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Some Grand Theft Auto 6fans have spotted a small detail in a popular music video that may point towards a large presence of a huge real-life rapper in the game. One of the biggest parts of any GTA game is its soundtrack, and developer Rockstar Games often incorporates real-life events, music, art, and more into its latest game. Earlier, it was reported that superstar Drake might have his own radio station in the game, and now, it looks like another big star will have a presence in GTA 6.

In a music video for the song "2000 Excursion" by Travis Scott, a GTA 6 Easter egg has been found, which may point at Travis Scott's music playing a big role in the game. At the 3:56 time mark in the video, a license plate that reads "GTA6 VI6" can be seen (via VideoGamer). This isn't a direct confirmation about Scott or his music in the game,...

Rick Springfield hits the road this summer on the 2025 edition of his I Want My ’80s Tour presented by SiriusXM’s 80s on 8.

80s on 880s pop, the original MTV VJs, and moreListen on the App

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The tour includes special guests John Waite, Wang Chung, Paul Young, and John Cafferty, visiting 42 American cities and featuring hits like “Jessie’s Girl,” “Don’t Talk to Strangers,” “Missing You,” “Everybody Have Fun Tonight,” “Every Time You Go Away,” “On the Dark Side,” and many more of the most iconic songs of the 1980s.

Visit RickSpringfield.com for tickets.

Rick Springfield I Want My ’80s Tour Dates

Thursday 5/29/25 St. Augustine, Fl St. Augustime Amph *

Saturday 5/31/25 Brandon, Ms Brandon Amphitheatre *

Sunday 6/1/25 Gautier, Ms The Sound Amphitheatre *

Tuesday 6/3/25 Charlotte, Nc Skyla Credit Union Amp *

Wednesday 6/4/25 Raleigh, Nc Red Hat Amphitheatre *

Friday 6/6/25 Portsmouth, Va Atl. Union Bank Amph *

Saturday 6/7/25 Richmond, Va Allianz Amphitheatre *

Sunday 6/8/25 Roanoke,...

Late night talk shows may never be the same. This is a sentiment that was uttered by yours truly when comedian John Mulaney debuted his experimental late-night special on Netflix last year, “John Mulaney Presents: Everybody’s in L.A.” An offbeat and quirky inclusion to the “Netflix as a Joke” series, Mulaney’s entrance into what was once considered a network television stranglehold is morphing on streaming seemingly by the day. Though it was a six-episode special for Netflix, Mulaney’s star power behind the desk has convinced the streamer to give him a more permanent solution.

Enter “Everybody’s Live With John Mulaney,” the newest addition to late night talk show options that gives the comedian the space to do what he does best: Talk and ask questions. Accompanied by Mulaney’s trusted announcer, fellow comedian Richard Kind, the new series debuted on Netflix Wednesday and has already been renewed for a second season.

Rick Springfield has revealed he recently found out in a full body Mri scan that he still has brain damage from an onstage fall he took 25 years ago.

In an interview with People, Springfield shared he took a tumble while playing a concert in Las Vegas in 2000. “I fell 25 feet, hit my head, and then wood came down and hit my head, and then my head hit the stage again,” he said. “I thought I had just broken my wrist, but on the scan I found out I have some brain damage from the fall, so I’m working on trying to repair that.”

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Springfield explained he learned a lesson to get checked out at the doctor from his father’s death: “He thought he had stomach cancer for years and never got it checked out. When he finally collapsed one day at home, they...

The band is, quite literally, playing on — only without its lead singer.

Faster Pussycat will still play its gig later this week aboard an ’80s nostalgia cruise after lead singer Taime Downe’s fiancée went overboard three days ago and is now presumed dead. According to a source close to the band, Downe will sit out the show, and Faster Pussycat will play cover songs instead of their usual set list.

Kimberly Burch, 56, fell off the Royal Caribbean ship Explorer of the Seas on March 2 following an argument with Downe, 60. It’s unclear whether she accidentally fell or jumped, but Burch’s mother told TMZ that she believes her daughter would not have intentionally hurt herself. According to Page Six, Burch has reportedly been in a relationship with Downe for seven years.

