If you’re a baseball fan, you may have noticed an odd pattern recently: patrons seated behind home plate, staring into the camera with a creepy smile on their face for the entire game.
In some cases, the people wore a brightly colored shirt reading “Smile.”
Even if you’re not a sports fan, the internet certainly noticed, and footage of the folks went viral.
Turns out it was part of a pretty savvy marketing campaign for Paramount Pictures’ new horror film Smile. And hey, if you can get Major League Baseball to get the word out about your movie — for free — during must-see games like the New York Yankees vs. the Boston Red Sox, that’s some pretty savvy promo indeed.
What’s more, it seems to have worked: The modestly budgeted movie made more than $2 million during Thursday night previews, according to Deadline, which predicted it could make as much as $20 million this weekend.
The movie stars Sosie Bacon — daughter of Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick — and The Boys‘ Jesse T. Usher.
The studio teases that Bacon’s character witnesses“a bizarre, traumatic incident involving a patient” and “starts experiencing frightening occurrences that she can’t explain.”
“As an overwhelming terror begins taking over her life [she] must confront her troubling past in order to survive and escape her horrifying new reality.”
The movie’s trailer is even creepier than those planted baseball fans.
(WASHINGTON) — Deanne Criswell was in Florida Friday with Gov. Ron DeSantis, assessing the historic damage from Hurricane Ian and facing her biggest challenge yet as the new head of FEMA — the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Not only is she the first woman to hold that critical job — the face of FEMA when desperate Americans are demanding help that can never get to them fast enough — the agency, before her time, has been roundly criticized for not delivering on its core mission.
Will Criswell make a difference when FEMA is needed most? Have lessons been learned so it can respond better now?
On Thursday, she voiced confidence when she joined President Joe Biden at FEMA headquarters in Washington to give an update on Ian’s path of destruction, saying her “heart aches” for those whose lives have been devastated.
“As many have said, Hurricane Ian is going to be a storm that we talk about for decades. But from the moment Hurricane Ian became a threat, we already had the right teams in place, who were ready to answer the call of those that need us most,” Criswell said, in a no-nonsense style.
Biden referred to Criswell as the “MVP here these days” and observers have told ABC News that Criswell’s background makes her uniquely qualified for the high-stakes job.
Criswell served in the Colorado Air National Guard for more than two decades, started her emergency management career in Aurora, Colorado and was most recently the commissioner of the New York City Emergency Management Department before being appointed by Biden to head FEMA.
“She is someone who actually has responded to threats. She has experience in the field, she knows what it’s like to be on the frontlines,” said Daniel Aldrich, the director of the Security and Resilience Studies Program at Northeastern University.
But Criswell trails a long list of political appointees who have occupied the high-stakes federal operations post, notorious for its historically difficult nature and outsized prominence during the worst days of calamity around the nation.
Memories are still fresh of the fire and ridicule aimed at Michael Brown, FEMA administrator under George W. Bush, for how critics say he mishandled the Hurricane Katrina response, despite Bush famously telling him, “Brownie, you’re doing a heck of a job.”
FEMA’s past problems
The agency has become nearly synonymous with the federal government’s response to all manner of disasters — floods, fires, pandemics and more. The scale of its work encompasses billions in funding and direct aid, millions of units of food and water and enormous swaths of temporary housing, among other forms of relief.
“Being there to help clear roads, rebuild main streets and so that families can get back to their lives: That’s what FEMA does every single day,” President Biden said last year as he announced $1 billion for a FEMA preparedness project amid extreme weather fueled by climate change.
“As my mother would say, ‘They’re doing God’s work,'” Biden said.
But that work has not been without intense controversy — including with Katrina in 2005, an episode epitomized, to critics, when the agency provided temporary trailers as housing which also included high levels of the carcinogenic formaldehyde. That same issue was later documented in some FEMA trailers provided to victims of wildfires in California in 2007.
Major problems have continued since, though the agency has continued to say it strives to best serve those in need.
FEMA has also been strapped, at various points over the years, both by funding problems and what appears to be an accelerating cycle of weather calamities for which it is called upon to respond.
