Newsom, Kamala Harris, Joe Biden and many, many others. But if you’re looking for a shoulder to cry on about the recent election, she’ll probably tell you to save your tears. “People have to understand that no matter how much you might want something or think that it’s right, it doesn’t always happen,” says Avant. “I hope people really look at themselves right now.”

Sitting in the ballroom turned salon of the Hancock Park estate she shares with her husband, Netflix co-ceo Ted Sarandos, Avant is even-keeled about the nation’s recent swing to the right.

Correction: As Lisa Simpson teaches us, “Remember, ’tis better to remain silent and be thought fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt." We’ve been fooled by an urban legend, the Season 4 DVD commentary for “Krusty Gets Kancelled” contains no such story about Julie Kavner’s boycott, no matter what you read on Wikipedia, the various Simpsons wikis or Cracked.com. We apologize for the error.

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Marge Simpson is well-known in Springfield for taking moral stands, so it’s only fitting that her voice actor should do the same.

There are dozens of Simpsons episodes ranging from the Golden Age to the modern era that could be loosely summarized as, “Marge gets upset with everyone else in Springfield tolerating and embracing something distasteful and spends the entire runtime nagging her family about it.” In fact, most of the best Simpsons episodes ever have at least a little...

On Friday, November 15, 2024, 20/20 will air a chilling investigation into the murder of Rusty Sneiderman, a young father gunned down in broad daylight just days after a mysterious person was spotted lurking outside his home. Co-anchor Deborah Roberts will lead the investigation, offering an in-depth look into the case that gripped the Atlanta area and captured the attention of the nation.

Rusty Sneiderman, a successful entrepreneur and devoted father, was ambushed in the parking lot after dropping his son off at preschool in Dunwoody, Georgia. What followed was a complex investigation that uncovered a shocking twist: the man responsible for Rusty’s death, Hemy Neuman, was actually Andrea Sneiderman’s supervisor at work. Neuman’s trial featured an astonishing defense, in which he claimed that a voice resembling Barry White’s encouraged him to commit the murder, raising questions about the relationship between him and Andrea.

In this 20/20 special, viewers will...

Bad Boys: Ride or Die continues the franchise tradition of including a soundtrack filled with memorable songs. The Bad Boys movies have always had a close relationship with music thanks to the frequent use of Inner Circle's song "Bad Boys." Directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, Bad Boys: Ride or Die does not stray too far from what audiences expect to see or hear when Will Smith and Martin Lawrence are playing Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett.

The experience of watching Bad Boys: Ride or Die brings several opportunities to hear songs new and old. The franchise's Miami roots pave the way for plenty of Spanish music to be featured as Mike and Marcus embark on a new case. There are also some more modern hits, throwback tunes from different genres, original songs, and the usual return of "Bad Boys." This means Bad Boys: Ride or Die's...

The more things change, the more they stay the same. The 11th annual Life Is Beautiful Festival kicked off on Friday, but the downtown Las Vegas staple looked a little different this year. In previous iterations, the festival has taken over 18 city blocks of downtown Las Vegas — located about five miles south of the famed Strip —but organizers switched it up this year, opting instead for a two-day “Big Beautiful Block Party” near the original site. Due to the smaller footprint, stages sat side by side, and sets didn’t overlap.

Disney is known for picking up on trends in music. But did you know they once had an entire album dedicated to the disco craze?

The rise and fall of disco in the 1970s remains one of the stranger tales in all of music history. For a time, this was the dominant music trend, maybe a reaction to the counterculture of the 1960s. Somehow, this mix of different genres with synthesizers, electric pianos, and quirky beats connected with folks of the time.

Disco clubs were soon filling cities around the United States with those infamously crazy fashions of bell-bottom pants, open-vest shirts, and more. It reached its height in 1977 with Saturday Night Fever and John Travolta’s character became the epitome of what every clubgoer wanted to be.

The list of stars connected to the genre was plentiful: Abba, The Village People, the Bee Gees, Donna Summer, the Jacksons, Diana Ross,...

This article contains mild spoilers for "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice."

