Bob Rafelson, ‘Five Easy Pieces’ Director, Dies at 89

Chapek told CNBC that price hikes will likely hit the Mouse House’s popular theme parks next. “We read demand. We have no plans right now in terms of what we’re going to do, but we operate with a surgical knife here,” Chapek said Thursday.

“Empire of Light,” the latest feature film from Oscar winner Sam Mendes, has locked its European premiere with a gala screening at the 66th annual BFI London Film Festival. Starring Olivia Colman, Michael Ward, Colin Firth, Toby Jones and others, the 1980s–set film “is a powerful and poignant story about human connection and the magic of cinema,” distributor Searchlight Pictures said in a statement. The film’s stars – including Colman, Firth, and on-the-rise BAFTA winner Ward – are expected to be in attendance at the festival’s American Express Gala screening on Oct.

As sports rights prove the small screen game changer, the ball is in Disney’s court when it comes to the NBA.

John Stamos and The Beach Boys are paying tribute to the late "Full House" star Bob Saget. At the "Sixty Years of the Sounds of Summer" concert at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday, Stamos and The Beach Boys dedicated the song "Forever" to his former co-star as a video montage of Saget was displayed to the audience.  The 1970s classic "Forever" was performed several times on "Full House" by Stamos’ beloved character Uncle Jesse.

Jim Carrey has become something of a renaissance man over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, channeling his creative energy and eccentric spirit into new movies, appearances as President Joe Biden, fine arts, NFTs and even an unexpected musical collaboration with The Weeknd. «He’s an incredible guy,» Carrey told ET's Lauren Zima of the performer, «an incredible artist and a lovely person, and I feel very lucky to be his friend.»The actor and comedian narrated three songs on the pop star's fifth studio album, which was released in January, and also appeared in the music video for «Out of Time,» in which the pair shared a «full-circle» moment when Carrey appeared in a hospital setting to put an ominous mask on the performer's face.«was the very first movie he ever saw and kind of inspired him to want to be in this thing,» Carrey said. «And boy, did he ever get in this thing in a big way… He put it to me that he was doing this thing that was the radio station in purgatory, and I didn't want to work and I was like, 'I love you, but I don't want to do any work.'»«And then I started waking up in the middle of the night -- which is what happens with me, I play in the middle of the night — and I start spitting bars, of all things, for god's sake,» he recalled. «It was really funny because I fully left it to him… I said to him, 'Use nothing at all or use a line here and there, if you want to, but I don't have to be in it, whatever.' He said, 'No it's fire, you gotta do this,' and gave me a really beautiful place on the album, so I’m so gratified.»The Weeknd certainly isn't the only person Carrey has influenced throughout his storied career.

Bob Dylan, Foo Fighters, Eurythmics, The Clash and more acts are being re-released for UNICEF’s ‘Blue Vinyl’ fundraiser.The UK Committee for UNICEF (UNICEF UK) has pressed limited edition releases of 10 acclaimed albums for its charity series to raise money for the UNICEF UK Children’s Emergency Fund, which helps children affected by conflict and disaster.Only 48 ‘Blue Vinyl’ copies have been pressed for each of the 10 albums. The 10 albums are: Dylan’s ‘The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan’; Carole King‘s ‘Tapestry’; The Clash’s ‘Combat Rock’ (40th anniversary edition); Eurythmics’ ‘Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)’; Foo Fighters’ ‘Medicine At Midnight‘; Janis Joplin‘s ‘Pearl’ (50th anniversary edition); Jimi Hendrix‘s ‘Live At Monterey’; Leon Bridges‘ ‘Coming Home’; Little Mix‘s ‘Confetti’; and Prince’s ‘The Rainbow Children’ (20th anniversary edition).Fans can enter a prize draw for each artist on the ‘Blue Vinyl’ Crowdfunder website here to be in with a chance of winning one of the available albums.The campaign will highlight “UNICEF’s ability to respond to an emergency affecting children wherever they are, whenever crisis hits, within 48 hours”, according to a press release.Jade Thirlwall of Little Mix said: “What an honour for ‘Confetti’ to be part of the incredible ‘Blue Vinyl’ album list alongside some iconic artists! As a UNICEF UK Supporter, I know how vital the money raised is for children around the world.

We’ll be seeing actor Kingsley Ben-Adir (“One Night In Miami“) taking on the role of legendary Reggae singer Bob Marley in a new biopic film at Paramount Pictures that is being helmed by “King Richard” director Reinaldo Marcus Green. The combination of director and actor gives the impression that it could end up becoming a festival/awards darling as another impressive addition to the cast has been announced.

We’ll be seeing actor Kingsley Ben-Adir (“One Night In Miami“) taking on the role of legendary Reggae singer Bob Marley in a new biopic film at Paramount Pictures that is being helmed by “King Richard” director Reinaldo Marcus Green. The combination of director and actor gives the impression that it could end up becoming a festival/awards darling as another impressive addition to the cast has been announced.

