News

Vince Calandra Sr., who as a longtime booker for CBS juggernaut The Ed Sullivan Show helped introduce The Beatles to America’s TV audience, has died. He was 91. According to a local mortuary’s obit, he died Saturday at his home in Woodland Hills, CA.

Calandra was just 23 when he landed a job on Sullivan’s talent showcase, which already had been a Sunday night staple for nearly a decade. Starting in the mailroom, he graduated to holding the cue cards and eventually to talent booker. At the dawn of the British Invasion of U.S. radio airwaves and record players, he was instrumental to bringing Liverpudlian upstarts John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr to the Ed Sullivan Show stage, creating a landmark moment in TV and music history.

It was February 9, 1964, when The Beatles made the first of three appearances on the show within two weeks.

Variety reports that Hollywood legacy artist, Alan Bergman, has passed away at the age of 99 years old. Bergman had a songwriting partnership with his wife, Marilyn Bergman, that lasted over six decades. Marilyn had passed back in January of 2022. She was the first woman president and chairman of the board of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), which was a leading performing-rights society for music-makers. After her death, Alan would continue to write music.

Bergman is a near Egot winner as he garnered Oscar, Emmy and Grammy wins for his work that includes “The Way We Were,” “The Windmills of Your Mind” and “In the Heat of the Night.” Alan and Marilyn have hundreds of songs in their resume for movies and television. Their style would combine the sensibilities of traditional Great American Songbook era artists — Rodgers & Hart, Cole Porter and Irving Berlin — and marry it with...

Fred Vail, the former manager of the Beach Boys, spent a day in November with Brian Wilson at his home, giving him updates on Cows in the Pasture, the long-lost country album that Wilson produced with Vail on vocals. Vail, with producer Sam Parker, is gearing up to finally release Cows in the Pasture and had been collaborating with Wilson. On Wednesday, he was shocked to learn that his longtime friend had died. Wilson was 82.

“The three Wilsons are finally back together,” Vail, 81, tells Rolling Stone. Brian’s bandmates and siblings in the Beach Boys,...

Exclusive: In a major deal, Concord Originals has acquired Rko, the legendary film studio behind such classic properties as King Kong, Citizen Kane, The Best Years of Our Lives, It’s a Wonderful Life, Suspicion and The Woman in the Window.

The purchase gives Concord Originals the derivative rights to over 5,000 titles, which include the remake, sequel, story, stage and copyrights (including unproduced screenplays) of the company’s storied film library. Concord acquired Rko from Ted Hartley, who served as the studio’s Chairman and CEO for 35 years.

Going forward, Rko will continue to operate as its own imprint under Concord Originals. Sophia Dilley and current Rko President Mary Beth O’Connor have been named Co-Presidents of Rko and will jointly run the company with the support of the Concord Originals team. Dilley will also maintain her current role as head of Concord Originals, considered one of the preeminent homes for adapting music and theatre IP,...

Fred Astaire was an Oscar-nominated song and dance man best remembered for a series of musicals he made alongside many female dancer, but especially Ginger Rogers. Yet his filmography extends well past those titles. Let's take a look back at 20 of his greatest films, ranked worst to best.

As a dancer, Astaire was known for his perfectionism, doing multiple takes to get the most precise movements correct. His immaculate steps were matched only by his outfits, which often consisted of top hats and coats.

After making a name for himself on the stage in London and on Broadway, Astaire came to Hollywood. He first appeared with fellow dancer Rogers in "Flying Down to Rio" (1933), where they played second fiddle to Dolores del Rio and Gene Raymond. Their first starring vehicle came just one year later: "The Gay Divorcee" (1934).

Their subsequent films, including "Top Hat" (1935), "Follow the Fleet" (1936), "Swing Time" (1936), and...

As Lady Gaga’s 2025 tour dates sold out with spectacular speed, the pop star has added 13 more dates to her Mayhem Ball world tour.

The new stops will see her perform second nights in Manchester and Stockholm, third nights in Las Vegas, Seattle, Toronto, Chicago, Miami and Barcelona, and fourth shows in London and Paris. She has also added three more nights to her four-date run at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

>Get Deals On Lady Gaga Concert Tickets Now!

The tour comes in support of Lady Gaga’s eighth studio album, Mayhem, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart.

The North American leg of the tour will kick off on July 16 in Las Vegas, following Lady Gaga’s headlining performance at the Coachella Festival on April 11 and 18. Between Coachella and the tour, from April 26 to 27, Lady Gaga will perform in Mexico City at Estadio Gnp Seguros.

