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Global superstar, martial artist and producer Michelle Yeoh will take to the stage at next month’s Toronto International Film Festival to receive a first-of-its-kind honor.
The Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Crazy Rich Asians star has been named the inaugural recipient of TIFF’s Share Her Journey Groundbreaker Award, dedicated to women who have made an impact on the entertainment industry.
In an announcement, TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey said, “Michelle Yeoh is the definition of groundbreaking. Her screen work has spanned continents, genres and decades. This year she delivered a performance in Everything Everywhere All at Once that shows her limitless abilities. We’re so proud to honor her with the Share Her Journey Groundbreaker Award.”
Everything Everywhere is the mind-bending, modestly budgeted multiverse movie that has Yeoh playing different versions of herself. The film has grossed more than $100 million worldwide to date.
The award presentation will be part of the fest’s Tribute Awards on Sunday, September 11.
The Groundbreaker Award is a spin-off of the festival’s ongoing Share Her Journey Initiative, which is “committed to addressing gender parity and championing women in front of and behind the camera, both year-round and during the Toronto International Film Festival.”
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Britney Spears is clarifying why she posted — and quickly deleted — a 22-minute voice memo documenting her conservatorship and subsequent fallout with her family.
The Grammy winner took to Twitter to share more of her thoughts on Sunday. Britney first started off thanking Sir Elton John for including her on their new song “Hold Me Closer” before opening up about her family woes.
“Complacency has always been a boring tactic that feels safe … music … creation … producing is where my heart lies and lifts me with inspiration,” she wrote. “I’ve had the opportunity to work with someone who is beautiful and kind on all levels.”
In a follow up, Britney expressed, “I’m honored and I feel loved by his awareness and acknowledgement, not by only my involement [sic] with a song but by my struggles and what I’ve been through !!! He knows the hardships of the world on a bigger scale.”
The singer then opened up about why she speaks out, explaining, “I have to honor myself and realize it’s not about pleasing others or driving yourself crazy on what other[s] think … to honor myself … and value myself is the only way to something we all seek … Self love … value of self”
Britney further noted “life is short” and that she plans to “smile like there’s no tomorrow.”
As for Britney’s deleted audio memo, her mother Lynne is taking issue with some of the comments made. The “Circus” singer expressed confusion about why her family didn’t join the #FreeBritney movement when it gained traction in 2017.
Lynne posted on Instagram that she has “tried my best” to advocate for Britney. “I have never and will never turn my back on you,” she continued and called for a “private” conversation between them.
Britney’s conservatorship was terminated in November 2021.
L-R – Credit: Sam Jones; Netflix; Michael Kovac/Getty Images for NeueHouse
Netflix announced Monday that its in-production Beverly Hills Cop sequel has a new title: Beverly Hills Cop: Alex Foley.
Eddie Murphy will reprise the title role in the action comedy as part of his ongoing relationship with Netflix, with whom he signed a multimillion deal for his forthcoming return to stand-up.
And while the plot of the new movie is under wraps, Netflix did allow that Inception‘s Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zola‘s Taylour Paige have been cast in the film, which is being backed by original Beverly Hills Cop series producer Jerry Bruckheimer.
Legendary singer-songwriter James Taylor will join Zac Brown Band for a revamped version of “Love & Sunsets.” According to CMT, the duet version of the song comes out on Friday.
James is the latest in a string of collaborators ZBB has named lately; the duets are part of the deluxe version of their latest album, The Comeback.
New versions of The Comeback tracks feature artists like Blake Shelton, Cody Johnson, Marcus King and Jamey Johnson. The Comeback (Deluxe) will be out in full September 30.
Additionally, the band has announced an upcoming Nashville stop at the city’s famed Ryman Auditorium. Set for September 22, the show will benefit band mate John Driskell Hopkins’ “Hop On a Cure” foundation, which supports research for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS.) Earlier this year, John announced that he’d been diagnosed with the disease.
Ex-Fleetwood Mac singer/guitarist Lindsey Buckingham was a surprise guest at modern rockers The Killers‘ concert on Saturday at Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles.
Buckingham joined The Killers for the show’s finale and played three songs with the band — renditions of their 2020 tune “Caution,” Lindsey’s classic 1976 Fleetwood Mac hit “Go Your Own Way” and The Killers’ 2003 smash “Mr. Brightside.”
Fan-shot video of the “Mr. Brightside” performance was posted to YouTube by user James Crutchfield.
Former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, who has been serving as The Killers’ opening act on their current tour, also took part in the “Mr. Brightside” performance. In addition, Marr has been joining The Killers at every show on the trek to play a Smiths tune; during Saturday’s gig they performed “This Charming Man.”
Buckingham posted a couple of photos of him playing with The Killers on his Facebook page, along with a note that reads, “Thank you for having me out there.”
Incidentally, Buckingham was featured on the studio version of “Caution,” which appeared on The Killers’ 2020 album, Imploding Mirage.
Madonna has proven once again why she’s the Queen of Pop.
