The music world pays tribute to Pharoah Sanders

Peter Debruge Chief Film Critic America has “Groundhog Day.” Now Malaysia has “Stone Turtle,” a beguiling, all-around gorgeous reimagining of Southeast Asian folklore that finds its characters caught in a loop of vengeance, lust and violence from which they cannot escape. Here, it’s a dead-serious political statement rather than rom-com karma that forces island-dwelling refugee Zahara (Asmara Abigail) and an intrusive outsider (Bront Palarae) to play out repeated versions of a cautious standoff: She deals in precious leatherback turtle eggs, he claims to be a wildlife researcher, but pursues her with a passion that suggests other priorities. “Stone Turtle” marks a welcome comeback for Woo Ming Jin (“Woman on Fire Looks for Water”), a leading voice in the Malaysian New Wave who spent the last decade working in more mainstream waters, churning out a mix of zombie flicks and popcorn movies. Now, having picked up a prestigious FIPRESCI prize at Locarno, he’s back on the international festival circuit with a project that intriguingly applies elements of genre filmmaking to a more anthropological art-house format. The result is a loony marriage between “The Wicker Man” and “Woman in the Dunes,” as an enigmatic siren in scarlet robes traps a man on the beach for all eternity, building to a dangerous ritual where lives are sacrificed and a straw effigy is set ablaze.

At the time of writing, we're 151 days or 21 weeks into Little Mix's hiatus (if you know, you know). In that time, Leigh-Anne Pinnock's been keeping fans updated through her newsletters, Jade Thirlwall's been living her best life with Janet Jackson and Perrie Edwards has been...keeping a fairly low public profile.

Mindy Kaling Michael R. Jackson is, in a word, dazzling. His Broadway musical, “A Strange Loop,” is a breakthrough masterpiece whose plot I won’t describe here because it’s so inventive that my summary wouldn’t do it justice. But what I can say is that it’s a musical about a writer … well, trying to write. The star of “A Strange Loop” is Usher, a “young overweight-to-obese homosexual and/ or gay and/or queer, cisgender male writer,” as he says in his opening song, working to find his way in the world, deciphering the many destructive (and often extremely funny) voices in his head. Watching Michael’s Pulitzer- and Tony Award-winning musical, I felt like someone had shone a light on the creative process of writing in a way it had never been examined before. For years, many neurotic writers have been able to see themselves in the protagonists of Woody Allen movies or Charlie Kaufman’s “Adaptation” or, hell, even “The Shining.” I never completely got it. But I actually identify with Usher, a funny, tortured, pop-culture-fluent brown man trying to impress his parents, discover his voice, vanquish his shame and have sex occasionally. Michael managed to capture all the moments of artistic self-doubt and relentless self-examination and somehow make it joyful, funny and relatable.

It’s hard to imagine “Boy Meets World” without legendary actor William Daniels playing the iconic role of Mr. Feeny. But it almost didn’t happen, because Daniels turned down the role twice!

Fiona Apple has released a brand new song!

Darren Hayes is opening up about homophobia that he faced in the music industry.

mixed results. It wasn’t quite Mario or Italian, and it mostly sounded a lot like Pratt’s normal voice.

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor Fiona Apple has dropped a new song as part of the season finale of Amazon Studios’ series “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.” With vocals by Apple and music by Bear McCreary, the song is titled “Where the Shadows Lie” and is from a J.R.R. Tolkien poem that appeared in the original books — the song appears only on Amazon Music but a link and excerpt is below. “The musical legacy of ‘The Lord of the Rings’ brings to mind ethereal vocals carrying lyrical melodies over evocative harmonies, so it was my natural inclination to compose such a song for ‘The Rings of Power,’” said McCreary. “Based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s iconic ‘Ring Poem’ text, I wrote the song ‘Where the Shadows Lie’ as a theme for the titular Rings of Power, for the magic of mithril, for the sinister machinations of Sauron, and for his land of Mordor.”

Near the start of the Roundabout Theatre Company’s Broadway revival of the musical 1776, a cast made entirely of actors who identify as female, transgender and nonbinary, with multiple representations of race and ethnicity, step into the gold-buckled shoes, literally, of the men who would come to be called the founding fathers. We can only imagine how things might turn out differently, both for the musical and in some alternate real-life universe.

