Watch Bloody, Witty New Deadpool Red Band Trailer


Perhaps more than any other superhero film, Deadpools path from comic books to the big screen was paved with the help of a loud, fervent fan base that launched a grassroots campaign to get the movie made. To reward those fans this Christmas, before Deadpool arrives in theatres this February, another bloody, funny red band trailer of the Ryan Reynolds-starring action flick was unveiled, with the three-minute preview laying the foundation of the wisecracking, fourth wall-shattering heros origin story.

Like the first red band trailer that premiered in August, Deadpools dark, sardonic humor once again shares the spotlight with the gory, decapitation-happy violence. Youre probably thinking, This is a superhero movie but this guy in the suit just turned the other guy into a fucking kebab, Deadpool quips in the trailer after impaling a baddie with a pair of blades. Surprise: This is a different kind of superhero story.

Deadpool opens February 12th. Reynolds previously played a vastly different version of Deadpool in the 2009 film X-Men Origins: Wolverine. While the film is unconnected to the current X-Men franchises storyline, a pair of X-Men characters, Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead, appear in Deadpool.

Lady Gaga, Smash Among GLAAD Award Winners


Lady Gaga and the TV musical series Smash were among this years honorees Saturday by gay and lesbian media group GLAAD.

The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation gala in New York honored the best representations of gay community members in various media outlets including music, television, film, blogs and others. Glee stars Cory Montieth and Naya Rivera hosted the event.

Although not present at the ceremony, Lady Gaga won outstanding music artist for her 2011 album Born This Way. Smash producers Neil Meron and Craig Zadan (Chicago, Hairspray) received honors for their series, which features a healthy gay relationship during a Broadway show.

Being gay is part of who I am, so it impacts the work that we do, Zadan said. Meron said the two spent years working to fight, persuade and manipulate the entertainment industry to incorporate lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender characters and stories.

Last years indie film Pariah, following a lesbian black teenager in Brooklyn, earned an award as outstanding film in limited release award. HBOs Cinema Verite won best TV movie or miniseries. Openly gay high school student Katy Butler received a special honor in recognition of her anti-bullying efforts, while the award for outstanding TV segment went to ABC World News with Diane Sawyer for Battle Against Bullying.

Dancing With the Stars, featuring contestant Chaz Bono, the transgender child of Cher and Sonny Bono, was recognized as the years outstanding reality TV program. Other awards went to Oprah Winfrey, playwright Tony Kushners The Intelligent Homosexuals Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures, CNNs Anderson Cooper 360, the New York Times, the Boston Globe and The Advocate.

GLAAD plans to present more media awards in Los Angeles on April 21st and San Francisco on June 2nd.

Werner Herzog on Revenge Porn, Adult Diapers and the Internets Future


Since 1969, Werner Herzog has chased mirages in the Sahara desert, examined the plight of Nicaraguan child soldiers and documented the harrowing lives of Antarctica scientists. But in his new film Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World, the 73-year-old director tackles the most expansive project of his career: the Internet.

Told through a revolving series of profiles, Lo and Behold examines the history and future of the online world, dissecting everything from Internet addiction to hacktivist culture and self-driving cars. Each one of them could have been a movie by itself, the filmmaker says, and while theres still his singular, meditative voiceover that has been admired and parodied for years, the movies frenetic excitement and quirky characters feels more like a lost Errol Morris film than the veteran German documentarians recent work.

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In 2014, Herzog was asked to do a short clip about the Web after the success of From One Second to the Next, a 34-minute doc on the dangers of texting and driving. But he quickly realized how futile that format would be. It had to be something much deeper because my curiosity became so deep right away, he says. It started to become very expensive and I knew it had to be a long, feature-length documentary. The director waxed both practical and metaphysical to Rolling Stone about cyberbullying, why stupidity cannot be legislated and the question of whether the Internet dreams of itself. And yes, hes OK with you imitating his voice online.

The film shows numerous Internet addicts. What were your first impressions upon meeting them?
When I knew about the problem, I first thought I should go to China because there is a boot camp near Beijingthats the roughest and toughest of boot camps. But that would have been too far out and the problems of language, all these things. But I saw footage of a boy looking out a window and crying; he was asked, Why are you here? He played an [online] video game for literally two months, almost nonstop. He was almost dead and thats why his parents brought him there.

I found it very strange at first that [Internet] addiction can be as severe as heroin. In the cases we know about, young people would play until they die at the computer. Or in South Korea, there are these video arcades where young people would go and put adult diapers on so that they wouldnt have to interrupt [playing] their games and collecting points. They spent 56 hours nonstop doing this until they literally collapsed.

But more people would probably awkwardly laugh at the idea of an Internet addict versus a drug addict.
Right, because its too new. By now, we know theres a long history of gambling in Las Vegas. I think the casinos have been proactive and they look out for addicted gamblers at the slot machines; they will escort them out and try to point them to some sort of rehabilitation. But for the Internet or video games and things like this, we do not have enough experience yet in our societies. Its just such a new phenomenon. [In the future], it will be the same sort of recognition of something quite serious like gambling or heroin addiction.That is the logical results in our brains with endorphins, and our brain reaction will be recognized and will be understood much better.

You touch on cyberbullying in the film how did you want to approach the evil side of the Webs capabilities?
Well its not the Internet that is evil. Its human beings that are evil. They only have a new, different instrument to make it manifest, but its the same thing. Is the internet good or evil? Thats not a question that has any relevance. Its the same thing like, Is electricity good or evil? You dont ask this question.

But the technology can allow people to drive others to suicide in a way that wouldnt happen 30 years ago.
Sure. And I think that what all these young people have to do sooner or later is to create some sort of a filter. What does this instrument mean for me? How do I use it? Where do I draw borderlines in the sand which shouldnt be crossed? So all this is new terrain and we havent gotten very far into that. But its a question of conceptual thinking. Schools need to make young people understand that this tool should be used with a certain filter of understanding.

Do you think there should be classes taught in schools on-
[Interrupts] No, no, no. You shouldnt make everything into this kind of awful school curriculum.The principal telling you how to use a cell phone would be awful. Thats where young people should start to contemplate burning down their schoolhouse.

You talk to the family of Nikki Catsouras, the teenager whose gruesome photos following a fatal car accident leaked on the web. What was emblematic of her story that you wanted to focus on?
I think it just showed the collective ugliness in our society, but you cannot prevent it completely. Of course, legislation is problematic because when you are dead, you dont have the right of a person anymore. I think this question about viewing images cannot be legislated anyway. How shall I say this? Meanness or stupidity cannot be legislated.

Lo and Behold Documentary Internet

What about revenge porn? Not every state has laws mandating consent from both parties when sexual images or videos are posted online.
I think there is some legislation out anyway because as a living person, you have certain rights to your own image. I see that every single day as a filmmaker where no network or distribution company would ever show my film if I did not present release forms from people who are appearing onscreen.

There are certain rights and I do believe they are fairly sufficient. You cannot legislate everything. A person who is evil let the person be evil. You cant change that. But if this evil person somehow commits a transgression, crossing a line where the act becomes a criminal offense then of course you can do something.

Theres a great quote in the film from cosmologist Lawrence Krauss, who says, Will our childrens childrens children need the companionship of humans, or will they have evolved in a world where thats not important? What did you think when you first heard that quote?
Theres a deep and disquieting thought behind it. It somehow dissolves boundaries of humanness and our understanding of the self. Sometimes, its more important to raise a big question than ever getting a full answer to it. We dont have an answer. [19th century general Carl von] Clausewitz said in the 1820s, Sometimes war dreams of itself. And I find it a stunning observation. And now my question: Does the Internet dream of itself?

Thats a very Herzogian question.
[Laughs] Well, I took it from Clausewitz, but it doesnt really matter. You will never get a full satisfactory answer, but its much better sometimes to just pose a question that stirs your intellect, and engages you for a long time.

Well its not the Internet that is evil. Its human beings that are evil. They only have a new, different instrument to make it manifest. Its like, Is electricity good or evil? You dont ask this question.

Do you think a teenager raised on the Internet has worse social skills because theres less face-to-face interaction or better because interaction in general is more pervasive?
I think that [being online] is a secondary way to interact with other people. Our examination of the world around us should not be prominently delegated to a very artificial, substituted level of the Internet, or something that is not really palpable. I think that theres always been a great value in children digging a hole in the ground.

There is a paradigm shift in that the default communication for many people is this secondary communication. I only get phone calls from two people: my mom and my girlfriend.
Yes, but today, your mother and your girlfriend are apparently not the only people with whom you communicate. How do you communicate today? Do you write emails or what do you do?

Mostly texting.
But the texting would probably be very short sentences and very short thoughts.

Right, thats the point. Its hard to communicate thoroughly via text but if you call someone to say Hello, theyll think its an emergency or somethings wrong.
Why dont you simply prepare a wonderful steak? Have them at your dinner table and switch off all cell phones.

What effect do you think the Internet has had on the way the younger generation interacts?
Quite often you can tell that they dont have a real grasp on the real world. And its funny because when Grizzly Manwas released [in 2005], many comments on the Internet came in from young people who needed to discuss that all of this footage could only have been created in the studio with digital effects. No man can reach out with his hand and touch the nose of a 1,000 pound grizzly bear. So they admit that its inconceivable that this could be an event filmed without digital effects.

Does that concern you or make you laugh?
No, it is just it is. And you have to watch out when people do not have a solid basis in the real world anymore. It can have other consequences. They dont understand why we are going to war. They do not understand what is going on when they are drafted, sent out and deployed to a foreign country. They are tossed out into a situation that they cannot comprehend anymore. Its unsettling. You better prepare the soldiers that are going out into combat. You better prepare them for something real out there.

Lo and Behold Documentary Internet

What do you think the Internet will look like in 100 years?
I think fundamentally the same. It will only be faster, and you can move [larger] amounts of information to more sites at the same time. Its the same thing 100 years ago [about] the first telephones. Today, a telephone still is basically the same type of telephone, only that it is less expensive and it goes via satellite. I think, fundamentally, cars are the same too.

