Britney Spears has given us some of the most memorable dance songs of the past 25 years. She’s also really bad at doing covers. She’s managed to ruin tracks from many different genres, including 1960s psychedelia, hard rock, and an a capella classic.
5. ‘The Beat Goes On’
In many ways, Spears is the heir to Cher. It only made sense for her to record “The Beat Goes On,” one of Cher’s most beloved hits from her days with Sonny Bono. However, the production on Spears’ version is horrid and the tune sounds out-of-place on one of the records that defined 1999.
At least Spears was staying in her lane with this one. She was a pop diva taking on the work of another pop dive. Many of her later covers were more awkward because she went out of her comfort zone.
4. ‘I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll’
Joan Jett’s...
5. ‘The Beat Goes On’
In many ways, Spears is the heir to Cher. It only made sense for her to record “The Beat Goes On,” one of Cher’s most beloved hits from her days with Sonny Bono. However, the production on Spears’ version is horrid and the tune sounds out-of-place on one of the records that defined 1999.
At least Spears was staying in her lane with this one. She was a pop diva taking on the work of another pop dive. Many of her later covers were more awkward because she went out of her comfort zone.
4. ‘I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll’
Joan Jett’s...
- 7/15/2024
- by Matthew Trzcinski
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
“I can’t believe we’re here,” a friend said to me about halfway through this year’s Il Cinema Ritrovato, which takes over the center of Bologna for nine glorious days every summer, before correcting himself: “It actually makes a lot of sense that we’re here, but I still can’t believe it.”
My friend was in awe not that we––a pair of New York cinephiles, both fairly well-traveled––managed to make it to beautiful Bologna, but that we had entered some kind of an Olympic village for cinephiles, each day filled with some of the most memorable moviegoing events of our lives and each night filled with hours of discussion about the day’s pleasures. At the festival, everyone’s first question is “how many years have you been coming?” and newcomers are warmly welcomed into the fray. The favored departure is not a “ciao” or...
My friend was in awe not that we––a pair of New York cinephiles, both fairly well-traveled––managed to make it to beautiful Bologna, but that we had entered some kind of an Olympic village for cinephiles, each day filled with some of the most memorable moviegoing events of our lives and each night filled with hours of discussion about the day’s pleasures. At the festival, everyone’s first question is “how many years have you been coming?” and newcomers are warmly welcomed into the fray. The favored departure is not a “ciao” or...
- 7/11/2024
- by Forrest Cardamenis
- The Film Stage
What kind of music goes best with comedy? Even if you’ve never seen The Benny Hill Show, you know its silly, sped-up theme song. For years, funny movies would incorporate swinging jazz or playful orchestral tunes. Then, in the late 1970s, John Landis had the idea to tap acclaimed Oscar-winning composer (and friend) Elmer Bernstein to write a no-winking serious score for Landis’ outrageous Animal House. The juxtaposition worked perfectly, the onscreen hijinks accentuated by Bernstein’s soaring strings — almost as if the movie was pretending to be classy while the characters were thumbing their nose at the pomposity. Soon, other movies, like Airplane! (also scored by Bernstein), were doing the same thing, proving that what initially seemed like a bizarre notion for music in a comedy could actually be brilliant.
But times change, and one trend gets replaced by a new one. By the mid-1980s, several hit comedies contained a hit single.
But times change, and one trend gets replaced by a new one. By the mid-1980s, several hit comedies contained a hit single.
- 7/1/2024
- Cracked
While far from a smash hit in its original 1983 theatrical release, Brian De Palma’s Scarface, over time, became seen as a classic. The rise of home video played a big role, with it having an outsized impact on hip hop artists, with many (Many) songs sampling the soundtrack/score and dialogue. In fact, its reputation in the rap community was so strong that, around the time of its 20th anniversary, Universal Pictures, in association with Def Jam Records, attempted to redo the movie’s soundtrack with hip hop.
According to a new book, “The World is Yours: The Story of Scarface,” by Glenn Kenny, star Al Pacino and producer Martin Bergman actually weren’t opposed to the idea of dropping Giorgio Moroder’s classic score (and songs) and replacing it with hip hop, only for Brian De Palma to (thankfully) put the kibosh on the whole deal. As excerpted...
According to a new book, “The World is Yours: The Story of Scarface,” by Glenn Kenny, star Al Pacino and producer Martin Bergman actually weren’t opposed to the idea of dropping Giorgio Moroder’s classic score (and songs) and replacing it with hip hop, only for Brian De Palma to (thankfully) put the kibosh on the whole deal. As excerpted...
- 6/29/2024
- by Chris Bumbray
- JoBlo.com
Many of the shots that open American Gigolo are angled far above high-price escort Julian Kay (Richard Gere) as he goes about his date. The bird’s-eye view on him captures the materialistic glamor in which he walks—designer clothes, a Mercedes convertible—while also placing it at enough of a distance to remove any identification or pleasure on our part. All at once, Julian is defined both as a man who delights in consumer culture while being a product himself, a person who’s constantly using himself as a model for the very things he buys.
Writer-director Paul Schrader routinely emphasizes this detachment in further sketching out the details of Julian’s life and demeanor. The man lives in a spacious apartment with modern decor, but the ample negative space of the flat stresses how it feels less like a home and more like a showroom for a lifestyle.
Writer-director Paul Schrader routinely emphasizes this detachment in further sketching out the details of Julian’s life and demeanor. The man lives in a spacious apartment with modern decor, but the ample negative space of the flat stresses how it feels less like a home and more like a showroom for a lifestyle.
- 6/18/2024
- by Jake Cole
- Slant Magazine
Omar Apollo is pouring his experiences with heartbreak into his sophomore album. On Wednesday, the Mexican American musician announced that he’ll release his album God Said No, featuring appearances from Mustafa and actor Pedro Pascal, on June 28.
“This album is a reflection of my life for the past 2 years and I’m happy to finally present it to you,” Apollo wrote on Instagram, also revealing that he’ll drop the album’s next single, “Dispose of Me,” on Thursday.
Apollo wrote most of the album in London, spending a...
“This album is a reflection of my life for the past 2 years and I’m happy to finally present it to you,” Apollo wrote on Instagram, also revealing that he’ll drop the album’s next single, “Dispose of Me,” on Thursday.
Apollo wrote most of the album in London, spending a...
- 5/15/2024
- by Tomás Mier
- Rollingstone.com
Smooth jazz saxophonist David Sanborn, who played on recordings by Stevie Wonder, James Brown, and Carly Simon and performed live with David Bowie and the Rolling Stones, died in Tarrytown, New York, on Sunday afternoon. A rep confirmed the news to Rolling Stone. A message on Sanborn’s social media cited complications after an extended battle with prostate cancer. He was 78.
“Mr. Sanborn had been dealing with prostate cancer since 2018 but had been able to maintain his normal schedule of concerts until just recently,” the message said. “Indeed he already...
“Mr. Sanborn had been dealing with prostate cancer since 2018 but had been able to maintain his normal schedule of concerts until just recently,” the message said. “Indeed he already...
- 5/13/2024
- by Kory Grow
- Rollingstone.com
Mark Damon, who starred in the Vincent Price horror classic House of Usher and spaghetti Westerns before revolutionizing the foreign sales and distribution film business and producing features including 9 1/2 Weeks, Monster and Lone Survivor, has died. He was 91.