Late in the action of Good Night, and Good Luck, Clark Gregg — in a moving performance as CBS newscaster Don Hollenbeck, banged up by his recent divorce and a persistent smear campaign branding him as a “pinko” — makes the melancholy observation: “I wake up in the morning, and I don’t recognize anything. I feel like I went to sleep three years ago, and somebody hijacked … as if all reasonable people took a plane to Europe and left us behind.” You know you’re in a New York City audience in 2025 when those words are followed by showstopping applause.

Whatever gains are made in reworking George Clooney’s terrific 2005 feature of the same name — his second outing as director and still his best — for the stage, the material’s timeliness packs a wallop. When the movie was released, questions of media responsibility and freedom to voice political dissent were already pertinent to the national discourse.

In case you didn’t know: John C. Reilly is a vaudeville guy. Not only did the beloved character actor star as half of the legendary comedy duo Laurel and Hardy in the emotionally affecting biographical film Stan & Ollie (2018), but since then he’s created a throwback stage persona of his own, the lovelorn and musically inclined Mister Romantic, who has sold out concerts across Los Angeles since 2022.

Now, Reilly is set to introduce Mister Romantic to the rest of the world with a full-fledged album that arrives on June 13. His charming debut,...

Nepo babies have been around as long as there have been artists. The idea of a "legacy" is one we humans simply cannot get away from. As storytelling beings, we will have always constructed -- and will continue to construct -- broad, historical, intergenerational narratives for ourselves. We can't stop tracing our professional and personal origins among the ancients, and writing their stories directly into our own. We simply shed our fascination with the possibility that talents can be passed from one generation to the next. 

That's certainly the case in Hollywood, a relatively recent art institution in human history, but still rife with its own multigenerational legacies. It's likely you read the headline above and instantly thought of the Coppola clan. The Coppola family has, as of this writing, accrued 12 Oscar wins and 40 nominations between them, and they currently hold the record for the family with the most members to be nominated for Oscars.

The American Theatre Wing will soon be announcing the Tonys' Lifetime Achievement Award recipient. It traditionally goes to veteran stage performers, directors, choreographers, playwrights, songwriters, producers, and designers. In some years there are multiple honorees. Last year's recipients were directors Jack O'Brien and George C. Wolfe.

Several living male Broadway vets have already received this award: Paul Gemignani, Alan Ayckbourn, Athol Fugard, Tommy Tune, Marshall W. Mason, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Harold Wheeler, Joel Grey, and John Kander. Here are 10 possibilities, all accomplished men over the age of 65. Vote in our poll below to let us know who you’d like to see honored.

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John Caird

Two-time Tony-winning director for The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (1982) and Les Misérables (1987). Additional nominations for helming Stanley (1997) and cowriting Jane Eyre the Musical (2001).

Tim Curry

Three-time Tony-nominated actor for Amadeus (1981), My Favorite Year...

A Piece of Hollywood History

Starr Parodi on the Wizard of Oz piano.

Starr Parodi in 2007, with her then 3-year-old daughter, on her 1928 Steinway B piano that was lost, along with her family’s house and all their possessions, in the Jan. 7 Palisades Fire

I’d always wanted a Steinway. I just love the way they sound. I love the richness of them. Since getting my Steinway in 1993, I have played it on virtually every film score I’ve written. I always heard music in my head when I sat at the keys — whenever I put my hands down, ideas always came to mind.

Every piano has a distinct personality. I felt the livingness of the wood that my Steinway was made with, and the vibes that emanated from it through the people who had played it before on the MGM Scoring Stage, including Harold Arlen, George Gershwin or Irving Berlin.

After seven decades, a movie more than has enough rights to cement itself as a Christmas classic. That's the case with the 1954 film White Christmas. The movie features the songs of legendary composer and songwriter Irving Berlin. With an all-star cast of Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, Danny Kaye, and Vera Ellen, the film is still a hit with audiences seventy years later. Just as the film celebrates the milestone, it's entered Prime Video's Top 10. The film already got a special 4K treatment earlier this year to honor the anniversary as well.

Days of Our Lives spoilers and updates reveal Gloria Loring reflects on her life, her loves, and her role as Liz Chandler as she returns to reprise her iconic role. She returns to sing at Doug Williams’ (Bill Hayes) memorial service and to pay her respects-and have at least one argument with Marie Horton (Maree Cheatham)!

Days Of Our Lives Spoilers – Liz Chandler Returns To Salem After Nearly Four Decades

Almost 40 years after Gloria Loring first appeared on Days of Our Lives, her character, Liz Chandler, returned to Salem to honor the late Doug Williams and perform at his memorial service.

Loring’s Liz was on the show for six years, starting as the estranged wife of Tony Dimera (Thaao Penghlis).

She had a romance with Marlena’s ex-husband, Don Craig (Jed Allan), and later fell in love with Neil Curtis (Joseph Gallison).

