FX’s ‘Class of ’09’ Creators Aren’t Pressing the ‘Panic Button’ on AI Just Yet

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic “More stars than there are in heaven!” crowed Peter Zaremba, lead singer of the Fleshtones, taking a cue from MGM’s famous slogan of the 1930s and ’40s as he boisterously extolled the cast of performers taking part in Friday night’s tribute to the garage-rock of the middle and 1960s. The salute took the form of a semi-reconstruction of the 1972 compilation album “Nuggets,” put together by the Wild Honey Foundation as one of its annual autism benefits at the Alex Theatre in Glendale, with the original compiler of “Nuggets,” Lenny Kaye, on board as emcee, resident historian, cheerleader and intermittent singer-guitarist.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic The ASCAP Pop Music Awards honored “Stay,” by the Kid Laroi featuring Justin Bieber, as the org’s pop music song of the year Thursday night. That number came out on top as the performing rights organization calculated the most-played affiliated songs of the past 12 months, with results for the 40th annual awards revealed at a private party held for members at Yamashiro in Hollywood. The org’s interest in “Stay” is via ASCAP member Bieber, one of the co-writers on the smash. The song spent seven weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 in mid-2022. Dr. Luke was named the songwriter of the year, largely for his participation in hits that have continued to do well off Doja Cat’s 2021 album “Planet Her,” primarily “Need to Know,” “Woman” and “You Right.” The success of Latto’s “High Energy” and Nicki Minaj’s “Super Freaky Girl” also contributed to the producer-writer achieving the highest number of plays for the year.

EXCLUSIVE: American Beauty and The Walking Dead actress Thora Birch is to make her feature directorial debut on an adaptation of Elmore Leonard’s 2004 crime novel Mr. Paradise.

Sony Pictures Classics announced today they have acquired all rights in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Scandinavia, India, Middle East, Turkey, Southeast Asia (excluding Taiwan and South Korea) and airlines within those territories to Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal’s upcoming Bossa Nova-themed animated film, “They Shot the Piano Player.” Sony Classics plans to release the film at the end of the year to qualify for year-end awards consideration.A true international production, the film is produced by Cristina Huete of Trueba PC (“Chico & Rita”) in Spain, along with Serge Lalou for Les Films d’Ici (“Josep”) in France, Janneke van de Kerkhof for Submarine Sublime (“Buñuel in the Labyrinth of Turtles”) in the Netherlands, and Humberto Santana in Portugal. It is executive produced by Nano Arrieta of Atlantika and Fabien Westerhoff of Film Constellation.From Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal, who previously directed the Oscar-nominated “Chico & Rita,” “They Shot the Piano Player” is narrated by Jeff Goldblum.

Sony Pictures Classics has picked up rights to the animated feature They Shot the Piano Player for the U.S., Canada, Latin America, Scandinavia, India, the Middle East, Turkey, Southeast Asia (excluding Taiwan and South Korea) and airlines within the aforementioned territories. The film from Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal, two of the directors behind the Oscar-nominated animated feature Chico and Rita, is set up for a fall awards push from SPC.

NBC has yet to make decisions about three of its comedies.

Once Upon a One More Time, a brand new musical powered by the hits of Britney Spears, is premiering on Broadway this week and we have a first look!

EXCLUSIVE: Well Go USA Entertainment has acquired North American rights to Aporia, a previously unannounced sci-fi thriller from Armian Pictures starring Judy Greer (Halloween Kills), Edi Gathegi (The Harder They Fall), Payman Maadi (A Separation) and Faithe Herman (Shazam!). The film, written and directed by Jared Moshé (The Ballad of Lefty Brown), is slated for release in theaters in August. (Check out the first still from it above.)

EXCLUSIVE: Sasha Luss (Anna), Alex Roe (Forever My Girl), Adam Lazarre White (The Old Way), and Thai music artist and actor Noi Pru (13 Beloved) are joining cast in feature Sic, which is filming in Thailand.

is finally back with season 2. The world's fiercest competition, which sees each drag queens debuting a new musical number in front of a live audience and a «Pop Dival Panel» of judges, returns to Paramount+ on Friday, June 2. And among this year's contestants are queens from nine countries including the United States, Mexico, Brazil, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Israel, the United Kingdom, Italy and Australia. Executive produced by RuPaul and hosted by Graham Norton, follows some of the world's most talented performers as they battle it out for global domination during head-to-head singing battles spotlighting their wide range of talent.

