Spirit Awards: Melissa Villasenor Says Pandemic Marked "Tough Year" to "Watch Independent Movies"

Out French ice dancer, Guillaume Cizeron, won a gold medal Monday at the Beijing Winter Olympics.Cizeron skated with his longtime skating partner, Gabriella Papadakis.

Snail Mail has opened up about her road to recovery following a vocal cord surgery that forced the delay of tour dates in the US, UK and Europe.Speaking to Carmel Holt on a recent episode of the Sheroes Mixtape Memoir podcast, the singer – real name Lindsey Jordan – shared that she was “silent for the entire month” following the surgery in December, an experience that she said “was really hard”.“There were a lot of situations where I found myself just totally helpless. You know, you don’t really think about how much you need your voice,” she said.

JYP Entertainment has announced that TWICE’s North American tour will no longer include meet-and-greet events.On February 15, the agency said in a statement through the group’s fan community page that meet-and-greet events for the US leg of the group’s ‘III’ world tour, which kicked off in Los Angeles on the same day, have been cancelled. The company cited the “severity” of the COVID-19 pandemic for its decision to axe the events.“We originally planned promotional and a wide variety of opportunities for meet-and-greets,” JYP said.

Neil Young has spoken out over a developing conspiracy theory that his music publishing is overseen by pharmaceutical corporation Pfizer – the company behind one of the most widely-used COVID-19 vaccines.In a since-deleted letter posted to his Neil Young Archives website (as transcribed by Stereogum), Young addressed the circulated belief his views on vaccines were dictated to him by Pfizer – who, according to the conspiracy theory, own Young’s music publishing.The misunderstanding stems from the fact that a former CEO at Pfizer now serves as a senior advisor for asset manager Blackstone, which currently has a partnership with music publisher Hipgnosis – with whom Young presently works.Young described the conspiracy theory as “clever but wrong” in the letter, while also quipping “so much for Pharm Aid” – a reference to both the common conspiracy theory trope of “big pharma” and his own charity Farm Aid.“The publishing share Hipgnosis has in my copyrights is in the Hipgnosis Songs Fund, that is publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange,” Young explained.“The Blackstone investment went into a separate Hipgnosis Private Fund, and none of that money was used for the Hipgnosis Songs Fund. Pfizer has not invested in Hipgnosis, but a past Pfizer CEO is a senior advisor for Blackstone.” The conspiracy theory is part of an ongoing conservative backlash against Young – most recently expressed by right-wing American rock musician Ted Nugent, who described Young as a “stoner birdbrain punk” for his recent protest against Spotify and Joe Rogan.Young removed his catalogue of albums from Spotify last month to protest the platform having Rogan’s podcast The Joe Rogan Experience as an exclusive to the service.

Chubby and The Gang have shared a new three-track EP, ‘Labour Of Love’.The EP arrived on all major streaming platforms on Monday (February 14), alongside a fresh music video for the project’s lead single, ‘Who Loves Ya? (Coup d’état)’.The ‘Labour Of Love’ EP is rounded out by ‘Twice Shy’, a punchy track about being hurt by love and now being skeptical of all relationships, and ‘Ain’t There No One?’, which chronicles the search for someone to “fix a lonely heart”.Listen to the ‘Labour Of Love’ EP below.The music video for ‘Who Loves Ya? (Coup d’état)’ was filmed and edited by the band’s tour manager during their recent run of shows supporting Turnstile, per a press release.Released on Valentine’s Day, ‘Who Loves Ya (Coup d’état)’ aims to spotlight “all the angles of love. Warts and all,” according to frontman Charlie Manning Walker.

BLACKPINK fans have expressed their frustration towards the girl group’s agency, YG Entertainment, over the act’s lack of musical output.On Valentine’s Day (February 14), YG Entertainment announced that the quartet would be releasing their ‘2022 Welcoming Collection’ with a preview video on YouTube. While K-pop fans typically enjoy such special releases, some Blinks (BLACKPINK’s official fanbase) have voiced their dissatisfaction towards the agency’s decision to release new merchandise instead of music.As seen in the replies and quotes on YG’s tweet announcing the new collection, a number of Blinks have called for a boycott of the release, while others have decided to voice their displeasure by reporting the agency’s Twitter account.

