Adam McKay, ‘Don’t Look Up’ Team Discuss Taking Tonal Risks and the Film’s Intense Reception

Roman Roy and Gerri Kellman can’t hide their passion. “Succession” co-stars Kieran Culkin and J. Smith-Cameron played into fan obsession on Sunday night at the 2022 Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Josh Gad is speaking out about his character in Beauty and the Beast.

The Members, has died aged 66.The news was confirmed in a post on Tesco’s Facebook page, which simply said that Tesco had “left the building” and died on Saturday (February 26).Tesco formed The Members in 1976 alongside Gary Baker (guitar), Steve Morley (bass guitar) and Clive Parker (drums), and the band underwent a number of line-up changes across his career.Their debut album, ‘At The Chelsea Nightclub’, came out in 1979 and featured their biggest hits, ‘Sounds Of The Suburbs’ and ‘Solitary Confinement’.26.02.22Mr Tesco has left the building.Thanks for everything.Posted by Nick Tesco on Sunday, February 27, 2022Tesco departed the band in 1983 before going on to launch a successful acting career, appearing in movies such as Cha Cha Cha (1989) and Amar Akbar & Tony (2015), as well as composing music for films.The Members reunited without him in 2008, and have steadily released new albums across the last decade. Their most recent album, ‘Bedsitland’, came out in 2021.Tributes have been pouring in online for Tesco since news of his death broke.

Kanye West has told a court that claims he harassed his estranged wife Kim Kardashian on social media are “double hearsay”.Last week (February 23), Kardashian asked a court to fast-track the pair’s divorce due to a pre-agreed prenup. She told the court (via Rolling Stone): “I believe that the court terminating our marital status will help Kanye to accept that our marital relationship is over and to move forward on a better path which will assist us in peacefully co-parenting our children.”Kardashian then referenced recent (and since-deleted) social media posts from Kanye, including one in which he took aim at Kardashian’s new boyfriend Pete Davidson and told his fans to “look at this dickhead”.She told the court: “I very much desire to be divorced.

Spotify has agreed to change its rules on playlists following the release of a 1000-track protest album by cult indie band The Pocket Gods, which railed against the streaming platform’s payment rates.Spotify has been accused of paying artists as little as £0.002 for each stream on its service, with royalties only being activated if a song is listened to for at least 30 seconds.A 2015 i article on the economics of streaming then influenced The Pocket Gods to release ‘1000×30 – Nobody Makes Money Anymore’ on Spotify on February 8, with each of the record’s 1000 tracks clocking in at around the 30-second mark.“I saw the [2015] article and it made me think, ‘Why write longer songs when we get paid little enough for just 30 seconds?’” frontman Mark Christopher Lee told i earlier this month.The stunt by the St Albans band, which has seen their protest album clock up nearly 600,000 total streams, has now drawn a response from Spotify, with founder Daniel Ek reportedly reaching out to Lee to set up a meeting between The Pocket Gods and Spotify’s head of artist relations.“Spotify said we’re ahead of the curve as shorter songs are the future – just look at TikTok,” Lee told i in a new interview. “They said that I can pitch 30 second tracks to their playlists [drivers of chart hits] for consideration – I wasn’t able to do this previously as the songs were considered too short.“So next week I’m releasing a 30-second single called ‘Noel Gallagher Is Jealous Of My Studio’.”Lee added that he was told that pay rates to songwriters would increase when Spotify rolls out an increase in its subscription price, which is currently priced at £9.99 for premium users.

 viewers know for sure… or maybe it's for : when the ladies and their men hit the Jersey Shore, drama's going down. The group's season 12 trip is no different, as the barbecue at Jennifer Aydin's rental quickly goes off the rails.ET's exclusive sneak peek picks up in the middle of a group discussion about how Jennifer operates within the friend circle, with Melissa Gorga calling her out for attempting to dig up information about Jackie Goldschneider's husband, Evan, and his now-debunked affair that was a major point of conversation in season 11, after Teresa Giudice brought the rumor to the women's attention. «Why do you want to hurt someone else?!» an exasperated Margaret Josephs asks an equally exasperated Jennifer, who professes she had no intent to hurt. «If she found out that Evan cheated on me, she would've shouted it for everyone to hear,» Jackie remarks in a confessional. «Of course you were trying to hurt me, just like Teresa was.

