As reported back in July, ABC is throwing Norman Lear a party for reaching the 100-year milestone, and as we predicted then, some big names have stepped up to celebrate.
Jimmy Kimmel and Jennifer Aniston will take part in Norman Lear: 100 Years of Music and Laughter, which will air on Thursday, September 22, at 9 p.m. ET and stream the next day on Hulu.
Oscar winner Octavia Spencer has also been put on the guest list for the celebration of the legendary producer of TV classics like All in the Family, The Jeffersons and Good Times. Emmy winner Amy Poehler will also make an appearance.
Kimmel produced star-packed live stagings of Lear shows All in the Family, Good Times, The Jeffersons and The Facts of Life, the latter of which saw his pal Aniston playing the show’s blond beauty queen Blair.
Other famous faces are likely to appear for what the network is calling a “one-night-only celebration” that “features intimate conversations, special performances and surprise reunions that pay homage to the man behind some of television’s greatest stories …”
For his part, Lear said, “I’ve always believed music and laughter have added time to my life. I’ve seen a lot throughout my 100 years, but I would’ve never imagined America having a front-row seat to my birthday celebration.”
(NEW YORK) — Apple users eagerly awaiting a new iPhone model will likely get their wish next month.
The company announced on Wednesday that it will hold a public event on Sept. 7 where Apple is expected to launch the latest line of iPhones and likely other products.
Apple is expected to release a set of four iPhone models that could be called the iPhone 14, Bloomberg reported. The new line is widely expected to feature an improved camera, among other updates.
Besides the iPhone, the company reportedly could announce a new line of the Apple Watch. The company is developing new health-related features that could alert a person to an increase in blood pressure as well as a change in body temperature related to fertility, The Wall Street Journal reported last September.
The event will take place at 1 p.m. ET and will be available to stream on Apple’s website.
Apple sent invites on Wednesday for some viewers to see the event in person at the company’s headquarters in Cupertino, California.
Earnings released by Apple last month outpaced analyst expectations for profit and revenue, as the company brought in $83 billion over the third quarter. Growth, however, slowed for the company. Sales jumped 2% year-over-year in the third quarter, a marked decline from 9% year-over-year growth in the prior quarter.
Apple has promoted the public event next month with the teaser tagline “Far out.”
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Carole King has contributed a guest essay in Thursday’s The New York Times, advocating for the protection of America’s forests.
Titled “It Costs Nothing to Leave Our Trees as They Are,” the essay calls on the U.S. government to take action against commercial logging.
“The effects of the climate crisis are undeniable,” the singer-songwriter writes. “People are suffering, and the scale of the problem sometimes makes us feel helpless. But the public can do something right now by asking President Biden — in numbers too big to ignore — to use all of his powers to stop the logging of the nation’s mature and old-growth forests.”
She implores the president to issue an executive order “immediately” to take steps to stop commercial logging on public land.
Carole concludes, “In 1970, my collaborator Toni Stern wrote the lyrics to my most popular song, ‘It’s Too Late.’ That title should not refer to the climate. That’s why, at age 80, I’m using my voice to call on President Biden to stop commercial logging in our national forests. Please add your voice to mine.”
One of the hottest tickets in Hollywood right now is to a movie most people will likely never get to see: Batgirl.
According toThe Hollywood Reporter, the suddenly shelved movie is becoming the subject of what some dubbed “funeral screenings” for the movie’s cast and “select industry insiders.”
The intimate events this week at the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, California, will allow those who worked on the project to say goodbye before the shelved film is either locked away in a vault or destroyed.
As reported, Warner Bros. Discovery made the nearly unprecedented decision to scrap the movie, in what will be posed as a $90 million or so “write-down” to the company, following WB’s acquisition by Discovery. The move took the film’s cast — including Batgirl herself Leslie Grace; Michael Keaton, who reprised as Batman/Bruce Wayne; and Brendan Fraser, who played the heavy — as well as its directors, Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, by surprise.
Interestingly, the trade notes that WB could choose to keep the movie on ice permanently, which would entitle the studio to a portion of the write-down from the IRS now, with the rest coming in installments.