Damon died Sunday of natural causes in Los Angeles, his daughter, Alexis Damon Ribaut, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Damon spent the first 20 years of his career as an actor, including about a dozen as a leading man in Italian action movies, before he transitioned to the business side.
He had early success as an executive producer with two movies written and directed by Wolfgang Petersen: the German-language World War II drama Das Boot (1981), which received six Oscar nominations, and The NeverEnding Story (1984), a big-budget fantasy film that featured a Damon-commissioned score by Giorgio Moroder for non-German audiences.
He shared an Independent Spirit Award with director Patty Jenkins and others...
Damon died Sunday of natural causes in Los Angeles, his daughter, Alexis Damon Ribaut, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Damon spent the first 20 years of his career as an actor, including about a dozen as a leading man in Italian action movies, before he transitioned to the business side.
He had early success as an executive producer with two movies written and directed by Wolfgang Petersen: the German-language World War II drama Das Boot (1981), which received six Oscar nominations, and The NeverEnding Story (1984), a big-budget fantasy film that featured a Damon-commissioned score by Giorgio Moroder for non-German audiences.
He shared an Independent Spirit Award with director Patty Jenkins and others...
- 5/13/2024
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Matteo Garrone’s Oscar-nominated drama “Io Capitano,” about the odyssey of two young African men who decide to leave Dakar to reach Europe, and Paola Cortellesi’s feminist dramedy “There’s Still Tomorrow” were both the big winners at Italy’s 69th David di Donatello Awards.
“Io Capitano” won Davids for best picture, director, producers, editor, and cinematographer, among other prizes, while “Still Tomorrow,” which is about the plight of an abused housewife in post-war Rome and had 19 nominations scored six statuettes, including best directorial debut, actress, non supporting actress, screenplay, and audience award.
“Still Tomorrow,” which marks the directorial debut of popular Italian actor Paola Cortellesi, who also stars, is shot in black-and-white and riffs on Italy’s neorealist past, albeit with a contemporary female empowerment angle.
“I made this debut at the brink of menopause,” Cortellesi, who is 50, said while accepting the statuette for best debuting director. “I hope...
“Io Capitano” won Davids for best picture, director, producers, editor, and cinematographer, among other prizes, while “Still Tomorrow,” which is about the plight of an abused housewife in post-war Rome and had 19 nominations scored six statuettes, including best directorial debut, actress, non supporting actress, screenplay, and audience award.
“Still Tomorrow,” which marks the directorial debut of popular Italian actor Paola Cortellesi, who also stars, is shot in black-and-white and riffs on Italy’s neorealist past, albeit with a contemporary female empowerment angle.
“I made this debut at the brink of menopause,” Cortellesi, who is 50, said while accepting the statuette for best debuting director. “I hope...
- 5/3/2024
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Madonna‘s songs were to the 1980s what Abba’s were to the 1970s — both artists produced lasting, classic dancefloor fillers with impeccable grooves. When Madonna sampled one of Abba’s best disco tracks, she could have desecrated a classic. Instead, she produced a song that’s superior to the original. Let’s take a look at how the Queen of Pop outdid Abba.
Madonna’s ‘Hung’ Up’ samples 1 of Abba’s only disco hits
While Abba was part of the disco era, they only released two big disco songs: “Dancing Queen” and “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight).” The latter is most notable for a hypnotic riff. That riff formed the basis of Madonna’s “Hung Up,” one of her final songs to become a big hit in the United States.
Madonna’s song simply has better lyrics than Abba’s. Abba lyrics are often awkward and that’s part of their charm.
Madonna’s ‘Hung’ Up’ samples 1 of Abba’s only disco hits
While Abba was part of the disco era, they only released two big disco songs: “Dancing Queen” and “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight).” The latter is most notable for a hypnotic riff. That riff formed the basis of Madonna’s “Hung Up,” one of her final songs to become a big hit in the United States.
Madonna’s song simply has better lyrics than Abba’s. Abba lyrics are often awkward and that’s part of their charm.
- 4/15/2024
- by Matthew Trzcinski
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Omar Apollo is looking at himself through Zoom as he tries on the beige Sherpa jacket he just bought. “You fuck with it?” he asks.
It’s hard not to fuck with everything the Mexican American alt-r&b star does. Apollo dropped his debut album, Ivory, in April 2022, then blew up with the ultra-sentimental song “Evergreen,” and followed that success by touring with Sza last year. Recently, he’s been dipping into fashion. (A massive billboard of him dripped in the luxury designer Loewe looms over Sunset Boulevard in L.
It’s hard not to fuck with everything the Mexican American alt-r&b star does. Apollo dropped his debut album, Ivory, in April 2022, then blew up with the ultra-sentimental song “Evergreen,” and followed that success by touring with Sza last year. Recently, he’s been dipping into fashion. (A massive billboard of him dripped in the luxury designer Loewe looms over Sunset Boulevard in L.
- 4/11/2024
- by Tomás Mier
- Rollingstone.com
The Grammy Hall of Fame has its 2024 class of treasured songs and albums.
The Recording Academy today enshrined classic albums by Guns N’ Roses, Lauryn Hill and De La Soul and Buena Vista Social Club and tracks from Donna Summer, The Doobie Brothers, Wanda Jackson, Charley Pride, William Bell and Kid Ory’s Creole Orchestra. See the full list below.
“We’re proud to unveil the diverse mix of recordings entering the Grammy Hall of Fame in its 50th year,” Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. said in a statement. “The music showcased here has played a pivotal role in shaping our cultural landscape, and it’s a true honor to recognize these albums and recordings, along with the profound influence each has had on music and beyond.”
The Grammy Hall salutes recordings that “that exhibit qualitative of historical significance” are are at least 25 years old. This year’s class...
The Recording Academy today enshrined classic albums by Guns N’ Roses, Lauryn Hill and De La Soul and Buena Vista Social Club and tracks from Donna Summer, The Doobie Brothers, Wanda Jackson, Charley Pride, William Bell and Kid Ory’s Creole Orchestra. See the full list below.
“We’re proud to unveil the diverse mix of recordings entering the Grammy Hall of Fame in its 50th year,” Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. said in a statement. “The music showcased here has played a pivotal role in shaping our cultural landscape, and it’s a true honor to recognize these albums and recordings, along with the profound influence each has had on music and beyond.”
The Grammy Hall salutes recordings that “that exhibit qualitative of historical significance” are are at least 25 years old. This year’s class...
- 3/20/2024
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
Apologies in advance if any eighties kids who watched the original The NeverEnding Story are triggered by the reference to "slow horses" in the headline above (justice for Artax!) But it's all in service of news that See-Saw Films, the company behind The King's Speech and, yes Slow Horses, has the rights to make a new adaptation of Michael Ende's 1979 tome.
For those who didn't grow up traumatised by the tragic interaction of a faithful steed and the Swamp of Sadness in the 1984 fantasy film, here's the basic (NeverEnding) storyline… Ende's tale focuses on shy, young, bookish Bastian who gets threatened a lot by bullies. Retreating into the relatively safety of an attic and a fictional world, he settles in to read the mysterious, titular fantasy book.
It, in turn, follows the heroic Atréyu and his mission to save the magical realm of Fantastica — chock full of dragons,...