Yet his glam metal band will fulfill their cruise ship contract to perform a second show during the cruise.

A woman went overboard from the Royal Caribbean ship Explorer of the Seas during the first day of The 80s Cruise, a nostalgia cruise featuring musical acts such as Squeeze, Adam Ant, Tiffany and Men at Work.

The woman has been identified as Kimberly Burch, fiancée of Faster Pussycat singer Taime Downe. The rock group was one of the acts that were part of the cruise’s lineup. Her mother, Carnell Burch, told TMZ that Burch fell off the ship following an argument with Downe, though it’s unclear whether she accidentally fell or jumped. Burch’s mom believes she would not have intentionally hurt herself.

A Facebook post from Burch’s family on Tuesday said she “will be greatly missed by all that knew and loved her,” and asked for prayers “during this time for our family as we try to wrap our minds around this heartbreaking tragedy.”

Multiple...

Rick Springfield reveals that he is “not averse” to micro-dosing LSD when it comes to his battle with depression, explaining that it works better for him than ketamine therapy.

The youthful-looking 75-year-old musician discussed his methods to combat depression in a new interview with People, revealing that he didn’t have a great experience with ketamine therapy.

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“I wanted to see if it’d open a few things in my brain,” said Springfield, who has long been open about living with depression. “It was a creative experiment and an experiment on depression. I did it for as long as suggested, and I wasn’t a big fan. It made me feel heavy and machinelike. It didn’t change much in me — although I have been writing a lot, so you never know what kind of effect it has later on. It’s not a black-and-white kind of thing.

Rick Springfield has announced his 2025 “I Want My ’80s Tour.” He will be joined by John Waite and Wang Chung for the entirety of the late spring and summer run, with Paul Young and John Cafferty appearing on select dates.

Get Rick Springfield Tickets Here

The trek kicks off on May 29th in St. Augustine, Florida, and will make subsequent stops in cities like Charlotte, Cincinnati, Atlantic City, Dallas, and more before wrapping up on August 10th in Henderson, Nevada. See Springfield’s full tour schedule below.

A fan club pre-sale (sign up here) is ongoing ahead of the general on-sale beginning Friday, February 14th via Ticketmaster. Fans can also look for deals or get tickets to sold-out shows via StubHub, where orders are 100% guaranteed through StubHub’s FanProtect program.

During the 2023 edition of Springfield’s “I Want My ’80s Tour,” he was also joined by Waite, as well as The Hooters,...

The Breakfast Club, a quintessential '80s high school film, launched careers and changed teen movies forever with its brilliant writing, down-to-earth story, and excellent performances. The soundtrack, featuring hits like "Don't You (Forget About Me)" by Simple Minds and "Fire in the Twilight" by Wang Chung, showcased new wave sounds and became a beloved part of the movie's legacy. The Breakfast Club soundtrack has been recognized as a snapshot of popular teen music in the '80s and has influenced subsequent teen dramas and movies.

John Hughes' The Breakfast Club was the quintessential '80s high school film, and it had a soundtrack full of songs that went on to become just as beloved as the movie itself. Released in 1985 to rave critical reviews, the film follows a group of disparate students who come to know each other over the course of a day in Saturday detention. The Breakfast Club...

Add the quirkily titled Totally Tubular Festival to the increasing number of nostalgia live events. The touring new wave festival will hit 22 North American cities this year with a lineup led by Thomas Dolby, Thompson Twins’ Tom Bailey, and Modern English.

Other notable acts include Men Without Hats, Bow Wow Wow, Tommy Tutone (in select markets), and The Plimsouls. Update: The Tubes and Wang Chung have joined the lineup in place of The Romantics, who’ve canceled their appearance due to an “unforeseen medical situation.”

Get Totally Tubular Festival Tickets Here

The trek kicks off on June 28th in Santa Barbara, California ahead of stops in Los Angeles, Boston, New York City, and more. See the full schedule below, and get tickets here.

A portion of the proceeds will be donated to local food banks.

“This is a dream lineup for those who love the music of the early 1980s,...

