‘Passages’ Director Slams NC-17 Rating, Says MPA Board Is ‘Anti-Progress’

Sara Sampaio and Ray Nicholson have been spotted together on multiple occasions now, including one where they packed on PDA!

The French Connection and The Exorcist has died at the age of 87.Friedkin passed away today (August 7) at home in Los Angeles. His death was confirmed by Chapman University dean Stephen Galloway, who is a friend of Friedkin’s wife Sherry Lansing.The filmmaker rose to fame in the ’70s along with Peter Bogdanovich, Francis Ford Coppola and Hal Ashby, who were seen as a new generation of envelope-pushing directors.

Oscar-winning film director William Friedkin has died aged 87 his family have announced. Mr Friedkin, whose work includes the classic horror film The Exorcist and crime thriller The French Connection - died in Los Angeles today (Monday). No cause of death has yet been confirmed.

told the Los Angeles Times. “Winning the Academy Award [and the Directors Guild Award for 1971’s ‘The French Connection’] was an enormous honor.

Carmel Dagan Director William Friedkin, best known for his Oscar-winning “The French Connection” and blockbuster “The Exorcist,” died Monday in Los Angeles. He was 87.His death was confirmed by Chapman University dean Stephen Galloway, a friend of Friedkin’s wife Sherry Lansing.

William Friedkin, who won as Oscar for directing The French Connection, scored a nomination for The Exorcist and also helmed The Boys in the Band, To Live and Die in L.A., Rules of Engagement and others, died today in Los Angeles. He way 87.

Lesli Linka Glatter has been re-elected president of the Directors Guild of America by acclamation of the delegates at the DGA’s Biennial National Convention in Los Angeles.

Lizzo’s former backup dancers are responding to the “Juice” hitmaker’s statement that she posted Thursday.

Lizzo‘s one-time creative director and another former dancer both have come out publicly to agree with the claims made in the bombshell lawsuit first filed against the singer on Tuesday.

Thania Garcia Premier Music Group has recruited the music supervision services of George Drakoulias, the music supervisor behind the blockbuster “Barbie” soundtrack and score. The project featured original material from Mark Ronson, Dua Lipa, Billie Eilish, Karol G, Ice Spice and Nicki Minaj, among numerous others. Drakoulias joins the firm’s leadership team as a partner and creative director, with plans to open Premier’s new offices in Los Angeles later this summer.

Tori Kelly is on the mend following her hospitalization!

EXCLUSIVE: Jean-Michel Basquiat is set to be the subject of a new feature documentary, King Pleasure, from Val and Pepsi, Where’s My Jet? producer Boardwalk Pictures and Quinn Wilson, former creative director for Lizzo.

K.J. Yossman Gene Fallaize, the director of Kevin Spacey’s most recent film, has said he stands by his decision to cast the actor while he was awaiting trial for sexual assault. Spacey was cleared on all counts on Thursday following a four-week trial in London’s Southwark Crown Court.

Mark Simon, a longtime casting director for stage productions on Broadway and at Los Angeles’ Center Theatre Group, died July 16 in Los Angeles. He was 70.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted to send a letter to the major studios urging them to return to the bargaining table with striking actors.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music + The Beatport Group is opening applications for grants to its second annual Diversity + Parity Fund. The investment initiative is designed to support organizations that focus on underrepresented groups and promote diversity within the music industry.

In a move that harkens back to the 1950s while simultaneously echoing the ongoing censorship of depictions of LGBTQ identity nationwide, the Motion Picture Association has given the upcoming queer film Passages an NC-17 rating.“We hunger for movies that are in any proximity to our own experience,” director Ira Sachs told Los Angeles Times, “and to find a movie like this, which is then shut out, is, to me, depressing and reactionary.”To be sure, the Sundance drama is quite sensual — it centers on a Parisian love triangle between a movie director (Franz Rogowski), his artist husband (Ben Whishaw), and a teacher (Adèle Exarchopoulos).And yes, it has its fair share of sex and nudity — including a two-minute scene of the two husbands shot in a single take. But none of the scenes are particularly indelicate or over-the-top, the film’s distributor MUBI said in a statement.For Sachs, the rating is “a form of cultural censorship that is quite dangerous, particularly in a culture which is already battling, in such extreme ways, the possibility of LGBT imagery to exist.”“MUBI has officially rejected this NC-17 rating,” the film’s distributor said, per Variety.

Tori Spelling fired back at a Los Angeles realtor whom she accused of “mocking” her current housing crisis.

Quentin Tarantino got in on the movie event of the summer.

Quentin Tarantino was spotted at a screening of Barbie in Los Angeles this weekend.The film came to cinemas on Friday (July 21), with huge anticipation around its release alongside Oppenheimer.On its first weekend, Tarantino was among millions to flock to see Greta Gerwig’s film and was spotted buying his ticket at the box office and then settling in to the screening by fans, who have shared photos online.Get a glimpse into Tarantino’s big day out below. It’s not clear whether he did the so-called ‘Barbenheimer’ double though.A post shared by IndieWire (@indiewire)As the films’ first weekend comes to a close, Barbie is currently set to outpace Oppenheimer at the box office.The films have been the subject of particular attention for coming out on the same day, with many people attempting to see both in the space of 24 hours.As things stand, Greta Gerwig’s comedy is set to bring in $110million (£86.6million) at the US box office this weekend, over twice the expected takings of Christopher Nolan’s biopic about the creator of the atomic bomb. Oppenheimer is expected to gross $50million (£38.8million).Barbie’s current takings mean it will break the record for the highest-opening film in the US by a female director. Wonder Woman previously held the title, bringing in £103million(£89.1million) in 2017.Warner Bros confirmed yesterday (July 21) that Barbie had earned $22.3million (£17.3million) in box office previews – the highest figure of any film this year.