Theres a segment about self-driving cars in the film and in June, the first fatal crash involving one occurred. Do you think that theyll be realistic in the near future?
I think its realistic, but its not ready yet. A fatality like this is a very sobering moment. I like that we are not just blindly walking into new possibilities. Lets say Amazon is sending out packages via drones. Wait until the first drone has been sucked into a jet engine of a Boeing 747 and everybodys killed onboard. Wait until the first drone slams into a school bus and cuts the face of a little girl. Then all of a sudden, you will understand safety concerns and theres something which doesnt feel right.

I think its an erroneous route being taken. Its fine if youre somewhere rural and you send a drone from the local post office to the isolated farm house. But its not going to become the mass phenomenon that the skies are going to be abuzz, like swarms of hornets with drones. Its not gonna happen.

Do you think machines will ever be able to fall in love like humans?
Uh. [Long pause] Well its a hypothetical question. I would say no although its a cautious no. Lets say 1,000 years from now, we may have machinery with such deeply implanted artificial intelligence, that emotions might become part of their existence.

What do you make of all the Werner Herzog imitators who parody your voice?
I think its good to have a certain amount of, um, how shall I say, irony. And its quite OK that there are voice impersonators. Theyre like my unpaid bodyguards. They do battle out there, and Im glad that they exist. The root of all of this is I have given my voice to a guest figure in The Simpsons and have become one of the villains inJack Reacher.Its simply because I love everything that has to do with cinema.

Zach Galifianakis Plays a Seventies Cop on Cut SNL Skit


Zach Galifianakis hosted Saturday Night Live this past weekend, part of which included traveling to the Seventies to play an offbeat cop in a fake TV show called Kanish. Galifianakis stars as a cop with a mysterious source of information, played by Bill Hader. However, the "gritty" detective drama is plagued by miserably timed freeze-frames, leading to awkward and horrible transitions that doom the show.

Unfortunately, the Kanish skit was cut from last weekend's show after dress rehearsals, but the strange bit lives on online. Blame a "tiny coked-up monkey" for that awful editing.

Jurassic World


Its not the cynical, cash-in cheesefest you feared. OK, Jurassic World is a little of that. But this state-of-the-art dino epic is also more than a blast of rumbling, roaring, did you effing see that! fun. Its got a wicked streak of subversive attitude that goes by the name of Colin Trevorrow. Hes the director and co-writer whose only previous feature credit, a nifty 2012 indie called Safety Not Guaranteed, cost $750,000, chump change on a studio product like this, which cost wait for it $150 million.

For starters, Trevorrow is a fanboy of all things Jurassic and Steven Spielberg, who directed the first twoJurassicfilms and rode herd as an exec producer on this one. But even with the boss looking over his shoulder, Trevorrow, with his writing partner, Derek Connolly, redrafted the existing script to get in his own licks. That means throwing a few bombs at a public that thinks better is defined solely by upping the wow factor. Style, character and emotion are fatally retro or, worse, so three Jurassic epics ago. If you intend to watch this new take while binge-checking your smartphone, Trevorrow has a few darts aimed your way.

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But, first, lets play catch-up. The big attraction that John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) envisioned in 1993s Jurassic Park never opened; too many creatures created from dino DNA wreaked havoc on humans. In Jurassic World, the third sequel in the series, the park has been open for 22 years. But the tourists are jaded. Dinos have been domesticated. Kiddies ride tamed triceratops. And when a great white shark (name-check, Jaws) is swallowed in one gulp by a Mosasaurus, all the public gets is splashed. Safety is guaranteed. Boring! The fans want danger bigger, faster dinos with more teeth. If thats not Hollywood in a nutshell, I dont know my inflated, degraded CGI epics, in 3D and IMAX, fromTransformers to San Andreas.

To stay in business, Jurassic World, the park, needs to give the public what it wants: blood. For Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard), the operations manager, that means building a better tourist trap in the scary form of an Indominus rex, created from a mix of, heck, Ill never tell. But shes a beauty and a terror, forcing the park to erect a wall to hold her (name-check, King Kong).

Enter our hero, Owen (the ber-relatable Chris Pratt), an animal-behavior expert (he tames velociraptors) so human his shirts stink from sweat. Can his raptors bring down the Indominus? Or will a bullying profiteer (Vincent DOnofrio) rain down holy terror? Not so fast. First, Owen and Claire have to get it on in the 1980s style of Romancing the Stone. An early clip from Jurassic World inspired Avengers directorJoss Whedon to tweet, Shes a stiff, hes a life force really? Still?

Dont groan. Pratt cheers to Star-Lord of Guardians of the Galaxy aces it as an action hero and invests his sexual banter with a comic flair the movie could have used more of. And Howard, a dynamo, is nobodys patsy. Claire can do everything Owen does, and in heels. She also protects her two visiting nephews, 11-year-old Gray (Ty Simpkins) and 16-year-old Zach (Nick Robinson). The boys have a killer scene in a gyroscope with video commentary from, of all peeps, Jimmy Fallon. Its hilarious till the gyro goes flooey and turns the kids into dino bait.

Trevorrow relishes turning tourists (read us) into material for chomping. We get what we wish for. And we care because theres a humanity in the characters, even Lowery (Jake Jonson), a park techie who collects toy dinos and wears a tee from the original Jurassic Park that he bought on eBay. Lowery is a realist who sees things with childlike wonder. So does Trevorrow, who recaptures the thrilling spirit of the Spielberg original (name-check, T. rex) with fresh provocation: Is bigger always better, or is it an empty, soulless thing ready to bite us on the ass? Jurassic World will scare the hell out of you, and not just for the obvious reasons.

Watch Matthew McConaughey Get People High on Kimmel


Matthew McConaughey fully embraced Moondog, his character from the upcoming movie The Beach Bum, as he went undercover for Jimmy Kimmel Live in an attempt to get random strangers high. Dressed as Moondog in a long blond wig and captains hat, the actor went out onto Hollywood Boulevard to convince people to test out some cannabis-infused food items, which, spoiler alert, are just regular food items.

In the clip, McConaughey sets up a spread of his pot-infused products on the sidewalk and invites passersby to taste them. His first victim is a woman who tries a pot dog, which includes some THC-infused ketchup and mustard (which are really normal condiments). Now before you try one of these I gotta tell you its a very quick ramp, the actor says. Meaning in five to six seconds youre gonna feel it. He counts down from six after she takes a bite and then ask how she feels. Tingly! the woman claims. Its so nice.

McConaughey also puts eye drops in a mans eyes, sprays another with deodorant before blowing bubbles in his face and gets a guy to drink a purple liquid out of a jar.

The video was shot as part of the actors recent appearance on Kimmel alongside Snoop Dogg, who also stars in The Beach Bum, director Harmony Korines latest movie.

Americas Got Talent Recap: Hate Myself for Loving You


Monday nights Americas Got Talent, the first of two days of auditions in New York, broke an unspoken code of conduct for reality-based talent competitions: the obscenely bad acts were largely ignored. Was it a smart move to showcase only the top-tier acts? No, it was not. In our eyes, this move only further emphasized the mediocrity of the shows talent. Without the downright despicable acts, the decent ones could no longer shine bright.

What would be the shows strategy on Day Two in the Big Apple? It didnt take long to find out: right out of the gate we were bludgeoned with the strange, brutal and bizarre. Of course, as is the case with any talent competition, there were also some winners. Cue the breakdown.

The Real Business

1. Tom Cotter, standup comic: We try not to let those intro montages for any contestant color us. But after learning about this father of three, a longtime comedy club rat who claims to have been working on his craft for 23 years, we couldnt help but root for him. Thankfully, Cotter was a smash. His jokes were effortlessly witty, his timing was exact and, above all, he looked completely at ease. Sample material: I used to go over and bounce on my neighbors tramp-arlene. Yeah, their daughters name was Arlene. Stern and Mandel loved him, and Cotter, after being put through to Vegas, said he felt birth-of-my-children excited.

2. Donovan and Rebecca, acrobalancers: This husband and wife duo, wearing white leotards with what looked like matching codpieces, were freakishly adept at pulling off crazy Cirque du Soleil-style acrobatics. Their act had an added twist: when they werent doing insane, flexible balancing acts linked with one another, Rebecca was picking up her 200-pound husband with what looked like relative ease. Osbourne called the performance a love scene from a sci-fi movie. Normally these types of acts bore us. This one certainly did not.

3. Tyrese Green, a.k.a Stepz, dancer: A native of Peterson, New Jersey, Stepz claims to bring everything around him to life when he dances. Thanks to his innate ability to contort his body in ungodly ways and shuffle around the stage in that super slow-mo mode on your old VCR, this 22-year-old wowed the judges . . . and us. There was some debate as to whether his talents could support an entire arena-size show. Were a bit skeptical, too. Regardless, theres no denying dudes talent.

Not So Much

1. John Pizzi, comedian/ventriloquist: When a guy tells you hes worked every gig from bar mitzvahs to opening for strippers you want to like him, if for nothing else than the obvious fact that hes got some serious drive. But all Pizzis act revolved around was bad ventriloquism and an iPad-operated digital screen with moving pictures of each judges face. His jokes were solely about sexual tension between the judges, which wasnt funny, cause there isnt any. It also didnt help that he had blond tips a la N Sync-era Justin Timberlake. The judges liked Pizzi and put him through to Vegas. Were baffled.

2. Ivy Rose, band: Were all about gender equality, so we need to put this out there: if this four-piece all-female band had been four dudes who performed an equally mediocre version of Joan Jett & the Blackhearts I Hate Myself for Loving You, theres not a chance they would have made it through. Were all for female bands, but this one wasnt any good, and certainly didnt deserve to advance.

3. All Beef Patty, singer: The premise for this act was awesome: she (or is it he) is a drag queen with a giant pink wig who sang Lady Gagas You and I. On paper, this sounds like a surefire smash. And while the judges praised her for having what they deemed to be supreme vocal chops, we didnt see it. It was all tin, no steel. Stern thought All Beef Patty was a terrific entertainer. We usually agree with him. But this time we beg to differ.