Lashana Lynch is set to star as Bob Marley’s wife Rita in an upcoming Paramount biopic about the reggae legend’s life and career. The actress, 34, recently appeared alongside Daniel Craig in No Time to Die and opposite Benedict Cumberbatch in the latest Dr. Strange film.

Lashana Lynch has been cast as Rita Marley in Paramount Pictures’ Untitled Bob Marley biopic about the reggae legend, according to an individual with knowledge of the project.The film will star Kingsley Ben-Adir in the title role as Bob Marley.Reinaldo Marcus Green, the director of the Will Smith film “King Richard,” will direct the film. Zach Baylin, who was nominated for an Academy Award in the “Best Original Screenplay” category for “King Richard” is writing the script with Green.Marley’s son and reggae artist Ziggy Marley will produce. Rita Marley and Cedella Marley will produce on behalf of Tuff Gong.

EXCLUSIVE: Following another lengthy casting search, sources tell Deadline that Lashana Lynch has been tapped to play Bob Marley’s wife, Rita, in the untitled Bob Marley pic for Paramount. Kingsley Ben-Adir has been set to portray the legendary Reggae singer with King Richard director Reinaldo Marcus Green helming.

Paramount+ is performing “above expectations”  in the UK, Ireland and South Korea, according to Bob Bakish, who forecast a “big year” for Western Europe to come and talked up local language content.

Bert Schneider, his partner in the independent production company Raybert, began kicking around the idea of a television show about a band “more interested in having fun than making a living”. Their Variety ad seeking “4 insane boys, [aged] 17-21” was answered by 437 hopefuls, and the successful applicants – Davy Jones, Mike Nesmith, Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork – were dispatched on a six-week improv course. The show’s goofily knowing house style did not arrive instantly – a pilot polled direly in testing.

showed up, reprising their “Breaking Bad” characters. But according to “Saul” star Bob Odenkirk, there’s still more of them to come.Granted, fans were already hopeful for as much after the episode, considering it left the door pretty clearly open for future returns.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaNo movie better captures the maverick spirit of Bob Rafelson and the impact he had on the New Hollywood movement of the 1970s than “Five Easy Pieces.” The film follows Jack Nicholson’s Bobby Dupea, a former piano prodigy who has turned his back on his privileged lifestyle to embrace the life of a blue collar drifter. Dupea’s rejection of his upbringing struck a cord with the counterculture and turned “Five Easy Pieces” into a critical and commercial sensation, making it a rare film that tapped into and reflected the zeitgeist.Rafelson, who also directed “The King of Marvin Gardens” and helped create “The Monkees” television series, died on July 23 at the age of 89.

The recent limited series “The Offer” reminded viewers that before Albert S. Ruddy was taken seriously as the producer of “The Godfather,” he was often dismissed as the guy who created “Hogan’s Heroes.” Similarly, another key architect of the New Hollywood of the 1970s — director and producer Bob Rafelson — would find himself earning greater respect as the man behind such iconic, essential American films as “Five Easy Pieces,” “The Last Picture Show” and “Easy Rider” than as one of the creators of “The Monkees.”The difference, of course, is that “Hogan’s Heroes” is the kind of old sitcom contemporary audiences would call “problematic,” while “The Monkees” has endured both as a screwball piece of television and as the launching pad for a band that’s beloved to this day.

Suicidal Tendencies, has died at the age of 58 following a motorcycling accident.Heathcote’s son, Chris, confirmed the news in a Facebook post published yesterday (July 24). Part of his message read: “I cannot put words together other than the fact that this is a loss I will hardly recover (if ever), and the fact that he was a hard working father who raised five children, including me.”The post said that Bob died from a motorbike accident. Both the nature of the incident and the time that it happened are unknown.Bob played in Suicidal Tendencies in the late ’80s and contributed to the band’s third album, 1988’s ‘How Will I Laugh Tomorrow When I Can’t Even Smile Today’.

A.D. Amorosi Though regarded by cinephiles as one of the architects of the “New Hollywood” largely because of moody character studies like 1970’s “Five Easy Pieces,” filmmaker Bob Rafelson — who died Saturday at 89 — will also always be adored for his co-creation and production of the decidedly less moody, madcap television series “The Monkees,” and for further directing that makeshift band in the comically avant-garde 1968 film “Head.”Rafelson is very fondly remembered by vocalist and drummer Micky Dolenz, the final surviving member of the Monkees, who shared his thoughts about Rafelson’s role in the creation and development of the group with Variety.  A wildly silly sitcom about a faux teeny-bop band meant that its producer-showrunners, Rafelson and Bert Schneider (who died in 2011), had to find a willing quartet of actor-musicians.