Composer Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

Marta Balaga Caution! Kaisa El Ramly’s upcoming feature “Gateways & Dreams” has debuted a trailer, so watch out for moving vehicles. The tragicomic road movie, produced by Helsinki-based Inland Film Company and co-produced by Sweden’s Läsk, focuses on multiple characters stuck in their cars on one summer’s day, as well as one hitchhiker and a very special dog. Following its screenings at Helsinki Int.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Kore-eda Hirokazu returns to Japan for his latest film “Monster,” which poses this question to audiences: “Who really is the monster?” While location scouting, the filmmaker was looking down at a lake, dark and almost black, and “I thought of Sakamoto Ryuichi music. He was the only person who could do the music for this film.” It would mark the first time in years that the legendary composer behind “The Last Emperor” and “The Revenant” had worked on a Japanese title The film opens with Minato, played by Kurokawa Soya, an 11-year-old fifth grader who watches a burning building from afar. Kore-eda returns to this sequence three times, each from a different perspective.

Naman Ramachandran The 171st film by South Indian movie superstar Rajinikanth is to be directed by “Vikram” director Lokesh Kanagaraj, Kalanithi Maran’s Sun Pictures officially announced on Monday, putting an end to months of speculation. No further details are available, save the name of the music composer, Anirudh Ravichander (“Jawan,” “Jailer”) and stunt choreographer Anbariv (the K.G.F. franchise), indicating that the film belongs to the action genre.

The western genre has been so pervasive throughout the entire history of the movies, and it is hard to imagine doing anything in it that hasn’t already been done. Viggo Mortensen, in writing, directing, producing, and co-starring in only his second film behind the camera (after 2020’s Falling) finds a moving, if tragic, love story to play against the stunning landscape of the circa 1860’s west, and somehow it all feels new. John Ford and Howard Hawks would love this movie.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent London and Paris-based Film Constellation has taken international sales on Egyptian director Abu Bakr Shawky’s hotly anticipated Saudi-set travel movie “Hajjan,” ahead of its Toronto Film Festival world premiere. “Hajjan,” which will launch from Toronto’s Discovery section, is a followup to Shawky’s first feature “Yomeddine,” which had the rare distinction of making the competition cut for Cannes.

She may have been the longest-serving monarch in British royal history, but the Queen’s death on 8 September, 2022 – after a record-breaking 70 years on the throne – nonetheless came as a devastating blow to the nation. Unrealistic as it may have seemed, many of us simply thought she would go on forever. She had been a pillar of stability throughout the lives of generations of Britons – a steadying hand guiding her people during troubled times, but also a figurehead for celebration during some of our country’s most triumphant moments.

Rolling Stone, the novelist revealed that he’s a huge fan of the 1999 summer track, which was a cover of an instrumental song composed by Pérez Prado.Asked if he’s a fan of Lou Bega’s version, King said: “Oh, yeah. Big time. My wife threatened to divorce me.

Freddie Mercury ’s prized piano that he used to compose "Bohemian Rhapsody" and other hits by Queen sold for more than $2 million Wednesday as some of the late singer’s massive collection of flamboyant stage costumes, fine art and original lyrics were auctioned in a sale that broke records. Items connected to the operatic "Rhapsody," the band's most enduring hit, brought a premium with hand-written lyrics to the song selling for about $1.7 million and a gold Cartier brooch saying "Queen number 1" given to each band member by their manager after the song topped the charts, selling for $208,000.

Strathblane author John McNicoll hopes his new men’s mental health novel will help spread important messages to those following the same footsteps as he once did.

Guy Lodge Film Critic When Holly’s classroom peers call her “the witch,” she meekly shrugs it off. It’s not the least flattering slur with which the shy, soft-spoken 15-year-old has been bullied, and it beats people complaining about how she smells.

Todd Gilchrist editor To capture the breadth and depth of the musical career of Japanese composer and recording artist Ryuichi Sakamoto seems impossible, but somehow “Ryuichi Sakamoto: Opus” almost accomplishes this herculean challenge. A document of Sakamoto’s final performance before his death from cancer last march, the film provides no commentary or context for the enormity of his body of work, yet somehow encompasses it all as he performs a curated set list in a Japanese recording studio for an audience of one — himself.

Sophia Scorziello editor Virginia’s Middleburg Film Festival, now in its 11th year, is set to open this October with Netflix’s Bayard Rustin biopic “Rustin” starring Colman Domingo. Director George C.

Carlo Chatrian whose mandate as artistic director of the Berlinale will come to an end next year. As we reported last week, Chatrian had been expected to stay on beyond 2024, and was surprised to learn that the German body which oversees the festival, Kulturveranstaltungen des Bundes in Berlin (KBB), announced that it would no extend his contract. The org had previously said it would abandon the model of having an executive director and an artistic director and return instead to having a single director, following the next edition.

Jessica Kiang A wild deer with a hunter’s bullet in its belly may attack a human, no matter how mild its nature normally. This is one of the droplets of woodland wisdom dispensed by the otherwise taciturn Takumi (Hitoshi Omika), the woodcutter, water-gatherer and all-round odd-job-man of Mizubiki village, the setting of “Drive My Car” director Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s meditative and moving, yet ultimately unsettling new feature. Takumi’s few words all relate to such matters: the flow of a stream, the thorns on a Siberian Ginseng, the tang of wild wasabi.