For those who didn't grow up traumatised by the tragic interaction of a faithful steed and the Swamp of Sadness in the 1984 fantasy film, here's the basic (NeverEnding) storyline… Ende's tale focuses on shy, young, bookish Bastian who gets threatened a lot by bullies. Retreating into the relatively safety of an attic and a fictional world, he settles in to read the mysterious, titular fantasy book.
It, in turn, follows the heroic Atréyu and his mission to save the magical realm of Fantastica — chock full of dragons,...
- 3/20/2024
- by James White
- Empire - Movies
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard have released their 25th (!) studio album, The Silver Cord. Stream it below.
As always with King Gizzard albums, The Silver Cord serves as a platform for the band to explore a variety of musical ideas, this time focusing on: electronic, synth-led arrangements and breaking down the structural notion of a song. The album artwork depicts the Australian group surrounded by a plethora of synths and electronic devices, setting the tone for their computerized compositions, while the two different editions of the album — one standard and one “extended” — cues listeners in as to what to expect.
The standard edition of the album features songs that are, well, more along the lines of what a “standard” pop song would be, with recognizable structures and choruses, and landing somewhere around the 3-minute mark. The “extended” edition, however, presents tracks that range from 10 to 20 minutes, and, as explained in the press release,...
As always with King Gizzard albums, The Silver Cord serves as a platform for the band to explore a variety of musical ideas, this time focusing on: electronic, synth-led arrangements and breaking down the structural notion of a song. The album artwork depicts the Australian group surrounded by a plethora of synths and electronic devices, setting the tone for their computerized compositions, while the two different editions of the album — one standard and one “extended” — cues listeners in as to what to expect.
The standard edition of the album features songs that are, well, more along the lines of what a “standard” pop song would be, with recognizable structures and choruses, and landing somewhere around the 3-minute mark. The “extended” edition, however, presents tracks that range from 10 to 20 minutes, and, as explained in the press release,...
- 10/27/2023
- by Jo Vito
- Consequence - Music
Italy has submitted Matteo Garrone’s Io Capitano as its candidate for Best International Film at the 96th Academy Awards.
The timely drama follows the hardships of two Senegalese teenagers as they try to make it to Europe via the Sahara desert and the Mediterranean Sea.
The film world premiered to critical acclaim in Competition in Venice winning Best Director for Garrone, Best Young Star for co-star Seydou Sarr and Best Production Director for Claudia Cravotta.
The Deadline review out of Venice describes the film as “a blisteringly topical drama” that could be Garrone’s “best” film to date, in a filmography that also includes Gomorrah, Tale of Tales and Dogman.
The selection was made by a committee overseen by Italian cinema organisation Anica. Its members comprised Alessandro Araimo, Domizia De Rosa, Esmeralda Calabria, Daniela Ciancio, Francesca Lo Schiavo, Giorgio Moroder, Cristiana Paternò, Michele Placido, Paola Randi, Riccardo Tozzi and Gianpiero Tulelli.
The timely drama follows the hardships of two Senegalese teenagers as they try to make it to Europe via the Sahara desert and the Mediterranean Sea.
The film world premiered to critical acclaim in Competition in Venice winning Best Director for Garrone, Best Young Star for co-star Seydou Sarr and Best Production Director for Claudia Cravotta.
The Deadline review out of Venice describes the film as “a blisteringly topical drama” that could be Garrone’s “best” film to date, in a filmography that also includes Gomorrah, Tale of Tales and Dogman.
The selection was made by a committee overseen by Italian cinema organisation Anica. Its members comprised Alessandro Araimo, Domizia De Rosa, Esmeralda Calabria, Daniela Ciancio, Francesca Lo Schiavo, Giorgio Moroder, Cristiana Paternò, Michele Placido, Paola Randi, Riccardo Tozzi and Gianpiero Tulelli.
- 9/20/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Famed songwriter and “Father of Disco” Giorgio Moroder has sold his producer royalties to the brand development company Iconoclast, Variety reports.
The deal places Moroder’s name, image, and likeness rights in the hands of Iconoclast, so expect to hear Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love” or Berlin’s “Take My Breath Away” a lot more in advertisements. In addition to a prolific solo career, Moroder produced may of Summer’s disco classics as well as the Academy Award-winning Top Gun song.
Moroder’s other credits include Blondie’s “Call Me,” as well as the soundtracks to Cat People and Scarface. In the 1970s and ’80s, artists including Led Zeppelin, Queen, The Rolling Stones, and Elton John recorded at his Musicland Studios in Munich. Decades later, for his 2015 solo album Déjà Vu, Moroder enlisted Kylie Minogue, Britney Spears, Sia, and Charli Xcx as collaborators. Even more recently, he lent a...
The deal places Moroder’s name, image, and likeness rights in the hands of Iconoclast, so expect to hear Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love” or Berlin’s “Take My Breath Away” a lot more in advertisements. In addition to a prolific solo career, Moroder produced may of Summer’s disco classics as well as the Academy Award-winning Top Gun song.
Moroder’s other credits include Blondie’s “Call Me,” as well as the soundtracks to Cat People and Scarface. In the 1970s and ’80s, artists including Led Zeppelin, Queen, The Rolling Stones, and Elton John recorded at his Musicland Studios in Munich. Decades later, for his 2015 solo album Déjà Vu, Moroder enlisted Kylie Minogue, Britney Spears, Sia, and Charli Xcx as collaborators. Even more recently, he lent a...
- 8/10/2023
- by Carys Anderson
- Consequence - Music
Haim have announced a 10th anniversary reissue of their debut album, Days Are Gone, out September 29th.
The reissue will be available in a variety of formats, including a deluxe green transparent 2xLP vinyl featuring the original album and a second disc with bonus tracks and remixes. Pre-orders are ongoing. See the artwork and tracklist below.
Released in September 2013, Days Are Gone was named by Consequence as one of the best albums of that year. Featuring a string of singles including “Forever,” “Falling,” and “The Wire,” it immediately made Danielle, Este, and Alana Haim breakout indie stars, debuting at No. 6 on the Billboard 200.
Haim’s last album was 2020’s Women in Music Pt. III. Earlier this year, the band appeared on Sesame Street to sing their ABCs and Este served as the Executive Music Producer on the Hulu/Disney+ series A Small Light. The trio is slated to appear on...
The reissue will be available in a variety of formats, including a deluxe green transparent 2xLP vinyl featuring the original album and a second disc with bonus tracks and remixes. Pre-orders are ongoing. See the artwork and tracklist below.
Released in September 2013, Days Are Gone was named by Consequence as one of the best albums of that year. Featuring a string of singles including “Forever,” “Falling,” and “The Wire,” it immediately made Danielle, Este, and Alana Haim breakout indie stars, debuting at No. 6 on the Billboard 200.
Haim’s last album was 2020’s Women in Music Pt. III. Earlier this year, the band appeared on Sesame Street to sing their ABCs and Este served as the Executive Music Producer on the Hulu/Disney+ series A Small Light. The trio is slated to appear on...
- 7/12/2023
- by Eddie Fu
- Consequence - Music
Haim will mark 3,654.5 days gone this year with the 10th-anniversary edition of their debut album, Days Are Gone, this fall. In addition to the original album, the reissue will feature eight outtakes, including remixes and a demo recording of the album’s “Go Slow.” The original album came out on Sept. 27, 2013. The reissue will come out Sept. 29 and is available for preorder from independent retailers and Amazon.
