My guest on 20 Questions this week is Anthony Michael Hall.
18.06.2024 - 12:13 / deadline.com
After lighting up CineEurope with a feast of tulips last year and then again the Caesars Colosseum at CinemaCon in April, Universal returned to Barcelona today with a presentation heavy on its upcoming two-part musical Wicked. The jam-packed show also highlighted its 30-strong film slate and concluded with a surprise first-look at a scene from Michael Jackson biopic, Michael, centering on the making of the iconic “Thriller” video. It positively wowed the audience.
Michael producer Graham King presented the five-minute clip which had been preceded by the same footage we saw at CinemaCon. He said the seven-years-in-the-making film had just wrapped and that director Antoine Fuqua is currently in L.A. editing.
“Unpacking the life of the King of Pop has been a daunting task,” said King. The Bohemian Rhapsody producer added, “There are biopics — and then there’s Michael Jackson.” He noted there will be more than 30 songs in the movie and that he felt honored to have been trusted by the family to tell the story.
Jackson’s nephew Jaafar Jackson leads the ensemble as Michael, with Colman Domingo, Nia Long, Miles Teller, Laura Harrier and Juliano Krue Valdi among others in key roles. Lionsgate is distributing domestically and in Japan, with Universal set to handle all other international territories. Pic’s slated for release worldwide on April 18, 2025.
Earlier, life-sized Wicked dioramas lined the entrance to the CCIB auditorium here as plumes of smoke, multi-colored bubbles and streamer cannons celebrated the film adaptation of the Broadway musical phenomenon inside the auditorium. The first part of the Jon M Chu movie releases domestically on November 27 this year, with Wicked Part Two scheduled to arrive in theaters on
My guest on 20 Questions this week is Anthony Michael Hall.
Essence Festival has outdone itself.From July 5-7, the annual festival will bring in some of the biggest names in music to New Orleans’ Caesars Superdome for three fun-filled days of Hip-Hop, R&B and good times.Headliners at this year’s extravaganza include Usher, Janet Jackson, Busta Rhymes, Keke Palmer and Big Boi.They’ll be joined by T-Pain, The Roots, Victoria Monét, SWV and Jagged Edge.If you ask us though, we’re most excited to see “SNL” cast member Punkie Johnson handle hosting duties on Friday, July 5.Plus, we won’t be skipping out on Method Man, Sheila E. and Tank and the Bangas, either.Sound like the festival for you?As of now, it isn’t too late to scoop up last-minute tickets.At the time of publication, three-day general admission passes start at $691 before fees on Vivid Seats.Single-day passes can be found for as low as $70 before fees.In fact, if you’re planning on attending, it might be wise to make three separate single-day ticket purchases instead of buying the three-day pass.
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Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The Malaysia International Film Festival (Miffest), which runs July 21-28, will open with horror film “Indera” by local director Woo Ming Jin and starring Shaheizy Sam and Azira Shafinaz. The festival will conclude with the double feature of “Love Lies” by Ho Miu Ki and “Peg O’ My Heart” by Nick Cheung.
Prince Jackson is ensuring that Michael Jackson‘s legacy lives on.
Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor The Palm Springs International ShortFest has announced the juried and audience award winners for its 2024 edition, which took place June 18-24. Over $25,000 in cash prizes and five Academy Award-qualifying honors were presented to the winning films, which included Esteban Pedraza’s “Bogotá Story” and Jadwiga Kowalska’s animated film “The Car That Came Back from the Sea.” See a full list of winners below.
Rebecca Rubin Senior Film and Media Reporter After just two weekends of release, “Inside Out 2” is towering above the rest as the highest-grossing movie of the year. Disney and Pixar’s sequel has generated $355 million in North America and $724 million globally to date, overtaking the previous record holder of “Dune: Part II” ($282 million domestically and $711 million worldwide). At this rate, it’ll soon be the first movie of 2024 to cross $1 billion worldwide.
