City Austin Showbiz Latest News and Updates

It took just an hour of deliberations for a Greenville County South Carolina jury to find former Food Network star Ariel Robinson guilty of homicide by child abuse.

The former winner of the Food Network’s Worst Cooks in America reality competition is expected to testify on Thursday in her South Carolina murder trial.

Olivia Rodrigo has brought a new cover into the setlist of her ongoing North American ‘Sour’ tour: No Doubt‘s 1995 hit ‘Just A Girl’.The cover was added to the set in Philadelphia, where she performed at the Metropolitan Opera House last Friday (May 6) and Saturday (May 7). Per setlist.fm, the cover followed a performance of the song ‘All I Want’ from High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, on which Rodrigo stars as Nini.Have a look at fan-shot footage of Rodrigo’s performance below:‘Just A Girl’ joins a growing list of pop-rock classics that Rodrigo has covered on the ‘Sour’ tour, with her takes on ‘Complicated’ by Avril Lavigne and ‘Seether’ by Veruca Salt becoming staples of her set.

Maluma’s loyal fans were surprised with a big announcement: He would be making his way to Florida to perform at the Miami Grand Prix show to kick off the 2022 Formula 1 season. On Thursday, May 5, the Colombian superstar hosted an intimate concert at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida. As revealed during the initial announcement last year, the singer will also make an appearance at the Hard Rock Beach Club during the weekend of the big race.Miami will be the eleventh place in the United States with a Formula 1 race since the championship began in 1950, following Riverside, Sebring, Watkins Glen, Long Beach, Las Vegas, Detroit, Dallas, Phoenix, Indianapolis and Austin.Not only that, it will be the first time in history that Miami will host a Formula 1 Grand Prix, doing so in Miami Gardens--a few miles north of downtown, a county that stands out for its small businesses and cuisine.Maluma hasn’t commented on his performance from last night, publicly, but it doesn’t exactly come as a surprise with everything the superstar has on his plate.

Manori Ravindran International EditorArachnophobes, beware, you’re in for a scare.A new horror about a super-sized spider is hitting the Croisette from Cornerstone Films, which will handle worldwide sales and introduce the pic to buyers in Cannes.From writer and director Kiah Roache-Turner (“Wyrmwood: Apocalypse,” “Nekrotronic”), “Sting” centers on a spider hatched from a mysterious object that falls from the sky into a New York City apartment building. When 12-year-old Charlotte finds the spider, she decides to keep it as a pet, and name it Sting.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorJust two weeks before the release of his “Harry’s House” third solo album, Harry Styles has announced the dates for “Love on Tour 2022.”Coming off of a sold out 42-date arena tour in 2021 and two special “One Night Only” shows in New York and London, the 2022 tour works the “Harry’s House” theme by turning arenas in New York, Los Angeles (10 nights each), Chicago, Austin (5 nights each) and Toronto (2 nights) into Harry’s de facto house.Produced by Live Nation, the tour kicks off on Monday, August 15th and Tuesday, August 16th at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, ON. Styles will continue his residencies in New York City for ten nights at Madison Square Garden, Austin for five nights at Moody Center, and Chicago for five nights at United Center, before wrapping up at Los Angeles’ Kia Forum for 10 night run concluding on Tuesday, November 15th.

their current world tour, Interpol delivered the live debuts of four songs from their upcoming seventh album, ‘The Other Side Of Make Believe’.The show took place at The Factory in Deep Ellum, Texas on Monday (April 25). In addition to singles ‘Toni’ and ‘Something Changed’ – both of which dropped earlier this month with the announcement of their new record – Interpol performed two previously unheard songs, ‘Fables’ and ‘Into The Night’.For their performance of ‘Toni’, lead guitarist Daniel Kessler played the song on electric piano – a live first for Kessler, who has played piano on the band’s albums since 2010, but never performed the instrument live with them.The rest of the 20-song setlist featured tracks from all six of Interpol’s previous albums.

The cast of Queer Eye can’t speak enough about Angel Flores.

Jeopardy! is currently having a major moment thanks to Amy Schneider and her amazing winning streak.

