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Animation had a wild year in 1998. Disney released the action-packed musical "Mulan," which broke new ground in terms of Asian American representation in animation. Meanwhile, Pixar followed up "Toy Story" with "A Bug's Life" and showed CGI animation was (for better and worse) here to stay, even as"Pokémon: The First Movie" took Pokémania to new heights and broke box office records. Most importantly, it was the year when Disney's domination over the American animation landscape truly started to crumble, with three different studios making their feature animation debuts that year: Nickelodeon with "The Rugrats Movie," Warner Bros. Feature Animation with "Quest for Camelot," and DreamWorks Animation with both "Antz" (its answer to "A Bug's Life") and "The Prince of Egypt."

That last bit is especially important. While Nickelodeon Movies didn't stick to theatrical features for very long (with the exception of its "SpongeBob SquarePants" sequels) and Warner Bros. Feature...

The breakfast and lunchtime rush at DreamWorks Animation’s campus commissary is looking a little different on Thursday.

Dozens of dishwashers, cooks, cashiers and other cafeteria workers at the animation studio’s Glendale campus went on strike Thursday morning as they remain in a standoff over ongoing union contract negotiations. Their union, Unite Here Local 11, announced the work stoppage on Thursday while alleging that the workers’ employer, Bon Appetit Management Group, has “failed to come to a fair agreement” with the labor group.

Bon Appetit’s parent company is Compass Group, which through subsidiaries provides food services to businesses (including Sony, Paramount, Disney and NBCUniversal), school campuses, sports stadiums and senior living centers.

“DreamsWorks Animation Studios cafeteria workers are the backbone behind the scenes of Hollywood. Compass Group and Bon Appetit need to value that labor and agree to a fair and dignified contract that provides livable wages and benefits,...

David Geffen’s divorce drama has made its way into the public eye after his estranged husband, Donovan Michaels, sued the entertainment mogul for breach of contract.

The suit, which was filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday, accuses Geffen, 82, of exploiting a “vulnerable, marginalized young gay Black man” as a “wealthy, powerful white gay billionaire who believed himself untouchable.”

The Hollywood Reporter reported in May that Geffen filed for divorce from Michaels, 32, after less than two years of marriage, citing irreconcilable differences. The mogul tied the knot with Michaels, a former go-go dancer whose real name is David Armstrong, in 2023 in a private Beverly Hills ceremony. While the pair kept their relationship private, details surrounding their relationship have now been revealed in Michaels’ suit.

The complaint states that the pair met on the dating website, SeekingArrangements.com. It also accuses Geffen of paying Michaels $10,000 for sex the night that they met,...

David Geffen’s estranged husband, Donovan Michaels, is suing the billionaire music and movie mogul with claims Geffen promised to provide “lifelong” financial support to Michaels but then “cut him off” and evicted him shortly after filing for divorce in May.

In his new 33-page complaint filed today and obtained by Rolling Stone, Michaels, whose legal name is David Armstrong, says he and Geffen met on the website SeekingArrangement.com in 2016, when Geffen was 73. Armstrong says the businessman, who famously worked with the Eagles, Joni Mitchell, and Bob Dylan before...

The former husband of David Geffen sued the entertainment mogul on Tuesday for breach of contract, alleging that his much-older ex ensnared him in a years-long web of exploitation after shopping for a “vulnerable” partner online, then “masquerading as a white knight while hiding behind wealth, philanthropy and fame.”

The 82-year-old mogul filed for divorce from the plaintiff, 32-year-old Donovan Armstrong, in May, citing irreconcilable differences after two years of marriage. The couple reportedly did not have a prenuptial agreement.

Messages sent to the lawfirm of Laura Wasser, Geffen’s divorce attorney, were not immediately returned Tuesday.

In the document, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, Michaels says he was a “young vulnerable black man, orphaned as a toddler” who wound up in foster care at 18 months old.

The lawsuit says the couple met via the website Seekingarrangements.com, where Geffen “learned of Michaels’ troubled past — his history of neglect,...

The Tony Awards Administration Committee has announced the Nominating Committee for the 2025-2026 Broadway season, with newcomer nominators including Jaja’s African Hair Braiding playwright Jocelyn Bioh, Prayer For The French Republic playwright Joshua Harmon and actor-director-playwright Bd Wong.

The Nominating Committee attends all productions during the Broadway season and meets on a date designated by the Administration Committee to determine, by vote, the Tony Award nominees for that season. The 2025-2026 committee of Tony Nominators will include 64 members. Members of the committee serve a three-year term.

Tony voters include voting members of The Broadway League and the board of directors and designated members of the advisory committee of the American Theatre Wing, along with members of the governing boards of Actors’ Equity Association; the Dramatists Guild; the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society; United Scenic Artists; and the Association of Theatrical Press Agents and Managers. Other eligible voters include members...

