City Austin Showbiz Latest News and Updates

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Vampire Weekend’s matinee concert Monday in Austin was the ultimate ADHD-friendly show. Did you want to watch the band, in its first show back after a year-and-a-half break from touring, and a much longer absence in the States? That was an event unto itself, and a good enough reason for an easy sellout of the 5,000-capacity Moody Amphitheater.

Former enfante terrible filmmaker Harmony Korine (“Gummo“) has said he’s bored with conventional moviemaking and thinks video games, A.I., and experiential films are the way of the future. And well, he’s really putting his money where his mouth is with “Argro Dr1ft,” his latest feature, an experimental assassin movie that debuted at the Venice Film Festival last year (read our review).

Missy Elliott will launch her first-ever headlining tour this summer, a 24-city event that will include stops in Los Angeles and Brooklyn.

Vampire Weekend are playing a special live-streamed show to mark the US total solar eclipse today (April 8) – find out how to watch below.The NYC band will take to the stage at the scenic Moody Amphitheater in Austin, Texas at 12pm CT (6pm BST), with their performance scheduled to run until approximately 2:30pm CT (8:30pm BST).The eclipse – which will be visible across the US, Mexico and Canada – is set to reach totality at 1:36pm CT, resulting in a breathtaking one-to-two minutes of darkness during gig.Fans can tune in to watch the full show live online via the streaming platform Veeps, where you can sign up to claim a free ticket. The performance will also be available to view on-demand, exclusively for Veeps All Access subscribers.A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon lines up perfectly between the Earth and the sun, blocking out the sunlight.

Anna Tingley If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. A total solar eclipse is coming to the U.S, the first time since 2017 and the last time until 2044.

Madonna announced today that she’ll perform a free concert in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday, May 4, to cap her blockbuster Celebration Tour.

Madonna is coming to Brazil!

The popular FOX show "Masked Singer" is in its 11th season, and a few celebrities were recently revealed. The top secret singing competition features well-known stars from today and decades ago.The show, enjoyable for the whole family, is a guessing game among an audience and panel of celebrity judges, including Robin Thicke, Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg, Ken Jeong and, this year, Rita Ora.

NewDad have shared a stripped-down cover version of The Smashing Pumpkins’ ‘1979’ – check out the video below. The Irish band posted the footage on their Instagram account, with the caption: “1979 cover live from Texas”. The four-piece travelled to the state to play South By Southwest Festival in Austin earlier this month, but they were one of the bands that withdrew from the festival – in the end, every Irish artist on the bill refused to play.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer “We Were Dangerous” is a surprisingly funny film for a movie that’s central conflict is the sterilization of a group of young women on the fringes of society in 1950s New Zealand. Knowing the project, which debuted at SXSW in Austin March 8, is executive-produced by from Taika Waititi and Carthew Neal’s Piki Films certainly informs how the film approaches its troubling topic — much like the production company’s Holocaust-set “Jojo Rabbit” — with such levity, the majority of the credit for the heartfelt tone goes to a trio of women: writer Maddie Dai, director Josephine Stewart-Te Whiu and producer Morgan Waru.

Last month, it was reported that Oscar-winner Nicolas Cage was in “serious talks” to reprise his “Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse” role for a live-action “Spider-Man Noir” series incarnation. And just this past weekend, during a recent chat with Collider at the SXSW festival in Austin to promote his new film “Arcadian,” Cage confirmed those conversations.

Two men allegedly plotted to kill a rapper performing at a show last week during Austin’s South by Southwest Music Festival.

Alex Garland took SXSW 2024 by storm last night with the world premiere of his latest film, “Civil War.” And the new feature, about a near-future United States fractured into warring factions, has many moviegoers excited and anxious about the film’s imminent release in theaters and IMAX next month. THR reports that Garland took questions about his new movie at a Film & TV panel in Austin today to explain why he chose to make “Civil War,” if he’s trying to say anything explicit about American politics, and whether A24‘s release of this film before the 2024 US presidential election is deliberate bad timing or coincidental.

Gruff Rhys has become the latest artist to pull out of SXSW 2024 in solidarity with Palestine.The Welsh musician, composer, producer, filmmaker and author was set to appear at this year’s instalment of South By South West, however, has now announced that he will no longer be attending in protest to the “hyper violence inflicted on” those in Gaza.Taking to Facebook, he shared a series of statements explaining his reasons for the decision and announcing two replacement gigs during his time in Austin.“In horror at the hyper violence inflicted on civilians in Gaza and beyond I feel the best use of my platform at the official showcases at SXSW this year is to withdraw my music,” he began. “I’m personally disappointed as I love playing music & the band is in full flow right now.