“They need more people and resources,” Eric Holdeman, the director of the Center for Regional Disaster Resilience for the Pacific Northwest Economic Region, told ABC News. “The frequency of disasters, think about wildland fires that we’ve had, the heat emergencies that have been happening, tornadoes — all of those end up as they become presidentially declared, FEMA’s involved.”
In 2020, the president of the union for FEMA employees acknowledged, “The only thing we can liken this to is 2017, which was one of our busiest years in decades. This is far eclipsing 2017.”
That same year, however, a watchdog found that FEMA had misplaced $250 million in food and supplies for Puerto Rico after it was hit by two hurricanes, Irma and Maria.
The Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General found that FEMA “lost visibility” or failed to fully track nearly 40% of shipments to Puerto Rico with a value of nearly $257 million in meals, water, blankets and other supplies. Of the nearly 10,000 shipping containers sent to Puerto Rico, 19 were never recovered.
Aldrich said a major problem for FEMA after Hurricane Maria in 2017 and for Hurricane Katrina in 2005 was a lack of pre-positioning resources.
“FEMA did not take advantage of weather forecasting and simulation models to place things like food, water, bulldozers, evacuation shelters, in communities near or on vulnerable sites about being hit by a shock like a hurricane,” he said.
Perhaps recognizing the agency’s past failures to prepare for extreme weather events, Criswell and Biden have gone to great lengths to highlight the agency’s prepositioning ahead of Hurricane Ian.
Speaking at the White House press briefing on Sept. 27, the day before Ian made landfall in Florida, Criswell said they’d already staged hundreds of thousands of gallons of food, millions of liters of water and millions of meals, as well as personnel.
“The preparation for this storm has been extensive and it has been coordinated,” she said. “It has been a coordinated effort between FEMA, our federal, our state, and our nonprofit partners.”
But just as recently as this summer, in aiding Kentucky after flooding there, FEMA was repeatedly criticized by the state’s governor, Andy Beshear, for what he said was a stupefying inability to process aid claims.
“Too many people are being denied,” Beshear told reporters in August. “Not enough people are being approved. And this is the time that FEMA’s got to get it right. To change what has been a history of denying too many people and not providing enough dollars and to get it right here.”
In response, a FEMA spokesman said, in part, according to the Associated Press: “We know these are incredibly difficult times, and we want to help you. We will continue to work to ensure that every eligible applicant receives every dollar of assistance legally possible.”
The spokesman said then — echoing a promise made by FEMA officials through the years of disaster upon disaster in the U.S. — that responders would remain in Kentucky “as long as it takes.”
A notable omission from Nothing Compares, the new Showtime documentary about Sinéad O’Connor, is the singer’s smash hit recording of the Prince-penned “Nothing Compares 2 U.” In fact, a message on the screen during the film reads, “The Prince estate denied use of Sinéad‘s recording of ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ in this film.” Director Kathryn Ferguson told ABC Audio she wasn’t sure why they turned down the request — but now we know.
One of Prince’s heirs, half-sister Sharon Nelson, explained the decision in a statement to Billboard.
“I didn’t feel [Sinéad] deserved to use the song my brother wrote in her documentary so we declined,” Nelson said.
But there’s another reason: Nelson said in her statement that “nothing compares” to Prince’s 1992 live version of the song — included on his 1993 album Hits 1 — that he recorded with singer Rosie Gaines. The estate just happens to be rereleasing that album on vinyl on November 4.
It’s not clear why Nelson and her siblings felt that Sinéad “didn’t deserve” to use the recording. In Sinéad’s 2021 memoir, Rememberings, she claims that when she met Prince, he criticized her for using profanity in interviews and then challenged her to a pillow fight. She also claims he put something in the pillow that would hurt her.
After leaving, Sinéad writes of Prince, “I never wanted to see that devil again.”
An already multihyphenate superstar, KekePalmer is adding yet another notch to her entertainment belt.
The Nope actress took to social media Friday to announce KeyTV, a new digital TV network for “a new generation of creators.”
Palmer announced the new venture in a fun, short video posted to social media where she reminds viewers of the many entertainment hats she’s worn over the years and emphasizes the need for cultural stories to be told.