Paramount went all in on Gladiator II at CineEurope today, showing off an exclusive extended look at Ridley Scott’s sequel to his 2000 Best Picture Oscar winner. Introducing the footage in a video clip, Scott promised that Gladiator II, coming nearly two-and-a-half decades after the original, is “well worth the wait”; the audience today agreed. That pre-roll clip also included stars Denzel Washington, Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Connie Nielsen and Joseph Quinn. Paramount releases globally in November.
Alex Ritman While the seemingly never-ending saga over Paramount‘s future ownership may be still rumbling on, the studio didn’t hold back when it came to putting on a grand spectacle at the 2024 CineEurope trade show. “Gladiator 2” was — unsurprisingly — the main event of Paramount’s slate presentation in Barcelona.
Warner Bros brought twin tornadoes to CineEurope today, showing off an extended new look at the Daisy Edgar-Jones/Glen Powell starrer Twisters which the studio is releasing internationally. From Lee Isaac Chung, the action thriller starts overseas rollout on July 17 and storms into domestic cinemas via Universal on July 19.
Alex Ritman Universal bookended its presentation at the 2024 edition of CineEurope with the Wicked Witch of the West and the King of Pop. Returning to the trade show in Barcelona buoyed by confidence after claiming 2023’s studio crown with a box office of almost $5 billion globally, the number one animation in “The Super Mario Bros.
Jamie xx is sharing another taste of his upcoming album In Waves!
EastEnders actress Jacqueline Jossa got fans talking earlier this year, when she posted a series of sweet family photos over Easter weekend – minus her husband Dan Osborne, 32. And the TV star was also pictured without her wedding ring.
Coldplay have announced their new album ‘Moon Music’, which will be made available on vinyl made from 100 per cent recycled plastic bottles.The band’s 10th studio album will be released on October 4, while its first single ‘feelslikeimfallinginlove’ will be out on Friday (June 21). Pre-order the album here and pre-save the single here.The album has been produced by Max Martin (Taylor Swift, The Weeknd, Katy Perry), and will be available in a limited number of hand-signed editions.
Shanghai International Film Festival, but that did little to diminish the festive atmosphere. The ceremony was held at the Shanghai Grand Theater in the downtown area on an evening that was warm and spring-like and without the “plum rain” or summer downpours that the city is known for at this time of year. Arguably the biggest names in attendance were Hong Kong actor and “Westworld” star Daniel Wu, Hong Kong director Dante Lam, Chinese star actor-director-producer Xu Zheng and Japanese actor Yakusho Koji, who won the best actor award a year ago at Cannes for his leading role in Wim Wenders’ “Perfect Days.” Marco Mueller, a celebrated festival director and artistic consultant, was also on hand in his adopted home town.
cleared to descend on the infamous property north of Santa Ynez, Calif., for the shoot in April, according to film permit activity reviewed by SF Gate. “Dialogue, petting zoom, stunt” and the use of helicopters were given the green light.Jackson’s nephew Jaafar Jackson plays the late King of Pop in Antoine Fuqua’s “Michael,” slated for release in April 2025.The property has been associated with lurid claims against Jackson, who died at age 50 in 2009 from an acute drug overdose.Jackson faced 14 charges including seven counts of child molestation and two counts of giving alcohol to a minor in a child sex abuse probe, but was acquitted of all charges in June 2005.
USA Network is returning to the legal drama arena with The Rainmaker, based on the bestselling John Grisham novel and its film adaptation. The project, from writer Michael Seitzman (Code Black), Lionsgate Television and Blumhouse Television, has received a series order by the NBCUniversal cable network, capping a six-year journey by Seitzman to bring the book to television.
Wallace and Gromit. The portrait was painted by Jonathan Yeo and was unveiled in the London gallery in May.A video that has since gone viral captured the moment where the activists were filmed pasting the Wallace head over Charles face, along with a speech bubble that read: “No cheese Gromit, look at all this cruelty on RSPCA farms!”The Animal Rising group took responsibility for the act on Twitter/X yesterday. “Click the link to find out why he has been Wallaced,” they posted, leading viewers to a website detailing their cause.You can see the moment the portrait was defaced here:An animal activists group has covered the new King Charles portrait with Wallace from Wallace & Gromit.“No cheese, Gromit.