Ever since the first "Beetlejuice" escalated the obsession the ghostly Maitland couple had with Harry Belafonte to them trying to rid their home of the obnoxious Deetz family by making them do a possession lip sync dance number to "Banana Boat (Day-o)," it seemed like a given that a follow-up setpiece had to happen if "Beetlejuice" ever got a sequel. Of course, follow-ups to gags can be tricky, especially in comedy sequels. Some try to go bigger and wilder, such as the climactic news team battle in "Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues." Others try and undercut or subvert the expectation, like when Phoebe Cates' Kate starts delivering a monologue about some trauma that happened to her on Lincoln's birthday and is cut off in "Gremlins 2: The New Batch." Others still merely pick up where the bit left off in the first film,...

Spoilers for "Deadpool & Wolverine" follow.

The soundtrack to Shawn Levy's new superhero flick "Deadpool & Wolverine," the 158th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is chock-full of sarcastic needle drops and overblown musical cues, wielded specifically to amp up the movie's irony. "Deadpool & Wolverine" opens with a violent fight scene wherein Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) murders dozens of people using the adamantium bones of the deceased Logan as weapons. On the soundtrack, *Nsync's "Bye Bye Bye" plays, adding a silly, upbeat quality to the violence. 

Later in the film, Deadpool and Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) will get into a knock-down, stab-happy fight in a Honda minivan, spraying their own blood all over the car's interior. As they fight, one of them smacks the radio, and "You're the One That I Want" from "Grease" plays on the soundtrack. It's a jaunty, happy tune that serves as a comedic tonal juxtaposition to the slicing and dicing.

The Argylle soundtrack contains a blend of modern songs and retro tracks. Many of the songs come from the 1970s and evoke classic spy movies. "Now and Then" by The Beatles serves as a motif for Elly and Aidan, heard multiple times in the movie.

The Argylle soundtrack contains quite a few songs that help propel the Henry Cavill spy movie forward. The meta movie is supposedly based on the book of the same name by Elly Conway, which was released the month before the movie premiered. However, it was later revealed that Conway, who is also a character in the movie played by Bryce Dallas Howard, was an entirely fictional creation and that the book was co-written by Terry Hayes and Tammy Cohen.

Regardless of its origin, the spy outing features quite a few songs that capture its unique energy. Unusually, the soundtrack doesn't feature any songs by Dua Lipa,...

Baby Driver's eclectic soundtrack enhances the film's action and drama, with each song perfectly matching the rhythm and beats of the scenes. The detailed breakdown of the songs used in Baby Driver provides insight into the film's key moments and their significance in the story. Edgar Wright's stylistic editing and direction make Baby Driver a visually captivating and engaging cinematic experience.

Baby Driver's white-knuckling car chase scenes and feel-good romantic moments are perfectly complemented with a diverse set of songs. Directed by Edgar Wright, Baby Driver, as its title suggests, focuses on a getaway driver named Baby who hopes to leave his criminal life behind after getting in a romantic relationship with a girl named Debora. However, to his dismay, not everything goes as planned. Like every Edgar Wright movie, Baby Driver's primary appeal comes from its stylistic editing and direction.

What makes its editing even more...

The "Futurama" character Randy (John Dimaggio) has appeared in 17 episodes of the series to date and in three of the four movies. Randy is enthused, catty, and seen throughout the series holding down a wide variety of jobs. In one episode, he is the proprietor of a jewelry store (Dr. Zoidberg spits expensive gems at him). In another, he is seen teaching a prenatal swim class (Dr. Zoidberg froths lobster drool on him). In a third, he builds an ark to save Earth's animals during a great deluge (Dr. Zoidberg remains mercifully absent). In the latter scenario, Randy's husband points out that Randy filled the ark with same-sex couples, which he is quite proud of. "There are some parts of the Bible I like," Randy says, "and some parts I don't like."

Dimaggio has been quite outspoken on "Futurama" DVD commentaries about how much he loves Randy. Randy never emerged...

Composer Lorne Balfe has spent his career working on blockbusters including “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning” but even so, Matthew Vaughn’s spy thriller “Argylle,” which features an all-star cast including Bryce Dallas Howard, Sam Rockwell and Henry Cavill, was one for the books. For a start, the soundtrack incorporates the Beatles’ last-ever record, “Now and Then,” the existence of which Balfe had to keep top secret for over a year until it was finally released last November.

The movie also involved Balfe making an album of cat sounds, provided by Vaughn’s moggy (and Howard’s co-star) Chip. “There were recordings of him while they were filming so we were able to chop it up and make it a percussion library,” says Balfe, a self-confessed dog person. “I’m going to post it on Twitter as a freebie so composers can use it and Chip...