The Bizarro Bunch

1. Ronald Charles, entertainer: Landing the opening slot for the show had us thinking this vest-wearing twenty-something was about to wow us. Instead, Charles sashayed around like a moron for a few minutes after counting off to seven and then, in his worst decision, opened his mouth and let out the ghastly terror he refers to as his voice. It was so awful that Stern, whose parents were in the audience, decided to bring his father on stage to give Charles a lecture about how he needs to find a new career path. To top it off, Charles referred to Stern as maam. Somebody get this guy outta here!

2. Snorting comedian: Theres some acts you wish had been given more screen time. This is one of them. In the few seconds we saw this middle-aged women repeatedly saying Im sorry, and then interrupting herself by unleashing a killer hog snort, we were captivated. Call this our bizarro crush.

3. Duane Atlas, rocker: Armed with what appeared to be a pink toy guitar while donning a yellow windbreaker, this dad-age rocker, whom Osbourne said looked like the roadie for the Sex Pistols, was flat-out garbage. He couldnt sing. He had a bad attitude. And he reminded us why, even though its oftentimes painful to watch, reality talent competitions need bizarros like Duane Atlas to make the audition process amusing.

Last episode: Whatcha Gonna Do?

Cher Returns With Womans World on The Voice Finale


Cher ended a 10-year hiatus from performing on TV last night with the debut of her new single Womans World during the Season Four finale of NBCs The Voice. The song is from her upcoming studio album Closer to the Truth, which is due in September.

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Sporting a fuchsia fauxhawk and dressed in a patchwork of punk-inspired black clothing, the 67-year-old pop icon gingerly worked the stage amid strobe lights and a bevy of scantily-clad backup dancers while singing the female empowerment, dance-pop track co-penned and co-produced by the acclaimed British DJ Paul Oakenfold.

Chers last TV performance was also on NBC in the 2003 special Cher: The Farewell Tour, which attracted 17 million viewers. Her last studio album was 2001s Living Proof, which included the dance hits (This Is) A Song for the Lonely and A Different Kind of Love Song.

Michael Fassbender Razes Bad Guys in Assassins Creed Trailer


Michael Fassbender wreaks havoc in the firsttrailer for Assassins Creed, the new movie based on the video game franchise of the same name.

The clip which premiered on Jimmy Kimmel Live Wednesday stars Fassbender as Callum Lynch, a career criminalwhose execution is faked so that he can be used by the nefarious Abstergo Industries. Led by Marion Cotillards character, Sophia Rikkin, the group straps Lynch to a machine called the Animus, which sends him back in time so that they can mine the memories of his assassin ancestor, Aguilar.

The machine rips Lynch to the last place hed ever expect: The Spanish Inquisition. Set to Kanye Wests I Am a God,the rest of the trailer showcases several outrageous action sequences.

Assassins Creedwas directed by Justin Kurzel and also stars Jeremy Irons, Brendan Gleeson and Michael Kenneth Williams. The movie opensDecember 21st.

Golden Globes 2017: La La Land, People v. O.J. Simpson Lead Nominees


La La Land, The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, Deadpool and Stranger Things are among the movies and TV series to receive multiple nominations in major category at the 74th annual Golden Globe Awards, set for January 8th on NBC.

In the Best Picture, Drama category, the acclaimed Moonlight will be up against Manchester by the Sea, Hell or High Water, Hacksaw Ridge and Lion, while the Best Picture, Comedy category sees musical La La Land competing against Deadpool, 20th Century Women, Florence Foster Jenkins and Sing Street.

In total, La La Land racked up seven nominations, including Best Actor and Actress, Comedy nods for Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, Best Screenplay and Best Director for Damien Chazelle, Best Original Score and Best Original Song for City of Stars.

For Best Actor, Comedy, Gosling will be challenged by The Lobsters Colin Farrell,Florence Foster Jenkins Hugh Grant, War Dogs Jonah Hill and Deadpools Ryan Reynolds (who celebrated the nomination). The Best Actress, Comedy category features Stone alongsideFlorence Foster Jenkins Meryl Streep,The Edge of SeventeensHailee Steinfeld, 20th Century Womens Annette Bening and Lily Collins from Rules Dont Apply.

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Streep will also receive the 2017 Cecil B. DeMille award during this years ceremony.

On the drama side, the five Best Actor nominees are Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea), Joel Edgerton (Loving), Andrew Garfield (Hacksaw Ridge), Viggo Mortensen (Captain Fantastic) and Denzel Washington (Fences).

For Best Actress, Natalie Portmans portrayal of Jackie Onassis in Jackie scored a nomination, along with Amy Adams for Arrival, Jessica Chastain for Miss Sloane, Isabelle Huppert for Elle and Ruth Negga for Loving.

In the Best TV Miniseries category, the Emmy-winning The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story will face off for the Golden Globe against The Night Manager, The Night Of, American Crime and The Dresser.

Additionally, four People v. O.J. Simpson actors Courtney B. Vance, Sterling K. Brown and Sarah Paulsen, who all won Emmys for their O.J. roles, as well as John Travolta were nominated in Golden Globe acting categories.

Netflixs Stranger Things also received from Golden Globes love as the throwback sci-fi series earned a nomination for Best TV Series, Drama and recognized Winona Ryder for Best Actress, Drama. In the drama category, Stranger Things will face off against perennial favorite Game of Thrones, The Crown, This Is Us and Westworld.

The Jimmy Fallon-hosted 74th annual Golden Globes air live on January 8th on NBC. Check out the full list of Golden Globes nominees at the award shows official site.

Best Motion Picture, Drama

Moonlight
Hell or High Water
Lion
Manchester By the Sea
Hacksaw Ridge

Best Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical

La La Land
20th Century Women
Deadpool
Florence Foster Jenkins
Sing Street

Best Director, Motion Picture
Damien Chazelle, La La Land
Tom Ford, Nocturnal Animals
Mel Gibson, Hacksaw Ridge
Barry Jenkins, Moonlight
Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester By the Sea

Best Screenplay, Motion Picture
Arrival
Nocturnal Animals
La La Land
Manchester By the Sea
Moonlight
Hell or High Water

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama
Casey Affleck, Manchester By the Sea
Joel Edgerton, Loving
Denzel Washington, Fences
Andrew Garfield, Hacksaw Ridge
Viggo Mortensen, Captain Fantastic

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama
Amy Adams, Arrival
Jessica Chastain, Miss Sloane
Natalie Portman, Jackie
Ruth Negga, Loving
Isabelle Huppert, Elle

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical
Colin Farrell, The Lobster
Hugh Grant, Florence Foster Jenkins
Jonah Hill, War Dogs
Ryan Gosling, La La Land
Ryan Reynolds, Deadpool

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical
Emma Stone, La La Land
Hailee Steinfeld, The Edge of Seventeen
Lily Collins, Rules Dont Apply
Annette Bening, 20th Century Women
Meryl Streep, Florence Foster Jenkins

Best Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
Mahershala Ali, Moonlight
Jeff Bridges, Hell or High Water
Dev Patel, Lion
Simon Helberg, Florence Foster Jenkins
Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Nocturnal Animals

Best Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
Viola Davis, Fences
Naomie Harris, Moonlight
Nicole Kidman, Lion
Octavia Spencer, Hidden Figures
Michelle Williams, Manchester By the Sea

Best Original Song in Motion Picture
Lin-Manuel Miranda How Far Ill Go (Moana)
Iggy Pop and Danger Mouse Gold (Gold)
Justin Timberlake Cant Stop the Feeling (Trolls)
Stevie Wonder and Ariana Grande Faith (Sing)
Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone City of Stars (La La Land)

Best Original Score in a Motion Picture
Justin Hurwitz La La Land
Nicholas Britell Moonlight
Dustin OHalloran and Hauschka Lion
Jhann Jhannsson Arrival
Benjamin Wallfisch, Pharrell Williams, and Hans Zimmer Hidden Figures

Best Foreign Film
Divines
Elle
Neruda
The Salesman
Tony Erdmann

Animated Feature Film
Kubo and the Two Strings
My Life As A Zucchini
Moana
Sing
Zootopia

TV Nominations

Best TV Series, Drama
Westworld
Stranger Things
The Crown
This Is Us
Game of Thrones

Best Comedy Series
Atlanta
Black-ish
Mozart in the Jungle
Transparent
Veep

Best TV Miniseries or Movie
American Crime
The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
The Night Of
The Night Manager
The Dresser

Best Performance by an Actor in a TV Series, Drama
Billy Bob Thornton, Goliath
Rami Malek, Mr. Robot
Matthew Rhys, The Americans
Bob Odenkirk, Better Caul Saul
Liev Schrieber, Ray Donovan

Best Performance by an Actress in TV Series, Drama
Claire Foy, The Crown
Evan Rachel Wood, Westworld
Caitriona Balfe, Outlander
Keri Russell, The Americans
Winona Ryder, Stranger Things

Best Performance by an Actor in TV Series, Comedy
Donald Glover, Atlanta
Anthony Anderson, Black-ish
Gael Garcia Bernal, Mozart in the Jungle
Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent
Nick Nolte, Graves

Best Performance by an Actress in TV Series, Comedy
Rachel Bloom, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
Sarah Jessica Parker, Divorce
Issa Rae, Insecure
Gina Rodriguez, Jane the Virgin
Tracy Ellis Ross, Black-ish
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep

Best Performance by a Supporting Actor in TV
Sterling K. Brown, The People vs. O.J. Simpson
Hugh Laurie, The Night Manager
John Lithgow, The Crown
John Travolta, The People vs. O.J. Simpson
Christian Slater, Mr. Robot

Best Performance by Supporting Actress in TV
Olivia Colman, The Night Manager
Chrissy Metz, This Is Us
Lena Headey, Game of Thrones
Mandy Moore, This Is Us
Thandie Newton, Westworld

Best Performance by an Actor in a TV Miniseries or Movie
Tom Hiddleston, The Night Manager
Courtney B. Vance, The People vs. O.J. Simpson
Riz Ahmed, The Night Of
John Turturro, The Night Of
Bryan Cranston, All the Way

Best Performance by an Actress in a TV Miniseries or Movie
Sarah Paulson, The People vs. O.J. Simpson
Felicity Huffman, American Crime
Kerry Washington, Confirmation
Riley Keough, The Girlfriend Experience
Charlotte Rampling, London Sky

Netflix Details Documentary on Grateful Dead Founder Bob Weir


Netflix has scooped up a new documentary on Grateful Deadco-founder Bob Weir, The Other One: The Long Strange Trip of Bob Weir, which willpremiere on the streaming service on Friday, May 22nd, Varietyreports.