Judi Dench and Benedict Cumberbatch are among the stars named in Vogue’s annual Hollywood portfolio. The glossy, high fashion magazine has named 25 actors, including Halle Berry, Peter Dinklage and Cate Blanchett, for its special piece in its March edition to mark awards season. Veteran actor Dame Judi, 87, looked stylish in a red coat paired with a retro pair of red heart-shaped sunglasses, while posing against an autumnal backdrop.

10 titles shortlisted in the Oscar category of Best Makeup and Hairstyling. Wigs of various lengths and colors were worn by main cast members Bradley Cooper (in selected scenes), Richard Jenkins, Mary Steenburgen and Toni Collette, in addition to dozens of background actors.Cate Blanchett, who nabbed a Screen Actors Guild nomination for her supporting performance, brought in her personal hair stylist. “Guillermo referenced Lauren Bacall for Cate’s hair and her stylist did a fantastic job,” said Furey.

Naman Ramachandran The reign of Sony’s “Spider-Man: No Way Home” atop the U.K. and Ireland box office has finally ended with Universal’s animation sequel “Sing 2” claiming the throne.“Sing 2,” directed by Garth Jennings and featuring a stellar voice cast of Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson and Taron Egerton among many others, debuted in pole position with £6.8 million ($9.2 million), according to numbers released by Comscore. Another Universal release, Kenneth Branagh’s awards season favorite “Belfast,” retained its second position from last week with £1.8 million and now has £6 million after two weekends.After six weeks as box office champion, “Spider-Man: No Way Home” placed third with £1.7 million.

Having the time of your life! Mamma Mia! left a lasting impression in 2008 as the cast transported viewers to Greece while singing ABBA’s greatest hits — and one film just wasn’t enough.

Tim Gray Senior Vice PresidentSearchlight’s “Nightmare Alley” takes place mostly in 1939-41, but its sensibility is contemporary. It’s a time-capsule movie: If future generations want to know what life was like in the 21st century, tell them to see this film.“Nightmare,” written by Guillermo Del Toro (who directs) and Kim Morgan, depicts a world of liars and charlatans who manipulate the truth to gain wealth and/or power.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at LargeThough he’s been an acclaimed actor for five decades, earned four Oscar nominations and starred in several blockbusters, Willem Dafoe will take on a new challenge this weekend when he hosts “Saturday Night Live” for the first time Jan. 29.The announcement was met with massive enthusiasm online, with many people expressing disbelief Dafoe had never hosted before.

Clayton Davis After a stampede of awards announcements that include ACE Eddies, Producers Guild and Writers Guild of America Awards, the prestigious Directors Guild of America Awards finally weighs in with their own set of nominees that recognizes achievements in directing.In the motion pictures category, the group nominated Kenneth Branagh for “Belfast” (Focus Features), Jane Campion for “The Power of the Dog” (Netflix), Paul Thomas Anderson for “Licorice Pizza” (MGM/United Artists Releasing), Steven Spielberg for “West Side Story” (20th Century Studios) and Denis Villeneuve for “Dune” (Warner Bros).Notable snubs included Joel Coen (“The Tragedy of Macbeth”), Adam McKay (“Don’t Look Up”), Siân Heder (“CODA”), Guillermo del Toro (“Nightmare Alley”) and Ryûsuke Hamaguchi (“Drive My Car”). Campion is the second woman ever to receive a second nod from the Directors Guild.

Tim Gray Senior Vice PresidentOn June 29, 1966, CBS had an internal debate over its morning programming: Whether to cut to a news conference about a turning point in the Vietnam war — the U.S. bombing of Hanoi and Haiphong — or to air a decade-old “I Love Lucy” rerun. They decided to stick with “Lucy.”The sitcom, which ran 1951-57, is more than beloved: It’s become part of our collective unconscious.

Tim Gray Senior Vice PresidentHollywood has given us a wide range of mothers, including the hard-working and devoted (“Claudine”), the self-sacrificing (“Bambi”) and the monstrous (“The Manchurian Candidate”).It’s hard to come up with anything new on the subject, but first-time writer-director Maggie Gyllenhaal, adapting Elena Ferrante’s novel, constantly surprises us by depicting several mothers who are complex, original and have the ring of truth in “The Lost Daughter.”“The book and, I hope, the film articulate a lot of the experience about being a woman that we don’t often talk about,” Gyllenhaal tells Variety. “Not just in terms of mothering and how complicated it is — it brings you to your knees.

