O n a narrow hillside road crowded with stucco apartment buildings in the Jenin refugee camp, 22-year-old “Abu Nidal” sits in an open storefront decorated with posters of fallen fighters, clutching his M16. Voices and static blare from the radio stuck to his green tactical vest. Flanked by young men …
Read More »Hollywood's Fight Against AI Puts Background Actors in the Spotlight
Actor Devix Szell was no stranger to film sets when he stepped onto the lot of a major upcoming film in the fall of 2022. As with most large-scale productions, Szell wasn’t too surprised when he was told by production members they wanted to take some scans of him in …
Read More »Malaysian Music Fest Shut Down by Government After Matty Healy Comments
The remainder of Kuala Lumpur’s Good Vibes music festival was canceled Saturday by the Malaysian government following comments made onstage by the 1975’s Matty Healy slamming the country’s anti-LGBTQ+ laws. Organizers said in a statement Saturday that following Healy’s “controversial conduct and remarks,” Malaysia’s Ministry of Communications and Digital issued …
Read More »Jason Aldean Addresses 'Small Town' Backlash at Cincinnati Show: 'Cancel Culture Is a Thing'
A defiant Jason Aldean addressed the backlash against his latest single “Try That in a Small Town” and pledged to continue performing the controversial track live during his Friday night concert in Cincinnati. “I gotta tell you guys, it’s been a long-ass week,” Aldean told the crowd at the Riverbend …
Read More »Special Counsel Probes Team Trump's Jan. 6 'War Room'
In the days and hours before the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, diehard Donald Trump allies gathered at Washington’s Willard Hotel, hunkered down as the last-ditch efforts to overturn the 2020 election went forward. What exactly they were doing in those meetings was a subject of intense interest for Congress’ Jan. …
Read More »Reality-TV Producers Are Torn Over the Hollywood Strikes
Scripted film and television projects are at a standstill for the foreseeable future while actors and writers across entertainment are striking for better contracts. Hollywood hasn’t seen such a historic moment since the last dual strike, which took place in 1960, leaving the industry wondering what the greater impact will …
Read More »Tony Bennett, Beloved Standards Crooner Who Bridged Generations, Dead at 96
Tony Bennett, the affable pre-rock standards crooner who came to be newly appreciated and beloved by everyone from the grunge generation to Lady Gaga, died on Friday. He was 96. Bennett’s publicist, Sylvia Weiner, confirmed the singer’s death to Rolling Stone, adding that he died in his hometown of New …
Read More »'They Cloned Tyrone': Netflix's Sci-Fi Blaxploitation Satire Cuts to the Bone
“A pimp, a ho, and a drug dealer walk into a bar,” says one character in They Cloned Tyrone, writer-director Juel Taylor’s conspiracy thriller/comedy/cautionary tale. It should be noted that the person making this statement is white, racist as hell, and works for a shady branch of the government that …
Read More »Nils Lofgren Is in the E Street Band and Crazy Horse — and He Still Found Time to Make a New Solo LP
In the early months of the pandemic, Nils Lofgren didn’t know what to do with himself. The guitarist had been on the road since the Sixties, when his band Grin took off, and in the years that followed he’d launched many solo tours between stints with Bruce Springsteen in the …
Read More »'I Found a Friend': Remembering Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga's Remarkable Partnership
Tony Bennett, who died today at the age of 96, was a singular figure in music — a classic crooner who weathered the fickle winds of popular music over multiple decades by adapting but never fundamentally changing who he was. His initial rise and success were astounding in their own …
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