Directed by Mike Fleiss a producer for The Bachelor and numerous other shows, as well as the director of the 2011 documentary, God Bless Ozzy Osbourne The Other One offers an in-depth look at Weirs life, from his childhood in Palo Alto, California to his success with the Dead and beyond.

The movie also pays close attention to Weirs partnership with Jerry Garcia and features interviews with Weirs Grateful Dead bandmates, other musical colleagues, family and the musician himself. The Other One also boasts plenty of performance and archival footage, and, in a statement, Fleiss teased, We certainly unearthed a lot of buried treasure from the Grateful Dead archive while making this film.

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In other Grateful Dead news, drummer Bill Kreutzmanns band Billy & the Kids will headline an exclusive show alongside a handful of surprise guests at Washington D.C.s 9:30 club on May 13th. Tickets are currently on sale via Ticketfly. The gig takes place the night before Kreutzmann joins the surviving Grateful Dead members and a slew of all-star musicians including Bruce Hornsby, Eric Church, Moe. and Los Lobos topay tribute to Garcia witha specialDear Jerryconcertat Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland.

All this comes ahead of the Grateful Deads string of highly anticipated Fare Thee Well shows. The band willplay two Bay Area gigsat Santa Clara, Californias Levis Stadium on June 27th and 28th, followed by a three-night stand at Soldier Fieldin Chicago, July 3rd through 5th.

Those Chicago showswill be broadcast live in select movie theatersvia Fathom Events. Tickets for the nightly five-hour screenings will go on sale May 4th; and the screenings themselves will begineach nightat 8 p.m. ET.

You Were Never Really Here Review: Joaquin Phoenixs Revenge Thriller is Brutal, Brilliant


Joaquin Phoenix is simply stupendous in You Were Never Really Here. His performance is damn near flammabledangerous if you get too close. What a team he makes with Scottish writer-director Lynne Ramsay, whose output is small but inarguably stunning (Ratcatcher, Movern Caller, We Need to Talk About Kevin). Working from a 2013 novel by Jonathan Ames, the actor and the filmmaker craft a fiercely brilliant drama that gets under your skin and makes it crawl.

Phoenix plays Joe, a war vet who supports himself and his ailing mom (Judith Roberts) by working as a hit man. Killing is taking its toll on Joe; his PTSD has been sparking suicidal urges. We see him leaning over railroad tracks or covering his head with a plastic bag, removing it only when its almost too late. His boss (The Wires John Doman) distracts him with a new assignment: rescue Nina (Ekaterina Samsonov), the 13-year-old daughter of Sen. Albert Votto (Alex Manette). Shes been kidnapped and forced to do the perverted bidding of rich pedophiles, and its Joes job to get Nina out of the heavily-guarded Manhattan brownstone where shes being held. Our mans preferred weapon of choice is a ball peen hammer. The senator urges him to be brutal.

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Thats the setup, which suggests Taxi Driver mixed with standard thriller tropes that would derail a lesser film. Dont be fooled by the familiar here: Ramsay goes her own way with a feverish originality that never trucks with the obvious. And Phoenix plumbs the violence of the mind with chilling authenticity. The actor has stated that the filmmaker gave him an audio file of fireworks mixed with gunshots to suggest whats going on in Joes head. You can almost hear the noise, too, even when hes silent.

All praise to Radioheads Jonny Greenwood (Phantom Thread, There Will Be Blood) for a thrilling score that blends its beats with the chaotic noise of the streets a pulsating tempo that drives the plot forward. Ramsay refuses to revel in gore, preferring to show Joe in preparation for a kill or dealing with its aftermath. Yet its the sweet tenderness in Joe that comes a shock. His scenes with Nina, beautifully played by Samsonov, become a lifeline for Joe as darkness falls. In one astounding scene, Joe sits with a dying victim, gently singing along to Charlenes Ive Never Been to Me.

The technique is expressionistic, even elliptical; cinematographer Thomas Townend know how to paint with light to tell the story, including flashbacks to the abuse Joe suffered as a child at hands of father who also wielded a hammer to rage at the world. Theres no sentimentality in her approach, even when this antihero struggles for some kind of redemption she simply gives us a film of jabbing intensity that gives way to an impassioned struggle for humanity. You Were Never Really Here barely takes up 90 minutes of screen time. Trust us, you wont know what hit you.

Kaboom


The new queer Cinema would be way less fun without Gregg Araki. This tale of polysexual college life threatened by cults and world annihilation falls into the category of old-school Araki (Totally F***ed Up, The Doom Generation) rather than the maturity of Mysterious Skin. Kaboom is an erotic blast of sinful flesh, fun and fantasy that you dont want to stop.

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Thomas Dekker (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) stars as Smith, a film-studies major undecided about his sexuality. Smith sleeps with a girl, the pert and free-spirited London (Juno Temple, daughter of director Julien and a sorceress of an actress). But he lusts for his straight, viking roomie Thor (Chris Zylka) who lies in bed naked, legs in the air, trying with the concentration of an Olympian to suck himself off. London has a theory about an alleged straight guy with an anal way of arranging his shoes: Aside from putting a dick in your mouth while listening to Lady Gaga, thats about as gay as it gets.

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The plot morphs from strange to sci-fi surreal when Smith confides to his lezzie bestie, Stella (sass queen Haley Bennett), that he has a recurring dream of being menaced by men in animal masks, which may have something to do with Stellas being stalked by a nympho witch (Roxane Mesquida). Got that? Dont sweat it. Araki constructs the hot-blooded Kaboom as a high-wire act without a safety net. Go with it.

The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada


Sam Peckinpah Lives! The Rampaging spirit of the late filmmaker, known as Bloody Sam for films such as The Wild Bunch and Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia, is all over this blistering modern Western from first-time director Tommy Lee Jones. It took Jones a while hes pushing sixty to get behind the camera, but he fills every frame of his debut with the ferocity and feeling of his best screen performances. Add his role as Texas ranch foreman Pete Perkins to that gallery. Jones took the best-actor prize at Cannes, and Guillermo Arriaga (Amores Perros, 21 Grams) won for his potent and provocative script. Arriaga builds a simple plot -Pete is determined to bring the body of his murdered friend Melquiades Estrada (Julio Cesar Cedillo) to his Mexican home for burial into a scathing attack on inhumanity as timely as Abu Ghraib. Pete drags along Mike Norton (a superb Barry Pepper), the border-patrol cop who shot Melquiades, and forces him to care for the rotting corpse. Encompassing characters that include Mikes hottie wife (January Jones), a married waitress (Melissa Leo) whos been shacking up with Pete, and a sheriff (Dwight Yoakam) who thinks the rights of a Mexican illegal arent worth a piss, the film slaps you hard with its brutality and gallows humor and then locates compassion in the unlikeliest of places. Jones shakes you in ways you do not see coming. His movie is a powder keg.

Jay Z to Co-Helm Trayvon Martin Film, Documentary Series


Jay Z and film studio Weinstein Company are teaming up to helm movie and television projects about Trayvon Martin, the unarmed teenager who was killed by George Zimmerman in 2012, Variety reports.

Jay Z recently acquired the rights to two books Suspicion Nation: The Inside Story of the Trayvon Martin Injustice and Why We Continue to Repeat It by Lisa Bloom and Rest in Power: The Enduring Life of Trayvon Martin authored by Trayvons parents Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin which will serve as the basis for the projects.

Suspicious Nation is told from the perspective of covering the Zimmerman trial for NBC. Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch member in the Florida community where he and Martin both lived, shot and killed the unarmed 17-year-old. Zimmerman was acquitted on a second-degree murder charge after claiming he shot Martin in self-defense. The verdict sparked protests nationwide. Rest in Power reflects on Martins childhood and the aftermath following the death of Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martins son.

The planned works include a six-part docuseries that Jay Z will produce and a narrative feature film that will be developed by the studio.

Jay Z has been a strong advocate in seeking justice and speaking against inequality in recent years. In 2013, he and Beyonc participated in a rally for Martin in New York. Last year, Jay Z tackled police brutality in his protest song spiritual and his Tidal company donated $1.5 million to Black Lives Matter-related causes.

Earlier this month, Jay Z and Harvey Weinstein discussed the six-part documentary series Jay Z executive produced, Time: The Kalief Browder Story, which delves into the need for criminal justice and prison reform during an event at Spike TVs New York studios. Browder was arrested at age 16 for allegedly stealing a backpack and spent more than 1,000 days at the notorious prison facility Rikers Island without a trial. He later took his own life at age 22.

8 Mile, L.A. Confidential Director Curtis Hanson Dead at 71


Filmmaker Curtis Hanson, who directed Eminem in his film debut 8 Mileand earned an Oscar for his script for L.A. Confidential,died Tuesday, Varietyreports. He was 71.

According to reports, paramedics responded to a call about an unconscious man and Hanson was pronounced dead at the scene. A cause of death has yet to be confirmed, though a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department said Hanson died of natural causes.

Per The Hollywood Reporter, Hanson began his career as a film journalist, conducting interviews with filmmakers like John Ford and Vincente Minnelli. Following this crash course in filmmaking, Hanson turned to screenwriting, penning his first two films, Dunwich Horrorand Sweet Kill(which he also directed) for beloved B-movie producer/director Roger Corman.

