‘Wicked Little Letters’ Review: Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley Play Sworn Enemies in Saucy Libel-Case Satire

At the height of their failure, every day was Altamont for the Brian Jonestown Massacre, the San Francisco outfit founded in 1990 by Anton Newcombe, the Klaus Kinski of psychedelic rock. Just in time for this 20th anniversary overhaul of Ondi Timoner’s breakthrough documentary, the BJM were back in the news as recently as November 2023, when the first night of an Australian tour ended in a riot. That the riot was confined to the stage, and played out in front of a dumbfounded audience, is DIG! XX in a nutshell, a welcome return for a film that no less an authority than Dave Grohl calls, in a specially filmed new intro, “the greatest rock’n’roll documentary of all time”.

Owen Gleiberman Chief Film Critic We look at famous actors as role models, tending to see their personal lives as soap opera, as projection, as aspiration. But the story of Christopher Reeve is different. His life became a parable.

Siddhant Adlakha Modeled on a late-’80s/early-’90s American family sitcom — which soon transitions to a midnight splatterfest — the tongue-in-cheek Dutch production “Krazy House” has all the transgressive stylings of a 15 year-old’s Reddit post on an atheism forum in 2010. Directors Steffen Haars and Flip van der Kuil offer ideas of subversion that feel both long-outdated in concept and completely dull in execution, to the point that merely describing the film feels irresponsible, lest its premise accidentally lure curious viewers to the cinema.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor The Oscars nominations might not have given everything the people wanted, but diversity in the acting categories had several high points to celebrate. Lily Gladstone made history as the first Native American nominated for best actress, for her towering role as Mollie Burkhart in the crime thriller “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Colman Domingo became the first Afro Latino nominated in best actor for his powerhouse performance in the civil rights drama “Rustin.” He’s joined by fellow Black nominee Jeffrey Wright for “American Fiction.” This is only the second time in Oscar history where more than one Black actor, who wasn’t either Will Smith or Denzel Washington, was nominated for the leading prize.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Lindsay Lohan and Kristin Chenoweth will star in the Netflix romantic comedy “Our Little Secret.” Stephen Herek is directing the film, which follows two resentful exes (Lohan and Ian Harding) who are forced to spend Christmas together after discovering their current partners are siblings. Lohan will reunite with her “Mean Girls” co-star Tim Meadows, as well as star alongside Jon Rudnitsky, Chris Parnell, Dan Bucatinsky, Henry Czerny, Katie Baker, Ash Santos, Jake Brennan and Brian Unger. It’s unclear who anyone else is playing in the cast.

Lindsay Lohan (Mean Girls) and Kristin Chenoweth (Schmigadoon!) have been set to star in Our Little Secret, a new holiday film that Stephen Herek (Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure) is directing for Netflix.

Viaplay‘s Central and Eastern European production division Paprika Studios has exited the Scandinavian media group.

Peter Debruge Chief Film Critic Here we are, three weeks into January, and the Sundance Film Festival has delivered what promises to be the year’s most uncomfortable date movie: a grubby New York-set fable about a facially distinctive actor (modeled on Adam Pearson) who undergoes an experimental procedure that leaves him looking like Sebastian Stan — presumably an improvement, until he realizes that under the skin, he’s still the same miserable loser. The kind of oddball satire only indie studio A24 would dare to produce, Aaron Schimberg’s “A Different Man” asks what it means to be “normal,” and whether, if we could wave a magic wand and “correct” those qualities that set us apart, that’s really something we’d want.

Prince Harry has decided to drop his libel case against the Mail on Sunday newspaper, which could have resulted in him having to pay huge costs.The Duke of Sussex abandoned the case just hours before a key deadline, when his lawyers were due to hand over documents. Harry, 39, sued Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) over a February 2022 article about his legal challenge against the Home Office following a decision to change his publicly funded security arrangements when visiting the UK.The duke’s lawyers claimed the story “purported to reveal, in sensational terms” that information from court documents “contradicted public statements he had previously made about his willingness to pay for police protection for himself and his family whilst in the UK”.

Green Day surprised commuters in New York last night (January 16) with a busking performance that featured Jimmy Fallon.Ahead of their intimate gig at the Irving Plaza on Thursday (January 18) and the subsequent release of their new album ‘Saviors’, Green Day were in town, where it was previously teased that they would be doing something special for The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon, though they’re not scheduled to appear on the show.Word of a potential impromptu gig quickly began making its way around the internet, and commuters at the Rockefeller Center subway station took to social media to share images of musical equipment and cameras being set up on the platforms.Who are these guys? pic.twitter.com/H8I5ZAupEB— Green Day Inc. (@GreenDayInc) January 17, 2024Fans then began sharing footage of the band arriving in costumes, flanked by Jimmy Fallon, who joined the trio to perform all six songs of their setlist.