While in Salem, she befriended Doug, sang at his club,...

There's no doubt that this year has been all about Sabrina Carpenter. From her hit singles we couldn't get out of our heads to her sold out arena tour to her first Grammy Award nominations, the talented singer-songwriter had a breakthrough in 2024. She's celebrating her biggest year yet with the Netflix special A Nonsense Christmas with Sabrina Carpenter.

In the holiday special, Carpenter will perform original songs from her 2023 Christmas EP fruitcake, including the special's titular song "A Nonsense Christmas" (a remix of her 1 billion streams smash single "Nonsense"), while also singing some classic carols with special guests like Shania Twain, Tyla, Kali Uchis, and fellow breakout star Chappell Roan.

Additionally, A Nonsense Christmas features comedic guest appearances from stars like Quinta Brunson, Cara Delevingne, Nico Hiraga, Kyle Mooney, Meg Stalter, Sean Astin, Owen Thiele, and Jillian Bell. In the trailer, Carpenter promises more surprises, and we can only imagine...

When it comes to holiday classics, there are few films that capture the zeitgeist and delight of the season better than White Christmas. Its lighthearted whimsy and timeless Irving Berlin music has made it a picture that transcends generations. But it may very well be its cast of characters that help the movie stand out as the holiday crème de la crème. Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye are undoubtedly one of the screen’s best pairings as Bob Wallace and Phil Davis, and, of course, the movie would be nothing without Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen as sisters, Betty and Judy Haynes. Often considered one of the best on-screen siblings of all time, the two are still a delight to watch throughout the various musical numbers. However, their perfect pairing was the result of very different styles.

Liz Chandler often entertained the citizens of Salem with her extraordinary singing on Days of Our Lives. She was played by Gloria Loring from 1980 until her divorce in 1986, and fans never forgot her. With the death of Bill Hayes, the show is honoring his character Doug, and Loring was asked to reprise her role nearly 40 years later to help pay tribute to him. Although the nuts and bolts of making the show have changed since she was last on, Loring jumped at the chance to reunite with old friends and honor Hayes’ memory.

My, How the Times Have Changed

Loring wasted no time returning to Days when asked and told Soap Opera Digest, “I was very honored to come back to pay my respects and add a little something to the recognition of Bill Hayes.” She explained that the entire production was “90% different” from when she previously appeared on the show.

Days of Our Lives on Monday reached its milestone 15,000th episode with sentimental appearances by Victoria Konefal (Ciara Brady), Gloria Loring (Liz Chandler), Bryan Dattilo (Lucas Horton), Maree Cheatham (Marie Horton) and Stephen Schnetzer (Steven Olson).

Doug Williams III was also introduced on the Peacock sudser; he’s played by Peyton Meyer.

The episode opened with a vintage, black and white clip of Bill Hayes’ Doug behind bars from the good ol days on NBC. It then continued with Deidre Hall’s Marlena reading Doug’s obit before she gets a surprise visit from Loring’s Liz.

The episode sets the stage for Tuesday’s funeral for Doug and the soap’s official goodbye to Hayes, who died in January at 98. More former stars are expected to return to Salem for the tribute, which will feature Loring leading the group in a rendition of Irving Berlin’s “Always.”

Hayes originated...

As a genre, movie musicals have had some serious ups and downs throughout Hollywood history. Right now, they definitely seem to be on an upswing, especially now that the long-awaited "Wicked" movie blew everyone away at the box office — and it was only the first half of the musical to boot.

In recent years, movie musicals like "Wonka," "Mean Girls," "The Greatest Showman," "La La Land," and even the filmed stage version of "Hamilton" have become enormous hits, though critical reception has been decidedly mixed across these projects. So what are the best musicals ever according to the official Rotten Tomatoes ranking of movie musicals? Only three musicals earned 100% ratings on the review aggregate, which is — I have to say — a little surprising, largely because some all-time classics apparently missed the cut. For example, "The Sound of Music" and the original "West Side Story" only earned 83% and 92%, respectively, despite being two staples of the genre,...

Lady Gaga fans who were wondering what song she would pull out for Kamala Harris’ final rally in Philadelphia Monday night got a song arguably even more glorious than “Edge of Glory” — Irving Berlin’s “God Bless America” — to preface the candidate’s speech. But she didn’t let down those who wanted to hear her own inspirational anthem, returning after Harris’ climactic speech to indeed belt out “Edge of Glory” as the clock struck 12 and election day officially arrived.

“For more than half of this country’s life, women didn’t have a voice,” Gaga said in introducing “God Bless America” while sitting at the piano. The singer spoke of women during that time who “raised children. We held our families together. We supported men as they made the decisions. But tomorrow, women will be a part of making this decision. Today I am holding in my heart all the tough,...

