Jack White has lined up a slew of special guests to open his upcoming Supply Chain Issues tour.
In North America, the openers include The Kills, The Afghan Whigs, JD PcPherson, July Talk, Be Your Own Pet, Briston Maroney, Chicago Batman, Cautious Clay, The Backseat Lovers and Geese. In the U.K. and Europe, White’s opening acts will include Yard Act, Larkin Poe and SONS.
Visit jackwhiteiii.com/tour-dates and click on “tickets” to see who’s opening for each date. You can also get VIP package information at the same location.
The Supply Chain Issues tour starts April 8 and 9 with two sold-out shows at Detroit’s Masonic Temple Theatre. As previously reported, White’s first album of 2022, Fear of the Dawn, is out April 8, with the second one, Entering Heaven Alive, arriving July 22.
While women have made great strides in the movie industry in the past few years, the results of a new study shows there’s more work that needs to be done when it comes to equality.
The annual report from the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University shows just 7% of the movies released in 2021 featured more women than men. The report has kept tabs of female representation in the top 100 domestic grossing films since 2002.
The study, titled “It’s a Man’s (Celluloid) World” and written by the center’s executive director Dr. Martha Lauzen, shows that of the films released in 2021, 85% featured more men than women, and male characters outnumbered female by almost two to one.
Just 31% of 2021’s box office offerings featured sole female protagonists, the study notes — and major female characters dropped from 38% in 2020 to 35% in 2021. Just 8% of the films released in 2021 featured an equal number of male and female characters, according to the report.
Some bright spots: movies centering on sole female characters bumped up to 31% in 2021, up from 29% in 2020, and the percentage of the top-grossing films in the U.S. that featured female protagonists increased from 29% in 2020 to 31% in 2022.
However, that news is tempered by the fact that only 34% of all speaking characters in film were female in 2021, down from 36% in 2019. What’s more, gender stereotypes still persisted onscreen in 2021: “Female characters were younger and more likely to have a known marital status than males. Male characters were more likely than females to have an identifiable occupation,” Lauzen also noted.
“In good times and pandemic times, male characters rule in film,” she concludes.
The first round of Grammy broadcast performers has been announced, and one nominated country act has made the list.
Brothers Osborne will take the stage during the 64th annual ceremony,k where they’re up for two of the night’s awards: Best Country Album, for Skeletons, and Best Country Duo/Group Performance, for “Younger Me.”
“You won’t want to miss it…” the Brothers tease on Twitter about the performance.
The duo performed at the Grammys for the first time in 2018, singing “Tears in Heaven” alongside Maren Morris and Eric Church as part of a tribute to the victims of the mass shooting at Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas.
Brandi Carlile and Lil Nas X are among the other artists who will perform when the Grammy Awards air live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on April 3 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.
The singer’s management team confirmed to Entertainment Tonight that Mora passed away of stage 4 stomach cancer.
“Sadly, it’s true that Mike Mora has passed away. We would ask all to respect Kelis and her family’s privacy as of right now. Thank you,” Red Light Management’s Steve Satterhwaite told ET.
Mora, a photographer, was diagnosed in September 2020. He opened up about his cancer battle in a series of posts on social media.
“You always see people post about how life is too short,” he wrote in September of last year. “How you should reach out to those you love no matter where life has taken you. It is the truth. Don’t take your time here, your time with friends, family, for granted.”
Mora and Kelis share a one-year-old daughter and a six-year-old son. Kelis has a 12-year-old son, Knight, with ex-husband Nas.
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
She already has seven Grammys at home, and Billie Eilish is coming back for more. Variety reports that she’s just been announced as one of the performers on the Grammys telecast April 3.
Billie has seven nominations this year, including Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album, all for Happier Than Ever and its title track.
In addition, Olivia Rodrigo, who also has seven nods, will perform on the show, along with fellow nominees singer/songwriter Brandi Carlile, K-pop superstars BTS, Lil Nas X with Jack Harlow and country duo Brothers Osborne.
The Grammys, hosted by Trevor Noah, are taking place in Las Vegas on April 3. They’ll air at 8 p.m. ET on CBS and will stream on Paramount+.
BTS, Olivia Rodrigo, Lil Nas X with Jack Harlow and Billie Eilish have just been announced as the first group of artists who’ll be performing on the Grammy telecast.
They’ll all take the stage next month, along with country duo Brothers Osborne and singer/songwriter Brandi Carlile, according to Variety.
BTS is up for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for “Butter,” while Billie and Olivia each have seven nominations, including Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album. Olivia is also up for Best New Artist. Billie’s already won seven Grammys in her young career.
Lil Nas X, who already has two Grammys at home, has five nods, including Record of the Year, Album of the Year and Song of the Year. Jack Harlow’s two nods come from his work on Nas’s Montero album.
The Grammys, hosted by Trevor Noah, are taking place in Las Vegas on April 3. They’ll air at 8 p.m. ET on CBS and will stream on Paramount+.
