‘Blizzard Of Souls’ Composer Lolita Ritmanis On Fulfilling A Dream With “Epic” Latvian Drama & The Need For More Inclusivity Among Composers Hired For “Big, Cinematic Films”

John Mayer has revealed that his highly anticipated eighth album has been completed.The US singer-songwriter’s last album was 2017’s ‘The Search For Everything’, which included the songs ‘Love On The Weekend’, ‘Still Feel Like Your Man’ and ‘In The Blood’.In a new TikTok post, Mayer revealed that work on his new album is complete and that he’s been sharing the finished product with a few of his friends.“My album is recorded, mixed and mastered,” the text on Mayer’s video said.

Jon Burlingame The Academy music branch made Oscar history yesterday by nominating two films with Black composers for best original score: “Soul” and “Da 5 Bloods.”Prior to this, in the 86-year history of the category, only six films featuring Black composers were even nominated: “In Cold Blood,” “Shaft,” “The Color Purple,” “Round Midnight,” “Cry Freedom” and “BlacKkKlansman.”Herbie Hancock remains the only African-American composer to win in this category, for his jazz-filled “Round Midnight”

Jon Burlingame Jongnic Bontemps might just qualify as the unofficial composer of the Black Lives Matter movement.No fewer than four major documentaries on African American subjects — airing now, or soon, on CNN, Netflix, National Geographic and Amazon Prime — feature scores written by the Brooklyn-born, L.A.-based composer.“I asked the universe for this,” Bontemps admits.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentBoosting one of the key upcoming titles coming out of Latin America, renowned Haitian-American actor-producer Jimmy Jean-Louis (“Desrances,” “Rattlesnakes,” “Heroes”), also an increasing driving force on the Latin American and African production scene, is coming on board to executive produce director José María Cabral’s historic drama “Parsley” (“Perejil”).In parallel news, New York-based Visit Films is handling world sales rights on the feature,

EXCLUSIVE: The Good Wife alum Dallas Roberts, Clea Lewis (The Americans) and Nicole Chanel Williams (Boomerang) are set for recurring roles in Showtime drama series American Rust, starring Jeff Daniels and Maura Tierney. The series is scheduled to begin production in Pittsburgh in late March.

Nick Schager Film CriticFor subtlety’s sake, it’s better if coming-of-age stories don’t feature subplots in which characters are asked to pen their own autobiographical tales of maturation, and then spend time debating the merits of J.D. Salinger’s “The Catcher in the Rye” as well as their personal similarities to its protagonist, Holden Caulfield.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterNeon has acquired North American rights to Céline Sciamma’s latest feature, “Petite Maman,” following its premiere at the Berlin Film Festival.The sale reunites Sciamma with Neon, the New York-based independent studio that released her acclaimed drama “Portrait of a Lady on Fire.”Written and directed by Sciamma, “Petite Maman” follows 8-year-old Nelly, who loses her beloved grandmother and goes to help her parents clean out her mother’s childhood home.

EXCLUSIVE: Oscilloscope Laboratories has acquired worldwide rights to the Marshall Burnette-directed Silo, the first-ever film about grain entrapment. The film is slated to be released later this year.

Samuel Goldwyn Films has acquired North American rights to WWII drama Into the Darkness, from veteran Danish filmmaker Anders Refn and depicting the disintegration of a family unit amid Denmark's slow side into fascism under the shadow of the Third Reich.

Christopher Vourlias “Dreams of Alice,” a supernatural teen drama centered on a girl haunted by strange dreams as she plots her escape from a mysterious Russian town, is among the standout projects chosen for the Berlinale Series Market Selects, a newly created label that highlights series with high commercial potential.Created by Anastasiya Volkova, and directed by Andrey Dzhunkovskiy, the series is produced by Valeriy Fedorovich and Evgeniy Nikishov of 1-2-3 Production, the team behind the

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentMK2 Films has come on board to handle world sales on “House Arrest,” a satirical drama directed by critically acclaimed Russian helmer Aleksey German Jr. (“Dovlatov”) that tackles Russia’s judicial system.“House Arrest” follows David, a Russian university professor who takes to social media to criticize his city’s administration and the Mayor’s dodgy dealings.

World News Tonight anchor David Muir has started to lead coverage of major special events and breaking on ABC News, as the network has phased out the title of “chief anchor” that had been given to Good Morning America co-anchor George Stephanopoulos.

Christopher Vourlias Polish director Paweł Maślona (“Panic Attack”) is prepping a lavish period drama about the American Revolutionary War hero Tadeusz Kościuszko.Produced by Leszek Bodzak and Aneta Hickinbotham for Aurum Film, the production house behind Jan Komasa’s Oscar-nominated “Corpus Christi,” the historical epic — with the working title “Scarborn,” from a script by Michał A. Zielinski — received development funding from the Polish Film Institute.

Golden Globes hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler’s hearts and stars on their hands has been revealed.The pair presented last night’s (February 28) virtual ceremony from two sides of the US – Fey from the Rainbow Room in New York and Poehler from the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles.However, fans may have been quick to notice that both had symbols drawn on their hands, the reason being a reference to Poehler’s upcoming Netflix film Moxie.The streamer explained: “For anyone wondering why Amy

Christopher Vourlias Rising Russian director Kirill Sokolov (“Why Don’t You Just Die!”) and “Vikings” star Danila Kozlovsky have boarded “Alone in the Ocean,” a big-budget survival drama based on the true story of a Soviet man who spent three days lost at sea.Pic is produced by Artem Vasilyev of Metrafilms, Roman Borisevich of Plan 9 and Konstantin Buslov of RB Production, and co-produced by André Logie of Belgium’s Panache Prods.

Nomadlandwon best motion picture in the drama category at the 78th annualGolden Globe Awards on Sunday night. Director Chloe Zhao said as she accepted the award, "Thank you to my fellow nominees for your beautiful, beautiful movies." Zhao also became the second woman to win best director at the Golden Globes earlier in the evening.

The United States vs. Billie Holiday.