Over the next two decades, Hanson turned to directing and helmed an array of films, from the early Tom Cruise comedy, Losin It, to the Rob Lowe and James Spader crime drama Bad Influence,to the revenge thriller, The Hand That Rocks the Cradle.

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Hanson continued to write as well, and for years he and Brian Helgeland worked on an adaptation of James Ellroys labyrinthian noir, L.A. Confidential. In a 2001 interview with The A.V. Club, Hanson said, I had always wanted to tell a story that was set in Los Angeles in the 50s, because thats where I grew up, and it was the city of my childhood memories. I wanted to deal with that and also pursue this theme that interested me, which is the difference between illusion and reality, the way people and things appear to be versus how they really are. And Hollywood, of course, is the city of illusion. So that was near and dear to me, and extremely personal.

Released in 1997, L.A. Confidentialwas a huge hit and earned Hanson and Helgeland the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. Hanson, however, lost out on both Best Director and Best Picture to James Cameron and Titanic.

AfterL.A. Confidential, Hanson directedWonder Boysan adaptation of Michael Chabons novel of the same name and followed it with8 Mile.In a 2002 interview with Rolling Stone, Hanson spoke about working with Eminem, who was not just a first-time actor, but also the inspiration for the film.

I knew going into it that he had experience performing and also adopting a character, Slim Shady, Hanson said. What I was looking for was actually the opposite of that. When you adopt a characterization, thats artificial. You hide behind that. What I needed in this story was the appearance of a complete lack of artifice. I needed the appearance of one more or less exposing himself emotionally. And, so in my getting to know him, I had to assess and then make an educated guess of whether he would be able to do to that and whether he would trust me and the environment I would create enough to do that.

Curtis Hanson believed in me and our crazy idea to make a rap battle movie set in Detroit, Eminem said in a statement. He basically made me into an actor for 8 Mile. Im lucky I got to know him.

After 8 Mile, Hanson directed In Your Shoes, Lucky Youand Too Big to Fail HBOs dramatization of the 2008 financial crisis but while filming the surf movie Chasing Mavericks,he was forced to drop out due to an undisclosed illness. Michael Apted finished the 2012 movie, which now stands as Hansons last.

U.S. Treasury Imposes Sanctions Against North Korea Following Sony Cyber Attack


After confirming that North Korea was behind the crippling Sony cyber attack, President Barack Obama promised to levya proportional and appropriate response for the hack. The U.S. Department of the Treasury revealed the first wave of that actionFriday, issuing sanctions against the government of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) as well as some DPRK-controlled businesses.

In the Executive Order, the United States escalates financial pressure against the Reconnaissance General Bureau (North Koreas primary intelligence organization), the Korea Tangun Trading Corporation and the Korea Mining Development Trading Corporation (North Koreas primary arms dealer and main exporter of goods and equipment related to ballistic missiles and conventional weapons). The Executive Order also sanctions 10 individuals affiliated with the DPRK.

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The order is not targeted at the people of North Korea, but rather is aimed at the government of North Korea and its activities that threaten the United States and others, Obama said in a letter to Congress. White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest added that the sanctions were the first aspect of the Presidents response to the cyber attack. We take seriously North Koreas attack that aimed to create destructive financial effects on a U.S. company and to threaten artists and other individuals with the goal of restricting their right to free expression, Earnest said (via Mashable).

The FBI first revealed that North Korea was centrally involvedfor the Sony hack, since the studio produced Seth Rogens The Interview, a comedy that satirically demythologized and assassinated North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong-un. After dispersing Sony Pictures upcoming films and private emails, the hackers known as the Guardians of Peace threatened terrorist acts against any movie theatres that screened The Interview on its Christmas theatrical release, which caused Sony to pull the film entirely.

After President Obama called Sonys withdrawal of The Interviewa mistake, the studio quickly brainstormed avenues in which to release the day on Christmas, settling on indie cinemasand a video-on-demand release. Meanwhile, the DPRK has consistently denied a rolein the Sony cyber attack and have accused the United States for internet outages in North Korea.

Todays actions are driven by our commitment to hold North Korea accountable for its destructive and destabilizing conduct. Even as the FBI continues its investigation into the cyber-attack against Sony Pictures Entertainment, these steps underscore that we will employ a broad set of tools to defend U.S. businesses and citizens, and to respond to attempts to undermine our values or threaten the national security of the United States, said Secretary of the Treasury Jacob J. Lew in a statement.

The actions taken today under the authority of the Presidents new Executive Order will further isolate key North Korean entities and disrupt the activities of close to a dozen critical North Korean operatives, Lew contined. We will continue to use this broad and powerful tool to expose the activities of North Korean government officials and entities.

The sanctions come even as doubt grows among the cyber security community whetherNorth Korea was involved in the hack, Variety reports. Security firm Norse Corp. writesthat their investigation suggests that the Sony cyber attack was an inside job perpetrated by a recently fired longtime Sony employee and pro-piracy hacktivists. Norse Corp. shared their findings with the FBI. However, a spokesman for the White Houses National Security Council said, The administration stands by the FBI assessment.

Glory Road


The words based on a true story cover a lot of sins. Dont get me wrong. Don Haskins has a story worth telling. A basketball coach for the underdog Texas Western Miners, Haskins elbowed segregation in 1966 when he ted five black players against the all-white team from the University of Kentucky Wildcats at the NCAA championships. And Josh Lucas plays Haskins with a no-bull vigor that comes in handy when the script saddles him with all-bull platitudes (Its not about talent, its about heart). No one can beat producer Jerry Bruckheimer (Remember the Titans) at making the truth play like Hollywood fantasy. Authenticity is confined to the court action, and the performances, led by Derek Luke as the teams player and Jon Voight his face a mask of putty as the Kentucky coach. The rest is a slick package with the wrinkles of real life smoothed clean out of it.

Q&A: The Walking Dead Star Andrew Lincoln on Season Threes Power Struggle


Andrew Lincoln, star of AMCs The Walking Dead, looks nothing like his character Sheriff Rick in real life: when he stopped by Rolling Stones office last week on his way to Comic Con, his clothes were not even slightly caked in blood and zombie guts. He sounds completely different, as well; the actor is actually British, as fans of Love, Actually already know.

Lincoln sat down to chat about Walking Deads dramatic new storylines, the madness of Comic Con and his appreciation for flamethrowers. Spoilers ahead!

So youre here for Comic Con?
Yes. You know the funny thing: one of my friends was saying to me the other day, Whats the difference between East Coast and West Coast Comic Con? and Im like, Youre not starting a war I need diplomatic immunity! I love them both in their own special way.

Come on, pick a side.
(laughs) No! I actually do love New York, but the weathers better over there. Theres pros and cons. I was here last year and it was crazy the Comic Con outcrazied all of them because we were in the big hall and it was wild, like nothing Id ever experienced.

How many Sheriff Ricks did you see?
The first season, I was very excited because I thought I saw two, but they were actually just cops. But the second season, out of 400,000 people there, I think there were three people dressed as me.

Thats it?
I thought that was a small triumph, frankly. And then this year, I was particularly enamored by a woman who had stubble and it was very moving that she went full Rick Grimes. And she gave me a little pendant.

Awww.
Yeah. But there were quite a lot of Ricks. You know, Steven Yeun [who plays Glenn] generally gets lots of teenagers professing their undying love, and I just get people dressed as me, which is very unsettling and quite weird. But its just I love it there. I mean, the first time I went to Comic Con, I was able to walk the floor because no one knew who the hell we were. I just remember going past a He-Man and there was a woman painted green and wearing very little, and I said, Who are you? and she said, Skeletor with boobs. And that was, like, within two minutes of being there. And I was like, I get it. I get where we are. This is Comic Con. But it was the first time I remember hearing when we played the trailer, and it was a big, big moment you know, wed been shooting for eight weeks of the first season, and this was the first time I thought, We got it right, tonally. They played the trailer and I dont watch it, I dont get involved in that, but you could just hear the audience and it was this boom of people going, Yes, youre getting it right.

It was in development for so long, fans were waiting and waiting and waiting.
So it feels like were sort of coming home. Because we wouldnt be here if it werent for these places.

This is true.
You know, theyre insane. Its so great. This is my third one, so Im sort of battle-hardened to it now, the sort of shock factor of the extreme fanboy. I saw David Morrissey [who plays the Governor] whos a very experienced actor from England, whos been working for 30 years and he just looked at me and just went cold, because its just ridiculous and its like nothing Ive ever experienced before.

And Im sure there are lots of zombies.
There werent so many zombies. Maybe they know were there and were going to kick their ass. I mean, Steven Yeun says, Oh, you know Breaking Bad, they did this thing where they came on and Stevens all into doing something with dry ice, and Im like, Steven, were just going there to meet the fans! And hes like, No. We need zombies, we should come on and just boom!

People would love that.
So maybe well do that next year.

Maybe do a sketch where youre doing a song-and-dance and killing zombies.
To the tune of Thriller! We could work this out.

Okay! Lets talk about the show itself. So, last season, you guys were stuck on the farm for a really long time.
Yes. (laughs)

I know the fans were frustrated with that because it didnt quite stick to the graphic novel the fact that you were on the farm forever.
Forever, yeah.

Was it frustrating as an actor that you were playing this beat of searching for Sophia for so long?
Well no, I thought I mean, I know I heard mid-season, because I did a lot of press, that the first eight episodes were Well, it was an extraordinary moment when we first see Sophia.

Absolutely.
And it was you have to earn that. If it becomes too kinetic and becomes all action and less character, then you dont have those emotional pay-offs that I think make this show unique. Certainly, thats when it steps outside the genre. You know what I mean? It says, We dont care about the genre, its not important all the zombie-zombie. What is important is the character development and the fact that you, as an audience member, get emotionally engaged. I think we probably did spend too long looking for Sophia, but I think there is a balance between the two that I think is one of the most important things that were challenged with doing on this show: to get that mix of character-driven action, thrills, horror, romance and some humor as well. Some lightness within this bleak world.