Will Smith is setting the record straight when it comes to the “entanglement” his wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith, had with singer August Alsina.
The 53-year-old actor told CBS Sunday Morning, “There’s never been infidelity in our marriage. Never.”
“Jada and I talk about everything and we have never surprised one another with anything, ever,” he added.
The statement comes nearly two years after Jada, 50, revealed on Red Table Talk that she and the King Richard star had briefly split in 2016 and she then became involved in an “entanglement” with Alsina, 29.
The admission caused a lot of chatter about the couple’s marriage. So, how does Will deal with it all?
“I have decided that chatter about my life can be of benefit to people,” he shared. “I think that chatter is the first stage to having a real conversation and being able to truly explore if some of the things in your heart are loving or poisonous.”
The NBC medical drama New Amsterdam will end with its previously announced fifth season, according to Deadline. The series stars Ryan Eggold as Dr. Max Goodwin, who juggles a cancer diagnosis with his new role as the medical director of the oldest public hospital in America. Since being renewed for its third, fourth, and fifth seasons in 2020, the show has seen its ratings steadily decline. NewAmsterdam airs Tuesdays on NBC. The season four finale is slated to air May 24…
CODA star Marlee Matlin will make her directorial debut with Fox’s upcoming anthology crime drama Accused. The Oscar-winning actress will helm an episode about “a deaf woman who becomes a surrogate and commits a crime of advocacy and protection,” according to The Hollywood Reporter. “I could not be more excited for the opportunity to direct, and to work on a project with such esteemed, talented, and skilled producers, writers, cast and crew,” says Matlin. “I’ve never shied away from challenges and having the opportunity to be one of the first female, Deaf directors in television is one I am looking forward to”…
Salma Hayek is set to reprise the role of Kitty Softpaws in the upcoming Puss in Boots sequel The Last Wish, according to Deadline. Antonio Banderas will also return as the titular cat, joined this time by newcomers Harvey Guillén, Florence Pugh, Olivia Colman, Wagner Moura, Ray Winstone, John Mulaney, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Anthony Mendez and Samson Kayo. The Last Wish follows the daring outlaw Puss in Boots as he discovers that his passion for peril and disregard for safety have taken their toll, per Deadline. The original 2011 film — a spinoff of Shrek — followed Puss’ adventures prior to his debut appearance in Shrek 2. The film earned more than $149 million stateside and close to $555 million worldwide…
(NEW YORK) — Russian forces are continuing their attempted push through Ukraine from multiple directions, while Ukrainians, led by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, are putting up “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.
The attack began Feb. 24, when Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation.”
Russian forces moving from neighboring Belarus toward Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, have advanced closer to the city center in recent days despite the resistance, coming within about 9 miles as of Friday.
Russia has been met by sanctions from the United States, Canada and countries throughout Europe, targeting the Russian economy as well as Putin himself.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Mar 15, 7:51 am
Two killed in strike on Kyiv neighborhood
Two people were killed on Tuesday morning after Russian forces shelled residential areas in Kyiv, officials said.
The sound of large explosions echoed across Kyiv before dawn from what Ukrainian authorities said were artillery strikes. The shelling ignited a huge fire and a frantic rescue effort in the Svyatoshyn neighborhood.
Shockwaves from an explosion also damaged the entry to a downtown subway station that has been used as a bomb shelter. City authorities tweeted an image of the blown-out facade, saying trains would no longer stop at the station.
Mar 15, 5:51 am
Residents protest in Russian-occupied cities: UK military
Residents of Kherson, Melitopol and Berdyansk, cities occupied by Russian forces, have held “multiple” demonstrations protesting the occupation, the U.K. Defence Ministry said on Tuesday.
Protests in Kherson came as Russia may be making plans for a “referendum” to legitimize the region as a Russian-backed “breakaway republic,” similar to Donetsk, Luhansk and Crimea, the Ministry said.
“Further protests were reported in the city yesterday with Russian forces reportedly firing warning shots in an attempt to disperse peaceful protesters,” the Ministry said.
Russia is likely to “make further attempts to subvert Ukrainian democracy,” the update said.
“Russia has reportedly installed its own mayor in Melitopol following the alleged abduction of his predecessor on Friday 11 March,” the update said. “Subsequently, the Mayor of Dniprorudne has also reportedly been abducted by Russian forces.”
Mar 14, 9:56 pm
Latest talks with Russia went ‘pretty good,’ will continue tomorrow, Zelenskyy says
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy updated the status of negotiations with Russia in his latest address Monday, saying the latest talks went “pretty good” and will continue tomorrow.
Zelenskyy also addressed Russian troops, telling them they would be treated “decently” should they surrender.
“On behalf of the Ukrainian people, I give you a chance — chance to survive,” Zelenskyy said. “You surrender to our forces, we will treat you the way people are supposed to be treated. As people, decently.”