To mark the anniversary, the sisters will also perform Days Are Gone, “front to back, top to bottom,” according to their Instagram, at...
To mark the anniversary, the sisters will also perform Days Are Gone, “front to back, top to bottom,” according to their Instagram, at...
- 7/12/2023
- by Kory Grow
- Rollingstone.com
Say what you like about Billy Corgan–and, let’s be honest, you could say quite a bit– you’ve gotta give the man props for his tireless work ethic and relentless creative energy. Even while putting the finishing touches on Cyr, the Smashing Pumpkins’ 20-song 2020 release, Corgan was already deep into crafting Atum: A Rock Opera in Three Acts, a 33-song trilogy he described as a sequel to 1995’s Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness and 2000’s Machina/The Machines of God. However tortured Corgan may seem at times,...
- 5/8/2023
- by Dan Epstein
- Rollingstone.com
Donna Summer and disco are synonymous. She became known as the “Queen of Disco” and had hits like “She Works Hard for The Money,” “Love to Love You, Baby,” and “I Feel Love,” among many others. And while her disco hits and her work with super producer Giorgio Moroder did make her the reigning queen of disco in the 1970s, she was also a bonafide global pop star and became the first video from a Black female artist to debut on MTV.
Continue reading ‘Love To Love You, Donna Summer’ Trailer: HBO Gives A Disco Superstar Her Due On May 20 at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Love To Love You, Donna Summer’ Trailer: HBO Gives A Disco Superstar Her Due On May 20 at The Playlist.
- 5/3/2023
- by Edward Davis
- The Playlist
"There's too much fire in me..." HBO has revealed an official trailer for a music biopic documentary titled Love to Love You, Donna Summer, arriving for streaming and viewing this May. The film premiered at the 2023 Berlin Film Festival, and also stopped by SXSW, Cph:dox, Hot Docs, Iff Boston. Love to Love You, Donna Summer is a deeply personal portrait of the Queen of Disco. Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Roger Ross Williams, along with Brooklyn Sudano, daughter of Donna Summer, the documentary explores the highs & lows of fame, offering an intimate glimpse at the artist’s life on and off stage. The film pulsates with the beats and significance of Summer's music, including her early hits with Giorgio Moroder, which invoked a sexuality that became a hallmark of Summer's wildly popular stage persona at the time; and "She Works Hard for The Money," which paid tribute to the working woman...
- 5/1/2023
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
HBO Original documentary Love To Love You, Donna Summer, directed by Oscar® and Emmy®-winning filmmaker Roger Ross Williams and Brooklyn Sudano, daughter of Donna Summer, debuts Saturday, May 20 (8:00-10:00 p.m. Et/Pt) on HBO and will be available to stream on HBO Max. The documentary had its international premiere at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival and its domestic premiere at SXSW.
Synopsis: Shaped by Summer’s own reflections, the memories of close family, friends and colleagues, and filled with the sounds of Summer’s songs, Love To Love You, Donna Summer is an in-depth look at the iconic artist as she creates music that takes her from the avant-garde music scene in Germany, to the glitter and bright lights of dance clubs in New York, to worldwide acclaim, her voice becoming the defining soundtrack of an era. A deeply personal portrait of Summer on and off the stage,...
Synopsis: Shaped by Summer’s own reflections, the memories of close family, friends and colleagues, and filled with the sounds of Summer’s songs, Love To Love You, Donna Summer is an in-depth look at the iconic artist as she creates music that takes her from the avant-garde music scene in Germany, to the glitter and bright lights of dance clubs in New York, to worldwide acclaim, her voice becoming the defining soundtrack of an era. A deeply personal portrait of Summer on and off the stage,...
- 4/29/2023
- by TV Shows Martin Cid Magazine
- Martin Cid - TV
Donna Summer, born Ladonna Adrian Gaines on December 31, 1948, was an American singer, songwriter, and actress who became known as the “Queen of Disco” during the 1970s. With a powerful voice, incredible stage presence, and timeless hits, Summer quickly rose to fame, leaving an indelible mark on the music industry. Throughout her career, she sold over 100 million records worldwide, making her one of the best-selling artists of all time. In this article, we will take a closer look at the life and career of this iconic disco diva, exploring her early life, rise to stardom, iconic hits, awards and achievements, personal life, philanthropy, and her enduring legacy.
Early life and musical beginnings
Donna Summer was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and grew up in a loving, religious household. Her mother was a schoolteacher, and her father worked as a butcher. Summer was one of seven children, and from a young age, she...
Early life and musical beginnings
Donna Summer was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and grew up in a loving, religious household. Her mother was a schoolteacher, and her father worked as a butcher. Summer was one of seven children, and from a young age, she...
- 4/29/2023
- by Music Martin Cid Magazine
- Martin Cid Music
The late Queen of Disco Donna Summer is the subject of a new HBO documentary called Love to Love You, Donna Summer, which has now received its official trailer. Watch it below.
Filled with Summer’s own music — including early hits made with Giorgio Moroder — and the memories of family, friends, and fellow musicians, Love to Love You was directed by Roger Ross Williams and Summer’s daughter Brooklyn Sudano.
The docufilm takes an in-depth look at the singer’s rise from the avant-garde music scene in Germany to dance clubs in New York City and worldwide acclaim. Going behind the screens with Summer on and off the stage, it also includes photographs and never before seen video footage, much of which was shot by Summer herself.
Best known for hits like “Last Dance,” “She Works Hard for the Money,” and “I Feel Love,” Summer was the first Black female...
Filled with Summer’s own music — including early hits made with Giorgio Moroder — and the memories of family, friends, and fellow musicians, Love to Love You was directed by Roger Ross Williams and Summer’s daughter Brooklyn Sudano.
The docufilm takes an in-depth look at the singer’s rise from the avant-garde music scene in Germany to dance clubs in New York City and worldwide acclaim. Going behind the screens with Summer on and off the stage, it also includes photographs and never before seen video footage, much of which was shot by Summer herself.
Best known for hits like “Last Dance,” “She Works Hard for the Money,” and “I Feel Love,” Summer was the first Black female...
- 4/28/2023
- by Eddie Fu
- Consequence - Music
The late Queen of Disco Donna Summer is the subject of a new HBO documentary called Love to Love You, Donna Summer, which has now received its official trailer. Watch it below.
Filled with Summer’s own music — including early hits made with Giorgio Moroder — and the memories of family, friends, and fellow musicians, Love to Love You was directed by Roger Ross Williams and Summer’s daughter Brooklyn Sudano.
The docufilm takes an in-depth look at the singer’s rise from the avant-garde music scene in Germany to dance clubs in New York City and worldwide acclaim. Going behind the screens with Summer on and off the stage, it also includes photographs and never before seen video footage, much of which was shot by Summer herself.
Best known for hits like “Last Dance,” “She Works Hard for the Money,” and “I Feel Love,” Summer was the first Black female...
Filled with Summer’s own music — including early hits made with Giorgio Moroder — and the memories of family, friends, and fellow musicians, Love to Love You was directed by Roger Ross Williams and Summer’s daughter Brooklyn Sudano.