Love Island ’s Teddy Soares has reportedly called it quits on his relationship with the stunning Irish model and actress, Casey Boonstra. The 29-year-old reality star, known for his memorable stint on Love Island, had embarked on a series of dates with Casey last year after parting ways with his long-term girlfriend, Faye Winter. Teddy openly confirmed his return to the dating scene in October, expressing his happiness and enthusiasm about a new romantic chapter after his break-up.

Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo and Dua Lipa will perform at the 2024 Grammys, it has been announced.The pop artists are the first three live performers to be confirmed for the ceremony, which is due to take place at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California on Sunday, February 4.Eilish, Rodrigo and Lipa are all in the running for major awards at the 66th Grammys next month.‘What Was I Made For?’ – Eilish’s song for the Barbie soundtrack – is up for Record Of The Year, Song Of The Year, Best Pop Solo Performance, Best Music Video and Best Song Written For Visual Media. Her Labrinth collaboration ‘Never Felt So Alone’ is also nominated for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.Rodrigo has six nominations under her belt too: Album Of The Year (‘Guts’), Record Of The Year (‘Vampire’), Song Of The Year (‘Vampire’), Best Pop Solo Performance (‘Vampire’), Best Pop Vocal Album (‘Guts’) and Best Rock Song (‘Ballad Of A Homeschooled Girl’).Lipa, meanwhile, appears in two categories with her Barbie single ‘Dance The Night’: Song Of The Year and Best Song Written For Visual Media.A post shared by CBS (@cbstv)A post shared by CBS (@cbstv)A post shared by CBS (@cbstv)Eilish and Rodrigo last performed at the Grammys in 2022 when they took the stage for ‘Happier Than Ever’ and ‘Drivers License’, respectively.

Coronation Street star Alan Halsall has completely confused fans after vowing to 'break the internet' with a newly familiar face. The actor took a break from the cobbles as he headed to watch his beloved Manchester United on home turf at Old Trafford on Sunday night (January 14).

Darts sensation Luke Littler has been spotted at Old Trafford and even spoke to MUTV before Manchester United got down to business against Tottenham in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon. The 16-year-old is a huge United fan and has enjoyed a meteoric rise over the last month.

It’s a bit of a Renaissance moment for Frankenstein related projects, no? “Poor Things” obviously cribs from Mary Shelley‘s 1818 novel, and well, it’s all the name when it comes to “Lisa Frankenstein.” Then there’s Guillermo del Toro‘s upcoming take for Netflix, which announced its cast earlier this week. Now add Maggie Gyllenhaal‘s latest directing effort to the list.

EXCLUSIVE: Annette Bening is joining Maggie Gyllenhaal‘s Frankenstein lore feature at Warner Bros; the studio making it official that this is a go-project. Cameras roll in Q1. This package with its attachments has been out there since it was at Netflix, and the deals have finally closed with everyone.

Manchester United youth prospect Amir Ibragimov enjoyed a special moment when playing with his younger brother in an academy game against Liverpool.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor From Hollywood strikes to the ascent of AI to sinking stock prices, 2023 was a topsy-turvy year for media and entertainment. Cynthia Littleton and Andrew Wallenstein, hosts of Variety podcast “Strictly Business,” discuss the highs and lows of the past year on the latest episode.

Heartworms, Skydaddy and more are set to play Music For Palestine fundraising gig in London this weekend – get full details below.The Speedy Wunderground-signed project will headline the show at the George Tavern on Sunday, January 7, with proceeds going to the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund.Also playing the Music For Palestine fundraiser will be Bande Á Part. Tickets can be bought here and the evening will feature a raffle “with the opportunity to win band merch and donated items from local artists,” as Heartworms wrote on Instagram.Last month, the Musicians’ Union called for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Middle East” as violence continues in Gaza.Artists have also been coming together to sign open letters voicing their support for a ceasefire.

Jools Holland‘s traditional New Year’s Eve show on BBC2 has been announced.Jools’ Annual Hootenanny will see the likes of Rod Stewart, Joss Stone, Olivia Dean, Paul Jones, P.P. Arnold, RAYE, Sugababes and The Mary Wallopers seeing in 2024.Other guests include Boogie Woogie Queen, Ruby Turner and as always, the Pipes & Drums of the 1st Battalion Scot Guards will feature, as the hour strikes midnight.Details of which songs the artists will perform on the night are yet to be announced.This year’s show will air from 11.30pm GMT on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer this Sunday (December 31).