What looks like diamonds but on closer inspection turns out to be little more than reams of cheap polyester? Why, argyle, of course — that preppy pattern found on socks and sweaters, and an apt name for the latest kooky spy caper from Matthew Vaughn. The erstwhile “Kick-Ass” director has been trapped in “Kingsman” mode for so long (going on a decade now) that it feels like we’ve lost him to that kind of live-action cartoon forever, cramming Gen Z James Bond riffs with disco music and outrageous greenscreen shenanigans.

“Argylle” boasts an entirely new set of characters, but sticks to Vaughn’s CG-exaggerated aesthetic as hacky spy novelist Elly Conway (Bryce Dallas Howard) gets pulled into a scheme nearly identical to the one she described in her bestselling series of books. She invented a character called Agent Argylle who’s uncovered a secret division of rogue agents, creatively named the Division.

Calista Flockhart says the anorexia rumors that swirled around her during the heyday of Ally McBeal cast a pall over her experience on the show.

“I loved working on Ally McBeal, and it just made it sour,” the actress tells the New York Times in a wide-ranging profile. “I was very sleep-deprived and I was depressed about it. I did think that it was going to ruin my career. I didn’t think anybody would ever hire me again, because they would just assume I had anorexia, and that would be the end of that.

More from TVLineDid Emmys Make You Miss Ally McBeal?...

Calista Flockhart is open to the idea of an Ally McBeal reboot, but she doesn't know much about it. There were rumors of a sequel series centered around a Black woman as the lead, but news of its development fizzled out. The Ally McBeal cast reunited at the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards, sparking renewed talk of a reboot.

Could an Ally McBeal reboot be on the cards? Calista Flockhart, who played the titular role on the popular Fox series, addressed the chances of a reboot coming together, and the actress seemed pretty open to the idea. During a chat with Entertainment Tonight, Flockhart spoke on the chances of an Ally McBeal reboot happening. While mentioning that she "would be game" to put on her quirky law shoes again, she did make it clear that she doesn't know much about a potential reboot:

"I think there are some people talking about a reboot,...

Looked at one way, the 75th Emmy Awards on Monday night yielded the most predictable (read: boring) of ceremonies. Everything went according to form. “Succession” was expected to dominated the drama series categories. “The Bear” was supposed to preside over comedy series. “Beef” was thought to be a shoo-in among the limited series lineups. And that’s exactly what happened. However, looked at another way, Gold Derby voters accurately forecast the winners in 26 of the 27 categories, which is quite the feat. Still, meeting for a slugfest the morning after the Emmys, senior editors Marcus James Dixon, Daniel Montgomery and Denton Davidson and news and features editor Ray Richmond were officially underwhelmed, hoping for an upset or two but finding just one category that didn’t go according to form: Best Variety/Talk Series, where the outgoing “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah” defied the Gold Derby odds. Watch their animated discussion above.

Ally McBeal, Grey’s Anatomy, Cheers, Martin and The Sopranos were among the beloved television shows celebrated with cast reunions at the 2023 Emmys ceremony.

In honor of the Primetime Emmy Awards marking its 75th anniversary, castmembers from a number of notable series reunited to present awards at the ceremony that was held Monday at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. This included re-created sets for many of the celebrated shows.

Among the moments gathering buzz was a reunion for Ally McBeal stars Calista Flockhart, Greg Germann, Peter MacNicol, and Gil Bellows. The performers emerged from the show’s bathroom set to dance to “You’re the First, the Last, My Everything” by Barry White.

Also notable was Grey’s Anatomy gathering current and former stars Ellen Pompeo, James Pickens Jr. and Chandra Wilson with Katherine Heigl and Justin Chambers. “Yes, there have been some changes over the years, but the one...

Four original Ally McBeal cast members, star Calista Flockhart as well as Greg Germann, Peter MacNicol and Gil Bellows, reunited Monday night during the Emmy broadcast on Fox more than 26 years after the debut of the legal dramedy, which aired on the network for five seasons, from September 1997 to May 2002.

The bit started with Flockhart washing her hands in a replica of the show’s famous unisex bathroom.

“I knew I drank too much water; I had to take my Spanx off, I had to put my dress back on,” Flockhart is heard “thinking” in a voiceover before she takes a look in the mirror and tells herself, “Girl, you look good.”