Bradley Cooper appears to have another winner on his hands.

The makeup artist behind Bradley Cooper‘s prosthetic nose in Maestro is speaking out following all of the backlash.

Maestro” — Bradley Cooper’s long-awaited second film as director — premiered at the Venice Film Festival to rapturous applause. The drama about the life of legendary stage composer Leonard Bernstein landed a seven-minute-standing ovation at its world premiere at the Sala Grande Theatre on Saturday night. Cooper, who also plays Bernstein in the Netflix film (with the help of nose prosthetics), and his co-star Carey Mulligan didn’t attend the night’s festivities due to the SAG-AFRTRA strike.

Owen Gleiberman Chief Film Critic In “Maestro,” playing the legendary American conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein, Bradley Cooper has a light in his eye — a glow of merriment and mischief, of gleeful cosmopolitan desire. His Lenny is a prodigy, a prankster, a seducer, a monk of creative devotion and, through it all, a man of epic contradiction. In public, he tends toward the proper and stentorian; in private, he’s recklessly exuberant enough to give new — or maybe old — meaning to the word gay.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor How much longer will the Oscars wait? That is, wait to embrace the quality and sheer brilliance of documentary filmmaking in a significant way, meaning nominating one in the best picture category? Matthew Heineman’s deeply moving “American Symphony,” which follows Oscar and Grammy-winning composer Jon Batiste as he prepares for his performance at Carnegie Hall, is yet another home run for the filmmaker behind “Cartel Land” and “City of Ghosts,” not to mention a singular love story. Batiste’s larger-than-life personality was on full display following the Telluride screening of the documentary, when he led a band down to the main street of Telluride.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Vertical is shifting the theatrical release of Rebecca Miller’s romantic comedy “She Came To” by a week. The film, which stars Peter Dinklage, Anne Hathaway and Marisa Tomei, will open on Oct. 6 instead of Sept.

Addie Morfoot Contributor In his latest documentary, “American Symphony,” Oscar-nominated director Matthew Heineman delivers a portrait of two artists — Grammy winner and former “Late Show With Stephen Colbert” bandleader Jon Batiste and his wife, author Suleika Jaouad. Heineman is known for putting his life on the line to make documentaries about the Mexican drug wars (“Cartel Land”), the initial explosion of COVID-19 in the U.S.

Ed Sheeran may be one of the biggest stars in the world, but sometimes even global pop superstars want to get back to basics. Like with his new album, which he has just revealed the cover of - and it's reassuringly DIY.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Oscar-winning composer Alexandre Desplat has scored the music for Netflix’s “Nyad.” Directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, “Nyad” stars Annette Bening as Diana Nyad, an athlete, who at 60, achieves her lifelong dream of finishing the 110-mile open ocean swim from Cuba to Florida. In a statement to Variety, Desplat said, “Chai and Jimmy’s direction is very strong.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Jamie Bernstein, the eldest daughter of famed composer Leonard Bernstein, is defending Bradley Cooper’s portrayal of the music icon in the upcoming Netflix movie “Maestro,” which world premieres Sept. 2 at the Venice Film Festival. Cooper, who directed the film and stars as Bernstein, has come under fire in recent weeks due to his decision to wear a prosthetic nose.

Ryuichi Sakamoto gave his final performance for the new film Opus, and a first teaser has now been released – check it out below.The pioneering composer died on March 28, aged 71 after being diagnosed with colon cancer in 2021 and throat cancer in 2014.In late December last year, the lauded composer and founder of the Yellow Magic Orchestra played his final show, a livestreamed concert titled ‘Ryuichi Sakamoto: Playing the Piano 2022’.A further performance did follow though, recorded for concert film Opus, which is being premiered at the Venice Film Festival on September 5.Now, a clip of the performance is streaming at Deadline.In a posthumous statement about the project, Sakamoto said: “The project was conceived as a way to record my performances – while I was still able to perform – in a way that is worth preserving for the future. We borrowed the NHK Broadcast Center’s 509 Studio to record in, which is a place that I think offers the finest acoustics in Japan.”He added: “I played every piece at home which we recorded on an iPhone to construct the overall composition of the concert that will express the progression of time from morning into night.

Jessica Kiang It takes place on a sugar plantation, but Ena Sendijarević’s magnificently composed, eerily satirical “Sweet Dreams” has something more like acid flowing through its veins. Acid — or maybe formaldehyde, given the embalmed pallor of the dysfunctional Dutch colonial family whose values are so elegantly dissected within it.

Ed Sheeran just announced a new album!

Ed Sheeran is having a productive year.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Even though he is through with mathematical album titles, Ed Sheeran is still practicing the art of addition. The suddenly prolific recording artist will soon be adding to his catalog the second new album he’s released in 2023… the second in six months, in fact. Sheeran announced Thursday that “Autumn Variations,” a collection he’s been teasing on social media, will be out Sept.

Ed Sheeran. The 32-year-old singer-songwriter announced on Thursday the upcoming release of his new album,, on Sept. 23.