Listen to Japanese Breakfast cover Bon Iver’s ‘Skinny Love’

Would you let your toddler out alone to run errands? Do you think they could do the shopping on their own?

Alex Rodriguez is always a good sport. During Monday night’s New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox’s MLB game, Rodriguez’s fellow commentator, Michael Kay, found the time to subtly bring up Jennifer Lopez’s engagement to Ben Affleck.«It's a great time in sports,» Kay told Rodriguez. «You have a new Masters champion, the NBA playoffs are about to start, baseball's in the full swing, people getting engaged.

EXCLUSIVE: Los Angeles-based Synepic Entertainment is launching Sakka, a streaming service specializing in Japanese cinema. The platform will debut in North America and select further territories in early May, the company said. At launch, it will feature five movies: Happy Hour, the 2015 movie from recent Oscar nominee Ryusuke Hamaguchi; Shô Miyake’s 2018 feature And Your Bird Can Sing; Seiji Tanaka’s 2018 film Melancholic; Chihiro Amano’s 2019 pic Mrs Noisy; and Hajime Tsuda’s 2020 drama Daughters. Synepic said it was focusing on independent films and would be acquiring two further titles later in the summer. The company is also looking to host in-person screenings of films it acquires. “We are beyond proud to create this unique platform for Japanese films of new generations,” commented Chiaki Yanagimoto, the president of Synepic Entertainment and the founder of the platform. “There are many Japanese films that unfortunately don’t see their full potential outside of Japan because of the traditional distribution system there. After the win of Drive My Car, several critics pointed out that the Japanese system is outdated and indifferent to the international market. It is time to change that narrative and find new ways to share these inspiring works coming from Japan, and create a platform that truly cares about the films and the filmmakers.”

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefFilmRise, the New York-based film and television studio and streaming network, has acquired the North American rights to a large swath of Japanese anime titles, headlined by more than episodes of the “Yu- Gi-Oh!” franchise.The deal with Konami Cross Media NY, part of Japan’s Konami Group, grants AVOD streaming rights for the FilmRise Streaming Network, including apps and free ad-supported TV (FAST) channels.The Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise is based on the manga series that inspired a trading card game played with monsters, spells, and traps, several video games, and a television series.“This iconic Japanese property will be featured alongside other beloved anime content, on our FilmRise Anime channel a growing new destination for North American anime fans,” said Max Einhorn, FilmRise’s SVP of acquisitions and co-production. The video streaming package includes 808 episodes of the “Yu-Gi-Oh!” TV series in English, and 541 dubbed in Spanish.

(P.S. The product below is a product—you don't have to leave Glamour to buy it.)Courtesy of brandThe toaster oven uses moisture and high heat to crisp bread on the outside, while preserving the aroma and texture on the inside.

Variety Staff Follow Us on TwitterJapanese film producer Umekawa Haruo has been accused of sexual harassment by Bunshun Online, a sister site of the Shukan Bunshun weekly tabloid publication.According to a shortened web version of a longer story that is set to appear in print, Umekawa has pressured actresses for sexual favors in exchange for being cast in his films.The veteran producer has been active since the 1990s and is an associate of cult director Sono Sion. On Monday, Sono was accused of being a sex predator by the Shukan Josei PRIME entertainment news and gossip site.Umekawa’s credits include the 1990 indie drama “Swimming Upstream,” Sono’s 2008 international festival hit “Love Exposure” and his 2011 drama “Themis.” Umekawa’s most recent credit is Netflix’s lesbian-themed road movie “Ride or Die.” The multiple accusations against prominent figures appear to suggest that the #MeToo movement has belatedly arrived in Japan, where the entertainment industry has previously succeeded in sweeping many such matters under the carpet.On Wednesday, Sono issued a handwritten statement on his company’s website apologizing for the “inconvenience and disturbance” caused by the Shukan Josei report.

TOKYO -- A #MeToo crisis is raging in the Japanese film industry.A petition signed by top names, including Cannes’ Palme d’Or-winning Hirokazu Kore-eda, Cannes Jury Prize winner Koji Fukada and “Under the Sky” director Miwa Nishikawa, expresses outrage over sexual abuse.“These acts are unforgivable,” the statement said, calling for such acts to stop.The outburst comes after the premiere of two films directed by Hideo Sakaki, “Mitsugetsu” and “Hazard Lamp,” was suddenly canceled after a Japanese magazine, Shukan Bunshun, reported allegations of sexual violence from several women.His production company denounced sexual abuse and announced Sakaki had departed. Sakaki has apologized in a statement to fans and co-workers for the cancellations, while noting inaccuracies in the report, which he didn't specify.Actor Houka Kinoshita has paused his career after two women accused him of demanding sex against their will a decade ago.

Prolific Japanese director Sion Sono, known for such films as Love Exposure and Antiporno, as well as the recent Nicolas Cage-starrer Prisoners Of The Ghostland, has reportedly been accused of sexual harassment by several actresses in Japan.