Zelenskyy also thanked the producer at a Russian state news channel who appeared on camera behind an anchor and held up an anti-war sign. She was later arrested.
“I am grateful to those Russians who do not stop trying to convey the truth,” he said. “To those who fight disinformation and tell the truth, real facts to their friends and loved ones. And personally to the woman who entered the studio of Channel One with a poster against the war.”
(NEW YORK) — With targets on the backs of her and her husband and from an undisclosed safe place, Ukraine’s first lady Olena Zelenska sent out a desperate two-word plea to America and the world: “STOP WAR.”
In an exchange of written messages with ABC News, Zelenska described the blitz of Russian missiles raining on Ukraine and the deaths of civilians, including at least 71 children, as “genocide.”
“I guess my message is very similar to the one the whole world delivers. Only two simple words: STOP WAR,” the 44-year-old Zelenska wrote, unable to speak by phone or in-person due to high-security risks.
‘Help us stop Russian atrocity’
After her husband of 18 years, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, was elected president of Ukraine in 2019, Zelenska launched an initiative as the first lady to improve the quality and nutrition of food in schools. But on Feb. 24, her priorities were dramatically altered when Russian tanks and troops invaded her country, leaving crisscrossed trails of destruction and death and prompting a diaspora of refugees, now topping 2.8 million.
Zelenska has become an inspiration to women across her war-torn land and the world, an outspoken mother of two beseeching the West to “help us to stop Russian atrocity in Ukraine.”
To reflect the stark realities of war, she has frequently posted images and videos on social media of hospital wards full of wounded citizens. She has also called Putin out for disingenuously describing the invasion as a “special operation.”
“When Russia says that it is ‘not waging war against civilians,’ I call out the names of these murdered children first,” she wrote in a 1,000-word “testimony” she publicly released last week.
‘I fear for my husband’
In her exchange with ABC News on Sunday, day 18 of the war, Zelenska said one of her greatest concerns is the well-being of her husband, who Ukrainian officials claim has been the target of several assassination attempts.
“As every woman in Ukraine, now I fear for my husband,” Zelenska wrote. “Every morning before I call him, I pray everything goes well. I also know how strong and enduring he is. He is able to withstand anything, especially when he defends people and things that he loves.”
Referring to Putin and his supporters in the Kremlin, she expressed doubt as to “whether they have ordinary and sincere human feelings.”
“Ask yourself these questions and you will understand the difference of views on this war,” she wrote.
‘It is genocide’
While imploring the West to help Ukraine, she has not shied away from criticizing Western leaders for being silent in response to Putin’s crackdown on the rights of his own citizens and his previous encroachments of her country’s borders.
“Today, our country and our civilians pay a very high price for the silence and hesitation regarding this issue. Yesterday, it was innocent women and children in the maternity hospital in Mariupol. We have lost more than 71 children because of the Russian war — it is genocide of the Ukrainian people,” Zelenska wrote to ABC News.
She added, “Moreover millions of people are suffering in Mariupol, Kharkiv, Irpin, Sumy and other cities. They don’t have water, food and medicine. Russian soldiers are blocking humanitarian aid. We need to stop it. By saying ‘we,’ I mean the whole world.”
Zelenska asked “citizens of America, Europe and the whole world” to hold their leaders accountable for “silently observing for decades while the regime, where you cannot express your opinion, where the nation has been turned into slaves, grew and strengthened.”
“Leaders have lost their chance for respect. But you haven’t yet!” Zelenska said. “Today, the key life decisions are made in the offices of people who YOU elected as leaders in your countries. These are YOU who gave and keep giving the right to act on your behalf. And when they do not act, when they let our kids die — these are YOU who give them this right.”
She said it “is essential” for the West to understand that Ukraine “is now protecting Europe and our shared values.”
“Every day of our fight increases the price that Ukraine pays for securing these values,” Zelenska wrote. “Surely, in this fight as a nation, we become stronger and tougher. I wish the sanctions against Russia from the U.S. and E.U. become the same: stronger and tougher.”
She repeated her husband’s call for NATO to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine, a request that has been rejected by the White House and the international community for fears it could start World War III if a Russian military jet is shot down in a confrontation with U.S. and NATO aircraft enforcing such a zone.
“We ask NATO to close our sky on behalf of all the people of Ukraine, or at least provide us with aircraft so we can defend our sky by ourselves,” Zelenska wrote.
‘You are giving life in the bomb shelters’
Zelenska directed a special message to Ukrainian women.
“You are giving life in the bomb shelters, calming children with lullabies, while Russian aviation keeps destroying our peaceful Ukrainian cities,” she wrote. “I admire your power. The power that becomes tougher than a hammer.”
She also directed a message specifically to American women.
“I appeal to you, women in America, and ask to support Ukrainian women and children who escaped from war and are looking for a shelter in your country,” she said. “These days every act of kindness and humanism is vital while we are bravely fighting for freedom for Ukraine, for Europe, for the whole world.”