Those moments of lightness are amazing.
You can count the times Ive smiled on two hands, and I love that. Because when the audience sees that, well, everyones talking about that moment in the premiere because I smile. Theyre like, You smiled! And I go, I can smile! Its within my range as an actor!

Will you ever laugh? Will we see that?
I dont think thats ever going to happen.

Also, going back to the end of Season Two: so much of that season was about your power struggle with Shane, and now hes a double-dead zombie.
Dont sleep with my wife.

Thats definitely the answer.
Thats the short answer. If you sleep with my wife, then I stab you in the chest. And then my son shoots you in the head. Thats the way us Grimes roll.

Whats it like for you not having Shane to play off of now?
I miss him! I miss him terribly! Just because hes a tremendous actor. And it is one of those things where I didnt read the small print. You know: Zombie. Survival. Horror. All these great mates you make, and terrific actors that you grow with and explore this world with, and create this world with: they get bit! And they leave. It was always planned that that was going to be the case but its about honoring the story, and the story is the key. This story is an extraordinary story about humanity. And I can only speak from my point of view, but its an amazing journey that I go on in the comic books and they are honoring that.

So youve read the comic books!
No, I stopped when they cut my hand off. Why would I read anything after that? No, interestingly, I am going to go back and revisit in between the seasons. If there is a fourth season and fingers crossed there will be Im going to back to the comic book and really mine them because I think its about time.

Interesting. So, Season Three! Youre at the prison. Its about time, as a fan. Hooray, you guys are finally there. Youve obviously established yourself as the leader of your group. I mean, Season Two ended with your character declaring that you were establishing, lets call it, a Ricktatorship. And now, at the end of the premiere, we see other human survivors. What does this mean for Rick if his leadership could be challenged?
Well, I think you hit the nail on the head there. The first season was very much about setting up the world and the man and his family and seeing what has happened with people coming to terms with the immediacy of this apocalypse. The second season was very much about a challenge of leadership, a real struggle for leadership.

The third season, Im very excited about, because its much more about opening up the world of the show and introducing these really cool characters like Michonne and the Governor. And Merles coming back, so dont worry about Merle. But also, just Woodbury. And knowing that weve been following a very linear path about: these people, this man, on this journey. And then suddenly, its sort of like a Wizard of Oz moment when they go, There are other people and they have their own civilization. So its very much about at Woodbury, there is a clash between two men and two camps, the Governor and Rick.

What are you most excited about in this upcoming season?
Well, I dont watch it.

But you shoot it!
I live it! Well, in every episode, they really up the ante. I think the scale of it in the first couple episodes theyve tried to just keep loading and loading the intensity and the drama. And the action is extraordinary. And episode four no, four, five and six, well, and seven and eight is pretty damn good. And nines awesome. People have been doing really great, good work. When we talked about Jon [Bernthal, who played Shane], its interesting because you take one of those extraordinary characters out which very much the second season was written around him. But I think thats the enduring strength of the show, that you dont keep rehashing the love triangle or the power struggle. Its done. And for the writers, I think its a very rewarding experience, that they can go, Shit! We have 12 more people to bring in, and a new location. Weve got so much to talk about, how we describe ourselves in this new world now. I think theyve done a smart thing by jumping forwards in time.

What did we miss this winter? Lori thinks that you hate her and Carl hates her. What went on that we didnt see?
We spoke about all of this in rehearsals before we started filming the season. We discussed that the walkers slowed down during the winter so that we were able to develop a way of living. Everything slows up but as spring gets here and it starts to warm again, were under pressure. Also, theres the powder keg of the baby. I think if wed started right on the back of leaving Hershels farm and seeing the prison then, we would never have attempted it. I think because now we have this incredible pressure you know, the first scene is so quiet. You learn everything you need to know.

There are no words in that whole sequence! No dialogue at all!
I love that. Its beautiful because they just cant speak. Thats how desperate these people are. And its that dog food moment, but its also like this is where theyre at. Its just their lowest end.

Do you have your own zombie-preparedness kit just in case the zombie outbreak starts in real life? I have a pickaxe at home.
A pickaxe?

Because you can break down barricades and spike zombies in the brain with it.
Ive used the pickaxe! And its a very effective weapon. But I think we need to explore chainsaws and flamethrowers a bit more.

What Do We Want From The Lion King and Disneys Live-Action Remakes?


You remember the opening. Of course you do. For a generation of kids who grew up watching the film in theaters or on DVD, its damn near iconic. The sun rises above the African savanna. The chant begins: Naaaaa-nts ingonyama bagithi Baba. Antelopes look up from their munching; meerkats spring to attention. From far and wide, animals fly and gallop and lumber and march, each of them drawn toward something. Everything becomes a blur until we swoop above the fray and the cirrrrrcle/of liiiiiife! A majestic lion stands atop a ridge. A wise old mandrill approaches him, and then walks toward the jungle cats mate. He marks their newborn cubs forehead and, in a series of quick cuts, holds the cub aloft for all to see. The crowd roars (literally). Long live the future king!

No matter how many times you see this sequence, it never fails to make the hair on your arms stand up. And no matter how many times you return to it, its highly likely that the following thought has never, ever occurred to you: This would be so much better if it was more like a National Geographic documentary.

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By now, most people have heard that Disneys live-action adaptation they prefer the term photorealistic, given that everything from the furry manes to the funny farting warthogs are digitally rendered of their 1994 animated classic The Lion King is, technically speaking, astounding. It has some killer A-list voice talent: Donald Glover, James Earl Jones, John Oliver, Chiwitel Ejiofor, Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner, Alfre Woodard, Chance the Rapper. (Or, as the cast is alternately referred to: BEYONC and, um, some other folks.) Glover and Beyonc turn the chorus of Can You Feel the Love Tonight into a steamy duet; as anyone who read the early reviews that hit the web last week can tell you, that song is also curiously staged in broad daylight. Its slated to make roughly a gajillion dollars by the end of its opening weekend.

And yet even those who worship the original, who will show up to Lion King 19 in Pumbaa and/or Timon cosplay singing every glorious word to Hakuna Matata, may find themselves wondering: Why did Disney do this? The longer the new movie goes on, the easier it is to tell whats been left behind a lot of charm, a good deal of imagination, a creative spark, your patience, most of the characters emoting, and a sense of life that seems, for lack of a better word, animated. But what, if anything, is being gained by diligently recreating shots and turning them into outtakes from Mutual of Omahas Wild Kingdom? Other than making money off an existing intellectual property, whats really the point here?

The Lion Kings uncanny-valley karaoke comes on the heels of the companys fresh redo of Aladdin, which only has a few pixelated animals yet has a whole lot of CGI Will Smith. The dancing, singing, rapping half of the former Men in Black duo had become the Jolly Blue Giant Genie of the 1992 toon, a role best known as the purest manifestation of Robin Williams untamed id. No one could top the comedians light-speed performance, and thankfully Smith doesnt even try. Instead, he attempts a sort of manic version of his music video persona circa Willennium, fueled by flop-sweat desperation and protein shakes. Actors of Middle Eastern descent are cast as characters of Middle Eastern descent (add 100 points). A new song about female empowerment, Speechless, is slightly undone by the fact that you can hear the sound of a checklist being ticked off in the background (deduct 50 points).

And moviegoers may remember that roughly an eternity ago i.e., March of this year Disney also gave us a brand new Dumbo, blessed with 95% less racist caricatures and 100% more Evil Michael Keaton. Because its Tim Burton calling the shots here, theres a singular weirdness embedded into the proceedings. Because its a corporate product, theres also an attempt to make things more anodyne at the exact same time. Unlike Burtons absinthe-binge take on Alice in Wonderland, the movie was considered less than a smash hit upon its release.

Theres more of these from-drawing-board-to-sound-stage remakes on the way, too: Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, the sequel to the companys 2014 revisionist spin on Sleeping Beauty what if the villainess was the real hero of the story, and also she had Angelina Jolies cheekbones? hits theaters in October; a new Mulan will come out in March of 2020; and production is starting on half-human-cast, half-CG version of The Little Mermaid, which has already stirred up controversy thanks to its casting choices. Were assuming that announcements about upcoming live-action updates of The Princess Frog, Moana, Bambi, The Fox and the Hound, Frozen and Tangled are going to hit our Inboxes any day now. Disney still has a deep bench to pull from for these types of event movies. Even with Lucasfilm and Marvel and Pixar and Fox as part of their ever-growing Entertainment Industrial Complex portfolio, the House of Mouse knows that its mother brand has a massive global recognition factor and reach.

But as this raiding of their back catalog for new cash-cow blockbusters continues to turn into a multiplex subgenre, moviegoers have to ask themselves: What do we want out of these things? Do we want to feel like weve stepped into one of these magical-kingdom worlds made real, as if weve just entered a theme parks immersive ride? Do we want the movies to use the original as a jumping off point for something unique or, in Maleficents case, an alternate perspective on stories we know and love? Do we want an incredibly faithful recreation of the animated movie, down to last warbling sidekick song and fiery showdown, just with new celebrity voices? Or do we just want two hours in the cocoon of our own nostalgia, trying to recapture that giddy rush we had the first time we heard Be Our Guest or Be Prepared?

The new Lion King forces you to think about those last two questions, given that it bends over backwards to replicate the originals most memorable moments with the same amount of fidelity it employs to make every digital strand of fur feel real. Yet seeing that opening sequence, or the young-to-grown Simba marching in line with Pumbaa and Timon, redone with faux-live animals doesnt give channel that glowing-ember feeling in your heart the way it should. It isnt just that youre distracted by the technological feat of Disneys professional pixel jockeys there are moments when you think Sir David Attenborough will start narrating facts about the lions mating habits over the images, given how real they look. Its that you can tell how much has been lost in the translation. The human touch has been leached out of these 1s-and-0s beasties. You pray that the Broadway shows puppets will make a last-minute appearance to save the day (Julie Taymor, the brains behind the play, is a producer here). The voice talent keeps things going, with Ejiofor matching Jeremy Irons menace purr for purr, and who knew Eichner had such a grand singing voice? But overall, youre watching a cover version slowly being autotuned to death.