Tim Gray Senior Vice PresidentOscar voters take their duties seriously and seem to have a few key criteria in voting: Is this work emotionally honest, does it pop off the screen, and is it something that will be admired 50 years from now?Penelope Cruz in “Parallel Mothers” checks all those boxes. There are no guarantees with Oscars, but if there’s justice in the world, she will be nominated Feb. 8.

Because the WGA created its award to be a prize for its members and those who write under its jurisdiction, a Writers Guild nomination is a less accurate predictor of Oscar success than noms from the other three major Hollywood guilds, the Screen Actors Guild, Producers Guild and Directors Guild.WGA rules restrict eligibility to screenplays that were written under the guild’s Minimum Basic Agreement or under a collective bargaining agreement from one of 11 affiliate guilds around the world. As usual, that rule disqualified a number of top screenplays this year, including “The Power of the Dog,” “Cyrano,” “Passing,” “The Lost Daughter,” “Drive My Car” and “Spider-Man: No Way Home” in the adapted-screenplay category and “Belfast,” “A Hero,” “The Hand of God,” “Parallel Mothers” and “Prayers for the Stolen” in original screenplay.“Belfast,” “The Power of the Dog” and “The Lost Daughter” in particular are strong favorites for Oscar nominations.In the documentary category, only three screenplays were nominated: “Being Cousteau,” “Exposing Muybridge” and “Like a Rolling Stone: The Life and Times of Ben Fong-Torres.”Winners will be announced at the WGA Awards on March 20, one week before the Oscars.The nominations: ORIGINAL SCREENPLAYBeing the Ricardos, Written by Aaron Sorkin;Amazon StudiosDon’t Look Up, Screenplay by Adam McKay, Story by Adam McKay & David Sirota; NetflixThe French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun, Screenplay by Wes Anderson, Story by Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola & Hugo Guinness & Jason Schwartzman;Searchlight PicturesKing Richard, Written by Zach Baylin; Warner Bros.

Jon Burlingame editorHow do you write a love song that’s also a lament for the impending end of the world?That was the challenge for “Don’t Look Up” composer Nicholas Britell, lyricist Taura Stinson and their co-writers and performers, Ariana Grande and Kid Cudi, as they collaborated on “Just Look Up.” The song is performed in the film and is on the Oscar shortlist for possible nomination in February.The idea came from writer-director Adam McKay, Britell reports. Grande had already been cast as Riley Bina, a pop star who reconciles with her rapper boyfriend (Kid Cudi, as DJ Chello) on the same morning talk show where astronomers (played by Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence) reveal that a comet is on a collision course for Earth.

Clayton Davis The Producers Guild of America announced its nominations for the motion picture and television categories for the upcoming 33rd PGA Awards, and it was a good day for the streamers (once again).Netflix ruled the film side with three films landing in the field of 10 nominees: “Don’t Look Up” from Adam McKay, “The Power of the Dog” from Jane Campion and “Tick, Tick … Boom!” from Lin-Manuel Miranda.Warner Bros. captured two nods from its slate: “Dune” from Denis Villeneuve and “King Richard” from Reinaldo Marcus Green.At the best possible moment with Oscar voting opening today, Amazon Studios’ “Being the Ricardos” from Aaron Sorkin snagged one of the coveted spots, which helps its best picture chances considerably.

Clayton Davis The best picture prize is what every studio and filmmaker covets, whether they publicly admit it or not. But, of course, it would help if you had the star power to make it happen. Oscar winners Leonardo DiCaprio and Cate Blanchett both have proven that they have said star power with the amount of best picture nominees (and winners) they’ve appeared in over their careers.

It stands to reason that a filmmaker reared in comedy improv, Adam McKay, would partner up with an editor, Hank Corwin, who is familiar with cutting for directors known for their impromptu style.

The Independent.“It’s corrupt. And it’s sick. And it’s twisted,” he added.In the film, a pair of scientists (Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence) discover a comet headed toward earth that will likely bring about the planet’s destruction.

Tim Gray Senior Vice PresidentThere has been media debate whether “Spider-Man: No Way Home” could get a best picture Oscar nomination, since voters of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences have been reluctant to celebrate movies in that genre. But describing this as a superhero movie is like saying “The Godfather” is a gangster film. It IS, but it’s much more.The box-office success proves that the film is hitting a nerve with audiences: They needed this film.

If you’ve got negative things to say about “Don’t Look Up”, maybe avoid saying them around Ron Perlman.