The docufilm takes an in-depth look at the singer’s rise from the avant-garde music scene in Germany to dance clubs in New York City and worldwide acclaim. Going behind the screens with Summer on and off the stage, it also includes photographs and never before seen video footage, much of which was shot by Summer herself.
Best known for hits like “Last Dance,” “She Works Hard for the Money,” and “I Feel Love,” Summer was the first Black female...
- 4/28/2023
- by Eddie Fu
- Consequence - Film News
The trailer for Donna Summer: Love to Love You, a new documentary about the late disco legend, focuses on the identity crisis she felt, juggling stardom, motherhood, and just who she wanted to be. “My approach to singing, I approach it as an actress,” she says in an archival interview. “I don’t approach it as a singer. … I’m not trying to be me.” Later in the clip, an interviewee (likely one of Summer’s daughters) says she would learn about Summer’s life through newspaper clippings hidden around the house.
- 4/28/2023
- by Kory Grow
- Rollingstone.com
When The Standard Hotel on the Sunset Strip abruptly shut down in January of 2021, Bryan Rabin told The Hollywood Reporter that his weekly hub of celebrity-packed fabulosity — Giorgio’s nightclub — wasn’t over. Yes, it had been already on hiatus for the previous 10 months because of the Covid-19 pandemic (save for some virtual iterations). But, vowed Rabin, a few days after the Standard closed for good, “Giorgio’s is not closing. We’ll be back, when we get the pandemic under control, in a new location. Giorgio’s will rise from the ashes like a phoenix.”
Well, he meant it.
On May 13, starting at 10 p.m., Giorgio’s will be back. The invitation-only nightclub (“You have to know me,” says Rabin of how to nab a reservation) is reopening in a new home: Grandmaster Recorders, the Italian restaurant, bar and club in Hollywood that opened in late 2021 inside the former...
Well, he meant it.
On May 13, starting at 10 p.m., Giorgio’s will be back. The invitation-only nightclub (“You have to know me,” says Rabin of how to nab a reservation) is reopening in a new home: Grandmaster Recorders, the Italian restaurant, bar and club in Hollywood that opened in late 2021 inside the former...
- 4/28/2023
- by Degen Pener
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
“John Wick: Chapter 4” is lighting up the box office and will soon become the most successful entry in the franchise. But you won’t have to wait very long to go back to the mythical criminal underworld established in the films, as the first streaming spin-off of the movies, “The Continental: From the World of John Wick,” will hit Peacock this September. Watch the teaser trailer above.
According to the official synopsis, “The Continental” will explore “the origin behind the iconic hotel-for-assassins centerpiece of the ‘John Wick’ universe through the eyes and actions of a young Winston Scott, as he’s dragged into the Hell-scape of 1970’s New York City to face a past he thought he’d left behind.” Winston, who was played by the late, great Lance Reddick in the feature films and is essayed by Colin Woodell from “The Flight Attendant” here, “charts a deadly course...
According to the official synopsis, “The Continental” will explore “the origin behind the iconic hotel-for-assassins centerpiece of the ‘John Wick’ universe through the eyes and actions of a young Winston Scott, as he’s dragged into the Hell-scape of 1970’s New York City to face a past he thought he’d left behind.” Winston, who was played by the late, great Lance Reddick in the feature films and is essayed by Colin Woodell from “The Flight Attendant” here, “charts a deadly course...
- 4/12/2023
- by Drew Taylor
- The Wrap
Casablanca Records ranks as one of the most legendary record labels of all time. In its classic incarnation, the label discovered artists as varied as Kiss, Donna Summer, The Village People, Parliament, Giorgio Moroder and many more throughout the disco era. The label was the brainchild of Neil Bogart, a legendary record exec who, tragically, died young of cancer at only 39. His own son, Timothy Bogart, has assembled a loving, warts-and-all biopic about his father, Spinning Gold, which opened in theaters last week.
I was lucky enough to speak to Timothy, his leading man Jeremy Jordan, who plays his father, and SNL vet Jay Pharoah, who plays Bogart’s right-hand man Cecil Holmes, and singer Tayla Parx, who plays Donna Summer. The interviews were pretty interesting, with Timothy Bogart in the unique position of adapting his own father’s life story to the big screen. He discusses how he didn...
I was lucky enough to speak to Timothy, his leading man Jeremy Jordan, who plays his father, and SNL vet Jay Pharoah, who plays Bogart’s right-hand man Cecil Holmes, and singer Tayla Parx, who plays Donna Summer. The interviews were pretty interesting, with Timothy Bogart in the unique position of adapting his own father’s life story to the big screen. He discusses how he didn...
- 4/4/2023
- by Chris Bumbray
- JoBlo.com
In “Spinning Gold,” a sketchy but adoring if not outright devotional biopic about Neil Bogart, the upstart ’70s music-industry mogul who founded Casablanca Records, there’s a pivotal moment that spins around the story of how Bogart, at a party he was throwing, played the 3-minute-and-20-second single version of Donna Summer’s “Love to Love You Baby.” He played it over and over again because his guests kept asking for it. That’s when the lightbulb went on. Bogart realized that the song needed to be longer, much longer — long enough to have sex to. (It ended up being 16 minutes and 50 seconds.) This is a rather famous anecdote. So we assume that we’re going to see Bogart meet with Giorgio Moroder, the song’s composer and producer, and change music history.
It happens that way…sort of. Bogart tells Moroder that he wants a longer version of the song.
It happens that way…sort of. Bogart tells Moroder that he wants a longer version of the song.
- 4/3/2023
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
The film year of 2022 pretty much ended with a “music biopic”, Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody (at least I’m making it the “year’s end” as it was the last advance screening I attended). It did fairly well at the box office but didn’t come close to the critical and award accolades of Bohemian Rhapsody or Judy. But that’s not going to halt Hollywood from “mining” this material, and so we’re getting a tune-filled “true” tale at the end of 2023’s first quarter. Oh, but this has a twist in that it doesn’t center around a beloved performer. No, this concerns the head of a record company. Yeah kids, in those ancient days before streaming and downloading, people went to brick-and-mortar stores and bought discs produced by these companies Aka recording labels. And one of the biggest of them in the mid-...
- 3/31/2023
- by Jim Batts
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Sometimes, when a documentary has a great subject, it can explore that subject with an intimacy that’s arresting, only to treat other aspects of the story with a kind of cavalier casualness. “Love to Love You Donna Summer” is that kind of documentary. Co-directed by Roger Ross Williams and Brooklyn Sudano (who is Summer’s daughter), it’s full of home movies and photographs and archival footage of Donna Summer, and it creates an eye-opening portrait of the ambitious yet deeply disconsolate woman she was. We see her when she was growing up in Boston, where she sang gospel in church and felt a gift passing through her, knowing that she was going to be famous, or when she moved to Munich in 1968, at 19, to be in the German production of “Hair”, or later on, after she’d become a pop star, at home with her daughters, lost in the empty mirror of fame.
- 3/15/2023
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
The greatest Artists of all time seem to have emerged fully formed from the ether of musical legend as if their success had been simply undeniable and preordained. As if Donna Summer didn’t so much write “Love to Love Ya Baby,” as manifest it; as if Kiss’ timeless anthem “Rock N’ Roll Nite” wasn’t so much composed, as delivered fully-realized from hard rock Valhalla directly to Paul Stanley and Gene Simmon’s fingertips.