There are a handful of human beings, fictional or real, who you simply don’t dare doubt their ability to accomplish something they set their minds to.

Rocky Balboa. Michael Jordan. Michael Myers? Tom Cruise just wrapped an unforgettable run in his Mission: Impossible series with The Final Reckoning and closed the book on nearly thirty years of breathing that rare air on both fronts: in fiction as Ethan Hunt and in the real world as himself. Dangling off planes and diving off motorcycles past the age of sixty years old while single handedly keeping the blockbuster action movie spectacle alive. While his character literally saved the world and accomplished the impossible again and again, and again to the point where we are going to have to make up a new word for impossible because it just doesn’t hold any weight once Ethan Hunt was through. Well before Tom...

Scooter Braun is transitioning his role at Hybe, the South Korean entertainment giant, moving from CEO of Hybe America to an advisory position that will have him joining the Hybe Board of Directors as a director and a senior adviser to chairman Bang Si-Hyuk. The move marks the end of a five-year run at Hybe, which is home to such K-pop acts as BTS and Katseye.

The news was announced to Hybe staffers on Monday when Braun dialed in from his vacation to notify employees that the move was “in the works for quite some time,” according to a source who adds that the five-year plan was initiated with the sale of Braun’s Ithaca Holdings to Hybe in 2021. Braun will remain active in current Hybe projects, like the just-launched girl group Katseye. Braun intimated that he “isn’t going anywhere” and will “still help guide” the artists on the Hybe roster.

The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button (Photo Credit – Instagram/Prime Video)

There’s Hollywood royalty, and then there’s Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt. The two titans have created immense legacies, with filmographies that age not just well, but have become legends. Both are at the top of the food chain in the entertainment business, and their names have shone like the sun for decades in cinema. You couldn’t have two more bankable stars, critical darlings, and well, icons of fashion. Also, not to mention, they both contain a wonderful mystique that makes them irresistible.

The Role Brad Pitt Played That Tom Cruise Almost Took Over

The last time Cruise and Pitt shared screen time was in 1994’s Interview with the Vampire. Since then, a lot has changed in the movie industry, and the two leading men mostly kept their distance from each other until, almost, one ‘curious’ case...

Billionaire David Geffen‘s divorce is about to become a lot messier.

David Armstrong, 32, has filed a response to Geffen’s divorce petition. Armstrong’s lawyer, Samantha Spector, checked a box that asks the judge to “Determine rights to community and quasi-community assets and debts.”

The 82-year-old Geffen’s wealth is estimated at around $8.7 billion. Armstrong, 32, is also asking for spousal support, which Geffen agreed to pay when his lawyer, celebrity attorney Laura Wasser, filed divorce documents.

The pair have been married for almost two years despite their significant age gap. They also don’t have a prenuptial agreement, so a fight over what property is considered for both of them could become contentious. Geffen reportedly met Armstrong in 2020 when Armstrong worked as a personal trainer. The pair married in a private ceremony in Beverly Hills on March 7, 2023.

Armstrong made further claims against Geffen in his court filing, asking for...

David Geffen‘s estranged husband Donovan Michaels is filing new paperwork amid their divorce.

The 82-year-old billionaire’s 32-year-old ex just filed legal documents suggesting that he wants money, per TMZ.

The former go-go dancer filed a response to David‘s divorce petition, in which his lawyer Samantha Spector checked a box that asks the judge to “Determine rights to community and quasi-community assets and debts.”

Keep reading to find out more…

David is worth an estimated $8.7 billion, and has been retired for over 15 years.

He reportedly has no income other than investments, including property sales and dividends from stocks and equities, which are all separate property.

Donovan is also asking for spousal support, which David agreed to pay when his lawyer Laura Wasser filed the divorce docs.

The two have been married for just under 2 years. Under currently California law, Donovan would only be entitled to one year of spousal support.

Retired billionaire music mogul David Geffen has officially filed for divorce from husband David Armstrong, whom he has been married to for two years.

Armstrong, 32, and Geffen, 82, were married in March 2023, in a private ceremony in Beverly Hills. A go-go dancer, Armstrong goes by the stage name Donovan Michaels.

In documents filed in Los Angeles on May 16, Geffen attributed his and Armstrong’s divorce to “irreconcilable differences.” The filing states their official date of separation as February 22.

>50 ‘Best’ Celebrity Mugshots Slideshow

Geffen is being represented by the well-known celebrity lawyer Laura Wasser, nicknamed the “divorce lawyer to the stars.” Wasser has previously represented A-listers such as Ariana Grande, Britney Spears, Kevin Costner, Angelina Jolie, and many more in relationship cases.