For all its surface smoothness, yacht rock — and the artists who created it over the last few decades — can be turbulent below deck. Some of the musicians and singers associated with the genre (whether they want to be linked to it or not) can have dark sides, illicit pasts, insecurities, and surprising rock & roll antics sides.

As he reveals in his new memoir, What a Fool Believes, no one encompasses that dichotomy quite like Michael McDonald. That gently huffing mellow voice and electric piano often hid a wild lifestyle, at least during his early,...

It’s not the first time a Netflix series has resurfaced a classic song from the 1980s, but unlike Kate Bush and Stranger Things, British New Wave band Wang Chung had no idea that John Mulaney had opted to use “To Live and Die in L.A.,” their 1985 ode to La La Land, as the theme song for his recent Netflix talk show, Everybody’s in L.A.

“It’s a total surprise that it’s blown up in the way that it has,” Wang Chung lead singer Jack Hues told Variety in an interview published Monday.

“It’s so nice to see it get used in such a cool way,” added guitarist Nick Feldman, a self-professed fan of Mulaney’s work. “The way it’s placed into the show—which I’ve watched a couple of episodes and I really liked—it really works well. That collage of images from Los Angeles,...

Wang Chung had no idea John Mulaney’s six-episode Netflix talk show “Everybody’s in LA” would use their 1985 song “To Live and Die in L.A.” as its theme song — but they’re thrilled he did.

“It’s a total surprise that it’s blown up in the way that it has,” says Wang Chung lead singer Jack Hues, who first heard of the usage on “Everybody’s in LA” via “the guy who does our merch.”

For guitarist Nick Feldman, the other half of the duo, he was already a big Mulaney fan when he got the news that “To Live and Die in L.A.” was suddenly getting a new breath of life on Netflix. “It’s so nice to see it get used in such a cool way,” he says. “The way it’s placed into the show — which I’ve watched a couple of episodes and I...

Wang Chung, Men Without Hats, The Motels, and Naked Eyes are teaming up for a 2024 tour dubbed “Abducted by the ’80s.”

Featuring a rotating lineup, the time machine trek kicks off in Kyle, Texas on May 17th and will stop in cities like St. Louis, Louisville, and Jacksonville before wrapping up in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on June 23rd. See the schedule below.

Tickets for “Abducted by the ’80s” can be found on the tour website. Fans can also check for deals on StubHub, where orders are 100% guaranteed through StubHub’s FanProtect program. StubHub is a secondary market ticketing platform, and prices may be higher or lower than face value, depending on demand.

Get Abducted by the '80s Tickets Here

The “Abducted by the ’80s” setlist will feature beloved cuts from all four acts, including “Dance Hall Days,” “The Safety Dance,” “Only the Lonely,” and “Always Something There to Remind Me.

The 2024 SXSW Film & TV Festival — which runs March 8–16 in Austin, Texas — has cooked up an eclectic spread of studio crowd-pleasers, enterprising TV premieres, and indie gems aiming to break through. Here is some of the most promising fare.

Babes

The canon of Ilana Glazer-led indies about childbearing expands. Following 2021’s “False Positive,” Glazer plays pregnant once again in “Babes,” this time from a film script she wrote with Josh Rabinowitz in Pamela Adlon’s feature directorial debut. The Neon comedy follows Eden (Glazer), who gets pregnant from a one-night stand and seeks help from Dawn (Michelle Buteau), a married mother of two. In other words, “Babes” lets the “Broad City” star do what she does best: lean heavily on the support of a best buddy.

Black Twitter: A People’s History

Come to “Black Twitter: A People’s History” for a who’s who of the funniest moments Black...

William Friedkin, the Oscar-winning director behind The Exorcist, The French Connection, To Live and Die in L.A., The Boys in the Band, and more, is dead at 87. Friedkin died in Los Angeles, said his wife, former producer and studio head Sherry Lansing.

Born on August 29, 1935, in Chicago, Friedkin started directing television before disgusting audiences with projectile pea soup and dealings with demons. In the mid-’60s, Friedkin shot an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Hour and helmed various telefilms. Before the era was over, he got behind the camera for features like Good Times (1967), The Birthday Party (1968), and The Night They Raided Minsky’s (1968).