That is when there is a series of three toilet flushes, each followed by an Ally McBeal cast member, MacNicol, Bellows and Germann, coming out of a bathroom stall.

One of the signature songs from the show, Barry White...

Producer Jonah Swilley and rapper Brandon “Bez” Evans are the two brains behind the hip-hop duo Revival Season. Their debut album, Golden Age of Self Snitching, is out February 23rd via Heavenly Recordings, and they’re previewing it with the lead single “Pump.”

Citing artists like Dungeon Family, OutKast, and Beastie Boys as some of their main inspirations, Revival Season often nod to hip-hop’s roots with their funk-forward approach. The duo formed while Swilley was looking for his next collaborator, and Bez quickly proved to be the man for the job, creating an “instant rapport and creative chemistry.”

“We kinda worked backwards, reverse-engineered a lot of songs,” explains Swilley, who’d make beats out of Bez’s isolated vocals. “I’d build a track around what he was doing vocally, kind of fill it out rhythmically, using his vocal as an instrument, seeing how I could accompany that musically...

In the middle of August this year, three legends of the music industry died within 72 hours of each other: founder of A&m Records Jerry Moss; music lawyer Abe Somer; and my father, the “Black Godfather” himself, Clarence Avant. These three men helped define the recording industry of the past six decades, and what’s more, they were inseparable best friends.

Somer, Moss, and Avant met in New York City in the early 1960s, and in the six decades since, never left one another’s side, never once let their “soul contract” expire.

Rhino will release Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll, a collection of all Tina Turner’s singles from 1975-2023, on Nov. 24. The boxset celebrates 50 years since the start of the singer’s career and will mark the first time her singles have been released all together.

The release is previewed with a new version of Turner’s 1996 song “Something Beautiful Remains.” The new rendition, titled “Something Beautiful,” was reworked by producer Terry Britten, a long-time collaborator of Turner. “Dear Tina, the experience of working with you could never be repeated, but...

Frank Welker is one of the highest-grossing actors of all time. He has appeared in some of the biggest blockbusters ever which have, collectively, earned over $17 billion. Children everywhere can likely recognize Welker's voice on the spot, as he played Freddy in the original "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!" TV series, a role he continued to play until the present day. He also eventually took over playing Shaggy when Casey Kasem passed away in 2014. 

Welker has also played DynoMutt, Jabberjaw, Mr. Mxyzptlk, Bogg, Flooky, Spike, Tyke, Droopy, Slick Wolf, Sporticus XI, Hefty Smurf, Clockwork Smurf, Poet Smurf, Chomp Chomp, Morris, Adult Pac-Baby, Brain, Dr. Claw, M.A.D. Cat, Donkey Kong Junior, Q*Mungus, Coilee, Ugg, Wrongway, Sam Slick, Blades, Chromedome, Frenzy, Groove, Mirage, Mixmaster, Ratbat, Ravage, Rumble, Sharkticon, Skywarp, Sludge, Soundwave, Superion, Sweep, Trailbreaker, Wreck-Gar, Orbitty, Richard Rocketeer, Copperhead, Flash, Freedom, Junkyard, Polly, Short-Fuse, Timber, Torch, Wild Bill, Terry, Lunex, Zorg,...

90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way star Debbie Aguero was married twice, and therefore has two ex-husbands before she met her boyfriend Oussama Berber online. The 67-year-old from Georgia started dating Oussama over five years ago. He was about 19 or 20 years old back then. Debbie moved to Morocco in The Other Way season 4 to get married to Oussama. However, Oussama wasn't on the same page as her. Oussama planned on moving to the U.S. and getting a green card, and claimed it was initially something Debbie had told him as well.

90 Day Fiancé couple Debbie and Oussama split before the season finale, and at the Tell-All, confirmed they weren't together. Oussama admitted he loved Debbie, but doesn’t love her anymore. He revealed he tried to call Debbie over a thousand times to tell her things were over between them, but Debbie's son Julien revealed Oussama wanted to get back together,...

Vin Diesel, Daniela Melchior in Fast X Photo: Universal Studios What did we do to deserve Vin Diesel, that manly man of a vintage they haven’t been bottling since the heyday of Axl Rose’s first bandana? Vin’s tough but he’s tender. He puts women on the...