Geffen and Armstrong did not have a prenuptial agreement, and the main source of Geffen’s wealth income was stocks and other equities, which California law considers separate property. Armstrong...

Barry Diller has one request before settling in on his living room sofa for a two-and-a-half-hour interview about the juicy revelations in his new tell-all memoir, Who Knew. “Don’t write about my house,” he says. “Don’t describe the decor.”

Photographed by Daniel Prakopcyk

Consider it done. No mention here of the serene, unostentatious Beverly Hills mansion tucked behind a gate, the site of his annual Oscar party. Not a word about the furnishings, some of them chosen by his late friend Sandy Gallin — the manager to Michael Jackson and Dolly Parton and charter member of what Mike Ovitz once dickishly derided as the “velvet mafia.” Color schemes? Fabric choices? Forget it. This is a safe space.

Everything else, though, is fair game. Diller’s marriage to Diane von Furstenberg. His romantic entanglements with men over the years. His close alliances and bitter battles with Hollywood legends from David Geffen...

David Geffen has filed for divorce from Donovan Michaels after less than two years of marriage.

The entertainment mogul, 82, tied the knot with Michaels, a former go-go dancer whose real name is David Armstrong, 32, in 2023 in a private Beverly Hills ceremony. The pair, who kept their relationship private, reportedly did not have a prenuptial agreement.

According to a petition to dissolve the marriage, filed by Los Angeles attorney Laura Wasser on Thursday, Geffen cited irreconcilable differences for the couple’s split. The two have no children.

The exact nature and extent of separate property and joined assets are unknown to Geffen, according to a court document.

Michaels will get spousal support, the filing indicated. In California, it’s generally awarded for half the length of the marriage. The amount Michaels, who will have his legal fees paid for by Geffen, will receive wasn’t listed in the court filing.

Geffen,...

David Geffen has filed for divorce after less than two years of marriage to David Armstrong, also known as Donovan Michaels, his performer name as a go-go dancer.

The Geffen Records founder hired Laura Wasser for the divorce proceedings, and cited irreconcilable differences for the split, per TMZ.

The 82-year-old record ex and his 32-year-old husband did not have a prenup, according to the report. Forbes currently places David‘s net worth at $8.7 billion.

Keep reading to find out more…

David has notably been retired for 15 years, and has no income other than stocks and other equities, which are all separate property. Under California law, dividends from stocks that are separate property are also separate property, which would mean Donovan “won’t get much, if anything, in the way of cash,” the outlet notes.

However, Donovan will get spousal support for one year. Under California law, the receiving spouse gets...

YouTube is an anomaly in the TV upfronts: Unlike other networks and streamers, it doesn’t present a big slate of new programming to whet Madison Avenue’s appetite for buying ads.

Instead, YouTube touts scale others can’t match. And to underscore the claim that the platform drives culture, it invited a bunch of personalities to this year’s YouTube Brandcast upfront presentation to wow the crowd — including Lady Gaga, who brought down the house with a rollicking five-song performance; MrBeast (aka Jimmy Donaldson), YouTube’s most-followed creator; vlogger and podcaster Brittany Broski; Sean Evans, host of “Hot Ones”; and gaming streamer IShowSpeed. Also on hand: NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, who talked up the league’s deal for YouTube’s first free livestreamed NFL game next season.

As far as monetizing the zeitgeist, YouTube’s biggest news Wednesday was the announcement of a new sponsorship package for advertisers to...

Hollywood kingpin Barry Diller has, for the first time, shared his thoughts on the decades of speculation about his sexuality and his marriage to fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg in an excerpt of his upcoming memoir that appeared in New York Magazine on Tuesday.

The former Paramount and Fox boss said that while there have been a “good many men in my life, there has only ever been one woman” — von Furstenberg, whom he met shortly after getting the top job at Paramount in the mid-1970s. The pair were together for years in the ’70s, before breaking up and later marrying in 2001.

Diller, in the endearing and revealing excerpt, said he had been “realistic” that “everyone knows” in the entertainment world that he is attracted to men, but that he “never wanted to make any declarations.” But long-running rumors that his relationship with von Furstenberg is merely an arrangement or friendship are untrue,...

Every once in a while, a movie makes so much money that it totally shakes up the film industry. This instance is especially true when a genre many considered dead and buried comes along and makes some serious cash. This rarity happened in a big way back in 1999 when American Pie, a movie that cost $11 million, made $235 million worldwide. Think about it – the biggest star in the film was Eugene Levy. More than that – it was a teen sex comedy. That genre played out in the early eighties when Porky’s was such a big hit that every studio decided to make a sex comedy, and pretty much all of them tanked – especially the multiple Porky‘s sequels. Teen sex comedies were replaced by John Hughes’s brand of more thoughtful teen comedies, only for that genre to fall off as well. A year before, Sony made a John Hughes-style teen comedy,...