He started the ’70s off with a band by directing The Boys in the Band. With his name already on the lips of executives everywhere, he moved on to The French Connection, a show-stopping thriller starring Gene Hackman as Detective Popeye Doyle. The French Connection won multiple Oscars,...

William Friedkin, who won an Oscar for directing The French Connection, scored a nomination for The Exorcist and also helmed The Boys in the Band, Cruising, To Live and Die in L.A., Rules of Engagement and many others, died today in Los Angeles of heart failure and pneumonia. He was 87.

His death was confirmed by CAA via his wife, Fatal Attraction producer and former studio chief Sherry Lansing.

Friedkin beat out some serious heavyweights to win the Best Director Academy Award for The French Connection at the 1972 ceremony. Also up for the statuette that year were Stanley Kubrick (A Clockwork Orange), Peter Bogdanovich (The Last Picture Show) and Norman Jewison (Fiddler on the Roof). He would go up against more heavy hitters with The Exorcist two years later. George Roy Hill won that year for The Sting, also besting Bernardo Bertolucci (Last Tango in Paris), Ingmar Bergman (Cries & Whispers...

When you think of 1980s action movies, visions of steroidal juggernauts like Schwarzenegger and Stallone are likely to spring to mind, but there was always another, if less numerous, stream running through their midst: gritty, downbeat, and cynical films typically helmed by New Hollywood stalwarts whose careers were in various stages of diminution. Among them were Hal Ashby’s strident, coke-fueled 8 Million Ways to Die, John Frankenheimer’s seamy extortion saga 52 Pickup, and William Friedkin’s To Live and Die in L.A., a neon-hued noir reworking of the morally ambiguous cops-versus-criminals terrain he had staked out a decade earlier in The French Connection.

Like Friedkin’s earlier film, To Live and Die in L.A. cannily blends quasi-documentary procedural realism with an unpredictable modernist sensibility. The story is succinct in its pulpy purity: loose-cannon Secret Service agent Chance (William Petersen) vows to take down elusive counterfeiter Rick Masters (Willem Dafoe), no matter the cost,...

“Clans of Intrigue” was Chor Yuen's first and highly successful adaptation of Gu Long's “Fragrance from the Sea of Blood”, a series of three wuxia novels about Chu Liu Hsiang. A sequel adapted from the first installment of a five-novel series “The New Legend of Chu Liu Hsiang” titled “Legend of the Bat” soon followed and saw the return of protagonist Chu “Lingering Fragrance” and with the help of his ally Yi Tian Hung investigating more mysteries and murder cases.

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A combination of footage from its predecessor “Clans of Intrigue” which also serves as a recap and opening credits kick off the film nicely. Immediately after, the viewers are transported to Bat Island where an auction is being held in almost total darkness. It is the autumn of the Jiawu Year and on this island owned by...

Eric Church, Zach Bryan, Zac Brown Band and Imagine Dragons are among the headliners set for this year’s three-weekend Summerfest in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The lineup is split into three mini-festivals, taking place at a variety of venues on the weekends of June 22-24, June 29-July 1 and July 6-8.

The first weekend features headliners Church, Zac Brown Band and James Taylor and his All-Star Band along with Sheryl Crow, as well as undercard that boasts heavyweights like Cheap Trick, the Avett Brothers, Elvis Costello and the Imposters, Bleachers, Three 6 Mafia,...

In the new Ant-Man film, Paul Rudd’s character learns all about the concept of alternate timelines. In an alternate version of our own timeline, he would have starred in Party Down.

Rudd co-created the great Starz comedy, which is improbably rising from the dead later this month, with TV producer pals John Enbom, Dan Etheridge, and Rob Thomas. The series was inspired by their viewing of the original British version of The Office, along with Rudd’s pre-acting work as a DJ for weddings, bar mitzvahs, and other events in LA.

As U2 announced last week, they’ll be back in March with a brand new album that, really, is anything but. Songs of Surrender, playing off Bono’s recent memoir Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story, finds the band remaking 40 songs from its back catalog — “a musical reimagining resulting in a completely new recording of each track, to include the arrangements and, in some cases, new lyrics.”