NBCUniversal is adding to its cable network programming slate.

EXCLUSIVE: Alison Oliver (Saltburn), Jurnee Smollett (Lovecraft Country), Marc Maron (To Leslie) and Odessa Young (The Staircase) have closed deals to join The Order, the crime thriller to be directed for Stuart Ford’s AGC Studios by Justin Kurzel, which is heading into production on Wednesday.

King Charles's coronation, including foreign royals, world leaders and more. Prince Albert and Princess Charlene of Monaco were among the first royals to confirm their attendance for the historic occasion in London. The couple will be joined by a number of royals from households from around the world, including King Carl XVI Gustaf and Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, and King Felipe and Queen Letizia.

EXCLUSIVE: Actress and singer Victoria Justice (The Tutor), model and actress Devon Ross (Irma Vep), Taylor Smith (Where The Crawdads Sing), and Dermot Mulroney (Scream VI) are leading cast in feature sic, which is filming in Thailand.

May is yet another big month for new releases (not to mention finales as we excitedly await the end of “Barry” and “Succession” on the same night.) HBO might not yet have another surefire hit on its hands to emulate the success of the aforementioned two, but they have plenty of miniseries and comedy favorites. Elsewhere the world of “Bridgerton” continues its reign with a new spinoff series, just one of two Netflix series spinoffs with “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” getting similar treatment with “XO, Kitty.”  READ MORE: Summer 2023 TV Preview: 40 Must-See Shows To Watch Apple TV+ has a number of highly anticipated series coming out — as the streamer also contends with the nearing ending of “Ted Lasso” — with Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne teaming up again and Rebecca Ferguson making a strong impression on this week’s release of “Silo.” Elsewhere, we’re getting the return of fan favorites such as Hulu’s “The Great” and Netflix’s “I Think You Should Leave.”  “White House Plumbers”Woody Harrelson, Justin Theroux, Domnhall Gleeson, and Lena Heady star in HBO’s “White House Plumbers” from director David Mandel.

EXCLUSIVE: Tye Sheridan (The Tender Bar) has closed a deal to star alongside Jude Law and Nicholas Hoult in AGC Studios‘ crime thriller The Order from director Justin Kurzel (Assassin’s Creed, Macbeth), which is heading into production in Alberta, Canada on May 11th.

In a new interview with Esquire, Justin Theroux reveals why he doesn’t talk about his ex-wife Jennifer Aniston.

Beau Casper Smart is trying out something new to commemorate International Dance Day. The actor, dancer, and choreographer (and Jennifer Lopez’s boyfriend for about two years), partnered up with Pepsi to create the first-ever dance class hosted in the Metaverse. Anthony Ramos on Latinos in Hollywood and getting his drivers’ license for ‘Transformers’Bad Bunny invites WWE fighter to a brawl in Puerto RicoIn an exclusive interview with HOLA! USA, Smart discussed various topics, including his desire to be involved with innovative ideas, the world’s increasing interest in Latin music, his extensive career in dance, and the time he co-starred alongside Bad Bunny in Becky G’s music video.A post shared by Beau Casper Smart (@beaucaspersmart)Smart: Yeah, let’s take it back! I started dancing when I was about 17.

Ain’t No Mo, Cost of Living, Leopoldstadt, Good Night, Oscar, and now, The Thanksgiving Play (★★★★★), a dark and devilish satire by Larissa FastHorse.While gratitude should be a reflection and practice we incorporate into our daily lives, it is a virtue most closely associated with the fourth Thursday of November. That’s when we gather with friends and family, stuff ourselves silly with turkey, watch football, and fall asleep on the couch — all in the name of a long-perpetuated myth.FastHorse is having none of it.

Ed Sheeran is going on tour this summer!