It's hard to believe that 25 years have passed since the new millennium, bringing new technology, evolving social change, and, of course, spectacular movies. The stage for the 2000s was set with titles premiering in 2000, featuring fresh comedies, stunning animated films, and captivating dramas.

Many of these films have made a significant impact on cinema and are still consistently referenced and quoted today. Each film is unique in its own way and has served as inspiration for countless other films that parallel their cinematic perspective and narrative structure.

The Road to El Dorado Helped Launch DreamWorks as an Animation Staple Released March 31, 2000

Founded by legendary director Steven Spielberg, American film producer David Geffen, and former Disney chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg, DreamWorks is known as one of the most prominent animation studios of the 21st century. Responsible for the Shrek and How to Train Your Dragon franchise, in addition to many other impactful films,...

Brian Roberts, chairman-ceo and controlling shareholder of NBCUniversal parent Comcast, and the Roberts family have gifted $125 million to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (Chop) to create Roberts Children’s Health, a new state-of-the-art, 20-story tower, and to revitalize the existing hospital.

The media giant is based in Philadelphia.

It marks the largest single donation the institution has received in its 170-year history. It’s a big grant. David Geffen, co-founder of DreamWorks Skg, gave $200 million to what became the David Geffen School Of Medicine at UCLA in 2002, followed by $146 million to a scholarship fund for medical students. Last year, Michael Bloomberg, through his Bloomberg Philanthropies, gifted $1 billion to his alma mater John’s Hopkins to make the medical school free for most students and expand financial aid for nursing and public health students.

Chop serves as the primary pediatric training facility for the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

The new...

The musical adaptation of the film version of The Producers is one of Mel Brooks’ greatest successes, but the veteran comedian has revealed it nearly didn’t happen. He wasn’t sure his 1967 movie needed any tunes, and had to be persuaded by a persistent producer.

Brooks told The Guardian newspaper that only when producer David Geffen kept calling did he finally agree to the project. He recalled:

“David Geffen called me every day. I said, ‘David, it’s a perfectly good little movie. I won the Academy Award for my screenplay. It’s been honored and saluted enough. There’s no reason to make it a musical.’ Then the next day, he called me again. He never stopped calling me. And finally, I said, ‘Well, he’s not a dumb guy, so maybe there is something.’”

Once Brooks had agreed to the musical, he co-wrote the show with the late Thomas Meehan,...

The first three Shrek movies have once again found themselves in the Netflix global Top 10. As of this writing, Shrek sits at number two, Shrek 2 is at number four, and Shrek the Third is at number eight. While none have yet to crack Netflix's United States top 10 chart, it proves that the animated classics are beloved by audiences worldwide.

When Shrek opened in 2001, it was one of DreamWorks Skg's earliest animated films. The studio was launched in 1994 by Hollywood and music legends Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and David Geffen. It was seismic, as it was the first major studio in decades and featured three of the most powerful people in entertainment. Spielberg was coming off the dual successes of Schindler's List and Jurassic Park, Katzenberg had turned around Disney's animated film division, and Geffen was one of the biggest music moguls on the planet.

The first animated movies that...

Sunday Am Writethru: Dog Man provided the first sign of life to the 2025 box office this weekend with an opening that now stands at $36M.

That’s the second biggest opening for a January animated title of all time after DreamWorks Animation’s 2016 Kung Fu Panda 3 ($41.8M) and it’s the third consecutive No. 1 debut for Dwa after Kung Fu Panda 4 and The Wild Robot, as well as the 26th Dwa title to open at No. 1 stateside for the studio that Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen originally founded.

“Dog Man is an incredibly charming film from our partners at Dreamworks Animation who excel at storytelling for all ages. The box office this weekend and the reaction that audiences of all ages are having to Dog Man point to a very long, successful run this spring,” beamed Universal Domestic Distribution Chief Jim Orr.

According to PostTrak, 45% bought...

There’s an insane amount of competition for the best-ever musical performance on Saturday Night Live. But if we crowned an all-time champ for best SNL mid-week promo by a musical guest, the winner has to be Nirvana. Their profoundly awkward team-up with NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley was one for the ages.

Nirvana was a seasoned SNL veteran by the time the group played the 1993 season premiere with Barkley. But when the band appeared for the first time in January 1992, the result was almost a “Titanic-level disaster,” according to drummer Dave Grohl in the new documentary Ladies & Gentlemen... 50 Years of SNL Music. The explanation for why the appearance was so harrowing is simple: Pure fear.

“I was absolutely fucking terrified,” Grohl admitted.

Nirvana wasn’t yet a huge name when the band made its SNL debut — in fact, Lorne Michaels had never heard of them. That changed...

There are happy endings. There are Hollywood endings. And then there is the ending to the new film Free Leonard Peltier.

