AAFCA Announces 2022 Special Achievement Honorees (EXCLUSIVE)

Angelique Jackson In June 2021, Oscar-nominee and Emmy-winner Riz Ahmed and Pillars Fund’s Kashif Shaikh and Arij Mikati outlined the urgent need for more Muslim representation in the entertainment industry, both in front of and behind the camera, during an extensive interview with Variety.The trio announced plans to launch a first-of-its-kind initiative, dubbed the Pillars Artist Fellowship, with a mission to provide resources and mentorship to a group of talented Muslim artists to help them use their talents to change the game in the film and television industries. Today, Pillars Fund, Ahmed and his Left Handed Films banner unveil the inaugural cohort of fellows.“We spent months getting to know many talented candidates,” stated Shaikh, Pillars Fund’s co-founder and president.

Nine Inch Nails have announced that Yves Tumor and Nitzer Ebb will support the band at their two UK shows this summer.Last month, Trent Reznor and co. detailed their UK comeback with a pair of shows at the Eden Project in Cornwall this June.The gigs, which take place on June 17 and 18, come sandwiched in between a recently-announced 2022 US tour which begins in April and runs through to September.On June 17, Nitzer Ebb will support the band, with Yves Tumor joining for the sold-out gig the following night.Get full details below.Support artists announced for Nine Inch Nails live at @EdenProject 2022.17 June with @Nitzer_Ebb Remaining tickets: https://t.co/8AGTbNmY0G18 June with @YvesTumor SOLD OUT pic.twitter.com/SCgkGQhNGr— nine inch nails (@nineinchnails) March 14, 2022Last year, the band cancelled their planned live shows as uncertainties around the COVID pandemic remained.

Battles have announced that they will be heading out on a tour in 2022 which will take them to the UK, Europe and North America. Find tickets here.The New York City art-rock duo will start the tour on March 26 at Zerospace Brooklyn in New York, travelling to cities including Austin (April 17), Pittsburgh (May 23) and Chicago (June 4).

Prince Harry is said to have 'raised tensions' within the Royal Family after he revealed that he would be going to the Invictus Games.

The Rolling Stones have announced details of a 60th anniversary tour hitting the UK and Europe this summer. See full dates below, and tickets will be available here.Having been teasing fans for the past week, the rock legends will be heading out on the road to mark six decades as a band for the ‘SIXTY’ tour – with a new show and live production starting in Madrid on June 1 before heading to Munich, Liverpool, Amsterdam, Bern, Milan, London, Brussels, Vienna, Lyon, Paris, Gelsenkirchen and Stockholm.Following on from their acclaimed USA ‘No Filter’ tour, ‘SIXTY’ will see Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood make their long-awaited return to the UK, performing at the home of Liverpool FC – Anfield, for the Stones’ first in Liverpool show for over 50 years, followed by two shows in London’s Hyde Park for British Summer Time Festival.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at LargeThe Tonys will finally become the last of the major awards shows to air live across the continental United States. This year’s ceremony, which marks the 75th annual Tony Awards, will take place on Sunday, June 12, at New York’s Radio City Music Hall.Like last year, the four-hour ceremony will once again kick off with an exclusive start on Paramount Plus, before CBS joins in. But in 2022, the CBS broadcast has been restored to a full three hours (following last year’s two-hour show on the Eye).

President Joe Biden has made an announcement that the United States will ban imports of Russian oil.

The Weeknd has become one of the biggest pop stars in the world over the last few years with his albums After Hours (which contained the smash hits "Blinding Lights" and "Save Your Tears") and Dawn FM, the 2022 project that just might be his masterpiece. There were plans for a massive, hundred-plus date world tour that the pandemic botched at least twice, but hope springs eternal: today, The Weeknd has shared the first leg of his After Hours Til Dawn tour, a more manageable 17-dates spanning North America this summer.