Zack Sharf Ron Perlman is hitting back against critics of Adam McKay’s Netflix satire “Don’t Look Up,” in which the “Hellboy” favorite stars opposite an ensemble cast that includes Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, Jonah Hill, Timothee Chalamet, Joe Morgan and Mark Rylance. Perlman stars in the movie as Colonel Benedict Drask, a war veteran tasked with flying to space to destroy a comet that’s heading toward the planet. “Don’t Look Up” has become one of Netflix’s biggest original films to date since debuting December 24 on the streaming platforms.“Fuck you and your self-importance and this self-perpetuating need to say everything bad about something just so that you can get some attention for something that you had no idea about creating,” Perlman told The Independent.

Refresh for latest…: Xavier Giannoli’s Illusions Perdues (Lost Illusions) leads nominations for the 2022 César Awards, France’s equivalent to the Oscar. The Venice premiere scored 15 mentions, followed by Leos Carax’s Annette, which opened the Cannes Film Festival last year and has 11 nominations. They are followed by Valérie Lemercier’s Aline, the musical dramedy inspired by the life of Céline Dion which also debuted in Cannes and has 10 nods. (Scroll down for the full list of nominations which is being updated.)

Monday, Jan. 24 marked the premiere date of “The Gilded Age”, the new period drama starring Christine Baranski and Cynthia Nixon as well-heeled sisters who take in their niece (played by Louisa Jacobson) when her father — their brother — dies and leaves her penniless.

While there’s been no word about the possibility of the “Mamma Mia!” gang reuniting for a third movie, at least one of the film’s stars is admitting she’d totally be onboard.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterJake Gyllenhaal is set to star in “Cut and Run,” a heist thriller about a group of thieves who use high-powered speed boats to rob super-yachts. Their caper takes a turn when they steal the wrong thing from the wrong group of people.New Republic Pictures won rights to the spec script, written by John Glenn, after a bidding war with several potential buyers.In addition to starring, Gyllenhaal will produce the film through his company Nine Stories Productions.

Entertainment Weekly, the actress (currently starring on HBO’s “The Gilded Age”) noted that she and her movie musical castmates really were having the times of their lives on “Mamma Mia!” and “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again,” so it wouldn’t take much convincing to repeat the experience.“If we could go back and have the same amount of good fun and be on a Greek island together filming and dining together at night at some wonderful trattoria or taverna, I don’t think anybody would give you an argument,” Baranski said.She also has at least some idea of what her character has been up to since the end of “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again” — and as always, Tanya has remained deeply on-brand.“Tanya married, although by now she may be divorced,” Baranski said. “She may have gotten bored with this man.”So no, all hope is not lost.

The Gilded Age seems destined to be a hit. After all, American viewers are huge fans of British period dramas—or so it appears. The Tudors, Downton Abbey, , and are just a few of the series to find runaway success focusing on a time that transports us to yesteryear.

here and above.Ewan McGregor voices the cricket we meet in the footage: Sebastian. Presumably, that’s Jiminy’s real first name — as Sebastian notes his middle initial is J — but there’s no telling for sure just yet.

Zack Sharf Guillermo del Toro fans had to wait four years in between his best picture winner “The Shape of Water” and his newest release “Nightmare Alley.” The wait for his next project won’t be as long. Netflix has announced the director’s stop-motion, musical adaptation of “Pinocchio” is set for release in December 2022.

Guillermo del Toro‘s Pinocchio, a whimsical, stop-motion musical, has its very first teaser and release date information straight from Netflix!

creator Julian Fellowes’ newest star-studded historical drama,, is breakout star and daughter of a Hollywood icon, Louisa Jacobson. The 30-year-old actress, whose mother is none other than Meryl Streep, plays Marian Brook in the HBO drama alongside Carrie Coon, Cynthia Nixon and Christine Baranski. After her father dies in 1882, Brook is forced to move from rural Pennsylvania to New York City to live with her wealthy aunts, Agnes van Rhijn (Baranski) and Ada Brook (Nixon), who are part of an aging class of high society reckoning with the influx of ambitious and self-made newcomers, including railroad tycoon George Russell (Morgan Spector) and his ambitious wife, Berth (Coon). Joining Brook is Peggy Scott (Denée Benton), an aspiring writer who finds herself employed by the aunts, as the two get caught up in a social, class and economic war between old money and new money and question whether they should follow long-standing traditions or forage their own paths. And along the way, Brook and Scott develop their own friendship, even though they must navigate racial and age barriers of the time.