Peltier had been imprisoned for well over 45 years when David France and Jesse Short Bull decided to make a documentary about him. The Native American activist is serving two life sentences in federal prison for killing a pair of FBI agents in a shootout at South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in 1975, even as he maintains he didn’t do it. The FBI and other law enforcement groups have campaigned hard against any change in Peltier’s sentencing.

All of that formed the arc of Free Leonard Peltier, which premieres Monday at the Sundance Film Festival. It seemed fated to end like so many stories of Peltier, who is an almost folkloric symbol of Native American independence and resistance — with those hoping in vain for his release. After all,...

Last year, Saturday Night Live aired a sketch in which Ryan Gosling and Mikey Day played two complete strangers who inexplicably resemble Beavis and Butt-Head. And since pretty much any SNL sketch that seems to work will be quickly repeated until the joke is no longer funny, the pair reprised their roles for the red carpet premiere of Gosling’s movie The Fall Guy.

If this sketch proved anything, it’s that Beavis and Butt-Head are creepy as hell when brought to life with human actors. They looked less like beloved cartoon characters, and more like nightmarish David Lynch creations going through a mid-life crisis.

But weirdly enough, we were almost subjected to live-action versions of the dim-witted duo nearly three decades ago.

In 1996 Beavis and Butt-Head Do America brought the MTV characters to the big screen for the first time, with a cross-country animated adventure that featured the voices of stars like Demi Moore,...

In 1994, both Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt were already household names. The same year, the two actors joined forces in the adaptation of Anne Rice's first novel in The Vampire Chronicles book series, Interview With the Vampire.

Directed by Neil Jordan, Interview With the Vampire had a series of hiccups to pass before its release in theaters. The movie, which also stars a young Kirsten Dunst, Christian Slater, and Antonio Banderas, has since become a cult classic, and, although it was very popular when it premiered, its impact has lived on. Interview With the Vampire has found a new streaming service to protect itself from the sunlight and will set its elegant coffins on Peacock starting Feb. 1.

Related 'Without Saying Too Much...': Mayfair Witches Star Addresses Possible Interview with the Vampire Crossover

Mayfair Witches star Tongayi Chirisa hints that the upcoming Season 2 sets the stage for a future...

Content Warning: The following article contains spoilers.In the world of animation, there have been few instances of rapid success like the rise of DreamWorks. Formed in 1994 by Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen, the studio helped to cement the rise of CGI animated films with the release of Shrek, which became the first winner of the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. The Shrek franchise has also become the second highest-grossing animated franchise behind Despicable Me.

Schindler’s List, Steven Spielberg’s black-and-white Holocaust epic of 1993, will be streaming very soon. What’s on Netflix reports that the war film will stream on everyone’s favorite platform on New Year’s Day.

Starting January 1, Netflix subscribers will be able to revisit the widely lauded film by Spielberg. In 1994, Schindler’s List was the awards darling of the season and remains the only Spielberg film to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Nominated for 12 Oscars, the film won seven: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score, Best Film Editing, Best Cinematography, and Best Art Direction.

Schindler’s List takes viewers to Europe as the Third Reich advances to invade the entire continent. The Jewish community became the victim of genocide when the Nazis came up with concentration camps, forcing the few survivors to hard labor.

Related Steven Spielberg's Best Movie Villains

Contrary to what people may think,...

Ideas of what constitutes the ideal vacation range from tracking gorillas to collapsing on the beach with a Negroni, but one thing is clear: whatever the preference, festive week is an excuse for nearly everyone to escape work and put projects on hold while they regroup and reenergize.

THR spoke to the most in-demand Hollywood concierges to ask where the jet-setters and yacht-machers are heading this week. Some destinations, like St. Barts and Aspen, are perennials, drawing the entertainment industry each Christmas week, while others, like Spert Island off Antarctica, where Liev Schreiber ventured last year, or Mahabalipuram in Southern India, where Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones journeyed for the holiday, trend for a moment.

“Tons of people are going St. Barts again,’’ says Jaclyn Sienna India, founder of the membership based luxury lifestyle company Sienna Charles, whose excursions range from $75,000 to $250,0000.

We can, of course, expect regulars like David Geffen,...

Alan Menken is a true romantic. Just ask him how he met his wife of 52 years, Janis.

“This dancer walks into the room, and I knew immediately who she was, because I dreamt her,” he says, beaming from across the breakfast table on a Beverly Hills rooftop.

It’s no surprise that the man behind lionized love songs like “A Whole New World” and “I See the Light” has a tender, gentle nature. In fact, it’s that undeniable sentimentality that has elevated Menken to legend status (and Egot status) over the course of his career spanning five decades. The composer has earned eight Oscars (the most of any person alive today), all of which came from his work on films of the so-called “Disney Renaissance,” the period between 1989 and 1999 when the Mouse House produced some of its most beloved animated films. And he remains one of the industry’s...