Vin Diesel, Daniela Melchior in Fast XPhoto: Universal Studios

What did we do to deserve Vin Diesel, that manly man of a vintage they haven’t been bottling since the heyday of Axl Rose’s first bandana? Vin’s tough but he’s tender. He puts women on the exact...

When you’ve stolen Glastonbury, defined an era, released the album of the decade and exploded Michael Jackson’s cheesy pop pomposity on the global stage, what exactly do you do for an encore? Such was the dilemma facing Jarvis Cocker – arch Britpop voyeur, poet laureate of the fumbled bra-strap and Jesus sandal, once memorably described as a cross between Alan Bennett and Barry White – as he sat in hotel rooms on the tour for 1995’s masterpiece Different Class. There he was, shrouded in the anonymous dark, watching pornographic films and relating deeply to the blankness in the eyes of the performers.

“I found it fascinating wondering what happened to these porn stars,” the frontman of Sheffield alt-legends Pulp – who reform for a run of major festival and arena shows this summer – told NME in 1998. “People have a voracious appetite for porn, they need to see new faces all the time,...

Click here to read the full article.

As Henry Selick prepares to debut his well-reviewed film Wendell & Wild, the filmmaker is looking back on why his earlier project The Shadow King was never completed by Disney/Pixar.

“I got the rights back,” Selick reveals in the latest episode of The Hollywood Reporter’s Behind the Screen podcast, where he says the film could find new life someday. “I’ll owe Disney a little bit of money if we set it up, but maybe [it will get made]. I absolutely feel that it would be successful and for the right price, if [a potential partner] likes what I’ve written and wants that movie, rather than think they like it and then want to turn it into Toy Story 8.”

The director of The Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach, Selick says The Shadow King began life when he ran into then-Pixar creative John Lasseter...

This story was originally published in the Dec. 4, 1986 issue of Rolling Stone.

Eyeing a gold Jacuzzi in his 750-a-night suite at the Stouffer airport hotel in Los Angeles, Run, the deffest rapper in the world, exclaims, “Me go to Michael Jackson‘s for dinner? I just don’t know if I’m going. Shit! Who cares? Why should I go? Is his thing really mine?”

Run (Joe Simmons), D.M.C. (Darryl McDaniels, also known as D) and Jam Master Jay (Jason Mizell) — the trio that has recently injected rap...

Ray Parker Jr. had enjoyed a successful career in music when he received a call from his friend Gary LeMel about doing music for a weird film called “Ghostbusters.” Originally a session guitarist in his native Detroit, he recorded and toured with artists like Barry White, Bohannon, the Spinners and Marvin Gaye, and performed on Stevie Wonder’s classic “Talking Book” album and was the guitarist in Wonder’s band on a 1972 tour opening for the Rolling Stones. As a solo artist and with his group Raydio, he enhoyed hits with songs like “You Got the Love,” “Jack and Jill” and “A Woman Needs Love.”

But the success of “Ghostbusters” — which was originally just music for a 20-second segment in the film — went far beyond anything he’d accomplished before, and as he says below, it was all thanks to “Ghostbusters” director Ivan Reitman, who passed away on Sunday. Parker remembers his friend below.

Spoiler Alert: Do not read ahead if you have not watched “The Masked Singer” Season 6, Episode 4, “House Party,” which aired October 6 on Fox.

“The Masked Singer” has sent the Baby into timeout. Performing under the toddler mask was comedian Larry the Cable Guy, who was sent packing at the end of the fourth episode of Season 6, “House Party.”

Once again, none of the show’s panelists got it right. Ken Jeong named Gordon Ramsay as his pick. Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg guessed Bruce Willis. Nicole Scherzinger guessed James Corden. Robin Thicke said it was Chuck Norris, but with a chuckle.

“I knew they wouldn’t guess me,” Larry the Cable Guy told Variety. “I knew they would be completely stumped because it’s totally something that they’ve never seen me do. And definitely, they’d never heard me in a different voice. I have a certain sound to my voice,...

“The Masked Singer” season 6 is making history in more ways than one. There is the introduction of the “Take It Off Buzzer,” which allows the judges to halt the performance if they are convinced they know the name of the famous face inside the mask. And this marks the first time that there is a costume that is a human, albeit an over-sized infant with one tooth.