Today marks the 70th anniversary of one of the most beloved Christmas movies ever made—Irving Berlin’s White Christmas—and Paramount Home Entertainment is celebrating the milestone by releasing the fan-favorite film for the first time ever on 4K Ultra HD on November 5, 2024. A dazzling and delightful holiday treat, Irving Berlin’s White Christmas stars Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen in a joyous showbiz story filled with song and dance and featuring the timeless music and lyrics of legendary composer and songwriter Irving Berlin whose artistry defined American popular songs for much of the 20th century. Irving Berlin’s White Christmas premiered on ... Read more...

Notebook is covering the Locarno Film Festival with a series of correspondence pieces written by the participants in the Critics Academy.Illustrations by Lucy Jones.In our second missive from the Locarno Critics Academy, Leonard Krähmer, Lucía Requejo, and Katarina Docalovich put the filmmakers of the present in conversation with retrospective selections—particularly the films presented in “The Lady with the Torch,” the festival’s 2024 Retrospective surveying the history of Columbia Pictures, curated by Ehsan Khoshbakht.The Crowd.Dear Kat and Lucía,Prioritizing the retrospective at a major festival like Locarno—which claims to be a haven for exciting new voices, where the Cineasti del Presente are put in the spotlight, and where cinema is questioned about its futures and dead ends—could be misconstrued as a relapse into nostalgia. There may be some truth to this, but short-circuiting the new and the old can cause a productive tension, perhaps...

“O God, I could be bounded in a nut shell and count myself a king of infinite space.”

Hamlet – Act II, scene ii

Like the best cinema––or, at least, the kind I respond to most passionately––the films of Ben Rivers immerse us in stories that aren’t as interested in solving enigmas as letting us luxuriate in them. To say that very little happens in Bogancloch––a follow-up to the director’s 2011 feature debut, Two Years at Sea––is both technically correct and frustratingly reductive. For a little less than 90 minutes, Rivers’s latest tracks an old man as he go about a life of self-subsistence in the middle of the woods––all we do is watch him bathe, cook, hike, hunt, and sleep.

His name is Jake Williams, a Scottish musician who’s lived in this remote corner of Aberdeenshire for decades, and whom Rivers had already...

Exclusive: Producers Robert Greenblatt and Neil Meron are developing the Broadway-bound Studio 54 The Musical, a new work with a book by Chad Hodge and set to feature a full playlist of hits from the disco era.

Directed and choreographed by Tony Award-winner Sergio Trujillo (Ain’t Too Proud—The Life and Times of the Temptations), the Broadway-bound Studio 54 musical will trace “the astonishing ascent and sudden downfall of the most legendary club in nightlife history.”

“Neil Meron and I started talking about the amazing story of Studio 54 as a possible series years ago,” said Greenblatt in an exclusive statement to Deadline, “but we finally came to our senses and realized we had the perfect musical right under our noses.”

Add Meron, “And with book writer Chad Hodge and the incredible Sergio Trujillo, who came of age during the disco dance craze in Toronto and New York, we have the...

Barbra Streisand has apologized after getting a harsh reminder that public comments on someone’s Instagram are not, uh, private direct messages.

The 82-year-old icon was caught in the comments of a recent Melissa McCarthy Instagram post asking the actress, “did you take Ozempic?” Actually, the full comment is even better, lacking all punctuation, besides the final question mark at the end, and exhibiting a short but profound stream of consciousness writing style. The photo was of McCarthy and director Adam Shankman en route to a charity gala, and, in full,...

All’s mad in love, war, and supervillainery.

Oscar winners Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga go toe-to-toe as twisted lovers in “Joker: Folie à Deux,” the sequel to 2019 Batman prequel “Joker” which won Phoenix the Best Actor Academy Award. Gaga takes on the role of Harley Quinn, with Phoenix reprising his titular role as Arthur Fleck.

“Joker: Folie à Deux” is helmed by returning director Todd Phillips. The film, which has musical elements á la Francis Ford Coppola’s “One From the Heart,” centers around Arkham Asylum and its inhabitants. Gaga portrays the “Batman the Animated Series” origins for Harley Quinn, starting out as a psychiatrist who treats Phoenix’s Fleck. The cast includes returning “Joker” star Zazie Beetz, “Banshees of Inisherin” Oscar nominee Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener, Jacob Lofland, “Industry” breakout Harry Lawtey, and more.

Phillips speaking at CinemaCon clarified whether or not the film is a musical: “It’s funny,...

Bleachers take on the classic show tune “Almost Like Being in Love” for the final track in the Jack Antonoff-curated The New Look soundtrack.