More unlikely, THR reports, the studio could outright destroy the film to prove it won’t ever be able to profit from it, in an effort to collect its full tax liability from it.
If Warner Bros. Discovery decided to somehow salvage the movie and release it, the trade notes, it would owe the IRS whatever monies it recouped from the write-down.
THR also notes that another shelved project, Scoob! Holiday Haunt, had its “funeral screenings” on the WB lot last week.
Mastodon has shared a new documentary detailing the making of the band’s latest album, Hushed and Grim.
The full-length film, which is over 90 minutes long, dives deep into the heavy emotions of the recording process for the album, which is dedicated to Mastodon’s late manger, Nick John.
In between those darker moments, the doc “intertwines comedic skits that showcase the band’s lighter, more humorous dynamic.” You can watch it now streaming on YouTube.
Mastodon will hit the road in continued support of Hushed and Grim on a tour with Ghost, kicking off Friday in San Diego. Spiritbox will also be on the bill.
Shania Twain was one of the artists being celebrated at the ACM Honors ceremony on Wednesday night, and Kelsea Ballerini paid homage to the country legend in a very special way: by giving second life to one of Shania’s most memorable looks.
Kelsea turned out for the show wearing the very same long-sleeved white gown that Shania wore at the Grammy Awards in 1999. That was the awards show where Shania picked up Best Female Country Vocal Performance and Best Country Song for her enduring hit ballad “You’re Still the One.”
Glittering and floor-length with a turtleneck cut, Shania’s Marc Bouwer dress typically resides in the Grammy Museum these days, but it came out of retirement for the ACM Honors carpet. Kelsea even posed with it next to the living legend herself.
“She looks stunning. She looks like an absolute angel,” Shania told ET Online of the experience of seeing Kelsea wear her dress. “It’s very flattering to see her in the dress, and that she even wanted to wear it. I said, ‘I hope it’s not too dusty after being in the [Grammy Museum].’”
Kelsea and Shania teamed up in 2020 for a duet version of Kelsea’s single “Hole in the Bottle.”
Eminem and Snoop Dogg have been added to the lineup of stars who will be taking the stage at the 2022 VMAs. According to MTV, the two will come together Sunday to perform their recent collaboration, “From the D 2 The LBC.”
The performance will mark the first time both artists hit the VMAs stage in over a decade; Em last performed in 2010 and Snoop in 2005. It will also be the first show inspired by the Otherworld metaverse. The rappers reportedly teamed up with NFT company Yuga Labs to make it all happen.
The 2022 VMAs take place on Sunday, August 28, at 8 p.m. ET/PT. LL Cool J, Jack Harlow and Video Vanguard Award recipient Nicki Minaj are set to anchor the show.
The Hargreeves sibs will fight on, but for just one more season: ABC Audio has confirmed Netflix has renewed The Umbrella Academy for a fourth and final season.
The acclaimed sci-fi show,which first debuted in 2019, is based on the comic book series of the same name created by My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way and artist Gabriel Bá.
Season 3 kicked off on June 22 and saw returning cast members Elliot Page, Tom Hopper, David Castañeda, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Robert Sheehan, Aidan Gallagher and Justin H. Min facing off with the Sparrow Academy, another super-powered sibling group.
One of the summer’s biggest hits, Thor: Love and Thunder, is coming home.
The Taika Waititi-written and directed fourth Thor film will hit digital streamers for purchase, and free for Disney+ subscribers, on September 8.
The movie, starring Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Christian Bale, Tessa Thompson, Russell Crowe and Waititi himself, hits Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD formats on September 27.
Marvel Studios also announced its ongoing Assembled series will drop a new chapter, on the making of Love and Thunder, on September 8.
The September 27 releases will come packed with the usual supplemental materials, including a gag reel, and featurettes about the making of the movie that include interviews with the cast and the filmmakers who helped bring the movie to life.
Since its debut in theaters July 8, Thor: Love and Thunder has grossed $738 millionworldwide, making it the sixth-highest-grossing movie of 2022 so far.
The soundtrack album to the official David Bowie documentary Moonage Daydreamwill be released via digital formats on September 16, coinciding with the movie’s theatrical premiere, while a two-CD version will follow on November 18.