But history knows better. And the story of Neil Bogart, the explosive, perpetual motion machine behind superstars Donna Summer,...
But history knows better. And the story of Neil Bogart, the explosive, perpetual motion machine behind superstars Donna Summer,...
- 3/13/2023
- by Ted Brown
- Rollingstone.com
As Gold Derby predicted, “Top Gun: Maverick” won the Best Sound Oscar on March 12 over co-nominees “All Quiet on the Western Front,” “Avatar: The Way of Water,” “The Batman” and “Elvis.” This victory was 36 years in the making, as the original “Top Gun” (1986) was nominated in both sound races at the 1987 Oscars and lost to “Aliens” (Best Sound Effects Editing) and “Platoon” (Best Sound). Note that the two sound categories were combined into a single one beginning with the 2021 ceremony.
Accepting the Oscars win for “Top Gun: Maverick” were Mark Weingarten, James H. Mather, Al Nelson, Chris Burdon and Mark Taylor. Prior to tonight, only Weingarten and Taylor already had trophies on their mantels, for “Dunkirk” and “1917”, respectively.
SEE2023 Oscar winners list: Complete results in all 23 categories [Updating Live]
“Top Gun: Maverick” was a bonafide box office hit for Paramount Pictures, earning $718 million domestically and becoming one of the top grossing movies of all time.
Accepting the Oscars win for “Top Gun: Maverick” were Mark Weingarten, James H. Mather, Al Nelson, Chris Burdon and Mark Taylor. Prior to tonight, only Weingarten and Taylor already had trophies on their mantels, for “Dunkirk” and “1917”, respectively.
SEE2023 Oscar winners list: Complete results in all 23 categories [Updating Live]
“Top Gun: Maverick” was a bonafide box office hit for Paramount Pictures, earning $718 million domestically and becoming one of the top grossing movies of all time.
- 3/13/2023
- by Marcus James Dixon
- Gold Derby
The annual Oscar melee always reminds us of this mandate: Never believe the “buzz.” Every important movie arrives with an aura – and it’s usually wrong or misleading.
The advance buzz on The Godfather was so disastrous even Francis Coppola sensed it was doomed. This year, All Quiet on the Western Front was deemed too violent and depressing to be a contender, but it’s collecting BAFTA Awards (seven) and Oscar nominations (nine).
Throughout the ‘80s every popular movie seemed carry a buzz curse. The production of Flashdance was so chaotic that even the stunt doubles had doubles. Footloose was both miscast and underbudgeted, as its director testified.
Clearly both of these early ‘80s movies turned out to be hits, if not cultural milestones. Yet directors of that moment seemed more interested in making war than making movies. In response, studio executives became as helpful as chatbots.
Even Tom Cruise,...
The advance buzz on The Godfather was so disastrous even Francis Coppola sensed it was doomed. This year, All Quiet on the Western Front was deemed too violent and depressing to be a contender, but it’s collecting BAFTA Awards (seven) and Oscar nominations (nine).
Throughout the ‘80s every popular movie seemed carry a buzz curse. The production of Flashdance was so chaotic that even the stunt doubles had doubles. Footloose was both miscast and underbudgeted, as its director testified.
Clearly both of these early ‘80s movies turned out to be hits, if not cultural milestones. Yet directors of that moment seemed more interested in making war than making movies. In response, studio executives became as helpful as chatbots.
Even Tom Cruise,...
- 2/24/2023
- by Peter Bart
- Deadline Film + TV
Tom Whitlock, who wrote the lyrics for the rock anthem “Danger Zone” and the chart-topping love song “Take My Breath Away” for the original Top Gun, winning an Oscar in the process, has died. He was 68.
Whitlock died Saturday at a memory care center in Gallatin, Tennessee, a spokesperson at the Gorman-Scharpf Funeral Home in Springfield, Missouri, confirmed. He had Alzheimer’s disease, friends told the Springfield News Leader.
Whitlock wrote both Top Gun songs with Giorgio Moroder. Their relationship began when he fixed the brakes on the Italian composer’s Ferrari.
“Danger Zone,” performed by Kenny Loggins, was employed for the opening scene in the Tony Scott-directed, Tom Cruise-starring 1986 action movie, while “Take My Breath Away,” sung by Terri Nunn of Berlin, inspired the filmmakers to shoot additional scenes with Cruise and Kelly McGillis months later.
“Take My Breath Away” made it to No. 1 on the Billboard...
Whitlock died Saturday at a memory care center in Gallatin, Tennessee, a spokesperson at the Gorman-Scharpf Funeral Home in Springfield, Missouri, confirmed. He had Alzheimer’s disease, friends told the Springfield News Leader.
Whitlock wrote both Top Gun songs with Giorgio Moroder. Their relationship began when he fixed the brakes on the Italian composer’s Ferrari.
“Danger Zone,” performed by Kenny Loggins, was employed for the opening scene in the Tony Scott-directed, Tom Cruise-starring 1986 action movie, while “Take My Breath Away,” sung by Terri Nunn of Berlin, inspired the filmmakers to shoot additional scenes with Cruise and Kelly McGillis months later.
“Take My Breath Away” made it to No. 1 on the Billboard...
- 2/24/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Tom Whitlock, who won a Best Song Oscar for co-writing the No. 1 smash ‘Take My Breath Away’ from Top Gun and also wrote the film’s other hit single “Danger Zone,” has died. He was 68.
Gorman-Scharpf Funeral Home confirmed that he died February 18 in Gallatin, Tn. No cause was given.
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Born on February 20, 1954, in Springfield, Mo, Whitlock had been a longtime songwriter and performer without much success when he had a chance meeting with Giorgio Moroder in a Los Angeles recording studio. Whitlock told a story about the Italian composer complaining about the brakes on his Ferrari, leading the opportunistic lyricist to picking up some brake fluid and make the repairs.
Gorman-Scharpf Funeral Home confirmed that he died February 18 in Gallatin, Tn. No cause was given.
Related Story Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2023: Photo Gallery & Obituaries Related Story Rihanna Will Perform "Lift Me Up" At Oscars Related Story "Crisis Team" In Place At Oscars For First Time, Academy CEO Says: "We've Run So Many Scenarios"
Born on February 20, 1954, in Springfield, Mo, Whitlock had been a longtime songwriter and performer without much success when he had a chance meeting with Giorgio Moroder in a Los Angeles recording studio. Whitlock told a story about the Italian composer complaining about the brakes on his Ferrari, leading the opportunistic lyricist to picking up some brake fluid and make the repairs.
- 2/23/2023
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
Daft Punk, the defunct, dome-headed dance duo, are celebrating the 10th anniversary of their final album, Random Access Memories, by reissuing the album with 35 minutes of previously unreleased music across nine tracks. The expanded edition of the album will be available on double-cd and triple-lp, and it will be available to stream and download on May 12. The album will also be available for the first time in an Atmos mix.
Some of the bonus material includes an “early take” of “Get Lucky,” the track they wrote with Nile Rodgers that also featured Pharrell Williams,...
Some of the bonus material includes an “early take” of “Get Lucky,” the track they wrote with Nile Rodgers that also featured Pharrell Williams,...