The Baby is one of the two Wildcards who debuted on the second episode of the super-sized premiere. He replaces Mother Nature (Vivica A. Fox) who was sent packing at the start of the show on September 23. Before Baby sang a note, we thought Jack Black was hidden inside this elaborate costume but changed our mind when we saw him perform. Keep reading for all “The Masked Singer” spoilers, including the answer to the question “Who is Baby”?

Baby made his debut on...

Who’s performing tonight (October 6) on “The Masked Singer” Season 6? After last week’s introduction of Group B, it’s time to return to Group A, which we first met in the two-night season premiere. This talented collection consists of a spicy new wildcard (Pepper), a whining human (Baby) and a trio of crooning animals. Do you think any of these Group A celebrities has what it takes to join the “Masked Singer” winners list? Sound off down in the comments section.

See‘The Masked Singer’ reveals for all seasons: Celebrities and costumes through the years

Four contestants have already been unmasked from this sixth edition of Fox’s reality TV ratings juggernaut, based on the instant votes from the audience and panelists Robin Thicke, Jenny McCarthy, Ken Jeong and Nicole Scherzinger. They were: Octopus (Dwight Howard), Mother Nature (Vivica A. Fox), Pufferfish (Toni Braxton) and Dalmatian (Tyga).

The Group...

(Warning: This post contains spoilers for Thursday’s “The Masked Singer,” which was Night 2 of the two-part Season 6 premiere.)

“The Masked Singer” kept fans on their toes with the second night of its Season 6 premiere, an hour that began with an unmasking and ended with a cut and another reveal.

First up, we learned the true identity of Mother Nature, who was the second contestant cut on Night 1 of “The Masked Singer” Season 6 premiere Wednesday, but was not actually unveiled before the show ended. Viewers saw the green goddess actually take off the mask on Thursday’s episode, revealing Vivica A. Fox underneath.

In case you don’t recall, last night, Mother Nature sang Diana Ross’ “I’m Coming Out,” and the panelists made these guesses about her identity: Ken Jeong said Tiffany Haddish, Nicole Scherzinger said Tracee Ellis Ross, Robin Thicke also said Ross and Jenny McCarthy also said Haddish.

Carl “Chucky” Thompson, a producer and multi-instrumentalist whose slick samples of Seventies and Eighties soul underpinned some of the most popular R&b and hip-hop tracks of the Nineties, died on Monday at age 53, his rep confirmed to Rolling Stone. A cause of death was not immediately available.

In the Nineties, mainstream hip-hop started to move away from building tracks on obscure samples, choosing instead to craft songs around loops of well-known refrains and bass-lines from earlier eras. P. Diddy and his crew of producers — a group known as the...

Mary J. Blige has a long, illustrious career, riddled with Top Ten hits, million-selling albums, Grammys, and Oscar nominations. But there’s one project that has particular importance for her: “I have 13 albums, but my second, My Life, is my most important,” she says in a new documentary commemorating the LP, originally released in 1994. Blige sees My Life not only as the moment she “started speaking to my fans” but also as “the place where I survived.” That narrative of survival, of walking through the fire only to emerge stronger on the other side,...

Over the phone, the 26-year-old singer Giveon is eager to talk about his transition into superstardom. In the past three years, he’s been on songs with hitmakers Justin Bieber and Drake and was even nominated for a Grammy. Before all of this, he was working in restaurants. “For everyone else, it kind of felt like it was overnight,” says Giveon. “But for me, I put years in.”

After being featured on Drake’s “Chicago Freestyle” last February, Giveon has been carving out a loyal fanbase. His latest project, When...

Spoiler Alert: Do not read ahead if you have not watched Season 5 Episode 3 of “The Masked Singer,” which aired March 24 on Fox.

Danny Trejo has spent the past few weeks dodging people in public asking him if he’s the Raccoon on “The Masked Singer.”

“The Masked Singer” likes to keep the identity of its celebrities secret, but there’s no hiding Trejo’s unmistakable growl. And it turns out the fans were right: Trejo is the latest star to be unmasked on the hit Fox singing show.

“I’d be going to the market and somebody would say, ‘I know he’s the Raccoon!.’ I’d be like, no, didn’t you see me in ‘Heat’? I did ‘Con Air,’ I’m not the Raccoon, what’s the Raccoon! I think my best acting jobs have been in Vons Market, when women started telling me I was the Raccoon!