Whats such a pity is that the director behind this, Jon Favreau, is the same filmmaker responsible for the second best Disney live-action adaptation to date: The Jungle Book. Taking as much from Rudyard Kiplings collection of boys adventure tales as it does from the 1967 animated movie, his 2016 hit also features a digital menagerie, famous folks providing the hisses and growls and well-known musical numbers in The Bare Necessities and I Wanna Be Like You. It also has a compelling child actor, Neel Sethi, playing Mowgli and providing an emotional, reactive counterpart to the less expressive animals sharing the screen with him. Theres a lot of room for rapport among the cast, especially between its Baloo, Bill Murray, and Sir Ben Kingsleys Bagheera, Murray and Favreaus pygmy hog Murray and anybody, really. Theres a looseness to everything, even when things get heavy and/or intense. And theres space for weirdness in the form of Christopher Walkens giant orangutan that channels Louis Primas original singing monkey king, Brandos Colonel Kurtz from Apocalypse Now and his own True Romance gangster all at once. It works as something honors its source material(s) and still feels like its own living, breathing thing.

This is one way to do it right; the other way is to emphasize the cartoonishness of it all and give you the sensation that youre watching a sort of Broadway musical with benefits. Bill Condons 2017 Beauty and the Beast is a perfect example of splitting the difference between paying homage and building upon a beloved text; its Belles-and-whistles treatment on the story of a young woman, a prince, a curse, and some very vibrant household items feels like a unique take on something indelibly familiar. Theres imagination to spare here, along with three new numbers from Alan Menken and Tim Rice, and some showstopping numbers Be Our Guest of course, but also Luke Evans and Josh Gads dynamic comic rendition of Gaston that dont feel like simple redux renditions. The chemistry between Dan Stevens and Emma Watson comes through, even when the former is forced to work behind a furry CG mask. The sense that you have been transported to a tale as old as time, even if time simply means the Bush I era, is complete. But so is the notion that, like a great theatrical revival, the people behind the endeavor have found things to call their own.

If this is the lead that Disney wants to take for its Mulan and Little Mermaid remakes and judging from the first ones recent wuxia-heavy teaser, this seems to be the case then were all for it. Maybe The Lion King is a singular case, an example of great storytelling best left alone, or at least sans lifelike leonine stoicness. Maybe well all eventually tire of the toon-to-A-list cycle, and then, in the spirit of fair play, Disney will start making animated versions of its old 60s and 70s live-action stable. (A hand-drawn, Don Bluth-style The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes where should we send the blank check?) Or maybe the corporate powers that be will figure that what we all really want from these mash-ups is a sense that our childhood entertainment is not being weaponized against us in the name of a cheap thrill and a box-office bonanza. What we really want is to be entertained, to be wowed. We dont need a note-perfect Circle of Life over hollow-eyed facsimiles. We just want to come full circle without having our cherished memories cheapened in the process.

Betty White Spoofs Miley Cyrus


Golden Girl Betty White has filmed a spoof of Miley Cyrus racy Wrecking Ballvideoto promote her showOff Their Rockers, which will move from NBC to the Lifetime Network beginning in 2014. The show finds White and her geriatric friends pranking people younger than them in the same vein asCandid CameraorPunkd.

Now White has put her own humorous spin on one of Cyrus bangerz. White introduces the clip by saying, I got some ideas from recent pop culture events that really got the kids talking. Then the video shows White riding a wrecking ball in a concrete room; the twist, of course, is that shes fully clothed. She also channels a couple of recentRolling Stonecover starCyrus other accoutrements when she waves a foam finger, as Cyrus did at the VMAs, and molests Cyrus favorite home-improvement implement. Can someone bring me a sledgehammer? she asks, after which she reappears holding the tool. But rather than lick it, as the former Disney star might, White simply gives it a gentle, grandmotherly kiss.

See Outtakes From Our Miley Cyrus Cover Shoot

Its worth noting, too, that White took on a rather weighty task by replicating Cyrus sledgehammer routine. When the pop singer spoke withRolling Stonein September, shesaid, That sledgehammer was heavy as shit, though. My arms were so sore thenext day. And they didnt tell me it was painted, so I was licking it,and they were like, Dont lick that!'

Betty Whites Off Their Rockers, which attracted an average of 5.3 million viewers on NBC, is set to air on Lifetime beginning this Wednesday.

X Factor Recap: Britney Spears Survives Day Two


What up, my fellow X-Facstronauts! Its Day Two of the auditions and we are immediately plunged right back into the scene at the aptly named Cow Palace arena, where a disorganized horde of San Franciscans grazes around like so much hope-filled cattle.For all the meaty bodies and leather taking up space, however, there is also an acutely felt void, one which used to be occupied by U.K. himbo host, Steve Jones, now gone the way of the Scherzinger (which is to say, in a way that isnt particularly missed.)

While Jones may have been short on personality, and clumsy with time-fills, he was still a pro who gave good exposition. Now that we are host-free for the moment, the show is exploring other avenues to flesh out storylines. Without a narrating force on hand to do the debriefing, though, contestants life stories are being dredged up in the most forced way possible: staged encounters. When hopefuls with elements in common somehow end up next to each other on line, like Wednesday nights boy band refugee Vincent Thomas and the boy-band-in-denial Emblem3, it has the feel of sub-Jerry Springer-level fake-coincidence.

The lack of a host also creates room for a Greek chorus of praise from random line-dwellers talking about their favorite judges, which sometimes comes off inadvertently as backhanded (e.g. Britney Spears made some of the first songs I heard in my life!). Apparently these brief interviews are meant to remind us that the judges are super famous, lest we have an embolism during the Verizon X Factor app commercials and forget.

Speaking of our megawatt judges, we should probably talk about Britney Spears for a second. Hearing her talk on this show reminds me that Ive almost never heard her not-singing anywhere else. The only problem is that there isnt enough of this talking. Homegirl is starting to distinguish herself more through her range of facial expressions rather than her commentary or astute judgment skills. When she encounters an obsessed fan tonight, she looks at him as though somehow his water just broke, and then she pushes pause on that face for the entirety of his ridiculous performance. I want nothing but the best for Britney on this show, but Iguess that means I want something like the best from her as well.

Enough about the judges, though, lets see how tonights crop of contestants fared.

The Real Deal
Dressed like the count of some haunted goth cabana on Fire Island, theres no way to not notice Jason Brock on line at the auditions. Considering how staged some of the contestant intros feel, its hard to tell where Jason is coming from. His endless confidence seems ripe for a comeuppance, unless the self-love is actually earned. I have some talent, and I think this room already knows it, Jason says before launching into some Billy Joel. He goes through more runs than Ussain Bolt, and holds them far too long, but clearly the guy has the talent to back up all that braggadocio.

Carly Rose Sonenclar is the nights other standout, a spunky tween whose mom has arms buff enough to make Michelle Obama tremble. Carly sings Feelin Good by Nina Simone, another reality show standard, which is probably where she first encountered it. Unlike Jason, she uses her runs sparingly and to much better effect, heightening throughout the performance all the way to the climactic end. Everybody rises to their feet once shes done, and damn right theyd better: this girl is far and away the best contestant so far.

Kinda Meh
Johnny Maxwell is a 16-year rapper-crooner with shades of Astro and Chris Rene from last season. Like Rene, he wants to perform an original song, always a risky move for an audition. Before getting started, he announces that the song is about doing it big, and not letting anyone get in the way of your dream, which is usually something you sing about after youve already done it big and not let anything stand in the way of the dream you had. Sure enough, the chorus is a recursive meta-loop whose refrain is actually, doing it big in front of all these people. The crowd, excuse me, all these people, go nuts afterward. You have swag, declares amateur swag aficionado Demi Lovato. Eh, time will tell.

Looking like he was hatched and grown in the Abercrombie & Fitch laboratories, potential heartthrob Dylan Osborne does not have the voice to match his good looks. He is swiftly booted off the stage. Fortunately, he has plenty of company, as his appearance on the show kicks off a montage sequence of sexy people who cant sing very well, a scene that is scored by (wait for it) Sexy and I Know It.

Total Jackasses
Even more forced feeling than Wednesdays encounter between blonde Texan meanie Kaci Newton and momentary heroine Paige Thomas, last nights skirmish between uber-buxom Lexa Berman and another female contestant has all the hollow acting of an Americas Most Wanted reenactment. Lexa is a 22-year old dancer who laughs in the other female contestants face when the second girl meekly claims her modeling bona fides. She also says things like, Theres no plan B for me, I either make it or I marry rich into someones family. This can only end one way. Look out rich men of the world: theres a rusty-voiced vixen a-coming for your wallet.

Finally, Pat Ford is the above-mentioned obsessive fan who asks the next auditioner in line whether he himself looks like Britney Spears. Its pretty damn creepy. He stops short of wearing a blonde wig onstage because, as he says, he doesnt want to creep Britney out. But then, he still brings her flowers and stares at her like a Magic Eye poster, all before singing Britneys own Circus in as awful a voice as can be imagined. After hes dismissed, Pat continues haunting the stage for what feels like at least a few hours, projecting shades of a Monica Seles situation, which the producers only amp up with scary movie sound cues. Boo?

Last recap: Britney Spears Makes Her Debut

Hot Rod


Andy Samberg is cool beans. At least he is on SNL, where he rocked that Dick in a Box video with Justin Timberlake. But his screen debut is out of the Will Ferrell reject pile. Just when you want Hot Rod to rev, it stalls.

Samberg plays Rod Kimble, a wanna-be stunt man with no talent for the game. Though his suburban mom (Sissy Spacek, underused) gets him, his stepdad, Frank (Ian McShane, overqualified), thinks Rod is dead wood. So why does Rod try to raise fifty grand for Franks heart operation by doing a motorcycle jump over fifteen school buses? So he can kick Franks ass. The joke is repeated so often that all humor evaporates. And Wedding Crashers live wire Isla Fisher is drained of personality as Rods dream girl.

