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Questlove to direct live-action remake of Disney’s ‘The Aristocats’

March 27, 2023 by WDNY Radio

Disney’s 1970 movie The Aristocats is getting the remake treatment. Deadline reports the new version will be a mix of live action and CGI, with Questlove directing, executive producing and overseeing music for the film.

The Aristocats follows the story of a family of pampered felines who have inherited a massive fortune from their owner, and are fighting to reclaim their riches from a jealous butler who attempts to get rid of them and inherit the fortune himself.

Pixar’s Onward writer Keith Bunin is adapting the screenplay alongside Peter Rabbit filmmaker Will Gluck. Gluck’s production company, Olive Bridge, and Questlove’s Two One Five Entertainment are producing the film, according to Deadline.

Tariq Trotter, Shawn Gee and Zarah Zohlman are tapped as executive producers, Deadline reports.

The live-action remake of The Aristocats will mark Questlove’s feature film directing debut. He previously directed Summer of Soul, which won the Oscar for Best Documentary last year.

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

‘Bear’ bites ‘Whale’: ‘Cocaine Bear’ takes down Oscar-winning ‘The Whale’

March 27, 2023 by WDNY Radio

One might not think Cocaine Bear could turn its powdered nose up at an Oscar-winning drama, but that happened on the streaming charts.

Elizabeth Banks‘ pulpy stoned bear movie stayed at #1 on the top 10 from Vudu, Fandango’s streaming service, for the second week in a row, where it managed to best Brendan Fraser‘s Oscar-winning performance in The Whale.

The latter film has been in the top 10 in various positions since Fraser won his Best Actor trophy, but streaming audiences are apparently hooked on Cocaine Bear.

In the movie’s second week atop the charts, Guy Ritchie‘s action comedy Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre took second place, and The Whale took third.

‘John Wick’ series director Chad Stahelski talks friendship with “older brother” Keanu Reeves

March 27, 2023 by WDNY Radio

John Wick: Chapter 4 killed it at the box office the world over this weekend, with an estimated $137.5 million debut.

To Good Morning America, franchise director Chad Stahelski looked back at his earliest days with the dude in the bulletproof suit, Keanu Reeves.

The former stuntman turned filmmaker was Keanu’s stunt double – Brad Pitt‘s, too, hence his cameo in Deadpool 2 and his leading role in Brad’s recent hit Bullet Train. He and Keanu first met around 1999, Stahelski recalled. “I got the job thinking it was this little sci-fi action movie — and it was not. It’s The Matrix.'”

The now-54-year-old director went on to work with Keanu for Constantine, and they stayed close; Chad even helped Reeves with his directorial debut, 2013’s Man of Tai Chi.

“There was a massive mentorship going on there, like learning and growing and becoming a better performer, a better stunt person, better stunt coordinator, better choreographer,” Stahelski said, seeing Keanu, now 58, as an “older brother” figure.

It was Reeves who brought Stahelski the first John Wick script.

“It was a bit of an odd script. Puppy dies and this guy goes on a rampage,” Stahelski recalled. “And he’s like, ‘Do you have a take on this? We can’t quite crack it.'”

Chad said, “I had this take on Greek mythology and how to blow it out and be this surreal love letter to action movies, embracing the idea, ‘don’t worry about making a movie, but make a myth and make a legend.'”

The rest, as they say, is history: By comparison to Chapter 4‘s $75.3 domestic opening, 2014’s original John Wick opened to just $14 million.

Ariana Grande shares behind-the-scenes snaps from ‘Wicked’ filming

March 27, 2023 by WDNY Radio

Ariana Grande updated her social media bio to say she’s “currently somewhere over the rainbow” and shared a collage of photos showing just how much fun she’s having filming the Wicked movies.

Ariana has been cast to play Glinda the Good Witch to Tony Award winner Cynthia Erivo‘s Elphaba, the eventual Wicked Witch of the West. Taking to Instagram Sunday, Ari shared a new carousel of snaps and titled them, “up to (no) good.”

Photos include Ari showing off her blond hair and hanging out with Erivo. Images show them walking arm-in-arm and riding in a car together. A few snaps also appear to show how they’re honoring their characters, such as a close-up shot of Erivo’s Elphaba-inspired manicure.

Ariana also shared a few extra photos to her Instagram Story, such as her and Erivo bonding with Michelle Yeoh, who has been cast as Madame Morrible. The photos were originally shared by director Jon Chu, who revealed he, Erivo and Ariana attended a party thrown in the new Oscar winner’s honor.

When sharing snaps of the party to her Instagram Story, Ariana wrote, “We love you so much it hurts.”

The first Wicked movie is slated to premiere in theaters on November 27, 2024.

Watch Elle King surprise a high school teacher

March 27, 2023 by WDNY Radio

Elle King stopped by Chouteau High School in Oklahoma on Friday, March 24, to surprise two special people: Cathy Welker-Graham, one of Elle’s biggest fans and the school’s teacher of the year, and Emma Hughes, a senior student who wrote to Elle about her remarkable teacher.

During her visit, Elle and her guitarist gifted Cathy, Emma and the school’s faculty, staff and student body with an acoustic performance of her song “America’s Sweetheart.”

“I didn’t always have the greatest experience in school,” Elle admits with a laugh to the press. “But every few schools I would find a teacher who believed in me, and it gave me confidence and they told me that I could do something great with my life even if I was different. So I think that great teachers should be celebrated. It was important to me that we show this deserving teacher some well-earned gratitude.”