Not surprisingly, when it comes to a band that can still be polarizing after four decades, reactions rattled and hummed. On Rolling Stone’s social media feeds alone,...

Back in 1975, Ho Meng Hua introduced his cool but deadly decapitating flying machine and caused a sensation. But the problematic official sequel didn’t really take off till 1978, a very long time for a follow-up. For a start, Ho was too busy with other projects like “Black Magic”, “The Mighty Peking Man” and “Vengeful Beauty”. Conversely, in 1976 both Chen Kuan Tai and Liu Wu Chi were keen to reprise their roles but Liu unexpectedly disappeared from the movie industry altogether but they quickly replaced her with Hsiao Yao.

Then in late 1967, leading man Chen abruptly left Shaw Brothers, and if that was not enough, Hsiao Yao also left the studio. At this point and not wanting to abandon the project, they signed up Ti Lung to take over Chen as Ma Teng and the role of his wife went to Chen Szu Chia. Meanwhile, the original director Cheng Kang (“14 Amazons...

Rolling Stone interview series Unknown Legends features long-form conversations between senior writer Andy Greene and veteran musicians who have toured and recorded alongside icons for years, if not decades. All are renowned in the business, but some are less well known to the general public. Here, these artists tell their complete stories, giving an up-close look at life on music’s A list. This edition features singer-songwriter Siedah Garrett.

Siedah Garrett will go down in pop-music history as the woman who co-wrote “Man in the Mirror” for Michael Jackson and...

Director Stephen Kijak has made a string of documentaries that are focused on music, among them “We Are X,” “Jaco,” “Stones in Exile,” “Scott Walker: 30 Century Man” and “Sid & Judy.” That ought to mean that he’s got an understanding of the musical life – but more to the point for his new narrative film, “Shoplifters of the World,” it should mean that he has an understanding of fandom, too.

“Shoplifters of the World” may be titled after a song from the ’80s British band the Smiths, and it may play to a nonstop soundtrack of that and almost two dozen more songs from the Manchester-based maestros of morose, but it’s not a movie about the Smiths. It’s a movie about the fans, about what music can mean in the life of people who love it – as Fairuza Balk’s character, Sapphire, says in Cameron Crowe’s “Almost Famous,...

The Walking Dead is no stranger to easter eggs. Many of them are fairly easy for casual viewers to find, while others require a deep knowledge of the original comic series and other similar pop culture phenomenons. Some are as simple as callbacks to previous episodes, whereas others go so far as to incite a bit of controversy over whether or not the show links together with other famous properties.

For instance, one of the most popular and clever easter eggs deals with a baggy full of blue meth that appears to be a reference to the hit show Breaking Bad, leading many to theorize that both of the AMC series take place within the same universe. It’s not completely out of the realm of possibility, of course, but it’s never been confirmed by anyone from either production.

Meanwhile, observant fans may have also noticed that The Walking Dead...

Louisa Mellor Oct 2, 2019

Here’s what we learned from the disc extras and episode commentaries on The Walking Dead season 9 DVDs. Major spoilers…

This Walking Dead article contains spoilers. It comes from Den of Geek UK.

Fears that the loss of Rick Grimes in season nine would spell the end for The Walking Dead proved unfounded. With a new showrunner, a new villain, and a huge time jump that gave us the gift of Lil’ Ass Kicker Judith aged 10, the show was revitalized. Samantha Morton’s terrifying Alpha made for a very different kind of antagonist, and the introduction of new characters provided much-needed fresh blood.

As we wait for season 10 (read our spoiler-free opener review here), we went hunting through the season nine DVD disc commentaries and extras for behind-the-scenes insights and nerdy details. Here are 48 facts you might not know about season nine:

1. Showrunner Angela Kang wanted Rick...

Have you ever wanted to dance to “U Can’t Touch This,” “Baby Got Back,” “Bust a Move,” Just a Friend,” “Funky Cold Medina” and “Me So Horny” all in one evening? Have you ever wanted to step into an amphitheater and spend the night bathing in other R&B and hip-hop hits of the George H.W. Bush administration performed by the original artists? Have you ever wondered what kind of show the Funky Bunch can put together without Mark “Marky Mark” Wahlberg?