Samberg and his Lonely Island buds from SNL (director Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Raccone as Rods brother) do have a knack for sight gags, such as Rods punch dance and his extended fall down a hill. But the films low-key Waynes World vibe takes it only so far. I laughed, then I wished it was funnier, then I just wished it would end.

Russell Crowe Wants to Screen Noah for Pope Francis


Russell Crowe pitched a screening of his upcoming biblical blockbuster Noahto one man who knows the plot quite well: Pope Francis. The message of the film is powerful, fascinating, resonant, Crowe tweeted, though the Vatican has yet to respond.

Read our cover story on Pope Francis and his gentle revolution

Crowe asked his followers to help spread the word via retweets, before apologizing to the Pope for causing havoc in his social media world. He added: Holy Father, it would be my deepest pleasure to bring the @DarrenAronofsky film to you to screen.That this may happen Inshallah. (Inshallah is Arabic for God willing.)

Darren Aronofskys retelling of the classic tale of the flood and Noahs ark opens March 28th, and then in Italy two weeks later though we imagine if Pope Francis did agree to watch the movie, he could probably get an advanced copy.

There is no precedent for a film screening at the Vatican under the new Pope. AsThe Hollywood Reporterpoints out,when asked if the Pope might screen the Oscar-nominated Philomena(which involves the church putting the child of a single mother up for adoption without telling her), a spokesman said Pope Francis does not watch films. In an interview last year, though, Pope Francis did express his love of films from classic Italian directors like Federico Fellini and Roberto Rossellini.

An endorsement from the Pope could be a huge boon to the film, which is already experiencing some backlash from Christian groups who claim it doesnt hew close enough to the original biblical story. But Paramount, the films studio, doesnt seem to be phased, alleging that more than four out of five religious moviegoers are interested in seeing Noah.

In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Aronofsky addressed these issues, saying that Noah remains a faithful adaptation of the original Bible story even if some dramatization was required to turn the four-chapter tale into a two-hour movie.

We tried to remain truthful to the themes and the ideas that are written, but to create a dramatic story for a 21st-century audience, he said. I think people who are believers will see the ideas and the values that theyre looking for represented in the film, and I think people who are non-believers, or come from different traditions, are going to be excited because its not your grandmothers Bible. Its something new, something big and something different.

Watch Dwayne the Rock Johnson Address Young Felons in New HBO Doc


Dwayne The Rock Johnson released the first trailer for Rock and a Hard Place, a documentary about a four-month Miami boot camp aimed at rehabilitating young criminals.

The professional wrestler-turned-actor discussed his own youthful indiscretions and gave a motivational speech to the convicted criminals. The premise of the show offers criminals a chance to avoid a long prison stint. Dont fuck this thing up. I mean that, the Rock said. I know this boot camp program. I believe in it. And I want the world to see the importance of this program.

The film, executive produced by the Rock, will focus on 38 felons who take part in the Miami program, which has an unprecedented success rate when it comes to convicted criminals staying out of trouble following the arduous boot camp.

We are gonna beat that demon out of you that has you on the street committing crimes, one instructor tells the recruits, many of whom are facing prison sentences.Rock and a Hard Place premieres March 27th on HBO.

Watch the Doors Legendary Performance in New Isle of Wight Doc Trailer


The Doors legendary performance at the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival will be available for the first time on DVD and CD February 23rd. The festival is thought to be the last filmed Doors concert.

A new trailer for The Doors: Live at the Isle of Wight 1970 teases snippets of the Doors 2 a.m. set and includes shots of them performing Light My Fire and Break on Through. The clip also teases unique footage of the Isle of Wight crowd, a particular fascination of the films director, Murray Lerner.

Live at the Isle of Wight is available to pre-order via Eagle Rock Entertainment. It will be available as a DVD and CD set, a Blu-ray and CD set and on digital video. Both the DVD and Blu-ray versions will include a 17-minute featurette, This is the End, which boasts interviews Lerner conducted with Doors guitarist Robby Krieger, drummer John Densmore and the bands manager Bill Siddons. It also features a 2002 interview with organist Ray Manzarek.

Our set was subdued but very intense, Manzarek said of the bands Isle of Wight performance. We played with a controlled fury and Jim was in fine vocal form. He sang for all he was worth, but moved nary a muscle. Dionysus had been shackled.

Portions of the Doors performance at the Isle of Wight were previously released in Lerners famed 1996 Isle of Wight documentary, Message to Love. Lerner, who died in September, spent much of the past few decades mining his trove of Isle of Wight footage and releasing artist-specific films, including Jimi Hendrix, Leonard Cohen, Jethro Tull and the Moody Blues.

Patti Smith Explains Mixed Feelings About Religion, Noah Song


Nearly 40 years ago, Patti Smith announced herself to music fans with the cutting, iconoclastic lyric that led off Gloria, the first track on her debut album, Horses: Jesus died for somebodys sins but not mine. Earlier this year, the poet and singer recorded the serene, Biblically inspired lullaby Mercy Is for director Darren Aronofskys biblically huge film Noah.

I wrote the first lines of Gloria when I was 20, says the silver-haired singer, who is seated in the conference room of a Times Square office building. I recorded it some years later for Horses, but really, it was a declaration of self, not so much about Jesus. He is the vehicle, but I was declaring my existence, my right to make my own mistakes, my right to make my own choices. I was defining the type of artist that was entering the domain of rock & roll and the type of artist that I was, one who was going to make her own decisions. Im not groomed by anyone.

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Mercy Is shows just how far Smith has been able to take her career. Lushly orchestrated by the Kronos Quartet, the gentle song offers hope and wariness in equal measure as Smith sings of two white doves guiding the listener to peace. The characters played by Russell Crowe (Noah) and Emma Watson (Ila) both sing the song in the film, which ends with Smiths recording. Its the first song Smith has ever written for a movie, and its an experience that has impacted her immensely. I have a great life, she says, smiling. Ive had many opportunities and many special things have happened to me, but theres always something new. To be at this time in my life and get the opportunity to write a song for a movie because I love the movies it turned out beyond my expectations.

Rolling Stone met with Smith who recently completed her second book and is currently planning her next album and 40th anniversary Horses celebrations for 2015 to find out how she arrived at Mercy Is.

What is your relationship with religion like these days?
I left organized religion at 12 or 13, because I was brought up a Jehovahs Witness. I have a very strong biblical background. I studied the bible quite a bit when I was young and continue to study it, independent of any religion, but I still study it.

My sister is still Jehovahs Witness. We talk all the time. I like to keep abreast of what shes doing and what she believes in. I believe there is good in in all religions. But religion, politics and business, all of these things, have been so corrupted and so infused with power that I really dont have interest in any of it governments, religion, corporations. But I do have interest in the human condition.

Darren Aronofsky told Rolling Stone earlier this year that you offered to write the song. How did you meet?
I was introduced to him at a small dinner party some years ago, but then we met again at the Venice Film Festival, and he was chairing the jury. I asked him what he was doing. He told me of this project, Noah, that hes been dreaming of since he was a boy. He mentioned he needed a lullaby for it and I just asked him if I could do it, because I love lullabies. Ive written a few, and I felt that between my biblical knowledge and my love of lullabies, I could do it.

Is writing a lullaby easy?
It might seem like a modest little song, but it was a complicated task. I had to write a song that Methuselah, Anthony Hopkins character, sang to Noahs father, and Noahs father sang it to Noah; it was handed down. And then Noah had to sing it to this little girl who might be close to death. And I had to imagine Russell Crowe as Noah and Emma Watsons character having to sing it to her babies, and then I had to sing it at the end. So I had a slew of responsibilities.

It sounds like a tall order.
Well, I asked for it. I went back and looked at the scriptures. I really studied Darrens script. Im a big follower of Russell Crowe, so I just watched a few of his movies again. I wanted to write something that he could feel in the singing of it. And it had make sense historically, some kind of biblical sense or some kind of sense of its time and its mission. The song is supposed to remember Eden and hope that the Father will come and deliver us back to Eden, the hope of a new world.

These are things I know about because of my own education: The promise of a new world is paramount in the teachings of Jehovahs Witnesses. There was a lot that I could draw from.

Did you workshop it heavily?
Lyric writing does not come easy to me, because you have so much responsibility. When youre writing a song, you have a real responsibility to connect with as many people as possible. And certainly Im no Smokey Robinson. Thats for sure. Just writing, going, trying to say something with simplicity is a laborious process. But I worked very hard. I had Darrens feedback. I made one historical error, so he corrected me.

What was your historical error?
Originally, Id written a line like, Two white horses, two white doves to carry you away. And he said, Its beautiful, Patti, but there werent any horses in Noahs time. [Laughs] So I just changed it to, Two white wings, two white doves. But besides that, everything was fine.

And then I asked Lenny Kaye to help me, because Lenny and I have written lullabies or hymns together, and he wrote the second musical change in it. I even sang it to my sister; we still study the Bible together.

You recorded your version with the Kronos Quartet. Have you ever done that before?
No. Ive never sang with a string quartet and never recorded with live strings ever. But we did it in a couple of hours. And its a live take. I do a lot of live recording for my albums, so that wasnt daunting. Darren was there, and he lent his support. In some ways, once I figured out my path, I found it to be liberating. Beautiful. I felt like it was singing a delicate aria or something.

So what went through your mind when you first heard Russell Crowe sing it?
Really, I cried [laughs]. I was so moved. I was moved by this film. I was moved that Darren could bring the urgency of the present concerns or our world, the environmental concerns within the context of this film. And I am a big Russell Crowe fan. Hes one of my favorite actors. To see not only someone sing and interpret part of a song I had written but to see someone that I so greatly admire, my words coming out of his mouth, it was a moving experience. I was moved to hear Emma do it. And to sit and listen it at the end, it was exciting.

Creed Bratton Dishes on Season Eight of The Office

A few months ago, Creed Bratton sat down with the entire cast of The Office to read through the script of last seasons penultimate episode ...