Listen to snippet of Michael Stipe’s new art exhibition song

Bad Bunny surprised the city of New York with a livestreaming concert from the flatbed of a truck. The concert was also done to commemorate Hispanic Heritage Month as well as the anniversary of Hurricane Maria.

“If you are the big tree, we are the small axe,” this is the Jamaican proverb that has inspired filmmaker Steve McQueen‘s, “Small Axe,” a collection of five films inspired by real-life events about ordinary people showing courage, belief, and resilience to overcome injustice and achieve something transformative in their West Indian community.

Earlier in the week, the 2020 incarnation of the New York Film Festival got underway officially, with one part of Steve McQueen’s Small Axe anthology, Lovers Rock, serving as the Opening Night Selection. Having seen it, the movie serves as both a strong start for NYFF this year, as well as a smaller and far less awards friendly selection.

Like most aspects of life, the New York Film Festival looks a little different this year, switching to a mostly virtual format in light of the pandemic.

Todd McCarthy Watching Lovers Rock is akin to going to see Romeo and Juliet and only staying through the first act, to departing a basketball game after the first quarter, to sipping the soup and skipping the rest of the meal. A mere wisp of a thing, Steve McQueen’s 68-minute feature, the only fictional section of a five-film anthology called Small Axe about London’s West Indian community between the late 1960s and 1980, steeps you in the atmosphere and music of the latter date.

Michele Amabile Angermiller Kobalt has signed Pulitzer Prize winner Michael R. Jackson to a global publishing deal.

Anthony D'Alessandro Editorial Director/Box Office EditorEXCLUSIVE: Denis O’Sullivan and Jeff Kalligheri’s Compelling Pictures have closed a deal to produce and finance a feature adaptation of Michael Connelly’s recent New York Times bestseller Fair Warning which is being seen as a potential franchise. Connelly will write the screen adaptation and produce alongside O’Sullivan and Kalligheri.

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is committing at least $100 million to help Joe Biden’s presidential campaign in the crucial battleground state of Florida. Bloomberg’s late-stage infusion of cash reflects Democrats’ concerns about the tight race in a state that is a priority for President Donald Trump.

Andreas Wiseman International EditorEXCLUSIVE: LA-based Film Bridge International has boarded international sales rights to crime series Big Dogs, which it will begin selling during the Toronto virtual market.The eight-part series premiered domestically on Amazon Prime in July and stars Brett Cullen (Joker), Manny Perez (The Night Of), Michael Rabe (Homeland), and Lance Henriksen (Falling).Filmed in New York, the series charts intersecting stories of organized crime, white collar felonies, and

Ben Brantley, the influential New York Times theater critic, will leave the job next month. “This pandemic pause in the great, energizing party that is the theater seemed to me like a good moment to slip out the door,” Brantley said in a statement.News of Brantley’s departure was announced on Twitter by the newspaper’s theater reporter, Michael Paulson.Brantley joined the Times as its second-string theater critic in 1993, taking the chief critic job three years later.

Greg Evans Associate Editor/Broadway CriticBen Brantley, the influential New York Times theater critic, will leave the job next month. “This pandemic pause in the great, energizing party that is the theater seemed to me like a good moment to slip out the door,” Brantley said in a statement.News of Brantley’s departure was announced on Twitter by the newspaper’s theater reporter, Michael Paulson.Brantley joined the Times as its second-string theater critic in 1993, taking the chief critic job

NEW YORK -- Walter Mosley is receiving an honorary National Book Award, cited for dozens of books which range from science fiction and erotica to the acclaimed mystery series that has followed the life of Los Angeles private detective Ezekiel “Easy” Rawlins.The 68-year-old Mosley, whose works include the novels “Devil In a Blue Dress” and "Down the River Unto the Sea" and the nonfiction “Twelve Steps Toward Political Revelation,” has won the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American

Jennifer Lopez stars alongside Paloma Elsesser, Michael B.

Nirvana and Michael Jackson with drill beats.Blaccmass, an up-and-coming producer from Atlanta, has been impressing fans online with his signature brand of remixes, which sees him take classic songs and blend them with New York drill instrumentals.Although he’s been putting mixes out since 2017, his most successful release came last month when he put Earth, Wind & Fire’s classic 1979 hit ‘September’ over the top of a drill backdrop.The 55-second clip immediately went viral on Twitter – it has

Rage Against the Machine is one of the most politically outspoken bands currently making music today and singer Tom Morello loves to toe the line. In a recent interview with Yahoo, he recalled the moment his band stormed the New York Stock Exchange in Manhattan while shooting their 1999 music video for “Sleep Now in the Fire,” directed by Michael Moore.