The tenth and season finale episode of the Apple TV+ series — about the career of fashion designer Christian Dior and his clashes with Coco Chanel amid the backdrop of Nazi-occupied Paris — hit the streaming service Wednesday, and with it Antonoff and Bleachers’ ghostly rendition of the show tune that, after featuring in the 1947 musical Brigadoon, was popularized by artists like Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole,...

On the opening night of Bob Dylan’s 2024 tour, a fan reportedly got under his skin by screaming out, “Play something we know.” The fact that he followed the heckle up with a brand new arrangement of “When I Paint My Masterpiece” that echoed Irving Berlin’s “Puttin’ On The Ritz” (or possibly “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)” by the Four Lads) is surely coincidence since such things are worked out in advance, but later in the night he did pull out a surprise by covering the 1956 Jimmy Rogers song “Walking By...

Steve Lawrence, a king among easy-listening crooners who rocketed to fame in the ’50s and ’60s as half of the duo Steve and Eydie, died Thursday at age 88. Lawrence died at home in Los Angeles, and the cause of death was complications from Alzheimer’s disease, according to a spokesperson for the family, Susan DuBow.

Lawrence’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis had finally put an end to his touring career in 2019, after a run in the public eye that spanned six and a half decades.

Lawrence was preceded in death in 2013 by his wife, Eydie Gormé, with whom he enjoyed nearly unparalleled success as a performing couple during their heyday as touring artists and TV stars in the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s. The couple had continued to tour together through 2009.

His colleagues began to weigh in Thursday. “Steve was one of my favorite guests on my variety show,” Carol Burnett said,...

Steve Lawrence, the charismatic Grammy- and Emmy-winning crooner who delighted audiences for decades in nightclubs, on concert stages and in film and television appearances, died Thursday. He was 88.

Lawrence, who partnered in a popular act with his wife of 55 years, the late Eydie Gormé, died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease, a publicidst announced.

With his boyish good looks, silky voice and breezy personality, Lawrence broke into show business when he won a talent competition on Arthur Godfrey’s CBS show and signed with King Records as a teenager. The singer chose to stay old school and resist the allure of rock ‘n’ roll.

“It didn’t attract me as much,” Lawrence once said. “I grew up in a time period when music was written by Irving Berlin and Cole Porter and George and Ira Gershwin and Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein and Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart and Sammy Cahn and Julie Stein.

Nick Cave has released a cover of Édith Piaf’s 1940s hit “La Vie En Rose,” which appears on Jack Antonoff’s soundtrack for the Apple TV+ series The New Look. Stream it below.

On the Antonoff-produced piano cover, Cave takes on the French singer’s signature track in English, giving it a new dimension as he delivers the tender ballad in his distinct voice: “When you speak, angels sing from above/ Everyday words, they turn into love songs.”

Cave’s version of “La Vie En Rose” follows Lana Del Rey’s take on Irving Berlin’s “Blue Skies,” Florence + The Machine’s cover of “White Cliffs of Dover,” and The 1975’s rendition of “Now Is the Hour.”

You can catch the first five episodes of The New Look now. Filmed in Paris, the series centers around Christian Dior, Coco Chanel, and their contemporaries as they launch modern fashion after World War II.

Lana Del Rey, she of the country club Chemtrails, has finally discovered “Blue Skies” — at least in the form of songwriter Irving Berlin’s 98-year-old standard.

Of course, since it’s Del Rey, “blue” is a double-entendre, and there’s a sadness in her voice that she can’t quite shake. Where Ella Fitzgerald quivered her voice with a little hope on her rendition and Willie Nelson went full country funk with his, winking his way through every line, Del Rey sounds restrained and distant, as if the blue skies...

Lana Del Rey has reunited with frequent collaborator Jack Antonoff for her new cover of Irving Berlin’s 1926 song “Blue Skies.” The track appears on the Antonoff-produced official soundtrack for the new Apple TV+ series The New Look. Stream it below.

The cover follows Florence + The Machine’s version of “White Cliffs of Dover” and The 1975’s rendition of “Now Is the Hour.” The soundtrack also features contributions from Nick Cave, Bartees Strange, Joy Oladokun, beabadoobee, and Antonoff’s own band, Bleachers.

Del Rey and Antonoff have a long collaborative relationship, with the latter just winning a Grammy for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical — due in part to his work on Del Rey’s most recent album, Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd? The two also collaborated on Del Rey’s upcoming country album, Lasso.

Later this year, Del Rey will make headlining appearances at festivals including Coachella,...