U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez took over Twitch yesterday, as more than 400,000 viewers sat down to watch her stream a few hours of popular party game Among Us as part of her campaign to encourage people to get out and vote. Joining her were streamers Pokimane, DrLupo, Myth, Maia, Jacksepticeye, MoistCr1TiKaL, Hasanabi, and Disguised Toast as well as Congresswoman and fellow Squad member Ilhan Omar.

In short, it was a pretty cool event, and it was made even better when Congresswoman Omar took to Twitter to share a photo of her gaming PC:

When you’re winning: pic.twitter.com/Fu7CMyCQDA

— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) October 21, 2020

We’ll dive into the specifics of the build in a minute, but we should first point out that Omar’s PC is legitimately impressive. That’s not the kind of rig you keep around unless you’re planning on playing and streaming...

Sony Pictures Television has acquired global distribution rights to the documentary Who You Gonna Call? chronicling the life of Grammy-winner Ray Parker Jr., who penned the smash hit song “Ghostbusters”.

Directed by award-winning filmmaker Fran Strine (Hired Gun), the documentary follows Parker’s struggles growing up on the racially charged streets of Detroit in the 1960’s and escaping violence to rise in the music industry touring with Stevie Wonder and The Rolling Stones at just 18 years old. The film provides a full retrospective of Parker’s successful music career before getting the call from Ivan Reitman to write and perform the hit song for the 1984 film “Ghostbusters.”

The project, which is produced by Ola Strøm, and Strine of Power Chord Films, marks the first endeavor for the duo into the world of music and artist documentaries. Strøm also executive produces.

Before “Ghostbusters” Parker wrote, produced and performed with the industry’s biggest icons including,...

‘Who You Gonna Call?’ received its world premiere at the Zurich Film Festival.

Sony Pictures Television (Spt) has secured global distribution rights to Who You Gonna Call?, a feature documentary about musician Ray Parker Jr., in a deal with River Road Pictures.

The film, which received its world premiere at the Zurich Film Festival on Saturday (Sept 26), chronicles the life of the US singer-songwriter, best known for writing and recording the title song for Ghostbusters. The track won a Grammy, Bafta and was Oscar-nominated in 1985.

The documentary is directed by Fran Strine (Hired Gun) and marks the first feature to...

Sony Pictures Television has acquired the global distribution rights to the documentary film “Who You Gonna Call?,” which chronicles the life of the Grammy-winning artist Ray Parker Jr., who wrote the theme song to “Ghostbusters.”

The documentary film is directed by Fran Strine and made its world premiere at the Zurich Film Festival on Saturday. No release plans for “Who You Gonna Call?” have been set yet.

The documentary follows Parker’s struggles growing up on the racially charged streets of Detroit in the 1960s and how he escaped violence to rise in the music industry and tour with Stevie Wonder and The Rolling Stones when he was just 18 years old. The film examines his complete music career all before he got the call from Ivan Reitman to write the song for the 1984 comedy classic “Ghostbusters,” which would go on to become a pop culture staple.

Photo by Michael Ochs...

Sony Pictures Television has swooped for global distribution rights to documentary “Who You Gonna Call?” that chronicles the life of Grammy-winning musician Ray Parker Jr. who created smash hit song “Ghostbusters.”

Directed by award-winning filmmaker Fran Strine (“Hired Gun”), the documentary follows Parker’s struggles growing up on the racially charged streets of Detroit in the 1960s and escaping violence to rise in the music industry, where he toured with Stevie Wonder and The Rolling Stones at the age of 18. The film looks back on Parker’s successful music career before getting the call from Ivan Reitman to write and perform the hit song for the 1984 film “Ghostbusters.”

“Who You Gonna Call?” had its world premiere at the Zurich Film Festival on Sept. 26.

The project is produced by Los Angeles-based Power Chord Films, founded in 2019 by Strine and financier Ola Strøm, with the latter serving as executive producer.

“We couldn...

Bruce Hornsby’s upcoming album, Non-Secure Connection, contains a rerecorded duet with Leon Russell called “Anything Can Happen,” the title track to the late musician’s 1992 album. That version dropped Thursday in advance of Hornsby’s upcoming record, featuring an array of collaborators — from Russell to James Mercer.

Hornsby recently told Rolling Stone about the backstory to “Anything Can Happen,” which began with his participation in the magazine’s photo essay on musicians and their mentors, in the late Eighties. “I asked for Elton [John] but he’d already been picked,...