Shukan Josei link his alleged predatory behavior to his acting workshops, and in addition to the two unnamed women, the piece also includes a quote from a Japanese film executive who accused Sono of misconduct. “Even now, there is a director who has no qualms about saying ‘If you screw me, I’ll give you work’. His films are acclaimed and many actresses want to appear in them.

Ben Affleck, 49, was back on dad duty and more than dedicated to the craft while heading to pick up art with son Samuel, 10, on Friday. Ben sweetly clutched Samuel’s hand as the duo strolled the city streets to pick up art on their father-son date. Ben even managed to juggle a painting in one hand and a phone call in the crook of his neck, all while keeping Samuel’s hand safely in his!

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorOn the day before Thanksgiving 2021, Variety interviewed Michelle Zauner about her close friend Sasami and her new album “Squeeze” for our “Up Next” series — and since Zauner had just received two Grammy nominations two days before, we asked her about those as well, along with the success of her moving memoir about the death of her mother, “Crying in H Mart” and its forthcoming film, her songwriting process, and what might be coming next.We’d originally thought that we’d be publishing this article just a few weeks later, in advance of the Grammys Awards that were then scheduled for January 31, but the pandemic had other plans; the awards are now taking place this Sunday, April 3, from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Regardless, Zauner’s comments on all of the above are relevant and a revealing look at her creative and craft processes and inspirations — and check out our “Up Next” video on Sasami here.

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez know how important family time is. The couple spent their Tuesday together at a batting cage in Sherman Oaks, California, with JLo’s daughter Emme Muñiz, whom she shares with Marc Anthony. The 14-year old showed off her batting form ready to swing, while Bennifer looked happy in love, with Affleck embracing JLo with forehead kisses.Emme first showed her baseball skills back in 2020 during quarantine, as she played with JLo, Alex Rodriguez, and his daughters Ella and Natasha. It looks like she has only improved since then thanks to batting practice.

Japanese with updates from their country that bring the harsh realities of war closer to Japan.The Russian invasion of Ukraine began just after the duo, Sava Tkachov, 26, and his younger brother Yan, 20, celebrated the second anniversary of their YouTube debut with subscribers exceeding 2 million for their Sawayan Channel and Sawayan Games that Sava hosts.The first word of war came from their father, a business consultant who had returned to Kyiv two months ago just before Russian troops rolled in and has stayed since to help defend his country. The siblings’ YouTube content, which used to be full of pranks, jokes and action videos, has become more serious.Worried about their 53-year-old father and friends in Ukraine, the brothers in early March announced on their channel that they planned to volunteer as defenders too.

Naman Ramachandran Amazon Prime Video has doubled down on its investment in Japan with six local originals greenlit and an additional foray into live boxing. At an event in Tokyo on Wednesday, Amazon revealed a reboot of “Takeshi’s Castle,” the iconic game show starring Kitano Takeshi that aired on terrestrial network TBS from 1986-1989. The reboot, with the working title “Takeshi’s Castle Project' will bow in 2023.

Doubling down on investment and expanding its offer in Japan, Prime Video has unveiled a slate of new Japanese originals including a reboot of iconic game show Takeshi’s Castle and a local adaptation of anthology series Modern Love. The streamer revealed the lineup at a showcase event in Tokyo today, where it also announced it will livestream the World Bantamweight title fight between Naoya Inoue and Nonito Donaire on June 7.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorFlorence + the Machine are set to play an extended run of headline dates later this year, kicking off September 2 in Montreal with further stops including New York’s Madison Square Garden, Los Angeles’ Hollywood Bowl and many more. One dollar from every ticket sold will benefit Choose Love to aid refugees worldwide.The group has assembled a formidable array of up-and-coming support acts at select dates on the tour: Arlo Parks, Sam Fender, King Princess, Yves Tumor, Japanese Breakfast and Wet Leg will join as support on select dates throughout the tour.

Florence + the Machine, the celebrated British pop act helmed by Florence Welsh, will tour across the United States later in 2022. Each show will be opened by one of the following acts: Japanese Breakfast, Yves Tumor, Arlo Parks, Wet Leg, Sam Fender, and King Princess.

Not surprisingly, the most celebrated film of the year took one of the most coveted Oscars in the world. No, this isn’t about “Power of the Dog” or the Best Picture race.

Jennifer Love Hewitt returns to  after going on maternity leave to give birth to her third child, son Aidan James, with husband Brian Hallisay. On the show, viewers last saw Hewitt's Maddie in an October episode, where the 9-1-1 operator was seen leaving her and Chimney's baby at the firehouse. Ever since then, Maddie has been missing in action.On Monday's episode, titled «Boston,» Chimney (Kenneth Choi) is determined to find a missing Maddie among the chaos of St.

Shinji Aoyama, the Japanese film director, writer and composer known for the film “Eureka,” which won him two prizes at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival, died March 21 in Tokyo after a battle with esophageal cancer, according to local reports. He was 57.Aoyama made waves in the international film community when he premiered “Eureka” at Cannes.