Film historians, critics and cineastes have heralded 1939 as the greatest year for Hollywood films. It was the year that saw the release of such classics as “Gone with the Wind,” “Stagecoach,” “Love Affair,” “The Wizard of Oz,” “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” “Young Mr. Lincoln” and “Wuthering Heights.” That’s just the tip of the iceberg

But what about Broadway? A case can be made for 1964, which saw the debuts of three musicals that became classics: “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Funny Girl” and “Hello, Dolly!”

Broadway was changing in the 1960s. Oscar Hammerstein II died in 1960; Irving Berlin’s last show was the disappointing 1962 “Mr. President”; and Cole Porter, who died in 1964, hadn’t had a musical on Broadway since the 1950s. Sixty years ago, a group of young talented composers and lyricists were the toast of the Great White Way.

Like Jerry Herman. He was all of 30 when “Milk...

Chita Rivera, the sultry singer, dancer and actress who commanded the Broadway stage for more than a half-century, has died. She was 91.

Rivera died peacefully in New York on Tuesday, following a brief illness, her daughter, Lisa Mordente, shared in a statement obtained by The Hollywood Reporter.

Known for her long, sleek legs, smoldering green eyes and lusty singing voice, the two-time Tony Award winner originated some of musical theater’s most iconic characters.

When West Side Story bowed in 1957, it was Rivera singing about life in America as the fiery Puerto Rican transplant Anita. As Rose Grant, the long-suffering girlfriend of songwriter Albert Peterson, Rivera received top billing over Dick Van Dyke in 1960’s Bye Bye Birdie. In 1975, she made the stage sizzle with “All That Jazz” as Velma Kelly in Chicago. And the 1993 musical adaptation of Kiss of the Spider Woman put her in the spotlight as the sexy Spider Woman.

Dan Stevens as Charles Dickens and Christopher Plummer as Ebenezer Scrooge in ‘The Man Who Invented Christmas’ (Photo by Kerry Brown / Bleecker Street)

Once again, the holidays – or is it holidaze? – are upon us, bringing with it a flurry of Christmas movies.

You have your endless parade of cartoons, specials, Christmas-themed episodes of your favorite TV shows, bad holiday comedies (1996’s Jingle All the Way and 2007’s Fred Claus come to mind), and Christmas-set horror movies (1984’s Gremlins). Then there’s the cheesy yet feel-good Lifetime and Hallmark films. And how can we forget the 24-hour marathon of 1983’s A Christmas Story (celebrating its 40th anniversary this year), beginning on Christmas Eve and ending on Christmas Day?

If those don’t do it for you, maybe these lists of Christmas movies will.

Classic Christmas Movies

You can’t go wrong with these classics, which can lighten the hearts of even the most ardent cynics.

White Christmas is a beloved holiday film with iconic quotes, including Bob's comment about being stuck with a "weirdsmobile for life." The importance of friendship is highlighted in the film, as shown by Bob and Phil's dedication to General Waverly, despite his comment that they "weren't any good as privates." The comedic duo of Bob and Phil provides laughs throughout the movie, with Bob's dry but loving comments leaving an impression.

The 1954 holiday classic White Christmas is one of the most recognizable movies of its genre, and the film contains several iconic quotes. White Christmas is a follow-up to the black-and-white Christmas movie classic Holiday Inn, featuring an incredible soundtrack from Irving Berlin. Starring the likes of Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Vera-Ellen, and Rosemary Clooney, White Christmas saw success for its wholesome family atmosphere. It's still one of the most notable holiday-themed films to date.

Filmed in Technicolor, White Christmas...

“Joker: Folie à Deux” is turning up the dial on the crazy.

Rumored to be set in psychiatric hospital Arkham Asylum, the musical sequel to the controversial Oscar-winning 2019 film will be released in October 2024. However, cinematographer Lawrence Sher is revealing that the film will take audiences by surprise.

“It’s a pretty risky movie,” Sher told Definition magazine (via Games Radar), “and it’s going to be surprising for people. I’m so excited for everyone to see it.”

Sher added that the film is “currently in the final stages of post-production.”

“Joker: Folie à Deux” stars Joaquin Phoenix as the eponymous antihero, Arthur Fleck. Lady Gaga is taking on the role of Harley Quinn opposite Phoenix’s Joker as love interest (and equally unhinged counterpart). Per Harley Quinn’s first appearance in “Batman: The Animated Series,” the character is a psychiatrist at Arkham Asylum who treats Arthur Aka the Joker,...

Tyrannical and brilliant, director Michael Curtiz created film legends out of mere stars, and turned movies into myth. Here are some of his greatest films.

When movie enthusiasts think of legendary director Michael Curtiz, the first thing that pops into their mind is Casablanca (1942), consistently named to, and occasionally topping, lists of the greatest films of all time. Although if we’re being honest, most people think of it as a Humphrey Bogart movie. The same could be said of Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) and The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). These are known for their stars, James Cagney, and Errol Flynn, the latter of whom Curtiz put on the map with Captain Blood (1935). In the director’s hands, actors and characters merged into a mythology which exceeded mere signature roles, becoming universal symbols.