Angelique Jackson For the first time in two years, the African American Film Critics Association (AAFCA) will present their annual award ceremony honoring the best in film as an in-person event, after pivoting to a virtual production amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The 13th AAFCA Awards will be held on March 2 at the SLS Hotel in Los Angeles, with a limited capacity audience and other health and safety protocols in place.  “It’s exciting and it’s a little nerve-wracking because, with COVID, it’s a day-to-day thing in terms of the transmission rates and the number of diagnoses,” AAFCA president and co-founder Gil Robertson tells Variety. “But we’re hopeful, prayerful and confident that the numbers will remain at an acceptable level to allow us to present a very nice and classy show.”   Ultimately, it’s a return to form for the organization, established in 2003 with the mission to amplify Black voices in film criticism and arts and entertainment journalism from across the African Diaspora.

Spring is arriving, COVID cases are dropping and there's renewed optimism that things are getting back to normal. No, it's not March 2020, but the headspace from that time is where we find ourselves once more as omicron subsides.

Katy Perry was left absolutely stunned at the top of the power-packed American Idol season premiere with an unexpected performance.MORE: Katy Perry looks unreal in all-leather outfitThe three judges, Katy, Lionel Richie, and Luke Bryan, were joined by Normandy, a young woman and gamer with a voice that instantly caught their attention. Her baby-like girlish affectation instantly charmed the judges, along with her kitten-shaped slippers and gigantic carrot purse.The contestant mentioned in her introduction that she often struggled with being taken seriously due to her child-like nature and high-pitched voice.MORE: American Idol's Ryan Seacrest's famous ex-girlfriends revealedHowever, as she sang the first notes to Tina Turner's Proud Mary, she revealed a much deeper and huskier singing voice, leaving Katy taken aback."[expletive] this y'all, I'm out of here.

Jenelle Riley Deputy Awards, Features EditorHelen Mirren is the perfect choice for the SAG Life Achievement Award, that rare performer respected and awarded for their work but also beloved by audiences. Able to effortlessly move between Shakespeare and Hollywood spectacle, Mirren joined the “Fast & Furious” franchise with 2017’s “The Fate of the Furious.” Fans loved that she was perfectly cast as the mother of Jason Statham’s Deckard and Luke Evans’ Owen. She’s set to reprise the role in the final two “Fast” films, but that’s only part of her busy schedule.The SAG Life Achievement Award, which will be presented to her by Kate Winslet, is an honor previously bestowed on the likes of Robert De Niro, Sidney Poitier and Rita Moreno.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that he was launching a “special military operation” to the Donbas region of Eastern Ukraine, warning that country’s soldiers to lay down their arms.

Sum 41 and Simple Plan are gearing up to hit the road together this year in the US for their ‘Blame Canada’ tour.Set to kick off in Raleigh, North Carolina on April 29, Sum 41 will play their classic 2001 album ‘All Killer No Filler’ in its entirety, while Simple Plan will perform their debut album, 2002’s ‘No Pads, No Helmets… Just Balls’, in full.Taking to Twitter to share the news, Sum 41 wrote: “We’ve known the guys in @simpleplan for a very long time, but we’ve never toured together….

BTS are set to return to the US with a four-night residency at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada.Today (February 23), the boyband’s agency Big Hit Music announced that the group would bring their ‘Permission To Dance On Stage’ concert to the nearly 65,000-capacity stadium on April 8, 9, 15 and 16.All four dates will be broadcast live at the nearby MGM Grand Garden Arena, in what’s being dubbed a “live play” event. Moreover, the final day of their residency will also be streamed online worldwide, per Billboard.In addition, the entertainment company has also released a promotional TV spot and poster for the upcoming concerts.

President Joe Biden is making an announcement about the Russia-Ukraine crisis.

Paul McCartney is hitting the road again.

The Billboard Music Awards are rejoining the fun in Vegas.

Rage Against The Machine have shared their new tour itinerary, with half of their dates now set to take place in early 2023.The band, who first announced their second reunion back in 2019, were set to begin their ‘Public Service Announcement’ tour in March 2020. Ongoing complications surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, however, has forced the tour to be rescheduled several times over – the most recent of which came in January, where half the tour was postponed from April to July and the other half was postponed indefinitely.Now, the band have confirmed that the North American tour will take place across two legs.