If you answered yes to any of those questions,...

If you’re a one-hit wonder, two-hit wonder or even three-hit wonder from the Eighties, the road can be a tough place in 2019. You can try to eek out a living playing clubs, fairs and remote casinos, but profits are slim once you pay for things like gas, food and hotel rooms and your day-to-day existence can be quite dispiriting.

But as the fine people behind the Lost 80’s Live tour have learned, there is incredible strength in numbers. Every year, they throw together a bill stacked with Eighties bands...

The 44th season of Saturday Night Live finds the show in the same limboland it’s been in since the Trump Era began: How can a parody show go bigger than actual reality? As with last season, this premiere found strength when looking not at the top echelons of Washington but rather the seedy underbelly of America in landing its strongest comedic blows.

More comfortable dealing with Fortnite and fake coffee shops, SNL as an institution just isn’t built to confront the current environment with a savage tone. You...

Sony Music Entertainment CEO Rob Stringer today announced the relaunch of Arista Records, the label founded in 1974 by Clive Davis, under the leadership of former Island Records CEO David Massey.

According to the announcement, the label will become an “all-new frontline creative center” within Sony Music led by Massey, who will serve as president and CEO. He will continued to be based in New York and will report directly to Stringer. The announcement also says that :Massey’s leadership of Arista is part of a new broad-based creative partnership between the hitmaker and Sony Music.” Sony Music and Massey have entered into a new joint venture for Massey-led artist management and music publishing businesses; Massey’s daugher Clio, currently an executive at Sony/Atv Music Publishing, is expected to join him in that venture.

Over the years Arista released top-selling and widely influential albums by Whitney Houston, the Kinks,...

The second annual Dance Party to End Alz was held on Sunday, June 3 at Nashville’s Wildhorse Saloon.

Hosted by Kimberly Williams-Paisley and Blair Garner, the sold-out event raised more than $340,000 for Alzheimer’s Association care, support and research programs.

Country stars performed their favorite hits from the ‘80s while dressed in colorful and classic fashion from that decade. Performances included Brad Paisley’s spin on ‘80s classics “Boys of Summer” and “Hot for Teacher”; Chris Young’s funky “You Dropped a Bomb on Me”; surprise guest Darius Rucker was joined by Brad Paisley on “Purple Rain”; Charles Esten's rocking “With or Without You,”; Chase Bryant’s “Superstition” and “Dirty Diana,”; Ashley Campbell’s fun take on “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”; Jamie O’Neal’s big voiced version of “Flashdance”; Lindsay Ell channeling her inner rocker on “Another One Bites the Dust,”; Emily West’s take on favorite “I...

David Massey, president and CEO of Island Records, will step down from the company in June, three sources have confirmed to Variety, although Massey and a rep for the label declined requests for comment.

While the news was first reported in Hits earlier this week, sources say that Massey actually gave notice to Lucian Grainge, chairman/CEO of Island parent Universal Music Group, several months ago and did not really leave open the option for a counter-offer. Massey’s contract is said to be up in June. An insider told Variety that a succession plan is in place at Island, which has a highly capable Gm in Eric Wong; further details were not forthcoming.

Although sources say that Massey has secured independent funding for his new operation, there has been some speculation about him returning to Sony, where he spent some 16 years of his career, and where his daughter Clio...

Did you know that Wang Chung was touring as recently as last year? They performed with A Flock of Seagulls as part of a nostalgic tour of revolving bands called Lost ’80s Live. Granted, these weren’t large arena tours—most of the shows took place at wineries and casino theaters—but those who attended probably had a…

Read more...

By Todd Garbarini

William Friedkin’s To Live and Die in L.A., which opened on Friday, November 1, 1985 to lukewarm notices and underwhelming box office despite being championed by Roger Ebert’s four-star review, is a highly stylized, dark, and uncompromising crime thriller that boasts a then-unknown cast with a story and a pace that feels more suited to the 1970’s. It also contains what I consider to be the greatest car chase ever filmed and edited for a major motion picture, which took no less than five weeks to plan and shoot. Having seen Mr. Friedkin’s brilliant East Coast police thriller The French Connection (1971) on VHS in 1986, I made it a point the following year to catch up with his West Coast-based story of a Secret Service agent, Richard Chance (William Petersen), whose best friend and partner Jim Hart (Michael Greene) has been murdered by artist/currency counterfeiter Rick Masters...