In today's eyes, A Bug's Life is just one of the many films made by Disney and Pixar, but back in the late '90s, the film was a huge deal, being the second or third CG-animated film to ever be made. That's also not the only thing important to know about the animated film. A Bug's Life was also responsible for starting a feud between two major studios: Disney and DreamWorks.

Around the same time Disney was developing A Bug's Life with Pixar Animation Studios, DreamWorks announced that they were making Antz, a similar bug movie with an almost identical premise. It would also be fully computer-generated. The two bug movies were in direct competition with each other, and so were the studios behind them. With no one seeming to be interested in backing out of the race, the feud between Pixar and DreamWorks intensified.

A Bug's Life Started...

In her newly released memoir, Cher reflects on the challenges she faced during her marriage to Sonny Bono, shedding light on the difficulties behind their celebrated public partnership.

The book explores their journey from friends and roommates to an impulsive marriage in an apartment bathroom. It reveals the darker aspects of their relationship, including Bono’s infidelity and controlling behavior.

Cher describes how the strain of their marriage took a significant toll on her mental health, leading to moments of despair. In one instance, she recounts experiencing suicidal thoughts while staying in a Las Vegas hotel suite in October 1972.

“There I was, twenty-six years old and in what had become a loveless marriage,” she writes. “Sonny had given me the vehicle and the confidence to become the somebody my mother always told me I would be, and then he just lost interest.”

She continues: “I stepped barefoot onto the balcony...

The Wild Robot has helped push DreamWorks' box office past a major record. DreamWorks Animation is a studio that was founded in 1994 by iconic filmmaker Steven Spielberg with Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen. Its first major hit was its second release, 1998's The Prince of Egypt, which grossed $218.6 million against a $60 million budget. Since then, it has had many more hits, launching multiple major animated franchises including Shrek, Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda, How to Train Your Dragon, Trolls, and The Boss Baby. Collectively, DreamWorks movies have grossed more than $17 billion worldwide and earned three Oscar nominations.

DreamWorks' The Wild Robot, which debuted on September 27, was written and directed by Chris Sanders and stars Lupita Nyong'o, Kit Connor, Pedro Pascal, Catherine O'Hara, Bill Nighy, Stephanie Hsu, Mark Hamill, Matt Berry, and Ving Rhames. The movie, which is adapted from the 2016 book of the same name by Peter Brown, opened to a middling $35.8 million,...

Usher and Diddy’s relationship may never be viewed the same again, however, there was a time, when the popular singer-songwriter lamented his decision to overlook an opportunity to form a group with the music mogul, Jay-Z and the renowned musician Pharrell Williams.

Usher | Credit: David Berkowitz/Cca 2.0/Wikimedia Commons

During his appearance on Shannon Sharpe’s Club Shay Shay, the Superstar singer described it as one of the biggest regrets of his career while revealing how the discussions surrounding the idea ultimately failed to materialize.

Usher Was Almost in a Mega Music Group With Jay-Z, Diddy And Pharrell Williams

Earlier this year, Usher joined Shannon Sharpe on his show to share an insight into Super Bowl Halftime Show performance, his life, and some of the biggest regrets of his career in the industry.

Usher | Credit: Club Shay Shay via YouTube

When asked about a collaboration that he initially passed...

“In Hollywood, people lie to each other and cheat each other and then go and play tennis,” David Geffen once said, nailing it about the true business of show business. “But I don’t want to be a tennis player.”

R&cpmk is not playing tennis this Thanksgiving.

The uber-PR firm this week launched a double assault on burgeoning rival 2Pm Sharp with bicoastal breach of contract lawsuits. Directly calling out ex-employees Jessica Sciacchitano, Heather McDevitt, Michelle Schwartz and Jamie Arons as co-defendants, the Cindi Berger-run R&cpmk details a late-night and internal campaign by top brass to obtain as much confidential information from the firm as possible for 2Pm Sharp’s launch last month.

According to complaints filed Tuesday in New York and Wednesday in Los Angeles, that subterfuge involves the downloading of “thousands of R&cpmk files, including confidential, proprietary, and other sensitive business information.” Reading...

A lot of comedy fans love both Mel Brooks and Monty Python, and would presumably be thrilled if they all got along splendidly. Unfortunately, one of the very first meetings between the Blazing Saddles director and a Python member didn’t go so well.

Back in 1987, Brooks met Michael Palin, while the latter was in Los Angeles making A Fish Called Wanda. At the same time, Palin was trying to hire Brooks’ wife Anne Bancroft to star in his film American Friends, which eventually came out in 1991 (with no Anne Bancroft). Palin ran into Brooks at the studio commissary, and they immediately got off on the wrong foot.

