Fresh off his five Grammy wins, Jon Batiste has lined up his acting debut.
Rolling Stone reports the musician has joined the cast of the upcoming film adaptation of The Color Purple. He’ll play Grady, the “marijuana-loving womanizer” husband married to Shug Avery, who’s being portrayed by Taraji P. Henson in the film.
The cast also includes Fantasia Barrino, Aunjanue Ellis, Ciara, H.E.R. and Corey Hawkins. Production is underway in Georgia, with the musical set for a December 2023 release.
Batiste previously won an Oscar in 2020 for the musical score of Pixar’s Soul.
David Zaslav, the CEO of Discovery, which recently purchased Warner Media for $43 billion, is apparently eager to iron out some wrinkles in the capes of its superhero properties.
Variety is reporting Zaslav is looking to overhaul DC Entertainment, which is home to superhero icons including Batman, Superman, Aquaman and Wonder Woman, but has so far failed to leverage them into the years-long box office dominance of Disney-owned rival Marvel Studios.
Zaslav is reportedly looking for a figure like Marvel Studios’ head Kevin Feige, who can bring a “cohesive brand strategy” to the table, and take better advantage of Warner Bros. deep bench of heroes and villains, Variety explains.
DC properties have had successes, most recently with the reboot The Batman, and prior to that with hits like the first Wonder Woman movie, with Gal Gadot, and Aquaman, starring Jason Momoa. The 2019 Todd Phillips drama Joker was not only a blockbuster, it earned 11 Oscar nominations, including for Best Picture, and a Best Actor win for star Joaquin Phoenix. However, DC’s movie misses have rankled fans and made headlines for the wrong reasons, such as the panned sequel Wonder Woman 1984, and the well-publicized Joss WhedonJustice League reshoot debacle.
DC properties have consistently performed on the small screen, however, most recently with HBO Max’s Peacemaker, writer-director James Gunn‘s spin-off of his The Suicide Squad. There’s also DC’s long-running so-called “Arrowverse” TV shows, which include no fewer than six hit series starring Green Arrow, Supergirl, The Flash, Batwoman and others — success DC would love to echo with their theatrical releases.
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, the third in a series of Harry Potter spin-offs, managed to conjure up $6 million from Thursday night preview audiences in the U.S., according to Deadline.
The film, co-written by Potter creator JK Rowling, has already opened overseas and is nearing the hundred-million-dollar mark from foreign theaters. Stateside, it’s expecting an estimated take in the $40-$50 million range.
The movie, again starring Oscar-winner Eddie Redmayne as magical animal wrangler Newt Scamander, and with Mads Mikkelsen replacing Johnny Depp as Gellert Grindelwald, is getting a better critical reception than its predecessor, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. It also has an audience score of 83% on the ratings aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, higher even than the “Certified Fresh” original.
Katy Perry is known to turn heads whenever she attends the Met Gala, and it appears this year will be no different.
The American Idol judge has previously embraced a more outlandish vibe at the high fashion event — most notably as a chandelier with fully functioning lights, as well as a cheeseburger costume — but she assures Page Six that she’s switching things up for this year’s theme, which is “gilded glamour.”
“You know, it would be pretty obvious for me to go play the kooky, crazy, wild, big, fun, colorful card,” she admitted. “This time, I’m going to play a whole different card.”
The “Roar” singer joked, “Maybe I’ll just come in a suit of armor or something… Maybe I’m not even going, because I’m going to send someone the armor and they’re just going to pretend to be me!”
Katy, 37, also hinted she’s embracing a more “sophisticated and streamlined and sexy” wardrobe when hitting the red carpets and scheduled press appearances.
While she has yet to fully divulge what kind of head-turning look she’ll wear for this year’s Met Gala, set for May 2, Katy promised, “I know what the people want, and I know where I came from. I always want to put a good show on.”
“I take fashion risks all the time, but I never have any regrets,” she added.
If you’re one of the millions of people who contributed to Bridgerton’s season one record-breaking viewership, you’ve most likely started, or even already finished, season two of the Netflix dramedy. And with the return of the hit Shondaland series, came the commencement of the show’s royal stars, including two of its leading ladies — Queen Charlotte and Lady Danbury.
Her majesty Charlotte, played by Golda Rosheuvel, and matchmaker Danbury, Adjoa Andoh,both spoke to ABC Audio about the joy they experience portraying the dignified women on-screen.
“To play a powerful woman who knows how to navigate and strategize the bear pit that would be the Regency Court of this period is fabulous,” Andoh said. “She gets to be manipulative, she gets to be loving, she gets to be hostile and welcoming, and she does it all with great style and elan…”
Rosheuvel expressed a similar sentiment about her character’s regal essence, detailing a vital aspect of the Queen’s fashion: her iconic wigs and luxurious ball gowns.