Her new dance remix compilation, Finally Enough Love, has debuted at number eight on the Billboard 200 album chart. That makes her the first female artist to hit the top 10 on that chart in the ’80s, ’90s, 2000s, ’10s and now, the ’20s.
The nine other acts who’ve managed to do this are either male solo stars or groups with an all-male lineup, including Prince, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney and Metallica.
Overall, Madonna’s scored 23 top 10 albums, nine of which have reached number one: Like a Virgin, True Blue, Like a Prayer, Music, American Life, Confessions on a Dance Floor, Hard Candy, MDNA and Madame X.
Surprisingly, the decade that Madonna scored the most top 10 albums was the ’90s: She had seven overall, including what many consider to be her best: 1998’s Ray of Light. That album never managed to hit number one, though; it was kept out of the top spot by the Titanic soundtrack.
Also of note: Billboard says Finally Enough Love is the first remix album to hit the top 10 since Beyonce‘s 2014 EP More Only, which also peaked at number eight.
Overall, the only artists who’ve had more top 10 albums than Madonna are The Rolling Stones, Barbra Streisand, The Beatles, Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley. She and Bob Dylan both had 23. Notably, though, all those artists had several decades’ head start on Madonna.
(WASHINGTON) — One year after a deadly U.S. drone strike in Kabul killed 10 civilians, including seven children, 133 family members and co-workers of the Afghan aid worker mistakenly targeted remain outside of the United States despite an American commitment they would be brought to the U.S.
According to ACLU attorney Brett Max Kaufman who represents the family of Zemari Ahmadi, the aid worker whose vehicle was mistakenly targeted as being that of a potential car bomber, only 11 of the 144 people the U.S. promised to help are in the United States.
One hundred and one are in third countries awaiting security reviews and the processing of immigration visas while the remaining 32 face an uncertain future in Afghanistan where it remains unclear if the Taliban will allow them to leave the country following the recent airstrike in Kabul that killed al Qaeda’s top leader Ayman Al Zawahiri.
The arrival of the 11 Afghans to the United States is a recent development as they only arrived in May and July.
“It’s been a year since a U.S. drone strike in Kabul wrongly targeted Zemari and wrecked countless innocent lives, said Kaufman in a statement issued on Monday’s one year anniversary of the deadly drone strike. “Unfortunately, the government still hasn’t made good on its promises to evacuate our clients, let alone resettle them in the U.S. “
“We’re grateful for what the government has done to bring many of Zemari’s loved ones to safety, but for those who remain, the situation is getting more desperate by the day” he added. “After the strike, the U.S. government made a rare promise to make amends for the dire consequences of their ‘mistake’ and it would be a tremendous institutional failure if the government failed to follow through. The government needs to urgently act before it’s too late.”
“On the one-year anniversary of the strike, I’m hoping my government will finally keep its promise and quickly evacuate all the survivors and their families, ” said Dr. Steven Kwon, the founder and president of Nutrition and Education International, the aid agency for whom Ahamadi had worked.
On August 29, 2021 U.S. forces in Afghanistan were on edge following the August 27 suicide bomb attack at the gates of the airport in Kabul that killed 13 American service members and dozens of Afghan civilians who had hoped to gain entry into the airport to leave Afghanistan as part of the U.S. military evacuation after the Taliban took control of the capital city.
Intelligence indicated that the terror group known as ISIS-K was planning a car bomb attack targeting the airport.
When U.S. military overhead drones spotted a suspiciously circuitous route by a white Toyota that had left the vicinity of what was believed to be an ISIS-K safehouse U.S. military officials called a preemptive drone strike on what they had concluded was the vehicle to be used in the possible attack.
The U.S. military defended the validity of the the strike even after reporters in Kabul began to piece together that the strike may have mistakenly targeted Ahmadi and several civilians , including children, as his car pulled into the courtyard of his home.
But two weeks later, Gen. Frank McKenzie, the head of U.S. Central Command, acknowledged that the drone strike had been “a tragic mistake” after a military investigation concluded that 10 civilians, including seven children, had been killed in the drone strike. Kwon identified the civilian casualties as Ahmadi, his three sons, and six nieces and nephews.
In December, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin agreed with military commanders that no one should be punished for the mistaken drone strike that was attributed to “a breakdown in process.”
In the wake of the drone strike, the Pentagon announced that it would be providing assistance for Ahmadi’s family to be taken out of Afghanistan and that they would also received condolence payments.
Ultimately 144 individuals, about two thirds of whom are Ahamadi’s immediate family and extended family were identified to leave Afghanistan according to Kaufman. The remainder were Ahmadi’s co-workers and their families.
“The Department of Defense, in coordination with other U.S. government departments and agencies, continues to take steps to respond to the Aug. 29, 2021, airstrike in Kabul, Afghanistan,” according to Todd Breasseale, the Pentagon’s deputy press secretary, said in a statement provided to ABC News. “To protect the privacy of the family members, as well as to help protect their safety and security, we are not able to provide more information regarding these efforts at this time.”