As Palin wrote in his diary at the time, Brooks was “chunky, rack-like, barrel chest, with a firm, no-nonsense light paunch.” He then grabbed Palin’s hand and shook it “probably five or six times.” Then he affably implied that Monty Python...

In 1994, David Geffen, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and Steven Spielberg -- three of Hollywood's biggest power players -- united to form a brand-new major motion picture studio called DreamWorks, something that hadn't been attempted in decades. The trio of execs had three stipulations: they wouldn't make any more than nine films a year, they would be allowed to make movies for other studios, and they would be able to go home in time for dinner.

For three years, the trio would wrangle contracts and make deals with various music, film, and television entities to make sure it was standing on solid ground and could handle being the outsize business entity they wanted it to be. In 1997, DreamWorks finally released its first three movies: "The Peacemaker," "Amistad," and "Mouse Hunt." The year after, the studio broke into feature animation with the bad-but-popular CGI insect film "Antz" and the highly acclaimed and very good "The Prince of Egypt,...

This story was originally published in the Oct. 10, 1974, issue of Rolling Stone.

Along with many of the stars and hopefuls at Chicago’s 1971 Black Expo, Minnie Riperton waited patiently backstage to approach the blind musician rocking characteristically in his chair. His latest album, Where I’m Coming From, was moving up the charts.

“Everybody was trying to meet Stevie,” she recalled over lunch recently, leaning back to adjust a large, foppish white hat that rested lightly on a natural of moderate length. Occasionally the hat concealed her bright eyes, but...

DreamWorks Animation often goes toe-to-toe with Walt Disney Studios to produce spectacular films. The former holds an appeal for producing more mature and out-of-the-box characters along with political and pop-cultural jokes in their storylines.

The Prince of Egypt is considered to be a classic, featuring a star cast of Val Kilmer, Ralph Fiennes, Sandra Bullock, Helen Mirren, and more. Based on the Book of Exodus, the story closely follows the journey of the heroic messiah Moses as he learns of his ultimate destiny. However, most fans don’t know that Steven Spielberg had a huge role in the early draft of the plot, though he went uncredited.

The inspiration: Focus on brotherhood, not divinity Still from The Prince of Egypt | Credits: DreamWorks Pictures

The Prince of Egypt premiered in 1998 and blew away the critics due to its incredible visuals, musical scores, and performance by the voice actors. The movie featured well-known stars like Val Kilmer,...

Did Tom Cruise Sanitize Onscreen Intimate Content In Interview With The Vampire To Protect His Image? (Photo Credit – Instagram)

Hollywood A-lister Tom Cruise is renowned for his electrifying performances and dedication to his craft. He goes above and beyond to immerse himself entirely in any role he takes on. Whether performing death-defying stunts in the Mission: Impossible series, portraying complex characters in films like Rain Man or Jerry Maguire, or mastering new skills for action-packed sequences, Cruise has consistently pushed himself to deliver authenticity in every role.

However, there was a time when Cruise took on a role that required him to embody a literal creature of the night, portraying the menacing vampire Lestat in Anne Rice’s Interview With the Vampire. Cruise played the ruthless, evil character who committed horrific acts. Tom Cruise was stepping away from his usual roles for this character, but despite the dark and explicit nature of the Lestat,...

Lacma’s Art + Film gala entered its brat era over the weekend.

Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s marquee fundraiser took place on the grounds of the L.A. cultural institution on Saturday night as the rebellious spirit of its musical headliner Charli Xcx and her culture shifting brat album seemed to permeate the festivities. The carpet got a green-hued makeover, Anna Wintour praised honoree Baz Luhrmann’s frenetic creative spirit and how he once convinced Rihanna to dance on a table at the Met Gala, Kim Kardashian caused a stir by wearing another rare piece of fashion history and Chloe Sevigny demanded the crowd “make some fucking noise” for Charli, who turned Lacma into an electric after hours with a quick set featuring her Sweat Tour mate Troye Sivan. It even rained a little, a very brat-coded thing for Mother Nature to do in a city like Los Angeles.

While Hollywood’s strikes last year yielded certain protections for writers and actors, many other workers say they’re now seeing a higher barrier to entry level jobs on the other side of it.

Across the industry, organizers say they’re hearing of multiple assistant-level jobs being cut and of increasing requirements to get those starting jobs, while the pay remains low amid a rising cost of living.

“You essentially have to be overqualified in order to get this entry-level job,” says Alex Rubin, co-leader of Pay Up Hollywood, a grassroots movement that advocates for fair pay and safe workplaces for support staff. Rubin notes that even pre-strike, when she was seeking to make a career change, she applied to more than 100 jobs and feels she was only able to get a job as a showrunner’s assistant in January 2022 because she had experience working in different industries in New York.