“It completely transformed the way I walk, the way I hold myself,” she said of her double-corseted undergarments. “The way you walk in those things is quite phenomenal. I quite like it. It’s quite choreographed for me. I like the way it kind of switches and stuff and the way my body moves.”
The powerhouse in each of the women shines through quite clearly in Bridgerton, but they’re also well aware of the overall cast impact. “The core of the show, it is a family…And we felt that in season one, filming it and coming back in season two, it was exactly the same,” Rosheuvel said.
Lucky for fans of the “Ton,” Queen Charlotte and Lady Danbury will continue their royal legacy in a new Netflix spin-off show.
May’s rendition of “Maybe Baby” will be featured on a bonus disc of the forthcoming deluxe reissue of his second studio album, 1998’s Another World, due out April 22. The song originally appeared on an EP called Retro Rock Special that Brian released under the alter ego T.E. Conway and that was only available at the time to those who purchased Another World.
“I’ve never done a Buddy Holly song, and I did ‘Maybe Baby,'” says Brian, reflecting on the cover. “That song more than probably any other, is the reason that I’m here doing this, playing guitar and being a rock star and being a very fortunate person.”
The “Maybe Baby” video features a montage of fan artwork capturing the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer at various ages, and in various styles.
The paintings and drawings appearing in the clip all come from the new book Another World: The Bri-Art Collection, which celebrates the new reissue and will be released the same day. The book features over 300 pieces created by both professional and amateur artists, and includes a number of images that can be viewed in 3-D with OWL Stereoscopic Viewer designed by May that’s packaged with the volume.
The Another World reissue, which you can pre-ordered now, features a remastered version of the original album, as well as a bevy of previously unreleased remixes, rarities, live tracks and covers.
Sheryl Crow released her cover of Rolling Stones‘ “Live with Me” Friday, featured on her eponymous documentary and its accompanying soundtrack, which arrives May 6. This new cover comes with a surprise — Sheryl asked Mick Jagger to accompany her on the track ; you can hear him on the blues harmonica.
Santana is back with a brand-new song, too, called “Yo Estare,” which features Fifth Harmony singer and Dancing with the Stars finalist Ally Brooke. The track, written by hitmakers Diane Warren and Claudia Brant, is the Spanish version of his song “Break.” The track is featured on his new album, Blessings and Miracles.
“Working with Corey Taylor was absolutely incredible,” Hyro says of the collaboration. “When I first heard him sing the words of the chorus we created, I got chills.”
“It’s always nice to collaborate with up-and-coming talent, especially when you’re a genuine fan,” Taylor adds. “I was stoked to hop on this song with Hyro the Hero. He embodies what a true artist is meant to do: make you feel something. This song is a great reminder that we’re stronger together when facing our demons.”
The joint track appears on Hyro’s new Kids Against the Monsters EP, which is out now via digital outlets. The four-song collection also includes Hyro’s previously released collaborations with Disturbed‘s David Draiman, HELLYEAH‘s Chad Gray and Fire from the Gods‘ AJ Channer.
G-Eazy honors his late mother on her birthday with the new song, “Angel,” out now. The song was written for his mom, Suzanne Olmsted, who passed away last fall. “There will never be enough words to describe the feeling of losing your best friend, or the desire to see them again… I tried to capture that feeling of longing in the lyrics of the song,” G-Eazy said in a statement. “‘Angel’ is so much more than a song or a tribute. My mom was more than just my mom, she was everyone’s mom.” He has since launched The Dandelion Scholarship in honor of Suzanne, which will award $15,000 to a high school senior pursuing an arts degree.
Cardi B is back on social media and teamed with rappers Kay Flock, Dougie B and Bory300 on the new song “Shake It,” which samples Akon’s “Bananza (Belly Dancer).” Cardi went back to her roots and used a drill beat for her explicit verse, which her fans are eating up on social media. The rappers also released the track’s music video.
Just in time for Coachella, Swedish House Mafia dropped their debut studio album, Paradise Again, and also the new dance-crazed track “Heaven Takes You Home,” which features vocals from Connie Constance. The EDM duo will co-headline Coachella with their “Moth to a Flame” collaborator, The Weeknd.
With 10 number-one hits to his name and another — “Never Say Never,” with Lainey Wilson — quickly ascending to the top of the chart, Cole Swindell knows first-hand that songs can change lives.
But when he was making his new album, Stereotype, the power of music took on a whole new meaning for Cole. He got to know his now-girlfriend, Courtney Little, after he asked her to play the role of his love interest in the music video for his song, “Some Habits.”
“That was kind of like our first date,” the singer tells People, admitting that being in an on-screen relationship with someone he didn’t yet know well in person was “pretty awkward.” Still, they hit it off, and went out after filming wrapped.
“And we’ve been together ever since,” Cole continues. “It’s a pretty, pretty wild story, but you never know. They say songs are powerful. I feel like now, after meeting her, I can finally check all the boxes.”