In the past six months, Nicolas Cage has expressed confusion over his cameo as Superman in The Flash, discussed his desire to do TV and held forth on potentially retiring from movies. This week, in an interview with Deadline at SXSW, Cage expressed indifference at the thought of returning to the comic book genre.

Ryan Gosling spoke about his memorable performance of “I’m Just Ken” at the 2024 Oscars during an interview at the world premiere of his new movie “The Fall Guy” at the SXSW festival in Austin. The 43-year-old actor revealed that he received some valuable advice from his long-term partner, Eva Mendes, and their two daughters, Esmeralda and Amada, before taking the stage.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to sing — I promise” beamed The Fall Guy star Ryan Gosling to a crowded Paramount Theatre in Austin on Tuesday night.

“It’s good to face fears.” That’s Sydney Sweeney‘s wisdom about doing live television, specifically her hosting duties recently on Saturday Night Live.

SXSW have issued a statement, following news that a hit and run left one dead and another injured in downtown Austin.The incident took place in the Texas city earlier this morning (Tuesday, March 12). According to local police (via Fox 7 Austin), it was just after 1am when two pedestrians were walking at the intersection of 7th Street and Red River when they were hit by a vehicle.One of those hit died at the scene, while the other currently remains in hospital with critical, life-threatening injuries.

Addie Morfoot Contributor In January, prolific songwriter Diane Warren received her 15th Academy Award nomination in the best song category for “The Fire Inside,” for the film “Flamin’ Hot,” directed by Eva Longoria. On March 10, Warren held onto her Oscar record in the category for more nominations without a single win when she lost to Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell for their “Barbie” song “What Was I Made For?” But Warren doesn’t have much time to wallow in self pity.

“This is my worst nightmare,” exclaimed the social media influencer-podcaster Bobbi Althoff atop her first SXSW panel today “Superstar Brands: Connection in the Era of Creators.”

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Despite the popularity of Disney’s “Star Wars” franchise, Daisy Ridley says her career stalled when she finished her run leading the film trilogy with 2019’s “The Rise of Skywalker.” “There weren’t that many offers coming in,” Ridley said during a Sunday panel at SXSW in Austin. “It’s not that there wasn’t any… I remember finishing and thinking, ‘Oh, it’s quiet and strange.'” According to Ridley, she didn’t feel fully comfortable leading the latest “Star Wars” trilogy until she had reached the final movie, “The Rise of Skywalker.” “It took, honestly, making the third film till I felt like ‘OK, I’m good.

X by Garcia’s nephew, John Martinez.Markle, holding the cake she brought to the house to surprise Claudia Martinez, turned around and called out “my love” Harry to sing along with about a dozen of Garcia’s family members.“I just wanna say how grateful I am that Meghan and Harry took their time out of their busy schedules to visit with Irma and Joe’s kids,” John Martinez said in a subsequent post on X.

SPOILER ALERT: This post contains some details of Netflix’s 3 Body Problem, set for an eight-episode launch on the streamer on March 21.

The 2024 SXSW Film Festival kicked off March 8 in Austin with the opening-night world premiere screening of Doug Liman’s Road House remake starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Conor McGregor. It started nine days of debuts including for movies starring Rooney Mara, Isabelle Huppert, Gael García Bernal, Kristen Stewart and more. The Anne Hathaway romantic dramedy The Idea of You from SXSW stalwart Michael Showalter will close the fest.

EXCLUSIVE: A documentary about the legendary Billy Preston that’s set to debut tonight at SXSW might not see the light of day.

Matthew McConaughey and his wife Camila have shared why they decided to leave Hollywood behind.The famous actor and his model wife swapped the busy life of Los Angeles for a calmer one in Texas, where Matthew grew up.They were sorting out a family problem in Austin for a few weeks when they chose to stay there for good. Before this, they had a nice life in Malibu, with Camila saying she "grew everything in the yard" and even had bees making honey. Camila noticed a change in Matthew after their time in Texas.

Netflix is once again trying to whet the whistle of genre fans by dropping another trailer for 3 Body Problem, its long-in-the-works mystery series that’s inspired by the novel of the same name. 

Adam B. Vary Senior Entertainment Writer Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex is coming to SXSW.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor In a stunning cinematic universe where sand dunes rise like mountains and the fate of galaxies hangs in the balance, Denis Villeneuve‘s first voyage into the Frank Herbert’s “Dune” saga clinched six of its 10 Oscar nominations. Yet, in a twist as dramatic as Dr.