“Big Mouth” pushes the envelope in the most absurdly wonderful ways but not every idea makes it to Netflix screens. Just ask Joel Kim Booster.

Shawn Mendes opened up about his mental health this week after the sudden cancellation of his Wonder World tour this summer, telling ET he now feels more relaxed ahead of the premiere of his new movie, “Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile”. 

Shawn Mendes opened up about his mental health this week after the sudden cancellation of his tour this summer, telling ET he now feels more relaxed ahead of the premiere of his new movie, «It doesn't feel like such high pressure,» Mendes told ET's Rachel Smith about the film. The movie will be the first time fans hear his singing voice after announcing canceling the tour dates.

EJ Panaligan editor Warner Bros. Discovery has announced the finalists for its Warner Bros. Discovery Access Music Supervisor program, which gives creative voices from historically underrepresented communities the training and tools to gain experience in television and film music supervision. The six selected participants, Mjeema Pickett, Tiffany Gouché, A.D. Johnson, Matthew Wang, Nikki Marshall and Willy Rodriguez, will participate in a curriculum developed by an advisory board of music supervisors Paul Broucek, President of Music, Warner Bros. Pictures; Bronwyn Savasta, SVP, Music, Warner Bros. Television; and Evyen Klean, Founder, Neophonic. The cohort will learn about production, IP management, publishing, soundtracks, deal negotiation in addition to music masters, record labels, research, clearance and licensing. The program will also allow participants to gain hands-on training in an experience that will assist in their future career goals in entertainment. After completing a string of Masterclasses, the cohort will be able to shadow a WBD music supervisor on a show or feature, through a partnership with HBO, HBO Max, WBTV and Warner Bros. Pictures.

Kevin Hart has voiced support for Will Smith in the wake of him slapping Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars. During the live telecast in March, fans were shocked when the King Richard actor walked onto the stage and slapped Rock after he compared his wife Jada Pinkett Smith - who has the medical condition alopecia - to G. I.

Iranian filmmakers have united in penning an open letter to their friends and colleagues across the film industry, requesting their support in defending the rights of Iran’s people. 

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent As protests continue to erupt in Iran and around the world sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini – the young Iranian woman who died last week while being held in custody by morality police for allegedly wearing a loose headscarf – the country’s film community is intensely engaged and keenly aware that their voices are now even more at risk of being quashed. Two-time Oscar-winning Iranian director Asghar Farhadi (“A Separation”), who is currently presiding over the Zurich Film Festival jury, has issued a statement and a video appeal urging artists around the world to proclaim their solidarity with the Iranian people who are protesting against the death of Amini.

Adam Devine wants everyone to stop confusing him for Adam Levine amid the singer’s affair allegations!

Gwen Stefani had a big reason to celebrate recently when she rang in her niece, Ryan's, 16th birthday and her heartfelt tribute had some fans seeing double. The Voice judge was delighted to share an adorable snapshot of the birthday girl looking like she'd taken a leaf out of her famous aunt's book with a cute but edgy look. MORE: Gwen Stefani baffles fans with 'unrecognizable' appearance on chat show In the image on Instagram stories, Ryan was standing proudly in front of an array of gorgeous pink, purple and silver balloons with a jeweled sign which read: "Sweet 16." She had her arms crossed and her hair perfectly curled, with a tiara placed on her head. The teenager wore a pair of ripped, denim hotpants which Gwen would have loved for herself, and a sweet butterfly sweater, complete with a pair of purple, heart-shaped glasses which hung on her pocket. MORE: Gwen Stefani looks so different with bobbed hair and glassesMORE: Gwen Stefani shares divisive sneak peek of The Voice"Ha Happy Sweet 16 to our niece!!! Ryan we love u," wrote Gwen. The star adores being both a mom to her three boys, Kingston, Zuma and Apollo, and an aunt to her brother's children too.  Gwen's niece turned 16Gwen doesn't have any children with her husband, Blake Shelton, as she shares them with her ex Gavin Rossdale. But Blake adores being a stepfather to Gwen's sons and spoke about it earlier this year in an interview with Country Countdown USA host, Lon Helton.MORE: Blake Shelton reveals exciting news about his tour: 'Here we go'"What I've been looking forward to doing for the last four or five years is eyeing that timeline, that part of my career, where I just need to start stripping some things away," he said.

Gayle King has voiced her opinion on a possible Royal Family reconciliation.