News

Exclusive: Avesta Entertainment has signed actor, comedian, and writer Nick Thune for representation in all areas.

A Seattle native known for his deadpan delivery and absurdist storytelling, Thune built his name on late-night stages, racking up 10 appearances on The Tonight Show, along with spots on Conan and Late Night. He’s toured internationally and also headlined major comedy festivals including Montreal’s Just for Laughs, SXSW, Bonnaroo, and Melbourne.

To date, Thune has released three stand-up specials: Folk Hero (Netflix) and Good Guy (Amazon), as well as Born Young, which premiered on the YouTube channel of Nate Bargatze’s Nateland earlier this year.

On screen, he’s appeared in Judd Apatow’s Knocked Up, Marvel’s Venom, and cult indie Dave Made a Maze, with TV credits including HBO Max’s Love Life, Hulu’s How I Met Your Father, ABC’s Not Dead Yet, NBC’s Grand Crew and voice work on American Dad!

Brian James, founding guitarist and songwriter of seminal British punk group The Damned who later played with Stiv Bators in The Lords of the New Church, died Thursday. He was 70. His family confirmed the news in a Facebook post.

Also featuring singer Dave Vanian, Captain Sensible on bass and Rat Scabies on drums, The Damned first hit the UK charts in March 1977 with its album Damned Damned Damned on Stiff Records. With James as its main songwriter, it was the first of 10 charting LPs in the country. Its first hit single there was 1979’s “Love Song,” starting a run of nine Top 40 tracks led by their lone Top 10, “Eloise,” which reached No. 3 in 1986.

James wrote the influentuial band’s debut single “New Rose,” which came out in October 1976 and is considered Britain’s first punk single, coming a month before The Sex Pistols upended the scene with “Anarchy in the UK.

"Guardians of the Galaxy" director James Gunn is a music connoisseur and personally selects the film's soundtracks. These needle drops blur the line of diegesis; Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) owns a Walkman (and later a Zune) and the songs in the first two movies are all from mixtapes gifted to him by his mother. "Guardians of the Galaxy" introduced us to the adult Quill by having him dance around the barren planet Morag, listening to "Come and Get Your Love" by Redbone — perfectly capturing both Star-Lord's space cowboy persona and the film's retro musical taste.

Speaking to Absolute Radio, Gunn said he picks songs not because they're his personal favorites but because they fit the movie. "Vol. 2" features "The Chain" by Fleetwood Mac, and the song's refrain of "keep us togethe," reflects the struggles of the Guardians to stay together despite their own flaws pushing them apart.

Thanks to Peter's new Zune,...

ABC Entertainment president Channing Dungey, filmmakers Lee Daniels (The Butler) and Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians), California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and chairman of NBCUniversal International Group and NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises Cesar Conde are among those who will take part in CAA Amplify’s invitation-only event June 27 in Ojai.

This is the second year the agency has held the event, which brings together leading artists and executives of color from entertainment, sports, media, brands, technology and social justice to discuss and accelerate the growth of inclusion.

Those also scheduled to be in attendance will be NBA all-star, entrepreneur, producer, and philanthropist Carmelo Anthony; Algorithmic Justice League founder Joy Buolamwini; former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julián Castro; Luke Cage executive producer, creator, and showrunner Cheo Hodari Coker; New York Knicks head coach David Fizdale; director and chief curator of The Studio Museum in Harlem Thelma Golden...