Curtiz worked in the motion picture business from its infancy, but began in the theater, graduating Budapest’s...

Yes, "Star Trek" can be silly sometimes. One might recall the original series episode "Shore Leave" wherein the crew of the Enterprise saw their thoughts and fantasies -- including knights and anthropomorphic white rabbits and samurai -- manifested in android form. Then there's the "Next Generation" episode "QPid" wherein the Enterprise-d crew were magically transformed into characters from Robin Hood. There's also the "Deep Space Nine" episode "If Wishes Were Horses" wherein the DS9 crew unwittingly manifested characters out of their brains, like Rumpelstiltskin and ultra-horny doppelgängers of their co-workers. And then we have the "Voyager" episode "Bride of Chaotica!" wherein the Voyager crew re-enacted a 1950s sci-fi serial, complete with cheesy special effects and black-and-white photography. 

These "wacky" comedy episodes, while not always necessarily funny, tend to serve an important function in "Star Trek." Specifically, they break up the monotony. Both the viewers and the makers of the show...

Tony Bennett accepted the boundaries of his universe.

In the last few decades of his life, the period of his greatest success, he never tried to do a Rick Rubin/Johnny Cash-style album of recent pop and rock hits tweaked to suit his voice. Instead, he transported the contemporary artists he worked with — Lady Gaga especially — to his preferred musical arena: the Great American Songbook classics of Johnny Mercer, Irving Berlin, Rodgers and Hart, the Gershwins, Harold Arlen, and so many more. Without seeing the cover, you’d never even know his “MTV Unplugged” album was an “MTV Unplugged” album just by listening to it. His last studio album, “The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern,” speaks to his appreciation of the craft of songwriting embodied by the entire Great American Songbook era, and how a singer can work in dialogue with that songwriter even decades after their death to create meaning.

Sad news hit this morning that Tony Bennett has died following a long battle with Alzheimer’s. The legendary crooner had one of the longest careers in the history of popular music. His debut LP, Because of You, landed in 1952, and he worked steadily in the studio and on the road until 2021.

Fans who came of age in the Fifties will likely remember early hits like “Cold, Cold Heart,” ” Rags to Riches,” and “Strangers in Paradise.” Children of the Sixties are more likely to think of songs like “I Left My Heart in San Francisco,...

Tony Bennett has died at the age of 96.

The singer’s publicist, Sylvia Weiner, confirmed his death to The Associated Press on Friday morning, saying he died in his hometown of New York. There was no specific cause of death, but Bennett had been battling Alzheimer’s disease.

No one was more surprised by the duration and arc of Bennett’s career than Bennett himself.

“I can’t tell you how fortunate I feel about all this,” Bennett said during a 2006 interview, on the occasion of his 80th birthday. “I never really thought I’d be doing it this long… and it’s so much more than I ever imagined it would be. So I’m just thrilled.”

Bennett went out on a high note, too. Having been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2016, he kept working as able, bringing his performing career to a close with duet partner Lady Gaga...

Rufus Wainwright won’t hit age 50 until July 22, technically, but he started the festivities a few days early with “Fifty Isn’t the End,” a three-hour show at Long Island’s East End that was a tribute to Wainwright’s career, his family lineage and, inadvertently, some of the other children of famous musicians who happen to be among his pals.

With a lineup that included Jimmy Fallon, comic Tig Notaro, Laurie Anderson and members of Wainwright’s family, including his sister Martha and his father Loudon III, the show...

What do the 76th annual Tonys have in common with the 17th annual awards?

Stephen Sondheim.

The late, great influential composer is represented in this year’s Tonys with the acclaimed, popular revivals of his 1979 classic “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Street” earning eight nominations and 1987’s “Into the Woods” receiving six.

Sixty years ago, it was Sondheim’s musical comedy “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” which dominated the Tony Awards with six wins: best musical, best producer for Harold Prince, best director for George Abbott, best author for Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart, leading actor for Zero Mostel and featured actor for David Burns. Ironically, Sondheim failed to earn a nomination for best original score (music and/or lyrics) written for the theater. He would not win for his tunes until “Company” in 1971. Vying in that category were “Stop the World I Wanted...