Chris Willman Music WriterWhen Robert Plant and Alison Krauss announced their first joint U.S. tour in 13 years a few months back, there was joy but also some consternation across the land — specifically, across the western part of the land, since the 10 dates initially announced for summer 2020 were all in the eastern part of the country or the South. Now, relief is coming with the news that Plant and Krauss will also be going west this year.The 13 freshly announced dates more than double the original itinerary for the U.S.

A24 reported an estimated total of $509,659 for an average of just under $51,000 for the weekend. By comparison, “Spider-Man: No Way Home” had a per screen average of just under $60,000 thanks to its historic $260 million opening in wide release in December. Meanwhile, A24 opted to take the traditional path with a platform launch for “Everything Everywhere” after the film won overwhelming acclaim from its premiere at SXSW in Austin.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterSandra Bullock and Channing Tatum’s screwball romantic comedy “The Lost City” collected $31 million at North American theaters over the weekend, a promising sign that Netflix hasn’t completely seized on the meet-cute market.Of course, Paramount, which is behind “The Lost City,” did not rely only on positive reviews — or the tease of Tatum’s bare behind — to fuel ticket sales. The on-screen chemistry between Bullock and Tatum, who were inescapable on social media, billboards and in trailers while promoting the film, were key in getting audiences to cinemas.

Benjamin Hall, the Fox News correspondent severely injured last week in Ukraine, is now back in the United States at a Texas Army hospital.

Fox News provided more details of how correspondent Benjamin Hall, severely injured in Ukraine, was evacuated from the region, over the border to Poland and ultimately to a hospital in Germany.

Chris Willman Music WriterMachine Gun Kelly’s summer tour, which was announced Monday morning, won’t lack for starry support, as the headliner has set a lineup of guests for different dates on the arena trek that will include Avril Lavigne, Willow, Blackbear and his producer, Travis Barker.Others joining him along the way include Trippie Redd, Iann Dior, PVRIS and 44phantom, with a selection of two of the aforementioned artists opening at nearly all the 52 shows.The American leg of the tour will last for just over two months, starting June 8 in Austin and wrapping up Aug. 13 in Cleveland. Nearly all the shows are slated for arenas or amphitheaters, but that last show in the U.S.

One lucky contestant got a second chance to shine on the latest installment of “American Idol”.

Entertainment PR biggie Sunshine Sachs said Wednesday that it is elevating current partners Keleigh Thomas Morgan and Heather Lylis to co-presidents. As part of the move, the agency will now be known as Sunshine Sachs Morgan & Lylis.

Wyatte Grantham-Philips editorSunshine Sachs announced on Wednesday that current company partners Keleigh Thomas Morgan and Heather Lylis have been elevated to co-presidents. The agency will now be known as Sunshine Sachs Morgan & Lylis.Sunshine Sachs Morgan & Lylis is led by founder Ken Sunshine and CEO Shawn Sachs.

Sunshine Sachs is undergoing a name change as it promotes two partners at the agency to co-presidents.On Wednesday, the organization announced it will now be called Sunshine Sachs Morgan & Lylis. Morgan comes from Keleigh Thomas Morgan and Lylis is from Heather Lylis.

Look At Me: XXXTENTACION, the long-awaited documentary on the late rapper XXXTENTACION, now has a confirmed release date. The film will premiere today, March 15, at SXSW in Austin, and it will be available to stream on Hulu on June 10.

SXSW got off to an uncharacteristically chilly start last week. As the annual ode to movies, music and tech kicked off on March 11 in Austin, the Texas winds blew a cold front into the downtown streets. Between screenings and musical acts, many attendees lamented that they hadn’t packed a heavy winter jacket.

Just like the SXSW world premiere of The Lost City was a homecoming for Sandra Bullock who lives here down in Austin, it marked a return for brothers Adam and Aaron Nee who jumpstarted their filmmaking careers at cinephile fest with the 2006 movie The Last Romantic. 