The status of the condolence payments to family members remains unclear though Kaufman told ABC News that the focus is on evacuating the individuals stuck in Afghanistan.
“Everyone involved has prioritized the safe evacuation of our full group before moving on to discuss any compensation or ex gratia payments,” said Kaufman.
“We’re all very disappointed that a year out from the strike we still have clients who are stuck in Afghanistan, and we think it is critical that the government follow through on its commitments to compensate the victims of the strike, but for the moment we’ll continue to focus the bulk of our resources on getting the remainder of our group out safely. “
Last week, the Pentagon announced new procedures intended to prevent civilian casualties in U.S. military operations under a plan ordered by Austin that was a direct result of last year’s Kabul drone strike and a high profile incident in Syria that resulted in significant casualties.
Over the next year the Pentagon will set up a new Civilian Protection Center of Excellence that it hopes will better education and training, and increased screening before strikes are launched.
The Kabul strike seemed to show that there was “confirmation bias” during the tracking of Ahmadi’s vehicle and the decision to carry out the drone strike.
The new Pentagon effort will try to prevent that in the future by sending teams to regional military commands, the services, and the DIA that will be tasked with challenging such assumptions to ensure that a drone strike is appropriate.
As part of the initiative military training, exercises will now include civilian casualty assessments so troops can practice procedures to avoid civilian casualties.
Also, a new reporting system will be put into place to more accurately report a civilian casualty and the DOD will formalize the process for acknowledging casualties and any subsequent condolence payments or assistance that will be provided afterward.
Dolly Parton officially announced a guest star-packed holiday movie in the works on Monday. Called Dolly Parton’s Mountain Magic Christmas, the film will feature Dolly, herself, in the starring role.
A bevy of other celebs are on the cast list, including several from the world of country music. Willie Nelson, Billy Ray Cyrus and Jimmie Allen are all making guest appearances. Miley Cyrus — who’s Dolly’s goddaughter — Zach Williams and late-night star Jimmy Fallon are set to appear in the movie, too.
Co-starring alongside Dolly are actors Tom Everett Scott, Ana Gasteyer and Angel Parker. More cast members for the film, which will air on NBC, are set to be announced at a later date.
Mountain Magic Christmas revolves around Dolly’s special “mountain magic,” which she has always found around her Dollywood theme park at Christmastime. As the musical film progresses, the country legend takes a trip into her past, featuring appearances from her own personal Three Wise Men.
Though she just officially announced Mountain Magic Christmas, fans have had some inkling that something big was coming: Dolly was spotted with Willie Nelson and Jimmy Fallon around Dollywood earlier this month.
Kelsea Ballerini took time away from her musical endeavors last year to write a book of poetry called Feel Your Way Through. She says the process has changed how she writes songs.
“I credit a lot of the openness and the more poetic side of the songwriting to the book,” the singer tells Billboard. “I feel like that opened my mind creatively and helped me work outside of the [standard song] structure.”
When she released it, Kelsea explained that Feel Your Way Through is her autobiographical exploration of her coming-of-age story. The poems explore family dynamics, sexuality, body image concerns and more.
In retrospect, the book did more than just allow her a different way to express herself creatively: it also changed how she thinks about her musical career, too.
“That creative freedom unlocked a part of me I hope to keep pushing in any project that I do,” she continues.
Kelsea’s next album, Subject to Change, is due out September 23.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law stars Tatiana Maslany, Mark Ruffalo, Jameela Jamil and — apparently — Megan Thee Stallion.
You heard right, the “Body” rapper is rumored to be joining the MCU for an unspecified role in the breakout Disney+ hit series.
P-Valley actor J. Alphonse Nicholson spoke to New York magazine’s The Cut and hinted toward Meg’s acting chops. The rapper auditioned for the role of Mercedes in the drama series, which went to actress Brandee Evans, and she previously performed with Nicholson.
“You could see her in a period piece, whether she’s playing someone in the 1960s trying to come up and make it, or whether she’s in a futuresque sci-fi film,” he began. “And she’s out here whooping a** and fighting on some Marvel stuff.”
The Cut seemed to confirm Meg will appear in She-Hulk and that she’ll star in A24’s musical comedy F***ing Identical Twins that also stars Nathan Lane and Bowen Yang.
The Grammy winner said of her acting ventures, “I don’t feel like I’m only going to be an actress — I feel like I’m also going to be a director and I’m also going to be a producer.”
Unfortunately, neither Meg nor representatives for Marvel confirmed if she will also be hulking out in the MCU.
Rumors that the “Savage” rapper was heading to the MCU first surfaced in March, when stunt actress Marché Day told STUNT POC Megan will make a cameo in the series. Apparently the rapper needed a stunt double for “utility stunts.” The article has since been deleted, but portions of it are available to view on ScreenRant.
It is unknown at this time what part Megan will seemingly play nor when an episode featuring her will air.
Marvel is owned by Disney, the parent company of ABC News.