- 2/22/2023
- by Kory Grow
- Rollingstone.com
Donna Summer could hit notes more thrillingly beautiful than any other pop singer of her time, or since. I’m not sure even Whitney Houston, as great as she was, quite reached the glistening heights that culminate “Last Dance” (though she comes very close in “I Will Always Love You”). Mariah Carey (no relation to me) performs impressive vocal acrobatics, yet to my ear she can’t match the bell-like shimmer of Donna in the higher registers. And Donna in the lower registers – well, the voice thrums with visceral resonance.
Related Story Berlin: ‘Love To Love You, Donna Summer,’ From Roger Ross Williams & Summer’s Daughter, Brooklyn Sudano, Provides Complex Portrait Of Pop Superstar Related Story Rutina Wesley On Playing Maria In 'The Last Of Us': "It's Terrifying Playing A Character That's Been Established" Related Story Berlin Review: Giacomo Abbruzzese's 'Disco Boy'
In the documentary Love to Love You,...
Related Story Berlin: ‘Love To Love You, Donna Summer,’ From Roger Ross Williams & Summer’s Daughter, Brooklyn Sudano, Provides Complex Portrait Of Pop Superstar Related Story Rutina Wesley On Playing Maria In 'The Last Of Us': "It's Terrifying Playing A Character That's Been Established" Related Story Berlin Review: Giacomo Abbruzzese's 'Disco Boy'
In the documentary Love to Love You,...
- 2/21/2023
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
The documentary Love to Love You, Donna Summer, about one of the world’s greatest pop stars, constitutes a kind of duet – between two filmmakers. The film, making its world premiere in Berlin, comes from directors Roger Ross Williams and Brooklyn Sudano, daughter of the subject of the film, the legendary Donna Summer.
Related Story Berlin Review: ‘Love To Love You, Donna Summer’ Offers Moving Portrait Of Brilliant Singer Who Struggled With Fame And Faith Related Story Rutina Wesley On Playing Maria In 'The Last Of Us': "It's Terrifying Playing A Character That's Been Established" Related Story Berlin Review: Giacomo Abbruzzese's 'Disco Boy'
“I was such a huge, massive fan of Donna’s and nothing made me feel the way she made me feel on the dance floor,” Williams, the Oscar-winning director of Music By Prudence, tells Deadine. “I thought, I want to make a music documentary.
Related Story Berlin Review: ‘Love To Love You, Donna Summer’ Offers Moving Portrait Of Brilliant Singer Who Struggled With Fame And Faith Related Story Rutina Wesley On Playing Maria In 'The Last Of Us': "It's Terrifying Playing A Character That's Been Established" Related Story Berlin Review: Giacomo Abbruzzese's 'Disco Boy'
“I was such a huge, massive fan of Donna’s and nothing made me feel the way she made me feel on the dance floor,” Williams, the Oscar-winning director of Music By Prudence, tells Deadine. “I thought, I want to make a music documentary.
- 2/21/2023
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
The risk when an immediate family member is involved in a tribute to an important figure from the pop-culture firmament is that the story they choose to tell might not be the one fans want to hear. That’s an issue — at least for this erstwhile disco baby — with HBO’s Love to Love You, Donna Summer. Directed by Roger Ross Williams with Summer’s daughter, Brooklyn Sudano, the doc is stuffed with great archive material. But it largely squanders an ideal platform through which to reaffirm the subject’s vital place in pop music history and reclaim disco as a genre whose influence has never waned.
Some of that is kinda, sorta here, but it’s so faint it’s almost apologetic. We’re constantly reminded that Summer was ambivalent about being crowned the Queen of Disco, because she felt it marginalized her vocal gifts for gospel, R&b and soul,...
Some of that is kinda, sorta here, but it’s so faint it’s almost apologetic. We’re constantly reminded that Summer was ambivalent about being crowned the Queen of Disco, because she felt it marginalized her vocal gifts for gospel, R&b and soul,...
- 2/21/2023
- by David Rooney
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Not another one! Through most of its history, that’s been the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences’ knee-jerk reaction to any movie sequel seeking Oscar recognition. Only two sequels have ever won the best picture prize. Only a handful of others have been nominated in that category. But this season, all that could change, because there are at least four sequels knocking at the best picture door.
Sure, most sequels are brand extensions and cash grabs. No one was ever going to make a best picture argument for a movie like 1989’s Police Academy 6: City Under Siege. But, occasionally, there have been sequels that aspire to the achievement of their predecessor. In 1990, for example, Jack Nicholson, screenwriter Robert Towne and producer Robert Evans reteamed for The Two Jakes, attempting to recapture the magic of 1974’s Chinatown as Nicholson’s gumshoe Jake Gittes tracked a new murder amid an L.
Sure, most sequels are brand extensions and cash grabs. No one was ever going to make a best picture argument for a movie like 1989’s Police Academy 6: City Under Siege. But, occasionally, there have been sequels that aspire to the achievement of their predecessor. In 1990, for example, Jack Nicholson, screenwriter Robert Towne and producer Robert Evans reteamed for The Two Jakes, attempting to recapture the magic of 1974’s Chinatown as Nicholson’s gumshoe Jake Gittes tracked a new murder amid an L.
- 1/17/2023
- by Gregg Kilday
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Yukihiro Takahashi, the drummer and lead vocalist for electronic music trailblazers Yellow Magic Orchestra, has died at the age of 70.
Takahashi’s office released a statement to the The Japan Times and Nhk confirming Takahashi’s death on Jan. 11, citing aspiration pneumonia as the cause. Takahashi previously revealed that he underwent surgery to remove a brain tumor in 2020.
Takahashi, who was born in Tokyo, launched his career in the early Seventies, performing with his brother, Nobuyuki Takahashi, in the band Buzz and glam-rock group Sadistic Mika Band, which he joined after their original drummer departed.
Takahashi’s office released a statement to the The Japan Times and Nhk confirming Takahashi’s death on Jan. 11, citing aspiration pneumonia as the cause. Takahashi previously revealed that he underwent surgery to remove a brain tumor in 2020.
Takahashi, who was born in Tokyo, launched his career in the early Seventies, performing with his brother, Nobuyuki Takahashi, in the band Buzz and glam-rock group Sadistic Mika Band, which he joined after their original drummer departed.
- 1/15/2023
- by Althea Legaspi and Daniel Kreps
- Rollingstone.com
Lady Gaga is back in the Oscar race for “Hold My Hand,” a power ballad featured on the year’s biggest blockbuster “Top Gun: Maverick.” In addition to performing the track, the versatile entertainer co-wrote it with Michael Tucker, professionally known as BloodPop. An Academy Award nomination for Best Song would mark Gaga’s fourth bid. She was nominated in this category in 2016 for “Til’ It Happens to You” with Diane Warren (“The Hunting Ground”). Three years later she won the statuette for her song “Shallow” from “A Star is Born,” sharing the prize with Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando and Andrew Wyatt. The singer earned an additional Best Actress bid that year for her starring role opposite Bradley Cooper.
See Eddie Hamilton (‘Top Gun: Maverick’ editor) on the blockbuster’s cultural impact: ‘I think it’s the film that we needed’ [Exclusive Video Interview]
The movie’s predecessor from 1986 also starred Tom Cruise...