The official trailer for the upcoming Marvel movie Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was unveiled during the 2022 Super Bowl and there’s probably some moments you missed.

Brian Laundrie's death in the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park in North Port, Florida, have come to light following the release of the completed autopsy report.The 47-page report, obtained by ET, reveals the findings from examination of Laundrie's remains, which authorities found scattered in the Environmental Park back in October, following a lengthy search for the 23-year-old fugitive, who had been a suspect in the murder of Gabby Petito at the time of his disappearance.It was revealed that Laundrie had died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head in November, after his remains were handed over to a forensic anthropologist. The full report, however, was not released until Monday, and largely detailed the condition of Laundrie's skeletal remains.According to the forensic investigation, many of Laundrie's bones displayed signed of post-mortem scavenging, with animal gnaw marks, which is likely why most soft tissue had disappeared from the remains.«No soft tissue remains but for minimal partially calcified costal cartilage at the anterior aspects of some of the lower ribs,» the report detailed.

Kodak Black has left Cedars-Sinai hospital after being reportedly shot in the leg. In a video you can see here, the rapper can be seen getting into a black SUV while using a walker and moving slowly on Monday afternoon. The “Patty Cake” rapper was surrounded by numerous bodyguards as he climbed into the SUV which was a smart move, considering the danger he faced early Saturday morning after Justin Beiber‘s concert after party.

K.J. Yossman “Promising Young Woman” scribe Emerald Fennell and “His Dark Materials” scribe Jack Thorne were among those honored at the 29th Writers’ Guild of Great Britain awards on Monday night.The ceremony, which was hosted by WGGB president Sandi Toksvig in London, handed out awards in 16 categories including film, television, radio, theatre, comedy, books, and videogames.Awards covered the past two years of work, after the 2021 ceremony was cancelled due to the pandemic.Which is why Fennell won a prize for first screenplay for “Promising Young Woman” while Thorne picked up the award for outstanding contribution to writing.Also walking away with gongs were Chinonyerem Odimba for best musical theater bookwriting for “Black Love,” Russell T.

Jon Dadi Bodvarsson is now in a position to start for Bolton while Amadou Bakayoko is reaping the benefits from the new system Wanderers have implemented and is proving any goal doubters wrong with his recent form in front of goal.

A man who allegedly tried to flee from police in Ashton-under-Lyne was swiftly arrested on suspicion of several crimes including possession with intent to supply class a drugs and possession of an offensive weapon.

Foo Fighters have expanded their upcoming North American tour with 10 new shows, set to take place this September and October.The tour, in support of the band’s 2021 album ‘Medicine at Midnight’, will now include additional stops primarily through Canada – including cities such as Winnipeg, Edmonton and Vancouver. Two new United States dates – one in Sioux Falls, the other in the central Oregon city of Bend – have also been added.Tickets for the new set of dates will go on sale this Friday (February 18) at 10am local time for each city.A post shared by Foo Fighters (@foofighters)The 10 new shows join the largely stadium-based North American tour, which is set to commence in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania on May 14.

Mark Schilling Japan CorrespondentLeading Japanese entertainment firms Toho, Toei, Studio Khara and Tsuburaya Productions are joining forces to launch the Shin Japan Heroes Universe, a project modeled on the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Shin Japan Heroes brings together such iconic characters as Godzilla, Ultraman and Kamen Rider, as well as the world of anime maestro Anno Hideaki’s Evangelion sci-fi franchise.Details in Monday’s announcement were scanty, but the project team has revealed an emblem and visual showing all four “heroes” together, as well as a website.A starting point for the project was “Shin Godzilla” (translation: “New Godzilla”), the 2016 smash hit live-action film that Anno scripted and co-directed. It was followed by last year’s hit anime “Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time,” which was also directed by Anno for his Studio Khara anime house as the fourth and final film in the “Rebuild of Evangelion” film franchise.

Finance secretary Kate Forbes has revealed she was in the throes of morning sickness when she delivered a key Scottish budget speech last week.

A grieving daughter has called for an urgent review of cancer care services in the region.

Lockdowns were tough for most musicians – but for one Scot, they provided the opportunity of a lifetime.