"The only thing I’m interested in now is long form, which is what you’d call television," William Friedkin said last year, upon revealing TV series for his films "To Live And Die In L.A." and "Killer Joe" were in the works. "...I don’t want to make a feature film, because I don’t want to make a movie about a guy in a mask and a spandex suit flying around and saving the world." And now one of those movies is pressing forward to the small screen. Deadline reports that Friedkin will helm the TV series iteration of "To Live And Die In L.A." Bobby Moresco ("Crash") is penning the script for the show that has been snapped up by Wgn, with a straight to series order expected. It will be a "reimagining" of the movie, but will still involve the Secret Service and the dark underbelly of Los Angeles.

William Friedkin‘s 1977 classic Sorcerer finally hit Blu-ray last week, and it marked my first viewing of the film. Before you give me grief, know that I had seen and loved The Wages of Fear, and I was just holding out on watching the remake until it came in a Friedkin-approved version. It should surprise no one that I found Sorcerer to be as fantastic as the original, but my favorite Friedkin film remains unchanged. Not only did To Live and Die in L.A. introduce the world in 1985 to the bow-legged joy that is William Petersen, but it’s also a remarkably successful mix of dark sensibilities, characters with depth and honest excitement. It’s an intelligent thriller that makes no guarantees as to the morality or life expectancy of its characters, and its pacing and energy help make it eminently re-watchable. The DVD includes a handful of extra features (never ported over to the Blu-ray for...

“Money alone sets all the world in motion.”

—Publilius Syrus, Maxim 656

The desire for money, for personal gain or business interests, is a frequent catalyst for dramatic action in William Friedkin’s films. In The Night They Raided Minsky’s (1968), The French Connection (1971), Sorcerer (1977), The Brink’s Job (1978), Deal of the Century (1983), To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), Blue Chips (1994) and, more recently, Killer Joe (2011), the pursuit of money entails underhand tactics, struggle, betrayal and violence. Dollar bills are passed from one person to another, in plain view or sight unseen; or promised at the completion of a job; or seized, burned or spent. But the money always materializes again, somehow, coursing into the narrative economy and organizing social relations.

In a notable sequence in To Live and Die in L.A. we see this material created illegally, and witness its eruption and flow into the system. Friedkin here offers an...

Birthday shoutouts go to Jared Leto (above), who is 41. David Sedaris is 56, and Reichen is 39.First, a programming note. We'll be on a very limited schedule, but you'll have a Briefs and Meme the rest of the week, as well as some special posts in between. Huge Downton Abbey Spoiler!He's Baaaack! Remember the guy who caused a firestorm with his sham report saying that children of gay parents are worse off than children of straight parents? Well, now he "Claims Viewing Porn Increases Support For Gay Marriage Among Straight Men."Huge Spider-man Comic Spoiler!Smash's Sophomore Season SurprisesGerry Anderson has passed away at the age of 83. Best remembered for Thunderbirds and Space: 1999, he'll always hold a place in my heart for the 80's supermarionation classic Terrahawks, and its closing theme.

Big congrats to Ryan Murphy and husband David Miller, who have announced the birth of son Logan Phineas Miller Murphy,...

Your Weekly Source for the Newest Releases to Blu-Ray Tuesday, July 19th, 2011

Amelie (2001)

Synopsis: Bursting with imagination and having seen her share of tragedy and fantasy, Amélie is not like the other girls. When she grows up she becomes a waitress in a Montmartre bar run by a former dancer. Amelie enjoys simple pleasures until she discovers that her goal in life is to help others. To that end, she invents all sorts of tricks that allow her to intervene incognito into other people’s lives, including an imbibing concierge and her hypochondriac neighbor. But Amélie’s most difficult case turns out to be Nino Quicampoix, a lonely sex shop employee who collects photos abandoned at coin-operated photobooths. (blu-ray.com)

Special Features: The Look of Amelie featurette; Fantasies of Audrey Tatou; Q&A with the director and cast; Auditions; Storyboard to screen comparisons; An Intimate Chat With Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet...