See Eddie Hamilton (‘Top Gun: Maverick’ editor) on the blockbuster’s cultural impact: ‘I think it’s the film that we needed’ [Exclusive Video Interview]
The movie’s predecessor from 1986 also starred Tom Cruise...
- 12/30/2022
- by Denton Davidson
- Gold Derby
Casablanca Records is one of the most influential music labels in history, but the story of its founder, Neil Bogart, isn't as well-known as it should be. Donna Summer, Parliament, Gladys Knight & the Pips, The Isley Brothers, The Village People, Bill Withers, and the rock band Kiss all rose to great heights thanks to Bogart and were signed to the label that would become the most successful independent record company in history. Now, the film "Spinning Gold" looks to transport audiences back to the 1970s, when disco reigned supreme, funk was beginning to pick up steam, and Neil Bogart was on top of the world. Here's everything you need to know about the upcoming music producer biopic, and more.
Spinning Gold Release Date And Where You Can Watch It
"Spinning Gold" will be available in theaters starting March 31, 2023. The film is being distributed by Hero Entertainment and Howling Wolf Films,...
Spinning Gold Release Date And Where You Can Watch It
"Spinning Gold" will be available in theaters starting March 31, 2023. The film is being distributed by Hero Entertainment and Howling Wolf Films,...
- 12/24/2022
- by BJ Colangelo
- Slash Film
It’s not quite an elephant in the room, as much as maybe a tiny chihuahua hiding behind the couch waiting to pounce when Oscar nominations are announced on January 24, but there is a chance that more than one movie in the Best Picture race will be a sequel. It would indeed be historic, since sequels are already a rarity at the Oscars as it is.
As of this writing, over 4,900 Gold Derby experts, editors and users think Tom Cruise’s “Top Gun: Maverick” will get nominated for Best Picture and over 3,900 think James Cameron’s “Avatar: Way of the Water,” which just opened in theaters, will get nominated as well. Far fewer (around 300) have “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” in the running to get a Best Picture nomination, although it’s the follow-up to a movie that received seven Oscar nominations, winning three. There’s also Rian Johnson‘s “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,...
As of this writing, over 4,900 Gold Derby experts, editors and users think Tom Cruise’s “Top Gun: Maverick” will get nominated for Best Picture and over 3,900 think James Cameron’s “Avatar: Way of the Water,” which just opened in theaters, will get nominated as well. Far fewer (around 300) have “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” in the running to get a Best Picture nomination, although it’s the follow-up to a movie that received seven Oscar nominations, winning three. There’s also Rian Johnson‘s “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,...
- 12/23/2022
- by Edward Douglas
- Gold Derby
Jeremy Jordan stars as Neil Bogart, the founder of Casablanca Records, in a new trailer for Spinning Gold. The film, in theaters March 31, 2023, follows Bogart’s success with artists like Donna Summer, Kiss, Parliament, Gladys Knight, the Isley Brothers, the Village People and Bill Withers.
The trailer is narrated by a dramatized version of Bogart as he showcases the rise of Casablanca Records. Glimpses of various artists can been seen in the clip, including Summer as played by Tayla Parx. “We knew what Casablanca could be,” Bogart intones. “We were 7 million in debt…...
The trailer is narrated by a dramatized version of Bogart as he showcases the rise of Casablanca Records. Glimpses of various artists can been seen in the clip, including Summer as played by Tayla Parx. “We knew what Casablanca could be,” Bogart intones. “We were 7 million in debt…...
- 12/15/2022
- by Emily Zemler
- Rollingstone.com
Oscar, Golden Globe and two-time Grammy winning singer-actress Irene Cara, who starred and sang the title cut from the 1980 hit movie “Fame” and then belted out the era-defining hit “Flashdance … What a Feeling” from 1983′s “Flashdance”, has died. She was 63.
Her publicist, Judith A. Moose, announced the news on social media, writing that a cause of death was “currently unknown.” Moose also confirmed the death to an Associated Press reporter on Saturday. Cara died at her home in Florida. The exact day of her death was not disclosed.
“Irene’s family has requested privacy as they process their grief,” Moose wrote. “She was a beautifully gifted soul whose legacy will live forever through her music and films.”
Read More: Roslyn Singleton, ‘America’s Got Talent’ Alum, Dead At 39 After Brain Cancer Diagnosis
During her career, Cara had three Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including “Breakdance”, “Out Here On My Own...
Her publicist, Judith A. Moose, announced the news on social media, writing that a cause of death was “currently unknown.” Moose also confirmed the death to an Associated Press reporter on Saturday. Cara died at her home in Florida. The exact day of her death was not disclosed.
“Irene’s family has requested privacy as they process their grief,” Moose wrote. “She was a beautifully gifted soul whose legacy will live forever through her music and films.”
Read More: Roslyn Singleton, ‘America’s Got Talent’ Alum, Dead At 39 After Brain Cancer Diagnosis
During her career, Cara had three Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including “Breakdance”, “Out Here On My Own...
- 11/26/2022
- by Brent Furdyk
- ET Canada
Irene Cara, the Oscar-winning star of Fame and the chart-topping singer of “Flashdance… What a Feeling,” has died at the age of 63.
Cara died Friday at her home in Florida, her publicist Judith A. Moore announced on Twitter. Her cause of death is “currently unknown and will be released when information is available.”
“It is with profound sadness that on behalf of her family I announce the passing of Irene Cara. The Academy Award winning actress, singer, songwriter and producer passed away in her Florida home,” Moore tweeted. “She was...
Cara died Friday at her home in Florida, her publicist Judith A. Moore announced on Twitter. Her cause of death is “currently unknown and will be released when information is available.”
“It is with profound sadness that on behalf of her family I announce the passing of Irene Cara. The Academy Award winning actress, singer, songwriter and producer passed away in her Florida home,” Moore tweeted. “She was...
- 11/26/2022
- by Daniel Kreps
- Rollingstone.com
Irene Cara, the actress and singer who starred in the 1980 movie “Fame” and then won an Oscar for co-writing the title track to the 1983 hit “Flashdance,” has died in her Florida home at age 63.
“It is with profound sadness that on behalf of her family I announce the passing of Irene Cara,” publicist Judith A. Moose wrote. “Her cause of death is currently unknown and will be released when information is available.
Born Irene Cara Escalar in the Bronx borough of New York City to a Puerto Rican father and a Cuban-American mother, she learned to play piano by ear at an early age and soon was taking lessons in music and dance. She was soon making appearances on Johnny Carson’s “The Tonight Show” and became a regular on PBS’ “The Electric Company” in the early 1970s.
Also Read:
Charles Koppelman, Music Executive and Former Chairperson of Martha Stewart’s Company,...
“It is with profound sadness that on behalf of her family I announce the passing of Irene Cara,” publicist Judith A. Moose wrote. “Her cause of death is currently unknown and will be released when information is available.
Born Irene Cara Escalar in the Bronx borough of New York City to a Puerto Rican father and a Cuban-American mother, she learned to play piano by ear at an early age and soon was taking lessons in music and dance. She was soon making appearances on Johnny Carson’s “The Tonight Show” and became a regular on PBS’ “The Electric Company” in the early 1970s.
Also Read:
Charles Koppelman, Music Executive and Former Chairperson of Martha Stewart’s Company,...
- 11/26/2022
- by Thom Geier
- The Wrap
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