A man who suffered horrific attacks by monks has been awarded £1.4 million in damages – the highest known sum ever paid out to a sex abuse survivor in Scotland.

A column chronicling conversations and events on the awards circuit.

Clayton Davis In this strange year of the global pandemic, the Independent Spirit Awards seemed to fall in line with what the upcoming Academy Awards are predicted to reward this Sunday, including showing love to frontrunners like “Nomadland” and “Promising Young Woman.”Hosted by “Saturday Night Live” cast member Melissa Villaseñor, the virtual ceremony, with some winners producing pre-recording acceptance speeches, was as good as you could hope to see in the pandemic.Chloé Zhao picked up three prizes in total, including best feature, director and editing, cementing herself as the darling of the season.

Virtual awards ceremonies will soon (we hope) be a thing of the past, but, sadly, the 2021 Independent Spirit Awards are still firmly in the pandemic era. The traditional Saturday afternoon pre-Oscar day drinking telecast moved to a Thursday night Prime Time slot on IFC with Melissa Villaseñor admirably taking the reigns.

The winners of the 2021 Film Independent Spirit Awards were announced on Thursday night (April 22) and you can check out the full list here!

Oscars and the Film Independent Spirit Awards is essentially a circle this year, as films like, and dominate both awards shows.Ahead of Sunday's Academy Awards, the 36th Independent Spirit Awards honored the best in indie filmmaking and, for the first time, television during Thursday's live primetime ceremony on IFC. (A break from tradition, as the Spirit Awards are usually a daytime fête the day before the Oscars.)'s Melissa Villaseñor served as host, with the likes of Cate Blanchett, Laura Dern, Kumail Nanjiani, Adam Sandler, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Lulu Wang and more on hand to present the awards.See the full list of winners, in, below.

Antonio Ferme editorThe 36th annual Film Independent Spirit Awards, which recognizes the best work in the independent space, is kicking off on Thursday night.Hosted by “Saturday Night Live” cast member Melissa Villaseñor, the fully immersive virtual ceremony is streaming live on IFC and AMC Plus. Celebrities such as Adam Sandler, Renee Zellweger, Daveed Diggs, Julia Garner, Kathryn Hahn, Annie Murphy and Lulu Wang will serve as presenters during the ceremony.

Virtual awards ceremonies will soon (we hope) be a thing of the past, but, sadly, the 2021 Independent Spirit Awards are still firmly in the pandemic era. The traditional Saturday afternoon pre-Oscar day drinking telecast has moved to a Thursday night Prime Time slot on IFC with Melissa Villaseñor taking the reigns.

The 36th annual Film Independent Spirit Awards are underway Thursday night, with the final big awards show ahead of the Oscars taking on a different look for its virtual edition airing live on IFC and AMC+ and hosted by SNL‘s Melissa Villaseñor. The marquee indie-focused awards show was forced by the pandemic to move to a virtual ceremony from its usual spot on the beach in Santa Monica, and away from its traditional day-before-the-Oscars date.

The 2021 Spirit Awards are happening tonight and SNL‘s Melissa Villasenor is hosting for the first time!

The 36th annual Film Independent Spirit Awards are set for Thursday live at 10 p.m. ET/PT exclusively on IFC and AMC+, with Saturday Night Live‘s Melissa Villaseñor as host of the two-hour ceremony, which will be virtual this year because of the pandemic.

On April 22, Saturday Night Live's Melissa Villaseñor will deliver her best impression of host — toplining the 2021 Independent Spirit Awards with her first-ever emcee gig. And while the 33-year-old comedian's deep bench of impersonations (Owen Wilson, Jennifer Lopez, Lady Gaga and more) has made her a standout on the NBC series, audiences should not expect to see her spoofing the year in film.

As with all award shows, the Independent Spirit Awards will be quite different than previous years. The virtual ceremony means there will be no day drinking in a tent on Santa Monica beach, and the Spirit’s first-time host, Melissa Villaseñor, won’t be able to interact with the always buzzed audience.

You might be surprised at some of the talents that have hosted the Independent Spirit Awards over its 35-year run. While John Waters is the cult favorite of longtime attendees and watchers, Samuel L.