The 87-year-old Broadway singing coach Barbara Maier Gustern remained in a coma Monday after a random attack outside her apartment in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood left her with serious brain trauma.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film WriterThe breakout Peacock hit “Girls5Eva” is dialing up the funny for season 2, adding veteran comedy actors Amy Sedaris and Neil FlynnSitting down at Variety‘s SXSW Studio in Austin on Saturday, series creator Meredith Scardino revealed that the beloved Sedaris and Flynn will star as the parents of Busy Philipps’ character Summer Dutkowsky — one of the members of the titular girl group fighting for a comeback.Sedaris is best known for her iconic Comedy Central series “Strangers With Candy,” as well as dozens of memorable film and TV roles in work like “Broad City” and “Maid in Manhattan.” She was also Emmy nominee for her crafting series “At Home with Amy Sedaris.”Flynn co-lead the long-running ABC sitcom “The Middle,” for which he was Critics Choice Award-nominated. He was also a recurring mainstay on “Scrubs.” His film credits include playing Lindsay Lohan’s father in “Mean Girls,” “Major League,” and Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Magnolia.” Scardino was joined in-studio by her lead cast Philipps, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Sara Bareilles, and Paula Pell.When we last saw the women of “Girls5Eva,” they’d rocked a local Jingle Ball concert with their eponymous hit, which Scardino said provides a glimmer of professional hope for the next batch of episodes.“The bet paid off, because somebody in the crowd noticed them and gave them a small record deal.  So, this season is about them making their first album on their own terms,” she said.The group also gave credit for the show’s alchemy to executive producer Tina Fey, who was invaluable in putting the cast together.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film WriterThe SXSW Film Festival delivered a doozy of an opening night presentation with Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert’s “Everything Everywhere All at Once” on Friday in Austin — offering up a buffet of images for viral memes.Fleshy hot dogs in place of human fingers, a talking raccoon voiced by Oscar winner Randy Newman, butt plugs that serve as portals to other dimensions, a martial arts showdown between Michelle Yeoh and Jamie Lee Curtis, and a universe-shattering bagel all populate the A24 release. While Twitter will have its day with the inventive and well-crafted insanity, the filmmakers and cast also produced a rowdy crowdpleaser with themes of acceptance, optimism, and love literally conquering all.

Callie Hernandez (“The Flight Attendant”) and Ashley Denise Robinson (“Taking Stock”) are hiding out in a clip from the SXSW debut “Jethica.”The 2022 SXSW Film Festival is underway in Austin, and “Jethica,” the third feature from Pete Ohs, co-director of the award-winning Julia Garner film “Everything Beautiful Is Far Way,” will world premiere in the Visions section Saturday.Billed as a “supernatural dark comedy like you’ve never seen,” “Jethica” stars Hernandez as Elena and Robinson as Jessica, old high school friends who reunite New Mexico under strange and eerie circumstances. Jessica is on the run from a stalker named Kevin, who follows her everywhere she goes, while Elena is hiding out at her grandmother’s ranch after a freak accident.

Selome Hailu South by Southwest has returned for 2022 with a lineup of films, concerts and conferences stronger than ever. But if you’ve ever been to the festival before, you know that the programming is only half the fun. Check out Variety‘s top recommendations for where to eat in Austin.Mornings in Austin are best begun with breakfast tacos.

Grimes has a new romance, according to a new report.

Kanye West has shared his praise for The Batman, calling one scene in particular “beautiful”.The rapper and producer, who legally changed his name to Ye last year, took to Instagram to compliment Matt Reeves’ new DC film starring Robert Pattinson and Zoë Kravitz.“Saw Batman yesterday[.] The upside down scene when the Penguin car flipped over was beautiful love the whole film Oh and when Zoe threw in the privilege bar,” Ye wrote on Instagram.Take a look at the post here:A post shared by ye (@kanyewest)In a four-star review of The Batman, NME wrote: “Director Matt Reeves has mixed up gritty mob drama with film-noir detective thriller – and thanks to [Paul] Dano’s ultra-creepy villain, some psychological horror too.“Most of the time it comes off brilliantly. Pattinson plays him with a dour fanaticism that only occasionally topples over into parody.”Elsewhere, a fan recently pranked a screening of The Batman in Austin by releasing a live bat in the auditorium.“I’m at the Batman movie and there are real bats in the theatre,” one Twitter user who was at the screening in question tweeted.Another person shared their own footage and wrote: “I was there.