The collection, which can be preordered now, features songs that span Bowie’s entire career and includes previously unreleased recordings, mixes created specifically for the movie film and this album, as well as segments boasting dialogue from the late rock legend.
One of the album’s tracks, a newly remixed version of Bowie’s 1983 hit “Modern Love,” has been released as an advance digital single. It begins with an isolated piano track from the original recording and ends with a section that showcases the backing vocals a cappella.
The soundtrack also features a previously unreleased live medley combining “The Jean Genie” and The Beatles‘ “Love Me Do” that was recorded in 1973 at Bowie’s final Ziggy Stardust concert at London’s Hammersmith Odeon, with Jeff Beck on guitar. Other highlights include an early version of the 1971 gem “Quicksand” and a previously unreleased 1974 live rendition of “Rock ‘n’ Roll with Me.”
A three-LP vinyl version of the Moonage Daydream soundtrack will be released in 2023.
Moonage Daydream offers viewers kaleidoscopic cinematic exploration into Bowie’s life and creative journey using his own narration, archival footage and live performances, as well as unheard music. The film was written and directed by Brett Morgen, whose previous credits include The Kid Stays in the Picture, the Rolling Stones documentary Crossfire Hurricane and Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck.
Bowie’s longtime friend, collaborator and co-producer Tony Visconti served as the musical producer of the project.
Here’s the full track list of the Moonage Daydream companion album:
“Time… one of the most complex expressions…”
“Ian Fish U.K. Heir” (Moonage Daydream Mix 1)
“Hallo Spaceboy” (Remix Moonage Daydream Edit)
Medley: “Wild Eyed Boy from Freecloud”/”All the Young Dudes”/”Oh! You Pretty Things” (Live)
“Life on Mars?” (2016 Mix Moonage Daydream Edit)
“Moonage Daydream” (Live)
“The Jean Genie”/”Love Me Do”/”The Jean Genie” (Live) — featuring Jeff Beck
“The Light” (Excerpt)*
“Warszawa” (Live Moonage Daydream Edit)
“Quicksand” (Early Version 2021 Mix)
Medley: “Future Legend”/”Diamonds Dogs” intro/”Cracked Actor”
“Rock ‘n’ Roll with Me” (Live in Buffalo 11/8/1974)
“Aladdin Sane” (Moonage Daydream Edit)
“Subterraneans”
“Space Oddity” (Moonage Daydream Mix)
“V-2 Schneider “
“Sound and Vision” (Moonage Daydream Mix)
“A New Career in a New Town” (Moonage Daydream Mix)
“Word on a Wing” (Moonage Daydream Excerpt)
“‘Heroes'” (Live Moonage Daydream Edit)
“D.J.” (Moonage Daydream Mix)
“Ashes to Ashes” (Moonage Daydream Mix)
“Move On” (Moonage Daydream acappella Mix Edit)
“Moss Garden” (Moonage Daydream Edit)
“Cygnet Committee”/”Lazarus” (Moonage Daydream Mix)
“Memory of a Free Festival” (Harmonium Edit)
“Modern Love” (Moonage Daydream Mix)
“Let’s Dance” (Live Moonage Daydream Edit)
“The Mysteries” (Moonage Daydream Mix)
“Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide” (Live Moonage Daydream Edit)
“Ian Fish U.K. Heir” (Moonage Daydream Mix 2)
“Word on a Wing” (Moonage Daydream Mix)
“Hallo Spaceboy” (live Moonage Daydream Mix)
“I Have Not Been to Oxford Town” (Moonage Daydream Acappella Mix Edit)
“‘Heroes'”: “IV. Sons of the Silent Age”” (Excerpt)*
“★” (Moonage Daydream Mix Edit)
“Ian Fish U.K. Heir” (Moonage Daydream Mix Excerpt)
“Memory of a Free Festival” (Moonage Daydream Mix Edit)
“Starman”
“You’re aware of a deeper existence…”
“Changes”
“Let me tell you one thing…”
“Well, you know what this has been an incredible pleasure…”
* = Performed by Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra conducted by Marin Alsop