“As educators, this is why we do what we do,” adds Chouteau High School Principal Clint Hall, who assisted with organizing the event. “We are here to make positive impacts on our students. It took a lot for me to keep a lid on this. Mrs. Welker-Graham is a rockstar teacher and Emma is a great kid! It could not have come together for two better people. This was priceless! Tears of joy from a lot of people today!”

Watch a clip of Elle’s surprise visit on Instagram.

Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart backs up daughter at ‘American Idol’ audition

March 27, 2023 by WDNY Radio

Sunday night’s American Idol featured a Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, and we’re not talking about judge Lionel Richie.

In case you missed it, contestant Kaya Stewart came out to audition with an original song and got some help from her father, Eurythmics star Dave Stewart, on guitar. The pair performed “This Tattoo,” a song Kaya wrote with her dad.

“This is much more difficult than being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame,” Dave joked.

And it turns out Kaya didn’t necessarily need her dad’s star power, because her voice earned her a ticket to Hollywood.

American Idol airs Sunday at 8 p.m. on ABC.

Talking Heads’ Tina Weymouth describes David Byrne as “insecure”

March 27, 2023 by WDNY Radio

Talking Heads’ Tina Weymouth is sharing her feelings about the band’s former frontman, David Byrne.

“I recently described David Byrne as Trumpian, which didn’t go down well with everybody,” Weymouth shares with the U.K. Sunday Times. “What I meant was that, from my experience, everything with David is transactional – he will use you until he has no more use for you.”

She says when she and husband Chris Frantz were in the band with Byrne “he always seemed very insecure about himself,” noting he would “try to blame other people if things went wrong.” She explains, “Chris and I loved him dearly and we did our best to overlook these disastrous character flaws, but it seemed obvious that Talking Heads wasn’t going to last.”

And if Byrne is as happy as he’s said he is in interviews, Weymouth wonders why he refuses to refer to his former bandmates by their names and instead refers to them as “people he used to play with.”

“I’ve been around the block a few times and I’ve realized that people act like animals,” she offers. “Some are doves: beautiful and peaceful, like Chris. Unfortunately, some are sly foxes.”

Vincent D’Onofrio spotted in NYC as Kingpin; says second season of ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ being planned

March 27, 2023 by WDNY Radio

Daredevil fans have been freaking out thanks to Vincent D’Onofrio being snapped on the streets of New York City once again portraying Wilson Fisk/Kingpin on the set of Daredevil: Born Again.

What’s more, the celebrated actor — who was brought into the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the Disney+ series Hawkeye after playing him in the acclaimed “Netflix Marvel” shows — tells Newsweek that Born Again is being developed with a second season already in mind. The show is bound for Disney+.

Once again, Charlie Cox returns as blind lawyer turned vigilante Matt Murdock for the show, after appearing in Spider-Man: No Way Home and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law; Jon Bernthal also reprises from the Netflix days as Frank Castle/The Punisher.

D’Onofrio explains, “I think we’re [only] a couple weeks in, and the show is going to be very, very different than the Netflix show, and it’s so exciting because … I think it’s something that people are not going to expect.”

The Godfather of Harlem star adds, “But … the main thing is to answer the fans. To give them what they want but try to be original in some way at the same time, and so that’s what we’re doing on the show.”

He calls it “really deep, really emotional,” and noted that “by the second season, there are gigantic, gigantic payoffs — in the first season, too, but I can’t say much about that — but the fans are gonna really get what they want. It’s really quite cool to be doing it.”

It remains to be seen how different Born Again will be from its Netflix predecessors, which can be seen on family-friendly Disney+ in spite of their mature rating.

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

ODESZA announces 2023 US headlining dates

March 27, 2023 by WDNY Radio

ODESZA has announced a 2023 U.S. tour in continued support of the duo’s latest album, The Last Goodbye.

The headlining outing begins August 30 in Columbus, Ohio, and will wrap up October 13 in Kansas City, Missouri, followed by a show in Mexico City on October 19. Bob Moses will also be on the bill for select dates.

Tickets go on sale Friday, March 31, at 10 a.m. local time. For the full list of dates and all ticket info, visit ODESZA.com.

ODESZA will also be playing a number of festivals this year, including Governors Ball, Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza.

The Last Goodbye, the fourth ODESZA album, dropped last July.

Indiana Jones and the Golden Palm: Fifth Indy film will reportedly debut at Cannes Film Festival

March 27, 2023 by WDNY Radio

Indiana Jones’ fifth cinematic adventure, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, will reportedly debut this spring at the historic Cannes Film Festival.

That’s according to Variety, which is reporting “Indy 5” will follow Top Gun: Maverick‘s takeoff from the famed fest last year, the start of the Tom Cruise blockbuster’s more than $1.4 billion strafing run on theaters worldwide.

While the official lineup for this year’s event won’t be revealed until April 13, the trade speculates that the James Mangold-directed, Steven Spielberg/George Lucas-produced movie starring Harrison Ford will screen on the second or third day of the festival, either May 17 or May 18. The 76th edition of the Cannes Film Festival runs May 16-27.

Like Maverick, Dial of Destiny won’t be in contention for Cannes’ coveted top prize, the Palme D’or.

Also starring Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Mads Mikkelsen, John Rhys-Davies and Boyd Holbrook, Lucasfilm’s fifth Indy adventure comes to theaters worldwide on June 30.

Lucasfilm is owned by Disney, the parent company of ABC News.

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