Lynda Obst, one of the most prolific female producers in Hollywood, died Tuesday in Los Angeles, according to her brother, WME partner Rick Rosen. She was 74.

Obst had previously been open about suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or Copd.

The producer’s long list of hit films includes Flashdance, The Fisher King, One Fine Day, Contact, Hope Floats, Interstellar and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. She also executive produced Sleepless In Seattle, TVLand’s Hot in Cleveland and had a deal at Sony Pictures Television.

“I was immensely proud of her,” Rosen said. “She was a trailblazer for women in the industry at a time when it was very difficult for women to have prominent roles. She was passionate about her work but even more passionate about her family.”

Obst’s son Oly, a partner at 3 Arts Entertainment, said today: “My mom was a trailblazer...

Backstage at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony, Cher confirmed that she had once declared she “didn’t give a flying fuck if I got in.” But if the pop superstar (pictured above in an opening duet of “Believe” with Dua Lipa) found her way toward being completely glee about the Saturday night occasion, who else was going to be in anything less than full-on Thanksgiving mode?

Every Rock Hall of Fame induction ceremony has its own distinctive vibe. And during the 2024 event, a marathon five-and-a-half hour concert at Cleveland’s sold-out Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, gratitude was the prevailing theme from presenters, performers and inductees alike.

With one exception that was not Cher, there was almost no infighting or drama leading up to (or at) the ceremony, and the event itself focused on the artists and music. The special guests and collaborators felt well-matched, and the presenters — including...

The clock was rapidly approaching midnight when Ozzy Osbourne first appeared on the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony stage at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio Saturday night. Due to a variety of health ailments, including Parkinson’s Disease, Osbourne’s mobility is severely limited, and he rarely appears in public. But there he was accepting the award on a leather throne with skull armrests, and a giant vampire bat perched on top.

“Let me get the thank yous out of the way, because I’m not...

The 39th annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony turned Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio, into a “celebration” Saturday night as Kool & the Gang, Dave Matthews Band, Mary J. Blige, A Tribe Called Quest and Cher showed up to accept inductions from Chuck D, Julia Roberts, Method Man, Dr. Dre, Dave Chappelle and Zendaya.

The event returned to the hometown of the Rock & Roll Museum for the first time since 2021. This year’s top music-industry honor in the performer category went to Mary J. Blige, Cher, Dave Matthews Band, Foreigner, Peter Frampton, Kool & The Gang, Ozzy Osbourne and A Tribe Called Quest. Musical Excellence Award honorees included Jimmy Buffett, MC5, Dionne Warwick and Norman Whitfield; Alexis Korner, John Mayall and Big Mama Thornton received the Musical Influence Award. Motown executive Suzanne de Passe received the Ahmet Ertegun Award — the fifth woman to accept the accolade.

Four out of...

Less than a year ago, Cher told Kelly Clarkson exactly what she felt about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. “I wouldn’t be in it now if they gave me a million dollars,” she said. “I’m not kidding you. I’m never going to change my mind. They can just you-know-what themselves.”

Her rage was understandable. Despite all her accomplishments as a solo artist and half of Sonny and Cher, she’d never even appeared on a Hall of Fame ballot prior to this year. But when...

Hollywood movie fans are concerned about one evolving aspect of new releases, the limited theatre screening. It seems like over the years new films have deserted the traditional route too early in favor of digital release. Movie-goers were shocked as another project joined the list.

DreamWorks Animations’ The Wild Robot got its digital premiere date only 18 days after it graced the big screen for the first time. Comments online were divided, some anticipating the arrival while a majority were displeased with the short theatre run. Fans stated their sorrow at losing the chance to view the spectacular screenplay in the theatre, apologizing to the studio’s co-founder Steven Spielberg.

Yet another limited release on the big screen

Previously, the news of Wolfs‘ limited run at the theatre shocked and saddened fans who were thrilled at the prospect of seeing George Clooney and Brad Pitt together. The duo reunited after 16 years...

For the past three decades, DreamWorks has been seen as the studio that challenged Disney and, in some cases, won. If you are still in business after so many years and are still making movies, then you are clearly doing something right. Originally founded on October 12th, 1994, by three innovators with different motivations, the studio has gone on to make some of the biggest franchises in film history.

Who founded Dreamworks?

Originally conceived by former Disney executive Jeffery Katzenberg, he sought the aid of fellow entertainment executives Steven Spielberg and David Geffen. The three would found DreamWorks Skg with the purpose of becoming a major force in the entertainment industry. The studio’s first release was The Peacemaker in 1997 with other films like Amistad and Mouse Trap releasing that same year.

Things really began to take off in 1998 with action films like Saving Private Ryan and Deep Impact, as well...