This madcap musical from 1935 about an American dance star visiting London swirls effortlessly back into cinemas, with classic songs from Irving Berlin

Like a Shakespearean marriage comedy with a spoonful of Feydeau farce, this madcap musical from 1935, from screenwriters Allan Scott and Dwight Taylor and director Mark Sandrich, saunters back for a re-release. It features Fred Astaire as Jerry, the American dance star visiting London, a city seen in almost surreally weird back projections – and Astaire incidentally does an intentionally terrible Cockney accent when he pretends to be a hansom cab driver. (It is one of the rare times he does not appear in faultless evening dress.) Irving Berlin’s classic songs Cheek to Cheek and Top Hat, White Tie and Tails are great, and Astaire swirls on a forward-tilting gyroscopic axis with his spindly arms and legs effortlessly orbiting him like Saturn’s moons.

Playing opposite him – and of course,...

Last year, Oscar-winning director Damien Chazelle made a decadent hate letter to Hollywood, a film which dived into the seedy, salacious, and ultimately gruesome side of an industry that trades on fantasy and prefers to look at itself through glasses a shade of rose. Chazelle’s Babylon failed to set the world on fire at the box office, but it does have its admirers, including those enamored by an ending sequence in which a crucial character wanders into a movie house decades after his heyday in the silent era and early talkies. And he catches, as it so happens, Singin’ in the Rain during its original 1952 theatrical run.

The choice of ending a movie like that on a character watching Singin’ in the Rain is both obvious yet profound. On the one hand, Singin’ in the Rain is the textbook definition of a rose-tinted filter being cast across Hollywood’s...

You probably know more about Ronald Reagan from U.S. History than Film Studies. Make no mistake. Before Reagan ever ran for office, he was an actor. The 40th U.S. president started his entertainment career as "Dutch" Reagan, a radio sports announcer in Des Moines, Iowa. Reagan honed his storytelling chops by recreating Chicago Cubs games with nothing but a slip sent to him by telegraph. The 26-year-old dreamed of big-screen stardom, so he joined the Cubs for spring training in Southern California — to snag a screen test with Warner Brothers. The WB studio suits liked what they saw, and film actor Ronald Reagan was born.

While Reagan had a better Hollywood career than most, he never became a bonafide movie star. Throughout Reagan's political career, opponents and detractors slandered him as a "B-movie actor." However, Reagan was a B-movie actor. No, he wasn't starring in the 1940s equivalent...

Star Trek Nemesis is generally considered one of the worst films in the franchise, but it does feature some memorable moments for the crew of Star Trek: The Next Generation. By the dawn of the 21st century, the Star Trek franchise was in fairly bad shape. Star Trek: Voyager ended its seven season run in 2001 with eroding viewership; Star Trek: Enterprise debuted later that same year and suffered middling reviews and anemic ratings. On the big screen, 1998's Star Trek: Insurrection failed to match the success of the previous Tng film, Star Trek: First Contact, and there was a then-unprecedented four year gap before the next film was released.

That film would ultimately become Star Trek Nemesis, the final film featuring the Tng cast. Star Trek Nemesis was a box office bomb, reviled by both critics and fans upon release. It's the only Star Trek film to not debut at...

What do the 55th annual Academy Awards which took place April 11, 1983 have in common with the upcoming 95th Oscars?

Steven Spielberg and John Williams.

Back in 1983, Spielberg’s beloved “E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial” was nominated for nine Academy Awards including film, director and score. This year, the 76-year-old Spielberg and Williams, 91, are both nominated for “The Fabelmans.” The filmmaker’s semi-autobiographical drama is in contention for eight Academy Awards including film, director, screenplay and score.

The 55th Oscars made history with Ben Kingsley becoming the first actor of Indian descent to win the best actor Oscar for his extraordinary portrayal of “Gandhi” while Louis Gossett Jr. become the first black actor to win in the supporting category with his iconic turn as tough-nosed D.I. in “An Officer and a Gentleman.” This year, history could be made again in the best actress category. Malaysian Chinese performer Michelle Yeoh has the chance...

Late Night With Seth Meyers — Episode 1332 — Pictured: (l-r) Musician/actress Reba McEntire during an interview with host Seth Meyers on September 20, 2022 — (Photo by: Lloyd Bishop/NBC) Multi-media entertainment mogul and Country Music Hall of Fame inductee Reba McEntire will serve as Mega Mentor on Season 23 of NBC’s four-time Emmy Award-winning musical competition series “The Voice,” premiering Monday, March 6 (8-10 p.m. Et/Pt). Reba joins superstar coaches Chance the Rapper, Kelly Clarkson, Niall Horan and Blake Shelton to mentor the remaining artists who have made it through the Battle Rounds as each team prepares for the Knockouts that begin April 17. Having served as Battle Advisor to Team Blake during the show’s inaugural season, it’s most fitting Reba returns as Blake coaches his final group of artists and bids farewell to the competition. With a career that spans across music, television, film and theater, Reba has celebrated unprecedented...