Experience this generation's most outrageous comedy when Take Me Home Tonight comes home on Blu-ray and DVD July 19th from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. With exciting special features including deleted scenes, music videos and more, re-live all the hilarious hijinks when the party movie of the summer arrives July 19th on Blu-ray and DVD.

Take Me Home Tonight follows three friends on the verge of adulthood who attend an out-of-control party in celebration of their last night of unbridled youth. Starring Topher Grace (That '70s Show, Predators), Anna Faris (The House Bunny), Dan Fogler (Balls of Fury) and Teresa Palmer (I Am Number Four), Take Me Home Tonight is a raunchy, romantic, ridiculous and raucous ride set to an awesome soundtrack of timeless rock and hiphop hits.

Take Me Home Tonight is available on Blu-ray and DVD July 19th. Pre-book is June 15th. The film was theatrically-released by Relativity Media.

Experience this generation.s most outrageous comedy when Take Me Home Tonight comes home on Blu-ray and DVD July 19th from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.  With exciting special features including deleted scenes, music videos and more, re-live all the hilarious hijinks when the party movie of the summer  arrives July 19thon Blu-ray and DVD.

Take Me Home Tonight follows three friends on the verge of adulthood who attend an out-of-control party in celebration of their last night of unbridled youth.  Starring Topher Grace (.That 70.s Show,. Predators), Anna Faris (The House Bunny), Dan Fogler (Balls of Fury) and Teresa Palmer (I Am Number Four), Take Me Home Tonight is a raunchy, romantic, ridiculous and raucous ride set to an awesome soundtrack of timeless rock and hip-hop hits.

Take Me Home Tonight is available on Blu-ray and DVD July 19th.  Pre-book is June 15th.  The film was theatrically-released by Relativity Media.

The Take Me Home Tonight soundtrack. Ooh, it was like The Scarlet Pimpernel. Sort of. This ’80s-set ensemble comedy for ‘young people’ was shot back in 2007 before being left to languish on the shelf, then saved from the guillotine of no-release oblivion by Ryan Kavanaugh, the masked baronet of Relativity Media. Hurrah! A pity though that Eddie Money doesn’t seem to have survived the ordeal. His 1986 hit which gives the movie its title is conspicuously absent from this soundtrack, despite having cropped up in the trailer.

Not that there is any shortage of ’80s radio monsters here. This is a paean to pop music’s past, an extended celebration of those hook-laden hits which detractors would rush to peg as lowest common denominator, but which equally can deliver high levels of idiot-grin enjoyment for those willing to check their musical ego at the door. An obvious comparison is to...

Now that the awards season is behind us, the film crop of 2010 can finally be put away in favor of the stuff on the horizon. This weekend features a whole batch of new flicks, and there are also plenty of great movies still kicking around at your local cineplex (including "Drive Angry," a totally kickass 3-D spectacular that deserves to be seen by more people). The movies opening this weekend include the animated adventure comedy "Rango" (which is directed by "Pirates of the Caribbean" helmer Gore Verbinski and stars Johnny Depp as the voice of a justice-seeking chameleon), the science-fiction romance "The Adjustment Bureau" (starring Matt Damon and Emily Blunt), the oft-delayed "Beauty and the Beast" adaptation "Beastly" (featuring Vanessa Hudgens and Alex Pettyfer) and the much-buzzed-about Korean serial killer flick "I Saw the Devil." That's an embarrassment of riches.

But for big laughs and killer music cues, look no...

Even though it has taken a few years to get into theaters, "Take Me Home Tonight" doesn't carry the stink of shelved film, but instead looks like a funny, foul R-rated comedy, and with the setting of the film firmly in the 1980s it naturally has the soundtrack to match. Spanning eighteen tracks, "Take Me Home Tonight" is essentially a really solid 1980s mix and it delivers in spades with tracks by Duran Duran, Mötley Crüe, Wang Chung, Dexys Midnight Runners, Men Without Hats, Kim Carnes and of course, N.W.A. who fuel the very funny red-band trailer. However, curiously missing…...