“I want to share everything I learned with you, because this is my greatest dream of all,” says Palmer while sitting in a director’s chair. “All it takes is one of us to unlock a door to unlock a million doors for each other. I’m so excited to introduce you guys to KeyTV.”
Palmer also shared a short video to KeyTV’s YouTube page, emphasizing how behind-the-scenes creators — production designers, sound mixers, photographers — are just as important as those in front of the camera.
“What if I told you we just need more you,” she says before cutting to a montage of Black creators.
While not much information has been provided about the network or how to become part of it, Keke promises the new platform will be a place “where our stories matter and where we are represented as the keys to the culture.”
Football season is here and the Black Eyed Peas are helping students wave their colors at a Super Bowl-like halftime show at the East L.A. Classic match between rival high schools.
Los Angeles Timesreports the “I Gotta Feeling” singers will take over the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on October 21, when Theodore Roosevelt High takes on Garfield High School, for a halftime performance.
will.i.am has a commitment to Roosevelt, as he grew up in Boyle Heights and strives to give back to his community via his i.am Angel Foundation. The musician has several projects going to inspire students, including his I.am.College Track program, which encourages them to reach for their dreams by obtaining a higher education. He also helped found a robotics program at the school.
Garfield football coach Lorenzo Hernandez is happy to welcome BEP to the Classic, an annual event since 1925, noting attendance has significantly shrunk over the past few years from an estimated 25,000 people to 10,000.
“This is going to be the biggest ever meeting with two teams playing well, an historic venue and the Black Eyed Peas halftime show,” he said, stressing the affordable ticket price. “All for $15.”
Tickets are on sale on Ticketmaster; students who take advantage of a presale will pay $12.
The junior varsity match kicks off at 3:30 p.m. while the varsity game takes place at 7:30 p.m.
R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck and Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic guest on a new single from rising Cuban rock artist Hector Tellez Jr.
The track is called “Silver Blue Jellyfish” and is available now via digital outlets.
“‘Silver Blue Jellyfish’ is a song about hope and how powerful your life can be when you listen to the call of your deepest purpose and how you can inspire others to pursue their desire to lead a life of freedom, love and happiness,” Tellez says.
The collaboration came together after Tellez’s demo found its way to producer Barrett Martin, who played drums in Screaming Trees and the grunge supergroup Mad Season. Upon inviting Tellez to Seattle to record an album, Martin also recruited a few friends, including Buck and Novoselic, to take part, too.
Buck joined Tellez to perform “Silver Blue Jellyfish” during this year’s Hispanic Heritage Awards, which will air Friday on PBS.
Novoselic, meanwhile, performed at the Taylor Hawkins tribute concert in Los Angeles earlier this week, joining his Nirvana bandmate Dave Grohl, members of Soundgarden and The Pretty Reckless‘ Taylor Momsen to play two Soundgarden songs.
Grammy winners Jazmine Sullivan and DernstD’Mile Emilehave submitted their original new song “Stand Up,” from the upcoming Till biopic, to the Academy Awards for Best Original Song consideration.
Varietyreports the song, which will release October 7, will be featured during the end credits of the true-story film of Mamie Till Mobley, the mother of EmmettTill, the young boy brutally lynched in Mississippi in 1955.
Sullivan, who performed the new song, says she understands how vital it is to tell the story.
“I’m honored to be able to contribute to such a powerful film about such a historic and tragic moment in American history,” Sullivan said. “I believe that part of my purpose is to give space for stories that are often ignored and silenced; the Black experience in particular. So I’m glad that the story of Emmett Till and his mother, Mamie Till, is being told so generations old and young can be educated and inspired to make a change. I hope that after people see this film they’ll be moved to stand up against the racism we are still facing today.”
Fresh off her two Grammy wins, including Best R&B album for Heaux Tales, Sullivan has always used her art to uplift and encourage Black women and the Black community.
“The project became so much more than just my own kind of catharsis for the things that I was going through, it became a really a safe place for Black women,” Sullivan told reporters at the 2022 Grammy Awards. “This project has just done so much for us to kind of come together and just share our stories and not be ashamed about the things that we went through.”
Greg Doherty/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
AJ McLean says he recently made many positive changes in his life, which he credits to becoming more involved in drag.
The Backstreet Boys memberopened up to Peopleabout marking one year of sobriety and getting cosmetic surgery. He credits competing on VH1’s RuPaul’s Secret Celebrity Drag Raceas Poppy Love for sparking the change.
“I am a completely different person, and it really all started [with] this show,” he says. “This was by far the most liberating thing I thing I’ve ever done.”
The Dancing with the Stars alum says doing drag “changed” him by improving his confidence and self-love.
“Hands down the biggest thing I took away from this amazing experience was to love the body that you’re in,” says AJ. “That’s something I’ve long struggled [with] and this proved to be the catalyst for me to really look inwards, and do the emotional work to embody the person I am and really just love myself.”
AJ says he decided to commit to sobriety last September after struggling “with drugs and alcohol issues for 25 years.” The singer admits, “It’s still a daily struggle still but it allowed me to finally dive into me.” He saluted the cast, saying they “kept me on track.”
AJ also reveals he has opted for FaceTite, a cosmetic procedure that helps remove sagging skin on the lower half of the face. “Look, I have no shame in saying this: I went and got lipo on my neck,” he remarks, adding he’s always been “insecure” about his neck lines.
Overall, AJ says he feels “like a new human,” adding he was also inspired to exercise more and change his diet. He lost 35 pounds and says he’s now in the best shape of his life.
Sammy Hagar and current band The Circle‘s new studio album, Crazy Times, has just been released on CD and via digital formats.
The 10-song collection was recorded in Nashville with Grammy-winning producer Dave Cobb, best known for his work with a variety of major country artists.
Cobb interviewed Hagar about the album for an episode of his Southern Accents Radio program, which will premiere October 1 at 7 p.m. ET on Apple Music.
Cobb enthused about getting to work with Hagar and The Circle’s members — drummer Jason Bonham, longtime Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony and virtuoso guitarist Vic Johnson.
“Going into the studio, watching you guys play was so intimidating because I’m looking at heroes up there, but not only that, but just the fire that you guys have,” Cobb said. “When you sing, there’s a fire that very few people have and it was just so impressive to see the whole thing go down live. I’ll never forget it.”
Hagar responded by noting, “You got to admit, there is great chemistry in this band and as many bands as you’ve produced and dealt with, you can have the best musicians in the world, and without chemistry, it don’t work.”
The two also discussed the Crazy Times track “Father Time,” which Cobb said is the best song Hagar has ever written.
Sammy agreed, saying, “To me, it’s the best song of the album. Best song I’ve ever written. Maybe my best vocal performance … I’m happy with the whole record, but if I said, ‘Listen to one song on this record,’ I’d say listen to that song.”
Meanwhile, vinyl versions of Crazy Times will be released on October 28.
Sigourney Weaver has battled everything from aliens to ghosts over the course of her long and storied career, but in her newest film The Good House, she’s fighting her character’s own inner demons.
Weaver stars as Hildy Good, a New England real estate agent who struggles with alcoholism and the curveballs that life continues to throw her way. She tells ABC Audio that the film doesn’t shy away from how hard it is to realize that the thing you love is bad for you.
“[Hildy] says, ‘It takes me three drinks before I really start to feel like myself,’” Weaver says. “To give that up is hard.”
While Hildy seems to have everybody else figured out, Weaver asserts that same sort of awareness doesn’t apply to herself.
“Hildy knows everybody in this town. That’s the irony,” Weaver says. “There’s a rumor around town that she’s a witch – she’s a descendant of Sarah Good, one of the Salem witches – and there is something witchy about Hildy because she is so perceptive about people. Except about herself.”
Even still, Weaver says the film causes the audience to have great empathy for Hildy. She credits that compassion to the technique of having Hildy speak directly to the audience.
“She comes home, kicks off her shoes, lies back on her sofa and opens a bottle of forbidden Pinot Noir. And it’s when she turns to us – the audience – breaks that fourth wall, and says, ‘Well, this is what’s really going on, can I just tell you from my point of view what’s really happening here,’ she’s very good company,” Weaver says. “I think the more you know Hildy, the more you root for Hildy.”
